the centurion's story david james burrell american tract society nassau street, new york copyright, and , by american tract society the centurion's story i am an old man now; the burden of fourscore years is resting upon me. but the events of a certain april day in the year a.u.c.--full half a century ago--are as fresh in my memory as if they had happened yesterday. at that time i was stationed with my hundred on garrison duty at the castle of antonia, in jerusalem. i had been ordered to take charge of the execution of a malefactor who had just been sentenced to death. accordingly, on the morning of the day mentioned, i selected twelve of my men, such as were hardened to bloody deeds, and with them i proceeded to the prætorium. all was hurry and excitement there. as it was the time of the jewish passover, the city was thronged with strangers. a multitude of people had assembled and were clamoring for the death of this man. on our arrival he was brought forth. he proved to be that prophet of nazareth whose oracular wisdom and wonder-working power had been everywhere noised abroad. i had heard much about him. he claimed to be the messiah for whose advent the jews had been looking from time immemorial; and his disciples believed it. they called him by such well-known messianic titles as "son of man," "son of david" and "son of god." he spoke of himself as "the only-begotten son of god," declaring that he had been "in the bosom of the father before the world was," and that he was now manifest in human form to expiate the world's sin. this was regarded by the religious leaders as rank blasphemy and they clamored for his death. he was tried before the roman court, which refused to consider the charge, inasmuch as it involved a religious question not lying within its jurisdiction; but the prisoner, being turned over to the sanhedrin, was found worthy of death for "making himself equal with god." i remember him well as he appeared that day. from what i had heard i was prepared to see a hard-faced impostor or a fanatic with frenzy in his eyes. he was a man of middle stature, with a face of striking beauty and benignity, eyes of mingled light and warmth, and auburn hair falling over his shoulders. it was not strange that he looked pale and haggard; for he had passed through three judicial ordeals since the last sunset, besides being scourged with the _flagellum horrible_ and exposed to the rude buffeting of the midnight guard. he had been clothed in the cast-off purple of the roman procurator and wore a derisive crown of thorns. but, as he issued from the hall of judgment, such was his commanding presence that the multitude was hushed and separated to make way. the cross, constructed of transverse beams of sycamore, was brought and laid upon his shoulders. about his neck was suspended a titulum on which was inscribed, _jesu nazaret, rex judæorum_. i was told that the jewish leaders had objected to his being called their king; but pilate, by whose orders the titulum was prepared, was for some reason insistent and answered them shortly, "what i have written, i have written." it was easy to see, however, that they bitterly resented it. at the accustomed signal my quaternions fell into the line and the procession moved on. i rode before, clearing the way. the people thronged the narrow streets, crying more and more loudly as we proceeded, "_staurosate! staurosate!_ crucify him!" the nazarene, weak from long vigils and suffering, bowed low under his burden. a woman in the company, by name veronica, pressed near and wiped the dust and blood from his haggard face. it was reported that the napkin when withdrawn bore the impress of his face, marred, but divinely beautiful. whether this be true or not i cannot say. as the multitude surged onward toward the jaffa gate, a cobbler named ahasuerus, as if moved by a malignant spirit, thrust his foot before the prisoner, who stumbled thereat and fell. in punishment for that cruel deed he is said to be still a wanderer upon the earth with no rest for his weary feet. this, too, is a mere legend; but certainly i have found, even in the grim business of a soldier, that retribution like a fury pursues all pitiless men. we passed through the jaffa gate and entered upon the steep road leading to the place of execution. the sun flamed down upon us; we were enveloped in a cloud of dust. the prisoner at length, overborne by his cross, fell beneath it. we seized upon an ethiopian who chanced to be in the throng and placed the burden upon him. strange to tell, he assumed it without a murmur; insomuch that by many he was suspected of being a secret follower of jesus. as we surged on with din and uproar a group of women standing by the wayside rent the air with shrill lamentations, on hearing which jesus said, "daughters of jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children; for behold the days come when they shall say to the mountains, fall on us! and to the hills, cover us!" it was a weird prophecy, and ere a generation passed it was to the letter fulfilled. there were those in that company who lived to see the holy city compassed about by a forest of hostile spears. its inhabitants were brought low by famine and pestilence, insomuch that the eyes of mothers rested hungrily on the white flesh of their own children. on the surrounding heights crosses were reared, on which hundreds of jewish captives died the shameful death. despair fell upon all. and in those days there were not a few who called to mind the ominous words of the nazarene, "weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children after you!" the road we journeyed has since been known as via dolorosa. it led to the round knoll called golgotha, from its resemblance to a skull. as we drew nigh we perceived two crosses, already reared, on which two thieves of barabbas' band had been suspended in agony for some hours. their twisted bodies stood out grimly against the sky. our prisoner, as an added mark of obloquy, was to be crucified between them. our spears and standards were lowered, and jesus, being stripped of his outer garments, was laid prostrate upon his cross. a soldier approached with hammer and spikes, at sight of whom the frenzied multitude ceased their revilings for the moment and pressed near. the prisoner preserved his calm demeanor. a stupefying draught was offered him; but he refused it, apparently preferring to look death calmly in the face. he stretched out his hands; the hammer fell. at the sight of blood the mob broke forth again, crying, "_staurosate!_" but not a word escaped the sufferer. as the nails tore through the quivering flesh his eyes closed and his lips moved as if he were holding communion with some invisible one. then with a great wrench the cross was lifted into the socket prepared for it. at this moment the first word escaped him. with a look of reproach and an appealing glance to heaven, he cried, "father, forgive them; they know not what they do!" it was as if he were covering our heads with a shield of prayer. in this he did but practise his own rule of charity and doctrine of forgiveness, "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you." his prayer, however, seemed but to rouse anew the fury of his enemies. they cried out in mockery, "come down! come down from thy cross. thou that boastest of destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days, save thyself!" the priests and rabbis, standing by, joined in the mockery, saying, "aha, he saved others, himself he cannot save! let him come down if he be the messiah, the chosen of god!" my soldiers meanwhile disputed as to the apportionment of his garments; i noted the rattling of dice in the brazen helmet wherein they were casting lots for his seamless robe. the thieves on either hand joined for a time in the mockery; but presently a change came over the one upon the right, whose name was dysmas. this man, like his fellow, had belonged to a notorious band of robbers who infested the road to jericho. his life had been passed in bloody work; but the patient demeanor of jesus touched his heart and convinced him that he was indeed the veritable son of god. the other thief joined in the mockery, but dysmas remonstrated with him, saying, "dost thou not even fear god? we indeed are condemned justly, receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss." then presently, turning his pain-racked eyes toward jesus, he entreated, "lord, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom!" the nazarene straightway turned upon him a look of compassionate love, saying, "to-day thou shalt be with me in paradise!" an hour later this robber's head sank upon his breast; but in death his face wore a look of indescribable peace. the time came when the word of pardon addressed to this man was a message of hope and comfort to other great sinners. he who saved dysmas in the article of death, plucking him from the edge of the abyss, was thenceforth believed by his followers to be able to save even unto the uttermost all who would come unto him. not far from the cross stood a company of women wringing their hands in helpless grief. among them was the mother of jesus. when her infant son had been brought to the jewish temple, an old priest took him from his mother's arms and prophesied, "this child is set for the fall and rise of many in israel"; then looking upon the mother, he said: "a sword shall pass through thine own soul also." at this moment his word was fulfilled; the iron entered her soul. her dying son beheld her, and, with his eyes directing her to one who was known as his favorite disciple, he said, "woman, behold thy son!" and this disciple thereupon bore her fainting away. it was now noon, clear, scorching, syrian noon. but a singular mist was gathering before the sun. shadows fell from the heights of moab; and as they deepened more and more the gleam on shield and helmet faded out. night rose from the ravines, surging upward in dark billows, overwhelming all. a strange pallor rested on all faces. it was night, an egyptian night at high noon! what meant it? manifestly this was no eclipse, for the paschal moon was then at its full. the jews had ofttimes clamored for a sign, a sign whereby they might test this sufferer's messianic claim. had the sign come? was nature now sympathizing with her lord? were these shadows the trappings of a universal woe? was god manifesting his wrath against sin? or was this darkness a stupendous figure of the position in which the dying nazarene stood with respect to the deliverance of the race from sin? once in a jewish synagogue i heard a rabbi read from the scroll of isaiah a prophecy concerning the messiah; that he was to be "wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; that by his stripes we might be healed." it was predicted that when this messiah came he should, bearing the world's burden of sin, go into the outer darkness in expiatory pain. was it at this awful moment that he carried that burden into the region of the lost? did he just then descend into hell for us? hark! a cry from his fever-parched lips, piercing the silence and the darkness, "_eli, eli, lama sabachthani?_ my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" save for that terrific cry of anguish the silence was unbroken for three mortal hours. i have known other victims of the cross to vent their rage in impotent wrath, to spit their hate like asps, to harangue the crowd with helpless protestations, or to beg for the death-stroke; but this jesus preserved a majestic silence. the people also seemed wrapped in a weird terror. naught was heard but the rattling of armor as some soldier jostled his comrade, or the sobbing of women or the dropping of blood. thus until the ninth hour of the day. it was now the time of the evening sacrifice, and the darkness began slowly to lift. then the nazarene uttered his only word of complaint: "i thirst." whereupon a strange thing happened. one of my soldiers, trained in the arena and in gladiatorial contests--a man who had never been known to spare a foe, delighting in the sack of cities, looking on unmoved when children were dashed against the stones--this man dipped a sponge in the sour wine which was provided for the guard, and would have raised it to the sufferer's lips. but the jews cried out, "let be, let be! let us see if eli will come to help him!" for a moment the soldier hesitated, even joined in the cry; then giving way to the more merciful promptings of his heart, lifted the sponge and assuaged the thirst of the dying man. it was the only deed of kindness i noted on golgotha that day. in return for it the nazarene cast upon his benefactor such a look of gratitude that he was ever after a different man. his nature seemed to be transformed by it. then jesus cried with a loud voice, "_tetelestai!_ it is finished!" did this signify that his pain was over? well might he, after such anguish, utter a sigh of relief. or was it that his mission was accomplished? so have i seen a laborer turn homeward from his day's work with pleasant anticipation of rest. so have i seen a wayfarer quicken his footsteps as, at eventide, he came in sight of the village lights. so have i seen a soldier, weary with the stress of conflict and wounded unto death, bear the standard aloft as he climbed the parapet and with his last voice shouted for victory! and then the last word. it was spoken softly, as if from the threshold of the other world, "father, into thy hands i commend my spirit!" then, as he yielded up the ghost, a look of surpassing peace fell upon his upturned face, which lingered even after death had put its rigid seal upon it. thus he fell on sleep. i have ofttimes since been reminded of that look when i have seen an infant lulled in its mother's arms, or when, walking through a christian cemetery, i have noted upon the tombstones of martyrs the word "_dormit_: he sleeps." the supernatural darkness had now given way to a calm twilight. the sky was covered far toward the zenith with a golden splendor crossed with bars of crimson light. it looked as if heaven's gates were opened; and one gazing through could almost seem to see the flitting of superhuman shapes and hear far-away voices calling, "lift up your heads, o ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in!" at that moment the earth rumbled under my feet; a shudder seemed to pass through nature. it was said that as the high priest was kindling the lamps in the holy place of the temple, in connection with the evening sacrifice, the great veil hanging before the holy of holies was rent from the top to the bottom as if by an unseen hand. this happened at the instant when the nazarene yielded up his spirit, and his followers are wont to say that when he passed from earth to resume his heavenly glory a new and living way was opened up for penitent sinners into the holiest of all. the execution being over, the people slowly dispersed to their homes. twilight settled down on golgotha. a group of wailing women lingered for a while, then went their way. against the sky stood forth the three crosses. on the uplifted face of dysmas the moonlight showed the look of ineffable peace that had settled upon it. the face of the other robber was fallen upon his breast. in the midst jesus looked upward, dead but triumphant! long and steadfastly i gazed upon him. the events of the day crowded fast upon my mind and my conviction deepened that this was no impostor, no fanatic, no common man. my conscience was sore smitten; my heart was inexpressibly touched by the memory of the things which i had seen; and, with scarcely an intention, i said aloud, but softly, "verily, this was a righteous man." then i reined my horse and rode down the hill. the lights were kindling in jerusalem; the beacon on the castle of antonia was beginning to glow. at a little distance i drew rein and looked back at golgotha. his cross was there outlined against the sky. i felt myself in the grip of a mighty passion of doubt and wonder! who was he? who was he? i would go back and see! i dismounted beneath his cross and gazed upward, unmindful of the strange looks which my soldiers cast upon me. tears came to my eyes, old campaigner though i was, tears of grief, of penitence, of dawning faith. i knelt; i prostrated myself before the christ who hung dead on that accursed tree. i rose again and saw him. dead? nay, living!--living evermore in the glory which he had with the father before the world was! the truth went surging irresistibly through my soul; until at length, able to restrain myself no longer, i cried, caring not though the world heard me, "verily, this was the son of god!" * * * * * i am old now, and the end draws near. for half a century i have loved and served him. i have known trials and sorrows not a few, but his presence has upheld me. the promise he gave his disciples the night before his death has been my mainstay: "lo, i am with you alway!" in the faith of that promise i have seen men and women die with the light of heaven on their faces, heroic amid the flames, triumphant before the lion's eyes. i have heard them once and again protesting with their last breath, "_christianus sum!_ i am a christian!" i, too, am a christian, and humbly proud of it. the cross in my time has been transformed from an emblem of shame into a symbol of triumph. and the christ who suffered upon it has been made unto me wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. he is my first, my last, my midst and all in all. i have learned somewhat of the meaning of his life and death and glorious resurrection. many wonderful hopes have i; but the best is this, that i--the soldier who had charge of his crucifixion--may yet behold his face in peace; that i, who bowed that night with broken heart beneath his cross, may some day look upon the king in his beauty and fall before him, crying, "my lord and my god!" the new testament of our lord and savior jesus christ. the common english version, corrected by the final committee of the american bible union. second revision. [_willingham memorial_.] new york: american bible union. london: trubner & co., paternoster row. . _ d thousand_.] [_brevier mo edition_. note. this revised testament has been prepared under the auspices of the american bible union, by the most competent scholars of the day. no expense has been spared to obtain the oldest translations of the bible, copies of the ancient manuscripts, and other facilities to make the revision as perfect as possible. the paragraph form has been adopted in preference to the division by verse, which is a modern mode of division, never used in the ancient scriptures. but, for convenience of reference, the numbers of the verses are retained. all quotations from the old testament are distinctly indicated, and the poetic form is restored to those which appear as poetry in the original. the revisers have been guided in their labors by the following rules prescribed by the union: rules for the revision of the english new testament. the received greek text, critically edited, with known errors corrected, must be followed. the common english version must be the basis of revision, and only such alterations must be made as the exact meaning of the text and the existing state of the language may require. the exact meaning of the inspired text, as that text expressed it to those who understood the original scriptures at the time they were first written, must be given in corresponding words and phrases, so far as they can be found in the english language, with the least possible obscurity or indefiniteness. entered according to act of congress, in the year , by the american bible union, in the clerk's office of the district court of the united states for the southern district of new york. thomas holman, printer, corner of centre and white sts., new york. electrotyped by smith & mcdougal, and beekman st., n. y. the new testament the gospel according to matthew. i. book of the generation of jesus christ, son of david, son of abraham. ( )abraham begot isaac; and isaac begot jacob; and jacob begot judah and his brothers; ( )and judah begot pharez and zarah, of tamar; and pharez begot hezron; and hezron begot ram; ( )and ram begot amminadab; and amminadab begot nahshon; and nahshon begot salmon; ( )and salmon begot boaz, of rahab; and boaz begot obed, of ruth; and obed begot jesse; ( )and jesse begot david the king; and david begot solomon, of the wife of uriah; ( )and solomon begot rehoboam; and rehoboam begot abijah; and abijah begot asa; ( )and asa begot jehoshaphat; and jehoshaphat begot joram; and joram begot uzziah; ( )and uzziah begot jotham; and jotham begot ahaz; and ahaz begot hezekiah; ( )and hezekiah begot manasseh; and manasseh begot amon; and amon begot josiah; ( )and josiah begot jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the removal to babylon. ( )and after the removal to babylon, jeconiah begot salathiel; and salathiel begot zerubbabel; ( )and zerubbabel begot abiud; and abiud begot eliakim; and eliakim begot azor; ( )and azor begot zadock; and zadock begot achim; and achim begot eliud; ( )and eliud begot eleazar; and eleazar begot matthan; and matthan begot jacob; ( )and jacob begot joseph the husband of mary, of whom was born jesus, who is called christ. ( )all the generations, therefore, from abraham unto david are fourteen generations; and from david unto the removal to babylon, fourteen generations; and from the removal to babylon unto the christ, fourteen generations. ( )now the birth of jesus christ was after this manner. his mother mary having been betrothed to joseph, before they came together she was found with child by the holy spirit. ( )and joseph her husband, being just, and not willing to expose her openly[ : ], desired to put her away privately. ( )but while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: joseph, son of david, fear not to take to thee mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the holy spirit. ( )and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins. ( )and all this has come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the lord through the prophet, saying: ( )behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name immanuel; which is interpreted[ : ], god with us. ( )and joseph, awaking from sleep, did as the angel of the lord bade him, and took to him his wife; ( )and he knew her not till she brought forth a son[ : ]; and he called his name jesus. ii. and jesus having been born in bethlehem of judaea, in the days of herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to jerusalem, ( )saying: where is he that is born king of the jews? for we saw his star in the east, and came to do him homage. ( )and the king, herod, hearing it, was troubled, and all jerusalem with him. ( )and having assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the christ should be born. ( )and they said to him: in bethlehem of judaea; for thus it is written by the prophet: ( )and thou bethlehem, land of judah, art by no means least among the princes of judah; for out of thee shall come forth a governor, who shall rule my people israel. ( )then herod, having secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly the time of the appearing of the star. ( )and he sent them to bethlehem, and said: go and inquire strictly concerning the child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that i also may come and do him homage. ( )and they, having heard the king, departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the child was. ( )and seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ( )and coming into the house, they saw the child with mary his mother, and fell down, and did homage to him; and opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ( )and being warned by god in a dream, not to return to herod, they departed into their own country by another way. ( )and when they had departed, behold, an angel of the lord appears to joseph in a dream, saying: arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into egypt, and be there until i bring thee word; for herod is about to seek the child to destroy him. ( )and he arose and took the child and his mother by night and departed into egypt, ( )and was there until the death of herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the lord through the prophet, saying: out of egypt i called my son. ( )then herod, seeing that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly enraged; and he sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned from the wise men. ( )then was fulfilled that which was spoken through jeremiah the prophet, saying: ( )a voice was heard in ramah, weeping, and great mourning[ : ]; rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. ( )but when herod was dead, behold, an angel of the lord appears in a dream to joseph in egypt, ( )saying: arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of israel; for they are dead who sought the child's life. ( )and he arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of israel. ( )but hearing that archelaus reigned in judaea instead of herod his father, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned by god in a dream, he retired into the region of galilee. ( )and he came and dwelt in a city called nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: he shall be called a nazarene. iii. in those days comes john the immerser, preaching in the wilderness of judaea, ( )and saying: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ( )for this is he that was spoken of through the prophet isaiah, saying: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make straight his paths. ( )and he, john, had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ( )then went out to him jerusalem, and all judaea, and all the region about the jordan; ( )and they were immersed by him in the jordan, confessing their sins. ( )but seeing many of the pharisees and sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them: brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ( )bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance; ( )and think not to say within yourselves, we have abraham for our father; for i say to you, that god is able of these stones to raise up children to abraham. ( )and already the axe is laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree that brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. ( )i indeed immerse you in water unto repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than i, whose sandals i am not worthy to bear; he will immerse you in the holy spirit and fire; ( )whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and will gather his wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with fire unquenchable. ( )then jesus comes from galilee to the jordan, to john, to be immersed by him. ( )but john sought to hinder him, saying: i have need to be immersed by thee, and dost thou come to me? ( )and jesus answering said to him: suffer it now; for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. then he suffered him. ( )and having been immersed, jesus went up immediately from the water; and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the spirit of god descending, as a dove, and coming upon him. ( )and lo, a voice out of heaven, saying: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. iv. then jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. ( )and having fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterwards hungered. ( )and coming to him, the tempter said: if thou art the son of god, command that these stones become loaves of bread. ( )but he answering said: it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of god. ( )then the devil takes him into the holy city, and sets him on the pinnacle of the temple, ( )and says to him: if thou art the son of god, cast thyself down; for it is written: he will give his angels command concerning thee; and on their hands they will bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. ( )jesus said to him: again it is written, thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god. ( )again the devil takes him into an exceedingly high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; ( )and says to him: all these things i will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. ( )then jesus says to him: get thee hence, satan; for it is written: thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve. ( )then the devil leaves him; and behold, angels came and ministered to him. ( )and hearing that john was delivered up, he retired into galilee. ( )and leaving nazareth, he came and dwelt in capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of zebulun and naphtali; ( )that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through isaiah the prophet, saying: ( )the land of zebulun, and the land of naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the jordan, galilee of the gentiles, ( )the people that sat in darkness, saw great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death light sprang up. ( )from that time jesus began to preach, and to say: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ( )and walking by the sea of galilee, he saw two brothers, simon called peter, and andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ( )and he says to them: come after me, and i will make you fishers of men. ( )and they, immediately leaving the nets, followed him. ( )and going on from thence, he saw other two brothers, james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, in the ship with zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. ( )and they, immediately leaving the ship and their father, followed him. ( )and jesus went about all galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people. ( )and his fame went forth into all syria; and they brought to him all that were sick, taken with divers diseases and torments, and possessed with demons, and lunatic, and palsied; and he healed them. ( )and great multitudes followed him from galilee, and decapolis, and jerusalem, and judaea, and from beyond the jordan. v. and seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain; and he having sat down, his disciples came to him. ( )and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying: ( )happy the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ( )happy they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. ( )happy the meek; for they shall inherit the earth[ : ]. ( )happy they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. ( )happy the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. ( )happy the pure in heart; for they shall see god. ( )happy the peacemakers; for they shall be called sons of god. ( )happy they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ( )happy are ye, when they shall revile and persecute you, and shall say all evil against you falsely[ : ], for my sake. ( )rejoice, and exult; because great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. ( )ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt become tasteless, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men. ( )ye are the light of the world. a city that is set on a hill can not be hid. ( )nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but on the lamp-stand; and it shines to all that are in the house. ( )thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. ( )think not that i came to destroy the law, or the prophets; i came not to destroy, but to fulfill. ( )for verily i say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ( )whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ( )for i say to you, that except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )ye heard that it was said to those[ : ] of old: thou shalt not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. ( )but i say to you, that every one who is angry with his brother, without cause[ : a], shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, raca[ : b]! shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, thou fool! shall be in danger of hell-fire. ( )therefore if thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has aught against thee; ( )leave there thy gift before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. ( )agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. ( )verily i say to thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. ( )ye heard that it was said: thou shalt not commit adultery. ( )but i say to you, that every one who looks on a woman, to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ( )and if thy right eye causes thee to offend, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. ( )and if thy right hand causes thee to offend, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. ( )and it was said: whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. ( )but i say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife, save for the cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her when put away, commits adultery. ( )again ye heard, that it was said to those of old[ : ]: thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform to the lord thine oaths. ( )but i say to you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is god's throne; ( )nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. ( )nor shalt thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make one hair white or black. ( )but let your word be, yea, yea, nay, nay; for that which is more than these comes of evil. ( )ye heard that it was said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. ( )but i say to you, that ye resist not evil; but whoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. ( )and if any man will sue thee at the law, and take thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. ( )and whoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. ( )give to him that asks of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away. ( )ye heard that it was said: thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy. ( )but i say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; ( )that ye may be sons of your father who is in heaven; for he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. ( )for if ye love those who love you, what reward have ye? do not also the publicans the same? ( )and if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye that excels? do not also the heathen thus? ( )be ye therefore perfect, even as your father who is in heaven is perfect. vi. take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward with your father who is in heaven. ( )therefore when thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. verily i say to you, they have in full their reward. ( )but when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does; ( )that thine aims may be in secret and thy father who sees in secret will himself reward thee. ( )and when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. verily i say to you, they have in full their reward. ( )but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and having shut thy door, pray to thy father who is in secret; and thy father who sees in secret will reward thee. ( )but when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. ( )be not ye therefore like to them; for your father knows what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. ( )do ye, therefore, pray after this manner: our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. ( )thy kingdom come; thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. ( )give us this day our daily bread[ : ]. ( )and forgive us our debts, as also we forgave our debtors. ( )and bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil[ : ]. ( )for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you; ( )but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses. ( )and when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. verily i say to you, they have in full their reward. ( )but thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; ( )that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy father who is in secret; and thy father who sees in secret will reward thee. ( )lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. ( )but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. ( )for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ( )the lamp of the body is the eye. if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light; ( )but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be dark. if therefore the light that is in thee is darkness, how great the darkness! ( )no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. ye can not serve god and mammon. ( )for this cause i say to you, take not thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? ( )behold the birds of the air, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly father feeds them. are ye not much better than they? ( )and which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature[ : ]? ( )and why take ye thought for raiment? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. they toil not, nor spin; ( )and i say to you, that even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ( )and if god so clothes the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more you, ye of little faith? ( )take not thought therefore, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, wherewith shall we be clothed? ( )for after all these do the gentiles seek. for your heavenly father knows that ye have need of all these. ( )but seek first the kingdom of god, and his righteousness; and all these shall be added to you. ( )take not thought, therefore, for the morrow; for the morrow will take thought for itself. sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. vii. judge not, that ye be not judged. ( )for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. ( )and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ( )or how wilt thou say to thy brother: let me cast out the mote from thine eye; and behold, the beam is in thine own eye? ( )hypocrite! first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then thou wilt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. ( )give not that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine; lest they trample them with their feet, and turn and rend you. ( )ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. ( )for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. ( )or what man is there of you, of whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? ( )and if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ( )if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? ( )therefore all things whatever ye would that men should do to you, so also do ye to them; for this is the law and the prophets. ( )enter in through the strait gate; because wide is the gate, and broad the way, that leads to destruction, and many are they who go in thereat. ( )[ : ]because strait is the gate, and narrow the way, that leads to life, and few are they who find it. ( )beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps' clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. ( )ye shall know them from their fruits. do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? ( )so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. ( )a good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, nor a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ( )every tree that brings not forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. ( )so then, from their fruits ye shall know them. ( )not every one that says to me, lord, lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my father who is in heaven. ( )many will say to me in that day: lord, lord, did we not prophesy in thy name, and in thy name cast out demons, and in thy name do many miracles? ( )and then will i profess to them, i never knew you; depart from me, ye who work iniquity. ( )every one, therefore, who hears these sayings of mine[ : ], and does them, i will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on the rock. ( )and the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and fell upon that house; and it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ( )and every one who hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. ( )and the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it. ( )and it came to pass, when jesus ended these sayings, that the multitudes were astonished at his teaching. ( )for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. viii. when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. ( )and, behold, there came a leper and bowed down to him, saying: lord, if thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me. ( )and stretching forth his hand, he touched him, saying: i will; be thou cleansed. and immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ( )and jesus says to him: see thou tell no one; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that moses commanded, for a testimony to them. ( )and as he entered into capernaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him, ( )and saying: lord, my servant lies at home palsied, grievously tormented. ( )and jesus says to him: i will come and heal him. ( )the centurion answered and said: lord, i am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof; but only say in a word, and my servant will be healed. ( )for i am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and i say to this one, go, and he goes; and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it. ( )and jesus hearing it marveled, and said to those who followed: verily i say to you, i found not so great faith, even in israel. ( )and i say to you, that many will come from the east and west, and will recline at table, with abraham, and isaac, and jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; ( )but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness. there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth! ( )and jesus said to the centurion: go thy way; and as thou didst believe, be it done to thee. and his servant was healed in that hour. ( )and jesus, coming into the house of peter, saw his mother-in-law lying, and sick with fever. ( )and he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered to him. ( )when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick; ( )that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through isaiah the prophet, saying: himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. ( )and jesus, seeing great multitudes about him, commanded to depart to the other side. ( )and a certain scribe came, and said to him: teacher, i will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ( )and jesus says to him: the foxes have holes and the birds of the air nests; but the son of man has not where he may lay his head. ( )and another of his disciples said to him: lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. ( )but jesus said to him: follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead. ( )and when he had entered into the ship, his disciples followed him. ( )and, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, so that the ship was covered by the waves; but he was sleeping. ( )and the disciples came and awoke him, saying: lord, save us; we perish. ( )and he says to them: why are ye fearful, ye of little faith? then rising, he rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ( )and the men marveled, saying: what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! ( )and when he had come to the other side, into the country of the gadarenes[ : ], there met him two possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one was able to pass by that way. ( )and, behold, they cried out, saying: what have we to do with thee, son of god? camest thou hither to torment us before the time? ( )and there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding. and the demons besought him, saying: ( )if thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine. ( )and he said to them, go. and they, coming out, went away into the swine; and, behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters. ( )and the herdsmen fled, and went away into the city, and told every thing, and what had befallen the possessed with demons. ( )and, behold, all the city came out to meet jesus; and seeing him, they besought that he would depart from their borders. ix. and entering into the ship he passed over, and came to his own city. ( )and, behold, they brought to him one that was palsied, lying on a bed. and jesus, seeing their faith, said to the palsied man: child, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. ( )and, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves: this man blasphemes. ( )and jesus knowing their thoughts said: wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? ( )for which is easier, to say: thy sins are forgiven; or to say: arise, and walk? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then says he to the palsied man) arise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house. ( )and rising up he departed to his house. ( )and seeing it the multitudes feared, and glorified god, who gave such power to men. ( )and jesus, passing on from thence, saw a man named matthew, sitting at the place of receiving custom; and he says to him: follow me. and he rose up and followed him. ( )and it came to pass that, as he reclined at table in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and reclined at table with jesus and his disciples. ( )and the pharisees, seeing it, said to his disciples: why does your teacher eat with the publicans and the sinners? ( )and jesus hearing it, said: they who are well need not a physician, but they who are sick. ( )but go, and learn what this means: i desire mercy and not sacrifice; for i came not to call righteous men, but sinners. ( )then come to him the disciples of john, saying: why do we and the pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not? ( )and jesus said to them: can the sons of the bridechamber mourn[ : ], so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast. ( )and no one puts a piece of unfulled cloth on an old garment; for that which fills it up takes from the garment, and a worse rent is made. ( )nor do they put new wine into old skins; else the skins burst, and the wine runs out, and the skins are destroyed. but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together. ( )while he was speaking these things to them, behold, there came a ruler, and bowed down to him, saying: my daughter just now died; but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she will live. ( )and jesus arose and was following him, he and his disciples. ( )and behold, a woman, having a flow of blood twelve years, came behind, and touched the fringe of his garment. ( )for she said within herself: if i only touch his garment, i shall be made whole. ( )and jesus, turning and seeing her, said: daughter, be of good cheer; thy faith has made thee whole. ( )and the woman was made whole from that hour. and jesus, coming into the house of the ruler, and seeing the minstrels and the crowd making a noise, ( )said: give place; for the maiden is not dead, but is sleeping. and they laughed him to scorn. ( )but when the crowd was put forth, he went in, and took hold of her hand, and the maiden arose. ( )and this report went abroad into all that land. ( )and as jesus passed on from thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying: have mercy on us, son of david. ( )and when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. and jesus says to them: believe ye that i am able to do this? they say to him: yea, lord. ( )then he touched their eyes, saying: according to your faith be it done to you. ( )and their eyes were opened. and jesus sternly charged them, saying: take heed, let no one know it. ( )but they, going out, spread abroad his fame in all that country. ( )and as they were going out, behold, they brought to him a man dumb, possessed with a demon. ( )and the demon being cast out, the dumb spoke. and the multitudes marveled, saying: it was never so seen in israel. ( )but the pharisees said: he casts out the demons through the prince of the demons. ( )and jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity. ( )and seeing the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and scattered[ : ], as sheep having no shepherd. ( )then he says to his disciples: the harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. ( )pray therefore the lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. x. and calling to him his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to heal every sickness and every infirmity. ( )and the names of the twelve apostles are these; first simon, who is called peter, and andrew his brother; james the son of zebedee, and john his brother; ( )philip, and bartholomew; thomas, and matthew the publican; james the son of alpheus, and lebbeus surnamed thaddeus; ( )simon the cananite[ : ], and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. ( )these twelve jesus sent forth, and charged them, saying: go not into the way to the gentiles, and into a city of samaritans enter not. ( )but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel. ( )and as ye go, preach, saying: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ( )heal the sick, raise the dead[ : ], cleanse lepers, cast out demons. freely ye received, freely give. ( )provide not gold, nor silver, nor brass in your girdles; ( )nor bag for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff; for the laborer is worthy of his living. ( )and into whatever city or village ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. ( )but when ye come into the house, salute it. ( )and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. ( )and whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye go out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. ( )verily i say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom and gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. ( )behold, i send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore wise as serpents, and simple as doves. ( )but beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues; ( )and before governors also and kings will ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the gentiles. ( )but when they deliver you up, take not thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. ( )for it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your father that speaks in you. ( )and the brother will deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. ( )and ye will be hated by all, for my name's sake; but he that has endured to the end, the same shall be saved. ( )but when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other; for verily i say to you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of israel, till the son of man come. ( )a disciple is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his lord. ( )it is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord: if they called the master of the house beelzebul, how much more those of his household! ( )fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known. ( )what i say to you in the darkness, that speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, that proclaim upon the house-tops. ( )and be not afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ( )are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. ( )but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ( )fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. ( )every one, therefore, who shall acknowledge me before men, him will i also acknowledge before my father who is in heaven. ( )but whoever shall deny me before men, him will i also deny before my father who is in heaven. ( )think not that i came to send peace on the earth; i came not to send peace, but a sword. ( )for i came to set a man at variance with his father, and a daughter with her mother, and a bride with her mother-in-law; ( )and a man's foes will be they of his household. ( )he that loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. ( )and he that does not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. ( )he that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. ( )he that receives you receives me; and he that receives me receives him who sent me. ( )he that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. ( )and whoever shall give to drink a cup of cold water only to one of these little ones, in the name of a disciple, verily i say to you, he shall not lose his reward. xi. and it came to pass, when jesus made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, that he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. ( )and john, having heard in the prison the works of the christ, sent by his disciples, ( )and said to him: art thou he that comes, or look we for another? ( )and jesus answering said to them: go and report to john what ye hear and see. ( )the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor good tidings are published. ( )and happy is he, whoever shall not be offended at me. ( )and as these were departing, jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning john: what went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken by the wind? ( )but what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they who wear soft clothing are in king's houses. ( )but what went ye out to see? a prophet[ : ]? yea, i say to you, and more than a prophet. ( )for this is he of whom it is written: behold, i send forth my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. ( )verily i say to you, among those born of women, there has not risen a greater than john the immerser. but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ( )and from the days of john the immerser until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize upon it. ( )for all the prophets and the law prophesied until john. ( )and if ye are willing to receive it, he is the elijah that should come. ( )he that has ears to hear, let him hear. ( )but to what shall i liken this generation? it is like to children sitting in the markets, who call to their fellows, ( )and say: we piped to you, and ye danced not; we sang the lament, and ye did not beat the breast. ( )for john came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: he has a demon. ( )the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say: behold a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. but wisdom was justified on the part of her children. ( )then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his miracles were done, because they repented not. ( )woe to thee, chorazin! woe to thee, bethsaida! for if the miracles, that were done in you, had been done in tyre and sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ( )but i say to you, it will be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. ( )and thou, capernaum, [ : a]that wast exalted to heaven, shalt go down to the underworld[ : b]. for if the miracles, that were done in thee, had been done in sodom, it would have remained until this day. ( )but i say to you, that it will be more tolerable for the land of sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. ( )at that time jesus answered and said: i thank thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and discerning, and reveal them to babes; ( )yea, o father, that so it seemed good in thy sight! ( )all things were delivered to me by my father; and no one knows the son but the father; nor does any one know the father but the son, and he to whom the son is pleased to reveal him. ( )come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and i will give you rest. ( )take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for i am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. ( )for my yoke is easy, and my burden light. xii. at that time jesus went on the sabbath through the grain-fields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck ears of grain, and to eat. ( )and the pharisees seeing it said to him: behold, thy disciples are doing that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath. ( )and he said to them: have ye not read what david did, when he hungered, himself and those with him; ( )how he entered into the house of god, and ate the show-bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ( )or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? ( )but i say to you, that a greater than the temple is here. ( )but if ye had known what this means, i desire mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the blameless. ( )for the son of man is lord of the sabbath. ( )and departing from thence, he went into their synagogue. ( )and behold, there was a man, having his hand withered. and they asked him, saying: is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? that they might accuse him. ( )and he said to them: what man will there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it, and raise it up? ( )how much better then is a man than a sheep! so that it is lawful to do well on the sabbath. ( )then he says to the man: stretch forth thy hand. and he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, as the other. ( )and the pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. ( )but jesus, knowing it, withdrew from thence; and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. ( )and he charged them that they should not make him known; ( )that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through isaiah the prophet, saying: ( )behold my servant, whom i chose, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. i will put my spirit upon him, and he will declare judgment to the gentiles. ( )he will not strive, nor cry; nor will any one hear his voice in the streets. ( )a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. ( )and in his name will gentiles hope. ( )then was brought to him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both[ : ] spoke and saw. ( )and all the multitudes were amazed, and said: is this the son of david? ( )but the pharisees hearing it said: this man does not cast out the demons, except through beelzebul, prince of the demons. ( )and jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. ( )and if satan cast out satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? ( )and if i through beelzebul cast out the demons, through whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. ( )but if i through the spirit of god cast out the demons, then is the kingdom of god come near to you. ( )or how can any one enter into a strong man's house, and seize upon his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will plunder his house. ( )he that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad. ( )therefore i say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men; but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. ( )and whoever speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come. ( )either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for from the fruit the tree is known. ( )brood of vipers! how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ( )the good man out of the good treasure sends forth good things; and the evil man out of the evil treasure sends forth evil things. ( )but i say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ( )for from thy words thou shalt be justified, and from thy words thou shalt be condemned. ( )then certain of the scribes and of the pharisees answered him saying: teacher, we desire to see a sign from thee. ( )but he answering said to them: an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of jonah the prophet. ( )for as jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ( )men of nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of jonah, and behold, a greater than jonah is here. ( )a queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon, and behold, a greater than solomon is here. ( )but when the unclean spirit is gone out from the man, he goes through dry places seeking rest, and finds it not. ( )then he says, i will return into my house from whence i came out and coming he finds it empty, swept, and set in order. ( )then he goes, and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. so shall it be also with this wicked generation. ( )while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers were standing without, seeking to speak to him. ( )and one said to him: behold, thy mother and thy brothers are standing without, seeking to speak to thee. ( )but he answering said to him that told him: who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ( )and stretching forth his hand toward his disciples, he said: behold my mother and my brothers! ( )for whoever shall do the will of my father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. xiii. and on that day jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea-side. ( )and great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he went into the ship and sat down; and all the multitude stood on the beach. ( )and he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ( )behold, the sower went forth to sow. and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the birds came and devoured them. ( )and others fell on the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had not depth of earth. ( )and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered away. ( )and others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns came up, and choked them. ( )and others fell on the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ( )he that has ears to hear, let him hear[ : ]. ( )and the disciples came and said to him: why dost thou speak to them in parables? ( )and he answering said to them: to you it is given[ : ] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it is not given. ( )for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even what he has shall be taken from him. ( )therefore i speak to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, nor understand. ( )and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of isaiah, which says: with the hearing ye will hear, and will not understand; and seeing ye will see, and will not perceive. ( )for the heart of this people is become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest haply they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and i shall heal them. ( )but happy are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ( )for verily i say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what ye are beholding, and did not see, and to hear what ye are hearing, and did not hear. ( )hear therefore the parable of the sower. ( )when any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands not, then comes the evil one and snatches away what was sown in his heart. this is that which was sown by the way-side. ( )and that sown on the rocky places, this is he that hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; ( )and has not root in himself, but is only for a time; and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended. ( )and that sown among the thorns, this is he that hears the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ( )and that sown on the good ground, this is he that hears the word and understands; who bears fruit, and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ( )another parable he put forth to them, saying: the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. ( )but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went away. ( )and when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also. ( )and the servants of the householder came and said to him: sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? from whence then has it darnel? ( )he said to them: an enemy did this. the servants said to him: wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? ( )he said: nay, lest while ye gather up the darnel, ye root up the wheat with them. ( )let both grow together until the harvest. and in time of harvest i will say to the reapers: gather up first the darnel, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. ( )another parable he put forth to them, saying: the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field. ( )which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches. ( )another parable he spoke to them: the kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. ( )all these things jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables; and without a parable he spoke nothing to them; ( )that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying: i will open my mouth in parables; i will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. ( )then having sent away the multitudes[ : ], he went into the house. and his disciples came to him, saying: explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field. ( )and answering he said to them: he that sows the good seed is the son of man. ( )the field is the world. the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the darnel are the sons of the evil one, ( )and the enemy that sowed them is the devil. the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. ( )as therefore the darnel are gathered up and are burned with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. ( )the son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of offense, and those who do iniquity, ( )and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be the wailing, and the gnashing of teeth! ( )then will the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. he that has ears to hear, let him hear[ : ]. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and concealed; and for joy thereof[ : ], he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking goodly pearls; ( )and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, cast into the sea, and gathering together of every kind. ( )which, when it was filled, they drew up upon the beach, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ( )so will it be in the end of the world. the angels will go forth, and will separate the wicked from among the just, ( )and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be the wailing, and the gnashing of teeth! ( )did ye understand all these things? they say to him, yea, lord. ( )and he said to them: therefore every scribe, instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure new and old. ( )and it came to pass, when jesus finished these parables, that he departed thence. ( )and coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue; so that they were astonished, and said: whence has this man this wisdom, and the miracles? is not this the carpenter's son? ( )is not his mother called mary, and his brothers, james, and joseph[ : ], and simon, and judas? ( )and his sisters, are they not all with us? whence then has this man all these things? ( )and they were offended at him. but jesus said to them: a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. ( )and he did not many miracles there, because of their unbelief. xiv. at that time herod the tetrarch heard the fame of jesus. ( )and he said to his servants: this is john the immerser; he is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers[ : ] work in him. ( )for herod laid hold of john, and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of herodias, the wife of philip, his brother. ( )for john said to him: it is not lawful for thee to have her. ( )and though desiring to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they held him as a prophet. ( )but when herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of herodias danced before them, and pleased herod. ( )whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatever she should ask. ( )and she, being urged on by her mother, says: give me here, on a platter, the head of john the immerser. ( )and the king was sorry; but for the sake of the oath, and of those who reclined at table with him, he commanded it to be given. ( )and he sent, and beheaded john in the prison. ( )and his head was brought on a platter, and was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. ( )and his disciples came and took up the body, and buried it; and they went and reported it to jesus. ( )and when jesus heard it, he withdrew from thence by ship, into a desert place apart. and the multitudes hearing of it, followed him on foot from the cities. ( )and going forth he saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and he healed their sick. ( )and when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying: the place is desert, and the time is already passed away; dismiss the multitudes, that they may go away into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. ( )but jesus said to them: they need not go away; give ye them to eat. ( )and they say to him: we have here but five loaves, and two fishes. ( )he said: bring them hither to me. ( )and he commanded that the multitudes should lie down on the grass, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ( )and they all ate, and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. ( )and they who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ( )and straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the ship, and to go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the multitudes. ( )and having dismissed the multitudes, he went up into the mountain apart to pray; and when evening was come, he was there alone. ( )but the ship was already in the midst of the sea, vexed by the waves; for the wind was contrary. ( )and in the fourth watch of the night he went to them, walking on the sea. ( )and the disciples, seeing him walking on the sea, were troubled, saying: it is a spectre. and they cried out for fear. ( )but straightway jesus spoke to them, saying: be of good cheer; it is i, be not afraid. ( )and peter answering him said: lord, if it is thou, bid me come to thee on the water. ( )and he said: come. and coming down from the ship, peter walked on the water, to go to jesus. ( )but seeing the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying: lord, save me. ( )and immediately jesus, stretching forth his hand, took hold of him, and said to him: thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? ( )and when they had entered into the ship, the wind ceased. ( )and those in the ship came and worshiped him[ : ], saying: of a truth, thou art the son of god. ( )and passing over, they came into the land of gennesaret. ( )and the men of that place, knowing him, sent out into all that country round, and brought to him all that were diseased ( )and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched were made whole. xv. then there come to jesus the scribes and pharisees from jerusalem, saying: ( )why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. ( )and he answering said to them: why do ye also transgress the commandment of god, for the sake of your tradition? ( )for god commanded, saying[ : ]: honor thy father and mother; and he that curses father or mother, let him surely die. ( )but ye say: whoever says to his father or his mother, it is a gift, whatever thou mightest be profited with from me, ( )shall not honor his father or his mother; and ye made the word of god[ : ] of no effect, for the sake of your tradition. ( )hypocrites! well did isaiah prophesy of you, saying: ( )this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ( )but in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines commandments of men. ( )and calling to him the multitude, he said to them: hear, and understand: ( )not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man. ( )then came to him his disciples, and said to him: knowest thou that the pharisees, when they heard the saying, were offended? ( )and he answering said: every plant, which my heavenly father planted not, shall be rooted up. ( )let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. ( )and peter answering said to him: explain to us this parable. ( )and he said: are ye also even yet without understanding? ( )do ye not yet understand, that whatever enters into the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the drain? ( )but the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. ( )for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false-witnessings, blasphemies. ( )these are the things that defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defiles not the man. ( )and jesus, going forth from thence, withdrew into the region of tyre and sidon. ( )and behold, a woman of canaan, coming out from those borders, cried to him, saying: have mercy on me, o lord, son of david; my daughter is grievously possessed with a demon. ( )but he answered her not a word. and his disciples came and besought him, saying: dismiss her; because she cries after us. ( )but he answering said: i was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of israel. ( )but she came and bowed down to him, saying: lord, help me. ( )but he answering said: it is not good to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs. ( )and she said: yea, lord; for the dogs also eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table. ( )then jesus answering said to her: o woman, great is thy faith; be it done to thee as thou wilt. and her daughter was healed from that hour. ( )and departing from thence, jesus came near to the sea of galilee; and going up into the mountain, he sat down there. ( )and great multitudes came to him, having with them lame, blind dumb, maimed, and many others, and laid them down at his feet, and he healed them; ( )so that the multitudes wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the god of israel. ( )and jesus, having called to him his disciples, said: i have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and i will not dismiss them fasting, lest they faint in the way. ( )and his disciples say to him: whence should we have so many loaves in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? ( )and jesus says to them: how many loaves have ye? and they said: seven, and a few little fishes. ( )and he commanded the multitudes to lie down on the ground. ( )and he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ( )and they all ate, and were filled. and they took up of the fragments that remained seven baskets full. ( )and they who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ( )and dismissing the multitudes, he entered into the ship, and came into the borders of magdala. xvi. and the pharisees and sadducees came to him, and tempting desired him to show them a sign from heaven. ( )and he answering said to them: when it is evening, ye say: fair weather! for the sky is red. ( )and in the morning: a storm to-day! for the sky is red and lowering. ye know how to discern the face of the sky, but can ye not the signs of the times? ( )an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of jonah. and he left them, and departed. ( )and coming to the other side, his disciples forgot to take bread. ( )and jesus said to them: take heed, and beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees. ( )and they reasoned among themselves, saying: because we took no bread! ( )and jesus knowing it said: ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye took no bread? ( )do ye not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ( )nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ( )how is it that ye do not understand, that i spoke not to you of bread? but, beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees! ( )then they understood, that he did not bid them beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the pharisees and sadducees. ( )and having come into the region of caesarea philippi, jesus asked his disciples, saying: who do men say that the son of man is[ : ]? ( )and they said: some, john the immerser; and others, elijah; and others, jeremiah, or one of the prophets. ( )he says to them: but who do ye say that i am? ( )and simon peter answering said: thou art the christ, the son of the living god. ( )and jesus answering said to him: happy art thou, simon bar-jonah[ : ]; for flesh and blood did not reveal it to thee, but my father who is in heaven. ( )and i also say to thee, that thou art peter[ : a], and upon this rock i will build my church[ : b]; and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. ( )and i will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ( )then he charged his disciples, that they should tell no one that he is the christ. ( )from that time jesus began to show to his disciples, that he must go to jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death, and rise on the third day. ( )and peter taking him aside began to rebuke him, saying: be it far from thee, lord; this shall not be to thee. ( )but he turned and said to peter: get thee behind me, satan[ : ]; thou art an offense to me; for thou thinkest not the things of god, but those of men. ( )then jesus said to his disciples: if any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ( )for whoever will save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life for my sake, shall find it. ( )for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? or what shall a man give as an exchange[ : ] for his soul? ( )for the son of man will come in the glory of his father, with his angels; and then he will reward each one according to his works. ( )verily i say to you, there are some of those standing here, who shall not taste death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. xvii. and after six days jesus takes with him peter, and james, and john his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart. ( )and he was transfigured before them; and his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. ( )and behold, there appeared to them moses and elijah, talking with him. ( )and peter answering said to jesus: lord, it is good for us to be here. if thou wilt, let us make here three tents; one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elijah. ( )while he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased; hear ye him. ( )and the disciples, hearing it, fell on their face, and were exceedingly afraid. ( )and jesus coming to them touched them, and said: arise, and be not afraid. ( )and lifting up their eyes, they saw no one save jesus only. ( )and as they came down out of the mountain, jesus charged them, saying: tell no one the vision, until the son of man is risen from the dead. ( )and his disciples asked him, saying: why then say the scribes that elijah must first come? ( )and he answering said: elijah indeed comes, and will restore all things. ( )but i say to you, that elijah is already come, and they knew him not, but did with him whatever they would. so also is the son of man about to suffer by them. ( )then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the immerser. ( )and when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a man, kneeling down to him, and saying: ( )lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic, and is sorely afflicted; for ofttimes he falls into the fire, and oft into the water. ( )and i brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. ( )and jesus answering said: o faithless and perverse generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i bear with you? bring him hither to me. ( )and jesus rebuked him; and the demon went out from him, and the child was cured from that hour. ( )then the disciples, coming to jesus apart, said: why could not we cast him out? ( )and he said to them: because of your want of faith. for verily i say to you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. ( )but this kind goes not forth, except by prayer and fasting. ( )and while they abode in galilee, jesus said to them: the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men ( )and they will put him to death, and he will rise on the third day. and they were exceedingly sorrowful. ( )and they having come to capernaum, those who received the half-shekel came to peter, and said: does not your teacher pay the half-shekel[ : ]? ( )he says, yes. and when he came into the house, jesus anticipated him, saying: what thinkest thou, simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take customs, or tribute? of their sons, or of strangers? ( )he says to him: of strangers. jesus said to him: then are the sons free. ( )but that we may not offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the fish that first comes up; and opening its mouth thou wilt find a shekel; that take, and give to them for me and thee. xviii. at that time came the disciples to jesus, saying: who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ( )and jesus, calling a little child to him, placed it in the midst of them, ( )and said: verily i say to you, if ye do not turn and become as the little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ( )and whoever shall receive one such little child, in my name, receives me. ( )but whoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to offend, it were better for him that an upper millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were plunged in the depth of the sea. ( )woe to the world, for causes of offense! for it must needs be that causes of offense come; but woe to that man, through whom the cause of offense comes! ( )but if thy hand or thy foot causes thee to offend, cut it off, and cast it from thee. it is better for thee to enter into life lame or maimed, than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the everlasting fire. ( )and if thine eye causes thee to offend, pluck it out and cast it from thee. it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire. ( )take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for i say to you, that their angels in heaven always behold the face of my father who is in heaven. ( )for the son of man came to save that which was lost. ( )what think ye? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them is gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine upon the mountains, and go and seek that which is gone astray? ( )and if it be that he find it, verily i say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety and nine that went not astray. ( )so it is not the will of your father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones perish. ( )but if thy brother shall sin against thee, go show him his fault between thee and him alone, if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. ( )but if he hear not, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ( )and if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he neglect to hear the church also, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican. ( )verily i say to you: whatever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ( )again i say to you, that if two of you shall agree on earth, concerning any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my father who is in heaven. ( )for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them. ( )then peter came to him, and said: lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and i forgive him? until seven times? ( )jesus says to him: i say not to thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven. ( )therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king, who desired to make a reckoning with his servants. ( )and when he had begun to reckon, there was brought to him one, who owed ten thousand talents[ : ]. ( )but as he was not able to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ( )the servant therefore, falling, prostrated himself before him, saying: have patience with me, and i will pay thee all. ( )and the lord of that servant, moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. ( )but that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred denaries[ : ]; and laying hold of him he took him by the throat, saying: pay me that thou owest. ( )therefore his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying: have patience with me, and i will pay thee. ( )and he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. ( )and his fellow-servants, seeing what was done, were very sorry, and came and disclosed to their lord all that was done. ( )then having called him, his lord says to him: thou wicked servant; i forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me. ( )shouldest not thou also have had pity on thy fellow-servant, as i too had pity on thee? ( )and his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him. ( )so also will my heavenly father do to you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother. xix. and it came to pass, when jesus finished these sayings, that he departed from galilee, and came into the borders of judaea beyond the jordan. ( )and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there. ( )and the pharisees came to him, tempting him and saying: is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? ( )and he answering said to them: have ye not read, that he who made them[ : ] from the beginning made them male and female, ( )and said: for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. ( )so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. what therefore god joined together, let not man put asunder. ( )they say to him: why then did moses command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? ( )he says to them: moses, for your hardness of heart, suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. ( )and i say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her when put away, commits adultery. ( )his disciples say to him: if the case of the man with the woman is so, it is not good to marry. ( )but he said to them: not all can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. ( )for there are eunuchs, who were so born from the mother's womb; and there are eunuchs, who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs, who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. he that is able to receive it, let him receive it. ( )then were brought to him little children, that he might put his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ( )but jesus said: suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. ( )and he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. ( )and, behold, one came to him and said: teacher, what good shall i do, that i may have eternal life? ( )and, he said to him: why dost thou ask me concerning good? one is the good. but if thou desirest to enter into life, keep the commandments. ( )he says to him, which? jesus said: thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; ( )honor thy father and thy mother; and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ( )the young man says to him: all these i kept; what do i yet lack? ( )jesus said to him: if thou desirest to be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. ( )but when the young man heard this saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. ( )and jesus said to his disciples: verily i say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )and again i say to you: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and the disciples, hearing it, were exceedingly amazed, saying: who then can be saved? ( )but jesus, looking on them, said to them: with men this is impossible; but with god all things are possible. ( )then peter answering said to him: behold, we forsook all, and followed thee; what then shall we have? ( )and jesus said to them: verily i say to you, that ye who followed me, in the renovation, when the son of man shall sit on his throne of glory, shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. ( )and every one who forsook houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive manifold more, and shall inherit everlasting life. ( )but many first will be last, and last first. xx. for the kingdom of heaven is like to a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. ( )and having agreed with the laborers for a denary[ : ] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ( )and he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place. ( )and to them he said: go ye also into the vineyard, and whatever is right i will give you. and they went their way. ( )again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. ( )and about the eleventh he went out, and found others standing, and says to them: why stand ye here all the day idle? ( )they say to him: because no one hired us. he says to them: go ye also into the vineyard. ( )and when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward: call the laborers, and pay them the hire, beginning from the last, unto the first. ( )and they of the eleventh hour came, and received every man a denary. ( )but when the first came, they supposed that they should receive more; and they also received each one a denary. ( )and on receiving it, they murmured against the householder, ( )saying: these last labored one hour, and thou madest them equal to us, who bore the burden of the day, and the burning heat. ( )but he answering said to one of them: friend, i do thee no wrong. didst thou not agree with me for a denary? ( )take what is thine, and go. but i will give to this last, even as to thee. ( )is it not lawful for me to do what i will with my own? is thine eye evil, because i am good? ( )so will the last be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen. ( )and jesus, going up to jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart; and in the way he said to them: ( )behold, we are going up to jerusalem; and the son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, ( )and will deliver him to the gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify; and on the third day he will rise again. ( )then came to him the mother of the sons of zebedee, with her sons, bowing down and asking a certain thing of him. ( )and he said to her: what wilt thou? she says to him: command that these my two sons shall sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left, in thy kingdom. ( )but jesus answering said: ye know not what ye ask. are ye able to drink of the cup that i shall drink of? they say to him: we are able. ( )and he says to them: ye shall drink indeed of my cup; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but is for them for whom it has been prepared by my father. ( )and the ten, hearing it, were much displeased with the two brothers. ( )but jesus, having called them to him, said: ye know that the rulers of the gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them. ( )not so shall it be among you; ( )but whoever would become great among you, let him be your minister; and whoever would be first among you, let him be your servant; ( )even as the son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ( )and as they were going forth from jericho, a great multitude followed him. ( )and behold, two blind men sitting by the way-side, hearing that jesus was passing by, cried, saying: have mercy on us, o lord, son of david. ( )and the multitude rebuked them, that they should hold their peace. but they cried the more, saying: have mercy on us, o lord, son of david. ( )and jesus stood still, and called them, and said: what will ye that i shall do to you? ( )they say to him: lord, that our eyes may be opened. ( )and jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight; and they followed him. xxi. and when they drew near to jerusalem, and came to bethphage, at the mount of the olives, jesus sent forth two disciples, ( )saying to them: go into the village over against you, and straightway ye will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose and bring them to me. ( )and if any one say aught to you, ye shall say: the lord has need of them; and straightway he will send them. ( )now all this has been done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying: ( )say to the daughter of zion, behold, thy king comes to thee, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. ( )and the disciples, having gone and done as jesus commanded them, ( )brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their garments, and he sat thereon. ( )and most of the multitude spread their own garments in the way; and others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed in the way. ( )and the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying: hosanna[ : ] to the son of david; blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord; hosanna in the highest. ( )and as he entered into jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying: who is this? ( )and the multitudes said: this is jesus the prophet, from nazareth of galilee. ( )and jesus entered into the temple of god, and cast out all that sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves. ( )and he says to them: it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye make it a den of robbers. ( )and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ( )but the chief priests and the scribes, seeing the wonders that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, hosanna to the son of david, were much displeased, ( )and said to him: dost thou hear what these say? and jesus says to them: yea; did ye never read: from the mouth of babes and sucklings thou preparedst praise? ( )and leaving them, he went forth out of the city into bethany, and lodged there. ( )and in the morning, as he was returning into the city, he hungered. ( )and seeing a fig-tree by the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only. and he says to it: let there be no fruit from thee henceforward, forever. and immediately the fig-tree withered away. ( )and the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: how did the fig-tree immediately wither away? ( )and jesus answering said to them: verily i say to you, if ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what is done to the fig-tree, but even if ye say to this mountain, be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. ( )and all things whatever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. ( )and when he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said: by what authority doest thou these things; and who gave thee this authority? ( )and jesus answering said to them: i also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, i too will tell you by what authority i do these things. ( )john's immersion, whence was it? from heaven, or from men? and they reasoned among themselves, saying: if we say, from heaven, he will say to us: why then did ye not believe him? ( )but if we say, from men, we fear the multitude; for all hold john as a prophet. ( )and they answered jesus, saying: we do not know. and he said to them: neither do i say to you, by what authority i do these things. ( )but what think ye? a man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said: son, go work to-day in the vineyard. ( )and he answering said: i will not; but afterward he repented, and went. ( )and he came to the other[ : ], and said likewise. and he answering said: i will, sir; and went not. ( )which of the two did the father's will? they say to him: the first[ : ]. jesus says to them: verily i say to you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of god before you. ( )for john came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye did not believe him; but the publicans and the harlots believed him; and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. ( )hear another parable. there was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husband-men, and went abroad. ( )and when the season of fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits. ( )and the husbandmen taking his servants, beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. ( )again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did to them likewise. ( )and afterward he sent to them his son, saying: they will reverence my son. ( )but the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves: this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and have his inheritance. ( )and taking him, they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ( )when therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? ( )they say to him: he will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will deliver over to him the fruits in their seasons. ( )jesus says to them: did ye never read in the scriptures: the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is become the head of the corner; this is from the lord, and is wonderful in our eyes. ( )therefore i say to you, that the kingdom of god shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ( )and he that falls upon this stone will be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. ( )and the chief priests and pharisees, hearing his parables, knew that he spoke of them. ( )and they sought to lay hold of him, but feared the multitudes, since they held him as a prophet. xxii. and jesus answering spoke to them again in parables, saying: ( )the kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, who made a marriage for his son. ( )and he sent forth his servants to call those who were bidden to the wedding; and they would not come. ( )again he sent forth other servants, saying: tell those who are bidden, behold, i have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come to the marriage. ( )but they made light of it, and went away, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. ( )and the rest laid hold of his servants, and ill-treated and slew them. ( )and the king, hearing it, was angry; and sending forth his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. ( )then he says to his servants: the wedding is ready, but they who were bidden were not worthy. ( )go therefore into the thoroughfares, and as many as ye find, bid to the marriage. ( )and those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was furnished with guests. ( )and the king, coming in to view the guests, saw there a man not clothed with a wedding garment; ( )and he says to him: friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? and he was speechless. ( )then the king said to the attendants: bind him hand and foot, and cast him forth into the outer darkness. there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth! ( )for many are called, but few are chosen. ( )then the pharisees went and took counsel, how they might ensnare him with a word[ : ]. ( )and they send out to him their disciples, with the herodians, saying: teacher, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of god in truth; neither carest thou for any one, for thou regardest not the person of men. ( )tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou? is it lawful to give tribute to caesar, or not? ( )but jesus, knowing their wickedness, said: why tempt ye me, hypocrites! ( )show me the tribute money. and they brought to him a denary[ : ]. ( )and he says to them: whose is this image, and the inscription? ( )they say to him: caesar's. then says he to them; render therefore to caesar the things that are caesar's, and to god the things that are god's. ( )and hearing it they wondered, and left him and went away. ( )on that day came to him sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, ( )saying: teacher, moses said, if any one die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. ( )now there were with us seven brothers; and the first married and died, and having no seed left his wife to his brother. ( )likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. ( )and last of all the woman died also. ( )in the resurrection therefore, of which of the seven shall she be wife? for they all had her. ( )jesus answering said to them: ye err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of god. ( )for in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of god in heaven. ( )but concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken to you by god, saying: ( )i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob? god is not the god of the dead, but of the living. ( )and the multitudes, hearing it, were astonished at his teaching. ( )and the pharisees, hearing that he had put the sadducees to silence, collected together; ( )and one of them, a lawyer, asked, tempting him and saying: ( )teacher, what commandment is great in the law? ( )jesus said to him: thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ( )this is the great and first commandment. ( )and the second is like to it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self. ( )on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. ( )while the pharisees were collected together, jesus asked them, ( )saying: what think ye concerning the christ? of whom is he the son? they say to him: of david. ( )he says to them: how then does david, in the spirit, call him lord, saying: ( )the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, till i put thine enemies under thy feet. ( )if then david calls him lord, how is he his son? ( )and no one was able to answer him a word; nor durst any one from that day question him any more. xxiii. then jesus spoke to the multitudes, and to his disciples, ( )saying: the scribes and the pharisees sat down in moses' seat. ( )all, therefore, whatever they bid you, do and observe; but do not according to their works, for they say and do not. ( )for they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but will not move them with their finger. ( )but all their works they do to be seen by men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes; ( )and love the first place at feasts, and the first seats in the synagogues, ( )and the greetings in the markets, and to be called by men, rabbi, rabbi[ : ]. ( )but be not ye called rabbi; for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. ( )and call not any your father on the earth; for one is your father, he who is in heaven. ( )neither be called leaders; for one is your leader, the christ. ( )but the greatest of you shall be your servant. ( )and whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. ( )but woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye go not in, nor suffer those who are entering to go in[ : ]: ( )woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye traverse sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more a child of hell than yourselves. ( )woe to you, blind guides, who say: whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is bound. ( )fools and blind; for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ( )and, whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is bound. ( )fools and blind; for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ( )he therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon. ( )and he that swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who dwells therein. ( )and he that swears by heaven, swears by the throne of god, and by him who sits thereon. ( )woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye pay tithe of the mint and the dill and the cumin, and omitted the weightier things of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not leave those undone. ( )blind guides! that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel. ( )woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, but within they are full of rapacity and excess. ( )blind pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and the platter, that its outside also may become clean. ( )woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but within are full of bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness. ( )so also ye outwardly indeed appear righteous to men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. ( )woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous, and say: ( )if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. ( )so that ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of those who killed the prophets; ( )and fill ye up the measure of your fathers! ( )serpents! brood of vipers! how can ye escape the judgment of hell? ( )therefore, behold, i send forth to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye will kill and crucify, and some of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city; ( )that on you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous abel to the blood of zechariah, son of barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. ( )verily i say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. ( )jerusalem! jerusalem! that killest the prophets, and stonest those sent to her; how often would i have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! ( )behold, your house is left to you desolate. ( )for i say to you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say: blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord. xxiv. and jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him, to show him the buildings of the temple. ( )and he answering said to them: see ye not all these things? verily i say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ( )and as he sat on the mount of the olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying: tell us, when will these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? ( )and jesus answering said to them: take heed, lest any one lead you astray. ( )for many will come in my name, saying: i am the christ; and will lead astray many. ( )and ye will hear of wars, and rumors of wars. take heed, be not troubled; for all must come to pass[ : ]; but not yet is the end! ( )for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ( )but all these are the beginning of sorrows. ( )then will they deliver you up unto affliction, and will kill you; and ye will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ( )and then will many be offended, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. ( )and many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. ( )and because iniquity abounds, the love of the many will become cold. ( )but he that has endured to the end, the same shall be saved. ( )and this good news of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations; and then shall come the end. ( )when therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, spoken of through daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads mark!) ( )then let those in judaea flee to the mountains; he that is upon the house, ( )let him not come down to take the things out of his house; ( )and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to take his garments. ( )but woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! ( )and pray that your flight be not in winter, nor on a sabbath. ( )for then will be great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no nor shall be. ( )and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the chosen, those days shall be shortened. ( )then if any one say to you: lo, here is the christ, or, here, believe it not. ( )for there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and will show great signs and wonders; so as, if possible, to lead even the chosen astray. ( )behold, i have told you before. ( )if therefore they say to you: behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. ( )for as the lightning comes forth from the east, and shines even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the son of man. ( )for wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ( )and immediately, after the affliction of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ( )and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth[ : ] mourn, and shall see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ( )and he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ( )and learn the parable from the fig-tree: when its branch is already become tender, and puts forth leaves, ye know that the summer is near. ( )so also ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. ( )verily i say to you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things are done. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. ( )but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only. ( )but as the days of noah, so shall be also the coming of the son of man. ( )for as they were in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that noah entered into the ark, ( )and knew not until the flood came, and took all away; so shall be also the coming of the son of man. ( )then shall there be two men in the field, one is taken, and one is left; ( )two women grinding at the mill, one is taken, and one is left. ( )watch therefore; for ye know not in what day[ : ] your lord comes. ( )but know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. ( )therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the son of man comes. ( )who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord set over his household, to give them their food in due season? ( )happy that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing! ( )verily i say to you, that he will set him over all his goods. ( )but if that evil servant shall say in his heart: my lord delays his coming; ( )and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; ( )the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looks not for it, and in an hour when he is not aware; ( )and will cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth! xxv. then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. ( )and five of them were wise, and five foolish. ( )the foolish, taking their lamps, took no oil with them; ( )but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ( )while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ( )and at midnight a cry was made: behold, the bridegroom! go out to meet him. ( )then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ( )and the foolish said to the wise: give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out. ( )but the wise answered, saying: not so; there will not be enough for us and you. go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. ( )and while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they who were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. ( )and afterward come also the rest of the virgins, saying: lord, lord, open to us. ( )but he answering said: verily i say to you, i know you not. ( )watch, therefore; because ye know not the day, nor the hour! ( )for as a man going abroad called his own servants, and delivered to them his goods; ( )and to one gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and straightway went abroad. ( )and he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained other five talents. ( )likewise also he that received the two gained other two. ( )but he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. ( )after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and reckons with them. ( )and he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying: lord, thou deliveredst to me five talents; behold, i gained other five talents beside them. ( )his lord said to him: well done, good and faithful servant; thou wast faithful over a little, i will set thee over much. enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ( )and he also that received the two talents came and said: lord, thou deliveredst to me two talents; behold, i gained other two talents beside them. ( )his lord said to him: well done, good and faithful servant; thou wast faithful over a little, i will set thee over much. enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ( )and he also that received the one talent came and said: lord, i knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou strewedst not. ( )and fearing, i went and hid thy talent in the earth. lo, thou hast thine own. ( )and his lord answering said to him: wicked and slothful servant! thou knewest that i reap where i did not sow, and gather where i strewed not? ( )thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers; and when i came, i should have received my own with interest. ( )take therefore the talent from him, and give to him that has the ten talents. ( )for to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that has not, even what he has shall be taken away. ( )and cast forth the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth! ( )and when the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then will he sit on his throne of glory. ( )and before him shall be gathered all the nations; and he will divide them one from another, as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. ( )and he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ( )then will the king say to those on his right hand: come, blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ( )for i was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; i was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; i was a stranger and ye took me in, ( )naked and ye clothed me; i was sick, and ye visited me; i was in prison, and ye came to me. ( )then will the righteous answer him, saying: lord, when saw we thee hungering and fed thee, or thirsting and gave thee drink? ( )and when saw we thee a stranger and took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? ( )and when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came to thee? ( )and the king will answer and say to them: verily i say to you, inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it to me. ( )then will he say also to those on the left hand: depart from me, accursed, into the everlasting fire; prepared for the devil and his angels. ( )for i was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; i was thirsty, and ye did not give me drink; ( )i was a stranger, and ye did not take me in; naked, and ye did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and ye did not visit me. ( )then will they also answer, saying: lord, when saw we thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? ( )then will he answer them, saying: verily i say to you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. ( )and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life. xxvi. and it came to pass, when jesus finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples: ( )ye know that after two days comes the passover, and the son of man is delivered up to be crucified. ( )then assembled together the chief priests, and the elders of the people, in the court of the high priest, who was called caiaphas, ( )and consulted together that they might take jesus by craft, and put him to death. ( )but they said: not at the feast, that there may not be a tumult among the people. ( )and jesus being in bethany, in the house of simon the leper, ( )there came to him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ( )and his disciples seeing it were displeased, saying: to what purpose is this waste? ( )for this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. ( )and jesus knowing it, said to them: why trouble ye the woman? for she wrought a good work upon me. ( )for the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always. ( )for she, in pouring this ointment on my body, did it to prepare me for burial. ( )verily i say to you, wherever this good news shall be preached in the whole world, this also that she did shall be told, for a memorial of her. ( )then one of the twelve, called judas iscariot, went to the chief priests, ( )and said: what will ye give me, and i will deliver him to you? and they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver. ( )and from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him up. ( )and on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to jesus, saying to him: where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? ( )and he said: go into the city to such a man, and say to him: the teacher says, my time is at hand; i will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. ( )and the disciples did as jesus directed them, and made ready the passover. ( )and when evening was come, he reclined at table with the twelve. ( )and as they were eating, he said: verily i say to you, that one of you will betray me. ( )and they were exceedingly sorrowful, and began to say to him, each one: lord, is it i? ( )and he answering said: he that dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same will betray me. ( )the son of man goes indeed, as it is written of him; but woe to that man through whom the son of man is betrayed! it were good for him, if that man had not been born. ( )and judas, his betrayer, answering said: rabbi, is it i? he says to him: thou saidst it. ( )and as they were eating, jesus took the loaf[ : ], and blessed, and broke, and gave to the disciples, and said: take, eat; this is my body. ( )and he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: drink all ye of it. ( )for this is my blood of the new covenant[ : ], which is shed for many, for remission of sins. ( )and i say to you, that i will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when i drink it new with you, in the kingdom of my father. ( )and having sung, they went out into the mount of the olives. ( )then jesus says to them: all ye will be offended because of me this night. for it is written: i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. ( )but after i have risen, i will go before you into galilee. ( )peter answering said to him: though all shall be offended because of thee, i will never be offended. ( )jesus said to him: verily i say to thee, that this night, before a cock crows, thou wilt thrice deny me. ( )peter says to him: even though i should die with thee, i will not deny thee. likewise also said all the disciples. ( )then jesus comes with them to a place called gethsemane, and says to the disciples: sit ye here, while i go yonder and pray. ( )and taking with him peter and the two sons of zebedee, he began to be sorrowful, and to be troubled. ( )then says he to them: my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, unto death. tarry ye here, and watch with me. ( )and going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying, and saying: my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me. but yet, not as i will, but as thou wilt. ( )and he comes to the disciples, and finds them sleeping; and he says to peter: were ye so unable to watch with me one hour? ( )watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ( )again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying: my father, if this can not pass away from me, except i drink it, thy will be done. ( )and coming he again found them sleeping; for their eyes were heavy. ( )and leaving them, he went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ( )then he comes to his disciples, and says to them: do ye sleep the remaining time, and take your rest[ : ]! behold, the hour is at hand, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ( )rise, let us be going. behold, he is at hand that betrays me. ( )and while he was yet speaking, behold, judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ( )and his betrayer gave them a sign, saying: whom i shall kiss, that is he; hold him fast. ( )and forthwith he came to jesus, and said: hail, rabbi; and kissed him. ( )and jesus said to him: friend, wherefore art thou come? then they came, and laid hands on jesus, and held him fast. ( )and, behold, one of those who were with jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and striking the servant of the high priest took off his ear. ( )then says jesus to him: put back thy sword into its place; for all they who take the sword shall perish with the sword. ( )thinkest thou that i can not now pray to my father, and he will send[ : ] me more than twelve legions of angels? ( )how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? ( )in that hour jesus said to the multitudes: are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves, to take me? i sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye did not lay hold of me. ( )but all this has been done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. then the disciples all forsook him, and fled. ( )and they who laid hold of jesus led him away to caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ( )and peter followed him afar off, unto the court of the high priest; and entering in, he sat with the servants, to see the end. ( )and the chief priests, and the elders, and all the council, sought false witness against jesus, that they might put him to death; ( )and found none, though many false witnesses came. but at last came two, ( )and said: this man said, i am able to destroy the temple of god, and to build it in three days. ( )and the high priest arose, and said to him: answerest thou nothing? what do these witness against thee? ( )but jesus was silent. and the high priest answering said to him: i adjure thee by the living god, that thou tell us whether thou art the christ, the son of god. ( )jesus says to him: thou saidst it. but i say to you, hereafter ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. ( )then the high priest rent his clothes, saying: he blasphemed! what further need have we of witnesses? behold, ye now heard his blasphemy. ( )what think ye? they answering said: he is guilty of death. ( )then they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him, ( )saying: prophesy to us, o christ, who is he that struck thee? ( )and peter was sitting without, in the court. and a damsel came to him, saying: thou also wast with jesus the galilaean. ( )but he denied before all, saying: i know not what thou sayest. ( )and he having gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there: this man also was with jesus the nazarene. ( )and again he denied, with an oath: i do not know the man. ( )and after a little while, they that stood by came and said to peter: surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrays thee. ( )then he began to invoke curses, and to swear: i do not know the man. and immediately a cock crowed. ( )and peter remembered the word of jesus when he said: before a cock crows, thou wilt thrice deny me. and he went out, and wept bitterly. xxvii. and when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against jesus, so as to put him to death. ( )and having bound him, they led him away, and delivered him up to pontius pilate the governor. ( )then judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repenting brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ( )saying: i sinned in betraying innocent blood. and they said: what is it to us? look thou to it. ( )and casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went away and hanged himself. ( )and the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said: it is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood. ( )and they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. ( )wherefore that field was called the field of blood, unto this day. ( )then was fulfilled that which was spoken through jeremiah the prophet, saying: and they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, whom they of the sons of israel did price, ( )and gave them for the potter's field, as the lord appointed to me. ( )and jesus stood before the governor. and the governor questioned him, saying: art thou the king of the jews? and jesus said to him: thou sayest it. ( )and when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he made no answer. ( )then says pilate to him: hearest thou not what things they witness against thee? ( )and he made him no answer, not even to one word; so that the governor greatly wondered. ( )now at the feast the governor was wont to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. ( )and they had then a noted prisoner, called barabbas. ( )when therefore they were assembled, pilate said to them: whom will ye that i release to you? barabbas, or jesus who is called christ? ( )for he knew that through envy they delivered him up. ( )and as he sat on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying: have nothing to do with that just man; for i suffered much this day, in a dream, because of him. ( )and the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes, that they should ask for barabbas, and should destroy jesus. ( )and the governor answering said to them: which of the two will ye that i release to you? and they said: barabbas. ( )pilate says to them: what then shall i do with jesus, who is called christ? they all say to him: let him be crucified. ( )and the governor said: what evil then did he? but they cried the more, saying: let him be crucified. ( )and pilate, seeing that it avails nothing, but rather that a tumult is made, took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: i am innocent of the blood of this just man. look ye to it. ( )and all the people answering said: his blood be on us, and on our children. ( )then he released to them barabbas; but jesus, having scourged him, he delivered up to be crucified. ( )then the soldiers of the governor took jesus into the pretorium, and gathered to him the whole band. ( )and they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. ( )and having platted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: hail, king of the jews! ( )and they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. ( )and when they had mocked him, they took off the robe from him, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify him. ( )and as they came out they found a man of cyrene, simon by name; him they compelled to bear his cross. ( )and having come to a place called golgotha (which is called, place of a skull), ( )they gave him vinegar to drink[ : ], mingled with gall; and tasting it, he would not drink. ( )and having crucified him, they divided his garments among them, casting lots. ( )and sitting down, they watched him there. ( )and they set up over his head his accusation, written: this is jesus the king of the jews. ( )two robbers are then crucified with him, one on the right hand, and one on the left. ( )and those passing by reviled him, wagging their heads, ( )and saying: thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. if thou art the son of god, come down from the cross. ( )likewise also the chief priests mocking, with the scribes and elders, said: ( )others he saved, himself he can not save. if he is king of israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. ( )he trusts in god; let him now deliver him, if he desires him; for he said i am the son of god. ( )and also the robbers, who were crucified with him, reproached him with the same thing. ( )and from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land, unto the ninth hour. ( )and about the ninth hour jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: eli, eli, lema sabachthani? that is: my god, my god, why didst thou forsake me? ( )some of those standing there, hearing it, said: this man calls for elijah[ : ]. ( )and straightway one of them ran and took a sponge, and having filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed, gave him to drink. ( )but the rest said: let alone; let us see whether elijah comes to save him. ( )and jesus, again crying with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit. ( )and behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent; ( )and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who have fallen asleep arose, ( )and coming out of the tombs, after his resurrection, went into the holy city, and appeared to many. ( )and the centurion, and they that with him were watching jesus, on seeing the earthquake, and the things that were done, were exceedingly afraid, saying: truly this was the son of god. ( )and many women were there, beholding afar off, they who followed jesus from galilee, ministering to him; ( )among whom was mary the magdalene, and mary the mother of james and joses, and the mother of the sons of zebedee. ( )and evening having come, there came a rich man from arimathaea, named joseph, who also himself was a disciple of jesus. ( )this man went to pilate, and asked for the body of jesus. then pilate commanded that the body should be given up. ( )and taking the body, joseph wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ( )and laid it in his own new tomb, which he hewed out in the rock. and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, he departed. ( )and mary the magdalene was there, and the other mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. ( )and on the morrow, which is after the preparation, the chief priests and the pharisees came together to pilate, ( )saying: sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive: after three days i will rise. ( )command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made secure until the third day lest his disciples come and steal him away, and say to the people: he is risen from the dead; and the last error will be worse than the first. ( )pilate said to them: ye have a watch; go, make secure, as ye know how. ( )and they went, and made the sepulchre secure, sealing the stone, in connection with the watch. xxviii. and late in the sabbath, as it was dawning into the first day of the week, came mary the magdalene and the other mary to view the sepulchre. ( )and behold, there was a great earthquake. for an angel of the lord, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. ( )his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; ( )and for fear of him the keepers shook, and became as dead men. ( )and the angel answering said to the women: fear not ye; for i know that ye are seeking jesus, who was crucified. ( )he is not here; for he is risen, as he said. come hither, see the place where the lord lay. ( )and go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. and behold, he goes before you into galilee; there ye shall see him. behold, i told you. ( )and going out quickly from the sepulchre, with fear and great joy, they ran to bring his disciples word. ( )and behold, jesus met them, saying: all hail! and they, coming to him, laid hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ( )then jesus says to them: be not afraid; go, bear word to my brethren, to go away into galilee, and there they shall see me. ( )and as they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and reported to the chief priests all the things that were done. ( )and having assembled with the elders, and taken counsel, they gave much money to the soldiers, ( )saying: say, that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. ( )and if this shall be heard by the governor[ : ], we will persuade him, and make you secure. ( )and they, taking the money, did as they were taught. and this saying was reported abroad among the jews, until this day. ( )and the eleven disciples went away into galilee, into the mountain where jesus had appointed them. ( )and seeing him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ( )and jesus came and spoke to them, saying: all power was given to me in heaven and on earth. ( )go therefore, and disciple all the nations, immersing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit; ( )teaching them to observe all things, whatever i commanded you. and, behold, i am with you alway, unto the end of the world. the gospel according to mark. i. the beginning of the good news of jesus christ, son of god, ( )as it is written in isaiah the prophet: behold, i send forth my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; ( )the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make straight his paths. ( )john came immersing in the wilderness, and preaching the immersion of repentance unto remission of sins. ( )and there went out to him all the country of judaea, and all they of jerusalem; and they were immersed by him in the river jordan, confessing their sins. ( )and john was clothed with camel's hair, and with a leathern girdle about his loins, and ate locusts and wild honey. ( )and he preached, saying: there comes after me he that is mightier than i, the latchet of whose sandals i am not worthy to stoop down and loose. ( )i indeed immersed you in water; but he will immerse you in the holy spirit. ( )and it came to pass in those days, that jesus came from nazareth of galilee, and was immersed by john in the jordan. ( )and straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens parted, and the spirit as a dove descending upon him. ( )and there came a voice out of heaven: thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased. ( )and immediately the spirit drives him forth into the wilderness. ( )and he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. ( )and after john was delivered up, jesus came into galilee, publishing the good news of the kingdom of god[ : ], ( )and saying: the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god is at hand; repent, and believe in the good news. ( )and walking by the sea of galilee, he saw simon, and andrew, simon's brother, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ( )and jesus said to them: come after me, and i will cause you to become fishers of men. ( )and immediately leaving the nets, they followed him. ( )and going a little further, he saw james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, who also were in the ship mending the nets. ( )and straightway he called them; and leaving their father zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, they went after him. ( )and they enter into capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath he went into the synagogue, and taught. ( )and they were astonished at his teaching; for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. ( )and there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. and he cried out, ( )saying: what have we to do with thee[ : ], jesus, nazarene! didst thou come to destroy us? i know thee who thou art, the holy one of god. ( )and jesus rebuked him, saying: hold thy peace, and come out of him. ( )and the unclean spirit, tearing him, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ( )and they were all amazed; so that they questioned among themselves, saying: what is this[ : ]? a new teaching, with authority! and he commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him. ( )and immediately his fame spread abroad into all the surrounding region of galilee. ( )and immediately, having come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of simon and andrew, with james and john. ( )and the mother-in-law of simon was lying sick with fever; and immediately they tell him concerning her. ( )and he came and raised her up, taking hold of her hand; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered to them. ( )and evening having come, when the sun set, they brought to him all that were sick, and those possessed with demons. ( )and all the city was gathered together at the door. ( )and he healed many that were sick with divers diseases, and cast out many demons; and suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him. ( )and rising very early, by night, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. ( )and simon, and they who were with him, followed after him. ( )and having found him, they say to him: all are seeking thee. ( )and he says to them: let us go elsewhere, into the neighboring towns, that i may preach there also; for, for this i came forth. ( )and he was preaching in their synagogues, throughout all galilee, and casting out the demons. ( )and there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying to him: if thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me. ( )and jesus, moved with compassion, stretched forth his hand and touched him, and says to him: i will; be thou cleansed. ( )and immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. ( )and sternly charging him, he forthwith sent him away; ( )and says to him: see thou say nothing to any one; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing what moses commanded, for a testimony to them. ( )but he, going forth, began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the report; so that he could no longer openly enter into a city, but was without in desert places. and they came to him from every quarter. ii. and again he entered into capernaum after some days; and it was heard that he is in the house. ( )and straightway many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door; and he spoke the word to them. ( )and they come to him, bringing one that was palsied, borne by four. ( )and not being able to come near him, on account of the multitude, they uncovered the roof where he was; and having broken it up, they let down the bed whereon the palsied man lay. ( )and jesus, seeing their faith, says to the palsied man: child, thy sins are forgiven. ( )but there were some of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts: ( )why does this man speak thus? he blasphemes. who can forgive sins but one, god? ( )and jesus, immediately perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them: why reason ye these things in your hearts? ( )which is easier, to say to the palsied man, thy sins are forgiven; or to say, arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (he says to the palsied man,) ( )i say to thee, arise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house. ( )and he arose, and immediately taking up the bed went forth before all; so that all were amazed, and glorified god, saying: we never saw it thus. ( )and he went forth again by the sea-side; and all the multitude came to him, and he taught them. ( )and passing along, he saw levi the son of alpheus sitting at the place of receiving custom, and said to him: follow me. and rising up he followed him. ( )and it came to pass, as he reclined at table in his house, that many publicans and sinners were reclining with jesus and his disciples; for there were many, and they followed him. ( )and the scribes and the pharisees, seeing him eating with the sinners and publicans, said to his disciples: how is it that he eats and drinks with the sinners and the publicans? ( )and jesus, hearing it, says to them: they who are well need not a physician, but they who are sick. i came not to call righteous men, but sinners. ( )and the disciples of john, and the pharisees, were fasting[ : ]; and they come and say to him: why do the disciples of john and the pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? ( )and jesus said to them: can the sons of the bridechamber fast[ : ], while the bridegroom is with them? so long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can not fast. ( )but days will come, when the bridegroom will be taken from them; and then they will fast in that day. ( )no one sews a piece of unfulled cloth upon an old garment; else the new filling up of the old takes from it, and a worse rent is made. ( )and no one puts new wine into old skins; else the wine bursts the skins, and the wine is destroyed, and the skins[ : ]. ( )and it came to pass, that he went through the grain-fields on the sabbath; and his disciples began to go forward[ : ], plucking the ears of grain. ( )and the pharisees said to him: behold, why do they on the sabbath that which is not lawful? ( )and he said to them: did ye never read what david did, when he had need and hungered, himself and they who were with him; ( )how he went into the house of god, in the days of abiathar the high priest, and ate the show-bread, which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him? ( )and he said to them: the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. ( )so that the son of man is lord also of the sabbath. iii. and he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there, having his hand withered. ( )and they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath; that they might accuse him. ( )and he says to the man having the withered hand: arise, and come into the midst. ( )and he says to them: is it lawful to do good on the sabbath, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill? but they were silent. ( )and looking round on them with anger, being grieved for their hardness of heart, he says to the man: stretch forth thy hand. and he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored. ( )and going out, the pharisees immediately took counsel with the herodians against him, how they might destroy him. ( )and jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. and a great multitude from galilee followed; and from judaea, ( )and from jerusalem, and from idumea, and from beyond the jordan, and they about tyre and sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came to him. ( )and he spoke to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, that they might not throng him. ( )for he healed many, so that they pressed upon him to touch him, as many as had plagues. ( )and the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying: thou art the son of god. ( )and he strictly charged them that they should not make him known. ( )and he goes up into the mountain, and calls to him whom he would; and they went to him. ( )and he appointed twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, ( )and to have authority to heal sicknesses, and to cast out demons. ( )and simon he surnamed peter; ( )and james the son of zebedee, and john the brother of james; and he surnamed them boanerges, which is, sons of thunder; ( )and andrew, and philip, and bartholomew, and matthew, and thomas, and james the son of alpheus, and thaddeus, and simon the cananite[ : ], ( )and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. and they come into the house. ( )and the multitude comes together again, so that they could not even eat bread. ( )and hearing of it, his kinsmen went out to lay hold of him; for they said: he is beside himself. ( )and the scribes who came down from jerusalem said: he has beelzebul, and through the prince of the demons he casts out the demons. ( )and calling them to him, he said to them in parables: how can satan cast out satan? ( )and if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand. ( )and if a house be divided against itself, that house can not stand. ( )and if satan rose up against himself, and is divided, he can not stand, but has an end. ( )no one can enter into a strong man's house, and plunder his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will plunder his house. ( )verily i say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme. ( )but he that shall blaspheme against the holy spirit has no forgiveness forever, but is guilty of eternal sin; ( )because they said: he has an unclean spirit. ( )and his brothers and his mother come; and standing without they sent to him, calling him. ( )and a crowd was sitting about him; and they say to him: behold, thy mother and thy brothers without are seeking thee. ( )and he answered them, saying: who is my mother, or my brothers? ( )and looking round on those who sat about him, he said: behold my mother, and my brothers! ( )for whoever shall do the will of god, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. iv. and he began again to teach by the sea-side. and there was gathered to him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat down in the sea; and all the multitude was by the sea on the land. ( )and he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching: ( )hearken; behold, the sower went forth to sow. ( )and it came to pass, as he sowed, one fell by the way-side, and the birds came and devoured it. ( )and another fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had not depth of earth. ( )but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had not root, it withered away. ( )and another fell among the thorns; and the thorns came up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. ( )and another fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, thirty, and sixty, and a hundredfold. ( )and he said: he that has ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and when he was alone, they who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. ( )and he said to them: to you is given the mystery of the kingdom of god, but to those who are without, all things are done in parables; ( )that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn, and be forgiven. ( )and he says to them: know ye not this parable? and how will ye know all the parables? ( )the sower sows the word. ( )and these are they by the way-side; where the word is sown, and when they hear, satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in them. ( )and these are they likewise that are sown on the rocky places; who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ( )and have no root in themselves, but are only for a time. afterward, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they are offended. ( )and others are they that are sown among the thorns. these are they that hear the word, ( )and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ( )and these are they that are sown on the good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, in thirty, and in sixty, and in a hundredfold. ( )and he said to them: is the lamp brought that it may be put under the bushel, or under the bed? is it not, that it may be put on the lamp-stand? ( )for nothing is hidden, but it shall be manifested; nor was done in secret, but that it should come abroad. ( )if any one has ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and he said to them: take heed what ye hear. with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you, and there shall be added to you. ( )for he that has, to him shall be given; and he that has not, even what he has shall be taken from him. ( )and he said: so is the kingdom of god, as when a man has cast the seed upon the earth, ( )and sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows up, he knows not how. ( )for the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ( )but when the fruit permits, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. ( )and he said: how shall we liken the kingdom of god, or in what comparison shall we set it forth? ( )as a grain of mustard; which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth. ( )and when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the birds of the air can lodge under its shadow. ( )and with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear. ( )but without a parable he spoke not to them; and in private he explained all things to his disciples. ( )and on that day, when evening was come, he says to them: let us pass over to the other side. ( )and dismissing the multitude, they take him as he was in the ship. and there were also other ships with him. ( )and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was already becoming filled. ( )and he was in the stern, on the cushion, sleeping. and they awake him, and say to him: teacher, carest thou not that we perish? ( )and awaking, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: peace, be still. and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ( )and he said to them: why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? ( )and they feared exceedingly, and said one to another: who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? v. and they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the gerasenes. ( )and when he had come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, ( )who had his dwelling in the tombs; and no one could any longer bind him, not even with chains. ( )because he had often been bound with fetters and chains; and the chains had been torn asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, and no one could tame him. ( )and always, night and day, he was in the tombs, and in the mountains, crying out, and cutting himself with stones. ( )but seeing jesus afar off, he ran and bowed down to him, ( )and cried with a loud voice, and said: what have i to do with thee, jesus, son of the most high god? i adjure thee by god, do not torment me. ( )for he said to him: come forth, unclean spirit, out of the man. ( )and he asked him: what is thy name? and he says to him: my name is legion; because we are many. ( )and he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. ( )and there was there, by the mountain, a great herd of swine feeding. ( )and all the demons besought him, saying: send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. ( )and immediately jesus gave them leave. and coming out, the unclean spirits entered into the swine. and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, about two thousand, and were choked in the sea. ( )and they who fed them fled, and reported it in the city and in the country. and they came to see what it was that was done. ( )and they come to jesus, and see him who was possessed with demons, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, him who had the legion, and they were afraid. ( )and they who saw it related to them how it befell him who was possessed with demons, and concerning the swine. ( )and they began to beseech him to depart from their borders. ( )and as he was entering into the ship, he that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him. ( )and he suffered him not; but says to him: go into thy house, to thy friends, and announce to them how great things the lord has done for thee, and had compassion on thee. ( )and he departed, and began to publish in the decapolis how great things jesus did for him; and all wondered. ( )and jesus having passed over again in the ship to the other side, a great multitude was gathered to him; and he was by the sea. ( )and there comes one of the rulers of the synagogue, jairus by name. and seeing him, he fell at his feet, ( )and besought him much, saying: my little daughter lies at the point of death. i pray thee come, and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed and live. ( )and he went with him; and a great multitude was following him, and thronging him. ( )and a certain woman, who had a flow of blood twelve years, ( )and had suffered much by many physicians, and spent all that she had, and was not at all benefited but rather grew worse, ( )hearing of jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment. ( )for she said: if i touch even his garments, i shall be made whole. ( )and straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she perceived in her body that she was healed of that plague. ( )and immediately jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, turned about in the crowd, and said: who touched my garments? ( )and his disciples said to him: thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou: who touched me? ( )and he looked around to see her who had done this. ( )but the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. ( )and he said to her: daughter, thy faith has made thee whole; go in peace, and be healed of thy plague. ( )while he was yet speaking, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the teacher any further? ( )and jesus, overhearing the word that was spoken, says to the ruler of the synagogue: be not afraid; only believe. ( )and he suffered no one to follow with him, save peter, and james, and john the brother of james. ( )and they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he sees a tumult, and those who wept and wailed greatly. ( )and entering in, he says to them: why do ye make a tumult, and weep? the child is not dead, but is sleeping. ( )and they laughed him to scorn. but he, putting them all out, takes the father of the child, and the mother, and those who were with him, and enters in where the child was. ( )and taking the hand of the child, he says to her: talitha kumi; which is interpreted, damsel, i say to thee, arise. ( )and straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. and they were astonished with a great astonishment. ( )and he charged them strictly that no one should know this. and he commanded that something should be given her to eat. vi. and he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. ( )and when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue. and many hearing were astonished, saying: from whence has this man these things? and what is the wisdom which is given him, and such miracles wrought by his hands? ( )is not this the carpenter, the son of mary, and brother of james, and joses, and judas, and simon? and are not his sisters here with us? and they were offended at him. ( )and jesus said to them: a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kindred, and in his own house. ( )and he was not able to do any miracle there, save that he laid his hands on a few sick, and healed them. ( )and he marveled because of their unbelief. and he went about the surrounding villages, teaching. ( )and he called to him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; ( )and commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, save a staff only; no bread, no bag, no money, in their girdle; ( )but that they be shod with sandals and, put not on two coats. ( )and he said to them: wherever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart from thence. ( )and whatever place shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony to them[ : ]. ( )and they went out, and preached that men should repent. ( )and they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. ( )and the king, herod, heard of it, for his name was spread abroad; and he said: john the immerser is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him. ( )others said: it is elijah. and others said: it is a prophet, like any one of the prophets. ( )but herod hearing of it, said: john, whom i beheaded, is risen from the dead. ( )for he, herod, sent forth and laid hold of john, and bound him in prison, for the sake of herodias the wife of philip, his brother; because he had married her. ( )for john said to herod: it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. ( )and herodias was angry with him, and desired to put him to death; and she could not, ( )for herod feared john, knowing that he was a just and holy man; and he observed him[ : ], and hearing him did many things, and heard him gladly. ( )and a convenient day having come, when herod on his birthday made a supper for his nobles, and for the chief captains, and the first men of galilee; ( )and the daughter of herodias having come in and danced, it pleased herod and those reclining at table with him; and the king said to the damsel: ask of me whatever thou wilt, and i will give it thee. ( )and he swore to her: whatever thou shalt ask of me, i will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. ( )and she, going out, said to her mother: what shall i ask? and she said: the head of john the immerser. ( )and straightway she came in with haste to the king, and asked, saying: i will that immediately thou give me, on a platter, the head of john the immerser. ( )and the king became very sorrowful; but for the sake of his oath, and of those reclining with him, he would not reject her. ( )and immediately the king sent one of the guard, and commanded to bring his head. and he went and beheaded him in the prison, ( )and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. ( )and his disciples hearing of it came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. ( )and the apostles gather together unto jesus; and they reported to him all things, both what they did, and what they taught. ( )and he said to them: come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ( )and they departed into a desert place by ship privately. ( )and they saw them departing, and many knew them, and ran together there on foot from all the cities, and came before them. ( )and going forth he saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, because they were as sheep having no shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ( )and the day being now far spent, his disciples come to him, and say: the place is desert, and the time is now far passed. ( )dismiss them, that they may go away into the surrounding fields and villages, and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. ( )he answering said to them: give ye them to eat. and they say to him: shall we go and buy two hundred denaries worth of bread, and give them to eat? ( )he says to them: how many loaves have ye? go and see. and when they knew, they say: five, and two fishes. ( )and he commanded them to make all lie down by companies on the green grass. ( )and they lay down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. ( )and taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes he divided among them all. ( )and they all ate, and were filled. ( )and they took up fragments filling twelve baskets, and part of the fishes. ( )and they who ate of the loaves were five thousand men. ( )and straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the ship, and to go before to the other side to bethsaida, while he dismissed the multitude. ( )and having taken leave of them, he went away into the mountain to pray. ( )and when evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on the land. ( )and he saw them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them. and about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed by them. ( )and they seeing him walking on the sea, supposed it was a spectre, and cried out; ( )for all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and says to them: be of good cheer; it is i, be not afraid. ( )and he went up to them into the ship; and the wind ceased. and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. ( )for they considered not the loaves; for their heart was hardened. ( )and passing over, they came to the land of gennesaret, and anchored there. ( )and when they had come out of the ship, immediately recognizing him ( )they ran through all that region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick, where they heard he was. ( )and wherever he entered, into villages, or cities, or fields, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the fringe of his garment. and as many as touched him were made whole. vii. and there come together to him the pharisees and certain of the scribes, who came from jerusalem. ( )and seeing some of his disciples eating bread with defiled (that is, unwashen) hands, they found fault. ( )for the pharisees, and all the jews, except they carefully wash their hands, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders. ( )and coming from the market, except they immerse themselves, they do not eat. and there are many other things which they received to hold, immersions of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and couches. ( )and the pharisees and the scribes ask him: why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with defiled hands? ( )and he said to them: well did isaiah prophesy concerning you hypocrites; as it is written: this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ( )but in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines commandments of men. ( )for laying aside the commandment of god, ye hold the tradition of men, immersions of pots and cups; and many other such things ye do. ( )and he said to them: well do ye reject the commandment of god, that ye may keep your own tradition! ( )for moses said: honor thy father and thy mother; and he that curses father or mother, let him surely die. ( )but ye say: if a man say to his father or his mother, it is corban (that is, a gift) whatever thou mightest be profited with from me--[ : ]; ( )and ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother, ( )annulling the word of god by your tradition, which ye handed down. and many such things ye do. ( )and again calling to him the multitude, he said to them: hearken to me every one, and understand. ( )there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him; but the things that come out of him, these are they that defile the man. ( )if any one has ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and when he entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. ( )and he says to them: are ye so without understanding also? do ye not perceive, that whatever from without enters into the man can not defile him? ( )because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the drain, cleansing all food. ( )and he said: that which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. ( )for from within, out of the heart of men, come forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ( )thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, wantonness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. ( )all these evil things come forth from within, and defile the man. ( )and rising up he departed thence into the borders of tyre and sidon; and entering into a house, he desired that no one should know it. and he could not be hidden. ( )for a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, hearing of him, came and fell at his feet. ( )the woman was a greek, a syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast out the demon from her daughter. ( )and he said to her: let the children first be filled; for it is not good to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. ( )and she answered and said to him: yea, lord; for the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. ( )and he said to her: for this saying go thy way; the demon has gone out of thy daughter. ( )and departing to her house, she found the little child laid on the bed, and the demon gone out. ( )and again going forth out of the borders of tyre, he came through sidon to the sea of galilee, through the midst of the borders of decapolis. ( )and they bring to him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. ( )and taking him aside from the multitude he put his fingers into his ears, and spitting, touched his tongue, ( )and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and says to him: ephphatha, that is, be opened. ( )and straightway his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ( )and he charged them that they should tell no one. but the more he charged them, the more abundantly they published it; ( )and were beyond measure astonished, saying: he has done all things well; he makes both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. viii. in those days, there being a very great multitude, and they having nothing to eat, he called to him his disciples, and says to them: ( )i have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; ( )and if i dismiss them fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way; and some of them have come from afar. ( )and his disciples answered him: from whence will one be able to satisfy these men with bread, here in a wilderness? ( )and he asked them: how many loaves have ye? and they said: seven. ( )and he commanded the multitude to lie down on the ground. and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. ( )and they had a few small fishes; and having blessed them, he commanded to set these also before them. ( )and they ate, and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that were left seven baskets. ( )and they were about four thousand. and he dismissed them. ( )and straightway entering into the ship with his disciples, he came into the region of dalmanutha. ( )and the pharisees came out, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. ( )and sighing deeply in his spirit, he says: why does this generation seek a sign? verily i say to you, there shall no sign be given to this generation. ( )and leaving them, he entered again into the ship, and departed to the other side. ( )and they forgot to take bread; and they had none in the ship with them, except one loaf. ( )and he charged them, saying: take heed, beware of the leaven of the pharisees and the leaven of herod. ( )and they reasoned among themselves, saying: it is because we have no bread. ( )and jesus knowing it, says to them: why reason ye, because ye have no bread? do ye not yet perceive, nor understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? ( )having eyes, do ye not see? and having ears, do ye not hear? and do ye not remember? ( )when i broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did ye take up? they say to him: twelve. ( )and when the seven among the four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did ye take up? and they said: seven. ( )and he said to them: how is it that ye do not understand? ( )and they come to bethsaida. and they bring to him a blind man, and beseech him to touch him. ( )and taking the blind man by the hand, he led him forth out of the village; and spitting in his eyes, and putting his hands on him, he asked him if he beheld anything. ( )and looking up he said: i behold men; for i see them as trees walking. ( )then again he put his hands on his eyes, and he saw clearly; and he was restored, and saw all things distinctly. ( )and he sent him away to his house, saying: go not even into the village, nor tell it to any in the village. ( )and jesus went out, and his disciples, into the villages of caesarea philippi: and in the way he asked his disciples, saying to them: who do men say that i am? ( )and they answered him saying: john the immerser; and others, elijah; and others, one of the prophets. ( )and he asked them: but who do ye say that i am? and peter answering says to him: thou art the christ. ( )and he charged them that they should tell no one concerning him. ( )and he began to teach them, that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ( )and he spoke that saying openly. and peter, taking him aside, began to rebuke him. ( )but he turning about, and seeing his disciples, rebuked peter, saying: get thee behind me, satan; for thou thinkest not the things of god, but those of men. ( )and calling to him the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them: whoever desires to follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ( )for whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life, for the sake of me and of the glad tidings, shall save it. ( )for what will it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ( )or what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul? ( )for whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will also the son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels. ix. and he said to them: verily i say to you, that there are some of those standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of god already come with power. ( )and after six days jesus takes with him peter, and james, and john, and brings them up into a high mountain apart by themselves. and he was transfigured before them. ( )and his garments became shining, exceeding white as snow, such as no fuller on earth can whiten. ( )and there appeared to them elijah with moses; and they were talking with jesus. ( )and peter answering said to jesus: master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elijah. ( )for he knew not what to say; for they were sore afraid. ( )and there came a cloud overshadowing them; and a voice came out of the cloud: this is my beloved son; hear ye him. ( )and suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw any one, but jesus only with themselves. ( )and as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should relate what they had seen to no one, except when the son of man shall have risen from the dead. ( )and they kept the saying, questioning among themselves, what is the rising from the dead. ( )and they asked him, saying: why say the scribes that elijah must first come? ( )and he said to them: elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things. and how is it written of the son of man? that he must suffer many things, and be set at naught. ( )but i say to you, that elijah also has come, and they did to him whatever they would, as it is written of him. ( )and coming to his disciples he saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. ( )and straightway all the multitude seeing him were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. ( )and he asked them: what question ye with them? ( )and one of the multitude answered him: teacher, i brought to thee my son, having a dumb spirit. ( )and wherever it lays hold of him, it tears him, and he foams, and gnashes his teeth, and he pines away. and i spoke to thy disciples, that they should cast it out; and they could not. ( )and he answering, says to them: o faithless generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i bear with you? bring him to me. ( )and they brought him to him. and seeing him, straightway the spirit rent him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. ( )and he asked his father: how long is it, since this came upon him? and he said: from a child. ( )and ofttimes it cast him both into the fire, and into the water, to destroy him. but if thou art able to do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. ( )jesus said to him: if thou art able! all things are possible to the believing. ( )and straightway the father of the child cried out, and said: i believe; help thou my unbelief. ( )and jesus, seeing that a multitude came running together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him: dumb and deaf spirit, i charge thee, come out of him, and enter into him no more. ( )and crying out, and rending him sorely, it came out of him. and he became as one dead; so that many said: he is dead. ( )but jesus taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. ( )and when he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately: why could not we cast it out? ( )and he said to them: this kind can go out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting. ( )and going forth from thence, they passed through galilee and he would not that any one should know it. ( )for he taught his disciples, and said to them: the son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill him and when he is killed, after three days he will rise again. ( )but they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him. ( )and they came to capernaum. and having come into the house he inquired of them: of what were ye reasoning among yourselves by the way? ( )but they were silent; for by the way they had disputed with one another, who was greatest. ( )and sitting down, he called the twelve, and says to them: if any one desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. ( )and taking a child, he placed it in the midst of them; and folding it in his arms, he said to them: ( )whoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receives me and whoever shall receive me, receives not me, but him who sent me. ( )and john answered him, saying: teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name, who follows not us; and we forbade him, because he follows not us. ( )but jesus said: forbid him not; for there is no one who shall do a miracle in my name, and can lightly speak evil of me. ( )for he that is not against us is for us. ( )for whoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in that name, that ye are christ's, verily i say to you, he shall not lose his reward. ( )and whoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to offend, it is better for him that an upper millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. ( )and if thy hand cause thee to offend, cut it off. it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having the two hands to go into hell, into the fire that is unquenchable; ( )where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )and if thy foot cause thee to offend, cut it off. it is better for thee to enter into life lame, than having the two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that is unquenchable; ( )where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )and if thine eye cause thee to offend, pluck it out. it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of god with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire; ( )where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )for every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. ( )salt is good; but if the salt become saltless, wherewith will ye season it? have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. x. and rising up he goes thence into the borders of judaea, and the further side of the jordan. and again the multitudes come together to him; and as he was wont, he again taught them. ( )and the pharisees came to him, and asked him, if it is lawful for a man to put away a wife, tempting him. ( )and he answering said to them: what did moses command you? ( )and they said: moses permitted to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. ( )and jesus answering said to them: for your hardness of heart he wrote you this command. ( )but from the beginning of the creation, god made them male and female. ( )for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh. ( )so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. ( )what therefore god joined together, let not man put asunder. ( )and in the house his disciples asked him again concerning this. ( )and he says to them: whoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, commits adultery against her. ( )and if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she commits adultery. ( )and they brought little children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. ( )but jesus seeing it, was much displeased, and said to them: suffer the little children to come to me; forbid them not, for to such belongs the kingdom of god. ( )verily i say to you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, shall not enter therein. ( )and he folded them in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them. ( )and as he was going forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeling to him, and asked him: good teacher, what shall i do that i may inherit eternal life? ( )and jesus said to him: why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, god. ( )thou knowest the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother. ( )and he answering said to him: teacher, all these i kept from my youth. ( )and jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him: one thing thou lackest; go, sell whatever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. ( )and he became sad at that saying, and went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. ( )and looking around, jesus says to his disciples: how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of god! ( )and the disciples were astonished at his words. but jesus answering again says to them: children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of god! ( )it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and they were exceedingly amazed, saying among themselves: who then can be saved? ( )and jesus, looking on them, says: with men it is impossible, but not with god; for with god all things are possible. ( )peter began to say to him: lo, we forsook all, and followed thee. ( )and jesus answering said: verily i say to you, there is no one who forsook house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for the sake of me and of the glad tidings, ( )but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life. ( )but many first will be last, and the last first. ( )and they were in the way going up to jerusalem. and jesus was going before them; and they were amazed, and as they followed they were afraid. and again he took with him the twelve, and began to say to them what things should happen to him: ( )behold, we are going up to jerusalem; and the son of man will be delivered up to the chief priests, and to the scribes; and they will condemn him to death and will deliver him up to the gentiles; ( )and they will mock him, and scourge him, and spit upon him, and will kill him; and after three days he will rise again. ( )and james and john, the sons of zebedee, come to him saying: teacher, we desire that thou shouldst do for us whatever we shall ask. ( )and he said to them: what do ye desire that i should do for you? ( )they said to him: grant to us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy glory. ( )and jesus said to them: ye know not what ye ask. are ye able to drink the cup that i drink, or to endure the immersion which i endure? ( )and they said to him: we are able. and jesus said to them: ye shall indeed drink the cup that i drink, and endure the immersion which i endure. ( )but to sit on my right hand, or on the left, is not mine to give, but is for them for whom it has been prepared. ( )and the ten, hearing it, began to be much displeased with james and john. ( )and jesus, calling them to him, says to them: ye know that they who are accounted to rule[ : ] over the gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. ( )but it is not so among you. but whoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; ( )and whoever would become chiefest of you, shall be servant of all. ( )for even the son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ( )and they come to jericho. and as he was going forth from jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of timaeus, bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way-side. ( )and hearing that it is jesus the nazarene, he began to cry out, and say: son of david, jesus, have mercy on me. ( )and many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. but he cried all the more: son of david, have mercy on me. ( )and jesus stood still, and said: call him. and they call the blind man, saying to him: be of good cheer; rise, he calls thee. ( )and he, casting away his garment, leaped up, and came to jesus. ( )and jesus answering said to him: what wilt thou that i should do to thee? the blind man said to him: lord, that i may receive sight. ( )and jesus said to him: go thy way; thy faith has made thee whole. and immediately he received sight, and followed him in the way. xi. and when they come near to jerusalem, to bethphage and bethany at the mount of the olives, he sends forth two of his disciples, ( )and says to them: go into the village over against you; and immediately, on entering into it, ye will find a colt tied, whereon no man has sat; loose and bring him. ( )and if any one say to you: why do ye this? say: the lord has need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. ( )and they departed, and found a colt tied by the door without, on the street; and they loose him. ( )and some of those standing there, said to them: what do ye, loosing the colt? ( )and they said to them as jesus commanded; and they let them go. ( )and they bring the colt to jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. ( )and many spread their garments in the way, and others branches, cutting them from the fields[ : ]. ( )and they that went before, and they that followed, cried: hosanna! blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord; ( )blessed is the coming kingdom of our father david; hosanna in the highest! ( )and he entered into jerusalem, and into the temple; and having looked around on all things, the evening being now come, he went out to bethany with the twelve. ( )and on the morrow, when they had come out from bethany, he was hungry. ( )and seeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon. and coming to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs. ( )and answering he said to it: let no one eat fruit from thee, henceforth forever. and his disciples heard it. ( )and they come into jerusalem. and entering into the temple, he began to cast out those who sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold doves; ( )and suffered not that any one should carry a vessel through the temple. ( )and he taught, saying to them: is it not written: my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. ( )and the chief priests and the scribes heard it. and they sought how they might destroy him; for they feared him, for all the multitude was astonished at his teaching. ( )and when it became late, he went forth out of the city. ( )and passing by in the morning, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. ( )and peter, calling to remembrance, says to him: master, behold, the fig-tree which thou didst curse is withered away. ( )and jesus answering says to them: have faith in god. ( )verily i say to you, that whoever shall say to this mountain: be thou taken up and cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says comes to pass, he shall have it. ( )therefore i say to you: all things whatever ye ask, when ye pray, believe that ye received, and ye shall have them. ( )and when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. ( )but if ye do not forgive, neither will your father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses[ : ]. ( )and they come again into jerusalem. and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. ( )and they said to him: by what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority, to do these things? ( )and jesus answering said to them: i also will ask you one thing; and answer me, and i will tell you by what authority i do these things. ( )john's immersion, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me. ( )and they reasoned among themselves, saying: ( )if we say, from heaven; he will say, why then did ye not believe him? but shall we say from men? they feared the people; for all held that john was verily a prophet. ( )and answering they say to jesus: we do not know. and jesus says to them: neither do i say to you, by what authority i do these things. xii. and he began to speak to them in parables. a man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. ( )and at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard. ( )and they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty. ( )and again he sent to them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ( )and he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. ( )having yet therefore one beloved son, he sent him also to them last, saying: they will reverence my son. ( )but those husbandmen said among themselves: this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. ( )and they took, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. ( )what therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. ( )and have ye not read this scripture: the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is become the head of the corner; ( )this is from the lord, and is wonderful in our eyes. ( )and they sought to lay hold of him, but feared the people; for they knew that he spoke the parable against them; and they left him, and went away. ( )and they send to him some of the pharisees and of the herodians, to entrap him with a word. ( )and they come and say to him: teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest for no one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of god in truth. is it lawful to give tribute to caesar, or not? ( )shall we give, or shall we not give? but he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them: why tempt ye me? bring me a denary[ : ], that i may see it. ( )and they brought it. and he says to them: whose is this image, and the inscription? and they said to him: caesar's. ( )and jesus answering said to them: render to caesar the things that are caesar's, and to god the things that are god's. and they marveled at him. ( )and there come to him sadducees, who say there is no resurrection. and they asked him, saying: ( )teacher, moses wrote to us, that if one's brother die, and leave a wife behind, and leave no children, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed to his brother. ( )there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. ( )and the second took her, and died, and he also left no seed; and the third likewise. ( )and the seven took her, and left no seed. last of all the woman died also. ( )in the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, of which of them shall she be wife? for the seven had her for a wife. ( )jesus answering said to them: do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of god? ( )for when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels who are in heaven. ( )and concerning the dead, that they rise, have ye not read in the book of moses, at the bush, how god spoke to him, saying: i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob? ( )he is not god of the dead, but of the living. ye greatly err. ( )and one of the scribes came to him, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he answered them well, asked him: which commandment is first of all? ( )and jesus answered him: first is, hear, o israel; the lord is our god, the lord is one; ( )and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. this is the first commandment. ( )second is this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. there is no other commandment greater than these. ( )and the scribe said to him: well, teacher; thou saidst truly that he is one, and there is no other beside him; ( )and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all the whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices. ( )and jesus, seeing that he answered intelligently, said to him: thou art not far from the kingdom of god. and no one dared any longer to question him. ( )and jesus answering said, while teaching in the temple: how say the scribes that the christ is son of david? ( )for david himself said, in the holy spirit: the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, till i put thy enemies under thy feet. ( )david himself calls him lord; and whence is he his son? and the great multitude heard him gladly. ( )and he said to them in his teaching: beware of the scribes, who love to go about in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, ( )and the first seats in the synagogues, and the first places at the feasts; ( )who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation. ( )and sitting over against the treasury, he beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. ( )and one poor widow came, and cast in two mites, which are a farthing. ( )and calling to him his disciples, he said to them: verily i say to you, that this poor widow cast in more than all who are casting into the treasury. ( )for all cast in out of their abundance; but she, out of her want, cast in all that she had, her whole living. xiii. and as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples says to him: teacher, see what manner of stones, and what manner of buildings! ( )and jesus said to him: seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ( )and as he was sitting on the mount of the olives, over against the temple, peter and james and john and andrew asked him privately: ( )tell us, when will these things be? and what is the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished. ( )and jesus began to say to them: take heed lest any one lead you astray. ( )for many will come in my name, saying: i am he; and will lead many astray. ( )and when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled, for it must come to pass; but not yet is the end. ( )for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be earthquakes in divers places, and there will be famines and commotions; these are the beginning of sorrows. ( )but do ye take heed to yourselves; for they will deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues ye will be beaten; and ye will be brought before governors and kings for my sake for a testimony to them. ( )and the good news must first be preached among all the nations. ( )but when they lead you away to deliver you up, take not thought beforehand what ye shall speak nor premeditate; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak; for it is not ye that speak, but the holy spirit. ( )and the brother will deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and children will rise up against parents, and will put them to death. ( )and ye will be hated by all for my name's sake; but he that has endured unto the end, the same shall be saved. ( )but when ye see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, (let him that reads, mark!) then let those in judaea flee to the mountains. ( )and he that is upon the house, let him not go down into the house, nor enter in to take anything out of his house. ( )and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to take his garment. ( )but woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! ( )and pray that it be not in the winter. ( )for in those days will be affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which god created until now, neither shall be. ( )and if the lord had not shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen, whom he chose, he shortened the days. ( )and then if any one say to you: lo, here is the christ, or lo, there, believe not. ( )for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, so as to lead, if possible, even the chosen astray. ( )but do ye take heed; i have foretold you all. ( )but in those days, after that affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; ( )and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. ( )and then shall they see the son of man coming in clouds, with great power and glory. ( )and then will he send forth the angels, and gather together his chosen from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. ( )and learn the parable from the fig-tree. when its branch is already become tender, and puts forth leaves, ye know that summer is near. ( )so also ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know that it is near, at the doors. ( )verily i say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things are done. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. ( )but of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but the father. ( )take heed, watch; for ye know not when the time is. ( )as a man who is abroad, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, also commanded the porter that he should watch; ( )watch therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house comes, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; ( )lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. ( )and what i say to you, i say to all, watch. xiv. two days after, was the passover, and the feast of unleavened bread; and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. ( )for they said: not at the feast, lest there shall be a tumult of the people. ( )and he being in bethany, in the house of simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of pure spikenard, very precious; and she broke the box, and poured it on his head. ( )and there were some that were much displeased among themselves, and said: why was this waste of the ointment made? ( )for this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denaries, and given to the poor. and they murmured at her. ( )and jesus said: let her alone; why do ye trouble her? she wrought a good work on me. ( )for the poor ye have always with you, and when ye will ye can do good to them; but me ye have not always. ( )she did what she could; she beforehand anointed my body for the preparation for burial. ( )verily i say to you, wherever the good news shall be preached in the whole world, this also that she did shall be told for a memorial of her. ( )and judas iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to deliver him up to them. ( )and they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. and he sought how he might conveniently deliver him up. ( )and on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples say to him: where wilt thou that we go and prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover? ( )and he sends forth two of his disciples, and says to them: go into the city, and there will meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him. ( )and where he shall go in, say to the master of the house: the teacher says, where is the guest-chamber, in which i may eat the passover with my disciples? ( )and he will show you a large upper room furnished, ready; there prepare for us. ( )and his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he said to them; and they made ready the passover. ( )and at evening he comes with the twelve. ( )and as they were reclining at table, and eating, jesus said: verily i say to you, that one of you will betray me, one that eats with me! ( )and they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one: is it i? and another said: is it i? ( )and he answering said to them: it is one of the twelve, one that dips with me into the dish. ( )the son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him; but woe to that man through whom the son of man is betrayed! it were good for him if that man had not been born. ( )and as they were eating, jesus, taking a loaf, blessed, and broke, and gave it to them, and said: take it; this is my body. ( )and taking the cup, he gave thanks, and gave it to them; and they all drank of it. ( )and he said to them: this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many. ( )verily i say to you, i will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when i drink it new in the kingdom of god. ( )and having sung, they went out into the mount of the olives. ( )and jesus says to them: all ye will be offended; because it is written: i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. ( )but after i am risen, i will go before you into galilee. ( )and peter said to him: though all shall be offended, yet will not i. ( )and jesus says to him: verily i say to thee, that thou this day, in this night, before a cock crows twice, wilt thrice deny me. ( )but he said the more vehemently: if i should die with thee, i will not deny thee. likewise also said they all. ( )and they come to a place which was named gethsemane. and he says to his disciples: sit ye here, while i shall pray. ( )and he takes with him peter and james and john, and began to be sore amazed, and to be troubled. ( )and he says to them: my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, unto death; tarry here, and watch. ( )and going forward a little, he fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ( )and he said: abba, father, all things are possible to thee; take away this cup from me; but not what i will, but what thou wilt. ( )and he comes, and finds them sleeping. and he says to peter: simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one hour? ( )watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ( )and again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ( )and returning, he found them again sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they knew not what to answer him. ( )and he comes the third time, and says to them: do ye sleep the remaining time, and take your rest[ : ]? it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ( )rise, let us go; behold, he that betrays me is at hand. ( )and immediately, while he was yet speaking, comes judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ( )and his betrayer had given them a signal, saying: whom i shall kiss, that is he; lay hold of him, and lead him away securely. ( )and coming, he goes straightway to him, and says: master, master; and kissed him. ( )and they laid their hands on him, and held him fast. ( )and one of those standing by drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and took off his ear. ( )and jesus answering said to them: came ye out, as against a robber, with swords and staves to take me? ( )i was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye did not lay hold of me; but that the scriptures might be fulfilled! ( )and all forsook him, and fled. ( )and there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men lay hold of him. ( )and leaving behind the linen cloth, he fled from them naked. ( )and they led jesus away to the high priest; and with him assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ( )and peter followed him afar off, even into the court of the high priest, and was sitting with the officers, and warming himself at the fire. ( )and the chief priests and all the council sought for testimony against jesus, in order to put him to death; and they found none. ( )for many bore false witness against him; but their testimonies agreed not together. ( )and certain ones rose up, and bore false witness against him, saying: ( )we heard him say, i will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days i will build another made without hands. ( )and not even so did their testimony agree. ( )and the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked jesus, saying: answerest thou nothing? what do these witness against thee? ( )but he was silent, and answered nothing. again the high priest asked him, and said to him: art thou the christ, the son of the blessed? ( )and jesus said: i am; and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. ( )and the high priest, rending his clothes, says: what further need have we of witnesses? ( )ye heard the blasphemy. what think ye? and they all condemned him to be guilty of death. ( )and some began to spit on him, and to cover his face and buffet him, and say to him: prophesy. and the officers, with blows, took him in charge. ( )and peter being below in the court, there comes one of the maid-servants of the high priest; ( )and seeing peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said: thou also wast with jesus the nazarene. ( )but he denied, saying: i do not know, nor do i understand what thou sayest. and he went out into the fore-court; and a cock crowed. ( )and the maid-servant, seeing him, began again to say to those standing by: this is one of them. ( )and he again denied it. and a little after, they that stood by said again to peter: surely thou art one of them; for thou art a galilaean. ( )but he began to invoke curses, and to swear: i do not know this man of whom ye speak. ( )and a cock crowed a second time. and peter remembered the word, how jesus said to him: before a cock crows twice, thou wilt thrice deny me. and as he thought thereon, he wept. xv. and straightway, in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council, having held a consultation, bound jesus and carried him away, and delivered him up to pilate. ( )and pilate asked him: art thou the king of the jews? and he answering said to him: thou sayest it. ( )and the chief priests accused him of many things. ( )and pilate asked him again, saying: answerest thou nothing? behold what things they testify against thee. ( )but jesus no longer made any answer; so that pilate marveled. ( )and at the feast he released to them one prisoner, whomsoever they asked. ( )and there was the one called barabbas, bound with his companions in sedition, who in the sedition had committed murder. ( )and coming up, the multitude began to make request, according as he had always done for them. ( )and pilate answered them, saying: will ye that i release to you the king of the jews? ( )for he knew that through envy the chief priests had delivered him up. ( )but the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather release to them barabbas. ( )and pilate answering, said again to them: what will ye then that i shall do to him whom ye call the king of the jews? ( )and they cried again: crucify him. ( )and pilate said to them: what evil then has he done? and they cried the more exceedingly: crucify him. ( )and pilate, wishing to satisfy the multitude, released to them barabbas; and he delivered up jesus, after scourging him, to be crucified. ( )and the soldiers led him away into the court, which is praetorium; and they call together the whole band. ( )and they clothe him with purple, and having platted a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ( )and they began to salute him: hail, king of the jews! ( )and they smote him on the head with a reed, and spit upon him, and kneeling down, did homage to him. ( )and when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put on him his own garments. and they lead him out to crucify him. ( )and they compel one simon, a cyrenian, who was passing by, coming from the country, the father of alexander and rufus, to bear his cross. ( )and they bring him to the place golgotha, which is interpreted, place of a skull. ( )and they gave him wine mingled with myrrh; but he took it not. ( )and having crucified him, they divide his garments, casting lots upon them, what any one should take. ( )and it was the third hour; and they crucified him. ( )and the inscription of the accusation against him was written over: the king of the jews. ( )and with him they crucify two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left. ( )and the scripture was fulfilled, which says: and he was reckoned with transgressors. ( )and they that passed by railed at him, wagging their heads, and saying: aha, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days; ( )save thyself, and come down from the cross. ( )likewise also the chief priests, mocking one with another, together with the scribes, said: others he saved, himself he can not save. ( )let the christ, the king of israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. and they that were crucified with him reproached him. ( )and when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ( )and at the ninth hour jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani? which is interpreted: my god, my god, why didst thou forsake me? ( )and some of those standing by, hearing it, said: behold, he calls elijah. ( )and one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying: let alone; let us see whether elijah comes to take him down. ( )and jesus, uttering a loud cry, expired. ( )and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. ( )and the centurion who was standing near, over against him, seeing that he so cried out and expired, said: truly this man was the son of god. ( )and there were also women looking on afar off; among whom was also mary the magdalene, and mary the mother of james the younger and of joses, and salome; ( )who also, when he was in galilee, followed him, and ministered to him; and many other women who came up with him to jerusalem. ( )and evening having now come, since it was the preparation (which is the day before the sabbath[ : ]), ( )joseph from arimathaea, an honorable counselor, who also was himself waiting for the kingdom of god, came and went in boldly to pilate, and asked for the body of jesus. ( )and pilate marveled, if he were already dead; and calling to him the centurion, he asked him if he had been long dead. ( )and having learned it from the centurion, he gave the dead body to joseph. ( )and having bought fine linen, and taken him down, he wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. ( )and mary the magdalene, and mary the mother of joses, beheld where he was laid. xvi. and the sabbath being past, mary the magdalene, and mary the mother of james, and salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. ( )and very early, on the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, when the sun was risen. ( )and they said to one another: who will roll away the stone for us, out of the door of the sepulchre? ( )and looking up, they see that the stone has been rolled away. for it was very great. ( )and entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe; and they were affrighted. ( )and he says to them: be not affrighted. ye are seeking jesus the nazarene, who was crucified. he is risen; he is not here. behold the place where they laid him. ( )but go, say to his disciples, and to peter, that he goes before you into galilee. there shall ye see him, as he said to you. ( )and they went out, and fled from the sepulchre; for trembling and astonishment seized them. and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid. ( )and having risen early, on the first day of the week, he appeared first to mary the magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ( )she went and reported it to those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ( )and they, hearing that he is alive, and was seen by her, believed not. ( )after that he appeared in another form to two of them, as they walked, going into the country. ( )they also went and reported it to the rest; nor did they believe them. ( )afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they reclined at table, and upbraided their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not those who saw him after he was risen. ( )and he said to them: go into all the world, and preach the good news to every creature. ( )he that believes and is immersed shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be condemned. ( )and these signs shall accompany those who have believed; in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; ( )they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. ( )the lord therefore, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of god; ( )and they went forth, and preached everywhere, the lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. the gospel according to luke. i. forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a narration concerning the things fully believed among us[ : ], ( )as they, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, delivered them to us; ( )it seemed good to me also, having accurately traced all from the very first, to write to thee in order, most excellent theophilus; ( )that thou mightest know the certainty concerning those things[ : ] wherein thou wast instructed. ( )there was in the days of herod, the king of judaea, a certain priest, zachariah by name, of the course of abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of aaron, and her name was elisabeth. ( )and they were both righteous before god, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless. ( )and they had no child, because elisabeth was barren; and they both were now far advanced in years. ( )and it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before god, in the order of his course, ( )it fell to his lot, according to the custom of the priest's office, to burn incense, going into the temple of the lord. ( )and the whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of incense. ( )and there appeared to him an angel of the lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ( )and zachariah seeing him was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ( )but the angel said to him: fear not, zachariah; for thy prayer was heard, and thy wife elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name john. ( )and thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ( )for he shall be great before the lord; and he shall not drink wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the holy spirit, even from his mother's womb. ( )and many of the sons of israel shall he turn to the lord their god. ( )and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a prepared people for the lord. ( )and zachariah said to the angel: whereby shall i know this? for i am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years. ( )and the angel answering said to him: i am gabriel, that stands in the presence of god; and i was sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these glad tidings. ( )and, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou didst not believe thy words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. ( )and the people were waiting for zachariah; and they were wondering at his long tarrying in the temple. ( )and when he came out he was not able to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he was making signs to them, and remained speechless. ( )and it came to pass, when the days of his ministration were completed, that he departed to his own house. ( )and after those days his wife elisabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying: ( )thus has the lord dealt with me, in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. ( )and in the sixth month the angel gabriel was sent from god to a city of galilee, named nazareth, ( )to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david; and the virgin's name was mary. ( )and the angel coming in to her, said: hail, highly favored! the lord is with thee. blessed art thou among women. ( )and she was troubled at the saying; and was considering what manner of salutation this might be. ( )and the angel said to her: fear not, mary; for thou didst find favor with god. ( )and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name jesus. ( )he shall be great, and shall be called son of the highest; and the lord god will give to him the throne of david his father; ( )and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ( )then said mary to the angel: how shall this be, seeing that i know not a man? ( )and the angel answering said to her: the holy spirit will come upon thee, and the power of the highest will overshadow thee; therefore also the holy one that is born shall be called the son of god. ( )and, behold, elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren. ( )for with god nothing shall be[ : ] impossible. ( )and mary said: behold the handmaid of the lord; let it be to me according to thy word. and the angel departed from her. ( )and mary arose in those days, and went into the hill-country with haste, into a city of judah; ( )and entered into the house of zachariah, and saluted elisabeth. ( )and it came to pass, as elisabeth heard the salutation of mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and elisabeth was filled with the holy spirit. ( )and she spoke out with a loud voice and said: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ( )and whence is this to me, that the mother of my lord should come to me? ( )for, behold, as the voice of thy salutation came into my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ( )and happy is she, who believed that there shall be[ : ] a fulfillment of the things told her from the lord. ( )and mary said: my soul magnifies the lord; ( )and my spirit rejoiced in god my savior. ( )because he looked upon the low estate of his handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations will call me happy. ( )because the mighty one did great things for me; and holy is his name. ( )and his mercy is from generation to generation, to those who fear him. ( )he wrought might with his arm; he scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ( )he cast down princes from thrones, and exalted those of low degree. ( )the hungry he filled with good, and the rich he sent empty away. ( )he helped israel, his servant; to remember mercy, ( )as he spoke to our fathers, for abraham and for his seed forever. ( )and mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. ( )now elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. ( )and her neighbors and her kindred heard that the lord showed great mercy toward her; and they rejoiced with her. ( )and it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him zachariah, after the name of his father. ( )and his mother answered and said: nay; but he shall be called john. ( )and they said to her: there is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. ( )and they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. ( )and asking for a writing-tablet, he wrote, saying: his name is john. and they all wondered. ( )and his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue was loosed; and he spoke, blessing god. ( )and fear came on all that dwelt around them. and all these things[ : ] were told abroad in all the hill-country of judaea. ( )and all who heard laid them up in their hearts, saying: what then will this child be! and the hand of the lord was with him. ( )and zachariah his father was filled with the holy spirit, and prophesied, saying: ( )blessed be the lord, the god of israel, that he visited and wrought redemption for his people; ( )and raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of david his servant, ( )(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets of old,) ( )salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ( )to show mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; ( )the oath which he swore to abraham our father, ( )to grant to us, that without fear, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, we should serve him, ( )in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ( )and also thou, o child, shalt be called prophet of the highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the lord, to prepare his ways, ( )in order to give knowledge of salvation to his people in remission of their sins; ( )through the tender mercies of our god, whereby the dayspring from on high visited us, ( )to give light to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, in order to guide our feet into the way of peace. ( )and the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to israel. ii. and it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from caesar augustus, that all the world should be registered. ( )this registering was the first made when cyrenius was governor of syria. ( )and all went to be registered, each one to his own city. ( )and joseph also went up from galilee, out of the city of nazareth, into judaea, to the city of david which is called bethlehem (because he was of the house and family of david), ( )to be registered with mary his betrothed wife, who was with child. ( )and so it was, that, while they were there, the days were completed that she should bring forth. ( )and she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swathing bands, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ( )and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, and keeping watch over their flock by night. ( )and, behold, an angel of the lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone around them; and they were sore afraid. ( )and the angel said to them: fear not; for, behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people. ( )for to you is born this day in the city of david a savior, who is christ the lord. ( )and this shall be to you the sign: ye will find a babe wrapped in swathing bands, lying in a manger. ( )and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising god and saying: ( )glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. ( )and it came to pass, when the angels were gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said one to another: let us go now unto bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the lord made known to us. ( )and they came with haste, and found both mary and joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. ( )and having seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ( )and all that heard wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ( )and mary kept all these things[ : ], pondering them in her heart. ( )and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising god for all that they heard and saw, as it was told to them. ( )and when eight days were completed for circumcising him, his name was called jesus; the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ( )and when the days of their purification, according to the law of moses, were completed, they brought him up to jerusalem, to present him to the lord, ( )(as it is written in the law of the lord: every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the lord;) ( )and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the lord: a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons. ( )and, behold, there was a man in jerusalem, whose name was simeon; and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of israel; and the holy spirit was upon him, ( )and it was revealed to him by the holy spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the christ of the lord. ( )and he came by the spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, ( )then he took him into his arms, and blessed god, and said: ( )now, lord, thou lettest thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; ( )because my eyes saw thy salvation, ( )which thou preparedst before the face of all the peoples, ( )a light for a revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of thy people israel. ( )and his father and mother wondered at the things spoken of him. ( )and simeon blessed them, and said to mary his mother: behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against, ( )(and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also), that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. ( )and there was anna, a prophetess, daughter of phanuel, of the tribe of asher. she was of great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ( )and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, who departed not from the temple, serving day and night with fastings and prayers. ( )and she, coming up at that very time, likewise gave thanks to the lord, and spoke of him to all that were looking for the redemption of jerusalem. ( )and when they had performed all things according to the law of the lord, they returned into galilee, to their own city nazareth. ( )and the child grew, and became strong, being filled with wisdom; and the favor of god was upon him. ( )and his parents went to jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. ( )and when he was twelve years old, they having gone up according to the custom of the feast, ( )and completed the days, as they returned, jesus the child remained behind in jerusalem. and his parents knew it not, ( )but supposing that he was in the company, went a day's journey, and sought him among their kindred and acquaintance; ( )and not finding him, they returned to jerusalem, seeking him. ( )and it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and asking them questions. ( )and all that heard him, were astonished at his understanding and answers. ( )and seeing him they were amazed. and his mother said to him: child, why didst thou thus deal with us? behold, thy father and i sought thee, sorrowing. ( )and he said to them: how is it that ye sought me? did ye not know, that i must be in my father's house[ : ]? ( )and they understood not the saying which he spoke to them. ( )and he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject to them. and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ( )and jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with god and men. iii. now in the fifteenth year of the reign of tiberius caesar, when pontius pilate was governor of judaea, and herod tetrarch of galilee, and his brother philip tetrarch, of iturea and of the region of trachonitis, and lysanias tetrarch of abilene, ( )when annas was high priest and caiaphas, the word of god came to john, the son of zachariah, in the wilderness. ( )and he came into all the country about the jordan, preaching the immersion of repentance, unto remission of sins, ( )as it is written in the book of the words of isaiah the prophet: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make straight his paths. ( )every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be straight, and the rough ways smooth; ( )and all flesh shall see the salvation of god. ( )he said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be immersed by him: brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ( )bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and begin not to say within yourselves, we have abraham for our father; for i say to you, that god is able of these stones to raise up children to abraham. ( )and now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees. every tree therefore, that brings not forth good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. ( )and the multitudes asked him, saying: what then shall we do? ( )he answering says to them: he that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. ( )and there came also publicans to be immersed; and they said to him: teacher, what shall we do? ( )and he said to them: exact no more than that which is appointed you. ( )and soldiers also asked him, saying: what shall we also do? and he said to them: do violence to no one, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages[ : ]. ( )and while the people were in expectation, and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning john, whether he himself were not the christ, ( )john answered them all, saying: i indeed immerse you in water; but there comes he that is mightier than i, the latchet of whose sandals i am not worthy to loose; he will immerse you in the holy spirit and fire; ( )whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with fire unquenchable. ( )and with many other exhortations he published the good tidings to the people. ( )but herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him on account of herodias, the wife of his brother, and for all the evils which herod did, ( )added to all this also, that he shut up john in prison. ( )now it came to pass, when all the people had been immersed, that as jesus, having also been immersed, was praying, the heaven was opened, ( )and the holy spirit descended in a bodily shape as a dove upon him; and there came a voice out of heaven: thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased. ( )and jesus himself was, when he began[ : ], about thirty years of age; being the son (as was supposed) of joseph, the son of heli, ( )the son of matthat, the son of levi, the son of melchi, the son of janna, the son of joseph, ( )the son of matthias, the son of amos, the son of nahum, the son of esli, the son of naggai, ( )the son of maath, the son of mattathias, the son of shimei, the son of joseph, the son of judah, ( )the son of joanna, the son of reza, the son of zerubbabel, the son of salathiel, the son of neri, ( )the son of melchi, the son of addi, the son of cosam, the son of elmodam, the son of er, ( )the son of joses, the son of eliezer, the son of jorim, the son of matthat, the son of levi, ( )the son of simeon, the son of judah, the son of joseph, the son of jonan, the son of eliakim, ( )the son of meleah, the son of mainan, the son of mattatha, the son of nathan, the son of david, ( )the son of jesse, the son of obed, the son of boaz, the son of salmon, the son of nahon, ( )the son of amminadab, the son of ram, the son of hezron, the son of pharez, the son of judah, ( )the son of jacob, the son of isaac, the son of abraham, the son of terah, the son of nahor, ( )the son of serug, the son of reu, the son of peleg, the son of eber, the son of salah, ( )the son of cainan, the son of arphaxad, the son of shem, the son of noah, the son of lamech, ( )the son of methuselah, the son of enoch, the son of jared, the son of mehalaleel, the son of cainan, ( )the son of enos, the son of seth, the son of adam, the son of god. iv. and jesus, full of the holy spirit, returned from the jordan; and he was led in the sprit into the wilderness ( )forty days, tempted by the devil. and he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he hungered. ( )and the devil said to him: if thou art the son of god, command this stone that it become bread. ( )and jesus answered him, saying: it is written, man shall not live on bread alone. ( )and the devil, leading him up into a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ( )and the devil said to him: all this power will i give thee, and the glory of them; because it has been delivered to me, and i give it to whomsoever i will. ( )if thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. ( )and jesus answering said to him: it is written, thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve. ( )and he brought him to jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: if thou art the son of god, cast thyself down from hence. ( )for it is written: he will give his angels command concerning thee, to keep thee; ( )and on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. ( )and jesus answering said to him: it is said, thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god. ( )and having finished every temptation, the devil departed from him for a season. ( )and jesus returned in the power of the spirit into galilee; and there went out a report concerning him through all the surrounding country. ( )and he taught in their synagogues, being honored by all. ( )and he came to nazareth, where he had been brought up. and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day; and he stood up to read. ( )and there was delivered to him the book of the prophet isaiah. and unrolling the book, he found the place where it was written: ( )the spirit of the lord is upon me; because he anointed me to publish good tidings to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to send the oppressed away free, ( )to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord. ( )and rolling up the book he gave it again to the servant, and sat down. and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ( )and he began to say to them: to-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. ( )and all bore witness to him, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth. and they said: is not this joseph's son? ( )and he said to them: ye will surely say to me this proverb, physician, heal thyself. whatever we heard done in capernaum, do also here in thy country. ( )and he said: verily i say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ( )but i tell you of a truth, there were many widows in israel in the days of elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the land; ( )and to none of them was elijah sent, but unto zarephath of sidonia, to a woman that was a widow. ( )and there were many lepers in israel, in the time of elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only naaman the syrian. ( )and all in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. ( )and they rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, to cast him down headlong. ( )but he, passing through the midst of them, went away. ( )and he came down to capernaum, a city of galilee. and he was teaching them on the sabbath; ( )and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with power. ( )and in the synagogue there was a man having a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, ( )saying: ah! what have we to do with thee, jesus of nazareth? didst thou come to destroy us? i know thee who thou art, the holy one of god. ( )and jesus rebuked him, saying: hold thy peace, and come out from him. and the demon throwing him in the midst came out from him, doing him no harm. ( )and amazement came on all; and they spoke with one another, saying: what is this word, that with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out? ( )and there went out a rumor concerning him into every place of the country around. ( )and he rose up and went from the synagogue, and entered into the house of simon. and the mother-in-law of simon was seized with a violent fever[ : ]; and they besought him for her. ( )and standing over her he rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she arose and ministered to them. ( )now when the sun was setting, all that had any sick with divers diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each one of them, and healed them. ( )and demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying: thou art the son of god. and he, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the christ. ( )and when it was day he went out, and went into a desert place. and the multitudes sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. ( )and he said to them: i must publish the good news of the kingdom of god to other cities also; because for this i was sent forth. ( )and he preached in the synagogues of galilee. v. and it came to pass, as the multitude pressed upon him to hear the word of god, and he was standing by the lake of gennesaret, ( )that he saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing the nets. ( )and entering into one of the ships, which was simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. and sitting down, he taught the multitudes out of the ship. ( )and when he ceased speaking, he said to simon: put out into the deep; and do ye let down your nets for a draught. ( )and simon answering said to him: master, we toiled all night and took nothing; but at thy word i will let down the net. ( )and having done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net began to break. ( )and they beckoned to their partners in the other ship, to come and help them. and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. ( )and simon peter, seeing it, fell down at the knees of jesus, saying: depart from me; for i am a sinful man, o lord. ( )for astonishment had seized him, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; ( )and likewise also james and john, sons of zebedee, who were partners with simon. and jesus said to simon: fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. ( )and having brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. ( )and it came to pass, when he was in one of the cities, that there was a man full of leprosy. and seeing jesus he fell on his face, and besought him, saying: lord, if thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me. ( )and stretching forth his hand he touched him, saying: i will; be thou cleansed. and immediately the leprosy departed from him. ( )and he charged him to tell no one: but go, and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing as moses commanded, for a testimony to them. ( )but all the more went abroad the report concerning him; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities. ( )and he was wont to retire into the solitary places, and pray. ( )and it came to pass, on a certain day, that he was teaching; and there were pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every village of galilee, and judaea, and jerusalem; and there was power of the lord for healing them. ( )and, behold, men brought on a bed a man who was palsied; and they sought to bring him in, and to lay him before him. ( )and not finding by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with the couch into the midst before jesus. ( )and seeing their faith he said: man, thy sins are forgiven thee. ( )and the scribes and the pharisees began to reason, saying: who is this that speaks blasphemies? who can forgive sins, but god alone? ( )but jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answering said to them: what reason ye in your hearts? ( )which is easier, to say, thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, arise and walk? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man has power on the earth to forgive sins, (he said to the palsied man,) i say to thee, arise, and taking up thy couch go to thy house. ( )and immediately standing up before them, he took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying god. ( )and they were all amazed; and they glorified god, and were filled with fear, saying: we have seen strange things to-day. ( )and after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named levi, sitting at the place of receiving custom; and he said to him: follow me. ( )and leaving all, he arose and followed him. ( )and levi made him a great feast in his own house; and there was a great company of publicans and of others who reclined at the table with them. ( )and the pharisees, and their scribes[ : ], murmured against his disciples, saying: why do ye eat and drink with the publicans and sinners? ( )and jesus answering said to them: they who are well need not a physician, but they who are sick. ( )i have not come to call righteous men, but sinners to repentance. ( )and they said to him: why do the disciples of john fast often, and make prayers, and likewise those of the pharisees, but thine eat and drink? ( )and he said to them: can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast, [ : ] while the bridegroom is with them? ( )but days will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then shall they fast in those days. ( )and he spoke also a parable to them: no one rends a piece from a new garment, and puts it on an old garment; else both the new will make a rent, and the piece from the new agrees not with the old. ( )and no one puts new wine into old skins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and will itself be poured out, and the skins will perish. ( )but new wine must be put into new skins, and both are preserved together[ : ]. ( )and no one having drunk old wine straightway desires new; for he says: the old is better[ : ]. vi. and it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first[ : ], that he was going through grain-fields; and his disciples plucked and ate the ears of grain, rubbing them with their hands. ( )and some of the pharisees said: why do ye that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath? ( )and jesus answering them said: and have ye not read this, what david did when he hungered, himself and they who were with him; ( )how he went into the house of god, and took and ate the show-bread, and gave to those who were with him, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone? ( )and he said to them: the son of man is lord also of the sabbath. ( )and it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught. and there was a man whose right hand was withered. ( )and the scribes and pharisees were watching, whether he would heal on the sabbath; that they might find an accusation against him. ( )but he knew their thoughts, and said to the man having the withered hand: arise, and stand forth in the midst. and he rose up, and stood. ( )then said jesus to them: i will ask you what is lawful[ : ] on the sabbath, to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it? ( )and looking round on them all, he said to him: stretch forth thy hand. and he did so, and his hand was restored. ( )and they were filled with madness, and conferred one with another, as to what they should do to jesus. ( )and it came to pass in those days, that he went out into the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to god. ( )and when it was day, he called to him his disciples. and having chosen from them twelve (whom he named also apostles); ( )simon, whom he also named peter, and andrew his brother, and james and john, and philip and bartholomew, ( )and matthew and thomas, james the son of alpheus, and simon called zelotes, ( )and judas brother of james, and judas iscariot, who became a betrayer; ( )and having come down with them, he stood on a plain, and a company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people from all judaea and jerusalem and the sea-coast of tyre and sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; ( )and those vexed by unclean spirits were healed; ( )and all the multitude sought to touch him, because power went out from him and healed them all. ( )and he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said: happy are ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of god. ( )happy are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be filled. happy are ye that weep now; for ye shall laugh. ( )happy are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from them, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the sake of the son of man. ( )rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers to the prophets. ( )but woe to you that are rich; for ye have received your consolation. ( )woe to you that are full; for ye shall hunger. woe to you that laugh now; for ye shall mourn and weep. ( )woe! when all men shall speak well of you; for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. ( )but i say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ( )bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you[ : ]. ( )to him who smites thee on the cheek offer also the other; and him who takes away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. ( )give to every one that asks of thee; and of him who takes away thy goods demand them not again. ( )and as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also in like manner to them. ( )for if ye love those who love you, what thanks have ye? for even the sinners love those who love them. ( )and if ye do good to those who do good to you, what thanks have ye? for even the sinners do the same. ( )and if ye lend to those of whom ye hope to receive, what thanks have ye? and sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive as much in return. ( )but love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the highest; for he is kind to the unthankful and evil. ( )be ye merciful, as your father also is merciful. ( )and judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; acquit, and ye shall be acquitted. ( )give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. for with the same measure with which ye mete it shall be measured to you again. ( )and he spoke also a parable to them: can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? ( )a disciple is not above the teacher; but every one shall be perfected as his teacher. ( )and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ( )how canst thou say to thy brother: brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? hypocrite! cast out first the beam out of thine eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. ( )for there is no good tree that bears corrupt fruit, nor corrupt tree that bears good fruit. ( )for every tree is known from its own fruit. for from thorns they do not gather figs, nor from a bramble bush do they harvest grapes. ( )the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and the evil, out of the evil, brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ( )and why call ye me, lord, lord, and do not the things which i say? ( )every one that comes to me, and hears my sayings, and does them, i will show you to whom he is like. ( )he is like a man building a house, who digged deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. and when a flood arose, the stream burst upon that house, and could not shake it; because it was well builded. ( )but he that hears, and does not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; on which the stream burst, and immediately it fell[ : ]; and the ruin of that house was great. vii. when he completed all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered into capernaum. ( )and a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and about to die. ( )and having heard concerning jesus, he sent to him elders of the jews, asking him that he would come and heal his servant. ( )and they, coming to jesus, besought him earnestly, saying: he is worthy that thou shouldst do this for him; ( )for he loves our nation, and himself built our synagogue. ( )and jesus went with them. and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him: lord, trouble not thyself; for i am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. ( )wherefore neither thought i myself worthy to come to thee; but say with a word, and my servant will be healed. ( )for i am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and i say to this one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it. ( )and jesus hearing these things, marveled at him; and turning said to the multitude that followed him: i say to you, i found not so great faith, even in israel. ( )and they who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. ( )and it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. ( )and as he came near to the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a great multitude of the city was with her. ( )and seeing her, the lord had compassion on her, and said to her: weep not. ( )and he came and touched the bier; and they who bore it stood still. and he said: young man, i say to thee, arise. ( )and the dead sat up, and began to speak. and he gave him to his mother. ( )and fear seized on all; and they glorified god, saying: a great prophet has arisen among us; and, god has visited his people. ( )and this report went forth in all judaea concerning him, and in all the country around. ( )and the disciples of john reported to him concerning all these things. ( )and john calling to him two of his disciples sent them to jesus, saying: art thou he that comes, or look we for another? ( )and coming to him, the men said: john the immerser has sent us to thee, saying: art thou he that comes, or look we for another? ( )and in that very hour he cured many, of diseases and plagues, and evil spirits; and on many blind he bestowed sight. ( )and answering he said to them: go, and report to john what ye saw and heard; that the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor good tidings are published. ( )and happy is he, whoever shall not be offended at me. ( )and when the messengers of john had departed, he began to say to the multitudes concerning john: what went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken by the wind? ( )but what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they who are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings' palaces. ( )but what went ye out to see? a prophet? yea, i say to you, and much more than a prophet. ( )this is he, of whom it is written: behold, i send forth my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. ( )for i say to you, among those born of women, no one is a greater prophet than john; but he that is least in the kingdom of god is greater than he. ( )and all the people, hearing it, and the publicans, justified god, having been immersed with john's immersion. ( )but the pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of god toward themselves, not having been immersed by him. ( )to what then shall i liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? ( )they are like to children sitting in the market, and calling to one another, saying: we piped to you, and ye danced not; we sang the lament to you, and ye wept not. ( )for john the immerser has come, neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say: he has a demon. ( )the son of man has come eating and drinking; and ye say: behold a glutton, and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. ( )but wisdom was justified on the part of all her children. ( )and one of the pharisees asked him to eat with him. and entering into the house of the pharisee, he reclined at table. ( )and, behold, a woman who was a sinner in the city, learning that he is reclining at table in the house of the pharisee, brought an alabaster box of ointment; ( )and standing behind at his feet weeping, began to wet his feet with tears, and wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ( )and seeing it, the pharisee who had bidden him spoke within himself, saying: this man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what sort of woman this is that touches him; for she is a sinner. ( )and jesus answering said to him: simon, i have somewhat to say to thee. and he says: teacher, say on. ( )a certain money-lender had two debtors. the one owed five hundred denaries[ : ], and the other fifty. ( )and they having nothing to pay, he forgave them both. which of them therefore, tell me, will love him most? ( )simon answering said: i suppose he to whom he forgave most. and he said to him: thou didst rightly judge. ( )and turning to the woman, he said to simon: seest thou this woman? i entered into thy house, thou gayest me no water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair. ( )thou gavest me no kiss; but she, from the time i came in, ceased not to kiss my feet. ( )my head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she anointed my feet with ointment. ( )wherefore i say to thee, her many sins are forgiven; for she loved much. but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. ( )and he said to her: thy sins are forgiven. ( )and they who reclined with him began to say within themselves: who is this that also forgives sins? ( )and he said to the woman: thy faith has saved thee; go in peace. viii. and it came to pass afterward, that he journeyed through every city and village, preaching, and publishing the good news of the kingdom of god; and with him the twelve, ( )and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, mary called the magdalene, from whom had gone out seven demons, ( )and joanna wife of chuza, herod's steward, and susanna, and many others, who ministered to them of their substance. ( )and a great multitude coming together, of those also who came to him out of every city, he spoke by a parable: ( )the sower went forth to sow his seed. and as he sowed, one fell by the way-side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. ( )and another fell upon the rock; and springing up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ( )and another fell among the thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. ( )and another fell into the good ground, and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundredfold. and saying these things, he cried: he that has ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and his disciples asked him, what this parable was. ( )and he said: to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of god; but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. ( )now the parable is this: the seed is the word of god. ( )those by the way-side are they that hear; after that comes the devil, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. ( )those on the rock are they who, when they hear, with joy receive the word; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. ( )and that which fell among the thorns, these are they who have heard, and going forth are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection. ( )but that in the good ground, these are they who, in an honest and good heart, having heard, hold fast the word, and bring forth fruit with patience. ( )no one, having lighted a lamp, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a lamp-stand, that they who enter in may behold the light. ( )for nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest, nor hidden, that shall not be known and come abroad. ( )take heed therefore how ye hear. for whoever has, to him shall be given; and whoever has not, even what he seems to have shall be taken from him. ( )and his mother and his brothers came to him; and they could not come near him on account of the multitude. ( )and it was told him, saying: thy mother and thy brothers are standing without, desiring to see thee. ( )and he answering, said to them: my mother and my brothers are these, who hear and do the word of god. ( )and it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples. and he said to them: let us go over to the other side of the lake. and they launched forth. ( )and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they began to be filled, and were in jeopardy. ( )and coming to him, they awoke him, saying: master, master, we perish. and he, rising, rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm. ( )and he said to them: where is your faith? and they, fearing, wondered; saying one to another: who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him! ( )and they sailed to the country of the gerasenes, which is over against galilee. ( )and when he had gone forth upon the land, there met him a certain man out of the city, who had demons a long time, and wore no clothing, and abode not in a house, but in the tombs. ( )and seeing jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said: what have i to do with thee, jesus, son of the most high god? i beseech thee, do not torment me. ( )for he commanded the unclean spirit to come out from the man. for of a long time it had seized him, and he was bound, being secured with chains and fetters; and bursting the bands, he was driven by the demon into the deserts. ( )and jesus asked him, saying: what is thy name? and he said, legion; because many demons had entered into him. ( )and he besought him that he would not command them to go away into the abyss. ( )and there was a herd of many swine feeding in the mountain; and they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them. and he permitted them. ( )and going out of the man, the demons entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep into the lake, and were choked. ( )and seeing what was done the herdsmen fled, and reported it in the city and in the country, ( )and they went out to see what was done. and they came to jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ( )they also who saw it reported to them how he that was possessed by demons was healed. ( )and the whole multitude of the surrounding country of the gerasenes besought him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear. and he, entering into the ship, returned. ( )and the man, out of whom the demons had gone, besought him that he might be with him. but he sent him away, saying: ( )return into thy house, and relate how great things god did for thee. and he departed, and published through the whole city how great things jesus did for him. ( )and it came to pass, when jesus returned, that the multitude received him; for they were all waiting for him. ( )and, behold, there came a man whose name was jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at the feet of jesus, he besought him that he would come into his house; ( )for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. and as he went the multitudes thronged him. ( )and a woman having a flow of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any one, ( )came up behind, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. ( )and jesus said: who is it that touched me? and when all denied it, peter and those with him said: master, the multitudes throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou: who is it that touched me? ( )and jesus said: some one touched me; for i perceived that power has gone out from me. ( )and the woman, seeing that she was not concealed, came trembling, and falling down before him, declared before all the people for what cause she touched him, and how she was healed immediately. ( )and he said to her: daughter, thy faith has made thee whole; go in peace. ( )while he was yet speaking, there comes one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him: thy daughter is dead; trouble not the teacher. ( )but jesus hearing it, answered him: fear not; only believe, and she shall be restored. ( )and entering into the house, he suffered no one to go in with him, save peter and james and john, and the father of the maiden, and the mother. ( )and all were weeping and bewailing her. and he said: weep not; she is not dead, but is sleeping. ( )and they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. ( )and he, taking hold of her by the hand, called, saying: maiden, arise. ( )and her spirit returned, and she immediately arose; and he commanded that food should be given her. ( )and her parents were astonished. but he charged them to tell no one what was done. ix. and having called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure diseases. ( )and he sent them to preach the kingdom of god, and to heal the sick. ( )and he said to them: take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, nor have two coats apiece. ( )and into whatever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart. ( )and whoever will not receive you, when ye go out from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them. ( )and going forth, they went through the villages, publishing the good news, and healing everywhere. ( )and herod the tetrarch heard of all the things that were done. and he was perplexed, because it was said by some: john has risen from the dead; ( )and by some: elijah has appeared; and by others: one of the old prophets has risen again. ( )and herod said: john i beheaded; but who is this, of whom i hear such things? and he desired to see him. ( )and the apostles, returning, related to him all that they did. and taking them with him, he retired privately to a city called bethsaida. ( )and the multitudes, when they knew it, followed him. and receiving them, he spoke to them concerning the kingdom of god, and healed those who had need of healing. ( )and the day began to decline. and the twelve came, and said to him: dismiss the multitude, that they may go into the villages around, and the fields, and lodge, and find food; for here we are in a desert place. ( )and he said to them: do ye give them to eat. and they said: we have not more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people. ( )for they were about five thousand men. and he said to his disciples: make them lie down in companies of fifty. ( )and they did so, and made them all lie down. ( )and taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed them, and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. ( )and they ate, and were all filled. and there were taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. ( )and it came to pass, as he was alone praying, that his disciples were with him; and he asked them, saying: who do the multitudes say that i am? ( )they answering said: john the immerser; and others, elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again. ( )and he said to them: but who do ye say that i am? peter answering said: the christ of god. ( )and strictly charging them, he commanded them to say this to no one; ( )saying: the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected on the part of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and rise on the third day. ( )and he said to all: if any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. ( )for whoever will save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it ( )for what is a man profited, when he has gained the whole world, and lost or forfeited himself? ( )for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his glory, and in that of the father and of the holy angels. ( )and i say to you of a truth, there are some of those standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of god. ( )and it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that he took with him peter and john and james, and went up into the mountain to pray. ( )and it came to pass, while he was praying, that the appearance of his countenance became changed, and his raiment white and glistening. ( )and, behold, two men were talking with him, who were moses and elijah; ( )who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to fulfill in jerusalem. ( )but peter and they who were with him were heavy with sleep; and awaking, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. ( )and it came to pass, that, as they were departing from him, peter said to jesus: master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elijah; not knowing what he said. ( )while he said this, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud. ( )and there came a voice out of the cloud, saying: this is my chosen son; hear ye him. ( )and when the voice had come, jesus was found alone. and they kept silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. ( )and it came to pass, on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met him. ( )and, behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying: teacher, i beseech thee, look upon my son; for he is my only child. ( )and, behold, a spirit takes him, and he suddenly cries out; and it tears him with foaming, and hardly departs from him, bruising him. ( )and i entreated thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. ( )and jesus answering said: o faithless and perverse generation, how long shall i be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son. ( )and while he was yet coming, the demon threw him down, and tore him. and jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and gave him back to his father. ( )and all were amazed at the mighty power of god. but while all were wondering at all things which jesus did, he said to his disciples: ( )do ye let these words sink into your ears, for the son of man will be delivered into the hands of men. ( )but they understood not this saying, and it was hidden from them, that they perceived it not; and they feared to ask him concerning that saying. ( )and there arose in them the thought[ : ], which of them was greatest. ( )and jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child and placed it by him, ( )and said to them: whoever shall receive this child in my name, receives me; and whoever shall receive me, receives him who sent me; for he that is least among you all, the same is great. ( )and john answering said: master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he follows not with us. ( )and jesus said to him: forbid him not; for he that is not against us is for us. ( )and it came to pass, when the days were being completed that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to jerusalem. ( )and he sent messengers before his face; and they went and entered into a village of the samaritans, to make ready for him. ( )and they did not receive him, because his face was directed toward jerusalem. ( )and his disciples, james and john, seeing it, said: lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, as also elijah did? ( )and he turned, and rebuked them, and said: ye know not[ : ] of what spirit ye are. ( )and they went to another village. ( )and as they were going in the way, a certain one said to him: i will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ( )and jesus said to him: the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man has not where to lay his head. ( )and he said to another: follow me. but he said: lord permit me first to go and bury my father. ( )and he said to him: let the dead bury their own dead; but do thou go and announce the kingdom of god. ( )and another also said; i will follow thee, lord; but first permit me to bid farewell to those in my house. ( )and jesus said to him: no one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of god. x. after these things the lord appointed also seventy others, and sent them two and two before his face, into every city and place, whither he himself was about to come. ( )and he said to them: the harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. pray therefore the lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. ( )go your ways; behold, i send you forth as lambs among wolves. ( )carry neither purse, nor bag, nor sandals; and salute no one by the way. ( )and into whatever house ye enter, first say: peace be to this house. ( )and if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it; and if not, it shall return to you. ( )and in that house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give[ : ]; for the laborer is worthy of his hire. go not from house to house. ( )and into whatever city ye enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; ( )and heal the sick that are therein, and say to them: the kingdom of god has come nigh unto you. ( )but into whatever city ye enter and they receive you not, go out into the streets of the same, and say: ( )even the dust of your city that cleaves to our feet, we wipe off to you[ : ]; yet know this, that the kingdom of god has come nigh. ( )i say to you, that it will be more tolerable in that day for sodom, than for that city. ( )woe to thee, chorazin! woe to thee, bethsaida! for if the miracles had been done in tyre and sidon, which were done in you, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ( )but it will be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the judgment, than for you. ( )and thou, capernaum, that art exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to the underworld. ( )he that hears you, hears me; and he that rejects you, rejects me; and he that rejects me, rejects him who sent me. ( )and the seventy returned with joy, saying: lord, even the demons are subjected to us in thy name. ( )and he said to them: i beheld satan fall as lightning from heaven. ( )behold, i have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. ( )but yet, rejoice not in this, that the spirits are subjected to you; but rejoice, that your names are written in heaven. ( )in that hour he rejoiced in spirit, and said: i thank thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and discerning, and reveal them to babes; yea, o father, that so it seemed good in thy sight. ( )all things were delivered to me by my father; and no one knows who the son is but the father, and who the father is but the son, and he to whom the son is pleased to reveal him. ( )and turning to the disciples, he said privately: happy are the eyes that behold what ye are beholding. ( )for i say to you, that many prophets and kings desired to see what ye are beholding, and saw not, and to hear what ye are hearing, and heard not. ( )and, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, saying: teacher, what shall i do to inherit eternal life? ( )he said to him: what is written in the law? how readest thou? ( )and he answering said: thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. ( )and he said to him: thou answeredst rightly. this do, and thou shalt live. ( )but he, desiring to justify himself, said to jesus: who then is my neighbor? ( )and jesus answering said: a certain man was going down from jerusalem to jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ( )and by chance a certain priest was going down that way; and seeing him, he passed by on the other side. ( )and in like manner also a levite, arriving at the place, came and saw, and passed by on the other side. ( )and a certain samaritan, as he was journeying, came where he was, and seeing him had compassion; ( )and coming to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine; and setting him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ( )and on the morrow when he departed, he took out two denaries[ : ] and gave to the host, and said: take care of him; and whatever thou spendest more, when i come again, i will repay thee. ( )which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers? ( )and he said: he that had mercy on him. and jesus said to him: go, and do thou likewise. ( )and it came to pass, as they were going, that he entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named martha received him into her house. ( )and she had a sister called mary, who also sat at the feet of jesus, and heard his word. ( )but martha was encumbered with much serving; and she came to him, and said: lord, dost thou not care that my sister left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. ( )and jesus answering said to her: martha, martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things. ( )but one thing is needful; and mary chose the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. xi. and it came to pass that, as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him: lord, teach us to pray, as also john taught his disciples. ( )and he said to them: when ye pray, say; father, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come. ( )give us day by day our daily bread[ : ]. ( )and forgive us our sins; for we ourselves forgive every one indebted to us. and bring us not into temptation. ( )and he said to them: who of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him: ( )friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and i have nothing to set before him; ( )and he from within shall answer and say, trouble me not; the door is already shut, and my children with me are in bed; i can not rise and give thee? ( )i say to you, though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs. ( )i also say to you: ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. ( )for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. ( )and what father is there among you, of whom if his son ask bread, he will give him a stone; or a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? ( )or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? ( )if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him? ( )and he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. and it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, that the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes wondered. ( )but some of them said: he casts out the demons through beelzebul, the prince of the demons. ( )and others, tempting, sought of him a sign from heaven. ( )but he, knowing their thoughts, said to them: every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls[ : ]. ( )and if satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that i cast out the demons through beelzebul. ( )and if i through beelzebul cast out the demons, through whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. ( )but if with the finger of god i cast out the demons, then is the kingdom of god come near to you. ( )when a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace. ( )but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes away his whole armor, wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils. ( )he that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad. ( )when the unclean spirit is gone out from the man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and not finding it, he says, i will return into my house whence i came out. ( )and coming, he finds it swept and set in order. ( )then he goes, and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. ( )and it came to pass, as he was saying these things, that a certain woman lifting up her voice from the multitude, said to him: happy the womb that bore thee, and breasts which thou didst suck! ( )and he said: yea, rather, happy they who hear the word of god, and keep it! ( )and the multitudes gathering more and more, he began to say: this generation is an evil generation. it seeks a sign; and no sign shall be given it, but the sign of jonah. ( )for as jonah became a sign to the ninevites, so shall also the son of man be to this generation. ( )a queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them; because she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon; and, behold, a greater than solomon is here. ( )men of nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of jonah; and behold, a greater than jonah is here. ( )no one, having lighted a lamp, puts it in a secret place, or under the bushel, but on the lamp-stand, that they who come in may see the light. ( )the lamp of the body is thine eye. when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is light; but when it is evil, thy body also is dark. ( )take heed therefore, lest the light that is in thee is darkness[ : ]. ( )if therefore thy whole body is light, having no part dark, it shall be all light as when the lamp, with its bright shining, gives thee light. ( )and as he was speaking, a pharisee asked him to dine with him and he went in, and reclined at table. ( )and the pharisee, seeing it, wondered that he did not first immerse himself before dinner. ( )and the lord said to him: now ye pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of rapacity and wickedness. ( )fools! did not he, who made the outside, make the inside also? ( )but give that which ye have in alms[ : ]; and, behold, all things are clean to you. ( )but woe to you, pharisees! because ye pay tithe of mint and rue and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of god. these ought ye to have done, and not leave those undone. ( )woe to you, pharisees! because ye love the first seat in the synagogues, and the greetings in the markets. ( )woe to you! because ye are as tombs that appear not, and men walking over them know it not. ( )and a certain one of the lawyers answering says to him: teacher, in saying these things thou reproachest us also. ( )and he said: woe to you lawyers also! because ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. ( )woe to you! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ( )so then ye bear witness to and approve the deeds of your fathers; because they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres[ : ]. ( )therefore also said the wisdom of god: i will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and persecute; ( )that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, ( )from the blood of abel unto the blood of zachariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. verily i say to you, it shall be required of this generation. ( )woe to you lawyers! because ye took away the key of knowledge; ye entered not in yourselves, and those who were entering in ye hindered. ( )and as he said these things to them, the scribes and the pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things[ : ]; ( )lying in wait for him, seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. xii. in the mean time, the multitude having gathered together in tens of thousands, so that they trod one upon another, he began first to say to his disciples: beware of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ( )for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, nor hidden, that shall not be known. ( )wherefore, whatever ye said in the darkness, shall be heard in the light; and what ye spoke in the ear in closets, shall be proclaimed on the house-tops. ( )and i say to you, my friends, be not afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ( )but i will warn you whom ye shall fear; fear him, who after he has killed has power to cast into hell; yea, i say to you, fear him. ( )are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten before god. ( )but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. fear not; ye are of more value than many sparrows. ( )and i say to you: every one that shall acknowledge me before men, him will the son of man also acknowledge before the angels of god; ( )but he that denied me before men shall be denied before the angels of god. ( )and every one that shall speak a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him; but to him that blasphemes against the holy spirit, it shall not be forgiven. ( )and when they bring you to the synagogues, and magistrates, and authorities, take not thought how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say. ( )for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say. ( )and a certain one of the multitude said to him: teacher, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. ( )and he said to him: man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? ( )and he said to them: take heed, and beware of all covetousness; because a man's life consists not in the abundance of his possessions. ( )and he spoke a parable to them, saying: the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. ( )and he thought within himself, saying: what shall i do, because i have not where to store my fruits? ( )and he said: this will i do; i will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and there i will store all my fruits and my goods. ( )and i will say to my soul: soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. ( )but god said to him: fool! this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall those things be, which thou didst provide? ( )so is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward god. ( )and he said to his disciples: therefore i say to you, take not thought for the life, what ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on. ( )the life is more than food, and the body than raiment. ( )consider the ravens, that they sow not nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor barn; and god feeds them. how much better are ye than the birds! ( )and which of you by taking thought can add a cubit to his stature[ : ]? ( )if therefore ye can not do even that which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? ( )consider the lilies, how they grow; they toil not, nor spin; and i say to you, that even solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ( )and if god so clothes the grass, which to-day is in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much more you, ye of little faith? ( )and ye, seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, and be not of a doubtful mind. ( )for all these things do the nations of the world seek after; and your father knows that ye have need of these. ( )but seek his kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. ( )fear not, little flock; for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ( )sell what ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves purses that wax not old, a treasure unfailing in the heavens, where a thief approaches not, nor moth corrupts. ( )for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ( )let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; ( )and ye like men waiting for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that, when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. ( )happy those servants, whom their lord when he comes shall find watching! verily i say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline at table, and will come forth and serve them. ( )and if he shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find it so, happy are those servants. ( )and this know, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief is coming, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. ( )be ye also ready; for at an hour when ye think not, the son of man comes. ( )and peter said to him: lord, speakest thou this parable to us, or also to all? ( )and the lord said: who then is the faithful, the wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give the portion of food in due season? ( )happy that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing! ( )of a truth i say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods. ( )but if that servant say in his heart: my lord delays his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants and maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; ( )the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looks not for it, and in an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the faithless. ( )and that servant, who knew his lord's will, and prepared not, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; ( )but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. for to whomsoever much was given, of him much will be required; and to whom they committed much, of him they will require the more. ( )i came to send fire upon the earth; and what will i, if it is already kindled[ : ]? ( )but i have an immersion to undergo; and how am i straitened till it be accomplished! ( )suppose ye that i came to give peace in the earth? i tell you, nay; but only division. ( )for from this time forth, five in one house will be divided, three against two, and two against three. ( )they will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against the daughter, and daughter against the mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law. ( )and he said also to the multitudes: when ye see the cloud rising from the west, straightway ye say: a shower is coming and so it comes to pass. ( )and when ye see a south wind blowing, ye say: there will be heat; and it comes to pass. ( )hypocrites! ye know how to judge of the face of the earth and the sky; but how is it that ye know not how to judge of this time? ( )and why even of yourselves do ye not judge what is right? ( )for when thou art going with thine adversary to the magistrate, on the way give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he drag thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the exactor, and the exactor cast thee into prison. ( )i say to thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite. xiii. there were present at that season some who brought him word concerning the galilaeans, whose blood pilate mingled with their sacrifices. ( )and answering he said to them: suppose ye that these galilaeans were sinners above all the galilaeans, because they have suffered such things? ( )i tell you, nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish. ( )or those eighteen, on whom the tower in siloam fell, and slew them, suppose ye that they were sinners above all the men who dwell in jerusalem? ( )i tell you, nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish. ( )he spoke also this parable: a certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. ( )and he said to the vine-dresser: behold, three years i come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. cut it down; why does it also encumber[ : ] the ground? ( )and he answering says to him: lord, let it alone this year also, till i shall dig about it, and cast in manure. ( )and if it bear fruit--; and if not, hereafter thou shalt cut it down[ : ]. ( )and he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ( )and, behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and wholly unable to raise herself up. ( )and jesus seeing her, called her to him, and said to her: woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. ( )and he laid his hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified god. ( )and the ruler of the synagogue answering (being indignant because jesus healed on the sabbath), said to the multitude: there are six days in which it is proper to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath. ( )and the lord answered him, and said: hypocrites! does not each of you on the sabbath loose his ox or ass from the manger, and lead him away to water him? ( )and ought not this woman, being a daughter of abraham, whom satan bound, lo, eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath? ( )and as he said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. ( )he said therefore: to what is the kingdom of god like? and to what shall i liken it? ( )it is like to a grain of mustard, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and became a great tree, and the birds of the air lodged in its branches. ( )and again he said: to what shall i liken the kingdom of god? ( )it is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. ( )and he went through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward jerusalem. ( )and a certain one said to him: lord, are there few that are saved? ( )and he said to them: strive to enter in through the strait gate; for many, i say to you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. ( )when once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, lord, open to us, and he answering shall say to you, i know you not whence ye are; ( )then will ye begin to say, we ate and drank in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets. ( )and he will say, i tell you, i know not whence ye are; depart from me, all workers of unrighteousness. ( )there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see abraham, and isaac, and jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of god, and yourselves thrust out. ( )and they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of god. ( )and, behold, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last. ( )on that day there came certain pharisees, saying to him: depart, and go hence; for herod desires to kill thee. ( )and he said to them: go, tell that fox, behold, i cast out demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day i am perfected. ( )but yet, i must go to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following; because it may not be that a prophet perish out of jerusalem. ( )jerusalem! jerusalem! that kills the prophets, and stones those sent to her; how often would i have gathered thy children together, as a hen her brood under her wings, and ye would not! ( )behold, your house is left to you desolate. and i say to you: ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord. xiv. and it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief of the pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath, that they watched him. ( )and, behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. ( )and jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and pharisees, saying: is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? and they were silent. ( )and taking hold of him, he healed him, and let him go. ( )and to them he said: who is there of you, whose ox or ass[ : ] shall fall into a pit, and he will not straightway draw him up on the sabbath day? ( )and they could not answer him again to these things. ( )and he spoke a parable to those who were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the first places; saying to them: ( )when thou art bidden by any one to a wedding, recline not in the first place at table, lest one more honorable than thou may have been bidden by him; ( )and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, give place to this man; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. ( )but when thou art bidden, go and recline in the lowest place; that when he that bade thee comes, he may say to thee, friend, go up higher. then shalt thou have honor in the presence of those who recline at table with thee. ( )for every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. ( )and he said also to him who bade him: when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. ( )but when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. ( )and happy shalt thou be, because they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous. ( )and a certain one of those who reclined at table with him, hearing these things, said to him: happy is he, who shall eat bread in the kingdom of god! ( )and he said to him: a certain man made a great supper, and bade many. ( )and he sent his servant, at the hour of the supper, to say to those who were bidden: come, for all things are now ready. ( )and they all, with one mind, began[ : ] to excuse themselves. the first said to him: i bought a piece of ground, and i must needs go out and see it; i pray thee let me be excused. ( )and another said: i bought five yoke of oxen, and i am going to make trial of them; i pray thee let me be excused. ( )and another said: i married a wife; and therefore i can not come. ( )and the servant came, and reported these things to his lord. then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and maimed, and lame, and blind. ( )and the servant said: lord, it is done as thou didst command, and yet there is room. ( )and the lord said to the servant: go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them[ : ] to come in, that my house may be filled; ( )for i say to you, that none of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper. ( )and great multitudes were going with him; and turning, he said to them: ( )if any one comes to me, and hates not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and even his own life besides, he can not be my disciple. ( )and whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, can not be my disciple. ( )for who of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down, and count the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it? ( )lest haply, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, ( )saying: this man began to build, and was not able to finish. ( )or what king, going to make war against another king, does not first sit down and consult, whether he is able, with ten thousand, to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ( )else, while he is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy, and desires conditions of peace. ( )so then, whoever of you forsakes not all that he has can not be my disciple. ( )salt therefore is good; but if even the salt has become tasteless, wherewith shall it be seasoned? ( )it is fit neither for the land, nor for the dunghill; they cast it out. he that has ears to hear, let him hear. xv. and there were drawing near to him all the publicans and the sinners to hear him. ( )and the pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: this man receives sinners, and eats with them. ( )and he spoke this parable to them, saying: ( )what man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it? ( )and having found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ( )and coming home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: rejoice with me; because i found my sheep which was lost. ( )i say to you, that so there will be joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who have no need of repentance. ( )or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek carefully till she finds it? ( )and having found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying: rejoice with me; because i found the piece which i lost. ( )so, i say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of god over one sinner that repents. ( )and he said: a certain man had two sons. ( )and the younger of them said to his father: father, give me the portion of the property that falls to me. and he divided to them his living. ( )and not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and went abroad into a far country, and there wasted his substance in riotous living. ( )and when he had spent all, there arose a grievous famine in that country; and he began to be in want. ( )and he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ( )and he would fain have filled his belly with the husks which the swine ate; and no one gave to him. ( )and coming to himself, he said: how many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and i perish here with hunger! ( )i will arise and go to my father, and will say to him: father, i sinned against heaven, and before thee. ( )i am no longer worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants. ( )and he arose, and came to his father. but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ( )and the son said to him: father, i sinned against heaven, and before thee; i am no longer worthy to be called thy son. ( )but the father said to his servants: bring forth a robe, the best, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet; ( )and bring the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry. ( )because this my son was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found. and they began to be merry. ( )now his elder son was in the field. and as he came, and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ( )and calling to him one of the servants, he inquired what these things meant. ( )and he said to him: thy brother is come; and thy father killed the fatted calf, because he received him back, safe and sound. ( )and he was angry, and would not go in; and his father came out, and entreated him. ( )and he answering said to his father: lo, so many years do i serve thee, and never transgressed thy command; and to me thou never gayest a kid, that i might make merry with my friends. ( )but when this thy son came, who devoured thy living with harlots, thou didst kill for him the fatted calf. ( )and he said to him: child, thou art ever with me, and all that i have is thine. ( )it was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; because this thy brother was dead and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. xvi. and he said also to the disciples: there was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused to him as wasting his goods. ( )and having called him, he said to him: what is this that i hear of thee? give account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward. ( )and the steward said within himself: what shall i do? for my master takes away from me the stewardship. i am not able to dig; to beg i am ashamed. ( )i am resolved what to do, that, when i am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ( )and having called to him each one of his master's debtors, he said to the first: how much owest thou to my master? ( )and he said: a hundred measures of oil. and he said to him: take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. ( )then he said to another: and how much owest thou? and he said: a hundred measures of wheat. and he said to him: take thy bill, and write fourscore. ( )and the master commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; because the sons of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the sons of light. ( )and i say to you: make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it fails, they may receive you into the everlasting habitations. ( )he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. ( )if therefore ye were not faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? ( )and if ye were not faithful in that which is another's, who will give to you your own? ( )no servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will hold to one, and despise the other. ye can not serve god and mammon. ( )and the pharisees also; who were covetous, heard all these things; and they derided him. ( )and he said to them: ye are they who justify themselves before men; but god knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination before god. ( )the law and the prophets were until john; from that time the good news of the kingdom of god is published, and every man presses into it. ( )and it is easier that heaven and earth should pass away, than that one tittle of the law should fail. ( )every one who puts away his wife, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when put away from a husband commits adultery. ( )there was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. ( )and there was a certain beggar named lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, ( )and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ( )and it came to pass, that the beggar died; and he was borne away by the angels into abraham's bosom. the rich man also died, and was buried; ( )and in the underworld, lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees abraham afar off, and lazarus in his bosom. ( )and he cried and said: father abraham, have mercy on me, and send lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for i am tormented in this flame. ( )but abraham said: child, remember that in thy lifetime thou receivedst thy good things in full, and lazarus in like manner his evil things; but now here, he is comforted and thou art tormented. ( )and besides all this, between us and you a great gulf is fixed; that they who would pass from hence to you may not be able, nor those from thence pass over to us. ( )and he said: i pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house. ( )for i have five brothers; that he may testify to them, that they may not also come into this place of torment. ( )abraham says to him: they have moses and the prophets let them hear them. ( )and he said: nay, father abraham; but if one should go to them from the dead, they will repent. ( )and he said to him: if they hear not moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one should rise from the dead. xvii. and he said to his disciples: it is impossible that causes of offense should not come; but woe to him through whom they come! ( )it were better for him that a mill stone were placed about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to offend. ( )take heed to yourselves. if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. ( )and if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn to thee saying, i repent, thou shalt forgive him. ( )and the apostles said to the lord: increase our faith. ( )and the lord said: if ye had faith as a grain of mustard, ye would say to this sycamine-tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and planted in the sea; and it would have obeyed you. ( )and who of you, having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say to him immediately, when he has come in from the field, come and recline at table; ( )and will not rather say to him, make ready wherewith i may sup, and gird thyself and serve me, till i have eaten and drunken, and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? ( )does he thank that servant, because he did the things that were commanded? i think not. ( )so also ye, when ye shall have done all the things that were commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do. ( )and it came to pass, as he was going to jerusalem, that he went through the midst of samaria and galilee. ( )and as he was entering into a certain village, there met him ten leprous men, who stood afar off. ( )and they lifted up their voice, saying: jesus, master, have mercy on us. ( )and seeing it, he said to them: go, show yourselves to the priests. and it came to pass that, as they went, they were cleansed. ( )and one of them, seeing that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying god, ( )and fell down on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him; and he was a samaritan. ( )and jesus answering said: were not the ten cleansed? and where are the nine? ( )were none found returning to give glory to god, except this stranger? ( )and he said to him: arise, and go; thy faith has made thee whole. ( )and being asked by the pharisees, when the kingdom of god would come, he answered them and said: the kingdom of god comes not with observation; ( )nor shall they say, lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of god is within you[ : ]. ( )and he said to the disciples: days will come, when ye will desire to see one of the days of the son of man, and ye will not see it. ( )and they will say to you, see here; or, see there; go not away, and follow not. ( )for as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines unto the other part under heaven, so will the son of man be in his day. ( )but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected on the part of this generation. ( )and as it was in the days of noah, so will it be also in the days of the son of man. ( )they ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all. ( )in like manner also as it was in the days of lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; ( )but the same day that lot went out from sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed all. ( )after the same manner will it be, in the day when the son of man is revealed. ( )in that day, he who shall be on the house-top, and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and he that is in the field, let him likewise not turn back. ( )remember lot's wife. ( )whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life shall preserve it. ( )i say to you, in that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left. ( )two women will be grinding together; one will be taken, and the other left. ( )and they answering say to him: where, lord? and he said to them: where the body is, there also will the eagles be gathered together. xviii. and he spoke also a parable to them, to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; ( )saying: there was in a certain city a certain judge, who feared not god, nor regarded man. ( )and there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying: avenge me of my adversary. ( )and he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself: though i fear not god, nor regard man, ( )yet because this widow troubles me, i will avenge her, lest continually coming she weary me. ( )and the lord said: hear what the unjust judge says. ( )and will not god avenge his chosen, who cry to him day and night, though he is long suffering in respect to them? ( )i say to you, that he will avenge them speedily. but yet, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth? ( )and he spoke this parable to some who trust in themselves that they are righteous, and despise others. ( )two men went up into the temple to pray; one a pharisee, and the other a publican. ( )the pharisee stood, and prayed thus with himself: god, i thank thee, that i am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. ( )i fast twice in the week; i give tithes of all that i possess[ : ]. ( )and the publican, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying: god be merciful to me, the sinner. ( )i say to you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. for every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. ( )and they brought to him also infants, that he might touch them; and the disciples seeing it rebuked them. ( )but jesus calling them to him, said: suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for to such belongs the kingdom of god. ( )verily i say to you, whoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, shall not enter therein. ( )and a certain ruler asked him, saying: good teacher, what shall i do to inherit eternal life? ( )and jesus said to him: why dost thou call me good? none is good save one, god. ( )thou knowest the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother. ( )and he said: all these i kept from my youth. ( )and jesus hearing it said to him: yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. ( )and hearing this, he became very sorrowful; for he was exceedingly rich. ( )and jesus seeing him became very sorrowful, said: how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of god! ( )for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and they who heard it said: and who can be saved? ( )and he said: the things that are impossible with men are possible with god. ( )and peter said: lo, we forsook all, and followed thee. ( )and he said to them: verily i say to you, there is no one that forsook house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of god, ( )who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. ( )and taking with him the twelve, he said to them: behold, we are going up to jerusalem, and all the things written by the prophets for the son of man shall be accomplished. ( )for he will be delivered to the gentiles, and will be mocked, and insulted, and spit upon, ( )and they will scourge him, and put him to death; and on the third day he will rise again. ( )and they understood none of these things; and this saying was hidden from them, and they knew not the things that were said. ( )and it came to pass, that as he came near to jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the way-side, begging. ( )and hearing a multitude passing by, he inquired what this was. ( )and they told him, that jesus of nazareth is passing by. ( )and he called aloud, saying: jesus, son of david, have mercy on me. ( )and they who went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. but he cried much the more: son of david, have mercy on me. ( )and jesus stood still, and commanded him to be brought to him. and when he was come near, he asked him, ( )saying: what wilt thou that i shall do to thee? and he said: lord, that i may receive sight. ( )and jesus said to him: receive sight; thy faith has made thee whole. ( )and immediately he received sight, and followed him, glorifying god. and all the people, seeing it, gave praise to god. xix. and having entered in, he was passing through jericho. ( )and behold, there was a man named zaccheus, and he was a chief publican; and this man was rich. ( )and he sought to see jesus, who he was; and he could not on account of the multitude, because he was small in stature. ( )and running before, he climbed up into a sycamore-tree to see him; because by that way he was to pass through. ( )and jesus, when he came to the place, looked up and saw him, and said to him: zaccheus, make haste and come down; for to-day i must abide at thy house. ( )and he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. ( )and seeing it, they all murmured, saying that he went in to be a guest with a sinner. ( )and zaccheus stood up, and said to the lord: behold, lord, the half of my goods i give to the poor; and if i took aught from any one by false accusation, i restore fourfold. ( )and jesus said to him: this day is salvation come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of abraham. ( )for the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. ( )and as they were hearing these things, he added and spoke a parable, because he was nigh to jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of god would immediately appear. ( )he said therefore: a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. ( )and having called his ten servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to them: traffic, till i come. ( )but his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying: we will not have this man to reign over us. ( )and it came to pass, when he had returned, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants to be called to him, to whom he gave the money, that he might know what each gained by trading. ( )and the first came, saying: lord, thy pound gained ten pounds. ( )and he said to him: well done, good servant; because thou wast faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. ( )and the second came, saying: lord, thy pound made five pounds. ( )and he said also to this man: and be thou over five cities. ( )and another came, saying: lord, behold thy pound, which i kept laid up in a napkin. ( )for i feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou takest up what thou layedst not down, and reapest what thou didst not sow. ( )and he says to him: out of thy mouth will i judge thee, wicked servant. thou knewest that i was an austere man, taking up what i laid not down, and reaping what i did not sow? ( )why then didst thou not put my money into the bank? and i, at my coming, should have required it with interest. ( )and he said to those standing by: take from him the pound, and give it to him that has the ten pounds. ( )and they said to him: lord, he has ten pounds. ( )for i say to you, that to every one that has shall be given; and from him that has not, even what he has shall be taken away. ( )but those my enemies, who would not that i should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. ( )and having spoken these things, he went before, going up to jerusalem. ( )and it came to pass, as he drew near to bethphage and bethany, at the mount called olivet, that he sent forth two of his disciples, ( )saying: go into the opposite village, in which as ye are entering ye will find a colt tied, whereon no man ever sat; loose and bring him. ( )and if any one ask you, why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say to him: because the lord has need of him. ( )and they that were sent forth departed, and found even as he said to them. ( )and as they were loosing the colt, its owners said to them: why loose ye the colt? ( )and they said: the lord has need of him. ( )and they brought him to jesus; and having cast their garments upon the colt, they set jesus thereon. ( )and as he went, they spread their garments in the way. ( )and as he was drawing near, just at the descent of the mount of the olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice, and praise god with a loud voice for all the miracles which they saw; ( )saying: blessed be the king who comes in the name of the lord! peace in heaven, and glory in the highest! ( )and some of the pharisees from the multitude said to him: teacher, rebuke thy disciples. ( )and answering he said to them: i tell you that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out. ( )and when he came near, as he saw the city, he wept over it, ( )saying: if even thou hadst known, at least in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace! but now they are hidden from thine eyes. ( )for days will come upon thee, that thine enemies will cast up a mound about thee, and compass thee round, and shut thee in on every side, ( )and will level thee with the ground, and thy children within thee, and will not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. ( )and entering into the temple, he began to cast out those who sold; ( )saying to them: it is written, and my house shall be a house of prayer; but ye made it a den of robbers. ( )and he was teaching daily in the temple; and the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people were seeking to destroy him, ( )and could not find what they might do; for all the people hung, listening, upon him. xx. and it came to pass, on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and publishing the good news, that the chief priests and the scribes came to him with the elders, ( )and spoke to him, saying: tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? ( )and he answering said to them: i also will ask you one thing; and tell it me. ( )john's immersion, was it from heaven, or from men? ( )and they reasoned with themselves, saying: if we say, from heaven, he will say, why, then did ye not believe him? ( )but if we say, from men, all the people will stone us; for they are persuaded that john was a prophet. ( )and they answered, that they knew not whence it was. ( )and jesus said to them: neither do i say to you, by what authority i do these things. ( )and he began to speak to the people this parable: a man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long time. ( )and at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. ( )and again he sent another servant; and him also, having beaten and treated him shamefully, they sent away empty. ( )and again he sent a third; and they wounded him also, and cast him out. ( )and the lord of the vineyard said: what shall i do? i will send my beloved son; perhaps, seeing him, they will reverence him. ( )but when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying: this is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may become ours. ( )so they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. what therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? ( )he will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. and hearing it, they said: far be it! ( )and he, looking on them, said: what then is this that is written, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is become the head of the corner. ( )every one that falls upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. ( )and the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that hour; and they feared the people; for they knew that he spoke this parable against them. ( )and watching him[ : ], they sent forth spies, feigning themselves to be just men, that they might take hold of his words, in order to deliver him up to the magistracy, and to the authority of the governor. ( )and they asked him, saying: teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and regardest not the person of any, but teachest the way of god truly. ( )is it lawful that we should give tribute to caesar, or not? ( )and perceiving their craftiness, he said to them: ( )show me a denary[ : ]. whose image and inscription has it? and answering they said: caesar's. ( )and he said to them: render therefore to caesar the things that are caesar's, and to god the things that are god's. ( )and they could not take hold of his words before the people; and they marveled at his answer, and held their peace. ( )and some of the sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, coming to him, asked him, ( )saying: teacher, moses wrote to us, if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he die childless, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. ( )there were therefore seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died childless; ( )and the second and the third took her; ( )and in like manner also the seven left no children, and died. ( )at last the woman also died. ( )in the resurrection, therefore, of which of them is she wife? for the seven had her for a wife. ( )and jesus answering said to them: the sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage. ( )but they who are accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; ( )for neither can they die any more; for they are equal to the angels, and are sons of god, being sons of the resurrection. ( )now that the dead are raised, even moses showed, at the bush, when he calls the lord the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob. ( )for he is not a god of the dead, but of the living; for to him all live. ( )and some of the scribes answering said: teacher, thou saidst well. ( )for they no longer dared to ask him any question. ( )and he said to them: how say they that the christ is son of david? ( )and david himself says in the book of psalms: the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, ( )till i make thine enemies thy footstool. ( )david therefore calls him lord, and how is he his son? ( )and in the hearing of all the multitude, he said to his disciples: ( )beware of the scribes, who desire to go about in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the first seats in the synagogues, and the first places at feasts; ( )who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. these shall receive greater condemnation. xxi. and looking up, he saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. ( )and he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. ( )and he said: of a truth i say to you, that this poor widow cast in more than all. ( )for all these, out of their abundance, cast into the offerings; but she, out of her want, cast in all the living that she had. ( )and as some were saying of the temple, that it has been adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, he said: ( )as for these things which ye behold, days will come in which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ( )and they asked him, saying: teacher, when therefore will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to come to pass? ( )and he said: take heed that ye be not led astray. for many will come in my name, saying: i am he, and the time is at hand. go not after them. ( )and when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified; for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not immediately. ( )then said he to them: nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ( )and there will be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there will be great portents and signs from heaven. ( )and before all these, they will lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up into synagogues and prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. ( )and it shall turn out to you for a testimony. ( )settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer. ( )for i will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or withstand. ( )and ye will be delivered up both by parents, and brothers, and kindred, and friends; and some of you they will cause to be put to death. ( )and ye will be hated by all for my name's sake. ( )and there shall not a hair of your head perish. ( )in your patience possess your souls[ : ]. ( )and when ye shall see jerusalem encompassed by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ( )then let those in judaea flee into the mountains; and let those in the midst of it depart out; and let those in the fields not enter into it. ( )because these are the days of vengeance, that all the things which are written may be fulfilled. ( )woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people. ( )and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations; and jerusalem shall be trodden down by the gentiles, until the times of the gentiles shall be fulfilled. ( )and there shall be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars; and on the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and waves; ( )men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking for those things that are coming on the world; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ( )and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. ( )and when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption is drawing nigh. ( )and he spoke to them a parable: behold the fig-tree, and all the trees. ( )when they already shoot forth, seeing it ye know of yourselves that the summer is already near. ( )so also ye, when ye see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of god is near. ( )verily i say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all shall have come to pass. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. ( )and take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come upon you unawares. ( )for as a snare shall it come on all that dwell on the face of the whole earth. ( )and watch, in every time praying that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man. ( )and in the daytime he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called olivet. ( )and all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, to hear him. xxii. now the feast of unleavened bread was drawing near, which is called the passover; ( )and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might kill him; for they feared the people. ( )and satan entered into judas called iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. ( )and he went away, and consulted with the chief priests and captains, how he might deliver him up to them. ( )and they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. ( )and he promised, and sought opportunity to deliver him up to them in the absence of the multitude. ( )and the day of unleavened bread came, when the passover must be killed. ( )and he sent away peter and john, saying: go, and prepare us the passover, that we may eat it. ( )and they said to him: where wilt thou that we prepare? ( )and he said to them: behold, when ye have entered into the city, there will meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he enters in. ( )and ye shall say to the master of the house: the teacher says to thee, where is the guestchamber, where i may eat the passover with my disciples? ( )and he will show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready. ( )and they went away, and found as he had said to them. and they made ready the passover. ( )and when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ( )and he said to them: i earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer. ( )for i say to you, i shall eat of it no more, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of god. ( )and having received a cup, he gave thanks and said: take this, and divide it among yourselves. ( )for i say to you, i will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of god shall come. ( )and taking a loaf, he gave thanks, and broke it, and gave to them, saying: this is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. ( )and the cup in like manner after supper, saying: this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. ( )but, behold, the hand of him that betrays me is with me on the table. ( )for the son of man indeed goes, as it was determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed! ( )and they began to inquire among themselves, who then it might be that should do this thing? ( )and there arose also a contention among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. ( )and he said to them: the kings of the gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. ( )but ye are not so; but let the greatest among you become as the younger, and he that is chief as he that serves. ( )for which is greater, he that reclines at table, or he that serves? is not he that reclines at table? but i am in the midst of you as he that serves. ( )ye are they who have continued with me in my temptations; ( )and i appoint to you a kingdom, as my father appointed to me, ( )that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. ( )and the lord said: simon, simon, behold, satan asked for you, to sift as the wheat. ( )but i prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and thou, when thou hast turned, strengthen thy brethren. ( )and he said to him: lord, i am ready to go with thee, both to prison and to death. ( )and he said: i say to thee, peter, a cock will not crow this day, till thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. ( )and he said to them: when i sent you without purse, and bag, and sandals, lacked ye anything? and they said: nothing. ( )therefore said he to them: but now, he that has a purse let him take it, and likewise a bag; and he that has not, let him sell his garment and buy a sword. ( )for i say to you, that yet this which is written must be accomplished in me: and he was reckoned among transgressors; for the things concerning me have an end[ : ]. ( )and they said: lord, behold, here are two swords. and he said: it is enough! ( )and going out, he went as he was wont to the mount of the olives; and his disciples also followed him. ( )and when he was at the place, he said to them: pray that ye enter not into temptation. ( )and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw; and kneeling down, he prayed, ( )saying: father, if thou art willing to remove this cup from me! yet, not my will but thine be done. ( )and there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. ( )and being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ( )and rising up from prayer, and coming to the disciples, he found them sleeping, from sorrow. ( )and he said to them: why sleep ye? arise and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. ( )while he was yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he that was called judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to jesus to kiss him. ( )but jesus said to him: judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss? ( )and they who were about him, seeing what would follow, said to him: lord, shall we smite with the sword? ( )and a certain one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and took off his right ear. ( )and jesus answering said: suffer thus far. and he touched his ear, and healed him. ( )and jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who were come to him: have ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves? ( )when i was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me. but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. ( )and they took him, and led him away, and brought him into the house of the high priest. and peter followed afar off. ( )and they having kindled a fire in the midst of the court, and sat down together, peter sat down among them. ( )and a certain maid seeing him as he sat by the fire, and looking intently upon him, said: this man also was with him. ( )and he denied him, saying: woman, i do not know him. ( )and after a little while, another seeing him said: thou also art of them. and peter said: man, i am not. ( )and about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying: of a truth this one also was with him; for he is a galilaean. ( )and peter said: man, i know not what thou sayest. and immediately, while he was yet speaking, a cock crowed. ( )and the lord turning looked upon peter. and peter remembered the word of the lord, how he said to him: before a cock crows this day, thou wilt deny me thrice. ( )and peter went out, and wept bitterly. ( )and the men who held jesus mocked him, beating him; ( )and having blindfolded him they asked him, saying: prophesy, who is it that smote thee? ( )and many other things they said, reviling him. ( )and when it was day, the elders of the people[ : ], and the chief priests and scribes, came together; and they brought him up into their council, saying: ( )if thou art the christ, tell us. and he said to them: if i tell you, ye will not believe. ( )and if i ask, ye will not answer. ( )but henceforth shall the son of man sit on the right hand of the power of god. ( )and they all said: art thou then the son of god? and he said to them: ye say it; for i am. ( )and they said: why need we any further witness? for we ourselves heard it from his own mouth. xxiii. and the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto pilate. ( )and they began to accuse him, saying: we found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to caesar, saying that he himself is christ, a king. ( )and pilate asked him, saying: art thou the king of the jews? and he answering said to him: thou sayest it. ( )and pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes: i find no fault in this man. ( )and they were the more violent, saying: he stirs up the people, teaching throughout all judaea, beginning from galilee, unto this place. ( )when pilate heard of galilee, he asked if the man is a galilaean. ( )and learning that he belonged to herod's jurisdiction, he sent him up to herod, who also was himself in jerusalem at that time. ( )and herod, when he saw jesus, rejoiced greatly; for he had desired for a long time to see him, because he had heard concerning him; and he hoped to see some sign wrought by him. ( )and he questioned him in many words; but he answered him nothing. ( )and the chief priests and scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. ( )and herod with his men of war set him at naught, and mocked him, and arraying him in a gorgeous robe sent him back to pilate. ( )and pilate and herod on that day became friends with each other; for before they were at enmity between themselves. ( )and pilate, having called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ( )said to them: ye brought to me this man, as one perverting the people; and, behold, i, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man, touching those things whereof ye accuse him. ( )no, nor yet herod; for i sent you up to him; and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. ( )i will therefore chastise, and release him. ( )[ : ] ( )and they cried out all at once, saying: away with this man, and release to us barabbas! ( )(who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) ( )again, therefore, pilate spoke to them, desiring to release jesus. ( )but they cried, saying: crucify, crucify him. ( )and a third time he said to them: what evil then has this man done? i found no cause of death in him. i will therefore chastise, and release him. ( )and they were urgent with loud voices, requiring that he should be crucified. and their voices and those of the chief priests prevailed. ( )and pilate gave sentence, that what they required should be done. ( )and he released him who for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they required; but jesus he delivered up to their will. ( )and as they led him away, they laid hold of one simon a cyrenian, coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after jesus. ( )and there followed him a great company of the people, and of women who also bewailed and lamented him. ( )but jesus turning to them said: daughters of jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. ( )for, behold, days are coming in which they shall say: happy the barren, and wombs that never bore, and breasts that never gave suck. ( )then shall they begin to say to the mountains: fall on us; and to the hills: cover us. ( )for if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? ( )and there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. ( )and when they had gone away to the place which is called a skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. ( )and jesus said: father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. and they divided his garments, casting lots. ( )and the people stood beholding. and the rulers also scoffed, saying: others he saved; let him save himself, if he is the christ, the chosen of god. ( )and the soldiers also coming to him mocked him, offering him vinegar, ( )and saying: if thou art the king of the jews, save thyself. ( )and there was an inscription written over him: this is the king of the jews. ( )and one of the malefactors who were hanged railed at him, saying: if thou art the christ, save thyself and us. ( )but the other answering rebuked him, saying: dost thou not even fear god, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? ( )and we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man did nothing amiss. ( )and he said to jesus: remember me, when thou comest in thy kingdom. ( )and jesus said to him: verily i say to thee, to-day thou shalt be with me in paradise. ( )and it was about the sixth hour; and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ( )and the sun was darkened; and the vail of the temple was rent in the midst. ( )and jesus, crying with a loud voice, said: father, into thy hands i commit my spirit. and having said this, he expired. ( )and the centurion, seeing what was done, glorified god, saying: verily, this man was righteous! ( )and all the multitudes who had come together to that sight, having beheld the things that were done, returned, beating their breasts. ( )and all his acquaintance were standing afar off, and women who had followed him from galilee, beholding these things. ( )and, behold, a man named joseph, a counselor, a good and just man, ( )(he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from arimathaea a city of the jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of god, ( )this man went to pilate, and asked for the body of jesus. ( )and taking it down, he wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in the rock, where no one was yet laid. ( )and it was the day of preparation, and the sabbath drew on. ( )and the women also, who had come with him out of galilee, followed after, and viewed the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. ( )and returning, they prepared spices and ointments; and on the sabbath they rested, according to the commandment. xxiv. now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they prepared. ( )and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ( )and entering in, they found not the body of the lord jesus. ( )and it came to pass, that as they were much perplexed concerning this, behold two men stood by them in shining garments. ( )and they being afraid and bowing their faces to the earth, they said to them: why seek ye the living among the dead? ( )he is not here, but is risen. remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in galilee, ( )saying: the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. ( )and they remembered his words. ( )and returning from the sepulchre, they reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. ( )and it was mary the magdalene, and joanna, and mary the mother of james, and the other women with them, who said these things to the apostles. ( )and their words seemed to them as idle talk, and they believed them not. ( )but peter rose up, and ran to the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beholds the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass. ( )and, behold, two of them were going on that same day to a village called emmaus, distant sixty furlongs from jerusalem. ( )and they were conversing together concerning all these things that had taken place. ( )and it came to pass, that while they were conversing and reasoning, jesus himself drew near, and went with them. ( )but their eyes were holden that they should not know him. ( )and he said to them: what communications are these, that ye have one with another, as ye walk, and are sad? ( )and one, whose name was cleopas, answering said to him: dost thou alone sojourn in jerusalem and not know the things that have come to pass there in these days? ( )and he said to them: what things? and they said to him: the things concerning jesus of nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before god and all the people; ( )and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ( )but we were hoping that it was he who was to redeem israel. but indeed, beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. ( )yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, who were early at the sepulchre; ( )and not finding his body, came saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive. ( )and some of those who were with us went away to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women said; but him they saw not. ( )then he said to them: o foolish, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ( )was it not necessary, that the christ should suffer these things, and enter into his glory? ( )and beginning from moses, and all the prophets, he explained to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. ( )and they drew near to the village, whither they were going; and he made as though he would go further. ( )but they constrained him, saying: abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day has declined. and he went in to abide with them. ( )and it came to pass, that as he was reclining at table with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and breaking, gave to them. ( )and their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. ( )and they said one to another: did not our heart burn within us, while he talked to us in the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? ( )and rising up in the same hour, they returned to jerusalem; and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ( )saying: the lord is risen indeed, and he appeared to simon. ( )and they related what things were done in the way, and how he became known by them in the breaking of bread. ( )and while they were speaking these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and says to them: peace be to you. ( )but they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. ( )and he said to them: why are ye troubled? and wherefore do thoughts arise in your hearts? ( )see my hands and my feet, that it is i myself. handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ( )and having said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ( )and while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said to them: have ye here anything to eat? ( )and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. ( )and he took, and ate it before them. ( )and he said to them: these are my words which i spoke to you, while i was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law of moses, and the prophets, and psalms, concerning me. ( )then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. ( )and he said to them: thus it is written, that the christ should suffer, and should rise from the dead on the third day; ( )and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all the nations, beginning at jerusalem. ( )ye are witnesses of these things. ( )and, behold, i send forth the promise of my father upon you. but do ye tarry in the city, until ye are endued with power from on high. ( )and he led them out as far as to bethany; and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ( )and it came to pass, while he blessed them, that he parted from them, and was borne up into heaven. ( )and they, having worshiped him, returned to jerusalem with great joy; ( )and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god. the gospel according to john. i. in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. ( )the same was in the beginning with god. ( )all things were made by him[ : ]; and without him was nothing made that has been made. ( )in him was life; and the life was the light of men. ( )and the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ( )there was a man sent from god, whose name was john. ( )the same came for witness, to bear witness of the light, that through him all might believe. ( )he was not the light; but [came] to bear witness of the light. ( )there was the true light, which lights every man that comes into the world. ( )he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ( )he came to his own, and his own received him not. ( )but as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of god, to those who believe on his name; ( )who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god. ( )and the word became flesh, and dwelt among us[ : ]; and we beheld his glory, a glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. ( )john bore witness of him; and cried, saying: this was he of whom i said, he that comes after me is preferred before me, because he was before me[ : ]. ( )because out of his fullness we all received, and grace for grace. ( )for the law was given through moses; grace and truth came through jesus christ. ( )no one has ever seen god; the only begotten son, who is in the bosom of the father, he declared him. ( )and this is the witness of john, when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him: who art thou? ( )and he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed: i am not the christ. ( )and they asked him: what then? art thou elijah? and he says: i am not. art thou the prophet? and he answered: no. ( )they said therefore to him: who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. what sayest thou of thyself? ( )he said: i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the lord, as said isaiah the prophet. ( )and they who were sent were of the pharisees. ( )and they asked him, and said to him: why then dost thou immerse, if thou art not the christ, nor elijah, nor the prophet? ( )john answered them, saying: i immerse in water. there stands one in the midst of you, whom ye know not; ( )he who comes after me, the latchet of whose sandal i am not worthy to loose. ( )these things took place in bethany beyond the jordan, where john was immersing. ( )on the morrow, he sees jesus coming to him, and says: behold the lamb of god, that takes away the sin of the world! ( )this is he of whom i said: after me comes a man who is preferred before me; because he was before me[ : ]. ( )and i knew him not; but that he might be made manifest to israel, for this i came immersing in water. ( )and john bore witness, saying: i have seen the spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it abode upon him. ( )and i knew him not; but he who sent me to immerse in water, the same said to me: upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending, and abiding on him, the same is he who immerses in the holy spirit. ( )and i have seen, and have borne witness, that this is the son of god. ( )again, on the morrow, john was standing, and two of his disciples; ( )and looking upon jesus as he walked, he says: behold the lamb of god! ( )and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed jesus. ( )and jesus turning, and beholding them following, says to them: what seek ye? they said to him: rabbi (which interpreted means, teacher), where dost thou abide? ( )he says to them: come, and ye shall see. they came and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day. it was about the tenth hour. ( )andrew, the brother of simon peter, was one of the two who heard it from john, and followed him. ( )he first finds his brother simon, and says to him: we have found the messiah, which is interpreted, christ. ( )and he brought him to jesus. jesus, beholding him, said: thou art simon the son of jonah; thou shalt be called cephas, which is interpreted, peter[ : ]. ( )on the morrow he would go forth into galilee. and he finds philip; and jesus says to him: follow me. ( )now philip was from bethsaida, of the city of andrew and peter. ( )philip finds nathanael, and says to him: we have found him of whom moses, in the law, and the prophets wrote, jesus the son of joseph, who is from nazareth. ( )and nathanael said to him: can any good thing come out of nazareth? philip says to him: come and see. ( )jesus saw nathanael coming to him, and says of him: behold an israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! ( )nathanael says to him: whence knowest thou me? jesus answered and said to him: before philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, i saw thee. ( )nathanael answered: rabbi; thou art the son of god, thou art the king of israel. ( )jesus answered and said to him: because i said to thee, i saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. ( )and he says to him: verily, verily, i say to you, henceforth[ : ] ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man. ii. and on the third day there was a marriage in cana of galilee; and the mother of jesus was there. ( )and jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage. ( )and wine having failed, the mother of jesus says to him: they have no wine. ( )jesus says to her: woman, what have i to do with thee? my hour is not yet come. ( )his mother says to the servants: whatever he says to you, do it. ( )now there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the jewish custom of purifying, containing two or three firkins[ : ] apiece. ( )jesus says to them: fill the water-pots with water. and they filled them up to the brim. ( )and he says to them: draw out now, and bear to the ruler of the feast. and they bore it. ( )when the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine (and he knew not whence it was, but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom, ( )and says to him: every man sets forth the good wine first; and when they have drunk freely, then that which is worse. thou hast kept the good wine until now. ( )this beginning of the signs jesus wrought in cana of galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him. ( )after this he went down to capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brothers, and his disciples; and they abode there not many days. ( )and the passover of the jews was at hand; and jesus went up to jerusalem. ( )and he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. ( )and having made a scourge of small cords, he drove all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; ( )and to those who sold doves he said: take these things hence; make not my father's house a house of merchandise. ( )and his disciples remembered that it is written: for thy house consumes me. ( )the jews therefore answered and said to him: what sign dost thou show to us, seeing that thou doest these things? ( )jesus answered and said to them: destroy this temple, and in three days i will raise it up. ( )therefore said the jews: forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days? ( )but he said it of the temple of his body. ( )when therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this; and they believed the scripture, and the word which jesus spoke. ( )and when he was in jerusalem at the passover, on the feast-day, many believed on his name, beholding his signs which he wrought. ( )but jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men, ( )and had no need that any one should testify of man; for he himself knew what was in man. iii. there was a man of the pharisees, named nicodemus, a ruler of the jews. ( )the same came to him by night, and said to him: rabbi, we know that thou hast come a teacher from god; for no one can do these signs which thou doest, except god be with him. ( )jesus answered and said to him: verily, verily, i say to thee, except a man be born again[ : ], he can not see the kingdom of god. ( )nicodemus says to him: how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? ( )jesus answered: verily, verily, i say to thee, except a man be born of water and the spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of god. ( )that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. ( )marvel not that i said to thee: ye must be born again. ( )the wind blows where it will, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it comes, and whither it goes. so is every one that is born of the spirit. ( )nicodemus answered and said to him: how can these things be? ( )jesus answered and said to him: art thou the teacher of israel, and knowest not these things? ( )verily, verily, i say to thee, we speak that which we know, and testify that which we have seen; and ye receive not our testimony. ( )if i told you the earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if i tell you the heavenly things? ( )and no one has ascended up into heaven, but he who came down out of heaven, the son of man who is in heaven. ( )and as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up; ( )that every one who believes on him may have everlasting life. ( )for god so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten son, that whoever believes on him, should not perish, but may have everlasting life. ( )for god sent not his son into the world to judge the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ( )he that believes on him is not judged; but he that believes not has already been judged, because he has not believed on the name of the only-begotten son of god. ( )and this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. ( )for every one that does evil hates the light, and comes not to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ( )but he that does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in god. ( )after these things came jesus and his disciples into the land of judaea; and there he remained with them, and immersed. ( )and john also was immersing in aenon near to salim, because there was much water there; and they came, and were immersed. ( )for john was not yet cast into prison. ( )there arose therefore a question, on the part of john's disciples with a jew, about purification. ( )and they came to john and said to him: rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, he immerses, and all come to him. ( )john answered and said: a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. ( )ye yourselves bear me witness, that i said, i am not the christ, but i am sent before him. ( )he that has the bride is the bridegroom. but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. this my joy therefore is made full. ( )he must increase, but i must decrease. ( )he that comes from above is above all; he that is from the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth; he that comes from heaven is above all. ( )and what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and his testimony no one receives. ( )he that received his testimony has set his seal, that god is true. ( )for he whom god sent forth speaks the words of god; for he gives not[ : ] the spirit by measure. ( )the father loves the son, and has given all things into his hand. ( )he that believes on the son has everlasting life; and he that believes not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god abides on him. iv. when therefore the lord knew that the pharisees heard, that jesus made and immersed more disciples than john ( )(though jesus himself immersed not, but his disciples), ( )he left judaea, and departed again into galilee. ( )and he must go through samaria. ( )he comes therefore to a city of samaria, called sychar[ : ], near to the parcel of ground that jacob gave to his son joseph. ( )and jacob's well was there. jesus therefore, being wearied with the journey, sat down thus on the well. it was about the sixth hour. ( )there comes a woman of samaria to draw water. jesus, says to her: give me to drink. ( )for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ( )the samaritan woman therefore says to him: how is it that thou, being a jew, askest drink of me, being a samaritan woman? for jews do not associate with samaritans. ( )jesus answered and said to her: if thou knewest the gift of god, and who it is that says to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. ( )the woman says to him: sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. from whence then hast thou the living water. ( )art thou greater than our father jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? ( )jesus answered and said to her: every one that drinks of this water shall thirst again. ( )but whoever drinks of the water that i shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that i shall give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. ( )the woman says to him: sir, give me this water, that i may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. ( )jesus says to her: go, call thy husband, and come hither. ( )the woman answered and said: i have no husband. jesus says to her: thou saidst well, i have no husband. ( )for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. that thou hast spoken truly. ( )the woman says to him: sir, i perceive that thou art a prophet. ( )our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. ( )jesus says to her: woman, believe me, an hour is coming, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor in jerusalem worship the father. ( )ye worship that which ye know not; we worship that which we know; because salvation is of the jews. ( )but an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth; for such the father seeks to worship him. ( )god is spirit; and they that worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth. ( )the woman says to him: i know that messiah comes (who is called christ); when he is come, he will tell us all things. ( )jesus says to her: i that speak to thee am he. ( )and upon this came his disciples; and they marveled that he talked with the woman[ : ]. yet no one said: what seekest thou? or, why talkest thou with her? ( )the woman then left her water-pot, and went away into the city; and she says to the men: ( )come, see a man who told me all things that ever i did. is this the christ? ( )then they went out of the city, and came to him. ( )in the mean while the disciples prayed him, saying: master, eat. ( )but he said to them: i have food to eat that ye know not of. ( )therefore said the disciples one to another: has any one brought him aught to eat? ( )jesus says to them: my food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work. ( )do ye not say, that there are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? behold, i say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are already white for harvest. ( )and he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal; that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. ( )and herein is the true saying: one sows, and another reaps. ( )i sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored. other men have labored, and ye have entered into their labor. ( )and many of the samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, who testified: he told me all that ever i did. ( )when therefore the samaritans came to him, they besought him to remain with them. and he remained there two days. ( )and far more believed because of his word; ( )and said to the woman: we no longer believe because of thy saying; for we ourselves have heard, and know that this is in truth the savior of the world. ( )and after the two days he departed thence, and went into galilee. ( )for jesus himself testified, that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ( )when therefore he came into galilee, the galilaeans received him, having seen all that he did in jerusalem at the feast; for they also went to the feast. ( )so he came again into cana of galilee, where he made the water wine. and there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick, in capernaum. ( )he, having heard that jesus is come out of judaea into galilee, went to him, and besought him that he would come down and heal his son; for he was about to die. ( )jesus therefore said to him: except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. ( )the nobleman says to him: sir, come down ere my child die. ( )jesus says to him: go thy way; thy son lives. and the man believed the word that jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ( )and as he was now going down, his servants met him, and brought word saying: thy child lives. ( )he inquired of them, therefore, the hour when he began to amend. and they said to him: yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. ( )the father knew, therefore, that it was in the same hour in which jesus said to him: thy son lives. and he himself believed, and his whole house. ( )this second sign jesus wrought, when he had come out of judaea into galilee. v. after these things there was a feast of the jews; and jesus went up to jerusalem. ( )and there is in jerusalem by the sheep-gate a pool, which is called in the hebrew tongue bethesda, having five porches. ( )in these lay a multitude of the infirm, of blind, lame, withered [waiting for the moving of the water. ( )for an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water. he therefore; who first went in after the troubling of the water, was made whole of whatever disease he had][ : ]. ( )and a certain man was there, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ( )jesus seeing this man lying, and knowing that he had been already a long time thus, says to him: dost thou desire to be made whole? ( )the infirm man answered him: sir, i have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while i am coming, another goes down before me. ( )jesus says to him: rise, take up thy bed, and walk. ( )and immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. and on that day was the sabbath. ( )the jews therefore said to him that was cured: it is the sabbath; it is not lawful for thee to carry the bed. ( )he answered them: he who made me whole, the same said to me: take up thy bed, and walk. ( )they asked him therefore: who is the man that said to thee: take up thy bed and walk? ( )and he who was healed knew not who it was; for jesus conveyed himself away, there being a multitude in the place. ( )afterward jesus finds him in the temple. and he said to him: behold, thou hast been made whole; sin no more, lest something worse befall thee. ( )the man departed, and told the jews that it was jesus who made him whole. ( )and for this the jews persecuted jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. ( )but jesus answered them: my father works hitherto, and i work. ( )for this therefore the jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath, but also called god his father, making himself equal with god. ( )jesus therefore, answered and said to them: verily, verily, i say to you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the father do; for what things soever he does, these also does the son in like manner. ( )for the father loves the son, and shows him all things that he himself does; and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel. ( )for as the father raises up the dead, and quickens them; so also the son quickens whom he will. ( )for neither does the father judge any one; but all judgment he has given to the son; ( )that all may honor the son, as they honor the father. he that honors not the son, honors not the father who sent him. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, he that hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has everlasting life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god; and they that hear shall live. ( )for as the father has life in himself, so he gave also to the son to have life in himself. ( )and he gave him authority to execute judgment also, because he is a son of man. ( )marvel not at this; for an hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ( )and shall come forth; they that did good, to the resurrection of life, and they that did evil, to the resurrection of judgment. ( )i can of myself do nothing. as i hear, i judge; and my judgment is just; because i seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ( )if i bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. ( )there is another that bears witness of me; and i know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. ( )ye have sent to john, and he has borne witness to the truth. ( )but i receive the witness not from man; but these things i say, that ye might be saved. ( )he was the burning and shining lamp; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. ( )but i have greater witness than that of john; for the works which the father gave me to finish, the works themselves that i do bear witness of me, that the father has sent me. ( )and the father, who sent me, he has borne witness of me. ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor have ye seen his shape. ( )and ye have not his word abiding in you; for whom he sent, him ye believe not. ( )search[ : ] the scriptures; because in them ye think ye have eternal life, and these are they that testify of me; ( )and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. ( )i receive not honor from men. ( )but i know you, that ye have not the love of god in you. ( )i have come in my father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. ( )how can ye believe, receiving honor from one another, and the honor that is from god alone ye seek not? ( )do not think that i will accuse you to the father; there is one that accuses you, moses in whom ye have placed your hope. ( )for if ye believed moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. ( )but if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? vi. after these things jesus went away, beyond the sea of galilee, which is the sea of tiberias. ( )and a great multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he wrought on the sick. ( )and jesus went up into the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. ( )and the passover, the feast of the jews, was near. ( )jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude is coming to him, says to philip: whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? ( )and this he said to try him; for he himself knew what he was about to do. ( )philip answered him: two hundred denaries worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each one may take a little. ( )one of his disciples, andrew, the brother of simon peter, says to him: ( )there is a lad here, who has five barley loaves and two small fishes; but what are they among so many? ( )jesus said: make the men lie down. now there was much grass in the place. so the men lay down, in number about five thousand. ( )and jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to those who were lying down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they desired. ( )when they were filled, he said to his disciples: gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. ( )therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to those who had eaten. ( )the men therefore, seeing the sign that jesus wrought, said: this is of a truth the prophet that comes into the world. ( )jesus therefore, knowing that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him a king, withdrew again into the mountain, himself alone. ( )and when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ( )and entering into the ship, were going over the sea to capernaum. and it was now dark, and jesus had not come to them; ( )and as a strong wind was blowing, the sea began to rise. ( )when therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they see jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the ship; and they were afraid. ( )but he says to them: it is i, be not afraid. ( )they therefore willingly received him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land whither they were going. ( )on the morrow, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea, seeing that there was no other boat there but one, and that jesus went not with his disciples into the ship, but his disciples went away alone ( )(but there came other boats from tiberias near to the place where they ate bread, when the lord had given thanks); ( )when therefore the multitude saw that jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves entered into the boats, and came to capernaum, seeking for jesus. ( )and having found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him: rabbi, when camest thou hither? ( )jesus answered them and said: verily, verily, i say to you, ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves and were filled. ( )work not for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto everlasting life, which the son of man will give to you; for him the father, god, has sealed, ( )therefore they said to him: what shall we do, that we may work the works of god? ( )jesus answered and said to them: this is the work of god, that ye believe on him whom he sent. ( )they therefore said to him: what sign doest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? ( )our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: he gave them bread from heaven to eat. ( )jesus therefore said to them: verily, verily, i say to you, moses has not given you the bread from heaven; but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. ( )for the bread of god is that which[ : ] comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world. ( )they therefore said to him: lord, evermore give us this bread. ( )jesus said to them: i am the bread of life. he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst. ( )but i said to you, that ye have also seen me, and do not believe. ( )all that the father gives me will come to me; and him that comes to me i will not cast out. ( )because i have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. ( )and this is the will of him who sent me, that of all which he has given me i should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ( )for this is the will of my father, that every one who sees the son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life; and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )the jews therefore murmured at him, because he said: i am the bread that came down out of heaven. ( )and they said: is not this jesus, the son of joseph, whose father and mother we know? how then does this man say: i have come down out of heaven? ( )jesus answered and said to them: murmur not among yourselves. ( )no one can come to me, except the father who sent me draw him; and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )it is written in the prophets: and they shall all be taught of god. every one that has heard from the father, and has learned, comes to me. ( )not that any one has seen the father, save he who is from god; he has seen the father. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, he that believes on me has everlasting life. ( )i am the bread of life. ( )your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ( )this is the bread that comes down out of heaven, that one may eat thereof, and not die. ( )i am the living bread that came down out of heaven. if any one eat of this bread, he shall live forever; yea, and the bread that i will give is my flesh, which i will give for the life of the world. ( )the jews therefore contended with one another, saying: how can this man give us his flesh to eat? ( )jesus therefore said to them: verily, verily, i say to you, except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. ( )he that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ( )he that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and i in him. ( )as the living father has sent me, and i live because of the father; so he that eats me, he also shall live because of me. ( )this is the bread that came down out of heaven. not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead; he that eats of this bread shall live forever. ( )these things he said in the synagogue, while teaching in capernaum. ( )many therefore of his disciples, when they heard it, said: this is a hard saying; who can hear it? ( )but jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: does this offend you? ( )what then if ye behold the son of man ascending up where he was before? ( )it is the spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing; the words which i have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ( )but there are some of you that believe not. for jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray him. ( )and he said: for this cause i have said to you, that no one can come to me, except it be given him from the father. ( )from this time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. ( )jesus said therefore to the twelve: will ye also go away? ( )simon peter answered him: lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of eternal life. ( )and we believe and know, that thou art the holy one of god. ( )jesus answered them: did i not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil? ( )he spoke of judas iscariot, son of simon; for he it was that would betray him, being one of the twelve. vii. and after these things jesus walked in galilee; for he would not walk in judaea, because the jews were seeking to kill him. ( )now the feast of the jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. ( )his brothers therefore said to him: depart hence, and go into judaea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works that thou doest. ( )for no one does anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. if thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. ( )for neither did his brothers believe on him. ( )jesus therefore says to them: my time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. ( )the world can not hate you; but me it hates, because i testify of it, that its works are evil. ( )go ye up to the feast. i go not up to this feast; because my time is not yet fully come. ( )having said these things to them, he remained in galilee. ( )but when his brothers were gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but as it were in secret. ( )the jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said: where is he? ( )and there was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. some said: he is a good man; others said: nay, but he misleads the multitude. ( )no one, however, spoke openly of him, for fear of the jews. ( )but when it was already the midst of the feast, jesus went up into the temple and taught. ( )and the jews wondered, saying: how knows this man letters, having never learned? ( )jesus therefore answered them, and said: my teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. ( )if any one desires to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of god, or whether i speak from myself. ( )he that speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he that seeks the glory of him who sent him, the same is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. ( )has not moses given you the law, and none of you keeps the law? why do ye seek to kill me? ( )the multitude answered and said: thou hast a demon; who seeks to kill thee? ( )jesus answered and said to them: i did one work, and ye all marvel. ( )moses has for this cause given you circumcision, not that it is of moses, but of the fathers; and on the sabbath ye circumcise a man. ( )if a man receives circumcision on the sabbath, that the law of moses may not be broken; are ye angry at me, because i made a man altogether whole on the sabbath? ( )judge not according to appearance, but judge the righteous judgment. ( )then said some of those of jerusalem: is not this he whom they seek to kill? ( )but, lo, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. did the rulers know[ : ] in truth that this is the christ? ( )but we know this man, whence he is; but when the christ comes, no one knows whence he is. ( )jesus therefore cried, teaching in the temple and saying: ye both know me, and ye know whence i am; and i have not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. ( )i know him; because i am from him, and he sent me. ( )therefore they sought to seize him; and no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. ( )but of the multitude many believed on him, and said: when the christ comes, will he work more signs than these which this man wrought? ( )the pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him; and the chief priests and the pharisees sent officers to seize him. ( )jesus therefore said: yet a little while i am with you, and i go to him who sent me. ( )ye will seek me, and shall not find me; and where i am, ye can not come. ( )the jews said therefore among themselves: whither will this man go, that we shall not find him? will he go to those dispersed among the greeks, and teach the greeks? ( )what is this saying that he said: ye will seek me, and shall not find me; and where i am, ye can not come? ( )in the last day, the great day of the feast, jesus stood and cried, saying: if any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. ( )he that believes on me, as said the scripture, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. ( )and this he spoke concerning the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the holy spirit was not yet [given], because jesus was not yet glorified. ( )some of the multitude therefore, hearing the words, said: of a truth this is the prophet. ( )others said: this is the christ. but some said: does the christ then come out of galilee? ( )did not the scripture say, that the christ comes of the seed of david, and from the town of bethlehem, where david was? ( )a division therefore arose among the multitude because of him. ( )and some of them desired to seize him; but no one laid hands on him. ( )the officers therefore came to the chief priests and pharisees; and they said to them: why did ye not bring him? ( )the officers answered: never man spoke like this man[ : ]. ( )the pharisees answered them: are ye also led astray? ( )did any of the rulers believe on him, or of the pharisees? ( )but this multitude, that know not the law, are accursed. ( )nicodemus says to them (he who came to him by night, being one of them): ( )does our law judge a man, except it first hear from him, and know what he does? ( )they answered and said to him: art thou also of galilee? search, and see, that out of galilee arises no prophet[ : ]. ( )[ : ][and each one went to his house. viii. jesus went to the mount of the olives. ( )and early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him; and having sat down, he was teaching them. ( )and the scribes and the pharisees bring to him a woman taken in adultery; and having placed her in the midst, ( )they say to him: teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act: ( )now in the law moses commanded us, that such should be stoned; what then dost thou say? ( )this they said, tempting him, that they might have whereof to accuse him. but jesus, having stooped down, was writing with his finger in the ground. ( )and as they continued asking him, raising himself up, he said to them: he that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her. ( )and again stooping down, he wrote in the ground. ( )and they hearing it, and being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, unto the last; and jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ( )and jesus raising himself up, and seeing none but the woman, said to her: woman, where are they, thine accusers? did no one condemn thee? ( )she said: no one, lord. and jesus said to her: neither do i condemn thee; go, and sin no more.] ( )again therefore jesus spoke to them, saying: i am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. ( )the pharisees therefore said to him: thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true. ( )jesus answered and said to them: though i bear witness of myself, my witness is true; because i know whence i came, and whither i go; but ye know not whence i come, or whither i go. ( )ye judge according to the flesh; i judge no one. ( )and even if i judge, my judgment is true; because i am not alone, but i and the father who sent me. ( )it is written also in your law, that the witness of two men is true. ( )i am one that bear witness of myself, and the father who sent me bears witness of me. ( )they said therefore to him: where is thy father? jesus answered: ye know neither me, nor my father. if ye knew me, ye would know my father also. ( )these words he spoke in the treasury, while teaching in the temple; and no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. ( )again therefore he said to them: i go away, and ye will seek me, and shall die in your sin. whither i go, ye can not come. ( )the jews therefore said: will he kill himself? because he says: whither i go, ye can not come. ( )and he said to them: ye are from beneath; i am from above. ye are of this world; i am not of this world. ( )i said therefore to you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that i am he, ye shall die in your sins. ( )therefore they said to him: who art thou? and jesus said to them: that which i also say to you from the beginning. ( )i have many things to say and to judge concerning you. but he who sent me is true; and the things which i heard from him, these i speak to the world. ( )they understood not that he spoke to them of the father. ( )therefore jesus said to them: when ye shall have lifted up the son of man, then ye shall know that i am he; and of myself i do nothing, but as the father taught me, those things i speak. ( )and he who sent me is with me. he has not left me alone; because i do always the things that please him. ( )as he spoke these words many believed on him. ( )jesus therefore said to those jews who have believed him: if ye continue in my word, ye are truly my disciples; ( )and ye shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. ( )they answered him: we are abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any one. how sayest thou: ye shall be made free? ( )jesus answered them: verily, verily, i say to you, every one who commits sin is a servant of sin. ( )and the servant abides not in the house forever. ( )the son abides forever; if therefore the son shall make you free, ye will be free indeed. ( )i know that ye are abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. ( )i speak what i have seen with my father; and ye therefore do what ye have heard from your father. ( )they answered and said to him: our father is abraham. jesus says to them: if ye were children of abraham, ye would do the works of abraham. ( )but now ye seek to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth, which i heard from god. this abraham did not. ( )ye do the works of your father. they said to him: we were not born of fornication; we have one father, god. ( )jesus said to them: if god were your father, ye would love me; for from god i came forth, and am come; neither have i come of myself, but he sent me. ( )why do ye not understand my speech? because ye can not hear my word. ( )ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. he was a murderer from the beginning, and abides not in the truth, because truth is not in him. when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own; because he is a liar, and the father of it. ( )and because i speak the truth, ye believe me not. ( )which of you convicts me of sin? if i speak truth, why do ye not believe me? ( )he that is of god hears god's words; ye therefore hear not, because ye are not of god. ( )the jews answered and said to him: say we not well, that thou art a samaritan, and hast a demon? ( )jesus answered: i have not a demon; but i honor my father, and ye dishonor me. ( )and i seek not my own glory; there is one that seeks, and judges. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, if any one keep my saying, he shall not see death, forever. ( )the jews said to him: now we know that thou hast a demon. abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: if a man keep my saying, he shall not taste of death, forever. ( )art thou greater than our father abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. whom makest thou thyself? ( )jesus answered: if i honor myself, my honor is nothing. it is my father that honors me, of whom ye say, that he is your god. ( )and ye know him not; but i know him. and if i say, i know him not, i shall be a liar like to you. but i know him, and i keep his word. ( )abraham, your father, rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad. ( )the jews therefore said to him: thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen abraham? ( )jesus said to them: verily, verily, i say to you, before abraham was, i am. ( )they took up stones therefore to cast at him. but jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. ix. and passing along, he saw a man blind from his birth. ( )and his disciples asked him, saying: master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? ( )jesus answered: neither this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of god should be made manifest in him. ( )i must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. night is coming, when none can work. ( )as long as i am in the world, i am the light of the world. ( )having thus spoken, he spit on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, ( )and said to him: go, wash in the pool of siloam (which is interpreted, sent). he went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. ( )the neighbors therefore, and they who before had seen him that he was a beggar, said: is not this he that sits and begs? ( )some said: this is he; and others: he is like him; he said: i am he. ( )therefore they said to him: how were thine eyes opened? ( )he answered: a man called jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said to me: go to the pool of siloam, and wash. and i went away and washed, and received sight. ( )they said to him: where is he? he said: i know not. ( )they bring to the pharisees him who before was blind. ( )and it was the sabbath when jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. ( )again therefore the pharisees also asked him, how he received sight. he said to them: he put clay upon mine eyes, and i washed, and do see. ( )therefore some of the pharisees said: this man is not from god, because he keeps not the sabbath. others said: how can a man that is a sinner do such signs? and there was a division among them. ( )they say to the blind man again: what sayest thou of him, seeing that he opened thine eyes? he said: he is a prophet. ( )the jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he was blind and received sight, until they called the parents of him that received sight. ( )and they asked them, saying: is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then does he now see? ( )his parents answered them and said: we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. ( )but by what means he now sees, we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not. he is of age; ask him. he shall speak for himself. ( )these words spoke his parents, because they feared the jews; for the jews had agreed already, that if any one acknowledged him as christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. ( )therefore his parents said: he is of age; ask him. ( )they therefore called a second time the man that was blind, and said to him: give glory to god; we know that this man is a sinner. ( )he answered therefore: whether he is a sinner, i know not; one thing i know, that, whereas i was blind, now i see. ( )they therefore said to him: what did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? ( )he answered them: i told you already, and ye did not hear. wherefore would ye hear again? will ye also become his disciples? ( )they reviled him, and said: thou art his disciple; but we are moses' disciples. ( )we know that god has spoken to moses; but this man we know not, whence he is. ( )the man answered and said to them: why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not whence he is, and he opened mine eyes. ( )now we know that god hears not sinners. but if any one is a worshiper of god, and does his will, him he hears. ( )since the world began, it was not heard that any one opened the eyes of one born blind. ( )if this man were not from god, he could do nothing. ( )they answered and said to him: thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? and they cast him out. ( )jesus heard that they cast him out; and finding him, he said to him: dost thou believe on the son of god? ( )he answered and said: who then is he, lord, that i may believe on him? ( )and jesus said to him: thou hast both seen him, and he it is that talks with thee. ( )and he said: lord, i believe. and he worshiped him. ( )and jesus said: for judgment came i into this world; that they who see not may see, and that they who see may become blind. ( )and some of the pharisees who were with him heard these words, and said to him: are we also blind? ( )jesus said to them: if ye were blind, ye would not have sin. but now ye say: we see. your sin remains! x. verily, verily, i say to you: he that enters not through the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ( )but he that enters in through the door is a shepherd of the sheep. ( )to him the porter opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. ( )and when he has put forth all his own, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ( )and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him; because they know not the voice of strangers. ( )this parable spoke jesus to them; but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them. ( )therefore said jesus to them again: verily, verily, i say to you, i am the door of the sheep. ( )all who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. ( )i am the door. if any one enter in through me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. ( )the thief comes not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. i came that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly. ( )i am the good shepherd. the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ( )but he that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees; and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. ( )the hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep. ( )i am the good shepherd; and i know mine, and am known by mine, ( )as the father knows me, and i know the father; and i lay down my life for the sheep. ( )and other sheep i have, which are not of this fold. them also i must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, one shepherd. ( )for this the father loves me, because i lay down my life, that i may take it again. ( )no one takes it from me, but i lay it down of myself. i have authority to lay it down, and i have authority to take it again. this commandment i received from my father. ( )again there arose a division among the jews because of these words. ( )and many of them said: he has a demon, and is mad, why do ye hear him? ( )others said: these are not the words of one that has a demon. can a demon open the eyes of the blind? ( )and there came the feast of the dedication, in jerusalem; and it was winter. ( )and jesus was walking in the temple, in the porch of solomon. ( )the jews therefore came around him, and said to him: how long dost thou hold us in doubt[ : ]? if thou art the christ, tell us plainly. ( )jesus answered them: i told you, and ye do not believe. the works that i do in my father's name, these bear witness of me. ( )but ye do not believe; for ye are not of my sheep, as i said to you. ( )my sheep hear my voice, and i know them, and they follow me; ( )and i give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, nor shall any one pluck them out of my hand. ( )my father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. ( )i and the father are one. ( )the jews therefore took up stones again to stone him. ( )jesus answered them: many good works have i showed you from my father; for which of those works do ye stone me? ( )the jews answered him: for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being man, makest thyself god. ( )jesus answered them: is it not written in your law, i said, ye are gods? ( )if he called them gods to whom the word of god came, and the scripture can not be broken, ( )say ye of him, whom the father sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemest, because i said, i am the son of god? ( )if i do not the works of my father, believe me not. ( )but if i do, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may learn and know, that the father is in me, and i in the father. ( )therefore they sought again to seize him; and he went forth, out of their hand. ( )and he went away again beyond the jordan, to the place where john was at first immersing; and there he abode. ( )and many came to him, and said: john indeed wrought no sign; but all things that john spoke of this man were true. ( )and many believed on him there. xi. now a certain one was sick, lazarus of bethany, from the village of mary and martha her sister. ( )it was the mary who anointed the lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother lazarus was sick. ( )the sisters therefore sent to him, saying: lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. ( )and jesus hearing it, said: this sickness is not for death, but for the sake of the glory of god, that the son of god may be glorified thereby. ( )now jesus loved martha, and her sister, and lazarus. ( )when therefore he heard that he was sick, he then abode two days in the place where he was. ( )then after this he says to the disciples: let us go into judaea again. ( )the disciples say to him: master, the jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? ( )jesus answered: are there not twelve hours in the day? if any one walk in the day, he stumbles not, because he sees the light of this world. ( )but if any one walk in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. ( )these things said he; and after this he says to them: lazarus our friend has fallen asleep; but i go, that i may awake him out of sleep. ( )therefore his disciples said: lord if he has fallen asleep, he will be restored. ( )but jesus had spoken of his death; but they thought that he said it of taking rest in sleep. ( )then therefore jesus said to them plainly: lazarus is dead. ( )and i am glad for your sakes that i was not there, that ye may believe. but let us go to him. ( )therefore said thomas, who is called didymus, to his fellow disciples: let us also go, that we may die with him. ( )having come therefore, jesus found that he had already been four days in the tomb. ( )now bethany was nigh to jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off. ( )and many of the jews had come to martha and mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. ( )therefore martha, when she heard that jesus is coming, went and met him; but mary sat in the house. ( )then said martha to jesus: lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ( )but even now, i know that whatever thou shalt ask of god, god will give it thee. ( )jesus says to her: thy brother will rise again. ( )martha says to him: i know that he will rise again, in the resurrection at the last day. ( )jesus said to her: i am the resurrection, and the life; he that believes on me, though he be dead, yet shall he live; ( )and whoever lives and believes on me, shall never die. believest thou this? ( )she says to him: yea, lord; i believe that thou art the christ, the son of god, who comes into the world. ( )and having said this, she went away, and called mary her sister secretly, saying: the teacher is come, and calls for thee. ( )and she, when she heard it, rises quickly and comes to him. ( )now jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where martha met him. ( )the jews therefore who were with her in the house and comforting her, when they saw that mary rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying: she goes to the tomb to weep there. ( )mary therefore, when she came where jesus was, seeing him, fell down at his feet, saying to him: lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ( )jesus therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the jews weeping who came with her, groaned in spirit, and was troubled. ( )and he said: where have ye laid him? they say to him: lord, come and see. ( )jesus wept. ( )the jews therefore said: behold how he loved him! ( )and some of them said: could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused even that this man should not have died? ( )jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, comes to the tomb. it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ( )jesus says: take away the stone. the sister of him that was dead, martha, says to him: lord, by this time he is offensive; for he has been dead four days. ( )jesus says to her: said i not to thee, that, if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of god? ( )so they took away the stone. and jesus raised his eyes upward, and said: father, i thank thee that thou didst hear me. ( )and i knew that thou always hearest me; but for the sake of the multitude standing around i said it, that they might believe that thou didst send me. ( )and having thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice: lazarus, come forth. ( )and he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. jesus says to them: loose him, and let him go. ( )many therefore of the jews who came to mary, and saw what he did, believed on him. ( )but some of them went away to the pharisees, and told them what jesus did. ( )therefore the chief priests and the pharisees gathered a council, and said: what do we, seeing that this man works many signs? ( )if we let him thus alone, all will believe on him; and the romans will come and take away both our place and nation. ( )and a certain one of them, caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them: ye know nothing; ( )nor do ye consider that it is expedient for us, that one man die for the people, and not the whole nation perish. ( )and this he spoke not of himself; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that jesus should die for the nation; ( )and not for the nation only, but that also he should gather together into one the children of god that were scattered abroad. ( )therefore from that day forth they took counsel together to put him to death. ( )jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the jews; but departed thence to the country near to the wilderness, to a city called ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. ( )and the passover of the jews was at hand; and many went up to jerusalem out of the country, before the passover, that they might purify themselves. ( )they sought therefore for jesus, and said among themselves, as they stood in the temple: what think ye, that he will not come to the feast? ( )now the chief priests and the pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any one knew where he was, he should make it known, that they might seize him. xii. therefore jesus, six days before the passover, came to bethany, where lazarus was who had been dead, whom jesus raised from the dead. ( )they therefore made him a supper there, and martha served; and lazarus was one of those who reclined at table with him. ( )then mary took a pound of ointment of pure spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. ( )then says one of his disciples, judas iscariot, simon's son, who was about to betray him: ( )why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denaries[ : ], and given to the poor? ( )this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bore[ : ] what was put therein. ( )then said jesus: let her alone; she has kept it[ : ] to the day of my preparation for burial. ( )for the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always. ( )a great multitude of the jews therefore knew that he was there. and they came, not because of jesus only, but that they might see lazarus also, whom he raised from the dead. ( )but the chief priests consulted that they might put lazarus also to death; ( )because by reason of him many of the jews went away, and believed on jesus. ( )on the morrow a great multitude that had come to the feast, hearing that jesus is coming to jerusalem, ( )took branches of the palm-trees and went forth to meet him, and cried: hosanna; blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord, the king of israel. ( )and jesus, having found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written: ( )fear not, daughter of zion; behold, thy king comes, sitting on an ass's colt. ( )these things his disciples understood not at the first. but when jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they did these things to him. ( )the multitude therefore that was with him when he called lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bore witness. ( )for this the multitude also met him, because they heard that he had wrought this sign. ( )the pharisees therefore said among themselves: perceive ye that ye avail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. ( )and there were certain greeks, of those who come up to worship at the feast. ( )these came therefore to philip, who was from bethsaida of galilee, and desired him, saying: sir, we would see jesus. ( )philip comes and tells andrew; andrew and philip come and tell jesus. ( )and jesus answered them, saying: the hour has come, that the son of man should be glorified. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, except the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. ( )he that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. ( )if any one serve me, let him follow me; and where i am, there shall also my servant be. if any one serve me, him will the father honor. ( )now is my soul troubled; and what shall i say? father, save me from this hour[ : ]! but for this cause came i unto this hour. ( )father, glorify thy name. then there came a voice out of heaven: i both have glorified it, and will glorify it again. ( )the multitude therefore that stood by and heard, said that it thundered; others said: an angel has spoken to him. ( )jesus answered and said: this voice came not for my sake, but for your sakes. ( )now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. ( )and i, if i be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me. ( )this he said, signifying by what manner of death he should die. ( )the multitude answered him: we heard out of the law that the christ abides forever; and how sayest thou: the son of man must be lifted up? who is this son of man? ( )jesus therefore said to them: yet a little while is the light among you. walk while ye have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; and he that walks in the darkness knows not whither he goes. ( )while ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light. these things spoke jesus, and departed, and hid himself from them. ( )but though he had wrought so many signs before them, they did not believe on him; ( )that the saying of isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: lord, who believed our report, and to whom was the arm of the lord revealed? ( )therefore they could not believe, because isaiah said again: ( )he has blinded their eyes, and has hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and i should heal them. ( )these things said isaiah, because he saw his glory, and spoke of him. ( )yet, even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the pharisees they did not acknowledge him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; ( )for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of god. ( )and jesus cried and said: he that believes on me, believes not on me but on him who sent me. ( )and he that beholds me beholds him who sent me. ( )i have come a light into the world, that whoever believes on me may not abide in the darkness. ( )and if any one hear my words, and keep them not, i do not judge him; for i came not to judge the world, but to save the world. ( )he that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him. the word that i spokes that shall judge him in the last day. ( )because i spoke not from myself; but the father who sent me, he has given me a commandment, what i should say, and what i should speak. ( )and i know that his commandment is everlasting life. what things i speak therefore, as the father has said to me, so i speak. xiii. and before the feast of the passover, jesus knowing that his hour has come that he should depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end. ( )and supper being served, the devil having already put into the heart of judas iscariot, simon's son, to betray him; ( )knowing that the father has given all things into his hands, and that he came out from god, and is going to god, ( )he rises from the supper, and lays aside his garments, and taking a towel he girded himself. ( )after that he pours water into the basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. ( )he comes therefore to simon peter; and peter says to him: lord, dost thou wash my feet? ( )jesus answered and said to him: what i do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. ( )peter says to him: never shalt thou wash my feet. jesus answered him: if i wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. ( )simon peter says to him: lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. ( )jesus says to him: he that has bathed has no need save to wash the feet, but is wholly clean. and ye are clean; but not all. ( )for he knew his betrayer; therefore he said: ye are not all clean. ( )when therefore he had washed their feet, he took his garments, and reclining again at table, said to them: know ye what i have done to you? ( )ye call me the teacher, and the master; and ye say well, for so i am. ( )if i then, the master and the teacher, washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. ( )for i gave you an example, that as i did to you, ye also should do. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor one that is sent[ : ] greater than he who sent him. ( )if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. ( )i speak not of you all; i know whom i chose; but that the scripture might be fulfilled, he that eats the loaf with me lifted up his heel against me. ( )even now i tell you, before it comes to pass, that when it comes to pass, ye may believe that i am he. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, he that receives whomsoever i send receives me; and he that receives me receives him who sent me. ( )having said this, jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified and said: verily, verily, i say to you, that one of you will betray me. ( )the disciples therefore looked one on another, doubting of whom he spoke. ( )and there was reclining in jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom jesus loved. ( )to him therefore simon peter beckons, and says to him: say who it is of whom he speaks. ( )and he, leaning back on jesus' breast, says to him: lord, who is it? ( )jesus answers: he it is, to whom i shall give the morsel, when i have dipped it. and having dipped the morsel, he gives it to judas iscariot, son of simon. ( )and after the morsel, then entered satan into him. jesus therefore says to him: what thou doest, do quickly. ( )and no one at the table knew for what intent he spoke this to him. ( )for some thought, because judas had the bag, that jesus said to him: buy what we need for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. ( )he then, having received the morsel, went immediately out; and it was night. ( )when therefore he was gone out, jesus says: now is the son of man glorified, and god is glorified in him. ( )if god is glorified in him, god will also glorify him in himself, and will straightway glorify him. ( )children, yet a little while i am with you. ye will seek me; and as i said to the jews, whither i go ye can not come, so now i say to you. ( )a new commandment i give to you, that ye love one another; as i loved you, that ye also love one another. ( )by this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one toward another. ( )simon peter says to him: lord, whither goest thou? jesus answered him: whither i go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterward. ( )peter says to him: lord, why can not i follow thee now? i will lay down my life for thee. ( )jesus answers: wilt thou lay down thy life for me? verily, verily, i say to thee, a cock will not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. xiv. let not your heart be troubled. believe on god, and believe on me[ : ]. ( )in my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, i would have told you; because i go to prepare a place for you. ( )and if i go and prepare a place for you, i will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where i am ye may be also. ( )and ye know the way whither i go. ( )thomas says to him: lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how do we know the way? ( )jesus says to him: i am the way, the truth, and the life. no one comes to the father, but by me. ( )if ye knew me, ye would know my father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. ( )philip says to him: lord, show us the father, and it suffices us. ( )jesus says to him: am i so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, philip? he that has seen me has seen the father; and how sayest thou: show us the father? ( )believest thou not that i am in the father, and the father in me? the words that i speak to you i speak not of myself; but the father who dwells in me, he does the works. ( )believe me, that i am in the father, and the father in me; or else believe for the very works' sake. ( )verily, verily, i say to you, he that believes on me, the works that i do he shall do also, and greater than these shall he do, because i go to the father. ( )and whatever ye shall ask in my name, that i will do, that the father may be glorified in the son. ( )if ye shall ask anything in my name, i will do it. ( )if ye love me, keep my commandments. ( )and i will ask of the father, and he will give you another comforter, that he may be with you forever; ( )the spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him; but ye know him, because he abides with you, and shall be in you. ( )i will not leave you bereaved[ : ]; i will come to you. ( )yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but ye see me; because i live, ye shall live also. ( )in that day ye shall know that i am in my father, and ye in me, and i in you. ( )he that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me; and he that loves me shall be loved by my father, and i will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ( )judas says to him (not iscariot): lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? ( )jesus answered and said to him: if any one loves me, he will keep my word; and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. ( )he that loves me not, keeps not my words; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me. ( )these things have i spoken to you, while abiding with you. ( )but the comforter, the holy spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things which i said to you. ( )peace i leave with you, my peace i give to you; not as the world gives, give i to you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ( )ye heard how i said to you: i go away; and i come to you. if ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced that i go to the father; because the father is greater than i. ( )and now i have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe. ( )i will no longer talk much with you; for the prince of the world comes, and in me he has nothing. ( )but that the world may know that i love the father, and as the father gave me commandment, so i do. arise, let us go hence. xv. i am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. ( )every branch in me that bears not fruit, he takes it away; and every one that bears fruit, he cleanses it, that it may bear more fruit. ( )ye are already clean, through the word which i have spoken to you. ( )abide in me, and i in you. as the branch can not bear fruit of itself, if it abide not in the vine, so neither can ye, if ye abide not in me. ( )i am the vine, ye are the branches. he that abides in me and i in him, the same bears much fruit; because without me ye can do nothing. ( )if any one abide not in me, he is cast forth as the branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ( )if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever ye will, and it shall be done to you. ( )herein is my father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and ye shall become my disciples. ( )as the father loved me, i also loved you; abide in my love. ( )if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; as i have kept my father's commandments, and abide in his love. ( )these things i have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy be made full. ( )this is my commandment, that ye love one another, as i loved you. ( )greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. ( )ye are my friends, if ye do whatever i command you. ( )no longer do i call you servants; because the servant knows not what his lord does. but i have called you friends because all things that i heard from my father i made known to you. ( )ye did not choose me, but i chose you, and appointed you that ye may go and bear fruit, and that your fruit may remain; that whatever ye shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it you. ( )these things i command you, that ye love one another. ( )if the world hates you, ye know that it has hated me before it hated you. ( )if ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but i chose you out of the world, for this the world hates you. ( )remember the word that i said to you: a servant is not greater than his lord. if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my saying, they will keep yours also. ( )but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they know not him who sent me. ( )if i had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin. ( )he that hates me hates my father also. ( )if i had not done among them the works which no other one has done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. ( )but this comes to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law: they hated me without a cause. ( )but when the comforter is come, whom i will send to you from the father, the spirit of truth, which proceeds from the father, he will bear witness of me. ( )and ye also shall bear witness, because ye are with me from the beginning. xvi. these things i have spoken to you, that ye should not be offended. ( )they will put you out of the synagogues; yea, a time is coming, that every one who kills you will think he makes an offering to god. ( )and these things they will do to you, because they have not known the father, nor me. ( )but these things i have spoken to you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that i told you. and these things i told you not from the beginning, because i was with you. ( )and now i go to him who sent me; and none of you asks me: whither goest thou? ( )but because i have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ( )but i tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that i depart; for if i depart not, the comforter will not come to you; but if i go, i will send him to you. ( )and when he is come, he will convict the world, in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; ( )of sin, in that they believe not on me; ( )of righteousness, in that i go to my father, and ye behold me no more; ( )of judgment, in that the prince of this world has been judged. ( )i have yet many things to say to you, but ye can not bear them now. ( )but when he, the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak from himself, but whatever he shall hear, that will he speak, and he will tell you the things to come. ( )he will glorify me; because he will receive of mine, and will tell it to you. ( )all things that the father has are mine. therefore, i said, that he will receive of mine, and will tell it to you. ( )a little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me. ( )therefore some of his disciples said to one another: what is this that he says to us, a little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me; and, i go to the father? ( )they said therefore: what is this that he says, a little while? we know not what he says. ( )jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said to them: do ye inquire of this with one another, that i said, a little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me? ( )verily, verily, i say to you, that ye will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and ye will be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. ( )a woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has borne the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. ( )and so ye now have sorrow; but i will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one takes from you. ( )and in that day ye shall ask nothing of me. verily, verily, i say to you: whatever ye shall ask of the father, he will give it you in my name. ( )hitherto ye asked nothing in my name. ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full. ( )these things i have spoken to you in parables. a time is coming, when i will no more speak to you in parables, but i will tell you plainly of the father. ( )in that day ye shall ask in my name. and i say not to you, that i will pray the father for you; ( )for the father himself loves you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that i came forth from god. ( )i came forth from the father, and have come into the world; again, i leave the world, and go to the father. ( )his disciples say to him: lo, now thou speakest plainly, and speakest no parable. ( )now we know that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any one should ask thee. by this we believe that thou camest forth from god. ( )jesus answered them: do ye now believe? ( )behold, an hour is coming, and has come, that ye will be scattered, each one to his own, and will leave me alone; and i am not alone, because the father is with me. ( )these things i have spoken to you, that in me ye may have peace. in the world ye have tribulation; but be of good cheer, i have overcome the world. xvii. these words spoke jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said: father, the hour has come; glorify thy son, that thy son may glorify thee; ( )as thou gayest him authority over all flesh, that as many as thou hast given to him, to them he should give eternal life. ( )and this is the eternal life, that they know thee the only true god, and jesus christ, whom thou didst send. ( )i glorified thee on the earth; i finished the work which thou hast given me to do. ( )and now, o father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which i had with thee before the world was. ( )i manifested thy name to the men whom thou hast given me out of the world. thine they were, and thou hast given them to me; and they have kept thy word. ( )now they know that all things whatever thou hast given me are from thee; ( )because the words which thou gayest me i have given to them, and they received them, and knew in truth that i came forth from thee, and believed that thou didst send me. ( )i pray for them; i pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; because they are thine. ( )and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine; and i am glorified in them. ( )and i am no longer in the world; and these are in the world, and i come to thee. holy father, keep those in thy name whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are, ( )while i was with them, i kept them in thy name. those whom thou hast given me i watched over and none of them perished, except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. ( )and now i come to thee; and these things i speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in them. ( )i have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, as i am not of the world. ( )i pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. ( )they are not of the world, as i am not of the world. ( )sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. ( )as thou didst send me into the world, i also sent them into the world. ( )and for their sakes i sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth. ( )and i pray not for these only, but also for those who believe on me through their word; ( )that all may be one; as thou, father, in me and i in thee, that they also may be in us; that the world may believe that thou didst send me. ( )and the glory which thou hast given to me i have given to them, that they may be one, as we are one; ( )i in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them as thou lovedst me. ( )father, those whom thou hast given me, i will that where i am they also be with me; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; because thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. ( )righteous father! and the world knew thee not! but i knew thee, and these knew that thou didst send me; ( )and i made known to them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and i in them. xviii. having spoken these words, jesus went out with his disciples beyond the brook kedron, where was a garden, into which he entered and his disciples. ( )and judas also, his betrayer knew the place; because jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. ( )judas therefore, having received the band and officers from the chief priests and pharisees, comes thither with torches and lamps and weapons. ( )jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them: whom do ye seek? ( )they answered him: jesus the nazarene. jesus says to them: i am he. and judas also, his betrayer, was standing with them. ( )when therefore he said to them, i am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. ( )again therefore he asked them: whom do ye seek? and they said: jesus the nazarene. ( )jesus answered: i told you that i am he; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way; ( )that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke: of those whom thou hast given me, i lost none. ( )then simon peter, having a sword, drew it and smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. the servant's name was malchus. ( )jesus therefore said to peter: put up thy sword into the sheath. the cup which my father has given me, shall i not drink it? ( )so the band, and the captain, and the officers of the jews, took jesus and bound him, ( )and led him away to annas first; for he was father-in-law of caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ( )and it was caiaphas who counseled the jews, that it is expedient that one man should die for the people. ( )and simon peter and the other disciple followed jesus. that disciple was known to the high priest, and went in with jesus into the court of the high priest. ( )but peter was standing at the door without. therefore the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her that kept the door, and brought in peter. ( )then the damsel that kept the door says to peter: art not thou also one of this man's disciples? he says: i am not. ( )and the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, because it was cold, and were warming themselves; and peter was standing with them, and warming himself. ( )the high priest therefore asked jesus concerning his disciples, and concerning his teaching. ( )jesus answered him: i have spoken openly to the world; i ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, where all the jews assemble; and i spoke nothing in secret. ( )why askest thou me? ask those who have heard, what i spoke to them. behold, these know what things i said. ( )and when he had said this, one of the officers who was standing by gave jesus a blow on the face, saying: answerest thou the high priest so? ( )jesus answered him: if i spoke evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why dost thou smite me? ( )annas sent him bound to caiaphas the high priest. ( )and simon peter was standing and warming himself. they said therefore to him: art thou also one of his disciples? he denied, and said: i am not. ( )one of the servants of the high priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear peter cut off, says: did not i see thee in the garden with him? ( )again therefore peter denied; and immediately a cock crowed. ( )then they lead jesus from caiaphas into the governor's palace; and it was early; and they themselves went not into the palace, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. ( )pilate therefore went out to them, and said: what accusation do ye bring against this man? ( )they answered and said to him: if this man were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. ( )pilate therefore said to them: do ye take him, and judge him according to your law. the jews therefore said to him: it is not lawful for us to put any one to death; ( )that the saying of jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what manner of death he should die. ( )pilate therefore entered into the palace again, and called jesus, and said to him: art thou the king of the jews? ( )jesus answered: dost thou say this of thyself, or did others tell thee concerning me? ( )pilate answered: am i a jew? thine own nation, and the chief priests, delivered thee up to me. what didst thou? ( )jesus answered: my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that i might not be delivered up to the jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence. ( )pilate therefore said to him: art thou a king then? jesus answered: thou sayest it; because i am a king. to this end have i been born, and to this end have i come into the world, that i may bear witness to the truth. every one that is of the truth hears my voice. ( )pilate says to him: what is truth? and having said this, he went out again to the jews, and says to them: i find no fault in him. ( )but ye have a custom, that i should release to you one at the passover. do ye desire therefore that i release to you the king of the jews? ( )they all therefore cried out again, saying: not this one, but barabbas. now barabbas was a robber. xix. then therefore pilate took jesus, and scourged him. ( )and the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and put on him a purple robe; and they came to him, ( )and said: hail, king of the jews! and they gave him blows on the face. ( )pilate went forth again, and says to them: behold, i bring him forth to you, that ye may know that i find no fault in him. ( )jesus therefore came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. and he says to them: behold the man! ( )when therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying: crucify him, crucify him. pilate says to them: do ye take him, and crucify him; for i find no fault in him. ( )the jews answered him: we have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the son of god. ( )when therefore pilate heard this saying, he was the more afraid. ( )and he went again into the palace, and says to jesus: whence art thou? but jesus gave him no answer. ( )then says pilate to him: dost thou not speak to me? knowest thou not that i have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee? ( )jesus answered: thou wouldst have no power against me, except it were given thee from above. therefore he that delivers me to thee has the greater sin. ( )thenceforth pilate sought to release him. but the jews cried out, saying: if thou let this man go, thou art not a friend of caesar. whoever makes himself a king speaks against caesar. ( )when therefore pilate heard these words, he brought jesus forth, and sat down on the judgment-seat in a place called the pavement, and in hebrew, gabbatha. ( )and it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour. and he says to the jews: behold your king! ( )but they cried out: away with him, away with him, crucify him. pilate says to them: shall i crucify your king? the chief priests answered: we have no king but caesar. ( )then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. and they took jesus, and led him away. ( )and bearing his cross he went forth into the place called place of a skull, which in hebrew is called golgotha; ( )where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and jesus in the midst. ( )and pilate wrote also a title, and put it on the cross. and the writing was: jesus the nazarene the king of the jews. ( )this title therefore many of the jews read; because the place where jesus was crucified was nigh to the city, and it was written in hebrew, and greek, and latin. ( )therefore said the chief priests of the jews to pilate: write not, the king of the jews; but that he said, i am king of the jews. ( )pilate answered: what i have written, i have written. ( )then the soldiers, when they crucified jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part, and also his coat. and the coat was without a seam, woven from the top throughout. ( )they said therefore to one another: let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled which says: they parted my garments among them. and for my vesture they cast lots. these things the soldiers did. ( )and there were standing by the cross of jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, mary the wife of clopas, and mary the magdalene. ( )jesus therefore seeing his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing by, says to his mother: woman, behold thy son! ( )then he says to the disciple: behold thy mother! and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. ( )after this, jesus knowing that all things were now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, says: i thirst. ( )now there was set a vessel full of vinegar; and they, having filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on a hyssop-stalk, bore it to his mouth. ( )when jesus therefore received the vinegar, he said: it is finished; and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. ( )the jews therefore, since it was the preparation, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath day was a great day), besought pilate that their legs might be broken, and they be taken away. ( )the soldiers came, therefore, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him. ( )but when they came to jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they broke not his legs. ( )but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and water. ( )and he that has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true, and he knows that he says what is true, that ye also might believe. ( )for these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled: a bone of him shall not be broken. ( )and again another scripture says: they shall look on him whom they pierced. ( )and after this, joseph from arimathaea, being a disciple of jesus, but secretly for fear of the jews, besought pilate that he might take away the body of jesus; and pilate gave him leave. he came therefore, and took away the body of jesus. ( )and there came also nicodemus, who at the first came to jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. ( )they took therefore the body of jesus, and wound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the custom of the jews to prepare for burial. ( )and in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no one was yet laid. ( )there they laid jesus therefore, on account of the preparation of the jews, because the sepulchre was nigh at hand. xx. and on the first day of the week mary the magdalene comes early, while it is yet dark, to the sepulchre, and sees the stone taken away out of the sepulchre. ( )she runs therefore and comes to simon peter, and to the other disciple, whom jesus loved, and says to them: they took away the lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they laid him. ( )peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went to the sepulchre. ( )and the two ran together; and the other disciple outran peter, and came first to the sepulchre. ( )and stooping down he sees the linen cloths lying; yet he went not in. ( )then comes simon peter following him; and he went into the sepulchre, and sees the linen cloths lying, ( )and the napkin that was about his head not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by itself. ( )then therefore the other disciple, who came first to the sepulchre, went in also; and he saw, and believed. ( )for not even yet did they know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ( )the disciples therefore went away again to their own home. ( )and mary was standing by the sepulchre without, weeping. so, as she wept, she stooped clown into the sepulchre, ( )and beholds two angels in white, sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of jesus lay. ( )and they say to her: woman, why weepest thou? she says to them: because they took away my lord, and i know not where they laid him. ( )having said this, she turned back and beholds jesus standing, and knew not that it was jesus. ( )jesus says to her: woman, why weepest thou? whom dost thou seek? she, supposing that it was the gardener, says to him: sir, if thou didst bear him hence, tell me where thou laidest him, and i will take him away. ( )jesus says to her: mary! turning, she says to him in hebrew: rabboni! (which is to say, teacher!) ( )jesus says to her: touch me not; for i have not yet ascended to my father; but go to my brethren, and say to them: i ascend to my father and your father, and my god and your god. ( )mary the magdalene comes bringing word to the disciples, that she has seen the lord, and that he spoke these things to her. ( )when therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, the doors having been shut, where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the jews, jesus came and stood in the midst; and he says to them: peace be to you. ( )and having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. the disciples rejoiced therefore, when they saw the lord. ( )jesus therefore said to them again: peace be to you. as the father has sent me, i also send you. ( )and having said this, he breathed on them, and says to them: receive the holy spirit. ( )whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them; and whosesoever ye retain, they are retained. ( )but thomas, one of the twelve, called didymus, was not with them when jesus came. ( )the other disciples therefore said to him: we have seen the lord. but he said to them: except i see in his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, i will not believe. ( )and after eight days, again his disciples were within, and thomas with them. jesus comes, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: peace be to you. ( )after that, he says to thomas: reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. ( )thomas answered and said to him: my lord, and my god. ( )jesus says to him: because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. happy they who saw not, and have believed! ( )many other signs also did jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ( )but these are written, that ye might believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing ye may have life in his name. xxi. after these things jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of tiberias; and he manifested himself in this manner. ( )there were together simon peter, and thomas called didymus, and nathanael from cana of galilee, and the sons of zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ( )simon peter says to them: i go a fishing. they say to him: we also go with thee. they went forth, and entered into the ship; and in that night they caught nothing. ( )but when morning was now come, jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples knew not that it was jesus. ( )jesus therefore says to them: children, have ye anything to eat? they answered him: no. ( )and he said to them: cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. they cast it therefore; and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of the fishes. ( )therefore that disciple whom jesus loved says to peter: it is the lord. simon peter therefore, hearing that it is the lord, girded on his outer garment (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea. ( )and the other disciples came in the boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits off), dragging the net with the fishes. ( )when therefore they went out upon the land, they see a fire of coals there, and a fish lying thereon, and bread. ( )jesus says to them: bring of the fishes which ye just now caught. ( )simon peter went on board, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three; and though there were so many, the net was not broken. ( )jesus says to them: come hither, and break your fast. and none of the disciples durst ask him, who art thou? knowing that it is the lord. ( )jesus comes, and takes the bread and gives to them, and the fish likewise. ( )this the third time already, jesus manifested himself to his disciples, after he was risen from the dead. ( )when therefore they had broken their fast, jesus says to simon peter: simon, son of jonah, lovest thou me more than these? he says to him: yea, lord; thou knowest that i love thee. he says to him: feed my lambs. ( )he says to him again a second time: simon, son of jonah, lovest thou me? he says to him: yea, lord; thou knowest that i love thee. he says to him: tend my sheep. ( )he says to him the third time: simon, son of jonah, lovest thou me? peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, lovest thou me? and he said to him: lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that i love thee. jesus says to him: feed my sheep. ( )verily, verily, i say to thee, when thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself, and walk whither thou wouldst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. ( )and this he spoke, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify god. and having spoken this, he says to him: follow me. ( )peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom jesus loved following; who also at the supper leaned back on his breast, and said: lord, who is he that betrays thee? ( )peter seeing him says to jesus: lord, and what shall this man do? ( )jesus says to him: if i will that he remain till i come, what is it to thee? do thou follow me. ( )this saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. and jesus said not to him, that he should not die; but, if i will that he tarry till i come, what is it to thee? ( )this is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. ( )and there are also many other things which jesus did; and if they should be written every one, i suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written. the acts of the apostles. i. the former narration i made, o theophilus, concerning all things that jesus began both to do and to teach, ( )until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment, through the holy spirit, to the apostles whom he chose; ( )to whom also he showed himself living, after he had suffered, by many infallible proofs, during forty days appearing to them, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of god. ( )and, being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which ye heard from me; ( )for john indeed immersed in water; but ye shall be immersed in the holy spirit, not many days hence. ( )they therefore, having come together[ : ], asked him, saying: lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to israel? ( )and he said to them: it is not yours to know times or seasons, which the father appointed by his own authority[ : ]. ( )but ye shall receive power, when the holy spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, and in all judaea, and samaria, and unto the utmost part of the earth. ( )and having spoken these things, while they beheld he was borne up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. ( )and while they were looking intently into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ( )who also said: men of galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye saw him going into heaven. ( )then they returned to jerusalem from the mount called olivet, which is near jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey. ( )and when they came in, they went up into the upper room, where were abiding both peter, and james, and john, and andrew, philip and thomas, bartholomew and matthew, james the son of alpheus, and simon zelotes, and judas the brother of james. ( )these all continued with one accord in prayer, with women, and mary the mother of jesus, and his brothers. ( )and in those days peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty): ( )men, brethren, it was necessary that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the holy spirit by the mouth of david spoke before concerning judas, who became guide to those who took jesus. ( )because he was numbered with us, and obtained the office of this ministry.--( )now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. ( )and it became known to all who dwell at jerusalem; so that that field was called, in their own tongue, aceldama, that is, field of blood.--( )for it is written in the book of psalms: let his habitation be made desolate, and let no one dwell therein. and: let another take his office[ : ]. ( )therefore, of these men, who accompanied us all the time that the lord jesus went in and out among us, ( )beginning from john's immersion, unto the day when he was taken up from us, must one be made a witness with us of his resurrection. ( )and they appointed two, joseph called barsabas, who was surnamed justus, and matthias. ( )and they prayed, saying: thou, lord, who knowest the hearts of all, show which of these two thou didst choose, ( )that he may take part in this ministry and apostleship, from which judas by transgression fell away, that he might go to his own place. ( )and they gave their lots[ : ]; and the lot fell upon matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. ii. and when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ( )and suddenly there came a sound out of heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ( )and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed among them; and it sat upon each of them. ( )and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. ( )now there were dwelling in jerusalem, jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ( )and this being noised abroad[ : ], the multitude came together, and were confounded, because every man heard them speak in his own language. ( )and all were amazed, and wondered, saying one to another behold, are not all these who speak galilaeans? ( )and how do we hear, every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born, ( )parthians and medes and elamites, and those who inhabit mesopotamia, judaea and cappadocia, pontus and asia, ( )phrygia and pamphylia, egypt and the parts of libya about cyrene, and strangers of rome, both jews and proselytes, ( )cretes and arabians, hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of god? ( )and all were amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another: what may this mean? ( )but others mocking said: they are filled with sweet wine. ( )but peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them: men of judaea, and all that dwell in jerusalem, be this known to you, and hearken to my words. ( )for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, for it is the third hour of the day. ( )but this is what was spoken through the prophet joel: ( )and it shall be in the last days, saith god, that i will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; ( )and even on my servants and on my handmaids, i will pour out of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. ( )and i will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. ( )the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the lord shall come. ( )and it shall be, that every one who shall call on the name of the lord shall be saved. ( )men of israel, hear these words! jesus the nazarene, a man accredited to you from god by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which god wrought by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know; ( )this man, delivered up according to the established counsel and foreknowledge of god, ye slew, crucifying him by the hand of lawless ones; ( )whom god raised up, having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that he should be held by it. ( )for david says concerning him: i saw the lord always before me; because he is on my right hand, that i should not be moved. ( )for this my heart rejoiced, and my tongue exulted; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope; ( )because thou wilt not abandon my soul to the underworld, nor wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. ( )thou didst make known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of joy with thy presence. ( )men, brethren, i may speak freely to you of the patriarch david, that he both died and was buried, and his sepulchre is among us unto this day. ( )being a prophet, therefore, and knowing that god swore to him, with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit on his throne, ( )he, foreseeing, spoke of the resurrection of the christ, that neither was his soul abandoned to the underworld, nor did his flesh see corruption. ( )this jesus god raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. ( )being therefore exalted to the right hand of god, and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit, he poured forth this, which ye now see and hear. ( )for david did not ascend into heaven; but he says himself: the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, ( )until i make thy foes thy footstool. ( )therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly, that god made him, this jesus whom ye crucified, both lord and christ. ( )and hearing this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to peter and the rest of the apostles: men, brethren, what shall we do? ( )and peter said to them: repent, and be each of you immersed, upon the name of jesus christ, unto remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. ( )for the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the lord our god shall have called. ( )and with many other words did he bear witness and exhort, saying: save yourselves from this perverse generation. ( )they therefore, having received[ : ] his word, were immersed and on that day there were added about three thousand souls. ( )and they were constantly attending on the teaching of the apostles, and the distribution, and the breaking of bread, and prayers. ( )and fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were wrought through the apostles. ( )and all that believed were together, and had all things common; ( )and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as any one had need. ( )and daily attending with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of food with gladness and singleness of heart, ( )praising god, and having favor with all the people. and the lord added to the church daily those who are saved[ : ]. iii. and peter and john were going up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. ( )and a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried along, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, the one called beautiful, to ask alms of those entering into the temple; ( )who, seeing peter and john about to go into the temple, asked alms. ( )and peter, looking intently upon him, with john, said: look upon us. ( )and he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. ( )and peter said: silver and gold have i none; but what i have, that i give thee. in the name of jesus christ, the nazarene, rise up and walk. ( )and seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up. and immediately his feet and ankles received strength; ( )and leaping forth, he stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising god. ( )and all the people saw him walking and praising god; ( )and they recognized him, that this was he who sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him. ( )and as he held fast to peter and john, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called solomon's, greatly wondering. ( )and peter, seeing it, answered to the people: men of israel, why wonder ye at this? or why look ye so intently on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man to walk? ( )the god of abraham, and of isaac, and of jacob, the god of our fathers, glorified his servant jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of pilate, when he decided to release him. ( )but ye denied the holy and just, and demanded that a murderer should be granted to you. ( )but the author of life ye killed; whom god raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses[ : ]. ( )and his name, upon the faith in his name, made this man strong, whom ye see and know; and the faith, which is through him, gave him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. ( )and now, brethren, i know that ye acted in ignorance, as also your rulers. ( )but thus god fulfilled what he before announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that the christ should suffer. ( )repent therefore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the lord; ( )and that he may send forth jesus christ, before appointed for you; ( )whom the heavens, indeed, must receive, until the times of the restoration of all things, which god spoke of by the mouth of all his holy prophets from the beginning. ( )moses said: a prophet will the lord your god raise up to you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatever he shall say to you. ( )and it shall be that every soul, that will not hear that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. ( )and also all the prophets from samuel, both he and they who followed, as many as spoke, also foretold these days. ( )ye are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which god made with our fathers, saying to abraham: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. ( )unto you first, god, having raised up his servant jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. iv. and while they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the sadducees, came upon them, ( )being indignant because they taught the people, and announced in jesus the resurrection from the dead. ( )and they laid hands on them, and put them in prison unto the morrow; for it was now evening. ( )but many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men became about five thousand. ( )and it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, ( )and annas the high priest, and caiaphas, and john, and alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together unto jerusalem. ( )and having set them in the midst, they asked: by what power, or by what name, did ye do this? ( )then peter, filled with the holy spirit, said to them: rulers of the people, and elders of israel; ( )if we are this day examined in respect to a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this person has been made whole; ( )be it known to you all, and to all the people of israel, that by the name of jesus christ the nazarene, whom ye crucified, whom god raised from the dead, by him does this man stand here before you whole. ( )he is the stone that was set at naught by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. ( )and there is salvation in no other; for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, in which we must be saved. ( )and seeing the boldness of peter and john, and perceiving that they were unlearned and obscure men, they wondered; and they recognized them, that they were with jesus. ( )and beholding the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. ( )but having commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ( )saying: what shall we do to these men? for that a notorious miracle has been done by them is manifest to all that dwell in jerusalem, and we are not able to deny it. ( )but that it spread no further among the people, let us strictly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. ( )and having called them, they commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach, in the name of jesus. ( )but peter and john answering said to them: whether it is right in the sight of god to hearken to you rather than to god, judge ye. ( )for we can not but speak the things which we saw and heard. ( )and they, having further threatened them, let them go, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified god for that which was done; ( )for the man was above forty years old, on whom this sign of the healing had been wrought. ( )and being dismissed, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders said to them. ( )and they, hearing it, lifted up their voice to god with one accord, and said: lord, thou art he who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things in them; ( )who by the mouth of thy servant david said: why did the heathen rage[ : ], and the peoples imagine vain things? ( )the kings of the earth stood near, and the rulers assembled together, against the lord, and against his christ. ( )for in truth there assembled in this city, against thy holy servant jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both herod, and pontius pilate, with the gentiles, and the peoples of israel, ( )to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel before determined to be done. ( )and now, lord, behold their threatenings; and grant to thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, ( )by stretching forth thy hand for healing, and that signs and wonders may be wrought through the name of thy holy servant jesus. ( )and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled; and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and they spoke the word of god with boldness. ( )and the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and of one soul; and not one said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. ( )and with great power the apostles gave the testimony to the resurrection of the lord jesus; and great grace was upon them all. ( )for there was no one among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things sold, ( )and laid them at the feet of the apostles; and distribution was made to each one, according as he had need. ( )and joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed barnabas (which is interpreted, son of consolation), a levite, born in cyprus, ( )having land sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. v. but a certain man named ananias, with sapphira his wife, sold a possession, ( )and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. ( )but peter said: ananias, why did satan fill thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the holy spirit, and keep back part of the price of the land? ( )while it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why didst thou conceive this thing in thy heart? thou didst not lie to men, but to god. ( )and ananias hearing these words fell down, and expired; and great fear came on all that heard these things. ( )and the young men arose, wrapt him up, and carried him out[ : ], and buried him. ( )and it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. ( )and peter answered her: tell me, whether ye sold the land for so much? and she said: yes, for so much. ( )and peter said to her: why is it that ye agreed together to tempt the spirit of the lord? behold, the feet of those who buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. ( )and immediately she fell at his feet, and expired; and coming in, the young men found her dead, and carried her forth, and buried her by her husband. ( )and great fear came upon all the church, and upon all that heard these things. ( )and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in solomon's porch. ( )but of the rest no one dared to join himself to them; but the people honored them; ( )(and still more were believers added to the lord, multitudes both of men and women); ( )so that along the streets they brought forth the sick, and laid them on beds and pallets, that, as peter was passing, the shadow at least might overshadow some one of them. ( )and the multitude also of the cities around came together to jerusalem, bringing sick persons, and those who were vexed by unclean spirits; and they were all healed. ( )but the high priest rose up, and all that were with him, which is the sect of the sadducees, and were filled with indignation, ( )and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the public prison. ( )but an angel of the lord by night opened the prison doors; and having brought them forth, he said: ( )go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. ( )and hearing it, they went into the temple at early dawn, and taught. and the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the eldership of the children of israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ( )but the officers, when they came, found them not in the prison; and returning, they reported, ( )saying: the prison indeed we found shut with all security, and the keepers standing without before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one within. ( )and when the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they were at a loss concerning them, to what this might grow. ( )but one came and told them, saying: behold, the men whom ye put in the prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people. ( )then went the captain with the officers, and brought them, not with violence (for they feared the people), that they might not be stoned. ( )and having brought them, they set them before the council. and the high priest asked them, ( )saying: did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. ( )and peter answering, and the apostles, said: we ought to obey god rather than men. ( )the god of our fathers raised up jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. ( )him, as a prince and a savior, did god exalt to his right hand, to give repentance to israel, and remission of sins. ( )and we are his witnesses of these things, and the holy spirit also, which god gave to those who obey him. ( )and they, hearing it, were convulsed with rage, and took counsel to slay them. ( )but there stood up one in the council, a pharisee, named gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the men forth a little while; ( )and said to them: men of israel, take heed to yourselves, what ye are about to do in respect to these men. ( )for before these days arose theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves; who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to naught. ( )after this man arose judas the galilaean, in the days of the registering, and drew away much people after him; he also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. ( )and now i say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught; ( )but if it is of god ye can not overthrow them; lest haply ye be found also fighting against god. ( )and to him they assented; and having called the apostles, they scourged them, and commanded them not to speak in the name of jesus, and let them go. ( )they therefore went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because for that name they were counted worthy to suffer shame. ( )and every day, in the temple, and from house to house, they ceased not to teach, and to publish the glad tidings of jesus the christ. vi. and in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the grecian jews against the hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. ( )and the twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them, and said: it is not proper that we should leave the word of god, and serve tables. ( )therefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good repute, full of the holy spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this business. ( )but we will give ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. ( )and the saying pleased the whole multitude. and they chose stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy spirit, and philip, and prochorus, and nicanor, and timon, and parmenas, and nicolas a proselyte of antioch, ( )whom they set before the apostles; and having prayed, they laid their hands on them. ( )and the word of god increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. ( )and stephen, full of grace and of power, did great wonders and signs among the people. ( )and there arose certain ones of the synagogue so called of the freedmen[ : ], and cyrenians, and alexandrians, and of those from cilicia and asia, disputing with stephen. ( )and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. ( )then they suborned men, who said: we have heard him speak blasphemous words against moses, and against god. ( )and they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes; and coming upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the council, ( )and set up false witnesses, who said: this man ceases not to speak words against this holy place, and the law. ( )for we have heard him say, that this jesus the nazarene will destroy this place, and will change the customs which moses delivered to us. ( )and all that sat in the council, looking intently upon him, saw his face as the face of an angel. vii. and the high priest said: are then these things so? ( )and he said: brethren, and fathers, hearken. the god of glory appeared to our father abraham, when he was in mesopotamia, before he dwelt in haran, ( )and said to him: go forth from thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which i shall show thee. ( )then he went forth from the land of the chaldaeans, and dwelt in haran; and from thence, after his father was dead, he caused him to remove into this land, wherein ye now dwell. ( )and he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot-breadth; and he promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he had no child. ( )and god spoke after this manner, that his seed shall be a sojourner in a strange land, and they will bring them into bondage, and afflict them four hundred years. ( )and the nation to whom they shall be in bondage i will judge, said god; and after that they shall come forth, and shall serve me in this place. ( )and he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and thus he begot isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day, and isaac, jacob, and jacob the twelve patriarchs. ( )and the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold joseph into egypt. and god was with him, ( )and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of pharaoh king of egypt; and he made him governor over egypt and all his house. ( )and there came a famine over all the land of egypt and canaan, and a great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. ( )but jacob, hearing that there was grain in egypt, first sent out our fathers. ( )and at the second time, joseph was recognized by his brothers; and the race of joseph was made known to pharaoh. ( )then joseph sent, and called for jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. ( )and jacob went down into egypt, and died, he and our fathers, ( )and were removed to shechem, and laid in the tomb that abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of hamor, the father of shechem. ( )but as the time of the promise drew near, which god declared to abraham, the people grew and multiplied in egypt, ( )until another king arose who knew not joseph. ( )he, dealing subtly with our race, afflicted our fathers, so that they should cast out their infants, that they might not be preserved alive. ( )in which time moses was born, and was exceeding fair[ : ], who was nourished three months in his father's house. ( )and when he was cast out, pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for herself as a son. ( )and moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. ( )and when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the sons of israel. ( )and seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged the one oppressed by smiting the egyptian. ( )for he supposed his brethren would understand, that god by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not. ( )and on the following day he showed himself to them as they were contending, and urged them to peace, saying: ye are brethren; why wrong ye one another? ( )but he who was wronging his neighbor thrust him away, saying: who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? ( )wilt thou kill me, as thou didst kill the egyptian yesterday? ( )and moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of midian, where he begot two sons. ( )and when forty years were completed, there appeared to him in the wilderness of the mount sinai an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. ( )and moses, seeing it, wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the lord came to him, saving: ( )i am the god of thy fathers, the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob. and moses trembled, and durst not behold. ( )and the lord said to him: loose the sandals from thy feet; for the place where thou standest is holy ground. ( )truly, i saw the affliction of my people in egypt, and i heard their groaning, and came down to deliver them. and now come, i will send thee into egypt. ( )this moses whom they denied, saying: who made thee a ruler and a judge? him did god send as a ruler and a redeemer by the hand[ : ] of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ( )he brought them out, working wonders and signs in the land of egypt, and in the red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. ( )this is the moses who said to the children of israel: a prophet will god raise up to you of your brethren, like unto. ( )this is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him in the mount sinai, and with our fathers; who received the living oracles to give to us; ( )to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into egypt, ( )saying to aaron: make us gods who shall go before us; for as for this moses, who brought us out of the land of egypt, we know not what is become of him. ( )and they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ( )and god turned away, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets: did ye offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices, forty years in the wilderness, o house of israel? ( )and ye took up the tabernacle of moloch, and the star of the god remphan, the figures which ye made to worship them; and i will carry you away beyond babylon. ( )our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, as he who spoke to moses commanded, that he should make it according to the pattern that he had seen; ( )which also our fathers received, and brought in with joshua into the possession of the heathen, whom god drove out before our fathers, unto the days of david; ( )who found favor before god, and asked that he might find a habitation for the god of jacob. ( )but solomon built a house for him. ( )yet the most high dwells not in temples made with hands; as says the prophet: ( )heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. what house will ye build for me, saith the lord; or what is my place of rest? ( )did not my hand make all these things? ( )stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears! ye always resist the holy spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye. ( )which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they slew those who announced beforehand concerning the coming of the just one; of whom ye have now become the betrayers and murderers; ( )who received the law as the ordinances of angels, and kept it not. ( )hearing these things, they were enraged in their hearts, and gnashed their teeth against him. ( )but, being full of the holy spirit, he looked intently into heaven, and saw the glory of god, and jesus standing on the right hand of god, and said: ( )behold, i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of god. ( )and crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; ( )and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. and the witnesses laid off their garments at the feet of a young man named saul, ( )and stoned stephen, calling and saying: lord jesus, receive my spirit. ( )and kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice: lord, lay not this sin to their charge. and saying this, he fell asleep. viii. and saul was consenting to his death. and on that day there arose a great persecution against the church which was at jerusalem; and all were scattered abroad throughout the regions of judaea and samaria, except the apostles. ( )and devout men carried stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. ( )but saul laid waste the church, entering house after house, and dragging both men and women, committed them to prison. ( )they, therefore, that were scattered, went abroad, preaching the word. ( )and philip went down to the city[ : ] of samaria, and preached to them the christ. ( )and the multitudes with one accord gave heed to the things said by philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he wrought. ( )for out of many who had unclean spirits they went forth, crying with loud voice; and many that were palsied, and that were lame, were healed. ( )and there was great joy in that city. ( )but a certain man, named simon, was in the city before, using sorcery, and bewitching the people of samaria, saying that he was some great one; ( )to whom all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying: this man is the great power of god[ : ]. ( )and to him they gave heed, because for a long time they were bewitched by his sorceries. ( )but when they believed philip publishing the good news concerning the kingdom of god and the name of jesus christ, they were immersed, both men and women. ( )and simon also himself believed; and having been immersed, he continued with philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were wrought. ( )and the apostles in jerusalem, hearing that samaria has received the word of god, sent to them peter and john; ( )who, having come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the holy spirit; ( )for he had not yet fallen upon any of them; but they had only been immersed in the name of the lord jesus. ( )then they laid their hands on them, and they received the holy spirit. ( )and simon, seeing that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the holy spirit was given, offered them money, ( )saying: give me also this power, that on whomsoever i lay hands, he may receive the holy spirit. ( )but peter said to him: thy money perish with thee; because thou didst think to obtain the gift of god with money: ( )thou hast no part nor lot in this matter[ : ]; for thy heart is not right in the sight of god. ( )repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee. ( )for i perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity. ( )and simon answering, said: pray ye to the lord for me, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me. ( )they, therefore, having testified and spoken the word of the lord, were returning to jerusalem, and publishing the good news to many villages of the samaritans. ( )but an angel of the lord spoke to philip, saying: arise, and go down to the south, to the way that goes down from jerusalem to gaza. this is desert. ( )and he arose and went. and behold, a man of ethiopia, a eunuch, an officer of state of candace queen of the ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, and had come to jerusalem to worship, ( )was returning, and sitting in his chariot; and he was reading the prophet isaiah. ( )and the spirit said to philip: go near, and join thyself to this chariot. ( )and philip ran thither, and heard him reading isaiah the prophet. and he said: understandest thou then what thou art reading? ( )and he said: how could i, except some one should guide me? and he entreated philip to come up, and sit with him. ( )and the contents of the scripture which he was reading was this: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb dumb before his shearer, so he opens not his mouth. ( )in his humiliation his judgment was taken away; and his generation[ : ] who shall fully declare? for his life is taken away from the earth. ( )and the eunuch answering said to philip: i pray thee, of whom does the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man? ( )and philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, made known to him the good news of jesus. ( )and as they went along the way, they came to a certain water. and the eunuch said: see, here is water; what hinders that i should be immersed? ( )[ : ]and philip said: if thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. and answering he said: i believe that jesus christ is the son of god. ( )and he commanded that the chariot should stop. and they went down both into the water, both philip and the eunuch; and he immersed him. ( )and when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the lord caught away philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing. ( )but philip was found at azotus; and passing through, he published the good news to all the cities, till he came to caesarea. ix. but saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, went to the high priest, ( )and asked of him letters to damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to jerusalem. ( )and as he journeyed, he came near damascus. and suddenly there flashed around him a light from heaven; ( )and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? ( )and he said: who art thou, lord? and the lord said: i am jesus, whom thou persecutest. ( )but arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ( )and the men who journeyed with him were standing speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. ( )and saul arose from the earth; and his eyes being opened, he saw nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into damascus. ( )and he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. ( )and there was a certain disciple at damascus, named ananias; and to him the lord said, in a vision, ananias! and he said, behold, i am here, lord. ( )and the lord said to him: arise, and go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of judas for one called saul of tarsus. for, behold, he prays; ( )and in a vision he saw a man named ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive sight. ( )and ananias answered: lord, i have heard from many concerning this man, how great evils he did to thy saints at jerusalem. ( )and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. ( )but the lord said to him: go; for he is to me a chosen vessel, to bear my name before gentiles, and kings, and the sons of israel; ( )for i will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. ( )and ananias went, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him, he said: brother saul, the lord has sent me, jesus who appeared to thee in the way thou camest, that thou mayest receive sight, and be filled with the holy spirit. ( )and immediately there fell off from his eyes as it were scales; and he received sight, and arose, and was immersed; ( )and having taken food, he was strengthened. and saul was certain days with the disciples at damascus. ( )and straightway he preached jesus, in the synagogues, that he is the son of god. ( )and all that heard him were amazed, and said: is not this he who destroyed in jerusalem those who call on this name? and he came hither for this purpose, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests. ( )but saul was more strengthened, and confounded the jews who dwelt at damascus, proving that this is the christ. ( )and when many days were completed, the jews took counsel to kill him. ( )but their lying in wait became known to saul. and they were watching the gates day and night to kill him. ( )but the disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. ( )and saul, having come to jerusalem, attempted to join himself to the disciples; and all were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ( )but barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and related fully to them how he saw the lord in the way, and that he spoke to him, and how he preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus. ( )and he was with them, going in and out at jerusalem, ( )and speaking boldly in the name of the lord jesus; and was speaking and disputing against the grecian jews; but they were attempting to slay him. ( )and the brethren, learning it, brought him down to caesarea, and sent him forth to tarsus. ( )the church therefore, throughout all judaea and galilee and samaria, had peace, being built up, and walking in the fear of the lord, and in the consolation of the holy spirit, was multiplied. ( )and it came to pass that peter, going through them all, came down also to the saints who dwelt at lydda. ( )and there he found a certain man named aeneas, who had lain upon a pallet eight years, who was palsied. ( )and peter said to him: aeneas, jesus the christ makes thee whole; arise, and make thy bed. and immediately he arose. ( )and all that dwelt at lydda and saron saw him; and they turned to the lord. ( )and there was at joppa a certain disciple named tabitha, which interpreted is called dorcas. this woman was full of good works, and of alms, which she did. ( )and it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died. and having washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber. ( )and as lydda was near to joppa, the disciples, having heard that peter was there, sent to him two men, entreating that he would not delay to come to them. ( )and peter arose and went with them. when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber; and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing coats and garments which dorcas made, while she was with them. ( )but peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning to the body, he said: tabitha, arise. and she opened her eyes; and seeing peter, she sat up. ( )and he gave her his hand, and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ( )and it became known throughout all joppa; and many believed on the lord. ( )and it came to pass, that he remained many days in joppa, with one simon, a tanner. x. there was a certain man in caesarea named cornelius, a centurion of the band called the italian band; ( )devout, and one that feared god with all his house, giving many alms to the people, and praying to god always. ( )he saw in a vision, distinctly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of god coming in to him, and saying to him: cornelius! ( )and fixing his eyes on him, he was afraid, and said: what is it, lord? and he said to him: thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before god. ( )and now send men to joppa, and call for simon, who is surnamed peter. ( )he lodges with one simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside. ( )and when the angel who spoke to cornelius was gone, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of those who waited on him; ( )and having told them all these things, he sent them to joppa. ( )on the morrow, as they were journeying, and drawing near to the city, peter went up upon the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour. ( )and he became very hungry, and desired to eat. while they now were making ready, there fell upon him a trance; ( )and he beholds heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as a great sheet, bound by four corners, and let down upon the earth; ( )wherein were all the fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth, and birds of the air. ( )and there came a voice to him: arise, peter; slay, and eat. ( )but peter said: not so, lord; for i never ate anything common or unclean. ( )and a voice came to him again, the second time: what god cleansed, call not thou common. ( )this was done thrice; and the vessel was taken up again into heaven. ( )and while peter was doubting in himself what the vision might be which he saw, behold, the men who were sent from cornelius, having made inquiry for simon's house, came and stood before the gate; ( )and calling they asked, whether simon, who is surnamed peter, lodges here. ( )while peter was earnestly considering the vision, the spirit said to him: behold, men are seeking thee. ( )but arise, and go down, and go with them, making no scruple; because i have sent them. ( )peter went down to the men, and said: behold, i am he whom ye seek. what is the cause for which ye are here? ( )and they said: cornelius, a centurion, a just man, and one that fears god, and of good report among all the nation of the jews, was warned from god by a holy angel to send for thee to his house; and to hear words from thee. ( )he called them in, therefore, and lodged them. and on the morrow peter went forth with them, and certain brethren from joppa went with him. ( )and on the morrow after, they entered into caesarea. and cornelius was expecting them, having called together his kinsmen and near friends. ( )and as peter was coming in, cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and did reverence to him. ( )but peter raised him, saying: stand up; i myself also am a man. ( )and while talking with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. ( )and he said to them: ye know that it is unlawful[ : ] for a jew to keep company with, or come to, one of another nation; but god showed me that i should not call any man common or unclean. ( )wherefore i also came without delay, when sent for. i ask therefore for what reason did ye send for me? ( )and cornelius said: four days ago i was fasting unto this hour, and at the ninth hour was praying in my house; and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ( )and said: cornelius, thy prayer was heard, and thine alms were remembered before god. ( )send therefore to joppa, and call for simon, who is surnamed peter; he lodges in the house of simon a tanner, by the sea-side; who, when he comes will speak to thee. ( )immediately therefore i sent to thee; and thou didst well in coming hither. now therefore we are all present before god, to hear all things that are commanded thee from the lord. ( )and peter opened his mouth, and said: of a truth i perceive that god is not a respecter of persons; ( )but in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is acceptable to him. ( )the word which he sent to the sons of israel, publishing glad tidings of peace through jesus christ (he is lord of all), ( )ye know; the thing which was done throughout all judaea, beginning from galilee, after the immersion which john preached; jesus of nazareth, ( )how god anointed him with the holy spirit and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil; because god was with him. ( )and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the jews, and in jerusalem; whom they slew, hanging him on a tree. ( )him god raised on the third day, and showed him openly; ( )not to all the people, but to witnesses before appointed by god, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ( )and he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is he who has been appointed by god to be judge of the living and dead. ( )to him all the prophets bear witness, that through his name every one who believes on him shall receive remission of sins. ( )while peter was yet speaking these words, the holy spirit fell on all who heard the word. ( )and those of the circumcision who believed, as many as came with peter, were astonished, that on the gentiles also was poured out the gift of the holy spirit. ( )for they heard them speaking with tongues, and magnifying god. then answered peter: ( )can any one forbid the water, that these should not be immersed, who received the holy spirit even as we also? ( )and he commanded that they should be immersed in the name of the lord. then they entreated him to remain certain days. xi. and the apostles, and the brethren throughout judaea, heard that the gentiles also received the word of god. ( )and when peter went up to jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, ( )saying: thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. ( )but peter rehearsed the matter to them in order, from the beginning, saying: ( )i was in the city of joppa praying; and in a trance i saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as a great sheet, let down out of heaven by four corners; and it came even to me. ( )on which fixing my eyes, i considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and birds of the air. ( )and i heard a voice saying to me: arise, peter; slay and eat. ( )but i said: not so, lord; for nothing common or unclean ever entered into my mouth. ( )but a voice answered me a second time out of heaven: what god cleansed, regard not thou as common. ( )and this was done three times; and all were drawn up again into heaven. ( )and, behold, immediately there stood three men at the house where i was, having been sent to me from caesarea. ( )and the spirit bade me go with them, making no scruple. and these six brethren also went with me, and we entered into the man's house. ( )and he told us how he saw the angel in his house, standing and saying to him: send to joppa, and call for simon who is surnamed peter; ( )who will speak to thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, and all thy house. ( )and as i began to speak, the holy spirit fell on them, as also on us at the beginning; ( )and i remembered the word of the lord, how he said: john indeed immersed in water, but ye shall be immersed in the holy spirit. ( )if therefore god gave the like gift to them as to us, having believed on the lord jesus christ, who then was i, that i could withstand god? ( )when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified god, saying: so then, to the gentiles also god gave repentance unto life. ( )now they who were scattered abroad by the persecution that arose on account of stephen, went as far as phoenicia, and cyprus, and antioch, speaking the word to none but jews. ( )but some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene, who, having come to antioch, spoke to the greeks, publishing the good news of the lord jesus. ( )and the hand of the lord was with them; and a great number believed, and turned to the lord. ( )but the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in jerusalem; and they sent forth barnabas, to go as far as antioch. ( )who having come, and seen the grace of god, rejoiced; and he exhorted all, that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the lord. ( )for he was a good man, and full of the holy spirit and of faith. and a great multitude was added to the lord. ( )and barnabas departed to tarsus, to seek for saul; ( )and having found him, he brought him to antioch. and it came to pass, that a whole year they came together in the church, and taught a great multitude; and the disciples were first called christians in antioch. ( )and in these days prophets came down from jerusalem to antioch. ( )and there stood up one of them named agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be a great dearth over all the world; which came to pass in the days of claudius caesar. ( )and the disciples, according as any one was prospered, determined each of them to send relief to the brethren dwelling in judaea; ( )which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and saul. xii. and about that time, herod the king stretched forth his hands to oppress[ : ] certain of the church. ( )and he slew james the brother of john with the sword. ( )and seeing that it pleased the jews, he proceeded further to take peter also; (then were the days of unleavened bread;) ( )whom he also seized and put in prison, delivering him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people. ( )peter therefore was kept guarded in the prison; but earnest prayer was made by the church to god on his behalf. ( )and when herod was about to bring him forth, in that night peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and keepers before the door were guarding the prison. ( )and, behold, an angel of the lord stood by him, and a light shined in the prison; and he smote peter on the side, and raised him, saying: rise up quickly. and his chains fell from off his hands. ( )and the angel said to him: gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals; and he did so. and he said to him: cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ( )and he went out, and followed him; and knew not that what was done by the angel was true, but thought he saw a vision. ( )and having passed the first and the second watch, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out, and passed on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ( )and peter, having come to himself, said: now i know truly, that the lord sent forth his angel, and delivered me out of the hand of herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the jews. ( )and becoming fully conscious of it, he went to the house of mary the mother of john, who was surnamed mark, where many were gathered together, and praying. ( )and as peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maidservant came to hearken, named rhoda. ( )and recognizing peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told that peter was standing before the gate. ( )and they said to her: thou art mad. but she confidently affirmed that it was even so. and they said: it is his angel. ( )but peter continued knocking; and opening the door they saw him, and were amazed. ( )and beckoning to them with the hand to be silent, he related to them how the lord brought him out of the prison. and he said: go tell these things to james, and to the brethren. and he departed, and went to another place. ( )and when it was day, there was no small commotion among the soldiers, as to what was become of peter. ( )and herod, when he had sought for him, and found him not, after examining the keepers, commanded that they should be led away to death. and he went down from judaea to caesarea, and there abode. ( )and herod was highly displeased with the tyrians and sidonians. but they came with one accord to him, and, having made blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by that of the king. ( )and on a set day herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made a speech to them. ( )and thereupon the people shouted: the voice of a god, and not of a man! ( )and immediately an angel of the lord smote him, because he gave not glory to god; and he was eaten by worms, and expired. ( )but the word of god grew and multiplied. ( )and barnabas and saul returned from jerusalem, having performed the service, taking with them also john, who was surnamed mark. xiii. and there were at antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers; barnabas, and simeon who was called niger, and lucius the cyrenean, and manaen the foster-brother of herod the tetrarch, and saul. ( )and while they were ministering to the lord, and fasting, the holy spirit said: set apart for me barnabas and saul, unto the work to which i have called them. ( )then, having fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. ( )they therefore, being sent forth by the holy spirit, came down to seleucia; and from thence they sailed away to cyprus. ( )and having come to salamis, they preached the word of god in the synagogues of the jews; and they had also john as an assistant. ( )and having gone through the island to paphos, they found a certain magian, a jewish false prophet, whose name was bar-jesus; ( )who was with the proconsul of the country, sergius paulus, an intelligent man. he, having called for barnabas and saul, desired to hear the word of god. ( )but elymas the magian (for so his name is interpreted), withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. ( )then saul (who is also called paul), filled with the holy spirit, fixed his eyes on him, ( )and said: o full of all deceit and all wickedness, child of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the lord? ( )and now, behold, the hand of the lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. and immediately there fell on him a mist and darkness; and going about, he sought persons to lead him by the hand. ( )then the proconsul, seeing what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the lord. ( )and paul and his companions, having put to sea from paphos, came to perga in pamphylia; and john departing from them returned to jerusalem. ( )but they, going on from perga, came to antioch in pisidia; and entering into the synagogue on the sabbath day, they sat down. ( )and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: men, brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak. ( )and paul arose, and beckoning with the hand, said: men of israel, and ye that fear god, hearken. ( )the god of this people of israel chose our fathers; and he exalted the people in their sojourn in the land of egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it. ( )and about the time of forty years he nourished them[ : ] in the wilderness. ( )and having destroyed seven nations in the land of canaan, he gave them their land as a possession, ( )about four hundred and fifty years. and after that, he gave judges, until samuel the prophet. ( )and afterward they desired a king; and god gave them saul the son of kish, a man of the tribe of benjamin, for forty years. ( )and having removed him, he raised up for them david to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, saying: i found david the son of jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. ( )of the seed of this man, god, according to promise, raised up to israel a savior, jesus; ( )john having first preached, before his entrance, the immersion of repentance to all the people of israel. ( )now as john was finishing his course, he said: whom do ye suppose me to be? i am not he. but, behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet i am not worthy to loose. ( )men, brethren, children of the race of abraham, and whoever among you fears god, to you the word of this salvation was sent forth. ( )for they who dwell at jerusalem, and their rulers, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, fulfilled them in condemning him. ( )and though they found no cause of death, they demanded of pilate that he should be slain. ( )and when they had fulfilled all the things written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. ( )but god raised him from the dead. ( )and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from galilee to jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people. ( )and we declare to you glad tidings of the promise made to the fathers, ( )that god has fulfilled this to us their children, in raising jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm[ : ]: thou art my son; i this day have begotten thee. ( )and that he raised him up from the dead to return no more to corruption, he has thus spoken: i will give to you the holy, the sure promises of david. ( )wherefore also in another psalm he says: thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption. ( )for david, having served his own generation according to the purpose of god, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers, and saw corruption. ( )but he, whom god raised, saw not corruption. ( )be it known to you therefore, men, brethren, that remission of sins through this man is announced to you; ( )and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye were not able to be justified by the law of moses. ( )beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken in the prophets: ( )behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; because i work a work in your days, a work which ye will not believe, though one should fully declare it to you. ( )and as they were going out, they besought that these words might be spoken to them on the next sabbath. ( )and when the congregation was broken up, many of the jews and of the proselyte worshipers followed paul and barnabas; who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of god. ( )and on the next sabbath day, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of god. ( )but the jews, seeing the multitudes, were filled with indignation, and spoke against the things said by paul, contradicting and blaspheming. ( )then paul and barnabas spoke boldly, and said: it was necessary that the word of god should first be spoken to you; but since ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves not worthy of the eternal life, lo, we turn to the gentiles. ( )for so has the lord commanded us: i have set thee for a light of the gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation to the end of the earth. ( )and the gentiles hearing it rejoiced, and glorified the word of the lord; and as many as were appointed unto eternal life believed. ( )and the word of the lord was spread abroad throughout all the region. ( )but the jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against paul and barnabas, and drove them out from their borders. ( )and they, having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, came to iconium. ( )and the disciples were filled with joy, and with the holy spirit. xiv. and it came to pass in iconium, that they went together into the synagogue of the jews, and so spoke, that a great multitude both of jews and greeks believed. ( )but the jews who disbelieved stirred up and embittered the minds of the gentiles against the brethren. ( )they spent a long time, therefore, speaking boldly in the lord, who gave testimony to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ( )but the multitude of the city was divided; and part held with the jews, and part with the apostles. ( )and when a movement was made, both of the gentiles and jews with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, ( )they, being aware of it, fled to the cities of lycaonia, lystra and derbe, and the region around; ( )and there they were publishing the good news. ( )and there sat a certain man at lystra, impotent in his feet, being lame from his mother's womb, who never walked. ( )this man was listening to paul as he spoke; who, fixing his eyes on him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, ( )said with a loud voice: stand upright on thy feet. and he leaped up, and walked. ( )and the multitudes, seeing what paul did, lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of lycaonia: the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. ( )and they called barnabas, jupiter; and paul, mercury, because he was the chief speaker. ( )and the priest of jupiter, that was before the city, having brought oxen and garlands to the gates, would have offered sacrifice with the people. ( )but the apostles, barnabas and paul, hearing of it, rent their clothes, and rushed forth to the multitude; crying out, ( )and saying: sirs, why do ye these things? we also are men of like nature with you, bringing you glad tidings, that ye should turn from these vanities to the living god, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein; ( )who, in the ages past, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways; ( )although he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, giving you rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness. ( )and with these sayings they hardly restrained the people from sacrificing to them. ( )but there came thither jews from antioch and iconium; and having persuaded the people, and stoned paul, they drew him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ( )but the disciples having gathered around him, he rose up, and came into the city; and on the morrow he departed with barnabas to derbe. ( )and having published the good news to that city, and made many disciples, they turned back to lystra, and iconium, and antioch; ( )confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much affliction enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and having appointed for them elders in every church, they commended them, with prayer and fasting, to the lord, on whom they believed. ( )and after passing through pisidia, they came to pamphylia. ( )and having spoken the word in perga, they went down to attalia; ( )and thence they sailed away to antioch, from whence they had been commended to the grace of god for the work which they accomplished. ( )and having come, and gathered the church together, they reported how great things god wrought with them, and that he opened to the gentiles a door of faith. ( )and they spent no little time with the disciples. xv. and certain men, coming down from judaea, taught the brethren: except ye are circumcised after the custom of moses, ye can not be saved. ( )paul and barnabas having therefore had no little dissension and discussion with them, they determined that paul and barnabas, and certain others of them, should go up to jerusalem to the apostles and elders, about this question. ( )they therefore, having been sent forward by the church, passed through phoenicia and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. ( )and having come to jerusalem, they were gladly received by the church, and the apostles and elders; and they reported how great things god wrought with them. ( )but there arose some of those from the sect of the pharisees who believed, saying: it is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of moses. ( )and the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. ( )and when there had been much discussion, peter arose, and said to them: men, brethren, ye know that a long time ago god made choice among us, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the glad tidings and believe. ( )and god who knows the heart bore them witness, giving to them the holy spirit, as also to us; ( )and made no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ( )now therefore why do ye tempt god, by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ( )but, through the grace of the lord jesus, we believe that we shall be saved, in the same manner as they also. ( )and all the multitude became silent, and listened to barnabas and paul, narrating how great signs and wonders god wrought among the gentiles through them. ( )and after they were silent, james answered, saying: men, brethren, hearken to me. ( )simeon narrated how at first god visited the gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. ( )and with this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written: ( )after this i will return, and will rebuild the tabernacle of david, which is fallen down; and i will rebuild the ruins thereof, and will set it up again; ( )that the rest of men may seek after the lord, and all the gentiles, upon whom my name has been called, saith the lord, who does these things[ : ]. ( )known to god are all his works from the beginning of the world. ( )wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not those who from among the gentiles are turning to god; ( )but that we write to them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. ( )for moses of old time has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath. ( )then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, resolved, having chosen men from themselves, to send them to antioch with paul and barnabas; namely, judas surnamed barsabas, and silas, leading men among the brethren. ( )and they wrote by them thus: the apostles and the elders and the brethren, to the brethren from the gentiles throughout antioch and syria and cilicia, greeting: ( )forasmuch as we heard, that some who went out from us troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying that ye must be circumcised and keep the law[ : ], to whom we gave no commandment; ( )it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to choose men and send them to you, with our beloved barnabas and paul, ( )men who have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. ( )we have sent therefore judas and silas, who will themselves also by word tell you the same things. ( )for it seemed good to the holy spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no further burden except these necessary things; ( )that ye abstain from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, ye will do well. farewell. ( )they therefore, being dismissed, came to antioch; and assembling the multitude they delivered the letter. ( )and having read it, they rejoiced for the consolation. ( )and judas and silas, also themselves being prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. ( )and having remained a while, they were dismissed with peace from the brethren to the apostles. ( )but it pleased silas to abide there still[ : ]. ( )paul also and barnabas continued in antioch, teaching and publishing the glad tidings of the word of the lord, with many others also. ( )and some days after, paul said to barnabas: let us return now, and visit the brethren in every city where we preached the word of the lord, and see how they do. ( )and barnabas determined to take with them john, who was surnamed mark. ( )but paul thought it proper not to take with them him who departed from them from pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. ( )and there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted one from the other, and barnabas took mark, and sailed to cyprus. ( )and paul, having chosen silas, went forth, being commended by the brethren to the grace of god. ( )and he went through syria and cilicia, confirming the churches. xvi. and he came down to derbe and lystra. and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named timothy, the son of a believing jewish woman, but whose father was a greek; ( )who was well reported of by the brethren in lystra and iconium. ( )him paul wished to go forth with him, and took and circumcised him on account of the jews who were in those places; for they all knew that his father was a greek. ( )and as they journeyed through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, that were ordained by the apostles and elders who were in jerusalem. ( )the churches, therefore, were established in the faith, and increased in number daily. ( )and having gone through the region of phrygia and galatia, and being forbidden by the holy spirit to speak the word in asia, ( )they came to mysia, and attempted to go into bithynia; but the spirit of jesus did not permit them. ( )and passing by mysia, they came down to troas. ( )and a vision appeared to paul in the night. there stood a man, a macedonian, beseeching him, and saying: come over into macedonia and help us. ( )and when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into macedonia, concluding that the lord had called us to publish the good news to them. ( )therefore setting sail from troas, we ran with a straight course to samothrace, and on the following day to neapolis; ( )and from thence to philippi, which is a chief city of that part of macedonia, a colony. and we continued in that city certain days. ( )and on the sabbath, we went forth out of the gate by a river side, where was wont to be a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spoke to the women who came together. ( )and a certain woman named lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of thyatira, who worshiped god, was listening; whose heart the lord opened to attend to the things spoken by paul. ( )and when she was immersed and her household, she besought us, saying: if ye have judged me to be a believer in the lord, come into my house, and abide. and she constrained us. ( )and it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain bondmaid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. ( )she, having followed paul and us, cried, saying: these men are the servants of the most high god, who announce to us the way of salvation. ( )and this she did many days. but paul, being indignant[ : ], turned and said to the spirit: i command thee in the name of jesus christ to come out from her. and he came out the same hour. ( )and her masters, seeing that the hope of their gain departed, laid hold of paul and silas, and drew them into the market-place before the rulers. ( )and having brought them to the magistrates, they said: these men, being jews, greatly disturb our city; ( )and teach customs, which it is not lawful for us to receive, or to observe, being romans. ( )and the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them with rods. ( )and having laid many stripes on them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely; ( )who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. ( )and at midnight paul and silas prayed, and sang praises to god; and the prisoners listened to them. ( )and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and the chains of all were loosed. ( )and the jailer, awaking out of sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword, and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled. ( )but paul cried with a loud voice, saying: do thyself no harm; for we are all here. ( )and calling for lights, he sprang in, and trembling fell down before paul and silas; ( )and having brought them out, he said: sirs, what must i do to be saved? ( )and they said: believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ( )and they spoke to him the word of the lord, and to all that were in his house. ( )and taking them along, the same hour of the night, he washed their stripes; and was immersed, himself and all his, immediately. ( )and having brought them up into his house, he set food before them, and rejoiced, with all his house, believing in god. ( )and when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying: let those men go. ( )and the keeper of the prison reported these words to paul: the magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore depart, and go in peace. ( )but paul said to them: they beat us openly, uncondemned, being romans, and cast us into prison; and now do they send us forth secretly? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out. ( )and the sergeants reported these words to the magistrates; and they were afraid, when they heard that they were romans. ( )and they came and besought them, and bringing them out, entreated them to depart out of the city. ( )and they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of lydia; and seeing the brethren they exhorted them, and departed. xvii. and passing through amphipolis and apollonia, they came to thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the jews. ( )and paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures, ( )opening them, and setting forth that the christ must suffer, and rise again from the dead; and that this is the christ, jesus whom i preach to you. ( )and some of them believed, and joined themselves to[ : ] paul and silas; and of the devout greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. ( )but the jews, moved with envy[ : ], having taken to them, of the idlers in the market-place, certain vicious men, and having gathered a crowd, set the city in an uproar; and assaulting the house of jason, they sought to bring them unto the people. ( )and not finding them, they dragged jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying: these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. ( )whom jason has received; and all these are acting contrary to the decrees of caesar, saying that there is another king, jesus. ( )and they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. ( )and having taken security of jason, and of the others, they let them go. ( )and the brethren immediately sent away paul and silas by night to beroea; who coming thither went into the synagogue of the jews. ( )these were more noble than those in thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily whether these things were so. ( )many of them therefore believed; and of honorable grecian women and men, not a few. ( )but when the jews of thessalonica knew that also at beroea the word of god was preached by paul, they came, stirring up the people there also. ( )and then immediately the brethren sent away paul to journey as upon the sea; but silas and timothy abode there still. ( )and they who conducted paul brought him to athens; and having received a command to silas and timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. ( )now while paul was waiting for them at athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city full of idols. ( )therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the jews and the devout persons, and in the market daily with those who met with him. ( )and certain philosophers of the epicureans, and of the stoics, were disputing with him. and some said: what would this babbler say? and others: he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods; because he made known to them the good news of jesus and the resurrection. ( )and taking hold of him, they brought him upon mars' hill, saying: may we know what this new doctrine is, of which thou speakest? ( )for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we would know therefore what these things mean. ( )now all athenians, and the strangers residing there, spent their leisure for nothing else, but to tell or to hear something new. ( )and paul, standing in the midst of mars' hill, said: men of athens, in all things i perceive that ye are very devout. ( )for as i passed by, and observed your objects of worship, i found also an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. whom therefore, not knowing, ye worship, him i announce to you. ( )the god who made the world and all things therein, he being lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; ( )nor is ministered to by human hands, as if needing anything more, himself giving to all life, and breath, and all things. ( )and he made of one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having fixed the appointed seasons and bounds of their habitation; ( )that they should seek the lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, although he is not far from every one of us; ( )for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as also some of your own poets have said: for his offspring also are we. ( )being therefore god's offspring, we ought not to think that the godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. ( )the times of ignorance therefore god overlooked; but now, commands all men everywhere to repent. ( )because he fixed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by the man whom he appointed, having given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. ( )and when they heard of a resurrection of the dead, some mocked; and others said: we will hear thee again of this matter. ( )and thus paul departed from among them. ( )but certain ones, joining themselves to him, believed; among whom was also dionysius the areopagite, and a woman named damaris, and others with them. xviii. after these things paul departed from athens, and came to corinth. ( )and finding a certain jew named aquila, a native of pontus, lately come from italy, and priscilla his wife (because claudius had commanded all the jews to depart from rome), he came to them; ( )and because he was of the same trade, he abode with them, and labored; for by their occupation they were tentmakers. ( )and he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded both jews and greeks. ( )and when silas and timothy came down from macedonia, paul was engrossed with the word, testifying to the jews that jesus is the christ. ( )but they opposing themselves and blaspheming, he shook out his garments and said to them: your blood be upon your own head; i am clean; from henceforth i will go to the gentiles. ( )and departing thence he entered into a certain man's house, named justus, one who worshiped god, whose house was adjoining the synagogue. ( )and crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the lord with all his house; and many of the corinthians hearing believed, and were immersed. ( )and the lord said to paul, through a vision in the night: be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; ( )for i am with thee, and no one shall assail thee to hurt thee; for i have much people in this city. ( )and he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of god among them. ( )and when gallio was proconsul of achaia, the jews rose up with one accord against paul, and brought him before the judgment-seat, ( )saying: this man persuades men to worship god contrary to the law. ( )and as paul was about to open his mouth, gallio said to the jews: if it were some injustice, or wicked misdeed, o jews, with reason i would have borne with you. ( )but if it is a question about a word, and names, and your own law look to it yourselves; i will not be a judge of these things ( )and he drove them away from the judgment-seat. ( )but having all seized upon sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, they beat him before the judgment-seat. and gallio cared for none of these things. ( )and paul having remained yet many days, took leave of the brethren, and sailed thence to syria, and with him priscilla and aquila; having shaven his head in cenchrea, for he had a vow. ( )and they came to ephesus, and he left them there but entering himself into the synagogue, he reasoned with the jews. ( )and they desiring him to remain a longer time with them, he consented not; ( )but took leave of them, saying: [ : ][i must by all means keep the coming feast at jerusalem; but] i will return again to you, if god will. and he sailed from ephesus. ( )and having landed at caesarea, and gone up and saluted the church, he went down to antioch. ( )and after he had spent some time there, he departed, going through the country of galatia and phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. ( )and a certain jew named apollos, a native of alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to ephesus. ( )this man was instructed in the way of the lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught correctly the things concerning jesus, knowing only the immersion of john. ( )and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. but aquila and priscilla, having heard him, took him to them, and expounded to him the way of god more perfectly. ( )and he wishing to pass through into achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; who, when he was come, contributed much to those who had believed through grace. ( )for he powerfully confuted the jews in public, showing by the scriptures that jesus is the christ. xix. and it came to pass, that, while apollos was at corinth, paul having passed through the upper districts came to ephesus. and finding certain disciples, ( )he said to them: did ye receive the holy spirit when ye believed? and they said to him: nay, we did not even hear whether there is a holy spirit. ( )and he said to them: unto what then were ye immersed? and they said: unto john's immersion. ( )then said paul: john indeed immersed with the immersion of repentance; saying to the people, that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on jesus. ( )and when they heard this, they were immersed in the name of the lord jesus. ( )and paul having laid his hands upon them, the holy spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied. ( )and all the men were about twelve. ( )and he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them of the things concerning the kingdom of god. ( )but when some were hardened, and believed not, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of tyrannus. ( )and this continued for two years; so that all who dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord, both jews and greeks. ( )and god wrought special miracles by the hands of paul; ( )so that also there were carried from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out from them. ( )then some of the wandering jewish exorcists took upon them to name, over those who had the evil spirits, the name of the lord jesus, saying: i adjure you by the jesus whom paul preaches. ( )and there were seven sons of one sceva, a jewish chief priest, who did this. ( )and the evil spirit answering said: jesus i know, and paul i well know; but who are ye? ( )and the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against both, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ( )and this became known to all, both jews and greeks, who dwelt at ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the lord jesus was magnified. ( )and many of the believers came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. ( )many of those also who practiced curious arts brought together the books, and burned them before all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. ( )so mightily grew the word of god and prevailed. ( )when these things were ended, paul purposed to go to jerusalem, passing through macedonia and achaia; saying: after i have been there, i must also see rome. ( )and having sent into macedonia two of those who ministered to him, timothy and erastus, he himself stayed in asia for a season. ( )and about that time, there arose no small tumult concerning the way. ( )for a certain man named demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen; ( )whom he called together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said: sirs, ye well know that by this craft we have our wealth. ( )moreover ye see and hear, that this paul has persuaded and turned aside much people, not only of ephesus, but of almost all asia, saying that they are not gods, which are made with hands. ( )and there is danger to us, not only that this branch of business will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess diana will be accounted nothing, and her magnificence will be destroyed, whom all asia and the world worship. ( )and hearing it, they became full of wrath, and continued crying out, saying: great is diana of the ephesians. ( )and the whole city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized gaius and aristarchus, men of macedonia, paul's companions in travel. ( )and paul wishing to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. ( )and some also of the chiefs of asia, being his friends, sent to him, entreating him not to adventure himself into the theatre. ( )some therefore were crying one thing, and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not wherefore they had come together. ( )and they brought forward alexander out of the multitude, the jews thrusting him forward. and alexander beckoned with the hand, desiring to make his defense to the people. ( )but when they knew that he was a jew, one voice arose from all, crying about two hours: great is diana of the ephesians. ( )and the town-clerk, having quieted the people, said: men of ephesus, what human being is there, who knows not that the city of the ephesians is keeper of the great diana, and of the image which fell down from jupiter? ( )these things being therefore undeniable, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. ( )for ye brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples, nor blasphemers of your goddess. ( )if therefore demetrius, and the craftsmen with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open[ : ], and there are proconsuls; let them implead one another. ( )but if ye make any demand concerning other matters, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. ( )for we are in danger of being called in question for this day's riot, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. ( )and having thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. xx. and after the tumult ceased, paul called to him the disciples, and having embraced them, departed to go into macedonia. ( )and having gone through those regions, and given them much exhortation, he came into greece. ( )and after he had stayed three months, a plot being laid for him by the jews, as he was about sailing to syria, it was resolved that he should return through macedonia. ( )and there accompanied him unto asia, sopater, son of pyrrhus, a beroean; and of the thessalonians, aristarchus and secundus; and gaius of derbe, and timothy; and of asia, tychicus and trophimus. ( )these, having gone forward, were waiting for us at troas. ( )but we sailed forth from philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them to troas in five days; where we abode seven days. ( )and on the first day of the week, we having come together to break bread, paul discoursed to them (being about to depart on the morrow), and continued the discourse until midnight. ( )now there were many lights in the upper room, where we were assembled. ( )and there sat on the window a certain young man named eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and as paul was long discoursing, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. ( )and paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said: do not lament, for his life is in him. ( )and having come up again, and broken the bread, and eaten, he talked a long while even till break of day, and so departed. ( )and they brought the young man living, and were not a little comforted. ( )and we, going forward to the ship, embarked for assos, intending there to take in paul; for so he had appointed, intending himself to go on foot. ( )and when he met with us at assos, we took him in, and came to mitylene. ( )and sailing thence, we came the following day over against chios; and the next day we arrived at samos; and having tarried at trogyllium, we came the next day to miletus. ( )for paul had determined to sail past ephesus, that he might not spend time in asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at jerusalem on the day of pentecost. ( )and from miletus he sent to ephesus, and called the elders of the church. ( )and when they were come to him, he said to them: ye know, from the first day that i came into asia, after what manner i have been with you the whole time; ( )serving the lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and trials which befell me by the plottings of the jews; ( )how i kept back nothing that was profitable, that i should not announce it to you, and teach you, publicly and from house to house; ( )testifying, to both jews and greeks, repentance toward god, and faith toward our lord jesus christ. ( )and now, behold, i go bound in the spirit to jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there; ( )save that the holy spirit witnesses to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. ( )but none of these things move me, neither do i count my life dear to myself, so that i may finish my course with joy[ : ], and the ministry which i received from the lord jesus, to testify the good news of the grace of god. ( )and now, behold, i know that all ye, among whom i went about preaching the kingdom of god, shall see my face no more. ( )wherefore i testify to you this day, that i am pure from the blood of all; ( )for i shunned not to declare to you the whole counsel of god. ( )take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the holy spirit made you overseers, to feed the church of the lord[ : ], which he purchased with his own blood. ( )for i know this, that after my departure grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ( )and from among yourselves will men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ( )therefore watch, remembering that for the space of three years, night and day, i ceased not to warn every one with tears. ( )and now, brethren, i commend you to god, and to the word of his grace, who is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified. ( )i coveted no one's silver, or gold, or apparel. ( )ye yourselves know, that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. ( )in all ways i showed you that, so laboring, ye ought to assist the weak, and to remember the words of the lord jesus, that he himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive. ( )and having thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. ( )and they all wept sorely, and fell on paul's neck, and kissed him; ( )sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. and they accompanied him to the ship. xxi. and it came to pass, that after we had torn ourselves from them, and had put to sea, we came with a straight course to coos, and the day following to rhodes, and from thence to patara. ( )and finding a ship crossing over to phoenicia, we went aboard, and put to sea. ( )and bringing cyprus in sight, and leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to syria, and landed at tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. ( )and having found out the disciples, we remained there seven days; who said to paul through the spirit, that he should not go up to jerusalem. ( )and when we had completed the days, we departed and went our way; they all accompanying us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city; and we kneeled down on the beach, and prayed. ( )and having embraced one another, we went on board the ship; and they returned to their homes. ( )and we, completing the voyage, came down from tyre to ptolemais; and having embraced the brethren, we remained with them one day. ( )and on the morrow we departed, and came to caesarea; and entering into the house of philip the evangelist, being one of the seven, we abode with him. ( )and this man had four daughters, virgins, who prophesied. ( )and while we were remaining several days, there came down from judaea a certain prophet, named agabus. ( )and coming to us, he took off paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said: thus says the holy spirit: so will the jews at jerusalem bind the man, whose this girdle is, and will deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. ( )and when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to jerusalem. ( )then answered paul: what mean ye, to weep and to break my heart? for i am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at jerusalem, for the name of the lord jesus. ( )and when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying: the will of the lord be done. ( )and after those days, having packed up our baggage, we went up to jerusalem. ( )there went with us also some of the disciples from caesarea, bringing us to mnason of cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. ( )and when we were come to jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ( )and on the following day, paul went in with us to james; and all the elders were present. ( )and having embraced them, he recounted particularly what things god had wrought among the gentiles through his ministry. ( )and they, hearing it, glorified the lord. and they said to him: thou seest, brother, how many thousands of jews there are who believe; and they are all zealots for the law. ( )and they were informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the jews who are among the gentiles to forsake moses, saying that they should not circumcise their children, nor walk after the customs. ( )what is it therefore? a multitude must surely come together; for they will hear that thou hast come. ( )do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men who have a vow on them; ( )these take with thee, and purify thyself with them, and bear the charges for them, that they may shave their heads; and all will know that those things, of which they have been informed concerning thee, are nothing, but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. ( )but concerning the gentiles who have believed, we wrote to them, deciding that they should observe no such thing, except that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. ( )then paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself with them, entered into the temple, announcing the completion of the days of the purification, until the offering was brought for each one of them. ( )and as the seven days were about to be completed, the jews from asia, having observed him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, ( )crying out: men of israel, help. this is the man who teaches all, everywhere, against the people, and the law, and this place; and further also, he brought greeks into the temple, and has polluted this holy place. ( )for they had before seen with him in the city trophimus the ephesian, whom they supposed that paul brought into the temple. ( )and all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and laying hold of paul, they dragged him out of the temple; and forthwith the doors were shut. ( )and while they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the chief captain of the band, that all jerusalem was in an uproar; ( )who immediately took with him soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them; and they, seeing the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating paul. ( )then the chief captain came near, and took hold of him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done. ( )and some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude; and not being able to know the certainty on account of the tumult, he commanded him to be led into the castle. ( )and when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne by the soldiers on account of the violence of the people. ( )for the multitude of the people followed after, crying: away with him. ( )and as he was about to be led into the castle, paul says to the chief captain: may i speak to thee? and he said: canst thou speak greek? ( )art thou not then the egyptian, who before these days made an uproar, and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the assassins? ( )and paul said: i am a jew of tarsus, a citizen of no obscure city of cilicia; and i beseech thee, suffer me to speak to the people. ( )and he having given him permission, paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand to the people. and a great silence ensuing, he spoke to them in the hebrew tongue, saying: xxii. brethren, and fathers, hear my defense, which i now make to you. ( )and hearing that he spoke to them in the hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence. ( )and he says: i am a jew, born indeed in tarsus of cilicia, but brought up in this city, taught at the feet of gamaliel, according to the strictness of the law of the fathers, being zealous for god, as ye all are this day. ( )and i persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. ( )as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the eldership; from whom, moreover, i received letters to the brethren, and was journeying to damascus, to bring also those who were there bound to jerusalem, that they might be punished. ( )and it came to pass, that as i journeyed, and came near to damascus, about midday, there suddenly flashed around me a great light out of heaven. ( )and i fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? ( )and i answered: who art thou, lord? and he said to me: i am jesus the nazarene, whom thou persecutest. ( )and they who were with me beheld indeed the light, and were afraid; but the voice of him who spoke to me they heard not[ : ]. ( )and i said: what shall i do, lord? and the lord said to me: arise, and go into damascus; and there it shall be told thee concerning all things which it is appointed thee to do. ( )and as i could not see, for the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, i came into damascus. ( )and one ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report from all the jews who dwelt there, ( )came to me, and standing by me said to me: brother saul, receive sight. and i, in that very hour, looked up upon him. ( )and he said: the god of our fathers appointed thee to know his will, and to see the just one, and to hear a voice out of his mouth. ( )for thou shalt be a witness for him to all men, of what thou hast seen, and didst hear. ( )and now why tarriest thou? arise, be immersed and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. ( )and it came to pass, when i had returned to jerusalem, and as i was praying in the temple, that i was in a trance, ( )and saw him saying to me: make haste, and go forth quickly out of jerusalem; for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. ( )and i said: lord, they well know that i imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believe on thee; ( )and when the blood of thy witness stephen was shed, then i myself was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of those who slew him. ( )and he said to me: depart; for i will send thee far hence to the gentiles. ( )and they heard him unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said: away with such a one from the earth; for it was not fit that he should live. ( )and as they were crying out, and throwing up their garments, and casting dust into the air, ( )the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know for what charge they were thus crying out against him. ( )and as they stretched him forth with the thongs[ : ], paul said to the centurion who stood by: is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a roman, and uncondemned? ( )the centurion, hearing it, he went and told the chief captain, saying: what art thou about to do? for this man is a roman. ( )and the chief captain came, and said to him: tell me, art thou a roman? he said: yes. ( )and the chief captain answered: for a great sum i obtained this freedom. and paul said: but i was born free. ( )immediately, therefore, they departed from him who were about to examine him; and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a roman, and because he had bound him. ( )on the morrow, wishing to know the certainty, wherefore he was accused by the jews, he released him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together; and he brought paul down, and set him before them. xxiii. and paul, earnestly beholding the council, said: men, brethren, i have lived in all good conscience before god unto this day. ( )and the high priest ananias commanded those who stood by him to smite him on the mouth. ( )then paul said to him: god will smite thee, thou whited wall. and dost thou sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be smitten contrary to law? ( )and they that stood by said: revilest thou god's high priest? ( )and paul said: i knew not, brethren, that he is high priest; for it is written: thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people. ( )and paul, knowing that the one part were sadducees, and the other pharisees, cried out in the council: men, brethren, i am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee; for the hope of the resurrection of the dead i am now judged. ( )and when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the pharisees and the sadducees; and the multitude was divided. ( )for sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but pharisees acknowledge both. ( )and there arose a great clamor; and the scribes of the party of the pharisees arose, and contended, saying: we find no evil in this man; but if a spirit spoke to him, or an angel?-- ( )and a great dissension arising, the chief captain, fearing lest paul should be pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiery to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. ( )and the night following, the lord stood by him, and said: be of good courage; for as thou didst fully testify the things concerning me at jerusalem, so must thou testify also at rome. ( )and when it was day, the jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed paul. ( )and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ( )and they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said: we bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have slain paul. ( )now therefore do ye, with the council, signify to the chief captain that he bring him down to you, as though ye would ascertain more exactly the matters concerning him; and we, before he comes near, are ready to kill him. ( )and the son of paul's sister, hearing of their lying in wait, went and entered into the castle, and told paul. ( )then paul called one of the centurions to him, and said: bring this young man to the chief captain; for he has something to tell him. ( )so he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said: paul, the prisoner, called me to him, and asked me to bring this young man to thee, as he has something to say to thee. ( )then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went aside privately, and asked: what is that thou hast to tell me? ( )and he said: the jews agreed to desire thee, that thou wouldst bring down paul to-morrow into the council, as though they would inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him. ( )but do not thou yield to them; for of them more than forty men are lying in wait for him, who bound themselves with an oath, neither to eat nor to drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, looking for the promise from thee. ( )the chief captain therefore dismissed the young man, having charged him to say to no one, that thou didst show these things to me. ( )and calling to him two or three of the centurions, he said: make ready two hundred soldiers to go to caesarea, and seventy horsemen, two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night; ( )and let them provide beasts, that they may set paul thereon, and bring him safe to felix the governor. ( )and he wrote a letter after this manner: ( )claudius lysias to the most excellent governor felix, sends greeting. ( )this man was taken by the jews, and was about to be killed by them; but i came upon them with the soldiery, and rescued him, having learned that he is a roman. ( )and wishing to know the crime for which they were accusing him, i brought him down into their council; ( )whom i found to be accused concerning questions of their law, but having nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. ( )and being informed that a plot was about to be laid against the man, i sent straightway to thee, having also commanded the accusers to say before thee what they had against him. farewell. ( )the soldiers, therefore, as was commanded them, took up paul, and brought him by night to antipatris. ( )but on the morrow, leaving the horsemen to go with him, they returned to the castle; ( )who, when they had entered into caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, presented paul also before him. ( )and having read it, he asked of what province he was. and learning that he was from cilicia, ( )he said: i will hear thee fully, when thy accusers are also come. and he commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of herod. xxiv. and after five days, the high priest ananias came down with the elders and a certain orator named tertullus, who informed the governor against paul; ( )and he having been called, tertullus began to accuse him, saying: seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done for this nation through thy providence, in every way and everywhere; ( )we accept it, most noble felix, with all thankfulness. ( )but, not to hinder thee too long, i pray thee that thou wouldst hear us of thy clemency a few words. ( )for we have found this man to be a pest, and exciting disturbance among all the jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the nazarenes; ( )who also attempted to profane the temple; whom we took, [ : ][and desired to judge according to our law. ( )but lysias the chief captain came, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, ( )commanding his accusers to come before thee;] from whom thou canst thyself ascertain, by examination, concerning all these things whereof we accuse him. ( )and the jews also joined in assailing him, saying that these things were so. ( )then paul, the governor having beckoned to him to speak, answered: knowing that thou hast been for many years a judge for this nation, i do the more cheerfully answer for myself; ( )inasmuch as thou mayest know, that there are not more than twelve days since i went up to jerusalem to worship; ( )and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any one, or causing a tumult of the people, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city; ( )nor can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. ( )but this i acknowledge to thee, that according to the way which they call a sect, so i worship the god of our fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets; ( )having a hope toward god, which these themselves also look for, that there will be a resurrection both of the just and unjust. ( )therefore do i also myself strive to have always a conscience void of offense toward god and men. ( )and after many years i came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings. ( )amidst which they found me purified in the temple, not with a crowd, nor with tumult; but certain jews from asia [caused it], ( )who ought to be here before thee, and make accusation, if they had aught against me. ( )or let these themselves say what crime they found in me, while i stood before the council, ( )except for this one voice that i cried, standing among them: concerning the resurrection of the dead i am judged by you this day. ( )and felix put them off, knowing the things concerning the way more accurately, saying: when lysias the chief captain shall come down, i will fully inquire into your matters. ( )and he commanded the centurion that he should be guarded, and should have indulgence; and to forbid none of his acquaintance to minister to him. ( )and after certain days, felix came with his wife drusilla, who was a jewess, and sent for paul, and heard him concerning the faith in christ. ( )and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come, felix trembled, and answered: go thy way for this time; when i have a convenient season, i will call for thee. ( )he hoped also that money would be given him by paul; wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and conversed with him. ( )but after two years, felix was succeeded by porcius festus; and felix, wishing to gain favor with the jews, left paul bound. xxv. festus, therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up from caesarea to jerusalem. ( )and the high priest and the chief of the jews informed him against paul, and besought him, ( )asking for themselves a favor against him, that he would send for him to jerusalem, preparing an ambush to slay him on the way. ( )but festus answered, that paul was to be kept a prisoner at caesarea, and that he himself should soon go thither. ( )let them therefore, said he, who are powerful among you, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there is any wickedness in him. ( )and having tarried among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to caesarea; and on the morrow, sitting on the judgment-seat, he commanded paul to be brought. ( )and when he was come, the jews who had come down from jerusalem stood around, bringing many and grievous charges, which they could not prove; ( )while paul said in defense: neither against the law of the jews, nor against the temple, nor against caesar, did i commit any offense. ( )but festus, wishing to gain favor with the jews, answered paul, and said: wilt thou go up to jerusalem, and there be judged concerning these things, before me? ( )and paul said; i stand at caesar's judgment-seat, where i ought to be judged. to jews i did no wrong, as thou also very well knowest[ : ]. ( )if then i am an offender, and have done anything worthy of death, i refuse not to die; but if there be none of the things whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up to them. i appeal to caesar. ( )then festus, having conferred with the council, answered: thou hast appealed to caesar; to caesar thou shalt go. ( )and after certain days, agrippa the king, and bernice, came to caesarea to salute festus. ( )and as they were spending some days there, festus laid the case of paul before the king, saying: there is a certain man left in bonds by felix; ( )about whom, when i was at jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the jews made complaint, asking for judgment against him. ( )to whom i answered: it is not a custom for romans to give up any man, before the accused has the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him. ( )when, therefore, they had come together here, without any delay on the morrow i sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth; ( )and standing up around him, the accusers brought no accusation of such things as i supposed; ( )but had certain controversies with him concerning their own religion, and concerning a certain jesus who was dead, whom paul affirmed to be alive. ( )and i, being perplexed in regard to the dispute about these things, asked whether he would go to jerusalem, and there be judged concerning them. ( )but paul having appealed, to be kept in custody for the decision of augustus, i commanded him to be kept until i shall send him up to caesar. ( )and agrippa said to festus: i would also hear the man myself. to-morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. ( )on the morrow, therefore, agrippa and bernice having come with great pomp, and entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains and principal men of the city, at festus' command paul was brought forth. ( )and festus said: king agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the jews interceded with me, both at jerusalem and here, crying out that he ought not to live any longer. ( )but having found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and he himself having appealed to augustus, i determined to send him. ( )of whom i have nothing certain to write to my lord. wherefore i brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king agrippa, in order that, the examination having been made, i may have something to write. ( )for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not also signify the charges against him. xxvi. and agrippa said to paul: thou art permitted to speak for thyself. then paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: ( )i think myself happy, king agrippa, because i shall answer for myself before thee this day, concerning all things whereof i am accused by jews; ( )especially since thou art expert in all the customs and questions among jews. wherefore i beseech thee to hear me patiently. ( )my manner of life, therefore, from my youth, which was from the beginning among my own nation at jerusalem, all jews know; ( )having known me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, i lived a pharisee. ( )and now i stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by god to the fathers; ( )unto which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving day and night, hope to attain; concerning which hope, o king, i am accused by jews. ( )why is it judged incredible with you, if god, raises the dead? ( )i therefore thought to myself, that i ought to do many hostile things against the name of jesus the nazarene. ( )which i also did in jerusalem; and many of the saints did i myself shut up in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, i gave my voice against them. ( )and punishing them often, throughout all the synagogues, i constrained them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, i persecuted them also unto foreign cities. ( )whereupon, as i went to damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests, ( )at midday, o king, i saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ( )and we all having fallen to the earth, i heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the hebrew tongue: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goads. ( )and i said: who art thou, lord? and he said: i am jesus, whom thou persecutest. ( )but arise, and stand upon thy feet; for i appeared to thee for this purpose, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things which thou sawest, and of the things in which i will appear to thee; ( )delivering thee from the people, and the gentiles, to whom i send thee, ( )to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may obtain forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among the sanctified, by faith in me. ( )wherefore, o king agrippa, i was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; ( )but to those in damascus first, and in jerusalem, and unto all the region of judaea, and to the gentiles, i announced that they should repent and turn to god, doing works worthy of repentance. ( )for these causes the jews, seizing me in the temple, attempted to kill me. ( )having therefore obtained help from god, i continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing except those things which the prophets and moses said should come; ( )whether the christ should suffer, whether he, the first of the resurrection from the dead, shall show light to the people and to the gentiles. ( )and as he thus spoke for himself, festus said with a loud voice: paul, thou art mad; much learning makes thee mad. ( )but he said: i am not mad, most noble festus; but utter words of truth and soberness. ( )for the king knows well concerning these things, to whom also i speak boldly; for i am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this has not been done in a corner. ( )king agrippa, believest thou the prophets? i know that thou believest. ( )and agrippa said to paul: with little pains[ : a] thou persuadest[ : b] me to become a christian. ( )and paul said: i could pray god, that with little or much[ : ], not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, may become such as i am, except these bonds. ( )and the king rose up, and the governor, and bernice, and they who sat with them. ( )and having withdrawn, they talked together, saying: this man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds. ( )and agrippa said to festus: this man could have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed to caesar. xxvii. and when it was determined that we should sail to italy, they delivered paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named julius, of the augustan band. ( )and entering into a ship of adramyttium, about to sail along the coasts of asia, we put to sea, aristarchus, a macedonian of thessalonica, being with us. ( )and on the second day we landed at sidon. and julius treated paul humanely, and permitted him to go to his friends and receive their care. ( )and thence having put to sea, we sailed under cyprus, because the winds were contrary, ( )and having sailed over the sea along cilicia and pamphylia, we came to myra, a city of lycia. ( )and there the centurion found a ship of alexandria sailing to italy; and he put us on board of it. ( )and sailing slowly many days, and having come with difficulty over against cnidus, the wind not suffering us to put in[ : ], we sailed under crete, over against salmone; ( )and coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a certain place called fair havens, near to which was the city lasa. ( )and much time having been spent, and the voyage being now dangerous, because also the fast had already passed by, paul exhorted them, ( )saying: sirs, i perceive that the voyage will be with violence and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives. ( )but the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than the things spoken by paul. ( )and as the haven was not well situated for wintering, the greater number advised to sail thence also, if by any means they might reach phoenix, a haven of crete, looking toward the southwest and northwest, and there winter. ( )and a south wind beginning to blow moderately, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor, and coasted along close by crete. ( )but not long after, there struck against it a tempestuous wind, called euracylon. ( )and the ship being caught, and unable to face the wind, we yielded to it, and were driven along. ( )and running under a certain small island called clauda, we were hardly able to come by the boat; ( )which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should be cast away on the quicksand, they lowered the sail, and so were driven. ( )and we being violently tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship; ( )and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. ( )and neither sun nor stars appearing for many days, and no small tempest lying on us, thenceforward all hope that we should be saved was utterly taken away. ( )but after much abstinence, then paul, standing up in the midst of then, said: sirs, ye should have hearkened to me and not put to sea from crete, and so have escaped this violence and loss. ( )and now i exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ( )for there stood by me this night an angel of god, whose i am, and whom i serve, ( )saying: fear not, paul; thou must stand before caesar; and, lo, god has given thee all those who sail with thee. ( )wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for i believe god, that it will be even so, as it has been told me. ( )but we must be cast away upon a certain island. ( )and when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven onward in the adriatic sea, about midnight the seamen suspected that they were near to some country; ( )and sounding, they found twenty fathoms; and having gone a little further, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. ( )then fearing lest we should fall upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for day. ( )and as the seamen were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had let down the boat into the sea, under color as if they were about to extend anchors out of the foreship, ( )paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers: except these abide in the ship, ye can not be saved. ( )then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let it fall off. ( )and while the day was coming on, paul besought them all to take food, saying: this day is the fourteenth day that ye have waited, and continued fasting, having taken nothing. ( )wherefore i pray you to take food; for this is for your safety; for there shall not a hair fall from the head of one of you. ( )and having thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to god in presence of them all; and having broken it, he began to eat. ( )then were they all of good cheer, and they also took food. ( )and we were in all in the ship two hundred and seventy-six souls. ( )and when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting out the grain into the sea. ( )and when it was day, they knew not the land; but they perceived a certain creek, having a beach, on which they determined, if they were able, to drive the ship ashore. ( )and cutting the anchors entirely away, they abandoned them to the sea, at the same time unfastening the bands of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made toward the beach. ( )and falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow sticking fast remained immovable, but the stern was broken by the violence of the waves. ( )and it was the plan of the soldiers, that they should kill the prisoners, lest any one should swim out, and escape. ( )but the centurion, wishing to save paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that those who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and get to land, ( )and the rest, some on boards, and others on some of the pieces from the ship. and so it came to pass, that all escaped safe to land. xxviii. and having escaped, they then learned that the island is called melita. ( )and the barbarians showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. ( )and paul having gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came out a viper from the heat, and fastened on his hand. ( )and when the barbarians saw the animal hanging from his hand, they said among themselves: no doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though escaped from the sea, justice suffered not to live. ( )he, however, shaking off the animal into the fire, suffered no harm. ( )but they were expecting that he would become inflamed, or suddenly fall down dead; but after looking a great while, and seeing no harm befall him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. ( )in the region around that place, there were lands of the chief man of the island, whose name was publius, who received and entertained us kindly three days. ( )now it happened, that the father of publius was lying sick with a fever and a bloody flux; to whom paul entered in, and having prayed, laid his hands on him and healed him. ( )and this having been done, the others also, who had diseases in the island, came and were healed; ( )who also honored us with many honors; and when we put to sea, they loaded us with such things as were necessary. ( )and after three months, we put to sea in a ship of alexandria, which had wintered in the island, whose sign was castor and pollux. ( )and landing at syracuse, we remained three days. ( )and from thence, making a circuit[ : ], we came to rhegium. and after one day, a south wind arose, and we came on the second day to puteoli; ( )where we found brethren, and were entreated to remain with them seven days; and so we went toward rome. ( )and from thence, the brethren, having heard of us, came to meet us as far as appii forum, and the three taverns; whom when paul saw, he gave thanks to god, and took courage. ( )and when we came to rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the commander of the camp; but paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. ( )and it came to pass, that after three days paul called together those who were the chief men of the jews; and when they were come together, he said to them: men, brethren, though i had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet i was delivered a prisoner from jerusalem into the hands of the romans; ( )who, when they had examined me, wished to release me, because there was no cause of death in me. ( )but as the jews spoke against it, i was compelled to appeal to caesar; not that i have anything to charge against my nation. ( )for this cause therefore i called for you, to see and to speak with you; for on account of the hope of israel i am compassed with this chain. ( )and they said to him: we neither received letters from judaea concerning thee, nor did any one of the brethren that came, report or speak any evil concerning thee. ( )but we desire to hear from thee what thou thinkest; for concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against. ( )and having appointed a day for him, they came to him in greater numbers to his lodging; to whom he expounded, testifying fully the kingdom of god, and persuading them of the things concerning jesus, both from the law of moses and the prophets, from morning till evening. ( )and some believed the things spoken, and some believed not. ( )and disagreeing among themselves, they departed, after paul had spoken one word: well did the holy spirit speak through isaiah the prophet to our fathers, ( )saying: go to this people, and say; with the hearing ye will hear, and will not understand, and seeing ye will see, and will not perceive. ( )for the heart of this people is become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest haply they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and i shall heal them. ( )be it known to you, therefore, that to the gentiles the salvation of god was sent; they, moreover, will hear.[ : ] ( )and paul remained two whole years in his own hired house, and gladly received all that came in to him; ( )preaching the kingdom of god, and teaching the things concerning the lord jesus christ, with all confidence, no one hindering him. the letter of paul to the romans. i. paul, a servant of jesus christ, a called apostle, set apart unto the gospel of god, ( )which he before announced through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ( )concerning his son, who was born of the seed of david according to the flesh, ( )who was declared to be the son of god with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, jesus christ our lord; ( )through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all the nations, for his name's sake; ( )among whom are ye also, called of jesus christ; ( )to all the beloved of god that are in rome, called to be saints: grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )first, i thank my god through jesus christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of in all the world. ( )for god is my witness, whom i serve in my spirit in the gospel of his son, how without ceasing i make mention of you always in my prayers; ( )making request, if haply now at length i may be prospered by the will of god to come to you. ( )for i long to see you, that i may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; ( )that is, to be comforted together among you, by each other's faith, both yours and mine. ( )now i would not have you ignorant, brethren, that often-times i purposed to come to you (but was hindered hitherto), that i might have some fruit among you also, as among the rest of the gentiles. ( )i am debtor both to greeks and barbarians; both to wise and unwise. ( )so, as far as lies in me, i am ready to preach the good news to you also who are at rome. ( )for i am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is the power of god unto salvation to every one that believes, to the jew first, and also to the greek. ( )for therein is revealed a righteousness of god, from faith to faith; as it is written: the just shall live by faith. ( )for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness[ : ]; ( )because that which may be known of god is manifest in them; for god manifested it to them. ( )for, from the creation of the world, his invisible things are clearly seen, being perceived by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; so that they are[ : ] without excuse. ( )because, knowing god, they glorified him not as god, nor gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened. ( )professing themselves to be wise, they became fools; ( )and changed the glory of the incorruptible god into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. ( )wherefore god also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to dishonor their bodies among themselves; ( )who changed the truth of god into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever. amen. ( )for this cause god gave them up to vile passions; for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature; ( )and in like manner the men also, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error which was meet. ( )and as they did not choose to retain god in their knowledge, god gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not becoming; ( )being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ( )slanderers, haters of god, overbearing, proud, boasters, devisers of evil things, disobedient to parents, ( )without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; ( )who, knowing the judgment of god, that they who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but have pleasure in those who do them. ii. wherefore thou art without excuse, o man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. ( )now we know that the judgment of god is according to truth, upon those who commit such things. ( )and reckonest thou this, o man, that judgest those who do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of god? ( )or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of god is leading thee to repentance; ( )and after thy hardness and impenitent heart, art treasuring up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of god; ( )who will render to every man according to his deeds; ( )to those who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; ( )but to those who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, ( )tribulation and distress, upon every soul of man that works evil, of the jew first, and also of the greek; ( )but glory, and honor, and peace, to every man that works good, to the jew first, and also to the greek. ( )for there is no respect of persons with god. ( )for as many as sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as sinned with law shall be judged by law; ( )(for not the hearers of law are just before god, but the doers of law shall be justified: ( )for when gentiles, who have no law, do by nature the things required by law, these, having no law, are a law to themselves; ( )who show the work of law written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing therewith, and their thoughts alternately accusing, or also excusing[ : ];) ( )in the day when god will judge the secrets of men by jesus christ, according to my gospel. ( )but if thou art called a jew, and restest upon law, and makest thy boast in god, ( )and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; ( )and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, ( )an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law; ( )thou then, that teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself? thou that preachest, a man should not steal, dost thou steal? ( )thou that sayest, a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege[ : ]? ( )thou that makest thy boast in law, through the transgression of the law dishonorest thou god? ( )for, the name of god is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you, as it is written. ( )for circumcision indeed profits, if thou keep the law; but if thou art a transgressor of law, thy circumcision has become uncircumcision. ( )if then the uncircumcision keep the requirements of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ( )and shall not the uncircumcision that is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of law? ( )for he is not a jew, who is one outwardly; nor is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. ( )but he is a jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of god. iii. what then is the advantage of the jew? or what is the benefit of circumcision? ( )much every way; first, indeed, that they were intrusted with the oracles of god. ( )for what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make void the faithfulness of god? ( )far be it! yea, let god be true and every man a liar; as it is written: that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged. ( )but if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of god, what shall we say? is god unrighteous who takes vengeance? (i speak as a man.) ( )far be it! for then how shall god judge the world? ( )for if the truth of god through my lie, abounded unto his glory, why am i also still judged as a sinner? ( )and why not, as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say: let us do evil, that good may come? whose judgment is just. ( )what then? are we better? no, in no wise; for we before charged, that both jews and gentiles are all under sin. ( )as it is written: there is none righteous, no, no one; ( )there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after god. ( )they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, there is not so much as one. ( )their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; ( )whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. ( )their feet are swift to shed blood. ( )destruction and misery are in their ways; ( )and the way of peace they have not known. ( )there is no fear of god before their eyes. ( )now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before god. ( )because by works of law no flesh shall be justified in his sight; for by law is the knowledge of sin. ( )but now, apart from law, a righteousness of god has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; ( )a righteousness of god through faith in jesus christ, unto all and upon all that believe; (for there is no difference; ( )for all sinned, and come short of the glory of god;) ( )being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in christ jesus; ( )whom god set forth as a propitiation through faith by his blood, for the exhibition of his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins before committed in the forbearance of god; ( )for the exhibition of his righteousness in this present time, that he may be just, and the justifier of him who believes in jesus. ( )where then is the boasting? it is excluded. by what kind of law? of works? nay; but by the law of faith. ( )therefore we reckon that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. is he the god of jews only? ( )is he not also of gentiles? yes, of gentiles also; ( )seeing that god is one, who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through the faith. ( )do we then make void law through the faith? far be it! yea, we establish law. iv. what then shall we say that abraham our father found, as pertaining to the flesh? ( )for if abraham was justified by works, he has ground of boasting; but not before god. ( )for what says the scripture? and abraham believed god, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. ( )now to him that works, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as a debt. ( )but to him that works not, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. ( )as also david speaks of the happiness of the man, to whom god reckons righteousness, apart from works: ( )happy they, whose iniquities were forgiven, and whose sins were covered; ( )happy the man to whom the lord will not reckon sin! ( )comes this happiness then on the circumcision, or also on he uncircumcision? for we say that faith was reckoned to abraham for righteousness. ( )how then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. ( )and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while in uncircumcision; that he might be father of all that believe while in uncircumcision, that the righteousness might be reckoned to them also, ( )and father of circumcision to those who are not only of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith of our father abraham, which he had while in uncircumcision. ( )for not through law was the promise to abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith. ( )for if they that are of law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect. ( )for the law works wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there transgression. ( )for this cause it is of faith, that it may be by grace; in order that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of abraham; who is the father of us all, ( )(as it is written: a father of many nations have i made thee,) before god whom he believed, who quickens the dead, and calls the things that are not as though they were; ( )who against hope believed in hope, that he should become father of many nations, according to that which was spoken: so shall thy seed be. ( )and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body already dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of sarah's womb. ( )and in respect to the promise of god he wavered not through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to god, ( )and being fully persuaded, that what he has promised he is able also to perform. ( )wherefore also it was reckoned to him for righteousness. ( )and it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned to him; ( )but for ours also, to whom it shall be reckoned, if we believe on him who raised up jesus our lord from the dead; ( )who was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised for our justification. v. being justified therefore by faith, we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ; ( )through whom also we obtained the access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of god. ( )and not only so, but we rejoice in afflictions also; knowing that affliction works patience; ( )and patience approval; and approval hope; ( )and hope makes not ashamed; because the love of god has been poured forth in our hearts, by the holy spirit which was given to us. ( )for when we were yet without strength, in due season christ died for the ungodly. ( )for scarcely for a righteous man will one die; though, for the good man, perhaps some one does even dare to die. ( )but god commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us. ( )much more therefore, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath through him. ( )for if, being enemies, we were reconciled to god through the death of his son; much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; ( )and not only so, but also rejoicing in god through our lord jesus christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. ( )wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned; ( )(for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ( )but yet death reigned from adam to moses, even over those who sinned not after the likeness of adam's transgression, who is a type of him who was to come. ( )but not as the trespass, so also is the free gift; for if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of god, and the gift by the grace of the one man, jesus christ, abound to the many. ( )and not as through one that sinned, is the gift; for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification. ( )for if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more they who receive the abundance of the grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life through the one, jesus christ.) ( )so then, as through one trespass it came upon all men unto condemnation; so also through one righteous act it came upon all men unto justification of life. ( )for as through the disobedience of the one man the many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of the one will the many be constituted righteous. ( )moreover the law came in also, that the trespass might abound. but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; ( )that as sin reigned in death, so also might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, through jesus christ our lord. vi. what then shall we say? shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ( )far be it! how shall we who died to sin, live any longer therein? ( )know ye not, that all we who were immersed into jesus christ were immersed into his death? ( )we were buried therefore with him by the immersion into his death; that as christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, so we also should walk in newness of life. ( )for if we have become united with the likeness of his death, we shall be also with that of his resurrection, ( )knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, in order that we should no longer be in bondage to sin. ( )for he that died has been justified from sin. ( )and if we died with christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; ( )knowing that christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more; death has dominion over him no more. ( )for in that he died, he died to sin once; but in that he lives, he lives to god. ( )so also reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to god through jesus christ. ( )let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof; ( )nor yield your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but yield yourselves to god as being alive from the dead, and your members to god as instruments of righteousness. ( )for sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under law, but under grace. ( )what then? shall we sin, because we are not under law but under grace? far be it! ( )know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ( )but thanks be to god, that ye were servants of sin, but obeyed from the heart that form of teaching which was delivered to you[ : ]; ( )and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. ( )i speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. for as ye yielded your members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity; so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto sanctification. ( )for when ye were servants of sin, ye were free as to righteousness. ( )what fruit therefore had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ( )but now, being made free from sin, and become servants to god, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end everlasting life. ( )for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is eternal life, in jesus christ our lord. vii. know ye not, brethren (for i speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man for so long a time as he lives? ( )for the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if the husband die, she is loosed from the law of the husband. ( )so then if, while the husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she be married to another man. ( )wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of christ, in order that ye should be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit to god. ( )for when we were in the flesh, the emotions of sins, which were by the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. ( )but now we are delivered from the law, having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. ( )what then shall we say? is the law sin? far be it! but i had not known sin, except through law; for i had not known coveting, if the law had not said: thou shalt not covet. ( )but sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of coveting. for without law, sin is dead. ( )and i was alive without law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and i died. ( )and the commandment, which was for life, that i found to be for death. ( )for sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. ( )so that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. ( )has then that which is good become death to me? far be it! but sin, that it might appear sin, working death to me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. ( )for we know that the law is spiritual; but i am carnal, sold under sin. ( )for what i perform, i know not; for not what i desire, that do i; but what i hate, that i do. ( )but if what i desire not, that i do, i consent to the law that it is good. ( )now then, it is no longer i that perform it, but the sin that dwells in me. ( )for i know that there dwells not in me, that is, in my flesh, any good; for to desire is present with me; but to perform that which is good i find not. ( )for the good that i desire, i do not; but the evil that i desire not, that i do. ( )but if what i desire not, that i do, it is no more i that perform it, but the sin that dwells in me. ( )i find then the law, that, when i desire to do good, evil is present with me. ( )for i delight in the law of god after the inward man. ( )but i see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ( )wretched man that i am! who will deliver me from the body of this death? ( )i thank god through jesus christ our lord! so then i myself with the mind serve the law of god, but with the flesh the law of sin. viii. there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus. ( )for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus set me free from the law of sin and death. ( )for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, god sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; ( )that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ( )for they that are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. ( )for to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ( )because the carnal mind is enmity against god; for it does not submit itself to the law of god, neither indeed can it; ( )and they that are in the flesh can not please god. ( )but ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you. and if any man has not the spirit of christ, he is none of his. ( )and if christ is in you, the body indeed is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. ( )and if the spirit of him who raised up jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies, because of his spirit that dwells in you. ( )so that, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ( )for if ye live according to the flesh, ye shall die; but if by the spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ( )for as many as are led by the spirit of god, they are sons of god. ( )for ye did not receive the spirit of bondage, again to fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, abba, father. ( )the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of god; ( )and if children, also heirs; heirs of god, and joint heirs with christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. ( )for i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are of no account, in comparison with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ( )for the earnest longing of the creation is waiting for the revelation of the sons of god. ( )for the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly (but by reason of him who made it subject), in hope ( )that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of god. ( )for we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. ( )and not only so, but ourselves also, though we have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ( )for we were saved in hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he also hope for? ( )but if we hope for that we see not, we with patience wait for it. ( )and in like manner does the spirit also help our weakness; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered. ( )and he who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of god. ( )and we know that all things work together for good to those who love god, to those who are called according to his purpose. ( )because whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. ( )and whom he predestined, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified. ( )what then shall we say to these things? if god is for us, who shall be against us? ( )he who spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? ( )who shall lay any thing to the charge of god's chosen? god is he that justifies; ( )who is he that condemns? christ is he that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is also at the right hand of god, who also intercedes for us. ( )who shall separate us from the love of christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ( )as it is written: for, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we were accounted as sheep for slaughter. ( )nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ( )for i am persuaded, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, ( )neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ jesus our lord. ix. i say the truth in christ, i lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the holy spirit, ( )that i have great grief and continual anguish in my heart. ( )for i myself could wish to be accursed from christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh; ( )who are israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises; ( )whose are the fathers, and of whom as to the flesh is christ, who is over all, god blessed forever. amen. ( )not as though the word of god has failed. for not all they are israel, who are of israel; ( )neither, because they are the seed of abraham, are they all children; but, in isaac shall thy seed be called. ( )that is, not they who are the children of the flesh are children of god; but the children of the promise are reckoned as seed. ( )for the word of promise is this: at this season i will come, and sarah shall have a son. ( )and not only so; but when rebecca also had conceived by one, our father isaac ( )(for they being not yet born, nor having done anything good or evil, that the purpose of god according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls), ( )it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. ( )as it is written: jacob i loved, but esau i hated. ( )what then shall we say? is there unrighteousness with god? far be it! ( )for he says to moses: i will have mercy on whomsoever i have mercy, and i will have compassion on whomsoever i have compassion. ( )so then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of god who shows mercy, ( )for the scripture says to pharaoh: even for this very purpose did i raise thee up, that i might show forth my power in thee, and that my name might be declared in all the earth. ( )so that, on whom he will he has mercy, and whom he will he hardens. ( )thou wilt say then to me: why then does he yet find fault? for who resists his will? ( )nay but, o man, who art thou that repliest against god? shall the thing formed say to him who formed it: why didst thou make me thus? ( )has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? ( )and what if god, willing to show forth his wrath, and to make known his power, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction; ( )and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared for glory; ( )whom he also called, even us, not from among the jews only, but also from among the gentiles? ( )as also he says in hosea: i will call them my people, who were not my people; and her beloved, who was not beloved. ( )and it shall be, that in the place where it was said to them, ye are not my people, there shall they be called, sons of the living god. ( )and isaiah cries concerning israel: though the number of the sons of israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved; ( )for he will finish the work[ : a], and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work[ : b] will the lord make upon the earth. ( )and as isaiah has said before: except the lord of sabaoth had left us a seed, we had become as sodom, and been made like to gomorrah. ( )what then shall we say? that gentiles, who were not following after righteousness, obtained righteousness, the righteousness which is of faith; ( )but israel, following after a law of righteousness, attained not to [such] a law. ( )wherefore? because [they sought it] not by faith, but as being by works of law. for they stumbled against the stone of stumbling; ( )as it is written: behold, i lay in zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame. x. brethren, it is my heart's desire and prayer to god on their behalf, that they might be saved. ( )for i bear them witness, that they have a zeal for god, but not according to knowledge. ( )for not knowing the righteousness of god, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of god. ( )for christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believes. ( )for moses describes the righteousness which is of the law: the man that has done them, shall live by them.[ : ] ( )but the righteousness which is of faith says thus: say not in thy heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring christ down;) ( )or, who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring up christ from the dead.) ( )but what says it? the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach; ( )because, if thou shalt profess with thy mouth the lord jesus, and believe in thy heart that god raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ( )for with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth profession is made unto salvation. ( )for the scripture says: whoever believes on him shall not be put to shame. ( )for there is no difference between jew and greek; for the same is lord of all, rich toward all that call upon him; ( )for every one who shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved. ( )how then shall they call on him on whom they believed not? and how shall they believe on him of whom they heard not? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ( )and how shall they preach, unless they are sent forth? as it is written: how beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things! ( )but they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. for isaiah says: lord, who believed our report? ( )so then faith comes of hearing, and hearing by the word of god. ( )but i say, did they not hear? yes verily; their sound went forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. ( )but i say, did israel not know? first moses says: i will provoke you to jealousy by those who are no people, by a foolish nation i will move you to anger. ( )but isaiah is very bold, and says: i was found by those who sought me not; i became manifest to those who asked not after me. ( )but of israel he says: all the day long, i stretched forth my hands, to a disobedient and gainsaying people. xi. i say then, did god cast away his people? far be it! for i also am an israelite, of the seed of abraham, of the tribe of benjamin. ( )god did not cast away his people whom he foreknew. know ye not what the scripture says in the story of elijah; how he pleads with god against israel, saying: ( )lord they killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and i was left alone, and they seek my life. ( )but what says the answer of god to him? i reserved to myself seven thousand men, who bowed not the knee to baal. ( )even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. ( )and if by grace, it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace becomes no longer grace. [ : ][but if of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work.] ( )what then? what israel seeks after, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. ( )according as it is written: god gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day. ( )and david says: let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompense to them; ( )let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. ( )i say then, did they stumble in order that they should fall? far be it! but by their fall salvation is come to the gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. ( )but if their fall is the riches of the world, and their diminution the riches of the gentiles, how much more their fullness? ( )for i am speaking to you gentiles; inasmuch as i am the apostle of the gentiles, i magnify my office; ( )if by any means i may provoke to emulation those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. ( )for if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? ( )and if the first-fruit is holy, so also is the lump; and if the root is holy, so also are the branches. ( )and if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, wert grafted in among them, and became a partaker with them of the root and the fatness of the olive-tree; ( )boast not over the branches. but if thou boast, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee. ( )thou wilt say then: the branches were broken off, that i might be grafted in. ( )well; because of their want of faith they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. be not high-minded, but fear; ( )for if god spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. ( )behold then the goodness and severity of god; toward those who fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off. ( )and they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in; for god is able again to graft them in. ( )for if thou wast cut out of the olive-tree which is wild by nature, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive-tree; how much more shall these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive-tree? ( )for i would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that hardness has come upon israel in part, until the fullness of the gentiles come in. ( )and so all israel shall be saved; as it is written: there shall come out of zion the deliverer; he will turn away ungodliness from jacob; ( )and this is the covenant from me to them, when i shall take away their sins. ( )as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes; but as concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. ( )for unrepented are the gifts and the calling of god. ( )for as ye in times past disobeyed god, but now obtained mercy through their disobedience; ( )so also they now disobeyed through the mercy shown to you, that they also might obtain mercy. ( )for god included all in disobedience[ : ], that he might have mercy upon all. ( )oh, the depth of the riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of god! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ( )for, who knew the mind of the lord? or who became his counselor? ( )or who first gave to him, and it shall be given back to him again? ( )for of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things; to him be the glory forever. amen. xii. i beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to god, which is your rational service. ( )and be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may discern what is the will of god, the good, and well pleasing, and perfect. ( )for i say, through the grace given to me, to every one that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as god imparted to each one the measure of faith. ( )for as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office; ( )so we, the many, are one body in christ, and severally members one of another. ( )and having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of our faith; ( )or ministry, [let us wait] on the ministry; or he that teaches, on the teaching; ( )or he that exhorts, on the exhortation; he that gives, [let him do it] with simplicity; he that presides, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. ( )let love be unfeigned. abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. in brotherly love, ( )be kindly affectioned one to another; in honor, preferring one another; ( )in diligence, not slothful; in spirit, fervent, serving the lord; ( )in hope, rejoicing; in affliction, patient; in prayer, persevering; ( )communicating to the necessities of the saints[ : ]; given to hospitality. ( )bless those who persecute you; bless, and curse not. ( )rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. ( )be of the same mind one toward another. aspire not to things that are high, but condescend to the lowly. be not wise in your own conceits. ( )recompense to no one evil for evil. provide things honorable in the sight of all men. ( )if it be possible, as far as depends on you, be at peace with all men. ( )avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath [of god]. for it is written: to me belongs vengeance; i will recompense, saith the lord. ( )therefore, if thy enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink. for, in doing this, thou wilt heap coals of fire on his head. ( )be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. xiii. let every soul submit himself to the higher powers. for there is no power but from god; the powers that be have been ordained by god. ( )so that he who resists the power, resists the ordinance of god; and they that resist will receive to themselves condemnation. ( )for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. and dost thou wish not to be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou wilt have praise from it; ( )for he is god's minister to thee for good. but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain; for he is god's minister, an avenger for wrath to him that does evil. ( )wherefore it is necessary to submit yourselves, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake. ( )for, for this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are god's ministers, attending continually to this very thing. ( )render therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. ( )owe no one anything, but to love one another; for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. ( )for this: thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet; and if there is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ( )love works no ill to one's neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ( )and that, knowing the time, that it is high time that we already were awaked out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. ( )the night is far advanced, the day is at hand. let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ( )let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lewdness and wantonness, not in strife and envying; ( )but put on the lord jesus christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. xiv. him that is weak in faith receive; not for the decision of disputes. ( )for one believes, that he may eat all things; but he that is weak eats herbs. ( )let not him that eats despise him that eats not; and let not him that eats not judge him that eats; for god received him. ( )who art thou that judgest another's servant? to his own master he stands or falls. but he shall be made to stand; for god is able to make him stand. ( )one man esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind. ( )he that regards the day, regards it to the lord; and he that eats, eats to the lord, for he gives thanks to god; and he that eats not, to the lord he eats not, and gives thanks to god. ( )for none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. ( )for if we live, we live to the lord; and if we die, we die to the lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the lord's. ( )for to this end christ died, and lived, that he might be lord of both the dead and living. ( )but why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou despise thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of god. ( )for it is written: as i live, saith the lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to god.[ : ] ( )so then, each one of us shall give account of himself to god. ( )let us therefore no longer judge one another; but judge this rather, not to put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in a brother's way. ( )i know, and am persuaded in the lord jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; but to him that accounts anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ( )but if because of food thy brother is grieved, thou no longer walkest in accordance with love. destroy not him by thy food, for whom christ died. ( )let not then your good be evil spoken of. ( )for the kingdom of god is not food and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy spirit. ( )for he that in these things serves christ, is well pleasing to god, and approved by men. ( )so then, let us follow after the things which make for peace, and things by which one may edify another. ( )for the sake of food destroy not the work of god. all things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eats with offense. ( )it is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbles, or is made to offend, or is weak. ( )hast thou faith? have it to thyself before god. happy is he that judges not himself in that which he allows. ( )and he that doubts is condemned if he eat, because it is not of faith; and all that is not of faith is sin. xv. now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ( )let each one of us please his neighbor, for his good, to edification. ( )for also christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written: the reproaches of those who reproached thee, fell on me. ( )for whatever things were written afore-time were for our instruction, that we through patience and consolation of the scriptures may have hope. ( )and the god of patience and consolation grant you to be of the same mind one with another, according to christ jesus; ( )that with one accord ye may with one mouth glorify god, the father of our lord jesus christ. ( )wherefore receive ye one another, as christ also received us, to the glory of god. ( )for i say that jesus christ has been made a minister of the circumcision, for the sake of god's truth, in order to confirm the promises made to the fathers; ( )and that the gentiles should glorify god for his mercy; as it is written: for this cause i will give thee praise among gentiles. and to thy name will sing. ( )and again he says: rejoice, ye gentiles, with his people. ( )and again: praise the lord, all ye gentiles; and extol him, all ye peoples. ( )and again, isaiah says: there shall be the root of jesse, and he who rises up to rule the gentiles; on him will gentiles hope. ( )and the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, by the power of the holy spirit. ( )and i myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. ( )but i wrote the more boldly to you, brethren, in part as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me by god; ( )that i should be a minister of christ jesus to the gentiles, ministering as a priest in the gospel of god, that the offering up of the gentiles may be acceptable, being sanctified by the holy spirit. ( )i have therefore my glorying in christ jesus, as to things pertaining to god. ( )for i will not dare to speak of any of the things which christ wrought not through me, to bring the gentiles to obedience, by word and deed, ( )in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the holy spirit; so that from jerusalem, and around as far as to illyricum, i have fully preached the good news of christ; ( )being emulous so to preach the good news, not where christ was named, lest i should build upon another's foundation; ( )but as it is written: they to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand. ( )for which cause also, for the most part, i was hindered from coming to you. ( )but now having no longer place in these regions, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, ( )whenever i go into spain, i hope to see you in my journey, and to be sent forward thither by you, if first i shall be satisfied in a measure with your company. ( )but now i am going to jerusalem to minister to the saints. ( )for macedonia and achaia thought it good, to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who were at jerusalem. ( )for they thought it good; and their debtors are they. for if the gentiles shared in their spiritual things, they ought also to minister to them in carnal things. ( )when therefore i have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, i will go by you into spain. ( )and i know that, when i come to you, i shall come in the fullness of the blessing of christ. ( )and i beseech you, brethren, by our lord jesus christ, and by the love of the spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to god for me; ( )that i may be delivered from the unbelieving in judaea, and that my service which is for jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; ( )that with joy i may come to you by the will of god, and may with you be refreshed. ( )and the god of peace be with you all. amen. xvi. i commend to you phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church which is at cenchraea; ( )that ye receive her in the lord as becomes saints, and assist her in whatever business she may have need of you; for she has been a helper of many, and of myself. ( )salute prisca and aquila, my fellow-laborers in christ jesus ( )(who for my life laid down their own necks; to whom not only i give thanks, but also all the churches of the gentiles), ( )and salute the church that is in their house. salute epenetus, my beloved, who is the first-fruits of asia unto christ. ( )salute mary, who bestowed much labor on us[ : ]. ( )salute andronicus and junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in christ before me. ( )salute amplias, my beloved in the lord. ( )salute urbanus, our fellow-laborer in christ, and stachys my beloved. ( )salute apelles, the approved in christ. salute those of the household of aristobulus. ( )salute herodion my kinsman. salute those of the household of narcissus, who are in the lord. ( )salute tryphaena and tryphosa, who labor in the lord. salute persis the beloved, who labored much in the lord. ( )salute rufus, the chosen in the lord, and his mother and mine. ( )salute asyncritus, phlegon, hermes, patrobas, hernias, and the brethren who are with them. ( )salute philologus, and julia, nereus and his sister, and olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ( )salute one another with a holy kiss. all the churches of christ salute you. ( )now i beseech you, brethren, to mark those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the teaching which ye learned, and avoid them. ( )for they that are such serve not our lord christ, but their own belly; and by their good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. ( )for your obedience is come abroad unto all men. i rejoice therefore over you; but i would have you wise as to that which is good, and simple as to that which is evil. ( )and the god of peace will shortly bruise satan under your feet. the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. amen. ( )timothy, my fellow-laborer, salutes you, and lucius, and jason, and sosipater, my kinsmen. ( )i, tertius, who wrote the letter, salute you in the lord. ( )gaius my host, and of the whole church, salutes you. erastus the chamberlain of the city salutes you, and quartus the brother. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. ( )now to him who is able to establish you, according to my gospel and the preaching of jesus christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept in silence during eternal ages ( )but now made manifest, and through the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal god, made known to all nations for obedience to the faith, ( )to god only wise, through jesus christ, be the glory forever. amen. the first letter of paul to the corinthians. i. paul, a called apostle of christ jesus through the will of god, and sosthenes the brother, ( )to the church of god which is at corinth, those sanctified in christ jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of jesus christ our lord, both theirs and ours: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )i thank my god always on your behalf, for the grace of god which was given you in christ jesus; ( )that in everything ye were made rich in him, in all utterance and all knowledge; ( )according as the testimony of christ was confirmed in you; ( )so that ye are behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our lord jesus christ; ( )who will also confirm you unto the end, unaccused in the day of our lord jesus christ. ( )god is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his son, jesus christ our lord. ( )but i beseech you, brethren, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be made complete in the same mind, and in the same judgment. ( )for it was made known to me concerning you, my brethren; by those of the house of chloe, that there are contentions among you. ( )and i mean this, that each of you says, i am of paul; and i of apollos; and i of cephas; and i of christ. ( )is christ divided? was paul crucified for you? or were ye immersed in the name of paul? ( )i thank god that i immersed none of you, but crispus and gaius; ( )that no one may say that i immersed in my own name. ( )and i immersed also the household of stephanas; besides, i know not whether i immersed any other. ( )for christ did not send me to immerse, but to preach the glad tidings; not with wisdom of speech, lest the cross of christ should be made of no effect. ( )for the preaching of the cross is to those who perish, foolishness; but to us who are saved, it is the power of god. ( )for it is written: i will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the prudence of the prudent. ( )where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? did not god make foolish the wisdom of the world? ( )for since, in the wisdom of god, the world through its wisdom knew not god, god was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe; ( )since jews require signs, and greeks seek after wisdom, ( )but we preach christ crucified, to jews a stumbling-block, and to gentiles foolishness, ( )but to those who are the called, both jews and greeks, christ the power of god, and the wisdom of god. ( )because the foolishness of god is wiser than men; and the weakness of god is stronger than men. ( )for see your calling, brethren, that not many are wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ( )but god chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame the wise; and god chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things which are strong; ( )and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised, did god choose, and the things which are not, that he might bring to naught things that are; ( )that no flesh should glory before god. ( )but of him are ye in christ jesus, who from god was made wisdom to us, both righteousness and sanctification, and redemption; ( )that, according as it is written: he that glories, let him glory in the lord. ii. i also, when i came to you, brethren, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of god. ( )for i determined not to know anything among you, save jesus christ, and him crucified. ( )and i was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. ( )and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of man's wisdom, but with demonstration of the spirit and of power; ( )that your faith might not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of god. ( )but we speak wisdom among those who are perfect; but a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who come to naught. ( )but we speak god's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which god predestined before the worlds unto our glory; ( )which no one of the rulers of this world has known; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the lord of glory; ( )but (as it is written) things which eye saw not, nor ear heard, and which entered not into the heart of man, which god prepared for those who love him; ( )but to us god revealed them by his spirit, for the spirit searches all things, even the deep things of god. ( )for who among men knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? so also the things of god no one knows, but the spirit of god. ( )and we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of god; that we might know the things that were freely given to us by god. ( )which things also we speak, not in words taught by man's wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit; comparing spiritual things with spiritual[ : ]. ( )but the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of god, for they are foolishness to him; and he can not know them, because they are spiritually judged. ( )but he that is spiritual judges all things; but he himself is judged by no one. ( )for who knew the mind of the lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of christ. iii. i also, brethren, was not able to speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, as babes in christ. ( )i fed you with milk, and not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it; nay, nor even now are ye able. ( )for ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk as men? ( )for when one says, i am of paul; and another, i am of apollos; are ye not carnal? ( )who then is paul, and who is apollos, but ministers through whom ye believed, even as the lord gave to each one? ( )i planted, apollos watered; but god gave the increase. ( )so then neither is he that plants anything, nor he that waters; but god that gives the increase. ( )and he that plants and he that waters are one; and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. ( )for we are god's fellow-laborers; ye are god's field, god's building. ( )according to the grace of god which was given to me, as a wise master-builder i laid a foundation, and another builds thereon. but let each one take heed how he builds thereon. ( )for other foundation can no one lay than that which is laid, which is jesus christ. ( )and if any one builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ( )the work of each one will be made manifest; for the day will show it, because it is revealed in fire, and the fire itself will prove of what sort is each one's work. ( )if any one's work which he built thereon remains, he will receive reward. ( )if any one's work shall be burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved; yet so as through fire. ( )know ye not that ye are god's temple, and that the spirit of god dwells in you? ( )if any one defiles[ : ] the temple of god, him will god destroy; for the temple of god is holy, the which are ye. ( )let no one deceive himself. if any one seems to be wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. ( )for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with god. for it is written: he that takes the wise in their craftiness. ( )and again: the lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. ( )so then, let no one glory in men. for all things are yours; ( )whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours; ( )and ye are christ's, and christ is god's. iv. so let a man account us, as ministers of christ, and stewards of the mysteries of god. ( )moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. ( )but with me it is a very small thing that i should be judged by you, or by man's day[ : ]; nay, neither do i judge myself. ( )for i am conscious to myself of nothing; yet am i not hereby justified, but he that judges me is the lord. ( )so then judge not anything before the time, until the lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each one have his praise of god. ( )and these things, brethren, i have in a figure transferred to myself and apollos for your sakes; that in us ye may learn not to go beyond that which is written, that ye be not puffed up each for one against another. ( )for who makes thee to differ? and what hast thou, that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? ( )already ye are filled full, already ye became rich, without us ye reigned as kings; and i would ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. ( )for i think that god set forth us the apostles last, as condemned to death; for we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. ( )we are fools for christ's sake, but ye are wise in christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. ( )even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; ( )and labor, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; ( )being defamed, we entreat; we have become as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things unto this day. ( )i write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons i admonish you. ( )for though ye have ten thousand instructors in christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in christ jesus i begot you through the gospel. ( )i beseech you therefore, be followers of me[ : ]. ( )for this cause i sent to you timothy, who is my child, beloved and faithful in the lord, who will bring to your remembrance my ways in christ, as i teach everywhere in every church. ( )now some were puffed up, as though i were not coming to you. ( )but i will come to you shortly, if the lord will, and will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ( )for the kingdom of god is not in word, but in power. ( )what will ye? shall i come to you with a rod, or in love, and the spirit of meekness? v. it is commonly reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. ( )and ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he who did this deed might be taken away from among you. ( )for i verily, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though i were present, concerning him who has so done this; ( )in the name of our lord jesus christ, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our lord jesus christ, ( )to deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the lord jesus. ( )your glorying is not good. know ye not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ( )cleanse out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened. for our passover, christ, was sacrificed for us; ( )therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ( )i wrote to you, in my letter, not to keep company with fornicators; ( )yet not, altogether, with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters; for then ye must needs go out of the world. ( )but as it is, i wrote to you not to keep company, if any one called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one not even to eat. ( )for what have i to do with judging those also who are without? do not ye judge those who are within? ( )but those who are without god judges. therefore put away that wicked man from among yourselves. vi. dare any one of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? ( )do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ( )know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more the things of this life? ( )if then ye have judgments about things of this life, set those to judge who are of no esteem in the church. ( )i speak to your shame. is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one that shall be able to judge between his brethren; ( )but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? ( )now therefore, it is altogether a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? ( )nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. ( )know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god? be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, ( )nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of god. ( )and such were some of you; but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the lord jesus, and by the spirit of our god. ( )all things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient; all things are lawful for me, but i will not be brought under the power of anything. ( )meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but god will destroy both it and them. but the body is not for fornication, but for the lord; and the lord for the body. ( )and god both raised the lord, and will also raise up us by his power. ( )know ye not that your bodies are members of christ? shall i then take the members of christ, and make them members of a harlot? far be it! ( )know ye not that he who is joined to a harlot is one body? for the two, says he, shall be one flesh. ( )but he that is joined to the lord is one spirit. ( )flee fornication. every sin that a man commits is without the body; but he that commits fornication, sins against his own body. ( )know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy spirit, who is in you, whom ye have from god, and ye are not your own? ( )for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify god in your body. vii. now concerning the things whereof ye wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman; ( )but because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. ( )let the husband render to the wife her due; and in like manner the wife also to the husband. ( )the wife has not power over her own body, but the husband; and in like manner the husband also has not power over his own body, but the wife. ( )defraud not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come again together, that satan may not tempt you on account of your incontinency. ( )but this i say by way of permission, not of command. ( )but i would that all men were as myself. but each one has his own gift from god, one after this manner, and another after that. ( )and i say to the unmarried and the widows, it is good for them if they remain as i also am. ( )but if they have not self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. ( )and the married not i command, but the lord, that the wife depart not from the husband. ( )but if she have departed, let her remain unmarried, or let her be reconciled to her husband; and let the husband not put away his wife. ( )but to the rest say i, not the lord: if any brother has a wife that believes not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. ( )and a woman who has a husband that believes not, and he is pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. ( )for the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband; else your children are unclean; but now they are holy. ( )but if the unbelieving departs, let him depart. the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases; but god has called us to peace. ( )for what knowest thou, o wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or what knowest thou, o man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? ( )only, as the lord apportioned to each one, as god has called each one, so let him walk. and so i ordain in all the churches. ( )was any one called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. has any one been called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. ( )circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the keeping of the commandments of god. ( )let each one abide in the same calling wherein he was called. ( )wast thou called being a servant? care not for it; but if thou canst become free, use it rather. ( )for he that was called in the lord, being a servant, is the lord's freedman; in like manner also the freeman, being called, is christ's servant. ( )ye were bought with a price; become not servants of men. ( )brethren, let every man, wherein he was called, therein abide with god. ( )now concerning virgins i have no commandment of the lord; but i give my judgment, as one that has obtained mercy of the lord to be faithful. ( )i consider therefore that this is good on account of the present necessity, that it is good for a man so to be. ( )art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. ( )but if also thou marry, thou sinnedst not; and if a virgin marry, she sinned not. but such shall have affliction in the flesh; but i spare you[ : ]. ( )but this i say, brethren, the time that remains is short; that both they who have wives may be as though they had none; ( )and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; ( )and they that use this world, as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world is passing away. ( )but i would have you without cares. he that is unmarried cares for the things of the lord, how he shall please the lord; ( )but he that is married cares for the things of the world, how he shall please his wife. ( )there is a difference also between the wife and the virgin. the unmarried woman cares for the things of the lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she shall please her husband. ( )and this i say for your own profit; not that i may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the lord without distraction. ( )but if any one thinks that he behaves himself unseemly toward his virgin, if she be past the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sins not; let them marry. ( )but he that stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has determined this in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. ( )so that both he that gives her in marriage does well, and he that gives her not in marriage does better. ( )a wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the lord. ( )but she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment; and i too think that i have the spirit of god. viii. now concerning the things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. ( )if any one thinks that he knows anything, he has known nothing yet as he ought to know. ( )but if any one loves god, the same is known by him. ( )as concerning then the eating of the things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other god but one. ( )for though there are gods so-called, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are gods many, and lords many), ( )yet to us there is but one god, the father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one lord jesus christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. ( )but there is not in all men this knowledge; for some, with a consciousness till now of the idol, eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. ( )but food commends us not to god; for neither, if we eat, are we the better; nor, if we eat not, are we the worse. ( )but take heed, lest haply this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to the weak. ( )for if any one sees thee, who hast knowledge, reclining at table in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat the things offered to idols? ( )and through thy knowledge he that is weak perishes, the brother for whom christ died! ( )but when ye so sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against christ. ( )wherefore, if food cause my brother to offend, i will eat no flesh for ever more, that i may not cause my brother to offend. ix. am i not an apostle? am i not free? have i not seen jesus christ our lord? are not ye my work in the lord? ( )if i am not an apostle to others, yet at least i am to you; for the seal of my apostleship are ye in the lord. ( )this is my answer to those who examine me. ( )have we not power to eat and to drink? ( )have we not power to lead about a sister as a wife, as well as the other apostles, and the brothers of the lord, and cephas? ( )or have only i and barnabas not power to forbear working? ( )who ever goes to war at his own charges? who plants a vineyard, and eats not of the fruit thereof? or who tends a flock, and eats not of the milk of the flock? ( )say i these things as a man? or does not the law also say these things? ( )for it is written in the law of moses: thou shalt not muzzle an ox while treading out the grain. is it for the oxen that god cares? ( )or does he say it altogether for our sakes? for, for our sakes it was written; that he who plows ought to plow in hope; and he who threshes, in hope of partaking. ( )if we sowed for you, the things that are spiritual, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? ( )if others partake of this power over you, do not we still more? but we used not this power; but we bear all things, that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of christ. ( )do ye not know that they who minister about the holy things eat of the temple, and they who wait at the altar partake with the altar? ( )so also did the lord appoint to those who preach the gospel, to live by the gospel. ( )but i have used none of these things; and i wrote not these things, that it should be so done to me; for it were better for me to die, than that any one should make my glorying void. ( )for if i preach the gospel, i have nothing to glory of; for a necessity is laid upon me; for, woe is to me, if i preach not the gospel! ( )for if i do this willingly, i have a reward; but if unwillingly, i have a stewardship intrusted to me. ( )what then is my reward? that, in preaching the gospel, i may make the gospel without charge, that i use not to the full my power in the gospel. ( )for being free from all men, i made myself servant to all, that i might gain the more. ( )and to the jews i became as a jew, that i might gain jews; to those under law, as under law, not being myself under law, that i might gain those under law; ( )to those without law, as without law (not being without law to god, but under law to christ), that i might gain those without law. ( )to the weak i became as weak, that i might gain the weak. i have become all things to all, that i may by all means save some. ( )and all things i do for the gospel's sake, that i may become a partaker thereof with others[ : ]. ( )know ye not that they who run in a race, all indeed run, but one receives the prize? so run, that ye may obtain. ( )and every one who contends for the prize is temperate in all things; they indeed to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. ( )i therefore so run, as not uncertainly; i so fight, as not beating the air. ( )but i keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest haply, having preached to others, i myself should be rejected. x. for i would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; ( )and were all immersed unto moses in the cloud and in the sea; ( )and all ate the same spiritual food, ( )and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was christ. ( )but in the most of them god had no pleasure; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. ( )now these things were examples to us, in order that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. ( )nor be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written: the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. ( )nor let us commit fornication, as some of them did, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. ( )nor let us tempt christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. ( )nor murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer. ( )now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. ( )wherefore let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. ( )there has no temptation taken you but such as belongs to man; and god is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what ye are able, but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ( )wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ( )i speak as to wise men; judge ye what i say. ( )the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a partaking of the blood of christ? the loaf which we break, is it not a partaking of the body of christ? ( )because we, the many, are one loaf, one body; for we all share in that one loaf. ( )behold israel according to the flesh. are not they who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? ( )what then do i say? that an idol is anything, or that what is offered to idols is anything? ( )nay; but that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to god; and i would not that ye should be partakers of the demons. ( )ye can not drink the cup of the lord, and the cup of demons; ye can not share in the table of the lord, and the table of demons. ( )do we provoke the lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? ( )all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient; all things are lawful, but not all things edify. ( )let no one seek his own, but his neighbor's good. ( )whatever is sold in the market eat, asking no question for conscience sake'; ( )for the earth is the lord's, and the fullness thereof. ( )if any of the unbelieving bids you to a feast, and ye choose to go, whatever is set before you eat, asking no question for conscience' sake. ( )but if any one say to you: this is a thing sacrificed to a god, eat it not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake. ( )conscience, i say, not thine own, but that of the other; for why is my liberty judged by another's conscience? ( )if i partake with thanks, why am i evil spoken of, for that for which i give thanks? ( )whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of god. ( )give no occasion of stumbling, either to jews or greeks, or to the church of god; ( )as i also please all in all things, not seeking my own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved. ( )be ye followers of me, as i also am of christ. ( )now i praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and, hold fast the traditions[ : ], as i delivered them to you. ( )and i would have you know, that the head of every man is christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of christ is god. ( )every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. ( )but every woman praying or prophesying with the head uncovered, dishonors her head; for it is one and the same as if she were shaven. ( )for if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn; but if it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. ( )for a man indeed ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory of god; but the woman is the glory of the man. ( )for the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. ( )and the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man. ( )for this cause ought the woman to have [the token of] authority on her head, because of the angels. ( )nevertheless, neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the lord. ( )for as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman; but all things of god. ( )judge in your own selves; is it seemly that a woman pray to god uncovered? ( )does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him? ( )but if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering. ( )but if any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the churches of god. ( )and while i enjoin this, i praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. ( )for first of all, when ye come together in the church, i hear that there are divisions among you; and i partly believe it. ( )for there must be also sects among you, that they who are approved may be made manifest among you. ( )when therefore ye come together into one place, there is no eating of a supper of the lord[ : ]. ( )for in eating, each takes without waiting his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. ( )what! have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of god, and shame those who have not? what shall i say to you? shall i praise you in this? i praise you not. ( )for i received from the lord, what i also delivered to you, that the lord jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took a loaf; ( )and having given thanks, he broke it, and said: this is my body, which is for you; this do in remembrance of me. ( )in like manner also the cup, after they had supped, saying: this cup is the new covenant in my blood; this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. ( )for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye show the lord's death till he come. ( )so that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the lord. ( )but let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. ( )for he that eats and drinks, eats and drinks condemnation to himself, if he discern not the body. ( )for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ( )for if we judged ourselves; we should not be judged. ( )but being judged, we are chastened by the lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. ( )wherefore, my brethren, when coming together to eat, wait for one another. ( )if any one is hungry, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. and the rest i will set in order when i come. xii. now concerning the spiritual gifts, brethren, i would not have you ignorant. ( )ye know that ye were gentiles carried away to the dumb idols, as ye were led. ( )wherefore i give you to understand, that no one speaking by the spirit of god calls jesus accursed; and no one can say, jesus is lord, but by the holy spirit. ( )now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. ( )and there are diversities of ministrations, and the same lord. ( )and there are diversities of operations, but the same god who works all in all. ( )but to each is given the manifestation of the spirit, for profiting. ( )for to one is given through the spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit; ( )to another faith, by the same spirit; to another gifts of healings by the one spirit; ( )to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another diversities of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. ( )but all these works the one and self-same spirit, dividing to each one severally as he will. ( )for as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is christ. ( )for by one spirit we were all immersed into one body, whether jews or greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one spirit. ( )for the body is not one member, but many. ( )if the foot say: because i am not a hand, i am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. ( )and if the ear say: because i am not an eye, i am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. ( )if the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? ( )but now, god set the members each one of them in the body, as it pleased him. ( )and if they were all one member, where were the body? ( )but now there are many members, but one body. ( )and the eye can not say to the hand, i have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, i have no need of you. ( )nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary; ( )and those which we think to be less honorable parts of the body, on these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. ( )and our comely parts have no need; but god attempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that which lacked; ( )that there may be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. ( )and whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. ( )now ye are the body of christ, and members each one[ : ]. ( )and god set some in the church, apostles first, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governings, diversities of tongues. ( )are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? ( )have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? ( )but desire earnestly the greater gifts; and moreover, i show to you a more excellent way. ( )though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, i am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. ( )and though i have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though i have all faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, i am nothing. ( )and though i bestow all my goods in food, and though i give up my body that i may be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing. ( )love suffers long, is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, ( )does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, imputes no evil; ( )rejoices not at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ( )bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ( )love never fails; but whether there are prophesyings, they will be done away; whether tongues, they will cease; whether knowledge, it will be done away. ( )for we know in part, and we prophesy in part. ( )but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away. ( )when i was a child, i spoke as a child, i thought as a child, i reasoned as a child; but now that i am become a man, i have done away the things of the child. ( )for we see now in a mirror, obscurely; but then face to face. now i know in part; but then i shall know fully, even as i also am fully known. ( )and now remain faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. ( )pursue after love; and desire earnestly the spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. ( )for he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to god; for no one understands; but with the spirit he speaks mysteries. ( )but he that prophesies, to men he speaks edification, and exhortation, and comfort. ( )he that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself; but he that prophesies edifies the church. ( )i would that ye should all speak with tongues, but rather that ye should prophesy; for greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edification. ( )and now, brethren, if i come to you speaking with tongues, what shall i profit you, except i shall speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophesying, or in teaching? ( )and things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, yet if they give no distinction in the sounds, how shall that be known which is piped or harped? ( )for if a trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle? ( )so also ye, if ye utter not by the tongue words easily understood, how shall that be known which is spoken? for ye will be speaking into the air. ( )so many, it may be, are the kinds of speaking sounds in the world, and none is without significance. ( )if then i know not the meaning of the sound, i shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks a barbarian to me. ( )so also ye, since ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound in them to the edification of the church. ( )wherefore let him that speaks in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. ( )for if i pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. ( )what then? i will pray with the spirit, and i will pray with the understanding also; i will sing with the spirit, and i will sing with the understanding also. ( )else, if thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the place of the unlearned say the amen at thy giving of thanks, since he knows not what thou sayest? ( )for thou indeed givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. ( )i thank god, i speak with tongues more than ye all. ( )yet in the church i would rather speak five words with my understanding, that i may also instruct others, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. ( )brethren, be not children in your understandings; but in malice be as children, but in your understandings be men. ( )in the law it is written: for with men of other tongues, and with strange lips, i will speak to this people; and not even so will they hearken to me, saith the lord. ( )so that the tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is not for the unbelieving, but for those who believe. ( )if therefore the whole church is come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? ( )but if all prophesy, and there come in one that is an unbeliever, or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all. ( )the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so falling on his face he will worship god, reporting that god is in truth among you. ( )how is it then, brethren? when ye come together, each of you has a psalm, has an instruction, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. let all things be done to edification. ( )if any one speaks in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and in turn; and let one interpret. ( )but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to god. ( )and of prophets, let two or three speak, and the others judge. ( )but if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first be silent. ( )for ye can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all be comforted. ( )and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. ( )for god is not a god of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. ( )let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted to them to speak, but they are to be in subjection, as the law also says. ( )and if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church. ( )did the word of god come forth from you? or came it unto you alone? ( )if any one thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which i write to you are the lord's commandments. ( )but if any one is ignorant, let him be ignorant. ( )wherefore, brethren, desire earnestly the gift of prophecy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. ( )but let all things be done decently and in order. xv. and i make known to you, brethren, the gospel which i preached to you, which also ye received, in which also ye stand; ( )through which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word with which i preached to you, unless ye believed in vain. ( )for i delivered to you first of all what i also received, that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ( )and that he was buried, and that he has risen on the third day according to the scriptures; ( )and that he appeared to cephas, then to the twelve; ( )after that, he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep. ( )after that, he appeared to james; then to all the apostles. ( )and last of all he appeared to me also, as the one born out of due time. ( )for i am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of god. ( )but by the grace of god i am what i am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but i labored more abundantly than they all; yet not i, but the grace of god which was with me. ( )therefore whether it were i or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. ( )now if christ is preached that he has risen from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? ( )but if there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has christ risen; ( )and if christ has not risen, then is our preaching vain, and vain also your faith. ( )and we are also found false witnesses of god; because we testified of god, that he raised up christ; whom he raised not, if it be so that the dead rise not. ( )for if the dead rise not, neither has christ risen; ( )and if christ has not risen, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ( )then also they who have fallen asleep in christ have perished. ( )if in this life only we have hope in christ, we are of all men most miserable. ( )but now christ has risen from the dead, the first-fruits of those who sleep. ( )for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ( )for as in adam all die, so also in christ will all be made alive. ( )but each in his own order; christ the first-fruits; afterward they who are christ's at his coming. ( )then comes the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to god, the father; when he shall have done away all rule, and all authority and power. ( )for he must reign, till he has put all enemies under his feet. ( )as the last enemy, death shall be done away. for he subjected all things under his feet. ( )but when he says, all things are subjected, it is manifest that he is excepted, who subjected all things to him. ( )and when all things shall be subjected to him, then will also the son himself be subject to him who subjected all things to him, that god may be all in all. ( )else what shall they do who are immersed for the dead? if the dead rise not at all, why are they then immersed for them? ( )why also are we in peril every hour? ( )i protest by my glorying in you, which i have in christ jesus our lord, i die daily. ( )if after the manner of men i fought with wild beasts at ephesus, what is the profit to me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die. ( )be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners. ( )awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of god. i say it to your shame. ( )but some one will say: how do the dead rise? and with what kind of body do they come? ( )thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die; ( )and what thou sowest, not the body that shall be sowest thou, but bare grain, perchance of wheat, or of some other grain. ( )but god gives it a body as it pleased him, and to each of the seeds its own body. ( )all flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds. ( )there are also heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and that of the earthly is another. ( )there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. ( )so also is the resurrection of the dead. it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption. ( )it is sown in dishonor, it rises in glory. it is sown in weakness, it rises in power. ( )it is sown a natural body, it rises a spiritual body. if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual. ( )so also it is written: the first man adam was made a living soul; the last adam a life-giving spirit. ( )but the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and afterward the spiritual. ( )the first man was of the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ( )as was the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ( )and as we bore the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ( )and this i say, brethren, that flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of god; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ( )behold, i tell you a mystery. we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ( )in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ( )for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ( )and when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then will be brought to pass the saying, that is written: death is swallowed up in victory. ( )where, o death, is thy sting? where, o death, is thy victory? ( )the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. ( )but thanks be to god, who gives us the victory, through our lord jesus christ. ( )therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the lord. xvi. now concerning the collection for the saints, as i gave order to the churches of galatia, so also do ye. ( )on each first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, according as he is prospered, that there may be no collections when i come. ( )and when i come, whomsoever ye shall approve, them i will send with letters to carry your benefaction to jerusalem. ( )and if it be worthy of my going also, they shall go with me. ( )and i will come to you, when i shall pass through macedonia. for i pass through macedonia; ( )and it may be that i will remain, or even pass the winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever i go. ( )for i wish not to see you now, in passing; for i hope to remain some time with you, if the lord permit. ( )but i shall remain at ephesus until the pentecost. ( )for a great and effectual door is open to me, and there are many adversaries. ( )now if timothy come, see that he may be with you without fear; for he works the work of the lord, as i also do. ( )let no one therefore despise him; but send him forward in peace, that he may come to me; for i look for him with the brethren. ( )and concerning apollos the brother, i besought him much to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his will to come at this time, but he will come when he shall have a convenient time. ( )watch, stand fast in the faith, acquit you like men, be strong. ( )let all your acts be done in love. ( )and i beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of achaia, and that they devoted themselves to the service of the saints,) ( )that ye also submit yourselves to such, and to every one that works with us, and labors. ( )i am glad of the coming of stephanas and fortunatus and achaicus; for what was lacking on your part they supplied. ( )for they refreshed my spirit and yours; therefore acknowledge those who are such. ( )the churches of asia salute you. aquila and priscilla salute you much in the lord, with the church that is in their house. ( )all the brethren salute you. salute one another with a holy kiss. ( )the salutation of me, paul, with my own hand. ( )if any one loves not the lord jesus christ, let him be accursed. maran atha[ : ]! ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. ( )my love be with you all in christ jesus. amen. the second letter of paul to the corinthians. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy the brother, to the church of god which is at corinth, with all the saints who are in all achaia: ( )grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )blessed be god, the father of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies, and the god of all consolation; ( )who consoles us in all our affliction, that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction, by the consolation wherewith we ourselves are consoled by god. ( )because, as the sufferings of christ abound toward us, so through christ abounds also our consolation. ( )but whether we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective in the endurance of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we are consoled, it is for your consolation and salvation. ( )and our hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so are ye also of the consolation. ( )for we would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of our affliction which befell us in asia, that we were exceedingly oppressed, above our strength, so that we despaired even of life. ( )yea, we ourselves had in ourselves the sentence of death, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in god who raises the dead; ( )who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom is our hope that he will still deliver; ( )ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication, that for the mercy bestowed on us through many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. ( )for our glorying is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of god, did we deport ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you. ( )for we write no other things to you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and i trust ye will acknowledge even to the end; ( )as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours in the day of the lord jesus. ( )and in this confidence i was desirous to come to you before, that ye might have a second benefit; ( )and to pass by you into macedonia, and from macedonia to come again to you, and by you to be brought on my way to judea. ( )when therefore i purposed this, did i act with levity? or the things that i purpose, do i purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea, yea, and the nay, nay? ( )but god is faithful, our word to you is not yea and nay. ( )for the son of god, jesus christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and silvanus and timothy, was not made yea and nay, but has been made yea in him. ( )for however many are the promises of god, in him is the yea, and in him the amen, to the glory of god through us. ( )now he who establishes us with you in christ, and anointed us, is god; ( )he who also sealed us, and gave the earnest of the spirit in our hearts. ( )but i invoke god for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you i came not yet to corinth. ( )not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for in faith ye stand fast. ii. and i determined this with myself, that i would not come again to you in sorrow. ( )for if i make you sorry, who then is he that makes me glad, but the same who is made sorry by me? ( )and i wrote this very thing to you, that i might not, when i came, have sorrow from those of whom i ought to have joy; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. ( )for out of much affliction and anguish of heart i wrote to you, with many tears; not that ye might have sorrow, but that ye might know the love which i have more abundantly toward you. ( )but if any has caused sorrow, he has not caused sorrow to me, but in part (that i be not too severe on him) to you all. ( )sufficient for such a one is this punishment, which was inflicted by the many. ( )so that, on the contrary, ye ought rather to forgive and console him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. ( )wherefore i beseech you to confirm your love toward him. ( )for to this end also i wrote, that i might know the proof of you, whether ye are obedient in all things. ( )to whom ye forgive anything, i forgive also; for what i have forgiven, if i have forgiven anything, for your sakes i forgave it in the person of christ, ( )that no advantage might be gained over us by satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices. ( )and when i came to troas to preach the good news of christ, and a door was opened to me in the lord, ( )i had no rest in my spirit, because i found not titus my brother; but taking leave of them, i went forth into macedonia. ( )but thanks be to god, who always causes us to triumph in christ, and makes manifest by us in every place the savor of the knowledge of him. ( )because we are to god a sweet savor of christ, in those who are saved, and in those who perish; ( )to the one a savor of death unto death, to the other a savor of life unto life. and who is sufficient for these things? ( )for we are not as the many, corrupting the word of god; but as of sincerity, but as of god, in the sight of god we speak in christ. iii. do we again begin to commend ourselves? or need we, as some, letters of commendation to you, or of commendation from you? ( )ye are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ( )being made manifest that ye are a letter of christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living god; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshly tablets of the heart. ( )and such confidence have we through christ, toward god. ( )not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of god; ( )who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit makes alive. ( )but if the ministration of death, engraven with letters in stones, was made glorious, so that the sons of israel could not look steadfastly on the face of moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away; ( )how shall not the ministration of the spirit be more glorious? ( )for if the ministration of condemnation is glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness abound in glory. ( )for even that which was made glorious has no glory in this respect, on account of the glory that excels. ( )for if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which abides is glorious. ( )having therefore such hope, we use great plainness of speech; ( )and not as moses put a vail over his face, that the children of israel might not steadfastly look on the end of that which was to be done away. ( )but their understandings were hardened; for until this day the same vail on the reading of the old covenant remains, not being taken away; which vail is done away in christ[ : ]. ( )but even unto this day, when moses is read, a vail lies upon their heart. ( )but whenever it turns to the lord, the vail is taken away. ( )now the lord is the spirit; and where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty. ( )but we all, with unvailed face beholding in a mirror the glory of the lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the lord. iv. therefore, having this ministry, as we received mercy, we faint not. ( )but we renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor falsifying the word of god; but, by the manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of god. ( )but if our gospel is vailed, it is vailed in those who perish; ( )in whom the god of this world blinded the understandings of the unbelieving, that they should not discern the light of the gospel of the glory of christ, who is the image of god[ : ]. ( )for we preach not ourselves, but christ jesus as lord; and ourselves as your servants for jesus' sake. ( )because it is god, who commands light to shine out of darkness; who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ. ( )but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be god's, and not of us; ( )being pressed in every way, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not despairing; ( )persecuted, yet not forsaken; cast down, yet not destroyed; ( )always bearing about in the body the dying of jesus, that also the life of jesus might be made manifest in our body. ( )for we who live are always delivered to death for jesus' sake, that the life also of jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. ( )so that death works in us, but life in you. ( )but having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, i believed, therefore did i speak, we also believe, therefore also speak; ( )knowing that he who raised up the lord jesus will raise up us also with jesus, and will present us with you. ( )for all things are for your sakes; that the grace, abounding through the greater number, might make the thanksgiving more abundant, to the glory of god. ( )for which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day: ( )for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works out for us a far more exceeding, an eternal weight of glory; ( )while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. v. for we know that, if our earthly house of the tabernacle[ : ] were dissolved, we have a building of god, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ( )for in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven; ( )seeing that we shall be found clothed, not naked[ : ]. ( )for we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, that what is mortal might be swallowed up by life. ( )now he who wrought us out for this very thing is god, who also gave to us the earnest of the spirit. ( )being therefore always confident, and knowing that while at home in the body we are absent from the lord, ( )(for we walk by faith, not by sight), ( )we are confident, and are well pleased rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the lord. ( )wherefore we also strive, that, whether at home or absent, we may be well pleasing to him. ( )for we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to the things which he did, whether good or bad. ( )knowing therefore the fear of the lord, we persuade men; but to god we have been made manifest, and i hope that we have been made manifest also in your consciences. ( )for we are not again commending ourselves to you, but giving you occasion of glorying on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer those who glory in appearance and not in heart. ( )for whether we were beside ourselves, it was for god; or whether we are of sound mind, it is for you. ( )for the love of christ constrains us; because we thus judged, that if one died for all, then they all died. ( )and he died for all, that they who live should live no longer to themselves, but to him who for them died and rose again. ( )so that we henceforth know no one according to the flesh; and if also we have known christ according to the flesh, yet now we no longer know him. ( )so that if any one is in christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, all things have become new. ( )and all things are of god, who reconciled us to himself through christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; ( )as that god was in christ reconciling a world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. ( )we are then ambassadors on behalf of christ[ : ], as though god were beseeching by us; on behalf of christ we pray: be reconciled to god! ( )him who knew not sin he made to be sin for us, that we might become god's righteousness in him. vi. and, as workers together with him, we also beseech you that ye receive not the grace of god in vain; ( )(for he says: in an accepted time i heard thee, and in the day of salvation i helped thee; behold, now is the well accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation;) ( )giving no cause of offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed; ( )but as god's ministers, commending ourselves in everything, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ( )in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; ( )in pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the holy spirit, in love unfeigned, ( )in the word of truth, in the power of god, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ( )through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report; as deceivers, and true; ( )as unknown, and well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; ( )as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and possessing all things. ( )o corinthians, our mouth is open to you, our heart is enlarged. ( )ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. ( )now as a recompense in the same kind (i speak as to my children), be ye also enlarged. ( )be not yoked unequally with unbelievers; for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? and what communion has light with darkness? ( )and what concord has christ with belial? or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ( )and what agreement has the temple of god with idols? for ye are a temple of the living god; as god said: i will dwell in them, and walk among them; and i will be their god, and they shall be to me a people. ( )wherefore, come out from among them, and be separated, saith the lord, and touch not anything unclean; and i will receive you, ( )and will be to you a father, and ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the lord almighty. vii. having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of god. ( )receive us; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we defrauded no one. ( )i say it not for condemnation; for i have before said, that ye are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ( )great is my confidence toward you, great is my glorying on account of you; i am filled with the consolation, i am made to abound with the joy, in all our affliction. ( )for indeed, when we were come into macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way; without were fightings, within were fears. ( )but god, who consoles those who are cast down, consoled us by the coming of titus; ( )and not by his coming only, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that i rejoiced the more. ( )because, though i made you sorry with the letter, i do not regret it, though i did regret it; for i perceive that that letter made you sorry, though but for a season. ( )now i rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might in nothing receive harm from us. ( )for godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world works out death. ( )for behold this very thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly manner, what earnestness it wrought in you; yea, what clearing of yourselves; yea, what indignation; yea, what fear; yea, what longing desire; yea, what zeal; yea, what avenging! in every thing ye commended yourselves as pure in the matter. ( )so then, though i wrote to you, it was not on account of him who did the wrong, nor of him who suffered wrong, but that your care for us might be made manifest to you in the sight of god. ( )for this cause we were consoled; but in our consolation[ : ], we rejoiced abundantly more at the joy of titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. ( )for if in any thing i have boasted to him of you, i was not made ashamed; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before titus was found to be truth. ( )and his tender affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. ( )i rejoice, that in every thing i have confidence in you. viii. and we made known to you, brethren, the grace of god which has been bestowed on the churches of macedonia; ( )that in much trial of affliction was the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. ( )for according to their power, i bear witness, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves; ( )with much entreaty beseeching of us the grace, and the participation in the ministering to the saints; ( )and not as we expected, but themselves they gave first to the lord, and to us by the will of god. ( )so that we exhorted titus, that as he had before begun, so he would also finish among you this grace also. ( )but, as in everything ye abound, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and all diligence, and your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. ( )i say it not by way of command, but through the forwardness of others proving also the sincerity of your love. ( )for ye know the grace of our lord jesus christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. ( )and i give an opinion in this matter; for this is expedient for you, who began before others, not only to do, but also to will, a year ago. ( )and now perform the doing of it also; that as there was the readiness to will, so there may be the performance according to what ye have. ( )for if there be first the willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man has, not according to what he has not. ( )for it is not that others may be eased, and ye burdened; ( )but, by the rule of equality, at this present time your abundance being a supply for their want, that also their abundance may be a supply for your want, that there may be equality; as it is written: ( )he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little did not lack. ( )but thanks be to god, who put the same earnest care for you into the heart of titus. ( )for he accepted indeed the exhortation; but being very zealous, he went to you of his own accord. ( )and together with him we sent the brother, whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches; ( )and not that only, but who was also appointed by the churches, as our fellow-traveler with this gift[ : ] which is administered by us, to further the glory of the lord, and our zeal; ( )being careful of this, that no one should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us; ( )for we provide for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the lord, but also in the sight of men. ( )and we sent with them our brother, whom we have often in many things proved to be diligent, but now much more diligent, through the great confidence which he has toward you. ( )as to titus, he is my partner, and in regard to you a fellow-laborer; as to our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of christ. ( )therefore show toward them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. ix. for concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. ( )for i know your readiness of mind, of which i boast for you to the macedonians, that achaia has been prepared since a year ago; and your zeal stirred up the greater part of them. ( )but i sent the brethren, that our boasting of you might not be made in vain in this respect; that, as i said, ye may be prepared; ( )lest haply, if macedonians come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be put to shame in respect to this confidence. ( )i thought it necessary, therefore, to exhort the brethren, that they should go before to you, and make up beforehand your bounty before promised, that this may be ready, in manner as a bounty and not as covetousness. ( )but as to this, he that sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he that sows with blessings shall also reap with blessings; ( )but each as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for god loves a cheerful giver. ( )and god is able to make every grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound toward every good work; ( )(as it is written: he dispersed abroad, he gave to the poor; his righteousness abides forever;) ( )and he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; ( )being enriched in everything to all liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to god. ( )because the ministration of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints, but also abounds through many thanksgivings to god; ( )while by the proof of this ministration they glorify god for the obedience to your profession of the gospel of christ, and for the liberality of the contribution to them, and to all; ( )they also, with supplication for you, longing after you on account of the exceeding grace of god in you. ( )thanks be to god for his unspeakable gift! x. now i, paul, myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of christ, who in presence indeed am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you; ( )but i entreat, that i may not when i am present be bold with that confidence, wherewith i think to be bold against some, who think of us as walking according to the flesh. ( )for though walking in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; ( )(for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty before god to the pulling down of strongholds) ( )casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of christ; ( )and being in readiness to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is made perfect. ( )do ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trusts to himself that he is christ's, let him of himself consider this again, that, as he is christ's, so also are we. ( )for even if i should boast somewhat more abundantly of our authority, which the lord gave us for edification, and not for your destruction[ : ], i shall not be put to shame; ( )that i may not seem as if i would terrify you by my letters. ( )for his letters, says one, are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. ( )let such a one consider this, that such as we are in word by letters when absent, such will we be also in deed when present. ( )for we venture not to reckon ourselves among, or to compare ourselves with, some of those who commend themselves; but they, measuring themselves among themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are not wise. ( )but we will not boast of things without measure, but according to the measure of the line which god apportioned to us, a measure to reach even to you. ( )for we do not stretch ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not to you; for as far as to you also did we come, in the gospel of christ; ( )not boasting of things without measure in other men's labors; but having hope, when your faith increases, that we shall be enlarged among you according to our line abundantly, ( )to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, not to make our boast, in another's line, of things made ready to our hand. ( )but he that boasts, let him boast in the lord. ( )for not he that commends himself is approved, but he whom the lord commends. xi. would that ye could bear with me in a little folly! nay, ye do bear with me. ( )for i am jealous over you with a godly jealousy; for i espoused you to one husband, that i may present a chaste virgin to christ. ( )but i fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled eve by his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from your simplicity toward christ. ( )for if indeed he that comes preaches another jesus, whom we preached not, or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye received not, or a different gospel, which ye accepted not, ye might well bear with it. ( )for i reckon that i am in no respect behind these overmuch apostles. ( )and though i be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but in everything we have been made manifest among all, in respect to you. ( )did i commit an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because i preached to you the gospel of god without charge. ( )i robbed other churches, taking wages of them, in order to do you service. ( )and when i was present with you, and in want, i was a charge to no one; for what was lacking to me the brethren who came from macedonia supplied; and in every thing i kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so will keep myself. ( )as the truth of christ is in me, this boasting shall not be shut up against me in the regions of achaia. ( )wherefore? because i love you not? god knows. ( )but what i do, and will do, is that i may cut off the occasion of those who desire an occasion, that wherein they boast they may be found even as we. ( )for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of christ. ( )and no wonder; for satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. ( )it is no great thing then, if also his ministers transform themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. ( )i say again, let no one think me foolish; but if it can not be so, yet receive me even if as foolish, that i too may boast myself a little. ( )what i speak, i speak not after the lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. ( )seeing that many boast after the flesh, i also will boast. ( )for ye gladly bear with the foolish, being yourselves wise. ( )for ye bear with it, if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes you, if one exalts himself, if one smites you on the face. ( )i say it as a reproach, that we were weak. but in whatever any one is bold (i say it in foolishness), i also am bold. ( )are they hebrews? so am i are they israelites? so am i. are they abraham's seed? so am i. ( )are they ministers of christ? (i speak as beside myself,) i am more; in labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more abundantly, in deaths often; ( )of the jews five times i received forty stripes save one; ( )thrice i was beaten with rods; once i was stoned; thrice i suffered shipwreck; a night and a day i have spent in the deep; ( )by journeyings often, by perils of rivers, by perils of robbers, by perils from my countrymen, by perils from the heathen, by perils in the city, by perils in the wilderness, by perils in the sea, by perils among false brethren; ( )by weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. ( )beside those things that are without, there is that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the churches. ( )who is weak, and i am not weak? who is offended, and i do not burn? ( )if i must needs boast, i will boast of things which belong to my infirmity. ( )god, the father of our lord jesus christ, who is blessed forevermore, knows that i lie not. ( )in damascus, the governor under aretas the king kept guard over the city of the damascenes, wishing to apprehend me; ( )and through a window i was let down in a basket through the wall, and escaped his hands. xii. to boast is surely not expedient for me; for i will come to visions and revelations of the lord. ( )i know a man in christ, above fourteen years ago (whether in the body i know not, or whether out of the body i know not, god knows) such a one caught up even to the third heaven. ( )and i know such a man (whether in the body or without the body i know not, god knows), ( )that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. ( )of such a one i will boast; but of myself i will not boast, save in my infirmities. ( )for if i should desire to boast, i shall not be foolish, for i shall speak truth; but i forbear, lest any one should reckon of me above what he sees me to be, or hears from me. ( )and that i might not be exalted overmuch through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of satan to buffet me, that i might not be exalted overmuch. ( )concerning this i besought the lord thrice, that it might depart from me. ( )and he said to me: my grace is sufficient for thee; for my power is made perfect in weakness. most gladly therefore will i rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of christ may abide upon me. ( )wherefore i take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for christ's sake: for when i am weak, then i am powerful. ( )i have become foolish; ye compelled me. for i ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was i behind these overmuch apostles, though i am nothing. ( )truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, by signs, and wonders, and miracles. ( )for what is there, wherein ye were inferior to the rest of the churches, except that i myself was not a charge to you? forgive me this wrong. ( )behold, i am ready to come to you the third time; and i will not be a charge to you; for i seek not yours, but you; for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. ( )and i will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly i love you, the less i am loved. ( )but be it so, i was not myself a charge to you[ : ]; but yet, being crafty, i caught you with guile. ( )did i make gain of you, by any of those whom i have sent to you? ( )i exhorted titus [to go], and sent with him the brother. did titus make gain of you? did we not walk in the same spirit; did we not in the same steps? ( )do ye again suppose that we are excusing ourselves to you[ : ]? before god in christ we speak; and all, beloved, for your edification. ( )for i fear, lest haply, when i come, i shall find you not such as i would, and i too shall be found by you such as ye would not; lest there be wranglings, envyings, wraths, rivalries, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults; ( )lest, when i come again, my god shall humble me among you, and i shall bewail many of those who have sinned before, and repented not of the uncleanness, and fornication, and wantonness, which they committed. xiii. this third time i am coming to you. in the mouth of two witnesses, and of three, shall every word be established. ( )i have before said, and now say beforehand, as when present the second time, so also now when absent, to those who heretofore have sinned, and to all the rest, that if i come again i will not spare; ( )since ye seek a proof of christ speaking in me, who toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you. ( )for even if he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of god. for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of god toward you. ( )try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. know ye not your own selves, that jesus christ is in you, except ye are reprobate? ( )but i trust that ye shall know, that we are not reprobate. ( )now i pray to god that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye may do what is good, though we be as reprobate. ( )for we have no power against the truth, but for the truth. ( )for we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are powerful; this also we pray for, even your perfection. ( )for this cause i write these things being absent, that when present i may not use sharpness, according to the power which the lord gave me for edification, and not for destruction. ( )finally, brethren, farewell. be perfect, be of good comfort, be of the same mind, be at peace; and the god of love and peace will be with you. ( )salute one another with a holy kiss. ( )all the saints salute you. ( )the grace of the lord jesus christ, and the love of god, and the communion of the holy spirit, be with you all. the letter of paul to the galatians. i. paul, an apostle, not from men, neither through man, but through jesus christ, and god the father who raised him from the dead, ( )and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of galatia: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god the father, and our lord jesus christ; ( )who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of the present evil world, according to the will of god and our father; ( )to whom be the glory forever and ever. amen. ( )i marvel that ye are so soon removing from him who called you in the grace of christ, to a different gospel; ( )which is not another, except that there are some who trouble you, and wish to pervert the gospel of christ. ( )but even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel to you contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. ( )as we have said before, so i now say again, if any one preaches a gospel to you contrary to that which ye received, let him be accursed. ( )for do i now seek the favor of men or of god? or am i seeking to please men? if i were still pleasing men, i should not be christ's servant. ( )now i make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man; ( )for i also did not receive it from man, nor was i taught it, but through the revelation of jesus christ. ( )for ye heard of my conduct formerly in judaism; that beyond measure i persecuted the church of god, and was destroying it, ( )and pressed forward in judaism beyond many companions of the same age in my nation, being more exceedingly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers. ( )but when it pleased god, who set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace, ( )to reveal his son in me, that i should make known the glad news of him among the gentiles; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood; ( )neither went up to jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but went away[ : ] into arabia, and returned again to damascus. ( )then, after three years, i went up to jerusalem to become acquainted with cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. ( )but no other of the apostles did i see, save james, the brother of the lord. ( )now as to the things which i write to you, behold before god, i lie not. ( )afterward, i came into the regions of syria and cilicia; ( )and was unknown by face to the churches of juda which were in christ; ( )but they were only hearing, that he who was once our persecutor now preaches the faith which once he was destroying; ( )and they glorified god in me. ii. then, after fourteen years, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, taking also titus with me. ( )and i went up by revelation, and communicated to them the gospel which i preach among the gentiles; but privately, to those of reputation, lest by any means i should run, or had run in vain. ( )but not even titus, who was with me, being a greek, was compelled to be circumcised; ( )and that because of the false brethren stealthily brought in, who crept in to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage; ( )to whom not even for an hour did we yield by the [required] submission, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. ( )but from those reputed to be something,--whatever they were[ : ], it matters not to me, god accepts not man's person,--for to me those of reputation communicated nothing in addition. ( )but, on the contrary, seeing that i have been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, as peter was with that of the circumcision; ( )(for he who wrought for peter in behalf of the apostleship of the circumcision, wrought also for me in behalf of the gentiles;) ( )and having learned the grace that was given to me, james and cephas and john, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and barnabas right hands of fellowship, that we should go to the gentiles, and they to the circumcision; ( )only, that we should remember the poor, which very thing also i was forward to do. ( )but when cephas came to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was blamed. ( )for before certain ones came from james, he ate with the gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. ( )and the other jews also dissembled with him, so that barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. ( )but when i saw that they walk not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said to peter in the presence of all: if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of gentiles and not that of jews, how dost thou compel the gentiles to become as jews? ( )we are jews by nature, and not sinners from among the gentiles; ( )but knowing that a man is not justified by works of law, but through faith in jesus christ, we also believed on christ jesus, that we might be justified by faith in christ, and not by works of law; because by works of law no flesh shall be justified. ( )but if, while seeking to be justified in christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is then christ a minister of sin? far be it! ( )for if the things which i pulled down these i build up again, i make myself a transgressor. ( )for i through law died to law, that i might live to god. ( )i have been crucified with christ; and no longer do i live, but christ lives in me; and the life which i now live in the flesh i live in the faith of the son of god, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ( )i do not set aside the grace of god; for if there be righteousness through law, then christ died without cause. iii. o foolish galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes jesus christ was evidently set forth[ : ], crucified among you? ( )this only i desire to learn from you: was it from works of law that ye received the spirit, or from the hearing of faith? ( )are ye so foolish? having begun with the spirit, are ye now being made perfect[ : ] with the flesh? ( )did ye suffer so many things in vain? if indeed it be in vain. ( )does he, therefore, who supplies to you the spirit, and works miracles among you[ : ], do it from works of law, or from the hearing of faith? ( )as abraham believed god, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. ( )know then that they who are of faith, these are sons of abraham. ( )and the scripture, foreseeing that god justifies the gentiles by faith, announced beforehand the glad tidings to abraham, saying: in thee shall all the nations be blessed. ( )so that they who are of faith are blessed with the faithful abraham. ( )for as many as are of works of law are under a curse; for it is written: cursed is every one that continues not in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them. ( )and that in the law no one is justified with god, is evident; because, the just shall live by faith. ( )now the law is not of faith; but, he that has done them shall live in them. ( )christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; because it is written: cursed is every one that is hanged on a tree; ( )that unto the gentiles the blessing of abraham might come in christ jesus, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. ( )brethren, i speak after the manner of men. if a covenant has been confirmed, though it be a man's, no one sets it aside, or adds thereto. ( )now to abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. he says not, and to seeds, as concerning many; but as concerning one, and to thy seed, which is christ. ( )but this i say, that a covenant before confirmed by god, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not annul, to make the promise of no effect. ( )for if the inheritance is of law, it is no more of promise; but god has freely given it to abraham by promise. ( )what then is the law? it was added because of the transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise has been made; having been ordained through angels, by the hand of a mediator. ( )now the mediator is not of one; but god is one. ( )is then the law against the promises of god? far be it! for if a law had been given which is able to make alive, truly righteousness would have been of law. ( )but the scripture shut up all under sin, that the promise by faith in jesus christ might be given to those who believe. ( )but before faith came, we were guarded under law, shut up unto the faith which was to be revealed. ( )so that the law has become our schoolmaster, unto christ, that we might be justified by faith. ( )but faith having come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. ( )for ye are all sons of god by faith in christ jesus. ( )for all ye who were immersed unto christ[ : ], did put on christ. ( )there is neither jew nor greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is no male and female; for ye are all one in christ jesus. ( )and if ye are christ's, then are ye abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise. iv. now i say, as long as the heir is a child, he differs in nothing from a servant though he is lord of all; ( )but is under guardians and stewards, until the time appointed by the father. ( )so also we, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elements[ : ] of the world. ( )but when the fullness of the time came, god sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under law, ( )that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ( )and because ye are sons, god sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, abba, father. ( )so that thou art no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, also an heir through god. ( )but at that time indeed, when ye knew not god, ye served those which are not in their nature gods. ( )but now, after having known god, or rather having been known by god, how is it that ye turn back again to the weak and poor elements[ : ], to which ye desire to be in bondage again anew? ( )do ye carefully observe days, and months, and seasons, and years? ( )i am afraid of you, lest by any means i have bestowed labor upon you in vain. ( )become as i am, for i also became as ye are, brethren, i beseech you. ye injured me in nothing. ( )nay, ye know that by reason of weakness of the flesh i preached the glad tidings to you the former time; ( )and my trial[ : ], which was in my flesh, ye despised not nor spurned, but received me as an angel of god, as christ jesus. ( )where is[ : ] then the happiness of which ye spoke? for i bear you witness, that if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes, and given them to me. ( )so then, have i become your enemy, because i tell you the truth? ( )they zealously seek you, not well; but they wish to exclude you, that ye may zealously seek them. ( )but it is good to be zealously sought in a good cause always, and not only when i am present with you. ( )my little children, of whom i travail again in birth, until christ be formed in you! ( )and i could wish to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for i am perplexed on account of you. ( )tell me, ye who desire to be under law, do ye not hear the law? ( )for it is written, that abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman, and one by the freewoman. ( )but the one by the bondwoman was born after the flesh, and the one by the freewoman through the promise. ( )which things are an allegory[ : ]. for these women are two covenants, one from mount sinai, bearing children into bondage, ( )which is hagar (for the word hagar is mount sinai in arabia), and answers to the jerusalem that now is, for she is in bondage with her children. ( )but the jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all[ : ]. ( )for it is written: rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; because many are the children of the desolate, rather than of her who has the husband. ( )but ye, brethren, after the manner of isaac, are children of promise. ( )but as then, the one born after the flesh persecuted the one born after the spirit, so also is it now. ( )but what says the scripture? cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free-woman. ( )so then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the freewoman. v. stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which christ made us free, and be not again entangled with the yoke of bondage. ( )behold, i, paul, say to you, that if ye be circumcised, christ shall profit you nothing. ( )now i testify again to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ( )ye are separated from christ, whoever of you are justified in the law; ye are fallen away from grace. ( )for we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ( )for in christ jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith working by love. ( )ye were running well; who hindered you, that ye should not obey the truth? ( )the persuasion is not from him who calls you. ( )a little leaven leavens the whole lump. ( )i have confidence toward you in the lord, that ye will be no otherwise minded; but he that troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he may be. ( )but as for me, brethren, if i still preach circumcision, why am i still persecuted? then has the offense of the cross ceased. ( )i would that they were even cut off who unsettle you. ( )for ye were called unto liberty, brethren; only use not the liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. ( )for all the law is fulfilled in one word, in this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ( )but if ye bite and devour one another, beware lest ye be consumed by one another. ( )but i say, walk by the spirit, and ye will not fulfill the desire of the flesh. ( )for the flesh has desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, that ye may not do those things that ye would. ( )but if ye are led by the spirit, ye are not under law. ( )now the works of the flesh are manifest; which are, fornication, uncleanness, wantonness, ( )idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, emulation, wraths, contentions, divisions, factions, ( )envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings; and things like these; of which i tell you beforehand, as i also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of god. ( )but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ( )meekness, temperance; against such things there is no law. ( )and they that are christ's crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ( )if we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit. ( )let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another. vi. brethren, even if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ( )bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill[ : ] the law of christ. ( )for if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ( )but let each one prove his own work, and then shall he have ground of glorying in reference to himself alone, and not to another. ( )for each one shall bear his own load. ( )but let him that is taught in the word share with him that teaches, in all good things. ( )be not deceived; god is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. ( )because he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. ( )and let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ( )so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. ( )see with what large letters i wrote to you with my own hand. ( )as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised; only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of christ. ( )for neither do they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but they desire that ye should be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. ( )but far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our lord jesus christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and i to the world. ( )for in christ jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. ( )and as many as walk by this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and on the israel of god. ( )henceforth let no one trouble me; for i bear the marks of jesus in my body. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit, brethren. amen. the letter of paul to the ephesians. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, to the saints who are in ephesus, and believers in christ jesus: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ; ( )as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love; ( )having predestined us unto the adoption of sons by jesus christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ( )to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved; ( )in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the remission of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ( )which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding; ( )making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself, ( )in reference to the dispensation of the fullness of times, to gather for himself into one all things in the christ, the things which are in the heavens, and the things on the earth; ( )in him, in whom we obtained also the inheritance[ : ], being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will, ( )that we should be to the praise of his glory who before have hoped in the christ; ( )in whom ye also, after having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, in whom [i say] having also believed[ : ], ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise; ( )which is an earnest of our inheritance until the redemption[ : ] of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory. ( )for this cause i also, having heard of your faith in the lord jesus, and love to all the saints, ( )cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; ( )that the god of our lord jesus christ, the father of glory, would give to you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of him; ( )the eyes of your heart being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ( )and what the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ( )which he wrought in christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ( )far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; ( )and subjected all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, ( )which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all[ : ]. ii. you also, being dead in trespasses and sins;--( )in which ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience; ( )among whom we also all walked in time past in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as others;--( )but god, being rich in mercy, on account of his great love wherewith he loved us, made us, ( )even when we were dead in sins, alive with christ, (by grace ye are saved,) ( )and raised us with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in christ jesus; ( )that he might show, in the ages to come, the exceeding richness of his grace, in his kindness toward us in christ jesus. ( )for by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of god; ( )not of works, lest any one should boast. ( )for we are his workmanship, created in christ jesus unto good works, which god before prepared that we should walk in them. ( )wherefore remember, that in time past ye, the gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision, in the flesh, made by hand,--( )that at that time ye were without christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without god in the world. ( )but now, in christ jesus, ye, who in time past were afar off, were made near by the blood of christ. ( )for he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition; ( )having abolished in his flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might make the two one new man in himself, making peace; ( )and might reconcile both to god in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. ( )and he came and brought the good news of peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near. ( )because through him we both have the access in one spirit to the father. ( )so then ye are no longer strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of god; ( )having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, christ jesus himself being the chief corner-stone; ( )in whom all the building, fitly framed together, grows unto a holy temple in the lord; ( )in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of god in the spirit. iii. for this cause i, paul, the prisoner of jesus christ for you gentiles,--( )if indeed ye heard of the dispensation of the grace of god which was given me toward you, ( )that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as i wrote before in few words; ( )whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of christ, ( )which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit; ( )that the gentiles are fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers with us of the promise, in christ jesus, through the gospel; ( )whereof i was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of god, which was given to me according to the working of his power. ( )to me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of christ; ( )and to make all see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from ages has been hidden in god, who created all things; ( )that now, to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of god, ( )according to the eternal purpose which he made[ : ] in christ jesus our lord, ( )in whom we have boldness and access[ : ] with confidence through faith in him. ( )wherefore i entreat that ye faint not at my afflictions for you, which is your glory. ( )for this cause i bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ[ : ], ( )from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named, ( )that he would grant to you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his spirit as to the inner man, ( )that christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; having been rooted and grounded in love, ( )that ye may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, ( )and to know the love of christ, which passes knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of god. ( )now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ( )to him be the glory in the church, in christ jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. amen. iv. i, the prisoner in the lord, exhort you, therefore, to walk worthy of the calling with which ye were called, ( )with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; ( )endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. ( )there is one body, and one spirit, as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; ( )one lord, one faith, one immersion, ( )one god and father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. ( )but to each one of us the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of christ. ( )wherefore he says: when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. ( )now this, he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ( )the one who descended, he is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, that he may fill all things. ( )and he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers; ( )for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of christ; ( )till we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of god, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of christ; ( )that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, by cunning craftiness after the wily manner of error; ( )but holding the truth, may in love grow up into him in all things, who is the head, christ; ( )from whom all the body, fitly framed together and compacted by means of every joint of the supply, according to the working in the measure of each single part, effects the increase of the body to the upbuilding of itself in love. ( )this therefore i say, and testify in the lord, that ye no longer walk as the rest of the gentiles walk[ : ], in the vanity of their mind, ( )having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of god because of the ignorance that is in then, because of the hardness of their heart; ( )who, as being past feeling, gave themselves up to wantonness, to work all uncleanness in greediness[ : ]. ( )but ye did not so learn christ, ( )if indeed ye heard him, and were taught in him, as the truth is in jesus; ( )that ye put off, as concerns your former deportment, the old man who is corrupted according to the lusts of deceit, ( )and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ( )and put on the new man, who was created after god in the righteousness and holiness of the truth. ( )wherefore, having put away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor; because we are members one of another. ( )be angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath, ( )neither give place to the devil. ( )let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands that which is good, that he may have to impart to him that has need. ( )let no corrupt discourse proceed out of your mouth, but whatever is good for needful edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. ( )and grieve not the holy spirit of god, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. ( )let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; ( )and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as also god in christ forgave you. v. become therefore followers of god, as beloved children ( )and walk in love, as also christ loved us, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to god for an odor of sweet smell. ( )but fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becomes saints, ( )and filthiness, and foolish talking, and jesting, which are not becoming, but rather giving of thanks. ( )for this ye know, being aware that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of christ and god. ( )let no one deceive you with vain words; for because of these things comes the wrath of god upon the sons of disobedience. ( )become not therefore partakers with them. ( )for ye were once darkness, but now light in the lord. walk as children of light,-- ( )for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,--( )proving what is acceptable to the lord; ( )and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather also reprove them. ( )for it is a shame even to speak of the things done by them in secret. ( )but all things, when reproved, are by the light made manifest; for whatever makes manifest is light. ( )wherefore he says: awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and christ will give thee light. ( )see to it then, how ye walk with exactness, not as unwise, but as wise, ( )redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ( )therefore be not foolish, but understanding what is the will of the lord. ( )and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit; ( )speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the lord; ( )giving thanks always for all things, to god and the father, in the name of our lord jesus christ; ( )submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of christ; ( )wives to their own husbands, as to the lord. ( )because a husband is the head of the wife, as also christ is the head of the church; himself the savior of the body. ( )but as the church is subjected to christ, so also are the wives to their own husbands in everything. ( )husbands, love your wives, as also christ loved the church, and gave himself up for it; ( )that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bathing of water in the word, ( )that he might himself present to himself the church, glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it may be holy and blameless. ( )so husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. he that loves his wife loves himself. ( )for no one ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, as also christ the church; ( )because we are members of his body, [being] of his flesh, and of his bones. ( )for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. ( )this mystery is great; but i am speaking of christ and of the church. ( )nevertheless, do ye also, severally, each so love his wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she reverence her husband. vi. children, obey your parents, in the lord; for this is right. ( )honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, ( )that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. ( )and fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the lord. ( )servants, obey your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to christ; ( )not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of christ, doing the will of god from the heart; ( )with good will doing service, as to the lord, and not to men; ( )knowing that whatever good thing each may have done, that shall he receive from the lord, whether bond or free. ( )and masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatening; knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him. ( )finally, be strong in the lord, and in the power of his might. ( )put on the whole armor of god, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ( )for to us, the contest is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places[ : ]. ( )therefore take on the whole armor of god, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having fully done all, to stand. ( )stand therefore, having girded your loins about with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness; ( )and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ( )in addition to all, having taken on the shield of faith, in which ye will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ( )and receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god; ( )praying at every fitting season in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints; ( )and for me, that utterance may be given to me, in the opening of my mouth with boldness, to make known the mystery of the gospel, ( )for which i am an ambassador in bonds; that therein i may speak boldly, as i ought to speak. ( )but that ye also may know my affairs, how i do, tychicus, the beloved brother and a faithful minister in the lord, will make all known to you; ( )whom i sent to you for this very thing, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might encourage your hearts. ( )peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from god the father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )grace be with all who love our lord jesus christ in sincerity. the letter of paul to the philippians. i. paul and timothy, servants of jesus christ, to all the saints in christ jesus who are at philippi, with the overseers[ : ] and deacons: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )i thank my god on every remembrance of you,--( )always, in every supplication of mine, making the supplication for you all with joy,-- ( )for your fellowship in respect to the gospel[ : ] from the first day until now; ( )being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of jesus christ. ( )as it is just for me to think this of you all, because i have you in my heart[ : ]; being all of you, both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, partakers of the grace with me. ( )for god is my witness, how greatly i long for you all, with the tender affection of jesus christ. ( )and this i pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and all discernment; ( )in order that ye may approve the things that are most excellent[ : ], that ye may be pure and without offense unto the day of christ; ( )being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is by jesus christ, to the glory and praise of god. ( )but i desire that ye should know, brethren, that the things which befell me have resulted rather in the furtherance of the gospel; ( )so that my bonds have become manifest in christ in all the praetorium, and to all the rest; ( )and that the greater part of the brethren, made confident in the lord by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. ( )some indeed preach christ also from envy and strife, but some also from good will; ( )the one, out of love, knowing that i am set for the defense of the gospel; ( )the other, out of contentiousness, proclaim christ not with pure intent, supposing that they shall add affliction[ : ] to my bonds. ( )what then? notwithstanding, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, christ is proclaimed; and therein i rejoice, yea, and shall rejoice. ( )for i know that this will turn out for my salvation, through your supplication, and the supply of the spirit of jesus christ; ( )according to my earnest expectation and hope, that i shall in nothing be put to shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so also now christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death. ( )for to me to live is christ, and to die is gain. ( )but if it be to live in the flesh, this to me is fruit of labor; and which i shall choose i know not; ( )but am constrained by the two, having the desire to depart, and to be with christ, for it is far better; ( )but to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sakes. ( )and being persuaded of this, i know that i shall remain, and shall continue with you all for your furtherance and joy in the faith; ( )that your glorying may be more abundant in jesus christ for me, through my coming to you again. ( )only let your deportment be as becomes the gospel of christ; that whether i come and see you, or remain absent, i may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; ( )and in nothing terrified by the adversaries; which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation[ : ], and that from god. ( )because to you it was granted in behalf of christ,--not only to believe on him,--but in his behalf to suffer also; ( )having the same conflict as ye saw in me, and now hear of in me. ii. if then there is any consolation[ : ] in christ, if any comfort from love, if any communion of the spirit, if any tender affection and compassion, ( )make my joy complete, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of the one mind; ( )doing nothing through contentiousness or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each esteeming others better than himself; ( )regarding not each one his own, but each one also the things of others. ( )let this mind be in you, which was also in christ jesus; ( )who, being in the form of god, did not account it robbery to be equal with god; ( )but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. ( )and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ( )wherefore also god highly exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name; ( )that at the name of jesus every knee should bow, of beings in heaven, and of beings on earth, and of beings under the earth, ( )and every tongue confess that jesus christ is lord, to the glory of god the father. ( )wherefore, my beloved, as ye always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ( )for it is god who works in you both to will and to perform, of his good pleasure. ( )do all without murmurings and disputings; ( )that ye may become blameless and simple, children of god, unreproachable, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye appear as do the heavenly lights in the world; ( )holding forth[ : ] the word of life; for a ground of glorying to me at the day of christ, that i did not run in vain, or labor in vain. ( )but even if i am poured out on the sacrifice and ministration of your faith, i rejoice, and i rejoice with you all. ( )for the same cause[ : ], do ye also rejoice, and rejoice with me. ( )but i hope in the lord jesus to send timothy shortly to you, that i also may be cheered, when i know your state. ( )for i have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. ( )for all seek their own, not the things of jesus christ. ( )but ye know the proof of him, that, as a child with a father, he served with me for the gospel. ( )him therefore i hope to send without delay, so soon as i shall see how it will go with me; ( )but i trust in the lord that i also myself shall come shortly. ( )yet i supposed it necessary to send to you epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger and minister to my wants. ( )for he was longing after you all, and was much distressed, because ye heard that he was sick. ( )for indeed he was sick near to death; but god had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that i might not have sorrow upon sorrow. ( )i sent him therefore with the more haste, that seeing him again ye might rejoice, and that i may be less sorrowful. ( )receive him therefore in the lord with all gladness, and hold such in honor; ( )because for the work of christ he came near to death, hazarding his life, that he might supply what things were lacking on your part, of the ministration to me. iii. finally, my brethren, rejoice in the lord. to write the same things to you, to me is not burdensome, and for you it is safe. ( )beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision. ( )for we are the circumcision, who worship by the spirit of god, and glory in christ jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. ( )though i have confidence also in the flesh. if any other thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, i more; ( )circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of israel, of the tribe of benjamin, a hebrew of hebrews; as to the law, a pharisee; ( )as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. ( )but what things were gain to me, these i have accounted loss for christ. ( )nay more, and i account all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord; for whom i suffered the loss of all things, and account them refuse, that i may gain christ, ( )and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of law, but that which is through faith in christ, the righteousness which is of god, upon faith; ( )that i may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings[ : ], being conformed to his death; ( )if by any means i may attain to the resurrection from the dead. ( )not that i already obtained [the prize][ : ], or have already been perfected; but i pursue onward, if i may lay hold of that for which i was laid hold of by christ jesus. ( )brethren, i do not count myself to have laid hold of it; but one thing i do, forgetting the things behind, and reaching forth to the things before, ( )i pursue on toward the mark, for the prize of the heavenly calling of god in christ jesus. ( )let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be of this mind; and if in any thing ye are otherwise minded, this also god will reveal to you. ( )nevertheless, whereto we have attained, in the same let us walk. ( )brethren, be followers together of me, and mark those who so walk, as ye have us for an example. ( )for many walk, of whom i told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of christ; ( )whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. ( )for our citizenship[ : ] is in heaven; from whence we also look for a savior, the lord jesus christ; ( )who will transform the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working with which he is able also to subject all things to himself. ( )therefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the lord, beloved. ( )i beseech euodia, and i beseech syntyche, to be of the same mind in the lord. ( )yea, i entreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, help these women, who labored with me in the gospel, with clement also, and the rest of my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. ( )rejoice in the lord always; again i will say, rejoice. ( )let your forbearance be known to all men. the lord is at hand. ( )be anxious for nothing; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to god. ( )and the peace of god, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in christ jesus. ( )finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ( )the things also, which ye learned, and received, and heard, and saw in me, these do; and the god of peace will be with you. ( )but i rejoiced in the lord greatly, that now at length ye revived again in your care for my welfare; for which ye were also careful, but lacked opportunity. ( )not that i speak in respect of want; for i learned, in whatever state i am, to be content. ( )i both know how to be abased, and i know how to abound; in every thing, and in all things, i am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. ( )i can do all things, in him who strengthens me. ( )notwithstanding, ye did well to share with me in my affliction. ( )and ye also know, philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when i went forth from macedonia, no church communicated with me in an account of giving and receiving[ : ], but ye only; ( )that also in thessalonica, ye sent once and again to my necessity. ( )not that i seek for the gift; but i seek for the fruit that abounds to your account. ( )but i have all, and abound; i am full, having received of epaphroditus the things sent from you, an odor of sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to god. ( )but my god will supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, in christ jesus. ( )now to god and our father be the glory forever and ever. amen. ( )salute every saint in christ jesus. the brethren who are with me salute you. ( )all the saints salute you, but especially they that are of caesar's household. ( )the grace of the lord jesus christ be with your spirits. the letter of paul to the colossians. i. paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god, and timothy the brother, ( )to the saints in colosse, and faithful brethren in christ: grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )we give thanks to god the father of our lord jesus christ, praying always for you, ( )having heard of your faith in christ jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints, ( )because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; ( )which is come to you, as also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit and increasing also in you, since the day ye heard it, and knew the grace of god in truth; ( )as ye learned from epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of christ, ( )who also made known to us your love in the spirit. ( )for this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ( )that ye may walk worthy of the lord unto all pleasing, bringing forth fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of god; ( )being strengthened with all strength, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joy; ( )giving thanks to the father, who made us meet for the portion of the inheritance of the saints in light; ( )who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the son of his love; ( )in whom we have the redemption, the remission of our sins; ( )who is the image of the invisible god, the first-born of every creature, ( )because in him were all things created, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things have been created by him, and for him; ( )and he is before all things, and in him all things subsist. ( )and he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that he may become in all things pre-eminent. ( )for he was pleased, that in him should all the fullness dwell; ( )and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in the heavens. ( )and you also, being in time past alienated, and enemies in your mind in wicked works, yet now has he reconciled ( )in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and unaccused before him; ( )if indeed ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye heard, which was preached in the whole creation which is under heaven; of which i paul was made a minister. ( )now i rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church; ( )of which i was made a minister, according to the dispensation of god which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of god, ( )the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been manifested to his saints; ( )to whom god willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is christ in you, the hope of glory; ( )whom we announce, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in christ; ( )to which end i also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me with power. ii. for i would have you know how great a conflict i have for you, and for those in laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; ( )that their hearts might be encouraged, they being knit together in love, and unto all the riches of the full assurance of the understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of god, even christ; ( )in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. ( )and this i say, that no one may beguile you with enticing words. ( )for though i am absent in the flesh, yet in the spirit i am with you, rejoicing and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith toward christ. ( )as therefore ye received christ jesus the lord, so walk in him; ( )having been rooted and being built up in him, and being established in the faith as ye were taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ( )beware lest there shall be any one that despoils you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after christ. ( )because in him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily. ( )and ye are made complete in him[ : ], who is the head of all principality and power; ( )in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of christ; ( )being buried with him in the immersion, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of god, who raised him from the dead. ( )and you also, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made alive together with him, graciously forgiving us all our trespasses; ( )blotting out the handwriting in ordinances that was against us, which was opposed to us, and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; ( )despoiling principalities and powers[ : a], he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it[ : b]. ( )let not any one therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of a feast-day, or of a new-moon, or of a sabbath; ( )which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of christ. ( )let no one defraud you of the prize, seeking it[ : ] in humiliation and worship of the angels, intruding into things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ( )and not holding fast the head, from whom all the body, by means of the joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and being knit together, increases with the increase of god. ( )if ye died with christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, ( )"handle not, nor taste, nor touch," ( )(which are all to perish with the using,) after the commandments and teachings of men? ( )which things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-chosen worship, and humiliation, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor, for the satisfying of the flesh. iii. if then ye were raised together with christ, seek the things above, where christ is, sitting on the right hand of god. ( )set your mind on the things above, not on the things upon the earth. ( )for ye died, and your life is hid with christ in god. ( )when christ, our life, shall be manifested, then will ye also with him be manifested in glory. ( )mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; ( )on account of which things the wrath of god comes on the sons of disobedience; ( )in which ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things. ( )but now, do ye also put all away, anger, wrath, malice, reviling, filthy communication out of your mouth. ( )lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, ( )and have put on the new man, who is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him who created him; ( )where there is no greek and jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, bondman, freeman; but christ is all, and in all. ( )put on therefore, as god's chosen, holy and beloved, bowels of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, ( )forbearing one another, and freely forgiving each other, if any one have a complaint against any, even as christ freely forgave you, so also do ye; ( )and over all these, love, which is the bond of perfectness. ( )and let the peace of christ rule in your hearts, to which ye were also called in one body; and be thankful. ( )let the word of christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another, with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, in grace singing in your hearts to god. ( )and whatever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the lord jesus, giving thanks to god the father through him. ( )wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as is fitting in the lord. ( )husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter toward them. ( )children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing, in the lord. ( )fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged. ( )servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the lord. ( )whatever ye do, do it heartily, as to the lord, and not to men; ( )knowing that from the lord ye will receive the recompense of the inheritance. serve the lord christ. ( )for he that does wrong will receive that which he did wrongfully; and there is no respect of persons. ( )masters, render to your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. ( )persevere in prayer, being watchful therein with thanksgiving; ( )at the same time praying also for us, that god would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of christ, for the sake of which i am also in bonds, ( )that i may make it manifest, as i ought to speak. ( )walk in wisdom toward those without, redeeming the time. ( )let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. ( )all my affairs will tychicus make known to you, the beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the lord; ( )whom i sent to you for this very purpose, that he may know your condition, and may comfort your hearts; ( )together with onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. they will make known to you all the things here. ( )aristarchus my fellow-prisoner salutes you, and mark the cousin of barnabas, concerning whom ye received commands (if he come to you, receive him), ( )and jesus, who is called justus, who are of the circumcision. these only are my fellow-workers, for the kingdom of god, who have been a comfort to me. ( )epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of christ jesus, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of god. ( )for i bear him witness, that he has much concern[ : ] for you, and those in laodicea, and those in hierapolis. ( )luke, the beloved physician, and demas, salute you. ( )salute the brethren in laodicea, and nymphas, and the church in his house. ( )and when the letter has been read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the laodiceans, and that ye also read that from laodicea. ( )and say to archippus: take heed to the ministry which thou didst receive in the lord, that thou fulfill it. ( )the salutation by the hand of me, paul. remember my bonds. grace be with you. the first letter of paul to the thessalonians. i. paul, and silvanus, and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians in god the father and the lord jesus christ: grace to you, and peace. ( )we give thanks to god always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; ( )remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of the hope of our lord jesus christ, before god and our father; ( )knowing, brethren beloved of god, your election; ( )because our gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power, and in the holy spirit, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men were we among you, for your sake. ( )and ye became followers of us, and of the lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the holy spirit; ( )so that ye became an example to all that believe in macedonia and achaia. ( )for from you has sounded forth the word of the lord, not only in macedonia and achaia, but also in every place your faith toward god has gone forth; so that we have no need to speak anything. ( )for they themselves report concerning us, what manner of entrance we had to you, and how ye turned to god from idols, to serve the living and true god, ( )and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. ii. for yourselves, brethren, know our entrance to you, that it has not become vain. ( )but having before suffered, and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at philippi, we were bold in our god to speak to you the gospel of god in much conflict. ( )for our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; ( )but as we have been approved by god to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but god, who proves our hearts. ( )for neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; god is witness; ( )nor of men sought we glory, neither from you, nor from others, though able to use authority, as christ's apostles. ( )but we were gentle among you, as a nurse cherishes her children; ( )so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to impart to you, not only the gospel of god, but also our own souls, because ye were dear to us. ( )for ye remember, brethren, our labor and toil; night and day working, in order not to burden any of you, we preached to you the gospel of god. ( )ye are witnesses, and god, how holily and justly and unblamably we behaved ourselves to you that believe; ( )as ye know how we exhorted, and encouraged, and charged every one of you, as a father his children, ( )that ye should walk worthy of god, who is calling you into his kingdom and glory. ( )for this cause we also thank god without ceasing, that when ye received the word of god heard from us, ye received not the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of god, which also works in you that believe. ( )for ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of god which are in judaea in christ jesus; for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, as they have of the jews; ( )who both killed the lord jesus and the prophets, and drove us forth, and please not god, and are contrary to all men; ( )hindering us from speaking to the gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always; and the wrath came upon them to the utmost. ( )but we, brethren, having been severed from you for a short time, in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face, with great desire. ( )wherefore we would fain have come to you, even i, paul, once and again; and satan hindered us. ( )for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying? are not also ye, in the presence of our lord jesus christ at his coming? ( )for ye are our glory and joy. iii. wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at athens alone; ( )and sent timothy, our brother, and a fellow-worker with god in the gospel of christ, to establish you, and to exhort you concerning your faith; ( )that no one should be shaken by these afflictions, for yourselves know that unto this we are appointed. ( )for even when we were with you, we told you before that we are to suffer affliction; as also it came to pass, and ye know. ( )for this cause, when i too could no longer forbear, i sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. ( )but now, when timothy came to us from you, and brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you; ( )for this cause we were consoled, brethren, over you in all our affliction and distress, through your faith; ( )because now we live, if ye stand fast in the lord. ( )for what thanks can we render to god for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice for your sakes before our god; ( )night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith? ( )now god and our father himself, and our lord jesus christ, direct our way to you. ( )and the lord make you increase and abound in love toward one another, and toward all, as we also do toward you; ( )to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before god and our father, at the coming of our lord jesus christ with all his saints. iv. furthermore then, brethren, we beseech you, and exhort you in the lord jesus, that as ye received from us how ye ought to walk and to please god, as also ye are walking, ye would abound yet more. ( )for ye know what commands we gave you, through the lord jesus. ( )for this is the will of god, your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; ( )that each one of you know how to possess[ : ] his vessel in sanctification and honor; ( )not in lustful passion, as also the gentiles who know not god. ( )that no one go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter[ : ]; because the lord is the avenger for all these things, as we also told you before, and testified. ( )for god did not call us to uncleanness, but in sanctification. ( )therefore he that rejects, rejects not man, but god, who also gave to you his holy spirit. ( )but concerning brotherly love ye need not that i write to you; for ye yourselves are taught of god to love one another. ( )for indeed ye do it, toward all the brethren who are in all macedonia. but we beseech you, brethren, to abound yet more; ( )and to study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; ( )that ye may walk becomingly toward those without, and may have need of nothing. ( )but we desire that you should not be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are sleeping, that ye sorrow not, as others who have no hope. ( )for if we believe that jesus died and rose again, so also those who fell asleep through jesus will god bring with him. ( )for this we say to you, in the word of the lord, that we the living, who remain unto the coming of the lord, shall not precede those who fell asleep. ( )because the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of god; and the dead in christ will first rise. ( )then we the living, who remain, will be caught up together with them in clouds, to meet the lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the lord. ( )wherefore, encourage one another with these words. v. but of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that i write to you. ( )for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord so comes as a thief in the night. ( )for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. ( )but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. ( )for all ye are sons of light, and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness. ( )so then let us not sleep, as others; but let us watch and be sober. ( )for they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunken, are drunken in the night. ( )but let us, being of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation; ( )because god did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our lord jesus christ; ( )who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. ( )wherefore encourage each other, and edify one the other, as also ye do. ( )and we beseech you, brethren, to know those who labor among you, and preside over you in the lord, and admonish you; ( )and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. be at peace among yourselves. ( )now we exhort you, brethren, admonish the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be long-suffering toward all. ( )see that none render evil for evil to any one but ever follow that which is good, both toward one another, and toward all. ( )rejoice always. ( )pray without ceasing. ( )in everything give thanks; for this is the will of god in christ jesus, toward you. ( )quench not the spirit. ( )despise not prophesyings; ( )but prove all things, hold fast that which is good. ( )abstain from every form of evil. ( )and the god of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved whole without blame at the coming of our lord jesus christ. ( )faithful is he who calls you, who also will do it. ( )brethren, pray for us. ( )salute all the brethren with a holy kiss. ( )i adjure you by the lord, that this letter be read to all the holy brethren. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. the second letter of paul to the thessalonians. i. paul, and silvanus, and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians, in god our father, and the lord jesus christ: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god the father and the lord jesus christ. ( )we are bound to thank god always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another abounds; ( )so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of god, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which ye endure; ( )a token of the righteous judgment of god, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of god, for which ye also suffer; ( )since it is a righteous thing with god to recompense affliction to those who afflict you, ( )and to you who are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the lord jesus from heaven with the angels of his power, ( )in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not god, and those who obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ; ( )who shall suffer justice, eternal destruction, from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his power; ( )when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all who believed (because our testimony to you was believed), in that day. ( )to which end we also pray for you always, that our god may count you worthy of the calling, and accomplish all the good pleasure of goodness and the work of faith, with power; ( )that the name of our lord jesus christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our god and the lord jesus christ. ii. now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our lord jesus christ, and our gathering together to him, ( )that ye be not hastily shaken in mind[ : a], or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as through us, as that the day of the lord is at hand[ : b]. ( )let not any one deceive you in any manner; because [that day will not come], except there come first the falling away, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ( )he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called god, or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of god, showing himself that he is god. ( )remember ye not, that, when i was yet with you, i told you these things? ( )and now ye know what withholds, in order that he may be revealed in his own time. ( )for the mystery of iniquity is already working; only until he who now withholds shall be out of the way. ( )and then will the lawless one be revealed, whom the lord jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth, and will destroy with the manifestation of his coming; ( )[him,] whose coming is after the working of satan, in all power and signs and lying wonders, ( )and in all deceit of unrighteousness for those who perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ( )and for this cause god sends them a working of delusion, in order that they may believe the lie; ( )that they may all be judged, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ( )but we are bound to give thanks to god always for you, brethren beloved of the lord, because god from the beginning chose you to salvation, in sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth; ( )whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our lord jesus christ. ( )so then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions[ : ] which ye were taught, whether by word, or by our letter. ( )now our lord jesus christ himself, and god and our father, who loved us, and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, ( )encourage your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word. iii. finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the lord may run, and be glorified, as also with you; ( )and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for all have not the faith. ( )but faithful is the lord, who will establish you, and guard you from evil[ : ]. ( )and we have confidence in the lord concerning you, that ye both do, and will do, the things which we command you. ( )and the lord direct your hearts into the love of god, and into the patience of christ. ( )now we command you, brethren, in the name of our lord jesus christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly, and not after the tradition[ : ] which they received from us. ( )for yourselves know how ye ought to follow us; that we were not disorderly among you, ( )nor did we eat bread of any one for naught, but with labor and toil, working night and day that we might not be burdensome to any of you; ( )not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example to you, that ye should follow us. ( )for also when we were with you, this we commanded you: if any will not work, neither let him eat. ( )for we hear of some who walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies. ( )now such we command, and exhort, in the lord jesus christ, that with quietness working, they eat their own bread. ( )but ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. ( )and if any one obeys not our word by this letter, mark that man, and keep not company with him, that he may be shamed. ( )and count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ( )now the lord of peace himself give you peace always, in every way. the lord be with you all. ( )the salutation of paul with my own hand, which is a token in every letter; so i write. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. the first letter of paul to timothy. i. paul, an apostle of christ jesus, according to the commandment of god our savior and christ jesus our hope, ( )to timothy, a true child in the faith: grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and christ jesus our lord. ( )as i besought thee to remain still in ephesus, when i was going into macedonia, that thou mightest charge certain ones not to teach other doctrine, ( )nor to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which further disputes rather than god's dispensation, which is in faith, [so do.] ( )now the end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned; ( )from which some swerving turned aside to idle prattling; ( )desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. ( )but we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; ( )knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers[ : ]; for man-slayers, ( )for fornicators, for those who defile themselves with mankind, for enslavers of men, for liars, for false swearers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teachings; ( )according to the glorious gospel of the blissful god, with which i was entrusted. ( )and i thank him who gave me strength, christ jesus our lord, that he accounted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ( )who was formerly a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and overbearing. but i obtained mercy, because i did it ignorantly, in unbelief; ( )and the grace of our lord abounded exceedingly, with faith and love which is in christ jesus. ( )faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom i am chief. ( )but for this cause i obtained mercy, that in me first[ : a] christ jesus might show forth all his long-suffering[ : b], for a pattern to those who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. ( )now to the king eternal, the imperishable, invisible, only god, be honor and glory forever and ever. amen. ( )this charge i commit to thee, my child timothy, according to the prophecies which went before concerning thee, that thou mayest wage in them the good warfare; ( )having faith, and a good conscience, which some thrusting away made shipwreck concerning the faith. ( )of whom is hymenaeus and alexander; whom i delivered over to satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme. ii. i exhort then, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; ( )for kings, and all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and decorum. ( )for this is good and acceptable in the sight of our savior god; ( )who desires that all should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. ( )for there is one god, one mediator also between god and men, the man christ jesus; ( )who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time; ( )whereunto i was appointed a preacher, and an apostle (i speak truth, i lie not), a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth. ( )i desire, therefore, that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing; ( )in like manner also that women, in becoming apparel, adorn themselves with modesty and sobriety; not in braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly raiment; ( )but, which becomes women professing godliness, by means of good works. ( )let the woman learn in silence, with all subjection. ( )but i permit not the woman to teach, nor to have authority over the man, but to be in silence. ( )for adam was first formed, then eve. ( )and adam was not deceived; but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into transgression. ( )but she shall be saved through child-bearing, if they continue in faith, and love, and holiness, with sobriety. iii. faithful is the saying, if any one desires the office of overseer[ : ], he desires a good work. ( )the overseer then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, discreet, orderly, hospitable, apt in teaching; ( )not given to wine, not a striker, but forbearing, averse to strife, not a lover of money; ( )presiding well over his own house, having his children in subjection with all decorum; ( )(but if one knows not how to preside over his own house, how shall he take care of the church of god?) ( )not a novice[ : ], lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. ( )but he must also have a good testimony from those without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. ( )deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of gain; ( )holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. ( )and let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, being without reproach. ( )[their] wives in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. ( )let the deacons be husbands of one wife, presiding well over their children and their own houses. ( )for they that have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good degree[ : ], and great boldness in the faith which is in christ jesus. ( )these things i write to thee, hoping to come to thee shortly; ( )but if i tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to conduct thyself in the house of god, which is the church of the living god, the pillar and ground of the truth. ( )and confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness; god was manifested[ : ] in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory. iv. now the spirit says expressly, that in after-times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and teachings of demons; ( )of those who speak lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron; ( )forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from food, which god created to be received with thanksgiving, for those[ : ] who believe and know the truth. ( )for every creature of god is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; ( )for it is sanctified by the word of god and prayer. ( )if thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of christ jesus, nurtured in the words of the faith and of the good teaching, which thou hast strictly followed. ( )but the profane and silly fables[ : ] avoid, and exercise thyself unto godliness. ( )for bodily exercise is profitable for little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. ( )faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance. ( )for to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have hoped in the living god, who is the savior of all men, especially of believers. ( )these things command and teach. ( )let no one despise thy youth; but become an example of the believers, in word, in deportment, in love, in faith, in purity. ( )till i come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to teaching. ( )neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee through prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. ( )meditate on these things[ : ]; give thyself wholly to them; that thy progress may be manifest to all. ( )give heed to thyself, and to the teaching; continue in them; for in doing this thou wilt save both thyself, and those who hear thee. v. rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; younger men as brethren; ( )elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity. ( )honor as widows those who are widows indeed. ( )but if any widow has children or grand-children, let these learn first to show piety to their own household, and to requite their parents, for this is acceptable before god. ( )now she that is a widow indeed, and left alone, has set her hope on god, and continues in supplications and prayers, night and day. ( )but she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. ( )and these things command, that they may be blameless. ( )but if any one provides not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. ( )let not one be enrolled as a widow under threescore years old, having been the wife of one husband; ( )well reported of for good works; if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she diligently followed every good work. ( )but younger widows refuse; for when they have become wanton against christ, they desire to marry; ( )having condemnation, because they broke their first faith. ( )and at the same time they also learn to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busy-bodies, speaking things which they ought not. ( )i desire therefore that younger widows marry, bear children, guide the house, give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. ( )for already, some turned aside after satan. ( )if any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be burdened; that it may relieve those who are widows indeed. ( )let elders who preside well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and teaching. ( )for the scripture says: thou shalt not muzzle an ox while treading out the grain; and, the laborer is worthy of his hire. ( )against an elder receive not an accusation, except before two or three witnesses[ : ]. ( )those who sin rebuke before all, that the rest also may fear. ( )i charge thee before god, and christ jesus, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without prejudging, doing nothing with partiality. ( )lay hands hastily on no one, neither share in other men's sins. keep thyself pure. ( )no longer drink water only, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and for thy frequent infirmities. ( )the sins of some men are openly manifest, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. ( )in like manner also the good works are openly manifest; and those that are otherwise can not be hidden. vi. let as many as are servants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of god and the teaching be not blasphemed. ( )and they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren; but the rather do them service, because they who receive the benefit are faithful and beloved. these things teach and exhort. ( )if any one teaches otherwise, and assents not to sound words, the words of our lord jesus christ, and to the teaching which is according to godliness, ( )he is puffed up with pride, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof comes envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, ( )vain disputings of men corrupted in mind, and robbed of the truth, supposing that godliness is a means of gain. ( )but godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. ( )for we brought nothing into the world; it is certain we can also carry nothing out; ( )and having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. ( )but they who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, which sink men into destruction and perdition. ( )for the love of money is a root of all evils; which some coveting after wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ( )but thou, o man of god, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness of spirit. ( )fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the eternal life, unto which thou wast called, and didst make the good profession before many witnesses. ( )i charge thee in the sight of god, who preserves all alive, and of jesus christ, who before pontius pilate witnessed the good profession, ( )that thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our lord jesus christ; ( )which in his own times[ : ] he will show, who is the blissful and only potentate, the king of kings, and lord of lords; ( )who only has immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man has seen, or can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. amen. ( )charge those who are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor place their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but in god, who gives us all things richly for enjoyment; ( )that they do good, be rich in good works, be free in imparting, willing to communicate; ( )laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the true life. ( )o timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane babblings, and oppositions of that which is falsely called knowledge; ( )which some professing erred concerning the faith. grace be with thee. the second letter of paul to timothy. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, according to the promise of life which is in christ jesus, ( )to timothy, a beloved child: grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and christ jesus our lord. ( )i thank god, whom i serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing i have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; ( )longing to see thee, remembering thy tears, that i may be filled with joy; ( )calling to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother lois, and thy mother eunice; and i am persuaded that it dwells in thee also. ( )for which cause i put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of god, which is in thee by the laying on of my hands. ( )for god did not give us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of chastisement. ( )be not then ashamed of the testimony of our lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship with me for the gospel, according to the power of god; ( )who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose, and the grace which was given us in christ jesus before eternal ages, ( )but now made manifest by the appearing of our savior jesus christ; who abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel; ( )for which i was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the gentiles. ( )for which cause i suffer also these things. but i am not ashamed; for i know whom i have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which i have committed to him, unto that day. ( )hold fast the form of sound words, which thou heardest from me, in faith and love which is in christ jesus. ( )the good thing committed to thee keep, through the holy spirit who dwells in us. ( )thou knowest this, that all those in asia turned away from me; of whom are phygellus and hermogenes. ( )the lord give mercy to the house of onesiphorus; because he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; ( )but when he was in rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. ( )the lord grant to him, that he may find mercy of the lord in that day! and in how many things he ministered to me at ephesus, thou knowest very well. ii. thou therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus. ( )and the things that thou heardest from me by many witnesses[ : ], the same commit thou to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. ( )endure hardship with me, as a good soldier of jesus christ. ( )no one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please him who chose him to be a soldier. ( )and if a man also contends in the games, he is not crowned, unless he contends lawfully. ( )the husbandman that labors must first partake of the fruits. ( )consider what i say; for the lord will give thee understanding in all things. ( )remember jesus christ, raised from the dead, of the seed of david, according to my gospel; ( )in which i endure hardship, even unto bonds, as an evil-doer; but the word of god is not bound. ( )for this cause, i endure all things for the sake of the chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in christ jesus, with eternal glory. ( )faithful is the saying: for if we died with him, we shall also live with him; ( )if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we shall deny him, he also will deny us; ( )if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he can not deny himself. ( )of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the subverting of the hearers. ( )endeavor to present thyself approved to god, a workman not made ashamed, rightly dividing[ : ] the word of truth. ( )but shun the profane babblings; for they will go on to more ungodliness. ( )and their word will eat as does a canker; of whom is hymenaeus and philetus; ( )who erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and overturn the faith of some. ( )nevertheless, god's firm foundation stands, having this seal: the lord knew those who are his; and, let every one that names the name of the lord depart from iniquity. ( )but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some for honor and some for dishonor. ( )if a man therefore cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful for the master, prepared for every good work. ( )but flee youthful lusts; and follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the lord out of a pure heart. ( )but the foolish and ignorant questionings avoid, knowing that they beget strifes. ( )and a servant of the lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all, apt in teaching, patient of evil; ( )in meekness admonishing those who oppose themselves; if haply god may give them repentance unto the full knowledge of the truth; ( )and that they may awake to soberness out of the snare of the devil, being taken captive by him, to do his will[ : ]. iii. but know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. ( )for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ( )without natural affection, implacable, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, without love to the good, ( )betrayers, headlong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; ( )having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; and from these turn away. ( )for of these are they who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ( )ever learning, and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth. ( )now as jannes and jambres withstood moses, so also do these withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. ( )but they shall proceed no further; for their folly shall be fully manifest to all, as was also theirs. ( )but thou didst strictly follow my teaching, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, ( )persecutions, afflictions; what things came upon me at antioch, at iconium, at lystra; what persecutions i endured, and out of all the lord delivered me. ( )yea, and all who desire to live godly in christ jesus will suffer persecution. ( )but evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. ( )but do thou continue in the things which thou learnedst and wast assured of, knowing of whom thou didst learn; ( )and that from a child thou didst know the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in christ jesus. ( )all scripture is inspired by god, and is profitable[ : ] for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; ( )that the man of god may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. iv. i charge thee before god, and christ jesus who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, ( )preach the word; apply thyself in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. ( )for the time will come when they will not endure the sound teaching, but according to their own desires will to themselves heap up teachers, having itching ears; ( )and they will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to fables. ( )but be thou watchful in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully accomplish thy ministry. ( )for i am now about to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. ( )i have fought the good fight, i have finished my course, i have kept the faith; ( )henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing. ( )endeavor to come to me shortly. ( )for demas forsook me, having loved the present world, and departed to thessalonica; crescens to galatia, titus to dalmatia. ( )luke alone is with me. take mark and bring him with thee; for he is useful to me for the ministry. ( )but tychicus i sent to ephesus. ( )the cloak, which i left at troas with carpus, when thou comest bring, and the books, especially the parchments. ( )alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the lord reward him according to his works. ( )of whom do thou also beware; for he has greatly withstood our words. ( )at my first answer no one came forward with me, but all forsook me. may it not be laid to their charge! ( )but the lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the preaching might be fully accomplished, and all the gentiles might hear; and i was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. ( )the lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom; to whom be the glory, forever and ever. amen. ( )salute prisca and aquila, and the household of onesiphorus. ( )erastus remained in corinth, but trophimus i left at miletus sick. ( )endeavor to come before winter. eubulus salutes thee, and pudens, and linus, and claudia, and all the brethren. ( )the lord jesus christ be with thy spirit. grace be with you. the letter of paul to titus. i. paul, a servant of god, and an apostle of jesus christ, for the faith of god's chosen, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness; ( )upon hope of eternal life, which god, who can not lie, promised before eternal ages, ( )but in its own[ : ] times manifested his word in the preaching, with which i was entrusted according to the commandment of our savior god; ( )to titus, a true child according to the common faith: grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and christ jesus our savior. ( )for this cause i left thee behind in crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and appoint elders in each city, as i directed thee; ( )if any one is without reproach, the husband of one wife, having believing children not accused of rioting or unruly. ( )for the overseer[ : ] must be, without reproach, as god's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, not a striker, not greedy of gain; ( )but hospitable, a lover of the good, discreet, just, holy, temperate; ( )holding fast the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able with the sound teaching both to exhort, and to refute the gainsayers. ( )for there are many unruly vain talkers and deceivers, chiefly they of the circumcision; ( )whose mouths must be stopped, who overturn whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of base gain. ( )one of themselves, a prophet of their own, said: cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. ( )this testimony is true. for which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; ( )not giving heed to jewish fables, and commandments of men, who turn away from the truth. ( )to the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and conscience are defiled. ( )they profess that they know god; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and for every good work reprobate. ii. but do thou speak the things which become the sound teaching; ( )that aged men be sober, grave, discreet, sound in the faith, in love, in patience; ( )that aged women likewise be in behavior as becomes holiness, not false accusers, not enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; ( )that they may teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ( )to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of god be not blasphemed. ( )the younger men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. ( )in all things showing thyself a pattern of good works; in teaching, showing uncorruptness, gravity, ( )sound speech, that can not be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be put to shame, having no evil thing to say of us. ( )exhort servants to submit themselves to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things; not contradicting, ( )not purloining, but showing all good faith; that they may adorn the teaching of our savior god in all things, ( )for the saving grace of god appeared to all men, ( )teaching us that, having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; ( )looking for the blissful hope and appearing of the glory of the great god and our savior jesus christ; ( )who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and cleanse for himself a people to be his own, zealous of good works. ( )these things speak, and exhort, and reprove with all authority. let no one despise thee. iii. put them in mind to submit themselves to governments, to authorities, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, ( )to speak evil of no one, to be averse to strife, forbearing, showing all meekness to all men. ( )for we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, going astray, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. ( )but when the kindness and the love toward man of our savior god appeared, ( )not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the bathing of regeneration, and renewing of the holy spirit; ( )which he poured out on us richly through jesus christ our savior; ( )that, having been justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ( )faithful is the saying; and concerning these things i will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed god may be careful to take the lead in good works. these things are good and profitable to men. ( )but avoid foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and contentions about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. ( )a man that causes divisions, after a first and second admonition, avoid[ : ]; ( )knowing that he that is such is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned. ( )when i shall send artemas to thee, or tychicus, endeavor to come to me to nicopolis; for i have determined there to winter. ( )zenas the lawyer, and apollos, send forward on their journey zealously, that nothing may be wanting to them. ( )and let ours also learn to take the lead in good works for necessary wants, that they may not be unfruitful. ( )all that are with me salute thee. salute those who love us in the faith. grace be with you all. the letter of paul to philemon. paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and timothy the brother, to philemon the beloved and our fellow-laborer, ( )and to apphia the beloved[ : ], and archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in thy house: ( )grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )i thank my god always, making mention of thee in my prayers, ( )hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the lord jesus, and unto all the saints; ( )that the fellowship of thy faith[ : ] may become effectual in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us, unto christ jesus. ( )for i had[ : ] much joy and consolation in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother. ( )wherefore, though having much boldness in christ to enjoin upon thee that which is becoming, ( )yet for love's sake i beseech rather; being such a one, as paul an old man, and now also a prisoner of jesus christ, ( )i beseech thee for my child, whom i begot in my bonds, onesimus; ( )who in time past was unprofitable to thee, but is now profitable to thee and to me; ( )whom i sent back to thee. but do thou receive him, that is, my own flesh; ( )whom i would have retained with myself, that in thy stead he might minister to me in the bonds of the gospel. ( )but without thy consent i desired to do nothing; that thy benefit may not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. ( )for perhaps he departed for a season to this end, that thou shouldest receive him as thine forever; ( )no longer as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more to thee, both in the flesh, and in the lord! ( )if thou countest me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. ( )but if he wronged thee in any thing, or owes aught, put that to my account. ( )i, paul, wrote it with my own hand, i will repay. not to say to thee, that to me thou owest also thine own self besides. ( )yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the lord. refresh my heart in christ. ( )having confidence in thy obedience i wrote to thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than i say. ( )but at the same time be preparing for me also a lodging; for i hope that through your prayers i shall be given to you. ( )there salute thee epaphras, my fellow-captive in christ jesus; ( )mark, aristarchus, demas, luke, my fellow-laborers. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit. letter to the hebrews. i. god, who in many parts and in many ways spoke of old to the fathers by the prophets, ( )in these last days spoke to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the worlds; ( )who, being the brightness of his glory and the impress of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself[ : ] made a cleansing of sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high; ( )having become so much superior to the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they. ( )for to whom of the angels said he ever: thou art my son, i this day have begotten thee; and again: i will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. ( )but when he has again brought in[ : ] the first-begotten into the world, he says and let all the angels of god worship him. ( )and of the angels he says: who makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire; ( )but of the son: thy throne, o god, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom; ( )thou lovedst righteousness, and hatedst iniquity; therefore god, thy god, anointed thee, with the oil of gladness, above thy fellows; ( )and: thou, lord, in the beginning, didst found the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands; ( )they will perish, but thou remainest; and they all will become old, as does a garment, ( )and as a vesture thou wilt fold them up, and they will be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years will not fail. ( )but to whom of the angels has he ever said: sit on my right hand, until i make thine enemies thy footstool. ( )are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for ministration, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? ii. on this account, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things heard, lest haply we should let them slip[ : ]. ( )for if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received just retribution, ( )how shall we escape, having neglected so great a salvation; which began to be spoken by the lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard, ( )god also bearing witness, with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and distributions of the holy spirit, according to his own will? ( )for not to the angels did he put in subjection the world to come, of which we are speaking. ( )but one in a certain place testified, saying: what is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him? ( )thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor; ( )thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. but now we do not yet see all things put under him. ( )but we behold him, who was made a little lower than the angels, jesus, on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, in order that he by the grace of god might taste death for every one. ( )for it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ( )for both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, ( )saying: i will declare thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation i will sing praise to thee. ( )and again: i will put my trust in him. and again: behold, i and the children whom god gave me. ( )forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner took part in the same; that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; ( )and might deliver those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ( )for surely he does not succor angels; but he succors the seed of abraham. ( )wherefore, in all things it became him to be made like to his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to god, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ( )for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. iii. wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, jesus, ( )who was faithful to him who appointed him, as also was moses in all his house. ( )for he has been accounted worthy of more glory than moses, inasmuch as he who has built the house has more honor than the house. ( )for every house is builded by some one; but he who built all things is god. ( )and moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, as a testimony of the things which were to be afterward spoken; ( )but christ as son over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the boldness and the joyousness of the hope firm unto the end[ : ]. ( )wherefore, as the holy spirit says: to-day, if ye will hear his voice, ( )harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of the temptation in the wilderness; ( )where your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works, forty years. ( )wherefore, i was offended with that generation; and i said: they always go astray in their heart, and they knew not my ways; ( )as i swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. ( )take heed, brethren, lest there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living god. ( )but exhort one another daily, as long as it is called to-day, that no one of you may be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ( )for we have become partakers of christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. ( )when it is said: to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation; ( )who then, when they had heard, provoked? nay, was it not all who came forth out of egypt by moses? ( )but with whom was he offended forty years? was it not with those who sinned? whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. ( )and to whom did he swear, that they should not enter into his rest, but to those who believed not? ( )and we see that they were not able to enter in, because of unbelief. iv. let us fear therefore, lest, a promise being still left us of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. ( )for to us were the glad tidings preached, as also to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mingled with faith in those who heard. ( )for we who believed enter into the rest, as he said: as i swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ( )for he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day thus: and god rested on the seventh day from all his works; ( )and in this again: they shall not enter into my rest. ( )since then it remains that some do enter into it, and they to whom the glad tidings were first preached entered not in because of unbelief, again ( )he limits a certain day, to-day, (saying in david, after so long a time, as has before been said,) to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ( )for if joshua had given them rest, he would not, after this, have spoken of another day. ( )so then, there remains a sabbath-rest to the people of god. ( )for he that entered into his rest, himself rested from his works, as god did from his own. ( )let us therefore endeavor to enter into that rest, that no one may fall into the same example of unbelief. ( )for the word of god is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ( )and there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. ( )having therefore a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, jesus the son of god, let us hold fast our profession. ( )for we have not a high priest who can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but who has in all points been tempted in like manner, without sin. ( )let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. v. for every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to god, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; ( )being able to bear with the ignorant and erring, since he himself also is encompassed with infirmity; ( )and on account of it he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to make offering for sins. ( )and no one takes to himself the honor, but being called by god, as was also aaron. ( )so also christ did not glorify himself to be made high priest, but he who spoke to him: thou art my son, i this day have begotten thee; ( )as also in another place, he says: thou art a priest forever, after the order of melchizedek; ( )who, in the days of his flesh offering up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and being heard on account of his godly fear, ( )though a son yet learned from what he suffered the [required] obedience, ( )and being perfected became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him; ( )called by god, high priest[ : ], after the order of melchizedek. ( )of whom we have much to say, and hard to be explained, since ye have become dull of hearing. ( )for though ye ought, on account of the time, to be teachers, ye again have need that some one teach you the first principles of the oracles of god, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. ( )for every one who partakes of milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness; for he is a child. ( )but solid food belongs to those who are of full age, who by use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. vi. wherefore, leaving the first principles of the doctrine of christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward god, ( )of the doctrine of immersions, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. ( )and this we will do[ : ], if god permit. ( )for it is impossible that they who have once been enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and been made partakers of the holy spirit, ( )and have tasted the good word of god, and the powers of the world to come, ( )and have fallen away, should again be renewed to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the son of god afresh, and put him to open shame. ( )for the earth which has drunk in the rain oft coming upon it, and brings forth herbs fit for those for whose sake it is tilled, receives blessing from god; ( )but if it bears thorns and briers it is rejected, and is near to cursing; whose end is to be burned. ( )but, beloved, we are persuaded of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. ( )for god is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered and still do minister to the saints. ( )but we desire that each one of you show the same diligence, for the full assurance of the hope unto the end; ( )that ye may not become slothful, but followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. ( )for when god made the promise to abraham, because he could swear by none greater, he swore by himself, ( )saying: surely, blessing i will bless thee, and multiplying i will multiply thee. ( )and so, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. ( )for men indeed swear by the greater; and the oath is to them an end of all gainsaying, for a confirmation. ( )wherein god, wishing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; ( )that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible that god should lie, we may have strong encouragement, who fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us, ( )which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, and entering within the vail; ( )where as forerunner for us jesus entered, having become a high priest forever, after the order of melchizedek. vii. for this melchizedek, king of salem, priest of the most high god, who met abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; ( )to whom also abraham apportioned a tenth of all; first indeed being interpreted king of righteousness, and then also king of salem, which is, king of peace; ( )without father, without mother, without table of descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life[ : ], but likened to the son of god, remains a priest continually. ( )now consider how great this man was, to whom abraham the patriarch also gave a tenth of the spoils. ( )and they indeed that are of the sons of levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they have come out of the loins of abraham; ( )but he whose descent is not reckoned from them has taken tithes of abraham, and has blessed him who had the promises. ( )and without any contradiction, the less is blessed by the better. ( )and here indeed men who die receive tithes; but there, one of whom it is testified that he lives. ( )and so to speak, levi also, who receives tithes, has paid tithes in abraham; ( )for he was yet in the loins of his father, when melchizedek met him. ( )if therefore perfection were by the levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there that a different priest should arise, after the order of melchizedek, and not be called after the order of aaron? ( )for the priesthood being changed, of necessity there comes also a change of law. ( )for he of whom these things are spoken pertains to a different tribe, of which no one has given attendance at the altar. ( )for it is evident that our lord has arisen out of judah; of which tribe moses spoke nothing concerning priests. ( )and it is yet more abundantly manifest, if after the similitude of melchizedek there arises a different priest, ( )who has been made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an indissoluble life. ( )for it is testified of him: thou art a priest forever; after the order of melchizedek. ( )for on the one hand, there is an annulling of the commandment that went before, on account of its weakness and unprofitableness,--( )for the law perfected nothing,--and on the other the bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw near to god. ( )and inasmuch as it was not without an oath,--( )for they indeed were made priests without an oath, but he with an oath by him who said to him: the lord swore and will not repent, thou art a priest forever after the order of melchizedek[ : ],--( )by so much has jesus become a surety of a better covenant. ( )and they indeed have been many priests, because they were hindered by death from continuing; ( )but he, because he remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ( )whence also he is able to save to the utmost those who come to god through him, since he ever lives to intercede for them. ( )for such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; ( )who has not necessity daily, as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; for this he did once for all, in offering up himself. ( )for the law makes men high priests who have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, makes the son, who is perfected forever. viii. now of the things which we are saying, this is the chief: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the majesty of the heavens; ( )a minister of the holy places, and of the true tabernacle, which the lord pitched, and not man. ( )for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is necessary, that this one have something which he may offer. ( )for if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who offer gifts according to the law, ( )who minister after an outline and a shadow of the heavenly things, as moses was admonished by god, when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, see, says he, that thou make all things according to the pattern which was showed thee in the mount. ( )but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which has been established upon better promises. ( )for if that first had been faultless, a place would not have been sought for the second. ( )for finding fault with them, he says[ : ]: behold the days are coming, saith the lord, when i will make with the house of israel, and with the house of judah, a new covenant; ( )not according to the covenant that i made for their fathers, in the day when i took hold of their hand, to bring them out of the land of egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and i regarded them not, saith the lord. ( )for this is the covenant that i will establish for the house of israel, after those days, saith the lord, putting my laws into their mind, and on their hearts i will write them; and i will be to them a god, and they shall be to me a people; ( )and they shall not teach, each one his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying: know the lord; because all shall know me, from the least to the greatest; ( )because i will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities i will remember no more. ( )in that he says, a new, he has made the first old. now that which is grown old, and worn out with age, is ready to vanish away. ix. now the first had indeed also ordinances of service, and the worldly sanctuary. ( )for a tabernacle was prepared; the first, wherein is the lamp-stand, and the table, and the show-bread; which is called holy. ( )and after the second vail, the tabernacle which is called most holy, ( )having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on every side with gold, wherein was the golden pot containing the manna, and the rod of aaron which budded, and the tables of the covenant; ( )and above it the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which we can not now speak particularly. ( )now these things being thus prepared, into the first tabernacle the priests enter at all times, performing the services; ( )but into the second, the high priest alone, once every year, not without blood, which he offers for himself, and for the errors of the people; ( )the holy spirit signifying this, that the way into the holy places has not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing; ( )which is a figure for the time present, under which are offered both gifts and sacrifices, unable as to the conscience to perfect the worshiper; ( )only with meats and drinks[ : ], and divers immersions, ordinances of the flesh, imposed until the time of reformation. ( )but christ, having come as a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), ( )and not through the blood of goats and calves but through his own blood, entered once for all into the holy places, obtaining eternal redemption. ( )for if the blood of goats and bulls, and ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctifies to the purity of the flesh; ( )how much more shall the blood of christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to god, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living god? ( )and for this cause he is mediator of a new covenant, in order that, death having taken place, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, they who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. ( )for where there is a testament[ : ], there must also of necessity be brought in the death of the testator. ( )for a testament is of force after men are dead; since it is of no strength at all while the testator lives. ( )wherefore, neither has the first been dedicated without blood. ( )for, when moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and of the goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying: ( )this is the blood of the covenant, which god enjoined in respect to you. ( )and moreover, the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the service, he in like manner sprinkled with blood. ( )and nearly all things are cleansed according to the law with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. ( )it was therefore necessary, that the outlines of things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves, with better sacrifices than these. ( )for christ entered not into holy places made with hands, figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of god for us; ( )nor yet that he should many times offer himself, as the high priest enters into the holy places every year with blood of others; ( )for then must he many times have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once, in the end of the ages, he has been manifested for the putting away of sin by the sacrifice of himself[ : ]. ( )and inasmuch as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment; ( )so also the christ, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, will to those who look for him appear a second time without sin, unto salvation. x. for the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never, with the same sacrifices which they offer year by year continually, make those who come to them[ : ] perfect. ( )for then would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers would have had no more consciousness of sins, having once been cleansed? ( )but in them there is a remembrance of sins year by year. ( )for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. ( )wherefore, when he comes into the world, he says: sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare for me; ( )in whole burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for sin, thou hadst no pleasure. ( )then said i: lo, i come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, o god. ( )saying above, sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, nor hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law, ( )then has he said: lo, i come to do thy will, o god. he takes away the first, that he may establish the second. ( )in which will we have been sanctified, through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for all. ( )and every priest[ : ] indeed stands daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; ( )but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of god; ( )from henceforth expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. ( )for by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. ( )moreover, the holy spirit also is a witness to us; for after he had said, ( )this is the covenant that i will make with them after those days, saith the lord, putting my laws upon their hearts, and on their minds i will write them, [he further says,] ( )and their sins and iniquities i will remember no more. ( )but where there is remission of these, there is no longer offering for sin. ( )having therefore, brethren, boldness as to the entrance into the holy places by the blood of jesus, which [entrance] he instituted for us, ( )a new and living way, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; ( )and having a great priest over the house of god; ( )let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; and having had our body washed with pure water, ( )let us hold fast the profession of the hope without wavering, for he is faithful who promised; ( )and let us consider one another, to incite to love and to good works; ( )not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the custom of some, but exhorting, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. ( )for if we willingly sin, after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ( )but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and a fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries. ( )he that despised moses' law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses. ( )of how much worse punishment, suppose ye, will he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the son of god, and has accounted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite to the spirit of grace? ( )for we know him who said: to me belongs vengeance; i will recompense, saith the lord; and again: the lord will judge his people. ( )it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. ( )but call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great contest of sufferings; ( )partly, whilst ye were made a spectacle both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became partakers with those who were so used. ( )for ye sympathized with those in bonds, and ye took joyfully the plundering of your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better and an enduring substance. ( )cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. ( )for ye have need of patience, that having done the will of god ye may receive the promise. ( )for yet a little while, he that is to come will come, and will not delay. ( )now, the just shall live by faith; but if he draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him. ( )but we are not of those who draw back unto perdition; but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. xi. now faith is the assurance of things hoped for[ : ], the conviction of things not seen. ( )for in this the elders obtained a good report. ( )through faith we perceive that the worlds were framed by the word of god, so that what is seen has not arisen[ : ] out of things which appear. ( )by faith abel offered to god a more excellent sacrifice than cain, by which he received testimony that he was righteous, god testifying of his gifts; and through it, being dead, he yet speaks. ( )by faith enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and he was not found, because god translated him; for before his translation, he has had the testimony that he pleased god. ( )but without faith it is impossible to please him; for he who comes to god must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder to those who seek after him. ( )by faith noah, being warned by god concerning things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. ( )by faith abraham when called obeyed, to go forth into a place which he should afterward receive for an inheritance, and went forth, not knowing whither he went. ( )by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as a foreign land, dwelling in tents with isaac and jacob, heirs with him of the same promise; ( )for he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is god. ( )by faith sarah herself also received power to conceive seed, even when she was past age, because she accounted him faithful who had promised. ( )wherefore also there sprang from one, and him become as dead, even as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. ( )these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar, and greeted them, and professed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. ( )for they that say such things declare plainly, that they are seeking a country. ( )and if indeed, they had in mind that from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return. ( )but now[ : ] they desire a better, that is, a heavenly; wherefore god is not ashamed to be called their god; for he prepared for them a city. ( )by faith abraham, when tried, has offered up isaac; and he who had accepted the promises offered up his only begotten, ( )of whom it was said: in isaac shall thy seed be called; ( )accounting that god is able even to raise from the dead; whence he also received him back in a figure. ( )by faith isaac blessed jacob and esau, concerning things to come. ( )by faith jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of joseph; and he worshiped, [leaning] on the top of his staff. ( )by faith joseph, when dying, made mention of the departure of the sons of israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. ( )by faith moses, when born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was fair; and they feared not the king's commandment. ( )by faith moses, when grown up, refused to be called son of a daughter of pharaoh; ( )choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of god, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; ( )esteeming the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasures of egypt; for he looked for the reward. ( )by faith he forsook egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. ( )through faith he has kept the passover, and the affusion of the blood, that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. ( )by faith they passed through the red sea as by dry land; which the egyptians attempting were swallowed up. ( )by faith the walls of jericho fell, after they had been encompassed during seven days. ( )by faith rahab the harlot did not perish with those who believed not[ : ], after having received the spies with peace. ( )and why say i more? for the time would fail me to tell of gideon, of barak and samson and jephthah, of david and samuel and the prophets; ( )who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ( )quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ( )women received their dead, by resurrection to life; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ( )and others had trial of mockings, and scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. ( )they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword; they went about in sheep-skins and goats' skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; ( )of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the clefts of the earth. ( )and all these, having obtained a good report through faith, did not receive the promise; ( )god having provided something better concerning us, that they should not without us be made perfect. xii. therefore, let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding, us, lay aside every weight, and the easily besetting sin, and with patience run the race that is set before us, ( )looking away to the author and finisher of the faith, jesus; who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of god. ( )for consider him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against him, that ye become not weary, fainting in your souls. ( )not yet did ye resist unto blood, contending against sin; ( )and ye have forgotten the exhortation, which discourses with you as with sons: my son, despise not the chastening of the lord, nor faint when reproved by him; ( )for whom the lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. ( )if ye endure chastening, god deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chastens not? ( )but if ye are without chastening, of which all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. ( )furthermore, we had fathers of our flesh, who chastened us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits, and live? ( )for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. ( )now all chastening for the present indeed seems not joyous, but grievous; but afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness, to those who have been exercised thereby. ( )wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; ( )and make straight paths for your feet, that the lame be not turned out of the way, but rather be healed. ( )follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the lord; ( )looking diligently, lest any one come short of the grace of god; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and the many be thereby defiled; ( )lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as esau, who for one meal sold his birthright. ( )for ye know that he also afterward, when he wished to inherit the blessing, was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought after it with tears. ( )for ye have not come to a mount that is touched, and burning with fire, nor to blackness, and darkness, and tempest, ( )and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they who heard refused that more should be spoken to them; ( )for they could not bear that which was commanded, even if a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; ( )and so terrible was the sight, that moses said: i fear, and tremble. ( )but ye have come to mount zion, and to the city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, ( )to the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are enrolled in heaven, and to god the judge of all, and to the spirits of just ones made perfect; ( )and to jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better than abel. ( )see that ye refuse not him who speaks; for if they did not escape, refusing him who declared the divine will on earth, much more shall not we, who turn away from him who speaks from heaven; ( )whose voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, saying: yet once more i shake, not the earth only, but also heaven. ( )and this, yet once more, signifies the removing of the things shaken, as of things that have been made, that the things which are not shaken may remain. ( )wherefore, receiving a kingdom which can not be shaken, let us have grace whereby we may serve god acceptably, with reverence and godly fear; ( )for our god is a consuming fire. xiii. let brotherly love continue. ( )be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some entertained angels unawares. ( )remember those in bonds, as bound with them; those in adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. ( )marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled[ : ]; but fornicators and adulterers god will judge. ( )let your disposition be without covetousness, and be content with what ye have; for he has said: i will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. ( )so that we boldly say: the lord is my helper, and i will not fear; what shall man do to me? ( )remember those who were your leaders, who spoke to you the word of god; considering the end of whose manner of life, imitate their faith. ( )jesus christ is yesterday and to-day the same, and forever. ( )be not carried away with various and strange teachings; for it is good that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which did not profit those who walked therein. ( )we have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle. ( )for the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. ( )wherefore jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate. ( )so then, let us go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ( )for here we have not an abiding city, but are seeking for that which is to come. ( )through him, therefore, let us offer up the sacrifice of praise to god continually, that is, the fruit of lips giving thanks to his name. ( )but to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices god is well pleased. ( )obey those who are your leaders, and submit; for they watch for your souls, as those who shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with sighing, for that is unprofitable for you. ( )pray for us; for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to deport ourselves well. ( )but i the more earnestly beseech you to do this, that i may the sooner be restored to you. ( )now the god of peace, who brought up from the dead our lord jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep in virtue of the blood of an eternal covenant, ( )make you perfect in every good work to do his will, doing in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through jesus christ; to whom be the glory, forever and ever. amen. ( )but i beseech you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation; for i wrote to you in few words. ( )know that the brother, timothy, has been set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, i will see you. ( )salute all that are your leaders, and all the saints. those of italy salute you. ( )grace be with you all. amen. the general letter of james. i. james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad[ : ], greeting. ( )count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations; ( )knowing that the proving of your faith works patience. ( )but let patience have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. ( )but if any one of you is lacking in wisdom, let him ask of god, who gives to all liberally, and upbraids not, and it will be given him. ( )but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. ( )for let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the lord; ( )a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ( )let the brother of low degree glory in that he is exalted; ( )but the rich, in that he is made low; because as the flower of the grass he will pass away. ( )for the sun rose with the burning heat, and withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and the grace of its fashion perished; so also will the rich man fade away in his ways. ( )happy is the man that endures temptation; because, when he is approved, he will receive the crown of life, which he promised to those who love him. ( )let no one say when he is tempted, i am tempted by god; for god can not be tempted with evil, and himself tempts no one. ( )but each one is tempted, when by his own lust he is drawn away and enticed. ( )then lust, having conceived, brings forth sin; and sin, when completed, brings forth death. ( )do not err, my beloved brethren. ( )every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the lights, with whom there is no variableness, or shadow of turning. ( )of his own will he begot us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. ( )so that, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ( )for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of god. ( )wherefore, putting off all filthiness and excess of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ( )but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ( )for if any one is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like to a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. ( )for he beheld himself, and has gone away; and immediately he forgot what manner of man he was. ( )but he who looked into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and remained thereby, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this man shall be happy in his doing. ( )if any one thinks that he is religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. ( )religion, pure and undefiled before god and the father, is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction; to keep himself unspotted from the world. ii. my brethren, hold not the faith of our lord jesus christ, [the lord] of glory, with respect of persons. ( )for if there have come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in gay clothing, and there have come in also a poor man in mean clothing; ( )and ye have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say: sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor man: stand thou there, or, sit under my footstool; ( )were ye not partial in yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ( )hearken, my beloved brethren. did not god choose the poor as to this world[ : ] to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? ( )but ye dishonored the poor man. do not the rich oppress you, and do not they drag you before the judgment-seats? ( )do not they blaspheme the worthy name by which ye are called? ( )if indeed ye fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. ( )but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. ( )for whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. ( )for he who said: do not commit adultery, said also: do not kill. now if thou commit not adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. ( )so speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. ( )for the judgment shall be without mercy, to him that showed no mercy. mercy glories over judgment. ( )what does it profit, my brethren, if any one say that he has faith, and have not works? can the faith save him? ( )but if a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, ( )and one of you say to them: depart in peace, be warmed, and be filled, but ye give them not the things needful for the body, what does it profit? ( )so also faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. ( )but some will say: thou hast faith, and i have works; show me thy faith without the works, and i will show thee the faith by my works. ( )thou believest that god is one. thou doest well; the demons also believe, and tremble. ( )but wilt thou know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead? ( )was not abraham our father justified by works, when he offered isaac his son upon the altar? ( )thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made complete. ( )and the scripture was fulfilled which says: abraham believed god, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness; and he was called, friend of god. ( )ye see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ( )and in like manner, was not also rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers, and sent them out by another way? ( )for as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. iii. my brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we shall receive greater condemnation. ( )for in many things we all offend. if any one offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body. ( )now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths[ : ], that they may obey us, we turn about also their whole body. ( )behold also the ships, though they are so great, and driven by fierce winds, are turned about by a very small helm, whithersoever the steersman may desire. ( )so also the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. behold, how great a forest a little fire kindles! ( )and the tongue is a fire, that world of iniquity! the tongue among our members is that which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of life, and is set on fire by hell. ( )for every nature of beasts and birds, of reptiles and things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed, by the nature of man. ( )but the tongue no man can tame; a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ( )therewith we bless the lord and father; and therewith we curse men, who have been made after the likeness of god. ( )out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. my brethren, these things ought not so to be. ( )does the fountain, out of the same opening, send forth the sweet and the bitter? ( )can a fig-tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a vine figs? neither can salt water yield fresh. ( )who is wise and endued with knowledge among you? let him show, out of his good deportment, his works in meekness of wisdom. ( )but if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not glory, and lie against the truth. ( )this wisdom is not one that comes down from above, but earthly, sensual[ : ], devilish. ( )for where there is emulation and strife, there is confusion and every evil work. ( )but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, forbearing, easily persuaded, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ( )and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, by those who work peace. iv. from whence are wars, and from whence are fightings among you? are they not from hence, from your lusts that war in your members? ( )ye desire, and have not; ye kill, and envy, and can not obtain; ye fight and war. ye have not, because ye ask not; ( )ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. ( )ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with god? whoever therefore desires to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of god. ( )do ye think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit he made to dwell in us has jealous longings? ( )but he gives the more grace. wherefore he says: god resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ( )submit yourselves therefore to god. resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ( )draw nigh to god, and he will draw nigh to you. cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. ( )be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness. ( )humble yourselves in the sight of the lord, and he will exalt you. ( )do not speak against one another, brethren. he that speaks against his brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law. but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. ( )one is the lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? ( )come now, ye that say: to-day and to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend one year there, and buy and sell, and get gain; ( )(whereas ye know not what belongs to the morrow; for what is your life? for ye are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away;) ( )instead of saying: if the lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. ( )but now ye glory in your boastings. all such glorying is evil. ( )therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. v. come now, ye rich, weep, wailing for your miseries that are coming upon you. ( )your riches are corrupted, and your garments are become moth-eaten. ( )your gold and silver is rusted; and the rust of them will be a witness against you, and will eat your flesh as fire. ye heaped up treasure, in the last days. ( )behold, the hire of the laborers who reaped your fields, which is fraudulently kept back by you, cries out; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the lord of sabaoth[ : ]. ( )ye have been luxurious on the earth, and lived in pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter. ( )ye have condemned, ye have killed the just; he does not resist you. ( )be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the lord. behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, till it shall have received the early and latter rain. ( )be ye also patient; establish your hearts, because the coming of the lord draws nigh. ( )murmur not against one another, brethren, that ye be not judged. behold, the judge stands before the door. ( )take, my brethren, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the lord, for an example of affliction, and of patience. ( )behold, we count those happy who endure. ye heard of the patience of job, and saw the end of the lord[ : ]; that the lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. ( )but above all things, my brethren, swear not; neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under condemnation. ( )is any afflicted among you, let him pray. is any cheerful, let him sing praise. ( )is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord. ( )and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the lord will raise him up; and even if he have committed sins, it will be forgiven him. ( )confess therefore your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. the earnest prayer of a righteous man avails much. ( )elijah was a man of like nature with us; and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. ( )and again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. ( )brethren, if any one among you be led astray from the truth, and one convert him; ( )let him know, that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and will hide a multitude of sins. the first general letter of peter. i. peter, an apostle of jesus christ, to the strangers scattered[ : ] through pontus, galatia, cappadocia, asia, and bithynia; ( )chosen according to the foreknowledge of god the father, in sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you. ( )blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who according to his abundant mercy begot us again unto a living hope[ : ] through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead; ( )unto an inheritance imperishable, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ( )who by the power of god are kept through faith, unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ( )wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little time, if need be, made sorrowful by manifold trials; ( )that the proof of your faith, much more precious than gold that perishes, but is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of jesus christ; ( )whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; ( )receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ( )concerning which salvation the prophets diligently sought and searched, who prophesied of the grace toward you; ( )searching as to what or what manner of time the spirit of christ which was in them signified, when it testified beforehand the sufferings destined for christ, and the glories that should follow; ( )to whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you they were ministering them, which now have been announced to you, through those who brought you the good news by the holy spirit sent from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. ( )wherefore, girding up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope perfectly for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ; ( )as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts in your ignorance; ( )but as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves holy in all your deportment; ( )because it is written: ye shall be holy, for i am holy. ( )and if ye call him father[ : ], who without respect of persons judges according to each one's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear; ( )knowing that not with perishable things, silver and gold, ye were redeemed from your vain course of life received by tradition from your fathers, ( )but with the precious blood of christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; ( )who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times for you, ( )who through him believe on god, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope are on god. ( )having purified your souls in obeying the truth unto unfeigned brotherly love, love one another from the heart fervently; ( )being born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the word of god, which lives and abides forever. ( )because, all flesh is as grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass. the grass withered, and its flower fell off; ( )but the word of the lord abides forever. and this is the word which was preached to you. ii. laying aside therefore all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all backbitings, ( )as newborn babes, long for the spiritual, unadulterated milk, that ye thereby may grow unto salvation; ( )if indeed ye tasted that the lord is gracious; ( )to whom coming, a living stone, disallowed indeed by men, but with god chosen, honored, ( )ye yourselves also, as living stones, are built up[ : ] a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to god through jesus christ. ( )because it is contained in the scripture: behold, i lay in zion a chief corner-stone, chosen, honored; and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame. ( )to you therefore who believe is the honor; but to the disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is become the head of the corner, ( )and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, who stumble, being disobedient to the word; to which they were also appointed. ( )but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession; that ye should show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; ( )who once were not a people, but are now the people of god; who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. ( )beloved, i exhort you as sojourners and strangers, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; ( )having your deportment honorable among the gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may from your good works, beholding them, glorify god in the day of visitation. ( )submit yourselves to every human institution, for the lord's sake; whether to the king, as pre-eminent, ( )or to governors as being sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and the praise of those who do well. ( )for so is the will of god, that with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men; ( )as free, and as not having your freedom for a vail of wickedness, but as god's servants. ( )honor all men; love the brotherhood; fear god; honor the king; ( )ye servants, being in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and reasonable, but also to the perverse. ( )for this is acceptable, if a man for conscience toward god[ : ] endures griefs, suffering wrongfully. ( )for what glory is it, if when ye are beaten for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with god. ( )for to this ye were called; because christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps; ( )who committed no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; ( )who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed it to him who judges righteously; ( )who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to our sins, should live to righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. ( )for ye were going astray like sheep; but have returned now unto the shepherd and overseer of your souls. iii. in like manner, ye wives, being in subjection to your own husbands; that even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be won by the deportment of their wives, ( )when they behold your chaste deportment coupled with fear. ( )whose adorning, let it not be the outward one of braiding the hair, and of wearing golden ornaments, or of putting on apparel; ( )but the hidden man of the heart, in that which is imperishable of the meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of god is of great price. ( )for so in the old time the holy women also, who hoped in god, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands, ( )(as sarah obeyed abraham, calling him lord; of whom ye became children,) doing good, and fearing no alarm. ( )ye husbands, in like manner, dwelling with them according to knowledge, giving honor to the female, as the weaker vessel, as also heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. ( )finally, all being of one mind, sympathizing, loving the brethren, tender-hearted, humble-minded; ( )not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but on the contrary blessing, because to this end ye were called, that ye might inherit blessing. ( )for he who desires to love life, and to see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; ( )let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it. ( )because the eyes of the lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are toward their supplications; but the face of the lord is against those who do evil. ( )and who is he that shall harm you, if ye are followers of that which is good? ( )but if ye even suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; but fear not with their fear, nor be troubled; ( )but sanctify christ as lord in your hearts; ready always to give an answer to every one that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ( )having a good conscience, that wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good deportment in christ. ( )for it is better, if it be the will of god, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing. ( )because christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to god, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the spirit; ( )in which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, ( )who were disobedient in times past, when the long-suffering of god waited in the days of noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; ( )which in an antitype, immersion, now saves us also (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the requirement of a good conscience toward god), by the resurrection of jesus christ; ( )who is on the right hand of god, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. iv. christ then having suffered for us in the flesh, do ye also arm yourselves with the same mind; because he who suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; ( )that ye no longer may live the remaining time in the flesh by the lusts of men, but by the will of god. ( )for the time past suffices us to have wrought the will of the gentiles, when we walked in wantonness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, carousings, and unhallowed idolatries; ( )at which thing they are astonished, as ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you; ( )who shall give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ( )for to this end was the good news preached also to those who are dead, that they might indeed be judged according to men in the flesh, but may live according to god in the spirit. ( )but the end of all things is at hand. be therefore sober, and watch unto prayer; ( )but above all things having your love toward one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins; ( )hospitable to one another, without grudging; ( )according as each received a gift, ministering the same to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of god; ( )if any one speaks, as [uttering] god's oracles; if any one ministers, as of the ability which god bestows; that god in all things may be glorified, through jesus christ, to whom is the glory and the dominion, forever and ever. amen. ( )beloved, be not astonished at the fiery test taking place among you to prove you, as though a strange thing were befalling you; ( )but, in so far as ye share in christ's sufferings, rejoice; that also, at the revelation of his glory, ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. ( )if ye are reproached for the name of christ, happy are ye; because the spirit of glory and of god rests upon you; [on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.][ : ] ( )for let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a busy-body in other men's matters; ( )but if as a christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify god in this name. ( )because the time is come that judgment should begin from the house of god; but if it begin first from us, what shall be the end of those who obey not the gospel of god? ( )and if the righteous is with difficulty saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? ( )wherefore let those also, who suffer according to the will of god, commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as to a faithful creator. v. the elders among you i exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed; ( )tend the flock of god which is among you, overseeing it not by constraint but willingly, not for base gain but with good will; ( )neither as being lords over the heritage, but being examples to the flock. ( )and when the chief shepherd is manifested, ye shall receive the unfading crown of glory. ( )in like manner, ye younger, submit yourselves to the elder. yea, all of you submitting to one another, gird yourselves with humility; because, god resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ( )humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in due time; ( )casting all your care upon him, because he cares for you. ( )be sober, be watchful. your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour; ( )whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. ( )but the god of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in christ jesus, after ye have suffered a little while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. ( )to him be the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever. amen. ( )by silvanus, the faithful brother, as i consider, i wrote to you in few words, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of god, wherein ye stand. ( )the [church that is] in babylon, chosen with you, salutes you[ : ]; and mark, my son. ( )salute one another with a kiss of love. peace to you all, that are in christ. the second general letter of peter. i. simon peter, a servant and apostle of jesus christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our god and savior jesus christ: ( )grace and peace be multiplied to you, in the knowledge of god, and of jesus our lord. ( )seeing that his divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and might; ( )through which he has given us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world through lust; ( )yea for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith fortitude; and to fortitude, knowledge[ : ]; ( )and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, godliness; ( )and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ( )for if these things are in you, and abound, they cause that ye shall not be inactive nor unfruitful in attaining to the full knowledge of our lord jesus christ. ( )but he that lacks these things is blind, not seeing afar off, having forgotten the cleansing away of his old sins. ( )wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. ( )for so shall be richly ministered to you the entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our lord and savior jesus christ. ( )wherefore, i will not neglect to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the truth that is with you. ( )but i think it right, so long as i am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; ( )knowing that i must soon put off my tabernacle[ : ], as also our lord jesus christ showed me. ( )moreover i will endeavor that at all times ye may be able after my departure to call these things to mind. ( )for we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our lord jesus christ, but had been eye-witnesses of his majesty. ( )for he received from god the father honor and glory, when such a voice was borne to him from the excellent glory: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased; ( )and this voice we heard borne from heaven, being with him in the holy mount. ( )and we have more sure the prophetic word; to which ye do well that ye take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts; ( )knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture comes of private interpretation; ( )for prophecy was never brought by the will of man; but moved by the holy spirit, men spoke from god. ii. but there were false prophets also among the people, as there will be false teachers among you also, who stealthily will bring in destructive factions, even denying as master him who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ( )and many will follow their dissolute ways; by reason of whom the way of truth will be evil spoken of. ( )and in covetousness will they with feigned words make merchandise of you; for whom the judgment from of old lingers not, and their destruction slumbers not. ( )for if god spared not angels, having sinned, but casting them down to hell delivered them over to chains of darkness[ : ], reserved unto judgment; ( )and spared not the old world, but kept noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood on the world of ungodly men, ( )and turning to ashes the cities of sodom and gomorrah condemned them to overthrow, having made them an example of those who should afterward live ungodly; ( )and delivered righteous lot, wearied out with the lewd conduct of the lawless; ( )(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, with seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) ( )the lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust under punishment to the day of judgment; ( )but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise dominion. presumptuous, self-willed, they are not afraid to rail at dignities; ( )whereas angels, being greater in strength and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the lord. ( )but these, as natural brute beasts born to be taken[ : ] and destroyed, railing at things that they understand not, shall utterly perish in their own corruption, ( )receiving the wages of unrighteousness, as they who account reveling for a day pleasure; spots, and blemishes, reveling in their own deceits while feasting with you; ( )having eyes full of the adulteress, and that cease not from sin; alluring unstable souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of a curse; ( )forsaking the right way, they went astray, following the way of balaam the son of bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ( )but was rebuked for his iniquity; the dumb ass, speaking with man's voice, forbade the madness of the prophet. ( )these are wells without water, mists driven by a tempest, to whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever. ( )for, speaking swelling words of vanity, in lusts of the flesh they allure, by wanton ways, such as partly escape those who live in error; ( )promising them liberty, while they themselves are servants of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by the same he is also brought into bondage. ( )for if, having escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the lord and savior jesus christy but having again become entangled therein they are overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. ( )for it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ( )but it has happened to them according to the true proverb: a dog, returned to his own vomit; and, a sow that was washed, to the wallowing in the mire. iii. this second letter, beloved, i now write to you; in both which i stir up your pure mind by putting you in remembrance; ( )that ye may be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the lord and savior by your apostles; ( )knowing this first, that there shall come in the last of the days scoffers, in their scoffings, walking after their own lusts, ( )and saying: where is the promise of his coming? for from the day the fathers fell asleep, all things so continue, from the beginning of the creation. ( )for of this they willingly are ignorant, that by the word of god there were heavens of old, and earth framed out of water and by means of water, ( )whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; ( )but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by his word are kept in store, being reserved for fire unto the day of judgment and of perdition of ungodly men. ( )but, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ( )the lord is not tardy in respect to the promise, as some account tardiness; but is long-suffering toward us[ : ], not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ( )but the day of the lord will come as a thief; in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will be dissolved with burning heat, and the earth and the works therein will be burned up. ( )seeing then that all these things are dissolving, what manner of men ought ye to be, in all holy deportment and godliness; ( )looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god, because of which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements will melt with burning heat? ( )but, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. ( )wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, be diligent that ye may be found without spot and blameless in his sight, in peace. ( )and the long-suffering of our lord account salvation; as also our beloved brother paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you; ( )as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things; in which things are some that are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. ( )ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the lawless, ye fall from your own steadfastness. ( )but grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ. to him be the glory, both now and forever. amen. the first general letter of john. i. that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we looked upon, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life; ( )(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and report to you the eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested to us;) ( )that which we have seen and have heard we report to you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the father, and with his son jesus christ. ( )and these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. ( )and this is the message which we have heard from him, and announce to you, that god is light, and in him there is no darkness. ( )if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; ( )but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of jesus christ[ : ] his son cleanses us from all sin. ( )if we say that we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ( )if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, that he may forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ( )if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ii. my little children, these things i write to you, that ye may not sin. and if any one have sinned, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the righteous. ( )and he is a propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. ( )and in this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. ( )he that says, i know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ( )but whoever keeps his word, of a truth in him the love of god is perfected. in this we know that we are in him. ( )he that says he abides in him ought, as he walked, himself also so to walk. ( )beloved, i write not to you a new commandment, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. the old commandment is the word which ye heard from the beginning[ : ]. ( )again, a new commandment i write to you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light now shines. ( )he that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now. ( )he that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. ( )but he that hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness blinded his eyes. ( )i write to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for his name's sake. ( )i write to you, fathers, because ye know him that was from the beginning. i write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. i wrote to you, little children, because ye know the father. ( )i wrote to you, fathers, because ye know him that was from the beginning. i wrote to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of god abides in you, and ye have overcome the evil one. ( )love not the world, neither the things in the world. if any one loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. ( )because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the empty pomp of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. ( )and the world is passing away, and the lust thereof; but he that does the will of god abides forever. ( )little children, it is the last time; and as ye heard that antichrist should come, even now many antichrists have arisen; from whence we know that it is the last time. ( )they went out from among us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but it was in order that they might be made manifest, that all are not of us. ( )and ye have an anointing from the holy one, and know all things. ( )i wrote not to you because ye do not know the truth, but because ye know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ( )who is the liar, but he that denies that jesus is the christ? this is the antichrist, who denies the father and the son. ( )every one that denies the son, the same has not the father; he that acknowledges the son has also the father. ( )what ye heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. if what ye heard from the beginning shall abide in you, ye also will abide in the son, and in the father. ( )and this is the promise which he himself promised to us, the life eternal. ( )these things i wrote to you concerning those who seduce you. ( )and the anointing which ye received from him abides in you, and ye have no need that any one teach you; but, as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is truth, and is not a lie, and even as it taught you, abide in him. ( )and now, little children, abide in him; that, if he should be manifested, we may have confidence, and not turn away from him with shame at his coming. ( )if ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that does righteousness has been begotten of him. iii. behold what manner of love the father has given to us, that we should be called children of god. for this cause the world knows not us, because it knew not him. ( )beloved, now are we the children of god, and it was never yet manifested what we shall be. we know that if it shall be manifested, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ( )and every one, that has this hope on him, purifies himself even as he is pure. ( )every one that commits sin also commits transgression of law; and sin is transgression of law. ( )and ye know that he was manifested that he might take away our[ : ] sins; and in him is no sin. ( )every one that abides in him sins not; whoever sins has not seen him, neither has known him. ( )little children, let no one deceive you. he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. ( )he that commits sin is of the devil; because the devil sins from the beginning. to this end the son of god was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. ( )whoever has been begotten of god does not commit sin; because his seed abides in him; and he can not sin, because he has been begotten of god. ( )in this are manifest the children of god, and the children of the devil. every one that does not righteousness is not of god, neither he that loves not his brother; ( )because this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another ( )not as cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. and wherefore did he slay him? because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. ( )wonder not, brethren, if the world hates you. ( )we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. he that loves not his brother[ : ] abides in death. ( )every one that hates his brother is a murderer[ : ]; and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ( )in this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ( )but whoever has the world's sustenance, and sees his brother having need, and shuts up his pity from him, how abides the love of god in him? ( )little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. ( )and in this we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. ( )because if our heart accuse us, god is greater than our heart, and knows all things[ : ]. ( )beloved, if our heart accuse us not, we have confidence toward god. ( )and whatever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. ( )and this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son jesus christ, and should love one another, as he gave us commandment. ( )and he that keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in him. and in this we know that he abides in us, from the spirit which he gave us. iv. beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of god; because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. ( )in this ye know the spirit of god: ( )every spirit that acknowledges that jesus christ is come in the flesh, is of god; and every spirit that does not acknowledge jesus, is not of god; and this is that of the antichrist, of which ye have heard that it should come; and now, it is already in the world. ( )ye are of god, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world. ( )they are of the world; for this cause they speak of the world, and the world hears them. ( )we are of god; he that knows god, hears us; he that is not of god, hears us not. from this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. ( )beloved, let us love one another; because love is of god, and every one that loves has been begotten of god, and knows god. ( )he that loves not, knew not god; because god is love. ( )in this was manifested the love of god in respect to us, that god has sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him. ( )herein is love, not that we loved god, but that he loved us, and sent his son, a propitiation for our sins. ( )beloved, if god so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ( )no man has ever seen god. if we love one another, god abides in us, and the love of him is perfected in us. ( )in this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. ( )and we have seen, and bear witness, that the father has sent forth the son, a savior of the world. ( )whoever acknowledges that jesus is the son of god, god abides in him, and he in god. ( )and we have known, and have believed, the love that god has in respect to us. god is love; and he that abides in love abides in god, and god in him. ( )in this has love been perfected with us[ : ], that we have confidence in the day of judgment; because as he is, we also are in this world. ( )there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment[ : ]; and he that fears is not made perfect in love. ( )we love, because he first loved us. ( )if any one say, i love god, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love god whom he has not seen? ( )and this commandment we have from him, that he who loves god love also his brother. v. every one who believes that jesus is the christ has been begotten of god; and every one that loves him who begot, loves also him that has been begotten of him. ( )in this we know that we love the children of god, when we love god, and do his commandments. ( )for this is the love of god, that we keep his commandments. and his commandments are not burdensome; ( )because all that is begotten of god overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. ( )who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that jesus is the son of god? ( )this is he who came by water and blood, jesus the christ; not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood. and the spirit is that which bears witness, because the spirit is the truth. ( )for there are three who bear witness; the spirit, and the water, and the blood; ( )and the three agree in the one[ : ]. ( )if we receive the witness of men, the witness of god is greater; for this is the witness of god, that he has borne witness concerning his son. ( )he that believes on the son of god has the witness in himself; he that believes not god has made him a liar; because he has not believed in the witness which god has borne concerning his son. ( )and this is the witness, that god gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his son. ( )he that has the son has the life; he that has not the son of god has not the life. ( )these things i wrote to you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, who believe on the name of the son of god. ( )and this is the confidence that we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ( )and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. ( )if any one see his brother sin a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he will give him life,--to those who sin not unto death. there is a sin unto death; for that i do not say that he shall pray. ( )all unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death. ( )we know that every one who has been begotten of god sins not; but he that was begotten of god keeps himself; and the evil one touches him not. ( )we know that we are of god, and the whole world is lying in the evil one. ( )and we know that the son of god is come, and has given us understanding, that we may know the true one; and we are in the true one, in his son jesus christ. this is the true god, and eternal life. ( )little children, keep yourselves from the idols. the second letter of john. the elder to the elect lady, and to her children, whom i love in truth,--and not i alone but also all that know the truth,--( )for the sake of the truth, which abides in us, and will be with us forever: ( )grace, mercy, peace, shall be with you, from god the father, and from jesus christ, the son of the father, in truth and love. ( )i rejoiced greatly, that i have found of thy children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the father. ( )and now i beseech thee, lady, not as writing to thee a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. ( )and this is love, that we walk according to his commandment; and this is the commandment, as ye heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. ( )because many deceivers went out into the world, who acknowledge not that jesus christ comes in the flesh. this is the deceiver, and the antichrist. ( )look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we wrought, but receive a full reward. ( )every one who transgresses, and abides not[ : ] in the teaching of christ, has not god. he that abides in the teaching, he has both the father and the son. ( )if any one comes to you, and brings not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and do not bid him good speed; ( )for he that bids him good speed shares in his evil deeds. ( )having many things to write to you, i would not [write] with paper and ink; but i hope to come to you, and to speak face to face, that our joy may be full. ( )the children of thy elect sister salute thee. the third letter of john. the elder to gaius the beloved, whom i love in truth. ( )beloved, concerning all things i pray that thou mayest prosper and be in health, as thy soul prospers. ( )for i rejoiced greatly, when brethren came and bore witness to thy truth, as thou walkest in the truth. ( )i have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. ( )beloved, thou doest a faithful thing, in whatever thou doest to the brethren, and that to strangers, ( )who bore witness to thy love before the church; whom if thou send forward on their journey worthily of god, thou wilt do well; ( )for on behalf of the name they went forth, taking nothing of the gentiles. ( )we therefore ought to sustain such persons, that we may become fellow-workers for the truth. ( )i wrote somewhat to the church; but diotrephes, who loves to have the pre-eminence among them, receives us not. ( )therefore, if i come, i will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, prating against us with evil words. and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and those who are willing he forbids, and casts them out of the church. ( )beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. he that does good, is of god; he that does evil, has not seen god. ( )to demetrius, testimony has been borne by all, and by the truth itself; yea, we also bear witness, and thou knowest that our witness is true. ( )i had many things to write to thee, but i wish not to write to thee with ink and pen; ( )but i hope immediately to see thee, and we shall speak face to face. peace be to thee. the friends salute thee. salute the friends, by name. the general letter of jude. jude, a servant of jesus christ, and brother of james, to the called, beloved in god the father, and kept by jesus christ[ : ]: ( )mercy, and peace, and love, be multiplied to you. ( )beloved, while giving all diligence to write to you concerning the common salvation, i found it needful for me to write to you exhorting to contend earnestly for the faith, delivered once for all to the saints. ( )for there crept in stealthily certain men, who of old were appointed beforehand to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our god into wantonness, and denying the only master, and our lord jesus christ. ( )but i wish to remind you, as once knowing all, that jesus, having saved the people out of the land of egypt, afterward destroyed those who believed not. ( )and angels who kept not their principality, but left their own habitation, he has kept in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. ( )as sodom and gomorrah, and the cities about them, in like manner with them giving themselves over to fornication, and going away after other flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. ( )yet, in like manner, these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, despise dominion, and rail at dignities. ( )but michael the archangel, when, contending with the devil, he disputed concerning the body of moses, dared not bring against him a railing judgment, but said: the lord rebuke thee. ( )but these rail at the things which they know not; but what things naturally, as the brute beasts, they understand, in these they corrupt themselves. ( )woe to them! for they went in the way of cain, and rushed on in the error of balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of korah. ( )these are rocks in your feasts of love, feasting with you fearlessly, feeding their own selves; clouds without water, carried away by winds; autumnal trees, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; ( )raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever. ( )yea, and of these enoch the seventh from adam prophesied, saying: behold, the lord came, with his holy myriads. ( )to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly among them of all their acts of ungodliness which they committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners spoke against him. ( )these are murmurers, complaining of their lot, walking according to their lusts; and their mouth speaks swelling words; having respect to persons, for the sake of profit. ( )but ye, beloved, remember the words which were before spoken by the apostles of our lord jesus christ; ( )that they told you, that at the last of the time there will be scoffers, walking after their own lusts of ungodliness. ( )these are they who separate; sensual, having not the spirit. ( )but ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the holy spirit, ( )keep yourselves in the love of god, looking for the mercy of our lord jesus christ, unto eternal life. ( )and some refute when they are contending; but others save, snatching them out of the fire; ( )and others compassionate with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. ( )now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; ( )to the only god our savior, through jesus christ our lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time, and now, and forever. amen. the revelation. i. the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave to him, to show to his servants what things must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant john; ( )who testified of the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ, of whatever things he saw. ( )happy he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things written therein; for the time is at hand. ( )john to the seven churches which are in asia: grace to you, and peace, from him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and from the seven spirits that are before his throne; ( )and from jesus christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. to him who loves us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ( )and made us a kingdom, priests to god and his father, to him be the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever. amen. ( )behold, he comes amidst the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of him. even so, amen. ( )i am the alpha and the omega, saith the lord god, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the almighty. ( )i, john, your brother, and partner with you in the affliction, and kingdom, and patient endurance in jesus, was in the island called patmos, on account of the word of god and the testimony of jesus. ( )i was in the spirit on the lord's day; and i heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ( )saying: what thou seest, write in a book, and send to the seven churches; to ephesus, and to smyrna, and to pergamus, and to thyatira, and to sardis, and to philadelphia, and to laodicea. ( )and i turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. and having turned, i saw seven golden lamp-stands; ( )and in the midst of the lamp-stands one like to the son of man, clothed with a garment falling down to the feet, and girded round at the breasts with a golden girdle. ( )but his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; ( )and his feet were like to burnished brass, as if burning in a furnace[ : ]; and his voice was as the sound of many waters. ( )and he had in his hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength. ( )and when i saw him, i fell at his feet as dead. and he laid his right hand on me, saying: fear not: i am the first and the last, ( )and the living one; and i became dead, and behold i am alive forevermore; and i have the keys of death and of the underworld. ( )write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall be after these; ( )the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest on my right hand, and the seven golden lamp-stands. the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lamp-stands are the seven churches. ii. to the angel of the church in ephesus write: these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp-stands. ( )i know thy works, and thy labor and patience, and how thou canst not bear evil men; and thou didst try those who say they are apostles, and are not, and didst find them liars; ( )and thou hast patience, and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not been weary. ( )but i have this against thee, that thou hast left thy first love. ( )remember therefore from whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first works; but if not, i am coming to thee, and will remove thy lamp-stand out of its place, if thou repent not. ( )but this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the nicolaitans, which i also hate. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. to him that overcomes, to him i will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of god. ( )and to the angel of the church in smyrna write: these things says the first and the last, who became dead, and lived again. ( )i know thy affliction, and poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of satan. ( )fear not the things which thou art about to suffer. behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye will have affliction ten days. be thou faithful unto death, and i will give thee the crown of life. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. he that overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. ( )and to the angel of the church in pergamus write: these things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword. ( )i know where thou dwellest, where the throne of satan is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny the faith in me, even in the days in which antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where satan dwells. ( )but i have a few things against thee. thou hast there men holding the teaching of balaam, who taught balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of israel, to eat things offered to idols, and to commit fornication. ( )thus thou also hast men holding the teaching of the nicolaitans, in like manner. ( )repent therefore; but if not, i come to thee quickly, and will make war with them, with the sword of my mouth. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. to him that overcomes, to him i will give of the hidden manna; and i will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives it. ( )and to the angel of the church in thyatira write: these things says the son of god, who has his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet are like to burnished brass. ( )i know thy works, and thy love, and faith, and service, and patience; and thy last works are more than the first. ( )but i have against thee, that thou sufferest the woman jezebel[ : ], who calls herself a prophetess; and she teaches and seduces my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things offered to idols. ( )and i gave her time that she might repent; and she will not repent of her fornication. ( )behold, i cast her into a bed, and those who together with her commit adultery, into great affliction, if they repent not of their works[ : ]. ( )and her children i will slay with death; and all the churches shall know that i am he who searches the reins and hearts; and i will give to you every one according to your works. ( )but to you i say, the rest who are in thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, who knew not the depths of satan, as they speak: i put upon you no other burden; ( )but that which ye have, hold fast till i come. ( )and he that overcomes, and he that keeps my works until the end, to him i will give authority over the nations; ( )and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter are they dashed in pieces, as i also have received from my father; ( )and i will give him the morning star. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. iii. and to the angel of the church in sardis write: these things says he who has the seven spirits of god, and the seven stars. i know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. ( )be watchful, and strengthen the remaining things, that were ready to die; for i have not found thy works complete before my god. ( )remember therefore how thou hast received, and didst hear, and keep, and repent. if therefore thou shalt not watch, i will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour i will come upon thee. ( )but thou hast a few names in sardis, which did not defile their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ( )he that overcomes, the same shall be clothed[ : ] in white garments; and i will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and i will acknowledge his name before my father, and before his angels. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. ( )and to the angel of the church in philadelphia write: these things says the holy, the true, he who has the key of david, he who opens, and no one shall shut, and shuts, and no one opens. ( )i know thy works. behold, i have set before thee a door opened, which no one can shut; because thou hast little power and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name. ( )behold, i make those of the synagogue of satan, who say they are jews, and they are not, but do lie, behold, i will make them to come and bow down before thy feet, and to know that i loved thee. ( )because thou didst keep my word of patient endurance, i also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which is about to come upon the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. ( )i come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no one may take thy crown. ( )he that overcomes, i will make him a pillar in the temple of my god, and he shall go out no more; and i will write upon him the name of my god, and the name of the city of my god, the new jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my god, and my new name. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. ( )and to the angel of the church in laodicea write: these things says the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of god. ( )i know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. i would thou wert cold or hot. ( )so, because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, i am about to vomit thee out of my mouth. ( )because thou sayest: i am rich, and have gotten wealth, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art the wretched and the pitiable one, and poor, and blind, and naked; ( )i counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness not be made manifest, and to anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. ( )as many as i love, i rebuke and chasten. be zealous therefore, and repent. ( )behold, i stand at the door, and knock; if any one hear my voice, and open the door, i will come in to him, and i will sup with him and he with me. ( )he that overcomes, i will give to him to sit with me in my throne, as i also overcame, and sat down with my father in his throne. ( )he that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. iv. after these things i saw, and, behold, a door set open in heaven, and that first voice (which i heard as of a trumpet speaking with me) saying: come up hither, and i will show thee what things must take place after these. ( )immediately i was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. ( )and he who sat was like in appearance to a jasper and sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round the throne, like in appearance to an emerald; ( )and around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads crowns of gold. ( )and out of the throne proceed lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of god; ( )and before the throne as it were a sea of glass like to crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, four animals full of eyes before and behind. ( )and the first animal was like to a lion, and the second animal like to a calf, and the third animal having its face as of a man, and the fourth animal like to an eagle flying. ( )and the four animals had each of them six wings apiece; around and within they are full of eyes; and they have no rest by day and by night, saying: holy, holy, holy, lord god the almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. ( )and when the animals shall give glory, and honor, and thanksgiving, to him who sits upon the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, ( )the twenty-four elders will fall down before him who sits upon the throne, and will worship him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ( )worthy art thou, our lord and our god, to receive the glory, and the honor, and the power; because thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. v. and i saw, on the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written within and on the back side, sealed up with seven seals. ( )and i saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: who is worthy to open the book, and to loose its seals? ( )and no one was able, in heaven, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look thereon. ( )and i wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, nor to look thereon. ( )and one of the elders says to me: weep not; behold, the lion that is of the tribe of judah, the root of david, prevailed to open the book, and its seven seals. ( )and i saw, in the midst of the throne and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders, a lamb standing, as if having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of god sent forth into all the earth. ( )and he came, and has taken the book out of the right hand of him who sits upon the throne. ( )and when he took the book, the four animals, and the twenty-four elders, fell down before the lamb, having each one a harp, and golden cups full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. ( )and they sing a new song, saying: thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou wast slain, and didst redeem to god by thy blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; ( )and didst make them unto our god[ : ] a kingdom and priests, and they will reign on the earth. ( )and i saw, and i heard a voice of many angels, around the throne and the animals and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ( )saying with a loud voice: worthy is the lamb that has been slain, to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. ( )and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that are in them, i heard saying: to him who sits upon the throne, and to the lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever. ( )and the four animals said: amen. and the elders fell down and worshiped. vi. and i saw, when the lamb opened one of the seven seals, and i heard one of the four animals saying, as a voice of thunder: come! ( )and i saw, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him having a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. ( )and when he opened the second seal, i heard the second animal saying: come! ( )and there went forth another horse that was red. and to him who sat thereon it was given to take away peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another; and there was given to him a great sword. ( )and when he opened the third seal, i heard the third animal saying: come! and i saw, and behold a black horse, and he who sat on him having a balance in his hand. ( )and i heard a voice in the midst of the four animals, saying: a quart of wheat[ : ] for a denary, and three quarts of barley for a denary; and: hurt not the oil and the wine. ( )and when he opened the fourth seal, i heard the voice of the fourth animal saying: come! ( )and i saw, and behold a pale horse; and he who sat on him, his name was death, and the underworld followed with him. and authority was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the beasts of the earth. ( )and when he opened the fifth seal, i saw under the altar the souls of those slain on account of the word of god, and on account of the testimony which they had. ( )and they cried with a loud voice, saying: how long, o master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth? ( )and a white robe was given to each one of them; and it was said to them, that they should rest yet a little time, until also their fellow-servants and their brethren, who are about to be killed as they were, should be fully numbered. ( )and i saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became all as blood; ( )and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig-tree casts its untimely figs, when shaken by a great wind; ( )and the heaven parted asunder as a scroll rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ( )and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the rich men, and the strong men, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; ( )and they say to the mountains and to the rocks: fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb; ( )because the great day of his wrath is come, and who is able to stand? vii. and after this, i saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. ( )and i saw another angel coming up from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living god; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, ( )saying: hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our god upon their foreheads. ( )and i heard the number of the sealed. a hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of israel. ( )out of the tribe of judah were sealed twelve thousand; out of the tribe of reuben, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of gad, twelve thousand; ( )out of the tribe of asher, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of naphtali, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of manasseh, twelve thousand; ( )out of the tribe of simeon, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of levi, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of issachar, twelve thousand; ( )out of the tribe of zebulun, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of joseph, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of benjamin, twelve thousand, were sealed. ( )after these things i saw, and behold a great multitude, which no one could number, out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands. ( )and they cry with a loud voice, saying: salvation to our god, who sits upon the throne, and to the lamb. ( )and all the angels were standing round the throne and the elders and the four animals, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped god, ( )saying: amen; the blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honor, and the power, and the might, be to our god forever and ever. amen. ( )and one of the elders answered, saying to me: these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they? ( )and i said to him: sir, thou knowest. and he said to me: these are they who come out of the great affliction, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb. ( )therefore are they before the throne of god, and they serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them[ : ]. ( )they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat; ( )because the lamb which is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and will lead them to the fountains of the waters of life; and god will wipe away every tear from their eyes. viii. and when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about half an hour. ( )and i saw the seven angels who stand before god, and there were given to them seven trumpets. ( )and another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should give it to the prayers of all the saints, upon the golden altar which is before the throne. ( )and there went up the smoke of the incense to the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel, before god. ( )and the angel has taken the censer; and he filled it out of the fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth. and there followed thunders, and lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake. ( )and the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves, that they might sound. ( )the first sounded; and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast into the earth, and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. ( )and the second angel sounded; and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood; ( )and the third part of the creatures that are in the sea, that have life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. ( )and the third angel sounded; and there fell out of heaven a great star, burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters. ( )and the name of the star is called wormwood. and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. ( )and the fourth angel sounded; and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, that the third part of them might be darkened, and the day not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner. ( )and i saw, and heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice: woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell upon the earth, by reason of the remaining voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound! ix. and the fifth angel sounded; and i saw a star fallen out of heaven to the earth, and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss. ( )and he opened the pit of the abyss, and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. ( )and out of the smoke went forth locusts into the earth; and there was given to them power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ( )and it was said to them, that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who have not the seal of god upon their foreheads. ( )and it was given to them, that they should not kill them, but that they shall be tormented five months. and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion, when it has smitten a man. ( )and in those days men will seek death, and shall not find it; and they will desire to die, and death flees from them. ( )and the shapes of the locusts were like to horses prepared for battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ( )and they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ( )and they had breastplates, as breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. ( )and they have tails like to scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men, five months. ( )they have over them a king, the angel of the abyss. his name in the hebrew tongue is abaddon; but in the greek tongue he has for a name, apollyon. ( )the first woe is past; behold, there come yet two woes, after these things. ( )and the sixth angel sounded; and i heard a voice out of the four horns of the golden altar which is before god, ( )saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet: loose the four angels who are bound, by the great river euphrates. ( )and the four angels were loosed, who had been prepared for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they may slay the third part of men. ( )and the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand. i heard the number of them. ( )and thus i saw the horses in the vision, and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of hyacinth, and like brimstone; and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issue fire, and smoke, and brimstone. ( )by these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. ( )for the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails; for their tails are like to serpents, having heads, and with them they do hurt. ( )and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk; ( )and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. x. and i saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. ( )and he had in his hand a little book opened. and he set his right foot upon the sea, and the left upon the land; ( )and he cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars; and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. ( )and when the seven thunders spoke, i was about to write; and i heard a voice out of heaven saying to me: seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke, and write them not. ( )and the angel, whom i saw standing upon the sea and upon the land, lifted up his right hand to heaven, ( )and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things therein, and the earth and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein, that there shall be time[ : ] no longer; ( )but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is the mystery of god finished, as he gave the joyful message to his servants the prophets. ( )and the voice which i heard out of heaven [i heard] again speaking to me, and saying: go, take the little book which lies opened in the hand of the angel, who stands upon the sea and upon the land. ( )and i went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. and he said to me: take, and eat it up; and it will make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it will be sweet as honey. ( )and i took the little book out of the hand of the angel, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth as honey, sweet; and when i had eaten it, my belly became bitter. ( )and they say to me: thou must again prophesy of many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. xi. and there was given me a reed, like to a staff, saying: rise, and measure the temple of god, and the altar, and those who worship therein. ( )and the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; because it was given to the gentiles, and they will tread down the holy city forty-two months. ( )and i will give [power] to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. ( )these are the two olive-trees, and the two lamp-stands, which stand before the lord of the earth. ( )and if any one desires to hurt them, fire goes forth out of their mouth, and devours their enemies; and if any one desires to hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ( )these have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and have power over the waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will. ( )and when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and will overcome them, and will kill them. ( )and their remains are on the street of the great city, which spiritually is called sodom and egypt, where their lord also was crucified. ( )and some out of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations, look on their remains three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be put into a tomb. ( )and they who dwell on the earth rejoice ever them, and are glad; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. ( )and after three days and a half, the spirit of life from god entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon those who beheld them. ( )and they heard a loud voice out of heaven, saying to them: come up hither. and they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them. ( )and in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand names; and the rest became afraid, and gave glory to the god of heaven. ( )the second woe is past; behold, the third woe comes quickly. ( )and the seventh angel sounded; and there followed loud voices in heaven, saying: the kingdom of the world is become our lord's, and his christ's; and he will reign forever and ever. ( )and the twenty-four elders, who sit before god on their thrones, fell upon their faces, and worshiped god, ( )saying: we give thanks to thee, o lord god the almighty, who art, and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. ( )and the nations were enraged, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth. ( )and the temple of god was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and a great hail. xii. and a great sign was seen in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. ( )and being with child she cries out, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. ( )and another sign was seen in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. ( )and his tail drags the third part of the stars of heaven; and it cast them to the earth. and the dragon stands before the woman who was about to bring forth, that when she has brought forth, he may devour her child. ( )and she brought forth a man-child, who will rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to god, and to his throne. ( )and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by god, that they may nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. ( )and there was war in heaven, michael and his angels fighting with the dragon. and the dragon fought, and his angels, ( )and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ( )and the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, called the devil and satan, who leads astray the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. ( )and i heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: now is come the salvation, and the strength, and the kingdom of our god, and the authority of his christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our god day and night. ( )and they overcame him, because of the blood of the lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life, unto the death. ( )for this cause rejoice, ye heavens, and they who dwell in them. woe to the earth and the sea! for the devil is come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has little time. ( )and when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man-child. ( )and there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. ( )and the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ( )and the earth helped the woman; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. ( )and the dragon was enraged at the woman; and he departed to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of god, and have the testimony of jesus. xiii. and i stood [ : a] upon the sand of the sea. and i saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads names of blasphemy[ : b]; ( )(and the beast which i saw was like to a leopard, and his feet as of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave to him his power, and his throne, and great authority;) ( )and one of his heads as it were wounded unto death. and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast. ( )and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying: who is like to the beast, and who is able to make war with him? ( )and there was given to him a mouth speaking great and blasphemous things; and power was given him to work forty-two months. ( )and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against god, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, those who tabernacle in heaven. ( )and it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over every tribe, and tongue, and nation. ( )and all who dwell upon the earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb which is slain, from the foundation of the world. ( )if any one has an ear, let him hear. ( )if any one is for captivity, he goes into captivity; if any to be killed with the sword, he must be killed with the sword. here is the patience and the faith of the saints. ( )and i saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. ( )and he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ( )and he does great signs, so that also he causes fire to come down out of heaven on the earth, in the sight of men; ( )and he leads astray those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs which it was given him to do in the presence of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which has the wound of the sword, and lived. ( )and it was given him to give breath[ : ] to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should also speak, and should cause that as many as worship not the image of the beast should be killed. ( )and he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, to receive a mark[ : ] on their right hand, or on their forehead; ( )and that no one should be able to buy or sell, save he that has the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ( )here is wisdom. let him that has understanding count up the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. xiv. and i saw, and behold, the lamb stood on the mount zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his father written on their foreheads. ( )and i heard a voice out of heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of loud thunder; the voice which i heard was as that of harpers, harping with their harps. ( )and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four animals and the elders; and no one was able to learn the song, except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who are redeemed from the earth. ( )these are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. these are they who follow the lamb, whithersoever he goes. these were redeemed from men, a first-fruits to god and to the lamb. ( )and in their mouth was found no falsehood; for they are blameless. ( )and i saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the everlasting gospel[ : ] to preach to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people; ( )saying with a loud voice: fear god, and give glory to him, because the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, and sea, and fountains of waters. ( )and another, a second angel followed, saying: babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, because she has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ( )and another, a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: if any one worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, ( )he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of god, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of holy angels, and in the presence of the lamb. ( )and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. ( )here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of god, and the faith of jesus. ( )and i heard a voice out of heaven saying: write, happy are the dead who die in the lord, henceforth; yea, says the spirit, that they shall rest from their labors, for their works follow with them. ( )and i saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sitting like to the son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. ( )and another angel came forth out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud: put forth thy sickle, and reap; because the time to reap is come; because the harvest of the earth is ripe. ( )and he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. ( )and another angel came forth out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. ( )and another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire; and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying: put forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. ( )and the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of god. ( )and the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came forth out of the wine-press, even to the bits of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. xv. and i saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues; which are the last, because in them is completed the wrath of god. ( )and i saw as it were a sea of glass, mingled with fire; and those who had gained the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of god. ( )and they sing the song of moses the servant of god, and the song of the lamb, saying: great and marvelous are thy works, lord god the almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou king of the nations. ( )who shall not fear, o lord, and glorify thy name? because thou alone art holy; because all the nations shall come and worship before thee; because thy judgments are made manifest. ( )and after these things i saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; ( )and there came forth the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure, shining linen, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles. ( )and one of the four animals gave to the seven angels seven golden cups, full of the wrath of god, who lives forever and ever. ( )and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god, and from his power; and no one was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be completed. xvi. and i heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: go, and pour out the seven cups of the wrath of god into the earth. ( )and the first departed, and poured out his cup into the earth[ : ]; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who have the mark of the beast, and who worship his image. ( )and the second poured out his cup into the sea; and it became blood, as of a dead man; and every living thing died that was in the sea. ( )and the third poured out his cup into the rivers, and the fountains of water; and they became blood. ( )and i heard the angel of the waters saying: righteous art thou, who art and who wast holy, because thou didst thus judge; ( )because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. they are worthy. ( )and i heard, out of the altar, one saying[ : ]: even so, lord god the almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. ( )and the fourth poured out his cup upon the sun; and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. ( )and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of god, who has the power over these plagues, and repented not, to give him glory. ( )and the fifth poured out his cup upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, ( )and blasphemed the god of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their works. ( )and the sixth poured out his cup upon the great river, the euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way of the kings, who are from the rising of the sun, might be prepared. ( )and i saw come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits as frogs; ( )for they are spirits of demons, working signs, which go forth over the kings of the whole habitable world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of god the almighty. ( )behold, i come as a thief. happy is he that watches, and keeps his garments, that he may not walk naked and they see his shame. ( )and they gathered them into the place called in the hebrew tongue, armageddon. ( )and the seventh poured out his cup upon the air; and there came forth a loud voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying: it is done. ( )and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there was a man upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, so great. ( )and the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and babylon the great was remembered before god, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. ( )and every island fled away, and mountains were not found. ( )and great hail, as of a talent's weight, comes down out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed god on account of the plague of the hail; because the plague thereof was exceeding great. xvii. and there came one of the seven angels who have the seven cups, and talked with me, saying: come hither; i will show thee the judgment of the great harlot, that sits upon many waters; ( )with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. ( )and he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. and i saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ( )and the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication. ( )and upon her forehead was a name written: mystery, babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. ( )and i saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of jesus; and i wondered when i saw her, with great wonder. ( )and the angel said to me: wherefore didst thou wonder? i will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ( )the beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and is to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition; and they will wonder who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, seeing the beast, that he was, and is not, and shall come. ( )here is the mind that has wisdom. the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. ( )and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, and the one is; the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little time. ( )and the beast that was, and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. ( )and the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who received no kingdom as yet; but receive authority as kings one hour, along with the beast. ( )these have one mind, and give their power and authority to the beast. ( )these will make war with the lamb, and the lamb will overcome them; because he is lord of lords, and king of kings; and they who are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. ( )and he says to me: the waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, and nations and tongues. ( )and the ten horns, and the beast, these will hate the harlot, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her up with fire. ( )for god put it into their hearts to do his will, and to form one purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of god shall be fulfilled. ( )and the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth. xviii. after these things i saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. ( )and he cried with a strong voice, saying: babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ( )because all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth became rich out of the abundance of her luxury. ( )and i heard another voice out of heaven, saying: come out of her, my people, that ye partake not in her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. ( )for her sins reached unto heaven, and god remembered her iniquities. ( )reward her as she also rewarded, and render twofold according to her works; in the cup which she mixed, mix for her twofold. ( )by as much as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and mourning give her; because in her heart she says: i sit a queen, and not a widow, and shall not see mourning. ( )therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be burned up with fire because strong is the lord god who judged her. ( )and the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, shall weep, and shall lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning; ( )standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying: alas, alas, the great city babylon, the mighty city! because in one hour thy judgment is come. ( )and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their lading any more; ( )the lading of gold, and of silver, and of precious stones, and of pearls, and of fine linen, and of purple, and of silk, and of scarlet; and all citron wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of most precious wood, and of brass, and of iron and of marble, ( )and cinnamon, and amomum, and odors, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and [lading] of horses, and of chariots, and of slaves; and souls of men. ( )and the fruit that thy soul desired departed from thee, and all the dainty and goodly things perished from thee, and thou shalt no more find them. ( )the merchants of these things, who became rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ( )saying: alas, alas, the great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls; ( )because in one hour so great riches are made desolate. and every pilot, and every one that sails to any place, and seamen, and as many as do business at sea, stood afar off, ( )and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying: who is like to the great city! ( )and they cast dust upon their heads, and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying: alas, alas, the great city, whereby all that have the ships in the sea became rich by reason of her costliness; because in one hour she is made desolate. ( )rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, ye apostles, and ye prophets; because god judged your cause upon her. ( )and a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: thus with violence shall babylon the great city be cast down, and shall be found no more. ( )and the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of pipers, and of trumpeters, shall be heard in thee no more; and no craftsman, of whatever craft, shall be found any more in thee, and the sound of a millstone shall be heard in thee no more; ( )and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no more; and the voice of bridegroom and of bride shall be heard in thee no more; because thy merchants were the great men of the earth; because by thy sorcery all the nations were led astray. ( )and in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints and of all that have been slain upon the earth. xix. after these things, i heard as it were a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, of those saying: alleluia; the salvation, and the glory, and the power, are our god's; ( )because true and righteous are his judgments; because he judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. ( )and a second time they said: alleluia. and her smoke goes up forever and ever. ( )and the twenty-four elders, and the four animals, fell down and worshiped god, who sits on the throne, saying: amen; alleluia. ( )and a voice came out from the throne, saying: praise our god, all ye his servants, and ye who fear him, the small and the great. ( )and i heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying: alleluia; because the lord god the almighty reigns. ( )let us rejoice and exult, and we will give to him the glory; because the marriage of the lamb is come, and his wife made herself ready. ( )and it was given her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and shining; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. ( )and he says to me: write, happy are they who are called to the marriage-supper of the lamb. and he says to me: these are the true sayings of god. ( )and i fell before his feet to worship him. and he said to me: see thou do it not. i am a fellow-servant of thee and of thy brethren who have the testimony of jesus; worship god. for the testimony of jesus is the spirit of prophecy. ( )and i saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat upon him, called faithful and true; and in righteousness he judges, and makes war. ( )his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, which no one knows but he himself. ( )and he was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and his name is called, the word of god. ( )and the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white, pure. ( )and out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he may smite the nations; and he will rule them with a rod of iron; and he treads the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of god the almighty. ( )and he has on his garment, and on his thigh, a name written: king of kings, and lord of lords. ( )and i saw an angel standing in the sun. and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven: come, and gather yourselves together to the great supper of god; ( )that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains of thousands, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, both free and bond, both small and great. ( )and i saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war with him who sat on the horse, and with his army. ( )and the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his presence, with which he led astray those who received the mark of the beast, and who warship his image. the two were cast alive into the lake of fire, that burns with brimstone. ( )and the rest were slain with the sword of him who sat upon the horse, which went forth out of his mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh. xx. and i saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. ( )and he laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years, ( )and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and set a seal over him, that he mislead the nations no more, until the thousand years are finished; after these he must be loosed a little time. ( )and i saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of jesus, and on account of the word of god, and whoever did not worship the beast, neither his image, and did not receive the mark upon the forehead, or upon their hand; and they lived and reigned with christ a thousand years. ( )the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were finished. this is the first resurrection. ( )happy and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection; on these the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of god and of christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. ( )and when the thousand years are finished, satan will be loosed out of his prison, ( )and will go out to mislead the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, gog and magog, to gather them together to the war, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. ( )and they went up upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city; and fire came down from god[ : ] out of heaven, and devoured them. ( )and the devil who misleads them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ( )and i saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. ( )and i saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life; and the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works. ( )and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and the underworld gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged each one according to their works. ( )and death and the underworld were cast into the lake of fire. this is the second death, the lake of fire. ( )and if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. xxi. and i saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more. ( )and i saw the holy city, new jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ( )and i heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying: behold, the tabernacle of god is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and god-with-them[ : ] himself will be their god. ( )and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor shall mourning, nor crying, nor pain be any more; because the former things are passed away. ( )and he who sat upon the throne said: behold, i make all things new. and he says: write; because these words are faithful and true. ( )and he said to me: it is done. i am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. i will give to him that thirsts, of the fountain of the water of life freely. ( )he that overcomes shall inherit these things; and i will be to him a god, and he shall be to me a son. ( )but the fearful, and unbelieving, and defiled with abominations, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. ( )and there came one from among the seven angels, who have the seven cups full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying: come hither; i will show thee the bride, the wife of the lamb. ( )and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, ( )having the glory of god; her luminary like to a most precious stone, as it were to a jasper stone, clear as crystal; ( )having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of israel; ( )on the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ( )and the wall of the city had twelve foundation-stones, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb. ( )and he who talked with me had a golden reed for a measure, that he might measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ( )and the city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as the breadth. and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal. ( )and he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. ( )and the structure of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like to pure glass. ( )the foundation-stones of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone. the first foundation-stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; ( )the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, hyacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. ( )and the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass. ( )and i saw in it no temple; for the lord god the almighty is its temple, and the lamb. ( )and the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine on it; for the glory of god lightened it, and the lamb is the light thereof. ( )and the nations will walk by its light; and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. ( )and its gates will not be shut by day; for there will be no night there; ( )and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. ( )and there shall not enter into it any thing unclean, or that works abomination or falsehood; but they who are written in the lamb's book of life. xxii. and he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of god and of the lamb. ( )in the midst of its street, and on either side of the river, was a tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ( )and there will be no more curse. and the throne of god and of the lamb will be in it; and his servants will serve him, ( )and will see his face, and his name will be upon their foreheads. ( )and there will be no night there; and they will have no need of a lamp, nor of the light of the sun, because the lord god will give them light; and they will reign forever and ever. ( )and he said to me: these sayings are faithful and true; and the lord, the god of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show to his servants what things must shortly come to pass. ( )behold, i come quickly. happy is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book. ( )and i, john, am he who heard and saw these things. and when i heard and saw, i fell down to worship before the feet of the angel, who showed me these things. ( )and he says to me: see thou do it not. i am a fellow-servant of thee and of thy brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the sayings of this book; worship god. ( )and he says to me: seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand. ( )he that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ( )behold, i come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to each one according as his work is. ( )i am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. ( )happy are they who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ( )without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loves and makes a lie. ( )i, jesus, sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. i am the root and the offspring of david, the bright, the morning star. ( )and the spirit and the bride say: come. and let him that hears say: come. and let him that thirsts, come; let him that will, take the water of life freely. ( )i testify to every one that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if any one shall add to them, god will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ( )and if any one shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written of in this book. ( )he who testifies these things, says: yea, i come quickly. amen; come, lord jesus. ( )the grace of the lord jesus be with the saints. footnotes matthew : _in some ancient copies_; to make her an example : _or_, which interpreted is : _in some ancient copies_: her first-born son : _in some ancient copies_: lamentation and weeping : _or_, the land : _some ancient copies omit_: falsely. : _or_, by those : a without cause, _is omitted in many ancient copies._ : b raca, _a term of angry reproach._ : _or_, by those of old : _or_, our needful bread : _the words omitted are wanting in all the ancient copies._ : _or_, to his age : _in some ancient copies_: how strait : _in some ancient copies_: my sayings : _in some ancient copies_: gergesenes : _or_, can the bride-men mourn : _or_, and cast off : cananite, (_as some suppose_) = zelotes. : _some ancient copies omit_: raise the dead : _in some ancient copies_: but why went ye out? to see a prophet? : a _in the oldest copies_: shalt thou be exalted to heaven? thou shalt : b underworld: _the abode of the dead, represented (figuratively, as in the old testament) as underneath, in contrast with heaven above. see_ philipp. : ; rev. : , ; luke : . : _the oldest copies omit_, blind, _and_ both. : _in some ancient copies_: he that has ears, let him hear. : _or_, because to you it is given : _or_, then leaving the multitudes : _in some ancient copies_: he that has ears, let him hear. : _or_, and because of his joy, : _in some ancient copies_: joses : _or_, the powers : _or_, and bowed down to him : _in the oldest copies_: for god said: : _in some ancient copies_: the commandment of god : _in many ancient copies_: that i the son of man am : _that is_, son of jonah. : a _that is_, rock. : b _or_, my congregation : _or_, adversary : _or_, as a ransom : half-shekel; _see_ exodus : , . : talent (_syrian_), _about fifteen hundred denaries._ : denary, _seven and a half pence sterling, or fifteen cents._ : _in some ancient copies_: who created them : denary (_see_ mat : ), _about one-third more than the daily pay of a roman soldier._ : hosanna: _i. e._, save now! : _in some ancient copies_: to the second : _in the oldest copies_: they say to him: the tardier one : _or_, ensnare him in discourse. : denary, _a roman coin._ : rabbi (my _master_), _a jewish title of respect, given to a teacher._ : v. _is wanting here, in the oldest copies; it belongs to_ mark : , and luke : . : _in some ancient copies_: for it must come to pass : _or_, tribes of the land : _in many ancient copies_: in what hour : _in some ancient copies_: took a loaf : _in some ancient copies_: of the covenant : _or_, sleep on now, and take your rest : _in some ancient copies_: that i can not pray to my father, and he will now send : _in some ancient copies_: gave him wine to drink : elijah: _in their form of address_, elia. : _in some copies_: shall be heard before the governor mark : _in some ancient copies_: the good news of god : _in some ancient copies_: hah! what have we to do with thee : _in many ancient copies_: what new teaching is this? for with authority he commands even the unclean spirits : _or_, used to fast : _or_, can the bridemen fast : _some ancient copies add_: but new wine must be put into new skins. : _or_, began to make a way : cananite, (_as some suppose_) = zelotes. : _the words omitted are not found here, in the oldest copies; they belong to_ matt. : . : _or_, and he kept him : _the conclusion, "he is bound," (by his oath,) and so freed from the duty to his parents, is left to be inferred from the speaker's silence; compare the similar use of this figure of speech, in_ ex. : ; luke : acts : . : _or_, they who claim to rule : _in the oldest copies_: and others branches, cutting them from the fields. : v. _is omitted in some ancient copies._ : denary, _a roman coin._ : _or_, sleep on now, and take your rest! : _gr_. which is the ante-sabbath luke : _or_, the things accomplished among us : _or_, those words : _or_, no word shall be : _or_, for there shall be : _or_, all these words : _or_, all these words : _or_, must be in my father's business : _or_, with your allowance : _or_, was beginning to be : _gr_. with a great fever : _or_, the scribes and pharisees among them : _or_, can ye make the bridemen fast : _some ancient copies omit_, and both are preserved together. : _in the oldest copies_: is good (_or_, is mild). : _or_, on the second-first sabbath (_omitted in some ancient copies_). : _in some ancient copies_: whether it is lawful : _or_, for those who falsely accuse you : _gr_. it fell together : denary, _about seven and a half pence sterling, or fifteen cents_. : _or_, there arose a dispute among them : _or_, know ye not : _or_, as they have : _or_, against you : denary, _seven and a half pence sterling, or fifteen cents (one third more than the daily pay of a roman soldier)_. : _or_, our needful bread : _or_, and house falls upon house : _or_, whether the light that is in thee is darkness : _or_, give that which is within in alms : _in some ancient copies_, and ye build! : _gr_. to answer off-hand concerning many things : _or_, to his age : _or_, and how i would it were already kindled : _or_, impoverish the ground : _compare_ mark : . : _in the oldest copies_: whose son, or ox : _or_, they all, at once, began : _or_, and constrain them : _or_, is among you : _or_, of all that i gain : [or,] and having kept watch, : denary, [a roman coin.] : [or,] by your patience preserve your souls. : [or,] are having an end. : [gr.] the eldership of the people : v. [is omitted in all the oldest and best copies.] john : _or_, were made through him : _gr._ tabernacled among us : _gr._ is become before me; because he was prior to me. : _gr._ is become before me; because he was prior to me. : peter: _that is, rock._ : _some ancient copies omit_: henceforth. : firkin: _holding nine gallons._ : _or_, born from above : _in some ancient copies_: god gives not : sychar: _also called shechem._ : _or_, was talking with a woman. : _the words in brackets are wanting in the oldest and best copies._ : _or_, ye search : _or_, is he who : _or_, have the rulers come to know : _in the oldest copies_: never man spoke thus. : _or_, has arisen no prophet. : ch. vii., -viii., . _the words in brackets are wanting in most of the ancient copies._ : _or_, hold us in expectation? : denary, _seven and a half pence sterling, or fifteen cents._ : _or_, and bore off : _in the oldest copies_: that she may keep it : _or_, save me from this hour? : _or_, nor an apostle (_i. e., one that is sent_). : _or_, ye believe on god, believe also on me. : _gr._ i will not leave you orphans acts : _or_, they therefore who came together : _or_, put in his own power. : _or_, his charge : _in some ancient copies_: gave lots for them; : _or_, when this sound occurred : _or_, they therefore who received : _or_, who are being saved. : _or_, whose witnesses we are. : _or_, why rage the heathen : _or_, laid him out : freedmen: _captive jews, carried to rome as slaves, who (or their offspring) had been freed, and allowed to return._ : _gr._ was beautiful before god : _in some ancient copies_: with the hand : _or_, to a city : _in many ancient copies_: is the power of god, which is called great. : _or_, in this word : _or_, and his posterity : _v. is wanting in the best ancient copies._ : _or_, how unlawful it is : _gr._ laid hands on, to oppress : _in some ancient copies_: he bore with them : _in the oldest copies_: in the first psalm : _or_, who makes these things known of old (omitting v. , as in ancient copies). : _the oldest copies omit_: saying, that ye must be circumcised and keep the law : v. _is omitted in the oldest copies._ : _or_, being grieved : _or_, were allotted to : _some ancient copies omit_: moved with envy : _the words in brackets are omitted in the oldest copies._ : the law is open: _gr._ court-days are held : _the oldest copies omit_: with joy : _in some ancient copies_: church of god : _or_, they understood not : _or_, for the thongs (_namely, with which he was to be scourged_). : _the words in brackets are wanting in the best ancient copies._ : _or_, also knowest too well (_namely, to make such a proposal_). : a _or_, in little time : b _or_, dost thou persuade : _or_, that in little or much : _or_, not suffering us to go further : _or_, coasting about : v. _is wanting in the oldest and best copies._ romans : _or_, who hinder the truth by unrighteousness : _or_, that they may be : _or_, mutually accusing, or also excusing. : _or_, dost thou rob the temple? _or_, dost thou rob temples? : _or_, unto which ye were delivered : a _or_, the account : b _or_, a short account : _or_, shall live in them : _ancient copies omit the words in brackets._ : _or_, shut up all to unbelief : _or_, sharing in the necessities of the saints : _or_, shall give praise to god. : _in some ancient copies_: on you corinthians : _or_, interpreting spiritual things to the spiritual. _or_, combining spiritual things with spiritual. : _or_, if any one destroys : man's day: _namely, the present, in contrast with the coming_ day of the lord, _when he, and not man, will judge._ (acts : ; rom. : ; cor. : , etc.) : _gr_, become imitators of me : _or_, and i desire to spare you : _or_, may become a partaker with it : traditions: _things delivered from one to another; received from the lord, and delivered to them._ : _or_, it is not to eat the supper of the lord : _or_, each in his place. : maran atha: _that is_, the lord comes! (_compare_ phil : .) corinthians : _or_, because it is done away in christ : _or_, that the light of the gospel of the glory of christ, who is god's image, should not shine. : of the tabernacle; _that is, of the body._ : _or_, if indeed we shall be found clothed, not naked. : _or_, in christ's stead : _or_, but besides our consolation : _or_, in this charity : _or_, for building up, and not for casting you down : _the accusation of his opposers, which he answers in verses and ._ : _in ancient copies_: ye are supposing, this long while, that we excuse ourselves to you. galatians : _in some ancient copies_: neither went away : _or_, whatever they once were : _or_, was formerly set forth : _or_, are ye now ending : _or_, works miracles in you : _or_, into christ : _or_, under the rudiments : _or_, weak and poor rudiments : _in some copies_: your trial : _in some copies_: what was : _or_, are allegorized : _in some ancient copies_: which is our mother : _in many ancient copies_: and so shall ye fulfill ephesians : _or_, in whom we were also chosen as the inheritance : _or_, in whom are ye also, ... in which having also believed : _or_, for the redemption : _or_, fills all with all : _or_, which he wrought : _or_, our boldness and our access : _ancient copies omit_: of our lord jesus christ : _in ancient copies_: as the gentiles walk : _or_, in covetousness : the heavenly places (_the material heavens, the air; see ch. ii_). philippians : overseers: _as the word is properly translated in_ acts : . : _or_, for your participation in the gospel. _or_, for your contribution to the gospel : _or_, because you have me in your heart : _or_, may prove things that differ : _in ancient copies_: shall raise up affliction : _in many ancient copies_: but of your salvation : _or_, there is any exhortation : _or_, holding fast : _or_, in like manner : _or_, participation of his sufferings : _or_, have already finished [the course] : _or_, our country : _or_, in an account of debt and credit colossians : _or_, are in him made full : a _or_, putting off principalities and powers : b _or_, in him : _or_, willing it (_namely, to defraud_). : _or_, much labor thessalonians : _or_, know how to obtain : _or_, in the matter thessalonians : a _gr_, shaken from your mind : b _or_, is come : _see note on_ cor : : _or_, from the evil one : _see note on_ cor : timothy : _or_, for smiters of fathers and smiters of mothers : a _or_, in me as chief : b _or_, all that long-suffering : overseer: _as properly translated in_ acts : . : _or_, not a new convert : _or_, a good rank : _or_, which was manifested. : _or_, by those : _gr_, old women's fables : _or_, practice these things : _or_, except on the authority of two or three witnesses : _or_, in its own times timothy : _or_, among many witnesses : _or_, rightly handling : _or_, to do his will : _or_, every scripture, inspired by god, is also profitable titus : _or_, in his own : overseer: _as properly translated in_ acts : . : _or_, reject philemon : _in many ancient copies_: apphia the sister : _or_, the communion of thy faith : _in many copies_: we have _or_, we had hebrews : _some ancient copies omit_: by himself : _or_, shall again have brought in : _or_, we should be diverted from them. : _some ancient copies omit_: firm unto the end : _or_, addressed by god, as high priest : _in some ancient copies_: and this let us do : _that is, as to any record of it._ : _some ancient copies omit_: after the order of melchizedek. : _or_, finding fault, he says to them: : _or_, only with conditions of meats and drinks : _the same greek word means covenant, and also testament._ : _or_, by his sacrifice : _or_, those who draw near [to god] : _in the oldest copies_: every high priest : _or_, is the substance of things hoped for : _or_, in order that what is seen should not have arisen : _or_, but as it is : _or_, that were disobedient : _or_, let marriage be honorable in all, and the bed be undefiled james : _gr_. which are in the dispersion : _or_, the poor in view of the world : _or_, now if we put the horses' bits into their mouths : sensual: _more correctly_, natural; _compare_, the natural man, cor : . : sabaoth: _that is_, hosts. : _in some ancient copies_: see also the end of the lord. peter : _or_, the strangers of the dispersion : _or_, into a living hope : _or_, if ye call upon him as father : _or_, be ye yourselves also... built up : _or_, from a consciousness of god : _the words in brackets are omitted in the best copies._ : _or_, the sister chosen with you, in babylon, salutes you peter : _or_, furnish in your faith fortitude, and in your fortitude knowledge, _etc_. : _or_, that the putting off of my tabernacle is speedy : _in some ancient copies_: pits of darkness : _in some ancient copies_: as brute beasts, born naturally to be taken : _in some ancient copies_: toward you john : _some ancient copies omit_: christ : _ancient copies omit_: from the beginning : our _is omitted in some ancient copies._ : _ancient copies omit_: his brother : _or_, is a man-killer : _or_, and we shall assure our hearts before him, whatever our heart may accuse us of, because god is greater than our heart and knows all things. : _or_, toward us : _or_, has punishment : _or_, in the one thing. (the words omitted are wanting in all ancient copies.) john : _in ancient copies_: every one who goes onward, and abides not jude : _or_, kept for jesus christ revelation : _or_ (_according to some ancient authorities_), as if in a fiery furnace : _in some ancient copies_: sufferest thy wife jezebel : _in some ancient copies_: of her works : _in many ancient copies_: he that overcomes shall be so clothed : _some ancient copies omit_: unto our god : _a quart of wheat was commonly sold for one-eighth of a denary. the denary (about fifteen cents) was a third more than the daily pay of a roman soldier._ : _see_ isaiah : ; _compare_ leviticus : ; ezekiel : . : _the_ time _here meant, is that spoken of in_ rev : . : a _in some ancient copies_: and he stood : b _in some copies_: a name of blasphemy : _or_, to give spirit : _or_, that they should give them a mark : _or_, having an eternal message of joy : _or_, on the sea : _in ancient copies_: i heard the altar saying : _some ancient copies omit_: from god : _compare_ immanuel, matthew : . version by al haines. ben-hur: a tale of the christ by lew wallace to the wife of my youth who still abides with me book first chapter i the jebel es zubleh is a mountain fifty miles and more in length, and so narrow that its tracery on the map gives it a likeness to a caterpillar crawling from the south to the north. standing on its red-and-white cliffs, and looking off under the path of the rising sun, one sees only the desert of arabia, where the east winds, so hateful to vinegrowers of jericho, have kept their playgrounds since the beginning. its feet are well covered by sands tossed from the euphrates, there to lie, for the mountain is a wall to the pasture-lands of moab and ammon on the west--lands which else had been of the desert a part. the arab has impressed his language upon everything south and east of judea, so, in his tongue, the old jebel is the parent of numberless wadies which, intersecting the roman road--now a dim suggestion of what once it was, a dusty path for syrian pilgrims to and from mecca--run their furrows, deepening as they go, to pass the torrents of the rainy season into the jordan, or their last receptacle, the dead sea. out of one of these wadies--or, more particularly, out of that one which rises at the extreme end of the jebel, and, extending east of north, becomes at length the bed of the jabbok river--a traveller passed, going to the table-lands of the desert. to this person the attention of the reader is first besought. judged by his appearance, he was quite forty-five years old. his beard, once of the deepest black, flowing broadly over his breast, was streaked with white. his face was brown as a parched coffee-berry, and so hidden by a red kufiyeh (as the kerchief of the head is at this day called by the children of the desert) as to be but in part visible. now and then he raised his eyes, and they were large and dark. he was clad in the flowing garments so universal in the east; but their style may not be described more particularly, for he sat under a miniature tent, and rode a great white dromedary. it may be doubted if the people of the west ever overcome the impression made upon them by the first view of a camel equipped and loaded for the desert. custom, so fatal to other novelties, affects this feeling but little. at the end of long journeys with caravans, after years of residence with the bedawin, the western-born, wherever they may be, will stop and wait the passing of the stately brute. the charm is not in the figure, which not even love can make beautiful; nor in the movement, the noiseless stepping, or the broad careen. as is the kindness of the sea to a ship, so that of the desert to its creature. it clothes him with all its mysteries; in such manner, too, that while we are looking at him we are thinking of them: therein is the wonder. the animal which now came out of the wady might well have claimed the customary homage. its color and height; its breadth of foot; its bulk of body, not fat, but overlaid with muscle; its long, slender neck, of swanlike curvature; the head, wide between the eyes, and tapering to a muzzle which a lady's bracelet might have almost clasped; its motion, step long and elastic, tread sure and soundless--all certified its syrian blood, old as the days of cyrus, and absolutely priceless. there was the usual bridle, covering the forehead with scarlet fringe, and garnishing the throat with pendent brazen chains, each ending with a tinkling silver bell; but to the bridle there was neither rein for the rider nor strap for a driver. the furniture perched on the back was an invention which with any other people than of the east would have made the inventor renowned. it consisted of two wooden boxes, scarce four feet in length, balanced so that one hung at each side; the inner space, softly lined and carpeted, was arranged to allow the master to sit or lie half reclined; over it all was stretched a green awning. broad back and breast straps, and girths, secured with countless knots and ties, held the device in place. in such manner the ingenious sons of cush had contrived to make comfortable the sunburnt ways of the wilderness, along which lay their duty as often as their pleasure. when the dromedary lifted itself out of the last break of the wady, the traveller had passed the boundary of el belka, the ancient ammon. it was morning-time. before him was the sun, half curtained in fleecy mist; before him also spread the desert; not the realm of drifting sands, which was farther on, but the region where the herbage began to dwarf; where the surface is strewn with boulders of granite, and gray and brown stones, interspersed with languishing acacias and tufts of camel-grass. the oak, bramble, and arbutus lay behind, as if they had come to a line, looked over into the well-less waste and crouched with fear. and now there was an end of path or road. more than ever the camel seemed insensibly driven; it lengthened and quickened its pace, its head pointed straight towards the horizon; through the wide nostrils it drank the wind in great draughts. the litter swayed, and rose and fell like a boat in the waves. dried leaves in occasional beds rustled underfoot. sometimes a perfume like absinthe sweetened all the air. lark and chat and rock-swallow leaped to wing, and white partridges ran whistling and clucking out of the way. more rarely a fox or a hyena quickened his gallop, to study the intruders at a safe distance. off to the right rose the hills of the jebel, the pearl-gray veil resting upon them changing momentarily into a purple which the sun would make matchless a little later. over their highest peaks a vulture sailed on broad wings into widening circles. but of all these things the tenant under the green tent saw nothing, or, at least, made no sign of recognition. his eyes were fixed and dreamy. the going of the man, like that of the animal, was as one being led. for two hours the dromedary swung forward, keeping the trot steadily and the line due east. in that time the traveller never changed his position, nor looked to the right or left. on the desert, distance is not measured by miles or leagues, but by the saat, or hour, and the manzil, or halt: three and a half leagues fill the former, fifteen or twenty-five the latter; but they are the rates for the common camel. a carrier of the genuine syrian stock can make three leagues easily. at full speed he overtakes the ordinary winds. as one of the results of the rapid advance, the face of the landscape underwent a change. the jebel stretched along the western horizon, like a pale-blue ribbon. a tell, or hummock of clay and cemented sand, arose here and there. now and then basaltic stones lifted their round crowns, outposts of the mountain against the forces of the plain; all else, however, was sand, sometimes smooth as the beaten beach, then heaped in rolling ridges; here chopped waves, there long swells. so, too, the condition of the atmosphere changed. the sun, high risen, had drunk his fill of dew and mist, and warmed the breeze that kissed the wanderer under the awning; far and near he was tinting the earth with faint milk-whiteness, and shimmering all the sky. two hours more passed without rest or deviation from the course. vegetation entirely ceased. the sand, so crusted on the surface that it broke into rattling flakes at every step, held undisputed sway. the jebel was out of view, and there was no landmark visible. the shadow that before followed had now shifted to the north, and was keeping even race with the objects which cast it; and as there was no sign of halting, the conduct of the traveller became each moment more strange. no one, be it remembered, seeks the desert for a pleasure-ground. life and business traverse it by paths along which the bones of things dead are strewn as so many blazons. such are the roads from well to well, from pasture to pasture. the heart of the most veteran sheik beats quicker when he finds himself alone in the pathless tracts. so the man with whom we are dealing could not have been in search of pleasure; neither was his manner that of a fugitive; not once did he look behind him. in such situations fear and curiosity are the most common sensations; he was not moved by them. when men are lonely, they stoop to any companionship; the dog becomes a comrade, the horse a friend, and it is no shame to shower them with caresses and speeches of love. the camel received no such token, not a touch, not a word. exactly at noon the dromedary, of its own will, stopped, and uttered the cry or moan, peculiarly piteous, by which its kind always protest against an overload, and sometimes crave attention and rest. the master thereupon bestirred himself, waking, as it were, from sleep. he threw the curtains of the houdah up, looked at the sun, surveyed the country on every side long and carefully, as if to identify an appointed place. satisfied with the inspection, he drew a deep breath and nodded, much as to say, "at last, at last!" a moment after, he crossed his hands upon his breast, bowed his head, and prayed silently. the pious duty done, he prepared to dismount. from his throat proceeded the sound heard doubtless by the favorite camels of job--ikh! ikh!--the signal to kneel. slowly the animal obeyed, grunting the while. the rider then put his foot upon the slender neck, and stepped upon the sand. chapter ii the man as now revealed was of admirable proportions, not so tall as powerful. loosening the silken rope which held the kufiyeh on his head, he brushed the fringed folds back until his face was bare--a strong face, almost negro in color; yet the low, broad forehead, aquiline nose, the outer corners of the eyes turned slightly upward, the hair profuse, straight, harsh, of metallic lustre, and falling to the shoulder in many plaits, were signs of origin impossible to disguise. so looked the pharaohs and the later ptolemies; so looked mizraim, father of the egyptian race. he wore the kamis, a white cotton shirt tight-sleeved, open in front, extending to the ankles and embroidered down the collar and breast, over which was thrown a brown woollen cloak, now, as in all probability it was then, called the aba, an outer garment with long skirt and short sleeves, lined inside with stuff of mixed cotton and silk, edged all round with a margin of clouded yellow. his feet were protected by sandals, attached by thongs of soft leather. a sash held the kamis to his waist. what was very noticeable, considering he was alone, and that the desert was the haunt of leopards and lions, and men quite as wild, he carried no arms, not even the crooked stick used for guiding camels; wherefore we may at least infer his errand peaceful, and that he was either uncommonly bold or under extraordinary protection. the traveller's limbs were numb, for the ride had been long and wearisome; so he rubbed his hands and stamped his feet, and walked round the faithful servant, whose lustrous eyes were closing in calm content with the cud he had already found. often, while making the circuit, he paused, and, shading his eyes with his hands, examined the desert to the extremest verge of vision; and always, when the survey was ended, his face clouded with disappointment, slight, but enough to advise a shrewd spectator that he was there expecting company, if not by appointment; at the same time, the spectator would have been conscious of a sharpening of the curiosity to learn what the business could be that required transaction in a place so far from civilized abode. however disappointed, there could be little doubt of the stranger's confidence in the coming of the expected company. in token thereof, he went first to the litter, and, from the cot or box opposite the one he had occupied in coming, produced a sponge and a small gurglet of water, with which he washed the eyes, face, and nostrils of the camel; that done, from the same depository he drew a circular cloth, red-and white-striped, a bundle of rods, and a stout cane. the latter, after some manipulation, proved to be a cunning device of lesser joints, one within another, which, when united together, formed a centre pole higher than his head. when the pole was planted, and the rods set around it, he spread the cloth over them, and was literally at home--a home much smaller than the habitations of emir and sheik, yet their counterpart in all other respects. from the litter again he brought a carpet or square rug, and covered the floor of the tent on the side from the sun. that done, he went out, and once more, and with greater care and more eager eyes, swept the encircling country. except a distant jackal, galloping across the plain, and an eagle flying towards the gulf of akaba, the waste below, like the blue above it, was lifeless. he turned to the camel, saying low, and in a tongue strange to the desert, "we are far from home, o racer with the swiftest winds--we are far from home, but god is with us. let us be patient." then he took some beans from a pocket in the saddle, and put them in a bag made to hang below the animal's nose; and when he saw the relish with which the good servant took to the food, he turned and again scanned the world of sand, dim with the glow of the vertical sun. "they will come," he said, calmly. "he that led me is leading them. i will make ready." from the pouches which lined the interior of the cot, and from a willow basket which was part of its furniture, he brought forth materials for a meal: platters close-woven of the fibres of palms; wine in small gurglets of skin; mutton dried and smoked; stoneless shami, or syrian pomegranates; dates of el shelebi, wondrous rich and grown in the nakhil, or palm orchards, of central arabia; cheese, like david's "slices of milk;" and leavened bread from the city bakery--all which he carried and set upon the carpet under the tent. as the final preparation, about the provisions he laid three pieces of silk cloth, used among refined people of the east to cover the knees of guests while at table--a circumstance significant of the number of persons who were to partake of his entertainment--the number he was awaiting. all was now ready. he stepped out: lo! in the east a dark speck on the face of the desert. he stood as if rooted to the ground; his eyes dilated; his flesh crept chilly, as if touched by something supernatural. the speck grew; became large as a hand; at length assumed defined proportions. a little later, full into view swung a duplication of his own dromedary, tall and white, and bearing a houdah, the travelling litter of hindostan. then the egyptian crossed his hands upon his breast, and looked to heaven. "god only is great!" he exclaimed, his eyes full of tears, his soul in awe. the stranger drew nigh--at last stopped. then he, too, seemed just waking. he beheld the kneeling camel, the tent, and the man standing prayerfully at the door. he crossed his hands, bent his head, and prayed silently; after which, in a little while, he stepped from his camel's neck to the sand, and advanced towards the egyptian, as did the egyptian towards him. a moment they looked at each other; then they embraced--that is, each threw his right arm over the other's shoulder, and the left round the side, placing his chin first upon the left, then upon the right breast. "peace be with thee, o servant of the true god!" the stranger said. "and to thee, o brother of the true faith!--to thee peace and welcome," the egyptian replied, with fervor. the new-comer was tall and gaunt, with lean face, sunken eyes, white hair and beard, and a complexion between the hue of cinnamon and bronze. he, too, was unarmed. his costume was hindostani; over the skull-cap a shawl was wound in great folds, forming a turban; his body garments were in the style of the egyptian's, except that the aba was shorter, exposing wide flowing breeches gathered at the ankles. in place of sandals, his feet were clad in half-slippers of red leather, pointed at the toes. save the slippers, the costume from head to foot was of white linen. the air of the man was high, stately, severe. visvamitra, the greatest of the ascetic heroes of the iliad of the east, had in him a perfect representative. he might have been called a life drenched with the wisdom of brahma--devotion incarnate. only in his eyes was there proof of humanity; when he lifted his face from the egyptian's breast, they were glistening with tears. "god only is great!" he exclaimed, when the embrace was finished. "and blessed are they that serve him!" the egyptian answered, wondering at the paraphrase of his own exclamation. "but let us wait," he added, "let us wait; for see, the other comes yonder!" they looked to the north, where, already plain to view, a third camel, of the whiteness of the others, came careening like a ship. they waited, standing together--waited until the new-comer arrived, dismounted, and advanced towards them. "peace to you, o my brother!" he said, while embracing the hindoo. and the hindoo answered, "god's will be done!" the last comer was all unlike his friends: his frame was slighter; his complexion white; a mass of waving light hair was a perfect crown for his small but beautiful head; the warmth of his dark-blue eyes certified a delicate mind, and a cordial, brave nature. he was bareheaded and unarmed. under the folds of the tyrian blanket which he wore with unconscious grace appeared a tunic, short-sleeved and low-necked, gathered to the waist by a band, and reaching nearly to the knee; leaving the neck, arms, and legs bare. sandals guarded his feet. fifty years, probably more, had spent themselves upon him, with no other effect, apparently, than to tinge his demeanor with gravity and temper his words with forethought. the physical organization and the brightness of soul were untouched. no need to tell the student from what kindred he was sprung; if he came not himself from the groves of athene', his ancestry did. when his arms fell from the egyptian, the latter said, with a tremulous voice, "the spirit brought me first; wherefore i know myself chosen to be the servant of my brethren. the tent is set, and the bread is ready for the breaking. let me perform my office." taking each by the hand, he led them within, and removed their sandals and washed their feet, and he poured water upon their hands, and dried them with napkins. then, when he had laved his own hands, he said, "let us take care of ourselves, brethren, as our service requires, and eat, that we may be strong for what remains of the day's duty. while we eat, we will each learn who the others are, and whence they come, and how they are called." he took them to the repast, and seated them so that they faced each other. simultaneously their heads bent forward, their hands crossed upon their breasts, and, speaking together, they said aloud this simple grace: "father of all--god!--what we have here is of thee; take our thanks and bless us, that we may continue to do thy will." with the last word they raised their eyes, and looked at each other in wonder. each had spoken in a language never before heard by the others; yet each understood perfectly what was said. their souls thrilled with divine emotion; for by the miracle they recognized the divine presence. chapter iii to speak in the style of the period, the meeting just described took place in the year of rome . the month was december, and winter reigned over all the regions east of the mediterranean. such as ride upon the desert in this season go not far until smitten with a keen appetite. the company under the little tent were not exceptions to the rule. they were hungry, and ate heartily; and, after the wine, they talked. "to a wayfarer in a strange land nothing is so sweet as to hear his name on the tongue of a friend," said the egyptian, who assumed to be president of the repast. "before us lie many days of companionship. it is time we knew each other. so, if it be agreeable, he who came last shall be first to speak." then, slowly at first, like one watchful of himself, the greek began: "what i have to tell, my brethren, is so strange that i hardly know where to begin or what i may with propriety speak. i do not yet understand myself. the most i am sure of is that i am doing a master's will, and that the service is a constant ecstasy. when i think of the purpose i am sent to fulfil, there is in me a joy so inexpressible that i know the will is god's." the good man paused, unable to proceed, while the others, in sympathy with his feelings, dropped their gaze. "far to the west of this," he began again, "there is a land which may never be forgotten; if only because the world is too much its debtor, and because the indebtedness is for things that bring to men their purest pleasures. i will say nothing of the arts, nothing of philosophy, of eloquence, of poetry, of war: o my brethren, hers is the glory which must shine forever in perfected letters, by which he we go to find and proclaim will be made known to all the earth. the land i speak of is greece. i am gaspar, son of cleanthes the athenian. "my people," he continued, "were given wholly to study, and from them i derived the same passion. it happens that two of our philosophers, the very greatest of the many, teach, one the doctrine of a soul in every man, and its immortality; the other the doctrine of one god, infinitely just. from the multitude of subjects about which the schools were disputing, i separated them, as alone worth the labor of solution; for i thought there was a relation between god and the soul as yet unknown. on this theme the mind can reason to a point, a dead, impassable wall; arrived there, all that remains is to stand and cry aloud for help. so i did; but no voice came to me over the wall. in despair, i tore myself from the cities and the schools." at these words a grave smile of approval lighted the gaunt face of the hindoo. "in the northern part of my country--in thessaly," the greek proceeded to say, "there is a mountain famous as the home of the gods, where theus, whom my countrymen believe supreme, has his abode; olympus is its name. thither i betook myself. i found a cave in a hill where the mountain, coming from the west, bends to the southeast; there i dwelt, giving myself up to meditation--no, i gave myself up to waiting for what every breath was a prayer--for revelation. believing in god, invisible yet supreme, i also believed it possible so to yearn for him with all my soul that he would take compassion and give me answer." "and he did--he did!" exclaimed the hindoo, lifting his hands from the silken cloth upon his lap. "hear me, brethren," said the greek, calming himself with an effort. "the door of my hermitage looks over an arm of the sea, over the thermaic gulf. one day i saw a man flung overboard from a ship sailing by. he swam ashore. i received and took care of him. he was a jew, learned in the history and laws of his people; and from him i came to know that the god of my prayers did indeed exist; and had been for ages their lawmaker, ruler, and king. what was that but the revelation i dreamed of? my faith had not been fruitless; god answered me!" "as he does all who cry to him with such faith," said the hindoo. "but, alas!" the egyptian added, "how few are there wise enough to know when he answers them!" "that was not all," the greek continued. "the man so sent to me told me more. he said the prophets who, in the ages which followed the first revelation, walked and talked with god, declared he would come again. he gave me the names of the prophets, and from the sacred books quoted their very language. he told me, further, that the second coming was at hand--was looked for momentarily in jerusalem." the greek paused, and the brightness of his countenance faded. "it is true," he said, after a little--"it is true the man told me that as god and the revelation of which he spoke had been for the jews alone, so it would be again. he that was to come should be king of the jews. 'had he nothing for the rest of the world?' i asked. 'no,' was the answer, given in a proud voice--'no, we are his chosen people.' the answer did not crush my hope. why should such a god limit his love and benefaction to one land, and, as it were, to one family? i set my heart upon knowing. at last i broke through the man's pride, and found that his fathers had been merely chosen servants to keep the truth alive, that the world might at last know it and be saved. when the jew was gone, and i was alone again, i chastened my soul with a new prayer--that i might be permitted to see the king when he was come, and worship him. one night i sat by the door of my cave trying to get nearer the mysteries of my existence, knowing which is to know god; suddenly, on the sea below me, or rather in the darkness that covered its face, i saw a star begin to burn; slowly it arose and drew nigh, and stood over the hill and above my door, so that its light shone full upon me. i fell down, and slept, and in my dream i heard a voice say: "'o gaspar! thy faith hath conquered! blessed art thou! with two others, come from the uttermost parts of the earth, thou shalt see him that is promised, and be a witness for him, and the occasion of testimony in his behalf. in the morning arise, and go meet them, and keep trust in the spirit that shall guide thee.' "and in the morning i awoke with the spirit as a light within me surpassing that of the sun. i put off my hermit's garb, and dressed myself as of old. from a hiding-place i took the treasure which i had brought from the city. a ship went sailing past. i hailed it, was taken aboard, and landed at antioch. there i bought the camel and his furniture. through the gardens and orchards that enamel the banks of the orontes, i journeyed to emesa, damascus, bostra, and philadelphia; thence hither. and so, o brethren, you have my story. let me now listen to you." chapter iv the egyptian and the hindoo looked at each other; the former waved his hand; the latter bowed, and began: "our brother has spoken well. may my words be as wise." he broke off, reflected a moment, then resumed: "you may know me, brethren, by the name of melchior. i speak to you in a language which, if not the oldest in the world, was at least the soonest to be reduced to letters--i mean the sanscrit of india. i am a hindoo by birth. my people were the first to walk in the fields of knowledge, first to divide them, first to make them beautiful. whatever may hereafter befall, the four vedas must live, for they are the primal fountains of religion and useful intelligence. from them were derived the upa-vedas, which, delivered by brahma, treat of medicine, archery, architecture, music, and the four-and-sixty mechanical arts; the ved-angas, revealed by inspired saints, and devoted to astronomy, grammar, prosody, pronunciation, charms and incantations, religious rites and ceremonies; the up-angas, written by the sage vyasa, and given to cosmogony, chronology, and geography; therein also are the ramayana and the mahabharata, heroic poems, designed for the perpetuation of our gods and demi-gods. such, o brethren, are the great shastras, or books of sacred ordinances. they are dead to me now; yet through all time they will serve to illustrate the budding genius of my race. they were promises of quick perfection. ask you why the promises failed? alas! the books themselves closed all the gates of progress. under pretext of care for the creature, their authors imposed the fatal principle that a man must not address himself to discovery or invention, as heaven had provided him all things needful. when that condition became a sacred law, the lamp of hindoo genius was let down a well, where ever since it has lighted narrow walls and bitter waters. "these allusions, brethren, are not from pride, as you will understand when i tell you that the shastras teach a supreme god called brahm; also, that the puranas, or sacred poems of the up-angas, tell us of virtue and good works, and of the soul. so, if my brother will permit the saying"--the speaker bowed deferentially to the greek--"ages before his people were known, the two great ideas, god and the soul, had absorbed all the forces of the hindoo mind. in further explanation let me say that brahm is taught, by the same sacred books, as a triad--brahma, vishnu, and shiva. of these, brahma is said to have been the author of our race; which, in course of creation, he divided into four castes. first, he peopled the worlds below and the heavens above; next, he made the earth ready for terrestrial spirits; then from his mouth proceeded the brahman caste, nearest in likeness to himself, highest and noblest, sole teachers of the vedas, which at the same time flowed from his lips in finished state, perfect in all useful knowledge. from his arms next issued the kshatriya, or warriors; from his breast, the seat of life, came the vaisya, or producers--shepherds, farmers, merchants; from his foot, in sign of degradation, sprang the sudra, or serviles, doomed to menial duties for the other classes--serfs, domestics, laborers, artisans. take notice, further, that the law, so born with them, forbade a man of one caste becoming a member of another; the brahman could not enter a lower order; if he violated the laws of his own grade, he became an outcast, lost to all but outcasts like himself." at this point, the imagination of the greek, flashing forward upon all the consequences of such a degradation, overcame his eager attention, and he exclaimed, "in such a state, o brethren, what mighty need of a loving god!" "yes," added the egyptian, "of a loving god like ours." the brows of the hindoo knit painfully; when the emotion was spent, he proceeded, in a softened voice. "i was born a brahman. my life, consequently, was ordered down to its least act, its last hour. my first draught of nourishment; the giving me my compound name; taking me out the first time to see the sun; investing me with the triple thread by which i became one of the twice-born; my induction into the first order--were all celebrated with sacred texts and rigid ceremonies. i might not walk, eat, drink, or sleep without danger of violating a rule. and the penalty, o brethren, the penalty was to my soul! according to the degrees of omission, my soul went to one of the heavens--indra's the lowest, brahma's the highest; or it was driven back to become the life of a worm, a fly, a fish, or a brute. the reward for perfect observance was beatitude, or absorption into the being of brahm, which was not existence as much as absolute rest." the hindoo gave himself a moment's thought; proceeding, he said: "the part of a brahman's life called the first order is his student life. when i was ready to enter the second order--that is to say, when i was ready to marry and become a householder--i questioned everything, even brahm; i was a heretic. from the depths of the well i had discovered a light above, and yearned to go up and see what all it shone upon. at last--ah, with what years of toil!--i stood in the perfect day, and beheld the principle of life, the element of religion, the link between the soul and god--love!" the shrunken face of the good man kindled visibly, and he clasped his hands with force. a silence ensued, during which the others looked at him, the greek through tears. at length he resumed: "the happiness of love is in action; its test is what one is willing to do for others. i could not rest. brahm had filled the world with so much wretchedness. the sudra appealed to me, so did the countless devotees and victims. the island of ganga lagor lies where the sacred waters of the ganges disappear in the indian ocean. thither i betook myself. in the shade of the temple built there to the sage kapila, in a union of prayers with the disciples whom the sanctified memory of the holy man keeps around his house, i thought to find rest. but twice every year came pilgrimages of hindoos seeking the purification of the waters. their misery strengthened my love. against its impulse to speak i clenched my jaws; for one word against brahm or the triad or the shastras would doom me; one act of kindness to the outcast brahmans who now and then dragged themselves to die on the burning sands--a blessing said, a cup of water given--and i became one of them, lost to family, country, privileges, caste. the love conquered! i spoke to the disciples in the temple; they drove me out. i spoke to the pilgrims; they stoned me from the island. on the highways i attempted to preach; my hearers fled from me, or sought my life. in all india, finally, there was not a place in which i could find peace or safety--not even among the outcasts, for, though fallen, they were still believers in brahm. in my extremity, i looked for a solitude in which to hide from all but god. i followed the ganges to its source, far up in the himalayas. when i entered the pass at hurdwar, where the river, in unstained purity, leaps to its course through the muddy lowlands, i prayed for my race, and thought myself lost to them forever. through gorges, over cliffs, across glaciers, by peaks that seemed star-high, i made my way to the lang tso, a lake of marvellous beauty, asleep at the feet of the tise gangri, the gurla, and the kailas parbot, giants which flaunt their crowns of snow everlastingly in the face of the sun. there, in the centre of the earth, where the indus, ganges, and brahmapootra rise to run their different courses; where mankind took up their first abode, and separated to replete the world, leaving balk, the mother of cities, to attest the great fact; where nature, gone back to its primeval condition, and secure in its immensities, invites the sage and the exile, with promise of safety to the one and solitude to the other--there i went to abide alone with god, praying, fasting, waiting for death." again the voice fell, and the bony hands met in a fervent clasp. "one night i walked by the shores of the lake, and spoke to the listening silence, 'when will god come and claim his own? is there to be no redemption?' suddenly a light began to glow tremulously out on the water; soon a star arose, and moved towards me, and stood overhead. the brightness stunned me. while i lay upon the ground, i heard a voice of infinite sweetness say, 'thy love hath conquered. blessed art thou, o son of india! the redemption is at hand. with two others, from far quarters of the earth, thou shalt see the redeemer, and be a witness that he hath come. in the morning arise, and go meet them; and put all thy trust in the spirit which shall guide thee.' "and from that time the light has stayed with me; so i knew it was the visible presence of the spirit. in the morning i started to the world by the way i had come. in a cleft of the mountain i found a stone of vast worth, which i sold in hurdwar. by lahore, and cabool, and yezd, i came to ispahan. there i bought the camel, and thence was led to bagdad, not waiting for caravans. alone i traveled, fearless, for the spirit was with me, and is with me yet. what glory is ours, o brethren! we are to see the redeemer--to speak to him--to worship him! i am done." chapter v the vivacious greek broke forth in expressions of joy and congratulations; after which the egyptian said, with characteristic gravity: "i salute you, my brother. you have suffered much, and i rejoice in your triumph. if you are both pleased to hear me, i will now tell you who i am, and how i came to be called. wait for me a moment." he went out and tended the camels; coming back, he resumed his seat. "your words, brethren, were of the spirit," he said, in commencement; "and the spirit gives me to understand them. you each spoke particularly of your countries; in that there was a great object, which i will explain; but to make the interpretation complete, let me first speak of myself and my people. i am balthasar the egyptian." the last words were spoken quietly, but with so much dignity that both listeners bowed to the speaker. "there are many distinctions i might claim for my race," he continued; "but i will content myself with one. history began with us. we were the first to perpetuate events by records kept. so we have no traditions; and instead of poetry, we offer you certainty. on the facades of palaces and temples, on obelisks, on the inner walls of tombs, we wrote the names of our kings, and what they did; and to the delicate papyri we intrusted the wisdom of our philosophers and the secrets of our religion--all the secrets but one, whereof i will presently speak. older than the vedas of para-brahm or the up-angas of vyasa, o melchior; older than the songs of homer or the metaphysics of plato, o my gaspar; older than the sacred books or kings of the people of china, or those of siddartha, son of the beautiful maya; older than the genesis of mosche the hebrew--oldest of human records are the writings of menes, our first king." pausing an instant, he fixed his large eves kindly upon the greek, saying, "in the youth of hellas, who, o gaspar, were the teachers of her teachers?" the greek bowed, smiling. "by those records," balthasar continued, "we know that when the fathers came from the far east, from the region of the birth of the three sacred rivers, from the centre of the earth--the old iran of which you spoke, o melchior--came bringing with them the history of the world before the flood, and of the flood itself, as given to the aryans by the sons of noah, they taught god, the creator and the beginning, and the soul, deathless as god. when the duty which calls us now is happily done, if you choose to go with me, i will show you the sacred library of our priesthood; among others, the book of the dead, in which is the ritual to be observed by the soul after death has despatched it on its journey to judgment. the ideas--god and the immortal soul--were borne to mizraim over the desert, and by him to the banks of the nile. they were then in their purity, easy of understanding, as what god intends for our happiness always is; so, also, was the first worship--a song and a prayer natural to a soul joyous, hopeful, and in love with its maker." here the greek threw up his hands, exclaiming, "oh! the light deepens within me!" "and in me!" said the hindoo, with equal fervor. the egyptian regarded them benignantly, then went on, saying, "religion is merely the law which binds man to his creator: in purity it has but these elements--god, the soul, and their mutual recognition; out of which, when put in practise, spring worship, love, and reward. this law, like all others of divine origin--like that, for instance, which binds the earth to the sun--was perfected in the beginning by its author. such, my brothers, was the religion of the first family; such was the religion of our father mizraim, who could not have been blind to the formula of creation, nowhere so discernible as in the first faith and the earliest worship. perfection is god; simplicity is perfection. the curse of curses is that men will not let truths like these alone." he stopped, as if considering in what manner to continue. "many nations have loved the sweet waters of the nile," he said next; "the ethiopian, the pali-putra, the hebrew, the assyrian, the persian, the macedonian, the roman--of whom all, except the hebrew, have at one time or another been its masters. so much coming and going of peoples corrupted the old mizraimic faith. the valley of palms became a valley of gods. the supreme one was divided into eight, each personating a creative principle in nature, with ammon-re at the head. then isis and osiris, and their circle, representing water, fire, air, and other forces, were invented. still the multiplication went on until we had another order, suggested by human qualities, such as strength, knowledge, love, and the like." "in all which there was the old folly!" cried the greek, impulsively. "only the things out of reach remain as they came to us." the egyptian bowed, and proceeded: "yet a little further, o my brethren, a little further, before i come to myself. what we go to will seem all the holier of comparison with what is and has been. the records show that mizraim found the nile in possession of the ethiopians, who were spread thence through the african desert; a people of rich, fantastic genius, wholly given to the worship of nature. the poetic persian sacrificed to the sun, as the completest image of ormuzd, his god; the devout children of the far east carved their deities out of wood and ivory; but the ethiopian, without writing, without books, without mechanical faculty of any kind, quieted his soul by the worship of animals, birds, and insects, holding the cat sacred to re, the bull to isis, the beetle to pthah. a long struggle against their rude faith ended in its adoption as the religion of the new empire. then rose the mighty monuments that cumber the river-bank and the desert--obelisk, labyrinth, pyramid, and tomb of king, blent with tomb of crocodile. into such deep debasement, o brethren, the sons of the aryan fell!" here, for the first time, the calmness of the egyptian forsook him: though his countenance remained impassive, his voice gave way. "do not too much despise my countrymen," he began again. "they did not all forget god. i said awhile ago, you may remember, that to papyri we intrusted all the secrets of our religion except one; of that i will now tell you. we had as king once a certain pharaoh, who lent himself to all manner of changes and additions. to establish the new system, he strove to drive the old entirely out of mind. the hebrews then dwelt with us as slaves. they clung to their god; and when the persecution became intolerable, they were delivered in a manner never to be forgotten. i speak from the records now. mosche, himself a hebrew, came to the palace, and demanded permission for the slaves, then millions in number, to leave the country. the demand was in the name of the lord god of israel. pharaoh refused. hear what followed. first, all the water, that in the lakes and rivers, like that in the wells and vessels, turned to blood. yet the monarch refused. then frogs came up and covered all the land. still he was firm. then mosche threw ashes in the air, and a plague attacked the egyptians. next, all the cattle, except of the hebrews, were struck dead. locusts devoured the green things of the valley. at noon the day was turned into a darkness so thick that lamps would not burn. finally, in the night all the first-born of the egyptians died; not even pharaoh's escaped. then he yielded. but when the hebrews were gone he followed them with his army. at the last moment the sea was divided, so that the fugitives passed it dry-shod. when the pursuers drove in after them, the waves rushed back and drowned horse, foot, charioteers, and king. you spoke of revelation, my gaspar--" the blue eyes of the greek sparkled. "i had the story from the jew," he cried. "you confirm it, o balthasar!" "yes, but through me egypt speaks, not mosche. i interpret the marbles. the priests of that time wrote in their way what they witnessed, and the revelation has lived. so i come to the one unrecorded secret. in my country, brethren, we have, from the day of the unfortunate pharaoh, always had two religions--one private, the other public; one of many gods, practised by the people; the other of one god, cherished only by the priesthood. rejoice with me, o brothers! all the trampling by the many nations, all the harrowing by kings, all the inventions of enemies, all the changes of time, have been in vain. like a seed under the mountains waiting its hour, the glorious truth has lived; and this--this is its day!" the wasted frame of the hindoo trembled with delight, and the greek cried aloud, "it seems to me the very desert is singing." from a gurglet of water near-by the egyptian took a draught, and proceeded: "i was born at alexandria, a prince and a priest, and had the education usual to my class. but very early i became discontented. part of the faith imposed was that after death upon the destruction of the body, the soul at once began its former progression from the lowest up to humanity, the highest and last existence; and that without reference to conduct in the mortal life. when i heard of the persian's realm of light, his paradise across the bridge chinevat, where only the good go, the thought haunted me; insomuch that in the day, as in the night, i brooded over the comparative ideas eternal transmigration and eternal life in heaven. if, as my teacher taught, god was just, why was there no distinction between the good and the bad? at length it became clear to me, a certainty, a corollary of the law to which i reduced pure religion, that death was only the point of separation at which the wicked are left or lost, and the faithful rise to a higher life; not the nirvana of buddha, or the negative rest of brahma, o melchior; nor the better condition in hell, which is all of heaven allowed by the olympic faith, o gaspar; but life--life active, joyous, everlasting--life with god! the discovery led to another inquiry. why should the truth be longer kept a secret for the selfish solace of the priesthood? the reason for the suppression was gone. philosophy had at least brought us toleration. in egypt we had rome instead of rameses. one day, in the brucheium, the most splendid and crowded quarter of alexandria, i arose and preached. the east and west contributed to my audience. students going to the library, priests from the serapeion, idlers from the museum, patrons of the race-course, countrymen from the rhacotis--a multitude--stopped to hear me. i preached god, the soul, right and wrong, and heaven, the reward of a virtuous life. you, o melchior, were stoned; my auditors first wondered, then laughed. i tried again; they pelted me with epigrams, covered my god with ridicule, and darkened my heaven with mockery. not to linger needlessly, i fell before them." the hindoo here drew a long sigh, as he said, "the enemy of man is man, my brother." balthasar lapsed into silence. "i gave much thought to finding the cause of my failure, and at last succeeded," he said, upon beginning again. "up the river, a day's journey from the city, there is a village of herdsmen and gardeners. i took a boat and went there. in the evening i called the people together, men and women, the poorest of the poor. i preached to them exactly as i had preached in the brucheium. they did not laugh. next evening i spoke again, and they believed and rejoiced, and carried the news abroad. at the third meeting a society was formed for prayer. i returned to the city then. drifting down the river, under the stars, which never seemed so bright and so near, i evolved this lesson: to begin a reform, go not into the places of the great and rich; go rather to those whose cups of happiness are empty--to the poor and humble. and then i laid a plan and devoted my life. as a first step, i secured my vast property, so that the income would be certain, and always at call for the relief of the suffering. from that day, o brethren, i travelled up and down the nile, in the villages, and to all the tribes, preaching one god, a righteous life, and reward in heaven. i have done good--it does not become me to say how much. i also know that part of the world to be ripe for the reception of him we go to find." a flush suffused the swarthy cheek of the speaker; but he overcame the feeling, and continued: "the years so given, o my brothers, were troubled by one thought--when i was gone, what would become of the cause i had started? was it to end with me? i had dreamed many times of organization as a fitting crown for my work. to hide nothing from you, i had tried to effect it, and failed. brethren, the world is now in the condition that, to restore the old mizraimic faith, the reformer must have a more than human sanction; he must not merely come in god's name, he must have the proofs subject to his word; he must demonstrate all he says, even god. so preoccupied is the mind with myths and systems; so much do false deities crowd every place--earth, air, sky; so have they become of everything a part, that return to the first religion can only be along bloody paths, through fields of persecution; that is to say, the converts must be willing to die rather than recant. and who in this age can carry the faith of men to such a point but god himself? to redeem the race--i do not mean to destroy it--to redeem the race, he must make himself once more manifest; he must come in person." intense emotion seized the three. "are we not going to find him?" exclaimed the greek. "you understand why i failed in the attempt to organize," said the egyptian, when the spell was past. "i had not the sanction. to know that my work must be lost made me intolerably wretched. i believed in prayer, and to make my appeals pure and strong, like you, my brethren, i went out of the beaten ways, i went where man had not been, where only god was. above the fifth cataract, above the meeting of rivers in sennar, up the bahr el abiad, into the far unknown of africa, i went. there, in the morning, a mountain blue as the sky flings a cooling shadow wide over the western desert, and, with its cascades of melted snow, feeds a broad lake nestling at its base on the east. the lake is the mother of the great river. for a year and more the mountain gave me a home. the fruit of the palm fed my body, prayer my spirit. one night i walked in the orchard close by the little sea. 'the world is dying. when wilt thou come? why may i not see the redemption, o god?' so i prayed. the glassy water was sparkling with stars. one of them seemed to leave its place, and rise to the surface, where it became a brilliancy burning to the eyes. then it moved towards me, and stood over my head, apparently in hand's reach. i fell down and hid my face. a voice, not of the earth, said, 'thy good works have conquered. blessed art thou, o son of mizraim! the redemption cometh. with two others, from the remotenesses of the world, thou shalt see the saviour, and testify for him. in the morning arise, and go meet them. and when ye have all come to the holy city of jerusalem, ask of the people, where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are sent to worship him. put all thy trust in the spirit which will guide thee.' "and the light became an inward illumination not to be doubted, and has stayed with me, a governor and a guide. it led me down the river to memphis, where i made ready for the desert. i bought my camel, and came hither without rest, by way of suez and kufileh, and up through the lands of moab and ammon. god is with us, o my brethren!" he paused, and thereupon, with a prompting not their own, they all arose, and looked at each other. "i said there was a purpose in the particularity with which we described our people and their histories," so the egyptian proceeded. "he we go to find was called 'king of the jews;' by that name we are bidden to ask for him. but, now that we have met, and heard from each other, we may know him to be the redeemer, not of the jews alone, but of all the nations of the earth. the patriarch who survived the flood had with him three sons, and their families, by whom the world was repeopled. from the old aryana-vaejo, the well-remembered region of delight in the heart of asia, they parted. india and the far east received the children of the first; the descendant of the youngest, through the north, streamed into europe; those of the second overflowed the deserts about the red sea, passing into africa; and though most of the latter are yet dwellers in shifting tents, some of them became builders along the nile." by a simultaneous impulse the three joined hands. "could anything be more divinely ordered?" balthasar continued. "when we have found the lord, the brothers, and all the generations that have succeeded them, will kneel to him in homage with us. and when we part to go our separate ways, the world will have learned a new lesson--that heaven may be won, not by the sword, not by human wisdom, but by faith, love, and good works." there was silence, broken by sighs and sanctified with tears; for the joy that filled them might not be stayed. it was the unspeakable joy of souls on the shores of the river of life, resting with the redeemed in god's presence. presently their hands fell apart, and together they went out of the tent. the desert was still as the sky. the sun was sinking fast. the camels slept. a little while after, the tent was struck, and, with the remains of the repast, restored to the cot; then the friends mounted, and set out single file, led by the egyptian. their course was due west, into the chilly night. the camels swung forward in steady trot, keeping the line and the intervals so exactly that those following seemed to tread in the tracks of the leader. the riders spoke not once. by-and-by the moon came up. and as the three tall white figures sped, with soundless tread, through the opalescent light, they appeared like specters flying from hateful shadows. suddenly, in the air before them, not farther up than a low hill-top flared a lambent flame; as they looked at it, the apparition contracted into a focus of dazzling lustre. their hearts beat fast; their souls thrilled; and they shouted as with one voice, "the star! the star! god is with us!" chapter vi in an aperture of the western wall of jerusalem hang the "oaken valves" called the bethlehem or joppa gate. the area outside of them is one of the notable places of the city. long before david coveted zion there was a citadel there. when at last the son of jesse ousted the jebusite, and began to build, the site of the citadel became the northwest corner of the new wall, defended by a tower much more imposing than the old one. the location of the gate, however, was not disturbed, for the reasons, most likely, that the roads which met and merged in front of it could not well be transferred to any other point, while the area outside had become a recognized market-place. in solomon's day there was great traffic at the locality, shared in by traders from egypt and the rich dealers from tyre and sidon. nearly three thousand years have passed, and yet a kind of commerce clings to the spot. a pilgrim wanting a pin or a pistol, a cucumber or a camel, a house or a horse, a loan or a lentil, a date or a dragoman, a melon or a man, a dove or a donkey, has only to inquire for the article at the joppa gate. sometimes the scene is quite animated, and then it suggests, what a place the old market must have been in the days of herod the builder! and to that period and that market the reader is now to be transferred. following the hebrew system, the meeting of the wise men described in the preceding chapters took place in the afternoon of the twenty-fifth day of the third month of the year; that is say, on the twenty-fifth day of december. the year was the second of the d olympiad, or the th of rome; the sixty-seventh of herod the great, and the thirty-fifth of his reign; the fourth before the beginning of the christian era. the hours of the day, by judean custom, begin with the sun, the first hour being the first after sunrise; so, to be precise; the market at the joppa gate during the first hour of the day stated was in full session, and very lively. the massive valves had been wide open since dawn. business, always aggressive, had pushed through the arched entrance into a narrow lane and court, which, passing by the walls of the great tower, conducted on into the city. as jerusalem is in the hill country, the morning air on this occasion was not a little crisp. the rays of the sun, with their promise of warmth, lingered provokingly far up on the battlements and turrets of the great piles about, down from which fell the crooning of pigeons and the whir of the flocks coming and going. as a passing acquaintance with the people of the holy city, strangers as well as residents, will be necessary to an understanding of some of the pages which follow, it will be well to stop at the gate and pass the scene in review. better opportunity will not offer to get sight of the populace who will afterwhile go forward in a mood very different from that which now possesses them. the scene is at first one of utter confusion--confusion of action, sounds, colors, and things. it is especially so in the lane and court. the ground there is paved with broad unshaped flags, from which each cry and jar and hoof-stamp arises to swell the medley that rings and roars up between the solid impending walls. a little mixing with the throng, however, a little familiarity with the business going on, will make analysis possible. here stands a donkey, dozing under panniers full of lentils, beans, onions, and cucumbers, brought fresh from the gardens and terraces of galilee. when not engaged in serving customers, the master, in a voice which only the initiated can understand, cries his stock. nothing can be simpler than his costume--sandals, and an unbleached, undyed blanket, crossed over one shoulder and girt round the waist. near-by, and far more imposing and grotesque, though scarcely as patient as the donkey, kneels a camel, raw-boned, rough, and gray, with long shaggy tufts of fox-colored hair under its throat, neck, and body, and a load of boxes and baskets curiously arranged upon an enormous saddle. the owner is an egyptian, small, lithe, and of a complexion which has borrowed a good deal from the dust of the roads and the sands of the desert. he wears a faded tarbooshe, a loose gown, sleeveless, unbelted, and dropping from the neck to the knee. his feet are bare. the camel, restless under the load, groans and occasionally shows his teeth; but the man paces indifferently to and fro, holding the driving-strap, and all the time advertising his fruits fresh from the orchards of the kedron--grapes, dates, figs, apples, and pomegranates. at the corner where the lane opens out into the court, some women sit with their backs against the gray stones of the wall. their dress is that common to the humbler classes of the country--a linen frock extending the full length of the person, loosely gathered at the waist, and a veil or wimple broad enough, after covering the head, to wrap the shoulders. their merchandise is contained in a number of earthen jars, such as are still used in the east for bringing water from the wells, and some leathern bottles. among the jars and bottles, rolling upon the stony floor, regardless of the crowd and cold, often in danger but never hurt, play half a dozen half-naked children, their brown bodies, jetty eyes, and thick black hair attesting the blood of israel. sometimes, from under the wimples, the mothers look up, and in the vernacular modestly bespeak their trade: in the bottles "honey of grapes," in the jars "strong drink." their entreaties are usually lost in the general uproar, and they fare illy against the many competitors: brawny fellows with bare legs, dirty tunics, and long beards, going about with bottles lashed to their backs, and shouting "honey of wine! grapes of en-gedi!" when a customer halts one of them, round comes the bottle, and, upon lifting the thumb from the nozzle, out into the ready cup gushes the deep-red blood of the luscious berry. scarcely less blatant are the dealers in birds--doves, ducks, and frequently the singing bulbul, or nightingale, most frequently pigeons; and buyers, receiving them from the nets, seldom fail to think of the perilous life of the catchers, bold climbers of the cliffs; now hanging with hand and foot to the face of the crag, now swinging in a basket far down the mountain fissure. blent with peddlers of jewelry--sharp men cloaked in scarlet and blue, top-heavy under prodigious white turbans, and fully conscious of the power there is in the lustre of a ribbon and the incisive gleam of gold, whether in bracelet or necklace, or in rings for the finger or the nose--and with peddlers of household utensils, and with dealers in wearing-apparel, and with retailers of unguents for anointing the person, and with hucksters of all articles, fanciful as well as of need, hither and thither, tugging at halters and ropes, now screaming, now coaxing, toil the venders of animals--donkeys, horses, calves, sheep, bleating kids, and awkward camels; animals of every kind except the outlawed swine. all these are there; not singly, as described, but many times repeated; not in one place, but everywhere in the market. turning from this scene in the lane and court, this glance at the sellers and their commodities, the reader has need to give attention, in the next place, to visitors and buyers, for which the best studies will be found outside the gates, where the spectacle is quite as varied and animated; indeed, it may be more so, for there are superadded the effects of tent, booth, and sook, greater space, larger crowd, more unqualified freedom, and the glory of the eastern sunshine. chapter vii let us take our stand by the gate, just out of the edge of the currents--one flowing in, the other out--and use our eyes and ears awhile. in good time! here come two men of a most noteworthy class. "gods! how cold it is!" says one of them, a powerful figure in armor; on his head a brazen helmet, on his body a shining breastplate and skirts of mail. "how cold it is! dost thou remember, my caius, that vault in the comitium at home which the flamens say is the entrance to the lower world? by pluto! i could stand there this morning, long enough at least to get warm again!" the party addressed drops the hood of his military cloak, leaving bare his head and face, and replies, with an ironic smile, "the helmets of the legions which conquered mark antony were full of gallic snow; but thou--ah, my poor friend!--thou hast just come from egypt, bringing its summer in thy blood." and with the last word they disappear through the entrance. though they had been silent, the armor and the sturdy step would have published them roman soldiers. from the throng a jew comes next, meager of frame, round-shouldered, and wearing a coarse brown robe; over his eyes and face, and down his back, hangs a mat of long, uncombed hair. he is alone. those who meet him laugh, if they do not worse; for he is a nazarite, one of a despised sect which rejects the books of moses, devotes itself to abhorred vows, and goes unshorn while the vows endure. as we watch his retiring figure, suddenly there is a commotion in the crowd, a parting quickly to the right and left, with exclamations sharp and decisive. then the cause comes--a man, hebrew in feature and dress. the mantle of snow-white linen, held to his head by cords of yellow silk, flows free over his shoulders; his robe is richly embroidered, a red sash with fringes of gold wraps his waist several times. his demeanor is calm; he even smiles upon those who, with such rude haste, make room for him. a leper? no, he is only a samaritan. the shrinking crowd, if asked, would say he is a mongrel--an assyrian--whose touch of the robe is pollution; from whom, consequently, an israelite, though dying, might not accept life. in fact, the feud is not of blood. when david set his throne here on mount zion, with only judah to support him, the ten tribes betook themselves to shechem, a city much older, and, at that date, infinitely richer in holy memories. the final union of the tribes did not settle the dispute thus begun. the samaritans clung to their tabernacle on gerizim, and, while maintaining its superior sanctity, laughed at the irate doctors in jerusalem. time brought no assuagement of the hate. under herod, conversion to the faith was open to all the world except the samaritans; they alone were absolutely and forever shut out from communion with jews. as the samaritan goes in under the arch of the gate, out come three men so unlike all whom we have yet seen that they fix our gaze, whether we will or not. they are of unusual stature and immense brawn; their eyes are blue, and so fair is their complexion that the blood shines through the skin like blue pencilling; their hair is light and short; their heads, small and round, rest squarely upon necks columnar as the trunks of trees. woollen tunics, open at the breast, sleeveless and loosely girt, drape their bodies, leaving bare arms and legs of such development that they at once suggest the arena; and when thereto we add their careless, confident, insolent manner, we cease to wonder that the people give them way, and stop after they have passed to look at them again. they are gladiators--wrestlers, runners, boxers, swordsmen; professionals unknown in judea before the coming of the roman; fellows who, what time they are not in training, may be seen strolling through the king's gardens or sitting with the guards at the palace gates; or possibly they are visitors from caesarea, sebaste, or jericho; in which herod, more greek than jew, and with all a roman's love of games and bloody spectacles, has built vast theaters, and now keeps schools of fighting-men, drawn, as is the custom, from the gallic provinces or the slavic tribes on the danube. "by bacchus!" says one of them, drawing his clenched hand to his shoulder, "their skulls are not thicker than eggshells." the brutal look which goes with the gesture disgusts us, and we turn happily to something more pleasant. opposite us is a fruit-stand. the proprietor has a bald head, a long face, and a nose like the beak of a hawk. he sits upon a carpet spread upon the dust; the wall is at his back; overhead hangs a scant curtain, around him, within hand's reach and arranged upon little stools, lie osier boxes full of almonds, grapes, figs, and pomegranates. to him now comes one at whom we cannot help looking, though for another reason than that which fixed our eyes upon the gladiators; he is really beautiful--a beautiful greek. around his temples, holding the waving hair, is a crown of myrtle, to which still cling the pale flowers and half ripe berries. his tunic, scarlet in color, is of the softest woollen fabric; below the girdle of buff leather, which is clasped in front by a fantastic device of shining gold, the skirt drops to the knee in folds heavy with embroidery of the same royal metal; a scarf, also woollen, and of mixed white and yellow, crosses his throat and falls trailing at his back; his arms and legs, where exposed, are white as ivory, and of the polish impossible except by perfect treatment with bath, oil, brushes, and pincers. the dealer, keeping his seat, bends forward, and throws his hands up until they meet in front of him, palm downwards and fingers extended. "what hast thou, this morning, o son of paphos?" says the young greek, looking at the boxes rather than at the cypriote. "i am hungry. what hast thou for breakfast?" "fruits from the pedius--genuine--such as the singers of antioch take of mornings to restore the waste of their voices," the dealer answers, in a querulous nasal tone. "a fig, but not one of thy best, for the singers of antioch!" says the greek. "thou art a worshiper of aphrodite, and so am i, as the myrtle i wear proves; therefore i tell thee their voices have the chill of a caspian wind. seest thou this girdle?--a gift of the mighty salome--" "the king's sister!" exclaims the cypriote, with another salaam. "and of royal taste and divine judgment. and why not? she is more greek than the king. but--my breakfast! here is thy money--red coppers of cyprus. give me grapes, and--" "wilt thou not take the dates also?" "no, i am not an arab." "nor figs?" "that would be to make me a jew. no, nothing but the grapes. never waters mixed so sweetly as the blood of the greek and the blood of the grape." the singer in the grimed and seething market, with all his airs of the court, is a vision not easily shut out of mind by such as see him; as if for the purpose, however, a person follows him challenging all our wonder. he comes up the road slowly, his face towards the ground; at intervals he stops, crosses his hands upon his breast, lengthens his countenance, and turns his eyes towards heaven, as if about to break into prayer. nowhere, except in jerusalem, can such a character be found. on his forehead, attached to the band which keeps the mantle in place, projects a leathern case, square in form; another similar case is tied by a thong to the left arm; the borders of his robe are decorated with deep fringe; and by such signs--the phylacteries, the enlarged borders of the garment, and the savor of intense holiness pervading the whole man--we know him to be a pharisee, one of an organization (in religion a sect, in politics a party) whose bigotry and power will shortly bring the world to grief. the densest of the throng outside the gate covers the road leading off to joppa. turning from the pharisee, we are attracted by some parties who, as subjects of study, opportunely separate themselves from the motley crowd. first among them a man of very noble appearance--clear, healthful complexion; bright black eyes; beard long and flowing, and rich with unguents; apparel well-fitting, costly, and suitable for the season. he carries a staff, and wears, suspended by a cord from his neck, a large golden seal. several servants attend him, some of them with short swords stuck through their sashes; when they address him, it is with the utmost deference. the rest of the party consists of two arabs of the pure desert stock; thin, wiry men, deeply bronzed, and with hollow cheeks, and eyes of almost evil brightness; on their heads red tarbooshes; over their abas, and wrapping the left shoulder and the body so as to leave the right arm free, brown woollen haicks, or blankets. there is loud chaffering, for the arabs are leading horses and trying to sell them; and, in their eagerness, they speak in high, shrill voices. the courtly person leaves the talking mostly to his servants; occasionally he answers with much dignity; directly, seeing the cypriote, he stops and buys some figs. and when the whole party has passed the portal, close after the pharisee, if we betake ourselves to the dealer in fruits, he will tell, with a wonderful salaam, that the stranger is a jew, one of the princes of the city, who has travelled, and learned the difference between the common grapes of syria and those of cyprus, so surpassingly rich with the dews of the sea. and so, till towards noon, sometimes later, the steady currents of business habitually flow in and out of the joppa gate, carrying with them every variety of character; including representatives of all the tribes of israel, all the sects among whom the ancient faith has been parcelled and refined away, all the religious and social divisions, all the adventurous rabble who, as children of art and ministers of pleasure, riot in the prodigalities of herod, and all the peoples of note at any time compassed by the caesars and their predecessors, especially those dwelling within the circuit of the mediterranean. in other words, jerusalem, rich in sacred history, richer in connection with sacred prophecies--the jerusalem of solomon, in which silver was as stones, and cedars as the sycamores of the vale--had come to be but a copy of rome, a center of unholy practises, a seat of pagan power. a jewish king one day put on priestly garments, and went into the holy of holies of the first temple to offer incense, and he came out a leper; but in the time of which we are reading, pompey entered herod's temple and the same holy of holies, and came out without harm, finding but an empty chamber, and of god not a sign. chapter viii the reader is now besought to return to the court described as part of the market at the joppa gate. it was the third hour of the day, and many of the people had gone away; yet the press continued without apparent abatement. of the new-comers, there was a group over by the south wall, consisting of a man, a woman, and a donkey, which requires extended notice. the man stood by the animal's head, holding a leading-strap, and leaning upon a stick which seemed to have been chosen for the double purpose of goad and staff. his dress was like that of the ordinary jews around him, except that it had an appearance of newness. the mantle dropping from his head, and the robe or frock which clothed his person from neck to heel, were probably the garments he was accustomed to wear to the synagogue on sabbath days. his features were exposed, and they told of fifty years of life, a surmise confirmed by the gray that streaked his otherwise black beard. he looked around him with the half-curious, half-vacant stare of a stranger and provincial. the donkey ate leisurely from an armful of green grass, of which there was an abundance in the market. in its sleepy content, the brute did not admit of disturbance from the bustle and clamor about; no more was it mindful of the woman sitting upon its back in a cushioned pillion. an outer robe of dull woollen stuff completely covered her person, while a white wimple veiled her head and neck. once in a while, impelled by curiosity to see or hear something passing, she drew the wimple aside, but so slightly that the face remained invisible. at length the man was accosted. "are you not joseph of nazareth?" the speaker was standing close by. "i am so called," answered joseph, turning gravely around; "and you--ah, peace be unto you! my friend, rabbi samuel!" "the same give i back to you." the rabbi paused, looking at the woman, then added, "to you, and unto your house and all your helpers, be peace." with the last word, he placed one hand upon his breast, and inclined his head to the woman, who, to see him, had by this time withdrawn the wimple enough to show the face of one but a short time out of girlhood. thereupon the acquaintances grasped right hands, as if to carry them to their lips; at the last moment, however, the clasp was let go, and each kissed his own hand, then put its palm upon his forehead. "there is so little dust upon your garments," the rabbi said, familiarly, "that i infer you passed the night in this city of our fathers." "no," joseph replied, "as we could only make bethany before the night came, we stayed in the khan there, and took the road again at daybreak." "the journey before you is long, then--not to joppa, i hope." "only to bethlehem." the countenance of the rabbi, theretofore open and friendly, became lowering and sinister, and he cleared his throat with a growl instead of a cough. "yes, yes--i see," he said. "you were born in bethlehem, and wend thither now, with your daughter, to be counted for taxation, as ordered by caesar. the children of jacob are as the tribes in egypt were--only they have neither a moses nor a joshua. how are the mighty fallen!" joseph answered, without change of posture or countenance, "the woman is not my daughter." but the rabbi clung to the political idea; and he went on, without noticing the explanation, "what are the zealots doing down in galilee?" "i am a carpenter, and nazareth is a village," said joseph, cautiously. "the street on which my bench stands is not a road leading to any city. hewing wood and sawing plank leave me no time to take part in the disputes of parties." "but you are a jew," said the rabbi, earnestly. "you are a jew, and of the line of david. it is not possible you can find pleasure in the payment of any tax except the shekel given by ancient custom to jehovah." joseph held his peace. "i do not complain," his friend continued, "of the amount of the tax--a denarius is a trifle. oh no! the imposition of the tax is the offense. and, besides, what is paying it but submission to tyranny? tell me, is it true that judas claims to be the messiah? you live in the midst of his followers." "i have heard his followers say he was the messiah," joseph replied. at this point the wimple was drawn aside, and for an instant the whole face of the woman was exposed. the eyes of the rabbi wandered that way, and he had time to see a countenance of rare beauty, kindled by a look of intense interest; then a blush overspread her cheeks and brow, and the veil was returned to its place. the politician forgot his subject. "your daughter is comely," he said, speaking lower. "she is not my daughter," joseph repeated. the curiosity of the rabbi was aroused; seeing which, the nazarene hastened to say further, "she is the child of joachim and anna of bethlehem, of whom you have at least heard, for they were of great repute--" "yes," remarked the rabbi, deferentially, "i know them. they were lineally descended from david. i knew them well." "well, they are dead now," the nazarene proceeded. "they died in nazareth. joachim was not rich, yet he left a house and garden to be divided between his daughters marian and mary. this is one of them; and to save her portion of the property, the law required her to marry her next of kin. she is now my wife." "and you were--" "her uncle." "yes, yes! and as you were both born in bethlehem, the roman compels you to take her there with you to be also counted." the rabbi clasped his hands, and looked indignantly to heaven, exclaiming, "the god of israel still lives! the vengeance is his!" with that he turned and abruptly departed. a stranger near by, observing joseph's amazement, said, quietly, "rabbi samuel is a zealot. judas himself is not more fierce." joseph, not wishing to talk with the man, appeared not to hear, and busied himself gathering in a little heap the grass which the donkey had tossed abroad; after which he leaned upon his staff again, and waited. in another hour the party passed out the gate, and, turning to the left, took the road into bethlehem. the descent into the valley of hinnom was quite broken, garnished here and there with straggling wild olive-trees. carefully, tenderly, the nazarene walked by the woman's side, leading-strap in hand. on their left, reaching to the south and east round mount zion, rose the city wall, and on their right the steep prominences which form the western boundary of the valley. slowly they passed the lower pool of gihon, out of which the sun was fast driving the lessening shadow of the royal hill; slowly they proceeded, keeping parallel with the aqueduct from the pools of solomon, until near the site of the country-house on what is now called the hill of evil counsel; there they began to ascend to the plain of rephaim. the sun streamed garishly over the stony face of the famous locality, and under its influence mary, the daughter of joachim, dropped the wimple entirely, and bared her head. joseph told the story of the philistines surprised in their camp there by david. he was tedious in the narrative, speaking with the solemn countenance and lifeless manner of a dull man. she did not always hear him. wherever on the land men go, and on the sea ships, the face and figure of the jew are familiar. the physical type of the race has always been the same; yet there have been some individual variations. "now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to." such was the son of jesse when brought before samuel. the fancies of men have been ever since ruled by the description. poetic license has extended the peculiarities of the ancestor to his notable descendants. so all our ideal solomons have fair faces, and hair and beard chestnut in the shade, and of the tint of gold in the sun. such, we are also made believe, were the locks of absalom the beloved. and, in the absence of authentic history, tradition has dealt no less lovingly by her whom we are now following down to the native city of the ruddy king. she was not more than fifteen. her form, voice, and manner belonged to the period of transition from girlhood. her face was perfectly oval, her complexion more pale than fair. the nose was faultless; the lips, slightly parted, were full and ripe, giving to the lines of the mouth warmth, tenderness, and trust; the eyes were blue and large, and shaded by drooping lids and long lashes; and, in harmony with all, a flood of golden hair, in the style permitted to jewish brides, fell unconfined down her back to the pillion on which she sat. the throat and neck had the downy softness sometimes seen which leaves the artist in doubt whether it is an effect of contour or color. to these charms of feature and person were added others more indefinable--an air of purity which only the soul can impart, and of abstraction natural to such as think much of things impalpable. often, with trembling lips, she raised her eyes to heaven, itself not more deeply blue; often she crossed her hands upon her breast, as in adoration and prayer; often she raised her head like one listening eagerly for a calling voice. now and then, midst his slow utterances, joseph turned to look at her, and, catching the expression kindling her face as with light, forgot his theme, and with bowed head, wondering, plodded on. so they skirted the great plain, and at length reached the elevation mar elias; from which, across a valley, they beheld bethlehem, the old, old house of bread, its white walls crowning a ridge, and shining above the brown scumbling of leafless orchards. they paused there, and rested, while joseph pointed out the places of sacred renown; then they went down into the valley to the well which was the scene of one of the marvellous exploits of david's strong men. the narrow space was crowded with people and animals. a fear came upon joseph--a fear lest, if the town were so thronged, there might not be house-room for the gentle mary. without delay, he hurried on, past the pillar of stone marking the tomb of rachel, up the gardened slope, saluting none of the many persons he met on the way, until he stopped before the portal of the khan that then stood outside the village gates, near a junction of roads. chapter ix to understand thoroughly what happened to the nazarene at the khan, the reader must be reminded that eastern inns were different from the inns of the western world. they were called khans, from the persian, and, in simplest form, were fenced enclosures, without house or shed, often without a gate or entrance. their sites were chosen with reference to shade, defence, or water. such were the inns that sheltered jacob when he went to seek a wife in padan-aram. their like may been seen at this day in the stopping-places of the desert. on the other hand, some of them, especially those on the roads between great cities, like jerusalem and alexandria, were princely establishments, monuments to the piety of the kings who built them. in ordinary, however, they were no more than the house or possession of a sheik, in which, as in headquarters, he swayed his tribe. lodging the traveller was the least of their uses; they were markets, factories, forts; places of assemblage and residence for merchants and artisans quite as much as places of shelter for belated and wandering wayfarers. within their walls, all the year round, occurred the multiplied daily transactions of a town. the singular management of these hostelries was the feature likely to strike a western mind with most force. there was no host or hostess; no clerk, cook, or kitchen; a steward at the gate was all the assertion of government or proprietorship anywhere visible. strangers arriving stayed at will without rendering account. a consequence of the system was that whoever came had to bring his food and culinary outfit with him, or buy them of dealers in the khan. the same rule held good as to his bed and bedding, and forage for his beasts. water, rest, shelter, and protection were all he looked for from the proprietor, and they were gratuities. the peace of synagogues was sometimes broken by brawling disputants, but that of the khans never. the houses and all their appurtenances were sacred: a well was not more so. the khan at bethlehem, before which joseph and his wife stopped, was a good specimen of its class, being neither very primitive nor very princely. the building was purely oriental; that is to say, a quadrangular block of rough stones, one story high, flat-roofed, externally unbroken by a window, and with but one principal entrance--a doorway, which was also a gateway, on the eastern side, or front. the road ran by the door so near that the chalk dust half covered the lintel. a fence of flat rocks, beginning at the northeastern corner of the pile, extended many yards down the slope to a point from whence it swept westwardly to a limestone bluff; making what was in the highest degree essential to a respectable khan--a safe enclosure for animals. in a village like bethlehem, as there was but one sheik, there could not well be more than one khan; and, though born in the place, the nazarene, from long residence elsewhere, had no claim to hospitality in the town. moreover, the enumeration for which he was coming might be the work of weeks or months; roman deputies in the provinces were proverbially slow; and to impose himself and wife for a period so uncertain upon acquaintances or relations was out of the question. so, before he drew nigh the great house, while he was yet climbing the slope, in the steep places toiling to hasten the donkey, the fear that he might not find accommodations in the khan became a painful anxiety; for he found the road thronged with men and boys who, with great ado, were taking their cattle, horses, and camels to and from the valley, some to water, some to the neighboring caves. and when he was come close by, his alarm was not allayed by the discovery of a crowd investing the door of the establishment, while the enclosure adjoining, broad as it was, seemed already full. "we cannot reach the door," joseph said, in his slow way. "let us stop here, and learn, if we can, what has happened." the wife, without answering, quietly drew the wimple aside. the look of fatigue at first upon her face changed to one of interest. she found herself at the edge of an assemblage that could not be other than a matter of curiosity to her, although it was common enough at the khans on any of the highways which the great caravans were accustomed to traverse. there were men on foot, running hither and thither, talking shrilly and in all the tongues of syria; men on horseback screaming to men on camels; men struggling doubtfully with fractious cows and frightened sheep; men peddling bread and wine; and among the mass a herd of boys apparently in chase of a herd of dogs. everybody and everything seemed to be in motion at the same time. possibly the fair spectator was too weary to be long attracted by the scene; in a little while she sighed, and settled down on the pillion, and, as if in search of peace and rest, or in expectation of some one, looked off to the south, and up to the tall cliffs of the mount of paradise, then faintly reddening under the setting sun. while she was thus looking, a man pushed his way out of the press, and, stopping close by the donkey, faced about with an angry brow. the nazarene spoke to him. "as i am what i take you to be, good friend--a son of judah--may i ask the cause of this multitude?" the stranger turned fiercely; but, seeing the solemn countenance of joseph, so in keeping with his deep, slow voice and speech, he raised his hand in half-salutation, and replied, "peace be to you, rabbi! i am a son of judah, and will answer you. i dwell in beth-dagon, which, you know, is in what used to be the land of the tribe of dan." "on the road to joppa from modin," said joseph. "ah, you have been in beth-dagon," the man said, his face softening yet more. "what wanderers we of judah are! i have been away from the ridge--old ephrath, as our father jacob called it--for many years. when the proclamation went abroad requiring all hebrews to be numbered at the cities of their birth-- that is my business here, rabbi." joseph's face remained stolid as a mask, while he remarked, "i have come for that also--i and my wife." the stranger glanced at mary and kept silence. she was looking up at the bald top of gedor. the sun touched her upturned face, and filled the violet depths of her eyes, and upon her parted lips trembled an aspiration which could not have been to a mortal. for the moment, all the humanity of her beauty seemed refined away: she was as we fancy they are who sit close by the gate in the transfiguring light of heaven. the beth-dagonite saw the original of what, centuries after, came as a vision of genius to sanzio the divine, and left him immortal. "of what was i speaking? ah! i remember. i was about to say that when i heard of the order to come here, i was angry. then i thought of the old hill, and the town, and the valley falling away into the depths of cedron; of the vines and orchards, and fields of grain, unfailing since the days of boaz and ruth, of the familiar mountains--gedor here, gibeah yonder, mar elias there--which, when i was a boy, were the walls of the world to me; and i forgave the tyrants and came--i, and rachel, my wife, and deborah and michal, our roses of sharon." the man paused again, looking abruptly at mary, who was now looking at him and listening. then he said, "rabbi, will not your wife go to mine? you may see her yonder with the children, under the leaning olive-tree at the bend of the road. i tell you"--he turned to joseph and spoke positively--"i tell you the khan is full. it is useless to ask at the gate." joseph's will was slow, like his mind; he hesitated, but at length replied, "the offer is kind. whether there be room for us or not in the house, we will go see your people. let me speak to the gate-keeper myself. i will return quickly." and, putting the leading-strap in the stranger's hand, he pushed into the stirring crowd. the keeper sat on a great cedar block outside the gate. against the wall behind him leaned a javelin. a dog squatted on the block by his side. "the peace of jehovah be with you," said joseph, at last confronting the keeper. "what you give, may you find again; and, when found, be it many times multiplied to you and yours," returned the watchman, gravely, though without moving. "i am a bethlehemite," said joseph, in his most deliberate way. "is there not room for--" "there is not." "you may have heard of me--joseph of nazareth. this is the house of my fathers. i am of the line of david." these words held the nazarene's hope. if they failed him, further appeal was idle, even that of the offer of many shekels. to be a son of judah was one thing--in the tribal opinion a great thing; to be of the house of david was yet another; on the tongue of a hebrew there could be no higher boast. a thousand years and more had passed since the boyish shepherd became the successor of saul and founded a royal family. wars, calamities, other kings, and the countless obscuring processes of time had, as respects fortune, lowered his descendants to the common jewish level; the bread they ate came to them of toil never more humble; yet they had the benefit of history sacredly kept, of which genealogy was the first chapter and the last; they could not become unknown, while, wherever they went in israel, acquaintance drew after it a respect amounting to reverence. if this were so in jerusalem and elsewhere, certainly one of the sacred line might reasonably rely upon it at the door of the khan of bethlehem. to say, as joseph said, "this is the house of my fathers," was to say the truth most simply and literally; for it was the very house ruth ruled as the wife of boaz, the very house in which jesse and his ten sons, david the youngest, were born, the very house in which samuel came seeking a king, and found him; the very house which david gave to the son of barzillai, the friendly gileadite; the very house in which jeremiah, by prayer, rescued the remnant of his race flying before the babylonians. the appeal was not without effect. the keeper of the gate slid down from the cedar block, and, laying his hand upon his beard, said, respectfully, "rabbi, i cannot tell you when this door first opened in welcome to the traveller, but it was more than a thousand years ago; and in all that time there is no known instance of a good man turned away, save when there was no room to rest him in. if it has been so with the stranger, just cause must the steward have who says no to one of the line of david. wherefore, i salute you again; and, if you care to go with me, i will show you that there is not a lodging-place left in the house; neither in the chambers, nor in the lewens, nor in the court--not even on the roof. may i ask when you came?" "but now." the keeper smiled. "'the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself.' is not that the law, rabbi?" joseph was silent. "if it be the law, can i say to one a long time come, 'go thy way; another is here to take thy place?'" yet joseph held his peace. "and, if i said so, to whom would the place belong? see the many that have been waiting, some of them since noon." "who are all these people?" asked joseph, turning to the crowd. "and why are they here at this time?" "that which doubtless brought you, rabbi--the decree of the caesar"--the keeper threw an interrogative glance at the nazarene, then continued--"brought most of those who have lodging in the house. and yesterday the caravan passing from damascus to arabia and lower egypt arrived. these you see here belong to it--men and camels." still joseph persisted. "the court is large," he said. "yes, but it is heaped with cargoes--with bales of silk, and pockets of spices, and goods of every kind." then for a moment the face of the applicant lost its stolidity; the lustreless, staring eyes dropped. with some warmth he next said, "i do not care for myself, but i have with me my wife, and the night is cold--colder on these heights than in nazareth. she cannot live in the open air. is there not room in the town?" "these people"--the keeper waved his hand to the throng before the door--"have all besought the town, and they report its accommodations all engaged." again joseph studied the ground, saying, half to himself, "she is so young! if i make her bed on the hill, the frosts will kill her." then he spoke to the keeper again. "it may be you knew her parents, joachim and anna, once of bethlehem, and, like myself, of the line of david." "yes, i knew them. they were good people. that was in my youth." this time the keeper's eyes sought the ground in thought. suddenly he raised his head. "if i cannot make room for you," he said, "i cannot turn you away. rabbi, i will do the best i can for you. how many are of your party?" joseph reflected, then replied, "my wife and a friend with his family, from beth-dagon, a little town over by joppa; in all, six of us." "very well. you shall not lie out on the ridge. bring your people, and hasten; for, when the sun goes down behind the mountain, you know the night comes quickly, and it is nearly there now." "i give you the blessing of the houseless traveller; that of the sojourner will follow." so saying, the nazarene went back joyfully to mary and the beth-dagonite. in a little while the latter brought up his family, the women mounted on donkeys. the wife was matronly, the daughters were images of what she must have been in youth; and as they drew nigh the door, the keeper knew them to be of the humble class. "this is she of whom i spoke," said the nazarene; "and these are our friends." mary's veil was raised. "blue eyes and hair of gold," muttered the steward to himself, seeing but her. "so looked the young king when he went to sing before saul." then he took the leading-strap from joseph, and said to mary, "peace to you, o daughter of david!" then to the others, "peace to you all!" then to joseph, "rabbi, follow me." the party were conducted into a wide passage paved with stone, from which they entered the court of the khan. to a stranger the scene would have been curious; but they noticed the lewens that yawned darkly upon them from all sides, and the court itself, only to remark how crowded they were. by a lane reserved in the stowage of the cargoes, and thence by a passage similar to the one at the entrance, they emerged into the enclosure adjoining the house, and came upon camels, horses, and donkeys, tethered and dozing in close groups; among them were the keepers, men of many lands; and they, too, slept or kept silent watch. they went down the slope of the crowded yard slowly, for the dull carriers of the women had wills of their own. at length they turned into a path running towards the gray limestone bluff overlooking the khan on the west. "we are going to the cave," said joseph, laconically. the guide lingered till mary came to his side. "the cave to which we are going," he said to her, "must have been a resort of your ancestor david. from the field below us, and from the well down in the valley, he used to drive his flocks to it for safety; and afterwards, when he was king, he came back to the old house here for rest and health, bringing great trains of animals. the mangers yet remain as they were in his day. better a bed on the floor where he has slept than one in the court-yard or out by the roadside. ah, here is the house before the cave!" this speech must not be taken as an apology for the lodging offered. there was no need of apology. the place was the best then at disposal. the guests were simple folks, by habits of life easily satisfied. to the jew of that period, moreover, abode in caverns was a familiar idea, made so by every-day occurrences, and by what he heard of sabbaths in the synagogues. how much of jewish history, how many of the many exciting incidents in that history, had transpired in caves! yet further, these people were jews of bethlehem, with whom the idea was especially commonplace; for their locality abounded with caves great and small, some of which had been dwelling-places from the time of the emim and horites. no more was there offence to them in the fact that the cavern to which they were being taken had been, or was, a stable. they were the descendants of a race of herdsmen, whose flocks habitually shared both their habitations and wanderings. in keeping with a custom derived from abraham, the tent of the bedawin yet shelters his horses and children alike. so they obeyed the keeper cheerfully, and gazed at the house, feeling only a natural curiosity. everything associated with the history of david was interesting to them. the building was low and narrow, projecting but a little from the rock to which it was joined at the rear, and wholly without a window. in its blank front there was a door, swung on enormous hinges, and thickly daubed with ochreous clay. while the wooden bolt of the lock was being pushed back, the women were assisted from their pillions. upon the opening of the door, the keeper called out, "come in!" the guests entered, and stared about them. it became apparent immediately that the house was but a mask or covering for the mouth of a natural cave or grotto, probably forty feet long, nine or ten high, and twelve or fifteen in width. the light streamed through the doorway, over an uneven floor, falling upon piles of grain and fodder, and earthenware and household property, occupying the centre of the chamber. along the sides were mangers, low enough for sheep, and built of stones laid in cement. there were no stalls or partitions of any kind. dust and chaff yellowed the floor, filled all the crevices and hollows, and thickened the spider-webs, which dropped from the ceiling like bits of dirty linen; otherwise the place was cleanly, and, to appearance, as comfortable as any of the arched lewens of the khan proper. in fact, a cave was the model and first suggestion of the lewen. "come in!" said the guide. "these piles upon the floor are for travellers like yourselves. take what of them you need." then he spoke to mary. "can you rest here?" "the place is sanctified," she answered. "i leave you then. peace be with you all!" when he was gone, they busied themselves making the cave habitable. chapter x. at a certain hour in the evening the shouting and stir of the people in and about the khan ceased; at the same time, every israelite, if not already upon his feet, arose, solemnized his face, looked towards jerusalem, crossed his hands upon his breast, and prayed; for it was the sacred ninth hour, when sacrifices were offered in the temple on moriah, and god was supposed to be there. when the hands of the worshippers fell down, the commotion broke forth again; everybody hastened to bread, or to make his pallet. a little later, the lights were put out, and there was silence, and then sleep. * * * * * * about midnight some one on the roof cried out, "what light is that in the sky? awake, brethren, awake and see!" the people, half asleep, sat up and looked; then they became wide-awake, though wonder-struck. and the stir spread to the court below, and into the lewens; soon the entire tenantry of the house and court and enclosure were out gazing at the sky. and this was what they saw. a ray of light, beginning at a height immeasurably beyond the nearest stars, and dropping obliquely to the earth; at its top, a diminishing point; at its base, many furlongs in width; its sides blending softly with the darkness of the night, its core a roseate electrical splendor. the apparition seemed to rest on the nearest mountain southeast of the town, making a pale corona along the line of the summit. the khan was touched luminously, so that those upon the roof saw each other's faces, all filled with wonder. steadily, through minutes, the ray lingered, and then the wonder changed to awe and fear; the timid trembled; the boldest spoke in whispers. "saw you ever the like?" asked one. "it seems just over the mountain there. i cannot tell what it is, nor did i ever see anything like it," was the answer. "can it be that a star has burst and fallen?" asked another, his tongue faltering. "when a star falls, its light goes out." "i have it!" cried one, confidently. "the shepherds have seen a lion, and made fires to keep him from the flocks." the men next the speaker drew a breath of relief, and said, "yes, that is it! the flocks were grazing in the valley over there to-day." a bystander dispelled the comfort. "no, no! though all the wood in all the valleys of judah was brought together in one pile and fired, the blaze would not throw a light so strong and high." after that there was silence on the house-top, broken but once again while the mystery continued. "brethren!" exclaimed a jew of venerable mien, "what we see is the ladder our father jacob saw in his dream. blessed be the lord god of our fathers!" chapter xi a mile and a half, it may be two miles, southeast of bethlehem, there is a plain separated from the town by an intervening swell of the mountain. besides being well sheltered from the north winds, the vale was covered with a growth of sycamore, dwarf-oak, and pine trees, while in the glens and ravines adjoining there were thickets of olive and mulberry; all at this season of the year invaluable for the support of sheep, goats, and cattle, of which the wandering flocks consisted. at the side farthest from the town, close under a bluff, there was an extensive marah, or sheepcot, ages old. in some long-forgotten foray, the building had been unroofed and almost demolished. the enclosure attached to it remained intact, however, and that was of more importance to the shepherds who drove their charges thither than the house itself. the stone wall around the lot was high as a man's head, yet not so high but that sometimes a panther or a lion, hungering from the wilderness, leaped boldly in. on the inner side of the wall, and as an additional security against the constant danger, a hedge of the rhamnus had been planted, an invention so successful that now a sparrow could hardly penetrate the overtopping branches, armed as they were with great clusters of thorns hard as spikes. the day of the occurrences which occupy the preceding chapters, a number of shepherds, seeking fresh walks for their flocks, led them up to this plain; and from early morning the groves had been made ring with calls, and the blows of axes, the bleating of sheep and goats, the tinkling of bells, the lowing of cattle, and the barking of dogs. when the sun went down, they led the way to the marah, and by nightfall had everything safe in the field; then they kindled a fire down by the gate, partook of their humble supper, and sat down to rest and talk, leaving one on watch. there were six of these men, omitting the watchman; and afterwhile they assembled in a group near the fire, some sitting, some lying prone. as they went bareheaded habitually, their hair stood out in thick, coarse, sunburnt shocks; their beard covered their throats, and fell in mats down the breast; mantles of the skin of kids and lambs, with the fleece on, wrapped them from neck to knee, leaving the arms exposed; broad belts girthed the rude garments to their waists; their sandals were of the coarsest quality; from their right shoulders hung scrips containing food and selected stones for slings, with which they were armed; on the ground near each one lay his crook, a symbol of his calling and a weapon of offence. such were the shepherds of judea! in appearance, rough and savage as the gaunt dogs sitting with them around the blaze; in fact, simple-minded, tender-hearted; effects due, in part, to the primitive life they led, but chiefly to their constant care of things lovable and helpless. they rested and talked, and their talk was all about their flocks, a dull theme to the world, yet a theme which was all the world to them. if in narrative they dwelt long upon affairs of trifling moment; if one of them omitted nothing of detail in recounting the loss of a lamb, the relation between him and the unfortunate should be remembered: at birth it became his charge, his to keep all its days, to help over the floods, to carry down the hollows, to name and train; it was to be his companion, his object of thought and interest, the subject of his will; it was to enliven and share his wanderings; in its defense he might be called on to face the lion or robber--to die. the great events, such as blotted out nations and changed the mastery of the world, were trifles to them, if perchance they came to their knowledge. of what herod was doing in this city or that, building palaces and gymnasia, and indulging forbidden practises, they occasionally heard. as was her habit in those days, rome did not wait for people slow to inquire about her; she came to them. over the hills along which he was leading his lagging herd, or in the fastnesses in which he was hiding them, not unfrequently the shepherd was startled by the blare of trumpets, and, peering out, beheld a cohort, sometimes a legion, in march; and when the glittering crests were gone, and the excitement incident to the intrusion over, he bent himself to evolve the meaning of the eagles and gilded globes of the soldiery, and the charm of a life so the opposite of his own. yet these men, rude and simple as they were, had a knowledge and a wisdom of their own. on sabbaths they were accustomed to purify themselves, and go up into the synagogues, and sit on the benches farthest from the ark. when the chazzan bore the torah round, none kissed it with greater zest; when the sheliach read the text, none listened to the interpreter with more absolute faith; and none took away with them more of the elder's sermon, or gave it more thought afterwards. in a verse of the shema they found all the learning and all the law of their simple lives--that their lord was one god, and that they must love him with all their souls. and they loved him, and such was their wisdom, surpassing that of kings. while they talked, and before the first watch was over, one by one the shepherds went to sleep, each lying where he had sat. the night, like most nights of the winter season in the hill country, was clear, crisp, and sparkling with stars. there was no wind. the atmosphere seemed never so pure, and the stillness was more than silence; it was a holy hush, a warning that heaven was stooping low to whisper some good thing to the listening earth. by the gate, hugging his mantle close, the watchman walked; at times he stopped, attracted by a stir among the sleeping herds, or by a jackal's cry off on the mountain-side. the midnight was slow coming to him; but at last it came. his task was done; now for the dreamless sleep with which labor blesses its wearied children! he moved towards the fire, but paused; a light was breaking around him, soft and white, like the moon's. he waited breathlessly. the light deepened; things before invisible came to view; he saw the whole field, and all it sheltered. a chill sharper than that of the frosty air--a chill of fear--smote him. he looked up; the stars were gone; the light was dropping as from a window in the sky; as he looked, it became a splendor; then, in terror, he cried, "awake, awake!" up sprang the dogs, and, howling, ran away. the herds rushed together bewildered. the men clambered to their feet, weapons in hand. "what is it?" they asked, in one voice. "see!" cried the watchman, "the sky is on fire!" suddenly the light became intolerably bright, and they covered their eyes, and dropped upon their knees; then, as their souls shrank with fear, they fell upon their faces blind and fainting, and would have died had not a voice said to them, "fear not!" and they listened. "fear not: for behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." the voice, in sweetness and soothing more than human, and low and clear, penetrated all their being, and filled them with assurance. they rose upon their knees, and, looking worshipfully, beheld in the centre of a great glory the appearance of a man, clad in a robe intensely white; above its shoulders towered the tops of wings shining and folded; a star over its forehead glowed with steady lustre, brilliant as hesperus; its hands were stretched towards them in blessing; its face was serene and divinely beautiful. they had often heard, and, in their simple way, talked, of angels; and they doubted not now, but said, in their hearts, the glory of god is about us, and this is he who of old came to the prophet by the river of ulai. directly the angel continued: "for unto you is born this day, in the city of david, a savior, which is christ the lord!" again there was a rest, while the words sank into their minds. "and this shall be a sign unto you," the annunciator said next. "ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger." the herald spoke not again; his good tidings were told; yet he stayed awhile. suddenly the light, of which he seemed the centre, turned roseate and began to tremble; then up, far as the men could see, there was flashing of white wings, and coming and going of radiant forms, and voices as of a multitude chanting in unison, "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!" not once the praise, but many times. then the herald raised his eyes as seeking approval of one far off; his wings stirred, and spread slowly and majestically, on their upper side white as snow, in the shadow vari-tinted, like mother-of-pearl; when they were expanded many cubits beyond his stature, he arose lightly, and, without effort, floated out of view, taking the light up with him. long after he was gone, down from the sky fell the refrain in measure mellowed by distance, "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men." when the shepherds came fully to their senses, they stared at each other stupidly, until one of them said, "it was gabriel, the lord's messenger unto men." none answered. "christ the lord is born; said he not so?" then another recovered his voice, and replied, "that is what he said." "and did he not also say, in the city of david, which is our bethlehem yonder. and that we should find him a babe in swaddling-clothes?" "and lying in a manger." the first speaker gazed into the fire thoughtfully, but at length said, like one possessed of a sudden resolve, "there is but one place in bethlehem where there are mangers; but one, and that is in the cave near the old khan. brethren, let us go see this thing which has come to pass. the priests and doctors have been a long time looking for the christ. now he is born, and the lord has given us a sign by which to know him. let us go up and worship him." "but the flocks!" "the lord will take care of them. let us make haste." then they all arose and left the marah. * * * * * * around the mountain and through the town they passed, and came to the gate of the khan, where there was a man on watch. "what would you have?" he asked. "we have seen and heard great things to-night," they replied. "well, we, too, have seen great things, but heard nothing. what did you hear?" "let us go down to the cave in the enclosure, that we may be sure; then we will tell you all. come with us, and see for yourself." "it is a fool's errand." "no, the christ is born." "the christ! how do you know?" "let us go and see first." the man laughed scornfully. "the christ indeed! how are you to know him?" "he was born this night, and is now lying in a manger, so we were told; and there is but one place in bethlehem with mangers." "the cave?" "yes. come with us." they went through the court-yard without notice, although there were some up even then talking about the wonderful light. the door of the cavern was open. a lantern was burning within, and they entered unceremoniously. "i give you peace," the watchman said to joseph and the beth dagonite. "here are people looking for a child born this night, whom they are to know by finding him in swaddling-clothes and lying in a manger." for a moment the face of the stolid nazarene was moved; turning away, he said, "the child is here." they were led to one of the mangers, and there the child was. the lantern was brought, and the shepherds stood by mute. the little one made no sign; it was as others just born. "where is the mother?" asked the watchman. one of the women took the baby, and went to mary, lying near, and put it in her arms. then the bystanders collected about the two. "it is the christ!" said a shepherd, at last. "the christ!" they all repeated, falling upon their knees in worship. one of them repeated several times over, "it is the lord, and his glory is above the earth and heaven." and the simple men, never doubting, kissed the hem of the mother's robe, and with joyful faces departed. in the khan, to all the people aroused and pressing about them, they told their story; and through the town, and all the way back to the marah, they chanted the refrain of the angels, "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!" the story went abroad, confirmed by the light so generally seen; and the next day, and for days thereafter, the cave was visited by curious crowds, of whom some believed, though the greater part laughed and mocked. chapter xii the eleventh day after the birth of the child in the cave, about mid-afternoon, the three wise men approached jerusalem by the road from shechem. after crossing brook cedron, they met many people, of whom none failed to stop and look after them curiously. judea was of necessity an international thoroughfare; a narrow ridge, raised, apparently, by the pressure of the desert on the east, and the sea on the west, was all she could claim to be; over the ridge, however, nature had stretched the line of trade between the east and the south; and that was her wealth. in other words, the riches of jerusalem were the tolls she levied on passing commerce. nowhere else, consequently, unless in rome, was there such constant assemblage of so many people of so many different nations; in no other city was a stranger less strange to the residents than within her walls and purlieus. and yet these three men excited the wonder of all whom they met on the way to the gates. a child belonging to some women sitting by the roadside opposite the tombs of the kings saw the party coming; immediately it clapped its hands, and cried, "look, look! what pretty bells! what big camels!" the bells were silver; the camels, as we have seen, were of unusual size and whiteness, and moved with singular stateliness; the trappings told of the desert and of long journeys thereon, and also of ample means in possession of the owners, who sat under the little canopies exactly as they appeared at the rendezvous beyond the jebel. yet it was not the bells or the camels, or their furniture, or the demeanor of the riders, that were so wonderful; it was the question put by the man who rode foremost of the three. the approach to jerusalem from the north is across a plain which dips southward, leaving the damascus gate in a vale or hollow. the road is narrow, but deeply cut by long use, and in places difficult on account of the cobbles left loose and dry by the washing of the rains. on either side, however, there stretched, in the old time, rich fields and handsome olive-groves, which must, in luxurious growth, have been beautiful, especially to travellers fresh from the wastes of the desert. in this road, the three stopped before the party in front of the tombs. "good people," said balthasar, stroking his plaited beard, and bending from his cot, "is not jerusalem close by?" "yes," answered the woman into whose arms the child had shrunk. "if the trees on yon swell were a little lower you could see the towers on the market-place." balthasar gave the greek and the hindoo a look, then asked, "where is he that is born king of the jews?" the women gazed at each other without reply. "you have not heard of him?" "no." "well, tell everybody that we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." thereupon the friends rode on. of others they asked the same question, with like result. a large company whom they met going to the grotto of jeremiah were so astonished by the inquiry and the appearance of the travellers that they turned about and followed them into the city. so much were the three occupied with the idea of their mission that they did not care for the view which presently rose before them in the utmost magnificence: for the village first to receive them on bezetha; for mizpah and olivet, over on their left; for the wall behind the village, with its forty tall and solid towers, superadded partly for strength, partly to gratify the critical taste of the kingly builder; for the same towered wall bending off to the right, with many an angle, and here and there an embattled gate, up to the three great white piles phasaelus, mariamne, and hippicus; for zion, tallest of the hills, crowned with marble palaces, and never so beautiful; for the glittering terraces of the temple on moriah, admittedly one of the wonders of the earth; for the regal mountains rimming the sacred city round about until it seemed in the hollow of a mighty bowl. they came, at length, to a tower of great height and strength, overlooking the gate which, at that time, answered to the present damascus gate, and marked the meeting-place of the three roads from shechem, jericho, and gibeon. a roman guard kept the passage-way. by this time the people following the camels formed a train sufficient to draw the idlers hanging about the portal; so that when balthasar stopped to speak to the sentinel, the three became instantly the centre of a close circle eager to hear all that passed. "i give you peace," the egyptian said, in a clear voice. the sentinel made no reply. "we have come great distances in search of one who is born king of the jews. can you tell us where he is?" the soldier raised the visor of his helmet, and called loudly. from an apartment at the right of the passage an officer appeared. "give way," he cried, to the crowd which now pressed closer in; and as they seemed slow to obey, he advanced twirling his javelin vigorously, now right, now left; and so he gained room. "what would you?" he asked of balthasar, speaking in the idiom of the city. and balthasar answered in the same, "where is he that is born king of the jews?" "herod?" asked the officer, confounded. "herod's kingship is from caesar; not herod." "there is no other king of the jews." "but we have seen the star of him we seek, and come to worship him." the roman was perplexed. "go farther," he said, at last. "go farther. i am not a jew. carry the question to the doctors in the temple, or to hannas the priest, or, better still, to herod himself. if there be another king of the jews, he will find him." thereupon he made way for the strangers, and they passed the gate. but, before entering the narrow street, balthasar lingered to say to his friends, "we are sufficiently proclaimed. by midnight the whole city will have heard of us and of our mission. let us to the khan now." chapter xiii that evening, before sunset, some women were washing clothes on the upper step of the flight that led down into the basin of the pool of siloam. they knelt each before a broad bowl of earthenware. a girl at the foot of the steps kept them supplied with water, and sang while she filled the jar. the song was cheerful, and no doubt lightened their labor. occasionally they would sit upon their heels, and look up the slope of ophel, and round to the summit of what is now the mount of offence, then faintly glorified by the dying sun. while they plied their hands, rubbing and wringing the clothes in the bowls, two other women came to them, each with an empty jar upon her shoulder. "peace to you," one of the new-comers said. the laborers paused, sat up, wrung the water from their hands, and returned the salutation. "it is nearly night--time to quit." "there is no end to work," was the reply. "but there is a time to rest, and--" "to hear what may be passing," interposed another. "what news have you?" "then you have not heard?" "no." "they say the christ is born," said the newsmonger, plunging into her story. it was curious to see the faces of the laborers brighten with interest; on the other side down came the jars, which, in a moment, were turned into seats for their owners. "the christ!" the listeners cried. "so they say." "who?" "everybody; it is common talk." "does anybody believe it?" "this afternoon three men came across brook cedron on the road from shechem," the speaker replied, circumstantially, intending to smother doubt. "each one of them rode a camel spotless white, and larger than any ever before seen in jerusalem." the eyes and mouths of the auditors opened wide. "to prove how great and rich the men were," the narrator continued, "they sat under awnings of silk; the buckles of their saddles were of gold, as was the fringe of their bridles; the bells were of silver, and made real music. nobody knew them; they looked as if they had come from the ends of the world. only one of them spoke, and of everybody on the road, even the women and children, he asked this question--'where is he that is born king of the jews?' no one gave them answer--no one understood what they meant; so they passed on, leaving behind them this saying: 'for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.' they put the question to the roman at the gate; and he, no wiser than the simple people on the road, sent them up to herod." "where are they now?" "at the khan. hundreds have been to look at them already, and hundreds more are going." "who are they?" "nobody knows. they are said to be persians--wise men who talk with the stars--prophets, it may be, like elijah and jeremiah." "what do they mean by king of the jews?" "the christ, and that he is just born." one of the women laughed, and resumed her work, saying, "well, when i see him i will believe." another followed her example: "and i--well, when i see him raise the dead, i will believe." a third said, quietly, "he has been a long time promised. it will be enough for me to see him heal one leper." and the party sat talking until the night came, and, with the help of the frosty air, drove them home. * * * * * * later in the evening, about the beginning of the first watch, there was an assemblage in the palace on mount zion, of probably fifty persons, who never came together except by order of herod, and then only when he had demanded to know some one or more of the deeper mysteries of the jewish law and history. it was, in short, a meeting of the teachers of the colleges, of the chief priests, and of the doctors most noted in the city for learning--the leaders of opinion, expounders of the different creeds; princes of the sadducees; pharisaic debaters; calm, soft-spoken, stoical philosophers of the essene socialists. the chamber in which the session was held belonged to one of the interior court-yards of the palace, and was quite large and romanesque. the floor was tessellated with marble blocks; the walls, unbroken by a window, were frescoed in panels of saffron yellow; a divan occupied the centre of the apartment, covered with cushions of bright-yellow cloth, and fashioned in form of the letter u, the opening towards the doorway; in the arch of the divan, or, as it were, in the bend of the letter, there was an immense bronze tripod, curiously inlaid with gold and silver, over which a chandelier dropped from the ceiling, having seven arms, each holding a lighted lamp. the divan and the lamp were purely jewish. the company sat upon the divan after the style of orientals, in costume singularly uniform, except as to color. they were mostly men advanced in years; immense beards covered their faces; to their large noses were added the effects of large black eyes, deeply shaded by bold brows; their demeanor was grave, dignified, even patriarchal. in brief, their session was that of the sanhedrim. he who sat before the tripod, however, in the place which may be called the head of the divan, having all the rest of his associates on his right and left, and, at the same time, before him, evidently president of the meeting, would have instantly absorbed the attention of a spectator. he had been cast in large mould, but was now shrunken and stooped to ghastliness; his white robe dropped from his shoulders in folds that gave no hint of muscle or anything but an angular skeleton. his hands, half concealed by sleeves of silk, white and crimson striped, were clasped upon his knees. when he spoke, sometimes the first finger of the right hand extended tremulously; he seemed incapable of other gesture. but his head was a splendid dome. a few hairs, whiter than fine-drawn silver, fringed the base; over a broad, full-sphered skull the skin was drawn close, and shone in the light with positive brilliance; the temples were deep hollows, from which the forehead beetled like a wrinkled crag; the eyes were wan and dim; the nose was pinched; and all the lower face was muffed in a beard flowing and venerable as aaron's. such was hillel the babylonian! the line of prophets, long extinct in israel, was now succeeded by a line of scholars, of whom he was first in learning--a prophet in all but the divine inspiration! at the age of one hundred and six, he was still rector of the great college. on the table before him lay outspread a roll or volume of parchment inscribed with hebrew characters; behind him, in waiting, stood a page richly habited. there had been discussion, but at this moment of introduction the company had reached a conclusion; each one was in an attitude of rest, and the venerable hillel, without moving, called the page. "hist!" the youth advanced respectfully. "go tell the king we are ready to give him answer." the boy hurried away. after a time two officers entered and stopped, one on each side the door; after them slowly followed a most striking personage--an old man clad in a purple robe bordered with scarlet, and girt to his waist by a band of gold linked so fine that it was pliable as leather; the latchets of his shoes sparkled with precious stones; a narrow crown wrought in filigree shone outside a tarbooshe of softest crimson plush, which, encasing his head, fell down the neck and shoulders, leaving the throat and neck exposed. instead of a seal, a dagger dangled from his belt. he walked with a halting step, leaning heavily upon a staff. not until he reached the opening of the divan, did he pause or look up from the floor; then, as for the first time conscious of the company, and roused by their presence, he raised himself, and looked haughtily round, like one startled and searching for an enemy--so dark, suspicious, and threatening was the glance. such was herod the great--a body broken by diseases, a conscience seared with crimes, a mind magnificently capable, a soul fit for brotherhood with the caesars; now seven-and-sixty years old, but guarding his throne with a jealousy never so vigilant, a power never so despotic, and a cruelty never so inexorable. there was a general movement on the part of the assemblage--a bending forward in salaam by the more aged, a rising-up by the more courtierly, followed by low genuflections, hands upon the beard or breast. his observations taken, herod moved on until at the tripod opposite the venerable hillel, who met his cold glance with an inclination of the head, and a slight lifting of the hands. "the answer!" said the king, with imperious simplicity, addressing hillel, and planting his staff before him with both hands. "the answer!" the eyes of the patriarch glowed mildly, and, raising his head, and looking the inquisitor full in the face, he answered, his associates giving him closest attention, "with thee, o king, be the peace of god, of abraham, isaac, and jacob!" his manner was that of invocation; changing it, he resumed: "thou hast demanded of us where the christ should be born." the king bowed, though the evil eyes remained fixed upon the sage's face. "that is the question." "then, o king, speaking for myself, and all my brethren here, not one dissenting, i say, in bethlehem of judea." hillel glanced at the parchment on the tripod; and, pointing with his tremulous finger, continued, "in bethlehem of judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, 'and thou, bethlehem, in the land of judea, art not the least among the princes of judah; for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people israel.'" herod's face was troubled, and his eyes fell upon the parchment while he thought. those beholding him scarcely breathed; they spoke not, nor did he. at length he turned about and left the chamber. "brethren," said hillel, "we are dismissed." the company then arose, and in groups departed. "simeon," said hillel again. a man, quite fifty years old, but in the hearty prime of life, answered and came to him. "take up the sacred parchment, my son; roll it tenderly." the order was obeyed. "now lend me thy arm; i will to the litter." the strong man stooped; with his withered hands the old one took the offered support, and, rising, moved feebly to the door. so departed the famous rector, and simeon, his son, who was to be his successor in wisdom, learning, and office. * * * * * * yet later in the evening the wise men were lying in a lewen of the khan awake. the stones which served them as pillows raised their heads so they could look out of the open arch into the depths of the sky; and as they watched the twinkling of the stars, they thought of the next manifestation. how would it come? what would it be? they were in jerusalem at last; they had asked at the gate for him they sought; they had borne witness of his birth; it remained only to find him; and as to that, they placed all trust in the spirit. men listening for the voice of god, or waiting a sign from heaven, cannot sleep. while they were in this condition, a man stepped in under the arch, darkening the lewen. "awake!" he said to them; "i bring you a message which will not be put off." they all sat up. "from whom?" asked the egyptian. "herod the king." each one felt his spirit thrill. "are you not the steward of the khan?" balthasar asked next. "i am." "what would the king with us?" "his messenger is without; let him answer." "tell him, then, to abide our coming." "you were right, o my brother!" said the greek, when the steward was gone. "the question put to the people on the road, and to the guard at the gate, has given us quick notoriety. i am impatient; let us up quickly." they arose, put on their sandals, girt their mantles about them, and went out. "i salute you, and give you peace, and pray your pardon; but my master, the king, has sent me to invite you to the palace, where he would have speech with you privately." thus the messenger discharged his duty. a lamp hung in the entrance, and by its light they looked at each other, and knew the spirit was upon them. then the egyptian stepped to the steward, and said, so as not to be heard by the others, "you know where our goods are stored in the court, and where our camels are resting. while we are gone, make all things ready for our departure, if it should be needful." "go your way assured; trust me," the steward replied. "the king's will is our will," said balthasar to the messenger. "we will follow you." the streets of the holy city were narrow then as now, but not so rough and foul; for the great builder, not content with beauty, enforced cleanliness and convenience also. following their guide, the brethren proceeded without a word. through the dim starlight, made dimmer by the walls on both sides, sometimes almost lost under bridges connecting the house-tops, out of a low ground they ascended a hill. at last they came to a portal reared across the way. in the light of fires blazing before it in two great braziers, they caught a glimpse of the structure, and also of some guards leaning motionlessly upon their arms. they passed into a building unchallenged. then by passages and arched halls; through courts, and under colonnades not always lighted; up long flights of stairs, past innumerable cloisters and chambers, they were conducted into a tower of great height. suddenly the guide halted, and, pointing through an open door, said to them, "enter. the king is there." the air of the chamber was heavy with the perfume of sandal-wood, and all the appointments within were effeminately rich. upon the floor, covering the central space, a tufted rug was spread, and upon that a throne was set. the visitors had but time, however, to catch a confused idea of the place--of carved and gilt ottomans and couches; of fans and jars and musical instruments; of golden candlesticks glittering in their own lights; of walls painted in the style of the voluptuous grecian school, one look at which had made a pharisee hide his head with holy horror. herod, sitting upon the throne to receive them, clad as when at the conference with the doctors and lawyers, claimed all their minds. at the edge of the rug, to which they advanced uninvited, they prostrated themselves. the king touched a bell. an attendant came in, and placed three stools before the throne. "seat yourselves," said the monarch, graciously. "from the north gate," he continued, when they were at rest, "i had this afternoon report of the arrival of three strangers, curiously mounted, and appearing as if from far countries. are you the men?" the egyptian took the sign from the greek and the hindoo, and answered, with the profoundest salaam, "were we other than we are, the mighty herod, whose fame is as incense to the whole world, would not have sent for us. we may not doubt that we are the strangers." herod acknowledged the speech with a wave of the hand. "who are you? whence do you come?" he asked, adding significantly, "let each speak for himself." in turn they gave him account, referring simply to the cities and lands of their birth, and the routes by which they came to jerusalem. somewhat disappointed, herod plied them more directly. "what was the question you put to the officer at the gate?" "we asked him, where is he that is born king of the jews." "i see now why the people were so curious. you excite me no less. is there another king of the jews?" the egyptian did not blanch. "there is one newly born." an expression of pain knit the dark face of the monarch, as if his mind were swept by a harrowing recollection. "not to me, not to me!" he exclaimed. possibly the accusing images of his murdered children flitted before him; recovering from the emotion, whatever it was, he asked, steadily, "where is the new king?" "that, o king, is what we would ask." "you bring me a wonder--a riddle surpassing any of solomon's," the inquisitor said next. "as you see, i am in the time of life when curiosity is as ungovernable as it was in childhood, when to trifle with it is cruelty. tell me further, and i will honor you as kings honor each other. give me all you know about the newly born, and i will join you in the search for him; and when we have found him, i will do what you wish; i will bring him to jerusalem, and train him in kingcraft; i will use my grace with caesar for his promotion and glory. jealousy shall not come between us, so i swear. but tell me first how, so widely separated by seas and deserts, you all came to hear of him." "i will tell you truly, o king." "speak on," said herod. balthasar raised himself erect, and said, solemnly, "there is an almighty god." herod was visibly startled. "he bade us come hither, promising that we should find the redeemer of the world; that we should see and worship him, and bear witness that he was come; and, as a sign, we were each given to see a star. his spirit stayed with us. o king, his spirit is with us now!" an overpowering feeling seized the three. the greek with difficulty restrained an outcry. herod's gaze darted quickly from one to the other; he was more suspicious and dissatisfied than before. "you are mocking me," he said. "if not, tell me more. what is to follow the coming of the new king?" "the salvation of men." "from what?" "their wickedness." "how?" "by the divine agencies--faith, love, and good works." "then"--herod paused, and from his look no man could have said with what feeling he continued--"you are the heralds of the christ. is that all?" balthasar bowed low. "we are your servants, o king." the monarch touched a bell, and the attendant appeared. "bring the gifts," the master said. the attendant went out, but in a little while returned, and, kneeling before the guests, gave to each one an outer robe or mantle of scarlet and blue, and a girdle of gold. they acknowledged the honors with eastern prostrations. "a word further," said herod, when the ceremony was ended. "to the officer of the gate, and but now to me, you spoke of seeing a star in the east." "yes," said balthasar, "his star, the star of the newly born." "what time did it appear?" "when we were bidden come hither." herod arose, signifying the audience was over. stepping from the throne towards them, he said, with all graciousness, "if, as i believe, o illustrious men, you are indeed the heralds of the christ just born, know that i have this night consulted those wisest in things jewish, and they say with one voice he should be born in bethlehem of judea. i say to you, go thither; go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him bring me word again, that i may come and worship him. to your going there shall be no let or hindrance. peace be with you!" and, folding his robe about him, he left the chamber. directly the guide came, and led them back to the street, and thence to the khan, at the portal of which the greek said, impulsively, "let us to bethlehem, o brethren, as the king has advised." "yes," cried the hindoo. "the spirit burns within me." "be it so," said balthasar, with equal warmth. "the camels are ready." they gave gifts to the steward, mounted into their saddles, received directions to the joppa gate, and departed. at their approach the great valves were unbarred, and they passed out into the open country, taking the road so lately travelled by joseph and mary. as they came up out of hinnom, on the plain of rephaim, a light appeared, at first wide-spread and faint. their pulses fluttered fast. the light intensified rapidly; they closed their eyes against its burning brilliance: when they dared look again, lo! the star, perfect as any in the heavens, but low down and moving slowly before them. and they folded their hands, and shouted, and rejoiced with exceeding great joy. "god is with us! god is with us!" they repeated, in frequent cheer, all the way, until the star, rising out of the valley beyond mar elias, stood still over a house up on the slope of the hill near the town. chapter xiv it was now the beginning of the third watch, and at bethlehem the morning was breaking over the mountains in the east, but so feebly that it was yet night in the valley. the watchman on the roof of the old khan, shivering in the chilly air, was listening for the first distinguishable sounds with which life, awakening, greets the dawn, when a light came moving up the hill towards the house. he thought it a torch in some one's hand; next moment he thought it a meteor; the brilliance grew, however, until it became a star. sore afraid, he cried out, and brought everybody within the walls to the roof. the phenomenon, in eccentric motion, continued to approach; the rocks, trees, and roadway under it shone as in a glare of lightning; directly its brightness became blinding. the more timid of the beholders fell upon their knees, and prayed, with their faces hidden; the boldest, covering their eyes, crouched, and now and then snatched glances fearfully. afterwhile the khan and everything thereabout lay under the intolerable radiance. such as dared look beheld the star standing still directly over the house in front of the cave where the child had been born. in the height of this scene, the wise men came up, and at the gate dismounted from their camels, and shouted for admission. when the steward so far mastered his terror as to give them heed, he drew the bars and opened to them. the camels looked spectral in the unnatural light, and, besides their outlandishness, there were in the faces and manner of the three visitors an eagerness and exaltation which still further excited the keeper's fears and fancy; he fell back, and for a time could not answer the question they put to him. "is not this bethlehem of judea?" but others came, and by their presence gave him assurance. "no, this is but the khan; the town lies farther on." "is there not here a child newly born?" the bystanders turned to each other marvelling, though some of them answered, "yes, yes." "show us to him!" said the greek, impatiently. "show us to him!" cried balthasar, breaking through his gravity; "for we have seen his star, even that which ye behold over the house, and are come to worship him." the hindoo clasped his hands, exclaiming, "god indeed lives! make haste, make haste! the savior is found. blessed, blessed are we above men!" the people from the roof came down and followed the strangers as they were taken through the court and out into the enclosure; at sight of the star yet above the cave, though less candescent than before, some turned back afraid; the greater part went on. as the strangers neared the house, the orb arose; when they were at the door, it was high up overhead vanishing; when they entered, it went out lost to sight. and to the witnesses of what then took place came a conviction that there was a divine relation between the star and the strangers, which extended also to at least some of the occupants of the cave. when the door was opened, they crowded in. the apartment was lighted by a lantern enough to enable the strangers to find the mother, and the child awake in her lap. "is the child thine?" asked balthasar of mary. and she who had kept all the things in the least affecting the little one, and pondered them in her heart, held it up in the light, saying, "he is my son!" and they fell down and worshipped him. they saw the child was as other children: about its head was neither nimbus nor material crown; its lips opened not in speech; if it heard their expressions of joy, their invocations, their prayers, it made no sign whatever, but, baby-like, looked longer at the flame in the lantern than at them. in a little while they arose, and, returning to the camels, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and laid them before the child, abating nothing of their worshipful speeches; of which no part is given, for the thoughtful know that the pure worship of the pure heart was then what it is now, and has always been, an inspired song. and this was the savior they had come so far to find! yet they worshipped without a doubt. why? their faith rested upon the signs sent them by him whom we have since come to know as the father; and they were of the kind to whom his promises were so all-sufficient that they asked nothing about his ways. few there were who had seen the signs and heard the promises--the mother and joseph, the shepherds, and the three--yet they all believed alike; that is to say, in this period of the plan of salvation, god was all and the child nothing. but look forward, o reader! a time will come when the signs will all proceed from the son. happy they who then believe in him! let us wait that period. book second "there is a fire and motion of the soul which will not dwell in its own narrow being, but aspire beyond the fitting medium of desire; and, but once kindled, quenchless evermore, preys upon high adventure, nor can tire of aught but rest." childe harold. chapter i it is necessary now to carry the reader forward twenty-one years, to the beginning of the administration of valerius gratus, the fourth imperial governor of judea--a period which will be remembered as rent by political agitations in jerusalem, if, indeed, it be not the precise time of the opening of the final quarrel between the jew and the roman. in the interval judea had been subjected to changes affecting her in many ways, but in nothing so much as her political status. herod the great died within one year after the birth of the child--died so miserably that the christian world had reason to believe him overtaken by the divine wrath. like all great rulers who spend their lives in perfecting the power they create, he dreamed of transmitting his throne and crown--of being the founder of a dynasty. with that intent, he left a will dividing his territories between his three sons, antipas, philip, and archelaus, of whom the last was appointed to succeed to the title. the testament was necessarily referred to augustus, the emperor, who ratified all its provisions with one exception: he withheld from archelaus the title of king until he proved his capacity and loyalty; in lieu thereof, he created him ethnarch, and as such permitted him to govern nine years, when, for misconduct and inability to stay the turbulent elements that grew and strengthened around him, he was sent into gaul as an exile. caesar was not content with deposing archelaus; he struck the people of jerusalem in a manner that touched their pride, and keenly wounded the sensibilities of the haughty habitues of the temple. he reduced judea to a roman province, and annexed it to the prefecture of syria. so, instead of a king ruling royally from the palace left by herod on mount zion, the city fell into the hands of an officer of the second grade, an appointee called procurator, who communicated with the court in rome through the legate of syria, residing in antioch. to make the hurt more painful, the procurator was not permitted to establish himself in jerusalem; caesarea was his seat of government. most humiliating, however, most exasperating, most studied, samaria, of all the world the most despised--samaria was joined to judea as a part of the same province! what ineffable misery the bigoted separatists or pharisees endured at finding themselves elbowed and laughed at in the procurator's presence in caesarea by the devotees of gerizim! in this rain of sorrows, one consolation, and one only, remained to the fallen people: the high-priest occupied the herodian palace in the market-place, and kept the semblance of a court there. what his authority really was is a matter of easy estimate. judgment of life and death was retained by the procurator. justice was administered in the name and according to the decretals of rome. yet more significant, the royal house was jointly occupied by the imperial exciseman, and all his corps of assistants, registrars, collectors, publicans, informers, and spies. still, to the dreamers of liberty to come, there was a certain satisfaction in the fact that the chief ruler in the palace was a jew. his mere presence there day after day kept them reminded of the covenants and promises of the prophets, and the ages when jehovah governed the tribes through the sons of aaron; it was to them a certain sign that he had not abandoned them: so their hopes lived, and served their patience, and helped them wait grimly the son of judah who was to rule israel. judea had been a roman province eighty years and more--ample time for the caesars to study the idiosyncrasies of the people--time enough, at least, to learn that the jew, with all his pride, could be quietly governed if his religion were respected. proceeding upon that policy, the predecessors of gratus had carefully abstained from interfering with any of the sacred observances of their subjects. but he chose a different course: almost his first official act was to expel hannas from the high-priesthood, and give the place to ishmael, son of fabus. whether the act was directed by augustus, or proceeded from gratus himself, its impolicy became speedily apparent. the reader shall be spared a chapter on jewish politics; a few words upon the subject, however, are essential to such as may follow the succeeding narration critically. at this time, leaving origin out of view, there were in judea the party of the nobles and the separatist or popular party. upon herod's death, the two united against archelaus; from temple to palace, from jerusalem to rome, they fought him; sometimes with intrigue, sometimes with the actual weapons of war. more than once the holy cloisters on moriah resounded with the cries of fighting-men. finally, they drove him into exile. meantime throughout this struggle the allies had their diverse objects in view. the nobles hated joazar, the high-priest; the separatists, on the other hand, were his zealous adherents. when herod's settlement went down with archelaus, joazar shared the fall. hannas, the son of seth, was selected by the nobles to fill the great office; thereupon the allies divided. the induction of the sethian brought them face to face in fierce hostility. in the course of the struggle with the unfortunate ethnarch, the nobles had found it expedient to attach themselves to rome. discerning that when the existing settlement was broken up some form of government must needs follow, they suggested the conversion of judea into a province. the fact furnished the separatists an additional cause for attack; and, when samaria was made part of the province, the nobles sank into a minority, with nothing to support them but the imperial court and the prestige of their rank and wealth; yet for fifteen years--down, indeed, to the coming of valerius gratus--they managed to maintain themselves in both palace and temple. hannas, the idol of his party, had used his power faithfully in the interest of his imperial patron. a roman garrison held the tower of antonia; a roman guard kept the gates of the palace; a roman judge dispensed justice civil and criminal; a roman system of taxation, mercilessly executed, crushed both city and country; daily, hourly, and in a thousand ways, the people were bruised and galled, and taught the difference between a life of independence and a life of subjection; yet hannas kept them in comparative quiet. rome had no truer friend; and he made his loss instantly felt. delivering his vestments to ishmael, the new appointee, he walked from the courts of the temple into the councils of the separatists, and became the head of a new combination, bethusian and sethian. gratus, the procurator, left thus without a party, saw the fires which, in the fifteen years, had sunk into sodden smoke begin to glow with returning life. a month after ishmael took the office, the roman found it necessary to visit him in jerusalem. when from the walls, hooting and hissing him, the jews beheld his guard enter the north gate of the city and march to the tower of antonia, they understood the real purpose of the visit--a full cohort of legionaries was added to the former garrison, and the keys of their yoke could now be tightened with impunity. if the procurator deemed it important to make an example, alas for the first offender! chapter ii with the foregoing explanation in mind, the reader is invited to look into one of the gardens of the palace on mount zion. the time was noonday in the middle of july, when the heat of summer was at its highest. the garden was bounded on every side by buildings, which in places arose two stories, with verandas shading the doors and windows of the lower story, while retreating galleries, guarded by strong balustrades, adorned and protected the upper. here and there, moreover, the structures fell into what appeared low colonnades, permitting the passage of such winds as chanced to blow, and allowing other parts of the house to be seen, the better to realize its magnitude and beauty. the arrangement of the ground was equally pleasant to the eye. there were walks, and patches of grass and shrubbery, and a few large trees, rare specimens of the palm, grouped with the carob, apricot, and walnut. in all directions the grade sloped gently from the centre, where there was a reservoir, or deep marble basin, broken at intervals by little gates which, when raised, emptied the water into sluices bordering the walks--a cunning device for the rescue of the place from the aridity too prevalent elsewhere in the region. not far from the fountain, there was a small pool of clear water nourishing a clump of cane and oleander, such as grow on the jordan and down by the dead sea. between the clump and the pool, unmindful of the sun shining full upon them in the breathless air, two boys, one about nineteen, the other seventeen, sat engaged in earnest conversation. they were both handsome, and, at first glance, would have been pronounced brothers. both had hair and eyes black; their faces were deeply browned; and, sitting, they seemed of a size proper for the difference in their ages. the elder was bareheaded. a loose tunic, dropping to the knees, was his attire complete, except sandals and a light-blue mantle spread under him on the seat. the costume left his arms and legs exposed, and they were brown as the face; nevertheless, a certain grace of manner, refinement of features, and culture of voice decided his rank. the tunic, of softest woollen, gray-tinted, at the neck, sleeves, and edge of the skirt bordered with red, and bound to the waist by a tasselled silken cord, certified him the roman he was. and if in speech he now and then gazed haughtily at his companion and addressed him as an inferior, he might almost be excused, for he was of a family noble even in rome--a circumstance which in that age justified any assumption. in the terrible wars between the first caesar and his great enemies, a messala had been the friend of brutus. after philippi, without sacrifice of his honor, he and the conqueror became reconciled. yet later, when octavius disputed for the empire, messala supported him. octavius, as the emperor augustus, remembered the service, and showered the family with honors. among other things, judea being reduced to a province, he sent the son of his old client or retainer to jerusalem, charged with the receipt and management of the taxes levied in that region; and in that service the son had since remained, sharing the palace with the high-priest. the youth just described was his son, whose habit it was to carry about with him all too faithfully a remembrance of the relation between his grandfather and the great romans of his day. the associate of the messala was slighter in form, and his garments were of fine white linen and of the prevalent style in jerusalem; a cloth covered his head, held by a yellow cord, and arranged so as to fall away from the forehead down low over the back of the neck. an observer skilled in the distinctions of race, and studying his features more than his costume, would have soon discovered him to be of jewish descent. the forehead of the roman was high and narrow, his nose sharp and aquiline, while his lips were thin and straight, and his eyes cold and close under the brows. the front of the israelite, on the other hand, was low and broad; his nose long, with expanded nostrils; his upper lip, slightly shading the lower one, short and curving to the dimpled corners, like a cupid's bow; points which, in connection with the round chin, full eyes, and oval cheeks reddened with a wine-like glow, gave his face the softness, strength, and beauty peculiar to his race. the comeliness of the roman was severe and chaste, that of the jew rich and voluptuous. "did you not say the new procurator is to arrive to-morrow?" the question proceeded from the younger of the friends, and was couched in greek, at the time, singularly enough, the language everywhere prevalent in the politer circles of judea; having passed from the palace into the camp and college; thence, nobody knew exactly when or how, into the temple itself, and, for that matter, into precincts of the temple far beyond the gates and cloisters--precincts of a sanctity intolerable for a gentile. "yes, to-morrow," messala answered. "who told you?" "i heard ishmael, the new governor in the palace--you call him high priest--tell my father so last night. the news had been more credible, i grant you, coming from an egyptian, who is of a race that has forgotten what truth is, or even from an idumaean, whose people never knew what truth was; but, to make quite certain, i saw a centurion from the tower this morning, and he told me preparations were going on for the reception; that the armorers were furbishing the helmets and shields, and regilding the eagles and globes; and that apartments long unused were being cleansed and aired as if for an addition to the garrison--the body-guard, probably, of the great man." a perfect idea of the manner in which the answer was given cannot be conveyed, as its fine points continually escape the power behind the pen. the reader's fancy must come to his aid; and for that he must be reminded that reverence as a quality of the roman mind was fast breaking down, or, rather, it was becoming unfashionable. the old religion had nearly ceased to be a faith; at most it was a mere habit of thought and expression, cherished principally by the priests who found service in the temple profitable, and the poets who, in the turn of their verses, could not dispense with the familiar deities: there are singers of this age who are similarly given. as philosophy was taking the place of religion, satire was fast substituting reverence; insomuch that in latin opinion it was to every speech, even to the little diatribes of conversation, as salt to viands, and aroma to wine. the young messala, educated in rome, but lately returned, had caught the habit and manner; the scarce perceptible movement of the outer corner of the lower eyelid, the decided curl of the corresponding nostril, and a languid utterance affected as the best vehicle to convey the idea of general indifference, but more particularly because of the opportunities it afforded for certain rhetorical pauses thought to be of prime importance to enable the listener to take the happy conceit or receive the virus of the stinging epigram. such a stop occurred in the answer just given, at the end of the allusion to the egyptian and idumaean. the color in the jewish lad's cheeks deepened, and he may not have heard the rest of the speech, for he remained silent, looking absently into the depths of the pool. "our farewell took place in this garden. 'the peace of the lord go with you!'--your last words. 'the gods keep you!' i said. do you remember? how many years have passed since then?" "five," answered the jew, gazing into the water. "well, you have reason to be thankful to--whom shall i say? the gods? no matter. you have grown handsome; the greeks would call you beautiful--happy achievement of the years! if jupiter would stay content with one ganymede, what a cup-bearer you would make for the emperor! tell me, my judah, how the coming of the procurator is of such interest to you." judah bent his large eyes upon the questioner; the gaze was grave and thoughtful, and caught the roman's, and held it while he replied, "yes, five years. i remember the parting; you went to rome; i saw you start, and cried, for i love you. the years are gone, and you have come back to me accomplished and princely--i do not jest; and yet--yet--i do wish you were the messala you went away." the fine nostril of the satirist stirred, and he put on a longer drawl as he said, "no, no; not a ganymede--an oracle, my judah. a few lessons from my teacher of rhetoric hard by the forum--i will give you a letter to him when you become wise enough to accept a suggestion which i am reminded to make you--a little practise of the art of mystery, and delphi will receive you as apollo himself. at the sound of your solemn voice, the pythia will come down to you with her crown. seriously, o my friend, in what am i not the messala i went away? i once heard the greatest logician in the world. his subject was disputation. one saying i remember--'understand your antagonist before you answer him.' let me understand you." the lad reddened under the cynical look to which he was subjected; yet he replied, firmly, "you have availed yourself, i see, of your opportunities; from your teachers you have brought away much knowledge and many graces. you talk with the ease of a master, yet your speech carries a sting. my messala, when he went away, had no poison in his nature; not for the world would he have hurt the feelings of a friend." the roman smiled as if complimented, and raised his patrician head a toss higher. "o my solemn judah, we are not at dodona or pytho. drop the oracular, and be plain. wherein have i hurt you?" the other drew a long breath, and said, pulling at the cord about his waist, "in the five years, i, too, have learned somewhat. hillel may not be the equal of the logician you heard, and simeon and shammai are, no doubt, inferior to your master hard by the forum. their learning goes not out into forbidden paths; those who sit at their feet arise enriched simply with knowledge of god, the law, and israel; and the effect is love and reverence for everything that pertains to them. attendance at the great college, and study of what i heard there, have taught me that judea is not as she used to be. i know the space that lies between an independent kingdom and the petty province judea is. i were meaner, viler, than a samaritan not to resent the degradation of my country. ishmael is not lawfully high-priest, and he cannot be while the noble hannas lives; yet he is a levite; one of the devoted who for thousands of years have acceptably served the lord god of our faith and worship. his--" messala broke in upon him with a biting laugh. "oh, i understand you now. ishmael, you say, is a usurper, yet to believe an idumaean sooner than ishmael is to sting like an adder. by the drunken son of semele, what it is to be a jew! all men and things, even heaven and earth, change; but a jew never. to him there is no backward, no forward; he is what his ancestor was in the beginning. in this sand i draw you a circle--there! now tell me what more a jew's life is? round and round, abraham here, isaac and jacob yonder, god in the middle. and the circle--by the master of all thunders! the circle is too large. i draw it again--" he stopped, put his thumb upon the ground, and swept the fingers about it. "see, the thumb spot is the temple, the finger-lines judea. outside the little space is there nothing of value? the arts! herod was a builder; therefore he is accursed. painting, sculpture! to look upon them is sin. poetry you make fast to your altars. except in the synagogue, who of you attempts eloquence? in war all you conquer in the six days you lose on the seventh. such your life and limit; who shall say no if i laugh at you? satisfied with the worship of such a people, what is your god to our roman jove, who lends us his eagles that we may compass the universe with our arms? hillel, simeon, shammai, abtalion--what are they to the masters who teach that everything is worth knowing that can be known?" the jew arose, his face much flushed. "no, no; keep your place, my judah, keep your place," messala cried, extending his hand. "you mock me." "listen a little further. directly"--the roman smiled derisively--"directly jupiter and his whole family, greek and latin, will come to me, as is their habit, and make an end of serious speech. i am mindful of your goodness in walking from the old house of your fathers to welcome me back and renew the love of our childhood--if we can. 'go,' said my teacher, in his last lecture--'go, and, to make your lives great, remember mars reigns and eros has found his eyes.' he meant love is nothing, war everything. it is so in rome. marriage is the first step to divorce. virtue is a tradesman's jewel. cleopatra, dying, bequeathed her arts, and is avenged; she has a successor in every roman's house. the world is going the same way; so, as to our future, down eros, up mars! i am to be a soldier; and you, o my judah, i pity you; what can you be?" the jew moved nearer the pool; messala's drawl deepened. "yes, i pity you, my fine judah. from the college to the synagogue; then to the temple; then--oh, a crowning glory!--the seat in the sanhedrim. a life without opportunities; the gods help you! but i--" judah looked at him in time to see the flush of pride that kindled in his haughty face as he went on. "but i--ah, the world is not all conquered. the sea has islands unseen. in the north there are nations yet unvisited. the glory of completing alexander's march to the far east remains to some one. see what possibilities lie before a roman." next instant he resumed his drawl. "a campaign into africa; another after the scythian; then--a legion! most careers end there; but not mine. i--by jupiter! what a conception!--i will give up my legion for a prefecture. think of life in rome with money--money, wine, women, games--poets at the banquet, intrigues in the court, dice all the year round. such a rounding of life may be--a fat prefecture, and it is mine. o my judah, here is syria! judea is rich; antioch a capital for the gods. i will succeed cyrenius, and you--shall share my fortune." the sophists and rhetoricians who thronged the public resorts of rome, almost monopolizing the business of teaching her patrician youth, might have approved these sayings of messala, for they were all in the popular vein; to the young jew, however, they were new, and unlike the solemn style of discourse and conversation to which he was accustomed. he belonged, moreover, to a race whose laws, modes, and habits of thought forbade satire and humor; very naturally, therefore, he listened to his friend with varying feelings; one moment indignant, then uncertain how to take him. the superior airs assumed had been offensive to him in the beginning; soon they became irritating, and at last an acute smart. anger lies close by this point in all of us; and that the satirist evoked in another way. to the jew of the herodian period patriotism was a savage passion scarcely hidden under his common humor, and so related to his history, religion, and god that it responded instantly to derision of them. wherefore it is not speaking too strongly to say that messala's progress down to the last pause was exquisite torture to his hearer; at that point the latter said, with a forced smile, "there are a few, i have heard, who can afford to make a jest of their future; you convince me, o my messala, that i am not one of them." the roman studied him; then replied, "why not the truth in a jest as well as a parable? the great fulvia went fishing the other day; she caught more than all the company besides. they said it was because the barb of her hook was covered with gold." "then you were not merely jesting?" "my judah, i see i did not offer you enough," the roman answered, quickly, his eyes sparkling. "when i am prefect, with judea to enrich me, i--will make you high-priest." the jew turned off angrily. "do not leave me," said messala. the other stopped irresolute. "gods, judah, how hot the sun shines!" cried the patrician, observing his perplexity. "let us seek a shade." judah answered, coldly, "we had better part. i wish i had not come. i sought a friend and find a--" "roman," said messala, quickly. the hands of the jew clenched, but controlling himself again, he started off. messala arose, and, taking the mantle from the bench, flung it over his shoulder, and followed after; when he gained his side, he put his hand upon his shoulder and walked with him. "this is the way--my hand thus--we used to walk when we were children. let us keep it as far as the gate." apparently messala was trying to be serious and kind, though he could not rid his countenance of the habitual satirical expression. judah permitted the familiarity. "you are a boy; i am a man; let me talk like one." the complacency of the roman was superb. mentor lecturing the young telemachus could not have been more at ease. "do you believe in the parcae? ah, i forgot, you are a sadducee: the essenes are your sensible people; they believe in the sisters. so do i. how everlastingly the three are in the way of our doing what we please! i sit down scheming. i run paths here and there. perpol! just when i am reaching to take the world in hand, i hear behind me the grinding of scissors. i look, and there she is, the accursed atropos! but, my judah, why did you get mad when i spoke of succeeding old cyrenius? you thought i meant to enrich myself plundering your judea. suppose so; it is what some roman will do. why not i?" judah shortened his step. "there have been strangers in mastery of judea before the roman," he said, with lifted hand. "where are they, messala? she has outlived them all. what has been will be again." messala put on his drawl. "the parcae have believers outside the essenes. welcome, judah, welcome to the faith!" "no, messala, count me not with them. my faith rests on the rock which was the foundation of the faith of my fathers back further than abraham; on the covenants of the lord god of israel." "too much passion, my judah. how my master would have been shocked had i been guilty of so much heat in his presence! there were other things i had to tell you, but i fear to now." when they had gone a few yards, the roman spoke again. "i think you can hear me now, especially as what i have to say concerns yourself. i would serve you, o handsome as ganymede; i would serve you with real good-will. i love you--all i can. i told you i meant to be a soldier. why not you also? why not you step out of the narrow circle which, as i have shown, is all of noble life your laws and customs allow?" judah made no reply. "who are the wise men of our day?" messala continued. "not they who exhaust their years quarrelling about dead things; about baals, joves, and jehovahs; about philosophies and religions. give me one great name, o judah; i care not where you go to find it--to rome, egypt, the east, or here in jerusalem--pluto take me if it belong not to a man who wrought his fame out of the material furnished him by the present; holding nothing sacred that did not contribute to the end, scorning nothing that did! how was it with herod? how with the maccabees? how with the first and second caesars? imitate them. begin now. at hand see--rome, as ready to help you as she was the idumaean antipater." the jewish lad trembled with rage; and, as the garden gate was close by, he quickened his steps, eager to escape. "o rome, rome!" he muttered. "be wise," continued messala. "give up the follies of moses and the traditions; see the situation as it is. dare look the parcae in the face, and they will tell you, rome is the world. ask them of judea, and they will answer, she is what rome wills." they were now at the gate. judah stopped, and took the hand gently from his shoulder, and confronted messala, tears trembling in his eyes. "i understand you, because you are a roman; you cannot understand me--i am an israelite. you have given me suffering to-day by convincing me that we can never be the friends we have been--never! here we part. the peace of the god of my fathers abide with you!" messala offered him his hand; the jew walked on through the gateway. when he was gone, the roman was silent awhile; then he, too, passed through, saying to himself, with a toss of the head, "be it so. eros is dead, mars reigns!" chapter iii from the entrance to the holy city, equivalent to what is now called st. stephen's gate, a street extended westwardly, on a line parallel with the northern front of the tower of antonia, though a square from that famous castle. keeping the course as far as the tyropoeon valley, which it followed a little way south, it turned and again ran west until a short distance beyond what tradition tells us was the judgment gate, from whence it broke abruptly south. the traveller or the student familiar with the sacred locality will recognize the thoroughfare described as part of the via dolorosa--with christians of more interest, though of a melancholy kind, than any street in the world. as the purpose in view does not at present require dealing with the whole street, it will be sufficient to point out a house standing in the angle last mentioned as marking the change of direction south, and which, as an important centre of interest, needs somewhat particular description. the building fronted north and west, probably four hundred feet each way, and, like most pretentious eastern structures, was two stories in height, and perfectly quadrangular. the street on the west side was about twelve feet wide, that on the north not more than ten; so that one walking close to the walls, and looking up at them, would have been struck by the rude, unfinished, uninviting, but strong and imposing, appearance they presented; for they were of stone laid in large blocks, undressed--on the outer side, in fact, just as they were taken from the quarry. a critic of this age would have pronounced the house fortelesque in style, except for the windows, with which it was unusually garnished, and the ornate finish of the doorways or gates. the western windows were four in number, the northern only two, all set on the line of the second story in such manner as to overhang the thoroughfares below. the gates were the only breaks of wall externally visible in the first story; and, besides being so thickly riven with iron bolts as to suggest resistance to battering-rams, they were protected by cornices of marble, handsomely executed, and of such bold projection as to assure visitors well informed of the people that the rich man who resided there was a sadducee in politics and creed. not long after the young jew parted from the roman at the palace up on the market-place, he stopped before the western gate of the house described, and knocked. the wicket (a door hung in one of the valves of the gate) was opened to admit him. he stepped in hastily, and failed to acknowledge the low salaam of the porter. to get an idea of the interior arrangement of the structure, as well as to see what more befell the youth, we will follow him. the passage into which he was admitted appeared not unlike a narrow tunnel with panelled walls and pitted ceiling. there were benches of stone on both sides, stained and polished by long use. twelve or fifteen steps carried him into a court-yard, oblong north and south, and in every quarter, except the east, bounded by what seemed the fronts of two-story houses; of which the lower floor was divided into lewens, while the upper was terraced and defended by strong balustrading. the servants coming and going along the terraces; the noise of millstones grinding; the garments fluttering from ropes stretched from point to point; the chickens and pigeons in full enjoyment of the place; the goats, cows, donkeys, and horses stabled in the lewens; a massive trough of water, apparently for the common use, declared this court appurtenant to the domestic management of the owner. eastwardly there was a division wall broken by another passage-way in all respects like the first one. clearing the second passage, the young man entered a second court, spacious, square, and set with shrubbery and vines, kept fresh and beautiful by water from a basin erected near a porch on the north side. the lewens here were high, airy, and shaded by curtains striped alternate white and red. the arches of the lewens rested on clustered columns. a flight of steps on the south ascended to the terraces of the upper story, over which great awnings were stretched as a defence against the sun. another stairway reached from the terraces to the roof, the edge of which, all around the square, was defined by a sculptured cornice, and a parapet of burned-clay tiling, sexangular and bright red. in this quarter, moreover, there was everywhere observable a scrupulous neatness, which, allowing no dust in the angles, not even a yellow leaf upon a shrub, contributed quite as much as anything else to the delightful general effect; insomuch that a visitor, breathing the sweet air, knew, in advance of introduction, the refinement of the family he was about calling upon. a few steps within the second court, the lad turned to the right, and, choosing a walk through the shrubbery, part of which was in flower, passed to the stairway, and ascended to the terrace--a broad pavement of white and brown flags closely laid, and much worn. making way under the awning to a doorway on the north side, he entered an apartment which the dropping of the screen behind him returned to darkness. nevertheless, he proceeded, moving over a tiled floor to a divan, upon which he flung himself, face downwards, and lay at rest, his forehead upon his crossed arms. about nightfall a woman came to the door and called; he answered, and she went in. "supper is over, and it is night. is not my son hungry?" she asked. "no," he replied. "are you sick?" "i am sleepy." "your mother has asked for you." "where is she?" "in the summer-house on the roof." he stirred himself, and sat up. "very well. bring me something to eat." "what do you want?" "what you please, amrah. i am not sick, but indifferent. life does not seem as pleasant as it did this morning. a new ailment, o my amrah; and you who know me so well, who never failed me, may think of the things now that answer for food and medicine. bring me what you choose." amrah's questions, and the voice in which she put them--low, sympathetic, and solicitous--were significant of an endeared relation between the two. she laid her hand upon his forehead; then, as satisfied, went out, saying, "i will see." after a while she returned, bearing on a wooden platter a bowl of milk, some thin cakes of white bread broken, a delicate paste of brayed wheat, a bird broiled, and honey and salt. on one end of the platter there was a silver goblet full of wine, on the other a brazen hand-lamp lighted. the room was then revealed: its walls smoothly plastered; the ceiling broken by great oaken rafters, brown with rain stains and time; the floor of small diamond-shaped white and blue tiles, very firm and enduring; a few stools with legs carved in imitation of the legs of lions; a divan raised a little above the floor, trimmed with blue cloth, and partially covered by an immense striped woollen blanket or shawl--in brief, a hebrew bedroom. the same light also gave the woman to view. drawing a stool to the divan, she placed the platter upon it, then knelt close by ready to serve him. her face was that of a woman of fifty, dark-skinned, dark-eyed, and at the moment softened by a look of tenderness almost maternal. a white turban covered her head, leaving the lobes of the ear exposed, and in them the sign that settled her condition--an orifice bored by a thick awl. she was a slave, of egyptian origin, to whom not even the sacred fiftieth year could have brought freedom; nor would she have accepted it, for the boy she was attending was her life. she had nursed him through babyhood, tended him as a child, and could not break the service. to her love he could never be a man. he spoke but once during the meal. "you remember, o my amrah," he said, "the messala who used to visit me here days at a time." "i remember him." "he went to rome some years ago, and is now back. i called upon him to-day." a shudder of disgust seized the lad. "i knew something had happened," she said, deeply interested. "i never liked the messala. tell me all." but he fell into musing, and to her repeated inquiries only said, "he is much changed, and i shall have nothing more to do with him." when amrah took the platter away, he also went out, and up from the terrace to the roof. the reader is presumed to know somewhat of the uses of the house-top in the east. in the matter of customs, climate is a lawgiver everywhere. the syrian summer day drives the seeker of comfort into the darkened lewen; night, however, calls him forth early, and the shadows deepening over the mountain-sides seem veils dimly covering circean singers; but they are far off, while the roof is close by, and raised above the level of the shimmering plain enough for the visitation of cool airs, and sufficiently above the trees to allure the stars down closer, down at least into brighter shining. so the roof became a resort--became playground, sleeping-chamber, boudoir, rendezvous for the family, place of music, dance, conversation, reverie, and prayer. the motive that prompts the decoration, at whatever cost, of interiors in colder climes suggested to the oriental the embellishment of his house-top. the parapet ordered by moses became a potter's triumph; above that, later, arose towers, plain and fantastic; still later, kings and princes crowned their roofs with summer-houses of marble and gold. when the babylonian hung gardens in the air, extravagance could push the idea no further. the lad whom we are following walked slowly across the house-top to a tower built over the northwest corner of the palace. had he been a stranger, he might have bestowed a glance upon the structure as he drew nigh it, and seen all the dimness permitted--a darkened mass, low, latticed, pillared, and domed. he entered, passing under a half-raised curtain. the interior was all darkness, except that on four sides there were arched openings like doorways, through which the sky, lighted with stars, was visible. in one of the openings, reclining against a cushion from a divan, he saw the figure of a woman, indistinct even in white floating drapery. at the sound of his steps upon the floor, the fan in her hand stopped, glistening where the starlight struck the jewels with which it was sprinkled, and she sat up, and called his name. "judah, my son!" "it is i, mother," he answered, quickening his approach. going to her, he knelt, and she put her arms around him, and with kisses pressed him to her bosom. chapter iv the mother resumed her easy position against the cushion, while the son took place on the divan, his head in her lap. both of them, looking out of the opening, could see a stretch of lower house-tops in the vicinity, a bank of blue-blackness over in the west which they knew to be mountains, and the sky, its shadowy depths brilliant with stars. the city was still. only the winds stirred. "amrah tells me something has happened to you," she said, caressing his cheek. "when my judah was a child, i allowed small things to trouble him, but he is now a man. he must not forget"--her voice became very soft--"that one day he is to be my hero." she spoke in the language almost lost in the land, but which a few--and they were always as rich in blood as in possessions--cherished in its purity, that they might be more certainly distinguished from gentile peoples--the language in which the loved rebekah and rachel sang to benjamin. the words appeared to set him thinking anew; after a while, however, he caught the hand with which she fanned him, and said, "today, o my mother, i have been made to think of many things that never had place in my mind before. tell me, first, what am i to be?" "have i not told you? you are to be my hero." he could not see her face, yet he knew she was in play. he became more serious. "you are very good, very kind, o my mother. no one will ever love me as you do." he kissed the hand over and over again. "i think i understand why you would have me put off the question," he continued. "thus far my life has belonged to you. how gentle, how sweet your control has been! i wish it could last forever. but that may not be. it is the lord's will that i shall one day become owner of myself--a day of separation, and therefore a dreadful day to you. let us be brave and serious. i will be your hero, but you must put me in the way. you know the law--every son of israel must have some occupation. i am not exempt, and ask now, shall i tend the herds? or till the soil? or drive the saw? or be a clerk or lawyer? what shall i be? dear, good mother, help me to an answer." "gamaliel has been lecturing today," she said, thoughtfully. "if so, i did not hear him." "then you have been walking with simeon, who, they tell me, inherits the genius of his family." "no, i have not seen him. i have been up on the market-place, not to the temple. i visited the young messala." a certain change in his voice attracted the mother's attention. a presentiment quickened the beating of her heart; the fan became motionless again. "the messala!" she said. "what could he say to so trouble you?" "he is very much changed." "you mean he has come back a roman." "yes." "roman!" she continued, half to herself. "to all the world the word means master. how long has he been away?" "five years." she raised her head, and looked off into the night. "the airs of the via sacra are well enough in the streets of the egyptian and in babylon; but in jerusalem--our jerusalem--the covenant abides." and, full of the thought, she settled back into her easy place. he was first to speak. "what messala said, my mother, was sharp enough in itself; but, taken with the manner, some of the sayings were intolerable." "i think i understand you. rome, her poets, orators, senators, courtiers, are mad with affectation of what they call satire." "i suppose all great peoples are proud," he went on, scarcely noticing the interruption; "but the pride of that people is unlike all others; in these latter days it is so grown the gods barely escape it." "the gods escape!" said the mother, quickly. "more than one roman has accepted worship as his divine right." "well, messala always had his share of the disagreeable quality. when he was a child, i have seen him mock strangers whom even herod condescended to receive with honors; yet he always spared judea. for the first time, in conversation with me to-day, he trifled with our customs and god. as you would have had me do, i parted with him finally. and now, o my dear mother, i would know with more certainty if there be just ground for the roman's contempt. in what am i his inferior? is ours a lower order of people? why should i, even in caesar's presence; feel the shrinking of a slave? tell me especially why, if i have the soul, and so choose, i may not hunt the honors of the world in all its fields? why may not i take sword and indulge the passion of war? as a poet, why may not i sing of all themes? i can be a worker in metals, a keeper of flocks, a merchant, why not an artist like the greek? tell me, o my mother--and this is the sum of my trouble--why may not a son of israel do all a roman may?" the reader will refer these questions back to the conversation in the market-place; the mother, listening with all her faculties awake, from something which would have been lost upon one less interested in him--from the connections of the subject, the pointing of the questions, possibly his accent and tone--was not less swift in making the same reference. she sat up, and in a voice quick and sharp as his own, replied, "i see, i see! from association messala, in boyhood, was almost a jew; had he remained here, he might have become a proselyte, so much do we all borrow from the influences that ripen our lives; but the years in rome have been too much for him. i do not wonder at the change; yet"--her voice fell--"he might have dealt tenderly at least with you. it is a hard, cruel nature which in youth can forget its first loves." her hand dropped lightly upon his forehead, and the fingers caught in his hair and lingered there lovingly, while her eyes sought the highest stars in view. her pride responded to his, not merely in echo, but in the unison of perfect sympathy. she would answer him; at the same time, not for the world would she have had the answer unsatisfactory: an admission of inferiority might weaken his spirit for life. she faltered with misgivings of her own powers. "what you propose, o my judah, is not a subject for treatment by a woman. let me put its consideration off till to-morrow, and i will have the wise simeon--" "do not send me to the rector," he said, abruptly. "i will have him come to us." "no, i seek more than information; while he might give me that better than you, o my mother, you can do better by giving me what he cannot--the resolution which is the soul of a man's soul." she swept the heavens with a rapid glance, trying to compass all the meaning of his questions. "while craving justice for ourselves, it is never wise to be unjust to others. to deny valor in the enemy we have conquered is to underrate our victory; and if the enemy be strong enough to hold us at bay, much more to conquer us"--she hesitated--"self-respect bids us seek some other explanation of our misfortunes than accusing him of qualities inferior to our own." thus, speaking to herself rather than to him, she began: "take heart, o my son. the messala is nobly descended; his family has been illustrious through many generations. in the days of republican rome--how far back i cannot tell--they were famous, some as soldiers, some as civilians. i can recall but one consul of the name; their rank was senatorial, and their patronage always sought because they were always rich. yet if to-day your friend boasted of his ancestry, you might have shamed him by recounting yours. if he referred to the ages through which the line is traceable, or to deeds, rank, or wealth--such allusions, except when great occasion demands them, are tokens of small minds--if he mentioned them in proof of his superiority, then without dread, and standing on each particular, you might have challenged him to a comparison of records." taking a moment's thought, the mother proceeded: "one of the ideas of fast hold now is that time has much to do with the nobility of races and families. a roman boasting his superiority on that account over a son of israel will always fail when put to the proof. the founding of rome was his beginning; the very best of them cannot trace their descent beyond that period; few of them pretend to do so; and of such as do, i say not one could make good his claim except by resort to tradition. messala certainly could not. let us look now to ourselves. could we better?" a little more light would have enabled him to see the pride that diffused itself over her face. "let us imagine the roman putting us to the challenge. i would answer him, neither doubting nor boastful." her voice faltered; a tender thought changed the form of the argument. "your father, o my judah, is at rest with his fathers; yet i remember, as though it were this evening, the day he and i, with many rejoicing friends, went up into the temple to present you to the lord. we sacrificed the doves, and to the priest i gave your name, which he wrote in my presence--'judah, son of ithamar, of the house of hur.' the name was then carried away, and written in a book of the division of records devoted to the saintly family. "i cannot tell you when the custom of registration in this mode began. we know it prevailed before the flight from egypt. i have heard hillel say abraham caused the record to be first opened with his own name, and the names of his sons, moved by the promises of the lord which separated him and them from all other races, and made them the highest and noblest, the very chosen of the earth. the covenant with jacob was of like effect. 'in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed'--so said the angel to abraham in the place jehovah-jireh. 'and the land whereon thou liest, to thee will i give it, and to thy seed'--so the lord himself said to jacob asleep at bethel on the way to haran. afterwards the wise men looked forward to a just division of the land of promise; and, that it might be known in the day of partition who were entitled to portions, the book of generations was begun. but not for that alone. the promise of a blessing to all the earth through the patriarch reached far into the future. one name was mentioned in connection with the blessing--the benefactor might be the humblest of the chosen family, for the lord our god knows no distinctions of rank or riches. so, to make the performance clear to men of the generation who were to witness it, and that they might give the glory to whom it belonged, the record was required to be kept with absolute certainty. has it been so kept?" the fan played to and fro, until, becoming impatient, he repeated the question, "is the record absolutely true?" "hillel said it was, and of all who have lived no one was so well-informed upon the subject. our people have at times been heedless of some parts of the law, but never of this part. the good rector himself has followed the books of generations through three periods--from the promises to the opening of the temple; thence to the captivity; thence, again, to the present. once only were the records disturbed, and that was at the end of the second period; but when the nation returned from the long exile, as a first duty to god, zerubbabel restored the books, enabling us once more to carry the lines of jewish descent back unbroken fully two thousand years. and now--" she paused as if to allow the hearer to measure the time comprehended in the statement. "and now," she continued, "what becomes of the roman boast of blood enriched by ages? by that test, the sons of israel watching the herds on old rephaim yonder are nobler than the noblest of the marcii." "and i, mother--by the books, who am i?" "what i have said thus far, my son, had reference to your question. i will answer you. if messala were here, he might say, as others have said, that the exact trace of your lineage stopped when the assyrian took jerusalem, and razed the temple, with all its precious stores; but you might plead the pious action of zerubbabel, and retort that all verity in roman genealogy ended when the barbarians from the west took rome, and camped six months upon her desolated site. did the government keep family histories? if so, what became of them in those dreadful days? no, no; there is verity in our books of generations; and, following them back to the captivity, back to the foundation of the first temple, back to the march from egypt, we have absolute assurance that you are lineally sprung from hur, the associate of joshua. in the matter of descent sanctified by time, is not the honor perfect? do you care to pursue further? if so, take the torah, and search the book of numbers, and of the seventy-two generations after adam, you can find the very progenitor of your house." there was silence for a time in the chamber on the roof. "i thank you, o my mother," judah next said, clasping both her hands in his; "i thank you with all my heart. i was right in not having the good rector called in; he could not have satisfied me more than you have. yet to make a family truly noble, is time alone sufficient?" "ah, you forget, you forget; our claim rests not merely upon time; the lord's preference is our especial glory." "you are speaking of the race, and i, mother, of the family--our family. in the years since father abraham, what have they achieved? what have they done? what great things to lift them above the level of their fellows?" she hesitated, thinking she might all this time have mistaken his object. the information he sought might have been for more than satisfaction of wounded vanity. youth is but the painted shell within which, continually growing, lives that wondrous thing the spirit of man, biding its moment of apparition, earlier in some than in others. she trembled under a perception that this might be the supreme moment come to him; that as children at birth reach out their untried hands grasping for shadows, and crying the while, so his spirit might, in temporary blindness, be struggling to take hold of its impalpable future. they to whom a boy comes asking, who am i, and what am i to be? have need of ever so much care. each word in answer may prove to the after-life what each finger-touch of the artist is to the clay he is modelling. "i have a feeling, o my judah," she said, patting his cheek with the hand he had been caressing--"i have the feeling that all i have said has been in strife with an antagonist more real than imaginary. if messala is the enemy, do not leave me to fight him in the dark. tell me all he said." chapter v the young israelite proceeded then, and rehearsed his conversation with messala, dwelling with particularity upon the latter's speeches in contempt of the jews, their customs, and much pent round of life. afraid to speak the while, the mother listened, discerning the matter plainly. judah had gone to the palace on the market-place, allured by love of a playmate whom he thought to find exactly as he had been at the parting years before; a man met him, and, in place of laughter and references to the sports of the past, the man had been full of the future, and talked of glory to be won, and of riches and power. unconscious of the effect, the visitor had come away hurt in pride, yet touched with a natural ambition; but she, the jealous mother, saw it, and, not knowing the turn the aspiration might take, became at once jewish in her fear. what if it lured him away from the patriarchal faith? in her view, that consequence was more dreadful than any or all others. she could discover but one way to avert it, and she set about the task, her native power reinforced by love to such degree that her speech took a masculine strength and at times a poet's fervor. "there never has been a people," she began, "who did not think themselves at least equal to any other; never a great nation, my son, that did not believe itself the very superior. when the roman looks down upon israel and laughs, he merely repeats the folly of the egyptian, the assyrian, and the macedonian; and as the laugh is against god, the result will be the same." her voice became firmer. "there is no law by which to determine the superiority of nations; hence the vanity of the claim, and the idleness of disputes about it. a people risen, run their race, and die either of themselves or at the hands of another, who, succeeding to their power, take possession of their place, and upon their monuments write new names; such is history. if i were called upon to symbolize god and man in the simplest form, i would draw a straight line and a circle, and of the line i would say, 'this is god, for he alone moves forever straightforward,' and of the circle, 'this is man--such is his progress.' i do not mean that there is no difference between the careers of nations; no two are alike. the difference, however, is not, as some say, in the extent of the circle they describe or the space of earth they cover, but in the sphere of their movement, the highest being nearest god. "to stop here, my son, would be to leave the subject where we began. let us go on. there are signs by which to measure the height of the circle each nation runs while in its course. by them let us compare the hebrew and the roman. "the simplest of all the signs is the daily life of the people. of this i will only say, israel has at times forgotten god, while the roman never knew him; consequently comparison is not possible. "your friend--or your former friend--charged, if i understood you rightly, that we have had no poets, artists, or warriors; by which he meant, i suppose, to deny that we have had great men, the next most certain of the signs. a just consideration of this charge requires a definition at the commencement. a great man, o my boy, is one whose life proves him to have been recognized, if not called, by god. a persian was used to punish our recreant fathers, and he carried them into captivity; another persian was selected to restore their children to the holy land; greater than either of them, however, was the macedonian through whom the desolation of judea and the temple was avenged. the special distinction of the men was that they were chosen by the lord, each for a divine purpose; and that they were gentiles does not lessen their glory. do not lose sight of this definition while i proceed. "there is an idea that war is the most noble occupation of men, and that the most exalted greatness is the growth of battle-fields. because the world has adopted the idea, be not you deceived. that we must worship something is a law which will continue as long as there is anything we cannot understand. the prayer of the barbarian is a wail of fear addressed to strength, the only divine quality he can clearly conceive; hence his faith in heroes. what is jove but a roman hero? the greeks have their great glory because they were the first to set mind above strength. in athens the orator and philosopher were more revered than the warrior. the charioteer and the swiftest runner are still idols of the arena; yet the immortelles are reserved for the sweetest singer. the birthplace of one poet was contested by seven cities. but was the hellene the first to deny the old barbaric faith? no. my son, that glory is ours; against brutalism our fathers erected god; in our worship, the wail of fear gave place to the hosanna and the psalm. so the hebrew and the greek would have carried all humanity forward and upward. but, alas! the government of the world presumes war as an eternal condition; wherefore, over mind and above god, the roman has enthroned his caesar, the absorbent of all attainable power, the prohibition of any other greatness. "the sway of the greek was a flowering time for genius. in return for the liberty it then enjoyed, what a company of thinkers the mind led forth? there was a glory for every excellence, and a perfection so absolute that in everything but war even the roman has stooped to imitation. a greek is now the model of the orators in the forum; listen, and in every roman song you will hear the rhythm of the greek; if a roman opens his mouth speaking wisely of moralities, or abstractions, or of the mysteries of nature, he is either a plagiarist or the disciple of some school which had a greek for its founder. in nothing but war, i say again, has rome a claim to originality. her games and spectacles are greek inventions, dashed with blood to gratify the ferocity of her rabble; her religion, if such it may be called, is made up of contributions from the faiths of all other peoples; her most venerated gods are from olympus--even her mars, and, for that matter, the jove she much magnifies. so it happens, o my son, that of the whole world our israel alone can dispute the superiority of the greek, and with him contest the palm of original genius. "to the excellences of other peoples the egotism of a roman is a blindfold, impenetrable as his breastplate. oh, the ruthless robbers! under their trampling the earth trembles like a floor beaten with flails. along with the rest we are fallen--alas that i should say it to you, my son! they have our highest places, and the holiest, and the end no man can tell; but this i know--they may reduce judea as an almond broken with hammers, and devour jerusalem, which is the oil and sweetness thereof; yet the glory of the men of israel will remain a light in the heavens overhead out of reach: for their history is the history of god, who wrote with their hands, spake with their tongues, and was himself in all the good they did, even the least; who dwelt with them, a lawgiver on sinai, a guide in the wilderness, in war a captain, in government a king; who once and again pushed back the curtains of the pavilion which is his resting-place, intolerably bright, and, as a man speaking to men, showed them the right, and the way to happiness, and how they should live, and made them promises binding the strength of his almightiness with covenants sworn to everlastingly. o my son, could it be that they with whom jehovah thus dwelt, an awful familiar, derived nothing from him?--that in their lives and deeds the common human qualities should not in some degree have been mixed and colored with the divine? that their genius should not have in it, even after the lapse of ages, some little of heaven?" for a time the rustling of the fan was all the sound heard in the chamber. "in the sense which limits art to sculpture and painting, it is true," she next said, "israel has had no artists." the admission was made regretfully, for it must be remembered she was a sadducee, whose faith, unlike that of the pharisees, permitted a love of the beautiful in every form, and without reference to its origin. "still he who would do justice," she proceeded, "will not forget that the cunning of our hands was bound by the prohibition, 'thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything;' which the sopherim wickedly extended beyond its purpose and time. nor should it be forgotten that long before daedalus appeared in attica and with his wooden statues so transformed sculpture as to make possible the schools of corinth and aegina, and their ultimate triumphs the poecile and capitolium--long before the age of daedalus, i say, two israelites, bezaleel and aholiab, the master-builders of the first tabernacle, said to have been skilled 'in all manner of workmanship,' wrought the cherubim of the mercy-seat above the ark. of gold beaten, not chiseled, were they; and they were statues in form both human and divine. 'and they shall stretch forth their wings on high, .... and their faces shall look one to another.' who will say they were not beautiful? or that they were not the first statues?" "oh, i see now why the greek outstripped us," said judah, intensely interested. "and the ark; accursed be the babylonians who destroyed it!" "nay, judah, be of faith. it was not destroyed, only lost, hidden away too safely in some cavern of the mountains. one day--hillel and shammai both say so--one day, in the lord's good time, it will be found and brought forth, and israel dance before it, singing as of old. and they who look upon the faces of the cherubim then, though they have seen the face of the ivory minerva, will be ready to kiss the hand of the jew from love of his genius, asleep through all the thousands of years." the mother, in her eagerness, had risen into something like the rapidity and vehemence of a speech-maker; but now, to recover herself, or to pick up the thread of her thought, she rested awhile. "you are so good, my mother," he said, in a grateful way. "and i will never be done saying so. shammai could not have talked better, nor hillel. i am a true son of israel again." "flatterer!" she said. "you do not know that i am but repeating what i heard hillel say in an argument he had one day in my presence with a sophist from rome." "well, the hearty words are yours." directly all her earnestness returned. "where was i? oh yes, i was claiming for our hebrew fathers the first statues. the trick of the sculptor, judah, is not all there is of art, any more than art is all there is of greatness. i always think of great men marching down the centuries in groups and goodly companies, separable according to nationalities; here the indian, there the egyptian, yonder the assyrian; above them the music of trumpets and the beauty of banners; and on their right hand and left, as reverent spectators, the generations from the beginning, numberless. as they go, i think of the greek, saying, 'lo! the hellene leads the way.' then the roman replies, 'silence! what was your place is ours now; we have left you behind as dust trodden on.' and all the time, from the far front back over the line of march, as well as forward into the farthest future, streams a light of which the wranglers know nothing, except that it is forever leading them on--the light of revelation! who are they that carry it? ah, the old judean blood! how it leaps at the thought! by the light we know them. thrice blessed, o our fathers, servants of god, keepers of the covenants! ye are the leaders of men, the living and the dead. the front is thine; and though every roman were a caesar, ye shall not lose it!" judah was deeply stirred. "do not stop, i pray you," he cried. "you give me to hear the sound of timbrels. i wait for miriam and the women who went after her dancing and singing." she caught his feeling, and, with ready wit, wove it into her speech. "very well, my son. if you can hear the timbrel of the prophetess, you can do what i was about to ask; you can use your fancy, and stand with me, as if by the wayside, while the chosen of israel pass us at the head of the procession. now they come--the patriarchs first; next the fathers of the tribes. i almost hear the bells of their camels and the lowing of their herds. who is he that walks alone between the companies? an old man, yet his eye is not dim, nor his natural force abated. he knew the lord face to face! warrior, poet, orator, lawgiver, prophet, his greatness is as the sun at morning, its flood of splendor quenching all other lights, even that of the first and noblest of the caesars. after him the judges. and then the kings--the son of jesse, a hero in war, and a singer of songs eternal as that of the sea; and his son, who, passing all other kings in riches and wisdom, and while making the desert habitable, and in its waste places planting cities, forgot not jerusalem which the lord had chosen for his seat on earth. bend lower, my son! these that come next are the first of their kind, and the last. their faces are raised, as if they heard a voice in the sky and were listening. their lives were full of sorrows. their garments smell of tombs and caverns. hearken to a woman among them--'sing ye to the lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously!' nay, put your forehead in the dust before them! they were tongues of god, his servants, who looked through heaven, and, seeing all the future, wrote what they saw, and left the writing to be proven by time. kings turned pale as they approached them, and nations trembled at the sound of their voices. the elements waited upon them. in their hands they carried every bounty and every plague. see the tishbite and his servant elisha! see the sad son of hilkiah, and him, the seer of visions, by the river of chebar! and of the three children of judah who refused the image of the babylonian, lo! that one who, in the feast to the thousand lords, so confounded the astrologers. and yonder--o my son, kiss the dust again!--yonder the gentle son of amoz, from whom the world has its promise of the messiah to come!" in this passage the fan had been kept in rapid play; it stopped now, and her voice sank low. "you are tired," she said. "no," he replied, "i was listening to a new song of israel." the mother was still intent upon her purpose, and passed the pleasant speech. "in such light as i could, my judah, i have set our great men before you--patriarchs, legislators, warriors, singers, prophets. turn we to the best of rome. against moses place caesar, and tarquin against david; sylla against either of the maccabees; the best of the consuls against the judges; augustus against solomon, and you are done: comparison ends there. but think then of the prophets--greatest of the great." she laughed scornfully. "pardon me. i was thinking of the soothsayer who warned caius julius against the ides of march, and fancied him looking for the omens of evil which his master despised in the entrails of a chicken. from that picture turn to elijah sitting on the hill-top on the way to samaria, amid the smoking bodies of the captains and their fifties, warning the son of ahab of the wrath of our god. finally, o my judah--if such speech be reverent--how shall we judge jehovah and jupiter unless it be by what their servants have done in their names? and as for what you shall do--" she spoke the latter words slowly, and with a tremulous utterance. "as for what you shall do, my boy--serve the lord, the lord god of israel, not rome. for a child of abraham there is no glory except in the lord's ways, and in them there is much glory." "i may be a soldier then?" judah asked. "why not? did not moses call god a man of war?" there was then a long silence in the summer chamber. "you have my permission," she said, finally; "if only you serve the lord instead of caesar." he was content with the condition, and by-and-by fell asleep. she arose then, and put the cushion under his head, and, throwing a shawl over him and kissing him tenderly, went away. chapter vi the good man, like the bad, must die; but, remembering the lesson of our faith, we say of him and the event, "no matter, he will open his eyes in heaven." nearest this in life is the waking from healthful sleep to a quick consciousness of happy sights and sounds. when judah awoke, the sun was up over the mountains; the pigeons were abroad in flocks, filling the air with the gleams of their white wings; and off southeast he beheld the temple, an apparition of gold in the blue of the sky. these, however, were familiar objects, and they received but a glance; upon the edge of the divan, close by him, a girl scarcely fifteen sat singing to the accompaniment of a nebel, which she rested upon her knee, and touched gracefully. to her he turned listening; and this was what she sang: the song. "wake not, but hear me, love! adrift, adrift on slumber's sea, thy spirit call to list to me. wake not, but hear me, love! a gift from sleep, the restful king, all happy, happy dreams i bring. "wake not, but hear me, love! of all the world of dreams 'tis thine this once to choose the most divine. so choose, and sleep, my love! but ne'er again in choice be free, unless, unless--thou dream'st of me." she put the instrument down, and, resting her hands in her lap, waited for him to speak. and as it has become necessary to tell somewhat of her, we will avail ourselves of the chance, and add such particulars of the family into whose privacy we are brought as the reader may wish to know. the favors of herod had left surviving him many persons of vast estate. where this fortune was joined to undoubted lineal descent from some famous son of one of the tribes, especially judah, the happy individual was accounted a prince of jerusalem--a distinction which sufficed to bring him the homage of his less favored countrymen, and the respect, if nothing more, of the gentiles with whom business and social circumstance brought him into dealing. of this class none had won in private or public life a higher regard than the father of the lad whom we have been following. with a remembrance of his nationality which never failed him, he had yet been true to the king, and served him faithfully at home and abroad. some offices had taken him to rome, where his conduct attracted the notice of augustus, who strove without reserve to engage his friendship. in his house, accordingly, were many presents, such as had gratified the vanity of kings--purple togas, ivory chairs, golden pateroe--chiefly valuable on account of the imperial hand which had honorably conferred them. such a man could not fail to be rich; yet his wealth was not altogether the largess of royal patrons. he had welcomed the law that bound him to some pursuit; and, instead of one, he entered into many. of the herdsmen watching flocks on the plains and hill-sides, far as old lebanon, numbers reported to him as their employer; in the cities by the sea, and in those inland, he founded houses of traffic; his ships brought him silver from spain, whose mines were then the richest known; while his caravans came twice a year from the east, laden with silks and spices. in faith he was a hebrew, observant of the law and every essential rite; his place in the synagogue and temple knew him well; he was thoroughly learned in the scriptures; he delighted in the society of the college-masters, and carried his reverence for hillel almost to the point of worship. yet he was in no sense a separatist; his hospitality took in strangers from every land; the carping pharisees even accused him of having more than once entertained samaritans at his table. had he been a gentile, and lived, the world might have heard of him as the rival of herodes atticus: as it was, he perished at sea some ten years before this second period of our story, in the prime of life, and lamented everywhere in judea. we are already acquainted with two members of his family--his widow and son; the only other was a daughter--she whom we have seen singing to her brother. tirzah was her name, and as the two looked at each other, their resemblance was plain. her features had the regularity of his, and were of the same jewish type; they had also the charm of childish innocency of expression. home-life and its trustful love permitted the negligent attire in which she appeared. a chemise buttoned upon the right shoulder, and passing loosely over the breast and back and under the left arm, but half concealed her person above the waist, while it left the arms entirely nude. a girdle caught the folds of the garment, marking the commencement of the skirt. the coiffure was very simple and becoming--a silken cap, tyrian-dyed; and over that a striped scarf of the same material, beautifully embroidered, and wound about in thin folds so as to show the shape of the head without enlarging it; the whole finished by a tassel dropping from the crown point of the cap. she had rings, ear and finger; anklets and bracelets, all of gold; and around her neck there was a collar of gold, curiously garnished with a network of delicate chains, to which were pendants of pearl. the edges of her eyelids were painted, and the tips of her fingers stained. her hair fell in two long plaits down her back. a curled lock rested upon each cheek in front of the ear. altogether it would have been impossible to deny her grace, refinement, and beauty. "very pretty, my tirzah, very pretty!" he said, with animation. "the song?" she asked. "yes--and the singer, too. it has the conceit of a greek. where did you get it?" "you remember the greek who sang in the theatre last month? they said he used to be a singer at the court for herod and his sister salome. he came out just after an exhibition of wrestlers, when the house was full of noise. at his first note everything became so quiet that i heard every word. i got the song from him." "but he sang in greek." "and i in hebrew." "ah, yes. i am proud of my little sister. have you another as good?" "very many. but let them go now. amrah sent me to tell you she will bring you your breakfast, and that you need not come down. she should be here by this time. she thinks you sick--that a dreadful accident happened you yesterday. what was it? tell me, and i will help amrah doctor you. she knows the cures of the egyptians, who were always a stupid set; but i have a great many recipes of the arabs who--" "are even more stupid than the egyptians," he said, shaking his head. "do you think so? very well, then," she replied, almost without pause, and putting her hands to her left ear. "we will have nothing to do with any of them. i have here what is much surer and better--the amulet which was given to some of our people--i cannot tell when, it was so far back--by a persian magician. see, the inscription is almost worn out." she offered him the earring, which he took, looked at, and handed back, laughing. "if i were dying, tirzah, i could not use the charm. it is a relic of idolatry, forbidden every believing son and daughter of abraham. take it, but do not wear it any more." "forbidden! not so," she said. "our father's mother wore it i do not know how many sabbaths in her life. it has cured i do not know how many people--more than three anyhow. it is approved--look, here is the mark of the rabbis." "i have no faith in amulets." she raised her eyes to his in astonishment. "what would amrah say?" "amrah's father and mother tended sakiyeh for a garden on the nile." "but gamaliel!" "he says they are godless inventions of unbelievers and shechemites." tirzah looked at the ring doubtfully. "what shall i do with it?" "wear it, my little sister. it becomes you--it helps make you beautiful, though i think you that without help." satisfied, she returned the amulet to her ear just as amrah entered the summer chamber, bearing a platter, with wash-bowl, water, and napkins. not being a pharisee, the ablution was short and simple with judah. the servant then went out, leaving tirzah to dress his hair. when a lock was disposed to her satisfaction, she would unloose the small metallic mirror which, as was the fashion among her fair countrywomen, she wore at her girdle, and gave it to him, that he might see the triumph, and how handsome it made him. meanwhile they kept up their conversation. "what do you think, tirzah?--i am going away." she dropped her hands with amazement. "going away! when? where? for what?" he laughed. "three questions, all in a breath! what a body you are!" next instant he became serious. "you know the law requires me to follow some occupation. our good father set me an example. even you would despise me if i spent in idleness the results of his industry and knowledge. i am going to rome." "oh, i will go with you." "you must stay with mother. if both of us leave her she will die." the brightness faded from her face. "ah, yes, yes! but--must you go? here in jerusalem you can learn all that is needed to be a merchant--if that is what you are thinking of." "but that is not what i am thinking of. the law does not require the son to be what the father was." "what else can you be?" "a soldier," he replied, with a certain pride of voice. tears came into her eyes. "you will be killed." "if god's will, be it so. but, tirzah, the soldiers are not all killed." she threw her arms around his neck, as if to hold him back. "we are so happy! stay at home, my brother." "home cannot always be what it is. you yourself will be going away before long." "never!" he smiled at her earnestness. "a prince of judah, or some other of one of the tribes, will come soon and claim my tirzah, and ride away with her, to be the light of another house. what will then become of me?" she answered with sobs. "war is a trade," he continued, more soberly. "to learn it thoroughly, one must go to school, and there is no school like a roman camp." "you would not fight for rome?" she asked, holding her breath. "and you--even you hate her. the whole world hates her. in that, o tirzah, find the reason of the answer i give you-- yes, i will fight for her, if, in return, she will teach me how one day to fight against her." "when will you go?" amrah's steps were then heard returning. "hist!" he said. "do not let her know of what i am thinking." the faithful slave came in with breakfast, and placed the waiter holding it upon a stool before them; then, with white napkins upon her arm, she remained to serve them. they dipped their fingers in a bowl of water, and were rinsing them, when a noise arrested their attention. they listened, and distinguished martial music in the street on the north side of the house. "soldiers from the praetorium! i must see them," he cried, springing from the divan, and running out. in a moment more he was leaning over the parapet of tiles which guarded the roof at the extreme northeast corner, so absorbed that he did not notice tirzah by his side, resting one hand upon his shoulder. their position--the roof being the highest one in the locality--commanded the house-tops eastward as far as the huge irregular tower of antonia, which has been already mentioned as a citadel for the garrison and military headquarters for the governor. the street, not more than ten feet wide, was spanned here and there by bridges, open and covered, which, like the roofs along the way, were beginning to be occupied by men, women, and children, called out by the music. the word is used, though it is hardly fitting; what the people heard when they came forth was rather an uproar of trumpets and the shriller litui so delightful to the soldiers. the array after a while came into view of the two upon the house of the hurs. first, a vanguard of the light-armed--mostly slingers and bowmen--marching with wide intervals between their ranks and files; next a body of heavy-armed infantry, bearing large shields, and hastoe longoe, or spears identical with those used in the duels before ilium; then the musicians; and then an officer riding alone, but followed closely by a guard of cavalry; after them again, a column of infantry also heavy-armed, which, moving in close order, crowded the streets from wall to wall, and appeared to be without end. the brawny limbs of the men; the cadenced motion from right to left of the shields; the sparkle of scales, buckles, and breastplates and helms, all perfectly burnished; the plumes nodding above the tall crests; the sway of ensigns and iron-shod spears; the bold, confident step, exactly timed and measured; the demeanor, so grave, yet so watchful; the machine-like unity of the whole moving mass--made an impression upon judah, but as something felt rather than seen. two objects fixed his attention--the eagle of the legion first--a gilded effigy perched on a tall shaft, with wings outspread until they met above its head. he knew that, when brought from its chamber in the tower, it had been received with divine honors. the officer riding alone in the midst of the column was the other attraction. his head was bare; otherwise he was in full armor. at his left hip he wore a short sword; in his hand, however, he carried a truncheon, which looked like a roll of white paper. he sat upon a purple cloth instead of a saddle, and that, and a bridle with a forestall of gold and reins of yellow silk broadly fringed at the lower edge, completed the housings of the horse. while the man was yet in the distance, judah observed that his presence was sufficient to throw the people looking at him into angry excitement. they would lean over the parapets or stand boldly out, and shake their fists at him; they followed him with loud cries, and spit at him as he passed under the bridges; the women even flung their sandals, sometimes with such good effect as to hit him. when he was nearer, the yells became distinguishable--"robber, tyrant, dog of a roman! away with ishmael! give us back our hannas!" when quite near, judah could see that, as was but natural, the man did not share the indifference so superbly shown by the soldiers; his face was dark and sullen, and the glances he occasionally cast at his persecutors were full of menace; the very timid shrank from them. now the lad had heard of the custom, borrowed from a habit of the first caesar, by which chief commanders, to indicate their rank, appeared in public with only a laurel vine upon their heads. by that sign he knew this officer--valerius gratus, the new procurator of judea! to say truth now, the roman under the unprovoked storm had the young jew's sympathy; so that when he reached the corner of the house, the latter leaned yet farther over the parapet to see him go by, and in the act rested a hand upon a tile which had been a long time cracked and allowed to go unnoticed. the pressure was strong enough to displace the outer piece, which started to fall. a thrill of horror shot through the youth. he reached out to catch the missile. in appearance the motion was exactly that of one pitching something from him. the effort failed--nay, it served to push the descending fragment farther out over the wall. he shouted with all his might. the soldiers of the guard looked up; so did the great man, and that moment the missile struck him, and he fell from his seat as dead. the cohort halted; the guards leaped from their horses, and hastened to cover the chief with their shields. on the other hand, the people who witnessed the affair, never doubting that the blow had been purposely dealt, cheered the lad as he yet stooped in full view over the parapet, transfixed by what he beheld, and by anticipation of the consequences flashed all too plainly upon him. a mischievous spirit flew with incredible speed from roof to roof along the line of march, seizing the people, and urging them all alike. they laid hands upon the parapets and tore up the tiling and the sunburnt mud of which the house-tops were for the most part made, and with blind fury began to fling them upon the legionaries halted below. a battle then ensued. discipline, of course, prevailed. the struggle, the slaughter, the skill of one side, the desperation of the other, are alike unnecessary to our story. let us look rather to the wretched author of it all. he arose from the parapet, his face very pale. "o tirzah, tirzah! what will become of us?" she had not seen the occurrence below, but was listening to the shouting and watching the mad activity of the people in view on the houses. something terrible was going on, she knew; but what it was, or the cause, or that she or any of those dear to her were in danger, she did not know. "what has happened? what does it all mean?" she asked, in sudden alarm. "i have killed the roman governor. the tile fell upon him." an unseen hand appeared to sprinkle her face with the dust of ashes--it grew white so instantly. she put her arm around him, and looked wistfully, but without a word, into his eyes. his fears had passed to her, and the sight of them gave him strength. "i did not do it purposely, tirzah--it was an accident," he said, more calmly. "what will they do?" she asked. he looked off over the tumult momentarily deepening in the street and on the roofs, and thought of the sullen countenance of gratus. if he were not dead, where would his vengeance stop? and if he were dead, to what height of fury would not the violence of the people lash the legionaries? to evade an answer, he peered over the parapet again, just as the guard were assisting the roman to remount his horse. "he lives, he lives, tirzah! blessed be the lord god of our fathers!" with that outcry, and a brightened countenance, he drew back and replied to her question. "be not afraid, tirzah. i will explain how it happened, and they will remember our father and his services, and not hurt us." he was leading her to the summer-house, when the roof jarred under their feet, and a crash of strong timbers being burst away, followed by a cry of surprise and agony, arose apparently from the court-yard below. he stopped and listened. the cry was repeated; then came a rush of many feet, and voices lifted in rage blent with voices in prayer; and then the screams of women in mortal terror. the soldiers had beaten in the north gate, and were in possession of the house. the terrible sense of being hunted smote him. his first impulse was to fly; but where? nothing but wings would serve him. tirzah, her eyes wild with fear, caught his arm. "o judah, what does it mean?" the servants were being butchered--and his mother! was not one of the voices he heard hers? with all the will left him, he said, "stay here, and wait for me, tirzah. i will go down and see what is the matter, and come back to you." his voice was not steady as he wished. she clung closer to him. clearer, shriller, no longer a fancy, his mother's cry arose. he hesitated no longer. "come, then, let us go." the terrace or gallery at the foot of the steps was crowded with soldiers. other soldiers with drawn swords ran in and out of the chambers. at one place a number of women on their knees clung to each other or prayed for mercy. apart from them, one with torn garments, and long hair streaming over her face, struggled to tear loose from a man all whose strength was tasked to keep his hold. her cries were shrillest of all; cutting through the clamor, they had risen distinguishably to the roof. to her judah sprang--his steps were long and swift, almost a winged flight--"mother, mother!" he shouted. she stretched her hands towards him; but when almost touching them he was seized and forced aside. then he heard some one say, speaking loudly, "that is he!" judah looked, and saw--messala. "what, the assassin--that?" said a tall man, in legionary armor of beautiful finish. "why, he is but a boy." "gods!" replied messala, not forgetting his drawl. "a new philosophy! what would seneca say to the proposition that a man must be old before he can hate enough to kill? you have him; and that is his mother; yonder his sister. you have the whole family." for love of them, judah forgot his quarrel. "help them, o my messala! remember our childhood and help them. i--judah--pray you." messala affected not to hear. "i cannot be of further use to you," he said to the officer. "there is richer entertainment in the street. down eros, up mars!" with the last words he disappeared. judah understood him, and, in the bitterness of his soul, prayed to heaven. "in the hour of thy vengeance, o lord," he said, "be mine the hand to put it upon him!" by great exertion, he drew nearer the officer. "o sir, the woman you hear is my mother. spare her, spare my sister yonder. god is just, he will give you mercy for mercy." the man appeared to be moved. "to the tower with the women!" he shouted, "but do them no harm. i will demand them of you." then to those holding judah, he said, "get cords, and bind his hands, and take him to the street. his punishment is reserved." the mother was carried away. the little tirzah, in her home attire, stupefied with fear, went passively with her keepers. judah gave each of them a last look, and covered his face with his hands, as if to possess himself of the scene fadelessly. he may have shed tears, though no one saw them. there took place in him then what may be justly called the wonder of life. the thoughtful reader of these pages has ere this discerned enough to know that the young jew in disposition was gentle even to womanliness--a result that seldom fails the habit of loving and being loved. the circumstances through which he had come had made no call upon the harsher elements of his nature, if such he had. at times he had felt the stir and impulses of ambition, but they had been like the formless dreams of a child walking by the sea and gazing at the coming and going of stately ships. but now, if we can imagine an idol, sensible of the worship it was accustomed to, dashed suddenly from its altar, and lying amidst the wreck of its little world of love, an idea may be had of what had befallen the young ben-hur, and of its effect upon his being. yet there was no sign, nothing to indicate that he had undergone a change, except that when he raised his head, and held his arms out to be bound, the bend of the cupid's bow had vanished from his lips. in that instant he had put off childhood and become a man. a trumpet sounded in the court-yard. with the cessation of the call, the gallery was cleared of the soldiery; many of whom, as they dared not appear in the ranks with visible plunder in their hands, flung what they had upon the floor, until it was strewn with articles of richest virtu. when judah descended, the formation was complete, and the officer waiting to see his last order executed. the mother, daughter, and entire household were led out of the north gate, the ruins of which choked the passageway. the cries of the domestics, some of whom had been born in the house, were most pitiable. when, finally, the horses and all the dumb tenantry of the place were driven past him, judah began to comprehend the scope of the procurator's vengeance. the very structure was devoted. far as the order was possible of execution, nothing living was to be left within its walls. if in judea there were others desperate enough to think of assassinating a roman governor, the story of what befell the princely family of hur would be a warning to them, while the ruin of the habitation would keep the story alive. the officer waited outside while a detail of men temporarily restored the gate. in the street the fighting had almost ceased. upon the houses here and there clouds of dust told where the struggle was yet prolonged. the cohort was, for the most part, standing at rest, its splendor, like its ranks, in nowise diminished. borne past the point of care for himself, judah had heart for nothing in view but the prisoners, among whom he looked in vain for his mother and tirzah. suddenly, from the earth where she had been lying, a woman arose and started swiftly back to the gate. some of the guards reached out to seize her, and a great shout followed their failure. she ran to judah, and, dropping down, clasped his knees, the coarse black hair powdered with dust veiling her eyes. "o amrah, good amrah," he said to her, "god help you; i cannot." she could not speak. he bent down, and whispered, "live, amrah, for tirzah and my mother. they will come back, and--" a soldier drew her away; whereupon she sprang up and rushed through the gateway and passage into the vacant court-yard. "let her go," the officer shouted. "we will seal the house, and she will starve." the men resumed their work, and, when it was finished there, passed round to the west side. that gate was also secured, after which the palace of the hurs was lost to use. the cohort at length marched back to the tower, where the procurator stayed to recover from his hurts and dispose of his prisoners. on the tenth day following, he visited the market-place. chapter vii next day a detachment of legionaries went to the desolated palace, and, closing the gates permanently, plastered the corners with wax, and at the sides nailed a notice in latin: "this is the property of the emperor." in the haughty roman idea, the sententious announcement was thought sufficient for the purpose--and it was. the day after that again, about noon, a decurion with his command of ten horsemen approached nazareth from the south--that is, from the direction of jerusalem. the place was then a straggling village, perched on a hill-side, and so insignificant that its one street was little more than a path well beaten by the coming and going of flocks and herds. the great plain of esdraelon crept close to it on the south, and from the height on the west a view could be had of the shores of the mediterranean, the region beyond the jordan, and hermon. the valley below, and the country on every side, were given to gardens, vineyards, orchards, and pasturage. groves of palm-trees orientalized the landscape. the houses, in irregular assemblage, were of the humbler class--square, one-story, flat-roofed, and covered with bright-green vines. the drought that had burned the hills of judea to a crisp, brown and lifeless, stopped at the boundary-line of galilee. a trumpet, sounded when the cavalcade drew near the village, had a magical effect upon the inhabitants. the gates and front doors cast forth groups eager to be the first to catch the meaning of a visitation so unusual. nazareth, it must be remembered, was not only aside from any great highway, but within the sway of judas of gamala; wherefore it should not be hard to imagine the feelings with which the legionaries were received. but when they were up and traversing the street, the duty that occupied them became apparent, and then fear and hatred were lost in curiosity, under the impulse of which the people, knowing there must be a halt at the well in the northeastern part of the town, quit their gates and doors, and closed in after the procession. a prisoner whom the horsemen were guarding was the object of curiosity. he was afoot, bareheaded, half naked, his hands bound behind him. a thong fixed to his wrists was looped over the neck of a horse. the dust went with the party when in movement, wrapping him in yellow fog, sometimes in a dense cloud. he drooped forward, footsore and faint. the villagers could see he was young. at the well the decurion halted, and, with most of the men, dismounted. the prisoner sank down in the dust of the road, stupefied, and asking nothing: apparently he was in the last stage of exhaustion. seeing, when they came near, that he was but a boy, the villagers would have helped him had they dared. in the midst of their perplexity, and while the pitchers were passing among the soldiers, a man was descried coming down the road from sepphoris. at sight of him a woman cried out, "look! yonder comes the carpenter. now we will hear something." the person spoken of was quite venerable in appearance. thin white locks fell below the edge of his full turban, and a mass of still whiter beard flowed down the front of his coarse gray gown. he came slowly, for, in addition to his age, he carried some tools--an axe, a saw, and a drawing-knife, all very rude and heavy--and had evidently travelled some distance without rest. he stopped close by to survey the assemblage. "o rabbi, good rabbi joseph!" cried a woman, running to him. "here is a prisoner; come ask the soldiers about him, that we may know who he is, and what he has done, and what they are going to do with him." the rabbi's face remained stolid; he glanced at the prisoner, however, and presently went to the officer. "the peace of the lord be with you!" he said, with unbending gravity. "and that of the gods with you," the decurion replied. "are you from jerusalem?" "yes." "your prisoner is young." "in years, yes." "may i ask what he has done?" "he is an assassin." the people repeated the word in astonishment, but rabbi joseph pursued his inquest. "is he a son of israel?" "he is a jew," said the roman, dryly. the wavering pity of the bystanders came back. "i know nothing of your tribes, but can speak of his family," the speaker continued. "you may have heard of a prince of jerusalem named hur--ben-hur, they called him. he lived in herod's day." "i have seen him," joseph said. "well, this is his son." exclamations became general, and the decurion hastened to stop them. "in the streets of jerusalem, day before yesterday, he nearly killed the noble gratus by flinging a tile upon his head from the roof of a palace--his father's, i believe." there was a pause in the conversation during which the nazarenes gazed at the young ben-hur as at a wild beast. "did he kill him?" asked the rabbi. "no." "he is under sentence." "yes--the galleys for life." "the lord help him!" said joseph, for once moved out of his stolidity. thereupon a youth who came up with joseph, but had stood behind him unobserved, laid down an axe he had been carrying, and, going to the great stone standing by the well, took from it a pitcher of water. the action was so quiet that before the guard could interfere, had they been disposed to do so, he was stooping over the prisoner, and offering him drink. the hand laid kindly upon his shoulder awoke the unfortunate judah, and, looking up, he saw a face he never forgot--the face of a boy about his own age, shaded by locks of yellowish bright chestnut hair; a face lighted by dark-blue eyes, at the time so soft, so appealing, so full of love and holy purpose, that they had all the power of command and will. the spirit of the jew, hardened though it was by days and nights of suffering, and so embittered by wrong that its dreams of revenge took in all the world, melted under the stranger's look, and became as a child's. he put his lips to the pitcher, and drank long and deep. not a word was said to him, nor did he say a word. when the draught was finished, the hand that had been resting upon the sufferer's shoulder was placed upon his head, and stayed there in the dusty locks time enough to say a blessing; the stranger then returned the pitcher to its place on the stone, and, taking his axe again, went back to rabbi joseph. all eyes went with him, the decurion's as well as those of the villagers. this was the end of the scene at the well. when the men had drunk, and the horses, the march was resumed. but the temper of the decurion was not as it had been; he himself raised the prisoner from the dust, and helped him on a horse behind a soldier. the nazarenes went to their houses--among them rabbi joseph and his apprentice. and so, for the first time, judah and the son of mary met and parted. book third "cleopatra.... our size of sorrow, proportion'd to our cause, must be as great as that which makes it.-- enter, below, diomedes. how now? is he dead? diomedes. his death's upon him, but not dead." antony and cleopatra (act iv., sc. xiii.). chapter i the city of misenum gave name to the promontory which it crowned, a few miles southwest of naples. an account of ruins is all that remains of it now; yet in the year of our lord --to which it is desirable to advance the reader--the place was one of the most important on the western coast of italy.[ ] [ ] the roman government, it will be remembered, had two harbors in which great fleets were constantly kept--ravenna and misenum. in the year mentioned, a traveller coming to the promontory to regale himself with the view there offered, would have mounted a wall, and, with the city at his back, looked over the bay of neapolis, as charming then as now; and then, as now, he would have seen the matchless shore, the smoking cone, the sky and waves so softly, deeply blue, ischia here and capri yonder; from one to the other and back again, through the purpled air, his gaze would have sported; at last--for the eyes do weary of the beautiful as the palate with sweets--at last it would have dropped upon a spectacle which the modern tourist cannot see--half the reserve navy of rome astir or at anchor below him. thus regarded, misenum was a very proper place for three masters to meet, and at leisure parcel the world among them. in the old time, moreover, there was a gateway in the wall at a certain point fronting the sea--an empty gateway forming the outlet of a street which, after the exit, stretched itself, in the form of a broad mole, out many stadia into the waves. the watchman on the wall above the gateway was disturbed, one cool september morning, by a party coming down the street in noisy conversation. he gave one look, then settled into his drowse again. there were twenty or thirty persons in the party, of whom the greater number were slaves with torches, which flamed little and smoked much, leaving on the air the perfume of the indian nard. the masters walked in advance arm-in-arm. one of them, apparently fifty years old, slightly bald, and wearing over his scant locks a crown of laurel, seemed, from the attentions paid him, the central object of some affectionate ceremony. they all sported ample togas of white wool broadly bordered with purple. a glance had sufficed the watchman. he knew, without question, they were of high rank, and escorting a friend to ship after a night of festivity. further explanation will be found in the conversation they carried on. "no, my quintus," said one, speaking to him with the crown, "it is ill of fortune to take thee from us so soon. only yesterday thou didst return from the seas beyond the pillars. why, thou hast not even got back thy land legs." "by castor! if a man may swear a woman's oath," said another, somewhat worse of wine, "let us not lament. our quintus is but going to find what he lost last night. dice on a rolling ship is not dice on shore--eh, quintus?" "abuse not fortune!" exclaimed a third. "she is not blind or fickle. at antium, where our arrius questions her, she answers him with nods, and at sea she abides with him holding the rudder. she takes him from us, but does she not always give him back with a new victory?" "the greeks are taking him away," another broke in. "let us abuse them, not the gods. in learning to trade they forgot how to fight." with these words, the party passed the gateway, and came upon the mole, with the bay before them beautiful in the morning light. to the veteran sailor the plash of the waves was like a greeting. he drew a long breath, as if the perfume of the water were sweeter than that of the nard, and held his hand aloft. "my gifts were at praeneste, not antium--and see! wind from the west. thanks, o fortune, my mother!" he said, earnestly. the friends all repeated the exclamation, and the slaves waved their torches. "she comes--yonder!" he continued, pointing to a galley outside the mole. "what need has a sailor for other mistress? is your lucrece more graceful, my caius?" he gazed at the coming ship, and justified his pride. a white sail was bent to the low mast, and the oars dipped, arose, poised a moment, then dipped again, with wing-like action, and in perfect time. "yes, spare the gods," he said, soberly, his eyes fixed upon the vessel. "they send us opportunities. ours the fault if we fail. and as for the greeks, you forget, o my lentulus, the pirates i am going to punish are greeks. one victory over them is of more account than a hundred over the africans." "then thy way is to the aegean?" the sailor's eyes were full of his ship. "what grace, what freedom! a bird hath not less care for the fretting of the waves. see!" he said, but almost immediately added, "thy pardon, my lentulus. i am going to the aegean; and as my departure is so near, i will tell the occasion--only keep it under the rose. i would not that you abuse the duumvir when next you meet him. he is my friend. the trade between greece and alexandria, as ye may have heard, is hardly inferior to that between alexandria and rome. the people in that part of the world forgot to celebrate the cerealia, and triptolemus paid them with a harvest not worth the gathering. at all events, the trade is so grown that it will not brook interruption a day. ye may also have heard of the chersonesan pirates, nested up in the euxine; none bolder, by the bacchae! yesterday word came to rome that, with a fleet, they had rowed down the bosphorus, sunk the galleys off byzantium and chalcedon, swept the propontis, and, still unsated, burst through into the aegean. the corn-merchants who have ships in the east mediterranean are frightened. they had audience with the emperor himself, and from ravenna there go to-day a hundred galleys, and from misenum"--he paused as if to pique the curiosity of his friends, and ended with an emphatic--"one." "happy quintus! we congratulate thee!" "the preferment forerunneth promotion. we salute thee duumvir; nothing less." "quintus arrius, the duumvir, hath a better sound than quintus arrius, the tribune." in such manner they showered him with congratulations. "i am glad with the rest," said the bibulous friend, "very glad; but i must be practical, o my duumvir; and not until i know if promotion will help thee to knowledge of the tesserae will i have an opinion as to whether the gods mean thee ill or good in this--this business." "thanks, many thanks!" arrius replied, speaking to them collectively. "had ye but lanterns, i would say ye were augurs. perpol! i will go further, and show what master diviners ye are! see--and read." from the folds of his toga he drew a roll of paper, and passed it to them, saying, "received while at table last night from--sejanus." the name was already a great one in the roman world; great, and not so infamous as it afterwards became. "sejanus!" they exclaimed, with one voice, closing in to read what the minister had written. "sejanus to c. caecilius rufus, duumvir. "rome, xix. kal. sept. "caesar hath good report of quintus arrius, the tribune. in particular he hath heard of his valor, manifested in the western seas, insomuch that it is his will that the said quintus be transferred instantly to the east. "it is our caesar's will, further, that you cause a hundred triremes, of the first class, and full appointment, to be despatched without delay against the pirates who have appeared in the aegean, and that quintus be sent to command the fleet so despatched. "details are thine, my caecilius. "the necessity is urgent, as thou will be advised by the reports enclosed for thy perusal and the information of the said quintus. "sejanus." arrius gave little heed to the reading. as the ship drew more plainly out of the perspective, she became more and more an attraction to him. the look with which he watched her was that of an enthusiast. at length he tossed the loosened folds of his toga in the air; in reply to the signal, over the aplustre, or fan-like fixture at the stern of the vessel, a scarlet flag was displayed; while several sailors appeared upon the bulwarks, and swung themselves hand over hand up the ropes to the antenna, or yard, and furled the sail. the bow was put round, and the time of the oars increased one half; so that at racing speed she bore down directly towards him and his friends. he observed the manoeuvring with a perceptible brightening of the eyes. her instant answer to the rudder, and the steadiness with which she kept her course, were especially noticeable as virtues to be relied upon in action. "by the nymphae!" said one of the friends, giving back the roll, "we may not longer say our friend will be great; he is already great. our love will now have famous things to feed upon. what more hast thou for us?" "nothing more," arrius replied. "what ye have of the affair is by this time old news in rome, especially between the palace and the forum. the duumvir is discreet; what i am to do, where go to find my fleet, he will tell on the ship, where a sealed package is waiting me. if, however, ye have offerings for any of the altars to-day, pray the gods for a friend plying oar and sail somewhere in the direction of sicily. but she is here, and will come to," he said, reverting to the vessel. "i have interest in her masters; they will sail and fight with me. it is not an easy thing to lay ship side on a shore like this; so let us judge their training and skill." "what, is she new to thee?" "i never saw her before; and, as yet, i know not if she will bring me one acquaintance." "is that well?" "it matters but little. we of the sea come to know each other quickly; our loves, like our hates, are born of sudden dangers." the vessel was of the class called naves liburnicae--long, narrow, low in the water, and modelled for speed and quick manoeuvre. the bow was beautiful. a jet of water spun from its foot as she came on, sprinkling all the prow, which rose in graceful curvature twice a man's stature above the plane of the deck. upon the bending of the sides were figures of triton blowing shells. below the bow, fixed to the keel, and projecting forward under the water-line, was the rostrum, or beak, a device of solid wood, reinforced and armed with iron, in action used as a ram. a stout molding extended from the bow the full length of the ship's sides, defining the bulwarks, which were tastefully crenelated; below the molding, in three rows, each covered with a cap or shield of bull-hide, were the holes in which the oars were worked--sixty on the right, sixty on the left. in further ornamentation, caducei leaned against the lofty prow. two immense ropes passing across the bow marked the number of anchors stowed on the foredeck. the simplicity of the upper works declared the oars the chief dependence of the crew. a mast, set a little forward of midship, was held by fore and back stays and shrouds fixed to rings on the inner side of the bulwarks. the tackle was that required for the management of one great square sail and the yard to which it was hung. above the bulwarks the deck was visible. save the sailors who had reefed the sail, and yet lingered on the yard, but one man was to be seen by the party on the mole, and he stood by the prow helmeted and with a shield. the hundred and twenty oaken blades, kept white and shining by pumice and the constant wash of the waves, rose and fell as if operated by the same hand, and drove the galley forward with a speed rivalling that of a modern steamer. so rapidly, and apparently, so rashly, did she come that the landsmen of the tribune's party were alarmed. suddenly the man by the prow raised his hand with a peculiar gesture; whereupon all the oars flew up, poised a moment in air, then fell straight down. the water boiled and bubbled about them; the galley shook in every timber, and stopped as if scared. another gesture of the hand, and again the oars arose, feathered, and fell; but this time those on the right, dropping towards the stern, pushed forward; while those on the left, dropping towards the bow, pulled backwards. three times the oars thus pushed and pulled against each other. round to the right the ship swung as upon a pivot; then, caught by the wind, she settled gently broadside to the mole. the movement brought the stern to view, with all its garniture--tritons like those at the bow; name in large raised letters; the rudder at the side; the elevated platform upon which the helmsman sat, a stately figure in full armor, his hand upon the rudder-rope; and the aplustre, high, gilt, carved, and bent over the helmsman like a great runcinate leaf. in the midst of the rounding-to, a trumpet was blown brief and shrill, and from the hatchways out poured the marines, all in superb equipment, brazen helms, burnished shields and javelins. while the fighting-men thus went to quarters as for action, the sailors proper climbed the shrouds and perched themselves along the yard. the officers and musicians took their posts. there was no shouting or needless noise. when the oars touched the mole, a bridge was sent out from the helmsman's deck. then the tribune turned to his party and said, with a gravity he had not before shown: "duty now, o my friends." he took the chaplet from his head and gave it to the dice-player. "take thou the myrtle, o favorite of the tesserae!" he said. "if i return, i will seek my sestertii again; if i am not victor, i will not return. hang the crown in thy atrium." to the company he opened his arms, and they came one by one and received his parting embrace. "the gods go with thee, o quintus!" they said. "farewell," he replied. to the slaves waving their torches he waved his hand; then he turned to the waiting ship, beautiful with ordered ranks and crested helms, and shields and javelins. as he stepped upon the bridge, the trumpets sounded, and over the aplustre rose the vexillum purpureum, or pennant of a commander of a fleet. chapter ii the tribune, standing upon the helmsman's deck with the order of the duumvir open in his hand, spoke to the chief of the rowers.[ ] [ ] called hortator. "what force hast thou?" "of oarsmen, two hundred and fifty-two; ten supernumeraries. "making reliefs of--" "eighty-four." "and thy habit?" "it has been to take off and put on every two hours." the tribune mused a moment. "the division is hard, and i will reform it, but not now. the oars may not rest day or night." then to the sailing-master he said, "the wind is fair. let the sail help the oars." when the two thus addressed were gone, he turned to the chief pilot.[ ] [ ] called rector. "what service hast thou had?" "two-and-thirty years." "in what seas chiefly?" "between our rome and the east." "thou art the man i would have chosen." the tribune looked at his orders again. "past the camponellan cape, the course will be to messina. beyond that, follow the bend of the calabrian shore till melito is on thy left, then-- knowest thou the stars that govern in the ionian sea?" "i know them well." "then from melito course eastward for cythera. the gods willing, i will not anchor until in the bay of antemona. the duty is urgent. i rely upon thee." a prudent man was arrius--prudent, and of the class which, while enriching the altars at praeneste and antium, was of opinion, nevertheless, that the favor of the blind goddess depended more upon the votary's care and judgment than upon his gifts and vows. all night as master of the feast he had sat at table drinking and playing; yet the odor of the sea returned him to the mood of the sailor, and he would not rest until he knew his ship. knowledge leaves no room for chances. having begun with the chief of the rowers, the sailing-master, and the pilot, in company with the other officers--the commander of the marines, the keeper of the stores, the master of the machines, the overseer of the kitchen or fires--he passed through the several quarters. nothing escaped his inspection. when he was through, of the community crowded within the narrow walls he alone knew perfectly all there was of material preparation for the voyage and its possible incidents; and, finding the preparation complete, there was left him but one thing further--thorough knowledge of the personnel of his command. as this was the most delicate and difficult part of his task, requiring much time, he set about it his own way. at noon that day the galley was skimming the sea off paestum. the wind was yet from the west, filling the sail to the master's content. the watches had been established. on the foredeck the altar had been set and sprinkled with salt and barley, and before it the tribune had offered solemn prayers to jove and to neptune and all the oceanidae, and, with vows, poured the wine and burned the incense. and now, the better to study his men, he was seated in the great cabin, a very martial figure. the cabin, it should be stated, was the central compartment of the galley, in extent quite sixty-five by thirty feet, and lighted by three broad hatchways. a row of stanchions ran from end to end, supporting the roof, and near the centre the mast was visible, all bristling with axes and spears and javelins. to each hatchway there were double stairs descending right and left, with a pivotal arrangement at the top to allow the lower ends to be hitched to the ceiling; and, as these were now raised, the compartment had the appearance of a skylighted hall. the reader will understand readily that this was the heart of the ship, the home of all aboard--eating-room, sleeping-chamber, field of exercise, lounging-place off duty--uses made possible by the laws which reduced life there to minute details and a routine relentless as death. at the after-end of the cabin there was a platform, reached by several steps. upon it the chief of the rowers sat; in front of him a sounding-table, upon which, with a gavel, he beat time for the oarsmen; at his right a clepsydra, or water-clock, to measure the reliefs and watches. above him, on a higher platform, well guarded by gilded railing, the tribune had his quarters, overlooking everything, and furnished with a couch, a table, and a cathedra, or chair, cushioned, and with arms and high back--articles which the imperial dispensation permitted of the utmost elegance. thus at ease, lounging in the great chair, swaying with the motion of the vessel, the military cloak half draping his tunic, sword in belt, arrius kept watchful eye over his command, and was as closely watched by them. he saw critically everything in view, but dwelt longest upon the rowers. the reader would doubtless have done the same: only he would have looked with much sympathy, while, as is the habit with masters, the tribune's mind ran forward of what he saw, inquiring for results. the spectacle was simple enough of itself. along the sides of the cabin, fixed to the ship's timbers, were what at first appeared to be three rows of benches; a closer view, however, showed them a succession of rising banks, in each of which the second bench was behind and above the first one, and the third above and behind the second. to accommodate the sixty rowers on a side, the space devoted to them permitted nineteen banks separated by intervals of one yard, with a twentieth bank divided so that what would have been its upper seat or bench was directly above the lower seat of the first bank. the arrangement gave each rower when at work ample room, if he timed his movements with those of his associates, the principle being that of soldiers marching with cadenced step in close order. the arrangement also allowed a multiplication of banks, limited only by the length of the galley. as to the rowers, those upon the first and second benches sat, while those upon the third, having longer oars to work, were suffered to stand. the oars were loaded with lead in the handles, and near the point of balance hung to pliable thongs, making possible the delicate touch called feathering, but, at the same time, increasing the need of skill, since an eccentric wave might at any moment catch a heedless fellow and hurl him from his seat. each oar-hole was a vent through which the laborer opposite it had his plenty of sweet air. light streamed down upon him from the grating which formed the floor of the passage between the deck and the bulwark over his head. in some respects, therefore, the condition of the men might have been much worse. still, it must not be imagined that there was any pleasantness in their lives. communication between them was not allowed. day after day they filled their places without speech; in hours of labor they could not see each other's faces; their short respites were given to sleep and the snatching of food. they never laughed; no one ever heard one of them sing. what is the use of tongues when a sigh or a groan will tell all men feel while, perforce, they think in silence? existence with the poor wretches was like a stream under ground sweeping slowly, laboriously on to its outlet, wherever that might chance to be. o son of mary! the sword has now a heart--and thine the glory! so now; but, in the days of which we are writing, for captivity there was drudgery on walls, and in the streets and mines, and the galleys both of war and commerce were insatiable. when druilius won the first sea-fight for his country, romans plied the oars, and the glory was to the rower not less than the marine. these benches which now we are trying to see as they were testified to the change come with conquest, and illustrated both the policy and the prowess of rome. nearly all the nations had sons there, mostly prisoners of war, chosen for their brawn and endurance. in one place a briton; before him a libyan; behind him a crimean. elsewhere a scythian, a gaul, and a thebasite. roman convicts cast down to consort with goths and longobardi, jews, ethiopians, and barbarians from the shores of maeotis. here an athenian, there a red-haired savage from hibernia, yonder blue-eyed giants of the cimbri. in the labor of the rowers there was not enough art to give occupation to their minds, rude and simple as they were. the reach forward, the pull, the feathering the blade, the dip, were all there was of it; motions most perfect when most automatic. even the care forced upon them by the sea outside grew in time to be a thing instinctive rather than of thought. so, as the result of long service, the poor wretches became imbruted--patient, spiritless, obedient--creatures of vast muscle and exhausted intellects, who lived upon recollections generally few but dear, and at last lowered into the semi-conscious alchemic state wherein misery turns to habit, and the soul takes on incredible endurance. from right to left, hour after hour, the tribune, swaying in his easy-chair, turned with thought of everything rather than the wretchedness of the slaves upon the benches. their motions, precise, and exactly the same on both sides of the vessel, after a while became monotonous; and then he amused himself singling out individuals. with his stylus he made note of objections, thinking, if all went well, he would find among the pirates of whom he was in search better men for the places. there was no need of keeping the proper names of the slaves brought to the galleys as to their graves; so, for convenience, they were usually identified by the numerals painted upon the benches to which they were assigned. as the sharp eyes of the great man moved from seat to seat on either hand, they came at last to number sixty, which, as has been said, belonged properly to the last bank on the left-hand side, but, wanting room aft, had been fixed above the first bench of the first bank. there they rested. the bench of number sixty was slightly above the level of the platform, and but a few feet away. the light glinting through the grating over his head gave the rower fairly to the tribune's view--erect, and, like all his fellows, naked, except a cincture about the loins. there were, however, some points in his favor. he was very young, not more than twenty. furthermore, arrius was not merely given to dice; he was a connoisseur of men physically, and when ashore indulged a habit of visiting the gymnasia to see and admire the most famous athletae. from some professor, doubtless, he had caught the idea that strength was as much of the quality as the quantity of the muscle, while superiority in performance required a certain mind as well as strength. having adopted the doctrine, like most men with a hobby, he was always looking for illustrations to support it. the reader may well believe that while the tribune, in the search for the perfect, was often called upon to stop and study, he was seldom perfectly satisfied--in fact, very seldom held as long as on this occasion. in the beginning of each movement of the oar, the rower's body and face were brought into profile view from the platform; the movement ended with the body reversed, and in a pushing posture. the grace and ease of the action at first suggested a doubt of the honesty of the effort put forth; but it was speedily dismissed; the firmness with which the oar was held while in the reach forward, its bending under the push, were proofs of the force applied; not that only, they as certainly proved the rower's art, and put the critic in the great arm-chair in search of the combination of strength and cleverness which was the central idea of his theory. in course of the study, arrius observed the subject's youth; wholly unconscious of tenderness on that account, he also observed that he seemed of good height, and that his limbs, upper and nether, were singularly perfect. the arms, perhaps, were too long, but the objection was well hidden under a mass of muscle, which, in some movements, swelled and knotted like kinking cords. every rib in the round body was discernible; yet the leanness was the healthful reduction so strained after in the palaestrae. and altogether there was in the rower's action a certain harmony which, besides addressing itself to the tribune's theory, stimulated both his curiosity and general interest. very soon he found himself waiting to catch a view of the man's face in full. the head was shapely, and balanced upon a neck broad at the base, but of exceeding pliancy and grace. the features in profile were of oriental outline, and of that delicacy of expression which has always been thought a sign of blood and sensitive spirit. with these observations, the tribune's interest in the subject deepened. "by the gods," he said to himself, "the fellow impresses me! he promises well. i will know more of him." directly the tribune caught the view he wished--the rower turned and looked at him. "a jew! and a boy!" under the gaze then fixed steadily upon him, the large eyes of the slave grew larger--the blood surged to his very brows--the blade lingered in his hands. but instantly, with an angry crash, down fell the gavel of the hortator. the rower started, withdrew his face from the inquisitor, and, as if personally chidden, dropped the oar half feathered. when he glanced again at the tribune, he was vastly more astonished--he was met with a kindly smile. meantime the galley entered the straits of messina, and, skimming past the city of that name, was after a while turned eastward, leaving the cloud over aetna in the sky astern. often as arrius resumed to his platform in the cabin he returned to study the rower, and he kept saying to himself, "the fellow hath a spirit. a jew is not a barbarian. i will know more of him." chapter iii the fourth day out, and the astroea--so the galley was named--speeding through the ionian sea. the sky was clear, and the wind blew as if bearing the good-will of all the gods. as it was possible to overtake the fleet before reaching the bay east of the island of cythera, designated for assemblage, arrius, somewhat impatient, spent much time on deck. he took note diligently of matters pertaining to his ship, and as a rule was well pleased. in the cabin, swinging in the great chair, his thought continually reverted to the rower on number sixty. "knowest thou the man just come from yon bench?" he at length asked of the hortator. a relief was going on at the moment. "from number sixty?" returned the chief. "yes." the chief looked sharply at the rower then going forward. "as thou knowest," he replied "the ship is but a month from the maker's hand, and the men are as new to me as the ship." "he is a jew," arrius remarked, thoughtfully. "the noble quintus is shrewd." "he is very young," arrius continued. "but our best rower," said the other. "i have seen his oar bend almost to breaking." "of what disposition is he?" "he is obedient; further i know not. once he made request of me." "for what?" "he wished me to change him alternately from the right to the left." "did he give a reason?" "he had observed that the men who are confined to one side become misshapen. he also said that some day of storm or battle there might be sudden need to change him, and he might then be unserviceable." "perpol! the idea is new. what else hast thou observed of him?" "he is cleanly above his companions." "in that he is roman," said arrius, approvingly. "have you nothing of his history?" "not a word." the tribune reflected awhile, and turned to go to his own seat. "if i should be on deck when his time is up," he paused to say, "send him to me. let him come alone." about two hours later arrius stood under the aplustre of the galley; in the mood of one who, seeing himself carried swiftly towards an event of mighty import, has nothing to do but wait--the mood in which philosophy vests an even-minded man with the utmost calm, and is ever so serviceable. the pilot sat with a hand upon the rope by which the rudder paddles, one on each side of the vessel, were managed. in the shade of the sail some sailors lay asleep, and up on the yard there was a lookout. lifting his eyes from the solarium set under the aplustre for reference in keeping the course, arrius beheld the rower approaching. "the chief called thee the noble arrius, and said it was thy will that i should seek thee here. i have come." arrius surveyed the figure, tall, sinewy, glistening in the sun, and tinted by the rich red blood within--surveyed it admiringly, and with a thought of the arena; yet the manner was not without effect upon him: there was in the voice a suggestion of life at least partly spent under refining influences; the eyes were clear and open, and more curious than defiant. to the shrewd, demanding, masterful glance bent upon it, the face gave back nothing to mar its youthful comeliness--nothing of accusation or sullenness or menace, only the signs which a great sorrow long borne imprints, as time mellows the surface of pictures. in tacit acknowledgment of the effect, the roman spoke as an older man to a younger, not as a master to a slave. "the hortator tells me thou art his best rower." "the hortator is very kind," the rower answered. "hast thou seen much service?" "about three years." "at the oars?" "i cannot recall a day of rest from them." "the labor is hard; few men bear it a year without breaking, and thou--thou art but a boy." "the noble arrius forgets that the spirit hath much to do with endurance. by its help the weak sometimes thrive, when the strong perish." "from thy speech, thou art a jew." "my ancestors further back than the first roman were hebrews." "the stubborn pride of thy race is not lost in thee," said arrius, observing a flush upon the rower's face. "pride is never so loud as when in chains." "what cause hast thou for pride?" "that i am a jew." arrius smiled. "i have not been to jerusalem," he said; "but i have heard of its princes. i knew one of them. he was a merchant, and sailed the seas. he was fit to have been a king. of what degree art thou?" "i must answer thee from the bench of a galley. i am of the degree of slaves. my father was a prince of jerusalem, and, as a merchant, he sailed the seas. he was known and honored in the guest-chamber of the great augustus." "his name?" "ithamar, of the house of hur." the tribune raised his hand in astonishment. "a son of hur--thou?" after a silence, he asked, "what brought thee here?" judah lowered his head, and his breast labored hard. when his feelings were sufficiently mastered, he looked the tribune in the face, and answered, "i was accused of attempting to assassinate valerius gratus, the procurator." "thou!" cried arrius, yet more amazed, and retreating a step. "thou that assassin! all rome rang with the story. it came to my ship in the river by lodinum." the two regarded each other silently. "i thought the family of hur blotted from the earth," said arrius, speaking first. a flood of tender recollections carried the young man's pride away; tears shone upon his cheeks. "mother--mother! and my little tirzah! where are they? o tribune, noble tribune, if thou knowest anything of them"--he clasped his hands in appeal--"tell me all thou knowest. tell me if they are living--if living, where are they? and in what condition? oh, i pray thee, tell me!" he drew nearer arrius, so near that his hands touched the cloak where it dropped from the latter's folded arms. "the horrible day is three years gone," he continued--"three years, o tribune, and every hour a whole lifetime of misery--a lifetime in a bottomless pit with death, and no relief but in labor--and in all that time not a word from any one, not a whisper. oh, if, in being forgotten, we could only forget! if only i could hide from that scene--my sister torn from me, my mother's last look! i have felt the plague's breath, and the shock of ships in battle; i have heard the tempest lashing the sea, and laughed, though others prayed: death would have been a riddance. bend the oar--yes, in the strain of mighty effort trying to escape the haunting of what that day occurred. think what little will help me. tell me they are dead, if no more, for happy they cannot be while i am lost. i have heard them call me in the night; i have seen them on the water walking. oh, never anything so true as my mother's love! and tirzah--her breath was as the breath of white lilies. she was the youngest branch of the palm--so fresh, so tender, so graceful, so beautiful! she made my day all morning. she came and went in music. and mine was the hand that laid them low! i--" "dost thou admit thy guilt?" asked arrius, sternly. the change that came upon ben-hur was wonderful to see, it was so instant and extreme. the voice sharpened; the hands arose tight-clenched; every fibre thrilled; his eyes inflamed. "thou hast heard of the god of my fathers," he said; "of the infinite jehovah. by his truth and almightiness, and by the love with which he hath followed israel from the beginning, i swear i am innocent!" the tribune was much moved. "o noble roman!" continued ben-hur, "give me a little faith, and, into my darkness, deeper darkening every day, send a light!" arrius turned away, and walked the deck. "didst thou not have a trial?" he asked, stopping suddenly. "no!" the roman raised his head, surprised. "no trial--no witnesses! who passed judgment upon thee?" romans, it should be remembered, were at no time such lovers of the law and its forms as in the ages of their decay. "they bound me with cords, and dragged me to a vault in the tower. i saw no one. no one spoke to me. next day soldiers took me to the seaside. i have been a galley-slave ever since." "what couldst thou have proven?" "i was a boy, too young to be a conspirator. gratus was a stranger to me. if i had meant to kill him, that was not the time or the place. he was riding in the midst of a legion, and it was broad day. i could not have escaped. i was of a class most friendly to rome. my father had been distinguished for his services to the emperor. we had a great estate to lose. ruin was certain to myself, my mother, my sister. i had no cause for malice, while every consideration--property, family, life, conscience, the law--to a son of israel as the breath of his nostrils--would have stayed my hand, though the foul intent had been ever so strong. i was not mad. death was preferable to shame; and, believe me, i pray, it is so yet." "who was with thee when the blow was struck?" "i was on the house-top--my father's house. tirzah was with me--at my side--the soul of gentleness. together we leaned over the parapet to see the legion pass. a tile gave way under my hand, and fell upon gratus. i thought i had killed him. ah, what horror i felt!" "where was thy mother?" "in her chamber below." "what became of her?" ben-hur clenched his hands, and drew a breath like a gasp. "i do not know. i saw them drag her away--that is all i know. out of the house they drove every living thing, even the dumb cattle, and they sealed the gates. the purpose was that she should not return. i, too, ask for her. oh for one word! she, at least, was innocent. i can forgive--but i pray thy pardon, noble tribune! a slave like me should not talk of forgiveness or of revenge. i am bound to an oar for life." arrius listened intently. he brought all his experience with slaves to his aid. if the feeling shown in this instance were assumed, the acting was perfect; on the other hand, if it were real, the jew's innocence might not be doubted; and if he were innocent, with what blind fury the power had been exercised! a whole family blotted out to atone an accident! the thought shocked him. there is no wiser providence than that our occupations, however rude or bloody, cannot wear us out morally; that such qualities as justice and mercy, if they really possess us, continue to live on under them, like flowers under the snow. the tribune could be inexorable, else he had not been fit for the usages of his calling; he could also be just; and to excite his sense of wrong was to put him in the way to right the wrong. the crews of the ships in which he served came after a time to speak of him as the good tribune. shrewd readers will not want a better definition of his character. in this instance there were many circumstances certainly in the young man's favor, and some to be supposed. possibly arrius knew valerius gratus without loving him. possibly he had known the elder hur. in the course of his appeal, judah had asked him of that; and, as will be noticed, he had made no reply. for once the tribune was at loss, and hesitated. his power was ample. he was monarch of the ship. his prepossessions all moved him to mercy. his faith was won. yet, he said to himself, there was no haste--or, rather, there was haste to cythera; the best rower could not then be spared; he would wait; he would learn more; he would at least be sure this was the prince ben-hur, and that he was of a right disposition. ordinarily, slaves were liars. "it is enough," he said aloud. "go back to thy place." ben-hur bowed; looked once more into the master's face, but saw nothing for hope. he turned away slowly, looked back, and said, "if thou dost think of me again, o tribune, let it not be lost in thy mind that i prayed thee only for word of my people--mother, sister." he moved on. arrius followed him with admiring eyes. "perpol!" he thought. "with teaching, what a man for the arena! what a runner! ye gods! what an arm for the sword or the cestus!--stay!" he said aloud. ben-hur stopped, and the tribune went to him. "if thou wert free, what wouldst thou do?" "the noble arrius mocks me!" judah said, with trembling lips. "no; by the gods, no!" "then i will answer gladly. i would give myself to duty the first of life. i would know no other. i would know no rest until my mother and tirzah were restored to home. i would give every day and hour to their happiness. i would wait upon them; never a slave more faithful. they have lost much, but, by the god of my fathers, i would find them more!" the answer was unexpected by the roman. for a moment he lost his purpose. "i spoke to thy ambition," he said, recovering. "if thy mother and sister were dead, or not to be found, what wouldst thou do?" a distinct pallor overspread ben-hur's face, and he looked over the sea. there was a struggle with some strong feeling; when it was conquered, he turned to the tribune. "what pursuit would i follow?" he asked. "yes." "tribune, i will tell thee truly. only the night before the dreadful day of which i have spoken, i obtained permission to be a soldier. i am of the same mind yet; and, as in all the earth there is but one school of war, thither i would go." "the palaestra!" exclaimed arrius. "no; a roman camp." "but thou must first acquaint thyself with the use of arms." now a master may never safely advise a slave. arrius saw his indiscretion, and, in a breath, chilled his voice and manner. "go now," he said, "and do not build upon what has passed between us. perhaps i do but play with thee. or"--he looked away musingly--"or, if thou dost think of it with any hope, choose between the renown of a gladiator and the service of a soldier. the former may come of the favor of the emperor; there is no reward for thee in the latter. thou art not a roman. go!" a short while after ben-hur was upon his bench again. a man's task is always light if his heart is light. handling the oar did not seem so toilsome to judah. a hope had come to him, like a singing bird. he could hardly see the visitor or hear its song; that it was there, though, he knew; his feelings told him so. the caution of the tribune--"perhaps i do but play with thee"--was dismissed often as it recurred to his mind. that he had been called by the great man and asked his story was the bread upon which he fed his hungry spirit. surely something good would come of it. the light about his bench was clear and bright with promises, and he prayed. "o god! i am a true son of the israel thou hast so loved! help me, i pray thee!" chapter iv in the bay of antemona, east of cythera the island, the hundred galleys assembled. there the tribune gave one day to inspection. he sailed then to naxos, the largest of the cyclades, midway the coasts of greece and asia, like a great stone planted in the centre of a highway, from which he could challenge everything that passed; at the same time, he would be in position to go after the pirates instantly, whether they were in the aegean or out on the mediterranean. as the fleet, in order, rowed in towards the mountain shores of the island, a galley was descried coming from the north. arrius went to meet it. she proved to be a transport just from byzantium, and from her commander he learned the particulars of which he stood in most need. the pirates were from all the farther shores of the euxine. even tanais, at the mouth of the river which was supposed to feed palus maeotis, was represented among them. their preparations had been with the greatest secrecy. the first known of them was their appearance off the entrance to the thracian bosphorus, followed by the destruction of the fleet in station there. thence to the outlet of the hellespont everything afloat had fallen their prey. there were quite sixty galleys in the squadron, all well manned and supplied. a few were biremes, the rest stout triremes. a greek was in command, and the pilots, said to be familiar with all the eastern seas, were greek. the plunder had been incalculable. the panic, consequently, was not on the sea alone; cities, with closed gates, sent their people nightly to the walls. traffic had almost ceased. where were the pirates now? to this question, of most interest to arrius, he received answer. after sacking hephaestia, on the island of lemnos, the enemy had coursed across to the thessalian group, and, by last account, disappeared in the gulfs between euboea and hellas. such were the tidings. then the people of the island, drawn to the hill-tops by the rare spectacle of a hundred ships careering in united squadron, beheld the advance division suddenly turn to the north, and the others follow, wheeling upon the same point like cavalry in a column. news of the piratical descent had reached them, and now, watching the white sails until they faded from sight up between rhene and syros, the thoughtful among them took comfort, and were grateful. what rome seized with strong hand she always defended: in return for their taxes, she gave them safety. the tribune was more than pleased with the enemy's movements; he was doubly thankful to fortune. she had brought swift and sure intelligence, and had lured his foes into the waters where, of all others, destruction was most assured. he knew the havoc one galley could play in a broad sea like the mediterranean, and the difficulty of finding and overhauling her; he knew, also, how those very circumstances would enhance the service and glory if, at one blow, he could put a finish to the whole piratical array. if the reader will take a map of greece and the aegean, he will notice the island of euboea lying along the classic coast like a rampart against asia, leaving a channel between it and the continent quite a hundred and twenty miles in length, and scarcely an average of eight in width. the inlet on the north had admitted the fleet of xerxes, and now it received the bold raiders from the euxine. the towns along the pelasgic and meliac gulfs were rich and their plunder seductive. all things considered, therefore, arrius judged that the robbers might be found somewhere below thermopylae. welcoming the chance, he resolved to enclose them north and south, to do which not an hour could be lost; even the fruits and wines and women of naxos must be left behind. so he sailed away without stop or tack until, a little before nightfall, mount ocha was seen upreared against the sky, and the pilot reported the euboean coast. at a signal the fleet rested upon its oars. when the movement was resumed, arrius led a division of fifty of the galleys, intending to take them up the channel, while another division, equally strong, turned their prows to the outer or seaward side of the island, with orders to make all haste to the upper inlet, and descend sweeping the waters. to be sure, neither division was equal in number to the pirates; but each had advantages in compensation, among them, by no means least, a discipline impossible to a lawless horde, however brave. besides, it was a shrewd count on the tribune's side, if, peradventure, one should be defeated, the other would find the enemy shattered by his victory, and in condition to be easily overwhelmed. meantime ben-hur kept his bench, relieved every six hours. the rest in the bay of antemona had freshened him, so that the oar was not troublesome, and the chief on the platform found no fault. people, generally, are not aware of the ease of mind there is in knowing where they are, and where they are going. the sensation of being lost is a keen distress; still worse is the feeling one has in driving blindly into unknown places. custom had dulled the feeling with ben-hur, but only measurably. pulling away hour after hour, sometimes days and nights together, sensible all the time that the galley was gliding swiftly along some of the many tracks of the broad sea, the longing to know where he was, and whither going, was always present with him; but now it seemed quickened by the hope which had come to new life in his breast since the interview with the tribune. the narrower the abiding-place happens to be, the more intense is the longing; and so he found. he seemed to hear every sound of the ship in labor, and listened to each one as if it were a voice come to tell him something; he looked to the grating overhead, and through it into the light of which so small a portion was his, expecting, he knew not what; and many times he caught himself on the point of yielding to the impulse to speak to the chief on the platform, than which no circumstance of battle would have astonished that dignitary more. in his long service, by watching the shifting of the meager sunbeams upon the cabin floor when the ship was under way, he had come to know, generally, the quarter into which she was sailing. this, of course, was only of clear days like those good-fortune was sending the tribune. the experience had not failed him in the period succeeding the departure from cythera. thinking they were tending towards the old judean country, he was sensitive to every variation from the course. with a pang, he had observed the sudden change northward which, as has been noticed, took place near naxos: the cause, however, he could not even conjecture; for it must be remembered that, in common with his fellow-slaves, he knew nothing of the situation, and had no interest in the voyage. his place was at the oar, and he was held there inexorably, whether at anchor or under sail. once only in three years had he been permitted an outlook from the deck. the occasion we have seen. he had no idea that, following the vessel he was helping drive, there was a great squadron close at hand and in beautiful order; no more did he know the object of which it was in pursuit. when the sun, going down, withdrew his last ray from the cabin, the galley still held northward. night fell, yet ben-hur could discern no change. about that time the smell of incense floated down the gangways from the deck. "the tribune is at the altar," he thought. "can it be we are going into battle?" he became observant. now he had been in many battles without having seen one. from his bench he had heard them above and about him, until he was familiar with all their notes, almost as a singer with a song. so, too, he had become acquainted with many of the preliminaries of an engagement, of which, with a roman as well as a greek, the most invariable was the sacrifice to the gods. the rites were the same as those performed at the beginning of a voyage, and to him, when noticed, they were always an admonition. a battle, it should be observed, possessed for him and his fellow-slaves of the oar an interest unlike that of the sailor and marine; it came, not of the danger encountered but of the fact that defeat, if survived, might bring an alteration of condition--possibly freedom--at least a change of masters, which might be for the better. in good time the lanterns were lighted and hung by the stairs, and the tribune came down from the deck. at his word the marines put on their armor. at his word again, the machines were looked to, and spears, javelins, and arrows, in great sheaves, brought and laid upon the floor, together with jars of inflammable oil, and baskets of cotton balls wound loose like the wicking of candles. and when, finally, ben-hur saw the tribune mount his platform and don his armor, and get his helmet and shield out, the meaning of the preparations might not be any longer doubted, and he made ready for the last ignominy of his service. to every bench, as a fixture, there was a chain with heavy anklets. these the hortator proceeded to lock upon the oarsmen, going from number to number, leaving no choice but to obey, and, in event of disaster, no possibility of escape. in the cabin, then, a silence fell, broken, at first, only by the sough of the oars turning in the leathern cases. every man upon the benches felt the shame, ben-hur more keenly than his companions. he would have put it away at any price. soon the clanking of the fetters notified him of the progress the chief was making in his round. he would come to him in turn; but would not the tribune interpose for him? the thought may be set down to vanity or selfishness, as the reader pleases; it certainly, at that moment, took possession of ben-hur. he believed the roman would interpose; anyhow, the circumstance would test the man's feelings. if, intent upon the battle, he would but think of him, it would be proof of his opinion formed--proof that he had been tacitly promoted above his associates in misery--such proof as would justify hope. ben-hur waited anxiously. the interval seemed like an age. at every turn of the oar he looked towards the tribune, who, his simple preparations made, lay down upon the couch and composed himself to rest; whereupon number sixty chid himself, and laughed grimly, and resolved not to look that way again. the hortator approached. now he was at number one--the rattle of the iron links sounded horribly. at last number sixty! calm from despair, ben-hur held his oar at poise, and gave his foot to the officer. then the tribune stirred--sat up--beckoned to the chief. a strong revulsion seized the jew. from the hortator, the great man glanced at him; and when he dropped his oar all the section of the ship on his side seemed aglow. he heard nothing of what was said; enough that the chain hung idly from its staple in the bench, and that the chief, going to his seat, began to beat the sounding-board. the notes of the gavel were never so like music. with his breast against the leaded handle, he pushed with all his might--pushed until the shaft bent as if about to break. the chief went to the tribune, and, smiling, pointed to number sixty. "what strength!" he said. "and what spirit!" the tribune answered. "perpol! he is better without the irons. put them on him no more." so saying, he stretched himself upon the couch again. the ship sailed on hour after hour under the oars in water scarcely rippled by the wind. and the people not on duty slept, arrius in his place, the marines on the floor. once--twice--ben-hur was relieved; but he could not sleep. three years of night, and through the darkness a sunbeam at last! at sea adrift and lost, and now land! dead so long, and, lo! the thrill and stir of resurrection. sleep was not for such an hour. hope deals with the future; now and the past are but servants that wait on her with impulse and suggestive circumstance. starting from the favor of the tribune, she carried him forward indefinitely. the wonder is, not that things so purely imaginative as the results she points us to can make us so happy, but that we can receive them as so real. they must be as gorgeous poppies under the influence of which, under the crimson and purple and gold, reason lies down the while, and is not. sorrows assuaged, home and the fortunes of his house restored; mother and sister in his arms once more--such were the central ideas which made him happier that moment than he had ever been. that he was rushing, as on wings, into horrible battle had, for the time, nothing to do with his thoughts. the things thus in hope were unmixed with doubts--they were. hence his joy so full, so perfect, there was no room in his heart for revenge. messala, gratus, rome, and all the bitter, passionate memories connected with them, were as dead plagues--miasms of the earth above which he floated, far and safe, listening to singing stars. the deeper darkness before the dawn was upon the waters, and all things going well with the astroea, when a man, descending from the deck, walked swiftly to the platform where the tribune slept, and awoke him. arrius arose, put on his helmet, sword, and shield, and went to the commander of the marines. "the pirates are close by. up and ready!" he said, and passed to the stairs, calm, confident, insomuch that one might have thought, "happy fellow! apicius has set a feast for him." chapter v every soul aboard, even the ship, awoke. officers went to their quarters. the marines took arms, and were led out, looking in all respects like legionaries. sheaves of arrows and armfuls of javelins were carried on deck. by the central stairs the oil-tanks and fire-balls were set ready for use. additional lanterns were lighted. buckets were filled with water. the rowers in relief assembled under guard in front of the chief. as providence would have it, ben-hur was one of the latter. overhead he heard the muffled noises of the final preparations--of the sailors furling sail, spreading the nettings, unslinging the machines, and hanging the armor of bull-hide over the side. presently quiet settled about the galley again; quiet full of vague dread and expectation, which, interpreted, means ready. at a signal passed down from the deck, and communicated to the hortator by a petty officer stationed on the stairs, all at once the oars stopped. what did it mean? of the hundred and twenty slaves chained to the benches, not one but asked himself the question. they were without incentive. patriotism, love of honor, sense of duty, brought them no inspiration. they felt the thrill common to men rushed helpless and blind into danger. it may be supposed the dullest of them, poising his oar, thought of all that might happen, yet could promise himself nothing; for victory would but rivet his chains the firmer, while the chances of the ship were his; sinking or on fire, he was doomed to her fate. of the situation without they might not ask. and who were the enemy? and what if they were friends, brethren, countrymen? the reader, carrying the suggestion forward, will see the necessity which governed the roman when, in such emergencies, he locked the hapless wretches to their seats. there was little time, however, for such thought with them. a sound like the rowing of galleys astern attracted ben-hur, and the astroea rocked as if in the midst of countering waves. the idea of a fleet at hand broke upon him--a fleet in manoeuvre--forming probably for attack. his blood started with the fancy. another signal came down from the deck. the oars dipped, and the galley started imperceptibly. no sound from without, none from within, yet each man in the cabin instinctively poised himself for a shock; the very ship seemed to catch the sense, and hold its breath, and go crouched tiger-like. in such a situation time is inappreciable; so that ben-hur could form no judgment of distance gone. at last there was a sound of trumpets on deck, full, clear, long blown. the chief beat the sounding-board until it rang; the rowers reached forward full length, and, deepening the dip of their oars, pulled suddenly with all their united force. the galley, quivering in every timber, answered with a leap. other trumpets joined in the clamor--all from the rear, none forward--from the latter quarter only a rising sound of voices in tumult heard briefly. there was a mighty blow; the rowers in front of the chief's platform reeled, some of them fell; the ship bounded back, recovered, and rushed on more irresistibly than before. shrill and high arose the shrieks of men in terror; over the blare of trumpets, and the grind and crash of the collision, they arose; then under his feet, under the keel, pounding, rumbling, breaking to pieces, drowning, ben-hur felt something overridden. the men about him looked at each other afraid. a shout of triumph from the deck--the beak of the roman had won! but who were they whom the sea had drunk? of what tongue, from what land were they? no pause, no stay! forward rushed the astroea; and, as it went, some sailors ran down, and plunging the cotton balls into the oil-tanks, tossed them dripping to comrades at the head of the stairs: fire was to be added to other horrors of the combat. directly the galley heeled over so far that the oarsmen on the uppermost side with difficulty kept their benches. again the hearty roman cheer, and with it despairing shrieks. an opposing vessel, caught by the grappling-hooks of the great crane swinging from the prow, was being lifted into the air that it might be dropped and sunk. the shouting increased on the right hand and on the left; before, behind, swelled an indescribable clamor. occasionally there was a crash, followed by sudden peals of fright, telling of other ships ridden down, and their crews drowned in the vortexes. nor was the fight all on one side. now and then a roman in armor was borne down the hatchway, and laid bleeding, sometimes dying, on the floor. sometimes, also, puffs of smoke, blended with steam, and foul with the scent of roasting human flesh, poured into the cabin, turning the dimming light into yellow murk. gasping for breath the while, ben-hur knew they were passing through the cloud of a ship on fire, and burning up with the rowers chained to the benches. the astroea all this time was in motion. suddenly she stopped. the oars forward were dashed from the hands of the rowers, and the rowers from their benches. on deck, then, a furious trampling, and on the sides a grinding of ships afoul of each other. for the first time the beating of the gavel was lost in the uproar. men sank on the floor in fear or looked about seeking a hiding-place. in the midst of the panic a body plunged or was pitched headlong down the hatchway, falling near ben-hur. he beheld the half-naked carcass, a mass of hair blackening the face, and under it a shield of bull-hide and wicker-work--a barbarian from the white-skinned nations of the north whom death had robbed of plunder and revenge. how came he there? an iron hand had snatched him from the opposing deck--no, the astroea had been boarded! the romans were fighting on their own deck? a chill smote the young jew: arrius was hard pressed--he might be defending his own life. if he should be slain! god of abraham forefend! the hopes and dreams so lately come, were they only hopes and dreams? mother and sister--house--home--holy land--was he not to see them, after all? the tumult thundered above him; he looked around; in the cabin all was confusion--the rowers on the benches paralyzed; men running blindly hither and thither; only the chief on his seat imperturbable, vainly beating the sounding-board, and waiting the orders of the tribune--in the red murk illustrating the matchless discipline which had won the world. the example had a good effect upon ben-hur. he controlled himself enough to think. honor and duty bound the roman to the platform; but what had he to do with such motives then? the bench was a thing to run from; while, if he were to die a slave, who would be the better of the sacrifice? with him living was duty, if not honor. his life belonged to his people. they arose before him never more real: he saw them, their arms outstretched; he heard them imploring him. and he would go to them. he started--stopped. alas! a roman judgment held him in doom. while it endured, escape would be profitless. in the wide, wide earth there was no place in which he would be safe from the imperial demand; upon the land none, nor upon the sea. whereas he required freedom according to the forms of law, so only could he abide in judea and execute the filial purpose to which he would devote himself: in other land he would not live. dear god! how he had waited and watched and prayed for such a release! and how it had been delayed! but at last he had seen it in the promise of the tribune. what else the great man's meaning? and if the benefactor so belated should now be slain! the dead come not back to redeem the pledges of the living. it should not be--arrius should not die. at least, better perish with him than survive a galley-slave. once more ben-hur looked around. upon the roof of the cabin the battle yet beat; against the sides the hostile vessels yet crushed and grided. on the benches, the slaves struggled to tear loose from their chains, and, finding their efforts vain, howled like madmen; the guards had gone upstairs; discipline was out, panic in. no, the chief kept his chair, unchanged, calm as ever--except the gavel, weaponless. vainly with his clangor he filled the lulls in the din. ben-hur gave him a last look, then broke away--not in flight, but to seek the tribune. a very short space lay between him and the stairs of the hatchway aft. he took it with a leap, and was half-way up the steps--up far enough to catch a glimpse of the sky blood-red with fire, of the ships alongside, of the sea covered with ships and wrecks, of the fight closed in about the pilot's quarter, the assailants many, the defenders few--when suddenly his foothold was knocked away, and he pitched backward. the floor, when he reached it, seemed to be lifting itself and breaking to pieces; then, in a twinkling, the whole after-part of the hull broke asunder, and, as if it had all the time been lying in wait, the sea, hissing and foaming, leaped in, and all became darkness and surging water to ben-hur. it cannot be said that the young jew helped himself in this stress. besides his usual strength, he had the indefinite extra force which nature keeps in reserve for just such perils to life; yet the darkness, and the whirl and roar of water, stupefied him. even the holding his breath was involuntary. the influx of the flood tossed him like a log forward into the cabin, where he would have drowned but for the refluence of the sinking motion. as it was, fathoms under the surface the hollow mass vomited him forth, and he arose along with the loosed debris. in the act of rising, he clutched something, and held to it. the time he was under seemed an age longer than it really was; at last he gained the top; with a great gasp he filled his lungs afresh, and, tossing the water from his hair and eyes, climbed higher upon the plank he held, and looked about him. death had pursued him closely under the waves; he found it waiting for him when he was risen--waiting multiform. smoke lay upon the sea like a semitransparent fog, through which here and there shone cores of intense brilliance. a quick intelligence told him that they were ships on fire. the battle was yet on; nor could he say who was victor. within the radius of his vision now and then ships passed, shooting shadows athwart lights. out of the dun clouds farther on he caught the crash of other ships colliding. the danger, however, was closer at hand. when the astroea went down, her deck, it will be recollected, held her own crew, and the crews of the two galleys which had attacked her at the same time, all of whom were ingulfed. many of them came to the surface together, and on the same plank or support of whatever kind continued the combat, begun possibly in the vortex fathoms down. writhing and twisting in deadly embrace, sometimes striking with sword or javelin, they kept the sea around them in agitation, at one place inky-black, at another aflame with fiery reflections. with their struggles he had nothing to do; they were all his enemies: not one of them but would kill him for the plank upon which he floated. he made haste to get away. about that time he heard oars in quickest movement, and beheld a galley coming down upon him. the tall prow seemed doubly tall, and the red light playing upon its gilt and carving gave it an appearance of snaky life. under its foot the water churned to flying foam. he struck out, pushing the plank, which was very broad and unmanageable. seconds were precious--half a second might save or lose him. in the crisis of the effort, up from the sea, within arm's reach, a helmet shot like a gleam of gold. next came two hands with fingers extended--large hands were they, and strong--their hold once fixed, might not be loosed. ben-hur swerved from them appalled. up rose the helmet and the head it encased--then two arms, which began to beat the water wildly--the head turned back, and gave the face to the light. the mouth gaping wide; the eyes open, but sightless, and the bloodless pallor of a drowning man--never anything more ghastly! yet he gave a cry of joy at the sight, and as the face was going under again, he caught the sufferer by the chain which passed from the helmet beneath the chin, and drew him to the plank. the man was arrius, the tribune. for a while the water foamed and eddied violently about ben-hur, taxing all his strength to hold to the support and at the same time keep the roman's head above the surface. the galley had passed, leaving the two barely outside the stroke of its oars. right through the floating men, over heads helmeted as well as heads bare, she drove, in her wake nothing but the sea sparkling with fire. a muffled crash, succeeded by a great outcry, made the rescuer look again from his charge. a certain savage pleasure touched his heart--the astroea was avenged. after that the battle moved on. resistance turned to flight. but who were the victors? ben-hur was sensible how much his freedom and the life of the tribune depended upon that event. he pushed the plank under the latter until it floated him, after which all his care was to keep him there. the dawn came slowly. he watched its growing hopefully, yet sometimes afraid. would it bring the romans or the pirates? if the pirates, his charge was lost. at last morning broke in full, the air without a breath. off to the left he saw the land, too far to think of attempting to make it. here and there men were adrift like himself. in spots the sea was blackened by charred and sometimes smoking fragments. a galley up a long way was lying to with a torn sail hanging from the tilted yard, and the oars all idle. still farther away he could discern moving specks, which he thought might be ships in flight or pursuit, or they might be white birds a-wing. an hour passed thus. his anxiety increased. if relief came not speedily, arrius would die. sometimes he seemed already dead, he lay so still. he took the helmet off, and then, with greater difficulty, the cuirass; the heart he found fluttering. he took hope at the sign, and held on. there was nothing to do but wait, and, after the manner of his people, pray. chapter vi the throes of recovery from drowning are more painful than the drowning. these arrius passed through, and, at length, to ben-hur's delight, reached the point of speech. gradually, from incoherent questions as to where he was, and by whom and how he had been saved, he reverted to the battle. the doubt of the victory stimulated his faculties to full return, a result aided not a little by a long rest--such as could be had on their frail support. after a while he became talkative. "our rescue, i see, depends upon the result of the fight. i see also what thou hast done for me. to speak fairly, thou hast saved my life at the risk of thy own. i make the acknowledgment broadly; and, whatever cometh, thou hast my thanks. more than that, if fortune doth but serve me kindly, and we get well out of this peril, i will do thee such favor as becometh a roman who hath power and opportunity to prove his gratitude. yet, yet it is to be seen if, with thy good intent, thou hast really done me a kindness; or, rather, speaking to thy good-will"--he hesitated--"i would exact of thee a promise to do me, in a certain event, the greatest favor one man can do another--and of that let me have thy pledge now." "if the thing be not forbidden, i will do it," ben-hur replied. arrius rested again. "art thou, indeed, a son of hur, the jew?" he next asked. "it is as i have said." "i knew thy father--" judah drew himself nearer, for the tribune's voice was weak--he drew nearer, and listened eagerly--at last he thought to hear of home. "i knew him, and loved him," arrius continued. there was another pause, during which something diverted the speaker's thought. "it cannot be," he proceeded, "that thou, a son of his, hast not heard of cato and brutus. they were very great men, and never as great as in death. in their dying, they left this law--a roman may not survive his good-fortune. art thou listening?" "i hear." "it is a custom of gentlemen in rome to wear a ring. there is one on my hand. take it now." he held the hand to judah, who did as he asked. "now put it on thine own hand." ben-hur did so. "the trinket hath its uses," said arrius next. "i have property and money. i am accounted rich even in rome. i have no family. show the ring to my freedman, who hath control in my absence; you will find him in a villa near misenum. tell him how it came to thee, and ask anything, or all he may have; he will not refuse the demand. if i live, i will do better by thee. i will make thee free, and restore thee to thy home and people; or thou mayst give thyself to the pursuit that pleaseth thee most. dost thou hear?" "i could not choose but hear." "then pledge me. by the gods--" "nay, good tribune, i am a jew." "by thy god, then, or in the form most sacred to those of thy faith--pledge me to do what i tell thee now, and as i tell thee; i am waiting, let me have thy promise." "noble arrius, i am warned by thy manner to expect something of gravest concern. tell me thy wish first." "wilt thou promise then?" "that were to give the pledge, and-- blessed be the god of my fathers! yonder cometh a ship!" "in what direction?" "from the north." "canst thou tell her nationality by outward signs?" "no. my service hath been at the oars." "hath she a flag?" "i cannot see one." arrius remained quiet some time, apparently in deep reflection. "does the ship hold this way yet?" he at length asked. "still this way." "look for the flag now." "she hath none." "nor any other sign?" "she hath a sail set, and is of three banks, and cometh swiftly--that is all i can say of her." "a roman in triumph would have out many flags. she must be an enemy. hear now," said arrius, becoming grave again, "hear, while yet i may speak. if the galley be a pirate, thy life is safe; they may not give thee freedom; they may put thee to the oar again; but they will not kill thee. on the other hand, i--" the tribune faltered. "perpol!" he continued, resolutely. "i am too old to submit to dishonor. in rome, let them tell how quintus arrius, as became a roman tribune, went down with his ship in the midst of the foe. this is what i would have thee do. if the galley prove a pirate, push me from the plank and drown me. dost thou hear? swear thou wilt do it." "i will not swear," said ben-hur, firmly; "neither will i do the deed. the law, which is to me most binding, o tribune, would make me answerable for thy life. take back the ring"--he took the seal from his finger--"take it back, and all thy promises of favor in the event of delivery from this peril. the judgment which sent me to the oar for life made me a slave, yet i am not a slave; no more am i thy freedman. i am a son of israel, and this moment, at least, my own master. take back the ring." arrius remained passive. "thou wilt not?" judah continued. "not in anger, then, nor in any despite, but to free myself from a hateful obligation, i will give thy gift to the sea. see, o tribune!" he tossed the ring away. arrius heard the splash where it struck and sank, though he did not look. "thou hast done a foolish thing," he said; "foolish for one placed as thou art. i am not dependent upon thee for death. life is a thread i can break without thy help; and, if i do, what will become of thee? men determined on death prefer it at the hands of others, for the reason that the soul which plato giveth us is rebellious at the thought of self-destruction; that is all. if the ship be a pirate, i will escape from the world. my mind is fixed. i am a roman. success and honor are all in all. yet i would have served thee; thou wouldst not. the ring was the only witness of my will available in this situation. we are both lost. i will die regretting the victory and glory wrested from me; thou wilt live to die a little later, mourning the pious duties undone because of this folly. i pity thee." ben-hur saw the consequences of his act more distinctly than before, yet he did not falter. "in the three years of my servitude, o tribune, thou wert the first to look upon me kindly. no, no! there was another." the voice dropped, the eyes became humid, and he saw plainly as if it were then before him the face of the boy who helped him to a drink by the old well at nazareth. "at least," he proceeded, "thou wert the first to ask me who i was; and if, when i reached out and caught thee, blind and sinking the last time, i, too, had thought of the many ways in which thou couldst be useful to me in my wretchedness, still the act was not all selfish; this i pray you to believe. moreover, seeing as god giveth me to know, the ends i dream of are to be wrought by fair means alone. as a thing of conscience, i would rather die with thee than be thy slayer. my mind is firmly set as thine; though thou wert to offer me all rome, o tribune, and it belonged to thee to make the gift good, i would not kill thee. thy cato and brutus were as little children compared to the hebrew whose law a jew must obey." "but my request. hast--" "thy command would be of more weight, and that would not move me. i have said." both became silent, waiting. ben-hur looked often at the coming ship. arrius rested with closed eyes, indifferent. "art thou sure she is an enemy?" ben-hur asked. "i think so," was the reply. "she stops, and puts a boat over the side." "dost thou see her flag?" "is there no other sign by which she may be known if roman?" "if roman, she hath a helmet over the mast's top." "then be of cheer. i see the helmet." still arrius was not assured. "the men in the small boat are taking in the people afloat. pirates are not humane." "they may need rowers," arrius replied, recurring, possibly, to times when he had made rescues for the purpose. ben-hur was very watchful of the actions of the strangers. "the ship moves off," he said. "whither?" "over on our right there is a galley which i take to be deserted. the new-comer heads towards it. now she is alongside. now she is sending men aboard." then arrius opened his eyes and threw off his calm. "thank thou thy god," he said to ben-hur, after a look at the galleys, "thank thou thy god, as i do my many gods. a pirate would sink, not save, yon ship. by the act and the helmet on the mast i know a roman. the victory is mine. fortune hath not deserted me. we are saved. wave thy hand--call to them--bring them quickly. i shall be duumvir, and thou! i knew thy father, and loved him. he was a prince indeed. he taught me a jew was not a barbarian. i will take thee with me. i will make thee my son. give thy god thanks, and call the sailors. haste! the pursuit must be kept. not a robber shall escape. hasten them!" judah raised himself upon the plank, and waved his hand, and called with all his might; at last he drew the attention of the sailors in the small boat, and they were speedily taken up. arrius was received on the galley with all the honors due a hero so the favorite of fortune. upon a couch on the deck he heard the particulars of the conclusion of the fight. when the survivors afloat upon the water were all saved and the prize secured, he spread his flag of commandant anew, and hurried northward to rejoin the fleet and perfect the victory. in due time the fifty vessels coming down the channel closed in upon the fugitive pirates, and crushed them utterly; not one escaped. to swell the tribune's glory, twenty galleys of the enemy were captured. upon his return from the cruise, arrius had warm welcome on the mole at misenum. the young man attending him very early attracted the attention of his friends there; and to their questions as to who he was the tribune proceeded in the most affectionate manner to tell the story of his rescue and introduce the stranger, omitting carefully all that pertained to the latter's previous history. at the end of the narrative, he called ben-hur to him, and said, with a hand resting affectionately upon his shoulder, "good friends, this is my son and heir, who, as he is to take my property--if it be the will of the gods that i leave any--shall be known to you by my name. i pray you all to love him as you love me." speedily as opportunity permitted, the adoption was formally perfected. and in such manner the brave roman kept his faith with ben-hur, giving him happy introduction into the imperial world. the month succeeding arrius's return, the armilustrium was celebrated with the utmost magnificence in the theater of scaurus. one side of the structure was taken up with military trophies; among which by far the most conspicuous and most admired were twenty prows, complemented by their corresponding aplustra, cut bodily from as many galleys; and over them, so as to be legible to the eighty thousand spectators in the seats, was this inscription: ---------------------------------------------- taken from the pirates in the gulf of euripus, by quintus arrius, duumvir. ---------------------------------------------- book fourth "alva. should the monarch prove unjust-- and, at this time-- queen. then i must wait for justice until it come; and they are happiest far whose consciences may calmly wait their right." schiller, don carlos (act iv., sc. xv.) chapter i the month to which we now come is july, the year that of our lord , and the place antioch, then queen of the east, and next to rome the strongest, if not the most populous, city in the world. there is an opinion that the extravagance and dissoluteness of the age had their origin in rome, and spread thence throughout the empire; that the great cities but reflected the manners of their mistress on the tiber. this may be doubted. the reaction of the conquest would seem to have been upon the morals of the conqueror. in greece she found a spring of corruption; so also in egypt; and the student, having exhausted the subject, will close the books assured that the flow of the demoralizing river was from the east westwardly, and that this very city of antioch, one of the oldest seats of assyrian power and splendor, was a principal source of the deadly stream. a transport galley entered the mouth of the river orontes from the blue waters of the sea. it was in the forenoon. the heat was great, yet all on board who could avail themselves of the privilege were on deck--ben-hur among others. the five years had brought the young jew to perfect manhood. though the robe of white linen in which he was attired somewhat masked his form, his appearance was unusually attractive. for an hour and more he had occupied a seat in the shade of the sail, and in that time several fellow-passengers of his own nationality had tried to engage him in conversation, but without avail. his replies to their questions had been brief, though gravely courteous, and in the latin tongue. the purity of his speech, his cultivated manners, his reticence, served to stimulate their curiosity the more. such as observed him closely were struck by an incongruity between his demeanor, which had the ease and grace of a patrician, and certain points of his person. thus his arms were disproportionately long; and when, to steady himself against the motion of the vessel, he took hold of anything near by, the size of his hands and their evident power compelled remark; so the wonder who and what he was mixed continually with a wish to know the particulars of his life. in other words, his air cannot be better described than as a notice--this man has a story to tell. the galley, in coming, had stopped at one of the ports of cyprus, and picked up a hebrew of most respectable appearance, quiet, reserved, paternal. ben-hur ventured to ask him some questions; the replies won his confidence, and resulted finally in an extended conversation. it chanced also that as the galley from cyprus entered the receiving bay of the orontes, two other vessels which had been sighted out in the sea met it and passed into the river at the same time; and as they did so both the strangers threw out small flags of brightest yellow. there was much conjecture as to the meaning of the signals. at length a passenger addressed himself to the respectable hebrew for information upon the subject. "yes, i know the meaning of the flags," he replied; "they do not signify nationality--they are merely marks of ownership." "has the owner many ships?" "he has." "you know him?" "i have dealt with him." the passengers looked at the speaker as if requesting him to go on. ben-hur listened with interest. "he lives in antioch," the hebrew continued, in his quiet way. "that he is vastly rich has brought him into notice, and the talk about him is not always kind. there used to be in jerusalem a prince of very ancient family named hur." judah strove to be composed, yet his heart beat quicker. "the prince was a merchant, with a genius for business. he set on foot many enterprises, some reaching far east, others west. in the great cities he had branch houses. the one in antioch was in charge of a man said by some to have been a family servant called simonides, greek in name, yet an israelite. the master was drowned at sea. his business, however, went on, and was scarcely less prosperous. after a while misfortune overtook the family. the prince's only son, nearly grown, tried to kill the procurator gratus in one of the streets of jerusalem. he failed by a narrow chance, and has not since been heard of. in fact, the roman's rage took in the whole house--not one of the name was left alive. their palace was sealed up, and is now a rookery for pigeons; the estate was confiscated; everything that could be traced to the ownership of the hurs was confiscated. the procurator cured his hurt with a golden salve." the passengers laughed. "you mean he kept the property," said one of them. "they say so," the hebrew replied; "i am only telling a story as i received it. and, to go on, simonides, who had been the prince's agent here in antioch, opened trade in a short time on his own account, and in a space incredibly brief became the master merchant of the city. in imitation of his master, he sent caravans to india; and on the sea at present he has galleys enough to make a royal fleet. they say nothing goes amiss with him. his camels do not die, except of old age; his ships never founder; if he throw a chip into the river, it will come back to him gold." "how long has he been going on thus?" "not ten years." "he must have had a good start." "yes, they say the procurator took only the prince's property ready at hand--his horses, cattle, houses, land, vessels, goods. the money could not be found, though there must have been vast sums of it. what became of it has been an unsolved mystery." "not to me," said a passenger, with a sneer. "i understand you," the hebrew answered. "others have had your idea. that it furnished old simonides his start is a common belief. the procurator is of that opinion--or he has been--for twice in five years he has caught the merchant, and put him to torture." judah griped the rope he was holding with crushing force. "it is said," the narrator continued, "that there is not a sound bone in the man's body. the last time i saw him he sat in a chair, a shapeless cripple, propped against cushions." "so tortured!" exclaimed several listeners in a breath. "disease could not have produced such a deformity. still the suffering made no impression upon him. all he had was his lawfully, and he was making lawful use of it--that was the most they wrung from him. now, however, he is past persecution. he has a license to trade signed by tiberius himself." "he paid roundly for it, i warrant." "these ships are his," the hebrew continued, passing the remark. "it is a custom among his sailors to salute each other upon meeting by throwing out yellow flags, sight of which is as much as to say, 'we have had a fortunate voyage.'" the story ended there. when the transport was fairly in the channel of the river, judah spoke to the hebrew. "what was the name of the merchant's master?" "ben-hur, prince of jerusalem." "what became of the prince's family?" "the boy was sent to the galleys. i may say he is dead. one year is the ordinary limit of life under that sentence. the widow and daughter have not been heard of; those who know what became of them will not speak. they died doubtless in the cells of one of the castles which spot the waysides of judea." judah walked to the pilot's quarter. so absorbed was he in thought that he scarcely noticed the shores of the river, which from sea to city were surpassingly beautiful with orchards of all the syrian fruits and vines, clustered about villas rich as those of neapolis. no more did he observe the vessels passing in an endless fleet, nor hear the singing and shouting of the sailors, some in labor, some in merriment. the sky was full of sunlight, lying in hazy warmth upon the land and the water; nowhere except over his life was there a shadow. once only he awoke to a momentary interest, and that was when some one pointed out the grove of daphne, discernible from a bend in the river. chapter ii when the city came into view, the passengers were on deck, eager that nothing of the scene might escape them. the respectable jew already introduced to the reader was the principal spokesman. "the river here runs to the west," he said, in the way of general answer. "i remember when it washed the base of the walls; but as roman subjects we have lived in peace, and, as always happens in such times, trade has had its will; now the whole river front is taken up with wharves and docks. yonder"--the speaker pointed southward--"is mount casius, or, as these people love to call it, the mountains of orontes, looking across to its brother amnus in the north; and between them lies the plain of antioch. farther on are the black mountains, whence the ducts of the kings bring the purest water to wash the thirsty streets and people; yet they are forests in wilderness state, dense, and full of birds and beasts." "where is the lake?" one asked. "over north there. you can take horse, if you wish to see it--or, better, a boat, for a tributary connects it with the river." "the grove of daphne!" he said, to a third inquirer. "nobody can describe it; only beware! it was begun by apollo, and completed by him. he prefers it to olympus. people go there for one look--just one--and never come away. they have a saying which tells it all--'better be a worm and feed on the mulberries of daphne than a king's guest.'" "then you advise me to stay away from it?" "not i! go you will. everybody goes, cynic philosopher, virile boy, women, and priests--all go. so sure am i of what you will do that i assume to advise you. do not take quarters in the city--that will be loss of time; but go at once to the village in the edge of the grove. the way is through a garden, under the spray of fountains. the lovers of the god and his penaean maid built the town; and in its porticos and paths and thousand retreats you will find characters and habits and sweets and kinds elsewhere impossible. but the wall of the city! there it is, the masterpiece of xeraeus, the master of mural architecture." all eyes followed his pointing finger. "this part was raised by order of the first of the seleucidae. three hundred years have made it part of the rock it rests upon." the defense justified the encomium. high, solid, and with many bold angles, it curved southwardly out of view. "on the top there are four hundred towers, each a reservoir of water," the hebrew continued. "look now! over the wall, tall as it is, see in the distance two hills, which you may know as the rival crests of sulpius. the structure on the farthest one is the citadel, garrisoned all the year round by a roman legion. opposite it this way rises the temple of jupiter, and under that the front of the legate's residence--a palace full of offices, and yet a fortress against which a mob would dash harmlessly as a south wind." at this point the sailors began taking in sail, whereupon the hebrew exclaimed, heartily, "see! you who hate the sea, and you who have vows, get ready your curses and your prayers. the bridge yonder, over which the road to seleucia is carried, marks the limit of navigation. what the ship unloads for further transit, the camel takes up there. above the bridge begins the island upon which calinicus built his new city, connecting it with five great viaducts so solid time has made no impression upon them, nor floods nor earthquakes. of the main town, my friends, i have only to say you will be happier all your lives for having seen it." as he concluded, the ship turned and made slowly for her wharf under the wall, bringing even more fairly to view the life with which the river at that point was possessed. finally, the lines were thrown, the oars shipped, and the voyage was done. then ben-hur sought the respectable hebrew. "let me trouble you a moment before saying farewell." the man bowed assent. "your story of the merchant has made me curious to see him. you called him simonides?" "yes. he is a jew with a greek name." "where is he to be found?" the acquaintance gave a sharp look before he answered, "i may save you mortification. he is not a money-lender." "nor am i a money-borrower," said ben-hur, smiling at the other's shrewdness. the man raised his head and considered an instant. "one would think," he then replied, "that the richest merchant in antioch would have a house for business corresponding to his wealth; but if you would find him in the day, follow the river to yon bridge, under which he quarters in a building that looks like a buttress of the wall. before the door there is an immense landing, always covered with cargoes come and to go. the fleet that lies moored there is his. you cannot fail to find him." "i give you thanks." "the peace of our fathers go with you." "and with you." with that they separated. two street-porters, loaded with his baggage, received ben-hur's orders upon the wharf. "to the citadel," he said; a direction which implied an official military connection. two great streets, cutting each other at right angles, divided the city into quarters. a curious and immense structure, called the nymphaeum, arose at the foot of the one running north and south. when the porters turned south there, the new-comer, though fresh from rome, was amazed at the magnificence of the avenue. on the right and left there were palaces, and between them extended indefinitely double colonnades of marble, leaving separate ways for footmen, beasts, and chariots; the whole under shade, and cooled by fountains of incessant flow. ben-hur was not in mood to enjoy the spectacle. the story of simonides haunted him. arrived at the omphalus--a monument of four arches wide as the streets, superbly illustrated, and erected to himself by epiphanes, the eighth of the seleucidae--he suddenly changed his mind. "i will not go to the citadel to-night," he said to the porters. "take me to the khan nearest the bridge on the road to seleucia." the party faced about, and in good time he was deposited in a public house of primitive but ample construction, within stone's-throw of the bridge under which old simonides had his quarters. he lay upon the house-top through the night. in his inner mind lived the thought, "now--now i will hear of home--and mother--and the dear little tirzah. if they are on earth, i will find them." chapter iii next day early, to the neglect of the city, ben-hur sought the house of simonides. through an embattled gateway he passed to a continuity of wharves; thence up the river midst a busy press, to the seleucian bridge, under which he paused to take in the scene. there, directly under the bridge, was the merchant's house, a mass of gray stone, unhewn, referable to no style, looking, as the voyager had described it, like a buttress of the wall against which it leaned. two immense doors in front communicated with the wharf. some holes near the top, heavily barred, served as windows. weeds waved from the crevices, and in places black moss splotched the otherwise bald stones. the doors were open. through one of them business went in; through the other it came out; and there was hurry, hurry in all its movements. on the wharf there were piles of goods in every kind of package, and groups of slaves, stripped to the waist, going about in the abandon of labor. below the bridge lay a fleet of galleys, some loading, others unloading. a yellow flag blew out from each masthead. from fleet and wharf, and from ship to ship, the bondmen of traffic passed in clamorous counter-currents. above the bridge, across the river, a wall rose from the water's edge, over which towered the fanciful cornices and turrets of an imperial palace, covering every foot of the island spoken of in the hebrew's description. but, with all its suggestions, ben-hur scarcely noticed it. now, at last, he thought to hear of his people--this, certainly, if simonides had indeed been his father's slave. but would the man acknowledge the relation? that would be to give up his riches and the sovereignty of trade so royally witnessed on the wharf and river. and what was of still greater consequence to the merchant, it would be to forego his career in the midst of amazing success, and yield himself voluntarily once more a slave. simple thought of the demand seemed a monstrous audacity. stripped of diplomatic address, it was to say, you are my slave; give me all you have, and--yourself. yet ben-hur derived strength for the interview from faith in his rights and the hope uppermost in his heart. if the story to which he was yielding were true, simonides belonged to him, with all he had. for the wealth, be it said in justice, he cared nothing. when he started to the door determined in mind, it was with a promise to himself--"let him tell me of mother and tirzah, and i will give him his freedom without account." he passed boldly into the house. the interior was that of a vast depot where, in ordered spaces, and under careful arrangement, goods of every kind were heaped and pent. though the light was murky and the air stifling, men moved about briskly; and in places he saw workmen with saws and hammers making packages for shipments. down a path between the piles he walked slowly, wondering if the man of whose genius there were here such abounding proofs could have been his father's slave? if so, to what class had he belonged? if a jew, was he the son of a servant? or was he a debtor or a debtor's son? or had he been sentenced and sold for theft? these thoughts, as they passed, in nowise disturbed the growing respect for the merchant of which he was each instant more and more conscious. a peculiarity of our admiration for another is that it is always looking for circumstances to justify itself. at length a man approached and spoke to him. "what would you have?" "i would see simonides, the merchant." "will you come this way?" by a number of paths left in the stowage, they finally came to a flight of steps; ascending which, he found himself on the roof of the depot, and in front of a structure which cannot be better described than as a lesser stone house built upon another, invisible from the landing below, and out west of the bridge under the open sky. the roof, hemmed in by a low wall, seemed like a terrace, which, to his astonishment, was brilliant with flowers; in the rich surrounding, the house sat squat, a plain square block, unbroken except by a doorway in front. a dustless path led to the door, through a bordering of shrubs of persian rose in perfect bloom. breathing a sweet attar-perfume, he followed the guide. at the end of a darkened passage within, they stopped before a curtain half parted. the man called out, "a stranger to see the master." a clear voice replied, "in god's name, let him enter." a roman might have called the apartment into which the visitor was ushered his atrium. the walls were paneled; each panel was comparted like a modern office-desk, and each compartment crowded with labelled folios all filemot with age and use. between the panels, and above and below them, were borders of wood once white, now tinted like cream, and carved with marvellous intricacy of design. above a cornice of gilded balls, the ceiling rose in pavilion style until it broke into a shallow dome set with hundreds of panes of violet mica, permitting a flood of light deliciously reposeful. the floor was carpeted with gray rugs so thick that an invading foot fell half buried and soundless. in the midlight of the room were two persons--a man resting in a chair high-backed, broad-armed, and lined with pliant cushions; and at his left, leaning against the back of the chair, a girl well forward into womanhood. at sight of them ben-hur felt the blood redden his forehead; bowing, as much to recover himself as in respect, he lost the lifting of the hands, and the shiver and shrink with which the sitter caught sight of him--an emotion as swift to go as it had been to come. when he raised his eyes the two were in the same position, except the girl's hand had fallen and was resting lightly upon the elder's shoulder; both of them were regarding him fixedly. "if you are simonides, the merchant, and a jew"--ben-hur stopped an instant--"then the peace of the god of our father abraham upon you and--yours." the last word was addressed to the girl. "i am the simonides of whom you speak, by birthright a jew," the man made answer, in a voice singularly clear. "i am simonides, and a jew; and i return you your salutation, with prayer to know who calls upon me." ben-hur looked as he listened, and where the figure of the man should have been in healthful roundness, there was only a formless heap sunk in the depths of the cushions, and covered by a quilted robe of sombre silk. over the heap shone a head royally proportioned--the ideal head of a statesman and conqueror--a head broad of base and domelike in front, such as angelo would have modelled for caesar. white hair dropped in thin locks over the white brows, deepening the blackness of the eyes shining through them like sullen lights. the face was bloodless, and much puffed with folds, especially under the chin. in other words, the head and face were those of a man who might move the world more readily than the world could move him--a man to be twice twelve times tortured into the shapeless cripple he was, without a groan, much less a confession; a man to yield his life, but never a purpose or a point; a man born in armor, and assailable only through his loves. to him ben-hur stretched his hands, open and palm up, as he would offer peace at the same time he asked it. "i am judah, son of ithamar, late head of the house of hur, and a prince of jerusalem." the merchant's right hand lay outside the robe--a long, thin hand, articulate to deformity with suffering. it closed tightly; otherwise there was not the slightest expression of feeling of any kind on his part; nothing to warrant an inference of surprise or interest; nothing but this calm answer, "the princes of jerusalem, of the pure blood, are always welcome in my house; you are welcome. give the young man a seat, esther." the girl took an ottoman near by, and carried it to ben-hur. as she arose from placing the seat, their eyes met. "the peace of our lord with you," she said, modestly. "be seated and at rest." when she resumed her place by the chair, she had not divined his purpose. the powers of woman go not so far: if the matter is of finer feeling, such as pity, mercy, sympathy, that she detects; and therein is a difference between her and man which will endure as long as she remains, by nature, alive to such feelings. she was simply sure he brought some wound of life for healing. ben-hur did not take the offered seat, but said, deferentially, "i pray the good master simonides that he will not hold me an intruder. coming up the river yesterday, i heard he knew my father." "i knew the prince hur. we were associated in some enterprises lawful to merchants who find profit in lands beyond the sea and the desert. but sit, i pray you--and, esther, some wine for the young man. nehemiah speaks of a son of hur who once ruled the half part of jerusalem; an old house; very old, by the faith! in the days of moses and joshua even some of them found favor in the sight of the lord, and divided honors with those princes among men. it can hardly be that their descendant, lineally come to us, will refuse a cup of wine-fat of the genuine vine of sorek, grown on the south hill-sides of hebron." by the time of the conclusion of this speech, esther was before ben-hur with a silver cup filled from a vase upon a table a little removed from the chair. she offered the drink with downcast face. he touched her hand gently to put it away. again their eyes met; whereat he noticed that she was small, not nearly to his shoulder in height; but very graceful, and fair and sweet of face, with eyes black and inexpressibly soft. she is kind and pretty, he thought, and looks as tirzah would were she living. poor tirzah! then he said aloud, "no, thy father--if he is thy father?"--he paused. "i am esther, the daughter of simonides," she said, with dignity. "then, fair esther, thy father, when he has heard my further speech, will not think worse of me if yet i am slow to take his wine of famous extract; nor less i hope not to lose grace in thy sight. stand thou here with me a moment!" both of them, as in common cause, turned to the merchant. "simonides!" he said, firmly, "my father, at his death, had a trusted servant of thy name, and it has been told me that thou art the man!" there was a sudden start of the wrenched limbs under the robe, and the thin hand clenched. "esther, esther!" the man called, sternly; "here, not there, as thou art thy mother's child and mine--here, not there, i say!" the girl looked once from father to visitor; then she replaced the cup upon the table, and went dutifully to the chair. her countenance sufficiently expressed her wonder and alarm. simonides lifted his left hand, and gave it into hers, lying lovingly upon his shoulder, and said, dispassionately, "i have grown old in dealing with men--old before my time. if he who told thee that whereof thou speakest was a friend acquainted with my history, and spoke of it not harshly, he must have persuaded thee that i could not be else than a man distrustful of my kind. the god of israel help him who, at the end of life, is constrained to acknowledge so much! my loves are few, but they are. one of them is a soul which"--he carried the hand holding his to his lips, in manner unmistakable--"a soul which to this time has been unselfishly mine, and such sweet comfort that, were it taken from me, i would die." esther's head drooped until her cheek touched his. "the other love is but a memory; of which i will say further that, like a benison of the lord, it hath a compass to contain a whole family, if only"--his voice lowered and trembled--"if only i knew where they were." ben-hur's face suffused, and, advancing a step, he cried, impulsively, "my mother and sister! oh, it is of them you speak!" esther, as if spoken to, raised her head; but simonides returned to his calm, and answered, coldly, "hear me to the end. because i am that i am, and because of the loves of which i have spoken, before i make return to thy demand touching my relations to the prince hur, and as something which of right should come first, do thou show me proofs of who thou art. is thy witness in writing? or cometh it in person?" the demand was plain, and the right of it indisputable. ben-hur blushed, clasped his hands, stammered, and turned away at loss. simonides pressed him. "the proofs, the proofs, i say! set them before me--lay them in my hands!" yet ben-hur had no answer. he had not anticipated the requirement; and, now that it was made, to him as never before came the awful fact that the three years in the galley had carried away all the proofs of his identity; mother and sister gone, he did not live in the knowledge of any human being. many there were acquainted with him, but that was all. had quintus arrius been present, what could he have said more than where he found him, and that he believed the pretender to be the son of hur? but, as will presently appear in full, the brave roman sailor was dead. judah had felt the loneliness before; to the core of life the sense struck him now. he stood, hands clasped, face averted, in stupefaction. simonides respected his suffering, and waited in silence. "master simonides," he said, at length, "i can only tell my story; and i will not that unless you stay judgment so long, and with good-will deign to hear me." "speak," said simonides, now, indeed, master of the situation--"speak, and i will listen the more willingly that i have not denied you to be the very person you claim yourself." ben-hur proceeded then, and told his life hurriedly, yet with the feeling which is the source of all eloquence; but as we are familiar with it down to his landing at misenum, in company with arrius, returned victorious from the aegean, at that point we will take up the words. "my benefactor was loved and trusted by the emperor, who heaped him with honorable rewards. the merchants of the east contributed magnificent presents, and he became doubly rich among the rich of rome. may a jew forget his religion? or his birthplace, if it were the holy land of our fathers? the good man adopted me his son by formal rites of law; and i strove to make him just return: no child was ever more dutiful to father than i to him. he would have had me a scholar; in art, philosophy, rhetoric, oratory, he would have furnished me the most famous teacher. i declined his insistence, because i was a jew, and could not forget the lord god, or the glory of the prophets, or the city set on the hills by david and solomon. oh, ask you why i accepted any of the benefactions of the roman? i loved him; next place, i thought with his help, array influences which would enable me one day to unseal the mystery close-locking the fate of my mother and sister; and to these there was yet another motive of which i shall not speak except to say it controlled me so far that i devoted myself to arms, and the acquisition of everything deemed essential to thorough knowledge of the art of war. in the palaestrae and circuses of the city i toiled, and in the camps no less; and in all of them i have a name, but not that of my fathers. the crowns i won--and on the walls of the villa by misenum there are many of them--all came to me as the son of arrius, the duumvir. in that relation only am i known among romans.... in steadfast pursuit of my secret aim, i left rome for antioch, intending to accompany the consul maxentius in the campaign he is organizing against the parthians. master of personal skill in all arms, i seek now the higher knowledge pertaining to the conduct of bodies of men in the field. the consul has admitted me one of his military family. but yesterday, as our ship entered the orontes, two other ships sailed in with us flying yellow flags. a fellow-passenger and countryman from cyprus explained that the vessels belonged to simonides, the master-merchant of antioch; he told us, also, who the merchant was; his marvellous success in commerce; of his fleets and caravans, and their coming and going; and, not knowing i had interest in the theme beyond my associate listeners, he said simonides was a jew, once the servant of the prince hur; nor did he conceal the cruelties of gratus, or the purpose of their infliction." at this allusion simonides bowed his head, and, as if to help him conceal his feelings and her own deep sympathy, the daughter hid her face on his neck. directly he raised his eyes, and said, in a clear voice, "i am listening." "o good simonides!" ben-hur then said, advancing a step, his whole soul seeking expression, "i see thou art not convinced, and that yet i stand in the shadow of thy distrust." the merchant held his features fixed as marble, and his tongue as still. "and not less clearly, i see the difficulties of my position," ben-hur continued. "all my roman connection i can prove; i have only to call upon the consul, now the guest of the governor of the city; but i cannot prove the particulars of thy demand upon me. i cannot prove i am my father's son. they who could serve me in that--alas! they are dead or lost." he covered his face with his hands; whereupon esther arose, and, taking the rejected cup to him, said, "the wine is of the country we all so love. drink, i pray thee!" the voice was sweet as that of rebekah offering drink at the well near nahor the city; he saw there were tears in her eyes, and he drank, saying, "daughter of simonides, thy heart is full of goodness; and merciful art thou to let the stranger share it with thy father. be thou blessed of our god! i thank thee." then he addressed himself to the merchant again: "as i have no proof that i am my father's son, i will withdraw that i demanded of thee, o simonides, and go hence to trouble you no more; only let me say i did not seek thy return to servitude nor account of thy fortune; in any event, i would have said, as now i say, that all which is product of thy labor and genius is thine; keep it in welcome. i have no need of any part thereof. when the good quintus, my second father, sailed on the voyage which was his last, he left me his heir, princely rich. if, therefore, thou cost think of me again, be it with remembrance of this question, which, as i do swear by the prophets and jehovah, thy god and mine, was the chief purpose of my coming here: what cost thou know--what canst thou tell me--of my mother and tirzah, my sister--she who should be in beauty and grace even as this one, thy sweetness of life, if not thy very life? oh! what canst thou tell me of them?" the tears ran down esther's cheeks; but the man was wilful: in a clear voice, he replied, "i have said i knew the prince ben-hur. i remember hearing of the misfortune which overtook his family. i remember the bitterness with which i heard it. he who wrought such misery to the widow of my friend is the same who, in the same spirit, hath since wrought upon me. i will go further, and say to you, i have made diligent quest concerning the family, but--i have nothing to tell you of them. they are lost." ben-hur uttered a great groan. "then--then it is another hope broken!" he said, struggling with his feelings. "i am used to disappointments. i pray you pardon my intrusion; and if i have occasioned you annoyance, forgive it because of my sorrow. i have nothing now to live for but vengeance. farewell." at the curtain he turned, and said, simply, "i thank you both." "peace go with you," the merchant said. esther could not speak for sobbing. and so he departed. chapter iv scarcely was ben-hur gone, when simonides seemed to wake as from sleep: his countenance flushed; the sullen light of his eyes changed to brightness; and he said, cheerily, "esther, ring--quick!" she went to the table, and rang a service-bell. one of the panels in the wall swung back, exposing a doorway which gave admittance to a man who passed round to the merchant's front, and saluted him with a half-salaam. "malluch, here--nearer--to the chair," the master said, imperiously. "i have a mission which shall not fail though the sun should. hearken! a young man is now descending to the store-room--tall, comely, and in the garb of israel; follow him, his shadow not more faithful; and every night send me report of where he is, what he does, and the company he keeps; and if, without discovery, you overhear his conversations, report them word for word, together with whatever will serve to expose him, his habits, motives, life. understand you? go quickly! stay, malluch: if he leave the city, go after him--and, mark you, malluch, be as a friend. if he bespeak you, tell him what you will to the occasion most suited, except that you are in my service, of that, not a word. haste--make haste!" the man saluted as before, and was gone. then simonides rubbed his wan hands together, and laughed. "what is the day, daughter?" he said, in the midst of the mood. "what is the day? i wish to remember it for happiness come. see, and look for it laughing, and laughing tell me, esther." the merriment seemed unnatural to her; and, as if to entreat him from it, she answered, sorrowfully, "woe's me, father, that i should ever forget this day!" his hands fell down the instant, and his chin, dropping upon his breast, lost itself in the muffling folds of flesh composing his lower face. "true, most true, my daughter!" he said, without looking up. "this is the twentieth day of the fourth month. to-day, five years ago, my rachel, thy mother, fell down and died. they brought me home broken as thou seest me, and we found her dead of grief. oh, to me she was a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of en-gedi! i have gathered my myrrh with my spice. i have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. we laid her away in a lonely place--in a tomb cut in the mountain; no one near her. yet in the darkness she left me a little light, which the years have increased to a brightness of morning." he raised his hand and rested it upon his daughter's head. "dear lord, i thank thee that now in my esther my lost rachel liveth again!" directly he lifted his head, and said, as with a sudden thought, "is it not clear day outside?" "it was, when the young man came in." "then let abimelech come and take me to the garden, where i can see the river and the ships, and i will tell thee, dear esther, why but now my mouth filled with laughter, and my tongue with singing, and my spirit was like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices." in answer to the bell a servant came, and at her bidding pushed the chair, set on little wheels for the purpose, out of the room to the roof of the lower house, called by him his garden. out through the roses, and by beds of lesser flowers, all triumphs of careful attendance, but now unnoticed, he was rolled to a position from which he could view the palace-tops over against him on the island, the bridge in lessening perspective to the farther shore, and the river below the bridge crowded with vessels, all swimming amidst the dancing splendors of the early sun upon the rippling water. there the servant left him with esther. the much shouting of laborers, and their beating and pounding, did not disturb him any more than the tramping of people on the bridge floor almost overhead, being as familiar to his ear as the view before him to his eye, and therefore unnoticeable, except as suggestions of profits in promise. esther sat on the arm of the chair nursing his hand, and waiting his speech, which came at length in the calm way, the mighty will having carried him back to himself. "when the young man was speaking, esther, i observed thee, and thought thou wert won by him." her eyes fell as she replied, "speak you of faith, father, i believed him." "in thy eyes, then, he is the lost son of the prince hur?" "if he is not--" she hesitated. "and if he is not, esther?" "i have been thy handmaiden, father, since my mother answered the call of the lord god; by thy side i have heard and seen thee deal in wise ways with all manner of men seeking profit, holy and unholy; and now i say, if indeed the young man be not the prince he claims to be, then before me falsehood never played so well the part of righteous truth." "by the glory of solomon, daughter, thou speakest earnestly. dost thou believe thy father his father's servant?" "i understood him to ask of that as something he had but heard." for a time simonides' gaze swam among his swimming ships, though they had no place in his mind. "well, thou art a good child, esther, of genuine jewish shrewdness, and of years and strength to hear a sorrowful tale. wherefore give me heed, and i will tell you of myself, and of thy mother, and of many things pertaining to the past not in thy knowledge or thy dreams--things withheld from the persecuting romans for a hope's sake, and from thee that thy nature should grow towards the lord straight as the reed to the sun.... i was born in a tomb in the valley of hinnom, on the south side of zion. my father and mother were hebrew bond-servants, tenders of the fig and olive trees growing, with many vines, in the king's garden hard by siloam; and in my boyhood i helped them. they were of the class bound to serve forever. they sold me to the prince hur, then, next to herod the king, the richest man in jerusalem. from the garden he transferred me to his storehouse in alexandria of egypt, where i came of age. i served him six years, and in the seventh, by the law of moses, i went free." esther clapped her hands lightly. "oh, then, thou art not his father's servant!" "nay, daughter, hear. now, in those days there were lawyers in the cloisters of the temple who disputed vehemently, saying the children of servants bound forever took the condition of their parents; but the prince hur was a man righteous in all things, and an interpreter of the law after the straitest sect, though not of them. he said i was a hebrew servant bought, in the true meaning of the great lawgiver, and, by sealed writings, which i yet have, he set me free." "and my mother?" esther asked. "thou shalt hear all, esther; be patient. before i am through thou shalt see it were easier for me to forget myself than thy mother.... at the end of my service, i came up to jerusalem to the passover. my master entertained me. i was in love with him already, and i prayed to be continued in his service. he consented, and i served him yet another seven years, but as a hired son of israel. in his behalf i had charge of ventures on the sea by ships, and of ventures on land by caravans eastward to susa and persepolis, and the lands of silk beyond them. perilous passages were they, my daughter; but the lord blessed all i undertook. i brought home vast gains for the prince, and richer knowledge for myself, without which i could not have mastered the charges since fallen to me.... one day i was a guest in his house in jerusalem. a servant entered with some sliced bread on a platter. she came to me first. it was then i saw thy mother, and loved her, and took her away in my secret heart. after a while a time came when i sought the prince to make her my wife. he told me she was bond-servant forever; but if she wished, he would set her free that i might be gratified. she gave me love for love, but was happy where she was, and refused her freedom. i prayed and besought, going again and again after long intervals. she would be my wife, she all the time said, if i would become her fellow in servitude. our father jacob served yet other seven years for his rachel. could i not as much for mine? but thy mother said i must become as she, to serve forever. i came away, but went back. look, esther, look here." he pulled out the lobe of his left ear. "see you not the scar of the awl?" "i see it," she said; "and, oh, i see how thou didst love my mother!" "love her, esther! she was to me more than the shulamite to the singing king, fairer, more spotless; a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from lebanon. the master, even as i required him, took me to the judges, and back to his door, and thrust the awl through my ear into the door, and i was his servant forever. so i won my rachel. and was ever love like mine?" esther stooped and kissed him, and they were silent, thinking of the dead. "my master was drowned at sea, the first sorrow that ever fell upon me," the merchant continued. "there was mourning in his house, and in mine here in antioch, my abiding-place at the time. now, esther, mark you! when the good prince was lost, i had risen to be his chief steward, with everything of property belonging to him in my management and control. judge you how much he loved and trusted me! i hastened to jerusalem to render account to the widow. she continued me in the stewardship. i applied myself with greater diligence. the business prospered, and grew year by year. ten years passed; then came the blow which you heard the young man tell about--the accident, as he called it, to the procurator gratus. the roman gave it out an attempt to assassinate him. under that pretext, by leave from rome, he confiscated to his own use the immense fortune of the widow and children. nor stopped he there. that there might be no reversal of the judgment, he removed all the parties interested. from that dreadful day to this the family of hur have been lost. the son, whom i had seen as a child, was sentenced to the galleys. the widow and daughter are supposed to have been buried in some of the many dungeons of judea, which, once closed upon the doomed, are like sepulchers sealed and locked. they passed from the knowledge of men as utterly as if the sea had swallowed them unseen. we could not hear how they died--nay, not even that they were dead." esther's eyes were dewy with tears. "thy heart is good, esther, good as thy mother's was; and i pray it have not the fate of most good hearts--to be trampled upon by the unmerciful and blind. but hearken further. i went up to jerusalem to give help to my benefactress, and was seized at the gate of the city and carried to the sunken cells of the tower of antonia; why, i knew not, until gratus himself came and demanded of me the moneys of the house of hur, which he knew, after our jewish custom of exchange, were subject to my draft in the different marts of the world. he required me to sign to his order. i refused. he had the houses, lands, goods, ships, and movable property of those i served; he had not their moneys. i saw, if i kept favor in the sight of the lord, i could rebuild their broken fortunes. i refused the tyrant's demands. he put me to torture; my will held good, and he set me free, nothing gained. i came home and began again, in the name of simonides of antioch, instead of the prince hur of jerusalem. thou knowest, esther, how i have prospered; that the increase of the millions of the prince in my hands was miraculous; thou knowest how, at the end of three years, while going up to caesarea, i was taken and a second time tortured by gratus to compel a confession that my goods and moneys were subject to his order of confiscation; thou knowest he failed as before. broken in body, i came home and found my rachel dead of fear and grief for me. the lord our god reigned, and i lived. from the emperor himself i bought immunity and license to trade throughout the world. to-day--praised be he who maketh the clouds his chariot and walketh upon the winds!--to-day, esther, that which was in my hands for stewardship is multiplied into talents sufficient to enrich a caesar." he lifted his head proudly; their eyes met; each read the other's thought. "what shall i with the treasure, esther?" he asked, without lowering his gaze. "my father," she answered, in a low voice, "did not the rightful owner call for it but now?" still his look did not fail. "and thou, my child; shall i leave thee a beggar?" "nay, father, am not i, because i am thy child, his bond-servant? and of whom was it written, 'strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come?'" a gleam of ineffable love lighted his face as he said, "the lord hath been good to me in many ways; but thou, esther, art the sovereign excellence of his favor." he drew her to his breast and kissed her many times. "hear now," he said, with clearer voice--"hear now why i laughed this morning. the young man faced me the apparition of his father in comely youth. my spirit arose to salute him. i felt my trial-days were over and my labors ended. hardly could i keep from crying out. i longed to take him by the hand and show the balance i had earned, and say, 'lo, 'tis all thine! and i am thy servant, ready now to be called away.' and so i would have done, esther, so i would have done, but that moment three thoughts rushed to restrain me. i will be sure he is my master's son--such was the first thought; if he is my master's son, i will learn somewhat of his nature. of those born to riches, bethink you, esther, how many there are in whose hands riches are but breeding curses"--he paused, while his hands clutched, and his voice shrilled with passion--"esther, consider the pains i endured at the roman's hands; nay, not gratus's alone: the merciless wretches who did his bidding the first time and the last were romans, and they all alike laughed to hear me scream. consider my broken body, and the years i have gone shorn of my stature; consider thy mother yonder in her lonely tomb, crushed of soul as i of body; consider the sorrows of my master's family if they are living, and the cruelty of their taking-off if they are dead; consider all, and, with heaven's love about thee, tell me, daughter, shall not a hair fall or a red drop run in expiation? tell me not, as the preachers sometimes do--tell me not that vengeance is the lord's. does he not work his will harmfully as well as in love by agencies? has he not his men of war more numerous than his prophets? is not his the law, eye for eye, hand for hand, foot for foot? oh, in all these years i have dreamed of vengeance, and prayed and provided for it, and gathered patience from the growing of my store, thinking and promising, as the lord liveth, it will one day buy me punishment of the wrong-doers? and when, speaking of his practise with arms, the young man said it was for a nameless purpose, i named the purpose even as he spoke--vengeance! and that, esther, that it was--the third thought which held me still and hard while his pleading lasted, and made me laugh when he was gone." esther caressed the faded hands, and said, as if her spirit with his were running forward to results, "he is gone. will he come again?" "ay, malluch the faithful goes with him, and will bring him back when i am ready." "and when will that be, father?" "not long, not long. he thinks all his witnesses dead. there is one living who will not fail to know him, if he be indeed my master's son." "his mother?" "nay, daughter, i will set the witness before him; till then let us rest the business with the lord. i am tired. call abimelech." esther called the servant, and they returned into the house. chapter v when ben-hur sallied from the great warehouse, it was with the thought that another failure was to be added to the many he had already met in the quest for his people; and the idea was depressing exactly in proportion as the objects of his quest were dear to him; it curtained him round about with a sense of utter loneliness on earth, which, more than anything else, serves to eke from a soul cast down its remaining interest in life. through the people, and the piles of goods, he made way to the edge of the landing, and was tempted by the cool shadows darkening the river's depth. the lazy current seemed to stop and wait for him. in counteraction of the spell, the saying of the voyager flashed into memory--"better be a worm, and feed upon the mulberries of daphne, than a king's guest." he turned, and walked rapidly down the landing and back to the khan. "the road to daphne!" the steward said, surprised at the question ben-hur put to him. "you have not been here before? well, count this the happiest day of your life. you cannot mistake the road. the next street to the left, going south, leads straight to mount sulpius, crowned by the altar of jupiter and the amphitheater; keep it to the third cross street, known as herod's colonnade; turn to your right there, and hold the way through the old city of seleucus to the bronze gates of epiphanes. there the road to daphne begins--and may the gods keep you!" a few directions respecting his baggage, and ben-hur set out. the colonnade of herod was easily found; thence to the brazen gates, under a continuous marble portico, he passed with a multitude mixed of people from all the trading nations of the earth. it was about the fourth hour of the day when he passed out the gate, and found himself one of a procession apparently interminable, moving to the famous grove. the road was divided into separate ways for footmen, for men on horses, and men in chariots; and those again into separate ways for outgoers and incomers. the lines of division were guarded by low balustrading, broken by massive pedestals, many of which were surmounted with statuary. right and left of the road extended margins of sward perfectly kept, relieved at intervals by groups of oak and sycamore trees, and vine-clad summer-houses for the accommodation of the weary, of whom, on the return side, there were always multitudes. the ways of the footmen were paved with red stone, and those of the riders strewn with white sand compactly rolled, but not so solid as to give back an echo to hoof or wheel. the number and variety of fountains at play were amazing, all gifts of visiting kings, and called after them. out southwest to the gates of the grove, the magnificent thoroughfare stretched a little over four miles from the city. in his wretchedness of feeling, ben-hur barely observed the royal liberality which marked the construction of the road. nor more did he at first notice the crowd going with him. he treated the processional displays with like indifference. to say truth, besides his self-absorption, he had not a little of the complacency of a roman visiting the provinces fresh from the ceremonies which daily eddied round and round the golden pillar set up by augustus as the centre of the world. it was not possible for the provinces to offer anything new or superior. he rather availed himself of every opportunity to push forward through the companies in the way, and too slow-going for his impatience. by the time he reached heracleia, a suburban village intermediate the city and the grove, he was somewhat spent with exercise, and began to be susceptible of entertainment. once a pair of goats led by a beautiful woman, woman and goats alike brilliant with ribbons and flowers, attracted his attention. then he stopped to look at a bull of mighty girth, and snowy white, covered with vines freshly cut, and bearing on its broad back a naked child in a basket, the image of a young bacchus, squeezing the juice of ripened berries into a goblet, and drinking with libational formulas. as he resumed his walk, he wondered whose altars would be enriched by the offerings. a horse went by with clipped mane, after the fashion of the time, his rider superbly dressed. he smiled to observe the harmony of pride between the man and the brute. often after that he turned his head at hearing the rumble of wheels and the dull thud of hoofs; unconsciously he was becoming interested in the styles of chariots and charioteers, as they rustled past him going and coming. nor was it long until he began to make notes of the people around him. he saw they were of all ages, sexes, and conditions, and all in holiday attire. one company was uniformed in white, another in black; some bore flags, some smoking censers; some went slowly, singing hymns; others stepped to the music of flutes and tabrets. if such were the going to daphne every day in the year, what a wondrous sight daphne must be! at last there was a clapping of hands, and a burst of joyous cries; following the pointing of many fingers, he looked and saw upon the brow of a hill the templed gate of the consecrated grove. the hymns swelled to louder strains; the music quickened time; and, borne along by the impulsive current, and sharing the common eagerness, he passed in, and, romanized in taste as he was, fell to worshiping the place. rearward of the structure which graced the entrance-way--a purely grecian pile--he stood upon a broad esplanade paved with polished stone; around him a restless exclamatory multitude, in gayest colors, relieved against the iridescent spray flying crystal-white from fountains; before him, off to the southwest, dustless paths radiated out into a garden, and beyond that into a forest, over which rested a veil of pale-blue vapor. ben-hur gazed wistfully, uncertain where to go. a woman that moment exclaimed, "beautiful! but where to now?" her companion, wearing a chaplet of bays, laughed and answered, "go to, thou pretty barbarian! the question implies an earthly fear; and did we not agree to leave all such behind in antioch with the rusty earth? the winds which blow here are respirations of the gods. let us give ourselves to waftage of the winds." "but if we should get lost?" "o thou timid! no one was ever lost in daphne, except those on whom her gates close forever." "and who are they?" she asked, still fearful. "such as have yielded to the charms of the place and chosen it for life and death. hark! stand we here, and i will show you of whom i speak." upon the marble pavement there was a scurry of sandalled feet; the crowd opened, and a party of girls rushed about the speaker and his fair friend, and began singing and dancing to the tabrets they themselves touched. the woman, scared, clung to the man, who put an arm about her, and, with kindled face, kept time to the music with the other hand overhead. the hair of the dancers floated free, and their limbs blushed through the robes of gauze which scarcely draped them. words may not be used to tell of the voluptuousness of the dance. one brief round, and they darted off through the yielding crowd lightly as they had come. "now what think you?" cried the man to the woman. "who are they?" she asked. "devadasi--priestesses devoted to the temple of apollo. there is an army of them. they make the chorus in celebrations. this is their home. sometimes they wander off to other cities, but all they make is brought here to enrich the house of the divine musician. shall we go now?" next minute the two were gone. ben-hur took comfort in the assurance that no one was ever lost in daphne, and he, too, set out--where, he knew not. a sculpture reared upon a beautiful pedestal in the garden attracted him first. it proved to be the statue of a centaur. an inscription informed the unlearned visitor that it exactly represented chiron, the beloved of apollo and diana, instructed by them in the mysteries of hunting, medicine, music, and prophecy. the inscription also bade the stranger look out at a certain part of the heavens, at a certain hour of the clear night, and he would behold the dead alive among the stars, whither jupiter had transferred the good genius. the wisest of the centaurs continued, nevertheless, in the service of mankind. in his hand he held a scroll, on which, graven in greek, were paragraphs of a notice: "o traveller! "art thou a stranger? "i. hearken to the singing of the brooks, and fear not the rain of the fountains; so will the naiades learn to love thee. "ii. the invited breezes of daphne are zephyrus and auster; gentle ministers of life, they will gather sweets for thee; when eurus blows, diana is elsewhere hunting; when boreas blusters, go hide, for apollo is angry. "iii. the shades of the grove are thine in the day; at night they belong to pan and his dryades. disturb them not. "iv. eat of the lotus by the brooksides sparingly, unless thou wouldst have surcease of memory, which is to become a child of daphne. "v. walk thou round the weaving spider--'tis arachne at work for minerva. "vi. wouldst thou behold the tears of daphne, break but a bud from a laurel bough--and die. "heed thou! "and stay and be happy." ben-hur left the interpretation of the mystic notice to others fast enclosing him, and turned away as the white bull was led by. the boy sat in the basket, followed by a procession; after them again, the woman with the goats; and behind her the flute and tabret players, and another procession of gift-bringers. "whither go they?" asked a bystander. another made answer, "the bull to father jove; the goat--" "did not apollo once keep the flocks of admetus?" "ay, the goat to apollo!" the goodness of the reader is again besought in favor of an explanation. a certain facility of accommodation in the matter of religion comes to us after much intercourse with people of a different faith; gradually we attain the truth that every creed is illustrated by good men who are entitled to our respect, but whom we cannot respect without courtesy to their creed. to this point ben-hur had arrived. neither the years in rome nor those in the galley had made any impression upon his religious faith; he was yet a jew. in his view, nevertheless, it was not an impiety to look for the beautiful in the grove of daphne. the remark does not interdict the further saying, if his scruples had been ever so extreme, not improbably he would at this time have smothered them. he was angry; not as the irritable, from chafing of a trifle; nor was his anger like the fool's, pumped from the wells of nothing, to be dissipated by a reproach or a curse; it was the wrath peculiar to ardent natures rudely awakened by the sudden annihilation of a hope--dream, if you will--in which the choicest happinesses were thought to be certainly in reach. in such case nothing intermediate will carry off the passion--the quarrel is with fate. let us follow the philosophy a little further, and say to ourselves, it were well in such quarrels if fate were something tangible, to be despatched with a look or a blow, or a speaking personage with whom high words were possible; then the unhappy mortal would not always end the affair by punishing himself. in ordinary mood, ben-hur would not have come to the grove alone, or, coming alone, he would have availed himself of his position in the consul's family, and made provision against wandering idly about, unknowing and unknown; he would have had all the points of interest in mind, and gone to them under guidance, as in the despatch of business; or, wishing to squander days of leisure in the beautiful place, he would have had in hand a letter to the master of it all, whoever he might be. this would have made him a sightseer, like the shouting herd he was accompanying; whereas he had no reverence for the deities of the grove, nor curiosity; a man in the blindness of bitter disappointment, he was adrift, not waiting for fate, but seeking it as a desperate challenger. every one has known this condition of mind, though perhaps not all in the same degree; every one will recognize it as the condition in which he has done brave things with apparent serenity; and every one reading will say, fortunate for ben-hur if the folly which now catches him is but a friendly harlequin with whistle and painted cap, and not some violence with a pointed sword pitiless. chapter vi ben-hur entered the woods with the processions. he had not interest enough at first to ask where they were going; yet, to relieve him from absolute indifference, he had a vague impression that they were in movement to the temples, which were the central objects of the grove, supreme in attractions. presently, as singers dreamfully play with a flitting chorus, he began repeating to himself, "better be a worm, and feed on the mulberries of daphne, than a king's guest." then of the much repetition arose questions importunate of answer. was life in the grove so very sweet? wherein was the charm? did it lie in some tangled depth of philosophy? or was it something in fact, something on the surface, discernible to every-day wakeful senses? every year thousands, forswearing the world, gave themselves to service here. did they find the charm? and was it sufficient, when found, to induce forgetfulness profound enough to shut out of mind the infinitely diverse things of life? those that sweeten and those that embitter? hopes hovering in the near future as well as sorrows born of the past? if the grove were so good for them, why should it not be good for him? he was a jew; could it be that the excellences were for all the world but children of abraham? forthwith he bent all his faculties to the task of discovery, unmindful of the singing of the gift-bringers and the quips of his associates. in the quest, the sky yielded him nothing; it was blue, very blue, and full of twittering swallows--so was the sky over the city. further on, out of the woods at his right hand, a breeze poured across the road, splashing him with a wave of sweet smells, blent of roses and consuming spices. he stopped, as did others, looking the way the breeze came. "a garden over there?" he said, to a man at his elbow. "rather some priestly ceremony in performance--something to diana, or pan, or a deity of the woods." the answer was in his mother tongue. ben-hur gave the speaker a surprised look. "a hebrew?" he asked him. the man replied with a deferential smile, "i was born within a stone's-throw of the market-place in jerusalem." ben-hur was proceeding to further speech, when the crowd surged forward, thrusting him out on the side of the walk next the woods, and carrying the stranger away. the customary gown and staff, a brown cloth on the head tied by a yellow rope, and a strong judean face to avouch the garments of honest right, remained in the young man's mind, a kind of summary of the man. this took place at a point where a path into the woods began, offering a happy escape from the noisy processions. ben-hur availed himself of the offer. he walked first into a thicket which, from the road, appeared in a state of nature, close, impenetrable, a nesting-place for wild birds. a few steps, however, gave him to see the master's hand even there. the shrubs were flowering or fruit-bearing; under the bending branches the ground was pranked with brightest blooms; over them the jasmine stretched its delicate bonds. from lilac and rose, and lily and tulip, from oleander and strawberry-tree, all old friends in the gardens of the valleys about the city of david, the air, lingering or in haste, loaded itself with exhalations day and night; and that nothing might be wanting to the happiness of the nymphs and naiads, down through the flower-lighted shadows of the mass a brook went its course gently, and by many winding ways. out of the thicket, as he proceeded, on his right and left, issued the cry of the pigeon and the cooing of turtle-doves; blackbirds waited for him, and bided his coming close; a nightingale kept its place fearless, though he passed in arm's-length; a quail ran before him at his feet, whistling to the brood she was leading, and as he paused for them to get out of his way, a figure crawled from a bed of honeyed musk brilliant with balls of golden blossoms. ben-hur was startled. had he, indeed, been permitted to see a satyr at home? the creature looked up at him, and showed in its teeth a hooked pruning-knife; he smiled at his own scare, and, lo! the charm was evolved! peace without fear--peace a universal condition--that it was! he sat upon the ground beneath a citron-tree, which spread its gray roots sprawling to receive a branch of the brook. the nest of a titmouse hung close to the bubbling water, and the tiny creature looked out of the door of the nest into his eyes. "verily, the bird is interpreting to me," he thought. "it says, 'i am not afraid of you, for the law of this happy place is love.'" the charm of the grove seemed plain to him; he was glad, and determined to render himself one of the lost in daphne. in charge of the flowers and shrubs, and watching the growth of all the dumb excellences everywhere to be seen, could not he, like the man with the pruning-knife in his mouth, forego the days of his troubled life--forego them forgetting and forgotten? but by-and-by his jewish nature began to stir within him. the charm might be sufficient for some people. of what kind were they? love is delightful--ah! how pleasant as a successor to wretchedness like his. but was it all there was of life? all? there was an unlikeness between him and those who buried themselves contentedly here. they had no duties--they could not have had; but he-- "god of israel!" he cried aloud, springing to his feet, with burning cheeks--"mother! tirzah! cursed be the moment, cursed the place, in which i yield myself happy in your loss!" he hurried away through the thicket, and came to a stream flowing with the volume of a river between banks of masonry, broken at intervals by gated sluiceways. a bridge carried the path he was traversing across the stream; and, standing upon it, he saw other bridges, no two of them alike. under him the water was lying in a deep pool, clear as a shadow; down a little way it tumbled with a roar over rocks; then there was another pool, and another cascade; and so on, out of view; and bridges and pools and resounding cascades said, plainly as inarticulate things can tell a story, the river was running by permission of a master, exactly as the master would have it, tractable as became a servant of the gods. forward from the bridge he beheld a landscape of wide valleys and irregular heights, with groves and lakes and fanciful houses linked together by white paths and shining streams. the valleys were spread below, that the river might be poured upon them for refreshment in days of drought, and they were as green carpets figured with beds and fields of flowers, and flecked with flocks of sheep white as balls of snow; and the voices of shepherds following the flocks were heard afar. as if to tell him of the pious inscription of all he beheld, the altars out under the open sky seemed countless, each with a white-gowned figure attending it, while processions in white went slowly hither and thither between them; and the smoke of the altars half-risen hung collected in pale clouds over the devoted places. here, there, happy in flight, intoxicated in pause, from object to object, point to point, now in the meadow, now on the heights, now lingering to penetrate the groves and observe the processions, then lost in efforts to pursue the paths and streams which trended mazily into dim perspectives to end finally in-- ah, what might be a fitting end to scene so beautiful! what adequate mysteries were hidden behind an introduction so marvellous! here and there, the speech was beginning, his gaze wandered, so he could not help the conviction, forced by the view, and as the sum of it all, that there was peace in the air and on the earth, and invitation everywhere to come and lie down here and be at rest. suddenly a revelation dawned upon him--the grove was, in fact, a temple--one far-reaching, wall-less temple! never anything like it! the architect had not stopped to pother about columns and porticos, proportions or interiors, or any limitation upon the epic he sought to materialize; he had simply made a servant of nature--art can go no further. so the cunning son of jupiter and callisto built the old arcadia; and in this, as in that, the genius was greek. from the bridge ben-hur went forward into the nearest valley. he came to a flock of sheep. the shepherd was a girl, and she beckoned him, "come!" farther on, the path was divided by an altar--a pedestal of black gneiss, capped with a slab of white marble deftly foliated, and on that a brazier of bronze holding a fire. close by it, a woman, seeing him, waved a wand of willow, and as he passed called him, "stay!" and the temptation in her smile was that of passionate youth. on yet further, he met one of the processions; at its head a troop of little girls, nude except as they were covered with garlands, piped their shrill voices into a song; then a troop of boys, also nude, their bodies deeply sun-browned, came dancing to the song of the girls; behind them the procession, all women, bearing baskets of spices and sweets to the altars--women clad in simple robes, careless of exposure. as he went by they held their hands to him, and said, "stay, and go with us." one, a greek, sang a verse from anacreon: "for to-day i take or give; for to-day i drink and live; for to-day i beg or borrow; who knows about the silent morrow?" but he pursued his way indifferent, and came next to a grove luxuriant, in the heart of the vale at the point where it would be most attractive to the observing eye. as it came close to the path he was travelling, there was a seduction in its shade, and through the foliage he caught the shining of what appeared a pretentious statue; so he turned aside, and entered the cool retreat. the grass was fresh and clean. the trees did not crowd each other; and they were of every kind native to the east, blended well with strangers adopted from far quarters; here grouped in exclusive companionship palm-trees plumed like queens; there sycamores, overtopping laurels of darker foliage; and evergreen oaks rising verdantly, with cedars vast enough to be kings on lebanon; and mulberries; and terebinths so beautiful it is not hyperbole to speak of them as blown from the orchards of paradise. the statue proved to be a daphne of wondrous beauty. hardly, however, had he time to more than glance at her face: at the base of the pedestal a girl and a youth were lying upon a tiger's skin asleep in each other's arms; close by them the implements of their service--his axe and sickle, her basket--flung carelessly upon a heap of fading roses. the exposure startled him. back in the hush of the perfumed thicket he discovered, as he thought, that the charm of the great grove was peace without fear, and almost yielded to it; now, in this sleep in the day's broad glare--this sleep at the feet of daphne--he read a further chapter to which only the vaguest allusion is sufferable. the law of the place was love, but love without law. and this was the sweet peace of daphne! this the life's end of her ministers! for this kings and princes gave of their revenues! for this a crafty priesthood subordinated nature--her birds and brooks and lilies, the river, the labor of many hands, the sanctity of altars, the fertile power of the sun! it would be pleasant now to record that as ben-hur pursued his walk assailed by such reflections, he yielded somewhat to sorrow for the votaries of the great outdoor temple; especially for those who, by personal service, kept it in a state so surpassingly lovely. how they came to the condition was not any longer a mystery; the motive, the influence, the inducement, were before him. some there were, no doubt, caught by the promise held out to their troubled spirits of endless peace in a consecrated abode, to the beauty of which, if they had not money, they could contribute their labor; this class implied intellect peculiarly subject to hope and fear; but the great body of the faithful could not be classed with such. apollo's nets were wide, and their meshes small; and hardly may one tell what all his fishermen landed: this less for that they cannot be described than because they ought not to be. enough that the mass were of the sybarites of the world, and of the herds in number vaster and in degree lower--devotees of the unmixed sensualism to which the east was almost wholly given. not to any of the exaltations--not to the singing-god, or his unhappy mistress; not to any philosophy requiring for its enjoyment the calm of retirement, nor to any service for the comfort there is in religion, nor to love in its holier sense--were they abiding their vows. good reader, why shall not the truth be told here? why not learn that, at this age, there were in all earth but two peoples capable of exaltations of the kind referred to--those who lived by the law of moses, and those who lived by the law of brahma. they alone could have cried you, better a law without love than a love without law. besides that, sympathy is in great degree a result of the mood we are in at the moment: anger forbids the emotion. on the other hand, it is easiest taken on when we are in a state of most absolute self-satisfaction. ben-hur walked with a quicker step, holding his head higher; and, while not less sensitive to the delightfulness of all about him, he made his survey with calmer spirit, though sometimes with curling lip; that is to say, he could not so soon forget how nearly he himself had been imposed upon. chapter vii in front of ben-hur there was a forest of cypress-trees, each a column tall and straight as a mast. venturing into the shady precinct, he heard a trumpet gayly blown, and an instant after saw lying upon the grass close by the countryman whom he had run upon in the road going to the temples. the man arose, and came to him. "i give you peace again," he said, pleasantly. "thank you," ben-hur replied, then asked, "go you my way?" "i am for the stadium, if that is your way." "the stadium!" "yes. the trumpet you heard but now was a call for the competitors." "good friend," said ben-hur, frankly, "i admit my ignorance of the grove; and if you will let me be your follower, i will be glad." "that will delight me. hark! i hear the wheels of the chariots. they are taking the track." ben-hur listened a moment, then completed the introduction by laying his hand upon the man's arm, and saying, "i am the son of arrius, the duumvir, and thou?" "i am malluch, a merchant of antioch." "well, good malluch, the trumpet, and the gride of wheels, and the prospect of diversion excite me. i have some skill in the exercises. in the palaestrae of rome i am not unknown. let us to the course." malluch lingered to say, quickly, "the duumvir was a roman, yet i see his son in the garments of a jew." "the noble arrius was my father by adoption," ben-hur answered. "ah! i see, and beg pardon." passing through the belt of forest, they came to a field with a track laid out upon it, in shape and extent exactly like those of the stadia. the course, or track proper, was of soft earth, rolled and sprinkled, and on both sides defined by ropes, stretched loosely upon upright javelins. for the accommodation of spectators, and such as had interests reaching forward of the mere practise, there were several stands shaded by substantial awnings, and provided with seats in rising rows. in one of the stands the two new-comers found places. ben-hur counted the chariots as they went by--nine in all. "i commend the fellows," he said, with good-will. "here in the east, i thought they aspired to nothing better than the two; but they are ambitious, and play with royal fours. let us study their performance." eight of the fours passed the stand, some walking, others on the trot, and all unexceptionably handled; then the ninth one came on the gallop. ben-hur burst into exclamation. "i have been in the stables of the emperor, malluch, but, by our father abraham of blessed memory! i never saw the like of these." the last four was then sweeping past. all at once they fell into confusion. some one on the stand uttered a sharp cry. ben-hur turned, and saw an old man half-risen from an upper seat, his hands clenched and raised, his eyes fiercely bright, his long white beard fairly quivering. some of the spectators nearest him began to laugh. "they should respect his beard at least. who is he?" asked ben-hur. "a mighty man from the desert, somewhere beyond moab, and owner of camels in herds, and horses descended, they say, from the racers of the first pharaoh--sheik ilderim by name and title." thus malluch replied. the driver meanwhile exerted himself to quiet the four, but without avail. each ineffectual effort excited the sheik the more. "abaddon seize him!" yelled the patriarch, shrilly. "run! fly! do you hear, my children?" the question was to his attendants, apparently of the tribe. "do you hear? they are desert-born, like yourselves. catch them--quick!" the plunging of the animals increased. "accursed roman!" and the sheik shook his fist at the driver. "did he not swear he could drive them--swear it by all his brood of bastard latin gods? nay, hands off me--off, i say! they should run swift as eagles, and with the temper of hand-bred lambs, he swore. cursed be he--cursed the mother of liars who calls him son! see them, the priceless! let him touch one of them with a lash, and"--the rest of the sentence was lost in a furious grinding of his teeth. "to their heads, some of you, and speak them--a word, one is enough, from the tent-song your mothers sang you. oh, fool, fool that i was to put trust in a roman!" some of the shrewder of the old man's friends planted themselves between him and the horses. an opportune failure of breath on his part helped the stratagem. ben-hur, thinking he comprehended the sheik, sympathized with him. far more than mere pride of property--more than anxiety for the result of the race--in his view it was within the possible for the patriarch, according to his habits of thought and his ideas of the inestimable, to love such animals with a tenderness akin to the most sensitive passion. they were all bright bays, unspotted, perfectly matched, and so proportioned as to seem less than they really were. delicate ears pointed small heads; the faces were broad and full between the eyes; the nostrils in expansion disclosed membrane so deeply red as to suggest the flashing of flame; the necks were arches, overlaid with fine mane so abundant as to drape the shoulders and breast, while in happy consonance the forelocks were like ravellings of silken veils; between the knees and the fetlocks the legs were flat as an open hand, but above the knees they were rounded with mighty muscles, needful to upbear the shapely close-knit bodies; the hoofs were like cups of polished agate; and in rearing and plunging they whipped the air, and sometimes the earth, with tails glossy-black and thick and long. the sheik spoke of them as the priceless, and it was a good saying. in this second and closer look at the horses, ben-hur read the story of their relation to their master. they had grown up under his eyes, objects of his special care in the day, his visions of pride in the night, with his family at home in the black tent out on the shadeless bosom of the desert, as his children beloved. that they might win him a triumph over the haughty and hated roman, the old man had brought his loves to the city, never doubting they would win, if only he could find a trusty expert to take them in hand; not merely one with skill, but of a spirit which their spirits would acknowledge. unlike the colder people of the west, he could not protest the driver's inability, and dismiss him civilly; an arab and a sheik, he had to explode, and rive the air about him with clamor. before the patriarch was done with his expletives, a dozen hands were at the bits of the horses, and their quiet assured. about that time, another chariot appeared upon the track; and, unlike the others, driver, vehicle, and races were precisely as they would be presented in the circus the day of final trial. for a reason which will presently be more apparent, it is desirable now to give this turnout plainly to the reader. there should be no difficulty in understanding the carriage known to us all as the chariot of classical renown. one has but to picture to himself a dray with low wheels and broad axle, surmounted by a box open at the tail end. such was the primitive pattern. artistic genius came along in time, and, touching the rude machine, raised it into a thing of beauty--that, for instance, in which aurora, riding in advance of the dawn, is given to our fancy. the jockeys of the ancients, quite as shrewd and ambitious as their successors of the present, called their humblest turnout a two, and their best in grade a four; in the latter, they contested the olympics and the other festal shows founded in imitation of them. the same sharp gamesters preferred to put their horses to the chariot all abreast; and for distinction they termed the two next the pole yoke-steeds, and those on the right and left outside trace-mates. it was their judgment, also, that, by allowing the fullest freedom of action, the greatest speed was attainable; accordingly, the harness resorted to was peculiarly simple; in fact, there was nothing of it save a collar round the animal's neck, and a trace fixed to the collar, unless the lines and a halter fall within the term. wanting to hitch up, the masters pinned a narrow wooden yoke, or cross-tree, near the end of the pole, and, by straps passed through rings at the end of the yoke, buckled the latter to the collar. the traces of the yokesteeds they hitched to the axle; those of the trace-mates to the top rim of the chariot-bed. there remained then but the adjustment of the lines, which, judged by the modern devices, was not the least curious part of the method. for this there was a large ring at the forward extremity of the pole; securing the ends to that ring first, they parted the lines so as to give one to each horse, and proceeded to pass them to the driver, slipping them separately through rings on the inner side of the halters at the mouth. with this plain generalization in mind, all further desirable knowledge upon the subject can be had by following the incidents of the scene occurring. the other contestants had been received in silence; the last comer was more fortunate. while moving towards the stand from which we are viewing the scene, his progress was signalized by loud demonstrations, by clapping of hands and cheers, the effect of which was to centre attention upon him exclusively. his yoke-steeds, it was observed, were black, while the trace-mates were snow-white. in conformity to the exacting canons of roman taste, they had all four been mutilated; that is to say, their tails had been clipped, and, to complete the barbarity, their shorn manes were divided into knots tied with flaring red and yellow ribbons. in advancing, the stranger at length reached a point where the chariot came into view from the stand, and its appearance would of itself have justified the shouting. the wheels were very marvels of construction. stout bands of burnished bronze reinforced the hubs, otherwise very light; the spokes were sections of ivory tusks, set in with the natural curve outward to perfect the dishing, considered important then as now; bronze tires held the fellies, which were of shining ebony. the axle, in keeping with the wheels, was tipped with heads of snarling tigers done in brass, and the bed was woven of willow wands gilded with gold. the coming of the beautiful horses and resplendent chariot drew ben-hur to look at the driver with increased interest. who was he? when ben-hur asked himself the question first, he could not see the man's face, or even his full figure; yet the air and manner were familiar, and pricked him keenly with a reminder of a period long gone. who could it be? nearer now, and the horses approaching at a trot. from the shouting and the gorgeousness of the turnout, it was thought he might be some official favorite or famous prince. such an appearance was not inconsistent with exalted rank. kings often struggled for the crown of leaves which was the prize of victory. nero and commodus, it will be remembered, devoted themselves to the chariot. ben-hur arose and forced a passage down nearly to the railing in front of the lower seat of the stand. his face was earnest, his manner eager. and directly the whole person of the driver was in view. a companion rode with him, in classic description a myrtilus, permitted men of high estate indulging their passion for the race-course. ben-hur could see only the driver, standing erect in the chariot, with the reins passed several times round his body--a handsome figure, scantily covered by a tunic of light-red cloth; in the right hand a whip; in the other, the arm raised and lightly extended, the four lines. the pose was exceedingly graceful and animated. the cheers and clapping of hands were received with statuesque indifference. ben-hur stood transfixed--his instinct and memory had served him faithfully--the driver was messala. by the selection of horses, the magnificence of the chariot, the attitude, and display of person--above all, by the expression of the cold, sharp, eagle features, imperialized in his countrymen by sway of the world through so many generations, ben-hur knew messala unchanged, as haughty, confident, and audacious as ever, the same in ambition, cynicism, and mocking insouciance. chapter viii as ben-hur descended the steps of the stand, an arab arose upon the last one at the foot, and cried out, "men of the east and west--hearken! the good sheik ilderim giveth greeting. with four horses, sons of the favorites of solomon the wise, he hath come up against the best. needs he most a mighty man to drive them. whoso will take them to his satisfaction, to him he promiseth enrichment forever. here--there--in the city and in the circuses, and wherever the strong most do congregate, tell ye this his offer. so saith my master, sheik ilderim the generous." the proclamation awakened a great buzz among the people under the awning. by night it would be repeated and discussed in all the sporting circles of antioch. ben-hur, hearing it, stopped and looked hesitatingly from the herald to the sheik. malluch thought he was about to accept the offer, but was relieved when he presently turned to him, and asked, "good malluch, where to now?" the worthy replied, with a laugh, "would you liken yourself to others visiting the grove for the first time, you will straightway to hear your fortune told." "my fortune, said you? though the suggestion has in it a flavor of unbelief, let us to the goddess at once." "nay, son of arrius, these apollonians have a better trick than that. instead of speech with a pythia or a sibyl, they will sell you a plain papyrus leaf, hardly dry from the stalk, and bid you dip it in the water of a certain fountain, when it will show you a verse in which you may hear of your future." the glow of interest departed from ben-hur's face. "there are people who have no need to vex themselves about their future," he said, gloomily. "then you prefer to go to the temples?" "the temples are greek, are they not?" "they call them greek." "the hellenes were masters of the beautiful in art; but in architecture they sacrificed variety to unbending beauty. their temples are all alike. how call you the fountain?" "castalia." "oh! it has repute throughout the world. let us thither." malluch kept watch on his companion as they went, and saw that for the moment at least his good spirits were out. to the people passing he gave no attention; over the wonders they came upon there were no exclamations; silently, even sullenly, he kept a slow pace. the truth was, the sight of messala had set ben-hur to thinking. it seemed scarce an hour ago that the strong hands had torn him from his mother, scarce an hour ago that the roman had put seal upon the gates of his father's house. he recounted how, in the hopeless misery of the life--if such it might be called--in the galleys, he had had little else to do, aside from labor, than dream dreams of vengeance, in all of which messala was the principal. there might be, he used to say to himself, escape for gratus, but for messala--never! and to strengthen and harden his resolution, he was accustomed to repeat over and over, who pointed us out to the persecutors? and when i begged him for help--not for myself--who mocked me, and went away laughing? and always the dream had the same ending. the day i meet him, help me, thou good god of my people!--help me to some fitting special vengeance! and now the meeting was at hand. perhaps, if he had found messala poor and suffering, ben-hur's feeling had been different; but it was not so. he found him more than prosperous; in the prosperity there was a dash and glitter--gleam of sun on gilt of gold. so it happened that what malluch accounted a passing loss of spirit was pondering when the meeting should be, and in what manner he could make it most memorable. they turned after a while into an avenue of oaks, where the people were going and coming in groups; footmen here, and horsemen; there women in litters borne slaves; and now and then chariots rolled by thunderously. at the end of the avenue the road, by an easy grade, descended into a lowland, where, on the right hand, there was a precipitous facing of gray rock, and on the left an open meadow of vernal freshness. then they came in view of the famous fountain of castalia. edging through a company assembled at the point, ben-hur beheld a jet of sweet water pouring from the crest of a stone into a basin of black marble, where, after much boiling and foaming, it disappeared as through a funnel. by the basin, under a small portico cut in the solid wall, sat a priest, old, bearded, wrinkled, cowled--never being more perfectly eremitish. from the manner of the people present, hardly might one say which was the attraction, the fountain, forever sparkling, or the priest, forever there. he heard, saw, was seen, but never spoke. occasionally a visitor extended a hand to him with a coin in it. with a cunning twinkle of the eyes, he took the money, and gave the party in exchange a leaf of papyrus. the receiver made haste to plunge the papyrus into the basin; then, holding the dripping leaf in the sunlight, he would be rewarded with a versified inscription upon its face; and the fame of the fountain seldom suffered loss by poverty of merit in the poetry. before ben-hur could test the oracle, some other visitors were seen approaching across the meadow, and their appearance piqued the curiosity of the company, his not less than theirs. he saw first a camel, very tall and very white, in leading of a driver on horseback. a houdah on the animal, besides being unusually large, was of crimson and gold. two other horsemen followed the camel with tall spears in hand. "what a wonderful camel!" said one of the company. "a prince from afar," another one suggested. "more likely a king." "if he were on an elephant, i would say he was a king." a third man had a very different opinion. "a camel--and a white camel!" he said, authoritatively. "by apollo, friends, they who come yonder--you can see there are two of them--are neither kings nor princes; they are women!" in the midst of the dispute the strangers arrived. the camel seen at hand did not belie his appearance afar. a taller, statelier brute of his kind no traveller at the fountain, though from the remotest parts, had ever beheld. such great black eyes! such exceedingly fine white hair! feet so contractile when raised, so soundless in planting, so broad when set!--nobody had ever seen the peer of this camel. and how well he became his housing of silk, and all its frippery of gold in fringe and gold in tassel! the tinkling of silver bells went before him, and he moved lightly, as if unknowing of his burden. but who were the man and woman under the houdah? every eye saluted them with the inquiry. if the former were a prince or a king, the philosophers of the crowd might not deny the impartiality of time. when they saw the thin, shrunken face buried under an immense turban, the skin of the hue of a mummy, making it impossible to form an idea of his nationality, they were pleased to think the limit of life was for the great as well as the small. they saw about his person nothing so enviable as the shawl which draped him. the woman was seated in the manner of the east, amidst veils and laces of surpassing fineness. above her elbows she wore armlets fashioned like coiled asps, and linked to bracelets at the wrists by strands of gold; otherwise the arms were bare and of singular natural grace, complemented with hands modelled daintily as a child's. one of the hands rested upon the side of the carriage, showing tapered fingers glittering with rings, and stained at the tips till they blushed like the pink of mother-of-pearl. she wore an open caul upon her head, sprinkled with beads of coral, and strung with coin-pieces called sunlets, some of which were carried across her forehead, while others fell down her back, half-smothered in the mass of her straight blue-black hair, of itself an incomparable ornament, not needing the veil which covered it, except as a protection against sun and dust. from her elevated seat she looked upon the people calmly, pleasantly, and apparently so intent upon studying them as to be unconscious of the interest she herself was exciting; and, what was unusual--nay, in violent contravention of the custom among women of rank in public--she looked at them with an open face. it was a fair face to see; quite youthful; in form, oval: complexion not white, like the greek; nor brunet, like the roman; nor blond, like the gaul; but rather the tinting of the sun of the upper nile upon a skin of such transparency that the blood shone through it on cheek and brow with nigh the ruddiness of lamplight. the eyes, naturally large, were touched along the lids with the black paint immemorial throughout the east. the lips were slightly parted, disclosing, through their scarlet lake, teeth of glistening whiteness. to all these excellences of countenance the reader is finally besought to superadd the air derived from the pose of a small head, classic in shape, set upon a neck long, drooping, and graceful--the air, we may fancy, happily described by the word queenly. as if satisfied with the survey of people and locality, the fair creature spoke to the driver--an ethiopian of vast brawn, naked to the waist--who led the camel nearer the fountain, and caused it to kneel; after which he received from her hand a cup, and proceeded to fill it at the basin. that instant the sound of wheels and the trampling of horses in rapid motion broke the silence her beauty had imposed, and, with a great outcry, the bystanders parted in every direction, hurrying to get away. "the roman has a mind to ride us down. look out!" malluch shouted to ben-hur, setting him at the same time an example of hasty flight. the latter faced to the direction the sounds came from, and beheld messala in his chariot pushing the four straight at the crowd. this time the view was near and distinct. the parting of the company uncovered the camel, which might have been more agile than his kind generally; yet the hoofs were almost upon him, and he resting with closed eyes, chewing the endless cud with such sense of security as long favoritism may be supposed to have bred in him. the ethiopian wrung his hands afraid. in the houdah, the old man moved to escape; but he was hampered with age, and could not, even in the face of danger, forget the dignity which was plainly his habit. it was too late for the woman to save herself. ben-hur stood nearest them, and he called to messala, "hold! look where thou goest! back, back!" the patrician was laughing in hearty good-humor; and, seeing there was but one chance of rescue, ben-hur stepped in, and caught the bits of the left yoke-steed and his mate. "dog of a roman! carest thou so little for life?" he cried, putting forth all his strength. the two horses reared, and drew the others round; the tilting of the pole tilted the chariot; messala barely escaped a fall, while his complacent myrtilus rolled back like a clod to the ground. seeing the peril past, all the bystanders burst into derisive laughter. the matchless audacity of the roman then manifested itself. loosing the lines from his body, he tossed them to one side, dismounted, walked round the camel, looked at ben-hur, and spoke partly to the old man and partly to the woman. "pardon, i pray you--i pray you both. i am messala," he said; "and, by the old mother of the earth, i swear i did not see you or your camel! as to these good people--perhaps i trusted too much to my skill. i sought a laugh at them--the laugh is theirs. good may it do them!" the good-natured, careless look and gesture he threw the bystanders accorded well with the speech. to hear what more he had to say, they became quiet. assured of victory over the body of the offended, he signed his companion to take the chariot to a safer distance, and addressed himself boldly to the woman. "thou hast interest in the good man here, whose pardon, if not granted now, i shall seek with the greater diligence hereafter; his daughter, i should say." she made him no reply. "by pallas, thou art beautiful! beware apollo mistake thee not for his lost love. i wonder what land can boast herself thy mother. turn not away. a truce! a truce! there is the sun of india in thine eyes; in the corners of thy mouth, egypt hath set her love-signs. perpol! turn not to that slave, fair mistress, before proving merciful to this one. tell me at least that i am pardoned." at this point she broke in upon him. "wilt thou come here?" she asked, smiling, and with gracious bend of the head to ben-hur. "take the cup and fill it, i pray thee," she said to the latter. "my father is thirsty." "i am thy most willing servant!" ben-hur turned about to do the favor, and was face to face with messala. their glances met; the jew's defiant; the roman's sparkling with humor. "o stranger, beautiful as cruel!" messala said, waving his hand to her. "if apollo get thee not, thou shalt see me again. not knowing thy country, i cannot name a god to commend thee to; so, by all the gods, i will commend thee to--myself!" seeing that myrtilus had the four composed and ready, he returned to the chariot. the woman looked after him as he moved away, and whatever else there was in her look, there was no displeasure. presently she received the water; her father drank; then she raised the cup to her lips, and, leaning down, gave it to ben-hur; never action more graceful and gracious. "keep it, we pray of thee! it is full of blessings--all thine!" immediately the camel was aroused, and on his feet, and about to go, when the old man called, "stand thou here." ben-hur went to him respectfully. "thou hast served the stranger well to-day. there is but one god. in his holy name i thank thee. i am balthasar, the egyptian. in the great orchard of palms, beyond the village of daphne, in the shade of the palms, sheik ilderim the generous abideth in his tents, and we are his guests. seek us there. thou shalt have welcome sweet with the savor of the grateful." ben-hur was left in wonder at the old man's clear voice and reverend manner. as he gazed after the two departing, he caught sight of messala going as he had come, joyous, indifferent, and with a mocking laugh. chapter ix as a rule, there is no surer way to the dislike of men than to behave well where they have behaved badly. in this instance, happily, malluch was an exception to the rule. the affair he had just witnessed raised ben-hur in his estimation, since he could not deny him courage and address; could he now get some insight into the young man's history, the results of the day would not be all unprofitable to good master simonides. on the latter point, referring to what he had as yet learned, two facts comprehended it all--the subject of his investigation was a jew, and the adopted son of a famous roman. another conclusion which might be of importance was beginning to formulate itself in the shrewd mind of the emissary; between messala and the son of the duumvir there was a connection of some kind. but what was it?--and how could it be reduced to assurance? with all his sounding, the ways and means of solution were not at call. in the heat of the perplexity, ben-hur himself came to his help. he laid his hand on malluch's arm and drew him out of the crowd, which was already going back to its interest in the gray old priest and the mystic fountain. "good malluch," he said, stopping, "may a man forget his mother?" the question was abrupt and without direction, and therefore of the kind which leaves the person addressed in a state of confusion. malluch looked into ben-hur's face for a hint of meaning, but saw, instead, two bright-red spots, one on each cheek, and in his eyes traces of what might have been repressed tears; then he answered, mechanically, "no!" adding, with fervor, "never;" and a moment after, when he began to recover himself, "if he is an israelite, never!" and when at length he was completely recovered--"my first lesson in the synagogue was the shema; my next was the saying of the son of sirach, 'honor thy father with thy whole soul, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother.'" the red spots on ben-hur's face deepened. "the words bring my childhood back again; and, malluch, they prove you a genuine jew. i believe i can trust you." ben-hur let go the arm he was holding, and caught the folds of the gown covering his own breast, and pressed them close, as if to smother a pain, or a feeling there as sharp as a pain. "my father," he said, "bore a good name, and was not without honor in jerusalem, where he dwelt. my mother, at his death, was in the prime of womanhood; and it is not enough to say of her she was good and beautiful: in her tongue was the law of kindness, and her works were the praise of all in the gates, and she smiled at days to come. i had a little sister, and she and i were the family, and we were so happy that i, at least, have never seen harm in the saying of the old rabbi, 'god could not be everywhere, and, therefore, he made mothers.' one day an accident happened to a roman in authority as he was riding past our house at the head of a cohort; the legionaries burst the gate and rushed in and seized us. i have not seen my mother or sister since. i cannot say they are dead or living. i do not know what became of them. but, malluch, the man in the chariot yonder was present at the separation; he gave us over to the captors; he heard my mother's prayer for her children, and he laughed when they dragged her away. hardly may one say which graves deepest in memory, love or hate. to-day i knew him afar--and, malluch--" he caught the listener's arm again. "and, malluch, he knows and takes with him now the secret i would give my life for: he could tell if she lives, and where she is, and her condition; if she--no, they--much sorrow has made the two as one--if they are dead, he could tell where they died, and of what, and where their bones await my finding." "and will he not?" "no." "why?" "i am a jew, and he is a roman." "but romans have tongues, and jews, though ever so despised, have methods to beguile them." "for such as he? no; and, besides, the secret is one of state. all my father's property was confiscated and divided." malluch nodded his head slowly, much as to admit the argument; then he asked anew, "did he not recognize you?" "he could not. i was sent to death in life, and have been long since accounted of the dead." "i wonder you did not strike him," said malluch, yielding to a touch of passion. "that would have been to put him past serving me forever. i would have had to kill him, and death, you know, keeps secrets better even than a guilty roman." the man who, with so much to avenge, could so calmly put such an opportunity aside must be confident of his future or have ready some better design, and malluch's interest changed with the thought; it ceased to be that of an emissary in duty bound to another. ben-hur was actually asserting a claim upon him for his own sake. in other words, malluch was preparing to serve him with good heart and from downright admiration. after brief pause, ben-hur resumed speaking. "i would not take his life, good malluch; against that extreme the possession of the secret is for the present, at least, his safeguard; yet i may punish him, and so you give me help, i will try." "he is a roman," said malluch, without hesitation; "and i am of the tribe of judah. i will help you. if you choose, put me under oath--under the most solemn oath." "give me your hand, that will suffice." as their hands fell apart, ben-hur said, with lightened feeling, "that i would charge you with is not difficult, good friend; neither is it dreadful to conscience. let us move on." they took the road which led to the right across the meadow spoken of in the description of the coming to the fountain. ben-hur was first to break the silence. "do you know sheik ilderim the generous?" "yes." "where is his orchard of palms? or, rather, malluch, how far is it beyond the village of daphne?" malluch was touched by a doubt; he recalled the prettiness of the favor shown him by the woman at the fountain, and wondered if he who had the sorrows of a mother in mind was about to forget them for a lure of love; yet he replied, "the orchard of palms lies beyond the village two hours by horse, and one by swift camel." "thank you; and to your knowledge once more. have the games of which you told me been widely published? and when will they take place?" the questions were suggestive; and if they did not restore malluch his confidence, they at least stimulated his curiosity. "oh yes, they will be of ample splendor. the prefect is rich, and could afford to lose his place; yet, as is the way with successful men, his love of riches is nowise diminished; and to gain a friend at court, if nothing more, he must make ado for the consul maxentius, who is coming hither to make final preparations for a campaign against the parthians. the money there is in the preparations the citizens of antioch know from experience; so they have had permission to join the prefect in the honors intended for the great man. a month ago heralds went to the four quarters to proclaim the opening of the circus for the celebration. the name of the prefect would be of itself good guarantee of variety and magnificence, particularly throughout the east; but when to his promises antioch joins hers, all the islands and the cities by the sea stand assured of the extraordinary, and will be here in person or by their most famous professionals. the fees offered are royal." "and the circus--i have heard it is second only to the maximus." "at rome, you mean. well, ours seats two hundred thousand people, yours seats seventy-five thousand more; yours is of marble, so is ours; in arrangement they are exactly the same." "are the rules the same?" malluch smiled. "if antioch dared be original, son of arrius, rome would not be the mistress she is. the laws of the circus maximus govern except in one particular: there but four chariots may start at once, here all start without reference to number." "that is the practise of the greeks," said ben-hur. "yes, antioch is more greek than roman." "so then, malluch, i may choose my own chariot?" "your own chariot and horses. there is no restriction upon either." while replying, malluch observed the thoughtful look on ben-hur's face give place to one of satisfaction. "one thing more now, o malluch. when will the celebration be?" "ah! your pardon," the other answered. "to-morrow--and the next day," he said, counting aloud, "then, to speak in the roman style, if the sea-gods be propitious, the consul arrives. yes, the sixth day from this we have the games." "the time is short, malluch, but it is enough." the last words were spoken decisively. "by the prophets of our old israel! i will take to the reins again. stay! a condition; is there assurance that messala will be a competitor?" malluch saw now the plan, and all its opportunities for the humiliation of the roman; and he had not been true descendant of jacob if, with all his interest wakened, he had not rushed to a consideration of the chances. his voice actually trembled as he said, "have you the practise?" "fear not, my friend. the winners in the circus maximus have held their crowns these three years at my will. ask them--ask the best of them--and they will tell you so. in the last great games the emperor himself offered me his patronage if i would take his horses in hand and run them against the entries of the world." "but you did not?" malluch spoke eagerly. "i--i am a jew"--ben-hur seemed shrinking within himself as he spoke--"and, though i wear a roman name, i dared not do professionally a thing to sully my father's name in the cloisters and courts of the temple. in the palaestrae i could indulge practise which, if followed into the circus, would become an abomination; and if i take to the course here, malluch, i swear it will not be for the prize or the winner's fee." "hold--swear not so!" cried malluch. "the fee is ten thousand sestertii--a fortune for life!" "not for me, though the prefect trebled it fifty times. better than that, better than all the imperial revenues from the first year of the first caesar--i will make this race to humble my enemy. vengeance is permitted by the law." malluch smiled and nodded as if saying, "right, right--trust me a jew to understand a jew." "the messala will drive," he said, directly. "he is committed to the race in many ways--by publication in the streets, and in the baths and theaters, the palace and barracks; and, to fix him past retreat, his name is on the tablets of every young spendthrift in antioch." "in wager, malluch?" "yes, in wager; and every day he comes ostentatiously to practise, as you saw him." "ah! and that is the chariot, and those the horses, with which he will make the race? thank you, thank you, malluch! you have served me well already. i am satisfied. now be my guide to the orchard of palms, and give me introduction to sheik ilderim the generous." "when?" "to-day. his horses may be engaged to-morrow." "you like them, then?" ben-hur answered with animation, "i saw them from the stand an instant only, for messala then drove up, and i might not look at anything else; yet i recognized them as of the blood which is the wonder as well as the glory of the deserts. i never saw the kind before, except in the stables of caesar; but once seen, they are always to be known. to-morrow, upon meeting, i will know you, malluch, though you do not so much as salute me; i will know you by your face, by your form, by your manner; and by the same signs i will know them, and with the same certainty. if all that is said of them be true, and i can bring their spirit under control of mine, i can--" "win the sestertii!" said malluch, laughing. "no," answered ben-hur, as quickly. "i will do what better becomes a man born to the heritage of jacob--i will humble mine enemy in a most public place. but," he added, impatiently, "we are losing time. how can we most quickly reach the tents of the sheik?" malluch took a moment for reflection. "it is best we go straight to the village, which is fortunately near by; if two swift camels are to be had for hire there, we will be on the road but an hour." "let us about it, then." the village was an assemblage of palaces in beautiful gardens, interspersed with khans of princely sort. dromedaries were happily secured, and upon them the journey to the famous orchard of palms was begun. chapter x beyond the village the country was undulating and cultivated; in fact, it was the garden-land of antioch, with not a foot lost to labor. the steep faces of the hills were terraced; even the hedges were brighter of the trailing vines which, besides the lure of shade, offered passers-by sweet promises of wine to come, and grapes in clustered purple ripeness. over melon-patches, and through apricot and fig-tree groves, and groves of oranges and limes, the white-washed houses of the farmers were seen; and everywhere plenty, the smiling daughter of peace, gave notice by her thousand signs that she was at home, making the generous traveller merry at heart, until he was even disposed to give rome her dues. occasionally, also, views were had of taurus and lebanon, between which, a separating line of silver, the orontes placidly pursued its way. in course of their journey the friends came to the river, which they followed with the windings of the road, now over bold bluffs, and then into vales, all alike allotted for country-seats, and if the land was in full foliage of oak and sycamore and myrtle, and bay and arbutus, and perfuming jasmine, the river was bright with slanted sunlight, which would have slept where it fell but for ships in endless procession, gliding with the current, tacking for the wind, or bounding under the impulse of oars--some coming, some going, and all suggestive of the sea, and distant peoples, and famous places, and things coveted on account of their rarity. to the fancy there is nothing so winsome as a white sail seaward blown, unless it be a white sail homeward bound, its voyage happily done. and down the shore the friends went continuously till they came to a lake fed by back-water from the river, clear, deep, and without current. an old palm-tree dominated the angle of the inlet; turning to the left at the foot of the tree, malluch clapped his hands and shouted, "look, look! the orchard of palms!" the scene was nowhere else to be found unless in the favored oases of arabia or the ptolemaean farms along the nile; and to sustain a sensation new as it was delightful, ben-hur was admitted into a tract of land apparently without limit and level as a floor. all under foot was fresh grass, in syria the rarest and most beautiful production of the soil; if he looked up, it was to see the sky paley blue through the groinery of countless date-bearers, very patriarchs of their kind, so numerous and old, and of such mighty girth, so tall, so serried, so wide of branch, each branch so perfect with fronds, plumy and waxlike and brilliant, they seemed enchanters enchanted. here was the grass coloring the very atmosphere; there the lake, cool and clear, rippling but a few feet under the surface, and helping the trees to their long life in old age. did the grove of daphne excel this one? and the palms, as if they knew ben-hur's thought, and would win him after a way of their own, seemed, as he passed under their arches, to stir and sprinkle him with dewy coolness. the road wound in close parallelism with the shore of the lake; and when it carried the travellers down to the water's edge, there was always on that side a shining expanse limited not far off by the opposite shore, on which, as on this one, no tree but the palm was permitted. "see that," said malluch, pointing to a giant of the place. "each ring upon its trunk marks a year of its life. count them from root to branch, and if the sheik tells you the grove was planted before the seleucidae were heard of in antioch, do not doubt him." one may not look at a perfect palm-tree but that, with a subtlety all its own, it assumes a presence for itself, and makes a poet of the beholder. this is the explanation of the honors it has received, beginning with the artists of the first kings, who could find no form in all the earth to serve them so well as a model for the pillars of their palaces and temples; and for the same reason ben-hur was moved to say, "as i saw him at the stand to-day, good malluch, sheik ilderim appeared to be a very common man. the rabbis in jerusalem would look down upon him, i fear, as a son of a dog of edom. how came he in possession of the orchard? and how has he been able to hold it against the greed of roman governors?" "if blood derives excellence from time, son of arrius, then is old ilderim a man, though he be an uncircumcised edomite." malluch spoke warmly. "all his fathers before him were sheiks. one of them--i shall not say when he lived or did the good deed--once helped a king who was being hunted with swords. the story says he loaned him a thousand horsemen, who knew the paths of the wilderness and its hiding-places as shepherds know the scant hills they inhabit with their flocks; and they carried him here and there until the opportunity came, and then with their spears they slew the enemy, and set him upon his throne again. and the king, it is said, remembered the service, and brought the son of the desert to this place, and bade him set up his tent and bring his family and his herds, for the lake and trees, and all the land from the river to the nearest mountains, were his and his children's forever. and they have never been disturbed in the possession. the rulers succeeding have found it policy to keep good terms with the tribe, to whom the lord has given increase of men and horses, and camels and riches, making them masters of many highways between cities; so that it is with them any time they please to say to commerce, 'go in peace,' or 'stop,' and what they say shall be done. even the prefect in the citadel overlooking antioch thinks it happy day with him when ilderim, surnamed the generous on account of good deeds done unto all manner of men, with his wives and children, and his trains of camels and horses, and his belongings of sheik, moving as our fathers abraham and jacob moved, comes up to exchange briefly his bitter wells for the pleasantness you see about us." "how is it, then?" said ben-hur, who had been listening unmindful of the slow gait of the dromedaries. "i saw the sheik tear his beard while he cursed himself that he had put trust in a roman. caesar, had he heard him, might have said, 'i like not such a friend as this; put him away.'" "it would be but shrewd judgment," malluch replied, smiling. "ilderim is not a lover of rome; he has a grievance. three years ago the parthians rode across the road from bozra to damascus, and fell upon a caravan laden, among other things, with the incoming tax-returns of a district over that way. they slew every creature taken, which the censors in rome could have forgiven if the imperial treasure had been spared and forwarded. the farmers of the taxes, being chargeable with the loss, complained to caesar, and caesar held herod to payment, and herod, on his part, seized property of ilderim, whom he charged with treasonable neglect of duty. the sheik appealed to caesar, and caesar has made him such answer as might be looked for from the unwinking sphinx. the old man's heart has been aching sore ever since, and he nurses his wrath, and takes pleasure in its daily growth." "he can do nothing, malluch." "well," said malluch, "that involves another explanation, which i will give you, if we can draw nearer. but see!--the hospitality of the sheik begins early--the children are speaking to you." the dromedaries stopped, and ben-hur looked down upon some little girls of the syrian peasant class, who were offering him their baskets filled with dates. the fruit was freshly gathered, and not to be refused; he stooped and took it, and as he did so a man in the tree by which they were halted cried, "peace to you, and welcome!" their thanks said to the children, the friends moved on at such gait as the animals chose. "you must know," malluch continued, pausing now and then to dispose of a date, "that the merchant simonides gives me his confidence, and sometimes flatters me by taking me into council; and as i attend him at his house, i have made acquaintance with many of his friends, who, knowing my footing with the host, talk to him freely in my presence. in that way i became somewhat intimate with sheik ilderim." for a moment ben-hur's attention wandered. before his mind's eye there arose the image, pure, gentle, and appealing, of esther, the merchant's daughter. her dark eyes bright with the peculiar jewish lustre met his in modest gaze; he heard her step as when she approached him with the wine, and her voice as she tendered him the cup; and he acknowledged to himself again all the sympathy she manifested for him, and manifested so plainly that words were unnecessary, and so sweetly that words would have been but a detraction. the vision was exceeding pleasant, but upon his turning to malluch, it flew away. "a few weeks ago," said malluch, continuing, "the old arab called on simonides, and found me present. i observed he seemed much moved about something, and, in deference, offered to withdraw, but he himself forbade me. 'as you are an israelite,' he said, 'stay, for i have a strange story to tell.' the emphasis on the word israelite excited my curiosity. i remained, and this is in substance his story--i cut it short because we are drawing nigh the tent, and i leave the details to the good man himself. a good many years ago, three men called at ilderim's tent out in the wilderness. they were all foreigners, a hindoo, a greek, and an egyptian; and they had come on camels, the largest he had ever seen, and all white. he welcomed them, and gave them rest. next morning they arose and prayed a prayer new to the sheik--a prayer addressed to god and his son--this with much mystery besides. after breaking fast with him, the egyptian told who they were, and whence they had come. each had seen a star, out of which a voice had bidden them go to jerusalem and ask, where is he that is born king of the jews?' they obeyed. from jerusalem they were led by a star to bethlehem, where, in a cave, they found a child newly born, which they fell down and worshipped; and after worshipping it, and giving it costly presents, and bearing witness of what it was, they took to their camels, and fled without pause to the sheik, because if herod--meaning him surnamed the great--could lay hands upon them, he would certainly kill them. and, faithful to his habit, the sheik took care of them, and kept them concealed for a year, when they departed, leaving with him gifts of great value, and each going a separate way." "it is, indeed, a most wonderful story," ben-hur exclaimed at its conclusion. "what did you say they were to ask at jerusalem?" "they were to ask, 'where is he that is born king of the jews?'" "was that all?" "there was more to the question, but i cannot recall it." "and they found the child?" "yes, and worshipped him." "it is a miracle, malluch." "ilderim is a grave man, though excitable as all arabs are. a lie on his tongue is impossible." malluch spoke positively. thereupon the dromedaries were forgotten, and, quite as unmindful of their riders, they turned off the road to the growing grass. "has ilderim heard nothing more of the three men?" asked ben-hur. "what became of them?" "ah, yes, that was the cause of his coming to simonides the day of which i was speaking. only the night before that day the egyptian reappeared to him." "where?" "here at the door of the tent to which we are coming." "how knew he the man?" "as you knew the horses to-day--by face and manner." "by nothing else?" "he rode the same great white camel, and gave him the same name--balthasar, the egyptian." "it is a wonder of the lord's!" ben-hur spoke with excitement. and malluch, wondering, asked, "why so?" "balthasar, you said?" "yes. balthasar, the egyptian." "that was the name the old man gave us at the fountain today." then, at the reminder, malluch became excited. "it is true," he said; "and the camel was the same--and you saved the man's life." "and the woman," said ben-hur, like one speaking to himself--"the woman was his daughter." he fell to thinking; and even the reader will say he was having a vision of the woman, and that it was more welcome than that of esther, if only because it stayed longer with him; but no-- "tell me again," he said, presently. "were the three to ask, 'where is he that is to be king of the jews?'" "not exactly. the words were born to be king of the jews. those were the words as the old sheik caught them first in the desert, and he has ever since been waiting the coming of the king; nor can any one shake his faith that he will come." "how--as king?" "yes, and bringing the doom of rome--so says the sheik." ben-hur kept silent awhile, thinking and trying to control his feelings. "the old man is one of many millions," he said, slowly--"one of many millions each with a wrong to avenge; and this strange faith, malluch, is bread and wine to his hope; for who but a herod may be king of the jews while rome endures? but, following the story, did you hear what simonides said to him?" "if ilderim is a grave man, simonides is a wise one," malluch replied. "i listened, and he said-- but hark! some one comes overtaking us." the noise grew louder, until presently they heard the rumble of wheels mixed with the beating of horse-hoofs--a moment later sheik ilderim himself appeared on horseback, followed by a train, among which were the four wine-red arabs drawing the chariot. the sheik's chin, in its muffling of long white beard, was drooped upon his breast. our friends had out-travelled him; but at sight of them he raised his head and spoke kindly. "peace to you!--ah, my friend malluch! welcome! and tell me you are not going, but just come; that you have something for me from the good simonides--may the lord of his fathers keep him in life for many years to come! ay, take up the straps, both of you, and follow me. i have bread and leben, or, if you prefer it, arrack, and the flesh of young kid. come!" they followed after him to the door of the tent, in which, when they were dismounted, he stood to receive them, holding a platter with three cups filled with creamy liquor just drawn from a great smoke-stained skin bottle, pendent from the central post. "drink," he said, heartily, "drink, for this is the fear-naught of the tentmen." they each took a cup, and drank till but the foam remained. "enter now, in god's name." and when they were gone in, malluch took the sheik aside, and spoke to him privately; after which he went to ben-hur and excused himself. "i have told the sheik about you, and he will give you the trial of his horses in the morning. he is your friend. having done for you all i can, you must do the rest, and let me return to antioch. there is one there who has my promise to meet him to-night. i have no choice but to go. i will come back to-morrow prepared, if all goes well in the meantime, to stay with you until the games are over." with blessings given and received, malluch set out in return. chapter xi what time the lower horn of a new moon touched the castellated piles on mount sulpius, and two thirds of the people of antioch were out on their house-tops comforting themselves with the night breeze when it blew, and with fans when it failed, simonides sat in the chair which had come to be a part of him, and from the terrace looked down over the river, and his ships a-swing at their moorings. the wall at his back cast its shadow broadly over the water to the opposite shore. above him the endless tramp upon the bridge went on. esther was holding a plate for him containing his frugal supper--some wheaten cakes, light as wafers, some honey, and a bowl of milk, into which he now and then dipped the wafers after dipping them into the honey. "malluch is a laggard to-night," he said, showing where his thoughts were. "do you believe he will come?" esther asked. "unless he has taken to the sea or the desert, and is yet following on, he will come." simonides spoke with quiet confidence. "he may write," she said. "not so, esther. he would have despatched a letter when he found he could not return, and told me so; because i have not received such a letter, i know he can come, and will." "i hope so," she said, very softly. something in the utterance attracted his attention; it might have been the tone, it might have been the wish. the smallest bird cannot light upon the greatest tree without sending a shock to its most distant fibre; every mind is at times no less sensitive to the most trifling words. "you wish him to come, esther?" he asked. "yes," she said, lifting her eyes to his. "why? can you tell me?" he persisted. "because"--she hesitated, then began again--"because the young man is--" the stop was full. "our master. is that the word?" "yes." "and you still think i should not suffer him to go away without telling him to come, if he chooses, and take us--and all we have--all, esther--the goods, the shekels, the ships, the slaves, and the mighty credit, which is a mantle of cloth of gold and finest silver spun for me by the greatest of the angels of men--success." she made no answer. "does that move you nothing? no?" he said, with the slightest taint of bitterness. "well, well, i have found, esther, the worst reality is never unendurable when it comes out from behind the clouds through which we at first see it darkly--never--not even the rack. i suppose it will be so with death. and by that philosophy the slavery to which we are going must afterwhile become sweet. it pleases me even now to think what a favored man our master is. the fortune cost him nothing--not an anxiety, not a drop of sweat, not so much as a thought; it attaches to him undreamed of, and in his youth. and, esther, let me waste a little vanity with the reflection; he gets what he could not go into the market and buy with all the pelf in a sum--thee, my child, my darling; thou blossom from the tomb of my lost rachel!" he drew her to him, and kissed her twice--once for herself, once for her mother. "say not so,". she said, when his hand fell from her neck. "let us think better of him; he knows what sorrow is, and will set us free." "ah, thy instincts are fine, esther; and thou knowest i lean upon them in doubtful cases where good or bad is to be pronounced of a person standing before thee as he stood this morning. but--but"--his voice rose and hardened--"these limbs upon which i cannot stand--this body drawn and beaten out of human shape--they are not all i bring him of myself. oh no, no! i bring him a soul which has triumphed over torture and roman malice keener than any torture--i bring him a mind which has eyes to see gold at a distance farther than the ships of solomon sailed, and power to bring it to hand--ay, esther, into my palm here for the fingers to grip and keep lest it take wings at some other's word--a mind skilled at scheming"--he stopped and laughed--"why, esther, before the new moon which in the courts of the temple on the holy hill they are this moment celebrating passes into its next quartering i could ring the world so as to startle even caesar; for know you, child, i have that faculty which is better than any one sense, better than a perfect body, better than courage and will, better than experience, ordinarily the best product of the longest lives--the faculty divinest of men, but which"--he stopped, and laughed again, not bitterly, but with real zest--"but which even the great do not sufficiently account, while with the herd it is a non-existent--the faculty of drawing men to my purpose and holding them faithfully to its achievement, by which, as against things to be done, i multiply myself into hundreds and thousands. so the captains of my ships plough the seas, and bring me honest returns; so malluch follows the youth, our master, and will"--just then a footstep was heard upon the terrace--"ha, esther! said i not so? he is here--and we will have tidings. for thy sake, sweet child--my lily just budded--i pray the lord god, who has not forgotten his wandering sheep of israel, that they be good and comforting. now we will know if he will let thee go with all thy beauty, and me with all my faculties." malluch came to the chair. "peace to you, good master," he said, with a low obeisance--"and to you, esther, most excellent of daughters." he stood before them deferentially, and the attitude and the address left it difficult to define his relation to them; the one was that of a servant, the other indicated the familiar and friend. on the other side, simonides, as was his habit in business, after answering the salutation went straight to the subject. "what of the young man, malluch?" the events of the day were told quietly and in the simplest words, and until he was through there was no interruption; nor did the listener in the chair so much as move a hand during the narration; but for his eyes, wide open and bright, and an occasional long-drawn breath, he might have been accounted an effigy. "thank you, thank you, malluch," he said, heartily, at the conclusion; "you have done well--no one could have done better. now what say you of the young man's nationality?" "he is an israelite, good master, and of the tribe of judah." "you are positive?" "very positive." "he appears to have told you but little of his life." "he has somewhere learned to be prudent. i might call him distrustful. he baffled all my attempts upon his confidence until we started from the castalian fount going to the village of daphne." "a place of abomination! why went he there?" "i would say from curiosity, the first motive of the many who go; but, very strangely, he took no interest in the things he saw. of the temple, he merely asked if it were grecian. good master, the young man has a trouble of mind from which he would hide, and he went to the grove, i think, as we go to sepulchres with our dead--he went to bury it." "that were well, if so," simonides said, in a low voice; then louder, "malluch, the curse of the time is prodigality. the poor make themselves poorer as apes of the rich, and the merely rich carry themselves like princes. saw you signs of the weakness in the youth? did he display moneys--coin of rome or israel?" "none, none, good master." "surely, malluch, where there are so many inducements to folly--so much, i mean, to eat and drink--surely he made you generous offer of some sort. his age, if nothing more, would warrant that much." "he neither ate nor drank in my company." "in what he said or did, malluch, could you in anywise detect his master-idea? you know they peep through cracks close enough to stop the wind." "give me to understand you," said malluch, in doubt. "well, you know we nor speak nor act, much less decide grave questions concerning ourselves, except as we be driven by a motive. in that respect, what made you of him?" "as to that, master simonides, i can answer with much assurance. he is devoted to finding his mother and sister--that first. then he has a grievance against rome; and as the messala of whom i told you had something to do with the wrong, the great present object is to humiliate him. the meeting at the fountain furnished an opportunity, but it was put aside as not sufficiently public." "the messala is influential," said simonides, thoughtfully. "yes; but the next meeting will be in the circus." "well--and then?" "the son of arrius will win." "how know you?" malluch smiled. "i am judging by what he says." "is that all?" "no; there is a much better sign--his spirit." "ay; but, malluch, his idea of vengeance--what is its scope? does he limit it to the few who did him the wrong, or does he take in the many? and more--is his feeling but the vagary of a sensitive boy, or has it the seasoning of suffering manhood to give it endurance? you know, malluch, the vengeful thought that has root merely in the mind is but a dream of idlest sort which one clear day will dissipate; while revenge the passion is a disease of the heart which climbs up, up to the brain, and feeds itself on both alike." in this question, simonides for the first time showed signs of feeling; he spoke with rapid utterance, and with clenched hands and the eagerness of a man illustrating the disease he described. "good my master," malluch replied, "one of my reasons for believing the young man a jew is the intensity of his hate. it was plain to me he had himself under watch, as was natural, seeing how long he has lived in an atmosphere of roman jealousy; yet i saw it blaze--once when he wanted to know ilderim's feeling towards rome, and again when i told him the story of the sheik and the wise man, and spoke of the question, 'where is he that is born king of the jews?'" simonides leaned forward quickly. "ah, malluch, his words--give me his words; let me judge the impression the mystery made upon him." "he wanted to know the exact words. were they to be or born to be? it appeared he was struck by a seeming difference in the effect of the two phrases." simonides settled back into his pose of listening judge. "then," said malluch, "i told him ilderim's view of the mystery--that the king would come with the doom of rome. the young man's blood rose over his cheeks and forehead, and he said earnestly, 'who but a herod can be king while rome endures?'" "meaning what?" "that the empire must be destroyed before there could be another rule." simonides gazed for a time at the ships and their shadows slowly swinging together in the river; when he looked up, it was to end the interview. "enough, malluch," he said. "get you to eat, and make ready to return to the orchard of palms; you must help the young man in his coming trial. come to me in the morning. i will send a letter to ilderim." then in an undertone, as if to himself, he added, "i may attend the circus myself." when malluch after the customary benediction given and received was gone, simonides took a deep draught of milk, and seemed refreshed and easy of mind. "put the meal down, esther," he said; "it is over." she obeyed. "here now." she resumed her place upon the arm of the chair close to him. "god is good to me, very good," he said, fervently. "his habit is to move in mystery, yet sometimes he permits us to think we see and understand him. i am old, dear, and must go; but now, in this eleventh hour, when my hope was beginning to die, he sends me this one with a promise, and i am lifted up. i see the way to a great part in a circumstance itself so great that it shall be as a new birth to the whole world. and i see a reason for the gift of my great riches, and the end for which they were designed. verily, my child, i take hold on life anew." esther nestled closer to him, as if to bring his thoughts from their far-flying. "the king has been born" he continued, imagining he was still speaking to her, "and he must be near the half of common life. balthasar says he was a child on his mother's lap when he saw him, and gave him presents and worship; and ilderim holds it was twenty-seven years ago last december when balthasar and his companions came to his tent asking a hiding-place from herod. wherefore the coming cannot now be long delayed. to-night--to-morrow it may be. holy fathers of israel, what happiness in the thought! i seem to hear the crash of the falling of old walls and the clamor of a universal change--ay, and for the uttermost joy of men, the earth opens to take rome in, and they look up and laugh and sing that she is not, while we are;" then he laughed at himself. "why, esther, heard you ever the like? surely, i have on me the passion of a singer, the heat of blood and the thrill of miriam and david. in my thoughts, which should be those of a plain worker in figures and facts, there is a confusion of cymbals clashing and harp-strings loud beaten, and the voices of a multitude standing around a new-risen throne. i will put the thinking by for the present; only, dear, when the king comes he will need money and men, for as he was a child born of woman he will be but a man after all, bound to human ways as you and i are. and for the money he will have need of getters and keepers, and for the men leaders. there, there! see you not a broad road for my walking, and the running of the youth our master?--and at the end of it glory and revenge for us both?--and--and"--he paused, struck with the selfishness of a scheme in which she had no part or good result; then added, kissing her, "and happiness for thy mother's child." she sat still, saying nothing. then he remembered the difference in natures, and the law by which we are not permitted always to take delight in the same cause or be equally afraid of the same thing. he remembered she was but a girl. "of what are you thinking, esther?" he said, in his common home-like way. "if the thought have the form of a wish, give it me, little one, while the power remains mine. for power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight." she answered with a simplicity almost childish, "send for him, father. send for him to-night, and do not let him go into the circus." "ah!" he said, prolonging the exclamation; and again his eyes fell upon the river, where the shadows were more shadowy than ever, since the moon had sunk far down behind sulpius, leaving the city to the ineffectual stars. shall we say it, reader? he was touched by a twinge of jealousy. if she should really love the young master! oh no! that could not be; she was too young. but the idea had fast grip, and directly held him still and cold. she was sixteen. he knew it well. on the last natal day he had gone with her to the shipyard where there was a launch, and the yellow flag which the galley bore to its bridal with the waves had on it "esther;" so they celebrated the day together. yet the fact struck him now with the force of a surprise. there are realizations which come to us all painfully; mostly, however, such as pertain to ourselves; that we are growing old, for instance; and, more terrible, that we must die. such a one crept into his heart, shadowy as the shadows, yet substantial enough to wring from him a sigh which was almost a groan. it was not sufficient that she should enter upon her young womanhood a servant, but she must carry to her master her affections, the truth and tenderness and delicacy of which he the father so well knew, because to this time they had all been his own undividedly. the fiend whose task it is to torture us with fears and bitter thoughts seldom does his work by halves. in the pang of the moment, the brave old man lost sight of his new scheme, and of the miraculous king its subject. by a mighty effort, however, he controlled himself, and asked, calmly, "not go into the circus, esther? why, child?" "it is not a place for a son of israel, father." "rabbinical, rabbinical, esther! is that all?" the tone of the inquiry was searching, and went to her heart, which began to beat loudly--so loudly she could not answer. a confusion new and strangely pleasant fell upon her. "the young man is to have the fortune," he said, taking her hand, and speaking more tenderly; "he is to have the ships and the shekels--all, esther, all. yet i did not feel poor, for thou wert left me, and thy love so like the dead rachel's. tell me, is he to have that too?" she bent over him, and laid her cheek against his head. "speak, esther. i will be the stronger of the knowledge. in warning there is strength." she sat up then, and spoke as if she were truth's holy self. "comfort thee, father. i will never leave thee; though he take my love, i will be thy handmaid ever as now." and, stooping, she kissed him. "and more," she said, continuing: "he is comely in my sight, and the pleading of his voice drew me to him, and i shudder to think of him in danger. yes, father, i would be more than glad to see him again. still, the love that is unrequited cannot be perfect love, wherefore i will wait a time, remembering i am thy daughter and my mother's." "a very blessing of the lord art thou, esther! a blessing to keep me rich, though all else be lost. and by his holy name and everlasting life, i swear thou shalt not suffer." at his request, a little later, the servant came and rolled the chair into the room, where he sat for a time thinking of the coming of the king, while she went off and slept the sleep of the innocent. chapter xii the palace across the river nearly opposite simonides' place is said to have been completed by the famous epiphanes, and was all such a habitation can be imagined; though he was a builder whose taste ran to the immense rather than the classical, now so called--an architectural imitator, in other words, of the persians instead of the greeks. the wall enclosing the whole island to the waters edge, and built for the double purpose of bulwark against the river and defence against the mob, was said to have rendered the palace unfit for constant occupancy, insomuch that the legates abandoned it and moved to another residence erected for them on the western ridge of mount sulpius, under the temple of jupiter. persons were not wanting, however, who flatly denied the bill against the ancient abode. they said, with shrewdness at least, that the real object of the removal of the legates was not a more healthful locality, but the assurance afforded them by the huge barracks, named, according to the prevalent style, citadel, situated just over the way on the eastern ridge of the mount. and the opinion had plausible showing. among other pertinent things, it was remarked that the palace was kept in perpetual readiness for use; and when a consul, general of the army, king, or visiting potentate of any kind arrived at antioch, quarters were at once assigned him on the island. as we have to do with but one apartment in the old pile, the residue of it is left to the reader's fancy; and as pleases him, he may go through its gardens, baths, halls, and labyrinth of rooms to the pavilions on the roof, all furnished as became a house of fame in a city which was more nearly milton's "gorgeous east" than any other in the world. at this age the apartment alluded to would be termed a saloon. it was quite spacious, floored with polished marble slabs, and lighted in the day by skylights in which colored mica served as glass. the walls were broken by atlantes, no two of which were alike, but all supporting a cornice wrought with arabesques exceedingly intricate in form, and more elegant on account of superadditions of color--blue, green, tyrian purple, and gold. around the room ran a continuous divan of indian silks and wool of cashmere. the furniture consisted of tables and stools of egyptian patterns grotesquely carved. we have left simonides in his chair perfecting his scheme in aid of the miraculous king, whose coming he has decided is so close at hand. esther is asleep; and now, having crossed the river by the bridge, and made way through the lion-guarded gate and a number of babylonian halls and courts, let us enter the gilded saloon. there are five chandeliers hanging by sliding bronze chains from the ceiling--one in each corner, and in the centre one--enormous pyramids of lighted lamps, illuminating even the demoniac faces of the atlantes and the complex tracery of the cornice. about the tables, seated or standing, or moving restlessly from one to another, there are probably a hundred persons, whom we must study at least for a moment. they are all young, some of them little more than boys. that they are italians and mostly romans is past doubt. they all speak latin in purity, while each one appears in the in-door dress of the great capital on the tiber; that is, in tunics short of sleeve and skirt, a style of vesture well adapted to the climate of antioch, and especially comfortable in the too close atmosphere of the saloon. on the divan here and there togas and lacernae lie where they have been carelessly tossed, some of them significantly bordered with purple. on the divan also lie sleepers stretched at ease; whether they were overcome by the heat and fatigue of the sultry day or by bacchus we will not pause to inquire. the hum of voices is loud and incessant. sometimes there is an explosion of laughter, sometimes a burst of rage or exultation; but over all prevails a sharp, prolonged rattle, at first somewhat confusing to the non-familiar. if we approach the tables, however, the mystery solves itself. the company is at the favorite games, draughts and dice, singly or together, and the rattle is merely of the tesserae, or ivory cubes, loudly shaken, and the moving of the hostes on the checkered boards. who are the company? "good flavius," said a player, holding his piece in suspended movement, "thou seest yon lacerna; that one in front of us on the divan. it is fresh from the shop, and hath a shoulder-buckle of gold broad as a palm." "well," said flavius, intent upon his game, "i have seen such before; wherefore thine may not be old, yet, by the girdle of venus, it is not new! what of it?" "nothing. only i would give it to find a man who knows everything." "ha, ha! for something cheaper, i will find thee here several with purple who will take thy offer. but play." "there--check!" "so, by all the jupiters! now, what sayest thou? again?" "be it so." "and the wager?" "a sestertium." then each drew his tablets and stilus and made a memorandum; and, while they were resetting the pieces, flavius returned to his friend's remark. "a man who knows everything! hercle! the oracles would die. what wouldst thou with such a monster?" "answer to one question, my flavius; then, perpol! i would cut his throat." "and the question?" "i would have him tell me the hour-- hour, said i?--nay, the minute--maxentius will arrive to-morrow." "good play, good play! i have you! and why the minute?" "hast thou ever stood uncovered in the syrian sun on the quay at which he will land? the fires of the vesta are not so hot; and, by the stator of our father romulus, i would die, if die i must, in rome. avernus is here; there, in the square before the forum, i could stand, and, with my hand raised thus, touch the floor of the gods. ha, by venus, my flavius, thou didst beguile me! i have lost. o fortune!" "again?" "i must have back my sestertium." "be it so." and they played again and again; and when day, stealing through the skylights, began to dim the lamps, it found the two in the same places at the same table, still at the game. like most of the company, they were military attaches of the consul, awaiting his arrival and amusing themselves meantime. during this conversation a party entered the room, and, unnoticed at first, proceeded to the central table. the signs were that they had come from a revel just dismissed. some of them kept their feet with difficulty. around the leader's brow was a chaplet which marked him master of the feast, if not the giver. the wine had made no impression upon him unless to heighten his beauty, which was of the most manly roman style; he carried his head high raised; the blood flushed his lips and cheeks brightly; his eyes glittered; though the manner in which, shrouded in a toga spotless white and of ample folds, he walked was too nearly imperial for one sober and not a caesar. in going to the table, he made room for himself and his followers with little ceremony and no apologies; and when at length he stopped, and looked over it and at the players, they all turned to him, with a shout like a cheer. "messala! messala!" they cried. those in distant quarters, hearing the cry, re-echoed it where they were. instantly there were dissolution of groups, and breaking-up of games, and a general rush towards the centre. messala took the demonstration indifferently, and proceeded presently to show the ground of his popularity. "a health to thee, drusus, my friend," he said to the player next at his right; "a health--and thy tablets a moment." he raised the waxen boards, glanced at the memoranda of wagers, and tossed them down. "denarii, only denarii--coin of cartmen and butchers!" he said, with a scornful laugh. "by the drunken semele, to what is rome coming, when a caesar sits o' nights waiting a turn of fortune to bring him but a beggarly denarius!" the scion of the drusi reddened to his brows, but the bystanders broke in upon his reply by surging closer around the table, and shouting, "the messala! the messala!" "men of the tiber," messala continued, wresting a box with the dice in it from a hand near-by, "who is he most favored of the gods? a roman. who is he lawgiver of the nations? a roman. who is he, by sword right, the universal master?" the company were of the easily inspired, and the thought was one to which they were born; in a twinkling they snatched the answer from him. "a roman, a roman!" they shouted. "yet--yet"--he lingered to catch their ears--"yet there is a better than the best of rome." he tossed his patrician head and paused, as if to sting them with his sneer. "hear ye?" he asked. "there is a better than the best of rome." "ay--hercules!" cried one. "bacchus!" yelled a satirist. "jove--jove!" thundered the crowd. "no," messala answered, "among men." "name him, name him!" they demanded. "i will," he said, the next lull. "he who to the perfection of rome hath added the perfection of the east; who to the arm of conquest, which is western, hath also the art needful to the enjoyment of dominion, which is eastern." "perpol! his best is a roman, after all," some one shouted; and there was a great laugh, and long clapping of hands--an admission that messala had the advantage. "in the east" he continued, "we have no gods, only wine, women, and fortune, and the greatest of them is fortune; wherefore our motto, 'who dareth what i dare?'--fit for the senate, fit for battle, fittest for him who, seeking the best, challenges the worst." his voice dropped into an easy, familiar tone, but without relaxing the ascendancy he had gained. "in the great chest up in the citadel i have five talents coin current in the markets, and here are the receipts for them." from his tunic he drew a roll of paper, and, flinging it on the table, continued, amidst breathless silence, every eye having him in view fixed on his, every ear listening: "the sum lies there the measure of what i dare. who of you dares so much! you are silent. is it too great? i will strike off one talent. what! still silent? come, then, throw me once for these three talents--only three; for two; for one--one at least--one for the honor of the river by which you were born--rome east against rome west!--orontes the barbarous against tiber the sacred!" he rattled the dice overhead while waiting. "the orontes against the tiber!" he repeated, with an increase of scornful emphasis. not a man moved; then he flung the box upon the table and, laughing, took up the receipts. "ha, ha, ha! by the olympian jove, i know now ye have fortunes to make or to mend; therefore are ye come to antioch. ho, cecilius!" "here, messala!" cried a man behind him; "here am i, perishing in the mob, and begging a drachma to settle with the ragged ferryman. but, pluto take me! these new ones have not so much as an obolus among them." the sally provoked a burst of laughter, under which the saloon rang and rang again. messala alone kept his gravity. "go, thou," he said to cecilius, "to the chamber whence we came, and bid the servants bring the amphorae here, and the cups and goblets. if these our countrymen, looking for fortune, have not purses, by the syrian bacchus, i will see if they are not better blessed with stomachs! haste thee!" then he turned to drusus, with a laugh heard throughout the apartment. "ha, ha, my friend! be thou not offended because i levelled the caesar in thee down to the denarii. thou seest i did but use the name to try these fine fledglings of our old rome. come, my drusus, come!" he took up the box again and rattled the dice merrily. "here, for what sum thou wilt, let us measure fortunes." the manner was frank, cordial, winsome. drusus melted in a moment. "by the nymphae, yes!" he said, laughing. "i will throw with thee, messala--for a denarius." a very boyish person was looking over the table watching the scene. suddenly messala turned to him. "who art thou?" he asked. the lad drew back. "nay, by castor! and his brother too! i meant not offence. it is a rule among men, in matters other than dice, to keep the record closest when the deal is least. i have need of a clerk. wilt thou serve me?" the young fellow drew his tablets ready to keep the score: the manner was irresistible. "hold, messala, hold!" cried drusus. "i know not if it be ominous to stay the poised dice with a question; but one occurs to me, and i must ask it though venus slap me with her girdle." "nay, my drusus, venus with her girdle off is venus in love. to thy question--i will make the throw and hold it against mischance. thus--" he turned the box upon the table and held it firmly over the dice. and drusus asked, "did you ever see one quintus arrius?" "the duumvir?" "no--his son?" "i knew not he had a son." "well, it is nothing," drusus added, indifferently; "only, my messala, pollux was not more like castor than arrius is like thee." the remark had the effect of a signal: twenty voices took it up. "true, true! his eyes--his face," they cried. "what!" answered one, disgusted. "messala is a roman; arrius is a jew." "thou sayest right," a third exclaimed. "he is a jew, or momus lent his mother the wrong mask." there was promise of a dispute; seeing which, messala interposed. "the wine is not come, my drusus; and, as thou seest, i have the freckled pythias as they were dogs in leash. as to arrius, i will accept thy opinion of him, so thou tell me more about him." "well, be he jew or roman--and, by the great god pan, i say it not in disrespect of thy feelings, my messala!--this arrius is handsome and brave and shrewd. the emperor offered him favor and patronage, which he refused. he came up through mystery, and keepeth distance as if he felt himself better or knew himself worse than the rest of us. in the palaestrae he was unmatched; he played with the blue-eyed giants from the rhine and the hornless bulls of sarmatia as they were willow wisps. the duumvir left him vastly rich. he has a passion for arms, and thinks of nothing but war. maxentius admitted him into his family, and he was to have taken ship with us, but we lost him at ravenna. nevertheless he arrived safely. we heard of him this morning. perpol! instead of coming to the palace or going to the citadel, he dropped his baggage at the khan, and hath disappeared again." at the beginning of the speech messala listened with polite indifference; as it proceeded, he became more attentive; at the conclusion, he took his hand from the dice-box, and called out, "ho, my caius! dost thou hear?" a youth at his elbow--his myrtilus, or comrade, in the day's chariot practice--answered, much pleased with the attention, "did i not, my messala, i were not thy friend." "dost thou remember the man who gave thee the fall to-day?" "by the love-locks of bacchus, have i not a bruised shoulder to help me keep it in mind?" and he seconded the words with a shrug that submerged his ears. "well, be thou grateful to the fates--i have found thy enemy. listen." thereupon messala turned to drusus. "tell us more of him--perpol!--of him who is both jew and roman--by phoebus, a combination to make a centaur lovely! what garments doth he affect, my drusus?" "those of the jews." "hearest thou, caius?" said messala. "the fellow is young--one; he hath the visage of a roman--two; he loveth best the garb of a jew--three; and in the palaestrae fame and fortune come of arms to throw a horse or tilt a chariot, as the necessity may order--four. and, drusus, help thou my friend again. doubtless this arrius hath tricks of language; otherwise he could not so confound himself, to-day a jew, to-morrow a roman; but of the rich tongue of athene--discourseth he in that as well?" "with such purity, messala, he might have been a contestant in the isthmia." "art thou listening, caius?" said messala. "the fellow is qualified to salute a woman--for that matter aristomache herself--in the greek; and as i keep the count, that is five. what sayest thou?" "thou hast found him, my messala," caius answered; "or i am not myself." "thy pardon, drusus--and pardon of all--for speaking in riddles thus," messala said, in his winsome way. "by all the decent gods, i would not strain thy courtesy to the point of breaking, but now help thou me. see!"--he put his hand on the dice-box again, laughing--"see how close i hold the pythias and their secret! thou didst speak, i think, of mystery in connection with the coming of the son of arrius. tell me of that." "'tis nothing, messala, nothing," drusus replied; "a child's story. when arrius, the father, sailed in pursuit of the pirates, he was without wife or family; he returned with a boy--him of whom we speak--and next day adopted him." "adopted him?" messala repeated. "by the gods, drusus, thou dost, indeed, interest me! where did the duumvir find the boy? and who was he?" "who shall answer thee that, messala? who but the young arrius himself? perpol! in the fight the duumvir--then but a tribune--lost his galley. a returning vessel found him and one other--all of the crew who survived--afloat upon the same plank. i give you now the story of the rescuers, which hath this excellence at least--it hath never been contradicted. they say, the duumvir's companion on the plank was a jew--" "a jew!" echoed messala. "and a slave." "how drusus? a slave?" "when the two were lifted to the deck, the duumvir was in his tribune's armor, and the other in the vesture of a rower." messala rose from leaning against the table. "a galley"--he checked the debasing word, and looked around, for once in his life at loss. just then a procession of slaves filed into the room, some with great jars of wine, others with baskets of fruits and confections, others again with cups and flagons, mostly silver. there was inspiration in the sight. instantly messala climbed upon a stool. "men of the tiber," he said, in a clear voice, "let us turn this waiting for our chief into a feast of bacchus. whom choose ye for master?" drusus arose. "who shall be master but the giver of the feast?" he said. "answer, romans." they gave their reply in a shout. messala took the chaplet from his head, gave it to drusus, who climbed upon the table, and, in the view of all, solemnly replaced it, making messala master of the night. "there came with me into the room," he said, "some friends just risen from table. that our feast may have the approval of sacred custom, bring hither that one of them most overcome by wine." a din of voices answered, "here he is, here he is!" and from the floor where he had fallen, a youth was brought forward, so effeminately beautiful he might have passed for the drinking-god himself--only the crown would have dropped from his head, and the thyrsus from his hand. "lift him upon the table," the master said. it was found he could not sit. "help him, drusus, as the fair nyone may yet help thee." drusus took the inebriate in his arms. then addressing the limp figure, messala said, amidst profound silence, "o bacchus! greatest of the gods, be thou propitious to-night. and for myself, and these thy votaries, i vow this chaplet"--and from his head he raised it reverently--"i vow this chaplet to thy altar in the grove of daphne." he bowed, replaced the crown upon his locks, then stooped and uncovered the dice, saying, with a laugh, "see, my drusus, by the ass of silenus, the denarius is mine!" there was a shout that set the floor to quaking, and the grim atlantes to dancing, and the orgies began. chapter xiii sheik ilderim was a man of too much importance to go about with a small establishment. he had a reputation to keep with his tribe, such as became a prince and patriarch of the greatest following in all the desert east of syria; with the people of the cities he had another reputation, which was that of one of the richest personages not a king in all the east; and, being rich in fact--in money as well as in servants, camels, horses, and flocks of all kinds--he took pleasure in a certain state, which, besides magnifying his dignity with strangers, contributed to his personal pride and comfort. wherefore the reader must not be misled by the frequent reference to his tent in the orchard of palms. he had there really a respectable dowar; that is to say, he had there three large tents--one for himself, one for visitors, one for his favorite wife and her women; and six or eight lesser ones, occupied by his servants and such tribal retainers as he had chosen to bring with him as a body-guard--strong men of approved courage, and skillful with bow, spear, and horses. to be sure, his property of whatever kind was in no danger at the orchard; yet as the habits of a man go with him to town not less than the country, and as it is never wise to slip the bands of discipline, the interior of the dowar was devoted to his cows, camels, goats, and such property in general as might tempt a lion or a thief. to do him full justice, ilderim kept well all the customs of his people, abating none, not even the smallest; in consequence his life at the orchard was a continuation of his life in the desert; nor that alone, it was a fair reproduction of the old patriarchal modes--the genuine pastoral life of primitive israel. recurring to the morning the caravan arrived at the orchard--"here, plant it here," he said, stopping his horse, and thrusting a spear into the ground. "door to the south; the lake before it thus; and these, the children of the desert, to sit under at the going-down of the sun." at the last words he went to a group of three great palm-trees, and patted one of them as he would have patted his horse's neck, or the cheek of the child of his love. who but the sheik could of right say to the caravan, halt! or of the tent, here be it pitched? the spear was wrested from the ground, and over the wound it had riven in the sod the base of the first pillar of the tent was planted, marking the centre of the front door. then eight others were planted--in all, three rows of pillars, three in a row. then, at call, the women and children came, and unfolded the canvas from its packing on the camels. who might do this but the women? had they not sheared the hair from the brown goats of the flock? and twisted it into thread? and woven the thread into cloth? and stitched the cloth together, making the perfect roof, dark-brown in fact, though in the distance black as the tents of kedar? and, finally, with what jests and laughter, and pulls altogether, the united following of the sheik stretched the canvas from pillar to pillar, driving the stakes and fastening the cords as they went! and when the walls of open reed matting were put in place--the finishing-touch to the building after the style of the desert--with what hush of anxiety they waited the good man's judgment! when he walked in and out, looking at the house in connection with the sun, the trees, and the lake, and said, rubbing his hands with might of heartiness, "well done! make the dowar now as ye well know, and to-night we will sweeten the bread with arrack, and the milk with honey, and at every fire there shall be a kid. god with ye! want of sweet water there shall not be, for the lake is our well; neither shall the bearers of burden hunger, or the least of the flock, for here is green pasture also. god with you all, my children! go." and, shouting, the many happy went their ways then to pitch their own habitations. a few remained to arrange the interior for the sheik; and of these the men-servants hung a curtain to the central row of pillars, making two apartments; the one on the right sacred to ilderim himself, the other sacred to his horses--his jewels of solomon--which they led in, and with kisses and love-taps set at liberty. against the middle pillar they then erected the arms-rack, and filled it with javelins and spears, and bows, arrows, and shields; outside of them hanging the master's sword, modelled after the new moon; and the glitter of its blade rivalled the glitter of the jewels bedded in its grip. upon one end of the rack they hung the housings of the horses, gay some of them as the livery of a king's servant, while on the other end they displayed the great man's wearing apparel--his robes woollen and robes linen, his tunics and trousers, and many colored kerchiefs for the head. nor did they give over the work until he pronounced it well. meantime the women drew out and set up the divan, more indispensable to him than the beard down-flowing over his breast, white as aaron's. they put a frame together in shape of three sides of a square, the opening to the door, and covered it with cushions and base curtains, and the cushions with a changeable spread striped brown and yellow; at the corners they placed pillows and bolsters sacked in cloth blue and crimson; then around the divan they laid a margin of carpet, and the inner space they carpeted as well; and when the carpet was carried from the opening of the divan to the door of the tent, their work was done; whereupon they again waited until the master said it was good. nothing remained then but to bring and fill the jars with water, and hang the skin bottles of arrack ready for the hand--to-morrow the leben. nor might an arab see why ilderim should not be both happy and generous--in his tent by the lake of sweet waters, under the palms of the orchard of palms. such was the tent at the door of which we left ben-hur. servants were already waiting the master's direction. one of them took off his sandals; another unlatched ben-hur's roman shoes; then the two exchanged their dusty outer garments for fresh ones of white linen. "enter--in god's name, enter, and take thy rest," said the host, heartily, in the dialect of the market-place of jerusalem; forthwith he led the way to the divan. "i will sit here," he said next, pointing; "and there the stranger." a woman--in the old time she would have been called a handmaid--answered, and dexterously piled the pillows and bolsters as rests for the back; after which they sat upon the side of the divan, while water was brought fresh from the lake, and their feet bathed and dried with napkins. "we have a saying in the desert," ilderim began, gathering his beard, and combing it with his slender fingers, "that a good appetite is the promise of a long life. hast thou such?" "by that rule, good sheik, i will live a hundred years. i am a hungry wolf at thy door," ben-hur replied. "well, thou shalt not be sent away like a wolf. i will give thee the best of the flocks." ilderim clapped his hands. "seek the stranger in the guest-tent, and say i, ilderim, send him a prayer that his peace may be as incessant as the flowing of waters." the man in waiting bowed. "say, also," ilderim continued, "that i have returned with another for breaking of bread; and, if balthasar the wise careth to share the loaf, three may partake of it, and the portion of the birds be none the less." the second servant went away. "let us take our rest now." thereupon ilderim settled himself upon the divan, as at this day merchants sit on their rugs in the bazaars of damascus; and when fairly at rest, he stopped combing his beard, and said, gravely, "that thou art my guest, and hast drunk my leben, and art about to taste my salt, ought not to forbid a question: who art thou?" "sheik ilderim," said ben-hur, calmly enduring his gaze, "i pray thee not to think me trifling with thy just demand; but was there never a time in thy life when to answer such a question would have been a crime to thyself?" "by the splendor of solomon, yes!" ilderim answered. "betrayal of self is at times as base as the betrayal of a tribe." "thanks, thanks, good sheik!" ben-hur exclaimed. "never answer became thee better. now i know thou dost but seek assurance to justify the trust i have come to ask, and that such assurance is of more interest to thee than the affairs of my poor life." the sheik in his turn bowed, and ben-hur hastened to pursue his advantage. "so it please thee then," he said, "first, i am not a roman, as the name given thee as mine implieth." ilderim clasped the beard overflowing his breast, and gazed at the speaker with eyes faintly twinkling through the shade of the heavy close-drawn brows. "in the next place," ben-hur continued, "i am an israelite of the tribe of judah." the sheik raised his brows a little. "nor that merely. sheik, i am a jew with a grievance against rome compared with which thine is not more than a child's trouble." the old man combed his beard with nervous haste, and let fall his brows until even the twinkle of the eyes went out. "still further: i swear to thee, sheik ilderim--i swear by the covenant the lord made with my fathers--so thou but give me the revenge i seek, the money and the glory of the race shall be thine." ilderim's brows relaxed; his head arose; his face began to beam; and it was almost possible to see the satisfaction taking possession of him. "enough!" he said. "if at the roots of thy tongue there is a lie in coil, solomon himself had not been safe against thee. that thou art not a roman--that as a jew thou hast a grievance against rome, and revenge to compass, i believe; and on that score enough. but as to thy skill. what experience hast thou in racing with chariots? and the horses--canst thou make them creatures of thy will?--to know thee? to come at call? to go, if thou sayest it, to the last extreme of breath and strength? and then, in the perishing moment, out of the depths of thy life thrill them to one exertion the mightiest of all? the gift, my son, is not to every one. ah, by the splendor of god! i knew a king who governed millions of men, their perfect master, but could not win the respect of a horse. mark! i speak not of the dull brutes whose round it is to slave for slaves--the debased in blood and image--the dead in spirit; but of such as mine here--the kings of their kind; of a lineage reaching back to the broods of the first pharaoh; my comrades and friends, dwellers in tents, whom long association with me has brought up to my plane; who to their instincts have added our wits and to their senses joined our souls, until they feel all we know of ambition, love, hate, and contempt; in war, heroes; in trust, faithful as women. ho, there!" a servant came forward. "let my arabs come!" the man drew aside part of the division curtain of the tent, exposing to view a group of horses, who lingered a moment where they were as if to make certain of the invitation. "come!" ilderim said to them. "why stand ye there? what have i that is not yours? come, i say!" they stalked slowly in. "son of israel," the master said, "thy moses was a mighty man, but--ha, ha ha!--i must laugh when i think of his allowing thy fathers the plodding ox and the dull, slow-natured ass, and forbidding them property in horses. ha, ha, ha! thinkest thou he would have done so had he seen that one--and that--and this?" at the word he laid his hand upon the face of the first to reach him, and patted it with infinite pride and tenderness. "it is a misjudgment, sheik, a misjudgment," ben-hur said, warmly. "moses was a warrior as well as a lawgiver beloved by god; and to follow war--ah, what is it but to love all its creatures--these among the rest?" a head of exquisite turn--with large eyes, soft as a deer's, and half hidden by the dense forelock, and small ears, sharp-pointed and sloped well forward--approached then quite to his breast, the nostrils open, and the upper lip in motion. "who are you?" it asked, plainly as ever man spoke. ben-hur recognized one of the four racers he had seen on the course, and gave his open hand to the beautiful brute. "they will tell you, the blasphemers!--may their days shorten as they grow fewer!"--the sheik spoke with the feeling of a man repelling a personal defamation--"they will tell you, i say, that our horses of the best blood are derived from the nesaean pastures of persia. god gave the first arab a measureless waste of sand, with some treeless mountains, and here and there a well of bitter waters; and said to him, 'behold thy country!' and when the poor man complained, the mighty one pitied him, and said again, 'be of cheer! for i will twice bless thee above other men.' the arab heard, and gave thanks, and with faith set out to find the blessings. he travelled all the boundaries first, and failed; then he made a path into the desert, and went on and on--and in the heart of the waste there was an island of green very beautiful to see; and in the heart of the island, lo! a herd of camels, and another of horses! he took them joyfully and kept them with care for what they were--best gifts of god. and from that green isle went forth all the horses of the earth; even to the pastures of nesaea they went; and northward to the dreadful vales perpetually threshed by blasts from the sea of chill winds. doubt not the story; or if thou dost, may never amulet have charm for an arab again. nay, i will give thee proof." he clapped his hands. "bring me the records of the tribe," he said to the servant who responded. while waiting, the sheik played with the horses, patting their cheeks, combing their forelocks with his fingers, giving each one a token of remembrance. presently six men appeared with chests of cedar reinforced by bands of brass, and hinged and bolted with brass. "nay," said ilderim, when they were all set down by the divan, "i meant not all of them; only the records of the horses--that one. open it and take back the others." the chest was opened, disclosing a mass of ivory tablets strung on rings of silver wire; and as the tablets were scarcely thicker than wafers, each ring held several hundreds of them. "i know," said ilderim, taking some of the rings in his hand--"i know with what care and zeal, my son, the scribes of the temple in the holy city keep the names of the newly born, that every son of israel may trace his line of ancestry to its beginning, though it antedate the patriarchs. my fathers--may the recollection of them be green forever!--did not think it sinful to borrow the idea, and apply it to their dumb servants. see these tablets!" ben-hur took the rings, and separating the tablets saw they bore rude hieroglyphs in arabic, burned on the smooth surface by a sharp point of heated metal. "canst thou read them, o son of israel?" "no. thou must tell me their meaning." "know thou, then, each tablet records the name of a foal of the pure blood born to my fathers through the hundreds of years passed; and also the names of sire and dam. take them, and note their age, that thou mayst the more readily believe." some of the tablets were nearly worn away. all were yellow with age. "in the chest there, i can tell thee now, i have the perfect history; perfect because certified as history seldom is--showing of what stock all these are sprung--this one, and that now supplicating thy notice and caress; and as they come to us here, their sires, even the furthest removed in time, came to my sires, under a tent-roof like this of mine, to eat their measure of barley from the open hand, and be talked to as children; and as children kiss the thanks they have not speech to express. and now, o son of israel, thou mayst believe my declaration--if i am a lord of the desert, behold my ministers! take them from me, and i become as a sick man left by the caravan to die. thanks to them, age hath not diminished the terror of me on the highways between cities; and it will not while i have strength to go with them. ha, ha, ha! i could tell thee marvels done by their ancestors. in a favoring time i may do so; for the present, enough that they were never overtaken in retreat; nor, by the sword of solomon, did they ever fail in pursuit! that, mark you, on the sands and under saddle; but now--i do not know--i am afraid, for they are under yoke the first time, and the conditions of success are so many. they have the pride and the speed and the endurance. if i find them a master, they will win. son of israel! so thou art the man, i swear it shall be a happy day that brought thee thither. of thyself now speak." "i know now," said ben-hur, "why it is that in the love of an arab his horse is next to his children; and i know, also, why the arab horses are the best in the world; but, good sheik, i would not have you judge me by words alone; for, as you know, all promises of men sometimes fail. give me the trial first on some plain hereabout, and put the four in my hand to-morrow." ilderim's face beamed again, and he would have spoken. "a moment, good sheik, a moment!" said ben-hur. "let me say further. from the masters in rome i learned many lessons, little thinking they would serve me in a time like this. i tell thee these thy sons of the desert, though they have separately the speed of eagles and the endurance of lions, will fail if they are not trained to run together under the yoke. for bethink thee, sheik, in every four there is one the slowest and one the swiftest; and while the race is always to the slowest, the trouble is always with the swiftest. it was so to-day; the driver could not reduce the best to harmonious action with the poorest. my trial may have no better result; but if so, i will tell thee of it: that i swear. wherefore, in the same spirit i say, can i get them to run together, moved by my will, the four as one, thou shalt have the sestertii and the crown, and i my revenge. what sayest thou?" ilderim listened, combing his beard the while. at the end he said, with a laugh, "i think better of thee, son of israel. we have a saying in the desert, 'if you will cook the meal with words, i will promise an ocean of butter.' thou shalt have the horses in the morning." at that moment there was a stir at the rear entrance to the tent. "the supper--it is here! and yonder my friend balthasar, whom thou shalt know. he hath a story to tell which an israelite should never tire of hearing." and to the servants he added, "take the records away, and return my jewels to their apartment." and they did as he ordered. chapter xiv if the reader will return now to the repast of the wise men at their meeting in the desert, he will understand the preparations for the supper in ilderim's tent. the differences were chiefly such as were incident to ampler means and better service. three rugs were spread on the carpet within the space so nearly enclosed by the divan; a table not more than a foot in height was brought and set within the same place, and covered with a cloth. off to one side a portable earthenware oven was established under the presidency of a woman whose duty it was to keep the company in bread, or, more precisely, in hot cakes of flour from the handmills grinding with constant sound in a neighboring tent. meanwhile balthasar was conducted to the divan, where ilderim and ben-hur received him standing. a loose black gown covered his person; his step was feeble, and his whole movement slow and cautious, apparently dependent upon a long staff and the arm of a servant. "peace to you, my friend," said ilderim, respectfully. "peace and welcome." the egyptian raised his head and replied, "and to thee, good sheik--to thee and thine, peace and the blessing of the one god--god the true and loving." the manner was gentle and devout, and impressed ben-hur with a feeling of awe; besides which the blessing included in the answering salutation had been partly addressed to him, and while that part was being spoken, the eyes of the aged guest, hollow yet luminous, rested upon his face long enough to stir an emotion new and mysterious, and so strong that he again and again during the repast scanned the much wrinkled and bloodless face for its meaning; but always there was the expression bland, placid, and trustful as a child's. a little later he found that expression habitual. "this is he, o balthasar," said the sheik, laying his hand on ben-hur's arm, "who will break bread with us this evening." the egyptian glanced at the young man, and looked again surprised and doubting; seeing which the sheik continued, "i have promised him my horses for trial to-morrow; and if all goes well, he will drive them in the circus." balthasar continued his gaze. "he came well recommended," ilderim pursued, much puzzled. "you may know him as the son of arrius, who was a noble roman sailor, though"--the sheik hesitated, then resumed, with a laugh--"though he declares himself an israelite of the tribe of judah; and, by the splendor of god, i believe that he tells me!" balthasar could no longer withhold explanation. "to-day, o most generous sheik, my life was in peril, and would have been lost had not a youth, the counterpart of this one--if, indeed, he be not the very same--intervened when all others fled, and saved me." then he addressed ben-hur directly, "art thou not he?" "i cannot answer so far," ben-hur replied, with modest deference. "i am he who stopped the horses of the insolent roman when they were rushing upon thy camel at the fountain of castalia. thy daughter left a cup with me." from the bosom of his tunic he produced the cup, and gave it to balthasar. a glow lighted the faded countenance of the egyptian. "the lord sent thee to me at the fountain to-day," he said, in a tremulous voice, stretching his hand towards ben-hur; "and he sends thee to me now. i give him thanks; and praise him thou, for of his favor i have wherewith to give thee great reward, and i will. the cup is thine; keep it." ben-hur took back the gift, and balthasar, seeing the inquiry upon ilderim's face, related the occurrence at the fountain. "what!" said the sheik to ben-hur. "thou saidst nothing of this to me, when better recommendation thou couldst not have brought. am i not an arab, and sheik of my tribe of tens of thousands? and is not he my guest? and is it not in my guest-bond that the good or evil thou dost him is good or evil done to me? whither shouldst thou go for reward but here? and whose the hand to give it but mine?" his voice at the end of the speech rose to cutting shrillness. "good sheik, spare me, i pray. i came not for reward, great or small; and that i may be acquitted of the thought, i say the help i gave this excellent man would have been given as well to thy humblest servant." "but he is my friend, my guest--not my servant; and seest thou not in the difference the favor of fortune?" then to balthasar the sheik subjoined, "ah, by the splendor of god! i tell thee again he is not a roman." with that he turned away, and gave attention to the servants, whose preparations for the supper were about complete. the reader who recollects the history of balthasar as given by himself at the meeting in the desert will understand the effect of ben-hur's assertion of disinterestedness upon that worthy. in his devotion to men there had been, it will be remembered, no distinctions; while the redemption which had been promised him in the way of reward--the redemption for which he was waiting--was universal. to him, therefore, the assertion sounded somewhat like an echo of himself. he took a step nearer ben-hur, and spoke to him in the childlike way. "how did the sheik say i should call you? it was a roman name, i think." "arrius, the son of arrius." "yet thou art not a roman?" "all my people were jews." "were, saidst thou? are they not living?" the question was subtle as well as simple; but ilderim saved ben-hur from reply. "come," he said to them, "the meal is ready." ben-hur gave his arm to balthasar, and conducted him to the table, where shortly they were all seated on their rugs eastern fashion. the lavers were brought them, and they washed and dried their hands; then the sheik made a sign, the servants stopped, and the voice of the egyptian arose tremulous with holy feeling. "father of all--god! what we have is of thee; take our thanks, and bless us, that we may continue to do thy will." it was the grace the good man had said simultaneously with his brethren gaspar the greek and melchior the hindoo, the utterance in diverse tongues out of which had come the miracle attesting the divine presence at the meal in the desert years before. the table to which they immediately addressed themselves was, as may be thought, rich in the substantials and delicacies favorite in the east--in cakes hot from the oven, vegetables from the gardens, meats singly, compounds of meats and vegetables, milk of kine, and honey and butter--all eaten or drunk, it should be remarked, without any of the modern accessories--knives, forks, spoons, cups, or plates; and in this part of the repast but little was said, for they were hungry. but when the dessert was in course it was otherwise. they laved their hands again, had the lap-cloths shaken out, and with a renewed table and the sharp edge of their appetites gone they were disposed to talk and listen. with such a company--an arab, a jew, and an egyptian, all believers alike in one god--there could be at that age but one subject of conversation; and of the three, which should be speaker but he to whom the deity had been so nearly a personal appearance, who had seen him in a star, had heard his voice in direction, had been led so far and so miraculously by his spirit? and of what should he talk but that of which he had been called to testify? chapter xv the shadows cast over the orchard of palms by the mountains at set of sun left no sweet margin time of violet sky and drowsing earth between the day and night. the latter came early and swift; and against its glooming in the tent this evening the servants brought four candlesticks of brass, and set them by the corners of the table. to each candlestick there were four branches, and on each branch a lighted silver lamp and a supply cup of olive-oil. in light ample, even brilliant, the group at dessert continued their conversation, speaking in the syriac dialect, familiar to all peoples in that part of the world. the egyptian told his story of the meeting of the three in the desert, and agreed with the sheik that it was in december, twenty-seven years before, when he and his companions fleeing from herod arrived at the tent praying shelter. the narrative was heard with intense interest; even the servants lingering when they could to catch its details. ben-hur received it as became a man listening to a revelation of deep concern to all humanity, and to none of more concern than the people of israel. in his mind, as we shall presently see, there was crystallizing an idea which was to change his course of life, if not absorb it absolutely. as the recital proceeded, the impression made by balthasar upon the young jew increased; at its conclusion, his feeling was too profound to permit a doubt of its truth; indeed, there was nothing left him desirable in the connection but assurances, if such were to be had, pertaining exclusively to the consequences of the amazing event. and now there is wanting an explanation which the very discerning may have heretofore demanded; certainly it can be no longer delayed. our tale begins, in point of date not less than fact, to trench close upon the opening of the ministry of the son of mary, whom we have seen but once since this same balthasar left him worshipfully in his mother's lap in the cave by bethlehem. henceforth to the end the mysterious child will be a subject of continual reference; and slowly though surely the current of events with which we are dealing will bring us nearer and nearer to him, until finally we see him a man--we would like, if armed contrariety of opinion would permit it, to add--a man whom the world could not do without. of this declaration, apparently so simple, a shrewd mind inspired by faith will make much--and in welcome. before his time, and since, there have been men indispensable to particular people and periods; but his indispensability was to the whole race, and for all time--a respect in which it is unique, solitary, divine. to sheik ilderim the story was not new. he had heard it from the three wise men together under circumstances which left no room for doubt; he had acted upon it seriously, for the helping a fugitive escape from the anger of the first herod was dangerous. now one of the three sat at his table again, a welcome guest and revered friend. sheik ilderim certainly believed the story; yet, in the nature of things, its mighty central fact could not come home to him with the force and absorbing effect it came to ben-hur. he was an arab, whose interest in the consequences was but general; on the other hand, ben-hur was an israelite and a jew, with more than a special interest in--if the solecism can be pardoned--the truth of the fact. he laid hold of the circumstance with a purely jewish mind. from his cradle, let it be remembered, he had heard of the messiah; at the colleges he had been made familiar with all that was known of that being at once the hope, the fear, and the peculiar glory of the chosen people; the prophets from the first to the last of the heroic line foretold him; and the coming had been, and yet was, the theme of endless exposition with the rabbis--in the synagogues, in the schools, in the temple, of fast-days and feast-days, in public and in private, the national teachers expounded and kept expounding until all the children of abraham, wherever their lots were cast, bore the messiah in expectation, and by it literally, and with iron severity, ruled and moulded their lives. doubtless, it will be understood from this that there was much argument among the jews themselves about the messiah, and so there was; but the disputation was all limited to one point, and one only--when would he come? disquisition is for the preacher; whereas the writer is but telling a tale, and that he may not lose his character, the explanation he is making requires notice merely of a point connected with the messiah about which the unanimity among the chosen people was matter of marvellous astonishment: he was to be, when come, the king of the jews--their political king, their caesar. by their instrumentality he was to make armed conquest of the earth, and then, for their profit and in the name of god, hold it down forever. on this faith, dear reader, the pharisees or separatists--the latter being rather a political term--in the cloisters and around the altars of the temple, built an edifice of hope far overtopping the dream of the macedonian. his but covered the earth; theirs covered the earth and filled the skies; that is to say, in their bold, boundless fantasy of blasphemous egotism, god the almighty was in effect to suffer them for their uses to nail him by the ear to a door in sign of eternal servitude. returning directly to ben-hur, it is to be observed now that there were two circumstances in his life the result of which had been to keep him in a state comparatively free from the influence and hard effects of the audacious faith of his separatist countrymen. in the first place, his father followed the faith of the sadducees, who may, in a general way, be termed the liberals of their time. they had some loose opinions in denial of the soul. they were strict constructionists and rigorous observers of the law as found in the books of moses; but they held the vast mass of rabbinical addenda to those books in derisive contempt. they were unquestionably a sect, yet their religion was more a philosophy than a creed; they did not deny themselves the enjoyments of life, and saw many admirable methods and productions among the gentile divisions of the race. in politics they were the active opposition of the separatists. in the natural order of things, these circumstances and conditions, opinions and peculiarities, would have descended to the son as certainly and really as any portion of his father's estate; and, as we have seen, he was actually in course of acquiring them, when the second saving event overtook him. upon a youth of ben-hur's mind and temperament the influence of five years of affluent life in rome can be appreciated best by recalling that the great city was then, in fact, the meeting-place of the nations--their meeting-place politically and commercially, as well as for the indulgence of pleasure without restraint. round and round the golden mile-stone in front of the forum--now in gloom of eclipse, now in unapproachable splendor--flowed all the active currents of humanity. if excellences of manner, refinements of society, attainments of intellect, and glory of achievement made no impression upon him, how could he, as the son of arrius, pass day after day, through a period so long, from the beautiful villa near misenum into the receptions of caesar, and be wholly uninfluenced by what he saw there of kings, princes, ambassadors, hostages, and delegates, suitors all of them from every known land, waiting humbly the yes or no which was to make or unmake them? as mere assemblages, to be sure, there was nothing to compare with the gatherings at jerusalem in celebration of the passover; yet when he sat under the purple velaria of the circus maximus one of three hundred and fifty thousand spectators, he must have been visited by the thought that possibly there might be some branches of the family of man worthy divine consideration, if not mercy, though they were of the uncircumcised--some, by their sorrows, and, yet worse, by their hopelessness in the midst of sorrows, fitted for brotherhood in the promises to his countrymen. that he should have had such a thought under such circumstances was but natural; we think so much, at least, will be admitted: but when the reflection came to him, and he gave himself up to it, he could not have been blind to a certain distinction. the wretchedness of the masses, and their hopeless condition, had no relation whatever to religion; their murmurs and groans were not against their gods or for want of gods. in the oak-woods of britain the druids held their followers; odin and freya maintained their godships in gaul and germany and among the hyperboreans; egypt was satisfied with her crocodiles and anubis; the persians were yet devoted to ormuzd and ahriman, holding them in equal honor; in hope of the nirvana, the hindoos moved on patient as ever in the rayless paths of brahm; the beautiful greek mind, in pauses of philosophy, still sang the heroic gods of homer; while in rome nothing was so common and cheap as gods. according to whim, the masters of the world, because they were masters, carried their worship and offerings indifferently from altar to altar, delighted in the pandemonium they had erected. their discontent, if they were discontented, was with the number of gods; for, after borrowing all the divinities of the earth they proceeded to deify their caesars, and vote them altars and holy service. no, the unhappy condition was not from religion, but misgovernment and usurpations and countless tyrannies. the avernus men had been tumbled into, and were praying to be relieved from, was terribly but essentially political. the supplication--everywhere alike, in lodinum, alexandria, athens, jerusalem--was for a king to conquer with, not a god to worship. studying the situation after two thousand years, we can see and say that religiously there was no relief from the universal confusion except some god could prove himself a true god, and a masterful one, and come to the rescue; but the people of the time, even the discerning and philosophical, discovered no hope except in crushing rome; that done, the relief would follow in restorations and reorganizations; therefore they prayed, conspired, rebelled, fought, and died, drenching the soil to-day with blood, to-morrow with tears--and always with the same result. it remains to be said now that ben-hur was in agreement with the mass of men of his time not romans. the five years' residence in the capital served him with opportunity to see and study the miseries of the subjugated world; and in full belief that the evils which afflicted it were political, and to be cured only by the sword, he was going forth to fit himself for a part in the day of resort to the heroic remedy. by practice of arms he was a perfect soldier; but war has its higher fields, and he who would move successfully in them must know more than to defend with shield and thrust with spear. in those fields the general finds his tasks, the greatest of which is the reduction of the many into one, and that one himself; the consummate captain is a fighting-man armed with an army. this conception entered into the scheme of life to which he was further swayed by the reflection that the vengeance he dreamed of, in connection with his individual wrongs, would be more surely found in some of the ways of war than in any pursuit of peace. the feelings with which he listened to balthasar can be now understood. the story touched two of the most sensitive points of his being so they rang within him. his heart beat fast--and faster still when, searching himself, he found not a doubt either that the recital was true in every particular, or that the child so miraculously found was the messiah. marvelling much that israel rested so dead to the revelation, and that he had never heard of it before that day, two questions presented themselves to him as centring all it was at that moment further desirable to know: where was the child then? and what was his mission? with apologies for the interruptions, he proceeded to draw out the opinions of balthasar, who was in nowise loath to speak. chapter xvi "if i could answer you," balthasar said, in his simple, earnest, devout way--"oh, if i knew where he is, how quickly i would go to him! the seas should not stay me, nor the mountains." "you have tried to find him, then?" asked ben-hur. a smile flitted across the face of the egyptian. "the first task i charged myself with after leaving the shelter given me in the desert"--balthasar cast a grateful look at ilderim--"was to learn what became of the child. but a year had passed, and i dared not go up to judea in person, for herod still held the throne bloody-minded as ever. in egypt, upon my return, there were a few friends to believe the wonderful things i told them of what i had seen and heard--a few who rejoiced with me that a redeemer was born--a few who never tired of the story. some of them came up for me looking after the child. they went first to bethlehem, and found there the khan and the cave; but the steward--he who sat at the gate the night of the birth, and the night we came following the star--was gone. the king had taken him away, and he was no more seen." "but they found some proofs, surely," said ben-hur, eagerly. "yes, proofs written in blood--a village in mourning; mothers yet crying for their little ones. you must know, when herod heard of our flight, he sent down and slew the youngest-born of the children of bethlehem. not one escaped. the faith of my messengers was confirmed; but they came to me saying the child was dead, slain with the other innocents." "dead!" exclaimed ben-hur, aghast. "dead, sayest thou?" "nay, my son, i did not say so. i said they, my messengers, told me the child was dead. i did not believe the report then; i do not believe it now." "i see--thou hast some special knowledge." "not so, not so," said balthasar, dropping his gaze. "the spirit was to go with us no farther than to the child. when we came out of the cave, after our presents were given and we had seen the babe, we looked first thing for the star; but it was gone, and we knew we were left to ourselves. the last inspiration of the holy one--the last i can recall--was that which sent us to ilderim for safety." "yes," said the sheik, fingering his beard nervously. "you told me you were sent to me by a spirit--i remember it." "i have no special knowledge," balthasar continued, observing the dejection which had fallen upon ben-hur; "but, my son, i have given the matter much thought--thought continuing through years, inspired by faith, which, i assure you, calling god for witness, is as strong in me now as in the hour i heard the voice of the spirit calling me by the shore of the lake. if you will listen, i will tell you why i believe the child is living." both ilderim and ben-hur looked assent, and appeared to summon their faculties that they might understand as well as hear. the interest reached the servants, who drew near to the divan, and stood listening. throughout the tent there was the profoundest silence. "we three believe in god." balthasar bowed his head as he spoke. "and he is the truth," he resumed. "his word is god. the hills may turn to dust, and the seas be drunk dry by south winds; but his word shall stand, because it is the truth." the utterance was in a manner inexpressibly solemn. "the voice, which was his, speaking to me by the lake, said, 'blessed art thou, o son of mizraim! the redemption cometh. with two others from the remotenesses of the earth, thou shalt see the savior.' i have seen the savior--blessed be his name!--but the redemption, which was the second part of the promise, is yet to come. seest thou now? if the child be dead, there is no agent to bring the redemption about, and the word is naught, and god--nay, i dare not say it!" he threw up both hands in horror. "the redemption was the work for which the child was born; and so long as the promise abides, not even death can separate him from his work until it is fulfilled, or at least in the way of fulfilment. take you that now as one reason for my belief; then give me further attention." the good man paused. "wilt thou not taste the wine? it is at thy hand--see," said ilderim, respectfully. balthasar drank, and, seeming refreshed, continued: "the savior i saw was born of woman, in nature like us, and subject to all our ills--even death. let that stand as the first proposition. consider next the work set apart to him. was it not a performance for which only a man is fitted?--a man wise, firm, discreet--a man, not a child? to become such he had to grow as we grow. bethink you now of the dangers his life was subject to in the interval--the long interval between childhood and maturity. the existing powers were his enemies; herod was his enemy; and what would rome have been? and as for israel--that he should not be accepted by israel was the motive for cutting him off. see you now. what better way was there to take care of his life in the helpless growing time than by passing him into obscurity? wherefore i say to myself, and to my listening faith, which is never moved except by yearning of love--i say he is not dead, but lost; and, his work remaining undone, he will come again. there you have the reasons for my belief. are they not good?" ilderim's small arab eyes were bright with understanding, and ben-hur, lifted from his dejection, said heartily, "i, at least, may not gainsay them. what further, pray?" "hast thou not enough, my son? well," he began, in calmer tone, "seeing that the reasons were good--more plainly, seeing it was god's will that the child should not be found--i settled my faith into the keeping of patience, and took to waiting." he raised his eyes, full of holy trust, and broke off abstractedly--"i am waiting now. he lives, keeping well his mighty secret. what though i cannot go to him, or name the hill or the vale of his abiding-place? he lives--it may be as the fruit in blossom, it may be as the fruit just ripening; but by the certainty there is in the promise and reason of god, i know he lives." a thrill of awe struck ben-hur--a thrill which was but the dying of his half-formed doubt. "where thinkest thou he is?" he asked, in a low voice, and hesitating, like one who feels upon his lips the pressure of a sacred silence. balthasar looked at him kindly, and replied, his mind not entirely freed from its abstraction, "in my house on the nile, so close to the river that the passers-by in boats see it and its reflection in the water at the same time--in my house, a few weeks ago, i sat thinking. a man thirty years old, i said to myself, should have his fields of life all ploughed, and his planting well done; for after that it is summer-time, with space scarce enough to ripen his sowing. the child, i said further, is now twenty-seven--his time to plant must be at hand. i asked myself, as you here asked me, my son, and answered by coming hither, as to a good resting-place close by the land thy fathers had from god. where else should he appear, if not in judea? in what city should he begin his work, if not in jerusalem? who should be first to receive the blessings he is to bring, if not the children of abraham, isaac, and jacob; in love, at least, the children of the lord? if i were bidden go seek him, i would search well the hamlets and villages on the slopes of the mountains of judea and galilee falling eastwardly into the valley of the jordan. he is there now. standing in a door or on a hill-top, only this evening he saw the sun set one day nearer the time when he himself shall become the light of the world." balthasar ceased, with his hand raised and finger pointing as if at judea. all the listeners, even the dull servants outside the divan, affected by his fervor, were startled as if by a majestic presence suddenly apparent within the tent. nor did the sensation die away at once: of those at the table, each sat awhile thinking. the spell was finally broken by ben-hur. "i see, good balthasar," he said, "that thou hast been much and strangely favored. i see, also, that thou art a wise man indeed. it is not in my power to tell how grateful i am for the things thou hast told me. i am warned of the coming of great events, and borrow somewhat from thy faith. complete the obligation, i pray thee, by telling further of the mission of him for whom thou art waiting, and for whom from this night i too shall wait as becomes a believing son of judah. he is to be a savior, thou saidst; is he not to be king of the jews also?" "my son," said balthasar, in his benignant way, "the mission is yet a purpose in the bosom of god. all i think about it is wrung from the words of the voice in connection with the prayer to which they were in answer. shall we refer to them again?" "thou art the teacher." "the cause of my disquiet," balthasar began, calmly--"that which made me a preacher in alexandria and in the villages of the nile; that which drove me at last into the solitude where the spirit found me--was the fallen condition of men, occasioned, as i believed, by loss of the knowledge of god. i sorrowed for the sorrows of my kind--not of one class, but all of them. so utterly were they fallen it seemed to me there could be no redemption unless god himself would make it his work; and i prayed him to come, and that i might see him. 'thy good works have conquered. the redemption cometh; thou shalt see the savior'--thus the voice spake; and with the answer i went up to jerusalem rejoicing. now, to whom is the redemption? to all the world. and how shall it be? strengthen thy faith, my son! men say, i know, that there will be no happiness until rome is razed from her hills. that is to say, the ills of the time are not, as i thought them, from ignorance of god, but from the misgovernment of rulers. do we need to be told that human governments are never for the sake of religion? how many kings have you heard of who were better than their subjects? oh no, no! the redemption cannot be for a political purpose--to pull down rulers and powers, and vacate their places merely that others may take and enjoy them. if that were all of it, the wisdom of god would cease to be surpassing. i tell you, though it be but the saying of blind to blind, he that comes is to be a savior of souls; and the redemption means god once more on earth, and righteousness, that his stay here may be tolerable to himself." disappointment showed plainly on ben-hur's face--his head drooped; and if he was not convinced, he yet felt himself incapable that moment of disputing the opinion of the egyptian. not so ilderim. "by the splendor of god!" he cried, impulsively, "the judgment does away with all custom. the ways of the world are fixed, and cannot be changed. there must be a leader in every community clothed with power, else there is no reform." balthasar received the burst gravely. "thy wisdom, good sheik, is of the world; and thou dost forget that it is from the ways of the world we are to be redeemed. man as a subject is the ambition of a king; the soul of a man for its salvation is the desire of a god." ilderim, though silenced, shook his head, unwilling to believe. ben-hur took up the argument for him. "father--i call thee such by permission," he said--"for whom wert thou required to ask at the gates of jerusalem?" the sheik threw him a grateful look. "i was to ask of the people," said balthasar, quietly, "'where is he that is born king of the jews?'" "and you saw him in the cave by bethlehem?" "we saw and worshipped him, and gave him presents--melchior, gold; gaspar, frankincense; and i, myrrh." "when thou dost speak of fact, o father, to hear thee is to believe," said ben-hur; "but in the matter of opinion, i cannot understand the kind of king thou wouldst make of the child--i cannot separate the ruler from his powers and duties." "son," said balthasar, "we have the habit of studying closely the things which chance to lie at our feet, giving but a look at the greater objects in the distance. thou seest now but the title--king of the jews; wilt thou lift thine eyes to the mystery beyond it, the stumbling-block will disappear. of the title, a word. thy israel hath seen better days--days in which god called thy people endearingly his people, and dealt with them through prophets. now, if in those days he promised them the savior i saw--promised him as king of the jews--the appearance must be according to the promise, if only for the word's sake. ah, thou seest the reason of my question at the gate!--thou seest, and i will no more of it, but pass on. it may be, next, thou art regarding the dignity of the child; if so, bethink thee--what is it to be a successor of herod?--by the world's standard of honor, what? could not god better by his beloved? if thou canst think of the almighty father in want of a title, and stooping to borrow the inventions of men, why was i not bidden ask for a caesar at once? oh, for the substance of that whereof we speak, look higher, i pray thee! ask rather of what he whom we await shall be king; for i do tell, my son, that is the key to the mystery, which no man shall understand without the key." balthasar raised his eyes devoutly. "there is a kingdom on the earth, though it is not of it--a kingdom of wider bounds than the earth--wider than the sea and the earth, though they were rolled together as finest gold and spread by the beating of hammers. its existence is a fact as our hearts are facts, and we journey through it from birth to death without seeing it; nor shall any man see it until he hath first known his own soul; for the kingdom is not for him, but for his soul. and in its dominion there is glory such as hath not entered imagination--original, incomparable, impossible of increase." "what thou sayest, father, is a riddle to me," said ben-hur. "i never heard of such a kingdom." "nor did i," said ilderim. "and i may not tell more of it," balthasar added, humbly dropping his eyes. "what it is, what it is for, how it may be reached, none can know until the child comes to take possession of it as his own. he brings the key of the viewless gate, which he will open for his beloved, among whom will be all who love him, for of such only the redeemed will be." after that there was a long silence, which balthasar accepted as the end of the conversation. "good sheik," he said, in his placid way, "to-morrow or the next day i will go up to the city for a time. my daughter wishes to see the preparations for the games. i will speak further about the time of our going. and, my son, i will see you again. to you both, peace and good-night." they all arose from the table. the sheik and ben-hur remained looking after the egyptian until he was conducted out of the tent. "sheik ilderim," said ben-hur then, "i have heard strange things tonight. give me leave, i pray, to walk by the lake that i may think of them." "go; and i will come after you." they washed their hands again; after which, at a sign from the master, a servant brought ben-hur his shoes, and directly he went out. chapter xvii up a little way from the dower there was a cluster of palms, which threw its shade half in the water, half on the land. a bulbul sang from the branches a song of invitation. ben-hur stopped beneath to listen. at any other time the notes of the bird would have driven thought away; but the story of the egyptian was a burden of wonder, and he was a laborer carrying it, and, like other laborers, there was to him no music in the sweetest music until mind and body were happily attuned by rest. the night was quiet. not a ripple broke upon the shore. the old stars of the old east were all out, each in its accustomed place; and there was summer everywhere--on land, on lake, in the sky. ben-hur's imagination was heated, his feelings aroused, his will all unsettled. so the palms, the sky, the air, seemed to him of the far south zone into which balthasar had been driven by despair for men; the lake, with its motionless surface, was a suggestion of the nilotic mother by which the good man stood praying when the spirit made its radiant appearance. had all these accessories of the miracle come to ben-hur? or had he been transferred to them? and what if the miracle should be repeated--and to him? he feared, yet wished, and even waited for the vision. when at last his feverish mood was cooled, permitting him to become himself, he was able to think. his scheme of life has been explained. in all reflection about it heretofore there had been one hiatus which he had not been able to bridge or fill up--one so broad he could see but vaguely to the other side of it. when, finally, he was graduated a captain as well as a soldier, to what object should he address his efforts? revolution he contemplated, of course; but the processes of revolution have always been the same, and to lead men into them there have always been required, first, a cause or presence to enlist adherents; second, an end, or something as a practical achievement. as a rule he fights well who has wrongs to redress; but vastly better fights he who, with wrongs as a spur, has also steadily before him a glorious result in prospect--a result in which he can discern balm for wounds, compensation for valor, remembrance and gratitude in the event of death. to determine the sufficiency of either the cause or the end, it was needful that ben-hur should study the adherents to whom he looked when all was ready for action. very naturally, they were his countrymen. the wrongs of israel were to every son of abraham, and each one was a cause vastly holy, vastly inspiring. ay, the cause was there; but the end--what should it be? the hours and days he had given this branch of his scheme were past calculation--all with the same conclusion--a dim, uncertain, general idea of national liberty. was it sufficient? he could not say no, for that would have been the death of his hope; he shrank from saying yes, because his judgment taught him better. he could not assure himself even that israel was able single-handed to successfully combat rome. he knew the resources of that great enemy; he knew her art was superior to her resources. a universal alliance might suffice, but, alas! that was impossible, except--and upon the exception how long and earnestly he had dwelt!--except a hero would come from one of the suffering nations, and by martial successes accomplish a renown to fill the whole earth. what glory to judea could she prove the macedonia of the new alexander! alas, again! under the rabbis valor was possible, but not discipline. and then the taunt of messala in the garden of herod--"all you conquer in the six days, you lose on the seventh." so it happened he never approached the chasm thinking to surmount it, but he was beaten back; and so incessantly had he failed in the object that he had about given it over, except as a thing of chance. the hero might be discovered in his day, or he might not. god only knew. such his state of mind, there need be no lingering upon the effect of malluch's skeleton recital of the story of balthasar. he heard it with a bewildering satisfaction--a feeling that here was the solution of the trouble--here was the requisite hero found at last; and he a son of the lion tribe, and king of the jews! behind the hero, lo! the world in arms. the king implied a kingdom; he was to be a warrior glorious as david, a ruler wise and magnificent as solomon; the kingdom was to be a power against which rome was to dash itself to pieces. there would be colossal war, and the agonies of death and birth--then peace, meaning, of course, judean dominion forever. ben-hur's heart beat hard as for an instant he had a vision of jerusalem the capital of the world, and zion, the site of the throne of the universal master. it seemed to the enthusiast rare fortune that the man who had seen the king was at the tent to which he was going. he could see him there, and hear him, and learn of him what all he knew of the coming change, especially all he knew of the time of its happening. if it were at hand, the campaign with maxentius should be abandoned; and he would go and set about organizing and arming the tribes, that israel might be ready when the great day of the restoration began to break. now, as we have seen, from balthasar himself ben-hur had the marvelous story. was he satisfied? there was a shadow upon him deeper than that of the cluster of palms--the shadow of a great uncertainty, which--take note, o reader! which pertained more to the kingdom than the king. "what of this kingdom? and what is it to be?" ben-hur asked himself in thought. thus early arose the questions which were to follow the child to his end, and survive him on earth--incomprehensible in his day, a dispute in this--an enigma to all who do not or cannot understand that every man is two in one--a deathless soul and a mortal body. "what is it to be?" he asked. for us, o reader, the child himself has answered; but for ben-hur there were only the words of balthasar, "on the earth, yet not of it--not for men, but for their souls--a dominion, nevertheless, of unimaginable glory." what wonder the hapless youth found the phrases but the darkening of a riddle? "the hand of man is not in it," he said, despairingly. "nor has the king of such a kingdom use for men; neither toilers, nor councillors, nor soldiers. the earth must die or be made anew, and for government new principles must be discovered--something besides armed hands--something in place of force. but what?" again, o reader! that which we will not see, he could not. the power there is in love had not yet occurred to any man; much less had one come saying directly that for government and its objects--peace and order--love is better and mightier than force. in the midst of his reverie a hand was laid upon his shoulder. "i have a word to say, o son of arrius," said ilderim, stopping by his side--"a word, and then i must return, for the night is going." "i give you welcome, sheik." "as to the things you have heard but now," said ilderim, almost without pause, "take in belief all save that relating to the kind of kingdom the child will set up when he comes; as to so much keep virgin mind until you hear simonides the merchant--a good man here in antioch, to whom i will make you known. the egyptian gives you coinage of his dreams which are too good for the earth; simonides is wiser; he will ring you the sayings of your prophets, giving book and page, so you cannot deny that the child will be king of the jews in fact--ay, by the splendor of god! a king as herod was, only better and far more magnificent. and then, see you, we will taste the sweetness of vengeance. i have said. peace to you!" "stay--sheik!" if ilderim heard his call, he did not stay. "simonides again!" said ben-hur, bitterly. "simonides here, simonides there; from this one now, then from that! i am like to be well ridden by my father's servant, who knows at least to hold fast that which is mine; wherefore he is richer, if indeed he be not wiser, than the egyptian. by the covenant! it is not to the faithless a man should go to find a faith to keep--and i will not. but, hark! singing--and the voice a woman's--or an angel's! it comes this way." down the lake towards the dower came a woman singing. her voice floated along the hushed water melodious as a flute, and louder growing each instant. directly the dipping of oars was heard in slow measure; a little later the words were distinguishable--words in purest greek, best fitted of all the tongues of the day for the expression of passionate grief. the lament. (egyptian.) i sigh as i sing for the story land across the syrian sea. the odorous winds from the musky sand were breaths of life to me. they play with the plumes of the whispering palm for me, alas! no more; nor more does the nile in the moonlit calm moan past the memphian shore. o nilus! thou god of my fainting soul! in dreams thou comest to me; and, dreaming, i play with the lotus bowl, and sing old songs to thee; and hear from afar the memnonian strain, and calls from dear simbel; and wake to a passion of grief and pain that e'er i said--farewell! at the conclusion of the song the singer was past the cluster of palms. the last word--farewell--floated past ben-hur weighted with all the sweet sorrow of parting. the passing of the boat was as the passing of a deeper shadow into the deeper night. ben-hur drew a long breath hardly distinguishable from a sigh. "i know her by the song--the daughter of balthasar. how beautiful it was! and how beautiful is she!" he recalled her large eyes curtained slightly by the drooping lids, the cheeks oval and rosy rich, the lips full and deep with dimpling in the corners, and all the grace of the tall lithe figure. "how beautiful she is!" he repeated. and his heart made answer by a quickening of its movement. then, almost the same instant, another face, younger and quite as beautiful--more childlike and tender, if not so passionate--appeared as if held up to him out of the lake. "esther!" he said, smiling. "as i wished, a star has been sent to me." he turned, and passed slowly back to the tent. his life had been crowded with griefs and with vengeful preparations--too much crowded for love. was this the beginning of a happy change? and if the influence went with him into the tent, whose was it? esther had given him a cup. so had the egyptian. and both had come to him at the same time under the palms. which? book fifth "only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust." shirley. "and, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law, in calmness made, and sees what he foresaw." wordsworth. chapter i the morning after the bacchanalia in the saloon of the palace, the divan was covered with young patricians. maxentius might come, and the city throng to receive him; the legion might descend from mount sulpius in glory of arms and armor; from nymphaeum to omphalus there might be ceremonial splendors to shame the most notable ever before seen or heard of in the gorgeous east; yet would the many continue to sleep ignominiously on the divan where they had fallen or been carelessly tumbled by the indifferent slaves; that they would be able to take part in the reception that day was about as possible as for the lay-figures in the studio of a modern artist to rise and go bonneted and plumed through the one, two, three of a waltz. not all, however, who participated in the orgy were in the shameful condition. when dawn began to peer through the skylights of the saloon, messala arose, and took the chaplet from his head, in sign that the revel was at end; then he gathered his robe about him, gave a last look at the scene, and, without a word, departed for his quarters. cicero could not have retired with more gravity from a night-long senatorial debate. three hours afterwards two couriers entered his room, and from his own hand received each a despatch, sealed and in duplicate, and consisting chiefly of a letter to valerius gratus, the procurator, still resident in caesarea. the importance attached to the speedy and certain delivery of the paper may be inferred. one courier was to proceed overland, the other by sea; both were to make the utmost haste. it is of great concern now that the reader should be fully informed of the contents of the letter thus forwarded, and it is accordingly given: "antioch, xii. kal. jul. "messala to gratus. "o my midas! "i pray thou take no offense at the address, seeing it is one of love and gratitude, and an admission that thou art most fortunate among men; seeing, also, that thy ears are as they were derived from thy mother, only proportionate to thy matured condition. "o my midas! "i have to relate to thee an astonishing event, which, though as yet somewhat in the field of conjecture, will, i doubt not, justify thy instant consideration. "allow me first to revive thy recollection. remember, a good many years ago, a family of a prince of jerusalem, incredibly ancient and vastly rich--by name ben-hur. if thy memory have a limp or ailment of any kind, there is, if i mistake not, a wound on thy head which may help thee to a revival of the circumstance. "next, to arouse thy interest. in punishment of the attempt upon thy life--for dear repose of conscience, may all the gods forbid it should ever prove to have been an accident!--the family were seized and summarily disposed of, and their property confiscated. and inasmuch, o my midas! as the action had the approval of our caesar, who was as just as he was wise--be there flowers upon his altars forever!--there should be no shame in referring to the sums which were realized to us respectively from that source, for which it is not possible i can ever cease to be grateful to thee, certainly not while i continue, as at present, in the uninterrupted enjoyment of the part which fell to me. "in vindication of thy wisdom--a quality for which, as i am now advised, the son of gordius, to whom i have boldly likened thee, was never distinguished among men or gods--i recall further that thou didst make disposition of the family of hur, both of us at the time supposing the plan hit upon to be the most effective possible for the purposes in view, which were silence and delivery over to inevitable but natural death. thou wilt remember what thou didst with the mother and sister of the malefactor; yet, if now i yield to a desire to learn whether they be living or dead, i know, from knowing the amiability of thy nature, o my gratus, that thou wilt pardon me as one scarcely less amiable than thyself. "as more immediately essential to the present business, however, i take the liberty of inviting to thy remembrance that the actual criminal was sent to the galleys a slave for life--so the precept ran; and it may serve to make the event which i am about to relate the more astonishing by saying here that i saw and read the receipt for his body delivered in course to the tribune commanding a galley. "thou mayst begin now to give me more especial heed, o my most excellent phrygian! "referring to the limit of life at the oar, the outlaw thus justly disposed of should be dead, or, better speaking, some one of the three thousand oceanides should have taken him to husband at least five years ago. and if thou wilt excuse a momentary weakness, o most virtuous and tender of men! inasmuch as i loved him in childhood, and also because he was very handsome--i used in much admiration to call him my ganymede--he ought in right to have fallen into the arms of the most beautiful daughter of the family. of opinion, however, that he was certainly dead, i have lived quite five years in calm and innocent enjoyment of the fortune for which i am in a degree indebted to him. i make the admission of indebtedness without intending it to diminish my obligation to thee. "now i am at the very point of interest. "last night, while acting as master of the feast for a party just from rome--their extreme youth and inexperience appealed to my compassion--i heard a singular story. maxentius, the consul, as you know, comes to-day to conduct a campaign against the parthians. of the ambitious who are to accompany him there is one, a son of the late duumvir quintus arrius. i had occasion to inquire about him particularly. when arrius set out in pursuit of the pirates, whose defeat gained him his final honors, he had no family; when he returned from the expedition, he brought back with him an heir. now be thou composed as becomes the owner of so many talents in ready sestertii! the son and heir of whom i speak is he whom thou didst send to the galleys--the very ben-hur who should have died at his oar five years ago--returned now with fortune and rank, and possibly as a roman citizen, to-- well, thou art too firmly seated to be alarmed, but i, o my midas! i am in danger--no need to tell thee of what. who should know, if thou dost not? "sayst thou to all this, tut-tut? "when arrius, the father, by adoption, of this apparition from the arms of the most beautiful of the oceanides (see above my opinion of what she should be), joined battle with the pirates, his vessel was sunk, and but two of all her crew escaped drowning--arrius himself and this one, his heir. "the officers who took them from the plank on which they were floating say the associate of the fortunate tribune was a young man who, when lifted to the deck, was in the dress of a galley slave. "this should be convincing, to say least; but lest thou say tut-tut again, i tell thee, o my midas! that yesterday, by good chance--i have a vow to fortune in consequence--i met the mysterious son of arrius face to face; and i declare now that, though i did not then recognize him, he is the very ben-hur who was for years my playmate; the very ben-hur who, if he be a man, though of the commonest grade, must this very moment of my writing be thinking of vengeance--for so would i were i he--vengeance not to be satisfied short of life; vengeance for country, mother, sister, self, and--i say it last, though thou mayst think it would be first--for fortune lost. "by this time, o good my benefactor and friend! my gratus! in consideration of thy sestertii in peril, their loss being the worst which could befall one of thy high estate--i quit calling thee after the foolish old king of phrygia--by this time, i say (meaning after having read me so far), i have faith to believe thou hast ceased saying tut-tut, and art ready to think what ought to be done in such emergency. "it were vulgar to ask thee now what shall be done. rather let me say i am thy client; or, better yet, thou art my ulysses whose part it is to give me sound direction. "and i please myself thinking i see thee when this letter is put into thy hand. i see thee read it once; thy countenance all gravity, and then again with a smile; then, hesitation ended, and thy judgment formed, it is this, or it is that; wisdom like mercury's, promptitude like caesar's. "the sun is now fairly risen. an hour hence two messengers will depart from my door, each with a sealed copy hereof; one of them will go by land, the other by sea, so important do i regard it that thou shouldst be early and particularly informed of the appearance of our enemy in this part of our roman world. "i will await thy answer here. "ben-hur's going and coming will of course be regulated by his master, the consul, who, though he exert himself without rest day and night, cannot get away under a month. thou knowest what work it is to assemble and provide for an army destined to operate in a desolate, townless country. "i saw the jew yesterday in the grove of daphne; and if he be not there now, he is certainly in the neighborhood, making it easy for me to keep him in eye. indeed, wert thou to ask me where he is now, i should say, with the most positive assurance, he is to be found at the old orchard of palms, under the tent of the traitor sheik ilderim, who cannot long escape our strong hand. be not surprised if maxentius, as his first measure, places the arab on ship for forwarding to rome. "i am so particular about the whereabouts of the jew because it will be important to thee, o illustrious! when thou comest to consider what is to be done; for already i know, and by the knowledge i flatter myself i am growing in wisdom, that in every scheme involving human action there are three elements always to be taken into account--time, place, and agency. "if thou sayest this is the place, have thou then no hesitancy in trusting the business to thy most loving friend, who would be thy aptest scholar as well. messala." chapter ii about the time the couriers departed from messala's door with the despatches (it being yet the early morning hour), ben-hur entered ilderim's tent. he had taken a plunge into the lake, and breakfasted, and appeared now in an under-tunic, sleeveless, and with skirt scarcely reaching to the knee. the sheik saluted him from the divan. "i give thee peace, son of arrius," he said, with admiration, for, in truth, he had never seen a more perfect illustration of glowing, powerful, confident manhood. "i give thee peace and good-will. the horses are ready, i am ready. and thou?" "the peace thou givest me, good sheik, i give thee in return. i thank thee for so much good-will. i am ready." ilderim clapped his hands. "i will have the horses brought. be seated." "are they yoked?" "no." "then suffer me to serve myself," said ben-hur. "it is needful that i make the acquaintance of thy arabs. i must know them by name, o sheik, that i may speak to them singly; nor less must i know their temper, for they are like men: if bold, the better of scolding; if timid, the better of praise and flattery. let the servants bring me the harness." "and the chariot?" asked the sheik. "i will let the chariot alone to-day. in its place, let them bring me a fifth horse, if thou hast it; he should be barebacked, and fleet as the others." ilderim's wonder was aroused, and he summoned a servant immediately. "bid them bring the harness for the four," he said--"the harness for the four, and the bridle for sirius." ilderim then arose. "sirius is my love, and i am his, o son of arrius. we have been comrades for twenty years--in tent, in battle, in all stages of the desert we have been comrades. i will show him to you." going to the division curtain, he held it, while ben-hur passed under. the horses came to him in a body. one with a small head, luminous eyes, neck like the segment of a bended bow, and mighty chest, curtained thickly by a profusion of mane soft and wavy as a damsel's locks, nickered low and gladly at sight of him. "good horse," said the sheik, patting the dark-brown cheek. "good horse, good-morning." turning then to ben-hur, he added, "this is sirius, father of the four here. mira, the mother, awaits our return, being too precious to be hazarded in a region where there is a stronger hand than mine. and much i doubt," he laughed as he spoke--"much i doubt, o son of arrius, if the tribe could endure her absence. she is their glory; they worship her; did she gallop over them, they would laugh. ten thousand horsemen, sons of the desert, will ask to-day, 'have you heard of mira?' and to the answer, 'she is well,' they will say, 'god is good! blessed be god!'" "mira--sirius--names of stars, are they not, o sheik?" asked ben-hur, going to each of the four, and to the sire, offering his hand. "and why not?" replied ilderim. "wert thou ever abroad on the desert at night?" "no." "then thou canst not know how much we arabs depend upon the stars. we borrow their names in gratitude, and give them in love. my fathers all had their miras, as i have mine; and these children are stars no less. there, see thou, is rigel, and there antares; that one is atair, and he whom thou goest to now is aldebaran, the youngest of the brood, but none the worse of that--no, not he! against the wind he will carry thee till it roar in thy ears like akaba; and he will go where thou sayest, son of arrius--ay, by the glory of solomon! he will take thee to the lion's jaws, if thou darest so much." the harness was brought. with his own hands ben-hur equipped the horses; with his own hands he led them out of the tent, and there attached the reins. "bring me sirius," he said. an arab could not have better sprung to seat on the courser's back. "and now the reins." they were given him, and carefully separated. "good sheik," he said, "i am ready. let a guide go before me to the field, and send some of thy men with water." there was no trouble at starting. the horses were not afraid. already there seemed a tacit understanding between them and the new driver, who had performed his part calmly, and with the confidence which always begets confidence. the order of going was precisely that of driving, except that ben-hur sat upon sirius instead of standing in the chariot. ilderim's spirit arose. he combed his beard, and smiled with satisfaction as he muttered, "he is not a roman, no, by the splendor of god!" he followed on foot, the entire tenantry of the dowar--men, women, and children--pouring after him, participants all in his solicitude, if not in his confidence. the field, when reached, proved ample and well fitted for the training, which ben-hur began immediately by driving the four at first slowly, and in perpendicular lines, and then in wide circles. advancing a step in the course, he put them next into a trot; again progressing, he pushed into a gallop; at length he contracted the circles, and yet later drove eccentrically here and there, right, left, forward, and without a break. an hour was thus occupied. slowing the gait to a walk, he drove up to ilderim. "the work is done, nothing now but practice," he said. "i give you joy, sheik ilderim, that you have such servants as these. see," he continued, dismounting and going to the horses, "see, the gloss of their red coats is without spot; they breathe lightly as when i began. i give thee great joy, and it will go hard if"--he turned his flashing eyes upon the old man's face--"if we have not the victory and our--" he stopped, colored, bowed. at the sheik's side he observed, for the first time, balthasar, leaning upon his staff, and two women closely veiled. at one of the latter he looked a second time, saying to himself, with a flutter about his heart, "'tis she--'tis the egyptian!" ilderim picked up his broken sentence-- "the victory, and our revenge!" then he said aloud, "i am not afraid; i am glad. son of arrius, thou art the man. be the end like the beginning, and thou shalt see of what stuff is the lining of the hand of an arab who is able to give." "i thank thee, good sheik," ben-hur returned, modestly. "let the servants bring drink for the horses." with his own hands he gave the water. remounting sirius, he renewed the training, going as before from walk to trot, from trot to gallop; finally, he pushed the steady racers into the run, gradually quickening it to full speed. the performance then became exciting; and there were applause for the dainty handling of the reins, and admiration for the four, which were the same, whether they flew forward or wheeled in varying curvature. in their action there were unity, power, grace, pleasure, all without effort or sign of labor. the admiration was unmixed with pity or reproach, which would have been as well bestowed upon swallows in their evening flight. in the midst of the exercises, and the attention they received from all the bystanders, malluch came upon the ground, seeking the sheik. "i have a message for you, o sheik," he said, availing himself of a moment he supposed favorable for the speech--"a message from simonides, the merchant." "simonides!" ejaculated the arab. "ah! 'tis well. may abaddon take all his enemies!" "he bade me give thee first the holy peace of god," malluch continued; "and then this despatch, with prayer that thou read it the instant of receipt." ilderim, standing in his place, broke the sealing of the package delivered to him, and from a wrapping of fine linen took two letters, which he proceeded to read. [no. .] "simonides to sheik ilderim. "o friend! "assure thyself first of a place in my inner heart. "then-- "there is in thy dowar a youth of fair presence, calling himself the son of arrius; and such he is by adoption. "he is very dear to me. "he hath a wonderful history, which i will tell thee; come thou to-day or to-morrow, that i may tell thee the history, and have thy counsel. "meantime, favor all his requests, so they be not against honor. should there be need of reparation, i am bound to thee for it. "that i have interest in this youth, keep thou private. "remember me to thy other guest. he, his daughter, thyself, and all whom thou mayst choose to be of thy company, must depend upon me at the circus the day of the games. i have seats already engaged. "to thee and all thine, peace. "what should i be, o my friend, but thy friend? "simonides." [no. .] "simonides to sheik ilderim. "o friend! "out of the abundance of my experience, i send you a word. "there is a sign which all persons not romans, and who have moneys or goods subject to despoilment, accept as warning--that is, the arrival at a seat of power of some high roman official charged with authority. "to-day comes the consul maxentius. "be thou warned! "another word of advice. "a conspiracy, to be of effect against thee, o friend, must include the herods as parties; thou hast great properties in their dominions. "wherefore keep thou watch. "send this morning to thy trusty keepers of the roads leading south from antioch, and bid them search every courier going and coming; if they find private despatches relating to thee or thine affairs, thou shouldst see them. "you should have received this yesterday, though it is not too late, if you act promptly. "if couriers left antioch this morning, your messengers know the byways, and can get before them with your orders. "do not hesitate. "burn this after reading. "o my friend! thy friend, "simonides." ilderim read the letters a second time, and refolded them in the linen wrap, and put the package under his girdle. the exercises in the field continued but a little longer--in all about two hours. at their conclusion, ben-hur brought the four to a walk, and drove to ilderim. "with leave, o sheik," he said, "i will return thy arabs to the tent, and bring them out again this afternoon." ilderim walked to him as he sat on sirius, and said, "i give them to you, son of arrius, to do with as you will until after the games. you have done with them in two hours what the roman--may jackals gnaw his bones fleshless!--could not in as many weeks. we will win--by the splendor of god, we will win!" at the tent ben-hur remained with the horses while they were being cared for; then, after a plunge in the lake and a cup of arrack with the sheik, whose flow of spirits was royally exuberant, he dressed himself in his jewish garb again, and walked with malluch on into the orchard. there was much conversation between the two, not all of it important. one part, however, must not be overlooked. ben-hur was speaking. "i will give you," he said, "an order for my property stored in the khan this side the river by the seleucian bridge. bring it to me to-day, if you can. and, good malluch--if i do not overtask you--" malluch protested heartily his willingness to be of service. "thank you, malluch, thank you," said ben-hur. "i will take you at your word, remembering that we are brethren of the old tribe, and that the enemy is a roman. first, then--as you are a man of business, which i much fear sheik ilderim is not--" "arabs seldom are," said malluch, gravely. "nay, i do not impeach their shrewdness, malluch. it is well, however, to look after them. to save all forfeit or hindrance in connection with the race, you would put me perfectly at rest by going to the office of the circus, and seeing that he has complied with every preliminary rule; and if you can get a copy of the rules, the service may be of great avail to me. i would like to know the colors i am to wear, and particularly the number of the crypt i am to occupy at the starting; if it be next messala's on the right or left, it is well; if not, and you can have it changed so as to bring me next the roman, do so. have you good memory, malluch?" "it has failed me, but never, son of arrius, where the heart helped it as now." "i will venture, then, to charge you with one further service. i saw yesterday that messala was proud of his chariot, as he might be, for the best of caesar's scarcely surpass it. can you not make its display an excuse which will enable you to find if it be light or heavy? i would like to have its exact weight and measurements--and, malluch, though you fail in all else, bring me exactly the height his axle stands above the ground. you understand, malluch? i do not wish him to have any actual advantage of me. i do not care for his splendor; if i beat him, it will make his fall the harder, and my triumph the more complete. if there are advantages really important, i want them." "i see, i see!" said malluch. "a line dropped from the centre of the axle is what you want." "thou hast it; and be glad, malluch--it is the last of my commissions. let us return to the dowar." at the door of the tent they found a servant replenishing the smoke-stained bottles of leben freshly made, and stopped to refresh themselves. shortly afterwards malluch returned to the city. during their absence, a messenger well mounted had been despatched with orders as suggested by simonides. he was an arab, and carried nothing written. chapter iii "iras, the daughter of balthasar, sends me with salutation and a message," said a servant to ben-hur, who was taking his ease in the tent. "give me the message." "would it please you to accompany her upon the lake?" "i will carry the answer myself. tell her so." his shoes were brought him, and in a few minutes ben-hur sallied out to find the fair egyptian. the shadow of the mountains was creeping over the orchard of palms in advance of night. afar through the trees came the tinkling of sheep bells, the lowing of cattle, and the voices of the herdsmen bringing their charges home. life at the orchard, it should be remembered, was in all respects as pastoral as life on the scantier meadows of the desert. sheik ilderim had witnessed the exercises of the afternoon, being a repetition of those of the morning; after which he had gone to the city in answer to the invitation of simonides; he might return in the night; but, considering the immensity of the field to be talked over with his friend, it was hardly possible. ben-hur, thus left alone, had seen his horses cared for; cooled and purified himself in the lake; exchanged the field garb for his customary vestments, all white, as became a sadducean of the pure blood; supped early; and, thanks to the strength of youth, was well recovered from the violent exertion he had undergone. it is neither wise nor honest to detract from beauty as a quality. there cannot be a refined soul insensible to its influence. the story of pygmalion and his statue is as natural as it is poetical. beauty is of itself a power; and it was now drawing ben-hur. the egyptian was to him a wonderfully beautiful woman--beautiful of face, beautiful of form. in his thought she always appeared to him as he saw her at the fountain; and he felt the influence of her voice, sweeter because in tearful expression of gratitude to him, and of her eyes--the large, soft, black, almond-shaped eyes declarative of her race--eyes which looked more than lies in the supremest wealth of words to utter; and recurrences of the thought of her were returns just so frequent of a figure tall, slender, graceful, refined, wrapped in rich and floating drapery, wanting nothing but a fitting mind to make her, like the shulamite, and in the same sense, terrible as an army with banners. in other words, as she returned to his fancy, the whole passionate song of solomon came with her, inspired by her presence. with this sentiment and that feeling, he was going to see if she actually justified them. it was not love that was taking him, but admiration and curiosity, which might be the heralds of love. the landing was a simple affair, consisting of a short stairway, and a platform garnished by some lamp-posts; yet at the top of the steps he paused, arrested by what he beheld. there was a shallop resting upon the clear water lightly as an egg-shell. an ethiop--the camel-driver at the castalian fount--occupied the rower's place, his blackness intensified by a livery of shining white. all the boat aft was cushioned and carpeted with stuffs brilliant with tyrian red. on the rudder seat sat the egyptian herself, sunk in indian shawls and a very vapor of most delicate veils and scarfs. her arms were bare to the shoulders; and, not merely faultless in shape, they had the effect of compelling attention to them--their pose, their action, their expression; the hands, the fingers even, seemed endowed with graces and meaning; each was an object of beauty. the shoulders and neck were protected from the evening air by an ample scarf, which yet did not hide them. in the glance he gave her, ben-hur paid no attention to these details. there was simply an impression made upon him; and, like strong light, it was a sensation, not a thing of sight or enumeration. thy lips are like a thread of scarlet; thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks. rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; for, lo! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land--such was the impression she made upon him translated into words. "come," she said, observing him stop, "come, or i shall think you a poor sailor." the red of his cheek deepened. did she know anything of his life upon the sea? he descended to the platform at once. "i was afraid," he said, as he took the vacant seat before her. "of what?" "of sinking the boat," he replied, smiling. "wait until we are in deeper water," she said, giving a signal to the black, who dipped the oars, and they were off. if love and ben-hur were enemies, the latter was never more at mercy. the egyptian sat where he could not but see her; she, whom he had already engrossed in memory as his ideal of the shulamite. with her eyes giving light to his, the stars might come out, and he not see them; and so they did. the night might fall with unrelieved darkness everywhere else; her look would make illumination for him. and then, as everybody knows, given youth and such companionship, there is no situation in which the fancy takes such complete control as upon tranquil waters under a calm night sky, warm with summer. it is so easy at such time to glide imperceptibly out of the commonplace into the ideal. "give me the rudder," he said. "no," she replied, "that were to reverse the relation. did i not ask you to ride with me? i am indebted to you, and would begin payment. you may talk and i will listen, or i will talk and you will listen: that choice is yours; but it shall be mine to choose where we go, and the way thither." "and where may that be?" "you are alarmed again." "o fair egyptian, i but asked you the first question of every captive." "call me egypt." "i would rather call you iras." "you may think of me by that name, but call me egypt." "egypt is a country, and means many people." "yes, yes! and such a country!" "i see; it is to egypt we are going." "would we were! i would be so glad." she sighed as she spoke. "you have no care for me, then," he said. "ah, by that i know you were never there." "i never was." "oh, it is the land where there are no unhappy people, the desired of all the rest of the earth, the mother of all the gods, and therefore supremely blest. there, o son of arrius, there the happy find increase of happiness, and the wretched, going, drink once of the sweet water of the sacred river, and laugh and sing, rejoicing like children." "are not the very poor with you there as elsewhere?" "the very poor in egypt are the very simple in wants and ways," she replied. "they have no wish beyond enough, and how little that is, a greek or a roman cannot know." "but i am neither greek nor roman." she laughed. "i have a garden of roses, and in the midst of it is a tree, and its bloom is the richest of all. whence came it, think you?" "from persia, the home of the rose." "no." "from india, then." "no." "ah! one of the isles of greece." "i will tell you," she said: "a traveller found it perishing by the roadside on the plain of rephaim." "oh, in judea!" "i put it in the earth left bare by the receding nile, and the soft south wind blew over the desert and nursed it, and the sun kissed it in pity; after which it could not else than grow and flourish. i stand in its shade now, and it thanks me with much perfume. as with the roses, so with the men of israel. where shall they reach perfection but in egypt?" "moses was but one of millions." "nay, there was a reader of dreams. will you forget him?" "the friendly pharaohs are dead." "ah, yes! the river by which they dwelt sings to them in their tombs; yet the same sun tempers the same air to the same people." "alexandria is but a roman town." "she has but exchanged sceptres. caesar took from her that of the sword, and in its place left that of learning. go with me to the brucheium, and i will show you the college of nations; to the serapeion, and see the perfection of architecture; to the library, and read the immortals; to the theatre, and hear the heroics of the greeks and hindoos; to the quay, and count the triumphs of commerce; descend with me into the streets, o son of arrius, and, when the philosophers have dispersed, and taken with them the masters of all the arts, and all the gods have home their votaries, and nothing remains of the day but its pleasures, you shall hear the stories that have amused men from the beginning, and the songs which will never, never die." as he listened, ben-hur was carried back to the night when, in the summer-house in jerusalem, his mother, in much the same poetry of patriotism, declaimed the departed glories of israel. "i see now why you wish to be called egypt. will you sing me a song if i call you by that name? i heard you last night." "that was a hymn of the nile," she answered, "a lament which i sing when i would fancy i smell the breath of the desert, and hear the surge of the dear old river; let me rather give you a piece of the indian mind. when we get to alexandria, i will take you to the corner of the street where you can hear it from the daughter of the ganga, who taught it to me. kapila, you should know, was one of the most revered of the hindoo sages." then, as if it were a natural mode of expression, she began the song. kapila. i. "kapila, kapila, so young and true, i yearn for a glory like thine, and hail thee from battle to ask anew, can ever thy valor be mine? "kapila sat on his charger dun, a hero never so grave: 'who loveth all things hath fear of none, 'tis love that maketh me brave. a woman gave me her soul one day, the soul of my soul to be alway; thence came my valor to me, go try it--try it--and see.' ii. "kapila, kapila, so old and gray, the queen is calling for me; but ere i go hence, i wish thou wouldst say, how wisdom first came to thee. "kapila stood in his temple door, a priest in eremite guise: 'it did not come as men get their lore, 'tis faith that maketh me wise. a woman gave me her heart one day, the heart of my heart to be alway; thence came my wisdom to me, go try it--try it--and see.'" ben-hur had not time to express his thanks for the song before the keel of the boat grated upon the underlying sand, and, next moment, the bow ran upon the shore. "a quick voyage, o egypt!" he cried. "and a briefer stay!" she replied, as, with a strong push, the black sent them shooting into the open water again. "you will give me the rudder now." "oh no," said she, laughing. "to you, the chariot; to me, the boat. we are merely at the lake's end, and the lesson is that i must not sing any more. having been to egypt, let us now to the grove of daphne." "without a song on the way?" he said, in deprecation. "tell me something of the roman from whom you saved us to-day," she asked. the request struck ben-hur unpleasantly. "i wish this were the nile," he said, evasively. "the kings and queens, having slept so long, might come down from their tombs, and ride with us." "they were of the colossi, and would sink our boat. the pygmies would be preferable. but tell me of the roman. he is very wicked, is he not?" "i cannot say." "is he of noble family, and rich?" "i cannot speak of his riches." "how beautiful his horses were! and the bed of his chariot was gold, and the wheels ivory. and his audacity! the bystanders laughed as he rode away; they, who were so nearly under his wheels!" she laughed at the recollection. "they were rabble," said ben-hur, bitterly. "he must be one of the monsters who are said to be growing up in rome--apollos ravenous as cerberus. does he reside in antioch?" "he is of the east somewhere." "egypt would suit him better than syria." "hardly," ben-hur replied. "cleopatra is dead." that instant the lamps burning before the door of the tent came into view. "the dowar!" she cried. "ah, then, we have not been to egypt. i have not seen karnak or philae or abydos. this is not the nile. i have but heard a song of india, and been boating in a dream." "philae--karnak. mourn rather that you have not seen the rameses at aboo simbel, looking at which makes it so easy to think of god, the maker of the heavens and earth. or why should you mourn at all? let us go on to the river; and if i cannot sing"--she laughed--"because i have said i would not, yet i can tell you stories of egypt." "go on! ay, till morning comes, and the evening, and the next morning!" he said, vehemently. "of what shall my stories be? of the mathematicians?" "oh no." "of the philosophers?" "no, no." "of the magicians and genii?" "if you will." "of war?" "yes." "of love?" "yes." "i will tell you a cure for love. it is the story of a queen. listen reverently. the papyrus from which it was taken by the priests of philae was wrested from the hand of the heroine herself. it is correct in form, and must be true: ne-ne-hofra. i. "there is no parallelism in human lives. "no life runs a straight line. "the most perfect life develops as a circle, and terminates in its beginning, making it impossible to say, this is the commencement, that the end. "perfect lives are the treasures of god; of great days he wears them on the ring-finger of his heart hand." ii. "ne-ne-hofra dwelt in a house close by essouan, yet closer to the first cataract--so close, indeed, that the sound of the eternal battle waged there between river and rocks was of the place a part. "she grew in beauty day by day, so that it was said of her, as of the poppies in her father's garden, what will she not be in the time of blooming? "each year of her life was the beginning of a new song more delightful than any of those which went before. "child was she of a marriage between the north, bounded by the sea, and the south, bounded by the desert beyond the luna mountains; and one gave her its passion, the other its genius; so when they beheld her, both laughed, saying, not meanly, 'she is mine,' but generously, 'ha, ha! she is ours.' "all excellences in nature contributed to her perfection and rejoiced in her presence. did she come or go, the birds ruffled their wings in greeting; the unruly winds sank to cooling zephyrs; the white lotus rose from the water's depth to look at her; the solemn river loitered on its way; the palm-trees, nodding, shook all their plumes; and they seemed to say, this one, i gave her of my grace; that, i gave her of my brightness; the other, i gave her of my purity: and so each as it had a virtue to give. "at twelve, ne-ne-hofra was the delight of essouan; at sixteen, the fame of her beauty was universal; at twenty, there was never a day which did not bring to her door princes of the desert on swift camels, and lords of egypt in gilded barges; and, going away disconsolate, they reported everywhere, 'i have seen her, and she is not a woman, but athor herself.'" iii. "now of the three hundred and thirty successors of good king menes, eighteen were ethiopians, of whom oraetes was one hundred and ten years old. he had reigned seventy-six years. under him the people thrived, and the land groaned with fatness of plenty. he practised wisdom because, having seen so much, he knew what it was. he dwelt in memphis, having there his principal palace, his arsenals, and his treasure-house. frequently he went down to butos to talk with latona. "the wife of the good king died. too old was she for perfect embalmment; yet he loved her, and mourned as the inconsolable; seeing which, a colchyte presumed one day to speak to him. "'o oraetes, i am astonished that one so wise and great should not know how to cure a sorrow like this.' "'tell me a cure,' said the king. "three times the colchyte kissed the floor, and then he replied, knowing the dead could not hear him, 'at essouan lives ne-ne-hofra, beautiful as athor the beautiful. send for her. she has refused all the lords and princes, and i know not how many kings; but who can say no to oraetes?'" iv. "ne-ne-hofra descended the nile in a barge richer than any ever before seen, attended by an army in barges each but a little less fine. all nubia and egypt, and a myriad from libya, and a host of troglodytes, and not a few macrobii from beyond the mountains of the moon, lined the tented shores to see the cortege pass, wafted by perfumed winds and golden oars. "through a dromos of sphinxes and couchant double-winged lions she was borne, and set down before oraetes sitting on a throne specially erected at the sculptured pylon of the palace. he raised her up, gave her place by his side, clasped the uraeus upon her arm, kissed her, and ne-ne-hofra was queen of all queens. "that was not enough for the wise oraetes; he wanted love, and a queen happy in his love. so he dealt with her tenderly, showing her his possessions, cities, palaces, people; his armies, his ships: and with his own hand he led her through his treasure-house, saying, 'o. ne-ne-hofra! but kiss me in love, and they are all thine.' "and, thinking she could be happy, if she was not then, she kissed him once, twice, thrice--kissed him thrice, his hundred and ten years notwithstanding. "the first year she was happy, and it was very short; the third year she was wretched, and it was very long; then she was enlightened: that which she thought love of oraetes was only daze of his power. well for her had the daze endured! her spirits deserted her; she had long spells of tears, and her women could not remember when they heard her laugh; of the roses on her cheeks only ashes remained; she languished and faded gradually, but certainly. some said she was haunted by the erinnyes for cruelty to a lover; others, that she was stricken by some god envious of oraetes. whatever the cause of her decline, the charms of the magicians availed not to restore her, and the prescript of the doctor was equally without virtue. ne-ne-hofra was given over to die. "oraetes chose a crypt for her up in the tombs of the queens; and, calling the master sculptors and painters to memphis, he set them to work upon designs more elaborate than any even in the great galleries of the dead kings. "'o thou beautiful as athor herself, my queen!' said the king, whose hundred and thirteen years did not lessen his ardor as a lover, 'tell me, i pray, the ailment of which, alas! thou art so certainly perishing before my eyes.' "'you will not love me any more if i tell you,' she said, in doubt and fear. "'not love you! i will love you the more. i swear it, by the genii of amente! by the eye of osiris, i swear it! speak!' he cried, passionate as a lover, authoritative as a king. "'hear, then,' she said. 'there is an anchorite, the oldest and holiest of his class, in a cave near essouan. his name is menopha. he was my teacher and guardian. send for him, o oraetes, and he will tell you that you seek to know; he will also help you find the cure for my affliction.' "oraetes arose rejoicing. he went away in spirit a hundred years younger than when he came." v. "'speak!' said oraetes to menopha, in the palace at memphis. "and menopha replied, 'most mighty king, if you were young, i should not answer, because i am yet pleased with life; as it is, i will say the queen, like any other mortal, is paying the penalty of a crime.' "'a crime!' exclaimed oraetes, angrily. "menopha bowed very low. "'yes; to herself.' "'i am not in mood for riddles,' said the king. "'what i say is not a riddle, as you shall hear. ne-ne-hofra grew up under my eyes, and confided every incident of her life to me; among others, that she loved the son of her father's gardener, barbec by name.' "oraetes's frown, strangely enough, began to dissipate. "'with that love in her heart, o king, she came to you; of that love she is dying.' "'where is the gardener's son now?' asked oraetes. "'in essouan.' "the king went out and gave two orders. to one oeris he said, 'go to essouan and bring hither a youth named barbec. you will find him in the garden of the queen's father;' to another, 'assemble workmen and cattle and tools, and construct for me in lake chemmis an island, which, though laden with a temple, a palace, and a garden, and all manner of trees bearing fruit, and all manner of vines, shall nevertheless float about as the winds may blow it. make the island, and let it be fully furnished by the time the moon begins to wane.' "then to the queen he said, "'be of cheer. i know all, and have sent for barbec.' "ne-ne-hofra kissed his hands. "'you shall have him to yourself, and he you to himself; nor shall any disturb your loves for a year.' "she kissed his feet; he raised her, and kissed her in return; and the rose came back to her cheek, the scarlet to her lips, and the laughter to her heart." vi. "for one year ne-ne-hofra and barbec the gardener floated as the winds blew on the island of chemmis, which became one of the wonders of the world; never a home of love more beautiful; one year, seeing no one and existing for no one but themselves. then she returned in state to the palace in memphis. "'now whom lovest thou best?' asked the king. "she kissed his cheek and said, 'take me back, o good king, for i am cured.' "oraetes laughed, none the worse, that moment, of his hundred and fourteen years. "'then it is true, as menopha said: ha, ha, ha! it is true, the cure of love is love.' "'even so,' she replied. "suddenly his manner changed, and his look became terrible. "'i did not find it so,' he said. "she shrank affrighted. "'thou guilty!' he continued. 'thy offense to oraetes the man he forgives; but thy offence to oraetes the king remains to be punished.' "she cast herself at his feet. "'hush!' he cried. 'thou art dead!' "he clapped his hands, and a terrible procession came in--a procession of parachistes, or embalmers, each with some implement or material of his loathsome art. "the king pointed to ne-ne-hofra. "'she is dead. do thy work well.'" vii. "ne-ne-hofra the beautiful, after seventy-two days, was carried to the crypt chosen for her the year before, and laid with her queenly predecessors; yet there was no funeral procession in her honor across the sacred lake." at the conclusion of the story, ben-hur was sitting at the egyptian's feet, and her hand upon the tiller was covered by his hand. "menopha was wrong," he said. "how?" "love lives by loving." "then there is no cure for it?" "yes. oraetes found the cure." "what was it?" "death." "you are a good listener, o son of arrius." and so with conversation and stories, they whiled the hours away. as they stepped ashore, she said, "to-morrow we go to the city." "but you will be at the games?" he asked. "oh yes." "i will send you my colors." with that they separated. chapter iv ilderim returned to the dowar next day about the third hour. as he dismounted, a man whom he recognized as of his own tribe came to him and said, "o sheik, i was bidden give thee this package, with request that thou read it at once. if there be answer, i was to wait thy pleasure." ilderim gave the package immediate attention. the seal was already broken. the address ran, to valerius gratus at caesarea. "abaddon take him!" growled the sheik, at discovering a letter in latin. had the missive been in greek or arabic, he could have read it; as it was, the utmost he could make out was the signature in bold roman letters--messala--whereat his eyes twinkled. "where is the young jew?" he asked. "in the field with the horses," a servant replied. the sheik replaced the papyrus in its envelopes, and, tucking the package under his girdle, remounted the horse. that moment a stranger made his appearance, coming, apparently, from the city. "i am looking for sheik ilderim, surnamed the generous," the stranger said. his language and attire bespoke him a roman. what he could not read, he yet could speak; so the old arab answered, with dignity, "i am sheik ilderim." the man's eyes fell; he raised them again, and said, with forced composure, "i heard you had need of a driver for the games." ilderim's lip under the white mustache curled contemptuously. "go thy way," he said. "i have a driver." he turned to ride away, but the man, lingering, spoke again. "sheik, i am a lover of horses, and they say you have the most beautiful in the world." the old man was touched; he drew rein, as if on the point of yielding to the flattery, but finally replied, "not to-day, not to-day; some other time i will show them to you. i am too busy just now." he rode to the field, while the stranger betook himself to town again with a smiling countenance. he had accomplished his mission. and every day thereafter, down to the great day of the games, a man--sometimes two or three men--came to the sheik at the orchard, pretending to seek an engagement as driver. in such manner messala kept watch over ben-hur. chapter v the sheik waited, well satisfied, until ben-hur drew his horses off the field for the forenoon--well satisfied, for he had seen them, after being put through all the other paces, run full speed in such manner that it did not seem there were one the slowest and another the fastest--run in other words, as if the four were one. "this afternoon, o sheik, i will give sirius back to you." ben-hur patted the neck of the old horse as he spoke. "i will give him back, and take to the chariot." "so soon?" ilderim asked. "with such as these, good sheik, one day suffices. they are not afraid; they have a man's intelligence, and they love the exercise. this one," he shook a rein over the back of the youngest of the four--"you called him aldebaran, i believe--is the swiftest; in once round a stadium he would lead the others thrice his length." ilderim pulled his beard, and said, with twinkling eyes, "aldebaran is the swiftest; but what of the slowest?" "this is he." ben-hur shook the rein over antares. "this is he: but he will win, for, look you, sheik, he will run his utmost all day--all day; and, as the sun goes down, he will reach his swiftest." "right again," said ilderim. "i have but one fear, o sheik." the sheik became doubly serious. "in his greed of triumph, a roman cannot keep honor pure. in the games--all of them, mark you--their tricks are infinite; in chariot racing their knavery extends to everything--from horse to driver, from driver to master. wherefore, good sheik, look well to all thou hast; from this till the trial is over, let no stranger so much as see the horses. would you be perfectly safe, do more--keep watch over them with armed hand as well as sleepless eye; then i will have no fear of the end." at the door of the tent they dismounted. "what you say shall be attended to. by the splendor of god, no hand shall come near them except it belong to one of the faithful. to-night i will set watches. but, son of arrius"--ilderim drew forth the package, and opened it slowly, while they walked to the divan and seated themselves--"son of arrius, see thou here, and help me with thy latin." he passed the despatch to ben-hur. "there; read--and read aloud, rendering what thou findest into the tongue of thy fathers. latin is an abomination." ben-hur was in good spirits, and began the reading carelessly. "'messala to gratus!'" he paused. a premonition drove the blood to his heart. ilderim observed his agitation. "well; i am waiting." ben-hur prayed pardon, and recommenced the paper, which, it is sufficient to say, was one of the duplicates of the letter despatched so carefully to gratus by messala the morning after the revel in the palace. the paragraphs in the beginning were remarkable only as proof that the writer had not outgrown his habit of mockery; when they were passed, and the reader came to the parts intended to refresh the memory of gratus, his voice trembled, and twice he stopped to regain his self-control. by a strong effort he continued. "'i recall further,'" he read, "'that thou didst make disposition of the family of hur'"--there the reader again paused and drew a long breath--"'both of us at the time supposing the plan hit upon to be the most effective possible for the purposes in view, which were silence and delivery over to inevitable but natural death.'" here ben-hur broke down utterly. the paper fell from his hands, and he covered his face. "they are dead--dead. i alone am left." the sheik had been a silent, but not unsympathetic, witness of the young man's suffering; now he arose and said, "son of arrius, it is for me to beg thy pardon. read the paper by thyself. when thou art strong enough to give the rest of it to me, send word, and i will return." he went out of the tent, and nothing in all his life became him better. ben-hur flung himself on the divan and gave way to his feelings. when somewhat recovered, he recollected that a portion of the letter remained unread, and, taking it up, he resumed the reading. "thou wilt remember," the missive ran, "what thou didst with the mother and sister of the malefactor; yet, if now i yield to a desire to learn if they be living or dead"--ben-hur started, and read again, and then again, and at last broke into exclamation. "he does not know they are dead; he does not know it! blessed be the name of the lord! there is yet hope." he finished the sentence, and was strengthened by it, and went on bravely to the end of the letter. "they are not dead," he said, after reflection; "they are not dead, or he would have heard of it." a second reading, more careful than the first, confirmed him in the opinion. then he sent for the sheik. "in coming to your hospitable tent, o sheik," he said, calmly, when the arab was seated and they were alone, "it was not in my mind to speak of myself further than to assure you i had sufficient training to be intrusted with your horses. i declined to tell you my history. but the chances which have sent this paper to my hand and given it to me to be read are so strange that i feel bidden to trust you with everything. and i am the more inclined to do so by knowledge here conveyed that we are both of us threatened by the same enemy, against whom it is needful that we make common cause. i will read the letter and give you explanation; after which you will not wonder i was so moved. if you thought me weak or childish, you will then excuse me." the sheik held his peace, listening closely, until ben-hur came to the paragraph in which he was particularly mentioned: "'i saw the jew yesterday in the grove of daphne;'" so ran the part, "'and if he be not there now, he is certainly in the neighborhood, making it easy for me to keep him in eye. indeed, wert thou to ask me where he is now, i should say, with the most positive assurance, he is to be found at the old orchard of palms.'" "a--h!" exclaimed ilderim, in such a tone one might hardly say he was more surprised than angry; at the same time, he clutched his beard. "'at the old orchard of palms,'" ben-hur repeated, "'under the tent of the traitor shiek ilderim.'" "traitor!--i?" the old man cried, in his shrillest tone, while lip and beard curled with ire, and on his forehead and neck the veins swelled and beat as they would burst. "yet a moment, sheik," said ben-hur, with a deprecatory gesture. "such is messala's opinion of you. hear his threat." and he read on--"'under the tent of the traitor sheik ilderim, who cannot long escape our strong hand. be not surprised if maxentius, as his first measure, places the arab on ship for forwarding to rome.'" "to rome! me--ilderim--sheik of ten thousand horsemen with spears--me to rome!" he leaped rather than rose to his feet, his arms outstretched, his fingers spread and curved like claws, his eyes glittering like a serpent's. "o god!--nay, by all the gods except of rome!--when shall this insolence end? a freeman am i; free are my people. must we die slaves? or, worse, must i live a dog, crawling to a master's feet? must i lick his hand, lest he lash me? what is mine is not mine; i am not my own; for breath of body i must be beholden to a roman. oh, if i were young again! oh, could i shake off twenty years--or ten--or five!" he ground his teeth and shook his hands overhead; then, under the impulse of another idea, he walked away and back again to ben-hur swiftly, and caught his shoulder with a strong grasp. "if i were as thou, son of arrius--as young, as strong, as practised in arms; if i had a motive hissing me to revenge--a motive, like thine, great enough to make hate holy-- away with disguise on thy part and on mine! son of hur, son of hur, i say--" at that name all the currents of ben-hur's blood stopped; surprised, bewildered, he gazed into the arab's eyes, now close to his, and fiercely bright. "son of hur, i say, were i as thou, with half thy wrongs, bearing about with me memories like thine, i would not, i could not, rest." never pausing, his words following each other torrent-like, the old man swept on. "to all my grievances, i would add those of the world, and devote myself to vengeance. from land to land i would go firing all mankind. no war for freedom but should find me engaged; no battle against rome in which i would not bear a part. i would turn parthian, if i could not better. if men failed me, still i would not give over the effort--ha, ha, ha! by the splendor of god! i would herd with wolves, and make friends of lions and tigers, in hope of marshalling them against the common enemy. i would use every weapon. so my victims were romans, i would rejoice in slaughter. quarter i would not ask; quarter i would not give. to the flames everything roman; to the sword every roman born. of nights i would pray the gods, the good and the bad alike, to lend me their special terrors--tempests, drought, heat, cold, and all the nameless poisons they let loose in air, all the thousand things of which men die on sea and on land. oh, i could not sleep. i--i--" the sheik stopped for want of breath, panting, wringing his hands. and, sooth to say, of all the passionate burst ben-hur retained but a vague impression wrought by fiery eyes, a piercing voice, and a rage too intense for coherent expression. for the first time in years, the desolate youth heard himself addressed by his proper name. one man at least knew him, and acknowledged it without demand of identity; and he an arab fresh from the desert! how came the man by his knowledge? the letter? no. it told the cruelties from which his family had suffered; it told the story of his own misfortunes, but it did not say he was the very victim whose escape from doom was the theme of the heartless narrative. that was the point of explanation he had notified the sheik would follow the reading of the letter. he was pleased, and thrilled with hope restored, yet kept an air of calmness. "good sheik, tell me how you came by this letter." "my people keep the roads between cities," ilderim answered, bluntly. "they took it from a courier." "are they known to be thy people?" "no. to the world they are robbers, whom it is mine to catch and slay." "again, sheik. you call me son of hur--my father's name. i did not think myself known to a person on earth. how came you by the knowledge?" ilderim hesitated; but, rallying, he answered, "i know you, yet i am not free to tell you more." "some one holds you in restraint?" the sheik closed his mouth, and walked away; but, observing ben-hur's disappointment, he came back, and said, "let us say no more about the matter now. i will go to town; when i return, i may talk to you fully. give me the letter." ilderim rolled the papyrus carefully, restored it to its envelopes, and became once more all energy. "what sayest thou?" he asked, while waiting for his horse and retinue. "i told what i would do, were i thou, and thou hast made no answer." "i intended to answer, sheik, and i will." ben-hur's countenance and voice changed with the feeling invoked. "all thou hast said, i will do--all at least in the power of a man. i devoted myself to vengeance long ago. every hour of the five years passed, i have lived with no other thought. i have taken no respite. i have had no pleasures of youth. the blandishments of rome were not for me. i wanted her to educate me for revenge. i resorted to her most famous masters and professors--not those of rhetoric or philosophy: alas! i had no time for them. the arts essential to a fighting-man were my desire. i associated with gladiators, and with winners of prizes in the circus; and they were my teachers. the drill-masters in the great camp accepted me as a scholar, and were proud of my attainments in their line. o sheik, i am a soldier; but the things of which i dream require me to be a captain. with that thought, i have taken part in the campaign against the parthians; when it is over, then, if the lord spare my life and strength--then"--he raised his clenched hands, and spoke vehemently--"then i will be an enemy roman-taught in all things; then rome shall account to me in roman lives for her ills. you have my answer, sheik." ilderim put an arm over his shoulder, and kissed him, saying, passionately, "if thy god favor thee not, son of hur, it is because he is dead. take thou this from me--sworn to, if so thy preference run: thou shalt have my hands, and their fulness--men, horses, camels, and the desert for preparation. i swear it! for the present, enough. thou shalt see or hear from me before night." turning abruptly off, the sheik was speedily on the road to the city. chapter vi the intercepted letter was conclusive upon a number of points of great interest to ben-hur. it had all the effect of a confession that the writer was a party to the putting-away of the family with murderous intent; that he had sanctioned the plan adopted for the purpose; that he had received a portion of the proceeds of the confiscation, and was yet in enjoyment of his part; that he dreaded the unexpected appearance of what he was pleased to call the chief malefactor, and accepted it as a menace; that he contemplated such further action as would secure him in the future, and was ready to do whatever his accomplice in caesarea might advise. and, now that the letter had reached the hand of him really its subject, it was notice of danger to come, as well as a confession of guilt. so when ilderim left the tent, ben-hur had much to think about, requiring immediate action. his enemies were as adroit and powerful as any in the east. if they were afraid of him, he had greater reason to be afraid of them. he strove earnestly to reflect upon the situation, but could not; his feelings constantly overwhelmed him. there was a certain qualified pleasure in the assurance that his mother and sister were alive; and it mattered little that the foundation of the assurance was a mere inference. that there was one person who could tell him where they were seemed to his hope so long deferred as if discovery were now close at hand. these were mere causes of feeling; underlying them, it must be confessed he had a superstitious fancy that god was about to make ordination in his behalf, in which event faith whispered him to stand still. occasionally, referring to the words of ilderim, he wondered whence the arab derived his information about him; not from malluch certainly; nor from simonides, whose interests, all adverse, would hold him dumb. could messala have been the informant? no, no: disclosure might be dangerous in that quarter. conjecture was vain; at the same time, often as ben-hur was beaten back from the solution, he was consoled with the thought that whoever the person with the knowledge might be, he was a friend, and, being such, would reveal himself in good time. a little more waiting--a little more patience. possibly the errand of the sheik was to see the worthy; possibly the letter might precipitate a full disclosure. and patient he would have been if only he could have believed tirzah and his mother were waiting for him under circumstances permitting hope on their part strong as his; if, in other words, conscience had not stung him with accusations respecting them. to escape such accusations, he wandered far through the orchard, pausing now where the date-gatherers were busy, yet not too busy to offer him of their fruit and talk with him; then, under the great trees, to watch the nesting birds, or hear the bees swarming about the berries bursting with honeyed sweetness, and filling all the green and golden spaces with the music of their beating wings. by the lake, however, he lingered longest. he might not look upon the water and its sparkling ripples, so like sensuous life, without thinking of the egyptian and her marvellous beauty, and of floating with her here and there through the night, made brilliant by her songs and stories; he might not forget the charm of her manner, the lightness of her laugh, the flattery of her attention, the warmth of her little hand under his upon the tiller of the boat. from her it was for his thought but a short way to balthasar, and the strange things of which he had been witness, unaccountable by any law of nature; and from him, again, to the king of the jews, whom the good man, with such pathos of patience, was holding in holy promise, the distance was even nearer. and there his mind stayed, finding in the mysteries of that personage a satisfaction answering well for the rest he was seeking. because, it may have been, nothing is so easy as denial of an idea not agreeable to our wishes, he rejected the definition given by balthasar of the kingdom the king was coming to establish. a kingdom of souls, if not intolerable to his sadducean faith, seemed to him but an abstraction drawn from the depths of a devotion too fond and dreamy. a kingdom of judea, on the other hand, was more than comprehensible: such had been, and, if only for that reason, might be again. and it suited his pride to think of a new kingdom broader of domain, richer in power, and of a more unapproachable splendor than the old one; of a new king wiser and mightier than solomon--a new king under whom, especially, he could find both service and revenge. in that mood he resumed to the dowar. the mid-day meal disposed of, still further to occupy himself, ben-hur had the chariot rolled out into the sunlight for inspection. the word but poorly conveys the careful study the vehicle underwent. no point or part of it escaped him. with a pleasure which will be better understood hereafter, he saw the pattern was greek, in his judgment preferable to the roman in many respects; it was wider between the wheels, and lower and stronger, and the disadvantage of greater weight would be more than compensated by the greater endurance of his arabs. speaking generally, the carriage-makers of rome built for the games almost solely, sacrificing safety to beauty, and durability to grace; while the chariots of achilles and "the king of men," designed for war and all its extreme tests, still ruled the tastes of those who met and struggled for the crowns isthmian and olympic. next he brought the horses, and, hitching them to the chariot, drove to the field of exercise, where, hour after hour, he practised them in movement under the yoke. when he came away in the evening, it was with restored spirit, and a fixed purpose to defer action in the matter of messala until the race was won or lost. he could not forego the pleasure of meeting his adversary under the eyes of the east; that there might be other competitors seemed not to enter his thought. his confidence in the result was absolute; no doubt of his own skill; and as to the four, they were his full partners in the glorious game. "let him look to it, let him look to it! ha, antares--aldebaran! shall he not, o honest rigel? and thou, atair, king among coursers, shall he not beware of us? ha, ha! good hearts!" so in rests he passed from horse to horse, speaking, not as a master, but the senior of as many brethren. after nightfall, ben-hur sat by the door of the tent waiting for ilderim, not yet returned from the city. he was not impatient, or vexed, or doubtful. the sheik would be heard from, at least. indeed, whether it was from satisfaction with the performance of the four, or the refreshment there is in cold water succeeding bodily exercise, or supper partaken with royal appetite, or the reaction which, as a kindly provision of nature, always follows depression, the young man was in good-humor verging upon elation. he felt himself in the hands of providence no longer his enemy. at last there was a sound of horse's feet coming rapidly, and malluch rode up. "son of arrius," he said, cheerily, after salutation, "i salute you for sheik ilderim, who requests you to mount and go to the city. he is waiting for you." ben-hur asked no questions, but went in where the horses were feeding. aldebaran came to him, as if offering his service. he played with him lovingly, but passed on, and chose another, not of the four--they were sacred to the race. very shortly the two were on the road, going swiftly and in silence. some distance below the seleucian bridge, they crossed the river by a ferry, and, riding far round on the right bank, and recrossing by another ferry, entered the city from the west. the detour was long, but ben-hur accepted it as a precaution for which there was good reason. down to simonides' landing they rode, and in front of the great warehouse, under the bridge, malluch drew rein. "we are come," he said. "dismount." ben-hur recognized the place. "where is the sheik?" he asked. "come with me. i will show you." a watchman took the horses, and almost before he realized it ben-hur stood once more at the door of the house up on the greater one, listening to the response from within--"in god's name, enter." chapter vii malluch stopped at the door; ben-hur entered alone. the room was the same in which he had formerly interviewed simonides, and it had been in nowise changed, except now, close by the arm-chair, a polished brazen rod, set on a broad wooden pedestal, arose higher than a tall man, holding lamps of silver on sliding arms, half-a-dozen or more in number, and all burning. the light was clear, bringing into view the panelling on the walls, the cornice with its row of gilded balls, and the dome dully tinted with violet mica. within a few steps, ben-hur stopped. three persons were present, looking at him--simonides, ilderim, and esther. he glanced hurriedly from one to another, as if to find answer to the question half formed in his mind, what business can these have with me? he became calm, with every sense on the alert, for the question was succeeded by another, are they friends or enemies? at length, his eyes rested upon esther. the men returned his look kindly; in her face there was something more than kindness--something too _spirituel_ for definition, which yet went to his inner consciousness without definition. shall it be said, good reader? back of his gaze there was a comparison in which the egyptian arose and set herself over against the gentle jewess; but it lived an instant, and, as is the habit of such comparisons, passed away without a conclusion. "son of hur--" the guest turned to the speaker. "son of hur," said simonides, repeating the address slowly, and with distinct emphasis, as if to impress all its meaning upon him most interested in understanding it, "take thou the peace of the lord god of our fathers--take it from me." he paused, then added, "from me and mine." the speaker sat in his chair; there were the royal head, the bloodless face, the masterful air, under the influence of which visitors forgot the broken limbs and distorted body of the man. the full black eyes gazed out under the white brows steadily, but not sternly. a moment thus, then he crossed his hands upon his breast. the action, taken with the salutation, could not be misunderstood, and was not. "simonides," ben-hur answered, much moved, "the holy peace you tender is accepted. as son to father, i return it to you. only let there be perfect understanding between us." thus delicately he sought to put aside the submission of the merchant, and, in place of the relation of master and servant, substitute one higher and holier. simonides let fall his hands, and, turning to esther, said, "a seat for the master, daughter." she hastened, and brought a stool, and stood, with suffused face, looking from one to the other--from ben-hur to simonides, from simonides to ben-hur; and they waited, each declining the superiority direction would imply. when at length the pause began to be embarrassing, ben-hur advanced, and gently took the stool from her, and, going to the chair, placed it at the merchant's feet. "i will sit here," he said. his eyes met hers--an instant only; but both were better of the look. he recognized her gratitude, she his generosity and forbearance. simonides bowed his acknowledgment. "esther, child, bring me the paper," he said, with a breath of relief. she went to a panel in the wall, opened it, took out a roll of papyri, and brought and gave it to him. "thou saidst well, son of hur," simonides began, while unrolling the sheets. "let us understand each other. in anticipation of the demand--which i would have made hadst thou waived it--i have here a statement covering everything necessary to the understanding required. i could see but two points involved--the property first, and then our relation. the statement is explicit as to both. will it please thee to read it now?" ben-hur received the papers, but glanced at ilderim. "nay," said simonides, "the sheik shall not deter thee from reading. the account--such thou wilt find it--is of a nature requiring a witness. in the attesting place at the end thou wilt find, when thou comest to it, the name--ilderim, sheik. he knows all. he is thy friend. all he has been to me, that will he be to thee also." simonides looked at the arab, nodding pleasantly, and the latter gravely returned the nod, saying, "thou hast said." ben-hur replied, "i know already the excellence of his friendship, and have yet to prove myself worthy of it." immediately he continued, "later, o simonides, i will read the papers carefully; for the present, do thou take them, and if thou be not too weary, give me their substance." simonides took back the roll. "here, esther, stand by me and receive the sheets, lest they fall into confusion." she took place by his chair, letting her right arm fall lightly across his shoulder, so, when he spoke, the account seemed to have rendition from both of them jointly. "this," said simonides, drawing out the first leaf, "shows the money i had of thy father's, being the amount saved from the romans; there was no property saved, only money, and that the robbers would have secured but for our jewish custom of bills of exchange. the amount saved, being sums i drew from rome, alexandria, damascus, carthage, valentia, and elsewhere within the circle of trade, was one hundred and twenty talents jewish money." he gave the sheet to esther, and took the next one. "with that amount--one hundred and twenty talents--i charged myself. hear now my credits. i use the word, as thou wilt see, with reference rather to the proceeds gained from the use of the money." from separate sheets he then read footings, which, fractions omitted, were as follows: "cr. by ships............................... talents. " goods in store...................... " " cargoes in transit.................. " " camels, horses, etc................. " " warehouses.......................... " " bills due........................... " " money on hand and subject to draft.. " --- total.................................. " " "to these now, to the five hundred and fifty-three talents gained, add the original capital i had from thy father, and thou hast six hundred and seventy three talents!--and all thine--making thee, o son of hur, the richest subject in the world." he took the papyri from esther, and, reserving one, rolled them and offered them to ben-hur. the pride perceptible in his manner was not offensive; it might have been from a sense of duty well done; it might have been for ben-hur without reference to himself. "and there is nothing," he added, dropping his voice, but not his eyes--"there is nothing now thou mayst not do." the moment was one of absorbing interest to all present. simonides crossed his hands upon his breast again; esther was anxious; ilderim nervous. a man is never so on trial as in the moment of excessive good-fortune. taking the roll, ben-hur arose, struggling with emotion. "all this is to me as a light from heaven, sent to drive away a night which has been so long i feared it would never end, and so dark i had lost the hope of seeing," he said, with a husky voice. "i give first thanks to the lord, who has not abandoned me, and my next to thee, o simonides. thy faithfulness outweighs the cruelty of others, and redeems our human nature. 'there is nothing i cannot do:' be it so. shall any man in this my hour of such mighty privilege be more generous than i? serve me as a witness now, sheik ilderim. hear thou my words as i shall speak them--hear and remember. and thou, esther, good angel of this good man! hear thou also." he stretched his hand with the roll to simonides. "the things these papers take into account--all of them: ships, houses, goods, camels, horses, money; the least as well as the greatest--give i back to thee, o simonides, making them all thine, and sealing them to thee and thine forever." esther smiled through her tears; ilderim pulled his beard with rapid motion, his eyes glistening like beads of jet. simonides alone was calm. "sealing them to thee and thine forever," ben-hur continued, with better control of himself, "with one exception, and upon one condition." the breath of the listeners waited upon his words. "the hundred and twenty talents which were my father's thou shalt return to me." ilderim's countenance brightened. "and thou shalt join me in search of my mother and sister, holding all thine subject to the expense of discovery, even as i will hold mine." simonides was much affected. stretching out his hand, he said, "i see thy spirit, son of hur, and i am grateful to the lord that he hath sent thee to me such as thou art. if i served well thy father in life, and his memory afterwards, be not afraid of default to thee; yet must i say the exception cannot stand." exhibiting, then, the reserved sheet, he continued, "thou hast not all the account. take this and read--read aloud." ben-hur took the supplement, and read it. "statement of the servants of hur, rendered by simonides, steward of the estate. . amrah, egyptian, keeping the palace in jerusalem. . simonides, the steward, in antioch. . esther, daughter of simonides." now, in all his thoughts of simonides, not once had it entered ben-hur's mind that, by the law, a daughter followed the parent's condition. in all his visions of her, the sweet-faced esther had figured as the rival of the egyptian, and an object of possible love. he shrank from the revelation so suddenly brought him, and looked at her blushing; and, blushing, she dropped her eyes before him. then he said, while the papyrus rolled itself together, "a man with six hundred talents is indeed rich, and may do what he pleases; but, rarer than the money, more priceless than the property, is the mind which amassed the wealth, and the heart it could not corrupt when amassed. o simonides--and thou, fair esther--fear not. sheik ilderim here shall be witness that in the same moment ye were declared my servants, that moment i declared ye free; and what i declare, that will i put in writing. is it not enough? can i do more?" "son of hur," said simonides, "verily thou dost make servitude lightsome. i was wrong; there are some things thou canst not do; thou canst not make us free in law. i am thy servant forever, because i went to the door with thy father one day, and in my ear the awl-marks yet abide." "did my father that?" "judge him not," cried simonides, quickly. "he accepted me a servant of that class because i prayed him to do so. i never repented the step. it was the price i paid for rachel, the mother of my child here; for rachel, who would not be my wife unless i became what she was." "was she a servant forever?" "even so." ben-hur walked the floor in pain of impotent wish. "i was rich before," he said, stopping suddenly. "i was rich with the gifts of the generous arrius; now comes this greater fortune, and the mind which achieved it. is there not a purpose of god in it all? counsel me, o simonides! help me to see the right and do it. help me to be worthy my name, and what thou art in law to me, that will i be to thee in fact and deed. i will be thy servant forever." simonides' face actually glowed. "o son of my dead master! i will do better than help; i will serve thee with all my might of mind and heart. body, i have not; it perished in thy cause; but with mind and heart i will serve thee. i swear it, by the altar of our god, and the gifts upon the altar! only make me formally what i have assumed to be." "name it," said ben-hur, eagerly. "as steward the care of the property will be mine." "count thyself steward now; or wilt thou have it in writing?" "thy word simply is enough; it was so with the father, and i will not more from the son. and now, if the understanding be perfect"--simonides paused. "it is with me," said ben-hur. "and thou, daughter of rachel, speak!" said simonides, lifting her arm from his shoulder. esther, left thus alone, stood a moment abashed, her color coming and going; then she went to ben-hur, and said, with a womanliness singularly sweet, "i am not better than my mother was; and, as she is gone, i pray you, o my master, let me care for my father." ben-hur took her hand, and led her back to the chair, saying, "thou art a good child. have thy will." simonides replaced her arm upon his neck, and there was silence for a time in the room. chapter viii simonides looked up, none the less a master. "esther," he said, quietly, "the night is going fast; and, lest we become too weary for that which is before us, let the refreshments be brought." she rang a bell. a servant answered with wine and bread, which she bore round. "the understanding, good my master," continued simonides, when all were served, "is not perfect in my sight. henceforth our lives will run on together like rivers which have met and joined their waters. i think their flowing will be better if every cloud is blown from the sky above them. you left my door the other day with what seemed a denial of the claims which i have just allowed in the broadest terms; but it was not so, indeed it was not. esther is witness that i recognized you; and that i did not abandon you, let malluch say." "malluch!" exclaimed ben-hur. "one bound to a chair, like me, must have many hands far-reaching, if he would move the world from which he is so cruelly barred. i have many such, and malluch is one of the best of them. and, sometimes"--he cast a grateful glance at the sheik--"sometimes i borrow from others good of heart, like ilderim the generous--good and brave. let him say if i either denied or forgot you." ben-hur looked at the arab. "this is he, good ilderim, this is he who told you of me?" ilderim's eyes twinkled as he nodded his answer. "how, o my master," said simonides, "may we without trial tell what a man is? i knew you; i saw your father in you; but the kind of man you were i did not know. there are people to whom fortune is a curse in disguise. were you of them? i sent malluch to find out for me, and in the service he was my eyes and ears. do not blame him. he brought me report of you which was all good." "i do not," said ben-hur, heartily. "there was wisdom in your goodness." "the words are very pleasant to me," said the merchant, with feeling, "very pleasant. my fear of misunderstanding is laid. let the rivers run on now as god may give them direction." after an interval he continued: "i am compelled now by truth. the weaver sits weaving, and, as the shuttle flies, the cloth increases, and the figures grow, and he dreams dreams meanwhile; so to my hands the fortune grew, and i wondered at the increase, and asked myself about it many times. i could see a care not my own went with the enterprises i set going. the simooms which smote others on the desert jumped over the things which were mine. the storms which heaped the seashore with wrecks did but blow my ships the sooner into port. strangest of all, i, so dependent upon others, fixed to a place like a dead thing, had never a loss by an agent--never. the elements stooped to serve me, and all my servants, in fact, were faithful." "it is very strange," said ben-hur. "so i said, and kept saying. finally, o my master, finally i came to be of your opinion--god was in it--and, like you, i asked, what can his purpose be? intelligence is never wasted; intelligence like god's never stirs except with design. i have held the question in heart, lo! these many years, watching for an answer. i felt sure, if god were in it, some day, in his own good time, in his own way, he would show me his purpose, making it clear as a whited house upon a hill. and i believe he has done so." ben-hur listened with every faculty intent. "many years ago, with my people--thy mother was with me, esther, beautiful as morning over old olivet--i sat by the wayside out north of jerusalem, near the tombs of the kings, when three men passed by riding great white camels, such as had never been seen in the holy city. the men were strangers, and from far countries. the first one stopped and asked me a question. 'where is he that is born king of the jews?' as if to allay my wonder, he went on to say, 'we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.' i could not understand, but followed them to the damascus gate; and of every person they met on the way--of the guard at the gate, even--they asked the question. all who heard it were amazed like me. in time i forgot the circumstance, though there was much talk of it as a presage of the messiah. alas, alas! what children we are, even the wisest! when god walks the earth, his steps are often centuries apart. you have seen balthasar?" "and heard him tell his story," said ben-hur. "a miracle!--a very miracle!" cried simonides. "as he told it to me, good my master, i seemed to hear the answer i had so long waited; god's purpose burst upon me. poor will the king be when he comes--poor and friendless; without following, without armies, without cities or castles; a kingdom to be set up, and rome reduced and blotted out. see, see, o my master! thou flushed with strength, thou trained to arms, thou burdened with riches; behold the opportunity the lord hath sent thee! shall not his purpose be thine? could a man be born to a more perfect glory?" simonides put his whole force in the appeal. "but the kingdom, the kingdom!" ben-hur answered, eagerly. "balthasar says it is to be of souls." the pride of the jew was strong in simonides, and therefore the slightly contemptuous curl of the lip with which he began his reply: "balthasar has been a witness of wonderful things--of miracles, o my master; and when he speaks of them, i bow with belief, for they are of sight and sound personal to him. but he is a son of mizraim, and not even a proselyte. hardly may he be supposed to have special knowledge by virtue of which we must bow to him in a matter of god's dealing with our israel. the prophets had their light from heaven directly, even as he had his--many to one, and jehovah the same forever. i must believe the prophets.--bring me the torah, esther." he proceeded without waiting for her. "may the testimony of a whole people be slighted, my master? though you travel from tyre, which is by the sea in the north, to the capital of edom, which is in the desert south, you will not find a lisper of the shema, an alms-giver in the temple, or any one who has ever eaten of the lamb of the passover, to tell you the kingdom the king is coming to build for us, the children of the covenant, is other than of this world, like our father david's. now where got they the faith, ask you! we will see presently." esther here returned, bringing a number of rolls carefully enveloped in dark-brown linen lettered quaintly in gold. "keep them, daughter, to give to me as i call for them," the father said, in the tender voice he always used in speaking to her, and continued his argument: "it were long, good my master--too long, indeed--for me to repeat to you the names of the holy men who, in the providence of god, succeeded the prophets, only a little less favored than they--the seers who have written and the preachers who have taught since the captivity; the very wise who borrowed their lights from the lamp of malachi, the last of his line, and whose great names hillel and shammai never tired of repeating in the colleges. will you ask them of the kingdom? thus, the lord of the sheep in the book of enoch--who is he? who but the king of whom we are speaking? a throne is set up for him; he smites the earth, and the other kings are shaken from their thrones, and the scourges of israel flung into a cavern of fire flaming with pillars of fire. so also the singer of the psalms of solomon--'behold, o lord, and raise up to israel their king, the son of david, at the time thou knowest, o god, to rule israel, thy children.... and he will bring the peoples of the heathen under his yoke to serve him.... and he shall be a righteous king taught of god, ... for he shall rule all the earth by the word of his mouth forever.' and last, though not least, hear ezra, the second moses, in his visions of the night, and ask him who is the lion with human voice that says to the eagle--which is rome--'thou hast loved liars, and overthrown the cities of the industrious, and razed their walls, though they did thee no harm. therefore, begone, that the earth may be refreshed, and recover itself, and hope in the justice and piety of him who made her.' whereat the eagle was seen no more. surely, o my master, the testimony of these should be enough! but the way to the fountain's head is open. let us go up to it at once.--some wine, esther, and then the torah." "dost thou believe the prophets, master?" he asked, after drinking. "i know thou dost, for of such was the faith of all thy kindred.--give me, esther, the book which hath in it the visions of isaiah." he took one of the rolls which she had unwrapped for him, and read, "'the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder.... of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of david, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.'--believest thou the prophets, o my master?--now, esther, the word of the lord that came to micah." she gave him the roll he asked. "'but thou,'" he began reading--"'but thou, bethlehem ephrath, though thou be little among the thousands of judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in israel.'--this was he, the very child balthasar saw and worshipped in the cave. believest thou the prophets, o my master?--give me, esther, the words of jeremiah." receiving that roll, he read as before, "'behold, the days come, saith the lord, that i will raise unto david a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. in his days judah shall be saved, and israel shall dwell safely.' as a king he shall reign--as a king, o my master! believest thou the prophets?--now, daughter, the roll of the sayings of that son of judah in whom there was no blemish." she gave him the book of daniel. "hear, my master," he said: "'i saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven.... and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.'--believest thou the prophets, o my master?" "it is enough. i believe," cried ben-hur. "what then?" asked simonides. "if the king come poor, will not my master, of his abundance, give him help?" "help him? to the last shekel and the last breath. but why speak of his coming poor?" "give me, esther, the word of the lord as it came to zechariah," said simonides. she gave him one of the rolls. "hear how the king will enter jerusalem." then he read, "'rejoice greatly, o daughter of zion.... behold, thy king cometh unto thee with justice and salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.'" ben-hur looked away. "what see you, o my master?" "rome!" he answered, gloomily--"rome, and her legions. i have dwelt with them in their camps. i know them." "ah!" said simonides. "thou shalt be a master of legions for the king, with millions to choose from." "millions!" cried ben-hur. simonides sat a moment thinking. "the question of power should not trouble you," he next said. ben-hur looked at him inquiringly. "you were seeing the lowly king in the act of coming to his own," simonides answered--"seeing him on the right hand, as it were, and on the left the brassy legions of caesar, and you were asking, what can he do?" "it was my very thought." "o my master!" simonides continued. "you do not know how strong our israel is. you think of him as a sorrowful old man weeping by the rivers of babylon. but go up to jerusalem next passover, and stand on the xystus or in the street of barter, and see him as he is. the promise of the lord to father jacob coming out of padan-aram was a law under which our people have not ceased multiplying--not even in captivity; they grew under foot of the egyptian; the clench of the roman has been but wholesome nurture to them; now they are indeed 'a nation and a company of nations.' nor that only, my master; in fact, to measure the strength of israel--which is, in fact, measuring what the king can do--you shall not bide solely by the rule of natural increase, but add thereto the other--i mean the spread of the faith, which will carry you to the far and near of the whole known earth. further, the habit is, i know, to think and speak of jerusalem as israel, which may be likened to our finding an embroidered shred, and holding it up as a magisterial robe of caesar's. jerusalem is but a stone of the temple, or the heart in the body. turn from beholding the legions, strong though they be, and count the hosts of the faithful waiting the old alarm, 'to your tents, o israel!'--count the many in persia, children of those who chose not to return with the returning; count the brethren who swarm the marts of egypt and farther africa; count the hebrew colonists eking profit in the west--in lodinum and the trade-courts of spain; count the pure of blood and the proselytes in greece and in the isles of the sea, and over in pontus, and here in antioch, and, for that matter, those of that city lying accursed in the shadow of the unclean walls of rome herself; count the worshippers of the lord dwelling in tents along the deserts next us, as well as in the deserts beyond the nile: and in the regions across the caspian, and up in the old lands of gog and magog even, separate those who annually send gifts to the holy temple in acknowledgment of god--separate them, that they may be counted also. and when you have done counting, lo! my master, a census of the sword hands that await you; lo! a kingdom ready fashioned for him who is to do 'judgment and justice in the whole earth'--in rome not less than in zion. have then the answer, what israel can do, that can the king." the picture was fervently given. upon ilderim it operated like the blowing of a trumpet. "oh that i had back my youth!" he cried, starting to his feet. ben-hur sat still. the speech, he saw, was an invitation to devote his life and fortune to the mysterious being who was palpably as much the centre of a great hope with simonides as with the devout egyptian. the idea, as we have seen, was not a new one, but had come to him repeatedly; once while listening to malluch in the grove of daphne; afterwards more distinctly while balthasar was giving his conception of what the kingdom was to be; still later, in the walk through the old orchard, it had risen almost, if not quite, into a resolve. at such times it had come and gone only an idea, attended with feelings more or less acute. not so now. a master had it in charge, a master was working it up; already he had exalted it into a _cause_ brilliant with possibilities and infinitely holy. the effect was as if a door theretofore unseen had suddenly opened flooding ben-hur with light, and admitting him to a service which had been his one perfect dream--a service reaching far into the future, and rich with the rewards of duty done, and prizes to sweeten and soothe his ambition. one touch more was needed. "let us concede all you say, o simonides," said ben-hur--"that the king will come, and his kingdom be as solomon's; say also i am ready to give myself and all i have to him and his cause; yet more, say that i should do as was god's purpose in the ordering of my life and in your quick amassment of astonishing fortune; then what? shall we proceed like blind men building? shall we wait till the king comes? or until he sends for me? you have age and experience on your side. answer." simonides answered at once. "we have no choice; none. this letter"--he produced messala's despatch as he spoke--"this letter is the signal for action. the alliance proposed between messala and gratus we are not strong enough to resist; we have not the influence at rome nor the force here. they will kill you if we wait. how merciful they are, look at me and judge." he shuddered at the terrible recollection. "o good my master," he continued, recovering himself; "how strong are you--in purpose, i mean?" ben-hur did not understand him. "i remember how pleasant the world was to me in my youth," simonides proceeded. "yet," said ben-hur, "you were capable of a great sacrifice." "yes; for love." "has not life other motives as strong?" simonides shook his head. "there is ambition." "ambition is forbidden a son of israel." "what, then, of revenge?" the spark dropped upon the inflammable passion; the man's eyes gleamed; his hands shook; he answered, quickly, "revenge is a jew's of right; it is the law." "a camel, even a dog, will remember a wrong," cried ilderim. directly simonides picked up the broken thread of his thought. "there is a work, a work for the king, which should be done in advance of his coming. we may not doubt that israel is to be his right hand; but, alas! it is a hand of peace, without cunning in war. of the millions, there is not one trained band, not a captain. the mercenaries of the herods i do not count, for they are kept to crush us. the condition is as the roman would have it; his policy has fruited well for his tyranny; but the time of change is at hand, when the shepherd shall put on armor, and take to spear and sword, and the feeding flocks be turned to fighting lions. some one, my son, must have place next the king at his right hand. who shall it be if not he who does this work well?" ben-hur's face flushed at the prospect, though he said, "i see; but speak plainly. a deed to be done is one thing; how to do it is another." simonides sipped the wine esther brought him, and replied, "the sheik, and thou, my master, shall be principals, each with a part. i will remain here, carrying on as now, and watchful that the spring go not dry. thou shalt betake thee to jerusalem, and thence to the wilderness, and begin numbering the fighting-men of israel, and telling them into tens and hundreds, and choosing captains and training them, and in secret places hoarding arms, for which i shall keep thee supplied. commencing over in perea, thou shalt go then to galilee, whence it is but a step to jerusalem. in perea, the desert will be at thy back, and ilderim in reach of thy hand. he will keep the roads, so that nothing shall pass without thy knowledge. he will help thee in many ways. until the ripening time no one shall know what is here contracted. mine is but a servant's part. i have spoken to ilderim. what sayest thou?" ben-hur looked at the sheik. "it is as he says, son of hur," the arab responded. "i have given my word, and he is content with it; but thou shalt have my oath, binding me, and the ready hands of my tribe, and whatever serviceable thing i have." the three--simonides, ilderim, esther--gazed at ben-hur fixedly. "every man," he answered, at first sadly, "has a cup of pleasure poured for him, and soon or late it comes to his hand, and he tastes and drinks--every man but me. i see, simonides, and thou, o generous sheik!--i see whither the proposal tends. if i accept, and enter upon the course, farewell peace, and the hopes which cluster around it. the doors i might enter and the gates of quiet life will shut behind me, never to open again, for rome keeps them all; and her outlawry will follow me, and her hunters; and in the tombs near cities and the dismal caverns of remotest hills, i must eat my crust and take my rest." the speech was broken by a sob. all turned to esther, who hid her face upon her father's shoulder. "i did not think of you, esther," said simonides, gently, for he was himself deeply moved. "it is well enough, simonides," said ben-hur. "a man bears a hard doom better, knowing there is pity for him. let me go on." they gave him ear again. "i was about to say," he continued, "i have no choice, but take the part you assign me; and as remaining here is to meet an ignoble death, i will to the work at once." "shall we have writings?" asked simonides, moved by his habit of business. "i rest upon your word," said ben-hur. "and i," ilderim answered. thus simply was effected the treaty which was to alter ben-hur's life. and almost immediately the latter added, "it is done, then." "may the god of abraham help us!" simonides exclaimed. "one word now, my friends," ben-hur said, more cheerfully. "by your leave, i will be my own until after the games. it is not probable messala will set peril on foot for me until he has given the procurator time to answer him; and that cannot be in less than seven days from the despatch of his letter. the meeting him in the circus is a pleasure i would buy at whatever risk." ilderim, well pleased, assented readily, and simonides, intent on business, added, "it is well; for look you, my master, the delay will give me time to do you a good part. i understood you to speak of an inheritance derived from arrius. is it in property?" "a villa near misenum, and houses in rome." "i suggest, then, the sale of the property, and safe deposit of the proceeds. give me an account of it, and i will have authorities drawn, and despatch an agent on the mission forthwith. we will forestall the imperial robbers at least this once." "you shall have the account to-morrow." "then, if there be nothing more, the work of the night is done," said simonides. ilderim combed his beard complacently, saying, "and well done." "the bread and wine again, esther. sheik ilderim will make us happy by staying with us till to-morrow, or at his pleasure; and thou, my master--" "let the horses be brought," said ben-hur. "i will return to the orchard. the enemy will not discover me if i go now, and"--he glanced at ilderim--"the four will be glad to see me." as the day dawned, he and malluch dismounted at the door of the tent. chapter ix next night, about the fourth hour, ben-hur stood on the terrace of the great warehouse with esther. below them, on the landing, there was much running about, and shifting of packages and boxes, and shouting of men, whose figures, stooping, heaving, hauling, looked, in the light of the crackling torches kindled in their aid, like the laboring genii of the fantastic eastern tales. a galley was being laden for instant departure. simonides had not yet come from his office, in which, at the last moment, he would deliver to the captain of the vessel instructions to proceed without stop to ostia, the seaport of rome, and, after landing a passenger there, continue more leisurely to valentia, on the coast of spain. the passenger is the agent going to dispose of the estate derived from arrius the duumvir. when the lines of the vessel are cast off, and she is put about, and her voyage begun, ben-hur will be committed irrevocably to the work undertaken the night before. if he is disposed to repent the agreement with ilderim, a little time is allowed him to give notice and break it off. he is master, and has only to say the word. such may have been the thought at the moment in his mind. he was standing with folded arms, looking upon the scene in the manner of a man debating with himself. young, handsome, rich, but recently from the patrician circles of roman society, it is easy to think of the world besetting him with appeals not to give more to onerous duty or ambition attended with outlawry and danger. we can even imagine the arguments with which he was pressed; the hopelessness of contention with caesar; the uncertainty veiling everything connected with the king and his coming; the ease, honors, state, purchasable like goods in market; and, strongest of all, the sense newly acquired of home, with friends to make it delightful. only those who have been wanderers long desolate can know the power there was in the latter appeal. let us add now, the world--always cunning enough of itself; always whispering to the weak, stay, take thine ease; always presenting the sunny side of life--the world was in this instance helped by ben-hur's companion. "were you ever at rome?" he asked. "no," esther replied. "would you like to go?" "i think not." "why?" "i am afraid of rome," she answered, with a perceptible tremor of the voice. he looked at her then--or rather down upon her, for at his side she appeared little more than a child. in the dim light he could not see her face distinctly; even the form was shadowy. but again he was reminded of tirzah, and a sudden tenderness fell upon him--just so the lost sister stood with him on the house-top the calamitous morning of the accident to gratus. poor tirzah! where was she now? esther had the benefit of the feeling evoked. if not his sister, he could never look upon her as his servant; and that she was his servant in fact would make him always the more considerate and gentle towards her. "i cannot think of rome," she continued, recovering her voice, and speaking in her quiet womanly way--"i cannot think of rome as a city of palaces and temples, and crowded with people; she is to me a monster which has possession of one of the beautiful lands, and lies there luring men to ruin and death--a monster which it is not possible to resist--a ravenous beast gorging with blood. why--" she faltered, looked down, stopped. "go on," said ben-hur, reassuringly. she drew closer to him, looked up again, and said, "why must you make her your enemy? why not rather make peace with her, and be at rest? you have had many ills, and borne them; you have survived the snares laid for you by foes. sorrow has consumed your youth; is it well to give it the remainder of your days?" the girlish face under his eyes seemed to come nearer and get whiter as the pleading went on; he stooped towards it, and asked, softly, "what would you have me do, esther?" she hesitated a moment, then asked, in return, "is the property near rome a residence?" "yes." "and pretty?" "it is beautiful--a palace in the midst of gardens and shell-strewn walks; fountains without and within; statuary in the shady nooks; hills around covered with vines, and so high that neapolis and vesuvius are in sight, and the sea an expanse of purpling blue dotted with restless sails. caesar has a country-seat near-by, but in rome they say the old arrian villa is the prettiest." "and the life there, is it quiet?" "there was never a summer day, never a moonlit night, more quiet, save when visitors come. now that the old owner is gone, and i am here, there is nothing to break its silence--nothing, unless it be the whispering of servants, or the whistling of happy birds, or the noise of fountains at play; it is changeless, except as day by day old flowers fade and fall, and new ones bud and bloom, and the sunlight gives place to the shadow of a passing cloud. the life, esther, was all too quiet for me. it made me restless by keeping always present a feeling that i, who have so much to do, was dropping into idle habits, and tying myself with silken chains, and after a while--and not a long while either--would end with nothing done." she looked off over the river. "why did you ask?" he said. "good my master--" "no, no, esther--not that. call me friend--brother, if you will; i am not your master, and will not be. call me brother." he could not see the flush of pleasure which reddened her face, and the glow of the eyes that went out lost in the void above the river. "i cannot understand," she said, "the nature which prefers the life you are going to--a life of--" "of violence, and it may be of blood," he said, completing the sentence. "yes," she added, "the nature which could prefer that life to such as might be in the beautiful villa." "esther, you mistake. there is no preference. alas! the roman is not so kind. i am going of necessity. to stay here is to die; and if i go there, the end will be the same--a poisoned cup, a bravo's blow, or a judge's sentence obtained by perjury. messala and the procurator gratus are rich with plunder of my father's estate, and it is more important to them to keep their gains now than was their getting in the first instance. a peaceable settlement is out of reach, because of the confession it would imply. and then--then-- ah, esther, if i could buy them, i do not know that i would. i do not believe peace possible to me; no, not even in the sleepy shade and sweet air of the marble porches of the old villa--no matter who might be there to help me bear the burden of the days, nor by what patience of love she made the effort. peace is not possible to me while my people are lost, for i must be watchful to find them. if i find them, and they have suffered wrong, shall not the guilty suffer for it? if they are dead by violence, shall the murderers escape? oh, i could not sleep for dreams! nor could the holiest love, by any stratagem, lull me to a rest which conscience would not strangle." "is it so bad then?" she asked, her voice tremulous with feeling. "can nothing, nothing, be done?" ben-hur took her hand. "do you care so much for me?" "yes," she answered, simply. the hand was warm, and in the palm of his it was lost. he felt it tremble. then the egyptian came, so the opposite of this little one; so tall, so audacious, with a flattery so cunning, a wit so ready, a beauty so wonderful, a manner so bewitching. he carried the hand to his lips, and gave it back. "you shall be another tirzah to me, esther." "who is tirzah?" "the little sister the roman stole from me, and whom i must find before i can rest or be happy." just then a gleam of light flashed athwart the terrace and fell upon the two; and, looking round, they saw a servant roll simonides in his chair out of the door. they went to the merchant, and in the after-talk he was principal. immediately the lines of the galley were cast off, and she swung round, and, midst the flashing of torches and the shouting of joyous sailors, hurried off to the sea--leaving ben-hur committed to the cause of the king who was to come. chapter x the day before the games, in the afternoon, all ilderim's racing property was taken to the city, and put in quarters adjoining the circus. along with it the good man carried a great deal of property not of that class; so with servants, retainers mounted and armed, horses in leading, cattle driven, camels laden with baggage, his outgoing from the orchard was not unlike a tribal migration. the people along the road failed not to laugh at his motley procession; on the other side, it was observed that, with all his irascibility, he was not in the least offended by their rudeness. if he was under surveillance, as he had reason to believe, the informer would describe the semi-barbarous show with which he came up to the races. the romans would laugh; the city would be amused; but what cared he? next morning the pageant would be far on the road to the desert, and going with it would be every movable thing of value belonging to the orchard--everything save such as were essential to the success of his four. he was, in fact, started home; his tents were all folded; the dowar was no more; in twelve hours all would be out of reach, pursue who might. a man is never safer than when he is under the laugh; and the shrewd old arab knew it. neither he nor ben-hur overestimated the influence of messala; it was their opinion, however, that he would not begin active measures against them until after the meeting in the circus; if defeated there, especially if defeated by ben-hur, they might instantly look for the worst he could do; he might not even wait for advices from gratus. with this view, they shaped their course, and were prepared to betake themselves out of harm's way. they rode together now in good spirits, calmly confident of success on the morrow. on the way, they came upon malluch in waiting for them. the faithful fellow gave no sign by which it was possible to infer any knowledge on his part of the relationship so recently admitted between ben-hur and simonides, or of the treaty between them and ilderim. he exchanged salutations as usual, and produced a paper, saying to the sheik, "i have here the notice of the editor of the games, just issued, in which you will find your horses published for the race. you will find in it also the order of exercises. without waiting, good sheik, i congratulate you upon your victory." he gave the paper over, and, leaving the worthy to master it, turned to ben-hur. "to you also, son of arrius, my congratulations. there is nothing now to prevent your meeting messala. every condition preliminary to the race is complied with. i have the assurance from the editor himself." "i thank you, malluch," said ben-hur. malluch proceeded: "your color is white, and messala's mixed scarlet and gold. the good effects of the choice are visible already. boys are now hawking white ribbons along the streets; tomorrow every arab and jew in the city will wear them. in the circus you will see the white fairly divide the galleries with the red." "the galleries--but not the tribunal over the porta pompae." "no; the scarlet and gold will rule there. but if we win"--malluch chuckled with the pleasure of the thought--"if we win, how the dignitaries will tremble! they will bet, of course, according to their scorn of everything not roman--two, three, five to one on messala, because he is roman." dropping his voice yet lower, he added, "it ill becomes a jew of good standing in the temple to put his money at such a hazard; yet, in confidence, i will have a friend next behind the consul's seat to accept offers of three to one, or five, or ten--the madness may go to such height. i have put to his order six thousand shekels for the purpose." "nay, malluch," said ben-hur, "a roman will wager only in his roman coin. suppose you find your friend to-night, and place to his order sestertii in such amount as you choose. and look you, malluch--let him be instructed to seek wagers with messala and his supporters; ilderim's four against messala's." malluch reflected a moment. "the effect will be to centre interest upon your contest." "the very thing i seek, malluch." "i see, i see." "ay, malluch; would you serve me perfectly, help me to fix the public eye upon our race--messala's and mine." malluch spoke quickly--"it can be done." "then let it be done," said ben-hur. "enormous wagers offered will answer; if the offers are accepted, all the better." malluch turned his eyes watchfully upon ben-hur. "shall i not have back the equivalent of his robbery?" said ben-hur, partly to himself. "another opportunity may not come. and if i could break him in fortune as well as in pride! our father jacob could take no offence." a look of determined will knit his handsome face, giving emphasis to his further speech. "yes, it shall be. hark, malluch! stop not in thy offer of sestertii. advance them to talents, if any there be who dare so high. five, ten, twenty talents; ay, fifty, so the wager be with messala himself." "it is a mighty sum," said malluch. "i must have security." "so thou shalt. go to simonides, and tell him i wish the matter arranged. tell him my heart is set on the ruin of my enemy, and that the opportunity hath such excellent promise that i choose such hazards. on our side be the god of our fathers. go, good malluch. let this not slip." and malluch, greatly delighted, gave him parting salutation, and started to ride away, but returned presently. "your pardon," he said to ben-hur. "there was another matter. i could not get near messala's chariot myself, but i had another measure it; and, from his report, its hub stands quite a palm higher from the ground than yours." "a palm! so much?" cried ben-hur, joyfully. then he leaned over to malluch. "as thou art a son of judah, malluch, and faithful to thy kin, get thee a seat in the gallery over the gate of triumph, down close to the balcony in front of the pillars, and watch well when we make the turns there; watch well, for if i have favor at all, i will-- nay, malluch, let it go unsaid! only get thee there, and watch well." at that moment a cry burst from ilderim. "ha! by the splendor of god! what is this?" he drew near ben-hur with a finger pointing on the face of the notice. "read," said ben-hur. "no; better thou." ben-hur took the paper, which, signed by the prefect of the province as editor, performed the office of a modern programme, giving particularly the several divertisements provided for the occasion. it informed the public that there would be first a procession of extraordinary splendor; that the procession would be succeeded by the customary honors to the god consus, whereupon the games would begin; running, leaping, wrestling, boxing, each in the order stated. the names of the competitors were given, with their several nationalities and schools of training, the trials in which they had been engaged, the prizes won, and the prizes now offered; under the latter head the sums of money were stated in illuminated letters, telling of the departure of the day when the simple chaplet of pine or laurel was fully enough for the victor, hungering for glory as something better than riches, and content with it. over these parts of the programme ben-hur sped with rapid eyes. at last he came to the announcement of the race. he read it slowly. attending lovers of the heroic sports were assured they would certainly be gratified by an orestean struggle unparalleled in antioch. the city offered the spectacle in honor of the consul. one hundred thousand sestertii and a crown of laurel were the prizes. then followed the particulars. the entries were six in all--fours only permitted; and, to further interest in the performance, the competitors would be turned into the course together. each four then received description. "i. a four of lysippus the corinthian--two grays, a bay, and a black; entered at alexandria last year, and again at corinth, where they were winners. lysippus, driver. color, yellow. "ii. a four of messala of rome--two white, two black; victors of the circensian as exhibited in the circus maximus last year. messala, driver. colors, scarlet and gold. "iii. a four of cleanthes the athenian--three gray, one bay; winners at the isthmian last year. cleanthes, driver. color, green. "iv. a four of dicaeus the byzantine--two black, one gray, one bay; winners this year at byzantium. dicaeus, driver. color, black. "v. a four of admetus the sidonian--all grays. thrice entered at caesarea, and thrice victors. admetus, driver. color, blue. "vi. a four of ilderim, sheik of the desert. all bays; first race. ben-hur, a jew, driver. color, white." ben-hur, a jew, driver! why that name instead of arrius? ben-hur raised his eyes to ilderim. he had found the cause of the arab's outcry. both rushed to the same conclusion. the hand was the hand of messala! chapter xi evening was hardly come upon antioch, when the omphalus, nearly in the centre of the city, became a troubled fountain from which in every direction, but chiefly down to the nymphaeum and east and west along the colonnade of herod, flowed currents of people, for the time given up to bacchus and apollo. for such indulgence anything more fitting cannot be imagined than the great roofed streets, which were literally miles on miles of porticos wrought of marble, polished to the last degree of finish, and all gifts to the voluptuous city by princes careless of expenditure where, as in this instance, they thought they were eternizing themselves. darkness was not permitted anywhere; and the singing, the laughter, the shouting, were incessant, and in compound like the roar of waters dashing through hollow grots, confused by a multitude of echoes. the many nationalities represented, though they might have amazed a stranger, were not peculiar to antioch. of the various missions of the great empire, one seems to have been the fusion of men and the introduction of strangers to each other; accordingly, whole peoples rose up and went at pleasure, taking with them their costumes, customs, speech, and gods; and where they chose, they stopped, engaged in business, built houses, erected altars, and were what they had been at home. there was a peculiarity, however, which could not have failed the notice of a looker-on this night in antioch. nearly everybody wore the colors of one or other of the charioteers announced for the morrow's race. sometimes it was in form of a scarf, sometimes a badge; often a ribbon or a feather. whatever the form, it signified merely the wearer's partiality; thus, green published a friend of cleanthes the athenian, and black an adherent of the byzantine. this was according to a custom, old probably as the day of the race of orestes--a custom, by the way, worthy of study as a marvel of history, illustrative of the absurd yet appalling extremities to which men frequently suffer their follies to drag them. the observer abroad on this occasion, once attracted to the wearing of colors, would have very shortly decided that there were three in predominance--green, white, and the mixed scarlet and gold. but let us from the streets to the palace on the island. the five great chandeliers in the saloon are freshly lighted. the assemblage is much the same as that already noticed in connection with the place. the divan has its corps of sleepers and burden of garments, and the tables yet resound with the rattle and clash of dice. yet the greater part of the company are not doing anything. they walk about, or yawn tremendously, or pause as they pass each other to exchange idle nothings. will the weather be fair to-morrow? are the preparations for the games complete? do the laws of the circus in antioch differ from the laws of the circus in rome? truth is, the young fellows are suffering from ennui. their heavy work is done; that is, we would find their tablets, could we look at them, covered with memoranda of wagers--wagers on every contest; on the running, the wrestling, the boxing; on everything but the chariot-race. and why not on that? good reader, they cannot find anybody who will hazard so much as a denarius with them against messala. there are no colors in the saloon but his. no one thinks of his defeat. why, they say, is he not perfect in his training? did he not graduate from an imperial lanista? were not his horses winners at the circensian in the circus maximus? and then--ah, yes! he is a roman! in a corner, at ease on the divan, messala himself may be seen. around him, sitting or standing, are his courtierly admirers, plying him with questions. there is, of course, but one topic. enter drusus and cecilius. "ah!" cries the young prince, throwing himself on the divan at messala's feet, "ah, by bacchus, i am tired!" "whither away?" asks messala. "up the street; up to the omphalus, and beyond--who shall say how far? rivers of people; never so many in the city before. they say we will see the whole world at the circus to-morrow." messala laughed scornfully. "the idiots! perpol! they never beheld a circensian with caesar for editor. but, my drusus, what found you?" "nothing." "o--ah! you forget," said cecilius. "what?" asked drusus. "the procession of whites." "mirabile!" cried drusus, half rising. "we met a faction of whites, and they had a banner. but--ha, ha, ha!" he fell back indolently. "cruel drusus--not to go on," said messala. "scum of the desert were they, my messala, and garbage-eaters from the jacob's temple in jerusalem. what had i to do with them!" "nay," said cecilius, "drusus is afraid of a laugh, but i am not, my messala." "speak thou, then." "well, we stopped the faction, and--" "offered them a wager," said drusus, relenting, and taking the word from the shadow's mouth. "and--ha, ha, ha!--one fellow with not enough skin on his face to make a worm for a carp stepped forth, and--ha, ha, ha!--said yes. i drew my tablets. 'who is your man?' i asked. 'ben-hur, the jew,' said he. then i: 'what shall it be? how much?' he answered, 'a--a--' excuse me, messala. by jove's thunder, i cannot go on for laughter! ha, ha, ha!" the listeners leaned forward. messala looked to cecilius. "a shekel," said the latter. "a shekel! a shekel!" a burst of scornful laughter ran fast upon the repetition. "and what did drusus?" asked messala. an outcry over about the door just then occasioned a rush to that quarter; and, as the noise there continued, and grew louder, even cecilius betook himself off, pausing only to say, "the noble drusus, my messala, put up his tablets and--lost the shekel." "a white! a white!" "let him come!" "this way, this way!" these and like exclamations filled the saloon, to the stoppage of other speech. the dice-players quit their games; the sleepers awoke, rubbed their eyes, drew their tablets, and hurried to the common centre. "i offer you--" "and i--" "i--" the person so warmly received was the respectable jew, ben-hur's fellow-voyager from cyprus. he entered grave, quiet, observant. his robe was spotlessly white; so was the cloth of his turban. bowing and smiling at the welcome, he moved slowly towards the central table. arrived there, he drew his robe about him in a stately manner, took seat, and waved his hand. the gleam of a jewel on a finger helped him not a little to the silence which ensued. "romans--most noble romans--i salute you!" he said. "easy, by jupiter! who is he?" asked drusus. "a dog of israel--sanballat by name--purveyor for the army; residence, rome; vastly rich; grown so as a contractor of furnishments which he never furnishes. he spins mischiefs, nevertheless, finer than spiders spin their webs. come--by the girdle of venus! let us catch him!" messala arose as he spoke, and, with drusus, joined the mass crowded about the purveyor. "it came to me on the street," said that person, producing his tablets, and opening them on the table with an impressive air of business, "that there was great discomfort in the palace because offers on messala were going without takers. the gods, you know, must have sacrifices; and here am i. you see my color; let us to the matter. odds first, amounts next. what will you give me?" the audacity seemed to stun his hearers. "haste!" he said. "i have an engagement with the consul." the spur was effective. "two to one," cried half a dozen in a voice. "what!" exclaimed the purveyor, astonished. "only two to one, and yours a roman!" "take three, then." "three say you--only three--and mine but a dog of a jew! give me four." "four it is," said a boy, stung by the taunt. "five--give me five," cried the purveyor, instantly. a profound stillness fell upon the assemblage. "the consul--your master and mine--is waiting for me." the inaction became awkward to the many. "give me five--for the honor of rome, five." "five let it be," said one in answer. there was a sharp cheer--a commotion--and messala himself appeared. "five let it be," he said. and sanballat smiled, and made ready to write. "if caesar die to-morrow," he said, "rome will not be all bereft. there is at least one other with spirit to take his place. give me six." "six be it," answered messala. there was another shout louder than the first. "six be it," repeated messala. "six to one--the difference between a roman and a jew. and, having found it, now, o redemptor of the flesh of swine, let us on. the amount--and quickly. the consul may send for thee, and i will then be bereft." sanballat took the laugh against him coolly, and wrote, and offered the writing to messala. "read, read!" everybody demanded. and messala read: "mem.--chariot-race. messala of rome, in wager with sanballat, also of rome, says he will beat ben-hur, the jew. amount of wager, twenty talents. odds to sanballat, six to one. "witnesses: sanballat." there was no noise, no motion. each person seemed held in the pose the reading found him. messala stared at the memorandum, while the eyes which had him in view opened wide, and stared at him. he felt the gaze, and thought rapidly. so lately he stood in the same place, and in the same way hectored the countrymen around him. they would remember it. if he refused to sign, his hero-ship was lost. and sign he could not; he was not worth one hundred talents, nor the fifth part of the sum. suddenly his mind became a blank; he stood speechless; the color fled his face. an idea at last came to his relief. "thou jew!" he said, "where hast thou twenty talents? show me." sanballat's provoking smile deepened. "there," he replied, offering messala a paper. "read, read!" arose all around. again messala read: "at antioch, tammuz th day. "the bearer, sanballat of rome, hath now to his order with me fifty talents, coin of caesar. simonides." "fifty talents, fifty talents!" echoed the throng, in amazement. then drusus came to the rescue. "by hercules!" he shouted, "the paper lies, and the jew is a liar. who but caesar hath fifty talents at order? down with the insolent white!" the cry was angry, and it was angrily repeated; yet sanballat kept his seat, and his smile grew more exasperating the longer he waited. at length messala spoke. "hush! one to one, my countrymen--one to one, for love of our ancient roman name." the timely action recovered him his ascendancy. "o thou circumcised dog!" he continued, to sanballat, "i gave thee six to one, did i not?" "yes," said the jew, quietly. "well, give me now the fixing of the amount." "with reserve, if the amount be trifling, have thy will," answered sanballat. "write, then, five in place of twenty." "hast thou so much?" "by the mother of the gods, i will show you receipts." "nay, the word of so brave a roman must pass. only make the sum even--six make it, and i will write." "write it so." and forthwith they exchanged writings. sanballat immediately arose and looked around him, a sneer in place of his smile. no man better than he knew those with whom he was dealing. "romans," he said, "another wager, if you dare! five talents against five talents that the white will win. i challenge you collectively." they were again surprised. "what!" he cried, louder. "shall it be said in the circus to-morrow that a dog of israel went into the saloon of the palace full of roman nobles--among them the scion of a caesar--and laid five talents before them in challenge, and they had not the courage to take it up?" the sting was unendurable. "have done, o insolent!" said drusus, "write the challenge, and leave it on the table; and to-morrow, if we find thou hast indeed so much money to put at such hopeless hazard, i, drusus, promise it shall be taken." sanballat wrote again, and, rising, said, unmoved as ever, "see, drusus, i leave the offer with you. when it is signed, send it to me any time before the race begins. i will be found with the consul in a seat over the porta pompae. peace to you; peace to all." he bowed, and departed, careless of the shout of derision with which they pursued him out of the door. in the night the story of the prodigious wager flew along the streets and over the city; and ben-hur, lying with his four, was told of it, and also that messala's whole fortune was on the hazard. and he slept never so soundly. chapter xii the circus at antioch stood on the south bank of the river, nearly opposite the island, differing in no respect from the plan of such buildings in general. in the purest sense, the games were a gift to the public; consequently, everybody was free to attend; and, vast as the holding capacity of the structure was, so fearful were the people, on this occasion, lest there should not be room for them, that, early the day before the opening of the exhibition, they took up all the vacant spaces in the vicinity, where their temporary shelter suggested an army in waiting. at midnight the entrances were thrown wide, and the rabble, surging in, occupied the quarters assigned to them, from which nothing less than an earthquake or an army with spears could have dislodged them. they dozed the night away on the benches, and breakfasted there; and there the close of the exercises found them, patient and sight-hungry as in the beginning. the better people, their seats secured, began moving towards the circus about the first hour of the morning, the noble and very rich among them distinguished by litters and retinues of liveried servants. by the second hour, the efflux from the city was a stream unbroken and innumerable. exactly as the gnomon of the official dial up in the citadel pointed the second hour half gone, the legion, in full panoply, and with all its standards on exhibit, descended from mount sulpius; and when the rear of the last cohort disappeared in the bridge, antioch was literally abandoned--not that the circus could hold the multitude, but that the multitude was gone out to it, nevertheless. a great concourse on the river shore witnessed the consul come over from the island in a barge of state. as the great man landed, and was received by the legion, the martial show for one brief moment transcended the attraction of the circus. at the third hour, the audience, if such it may be termed, was assembled; at last, a flourish of trumpets called for silence, and instantly the gaze of over a hundred thousand persons was directed towards a pile forming the eastern section of the building. there was a basement first, broken in the middle by a broad arched passage, called the porta pompae, over which, on an elevated tribunal magnificently decorated with insignia and legionary standards, the consul sat in the place of honor. on both sides of the passage the basement was divided into stalls termed carceres, each protected in front by massive gates swung to statuesque pilasters. over the stalls next was a cornice crowned by a low balustrade; back of which the seats arose in theatre arrangement, all occupied by a throng of dignitaries superbly attired. the pile extended the width of the circus, and was flanked on both sides by towers which, besides helping the architects give grace to their work, served the velaria, or purple awnings, stretched between them so as to throw the whole quarter in a shade that became exceedingly grateful as the day advanced. this structure, it is now thought, can be made useful in helping the reader to a sufficient understanding of the arrangement of the rest of the interior of the circus. he has only to fancy himself seated on the tribunal with the consul, facing to the west, where everything is under his eye. on the right and left, if he will look, he will see the main entrances, very ample, and guarded by gates hinged to the towers. directly below him is the arena--a level plane of considerable extent, covered with fine white sand. there all the trials will take place except the running. looking across this sanded arena westwardly still, there is a pedestal of marble supporting three low conical pillars of gray stone, much carven. many an eye will hunt for those pillars before the day is done, for they are the first goal, and mark the beginning and end of the race-course. behind the pedestal, leaving a passage-way and space for an altar, commences a wall ten or twelve feet in breadth and five or six in height, extending thence exactly two hundred yards, or one olympic stadium. at the farther, or westward, extremity of the wall there is another pedestal, surmounted with pillars which mark the second goal. the racers will enter the course on the right of the first goal, and keep the wall all the time to their left. the beginning and ending points of the contest lie, consequently, directly in front of the consul across the arena; and for that reason his seat was admittedly the most desirable in the circus. now if the reader, who is still supposed to be seated on the consular tribunal over the porta pompae, will look up from the ground arrangement of the interior, the first point to attract his notice will be the marking of the outer boundary-line of the course--that is, a plain-faced, solid wall, fifteen or twenty feet in height, with a balustrade on its cope, like that over the carceres, or stalls, in the east. this balcony, if followed round the course, will be found broken in three places to allow passages of exit and entrance, two in the north and one in the west; the latter very ornate, and called the gate of triumph, because, when all is over, the victors will pass out that way, crowned, and with triumphal escort and ceremonies. at the west end the balcony encloses the course in the form of a half circle, and is made to uphold two great galleries. directly behind the balustrade on the coping of the balcony is the first seat, from which ascend the succeeding benches, each higher than the one in front of it; giving to view a spectacle of surpassing interest--the spectacle of a vast space ruddy and glistening with human faces, and rich with varicolored costumes. the commonalty occupy quarters over in the west, beginning at the point of termination of an awning, stretched, it would seem, for the accommodation of the better classes exclusively. having thus the whole interior of the circus under view at the moment of the sounding of the trumpets, let the reader next imagine the multitude seated and sunk to sudden silence, and motionless in its intensity of interest. out of the porta pompae over in the east rises a sound mixed of voices and instruments harmonized. presently, forth issues the chorus of the procession with which the celebration begins; the editor and civic authorities of the city, givers of the games, follow in robes and garlands; then the gods, some on platforms borne by men, others in great four-wheel carriages gorgeously decorated; next them, again, the contestants of the day, each in costume exactly as he will run, wrestle, leap, box, or drive. slowly crossing the arena, the procession proceeds to make circuit of the course. the display is beautiful and imposing. approval runs before it in a shout, as the water rises and swells in front of a boat in motion. if the dumb, figured gods make no sign of appreciation of the welcome, the editor and his associates are not so backward. the reception of the athletes is even more demonstrative, for there is not a man in the assemblage who has not something in wager upon them, though but a mite or farthing. and it is noticeable, as the classes move by, that the favorites among them are speedily singled out: either their names are loudest in the uproar, or they are more profusely showered with wreaths and garlands tossed to them from the balcony. if there is a question as to the popularity with the public of the several games, it is now put to rest. to the splendor of the chariots and the superexcellent beauty of the horses, the charioteers add the personality necessary to perfect the charm of their display. their tunics, short, sleeveless, and of the finest woollen texture, are of the assigned colors. a horseman accompanies each one of them except ben-hur, who, for some reason--possibly distrust--has chosen to go alone; so, too, they are all helmeted but him. as they approach, the spectators stand upon the benches, and there is a sensible deepening of the clamor, in which a sharp listener may detect the shrill piping of women and children; at the same time, the things roseate flying from the balcony thicken into a storm, and, striking the men, drop into the chariot-beds, which are threatened with filling to the tops. even the horses have a share in the ovation; nor may it be said they are less conscious than their masters of the honors they receive. very soon, as with the other contestants, it is made apparent that some of the drivers are more in favor than others; and then the discovery follows that nearly every individual on the benches, women and children as well as men, wears a color, most frequently a ribbon upon the breast or in the hair: now it is green, now yellow, now blue; but, searching the great body carefully, it is manifest that there is a preponderance of white, and scarlet and gold. in a modern assemblage called together as this one is, particularly where there are sums at hazard upon the race, a preference would be decided by the qualities or performance of the horses; here, however, nationality was the rule. if the byzantine and sidonian found small support, it was because their cities were scarcely represented on the benches. on their side, the greeks, though very numerous, were divided between the corinthian and the athenian, leaving but a scant showing of green and yellow. messala's scarlet and gold would have been but little better had not the citizens of antioch, proverbially a race of courtiers, joined the romans by adopting the color of their favorite. there were left then the country people, or syrians, the jews, and the arabs; and they, from faith in the blood of the sheik's four, blent largely with hate of the romans, whom they desired, above all things, to see beaten and humbled, mounted the white, making the most noisy, and probably the most numerous, faction of all. as the charioteers move on in the circuit, the excitement increases; at the second goal, where, especially in the galleries, the white is the ruling color, the people exhaust their flowers and rive the air with screams. "messala! messala!" "ben-hur! ben-hur!" such are the cries. upon the passage of the procession, the factionists take their seats and resume conversation. "ah, by bacchus! was he not handsome?" exclaims a woman, whose romanism is betrayed by the colors flying in her hair. "and how splendid his chariot!" replies a neighbor, of the same proclivities. "it is all ivory and gold. jupiter grant he wins!" the notes on the bench behind them were entirely different. "a hundred shekels on the jew!" the voice is high and shrill. "nay, be thou not rash," whispers a moderating friend to the speaker. "the children of jacob are not much given to gentile sports, which are too often accursed in the sight of the lord." "true, but saw you ever one more cool and assured? and what an arm he has!" "and what horses!" says a third. "and for that," a fourth one adds, "they say he has all the tricks of the romans." a woman completes the eulogium: "yes, and he is even handsomer than the roman." thus encouraged, the enthusiast shrieks again, "a hundred shekels on the jew!" "thou fool!" answers an antiochian, from a bench well forward on the balcony. "knowest thou not there are fifty talents laid against him, six to one, on messala? put up thy shekels, lest abraham rise and smite thee." "ha, ha! thou ass of antioch! cease thy bray. knowest thou not it was messala betting on himself?" such the reply. and so ran the controversy, not always good-natured. when at length the march was ended and the porta pompae received back the procession, ben-hur knew he had his prayer. the eyes of the east were upon his contest with messala. chapter xiii about three o'clock, speaking in modern style, the program was concluded except the chariot-race. the editor, wisely considerate of the comfort of the people, chose that time for a recess. at once the vomitoria were thrown open, and all who could hastened to the portico outside where the restaurateurs had their quarters. those who remained yawned, talked, gossiped, consulted their tablets, and, all distinctions else forgotten, merged into but two classes--the winners, who were happy, and the losers, who were grum and captious. now, however, a third class of spectators, composed of citizens who desired only to witness the chariot-race, availed themselves of the recess to come in and take their reserved seats; by so doing they thought to attract the least attention and give the least offence. among these were simonides and his party, whose places were in the vicinity of the main entrance on the north side, opposite the consul. as the four stout servants carried the merchant in his chair up the aisle, curiosity was much excited. presently some one called his name. those about caught it and passed it on along the benches to the west; and there was hurried climbing on seats to get sight of the man about whom common report had coined and put in circulation a romance so mixed of good fortune and bad that the like had never been known or heard of before. ilderim was also recognized and warmly greeted; but nobody knew balthasar or the two women who followed him closely veiled. the people made way for the party respectfully, and the ushers seated them in easy speaking distance of each other down by the balustrade overlooking the arena. in providence of comfort, they sat upon cushions and had stools for footrests. the women were iras and esther. upon being seated, the latter cast a frightened look over the circus, and drew the veil closer about her face; while the egyptian, letting her veil fall upon her shoulders, gave herself to view, and gazed at the scene with the seeming unconsciousness of being stared at, which, in a woman, is usually the result of long social habitude. the new-comers generally were yet making their first examination of the great spectacle, beginning with the consul and his attendants, when some workmen ran in and commenced to stretch a chalked rope across the arena from balcony to balcony in front of the pillars of the first goal. about the same time, also, six men came in through the porta pompae and took post, one in front of each occupied stall; whereat there was a prolonged hum of voices in every quarter. "see, see! the green goes to number four on the right; the athenian is there." "and messala--yes, he is in number two." "the corinthian--" "watch the white! see, he crosses over, he stops; number one it is--number one on the left." "no, the black stops there, and the white at number two." "so it is." these gate-keepers, it should be understood, were dressed in tunics colored like those of the competing charioteers; so, when they took their stations, everybody knew the particular stall in which his favorite was that moment waiting. "did you ever see messala?" the egyptian asked esther. the jewess shuddered as she answered no. if not her father's enemy, the roman was ben-hur's. "he is beautiful as apollo." as iras spoke, her large eyes brightened and she shook her jeweled fan. esther looked at her with the thought, "is he, then, so much handsomer than ben-hur?" next moment she heard ilderim say to her father, "yes, his stall is number two on the left of the porta pompae;" and, thinking it was of ben-hur he spoke, her eyes turned that way. taking but the briefest glance at the wattled face of the gate, she drew the veil close and muttered a little prayer. presently sanballat came to the party. "i am just from the stalls, o sheik," he said, bowing gravely to ilderim, who began combing his beard, while his eyes glittered with eager inquiry. "the horses are in perfect condition." ilderim replied simply, "if they are beaten, i pray it be by some other than messala." turning then to simonides, sanballat drew out a tablet, saying, "i bring you also something of interest. i reported, you will remember, the wager concluded with messala last night, and stated that i left another which, if taken, was to be delivered to me in writing to-day before the race began. here it is." simonides took the tablet and read the memorandum carefully. "yes," he said, "their emissary came to ask me if you had so much money with me. keep the tablet close. if you lose, you know where to come; if you win"--his face knit hard--"if you win--ah, friend, see to it! see the signers escape not; hold them to the last shekel. that is what they would with us." "trust me," replied the purveyor. "will you not sit with us?" asked simonides. "you are very good," the other returned; "but if i leave the consul, young rome yonder will boil over. peace to you; peace to all." at length the recess came to an end. the trumpeters blew a call at which the absentees rushed back to their places. at the same time, some attendants appeared in the arena, and, climbing upon the division wall, went to an entablature near the second goal at the west end, and placed upon it seven wooden balls; then returning to the first goal, upon an entablature there they set up seven other pieces of wood hewn to represent dolphins. "what shall they do with the balls and fishes, o sheik?" asked balthasar. "hast thou never attended a race?" "never before; and hardly know i why i am here." "well, they are to keep the count. at the end of each round run thou shalt see one ball and one fish taken down." the preparations were now complete, and presently a trumpeter in gaudy uniform arose by the editor, ready to blow the signal of commencement promptly at his order. straightway the stir of the people and the hum of their conversation died away. every face near-by, and every face in the lessening perspective, turned to the east, as all eyes settled upon the gates of the six stalls which shut in the competitors. the unusual flush upon his face gave proof that even simonides had caught the universal excitement. ilderim pulled his beard fast and furious. "look now for the roman," said the fair egyptian to esther, who did not hear her, for, with close-drawn veil and beating heart, she sat watching for ben-hur. the structure containing the stalls, it should be observed, was in form of the segment of a circle, retired on the right so that its central point was projected forward, and midway the course, on the starting side of the first goal. every stall, consequently, was equally distant from the starting-line or chalked rope above mentioned. the trumpet sounded short and sharp; whereupon the starters, one for each chariot, leaped down from behind the pillars of the goal, ready to give assistance if any of the fours proved unmanageable. again the trumpet blew, and simultaneously the gate-keepers threw the stalls open. first appeared the mounted attendants of the charioteers, five in all, ben-hur having rejected the service. the chalked line was lowered to let them pass, then raised again. they were beautifully mounted, yet scarcely observed as they rode forward; for all the time the trampling of eager horses, and the voices of drivers scarcely less eager, were heard behind in the stalls, so that one might not look away an instant from the gaping doors. the chalked line up again, the gate-keepers called their men; instantly the ushers on the balcony waved their hands, and shouted with all their strength, "down! down!" as well have whistled to stay a storm. forth from each stall, like missiles in a volley from so many great guns, rushed the six fours; and up the vast assemblage arose, electrified and irrepressible, and, leaping upon the benches, filled the circus and the air above it with yells and screams. this was the time for which they had so patiently waited!--this the moment of supreme interest treasured up in talk and dreams since the proclamation of the games! "he is come--there--look!" cried iras, pointing to messala. "i see him," answered esther, looking at ben-hur. the veil was withdrawn. for an instant the little jewess was brave. an idea of the joy there is in doing an heroic deed under the eyes of a multitude came to her, and she understood ever after how, at such times, the souls of men, in the frenzy of performance, laugh at death or forget it utterly. the competitors were now under view from nearly every part of the circus, yet the race was not begun; they had first to make the chalked line successfully. the line was stretched for the purpose of equalizing the start. if it were dashed upon, discomfiture of man and horses might be apprehended; on the other hand, to approach it timidly was to incur the hazard of being thrown behind in the beginning of the race; and that was certain forfeit of the great advantage always striven for--the position next the division wall on the inner line of the course. this trial, its perils and consequences, the spectators knew thoroughly; and if the opinion of old nestor, uttered that time he handed the reins to his son, were true-- "it is not strength, but art, obtained the prize, and to be swift is less than to be wise"-- all on the benches might well look for warning of the winner to be now given, justifying the interest with which they breathlessly watched for the result. the arena swam in a dazzle of light; yet each driver looked first thing for the rope, then for the coveted inner line. so, all six aiming at the same point and speeding furiously, a collision seemed inevitable; nor that merely. what if the editor, at the last moment, dissatisfied with the start, should withhold the signal to drop the rope? or if he should not give it in time? the crossing was about two hundred and fifty feet in width. quick the eye, steady the hand, unerring the judgment required. if now one look away! or his mind wander! or a rein slip! and what attraction in the ensemble of the thousands over the spreading balcony! calculating upon the natural impulse to give one glance--just one--in sooth of curiosity or vanity, malice might be there with an artifice; while friendship and love, did they serve the same result, might be as deadly as malice. the divine last touch in perfecting the beautiful is animation. can we accept the saying, then these latter days, so tame in pastime and dull in sports, have scarcely anything to compare to the spectacle offered by the six contestants. let the reader try to fancy it; let him first look down upon the arena, and see it glistening in its frame of dull-gray granite walls; let him then, in this perfect field, see the chariots, light of wheel, very graceful, and ornate as paint and burnishing can make them--messala's rich with ivory and gold; let him see the drivers, erect and statuesque, undisturbed by the motion of the cars, their limbs naked, and fresh and ruddy with the healthful polish of the baths--in their right hands goads, suggestive of torture dreadful to the thought--in their left hands, held in careful separation, and high, that they may not interfere with view of the steeds, the reins passing taut from the fore ends of the carriage-poles; let him see the fours, chosen for beauty as well as speed; let him see them in magnificent action, their masters not more conscious of the situation and all that is asked and hoped from them--their heads tossing, nostrils in play, now distent, now contracted--limbs too dainty for the sand which they touch but to spurn--limbs slender, yet with impact crushing as hammers--every muscle of the rounded bodies instinct with glorious life, swelling, diminishing, justifying the world in taking from them its ultimate measure of force; finally, along with chariots, drivers, horses, let the reader see the accompanying shadows fly; and, with such distinctness as the picture comes, he may share the satisfaction and deeper pleasure of those to whom it was a thrilling fact, not a feeble fancy. every age has its plenty of sorrows; heaven help where there are no pleasures! the competitors having started each on the shortest line for the position next the wall, yielding would be like giving up the race; and who dared yield? it is not in common nature to change a purpose in mid-career; and the cries of encouragement from the balcony were indistinguishable and indescribable: a roar which had the same effect upon all the drivers. the fours neared the rope together. then the trumpeter by the editor's side blew a signal vigorously. twenty feet away it was not heard. seeing the action, however, the judges dropped the rope, and not an instant too soon, for the hoof of one of messala's horses struck it as it fell. nothing daunted, the roman shook out his long lash, loosed the reins, leaned forward, and, with a triumphant shout, took the wall. "jove with us! jove with us!" yelled all the roman faction, in a frenzy of delight. as messala turned in, the bronze lion's head at the end of his axle caught the fore-leg of the athenian's right-hand trace-mate, flinging the brute over against its yoke-fellow. both staggered, struggled, and lost their headway. the ushers had their will at least in part. the thousands held their breath with horror; only up where the consul sat was there shouting. "jove with us!" screamed drusus, frantically. "he wins! jove with us!" answered his associates, seeing messala speed on. tablet in hand, sanballat turned to them; a crash from the course below stopped his speech, and he could not but look that way. messala having passed, the corinthian was the only contestant on the athenian's right, and to that side the latter tried to turn his broken four; and then; as ill-fortune would have it, the wheel of the byzantine, who was next on the left, struck the tail-piece of his chariot, knocking his feet from under him. there was a crash, a scream of rage and fear, and the unfortunate cleanthes fell under the hoofs of his own steeds: a terrible sight, against which esther covered her eyes. on swept the corinthian, on the byzantine, on the sidonian. sanballat looked for ben-hur, and turned again to drusus and his coterie. "a hundred sestertii on the jew!" he cried. "taken!" answered drusus. "another hundred on the jew!" shouted sanballat. nobody appeared to hear him. he called again; the situation below was too absorbing, and they were too busy shouting, "messala! messala! jove with us!" when the jewess ventured to look again, a party of workmen were removing the horses and broken car; another party were taking off the man himself; and every bench upon which there was a greek was vocal with execrations and prayers for vengeance. suddenly she dropped her hands; ben-hur, unhurt, was to the front, coursing freely forward along with the roman! behind them, in a group, followed the sidonian, the corinthian, and the byzantine. the race was on; the souls of the racers were in it; over them bent the myriads. chapter xiv when the dash for position began, ben-hur, as we have seen, was on the extreme left of the six. for a moment, like the others, he was half blinded by the light in the arena; yet he managed to catch sight of his antagonists and divine their purpose. at messala, who was more than an antagonist to him, he gave one searching look. the air of passionless hauteur characteristic of the fine patrician face was there as of old, and so was the italian beauty, which the helmet rather increased; but more--it may have been a jealous fancy, or the effect of the brassy shadow in which the features were at the moment cast, still the israelite thought he saw the soul of the man as through a glass, darkly: cruel, cunning, desperate; not so excited as determined--a soul in a tension of watchfulness and fierce resolve. in a time not longer than was required to turn to his four again, ben-hur felt his own resolution harden to a like temper. at whatever cost, at all hazards, he would humble this enemy! prize, friends, wagers, honor--everything that can be thought of as a possible interest in the race was lost in the one deliberate purpose. regard for life even should not hold him back. yet there was no passion, on his part; no blinding rush of heated blood from heart to brain, and back again; no impulse to fling himself upon fortune: he did not believe in fortune; far otherwise. he had his plan, and, confiding in himself, he settled to the task never more observant, never more capable. the air about him seemed aglow with a renewed and perfect transparency. when not half-way across the arena, he saw that messala's rush would, if there was no collision, and the rope fell, give him the wall; that the rope would fall, he ceased as soon to doubt; and, further, it came to him, a sudden flash-like insight, that messala knew it was to be let drop at the last moment (prearrangement with the editor could safely reach that point in the contest); and it suggested, what more roman-like than for the official to lend himself to a countryman who, besides being so popular, had also so much at stake? there could be no other accounting for the confidence with which messala pushed his four forward the instant his competitors were prudentially checking their fours in front of the obstruction--no other except madness. it is one thing to see a necessity and another to act upon it. ben-hur yielded the wall for the time. the rope fell, and all the fours but his sprang into the course under urgency of voice and lash. he drew head to the right, and, with all the speed of his arabs, darted across the trails of his opponents, the angle of movement being such as to lose the least time and gain the greatest possible advance. so, while the spectators were shivering at the athenian's mishap, and the sidonian, byzantine, and corinthian were striving, with such skill as they possessed, to avoid involvement in the ruin, ben-hur swept around and took the course neck and neck with messala, though on the outside. the marvellous skill shown in making the change thus from the extreme left across to the right without appreciable loss did not fail the sharp eyes upon the benches; the circus seemed to rock and rock again with prolonged applause. then esther clasped her hands in glad surprise; then sanballat, smiling, offered his hundred sestertii a second time without a taker; and then the romans began to doubt, thinking messala might have found an equal, if not a master, and that in an israelite! and now, racing together side by side, a narrow interval between them, the two neared the second goal. the pedestal of the three pillars there, viewed from the west, was a stone wall in the form of a half-circle, around which the course and opposite balcony were bent in exact parallelism. making this turn was considered in all respects the most telling test of a charioteer; it was, in fact, the very feat in which oraetes failed. as an involuntary admission of interest on the part of the spectators, a hush fell over all the circus, so that for the first time in the race the rattle and clang of the cars plunging after the tugging steeds were distinctly heard. then, it would seem, messala observed ben-hur, and recognized him; and at once the audacity of the man flamed out in an astonishing manner. "down eros, up mars!" he shouted, whirling his lash with practised hand--"down eros, up mars!" he repeated, and caught the well-doing arabs of ben-hur a cut the like of which they had never known. the blow was seen in every quarter, and the amazement was universal. the silence deepened; up on the benches behind the consul the boldest held his breath, waiting for the outcome. only a moment thus: then, involuntarily, down from the balcony, as thunder falls, burst the indignant cry of the people. the four sprang forward affrighted. no hand had ever been laid upon them except in love; they had been nurtured ever so tenderly; and as they grew, their confidence in man became a lesson to men beautiful to see. what should such dainty natures do under such indignity but leap as from death? forward they sprang as with one impulse, and forward leaped the car. past question, every experience is serviceable to us. where got ben-hur the large hand and mighty grip which helped him now so well? where but from the oar with which so long he fought the sea? and what was this spring of the floor under his feet to the dizzy eccentric lurch with which in the old time the trembling ship yielded to the beat of staggering billows, drunk with their power? so he kept his place, and gave the four free rein, and called to them in soothing voice, trying merely to guide them round the dangerous turn; and before the fever of the people began to abate, he had back the mastery. nor that only: on approaching the first goal, he was again side by side with messala, bearing with him the sympathy and admiration of every one not a roman. so clearly was the feeling shown, so vigorous its manifestation, that messala, with all his boldness, felt it unsafe to trifle further. as the cars whirled round the goal, esther caught sight of ben-hur's face--a little pale, a little higher raised, otherwise calm, even placid. immediately a man climbed on the entablature at the west end of the division wall, and took down one of the conical wooden balls. a dolphin on the east entablature was taken down at the same time. in like manner, the second ball and second dolphin disappeared. and then the third ball and third dolphin. three rounds concluded: still messala held the inside position; still ben-hur moved with him side by side; still the other competitors followed as before. the contest began to have the appearance of one of the double races which became so popular in rome during the later caesarean period--messala and ben-hur in the first, the corinthian, sidonian, and byzantine in the second. meantime the ushers succeeded in returning the multitude to their seats, though the clamor continued to run the rounds, keeping, as it were, even pace with the rivals in the course below. in the fifth round the sidonian succeeded in getting a place outside ben-hur, but lost it directly. the sixth round was entered upon without change of relative position. gradually the speed had been quickened--gradually the blood of the competitors warmed with the work. men and beasts seemed to know alike that the final crisis was near, bringing the time for the winner to assert himself. the interest which from the beginning had centred chiefly in the struggle between the roman and the jew, with an intense and general sympathy for the latter, was fast changing to anxiety on his account. on all the benches the spectators bent forward motionless, except as their faces turned following the contestants. ilderim quitted combing his beard, and esther forgot her fears. "a hundred sestertii on the jew!" cried sanballat to the romans under the consul's awning. there was no reply. "a talent--or five talents, or ten; choose ye!" he shook his tablets at them defiantly. "i will take thy sestertii," answered a roman youth, preparing to write. "do not so," interposed a friend. "why?" "messala hath reached his utmost speed. see him lean over his chariot rim, the reins loose as flying ribbons. look then at the jew." the first one looked. "by hercules!" he replied, his countenance falling. "the dog throws all his weight on the bits. i see, i see! if the gods help not our friend, he will be run away with by the israelite. no, not yet. look! jove with us, jove with us!" the cry, swelled by every latin tongue, shook the velaria over the consul's head. if it were true that messala had attained his utmost speed, the effort was with effect; slowly but certainly he was beginning to forge ahead. his horses were running with their heads low down; from the balcony their bodies appeared actually to skim the earth; their nostrils showed blood red in expansion; their eyes seemed straining in their sockets. certainly the good steeds were doing their best! how long could they keep the pace? it was but the commencement of the sixth round. on they dashed. as they neared the second goal, ben-hur turned in behind the roman's car. the joy of the messala faction reached its bound: they screamed and howled, and tossed their colors; and sanballat filled his tablets with wagers of their tendering. malluch, in the lower gallery over the gate of triumph, found it hard to keep his cheer. he had cherished the vague hint dropped to him by ben-hur of something to happen in the turning of the western pillars. it was the fifth round, yet the something had not come; and he had said to himself, the sixth will bring it; but, lo! ben-hur was hardly holding a place at the tail of his enemy's car. over in the east end, simonides' party held their peace. the merchant's head was bent low. ilderim tugged at his beard, and dropped his brows till there was nothing of his eyes but an occasional sparkle of light. esther scarcely breathed. iras alone appeared glad. along the home-stretch--sixth round--messala leading, next him ben-hur, and so close it was the old story: "first flew eumelus on pheretian steeds; with those of tros bold diomed succeeds; close on eumelus' back they puff the wind, and seem just mounting on his car behind; full on his neck he feels the sultry breeze, and, hovering o'er, their stretching shadow sees." thus to the first goal, and round it. messala, fearful of losing his place, hugged the stony wall with perilous clasp; a foot to the left, and he had been dashed to pieces; yet, when the turn was finished, no man, looking at the wheel-tracks of the two cars, could have said, here went messala, there the jew. they left but one trace behind them. as they whirled by, esther saw ben-hur's face again, and it was whiter than before. simonides, shrewder than esther, said to ilderim, the moment the rivals turned into the course, "i am no judge, good sheik, if ben-hur be not about to execute some design. his face hath that look." to which ilderim answered, "saw you how clean they were and fresh? by the splendor of god, friend, they have not been running! but now watch!" one ball and one dolphin remained on the entablatures; and all the people drew a long breath, for the beginning of the end was at hand. first, the sidonian gave the scourge to his four, and, smarting with fear and pain, they dashed desperately forward, promising for a brief time to go to the front. the effort ended in promise. next, the byzantine and the corinthian each made the trial with like result, after which they were practically out of the race. thereupon, with a readiness perfectly explicable, all the factions except the romans joined hope in ben-hur, and openly indulged their feeling. "ben-hur! ben-hur!" they shouted, and the blent voices of the many rolled overwhelmingly against the consular stand. from the benches above him as he passed, the favor descended in fierce injunctions. "speed thee, jew!" "take the wall now!" "on! loose the arabs! give them rein and scourge!" "let him not have the turn on thee again. now or never!" over the balustrade they stooped low, stretching their hands imploringly to him. either he did not hear, or could not do better, for halfway round the course and he was still following; at the second goal even still no change! and now, to make the turn, messala began to draw in his left-hand steeds, an act which necessarily slackened their speed. his spirit was high; more than one altar was richer of his vows; the roman genius was still president. on the three pillars only six hundred feet away were fame, increase of fortune, promotions, and a triumph ineffably sweetened by hate, all in store for him! that moment malluch, in the gallery, saw ben-hur lean forward over his arabs, and give them the reins. out flew the many-folded lash in his hand; over the backs of the startled steeds it writhed and hissed, and hissed and writhed again and again; and though it fell not, there were both sting and menace in its quick report; and as the man passed thus from quiet to resistless action, his face suffused, his eyes gleaming, along the reins he seemed to flash his will; and instantly not one, but the four as one, answered with a leap that landed them alongside the roman's car. messala, on the perilous edge of the goal, heard, but dared not look to see what the awakening portended. from the people he received no sign. above the noises of the race there was but one voice, and that was ben-hur's. in the old aramaic, as the sheik himself, he called to the arabs, "on, atair! on, rigel! what, antares! dost thou linger now? good horse--oho, aldebaran! i hear them singing in the tents. i hear the children singing and the women--singing of the stars, of atair, antares, rigel, aldebaran, victory!--and the song will never end. well done! home to-morrow, under the black tent--home! on, antares! the tribe is waiting for us, and the master is waiting! 'tis done! 'tis done! ha, ha! we have overthrown the proud. the hand that smote us is in the dust. ours the glory! ha, ha!--steady! the work is done--soho! rest!" there had never been anything of the kind more simple; seldom anything so instantaneous. at the moment chosen for the dash, messala was moving in a circle round the goal. to pass him, ben-hur had to cross the track, and good strategy required the movement to be in a forward direction; that is, on a like circle limited to the least possible increase. the thousands on the benches understood it all: they saw the signal given--the magnificent response; the four close outside messala's outer wheel; ben-hur's inner wheel behind the other's car--all this they saw. then they heard a crash loud enough to send a thrill through the circus, and, quicker than thought, out over the course a spray of shining white and yellow flinders flew. down on its right side toppled the bed of the roman's chariot. there was a rebound as of the axle hitting the hard earth; another and another; then the car went to pieces; and messala, entangled in the reins, pitched forward headlong. to increase the horror of the sight by making death certain, the sidonian, who had the wall next behind, could not stop or turn out. into the wreck full speed he drove; then over the roman, and into the latter's four, all mad with fear. presently, out of the turmoil, the fighting of horses, the resound of blows, the murky cloud of dust and sand, he crawled, in time to see the corinthian and byzantine go on down the course after ben-hur, who had not been an instant delayed. the people arose, and leaped upon the benches, and shouted and screamed. those who looked that way caught glimpses of messala, now under the trampling of the fours, now under the abandoned cars. he was still; they thought him dead; but far the greater number followed ben-hur in his career. they had not seen the cunning touch of the reins by which, turning a little to the left, he caught messala's wheel with the iron-shod point of his axle, and crushed it; but they had seen the transformation of the man, and themselves felt the heat and glow of his spirit, the heroic resolution, the maddening energy of action with which, by look, word, and gesture, he so suddenly inspired his arabs. and such running! it was rather the long leaping of lions in harness; but for the lumbering chariot, it seemed the four were flying. when the byzantine and corinthian were halfway down the course, ben-hur turned the first goal. and the race was won! the consul arose; the people shouted themselves hoarse; the editor came down from his seat, and crowned the victors. the fortunate man among the boxers was a low-browed, yellow-haired saxon, of such brutalized face as to attract a second look from ben-hur, who recognized a teacher with whom he himself had been a favorite at rome. from him the young jew looked up and beheld simonides and his party on the balcony. they waved their hands to him. esther kept her seat; but iras arose, and gave him a smile and a wave of her fan--favors not the less intoxicating to him because we know, o reader, they would have fallen to messala had he been the victor. the procession was then formed, and, midst the shouting of the multitude which had had its will, passed out of the gate of triumph. and the day was over. chapter xv ben-hur tarried across the river with ilderim; for at midnight, as previously determined, they would take the road which the caravan, then thirty hours out, had pursued. the sheik was happy; his offers of gifts had been royal; but ben-hur had refused everything, insisting that he was satisfied with the humiliation of his enemy. the generous dispute was long continued. "think," the sheik would say, "what thou hast done for me. in every black tent down to the akaba and to the ocean, and across to the euphrates, and beyond to the sea of the scythians, the renown of my mira and her children will go; and they who sing of them will magnify me, and forget that i am in the wane of life; and all the spears now masterless will come to me, and my sword-hands multiply past counting. thou dost not know what it is to have sway of the desert such as will now be mine. i tell thee it will bring tribute incalculable from commerce, and immunity from kings. ay, by the sword of solomon! doth my messenger seek favor for me of caesar, that will he get. yet nothing--nothing?" and ben-hur would answer, "nay, sheik, have i not thy hand and heart? let thy increase of power and influence inure to the king who comes. who shall say it was not allowed thee for him? in the work i am going to, i may have great need. saying no now will leave me to ask of thee with better grace hereafter." in the midst of a controversy of the kind, two messengers arrived--malluch and one unknown. the former was admitted first. the good fellow did not attempt to hide his joy over the event of the day. "but, coming to that with which i am charged," he said, "the master simonides sends me to say that, upon the adjournment of the games, some of the roman faction made haste to protest against payment of the money prize." ilderim started up, crying, in his shrillest tones, "by the splendor of god! the east shall decide whether the race was fairly won." "nay, good sheik," said malluch, "the editor has paid the money." "'tis well." "when they said ben-hur struck messala's wheel, the editor laughed, and reminded them of the blow the arabs had at the turn of the goal." "and what of the athenian?" "he is dead." "dead!" cried ben-hur. "dead!" echoed ilderim. "what fortune these roman monsters have! messala escaped?" "escaped--yes, o sheik, with life; but it shall be a burden to him. the physicians say he will live, but never walk again." ben-hur looked silently up to heaven. he had a vision of messala, chairbound like simonides, and, like him, going abroad on the shoulders of servants. the good man had abode well; but what would this one with his pride and ambition? "simonides bade me say, further," malluch continued, "sanballat is having trouble. drusus, and those who signed with him, referred the question of paying the five talents they lost to the consul maxentius, and he has referred it to caesar. messala also refused his losses, and sanballat, in imitation of drusus, went to the consul, where the matter is still in advisement. the better romans say the protestants shall not be excused; and all the adverse factions join with them. the city rings with the scandal." "what says simonides?" asked ben-hur. "the master laughs, and is well pleased. if the roman pays, he is ruined; if he refuses to pay, he is dishonored. the imperial policy will decide the matter. to offend the east would be a bad beginning with the parthians; to offend sheik ilderim would be to antagonize the desert, over which lie all maxentius's lines of operation. wherefore simonides bade me tell you to have no disquiet; messala will pay." ilderim was at once restored to his good-humor. "let us be off now," he said, rubbing his hands. "the business will do well with simonides. the glory is ours. i will order the horses." "stay," said malluch. "i left a messenger outside. will you see him?" "by the splendor of god! i forgot him." malluch retired, and was succeeded by a lad of gentle manners and delicate appearance, who knelt upon one knee, and said, winningly, "iras, the daughter of balthasar, well known to good sheik ilderim, hath intrusted me with a message to the sheik, who, she saith, will do her great favor so he receive her congratulations on account of the victory of his four." "the daughter of my friend is kind," said ilderim, with sparkling eyes. "do thou give her this jewel, in sign of the pleasure i have from her message." he took a ring from his finger as he spoke. "i will as thou sayest, o sheik," the lad replied, and continued, "the daughter of the egyptian charged me further. she prays the good sheik ilderim to send word to the youth ben-hur that her father hath taken residence for a time in the palace of idernee, where she will receive the youth after the fourth hour to-morrow. and if, with her congratulations, sheik ilderim will accept her gratitude for this other favor done, she will be ever so pleased." the sheik looked at ben-hur, whose face was suffused with pleasure. "what will you?" he asked. "by your leave, o sheik, i will see the fair egyptian." ilderim laughed, and said, "shall not a man enjoy his youth?" then ben-hur answered the messenger. "say to her who sent you that i, ben-hur, will see her at the palace of idernee, wherever that may be, to-morrow at noon." the lad arose, and, with silent salute, departed. at midnight ilderim took the road, having arranged to leave a horse and a guide for ben-hur, who was to follow him. chapter xvi going next day to fill his appointment with iras, ben-hur turned from the omphalus, which was in the heart of the city, into the colonnade of herod, and came shortly to the palace of idernee. from the street he passed first into a vestibule, on the sides of which were stairways under cover, leading up to a portico. winged lions sat by the stairs; in the middle there was a gigantic ibis spouting water over the floor; the lions, ibis, walls, and floor were reminders of the egyptians: everything, even the balustrading of the stairs, was of massive gray stone. above the vestibule, and covering the landing of the steps, arose the portico, a pillared grace, so light, so exquisitely proportioned, it was at that period hardly possible of conception except by a greek. of marble snowy white, its effect was that of a lily dropped carelessly upon a great bare rock. ben-hur paused in the shade of the portico to admire its tracery and finish, and the purity of its marble; then he passed on into the palace. ample folding-doors stood open to receive him. the passage into which he first entered was high, but somewhat narrow; red tiling formed the floor, and the walls were tinted to correspond. yet this plainness was a warning of something beautiful to come. he moved on slowly, all his faculties in repose. presently he would be in the presence of iras; she was waiting for him; waiting with song and story and badinage, sparkling, fanciful, capricious--with smiles which glorified her glance, and glances which lent voluptuous suggestion to her whisper. she had sent for him the evening of the boat-ride on the lake in the orchard of palms; she had sent for him now; and he was going to her in the beautiful palace of idernee. he was happy and dreamful rather than thoughtless. the passage brought him to a closed door, in front of which he paused; and, as he did so, the broad leaves began to open of themselves, without creak or sound of lock or latch, or touch of foot or finger. the singularity was lost in the view that broke upon him. standing in the shade of the dull passage, and looking through the doorway, he beheld the atrium of a roman house, roomy and rich to a fabulous degree of magnificence. how large the chamber was cannot be stated, because of the deceit there is in exact proportions; its depth was vista-like, something never to be said of an equal interior. when he stopped to make survey, and looked down upon the floor, he was standing upon the breast of a leda, represented as caressing a swan; and, looking farther, he saw the whole floor was similarly laid in mosaic pictures of mythological subjects. and there were stools and chairs, each a separate design, and a work of art exquisitely composed, and tables much carven, and here and there couches which were invitations of themselves. the articles of furniture, which stood out from the walls, were duplicated on the floor distinctly as if they floated unrippled water; even the panelling of the walls, the figures upon them in painting and bas-relief, and the fresco of the ceiling were reflected on the floor. the ceiling curved up towards the centre, where there was an opening through which the sunlight poured without hindrance, and the sky, ever so blue, seemed in hand-reach; the impluvium under the opening was guarded by bronzed rails; the gilded pillars supporting the roof at the edges of the opening shone like flame where the sun struck them, and their reflections beneath seemed to stretch to infinite depth. and there were candelabra quaint and curious, and statuary and vases; the whole making an interior that would have befitted well the house on the palatine hill which cicero bought of crassus, or that other, yet more famous for extravagance, the tusculan villa of scaurus. still in his dreamful mood, ben-hur sauntered about, charmed by all he beheld, and waiting. he did not mind a little delay; when iras was ready, she would come or send a servant. in every well-regulated roman house the atrium was the reception chamber for visitors. twice, thrice, he made the round. as often he stood under the opening in the roof, and pondered the sky and its azure depth; then, leaning against a pillar, he studied the distribution of light and shade, and its effects; here a veil diminishing objects, there a brilliance exaggerating others; yet nobody came. time, or rather the passage of time, began at length to impress itself upon him, and he wondered why iras stayed so long. again he traced out the figures upon the floor, but not with the satisfaction the first inspection gave him. he paused often to listen: directly impatience blew a little fevered breath upon his spirit; next time it blew stronger and hotter; and at last he woke to a consciousness of the silence which held the house in thrall, and the thought of it made him uneasy and distrustful. still he put the feeling off with a smile and a promise. "oh, she is giving the last touch to her eyelids, or she is arranging a chaplet for me; she will come presently, more beautiful of the delay!" he sat down then to admire a candelabrum--a bronze plinth on rollers, filigree on the sides and edges; the post at one end, and on the end opposite it an altar and a female celebrant; the lamp-rests swinging by delicate chains from the extremities of drooping palm-branches; altogether a wonder in its way. but the silence would obtrude itself: he listened even as he looked at the pretty object--he listened, but there was not a sound; the palace was still as a tomb. there might be a mistake. no, the messenger had come from the egyptian, and this was the palace of idernee. then he remembered how mysteriously the door had opened so soundlessly, so of itself. he would see! he went to the same door. though he walked ever so lightly the sound of his stepping was loud and harsh, and he shrank from it. he was getting nervous. the cumbrous roman lock resisted his first effort to raise it; and the second--the blood chilled in his cheeks--he wrenched with all his might: in vain--the door was not even shaken. a sense of danger seized him, and for a moment he stood irresolute. who in antioch had the motive to do him harm? messala! and this palace of idernee? he had seen egypt in the vestibule, athens in the snowy portico; but here, in the atrium, was rome; everything about him betrayed roman ownership. true, the site was on the great thoroughfare of the city, a very public place in which to do him violence; but for that reason it was more accordant with the audacious genius of his enemy. the atrium underwent a change; with all its elegance and beauty, it was no more than a trap. apprehension always paints in black. the idea irritated ben-hur. there were many doors on the right and left of the atrium, leading, doubtless, to sleeping-chambers; he tried them, but they were all firmly fastened. knocking might bring response. ashamed to make outcry, he betook himself to a couch, and, lying down, tried to reflect. all too plainly he was a prisoner; but for what purpose? and by whom? if the work were messala's! he sat up, looked about, and smiled defiantly. there were weapons in every table. but birds had been starved in golden cages; not so would he--the couches would serve him as battering-rams; and he was strong, and there was such increase of might in rage and despair! messala himself could not come. he would never walk again; he was a cripple like simonides; still he could move others. and where were there not others to be moved by him? ben-hur arose, and tried the doors again. once he called out; the room echoed so that he was startled. with such calmness as he could assume, he made up his mind to wait a time before attempting to break a way out. in such a situation the mind has its ebb and flow of disquiet, with intervals of peace between. at length--how long, though, he could not have said--he came to the conclusion that the affair was an accident or mistake. the palace certainly belonged to somebody; it must have care and keeping: and the keeper would come; the evening or the night would bring him. patience! so concluding, he waited. half an hour passed--a much longer period to ben-hur--when the door which had admitted him opened and closed noiselessly as before, and without attracting his attention. the moment of the occurrence he was sitting at the farther end of the room. a footstep startled him. "at last she has come!" he thought, with a throb of relief and pleasure, and arose. the step was heavy, and accompanied with the gride and clang of coarse sandals. the gilded pillars were between him and the door; he advanced quietly, and leaned against one of them. presently he heard voices--the voices of men--one of them rough and guttural. what was said he could not understand, as the language was not of the east or south of europe. after a general survey of the room, the strangers crossed to their left, and were brought into ben-hur's view--two men, one very stout, both tall, and both in short tunics. they had not the air of masters of the house or domestics. everything they saw appeared wonderful to them; everything they stopped to examine they touched. they were vulgarians. the atrium seemed profaned by their presence. at the same time, their leisurely manner and the assurance with which they proceeded pointed to some right or business; if business, with whom? with much jargon they sauntered this way and that, all the time gradually approaching the pillar by which ben-hur was standing. off a little way, where a slanted gleam of the sun fell with a glare upon the mosaic of the floor, there was a statue which attracted their notice. in examining it, they stopped in the light. the mystery surrounding his own presence in the palace tended, as we have seen, to make ben-hur nervous; so now, when in the tall stout stranger he recognized the northman whom he had known in rome, and seen crowned only the day before in the circus as the winning pugilist; when he saw the man's face, scarred with the wounds of many battles, and imbruted by ferocious passions; when he surveyed the fellow's naked limbs, very marvels of exercise and training, and his shoulders of herculean breadth, a thought of personal danger started a chill along every vein. a sure instinct warned him that the opportunity for murder was too perfect to have come by chance; and here now were the myrmidons, and their business was with him. he turned an anxious eye upon the northman's comrade--young, black-eyed, black-haired, and altogether jewish in appearance; he observed, also, that both the men were in costume exactly such as professionals of their class were in the habit of wearing in the arena. putting the several circumstances together, ben-hur could not be longer in doubt: he had been lured into the palace with design. out of reach of aid, in this splendid privacy, he was to die! at a loss what to do, he gazed from man to man, while there was enacted within him that miracle of mind by which life is passed before us in awful detail, to be looked at by ourselves as if it were another's; and from the evolvement, from a hidden depth, cast up, as it were, by a hidden hand, he was given to see that he had entered upon a new life, different from the old one in this: whereas, in that, he had been the victim of violences done to him, henceforth he was to be the aggressor. only yesterday he had found his first victim! to the purely christian nature the presentation would have brought the weakness of remorse. not so with ben-hur; his spirit had its emotions from the teachings of the first lawgiver, not the last and greatest one. he had dealt punishment, not wrong, to messala. by permission of the lord, he had triumphed; and he derived faith from the circumstance--faith the source of all rational strength, especially strength in peril. nor did the influence stop there. the new life was made appear to him a mission just begun, and holy as the king to come was holy, and certain as the coming of the king was certain--a mission in which force was lawful if only because it was unavoidable. should he, on the very threshold of such an errand, be afraid? he undid the sash around his waist, and, baring his head and casting off his white jewish gown, stood forth in an undertunic not unlike those of the enemy, and was ready, body and mind. folding his arms, he placed his back against the pillar, and calmly waited. the examination of the statue was brief. directly the northman turned, and said something in the unknown tongue; then both looked at ben-hur. a few more words, and they advanced towards him. "who are you?" he asked, in latin. the northman fetched a smile which did not relieve his face of its brutalism, and answered, "barbarians." "this is the palace of idernee. whom seek you? stand and answer." the words were spoken with earnestness. the strangers stopped; and in his turn the northman asked, "who are you?" "a roman." the giant laid his head back upon his shoulders. "ha, ha, ha! i have heard how a god once came from a cow licking a salted stone; but not even a god can make a roman of a jew." the laugh over, he spoke to his companion again, and they moved nearer. "hold!" said ben-hur, quitting the pillar. "one word." they stopped again. "a word!" replied the saxon, folding his immense arms across his breast, and relaxing the menace beginning to blacken his face. "a word! speak." "you are thord the northman." the giant opened his blue eyes. "you were lanista in rome." thord nodded. "i was your scholar." "no," said thord, shaking his head. "by the beard of irmin, i had never a jew to make a fighting-man of." "but i will prove my saying." "how?" "you came here to kill me." "that is true." "then let this man fight me singly, and i will make the proof on his body." a gleam of humor shone in the northman's face. he spoke to his companion, who made answer; then he replied with the naivete of a diverted child, "wait till i say begin." by repeated touches of his foot, he pushed a couch out on the floor, and proceeded leisurely to stretch his burly form upon it; when perfectly at ease, he said, simply, "now begin." without ado, ben-hur walked to his antagonist. "defend thyself," he said. the man, nothing loath, put up his hands. as the two thus confronted each other in approved position, there was no discernible inequality between them; on the contrary, they were as like as brothers. to the stranger's confident smile, ben-hur opposed an earnestness which, had his skill been known, would have been accepted fair warning of danger. both knew the combat was to be mortal. ben-hur feinted with his right hand. the stranger warded, slightly advancing his left arm. ere he could return to guard, ben-hur caught him by the wrist in a grip which years at the oar had made terrible as a vise. the surprise was complete, and no time given. to throw himself forward; to push the arm across the man's throat and over his right shoulder, and turn him left side front; to strike surely with the ready left hand; to strike the bare neck under the ear--were but petty divisions of the same act. no need of a second blow. the myrmidon fell heavily, and without a cry, and lay still. ben-hur turned to thord. "ha! what! by the beard of irmin!" the latter cried, in astonishment, rising to a sitting posture. then he laughed. "ha, ha, ha! i could not have done it better myself." he viewed ben-hur coolly from head to foot, and, rising, faced him with undisguised admiration. "it was my trick--the trick i have practised for ten years in the schools of rome. you are not a jew. who are you?" "you knew arrius the duumvir." "quintus arrius? yes, he was my patron." "he had a son." "yes," said thord, his battered features lighting dully, "i knew the boy; he would have made a king gladiator. caesar offered him his patronage. i taught him the very trick you played on this one here--a trick impossible except to a hand and arm like mine. it has won me many a crown." "i am that son of arrius." thord drew nearer, and viewed him carefully; then his eyes brightened with genuine pleasure, and, laughing, he held out his hand. "ha, ha, ha! he told me i would find a jew here--a jew--a dog of a jew--killing whom was serving the gods." "who told you so?" asked ben-hur, taking the hand. "he--messala--ha, ha, ha!" "when, thord?" "last night." "i thought he was hurt." "he will never walk again. on his bed he told me between groans." a very vivid portrayal of hate in a few words; and ben-hur saw that the roman, if he lived, would still be capable and dangerous, and follow him unrelentingly. revenge remained to sweeten the ruined life; therefore the clinging to fortune lost in the wager with sanballat. ben-hur ran the ground over, with a distinct foresight of the many ways in which it would be possible for his enemy to interfere with him in the work he had undertaken for the king who was coming. why not he resort to the roman's methods? the man hired to kill him could be hired to strike back. it was in his power to offer higher wages. the temptation was strong; and, half yielding, he chanced to look down at his late antagonist lying still, with white upturned face, so like himself. a light came to him, and he asked, "thord, what was messala to give you for killing me?" "a thousand sestertii." "you shall have them yet; and so you do now what i tell you, i will add three thousand more to the sum." the giant reflected aloud, "i won five thousand yesterday; from the roman one--six. give me four, good arrius--four more--and i will stand firm for you, though old thor, my namesake, strike me with his hammer. make it four, and i will kill the lying patrician, if you say so. i have only to cover his mouth with my hand--thus." he illustrated the process by clapping his hand over his own mouth. "i see," said ben-hur; "ten thousand sestertii is a fortune. it will enable you to return to rome, and open a wine-shop near the great circus, and live as becomes the first of the lanistae." the very scars on the giant's face glowed afresh with the pleasure the picture gave him. "i will make it four thousand," ben-hur continued; "and in what you shall do for the money there will be no blood on your hands, thord. hear me now. did not your friend here look like me?" "i would have said he was an apple from the same tree." "well, if i put on his tunic, and dress him in these clothes of mine, and you and i go away together, leaving him here, can you not get your sestertii from messala all the same? you have only to make him believe it me that is dead." thord laughed till the tears ran into his mouth. "ha, ha, ha! ten thousand sestertii were never won so easily. and a wine-shop by the great circus!--all for a lie without blood in it! ha, ha, ha! give me thy hand, o son of arrius. get on now, and--ha, ha, ha!--if ever you come to rome, fail not to ask for the wine-shop of thord the northman. by the beard of irmin, i will give you the best, though i borrow it from caesar!" they shook hands again; after which the exchange of clothes was effected. it was arranged then that a messenger should go at night to thord's lodging-place with the four thousand sestertii. when they were done, the giant knocked at the front door; it opened to him; and, passing out of the atrium, he led ben-hur into a room adjoining, where the latter completed his attire from the coarse garments of the dead pugilist. they separated directly in the omphalus. "fail not, o son of arrius, fail not the wine-shop near the great circus! ha, ha, ha! by the beard of irmin, there was never fortune gained so cheap. the gods keep you!" upon leaving the atrium, ben-hur gave a last look at the myrmidon as he lay in the jewish vestments, and was satisfied. the likeness was striking. if thord kept faith, the cheat was a secret to endure forever. * * * * * * at night, in the house of simonides, ben-hur told the good man all that had taken place in the palace of idernee; and it was agreed that, after a few days, public inquiry should be set afloat for the discovery of the whereabouts of the son of arrius. eventually the matter was to be carried boldly to maxentius; then, if the mystery came not out, it was concluded that messala and gratus would be at rest and happy, and ben-hur free to betake himself to jerusalem, to make search for his lost people. at the leave-taking, simonides sat in his chair out on the terrace overlooking the river, and gave his farewell and the peace of the lord with the impressment of a father. esther went with the young man to the head of the steps. "if i find my mother, esther, thou shalt go to her at jerusalem, and be a sister to tirzah." and with the words he kissed her. was it only a kiss of peace? he crossed the river next to the late quarters of ilderim, where he found the arab who was to serve him as guide. the horses were brought out. "this one is thine," said the arab. ben-hur looked, and, lo! it was aldebaran, the swiftest and brightest of the sons of mira, and, next to sirius, the beloved of the sheik; and he knew the old man's heart came to him along with the gift. the corpse in the atrium was taken up and buried by night; and, as part of messala's plan, a courier was sent off to gratus to make him at rest by the announcement of ben-hur's death--this time past question. ere long a wine-shop was opened near the circus maximus, with inscription over the door: thord the northman. book sixth "is that a death? and are there two? is death that woman's mate? * * * * her skin was as white as leprosy, the nightmare life-in-death was she, who thicks man's blood with cold." coleridge. chapter i our story moves forward now thirty days from the night ben-hur left antioch to go out with sheik ilderim into the desert. a great change has befallen--great at least as respects the fortunes of our hero. valerius gratus has been succeeded by pontius pilate! the removal, it may be remarked, cost simonides exactly five talents roman money in hand paid to sejanus, who was then in height of power as imperial favorite; the object being to help ben-hur, by lessening his exposure while in and about jerusalem attempting discovery of his people. to such pious use the faithful servant put the winnings from drusus and his associates; all of whom, having paid their wagers, became at once and naturally the enemies of messala, whose repudiation was yet an unsettled question in rome. brief as the time was, already the jews knew the change of rulers was not for the better. the cohorts sent to relieve the garrison of antonia made their entry into the city by night; next morning the first sight that greeted the people resident in the neighborhood was the walls of the old tower decorated with military ensigns, which unfortunately consisted of busts of the emperor mixed with eagles and globes. a multitude, in passion, marched to caesarea, where pilate was lingering, and implored him to remove the detested images. five days and nights they beset his palace gates; at last he appointed a meeting with them in the circus. when they were assembled, he encircled them with soldiers; instead of resisting, they offered him their lives, and conquered. he recalled the images and ensigns to caesarea, where gratus, with more consideration, had kept such abominations housed during the eleven years of his reign. the worst of men do once in a while vary their wickednesses by good acts; so with pilate. he ordered an inspection of all the prisons in judea, and a return of the names of the persons in custody, with a statement of the crimes for which they had been committed. doubtless, the motive was the one so common with officials just installed--dread of entailed responsibility; the people, however, in thought of the good which might come of the measure, gave him credit, and, for a period, were comforted. the revelations were astonishing. hundreds of persons were released against whom there were no accusations; many others came to light who had long been accounted dead; yet more amazing, there was opening of dungeons not merely unknown at the time by the people, but actually forgotten by the prison authorities. with one instance of the latter kind we have now to deal; and, strange to say, it occurred in jerusalem. the tower of antonia, which will be remembered as occupying two thirds of the sacred area on mount moriah, was originally a castle built by the macedonians. afterwards, john hyrcanus erected the castle into a fortress for the defence of the temple, and in his day it was considered impregnable to assault; but when herod came with his bolder genius, he strengthened its walls and extended them, leaving a vast pile which included every appurtenance necessary for the stronghold he intended it to be forever; such as offices, barracks, armories, magazines, cisterns, and last, though not least, prisons of all grades. he levelled the solid rock, and tapped it with deep excavations, and built over them; connecting the whole great mass with the temple by a beautiful colonnade, from the roof of which one could look down over the courts of the sacred structure. in such condition the tower fell at last out of his hands into those of the romans, who were quick to see its strength and advantages, and convert it to uses becoming such masters. all through the administration of gratus it had been a garrisoned citadel and underground prison terrible to revolutionists. woe when the cohorts poured from its gates to suppress disorder! woe not less when a jew passed the same gates going in under arrest! with this explanation, we hasten to our story. * * * * * * the order of the new procurator requiring a report of the persons in custody was received at the tower of antonia, and promptly executed; and two days have gone since the last unfortunate was brought up for examination. the tabulated statement, ready for forwarding, lies on the table of the tribune in command; in five minutes more it will be on the way to pilate, sojourning in the palace up on mount zion. the tribune's office is spacious and cool, and furnished in a style suitable to the dignity of the commandant of a post in every respect so important. looking in upon him about the seventh hour of the day, the officer appears weary and impatient; when the report is despatched, he will to the roof of the colonnade for air and exercise, and the amusement to be had watching the jews over in the courts of the temple. his subordinates and clerks share his impatience. in the spell of waiting a man appeared in a doorway leading to an adjoining apartment. he rattled a bunch of keys, each heavy as a hammer, and at once attracted the chief's attention. "ah, gesius! come in," the tribune said. as the new-comer approached the table behind which the chief sat in an easy-chair, everybody present looked at him, and, observing a certain expression of alarm and mortification on his face, became silent that they might hear what he had to say. "o tribune!" he began, bending low, "i fear to tell what now i bring you." "another mistake--ha, gesius?" "if i could persuade myself it is but a mistake, i would not be afraid." "a crime then--or, worse, a breach of duty. thou mayst laugh at caesar, or curse the gods, and live; but if the offence be to the eagles--ah, thou knowest, gesius--go on!" "it is now about eight years since valerius gratus selected me to be keeper of prisoners here in the tower," said the man, deliberately. "i remember the morning i entered upon the duties of my office. there had been a riot the day before, and fighting in the streets. we slew many jews, and suffered on our side. the affair came, it was said, of an attempt to assassinate gratus, who had been knocked from his horse by a tile thrown from a roof. i found him sitting where you now sit, o tribune, his head swathed in bandages. he told me of my selection, and gave me these keys, numbered to correspond with the numbers of the cells; they were the badges of my office, he said, and not to be parted with. there was a roll of parchment on the table. calling me to him, he opened the roll. 'here are maps of the cells,' said he. there were three of them. 'this one,' he went on, 'shows the arrangement of the upper floor; this second one gives you the second floor; and this last is of the lower floor. i give them to you in trust.' i took them from his hand, and he said, further, 'now you have the keys and the maps; go immediately, and acquaint yourself with the whole arrangement; visit each cell, and see to its condition. when anything is needed for the security of a prisoner, order it according to your judgment, for you are the master under me, and no other.' "i saluted him, and turned to go away; he called me back. 'ah, i forgot,' he said. 'give me the map of the third floor.' i gave it to him, and he spread it upon the table. 'here, gesius,' he said, 'see this cell.' he laid his finger on the one numbered v. 'there are three men confined in that cell, desperate characters, who by some means got hold of a state secret, and suffer for their curiosity, which'--he looked at me severely--'in such matters is worse than a crime. accordingly, they are blind and tongueless, and are placed there for life. they shall have nothing but food and drink, to be given them through a hole, which you will find in the wall covered by a slide. do you hear, gesius?' i made him answer. 'it is well,' he continued. 'one thing more which you shall not forget, or'--he looked at me threateningly--'the door of their cell--cell number v. on the same floor--this one, gesius'--he put his finger on the particular cell to impress my memory--'shall never be opened for any purpose, neither to let one in nor out, not even yourself.' 'but if they die?' i asked. 'if they die,' he said, 'the cell shall be their tomb. they were put there to die, and be lost. the cell is leprous. do you understand?' with that he let me go." gesius stopped, and from the breast of his tunic drew three parchments, all much yellowed by time and use; selecting one of them, he spread it upon the table before the tribune, saying, simply, "this is the lower floor." the whole company looked at the map __________________________________________ | | | passage | | | |--][---+---][---+---][---+---][---+---][--| | | | | | | | v | iv | iii | ii | i | |_______|________|________|________|_______| "this is exactly, o tribune, as i had it from gratus. see, there is cell number v.," said gesius. "i see," the tribune replied. "go on now. the cell was leprous, he said." "i would like to ask you a question," remarked the keeper, modestly. the tribune assented. "had i not a right, under the circumstances, to believe the map a true one?" "what else couldst thou?" "well, it is not a true one." the chief looked up surprised. "it is not a true one," the keeper repeated. "it shows but five cells upon that floor, while there are six." "six, sayest thou?" "i will show you the floor as it is--or as i believe it to be." upon a page of his tablets, gesius drew the following diagram, and gave it to the tribune: __________________________________________ | | |--][---+---][---+---][---+---][---+---][--| | | | | | | | v | iv | iii | ii | i | |--][---+--------+--------+--------+-------| | vi | |__________________________________________| "thou hast done well," said the tribune, examining the drawing, and thinking the narrative at an end. "i will have the map corrected, or, better, i will have a new one made, and given thee. come for it in the morning." so saying, he arose. "but hear me further, o tribune." "to-morrow, gesius, to-morrow." "that which i have yet to tell will not wait." the tribune good-naturedly resumed his chair. "i will hurry," said the keeper, humbly, "only let me ask another question. had i not a right to believe gratus in what he further told me as to the prisoners in cell number v.?" "yes, it was thy duty to believe there were three prisoners in the cell--prisoners of state--blind and without tongues." "well," said the keeper, "that was not true either." "no!" said the tribune, with returning interest. "hear, and judge for yourself, o tribune. as required, i visited all the cells, beginning with those on the first floor, and ending with those on the lower. the order that the door of number v. should not be opened had been respected; through all the eight years food and drink for three men had been passed through a hole in the wall. i went to the door yesterday, curious to see the wretches who, against all expectation, had lived so long. the locks refused the key. we pulled a little, and the door fell down, rusted from its hinges. going in, i found but one man, old, blind, tongueless, and naked. his hair dropped in stiffened mats below his waist. his skin was like the parchment there. he held his hands out, and the finger-nails curled and twisted like the claws of a bird. i asked him where his companions were. he shook his head in denial. thinking to find the others, we searched the cell. the floor was dry; so were the walls. if three men had been shut in there, and two of them had died, at least their bones would have endured." "wherefore thou thinkest--" "i think, o tribune, there has been but one prisoner there in the eight years." the chief regarded the keeper sharply, and said, "have a care; thou art more than saying valerius lied." gesius bowed, but said, "he might have been mistaken." "no, he was right," said the tribune, warmly. "by thine own statement he was right. didst thou not say but now that for eight years food and drink had been furnished three men?" the bystanders approved the shrewdness of their chief; yet gesius did not seem discomfited. "you have but half the story, o tribune. when you have it all, you will agree with me. you know what i did with the man: that i sent him to the bath, and had him shorn and clothed, and then took him to the gate of the tower, and bade him go free. i washed my hands of him. to-day he came back, and was brought to me. by signs and tears he at last made me understand he wished to return to his cell, and i so ordered. as they were leading him off, he broke away and kissed my feet, and, by piteous dumb imploration, insisted i should go with him; and i went. the mystery of the three men stayed in my mind. i was not satisfied about it. now i am glad i yielded to his entreaty." the whole company at this point became very still. "when we were in the cell again, and the prisoner knew it, he caught my hand eagerly, and led me to a hole like that through which we were accustomed to pass him his food. though large enough to push your helmet through, it escaped me yesterday. still holding my hand, he put his face to the hole and gave a beast-like cry. a sound came faintly back. i was astonished, and drew him away, and called out, 'ho, here!' at first there was no answer. i called again, and received back these words, 'be thou praised, o lord!' yet more astonishing, o tribune, the voice was a woman's. and i asked, 'who are you?' and had reply, 'a woman of israel, entombed here with her daughter. help us quickly, or we die.' i told them to be of cheer, and hurried here to know your will." the tribune arose hastily. "thou wert right, gesius," he said, "and i see now. the map was a lie, and so was the tale of the three men. there have been better romans than valerius gratus." "yes," said the keeper. "i gleaned from the prisoner that he had regularly given the women of the food and drink he had received." "it is accounted for," replied the tribune, and observing the countenances of his friends, and reflecting how well it would be to have witnesses, he added, "let us rescue the women. come all." gesuis was pleased. "we will have to pierce the wall," he said. "i found where a door had been, but it was filled solidly with stones and mortar." the tribune stayed to say to a clerk, "send workmen after me with tools. make haste; but hold the report, for i see it will have to be corrected." in a short time they were gone. chapter ii "a woman of israel, entombed here with her daughter. help us quickly, or we die." such was the reply gesius, the keeper, had from the cell which appears on his amended map as vi. the reader, when he observed the answer, knew who the unfortunates were, and, doubtless, said to himself, "at last the mother of ben-hur, and tirzah, his sister!" and so it was. the morning of their seizure, eight years before, they had been carried to the tower, where gratus proposed to put them out of the way. he had chosen the tower for the purpose as more immediately in his own keeping, and cell vi. because, first, it could be better lost than any other; and, secondly, it was infected with leprosy; for these prisoners were not merely to be put in a safe place, but in a place to die. they were, accordingly, taken down by slaves in the night-time, when there were no witnesses of the deed; then, in completion of the savage task, the same slaves walled up the door, after which they were themselves separated, and sent away never to be heard of more. to save accusation, and, in the event of discovery, to leave himself such justification as might be allowed in a distinction between the infliction of a punishment and the commission of a double murder, gratus preferred sinking his victims where natural death was certain, though slow. that they might linger along, he selected a convict who had been made blind and tongueless, and sank him in the only connecting cell, there to serve them with food and drink. under no circumstances could the poor wretch tell the tale or identify either the prisoners or their doomsman. so, with a cunning partly due to messala, the roman, under color of punishing a brood of assassins, smoothed a path to confiscation of the estate of the hurs, of which no portion ever reached the imperial coffers. as the last step in the scheme, gratus summarily removed the old keeper of the prisons; not because he knew what had been done--for he did not--but because, knowing the underground floors as he did, it would be next to impossible to keep the transaction from him. then, with masterly ingenuity, the procurator had new maps drawn for delivery to a new keeper, with the omission, as we have seen, of cell vi. the instructions given the latter, taken with the omission on the map, accomplished the design--the cell and its unhappy tenants were all alike lost. what may be thought of the life of the mother and daughter during the eight years must have relation to their culture and previous habits. conditions are pleasant or grievous to us according to our sensibilities. it is not extreme to say, if there was a sudden exit of all men from the world, heaven, as prefigured in the christian idea, would not be a heaven to the majority; on the other hand, neither would all suffer equally in the so-called tophet. cultivation has its balances. as the mind is made intelligent, the capacity of the soul for pure enjoyment is proportionally increased. well, therefore, if it be saved! if lost, however, alas that it ever had cultivation! its capacity for enjoyment in the one case is the measure of its capacity to suffer in the other. wherefore repentance must be something more than mere remorse for sins; it comprehends a change of nature befitting heaven. we repeat, to form an adequate idea of the suffering endured by the mother of ben-hur, the reader must think of her spirit and its sensibilities as much as, if not more than, of the conditions of the immurement; the question being, not what the conditions were, but how she was affected by them. and now we may be permitted to say it was in anticipation of this thought that the scene in the summer-house on the roof of the family palace was given so fully in the beginning of the second book of our story. so, too, to be helpful when the inquiry should come up, we ventured the elaborate description of the palace of the hurs. in other words, let the serene, happy, luxurious life in the princely house be recalled and contrasted with this existence in the lower dungeon of the tower of antonia; then if the reader, in his effort to realize the misery of the woman, persists in mere reference to conditions physical, he cannot go amiss; as he is a lover of his kind, tender of heart, he will be melted with much sympathy. but will he go further; will he more than sympathize with her; will he share her agony of mind and spirit; will he at least try to measure it--let him recall her as she discoursed to her son of god and nations and heroes; one moment a philosopher, the next a teacher, and all the time a mother. would you hurt a man keenest, strike at his self-love; would you hurt a woman worst, aim at her affections. with quickened remembrance of these unfortunates--remembrance of them as they were--let us go down and see them as they are. the cell vi. was in form as gesius drew it on his map. of its dimensions but little idea can be had; enough that it was a roomy, roughened interior, with ledged and broken walls and floor. in the beginning, the site of the macedonian castle was separated from the site of the temple by a narrow but deep cliff somewhat in shape of a wedge. the workmen, wishing to hew out a series of chambers, made their entry in the north face of the cleft, and worked in, leaving a ceiling of the natural stone; delving farther, they executed the cells v., iv., iii., ii., i., with no connection with number vi. except through number v. in like manner, they constructed the passage and stairs to the floor above. the process of the work was precisely that resorted to in carving out the tombs of the kings, yet to be seen a short distance north of jerusalem; only when the cutting was done, cell vi. was enclosed on its outer side by a wall of prodigious stones, in which, for ventilation, narrow apertures were left bevelled like modern port-holes. herod, when he took hold of the temple and tower, put a facing yet more massive upon this outer wall, and shut up all the apertures but one, which yet admitted a little vitalizing air, and a ray of light not nearly strong enough to redeem the room from darkness. such was cell vi. startle not now! the description of the blind and tongueless wretch just liberated from cell v. may be accepted to break the horror of what is coming. the two women are grouped close by the aperture; one is seated, the other is half reclining against her; there is nothing between them and the bare rock. the light, slanting upwards, strikes them with ghastly effect, and we cannot avoid seeing they are without vesture or covering. at the same time we are helped to the knowledge that love is there yet, for the two are in each other's arms. riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. love is god. where the two are thus grouped the stony floor is polished shining smooth. who shall say how much of the eight years they have spent in that space there in front of the aperture, nursing their hope of rescue by that timid yet friendly ray of light? when the brightness came creeping in, they knew it was dawn; when it began to fade, they knew the world was hushing for the night, which could not be anywhere so long and utterly dark as with them. the world! through that crevice, as if it were broad and high as a king's gate, they went to the world in thought, and passed the weary time going up and down as spirits go, looking and asking, the one for her son, the other for her brother. on the seas they sought him, and on the islands of the seas; to-day he was in this city, to-morrow in that other; and everywhere, and at all times, he was a flitting sojourner; for, as they lived waiting for him, he lived looking for them. how often their thoughts passed each other in the endless search, his coming, theirs going! it was such sweet flattery for them to say to each other, "while he lives, we shall not be forgotten; as long as he remembers us, there is hope!" the strength one can eke from little, who knows till he has been subjected to the trial? our recollections of them in former days enjoin us to be respectful; their sorrows clothe them with sanctity. without going too near, across the dungeon, we see they have undergone a change of appearance not to be accounted for by time or long confinement. the mother was beautiful as a woman, the daughter beautiful as a child; not even love could say so much now. their hair is long, unkempt, and strangely white; they make us shrink and shudder with an indefinable repulsion, though the effect may be from an illusory glozing of the light glimmering dismally through the unhealthy murk; or they may be enduring the tortures of hunger and thirst, not having had to eat or drink since their servant, the convict, was taken away--that is, since yesterday. tirzah, reclining against her mother in half embrace, moans piteously. "be quiet, tirzah. they will come. god is good. we have been mindful of him, and forgotten not to pray at every sounding of the trumpets over in the temple. the light, you see, is still bright; the sun is standing in the south sky yet, and it is hardly more than the seventh hour. somebody will come to us. let us have faith. god is good." thus the mother. the words were simple and effective, although, eight years being now to be added to the thirteen she had attained when last we saw her, tirzah was no longer a child. "i will try and be strong, mother," she said. "your suffering must be as great as mine; and i do so want to live for you and my brother! but my tongue burns, my lips scorch. i wonder where he is, and if he will ever, ever find us!" there is something in the voices that strikes us singularly--an unexpected tone, sharp, dry, metallic, unnatural. the mother draws the daughter closer to her breast, and says, "i dreamed about him last night, and saw him as plainly, tirzah, as i see you. we must believe in dreams, you know, because our fathers did. the lord spoke to them so often in that way. i thought we were in the women's court just before the gate beautiful; there were many women with us; and he came and stood in the shade of the gate, and looked here and there, at this one and that. my heart beat strong. i knew he was looking for us, and stretched my arms to him, and ran, calling him. he heard me and saw me, but he did not know me. in a moment he was gone." "would it not be so, mother, if we were to meet him in fact? we are so changed." "it might be so; but--" the mother's head droops, and her face knits as with a wrench of pain; recovering, however, she goes on--"but we could make ourselves known to him." tirzah tossed her arms, and moaned again. "water, mother, water, though but a drop." the mother stares around in blank helplessness. she has named god so often, and so often promised in his name, the repetition is beginning to have a mocking effect upon herself. a shadow passes before her dimming the dim light, and she is brought down to think of death as very near, waiting to come in as her faith goes out. hardly knowing what she does, speaking aimlessly, because speak she must, she says again, "patience, tirzah; they are coming--they are almost here." she thought she heard a sound over by the little trap in the partition-wall through which they held all their actual communication with the world. and she was not mistaken. a moment, and the cry of the convict rang through the cell. tirzah heard it also; and they both arose, still keeping hold of each other. "praised be the lord forever!" exclaimed the mother, with the fervor of restored faith and hope. "ho, there!" they heard next; and then, "who are you?" the voice was strange. what matter? except from tirzah, they were the first and only words the mother had heard in eight years. the revulsion was mighty--from death to life--and so instantly! "a woman of israel, entombed here with her daughter. help us quickly, or we die." "be of cheer. i will return." the women sobbed aloud. they were found; help was coming. from wish to wish hope flew as the twittering swallows fly. they were found; they would be released. and restoration would follow--restoration to all they had lost--home, society, property, son and brother! the scanty light glozed them with the glory of day, and, forgetful of pain and thirst and hunger, and of the menace of death, they sank upon the floor and cried, keeping fast hold of each other the while. and this time they had not long to wait. gesius, the keeper, told his tale methodically, but finished it at last. the tribune was prompt. "within there!" he shouted through the trap. "here!" said the mother, rising. directly she heard another sound in another place, as of blows on the wall--blows quick, ringing, and delivered with iron tools. she did not speak, nor did tirzah, but they listened, well knowing the meaning of it all--that a way to liberty was being made for them. so men a long time buried in deep mines hear the coming of rescuers, heralded by thrust of bar and beat of pick, and answer gratefully with heart-throbs, their eyes fixed upon the spot whence the sounds proceed; and they cannot look away, lest the work should cease, and they be returned to despair. the arms outside were strong, the hands skillful, the will good. each instant the blows sounded more plainly; now and then a piece fell with a crash; and liberty came nearer and nearer. presently the workmen could be heard speaking. then--o happiness!--through a crevice flashed a red ray of torches. into the darkness it cut incisive as diamond brilliance, beautiful as if from a spear of the morning. "it is he, mother, it is he! he has found us at last!" cried tirzah, with the quickened fancy of youth. but the mother answered meekly, "god is good!" a block fell inside, and another--then a great mass, and the door was open. a man grimed with mortar and stone-dust stepped in, and stopped, holding a torch over his head. two or three others followed with torches, and stood aside for the tribune to enter. respect for women is not all a conventionality, for it is the best proof of their proper nature. the tribune stopped, because they fled from him--not with fear, be it said, but shame; nor yet, o reader, from shame alone! from the obscurity of their partial hiding he heard these words, the saddest, most dreadful, most utterly despairing of the human tongue: "come not near us--unclean, unclean!" the men flared their torches while they stared at each other. "unclean, unclean!" came from the corner again, a slow tremulous wail exceedingly sorrowful. with such a cry we can imagine a spirit vanishing from the gates of paradise, looking back the while. so the widow and mother performed her duty, and in the moment realized that the freedom she had prayed for and dreamed of, fruit of scarlet and gold seen afar, was but an apple of sodom in the hand. she and tirzah were--lepers! possibly the reader does not know all the word means. let him be told it with reference to the law of that time, only a little modified in this. "these four are accounted as dead--the blind, the leper, the poor, and the childless." thus the talmud. that is, to be a leper was to be treated as dead--to be excluded from the city as a corpse; to be spoken to by the best beloved and most loving only at a distance; to dwell with none but lepers; to be utterly unprivileged; to be denied the rites of the temple and the synagogue; to go about in rent garments and with covered mouth, except when crying, "unclean, unclean!" to find home in the wilderness or in abandoned tombs; to become a materialized specter of hinnom and gehenna; to be at all times less a living offence to others than a breathing torment to self; afraid to die, yet without hope except in death. once--she might not tell the day or the year, for down in the haunted hell even time was lost--once the mother felt a dry scurf in the palm of her right hand, a trifle which she tried to wash away. it clung to the member pertinaciously; yet she thought but little of the sign till tirzah complained that she, too, was attacked in the same way. the supply of water was scant, and they denied themselves drink that they might use it as a curative. at length the whole hand was attacked; the skin cracked open, the fingernails loosened from the flesh. there was not much pain withal, chiefly a steadily increasing discomfort. later their lips began to parch and seam. one day the mother, who was cleanly to godliness, and struggled against the impurities of the dungeon with all ingenuity, thinking the enemy was taking hold on tirzah's face, led her to the light, and, looking with the inspiration of a terrible dread, lo! the young girl's eyebrows were white as snow. oh, the anguish of that assurance! the mother sat awhile speechless, motionless, paralyzed of soul, and capable of but one thought--leprosy, leprosy! when she began to think, mother-like, it was not of herself, but her child, and, mother-like, her natural tenderness turned to courage, and she made ready for the last sacrifice of perfect heroism. she buried her knowledge in her heart; hopeless herself, she redoubled her devotion to tirzah, and with wonderful ingenuity--wonderful chiefly in its very inexhaustibility--continued to keep the daughter ignorant of what they were beset with, and even hopeful that it was nothing. she repeated her little games, and retold her stories, and invented new ones, and listened with ever so much pleasure to the songs she would have from tirzah, while on her own wasting lips the psalms of the singing king and their race served to bring soothing of forgetfulness, and keep alive in them both the recollection of the god who would seem to have abandoned them--the world not more lightly or utterly. slowly, steadily, with horrible certainty, the disease spread, after a while bleaching their heads white, eating holes in their lips and eyelids, and covering their bodies with scales; then it fell to their throats shrilling their voices, and to their joints, hardening the tissues and cartilages--slowly, and, as the mother well knew, past remedy, it was affecting their lungs and arteries and bones, at each advance making the sufferers more and more loathsome; and so it would continue till death, which might be years before them. another day of dread at length came--the day the mother, under impulsion of duty, at last told tirzah the name of their ailment; and the two, in agony of despair, prayed that the end might come quickly. still, as is the force of habit, these so afflicted grew in time not merely to speak composedly of their disease; they beheld the hideous transformation of their persons as of course, and in despite clung to existence. one tie to earth remained to them; unmindful of their own loneliness, they kept up a certain spirit by talking and dreaming of ben-hur. the mother promised reunion with him to the sister, and she to the mother, not doubting, either of them, that he was equally faithful to them, and would be equally happy of the meeting. and with the spinning and respinning of this slender thread they found pleasure, and excused their not dying. in such manner as we have seen, they were solacing themselves the moment gesius called them, at the end of twelve hours' fasting and thirst. the torches flashed redly through the dungeon, and liberty was come. "god is good," the widow cried--not for what had been, o reader, but for what was. in thankfulness for present mercy, nothing so becomes us as losing sight of past ills. the tribune came directly; then in the corner to which she had fled, suddenly a sense of duty smote the elder of the women, and straightway the awful warning-- "unclean, unclean!" ah, the pang the effort to acquit herself of that duty cost the mother! not all the selfishness of joy over the prospect could keep her blind to the consequences of release, now that it was at hand. the old happy life could never be again. if she went near the house called home, it would be to stop at the gate and cry, "unclean, unclean!" she must go about with the yearnings of love alive in her breast strong as ever, and more sensitive even, because return in kind could not be. the boy of whom she had so constantly thought, and with all sweet promises such as mothers find their purest delight in, must, at meeting her, stand afar off. if he held out his hands to her, and called "mother, mother," for very love of him she must answer, "unclean, unclean!" and this other child, before whom, in want of other covering, she was spreading her long tangled locks, bleached unnaturally white--ah! that she was she must continue, sole partner of her blasted remainder of life. yet, o reader, the brave woman accepted the lot, and took up the cry which had been its sign immemorially, and which thenceforward was to be her salutation without change--"unclean, unclean!" the tribune heard it with a tremor, but kept his place. "who are you?" he asked. "two women dying of hunger and thirst. yet"--the mother did not falter--"come not near us, nor touch the floor or the wall. unclean, unclean!" "give me thy story, woman--thy name, and when thou wert put here, and by whom, and for what." "there was once in this city of jerusalem a prince ben-hur, the friend of all generous romans, and who had caesar for his friend. i am his widow, and this one with me is his child. how may i tell you for what we were sunk here, when i do not know, unless it was because we were rich? valerius gratus can tell you who our enemy was, and when our imprisonment began. i cannot. see to what we have been reduced--oh, see, and have pity!" the air was heavy with the pest and the smoke of the torches, yet the roman called one of the torch-bearers to his side, and wrote the answer nearly word for word. it was terse, and comprehensive, containing at once a history, an accusation, and a prayer. no common person could have made it, and he could not but pity and believe. "thou shalt have relief, woman," he said, closing the tablets. "i will send thee food and drink." "and raiment, and purifying water, we pray you, o generous roman!" "as thou wilt," he replied. "god is good," said the widow, sobbing. "may his peace abide with you!" "and, further," he added, "i cannot see thee again. make preparation, and to-night i will have thee taken to the gate of the tower, and set free. thou knowest the law. farewell." he spoke to the men, and went out the door. very shortly some slaves came to the cell with a large gurglet of water, a basin and napkins, a platter with bread and meat, and some garments of women's wear; and, setting them down within reach of the prisoners, they ran away. about the middle of the first watch, the two were conducted to the gate, and turned into the street. so the roman quit himself of them, and in the city of their fathers they were once more free. up to the stars, twinkling merrily as of old, they looked; then they asked themselves, "what next? and where to?" chapter iii about the hour gesius, the keeper, made his appearance before the tribune in the tower of antonia, a footman was climbing the eastern face of mount olivet. the road was rough and dusty, and vegetation on that side burned brown, for it was the dry season in judea. well for the traveller that he had youth and strength, not to speak of the cool, flowing garments with which he was clothed. he proceeded slowly, looking often to his right and left; not with the vexed, anxious expression which marks a man going forward uncertain of the way, but rather the air with which one approaches as old acquaintance after a long separation--half of pleasure, half of inquiry; as if he were saying, "i am glad to be with you again; let me see in what you are changed." as he arose higher, he sometimes paused to look behind him over the gradually widening view terminating in the mountains of moab; but when at length he drew near the summit, he quickened his step, unmindful of fatigue, and hurried on without pause or turning of the face. on the summit--to reach which he bent his steps somewhat right of the beaten path--he came to a dead stop, arrested as if by a strong hand. then one might have seen his eyes dilate, his cheeks flush, his breath quicken, effects all of one bright sweeping glance at what lay before him. the traveller, good reader, was no other than ben-hur; the spectacle, jerusalem. not the holy city of to-day, but the holy city as left by herod--the holy city of the christ. beautiful yet, as seen from old olivet, what must it have been then? ben-hur betook him to a stone and sat down, and, stripping his head of the close white handkerchief which served it for covering, made the survey at leisure. the same has been done often since by a great variety of persons, under circumstances surpassingly singular--by the son of vespasian, by the islamite, by the crusader, conquerors all of them; by many a pilgrim from the great new world, which waited discovery nearly fifteen hundred years after the time of our story; but of the multitude probably not one has taken that view with sensations more keenly poignant, more sadly sweet, more proudly bitter, than ben-hur. he was stirred by recollections of his countrymen, their triumphs and vicissitudes, their history the history of god. the city was of their building, at once a lasting testimony of their crimes and devotion, their weakness and genius, their religion and their irreligion. though he had seen rome to familiarity, he was gratified. the sight filled a measure of pride which would have made him drunk with vainglory but for the thought, princely as the property was, it did not any longer belong to his countrymen; the worship in the temple was by permission of strangers; the hill where david dwelt was a marbled cheat--an office in which the chosen of the lord were wrung and wrung for taxes, and scourged for very deathlessness of faith. these, however, were pleasures and griefs of patriotism common to every jew of the period; in addition, ben-hur brought with him a personal history which would not out of mind for other consideration whatever, which the spectacle served only to freshen and vivify. a country of hills changes but little; where the hills are of rock, it changes not at all. the scene ben-hur beheld is the same now, except as respects the city. the failure is in the handiwork of man alone. the sun dealt more kindly by the west side of olivet than by the east, and men were certainly more loving towards it. the vines with which it was partially clad, and the sprinkling of trees, chiefly figs and old wild olives, were comparatively green. down to the dry bed of the cedron the verdure extended, a refreshment to the vision; there olivet ceased and moriah began--a wall of bluff boldness, white as snow, founded by solomon, completed by herod. up, up the wall the eye climbed course by course of the ponderous rocks composing it--up to solomon's porch, which was as the pedestal of the monument, the hill being the plinth. lingering there a moment, the eye resumed its climbing, going next to the gentiles' court, then to the israelites' court, then to the women's court, then to the court of the priests, each a pillared tier of white marble, one above the other in terraced retrocession; over them all a crown of crowns infinitely sacred, infinitely beautiful, majestic in proportions, effulgent with beaten gold--lo! the tent, the tabernacle, the holy of holies. the ark was not there, but jehovah was--in the faith of every child of israel he was there a personal presence. as a temple, as a monument, there was nowhere anything of man's building to approach that superlative apparition. now, not a stone of it remains above another. who shall rebuild that building? when shall the rebuilding be begun? so asks every pilgrim who has stood where ben-hur was--he asks, knowing the answer is in the bosom of god, whose secrets are not least marvellous in their well-keeping. and then the third question, what of him who foretold the ruin which has so certainly befallen? god? or man of god? or--enough that the question is for us to answer. and still ben-hur's eyes climbed on and up--up over the roof of the temple, to the hill zion, consecrated to sacred memories, inseparable from the anointed kings. he knew the cheesemonger's valley dipped deep down between moriah and zion; that it was spanned by the xystus; that there were gardens and palaces in its depths; but over them all his thoughts soared with his vision to the great grouping on the royal hill--the house of caiaphas, the central synagogue, the roman praetorium, hippicus the eternal, and the sad but mighty cenotaphs phasaelus and mariamne--all relieved against gareb, purpling in the distance. and when midst them he singled out the palace of herod, what could he but think of the king who was coming, to whom he was himself devoted, whose path he had undertaken to smooth, whose empty hands he dreamed of filling? and forward ran his fancy to the day the new king should come to claim his own and take possession of it--of moriah and its temple; of zion and its towers and palaces; of antonia, frowning darkly there just to the right of the temple; of the new unwalled city of bezetha; of the millions of israel to assemble with palm-branches and banners, to sing rejoicing because the lord had conquered and given them the world. men speak of dreaming as if it were a phenomenon of night and sleep. they should know better. all results achieved by us are self-promised, and all self-promises are made in dreams awake. dreaming is the relief of labor, the wine that sustains us in act. we learn to love labor, not for itself, but for the opportunity it furnishes for dreaming, which is the great under-monotone of real life, unheard, unnoticed, because of its constancy. living is dreaming. only in the grave are there no dreams. let no one smile at ben-hur for doing that which he himself would have done at that time and place under the same circumstances. the sun stooped low in its course. awhile the flaring disk seemed to perch itself on the far summit of the mountains in the west, brazening all the sky above the city, and rimming the walls and towers with the brightness of gold. then it disappeared as with a plunge. the quiet turned ben-hur's thought homeward. there was a point in the sky a little north of the peerless front of the holy of holies upon which he fixed his gaze: under it, straight as a leadline would have dropped, lay his father's house, if yet the house endured. the mellowing influences of the evening mellowed his feelings, and, putting his ambitions aside, he thought of the duty that was bringing him to jerusalem. out in the desert while with ilderim, looking for strong places and acquainting himself with it generally, as a soldier studies a country in which he has projected a campaign, a messenger came one evening with the news that gratus was removed, and pontius pilate sent to take his place. messala was disabled and believed him dead; gratus was powerless and gone; why should ben-hur longer defer the search for his mother and sister? there was nothing to fear now. if he could not himself see into the prisons of judea, he could examine them with the eyes of others. if the lost were found, pilate could have no motive in holding them in custody--none, at least, which could not be overcome by purchase. if found, he would carry them to a place of safety, and then, in calmer mind, his conscience at rest, this one first duty done, he could give himself more entirely to the king who was coming. he resolved at once. that night he counselled with ilderim, and obtained his assent. three arabs came with him to jericho, where he left them and the horses, and proceeded alone and on foot. malluch was to meet him in jerusalem. ben-hur's scheme, be it observed, was as yet a generality. in view of the future, it was advisable to keep himself in hiding from the authorities, particularly the romans. malluch was shrewd and trusty; the very man to charge with the conduct of the investigation. where to begin was the first point. he had no clear idea about it. his wish was to commence with the tower of antonia. tradition not of long standing planted the gloomy pile over a labyrinth of prison-cells, which, more even than the strong garrison, kept it a terror to the jewish fancy. a burial, such as his people had been subjected to, might be possible there. besides, in such a strait, the natural inclination is to start search at the place where the loss occurred, and he could not forget that his last sight of the loved ones was as the guard pushed them along the street in the direction to the tower. if they were not there now, but had been, some record of the fact must remain, a clew which had only to be followed faithfully to the end. under this inclination, moreover, there was a hope which he could not forego. from simonides he knew amrah, the egyptian nurse, was living. it will be remembered, doubtless, that the faithful creature, the morning the calamity overtook the hurs, broke from the guard and ran back into the palace, where, along with other chattels, she had been sealed up. during the years following, simonides kept her supplied; so she was there now, sole occupant of the great house, which, with all his offers, gratus had not been able to sell. the story of its rightful owners sufficed to secure the property from strangers, whether purchasers or mere occupants. people going to and fro passed it with whispers. its reputation was that of a haunted house; derived probably from the infrequent glimpses of poor old amrah, sometimes on the roof, sometimes in a latticed window. certainly no more constant spirit ever abided than she; nor was there ever a tenement so shunned and fitted for ghostly habitation. now, if he could get to her, ben-hur fancied she could help him to knowledge which, though faint, might yet be serviceable. anyhow, sight of her in that place, so endeared by recollection, would be to him a pleasure next to finding the objects of his solicitude. so, first of all things, he would go to the old house, and look for amrah. thus resolved, he arose shortly after the going-down of the sun, and began descent of the mount by the road which, from the summit, bends a little north of east. down nearly at the foot, close by the bed of the cedron, he came to the intersection with the road leading south to the village of siloam and the pool of that name. there he fell in with a herdsman driving some sheep to market. he spoke to the man, and joined him, and in his company passed by gethsemane on into the city through the fish gate. chapter iv it was dark when, parting with the drover inside the gate, ben-hur turned into a narrow lane leading to the south. a few of the people whom he met saluted him. the bouldering of the pavement was rough. the houses on both sides were low, dark, and cheerless; the doors all closed: from the roofs, occasionally, he heard women crooning to children. the loneliness of his situation, the night, the uncertainty cloaking the object of his coming, all affected him cheerlessly. with feelings sinking lower and lower, he came directly to the deep reservoir now known as the pool of bethesda, in which the water reflected the over-pending sky. looking up, he beheld the northern wall of the tower of antonia, a black frowning heap reared into the dim steel-gray sky. he halted as if challenged by a threatening sentinel. the tower stood up so high, and seemed so vast, resting apparently upon foundations so sure, that he was constrained to acknowledge its strength. if his mother were there in living burial, what could he do for her? by the strong hand, nothing. an army might beat the stony face with ballista and ram, and be laughed at. against him alone, the gigantic southeast turret looked down in the self-containment of a hill. and he thought, cunning is so easily baffled; and god, always the last resort of the helpless--god is sometimes so slow to act! in doubt and misgiving, he turned into the street in front of the tower, and followed it slowly on to the west. over in bezetha he knew there was a khan, where it was his intention to seek lodging while in the city; but just now he could not resist the impulse to go home. his heart drew him that way. the old formal salutation which he received from the few people who passed him had never sounded so pleasantly. presently, all the eastern sky began to silver and shine, and objects before invisible in the west--chiefly the tall towers on mount zion--emerged as from a shadowy depth, and put on spectral distinctness, floating, as it were, above the yawning blackness of the valley below, very castles in the air. he came, at length, to his father's house. of those who read this page, some there will be to divine his feelings without prompting. they are such as had happy homes in their youth, no matter how far that may have been back in time--homes which are now the starting-points of all recollection; paradises from which they went forth in tears, and which they would now return to, if they could, as little children; places of laughter and singing, and associations dearer than any or all the triumphs of after-life. at the gate on the north side of the old house ben-hur stopped. in the corners the wax used in the sealing-up was still plainly seen, and across the valves was the board with the inscription-- "this is the property of the emperor." nobody had gone in or out the gate since the dreadful day of the separation. should he knock as of old? it was useless, he knew; yet he could not resist the temptation. amrah might hear, and look out of one of the windows on that side. taking a stone, he mounted the broad stone step, and tapped three times. a dull echo replied. he tried again, louder than before; and again, pausing each time to listen. the silence was mocking. retiring into the street, he watched the windows; but they, too, were lifeless. the parapet on the roof was defined sharply against the brightening sky; nothing could have stirred upon it unseen by him, and nothing did stir. from the north side he passed to the west, where there were four windows which he watched long and anxiously, but with as little effect. at times his heart swelled with impotent wishes; at others, he trembled at the deceptions of his own fancy. amrah made no sign--not even a ghost stirred. silently, then, he stole round to the south. there, too, the gate was sealed and inscribed. the mellow splendor of the august moon, pouring over the crest of olivet, since termed the mount of offence, brought the lettering boldly out; and he read, and was filled with rage. all he could do was to wrench the board from its nailing, and hurl it into the ditch. then he sat upon the step, and prayed for the new king, and that his coming might be hastened. as his blood cooled, insensibly he yielded to the fatigue of long travel in the summer heat, and sank down lower, and, at last, slept. about that time two women came down the street from the direction of the tower of antonia, approaching the palace of the hurs. they advanced stealthily, with timid steps, pausing often to listen. at the corner of the rugged pile, one said to the other, in a low voice, "this is it, tirzah!" and tirzah, after a look, caught her mother's hand, and leaned upon her heavily, sobbing, but silent. "let us go on, my child, because"--the mother hesitated and trembled; then, with an effort to be calm, continued--"because when morning comes they will put us out of the gate of the city to--return no more." tirzah sank almost to the stones. "ah, yes!" she said, between sobs; "i forgot. i had the feeling of going home. but we are lepers, and have no homes; we belong to the dead!" the mother stooped and raised her tenderly, saying, "we have nothing to fear. let us go on." indeed, lifting their empty hands, they could have run upon a legion and put it to flight. and, creeping in close to the rough wall, they glided on, like two ghosts, till they came to the gate, before which they also paused. seeing the board, they stepped upon the stone in the scarce cold tracks of ben-hur, and read the inscription--"this is the property of the emperor." then the mother clasped her hands, and, with upraised eyes, moaned in unutterable anguish. "what now, mother? you scare me!" and the answer was, presently, "oh, tirzah, the poor are dead! he is dead!" "who, mother?" "your brother! they took everything from him--everything--even this house!" "poor!" said tirzah, vacantly. "he will never be able to help us." "and then, mother?" "to-morrow--to-morrow, my child, we must find a seat by the wayside, and beg alms as the lepers do; beg, or--" tirzah leaned upon her again, and said, whispering, "let us--let us die!" "no!" the mother said, firmly. "the lord has appointed our times, and we are believers in the lord. we will wait on him even in this. come away!" she caught tirzah's hand as she spoke, and hastened to the west corner of the house, keeping close to the wall. no one being in sight there, they kept on to the next corner, and shrank from the moonlight, which lay exceedingly bright over the whole south front, and along a part of the street. the mother's will was strong. casting one look back and up to the windows on the west side, she stepped out into the light, drawing tirzah after her; and the extent of their affliction was then to be seen--on their lips and cheeks, in their bleared eyes, in their cracked hands; especially in the long, snaky locks, stiff with loathsome ichor, and, like their eyebrows, ghastly white. nor was it possible to have told which was mother, which daughter; both alike seemed witch-like old. "hist!" said the mother. "there is some one lying upon the step--a man. let us go round him." they crossed to the opposite side of the street quickly, and, in the shade there, moved on till before the gate, where they stopped. "he is asleep, tirzah!" the man was very still. "stay here, and i will try the gate." so saying, the mother stole noiselessly across, and ventured to touch the wicket; she never knew if it yielded, for that moment the man sighed, and, turning restlessly, shifted the handkerchief on his head in such manner that the face was left upturned and fair in the broad moonlight. she looked down at it and started; then looked again, stooping a little, and arose and clasped her hands and raised her eyes to heaven in mute appeal. an instant so, and she ran back to tirzah. "as the lord liveth, the man is my son--thy brother!" she said, in an awe-inspiring whisper. "my brother?--judah?" the mother caught her hand eagerly. "come!" she said, in the same enforced whisper, "let us look at him together--once more--only once--then help thou thy servants, lord!" they crossed the street hand in hand ghostly-quick, ghostly-still. when their shadows fell upon him, they stopped. one of his hands was lying out upon the step palm up. tirzah fell upon her knees, and would have kissed it; but the mother drew her back. "not for thy life; not for thy life! unclean, unclean!" she whispered. tirzah shrank from him, as if he were the leprous one. ben-hur was handsome as the manly are. his cheeks and forehead were swarthy from exposure to the desert sun and air; yet under the light mustache the lips were red, and the teeth shone white, and the soft beard did not hide the full roundness of chin and throat. how beautiful he appeared to the mother's eyes! how mightily she yearned to put her arms about him, and take his head upon her bosom and kiss him, as had been her wont in his happy childhood! where got she the strength to resist the impulse? from her love, o, reader!--her mother-love, which, if thou wilt observe well, hath this unlikeness to any other love: tender to the object, it can be infinitely tyrannical to itself, and thence all its power of self-sacrifice. not for restoration to health and fortune, not for any blessing of life, not for life itself, would she have left her leprous kiss upon his cheek! yet touch him she must; in that instant of finding him she must renounce him forever! how bitter, bitter hard it was, let some other mother say! she knelt down, and, crawling to his feet, touched the sole of one of his sandals with her lips, yellow though it was with the dust of the street--and touched it again and again; and her very soul was in the kisses. he stirred, and tossed his hand. they moved back, but heard him mutter in his dream, "mother! amrah! where is--" he fell off into the deep sleep. tirzah stared wistfully. the mother put her face in the dust, struggling to suppress a sob so deep and strong it seemed her heart was bursting. almost she wished he might waken. he had asked for her; she was not forgotten; in his sleep he was thinking of her. was it not enough? presently mother beckoned to tirzah, and they arose, and taking one more look, as if to print his image past fading, hand in hand they recrossed the street. back in the shade of the wall there, they retired and knelt, looking at him, waiting for him to wake--waiting some revelation, they knew not what. nobody has yet given us a measure for the patience of a love like theirs. by-and-by, the sleep being yet upon him, another woman appeared at the corner of the palace. the two in the shade saw her plainly in the light; a small figure, much bent, dark-skinned, gray-haired, dressed neatly in servant's garb, and carrying a basket full of vegetables. at sight of the man upon the step the new-comer stopped; then, as if decided, she walked on--very lightly as she drew near the sleeper. passing round him, she went to the gate, slid the wicket latch easily to one side, and put her hand in the opening. one of the broad boards in the left valve swung ajar without noise. she put the basket through, and was about to follow, when, yielding to curiosity, she lingered to have one look at the stranger whose face was below her in open view. the spectators across the street heard a low exclamation, and saw the woman rub her eyes as if to renew their power, bend closer down, clasp her hands, gaze wildly around, look at the sleeper, stoop and raise the outlying hand, and kiss it fondly--that which they wished so mightily to do, but dared not. awakened by the action, ben-hur instinctively withdrew the hand; as he did so, his eyes met the woman's. "amrah! o amrah, is it thou?" he said. the good heart made no answer in words, but fell upon his neck, crying for joy. gently he put her arms away, and lifting the dark face wet with tears, kissed it, his joy only a little less than hers. then those across the way heard him say, "mother--tirzah--o amrah, tell me of them! speak, speak, i pray thee!" amrah only cried afresh. "thou has seen them, amrah. thou knowest where they are; tell me they are at home." tirzah moved, but her mother, divining her purpose, caught her and whispered, "do not go--not for life. unclean, unclean!" her love was in tyrannical mood. though both their hearts broke, he should not become what they were; and she conquered. meantime, amrah, so entreated, only wept the more. "wert thou going in?" he asked, presently, seeing the board swung back. "come, then. i will go with thee." he arose as he spoke. "the romans--be the curse of the lord upon them!--the romans lied. the house is mine. rise, amrah, and let us go in." a moment and they were gone, leaving the two in the shade to behold the gate staring blankly at them--the gate which they might not ever enter more. they nestled together in the dust. they had done their duty. their love was proven. next morning they were found, and driven out the city with stones. "begone! ye are of the dead; go to the dead!" with the doom ringing in their ears, they went forth. chapter v nowadays travellers in the holy land looking for the famous place with the beautiful name, the king's garden, descend the bed of the cedron or the curve of gihon and hinnom as far as the old well en-rogel, take a drink of the sweet living water, and stop, having reached the limit of the interesting in that direction. they look at the great stones with which the well is curbed, ask its depth, smile at the primitive mode of drawing the purling treasure, and waste some pity on the ragged wretch who presides over it; then, facing about, they are enraptured with the mounts moriah and zion, both of which slope towards them from the north, one terminating in ophel, the other in what used to be the site of the city of david. in the background, up far in the sky, the garniture of the sacred places is visible: here the haram, with its graceful dome; yonder the stalward remains of hippicus, defiant even in ruins. when that view has been enjoyed, and is sufficiently impressed upon the memory, the travellers glance at the mount of offence standing in rugged stateliness at their right hand, and then at the hill of evil counsel over on the left, in which, if they be well up in scriptural history and in the traditions rabbinical and monkish, they will find a certain interest not to be overcome by superstitious horror. it were long to tell all the points of interest grouped around that hill; for the present purpose, enough that its feet are planted in the veritable orthodox hell of the moderns--the hell of brimstone and fire--in the old nomenclature gehenna; and that now, as in the days of christ, its bluff face opposite the city on the south and southeast is seamed and pitted with tombs which have been immemorially the dwelling-places of lepers, not singly, but collectively. there they set up their government and established their society; there they founded a city and dwelt by themselves, avoided as the accursed of god. the second morning after the incidents of the preceding chapter, amrah drew near the well en-rogel, and seated herself upon a stone. one familiar with jerusalem, looking at her, would have said she was the favorite servant of some well-to-do family. she brought with her a water-jar and a basket, the contents of the latter covered with a snow-white napkin. placing them on the ground at her side, she loosened the shawl which fell from her head, knit her fingers together in her lap, and gazed demurely up to where the hill drops steeply down into aceldama and the potter's field. it was very early, and she was the first to arrive at the well. soon, however, a man came bringing a rope and a leathern bucket. saluting the little dark-faced woman, he undid the rope, fixed it to the bucket, and waited customers. others who chose to do so might draw water for themselves, he was a professional in the business, and would fill the largest jar the stoutest woman could carry for a gerah. amrah sat still, and had nothing to say. seeing the jar, the man asked after a while if she wished it filled; she answered him civilly, "not now;" whereupon he gave her no more attention. when the dawn was fairly defined over olivet, his patrons began to arrive, and he had all he could do to attend to them. all the time she kept her seat, looking intently up at the hill. the sun made its appearance, yet she sat watching and waiting; and while she thus waits, let us see what her purpose is. her custom had been to go to market after nightfall. stealing out unobserved, she would seek the shops in the tyropoeon, or those over by the fish gate in the east, make her purchases of meat and vegetables, and return and shut herself up again. the pleasure she derived from the presence of ben-hur in the old house once more may be imagined. she had nothing to tell him of her mistress or tirzah--nothing. he would have had her move to a place not so lonesome; she refused. she would have had him take his own room again, which was just as he had left it; but the danger of discovery was too great, and he wished above all things to avoid inquiry. he would come and see her often as possible. coming in the night, he would also go away in the night. she was compelled to be satisfied, and at once occupied herself contriving ways to make him happy. that he was a man now did not occur to her; nor did it enter her mind that he might have put by or lost his boyish tastes; to please him, she thought to go on her old round of services. he used to be fond of confections; she remembered the things in that line which delighted him most, and resolved to make them, and have a supply always ready when he came. could anything be happier? so next night, earlier than usual, she stole out with her basket, and went over to the fish gate market. wandering about, seeking the best honey, she chanced to hear a man telling a story. what the story was the reader can arrive at with sufficient certainty when told that the narrator was one of the men who had held torches for the commandant of the tower of antonia when, down in cell vi., the hurs were found. the particulars of the finding were all told, and she heard them, with the names of the prisoners, and the widow's account of herself. the feelings with which amrah listened to the recital were such as became the devoted creature she was. she made her purchases, and returned home in a dream. what a happiness she had in store for her boy! she had found his mother! she put the basket away, now laughing, now crying. suddenly she stopped and thought. it would kill him to be told that his mother and tirzah were lepers. he would go through the awful city over on the hill of evil counsel--into each infected tomb he would go without rest, asking for them, and the disease would catch him, and their fate would be his. she wrung her hands. what should she do? like many a one before her, and many a one since, she derived inspiration, if not wisdom, from her affection, and came to a singular conclusion. the lepers, she knew, were accustomed of mornings to come down from their sepulchral abodes in the hill, and take a supply of water for the day from the well en-rogel. bringing their jars, they would set them on the ground and wait, standing afar until they were filled. to that the mistress and tirzah must come; for the law was inexorable, and admitted no distinction. a rich leper was no better than a poor one. so amrah decided not to speak to ben-hur of the story she had heard, but go alone to the well and wait. hunger and thirst would drive the unfortunates thither, and she believed she could recognize them at sight; if not, they might recognize her. meantime ben-hur came, and they talked much. to-morrow malluch would arrive; then the search should be immediately begun. he was impatient to be about it. to amuse himself he would visit the sacred places in the vicinity. the secret, we may be sure, weighed heavily on the woman, but she held her peace. when he was gone she busied herself in the preparation of things good to eat, applying her utmost skill to the work. at the approach of day, as signalled by the stars, she filled the basket, selected a jar, and took the road to en-rogel, going out by the fish gate which was earliest open, and arriving as we have seen. shortly after sunrise, when business at the well was most pressing, and the drawer of water most hurried; when, in fact, half a dozen buckets were in use at the same time, everybody making haste to get away before the cool of the morning melted into the heat of the day, the tenantry of the hill began to appear and move about the doors of their tombs. somewhat later they were discernible in groups, of which not a few were children so young that they suggested the holiest relation. numbers came momentarily around the turn of the bluff--women with jars upon their shoulders, old and very feeble men hobbling along on staffs and crutches. some leaned upon the shoulders of others; a few--the utterly helpless--lay, like heaps of rags, upon litters. even that community of superlative sorrow had its love-light to make life endurable and attractive. distance softened without entirely veiling the misery of the outcasts. from her seat by the well amrah kept watch upon the spectral groups. she scarcely moved. more than once she imagined she saw those she sought. that they were there upon the hill she had no doubt; that they must come down and near she knew; when the people at the well were all served they would come. now, quite at the base of the bluff there was a tomb which had more than once attracted amrah by its wide gaping. a stone of large dimensions stood near its mouth. the sun looked into it through the hottest hours of the day, and altogether it seemed uninhabitable by anything living, unless, perchance, by some wild dogs returning from scavenger duty down in gehenna. thence, however, and greatly to her surprise, the patient egyptian beheld two women come, one half supporting, half leading, the other. they were both white-haired; both looked old; but their garments were not rent, and they gazed about them as if the locality were new. the witness below thought she even saw them shrink terrified at the spectacle offered by the hideous assemblage of which they found themselves part. slight reasons, certainly, to make her heart beat faster, and draw her attention to them exclusively; but so they did. the two remained by the stone awhile; then they moved slowly, painfully, and with much fear towards the well, whereat several voices were raised to stop them; yet they kept on. the drawer of water picked up some pebbles, and made ready to drive them back. the company cursed them. the greater company on the hill shouted shrilly, "unclean, unclean!" "surely," thought amrah of the two, as they kept coming--"surely, they are strangers to the usage of lepers." she arose, and went to meet them, taking the basket and jar. the alarm at the well immediately subsided. "what a fool," said one, laughing, "what a fool to give good bread to the dead in that way!" "and to think of her coming so far!" said another. "i would at least make them meet me at the gate." amrah, with better impulse, proceeded. if she should be mistaken! her heart arose into her throat. and the farther she went the more doubtful and confused she became. four or five yards from where they stood waiting for her she stopped. that the mistress she loved! whose hand she had so often kissed in gratitude! whose image of matronly loveliness she had treasured in memory so faithfully! and that the tirzah she had nursed through babyhood! whose pains she had soothed, whose sports she had shared! that the smiling, sweet-faced, songful tirzah, the light of the great house, the promised blessing of her old age! her mistress, her darling--they? the soul of the woman sickened at the sight. "these are old women," she said to herself. "i never saw them before. i will go back." she turned away. "amrah," said one of the lepers. the egyptian dropped the jar, and looked back, trembling. "who called me?" she asked. "amrah." the servant's wondering eyes settled upon the speaker's face. "who are you?" she cried. "we are they you are seeking." amrah fell upon her knees. "o my mistress, my mistress! as i have made your god my god, be he praised that he has led me to you!" and upon her knees the poor overwhelmed creature began moving forward. "stay, amrah! come not nearer. unclean, unclean!" the words sufficed. amrah fell upon her face, sobbing so loud the people at the well heard her. suddenly she arose upon her knees again. "o my mistress, where is tirzah?" "here i am, amrah, here! will you not bring me a little water?" the habit of the servant renewed itself. putting back the coarse hair fallen over her face, amrah arose and went to the basket and uncovered it. "see," she said, "here are bread and meat." she would have spread the napkin upon the ground, but the mistress spoke again, "do not so, amrah. those yonder may stone you, and refuse us drink. leave the basket with me. take up the jar and fill it, and bring it here. we will carry them to the tomb with us. for this day you will then have rendered all the service that is lawful. haste, amrah." the people under whose eyes all this had passed made way for the servant, and even helped her fill the jar, so piteous was the grief her countenance showed. "who are they?" a woman asked. amrah meekly answered, "they used to be good to me." raising the jar upon her shoulder, she hurried back. in forgetfulness, she would have gone to them, but the cry "unclean, unclean! beware!" arrested her. placing the water by the basket, she stepped back, and stood off a little way. "thank you, amrah," said the mistress, taking the articles into possession. "this is very good of you." "is there nothing more i can do?" asked amrah. the mother's hand was upon the jar, and she was fevered with thirst; yet she paused, and rising, said firmly, "yes, i know that judah has come home. i saw him at the gate night before last asleep on the step. i saw you wake him." amrah clasped her hands. "o my mistress! you saw it, and did not come!" "that would have been to kill him. i can never take him in my arms again. i can never kiss him more. o amrah, amrah, you love him, i know!" "yes," said the true heart, bursting into tears again, and kneeling. "i would die for him." "prove to me what you say, amrah." "i am ready." "then you shall not tell him where we are or that you have seen us--only that, amrah." "but he is looking for you. he has come from afar to find you." "he must not find us. he shall not become what we are. hear, amrah. you shall serve us as you have this day. you shall bring us the little we need--not long now--not long. you shall come every morning and evening thus, and--and"--the voice trembled, the strong will almost broke down--"and you shall tell us of him, amrah; but to him you shall say nothing of us. hear you?" "oh, it will be so hard to hear him speak of you, and see him going about looking for you--to see all his love, and not tell him so much as that you are alive!" "can you tell him we are well, amrah?" the servant bowed her head in her arms. "no," the mistress continued; "wherefore to be silent altogether. go now, and come this evening. we will look for you. till then, farewell." "the burden will be heavy, o my mistress, and hard to bear," said amrah, falling upon her face. "how much harder would it be to see him as we are," the mother answered as she gave the basket to tirzah. "come again this evening," she repeated, taking up the water, and starting for the tomb. amrah waited kneeling until they had disappeared; then she took the road sorrowfully home. in the evening she returned; and thereafter it became her custom to serve them in the morning and evening, so that they wanted for nothing needful. the tomb, though ever so stony and desolate, was less cheerless than the cell in the tower had been. daylight gilded its door, and it was in the beautiful world. then, one can wait death with so much more faith out under the open sky. chapter vi the morning of the first day of the seventh month--tishri in the hebrew, october in english--ben-hur arose from his couch in the khan ill satisfied with the whole world. little time had been lost in consultation upon the arrival of malluch. the latter began the search at the tower of antonia, and began it boldly, by a direct inquiry of the tribune commanding. he gave the officer a history of the hurs, and all the particulars of the accident to gratus, describing the affair as wholly without criminality. the object of the quest now, he said, was if any of the unhappy family were discovered alive to carry a petition to the feet of caesar, praying restitution of the estate and return to their civil rights. such a petition, he had no doubt, would result in an investigation by the imperial order, a proceeding of which the friends of the family had no fear. in reply the tribune stated circumstantially the discovery of the women in the tower, and permitted a reading of the memorandum he had taken of their account of themselves; when leave to copy it was prayed, he even permitted that. malluch thereupon hurried to ben-hur. it were useless to attempt description of the effect the terrible story had upon the young man. the pain was not relieved by tears or passionate outcries; it was too deep for any expression. he sat still a long time, with pallid face and laboring heart. now and then, as if to show the thoughts which were most poignant, he muttered, "lepers, lepers! they--my mother and tirzah--they lepers! how long, how long, o lord!" one moment he was torn by a virtuous rage of sorrow, next by a longing for vengeance which, it must be admitted, was scarcely less virtuous. at length he arose. "i must look for them. they may be dying." "where will you look?" asked malluch. "there is but one place for them to go." malluch interposed, and finally prevailed so far as to have the management of the further attempt intrusted to him. together they went to the gate over on the side opposite the hill of evil counsel, immemorially the lepers' begging-ground. there they stayed all day, giving alms, asking for the two women, and offering rich rewards for their discovery. so they did in repetition day after day through the remainder of the fifth month, and all the sixth. there was diligent scouring of the dread city on the hill by lepers to whom the rewards offered were mighty incentives, for they were only dead in law. over and over again the gaping tomb down by the well was invaded, and its tenants subjected to inquiry; but they kept their secret fast. the result was failure. and now, the morning of the first day of the seventh month, the extent of the additional information gained was that not long before two leprous women had been stoned from the fish gate by the authorities. a little pressing of the clew, together with some shrewd comparison of dates, led to the sad assurance that the sufferers were the hurs, and left the old questions darker than ever. where were they? and what had become of them? "it was not enough that my people should be made lepers," said the son, over and over again, with what intensity of bitterness the reader may imagine; "that was not enough. oh no! they must be stoned from their native city! my mother is dead! she has wandered to the wilderness! she is dead! tirzah is dead! i alone am left. and for what? how long, o god, thou lord god of my fathers, how long shall this rome endure?" angry, hopeless, vengeful, he entered the court of the khan, and found it crowded with people come in during the night. while he ate his breakfast, he listened to some of them. to one party he was specially attracted. they were mostly young, stout, active, hardy men, in manner and speech provincial. in their look, the certain indefinable air, the pose of the head, glance of the eye, there was a spirit which did not, as a rule, belong to the outward seeming of the lower orders of jerusalem; the spirit thought by some to be a peculiarity of life in mountainous districts, but which may be more surely traced to a life of healthful freedom. in a short time he ascertained they were galileans, in the city for various purposes, but chiefly to take part in the feast of trumpets, set for that day. they became to him at once objects of interest, as hailing from the region in which he hoped to find readiest support in the work he was shortly to set about. while observing them, his mind running ahead in thought of achievements possible to a legion of such spirits disciplined after the severe roman style, a man came into the court, his face much flushed, his eyes bright with excitement. "why are you here?" he said to the galileans. "the rabbis and elders are going from the temple to see pilate. come, make haste, and let us go with them." they surrounded him in a moment. "to see pilate! for what?" "they have discovered a conspiracy. pilate's new aqueduct is to be paid for with money of the temple." "what, with the sacred treasure?" they repeated the question to each other with flashing eyes. "it is corban--money of god. let him touch a shekel of it if he dare!" "come," cried the messenger. "the procession is by this time across the bridge. the whole city is pouring after. we may be needed. make haste!" as if the thought and the act were one, there was quick putting away of useless garments, and the party stood forth bareheaded, and in the short sleeveless under-tunics they were used to wearing as reapers in the field and boatmen on the lake--the garb in which they climbed the hills following the herds, and plucked the ripened vintage, careless of the sun. lingering only to tighten their girdles, they said, "we are ready." then ben-hur spoke to them. "men of galilee," he said, "i am a son of judah. will you take me in your company?" "we may have to fight," they replied. "oh, then, i will not be first to run away!" they took the retort in good humor, and the messenger said, "you seem stout enough. come along." ben-hur put off his outer garments. "you think there may be fighting?" he asked, quietly, as he tightened his girdle. "yes." "with whom?" "the guard." "legionaries?" "whom else can a roman trust?" "what have you to fight with?" they looked at him silently. "well," he continued, "we will have to do the best we can; but had we not better choose a leader? the legionaries always have one, and so are able to act with one mind." the galileans stared more curiously, as if the idea were new to them. "let us at least agree to stay together," he said. "now i am ready, if you are." "yes, let us go." the khan, it should not be forgotten, was in bezetha, the new town; and to get to the praetorium, as the romans resonantly styled the palace of herod on mount zion, the party had to cross the lowlands north and west of the temple. by streets--if they may be so called--trending north and south, with intersections hardly up to the dignity of alleys, they passed rapidly round the akra district to the tower of mariamne, from which the way was short to the grand gate of the walled heights. in going, they overtook, or were overtaken by, people like themselves stirred to wrath by news of the proposed desecration. when, at length, they reached the gate of the praetorium, the procession of elders and rabbis had passed in with a great following, leaving a greater crowd clamoring outside. a centurion kept the entrance with a guard drawn up full armed under the beautiful marble battlements. the sun struck the soldiers fervidly on helm and shield; but they kept their ranks indifferent alike to its dazzle and to the mouthings of the rabble. through the open bronze gates a current of citizens poured in, while a much lesser one poured out. "what is going on?" one of the galileans asked an outcomer. "nothing," was the reply. "the rabbis are before the door of the palace asking to see pilate. he has refused to come out. they have sent one to tell him they will not go away till he has heard them. they are waiting." "let us go in," said ben-hur, in his quiet way, seeing what his companions probably did not, that there was not only a disagreement between the suitors and the governor, but an issue joined, and a serious question as to who should have his will. inside the gate there was a row of trees in leaf, with seats under them. the people, whether going or coming, carefully avoided the shade cast gratefully upon the white, clean-swept pavement; for, strange as it may seem, a rabbinical ordinance, alleged to have been derived from the law, permitted no green thing to be grown within the walls of jerusalem. even the wise king, it was said, wanting a garden for his egyptian bride, was constrained to found it down in the meeting-place of the valleys above en-rogel. through the tree-tops shone the outer fronts of the palace. turning to the right, the party proceeded a short distance to a spacious square, on the west side of which stood the residence of the governor. an excited multitude filled the square. every face was directed towards a portico built over a broad doorway which was closed. under the portico there was another array of legionaries. the throng was so close the friends could not well have advanced if such had been their desire; they remained therefore in the rear, observers of what was going on. about the portico they could see the high turbans of the rabbis, whose impatience communicated at times to the mass behind them; a cry was frequent to the effect "pilate, if thou be a governor, come forth, come forth!" once a man coming out pushed through the crowd, his face red with anger. "israel is of no account here," he said, in a loud voice. "on this holy ground we are no better than dogs of rome." "will he not come out, think you?" "come? has he not thrice refused?" "what will the rabbis do?" "as at caesarea--camp here till he gives them ear." "he will not dare touch the treasure, will he?" asked one of the galileans. "who can say? did not a roman profane the holy of holies? is there anything sacred from romans?" an hour passed, and though pilate deigned them no answer, the rabbis and crowd remained. noon came, bringing a shower from the west, but no change in the situation, except that the multitude was larger and much noisier, and the feeling more decidedly angry. the shouting was almost continuous, come forth, come forth! the cry was sometimes with disrespectful variations. meanwhile ben-hur held his galilean friends together. he judged the pride of the roman would eventually get the better of his discretion, and that the end could not be far off. pilate was but waiting for the people to furnish him an excuse for resort to violence. and at last the end came. in the midst of the assemblage there was heard the sound of blows, succeeded instantly by yells of pain and rage, and a most furious commotion. the venerable men in front of the portico faced about aghast. the common people in the rear at first pushed forward; in the centre, the effort was to get out; and for a short time the pressure of opposing forces was terrible. a thousand voices made inquiry, raised all at once; as no one had time to answer, the surprise speedily became a panic. ben-hur kept his senses. "you cannot see?" he said to one of the galileans. "no." "i will raise you up." he caught the man about the middle, and lifted him bodily. "what is it?" "i see now," said the man. "there are some armed with clubs, and they are beating the people. they are dressed like jews." "who are they?" "romans, as the lord liveth! romans in disguise. their clubs fly like flails! there, i saw a rabbi struck down--an old man! they spare nobody!" ben-hur let the man down. "men of galilee," he said, "it is a trick of pilate's. now, will you do what i say, we will get even with the club-men." the galilean spirit arose. "yes, yes!" they answered. "let us go back to the trees by the gate, and we may find the planting of herod, though unlawful, has some good in it after all. come!" they ran back all of them fast as they could; and, by throwing their united weight upon the limbs, tore them from the trunks. in a brief time they, too, were armed. returning, at the corner of the square they met the crowd rushing madly for the gate. behind, the clamor continued--a medley of shrieks, groans, and execrations. "to the wall!" ben-hur shouted. "to the wall!--and let the herd go by!" so, clinging to the masonry at their right hand, they escaped the might of the rush, and little by little made headway until, at last, the square was reached. "keep together now, and follow me!" by this time ben-hur's leadership was perfect; and as he pushed into the seething mob his party closed after him in a body. and when the romans, clubbing the people and making merry as they struck them down, came hand to hand with the galileans, lithe of limb, eager for the fray, and equally armed, they were in turn surprised. then the shouting was close and fierce; the crash of sticks rapid and deadly; the advance furious as hate could make it. no one performed his part as well as ben-hur, whose training served him admirably; for, not merely he knew to strike and guard; his long arm, perfect action, and incomparable strength helped him, also, to success in every encounter. he was at the same time fighting-man and leader. the club he wielded was of goodly length and weighty, so he had need to strike a man but once. he seemed, moreover, to have eyes for each combat of his friends, and the faculty of being at the right moment exactly where he was most needed. in his fighting cry there were inspiration for his party and alarm for his enemies. thus surprised and equally matched, the romans at first retired, but finally turned their backs and fled to the portico. the impetuous galileans would have pursued them to the steps, but ben-hur wisely restrained them. "stay, my men!" he said. "the centurion yonder is coming with the guard. they have swords and shields; we cannot fight them. we have done well; let us get back and out of the gate while we may." they obeyed him, though slowly; for they had frequently to step over their countrymen lying where they had been felled; some writhing and groaning, some praying help, others mute as the dead. but the fallen were not all jews. in that there was consolation. the centurion shouted to them as they went off; ben-hur laughed at him, and replied in his own tongue, "if we are dogs of israel, you are jackals of rome. remain here, and we will come again." the galileans cheered, and laughing went on. outside the gate there was a multitude the like of which ben-hur had never seen, not even in the circus at antioch. the house-tops, the streets, the slope of the hill, appeared densely covered with people wailing and praying. the air was filled with their cries and imprecations. the party were permitted to pass without challenge by the outer guard. but hardly were they out before the centurion in charge at the portico appeared, and in the gateway called to ben-hur, "ho, insolent! art thou a roman or a jew?" ben-hur answered, "i am a son of judah, born here. what wouldst thou with me?" "stay and fight." "singly?" "as thou wilt!" ben-hur laughed derisively. "o brave roman! worthy son of the bastard roman jove! i have no arms." "thou shalt have mine," the centurion answered. "i will borrow of the guard here." the people in hearing of the colloquy became silent; and from them the hush spread afar. but lately ben-hur had beaten a roman under the eyes of antioch and the farther east; now, could he beat another one under the eyes of jerusalem, the honor might be vastly profitable to the cause of the new king. he did not hesitate. going frankly to the centurion, he said, "i am willing. lend me thy sword and shield." "and the helm and breastplate?" asked the roman. "keep them. they might not fit me." the arms were as frankly delivered, and directly the centurion was ready. all this time the soldiers in rank close by the gate never moved; they simply listened. as to the multitude, only when the combatants advanced to begin the fight the question sped from mouth to mouth, "who is he?" and no one knew. now the roman supremacy in arms lay in three things--submission to discipline, the legionary formation of battle, and a peculiar use of the short sword. in combat, they never struck or cut; from first to last they thrust--they advanced thrusting, they retired thrusting; and generally their aim was at the foeman's face. all this was well known to ben-hur. as they were about to engage he said, "i told thee i was a son of judah; but i did not tell that i am lanista-taught. defend thyself!" at the last word ben-hur closed with his antagonist. a moment, standing foot to foot, they glared at each other over the rims of their embossed shields; then the roman pushed forward and feinted an under-thrust. the jew laughed at him. a thrust at the face followed. the jew stepped lightly to the left; quick as the thrust was, the step was quicker. under the lifted arm of the foe he slid his shield, advancing it until the sword and sword-arm were both caught on its upper surface; another step, this time forward and left, and the man's whole right side was offered to the point. the centurion fell heavily on his breast, clanging the pavement, and ben-hur had won. with his foot upon his enemy's back, he raised his shield overhead after a gladiatorial custom, and saluted the imperturbable soldiers by the gate. when the people realized the victory they behaved like mad. on the houses far as the xystus, fast as the word could fly, they waved their shawls and handkerchiefs and shouted; and if he had consented, the galileans would have carried ben-hur off upon their shoulders. to a petty officer who then advanced from the gate he said, "thy comrade died like a soldier. i leave him undespoiled. only his sword and shield are mine." with that, he walked away. off a little he spoke to the galileans. "brethren, you have behaved well. let us now separate, lest we be pursued. meet me to-night at the khan in bethany. i have something to propose to you of great interest to israel." "who are you?" they asked him. "a son of judah," he answered, simply. a throng eager to see him surged around the party. "will you come to bethany?" he asked. "yes, we will come." "then bring with you this sword and shield that i may know you." pushing brusquely through the increasing crowd, he speedily disappeared. at the instance of pilate, the people went up from the city, and carried off their dead and wounded, and there was much mourning for them; but the grief was greatly lightened by the victory of the unknown champion, who was everywhere sought, and by every one extolled. the fainting spirit of the nation was revived by the brave deed; insomuch that in the streets and up in the temple even, amidst the solemnities of the feast, old tales of the maccabees were told again, and thousands shook their heads whispering wisely, "a little longer, only a little longer, brethren, and israel will come to her own. let there be faith in the lord, and patience." in such manner ben-hur obtained hold on galilee, and paved the way to greater services in the cause of the king who was coming. and with what result we shall see. book seventh "and, waking, i beheld her there sea-dreaming in the moted air, a siren lithe and debonair, with wristlets woven of scarlet weeds, and oblong lucent amber beads of sea-kelp shining in her hair." thomas bailey aldrich. chapter i the meeting took place in the khan of bethany as appointed. thence ben-hur went with the galileans into their country, where his exploits up in the old market-place gave him fame and influence. before the winter was gone he raised three legions, and organized them after the roman pattern. he could have had as many more, for the martial spirit of that gallant people never slept. the proceeding, however, required careful guarding as against both rome and herod antipas. contenting himself for the present with the three, he strove to train and educate them for systematic action. for that purpose he carried the officers over into the lava-beds of trachonitis, and taught them the use of arms, particularly the javelin and sword, and the manoeuvering peculiar to the legionary formation; after which he sent them home as teachers. and soon the training became a pastime of the people. as may be thought, the task called for patience, skill, zeal, faith, and devotion on his part--qualities into which the power of inspiring others in matters of difficulty is always resolvable; and never man possessed them in greater degree or used them to better effect. how he labored! and with utter denial of self! yet withal he would have failed but for the support he had from simonides, who furnished him arms and money, and from ilderim, who kept watch and brought him supplies. and still he would have failed but for the genius of the galileans. under that name were comprehended the four tribes--asher, zebulon, issachar, and naphthali--and the districts originally set apart to them. the jew born in sight of the temple despised these brethren of the north; but the talmud itself has said, "the galilean loves honor, and the jew money." hating rome fervidly as they loved their own country, in every revolt they were first in the field and last to leave it. one hundred and fifty thousand galilean youths perished in the final war with rome. for the great festal days, they went up to jerusalem marching and camping like armies; yet they were liberal in sentiment, and even tolerant to heathenism. in herod's beautiful cities, which were roman in all things, in sepphoris and tiberias especially, they took pride, and in the building them gave loyal support. they had for fellow-citizens men from the outside world everywhere, and lived in peace with them. to the glory of the hebrew name they contributed poets like the singer of the song of songs and prophets like hosea. upon such a people, so quick, so proud, so brave, so devoted, so imaginative, a tale like that of the coming of the king was all-powerful. that he was coming to put rome down would have been sufficient to enlist them in the scheme proposed by ben-hur; but when, besides, they were assured he was to rule the world, more mighty than caesar, more magnificent than solomon, and that the rule was to last forever, the appeal was irresistible, and they vowed themselves to the cause body and soul. they asked ben-hur his authority for the sayings, and he quoted the prophets, and told them of balthasar in waiting over in antioch; and they were satisfied, for it was the old much-loved legend of the messiah, familiar to them almost as the name of the lord; the long-cherished dream with a time fixed for its realization. the king was not merely coming now; he was at hand. so with ben-hur the winter months rolled by, and spring came, with gladdening showers blown over from the summering sea in the west; and by that time so earnestly and successfully had he toiled that he could say to himself and his followers, "let the good king come. he has only to tell us where he will have his throne set up. we have the sword-hands to keep it for him." and in all his dealings with the many men they knew him only as a son of judah, and by that name. * * * * * * one evening, over in trachonitis, ben-hur was sitting with some of his galileans at the mouth of the cave in which he quartered, when an arab courier rode to him, and delivered a letter. breaking the package, he read, "jerusalem, nisan iv. "a prophet has appeared who men say is elias. he has been in the wilderness for years, and to our eyes he is a prophet; and such also is his speech, the burden of which is of one much greater than himself, who, he says, is to come presently, and for whom he is now waiting on the eastern shore of the river jordan. i have been to see and hear him, and the one he is waiting for is certainly the king you are awaiting. come and judge for yourself. "all jerusalem is going out to the prophet, and with many people else the shore on which he abides is like mount olivet in the last days of the passover. "malluch." ben-hur's face flushed with joy. "by this word, o my friends," he said--"by this word, our waiting is at end. the herald of the king has appeared and announced him." upon hearing the letter read, they also rejoiced at the promise it held out. "get ready now," he added, "and in the morning set your faces homeward; when arrived there, send word to those under you, and bid them be ready to assemble as i may direct. for myself and you, i will go see if the king be indeed at hand, and send you report. let us, in the meantime, live in the pleasure of the promise." going into the cave, he addressed a letter to ilderim, and another to simonides, giving notice of the news received, and of his purpose to go up immediately to jerusalem. the letters he despatched by swift messengers. when night fell, and the stars of direction came out, he mounted, and with an arab guide set out for the jordan, intending to strike the track of the caravans between rabbath-ammon and damascus. the guide was sure, and aldebaran swift; so by midnight the two were out of the lava fastness speeding southward. chapter ii it was ben-hur's purpose to turn aside at the break of day, and find a safe place in which to rest; but the dawn overtook him while out in the desert, and he kept on, the guide promising to bring him afterwhile to a vale shut in by great rocks, where there were a spring, some mulberry-trees, and herbage in plenty for the horses. as he rode thinking of the wondrous events so soon to happen, and of the changes they were to bring about in the affairs of men and nations, the guide, ever on the alert, called attention to an appearance of strangers behind them. everywhere around the desert stretched away in waves of sand, slowly yellowing in the growing light, and without any green thing visible. over on the left, but still far off, a range of low mountains extended, apparently interminable. in the vacancy of such a waste an object in motion could not long continue a mystery. "it is a camel with riders," the guide said, directly. "are there others behind?" said ben-hur. "it is alone. no, there is a man on horseback--the driver, probably." a little later ben-hur himself could see the camel was white and unusually large, reminding him of the wonderful animal he had seen bring balthasar and iras to the fountain in the grove of daphne. there could be no other like it. thinking then of the fair egyptian, insensibly his gait became slower, and at length fell into the merest loiter, until finally he could discern a curtained houdah, and two persons seated within it. if they were balthasar and iras! should he make himself known to them? but it could not be: this was the desert--and they were alone. but while he debated the question the long swinging stride of the camel brought its riders up to him. he heard the ringing of the tiny bells, and beheld the rich housings which had been so attractive to the crowd at the castalian fount. he beheld also the ethiopian, always attendant upon the egyptians. the tall brute stopped close by his horse, and ben-hur, looking up, lo! iras herself under the raised curtain looking down at him, her great swimming eyes bright with astonishment and inquiry! "the blessing of the true god upon you!" said balthasar, in his tremulous voice. "and to thee and thine be the peace of the lord," ben-hur replied. "my eyes are weak with years," said balthasar; "but they approve you that son of hur whom lately i knew an honored guest in the tent of ilderim the generous." "and thou art that balthasar, the wise egyptian, whose speech concerning certain holy things in expectation is having so much to do with the finding me in this waste place. what dost thou here?" "he is never alone who is where god is--and god is everywhere," balthasar answered, gravely; "but in the sense of your asking, there is a caravan short way behind us going to alexandria; and as it is to pass through jerusalem, i thought best to avail myself of its company as far as the holy city, whither i am journeying. this morning, however, in discontent with its slow movement--slower because of a roman cohort in attendance upon it--we rose early, and ventured thus far in advance. as to robbers along the way, we are not afraid, for i have here a signet of sheik ilderim; against beasts of prey, god is our sufficient trust." ben-hur bowed and said, "the good sheik's signet is a safeguard wherever the wilderness extends, and the lion shall be swift that overtakes this king of his kind." he patted the neck of the camel as he spoke. "yet," said iras, with a smile which was not lost upon the youth, whose eyes, it must be admitted, had several times turned to her during the interchange of speeches with the elder--"yet even he would be better if his fast were broken. kings have hunger and headaches. if you be, indeed, the ben-hur of whom my father has spoken, and whom it was my pleasure to have known as well, you will be happy, i am sure, to show us some near path to living water, that with its sparkle we may grace a morning's meal in the desert." ben-hur, nothing loath, hastened to answer. "fair egyptian, i give you sympathy. can you bear suffering a little longer, we will find the spring you ask for, and i promise that its draught shall be as sweet and cooling as that of the more famous castalia. with leave, we will make haste." "i give you the blessing of the thirsty," she replied; "and offer you in return a bit of bread from the city ovens, dipped in fresh butter from the dewy meadows of damascus." "a most rare favor! let us go on." so saying, ben-hur rode forward with the guide, one of the inconveniences of travelling with camels being that it is necessarily an interdiction of polite conversation. afterwhile the party came to a shallow wady, down which, turning to the right hand, the guide led them. the bed of the cut was somewhat soft from recent rains, and quite bold in its descent. momentarily, however, it widened; and erelong the sides became bluffs ribbed with rocks much scarred by floods rushing to lower depths ahead. finally, from a narrow passage, the travellers entered a spreading vale which was very delightful; but come upon suddenly from the yellow, unrelieved, verdureless plain, it had the effect of a freshly discovered paradise. the water-channels winding here and there, definable by crisp white shingling, appeared like threads tangled among islands green with grasses and fringed with reeds. up from the final depths of the valley of the jordan some venturous oleanders had crept, and with their large bloom now starred the sunken place. one palm-tree arose in royal assertion. the bases of the boundary-walls were cloaked with clambering vines, and under a leaning cliff over on the left the mulberry grove had planted itself, proclaiming the spring which the party were seeking. and thither the guide conducted them, careless of whistling partridges and lesser birds of brighter hues roused whirring from the reedy coverts. the water started from a crack in the cliff which some loving hand had enlarged into an arched cavity. graven over it in bold hebraic letters was the word god. the graver had no doubt drunk there, and tarried many days, and given thanks in that durable form. from the arch the stream ran merrily over a flag spotted with bright moss, and leaped into a pool glassy clear; thence it stole away between grassy banks, nursing the trees before it vanished in the thirsty sand. a few narrow paths were noticeable about the margin of the pool; otherwise the space around was untrodden turf, at sight of which the guide was assured of rest free from intrusion by men. the horses were presently turned loose, and from the kneeling camel the ethiopian assisted balthasar and iras; whereupon the old man, turning his face to the east, crossed his hands reverently upon his breast and prayed. "bring me a cup," iras said, with some impatience. from the houdah the slave brought her a crystal goblet; then she said to ben-hur, "i will be your servant at the fountain." they walked to the pool together. he would have dipped the water for her, but she refused his offer, and kneeling, held the cup to be filled by the stream itself; nor yet content, when it was cooled and overrunning, she tendered him the first draught. "no," he said, putting the graceful hand aside, and seeing only the large eyes half hidden beneath the arches of the upraised brows, "be the service mine, i pray." she persisted in having her way. "in my country, o son of hur, we have a saying, 'better a cupbearer to the fortunate than minister to a king.'" "fortunate!" he said. there were both surprise and inquiry in the tone of his voice and in his look, and she said quickly, "the gods give us success as a sign by which we may know them on our side. were you not winner in the circus?" his cheeks began to flush. "that was one sign. there is another. in a combat with swords you slew a roman." the flush deepened--not so much for the triumphs themselves as the flattery there was in the thought that she had followed his career with interest. a moment, and the pleasure was succeeded by a reflection. the combat, he knew, was matter of report throughout the east; but the name of the victor had been committed to a very few--malluch, ilderim, and simonides. could they have made a confidante of the woman? so with wonder and gratification he was confused; and seeing it, she arose and said, holding the cup over the pool, "o gods of egypt! i give thanks for a hero discovered--thanks that the victim in the palace of idernee was not my king of men. and so, o holy gods, i pour and drink." part of the contents of the cup she returned to the stream, the rest she drank. when she took the crystal from her lips, she laughed at him. "o son of hur, is it a fashion of the very brave to be so easily overcome by a woman? take the cup now, and see if you cannot find a happy word in it for me" he took the cup, and stooped to refill it. "a son of israel has no gods whom he can libate," he said, playing with the water to hide his amazement, now greater than before. what more did the egyptian know about him? had she been told of his relations with simonides? and there was the treaty with ilderim--had she knowledge of that also? he was struck with mistrust. somebody had betrayed his secrets, and they were serious. and, besides, he was going to jerusalem, just then of all the world the place where such intelligence possessed by an enemy might be most dangerous to him, his associates, and the cause. but was she an enemy? it is well for us that, while writing is slow, thought is instantaneous. when the cup was fairly cooled, he filled it and arose, saying, with indifference well affected, "most fair, were i an egyptian or a greek or a roman, i would say"--he raised the goblet overhead as he spoke--"o ye better gods! i give thanks that there are yet left to the world, despite its wrongs and sufferings, the charm of beauty and the solace of love, and i drink to her who best represents them--to iras, loveliest of the daughters of the nile!" she laid her hand softly upon his shoulder. "you have offended against the law. the gods you have drunk to are false gods. why shall i not tell the rabbis on you?" "oh!" he replied, laughing, "that is very little to tell for one who knows so much else that is really important." "i will go further--i will go to the little jewess who makes the roses grow and the shadows flame in the house of the great merchant over in antioch. to the rabbis i will accuse you of impenitence; to her--" "well, to her?" "i will repeat what you have said to me under the lifted cup, with the gods for witnesses." he was still a moment, as if waiting for the egyptian to go on. with quickened fancy he saw esther at her father's side listening to the despatches he had forwarded--sometimes reading them. in her presence he had told simonides the story of the affair in the palace of idernee. she and iras were acquainted; this one was shrewd and worldly; the other was simple and affectionate, and therefore easily won. simonides could not have broken faith--nor ilderim--for if not held by honor, there was no one, unless it might be himself, to whom the consequences of exposure were more serious and certain. could esther have been the egyptian's informant? he did not accuse her; yet a suspicion was sown with the thought, and suspicions, as we all know, are weeds of the mind which grow of themselves, and most rapidly when least wanted. before he could answer the allusion to the little jewess, balthasar came to the pool. "we are greatly indebted to you, son of hur," he said, in his grave manner. "this vale is very beautiful; the grass, the trees, the shade, invite us to stay and rest, and the spring here has the sparkle of diamonds in motion, and sings to me of a loving god. it is not enough to thank you for the enjoyment we find; come sit with us, and taste our bread." "suffer me first to serve you." with that ben-hur filled the goblet, and gave it to balthasar, who lifted his eyes in thanksgiving. immediately the slave brought napkins; and after laving their hands and drying them, the three seated themselves in eastern style under the tent which years before had served the wise men at the meeting in the desert. and they ate heartily of the good things taken from the camel's pack. chapter iii the tent was cosily pitched beneath a tree where the gurgle of the stream was constantly in ear. overhead the broad leaves hung motionless on their stems; the delicate reed-stalks off in the pearly haze stood up arrowy-straight; occasionally a home-returning bee shot humming athwart the shade, and a partridge creeping from the sedge drank, whistled to his mate, and ran away. the restfulness of the vale, the freshness of the air, the garden beauty, the sabbath stillness, seemed to have affected the spirits of the elder egyptian; his voice, gestures, and whole manner were unusually gentle; and often as he bent his eyes upon ben-hur conversing with iras, they softened with pity. "when we overtook you, son of hur," he said, at the conclusion of the repast, "it seemed your face was also turned towards jerusalem. may i ask, without offence, if you are going so far?" "i am going to the holy city." "for the great need i have to spare myself prolonged toil, i will further ask you, is there a shorter road than that by rabbath-ammon?" "a rougher route, but shorter, lies by gerasa and rabbath-gilead. it is the one i design taking." "i am impatient," said balthasar. "latterly my sleep has been visited by dreams--or rather by the same dream in repetition. a voice--it is nothing more--comes and tells me, 'haste--arise! he whom thou hast so long awaited is at hand.'" "you mean he that is to be king of the jews?" ben-hur asked, gazing at the egyptian in wonder. "even so." "then you have heard nothing of him?" "nothing, except the words of the voice in the dream." "here, then, are tidings to make you glad as they made me." from his gown ben-hur drew the letter received from malluch. the hand the egyptian held out trembled violently. he read aloud, and as he read his feelings increased; the limp veins in his neck swelled and throbbed. at the conclusion he raised his suffused eyes in thanksgiving and prayer. he asked no questions, yet had no doubts. "thou hast been very good to me, o god," he said. "give me, i pray thee, to see the saviour again, and worship him, and thy servant will be ready to go in peace." the words, the manner, the singular personality of the simple prayer, touched ben-hur with a sensation new and abiding. god never seemed so actual and so near by; it was as if he were there bending over them or sitting at their side--a friend whose favors were to be had by the most unceremonious asking--a father to whom all his children were alike in love--father, not more of the jew than of the gentile--the universal father, who needed no intermediates, no rabbis, no priests, no teachers. the idea that such a god might send mankind a saviour instead of a king appeared to ben-hur in a light not merely new, but so plain that he could almost discern both the greater want of such a gift and its greater consistency with the nature of such a deity. so he could not resist asking, "now that he has come, o balthasar, you still think he is to be a saviour, and not a king?" balthasar gave him a look thoughtful as it was tender. "how shall i understand you?" he asked, in return. "the spirit, which was the star that was my guide of old, has not appeared to me since i met you in the tent of the good sheik; that is to say, i have not seen or heard it as formerly. i believe the voice that spoke to me in my dreams was it; but other than that i have no revelation." "i will recall the difference between us," said ben-hur, with deference. "you were of opinion that he would be a king, but not as caesar is; you thought his sovereignty would be spiritual, not of the world." "oh yes," the egyptian answered; "and i am of the same opinion now. i see the divergence in our faith. you are going to meet a king of men, i a saviour of souls." he paused with the look often seen when people are struggling, with introverted effort, to disentangle a thought which is either too high for quick discernment or too subtle for simple expression. "let me try, o son of hur," he said, directly, "and help you to a clear understanding of my belief; then it may be, seeing how the spiritual kingdom i expect him to set up can be more excellent in every sense than anything of mere caesarean splendor, you will better understand the reason of the interest i take in the mysterious person we are going to welcome. "i cannot tell you when the idea of a soul in every man had its origin. most likely the first parents brought it with them out of the garden in which they had their first dwelling. we all do know, however, that it has never perished entirely out of mind. by some peoples it was lost, but not by all; in some ages it dulled and faded, in others it was overwhelmed with doubts; but, in great goodness, god kept sending us at intervals mighty intellects to argue it back to faith and hope. "why should there be a soul in every man? look, o son of hur--for one moment look at the necessity of such a device. to lie down and die, and be no more--no more forever--time never was when man wished for such an end; nor has the man ever been who did not in his heart promise himself something better. the monuments of the nations are all protests against nothingness after death; so are statues and inscriptions; so is history. the greatest of our egyptian kings had his effigy cut-out of a hill of solid rock. day after day he went with a host in chariots to see the work; at last it was finished, never effigy so grand, so enduring: it looked like him--the features were his, faithful even in expression. now may we not think of him saying in that moment of pride, 'let death come; there is an after-life for me!' he had his wish. the statue is there yet. "but what is the after-life he thus secured? only a recollection by men--a glory unsubstantial as moonshine on the brow of the great bust; a story in stone--nothing more. meantime what has become of the king? there is an embalmed body up in the royal tombs which once was his--an effigy not so fair to look at as the other out in the desert. but where, o son of hur, where is the king himself? is he fallen into nothingness? two thousand years have gone since he was a man alive as you and i are. was his last breath the end of him? "to say yes would be to accuse god; let us rather accept his better plan of attaining life after death for us--actual life, i mean--the something more than a place in mortal memory; life with going and coming, with sensation, with knowledge, with power and all appreciation; life eternal in term though it may be with changes of condition. "ask you what god's plan is? the gift of a soul to each of us at birth, with this simple law--there shall be no immortality except through the soul. in that law see the necessity of which i spoke. "let us turn from the necessity now. a word as to the pleasure there is in the thought of a soul in each of us. in the first place, it robs death of its terrors by making dying a change for the better, and burial but the planting of a seed from which there will spring a new life. in the next place, behold me as i am--weak, weary, old, shrunken in body, and graceless; look at my wrinkled face, think of my failing senses, listen to my shrilled voice. ah! what happiness to me in the promise that when the tomb opens, as soon it will, to receive the worn-out husk i call myself, the now viewless doors of the universe, which is but the palace of god, will swing wide ajar to receive me, a liberated immortal soul! "i would i could tell the ecstasy there must be in that life to come! do not say i know nothing about it. this much i know, and it is enough for me--the being a soul implies conditions of divine superiority. in such a being there is no dust, nor any gross thing; it must be finer than air, more impalpable than light, purer than essence--it is life in absolute purity. "what now, o son of hur? knowing so much, shall i dispute with myself or you about the unnecessaries--about the form of my soul? or where it is to abide? or whether it eats and drinks? or is winged, or wears this or that? no. it is more becoming to trust in god. the beautiful in this world is all from his hand declaring the perfection of taste; he is the author of all form; he clothes the lily, he colors the rose, he distils the dew-drop, he makes the music of nature; in a word, he organized us for this life, and imposed its conditions; and they are such guaranty to me that, trustful as a little child, i leave to him the organization of my soul, and every arrangement for the life after death. i know he loves me." the good man stopped and drank, and the hand carrying the cup to his lips trembled; and both iras and ben-hur shared his emotion and remained silent. upon the latter a light was breaking. he was beginning to see, as never before, that there might be a spiritual kingdom of more import to men than any earthly empire; and that after all a saviour would indeed be a more godly gift than the greatest king. "i might ask you now," said balthasar, continuing, "whether this human life, so troubled and brief, is preferable to the perfect and everlasting life designed for the soul? but take the question, and think of it for yourself, formulating thus: supposing both to be equally happy, is one hour more desirable than one year? from that then advance to the final inquiry, what are threescore and ten years on earth to all eternity with god? by-and-by, son of hur, thinking in such manner, you will be filled with the meaning of the fact i present you next, to me the most amazing of all events, and in its effects the most sorrowful; it is that the very idea of life as a soul is a light almost gone out in the world. here and there, to be sure, a philosopher may be found who will talk to you of a soul, likening it to a principle; but because philosophers take nothing upon faith, they will not go the length of admitting a soul to be a being, and on that account its purpose is compressed darkness to them. "everything animate has a mind measurable by its wants. is there to you no meaning in the singularity that power in full degree to speculate upon the future was given to man alone? by the sign as i see it, god meant to make us know ourselves created for another and a better life, such being in fact the greatest need of our nature. but, alas! into what a habit the nations have fallen! they live for the day, as if the present were the all in all, and go about saying, 'there is no to-morrow after death; or if there be, since we know nothing about it, be it a care unto itself.' so when death calls them, 'come,' they may not enter into enjoyment of the glorious after-life because of their unfitness. that is to say, the ultimate happiness of man was everlasting life in the society of god. alas, o son of hur, that i should say it! but as well yon sleeping camel constant in such society as the holiest priests this day serving the highest altars in the most renowned temples. so much are men given to this lower earthly life! so nearly have they forgotten that other which is to come! "see now, i pray you, that which is to be saved to us. "for my part, speaking with the holiness of truth, i would not give one hour of life as a soul for a thousand years of life as a man." here the egyptian seemed to become unconscious of companionship and fall away into abstraction. "this life has its problems," he said, "and there are men who spend their days trying to solve them; but what are they to the problems of the hereafter? what is there like knowing god? not a scroll of the mysteries, but the mysteries themselves would for that hour at least lie before me revealed; even the innermost and most awful--the power which now we shrink from thought of--which rimmed the void with shores, and lighted the darkness, and out of nothing appointed the universe. all places would be opened. i would be filled with divine knowledge; i would see all glories, taste all delights; i would revel in being. and if, at the end of the hour, it should please god to tell me, 'i take thee into my service forever,' the furthest limit of desire would be passed; after which the attainable ambitions of life, and its joys of whatever kind, would not be so much as the tinkling of little bells." balthasar paused as if to recover from very ecstasy of feeling; and to ben-hur it seemed the speech had been the delivery of a soul speaking for itself. "i pray pardon, son of hur," the good man continued, with a bow the gravity of which was relieved by the tender look that followed it, "i meant to leave the life of a soul, its conditions, pleasures, superiority, to your own reflection and finding out. the joy of the thought has betrayed me into much speech. i set out to show, though ever so faintly, the reason of my faith. it grieves me that words are so weak. but help yourself to truth. consider first the excellence of the existence which was reserved for us after death, and give heed to the feelings and impulses the thought is sure to awaken in you--heed them, i say, because they are your own soul astir, doing what it can to urge you in the right way. consider next that the afterlife has become so obscured as to justify calling it a lost light. if you find it, rejoice, o son of hur--rejoice as i do, though in beggary of words. for then, besides the great gift which is to be saved to us, you will have found the need of a saviour so infinitely greater than the need of a king; and he we are going to meet will not longer hold place in your hope a warrior with a sword or a monarch with a crown. "a practical question presents itself--how shall we know him at sight? if you continue in your belief as to his character--that he is to be a king as herod was--of course you will keep on until you meet a man clothed in purple and with a sceptre. on the other hand, he i look for will be one poor, humble, undistinguished--a man in appearance as other men; and the sign by which i will know him will be never so simple. he will offer to show me and all mankind the way to the eternal life; the beautiful pure life of the soul." the company sat a moment in silence which was broken by balthasar. "let us arise now," he said--"let us arise and set forward again. what i have said has caused a return of impatience to see him who is ever in my thought; and if i seem to hurry you, o son of hur--and you, my daughter--be that my excuse." at his signal the slave brought them wine in a skin bottle; and they poured and drank, and shaking the lap-cloths out arose. while the slave restored the tent and wares to the box under the houdah, and the arab brought up the horses, the three principals laved themselves in the pool. in a little while they were retracing their steps back through the wady, intending to overtake the caravan if it had passed them by. chapter iv the caravan, stretched out upon the desert, was very picturesque; in motion, however, it was like a lazy serpent. by-and-by its stubborn dragging became intolerably irksome to balthasar, patient as he was; so, at his suggestion, the party determined to go on by themselves. if the reader be young, or if he has yet a sympathetic recollection of the romanticisms of his youth, he will relish the pleasure with which ben-hur, riding near the camel of the egyptians, gave a last look at the head of the straggling column almost out of sight on the shimmering plain. to be definite as may be, and perfectly confidential, ben-hur found a certain charm in iras's presence. if she looked down upon him from her high place, he made haste to get near her; if she spoke to him, his heart beat out of its usual time. the desire to be agreeable to her was a constant impulse. objects on the way, though ever so common, became interesting the moment she called attention to them; a black swallow in the air pursued by her pointing finger went off in a halo; if a bit of quartz or a flake of mica was seen to sparkle in the drab sand under kissing of the sun, at a word he turned aside and brought it to her; and if she threw it away in disappointment, far from thinking of the trouble he had been put to, he was sorry it proved so worthless, and kept a lookout for something better--a ruby, perchance a diamond. so the purple of the far mountains became intensely deep and rich if she distinguished it with an exclamation of praise; and when, now and then, the curtain of the houdah fell down, it seemed a sudden dulness had dropped from the sky bedraggling all the landscape. thus disposed, yielding to the sweet influence, what shall save him from the dangers there are in days of the close companionship with the fair egyptian incident to the solitary journey they were entered upon? for that there is no logic in love, nor the least mathematical element, it is simply natural that she shall fashion the result who has the wielding of the influence. to quicken the conclusion, there were signs, too, that she well knew the influence she was exercising over him. from some place under hand she had since morning drawn a caul of golden coins, and adjusted it so the gleaming strings fell over her forehead and upon her cheeks, blending lustrously with the flowing of her blue-black hair. from the same safe deposit she had also produced articles of jewelry--rings for finger and ear, bracelets, a necklace of pearls--also, a shawl embroidered with threads of fine gold--the effect of all which she softened with a scarf of indian lace skillfully folded about her throat and shoulders. and so arrayed, she plied ben-hur with countless coquetries of speech and manner; showering him with smiles; laughing in flute-like tremolo--and all the while following him with glances, now melting-tender, now sparkling-bright. by such play antony was weaned from his glory; yet she who wrought his ruin was really not half so beautiful as this her countrywoman. and so to them the nooning came, and the evening. the sun at its going down behind a spur of the old bashan, left the party halted by a pool of clear water of the rains out in the abilene desert. there the tent was pitched, the supper eaten, and preparations made for the night. the second watch was ben-hur's; and he was standing, spear in hand, within arm-reach of the dozing camel, looking awhile at the stars, then over the veiled land. the stillness was intense; only after long spells a warm breath of wind would sough past, but without disturbing him, for yet in thought he entertained the egyptian, recounting her charms, and sometimes debating how she came by his secrets, the uses she might make of them, and the course he should pursue with her. and through all the debate love stood off but a little way--a strong temptation, the stronger of a gleam of policy behind. at the very moment he was most inclined to yield to the allurement, a hand very fair even in the moonless gloaming was laid softly upon his shoulder. the touch thrilled him; he started, turned--and she was there. "i thought you asleep," he said, presently. "sleep is for old people and little children, and i came out to look at my friends, the stars in the south--those now holding the curtains of midnight over the nile. but confess yourself surprised!" he took the hand which had fallen from his shoulder, and said, "well, was it by an enemy?" "oh no! to be an enemy is to hate, and hating is a sickness which isis will not suffer to come near me. she kissed me, you should know, on the heart when i was a child." "your speech does not sound in the least like your father's. are you not of his faith?" "i might have been"--and she laughed low--"i might have been had i seen what he has. i may be when i get old like him. there should be no religion for youth, only poetry and philosophy; and no poetry except such as is the inspiration of wine and mirth and love, and no philosophy that does not nod excuse for follies which cannot outlive a season. my father's god is too awful for me. i failed to find him in the grove of daphne. he was never heard of as present in the atria of rome. but, son of hur, i have a wish." "a wish! where is he who could say it no?" "i will try you." "tell it then." "it is very simple. i wish to help you." she drew closer as she spoke. he laughed, and replied, lightly, "o egypt!--i came near saying dear egypt!--does not the sphinx abide in your country?" "well?" "you are one of its riddles. be merciful, and give me a little clew to help me understand you. in what do i need help? and how can you help me?" she took her hand from him, and, turning to the camel, spoke to it endearingly, and patted its monstrous head as it were a thing of beauty. "o thou last and swiftest and stateliest of the herds of job! sometimes thou, too, goest stumbling, because the way is rough and stony and the burden grievous. how is it thou knowest the kind intent by a word; and always makest answer gratefully, though the help offered is from a woman? i will kiss thee, thou royal brute!"--she stooped and touched its broad forehead with her lips, saying immediately, "because in thy intelligence there is no suspicion!" and ben-hur, restraining himself, said calmly, "the reproach has not failed its mark, o egypt! i seem to say thee no; may it not be because i am under seal of honor, and by my silence cover the lives and fortunes of others?" "may be!" she said, quickly. "it is so." he shrank a step, and asked, his voice sharp with amazement, "what all knowest thou?" she answered, after a laugh, "why do men deny that the senses of women are sharper than theirs? your face has been under my eyes all day. i had but to look at it to see you bore some weight in mind; and to find the weight, what had i to do more than recall your debates with my father? son of hur!"--she lowered her voice with singular dexterity, and, going nearer, spoke so her breath was warm upon his cheek--"son of hur! he thou art going to find is to be king of the jews, is he not?" his heart beat fast and hard. "a king of the jews like herod, only greater," she continued. he looked away--into the night, up to the stars; then his eyes met hers, and lingered there; and her breath was on his lips, so near was she. "since morning," she said, further, "we have been having visions. now if i tell you mine, will you serve me as well? what! silent still?" she pushed his hand away, and turned as if to go; but he caught her, and said, eagerly, "stay--stay and speak!" she went back, and with her hand upon his shoulder, leaned against him; and he put his arm around her, and drew her close, very close; and in the caress was the promise she asked. "speak, and tell me thy visions, o egypt, dear egypt! a prophet--nay, not the tishbite, not even the lawgiver--could have refused an asking of thine. i am at thy will. be merciful--merciful, i pray." the entreaty passed apparently unheard, for looking up and nestling in his embrace, she said, slowly, "the vision which followed me was of magnificent war--war on land and sea--with clashing of arms and rush of armies, as if caesar and pompey were come again, and octavius and antony. a cloud of dust and ashes arose and covered the world, and rome was not any more; all dominion returned to the east; out of the cloud issued another race of heroes; and there were vaster satrapies and brighter crowns for giving away than were ever known. and, son of hur, while the vision was passing, and after it was gone, i kept asking myself, 'what shall he not have who served the king earliest and best?'" again ben-hur recoiled. the question was the very question which had been with him all day. presently he fancied he had the clew he wanted. "so," he said, "i have you now. the satrapies and crowns are the things to which you would help me. i see, i see! and there never was such queen as you would be, so shrewd, so beautiful, so royal--never! but, alas, dear egypt! by the vision as you show it me the prizes are all of war, and you are but a woman, though isis did kiss you on the heart. and crowns are starry gifts beyond your power of help, unless, indeed, you have a way to them more certain than that of the sword. if so, o egypt, egypt, show it me, and i will walk in it, if only for your sake." she removed his arm, and said, "spread your cloak upon the sand--here, so i can rest against the camel. i will sit, and tell you a story which came down the nile to alexandria, where i had it." he did as she said, first planting the spear in the ground near by. "and what shall i do?" he said, ruefully, when she was seated. "in alexandria is it customary for the listeners to sit or stand?" from the comfortable place against the old domestic she answered, laughing, "the audiences of story-tellers are wilful, and sometimes they do as they please." without more ado he stretched himself upon the sand, and put her arm about his neck. "i am ready," he said. and directly she began: how the beautiful came to the earth. "you must know, in the first place, that isis was--and, for that matter, she may yet be--the most beautiful of deities; and osiris, her husband, though wise and powerful, was sometimes stung with jealousy of her, for only in their loves are the gods like mortals. "the palace of the divine wife was of silver, crowning the tallest mountain in the moon, and thence she passed often to the sun, in the heart of which, a source of eternal light, osiris kept his palace of gold too shining for men to look at. "one time--there are no days with the gods--while she was full pleasantly with him on the roof of the golden palace, she chanced to look, and afar, just on the line of the universe, saw indra passing with an army of simians, all borne upon the backs of flying eagles. he, the friend of living things--so with much love is indra called--was returning from his final war with the hideous rakshakas--returning victorious; and in his suite were rama, the hero, and sita, his bride, who, next to isis herself, was the very most beautiful. and isis arose, and took off her girdle of stars, and waved it to sita--to sita, mind you--waved it in glad salute. and instantly, between the marching host and the two on the golden roof, a something as of night fell, and shut out the view; but it was not night--only the frown of osiris. "it happened the subject of his speech that moment was such as none else than they could think of; and he arose, and said, majestically, 'get thee home. i will do the work myself. to make a perfectly happy being i do not need thy help. get thee gone.' "now isis had eyes large as those of the white cow which in the temple eats sweet grasses from the hands of the faithful even while they say their prayers; and her eyes were the color of the cows, and quite as tender. and she too arose and said, smiling as she spoke, so her look was little more than the glow of the moon in the hazy harvest-month, 'farewell, good my lord. you will call me presently, i know; for without me you cannot make the perfectly happy creature of which you were thinking, any more'--and she stopped to laugh, knowing well the truth of the saying--'any more, my lord, than you yourself can be perfectly happy without me.' "'we will see,' he said. "and she went her way, and took her needles and her chair, and on the roof of the silver palace sat watching and knitting. "and the will of osiris, at labor in his mighty breast, was as the sound of the mills of all the other gods grinding at once, so loud that the near stars rattled like seeds in a parched pod; and some dropped out and were lost. and while the sound kept on she waited and knit; nor lost she ever a stitch the while. "soon a spot appeared in the space over towards the sun; and it grew until it was great as the moon, and then she knew a world was intended; but when, growing and growing, at last it cast her planet in the shade, all save the little point lighted by her presence, she knew how very angry he was; yet she knit away, assured that the end would be as she had said. "and so came the earth, at first but a cold gray mass hanging listless in the hollow void. later she saw it separate into divisions; here a plain, there a mountain, yonder a sea, all as yet without a sparkle. and then, by a river-bank, something moved; and she stopped her knitting for wonder. the something arose, and lifted its hands to the sun in sign of knowledge whence it had its being. and this first man was beautiful to see. and about him were the creations we call nature--the grass, the trees, birds, beasts, even the insects and reptiles. "and for a time the man went about happy in his life: it was easy to see how happy he was. and in the lull of the sound of the laboring will isis heard a scornful laugh, and presently the words, blown across from the sun, "'thy help, indeed! behold a creature perfectly happy!' "and isis fell to knitting again, for she was patient as osiris was strong; and if he could work, she could wait; and wait she did, knowing that mere life is not enough to keep anything content. "and sure enough. not long until the divine wife could see a change in the man. he grew listless, and kept to one place prone by the river, and looked up but seldom, and then always with a moody face. interest was dying in him. and when she made sure of it, even while she was saying to herself, 'the creature is sick of his being,' there was a roar of the creative will at work again, and in a twinkling the earth, theretofore all a thing of coldest gray, flamed with colors; the mountains swam in purple, the plains bearing grass and trees turned green, the sea blue, and the clouds varied infinitely." and the man sprang up and clapped his hands, for he was cured and happy again. "and isis smiled, and knit away, saying to herself, 'it was well thought, and will do a little while; but mere beauty in a world is not enough for such a being. my lord must try again.' "with the last word, the thunder of the will at work shook the moon, and, looking, isis dropped her knitting and clapped her hands; for theretofore everything on the earth but the man had been fixed to a given place; now all living, and much that was not living, received the gift of motion. the birds took to wing joyously; beasts great and small went about, each in its way; the trees shook their verdurous branches, nodding to the enamoured winds; the rivers ran to the seas, and the seas tossed in their beds and rolled in crested waves, and with surging and ebbing painted the shores with glistening foam; and over all the clouds floated like sailed ships unanchored. "and the man rose up happy as a child; whereat osiris was pleased, so that he shouted, 'ha, ha! see how well i am doing without thee!' "the good wife took up her work, and answered ever so quietly, 'it was well thought, my lord--ever so well thought--and will serve awhile.' "and as before, so again. the sight of things in motion became to the man as of course. the birds in flight, the rivers running, the seas in tumult of action, ceased to amuse him, and he pined again even worse. "and isis waited, saying to herself, 'poor creature! he is more wretched than ever.' "and, as if he heard the thought, osiris stirred, and the noise of his will shook the universe; the sun in its central seat alone stood firm. and isis looked, but saw no change; then while she was smiling, assured that her lord's last invention was sped, suddenly the creature arose, and seemed to listen; and his face brightened, and he clapped his hands for joy, for sounds were heard the first time on earth--sounds dissonant, sounds harmonious. the winds murmured in the trees; the birds sang, each kind a song of its own, or chattered in speech; the rivulets running to the rivers became so many harpers with harps of silver strings all tinkling together; and the rivers running to the seas surged on in solemn accord, while the seas beat the land to a tune of thunder. there was music, music everywhere, and all the time; so the man could not but be happy. "then isis mused, thinking how well, how wondrous well, her lord was doing; but presently she shook her head: color, motion, sound--and she repeated them slowly--there was no element else of beauty except form and light, and to them the earth had been born. now, indeed, osiris was done; and if the creature should again fall off into wretchedness, her help must be asked; and her fingers flew--two, three, five, even ten stitches she took at once. "and the man was happy a long time--longer than ever before; it seemed, indeed, he would never tire again. but isis knew better; and she waited and waited, nor minded the many laughs flung at her from the sun; she waited and waited, and at last saw signs of the end. sounds became familiar to him, and in their range, from the chirruping of the cricket under the roses to the roar of the seas and the bellow of the clouds in storm, there was not anything unusual. and he pined and sickened, and sought his place of moping by the river, and at last fell down motionless. "then isis in pity spoke. "'my lord,' she said, 'the creature is dying.' "but osiris, though seeing it all, held his peace; he could do no more. "'shall i help him?' she asked. "osiris was too proud to speak. "then isis took the last stitch in her knitting, and gathering her work in a roll of brilliance flung it off--flung it so it fell close to the man. and he, hearing the sound of the fall so near by, looked up, and lo! a woman--the first woman--was stooping to help him! she reached a hand to him; he caught it and arose; and nevermore was miserable, but evermore happy." "such, o son of hur! is the genesis of the beautiful, as they tell it on the nile." she paused. "a pretty invention, and cunning," he said, directly; "but it is imperfect. what did osiris afterwards?" "oh yes," she replied. "he called the divine wife back to the sun, and they went on all pleasantly together, each helping the other." "and shall i not do as the first man?" he carried the hand resting upon his neck to his lips. "in love--in love!" he said. his head dropped softly into her lap. "you will find the king," she said, placing her other hand caressingly upon his head. "you will go on and find the king and serve him. with your sword you will earn his richest gifts; and his best soldier will be my hero." he turned his face, and saw hers close above. in all the sky there was that moment nothing so bright to him as her eyes, enshadowed though they were. presently he sat up, and put his arms about her, and kissed her passionately, saying, "o egypt, egypt! if the king has crowns in gift, one shall be mine; and i will bring it and put it here over the place my lips have marked. you shall be a queen--my queen--no one more beautiful! and we will be ever, ever so happy!" "and you will tell me everything, and let me help you in all?" she said, kissing him in return. the question chilled his fervor. "is it not enough that i love you?" he asked. "perfect love means perfect faith," she replied. "but never mind--you will know me better." she took her hand from him and arose. "you are cruel," he said. moving away, she stopped by the camel, and touched its front face with her lips. "o thou noblest of thy kind!--that, because there is no suspicion in thy love." an instant, and she was gone. chapter v the third day of the journey the party nooned by the river jabbok, where there were a hundred or more men, mostly of peraea, resting themselves and their beasts. hardly had they dismounted, before a man came to them with a pitcher of water and a bowl, and offered them drink; as they received the attention with much courtesy, he said, looking at the camel, "i am returning from the jordan, where just now there are many people from distant parts, travelling as you are, illustrious friend; but they had none of them the equal of your servant here. a very noble animal. may i ask of what breed he is sprung?" balthasar answered, and sought his rest; but ben-hur, more curious, took up the remark. "at what place on the river are the people?" he asked. "at bethabara." "it used to be a lonesome ford," said ben-hur. "i cannot understand how it can have become of such interest." "i see," the stranger replied; "you, too, are from abroad, and have not heard the good tidings." "what tidings?" "well, a man has appeared out of the wilderness--a very holy man--with his mouth full of strange words, which take hold of all who hear them. he calls himself john the nazarite, son of zacharias, and says he is the messenger sent before the messiah." even iras listened closely while the man continued: "they say of this john that he has spent his life from childhood in a cave down by en-gedi, praying and living more strictly than the essenes. crowds go to hear him preach. i went to hear him with the rest." "have all these, your friends, been there?" "most of them are going; a few are coming away." "what does he preach?" "a new doctrine--one never before taught in israel, as all say. he calls it repentance and baptism. the rabbis do not know what to make of him; nor do we. some have asked him if he is the christ, others if he is elias; but to them all he has the answer, 'i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the lord!'" at this point the man was called away by his friends; as he was going, balthasar spoke. "good stranger!" he said, tremulously, "tell us if we shall find the preacher at the place you left him." "yes, at bethabara." "who should this nazarite be?" said ben-hur to iras, "if not the herald of our king?" in so short a time he had come to regard the daughter as more interested in the mysterious personage he was looking for than the aged father! nevertheless, the latter with a positive glow in his sunken eyes half arose, and said, "let us make haste. i am not tired." they turned away to help the slave. there was little conversation between the three at the stopping-place for the night west of ramoth-gilead. "let us arise early, son of hur," said the old man. "the saviour may come, and we not there." "the king cannot be far behind his herald," iras whispered, as she prepared to take her place on the camel. "to-morrow we will see!" ben-hur replied, kissing her hand. next day about the third hour, out of the pass through which, skirting the base of mount gilead, they had journeyed since leaving ramoth, the party came upon the barren steppe east of the sacred river. opposite them they saw the upper limit of the old palm lands of jericho, stretching off to the hill-country of judea. ben-hur's blood ran quickly, for he knew the ford was close at hand. "content you, good balthasar," he said; "we are almost there." the driver quickened the camel's pace. soon they caught sight of booths and tents and tethered animals; and then of the river, and a multitude collected down close by the bank, and yet another multitude on the western shore. knowing that the preacher was preaching, they made greater haste; yet, as they were drawing near, suddenly there was a commotion in the mass, and it began to break up and disperse. they were too late! "let us stay here," said ben-hur to balthasar, who was wringing his hands. "the nazarite may come this way." the people were too intent upon what they had heard, and too busy in discussion, to notice the new-comers. when some hundreds were gone by, and it seemed the opportunity to so much as see the nazarite was lost to the latter, up the river not far away they beheld a person coming towards them of such singular appearance they forgot all else. outwardly the man was rude and uncouth, even savage. over a thin, gaunt visage of the hue of brown parchment, over his shoulders and down his back below the middle, in witch-like locks, fell a covering of sun-scorched hair. his eyes were burning-bright. all his right side was naked, and of the color of his face, and quite as meagre; a shirt of the coarsest camel's-hair--coarse as bedouin tent-cloth--clothed the rest of his person to the knees, being gathered at the waist by a broad girdle of untanned leather. his feet were bare. a scrip, also of untanned leather, was fastened to the girdle. he used a knotted staff to help him forward. his movement was quick, decided, and strangely watchful. every little while he tossed the unruly hair from his eyes, and peered round as if searching for somebody. the fair egyptian surveyed the son of the desert with surprise, not to say disgust. presently, raising the curtain of the houdah, she spoke to ben-hur, who sat his horse near by. "is that the herald of thy king?" "it is the nazarite," he replied, without looking up. in truth, he was himself more than disappointed. despite his familiarity with the ascetic colonists in en-gedi--their dress, their indifference to all worldly opinion, their constancy to vows which gave them over to every imaginable suffering of body, and separated them from others of their kind as absolutely as if they had not been born like them--and notwithstanding he had been notified on the way to look for a nazarite whose simple description of himself was a voice from the wilderness--still ben-hur's dream of the king who was to be so great and do so much had colored all his thought of him, so that he never doubted to find in the forerunner some sign or token of the goodliness and royalty he was announcing. gazing at the savage figure before him, the long trains of courtiers whom he had been used to see in the thermae and imperial corridors at rome arose before him, forcing a comparison. shocked, shamed, bewildered, he could only answer, "it is the nazarite." with balthasar it was very different. the ways of god, he knew, were not as men would have them. he had seen the saviour a child in a manger, and was prepared by his faith for the rude and simple in connection with the divine reappearance. so he kept his seat, his hands crossed upon his breast, his lips moving in prayer. he was not expecting a king. in this time of such interest to the new-comers, and in which they were so differently moved, another man had been sitting by himself on a stone at the edge of the river, thinking yet, probably, of the sermon he had been hearing. now, however, he arose, and walked slowly up from the shore, in a course to take him across the line the nazarite was pursuing and bring him near the camel. and the two--the preacher and the stranger--kept on until they came, the former within twenty yards of the animal, the latter within ten feet. then the preacher stopped, and flung the hair from his eyes, looked at the stranger, threw his hands up as a signal to all the people in sight; and they also stopped, each in the pose of a listener; and when the hush was perfect, slowly the staff in the nazarite's right hand came down and pointed to the stranger. all those who before were but listeners became watchers also. at the same instant, under the same impulse, balthasar and ben-hur fixed their gaze upon the man pointed out, and both took the same impression, only in different degree. he was moving slowly towards them in a clear space a little to their front, a form slightly above the average in stature, and slender, even delicate. his action was calm and deliberate, like that habitual to men much given to serious thought upon grave subjects; and it well became his costume, which was an undergarment full-sleeved and reaching to the ankles, and an outer robe called the talith; on his left arm he carried the usual handkerchief for the head, the red fillet swinging loose down his side. except the fillet and a narrow border of blue at the lower edge of the talith, his attire was of linen yellowed with dust and road stains. possibly the exception should be extended to the tassels, which were blue and white, as prescribed by law for rabbis. his sandals were of the simplest kind. he was without scrip or girdle or staff. these points of appearance, however, the three beholders observed briefly, and rather as accessories to the head and face of the man, which--especially the latter--were the real sources of the spell they caught in common with all who stood looking at him. the head was open to the cloudless light, except as it was draped with hair long and slightly waved, and parted in the middle, and auburn in tint, with a tendency to reddish golden where most strongly touched by the sun. under a broad, low forehead, under black well arched brows, beamed eyes dark-blue and large, and softened to exceeding tenderness by lashes of the great length sometimes seen on children, but seldom, if ever, on men. as to the other features, it would have been difficult to decide whether they were greek or jewish. the delicacy of the nostrils and mouth was unusual to the latter type; and when it was taken into account with the gentleness of the eyes, the pallor of the complexion, the fine texture of the hair, and the softness of the beard, which fell in waves over his throat to his breast, never a soldier but would have laughed at him in encounter, never a woman who would not have confided in him at sight, never a child that would not, with quick instinct, have given him its hand and whole artless trust; nor might any one have said he was not beautiful. the features, it should be further said, were ruled by a certain expression which, as the viewer chose, might with equal correctness have been called the effect of intelligence, love, pity, or sorrow; though, in better speech, it was a blending of them all--a look easy to fancy as the mark of a sinless soul doomed to the sight and understanding of the utter sinfulness of those among whom it was passing; yet withal no one could have observed the face with a thought of weakness in the man; so, at least, would not they who know that the qualities mentioned--love, sorrow, pity--are the results of a consciousness of strength to bear suffering oftener than strength to do; such has been the might of martyrs and devotees and the myriads written down in saintly calendars. and such, indeed, was the air of this one. slowly he drew near--nearer the three. now ben-hur, mounted and spear in hand, was an object to claim the glance of a king; yet the eyes of the man approaching were all the time raised above him--and not to iras, whose loveliness has been so often remarked, but to balthasar, the old and unserviceable. the hush was profound. presently the nazarite, still pointing with his staff, cried, in a loud voice, "behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world!" the many standing still, arrested by the action of the speaker, and listening for what might follow, were struck with awe by words so strange and past their understanding; upon balthasar they were overpowering. he was there to see once more the redeemer of men. the faith which had brought him the singular privileges of the time long gone abode yet in his heart; and if now it gave him a power of vision above that of his fellows--a power to see and know him for whom he was looking--better than calling the power a miracle, let it be thought of as the faculty of a soul not yet entirely released from the divine relations to which it had been formerly admitted, or as the fitting reward of a life in that age so without examples of holiness--a life itself a miracle. the ideal of his faith was before him, perfect in face, form, dress, action, age; and he was in its view, and the view was recognition. ah, now if something should happen to identify the stranger beyond all doubt! and that was what did happen. exactly at the fitting moment, as if to assure the trembling egyptian, the nazarite repeated the outcry, "behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world!" balthasar fell upon his knees. for him there was no need of explanation; and as if the nazarite knew it, he turned to those more immediately about him staring in wonder, and continued: "this is he of whom i said, after me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. and i knew him not: but that he should be manifest to israel, therefore am i come baptizing with water. i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. and i knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the holy ghost. and i saw and bare record, that this"--he paused, his staff still pointing at the stranger in the white garments, as if to give a more absolute certainty to both his words and the conclusions intended--"i bare record, that this is the son of god!" "it is he, it is he!" balthasar cried, with upraised tearful eyes. next moment he sank down insensible. in this time, it should be remembered, ben-hur was studying the face of the stranger, though with an interest entirely different. he was not insensible to its purity of feature, and its thoughtfulness, tenderness, humility, and holiness; but just then there was room in his mind for but one thought--who is this man? and what? messiah or king? never was apparition more unroyal. nay, looking at that calm, benignant countenance, the very idea of war and conquest, and lust of dominion, smote him like a profanation. he said, as if speaking to his own heart, balthasar must be right and simonides wrong. this man has not come to rebuild the throne of solomon; he has neither the nature nor the genius of herod; king he may be, but not of another and greater than rome. it should be understood now that this was not a conclusion with ben-hur, but an impression merely; and while it was forming, while yet he gazed at the wonderful countenance, his memory began to throe and struggle. "surely," he said to himself, "i have seen the man; but where and when?" that the look, so calm, so pitiful, so loving, had somewhere in a past time beamed upon him as that moment it was beaming upon balthasar became an assurance. faintly at first, at last a clear light, a burst of sunshine, the scene by the well at nazareth what time the roman guard was dragging him to the galleys returned, and all his being thrilled. those hands had helped him when he was perishing. the face was one of the pictures he had carried in mind ever since. in the effusion of feeling excited, the explanation of the preacher was lost by him, all but the last words--words so marvellous that the world yet rings with them: "--this is the son of god!" ben-hur leaped from his horse to render homage to his benefactor; but iras cried to him, "help, son of hur, help, or my father will die!" he stopped, looked back, then hurried to her assistance. she gave him a cup; and leaving the slave to bring the camel to its knees, he ran to the river for water. the stranger was gone when he came back. at last balthasar was restored to consciousness. stretching forth his hands, he asked, feebly, "where is he?" "who?" asked iras. an intense instant interest shone upon the good man's face, as if a last wish had been gratified, and he answered, "he--the redeemer--the son of god, whom i have seen again." "believest thou so?" iras asked in a low voice of ben-hur. "the time is full of wonders; let us wait," was all he said. and next day while the three were listening to him, the nazarite broke off in mid-speech, saying reverently, "behold the lamb of god!" looking to where he pointed, they beheld the stranger again. as ben-hur surveyed the slender figure, and holy beautiful countenance compassionate to sadness, a new idea broke upon him. "balthasar is right--so is simonides. may not the redeemer be a king also?" and he asked one at his side, "who is the man walking yonder?" the other laughed mockingly, and replied, "he is the son of a carpenter over in nazareth." book eighth "who could resist? who in this universe? she did so breathe ambrosia, so immerse my fine existence in a golden clime. she took me like a child of suckling-time, and cradled me in roses. thus condemn'd, the current of my former life was stemm'd, and to this arbitrary queen of sense i bow'd a tranced vassal."--keats, endymion. "i am the resurrection and the life." chapter i "esther--esther! speak to the servant below that he may bring me a cup of water." "would you not rather have wine, father?" "let him bring both." this was in the summer-house upon the roof of the old palace of the hurs in jerusalem. from the parapet overlooking the court-yard esther called to a man in waiting there; at the same moment another man-servant came up the steps and saluted respectfully. "a package for the master," he said, giving her a letter enclosed in linen cloth, tied and sealed. for the satisfaction of the reader, we stop to say that it is the twenty-first day of march, nearly three years after the annunciation of the christ at bethabara. in the meanwhile, malluch, acting for ben-hur, who could not longer endure the emptiness and decay of his father's house, had bought it from pontius pilate; and, in process of repair, gates, courts, lewens, stairways, terraces, rooms, and roof had been cleansed and thoroughly restored; not only was there no reminder left of the tragic circumstances so ruinous to the family, but the refurnishment was in a style richer than before. at every point, indeed, a visitor was met by evidences of the higher tastes acquired by the young proprietor during his years of residence in the villa by misenum and in the roman capital. now it should not be inferred from this explanation that ben-hur had publicly assumed ownership of the property. in his opinion, the hour for that was not yet come. neither had he yet taken his proper name. passing the time in the labors of preparation in galilee, he waited patiently the action of the nazarene, who became daily more and more a mystery to him, and by prodigies done, often before his eyes, kept him in a state of anxious doubt both as to his character and mission. occasionally he came up to the holy city, stopping at the paternal house; always, however, as a stranger and a guest. these visits of ben-hur, it should also be observed, were for more than mere rest from labor. balthasar and iras made their home in the palace; and the charm of the daughter was still upon him with all its original freshness, while the father, though feebler in body, held him an unflagging listener to speeches of astonishing power, urging the divinity of the wandering miracle-worker of whom they were all so expectant. as to simonides and esther, they had arrived from antioch only a few days before this their reappearance--a wearisome journey to the merchant, borne, as he had been, in a palanquin swung between two camels, which, in their careening, did not always keep the same step. but now that he was come, the good man, it seemed, could not see enough of his native land. he delighted in the perch upon the roof, and spent most of his day hours there seated in an arm-chair, the duplicate of that one kept for him in the cabinet over the store-house by the orontes. in the shade of the summer-house he could drink fully of the inspiring air lying lightly upon the familiar hills; he could better watch the sun rise, run its course, and set as it used to in the far-gone, not a habit lost; and with esther by him it was so much easier up there close to the sky, to bring back the other esther, his love in youth, his wife, dearer growing with the passage of years. and yet he was not unmindful of business. every day a messenger brought him a despatch from sanballat, in charge of the big commerce behind; and every day a despatch left him for sanballat with directions of such minuteness of detail as to exclude all judgment save his own, and all chances except those the almighty has refused to submit to the most mindful of men. as esther started in return to the summer-house, the sunlight fell softly upon the dustless roof, showing her a woman now--small, graceful in form, of regular features, rosy with youth and health, bright with intelligence, beautiful with the outshining of a devoted nature--a woman to be loved because loving was a habit of life irrepressible with her. she looked at the package as she turned, paused, looked at it a second time more closely than at first; and the blood rose reddening her cheeks--the seal was ben-hur's. with quickened steps she hastened on. simonides held the package a moment while he also inspected the seal. breaking it open, he gave her the roll it contained. "read," he said. his eyes were upon her as he spoke, and instantly a troubled expression fell upon his own face. "you know who it is from, i see, esther." "yes--from--our master." though the manner was halting, she met his gaze with modest sincerity. slowly his chin sank into the roll of flesh puffed out under it like a cushion. "you love him, esther," he said, quietly. "yes," she answered. "have you thought well of what you do?" "i have tried not to think of him, father, except as the master to whom i am dutifully bound. the effort has not helped me to strength." "a good girl, a good girl, even as thy mother was," he said, dropping into reverie, from which she roused him by unrolling the paper. "the lord forgive me, but--but thy love might not have been vainly given had i kept fast hold of all i had, as i might have done--such power is there in money!" "it would have been worse for me had you done so, father; for then i had been unworthy a look from him, and without pride in you. shall i not read now?" "in a moment," he said. "let me, for your sake, my child, show you the worst. seeing it with me may make it less terrible to you. his love, esther, is all bestowed." "i know it," she said, calmly. "the egyptian has him in her net," he continued. "she has the cunning of her race, with beauty to help her--much beauty, great cunning; but, like her race again, no heart. the daughter who despises her father will bring her husband to grief." "does she that?" simonides went on: "balthasar is a wise man who has been wonderfully favored for a gentile, and his faith becomes him; yet she makes a jest of it. i heard her say, speaking of him yesterday, 'the follies of youth are excusable; nothing is admirable in the aged except wisdom, and when that goes from them, they should die.' a cruel speech, fit for a roman. i applied it to myself, knowing a feebleness like her father's will come to me also--nay, it is not far off. but you, esther, will never say of me--no, never--'it were better he were dead.' no, your mother was a daughter of judah." with half-formed tears, she kissed him, and said, "i am my mother's child." "yes, and my daughter--my daughter, who is to me all the temple was to solomon." after a silence, he laid his hand upon her shoulder, and resumed: "when he has taken the egyptian to wife, esther, he will think of you with repentance and much calling of the spirit; for at last he will awake to find himself but the minister of her bad ambition. rome is the centre of all her dreams. to her he is the son of arrius the duumvir, not the son of hur, prince of jerusalem." esther made no attempt to conceal the effect of these words. "save him, father! it is not too late!" she said, entreatingly. he answered, with a dubious smile, "a man drowning may be saved; not so a man in love." "but you have influence with him. he is alone in the world. show him his danger. tell him what a woman she is." "that might save him from her. would it give him to you, esther? no," and his brows fell darkly over his eyes. "i am a servant, as my fathers were for generations; yet i could not say to him, 'lo, master, my daughter! she is fairer than the egyptian, and loves thee better!' i have caught too much from years of liberty and direction. the words would blister my tongue. the stones upon the old hills yonder would turn in their beds for shame when i go out to them. no, by the patriarchs, esther, i would rather lay us both with your mother to sleep as she sleeps!" a blush burned esther's whole face. "i did not mean you to tell him so, father. i was concerned for him alone--for his happiness, not mine. because i have dared love him, i shall keep myself worthy his respect; so only can i excuse my folly. let me read his letter now." "yes, read it." she began at once, in haste to conclude the distasteful subject. "nisan, th day. "on the road from galilee to jerusalem. "the nazarene is on the way also. with him, though without his knowledge, i am bringing a full legion of mine. a second legion follows. the passover will excuse the multitude. he said upon setting out, 'we will go up to jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning me shall be accomplished.' "our waiting draws to an end. "in haste. "peace to thee, simonides. "ben-hur." esther returned the letter to her father, while a choking sensation gathered in her throat. there was not a word in the missive for her--not even in the salutation had she a share--and it would have been so easy to have written "and to thine, peace." for the first time in her life she felt the smart of a jealous sting. "the eighth day," said simonides, "the eighth day; and this, esther, this is the--" "the ninth," she replied. "ah, then, they may be in bethany now." "and possibly we may see him to-night," she added, pleased into momentary forgetfulness. "it may be, it may be! to-morrow is the feast of unleavened bread, and he may wish to celebrate it; so may the nazarene; and we may see him--we may see both of them, esther." at this point the servant appeared with the wine and water. esther helped her father, and in the midst of the service iras came upon the roof. to the jewess the egyptian never appeared so very, very beautiful as at that moment. her gauzy garments fluttered about her like a little cloud of mist; her forehead, neck, and arms glittered with the massive jewelry so affected by her people. her countenance was suffused with pleasure. she moved with buoyant steps, and self-conscious, though without affectation. esther at the sight shrank within herself, and nestled closer to her father. "peace to you, simonides, and to the pretty esther peace," said iras, inclining her head to the latter. "you remind me, good master--if i may say it without offence-you remind me of the priests in persia who climb their temples at the decline of day to send prayers after the departing sun. is there anything in the worship you do not know, let me call my father. he is magian-bred." "fair egyptian," the merchant replied, nodding with grave politeness, "your father is a good man who would not be offended if he knew i told you his persian lore is the least part of his wisdom." iras's lip curled slightly. "to speak like a philosopher, as you invite me," she said, "the least part always implies a greater. let me ask what you esteem the greater part of the rare quality you are pleased to attribute to him." simonides turned upon her somewhat sternly. "pure wisdom always directs itself towards god; the purest wisdom is knowledge of god; and no man of my acquaintance has it in higher degree, or makes it more manifest in speech and act, than the good balthasar." to end the parley, he raised the cup and drank. the egyptian turned to esther a little testily. "a man who has millions in store, and fleets of ships at sea, cannot discern in what simple women like us find amusement. let us leave him. by the wall yonder we can talk." they went to the parapet then, stopping at the place where, years before, ben-hur loosed the broken tile upon the head of gratus. "you have not been to rome?" iras began, toying the while with one of her unclasped bracelets. "no," said esther, demurely. "have you not wished to go?" "no." "ah, how little there has been of your life!" the sigh that succeeded the exclamation could not have been more piteously expressive had the loss been the egyptian's own. next moment her laugh might have been heard in the street below; and she said "oh, oh, my pretty simpleton! the half-fledged birds nested in the ear of the great bust out on the memphian sands know nearly as much as you." then, seeing esther's confusion, she changed her manner, and said in a confiding tone, "you must not take offence. oh no! i was playing. let me kiss the hurt, and tell you what i would not to any other--not if simbel himself asked it of me, offering a lotus-cup of the spray of the nile!" another laugh, masking excellently the look she turned sharply upon the jewess, and she said, "the king is coming." esther gazed at her in innocent surprise. "the nazarene," iras continued--"he whom our fathers have been talking about so much, whom ben-hur has been serving and toiling for so long"--her voice dropped several tones lower--"the nazarene will be here to-morrow, and ben-hur to-night." esther struggled to maintain her composure, but failed: her eyes fell, the tell-tale blood surged to her cheek and forehead, and she was saved sight of the triumphant smile that passed, like a gleam, over the face of the egyptian. "see, here is his promise." and from her girdle she took a roll. "rejoice with me, o my friend! he will be here tonight! on the tiber there is a house, a royal property, which he has pledged to me; and to be its mistress is to be--" a sound of some one walking swiftly along the street below interrupted the speech, and she leaned over the parapet to see. then she drew back, and cried, with hands clasped above her head, "now blessed be isis! 'tis he--ben-hur himself! that he should appear while i had such thought of him! there are no gods if it be not a good omen. put your arms about me, esther--and a kiss!" the jewess looked up. upon each cheek there was a glow; her eyes sparkled with a light more nearly of anger than ever her nature emitted before. her gentleness had been too roughly overridden. it was not enough for her to be forbidden more than fugitive dreams of the man she loved; a boastful rival must tell her in confidence of her better success, and of the brilliant promises which were its rewards. of her, the servant of a servant, there had been no hint of remembrance; this other could show his letter, leaving her to imagine all it breathed. so she said, "dost thou love him so much, then, or rome so much better?" the egyptian drew back a step; then she bent her haughty head quite near her questioner. "what is he to thee, daughter of simonides?" esther, all thrilling, began, "he is my--" a thought blasting as lightning stayed the words: she paled, trembled, recovered, and answered, "he is my father's friend." her tongue had refused to admit her servile condition. iras laughed more lightly than before. "not more than that?" she said. "ah, by the lover-gods of egypt, thou mayst keep thy kisses--keep them. thou hast taught me but now that there are others vastly more estimable waiting me here in judea; and"--she turned away, looking back over her shoulder--"i will go get them. peace to thee." esther saw her disappear down the steps, when, putting her hands over her face, she burst into tears so they ran scalding through her fingers--tears of shame and choking passion. and, to deepen the paroxysm to her even temper so strange, up with a new meaning of withering force rose her father's words--"thy love might not have been vainly given had i kept fast hold of all i had, as i might have done." and all the stars were out, burning low above the city and the dark wall of mountains about it, before she recovered enough to go back to the summer-house, and in silence take her accustomed place at her father's side, humbly waiting his pleasure. to such duty it seemed her youth, if not her life, must be given. and, let the truth be said, now that the pang was spent, she went not unwillingly back to the duty. chapter ii an hour or thereabouts after the scene upon the roof, balthasar and simonides, the latter attended by esther, met in the great chamber of the palace; and while they were talking, ben-hur and iras came in together. the young jew, advancing in front of his companion, walked first to balthasar, and saluted him, and received his reply; then he turned to simonides, but paused at sight of esther. it is not often we have hearts roomy enough for more than one of the absorbing passions at the same time; in its blaze the others may continue to live, but only as lesser lights. so with ben-hur, much study of possibilities, indulgence of hopes and dreams, influences born of the condition of his country, influences more direct--that of iras, for example--had made him in the broadest worldly sense ambitious; and as he had given the passion place, allowing it to become a rule, and finally an imperious governor, the resolves and impulses of former days faded imperceptibly out of being, and at last almost out of recollection. it is at best so easy to forget our youth; in his case it was but natural that his own sufferings and the mystery darkening the fate of his family should move him less and less as, in hope at least, he approached nearer and nearer the goals which occupied all his visions. only let us not judge him too harshly. he paused in surprise at seeing esther a woman now, and so beautiful; and as he stood looking at her a still voice reminded him of broken vows and duties undone: almost his old self returned. for an instant he was startled; but recovering, he went to esther, and said, "peace to thee, sweet esther--peace; and thou, simonides"--he looked to the merchant as he spoke--"the blessing of the lord be thine, if only because thou hast been a good father to the fatherless." esther heard him with downcast face; simonides answered, "i repeat the welcome of the good balthasar, son of hur--welcome to thy father's house; and sit, and tell us of thy travels, and of thy work, and of the wonderful nazarene--who he is, and what. if thou art not at ease here, who shall be? sit, i pray--there, between us, that we may all hear." esther stepped out quickly and brought a covered stool, and set it for him. "thanks," he said to her, gratefully. when seated, after some other conversation, he addressed himself to the men. "i have come to tell you of the nazarene." the two became instantly attentive. "for many days now i have followed him with such watchfulness as one may give another upon whom he is waiting so anxiously. i have seen him under all circumstances said to be trials and tests of men; and while i am certain he is a man as i am, not less certain am i that he is something more." "what more?" asked simonides. "i will tell you--" some one coming into the room interrupted him; he turned, and arose with extended hands. "amrah! dear old amrah!" he cried. she came forward; and they, seeing the joy in her face, thought not once how wrinkled and tawny it was. she knelt at his feet, clasped his knees, and kissed his hands over and over; and when he could he put the lank gray hair from her cheeks, and kissed them, saying, "good amrah, have you nothing, nothing of them--not a word--not one little sign?" then she broke into sobbing which made him answer plainer even than the spoken word. "god's will has been done," he next said, solemnly, in a tone to make each listener know he had no hope more of finding his people. in his eyes there were tears which he would not have them see, because he was a man. when he could again, he took seat, and said, "come, sit by me, amrah--here. no? then at my feet; for i have much to say to these good friends of a wonderful man come into the world." but she went off, and stooping with her back to the wall, joined her hands before her knees, content, they all thought, with seeing him. then ben-hur, bowing to the old men, began again: "i fear to answer the question asked me about the nazarene without first telling you some of the things i have seen him do; and to that i am the more inclined, my friends, because to-morrow he will come to the city, and go up into the temple, which he calls his father's house, where, it is further said, he will proclaim himself. so, whether you are right, o balthasar, or you, simonides, we and israel shall know to-morrow." balthasar rubbed his hands tremulously together, and asked, "where shall i go to see him?" "the pressure of the crowd will be very great. better, i think, that you all go upon the roof above the cloisters--say upon the porch of solomon." "can you be with us?" "no," said ben-hur, "my friends will require me, perhaps, in the procession." "procession!" exclaimed simonides. "does he travel in state?" ben-hur saw the argument in mind. "he brings twelve men with him, fishermen, tillers of the soil, one a publican, all of the humbler class; and he and they make their journeys on foot, careless of wind, cold, rain, or sun. seeing them stop by the wayside at nightfall to break bread or lie down to sleep, i have been reminded of a party of shepherds going back to their flocks from market, not of nobles and kings. only when he lifts the corners of his handkerchief to look at some one or shake the dust from his head, i am made known he is their teacher as well as their companion--their superior not less than their friend. "you are shrewd men," ben-hur resumed, after a pause. "you know what creatures of certain master motives we are, and that it has become little less than a law of our nature to spend life in eager pursuit of certain objects; now, appealing to that law as something by which we may know ourselves, what would you say of a man who could be rich by making gold of the stones under his feet, yet is poor of choice?" "the greeks would call him a philosopher," said iras. "nay, daughter," said balthasar, "the philosophers had never the power to do such thing." "how know you this man has?" ben-hur answered quickly, "i saw him turn water into wine." "very strange, very strange," said simonides; "but it is not so strange to me as that he should prefer to live poor when he could be so rich. is he so poor?" "he owns nothing, and envies nobody his owning. he pities the rich. but passing that, what would you say to see a man multiply seven loaves and two fishes, all his store, into enough to feed five thousand people, and have full baskets over? that i saw the nazarene do." "you saw it?" exclaimed simonides. "ay, and ate of the bread and fish." "more marvellous still," ben-hur continued, "what would you say of a man in whom there is such healing virtue that the sick have but to touch the hem of his garment to be cured, or cry to him afar? that, too, i witnessed, not once, but many times. as we came out of jericho two blind men by the wayside called to the nazarene, and he touched their eyes, and they saw. so they brought a palsied man to him, and he said merely, 'go unto thy house,' and the man went away well. what say you to these things?" the merchant had no answer. "think you now, as i have heard others argue, that what i have told you are tricks of jugglery? let me answer by recalling greater things which i have seen him do. look first to that curse of god--comfortless, as you all know, except by death--leprosy." at these words amrah dropped her hands to the floor, and in her eagerness to hear him half arose. "what would you say," said ben-hur, with increased earnestness--"what would you say to have seen that i now tell you? a leper came to the nazarene while i was with him down in galilee, and said, 'lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' he heard the cry, and touched the outcast with his hand, saying, 'be thou clean;' and forthwith the man was himself again, healthful as any of us who beheld the cure, and we were a multitude." here amrah arose, and with her gaunt fingers held the wiry locks from her eyes. the brain of the poor creature had long since gone to heart, and she was troubled to follow the speech. "then, again," said ben-hur, without stop, "ten lepers came to him one day in a body, and falling at his feet, called out--i saw and heard it all--called out, 'master, master, have mercy upon us!' he told them, 'go, show yourselves to the priest, as the law requires; and before you are come there ye shall be healed.'" "and were they?" "yes. on the road going their infirmity left them, so that there was nothing to remind us of it except their polluted clothes." "such thing was never heard before--never in all israel!" said simonides, in undertone. and then, while he was speaking, amrah turned away, and walked noiselessly to the door, and went out; and none of the company saw her go. "the thoughts stirred by such things done under my eyes i leave you to imagine," said ben-hur, continuing; "but my doubts, my misgivings, my amazement, were not yet at the full. the people of galilee are, as you know, impetuous and rash; after years of waiting their swords burned their hands; nothing would do them but action. 'he is slow to declare himself; let us force him,' they cried to me. and i too became impatient. if he is to be king, why not now? the legions are ready. so as he was once teaching by the seaside we would have crowned him whether or not; but he disappeared, and was next seen on a ship departing from the shore. good simonides, the desires that make other men mad--riches, power, even kingships offered out of great love by a great people--move this one not at all. what say you?" the merchant's chin was low upon his breast; raising his head, he replied, resolutely, "the lord liveth, and so do the words of the prophets. time is in the green yet; let to-morrow answer." "be it so," said balthasar, smiling. and ben-hur said, "be it so." then he went on: "but i have not yet done. from these things, not too great to be above suspicion by such as did not see them in performance as i did, let me carry you now to others infinitely greater, acknowledged since the world began to be past the power of man. tell me, has any one to your knowledge ever reached out and taken from death what death has made his own? who ever gave again the breath of a life lost? who but--" "god!" said balthasar, reverently. ben-hur bowed. "o wise egyptian! i may not refuse the name you lend me. what would you--or you, simonides--what would you either or both have said had you seen as i did, a man, with few words and no ceremony, without effort more than a mother's when she speaks to wake her child asleep, undo the work of death? it was down at nain. we were about going into the gate, when a company came out bearing a dead man. the nazarene stopped to let the train pass. there was a woman among them crying. i saw his face soften with pity. he spoke to her, then went and touched the bier, and said to him who lay upon it dressed for burial, 'young man, i say unto thee, arise!' and instantly the dead sat up and talked." "god only is so great," said balthasar to simonides. "mark you," ben-hur proceeded, "i do but tell you things of which i was a witness, together with a cloud of other men. on the way hither i saw another act still more mighty. in bethany there was a man named lazarus, who died and was buried; and after he had lain four days in a tomb, shut in by a great stone, the nazarene was shown to the place. upon rolling the stone away, we beheld the man lying inside bound and rotting. there were many people standing by, and we all heard what the nazarene said, for he spoke in a loud voice: 'lazarus, come forth!' i cannot tell you my feelings when in answer, as it were, the man arose and came out to us with all his cerements about him. 'loose him,' said the nazarene next, 'loose him, and let him go.' and when the napkin was taken from the face of the resurrected, lo, my friends! the blood ran anew through the wasted body, and he was exactly as he had been in life before the sickness that took him off. he lives yet, and is hourly seen and spoken to. you may go see him to-morrow. and now, as nothing more is needed for the purpose, i ask you that which i came to ask, it being but a repetition of what you asked me, o simonides, what more than a man is this nazarene?" the question was put solemnly, and long after midnight the company sat and debated it; simonides being yet unwilling to give up his understanding of the sayings of the prophets, and ben-hur contending that the elder disputants were both right--that the nazarene was the redeemer, as claimed by balthasar, and also the destined king the merchant would have. "to-morrow we will see. peace to you all." so saying, ben-hur took his leave, intending to return to bethany. chapter iii the first person to go out of the city upon the opening of the sheep's gate next morning was amrah, basket on arm. no questions were asked her by the keepers, since the morning itself had not been more regular in coming than she; they knew her somebody's faithful servant, and that was enough for them. down the eastern valley she took her way. the side of olivet, darkly green, was spotted with white tents recently put up by people attending the feasts; the hour, however, was too early for the strangers to be abroad; still, had it not been so, no one would have troubled her. past gethsemane; past the tombs at the meeting of the bethany roads; past the sepulchral village of siloam she went. occasionally the decrepit little body staggered; once she sat down to get her breath; rising shortly, she struggled on with renewed haste. the great rocks on either hand, if they had had ears, might have heard her mutter to herself; could they have seen, it would have been to observe how frequently she looked up over the mount, reproving the dawn for its promptness; if it had been possible for them to gossip, not improbably they would have said to each other, "our friend is in a hurry this morning; the mouths she goes to feed must be very hungry." when at last she reached the king's garden she slackened her gait; for then the grim city of the lepers was in view, extending far round the pitted south hill of hinnom. as the reader must by this time have surmised, she was going to her mistress, whose tomb, it will be remembered, overlooked the well en-rogel. early as it was, the unhappy woman was up and sitting outside, leaving tirzah asleep within. the course of the malady had been terribly swift in the three years. conscious of her appearance, with the refined instincts of her nature, she kept her whole person habitually covered. seldom as possible she permitted even tirzah to see her. this morning she was taking the air with bared head, knowing there was no one to be shocked by the exposure. the light was not full, but enough to show the ravages to which she had been subject. her hair was snow-white and unmanageably coarse, falling over her back and shoulders like so much silver wire. the eyelids, the lips, the nostrils, the flesh of the cheeks, were either gone or reduced to fetid rawness. the neck was a mass of ash-colored scales. one hand lay outside the folds of her habit rigid as that of a skeleton; the nails had been eaten away; the joints of the fingers, if not bare to the bone, were swollen knots crusted with red secretion. head, face, neck, and hand indicated all too plainly the condition of the whole body. seeing her thus, it was easy to understand how the once fair widow of the princely hur had been able to maintain her incognito so well through such a period of years. when the sun would gild the crest of olivet and the mount of offence with light sharper and more brilliant in that old land than in the west, she knew amrah would come, first to the well, then to a stone midway the well and the foot of the hill on which she had her abode, and that the good servant would there deposit the food she carried in the basket, and fill the water-jar afresh for the day. of her former plentitude of happiness, that brief visit was all that remained to the unfortunate. she could then ask about her son, and be told of his welfare, with such bits of news concerning him as the messenger could glean. usually the information was meagre enough, yet comforting; at times she heard he was at home; then she would issue from her dreary cell at break of day, and sit till noon, and from noon to set of sun, a motionless figure draped in white, looking, statue-like, invariably to one point--over the temple to the spot under the rounded sky where the old house stood, dear in memory, and dearer because he was there. nothing else was left her. tirzah she counted of the dead; and as for herself, she simply waited the end, knowing every hour of life was an hour of dying--happily, of painless dying. the things of nature about the hill to keep her sensitive to the world's attractions were wretchedly scant; beasts and birds avoided the place as if they knew its history and present use; every green thing perished in its first season; the winds warred upon the shrubs and venturous grasses, leaving to drought such as they could not uproot. look where she would, the view was made depressingly suggestive by tombs--tombs above her, tombs below, tombs opposite her own tomb--all now freshly whitened in warning to visiting pilgrims. in the sky--clear, fair, inviting--one would think she might have found some relief to her ache of mind; but, alas! in making the beautiful elsewhere the sun served her never so unfriendly--it did but disclose her growing hideousness. but for the sun she would not have been the horror she was to herself, nor been waked so cruelly from dreams of tirzah as she used to be. the gift of seeing can be sometimes a dreadful curse. does one ask why she did not make an end to her sufferings? the law forbade her! a gentile may smile at the answer; but so will not a son of israel. while she sat there peopling the dusky solitude with thoughts even more cheerless, suddenly a woman came up the hill staggering and spent with exertion. the widow arose hastily, and covering her head, cried, in a voice unnaturally harsh, "unclean, unclean!" in a moment, heedless of the notice, amrah was at her feet. all the long-pent love of the simple creature burst forth: with tears and passionate exclamations she kissed her mistress's garments, and for a while the latter strove to escape from her; then, seeing she could not, she waited till the violence of the paroxysm was over. "what have you done, amrah?" she said. "is it by such disobedience you prove your love for us? wicked woman! you are lost; and he--your master--you can never, never go back to him." amrah grovelled sobbing in the dust. "the ban of the law is upon you, too; you cannot return to jerusalem. what will become of us? who will bring us bread? o wicked, wicked amrah! we are all, all undone alike!" "mercy, mercy!" amrah answered from the ground. "you should have been merciful to yourself, and by so doing been most merciful to us. now where can we fly? there is no one to help us. o false servant! the wrath of the lord was already too heavy upon us." here tirzah, awakened by the noise, appeared at the door of the tomb. the pen shrinks from the picture she presented. in the half-clad apparition, patched with scales, lividly seamed, nearly blind, its limbs and extremities swollen to grotesque largeness, familiar eyes however sharpened by love could not have recognized the creature of childish grace and purity we first beheld her. "is it amrah, mother?" the servant tried to crawl to her also. "stay, amrah!" the widow cried, imperiously. "i forbid you touching her. rise, and get you gone before any at the well see you here. nay, i forgot--it is too late! you must remain now and share our doom. rise, i say!" amrah rose to her knees, and said, brokenly and with clasped hands, "o good mistress! i am not false--i am not wicked. i bring you good tidings." "of judah?" and as she spoke, the widow half withdrew the cloth from her head. "there is a wonderful man," amrah continued, "who has power to cure you. he speaks a word, and the sick are made well, and even the dead come to life. i have come to take you to him." "poor amrah!" said tirzah, compassionately. "no," cried amrah, detecting the doubt underlying the expression--"no, as the lord lives, even the lord of israel, my god as well as yours, i speak the truth. go with me, i pray, and lose no time. this morning he will pass by on his way to the city. see! the day is at hand. take the food here--eat, and let us go." the mother listened eagerly. not unlikely she had heard of the wonderful man, for by this time his fame had penetrated every nook in the land. "who is he?" she asked. "a nazarene." "who told you about him?" "judah." "judah told you? is he at home?" "he came last night." the widow, trying to still the beating of her heart, was silent awhile. "did judah send you to tell us this?" she next asked. "no. he believes you dead." "there was a prophet once who cured a leper," the mother said thoughtfully to tirzah; "but he had his power from god." then addressing amrah, she asked, "how does my son know this man so possessed?" "he was travelling with him, and heard the lepers call, and saw them go away well. first there was one man; then there were ten; and they were all made whole." the elder listener was silent again. the skeleton hand shook. we may believe she was struggling to give the story the sanction of faith, which is always an absolutist in demand, and that it was with her as with the men of the day, eye-witnesses of what was done by the christ, as well as the myriads who have succeeded them. she did not question the performance, for her own son was the witness testifying through the servant; but she strove to comprehend the power by which work so astonishing could be done by a man. well enough to make inquiry as to the fact; to comprehend the power, on the other hand, it is first necessary to comprehend god; and he who waits for that will die waiting. with her, however, the hesitation was brief. to tirzah she said, "this must be the messiah!" she spoke not coldly, like one reasoning a doubt away, but as a woman of israel familiar with the promises of god to her race--a woman of understanding, ready to be glad over the least sign of the realization of the promises. "there was a time when jerusalem and all judea were filled with a story that he was born. i remember it. by this time he should be a man. it must be--it is he. yes," she said to amrah, "we will go with you. bring the water which you will find in the tomb in a jar, and set the food for us. we will eat and be gone." the breakfast, partaken under excitement, was soon despatched, and the three women set out on their extraordinary journey. as tirzah had caught the confident spirit of the others, there was but one fear that troubled the party. bethany, amrah said, was the town the man was coming from; now from that to jerusalem there were three roads, or rather paths--one over the first summit of olivet, a second at its base, a third between the second summit and the mount of offence. the three were not far apart; far enough, however, to make it possible for the unfortunates to miss the nazarene if they failed the one he chose to come by. a little questioning satisfied the mother that amrah knew nothing of the country beyond the cedron, and even less of the intentions of the man they were going to see, if they could. she discerned, also, that both amrah and tirzah--the one from confirmed habits of servitude, the other from natural dependency--looked to her for guidance; and she accepted the charge. "we will go first to bethphage," she said to them. "there, if the lord favor us, we may learn what else to do." they descended the hill to tophet and the king's garden, and paused in the deep trail furrowed through them by centuries of wayfaring. "i am afraid of the road," the matron said. "better that we keep to the country among the rocks and trees. this is feast-day, and on the hill-sides yonder i see signs of a great multitude in attendance. by going across the mount of offence here we may avoid them." tirzah had been walking with great difficulty; upon hearing this her heart began to fail her. "the mount is steep, mother; i cannot climb it." "remember, we are going to find health and life. see, my child, how the day brightens around us! and yonder are women coming this way to the well. they will stone us if we stay here. come, be strong this once." thus the mother, not less tortured herself, sought to inspire the daughter; and amrah came to her aid. to this time the latter had not touched the persons of the afflicted, nor they her; now, in disregard of consequences as well as of command, the faithful creature went to tirzah, and put her arm over her shoulder, and whispered, "lean on me. i am strong, though i am old; and it is but a little way off. there--now we can go." the face of the hill they essayed to cross was somewhat broken with pits, and ruins of old structures; but when at last they stood upon the top to rest, and looked at the spectacle presented them over in the northwest--at the temple and its courtly terraces, at zion, at the enduring towers white beetling into the sky beyond--the mother was strengthened with a love of life for life's sake. "look, tirzah," she said--"look at the plates of gold on the gate beautiful. how they give back the flames of the sun, brightness for brightness! do you remember we used to go up there? will it not be pleasant to do so again? and think--home is but a little way off. i can almost see it over the roof of the holy of holies; and judah will be there to receive us!" from the side of the middle summit garnished green with myrtle and olive trees, they saw, upon looking that way next, thin columns of smoke rising lightly and straight up into the pulseless morning, each a warning of restless pilgrims astir, and of the flight of the pitiless hours, and the need of haste. though the good servant toiled faithfully to lighten the labor in descending the hill-side, not sparing herself in the least, the girl moaned at every step; sometimes in extremity of anguish she cried out. upon reaching the road--that is, the road between the mount of offence and the middle or second summit of olivet--she fell down exhausted. "go on with amrah, mother, and leave me here," she said, faintly. "no, no, tirzah. what would the gain be to me if i were healed and you not? when judah asks for you, as he will, what would i have to say to him were i to leave you?" "tell him i loved him." the elder leper arose from bending over the fainting sufferer, and gazed about her with that sensation of hope perishing which is more nearly like annihilation of the soul than anything else. the supremest joy of the thought of cure was inseparable from tirzah, who was not too old to forget, in the happiness of healthful life to come, the years of misery by which she had been so reduced in body and broken in spirit. even as the brave woman was about leaving the venture they were engaged in to the determination of god, she saw a man on foot coming rapidly up the road from the east. "courage, tirzah! be of cheer," she said. "yonder i know is one to tell us of the nazarene." amrah helped the girl to a sitting posture, and supported her while the man advanced. "in your goodness, mother, you forget what we are. the stranger will go around us; his best gift to us will be a curse, if not a stone." "we will see." there was no other answer to be given, since the mother was too well and sadly acquainted with the treatment outcasts of the class to which she belonged were accustomed to at the hands of her countrymen. as has been said, the road at the edge of which the group was posted was little more than a worn path or trail, winding crookedly through tumuli of limestone. if the stranger kept it, he must meet them face to face; and he did so, until near enough to hear the cry she was bound to give. then, uncovering her head, a further demand of the law, she shouted shrilly, "unclean, unclean!" to her surprise, the man came steadily on. "what would you have?" he asked, stopping opposite them not four yards off. "thou seest us. have a care," the mother said, with dignity. "woman, i am the courier of him who speaketh but once to such as thou and they are healed. i am not afraid." "the nazarene?" "the messiah," he said. "is it true that he cometh to the city to-day?" "he is now at bethphage." "on what road, master?" "this one." she clasped her hands, and looked up thankfully. "for whom takest thou him?" the man asked, with pity. "the son of god," she replied. "stay thou here then; or, as there is a multitude with him, take thy stand by the rock yonder, the white one under the tree; and as he goeth by fail not to call to him; call, and fear not. if thy faith but equal thy knowledge, he will hear thee though all the heavens thunder. i go to tell israel, assembled in and about the city, that he is at hand, and to make ready to receive him. peace to thee and thine, woman." the stranger moved on. "did you hear, tirzah? did you hear? the nazarene is on the road, on this one, and he will hear us. once more, my child--oh, only once! and let us to the rock. it is but a step." thus encouraged tirzah took amrah's hand and arose; but as they were going, amrah said, "stay; the man is returning." and they waited for him. "i pray your grace, woman," he said, upon overtaking them. "remembering that the sun will be hot before the nazarene arrives, and that the city is near by to give me refreshment should i need it, i thought this water would do thee better than it will me. take it and be of good cheer. call to him as he passes." he followed the words by offering her a gourd full of water, such as foot-travellers sometimes carried with them in their journeys across the hills; and instead of placing the gift on the ground for her to take up when he was at a safe distance, he gave it into her hand. "art thou a jew?" she asked, surprised. "i am that, and better; i am a disciple of the christ who teacheth daily by word and example this thing which i have done unto you. the world hath long known the word charity without understanding it. again i say peace and good cheer to thee and thine." he went on, and they went slowly to the rock he had pointed out to them, high as their heads, and scarcely thirty yards from the road on the right. standing in front of it, the mother satisfied herself they could be seen and heard plainly by passers-by whose notice they desired to attract. there they cast themselves under the tree in its shade, and drank of the gourd, and rested refreshed. ere long tirzah slept, and fearing to disturb her, the others held their peace. chapter iv during the third hour the road in front of the resting-place of the lepers became gradually more and more frequented by people going in the direction of bethphage and bethany; now, however, about the commencement of the fourth hour, a great crowd appeared over the crest of olivet, and as it defiled down the road thousands in number, the two watchers noticed with wonder that every one in it carried a palm-branch freshly cut. as they sat absorbed by the novelty, the noise of another multitude approaching from the east drew their eyes that way. then the mother awoke tirzah. "what is the meaning of it all?" the latter asked. "he is coming," answered the mother. "these we see are from the city going to meet him; those we hear in the east are his friends bearing him company; and it will not be strange if the processions meet here before us. "i fear, if they do, we cannot be heard." the same thought was in the elder's mind. "amrah," she asked, "when judah spoke of the healing of the ten, in what words did he say they called to the nazarene?" "either they said, 'lord, have mercy upon us,' or 'master, have mercy.'" "only that?" "no more that i heard." "yet it was enough," the mother added, to herself. "yes," said amrah, "judah said he saw them go away well." meantime the people in the east came up slowly. when at length the foremost of them were in sight, the gaze of the lepers fixed upon a man riding in the midst of what seemed a chosen company which sang and danced about him in extravagance of joy. the rider was bareheaded and clad all in white. when he was in distance to be more clearly observed, these, looking anxiously, saw an olive-hued face shaded by long chestnut hair slightly sunburned and parted in the middle. he looked neither to the right nor left. in the noisy abandon of his followers he appeared to have no part; nor did their favor disturb him in the least, or raise him out of the profound melancholy into which, as his countenance showed, he was plunged. the sun beat upon the back of his head, and lighting up the floating hair gave it a delicate likeness to a golden nimbus. behind him the irregular procession, pouring forward with continuous singing and shouting, extended out of view. there was no need of any one to tell the lepers that this was he--the wonderful nazarene! "he is here, tirzah," the mother said; "he is here. come, my child." as she spoke she glided in front of the white rock and fell upon her knees. directly the daughter and servant were by her side. then at sight of the procession in the west, the thousands from the city halted, and began to wave their green branches, shouting, or rather chanting (for it was all in one voice), "blessed is the king of israel that cometh in the name of the lord!" and all the thousands who were of the rider's company, both those near and those afar, replied so the air shook with the sound, which was as a great wind threshing the side of the hill. amidst the din, the cries of the poor lepers were not more than the twittering of dazed sparrows. the moment of the meeting of the hosts was come, and with it the opportunity the sufferers were seeking; if not taken, it would be lost forever, and they would be lost as well. "nearer, my child--let us get nearer. he cannot hear us," said the mother. she arose, and staggered forward. her ghastly hands were up, and she screamed with horrible shrillness. the people saw her--saw her hideous face, and stopped awe-struck--an effect for which extreme human misery, visible as in this instance, is as potent as majesty in purple and gold. tirzah, behind her a little way, fell down too faint and frightened to follow farther. "the lepers! the lepers!" "stone them!" "the accursed of god! kill them!" these, with other yells of like import, broke in upon the hosannas of the part of the multitude too far removed to see and understand the cause of the interruption. some there were, however, near by familiar with the nature of the man to whom the unfortunates were appealing--some who, by long intercourse with him, had caught somewhat of his divine compassion: they gazed at him, and were silent while, in fair view, he rode up and stopped in front of the woman. she also beheld his face--calm, pitiful, and of exceeding beauty, the large eyes tender with benignant purpose. and this was the colloquy that ensued: "o master, master! thou seest our need; thou canst make us clean. have mercy upon us--mercy!" "believest thou i am able to do this?" he asked. "thou art he of whom the prophets spake--thou art the messiah!" she replied. his eyes grew radiant, his manner confident. "woman," he said, "great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." he lingered an instant after, apparently unconscious of the presence of the throng--an instant--then he rode away. to the heart divinely original, yet so human in all the better elements of humanity, going with sure prevision to a death of all the inventions of men the foulest and most cruel, breathing even then in the forecast shadow of the awful event, and still as hungry and thirsty for love and faith as in the beginning, how precious and ineffably soothing the farewell exclamation of the grateful woman: "to god in the highest, glory! blessed, thrice blessed, the son whom he hath given us!" immediately both the hosts, that from the city and that from bethphage, closed around him with their joyous demonstrations, with hosannas and waving of palms, and so he passed from the lepers forever. covering her head, the elder hastened to tirzah, and folded her in her arms, crying, "daughter, look up! i have his promise; he is indeed the messiah. we are saved--saved!" and the two remained kneeling while the procession, slowly going, disappeared over the mount. when the noise of its singing afar was a sound scarcely heard the miracle began. there was first in the hearts of the lepers a freshening of the blood; then it flowed faster and stronger, thrilling their wasted bodies with an infinitely sweet sense of painless healing. each felt the scourge going from her; their strength revived; they were returning to be themselves. directly, as if to make the purification complete, from body to spirit the quickening ran, exalting them to a very fervor of ecstasy. the power possessing them to this good end was most nearly that of a draught of swift and happy effect; yet it was unlike and superior in that its healing and cleansing were absolute, and not merely a delicious consciousness while in progress, but the planting, growing, and maturing all at once of a recollection so singular and so holy that the simple thought of it should be of itself ever after a formless yet perfect thanksgiving. to this transformation--for such it may be called quite as properly as a cure--there was a witness other than amrah. the reader will remember the constancy with which ben-hur had followed the nazarene throughout his wanderings; and now, recalling the conversation of the night before, there will be little surprise at learning that the young jew was present when the leprous woman appeared in the path of the pilgrims. he heard her prayer, and saw her disfigured face; he heard the answer also, and was not so accustomed to incidents of the kind, frequent as they had been, as to have lost interest in them. had such thing been possible with him, still the bitter disputation always excited by the simplest display of the master's curative gift would have sufficed to keep his curiosity alive. besides that, if not above it as an incentive, his hope to satisfy himself upon the vexed question of the mission of the mysterious man was still upon him strong as in the beginning; we might indeed say even stronger, because of a belief that now quickly, before the sun went down, the man himself would make all known by public proclamation. at the close of the scene, consequently, ben-hur had withdrawn from the procession, and seated himself upon a stone to wait its passage. from his place he nodded recognition to many of the people--galileans in his league, carrying short swords under their long abbas. after a little a swarthy arab came up leading two horses; at a sign from ben-hur he also drew out. "stay here," the young master said, when all were gone by, even the laggards. "i wish to be at the city early, and aldebaran must do me service." he stroked the broad forehead of the horse, now in his prime of strength and beauty, then crossed the road towards the two women. they were to him, it should be borne in mind, strangers in whom he felt interest only as they were subjects of a superhuman experiment, the result of which might possibly help him to solution of the mystery that had so long engaged him. as he proceeded, he glanced casually at the figure of the little woman over by the white rock, standing there, her face hidden in her hands. "as the lord liveth, it is amrah!" he said to himself. he hurried on, and passing by the mother and daughter, still without recognizing them, he stopped before the servant. "amrah," he said to her, "amrah, what do you here?" she rushed forward, and fell upon her knees before him, blinded by her tears, nigh speechless with contending joy and fear. "o master, master! thy god and mine, how good he is!" the knowledge we gain from much sympathy with others passing through trials is but vaguely understood; strangely enough, it enables us, among other things, to merge our identity into theirs often so completely that their sorrows and their delights become our own. so poor amrah, aloof and hiding her face, knew the transformation the lepers were undergoing without a word spoken to her--knew it, and shared all their feeling to the full. her countenance, her words, her whole manner, betrayed her condition; and with swift presentiment he connected it with the women he had just passed: he felt her presence there at that time was in some way associated with them, and turned hastily as they arose to their feet. his heart stood still, he became rooted in his tracks--dumb past outcry--awe-struck. the woman he had seen before the nazarene was standing with her hands clasped and eyes streaming, looking towards heaven. the mere transformation would have been a sufficient surprise; but it was the least of the causes of his emotion. could he be mistaken? never was there in life a stranger so like his mother; and like her as she was the day the roman snatched her from him. there was but one difference to mar the identity--the hair of this person was a little streaked with gray; yet that was not impossible of reconcilement, since the intelligence which had directed the miracle might have taken into consideration the natural effects of the passage of years. and who was it by her side, if not tirzah?--fair, beautiful, perfect, more mature, but in all other respects exactly the same in appearance as when she looked with him over the parapet the morning of the accident to gratus. he had given them over as dead, and time had accustomed him to the bereavement; he had not ceased mourning for them, yet, as something distinguishable, they had simply dropped out of his plans and dreams. scarcely believing his senses, he laid his hand upon the servant's head, and asked, tremulously, "amrah, amrah--my mother! tirzah! tell me if i see aright." "speak to them, o master, speak to them!" she said. he waited no longer, but ran, with outstretched arms, crying, "mother! mother! tirzah! here i am!" they heard his call, and with a cry as loving started to meet him. suddenly the mother stopped, drew back, and uttered the old alarm, "stay, judah, my son; come not nearer. unclean, unclean!" the utterance was not from habit, grown since the dread disease struck her, as much as fear; and the fear was but another form of the ever-thoughtful maternal love. though they were healed in person, the taint of the scourge might be in their garments ready for communication. he had no such thought. they were before him; he had called them, they had answered. who or what should keep them from him now? next moment the three, so long separated, were mingling their tears in each other's arms. the first ecstasy over, the mother said, "in this happiness, o my children, let us not be ungrateful. let us begin life anew by acknowledgment of him to whom we are all so indebted." they fell upon their knees, amrah with the rest; and the prayer of the elder outspoken was as a psalm. tirzah repeated it word for word; so did ben-hur, but not with the same clear mind and questionless faith; for when they were risen, he asked, "in nazareth, where the man was born, mother, they call him the son of a carpenter. what is he?" her eyes rested upon him with all their old tenderness, and she answered as she had answered the nazarene himself-- "he is the messiah." "and whence has he his power?" "we may know by the use he makes of it. can you tell me any ill he has done?" "no." "by that sign then i answer, he has his power from god." it is not an easy thing to shake off in a moment the expectations nurtured through years until they have become essentially a part of us; and though ben-hur asked himself what the vanities of the world were to such a one, his ambition was obdurate and would not down. he persisted as men do yet every day in measuring the christ by himself. how much better if we measured ourselves by the christ! naturally, the mother was the first to think of the cares of life. "what shall we do now, my son? where shall we go?" then ben-hur, recalled to duty, observed how completely every trace of the scourge had disappeared from his restored people; that each had back her perfection of person; that, as with naaman when he came up out of the water, their flesh had come again like unto the flesh of a little child; and he took off his cloak, and threw it over tirzah. "take it," he said, smiling; "the eye of the stranger would have shunned you before, now it shall not offend you." the act exposed a sword belted to his side. "is it a time of war?" asked the mother, anxiously. "no." "why, then, are you armed?" "it may be necessary to defend the nazarene." thus ben-hur evaded the whole truth. "has he enemies? who are they?" "alas, mother, they are not all romans!" "is he not of israel, and a man of peace?" "there was never one more so; but in the opinion of the rabbis and teachers he is guilty of a great crime." "what crime?" "in his eyes the uncircumcised gentile is as worthy favor as a jew of the strictest habit. he preaches a new dispensation." the mother was silent, and they moved to the shade of the tree by the rock. calming his impatience to have them home again and hear their story, he showed them the necessity of obedience to the law governing in cases like theirs, and in conclusion called the arab, bidding him take the horses to the gate by bethesda and await him there; whereupon they set out by the way of the mount of offence. the return was very different from the coming; they walked rapidly and with ease, and in good time reached a tomb newly made near that of absalom, overlooking the depths of cedron. finding it unoccupied, the women took possession, while he went on hastily to make the preparations required for their new condition. chapter v ben-hur pitched two tents out on the upper cedron east a short space of the tombs of the kings, and furnished them with every comfort at his command; and thither, without loss of time, he conducted his mother and sister, to remain until the examining priest could certify their perfect cleansing. in course of the duty, the young man had subjected himself to such serious defilement as to debar him from participation in the ceremonies of the great feast, then near at hand. he could not enter the least sacred of the courts of the temple. of necessity, not less than choice, therefore, he stayed at the tents with his beloved people. there was a great deal to hear from them, and a great deal to tell them of himself. stories such as theirs--sad experiences extending through a lapse of years, sufferings of body, acuter sufferings of mind--are usually long in the telling, the incidents seldom following each other in threaded connection. he listened to the narrative and all they told him, with outward patience masking inward feeling. in fact, his hatred of rome and romans reached a higher mark than ever; his desire for vengeance became a thirst which attempts at reflection only intensified. in the almost savage bitterness of his humor many mad impulses took hold of him. the opportunities of the highways presented themselves with singular force of temptation; he thought seriously of insurrection in galilee; even the sea, ordinarily a retrospective horror to him, stretched itself map-like before his fancy, laced and interlaced with lines of passage crowded with imperial plunder and imperial travellers; but the better judgment matured in calmer hours was happily too firmly fixed to be supplanted by present passion however strong. each mental venture in reach of new expedients brought him back to the old conclusion--that there could be no sound success except in a war involving all israel in solid union; and all musing upon the subject, all inquiry, all hope, ended where they began--in the nazarene and his purposes. at odd moments the excited schemer found a pleasure in fashioning a speech for that person: "hear, o israel! i am he, the promised of god, born king of the jews--come to you with the dominion spoken of by the prophets. rise now, and lay hold on the world!" would the nazarene but speak these few words, what a tumult would follow! how many mouths performing the office of trumpets would take them up and blow them abroad for the massing of armies! would he speak them? and eager to begin the work, and answering in the worldly way, ben-hur lost sight of the double nature of the man, and of the other possibility, that the divine in him might transcend the human. in the miracle of which tirzah and his mother were the witnesses even more nearly than himself, he saw and set apart and dwelt upon a power ample enough to raise and support a jewish crown over the wrecks of the italian, and more than ample to remodel society, and convert mankind into one purified happy family; and when that work was done, could any one say the peace which might then be ordered without hindrance was not a mission worthy a son of god? could any one then deny the redeemership of the christ? and discarding all consideration of political consequences, what unspeakable personal glory there would then be to him as a man? it was not in the nature of any mere mortal to refuse such a career. meantime down the cedron, and in towards bezetha, especially on the roadsides quite up to the damascus gate, the country filled rapidly with all kinds of temporary shelters for pilgrims to the passover. ben-hur visited the strangers, and talked with them; and returning to his tents, he was each time more and more astonished at the vastness of their numbers. and when he further discovered that every part of the world was represented among them--cities upon both shores of the mediterranean far off as the pillars of the west, river-towns in distant india, provinces in northernmost europe; and that, though they frequently saluted him with tongues unacquainted with a syllable of the old hebrew of the fathers, these representatives had all the same object--celebration of the notable feast--an idea tinged mistily with superstitious fancy forced itself upon him. might he not after all have misunderstood the nazarene? might not that person by patient waiting be covering silent preparation, and proving his fitness for the glorious task before him? how much better this time for the movement than that other when, by gennesaret, the galileans would have forced assumption of the crown? then the support would have been limited to a few thousands; now his proclamation would be responded to by millions--who could say how many? pursuing this theory to its conclusions, ben-hur moved amidst brilliant promises, and glowed with the thought that the melancholy man, under gentle seeming and wondrous self-denial, was in fact carrying in disguise the subtlety of a politician and the genius of a soldier. several times also, in the meanwhile, low-set, brawny men, bareheaded and black-bearded, came and asked for ben-hur at the tent; his interviews with them were always apart; and to his mother's question who they were he answered, "some good friends of mine from galilee." through them he kept informed of the movements of the nazarene, and of the schemes of the nazarene's enemies, rabbinical and roman. that the good man's life was in danger, he knew; but that there were any bold enough to attempt to take it at that time, he could not believe. it seemed too securely intrenched in a great fame and an assured popularity. the very vastness of the attendance in and about the city brought with it a seeming guaranty of safety. and yet, to say truth, ben-hur's confidence rested most certainly upon the miraculous power of the christ. pondering the subject in the purely human view, that the master of such authority over life and death, used so frequently for the good of others, would not exert it in care of himself was simply as much past belief as it was past understanding. nor should it be forgotten that all these were incidents of occurrence between the twenty-first day of march--counting by the modern calendar--and the twenty-fifth. the evening of the latter day ben-hur yielded to his impatience, and rode to the city, leaving behind him a promise to return in the night. the horse was fresh, and choosing his own gait, sped swiftly. the eyes of the clambering vines winked at the rider from the garden fences on the way; there was nothing else to see him, nor child nor woman nor man. through the rocky float in the hollows of the road the agate hoofs drummed, ringing like cups of steel; but without notice from any stranger. in the houses passed there were no tenants; the fires by the tent-doors were out; the road was deserted; for this was the first passover eve, and the hour "between the evenings" when the visiting millions crowded the city, and the slaughter of lambs in offering reeked the fore-courts of the temple, and the priests in ordered lines caught the flowing blood and carried it swiftly to the dripping altars--when all was haste and hurry, racing with the stars fast coming with the signal after which the roasting and the eating and the singing might go on, but not the preparation more. through the great northern gate the rider rode, and lo! jerusalem before the fall, in ripeness of glory, illuminated for the lord. chapter vi ben-hur alighted at the gate of the khan from which the three wise men more than thirty years before departed, going down to bethlehem. there, in keeping of his arab followers, he left the horse, and shortly after was at the wicket of his father's house, and in a yet briefer space in the great chamber. he called for malluch first; that worthy being out, he sent a salutation to his friends the merchant and the egyptian. they were being carried abroad to see the celebration. the latter, he was informed, was very feeble, and in a state of deep dejection. young people of that time who were supposed hardly to know their own hearts indulged the habit of politic indirection quite as much as young people in the same condition indulge it in this time; so when ben-hur inquired for the good balthasar, and with grave courtesy desired to know if he would be pleased to see him, he really addressed the daughter a notice of his arrival. while the servant was answering for the elder, the curtain of the doorway was drawn aside, and the younger egyptian came in, and walked--or floated, upborne in a white cloud of the gauzy raiment she so loved and lived in--to the centre of the chamber, where the light cast by lamps from the seven-armed brazen stick planted upon the floor was the strongest. with her there was no fear of light. the servant left the two alone. in the excitement occasioned by the events of the few days past ben-hur had scarcely given a thought to the fair egyptian. if she came to his mind at all, it was merely as a briefest pleasure, a suggestion of a delight which could wait for him, and was waiting. but now the influence of the woman revived with all its force the instant ben-hur beheld her. he advanced to her eagerly, but stopped and gazed. such a change he had never seen! theretofore she had been a lover studious to win him--in manner all warmth, each glance an admission, each action an avowal. she had showered him with incense of flattery. while he was present, she had impressed him with her admiration; going away, he carried the impression with him to remain a delicious expectancy hastening his return. it was for him the painted eyelids drooped lowest over the lustrous almond eyes; for him the love-stories caught from the professionals abounding in the streets of alexandria were repeated with emphasis and lavishment of poetry; for him endless exclamations of sympathy, and smiles, and little privileges with hand and hair and cheek and lips, and songs of the nile, and displays of jewelry, and subtleties of lace in veils and scarfs, and other subtleties not less exquisite in flosses of indian silk. the idea, old as the oldest of peoples, that beauty is the reward of the hero had never such realism as she contrived for his pleasure; insomuch that he could not doubt he was her hero; she avouched it in a thousand artful ways as natural with her as her beauty--winsome ways reserved, it would seem, by the passionate genius of old egypt for its daughters. such the egyptian had been to ben-hur from the night of the boat-ride on the lake in the orchard of palms. but now! elsewhere in this volume the reader may have observed a term of somewhat indefinite meaning used reverently in a sacred connection; we repeat it now with a general application. there are few persons who have not a double nature, the real and the acquired; the latter a kind of addendum resulting from education, which in time often perfects it into a part of the being as unquestionable as the first. leaving the thought to the thoughtful, we proceed to say that now the real nature of the egyptian made itself manifest. it was not possible for her to have received a stranger with repulsion more incisive; yet she was apparently as passionless as a statue, only the small head was a little tilted, the nostrils a little drawn, and the sensuous lower lip pushed the upper the least bit out of its natural curvature. she was the first to speak. "your coming is timely, o son of hur," she said, in a voice sharply distinct. "i wish to thank you for hospitality; after to-morrow i may not have the opportunity to do so." ben-hur bowed slightly without taking his eyes from her. "i have heard of a custom which the dice-players observe with good result among themselves," she continued. "when the game is over, they refer to their tablets and cast up their accounts; then they libate the gods and put a crown upon the happy winner. we have had a game--it has lasted through many days and nights. why, now that it is at an end, shall not we see to which the chaplet belongs?" yet very watchful, ben-hur answered, lightly, "a man may not balk a woman bent on having her way." "tell me," she continued, inclining her head, and permitting the sneer to become positive--"tell me, o prince of jerusalem, where is he, that son of the carpenter of nazareth, and son not less of god, from whom so lately such mighty things were expected?" he waved his hand impatiently, and replied, "i am not his keeper." the beautiful head sank forward yet lower. "has he broken rome to pieces?" again, but with anger, ben-hur raised his hand in deprecation. "where has he seated his capital?" she proceeded. "cannot i go see his throne and its lions of bronze? and his palace--he raised the dead; and to such a one, what is it to raise a golden house? he has but to stamp his foot and say the word, and the house is, pillared like karnak, and wanting nothing." there was by this time slight ground left to believe her playing; the questions were offensive, and her manner pointed with unfriendliness; seeing which, he on his side became more wary, and said, with good humor, "o egypt, let us wait another day, even another week, for him, the lions, and the palace." she went on without noticing the suggestion. "and how is it i see you in that garb? such is not the habit of governors in india or vice-kings elsewhere. i saw the satrap of teheran once, and he wore a turban of silk and a cloak of cloth of gold, and the hilt and scabbard of his sword made me dizzy with their splendor of precious stones. i thought osiris had lent him a glory from the sun. i fear you have not entered upon your kingdom--the kingdom i was to share with you." "the daughter of my wise guest is kinder than she imagines herself; she is teaching me that isis may kiss a heart without making it better." ben-hur spoke with cold courtesy, and iras, after playing with the pendent solitaire of her necklace of coins, rejoined, "for a jew, the son of hur is clever. i saw your dreaming caesar make his entry into jerusalem. you told us he would that day proclaim himself king of the jews from the steps of the temple. i beheld the procession descend the mountain bringing him. i heard their singing. they were beautiful with palms in motion. i looked everywhere among them for a figure with a promise of royalty--a horseman in purple, a chariot with a driver in shining brass, a stately warrior behind an orbed shield, rivalling his spear in stature. i looked for his guard. it would have been pleasant to have seen a prince of jerusalem and a cohort of the legions of galilee." she flung her listener a glance of provoking disdain, then laughed heartily, as if the ludicrousness of the picture in her mind were too strong for contempt. "instead of a sesostris returning in triumph or a caesar helmed and sworded--ha, ha, ha!--i saw a man with a woman's face and hair, riding an ass's colt, and in tears. the king! the son of god! the redeemer of the world! ha, ha, ha!" in spite of himself, ben-hur winced. "i did not quit my place, o prince of jerusalem," she said, before he could recover. "i did not laugh. i said to myself, 'wait. in the temple he will glorify himself as becomes a hero about to take possession of the world.' i saw him enter the gate of shushan and the court of the women. i saw him stop and stand before the gate beautiful. there were people with me on the porch and in the courts, and on the cloisters and on the steps of the three sides of the temple there were other people--i will say a million of people, all waiting breathlessly to hear his proclamation. the pillars were not more still than we. ha, ha, ha! i fancied i heard the axles of the mighty roman machine begin to crack. ha, ha, ha! o prince, by the soul of solomon, your king of the world drew his gown about him and walked away, and out by the farthest gate, nor opened his mouth to say a word; and--the roman machine is running yet!" in simple homage to a hope that instant lost--a hope which, as it began to fall and while it was falling, he unconsciously followed with a parting look down to its disappearance--ben-hur lowered his eyes. at no previous time, whether when balthasar was plying him with arguments, or when miracles were being done before his face, had the disputed nature of the nazarene been so plainly set before him. the best way, after all, to reach an understanding of the divine is by study of the human. in the things superior to men we may always look to find god. so with the picture given by the egyptian of the scene when the nazarene turned from the gate beautiful; its central theme was an act utterly beyond performance by a man under control of merely human inspirations. a parable to a parable-loving people, it taught what the christ had so often asserted--that his mission was not political. there was not much more time for thought of all this than that allowed for a common respiration; yet the idea took fast hold of ben-hur, and in the same instant he followed his hope of vengeance out of sight, and the man with the woman's face and hair, and in tears, came near to him--near enough to leave something of his spirit behind. "daughter of balthasar," he said, with dignity, "if this be the game of which you spoke to me, take the chaplet--i accord it yours. only let us make an end of words. that you have a purpose i am sure. to it, i pray, and i will answer you; then let us go our several ways, and forget we ever met. say on; i will listen, but not to more of that which you have given me." she regarded him intently a moment, as if determining what to do--possibly she might have been measuring his will--then she said, coldly, "you have my leave--go." "peace to you," he responded, and walked away. as he was about passing out of the door, she called to him. "a word." he stopped where he was, and looked back. "consider all i know about you." "o most fair egyptian," he said, returning, "what all do you know about me?" she looked at him absently. "you are more of a roman, son of hur, then any of your hebrew brethren." "am i so unlike my countrymen?" he asked, indifferently. "the demi-gods are all roman now," she rejoined. "and therefore you will tell me what more you know about me?" "the likeness is not lost upon me. it might induce me to save you." "save me!" the pink-stained fingers toyed daintily with the lustrous pendant at the throat, and her voice was exceeding low and soft; only a tapping on the floor with her silken sandal admonished him to have a care. "there was a jew, an escaped galley-slave, who killed a man in the palace of idernee," she began, slowly. ben-hur was startled. "the same jew slew a roman soldier before the market-place here in jerusalem; the same jew has three trained legions from galilee to seize the roman governor to-night; the same jew has alliances perfected for war upon rome, and ilderim the sheik is one of his partners." drawing nearer him, she almost whispered, "you have lived in rome. suppose these things repeated in ears we know of. ah! you change color." he drew back from her with somewhat of the look which may be imagined upon the face of a man who, thinking to play with a kitten, has run upon a tiger; and she proceeded: "you are acquainted in the antechamber, and know the lord sejanus. suppose it were told him with the proofs in hand--or without the proofs--that the same jew is the richest man in the east--nay, in all the empire. the fishes of the tiber would have fattening other than that they dig out of its ooze, would they not? and while they were feeding--ha! son of hur!--what splendor there would be on exhibition in the circus! amusing the roman people is a fine art; getting the money to keep them amused is another art even finer; and was there ever an artist the equal of the lord sejanus?" ben-hur was not too much stirred by the evident baseness of the woman for recollection. not unfrequently when all the other faculties are numb and failing memory does its offices with the greatest fidelity. the scene at the spring on the way to the jordan reproduced itself; and he remembered thinking then that esther had betrayed him, and thinking so now, he said calmly as he could, "to give you pleasure, daughter of egypt, i acknowledge your cunning, and that i am at your mercy. it may also please you to hear me acknowledge i have no hope of your favor. i could kill you, but you are a woman. the desert is open to receive me; and though rome is a good hunter of men, there she would follow long and far before she caught me, for in its heart there are wildernesses of spears as well as wildernesses of sand, and it is not unlovely to the unconquered parthian. in the toils as i am--dupe that i have been--yet there is one thing my due: who told you all you know about me? in flight or captivity, dying even, there will be consolation in leaving the traitor the curse of a man who has lived knowing nothing but wretchedness. who told you all you know about me?" it might have been a touch of art, or might have been sincere--that as it may--the expression of the egyptian's face became sympathetic. "there are in my country, o son of hur," she said, presently, "workmen who make pictures by gathering vari-colored shells here and there on the sea-shore after storms, and cutting them up, and patching the pieces as inlaying on marble slabs. can you not see the hint there is in the practice to such as go searching for secrets? enough that from this person i gathered a handful of little circumstances, and from that other yet another handful, and that afterwhile i put them together, and was happy as a woman can be who has at disposal the fortune and life of a man whom"--she stopped, and beat the floor with her foot, and looked away as if to hide a sudden emotion from him; with an air of even painful resolution she presently finished the sentence--"whom she is at loss what to do with." "no, it is not enough," ben-hur said, unmoved by the play--"it is not enough. to-morrow you will determine what to do with me. i may die." "true," she rejoined quickly and with emphasis, "i had something from sheik ilderim as he lay with my father in a grove out in the desert. the night was still, very still, and the walls of the tent, sooth to say, were poor ward against ears outside listening to--birds and beetles flying through the air." she smiled at the conceit, but proceeded: "some other things--bits of shell for the picture--i had from--" "whom?" "the son of hur himself." "was there no other who contributed?" "no, not one." hur drew a breath of relief, and said, lightly, "thanks. it were not well to keep the lord sejanus waiting for you. the desert is not so sensitive. again, o egypt, peace!" to this time he had been standing uncovered; now he took the handkerchief from his arm where it had been hanging, and adjusting it upon his head, turned to depart. but she arrested him; in her eagerness, she even reached a hand to him. "stay," she said. he looked back at her, but without taking the hand, though it was very noticeable for its sparkling of jewels; and he knew by her manner that the reserved point of the scene which was so surprising to him was now to come. "stay, and do not distrust me, o son of hur, if i declare i know why the noble arrius took you for his heir. and, by isis! by all the gods of egypt! i swear i tremble to think of you, so brave and generous, under the hand of the remorseless minister. you have left a portion of your youth in the atria of the great capital; consider, as i do, what the desert will be to you in contrast of life. oh, i give you pity--pity! and if you but do what i say, i will save you. that, also, i swear, by our holy isis!" words of entreaty and prayer these, poured forth volubly and with earnestness and the mighty sanction of beauty. "almost--almost i believe you," ben-hur said, yet hesitatingly, and in a voice low and indistinct; for a doubt remained with him grumbling against the yielding tendency of the man--a good sturdy doubt, such a one as has saved many a life and fortune. "the perfect life for a woman is to live in love; the greatest happiness for a man is the conquest of himself; and that, o prince, is what i have to ask of you." she spoke rapidly, and with animation; indeed, she had never appeared to him so fascinating. "you had once a friend," she continued. "it was in your boyhood. there was a quarrel, and you and he became enemies. he did you wrong. after many years you met him again in the circus at antioch." "messala!" "yes, messala. you are his creditor. forgive the past; admit him to friendship again; restore the fortune he lost in the great wager; rescue him. the six talents are as nothing to you; not so much as a bud lost upon a tree already in full leaf; but to him-- ah, he must go about with a broken body; wherever you meet him he must look up to you from the ground. o ben-hur, noble prince! to a roman descended as he is beggary is the other most odious name for death. save him from beggary!" if the rapidity with which she spoke was a cunning invention to keep him from thinking, either she never knew or else had forgotten that there are convictions which derive nothing from thought, but drop into place without leave or notice. it seemed to him, when at last she paused to have his answer, that he could see messala himself peering at him over her shoulder; and in its expression the countenance of the roman was not that of a mendicant or a friend; the sneer was as patrician as ever, and the fine edge of the hauteur as flawless and irritating. "the appeal has been decided then, and for once a messala takes nothing. i must go and write it in my book of great occurrences--a judgment by a roman against a roman! but did he--did messala send you to me with this request, o egypt?" "he has a noble nature, and judged you by it." ben-hur took the hand upon arm. "as you know him in such friendly way, fair egyptian, tell me, would he do for me, there being a reversal of the conditions, that he asks of me? answer, by isis! answer, for the truth's sake!" there was insistence in the touch of his hand, and in his look also. "oh!" she began, "he is--" "a roman, you were about to say; meaning that i, a jew, must not determine dues from me to him by any measure of dues from him to me; being a jew, i must forgive him my winnings because he is a roman. if you have more to tell me, daughter of balthasar, speak quickly, quickly; for by the lord god of israel, when this heat of blood, hotter waxing, attains its highest, i may not be able longer to see that you are a woman, and beautiful! i may see but the spy of a master the more hateful because the master is a roman. say on, and quickly." she threw his hand off and stepped back into the full light, with all the evil of her nature collected in her eyes and voice. "thou drinker of lees, feeder upon husks! to think i could love thee, having seen messala! such as thou were born to serve him. he would have been satisfied with release of the six talents; but i say to the six thou shalt add twenty--twenty, dost thou hear? the kissings of my little finger which thou hast taken from him, though with my consent, shall be paid for; and that i have followed thee with affection of sympathy, and endured thee so long, enter into the account not less because i was serving him. the merchant here is thy keeper of moneys. if by to-morrow at noon he has not thy order acted upon in favor of my messala for six-and-twenty talents--mark the sum!--thou shalt settle with the lord sejanus. be wise and--farewell." as she was going to the door, he put himself in her way. "the old egypt lives in you," he said. "whether you see messala to-morrow or the next day, here or in rome, give him this message. tell him i have back the money, even the six talents, he robbed me of by robbing my father's estate; tell him i survived the galleys to which he had me sent, and in my strength rejoice in his beggary and dishonor; tell him i think the affliction of body which he has from my hand is the curse of our lord god of israel upon him more fit than death for his crimes against the helpless; tell him my mother and sister whom he had sent to a cell in antonia that they might die of leprosy, are alive and well, thanks to the power of the nazarene whom you so despise; tell him that, to fill my measure of happiness, they are restored to me, and that i will go hence to their love, and find in it more than compensation for the impure passions which you leave me to take to him; tell him--this for your comfort, o cunning incarnate, as much as his--tell him that when the lord sejanus comes to despoil me he will find nothing; for the inheritance i had from the duumvir, including the villa by misenum, has been sold, and the money from the sale is out of reach, afloat in the marts of the world as bills of exchange; and that this house and the goods and merchandise and the ships and caravans with which simonides plies his commerce with such princely profits are covered by imperial safeguards--a wise head having found the price of the favor, and the lord sejanus preferring a reasonable gain in the way of gift to much gain fished from pools of blood and wrong; tell him if all this were not so, if the money and property were all mine, yet should he not have the least part of it, for when he finds our jewish bills, and forces them to give up their values, there is yet another resort left me--a deed of gift to caesar--so much, o egypt, i found out in the atria of the great capital; tell him that along with my defiance i do not send him a curse in words, but, as a better expression of my undying hate, i send him one who will prove to him the sum of all curses; and when he looks at you repeating this my message, daughter of balthasar, his roman shrewdness will tell him all i mean. go now--and i will go." he conducted her to the door, and, with ceremonious politeness, held back the curtain while she passed out. "peace to you," he said, as she disappeared. chapter vii when ben-hur left the guest-chamber, there was not nearly so much life in his action as when he entered it; his steps were slower, and he went along with his head quite upon his breast. having made discovery that a man with a broken back may yet have a sound brain, he was reflecting upon the discovery. forasmuch as it is easy after a calamity has befallen to look back and see the proofs of its coming strewn along the way, the thought that he had not even suspected the egyptian as in messala's interest, but had gone blindly on through whole years putting himself and his friends more and more at her mercy, was a sore wound to the young man's vanity. "i remember," he said to himself, "she had no word of indignation for the perfidious roman at the fountain of castalia! i remember she extolled him at the boat-ride on the lake in the orchard of palms! and, ah!"--he stopped, and beat his left hand violently with his right--"ah! that mystery about the appointment she made with me at the palace of idernee is no mystery now!" the wound, it should be observed, was to his vanity; and fortunately it is not often that people die of such hurts, or even continue a long time sick. in ben-hur's case, moreover, there was a compensation; for presently he exclaimed aloud, "praised be the lord god that the woman took not a more lasting hold on me! i see i did not love her." then, as if he had already parted with not a little of the weight on his mind, he stepped forward more lightly; and, coming to the place on the terrace where one stairway led down to the court-yard below, and another ascended to the roof, he took the latter and began to climb. as he made the last step in the flight he stopped again. "can balthasar have been her partner in the long mask she has been playing? no, no. hypocrisy seldom goes with wrinkled age like that. balthasar is a good man." with this decided opinion he stepped upon the roof. there was a full moon overhead, yet the vault of the sky at the moment was lurid with light cast up from the fires burning in the streets and open places of the city, and the chanting and chorusing of the old psalmody of israel filled it with plaintive harmonies to which he could not but listen. the countless voices bearing the burden seemed to say, "thus, o son of judah, we prove our worshipfulness of the lord god, and our loyalty to the land he gave us. let a gideon appear, or a david, or a maccabaeus, and we are ready." that seemed an introduction; for next he saw the man of nazareth. in certain moods the mind is disposed to mock itself with inapposite fancies. the tearful woman-like face of the christ stayed with him while he crossed the roof to the parapet above the street on the north side of the house, and there was in it no sign of war; but rather as the heavens of calm evenings look peace upon everything, so it looked, provoking the old question, what manner of man is he? ben-hur permitted himself one glance over the parapet, then turned and walked mechanically towards the summer-house. "let them do their worst," he said, as he went slowly on. "i will not forgive the roman. i will not divide my fortune with him, nor will i fly from this city of my fathers. i will call on galilee first, and here make the fight. by brave deeds i will bring the tribes to our side. he who raised up moses will find us a leader, if i fail. if not the nazarene, then some other of the many ready to die for freedom." the interior of the summer-house, when ben-hur, slow sauntering, came to it, was murkily lighted. the faintest of shadows lay along the floor from the pillars on the north and west sides. looking in, he saw the arm-chair usually occupied by simonides drawn to a spot from which a view of the city over towards the market-place could be best had. "the good man is returned. i will speak with him, unless he be asleep." he walked in, and with a quiet step approached the chair. peering over the high back, he beheld esther nestled in the seat asleep--a small figure snugged away under her father's lap-robe. the hair dishevelled fell over her face. her breathing was low and irregular. once it was broken by a long sigh, ending in a sob. something--it might have been the sigh or the loneliness in which he found her--imparted to him the idea that the sleep was a rest from sorrow rather than fatigue. nature kindly sends such relief to children, and he was used to thinking esther scarcely more than a child. he put his arms upon the back of the chair, and thought. "i will not wake her. i have nothing to tell her--nothing unless--unless it be my love.... she is a daughter of judah, and beautiful, and so unlike the egyptian; for there it is all vanity, here all truth; there ambition, here duty; there selfishness, here self-sacrifice.... nay, the question is not do i love her, but does she love me? she was my friend from the beginning. the night on the terrace at antioch, how child-like she begged me not to make rome my enemy, and had me tell her of the villa by misenum, and of the life there! that she should not see i saw her cunning drift i kissed her. can she have forgotten the kiss! i have not. i love her.... they do not know in the city that i have back my people. i shrank from telling it to the egyptian; but this little one will rejoice with me over their restoration, and welcome them with love and sweet services of hand and heart. she will be to my mother another daughter; in tirzah she will find her other self. i would wake her and tell her these things, but--out on the sorceress of egypt! of that folly i could not command myself to speak. i will go away, and wait another and a better time. i will wait. fair esther, dutiful child, daughter of judah!" he retired silently as he came. chapter viii the streets were full of people going and coming, or grouped about the fires roasting meat, and feasting and singing, and happy. the odor of scorching flesh mixed with the odor of cedar-wood aflame and smoking loaded the air; and as this was the occasion when every son of israel was full brother to every other son of israel, and hospitality was without bounds, ben-hur was saluted at every step, while the groups by the fires insisted, "stay and partake with us. we are brethren in the love of the lord." but with thanks to them he hurried on, intending to take horse at the khan and return to the tents on the cedron. to make the place, it was necessary for him to cross the thoroughfare so soon to receive sorrowful christian perpetuation. there also the pious celebration was at its height. looking up the street, he noticed the flames of torches in motion streaming out like pennons; then he observed that the singing ceased where the torches came. his wonder rose to its highest, however, when he became certain that amidst the smoke and dancing sparks he saw the keener sparkling of burnished spear-tips, arguing the presence of roman soldiers. what were they, the scoffing legionaries, doing in a jewish religious procession? the circumstance was unheard of, and he stayed to see the meaning of it. the moon was shining its best; yet, as if the moon and the torches, and the fires in the street, and the rays streaming from windows and open doors were not enough to make the way clear, some of the processionists carried lighted lanterns; and fancying he discovered a special purpose in the use of such equipments, ben-hur stepped into the street so close to the line of march as to bring every one of the company under view while passing. the torches and the lanterns were being borne by servants, each of whom was armed with a bludgeon or a sharpened stave. their present duty seemed to be to pick out the smoothest paths among the rocks in the street for certain dignitaries among them--elders and priests; rabbis with long beards, heavy brows, and beaked noses; men of the class potential in the councils of caiaphas and hannas. where could they be going? not to the temple, certainly, for the route to the sacred house from zion, whence these appeared to be coming, was by the xystus. and their business--if peaceful, why the soldiers? as the procession began to go by ben-hur, his attention was particularly called to three persons walking together. they were well towards the front, and the servants who went before them with lanterns appeared unusually careful in the service. in the person moving on the left of this group he recognized a chief policeman of the temple; the one on the right was a priest; the middle man was not at first so easily placed, as he walked leaning heavily upon the arms of the others, and carried his head so low upon his breast as to hide his face. his appearance was that of a prisoner not yet recovered from the fright of arrest, or being taken to something dreadful--to torture or death. the dignitaries helping him on the right and left, and the attention they gave him, made it clear that if he were not himself the object moving the party, he was at least in some way connected with the object--a witness or a guide, possibly an informer. so if it could be found who he was the business in hand might be shrewdly guessed. with great assurance, ben-hur fell in on the right of the priest, and walked along with him. now if the man would lift his head! and presently he did so, letting the light of the lanterns strike full in his face, pale, dazed, pinched with dread; the beard roughed; the eyes filmy, sunken, and despairing. in much going about following the nazarene, ben-hur had come to know his disciples as well as the master; and now, at sight of the dismal countenance, he cried out, "the 'scariot!" slowly the head of the man turned until his eyes settled upon ben-hur, and his lips moved as if he were about to speak; but the priest interfered. "who art thou? begone!" he said to ben-hur, pushing him away. the young man took the push good-naturedly, and, waiting an opportunity, fell into the procession again. thus he was carried passively along down the street, through the crowded lowlands between the hill bezetha and the castle of antonia, and on by the bethesda reservoir to the sheep gate. there were people everywhere, and everywhere the people were engaged in sacred observances. it being passover night, the valves of the gate stood open. the keepers were off somewhere feasting. in front of the procession as it passed out unchallenged was the deep gorge of the cedron, with olivet beyond, its dressing of cedar and olive trees darker of the moonlight silvering all the heavens. two roads met and merged into the street at the gate--one from the northeast, the other from bethany. ere ben-hur could finish wondering whether he were to go farther, and if so, which road was to be taken, he was led off down into the gorge. and still no hint of the purpose of the midnight march. down the gorge and over the bridge at the bottom of it. there was a great clatter on the floor as the crowd, now a straggling rabble, passed over beating and pounding with their clubs and staves. a little farther, and they turned off to the left in the direction of an olive orchard enclosed by a stone wall in view from the road. ben-hur knew there was nothing in the place but old gnarled trees, the grass, and a trough hewn out of a rock for the treading of oil after the fashion of the country. while, yet more wonder-struck, he was thinking what could bring such a company at such an hour to a quarter so lonesome, they were all brought to a standstill. voices called out excitedly in front; a chill sensation ran from man to man; there was a rapid falling-back, and a blind stumbling over each other. the soldiers alone kept their order. it took ben-hur but a moment to disengage himself from the mob and run forward. there he found a gateway without a gate admitting to the orchard, and he halted to take in the scene. a man in white clothes, and bareheaded, was standing outside the entrance, his hands crossed before him--a slender, stooping figure, with long hair and thin face--in an attitude of resignation and waiting. it was the nazarene! behind him, next the gateway, were the disciples in a group; they were excited, but no man was ever calmer than he. the torchlight beat redly upon him, giving his hair a tint ruddier than was natural to it; yet the expression of the countenance was as usual all gentleness and pity. opposite this most unmartial figure stood the rabble, gaping, silent, awed, cowering--ready at a sign of anger from him to break and run. and from him to them--then at judas, conspicuous in their midst--ben-hur looked--one quick glance, and the object of the visit lay open to his understanding. here was the betrayer, there the betrayed; and these with clubs and staves, and the legionaries, were brought to take him. a man may not always tell what he will do until the trial is upon him. this was the emergency for which ben-hur had been for years preparing. the man to whose security he had devoted himself, and upon whose life he had been building so largely, was in personal peril; yet he stood still. such contradictions are there in human nature! to say truth, o reader, he was not entirely recovered from the picture of the christ before the gate beautiful as it had been given by the egyptian; and, besides that, the very calmness with which the mysterious person confronted the mob held him in restraint by suggesting the possession of a power in reserve more than sufficient for the peril. peace and good-will, and love and non-resistance, had been the burden of the nazarene's teaching; would he put his preaching into practice? he was master of life; he could restore it when lost; he could take it at pleasure. what use would he make of the power now? defend himself? and how? a word--a breath--a thought were sufficient. that there would be some signal exhibition of astonishing force beyond the natural ben-hur believed, and in that faith waited. and in all this he was still measuring the nazarene by himself--by the human standard. presently the clear voice of the christ arose. "whom seek ye?" "jesus of nazareth," the priest replied. "i am he." at these simplest of words, spoken without passion or alarm, the assailants fell back several steps, the timid among them cowering to the ground; and they might have let him alone and gone away had not judas walked over to him. "hail, master!" with this friendly speech, he kissed him. "judas," said the nazarene, mildly, "betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss? wherefore art thou come?" receiving no reply, the master spoke to the crowd again. "whom seek ye?" "jesus of nazareth." "i have told you that i am he. if, therefore, you seek me, let these go their way." at these words of entreaty the rabbis advanced upon him; and, seeing their intent, some of the disciples for whom he interceded drew nearer; one of them cut off a man's ear, but without saving the master from being taken. and yet ben-hur stood still! nay, while the officers were making ready with their ropes the nazarene was doing his greatest charity--not the greatest in deed, but the very greatest in illustration of his forbearance, so far surpassing that of men. "suffer ye thus far," he said to the wounded man, and healed him with a touch. both friends and enemies were confounded--one side that he could do such a thing, the other that he would do it under the circumstances. "surely he will not allow them to bind him!" thus thought ben-hur. "put up thy sword into the sheath; the cup which my father hath given me, shall i not drink it?" from the offending follower, the nazarene turned to his captors. "are you come out as against a thief, with swords and staves to take me? i was daily with you in the temple, and you took me not; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." the posse plucked up courage and closed about him; and when ben-hur looked for the faithful they were gone--not one of them remained. the crowd about the deserted man seemed very busy with tongue, hand, and foot. over their heads, between the torch-sticks, through the smoke, sometimes in openings between the restless men, ben-hur caught momentary glimpses of the prisoner. never had anything struck him as so piteous, so unfriended, so forsaken! yet, he thought, the man could have defended himself--he could have slain his enemies with a breath, but he would not. what was the cup his father had given him to drink? and who was the father to be so obeyed? mystery upon mystery--not one, but many. directly the mob started in return to the city, the soldiers in the lead. ben-hur became anxious; he was not satisfied with himself. where the torches were in the midst of the rabble he knew the nazarene was to be found. suddenly he resolved to see him again. he would ask him one question. taking off his long outer garment and the handkerchief from his head, he threw them upon the orchard wall, and started after the posse, which he boldly joined. through the stragglers he made way, and by littles at length reached the man who carried the ends of the rope with which the prisoner was bound. the nazarene was walking slowly, his head down, his hands bound behind him; the hair fell thickly over his face, and he stooped more than usual; apparently he was oblivious to all going on around him. in advance a few steps were priests and elders talking and occasionally looking back. when, at length, they were all near the bridge in the gorge, ben-hur took the rope from the servant who had it, and stepped past him. "master, master!" he said, hurriedly, speaking close to the nazarene's ear. "dost thou hear, master? a word--one word. tell me--" the fellow from whom he had taken the rope now claimed it. "tell me," ben-hur continued, "goest thou with these of thine own accord?" the people were come up now, and in his own ears asking angrily, "who art thou, man?" "o master," ben-hur made haste to say, his voice sharp with anxiety, "i am thy friend and lover. tell me, i pray thee, if i bring rescue, wilt thou accept it?" the nazarene never so much as looked up or allowed the slightest sign of recognition; yet the something which when we are suffering is always telling it to such as look at us, though they be strangers, failed not now. "let him alone," it seemed to say; "he has been abandoned by his friends; the world has denied him; in bitterness of spirit, he has taken farewell of men; he is going he knows not where, and he cares not. let him alone." and to that ben-hur was now driven. a dozen hands were upon him, and from all sides there was shouting, "he is one of them. bring him along; club him--kill him!" with a gust of passion which gave him many times his ordinary force, ben-hur raised himself, turned once about with arms outstretched, shook the hands off, and rushed through the circle which was fast hemming him in. the hands snatching at him as he passed tore his garments from his back, so he ran off the road naked; and the gorge, in keeping of the friendly darkness, darker there than elsewhere, received him safe. reclaiming his handkerchief and outer garments from the orchard wall, he followed back to the city gate; thence he went to the khan, and on the good horse rode to the tents of his people out by the tombs of the kings. as he rode, he promised himself to see the nazarene on the morrow--promised it, not knowing that the unfriended man was taken straightway to the house of hannas to be tried that night. the heart the young man carried to his couch beat so heavily he could not sleep; for now clearly his renewed judean kingdom resolved itself into what it was--only a dream. it is bad enough to see our castles overthrown one after another with an interval between in which to recover from the shock, or at least let the echoes of the fall die away; but when they go altogether--go as ships sink, as houses tumble in earthquakes--the spirits which endure it calmly are made of stuffs sterner than common, and ben-hur's was not of them. through vistas in the future, he began to catch glimpses of a life serenely beautiful, with a home instead of a palace of state, and esther its mistress. again and again through the leaden-footed hours of the night he saw the villa by misenum, and with his little countrywoman strolled through the garden, and rested in the panelled atrium; overhead the neapolitan sky, at their feet the sunniest of sun-lands and the bluest of bays. in plainest speech, he was entering upon a crisis with which to-morrow and the nazarene will have everything to do. chapter ix next morning, about the second hour, two men rode full speed to the doors of ben-hur's tents, and dismounting, asked to see him. he was not yet risen, but gave directions for their admission. "peace to you, brethren," he said, for they were of his galileans, and trusted officers. "will you be seated?" "nay," the senior replied, bluntly, "to sit and be at ease is to let the nazarene die. rise, son of judah, and go with us. the judgment has been given. the tree of the cross is already at golgotha." ben-hur stared at them. "the cross!" was all he could for the moment say. "they took him last night, and tried him," the man continued. "at dawn they led him before pilate. twice the roman denied his guilt; twice he refused to give him over. at last he washed his hands, and said, 'be it upon you then;' and they answered--" "who answered?" "they--the priests and people--'his blood be upon us and our children.'" "holy father abraham!" cried ben-hur; "a roman kinder to an israelite than his own kin! and if--ah, if he should indeed be the son of god, what shall ever wash his blood from their children? it must not be--'tis time to fight!" his face brightened with resolution, and he clapped his hands. "the horses--and quickly!" he said to the arab who answered the signal. "and bid amrah send me fresh garments, and bring my sword! it is time to die for israel, my friends. tarry without till i come." he ate a crust, drank a cup of wine, and was soon upon the road. "whither would you go first?" asked the galilean. "to collect the legions." "alas!" the man replied, throwing up his hands. "why alas?" "master"--the man spoke with shame--"master, i and my friend here are all that are faithful. the rest do follow the priests." "seeking what?" and ben-hur drew rein. "to kill him." "not the nazarene?" "you have said it." ben-hur looked slowly from one man to the other. he was hearing again the question of the night before: "the cup my father hath given me, shall i not drink it?" in the ear of the nazarene he was putting his own question, "if i bring thee rescue, wilt thou accept it?" he was saying to himself, "this death may not be averted. the man has been travelling towards it with full knowledge from the day he began his mission: it is imposed by a will higher than his; whose but the lord's! if he is consenting, if he goes to it voluntarily, what shall another do?" nor less did ben-hur see the failure of the scheme he had built upon the fidelity of the galileans; their desertion, in fact, left nothing more of it. but how singular it should happen that morning of all others! a dread seized him. it was possible his scheming, and labor, and expenditure of treasure might have been but blasphemous contention with god. when he picked up the reins and said, "let us go, brethren," all before him was uncertainty. the faculty of resolving quickly, without which one cannot be a hero in the midst of stirring scenes, was numb within him. "let us go, brethren; let us to golgotha." they passed through excited crowds of people going south, like themselves. all the country north of the city seemed aroused and in motion. hearing that the procession with the condemned might be met with somewhere near the great white towers left by herod, the three friends rode thither, passing round southeast of akra. in the valley below the pool of hezekiah, passage-way against the multitude became impossible, and they were compelled to dismount, and take shelter behind the corner of a house and wait. the waiting was as if they were on a river bank, watching a flood go by, for such the people seemed. there are certain chapters in the first book of this story which were written to give the reader an idea of the composition of the jewish nationality as it was in the time of christ. they were also written in anticipation of this hour and scene; so that he who has read them with attention can now see all ben-hur saw of the going to the crucifixion--a rare and wonderful sight! half an hour--an hour--the flood surged by ben-hur and his companions, within arm's reach, incessant, undiminished. at the end of that time he could have said, "i have seen all the castes of jerusalem, all the sects of judea, all the tribes of israel, and all the nationalities of earth represented by them." the libyan jew went by, and the jew of egypt, and the jew from the rhine; in short, jews from all east countries and all west countries, and all islands within commercial connection; they went by on foot, on horseback, on camels, in litters and chariots, and with an infinite variety of costumes, yet with the same marvellous similitude of features which to-day particularizes the children of israel, tried as they have been by climates and modes of life; they went by speaking all known tongues, for by that means only were they distinguishable group from group; they went by in haste--eager, anxious, crowding--all to behold one poor nazarene die, a felon between felons. these were the many, but they were not all. borne along with the stream were thousands not jews--thousands hating and despising them--greeks, romans, arabs, syrians, africans, egyptians, easterns. so that, studying the mass, it seemed the whole world was to be represented, and, in that sense, present at the crucifixion. the going was singularly quiet. a hoof-stroke upon a rock, the glide and rattle of revolving wheels, voices in conversation, and now and then a calling voice, were all the sounds heard above the rustle of the mighty movement. yet was there upon every countenance the look with which men make haste to see some dreadful sight, some sudden wreck, or ruin, or calamity of war. and by such signs ben-hur judged that these were the strangers in the city come up to the passover, who had had no part in the trial of the nazarene, and might be his friends. at length, from the direction of the great towers, ben-hur heard, at first faint in the distance, a shouting of many men. "hark! they are coming now," said one of his friends. the people in the street halted to hear; but as the cry rang on over their heads, they looked at each other, and in shuddering silence moved along. the shouting drew nearer each moment; and the air was already full of it and trembling, when ben-hur saw the servants of simonides coming with their master in his chair, and esther walking by his side; a covered litter was next behind them. "peace to you, o simonides--and to you, esther," said ben-hur, meeting them. "if you are for golgotha, stay until the procession passes; i will then go with you. there is room to turn in by the house here." the merchant's large head rested heavily upon his breast; rousing himself, he answered, "speak to balthasar; his pleasure will be mine. he is in the litter." ben-hur hastened to draw aside the curtain. the egyptian was lying within, his wan face so pinched as to appear like a dead man's. the proposal was submitted to him. "can we see him?" he inquired, faintly. "the nazarene? yes; he must pass within a few feet of us." "dear lord!" the old man cried, fervently. "once more, once more! oh, it is a dreadful day for the world!" shortly the whole party were in waiting under shelter of the house. they said but little, afraid, probably, to trust their thoughts to each other; everything was uncertain, and nothing so much so as opinions. balthasar drew himself feebly from the litter, and stood supported by a servant; esther and ben-hur kept simonides company. meantime the flood poured along, if anything, more densely than before; and the shouting came nearer, shrill up in the air, hoarse along the earth, and cruel. at last the procession was up. "see!" said ben-hur, bitterly; "that which cometh now is jerusalem." the advance was in possession of an army of boys, hooting and screaming, "the king of the jews! room, room for the king of the jews!" simonides watched them as they whirled and danced along, like a cloud of summer insects, and said, gravely, "when these come to their inheritance, son of hur, alas for the city of solomon!" a band of legionaries fully armed followed next, marching in sturdy indifference, the glory of burnished brass about them the while. then came the nazarene! he was nearly dead. every few steps he staggered as if he would fall. a stained gown badly torn hung from his shoulders over a seamless undertunic. his bare feet left red splotches upon the stones. an inscription on a board was tied to his neck. a crown of thorns had been crushed hard down upon his head, making cruel wounds from which streams of blood, now dry and blackened, had run over his face and neck. the long hair, tangled in the thorns, was clotted thick. the skin, where it could be seen, was ghastly white. his hands were tied before him. back somewhere in the city he had fallen exhausted under the transverse beam of his cross, which, as a condemned person, custom required him to bear to the place of execution; now a countryman carried the burden in his stead. four soldiers went with him as a guard against the mob, who sometimes, nevertheless, broke through, and struck him with sticks, and spit upon him. yet no sound escaped him, neither remonstrance nor groan; nor did he look up until he was nearly in front of the house sheltering ben-hur and his friends, all of whom were moved with quick compassion. esther clung to her father; and he, strong of will as he was, trembled. balthasar fell down speechless. even ben-hur cried out, "o my god! my god!" then, as if he divined their feelings or heard the exclamation, the nazarene turned his wan face towards the party, and looked at them each one, so they carried the look in memory through life. they could see he was thinking of them, not himself, and the dying eyes gave them the blessing he was not permitted to speak. "where are thy legions, son of hur?" asked simonides, aroused. "hannas can tell thee better than i." "what, faithless?" "all but these two." "then all is lost, and this good man must die!" the face of the merchant knit convulsively as he spoke, and his head sank upon his breast. he had borne his part in ben-hur's labors well, and he had been inspired by the same hopes, now blown out never to be rekindled. two other men succeeded the nazarene bearing cross-beams. "who are these?" ben-hur asked of the galileans. "thieves appointed to die with the nazarene," they replied. next in the procession stalked a mitred figure clad all in the golden vestments of the high-priest. policemen from the temple curtained him round about; and after him, in order, strode the sanhedrim, and a long array of priests, the latter in their plain white garments, overwrapped by abnets of many folds and gorgeous colors. "the son-in-law of hannas," said ben-hur, in a low voice. "caiaphas! i have seen him," simonides replied, adding, after a pause during which he thoughtfully watched the haughty pontiff, "and now am i convinced. with such assurance as proceeds from clear enlightenment of the spirit--with absolute assurance--now know i that he who first goes yonder with the inscription about his neck is what the inscription proclaims him--king of the jews. a common man, an impostor, a felon, was never thus waited upon. for look! here are the nations--jerusalem, israel. here is the ephod, here the blue robe with its fringe, and purple pomegranates, and golden bells, not seen in the street since the day jaddua went out to meet the macedonian--proofs all that this nazarene is king. would i could rise and go after him!" ben-hur listened surprised; and directly, as if himself awakening to his unusual display of feeling, simonides said, impatiently, "speak to balthasar, i pray you, and let us begone. the vomit of jerusalem is coming." then esther spoke. "i see some women there, and they are weeping. who are they?" following the pointing of her hand, the party beheld four women in tears; one of them leaned upon the arm of a man of aspect not unlike the nazarene's. presently ben-hur answered, "the man is the disciple whom the nazarene loves the best of all; she who leans upon his arm is mary, the master's mother; the others are friendly women of galilee." esther pursued the mourners with glistening eyes until the multitude received them out of sight. it may be the reader will fancy the foregoing snatches of conversation were had in quiet; but it was not so. the talking was, for the most part, like that indulged by people at the seaside under the sound of the surf; for to nothing else can the clamor of this division of the mob be so well likened. the demonstration was the forerunner of those in which, scarce thirty years later, under rule of the factions, the holy city was torn to pieces; it was quite as great in numbers, as fanatical and bloodthirsty; boiled and raved, and had in it exactly the same elements--servants, camel-drivers, marketmen, gate-keepers, gardeners, dealers in fruits and wines, proselytes, and foreigners not proselytes, watchmen and menials from the temple, thieves, robbers, and the myriad not assignable to any class, but who, on such occasions as this, appeared no one could say whence, hungry and smelling of caves and old tombs--bareheaded wretches with naked arms and legs, hair and beard in uncombed mats, and each with one garment the color of clay; beasts with abysmal mouths, in outcry effective as lions calling each other across desert spaces. some of them had swords; a greater number flourished spears and javelins; though the weapons of the many were staves and knotted clubs, and slings, for which latter selected stones were stored in scrips, and sometimes in sacks improvised from the foreskirts of their dirty tunics. among the mass here and there appeared persons of high degree--scribes, elders, rabbis, pharisees with broad fringing, sadducees in fine cloaks--serving for the time as prompters and directors. if a throat tired of one cry, they invented another for it; if brassy lungs showed signs of collapse, they set them going again; and yet the clamor, loud and continuous as it was, could have been reduced to a few syllables--king of the jews! room for the king of the jews!--defiler of the temple!--blasphemer of god!--crucify him, crucify him! and of these cries the last one seemed in greatest favor, because, doubtless, it was more directly expressive of the wish of the mob, and helped to better articulate its hatred of the nazarene. "come," said simonides, when balthasar was ready to proceed--"come, let us forward." ben-hur did not hear the call. the appearance of the part of the procession then passing, its brutality and hunger for life, were reminding him of the nazarene--his gentleness, and the many charities he had seen him do for suffering men. suggestions beget suggestions; so he remembered suddenly his own great indebtedness to the man; the time he himself was in the hands of a roman guard going, as was supposed, to a death as certain and almost as terrible as this one of the cross; the cooling drink he had at the well by nazareth, and the divine expression of the face of him who gave it; the later goodness, the miracle of palm-sunday; and with these recollections, the thought of his present powerlessness to give back help for help or make return in kind stung him keenly, and he accused himself. he had not done all he might; he could have watched with the galileans, and kept them true and ready; and this--ah! this was the moment to strike! a blow well given now would not merely disperse the mob and set the nazarene free; it would be a trumpet-call to israel, and precipitate the long-dreamt-of war for freedom. the opportunity was going; the minutes were bearing it away; and if lost! god of abraham! was there nothing to be done--nothing? that instant a party of galileans caught his eye. he rushed through the press and overtook them. "follow me," he said. "i would have speech with you." the men obeyed him, and when they were under shelter of the house, he spoke again: "you are of those who took my swords, and agreed with me to strike for freedom and the king who was coming. you have the swords now, and now is the time to strike with them. go, look everywhere, and find our brethren, and tell them to meet me at the tree of the cross making ready for the nazarene. haste all of you! nay, stand not so! the nazarene is the king, and freedom dies with him." they looked at him respectfully, but did not move. "hear you?" he asked. then one of them replied, "son of judah"--by that name they knew him--"son of judah, it is you who are deceived, not we or our brethren who have your swords. the nazarene is not the king; neither has he the spirit of a king. we were with him when he came into jerusalem; we saw him in the temple; he failed himself, and us, and israel; at the gate beautiful he turned his back upon god and refused the throne of david. he is not king, and galilee is not with him. he shall die the death. but hear you, son of judah. we have your swords, and we are ready now to draw them and strike for freedom; and so is galilee. be it for freedom, o son of judah, for freedom! and we will meet you at the tree of the cross." the sovereign moment of his life was upon ben-hur. could he have taken the offer and said the word, history might have been other than it is; but then it would have been history ordered by men, not god--something that never was, and never will be. a confusion fell upon him; he knew not how, though afterwards he attributed it to the nazarene; for when the nazarene was risen, he understood the death was necessary to faith in the resurrection, without which christianity would be an empty husk. the confusion, as has been said, left him without the faculty of decision; he stood helpless--wordless even. covering his face with his hand, he shook with the conflict between his wish, which was what he would have ordered, and the power that was upon him. "come; we are waiting for you," said simonides, the fourth time. thereupon he walked mechanically after the chair and the litter. esther walked with him. like balthasar and his friends, the wise men, the day they went to the meeting in the desert, he was being led along the way. chapter x when the party--balthasar, simonides, ben-hur, esther, and the two faithful galileans--reached the place of crucifixion, ben-hur was in advance leading them. how they had been able to make way through the great press of excited people, he never knew; no more did he know the road by which they came or the time it took them to come. he had walked in total unconsciousness, neither hearing nor seeing anybody or anything, and without a thought of where he was going, or the ghostliest semblance of a purpose in his mind. in such condition a little child could have done as much as he to prevent the awful crime he was about to witness. the intentions of god are always strange to us; but not more so than the means by which they are wrought out, and at last made plain to our belief. ben-hur came to a stop; those following him also stopped. as a curtain rises before an audience, the spell holding him in its sleep-awake rose, and he saw with a clear understanding. there was a space upon the top of a low knoll rounded like a skull, and dry, dusty, and without vegetation, except some scrubby hyssop. the boundary of the space was a living wall of men, with men behind struggling, some to look over, others to look through it. an inner wall of roman soldiery held the dense outer wall rigidly to its place. a centurion kept eye upon the soldiers. up to the very line so vigilantly guarded ben-hur had been led; at the line he now stood, his face to the northwest. the knoll was the old aramaic golgotha--in latin, calvaria; anglicized, calvary; translated, the skull. on its slopes, in the low places, on the swells and higher hills, the earth sparkled with a strange enamelling. look where he would outside the walled space, he saw no patch of brown soil, no rock, no green thing; he saw only thousands of eyes in ruddy faces; off a little way in the perspective only ruddy faces without eyes; off a little farther only a broad, broad circle, which the nearer view instructed him was also of faces. and this was the ensemble of three millions of people; under it three millions of hearts throbbing with passionate interest in what was taking place upon the knoll; indifferent as to the thieves, caring only for the nazarene, and for him only as he was an object of hate or fear or curiosity--he who loved them all, and was about to die for them. in the spectacle of a great assemblage of people there are always the bewilderment and fascination one feels while looking over a stretch of sea in agitation, and never had this one been exceeded; yet ben-hur gave it but a passing glance, for that which was going on in the space described would permit no division of his interest. up on the knoll so high as to be above the living wall, and visible over the heads of an attending company of notables, conspicuous because of his mitre and vestments and his haughty air, stood the high priest. up the knoll still higher, up quite to the round summit, so as to be seen far and near, was the nazarene, stooped and suffering, but silent. the wit among the guard had complemented the crown upon his head by putting a reed in his hand for a sceptre. clamors blew upon him like blasts--laughter--execrations--sometimes both together indistinguishably. a man--only a man, o reader, would have charged the blasts with the remainder of his love for the race, and let it go forever. all the eyes then looking were fixed upon the nazarene. it may have been pity with which he was moved; whatever the cause, ben-hur was conscious of a change in his feelings. a conception of something better than the best of this life--something so much better that it could serve a weak man with strength to endure agonies of spirit as well as of body; something to make death welcome--perhaps another life purer than this one--perhaps the spirit-life which balthasar held to so fast, began to dawn upon his mind clearer and clearer, bringing to him a certain sense that, after all, the mission of the nazarene was that of guide across the boundary for such as loved him; across the boundary to where his kingdom was set up and waiting for him. then, as something borne through the air out of the almost forgotten, he heard again, or seemed to hear, the saying of the nazarene, "i am the resurrection and the life." and the words repeated themselves over and over, and took form, and the dawn touched them with its light, and filled them with a new meaning. and as men repeat a question to grasp and fix the meaning, he asked, gazing at the figure on the hill fainting under its crown, who the resurrection? and who the life? "i am," the figure seemed to say--and say it for him; for instantly he was sensible of a peace such as he had never known--the peace which is the end of doubt and mystery, and the beginning of faith and love and clear understanding. from this dreamy state ben-hur was aroused by the sound of hammering. on the summit of the knoll he observed then what had escaped him before--some soldiers and workmen preparing the crosses. the holes for planting the trees were ready, and now the transverse beams were being fitted to their places. "bid the men make haste," said the high-priest to the centurion. "these"--and he pointed to the nazarene--"must be dead by the going-down of the sun, and buried that the land may not be defiled. such is the law." with a better mind, a soldier went to the nazarene and offered him something to drink, but he refused the cup. then another went to him and took from his neck the board with the inscription upon it, which he nailed to the tree of the cross--and the preparation was complete. "the crosses are ready," said the centurion to the pontiff, who received the report with a wave of the hand and the reply, "let the blasphemer go first. the son of god should be able to save himself. we will see." the people to whom the preparation in its several stages was visible, and who to this time had assailed the hill with incessant cries of impatience, permitted a lull which directly became a universal hush. the part of the infliction most shocking, at least to the thought, was reached--the men were to be nailed to their crosses. when for that purpose the soldiers laid their hands upon the nazarene first, a shudder passed through the great concourse; the most brutalized shrank with dread. afterwards there were those who said the air suddenly chilled and made them shiver. "how very still it is!" esther said, as she put her arm about her father's neck. and remembering the torture he himself had suffered, he drew her face down upon his breast, and sat trembling. "avoid it, esther, avoid it!" he said. "i know not but all who stand and see it--the innocent as well as the guilty--may be cursed from this hour." balthasar sank upon his knees. "son of hur," said simonides, with increasing excitement--"son of hur, if jehovah stretch not forth his hand, and quickly, israel is lost--and we are lost." ben-hur answered, calmly, "i have been in a dream, simonides, and heard in it why all this should be, and why it should go on. it is the will of the nazarene--it is god's will. let us do as the egyptian here--let us hold our peace and pray." as he looked up on the knoll again, the words were wafted to him through the awful stillness-- "i am the resurrection and the life." he bowed reverently as to a person speaking. up on the summit meantime the work went on. the guard took the nazarene's clothes from him; so that he stood before the millions naked. the stripes of the scourging he had received in the early morning were still bloody upon his back; yet he was laid pitilessly down, and stretched upon the cross--first, the arms upon the transverse beam; the spikes were sharp--a few blows, and they were driven through the tender palms; next, they drew his knees up until the soles of the feet rested flat upon the tree; then they placed one foot upon the other, and one spike fixed both of them fast. the dulled sound of the hammering was heard outside the guarded space; and such as could not hear, yet saw the hammer as it fell, shivered with fear. and withal not a groan, or cry, or word of remonstrance from the sufferer: nothing at which an enemy could laugh; nothing a lover could regret. "which way wilt thou have him faced?" asked a soldier, bluntly. "towards the temple," the pontiff replied. "in dying i would have him see the holy house hath not suffered by him." the workmen put their hands to the cross, and carried it, burden and all, to the place of planting. at a word, they dropped the tree into the hole; and the body of the nazarene also dropped heavily, and hung by the bleeding hands. still no cry of pain--only the exclamation divinest of all recorded exclamations, "father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." the cross, reared now above all other objects, and standing singly out against the sky, was greeted with a burst of delight; and all who could see and read the writing upon the board over the nazarene's head made haste to decipher it. soon as read, the legend was adopted by them and communicated, and presently the whole mighty concourse was ringing the salutation from side to side, and repeating it with laughter and groans, "king of the jews! hail, king of the jews!" the pontiff, with a clearer idea of the import of the inscription, protested against it, but in vain; so the titled king, looking from the knoll with dying eyes, must have had the city of his fathers at rest below him--she who had so ignominiously cast him out. the sun was rising rapidly to noon; the hills bared their brown breasts lovingly to it; the more distant mountains rejoiced in the purple with which it so regally dressed them. in the city, the temples, palaces, towers, pinnacles, and all points of beauty and prominence seemed to lift themselves into the unrivalled brilliance, as if they knew the pride they were giving the many who from time to time turned to look at them. suddenly a dimness began to fill the sky and cover the earth--at first no more than a scarce perceptible fading of the day; a twilight out of time; an evening gliding in upon the splendors of noon. but it deepened, and directly drew attention; whereat the noise of the shouting and laughter fell off, and men, doubting their senses, gazed at each other curiously: then they looked to the sun again; then at the mountains, getting farther away; at the sky and the near landscape, sinking in shadow; at the hill upon which the tragedy was enacting; and from all these they gazed at each other again, and turned pale, and held their peace. "it is only a mist or passing cloud," simonides said soothingly to esther, who was alarmed. "it will brighten presently." ben-hur did not think so. "it is not a mist or a cloud," he said. "the spirits who live in the air--the prophets and saints--are at work in mercy to themselves and nature. i say to you, o simonides, truly as god lives, he who hangs yonder is the son of god." and leaving simonides lost in wonder at such a speech from him, he went where balthasar was kneeling near by, and laid his hand upon the good man's shoulder. "o wise egyptian, hearken! thou alone wert right--the nazarene is indeed the son of god." balthasar drew him down to him, and replied, feebly, "i saw him a child in the manger where he was first laid; it is not strange that i knew him sooner than thou; but oh that i should live to see this day! would i had died with my brethren! happy melchior! happy, happy gaspar!" "comfort thee!" said ben-hur. "doubtless they too are here." the dimness went on deepening into obscurity, and that into positive darkness, but without deterring the bolder spirits upon the knoll. one after the other the thieves were raised on their crosses, and the crosses planted. the guard was then withdrawn, and the people set free closed in upon the height, and surged up it, like a converging wave. a man might take a look, when a new-comer would push him on, and take his place, to be in turn pushed on--and there were laughter and ribaldry and revilements, all for the nazarene. "ha, ha! if thou be king of the jews, save thyself," a soldier shouted. "ay," said a priest, "if he will come down to us now, we will believe in him." others wagged their heads wisely, saying, "he would destroy the temple, and rebuild it in three days, but cannot save himself." others still: "he called himself the son of god; let us see if god will have him." what all there is in prejudice no one has ever said. the nazarene had never harmed the people; far the greater part of them had never seen him except in this his hour of calamity; yet--singular contrariety!--they loaded him with their curses, and gave their sympathy to the thieves. the supernatural night, dropped thus from the heavens, affected esther as it began to affect thousands of others braver and stronger. "let us go home," she prayed--twice, three times--saying, "it is the frown of god, father. what other dreadful things may happen, who can tell? i am afraid." simonides was obstinate. he said little, but was plainly under great excitement. observing, about the end of the first hour, that the violence of the crowding up on the knoll was somewhat abated, at his suggestion the party advanced to take position nearer the crosses. ben-hur gave his arm to balthasar; yet the egyptian made the ascent with difficulty. from their new stand, the nazarene was imperfectly visible, appearing to them not more than a dark suspended figure. they could hear him, however--hear his sighing, which showed an endurance or exhaustion greater than that of his fellow-sufferers; for they filled every lull in the noises with their groans and entreaties. the second hour after the suspension passed like the first one. to the nazarene they were hours of insult, provocation, and slow dying. he spoke but once in the time. some women came and knelt at the foot of his cross. among them he recognized his mother with the beloved disciple. "woman," he said, raising his voice, "behold thy son!" and to the disciple, "behold thy mother!" the third hour came, and still the people surged round the hill, held to it by some strange attraction, with which, in probability, the night in midday had much to do. they were quieter than in the preceding hour; yet at intervals they could be heard off in the darkness shouting to each other, multitude calling unto multitude. it was noticeable, also, that coming now to the nazarene, they approached his cross in silence, took the look in silence, and so departed. this change extended even to the guard, who so shortly before had cast lots for the clothes of the crucified; they stood with their officers a little apart, more watchful of the one convict than of the throngs coming and going. if he but breathed heavily, or tossed his head in a paroxysm of pain, they were instantly on the alert. most marvellous of all, however, was the altered behavior of the high-priest and his following, the wise men who had assisted him in the trial in the night, and, in the victim's face, kept place by him with zealous approval. when the darkness began to fall, they began to lose their confidence. there were among them many learned in astronomy, and familiar with the apparitions so terrible in those days to the masses; much of the knowledge was descended to them from their fathers far back; some of it had been brought away at the end of the captivity; and the necessities of the temple service kept it all bright. these closed together when the sun commenced to fade before their eyes, and the mountains and hills to recede; they drew together in a group around their pontiff, and debated what they saw. "the moon is at its full," they said, with truth, "and this cannot be an eclipse." then, as no one could answer the question common with them all--as no one could account for the darkness, or for its occurrence at that particular time, in their secret hearts they associated it with the nazarene, and yielded to an alarm which the long continuance of the phenomenon steadily increased. in their place behind the soldiers, they noted every word and motion of the nazarene, and hung with fear upon his sighs, and talked in whispers. the man might be the messiah, and then-- but they would wait and see! in the meantime ben-hur was not once visited by the old spirit. the perfect peace abode with him. he prayed simply that the end might be hastened. he knew the condition of simonides' mind--that he was hesitating on the verge of belief. he could see the massive face weighed down by solemn reflection. he noticed him casting inquiring glances at the sun, as seeking the cause of the darkness. nor did he fail to notice the solicitude with which esther clung to him, smothering her fears to accommodate his wishes. "be not afraid," he heard him say to her; "but stay and watch with me. thou mayst live twice the span of my life, and see nothing of human interest equal to this; and there may be revelations more. let us stay to the close." when the third hour was about half gone, some men of the rudest class--wretches from the tombs about the city--came and stopped in front of the centre cross. "this is he, the new king of the jews," said one of them. the others cried, with laughter, "hail, all hail, king of the jews!" receiving no reply, they went closer. "if thou be king of the jews, or son of god, come down," they said, loudly. at this, one of the thieves quit groaning, and called to the nazarene, "yes, if thou be christ, save thyself and us." the people laughed and applauded; then, while they were listening for a reply, the other felon was heard to say to the first one, "dost thou not fear god? we receive the due rewards of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss." the bystanders were astonished; in the midst of the hush which ensued, the second felon spoke again, but this time to the nazarene: "lord," he said, "remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." simonides gave a great start. "when thou comest into thy kingdom!" it was the very point of doubt in his mind; the point he had so often debated with balthasar. "didst thou hear?" said ben-hur to him. "the kingdom cannot be of this world. yon witness saith the king is but going to his kingdom; and, in effect, i heard the same in my dream." "hush!" said simonides, more imperiously than ever before in speech to ben-hur. "hush, i pray thee! if the nazarene should answer--" and as he spoke the nazarene did answer, in a clear voice, full of confidence: "verily i say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise!" simonides waited to hear if that were all; then he folded his hands and said, "no more, no more, lord! the darkness is gone; i see with other eyes--even as balthasar, i see with eyes of perfect faith." the faithful servant had at last his fitting reward. his broken body might never be restored; nor was there riddance of the recollection of his sufferings, or recall of the years embittered by them; but suddenly a new life was shown him, with assurance that it was for him--a new life lying just beyond this one--and its name was paradise. there he would find the kingdom of which he had been dreaming, and the king. a perfect peace fell upon him. over the way, in front of the cross, however, there were surprise and consternation. the cunning casuists there put the assumption underlying the question and the admission underlying the answer together. for saying through the land that he was the messiah, they had brought the nazarene to the cross; and, lo! on the cross, more confidently than ever, he had not only reasserted himself, but promised enjoyment of his paradise to a malefactor. they trembled at what they were doing. the pontiff, with all his pride, was afraid. where got the man his confidence except from truth? and what should the truth be but god? a very little now would put them all to flight. the breathing of the nazarene grew harder, his sighs became great gasps. only three hours upon the cross, and he was dying! the intelligence was carried from man to man, until every one knew it; and then everything hushed; the breeze faltered and died; a stifling vapor loaded the air; heat was superadded to darkness; nor might any one unknowing the fact have thought that off the hill, out under the overhanging pall, there were three millions of people waiting awe-struck what should happen next--they were so still! then there went out through the gloom, over the heads of such as were on the hill within hearing of the dying man, a cry of despair, if not reproach: "my god! my god! why hast thou forsaken me?" the voice startled all who heard it. one it touched uncontrollably. the soldiers in coming had brought with them a vessel of wine and water, and set it down a little way from ben-hur. with a sponge dipped into the liquor, and put on the end of a stick, they could moisten the tongue of a sufferer at their pleasure. ben-hur thought of the draught he had had at the well near nazareth; an impulse seized him; catching up the sponge, he dipped it into the vessel, and started for the cross. "let him be!" the people in the way shouted, angrily. "let him be!" without minding them, he ran on, and put the sponge to the nazarene's lips. too late, too late! the face then plainly seen by ben-hur, bruised and black with blood and dust as it was, lighted nevertheless with a sudden glow; the eyes opened wide, and fixed upon some one visible to them alone in the far heavens; and there were content and relief, even triumph, in the shout the victim gave. "it is finished! it is finished!" so a hero, dying in the doing a great deed, celebrates his success with a last cheer. the light in the eyes went out; slowly the crowned head sank upon the laboring breast. ben-hur thought the struggle over; but the fainting soul recollected itself, so that he and those around him caught the other and last words, spoken in a low voice, as if to one listening close by: "father, into thy hands i commend my spirit." a tremor shook the tortured body; there was a scream of fiercest anguish, and the mission and the earthly life were over at once. the heart, with all its love, was broken; for of that, o reader, the man died! ben-hur went back to his friends, saying, simply, "it is over; he is dead." in a space incredibly short the multitude was informed of the circumstance. no one repeated it aloud; there was a murmur which spread from the knoll in every direction; a murmur that was little more than a whispering, "he is dead! he is dead!" and that was all. the people had their wish; the nazarene was dead; yet they stared at each other aghast. his blood was upon them! and while they stood staring at each other, the ground commenced to shake; each man took hold of his neighbor to support himself; in a twinkling the darkness disappeared, and the sun came out; and everybody, as with the same glance, beheld the crosses upon the hill all reeling drunken-like in the earthquake. they beheld all three of them; but the one in the centre was arbitrary; it alone would be seen; and for that it seemed to extend itself upwards, and lift its burden, and swing it to and fro higher and higher in the blue of the sky. and every man among them who had jeered at the nazarene; every one who had struck him; every one who had voted to crucify him; every one who had marched in the procession from the city; every one who had in his heart wished him dead, and they were as ten to one, felt that he was in some way individually singled out from the many, and that if he would live he must get away quickly as possible from that menace in the sky. they started to run; they ran with all their might; on horseback, and camels, and in chariots they ran, as well as on foot; but then as if it were mad at them for what they had done, and had taken up the cause of the unoffending and friendless dead, the earthquake pursued them, and tossed them about, and flung them down, and terrified them yet more by the horrible noise of great rocks grinding and rending beneath them. they beat their breasts and shrieked with fear. his blood was upon them! the home-bred and the foreign, priest and layman, beggar, sadducee, pharisee, were overtaken in the race, and tumbled about indiscriminately. if they called on the lord, the outraged earth answered for him in fury, and dealt them all alike. it did not even know wherein the high-priest was better than his guilty brethren; overtaking him, it tripped him up also, and smirched the fringimg of his robe, and filled the golden bells with sand, and his mouth with dust. he and his people were alike in the one thing at least--the blood of the nazarene was upon them all! when the sunlight broke upon the crucifixion, the mother of the nazarene, the disciple, and the faithful women of galilee, the centurion and his soldiers, and ben-hur and his party, were all who remained upon the hill. these had not time to observe the flight of the multitude; they were too loudly called upon to take care of themselves. "seat thyself here," said ben-hur to esther, making a place for her at her father's feet. "now cover thine eyes and look not up; but put thy trust in god, and the spirit of yon just man so foully slain." "nay," said simonides, reverently, "let us henceforth speak of him as the christ." "be it so," said ben-hur. presently a wave of the earthquake struck the hill. the shrieks of the thieves upon the reeling crosses were terrible to hear. though giddy with the movements of the ground, ben-hur had time to look at balthasar, and beheld him prostrate and still. he ran to him and called--there was no reply. the good man was dead! then ben-hur remembered to have heard a cry in answer, as it were, to the scream of the nazarene in his last moment; but he had not looked to see from whom it had proceeded; and ever after he believed the spirit of the egyptian accompanied that of his master over the boundary into the kingdom of paradise. the idea rested not only upon the cry heard, but upon the exceeding fitness of the distinction. if faith were worthy reward in the person of gaspar, and love in that of melchior, surely he should have some special meed who through a long life and so excellently illustrated the three virtues in combination--faith, love, and good works. the servants of balthasar had deserted their master; but when all was over, the two galileans bore the old man in his litter back to the city. it was a sorrowful procession that entered the south gate of the palace of the hurs about the set of sun that memorable day. about the same hour the body of the christ was taken down from the cross. the remains of balthasar were carried to the guest-chamber. all the servants hastened weeping to see him; for he had the love of every living thing with which he had in anywise to do; but when they beheld his face, and the smile upon it, they dried their tears, saying, "it is well. he is happier this evening than when he went out in the morning." ben-hur would not trust a servant to inform iras what had befallen her father. he went himself to see her and bring her to the body. he imagined her grief; she would now be alone in the world; it was a time to forgive and pity her. he remembered he had not asked why she was not of the party in the morning, or where she was; he remembered he had not thought of her; and, from shame, he was ready to make any amends, the more so as he was about to plunge her into such acute grief. he shook the curtains of her door; and though he heard the ringing of the little bells echoing within, he had no response; he called her name, and again he called--still no answer. he drew the curtain aside and went into the room; she was not there. he ascended hastily to the roof in search of her; nor was she there. he questioned the servants; none of them had seen her during the day. after a long quest everywhere through the house, ben-hur returned to the guest-chamber, and took the place by the dead which should have been hers; and he bethought him there how merciful the christ had been to his aged servant. at the gate of the kingdom of paradise happily the afflictions of this life, even its desertions, are left behind and forgotten by those who go in and rest. when the gloom of the burial was nigh gone, on the ninth day after the healing, the law being fulfilled, ben-hur brought his mother and tirzah home; and from that day, in that house the most sacred names possible of utterance by men were always coupled worshipfully together, god the father and christ the son. -------- about five years after the crucifixion, esther, the wife of ben-hur, sat in her room in the beautiful villa by misenum. it was noon, with a warm italian sun making summer for the roses and vines outside. everything in the apartment was roman, except that esther wore the garments of a jewish matron. tirzah and two children at play upon a lion skin on the floor were her companions; and one had only to observe how carefully she watched them to know that the little ones were hers. time had treated her generously. she was more than ever beautiful, and in becoming mistress of the villa, she had realized one of her cherished dreams. in the midst of this simple, home-like scene, a servant appeared in the doorway, and spoke to her. "a woman in the atrium to speak with the mistress." "let her come. i will receive her here." presently the stranger entered. at sight of her the jewess arose, and was about to speak; then she hesitated, changed color, and finally drew back, saying, "i have known you, good woman. you are--" "i was iras, the daughter of balthasar." esther conquered her surprise, and bade the servant bring the egyptian a seat. "no," said iras, coldly. "i will retire directly." the two gazed at each other. we know what esther presented--a beautiful woman, a happy mother, a contented wife. on the other side, it was very plain that fortune had not dealt so gently with her former rival. the tall figure remained with some of its grace; but an evil life had tainted the whole person. the face was coarse; the large eyes were red and pursed beneath the lower lids; there was no color in her cheeks. the lips were cynical and hard, and general neglect was leading rapidly to premature old age. her attire was ill chosen and draggled. the mud of the road clung to her sandals. iras broke the painful silence. "these are thy children?" esther looked at them, and smiled. "yes. will you not speak to them?" "i would scare them," iras replied. then she drew closer to esther, and seeing her shrink, said, "be not afraid. give thy husband a message for me. tell him his enemy is dead, and that for the much misery he brought me i slew him." "his enemy!" "the messala. further, tell thy husband that for the harm i sought to do him i have been punished until even he would pity me." tears arose in esther's eyes, and she was about to speak. "nay," said iras, "i do not want pity or tears. tell him, finally, i have found that to be a roman is to be a brute. farewell." she moved to go. esther followed her. "stay, and see my husband. he has no feeling against you. he sought for you everywhere. he will be your friend. i will be your friend. we are christians." the other was firm. "no; i am what i am of choice. it will be over shortly." "but"--esther hesitated--"have we nothing you would wish; nothing to--to--" the countenance of the egyptian softened; something like a smile played about her lips. she looked at the children upon the floor. "there is something," she said. esther followed her eyes, and with quick perception answered, "it is yours." iras went to them, and knelt on the lion's skin, and kissed them both. rising slowly, she looked at them; then passed to the door and out of it without a parting word. she walked rapidly, and was gone before esther could decide what to do. ben-hur, when he was told of the visit, knew certainly what he had long surmised--that on the day of the crucifixion iras had deserted her father for messala. nevertheless, he set out immediately and hunted for her vainly; they never saw her more, or heard of her. the blue bay, with all its laughing under the sun, has yet its dark secrets. had it a tongue, it might tell us of the egyptian. simonides lived to be a very old man. in the tenth year of nero's reign, he gave up the business so long centred in the warehouse at antioch. to the last he kept a clear head and a good heart, and was successful. one evening, in the year named, he sat in his arm-chair on the terrace of the warehouse. ben-hur and esther, and their three children, were with him. the last of the ships swung at mooring in the current of the river; all the rest had been sold. in the long interval between this and the day of the crucifixion but one sorrow had befallen them: that was when the mother of ben-hur died; and then and now their grief would have been greater but for their christian faith. the ship spoken of had arrived only the day before, bringing intelligence of the persecution of christians begun by nero in rome, and the party on the terrace were talking of the news when malluch, who was still in their service, approached and delivered a package to ben-hur. "who brings this?" the latter asked, after reading. "an arab." "where is he?" "he left immediately." "listen," said ben-hur to simonides. he read then the following letter: "i, ilderim, the son of ilderim the generous, and sheik of the tribe of ilderim, to judah, son of hur. "know, o friend of my father's, how my father loved you. read what is herewith sent, and you will know. his will is my will; therefore what he gave is thine. "all the parthians took from him in the great battle in which they slew him i have retaken--this writing, with other things, and vengeance, and all the brood of that mira who in his time was mother of so many stars. "peace be to you and all yours. "this voice out of the desert is the voice of "ilderim, shiek." ben-hur next unrolled a scrap of papyrus yellow as a withered mulberry leaf. it required the daintiest handling. proceeding, he read: "ilderim, surnamed the generous, sheik of the tribe of ilderim, to the son who succeeds me. "all i have, o son, shall be thine in the day of thy succession, except that property by antioch known as the orchard of palms; and it shall be to the son of hur who brought us such glory in the circus--to him and his forever. "dishonor not thy father. ilderim the generous, sheik." "what say you?" asked ben-hur, of simonides. esther took the papers pleased, and read them to herself. simonides remained silent. his eyes were upon the ship; but he was thinking. at length he spoke. "son of hur," he said, gravely, "the lord has been good to you in these later years. you have much to be thankful for. is it not time to decide finally the meaning of the gift of the great fortune now all in your hand, and growing?" "i decided that long ago. the fortune was meant for the service of the giver; not a part, simonides, but all of it. the question with me has been, how can i make it most useful in his cause? and of that tell me, i pray you." simonides answered, "the great sums you have given to the church here in antioch, i am witness to. now, instantly almost with this gift of the generous sheik's, comes the news of the persecution of the brethren in rome. it is the opening of a new field. the light must not go out in the capital." "tell me how i can keep it alive." "i will tell you. the romans, even this nero, hold two things sacred--i know of no others they so hold--they are the ashes of the dead and all places of burial. if you cannot build temples for the worship of the lord above ground, then build them below the ground; and to keep them from profanation, carry to them the bodies of all who die in the faith." ben-hur arose excitedly. "it is a great idea," he said. "i will not wait to begin it. time forbids waiting. the ship that brought the news of the suffering of our brethren shall take me to rome. i will sail to-morrow." he turned to malluch. "get the ship ready, malluch, and be thou ready to go with me. "it is well," said simonides. "and thou, esther, what sayest thou?" asked ben-hur. esther came to his side, and put her hand on his arm, and answered, "so wilt thou best serve the christ. o my husband, let me not hinder, but go with thee and help." * * * * * * if any of my readers, visiting rome, will make the short journey to the catacomb of san calixto, which is more ancient than that of san sebastiano, he will see what became of the fortune of ben-hur, and give him thanks. out of that vast tomb christianity issued to supersede the caesars. archives <freethought@despammed.com> production notes: a reply to dr lightfoot's essays by walter r. cassels ( -sep- to -jun- ) originally published anonymously in . transcribed by the freethought archives <freethought@despammed.com> a reply to dr lightfoot's essays by the author of "supernatural religion" london introduction. i sincerely rejoice that dr. lightfoot has recovered from his recent illness. of this restoration the vigorous energy of his preface to his republication of the essays on _supernatural religion_ affords decided evidence, and i hope that no refutation of this inference at least may be possible, however little we may agree on other points. it was natural that dr. lightfoot should not be averse to preserving the more serious part of these essays, the preparation of which cost him so much time and trouble; and the republication of this portion of his reply to my volumes, giving as it does the most eloquent and attractive statement of the ecclesiastical case, must be welcome to many. i cannot but think that it has been an error of judgment and of temper, however, to have rescued from an ephemeral state of existence and conferred literary permanence on much in his present volume, which is mere personal attack on his adversary and a deliberate attempt to discredit a writer with whom he pretends to enter into serious argument. a material part of the volume is composed of such matter. i cannot congratulate him on the spirit which he has displayed. personally i am profoundly indifferent to such attempts at detraction, and it is with heretical amusement that i contemplate the large part which purely individual and irrelevant criticism is made to play in stuffing out the proportions of orthodox argument. in the first moment of irritation, i can well understand that hard hitting, even below the belt, might be indulged in against my work by an exasperated theologian--for even a bishop is a man,--but that such attacks should not only be perpetuated, but repeated after years of calm reflection, is at once an error and a compliment for which i was not prepared. anything to prevent readers from taking up _supernatural religion_: any misrepresentation to prejudice them against its statements. elaborate literary abuse against the author is substituted for the effective arguments against his reasoning which are unhappily wanting. in the later editions of my work, i removed everything that seemed likely to irritate or to afford openings for the discussion of minor questions, irrelevant to the main subject under treatment. whilst dr. lightfoot in many cases points out such alterations, he republishes his original attacks and demonstrates the disparaging purpose of his essays by the reiterated condemnation of passages which had so little to do with the argument that they no longer exist in the complete edition of supernatural religion. could there be more palpable evidence of the frivolous and superficial character of his objections? it is not too much to say that in no part of these essays has dr. lightfoot at all seriously entered upon the fundamental proposition of _supernatural religion_. he has elaborately criticised notes and references: he has discussed dates and unimportant details: but as to the question whether there is any evidence for miracles and the reality of alleged divine revelation, his volume is an absolute blank. bampton lecturers and distinguished apologetic writers have frankly admitted that the christian argument must be reconstructed. they have felt the positions, formerly considered to be impregnable, crumbling away under their feet, but nothing could more forcibly expose the feebleness of the apologetic case than this volume of dr lightfoot's essays. the substantial correctness of the main conclusions of _supernatural religion_ is rendered all the more apparent by the reply to its reasoning. the eagerness with which dr. lightfoot and others rush up all the side issues and turn their backs upon the more important central proposition is in the highest degree remarkable. those who are in doubt and who have understood what the problem to be solved really is will not get any help from his volume. the republication of these essays, however, has almost forced upon me the necessity of likewise republishing the reply i gave at the time of their appearance. the first essay appeared in the _fortnightly review_, and others followed in the preface to the sixth edition of _supernatural religion_, and in that and the complete edition, in notes to the portions attacked, where reply seemed necessary. i cannot hope that readers will refer to these scattered arguments, and this volume is published with the view of affording a convenient form of reference for those interested in the discussion. i add brief notes upon those essays which did not require separate treatment at the time, and such further explanations as seem to me desirable for the elucidation of my statements. of course, the full discussion of dr. lightfoot's arguments must still be sought in the volumes of _supernatural religion_, but i trust that i may have said enough here to indicate the nature of his allegations and their bearing on my argument. i have likewise thought it right to add the conclusions, without any alteration, which were written for the complete edition, when, for the first time, having examined all the evidence, i was in a position to wind up the case. this is all the more necessary as they finally show the inadequacy of dr. lightfoot's treatment. but i have still more been moved to append these conclusions in order to put them within easier reach of those who only possess the earlier editions, which do not contain them. dr. lightfoot again reproaches me with my anonymity. i do not think that i am open to much rebuke for not having the courage of my opinions; but i may distinctly say that i have always held that arguments upon very serious subjects should be impersonal, and neither gain weight by the possession of a distinguished name nor lose by the want of it. i leave the bishop any advantage he has in his throne, and i take my stand upon the basis of reason and not of reputation. contents i. a reply to dr. lightfoot's first essay on "supernatural religion" ii. the silence of eusebius--the ignatian epistles iii. polycarp of smyrna iv. papias of hierapolis v. melito of sardis--claudius apollinaris--polycrates vi. the churches of gaul vii. tatian's "diatessaron" viii. conclusions [endnotes] index. i. _a reply to dr. lightfoot's first essay on "supernatural religion."_ [endnote : ] the function of the critic, when rightly exercised, is so important, that it is fitting that a reviewer seriously examining serious work should receive serious and respectful consideration, however severe his remarks and however unpleasant his strictures. it is scarcely possible that a man can so fully separate himself from his work as to judge fairly either of its effect as a whole or its treatment in detail; and in every undertaking of any magnitude it is almost certain that flaws and mistakes must occur, which can best be detected by those whose perception has not been dulled by continuous and over-strained application. no honest writer, however much he may wince, can feel otherwise than thankful to anyone who points out errors or mistakes which can be rectified; and, for myself, i may say that i desire nothing more than such frankness, and the fair refutation of any arguments which may be fallacious. reluctant as i must ever be, therefore, to depart from the attitude of silent attention which i think should be maintained by writers in the face of criticism, or to interrupt the fair reply of an opponent, the case is somewhat different when criticism assumes the vicious tone of the rev. dr. lightfoot's article upon _supernatural religion_ in the december number of the "contemporary review." whilst delivering severe lectures upon want of candour and impartiality, and preaching temperance and moderation, the practice of the preacher, as sometimes happens, falls very short of his precept. the example of moderation presented to me by my clerical critic does not seem to me very edifying, his impartiality does not appear to be beyond reproach, and in his tone i fail to recognise any of the [greek: epieikeia] which mr. matthew arnold so justly admires. i shall not emulate the spirit of that article, and i trust that i shall not scant the courtesy with which i desire to treat dr. lightfoot, whose ability i admire and whose position i understand. i should not, indeed, consider it necessary at present to notice his attack at all, but that i perceive the attempt to prejudice an audience and divert attention from the issues of a serious argument by general detraction. the device is far from new, and the tactics cannot be pronounced original. in religious as well as legal controversy, the threadbare maxim: "a bad case--abuse the plaintiff's attorney," remains in force; and it is surprising how effectual the simple practice still is. if it were granted, for the sake of argument, that each slip in translation, each error in detail and each oversight in statement, with which canon lightfoot reproaches _supernatural religion_ were well founded, it must be evident to any intelligent mind that the mass of such a work would not really be affected; such flaws--and what book of the kind escapes them--which can most easily be removed, would not weaken the central argument, and after the apologist's ingenuity has been exerted to the utmost to blacken every blot, the basis of supernatural religion would not be made one whit more secure. it is, however, because i recognise that, behind this skirmishing attack, there is the constant insinuation that misstatements have been detected which have "a vital bearing" upon the question at issue, arguments "wrecked" which are of serious importance, and omissions indicated which change the aspect of reasoning, that i have thought it worth my while at once to reply. i shall endeavour briefly to show that, in thus attempting to sap the strength of my position, dr. lightfoot has only exposed the weakness of his own. dr. lightfoot somewhat scornfully says that he has the "misfortune" "to dispute not a few propositions which 'most critics' are agreed in maintaining." he will probably find that "most critics," for their part, will not consider it a very great misfortune to differ from a divine who has the misfortune of differing on so many points, from most critics. the first and most vehement attack made upon me by dr. lightfoot is regarding "a highly important passage of irenaeus," containing a reference to some other and unnamed authority, in which he considers that i am "quite unconscious of the distinction between the infinitive and indicative;" a point upon which "any fairly trained schoolboy" would decide against my reasoning. i had found fault with tischendorf in the text, and with dr. westcott in a note, for inserting the words "say they," and "they taught," in rendering the oblique construction of a passage whose source is in dispute, without some mark or explanation, in the total absence of the original, that these special words were supplementary and introduced by the translator. i shall speak of tischendorf presently, and for the moment i confine myself to dr. westcott. irenaeus (_adv. haer._ v. , ) makes a statement as to what "the presbyters say" regarding the joys of the millennial kingdom, and he then proceeds (§ ) with indirect construction, indicating a reference to some other authority than himself, to the passage in question, in which a saying similar to john xiv. is introduced. this passage is claimed by tischendorf as a quotation from the work of papias, and is advanced in discussing the evidence of the bishop of hierapolis. dr. westcott, without any explanation, states in his text: "in addition to the gospels of st. matthew and st. mark, papias appears to have been acquainted with the gospel of st. john;" [ : ] and in a note on an earlier page: "the passage quoted by irenaeus from 'the elders' may probably be taken as a specimen of his style of interpretation;" [ : ] and then follows the passage in which the indirect construction receives a specific direction by the insertion of "they taught." [ : ] neither dr. westcott nor dr. lightfoot makes the slightest allusion to the fact that they are almost alone in advancing this testimony, which dr. lightfoot describes as having "a vital bearing on the main question at issue, the date of the fourth gospel." the reader who had not the work of irenaeus before him to estimate the justness of the ascription of this passage to papias, and who was not acquainted with all the circumstances, and with the state of critical opinion on the point, could scarcely, on reading such statements, understand the real position of the case. now the facts are as follows: routh [ : ] conjectured that the whole passage in irenaeus was derived from the work of papias, and in this he was followed by dorner, [ : ] who practically introduced the suggestion to the critics of germany, with whom it found no favour, and no one whom i remember, except tischendorf and perhaps professor hofstede de groot, now seriously supports this view. zeller, [ : ] in his celebrated treatise on the external testimony for the fourth gospel, argued against dorner that, in spite of the indirect construction of the passage, there is not the slightest certainty that irenaeus did not himself interpolate the words from the fourth gospel, and he affirmed the fact that there is no evidence whatever that papias knew that work. anger, [ : ] discussing the evidence of the presbyters quoted by irenaeus in our gospels, refers to this passage in a note with marked doubt, saying, that _fortasse_ (in italics), on account the chiliastic tone of the passage, it may, as routh conjectures, be from the work of papias; but in the text he points out the great caution with which these quotations from "the presbyters" should be used. he says, "sed in usu horum testimoniorum faciendo cautissime versandum est, tum quod, nisi omnia, certe pleraque ab irenaeo _memoriter_ repetuntur, tum quia hic illic incertissimum est, utrum ipse loquatur irenaeus an presbyterorum verba recitet." meyer, [ : ] who refers to the passage, remarks that it is doubtful whether these presbyters, whom he does not connect with papias, derived the saying from the gospel or from tradition. riggenbach [ : ] alludes to it merely to abandon the passage as evidence connected with papias, and only claims the quotation, in an arbitrary way, as emanating from the first half of the second century. professor hofstede de groot, [ : ] the translator of tischendorf's work into dutch, and his warm admirer, brings forward the quotation, after him, as either belonging to the circle of papias or to that father himself. hilgenfeld [ : ] distinctly separates the presbyters of this passage from papias, and asserts that they may have lived in the second half of the second century. luthardt, [ : ] in the new issue of his youthful work on the fourth gospel, does not attempt to associate the quotation with the book of papias, but merely argues that the presbyters to whom irenaeus was indebted for it formed a circle to which polycarp and papias belonged. zahn [ : ] does not go beyond him in this. dr. davidson, while arguing that "it is impossible to show that the four (gospels) were current as early as a.d. ," refers to this passage, and says: "it is precarious to infer with tischendorf either that irenaeus derived his account of the presbyters from papias's book, or that the authority of the elders carries us back to the termination of the apostolic times;" and he concludes: "is it not evident that irenaeus employed it (the word 'elders') loosely, without an exact idea of the persons he meant?" [ : ] in another place dr. davidson still more directly says: "the second proof is founded on a passage in irenaeus where the father, professing to give an account of the eschatological tradition of 'the presbyter, a disciple of the apostles,' introduces the words, 'and that therefore the lord said, "in my father's house are many mansions."' here it is equally uncertain whether a work of papias be meant as the source of the quotation, and whether that father did not insert something of his own, or something borrowed elsewhere, and altered according to the text of the gospel." [ : ] with these exceptions, no critic seems to have considered it worth his while to refer to this passage at all. neither in considering the external evidences for the antiquity of the fourth gospel, nor in discussing the question whether papias was acquainted with it, do apologetic writers like bleek, ebrard, olshausen, guericke, kirchhofer, thiersch, or tholuck, or impartial writers like credner, de wette, gfrörer, lücke, and others commit the mistake of even alluding to it, although many of them directly endeavour to refute the article of zeller, in which it is cited and rejected, and all of them point out so indirect an argument for his knowledge of the gospel as the statement of eusebius that papias made use of the first epistle of john. indeed, on neither side is the passage introduced into the controversy at all; and whilst so many conclude positively that papias was not acquainted with the fourth gospel, the utmost that is argued by the majority of apologetic critics is, that his ignorance of it is not actually proved. those who go further and urge the supposed use of the epistle as testimony in favour of his also knowing the gospel would only too gladly have produced this passage, if they could have maintained it as taken from the work of papias. it would not be permissible to assume that any of the writers to whom we refer were ignorant of the existence of the passage, because they are men thoroughly acquainted with the subject generally, and most of them directly refer to the article of zeller in which the quotation is discussed. this is an instance in which dr. lightfoot has the "misfortune to dispute not a few propositions, which most critics are agreed in maintaining." i have no objection to his disputing anything. all that i suggest desirable in such a case is some indication that there is anything in dispute, which, i submit, general readers could scarcely discover from the statements of dr. westcott or the remarks of dr. lightfoot. now in regard to myself, in desiring to avoid what i objected to in others, i may have gone to the other extreme. but although i perhaps too carefully avoided any indication as to who says "that there is this distinction of dwelling," &c., i did what was possible to attract attention to the actual indirect construction, a fact which must have been patent, as dr. lightfoot says, to a "fairly trained schoolboy." i doubly indicated, by a mark and by adding a note, the commencement of the sentence, and not only gave the original below, but actually inserted in the text the opening words, [greek: einai de tên diastolên tautên tês oikêseôs], for the express purpose of showing the construction. that i did not myself mistake the point is evident, not only from this, but from the fact that i do not make any objection to the translations of tischendorf and dr. westcott, beyond condemning the _unmarked_ introduction of precise words, and that i proceed to argue that "the presbyters," to whom the passage is referred, are in no case necessarily to be associated with the work of papias, which would have been mere waste of time had i intended to maintain that irenaeus quoted direct from the gospel. an observation made to me regarding my note on dr. westcott, showed me that i had been misunderstood, and led me to refer to the place again. i immediately withdrew the note which had been interpreted in a way very different from what i had intended, and at the same time perceiving that my argument was obscure and liable to the misinterpretation of which dr. lightfoot has made such eager use, i myself at once recast it as well as i could within the limits at my command, [ : ] and this was already published before dr. lightfoot's criticism appeared, and before i had any knowledge of his articles. [ : ] with regard to tischendorf, however, the validity of my objection is practically admitted in the fullest way by dr. lightfoot himself. "tischendorf's words," he says, "are 'und deshalb, sagen sie, habe der herr den ausspruch gethan.' he might have spared the 'sagen sie,' because the german idiom 'habe' enables him to express the main fact that the words were not irenaeus's own without this addition." writing of a brother apologist of course he apologetically adds: "but he has not altered any idea which the original contains." [ : ] i affirm, on the contrary, that he has very materially altered an idea--that, in fact, he has warped the whole argument, for dr. lightfoot has mercifully omitted to point out that the words just quoted are introduced by the distinct assertion "that irenaeus quotes even out of the mouth of the presbyters, those high authorities of papias." the german apologist, therefore, not giving the original text, not saying a word of the adverse judgment of most critics, after fully rendering the construction of irenaeus by the "habe," quietly inserts "say they," in reference to these "high authorities of papias," without a hint that these words are his own. [ : ] my argument briefly is, that there is no ground for asserting that the passage in question, with its reference to "many mansions," was derived from the presbyters of papias, or from his book, and that it is not a quotation from a work which quotes the presbyters as quoting these words, but one made more directly by irenaeus--not directly from the gospel, but probably from some contemporary, and representing nothing more than the exegesis of his own day. the second point of canon lightfoot's attack is in connection with a discussion of the date of celsus. dr. lightfoot quotes a passage from origen given in my work, [ : ] upon which he comments as follows: "on the strength of the passage so translated, our author supposes that origen's impression concerning the date of celsus had meanwhile been 'considerably modified,' and remarks that he now 'treats him as a contemporary.' unfortunately, however, the tenses, on which everything depends, are freely handled in this translation. origen does not say 'celsus _has promised_,' but 'celsus _promises_ ([greek: epangellomenon])--_i.e._, in the treatise before him, origen's knowledge was plainly derived from the book itself. and, again, he does not say 'if he _has not fulfilled_ his promise to write,' but 'if he _did not write_ as he undertook to do' ([greek: _egrapsen huposchomenos_]); nor 'if he _has commenced and finished_,' but 'if he _commenced and finished_' ([greek: _arxamenos sunetelese_]). thus origen's language itself here points to a past epoch, and is in strict accordance with the earlier passages in his work." [ : ] these remarks, and the triumphant exclamation of dr. lightfoot at the close that here "an elaborate argument is wrecked on this rock of grammar," convey a totally wrong impression of the case. the argument regarding this passage in origen occurs in a controversy between tischendorf and volkmar, the particulars of which i report; [ : ] and to avoid anticipation of the point, i promise to give the passage in its place, which i subsequently do. all the complimentary observations which dr. lightfoot makes upon the translation actually fall upon the head of his brother apologist, tischendorf, whose rendering, as he so much insists upon it, i merely reproduce. the manner in which tischendorf attacks volkmar in connection with this passage forcibly reminds me of the amenities addressed to myself by dr. lightfoot, who seems unconsciously to have caught the trick of his precursor's scolding. volkmar had paraphrased origen's words in a way of which his critic disapproved, and tischendorf comments as follows: "but here again we have to do with nothing else than a completely abortive fabrication, a certificate of our said critic's poverty. for the assertion derived from the close of the work of origen rests upon gross ignorance or upon intentional deception. the words of origen to his patron ambrosius, who had prompted him to the composition of the whole apology, run as follows" [and here i must give the german]: "'wenn dass celsus versprochen hat' [_has promised_] 'jedenfalls in seinem gegen das christenthum gerichteten und von origenes widerlegten buche) noch eine andere schrift nach dieser zu verfassen, worin u.s.w.' 'wenn er nun diese zweite schrift trotz seines versprechens nicht geschrieben hat' [_has not written_], 'so genügt es uns mit diesen acht büchern auf seine schrift geantwortet zu haben. wenn er aber auch jene unternommen und vollendet hat' [_has undertaken and completed_], 'so treib das buch auf und schicke es, damit wir auch darauf antworten,'" &c. [ : ] now this translation of tischendorf is not made carelessly, but deliberately, for the express purpose of showing the actual words of origen, and correcting the version of volkmar; and he insists upon these tenses not only by referring to the greek of these special phrases, but by again contrasting with them the paraphrase of volkmar. [ : ] whatever disregard of tenses and "free handling" of origen there may be here, therefore, are due to tischendorf, who may be considered as good a scholar as dr. lightfoot, and not a less zealous apologist. instead of depending on the "strength of the passage so translated," however, as canon lightfoot represents, my argument is independent of this or any other version of origen's words; and, in fact, the point is only incidentally introduced, and more as the view of others than my own. i point out [ : ] that origen evidently knows nothing of his adversary: and i add that "it is almost impossible to avoid the conviction that, during the time he was composing his work, his impressions concerning the date and identity of his opponent became considerably modified." i then proceed to enumerate some of the reasons. in the earlier portion of his first book (i. ), origen has heard that his celsus is the epicurean of the reign of hadrian and later, but a little further on (i. ), he confesses his ignorance as to whether he is the same celsus who wrote against magic, which celsus the epicurean actually did. in the fourth book (iv. ) he expresses uncertainty as to whether the epicurean celsus had composed the work against christians which he is refuting, and at the close of his treatise he treats him as a contemporary, for, as i again mention, volkmar and others assert, on the strength of the passage in the eighth book and from other considerations, that celsus really was a contemporary of origen. i proceed to argue that, even if celsus were the epicurean friend of lucian, there could be no ground for assigning to him an early date; but, on the contrary, that so far from being an epicurean, the celsus attacked by origen evidently was a neo-platonist. this, and the circumstance that his work indicates a period of persecution against christians, leads to the conclusion, i point out, that he must be dated about the beginning of the third century. my argument, in short, scarcely turns upon the passage in origen at all, and that which renders it incapable of being wrecked is the fact that celsus never mentions the gospels, and much less adds anything to our knowledge of their authors, which can entitle them to greater credit as witnesses for the reality of divine revelation. i do not intend to bandy many words with canon lightfoot regarding translations. nothing is so easy as to find fault with the rendering of passages from another language, or to point out variations in tenses and expressions, not in themselves of the slightest importance to the main issue, in freely transferring the spirit of sentences from their natural context to an isolated position in quotation. such a personal matter as dr. lightfoot's general strictures, in this respect, i feel cannot interest the readers of this review. i am quite ready to accept correction even from an opponent where i am wrong, but i am quite content to leave to the judgment of all who will examine them in a fair spirit the voluminous quotations in my work. the 'higher criticism,' in which dr. lightfoot seems to have indulged in this article, scarcely rises above the correction of an exercise or the conjugation of a verb. [ : ] i am extremely obliged to dr. lightfoot for pointing out two clerical errors which had escaped me, but which have been discovered and magnified by his microscopic criticism, and thrown at my head by his apologetic zeal. the first is in reference to what he describes as "a highly important question of biblical criticism." in speaking, _en passant_, of a passage in john v. , , in connection with the "age of miracles," the words "it is argued that" were accidentally omitted from vol. i. p. , line , and the sentence should read, "and it is argued that it was probably a later interpolation." [ : ] in vol. ii. p. , after again mentioning the rejection of the passage, i proceed to state my own personal belief that the words must have originally stood in the text, because v. indicates the existence of such a context. the second error is in vol. ii. p. , line , in which "only" has been substituted for "never" in deciphering my ms. since this is such a _common-place_ of "apologists," as dr. lightfoot points out, surely he might have put a courteous construction upon the error, instead of venting upon me so much righteous indignation. i can assure him that i do not in the slightest degree grudge him the full benefit of the argument that the fourth gospel never once distinguishes john the baptist from the apostle john by the addition [greek: ho baptistês]. [ : ] i turn, however, to a more important matter. canon lightfoot attacks me in no measured terms for a criticism upon dr. westcott's mode of dealing with a piece of information regarding basilides. he says-- "dr. westcott writes of basilides as follows:-- "'at the same time he appealed to the authority of glaucias, who, as well as st. mark, was "an interpreter of st. peter."' ('canon,' p. ) "the inverted commas are given here as they appear in dr. westcott's book. it need hardly be said that dr. westcott is simply illustrating the statement of basilides that glaucias was an interpreter of st. peter by the similar statement of papias and others that st. mark was an interpreter of the same apostle--a very innocent piece of information, one would suppose. on this passage, however, our author remarks-- "'now we have here again an illustration of the same misleading system which we have already condemned, and shall further refer to, in the introduction after "glaucias" of the words "_who, as well as st. mark, was_ an interpreter of st. peter." the words in italics are the gratuitous addition of canon westcott himself, and can only have been inserted for one of two purposes--( ) to assert the fact that glaucias was actually an interpreter of peter, as tradition represented mark to be; or ( ) to insinuate to unlearned readers that basilides himself acknowledged mark as well as glaucias as the interpreter of peter. we can hardly suppose the first to have been the intention, and we regret to be forced back upon the second, and infer that the temptation to weaken the inferences from the appeal of basilides to the uncanonical glaucias, by coupling with it the allusion to mark, was, unconsciously, no doubt, too strong for the apologist.' ('s.r.' i. p. ) "dr. westcott's honour may safely be left to take care of itself. it stands far too high to be touched by insinuations like these. i only call attention to the fact that our author has removed dr. westcott's inverted commas, and then founded on the passage so manipulated a charge of unfair dealing, which could only be sustained in their absence, and which even then no one but himself would have thought of." [ : ] in order to make this matter clear, i must venture more fully to quote dr. westcott's statements regarding basilides. dr. westcott says: "since basilides lived on the verge of the apostolic times, it is not surprising that he made use of other sources of christian doctrine besides the canonical books. the belief in divine inspiration was still fresh and real; and eusebius relates that he set up imaginary prophets, barcabbas and barcoph (parchor)--'names to strike terror into the superstitious'--by whose writings he supported his peculiar views. at the same time he appealed to the authority of glaucias, who, as well as st. mark, was 'an interpreter of st. peter;' [ : ] and he also made use of certain 'traditions of matthias,' which claimed to be grounded on 'private intercourse with the saviour.' [ : ] it appears, moreover, that he himself published a gospel--a 'life of christ,' as it would perhaps be called in our days, or 'the philosophy of christianity'--but he admitted the historic truth of all the facts contained in the canonical gospels, and used them as scripture. for, in spite of his peculiar opinions, the testimony of basilides to our 'acknowledged' books is comprehensive and clear. in the few pages of his writings which remain, there are certain references to the gospels of st. matthew, st. luke, and st. john, &c." and in a note dr. westcott adds, "the following examples will be sufficient to show his mode of quotation, &c." [ : ] not a word of qualification or doubt is added to these extraordinary statements, for a full criticism of which i must beg the reader to be good enough to refer to _supernatural religion_, ii. pp. - . setting aside here the important question as to what the "gospel" of basilides--to which dr. westcott gives the fanciful names of a "life of christ," or "philosophy of christianity," without a shadow of evidence--really was, it could scarcely be divined, for instance, that the statement that basilides "admitted the historic truth of all the facts contained in the canonical gospels" rests solely upon a sentence in the work attributed to hippolytus, to the effect that, after his generation, all things regarding the saviour--according to the _followers_ of basilides--occurred in the same way as they are written in the gospels. again, it could scarcely be supposed by an ordinary reader that the assertion that basilides used the "canonical gospels"--there certainly were no "canonical" gospels in his day--"as scripture," that his testimony to our 'acknowledged' books is comprehensive and clear, and that "in the few pages of his writings which remain there are certain references" to those gospels, which show "his method of quotation," is not based upon any direct extracts from his writings, but solely upon passages in an epitome by hippolytus of the views of the school of basilides, not ascribed directly to basilides himself, but introduced by a mere indefinite [greek: phêsi]. [ : ] why, i might enquire in the vein of dr. lightfoot, is not a syllable said of all this, or of the fact, which completes the separation of these passages from basilides, that the gnosticism described by hippolytus is not that of basilides, but clearly of a later type; and that writers of that period, and notably hippolytus himself, were in the habit of putting, as it might seem, by the use of an indefinite "he says," sentiments into the mouth of the founder of a sect which were only expressed by his later followers? as dr. lightfoot evidently highly values the testimony of luthardt, i will quote the words of that staunch apologist to show that, in this, i do not merely represent the views of a heterodox school. in discussing the supposed quotations from the fourth gospel, which dr. westcott represents as "certain references" to it by basilides himself, luthardt says: "but to this is opposed the consideration that, as we know from irenaeus, &c., the original system of basilides had a dualistic character, whilst that of the 'philosophumena' is pantheistic. we must recognise that hippolytus, in the 'philosophumena,' not unfrequently makes the founder of a sect responsible for that which in the first place concerns his disciples, so that from these quotations only the use of the johannine gospel in the school of basilides is undoubtedly proved, but not on the part of the founder himself." [ : ] it is difficult to recognise in this fancy portrait the basilides regarding whom a large body of eminent critics conclude that he did not know our gospels at all, but made use of an uncanonical work, supplemented by traditions from glaucias and matthias; but, as if the heretic had not been sufficiently restored to the odour of sanctity, the additional touch is given in the passage more immediately before us. dr. westcott conveys the information contained in the single sentence of clement of alexandria, [greek: kathaper ho basileidês kan glaukian epigraphêtai didaskalon, hôs auchousin autoi, ton petrou hermênea], [ : ] in the following words; and i quote the statement exactly as it has stood in my text from the very first, in order to show the inverted commas upon which dr. lightfoot lays so much stress as having been removed. in mentioning this fact canon westcott says: "at the same time he appealed to the authority of glaucias, who, as well as st. mark, was 'an interpreter of st. peter.' [ : ] now we have here, again, an illustration," &c.; and then follows the passage quoted by dr. lightfoot. the positive form given to the words of clement, and the introduction of the words "as well as st. mark," seem at once to impart a full flavour of orthodoxy to basilides which i do not find in the original. i confess that i fail to see any special virtue in the inverted commas; but as dr. lightfoot does, let me point out to him that he commences his quotation--upon the strength of which he accuses me of "manipulating" a passage, and then founding upon it a charge of unfair dealing--immediately after the direct citation from dr. westcott's work, in which those inverted commas are given. the words they mark are a quotation from clement, and in my re-quotation a few lines lower down they are equally well indicated by being the only words not put in italics. the fact is, that dr. lightfoot has mistaken and misstated the whole case. he has been so eagerly looking for the mote in my eye that he has failed to perceive the beam which is in his own eye. it is by this wonderful illustration that he "exemplifies the elaborate looseness which pervades the critical portion of this (my) book." [ : ] it rather exemplifies the uncritical looseness which pervades his own article. dr. lightfoot says, and says rightly, that "dr. westcott's honour may safely be left to take care of itself." it would have been much better to have left it to take care of itself, indeed, than trouble it by such advocacy. if anything could check just or generous expression, it would be the tone adopted by dr. lightfoot; but nevertheless i again say, in the most unreserved manner, that neither in this instance nor in any other have i had the most distant intention of attributing "corrupt motives" to a man like dr. westcott, whose single-mindedness i recognise, and for whose earnest character i feel genuine respect. the utmost that i have at any time intended to point out is that, utterly possessed as he is by orthodox views in general, and of the canon in particular, he sees facts, i consider, through a dogmatic medium, and unconsciously imparts his own peculiar colouring to statements which should be more impartially made. dr. lightfoot will not even give me credit for fairly stating the arguments of my adversaries. "the author," he says, "does indeed single out from time to time the weaker arguments of 'apologetic' writers, and on these he dwells at great length; but their weightier facts and lines of reasoning are altogether ignored by him, though they often occur in the same books, and even in the same contexts which he quotes." [ : ] i am exceedingly indebted to dr. lightfoot for having had compassion upon my incapacity to distinguish these arguments, and for giving me "samples" of the "weightier facts and lines of reasoning" of apologists which i have ignored. the first of these with which he favours me is in connection with an anachronism in the epistle ascribed to polycarp, ignatius being spoken of in chapter thirteen as living, and information requested regarding him "and those who are with him;" whereas in an earlier passage he is represented as dead. dr. lightfoot reproaches me:-- "why, then, does he not notice the answer which he might have found in any common source of information, that when the latin version (the greek is wanting here) 'de his qui cum eo sunt' is re-translated into the original language, [greek: tois sun autô], the 'anachronism' altogether disappears?" [ : ] as dr. lightfoot does not apparently attach much weight to my replies, i venture to give my reasons for not troubling my readers with this argument in words which, i hope, may find more favour with him. dr. donaldson, in his able work on "christian literature and doctrine," says: "in the ninth chapter ignatius is spoken of as a martyr, an example to the philippians of patience ... in the thirteenth chapter polycarp requests information with regard to 'ignatius and those with him.' these words occur only in the latin translation of the epistle. to get rid of the difficulty which they present, it has been supposed that the words 'de his qui cum eo sunt' are a wrong rendering of the greek [greek: peri ton met' autou]. and then the words are supposed to mean, 'concerning ignatius (of whose death i heard, but of which i wish particulars) and those who _were_ with him.' but even the greek could not be forced into such a meaning as this; and, moreover, there is no reason to impugn the latin translation, except the peculiar difficulty presented by a comparison with the ninth chapter." [ : ] dr. lightfoot, however, does impugn it. it is apparently his habit to impugn translations. he accuses the ancient latin translator of freely handling the tenses of a greek text which the critic himself has never seen. here it is dr. lightfoot's argument which is "wrecked upon this rock of grammar." the next example of the "weightier facts and lines of reasoning" of apologists which i have ignored is as follows:-- "again, when he devotes more than forty pages to the discussion of papias, why does he not even mention the view maintained by dr. westcott and others (and certainly suggested by a strict interpretation of papias' own words), that this father's object, in his 'exposition,' was not to construct a new evangelical narrative, but to interpret and to illustrate by oral tradition one already lying before him in written documents? this view, if correct, entirely alters the relation of papias to the written gospels; and its discussion was a matter of essential importance to the main question at issue." [ : ] i reply that the object of my work was not to discuss views advanced without a shadow of evidence, contradicted by the words of papias himself, and absolutely incapable of proof. my object was the much more practical and direct one of ascertaining whether papias affords any evidence with regard to our gospels which could warrant our believing in the occurrence of miraculous events for which they are the principal testimony. even if it could be proved, which it cannot be, that papias actually had "written documents" before him, the cause of our gospels would not be one jot advanced, inasmuch as it could not be shown that these documents were our gospels; and the avowed preference of papias for tradition over books, so clearly expressed, implies anything but respect for any written documents with which he was acquainted. however important such a discussion may appear to dr. lightfoot in the absence of other evidence, it is absolutely devoid of value in an enquiry into the reality of divine revelation. the next "sample" of these ignored "weightier facts and lines of reasoning" given by dr. lightfoot is the following: "again, when he reproduces the tübingen fallacy respecting 'the strong prejudice' of hegesippus against st. paul, and quotes the often-quoted passage from stephanus gobarus, in which this writer refers to the language of hegesippus condemning the use of the words, 'eye hath not seen,' &c., why does he not state that these words were employed by heretical teachers to justify their rites of initiation, and consequently 'apologetic' writers contend that hegesippus refers to the words, not as used by st. paul, but as misapplied by these heretics? since, according to the tübingen interpretation, this single notice contradicts everything else which we now of the opinions of hegesippus, the view of 'apologists' might, perhaps, have been worth a moment's consideration." [ : ] i reply, why does this punctilious objector omit to point out that i merely mention the anti-pauline interpretation incidentally in a single sentence, [ : ] and after a few words as to the source of the quotation in cor. ii. , i proceed: "this, however, does not concern us here, and we have merely to examine 'the saying of the lord,' which hegesippus opposes to the passage, 'blessed are your eyes,'" &c., this being, in fact, the sole object of my quotation from stephanus gobarus? why does he not also state that i distinctly refer to tischendorf's denial that hegesippus was opposed to paul? and why does he not further state that, instead of being the "single notice" from which the view of the anti-pauline feelings of hegesippus is derived, that conclusion is based upon the whole tendency of the fragments of his writings which remain? it was not my purpose to enter into any discussion of the feeling against paul entertained by a large section of the early church. what i have to say upon that subject will appear in my examination of the acts of the apostles. "and again," says dr. lightfoot, proceeding with his samples of ignored weightier lines of reasoning, "in the elaborate examination of justin martyr's evangelical quotations ... our author frequently refers to dr. westcott's book to censure it, and many comparatively insignificant points are discussed at great length. why, then, does he not once mention dr. westcott's argument founded on the looseness of justin martyr's quotations from the old testament as throwing some light on the degree of accuracy which he might be expected to show in quoting the gospels? a reader fresh from the perusal of _supernatural religion_ will have his eyes opened as to the character of justin's mind when he turns to dr. westcott's book, and finds how justin interweaves, misnames, and misquotes passages from the old testament. it cannot be said that these are unimportant points." [ : ] now the fact is, that in the first pages of my examination of justin martyr i do not once refer in my text to dr. westcott's work; and when i finally do so it is for the purposes of discussing what seemed to me a singular argument, demanding a moment's attention. [ : ] dr. westcott, whilst maintaining that justin's quotations are derived from our gospels, argues that only in seven passages out of the very numerous citations in his writings "does justin profess to give the exact words recorded in the 'memoirs.'" [ : ] the reason why i do not feel it at all necessary to discuss the other views of dr. westcott here mentioned is practically given in the final sentence of a note quoted by dr. lightfoot, [ : ] which sentence he has thought it right to omit. the note is as follows, and the sentence to which i refer is put in italics: "for the arguments of apologetic criticism, the reader may be referred to canon westcott's work 'on the canon,' pp. - . dr. westcott does not attempt to deny the fact that justin's quotations are different from the text of our gospels, but he accounts for his variations on grounds which are purely imaginary. _it is evident that so long as there are such variations to be explained away, at least no proof of identity is possible_." [ : ] it will be observed that although i do not discuss dr. westcott's views, i pointedly refer those who desire to know what the arguments on the other side are to his work. let me repeat, once for all, that my object in examining the writings of the fathers is not to form theories and conjectures as to what documents they may possibly have used, but to ascertain whether they afford any positive evidence regarding our existing gospels, which can warrant our believing, upon their authority, the miraculous contents of christianity. any argument that, although justin, for instance, never once names any of our gospels, and out of very numerous quotations of sayings of jesus very rarely indeed quotes anything which has an exact parallel in those gospels, yet he may have made use of our gospels, because he also frequently misquotes passages from the old testament, is worthless for the purpose of establishing the reality of divine revelation. from the point of view of such an enquiry, i probably go much further into the examination of justin's "memoirs" than was at all necessary. space, however, forbids my further dwelling on these instances, regarding which dr. lightfoot says: "in every instance which i have selected"--and to which i have replied--"these omitted considerations vitally affect the main question at issue." [ : ] if dr. lightfoot had devoted half the time to mastering what "the main question at issue" really is, which he has wasted in finding minute faults in me, he might have spared himself the trouble of giving these instances at all. if such considerations have vital importance, the position of the question may easily be understood. dr. lightfoot, however, evidently seems to suppose that i can be charged with want of candour and of fulness, because i do not reproduce every shred and tatter of apologetic reasoning which divines continue to flaunt about after others have rejected them as useless. he again accuses me, in connection with the fourth gospel, of systematically ignoring the arguments of "apologetic" writers, and he represents my work as "the very reverse of full and impartial." "once or twice, indeed," he says, "he fastens on passages from such writers, that he may make capital of them; but their main arguments remain wholly unnoticed." [ : ] i confess that i find it somewhat difficult to distinguish between those out of which i am said to "make capital" and those which dr. lightfoot characterises as "their main arguments," if i am to judge by the "samples" of them which he gives me. for instance, [ : ] he asks why, when asserting that the synoptics clearly represent the ministry of jesus as having been limited to a single year, and his preaching as confined to galilee and jerusalem, whilst the fourth gospel distributes the teaching of jesus between galilee, samaria, and jerusalem, makes it extend over three years, and refers to three passovers spent by jesus at jerusalem: "why then," he asks, "does he not add that 'apologetic' writers refer to such passages as matt. xiii. (comp. luke xiii. ), 'o jerusalem, jerusalem ... _how often_ would i have gathered thy children together'? here the expression 'how often,' it is contended, obliges us to postulate other visits, probably several visits, to jerusalem, which are not recorded in the synoptic gospels themselves. and it may be suggested also that the twice-repeated notice of time in the context of st. luke, 'i do cures _to-day and to-morrow, and the third day_ i shall be perfected,' 'i must walk _to-day and to-morrow and the day following_,' points to the very duration of our lord's ministry, as indicated by the fourth gospel. if so, the coincidence is the more remarkable because it does not appear that st. luke himself, while wording these prophetic words, was aware of their full historical import." [ : ] now it might have struck dr. lightfoot that if anyone making an enquiry into the reality of divine revelation were obliged, in order to escape charges of want of candour, fulness, and impartiality, or insinuations of ignorance, to reproduce and refute all apologetic arguments like this, the duration of modern life would scarcely suffice for the task; and "if they should be written every one, i suppose that even the world itself could not contain all the books that should be written." it is very right that anyone believing it valid should advance this or any other reasoning in reply to objections, or in support of opinions; but is it not somewhat unreasonable vehemently to condemn a writer for not exhausting himself, and his readers, by discussing pleas which are not only unsound in themselves, but irrelevant to the direct purpose of his work? i have only advanced objections against the johannine authorship of the fourth gospel, which seem to me unrefuted by any of the explanations offered. let me now turn to more important instances. dr. lightfoot asks: "why, when he is endeavouring to minimise, if not deny, the hebraic character of the fourth gospel, does he wholly ignore the investigations of luthardt and others, which (as 'apologists' venture to think) show that the whole texture of the language the fourth gospel is hebraic?" [ : ] now my statements with regard to the language of the apocalypse and fourth gospel are as follows. of the apocalypse i say: "the language in which the book is written is the most hebraistic greek of the new testament;" [ : ] and further on: "the barbarous hebraistic greek and abrupt, inelegant diction are natural to the unlettered fisherman of galilee." [ : ] of the gospel i say: "instead of the hebraistic greek and harsh diction which might be expected from the unlettered and ignorant [ : ] fisherman of galilee, we find, in the fourth gospel, the purest and least hebraistic greek of any of the gospels (some parts of the third synoptic, perhaps, alone excepted), and a refinement and beauty of composition whose charm has captivated the world," &c. [ : ] in another place i say: "the language in which the gospel is written, as we have already mentioned, is much less hebraic than that of the other gospels, with the exception, perhaps, of parts of the gospel according to luke, and its hebraisms are not on the whole greater than was almost invariably the case with hellenistic greek; but its composition is distinguished by peculiar smoothness, grace, and beauty, and in this respect it is assigned the first rank amongst the gospels." [ : ] i believe that i do not say another word as to the texture of the language of the fourth gospel, and it will be observed that my remarks are almost wholly limited to the comparative quality of the greek of the fourth gospel, on the one hand, and the apocalypse and synoptics on the other, and that they do not exclude hebraisms. the views expressed might be supported by numberless authorities. as dr. lightfoot accuses me of "wholly ignoring" the results at which luthardt and others have arrived, i will quote what luthardt says of the two works: "the difference of the _language_, as well in regard to grammar and style as to doctrine, is, of course, in a high degree remarkable ... as regards _grammar_, the gospel is written in correct, the apocalypse in incorrect greek." he argues that this is a consequence of sovereign freedom in the latter, and that from the nature of the composition the author of the apocalypse wrote in an artificial style, and could both have spoken and written otherwise. "the errors are not errors of ignorance, but intentional emancipations from the rules of grammar" (!), in imitation of ancient prophetic style. presently he proceeds: "if, then, on the one hand, the apocalypse is written in worse greek and less correctly than its author was able to speak and write, the question, on the hand, is, whether the gospel is not in too good greek to be credited to a born jew and palestinian." luthardt maintains "that the style of the gospel betrays the born jew, and certainly not the greek," but the force which he intends to give to all this reasoning is clearly indicated by the conclusion at which he finally arrives, that "the linguistic gulf between the gospel and the apocalypse is not impassable." [ : ] this result from so staunch an apologist, obviously to minimise the hebraic character of the apocalypse, is not after all so strikingly different from my representation. take again the opinion of so eminent an apologist as bleek: "the language of the apocalypse in its whole character is beyond comparison harsher, rougher, looser, and presents grosser incorrectness than any other book of the new testament, whilst the language of the gospel is certainly not pure greek, but is beyond comparison more grammatically correct." [ : ] i am merely replying, to the statements of dr. lightfoot, and not arguing afresh regarding the language of the fourth gospel, or i might produce very different arguments and authorities, but i may remark that the critical dilemma which i have represented, in reviewing the fourth gospel, is not merely dependent upon linguistic considerations, but arises out of the aggregate and conflicting phenomena presented by the apocalypse on the one hand and the gospel on the other. space only allows of my referring to one other instance. [ : ] dr. lightfoot says-- "if by any chance he condescends to discuss a question, he takes care to fasten on the least likely solution of 'apologists' (_e.g._ the identification of sychar and shechem), [ : ] omitting altogether to notice others." in a note dr. lightfoot adds:-- "travellers and 'apologists' alike now more commonly identify sychar with the village bearing the arabic name askar. this fact is not mentioned by our author. he says moreover, 'it is admitted that there was no such place (as sychar, [greek: suchár]), and apologetic ingenuity is severely taxed to explain the difficulty.' _this is altogether untrue_. others besides 'apologists' point to passages in the talmud which speak of 'the well of suchar (or sochar or sichar);' see neubauer, 'la géographie du talmud,' p. f. our author refers in his note to an article by delitzsch, ('_zeitschr. j. luth. theol._,' , p. f.) _he cannot have read the article, for these talmudic references are its main purport_." [ : ] i may perhaps be allowed to refer, first, to the two sentences which i have taken the liberty of putting in italics. if it be possible for an apologist to apologise, an apology is surely due to the readers of the "contemporary review," at least, for this style of criticism, to which, i doubt not, they are as little accustomed as i am myself. there is no satisfying dr. lightfoot. i give him references, and he accuses me of "literary browbeating" and "subtle intimidation;" i do not give references, and he gives me the lie. i refer to the article of delitzsch in support of my specific statement that he rejects the identification of sychar with sichem, and apparently because i do not quote the whole study dr. lightfoot courteously asserts that i cannot have read it. [ : ] my statement [ : ] is, that it is admitted that there was no such place as sychar--i ought to have added, "except by apologists who never admit anything"--but i thought that in saying: "and apologetic ingenuity is severely taxed to explain the difficulty," i had sufficiently excepted apologists, and indicated that many assertions and conjectures are advanced by them for that purpose. i mention that the conjecture which identifies sychar and sichem is rejected by some, refer to credner's supposition that the alteration may be due to some error committed by a secretary in writing down the gospel from the dictation of the apostle, and that sichem is meant, and i state the "nickname" hypothesis of hengstenberg and others. it is undeniable that, with the exception of some vague references in the talmud to a somewhat similar, but not identical, name, the locality of which is quite uncertain, no place bearing, or having borne, the designation of sychar is known. the ordinary apologetic theory, as dr. lightfoot may find "in any common source of information,"--dr. smith's "dictionary of the bible," for instance--is the delightfully comprehensive one: "sychar was either a name applied to the town of shechem, or it was an independent place." this authority, however, goes clean against dr. lightfoot's assertion, for it continues: "the first of these alternatives is now almost universally accepted." lightfoot [ : ] considered sychar a mere alteration of the name sichem, both representing the same place. he found a reference in the talmud to "_ain socar_," and with great hesitation he associated the name with sychar. "may we not venture" to render it "the well of sychar"? and after detailed extracts and explanations he says: "and now let the reader give us his judgment as to its name and place, whether it doth not seem to have some relation with our 'well of sychar.' it may be disputed on either side." wieseler, who first, in more recent times, developed the conjectures of lightfoot, argues: "in the first place, there can be no doubt that by [greek: suchar] sichem is meant," and he adds, a few lines after: "regarding this there is no controversy amongst interpreters." he totally rejects the idea of such in alteration of the name occurring in translation, which he says is "unprecedented." he therefore concludes that in [greek: suchar] we have _another_ name for sichem. he merely submits this, however, as "a new hypothesis to the judgment of the reader," [ : ] which alone shows the uncertainty of the suggestion. lightfoot and wieseler are substantially followed by olshausen, [ : ] de wette, [ : ] hug, [ : ] bunsen, [ : ] riggenbach, [ : ] godet, [ : ] and others. bleek, [ : ] in spite of the arguments of delitzsch and ewald, and their talmudic researches, considers that the old town of sichem is meant. delitzsch, [ : ] ewald, [ : ] lange, [ : ] meyer, [ : ] and others think that sychar was near to, but distinct from, sichem. lücke [ : ] is very undecided. he recognises the extraordinary difference in the name sychar. he does not favourably receive lightfoot's arguments regarding an alteration of the name of sichem, nor his conjectures as to the relation of the place mentioned in the talmud to sichem, which he thinks is "very doubtful," and he seems to incline rather to an accidental corruption of sichem into sychar, although he feels the great difficulties in the way of such an explanation. ewald condemns the "talmudische studien" of delitzsch as generally more complicating than clearing up difficulties, and his views as commonly incorrect, and, whilst agreeing with him that sychar cannot be the same place as sichem, he points out that the site of the _valley of the_ well of the talmud is certainly doubtful. [ : ] he explains his own views, however, more clearly in another place:-- "that this (sychar) cannot be the large, ancient sikhem, which, at the time when the gospel was written, was probably already generally called _neapolis_ in greek writings, has been already stated; it is the place still called with an altered arabic name _al 'askar_, east of naplûs. it is indeed difficult to prove that sychar could stand for sikhem, either through change of pronunciation, or for any other reason, and the addition [greek: legomenê] does not indicate, here any more than in xi. , so large and generally known a town as sikhem. or flavia neapolis." [ : ] mr. sanday, [ : ] of whose able work dr. lightfoot directly speaks, says:-- "the name sychar is not the common one, sichem, but is a mock title (='liar' or 'drunkard') that was given to the town by the jews. [ : ] this is a clear reminiscence of the vernacular that the apostle spoke in his youth, and is a strong touch of nature. it is not quite certain that the name sychar has this force, but the hypothesis is in itself more likely than, &c.... it is not, however, by any means improbable that sychar may represent, not sichem, but the modern village askar, which is somewhat nearer to jacob's well." to quote one of the latest "travellers and apologists," dr. farrar says: "from what the name sychar is derived is uncertain. the word [greek: legomenos] in st. john seems to imply a sobriquet. it may be 'a lie,' 'drunken,' or 'a sepulchre.' sychar may possibly have been a village nearer the well than sichem, on the site of the village now called el askar." [ : ] as dr. lightfoot specially mentions neubauer, his opinion may be substantially given in a single sentence: "la mischna mentionne un endroit appelé 'la plaine d'en-sokher,' qui est peut-être le sychar de l'evangile." he had a few lines before said: "il est donc plus logique de ne pas identifier sychar avec sichem." [ : ] now, with regard to all these theories, and especially in so far as they connect sychar with el askar, let me quote a few more words in conclusion, from a "common source of information:"-- "on the other hand there is an etymological difficulty in the way of this identification. _'askar_ begins with the letter 'ain, which sychar does not appear to have contained; a letter too stubborn and enduring to be easily either dropped or assumed in a name ... these considerations have been stated not so much with the hope of leading to any conclusion on the identity of sychar, which seems hopeless, as with the desire to show that the ordinary explanation is not nearly so obvious as it is usually assumed to be." [ : ] mr. grove is very right. i have been careful only to quote from writers who are either "apologetic," or far from belonging to heterodox schools. is it not perfectly clear that no place of the name of sychar can be reasonably identified? the case, in fact, simply stands thus:--as the gospel mentions a town called sychar, apologists maintain that there must have been such a place, and attempt by various theories to find a site for it. it is certain, however, that even in the days of st. jerome there was no real trace of such a town, and apologists and travellers have not since been able to discover it, except in their own imaginations. with regard to the insinuation that the references given in my notes constitute a "subtle mode of intimidation" and "literary browbeating," canon lightfoot omits to say that i as fully and candidly refer to those who maintain views wholly different from my own, as to those who support me. it is very possible, considering the number of these references, that i may have committed some errors, and i can only say that i shall very thankfully receive from dr. lightfoot any corrections which he may be good enough to point out. instead of intimidation and browbeating, my sole desire has been to indicate to all who may be anxious further to examine questions in debate, works in which they may find them discussed. it is time that the system of advancing apologetic opinions with perfect assurance, and without a hint that they are disputed by anyone, should come to an end, and that earnest men should be made acquainted with the true state of the case. as dr. mozley rightly and honestly says: "the majority of mankind, perhaps, owe their belief rather to the outward influence of custom and education than to any strong principle of faith within; and it is to be feared that many, if they came to perceive how wonderful what they believed was, would not find their belief so easy and so matter-of-course a thing as they appear to find it." [ : ] i shall not here follow dr. lightfoot into his general remarks regarding my 'conclusions,' nor shall i proceed, in this article, to discuss the dilemma in which he attempts to involve me through his misunderstanding and consequent misstatement, of my views regarding the supreme being. i am almost inclined to think that i can have the pleasure of agreeing with him in one important point, at least, before coming to a close. when i read the curiously modified statement that i have "studiously avoided committing myself to a belief in a universal father, or a moral governor, or even in a personal god," it seems clear to me that the _supernatural religion_ about which dr. lightfoot has been writing cannot be my work, but is simply a work of his own imagination. that work cannot possibly have contained, for instance, the chapter on "anthropomorphic divinity," [ : ] in which, on the contrary, i studiously commit myself to very decided disbelief in such a "personal god" as he means. in no way inconsistent with that chapter are my concluding remarks, contrasting with the spasmodic jewish divinity a supreme being manifested in the operation of invariable laws--whose very invariability is the guarantee of beneficence and security. if dr. lightfoot, however, succeeded in convicting me of inconsistency in those final expressions, there could be no doubt which view must logically be abandoned, and it would be a new sensation to secure the approval of a divine by the unhesitating destruction of the last page of my work. dr. lightfoot, again, refers to mr. mill's "three essays on religion," but he does not appear to have very deeply studied that work. i confess that i do not entirely agree with some views therein expressed, and i hope that, hereafter, i may have an opportunity of explaining what they are; but i am surprised that dr. lightfoot has failed to observe how singularly that great thinker supports the general results of _supernatural religion_, to the point even of a frequent agreement almost in words. if dr. lightfoot had studied mill a little more closely, he would not have committed the serious error of arguing: "obviously, if the author has established his conclusions in the first part, the second and third are altogether superfluous. it is somewhat strange, therefore, that more than three-fourths of the whole work should be devoted to this needless task." [ : ] now my argument in the first part is not that miracles are impossible--a thesis which it is quite unnecessary to maintain--but the much more simple one that miracles are _antecedently_ incredible. having shown that they are so, and appreciated the true nature of the allegation of miracles, and the amount of evidence requisite to establish it, i proceed to examine the evidence which is actually produced in support of the assertion that, although miracles are antecedently incredible, they nevertheless took place. mr. mill clearly supports me in this course. he states the main principle of my argument thus: "a revelation, therefore, cannot be proved divine unless by external evidence; that is, by the exhibition of supernatural facts. and we have to consider, whether it is possible to prove supernatural facts, and if it is, what evidence is required to prove them." [ : ] mr. mill decides that it is possible to prove the occurrence of a supernatural fact, if it actually occurred, and after showing the great preponderance of evidence against miracles, he says: "against this weight of negative evidence we have to set such positive evidence as is produced in attestation of exceptions; in other words, the positive evidences of miracles. and i have already admitted that this evidence might conceivably have been such as to make the exception equally certain with the rule." [ : ] mr. mill's opinion of the evidence actually produced is not flattering, and may be compared with my results: "but the evidence of miracles, at least to protestant christians, is not, in our day, of this cogent description. it is not the evidence of our senses, but of witnesses, and even this not at first hand, but resting on the attestation of books and traditions. and even in the case of the original eye-witnesses, the supernatural facts asserted on their alleged testimony are not of the transcendent character supposed in our example, about the nature of which, or the impossibility of their having had a natural origin, there could be little room for doubt. on the contrary, the recorded miracles are, in the first place, generally such as it would have been extremely difficult to verify as matters of fact, and in the next place, are hardly ever beyond the possibility of having been brought about by human means or by the spontaneous agencies of nature." [ : ] it is to substantiate the statements made here, and, in fact, to confirm the philosophical conclusion by the historical proof, that i enter into an examination of the four gospels, as the chief witnesses for miracles. to those who have already ascertained the frivolous nature of that testimony it may, no doubt, seem useless labour to examine it in detail; but it is scarcely conceivable that an ecclesiastic who professes to base his faith upon those records should represent such a process as useless. in endeavouring to place me on the forks of a dilemma, in fact, dr. lightfoot has betrayed that he altogether fails to appreciate the question at issue, or to comprehend the position of miracles in relation to philosophical and historical enquiry. instead of being "altogether superfluous," my examination of witnesses, in the second and third parts, has more correctly been represented by able critics as incomplete, from the omission of the remaining documents of the new testament. i foresaw, and myself to some degree admitted, the justice of this argument; [ : ] but my work being already bulky enough, i reserved to another volume the completion of the enquiry. i cannot close this article without expressing my regret that so much which is personal and unworthy has been introduced into the discussion of a great and profoundly important subject. dr. lightfoot is too able and too earnest a man not to recognise that no occasional errors or faults in a writer can really affect the validity of his argument, and instead of mere general and desultory efforts to do some damage to me, it would be much more to the purpose were he seriously to endeavour to refute my reasoning. i have no desire to escape hard hitting or to avoid fair fight, and i feel unfeigned respect for many of my critics who, differing _toto coelo_ from my views, have with vigorous ability attacked my arguments without altogether forgetting the courtesy due even to an enemy. dr. lightfoot will not find me inattentive to courteous reasoning, nor indifferent to earnest criticism, and, whatever he may think, i promise him that no one will be more ready respectfully to follow every serious line of argument than the author of _supernatural religion_. ii. _the silence of eusebius--the ignatian epistles._ [endnote : ] this work has scarcely yet been twelve months before the public, but both in this country and in america and elsewhere it has been subjected to such wide and searching criticism by writers of all shades of opinion, that i may perhaps be permitted to make a few remarks, and to review some of my reviewers. i must first, however, beg leave to express my gratitude to that large majority of my critics who have bestowed generous commendation upon the work, and liberally encouraged its completion. i have to thank others, who, differing totally from my conclusions, have nevertheless temperately argued against them, for the courtesy with which they have treated an opponent whose views must necessarily have offended them, and i can only say that, whilst such a course has commanded my unfeigned respect, it has certainly not diminished the attention with which i have followed their arguments. there are two serious misapprehensions of the purpose and line of argument of this work which i desire to correct. some critics have objected that, if i had succeeded in establishing the proposition advanced in the first part, the second and third parts need not have been written: in fact, that the historical argument against miracles is only necessary in consequence of the failure of the philosophical. now i contend that the historical is the necessary complement of the philosophical argument, and that both are equally requisite to completeness in dealing with the subject. the preliminary affirmation is not that miracles are impossible, but that they are antecedently incredible. the counter-allegation is that, although miracles may be antecedently incredible, they nevertheless actually took place. it is, therefore, necessary, not only to establish the antecedent incredibility, but to examine the validity of the allegation that certain miracles occurred, and this involves the historical enquiry into the evidence for the gospels which occupies the second and third parts. indeed, many will not acknowledge the case to be complete until other witnesses are questioned in a succeeding volume. ... the second point to which i desire to refer is a statement which has frequently been made that, in the second and third parts, i endeavour to prove that the four canonical gospels were not written until the end of the second century. this error is of course closely connected with that which has just been discussed, but it is difficult to understand how anyone who had taken the slightest trouble to ascertain the nature of the argument, and to state it fairly, could have fallen into it. the fact is that no attempt is made to prove anything with regard to the gospels. the evidence for them is merely examined, and it is found that, so far from their affording sufficient testimony to warrant belief in the actual occurrence of miracles declared to be antecedently incredible, there is not a certain trace even of the existence of the gospels for a century and a half after those miracles are alleged to have occurred, and nothing whatever to attest their authenticity and truth. this is a very different thing from an endeavour to establish some special theory of my own, and it is because this line of argument has not been understood, that some critics have expressed surprise at the decisive rejection of mere conjectures and possibilities as evidence. in a case of such importance, no testimony which is not clear and indubitable could be of any value, but the evidence producible for the canonical gospels falls very far short even of ordinary requirements, and in relation to miracles it is scarcely deserving of serious consideration. it has been argued that, even if there be no evidence for our special gospels, i admit that gospels very similar must early have been in existence, and that these equally represent the same prevailing belief as the canonical gospels: consequently that i merely change, without shaking, the witnesses. those who advance this argument, however, totally overlook the fact that it is not the reality of the superstitious belief which is in question, but the reality of the miracles, and the sufficiency of the witnesses to establish them. what such objectors urge practically amounts to this: that we should believe in the actual occurrence of certain miracles contradictory to all experience, out of a mass of false miracles which are reported but never really took place, because some unknown persons in an ignorant and superstitious age, who give no evidence of personal knowledge, or of careful investigation, have written an account of them, and other persons, equally ignorant and superstitious, have believed them. i venture to say that no one who advances the argument to which i am referring can have realised the nature of the question at issue, and the relation of miracles to the order of nature. the last of these general objections to which i need now refer is the statement, that the difficulty with regard to the gospels commences precisely where my examination ends, and that i am bound to explain how, if no trace of their existence is previously discoverable, the four gospels are suddenly found in general circulation at the end of the second century, and quoted as authoritative documents by such writers as irenaeus. my reply is that it is totally unnecessary for me to account for this. no one acquainted with the history of pseudonymic literature in the second century, and with the rapid circulation and ready acceptance of spurious works tending to edification, could for a moment regard the canonical position of any gospel at the end of that century either as evidence of its authenticity or early origin. that which concerns us chiefly is not evidence regarding the end of the second but the beginning of the first century. even if we took the statements of irenaeus and later fathers, like the alexandrian clement, tertullian and origen, about the gospels, they are absolutely without value except as personal opinion at a late date, for which no sufficient grounds are shown. of the earlier history of those gospels there is not a distinct trace, except of a nature which altogether discredits them as witnesses for miracles. after having carefully weighed the arguments which have been advanced against this work, i venture to express strengthened conviction of the truth of its conclusions. the best and most powerful reasons which able divines and apologists have been able to bring forward against its main argument have, i submit, not only failed to shake it, but have, by inference, shown it to be unassailable. very many of those who have professedly advanced against the citadel itself have practically attacked nothing but some outlying fort, which was scarcely worth defence, whilst others, who have seriously attempted an assault, have shown that the church has no artillery capable of making a practicable breach in the rationalistic stronghold. i say this solely in reference to the argument which i have taken upon myself to represent, and in no sense of my own individual share in its maintenance. i must now address myself more particularly to two of my critics who, with great ability and learning, have subjected this work to the most elaborate and microscopic criticism of which personal earnestness and official zeal are capable. i am sincerely obliged to professor lightfoot and dr. westcott for the minute attention they have bestowed upon my book. i had myself directly attacked the views of dr. westcott, and of course could only expect him to do his best or his worst against me in reply; and i am not surprised at the vigour with which dr. lightfoot has assailed a work so opposed to principles which he himself holds sacred, although i may be permitted to express my regret that he has not done so in a spirit more worthy of the cause which he defends. in spite of hostile criticism of very unusual minuteness and ability, no flaw or error has been pointed out which in the slightest degree affects my main argument, and i consider that every point yet objected to by dr. lightfoot, or indicated by dr. westcott, might be withdrawn without at all weakening my position. these objections, i may say, refer solely to details, and only follow side issues, but the attack, if impotent against the main position, has in many cases been insidiously directed against notes and passing references, and a plentiful sprinkling of such words as "misstatements" and "misrepresentations" along the line may have given it a formidable appearance and malicious effect, which render it worth while once for all to meet it in detail. the first point to which i shall refer is an elaborate argument by dr. lightfoot regarding the "silence of eusebius." [ : ] i had called attention to the importance of considering the silence of the fathers, under certain conditions; [ : ] and i might, omitting his curious limitation, adopt dr. lightfoot's opening comment upon this as singularly descriptive of the state of the case: "in one province more especially, relating to the external evidences for the gospels, silence occupies a prominent place." dr. lightfoot proposes to interrogate this "mysterious oracle," and he considers that "the response elicited will not be at all ambiguous." i might again agree with him, but that unambiguous response can scarcely be pronounced very satisfactory for the gospels. such silence may be very eloquent, but after all it is only the eloquence of--silence. i have not yet met with the argument anywhere that, because none of the early fathers quote our canonical gospels, or say anything with regard to them, the fact is unambiguous evidence that they were well acquainted with them, and considered them apostolic and authoritative. dr. lightfoot's argument from silence is, for the present at least, limited to eusebius. the point on which the argument turns is this: after examining the whole of the extant writings of the early fathers, and finding them a complete blank as regards the canonical gospels, if, by their use of apocryphal works and other indications, they are not evidence against them, i supplement this, in the case of hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, by the inference that, as eusebius does not state that their lost works contained any evidence for the gospels, they actually did not contain any. but before proceeding to discuss the point, it is necessary that a proper estimate should be formed of its importance to the main argument of my work. the evident labour which professor lightfoot has expended upon the preparation of his attack, the space devoted to it, and his own express words, would naturally lead most readers to suppose that it has almost a vital bearing upon my conclusions. dr. lightfoot says, after quoting the passages in which i appeal to the silence of eusebius:-- "this indeed is the fundamental assumption which lies at the basis of his reasoning; and the reader will not need to be reminded how much of the argument falls to pieces if this basis should prove to be unsound. a wise master-builder would therefore have looked to his foundations first, and assured himself of their strength, before he piled up his fabric to this height. this our author has altogether neglected to do." [ : ] towards the close of his article, after triumphantly expressing his belief that his "main conclusions are irrefragable," he further says:-- "if they are, then the reader will not fail to see how large a part of the argument in _supernatural religion_ has crumbled to pieces." [ : ] i do not doubt that dr. lightfoot sincerely believes this, but he must allow me to say that he is thoroughly mistaken in his estimate of the importance of the point, and that, as regards this work, the representations made in the above passages are a very strange exaggeration. i am unfortunately too familiar, in connection with criticism on this book, with instances of vast expenditure of time and strength in attacking points to which i attach no importance whatever, and which in themselves have scarcely any value. when writers, after an amount of demonstration which must have conveyed the impression that vital interests were at stake, have, at least in their own opinion, proved that i have omitted to dot an "i," cross a "t," or insert an inverted comma, they have really left the question precisely where it was. now, in the present instance, the whole extent of the argument which is based upon the silence of eusebius is an inference regarding some lost works of three writers only, which might altogether be withdrawn without affecting the case. the object of my investigation is to discover what evidence actually exists in the works of early writers regarding our gospels. in the fragments which remain of the works of three writers, hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, i do not find any evidence of acquaintance with these gospels,--the works mentioned by papias being, i contend, different from the existing gospels attributed to matthew and mark. whether i am right or not in this does not affect the present discussion. it is an unquestioned fact that eusebius does not mention that the lost works of these writers contained any reference to, or information about, the gospels, nor have we any statement from any other author to that effect. the objection of dr. lightfoot is limited to a denial that the silence of eusebius warrants the inference that, because he does not state that these writers made quotations from or references to undisputed canonical books, the lost works did not contain any; it does not, however, extend to interesting information regarding those books, which he admits it was the purpose of eusebius to record. to give dr. lightfoot's statements, which i am examining, the fullest possible support, however, suppose that i abandon eusebius altogether, and do not draw any inference of any kind from him beyond his positive statements, how would my case stand? simply as complete as it well could be: hegesippus, papias, and dionysius do not furnish any evidence in favour of the gospels. the reader, therefore, will not fail to see how serious a misstatement dr. lightfoot has made, and how little the argument of _supernatural religion_ would be affected even if he established much more than he has asserted. we may now proceed to consider dr. lightfoot's argument itself. he carefully and distinctly defines what he understands to be the declared intention of eusebius in composing his history, as regards the mention or use of the disputed and undisputed canonical books in the writings of the fathers, and in order to do him full justice i will quote his words, merely taking the liberty, for facility of reference, of dividing his statement into three paragraphs. he says: "eusebius therefore proposes to treat these two classes of writings in two different ways. this is the cardinal point of the passage. "( ) of the antilegomena he pledges himself to record when any ancient writer _employs_ any book belonging to their class ([greek: tines hopoiais kechrêntai]); "( ) but as regards the undisputed canonical books, he only professes to mention them when such a writer has something to _tell about them_ ([greek: tina peri tôn endiathêkon eirêtai]). any _anecdote_ of interest respecting them, as also respecting the others ([greek: tôn mê toioutôn]), will be recorded. "( ) but in their case he nowhere leads us to expect that he will allude to mere _quotations_, however numerous and however precise." [ : ] in order to dispose of the only one of these points upon which we can differ, i will first refer to the third. did eusebius intend to point out mere quotations of the books which he considered undisputed? as a matter of fact, he actually did point such out in the case of the st epistle of peter and the st epistle of john, which he repeatedly and in the most emphatic manner declared to be undisputed. [ : ] this is admitted by dr. lightfoot. that he omitted to mention a reference to the epistle to the corinthians in the epistle of clement of rome, or the reference by theophilus to the gospel of john, and other supposed quotations, might be set down as much to oversight as intention. on the other hand, that he did mention disputed books is evidence only that he not only pledged himself to do so, but actually fulfilled his promise. although much might be said upon this point, therefore, i consider it of so little importance that i do not intend to waste time in minutely discussing it. if my assertions with regard to the silence of eusebius likewise include the supposition that he proposed to mention mere quotations of the "undisputed" books, they are so far from limited to this very subsidiary testimony that i should have no reluctance in waiving it altogether. even if the most distinct quotations of this kind had occurred in the lost works of the three writers in question, they could have proved nothing beyond the mere existence of the book quoted, at the time that work was written, but would have done nothing to establish its authenticity and trustworthiness. in the evidential destitution of the gospels, apologists would thankfully have received even such vague indications; indeed there is scarcely any other evidence, but something much more definite is required to establish the reality of miracles and divine revelation. if this point be, for the sake of argument, set aside, what is the position? we are not entitled to infer that there were no quotations from the gospels in the works of hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, because eusebius does not record them; but, on the other hand, we are still less entitled to infer that there were any. the only inference which i care to draw from the silence of eusebius is precisely that which dr. lightfoot admits that, both from his promise and practice, i am entitled to deduce: when any ancient writer "has something to _tell about_" the gospels, "any _anecdote_ of interest respecting them," eusebius will record it. this is the only information of the slightest value to this work which could be looked for in these writers. so far, therefore, from producing the destructive effect upon some of the arguments of _supernatural religion_, upon which he somewhat prematurely congratulates himself, dr. lightfoot's elaborate and learned article on the silence of eusebius supports them in the most conclusive manner. before proceeding to speak more directly of the three writers under discussion, it may be well to glance a little at the procedure of eusebius, and note, for those who care to go more closely into the matter, how he fulfils his promise to record what the fathers have to tell about the gospels. i may mention, in the first place, that eusebius states what he himself knows of the composition of the gospels and other canonical works. [ : ] upon two occasions he quotes the account which clement of alexandria gives of the composition of mark's gospel, and also cites his statements regarding the other gospels. [ : ] in like manner he records the information, such as it is, which irenaeus has to impart about the four gospels and other works, [ : ] and what origen has to say concerning them. [ : ] interrogating extant works, we find in fact that eusebius does not neglect to quote anything useful or interesting regarding these books from early writers. dr. lightfoot says that eusebius "restricts himself to the narrowest limits which justice to his subject will allow," and he illustrates this by the case of irenaeus. he says: "though he (eusebius) gives the principal passage in this author relating to the four gospels (irenaeus, _adv. haer._ iii. , ) he omits to mention others which contain interesting statements directly or indirectly affecting the question, _e.g._ that st. john wrote his gospel to counteract the errors of cerinthus and the nicolaitans (irenaeus, _adv. haer._ iii. , )." [ : ] i must explain, however, that the "interesting statement" omitted, which is not in the context of the part quoted, is not advanced as information derived from any authority, but only in the course of argument, and there is nothing to distinguish it from mere personal opinion, so that on this ground eusebius may well have passed it over. dr. lightfoot further says: "thus too when he quotes a few lines alluding to the unanimous tradition of the asiatic elders who were acquainted with st. john, [ : ] he omits the context, from which we find that this tradition had an important bearing on the authenticity of the fourth gospel, for it declared that christ's ministry extended much beyond a single year, thus confirming the obvious chronology of the fourth gospel against the apparent chronology of the synoptists." [ : ] nothing, however, could be further from the desire or intention of eusebius than to represent any discordance between the gospels, or to support the one at the expense of the others. on the contrary, he enters into an elaborate explanation in order to show that there is no discrepancy between them, affirming, and supporting his view by singular quotations, that it was evidently the intention of the three synoptists only to write the doings of the lord for one year after the imprisonment of john the baptist, and that john, having the other gospels before him, wrote an account of the period not embraced by the other evangelists. [ : ] moreover, the extraordinary assertions of irenaeus not only contradict the synoptics, but also the fourth gospel, and eusebius certainly could not have felt much inclination to quote such opinions, even although irenaeus seemed to base them upon traditions handed down by the presbyters who were acquainted with john. it being, then, admitted that eusebius not only pledges himself to record when any ancient writer has something to "tell about" the undisputed canonical books, but that, judged by the test of extant writings which we can examine, he actually does so, let us see the conclusions which we are entitled to draw in the case of the only three writers with regard to whom i have inferred anything from the "silence of eusebius." i need scarcely repeat that eusebius held hegesippus in very high estimation. he refers to him very frequently, and he clearly shows that he not only valued, but was intimately acquainted with, his writings. eusebius quotes from the work of hegesippus a very long account of the martyrdom of james; [ : ] he refers to hegesippus as his authority for the statement that simeon was a cousin ([greek: anepsios]) of jesus, cleophas his father being, according to that author, the brother of joseph; [ : ] he confirms a passage in the epistle of clement by reference to hegesippus; [ : ] he quotes from hegesippus a story regarding some members of the family of jesus, of the race of david, who were brought before domitian; [ : ] he cites his narrative of the martyrdom of simeon, together with other matters concerning the early church; [ : ] in another place he gives a laudatory account of hegesippus and his writings; [ : ] shortly after he refers to the statement of hegesippus that he was in rome until the episcopate of eleutherus, [ : ] and further speaks in praise of his work, mentions his observation on the epistle of clement, and quotes his remarks about the church in corinth, the succession of roman bishops, the general state of the church, the rise of heresies, and other matters. [ : ] i mention these numerous references to hegesippus as i have noticed them in turning over the pages of eusebius, but others may very probably have escaped me. eusebius fulfils his pledge, and states what disputed works were used by hegesippus and what he said about them, and one of these was the gospel according to the hebrews. he does not, however, record a single remark of any kind regarding our gospels, and the legitimate inference, and it is the only one i care to draw, is, that hegesippus did not say anything about them. i may simply add that, as that, as eusebius quotes the account of matthew and mark from papias, a man of whom he expresses something like contempt, and again refers to him in confirmation of the statement of the alexandrian clement regarding the composition of mark's gospel, [ : ] it would be against all reason, as well as opposed to his pledge and general practice, to suppose that eusebius would have omitted to record any information given by hegesippus, a writer with whom he was so well acquainted and of whom he speaks with so much respect. i have said that eusebius would more particularly have quoted anything with regard to the fourth gospel, and for those who care to go more closely into the point my reasons may be briefly given. no one can read eusebius attentively without noting the peculiar care with which he speaks of john and his writings, and the substantially apologetic tone which he adopts in regard to them. apart from any doubts expressed regarding the gospel itself, the controversy as to the authenticity of the apocalypse and second and third epistles called by his name, with which eusebius was so well acquainted, and the critical dilemma as to the impossibility of the same john having written both the gospel and apocalypse, regarding which he so fully quotes the argument of dionysius of alexandria, [ : ] evidently made him peculiarly interested in the subject, and his attention to the fourth gospel was certainly not diminished by his recognition of the essential difference between that work and the three synoptics. the first occasion on which he speaks of john, he records the tradition that he was banished to patmos during the persecution under domitian, and refers to the apocalypse. he quotes irenaeus in support of this tradition, and the composition of the work at the close of domitian's reign. [ : ] he goes on to speak of the persecution under domitian, and quotes hegesippus as to a command given by that emperor to slay all the posterity of david, [ : ] as also tertullian's account, [ : ] winding up his extracts from the historians of the time by the statement that, after nerva succeeded domitian, and the senate had revoked the cruel decrees of the latter, the apostle john returned from exile in patmos and, according to ecclesiastical tradition, settled at ephesus. [ : ] he states that john, the beloved disciple, apostle and evangelist, governed the churches of asia after the death of domitian and his return from patmos, and that he was still living when trajan succeeded nerva, and for the truth of this he quotes passages from irenaeus and clement of alexandria. [ : ] he then gives an account of the writings of john, and whilst asserting that the gospel must be universally acknowledged as genuine, he says that it is rightly put last in order amongst the four, of the composition of which he gives an elaborate description. it is not necessary to quote his account of the fourth gospel and of the occasion of its composition, which he states to have been john's receiving the other three gospels, and, whilst admitting their truth, perceiving that they did not contain a narrative of the earlier history of christ. for this reason, being entreated to do so, he wrote an account of the doings of jesus before the baptist was cast into prison. after some very extraordinary reasoning, eusebius says that no one who carefully considers the points he mentions can think that the gospels are at variance with each other, and he conjectures that john probably omitted the genealogies because matthew and luke had given them. [ : ] without further anticipating what i have to say when speaking of papias, it is clear, i think, that eusebius, being aware of, and interested in, the peculiar difficulties connected with the writings attributed to john, not to put a still stronger case, and quoting traditions from later and consequently less weighty authorities, would certainly have recorded with more special readiness any information on the subject given by hegesippus, whom he so frequently lays under contribution, had his writings contained any. in regard to papias the case is still clearer. we find that eusebius quotes his account of the composition of gospels by matthew and mark, [ : ] although he had already given a closely similar narrative regarding mark from clement of alexandria, and appealed to papias in confirmation of it. is it either possible or permissible to suppose that, had papias known anything of the other two gospels, he would not have enquired about them from the presbyters and recorded their information? and is it either possible or permissible to suppose that if papias had recorded any similar information regarding the composition of the third and fourth gospels, eusebius would have omitted to quote it? certainly not; and dr. lightfoot's article proves it. eusebius had not only pledged himself to give such information, and does so in every case which we can test, but he fulfil it by actually quoting what papias had to say about the gospels. even if he had been careless, his very reference to the first two gospels must have reminded him of the claims of the rest. there are, however, special reasons which render it still more certain that had papias had anything to tell about the fourth gospel,--and if there was a fourth gospel in his knowledge he must have had something, to tell about it,--eusebius would have recorded it. the first quotation he makes from papias is the passage in which the bishop of hierapolis states the interest with which he had enquired about the words of the presbyters, "what john or matthew or what any other of the disciples of the lord said, and what aristion and the presbyter john, disciples of the lord, say." [ : ] eusebius observes, and particularly points out, that the name of john is twice mentioned in the passage, the former, mentioned with peter, james, and matthew, and other apostles, evidently being, he thinks, the evangelist, and the latter being clearly distinguished by the designation of presbyter. eusebius states that this proves the truth of the assertion that there were two men of the name of john in asia, and that two tombs were still shown at ephesus bearing the name of john. eusebius then proceeds to argue that probably the second of the two johns, if not the first, was the man who saw the revelation. what an occasion for quoting any information bearing at all on the subject from papias, who had questioned those who had been acquainted with both! his attention is so pointedly turned to john at the very moment when he makes his quotations regarding matthew and mark, that i am fully warranted, both by the conclusions of dr. lightfoot and the peculiar circumstances of the case, in affirming that the silence of eusebius proves that papias said nothing about either the third or fourth gospels. i need not go on to discuss dionysius of corinth, for the same reasoning equally applies to his case. i have, therefore, only a few more words to say on the subject of eusebius. not content with what he intended to be destructive criticism, dr. lightfoot valiantly proceeds to the constructive and, "as a sober deduction from facts," makes the following statement, which he prints in italics: "_the silence of eusebius respecting early witnesses to the fourth gospel is an evidence in its favour_." [ : ] now, interpreted even by the rules laid down by dr. lightfoot himself, what does this silence really mean? it means, not that the early writers about whom he is supposed to be silent are witnesses about anything connected with the fourth gospel, but simply that if eusebius noticed and did not record the mere use of that gospel by anyone, he thereby indicates that he himself, in the fourth century, classed it amongst the undisputed books, the mere use of which he does not undertake to mention. the value of his opinion at so late a date is very small. professor lightfoot next makes a vehement attack upon me in connection with "the ignatian epistles," [ : ] which is equally abortive and limited to details. i do not intend to complain of the spirit in which the article is written, nor of its unfairness. on the whole i think that readers may safely he left to judge of the tone in which a controversy is carried on. unfortunately, however, the perpetual accusation of misstatement brought against me in this article, and based upon minute criticism into which few care to follow, is apt to leave the impression that it is well-founded, for there is the very natural feeling in most right minds that no one would recklessly scatter such insinuations. it is this which alone makes such an attack dangerous. now in a work like this, dealing with so many details, it must be obvious that it not possible altogether to escape errors. a critic or opponent is of course entitled to point these out, although, if he be high-minded or even alive to his own interests, i scarcely think that he will do so in a spirit of unfair detraction. but in doing this a writer is bound to be accurate, for if he be liberal of such accusations and it can be shown that his charges are unfounded, they recoil with double force upon himself. i propose, therefore, as it is impossible for me to reply to all such attacks, to follow professor lightfoot and dr. westcott, with some minuteness in their discussion of my treatment of the ignatian epistles, and once for all to show the grave misstatements to which they commit themselves. dr. lightfoot does not ignore the character of the discussion upon which he enters, but it will be seen that his appreciation of its difficulty by no means inspires him with charitable emotions. he says: "the ignatian question is the most perplexing which confronts the student of earlier christian history. the literature is voluminous; the considerations involved are very wide, very varied, and very intricate. a writer, therefore, may well be pardoned if he betrays a want of familiarity with this subject. but in this case the reader naturally expects that the opinions at which he has arrived will be stated with some diffidence." [ : ] my critic objects that i express my opinions with decision. i shall hereafter justify this decision, but i would here point out that the very reasons which render it difficult for dr. lightfoot to form a final and decisive judgment on the question make it easy for me. it requires but little logical perception to recognize that epistles, the authenticity of which it is so difficult to establish, cannot have much influence as testimony for the gospels. the statement just quoted, however, is made the base of the attack, and war is declared in the following terms: "the reader is naturally led to think that a writer would not use such very decided language unless he had obtained a thorough mastery of his subject; and when he finds the notes thronged with references to the most recondite sources of information, he at once credits the author with an 'exhaustive' knowledge of the literature bearing upon it. it becomes important therefore to enquire whether the writer shows that accurate acquaintance with the subject, which justifies us in attaching weight to his dicta as distinguished from his arguments." [ : ] this sentence shows the scope of the discussion. my dicta, however, play a very subordinate part throughout, and even if no weight be attached to them--and i have never desired that any should be--my argument would not be in the least degree affected. the first point attacked, like most of those subsequently assailed, is one of mere critical history. i wrote: "the strongest internal, as well as other evidence, into which space forbids our going in detail, has led ( ) the majority of critics to recognize the syriac version as the most genuine form of the letters of ignatius extant, and ( ) this is admitted by most of those who nevertheless deny the authenticity of any of the epistles." [ : ] upon this dr. lightfoot remarks:-- "no statement could be more erroneous as a summary of the results of the ignatian controversy since the publication of the syriac epistles than this." [ : ] it will be admitted that this is pretty "decided language" for one who is preaching "diffidence." when we come to details, however, dr. lightfoot admits: "those who maintain the genuineness of the ignatian epistles in one or other of the two forms, may be said to be almost evenly divided on this question of priority." he seems to consider that he sufficiently shows this when he mentions five or six critics on either side; but even on this modified interpretation of my statement its correctness may be literally maintained. to the five names quoted as recognising the priority of the syriac epistles may be added those of milman, böhringer, de pressensé, and dr. tregelles, which immediately occur to me. but i must ask upon what ground he limits my remark to those who absolutely admit the genuineness? i certainly do not so limit it, but affirm that a majority prefer the three curetonian epistles, and that this majority is made up partly of those who, denying the authenticity of any of the letters, still consider the syriac the purest and least adulterated form of the epistles. this will be evident to anyone who reads the context. with regard to the latter ( ) part of the sentence, i will at once say that "most" is a slip of the pen for "many," which i correct in this edition. [ : ] many of those who deny or do not admit the authenticity prefer the curetonian version. the tübingen school are not unanimous on the point, and there are critics who do not belong to it. bleek, for instance, who does not commit himself to belief, considers the priority of the curetonian "im höchsten grade wahrscheinlich." volkmar, lipsius, and rumpf prefer them. dr. lightfoot says: "the case of lipsius is especially instructive, as illustrating this point. having at one time maintained the priority and genuineness of the curetonian letters, he has lately, if i rightly understand him, retracted his former opinion on both questions alike." [ : ] dr. lightfoot, however, has not, rightly understood him. lipsius has only withdrawn his opinion that the syriac letters are authentic, but, whilst now asserting that in all their forms the ignatian epistles are spurious, he still maintains the priority of the curetonian version. he first announced this change of view emphatically in , when he added: "an dem relativ grössern alter der syrischen textgestalt gegenüber der kürzeren griechischen halte ich übrigens nach wie vor fest." [ : ] in the very paper to which dr. lightfoot refers, lipsius also again says quite distinctly: "ich bin noch jetzt überzeugt, dass der syrer in zahlreichen fällen den relativ ursprünglichsten text bewahrt hat (vgl. meine nachweise in 'niedner's zeitschr.' s. ff)." [ : ] with regard to the whole of this ( ) point, it must be remembered that the only matter in question is simply a shade of opinion amongst critics who deny the authenticity of the ignatian epistles in all forms. dr. lightfoot, however, goes on "to throw some light upon this point" by analysing my "general statement of the course of opinion on this subject given in an earlier passage." [ : ] the "light" which he throws seems to pass through so peculiar a medium, that i should be much rather tempted to call it darkness. i beg the reader to favour me with his attention to this matter, for here commences a serious attack upon the accuracy of my notes and statements, which is singularly full of error and misrepresentation. the general statement referred to and quoted is as follows:-- "these three syriac epistles have been subjected to the severest scrutiny, and many of the ablest critics have pronounced them to be the only authentic epistles of ignatius, whilst others, who do not admit that even these are genuine letters emanating from ignatius, prefer them to the version of seven greek epistles, and consider them the most ancient form of the letters which we possess.( ) as early as the sixteenth century, however, the strongest doubts were expressed regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius. the magdeburg centuriators first attacked them, and calvin declared (p. ) them to be spurious,[^ ] an opinion fully shared by chemnitz, dallaeus, and others; and similar doubts, more or less definite, were expressed throughout the seventeenth century,( ) and onward to comparatively recent times,( ) although the means of forming a judgment were not then so complete as now. that the epistles were interpolated there was no doubt. fuller examination and more comprehensive knowledge of the subject have confirmed earlier doubts, and a large mass of critics recognise that the authenticity of none of these epistles can be established, and that they can only be considered later and spurious compositions.( )" [ : ] in the first note ( ) on p. i referred to bunsen, bleek, böhringer, cureton, ewald, lipsius, milman, ritschl, and weiss, and dr. lightfoot proceeds to analyse my statements as follows: and i at once put his explanation and my text in parallel columns, italicising parts of both to call more immediate attention to the point: the truth. | dr. lightfoot's statement. | _many of the ablest critics have | "these references, it will be pronounced them to be the only | observed, are given to illustrate authentic epistles of ignatius, | _more immediately_, though perhaps whilst others_ who do not admit | not solely, the statement that that even these are genuine letters | writers '_who do not admit that emanating from ignatius, _still | even these_ (the curetonian prefer them_ to the version of | epistles) _are genuine letters seven greek epistles, _and consider | emanating from ignatius, still them the most ancient form of the | prefer them_ to the version of letters_ which we possess. | seven greek epistles, and consider | them the most ancient form of the | letters which we possess.'" [ : ] it must be evident to anyone who reads the context [ : ] that in this sentence i am stating opinions expressed in favour of the curetonian epistles, and that the note, which is naturally put at the end of that sentence, must be intended to represent this favourable opinion, whether of those who absolutely maintain the authenticity or merely the relative priority. dr. lightfoot quietly suppresses, in his comments, the main statement of the text which the note illustrates, and then "throws light" upon the point by the following remarks:-- the truth. | dr. lightfoot's statement. | _cureton, bunsen, böhringer, ewald, | "the reader, therefore, will milman, ritschl_, and _weiss_ | hardly be prepared to hear that maintain both the priority and | not one of these nine writers genuineness of the syriac epistles. | condemns the ignatian letters _bleek_ will not commit himself to a | as spurious. bleek alone leaves distinct recognition of the letters | leaves the matter in some in any form. of the vossian | uncertainty while inclining to epistles, he says: "aber auch die | bunsen's view; the other eight echtheit dieser recension ist | distinctly maintain the keineswegs sicher." he considers the | genuineness of the curetonian priority of the curetonian "in the | letters." [ : ] highest degree probable." | | _lipsius_ rejects all the epistles, | as i have already said, but | maintains the priority of the | syriac. | dr. lightfoot's statement, therefore, is a total misrepresentation of the facts, and of that mischievous kind which does most subtle injury. not one reader in twenty would take the trouble to investigate, but would receive from such positive assertions an impression that my note was totally wrong, when in fact it is literally correct. continuing his analysis, dr. lightfoot fights almost every inch of the ground in the very same style. he cannot contradict my statement that so early as the sixteenth century the strongest doubts were expressed regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius, and that the magdeburg centuriators attacked them, and calvin declared them to be spurious, [ : ] but dr. lightfoot says: "the criticisms of calvin more especially refer to those passages which were found in the long recension alone." [ : ] of course only the long recension was at that time known. rivet replies to campianus that calvin's objections were not against ignatius but the jesuits who had corrupted him. [ : ] this is the usual retort theological, but as i have quoted the words of calvin the reader may judge for himself. dr. lightfoot then says: "the clause which follows contains a direct misstatement. chemnitz did not fully share the opinion that they were spurious; on the contrary, he quotes them several times as authoritative; but he says that they 'seem to have been altered in many places to strengthen the position of the papal power, &c.'" [ : ] pearson's statement here quoted must be received with reserve, for chemnitz rather speaks sarcastically of those who quote these epistles as evidence. in treating them as ancient documents or speaking of parts of them with respect, chemnitz does nothing more than the magdeburg centuriators, but this is a very different thing from directly ascribing them to ignatius himself. the epistles in the "long recension were before chemnitz both in the latin and greek forms. he says of them: "... multas habent non contemnendas sententias, praesertim sicut graece leguntur. admixta vero sunt et alia non pauca, quae profecto non referunt gravitatem apostolicam. adulteratas enim jam esse illas epistolas, vel inde colligitur." he then shows that quotations in ancient writers purporting to be taken from the epistles of ignatius are not found in these extant epistles at all, and says: "de epistolis igitur illis ignatii, quae nunc ejus titulo feruntur, merito dubitamus: transformatae enim videntur in multis locis, ad stabiliendum statum regni pontificii." [ : ] even when he speaks in favour of them he "damns them with faint praise." the whole of the discussion turns upon the word "fully," and is an instance of the minute criticism of my critic, who evidently is not directly acquainted with chemnitz. a shade more or less of doubt or certainty in conveying the impression received from the words of a writer is scarcely worth much indignation. dr. lightfoot makes a very detailed attack upon my next two notes, and here again i must closely follow him. my note ( ) p. reads as follows: "( ) by bochartus, aubertin, blondel, basnage, casaubon, cocus, humfrey, rivetus, salmasius, socinus (faustus), parker, petau, &c. &c.; cf. jacobson, 'patr. apost.' i. p. xxv; cureton, 'vindiciae ignatianae,' , appendix." upon this dr. lightfoot makes the following preliminary remarks:-- "but the most important point of all is the purpose for which they are quoted. 'similar doubts' could only, i think, be interpreted from the context as doubts 'regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius.'" [ : ] as dr. lightfoot, in the first sentence just quoted, recognises what is "the most important point of all," it is a pity that, throughout the whole of the subsequent analysis of the references in question, he persistently ignores my very careful definition of "the purpose for which they are quoted." it is difficult, without entering into minute classifications, accurately to represent in a few words the opinions of a great number of writers, and briefly convey a fair idea of the course of critical judgment. desirous, therefore, of embracing a large class--for both this note and the next, with mere difference of epoch, illustrate the same statement in the text--and not to overstate the case on my own side, i used what seemed to me a very moderate phrase, decreasing the force of the opinion of those who positively rejected the epistles, and not unfairly representing the hesitation of those who did not fully accept them. i said, then, in guarded terms--and i italicise the part which dr. lightfoot chooses to suppress--that "similar _doubts, more or less definite_," were expressed by the writers referred to. dr. lightfoot admits that bochart directly condemns one epistle, and would probably have condemned the rest also; that aubertin, blondel, basnage, r. parker, and saumaise actually rejected all; and that cook pronounces them "either supposititious or shamefully corrupted." so far, therefore, there can be no dispute. i will now take the rest in succession. dr. lightfoot says that humfrey "considers that they have been interpolated and mutilated, but he believes them genuine in the main." dr. lightfoot has so completely warped the statement in the text, that he seems to demand nothing short of a total condemnation of the epistles in the note, but had i intended to say that humfrey and all of these writers definitely rejected the whole of the epistles i should not have limited myself to merely saying that they expressed "_doubts_ more or less definite," which humfrey does. dr. lightfoot says that socinus "denounces corruptions and anachronisms, but so far as i can see does not question a nucleus of genuine matter." his very denunciations, however, are certainly the expression of "doubts, more or less definite." "casaubon, far from rejecting them altogether," dr. lightfoot says, "promises to defend the antiquity of some of the epistles with new arguments." but i have never affirmed that he "rejected them altogether." casaubon died before he fulfilled the promise referred to, so that we cannot determine what arguments he might have used. i must point out, however, that the antiquity does not necessarily involve the authenticity of a document. with regard to rivet the case is different. i had overlooked the fact that in a subsequent edition of the work referred to, after receiving archbishop usher's edition on of the short recension, he had given his adhesion to "that form of the epistles." [ : ] this fact is also mentioned by pearson, and i ought to have observed it. [ : ] petau, the last of the writers referred to, says: "equidem haud abnuerim epistolas illius varie interpolatas et quibusdam additis mutatas, ac depravatas fuisse: tum aliquas esse supposititias: verum nullas omnino ab ignatio epistolas esse scriptas, id vero nimium temere affirmari sentio." he then goes on to mention the recent publication of the vossian epistles and the version of usher, and the learned jesuit father has no more decided opinion to express than: "ut haec prudens, ac justa suspicio sit, illas esse genuinas ignatii epistolas, quas antiquorum consensus illustribus testimoniis commendatas ac approbatas reliquit." [ : ] the next note ( ), p. , was only separated from the preceding for convenience of reference, and dr. lightfoot quotes and comments upon it as follows:-- "the next note ( ), p. , is as follows:--"'[wotton, _praef. clem. r. epp._ ]; j. owen, _enquiry into original nature, &c., evang. church, works_, ed. russel, , vol. xx. p. ; oudin, _comm. de script. eccles._ &c. , p. ; lampe, _comm. analyt. ex evang. joan._ , i. p. ; lardner, _credibility_, &c., _works_, ii. p. f.; beausobre, _hist. crit. de manichée_, &c. , i. p. , note ; ernesti, _n. theol. biblioth._ , ii. p. ; [mosheim, _de rebus christ._ p. f.]; weismann, _introd. in memorab. eccles._ , i. p. ; heumann, _conspect. reipub. lit._ , p. ; schroeckh, _chr. kirchengesch._ , ii. p. ; griesbach, _opuscula academ._ , i. p. ; rosenmüller, _hist. interpr. libr. sacr. in eccles._ , i. p. ; semler, _paraphr. in epist ii. petri._ , _praef._; kestner, _comm. de eusebii h.e. condit._ , p. ; henke, _allg. gesch. chr. kirche_, , i. p. ; neander, _k.g._ , ii. p. [cf. i. p. , anm. ; baumgarten-crusius, _lehrb. chr. dogmengesch._ , p. ; cf. _comp. chr. dogmengesch._ , p. ; [niedner, _gesch. chr. k._ p. ; thiersch, _die k. im ap. zeit._ p. ; hagenbach, _k.g._ i. p. f.]; cf. _cureton, vind. ign. append._; ziegler, _versuch eine prag. gesch. d. kirchl. verfassungsformen, u.s.w._ , p. ; j.e.c. schmidt, _versuch üb. d. gedopp. recens. d. br. s. ignat._, in henke's _mag. f. rel. phil. u.s.w._ [ ; cf. _biblioth. f. krit. u.s.w., n.t._ i. p ff. _urspr. kath. kirche_, ii. i. p. f.]; _handbuch chr. k.g._ i. p. .' "the brackets are not the author's, but my own. "this is doubtless one of those exhibitions of learning which have made such a deep impression on the reviewers. certainly, as it stands, this note suggests a thorough acquaintance with all the by-paths of the ignatian literature, and seems to represent the gleanings of many years' reading. it is important to observe, however, that every one of these references, except those which i have included in brackets, is given in the appendix to cureton's 'vindiciae ignatianae,' where the passages are quoted in full. thus two-thirds of this elaborate note might have been compiled in ten minutes. our author has here and there transposed the order of the quotations, and confused it by so doing, for it is chronological in cureton. but what purpose was served by thus importing into his notes a mass of borrowed and unsorted references? and, if he thought fit to do so, why was the key-reference to cureton buried among the rest, so that it stands in immediate connection with some additional references on which it has no bearing?" [ : ] i do not see any special virtue in the amount of time which might suffice, under some circumstances, to compile a note, although it is here advanced as an important point to observe, but i call attention to the unfair spirit in which dr. lightfoot's criticisms are made. i ask every just-minded reader to consider what right any critic has to insinuate, if not directly to say, that, because some of the references in a note are also given by cureton, i simply took them from him, and thus "imported into my notes a mass of borrowed and unsorted references," and further to insinuate that i "here and there transposed the order" apparently to conceal the source? this is a kind of criticism which i very gladly relinquish entirely to my high-minded and reverend opponent. now, as full quotations are given in cureton's appendix, i should have been perfectly entitled to take references from it, had i pleased, and for the convenience of many readers i distinctly indicate cureton's work, in the note, as a source to be compared. the fact is, however, that i did not take the references from cureton, but in every case derived them from the works themselves, and if the note "seems to represent the gleanings of many years' reading," it certainly does not misrepresent the fact, for i took the trouble to make myself acquainted with the "by-paths of ignatian literature." now in analysing the references in this note it must be borne in mind that they illustrate the statement that "_doubts, more or less definite_," continued to be expressed regarding the ignatian epistles. i am much obliged to dr. lightfoot for drawing my attention to wotton. his name is the first in the note, and it unfortunately was the last in a list on another point in my note-book, immediately preceding this one, and was by mistake included in it. i also frankly give up weismann, whose doubts i find i had exaggerated, and proceed to examine dr. lightfoot's further statements. he says that thiersch uses the curetonian as genuine, and that his only doubt is whether he ought not to accept the vossian. thiersch, however, admits that he cannot quote either the seven or the three epistles as genuine. he says distinctly: "these three syriac epistles lie under the suspicion that they are not an older text, but merely an epitome of the seven, for the other notes found in the same ms. seem to be excerpts. but on the other hand, the doubts regarding the genuineness of the seven epistles, in the form in which they are known since usher's time, are not yet entirely removed. for no ms. has yet been found which contains _only_ the seven epistles attested by eusebius, a ms. such as lay before eusebius." [ : ] thiersch, therefore, does express "doubts, more or less definite." dr. lightfoot then continues: "of the rest a considerable number, as, for instance, lardner, beausobre, schroeckh, griesbach, kestner, neander, and baumgarten-crusius, _with different degrees of certainty or uncertainty_, pronounce themselves in favour of a genuine nucleus." [ : ] the words which i have italicised are a mere paraphrase of my words descriptive of the doubts entertained. i must point out that a leaning towards belief in a genuine "nucleus" on the part of some of these writers, by no means excludes the expression of "_doubts, more or less definite_," which is all i quote them for. i will take each name in order. _lardner_ says: "but whether the smaller (vossian epistles) themselves are the genuine writings of ignatius, bishop of antioch, is a question that has been much disputed, and has employed the pens of the ablest critics. and whatever positiveness some may have shown on either side, i must own i have found it a very difficult question." the opinion which he expresses finally is merely: "it appears to me _probable_, that they are _for the main part_ the genuine epistles of ignatius." _beausobre_ says: "je ne veux, ni défendre, ni combattre l'authenticité des _lettres de st. ignace_. si elles ne sont pas véritables, elles ne laissent pas d'être fort anciennes; et l'opinion, qui me paroit la plus raisonnable, est que les plus pures ont été interpolées." _schroeckh_ says that along with the favourable considerations for the shorter (vossian) epistles, "many doubts arise which make them suspicious." he proceeds to point out many grave difficulties, and anachronisms which cast doubt both on individual epistles and upon the whole, and he remarks that a very common way of evading these and other difficulties is to affirm that all the passages which cannot be reconciled with the mode of thought of ignatius are interpolations of a later time. he concludes with the pertinent observation: "however probable this is, it nevertheless remains as difficult to prove which are the interpolated passages." in fact it would be difficult to point out any writer who more thoroughly doubts, without definitely rejecting, all the epistles. _griesbach_ and _kestner_ both express "doubts more or less definite," but to make sufficient extracts to illustrate this would occupy too much space. _neander._--dr. lightfoot has been misled by the short extract from the english translation of the first edition of neander's history given by cureton in his appendix, has not attended to the brief german quotation from the second edition, and has not examined the original at all, or he would have seen that, so far from pronouncing "in favour of a genuine nucleus," neander might well have been classed by me amongst those who distinctly reject the ignatian epistles, instead of being moderately quoted amongst those who merely express doubt. neander says: "as the account of the martyrdom of ignatius is very suspicious, so also the epistles which suppose the correctness of this suspicious legend do not bear throughout the impress of a distinct individuality, and of a man of that time who is addressing his last words to the communities. a hierarchical purpose is not to be mistaken." in an earlier part of the work he still more emphatically says that, "in the so-called ignatian epistles," he recognises a decided "design" (_absichtlichkeit_), and then he continues: "as the tradition regarding the journey of ignatius to rome, there to be cast to the wild beasts, seems to me for the above-mentioned reasons very suspicious, his epistles, which presuppose the truth of this tradition, can no longer inspire me with faith in their authenticity." [ : ] he goes on to state additional grounds for disbelief. _baumgarten-crusius_ stated in one place, in regard to the seven epistles, that it is no longer possible to ascertain how much of the extant may have formed part of the original epistles, and in a note he excepts only the passages quoted by the fathers. he seems to agree with semler and others that the two recensions are probably the result of manipulations of the original, the shorter form being more in ecclesiastical, the longer in dogmatic, interest. some years later he remarked that enquiries into the epistles, although not yet concluded, had rather tended towards the earlier view that the shorter recension was more original than the long, but that even the shorter may have suffered, if not from manipulations (_ueberarbeitungen_), from interpolations. this very cautious statement, it will be observed, is wholly relative, and does not in the least modify the previous conclusion that the original material of the letters cannot be ascertained. dr. lightfoot's objections regarding these seven writers are thoroughly unfounded, and in most cases glaringly erroneous. he proceeds to the next "note ( )" with the same unhesitating vigour, and characterises it as "equally unfortunate." wherever it has been possible, dr. lightfoot has succeeded in misrepresenting the "purpose" of my notes, although he has recognised how important it is to ascertain this correctly, and in this instance he has done so again. i will put my text and his explanation, upon the basis of which he analyses the note, in juxtaposition, italicising part of my own statement which he altogether disregards:-- | dr. lightfoot. | "further examination and more | "references to twenty authorities comprehensive knowledge of the | are then given, as belonging to subject have confirmed earlier | the 'large mass of critics' who doubts, and a large mass of critics | recognise that the ignatian recognise _that the authenticity of | epistles 'can only be considered none_ of these epistles _can be | later and spurious compositions.'" established_, and that they can | [ : ] only be considered later and | spurious compositions." | there are here, in order to embrace a number of references, two approximate states of opinion represented: the first, which leaves the epistles in permanent doubt, as sufficient evidence is not forthcoming to establish their authenticity; and the second, which positively pronounces them to be spurious. out of the twenty authorities referred to, dr. lightfoot objects to six as contradictory or not confirming what he states to be the purpose of the note. he seems to consider that a reservation for the possibility of a genuine substratum which cannot be defined invalidates my reference. i maintain, however, that it does not. it is quite possible to consider that the authenticity of the extant letters cannot be established without denying that there may have been some original nucleus upon which these actual documents may have been based. i will analyse the six references. _bleek._--dr. lightfoot says: "of these bleek (already cited in a previous note) expresses no definite opinion." dr. lightfoot omits to mention that i do not refer to bleek directly, but by "cf." merely request consideration of his opinions. i have already partly stated bleek's view. after pointing out some difficulties, he says generally: "it comes to this, that the origin of the ignatian epistles themselves is still very doubtful." he refuses to make use of a passage because it is only found in the long recension, and another which occurs in the shorter recension he does not consider evidence, because, first, he says, "the authenticity of this recension also is by no means certain," and, next, the cureton epistles discredit the others. "whether this recension (the curetonian) is more original than the shorter greek is certainly not altogether certain, but ... in the highest degree probable." in another place he refuses to make use of reminiscences in the "ignatian epistles," "because it is still very doubtful how the case stands as regards the authenticity and integrity of these ignatian epistles themselves, in the different recensions in which we possess them." [ : ] in fact he did not consider that their authenticity could be established. i do not, however, include him here at all. _gfrörer._--dr. lightfoot, again, omits to state that i do not cite this writer like the others, but by a "cf." merely suggest a reference to his remarks. _harless_, according to dr. lightfoot, "avows that he must 'decidedly reject with the most considerable critics of older and more recent times' the opinion maintained by certain persons that the epistles are 'altogether spurious,' and proceeds to treat a passage as genuine because it stands in the vossian letters as well as in the long recension." this is a mistake. harless quotes a passage in connection with paul's epistle to the ephesians with the distinct remark: "in this case the disadvantage of the uncertainty regarding the recensions is _in part_ removed through the circumstance that both recensions have the passage." he recognises that the completeness of the proof that ecclesiastical tradition goes back beyond the time of marcion is somewhat wanting from the uncertainty regarding the text of ignatius. he did not, in fact, venture to consider the ignatian epistles evidence even for the first half of the second century. _schliemann_, dr. lightfoot states, "says that 'the external testimonies oblige him to recognise a genuine substratum,' though he is not satisfied with either existing recension." now what schliemann says is this: "certainly neither the shorter and still less the longer recension in which we possess these epistles can lay claim to authenticity. only if we must, nevertheless, without doubt suppose a genuine substratum," &c. in a note he adds: "the external testimonies oblige me to recognise a genuine substratum--polycarp already speaks of the same in ch. xiii. of his epistle. but that in their present form they do not proceed from ignatius the contents sufficiently show." _hase_, according to dr. lightfoot, "commits himself to no opinion." if he does not deliberately and directly do so, he indicates what that opinion is with sufficient clearness. the long recension, he says, bears the marks of later manipulation, and excites suspicion of an invention in favour of episcopacy, and the shorter text is not fully attested either. the curetonian epistles with the shortest and least hierarchical text give the impression of an epitome. "but even if no authentic kernel lay at the basis of these epistles, yet they would be a significant document at latest out of the middle of the second century." these last words are a clear admission of his opinion that the authenticity cannot be established. _lechler_ candidly confesses that he commenced with a prejudice in favour of the authenticity of the epistles in the shorter recension, but on reading them through, he says that an impression unfavourable to their authenticity was produced upon him which he had not been able to shake off. he proceeds to point out their internal improbability, and other difficulties connected with the supposed journey, which make it "still more improbable that ignatius himself can really have written these epistles in this situation." lechler does not consider that the curetonian epistles strengthen the case; and although he admits that he cannot congratulate himself on the possession of "certainty and cheerfulness of conviction" of the inauthenticity of the ignatian epistles, he at least very clearly justifies the affirmation that the authenticity cannot be established. now what has been the result of this minute and prejudiced attack upon my notes? out of nearly seventy critics and writers in connection with what is admitted to be one of the most intricate questions of christian literature, it appears that--much to my regret--i have inserted one name totally by accident, overlooked that the doubts of another had been removed by the subsequent publication of the short recension and consequently erroneously classed him, and i withdraw a third whose doubts i consider that i have overrated. mistakes to this extent in dealing with such a mass of references, or a difference of a shade more or less in the representation of critical opinions, not always clearly expressed, may, i hope, be excusable, and i can truly say that i am only too glad to correct such errors. on the other hand, a critic who attacks such references, in such a tone, and with such wholesale accusations of "misstatement" and "misrepresentation," was bound to be accurate, and i have shown that dr. lightfoot is not only inaccurate in matters of fact, but unfair in his statements of my purpose. i am happy, however, to be able to make use of his own words and say: "i may perhaps have fallen into some errors of detail, though i have endeavoured to avoid them, but the main conclusions are, i believe, irrefragable." [ : ] there are further misstatements made by dr. lightfoot to which i must briefly refer before turning to other matters. he says, with unhesitating boldness: "one highly important omission is significant. there is no mention, from first to last, of the armenian version. now it happens that this version (so far as regards the documentary evidence) _has been felt to be the key to the position, and around it the battle has raged fiercely since its publication_. one who (like our author) maintains the priority of the curetonian letters, was especially bound to give it some consideration, for it furnishes the most formidable argument to his opponents. this version was given to the world by petermann in , the same year in which cureton's later work, the _corpus ignatianum_, appeared, and therefore was unknown to him. its _bearing occupies a more or less prominent place in all, or nearly all, the writers who have specially discussed the ignatian question during the last quarter of a century. this is true of lipsius and weiss and hilgenfeld and uhlhorn, whom he cites, not less than of merx and denzinger and zahn, whom he neglects to cite_." [ : ] now first as regards the facts. i do not maintain the priority of the curetonian epistles in this book myself; indeed i express no personal opinion whatever regarding them which is not contained in that general declaration of belief, the decision of which excites the wrath of my diffident critic, that the epistles in no form have "any value as evidence for an earlier period than the end of the second or beginning of the third century, even if they have any value at all." i merely represent the opinion of others regarding those epistles. dr. lightfoot very greatly exaggerates the importance attached to the armenian version, and i call special attention to the passages in the above quotation which i have taken the liberty of italicising. i venture to say emphatically that, so far from being considered the "key of the position," this version has, with some exceptions, played a most subordinate and insignificant part in the controversy, and as dr. lightfoot has expressly mentioned certain writers, i will state how the case stands with regard to them. weiss, lipsius, uhlhorn, merx, and zahn certainly "more or less prominently" deal with them. denzinger, however, only refers to petermann's publication, which appeared while his own _brochure_ was passing through the press, in a short note at the end, and in again writing on the ignatian question, two years after, [ : ] he does not even allude to the armenian version. beyond the barest historical reference to petermann's work, hilgenfeld does not discuss the armenian version at all. so much for the writers actually mentioned by dr. lightfoot. as for "the writers who have specially discussed the ignatian question during the last quarter of a century:" cureton apparently did not think it worth while to add anything regarding the armenian version of petermann after its appearance; bunsen refutes petermann's arguments in a few pages of his "hippolytus;" [ : ] baur, who wrote against bunsen and the curetonian letters, and, according to dr. lightfoot's representation, should have found this "the most formidable argument" against them, does not anywhere, subsequent to their publication, even allude to the armenian epistles; ewald, in a note of a couple of lines, [ : ] refers to petermann's epistles as identical with a post-eusebian manipulated form of the epistles which he mentions in a sentence in his text; dressel devotes a few unfavourable lines to them; [ : ] hefele [ : ] supports them at somewhat greater length; but bleek, volkmar, tischendorf, böhringer, scholten, and others have not thought them worthy of special notice; at any rate none of these nor any other writers of any weight have, so far as i am aware, introduced them into the controversy at all. the argument itself did not seem to me of sufficient importance to drag into a discussion already too long and complicated, and i refer the reader to bunsen's reply to it, from which, however, i may quote the following lines: "but it appears to me scarcely serious to say: there are the seven letters in armenian, and i maintain, they prove that cureton's text is an incomplete extract, because, i think, i have found some syriac idioms in the armenian text! well, if that is not a joke, it simply proves, according to ordinary logic, that the seven letters must have once been translated into syriac. but how can it prove that the greek original of this supposed syriac version is the genuine text, and not an interpolated and partially forged one?" [ : ] dr. lightfoot blames me for omitting to mention this argument, on the ground that "a discussion which, while assuming the priority of the curetonian letters, ignores this version altogether, has omitted a vital problem of which it was bound to give an account." now all this is sheer misrepresentation. i do not assume the priority of the curetonian epistles, and i examine all the passages contained in the seven greek epistles which have any bearing upon our gospels. passing on to another point, i say: "seven epistles have been selected out of fifteen extant, all equally purporting to be by ignatius, simply because only that number were mentioned by eusebius." [ : ] another passage is also quoted by dr. lightfoot, which will be found a little further on, where it is taken for facility of reference. upon this he writes as follows:-- "this attempt to confound the seven epistles mentioned by eusebius with the other confessedly spurious epistles, as if they presented themselves to us with the same credentials, ignores all the important facts bearing on the question. ( ) theodoret, a century after eusebius, betrays no knowledge of any other epistles, and there is no distinct trace of the use of the confessedly spurious epistles till late in the sixth century at the earliest. ( ) the confessedly spurious epistles differ widely in style from the seven epistles, and betray the same hand which interpolated the seven epistles. in other words, they clearly formed part of the long recension in the first instance. ( ) they abound in anachronisms which point to an age later than eusebius, as the date of their composition." [ : ] although i do not really say in the above that no other pleas are advanced in favour of the seven epistles, i contend that, reduced to its simplest form, the argument for that special number rests mainly, if not altogether, upon their mention by eusebius. the very first reason ( ) advanced by dr. lightfoot to refute me is a practical admission of the correctness of my statement, for the eight epistles are put out of court because even theodoret, a century after eusebius, does not betray any knowledge of them, but the "silence of eusebius," the earlier witness, is infinitely more important, and it merely receives some increase of significance from the silence of theodoret. suppose, however, that eusebius had referred to any of them, how changed their position would have been! the epistles referred to would have attained the exceptional distinction which his mention has conferred upon the rest.. the fact is, moreover, that, throughout the controversy, the two divisions of epistles are commonly designated the "prae-" and "post-eusebian," making him the turning-point of the controversy. indeed, further on, dr. lightfoot himself admits: "the testimony of eusebius first differentiates them." [ : ] the argument ( and ) that the eight rejected epistles betray anachronisms and interpolations, is no refutation of my statement, for the same accusation is brought by the majority of critics against the vossian epistles. the fourth and last argument seems more directly addressed to a second paragraph quoted by dr. lightfoot, to which i refer above, and which i have reserved till now, as it requires more detailed notice. it is this:-- "it is a total mistake to suppose that the seven epistles mentioned by eusebius have been transmitted to us in any special way. these epistles are mixed up in the medicean and corresponding ancient latin mss. with the other eight epistles, universally pronounced to be spurious, without distinction of any kind, and all have equal honour." [ : ] i will at once give dr. lightfoot's comment on this, in contrast with the statement of a writer equally distinguished for learning and orthodoxy--dr. tregelles:-- dr. lightfoot. | dr. tregelles. | ( ) "it is not strictly true that | "it is a mistake to think of _seven_ the seven epistles are mixed up | ignatian epistles in greek having with the confessedly spurious | been _transmitted_ to us, for no epistles. in the greek and latin | such seven exist, except through mss., as also in the armenian | their having been selected by version, the spurious epistles | _editors_ from the medicean ms. come after the others; and the | which contains so much that circumstance, combined with the | is confessedly spurious;--a fact facts already mentioned, plainly | which some who imagine a shows that they were a later | diplomatic transmission of addition, borrowed from the long | _seven_ have overlooked." [ : ] recension to complete the body | of ignatian letters." [ : ] | i will further quote the words of cureton, for, as dr. lightfoot advances nothing but assertions, it is well to meet him with the testimony of others rather than the mere reiteration of my own statement. cureton says: "again, there is another circumstance which will naturally lead us to look with some suspicion upon the recension of the epistles of st. ignatius, as exhibited in the medicean ms., and in the ancient latin version corresponding with it, which is, that the epistles presumed to be the genuine production of that holy martyr are mixed up with others, which are almost universally allowed to be spurious. both in the greek and latin mss. all these are placed upon the same footing, and no distinction is drawn between them; and the only ground which has hitherto been assumed for their separation has been the specification of some of them by eusebius and his omission of any mention of the others." [ : ] "the external evidence from the testimony of manuscripts in favour of the rejected greek epistles, with the exception of that to the philippians, is certainly greater than that in favour of those which have been received. they are found in all the manuscripts, both greek and latin, in the same form; while the others exhibit two distinct and very different recensions, if we except the epistle to polycarp, in which the variations are very few. of these two recensions the shorter has been most generally received: the circumstance of its being shorter seems much to have influenced its reception; and the text of the medicean codex and of the two copies of the corresponding latin version belonging to caius college, cambridge, and corpus christi college, oxford, has been adopted ... in all these there is no distinction whatever drawn between the former and latter epistles: all are placed upon the same basis; and there is no ground whatever to conclude either that the arranger of the greek recension or the translator of the latin version esteemed one to be better or more genuine than another. nor can any prejudice result to the epistles to the tarsians, to the antiochians, and to hero, from the circumstance of their being placed after the others in the collection; for they are evidently arranged in chronological order, and rank after the rest as having been written from philippi, at which place ignatius is said to have arrived after he had despatched the previous letters. so far, therefore, as the evidence of all the existing copies, latin as well as greek, of both the recensions is to be considered, it is certainly in favour of the rejected epistles, rather than of those which have been retained." [ : ] proceeding from counter-statements to actual facts, i will very briefly show the order in which these epistles have been found in some of the principal mss. one of the earliest published was the ancient latin version of eleven epistles edited by j. faber stapulensis in , which was at least quoted in the ninth century, and which in the subjoined table i shall mark a, [ : ] and which also exhibits the order of cod. vat. , assigned to the eleventh century. [ : ] the next (b) is a greek ms. edited by valentinus pacaeus in , [ : ] and the order at the same time represents that of the cod. pal. . [ : ] the third (c) is the ancient latin translation, referred to above, published by archbishop usher. [ : ] the fourth (d) is the celebrated medicean ms. assigned to the eleventh century, and published by vossius in . [ : ] this also represents the order of the cod. casanatensis g.v. . [ : ] i italicise the rejected epistles: a. | b. | c. | d. | faber stap. | val. pacaeus. | usher | vossius. | | | | | . trallians | _mar. cass._ | smyrn. | smyrn. | . magn. | trallians | polycarp | polycarp | . _tarsians_ | magnes. | ephes. | ephes. | . _philip._ | _tarsians_ | magnes. | magnes. | . philad. | _philip. | philad. | philad. | . smyrn. | philad. | trallians | trallians | . polycarp | smyrn. | _mar. ad. ign._ | _mar. ad. ign._ | . _antioch._ | polycarp | _ign. ad. mar._ | _ign. ad. mar._ | . _hero_ | _antioch. | _tarsians_ | _tarsians_ | . ephes. | _hero_ | _antioch._ | | . romans | ephes. | _hero_ | | . | romans | _mart. ign._ | | . | | romans | | i have given the order in mss. containing the "long recension" as well as the vossian, because, however much some may desire to exclude them, the variety of arrangement is notable, and presents features which have an undeniable bearing upon this question. taking the vossian ms., it is obvious that, without any distinction whatever between the genuine and the spurious, it contains three of the false epistles, and _does not contain the so-called genuine epistle to the romans at all_. the epistle to the romans, in fact, is, to use dr. lightfoot's own expression, "embedded in the martyrology," which is as spurious as any of the epistles. this circumstance alone would justify the assertion which dr. lightfoot contradicts. i must now, in order finally to dispose of this matter of notes, turn for a short time to consider objections raised by dr. westcott. whilst i have to thank him for greater courtesy, i regret that i must point out serious errors into which he has fallen in his statements regarding my references, which, as matters of fact, admit of practical test. before proceeding to them i may make one or two general observations. dr. westcott says:-- "i may perhaps express my surprise that a writer who is quite capable of thinking for himself should have considered it worth his while to burden his pages with lists of names and writings, arranged, for the most part, alphabetically, which have in very many cases no value whatever for a scholar, while they can only oppress the general reader with a vague feeling that all 'profound' critics are on one side. the questions to be discussed must be decided by evidence and by argument and not by authority." [ : ] now the fact is that hitherto, in england, argument and evidence have almost been ignored in connection with the great question discussed in this work, and it has practically been decided by the authority of the church, rendered doubly potent by force of habit and transmitted reverence. the orthodox works usually written on the subject have, to a very great extent, suppressed the objections raised by a mass of learned and independent critics, or treated them as insignificant, and worthy of little more than a passing word of pious indignation. at the same time, therefore, that i endeavour, to the best of my ability, to decide these questions by evidence and argument, in opposition to mere ecclesiastical authority, i refer readers desirous of further pursuing the subject to works where they may find them discussed. i must be permitted to add, that i do not consider i uselessly burden my pages by references to critics who confirm the views in the text or discuss them, for it is right that earnest thinkers should be told the state of opinion, and recognise that belief is not so easy and matter-of-course a thing as they have been led to suppose, or the unanimity quite so complete as english divines have often seemed to represent it. dr. westcott, however, omits to state that i as persistently refer to writers who oppose, as to those who favour, my own conclusions. dr. westcott proceeds to make the accusation which i now desire to investigate. he says: "writers are quoted as holding on independent grounds an opinion which is involved in their characteristic assumptions. and more than this, the references are not unfrequently actually misleading. one example will show that i do not speak too strongly." [ : ] dr. westcott has scrutinised this work with great minuteness, and, as i shall presently explain, he has selected his example with evident care. the idea of illustrating the vast mass of references in these volumes by a single instance is somewhat startling but to insinuate that a supposed contradiction pointed out in one note runs through the whole work, as he does, if i rightly understand his subsequent expressions, is scarcely worthy of dr. westcott, although i am sure he does not mean to be unfair. the example selected is as follows: "'it has been demonstrated that ignatius was not sent to rome at all, but suffered martyrdom in antioch itself on the th december, a.d. ,( ) when he was condemned to be cast to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, in consequence of the fanatical excitement produced by the earthquake which took place on the th of that month.( )" [ : ] "'the references in support of these statements are the following:-- "'( ) baur, _urspr. d. episc., tüb. zeitschr. f. theol._ , h. , p. , anm.; bretschneider, _probabilia_, &c. p. ; bleek, _einl. n.t._ p. ; guericke, _handbuch, k.g._ i. p. ; hagenbach, _k.g._ i. p. f.; davidson, _introd. n.t._ i. p. ; mayerhoff, _einl. petr. schr._ p. ; scholten, _die ält. zeugnisse_, pp. , f.; volkmar, _der ursprung_, p. ; _handbuch einl. apocr._ i. pp. f., . "'( ) volkmar, _handbuch einl. apocr._ i. pp. ff., f.; _der ursprung_, p. ff.; baur, _ursp. d. episc. tüb. zeitschr. f. theol._ , h. , p. f.; _gesch. chr. kirche,_ , i. p. , amn. ; davidson, _introd. n.t._ i, p. ; scholten, _die ält. zeugnisse_, p. f.; cf. francke, _zur gesch. trajans u.s.w._ , p. f.; hilgenfeld, _die ap. väter_, p, .'" upon this dr. westcott remarks: such an array of authorities, drawn from different schools, cannot but appear overwhelming; and the fact that about half of them are quoted twice over emphasises the implied precision of their testimony as to the two points affirmed." [ : ] dr. westcott however, has either overlooked or omitted to state the fact that, although some of the writers are quoted twice, the two notes differ in almost every particular, many of the names in note being absent from note , other names being inserted in the latter which do not appear in the former, an alteration being in most cases made in the place referred to, and the order in which the authorities are placed being significantly varied. for instance, in note , the reference to volkmar is the last, but it is the first in note ; whilst a similar transposition of order takes place in his works, and alterations are made in the pages. the references in note , in fact, are given for the date occurring in the course of the sentence, whilst those in note , placed at the end, are intended to support the whole statement which is made. i must, however, explain an omission, which is pretty obvious, but which i regret may have misled dr. westcott in regard to note , although it does not affect note . readers are probably aware that there has been, amongst other points, a difference of opinion not only as to the place, but also the date of the martyrdom of ignatius. i have in every other case carefully stated the question of date, and my omission in this instance is, i think, the only exception in the book. the fact is, that i had originally in the text the words which i now add to the note: "the martyrdom has been variously dated about a.d. , or - . but whether assigning the event to rome or to antioch a majority of critics of all shades of opinion have adopted the later date." thinking it unnecessary, under the circumstances, to burden the text with this, i removed it with the design of putting the statement at the head of note , with reference to "a.d. " in the text, but unfortunately an interruption at the time prevented the completion of this intention, as well as the addition of some fuller references to the writers quoted, which had been omitted, and the point, to my infinite regret, was overlooked. the whole of the authorities in note , therefore, do not support the apparent statement of martyrdom in antioch, although they all confirm the date, for which i really referred to them. with this explanation, and marking the omitted references [ : ] by placing them within brackets, i proceed to analyse the two notes in contrast with dr. westcott's statements. note , for the date a.d. - . dr. westcott's statements. | the truth. | | baur, _urspr. d. episc., tüb. | zeitschr._ , h. (p. , | anm.) baur states as the date of | the parthian war, and of trajan's | visit to rome, "during which the | above order" (the sentence against | ignatius) is said to have been | given, a.d. and not . | " . baur, _urspr. d. episc., tüb. | _ibid._ p. , anm. zeitschr._ , ii. . p. , | anm. in this note, which is too | after showing the extreme long to quote, _there is nothing_, | improbability of the circumstances so far as i see, _in any way | under which the letters to the bearing_ upon the history [ : ] | smyrnaeans and to polycarp are said except a passing supposition 'wenn | to have been written, baur points ... ignatius im j. an ihn | out the additional difficulty in [polycarp] ... schrieb ...' | regard to the latter that, if | [polycarp] died in a.d. in his | th year, and ignatius wrote to him | as already bishop of smyrna in a.d. | , he must have become bishop at | least in his th year, and | continued so for upwards of half | a century. the inference is clear | that if ignatius died so much | earlier as a.d. it involves | the still greater improbability | that polycarp must have become | bishop of smyrna at latest in his | th year, which is scarcely to be | maintained, and the later date is | thus obviously supported. | | (ibid. _gesch. christl. kirche_, | i. p. , anm. .) | | baur supports the assertion that | ignatius suffered martyrdom in | antioch, a.d. . | " . bretschneider, _probabilia_, x. | the same. p. . 'pergamus ad ignatium '_qui | circa annum cxvi obiisse dicitur_.' | | " . bleek, _einl. n.t._ p. | bleek, _einl. n.t._ p. . [p. ed. ] '... in den | briefen des ignatius bischofes von | ignatius suffered martyrdom at rome antiochien, der unter trajan gegen | under trajan, a.d. . _zu rom_ als märtyrer starb.' | | " . guericke, _handb. k.g._ i. | guericke, _handbuch k.g._ i. p. . p. [p. ed. , , the | edition which i have used]. | ignatius was sent to rome, under 'ignatius, bischoff von antiochien | trajan, a.d. , and was destroyed (euseb. "h.e." iii. ), _welcher_ | by lions in the coliseum, a.d. . wegen seines standhaften | bekenntnisses christi _unter trajan | _nach rom geführt, und hier | im colosseum von löwen zerrissen | wurde_ (vgl. § , i.)' [where the | same statement is repeated]. | | " . hagenbach, k.g. i. f. [i | hagenbach, _k.g._ , p. . f. have not been able to see the book | referred to, but in his lectures | "he (ignatius) may have filled his 'die christliche kirche der drei | office about years when the ersten jahrhunderte," [ : ] | emperor, in the year (according (pp. ff.), hagenbach mentions | to others still earlier), came to the difficulty which has been felt | antioch. it was during his war as to the execution at rome, while | against the parthians." [hagenbach an execution at antioch might have | states some of the arguments for and been simpler and more impressive, | against the martyrdom in antioch, and then quotes gieseler's solution,| and the journey to rome, the former and passes on with 'wie dem such | of which he seems to consider more sei.'] | probable.] | " . davidson, _introd. n.t._ i. | davidson, _introd. n.t._ i. p. . p. . 'all [the epistles of | ignatius] are posterior to ignatius | the same as opposite. himself, who was not thrown to the | wild beasts in the amphitheatre at | these "peremptory statements" are rome by command of trajan, but at | of course based upon what is antioch on december , a.d. . | considered satisfactory evidence, the epistles were written after | though it may not be adduced here. a.d.' [for these peremptory | statements no authority whatever is | adduced]. | | " . mayerhoff, _einl. petr. schr._ | mayerhoff, _einl. petr. schr._ p. . '... ignatius, _der | p. . spätestens zu rom den | märtyrertod litt ..._' | ignatius suffered martyrdom in rome | at latest a.d. . | " . scholten, _die ält. zeugnisse_, | scholten, _die ält. zeugnisse_, p. , mentions as the year of | p. , states a.d. as the date ignatius' death: p. f. the | of ignatius' death. at p. he ignatian letters are rejected | repeats this statement, and gives partly 'weil sie eine märtyrerreise | his support to the view that his des ignatius nach rom melden, deren | martyrdom took place in antioch on schon früher erkanntes | the th december, a.d. . ungeschichtliches wesen durch | volkmar's nicht ungegründete | vermuthung um so wahrscheinlicher | wird. darnach scheint nämlich | ignatius nicht zu rom auf befehl | des sanftmüthigen trajans, sondern | zu antiochia selbst, in folge eines | am dreizehnten december | eingetretenen erdbebens, als opfer | eines abergläubischen volkswahns am | zwanzigsten december dieses jahres | im amphitheater den wilden thieren | zur beute überliefert worden zu | sein.' | | " . volkmar, _der ursprung_, p. | volkmar, _der ursprung_, p. , [p. ff.] [ : ] [this book i | affirms the martyrdom at antioch, have not been able to consult, but | th december, . from secondary references i gather | that it repeats the arguments given | under the next reference.] | | " . volkmar, haindb. _einl. apocr._| ibid. _handbuch einl. apocr._ pp. f., . 'ein haupt der | p. f., affirms the martyrdom gemeinde zu antiochia, ignatius, | at antioch, th december, . wurde, während trajan dortselbst | überwinterte, am . december den | thieren vorgeworfen, in folge der | durch das erdbeben vom . december | gegen die [greek: atheoi] | erweckten volkswuth, ein opfer | zugleich der siegesfeste des | parthicus, welche die judith- | erzählung (i. ) andeutet, dio | (c. f.; vgl. c. ) voraussetzt | ...' | | "p. . the same statement is | ibid. p. . the same repeated briefly." [ : ] | statement, with fuller | chronological evidence. it will thus be seen that the whole of these authorities confirm the later date assigned to the martyrdom, and that baur, in the note in which dr. westcott finds "nothing in any way bearing upon the history except a passing supposition," really advances a weighty argument for it and against the earlier date, and as dr. westcott considers, rightly, that argument should decide everything, i am surprised that he has not perceived the propriety of my referring to arguments as well as statements of evidence. to sum up the opinions expressed, i may state that whilst all the nine writers support the later date, for which purpose they were quoted, three of them (bleek, guericke, and mayerhoff) ascribe the martyrdom to rome, one (bretschneider) mentions no place, one (hagenbach) is doubtful, but leans to antioch, and the other four declare for the martyrdom in antioch. nothing, however, could show more conclusively the purpose of note , which i have explained, than this very contradiction, and the fact that i claim for the general statement in the text, regarding the martyrdom in antioch itself in opposition to the legend of the journey to and death in rome, only the authorities in note , which i shall now proceed to analyse in contrast with dr. westcott's statements, and here i beg the favour of the reader's attention. note . dr. westcott's statements. | the truth. | . volkmar: see above. | volkmar, _handbuch einl. apocr._ | i. pp. ff., f. | | it will be observed on turning to | the passage "above" ( ), to which | dr. westcott refers, that he quotes | a single sentence containing merely | a concise statement of facts, and | that no indication is given to the | reader that there is anything beyond | it. at p. "the same statement | is repeated briefly." now either | dr. westcott, whilst bringing a most | serious charge against my work, based | upon this "one example," has actually | not taken the trouble to examine my | reference to "pp. ff., f.," | and p. ff., to which he would | have found himself there directed, | or he has acted towards me with a | want of fairness which i venture to | say he will be the first to regret, | when he considers the facts. | | would it be divined from the words | opposite, and the sentence "above," | that volkmar enters into an elaborate | argument, extending over a dozen | closely printed pages, to prove that | ignatius was not sent to rome at all, | but suffered martyrdom in antioch | itself on the th december, a.d. , | probably as a sacrifice to the | superstitious fury of the people | against the [greek: atheoi], excited | by the earthquake which occurred on | the thirteenth of that month? i shall | not here attempt to give even an | epitome of the reasoning, as i shall | presently reproduce some of the | arguments of volkmar and others in a | more condensed and consecutive form. | | ibid. _der ursprung_, p. ff. | | volkmar repeats the affirmations which | he had fully argued in the above | work and elsewhere. | . "baur, _ursprung d. episc., | baur, _urspr. d. episc., tüb. tüb. zeitschr._ , ii. h. , | zeitschr._ , h. , p. f. p. f. | | "in this passage baur discusses | baur enters into a long and minute generally the historical | examination of the historical character of the martyrdom, which | character of the martyrdom of he considers, as a whole, to be | ignatius, and of the ignatian 'doubtful and incredible.' to | epistles, and pronounces the whole establish this result he notices | to be fabulous, and more especially the relation of christianity to | the representation of his sentence the empire in the time of trajan, | and martyr-journey to rome. he which he regards as inconsistent | shows that, while isolated cases of with the condemnation of ignatius;| condemnation to death, under and the improbable circumstances | occurred during trajan's reign may of the journey. the personal | justify the mere tradition that he characteristics, the letters, the | suffered martyrdom, there is no history of ignatius, are, in his | instance recorded in which a opinion, all a mere creation of | christian was condemned to be sent the imagination. the utmost he | to rome to be cast to the beasts; allows is that he may have | that such a sentence is opposed to suffered martyrdom." (p. .) | all historical data of the reign of | trajan, and to all that is known of | his character and principles; and | that the whole of the statements | regarding the supposed journey | directly discredit the story. the | argument is much too long and | elaborate to reproduce here, but i | shall presently make use of some | parts of it. | " . baur, _gesch. chr. kirche_, | "ibid., _gesch. chr. kirche_, , , i. p. , anm. . | i. p. , anm. . | "'die verurtheilung _ad bestias_ | "the reality is 'wohl nur' that in und die abführung dazu nach rom | the year , when trajan wintered ... mag auch unter trajan nichts | in antioch, ignatius suffered zu ungewöhnliches gewesen sein, | martyrdom in antioch itself, as a aber ... bleibt ie geschichte | sacrifice to popular fury seines märtyrerthums auch nach | consequent on the earthquake of der vertheidigung derselben von | that year. the rest was developed lipsius ... höchst | out of the reference to trajan for unwahrscheinlich. das factische | the glorification of martyrdom." ist wohl nur dass ignatius im j. | , als trajan in antiochien | überwinterte, in folge des | erdbebens in diesem jahr, in | antiochien selbst als ein opfer | der volkswuth zum märtyrer | wurde.' | | . davidson: see above. | davidson, _introd. n.t._, p. . | | "all (the epistles) are posterior | to ignatius himself, who was not | thrown to the wild beasts in the | amphitheatre at rome by command of | trajan, but at antioch, on december | th, a.d. ." | . scholten: see above. | scholten, _die ält. zeugnisse_, | p. f. the ignatian epistles are | declared to be spurious for various | reasons, but partly "because they | mention a martyr-journey of ignatius | to rome, the unhistorical character | of which, already earlier recognised | (see baur, _urspr. des episc._ , | p. ff., _die ign. briefe_, ; | schwegler, _nachap. zeitalt._ ii. | p. ff.; hilgenfeld, _apost. | väter_, p. ff.; réville, | _le lien_, , nos. - ), is | made all the more probable by | volkmar's not groundless conjecture. | according to it ignatius is reported | to have become the prey of wild beasts | on the th december, , not in the | amphitheatre in rome by the order of | the mild trajan, but in antioch | itself, as the victim of superstitious | popular fury consequent on an | earthquake which occurred on the | th december of that year." | . "francke, _zur gesch. | "cf. francke, _zur gesch. trajan's_, trajan's_, [ ], p. f. | . this is a mere comparative [a discussion of the date of the | reference to establish the important beginning of trajan's parthian | point of the date of the parthian war, which he fixes in a.d. , | war and trajan's visit to antioch. but he decides nothing directly | dr. westcott omits the "cf." as to the time of ignatius' | martyrdom.] | | . "hilgenfeld, _die ap. väter_, | hilgenfeld, _die ap. väter_, p. ff. p. [pp. ff.] hilgenfeld | hilgenfeld strongly supports baur's points out the objections to the | argument which is referred to narrative in the acts of the | above, and while declaring the martyrdom, the origin of which he | whole story of ignatius, and more refers to the period between | especially the journey to rome, eusebius and jerome: setting | incredible, he considers the mere aside this detailed narrative he | fact that ignatius suffered considers the historical character| martyrdom the only point regarding of the general statements in the | which the possibility has been made letters. the mode of punishment | out. he shows [ : ] that the by a provincial governor causes | martyrology states the th some difficulty: 'bedenklicher,' | december as the day of ignatius' he continues, 'ist jedenfalls der | death, and that his remains were andre punct, die versendung nach | buried at antioch, where they still rom.' why was the punishment not | were in the days of chrysostom and carried out at antioch? would it | jerome. he argues from all that is be likely that under an emperor | known of the reign and character of like trajan a prisoner like | trajan, that such a sentence from ignatius would be sent to rome to | the emperor himself is quite fight in the amphitheatre? the | unsupported and inconceivable. a circumstances of the journey as | provincial governor might have described are most improbable. | condemned him ad bestias, but in the account of the persecution | any case the transmission to rome itself is beset by difficulties. | is more doubtful. he shows, having set out these objections | however, that the whole story is he leaves the question, casting | inconsistent with historical facts, doubt (like baur) upon the whole | and the circumstances of the history, and gives no support to | journey incredible. it is the bold affirmation of a | impossible to give even a sketch of martyrdom 'at antioch on the th | this argument, which extends over december, a.d. .'" | five long pages, but although | hilgenfeld does not directly refer | to the theory of the martyrdom in | antioch itself, his reasoning | forcibly points to that conclusion, | and forms part of the converging | trains of reasoning which result in | that "demonstration" which i | assert. i will presently make use | of some of his arguments. at the close of this analysis dr. westcott sums up the result as follows: "in this case, therefore, again, volkmar alone offers any arguments in support of the statement in the text; and the final result of the references is, that the alleged 'demonstration' is, at the most, what scholten calls 'a not groundless conjecture.'" [ : ] it is scarcely possible to imagine a more complete misrepresentation of the fact than the assertion that "volkmar alone offers any arguments in support of the statement in the text," and it is incomprehensible upon any ordinary theory. my mere sketch cannot possibly convey an adequate idea of the elaborate arguments of volkmar, baur, and hilgenfeld, but i hope to state their main features, a few pages on. with regard to dr. westcott's remark on the "alleged 'demonstration,'" it must be evident that when a writer states anything to be "demonstrated" he expresses his own belief. it is impossible to secure absolute unanimity of opinion, and the only question in such a case is whether i refer to writers, in connection with the circumstances which i affirm to be demonstrated, who advance arguments and evidence bearing upon it. a critic is quite at liberty to say that the arguments are insufficient, but he is not at liberty to deny that there are any arguments at all when the elaborate reasoning of men like volkmar, baur, and hilgenfeld is referred to. therefore, when he goes on to say: "it seems quite needless to multiply comments on these results. anyone who will candidly consider this analysis will, i believe, agree with me in thinking that such a style of annotation, which runs through the whole work, is justly characterised as frivolous and misleading"--[ : ] dr. westcott must excuse my retorting that, not my annotation, but his own criticism of it, endorsed by professor lightfoot, is "frivolous and misleading," and i venture to hope that this analysis, tedious as it has been, may once for all establish the propriety and substantial accuracy of my references. as dr. westcott does not advance any further arguments of his own in regard to the ignatian controversy, i may now return to dr. lightfoot, and complete my reply to his objections; but i must do so with extreme brevity, as i have already devoted too much space to this subject, and must now come to a close. to the argument that it is impossible to suppose that soldiers such as the "ten leopards" described in the epistles would allow a prisoner, condemned to wild beasts for professing christianity, deliberately to write long epistles at every stage of his journey, promulgating the very doctrines for which he was condemned, as well as to hold the freest intercourse with deputations from the various churches, dr. lightfoot advances arguments, derived from zahn, regarding the roman procedure in cases that are said to be "known." these cases, however, are neither analogous, nor have they the force which is assumed. that christians imprisoned for their religious belief should receive their nourishment, while in prison, from friends, is anything but extraordinary, and that bribes should secure access to them in many cases, and some mitigation of suffering, is possible. the case of ignatius, however, is very different. if the meaning of [greek: oi kai euergetoumenoi cheirous ginontai] be that, although receiving bribes, the "ten leopards" only became more cruel, the very reverse of the leniency and mild treatment ascribed to the roman procedure is described by the writer himself as actually taking place, and certainly nothing approaching a parallel to the correspondence of pseudo-ignatius can be pointed out in any known instance. the case of saturus and perpetua, even if true, is no confirmation, the circumstances being very different; [ : ] but in fact there is no evidence whatever that the extant history was written by either of them, [ : ] but on the contrary, i maintain, every reason to believe that it was not. dr. lightfoot advances the instance of paul as a case in point of a christian prisoner treated with great consideration, and who "writes letters freely, receives visits from his friends, communicates with churches and individuals as he desires." [ : ] it is scarcely possible to imagine two cases more dissimilar than those of pseudo-ignatius and paul, as narrated in the "acts of the apostles," although doubtless the story of the former has been framed upon some of the lines of the latter. whilst ignatius is condemned to be cast to the wild beasts as a christian, paul is not condemned at all, but stands in the position of a roman citizen, rescued from infuriated jews (xxiii. ), repeatedly declared by his judges to have done nothing worthy of death or of bonds (xxv. , xxvi. ), and who might have been set at liberty but that he had appealed to caesar (xxv. f., xxvi. ). his position was one which secured the sympathy of the roman soldiers. ignatius "fights with beasts from syria even unto rome," and is cruelly treated by his "ten leopards," but paul is represented as receiving very different treatment. felix commands that his own people should be allowed to come and minister to him (xxiv. ), and when the voyage is commenced it is said that julius, who had charge of paul, treated him courteously, and, gave him liberty to go to see his friends at sidon (xxvii. ). at rome he was allowed to live by himself with a single soldier to guard him (xxviii. ), and he continued for two years in his own hired house (xxviii. ). these circumstances are totally different from those under which the epistles of ignatius are said to have been written. "but the most powerful testimony," dr. lightfoot goes on to say, "is derived from the representations of a heathen writer." [ : ] the case of peregrinus, to which he refers, seems to me even more unfortunate than that of paul. of peregrinus himself, historically, we really know little or nothing, for the account of lucian is scarcely received as serious by anyone. [ : ] lucian narrates that this peregrinus proteus, a cynic philosopher, having been guilty of parricide and other crimes, found it convenient to leave his own country. in the course of his travels he fell in with christians and learnt their doctrines, and, according to lucian, the christians soon were mere children in his hands, so that he became in his own person "prophet, high-priest, and ruler of a synagogue," and further "they spoke of him as a god, used him as a lawgiver, and elected him their chief man." [ : ] after a time he was put in prison for his new faith, which lucian says was a real service to him afterwards in his impostures. during the time he was in prison he is said to have received those services from christians which dr. lightfoot quotes. peregrinus was afterwards set at liberty by the governor of syria, who loved philosophy, [ : ] and travelled about, living in great comfort at the expense of the christians, until at last they quarrelled in consequence, lucian thinks, of his eating some forbidden food. finally, peregrinus ended his career by throwing himself into the flames of a funeral pile during the olympian games. an earthquake is said to have taken place at the time; a vulture flew out from the pile crying out with a human voice; and, shortly after, peregrinus rose again and appeared clothed in white raiment, unhurt by the fire. now this writing, of which i have given the barest sketch, is a direct satire upon christians, or even, as baur affirms, "a parody of the history of jesus." [ : ] there are no means of ascertaining that any of the events of the christian career of peregrinus were true, but it is obvious that lucian's policy was to exaggerate the facility of access to prisoners, as well as the assiduity and attention of the christians to peregrinus, the ease with which they were duped being the chief point of the satire. there is another circumstance which must be mentioned. lucian's account of peregrinus is claimed by supporters of the ignatian epistles as evidence for them. [ : ] "the singular correspondence in this narrative with the account of ignatius, combined with some striking coincidences of expression," they argue, show "that lucian was acquainted with the ignatian history, if not with the ignatian letters." these are the words of dr. lightfoot, although he guards himself, in referring to this argument, by the words "if it be true," and does not express his own opinion; but he goes on to say: "at all events it is conclusive for the matter in hand, as showing that christian prisoners were treated in the very way described in these epistles." [ : ] on the contrary, it is in no case conclusive of anything. if it were true that lucian employed, as the basis of his satire, the ignatian epistles and martyrology, it is clear that his narrative cannot be used as independent testimony for the truth of the statements regarding the treatment of christian prisoners. on the other hand, as this cannot be shown, his story remains a mere satire with very little historical value. apart from all this, however, the case of peregrinus, a man confined in prison for a short time, under a favourable governor, and not pursued with any severity, is no parallel to that of ignatius condemned _ad bestias_ and, according to his own express statement, cruelly treated by the "ten leopards;" and further the liberty of pseudo-ignatius must greatly have exceeded all that is said of peregrinus, if he was able to write such epistles, and hold such free intercourse as they represent. i will now, in the briefest manner possible, indicate the arguments of the writers referred to in the note [ : ] attacked by dr. westcott, in which he cannot find any relevancy, but which, in my opinion, demonstrate that ignatius was not sent to rome at all, but suffered martyrdom in antioch itself. the reader who wishes to go minutely into the matter must be good enough to consult the writers there cited, and i will only sketch the case here, without specifically indicating the source of each argument. where i add any particulars i will, when necessary, give my authorities. the ignatian epistles and martyrologies set forth that, during a general persecution of christians, in syria at least, ignatius was condemned by trajan, when he wintered in antioch during the parthian war, to be taken to rome and cast to wild beasts in the amphitheatre. instead of being sent to rome by the short sea voyage, he is represented as taken thither by the long and incomparably more difficult land route. the ten soldiers who guard him are described by himself as only rendered more cruel by the presents made to them to secure kind treatment for him, so that not in the amphitheatre only, but all the way from syria to rome, by night and day, by sea and land, he "fights with beasts." notwithstanding this severity, the martyr freely receives deputations from the various churches, who, far from being molested, are able to have constant intercourse with him, and even to accompany him on his journey. he not only converses with these freely, but he is represented as writing long epistles to the various churches, which, instead of containing the last exhortations and farewell words which might be considered natural from the expectant martyr, are filled with advanced views of church government, and the dignity of the episcopate. these circumstances, at the outset, excite grave suspicions of the truth of the documents and of the story which they set forth. when we enquire whether the alleged facts of the case are supported by historical data, the reply is emphatically adverse. all that is known of the treatment of christians during the reign of trajan, as well as of the character of the emperor, is opposed to the supposition that ignatius could have been condemned by trajan himself, or even by a provincial governor, to be taken to rome and there cast to the beasts. it is well known that under trajan there was no general persecution of christians, although there may have been instances in which prominent members of the body were either punished or fell victims to popular fury and superstition. [ : ] an instance of this kind was the martyrdom of simeon, bishop of jerusalem, reported by hegesippus. he was not condemned _ad bestias_, however, and much less deported to rome for the purpose. why should ignatius have been so exceptionally treated? in fact, even during the persecutions under marcus aurelius, although christians in syria were frequently enough cast to the beasts, there is no instance recorded in which anyone condemned to this fate was sent to rome. such a sentence is quite at variance with the clement character of trajan and his principles of government. neander, in a passage quoted by baur, says: "as he (trajan), like pliny, considered christianity mere fanaticism, he also probably thought that if severity were combined with clemency, if too much noise were not made about it, the open demonstration not left unpunished but also minds not stirred up by persecution, the fanatical enthusiasm would most easily cool down, and the matter by degrees come to an end." [ : ] this was certainly the policy which mainly characterised his reign. now not only would this severe sentence have been contrary to such principles, but the agitation excited would have been enormously increased by sending the martyr a long journey by land through asia, and allowing him to pass through some of the principal cities, hold constant intercourse with the various christian communities, and address long epistles to them. with the fervid desire for martyrdom then prevalent, such a journey would have been a triumphal progress, spreading everywhere excitement and enthusiasm. it may not be out of place, as an indication of the results of impartial examination, to point out that neander's inability to accept the ignatian epistles largely rests on his disbelief of the whole tradition of this sentence and martyr-journey. "we do not recognise the emperor trajan in this narrative" (the martyrology), he says, "therefore cannot but doubt everything which is related by this document, as well as that, during this reign, christians can have been cast to the wild beasts." [ : ] if, for a moment, we suppose that, instead of being condemned by trajan himself, ignatius received his sentence from a provincial governor, the story does not gain greater probability. it is not credible that such an official would have ventured to act so much in opposition to the spirit of the emperor's government. besides, if such a governor did pronounce so severe a sentence, why did he not execute it in antioch? why send the prisoner to rome? by doing so he made all the more conspicuous a severity which was not likely to be pleasing to the clement trajan. the cruelty which dictated a condemnation _ad bestias_ would have been more gratified by execution on the spot, and there is besides no instance known, even during the following general persecution, of christians being sent for execution in rome. the transport to rome is in no case credible, and the utmost that can be admitted is, that ignatius, like simeon of jerusalem, may have been condemned to death during this reign, more especially if the event be associated with some sudden outbreak of superstitious fury against the christians, to which the martyr may at once have fallen a victim. we are not without indications of such a cause operating in the case of ignatius. it is generally admitted that the date of trajan's visit to antioch is a.d. , when he wintered there during the parthian war. an earthquake occurred on the th december of that year, which was well calculated to excite popular superstition. it may not be out of place to quote here the account of the earthquake given by dean milman, who, although he mentions a different date, and adheres to the martyrdom in rome, still associates the condemnation of ignatius with the earthquake. he says: "nevertheless, at that time there were circumstances which account with singular likelihood for that sudden outburst of persecution in antioch ... at this very time an earthquake, more than usually terrible and destructive, shook the cities of the east. antioch suffered its most appalling ravages--antioch, crowded with the legionaries prepared for the emperor's invasion of the east, with ambassadors and tributary kings from all parts of the east. the city shook through all its streets; houses, palaces, theatres, temples fell crashing down. many were killed: the consul pedo died of his hurts. the emperor himself hardly escaped through a window, and took refuge in the circus, where he passed some days in the open air. whence this terrible blow but from the wrath of the gods, who must be appeased by unusual sacrifices? this was towards the end of january; early in february the christian bishop, ignatius, was arrested. we know how, during this century, at every period of public calamity, whatever that calamity might be, the cry of the panic-stricken heathens was, 'the christians to the lions!' it maybe that, in trajan's humanity, in order to prevent a general massacre by the infuriated populace, or to give greater solemnity to the sacrifice, the execution was ordered to take place, not in antioch, but in rome." [ : ] i contend that these reasons, on the contrary, render execution in antioch infinitely more probable. to continue, however: the earthquake occurred on the th, and the martyrdom of ignatius took place on the th december, just a week after the earthquake. his remains, as we know from chrysostom and others, were, as an actual fact, interred at antioch. the natural inference is that the martyrdom, the only part of the ignatian story which is credible, occurred not in rome but in antioch itself, in consequence of the superstitious fury against the [greek: atheoi] aroused by the earthquake. i will now go more into the details of the brief statements i have just made, and here we come for the first time to john malalas. in the first place he mentions the occurrence of the earthquake on the th december. i will quote dr. lightfoot's own rendering of his further important statement. he says:-- "the words of john malalas are: the same king trajan was residing in the same city (antioch) when the visitation of god (_i.e._ the earthquake) occurred. and at that time the holy ignatius, the bishop of the city of antioch, was martyred (or bore testimony, [greek: emarturêse]) before him ([greek: epi autou]); for he was exasperated against him, because he reviled him.'" [ : ] dr. lightfoot endeavours in every way to discredit this statement. he argues that malalas tells foolish stories about other matters, and, therefore, is not to be believed here; but so simple a piece of information may well be correctly conveyed by a writer who elsewhere may record stupid traditions. [ : ] if the narrative of foolish stories and fabulous traditions is to exclude belief in everything else stated by those who relate them, the whole of the fathers are disposed of at one fell swoop, for they all do so. dr. lightfoot also assert that the theory of the cause of the martyrdom advanced by volkmar "receives no countenance from the story of malalas, who gives a wholly different reason--the irritating language used to the emperor." [ : ] on the other hand, it in no way contradicts it, for ignatius can only have "reviled" trajan when brought before him, and his being taken before him may well have been caused by the fury excited by the earthquake, even if the language of the bishop influenced his condemnation; the whole statement of malalas is in perfect harmony with the theory in its details, and in the main, of course, directly supports it. then dr. lightfoot actually makes use of the following extraordinary argument:-- "but it may be worth while adding that the error of malalas is capable of easy explanation. he has probably misinterpreted some earlier authority, whose language lent itself to misinterpretation. the words [greek: marturein, marturia], which were afterwards used especially of martyrdom, had in the earlier ages a wider sense, including other modes of witnessing to the faith: the expression [greek: epi traianou] again is ambiguous and might denote either 'during the reign of trajan,' or 'in the presence of trajan.' a blundering writer like malalas might have stumbled over either expression." [ : ] this is a favourite device. in case his abuse of poor malalas should not sufficiently discredit him, dr. lightfoot attempts to explain away his language. it would be difficult indeed to show that the words [greek: marturein, marturia], already used in that sense in the new testament, were not, at the date at which any record of the martyrdom of ignatius which malalas could have had before him was written, employed to express martyrdom, when applied to such a case, as dr. lightfoot indeed has in the first instance rendered the phrase. even zahn, whom dr. lightfoot so implicitly follows, emphatically decides against him on both points. "the [greek: epi autou] together with [greek: tote] can only signify 'coram trajano' ('in the presence of trajan'), and [greek: emarturaese] only the execution." [ : ] let anyone simply read over dr. lightfoot's own rendering, which i have quoted above, and he will see that such quibbles are excluded, and that, on the contrary, malalas seems excellently well and directly to have interpreted his earlier authority. that the statement of malalas does not agree with the reports of the fathers is no real objection, for we have good reason to believe that none of them had information from any other source than the ignatian epistles themselves, or tradition. eusebius evidently had not. irenaeus, origen, and some later fathers tell us nothing about him. jerome and chrysostom clearly take their accounts from these sources. malalas is the first who, by his variation, proves that he had another and different authority before him, and in abandoning the martyr-journey to rome, his account has infinitely greater apparent probability. malalas lived at antioch, which adds some weight to his statement. it is objected that so also did chrysostom, and at an earlier period, and yet he repeats the roman story. this, however, is no valid argument against malalas. chrysostom was too good a churchman to doubt the story of epistles so much tending to edification, which were in wide circulation, and had been quoted by earlier fathers. it is in no way surprising that, some two centuries and a half after the martyrdom, he should quietly have accepted the representations of the epistles purporting to have been written by the martyr himself, and that their story should have shaped the prevailing tradition. the remains of ignatius, as we are informed by chrysostom and jerome, long remained interred in the cemetery of antioch, but finally--in the time of theodosius, it is said--were translated with great pomp and ceremony to a building which--such is the irony of events--had previously been a temple of fortune. the story told, of course, is that the relics of the martyr had been carefully collected in the coliseum and carried from rome to antioch. after reposing there for some centuries, the relics, which are said to have been transported from rome to antioch, were, about the seventh century, carried back from antioch to rome. [ : ] the natural and more simple conclusion is that, instead of this double translation, the bones of ignatius had always remained in antioch, where he had suffered martyrdom, and the tradition that they had been brought back from rome was merely the explanation which reconciled the fact of their actually being in antioch with the legend of the ignatian epistles. the th of december is the date assigned to the death of ignatius in the martyrology, [ : ] and zahn admits that this interpretation is undeniable [ : ] moreover, the anniversary of his death was celebrated on that day in the greek churches and throughout the east. in the latin church it is kept on the st of february. there can be little doubt that this was the day of the translation of the relics to rome, and this was evidently the view of ruinart, who, although he could not positively contradict the views of his own church, says: "ignatii festum graeci vigesima die mensis decembris celebrant, quo ipsum passum, fuisse acta testantur; latini vero die prima februarii, an ob aliquam sacrarum ejus reliquiarum translationem? plures enim fuisse constat." [ : ] zahn [ : ] states that the feast of the translation in later calendars was celebrated on the th january, and he points out the evident ignorance which prevailed in the west regarding ignatius. [ : ] on the one hand, therefore, all the historical data which we possess regarding the reign and character of trajan discredit the story that ignatius was sent to rome to be exposed to beasts in the coliseum; and all the positive evidence which exists, independent of the epistles themselves, tends to establish the fact that he suffered martyrdom in antioch. on the other hand, all the evidence which is offered for the statement that ignatius was sent to rome is more or less directly based upon the representations of the letters, the authenticity of which is in discussion, and it is surrounded with improbabilities of every kind. and what is the value of any evidence emanating from the ignatian epistles and martyrologies? there are three martyrologies which, as ewald says, are "the one more fabulous than the other." there are fifteen epistles all equally purporting to be by ignatius, and most of them handed down together in mss., without any distinction. three of these, in latin only, are universally rejected, as are also other five epistles, of which there are greek, latin, and other versions. of the remaining seven there are two forms, one called the long recension and another shorter, known as the vossian epistles. the former is almost unanimously rejected as shamefully interpolated and falsified; and a majority of critics assert that the text of the vossian epistles is likewise very impure. besides these there is a still shorter version of three epistles only, the curetonian, which many able critics declare to be the only genuine letters of ignatius, whilst a still greater number, both from internal and external reasons, deny the authenticity of the epistles in any form. the second and third centuries teem with pseudonymic literature, but i venture to say that pious fraud has never been more busy and conspicuous than in dealing with the martyr of antioch. the mere statement of the simple and acknowledged facts regarding the ignatian epistles is ample justification of the assertion, which so mightily offends dr. lightfoot, that "the whole of the ignatian literature is a mass of falsification and fraud." even my indignant critic himself has not ventured to use as genuine more than the three short syriac letters [ : ] out of this mass of forgery, which he rebukes me for holding so cheap. documents which lie under such grave and permanent suspicion cannot prove anything. as i have shown, however, the vossian epistles, whatever the value of their testimony, so far from supporting the claims advanced in favour of our gospels, rather discredit them. i have now minutely followed dr. lightfoot and dr. westcott in their attacks upon me in connection with eusebius and the ignatian epistles, and i trust that i have shown once for all that the charges of "misrepresentation" and "misstatement," so lightly and liberally advanced, far from being well-founded, recoil upon themselves. it is impossible in a work like this, dealing with such voluminous materials, to escape errors of detail, as both of these gentlemen bear witness, but i have at least conscientiously endeavoured to be fair, and i venture to think that few writers have ever more fully laid before readers the actual means of judging of the accuracy of every statement which has been made. iii. _polycarp of smyrna._ in my chapter on polycarp i state the various opinions expressed by critics regarding the authenticity of the epistle ascribed to him, and i more particularly point out the reasons which have led many to decide that it is either spurious or interpolated. that an epistle of polycarp did really exist at one time no one doubts, but the proof that the epistle which is now extant was the actual epistle written by polycarp is not proven. dr. lightfoot's essay of course assumes the authenticity, and seeks to establish it. a large part of it is directed to the date which must be assigned to it on that supposition, and recent researches seem to establish that the martyrdom of polycarp must be set some two years earlier than was formerly believed. the _chronicon_ of eusebius dates his death a.d. or , and he is said to have been martyred during the proconsulship of statius quadratus. m. waddington, in examining the proconsular annals of asia minor, with the assistance of newly-discovered inscriptions, has decided that statius quadratus was proconsul in a.d. - , and if polycarp was martyred during his proconsulship it would follow that his death must have taken place in one of those years. having said so much in support of the authenticity of the epistle of polycarp, and the earlier date to be assigned to it, it might have been expected that dr. lightfoot would have proceeded to show what bearing the epistle has upon the evidence for the existence of the gospels and their sufficiency as testimony for the miracles which those gospels record. he has not done so, however, for he is in such haste to find small faults with my statements, and disparage my work, that, having arrived at this point, he at once rushes off upon this side issue, and does not say one word that i can discover regarding any supposed use of gospels in the epistle. for a complete discussion of analogies which other apologists have pointed out i must refer to _supernatural religion_ itself; [ : ] but i may here state the case in the strongest form for them. it is asserted that polycarp in this epistle uses expressions which correspond more or less closely with some of those in our gospels. it is not in the least pretended that the gospels are referred to by name, or that any information is given regarding their authorship or composition. if, therefore, the use of the gospels could be established, and the absolute authenticity of the epistle, what could this do towards proving the actual performance of miracles or the reality of divine revelation? the mere existence of anonymous gospels would be indicated, and though this might be considered a good deal in the actual evidential destitution, it would leave the chief difficulty quite untouched. iv. _papias of hierapolis._ dr. lightfoot has devoted two long chapters to the evidence of papias, although with a good deal of divergence to other topics in the second. i need not follow him minutely here, for i have treated the subject fully in _supernatural religion_, [ : ] to which i beg leave to refer any reader who is interested in the discussion; and this is merely dr. lightfoot's reply. i will confine myself here to a few words on the fundamental question at issue. papias, in the absence of other testimony, is an important witness of whom theologians are naturally very tenacious, inasmuch as he is the first writer who mentions the name of anyone who was believed to have written a gospel. it is true that what he says is of very little weight, but, since no one else had said anything at all on the point, his remarks merit attention which they would not otherwise receive. eusebius states that, in his last work, [ : ] "exposition of the lord's oracles" ([greek: logiôn kuriakôn exêgêsis]), papias wrote as follows: "and the elder said this also: 'mark, having become the interpreter of peter, wrote down accurately everything that he remembered, without, however, recording in order what was either said or done by christ. for neither did he hear the lord, nor did he follow him; but afterwards, as i said, [attended] peter, who adapted his instructions to the needs [of his hearers], but had no design of giving a connected account of the lord's oracles [or discourses] ([greek: all' ouch hôsper suntaxin tôn kuriakôn poioumenos logiôn] or [greek: logôn).' so, then, mark made no mistake while he thus wrote down some things as he remembered them; for he made it his one care not to omit anything that he heard, or to set down any false statement therein." [ : ] the first question which suggests itself is: does the description here given correspond with the gospel "according to mark" which we now possess? can our second gospel be considered a work composed "without recording in order what was either said or done by christ"? a negative answer has been given by many eminent critics to these and similar enquiries, and the application of the presbyter's words to it has consequently been denied by them. it does not follow from this that there has been any refusal to accept the words of papias as referring to a work which may have been the basis of the second gospel as we have it. however, i propose to waive all this objection, for the sake of argument, on the present occasion, and to consider what might be the value of the evidence before us, if it be taken as referring to our second gospel. in the first place, the tradition distinctly states that mark, who is said to have been its author, was neither an eye-witness of the circumstances recorded, nor a hearer of the words of jesus, but that he merely recorded what he remembered of the casual teaching of peter. it is true that an assurance is added as to the general care and accuracy of mark in recording all that he heard and not making any false statement, but this does not add much value to his record. no one supposes that the writer of the second gospel deliberately invented what he has embodied in his work, and the certificate of character can be received for nothing more than a general estimate of the speaker. the testimony of the second gospel is, according to this tradition, confessedly at second hand, and consequently utterly inadequate to attest miraculous pretensions. the tradition that mark derived his information from the preaching of peter is not supported by internal evidence, and has nothing extraneous to strengthen its probability. because some person, whose very identity is far from established, says so, is not strong evidence of the fact. it was the earnest desire of the early christians to connect apostles with the authorship of the gospels, and as mark is represented as the interpreter of peter, so luke, or the third evangelist, is connected more or less closely with paul, in forgetfulness of the circumstance that we have no reason whatever for believing that paul ever saw jesus. comparison of the contents of the first three gospels, moreover, not only does not render more probable this account of the composition of the second synoptic as it lies before us, but is really opposed to it. into this i shall not here go. setting aside, therefore, all the reasons for doubting the applicability of the tradition recorded by papias regarding the gospel said to have been written by mark, i simply appeal to those who have rightly appreciated the nature of the allegations for which evidence is required as to the value of such a work, compiled by one who had neither himself seen nor heard jesus. it is quite unnecessary to proceed to the closer examination of the supposed evidence. "but concerning matthew the following statement is made [by papias]: 'so then matthew ([greek: matthaios men oun]) composed the oracles in the hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could.'" [ : ] dr. lightfoot points out that there is no absolute reason for supposing that this statement, like the former, was made on the authority of the presbyter, and, although i think it probable that it was, i agree with him in this. the doubt, however, is specially advanced because, the statement of papias being particularly inconvenient to apologists, dr. lightfoot is evidently anxious to invalidate it. he accepts it in so far as it seems to permit of his drawing certain inferences from it, but for the rest he proceeds to weaken the testimony. "but it does not follow that his account of the origin was correct. it may be; it may not have been. this is just what we cannot decide, because we do not know what he said." [ : ] what a pity it is that dr. lightfoot does not always exercise this rigorous logic. if he did he would infallibly agree with the conclusions of _supernatural religion_. i shall presently state what inference dr. lightfoot wishes to draw from a statement the general correctness of which he does not consider as at all certain. if this doubt exist, however, of what value can the passage from papias be as evidence? i cannot perceive that, if we do not reject it altogether on the ground of possible or probable incorrectness, there can be any reasonable doubt as to what the actual statement was. "matthew composed the oracles in the hebrew language," and not in greek, "and each one interpreted them as he could." the original work of matthew was written in hebrew: our first synoptic is a greek work: therefore it cannot possibly be the original composition of matthew, whoever matthew may have been, but at the best can only be a free translation. a free translation, i say, because it does not bear any of the traces of close translation. our synoptic, indeed, does not purport to be a translation at all, but if it be a version of the work referred to by papias, or the presbyter, a translation it must be. as it is not in its original form, however, and no one can affirm what its precise relation to the work of matthew may be, the whole value of the statement of papias is lost. the inference which dr. lightfoot considers himself entitled to draw from the testimony of papias is in most curious contrast with his severe handling of that part of the testimony which does not suit him. papias, or the presbyter, states regarding the hebrew oracles of matthew that "each one interpreted them as he could." the use of the verb "interpreted" in the past tense, instead of "interprets" in the present, he considers, clearly indicates that the time which papias contemplates is not the time when he writes his book. each one interpreted as he could when the oracles were written, but the necessity of which he speaks had passed away; and dr. lightfoot arrives at the conclusion: "in other words, it implies the existence of a recognised greek translation _when papias wrote_ ... but if a greek st. matthew existed in the time of papias we are forbidden by all considerations of historical probability to suppose that it was any other than our st. matthew." [ : ] it is very probable that, at the time when papias wrote, there may have been several translations of the "oracles" and not merely one, but from this to the assertion that the words imply a "recognised" version which was necessarily "our st. matthew" is a remarkable jump at conclusions. it is really not worth while again to discuss the point. when imagination is allowed to interpret the hidden meaning of such a statement the consequence cannot well be predicated. this hypothesis still leaves us to account for the substitution of a greek gospel for the hebrew original of matthew, and dr. lightfoot does not assist us much. he demurs to my statement that our first gospel bears all the marks of an original, and cannot have been translated from the hebrew at all: "if he had said that it is not a homogeneous greek version of a homogeneous hebrew original this would have been nearer the truth." [ : ] that hebrew original is a sad stumbling-block, and it must be got rid of at all costs. dr. lightfoot is full of resources. we have seen that he has suggested that the account of papias of the origin may not have been correct. regarding the translation or the greek gospel we do not know exactly what papias said. "he may have expressed himself in language quite consistent with the phenomena." how unlimited a field for conjecture is thus opened out. we do not know more of what papias said than eusebius has recorded, and may therefore suppose that he may have said something more, which may have been consistent with any theory we may advance. "or, on the other hand," dr. lightfoot continues, "he may, as hilgenfeld supposes, have made the mistake which some later fathers made of thinking that the gospel according to the hebrews was the original of our st. matthew." [ : ] who would think that this is the critic who vents so much righteous indignation upon me for pointing out possible or probable alternative interpretations of vague evidence extracted from the fathers? it is true that dr. lightfoot continues: "in the absence of adequate data, it is quite vain to conjecture. but meanwhile we are not warranted in drawing any conclusion unfavourable either to the accuracy of papias or to the identity of the document itself." [ : ] he thus seeks to reserve for himself any support he thinks he can derive from the tradition of papias, and set aside exactly as much as he does not like. in fact, he clearly demonstrates how exceedingly loose is all this evidence from the fathers, and with what ease one may either base magnificent conclusions upon it, or drive a coach and four through the whole mass. in admitting for a moment that papias may have mistaken the gospel of the hebrews "for the original of our st. matthew," dr. lightfoot, in his attempt to get rid of that unfortunate hebrew work of matthew, has perhaps gone further than is safe for himself. apart from the general flavour of inaccuracy which he imparts to the testimony of papias, the obvious inference is suggested that, if he made this mistake, papias is far from being a witness for the accuracy of the translation which dr. lightfoot supposes to have then been "recognised," and which he declares to have been our first gospel. it is well known at least that, although the gospel of the hebrews bore more analogy to our present gospel "according to matthew" than to any of the other three, it very distinctly differed from it. if, therefore, papias could quietly accept our greek matthew as an equivalent for the gospel of the hebrews, from which it presented considerable variation, we are entitled to reject such a translation as evidence of the contents of the original. that papias was actually acquainted with the gospel according to the hebrews may be inferred from the statement of eusebius that he relates "a story about a woman accused of many sins before the lord" (doubtless the same which is found in our copies of st. john's gospel, vii. -viii. ), "which the gospel according to the hebrews contains." [ : ] if he exercised any critical power at all, he could not confound the greek matthew with it, and if he did not, what becomes of dr. lightfoot's argument? dr. lightfoot argues at considerable length against the interpretation, accepted by many eminent critics, that the work ascribed to matthew and called the "oracles" ([greek: logia]) could not be the first synoptic as we now possess it, but must have consisted mainly or entirely of discourses. the argument will be found in _supernatural religion_, [ : ] and need not here be repeated. i will confine myself to some points of dr. lightfoot's reply. he seems not to reject the suggestion with so much vigour as might have been expected. "the theory is not without its attractions," he says; "it promises a solution of some difficulties; but hitherto it has not yielded any results which would justify its acceptance." [ : ] indeed, he proceeds to say that it "is encumbered with the most serious difficulties." dr. lightfoot does not think that only [greek: logoi] ("discourses" or "sayings") could be called [greek: logia] ("oracles"), and says that usage does not warrant the restriction. [ : ] i had contended that "however much the signification (of the expression 'the oracles,' [greek: ta logia]) became afterwards extended, it was not then at all applied to doings as well as sayings," and that "there is no linguistic precedent for straining the expression, used at that period, to mean anything beyond a collection of sayings of jesus, which were oracular or divine." [ : ] to this dr. lightfoot replies that if the objection has any force it involves one or both of the two assumptions: "_first_, that books which were regarded as scripture could not at this early date be called 'oracles,' unless they were occupied entirely with divine sayings; _secondly_, that the gospel of st. matthew, in particular, could not at this time be regarded as scripture. both assumptions alike are contradicted by facts." [ : ] the second point he considers proved by the well-known passage in the epistle of barnabas. for the discussion regarding it i beg leave to refer the reader to my volumes. [ : ] i venture to say that it is impossible to prove that matthew's gospel was, at that time, considered "scripture," but, on the contrary, that there are excellent reasons for affirming that it was not. regarding the first point dr. lightfoot asserts: "the first is refuted by a large number of examples. st. paul, for instance, describes it as the special privilege of the jews that they had the keeping of 'the oracles of god' (rom. iii. ). can we suppose that he meant anything else but the old testament scriptures by this expression? is it possible that he would exclude the books of genesis, of joshua, of samuel and kings, or only include such fragments of them as professed to give the direct sayings of god? would he, or would he not, comprise under the term the account of the creation and fall ( cor. xi. _sq._), of the wanderings in the wilderness ( cor. x. _sq._), of sarah and hagar (gal. iv. _sq._)? does not the main part of his argument in the very next chapter (rom. iv.) depend more on the narrative of god's dealings than his words? again, when the author of the epistle to the hebrews refers to 'the first principles of the oracles of god' (v. ), his meaning is explained by his practice; for he elicits the divine teaching quite as much from the history as from the direct precepts of the old testament. but if the language of the new testament writers leaves any loophole for doubt, this is not the case with their contemporary philo. in one place, he speaks of the words in deut. x. , 'the lord is his inheritance,' as an 'oracle' ([greek: logion]); in another he quotes as an 'oracle' ([greek: logion]) the _narrative_ in gen. iv. : 'the lord god set a mark upon cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.' [ : ] from this and other passages it is clear that with philo an 'oracle' is a synonyme for a scripture. similarly clement of rome writes: 'ye know well the sacred scriptures, and have studied the oracles of god;' [ : ] and immediately he recalls to their mind the account in deut. ix. _sq._, exod. xxxii. _sq._, of which the point is not any divine precept or prediction, but _the example of moses_. a few years later polycarp speaks in condemnation of those who 'pervert the oracles of the lord." [ : ] he then goes on to refer to irenaeus, clement of alexandria, origen, and basil, but i need not follow him to these later writers, but confine myself to that which i have quoted. "when paul writes in the epistle to the romans iii. , 'they were entrusted with the oracles of god,' can he mean anything else but the old testament scriptures, including the historical books?" argues dr. lightfoot. i maintain, on the contrary, that he certainly does not refer to a collection of writings at all, but to the communications or revelations of god, and, as the context shows, probably more immediately to the messianic prophecies. the advantage of the jews, in fact, according to paul here, was that to them were first communicated the divine oracles: that they were made the medium of god's utterances to mankind. there seems almost an echo of the expression in acts vii. , where stephen is represented as saying to the jews of their fathers on mount sinai, "who received living oracles ([greek: logia zônta]) to give unto us." of this nature were the "oracles of god" which were entrusted to the jews. further, the phrase: "the first principles of the oracles of god" (heb. v. ), is no application of the term to narrative, as dr. lightfoot affirms, however much the author may illustrate his own teaching by old testament history; but the writer of the epistle clearly explains his meaning in the first and second verses of his letter, when he says: "god having spoken to the fathers in time past in the prophets, at the end of these days spake unto us in his son." dr. lightfoot also urges that philo applies the term "oracle" ([greek: logion]) to the _narrative_ in gen. iv. , &c. the fact is, however, that philo considered almost every part of the old testament as allegorical, and held that narrative or descriptive phrases veiled divine oracles. when he applies the term "oracle" to any of these it is not to the narrative, but to the divine utterance which he believes to be mystically contained in it, and which he extracts and expounds in the usual extravagant manner of alexandrian typologists. dr. lightfoot does not refer to the expression of pet. iv. , "let him speak as the oracles of god" ([greek: hôs logia theou]), which shows the use of the word in the new testament. he does point out the passage in the "epistle of clement of rome," than which, in my opinion, nothing could more directly tell against him. "ye know well the sacred scriptures and have studied the oracles of god." the "oracles of god" are pointedly distinguished from the sacred scriptures, of which they form a part. these oracles are contained in the "sacred scriptures," but are not synonymous with the whole of them. dr. lightfoot admits that we cannot say how much "polycarp" included in the expression: "pervert the oracles of the lord," but i maintain that it must be referred to the teaching of jesus regarding "a resurrection and a judgment," and not to historical books. in replying to dr. lightfoot's chapter on the silence of eusebius, i have said all that is necessary regarding the other gospels in connection with papias. papias is the most interesting witness we have concerning the composition of the gospels. he has not told us much, but he has told us more than any previous writer. dr. lightfoot has not scrupled to discredit his own witness, however, and he is quite right in suggesting that no great reliance can be placed upon his testimony. it comes to this: we cannot rely upon the correctness of the meagre account of the gospels supposed to have been written by mark and matthew, and we have no other upon which to fall back. regarding the other two gospels, we have no information whatever from papias, whether correct or incorrect, and altogether this father does little or nothing towards establishing the credibility of miracles and the reality of divine revelation. v. _melito of sardis--claudius apollinaris--polycrates._ throughout the whole of these essays, dr. lightfoot has shown the most complete misapprehension of the purpose for which the examination of the evidence regarding the gospels in early writings was undertaken in _supernatural religion_, and consequently he naturally misunderstands and misrepresents its argument from first to last. this becomes increasingly evident when we come to writers, whom he fancifully denominates: "the later school of st. john." he evidently considers that he is producing a very destructive effect, when he demonstrates from the writings, genuine or spurious, of such men as melito of sardis, claudius apollinaris and polycrates of ephesus, or from much more than suspected documents like the martyrdom of polycarp, that towards the last quarter of the second century they were acquainted with the doctrines of christianity and, as he infers, derived them from our four gospels. he really seems incapable of discriminating between a denial that there is clear and palpable evidence of the existence and authorship of these particular gospels, and denial that they actually existed at all. i do not suppose that there is any critic, past or present, who doubts that our four gospels had been composed and were in wide circulation during this period of the second century. it is a very different matter to examine what absolute testimony there is regarding the origin, authenticity, and trustworthiness of these documents, as records of miracles and witnesses for the reality of divine revelation. i cannot accuse myself of having misled dr. lightfoot on this point by any obscurity in the statement of my object, but, as he and other apologists have carefully ignored it, and systematically warped my argument, either by accident or design, i venture to quote a few sentences from _supernatural religion_, both to justify myself and to restore the discussion to its proper lines. in winding up the first part of the work, which was principally concerned with the antecedent credibility of miracles, i said:-- "now it is apparent that the evidence for miracles requires to embrace two distinct points: the reality of the alleged facts, and the accuracy of the inference that the phenomena were produced by supernatural agency ... in order, however, to render our conclusion complete, it remains for us to see whether, as affirmed, there be any special evidence regarding the alleged facts entitling the gospel miracles to exceptional attention. if, instead of being clear, direct, the undoubted testimony of known eye-witnesses free from superstition and capable, through adequate knowledge, rightly to estimate the alleged phenomena, we find that the actual accounts have none of these qualifications, the final decision with regard to miracles and the reality of divine revelation will be easy and conclusive." [ : ] before commencing the examination of the evidence for the gospels, i was careful to state the principles upon which i considered it right to proceed. i said: "before commencing our examination of the evidence as to the date, authorship, and character of the gospels, it may be well to make a few preliminary remarks, and clearly state certain canons of criticism. we shall make no attempt to establish any theory as to the date at which any of the gospels was actually written, but simply examine all the testimony which is extant, with the view of ascertaining _what is known of these works and their authors, certainly and distinctly, as distinguished from what is merely conjectured or inferred_ ... we propose, therefore, as exhaustively as possible, to search all the writings of the early church for information regarding the gospels, and to examine even the alleged indications of their use ... it is still more important that we should constantly bear in mind that a great number of gospels existed in the early church which are no longer extant, and of most of which even the names are lost. we need not here do more than refer, in corroboration of this fact, to the preliminary statement of the author of the third gospel: 'forasmuch as many ([greek: polloi]) took in hand to set forth in order a declaration of the things which have been accomplish among us,' &c. it is, therefore, evident that before our third synoptic was written many similar works were already in circulation. looking at the close similarity of large portions of the three synoptics, it is almost certain that many of the writings here mentioned bore a close analogy to each other and to our gospels, and this is known to have been the case, for instance, amongst the various forms of the 'gospel according to the hebrews.' when, therefore, in early writings, we meet with quotations closely resembling, or, we may add, even identical, with passages which are found in our gospels, the source of which, however, is not mentioned, nor is any author's name indicated, _the similarity or even identity cannot by any means be admitted as proof that the quotation is necessarily from our gospels, and not from some other similar work now no longer extant_, and more especially not when, in the same writings, there are other quotations from sources different from our gospels.... but whilst similarity to our gospels in passages quoted by early writers from unnamed sources cannot _prove_ the use of our gospels, variation from them would suggest or prove a different origin, _and at least it is obvious that anonymous quotations which do not agree with our gospels cannot in any case necessarily indicate their existence_ ... it is unnecessary to add that, in proportion as we remove from apostolic times without positive evidence of the existence and authenticity of our gospels, so does the value of their testimony dwindle away. indeed, requiring, as we do, clear, direct and irrefragable evidence of the integrity, authenticity, and historical character of these gospels, doubt or obscurity on these points must inevitably be fatal to them as sufficient testimony--if they could, under any circumstances, be considered sufficient testimony--for miracles and a direct divine revelation like ecclesiastical christianity." [ : ] dr. lightfoot must have been aware of these statements, since he has made the paragraph on the silence of ancient writers the basis of his essay on the silence of eusebius, and has been so particular in calling attention to any alteration i have made in my text; and it might have been better if, instead of cheap sneers on every occasion in which these canons have been applied, he had once for all stated any reasons which he can bring forward against the canons themselves. the course he has adopted, i can well understand, is more convenient for him and, after all, with many it is quite as effective. it may be well that i should here again illustrate the necessity for such canons of criticism as i have indicated above, and which can be done very simply from our own gospels: "not only the language but the order of a quotation must have its due weight, and we have no right to dismember a passage and, discovering fragmentary parallels in various parts of the gospels, to assert that it is compiled from them and not derived, as it stands, from another source. as an illustration, let us for a moment suppose the 'gospel according to luke' to have been lost, like the 'gospel according to the hebrews' and so many others. in the works of one of the fathers we discover the following quotation from an unnamed evangelical work: 'and he said unto them ([greek: elegen de pros autous]): 'the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. go your ways ([greek: hupagete]): behold, i send you forth as lambs ([greek: arnas]) in the midst of wolves.' following the system adopted in regard to justin and others, apologetic critics would of course maintain that this was a compilation from memory of passages quoted from our first gospel--that is to say, matt ix, : 'then saith he unto his disciples ([greek: tote legei tois mathêtais autou]), the harvest,' &c.; and matt. x. : 'behold, i ([greek: egô]) send you forth as sheep' ([greek: probata]) in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore,' &c., which, with the differences which we have indicated, agree. it would probably be in vain to argue that the quotation indicated a continuous order, and the variations combined to confirm the probability of a different source, and still more so to point out that, although parts of the quotation, separated from their context, might, to a certain extent, correspond with scattered verses in the first gospel, such a circumstance was no proof that the quotation was taken from that and from no other gospel. the passage, however, is a literal quotation from luke x. - , which, as we have assumed, had been lost. "again, still supposing the third gospel no longer extant, we might find the following quotation in a work of the fathers: 'take heed to yourselves ([greek: eautois]) of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy ([greek: hêtis estin hupocrisis]). for there is nothing covered up ([greek: sunkekalummenon]) which shall not be revealed, and hid, which shall not be known.' it would, of course, be affirmed that this was evidently a combination of two verses of our first gospel quoted almost literally, with merely a few very immaterial slips of memory in the parts we note, and the explanatory words, 'which is hypocrisy,' introduced by the father, and not a part of the quotation at all. the two verses are matt. xvi. , 'beware and take heed ([greek: hopate kai]) of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees ([greek: kai saddoukaiôn]), and matt. x. , '... for ([greek: gar]) there is nothing covered ([greek: kekalummenon]) that shall not be revealed, and hid, that shall not be known.' the sentence would, in fact, be divided as in the case of justin, and each part would have its parallel pointed out in separate portions of the gospel. how wrong such a system is--and it is precisely that which is adopted with regard to justin--is clearly established by the fact that the quotation, instead of being such a combination, is simply taken as it stands from the 'gospel according to luke,' xii. - ." [ : ] "if we examine further, however, in the same way, quotations which differ merely in language, we arrive at the very same conclusion. supposing the third gospel to be lost, what would be the source assigned to the following quotation from an unnamed gospel in the work of one of the fathers? 'no servant ([greek: oudeis oiketês]) can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. ye cannot serve god and mammon.' of course the passage would be claimed as a quotation from memory of matt. vi. , with which it perfectly corresponds, with the exception of the addition of the second word, [greek: oiketês], which, it would no doubt be argued, is an evident and very natural amplification of the simple [greek: oudeis] of the first gospel. yet this passage, only differing by the single word from matthew, is a literal quotation from the gospel according to luke xvi. . or, to take another instance, supposing the third gospel to be lost, and the following passage quoted, from an unnamed source, by one of the fathers: 'beware ([greek: prosechete]) of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love ([greek: philountôn]) greetings in the markets, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.' this would, without hesitation, be declared a quotation from memory of mark xii. - , from which it only differs in a couple of words. it is, however, a literal quotation of luke xx. - , yet probably it would be in vain to submit to apologetic critics that possibly, not to say probably, the passage was not derived from mark, but from a lost gospel. to quote one more instance, let us suppose the 'gospel according to mark' no longer extant, and that in some early work there existed the following passage: 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye ([greek: trumalias]) of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god.' this of course would be claimed as a quotation from memory of matt. xix. , with which it agrees with the exception of the substitution of [greek: trupêmatos] for [greek: trumalias]. it would not the less have been an exact quotation from mark x. ." [ : ] illustrations of this kind could be indefinitely multiplied, and to anyone who has studied the three synoptics, with their similarities and variations, and considered the probable mode of their compilation, it must be apparent that, with the knowledge that very many other gospels existed (luke i. ), which can only very slowly have disappeared from circulation, it is impossible for anyone with a due appreciation of the laws of evidence to assert that the use of short passages similar to others in our gospels actually proves that they must have been derived from these alone, and cannot have emanated from any other source. it is not necessary to deny that they may equally have come from the gospels, but the inevitable decision of a judicial mind, seriously measuring evidence, must be that they do not absolutely prove anything. coming now more directly to the essay on "the later school of st. john," it is curious to find dr. lightfoot setting in the very foreground the account of polycarp's martyrdom, without a single word regarding the more than suspicious character of the document, except the remark in a note that "the objections which have been urged against this narrative are not serious." [ : ] they have been considered so by men like keim, schürer, lipsius, and holtzmann. the account has too much need to be propped up itself to be of much use as a prop for the gospels. dr. lightfoot points out that an "idea of literal conformity to the life and passion of christ runs through the document," [ : ] and it is chiefly on the fact that "most of the incidents have their counterparts in the circumstances of the passion, as recorded by the synoptic evangelists alone or in common with st. john," that he relies, in referring to the martyrdom. i need scarcely reply that not only, on account of the very doubtful character of the document, is it useless to us as evidence, but because it does not name a single gospel, much less add anything to our knowledge of their authorship and trustworthiness. i shall have more to say regarding dr. lightfoot in connection with this document further on. the same remark applies to melito of sardis. i have fully discussed [ : ] the evidence which he is supposed to contribute, and it is unnecessary for me to enter into it at any length here, more especially as dr. lightfoot does not advance any new argument. he has said nothing which materially alters the doubtful position of many of the fragments attributed to this father. in any case the use which dr. lightfoot chiefly makes of him as a witness is to show that melito exhibits full knowledge of the details of evangelical history as contained in the four canonical gospels. waiving all discussion of the authenticity of the fragments, and accepting, for the sake of argument, the asserted acquaintance with evangelical history which they display, i simply enquire what this proves? does anyone doubt that melito of sardis, in the last third of the second century, must have been thoroughly versed in gospel history, or deny that he might have possessed our four gospels? the only thing which is lacking is actual proof of the fact. melito does not refer to a single gospel by name. he does not add one word or one fact to our knowledge of the gospels or their composers. he does not, indeed, mention any writing of the new testament. if his words regarding the "books of the old testament" imply "a corresponding christian literature which he regarded as the books of the new testament," [ : ] which i deny, what is gained? even in that case "we cannot," as dr. lardner frankly states, "infer the names or the exact number of those books." as for adding anything to the credibility of miracles, such an idea is not even broached by dr. lightfoot, and yet if he cannot do this the only purpose for which his testimony is examined is gone. the elaborate display of vehemence in discussing the authenticity of fragments of his writings merely distracts the attention of the reader from the true issue if, when to his own satisfaction, dr. lightfoot cannot turn the evidence of melito to greater account. [ : ] nor is he much more fortunate in the case of claudius apollinaris, [ : ] whose "apology" may be dated about a.d. - . in an extract preserved in the _paschal chronicle_, regarding the genuineness of which all discussion may, for the sake of argument, be waived here, the writer in connection with the paschal festival says that "they affirm that matthew represents" one thing "and, on their showing, the gospels seem to be at variance with one another." [ : ] if, therefore, the passage be genuine, the writer seems to refer to the first synoptic, and by inference to the fourth gospel. he says nothing of the composition of these works, and he does nothing more than merely show that they were accepted in his time. this may seem a good deal when we consider how very few of his contemporaries do as much, but it really contributes nothing to our knowledge of the authors, and does not add a jot to their credibility as witnesses for miracles and the reality of divine revelation. with regard to polycrates of ephesus i need say very little. eusebius preserves a passage from a letter which he wrote "in the closing years of the second century," [ : ] when victor of rome attempted to force the western usage with respect to easter on the asiatic christians. in this he uses the expression "he that leaned on the bosom of the lord," which occurs in the fourth gospel. nothing could more forcibly show the meagreness of our information regarding the gospels than that such a phrase is considered of value as evidence for one of them. in fact the slightness of our knowledge of these works is perfectly astounding when the importance which is attached to them is taken into account. vi. _the churches of gaul._ a severe persecution broke out in the year a.d. , under marcus aurelius, in the cities of vienne and lyons, on the rhone, and an account of the martyrdoms which then took place was given in a letter from the persecuted communities, addressed "to the brethren that are in asia and phrygia." this epistle is in great part preserved to us by eusebius (_h.e._ v. ), and it is to a consideration of its contents that dr. lightfoot devotes his essay on the churches of gaul. but for the sake of ascertaining clearly what evidence actually exists of the gospels, it would have been of little utility to extend the enquiry in _supernatural religion_ to this document, written nearly a century and a half after the death of jesus, but it is instructive to show how exceedingly slight is the information we possess regarding those documents. i may at once say that no writing of the new testament is directly referred to by name in this epistle, and consequently any supposed quotations are merely inferred to be such by their similarity to passages found in these writings. with the complete unconsciousness which i have pointed out that dr. lightfoot affects regarding the object and requirements of my argument, dr. lightfoot is, of course, indignant that i will not accept as conclusive evidence the imperfect coincidences which alone he is able to bring forward. i have elsewhere fully discussed these, [ : ] and i need only refer to some portions of his essay here. "of vettius epagathus, one of the sufferers, we are told that, though young; he 'rivalled the testimony borne to the elder zacharias ([greek: sunexisousthai tê tou presbuterou zacharious marturia]), for verily ([greek: goun]) he had _walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless_.' here we have the same words, and in the same order, which are used of zacharias and elizabeth in st. luke (i. ): 'and zacharias, his father, was filled with the holy ghost.'" [ : ] dr. lightfoot very properly dwells on the meaning of the expression "the testimony of zacharias" ([greek: tê zachariou marturia]), which he points out "might signify either 'the testimony borne to zacharias,' _i.e._ his recorded character, or 'the testimony borne by zacharias,' _i.e._ his martyrdom." by a vexatious mistake in reprinting, "to" was accidentally substituted for "by" in my translation of this passage in a very few of the earlier copies of my sixth edition, but the error was almost immediately observed and corrected in the rest of the edition. dr. lightfoot seizes upon the "to" in the early copy which i had sent to him, and argues upon it as a deliberate adoption of the interpretation, whilst he takes me to task for actually arguing upon the rendering "by" in my text. very naturally a printer's error could not extend to my argument. the following is what i say regarding the passage in my complete edition: "the epistle is an account of the persecution of the christian community of vienne and lyons, and vettius epagathus is the first of the martyrs who is named in it: [greek: marturia] was at that time the term used to express the supreme testimony of christians-- martyrdom--and the epistle seems here simply to refer to the martyrdom, the honour of which he shared with zacharias. it is, we think, highly improbable that, under such circumstances, the word [greek: marturia] would have been used to express a mere description of the character of zacharias given by some other writer." this is the interpretation which is adopted by tischendorf, hilgenfeld, and many eminent critics. it will be observed that the saying that he had "walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless," which is supposed to be taken from luke i. , is there applied to zacharias and elizabeth, the father and mother of john the baptist, but the gospel does not say anything of this zacharias having suffered martyrdom. the allusion in luke xi. (matt. xxiii. ) is almost universally admitted to be to another zacharias, whose martyrdom is related in chron. xxiv. . "since the epistle, therefore, refers to the martyrdom of zacharias, the father of john the baptist, when using the expressions which are supposed to be taken from our third synoptic, is it not reasonable to suppose that those expressions were derived from some work which likewise contained an account of his death, which is not found in the synoptic? when we examine the matter more closely we find that, although none of the canonical gospels except the third gives any narrative of the birth of john the baptist, that portion of the gospel in which are the words we are discussing cannot be considered an original production by the third synoptist, but, like the rest of his work, is merely a composition based upon earlier written narratives. ewald, for instance, assigns the whole of the first chapters of luke (i. -ii. ) to what he terms 'the eighth recognisable book.'" [ : ] no apologetic critic pretends that the author of the third gospel can have written this account from his own knowledge or observation. where, then, did he get his information? surely not from oral tradition limited to himself. the whole character of the narrative, even apart from the prologue to the gospel, and the composition of the rest of the work, would lead us to infer a written source. "the fact that other works existed at an earlier period in which the history of zacharias, the father of the baptist, was given, and in which not only the words used in the epistle were found, but also the martyrdom, is in the highest degree probable, and, so far as the history is concerned, this is placed almost beyond doubt by the 'protevangelium jacobi,' which contains it. tischendorf, who does not make use of this epistle at all as evidence for the scriptures of the new testament, does refer to it, and to this very allusion in it to the martyrdom of zacharias, as testimony to the existence and use of the 'protevangelium jacobi,' a work whose origin he dates so far back as the first three decades of the second century, and which he considers was also used by justin, as hilgenfeld had already observed. tischendorf and hilgenfeld, therefore, agree in affirming that the reference to zacharias which we have quoted indicates acquaintance with a gospel different from our third synoptic." [ : ] such being the state of the case, i would ask any impartial reader whether there is any evidence here that these few words, introduced without the slightest indication of the source from which they were derived, must have been quoted from our third gospel, and cannot have been taken from some one of the numerous evangelical works in circulation before that gospel was written. the reply of everyone accustomed to weigh evidence must be that the words cannot even prove the existence of our synoptic at the time the letter was written. "but, if our author disposes of the coincidences with the third gospel in this way" (proceeds dr. lightfoot), "what will he say to those with the acts? in this same letter of the gallican churches we are told that the sufferers prayed for their persecutors 'like stephen, the perfect martyr, "lord, lay not this sin to their charge.'" will he boldly maintain that the writers had before them another acts, containing words identical with our acts, just as he supposes them to have had another gospel, containing words identical with our third gospel? or, will he allow this account to have been taken from acts vii. , with which it coincides? but in this latter case, if they had the second treatise, which bears the name of st. luke, in their hands, why should they not have had the first also?" [ : ] my reply to this is: "there is no mention of the acts of the apostles in the epistle, and the source from which the writers obtained their information about stephen, is, of course, not stated. if there really was a martyr of the name of stephen, and if these words were actually spoken by him, the tradition of the fact, and the memory of his noble saying, may well have remained in the church, or have been recorded in writings then current, from one of which, indeed, eminent critics (as bleek, ewald, meyer, neander, de wette) conjecture that the author of acts derived his materials, and in this case the passage obviously does not prove the use of the acts. if, on the other hand, there never was such a martyr by whom the words were spoken, and the whole story must be considered an original invention by the author of acts, then, in that case, and in that case only, the passage does show the use of the acts. supposing that the use of acts be held to be thus indicated, what does this prove? merely that the 'acts of the apostles' were in existence in the year - , when the epistle of vienne and lyons was written. no light whatever would thus be thrown upon the question of its authorship; and neither its credibility nor its sufficiency to prove the reality of a cycle of miracles would be in the slightest degree established." [ : ] apart from the question of the sufficiency of evidence actually under examination, however, i have never suggested, much less asserted, that the "acts of the apostles" was not in existence at this date. the only interest attachable to the question is, as i have before said, the paucity of the testimony regarding the book, to demonstrate which it has been necessary to discuss all such supposed allusions. but the apologetic argument characteristically ignores the fact that "many took in hand" at an early date to set forth the christian story, and that the books of our new testament did not constitute the whole of christian literature in circulation in the early days of the church. i need not go with any minuteness into the alleged quotation from the fourth gospel. "there shall come a time in which whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth god service." the gospel has: "there cometh an hour when," &c., and, as no source is named, it is useless to maintain that the use of this gospel, and the impossibility of the use of any other, is proved. if even this were conceded, the passage does not add one iota to our knowledge of the authorship and credibility of the gospel. dr. lightfoot says "the author of _supernatural religion_ maintains, on the other hand, that only twelve years before, at the outside, the very church to which irenaeus belonged, in a public document with which he was acquainted, betrays no knowledge of our canonical gospels, but quotes from one or more apocryphal gospels instead. he maintains this though the quotations in question are actually found in our canonical gospels." [ : ] really, dr. lightfoot betrays that he has not understood the argument, which merely turns upon the insufficiency of the evidence to prove the use of particular documents, whilst others existed which possibly, or probably, did contain similar passages to those in debate. vii. _tatian's 'diatessaron.'_ i need not reply at any length to dr. lightfoot's essay on the _diatessaron_ of tatian, and i must refer those who wish to see what i had to say on the subject to _supernatural religion_. [ : ] i may here confine myself to remarks connected with fresh matter which has appeared since the publication of my work. an armenian translation of what is alleged to be the commentary of ephraem syrus on tatian's _diatessaron_ was published as long ago as , but failed to attract critical attention. in , however, a latin translation of this work by aucher and moesinger was issued, and this has now, naturally introduced new elements into the argument regarding tatian's use of gospels. only last year, a still more important addition to critical materials was made by the publication in rome of an alleged arabic version of tatian's _diatessaron_ itself, with a latin translation by ciasca. these works were not before dr. lightfoot when he wrote his essay on tatian in , and he only refers to them in a note in his present volume. he entertains no doubt as to the genuineness of these works, and he triumphantly claims that they establish the truth of the "ecclesiastical theory" regarding the _diatessaron_ of tatian. in order to understand the exact position of the case, however, it will be well to state again what is known regarding tatian's work. eusebius is the first writer who mentions it. he says--and to avoid all dispute i give dr. lightfoot's rendering:-- "tatian composed a sort of connection and compilation, i know not how ([greek: ouk oid' hopôs]), of the gospels, and called it _diatessaron_. this work is current in some quarters (with some persons) even to the present day." [ : ] i argued that this statement indicates that eusebius was not personally acquainted with the work in question, but speaks of it from mere hearsay. dr. lightfoot replies-- "his inference, however, from the expression 'i know not how' is altogether unwarranted. so far from implying that eusebius had no personal knowledge of the work, it is constantly used by writers in speaking of books where they are perfectly acquainted with the contents, but do not understand the principles, or do not approve the method. in idiomatic english it signifies 'i cannot think what he was about,' and is equivalent to 'unaccountably,' 'absurdly,' so that, if anything, it implies knowledge rather than ignorance of the contents. i have noticed at least twenty-six examples of its use in the treatise of origen against celsus alone, [ : ] where it commonly refers to celsus' work which he had before him, and very often to passages which he himself quotes in the context." [ : ] if this signification be also attached to the expression, it is equally certain that [greek: ouk oid' hopôs] is used to express ignorance, although dr. lightfoot chooses, for the sake of his argument, to forget the fact. in any case some of the best critics draw the same inference from the phrase here that i do, more especially as eusebius does not speak further or more definitely of the _diatessaron_, amongst whom i may name credner, hilgenfeld, holtzmann, reuss and scholten; and should these not have weight with him i may refer dr. lightfoot to zahn, [ : ] and even to dr. westcott [ : ] and professor hemphill. [ : ] eusebius says nothing more of the _diatessaron_ of tatian and gives us no further help towards a recognition of the work. dr. lightfoot supposes that i had overlooked the testimony of the _doctrine of addai_, an apocryphal syriac work, published in by dr. phillips after _supernatural religion_ was written. i did not overlook it, but i considered it of too little critical value to require much notice in later editions of the work. the _doctrine of addai_ is conjecturally dated by dr. lightfoot about the middle of the third century, [ : ] and it might with greater certainty be placed much later. the passage to which he points is one in which it is said that the new converts meet together to hear, along with the old testament, "the new of the _diatessaron_." this is assumed to be tatian's "harmony of the gospels," and i shall not further argue the point; but does it bring us any nearer to a certain understanding of its character and contents? the next witness, taking them in the order in which dr. lightfoot cites them, is dionysius bar-salibi, who flourished in the last years of the twelfth century. in his commentary on the gospels he writes:-- "tatian, the disciple of justin, the philosopher and martyr, selected and patched together from the four gospels and constructed a gospel, which he called _diatessaron_--that is, _miscellanies_. on this work mar ephraem wrote an exposition; and its commencement was--_in the beginning was the word_. elias of salamia, who is also called aphthonius, constructed a gospel after the likeness of the _diatessaron_ of ammonius, mentioned by eusebius in his prologue to the canons which he made for the gospel. elias sought for that _diatessaron_ and could not find it, and in consequence constructed this after its likeness. and the said elias finds fault with several things in the canons of eusebius, and points out errors in them, and rightly. but this copy (work) which elias composed is not often met with." [ : ] this information regarding ephraem--who died about a.d. --be it remembered, is given by a writer of the twelfth century, and but for this we should not have known from any ancient independent source that ephraem had composed a commentary at all, supposing that he did so. it is important to note, however, that a second _diatessaron_, prepared by ammonius, is here mentioned, and that it was also described by eusebius in his epistle to carpianus, and further that bar-salibi speaks of a third, composed on the same lines by elias. dr. lightfoot disposes of the _diatessaron_ of ammonius in a very decided way. he says: "it was quite different in its character from the _diatessaron_ of tatian. the _diatessaron_ of tatian was a patchwork of the four gospels, commencing with the preface of st. john. the work of ammonius took the gospel of st. matthew as its standard, preserving its continuity, and placed side by side with it parallel passages from the other gospels. the principle of the one was _amalgamation_; of the other, _comparison_. no one who had seen the two works could confuse them, though they bore the same name, _diatessaron_. eusebius keeps them quite distinct. so does bar-salibi. later on in his commentary, we are told, he quotes both works in the same place." [ : ] doubtless, no one comparing the two works here described could confuse them, but it is far from being so clear that anyone who had not seen more than one of these works could with equal certainty distinguish it. the statement of dr. lightfoot quoted above, that the _diatessaron_ of ammonius "took the gospel of st. matthew as its standard, preserving its continuity," certainly does not tend to show that it was "quite different in its character from the _diatessaron_ of tatian," on the supposition that the arabic translation lately published represents the work of tatian. i will quote what professor hemphill says regarding it, in preference to making any statement of my own:-- "on examining the _diatessaron_ as translated into latin from this arabic, we find in by far the greater portion of it, from the sermon on the mount to the last supper (§§ - ) that tatian, like his brother harmonist ammonius, took st. matthew as the basis of his work ... st. mark, as might be expected, runs parallel with st. matthew in the _diatessaron_, and is in a few cases the source out of which incidents have been incorporated. st. luke, on the other hand, is employed by tatian, as also in a lesser degree is st. john, in complete defiance of chronological order." [ : ] this is not quite so different from the description of the _diatessaron_ of ammonius, which dr. lightfoot quotes:-- "he placed side by side with the gospel according to matthew the corresponding passages of the other evangelists, so that as a necessary result the connection of sequence in the three was destroyed so far as regards the order (texture) of reading." [ : ] the next witness cited is theodoret, bishop of cyrus, writing about a.d. , and i need not quote the well-known passage in which he describes the suppression of some copies of tatian's work in his diocese, which were in use "not only among persons belonging to his sect, but also among those who follow the apostolic doctrine," who did not perceive the heretical purpose of a book in which the genealogies and other passages showing the lord to have been born of the seed of david after the flesh were suppressed. it is a fact, however, which even zahn points out, that, in the alleged _diatessaron_ of ephraem, these passages are not all excised, but still remain part of the text, [ : ] as they also do in the arabic translation. this is the only definite information which we possess of the contents of the _diatessaron_ beyond the opening words, and it does not tally with the recently discovered works. i need not further discuss here the statement of epiphanius that some called tatian's _diatessaron_ the gospel according to the hebrews. epiphanius had not seen the work himself, and he leaves us in the same ignorance as to its character. it is clear from all this that we have no detailed information regarding the _diatessaron_ of tatian. as dr. donaldson said long ago: "we should not be able to identify it, even if it did come down to us, unless it told us something reliable about itself." [ : ] we may now come to the documents recently published. the ms. of the armenian version of the commentary ascribed to ephraem is dated a.d. , and moesinger declares that it is translated from the syriac, of which it is said to retain many traces. [ : ] he states that in the judgment of the mechitarist fathers the translation dates from about the fifth century, [ : ] but an opinion on such a point can only be received with great caution. the name of tatian is not mentioned as the author of the "harmony," and the question is open as to whether the authorship of the commentary is rightly ascribed to ephraem syrus. in any case there can be no doubt that the armenian work is a translation. the arabic work published by ciasca, and supposed to be a version of tatian's _diatessaron_ itself, is derived from two manuscripts, one belonging to the vatican library and the other forwarded to rome from egypt by the vicar apostolic of the catholic copts. the latter ms. states, in notes at the beginning and end, that it is an arabic translation of the _diatessaron_ of tatian, made from the syriac by the presbyter abû-l-pharag abdullah ben-at-tib, who is believed to have flourished in the first half of the eleventh century, and in one of these notes the name of the scribe who wrote the syriac copy is given, which leads to the conjecture that it may have been dated about the end of the ninth century. a note in the vatican ms. also ascribes the original work to tatian. these notes constitute the principal or only ground for connecting tatian's name with the "harmony." so little is known regarding the _diatessaron_ of tatian that even the language in which it was written is matter of vehement debate. the name would, of course, lead to the conclusion that it was a greek composition, and many other circumstances support this, but the mere fact that it does not seem to have been known to greek fathers, and that it is very doubtful whether any of them, with the exception of theodoret, had ever seen it, has led many critics to maintain that it was written in syriac. nothing but circumstantial evidence of this can be produced. this alone shows how little we really know of the original. the recently discovered works, being in arabic and armenian, even supposing them to be translations from the syriac and that the _diatessaron_ was composed in syriac, can only indirectly represent the original, and they obviously labour under fatal disability in regard to a restoration of the text of the documents at the basis of the work. between doubtful accuracy of rendering and evident work of revision, the original matter cannot but be seriously disfigured. it is certain that the name of tatian did not appear as the author of the _diatessaron_. [ : ] this is obvious from the very nature of the composition and its object. we have met with three works of this description and it is impossible to say how many more may not have existed. as the most celebrated, by name at least, it is almost certain that, as time went on and the identity of such works was lost, the first idea of anyone meeting with such a harmony must have been that it was the _diatessaron_ of tatian. what means could there be of correcting it and positively ascertaining the truth? it is not as if such a work were a personal composition, showing individuality of style and invention; but supposing it to be a harmony of gospels already current, and consequently varying from similar harmonies merely in details of compilation and arrangement, how is it possible its authorship could remain in the least degree certain, in the absence of an arranger's name? an illustration of all this is aptly supplied in the case of victor of capua, and i will allow dr. lightfoot himself to tell the story. "victor, who flourished about a.d. , happened to stumble upon an anonymous harmony or digest of the gospels, and began in consequence to investigate the authorship. he found two notices in eusebius of such harmonies; one in the _epistle to carpianus_ prefixed to the canons, relating to the work of ammonius; another in the _ecclesiastical history_, relating to that of tatian. assuming that the work which he had discovered must be one or other, he decides in favour of the latter, because it does not give st. matthew continuously and append the passages of the other evangelists, as eusebius states ammonius to have done. all this victor tells us in the preface to this anonymous harmony, which he publishes in a latin dress. "there can be no doubt that victor was mistaken about the authorship; for though the work is constructed on the same general plan as tatian's, it does not begin with john i. , but with luke i. , and it does contain the genealogies. it belongs, therefore, at least in its present form, neither to tatian nor to ammonius." [ : ] how this reasoning would have fallen to the ground had the harmonist, as he might well have done in imitation of tatian, commenced with the words, "in the beginning was the word"! the most instructive part is still to come, however, for although in may dr. lightfoot says: "there can be no doubt that victor was mistaken about the authorship," &c., in a note now inserted at the end of the essay, after referring to the newly-discovered works, he adds: "on the relation of victor's _diatessaron, which seems to be shown after all not to be independent of tatian_ ... see hemphill's _diatessaron_." [ : ] on turning to professor hemphill's work, the following passage on the point is discovered:-- "it will be remembered that victor, bishop of capua, in the year , found a latin harmony or compilation of the four gospels without any name or title, and being a man of enquiring mind he at once set about the task of discovering its unknown author. i have already mentioned the way in which, from the passage of eusebius, he was led to ascribe his discovery to tatian. this conclusion was generally traversed by church writers, and victor was supposed to have made a mistake. he is now, however, proved to have been a better judge than his critics, for, as dr. wace was the first to point out, a comparison of this latin harmony with the ephraem fragments demonstrates their substantial identity, as they preserve to a wonderful degree the same order, and generally proceed _pari passu_." [ : ] but how about luke i. as the beginning? and the genealogies? nothing could more clearly show the uncertainty which must always prevail about such works. shall we one day discover that victor was equally right about the reading _diapente_? i have thought it worth while to go into all this with a view of showing how little we know of the _diatessaron_ of tatian and, i may add, of the commentary of ephraem syrus and the work on which it is based. it is not at present necessary to examine more closely the text of either of the recently published works, but, whilst leaving them to be tried by time, i may clearly state what the effect on my argument would be on the assumption made by dr. lightfoot that we have actually recovered the _diatessaron_ of tatian, and that it is composed upon a text more or less corresponding with our four gospels. neither in the "harmony" itself nor in the supposed commentary of ephraem syrus is the name of any of the evangelists mentioned, and much less is there any information given as to their personality, character, or trustworthiness. if these works were, therefore, the veritable _diatessaron_ of tatian and the commentary of ephraem upon it, the gospels would not be rendered more credible as the record of miracles nor as witnesses for the reality of divine revelation. * * * * * it may not be uninstructive if i take the liberty of quoting here some arguments of dr. lightfoot regarding the authenticity of the "letter of the smyrnaens," giving an account of the martyrdom of polycarp. [ : ] "the miraculous element has also been urged in some quarters as an objection to the genuineness of the document. yet, considering all the circumstances of the case, we have more occasion to be surprised at the comparative absence than at the special prominence of the supernatural in the narrative. compared with records of early christian martyrs, or with biographies of mediaeval saints, or with notices of religious heroes at any great crisis, even in the more recent history of the church--as, for instance, the rise of jesuitism or of wesleyanism--this document contains nothing which ought to excite a suspicion as to its authenticity. "the one miraculous incident, which creates a real difficulty, is the dove issuing from the wounded side of the martyr. yet even this might be accounted for by an illusion, and under any circumstances it would be quite inadequate to condemn the document as a forgery. but it will be shown hereafter (p. ) that there are excellent reasons for regarding the incident as a later interpolation, which had no place in the original document. beyond this we have the voice from heaven calling to polycarp in the stadium to play the man (§ ). but the very simplicity of the narrative here disarms criticism. the brethren present heard the voice, but no one saw the speaker. this was the sole ground for the belief that it was not a human utterance. again, there is the arching of the fire round the martyr like a sail swelled by the wind (§ ). but this may be explained as a strictly natural occurrence, and similar phenomena have been witnessed more than once on like occasions, notably at the martyrdoms of savonarola and of hooper. again, there is the sweet scent, as of incense, issuing from the burning pyre (§ ); but this phenomenon also, however we may explain it, whether from the fragrance of the wood or in some other way, meets us constantly. in another early record of martyrdoms, the history of the persecutions at vienne and lyons, a little more than twenty years later, we are told (euseb. _h.e._ v. , § ) that the heroic martyrs, as they stepped forward to meet their fate, were 'fragrant with the sweet odour of christ, so that some persons even supposed that they had been anointed with material ointment' ([greek: hôste enious doxai kai murô kosmikô kechristhai autous]). yet there was no pyre and no burning wood here, so that the imagination of the bystanders must have supplied the incident. indeed, this account of the gallican martyrs, indisputably written by eye-witnesses, contains many more startling occurrences than the record of polycarp's fate. "more or less closely connected with the miraculous element is the _prophetic insight_ attributed to polycarp. but what does this amount to? it is stated indeed that 'every word which he uttered was accomplished and will be accomplished' (§ ). but the future tense, 'will be accomplished,' is itself the expression of a belief, not the statement of a fact. we may, indeed, accept this qualification as clear testimony that, when the narrative was written, many of his forebodings and predictions had not been fulfilled. the only example of a prediction actually given in the narrative is the dream of his burning pillow, which suggested to him that he would undergo martyrdom by fire. but what more natural than this presentiment, when persecution was raging around him and fire was a common instrument of death? i need not stop here to discuss how far a prescience may be vouchsafed to god's saints. even 'old experience' is found to be gifted with 'something like prophetic strain.' it is sufficient to say here again that it would be difficult to point to a single authentic biography of any christian hero--certainly of any christian hero of the early centuries--of whom some incident at least as remarkable as this prophecy, if prophecy it can be called, is not recorded. pontius, the disciple and biographer of cyprian, relates a similar intimation which preceded the martyrdom of his master, and adds: 'quid hac revelatione manifestius? quid hac dignatione felicius? ante illi praedicta sunt omnia quaecunque postmodum subsecuta sunt.' (_vit. et pass. cypr._ , )" [ : ] i am the more anxious to quote this extract from a work, written long after the essays on _supernatural religion_, as it presents dr. lightfoot in a very different light, and gives me an opportunity of congratulating him on the apparent progress of his thought towards freedom which it exhibits. i quite agree with him that the presence of supernatural or superstitious elements is no evidence against the authenticity of an early christian writing, but the promptitude with which he sets these aside as interpolations, or explains them away into naturalism, is worthy of professor huxley. he now understands, without doubt, the reason why i demand such clear and conclusive evidence of miracles, and why i refuse to accept such narratives upon anonymous and insufficient testimony. in fact, he cannot complain that i feel bound to explain all alleged miraculous occurrences precisely in the way of which he has set me so good an example, and that, whilst feeling nothing but very sympathetic appreciation of the emotion which stimulated the imagination and devout reverence of early christians to such mistakes, i resolutely refuse to believe their pious aberrations. viii. conclusions. we have seen that divine revelation could only be necessary or conceivable for the purpose of communicating to us something which we could not otherwise discover, and that the truth of communications which are essentially beyond and undiscoverable by reason cannot be attested in any other way than by miraculous signs distinguishing them as divine. it is admitted that no other testimony could justify our believing the specific revelation which we are considering, the very substance of which is supernatural and beyond the criticism of reason, and that its doctrines, if not proved to be miraculous truths, must inevitably be pronounced "the wildest delusions." "by no rational being could a just and benevolent life be accepted as proof of such astonishing announcements." on examining the alleged miraculous evidence for christianity as divine revelation, however, we find that, even if the actual occurrence of the supposed miracles could be substantiated, their value as evidence would be destroyed by the necessary admission that miracles are not limited to one source and are not exclusively associated with truth, but are performed by various spiritual beings, satanic as well as divine, and are not always evidential, but are sometimes to be regarded as delusive and for the trial of faith. as the doctrines supposed to be revealed are beyond reason, and cannot in any sense be intelligently approved by the human intellect, no evidence which is of so doubtful and inconclusive a nature could sufficiently attest them. this alone would disqualify the christian miracles for the duty which miracles alone are capable of performing. the supposed miraculous evidence for the divine revelation, moreover, is not only without any special divine character, being avowedly common also to satanic agency, but it is not original either in conception or details. similar miracles are reported long antecedently to the first promulgation of christianity, and continued to be performed for centuries after it. a stream of miraculous pretension, in fact, has flowed through all human history, deep and broad as it has passed through the darker ages, but dwindling down to a thread as it has entered days of enlightenment. the evidence was too hackneyed and commonplace to make any impression upon those before whom the christian miracles are said to have been performed, and it altogether failed to convince the people to whom the revelation was primarily addressed. the selection of such evidence for such a purpose is much more characteristic of human weakness than of divine power. the true character of miracles is at once betrayed by the fact that their supposed occurrence has thus been confined to ages of ignorance and superstition, and that they are absolutely unknown in any time or place where science has provided witnesses fitted to appreciate and ascertain the nature of such exhibitions of supernatural power. there is not the slightest evidence that any attempt was made to investigate the supposed miraculous occurrences, or to justify the inferences so freely drawn from them, nor is there any reason to believe that the witnesses possessed, in any considerable degree, the fulness of knowledge and sobriety of judgment requisite for the purpose. no miracle has yet established its claim to the rank even of apparent reality, and all such phenomena must remain in the dim region of imagination. the test applied to the largest class of miracles, connected with demoniacal possession, discloses the falsity of all miraculous pretension. there is no uncertainty as to the origin of belief in supernatural interference with nature. the assertion that spurious miracles have sprung up round a few instances of genuine miraculous power has not a single valid argument to support it. history clearly demonstrates that, wherever ignorance and superstition have prevailed, every obscure occurrence has been attributed to supernatural agency, and it is freely acknowledged that, under their influence, 'inexplicable' and 'miraculous' are convertible terms. on the other hand, in proportion as knowledge of natural laws has increased, the theory of supernatural interference with the order of nature has been dispelled and miracles have ceased. the effect of science, however, is not limited to the present and future, but its action is equally retrospective, and phenomena which were once ignorantly isolated from the sequence of natural cause and effect are now restored to their place in the unbroken order. ignorance and superstition created miracles; knowledge has for ever annihilated them. to justify miracles, two assumptions are made: first, an infinite personal god; and second, a divine design of revelation, the execution of which necessarily involves supernatural action. miracles, it is argued, are not contrary to nature, or effects produced without adequate causes, but on the contrary are caused by the intervention of this infinite personal god for the purpose of attesting and carrying out the divine design. neither of the assumptions, however, can be reasonably maintained. the assumption of an infinite personal god: a being at once limited and unlimited, is a use of language to which no mode of human thought can possibly attach itself. moreover, the assumption of a god working miracles is emphatically excluded by universal experience of the order of nature. the allegation of a specific divine cause of miracles is further inadequate from the fact that the power of working miracles is avowedly not limited to a personal god, but is also ascribed to other spiritual beings, and it must, consequently, always be impossible to prove that the supposed miraculous phenomena originate with one and not with the other. on the other hand, the assumption of a divine design of revelation is not suggested by antecedent probability, but is derived from the very revelation which it is intended to justify, as is likewise the assumption of a personal god, and both are equally vicious as arguments. the circumstances which are supposed to require this divine design, and the details of the scheme, are absolutely incredible and opposed to all the results of science. nature does not countenance any theory of the original perfection and subsequent degradation of the human race, and the supposition of a frustrated original plan of creation, and of later impotent endeavours to correct it, is as inconsistent with divine omnipotence and wisdom as the proposed punishment of the human race and the mode devised to save some of them are opposed to justice and morality. such assumptions are essentially inadmissible, and totally fail to explain and justify miracles. whatever definition be given of miracles, such exceptional phenomena must at least be antecedently incredible. in the absence of absolute knowledge, human belief must be guided by the balance of evidence, and it is obvious that the evidence for the uniformity of the order of nature, which is derived from universal experience, must be enormously greater than can be the testimony for any alleged exception to it. on the other hand, universal experience prepares us to consider mistakes of the senses, imperfect observation and erroneous inference as not only possible, but eminently probable on the part of the witnesses of phenomena, even when they are perfectly honest and truthful, and more especially so when such disturbing causes as religious excitement and superstition are present. when the report of the original witnesses only reaches us indirectly and through the medium of tradition, the probability of error is further increased. thus the allegation of miracles is discredited, both positively by the invariability of the order of nature, and negatively by the fallibility of human observation and testimony. the history of miraculous pretension in the world and the circumstances attending the special exhibition of it which we are examining suggest natural explanations of the reported facts which wholly remove them from the region of the supernatural. when we proceed to examine the direct witnesses for the christian miracles, we do not discover any exceptional circumstances neutralising the preceding considerations. on the contrary, we find that the case turns not upon miracles substantially before us, but upon the mere narratives of miracles said to have occurred over eighteen hundred years ago. it is obvious that, for such narratives to possess any real force and validity, it is essential that their character and authorship should be placed beyond all doubt. they must proceed from eye-witnesses capable of estimating aright the nature of the phenomena. our four gospels, however, are strictly anonymous works. the superscriptions which now distinguish them are undeniably of later origin than the works themselves and do not proceed from the composers of the gospels. of the writers to whom these narratives are traditionally ascribed only two are even said to have been apostles, the alleged authors of the second and third synoptics neither having been personal followers of jesus nor eye-witnesses of the events they describe. under these circumstances, we are wholly dependent upon external evidence for information regarding the authorship and trustworthiness of the four canonical gospels. in examining this evidence, we proceeded upon clear and definite principles. without forming or adopting any theory whatever as to the date or origin of our gospels, we simply searched the writings of the fathers, during a century and a half after the events in question, for information regarding the composition and character of these works and even for any certain traces of their use, although, if discovered, these could prove little beyond the mere existence of the gospels used at the date of the writer. in the latter and minor investigation, we were guided by canons of criticism, previously laid down, which are based upon the simplest laws of evidence. we found that the writings of the fathers, during a century and a half after the death of jesus, are a complete blank so far as any evidence regarding the composition and character of our gospels is concerned, unless we except the tradition preserved by papias, after the middle of the second century, the details of which fully justify the conclusion that our first and second synoptics, in their present form, cannot be the works said to have been composed by matthew and mark. there is thus no evidence whatever directly connecting any of the canonical gospels with the writers to whom they are popularly attributed, and later tradition, of little or no value in itself, is separated by a long interval of profound silence from the epoch at which they are supposed to have been composed. with one exception, moreover, we found that, during the same century and a half, there is no certain and unmistakable trace even of the anonymous use of any of our gospels in the early church. this fact, of course, does not justify the conclusion that none of these gospels was actually in existence during any part of that time, nor have we anywhere suggested such an inference, but strict examination of the evidence shows that there is no positive proof that they were. the exception to which we refer is marcion's gospel, which was, we think, based upon our third synoptic, and consequently must be accepted as evidence of the existence of that work. marcion, however, does not give the slightest information as to the authorship of the gospel, and his charges against it of adulteration cannot be considered very favourable testimony as to its infallible character. the canonical gospels continue to the end anonymous documents of no evidential value for miracles. they do not themselves pretend to be inspired histories, and they cannot escape from the ordinary rules of criticism. internal evidence does not modify the inferences from external testimony. apart from continual minor contradictions throughout the first three gospels, it is impossible to reconcile the representations of the synoptics with those of the fourth gospel. they mutually destroy each other as evidence. they must be pronounced mere narratives compiled long after the events recorded, by unknown persons who were neither eye-witnesses of the alleged miraculous occurrences nor hearers of the statements they profess to report. they cannot be accepted as adequate testimony for miracles and the reality of divine revelation. applying similar tests to the acts of the apostles we arrived at similar results. acknowledged to be composed by the same author who produced the third synoptic, that author's identity is not thereby made more clear. there is no evidence of the slightest value regarding its character, but, on the other hand, the work itself teems to such an extent with miraculous incidents and supernatural agency that the credibility of the narrative requires an extraordinary amount of attestation to secure for it any serious consideration. when the statements of the author are compared with the emphatic declarations of the apostle paul and with authentic accounts of the development of the early christian church, it becomes evident that the acts of the apostles, as might have been supposed, is a legendary composition of a later day, which cannot be regarded as sober and credible history, and rather discredits than tends to establish the reality of the miracles with which its pages so suspiciously abound. the remaining books of the new testament canon required no separate examination, because, even if genuine, they contain no additional testimony to the reality of divine revelation, beyond the implied belief in such doctrines as the incarnation and resurrection. it is unquestionable, we suppose, that in some form or other the apostles believed in these miracles, and the assumption that they did so supersedes the necessity for examining the authenticity of the catholic epistles and apocalypse. in like manner, the recognition as genuine of four epistles of paul, which contain his testimony to miracles, renders it superfluous to discuss the authenticity of the other letters attributed to him. the general belief in miraculous power and its possession by the church is brought to a practical test in the case of the apostle paul. after elaborate consideration of his letters, we came to the unhesitating conclusion that, instead of establishing the reality of miracles, the unconscious testimony of paul clearly demonstrates the facility with which erroneous inferences convert the most natural phenomena into supernatural occurrences. as a final test, we carefully examined the whole of the evidence for the cardinal dogmas of christianity, the resurrection and ascension of jesus. first taking the four gospels, we found that their accounts of these events are not only full of legendary matter, but even contradict and exclude each other and, so far from establishing the reality of such stupendous miracles, they show that no reliance is to be placed on the statements of the unknown authors. taking next the testimony of paul, which is more important as at least authentic and proceeding from an apostle of whom we know more than of any other of the early missionaries of christianity, we saw that it was indefinite and utterly insufficient. his so-called "circumstantial account of the testimony upon which the belief in the resurrection rested" consists merely of vague and undetailed hearsay, differing, so far as it can be compared, from the statements in the gospels, and without other attestation than the bare fact that it is repeated by paul, who doubtless believed it, although he had not himself been a witness of any of the supposed appearances of the risen jesus which he so briefly catalogues. paul's own personal testimony to the resurrection is limited to a vision of jesus, of which we have no authentic details, seen many years after the alleged miracle. considering the peculiar and highly nervous temperament of paul, of which he himself supplies abundant evidence, there can be no hesitation in deciding that this vision was purely subjective, as were likewise, in all probability, the appearances to the excited disciples of jesus. the testimony of paul himself, before his imagination was stimulated to ecstatic fervour by the beauty of a spiritualised religion, was an earnest denial of the great christian dogma, emphasised by the active persecution of those who affirmed it; and a vision, especially in the case of one so constituted, supposed to be seen many years after the fact of the resurrection had ceased to be capable of verification, is not an argument of convincing force. we were compelled to pronounce the evidence for the resurrection and ascension absolutely and hopelessly inadequate to prove the reality of such stupendous miracles, which must consequently be unhesitatingly rejected. there is no reason given, or even conceivable, why allegations such as these, and dogmas affecting the religion and even the salvation of the human race, should be accepted upon evidence which would be declared totally insufficient in the case of any common question of property or title before a legal tribunal. on the contrary, the more momentous the point to be established, the more complete must be the proof required. if we test the results at which we have arrived by general considerations, we find them everywhere confirmed and established. there is nothing original in the claim of christianity to be regarded as divine revelation, and nothing new either in the doctrines said to have been revealed, or in the miracles by which it is alleged to have been distinguished. there has not been a single historical religion largely held amongst men which has not pretended to be divinely revealed, and the written books of which have not been represented as directly inspired. there is not a doctrine, sacrament, or rite of christianity which has not substantially formed part of earlier religions; and not a single phase of the supernatural history of the christ, from his miraculous conception, birth and incarnation to his death, resurrection, and ascension, which has not had its counterpart in earlier mythologies. heaven and hell, with characteristic variation of details, have held an important place in the eschatology of many creeds and races. the same may be said even of the moral teaching of christianity, the elevated precepts of which, although in a less perfect and connected form, had already suggested themselves to many noble minds and been promulgated by ancient sages and philosophers. that this enquiry into the reality of divine revelation has been limited to the claim of christianity has arisen solely from a desire to condense it within reasonable bounds, and confine it to the only religion in connection with which it could practically interest us now. there is nothing in the history and achievements of christianity which can be considered characteristic of a religion divinely revealed for the salvation of mankind. originally said to have been communicated to a single nation, specially selected as the peculiar people of god, for whom distinguished privileges were said to be reserved, it was almost unanimously rejected by that nation at the time and it has continued to be repudiated by its descendants, with singular unanimity, to the present day. after more than eighteen centuries, this divine scheme of salvation has not obtained even the nominal adhesion of more than a third of the human race, and if, in a census of christendom, distinction could now be made of those who no longer seriously believe in it as supernatural religion, christianity would take a much lower numerical position. sâkya muni, a teacher only second in nobility of character to jesus, who, like him, proclaimed a system of elevated morality, has even now almost twice the number of followers, although his missionaries never sought converts in the west. [ : ] considered as a scheme divinely devised as the best, if not only, mode of redeeming the human race and saving them from eternal damnation, promulgated by god himself incarnate in human form, and completed by his own actual death upon the cross for the sins of the world, such results as these can only be regarded as practical failure, although they may not be disproportionate for a system of elevated morality. we shall probably never be able to determine how far the great teacher may through his own speculations or misunderstood spiritual utterances have suggested the supernatural doctrines subsequently attributed to him, and by which his whole history and system soon became transformed; but no one who attentively studies the subject can fail to be struck by the absence of such dogmas from the earlier records of his teaching. it is to the excited veneration of the followers of jesus, however, that we owe most of the supernatural elements so characteristic of the age and people. we may look in vain even in the synoptic gospels for the doctrines elaborated in the pauline epistles and the gospel of ephesus. the great transformation of christianity was effected by men who had never seen jesus, and who were only acquainted with his teaching after it had become transmuted by tradition. the fervid imagination of the east constructed christian theology. it is not difficult to follow the development of the creeds of the church, and it is certainly most instructive to observe the progressive boldness with which its dogmas were expanded by pious enthusiasm. the new testament alone represents several stages of dogmatic evolution. before his first followers had passed away the process of transformation had commenced. the disciples, who had so often misunderstood the teaching of jesus during his life, piously distorted it after his death. his simple lessons of meekness and humility were soon forgotten. with lamentable rapidity, the elaborate structure of ecclesiastical christianity, following stereotyped lines of human superstition and deeply coloured by alexandrian philosophy, displaced the sublime morality of jesus. doctrinal controversy, which commenced amongst the very apostles, has ever since divided the unity of the christian body. the perverted ingenuity of successive generations of churchmen has filled the world with theological quibbles, which have naturally enough culminated of late in doctrines of immaculate conception and papal infallibility. it is sometimes affirmed, however, that those who proclaim such conclusions not only wantonly destroy the dearest hopes of humanity, but remove the only solid basis of morality; and it is alleged that, before existing belief is disturbed, the iconoclast is bound to provide a substitute for the shattered idol. to this we may reply that speech or silence does not alter the reality of things. the recognition of truth cannot be made dependent on consequences, or be trammelled by considerations of spurious expediency. its declaration in a serious and suitable manner to those who are capable of judging can never be premature. its suppression cannot be effectual, and is only a humiliating compromise with conscious imposture. in so far as morality is concerned, belief in a system of future rewards and punishments, although of an intensely degraded character, may, to a certain extent, have promoted observance of the letter of the law in darker ages and even in our own; but it may, we think, be shown that education and civilisation have done infinitely more to enforce its spirit. how far christianity has promoted education and civilisation, we shall not here venture adequately to discuss. we may emphatically assert, however, that whatever beneficial effect christianity has produced has been due, not to its supernatural dogmas, but to its simple morality. dogmatic theology, on the contrary, has retarded education and impeded science. wherever it has been dominant, civilisation has stood still. science has been judged and suppressed by the light of a text or a chapter of genesis. almost every great advance which has been made towards enlightenment has been achieved in spite of the protest or the anathema of the church. submissive ignorance, absolute or comparative, has been tacitly fostered as the most desirable condition of the popular mind. "except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," has been the favourite text of doctors of divinity with a stock of incredible dogmas difficult of assimilation by the virile mind. even now, the friction of theological resistance is a constant waste of intellectual power. the early enunciation of so pure a system of morality, and one so intelligible to the simple as well as profound to the wise, was of great value to the world; but, experience being once systematised and codified, if higher principles do not constrain us, society may safely be left to see morals sufficiently observed. it is true that, notwithstanding its fluctuating rules, morality has hitherto assumed the character of a divine institution, but its sway has not, in consequence, been more real than it must be as the simple result of human wisdom and the outcome of social experience. the choice of a noble life is no longer a theological question, and ecclesiastical patents of truth and uprightness have finally expired. morality, which has ever changed its complexion and modified its injunctions according to social requirements, will necessarily be enforced as part of human evolution, and is not dependent on religious terrorism or superstitious persuasion. if we are disposed to say: _cui bono?_ and only practise morality, or be ruled by right principles, to gain a heaven or escape a hell, there is nothing lost, for such grudging and calculated morality is merely a spurious imitation which can as well be produced by social compulsion. but if we have ever been really penetrated by the pure spirit of morality, if we have in any degree attained that elevation of mind which instinctively turns to the true and noble and shrinks from the baser level of thought and action, we shall feel no need of the stimulus of a system of rewards and punishments in a future state which has for so long been represented as essential to christianity. as to the other reproach, let us ask what has actually been destroyed by such an enquiry pressed to its logical conclusion. can truth by any means be made less true? can reality be melted into thin air? the revelation not being a reality, that which has been destroyed is only an illusion, and that which is left is the truth. losing belief in it and its contents, we have lost absolutely nothing but that which the traveller loses when the mirage, which has displayed cool waters and green shades before him, melts swiftly away. there were no cool fountains really there to allay his thirst, no flowery meadows for his wearied limbs; his pleasure was delusion, and the wilderness is blank. rather the mirage with its pleasant illusion, is the human cry, than the desert with its barrenness. not so, is the friendly warning; seek not vainly in the desert that which is not there, but turn rather to other horizons and to surer hopes. do not waste life clinging to ecclesiastical dogmas which represent no eternal verities, but search elsewhere for truth which may haply be found. what should we think of the man who persistently repulsed the persuasion that two and two make four from the ardent desire to believe that two and two make five? whose fault is it that two and two do make four and not five? whose folly is it that it should be more agreeable to think that two and two make five than to know that they only make four? this folly is theirs who represent the value of life as dependent on the reality of special illusions, which they have religiously adopted. to discover that a former belief is unfounded is to change nothing of the realities of existence. the sun will descend as it passes the meridian whether we believe it to be noon or not. it is idle and foolish, if human, to repine because the truth is not precisely what we thought it, and at least we shall not change reality by childishly clinging to a dream. the argument so often employed by theologians that divine revelation is necessary for man, and that certain views contained in that revelation are required by our moral consciousness, is purely imaginary and derived from the revelation which it seeks to maintain. the only thing absolutely necessary for man is truth; and to that, and that alone, must our moral consciousness adapt itself. reason and experience forbid the expectation that we can acquire any knowledge otherwise than through natural channels. we might as well expect to be supernaturally nourished as supernaturally informed. to complain that we do not know all that we desire to know is foolish and unreasonable. it is tantamount to complaining that the mind of man is not differently constituted. to attain the full altitude of the knowable, whatever that may be, should be our earnest aim, and more than this is not for humanity. we may be certain that information which is beyond the ultimate reach of reason is as unnecessary as it is inaccessible. man may know all that man requires to know. we gain more than we lose by awaking to find that our theology is human invention and our eschatology an unhealthy dream. we are freed from the incubus of base hebrew mythology, and from doctrines of divine government which outrage morality and set cruelty and injustice in the place of holiness. if we have to abandon cherished anthropomorphic visions of future blessedness, the details of which are either of unseizable dimness or of questionable joy, we are at least delivered from quibbling discussions of the meaning of [greek: aiônios], and our eternal hope is unclouded by the doubt whether mankind is to be tortured in hell for ever and a day, or for a day without the ever. at the end of life there may be no definite vista of a heaven glowing with the light of apocalyptic imagination, but neither will there be the unutterable horror of a purgatory or a hell lurid with flames for the helpless victims of an unjust but omnipotent creator. to entertain such libellous representations at all as part of the contents of "divine revelation," it was necessary to assert that man was incompetent to judge of the ways of the god of revelation, and must not suppose him endowed with the perfection of human conceptions of justice and mercy, but submit to call wrong right and right wrong at the foot of an almighty despot. but now the reproach of such reasoning is shaken from our shoulders, and returns to the jewish superstition from which it sprang. as myths lose their might and their influence when discovered to be baseless, the power of supernatural christianity will doubtless pass away, but the effect of the revolution must not be exaggerated, although it cannot here be fully discussed. if the pictures which have filled for so long the horizon of the future must vanish, no hideous blank can rightly be maintained in their place. we should clearly distinguish between what we know and know not, but as carefully abstain from characterising that which we know not as if it were really known to us. that mysterious unknown or unknowable is no cruel darkness, but simply an impenetrable distance into which we are impotent to glance, but which excludes no legitimate speculation and forbids no reasonable hope. [endnotes] [ : ] originally published in the _fortnightly review_, january , . [ : ] _on the canon_, p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. , note . [ : ] at the end of this note dr. westcott adds, "indeed, from the similar mode of introducing the story of the vine, which is afterwards referred to papias, it is reasonable to conjecture that this interpretation is one from papias' _exposition_." [ : ] _reliq. sacrae_, i. p. f. [ : ] _lehre pers. christ_, i. p. f., anm. , p. , anm, . [ : ] _theol. jahrb. _ , p. , anm. ; cf. , p. , anm. . [ : ] _synops. evang._, proleg. xxxi. [ : ] _komm. ev. des johannes_, p. f. [ : ] _die zeugn. ev. joh._ p. f. [ : ] _basilides_, p. f. [ : ] _zeitschr. für wiss. theol._ , p. , anm. , , p. , anm. ; cf. , p. f., "die evangelien," p. , anm. . [ : ] _der johann. ursprung des viert. evang._ , p. . [ : ] _th. stud. u. krit._ , p. . [ : ] _intro. n.t._ ii. p. f. [ : ] _ibid._ ii. p. . [ : ] the work was all printed, and i could only reprint the sheet with such alterations as could be made by omissions and changes at the part itself. [ : ] dr. lightfoot makes use of my second edition. [ : ] _contemporary review_, december, p. , n. ; _essays on s.r._ p. , n. . [ : ] professor hofstede de groot, in advancing this passage after the example of tischendorf, carefully distinguishes the words which he introduces, referring it to the presbyters, by placing them within brackets. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. f. [ : ] _contemporary review_, december, p. f.; _essays on s.r._ p. . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. ff. [ : ] _wann wurden_, u.s.w., p. f. [ : ] the translation in scholten's work is substantially the same as tischendorf's, except that he has "promises" for "has promised," which is of no importance. upon this, however, scholten argues that celsus is treated as a contemporary. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. ff. [ : ] i may here briefly refer to one or two instances of translation attacked by dr. lightfoot. he sneers at such a rendering as [greek: ho logos edêlou], "scripture declares," introducing an isolated phrase from justin martyr (ii. ). the slight liberty taken with the tense is surely excusable in such a case, and for the rest i may point out that prudentius maranus renders the words "... scripturam declarare," and otto "... effatum declarare." they occur in reference to passages from the old testament quoted in controversy with a jew. the next passage is [greek: kata korrhês propêlakizein], which dr. lightfoot says is rendered "to inflict a blow on one side," but this is not the case. the phrase occurs in contrasting the words of matt. v. , [greek: all' hostis se rhapisei epi tên dexian sou siagona, strepson autô kai tên allên], with a passage in athenagoras, [greek: alla tois men kan kata korrhês prospêlakizosi, kai to eteron paiein parechein tês kephalês meros]. in endeavouring to convey to the english reader some idea of the linguistic difference, i rendered the latter (ii. ), "but to those who inflict a blow on the one side, also to present the other side, _of the head_," &c., inserting the three greek words after "side," to explain the suspension of sense, and the merging, for the sake of brevity, the double expression in the words i have italicised. dr. lightfoot represents the phrase as ending at "side." the passage from tertullian was quoted almost solely for the purpose of showing the uncertainty, in so bold a writer, of the expression "videtur," for which reason, although the latin is given below, the word was introduced into the text. it was impossible for anyone to _mistake_ the tense and meaning of "quem caederet," but i ventured to paraphrase the words and their context, instead of translating them. in this sentence, i may say, the "mutilation hypothesis" is introduced, and thereafter tertullian proceeds to press against marcion his charge of mutilating the gospel of luke, and i desired to contrast the doubt of the "videtur" with the assurance of the subsequent charge. i had imagined that no one could have doubted that luke is represented as one of the "commentatores." [ : ] i altered "certainly" to "probably" in the second edition, as dr. lightfoot points out, in order to avoid the possibility of exaggeration; but my mind was so impressed with the certainty that i had clearly shown i was merely, for the sake of fairness, reporting the critical judgment of others, that i did not perceive the absence of the words given above. [ : ] dr. lightfoot is mistaken in his ingenious conjecture of my having been misled by the "nur" of credner; but so scrupulous a critic might have mentioned that i not only refer to credner for this argument, but also to _de wette_, who has "... dass er _nie_ joh. dem taüfer wie der synoptiker den beinamen [greek: ho baptistês] giebt" (_einl. n.t._ p. ), and to _bleek_, who says, "nicht ein einziges mal" (_beiträge_, p. , and _einl. n.t._ p. ), which could not be misread. [ : ] _contemporary review_, december, p. ; _essays on s.r._ p. f. [ : ] clem. alex. _strom._ vii. - . dr. westcott gives the above reference, but does not quote the passage. [ : ] dr. westcott quotes the passage relative to matthias. [ : ] _canon_, p. f. [ : ] the same remarks apply to the two passages, pointed out by tischendorf, from clement of alexandria and epiphanius. [ : ] luthardt, _der johann. ursprung des viert. evang._ , p. f. [ : ] _strom._ vii. , § . [ : ] _canon_, p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, december, p. [_essays_, p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, december, p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _a crit. history of chr. lit. and doctrine_, i. f. i do not refer to the numerous authors who enforce this view. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. [_ibid._ p. f.] [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. f. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. f. [_ibid._ p. f.] [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. ff. [ : ] _canon_, p. f. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. , note [_ibid._ p. , n. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. , note . dr. lightfoot, of course, "can hardly suppose" that "i had read the passage to which i refer." [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] i cannot go through every instance, but i may briefly say that such a passage as "ye are of your father the devil" and the passage matt. xi. _seq_. are no refutation whatever of my statement of the contrast between the fourth gospel and the synoptics; and that the allusion to paul's teaching in the apocalypse is in no way excluded even by his death. regarding the relations between paul and the "pillar" apostles, i hope to speak hereafter. i must maintain that my argument regarding the identification of an eye-witness (ii. p. ff.) sufficiently meets the reasoning to which dr. lightfoot refers. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. f. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._ p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. . [ : ] _ibid._ ii. p. . [ : ] see acts iv. . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. . [ : ] _ibid._ ii, p. . [ : ] _der johann. ursp. des viert. evang._ , pp. - . [ : ] _einl. n.t._ p. . [ : ] in regard to one other point, i may say that, so far from being silent about the presence of a form of the logos doctrine in the apocalypse with which dr. lightfoot reproaches me, i repeatedly point out its existence, as, for instance, _s.r._ ii. pp. , , , &c., and i also show its presence elsewhere, my argument being that the doctrine not only was not originated by the fourth gospel, but that it had already been applied to christianity in n.t. writings before the composition of that work. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, f. [_ibid._ p. f.] [ : ] dr. lightfoot will find the passage to which i refer, more especially p. , line , commencing with the words, "nur zwei neuere ausleger ahnen die einfache wahrheit." [ : ] _s.r._ f. [ : ] _works_, ed. pitman, x. f.; _horae et talm._ p. . [ : ] _chron. synopse d. vier. evv._ p. , anm. . [ : ] _bibl. comm., das. ev. n. joh._, umgearb. ebrard ii. , p. f. [ : ] _kurzgef. ex. handbuch n.t._ i. , p. . [ : ] _einl. n.t._ ii. f. hug more strictly applies the name to the sepulchre where the bones of joseph were laid (josh. xxiv. ). [ : ] _bibelwerk_, iv. . [ : ] _die zeugnisse_, p. . [ : ] _comm. sur l'ev. de st. jean_, i. p. f. [ : ] _einl. n.t._ p. . [ : ] _zeitschr. gesammt. luth. theol. u. kirche_, , p. ff. [ : ] _die joh. schriften_, i. p. , anm. ; _jahrb. bibl. wiss._ viii. p. f.; cf. _gesch. v. isr._ v. p. , anm. . [ : ] _das ev. joh._ p. . [ : ] _comm. ev. n. joh._ p. f. [ : ] _comm. ev. des joh._ i. p. f. [ : ] _jahrb. bibl. wiss._ viii. p. f. [ : ] _die joh. schr._ i. p. , anm. . [ : ] _authorship and hist. char. of fourth gospel_, , p. . [ : ] mr. sanday adds in a note here: "this may perhaps be called the current explanation of the name. it is accepted as well by those who deny the genuineness of the gospel as by those who maintain it. cf. keim, i. . but there is much to be said for the identification with el askar, &c." _authorship and hist. char. of fourth gospel_, p. , note . [ : ] _life of christ_, i. p. , note . [ : ] _la géographie du tulmud_, p. . [ : ] smith's _dictionary of the bible_, iii. p. f. [ : ] _bampton lect._ , nd edit. p. . [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. ff. [ : ] _contemporary review_, p. [_ibid._ p. f.] [ : ] _three essays on religion_, p. f. [ : ] _three essays on religion_, p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. . [ : ] this appeared as the preface to the th edition. [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. ff. (_ibid._ p. ff.) [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._ p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] i regret very much that some ambiguity in my language (_s.r._ i. p. ) should have misled, and given dr. lightfoot much trouble. i used the word "quotation" in the sense of a use of the epistle of peter, and not in reference to any one sentence in polycarp. i trust that in this edition i have made my meaning clear. [ : ] cf. _h.e._ iii. , , , , , &c. &c. [ : ] _ibid._ ii. , vi. . [ : ] _ibid._ v. . [ : ] _ibid._ vi. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] by a slip of the pen dr. lightfoot refers to irenaeus, _adv. haer._ iii. , . it should be ii. , . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _h.e._ iii, . [ : ] _h.e._ ii. . [ : ] _ibid._ iii. . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ , . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ iv. . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ iv. . [ : ] _h.e._ ii. . [ : ] _ibid._ vii. . [ : ] _h.e._ iii. . [ : ] _ibid._ , . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] i am much obliged to dr. lightfoot for calling my attention to the accidental insertion of the words "and the apocalypse" (_s.r._ i. p. ). this was a mere slip of the pen, of which no use is made, and the error is effectually corrected by my own distinct statements. [ : ] _h.e._ iii. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. ff. [_ibid._ p. ff.] [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. f. i have introduced numbers for facility of reference. [ : ] dr. lightfoot says in this volume: "the reading 'most' is explained in the preface to that edition as a misprint" (p. , n. ). not so at all. "a slip of the pen" is a very different thing. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ueber d. urspr. u.s.w. des christennamens_, p. , anm. . [ : ] _zeitschr. wiss. theol._ , p. , anm. . i should have added that the priority which lipsius still maintains is that of the text, as dr. lightfoot points out in his _apostolic fathers_ (part ii. vol. i. , p. , n. ), and not of absolute origin; but this appears clearly enough in the quotations i have made. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. f. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p, f.] [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. . in a note dr. lightfoot states that my references to lipsius are to his earlier works, where he still maintains the priority and genuineness of the curetonian epistles. certainly they are so: but in the right place, two pages further on, i refer to the writings in which he rejects the authenticity, whilst still maintaining his previous view of the priority of these letters [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] calvin's expressions are: "nihil naeniis illis, quae sub ignatii nomine editae sunt, putidius. quo minus tolerabilis est eorum impudentia, qui talibus larvis ad fallendum se instruunt" (_inst. chr. rel._ i. , § ). [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. . [ : ] _op. theolog._ , , p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. dr. lightfoot refers to pearson's _vindiciae ignat._ p. (ed. churton). [ : ] _exam. concilii tridentim_, , i. p. (misprinted ). [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _critici sacri_, lib. ii cap. ; _op. theolog._ , ii. p. . [ : ] _vind. ignat._ , p. f.; jacobson, _patr. apost._ i. p. xxxviii. [ : ] _op de theolog. dogmat., de eccles. hierarch._ v. § , edit. venetiis, , vol. vii. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. f. [_ibid._ p. f.] [ : ] _die kirche im ap. zeit._ p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. f. [_ibid._ p. .] [ : ] _k.g._ , . p. , anm. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _einl. n.t._ pp. f., . [ : ] _contemporary review_, january , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _theolog. quartalschrift_, , p. ff. [ : ] _hippolytus and his age_, , i. p. , note, iv. p. vi ff. [ : ] _gesch. d. v. isr._ vii. p. , anm. . [ : ] _patr. apost. proleg._ , p. xxx. [ : ] _patr. apost._ ed. th, . in a review of denzinger's work in the _theolog. quartalschrift_, , p. ff., hefele devotes eight lines to the armenian version (p. f.) [ : ] _hippolytus_, , i. p. , note. cf. iv. p. vi ff. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. f.] dr. lightfoot makes the following important admission in a note: "the roman epistle indeed has been separated from its companions, and is embedded in the martyrology which stands at the end of this collection in the latin version, where doubtless it stood also in the greek, before the ms. of this latter was mutilated. otherwise the vossian epistles come together, and _are followed_ by the confessedly spurious epistles in the greek and latin mss. in the armenian all the vossian epistles are together, and the confessedly spurious epistles follow. see zahn, _ignatius von antiochien_, p. ." [ : ] note to horne's _int. to the holy scriptures_, th ed. , iv. p. , note . the italics are in the original. [ : ] _the ancient syrian version_, &c. , p. xxiv f. [ : ] _corpus ignat._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. ii. [ : ] dressel, _patr. ap._ p. lvi. [ : ] cureton, _corp. ign._ p. iii. [ : ] dressel, _patr. ap._ p. lvii f. [ : ] cureton, _corp. ignat._ p. vii f. [ : ] _ibid._ p. xi; dressel, _patr. ap._ p. xxxi; cf. p. lxii; jacobson, _patr. ap._ i. p. lxxiii; vossius, _ep. gen. s. ign. mart._, amstel. . [ : ] dressel, _patr. ap._ p. lxi. [ : ] "a few words on 'supernatural religion,'" pref. to _hist. of the canon_, th ed. , p. xix. [ : ] "a few words on 's.r.,'" preface to _hist. of canon_, th ed. p. xix f. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. . [ : ] _on the canon_, preface, th ed. p. xx. [ : ] these consist only of an additional page of baur's work first quoted, and a reference to another of his works quoted in the second note, but accidentally left out of note . [ : ] i take the liberty of putting these words in italics to call attention to the assertion opposed to what i find in the note. [ : ] it is the same work, i believe, subsequently published in an extended form. the work i quote is entitled _kirchengeschichte der ersten sechs jahrhunderte_, dritte, umgearbeitete auflage, , and is part of a course of lectures carrying the history to the nineteenth century. [ : ] i do not know why dr. westcott adds the 'ff' to my reference, but i presume it is taken from note , where the reference is given to 'p. ff.' this shows how completely he has failed to see the different object of the two notes. [ : ] _on the canon_, pref. th ed. p. xxi f. [ : ] p. . [ : ] _on the canon_, preface, th ed. p. xxiv. dr. westcott adds, in a note, "it may be worth while to add that in spite of the profuse display of learning in connection with ignatius, i do not see even in the second edition any reference to the full and elaborate work of zahn." i might reply to this that my ms. had left my hands before zahn's work had reached england, but, moreover, the work contains nothing new to which reference was necessary. [ : ] _on the canon_, preface, th ed. p xxv. [ : ] ruinart, _acta mart._ p. ff.; cf. baronius, _mart. rom._ , p. . [ : ] cf. lardner, _credibility_, &c., _works_, iii. p. . [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._ p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] there are grave reasons for considering it altogether inauthentic. cf. cotterill, _peregrinus proteus_, . [ : ] _de morte peregr._ . [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _gesch. chr. kirche_, i. p. f. [ : ] see, for instance, denzinger, _ueber die aechtheit d. bish. textes d. ignat. briefe_, , p. ff.; zahn, _ignatius v. ant._, , p. ff. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. f. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. , note . [ : ] dean milman says: "trajan, indeed, is absolved, at least by the almost general voice of antiquity, from the crime of persecuting the christians." in a note he adds: "excepting of ignatius, probably of simeon of jerusalem, there is no authentic martyrdom in the reign of trajan."--_hist. of christianity_, , ii. p. . [ : ] _k.g._ , i. p. . [ : ] _ibid._ i. p. , anm. [ : ] _hist. of christianity_, ii. p. f. [ : ] p. (ed. bonn). _contemporary review_, february , p. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._ p. f. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ibid._ p. [_ibid._ p. f.]. [ : ] _contemporary review_, february , p. f. [_ibid._ p. ]. [ : ] _ignatius v. ant._ p. , anm. . [ : ] i need not refer to the statement of nicephorus that these relics were first brought from rome to constantinople and afterwards translated to antioch. [ : ] ruinart, _acta mart._ pp. , . [ : ] _ignatius v. ant._ p, . [ : ] ruinart, _acta mart._ p. . baronius makes the anniversary of the martyrdom st february, and that of the translation th december. (_mart. rom._ pp. , ff.) [ : ] _ignatius v. ant._ p. , p. , anm. . [ : ] there is no sufficient evidence for the statement that, in chrysostom's time, the day dedicated to ignatius was in june. the mere allusion, in a homily delivered in honour of ignatius, that "recently" the feast of st. pelagia (in the latin calendar th june) had been celebrated, by no means justifies such a conclusion, and there is nothing else to establish it. [ : ] _st. paul's ep. to the philippians_, rd ed. , p. , note. cf. _contemporary review_, february , p. f. (_ibid._ p. ) [ : ] complete ed. i. p. f. all the references which i give in these essays must be understood as being to the complete edition. [ : ] i. p. ff. [ : ] [pg transcriber's note: probably a misprint for "lost work"] [ : ] this rendering is quoted from dr. lightfoot's _essays_, p. . [ : ] _essays_, p. f. [ : ] _essays_, p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _essays_, p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] vol. i. p. f. [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. f. [ : ] i. p. f. [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] i. ff. [ : ] note. [ : ] note. [ : ] _clem. rom._ § , § ; ibid. f. [ : ] i. p. f. [ : ] i. p. ff. i have italicised a few phrases. [ : ] _s.r._ i. ff. see further illustrations here. [ : ] _s.r._ i. p. f. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. , n. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ ii. p. f. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. . [ : ] in discussing the authenticity of fragments ascribed to melito, dr. lightfoot quoted, as an argument from _supernatural religion_ the following words: "they have, in fact, no attestation whatever except that of the syriac translation, which is unknown and which, therefore, is worthless." the passage appeared thus in the _contemporary review_, and now is again given in the same form in the present volume. i presume that the passage which dr. lightfoot intends to quote is: "they have no attestation whatever, except that of the syriac translator, who is unknown, and which is, therefore, worthless" (_s.r._ ii. p. ). if dr. lightfoot, who has so much assistance in preparing his works for the press, can commit such mistakes, he ought to be a little more charitable to those who have none. [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. ff. [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. ff., iii. ff. [ : ] _ibid._ . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. . [ : ] _s.r._ ii. p. f. [ : ] _s.r._ iii. p. [ : ] _ibid._ p. f. [ : ] _ibid._, p. . [ : ] ii. pp. ff., ff. [ : ] euseb. _h.e._ iv. . (_ibid._ p. f.) [ : ] i need not quote the references which dr. lightfoot gives in a note. [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _unters. n.t. kanons_, , p. f. [ : ] _on the canon_, , p. , n. . cf. , p. , n. . [ : ] _the diatessaron of tatian_, , p. xiv. [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] dr. lightfoot's rendering, p, . assem. _bibl. orient._ ii. p. sq. [ : ] _ibid._ p. f. [ : ] _the diatessaron of tatian_, p. xxx. [ : ] euseb. _op._ iv. p. (ed. migne.) the translation is by dr. lightfoot (_l.c._ p. , n. ). [ : ] zahn, _tatian's diatessaron_, , p. f. [ : ] _hist. chr. lit. and doctr._ iii. p. . [ : ] moesinger, _evang. concor. expositio_, , p. x f. [ : ] _ibid._ p. xi. [ : ] zahn, _l.c._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . [ : ] _ibid._ p. . the italics are mine. [ : ] hemphill, _the diatessaron of tatian_, p. xxiv. [ : ] i have already referred to this document further back, p. . [ : ] lightfoot, _apostolic fathers_, part ii. , p. ff. [ : ] by recent returns the number of the professors of different religions is estimated as follows: parsees , sikhs , , jews , , , being about ½ per cent. of the whole. greek catholics , , " " " roman catholics , , " " " other christians , , " " " hindus , , " " " muhammedans , , " ½ " " buddhists , , " " " not included in the above , , " " " ----------- , , , we have taken these statistics, which are approximately correct, from an excellent little work recently published by the society for the propagation of christian knowledge--_buddhism_, by t.w. rhys davids, p. . index. acts of the apostles, evidence for, f., addai, doctrine of, ammonius, _diatessaron_ of, anger, antioch, earthquake at, in a.d. , f. aphthonius; see elias of salamia apocalypse, allusion to paul in, , n. ; language of, ff. apollinaris, claudius; date, ; evidence for gospels, aristion, ascension, evidence for, aubertin, , aucher, baronius, n. bar-salibi, dionysius, f. basnage, , baumgarten-crusius, , baur, does not allude to armenian version of ignatian epistles, ; date of martyrdom of ignatius, f.; place of his martyrdom, ff.; on peregrinus proteus, beausobre, , bleek, , , , , , , , , blondel, , bochart, , böhringer, , , , bunsen, , , , calvin, campianus, casaubon, , celsus, origen on, ff., centuriators, magdeburg, chemnitz, , , christianity, claim to be divine revelation, not original, f.; history and achievements opposed to this claim, f.; census of religions, n. ; transformation of, f. chrysostom, , , f. ciasca, alleged arabic version of tatian's _diatessaron_, , f. clement of alexandria, on basilides, f. cleophas, cook, , criticism, attitude towards, cureton, , , , ff., , f. curetonian version of ignatian epistles, ff., ff., ff., f. dallaeus, davidson, dr., on passage of irenaeus, ; date of martyrdom of ignatius, ; place of the martyrdom, delitzsch, , , denzinger, , , n. , n. diatessaron of ammonius, ff., ff. diatessaron of elias of salamia, ff. diatessaron of tatian, ff.; alleged armenian version of ephraem's commentary on it, f.; latin translation by aucher and moesinger, f.; arabic version of, translated by ciasca, f.; eusebius on it, f.; did eusebius directly know it? f.; bar-salibi on it, f.; theodoret suppresses it, f.; the genealogies of jesus said to be excised, f.; not all suppressed in armenian and arabic works, ; called 'gospel according to the hebrews,' ; epiphanius had not seen it, ; we could not identify it, ; arabic version of ciasca, f.; said to be translated from syriac, ; its date, ; ascribed in notes to tatian, ; original language of tatian's _diatessaron_, f.; gospel texts in alleged versions affected by repeated translation, f.; name of tatian not on original work, ; could it be identified? ff.; case of victor of capua, ff.; was he mistaken? f.; dr. wace says: no, ; value of evidence if alleged versions be genuine, dionysius of corinth, doctrine of addai, donaldson, dr., on epistle of polycarp, ; on tatian's _diatessaron_, dorner, dressel, ebrard, elias of salamia, his _diatessaron_, f.; he finds fault with canons of eusebius, ephraem syrus, his commentary on tatian's _diatessaron_, f.; date, ; alleged armenian version of his commentary, ; date of the ms., ; translated from syriac, ; evidence, f.; tatian's name not mentioned, ; value as evidence if genuine, epiphanius, eusebius, on papias, ; silence of, f.; my only inference from silence of, f.; procedure of, f.; his references to hegesippus, ff.; his references to john, ff.; on claudius apollinaris, ; on polycrates of ephesus, ; on tatian's _diatessaron_, f.; on _diatessaron_ of ammonius, f.; his epistle to carpianus, f., ewald, , , , , , farrar, dr., francke, gfrörer, , glaucias, , , , gobarus, stephanus, godet, gospel, the fourth, contrast with synoptics, f., n. ; hebraic character of its language, ff.; eusebius regarding it, , , f., ff.; evidence to it of martyrdom of polycarp, ; alleged evidence of claudius apollinaris, ; alleged evidence of polycrates ; supposed reference to it in epistle of vienne and lyons, ; tatian's _diatessaron_ said to begin with it, f.; insufficiency of evidence for it, ff.; its contents cannot be reconciled with synoptics, f. gospels, justin's use of, f.; evidence of alleged quotations, f.; object in examining evidence for, ff., ff.; numerous gospels circulating in early church, f.; anonymous quotations not necessarily from canonical, ff.; illustrations of this, ff.; evidence of martyrdom of polycarp, ; evidence of melito of sardis, f.; evidence of claudius apollinaris, ; evidence of epistle of vienne and lyons, ff.; principles on which evidence is examined, ; insufficiency of evidence for, ff. greet, hofstede de, , n. grove, guericke, , f., hadrian, hagenbach, , harless, hase, hebrews, gospel according to the, f., , hefele, hegesippus, his attitude to paul, ; references to him by eusebius, ff.; on simeon, hemphill, professor, did eusebius directly know tatian's _diatessaron_? f.; on arabic _diatessaron_, ; it takes matthew as basis, ; its substantial identity with victor's _diatessaron_, hengstenberg, hilgenfeld, on passage of irenaeus, f.; on ignatian epistles, , ; place and date of martyrdom of ignatius, ff.; on papias and matthew's hebrew "oracles," ; protevangelium jacobi, ; eusebius on tatian's _diatessaron_, f. hippolytus, f. holtzmann, , hug, humfrey, ignatius, epistle of polycarp regarding him, ff.; date and place of his martyrdom, , ff.; his alleged martyr-journey, ff.; his treatment during it, f.; compared with paul's journey, f.; compared with case of peregrinus, ff.; reasons opposed to martyr-journey to rome, and for martyrdom in antioch, ff.; remains of ignatius, ff.; martyrologies, f. ignatian epistles, dr. lightfoot on, ff.; critics on priority of syriac version, ff., long recension, ff.; vossian epistles, ff.; version of ussher, ; armenian version, ff.; eusebian epistles, ff.; their order in mss., ff.; their value as evidence, f. irenaeus, ff. jacobson, jerome, f. john, references of eusebius, ff.; papias and presbyters on, f.; double use of name, f. justin martyr, his quotations, ff. keim, kestner, , kirchhofer, lange, lardner, , lechler, f. lightfoot, , lightfoot, dr., objectionable style of criticism, f., , f., n. , f., n. , , , f., n. , f., , f., , f., f., ff., ff.; ff., ; on a passage of irenaeus, ff.; discussion of date of celsus, ff.; dr. westcott on basilides, ff.; weightier arguments of apologists, ff.; on epistle of polycarp, f., object of papias' work, ; on hegesippus and apostle paul, f.; on justin martyr's quotations, ff.; on duration of ministry of jesus, f.; on hebraic character of language of the fourth gospel, ff.; identification of sychar, ff.; on argument of s.r., ff.; on silence of eusebius, ff.; the intention of eusebius, f.; procedure of eusebius, f.; silence of eusebius as evidence for fourth gospel, f.; on ignatian epistles, ff.; on view of lipsius, f.; misstatements regarding references in s.r., ff.; differentiation of ignatian epistles, ff.; their position in mss., ff.; on martyr-journey and treatment of ignatius, f.; compared with apostle paul's, f.; compared with case of peregrinus proteus, ff.; on john malalas, ff.; on polycarp of smyrna, f.; date of his epistle, ; does not examine alleged quotations of gospels, ; on papias of hierapolis, ff.; papias on mark, f.; papias on matthew, ff.; on accuracy of papias, ff.; translation of hebrew oracles of matthew, f.; on gospel according to the hebrews, f.; on nature of oracles of matthew, ff.; can oracles include narrative? f.; his misapprehension of argument of s.r., ff.; on martyrdom of polycarp, ; on melito of sardis, f.; erroneous quotation from s.r., , n. ; on claudius apollinaris, f.; on polycrates of ephesus, ; on epistle of vienne and lyons, ff.; on the "testimony of zacharias," ff.; alleged reference to acts, f.; alleged reference to fourth gospel, ; tatian's diatessaron, f.; on eusebius's mention of it, f.; did he directly know it? ; on doctrine of addai, ; it mentions tatian's diatessaron, ; dionysius bar-salibi on tatian's _diatessaron_, f.; on _diatessaron_ of ammonius, ; quite different from tatian's work, f.; similarity to arabic version asserted by hemphill, ; case of victor of capua, f.; victor must have been mistaken, f.; victor not mistaken after all, ; on letter of the smyrnaens, ff.; a short way with its miraculous elements, f.; practically justifies procedure of "supernatural religion," lipsius, on ignatian epistles, f., , , ; on martyrdom of polycarp, logia, meaning of, in n.t., ff. logos doctrine in apocalypse, n. lucian, , f. luke, gospel according to, supposed reference to it in epistle of vienne and lyons, f.; its use in _diatessaron_, , luthardt, on passage of irenaeus, ; on basilides, ; on language of fourth gospel and apocalypse, ff. magdeburg centuriators, malalas, john, on martyrdom of ignatius, ff. marcus aurelius, f. mark, presbyters and papias on, f.; not eye-witness but interpreter of peter, f.; value of his gospel as evidence, f.; use in _diatessaron_, matthew, presbyters and papias on, f., ff.; wrote oracles in hebrew, ff.; when translated, ff.; use in _diatessaron_ of ammonius, ; also in that of tatian, f. matthias, , mayerhoff, , melito of sardis, f. merx, , meyer, on passage of irenaeus, , mill, on miracles, ff. milman, , , , n. , f. moesinger, ephraem's commentary, f., mozley, on belief, f. neander, , f., f. neubauer, , nicephorus, n. olshausen, , "oracles," meaning of, ff. origen, on celsus, f. papias of hierapolis, alleged quotations from him, ff.; object of his work, ; references of eusebius to him, ff.; words of the presbyters, f.; double reference to "john," f.; he had nothing to tell of fourth gospel, ff.; on mark's gospel, ff.; on matthew's hebrew oracles, f.; value of his evidence for the gospels, f. parker, , paul, apostle, his treatment as prisoner compared to that of ignatius, f.; unconscious testimony regarding the supernatural, ; his testimony for resurrection and ascension, f. pearson, peregrinus proteus, ff. perpetua, saturus and, petau, , petermann, ff. phillips, polycarp of smyrna, f.; date of martyrdom, polycarp, martyrdom of, , ff.; dr. lightfoot's short way with the miraculous elements, f. polycrates of ephesus, date, ; evidence for fourth gospel, pressensé, de, protevangelium jacobi, quadratus, statius, date of proconsulship, "religion, supernatural," argument of, ff., ff., ff.; canons of criticism, ff.; the "testimony of zacharias," epistle of vienne and lyons, ff.; was eusebius directly acquainted with tatian's _diatessaron_? f.; argument of s.r. practically justified by dr. lightfoot, ff.; conclusions of, ff.; evidence of divine revelation which is necessary, ; miracles as evidence destroyed by doubtful source, f.; miraculous evidence not original, f., stream of miraculous pretension, ; true character of miracles betrayed, f.; origin of belief in supernatural interference, ; assumptions to justify miracles, f.; an infinite personal god, f.; divine design of revelation, ; miracles antecedently incredible, f.; evidence for the christian miracles, f.; principles upon which evidence examined, ; evidence for gospels, f.; evidence for acts, ; the remaining books of new testament, f.; evidence of paul, ; evidence for resurrection and ascension, f.; results tested by general considerations, ff.; claim of christianity to be divinely revealed not original, f.; history and achievements of christianity opposed to it, f.; census of religions, n. ; how far the great teacher was misunderstood, f.; transformation of christianity, f.; alleged objections to disturbing belief, f.; objections not valid, f.; argument that divine revelation is necessary to man, f.; we gain more than we lose by finding our theology to be mere human inventions, f. resurrection, evidence for, f. reuss, riggenbach, on passage of irenaeus, ; on sychar, ritschl, , rivet, , , routh, on passage of irenaeus, ruinart, anniversary of ignatius, rumpf, sanday, saumaise, , schleimann, f. scholten, n. , , f., f., schroeckh, , schürer, shechem, ff. simeon, , f. smyrnaens, letter of, ff.; dr. lightfoot as a sceptical critic, f. socinus, stephen, f. sychar, ff. synoptics, contrasted with fourth gospel, f. tatian's _diatessaron_: see diatessaron theodoret, the ignatian epistles, thiersch, , tholuck, tischendorf, on passage of irenaeus, ff.; passage of celsus, ff.; does not notice armenian version of ignatian epistles, ; "testimony of zacharias," in epistle of vienne and lyons, ; it is a reference to the protevangelium jacobi, trajan, in connection with the martyrdom of ignatius, ff., ff. tregelles, , f. uhlhorn, , ussher, vienne and lyons, epistle of, ff.; date, ; the "testimony of zacharias," f.; alleged quotations of acts, ff.; value of evidence, ; dr. lightfoot on fragrance of the martyrs, volkmar, on celsus, ff.; on ignatian epistles, ; does not notice armenian version, ; date of martyrdom of ignatius, f.; place of martyrdom, ff. vossian epistles of ignatius, f. wace, dr., waddington, weiss, , , , weissmann, f. westcott, dr., criticisms on, f.; on papias, ; on basilides, ff.; on justin martyr's quotations, ff.; on "supernatural religion," f.; misstatements regarding notes, ff.; was eusebius directly acquainted with tatian's _diatessaron_? wette, de, , n. , wieseler, , wotton, , zacharias, the testimony of, epistle of vienne and lyons, ff. zahn, on passage of irenaeus, ; on ignatian epistles, , , n. , ; on john malalas, , date of martyrdom of ignatius, ; did eusebius directly know tatian's _diatessaron_? ; passages regarding descent of jesus from david not all excised from alleged armenian version, zeller, on passage of irenaeus, the brook kerith a syrian story by george moore a dedication my dear mary hunter. it appears that you wished to give me a book for christmas, but were in doubt what book to give me as i seemed to have little taste for reading, so in your embarrassment you gave me a bible. it lies on my table now with the date on the fly-leaf--my constant companion and chief literary interest for the last eighteen years. itself a literature, it has led me into many various literatures and into the society of scholars. i owe so much to your bible that i cannot let pass the publication of "the brook kerith" without thanking you for it again. yours always, george moore. the brook kerith chap. i. it was at the end of a summer evening, long after his usual bedtime, that joseph, sitting on his grandmother's knee, heard her tell that kish having lost his asses sent saul, his son, to seek them in the land of the benjamites and the land of shalisha, whither they might have strayed. but they were not in these lands, son, she continued, nor in zulp, whither saul went afterwards, and being then tired out with looking for them he said to the servant: we shall do well to forget the asses, lest my father should ask what has become of us. but the servant, being of a mind that kish would not care to see them without the asses, said to young saul: let us go up into yon city, for a great seer lives there and he will be able to put us in the right way to come upon the asses. but we have little in our wallet to recompense him, saul answered, only half a loaf and a little wine at the end of the bottle. we have more than that, the servant replied, and opening his hand he showed a quarter of a shekel of silver to saul, who said: he will take that in payment. whereupon they walked into arimathea, casting their eyes about for somebody to direct them to the seer's house. and seeing some maidens at the well, come to draw water, they asked them if the seer had been in the city that day, and were answered that he had been seen and would offer sacrifice that morning, as had been announced. he must be on his way now to the high rock, one of the maidens cried after them, and they pressed through the people till none was in front of them but an old man walking alone, likewise in the direction of the rock; and overtaking him they asked if he could point out the seer's house to them, to which he answered sharply: i am the seer, and fell at once to gazing on saul as if he saw in him the one that had been revealed to him. for you see, son, seers have foresight, and the seer had been warned overnight that the lord would send a young man to him, so the moment he saw saul he knew him to be the one the lord had promised, and he said: thou art he whom the lord has promised to send me for anointment, but more than that i cannot tell thee, being on my way to offer sacrifice, but afterwards we will eat together, and all that has been revealed to me i will tell. you understand me, son, the old woman crooned, the lord had been with samuel beforetimes and had promised to send the king of israel to him for anointment, and the moment he laid eyes on saul he knew him to be the king; and that was why he asked him to eat with him after sacrifice. yes, granny, i understand: but did the lord set the asses astray that saul might follow them and come to samuel to be made a king? i daresay there was something like that at the bottom of it, the old woman answered, and continued her story till her knees ached under the boy's weight. the child's asleep, she said, and on the instant he awoke crying: no, granny, i wasn't asleep. i heard all you said and would like to be a prophet. a prophet, joseph, and to anoint a king? but there are no more prophets or kings in israel. and now, joseph, my little prophet, 'tis bedtime and past it. come. i didn't say i wanted to anoint kings, he answered, and refused to go to bed, though manifestly he could hardly keep awake. i'll wait up for father. now what can the child want his father for at this hour? she muttered as she went about the room, not guessing that he was angry and resentful, that her words had wounded him deeply and that he was asking himself, in his corner, if she thought him too stupid to be a prophet. i'll tell thee no more stories, she said to him, but he answered that he did not want to hear her stories, and betwixt feelings of anger and shame his head drooped, and he slept in his chair till the door opened and his father's footsteps crossed the threshold. now, he said to himself, granny will tell father that i said i'd like to be a prophet. and feigning sleep he listened, determined to hear the worst that could be said of him. but they did not speak about him but of the barrels of salt fish that were to go to beth-shemish on the morrow; which was their usual talk. so he slipped from his chair and bade his father good-night. a resentful good-night it was; and his good-night to his grandmother was still more resentful. but she found an excuse for his rudeness, saying that his head was full of sleep--a remark that annoyed him considerably and sent him upstairs wishing that women would not talk about things they do not understand. i'll ask father in the morning why granny laughed at me for saying i'd like to be a prophet. but as morning seemed still a long way ahead he tried to find a reason, but could find no better one than that prophets were usually old men. but i shall be old in time to come and have a beard. father has a beard and they can't tell that i won't have a beard, and a white one too, so why should they-- his senses were numbing, and he must have fallen asleep soon after, for when he awoke it seemed to him that he had been asleep a long time, several hours at least, so many things had happened or seemed to have happened; but as he recovered his mind all the dream happenings melted away, and he could remember only his mother. she had been dead four years, but in his dream she looked as she had always looked, and had scolded granny for laughing at him. he tried to remember what else she had said but her words faded out of his mind and he fell asleep again. in this second sleep an old man rose up by his bedside and told him that he was the prophet samuel, who though he had been dead a thousand years had heard him say he would like to be a prophet. but shall i be a prophet? joseph asked, and as samuel did not answer he cried out as loudly as he could: shall i? shall i? what ails thee, son? he heard his grandmother calling to him, and he answered: an old man, an old man. ye are dreaming, she mumbled between sleeping and waking. go to sleep like a good boy, and don't dream any more. i will, granny, and don't be getting up; the bed-clothes don't want settling. i am well tucked in, he pleaded; and fell asleep praying that granny had not heard him ask samuel if he would be a prophet. a memory of his dream of samuel came upon him while she dressed him, and he hoped she had forgotten all about it; but his father mentioned at breakfast that he had been awakened by cries. it was joseph crying out in his dream, dan, disturbed thee last night: such cries, "shall i? shall i?" and when i asked "what ails thee?" the only answer i got was "an old man." dan, joseph's father, wondered why joseph should seem so disheartened and why he should murmur so perfunctorily that he could not remember his dream. but if he had forgotten it, why trouble him further? if we are to forget anything it were well that we should choose our dreams; at which piece of incredulity his mother shook her head, being firm in the belief that there was much sense in dreams and that they could be interpreted to the advantage of everybody. dan said: if that be so, let him tell thee his dream. but joseph hung his head and pushed his plate away; and seeing him so morose they left him to his sulks and fell to talking of dreams that had come true. joseph had never heard them speak of anything so interesting before, and though he suspected that they were making fun of him he could not do else than listen, till becoming convinced suddenly that they were talking in good earnest without intention of fooling him he began to regret that he had said he had forgotten his dream, and rapped out: he was the prophet samuel. now what are you saying, joseph? his father asked. joseph would not say any more, but it pleased him to observe that neither his father nor his granny laughed at his admission, and seeing how interested they were in his dream he said: if you want to know all, samuel said he had heard me say that i'd like to be a prophet. that was why he came back from the dead. but, father, is it true that we are his descendants? he said that i was. a most extraordinary dream, his father answered, for it has always been held in the family that we are descended from him. do you really mean, joseph, that the old man you saw in your dream told you he was samuel and that you were his descendant? how should i have known if he hadn't told me? joseph looked from one to the other and wondered why they had kept the secret of his ancestor from him. you laughed at me yesterday, granny, when i said i'd like to be a prophet. now what do you say? answer me that. and he continued to look from one to the other for an answer. but neither had the wit to find an answer, so amazed were they at the news that the prophet samuel had visited joseph in a dream; and satisfied at the impression he had made and a little frightened by their silence joseph stole out of the room, leaving his parents to place whatever interpretation they pleased on his dream. nor did he care whether they believed he had spoken the truth. he was more concerned with himself than with them, and conscious that something of great importance had happened to him he ascended the stairs, pausing at every step uncertain if he should return to ask for the whole of the story of saul's anointment. it seemed to him to lack courtesy to return to the room in which he had seen the prophet, till he knew these things. but he could not return to ask questions: later he would learn what had happened to samuel and saul, and he entered the room, henceforth to him a sacred room, and stood looking through it, having all the circumstances of his dream well in mind: he was lying on his left side when samuel had risen up before him, and it was there, upon that spot, in that space he had seen samuel. his ancestor had seemed to fade away from the waist downwards, but his face was extraordinarily clear in the darkness, and joseph tried to recall it. but he could only remember it as a face that a spirit might wear, for it was not made up of flesh but of some glowing matter or stuff, such as glow-worms are made of; nor could he call it ugly or beautiful, for it was not of this world. he had drawn the bed-clothes over his head, but--impelled he knew not why, for he was nearly dead with fright--he had poked his head out to see if the face was still there. the lips did not move, but he had heard a voice. the tones were not like any heard before, but he had listened to them all the same, and if he had not lost his wits again in an excess of fear he would have put questions to samuel: he would have put questions if his tongue had not been tied back somewhere in the roof of his mouth. but the next time he would not be frightened and pull the bed-clothes over his head. and convinced of his own courage he lay night after night thinking of all the great things he would ask the old man and of the benefit he would derive from his teaching. but samuel did not appear again, perhaps because the nights were so dark. joseph was told the moon would become full again, but sleep closed his eyes when he should have been waking, and in the morning he was full of fear that perhaps samuel had come and gone away disappointed at not finding him awake. but that could not be, for if the prophet had come he would have awakened him as he had done before. his ancestor had not come again: a reasonable thing to suppose, for when the dead return to the earth they do so with much pain and difficulty; and if the living, whom they come to instruct, cannot keep their eyes open, the poor dead wander back and do not try to come between their descendants and their fate again. but i will keep awake, he said, and resorted to all sorts of devices, keeping up a repetition of a little phrase: he will come to-night when the moon is full; and lying with one leg hanging out of bed; and these proving unavailing he strewed his bed with crumbs. but no ancestor appeared, and little by little he relinquished hope of ever being able to summon samuel to his bedside, and accepted as an explanation of his persistent absence that samuel had performed his duty by coming once to visit him and would not come again unless some new necessity should arise. it was then that the conviction began to mount into his brain that he must learn all that his grandmother could tell him about saul and david, and learning from her that they had been a great trouble to samuel he resolved never to allow a thought into his mind that the prophet would deem unworthy. to become worthy of his ancestor was now his aim, and when he heard that samuel was the author of two sacred books it seemed to him that his education had been neglected: for he had not yet been taught to read. another step in his advancement was the discovery that the language his father, his granny and himself spoke was not the language spoken by samuel, and every day he pressed his grandmother to tell him why the jews had lost their language in babylon, till he exhausted the old woman's knowledge and she said: well now, son, if you want to hear any more about babylon you must ask your father, for i have told you all i know. and joseph waited eagerly for his father to come home, and plagued him to tell him a story. but after a long day spent in the counting-house his father was often too tired to take him on his knee and instruct him, for joseph's curiosity was unceasing and very often wearisome. now, joseph, his father said, you will learn more about these things when you are older. and why not now? he asked, and his grandmother answered that it was change of air that he wanted and not books; and they began to speak of the fierce summer that had taken the health out of all of them, and of how necessary it was for a child of that age to be sent up to the hills. dan looked into his son's face, and rachel seemed to be right. a thin, wan little face, that the air of the hills will brighten, he said; and he began at once to make arrangements for joseph's departure for a hill village, saying that the pastoral life of the hills would take his mind off samuel, hebrew and babylon. rachel was doubtful if the shepherds would absorb joseph's mind as completely as his father thought. she hoped, however, that they would. as soon as he hears the sound of the pipe, his father answered. a prophecy this was, for while joseph was resting after the fatigue of the journey, he was awakened suddenly by a sound he had never heard before, and one that interested him strangely. his nurse told him that the sound he was hearing was a shepherd's pipe. the shepherd plays and the flock follows, she said. and when may i see the flock coming home with the shepherd? he asked. to-morrow evening, she answered, and the time seemed to him to loiter, so eager was he to see the flocks returning and to watch the she-goat milked. and in the spring as his strength came back he followed the shepherds and heard from them many stories of wolves and dogs, and from a shepherd lad, whom he had chosen as a companion, he acquired knowledge of the plumage and the cries and the habits of birds, and whither he was to seek their nests: it had become his ambition to possess all the wild birds' eggs, one that was easily satisfied till he came to the egg of the cuckoo, which he sought in vain, hearing of it often, now here, now there, till at last he and the shepherd lad ventured into a dangerous country in search of it and remained there till news of their absence reached magdala and dan set out in great alarm with an armed escort to recover his son. he was very angry when he came upon him, but the trouble he had been put to and the ransom he had had to pay were very soon forgotten, so great was his pleasure at the strong healthy boy he brought back with him, and whose first question to rachel was: are there cuckoos in magdala?--father doesn't know. his grandmother could not tell him, but she was willing to make inquiries, but before any news of the egg had been gotten the hope to possess it seemed to have drifted out of joseph's mind and to seem even a little foolish when he looked into his box, for many of his egg shells had been broken on the journey. see, granny, he said, but on second thoughts he refused to show his chipped possessions. but thou wast once as eager to learn hebrew, his grandmother said, and the chance words, spoken as she left the room, awakened his suspended interests. as soon as she returned she was beset by questions, and the same evening his father had to promise that the best scribe in galilee should be engaged to teach him: a discussion began between dan and rachel as to the most notable and trustworthy, and it was followed by joseph so eagerly that they could not help laughing; the questions he put to them regarding the different accomplishments of the scribes were very minute, and the phrase--but this one is a greek scholar, stirred his curiosity. why should he be denied me because he knows greek? he asked, and his father could only answer that no one can learn two languages at the same time. but if he knows two languages, joseph insisted. i cannot tell thee more, his father answered, than that the scribe i've chosen is a great hebrew scholar. he was no doubt a great scholar, but he was not the man that joseph wished for: thin and tall and of gentle appearance and demeanour, he did not stir up a flame for work in joseph, who, as soon as the novelty of learning hebrew had worn off, began to hide himself in the garden. his father caught him one day sitting in a convenient bough, looking down upon his preceptor fairly asleep on a bench; and after this adventure he began to make a mocking stock of his preceptor, inventing all kinds of cruelties, and his truancy became so constant that his father was forced to choose another. this time a younger man was chosen, but he succeeded with joseph not very much better than the first. after the second there came a third, and when joseph began to complain of his ignorance his father said: well, joseph, you said you wanted to learn hebrew, and you have shown no application, and three of the most learned scribes in galilee have been called in to teach you. joseph felt the reproof bitterly, but he did not know how to answer his father and he was grateful to his grandmother for her answer. joseph isn't an idle boy, dan, but his nature is such that he cannot learn from a man he doesn't like. why don't ye give him azariah as an instructor? has he been speaking to thee about azariah? dan asked. maybe, she said, and dan's face clouded. chap. ii. we are to understand, son, dan said, on hearing that the fourth preceptor whom he had engaged to teach his son hebrew had failed to give satisfaction, that you cannot learn from anybody but azariah. now, will you tell us what there is in azariah more than in shimshai, benaiah or zebad? and he waited for his son to speak, but as joseph did not answer he asked: is it because he looks more like a prophet than any of the others? and joseph, who still dreaded any allusion to prophets, turned into his corner mortified. but rachel came forward directly and taking the child by the shoulders led him back to his father, asking dan with a trace of anger in her voice why he should think it strange that the child should prefer to learn from azariah rather than from a withered patriarch who never could keep his eyes open but always sat dozing in his chair like one in a dream. it wasn't, granny, because he went to sleep often; i could have kept him awake by kicking him under the table. joseph stopped suddenly and looked from one to the other. why then? his father asked, and on being pressed to say why he didn't want to learn hebrew he said he had come to hate hebrew, an admission which rendered his parents speechless for a moment. come to hate hebrew, they repeated one after the other till frightened by their solemnity joseph blurted out: you wouldn't like hebrew if the scholar's fleas jumped on to you the moment you began. and pulling up his sleeves joseph exhibited his arms. how could i learn hebrew with three fleas biting me and all at one time, one here, another there and a third down yonder. he always has three or four about him. no, father, don't, don't ask me to learn hebrew any more. but, joseph, all hebrew scholars haven't fleas about them. an unbelieving face confronted them, and joseph looked as if he were uncertain whether he should laugh or cry: but seeing that his parents liked his story he began to laugh. we've tried several preceptors but you're hard to please, joseph. now what fault did you find with--and while dan searched his memory for the name joseph interjected that the little fellow whose back bulged like granny's chest wouldn't let him read the interesting parts of the scriptures but kept him always at the psalms and the proverbs. and he was always telling me about hillel, who was a good man, but good men aren't as interesting as prophets, joseph rapped out. and wilt thou tell us what he told thee about these pious men? dan asked, a smile playing about his long thin mouth. that the law didn't matter as long as we were virtuous, joseph muttered, and he was always explaining the stories that i understood quite well when granny told them. so it was hiram that confirmed you in your distaste for hebrew, dan said, and the child stood looking at his father, not quite sure if it would be in his interest to accept or repudiate the suggestion. he would have refused to give a direct answer (such is the way of children) but the servant relieved him of his embarrassment: azariah was at the gate asking for shelter from the rain. from the rain! dan said, rising suddenly. it is coming down very fast, mother, but we were so engaged in listening to joseph that we didn't hear it. shall we ask him in, joseph? the child's face lighted up. now isn't it strange, rachel said, he should be here to-day? we haven't seen him for months, and now in the middle of a talk about tutors--aren't you going to ask him in? of course, dan said, and he instructed the servant to ask the scribe to come upstairs. and now, joseph, i hope you'll listen to all that azariah says, giving quiet and reasonable answers. and not too many questions, mind! joseph promised to be good and quiet and to keep himself from putting questions. i will listen attentively, he said, and he seized on the last chance available to his tongue to tell that he had often seen azariah in the lanes. he doesn't see us, he walks like one in a dream, his hair blowing in the wind. but when he does see us he speaks very kindly ... i think i'd like to learn hebrew from him. rachel laid her finger on her lips; the door opened and azariah advanced into the room with a long grave jewish stride, apologising to dan as he came for his sudden intrusion into their midst, mentioning the heavy rain in a graceful phrase. joseph, who was on the watch for everything, could see that his father was full of respect for azariah, and hearing him say that it was some years since azariah had been in his house he began to wonder if there had been a quarrel between them; it seemed to him that his father was a little afraid of azariah, which was strange, for he himself did not feel in the least afraid of azariah but an almost uncontrollable desire to go and sit on his knee. here is my boy joseph: and, azariah, you will be interested to hear that we were talking about you for the last quarter of an hour. azariah raised his thick eyebrows and waited to be told how he had come to be the subject of their talk, though he half knew the reason, for in a village like magdala it soon gets about that four preceptors have been sent away unable to teach the rich man's son. he has made up his mind, dan said, to learn hebrew and greek from none but you. no, father, i didn't make up my mind. but i couldn't learn from the others and i told you why. are you sure that you can learn from me? azariah asked. joseph became shy at once, but he liked to feel azariah's friendly hand upon his shoulder, and when dan asked the scribe to be seated joseph followed him, and standing beside his chair asked him if he would teach him hebrew, a question azariah did not answer. you will teach me, he insisted, and dan and rachel kept silence, so that they might better observe joseph working round azariah with questions; and they were amused, for joseph's curiosity had overcome his shyness; and, quite forgetful of his promise to listen and not to talk, he had begun to beg the scribe to tell him if the language they spoke had been brought back from babylon, and how long it was since people had ceased to speak hebrew. azariah set himself to answer these questions; joseph gave him close attention, and when azariah ceased speaking he said: when may i begin my lessons? and he put the question so innocently that his father could not help laughing. but, joseph, he said, azariah has not yet promised to teach you, and i wouldn't advise him to try to teach a boy that has refused to learn from four preceptors. but it will be different with you, sir, joseph murmured, taking azariah's hand. you will teach me, won't you? when will you begin? azariah answered that it could not be this week, for he was going to arimathea. the town we came from, dan said. i am still known as dan of arimathea, though i have lived here twenty years. i too shall be known as joseph of arimathea, joseph interjected. i'd like to be joseph of arimathea much better than joseph of magdala. you needn't shake your head at magdala, dan said. magdala has done well for us. to which joseph answered nothing, but it was not long, however, before he went to his father saying that he would like to go to arimathea, and in charge of azariah. you are asking too much, joseph, his father answered him. no, i don't think i am, and his honour azariah doesn't think so, joseph cried, for his heart was already set upon this holiday. azariah has perhaps promised to teach you hebrew. isn't that enough? his father remarked. now you want him to take you to arimathea. but if he likes to take me, joseph replied, and he cast such a winning glance at azariah that the scribe was moved to say that he would be glad to take charge of the boy if his parents would confide him to his care. whereupon joseph threw his arms about his father, but finding him somewhat indifferent he went to his grandmother, who welcomed his embrace, and in return for it pleaded that the boy should not be denied this small pleasure. but dan, who only half liked to part with his son, tried to hide his feelings from his mother, who had guessed them already, with a joke, saying to azariah that he was a brave man to undertake the charge of so wayward a boy. i shall not spoil him, and if he fails to obey he'll have to find someone else to teach him hebrew, azariah answered. i think the rain is now over, he said. some drops were still falling but the sky was brightening, and he returned from the window to where joseph was standing, and laying his hand on his head promised to come for him in the morning. we shall hear no more about fleas preventing thee from study, dan said to his son, and very much offended joseph withdrew to his room, and stood looking at the spot in which he had seen samuel, asking himself if the prophet would appear to him in arimathea and if it would be by the fountain whither the maidens used to come to draw water. samuel and the maidens seemed to jar a little, and as he could not think of them together he fell to thinking of the rock on which the seer used to offer sacrifices. it was still there and somebody would be about to direct them to it, and it would be under this rock that azariah would read to him all that samuel had said to saul. but we shall be riding all day, he said to himself, arimathea must be a long long way from here, and he fled downstairs to ask his father if azariah would call for him at the head of a caravan, whether he would ride on a camel or a mule or a horse: he thought he would like to ride a camel, and awoke many times in the night, once rolling out of his bed, for in a dream the ungainly animal had jolted him from off his hump. and the old woman's patience was nigh exhausted when he cried: granny, it is day, and bade her leave her bed and come to the window to tell him if day were not breaking; but she answered: get thee back to thy bed, for 'tis the moon shining down the sky, simpleton. the sun won't give way an hour to the moon nor the moon an hour to the sun because thou'rt going to arimathea. and methinks, joseph, that to some the morrow is always better than to-day, and yesterday better than either,--a remark that puzzled joseph and kept him from his rest. didst never hear, joseph, that it is a clever chicken that crows in the egg? the old woman continued, and who knows but azariah will forget to come for thee! he won't forget, granny, joseph uttered in so doleful a tone that rachel repented and promised joseph she would wake him in time; and as she had never failed to keep her promise to him he allowed sleep to close his eyelids. and once asleep he was hard to awaken. at six in the morning sleep seemed to him better than arimathea, but once awake rachel could not hand him his clothes fast enough; he escaped from her hands, dressing himself as he ran into the lanes, and while tying his sandals at the gate he forgot them and stood at gaze, wondering whether azariah would come to fetch him on a horse or an ass or a mule or a camel. at last the sound of hooves came through the dusk, and a moment after some three or four camels led the way; and there were horses too and asses and mules, and the mules were caparisoned gaily, the one reserved for joseph's riding more richly than the others--a tall fine animal by which he was proud to stand, asking questions of the muleteer, while admiring the dark docile eyes shaded with black lashes. now why do we delay? he asked azariah, who reminded him--and somewhat tritely--that he had not yet said good-bye to his parents. but they know i'm going with you, sir, he answered. azariah would not, however, allow joseph to mount his mule till he had bidden good-bye to his father and grandmother, and he brought the boy back to the house, but without earning dan's approval, who was ashamed before azariah of his son's eagerness to leave home; a subtlety that escaped rachel who chided dan saying: try to remember if it wasn't the same with thee, for i can remember thine eyes sparkling at the sight of a horse and thy knees all of an itch to be on to him. well, said dan, he'll have enough riding before the day is over, and i reckon his little backside will be sore before they halt at the gates of arimathea; a remark that caused rachel to turn amazed eyes on her son and to answer harshly that since he had so much foresight she hoped he had not forgotten to tell azariah that joseph must have a long rest at midday. but thy face tells me no order has been given for the care of the child on the journey. but azariah cannot be far on his way. i'll send a messenger to caution him that joseph has his rest in the shade. dan let her go in search of the messenger and moved around the room hoping (he knew not why) that the messenger would not overtake the caravan, the which he very nearly missed doing, for while rachel was instructing the messenger, joseph was asking azariah if he might have a stick to belabour his mule into a gallop. the cavalcade, he said, needed a scout that would report any traces of robbers he might detect among the rocks and bushes. but we aren't likely to meet robber bands this side of jordan, azariah said, they keep to the other side; and he told joseph, who was curious about everything, that along the jordan were great marshes into which the nomads drove their flocks and herds in the spring to feed on the young grass. so they are there now, joseph replied meditatively, for he was thinking he would like better to ride through marshes full of reeds than through a hilly country where there was nothing to see but the barley-fields beset by an occasional olive garth. but hooves were heard galloping in the rear and when the messenger overtook the caravan and blurted out rachel's instructions, joseph's face flushed. now what can a woman know, he cried, about a journey like this? tell her, he said, turning to the messenger, that i shall ride and rest with the others. and as an earnest of his resolve he struck the messenger's horse so sharply across the quarters that the animal's head went down between his knees and he plunged so violently that the messenger was cast sprawling upon the ground. the cavalcade roared with laughter and joseph, overjoyed at the success of his prank, begged azariah to wait a little longer, for he was curious to see if the messenger would succeed in coaxing his horse. at present the horse seemed in no humour to allow himself to be mounted. whenever the messenger approached he whinnied so menacingly that everybody laughed again. is there none amongst ye that will help me to catch the horse? the poor messenger cried after the departing travellers. we have a long day's march in front of us, azariah said; and he warned joseph not to beat his mule into a gallop at the beginning of the journey or he would repent it later, words that came true sooner than joseph had expected, for before midday he was asking how many miles would bring them to the caravansary. in about another hour, azariah answered, and joseph said he had begun to hate his mule for it would neither trot nor gallop, only walk. thou'rt thinking of the nomads and would like to be after them flourishing a lance, azariah said, and--afraid that he was being laughed at--joseph made no answer. after the rest at midday it seemed to him to be his duty to see that his mule had been properly fed, and he bought some barley from the camel-driver, but while he was giving it to his mule azariah remarked that he was only depriving other animals of their fair share of provender. it is hard, he said, to do good without doing wrong to another. but the present is no time for philosophy: we must start again. and the cavalcade moved on through the hills, avoiding the steep ascents and descents by circuitous paths, and joseph, who had not seen a shepherd leading his flock for some years, became all of a sudden delighted by the spectacle, the sheep running forward scenting the fresh herbage with which the hills were covered as with dark velvet. a little later they came into view of a flock of goats browsing near a wood, and azariah sought to improve the occasion by a little dissertation on the destructive nature of the goat. of late years a sapling rarely escaped them, and still more regrettable was the carelessness of the shepherd who left the branches they had torn down to become dry like tinder. he spoke of many forest fires, and told all the stories he could remember in the hope of distracting joseph's thoughts from the length of the journey. we are now about half-way, he said, disguising the truth. we shall see the city upon the evening glow in about another hour. the longest hour that i have ever known, joseph complained two hours later; and azariah laid his cloak over joseph's saddle. dost feel more comfortable? a little, the child answered. at the sight of the city thy heart will be lifted again and the suffering forgotten. and joseph believed him, but towards the end of the day the miles seemed to stretch out indefinitely and at five o'clock he was crying: shall we ever get to arimathea, for i can sit on this mule no longer, nor shall i be able to stand straight upon my legs when i alight. azariah promised they would be at the gates in a few minutes, but these few minutes seemed as if they would never pass away, but they did pass, and at the gateway joseph toppled from his mule and just managed to hobble into the inn at which they were to sleep that night: too tired to eat, he said, too tired, he feared, to sleep. azariah pressed him to swallow a cup of soup and he prepared a hot bath for him into which he poured a bottle of vinegar; an excellent remedy he reported this to be against stiffness, and it showed itself to be such: for next morning joseph was quite free from stiffness and said he could walk for miles. samuel's rock cannot be more than a few hundred yards distant, so miles are not necessary, azariah answered, as they stepped over the threshold into a delightful morning all smiles and greetings and subtle invitations to come away into the forest and fields, full of promises of flowers and songs, but in conflict with their project, which was to inquire out their way from the maidens at the fountain, who would be sure to know it, and in its shade to read the story of david and goliath first and other stories afterwards. but the gay morning drew their thoughts away from texts, and without being aware of their apostasy they had already begun to indulge in hopes that the maidens would be late at the fountain and leave them some time to loiter by the old aqueduct that brought the water in a tiny stream to fall into a marble trough: an erstwhile sarcophagus, maybe, azariah said, as he gathered some water out of it with his hands and drank, telling joseph to do likewise. there were clouds in the sky, so the sun kept coming and going. a great lantern, joseph said. that god holds in his hands, azariah answered; and when tired of waiting for maidens who did not appear their beguilement was continued by shadows advancing and retreating across the roadway. the town was an enchantment in the still limpid morning, but when they rose to their feet their eyes fell on a greater enchantment--the hills clothed in moving light and shade so beautiful that the appeal to come away to the woods and fields continued in their hearts after they had lowered their eyes and would not be denied, though they prayed for strength to adhere to their original project. it had died out of their hearts through no fault of theirs, as far as they could see; and wondering how they might get remission from it they strode about the city, idly casting their eyes into ravines whither the walls dropped, and raising them to the crags whither the walls rose: faithful servants, azariah said, that have saved the city many times from robbers from the other side of jordan. joseph's thoughts were far away on the hillside opposite amid the woods, and azariah's voice jarred. by this time, he said, the maidens are drawing water. but perhaps, joseph answered, none will be able to tell us the way to the rock, and if none has heard for certain on which rock samuel offered sacrifice we might go roaming over the hills and into forests yonder to find perhaps some wolf cubs in a cave. but a she-wolf with cubs is dangerous, azariah replied. if we were to try to steal her cubs, joseph interjected. but we don't want to meddle with them, only to see them. may we go roaming to-day, sir, and read the story of david and goliath to-morrow? the boy's voice was full of entreaty and azariah had very little heart to disappoint him, but he dared not break an engagement which he looked upon as almost sacred; and walked debating with himself, asking himself if the absence of a maiden at the fountain might be taken as a sign that they were free to abandon the scriptures for the day, only for the day. and seeing the fountain deserted joseph cried out in his heart: we are free! but as they turned aside to go their way a maiden came with a pitcher upon her head; but as she had never heard of the rock, nor indeed of samuel, joseph was certain that god had specially designed her ignorant, so that they might know that the day before them was for enjoyment. you said, sir, that if none could direct us we might leave the story until to-morrow. i did not say that, azariah answered. all the same he did not propose to wait for another maiden more learned than the first, but followed joseph to the gates of the city, nor did he raise any objection to passing through them, and they stood with their eyes fixed on the path that led over the brow down into the valley, a crooked twisting path that had seemed steep to azariah's mule overnight and that now seemed steeper to azariah. and will seem still steeper to me in the evening when we return home tired, he said. but we shall not be tired, joseph interposed, we need not go very far, only a little way into the forest. and he did not dare to say more, lest by some careless word he might provoke an unpremeditated opposition. he dreaded to hear the words on azariah's lips: you have come here with me to learn hebrew and may not miss a lesson.... if he could persuade azariah into the path he would not turn back until they reached the valley, and once in the valley, he might as well ascend the opposite hill as go back and climb up the hill whence they had come. i am afraid, said azariah, that this cool morning will pass into a very hot day: the clouds that veil the sky are dispersing. we shall not feel the heat once we are in the forest, joseph replied, and the path up yonder hill is not so steep as the paths we go down by. you see the road, sir, twisting up the hillside, and it is planned so carefully to avoid a direct ascent that a man has just belaboured his ass into a trot. they have passed behind a rock, but we shall see them presently. azariah waited a moment for the man and ass to reappear, but after all he was not much concerned with them, and began to descend unmindful of the lark which mounted the sky in circles singing his delirious song. joseph begged azariah to hearken, but his preceptor was too much occupied with the difficulties of the descent, nor could he be persuaded to give much attention to a flight of doves flying hither and thither as if they had just discovered that they could fly, diving and wheeling and then going away in a great company, coming back and diving again, setting joseph wondering why one bird should separate himself from the flock and alight again. again and again this happened, the flock returning to release him from his post. were the birds playing a sort of game? frolicking they were, for sure, and joseph felt he would like to have wings and go away with them, and he wished azariah would hasten, so pleasant it was in the valley. a pleasant spacious valley it was, lying between two hills of about equal height: the hill they had come down was a little steeper than the hill they were about to go up. joseph noticed the shadows that fell from the cliffs and those that the tall feathery trees, growing out of the scrub, cast over the sunny bottom of the valley, a water-course probably in the rainy season; and he enjoyed the little puffing winds that came and went, and the insects that came out of their hiding-places to enjoy the morning. the dragonflies were bustling about their business: what it was not easy to discover, but they went by in companies of small flies, with now and then a great one that rustled past on gauzy wings. and the bees were coming and going from their hive in the rocks, incited by the fragrance of the flowers, and joseph watched them crawling over the anemones and leaving them hastily to bury their blunt noses in the pistils of the white squills that abounded everywhere in the corners, in the inlets and bays and crevices of the rocks. butterflies, especially the white, pursued love untiringly in the air, fluttering and hovering, uniting and then separating--aerial wooings that joseph followed with strained eyes, till at last the white bloom passed out of sight; and he turned to the dragonflies, hoping to capture one of the fearful kind, often nearly succeeding, but failing at the last moment and returning disappointed to azariah who, seated on a comfortable stone, waited till joseph's ardour should abate a little. these stones will be too hot in another hour, he said. but it will be cool enough under the boughs, joseph answered. perhaps too cool, azariah muttered, and joseph wondered if it were reasonable to be so discontented with the world, especially on a morning like this, he said to himself; and to hearten azariah he mentioned again that the path up the hillside zigzagged. you'll not feel the ascent, sir. to which encouragement azariah made no answer but drew joseph's attention to the industry of the people of arimathea. the eager boy could spare only a few moments for the beauty of the fig and mulberry leaves showing against the dark rocks, but he snuffed the scent the breeze bore and said it was the same that had followed them yesterday. the scent of the vine-flower, azariah rejoined. the hillsides were covered with the pale yellow clusters. but i thought, joseph, that you were too tired yesterday to notice anything. only towards the end of the journey, joseph muttered. but what are you going to do, sir? he asked. i am going to run up the hill. you may run if you please, the preceptor answered, and as he followed the boy at a more leisurely pace he wondered at joseph's spindle shanks struggling manfully against the ascent. he will stop before the road turns, he said, but joseph ran on. he is anxious to reach the top, azariah pondered. there is some pleasant turf up there full of flowers: he'll like to roll like a young donkey, his heels in the air, azariah said to himself as he ascended the steep path, stopping from time to time that he might better ponder on the moral of this spring morning. he will roll among the grass and flowers like a young donkey, and then run hither and thither after insects and birds, his heart aflame with delight. he desires so many things that he knows not what he desires, only that he desires. whereas i can but remember that once i was as he is to-day. so the spring is sad for the young as well as for the old. but old as he was he was glad to feel that he was still liable to the season's thrill in retrospect at least, and he asked himself questions: how many years ago is it since...? but he did not get further with his recollections. the ascent is too steep, he said, and he continued the ascent thinking of his breath rather than of her. joseph stood waiting on the edge of the rocks and cried out in the fulness of his joy on seeing his preceptor appear above the cliff, and at once fell to rolling himself over and over. just as i expected he would, azariah remarked to himself. and then, starting to his feet, joseph began gathering flowers, but in a little while he stood still, his nosegay dropping flower by flower, for his thoughts had taken flight. the doves, the doves! he cried, looking into the blue and white sky. the doves have their nests in the woods, the larks build in the grass he said, and asked azariah to come with him. the nest was on a tuft of grass. but i've not touched them, he said. three years ago i used to rob all the nests and blow the eggs, you see, for i was making a collection. azariah asked him if the lark would grieve for her eggs, and joseph answered that he supposed she would soon forget them. hark to his singing! and he ran on into the outskirts of the woods, coming back a few minutes afterwards to ask azariah to hasten, for the wood was more beautiful than any wood he had ever seen. and if you know the trees in which the doves build i will climb and get the nest. doves build in taller trees than these, in fir-trees, azariah answered. but this is a pretty wood, joseph. and he looked round the quiet sunny oak wood and began his relation that this wood was probably the remains of the ancient forests that had covered the country when the israelites came out of the north of arabia. how long ago was that, sir? joseph asked, and azariah hazarded the answer that it might be as many as fifteen hundred years ago. how old is the oldest oak-tree? joseph inquired, and azariah had again to hazard the answer that a thousand years would make an old tree. and when will these trees be in leaf, sir, and may we come to arimathea when they are in leaf? and look, somebody has been felling trees here. who do you think it was, sir? azariah looked round. the forest must have been supplying the city with firewood for many years, he said. all these trees are young and they are too regularly spaced for a natural growth. but higher up the hills the woods are denser and darker, and there we may find some old trees. any badgers and foxes? joseph asked, and shall we see any wolves? the sunny woods were threaded with little paths, and joseph cast curious eyes upon them all. the first led him into bracken so deep that he did not venture farther, and the second took him to the verge of a dark hollow so dismal that he came running back to ask if there were crocodiles in the waters he had discovered. he did not give his preceptor time to answer the difficult question, but laid his hand upon his arm and whispered that he was to look between two rocks, for a jackal was there, slinking away--turning his pointed muzzle to us now and then. to see he isn't followed, azariah added: and the observation endeared him so to joseph that the boy walked for a moment pensively in the path they were following. it turned into the forest, and they had not gone very far before they became aware of a strange silence, if silence it could be called, for when they listened the silence was full of sound, innumerable little sounds, some of which they recognised; but it was not the hum of the insects or the chirp of a bird or the snapping of a rotten twig that filled joseph with awe, but something that he could neither see, nor hear, nor smell, nor touch. the life of the trees--is that it? he asked himself. a remote and mysterious life was certainly breathing about him, and he regretted he was without a sense to apprehend this life. again and again it seemed that the forest was about to whisper its secret, but something always happened to interrupt. once it was certainly azariah's fault, for just as the trees were about to speak he picked up a leaf and began to explain how the shape of an oak leaf differed from that of the leaf of the chestnut and the ash. a patter was heard among the leaves. there she goes--a hare! joseph said, and a moment afterwards a white thing appeared. a white weasel, azariah said. shall we follow him? joseph asked, and azariah answered that it would be useless to follow. we should soon miss them in the thickets. and he continued his discourse upon trees, hoping that joseph would never again mistake a sycamore for a chestnut. and what is that tree so dark and gloomy rising up through all the other trees, joseph asked, so much higher than any of them? that is a cedar, azariah said. do doves build in cedars? azariah did not know, and the tree did not inspire a climb: it seemed to forbid any attempt on its privacy. do trees talk when they are alone? joseph asked azariah, and his preceptor gave the very sensible answer that the life of trees is unknown to us, but that trees had always awakened religious emotions in men. the earliest tribes were tree-worshippers, which was very foolish, for we can fell trees and put them to our usage. they had come to a part of the forest in which there seemed to be neither birds nor beasts and joseph had begun to feel the forest a little wearisome and to wish for a change, when the trees suddenly stopped, and before them lay a sunny interspace full of tall grass with here and there a fallen tree, and on these trees prone great lizards sunned themselves, nodding their heads in a motion ever the same. something had died in that beautiful interspace, for a vulture rose sullenly and went away over the top of the trees, and azariah begged joseph not to pursue his search but to hasten out of the smell of the carrion that a little breeze had just carried towards them. besides, this thick grass is full of snakes, he said, and the words were no sooner out of his mouth than a snake issued from a thick tuft, stopped and hissed. snakes feed on mice and rats? joseph asked, and come out of their holes to catch them, isn't that so, sir? everything is out this sunny morning, seeking its food, azariah answered: snakes after mice, vultures after carrion. this way, joseph--yonder we may rest awhile, but we must be careful not to sit upon a snake; that knoll yonder is free from vermin, for the trees that grow about it are fir-trees and snakes do not like any place where they can easily be detected. and they sat on the fibrous ground and looked up into the darkness of the withered pines--withered everywhere except in the topmost branches that alone caught the light. a sad place to sit in, joseph said. don't you feel the sadness, sir? azariah answered that he did. but it is preferable to snake-bites, he added. at that moment slowly flapping wings were heard overhead. it is the vulture returning, azariah whispered to joseph, and he is bringing a comrade back to dinner. to a very smelly dinner, joseph rejoined. the breeze had veered suddenly and they found themselves again in the smell of carrion. we must go on farther, azariah said, and after passing into many quiet hollows and ascending many crests the path to which they had remained faithful debouched at last on broken ground with the tail end of the forest straggling up the opposite hillside in groups and single trees. i know where we are now, joseph cried. do you not remember, sir--joseph's explanation was cut short by the sight of some shepherds sitting at their midday meal, and hunger falling suddenly upon azariah and joseph, both began to regret they had not brought food with them. but azariah had some shekels tied in his garment, and for one of these pieces of silver the shepherds were glad to share their bread and figs with them and to draw milk for them from one of the she-goats. from which shall i draw milk? the shepherd asked his mate, and the mate answered: white-nose looks as if her udder is paining her. she lost her kid yesterday. he mentioned two others: speckled and long-ears. whichever would like her milk drawn off will answer to thy call, the shepherd answered, and the goat came running to him as if glad to hear her name. white-nose, isn't it? joseph asked, and he gathered a branch for her, and while she nibbled he watched the milk drawn off and drank it foaming and warm from the jug, believing it to be the sweetest he had ever drunk, though he had often drunk goat's milk before. azariah, too, vowed that he had never drunk better milk and persuaded the shepherds into discourse of their trade, learning much thereby, for these men knew everything that men may know about flocks, having been engaged in leading them from pasture to pasture all their lives and their fathers before them. after telling of many famous rams they related the courage and fidelity of their dogs, none of which feared a wolf, and they mentioned that two had been lost in an encounter with a leopard--but the flock had been saved. as much as wolves the shepherds feared the eagles. there are a dozen nests in yon mountain if there be one. take the strangers up the hillside, mate, so that they may get a sight of the birds. and azariah and joseph followed the shepherd up to the crags and were shown some birds wheeling above rocks so steep that there was no foothold for man. or else we should have had their nests long ago, the shepherd said. now here is a bear's trail. he's been seeking water here, but he didn't get any; he came by here, and my word, he's been up here after wild bees. the shepherd showed scratches among the dropping resin, saying: it was here that he clawed his way up. but did he get the honey? joseph asked, a question the shepherd could not answer; and talking about bears and honey and eagles and lambs and wolves and lions, the afternoon passed away without their feeling it, till one of the shepherds said: it is folding-time now; and answering to different calls the flocks separated, and the shepherds went their different ways followed by their flocks. the sunset had begun to redden the sky, and the shadows of the trees drew out as they crossed the hillside and descended by the steep path into the valley. the ascent that faced them was steep indeed, and azariah had to rest several times, but at last they reached the slope on which the city was built: but they did not enter the gates yet awhile but stood looking back, thinking of the day that had gone by. we shall remember this day always, joseph said, if we live to be as old as the patriarchs. was it then so wonderful? azariah asked, and joseph could only answer: yes, very wonderful. didn't you think so? and tell me, he added, is it true that god is going to destroy the world and very soon? why do you ask, joseph? azariah replied, and joseph answered: because the world is so very beautiful. i never saw the world before to-day. my eyes were opened, and i shall be sorry if god destroys the world, for i should like to see more of it. but why should he make a beautiful world, and then destroy it? don't you think he will relent when the time comes and the day be as beautiful as it was this morning? azariah answered him that god does not relent, for he knows the past and future as well as the present, and that the world was not as beautiful as it seems to be, for man is sinning always, though certainly god said all things are beautiful. but perhaps we sinned this morning in the sight of god. we sinned? joseph repeated. how did we sin? have you forgotten, azariah answered, that it was arranged that we should spend the day reading the scriptures, and we've spent it talking to shepherds? was that a sin? joseph asked. we can read the scriptures to-morrow; if the day be clouded and rain comes, we can read them indoors. if the day be clouded, azariah replied smiling. but was not thy life dedicated to samuel? thou hast forgotten him. but the world is god's world. joseph answered that he had forgotten his vow, and all that evening, in spite of azariah's gentleness with him, he was pursued by the memory of the sin he had committed. in samuel's own city he had broken his vow! and azariah heard the boy blubbering in the darkness that night. chap. iii. he should not have interrupted the manifestations of joy at his return with: when may i go to arimathea again? and his second question was hardly less indiscreet: why did we leave arimathea? his father answered: because it suited us to do so; and joseph withdrew to rachel who was never gruff with him. but despite her bias in favour of all he said and did she reproved him, saying that he should not ask as soon as he returned home when he was going away again. i am glad in a way, granny, but there's no forest here. dan left the room, and the boy would tell no more but burst into tears, asking what he had done to make father so angry. rachel could not tell him with safety, and joseph, thinking that perhaps something unpleasant had happened to his father in the forest (a wolf may have bitten him there), spoke of the high rock on the next occasion and of the story of jonathan and david that azariah had read to him. you will ask him to come here one night, father, and translate it to you? promise me that you will. but i can read hebrew, dan replied, and there is no reason for those wondering eyes. thy granny will tell thee. but, father--joseph stopped suddenly. it had come into his mind to ask his father how it was that he had never read the story of jonathan and david to him, but his interest in the matter dying suddenly, he said: to-morrow i begin my lessons, and azariah tells me that i must have a copy of the scriptures for my very own use. now where are thy thoughts? in a barrel of salt fish? father, do listen. i'd like to learn hebrew from bottom to top and from top to bottom and then sideways, so as to put the scribes in jerusalem to shame when you send me thither for the feast of the passover. and thou'lt mind that my scriptures be made by the best scribe in galilee and on the best parchment, promise me, father! dan promised his son that no finer manuscript should be procurable in galilee. but the making of this magnificent copy would delay for many months joseph's instruction in hebrew, and joseph was so impatient to begin that he lay awake that night and in the morning ransacked his father's rooms, laying hands on some quires of his father's scriptures; and no sooner out of the house than a great fear fell upon him that he might be robbed: the quires were hidden in his vest suddenly and he walked on in confidence, also in a great seriousness, going his way melancholy as a camel, his head turned from the many temptations that the way offered to him--the flower in the cactus hedge was one. he passed it without picking it, and further on he allowed a strange crawling insect to go by without molestation, and feeling his mood to be exceptional he fell to thinking that his granny would laugh, were she to see him. he was not, however, afraid of her laughing: women had no sense of the word of god, he muttered. there were nests in the trees, but he kept himself from looking, lest a nest might inspire him to climb for it. but nobody could climb trees with several quires of scriptures under his arm. he would lose his grip and fall, or else the scriptures would fall, and if a thief happened to be going by it would be easy for him to pick up the quires and away with them before it would be possible for joseph to slide down the tree and raise a hue and cry. the lanes through which his way took him were frequented by boys, ball-players every one of them, and at this time ball-playing was a passion with joseph and he would steal away whenever he got a chance and spend a whole day in an alley with a number of little ragamuffins. and if he were to meet the tribe, which was as likely as not at the next turning, he must tell them that he was going to school and dared not stop. but they would jeer at him. he might give them his ball and in return they might not mock at him. he walked very quietly, hoping to pass unobserved, but a boy was looking over the cactus hedge and called to him, asking if he had brought a ball with him, for they had lost theirs. he threw his ball to him. but aren't you coming to play with us? not to-day, joseph answered. i'm on my way to school. well, to-morrow? not to-morrow. i may not play truant from learning, joseph answered sententiously, walking away, leaving his former playmates staring after him without a word in their mouths. but by the next day they had recovered their speech and cried out: the fishmonger's son is going by to his lessons and dare not play at ball. azariah would whip him if he did. one a little bolder than the rest dangled a piece of rope in his face saying: this is what you'd get if you stayed with us. he was moved to run after the boy and cuff him, but the quires under his arms restrained him and he passed on, keeping a dignified silence. soon thou'lt be reading to us in the synagogues! was the last jeer cried after him that day, but for many a day he caught sight of a face grinning at him through the hedge, and the way to his lessons became hateful. as he showed no sign of anger, the persecution grew wearisome to the persecutors, and soon after he discovered another way to azariah. but this way was beset with women, whose sex impelled a yearning for this tall lithe boy with the gazelle-like eyes. joseph was more inclined to the welcome of the greek poets and sculptors who stopped their mules and leaning from high saddles spoke to him, for he was now beginning to speak greek and it was pleasant to avail himself of the advantages of the road to chatter his greek and to acquire new turns of phrases. why not? since it seemed to be the wish of these men to instruct him. my very model! a bearded man cried out one morning, and stopping his mule he bent from the saddle towards joseph and asked him many questions. joseph told him that he was on his way to his lessons and that he passed through this lane every morning. at these words the sculptor's eyes lighted up, for he had accepted joseph's answer as a tryst, and when joseph came through the lane next day he caught sight of the sculptor waiting for him and--flattered--joseph entered into conversation with him, resisting, however, the sculptor's repeated invitation that joseph should come to sit to him--if not for a statue, for a bust at least. but a bust is a graven image, joseph answered, and as the point was being debated a rich merchant came by, riding a white horse that curveted splendidly, and joseph, who was interested in the horse, referred the difficulty they were engaged in to the merchant. after some consideration of it he asked the meaning of the scrolls that joseph carried in his hand, feigning an interest in them and in azariah. who is he? he asked, and joseph answered: a very learned man, my tutor, to whom i must be on my way. and with a pretty bow he left merchant and sculptor exchanging angry looks. but the sculptor knowing more of joseph than the merchant--that he would be passing through the lane on the morrow at the same time--and as the boy's beauty was of great importance to him, kept another tryst, waiting impatiently, and as soon as joseph appeared he began to beseech him to come to tiberias and pose in his studio for a statue he was carving, offering presents that would have shaken many determinations. but joseph was as firm to-day as he was yesterday. i must be going on to my hebrew, he said, and he left the sculptor cast away in dreams. he had not gone very far, however, before he met the merchant, who happened to be passing through the lane again, and seeing joseph his eyes lighted up with pleasure, and after speaking to him he dismounted from his mule and showed him a beautiful engraved dagger which joseph desired ardently; but a present so rich he did not care to accept, and hurried away, nor did he look back, so busy was he inventing reasons as he went for the delay. i do not deny, sir, that i'm past my time, but not by an hour; at most by half an hour. playing at ball again, and in the purlieus of the neighbourhood, against your father's instructions! azariah said, his face full of storm. no, sir, i have put ball-playing out of my mind; or hebrew has put it out of my mind, and greek too has had a say in the matter. the delay was caused by meeting a sculptor who asked me to pose before him for a statue. and what was thy answer to him? that we were forbidden by our laws to look upon graven images. and what answer did he give to that very proper answer? azariah asked, somewhat softened. many answers, sir, and among them was this one: that there was no need for me to look upon the statue he was carving. the answer that one might expect from a greek, azariah rapped out, one that sets me thinking that there is more to be said against the greek language than i cared to admit to thy father when last in argument with him on the subject. but, sir, you will not forbid me the reading of menander for no better reason than that a greek asked that he might carve a statue after me, for what am i to blame, since yourself said my answer was commendable? and in these words there was so plaintive an accent that azariah's heart was touched, for he guessed that the diverting scene in which the slave arranges for a meeting between the lovers was in the boy's mind. at that moment their eyes went together to the tally on the wall, and pointing to it joseph said it bore witness to the earnestness with which he had pursued his studies for the last six months, and azariah was forced to admit there was little to complain of in the past, but he had noticed that once a boy came late for his lessons his truancy became common. moreover, sir, my time is of importance, azariah declared, his hairy nostrils swelling at the thought of the half hour he had been kept waiting. but may we finish menander's comedy? joseph asked, for he was curious to learn if moschion succeeded in obtaining his father's leave to marry the girl he had put in the family way. the lovers' plan was to ingratiate themselves with the father's concubine and to persuade her to get permission to rear and adopt the child. yes, joseph, the father relents. but it would please me, sir, to learn why he relents. and joseph promised that he would be for a whole year in advance of his time rather than behind it. he did not doubt that he would be able to keep his promise, for he had found a new way to tiberias; a deserted way it seemed to be at first, and most propitious, without the temptations of ball-players, but as the season advanced the lane became infested by showmen on their way to tiberias: mummers, acrobats, jugglers, fortune-tellers, star-mongers, dealers in charms and amulets, and joseph was tempted more than once to stop and speak with these random folk, but the promise he had given azariah was sufficiently powerful to inspire a dread and a dislike of these, and to avoid them he sought for a third way to tiberias and found one: a path through an orchard belonging to a neighbour who was glad to give him permission to pass through it every morning, which he did, thereby making progress in his studies till one day, by the stile over which his custom was to vault into the quiet lane, he came suddenly upon what seemed to him like a small encampment: wayfarers of some sort he judged them to be, but of what sort he could not tell at first, there being some distance and the branches of an apple-tree between him and them. but as he came through the trees, he decided in his mind that they were the servitude of some great man: varlets, hirelings or slaves. but his eyes fell on their baskets and--deceived by the number and size of these--the thought crossed his mind that they might be poulterers on their way to tiberias. but whatever their trade they had no right to encamp in the orchard, and he informed them politely that the orchard belonged to friends of his, and that large and fierce dogs were loose about the place. for his warning they thanked him, saying they'd make off at once; remarking as they made their preparations for going that they did not think they were doing any harm by coming into the orchard, having only crossed the stile to rest themselves. going with poultry to tiberias? joseph said. not with poultry, sir, the varlets answered. we are not poulterers, but cockers. cockers! joseph repeated, and on reading the blank look in his face they told him they were the servants of a great roman who had sent them in search of fighting cocks; for a great main was going to be fought that day in tiberias. we are his cockers, a man said (he spoke with some slight authority, the others seemed to be in his charge), and have been far in search of these birds. he pointed to the baskets and asked joseph if he would care to see the cocks, and as if to awaken joseph's curiosity he began to tell their pedigrees. that one, he said, is a cilician and of a breed that has won thousands of shekels, and a bird in the basket next him is a bythinian brown-red, the victor in many a main, and the birds in the next three baskets are cappadocian duns, all of celebrated ancestry, for our master will have none but the finest birds; and if you happen to know of any good birds, price will not stand in the way of our purchasing them. joseph answered that he had not heard of any, but if he should--you'll not forget us, said a small meagre woman with black shining eyes in a colourless face, drab as the long desert road she had come by. joseph promised; and then a short thick-set man with matted hair, and sore eyes that were always fixed on the ground, opened one of the baskets and took out a long lean bird, which he held in shining fingers for joseph's admiration. listen to him, cried the woman in a high thin voice. listen to him, for no one can set a cock a-sparring like him. the servants consulted among themselves in a language joseph did not understand, and then, as if they had come to an agreement among themselves, the foreman said, approaching joseph and cringing a little before him, that if the little master could assure them they would not be disturbed by dogs, they would like to show him the cocks. a little exercise, the man said, would be of advantage to the birds--to those that were not fighting that morning--he added, and the man whom the woman nicknamed the heeler, a nickname acquired from the dexterity with which he fitted the cock's heels with soft leather pads, said: you see, master, they may fight and buffet one another for a space without injury. joseph watched the birds advance and retire and pursue each other, and after this exhibition they were put back into their baskets and covered with hay. so you are the heeler? joseph asked. the man grinned vacantly, and the woman answered for him. there is none like him in this country for fixing a pair of spurs, for cutting the tail and wings and shortening the hackle and the rump feathers. you see, young master, the comb is cut close so that there shall be no mark for t'other bird's bill. and who knows but you'd like to see the spurs, master. and she showed him spurs of two kinds, for there are cocks that fight better with long spurs and cocks that fight better with short. and how many days does it take to train a cock? joseph asked, and they began to tell him that a fighting cock must be fed with bread and spring water, and have his exercise--running and sparring--every day. it was the woman that kept joseph in chat, for the men were busy carrying the baskets over the stile and placing them in mule cars that were waiting in the lane. but, young master, she said, if you've never seen a cock-fight come with us, for a better one you'll never live to see. the best birds in western asia will be in tiberias to-day. joseph did not answer this invitation at once, for he did not altogether like this woman nor her manner of standing near to him, her black shining eyes fixed upon him. but he was like one infected, and could not escape from his desire to see a cock-fight. he knew that azariah would never forgive him for keeping him waiting ... waiting for how long? he asked himself. till he cares to wait no longer, his conscience answered him. he was going to get into great trouble, but he could not say no to the cockers, and he followed them, asking himself when he should escape from the evil spirit which--at their instigation, perhaps--had taken possession of him. a moment after he was assuring himself that the folk he had fallen in with were ignorant of everything but cockering, without knowledge of witchcraft, star-mongering or sortilege--the servants of some great roman, without doubt, which was sufficient assurance that though they might be cock stealers on occasion they were not kidnappers. besides, in frequented lanes and in tiberias the stealing of a boy was out of the question, and after seeing one or two cocks killed he could return home, for he need not wait till the end. he could not help himself, he must see the great red and yellow bird strike his spur through the head of his adversary, as the heeler told him he had never failed to do in many combats. and he would not fail now, though he was two years old, which is old for a fighting cock. you see, little master, the woman said, they be not as quick on their legs as they get older, nor are they as eager to fight. to-day's battle will be his last--win or lose--and if he conies out alive at the end he'll go to the hens, which will be more frolicsome than having spurs driven into his neck as happened three months gone by, but it didn't check his spirit, she continued, he killed his bird and let off one great crowing before he toppled over: we thought he was gone, but i sucked his wound, bathed it with salt and water, and you see he's none the worse to-day. at every turning of the lane the demon seemed to propel joseph more violently, till at last he put azariah out of his head and began to ask himself if he would be guilty of any great sin in going to see the cock-fight? of any sin greater than that of following the custom of the heathen? his father might be angry, but there'd be no particular atonement: a fast day, or some study of the law, no more, for he'd be careful not to raise his eyes to the gods and goddesses that beset the streets and public places in tiberias. and on this resolve he followed the cockers into the city. he was glad to see that many statues stood on the roofs of the buildings and so far away that no faces or limbs were visible; but the statues in the streets were difficult to avoid seeing. worst of all, the cock-fight that he thought would be fought in the open air had been arranged to happen in a great building--a theatre or circus--he did not know which. joseph had never seen so great a crowd before, and the servants he had come with pointed out to him their master among a group of romans. the jews from alexandria, he was told, came to these games, and this caused his conscience to quicken, for he had heard his father speak of the alexandrian jews as heretics. azariah did not hold such orthodox views, but what his tutor's views were about cock-fighting joseph did not know; and when he asked if he might approach the ring he was told that the circle about the ring was for the romans and those whom they might invite, but he'd be able to see very well from where he was. the romans seemed to him an arrogant and proud people; and, conscious of an innate hostility, he watched them as they leaned over the railing that enclosed the fighting ring, talking among themselves, sometimes, however, deigning to call a jew to join them. the jews came to them obsequiously, hoping that the honour bestowed upon them did not escape notice; and joseph's ear caught servile phrases: young sir, it is reported you've a bird that will smite down all comers, and, sir, we can offer you but a poor show of birds. those at rome---- a sudden silence fell, which was broken by the falling of dice, and joseph was told that the throw would decide which seven birds were to begin.... we have won the throw, was whispered in his ear. we've the advantage. but why it was an advantage to fight from the right rather than from the left joseph was too excited to inquire, for the cocks had just been put into the ring or pit, and joseph recognised the tall lank bird that the heeler had taken out of his basket in the orchard. he's fighting to-day with long spurs, he was told. but why does he fight the other bird--a yearling? he heard the woman ask; and he saw a black cock crouch to meet the red in deadly fight. must one die? he asked, but the cockers were too intent on the battle to answer his question. the birds re-sparred and leaped aside, avoiding each other's rushes, and before long it became clear even to joseph that their bird, though stronger than the younger bird, did not spring as high or as easily. a good bird, he heard the servants say: there'll be a battle for it, my word, there will, and our bird will win if the young one doesn't get his stroke in quickly; an old bird will tire out a young bird.... as these words were spoken, the black cock dashed in, and with a quick stroke sent his spur through the red bird's head. he's gone this time beyond thy care! and tears came into lydia's eyes. i'm sorry, i'd have liked to have seen him end his days happily among the hens, a-treading of them. joseph felt he had not rightly understood her, and when he inquired out her meaning from her, she told it with so repulsive a leer that he could not conquer a sudden dislike. he moved away from her immediately and asked her no more questions. more cocks were set to fight, and they fought to the death always: only once did a cock turn tail and refuse to continue the combat. to persuade him to be brave, the slave in charge placed him breast to breast with his adversary, but despite all encouragement he turned tail and hid himself in the netting. now what will happen to him? joseph asked. first he'll be cut and then fattened for the spit or the gridiron, the heeler answered. look, young master, and turning his eyes whither the heeler's finger pointed, joseph saw the bird's owner sign to the slave that he was to twist the bird's neck; which was done, and the poltroon went into a basket by himself--he did not deserve to be with those that had been slain in combat. the ring was now covered with blood and feathers, and two slaves came with buckets of water and brushes to clean it, and while this office was being performed many fell to drinking from flasks which their slaves handed to them. the man who had told his slave to wring his cock's neck regretted that he had done so. the merited punishment would have been to hand the bird over to a large ape, that would have plucked the bird feather by feather, examining each feather curiously before selecting the next one; and he swore a great oath by jupiter and then, as if to annoy the jews, by jehovah, that the next of his birds that refused combat should be served this way. our master will not put us on the cross for so misjudging a bird's courage, joseph heard the heeler say; and lydia sidled up against joseph, and it was her thigh as much as the memory of the oaths he had heard uttered and that were being uttered and that would be uttered again as soon as the fighting commenced that set him thinking of azariah scanning the tally on the wall--vowing that he would teach him no more; but the tally, which joseph knew well, showed that he had not missed an hour for many months. but a whole day's absence was something more than any truancy he had ever indulged in before, and the only reason he could give for it would be the inacceptable one that the cockers had bidden a demon take possession of him. another pair of cocks was already in the ring: two young birds trained to the finest distinction, and they sparred so lustily that even the experts could not predict the victor. but there was no heart in joseph for more cock-fighting, and he viewed with disgust the mean vile faces that leered at him while he thanked them for the occasion which he owed them of overlooking so much fine sport. but they were a scurvy lot, viler than he had supposed, though he had suspected from the first that they were nurturing some trick against him. and he searched himself, for he would willingly give them money to be rid of them. but how much will they accept? he asked himself, as he searched his pockets ... his money was gone! stolen, no doubt, but by whom? by the cockers standing around him, quarrelling and railing at each other, levelling accusations right and left--the heeler wrangling with lydia, saying it was she that had asked the young penniless to come with them. a mercy it was that he didn't call me a ragamuffin, joseph said to himself. he was not without some apprehension that they might detain him till a ransom was paid, and right glad to perceive himself free to go: having gotten his money they wished to be rid of him quietly; and he too, wishing to avoid attracting attention, slunk out of tiberias without laying complaint before the magistrate. it was unlikely that his money would be found upon the thieves and his father would be very angry indeed if he were obliged to go to tiberias to bear witness to the truth of his story that his son, while on his way to his tutor's--joseph stopped to consider the eventualities, and he heard in imagination the tale unfolding. azariah might be called! and if he were, he would tell he had been kept waiting all day, and the jealous neighbours would be glad to send round to commiserate with his father. it seemed to joseph that he had escaped lightly with the loss of a few shekels. but what reason should he give for coming home so late? he'd have to say where he had spent the day. azariah would tell of his absence from his lessons. ah, if he had foreseen all these worries, he wouldn't have gone to tiberias.... should he say he had been out fishing on the lake? the fishers would not betray him, but they might; and he could not bring himself to tell his father a lie. so did he argue with himself as he walked, saying that he had not done worse than--but what had happened at home? something must have happened, for the gates were open. the gate-keeper, where was he? and his wonder increased as he reached the house, for all the servants seemed to be running to and fro. the lord be praised for sending you back to us! they exclaimed. you thought then that the lord had taken me from you? joseph asked, and the man replied that they had been searching for him all day--sending messengers hither and thither, and that in the afternoon a boat had hoisted sail and put out for the fishing fleet, thinking that simon peter might be able to give tidings of master joseph. but why all this fuss? joseph said, because i come home a little later than usual. your father, master joseph, is beside himself, and your grandmother--joseph left the man with the end of the sentence on his tongue. so you've returned at last! his father cried on seeing him, and began at once to tell the anxiety he had suffered. nor was rachel without her word, and between their reproofs it was some time before joseph began to apprehend the cause of the tumult: azariah had laid a long complaint of truancy! as to that, joseph answered tartly, he has little to complain of. and he spoke of the pact between them, relating that seven or eight months before he had promised azariah not to be past his time by five minutes. look to his tally, father: it will tell that i have kept my word for eight months and more and would have kept it for the year if--be mindful of what he is saying to thee, dan. look well to the tally before condemning, rachel cried. wouldst have it then, woman, azariah lied to me? not lied, but was carried beyond himself in a great heat of passion at being kept waiting, rachel answered. he said that he enjoyed teaching thee, joseph, god having granted thee a good intelligence and ways of comprehension. but he couldn't abide seeing thee waste thy time and his. we're willing and ready to hear about this absence and the cause of it, dan interposed. so get on with the story: where hast thou been? out with it, boy. where hast thou been? the bare question could only be met by the bare answer: watching a cock-fight in tiberias; and to save his parents from much misunderstanding, he said he must begin at the beginning. dan would have liked a straight answer, but rachel said the boy should be suffered to tell his story his own way; and joseph told a fine tale, the purport of which was that he had sought for a by-way to tiberias, the large lanes being beset by acrobats, zanies, circus riders and the like, and had found one through argob orchard and had followed it daily without meeting anyone for many months, but this morning as he came through the trees he had caught sight of an encampment; some cockers on their way to tiberias, where a great main was to be fought. and it was the cocks of pamphilia that had--he stopped, for the great change that had come over his parents' faces set him wondering if his conduct was as shameful as their faces seemed to affirm. he could not see that he had sinned against the law by going to tiberias, though he had associated himself with gentiles and for a whole day ... he had eaten in their company, but not of any forbidden meat. and while joseph sought to mitigate his offence to himself, his father sat immersed in woe, his head in his hands. what calamity, he cried, has fallen on my house, and how have i sinned, o lord, that punishment should fall upon me, and that my own son should be chosen to mete out my punishment? my house is riven from rafter to foundation stone. but, father, at most--it seemed useless to plead. he stood apart; his grandmother stood silent and grave, not understanding fully, and joseph foresaw that he could not count upon her to side with him against his father. but if his father would only tell him if he had sinned against the law, instead of rending his garments, he would do all the law commanded to obtain forgiveness. was there, he asked, anything in the law against cock-fighting? or in the traditions? it was a pastime of the heathen: he knew that, and had hoped a day of fasting might be suggested to him, but if this offence was more serious than he had supposed he besought his father to say so. tell me, father, have i sinned against the law? the question seemed to exasperate his father who at last cried out: of what value may be thy hebrew studies and a knowledge of the language, if the law be not studied with azariah? does not the book of leviticus ever lie open before thee? how has the law been affronted? the law given by the lord unto moses. my own son asks me this. "and if a soul sin and hear the voice swearing and is a witness whether he has sinned or known of it, if he did not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity." was there no swearing at thy cock-fight? plenty, i reckon. all day was spent listening to swearing, hearing the name of the lord taken in vain: a name we don't dare to pronounce ourselves. joseph sat dumbfounded. so azariah never taught thee the law? all the time goes by wasted in the reading of greek plays. we read hebrew and speak it, joseph answered, and it was your wish that i should learn greek. and, father, is there any reason to worry over a loss of repute? for my sin will be known to nobody but god, unless told by thee, and thou'lt keep it secret. or told by azariah, dan answered moodily, who never teaches the law, but likes greek plays better. well, thou shalt hear the law from me to-night, for i can read hebrew, not, belike, as well as azariah, but i can read hebrew all the same. mother, hand me down the scriptures from the shelf. chap. iv. well, dan, you must make up your mind whether you are going to look out for one who will teach him better, or let him remain with azariah, who likes teaching him, for he is a clever but oft-times an idle boy. i don't know that i should have said idle, she added, and sat thinking of what word would describe joseph's truancy better than idle, without, however, finding the word she needed, and her thoughts floated away into a long consideration of her son's anger, for she could see he was angry with azariah. but the cause of his anger she could not discover. it could not be that he was annoyed with azariah for coming to complain that he was often kept waiting: and it was on her tongue to ask him why he was so gloomy, why he knitted his brows and bit his lips. but she held back the question, for it would not be long before dan would let out his secret: he could not keep one. and dan, knowing well his own weakness and his mother's shrewdness (she would soon be guessing what was passing in his mind), began to animadvert on azariah for his residence in tiberias, a pagan city--his plan for leading her on a false trail. others, he said, spoke more unfavourably than he did; and he continued in this strain until rachel, losing patience, interrupted him suddenly saying that azariah did not live in tiberias. if not in tiberias, he answered, in a suburb, and within a stone's throw of the city walls. but what has that got to do with joseph? rachel asked. what has it got to do with joseph! dan growled, when to reach the scribe's house he has to pass through lanes infested with the off-scourings of the pagan world: mummers, zanies, jugglers, dancers, whores from babylon. did ye not hear him, woman, describe these lanes, saying that he had to change his course three times so that he might keep his promise to azariah, and are ye not mindful that he told me, and you sitting there listening on that very stool, that the showmen he met in argob orchard put a spell upon him, and that it was the demon that had obtained temporary lodgment in him that had bidden him to tiberias to see the cock-fight: jews from alexandria, heretics, adventurers, beggars, aliens! look ye here, dan, rachel said, he is a proud boy and may thank thee little for--there are others to teach him, dan interrupted, and continued to walk up and down the room, for he wished to make an end of this talk with his mother. but he hadn't crossed the room twice when he was brought to a full stop, having remembered suddenly that it is always by such acts as he was now meditating that fathers lose the affections of their sons. if he were to drag joseph away from azariah, from whom he was learning hebrew and greek, joseph might begin to look upon him as a tyrant. his mother was a sharp-witted woman, and very little was needed to set her thinking. she had an irritating way of looking as it were into his mind, and if she were to suspect him of jealousy of azariah he would never have a moment's peace again. but what in the world may we understand from all this bear-dancing up and down the room? asked rachel. ye must know if you are going to withdraw the boy from his schooling. dan cast an angry glance at his mother and hated her; and then his heart misgave him, for he knew that he lacked courage to take joseph out of his present schooling, and dared not divide his house against himself, or do anything that might lose him his son's love and little by little cause himself to be looked upon as a tyrant. he knew himself to be a weak man, except in the counting-house; he knew it, and must stifle his jealousy of azariah, who had forgiven joseph his truancy and was the only one that knew of the excursion into tiberias. but azariah's indulgence did not altogether please him. he began to suspect it and to doubt if he had acted wisely in not ordering joseph away from azariah: for azariah was robbing him, robbing him of all that he valued in this world, his son! and it seemed to him a little later in the day, as he closed his ledger, that he had come to be disregarded in his own house; and he thought he would have liked much better to stay away, to dine in the counting-house, urging a press of business. the first thing he would hear would be "azariah." the hated name was never off the boy's lips: he talked of nothing else but azariah and hebrew and greek and the learned jews whom he met at azariah's house. dan sat looking into the dusk asking himself if his bargain were not that his son should learn the greek language but not greek literature, which is full of heresy, he said to himself; and he returned home determined to raise the point; but joseph told him, and he thought rather abruptly, that it was only through greek literature that one could learn greek in tiberias--the spoken language was a dialect. it may have been that joseph perceived that praise of azariah caused his father to writhe a little, and--curious to observe the effect--he spoke more of azariah than he would have done otherwise, and laid an accent on his master's learning, and related incidents in which his master appeared to great advantage, causing his father much perplexity and pain of mind, till at last, unable to bear the torture any longer, he said--the words slipped from him incontinently--you're no better than a little azariah! and, unable to contain himself, he rushed from the room, leaving joseph and rachel to discuss his vehemence and discover motives which he hoped would not include the right one. but afraid that he had betrayed his jealousy of azariah he returned, and to mislead his mother and son he began to speak of the duty of the pupil to the master, telling joseph he must submit himself to azariah in everything: by representing azariah as one in full authority he hoped to overcome his influence and before many months had passed over a different accent was notable in joseph's voice when he spoke of azariah; but he continued with him for two more years. and it was then that dan set himself to devise plans to end his son's studies in hebrew and greek. joseph knows now all that azariah can teach him, and it is high time that i took him in hand and taught him his trade. but though determined to rid himself of azariah he felt he must proceed gently (if possible, in conjunction with his mother); he must wait for an occasion; and while he was watching for one it fell out that joseph wearied of azariah and went to his father saying that he had learnt hebrew and could speak greek, so there was no use in his returning to azariah any more. at first his parents could only think that he had; quarrelled with azariah, but it was not so, they soon discovered that he had merely become tired of him--a change that betokened a capricious mind. a growing boy is full of fancies, rachel said: an explanation that dan deemed sufficient, and he was careful not to speak against azariah lest he should turn his son's thoughts back on greek literature, or greek philosophy, which is more pernicious even than the literature. he did not dare to ask joseph to come down to the counting-house, afraid lest by trying to influence him in one direction he might influence him in the opposite direction. he deemed it better to leave everything to fate, and while putting his trust in god dan applied himself to meditate on the young man's character and his tastes, which seemed to have taken a sudden turn; for, to his father's surprise, joseph had begun to put questions to him about the sale of fish, and to speak of visiting tyre and sidon with a view to establishing branch houses--extensions of their business. his father, while approving of this plan, pointed out that tyre and sidon being themselves on the coast of the sea could never be as good customers as inland cities, sea fish being considered, he thought mistakenly, preferable to lake. he had been doing, it is true, a fair trade with damascus, but whereas it was impossible to reckon on damascus it seemed to him that their industry might be extended in many other directions. and delighted with the change that had come over his son he said that he would have tried long ago to extend his business, if he had had knowledge of the greek language. he spoke of heliopolis, and proposed to joseph that he should go there and establish a mart for salt fish as soon as he had mastered all the details of the trade, which would be soon: a very little application in the counting-house would be enough for a clever fellow like joseph. as he said these words his eyes met rachel's, and as soon as joseph left the room she asked him if he believed that joseph would settle down to the selling of salt fish: a question which was not agreeable to dan, who was at that moment settling himself into the conviction that joseph had begun to evince an aptitude for trade that he himself did not acquire till many years older, causing him to flame up as might be expected against his mother, telling her that her remarks were most mischievous, whether she meant them or not. he hoped joseph was not the young man that she saw in him. before he could say any more joseph returned, and linked his arm into his father's, and the twain went away together to the counting-house, dan enamoured of his son but just a little afraid all the same that joseph might weary of trade in the end, just as he had wearied of learning. he was moved to speak his fear to joseph, but on consideration he resolved that no good could come of such confidences, and on the evening of the first day in the counting-house he whispered to rachel that joseph had taken to trade as a duck to the water, as the saying is. day after day he watched his son's progress in administration, saying nothing, waiting for the head clerk to endorse his opinion that there were the makings of a first-rate man in joseph. he was careful not to ask any leading questions, but he could not refrain from letting the conversation drop, so that the clerk might have an opportunity of expressing his opinion of master joseph's business capacities. but the clerk made no remark: it might as well have been that joseph was not in the counting-house; dan had begun to hate his clerk, who had been with him for thirty years. he had brought him from arimathea and couldn't dismiss him; he could only look into his eyes appealingly. at last the clerk spoke, and his words were like manna in the desert; and, overjoyed, dan wondered how it was that he could have refrained so long. it was concerning a certain falling off in an order: if master joseph were to go on a circuit through the greek cities--dan could have thrown his arms about his clerk for these words, but it were better to dissimulate. you think then that joseph understands the business sufficiently? the clerk acquiesced, and it was a great day, of course, the day joseph went forth; and in a few weeks dan had proof that his confidence in his son's business aptitudes was not misplaced. joseph showed himself to be suited to the enterprise by his engaging manner as well as by his knowledge of hebrew and greek, the two languages procuring him an admission into the confidences of jew and gentile alike. the length of these excursions was from three to four weeks, and when joseph returned home for an interval his parents disputed as to whether he should spend his holiday in the counting-house or the dwelling-house. so to avoid giving offence to either, and for his own pleasure joseph often spent these days on the boats with the fishers, learning their craft from them, losing himself often in meditations how the draught of fishes might be increased by a superior kind of net: interested in his trade far too much, rachel said. his mind seemed bent on it always; whereas she would have liked to have heard him tell of all the countries he had been to and of all the people he had seen, but it was always about salt fish that he was talking: how many barrels had gone to this town, and how many barrels to another, and the new opening he had discovered for salt fish in a village the name of which he had never heard before. rachel's patience with joseph was long but at last she lost patience and said she would be glad when the last barrel of salt fish came out of the lake, for it would not be till then that they would have time to live their lives in peace and comfort. she gathered up her knitting and was going to bed, but joseph would not suffer her to go. he said he had stories to tell her, and he fell to telling of the several preachers he had heard in the synagogues, and his voice beguiled the evening away so pleasantly that rachel let her knitting drop into her lap and sat looking at her grandson, stupefied and transported with love. dan's love for his son was more tender in these days than it had ever been before, but rachel looked back, thinking the old days were better, when joseph used to come from azariah's talking about his studies. it may be that dan, forgetful of his jealousy, looked back to those days gone over with a certain wistfulness. a boy is, if not more interesting, at least more unexpected, than a young man. in the old days dan did not know what sort of son god had given him, but now he knew that god had given him the son he always desired, and that azariah's tending of the boy's character had been kind, wise and salutary, as the flower and fruit showed. but in the deepest peace there is disquiet, and in the relation of his adventures joseph had begun to display interest in various interpretations of scripture which he had heard in the synagogues--true that he laughed at these, but he had met learned heretics from alexandria in azariah's house. dan often wondered if these had not tried to impregnate his mind with their religious theories and doctrines, for being without religious interests, dan was strictly orthodox. he did not suspect azariah, whom he knew to be withal orthodox, as much as azariah's friend, apollonius, the alexandrian jew. but though he kept his ears open for the slightest word he could not discover any trace of his influence. if his discourse had had any effect, it was to make joseph more than ever a pharisee. he was sometimes even inclined to think that joseph was a little too particular, laying too much stress upon the practice of minute observances, and he began to apprehend that there was something of the scribe in joseph after all. the significance of his mother's words becoming suddenly clear to dan, he asked himself if it were not yet within the width of a finger that joseph would tire of trade and retire to jerusalem and expound the law and the traditions in the temple. his vocation, dan was of opinion, could not yet be predicted with any certainty: he might go either way--to trade or to religious learning--and in the midst of these meditations on his son's character dan remembered that some friends had come to see joseph at the counting-house yesterday. joseph had taken them out into the yard and they had talked together, but it was not of the export of salt fish they had spoken, but of the observances of the sabbath. dan had listened, pen in hand, his thoughts suspended, and had heard them devote many minutes to the question whether a man should dip himself in the nearest brook if he had accidentally touched a pig. he had heard them discuss at length the grace that should be used before eating fruit from a tree, and whether it were necessary to say three graces after eating three kinds of fruit at one meal. he had heard one ask if a sheep that had been killed with a greek knife could be eaten, and he had heard joseph ask him if he knew the sheep had been killed with a greek knife and the man confess that he had not made inquiry. if he had known-- dan did not hear the end of the sentence, but imagined that it ended in a gesture of abhorrence. in his day religion was limited to the law of moses, a skein well combed out, but the scribes in jerusalem had knotted and twisted the skein. he had heard joseph maintain, and stiffly too, that an egg laid on the day after the sabbath could not be eaten, because it had been prepared by the hen on the sabbath. but one can't always be watching hens, he said to himself, and the discussion of such points seeming to him unmanly, he drew back the window-curtain and fell into admiration of his son's slim loins and great shoulders. joseph was laughing with his companions at that moment and his teeth glistened, every one white and shapely. why do such discussions interest him? dan asked, for his eyes are soft as flowers; and he envied the woman that joseph would resort unto in the night. but very often men like joseph did not marry, and a new disquietude arose in his mind: he wanted children, grandchildren. in a few years joseph should begin to look round.... meanwhile it might be well to tell him that men like hillel had always held that it is after the spirit rather than the letter we should strive, and that in running after the latter we are apt to lose the former, and he accepted the first opportunity to admonish joseph, who listened in amazement, wondering what had befallen his father, whom he had never heard speak like this before. all the same he hearkened to these warnings and laid them in his memory, and fell to considering his father as one who had just jogged along the road that he and his ancestors had come by, without much question. but if his father had set himself to consider religions, and with that seriousness they deserved, he would not keep back any longer the matter on which he had long desired to speak to him. the young men to whom he had just bidden good-bye were all going to jerusalem, whither dan was accustomed to go every year for the feast of the passover, but last year the journey thither had fatigued him unduly, and it seemed to joseph that this year he should go to jerusalem in his father's place; and when he broached the subject, dan, who had been thinking for some time that he was not feeling strong enough for this journey, welcomed joseph's proposal--a most proper presence joseph's would be at the feast. joseph had come to the age when he should visit jerusalem, but he did not readily understand this sudden enthusiasm. if he wanted to go to jerusalem to the feast of the passover, why had he not said so before? and dan, whose thoughts reached back to the discussion overheard in the yard, was compelled to ask joseph if it were for the purpose of discussing the value of certain minute points of law that he wished to go to jerusalem. at which joseph was astonished that his father should have asked him such a thing.... yet why not? for awhile back he was discussing such very points with some young gossips. his tongue wagged as was its wont on all occasions, though his mind was away and he suddenly stopped speaking; and when the stirring of his father's feet on the floor awakened him, he saw his father sitting pen in hand watching him and no doubt asking himself of what great and wonderful thing his son was thinking. once again actuality disappeared. he stood engulfed in memories of things heard in azariah's house: or things only half heard, for he had never thought of them since. the words of the jews he met there had fallen dead at the time, but now he remembered things that had passed over his mind. the heresies of the jews in alexandria awoke in him, and a marvellous longing awoke to see the world. first of all he must begin with jerusalem, and he bade his father good-bye with an eagerness not too pleasant to the old man. chap. v. gone to the study of the law! dan said, as he walked up and down the room, glancing often into joseph's letter, for it figured to him the temple with the scribes meditating on the law, or discussing it with each other while their wives remained at home doing the work. so do their lives pass over, he said, in the study of the law. nothing else is to them of any worth.... my poor boy hopes that i shall forgive him for not returning home after the feast of the passover! does he suspect that i would prefer him indifferent to the law in magdala, rather than immersed in it at jerusalem? a little surprised and shocked at the licentiousness of his thoughts, he drew them into order with the admission that it is better in every way that a young man should go to jerusalem early in his life and acquire reverence for the ritual and traditions of his race, else he will drift later on into heresy, or maybe go to live in cities like tiberias, amongst statues. but why do i trouble myself like this? for there was a time before i had a son, and the time is getting very close now when i shall lose him. and dan stood swallowed up in the thought of the great gulf into which precarious health would soon pitch him out of sight of joseph for ever. it was rachel coming into the room that awoke him. she too! he muttered. he began to fuss about, seeking for writing materials, for he was now intent to send joseph a letter of recommendation to the high priest, having already forgotten the gulf that awaited him, in the pleasurable recollection of the courtesy and consideration he received from the most distinguished men the last time he was in jerusalem--from hanan the son of seth and father-in-law of kaiaphas: kaiaphas was now high priest, the high priest of that year; but in truth, hanan, who had been high priest before him, retained all the power and importance of the office and was even called the high priest. dan remembered that he had been received with all the homage due to a man of wealth. he liked his wealth to be acknowledged, for it was part of himself: he had created it; and it was with pride that he continued his letter to hanan recommending his son to him, saying that anything that was done to further joseph's interests would be a greater favour than any that could be conferred on himself. the letter was sent off by special messenger and joseph was enjoined to carry it himself at once to hanan, which he did, since it was his father's pleasure that he should do so. he would have preferred to be allowed to pick his friends from among the people he met casually, but since this was not to be he assumed the necessary reverence and came forward in the proper spirit to meet hanan, who expressed himself as entirely gratified by joseph's presence in jerusalem and promised to support his election for the sanhedrin. but if the councillors reject me? for you see i am still a young man. the innocency of joseph's remark pleased hanan, who smiled over it, expressing a muttered hope that the sanhedrin would not take upon itself the task of discussing the merits and qualifications of those whom he should deem worthy to present for election. the great man purred out these sentences, joseph's remark having reminded him of his exalted position. but thinking his remark had nettled hanan, joseph said: you see i have only just come to jerusalem; and this remark continued the flattery, and with an impulsive movement hanan took joseph's hands and spoke to him about his father in terms that made joseph feel very proud of dan, and also of being in jerusalem, which had already begun to seem to him more wonderful than he had imagined it to be: and he had imagined it very wonderful indeed. but there was a certain native shrewdness in joseph; and after leaving the high priest's place he had not taken many steps before he began to see through hanan's plans: which no doubt are laid with the view to impress me with the magnificence of jerusalem and its priesthood. he walked a few yards farther, and remembered that there are always dissensions among the jews, and that the son of a rich man (one of first-rate importance in galilee) would be a valuable acquisition to the priestly caste. but though he saw through hanan's designs, he was still the dupe of hanan, who was a clever man and a learned man; his importance loomed up very large, and joseph could not be without a hero, true or false; so it could not be otherwise than that hanan and kaiaphas and the sadducees, whom joseph met in the sanhedrin and whose houses he frequented, commanded his admiration for several months and would have held it for many months more, had it not been that he happened to be a genuinely religious man, concerned much more with an intimate sense of god than with the slaying of bullocks and rams. he had accepted the sacrifices as part of a ritual which should not be questioned and which he had never questioned: yet, without discussion, without argument, they fell in his estimation without pain, as naturally as a leaf falls. a friend quoted to him a certain well-known passage in isaiah, and not the whole of it: only a few words; and from that moment the temple, the priests and the sacrifices became every day more distasteful to him than they were the day before, setting him pondering on the mind of the man who lives upon religion while laughing in his beard at his dupe; he contrasted him with the fellow that drives in his beast for slaughter and pays his yearly dole; he remembered how he loved the prophets instinctively though the priests always seemed a little alien, even before he knew them. yet he never imagined them to be as far from true religion (which is the love of god) as he found them; for they did not try to conceal their scepticism from him: knowing him to be a friend of the high priest, it had seemed to them that they might indulge their wit as they pleased, and once he had even to reprove some priests, so blasphemous did their jests appear to him. an unusually fat bullock caused them to speak of the fine regalement he would be to jahveh's nostrils. one sacristan, mentioning the sacred name, figured jahveh as pressing forward with dilated nostrils. there is no belly in heaven, he said: its joys are entirely olfactory, and when this beast is smoking, jahveh will call down the angels michael and gabriel. as if not satisfied with this blasphemy, as if it were not enough, he turned to the sacristans by him, to ask them if they could not hear the angels sniffing as they leaned forward out of their clouds. my priests are doing splendidly: the fat of this beast is delicious in our nostrils; were the words he attributed to jahveh. michael and gabriel, he said, would reply: it is indeed as thou sayest, sire! joseph marvelled that priests could speak like this, and tried to forget the vile things they said, but they were unforgettable: he treasured them in his heart, for he could not do else, and when he did speak, it was at first cautiously, though there was little need for caution; for he found to his surprise that everybody knew that the sadducees did not believe in a future life and very little in the dogma that the jews were the sect chosen by god, jahveh. he was their god and had upheld the jewish race, but for all practical purposes it was better to put their faith henceforth in the romans, who would defend jerusalem against all barbarians. it was necessary to observe the sabbath and to preach its observances and to punish those who violated it, for on the sabbath rested the entire superstructure of the temple itself, and all belief might topple if the sabbath was not maintained, and rigorously. in the houses of the sadducees joseph heard these very words, and their crude scepticism revolted his tender soul: he was drawn back to his own sect, the pharisees, for however narrow-minded and fanatical they might be he could not deny to them the virtue of sincerity. it was with a delightful sense of community of spirit that he returned to them, and in the conviction that it would be well to let pass without protest the observances which himself long ago in galilee began to look upon with amusement. a sudden recollection of the discussion that had arisen in the yard behind the counting-house, whether an egg could be eaten if it had been laid the day after the sabbath, brought a smile to his face, but a different smile from of yore, for he understood now better than he had understood then, that this (in itself a ridiculous) question was no more serious than a bramble that might for a moment entangle the garment of a wayfarer: of little account was the delay, if the feet were on the right road. now the scruple of conscience that the question had awakened might be considered as a desire to live according to a law which, observed for generations, had become part of the national sense and spirit. on this he fell to thinking that it is only by laws and traditions that we may know ourselves--whence we have come and whither we are going. he attributed to these laws and traditions the love of the jewish race for their god, and their desire to love god, and to form their lives in obedience to what they believed to be god's will. without these rites and observances their love of god would not have survived. it was not by exaggeration of these laws but by the scepticism of the sadducees that the temple was polluted. if the priests degraded religion and made a vile thing of it, there were others that ennobled the temple by their piety. and as these thoughts passed through joseph's mind, his eyes went to the simple folk who never asked themselves whether they were sadducees or pharisees, but were content to pray around the temple that the lord would not take them away till they witnessed the triumph of israel, never asking if the promised resurrection would be obtained in this world--if not in each individual case, by the race itself--or whether they would all be lifted by angels out of their graves and carried away by them into a happy immortality. the simple folk on whom joseph's eyes rested favourably, prayed, untroubled by difficult questions: they were content to love god; and, captured by their simple unquestioning faith, which he felt to be the only spiritual value in this world, he was glad to turn away from both sadducees and pharisees and mix with them. sometimes, and to his great regret, he brought about involuntarily the very religious disputations that it was his object to quit for ever when he withdrew himself from the society of the pharisees. a chance word was enough to set some of them by the ears, asking each other whether the soul may or can descend again into the corruptible body; and it was one day when this question was being disputed that a disputant, pressing forward, announced his belief that the soul, being alone immortal, does not attempt to regain the temple of the body. a doctrine which astonished joseph, so simple did it seem and so reasonable; and as he stood wondering why he had not thought of it himself, his eyes telling his perplexity, he was awakened from his dream, and his awakening was caused by the word "essene." he asked for a meaning to be put upon it, to the great astonishment of the people, who were not aware that the fame of this third sect of the jews was not yet spread into galilee. there were many willing to instruct him, and almost the first thing he learnt about them was that they were not viewed with favour in jerusalem, for they did not send animals to the temple for sacrifice, deeming blood-letting a crime. a still more fundamental tenet of this sect was its denial of private property: all they had, belonged to one brother as much as to another, and they lived in various places, avoiding cities, and setting up villages of their own accord; notably one on the eastern bank of the jordan, from whence recruiting missionaries sometimes came forth, for the essenes disdained marriage, and relied on proselytism for the maintenance of the order. the rule of the essenes, however, did not exclude marriage because they believed the end of the world was drawing nigh, but because they wished to exclude all pleasure from life. to do this, to conceive the duty of man to be a cheerful exclusion of all pleasure, seemed to joseph wonderful, an exaltation of the spirit that he had not hitherto believed man to be capable of: and one night, while thinking of these things, he fell on a resolve that he would go to jericho on the morrow to see for himself if all the tales he heard about the brethren were true. at the same time he looked forward to getting away from the seven windy hills where the sun had not been seen for days, only grey vapour coiling and uncoiling and going out, and where, with a patter of rain in his ears, he was for many days crouching up to a fire for warmth. but in jericho he would be as it were back in galilee: a pleasant winter resort, to be reached easily in a day by a path through the hills, so plainly traced by frequent usage that a guide was not needed. a servant he could not bring with him, for none was permitted in the cenoby, a different mode and colour of life prevailing there from any he ever heard of, but he hoped to range himself to it, and--thinking how this might be done--he rode round the hillside, coming soon into view of bethany over against the desert. from thence he proceeded by long descents into a land tossed into numberless hills and torn up into such deep valleys that it seemed to him to be a symbol of god's anger in a moment of great provocation. or maybe, he said to himself, these valleys are the ruts of the celestial chariot that passed this way to take elijah up to heaven? or maybe ... his mind was wandering, and--forgetful of the subject of his meditation--he looked round and could see little else but strange shapes of cliffs and boulders, rocks and lofty scarps enwrapped in mist so thick that he fell to thinking whence came the fume? for rocks are breathless, he said, and there are only rocks here, only rocks and patches of earth in which the peasants sow patches of barley. at that moment his mule slid in the slime of the path to within a few inches of a precipice, and joseph uttered a cry before the gulf which startled a few rain-drenched crows that went away cawing, making the silence more melancholy than before. a few more inches, joseph thought, and we should have been over, though a mule has never been known to walk or to slide over a precipice. a moment after, his mule was climbing up a heap of rubble; and when they were at the top joseph looked over the misted gulf, thinking that if the animal had crossed his legs mule and rider would both be at the bottom of a ravine by now. and the crows that my cry startled, he said, would soon return, scenting blood. he rode on, thinking of the three crows, and when he returned to himself the mule was about to pass under a projecting rock, regardless, he thought, of the man on his back, but the sagacious animal had taken his rider's height into his consideration, so it seemed, for at least three inches were to spare between joseph's head and the rock. nor did the mule's sagacity end here; for finding no trace of the path on the other side he started to climb the steep hill as a goat might, frightening joseph into a tug or two at the bridle, to which the mule gave no heed but continued the ascent with conviction and after a little circuit among intricate rocks turned down the hill again and slid into the path almost on his haunches. a wonderful animal truly! joseph said, marvelling greatly; he guessed that the path lay under the mass of rubble come down in some landslip. he knew he would meet it farther on: he may have been this way before. a wonderful animal all the same, a perfect animal, if he could be persuaded not to walk within ten inches of the brink! and joseph drew the mule away to the right, under the hillside, but a few minutes after, divining that his rider's thoughts were lost in those strange argumentations common to human beings, the mule returned to the brink, out of reach of any projecting rocks. he was happily content to follow the twisting road, giving no faintest attention to the humped hills always falling into steep valleys and always rising out of steep valleys, as round and humped as the hills that were left behind. joseph noticed the hills, but the mule did not: he only knew the beginning and the end of his journey, whereas joseph began very soon to be concerned to learn how far they were come, and as there was nobody about who could tell him he reined up his mule, which began to seek herbage--a dandelion, an anemone, a tuft of wild rosemary--while his rider meditated on the whereabouts of the inn. the road, he said, winds round the highest of these hills, reaching at last a tableland half-way between jerusalem and jericho, and on the top of it is the inn. we shall see it as soon as yon cloud lifts. chap. vi. a few wanderers loitered about the inn: they came from mount sinai, so the innkeeper said; he mentioned that they had a camel and an ass in the paddock; and joseph was surprised by the harshness with which the innkeeper rushed from him and told the wanderers that they waited in vain. they were strange and fierce, remote like the desert, whence they had come; and he was afraid of them like the innkeeper, but began to pity them when he heard that they had not tasted food for a fortnight, only a little camel's milk. they're waiting for me to give them the rinsings, the innkeeper said, if any should remain at the bottom of the barrel: you see, all water has to be brought to the inn in an ox-cart. there's no well on the hills and we sell water to those who can afford to pay for it. then let the man drink his fill, joseph answered, and his wife too. and his eyes examined the woman curiously, for he never saw so mean a thing before: her small beady eyes were like a rat's, and her skin was nearly as brown. twenty years of desert wandering leave them like mummies, he reflected; and the child, whom the mother enjoined to come forward and to speak winningly to the rich man, though in her early teens was as lean and brown and ugly as her mother. marauders they sometimes were, but now they seemed so poor that joseph thought he could never have seen poverty before, and took pleasure in distributing figs amongst them. let them not see your money when you pay me, the innkeeper said, for half a shekel they would have my life, and many's the time they'd have had it if pilate, our governor, had not sent me a guard. the twain spoke of the new procurator till joseph mounted his mule. i'll see that none of them follow you, the innkeeper whispered; and joseph rode away down the lower hills, alongside of precipices and through narrow defiles, following the path, which debouched at last on to a shallow valley full of loose stones and rocks. i suppose the mule knows best, joseph said, and he held the bridle loosely and watched the rain, regretting that the downpour should have begun in so exposed a place, but so convinced did the animal seem that the conduct of the journey should be left entirely to his judgment that it was vain to ask him to hasten his pace, and he continued to clamber down loose heaps of stones, seeking every byway unnecessarily, joseph could not help thinking, but bringing his rider and himself safely, he was forced to admit, at the foot of the hills over against jericho. another toiling ascent was begun, and joseph felt a trickle of rain down his spine, while the mule seemed to debate with himself whether shelter was to be sought, and spying a rock a little way up the hillside he trotted straight to it and entered the cave--the rock projected so far beyond a hill that it might be called a cave, and better shelter from the rain they could not have found. a wonderful animal, thou'rt surely, knowing everything, joseph said, and the mule shook the rain out of his long ears, and joseph stood at the mouth of the cave, watching the rain falling and gathering into pools among the rocks, wondering the while if this land was cast away into desert by the power of the almighty god because of the worship of the golden calf; and then remembering that it was cast into desert for the sins of the cities of the plain, he said: how could i have thought else? as soon as this rain ceases we will go up the defile and at the end of it the lake will lie before us deep down under the moab mountains. he remembered too that he would have to reach to the cenoby before the day was over, or else sleep in jericho. the sky seemed to be brightening: at that moment he heard footsteps. he was unarmed and the hills were infested by robbers. the steps continued to approach.... his hope was that the man might be some innocent shepherd in search of a lost ewe: if he were a robber, that he might pass on, unsuspicious of a traveller seeking shelter from the rain in a cave a little way up the hillside. the man came into view of the cave and stood for some time in front of it, his back turned to joseph, looking round the sky, and then, like one who has lost hope in the weather, he hastened on his way. as soon as he was out of sight, joseph led out his mule, clambered into the saddle, and digging his heels into the mule's sides, galloped the best part of a mile till he reached the roman fort overlooking the valley. if a robber was to emerge, a roman soldier would speedily come to his assistance; but behind him and the fort were some excellent lurking-places, joseph thought, for robbers, and again his heels went into his mule. but this time, as if he knew that haste was no longer necessary, the mule hitched up his back and jangled his bells so loudly that again joseph's heart stood still. he was within sight of jericho, but half-way down the descent a group of men were waiting, as if for travellers. his best chance was to consider them as harmless passengers, so he rode on, and the beggars--for they were no more--held up maimed leprous limbs to excite his pity. he was now within two miles of jericho, and he rode across the sandy plain, thinking of the essenes and the cenoby on the other side of jordan. he rode in full meditation, and it was not till he was nigh the town of jericho that he attempted to think by which ford he should cross jordan: whether by ferry, in which case he must leave his mule in jericho; or by a ford higher up the stream, if there was a ford practicable at this season; which is doubtful, he said to himself, as he came within view of the swollen river. and he hearkened to one who declared the river to be dangerous to man and beast: but another told him differently, and being eager to reach the cenoby he determined to test the ford. if the water proved too strong he would return to jericho, but the mule plunged forward, and at one moment it was as like as not that the flood would carry them away into the lake beyond, but joseph's weight enabled the animal to keep on his hooves, and the water shallowing suddenly, the mule reached the opposite bank. it was my weight that saved us, joseph said; and dismounting, he waited for the panting animal to recover breath. we only just did it. the way to the cenoby? he called out to a passenger along the bank, and was told he must hasten, for the essenes did not receive anybody after sunset: which may or may not be true, he muttered, as he pursued his way, his eyes attracted and amused by the long shadow that himself and his mule projected over the wintry earth. he was tempted to tickle the animal's long ears with a view to altering the silhouette, and then his thoughts ran on into the cenoby and what might befall him yonder; for that must be it, he said, looking forward and discovering a small village on the lower slopes of the hills, on the ground shelving down towards the river. his mule, scenting food and rest, began to trot, though very tired, and half-an-hour afterwards joseph rode into a collection of huts, grouped--but without design--round a central building which he judged to be an assembly hall whither the curators, of whom he had heard, met for the transaction of the business of the community. and no doubt, he said, it serves for a refectory, for the midday meal which gathers all the brethren for the breaking of bread. as he was thinking of these things, one of the brethren laid hands on the bridle and asked him whom he might be wishing to see; to which question joseph answered: the head. the brother replied: so be it; and tethered the mule to a post at the corner of the central hut, begging joseph to enter and seat himself on one of the benches, of which there were many, and a table long enough to seat some fifty or sixty. he recognised the place he was in as the refectory, where the rite of the breaking of bread was accomplished. to-morrow i shall witness it, he said, and felt like dancing and singing in his childish eagerness. but the severity of the hall soon quieted his mood, and he remembered he must collect his thoughts and prepare his story for recital, for he would be asked to give an account of himself. as he was preparing his story, the president entered: a tall man of bulk, with the pallor of age in his face and in the hand that lifted the black taffeta cap from his head. the courteousness of the greeting did more than to put joseph at his ease, as the saying is. in a few moments he was confiding himself to this man of kindly dignity, whose voice was low, who seemed to speak always from the heart, and it was wholly delightful to tell the great essene that he was come from galilee to attend the feast of the passover in his father's place, and that after having allied himself in turn to the sadducees and the pharisees he came to hear of the essenes: i have come thither, hoping to find the truth here. you have truthful eyes, said the president; and, thus encouraged, joseph told that there were some in the temple, the poor who worship god daily with a whole heart. it was from them, he said, that i heard of your doctrines. of which you can have obtained only the merest outline, the president answered; and perhaps when you know us better our rule may seem too hard for you to follow, or it may be that you will feel that you are called to worship god differently from us. but it matters naught how we worship, if our worship come from the heart. the word "heart" startled joseph out of himself, and his eyes falling at that moment on the essene he was moved to these words: father, i could never disobey thee. let me stay, put me to the tests. but the tests are long, the president answered; we would not suffer you to return to jericho to-night, even if you wished it. your mule is tired and would be swept away by the descending flood. you will remain with us for to-night and for as long after it as pleases you--to the end of your probationship and after, if you prove yourself worthy of admission. meanwhile you will be given a girdle, a white garment and a little axe. you will sleep in one of the outlying huts. come with me and i will take you round our village. we shall meet on our way some of the brothers returning from their daily tasks, for we all have a craft: many of us are husbandmen; the two coming towards us carrying spades are from the fields, and that one turning down the lane is a shepherd; he has just folded his flock, but he will return to them with his dogs, for we suffer a great deal from the ravages of wild beasts with which the woods are thronged, wolves especially. in our community there are healers, and these study the medicinal properties of herbs. if you resolve to remain with us, you will choose a craft. joseph mentioned that the only craft he knew was dry-salting, and it was disappointing to hear that there were no fish in the lake. there is a long time of probationship before one is admitted, the president continued, and when that is concluded another long time must pass over before the proselyte is called to join us at the common repasts. before he breaks bread with us he must bind himself by oath to be always pious towards the divinity, to observe justice towards men, and to injure no one voluntarily or by command: to hate always the unjust and never to shrink from taking part in the conflict on the side of the just; to show fidelity to all and especially to those who rule. thou'lt soon begin to understand that rule doesn't fall to anyone except by the will of god. i have never deserved to rule, but headship came to me, he added half sadly, as if he feared he had not been sufficiently exacting. after asking joseph whether he felt himself strong enough to obey so severe a rule, he passed from father to teacher. every one of us must love truth and make it his purpose to confute those who speak falsehood; to keep his hands from stealing and his soul from unjust gain. he must never conceal anything from a member of the order, nor reveal its secrets to others, even if he should have to suffer death by withholding them; and above all, while trying to engage proselytes he must speak the doctrines only as he has heard them from us. thou'lt return perhaps to jerusalem.... he broke off to speak to the brothers who were passing into the village from their daily work, and presented joseph as one who, shocked by the service of the sadducees in the temple, had come desiring admission to their order. at the news of a new adherent, the faces of the brothers became joyous; for though the rule seems hard when related, they said, in practice, even at first, it seems light enough, and soon we do not feel it at all. they were now on the outskirts of the village, and pointing to a cabin the essene told joseph that he would sleep there and enter on the morrow upon his probationship. but, father, may i not hear more? if a brother be found guilty of sin, will he be cast out of the order? the president answered that if one having been admitted to their community committed sins deserving of death, he was cast out and often perished by a most wretched fate, for being bound by oath and customs he could not even receive food from others but must eat grass, and with his body worn by famine he perishes. unless, the president added, we have pity on him at the last breath and think he has suffered sufficiently for his sins. chap. vii. the hut that joseph was bidden to enter was the last left in the cenoby for allotment, four proselytes having arrived last month. no better commodity have we for the moment, the curator said, struck by the precarious shelter the hut offered--a crazy door and a roof that let the starlight through at one end of the wall. but the rains are over, he added, and the coverlet is a warm one. on this he left joseph, whom the bell would call to orison, too tired to sleep, turning vaguely from side to side, trying to hush the thoughts that hurtled through his clear brain--that stars endure for ever, but the life of the palm-tree was as the life of the man who fed on its fruit. the tree lived one hundred years, and among the essenes a centenarian was no rare thing, but of what value to live a hundred years in the monotonous life of the cenoby? and in his imagination, heightened by insomnia, the essenes seemed to him like the sleeping trees. if he remained he would become like them, while his father lived alone in galilee! dan rose up before him and he could find no sense in the assurances he had given the president that he wished to be admitted into the order. he seemed no longer to desire admission, and if he did desire it he could not, for his father's sake, accept the admission. then why had he talked as he had done to the president? he could not tell: and it must have been while lying on his right side, trying to understand himself, what he was and why he was in the cenoby, that he fell into that deep and dreamless sleep from which he was awakened by a bell, and so suddenly that it seemed to him that he had not been asleep more than a few minutes. it was no doubt the bell for morning prayer: and only half awake he repaired with the other proselytes to the part of the village open to the sunrise. all the essenes were assembled there, and he learnt that they looked upon this prayer of thanksgiving for the return of light as the important event of the day. he joined in it, though he suspected a certain idolatry in the prayer. it seemed to him that the essenes were praying for the sun to rise; but to do this would be to worship the sun in some measure, and to look upon the sun as in some degree a god, he feared; but the essenes were certainly very pious jews. what else they were, time would reveal to him: a few days would be enough; and long before the prayer was finished he was thinking of his father in galilee and what his face would tell, were he to see his son bowing before the sun. but the essenes were not really worshipping the sun but praying to god that the sun might rise and give them light again to continue their daily work. one whole day at least he must spend in the cenoby, and--feeling that he was becoming interested again in the essenes--he began to form a plan to stay some time with them. on rising from his knees, he thought he might stay for some weeks. but if the essene brotherhood succeeded in persuading him that his fate was to abandon his father and the trade that awaited him in galilee and the wife who awaited him somewhere? his father often said: joseph, you are the last of our race. i hope to see with you a good wife who will bear you children, for i should like to bless my grandchildren before i die. the essenes would at least free him from the necessity of telling his father that there was no heart in him for a wife; and if he did not take a wife, he might become---- one of the curators whispered to him the use he should make of the little axe, and he followed the other proselytes; and having found a place where the earth was soft, each dug a hole about a foot deep, into which they eased themselves, afterwards filling up the hole with the earth that had been taken out. joseph then went down with them to a source for purifications, and these being finished the proselytes grouped themselves round joseph, anxious to become acquainted with the last recruit, and asking all together what provision of food he had made for himself for that day: if he had made none, he would have to go without food, for only those who were admitted into the order were suffered to the common repasts. a serious announcement, he said, to make to a man at break of day who knew nothing of these things yesterday, and he asked how his omission might be repaired. he must ask for permission to go to jericho to buy food. as he was going there on a mule, he might bring back food not only for himself but for all of them: enough lentils to last a week; and he inquired what else they were permitted to eat--if eggs were forbidden? at which the proselytes clapped their hands. a basket of eggs! a basket of eggs! and some honey! cried another. figs! cried a third; we haven't tasted any for a month. but my mule's back will not bear all that you require, joseph answered. our mule! cried the proselytes; all property is held in common. even the fact of my mule having become common property, joseph said, will not enable him to carry more than his customary burden, and the goods will embarrass me. if the mule belongs to the community, then i am the mule driver, the provider of the community. constituted such by thy knowledge of the aptitudes and temper and strength of the animal! cried a proselyte after him, and he went away to seek out one of the curators; for it is not permissible for an essene to go to jericho without having gotten permission. of course the permission was at once granted, and while saddling his mule for the journey the memory of the river overnight now caused joseph to hesitate and to think that he might find himself return empty-handed to the plump of proselytes now waiting to see him start. but if thou crossed the river yesterday, there is no reason why thou shouldn't cross it in safety now, cried one. but forget not the basket of eggs, said a second. nor the honey, mentioned a third, and a fourth called after him the quality of lentils he enjoyed. the mind of the fifth regarding food was not expressed, for a curator came by and reproved them, saying they were mere belly-worshippers. there will be less water in the river than there was overnight, the curator said, and joseph hoped he was right, for it would be a harsh and disagreeable death to drown in a lake so salt that fish could not live in it. true, one would escape being eaten by fishes; but if the mule be carried away, he said to himself, drown i shall, long before i reach the lake, unless indeed i strike out and swim--which, it seemed to him, might be the best way to save his life--and if there be no current in the lake i can gain the shore easily. but the first sight of the river proved the vanity of his foreboding, for during the night it had emptied a great part of its flood into the lake. the struggle in getting his mule across was slight; still slighter when he returned with a sack of lentils, a basket of eggs, some pounds of honey and many misgivings as to whether he should announce this last commodity to the curator or introduce it surreptitiously. to begin his probationship with a surreptitious act would disgrace him in the eyes of the prior, whose good opinion he valued above all. so did his thoughts run on till he came within sight of a curator, who told him that sometimes, on the first day of probationship, honey and figs were allowed. the cooking of the food and the eating of it in the only cabin in which there were conveniences for eating helped the time away, and joseph began to ask himself how long his cloistral life was going to endure, for he seemed to have lost all desire to leave it, and had begun to turn the different crafts over in his mind and to debate which he should choose to put his hand to. of husbandry he was as ignorant as a crow, nor could he tell poisonous pastures from wholesome, nor could he help in the bakery. at first venture there seemed to be no craft for him to follow, since fish did not thrive in the salt lake and the fisherman's art could not be practised, he was told, in the jordan, for the essenes were not permitted to kill any living thing. while laying emphasis on this rule, the curator cracked a flea under his robe, but joseph did not call his attention to his disobedience, but bowed his head and left him to the scruple of conscience which he hoped would awaken in him later. before this had time to come to pass, the curator called after him and suggested that he might teach hebrew to the four proselytes, whose knowledge of that language had seemed to mathias, their instructor, disgracefully weak. they were all from alexandria, like their teacher, and read the scriptures in greek; but the essenes, so said the curator, must read the scriptures in hebrew; and the teaching of hebrew, mathias said to joseph, takes me away from my important work, but it may amuse you to teach them. our father may accept you as a sufficient teacher: go to him for examination. a little talk and a few passages read from the scriptures satisfied the president that joseph was the assistant teacher that had been so long desired in the community, and he spoke to joseph soothingly of mathias, whose life work was the true interpretation of the scriptures. but did the scriptures need interpretation? joseph asked himself, not daring to put questions to the president; and on an early occasion he asked mathias what the president meant when he spoke of a true interpretation of the scriptures, and was told that the true meaning of the scriptures lay below the literal meaning. there can be no doubt, he said, that the scriptures must be regarded as allegories; and he explained to joseph that he devoted all his intellect to discovering and explaining these allegories, a task demanding extraordinary assiduity, for they lay concealed in what seemed to the vulgar eye mere statements of fact: as if, he added scornfully, god chose the prophets for no better end than a mere relation of facts! he was willing, however, to concede that his manner of treating the scriptures was not approved by the entire community, but in view of his learning, the proselytes were admitted to his lectures--one of the innovations of the prior, who, in spite of all, remained one of his supporters. to the end of his life joseph kept in his memory the moment when he sat in the corner of the hall, his eyes fixed upon mathias's young and beautiful profile, clear cut, hard and decisive as the profiles of the young gods that decorated the greek coins which shocked him in cæsarea. his memory of mathias was as partial; but he knew the president's full face, and while pondering on it he remembered that he had never seen him in profile. nor was this all that set the two men apart in joseph's consciousness. the prior's simple and homely language came from the heart, entered the heart and was remembered, whereas mathias spoke from his brain. the heart is simple and always the same, but the brain is complex and various; and therefore it was natural that mathias should hold, as if in fee, a great store of verbal felicities, and that he should translate all shades of thought at once into words. his mind moved in a rich, erudite and complex syntax that turned all opposition into admiration. even the president, who had been listening to theology all his life and had much business to attend to, must fain neglect some of it for the pleasure of listening to mathias when he lectured. even saddoc, the most orthodox jew in the cenoby, mathias could keep as it were chained to his seat. he resented and spurned the allegory, but the beautiful voice that brought out sentence after sentence, like silk from off a spool, enticed his thoughts away from it. the language used in the cenoby was aramaic, and never did joseph hear that language spoken so beautifully. it seemed to him that he was listening to a new language and on leaving the hall he told mathias that it had seemed to him that he was listening to aramaic for the first time. mathias answered him--blushing a little, joseph thought--that he hoped one of these days, in egypt perhaps, if joseph ever went there, to lecture to him in greek. he liked aramaic for other purposes, but for philosophy there was but one language. but you speak greek and are now teaching greek, so let us speak it when we are together, mathias said, and if i detect any incorrectness i will warn you against it. that mathias should choose to speak to him in greek was flattering indeed, and joseph, who had not spoken greek for many months, began to prattle, but he had not said many words before mathias interrupted him and said: you must have learnt greek very young. this remark turned the talk on to azariah; and mathias listened to joseph's account of his tutor carelessly, interrupting him when he had heard enough with a remark anent the advancement of the spring, to which joseph did not know how to reply, so suddenly had his thoughts been jerked away from the subject he was pursuing. you have the full jewish mind, mathias continued; interested in moral ideas rather than beauty: without eyes for the village. true that you see it in winter plight, but in the near season all the fields will be verdant and the lintels running over with flowers. he waited for joseph to defend himself, but joseph did not know for certain that mathias was not right--perhaps he was more interested in moral ideas than in beauty. however this might be, he began to experience an aversion, and might have taken leave of mathias if they had not come upon the president. he stopped to speak to them; and having congratulated mathias on having fortuned at last on an efficient teacher of hebrew and greek, and addressed a few kindly words directly to joseph and taken his hand in his, the head of the community bade them both good-bye, saying that important business needed his presence. he sped away on his business, but he seemed to leave something of himself behind, and even mathias was perforce distracted from his search of a philosophic point of view and indulged himself in the luxury of a simple remark. his goodness, he said, is so natural, like the air we breathe and the bread we eat, and that is why we all love him, and why all dissension vanishes at the approach of our president; a remarkable man. the most wonderful i have ever seen, joseph answered: a remark that did not altogether please mathias, for he added: his power is in himself, for he is altogether without philosophy. joseph was moved to ask mathias if the charm that himself experienced was not an entire absence of philosophy. but he did not dare to rouse mathias, whom he feared, and his curiosity overcame his sense of loyalty to the president. if he were to take his leave abruptly, he would have to return alone to the village to seek the four proselytes, but their companionship did not attract him, and he found himself at that moment unable to deny himself the pleasure of the sweet refreshing evening air, which as they approached the river seemed to grow sweeter. the river itself was more attractive than he had yet seen it, and there was that sadness upon it which we notice when a rainy day passes into a fine evening. the clouds were rolling on like a battle--pennants flying in splendid array, leaving the last row of hills outlined against a clear space of sky; and, with his eyes fixed on the cliffs over against the coasts of the lake, mathias let his thoughts run after his favourite abstractions: the relation of god to time and place. as he dreamed his metaphysics, he answered joseph's questions from time to time, manifesting, however, so little interest in them that at last joseph felt he could bear it no longer, and resolved to leave him. but just as he was about to bid him good-bye, mathias said that the essenes were pious jews who were content with mere piety, but mere piety was not enough: god had given to man a mind, and therefore desired man to meditate, not on his own nature--which was trivial and passing--but on god's nature, which was important and eternal. this remark revealed a new scope for inquiry to joseph, who was interested in the essenes; but his search was for miracles and prophets rather than ideas, and if he tarried among the essenes it was because he had come upon two great men. he fell to considering the question afresh, and--forgetful of mathias's admonitions that the business of man is to meditate on the nature of god--he said: the essenes perform no miracles and do not prophesy;--an interruption to mathias's loquacity which the other took with a better grace than joseph had expected--for no one ever dared before to interrupt mathias. joseph had done so accidentally and expected a very fine reproof, but mathias checked his indignation and told joseph that manahem, an essene, had foreknowledge of future events given to him by god: for when he was a child and going to school, manahem saw herod and saluted him as king of the jews; and herod, thinking the boy was in jest or did not know him, told him he was but a private citizen; whereat manahem smiled to himself, and clapping herod on the backside with his hand said: thou wilt be king and wilt begin thy reign happily, for god finds thee worthy. and then, as if enough was said on this subject, mathias began to diverge from it, mixing up the story with many admonitions and philosophical reflections, very wise and salutary, but not what joseph cared to hear at that moment. he was in no wise interested at that moment to hear that he had done well in testing all the different sects of the jews, and though the essenes were certainly the most learned, they did not possess the whole truth. with a determination that was impossible to oppose, mathias said: the whole truth is not to be found, even among the essenes, and, my good friend, i would not encourage in you a hope that you may be permitted ever during your mortal life to discover the whole truth. it exists not in any created thing: but glimpses of the light are often detected, now here, now there, shining through a clouded vase. but the simile, he added, of the clouded vase gives rise to the thought that the light resides within the vase: the very contrary of which is the case. for there is no light in the vase itself: the light shines from beyond the skies, and i should therefore have compared man to a crystal itself that catches the light so well that it seems to our eyes to be the source of light, which is not true in principle or in fact, for in the darkness a crystal is as dark as any other stone. in such part do i explain the meaning that the wicked man, having no divine irradiation, is without instruction of god and knowledge of god's creations; he is as a fugitive from the divine company, and cannot do else than hold that everything is created from the world to be again dissolved into the world. and being no better than a follower of heraclitus--but who is heraclitus? joseph asked. a clouded face was turned upon joseph, and for some moments the sage could not collect his thoughts sufficiently to answer him. who is heraclitus? he repeated, and then, with a general interest in his pupil, he ran off a concise exposition of that philosopher's doctrine--a mistake on his part, as he was quick enough to admit to himself; for though he reduced his statement to the lowest limits, it awakened in joseph an interest so lively that he felt himself obliged to expose this philosopher's fallacies; and in doing this he was drawn away from his subject, which was unfortunate. the hour was near by when the essenes would, according to rule, retire to their cells for meditation, and--foreseeing that he could not rid himself of the burden which joseph's question imposed upon him--he abandoned heraclitus in a last refutation, to warn joseph that he must not resume his questions. but if i do not ask at once, my chance is gone for ever; for your discourse is like the clouds, always taking new shapes, joseph pleaded. in dread lest all be forgotten, i repeat to myself what you have said, and so lose a great deal for a certain remembrance. joseph's manifest delight in his statement of the doctrines of heraclitus, and his subsequent refutation of the heathen philosopher caused mathias to forget temporarily certain ideas that he had been fostering for some days--that god, being the designer and maker of all things, and their governor, is likewise the creator of time itself, for he is the father of its father, and the father of time is the world, which made its own mother--the creation. so that time stands towards god in the relation of a grandson; for this world is a young son of god. on these things the sage's thoughts had been running for some days past, and he would have liked to have expounded his theory to joseph: that nothing is future to god: creations and the very boundaries of time are subject. he said much more, but joseph did not hear. he was too busy memorising what he had already heard, and during long hours he strove to come to terms with what he remembered, but in vain. the more he thought, the less clear did it seem to him that in eternity there is neither past nor future, that in eternity everything is present. mathias's very words; but when he said them, there seemed to be something behind the words; while listening, it seemed to joseph that sight had been given to him, but his eyes proved too weak to bear the too great illumination, and he had been obliged to cover them with his hands, shutting out a great deal so that he might see just a little ... as it were between his fingers. as we think of god only under the form of light, it seemed to him that the revelation entered into him by his eyes rather than by his ears. he would return to the sage every day, but what if he were not able to remember, if it were all to end in words with nothing behind the words? the sage said that in a little while the discourses would not seem so elusive and evanescent. at present they seemed to joseph like the mist on the edge of a stream, and he strove against the belief that a philosopher is like a man who sets out to walk after the clouds. such a belief being detestable, he resolved to rid himself of it, and mathias would help him, he was sure, and in this hope he confided his life to him, going back to the night when samuel appeared to him, and recounting his father's business and character, introducing the different tutors that were chosen for him, and his own choice of azariah, to whom he owed his knowledge of greek. to all of which the philosopher listened complacently enough, merely asking if azariah shared the belief prevalent in galilee that the world was drawing to a close. on hearing that he did, he seemed to lose interest in joseph's story of azariah's relations to his neighbours, nor did he seem unduly afflicted at hearing that only the most orthodox views were acceptable in galilee. his indifference was disheartening, but being now deep in his biography, joseph related perforce the years he spent doing his father's business in northern syria, hoping as he told his story to awaken the sage's interest in his visit to jerusalem. the sadducees did not believe that jahveh had resolved to end the world and might be expected to appear in his chariot surrounded by angels blowing trumpets, bidding the dead to rise. but the pharisees did believe in the resurrection--unfortunately including that of the corruptible body, which seemed to present many difficulties. he was about to enter on an examination of these difficulties, but the philosopher moved them aside contemptuously, and joseph understood that he could not demean himself to the point of discussing the fallacies of the pharisees, who, joseph said, hope to stem the just anger of god on the last day by minute observances of the sabbath. mathias raised his eyes, and it was a revulsion of feeling, joseph continued, against hypocrisy and fornication, that put me astride my mule as soon as i heard of the essenes, the most enlightened sect of the jews in palestine. that you should be among them is testimony of their enlightenment.... mathias raised his hand, and joseph's face dropped into an expression of attention. mathias was willing to accede that much, but certain circumlocutions in his language led joseph to suspect that mathias was not altogether satisfied with the essenes. he seemed to think that they were too prone to place mere piety above philosophy: a mistake; for our intellect being the highest gift we have received from god, it follows that we shall please him best by using it assiduously. he spoke about the prayers before sunrise and asked joseph if they did not seem to him somewhat trite and trivial and if he did not think that the moment would be more profitably spent by instituting a comparison between the light of the intellect and that of the sun? mathias turned to joseph, and waited for him to confess his perplexities. but it was hard to confess to mathias that philosophy was useless if the day of judgment were at hand! he dared not speak against philosophy and it was a long time before mathias guessed his trouble, but as soon as it dawned on him that joseph was in doubt as to the utility of philosophy, his face assumed so stern an expression that joseph began to feel that mathias looked upon him as a fool. it may have been that joseph's consternation, so apparent on his face, restored mathias into a kindly humour. be that as it may, mathias pointed out, and with less contempt than joseph expected, that the day of judgment and philosophy had nothing in common. we should never cease to seek after wisdom, he said. joseph concurred. it was not, however, pleasing to joseph to hear prophecy spoken of as the outpourings of madmen, but--having in mind the contemptuous glance that would fall upon him if he dared to put prophecy above philosophy--he held his peace, venturing only to remark that no prophets were found in judea for some hundreds of years. except manahem, he added hurriedly. but his remembrance of manahem did not appease the philosopher, who dropped his eyes on joseph and fixed them on him. the moment was one of agony for joseph. and as if he remembered suddenly that joseph was only just come into the district of the jordan, mathias told with some ironical laughter that the neighbourhood was full of prophets, as ignorant and as ugly as hyenas. they live, he said, in the caves along the western coasts of the salt lake, growling and snarling over the world, which they seem to think rotten and ready for them to devour. or else they issue forth and entice the ignorant multitude into the jordan, so that they may the more easily plunge them under the flood. but of what use to speak of these crazed folk, when there are so many subjects of which philosophy may gracefully treat? prophets in caves about the salt lake! joseph muttered; and a great desire awakened in him to see them. but you're not going in search of these wretched men? mathias asked, and his eyes filled with contempt, and joseph felt that mathias had already decided that all intellectual companionship was henceforth impossible between them. he was tempted to temporise. it was not to discuss the resurrection that he desired to see these men, but for curiosity; and during the long walk he would meditate on mathias's doctrines.... mathias did not answer him, and joseph, seeing him cast away in philosophy and unable to advise him further, went to the president to ask for permission to absent himself for two days from the cenoby, a permission that was granted willingly when the object of the absence was duly related. chap. viii. there was one john preaching in the country about the jordan: the baptist, they call him, the president said. but go, joseph, and see the prophets for thyself. i shall be rare glad to hear what thou hast to say! and he pressed joseph's hand, sending him off in good cheer. banu, ask for banu! were the last words he called after him, and joseph hoped the ferryman would be able to point out the way to him. oh yes, i know the prophet; the ferryman answered: a disciple of john, that all the people are following. but there be a bit of a walk before thee, and one that'll last thee till dawn, for banu has been that bothered by visits these times, that he has gone up the desert out of the way, for he be preparing himself these whiles. for what? joseph asked. the ferryman did not know; he told that john was not baptizing that morning, but for why he did not know. as like as not he be waiting for the river to lower, he said. at which joseph had half a mind to leave banu for john; but a passenger was calling the ferryman from the opposite bank and he was left with incomplete information and wandered on in doubt whether to return in quest of the baptist or make the disciple his shift. the way pointed out to him lay through the desert, and to find banu's cave without guidance would not be easy, and after having found and interrogated him the way would seem longer to return than to come. but, having gone so far, he could not do else than attempt the hot weary search. and it will be one! he said, as he picked his way through the bushes and brambles that contrive to subsist somehow in the flat sandy waste lying at the head of the lake. but as he proceeded into the desert these signs of life vanished, and he came upon a region of craggy and intricate rocks rising sometimes into hills and sometimes breaking away and littering the plain with rubble. the desert is never completely desert for long, and on turning westward as he was directed, joseph caught sight of the hill which he had been told to look out for--he could not miss it, for the evening sun lit up a high scarp, and on coming to the end of a third mile the desert began to look a little less desert, brambles began again. banu could not be far away. but joseph did not dare to go farther. he had been walking for many hours, and even if he were to meet banu he could not speak to him, so closely did his tongue cleave to the sides of his mouth. but these brambles betoken water, he said; and on coming round a certain rock bulging uncouth from the hillside, he discovered a trickle, and a few paces distant, banu, ugly as a hyena and more ridiculous than the animal, for--having no shirt to cover his nakedness--he had tressed a garland of leaves about his waist! yet not so ugly at second sight as at first, for he sees god, joseph said to himself; and he waited for banu to rise from his knees. even hither do they pursue me, banu's eyes seemed to say, while his fingers modestly rearranged his garland; and joseph, who began to dread the hermit, begged to have the spring pointed out to him that he might drink. banu pointed to it, and joseph knelt and drank, and after drinking he was in better humour to tell banu that mathias, the great philosopher from alexandria, scorned the prophecies that the end of the world could not be delayed much longer. and, as john is not baptizing these days, i thought i'd come and ask if we had better begin to prepare for the resurrection and the judgment. on hearing joseph's reasons for his visit, the hermit stood with dilated eyes, as if about to speak. but he did not speak; and joseph asked him what would become of the world after god destroyed it. before answering, banu stooped down, and having filled his hand with sand and gravel he said: god will fill his hand with earth, but not this time to make a man and woman, but out of each of his hands will come a full nation, and these he will put into full possession of the earth, for his chosen people will not repent.... but the ferryman told me that john gathered many together and was baptizing in jordan? joseph inquired. to which banu answered naught, but stood looking at joseph, who could scarce bring himself to look at banu, though he felt himself to be in sore need of some prophetic confirmation of the date of the judgment. is john the messiah, come to preach that god is near and that we must repent in time? he asked; to which the hermit replied that the messiah would have many fore-runners, and one of these would give his earthly life as a peace-offering, but enraged jahveh would not accept it as sufficient and would return with the messiah and destroy the world. i am waiting here till god bids me arise and preach to men, and the call will be soon, banu said, for god's wrath is even now at its height. but do thou go hence to john, who has been called to the jordan, and get baptism from him. but john is not baptizing these days, the river being in flood, joseph cried after him. that flood will pass away, banu answered, before the great and overwhelming flood arises. will the world be destroyed by water? at this question banu turned towards the hillside, like one that deemed his last exhortation to be enough, and who desired an undisturbed possession of the solitude. but at the entrance of the cave he stopped: the track is easy to lose after nightfall, he said, and panthers will be about in search of gazelles. thou wouldst do well to remain with me: my cave is secure against wild beasts. look behind thee: how dark are the rocks and hills! joseph cast his eyes in the direction of jericho and thanked god for having put a kind thought into the hermit's mind, for the landscape was gloomy enough already, and an hour hence he would be stumbling over a panther in the dark, and the sensation of teeth clutching at his throat and of hind claws tearing out his belly banished from his mind all thoughts of the unpleasantness of passing a night in a narrow cave with banu, whom he helped to close the entrance with a big stone and to pile up other stones about the big stone making themselves safe, so banu said, from everything except perhaps a bear. the thought of the bear that might scrape aside the stone kept joseph awake listening to banu snoring, and to the jackals that barked all night long. they are quarrelling among themselves, banu said, turning over, for the jackals succeeded in waking him, quarrelling over some gazelle they've caught. a moment after, he was asleep again, and joseph, despite his fear of the wild beasts, must have dozed for a little while, for he started up, his hair on end. a bear! a bear! he cried, without awakening banu, and he listened to a scratching and a sniffling round the stones with which they had blocked the entrance to the cave. or a panther, he said to himself. the animal moved away, and then joseph lay awake hour after hour, dropping to sleep and awakening again and again. about an hour after sunrise, banu awakened him and asked him to help him to roll the stones aside; which joseph did, and as soon as they were in the dusk he turned out of his pockets a few crusts and some cheese made out of ewe's milk, and offered to share the food with his host; but banu, pointing to a store of locusts, put some of the insects into his mouth and told joseph that his vow was not to eat any other food till god called him forth to preach; which would be, he thought, a few days before the judgment: a view that joseph did not try to combat, nor did he eat his bread and cheese before him, lest the sight of it should turn the prophet's stomach from the locusts. it was distressing to watch him chewing them; they were not easy to swallow, but he got them down at last with the aid of some water obtained from the source, and during breakfast his talk was all the while of the day of judgment and the anger of god, who would destroy israel and build up another nation that would obey him. it would be three or four days before the judgment that god would call him out to preach, he repeated; and joseph was waiting to hear how far distant were these days? a month, a year, belike some years, for god's patience is great. he stopped speaking suddenly, and throwing out his arms he cried out: he has come, he has come! he whom the world is waiting for. baptize him! baptize him! he whom the world is waiting for has come. but for whom is the world waiting? joseph asked; and banu answered: hasten to the jordan, and find him whom thou seekest. chap. ix. i shall pray that the lord call thee out of the desert to join thy voice with those already preaching, joseph cried; and the hermit answered him: let us praise the lord for having sent us the new prophet! but do thou hasten to john, he called after joseph, who ran and walked alternately, striving up every hillock for sight of the ferryman's boat which might well be waiting on this side for him to step on board; joseph being in a hurry, it would certainly be lying under the opposite bank, the ferryman asleep in it, and so soundly that no cries would awaken him. but joseph's fortune was kinder than he anticipated, for on arriving at the jordan he found himself at the very spot where the ferryman had tied his boat and--napping--awaited a passenger. so rousing him with a great shout, joseph leaped on board and told the old fellow to pull his hardest; but having been pulling across the jordan for nigh fifty years, the ferryman was little disposed to alter his stroke for the pleasure of the young man, who, he remembered, had not paid him over-liberally yester-evening; and in the mid-stream he rested on his oars, so that he might the better discern the great multitude gathered on yon bank. for baptism, he said; or making ready to go home after baptism, he added; and letting his boat drift, sat discoursing on the cold of the water, which he said was colder than he ever knew it before at this season of the year: remarks' that joseph considered well enough in themselves, but out of his humour. so ye be craving for baptism, the ferryman said, and looked as if he did not care a wild fig whether joseph got it that morning or missed it. but there was no use arguing with the ferryman, who after a long stare fell to his oars, but so leisurely that joseph seized one of them and--putting his full strength upon it--turned the boat's head up-stream. there be no landing up-stream anywhere, so loose my oars or i'll leave them to thee, the ferryman growled, and we shall be twirling about stream till midday and after. but i can row, joseph said. then row! and the ferryman put the other oar into his hand. but we shall be quicker across if thou'lt leave them to me. and as this seemed to joseph the truth, he fell back into his seat, and did not get out of it till the boat touched the bank. but he jumped too soon and fell into the mud, causing much laughter along the bank, and not a few ribald remarks, some saying that he needed baptism more than those that had gotten it. but a hand was reached out to him, and that he should ask for the baptist before thinking of his clothes showed the multitude that he must be another prophet, which he denied, calling on heaven to witness that he was not one: whereupon he was mistaken for a great sinner, and heard that however great his repentance it would avail him nothing, for the baptist was gone away with his disciple. joseph, thinking that he had left the baptist's disciple in the desert, began to argue that this could not be, and raved incontinently at the man, bringing others round him, till he was hemmed into a circle of ridicule. among the multitude many were of the same faith as joseph himself, and these drew him out of the circle and explained to him that the baptist baptized in the river for several hours, till--unable to bear the cold any longer--he had gone away, his teeth chattering, with jesus the essene. jesus the essene! joseph repeated, but before he could inquire further, men came running along the bank, saying they had sins to repent, and on hearing that the baptist was gone and would not return that day, they began to tell each other stories of the great cloud that was seen in the east, bearing within it a chariot; and from the chariot angels were seen descending all the morning with flaming swords in their hands. get thee baptized! they shouted, and clamoured, and pushed to and fro--a thronging gesticulating multitude of brown faces and hooked noses, of bony shoulders and striped shirts. get thee baptized before sunset! everybody was crying. and joseph watched the veils floating from their turbans as they fled southwards. on what errand? he asked; in search of the baptist or the new disciple jesus? not the new disciple, was the answer he got back; for jesus leaves baptism to john. but why doesn't jesus baptize? joseph asked, since he is a disciple of the baptist. if baptism be good for him, it is good enough for another. and so the multitude seemed to think, and were confounded till one amongst them said that jesus might not be endowed with the gift of baptism; or belike have accepted baptism from john for a purpose, it having been prophesied that the messiah would have a forerunner. but who, asked many voices together, has said that jesus is the messiah? some maintaining that jesus was the lesser prophet. but this contention was not agreeable to all, some having, for, reasons unknown to joseph, ranged themselves already alongside of jesus, believing him to be greater than john, yet not the final prophet promised to israel. and these came to blows with the others, who looked upon john as the messiah, and jesus as the one whom john had called to his standard: a recruit--nothing. skinny fists were striving in the air and--thrusting himself between two disputants--joseph begged them to tell him if jesus, john's disciple, was from the cenoby? yea, yea, he heard from all sides; the shepherd of the brotherhood--that one who follows their flocks over the hills; but not being sure of his mission, he has gone into the desert to wait for a sign. an essene, but one that was seldom in the cenoby, more often to be met on the hills with his flocks. a shepherd? joseph asked. yea, and it was among the hills that john met him, and seeing a prophet in him spoke to him, and jesus, seeing that another prophet was risen up in israel, had thrown his flute away and gone to the president to ask for leave to preach the baptism of repentance unto men, for the grand day is at hand. joseph having heard this before, heeded only tidings of the new prophet, when a woman pressing forward shouted: a pleasant voice to hear on the mountain-side, said she; and another added: the hills will seem lonely without his gait. a great slinger, cried a third. but why did he come to john for baptism, knowing himself to be the greater prophet? a question that started them all wrangling again, and crying one against the other that repentance was necessary, or else the lord would desert them or choose another race. these are irksome gossips, a man said to joseph; but come with me and i'll tell thee much about him. no better shepherd than he ever ranged the hills. i wouldn't have thee forget, mate, another man said, that he's gone without leaving us his great cure for scab. true for thee, mate, answered the first, for a great forgetfulness has been on him this time past.... a great cure, certainly, which he might have left us. and the twain fell to discussing their several cures for scab. another shepherd came by and passed the remark that jesus knew the hills like one born among them. but neither could tell whence he came, nor did they know if he brought the cure for scab with him, or learnt it at the cenoby. the brotherhood has secrets that it is forbidden to tell. i be with thee on this matter, said another shepherd, that wherever he goes, he'll be a prize to a master, for the schooling he has been through will stand to him. the last of this chatter that came to joseph's ears was that jesus could do as much with sheep as any man since abraham, and--satisfied with this knowledge--he took his leave of the shepherds, certain that jesus must have been among the essenes for many years before god called to him to leave his dogs and to follow john, whom he began to recognise as greater than himself, but whom he was destined to supersede, as john's own disciple, banu, testified in the desert before joseph's own eyes. he remembered how banu saw john in a vision plunging jesus into jordan. of trickery and cozenage there was none: for the men along these banks bore witness to the baptism that joseph would have seen for himself if he had started a little earlier; nor could the jesus who came to john for baptism be other than the young shepherd whom joseph had seen, at the beginning of his novitiate, walking with the president in deep converse; the president apparently trying to dissuade him from some project. joseph could not remember having heard anyone speak so familiarly or so authoritatively to the president, a man some twenty years older; and he wondered at the time how a mere shepherd from the hills could talk on an equality, as if they were friends, with the president. the shepherd, he now heard, was an essene, but he lived among the hills, and joseph remembered the striped shirt, the sheepskin and the long stride. his memory continued to unfold, and he recalled with singular distinctness and pleasure the fine broad brow curving upwards--a noble arch, he said to himself--the eyes distant as stars and the underlying sadness in his voice oftentimes soft and low, but with a cry in it; and he remembered how their eyes met, and it seemed to joseph that he read in the shepherd's eyes a look of recognition and amity. and now, as he walked from the jordan to the cenoby, he remembered how, all one night after that meeting, dreams of a mutual destiny plagued him: how he slept and was awakened by visions that fled from his mind as he strove to recall them. but was this young shepherd the one that banu saw john baptize in the jordan? it cannot be else, he said to himself. but whither was jesus gone? did the brethren know, and if they did know would they tell him? it was against the rule to put questions: only the president could tell him, and he dared not go to the president. yet consult somebody he must; and a few days afterwards he got leave again to visit banu, whom he found lying in his cave, sick: not very sick; though having eaten nothing for nearly two days he begged joseph to fetch him a little water from the rock; which joseph did. after having drunk a little the hermit seemed to revive, and joseph related how he missed jesus on the bank and had no tidings of him except that he was gone into the desert to meditate. but the desert is large, and i know not which side of the lake he has chosen. to which banu answered: john is baptizing in the jordan; get thee baptized and repent! on which he reached out his hand to his store of locusts, and while munching a few he added: the baptist is greater than jesus, and he is still baptizing. get thee to jordan! at this joseph took offence and returned to the cenoby with the intention of resuming his teaching. but he was again so possessed of jesus that he could not keep his mind on the lesson before him: a pupil was often forced to put a question to him in a loud voice, and perhaps to repeat it, before joseph's sick reverie was sufficiently broken for him to formulate an answer. the pain of the effort to return to them was so apparent in his face that the pupils began to be sorry for him and kept up a fire of questions, to save him from the melancholy abstractions to which he lately seemed to have become liable. the cause of his grief they could not guess, but he was not sure they did not suspect the cause; and so the classes in which he heretofore took so much pleasure came to be dreaded by him. every moment except those in which he sat immersed in dreams was a penance and a pain; and at last he pleaded illness, and mathias took his class, leaving joseph to wander as far as he liked from the cenoby, which had become hateful to him. he was often met in the public gardens in jericho, watching the people going by, vaguely interested and vaguely wearied by the thoughts that their different shows called up in his mind; and he was always painfully conscious that nothing mattered: that the great void would never be filled up again: and that time would not restore to him a single desire or hope. nothing matters, he often said to himself, as he sat drawing patterns in the gravel with his stick. yet he had no will to die, only to believe he was the victim of some powerful malign influence. one day as he sat watching the wind in the palm-trees, it seemed to him that this influence, this demon, was always moving behind his life, disturbing and setting himself to destroy any project that joseph might form. another day it seemed to joseph that the demon cast a net over him, and that--entangled in the meshes--he was being drawn--somebody spoke to him, and he awoke so affrighted that the gossip could hardly keep himself from laughing outright. if the end of the world were at hand, let the end come to pass! he said; but he did not go to john for baptism. he knew not why, only that he could not rouse himself! and it was not till it came to be rumoured in jericho that a prophet was gone to egypt to learn greek that he awoke sufficiently to ask why a jewish prophet needed greek. the answer he got was that the new doctrine required a knowledge of greek; greek being a world-wide language, and the doctrine being also world-wide. as there was but one god for all the world, it was reasonable to suppose that every man might hope for salvation, be he jew or gentile. it seemed to joseph that this doctrine could only emanate from the young shepherd he had met in the cenoby, and he joined a caravan, and for fifteen days dreamed of the meeting that awaited him at the end of the journey--and of the delightful instruction in greek that he was going to impart to jesus. the heights of mount sinai turned his thoughts backward only for a moment, and he continued his dream of jesus, continuing without interruption along the shell-strewn shores of the sea of arabah, on and on into the peninsula, till he stepped from the lurching camel into the great caravanserai in alexandria. without exactly expecting to find jesus waiting for him in the street, he had dreamed of meeting him somewhere in the city. he was sure he would recognise that lean face, lit with brilliant eyes, in any crowd, and the thought of getting news of jesus in the synagogues in some sort drowsed in his mind. as jesus did not happen to be waiting outside the caravanserai, joseph sought him from synagogue to synagogue, without getting tidings of him but of another, for the camel-drivers at mount sinai had not informed him wrongly: a young jew had passed through the city on his way to athens, but as he did not correspond to joseph's remembrances of jesus, joseph did not deem it to be worth his while to follow this jew to athens. he remained in alexandria without forming any resolutions, seeking jesus occasionally in the jewish quarters; and when they were all searched he returned to the synagogues once more and began a fresh inquisition, but very soon he began to see that the faces about him were overspread with incredulous looks and smiles, especially when he related that his friend was the young prophet discovered by john among the hills of judea, tending sheep. what tale is this that he tells us? the jews asked apart; but finding joseph well instructed and of agreeable presence and manner, they made much of him. if galilee could produce such a man as joseph, galilee was going up in the world. we will receive thee and gladly, but speak no more to us of thy shepherd prophet, and betake thyself to our schools of philosophy, which thou'lt enjoy, for thy greek is excellent. but who taught thee greek? and while joseph was telling of azariah, little smiles played about his eyes and mouth, for the incredulity of the alexandrian jews had begotten incredulity in him, and he began to see how much absurdity his adventure made show for. the alexandrian jews liked him better for submitting himself so cheerfully to their learning and their ideas, and he became a conspicuous and interesting person, without knowledge that he was becoming one. nor was it till having moulded himself, or been moulded, into a new shape that he began to think that he might have done better if he had left the moulding to god. his conscience told him this and reminded him how he vowed himself to jesus, whom banu saw in a vision. all the same he remained, not unnaturally, a young man enticed by the charm of the greek language, and the science of the alexandrian philosophers, who were every one possessed of mathias's skill in dialectics. they all knew mathias and were imbued with much respect for him as a teacher, and were willing to instruct joseph in psychology, taking up the lesson where mathias closed the book. so, putting his conscience behind him, joseph listened, his ears wide open and his mind alert to understand that it was a child's story--the report in jerusalem that the end of the world was approaching, and that god would remould it afresh--as if god were human like ourselves, animated with like business and desires! he heard for the first time that to arrive at any clear notion of divinity we must begin by stripping divinity of all human attributes, and when every one is sloughed, what remains? divinity, joseph answered; and his instructor bowed his head, saying: here is no matter for reflection. the philosophers were surprised to learn that in jerusalem many still retained the belief that god was no more than a man of colossal stature, angry, revengeful, and desirous of burnt offerings and of prayers which were little better; that the corruptible body could be raised from the dead and given back to the soul for a dwelling. that jerusalem had fallen so low in intellect was not known to them; and joseph, feeling he was making a noise in the world, admitted that despite the knowledge of the greek language he accepted the theory that the soul was created before the body and waited in a sort of dim hall, hanging like a bat, for the creation of the body which it was predestined to descend into, till the death of the body released it. he was, however, now willing to believe that the souls of all the wise men mentioned in the books of moses were sent down to earth as to a colony; great souls could not abide like bats in the darkness, but are ever desirous of contemplation and learning. and on pursuing this thought in the greek language, which lends itself to subtle shades of thought, he discovered that there are three zones: the first zone is reason, the second passion and the third appetite. and this his first psychological discovery was approved by his teacher, and many months were passed over in agreeable exercises of the mind of like nature, interrupted only by letters from his father, asking him when he proposed to return home. after reading one of these letters, his unhappiness lasted sometimes for a whole day, and it was revived many times during the week; but philosophy enabled him to resist the voice of conscience still a little while, and even a letter relating the death of his grandmother did not decide his departure. it seemed at first to have decided him, and he told all his friends that he was leaving with the next caravan. but of what use, he asked himself, for me to return to galilee? granny is in her grave: could i bring her back to life i would return! so he remained in egypt for some time longer, and what enforced his return were the long plains, in which oxen drew the plough from morning till evening; and he had begun to long for clouds and for the hills, and the desire to escape from the plain grew stronger every day till at last he could not do else than yield to it. by the next caravan, he said to himself. in egypt he had met no prophet, only philosophers, and becoming once more obsessed by miracles, he hastened to banu, but of jesus banu could only tell him that he was doing the work that our father had given him to do. which is more than thou art doing. go and get baptism from john! go back to jericho and wait for a sign, leaving me in peace, for i need it, having been troubled by many, eager and anxious about things that do not matter. i will indeed, joseph replied, for nothing matters to me since i cannot find him. and he returned to jericho, saying to himself that jesus must be known to every shepherd; perhaps to that one, he said, running to head back his flock, which has been tempted by a patch of young corn; joseph stood at gaze, for the shepherd wore the same garb as jesus had done: a turban fixed on the head with two tiring-rings of camel's hair, with veils floating from the shoulders to save the neck from the sun. jesus, too, wore a striped shirt, and over it was buckled a dressed sheepskin; and joseph pondered on the shepherd's shoon, on his leathern water-bottle, on his long slender fingers twitching the thongs of the sling. he had been told that no better slinger had been known in these hills than jesus. but he had left the hills and had gone, whither none could tell! he was gone, whither no man knew, not even banu. he is about his father's work, was all banu could say; and joseph wandered on from shepherd to shepherd, questioning them all, and when none was in sight he cried again jesus's name to the winds, and never passed a cave without looking into it, though he had lost hope of finding him. but he continued his search, for it whiled the time away, though it did nothing else, and one day as he lay under a rock, watching a shepherd passing across the opposite hillside, he tried to summon courage to call him; but judging him to be one of those whom he had already asked for tidings of jesus, he let him go, and fell to thinking of the look that would come into the shepherd's face on hearing the same question put to him again. a poor demented man! he would mutter to himself as he went away. nor was joseph sure that his mind was not estranged from him. he could no longer fix it upon anything: it wandered as incontinently as the wind among the hills, and very often he seemed to have come back to himself after a long absence, but without any memory. yet he must have been thinking of something; and he was trying to recall his thoughts, when the shepherd came back into view again and joseph remarked to himself that he was without a flock. he seemed to be seeking something, for from a sheer edge he peered down into the valley. a ewe that has fallen over, no doubt, joseph thought; but what concern of mine is that shepherd who has lost a ewe, and whether he will find his ewe or will fail to find it? of no concern whatever, he said to himself, and--forgetful of the shepherd--he began to watch the evening gathering in the sky. very soon, he said, the hills will be folded in a dim blue veil, and sleep will perchance blot out the misery that has brooded in me all this livelong day, he muttered. may i never see another, but close my eyes for ever on the broad ruthless light. of what avail to witness another day? all days are alike to me. it seemed to joseph that he was of a sort dead already, for he could detach himself from himself, and consider himself as indifferently as he might a blade of grass. my life, he said, is like these bare hills, and the one thing left for me to desire is death. a footstep aroused him from his dream. the man whom he had seen on the hillside yonder had crossed the valley, and he began to describe the animals he had lost, before joseph recovered from his reverie. no, he said, i have seen no camels. camels might have passed him by without his seeing them, but there was no obligation on him to confide his misery to the shepherd, a rough, bearded man in a sheepskin, who thanked him and was about to go, when joseph called after him: if you want help to seek your camels, i'll come with you. even the company of this man were better than his loneliness; and together they crossed some hills. why, there be my camels, as i'm alive! the camel-driver cried. joseph had brought him luck, for in a valley close at hand the camels were found, staring into emptiness. strange abstractions! joseph said to himself, and then to the camel-driver: since i have found your camels, who knows but that you may tell me of one jesus, an essene from the cenoby on the eastern bank of the jordan? a shepherd of these hills? the man asked, and joseph replied: yes, indeed. to which the camel-driver answered: if i hear of him, i'll send him a message that you are looking for him, and i'll send you word that he has been found. but you'll never find him, joseph answered. you didn't think you would find my camels, the driver replied; but so it fell out, and if i could only find a few more camels, or the money to buy them, i could lay down a great trade in figs between jericho and jerusalem; he related simply, not knowing that the man he was talking to could give him all the money he required; telling that figs ripen earlier in jericho, especially if the trees have the advantage of high rocks behind them. it pleased joseph to listen to his patter: it seemed to him that his father was talking to him, and he was plunged in such misery that he had to extricate himself somehow. so he signed the deed that evening, and within a month a caravan laden with figs went forth and wended its way safely to jerusalem. another caravan followed a few weeks after, and still larger profits were made, and these becoming known to certain thieves, the next caravan was waylaid and driven away to the coast, and the figs shipped to some foreign part or sold to unscrupulous dealers, who knew them to be stolen. the loss was so great that gaddi said to joseph: if we lose a second caravan we shall be worse off than we were when we began, and we shall lose a third and a fourth, unless the robbers be driven out of their caves. let us then go to the roman governor, pilate, and lay our case before him. joseph had no fault to find with gaddi's words, and he said: it may be that i shall go to pilate myself, for i am known to him through my father, who trades largely between tiberias and antioch with salt fish. it so happened that pilate had received instructions from rome to give every protection to trade, it being hoped thereby to win the jews from religious disputations, which always ended in riots. pilate therefore now found the occasion he needed. joseph had brought it to him, for the ridding of the road between jerusalem and jericho would evince his ability as administrator; and with his hand in his beard, his fine eyes bent favourably upon joseph, he promised that all the forces of the roman empire would be employed to smoke out these nests of robbers. from the account given by joseph of the caves, he did not deem it worth while to send soldiers groping through the darkness of rocks; he was of opinion that bundles of damp straw would serve the purpose admirably; and turning to the captain of the guard he appealed to him, and got for answer that a few trusses of damp straw would send forth such a reek that all within the cave would be choked, or reel out half blinded. joseph reminded pilate and the captain of the guard that the openings of the caves were not always accessible, but abutted over a ledge away down a precipitous cliff. it might be necessary to lower soldiers down in baskets, or the caves might be closed with mortised stones. joseph's counsel was wise; the closing of the caves proved very efficacious in ridding the hills of robbers, though in some cases the robbers managed to pick a way out, and then sought other caves, which were not difficult to find, the hills abounding in such places of hiding. a cave would sometimes have two outlets, and it was hard to get the shepherds to betray the robbers, their fear of them was so great. but within six months the larger dens were betrayed, and while the robbers writhed the last hours of their lives away on crosses, long trains of camels and asses pursued their way from jericho to jerusalem and back again, without fear of molestation, the remnant of robbers never daring to do more than draw away a single camel or ass found astray from the encampment. the result of all this labour was that figs were no longer scarce in jerusalem; and when a delay in bringing wheat from moab was announced to pilate, he sent a messenger to joseph, it having struck him that the transport service so admirably organised by them both was capable of development. a hundred camels, joseph answered, needs a great sum, but perhaps gaddi, my partner, may have some savings or my father may give me the money. and with pilate's eyes full upon him, joseph sat thinking of the lake, recalling every bight and promontory, and asking himself how it was that he had not thought of galilee for so long a time. he longed to set eyes on magdala, and he would have ridden away at once, but an escort would have to be ordered, for a single horseman could not ride through samaria without a certainty of being robbed before he got to the end of his journey. pilate's voice roused joseph from his reverie, and after apologising to the roman magistrate for his absentmindedness, he went away to consult hurriedly with gaddi, and then to make preparations for the journey. it was a journey of three days on horseback, he was told, but of two days only on camel-back, for a camel can walk three miles an hour for eighteen hours. but what should i be doing on a camel's back for eighteen hours? joseph cried, and the driver showed joseph how with his legs strapped on either side of the beast he could lie back in the pack and sleep away many hours. your head, sir, would soon get accustomed to the rocking. but i should have to leave my horse behind, joseph said. he was fain to see his father and the lake; he was already there in spirit, and would like to transport his cumbersome body there in the least possible time; but he could not separate himself from xerxes, a beautiful horse that he had brought with him from egypt--a dark grey--a sagacious animal that would neigh at the sound of his voice and follow him like a dog, and when they encamped for the night, wander in search of herbage and come back when he was called, or wait for him like a wooden horse at an inn door. horse and horseman seemed a match the morning they went away to galilee together, xerxes all bits and bridles, stirrups and trappings, and joseph equipped for the journey not less elaborately than his horse. he wore a striped shirt and an embroidered vest with two veils falling from his turban over his shoulders, and as he was not going to visit the essenes, he did not forget to provide himself with weapons: a curved scimitar hung by his side and the jewelled hilt of a dagger showed above his girdle. his escort not having arrived yet, he waited; taking pleasure in the arch of xerxes' neck when the horse turned his head towards him, and in the dark courageous eyes and the beautifully turned hoof that pawed the earth so prettily. at last the five spearmen and their captain appeared, and xerxes, who seemed to recognise the escort as a sign for departure, presented his left side for joseph to mount him. as soon as his master was in the saddle, he shook his accoutrements and sprang forward at the head of the cavalcade, joseph crying back: he must have the sound of hoofs behind him. he could refuse his horse nothing, and suffered him to canter some few hundred yards up the road, though it was not customary to leave the escort behind, and when joseph returned, the foreman told him, as he expected he would, that it would be well not to tire his horse by galloping him at the beginning of the journey, for a matter of thirty miles lay in front of them. thirty miles the first day, he said, and fifty the second day; for by this division he would leave twenty-five miles for the third day; and joseph learnt that the captain had arranged the journey in this wise for the sake of the inns, for though they would meet an inn every twenty miles, there were but three good inns between jerusalem and tiberias. he had arranged too with a view to the rest at midday. our way lies, he said, through the large shallow valley, and that is why i started at six. it is about four hours hence, so we shall be through it well before noon. but why must we pass through it before noon? joseph asked. because, the captain answered, the rocks on either side are heated after noon like the walls of an oven, and man and beast choke in it. but once we get out of the valley, we shall have pleasant country. you know the hills, sir; and joseph remembered the rounded hills and azariah's condemnation of the felling of the forests, a condemnation that the captain agreed with; for though it was true that the woods afforded cover for wolves, still it was not wise to fell the trees; for when the woods go, the captain said, the country will lose its fertility. he was a loquacious fellow, knowing the country well, wherefore pleasant to ride alongside of, and the hours passed quickly, hearing him relate his life. and when after two days' riding joseph wearied of his foreman's many various relations, his eyes admired the slopes, now greener than they would be again till another year passed. the fig-trees were sending out shoots, the vines were in little leaf, and the fragrance of the vineyards and fig gardens was sweet in the cool morning when the dusk melted away and rose-coloured clouds appeared above the hills; and as joseph rode he liked to think that the spectacle of the cavalcade faring through the vine-clad hills would abide in his memory, and that in years to come he would be able to recall it exactly as he now saw it--all the faces of the spearmen and their odd horses; even his foreman's discourses would become a pleasure to remember when time would redeem them of triteness and commonplace; the very weariness he now experienced in listening to them would, too, become a perennial source of secret amusement to him later on. but for the moment he could not withstand his foreman a moment longer, and made no answer when he came interrupting his meditations with tiresome learning regarding the great acacia-tree into whose shade joseph had withdrawn himself. he was content to enjoy the shade and the beauty of the kindly tree that flourished among rocks where no one would expect a tree to flourish, and did not need to be told that the roots of a tree seek water instinctively, and that the roots of the acacia seek water and find it, about three feet down. the acacia gave the captain an opportunity to testify of his knowledge, and joseph remembered suddenly that he would be returning to jerusalem with him in three days, for not more than three days would his escort remain in galilee, resting their horses, unless they were paid a large sum of money; and with that escort idle in the village the thought would never be out of his mind that in a few days he would be listening to his foreman all the way back to jerusalem. impossible! he couldn't go back to jerusalem in three days, nor in three weeks. his father would be mortally grieved if he did; and pilate himself would be surprised to see him back so soon and think him lacking altogether in filial affection if, after an absence of more than two years, he could stay only three days with his father. he must, however, send a letter to pilate and one that consisted with all the circumstances. the barely stirring foliage of the acacia inspired a desire of composition: a more favourable moment than the present, or a more inspiring spot, he did not think he would be likely to find. he called for his tablets and fell to thinking, but hardly filled in the first dozen lines when his foreman--this time apologising for the intrusion--came to tell him that if he wished to reach magdala that evening they must start at once. he could not but acquiesce, and--as if contemptuous of the protection of his escort--he rode on in front, wishing to be left alone so that he might seek out the terms of his letter, and his mood of irritated perplexity did not pass away till he came within sight of the great upland, rising, however, so gently that he did not think xerxes would mind ascending it at a gallop. as soon as he reached the last crest, he would see the lake alone, having--thanks to the speed of xerxes--escaped from his companions for at least five minutes. he looked forward to these moments eagerly yet not altogether absolved from apprehension of a spiritual kind, for the lake always seemed to him a sort of sign, symbol or hieroglyphic, in which he read a warning addressed specially, if not wholly, to himself. the meaning that the lake held out to him always eluded him, and never more completely than now, at the end of an almost windless spring evening. it came into view a moment sooner than he thought for, and in an altogether different aspect--bluer than ever seen by him in memory or reality--and, he confessed to himself, more beautiful. like a great harp it lay below him, and his eyes followed the coast-lines widening out in an indenture of the hills: on one side desert, on the other richly cultivated ascents, with villages and one great city, tiberias--its domes, cupolas, towers and the high cliffs abutting the lake between tiberias and magdala bathed in a purple glow as the sun went down. my own village! he said, and it was a pleasure to him to imagine his father sipping sherbet on his balcony, in good humour, no doubt, the weather being so favourable to fish-taking. now which are peter's boats among these? he asked himself, his eyes returning to the fishing fleet. and which are john's and james's boats? he could tell that all the nets were down by the reefed sails crossed over, for the boats were before the wind. a long pull back it will be to capernaum, he was thinking, a matter of thirteen or fourteen miles, for the leading boat is not more than a mile from the mouth of the jordan. then, raising his eyes from the fishing-boats, he followed the coast-lines again, seeking the shapes of the wooded hills, rising in gently cadenced ascents. a more limpid evening never breathed upon a lake! he said; and when he raised his eyes a second time they rested on the ravines of hermon far away in the north, still full of the winter's snow; and--being a galilean--he knew they would keep their snow for another month at least. the eagerness of the spring would then be well out of the air; and i shall be thinking, he continued, of returning to jerusalem and concerning myself once more with pilate's business. but what a beautiful evening! still and pure as a crystal. a bird floated past, his black eyes always watchful. the bird turned away to join his mates, and joseph bade his escort watch the flock: a bird here and a bird there swooping and missing and getting no doubt sometimes a fish that had ventured too near the surface--that one leaving his mates, flying high towards magdala, to be there, he said, in a few minutes, by my father's house; and in another hour thou shalt be in thy stable, thy muzzle in the corn, he whispered into his horse's ear; and calling upon his comrades to put their heels into their tired steeds, he turned xerxes into the great road leading to tiberias. but there were some jews among the escort who shrank from entering a pagan city. their prejudices might be overcome with argument, but it were simpler to turn their horses' heads to the west and then to the north as soon as the city was passed. the detour would be a long one, but it were shorter than argument: yet argument he did not escape from, for as they rode through the open country behind tiberias, some declared that herod was not a pure jew; and to make their points clearer they often reined up their horses, to the annoyance of joseph, who could not bring the discussion to an end without seeming indifferent to the law and the traditions. but, happily, it had to end before long, for within three miles of magdala they were riding in single file down deep lanes along whose low dykes the cactus crawled, hooking itself along. one lane led into another. a network of deep lanes wound round magdala, which, judging by the number of new dwellings, seemed to have prospered since joseph had last seen it. humble dwellings no doubt, joseph said to himself, but bread is not lacking, nor fish. then he thought of the wharves his father had built for the boats, and the workshops for the making of the barrels into which the fish was packed. magdala owed its existence to dan's forethought, and he had earned his right, joseph thought, to live in the tall house which he had built for his pleasure in a garden amid tall acacia-trees that every breeze that blew up from the lake set in motion. if ever a man, joseph thought, earned his right to a peaceable old age amid pleasant surroundings, that man was his father; and he thought of him returning from his counting-house to his spacious verandah, thinking of the barrels of salt fish that he would send away the following week, if the fishers were letting down their nets with fortunate enterprise. chap. x. a very good guessing of his father's wonts and thoughts was that of joseph while riding from tiberias, for as the horsemen came up the lane at a canter the old man was wending homeward from his counting-house, wishing peter and andrew, james and john and the rest good fortune with their nets, or else, he had begun to think, the order from damascus cannot----- the completed sentence would probably have run: cannot be executed, but the sound of the hooves of joseph's horse checked the words on his lips and he had to squeeze himself against the ditch, to escape being trodden upon. joseph sprang from the saddle. father, i haven't hurt you, i hope? i was dreaming. why, joseph, it is you! you haven't hurt me, and i was dreaming too. but what a beautiful horse you are riding! aren't you afraid he will run away? up and down these lanes he would give us a fine chase. no, joseph replied, he'll follow me. and the horse followed them, pushing his head against joseph's shoulder from time to time; but joseph was too much engaged with his father to do more than whistle to xerxes when he lingered to browse. as we rode past tiberias, i had imagined you, father, sitting in the verandah drinking sherbet. we will have some presently, dan answered. i was detained at my business. tell me, father, how are the monkeys and the parrots? much the same as you left them, dan answered, as he laid his hand on the latch of the large wooden gate. a servant came forward to conduct them, and joseph threw his reins to him. a monkey came hopping across the sward and jumped on to joseph's shoulder. another came, and then a third. dan would have been annoyed if the monkeys had not recognised joseph, for it seemed to him quite natural that all things should love joseph. you see, he continued, the parrots are screaming and dancing on their perches, waiting for you to scratch their polls. joseph complied, and then dan wearied of the monkeys, which were absorbing joseph's attention, and drove them away. you haven't told me that you're glad to be back in galilee in front of that beautiful lake. jerusalem has its temple but god made the lake himself. but you don't seem as pleased to be back as i'd like. father, it is of thee i'm thinking and not of temples or lakes, joseph answered, and for a moment dan could not speak, so deep was his happiness, and so intense. overcome by it, they walked a little way and joseph followed his father up the tall stairs on to the verandahed balcony, and when they had drunk some sherbet and joseph had vowed he had not tasted any like it, dan interposed suddenly: but thou hast not told me, joseph, how thou camest by thy beautiful horse. he came from egypt, joseph answered casually, and was about to add that he was an egyptian horse, but on second thoughts it seemed to him that it would be well not to speak the word "egypt" again: to do so might put another question into his father's mouth; he would not commit himself to a rank lie, and to tell that he had gone to egypt could not do else than lead him into an intricate story which would indispose his father to listen to pilate's projects, or at least estrange dan's mind from a calm judgment of them; so he resolved to omit all mention of banu, jesus and egypt and to begin his narrative with an account of his meeting with the camel-driver gaddi. but the camel-driver seemed to be the last person that dan was interested in. but he's my partner! joseph exclaimed, and it was he who sent me to pilate. i'll tell thee about the essenes afterwards. and feeling that he had at last succeeded in fixing his father's attention on that part of the story which he wished to tell him, joseph said: an excellent governor, one who is ready to listen to all schemes for the furtherance of commercial enterprise in judea: he has ridded the hills of the robbers; and his account of the summer in the desert with the roman soldiers, smoking out nest after nest and putting on crosses those that were taken alive interested the old man. i wish he would start on samaria, dan mentioned casually; and joseph replied, and he will as soon as he is certain that he can rely on the help of men like thee. pilate's favour is worth winning, father, and it can be won. i doubt thee not, but wilt tell how it may be won, my boy? by falling in with his projects, joseph answered, and began his relation. and when he had finished, dan sat meditating, casting up the account: pilate's good will is desirable, he said, but a large sum of money will have to be advanced. but, father, the carrying trade has been a great success. well, let us go into figures, joseph. and they balanced the profits against the losses. without doubt thou hast done well this last half year, dan said, and if business don't fall away---- but, father, joseph interrupted, think of the profit my account would have shown if we had not lost two convoys. the loss has already been very nearly paid off. there are no more robbers and the demand for figs is steady in jerusalem. figs ripen much earlier---- say no more, joseph. my money is thy money, and if fifty camels be wanted, thou shalt have them. 'tis the least i can do for thee, for thou hast ever been a frugal son, joseph, and art deserving of all i have. so pilate has heard of my fish-salting and maybe that was why he met thee on such fair terms. that has much to do with it, joseph replied, and he watched the look of satisfaction that came into his father's face. but tell me, joseph, has all this long time been spent smoking out robbers? tell me again of their caves. well, father, the caves often opened on to ledges, and we had to lower the soldiers in baskets. and the tale how one great cavern was besieged amused the old man till he was nigh to clapping his hands with delight and to reminding joseph of the time when he used to ask his grandmother to tell him stories. were she here she'd like to hear thee telling thy stories. thou wast in her thoughts to the last and now we shall never see her any more, however great our trouble may be; and in the midst of a great silence they fell to thinking how the same black curtain would drop between them and the world. she has gone away to arimathea, joseph, whence we came and whither i shall follow her. we go forward a little way but to go back again. but i can't talk of deaths and graves. go on telling me about pilate and the robbers, for i've been busy all day in the counting-house adding up figures, and to listen to a good tale is a rare distraction. yet i wouldn't talk of them either, joseph, but of thyself and thy horse that all the country will be talking about the day after to-morrow, when thou'lt ride him into the town. and now say it, joseph: ye are a wee bit tired, isn't that so? nay, father, not a bit. we have come but twenty miles from the last halt, and as for the telling of my story, maybe the loose ends which i've forgotten for the moment will unravel themselves while we're talking of fish-salting--of the many extra barrels you've sent out. now, father, say how many? at it, joseph, as beforetimes, rallying thy old father! well, i've not done so badly, but a drop in the year's trading is never a pleasant thought, though it be but a barrel. and he began again his complaint against the government of antipas, who had never encouraged trade as he should have done. now, if we had a man here such as thy friend pilate, i'd not be saying too much were i to say that my trade could be doubled. but pilate has no authority in galilee. joseph thought that pilate's authority should be extended. but how can that be done? dan inquired, and being embarrassed for an answer, joseph pressed dan to confide in him, a thing which dan showed no wish to do; but at last his reluctance was overcome, and shyly he admitted that his despondency had nothing to do with antipas nor with a casual drop in the order from damascus, but with a prophet that was troubling the neighbourhood. a very dangerous prophet, too, is this one; but i am afraid, joseph, we don't view prophets in exactly the same light. joseph was about to laugh, but seeing the smile coming into his eyes, his father begged him to wait till he heard the whole story. he called up all his attention into his face, and the story he heard was that the new prophet, who came up from jordan about a year ago, was preaching that the lord was so outraged at the conduct of his chosen people that he had determined to destroy the world, and might begin the wrecking of it any day of the week. but before the world ends there'll be wars. joseph said: but there has been none, nor have i heard rumours of any. we don't hear much what's going on up here in galilee, dan answered, and he continued his story: the new prophet had persuaded many of the fishers to lay down their nets. simon peter, thou rememberest him? well, he's the prophet's right-hand man, and now casts a net but seldom. and thou hast not forgotten james and john, sons of zebedee? they come next in the prophet's favour, and there are plenty of others walking about the village, neglecting their work and telling of the judgment and the great share of the world that'll come to them when the prophet returns from heaven in a chariot. among them is matthew, a publican, the only one that can read or write. you don't remember him? now i come to think on it, he was appointed soon after thou wentest to jerusalem. soon after i went to jerusalem? joseph asked; was the prophet preaching then? no. it all began soon after thy departure for jerusalem about a year ago; a more ignorant lot of fellows thou'st be puzzled to find, if thou wert to travel the world over in search of them. the prophet himself comes from the most ignorant village in galilee--nazareth. but why look like that, joseph? what ails thee? go on, father, with thy telling of the prophet from nazareth. he started in nazareth, dan answered, but none paid any heed to him but made a mock of him, for he'd have us believe that he is the messiah that the jews have been expecting for many a year. but it was predicted that the messiah will be born in bethlehem; and everybody knows that jesus was born in nazareth. there's some talk, too, that he comes from the line of david, but everybody knows that jesus is the son of joseph the carpenter. his mother and his brothers tried all they could do to dissuade him from preaching about the judgment, which he knows no more about than the next one, but he wouldn't listen to them. a good quiet woman, his mother; i know her well and am sorry for her; but she has better sons in james and jude. joseph her husband, i knew him in days gone by--a god-fearing honest man, whom one could always entrust with a day's work. he doted on his eldest son, though he never could teach him to handle a saw with any skill, for his thoughts were always wandering, and when an essene came up to galilee in search of neophytes, jesus took his fancy and they went away together. but what ails thee? as soon as joseph could get control of his voice, he asked his father if the twain were gone away together to the cenoby on the eastern bank of jordan, and dan answered that he thought he had heard of the great essenes' encampment by the dead sea. a fellow fair-spoken enough, dan continued, that has bewitched the poor folk about the lakeside. but, joseph, thy cheek is like ashes, and thou'rt all of a tremble: drink a little sherbet, my boy. no, father, no. tell me, is the galilean as tall or as heavy as i am, or of slight build, with a forehead broad and high? and does he walk as if he were away and in communion with his father in heaven? but what ails thee, my son? what ails thee? he came from the cenoby on the eastern shores of the jordan? joseph continued; and has been here nearly two years? he received baptism from john in the jordan? isn't that so, father? i know naught of his baptism, dan answered, but he'll fall into trouble. i was with banu, joseph said, when the hermit saw him in a vision receiving baptism from john; but though i ran, i was too late, and ever since have sought jesus, in egypt and afterwards among the hills of judea. i can't tell thee more at present, but would go out into the garden or perhaps wander by myself for a little while under the cliffs by the lake. thou'lt forgive me this sudden absence, father? dan put down his glass of sherbet and looked after his son. he had been so happy for a little while, and now unhappiness was by again. chap. xi. the dogs barked as he unlocked the gate, but a few words quieted them (they still remembered his voice) and he crept upstairs to his room, weary in body and sore of foot, for he had come a long way, having accompanied jesus, whom he had met under the cliffs abutting the lake, to the little pathway cut in the shoulder of the hill that leads to capernaum. he had not recognised him as he passed, which was not strange, so unseemly were the ragged shirt and the cloak of camel's or goat's hair he wore over it, patched along and across, one long tatter hanging on a loose thread. it caught in his feet, and perforce he hitched it up as he walked, and joseph remembered that he looked upon the passenger as a mendicant wonder-worker on his round from village to village. but jesus had not gone very far when joseph was stopped by a memory of a face seen long ago: a pale bony olive face, lit with brilliant eyes. it is he! he cried; and starting in pursuit and quickly overtaking jesus, he called his name. jesus turned, and there was no doubt when the men stood face to face that the shepherd joseph had seen in the cenoby in converse with the president, and the wandering beggar by the lake shore, were one and the same person. jesus asked him which way he was walking, and he answered that all directions were the same to him, for he was only come out for a breath of fresh air before bed-time. but thinking he had expressed himself vulgarly, he added other words and waited for jesus to speak of the beauty of god's handiwork. jesus merely mentioned in answer that he was going to capernaum, where he lodged with simon peter. but he had not forgotten the brotherhood by the dead sea, and invited joseph to accompany him and tell him of those whom he had left behind. we are of the same brotherhood, he said; and then, as if noticing joseph's embarrassment, or you are a proselyte, maybe, who at the end of the first year retired from the order? many do so. joseph did not know how to answer this question, for he had not obtained permission from the president to seek jesus in egypt, and it seemed to him that the most truthful account he could give of himself at the cenoby was to say that he was not there long enough to consider himself even a proselyte. he lived in the cenoby as a visitor, rather than as one attached to the order; but how far he might consider himself an essene did not matter to anybody. besides he wished to hear jesus talk rather than to talk about himself, so he compared his residence with the essenes to a clue out of which a long thread had unravelled: a thread, he said, that led me into the desert in search of thee. jesus had known banu, in the desert, and listened attentively while joseph told him how banu was interrupted while speaking of the resurrection by a vision of john baptizing jesus, and had bidden him go to jordan and get baptism from john. but it was not john's baptism i sought, but thee, and i arrived breathless, to hear that thou hadst gone away with him, john not being able to bear the cold of the water any longer. afterwards i sought thee hither and thither, till hearing of thee in egypt i went there and sought thee from synagogue to synagogue. a man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it, jesus answered gently, and in a tenderer voice than his scrannel peacock throat would have led one to expect. and as if foreseeing an ardent disciple he began to speak to joseph of god, his speech moving on with a gentle motion like that of clouds wreathing and unwreathing, finding new shapes for every period, and always beautiful shapes. he often stopped speaking and his eyes became fixed, as if he saw beyond the things we all see; and after an interval he would begin to speak again; and joseph heard that he had met john among the hills and listened to him, and that if he accepted baptism from him it was because he wished to follow john: but john sought to establish the kingdom of god within the law, and so a dancing-girl asked for his head. it seemed as if jesus were on the point of some tremendous avowal, but if so it passed away like a cloud, and he put his hand on joseph's shoulder affectionately and asked him to tell him about egypt, a country which he said he had never heard of before. whereupon joseph raised his eyes and saw in jesus a travelling wonder-worker come down from a northern village--a peasant, without knowledge of the world and of the great roman empire. at every step jesus' ignorance of the world surprised joseph more and more. he seemed to believe that all the nations were at war, and from further discourse joseph learnt that jesus could not speak greek, and he marvelled at his ignorance, for jesus only knew such hebrew as is picked up in the synagogues. he did not seek to conceal his ignorance of this world from joseph, and almost made parade of it, as if he was aware that one must discard a great deal to gain a little, as if he would impress this truth upon joseph, almost as if he would reprove him for having spent so much time on learning greek, for instance, and greek philosophy. he treated these things as negligible when joseph spoke of them, and evinced more interest in joseph himself, who admitted he had returned from philosophy to the love of god. now sitting on his bed, kept awake by his memories, joseph relived in thought the hours he had spent with jesus. he seemed to comprehend the significance of every word much better now than when he was with jesus, and he deplored his obtuseness and revised all the answers given to jesus. he remembered with sorrow how he tried to explain to jesus the teaching of the alexandrian philosophers regarding the scriptures, paining jesus very much by his recital but he had continued to explain for the sake of the answer that he knew would come at last. it did come. he remembered jesus saying that philosophies change in different men, but the love of god is the same in all men. a great truth, joseph said to himself, for every school is in opposition to another school. but how did jesus come to know this being without philosophy? he had been tempted to ask how he was able to get at the truth of things without the greek language and without education, but refrained lest a question should break the harmony of the evening. the past was not yet past and sitting on his bed in the moonlight joseph could re-see the plain covered with beautiful grasses and flowers, with low flowering bushes waving over dusky headlands, for it was dark as they crossed the plain; and they had heard rather than seen the rushing stream, bubbling out of the earth, making music in the still night. he knew the stream from early childhood, but he had never really known it until he stood with jesus under the stars by the narrow pathway cut in the shoulder of the hill, whither the way leads to capernaum, for it was there that jesus took his hands and said the words: "our father which is in heaven." at these words their eyes were raised to the skies, and jesus said: whoever admires the stars and the flowers finds god in his heart and sees him in his neighbour's face. and as joseph sat, his hands on his knees, he recalled the moment that jesus turned from him abruptly and passed into the shadow of the hillside that fell across the flowering mead. he heard his footsteps and had listened, repressing the passionate desire to follow him and to say: having found thee, i can leave thee never again. it was fear of jesus that prevented him from following jesus, and he returned slowly the way he came, his eyes fixed on the stars, for the day was now well behind the hills and the night all over the valley, calm and still. the stars in their allotted places, he said: as they have always been and always will be. he stood watching them. behind the stars that twinkled were stars that blazed; behind the stars that blazed were smaller stars, and behind them a sort of luminous dust. and all this immensity is god's dwelling-place, he said. the stars are god's eyes; we live under his eyes and he has given us a beautiful garden to live in. are we worthy of it? he asked; and jew though he was he forgot god for a moment in the sweetness of the breathing of earth, for there is no more lovely plain in the spring of the year than the plain of gennesaret. every breath of air brought a new and exquisite scent to him, and through the myrtle bushes he could hear the streams singing their way down to the lake; and when he came to the lake's edge he heard the warble that came into his ear when he was a little child, which it retained always. he heard it in egypt, under the pyramids, and the cataracts of the nile were not able to silence it in his ears. but suddenly from among the myrtle bushes a song arose. it began with a little phrase of three notes, which the bird repeated, as if to impress the listener and prepare him for the runs and trills and joyous little cadenzas that were to follow. a sudden shower of jewels it seemed like, and when the last drops had fallen the bird began another song, a continuation of the first, but more voluptuous and intense; and then, as if he felt that he had set the theme sufficiently, he started away into new trills and shakes and runs, piling cadenza upon cadenza till the theme seemed lost, but the bird held it in memory while all his musical extravagances were flowing, and when the inevitable moment came he repeated the first three notes. again joseph heard the warbling water, and it seemed to him that he could hear the stars throbbing. it was one of those moments when the soul of man seems to break, to yearn for that original unity out of which some sad fate has cast it--a moment when the world seems to be one thing and not several things: the stars and the stream, the odours afloat upon the stream, the bird's song and the words of jesus: whosoever admires the stars and flowers finds god in his heart, seemed to become all blended into one extraordinary harmony; and unable to resist the emotion of the moment any longer, joseph threw himself upon the ground and prayed that the moment he was living in might not be taken from him, but that it might endure for ever. but while he prayed, the moment was passing, and becoming suddenly aware that it had gone, he rose from his knees and returned home mentally weary and sad at heart; but sitting on his bedside the remembrance that he was to meet jesus in the morning at capernaum called up the ghost of a departed ecstasy, and his head drowsing upon his pillow he fell asleep, hushed by remembrances. chap. xii. a few hours later he was speeding along the lake's edge in the bright morning, happy as the bird singing in the skies, when the thought like a dagger-thrust crossed his mind that being the son of a rich man jesus could not receive him as a disciple, only the poor were welcome into the brotherhood of the poor. his father had told him as much, and the beggar whom he had met under the cliffs, smelling of rags and raw garlic, expressed the riches of simplicity. happy, happy evening, for ever gone by! happy ignorance already turned into knowledge! for in peter's house jesus would hear that the man whom he had met under the cliffs was the son of the fish-salter of magdala, and perhaps they knew enough of his story to add, who has been making money in jerusalem himself and has no doubt come to galilee to engage his father in some new trade that will extort more money from the poor. he is not for thy company. a great aversion seized him for capernaum, and he walked, overcome with grief, to the lake's edge and stooped to pick up a smooth stone, thinking to send it skimming over the water, as he used to when a boy; but there was neither the will nor the strength in him for the innocent sport, and he lay down, exhausted in mind and body, to lament this new triumph of the demon that from the beginning of his life thwarted him and interrupted all his designs--this time intervening at the last moment as if with a purpose of great cruelty. this demon seemed to him to descend out of the blue air and sometimes to step out of the blue water, and joseph was betimes moved to rush into the lake, for there seemed to him no other way of escaping from him. then he would turn back from the foam and the reeds, and pray to the demon to leave him for some little while in peace: let me be with jesus for a little while, and then i'll do thy bidding. tie the tongues of those that would tell him i'm the son of a rich man--simon peter, james and john, sons of zebedee. james would say a word in his favour, but jesus would answer: why did he not tell these things to me overnight? and if he loves me, why does he not rid himself of the wealth that separates him from me? well, young master, cried somebody behind him, now what be ye thinking over this fine morning? of the fish the nets will bring to be safely packed away in your father's barrels? my father's barrels be accursed! joseph exclaimed, springing to his feet. and why dost thou call me master? i'm not master, nor art thou servant. and then, his eyes opening fully to the external world, he recognised the nearly hunchback philip of capernaum--a high-necked, thick-set fellow, in whom a hooked nose and prominent eyes were the distinguishing features. a sail-maker, that spoke with a sharp voice, and joseph remembered him as combining the oddest innocence of mind regarding spiritual things with a certain shrewdness in the conduct of his business. thy voice startled me out of a dream, joseph said, and i knew not what i said. beg pardon, master--but the word "sir" you like no better, and it would sound unseemly to call you "joseph" and no more. as we are not born the same height nor strength nor wits, such little differences as "sir" and "master" get into our speech. all those that love god are the same, and there is neither class nor wealth, only love, joseph answered passionately. that is the teaching of the new prophet jesus, philip replied, his yapping voice assuming an inveigling tone or something like one. i was in magdala yester evening, and spent the night in my debtor's house, and as we were figuring out the principal and interest a neighbour came in, and among his several news was that you were seen walking with jesus by the lake in the direction of capernaum. we were glad to hear that, for having only returned to us last night you did not know that jesus has become a great man in these parts, especially since he has come to lodge in simon peter's house. that was a great step for him. but i must be hastening away, for a meeting is at simon peter's house. and i have promised jesus to be there too, joseph answered. then we may step the way out together, philip answered, looking up into joseph's face, and--as if he read there encouragement to speak out the whole of his mind--he continued: i was saying that it was a great step up for him when simon peter took him to lodge in his house, for beforetimes he had, as the saying is, no place to lay his head: an outcast from cana, whither he went first to his mother's house, and it is said he turned water into wine on one occasion at a marriage feast; but that cannot be true, for if it were, there is no reason that i can see why he should stay his hand and not turn all water into wine. to which joseph replied that it would be a great misfortune, for the greater part of men would be as drunk as noah was when he planted a vineyard, and we know how lot's daughters turned their father's drunkenness to account. moreover, philip, if jesus had turned all the water into wine there would be no miracle, for a miracle is a special act performed by someone whom god has chosen as an instrument. it is as likely as not, master, that you be right in what you say, for there's no saying what is true and what is false in this world, for what one man says another man denies, and it is not even certain that all men see and hear alike. but, philip, thou must remember that though men neither hear nor see alike, yet the love of god is the same in every man. but is it? philip asked. for can it be denied that some men love god in the hope that god may do something for them, while others love god lest he may punish them. but methinks that such love as that is more fear than love; and then there are others that can love god--well, just because it seems to them that god is by them, just as i'm by you at the present moment. jesus is such an one. but there be not many like him, and that was why his teaching found no favour either in cana or in nazareth. in them parts they knew that he was the carpenter's son, and his mother and his brothers and sisters were a hindrance to him, for thinking him a bit queer, they came ofttimes to the synagogues to ask him to come home with them, for they are shrewd enough to see that such talk as his will bring him no good in the end, for priests are strong everywhere and have the law of the land on their side, for governors would make but poor shift to govern without them. but why then, philip, shouldst thou who art a cautious man, be going to peter's house to meet him? well, that's the question i've been asking myself all the morning till i came upon you. master, sitting by the lake, and not unlikely you were asking yourself the same question, sitting over yonder by the lake all by yourself. he casts a spell upon me, i'm thinking, and has, it would seem to me, cast one upon you, for you went a long way with him last night, by all accounts. i'd have it from thee, philip, how long he has been in these parts? well, i should say it must be two years or thereabouts that he came up from jericho, staying but a little while in jerusalem and going on to his mother at cana, and afterwards trying his luck, as i have said, in nazareth. but his mother hasn't seen him for many a year? he has been away since childhood, living with a certain sect of jews called the essenes, and it was john---- yes, i know john was baptizing in jordan, joseph interrupted, and he baptized jesus. and after that he went into the desert, said philip hurriedly, for he did not like being interrupted in his story. he came up to nazareth, i was saying, about two years ago, but was thrown out of that city and came here; he was more fortunate here, picking up bits of food from the people now and then, who, thinking him harmless, let him sleep in an odd hole or corner; but he must have often been like dying of hunger by the wayside, for he was always travelling, going his rounds from village to village. but luck was on his side, and when he was near dying a traveller would come by and raise him and give him a little wine. he is one of those that can do with little, and after the first few months he had the luck to cast out one or two devils, and finding he could cast out devils, he turned to the healing of the sick; and many is the withered limb that he put right, and many a lame man he has set walking with as good a stride as we are taking now, and many a blind man's eyes he has opened, and the scrofulous he cured by looking at them--so it is said. and so his fame grew from day to day; the people love him, for he asks no money from them, which is a sure way into men's affections; but those whose children he has cured cannot see him go away hungry, and they put a loaf into his shirt, for he takes anything that he can get except money, which he will not look upon. there has been no holier man in these parts, sir, these many years. the oldest in the country cannot remember one like him--my father is nearer ninety than eighty, and he says that jesus is a greater man than he ever heard his father tell of, and he was well into the eighties before he died. now, sir, as we are near to peter's house, you'll not mind my telling you that there is no "sir" or "master" at peter's house. but, philip, has it not already been said that thou mayst drop such titles as "sir" and "master" in addressing me? and wert thou not at one with me that we should be more courteous and friendly one between the other without them? well, yes, master, i do recollect some such talk between us, but now that we be coming into capernaum it would be well that i should call you "joseph," but "joseph" would be difficult to me at first, and we are all brothers amongst us, only jesus is master over all of us, and god over him. but it now strikes my mind that i have not told you how jesus and peter became acquainted. one day as jesus was passing on his rounds a man ran out of his house and besought him to help him to stop some boys who were playing drums and fifes and psalteries, saying to him: i know not who thou art, but my wife's mother is dying of fever, and the boys jeer at me and show no mercy. let us take stones and cast them at them. but jesus answered: no stone is required; and turning to the boys he said: boys, all this woman asks of you is to be allowed to die in quiet, and you may ask the same thing some day, and that day may not be long delayed. whereupon the boys were ashamed, and jesus followed peter into his house and took his wife's mother's hand and lifted her up a little and placed her head upon the pillow and bade her sleep, which she did, and seeing that he had such power peter asked him to remain in the house till his mother-in-law opened her eyes, which he did, and he has been there ever since. now here we are at the pathway through which jesus comes and goes every day on his mission of healing and preaching the love of god. your father, sir, is much opposed to jesus, who he says has persuaded peter away from his fishing and james and john and many others, but no doubt your father told you these things last night. chap. xiii. yonder is capernaum--or it would have been more in our speech had i said, why, brother, yonder is capernaum. but habit's like a fly, brother, it won't leave us alone, it comes back however often and angrily we may drive it away. joseph made no reply, hoping by silence to quiet philip's tongue which returned to the attack, he was fain to admit, not altogether unlike a fly. he tried not to hear him, for the sight of the town at the head of the lake awakened recollections of himself and his nurse walking valiantly, their strength holding out till they reached capernaum, but after eating at the inn they were too weary to return to magdala on foot and peter had had to take them back in his boat. peter's boat was his adventure in those days, and strangely distinct the day rose up in his mind that he and peter had gone forth firm in the resolution that they would ascend the jordan as far as the waters of merom. they succeeded in dragging the boat over the shallows, but there was much wind on the distant lake. peter thought it would not be well to venture out upon it, and andrew thought so too. he was now going to see those two brothers again after a long absence and was not certain whether he was glad or sorry. it seemed to him that the lake, its towns and villages, were too inseparably part of himself for him to wish to see them with the physical eyes, and that it would be wiser to keep this part of galilee, the upper reaches of the lake at least, for his meditations; yet he did not think he would like to return to magdala without seeing capernaum. perhaps because jesus was there. that jesus should have pitched upon capernaum as a centre revived his interest in it, and there was a certain pathetic interest attached to the memory of a question he once put to his father. he asked him if capernaum was the greatest city in the world, and for years after he was teased till capernaum became hateful to him; but capernaum within the last few minutes regained its place in his affections. and as the town became hallowed in recollection he cried out to philip that he could not go farther with him. not go any farther with me, philip answered: now why is that, brother, for peter is waiting to see you and will take on mightily when i tell him that you came to the head of the lake with me and turned back. but it is peter whom i fear to meet, joseph muttered, and then at the sight of the long lean street slanting down the hillside towards the lake, breaking up into irregular hamlets, some situated at the water's edge close to the wharf where peter's boats lay gently rocking, he repeated: it is peter that i fear. but unwilling to take philip into his confidence he turned as if to go back to magdala without further words, but philip restrained him, and at last joseph confessed his grief--that being the son of a rich man he was not eligible to the society of the poor. you will ask me, he said, to give up my money to the poor, a thing i would willingly do for the sake of jesus, whom i believe to be god's prophet; but how can i give that which does not belong to me--my father's money? that was my grief when you found me sitting on the stone by the lake's edge. whereupon philip stood looking at joseph as one suspended, for the first time understanding rightly that the rich have their troubles as well as the poor. at last words coming to him he said: money has been our trouble since jesus drew us together, for we would do without money and yet we know not how this is to be done. like you, sir, i'm asking if i'm to sell my sails, those already out and those in the unrolled material, and if i do sell and give the money to the poor how am i to live but by begging of those that have not given their all? but why should i worry you with our troubles? but your troubles are mine, joseph answered; and philip went away to fetch peter, who, he said, would be able to tell him if jesus could accept a rich man as a disciple. if a man that has a little be permitted to remain, who is to say how much means interdiction? joseph asked himself as he kept watch for peter to appear at the corner of the street. and does he know the master's mind enough to answer the question of my admission or---- the sentence did not finish in his mind, for peter was coming up the street at that moment, a great broad face coming into its features and expression. the same high-shouldered fisher as of yore, joseph said to himself, and he sought to read in peter's face the story of peter's transference from one master to another. it wasn't the approach of the great day, he said, for peter never could see beyond his sails and the fins of a fish; and if jesus were able to lift his thoughts beyond them he had accomplished a no less miracle than turning water into wine. well, young master, he said, we're glad to have you back among us again. there be no place like home for us galileans. isn't that so? and no fishing like that on these coasts? but, peter, joseph interrupted, my father tells me that thou hast laid aside thy nets--but that isn't what i'm here to talk to thee about, he interjected suddenly, but about jesus himself, whom i've been seeking for nearly two years, very nearly since i parted from you all, well nigh two years ago, isn't it? i've sought him in the hills of judea, in moab, in the arabian desert and all the way to egypt and back again. it's about two years since you went away on your travels, master joseph, and a great fine story there'll be for us to listen to when our nets are down, peter said. i'd ask you to begin it now, master joseph, weren't it that the master is waiting for us over yonder in my house. and from what philip tells me you would have my advice about joining our community, master joseph. you've seen no doubt a good deal of the temple at jerusalem and know everything about the goings on there, and are with us in this--that the lord don't want no more fat rams and goats and bullocks, and incense is hateful in his nostrils. so i've heard. they be isaiah's words, aren't they, young master? but there's no master here, only jesus: he is master, and if i call you "master" it is from habit of beforetimes. but no offence intended. you always will be master for me, and i'll be servant always in a sense, which won't prevent us from being brothers. the master yonder will understand and will explain it all to you better than i.... and peter nodded his great head covered with frizzly hair. but, peter, i am a rich man, and my father is too, and none but the poor is admitted into the community of jesus. that's what affrights him, peter--his money, philip interjected, and i have been trying to make him understand that jesus won't ask him for his father's money, he not having it to give away. i'm not so sure of that, peter said. the master told us a story yesterday of a steward who took his master's money and gave it to the poor, he being frightened lest the poor, whom he hadn't been over-good to in his lifetime, might not let him into heaven when he died. and the master seemed to think that he did well, for he said: it is well to bank with the poor. them were his very words. so it seems to thee, peter, that i should take my father's money? joseph asked. take your father's money! peter answered. we wouldn't wrong your father out of the price of two perch, and never have done, neither myself nor john and james. now i won't say as much for---- we love your father, and never do we forget that when our nets were washed away it was he that gave us new ones. i am sure thou wouldst not wrong my father, joseph answered, and he refrained from asking peter to explain the relevancy of the story he had just told lest he should entangle him. it is better, he said to himself, to keep to facts, and he told peter that even his own money was not altogether his own money, for he had a partner in jericho and it would be hard to take his money out of the business and give it all to the poor. giving it to the poor in galilee, he said, would deprive my camel-drivers of their living. which, peter observed, would be a cruel thing to do, for a man must be allowed to get his living, whether he be from jericho or galilee, fisher or camel-driver or sail-maker. which reminds me, philip, that thou be'st a long time over the sail i was to have had at the end of last month. and the twain began to wrangle so that joseph thought they would never end, so prolix was philip in his explanations. he had had to leave the sail unsewn, was all he had to say, but he embroidered on this simple fact so largely that joseph lost patience and began to tell them he had come to galilee, pilate wishing him to add the portage of wheat from moab to the trade already started in figs and dates. so pilate is in the business, peter ejaculated, for peter did not think that a jew should have any dealings with gentiles, and this opinion, abruptly expressed, threw the discourse again into disarray. but pilate is in jerusalem, joseph began. and has he brought the roman eagles with him? peter interrupted. and seeing that these eagles would lead them far from the point which he was anxious to have settled--whether the trade he was doing between jerusalem and jericho prevented him from being a disciple--joseph began by assuring peter that the eagles had been sent back to cæsarea. cæsarea, peter muttered, our master has been there, and says it is as full as it can hold of graven images. well, peter, what i have come to say is, that were i to disappoint pilate he might allow the robbers to infest the hills again, and all my money would be lost, and my partner's money, and the camel-drivers would be killed; and if my convoys did not arrive in jerusalem there might be bread riots. how would you like that, peter? now what do ye say to that, peter? and philip looked up into peter's great broad face. only this, peter answered, that money will shipwreck our community sooner or later--we're never free from it. like a fly, philip suggested, the more we chase it away the more it returns. the fly cannot resist a sweating forehead, philip, peter said. thine own is more sweaty than mine, philip retorted, and a big blue fly is drinking his belly full though thou feelest him not, being as callous as a camel. the master's teaching is, peter continued, having driven off the fly, that no man should own anything, that everyone should have the same rights, which seems true enough till we begin to put it into practice, for if i were to let whosoever wished take my boats and nets to go out fishing, my boats and nets would be all at the bottom of the lake before the sun went down as like as not, for all men don't understand fishing. as we must have fish to live i haven't parted with my boats; but every time we take that turning down yonder to the lake's edge and i see my boats rocking i offer up a little prayer that the master may be looking the other way or thinking of something else. james and john, sons of zebedee, are of the same mind as myself--that we shouldn't trouble the master too closely with the working out of his teaching. the teaching is the thing. why, they be coming towards us, as sure as my name's simon peter, sent perhaps by the master to fetch us, so long have we been away talking. joseph turned to greet the two young men, whom he had known always; as far back as he could remember he had talked to them over the oars, and seen them let down the nets and draw up the nets, and they had hoisted the sail for his pleasure, abandoning the fishing for the day, knowing well that joseph's father would pay them for the time they lost in pleasing his son. and now they were young men like himself, only they knew no greek; rough young men, of simple minds and simple life, who were drawn to jesus--james a lean man, whose small sullen eyes, dilatory speech and vacant little laugh used to annoy joseph. james always asked him to repeat the words though he had heard perfectly. joseph liked john better, for his mind was sturdy and his voice grew sullen at any word of reproof and his eyes flamed, and joseph wondered what might be the authority that jesus held over him, a rough turbulent fellow, whom joseph had always feared a little; even now in their greeting there was a certain dread in joseph, which soon vanished, for john's words were outspoken and hearty. we're glad to have you back again amongst us, master, i've been saying since i left capernaum this morning. but "master" is a word, john, that i've heard isn't used among you. truly it is not used among the brotherhood, john answered. and i came to ask admission, joseph said. well, that be good news, master--brother i should say, for our master will be glad to meet thee. but that, philip began, is just the matter we were speaking of among ourselves before we saw thee coming towards us. for there be a difficulty. he be as earnest as any of us, but our rule is what thou knowest it to be. despite john's knowledge of the rule philip began the story, and again he was so prolix in it that joseph, wishing john to decide on the strict matter of it, and not to be lost in details, some of which were true and some of which were false and all confused in philip's telling, interrupted the narrator, saying that he would give all the money that was strictly his, but his father's he couldn't give nor his partner's. we've many camels, he said, in common, and how are these to be divided? nor is it right, it seems to me, that my partner should be left with the burden of all the trade we have created together; yet it is hard that i who have sought jesus in the deserts of judea as far as egypt, and found him in galilee, at home, should be forced to range myself apart from him, with whom my heart is. would that the master were here to hear him speak, philip interjected. he was with the master last night, and the master was well pleased with him. it all depends on what mood the master be in, john answered, and they all fell to asking each other what the master's mood was that morning. but it would seem that all read him differently, and it was with joy at the prospect of a new opinion that they viewed judas coming towards them. and taking judas into the discussion peter said: now i've two boats, and john and james have four, so we aren't without money though our riches are small compared with the young master's. are we to sell our boats and give the money to the poor, and if we do who then will look after the master's wants? they are small it is true, a bit of fish and bread every day, and a roof over his head; but who will give him a roof if mine be taken from me? is not this so? all seemed in agreement, and peter continued: i am thinking, john, that our new brother might help us to buy the master a new cloak, for his is falling to pieces and my wife's mother is weary with patching it. he cured her of the fever, but she thinks that a great cost is put upon me and would ask the master something for his keep. whereupon john spoke out that the story of his mother-in-law was for ever the same; and seeing that he was offending peter with the words he addressed against his wife's mother, though indeed peter liked her not too much himself, joseph put his hand in his pocket and said: here are some shekels, go and buy jesus a cloak, but say not to him whence the money came. say not to him! judas interjected. no need to tell him that can read the thoughts in the mind. it would be better for the young master to give him one of his old cloaks. jesus would question the new cloak and say it savours of money. he sees into the heart. we have tried to keep things from him before, judas continued turning to joseph.... it is our duty to save him as much as we can. peter has done much and i've shared the expense with peter, though i am a poor man; we pick the stones from his path, for he walks with his eyes fixed upon the kingdom of god always. yes, he sees into our hearts, philip interrupted, and reads through all we are thinking even before the thoughts come into our minds. it is as philip says, judas muttered: our hearts are open to him always. but james, who had not spoken till now, put forward the opinion, and no one seemed inclined to gainsay it, that if jesus knew men's thoughts before they came into men's minds he must be warned of them by the angels. he goes into the solitude of the mountains to converse with the angels, james said--for what else? moses went into the clefts of mount sinai, joseph added, and he asked peter to tell him if jesus believed that the soul existed apart from the body, at which question peter was fairly embarrassed, for the soul must be somewhere, he said, and if there be no body to contain it---- you must ask the master about these things, we have not considered them. all the same we are glad that you are with us and ready to follow him into danger, for if the sadducees and pharisees are against him we are with him. is that not so, sons of zebedee? at the challenge the two lads came forward again and all began to talk of the kingdom of heaven, and the enthusiasm of the disciples catching upon joseph he, too, was soon talking of the kingdom that was to come, and whether they should all go down to jerusalem together to meet the kingdom and share it, or wait for it to appear in galilee. share and share alike, joseph said. ay, ay, sure we shall, and enjoy it, peter rolled out at his elbow. but we must set our hearts in patience, for there be a rare lot to be converted yet. every man must have his chance, and seeing jesus coming towards him peter waited till jesus was by him. haven't i thy promise, master, he asked, laying his hand on jesus' shoulder, that my chair in kingdom come will be next to thine? before jesus could answer john and james asked him if their chairs would not be on his left and right. but not next to the master's, peter answered. i'm on the right hand of the master, and my brother andrew on the left. look into his face and read in it that i have said well. but the disciples were not minded to read the master's face as peter instructed them to read it, and might have come to gripping each other's throats if jesus had not asked them if they would have the fat in the narrow chairs and the thin in the wide, as often happens in this world. the spectacle of peter trying to sit on james' chair set them laughing, and as if to make an end of an unseemly disputation john asked the master whither they were going to cure the sick that day? to which question jesus made no answer, for he felt no power on him that day to cure the sick or to cast out demons. you'll see him do these things on another occasion, peter whispered in joseph's ear; to-day he's deep in one of his meditations, and we dare not ask him whither he be going, but must just follow him. as likely as not he'll lead us up into the hills for---- but i see salome coming this way. you know her sons, john and james. the woman bears me an ill will and would have my chair set far down, belike as not between nathaniel and philip, who as you have noticed do not hold their heads very high in our company. but let us hasten a little to hear what she has to say. listen, 'tis as i said, master, peter continued; you heard her ask him that her sons should sit on either side of him. now mark his answer, if he answers her; i doubt if he will, so dark is his mood. but dark though it was he answered her with a seeming cheerfulness that in the coming world there is neither weariness of spirit nor of body, and therefore chairs are not set in heaven. a fine answer that, and peter chuckled; too wise for thee. go home and ponder on it. we shall lie on couches when we are not flying, he added, and being in doubt he asked joseph if the heavenly host was always on the wing. a question that seemed somewhat silly to joseph, though he could not have given his reason for thinking it silly. peter called on jesus to hasten for the disciples were half way up the principal street at a turning whither their way led through the town by olive garths and orchards, and finding a path through these they came upon green corn sown in patches just beginning to show above ground, and the fringe of the wood higher up the hillside--some grey bushes with young oaks starting through them, still bare of leaves, ferns beginning to mark green lanes into the heart of the woods, and certain dark wet places where the insects had already begun to hum. but when the wood opened out the birds were talking to one another, blackbird to blackbird, thrush to thrush, robin to robin, kin understanding kin, and every bird uttering vain jargon to them that did not wear the same beak and feathers, just like ourselves, joseph said to himself and he stood stark before a hollow into which he remembered having once been forbidden to stray lest a wolf should pounce upon him suddenly. now he was a man, he was among men, and all had staves in their hands, and the thoughts of wolves departed at the sight of a wild fruit tree before which jesus stopped, and calling john and james to him, as if he had forgotten peter, he said: you see that tree covered with beautiful blossoms, but the harsh wind which is now blowing along the hillside will bear many of the blossoms away before the fruit begins to gather. and the birds will come and destroy many a berry before the plucker comes to pick the few that remain for the table. how many of you that are gathered about me now---- he stopped suddenly, and his eyes falling on john he addressed his question directly to him as if he doubted that peter would apprehend the significance of the parable. but joseph, whom it touched to the quick, was moved to cry out, master, i understand; restraining himself, however, or his natural diffidence restraining him, he could only ask peter to ask jesus for another parable. peter reproved joseph, saying that it were not well to ask anything from the master at present, but that his mood might improve during the course of the afternoon. thomas, who did not know the master as well as peter, could not keep back the question that rose to his lips. our trade, he said, is in apricots, but is it the same with men as with the apricots, or shall we live to see the fruit that thou hast promised us come to table? whereupon james and john began to ask which were the blossoms among them that would be eaten by the birds and insects and which would wither in the branches. shall i feed the insects, master? matthew asked, or shall i be eaten by the birds? a question that seemed to everyone so stupid that none was surprised that jesus did not answer it, but turning to philip he asked him: canst thou not, philip, divine my meaning? but philip, though pleased to come under the master's notice, was frightened, and could think of no better answer than that the apricots they would eat in paradise would be better. for there are no harsh winds in paradise, isn't that so, master? thy question is no better than salome's, jesus answered, who sees paradise ranged with chairs. then everyone wondered if there were no chairs nor apricots in paradise of what good would paradise be to them; and were dissatisfied with the answer that jesus gave to them, that the soul is satisfied in the love of god as the flower in the sun. but with this answer they had to content themselves, for so dark was his face that none dared to ask another question till matthew said: master, we would understand thee fairly. if there be no chairs nor apricots in paradise there cannot be a temple wherein to worship god. to which jesus answered: god hath no need of temples in paradise, nor has he need of any temple except the human heart wherein he dwells. it is not with incense nor the blood of sheep and rams that god is worshipped, but in the heart and with silent prayers unknown to all but god himself, who knows all things. and the day is coming, i say unto you, when the son of man shall return with his father to remake this world afresh, but before that time comes you would do well to learn to love god in your hearts, else all my teaching is vainer than any of the things in this world that ye are accustomed to look upon as vain. upon this he took them to a mountain-side where the rock was crumbling, and he said: you see this crumbling rock? once it held together, now it is falling into sand, but it shall be built up into rock again, and again it shall crumble into sand. at which they drew together silent with wonder, each fearing to ask the other if the master were mad, for though they could see that the rock might drift into sand, they could not see how sand might be built up again into rock. master, how shall we know thee when thou returnest to us? wilt thou be changed as the rock changes? wilt thou be sand or rock? it was andrew that had spoken; and philip answered him that the master will return in a chariot of fire, for he was angry that a fellow of andrew's stupidity should put questions to jesus whether they were wise or foolish; but could they be aught else than foolish coming from him? andrew, persisting, replied: but we may not be within sight of the master when he steps out of his chariot of fire, and we are only asking for a token whereby we may know him from his father. my father and thy father, andrew, jesus answered, the father of all that has lived, that lives, and that shall live in the world; and the law over the rock that crumbles into sand and the sand that is built up into rock again, was in that rock before abraham was, and will abide in it and in the flower that grows under the rock till time everlasting. but, master, wilt thou tell us if the rock we are looking upon was sand or rock in the time of abraham? philip asked, and jesus answered him: my words are not then plain, that before that rock was and before the sand out of which the rock was built, was god's love--that which binds and unbinds enduring always though the rock pass into sand and the sand into rock a thousand times. and it was then that a disciple poked himiself up to jesus to ask him if they were not to believe the scriptures. he answered him that the scriptures were no more than the love of god. this answer did not quell the dissidents, but caused them to murmur more loudly against him, and jesus, though he must have seen that he was about to lose some disciples, would retract nothing. the scriptures are, he repeated, but the love of god. he that came to betray him said: and the gentiles that haven't the scriptures? jesus answered that all men that have the love of god in their hearts are beloved by god. is it then of no value to come of the stock of abraham? the man asked, and jesus replied: none, but a loss if ye do not love god, for god asks more from those whose minds he has opened than from those whose minds he has suffered to remain shut. at which peter cried: though there be not a pint of wine in all heaven we will follow thee, and though there be no fish in heaven but the scaleless that the gentiles eat---- he stopped suddenly and looked at jesus, saying: there are no gentiles in heaven. heaven is open to all men that love god, jesus said, and after these words he continued to look at peter, but like one that sees things that are not before him; and the residue followed him over the hills, saying to themselves: he is thinking about this journey to jerusalem, and then a little later one said to the others: he is in commune with the spirits that lead him, asking them to spare him this journey, for he knows that the pharisees will rise up against him, and will stone him if he preach against the temple. what else should he preach against? asked another disciple; and they continued to watch jesus, trying to gather from his face what his thoughts might be, thinking that his distant eyes might be seeking a prediction of the coming kingdom in the sky. we might ask him if he sees the kingdom coming this way, an apostle whispered in the ear of another, and was forthwith silenced, for it was deemed important that the master should never be disturbed in his meditations, whatever they might be. he stood at gaze, his apostles and his disciples watching from a little distance, recalling the day his dog coran refused to follow him, and seeing that the dog had something on his mind, he left his flock in charge of the other dogs and followed coran to the hills above the brook kerith, down a little crumbling path to elijah's cave. he found john the baptist, and recognising in him elijah's inheritor--at that moment a flutter of wings in the branches awoke him from his reverie, and seeing his disciples about him, he asked them whose inheritor he was. some said elijah, some said jeremiah, some said moses. as if dissatisfied with these answers, he looked into their faces, as if he would read their souls, and asked them to look up through the tree tops and tell him what they could see in a certain space of sky. in fear of his mood, and lest he might call them feeble of sight or purblind, his disciples, or many among them, fell to disputing among themselves as to what might be discerned by human eyes in the cloud; till john, thinking to raise himself in the master's sight, so it seemed to joseph (who dared not raise his eyes to the sky, but bent them on the earth), said that he could see a chariot drawn by seven beasts, each having on its forehead seven horns; the jaws of these beasts, he averred, were like those of monkeys, and in their paws, he said, were fourteen golden candlesticks. andrew, being misled by the colour of the cloud which was yellow, said that the seven beasts were like leopards; whereas philip deemed that the beasts were not leopards, for him they were bears; and they began to dispute one with the other, some discerning the father almighty in a chariot, describing him to be a man garmented in white; his hair is like wool, they said. and seated beside him matthew saw the son of man with an open book on his knees. but these visions, to their great trouble, did not seem to interest jesus; or not sufficiently for their intention; and to the mortification of peter and andrew, james and john, he turned to thaddeus and aristion and asked them what they saw in the clouds, and partly because they were loath to say they could see naught, and also thinking to please him, they began to see a vision, and their vision was an angel whom they could hear crying: at thy bidding, o lord; on which he emptied his vial into the euphrates, and forthwith the river was turned to blood. the second angel crying likewise, at thy bidding, o lord, emptied his vial; and when the third angel had emptied his, three animals of the shape of frogs crawled out of the river; and then from over the mountains came a great serpent to devour the frog-shapen beasts, and after devouring them he vomited forth a great flood, and the woman that had been seated on it was borne away. it was thaddeus that spoke the last words, and he would have continued if jesus' eyes had not warned him that the master was thinking of other things, perhaps seeing and hearing other things. it is known to you all, he said, that jeremiah kneels at the steps of my father's throne praying for the salvation of israel? therefore tell me what is your understanding of the words "praying for the salvation of israel"? was the prophet praying that israel might be redeemed from the taxes the romans had imposed upon them? being without precise knowledge of how much remission jeremiah might obtain for them, it seemed to them that it would be well to say that jeremiah was praying to god to delay no longer, but send the messiah he had promised. at which jesus smiled and asked them if the messiah would remit the taxes; and the disciples answered craftily that the messiah would set up the kingdom of god on earth: in which kingdom no taxes are levied, jesus replied. come, he said, let us sit upon these rocks and talk of the great prophecies, for i would hear from you how you think the promised kingdom will come to pass. and the disciples answered, one here, one there, and then in twos and threes. but, master, thou knowest all these things, since it is to thee our father has given the task of establishing his kingdom upon earth; tell us, plague us no longer with dark questions. we are not alone, thaddeus cried, a rich man's son is amongst us. if he have come amongst us god has sent him, jesus said, and we should have no fear of riches, since we desire them not. this kindness heartened joseph, who dared to ask jesus how he might disburden himself of the wealth that would come to him at his father's death. as no such dilemma as joseph's had arisen before, all waited to hear jesus, but his thoughts having seemingly wandered far, they all fell to argument and advised joseph in so many different ways that he did not know to whom to accede so contradictory were all their notions of fairness; and, the babble becoming louder, it waked jesus out of his mood, and catching joseph's eyes, he asked him if he whom our father sent to establish his kingdom on earth would not have to give his life to men for doing it. a question that joseph could not answer; and while he sought for the master's meaning the disciples began again aloud to babble and to put questions to the master, hurriedly asking him why he thought he must die before going up to heaven. did not elijah, they asked, ascend into heaven alive in his corporeal body?--and the cloak he left with elisha, aristion said, might be held to be a symbol of the fleshly body. this view was scorned, for the truth of the scriptures could not be that the disciples inherited not the spiritual power of the prophet, but his fleshly show. then the fate of judas the gaulonite rising up in peter's mind, he said: but, master, we shall not allow thee to be slain on a cross and given as food to the birds. the disciples raised their staves, crying, we're with thee, master, and the forest gave back their oaths in echoes that seemed to reach the ends of the earth; and when the echoes ceased a silence came up from the forest that shut their lips, and, panic-stricken, all would have run away if peter had not drawn the sword which he had brought with him in case of an attack by wolves, and swore he would strike the man down that raised his hand against the master. to which jesus replied that every man is born to pursue a destiny, and that he had long known that his led to jerusalem, whereupon peter cried out: we'll defend thee from thyself; for which words jesus reproved him, saying that to try to save a man from himself were like trying to save him from the decree that he brings into the world with his blood. and what is mine, master? it may be, jesus answered, to return to thy fishing. whereupon peter wept, saying: master, if we lose thee we're as sheep that have lost their shepherd, a huddled, senseless flock on the hillside, for we have laid down our nets to follow thee, believing that the kingdom of god would come down here in galilee rather than in jerusalem; pray that it may descend here, for thou'lt be safer here, master; we have swords and staves to defend thee--so let us kneel in prayer and ask the lord that he choose galilee rather than judea for the setting up of his kingdom. to which jesus answered nothing, and his face was as if he had not heard peter; and then peter's fears for jesus' life, should he go to jerusalem, seemed to pass on from one to the other, till all were possessed by the same fear, and peter said: let us lift up our hearts to our father in heaven and pray that jesus be not taken from us. let us kneel, he said, and they all knelt and prayed, but to their supplication jesus seemed indifferent. and seeing they were unable to dissuade him from jerusalem, peter turned to joseph. here is one, he said, who knows the perils of jerusalem and will bear witness, that if thou preach that god have no need of a temple or a sacrifice, thou'lt surely be done to death by the priests. peter's sudden appeal to his knowledge of the priests of jerusalem awoke joseph, who was wholly absorbed in his love of jesus, and thought only of rushing forward and worshipping; but he was held back and strained forward at the same time, and seeing he was overcome, peter did not press him for an answer, and joseph fell back among the crowd, ashamed, thinking that if peter came to him again he would speak forthright. he had words that would bring him into the sympathy of jesus, but instead of speaking them he stood, held at gaze by the beauty of the bright forehead, large and arched; and so exalted were the eyes that joseph could not think else than that jesus was looking upon things that his disciples did not see. it seemed to joseph that jesus was meditating whether he should confide all he saw and heard to his disciples. he waited, tremulous with expectation, watching the thin scrannel throat out of which rose a voice to which the ear became attuned quickly and was gratified as by a welcome dissonance. it rose up among the silence of the pines, and the delight of listening to it, joseph thought, was so near to intoxication that he would have pressed forward if he had not remembered suddenly that he was a new-comer into the community; one who might at any moment be driven out of it because he possessed riches which he could not unburden himself of. so he kept his seat in the background among the casual followers, by two men whose accents told him they were samaritans, and these now seemed within the last few minutes to have become opposed to jesus, and joseph wondered at the change that had come over them and lent an ear to their discourse so that he might discover a reason for it. and it was not long before he discovered that their objection related to the book of daniel, for they were of the sort that receive no scriptures after the five books of the law. joseph knew the book less perhaps than any other book of the scriptures; he had looked into it with azariah, but for a reason which he could not now discover he had read it with little attention; and since his schooldays he had not looked into it again. peter and andrew and john and james were listening intently to the story of nebuchadnezzar's dream for the sake of the story related and without thought of what might be jesus' purpose in relating it. but to joseph jesus' purpose was the chief interest of the relation; and the purpose became apparent when he began to tell how the great statue seen by nebuchadnezzar in his dream, whose head was gold, whose arms and breast were silver, whose belly was brass, and whose legs and feet were iron and clay intermingled, was overthrown by a stone that hand had not cut out of the mountain. this stone became forthwith as big as a mountain and filled the whole earth, and joseph fell to thinking if this stone were the fifth kingdom which the messiah would set up when the roman kingdom had fallen to dust, or whether the stone were the messiah himself. and while joseph sat thinking he heard suddenly that when nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and saw the four men whom he had ordered to be thrown into it walking through the flames safely, he said: and the form of the fourth is like the son of god. the story wholly delighted the disciples; and they asked jesus to tell them the further adventures of daniel, and as if wishing to humour them he began to relate that a hand had appeared writing on the wall during the great feast at babylon, a story to which joseph could give but little heed, for his imagination was controlled by the words, "whose form is like the son of god"--an inspiration on the part of the babylonian king. if ever a man had seemed since to another like the son of god, jesus was that man; and joseph asked himself how it was that these words had passed over the ears of the disciples--over the ears of those who knew jesus' mind, if any could be said to know jesus' mind. jesus, though he lived near them and loved them, lived in the world of his own thoughts, which, so it seemed to joseph, he could not share with anybody. not one of the men he had gathered about him, neither peter, nor john, nor james, had noticed the notable words: "and the form of the fourth is like the son of god." it was for these words, joseph felt sure, that jesus had related the story of daniel in the furnace. but his disciples had not apprehended the significance; and like one whose confidence was unmoved by the slowness or the quickness of his listeners, almost as if he knew that the real drift of his speech was beyond his hearers, jesus began to tell that darius' counsellors had combined into a plot against daniel and succeeded in it so well that daniel and his companions were cast in a den of lions. but there being nothing in the story that pointed to the setting up of the kingdom of god upon earth, joseph was puzzled to understand why jesus was at pains to relate it at such length. was it to amuse his disciples? he asked himself, but no sooner had he put the question to himself than the purpose of the relation passed into his mind. jesus had told the marvellous stories of daniel's escapes from death so that his disciples might have no fear that the priests of jerusalem would have power to destroy him: whomsoever god sends into the world to do his work, jesus would have us understand, are under god's protection for ever and ever; and joseph rejoiced greatly at having discovered jesus' intent, and for a long time the glen, the silent forest and the men sitting listening to the master were all forgotten by him. he even forgot the master's presence, so filled was he by the abundant hope that his divination of the master's intent marked him out as one to be associated with the master's work--more than any one of those now listening to him, more than peter himself. and so sweet was his reverie to him that he regretted the passing of it as a misfortune, but finding he was in spirit as well as in body among realities, he lent his ear to the story of the four winds that had striven upon the great sea and driven up four great beasts. these beasts joseph readily understood to be but another figuration of the four great empires; the babylonian, the persian, and the grecian had been blown away like dust, and as soon as the fourth, the roman empire, was broken into pieces the kingdom of the whole world would be given to the people of the saints of the most high. it was philip the nearly hunchback that asked jesus for an explanation of this vision--saying, and obtaining the approval of several for the question, would he, jesus, acquiesce in this sharing of the earth among the angels who had not seen him, nor heard him, nor served him upon earth. if the earth is to be shared among the angels we follow thee in vain, he muttered; and joseph felt that he could never speak freely again with philip for having dared to interrupt the master and weary him with questions that a child could answer. to whom philip said: but you, young master, that have received good instruction in hebrew and greek from the scribe azariah, and have travelled far, do you answer my question. if the earth is to be shared among angels---- he was not allowed to repeat more of his question, for a clamour of explanation began among the disciples that the earth would not be shared among the angels of god--god would find his people repentant when he arrived with his son. at last the assembly settled themselves to listen to the story of the vision in which a ram pushed westward and northward and southward, till a he-goat came from the west--one with a notable horn between the eyes, and butted the ram till he had broken his two horns. joseph had forgotten these visions, and he learnt for the first time, so it seemed to him, that the goat meant the syrian king, antiochus, who had conquered jerusalem, polluted the sanctuary and set up heathen gods. but how are all these visions concerned with the setting up of the kingdom of god on earth? and jesus' purpose did not appear to him till daniel heard a voice between the banks of the ula crying: make this man understand. joseph understood forthwith that jesus' purpose was still the same, to make it plain to the disciples that daniel was protected and guided by god, and, that being so, jesus could go to jerusalem fearing nothing, he being greater than daniel. so he sat immersed in belief, hearing but faintly the many marvellous things that daniel heard and saw, nor did he awake from his reverie till jesus announced that gabriel flew about daniel at the hour of the evening oblation, telling him that seventy weeks was the measure of time allowed by god to make reconciliation for iniquity and bring everlasting righteousness, and build jerusalem unto the messiah; and that after three score and two weeks the messiah should be cut off but not for himself. the words "cut off but not for himself" troubled joseph, and he pondered them, while the disciples marvelled at hearing jesus speak of these things (he seemed to know the scriptures by rote), and his voice went upward into the silence of the firs, and they heard as if in a dream that the king of the south should come into his kingdom and return to his own land. but his sons shall be stirred up and shall revolt against him, jesus said, and the disciples marvelled greatly, for jesus made clear the meaning that lay under these dark sayings, and they heard and understood how the robbers of the people should exalt themselves and establish a vision; but these shall fall and the king of the north shall come and cast up mounds and take the fortified cities. and they heard of destructions and leagues and armies and sanctuaries that were polluted, and of peoples who did not know their god, but who nevertheless became strong; and they heard of edom and moab and the children of ammon, but at the end of all these troubles the tabernacle was placed between the seas of the glorious holy mountain. and that day the fishers from the lake of galilee and others heard that michael had told the people of israel that those that were dead should rise out of the earth and come into everlasting life. but can the dead be raised up and come to life in their corruptible bodies? asked the samaritans that sat by joseph, and their mutterings grew louder, and they denied that the prophet daniel had spoken truth in this and many other things, and as he had not spoken truth he was a false prophet; whereupon so great a clamour arose that the wild beasts in the ravine began to growl, being awaked in their lairs. the disciples, foreseeing that it would soon be dark night in the forest, fell to seeking the way back to capernaum, the galileans in one group with jesus among them, the samaritans speeding away together and stopping at times for fresh discussion with the galileans, asking among many other things how the corruptible body might be raised up to heaven and live indulging in the many imperfections inherent in our bodies. it was vain to ask them what justice there would be if the men that had died before the coming of the kingdom of god were not raised up into heaven. if this were true the dead had led virtuous lives in vain; they might for all it had profited them have lived like the heathen. it was at capernaum that the truth became manifest that not only was daniel denied, but isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, all the prophets since moses, at which the disciples were greatly incensed and raised their staves against the samaritans, but jesus dissuaded his followers, and the dissidents were suffered to depart unhurt. let them go, jesus said, for they are in the hands of god, like ourselves, and he bade them all good-night, and there seemed to joseph to be a great sadness in jesus' voice, as if he felt that in this world there was little else but leave-taking. joseph too resented this parting, though it was for but a few hours; he would unite himself to jesus, become one, as the mother and the unborn babe are one--he would be of the same mind and flesh; all division seemed to him loss, till, frightened at his own great love of jesus, he stopped in the plain of gennesaret, star-gazing. but the stars told him nothing, and he walked on again. and it was about a half-hour's walk from magdala that he overtook the samaritans, who sought to draw him into argument. but he was in no humour for further discussion, and dismissed them, saying: what matter if all the prophets were false since the promised messiah is among us. he has come, he has come! he repeated all the way home: and at every flight of the high stairs he tried to collect his thoughts. but his brain was whirling, and he could only repeat: he has come, he has come! chap. xiv. it seemed to joseph as he hurried along the plain of gennesaret that the sun shone gayer than his wont, but as he approached capernaum he began to think that the sun had risen a little earlier than his wont. nobody was about! he listened in vain for some sound of life, till at last his ear caught a sound as of somebody moving along the wharves, and, going thither, he came upon peter storing his oars in the boathouse. making ready, joseph said, for fishing? you don't see, master, that i'm putting my oars away, but i'd as lief take them out again and fish till evening. here was a mysterious answer from the least mysterious of men, and peter continued in his work, throwing the oars into a corner like one that cared little if he broke them, and kicking his nets aside as if he were never going to let them down again into the lake: altogether his mood was of an exasperation such as joseph had never suspected to be possible in this good-humoured, simple fellow. had he been obliged to leave the community or sell his boats? if that were so, his chance (joseph's chance) of entering the community was a poor one indeed; and he begged peter to relate his trouble to him--for trouble there had been last night, he was sure of it. trouble there always is in this world, peter answered, so long as i've known it, and will be till god sets up his kingdom. the sooner he does it the better, so say i. but i don't know about the saints we heard of yesterday, what they have to do with it. the master's mood is stranger than i ever can recollect it, he said, standing up straight and looking joseph in the eyes. it was yourself that said it yesterday, peter, joseph rejoined. i'm thinking it may have been the samaritans that vexed him. peter lifted his heavy shoulders and muttered: the samaritans? we give no heed to them: and he began to speak, at first with diffidence; joseph had to woo him into speaking, which he did; but after the first few minutes peter was glib enough, telling joseph that last night there had been stirs and quarrels among the disciples regarding his boats, and john's and james' boats too, he said, and by the jealous and envious, he muttered, who would like to come between us and the master. joseph asked who had raised the vexatious question, but peter avoided it, and went about the wharf grunting that none could answer it: was it to matthew, the publican, he was to give his boats? one, he said, who never was on the water in his life till i took him out for a sail a week come tuesday. a fine use they'd be to him but to drown himself. a puff of wind, and not knowing how to take in a reef, the boat would be over in a jiffy and the nets lost. now who would be the better for the loss of my nets? answer me that. and i'd like to be told when my boats and nets were at the bottom of the lake to whom would the son of man turn for a corner in which to lay his head, or for a bite or a sup of wine. john and james would give their boats to judas belike, and he'd bring home about as much fish as would---- but i'm thinking of your father. what will he be saying to all this, and his business dwindling all the while, and we beggars?--the words with which my wife roused me this morning. of course, says she, if the stone that never was cut out of the mountain with hands is going to be slung and send the romans toppling, i've naught to say against sharing, but the kingdom had better come quickly, simon peter, if thou'lt fish no more; and the woman is right, say i, though i hold with every word that falls from the master's lips, only this way it is, he looks to my fishing for his support, and miriam is quick to remind me of that. a good woman, one that has been always yielding to my will and never had a word against our lodger, but sets the best before him out of thankfulness for his saving of her mother's life, though one more mouth in a house is always a drain, if the master is as easily fed as a sparrow. but restive she is now about the delay: as i was saying just now she wakes me up with a loud question in my ear: now, simon peter, answer me, art thou going into syria to bid the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the palsied to shake no more, or art thou going to thy trade? for in this house there be four little children, myself, their mother, and thy mother-in-law. i say nothing against the journey if it bring thee good money, or if it bring the kingdom, but if it bring naught but miracles there'll be little enough in the house to eat by the time ye come back. and, says she, the feeding of his children is a nobler work for a married man (she speaks like that sometimes) than bidding those to see who would belike be better without their eyes than with them. you wouldn't think it, but 'tis as i say: she talks up to me like that, and ofttimes i've to go to the master and ask him to quiet her, which he rarely fails to do, for she loves him for what he has done for her mother, and is willing to wait. but last night when the busybodies brought her news that the master had been preaching in the forest, of the sharing of the world out among the holy saints, she gave way to her temper and was violent, saying, by what right are the saints of the most high coming here to ask for a share of this world, as if they hadn't a heaven to live in. you see, good master, there's right on her side, that's what makes it so hard to answer her, and i'm with her in this, for by what right do the holy saints down here ask for a share in the world, that's what keeps drumming in my head; and, as i told you a while ago, i'd as lief put out upon the lake and fish as go to syria for nothing, say the word---- and leave the master to go alone? joseph interposed. well, i suppose we can't do that, peter answered, and then it seemed to joseph wiser not to talk any more, but to allow things to fashion their own course, which they did very amiably, in about an hour's time the little band going forth, joseph walking by peter's side, hoping that he would not have to wait long before seeing a miracle. their first stop was at chorazin, about five miles distant, and the sick began to rise quickly from their beds, and jesus had only to impose his hands for the palsied to cease quivering. the laws of nature seemed suspended and joseph forgot his father at magdala and likewise pilate's business which had brought him to galilee. it will have to wait, he said, talking with himself, and now certain that he had come upon him whom he had always been seeking; it was as lost time to look at anything but jesus, or to hear any words but his, or to admire aught but the manifestations of his power; and every time a sick man rose from his bed joseph thanked god for having allowed him to live in the days of the messiah. he saw sight restored to the blind, hearing to the deaf, swiftness of foot to cripples, issues of blood that had endured ten years stanched; the cleansing of the leper had become too common a miracle; he looked forward to seeing demons taking flight from the bodies of men and women, and accepted peter's telling that the day could not be delayed much longer when he would see some dead man rise up in his cere-clothes from the tomb. he found no interest but in the miraculous, and his one vexation of spirit was that jesus forbade his disciples (among whom joseph now counted himself) to tell anybody that he was the messiah. in every town they were welcomed by the gentiles as well as by the jews, which was surprising, and set joseph's wits to work; and these being well trained, he soon began to apprehend that the jews accepted the miracles as testimony that jesus was really the messiah and that his teaching was true; whereas the gentiles admired the miracles for their own sake, failing, however, and completely, to see that because he cured the blind, the palsied, the scrofulous and the halt, they should no longer visit their temples and sacred groves, and admire no more pan's huge sexuality and hang garlands upon it, nor carve images of diana and apollo. such abstinence they could not comprehend, and deemed it enough that they were ready to proclaim him a god on the occasion of every great miracle, a readiness that gave great scandal and caused many jews to turn away from jesus. it was not enough that he should repudiate this godhead; and the hardness of heart and narrowness of soul that he encountered among his own people afflicted jesus as much as did the incontinency of the gentiles, whom he sometimes met, bearing images in procession, going towards some shrine--the very same who had listened to his teaching in the evening. joseph once dared throw himself in front of one of these processions, and he begged the processionists to pan to throw aside the garlands and wreaths they had woven. this they would not do, but out of respect to the distinguished strangers that had come to their town they listened for some minutes to his relation that on the last day the dead would be roused by the trumpets of angels to attend the judgment and that the man jesus before them--the messiah announced hundreds of years ago in many a prophetic book--would return to earth in a chariot of fire by his father's side, the judgment book in his hands. may we now proceed on our way? they asked, but joseph besought them to listen to him for another few minutes, and thinking he had perhaps explained the resurrection badly, and forthwith calling to mind the philosophy of egypt and mathias, he asked them to apprehend that it would not be the corruptible body that would rise from the dead but the spiritual body, whereby he only succeeded in perplexing still further the minds of the worthy pagans of cæsarea philippi, and provoking stirs and quarrels among his own people. the processionists took advantage of this diversion of opinion among the jews to pass on and dispose of their wreaths and votive offerings as it pleased them to do. but on their way back they begged jesus to perform some more miracles, which he refused to do, and to their great amazement he left them for the tyrians and sidonians. but the same difficulties occurred in tyre and sidon, the gentiles accepting the miracles with delight but paying little heed to the doctrine. they begged him to remain with them and offered gifts for his services as healer, but he refused these and returned to galilee, having performed miracles of all sorts, without, however, having bidden a dead man rise from the grave, to the great disappointment of joseph, who would have liked to witness this miracle (the greatest of all); seemingly it was not his lot. peter bade him hope!--the great miracle might happen in galilee, and as such a miracle would evince the truth of jesus' messiah-ship even to his father, joseph remained in capernaum, going out in the boats with jesus and his disciples, sailing along the shores till the people gathered in numbers sufficient for an exhortation. as there were always many pharisees and sadducees among the crowds assembled to hear the master, he did not land, but preached standing up in the bow, peter vigilant with an oar, for priests are everywhere enemies of reformation and instigate attacks upon reformers, and those made on jesus were often so violent that peter had to strike out to the right and left, but he always managed to get free, and they sailed for less hostile coasts or back to the wharf at capernaum. it once occurred to them to try their luck with the gadarenes, and it was in returning from their coasts one evening that peter's boat was caught in a great storm and that joseph was met by one of his father's servants as he jumped ashore. the man had come to tell him that if he wished to see his father alive he must hasten to magdala, and joseph glared at him dumbfounded, for he had suspected all along that he had little or no right at all to leave his father for jesus. i did not know i was like this, he blurted out to himself. and as much to silence his accusing conscience as anything else he questioned the stupid messenger, asking him if his father had seen a physician, and if the physician had held out any hopes of a recovery. but the thin and halting account which was all the messenger could give only increased joseph's alarm, and it was with much difficulty that he learnt from him that the master had brought some walnuts to the parrots, and just after giving a nut to the green parrot had cried out to tobias that a great pain had come into his head. joseph dug his heels into his ass's side and cried to the messenger: and then? the messenger answered that the pain in the back of his father's head had become so great that he had begun to reel about, overthrowing one of the parrots on its perch. the parrot flew at master, thinking he had done it---- never mind the parrot, joseph replied angrily, confusing the messenger, who told him that the master had entered the house on tobias' arm, and had sat down to supper but had eaten nothing to speak of. none of us dared to go to bed that night, the messenger continued. we sat up, expecting every moment somebody to come down from the room overhead to tell us that the master was dead. the next part of the messenger's story was like a tangled skein, and joseph half heard and half understood that the great physician that had come from tiberias had said that he must awaken the master out of the swoon and at any cost. he kept bawling at him, the messenger said. bawling at him, joseph repeated after the messenger, and the messenger repeated the words, bawling at him, and saying that the physician said the master's swoon was like a wall and that he must get him to hear him somehow. he said the effort would cost your father, sir, a great deal, but he must get him to hear him. the story as the servant related it seemed incredible, but he reflected that servants' stories are always incredible, and joseph learned with increasing wonder that dan had heard the physician and sat up in bed and spoken reasonably, but had fallen back again unconscious, and that the physician on leaving him said that they must get his mouth open somehow and pour a spoonful of milk into his mouth, and call upon him as loudly as they could to swallow. what physician have they sent for? joseph asked the messenger, but he could not remember the name. it was ecanus who was sitting by dan's bedside when joseph arrived, and joseph learnt by careful nursing and feeding him every ten minutes there was just a chance of saving dan's life. for seven days dan's life receded, and it was not till the eighth day the wheel of life paused on the edge of the abyss. dan, with his eyes turned up under the eyelids, only the white showing, lay motionless; and it was not till the morning of the ninth day that the wheel began to revolve back again; but so slow were its revolutions that joseph was in doubt for two or three days. but on the fifth day he was sure that dan was mending, and in about three days more the pupils of dan's eyes looked at his son's from under the eyelids. he spoke a few words and took his milk more easily, without being asked to swallow. the pains in his head returned with consciousness; he often moaned; the doctor was obliged to give him opiates, but he continued to mend and in three weeks was speaking of going out to walk in the garden. to gain his end he often showed a certain childish cunning, urging joseph on one occasion to go to the verandah to see if somebody was coming up the garden, and as soon as joseph's back was turned he slipped out of bed with the intention of getting to his clothes. he fell, without, however, hurting himself, and was put back to bed and kept there for three more weeks before he was allowed a short walk. even then the concession seemed to be given too soon; for he could not distinguish the different trees, nor could he see the parrots, though he could hear them, and he remained in purblindness for some two or three weeks; but his sight returned, and he said to joseph: that is a palm-tree and that is a pepper-tree. joseph answered that he said truly and hastened across the garden to meet ecanus, for he desired to ask him privily if his father were out of all danger; and the answer to his question was that dan's life would pass away in a swoon like the one he had just come out of, but he might swoon many times--two or three times, perhaps oftener--before he swooned for the last time. more than that ecanus could not say. a silence fell suddenly between them, and wondering what term of life his father had still to traverse before he swooned into eternity, joseph followed the physician through the wilting alleys, seeking the shadiest parts, for the summer was well-nigh upon them now. at the end of one of these, out of the sun's rays, the old man lay propped up among cushions, dreaming, or perhaps only conscious, of the refreshing breeze that came and went away again. but he awoke at the sound of their steps on the sanded paths, and raised his stick as a sign to them to come to him, and, seeing that he wished to speak, joseph leaned over his chair, putting his ear close to his father's face, for dan's speech was still thick and often inarticulate. thou wast nearly going down in the storm, he said, and joseph could hardly believe that he heard rightly, for what could his father know of the storm on the lake, he being in a deep swoon at the time beyond the reach of words. he asked his father who had told him of the storm, but dan could say no more than that a voice had told him that there was a great storm upon the lake and that joseph was in it. miracle upon miracle! joseph cried, and he related his escape from shipwreck; how when coming in peter's boat from the opposite shores the wind had risen, carrying the lake in showers over the boat till all were wetted to their skins. but, unmindful of these showers, jesus had continued his teaching, even after a great wave wrenched away a plank or part of one. master, if the boat be not staunched we perish, peter said, for which jesus rebuked peter and called them all to come forward and kneel closer about him. kneel, he said, your faces towards me, and forget the plank and remember your sins. we could not do else but as we were bidden, and we all knelt about him, our thoughts fixed as well as we were able to fix them on our sins, but the water was coming into the boat all the while, and in the midst of our prayers we said: in another moment we perish if he stay not the wind and waves. we thought that he would stand up in the bow and command, but he remained seated, and continued to teach us, but the wind lulled all the same, and when we looked round the boat was staunch again, and we made the wharf at capernaum easily. ecanus, who was a man of little faith, asked joseph if he had seen anybody put his hand to the plank and restore it to its place, and joseph answered that all were grouped round the master praying, and that none had fallen away from the group. but there were some in the boat that saw a little angel speeding over the waves. philip saw both wings and the angel's feet, but i had only a glimpse. if you would only let me bring him to you---- but, reading his father's face, joseph continued: if you haven't faith, father, he couldn't do anything for thee. father, let me bring him. this shows no distrust in your power, he interjected suddenly, turning to ecanus. each man has powers given to him; some are physical and some spiritual; some are powerful in one element and some in another. but no magician that i have met has power over fire and water. only those into whom god has descended can command both fire and water alike. and he related that when they passed through chorazin and a woman ran out of her house crying that her little boy had fallen into the fire, jesus had asked her if she had applied any remedy, and on her saying she had not, he had said: then i will cure him. with his breath he restored him, and five minutes after the child was playing with his little comrades in the street. if, however, she had poured oil on the wounds he couldn't have cured them, joseph explained, for his affinity with fire would have been interrupted. in the village of opeira a child while carrying a kettle of boiling water from the fire tipped it over, burning a good deal of the flesh of one foot, which, however, healed under jesus' breath almost as soon as he had breathed upon it. and yet another child was healed of the croup, but this time it was john who imposed his hands: jesus had transmitted some of his power over the ills of the flesh to the disciples. on dan asking if joseph had seen jesus cast out devils, joseph replied that he had, but it would take some time to tell the exordium. whereupon ecanus remembered that other patients waited for his attendance and took his leave, warning joseph before leaving against the danger of tiring his father, a thing that joseph promised not to do; but as soon as the door closed after the physician dan began to beg so earnestly for stories that joseph could not do else than tell him of the miracle he had witnessed. better to submit, he thought, than to agitate his father by refusal; and he began this narrative; the morning of the storm, which they would not have succeeded in weathering had it not been for the intervention of the angel. jesus and some of the disciples, including joseph, had set their sail for the gadarene coasts; and finding a landing-place by a shore seeming desolate, they proceeded into the country; and while seeking a sufficient number to exhort and to teach, their search led them past some broken ruins, shards of an old castle, apparently tenantless. they were about to pass it without examination when a wailing voice from one of the turrets brought them to a standstill. they were not at first certain whether the wailing sound was the voice of the wind or a human voice, but they had hearkened and with difficulty had separated the doleful sound into: woe! woe! woe! unto thee jerusalem, woe! woe! it sounds to me, peter said, like one that is making a mock of thee, master. having heard that thou foretellest woe to chorazin---- but judas, seeing a cloud gathering on peter's face, nudged peter, and the twain went up together and some minutes after returned with a half-naked creature, an outcast whom they had found crouching like a jackal in a hole among the stones, one clearly possessed by many devils. now as all were in wonder what his history might be, a swineherd passing by at the time told them how the poor, naked creature would take a beating or a gift of food for his singing with the same gentle grace. the words had hardly passed the swineherd's lips than the possessed began to sing: woe! woe! woe! the winds are wailing. the four great sisters, the winds of the world, call one to the other, and it is thy doom they are calling, jerusalem. woe! woe! woe! the north brings ruin, the south brings sorrow, the east wind grief, and the west wind tears for jerusalem. woe! woe! woe! and he sung this little song several times, till the hearts of the disciples hardened against the outcast and they were minded to beat him if he did not cease; but the swineherd warned them that a surer way to silence him was by giving him some food; and while he stood by eating, the swineherd confided the story of the fool, or as much of it as he knew, to jesus. the fool, he said, came from jerusalem some two years ago. he had been driven out of the temple, which he frequented daily, crying about the courts the song with which he wearied you just now, till the most patient were unable to bear it any longer; and every time he met a priest he looked into his face and sang: woe! woe! woe! unto jerusalem, and whenever he met a scribe he would cry: woe! woe! woe! unto jerusalem, hindering them in their work about the temple. some stones were thrown, but enough life was left in him to crawl away, and as soon as he recovered from his wounds he was about again, singing his melancholy ditty (he knows but one). he was told if he did not cease he would be beaten with rods, but he could not cease it, and started his ditty again as soon as he could bear a shirt on his back; and then he must have travelled up here afoot, picking up a bit here and a bit there, getting a lift in an ox-cart. he is without memory of anything, who he is, where he came from, or who taught him his song. he does not know why he chose that broken tower for a dwelling, nor do we, but fortunately it stands in a waste. we hear him singing as we go by to our work and pitch him scraps of food from time to time. we hear him as we return in the evening to our homes making his melancholy dwelling sadder with his song. but he is a harmless, poor fool, save for the annoyance of his song, which he cannot stanch any more than the wind in the broken turrets. a harmless fool who will follow whosoever asked him to follow, unafraid, and taking a blow or a hunch of bread in the same humour, and distinguishing no man from the next one. as the swineherd said these words the fool said: jesus, thou hast come to my help, but woe to thee, son of god, thou wilt suffer thy death in jerusalem; and looking up into jesus' face more intensely: oh, son of man, what aileth thee or me? and knowest thou anything of the cloud of woe that hangs over jerusalem? to which jesus made no answer, but called upon the devils to say how many there were, and they answered: three. then depart ye three, jesus replied, and was about to impose his hands when the three devils asked whither they should go, to which jesus answered: ye must seek another refuge, for here ye cannot remain. seek among the wolves and foxes. but these will flee from us, the devils answered; allow us to enter the hogs rooting the ground before thee. but at this the swineherd cried out: forbid the devils to enter into my hogs, else they will run over the cliffs and drown themselves in the sea. though you are jews, and do not look favourably on hogs, they are as god made them. to which jesus answered, turning to his disciples: the man speaks well, for if unclean they be, it was the will of god that made them so. and taking pity on the hogs that were rooting quietly, unaware of the devils eager to enter into them, he said: there are statues of gods and goddesses in tiberias, enter into them. and immediately the devils took flight, giving thanks to jesus as they departed thither. joseph waited a moment and tried to read his father's face. but dan's face remained fixed, and as if purposely, which vexed joseph, who cried: now, father, you may believe or disbelieve, or be it thou'rt naturally averse from jesus, but thou knowest as well as i do that two days after the great storm a statue of the goddess venus fell from her pedestal in the streets of tiberias and was broken. but, joseph, when the statue fell i was sick and had no knowledge of the fall. but if a statue of the goddess venus did fall from her pedestal, i'd ask why the devils should choose to destroy false gods? were it not more reasonable for them to uphold the false gods safe and secure on their pedestals? the gods were overthrown for a sign that the devils had left the fool's body, joseph answered. but why, dan replied, didn't three statues fall?--a statue for each devil--and whither did the devils go? that one statue should fall was enough for a sign, joseph said, but no more would he say, for his father's incredulity irritated him, and seeing that he had angered his son, dan stretched his hand to him and said: perhaps we are more eager to believe when we are young than when we are old. and he asked joseph to tell him of some other miracle that he might have seen jesus perform. joseph had seen jesus perform many other miracles, but he was loath to relate them, for none, he felt sure, would impose upon his father the belief that jesus was the messiah that was promised to the jews. all the same the miracle of the woods rose in his mind, and so plainly that he could not keep the story back, and almost before he was aware of it he began the relation, telling how jesus, james, john, andrew, and himself were at table, mingling jest with earnest (peter was not with them, being kept at home, for his wife was in child-birth at the time), when the women of the village were heard running up the street crying together to the men to take part in the chase of the wild man of the woods, who had come down amongst them once more questing the flesh of women. but this time we'll put a stop to his leaping, they cried. a goatherd coming from the hills has seen him enter a cave and as soon as he has folded his goats he will lead us to it. but the villagers were in no mood for waiting; the goats could be folded by another; and the goatherd was bidden and obliged to leave his goats and lead the way, jesus and his disciples following with the others through the forest till we came to a ravine. and the goatherd said: look between yon great rocks, for it was between them he passed out of my sight. and let one of you creep in after him, but i must return to my goats, having no confidence that they have been properly folded for the night. the goatherd would have run away if he hadn't been held fast, and there were questions as to who would enter. the first said "no," the second the same, giving as reason that they were not young or strong enough, whereas the goatherd was both, and none better endowed for the struggle; and the people became of one mind that they must beat the goatherd with the crows if he did not go down into the cave, but jesus, arriving in time, said: it is not lawful to break into any man's dwelling with crows, nor to kill him because his sins affront you; let us rather give him means to cut himself free from sins. at which words the people were near to jeering, for it seemed to them that jesus knew little of the man they were pursuing, and they knew not what to understand when he asked if any among them had a long, sharp knife, and there was a movement as if they were about to leave him; but one man said: thou shalt have mine, master, and, taking it out of his girdle, he gave it to jesus, who tested it with his thumb, and, satisfied with it, laid it on the rock beside the cave. but the people began to mutter: he will use the knife against us, master. not against you, jesus answered, but against himself, thereby defending himself against himself. there were mutterings among the people, and some said that his words were too hard to understand, but all were silent as soon as jesus raised his hands and stepped towards the cave, and began to breathe his spirit against the lust that possessed the man's flesh. we must return here, he said, with oil and linen cloths. at which all wondered, not knowing what meaning to put upon his words, but they believed jesus, and came at daybreak to meet him at the edge of the forest and followed the path as before till they came to the hillside. the man was no longer hidden in his cave, but sat outside by the rock on which jesus had laid the knife, and jesus said: happy is he born into the world without sting, and happy is he out of whom men have taken the sting before he knew it, but happier than these is the man that cuts out the part that offends him, setting the spirit free as this man has done. joseph ceased speaking suddenly and stood waiting for his father to admire the miracle he had related, but dan's tongue struggled with words; and joseph, being taken as it were with another flux of words, and like one apprehensive of the argument that none shall undo god's handiwork, set out on the telling that the cause of man's lust of women was that god and the devil had a bet together--the devil saying that if god let him sting a man in a certain part of his hide he would get him in the end despite all that god might do to save him from hell. to which god, being in the humour, consented, and the sting was put into nearly all men. a few the devil overlooked, and these have much spared to them, and those out of whom the sting is taken in childhood are fortunate, but those who, like the wild man of the wood, cut the sting out of their own free will are worthy of all praise; and he cited the authority of jesus that man should mutilate his body till it conform perforce to his piety. but the story of man's fall is told differently in the book of genesis, my son. the admonition that he was laying violent hands on a sacred book startled joseph out of his meditations, and in some confusion of words and mind he began to prevaricate, saying that he thought he had made himself clear: the release of pious souls from the bondage of the flesh was more important than the continuance of the impious. moreover in the days of moses, israel was not steeped in as many iniquities as she is now, and the day of judgment was not so close at hand. more men meant more sins, and sin has become so common that god can endure the torture no longer.... again joseph ceased speaking suddenly and, almost agape, stood gazing into his father's face, reading therein a great perplexity, for dan was asking himself for what good reason had god given him so strange a son. he would have been content to let the story pass into another, but joseph was waiting for him to speak, and speaking incontinently he said he had heard that in the temple of astoreth the phoenician youths often castrated themselves with shards of shells or pottery and threw their testicles in the lap of the goddess crying out: art thou satisfied now, astoreth? but he did not know of any text in their scriptures that counselled such a practice; and the introduction of it seemed to savour of borrowing from the heathen. whereupon joseph averred that whereas the wont of the phoenician youths is without reason, the same could not be said of jesus' device to save a soul. to which dan rejoined that the leaving of the knife for the man to mutilate himself with, seemed to him to be contrary to all the rumours of jesus that had come to his ears. i have heard that he would set the law aside and the traditions of our race, declaring the uncircumcised to be acceptable to god as the jew; that he sits down to food with the uncircumcised and lays no store on burnt offerings. nor did isaiah, joseph interrupted, and circumcision is itself a mutilation. i do not contest its value, mark you; but if thou deny'st that jesus was right to leave a knife whereby the sinner might free himself from sin thou must also deny circumcision. circumcision is the sign of our race, dan answered. a physical sign, an outward sign, joseph cried, and he asked his father to say if the jews would ever forget priests and ritual; and he reminded his father that the once sinner, now a holy anchorite, did not bring an appetency into the world that could be overcome by prayer, and so had to resort to the knife that he might live in the spirit. it seems to me, joseph, that we should live as god made us, for better or worse. but, father, once you admit circumcision---- a man should not be over-nice, joseph, and though it be far from my thought to wish to see thee a fornicator or adulterer it would rejoice me exceedingly to see grandchildren about me. there is a maiden---- another reason, father, of which i have not yet spoken makes the marriage of the flesh seem a vanity to me, and that is---- i know it well, joseph, that the great day is coming when the world will be remoulded afresh. but, father, do ye believe in nothing but observances? tell me, joseph, did thy prophet ever raise anybody from the dead? yes, and hoping to convince his father by another miracle he fell to telling eagerly how a young girl who was being carried to the grave was called back to life. she was, he said, coming from her wedding feast. and he told how there were in the village two young girls, one as fair as the other, rivals in love as well as in beauty, both having the same young man in their hearts, and for a long time it seemed uncertain which would get him; for he seemed to favour them alternately, till at length ruth, unable to bear her jealousy any longer, went to the young man, saying that she was close on a resolve to see him no more. your lover? he answered, his cheek blanching, for he dearly loved her. i haven't gotten a lover, she said; only a share in a lover. your words, ruth, relieve me of much trouble, he replied, and took her in his arms and said: it was a good thought that brought you hither, for if you hadn't come i might never have been able to decide between you, but your coming has given me strength, and now i know which i desire. and then it was the girl's cheek that grew pale, for he hadn't answered at once which he would have. which? she asked, and he replied: you, not rachel. if that be so, she answered, i am divided between joy and sorrow; gladness for myself, sorrow for my friend; and it behoves me to go to her and tell her of her loss. i am the chosen one, she said to rachel, who turned away, saying: had i gone to him and asked him to choose between us he would have chosen me. he couldn't do else. she began to brood and to speak of a spell laid upon the young man, and her visits to a sorceress came to be spoken about so openly that it was against the bridegroom's wish that rachel was asked to the wedding feast; but ruth pleaded, saying that it would be no feast for her if rachel did not present herself at the table. the twain sat opposite each other at table, rachel seemingly the happier, eating, drinking, laughing, foretelling that mondis would fill ruth's life with happiness from end to end. thou wilt never see the face of an evil hour, she said, and ruth in her great joy answered: rachel, i know not why he didn't choose thee; thou'rt so beautiful; and the young mondis wooed her at the table, to ruth's pleasure, for she knew of his thankfulness to rachel for allowing the wedding to pass in concord, without a jarring note. she seemed to listen to him as a sister might to a beloved brother, and as the wedding feast drew to a close she said: ruth shall drink wine with me, and the cups were passed across the table, and laughter and jest flowed on for a while. but soon after drinking from rachel's cup ruth turned pale and, leaning back into the arms of her bridegroom, she said: i know not what ails me.... and then a little later on she was heard to say: i am going, and with a little sigh she went out of her life, lying on her bridegroom's arm white and still like a cut flower. the word "poison" swelled up louder and louder, and all eyes were directed against rachel, who to prove her innocence drank the wine that was left in ruth's glass; but it was said afterwards that she had not drunk out of the cup that she had handed to ruth. be this as it may, a house of joy was turned into a house of tears. bridegroom, parents and friends fell into procession, and we who were coming down the street met the bier, and after hearing the story of the girl's death jesus said: let me speak to her, and, leaning over her, he whispered in her ear, and soon after we thought it was the wind that stirred the folds of her garments, but her limbs were astir in them; the colour came back to her cheeks; she raised herself on her bier, and with his bride in his arms the bridegroom worshipped jesus as a god; but jesus reproved him, saying: it was by the power of god working through me that she was raised from the dead: give thanks to him who alone merits our thanks. but rachel, who had been following the bier in great grief, hanging on the bridegroom's arm could not contain herself at the sight of ruth raised from the dead, and it wrenching her reason out of her control compelled her to call upon the people to cast out the nazarene, who worked cures with the help of the demons with whom he was in league, which proved to everybody that her friendly words to ruth at the feast were make-believe, and that she had been plotting all the while how she might ruin her. at the sight of ruth beautiful and living naught mattered to rachel but revenge, and she crossed the street as if with the intention of striking her with a dagger, but as she approached jesus the flame of fury died out of her face, and like one overwhelmed with a great love she cast herself at his feet, and could not be removed. why do you turn the woman from me? he asked. whatever her sins may have been they are forgiven, for she loves me. but she loved the other man five seconds before, dan submitted, and joseph replying to him said: she only knew that passion of the flesh which we share with the beasts of the fields, the fowls of the air and the fish in the sea. but now she loves jesus as we love him--with the spirit. and next day she brought all her wealth to him; the golden comb she was wont to wear in her hair she would place in his; and the silks and linen in which she was wont to clothe herself she laid at his service; but he told her to sell all these things and give the money to the poor. give to the poor! that is what i hear always, cried dan; but if we gave all to the poor we would be as poor as the very poorest; and where, then, would the money come from with which we now help the poor? give to the poor that thou mayest become worthy of a place in the world to come. this world is but a shadow--an illusion, joseph answered defiantly. thou hast that answer for everything, joseph; and another day when i'm stronger i'll argue that out with thee. i have tired thee, father; but if i've told you many stories it was because---- because, dan retorted, thou wouldst have jesus cast his spells over me. but i've no use for them; thou art enough. and while joseph debated how he might convince his father that the girl was really dead, dan asked for news of rachel, and joseph answered that she was with them every day, that their company had been increased by several devoted women. thou hast talked enough, father, and more than enough; if ecanus were to return he would accuse me of planning to talk you to death. chap. xv. like every other old jew, dan liked the marvellous, and listened to his son's stories, not knowing whether he believed or disbelieved, nor seeking to inquire; content to enjoy the stories as they went by, he listened, suffering such a little disappointment when his son's voice ceased as he might at the death of a melodious wind among the branches, the same little sadness. moreover, while joseph talked he had his attention, and it irritated him to see joseph's thoughts wander from him in search of parrots and monkeys; and he begged his son to tell him another miracle, for he was sure that joseph had not told him the last one. joseph pleaded that there was no use relating miracles to one who only believed in ancient miracles, a statement that dan combated, saying that one could like a story for its own sake. like a gentile, joseph interposed gaily, bringing all the same a cloud into his father's face, which he would have liked to disperse with the relation of another miracle, but he continued to plead that he had told all his stories. there was, however, a certain faint-heartedness in his pleading, and dan became more certain than ever that his son was holding back a miracle, and becoming suddenly curious, he declared that joseph had no right to hold back a story from him, for to do that provoked argument, and argument fatigued him. joseph thought the device to extort a story from him, which he did not wish to tell, a shabby one, but, fearing to vex his father in his present state of health, he began to think it would be better to tell him the miracle he had heard of that morning at capernaum; but, still loath, he tried instead to divert his father's attention from jesus, reminding him of the numerous matters that would have to be settled up between them, especially dan's responsibility in the new adventure, the transport of grain from moab to jerusalem. dan's curiosity was not to be diverted, and seeing him give way to his rage like a petulant child, joseph decided that he must tell him, and he began with a disparagement of his story, the truth of which he did not vouch for. at capernaum they were all telling how some two or three weeks ago jesus heard god speaking within him, and, naming those he wished to accompany him, led them through the woods, up the slow ascending hills in silence, no word being exchanged between him and them. every one of the disciples was aware that the master was in communion with his father in heaven, and that his communion was shared by them as long as a word was not spoken. a word would break it; and so they journeyed with their eyes set upon the stars or upon the ground, never daring to look for jesus, who remained amongst them for an hour or more and then seemed to them to pass into shadow, only his voice remaining with them bidding them to journey on, which they did, each man in his faith, until they reached a lonely hill on the top of which stood a blighted tree. why, master, they asked, have you led us hither? and, receiving no answer, they looked round for jesus, but he was missing, and, thinking they walked too fast and had left him on the road behind them, they returned to the place where he had last spoken to them; and, not finding him there, they returned to the hill-top, and, seeing him among the white branches waiting for them, they knelt and prayed. when the stars began to grow dim they heard a voice cry out: behold he is with you, he who brings salvation to all men, jew and gentile; and ye twelve are bidden to carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth. at these words the disciples rose from their knees and looked round astonished, for only four had gone with jesus up the hillside, but twelve were kneeling at the foot of the tree, and the four that had come with jesus knew not how the eight were gathered with them, nor could the eight tell how they reached the hill-top, nor what spirit guided them thither. the day is breaking, someone said; and looking towards the east they saw innumerable angels and all of them singing hosanna; hosannas fell from the skies and blossoms from the tree; for the tree was no longer a blighted but a quickened tree. jesus was amongst them, talking to them, telling those who were standing around him that they were chosen by his father in heaven first of all, and then by him, to carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth, and they all answered: we heard the words that thou hast spoken, master. and he answered: ye have heard truly, and i am here to carry out my father's will; ye shall go forth and bring salvation to all, jew and gentile alike. father, of what art thou thinking--that the twelve slept and dreamed? but before dan could find an answer to his son's question joseph sank away into regrets that he had acceded to his father's request and told him this last miracle, and that he had not been able to disguise the fact, in the telling, that jesus had chosen as his apostles those who accompanied him into the mountains. he intended to omit all mention of this election, but it slipped from him unawares in the excitement of the telling, and now to divert his father's thoughts from the unfortunate admission joseph called to one of the parrots and spoke cheerfully to the bird, and to the monkey that came hopping across the sward and jumped into his arms; but dan knew his son's face too well to be deceived by the poor show joseph could paint upon it, and guessing that his father divined the truth, words deserted him altogether. he sat striving against regret and hoping that his father did not think he loved him less than he loved jesus. at last something had to be said, and dan could find nothing better to say than: joseph, there is gloom in thy face; but be not afraid to tell me if thou art disappointed that thou wert not with jesus when his father spoke to him out of heaven, and thereby missed being among the apostles. for this suspicion joseph rebuked his father, but as it was his dearest wish to be numbered amongst the apostles his rebukes were faint, and feeling he was making bad worse, he put as bold a face upon it as he could, saying to his father that he would have liked to have been numbered among the twelve, but since it did not befall he was content; and to himself that he was younger than any that were elected, and if one of them were to die he would be called to fill his place. so much admission was forced upon him, for it was important that his father should accept his absence from the mountain that day as a sufficient reason for his not having been elected an apostle, the real reason being, not his absence from the mountain, but the fact that he chose to turn aside from jesus and leave him to attend his father's sick-bed. that was the sin he was judged guilty of, an unpardonable act in jesus' mind, and one that discredited joseph for ever, proving him for good and all to be unworthy to follow jesus, which might be no more than the truth. he could follow jesus' way of thinking, apprehending it remotely; but to his father, jesus present teaching, that one must learn to hate one's father and one's mother, one's wife and one's children before one can love god, would be incomprehensible; and he would be estranged from jesus for ever, as many of the disciples had been that morning by such ultra-idealism. it would have been better to have withheld the miracle, he said to himself, and then he lost himself thinking how the election of the apostles had dropped from him, for it had nothing to do with the miracle, and then awakening a little from his reverie he assured himself that his father must never know, for dan could never understand jesus in his extravagant moods. but if some accident should bring the knowledge to his father? it wasn't likely that this could happen, for who knew it? hardly was it known among those whom he had met that morning as he crossed the plain of gennesaret. he had seen the disciples with jesus, jesus walking ahead with peter and with james and john, to whom he addressed not a word, the others following him shamefacedly at a little distance. one of his black moods is upon him, joseph said to himself, and gliding in among the crowd he questioned the nearest to him, who happened to be judas, who told him that jesus didn't know for certain if he were called to go to jerusalem for the feast of the tabernacles. the master foresees his death in jerusalem, but he is not sure if it be ordained for this year or the next. peter would dissuade him, he added, and in the midst of his wonderment joseph heard from judas that jesus had elected his apostles, and now joseph remembered how, speaking out of his heart, he uttered a little cry and said: it was because i am a rich man that he didn't think of me. but judas answered that there might be another reason, to which he replied: there can be no other reason except the simple one--i wasn't there and he didn't think of me. but judas murmured that there might be another reason--he never allows a disciple to desert him, whatever reason may be for so doing. but there was no desertion on my part. my father's illness! wait in any case, judas had said, till the master has fallen out of his mood, for he is in his blackest now; we dare not speak to him. but i couldn't believe that that could make any difference, joseph said to himself, and he put the monkey away from him somewhat harshly, and fell to thinking how he ran to jesus, his story on his lips. but it all seemed to drift away from him the moment he looked upon jesus, so changed was he from the jesus he had seen in the cenoby, a young man of somewhat stern countenance and cold and thin, with the neck erect, walking with a measured gait, whose eyes were cold and distant, though they could descend from their starry heights and rest for a moment almost affectionately on the face of a mortal. that was two years ago. and the jesus whom he met in rags by the lake-side one evening and journeyed with as far as cæsarea philippi, to tyre and sidon, was no doubt very different from the severe young man he had seen in the monastery. he had grown older, more careworn, but the first jesus still lingered in the second, whereas the jesus he was looking at now was a new jesus, one whom he had seen never before; the cheeks were fallen in and the eyes that he remembered soft and luminous were now concentrated; a sort of malignant hate glowered in them: he seemed to hate all he looked upon; and his features seemed to have enlarged, the nose and chin were more prominent, and the body was shrunken. a sword that is wearing out its scabbard was the thought that passed through joseph's frightened mind; and frightened at the change in jesus' appearance, and still more by the words that were hurled out at him, when intimidated and trembling, he babbled out: my father lay between life and death for eight days and came out of his swoon slowly. he could say no more, the rest of his story was swallowed up in a violent interruption, jesus telling him that there was no place among his followers for those who could not free themselves from such ghosts as father, mother and children and wife. jesus had flung his father's wealth and his own in his face, and his own pitiful understanding that had not been able to see that this world and the world to come were not one thing but twain. and whosoever chooses this world must remain satisfied with its fleshly indulgences and its cares and its laws and responsibilities, and whoso ever chooses the kingdom of heaven must cast this world far from him, must pluck it, as it were, out of his heart and throw it away, bidding it depart; for it is but a ghost. all these, he said, pointing to his apostles, have cast their ghosts into the lake. the apostles stood with eyes fixed, for they did not understand how they had despoiled themselves of their ghosts, and only peter ventured into words: all my family is in the lake, master; and at his simplicity jesus smiled, then as if to compensate him for his faith he said: i shall come in a chariot sitting on the right hand of our father, the judgment book upon my lap. as the rocks of this world are shaken and riven by earthquakes, my words shall sunder father from son, brother from brother, daughter from mother; the ties that have been held sacred shall be broken and all the things looked upon as eternal shall pass away even as the temple of jerusalem shall pass away. my words shall sunder it beam by beam, pillar by pillar, and every stone of it shall be scattered. for i say unto you that god is weary of the fat of rams and goats, and incense delights his nostrils; it is not our flocks and herds that our father desires nor the sweet-smelling herbs of this world, but a temple in which there shall be nothing but the love of god. it is for the building of this temple that i have been called hither; and not with hands during laborious years will it be built, but at once, for the temple that i speak to you of, is in the heart of every man; and woe, woe, woe, i say unto you who delay to build this temple, for the fulfilment of the prophecies is at hand, and when the last day of this world begins to dawn and the dead rise up seeking their cere-clothes it will be too late. woe! woe! woe! unto thee, chorazin, bethsaida and magdala, for you have not repented yet, but still choose the ghosts that haunt the sepulchres out of which ye shall be called soon; too soon for many; for i say unto you that it is not the dead that sleep but the living. at these words there were murmurings among the disciples, and they said, turning from one to the other: he says we sleep, brother, but this is not true. he mocks at us. but jesus, as if he did not hear these rebukers, and moved as if by a sudden sympathy for joseph, said: here is one that left me to attend his father's sick-bed, but i would have you understand me in this, that if we would love god we must abandon father, mother, wife and children, for there is not room in our hearts for two loves. ye say that i lay heavy burdens on your backs, but i say unto you that i lay no burdens on your backs that i did not first weigh upon my own shoulders; for have i not denied myself brothers and sisters, and did i not say to my mother, who came to dissuade me: god chose thee as a vehicle to give to man a redeemer to lead him out of this kingdom of clay. thou hast done it and so there is no further need of thee. out of this corruptible body i shall rise in jerusalem, my mission accomplished, into the incorruptible spirit. his passion rising again and into flood, he seemed like one bereft of reason, for he said that all men must drink of his blood if they would live for ever. he who licked up one drop would have everlasting life. joseph recalled the murmurings that followed these words, but jesus would not desist. these murmurings seemed to sting him to declare his doctrine to the full, and he added that his flesh, too, was like bread, and that any crumb would give to him who ate it a place before the throne of the almighty. whereupon many withdrew, murmuring more loudly than before, saying among themselves: who is this man that asks us to assuage our thirst with his blood and our hunger with his flesh? moses and elijah did not ask such things. who is he that says he will scatter the temple to build up another? many other animadversions joseph remembered among the multitude, and he recalled them one by one, pondering over each till one of the monkeys sprang into his arms and snatched some flowers out of his hand and hobbled away shrieking, awaking dan, who had been dozing, and who, seeing whence the shrieking came, closed his eyes again. while his father slept joseph remembered that peter, john and james stood by the master throughout the dissidence. but what answer will they give, joseph asked himself, when they are questioned as to what the master meant when he said that they must drink his blood and eat his flesh? what answer will they make when the people question them in the different countries?--for they are to go to every part of the world, carrying the joyful tidings. it seemed to joseph that the apostles would be able to make plain these hard sayings even less well than he, and he could not make plain to anybody what the master had meant, and still less would he be able to convince others that the master had said well that a man must leave his father though he were dying. he said that he should leave his father unburied, the dead not needing our care, for they are the living ones, and the hyenas and crows would find to eat only that which had always been dead. of course if the old world were going out and the new coming in, it mattered very little what happened within the next twenty-four hours. but was the new world as near as that? he wondered! it might be nearer still without his being able to leave his father to die among strangers, and a feeling rose up within him that he knew he would never be able to subdue though he were to gain an eternity of happiness by subduing it; and, pursuing this thread of thought, he came to the conclusion that he was a very weak creature, neither sufficiently enamoured of this world nor of the next; so he supposed jesus was right to discard him, for, as he knew himself, he would be an insufficient apostle, just as he was an insufficient son. but his father did not think him a bad son. he raised his eyes, and, finding his father's eyes upon him, he remembered that he had left him because he wished to see the world, to go to jerusalem, to live with the essenes, to go to egypt; and that he had remained away for nearly two years, and had returned to settle a business matter between himself and his father. therefore it was not love of his father but a business matter that brought him back from egypt; and now he was going to leave his father again, though he knew that his father wished him to marry some lusty girl, who would bear healthy children. if he were a good son he would take a maid to bed. but that he couldn't do! i am afraid, he said, speaking suddenly out of his thoughts, i'm not the son you deserve, father. i'm not a bad son, but i'm not the son god should have given you. thou shouldst not say that, joseph, for we have loved each other dearly. it is true that i hoped to see little children about me, and it may be that hope will never be fulfilled, which is sad to think on. i've never seen thee over-busy with one of our serving girls, nor caught thee near her bed, and the family will end with, thee, and the counting-house will end with me, and these things will happen through no fault of mine or thine, joseph. our lives are not planned by ourselves, and when life comes sweetly to a man a bitter death awaits him, for death is bitter to those that have lived in ease and health as i have done. i am still obdurate, for i can sit down to a meal with pleasure, but a time will come when i shall not be able to do this, and then the sentence that the lord pronounced over all flesh will seem easy to bear, and the grandchildren i have not gotten will be desired no longer; only the peace of the grave, where there is no questioning nor dainties. but, father, this world is but the shadow of a reality beyond the grave, and i beseech you to believe in your eternity and in mine. in the eternity of my body or of my soul--which, joseph? thou knowest not, but of this we are sure, that there is little time left for me to love you in this comfortable land of galilee. and, this being so, i will ask you to promise me that thou wilt not leave judea in my lifetime. thou'lt have to go to jerusalem, for business awaits you there, and to jericho, perhaps, which is a long way from galilee, but i'd not have thee leave judea to preach a strange creed to the gentiles. i know no reason now, father, for me to leave judea, since i am not among the chosen. if thou hadst been, joseph, thou wouldst not have left me in these last years of my life? jesus is dear to thee, but he isn't thy father, and every father would like his son to be by him when the lord chooses to call him. i would have thee within a day's journey or two; death comes quicker than that sometimes, but we must risk something. i'd have thee remain in judea so that thou mayest come, if thou art called, to receive my last blessing. i'd have thee close my eyes, joseph. the children i'll forgive thee, if thou wilt promise me this. i promise it, father, and will hold to my promise if i live beyond thee. if thou livest beyond me, joseph? of course thou wilt live many years after me. but, joseph, i would have thee shun dangerous company. and guessing that his father had jesus in his mind, joseph asked him if it were so, and he answered that it was so, saying that jesus was no new thing in judea, and that the priests and the prophets have ever been in strife. that is my meaning, he said. the exactions of the priests weigh heavily, and jesus is right in this much, that priests always have been, and perhaps always will be, oppressors of the poor; they are strong, and have many hirelings about them. thou hast heard of the zealots, son, who walk in the streets of jerusalem, their hands on their knives, following those who speak against the law and the traditions, and who, when they meet them, put their knives into their ribs, and when the murdered man falls back into their arms call aloud for help? so do the priests free themselves from their opponents, and, my good son, joseph, think what my grief would be if i were to receive tidings that thou hadst been slain in the streets. dost think that the news would not slay me as quickly as any knife? i ask little of thee, joseph, the children i'll forgo, but do thou separate thyself from these sectaries during my lifetime. think of me receiving the news of thy death; an old man living alone among all his riches without hope of any inheritance of his name. but, joseph, i can't put away altogether the hope that the day will come when thou'lt look more favourably on a maid than now. thy thoughts be all for jesus, his teaching, and his return to this world, sitting by the side of his father in a fiery chariot, but maybe the day will come when these hopes will fade away and thy eyes will rest upon a maid. it is strange that thou shouldst be so unlike me. i was warmer-blooded at thy age, and when i saw thy mother----father, the promise is given to thee already, and my hand upon it. i'll not see jesus during thy life. if the sudden news of my death were to kill thee, i should be thy murderer. jesus will forgive thee these few years, dan said. the expression on joseph's face changed, and dan wondered if jesus were so cruel, so hard, and so self-centred that he would not grant his son a few years, if he were to ask it, so that he might stay by his father's bedside and close his eyes and bury him. it seemed from joseph's face that jesus asked everything from his disciples, and if they did not give everything it was as if they gave nothing. and while dan was thus conferring with his own thoughts he heard joseph saying that if he were to keep the promise he had just given, not to see jesus again, he must not remain in his neighbourhood. yes, that is so, joseph; go to jerusalem. and the old man began to babble of the transport of figs from jericho, till joseph could not do else than ponder on the grip of habit on a man's heart, and ask himself if the news of his death would affect his father's health more than the news that there was no further demand in damascus for his salt fish. he repented the thought as soon as it had passed through his mind, and he understood that, however much it would cost him, he must go away to jerusalem. he dared not risk the accusation that would for ever echo in his heart: my father has no peace by day, nor rest at night, he is thinking always that a zealot's knife is in my back. but after my father's death--his thoughts brought him back again to a sudden shame of himself. i am like that, he said, and shall always be as i am. and, not daring to think of himself any more, he jumped to his feet: i must tell my servant that i shall start soon after daybreak. chap. xvi. and on his arrival in jerusalem joseph stood for a moment before his camel thanking the beast for his great, rocking stride, which has given me, he said, respite from thinking for two whole days and part of two nights. but i cannot be always on the back of a camel, he continued, and must now rely on my business to help me to forget; and he strove to apply his mind to every count that came before him, but in the middle of every one his thoughts would fly away to galilee, and the merchant waiting to receive the provisions he had come to fetch wondered of what the young man was thinking, and the cause of the melancholy that was in his face. he was still less master of his thoughts when he sat alone, his ledger before him; and finding he could not add up the figures, he would abandon himself without restraint to his grief; and very often it was so deep that when the clerk opened the door it took joseph some moments to remember that he was in his counting-house; and when the clerk spoke of the camel-drivers that were waiting in the yard behind the counting-house for orders, it was only by an effort of will that he collected his thoughts sufficiently to realise that the yard was still there, and that a caravan was waiting for orders to return to jericho. the orders were forgotten on the way to the yard, and the clerk had to remind him, and sometimes to say: master, if you'll allow me, i will settle this business for you. joseph was glad of his clerk's help, and he returned to the ledger, and, staring at figures which he did not see, he sat thinking of jesus, of the night they walked by the lake's edge, of the day spent in the woods above capernaum, and the various towns of syria that they visited. it seemed to him that the good days had gone over for ever, and it was but a sad pleasure to remember the pagans that liked jesus' miracles without being able to abandon their own gods. only peter could bring a smile into his face; a smile wandered round his lips, for it was impossible to think of peter and not to smile. but the smile faded quickly and the old pain gripped his heart. i have lost jesus for ever, he said, and at that moment a sudden rap at his door awoke him from his reveries. he was angry with his clerk, but he tried to disguise his anger, for he was conscious that he must present a very ridiculous appearance to his clerk, unless, indeed, which was quite likely, his clerk was indifferent to anything but the business of the counting-house. be this as it may, he was an old and confidential servant who made no comments and asked no questions. joseph was grateful to his clerk for his assumed ignorance and an hour later joseph bade him good-night. i shall see thee in the morning, to which samuel answered: yes, sir; and joseph was left alone in the crowded street of jerusalem, staring at the passengers as they went, wondering if they were realities, everyone compelled by a business or a desire, or merely shadows, figments of his imagination and himself no more than a shadow, a something that moved and that must move across the valley of jehoshaphat and up the mount of olives. why that way more than any other way? he asked himself: because it is the shortest way. as if that mattered, he added, and as soon as he reached the top of the mount of olives he looked over the desert and was surprised by the smallness of the hills; like the people who lived among them, they seemed to him to have dwindled. the world is much smaller than i thought, he said. that is it, the world seems to have dwindled into a sort of ash-heap; life has become as tasteless as ashes. it can only end, he said to himself, by my discovering something that interests me, but nothing interests me except jesus. lack of desire, he said, is my burden, for, desiring one thing too much, i have lost desire for all else, and that is why life has come to me like an ash-heap. as the days went by he began to feel life more oppressive and unendurable, till one evening the thought crossed his mind that change of scene might be a great benefit to him. if he were to go to egypt, he would journey for fifteen days through the desert, the rocking stride of the camel would keep him from thinking, and he might arrive in egypt eager to listen to the philosophers again. but the temptations that egypt presented faded almost as soon as they had arisen, and he deemed that it might be better for him to choose a city oversea. a sea voyage, he thought, will cheer me more than a long journey across the desert, and joppa is but a day's journey from jerusalem. but the shipping is more frequent from cæsarea, and it is not as far; and for a moment it seemed to him that he would like to be on board a ship watching the wind making the sail beautiful. but to what port should he be making for? he asked. why not to greece?--for there are philosophers as great or greater than those of alexandria. but philosophers are out of my humour, he added, and, putting athens aside, he bethought himself of corinth, and the variegated world he would meet there. from every port ships come to corinth, bringing different habits, customs, languages, religions; and for the better part of the evening corinth seemed to be his destination. corinth was famous for its courtesans, and he remembered suddenly that the most celebrated were collected there; and it may have been the courtesans that kept him from this journey, and his thoughts turning from vice to marriage a bitterness rose up in his mind against his father for the persistency with which dan reminded him in and out of season that every man's duty is to bring children into the world. it had seemed to him that in asking him to take a wife to his discomfort his father was asking him too much, and he had put the question aside; but he was now without will to resist any memory that might befall him, and for the first time he allowed his thoughts to dwell on his father's implied regret that he had never caught his son near a servant girl's bed. his unwillingness to impugn his father's opinions kept him heretofore from pondering on his words, but feeling his life to be now broken and cast away, there seemed to arise some reasons for an examination of his father's words. they could not mean anything else than that a young man was following the natural instincts if he lingered about a young girl's room; and that to be without this instinct was almost a worse misfortune than to be possessed by it to the practical exclusion of other interests. his father, it is true, may have argued the matter out with himself somewhat in this fashion: that love of women in a man may be controlled; and looking back into his own life he may have found this view confirmed. joseph remembered that his grandmother often spoke to him of dan's great love of his wife, and it might be that he had never loved another woman; few men, however, were as fortunate as his father, and joseph could not help thinking that it were better to put women out of his mind altogether than to become inflamed by the sight of every woman. he believed that was why he had always kept all thoughts of women out of his mind; but it seemed to him now that a wife would break the monotony that he saw in front of him, and were he to meet a woman such as his father seems to have met he might take her to live with him. he thought of himself as her husband, though he was by no means sure that married life was a possible makeshift for the life he sought and was obliged to forgo, but as life seemed an obligation from which he could not reasonably escape he thought he would like to share it with some woman who would give him children. his father desired grandchildren, and since he had partly sacrificed his life for his father's sake, he might, it seemed to him, sacrifice himself wholly. but could he? that did not depend altogether on himself, and with the view to discovering the turn of his sex instinct he called to mind all the women he had seen, asking himself as each rose up before him if he could marry her. there were some that seemed nearer to his desire than others, and it was with the view to honourable marriage that he called upon his friends, and his father's friends, and passed his eyes over all their daughters; but the girl whose image had lingered more pleasantly than any other in his memory had married lately, and all the others inspired only a physical aversion which he felt none would succeed in overcoming. he had seen some greek women, and been attracted in a way, for they were not too like their sex; but these jewish women--the women of his race--seemed to him as gross in their minds as in their bodies, and it surprised him to find that though many men seemed to think as he did about these women, they were not repelled as he was, but accepted them willingly, even greedily, as instruments of pleasure and afterwards as mothers of children. but i am not as these men are, he said; my father must bear his sorrow like another; and in meditation it seemed to him that it would not be reasonable that his father should get everything he desired and his son nothing. his father had gotten more out of life than ever he should get; he would have his son till he died (so far as he could he would secure him that satisfaction), and after death this world and its shows concern us not. but it may well be that we die out of one life to be born into another life, that everything that passes is replaced by an equivalent, he said, repeating the words of a greek philosopher to whom he had been much addicted in happy days gone by, and that reality is but an eternal shaping and reshaping of things. all that is beyond doubt, he continued, is that things pass too quickly for us to have any certain knowledge of them, our only standard being our own flitting impressions; and as all men bring a different sensitiveness into the world, knowledge is a word without meaning, for there can be no knowledge. every race is possessed of a different sensitiveness, he said, as he passed up the mount of olives on his way home. we ask for miracles, but the greeks are satisfied with reason. am i greek or jew? he asked, for he was looking forward to some silent hours with a book of greek philosophy and hoped to forget himself in the manuscript. but he could not always keep his thoughts on the manuscript, and, forgetful of heraclitus, he often sat thinking of jesus' promise--that one morning men would awake to find that god had come to judge the world and divide it among those that repented their sins. he remembered he had forfeited his share in the kingdom for his father's sake, or had he been driven out of the community because his belief in the coming of the kingdom was insufficient? it is true that his belief had wavered, but he had always believed. even his natural humility, of which he was conscious, did not allow him to doubt that his belief in jesus was less fervid than that of peter, james, john and the residue. the conviction was always quick in him that he felt more deeply than these publicans and fishers, yet jesus retained them and sent him away. the manuscript glided from his hand to the floor, and his thoughts wandered back to alexandria, and he sat thinking that death must be rather the beginning than the end of things, for it were impossible to believe that life was an end in itself. heraclitus was right: his present life could be nothing else but the death of another life. and as if to enforce this doctrine a recollection of his grandmother intruded upon his meditation. she was seventy-eight when she died, and her intellect must have faded some months before, but with her passing one of the servants told him that a curious expression came into her face--a sort of mocking expression, as if she had learnt the truth at last and was laughing at the dupes she left behind. she lay in a grave in galilee, under some pleasant trees, and while thinking of her grave it occurred to him that he would not like to be put into the earth; his fancy favoured a tomb cut out of the rocks in mount scropas, for there, he said to himself, i shall be far from the scribes and pharisees, and going out on the terrace he stood under the cedars and watched for an hour the outlines of the humped hills that god had driven in endless disorder, like herds of cattle, all the way to jericho, thinking all the while that it would be pleasant to lie out of hearing of all the silly hurly-burly that we call life. but the hurly-burly would not be silly if jesus were by him, and he asked himself if jesus was an illusion like all the rest, and as soon as the pain the question provoked had died away, his desire of a tomb took possession of him again, and it left him no peace, but led him out of the house every evening, up a zigzagging path along the hillside till he came to some rocks over against the desert. i shall lie in quiet here till he calls me, on a couch embedded in the wall and surmounted by an arch--but if he should prefer me to rise out of an humble grave? that i may not know, only that the poorest is not as unhappy as i, so i may as well have a tomb to my liking. it was a long time since he had come to a resolve, and having come to one at last, he was happier. and in more cheerful mood he decided that now that the site was settled it would be well to seek information as to which are the best workmen to employ on the job. but for him whose thoughts run on death nothing is harder to settle than where his bones shall lie; and next time he visited the hillside joseph came upon rocks facing eastward, and it seemed to him that the rays of the rising sun should fall on his sepulchre; but a few days later, coming out of his house in great disquiet, it seemed to him he would lie happy if his tomb were visited every evening by the peaceful rays of the setting sun, and he asked himself how many years of life he would have to drag through before god released him from his prison. if he wished to die he could, for our lives are in our own hands. but he did not know that he cared to die and, overpowered with grief, he abandoned himself to metaphysical speculation, asking himself again if it were not true that to be born into this world meant to pass out of one life into another; therefore, if so, to die in this world only meant to pass into another, a life unknown to us, for all is unknown--nothing being fixed or permanent. we cannot bathe twice in the same river, so heraclitus said, but we cannot bathe even once in the same river, he added; and to carry the master's thought a stage further was a pleasure, if any moment of his present life could be called pleasurable. he heard these sayings first in alexandria, and, looking towards jerusalem, he tried to recall the exact words of the sage regarding the futility of sacrifice. our priests try, said heraclitus, to purify themselves with blood and we admire them, but if a filthy man were to roll himself in the mud in the hope of cleaning himself we should think he was mad. in some such wise heraclitus spoke, but it seemed to joseph he had lost something of the spirit of the saying in too profuse wording of it. as he sought for the original epitome he heard his name called, and awaking from his recollections of alexandria he looked up and saw before him a young man whom he remembered having seen at the sanhedrin. nicodemus was his name; and he remembered how the fellow had kept his eyes on him for one whole evening, trying at various times to engage him in talk; an insistent fellow who, despite rebuffs, had followed him into the street after the meeting, and, refusing to be shaken off, had led the way so skilfully that joseph found himself at last on nicodemus' doorstep and with no option but to accept nicodemus' invitation to enter. he did not like the fellow, but not on account of his insistence; it was not his insistence that had prejudiced him against him as much as the young man's elaboration of raiment, his hairdressing above all; he wore curls on either side that must have taken his barber a long while to prepare, and he exhaled scents. he wore bracelets, and from his appearance joseph had not been able to refrain from imagining lascivious pictures on the walls of his house and statues in the corners of the rooms--in a word, he thought he had been persuaded to enter an ultra-greek house. in this he was, however, mistaken, and in the hour they spent together his host's thoughts were much less occupied than joseph expected them to be with the jewels on his neck and his wrists, and the rich tassels on his sash. he talked of many things, but his real thoughts were upon arms; and he showed joseph scimitars and daggers. despite a long discussion on the steel of damascus, joseph could not bring himself to believe that nicodemus' interests in heroic warfare were more than intellectual caprice: and he regarded as entirely superficial nicodemus' attacks on the present-day jews, whose sloth and indolence he reproved, saying that they had left the heroic spirit brought out of arabia with their language, on the banks of the euphrates. one hero, he admitted, they had produced in modern times (judas maccabeus), and joseph heard for the first time that this great man always had addressed his soldiers in hebrew. all the same he did not believe that nicodemus was serious in his passionate demands for the hebrew language, which had not been spoken since the jews emerged from the pastoral stage. we should do well, nicodemus said, to engage others to look to our flocks and herds, so that we may have leisure to ponder the texts of talmud, nor do i hesitate to condemn my own class, the sadducees, as the least worthy of all; for we look upon the temple as a means of wealth, despising the poor people, who pay their half-shekel and bring their rams and their goats and bullocks hither. he could talk for a long time in this way, his eyes abstracted from joseph, fixed on the darkness of the room. while listening to him joseph had often asked himself if there were a real inspiration behind that lean face, carven like a marble, with prominent nose and fading chin, or if he were a mere buffoon. he succeeded in provoking a casual curiosity in joseph, but he had not infected joseph with any desire of his acquaintance; his visits to the counting-house had not been returned. yet this meeting on the hillside was not altogether unwelcome, and joseph, to his surprise, surveyed the young man's ringlets and bracelets with consideration; he admired his many weapons, and listened to him with interest. he talked well, telling that the sword that hung from his thigh was from damascus and recommending a merchant to joseph who could be trusted to discover as fine a one for him. it was not wise to go about this lonely hillside unarmed, and joseph was moved to ask him to draw the sword from its scabbard, which nicodemus was only too glad to do, calling joseph's attention to the beautiful engraving on the blade, and to the hilt studded with jewels. he drew a dagger from his jacket, a hardly less costly weapon, and joseph was too abashed to speak of his buckler on his left arm and the spear that he held in his right hand. but, nothing loath, nicodemus bubbled into explanation. it was part of his project to remind his fellow-countrymen that they too must arm themselves if they ever wished to throw off the roman yoke. so long as the romans substitute a hebrew word or letter for the head of tiberius on the coin we pay the tribute willingly, he said as they followed the crooked path through the rocks up the hillside towards joseph's house. and in reply to joseph, who asked him if he believed in the coming end of the world, he answered that he did, but he interpreted the coming end of the world to mean the freeing of the people of israel from the roman yoke, astonishing joseph by the vigour of his reply; for joseph was not yet sure which was the truer part of this young man, the ringlets and the bracelets or the shield and the spear. he was partial to long silences; and the next of these was so long that joseph had begun to wonder, but when they reached the crest of the hill he burst into speech like a bird into song, asking what was happening in galilee, avouching much interest in jesus, whom he had heard of, but had never seen. joseph, guessing that it was to obtain news of jesus that nicodemus sought him on the hillside, told him that he had not spoken of jesus for many weeks, and found a sudden relief in relating all he knew about him: how jesus said that father, mother, brother and sister must be abandoned. yes, he had said, we must look upon all sacrifice as naught if we would obtain our ancient kingdom and language. but the essenes have never spoken like that, nicodemus urged: he is not an essene, nor moses, nor elijah, nor jeremiah. he is none of these: he is judas maccabeus come to life again: and henceforth i shall look upon myself as his disciple. he spoke so loudly that any passer-by might have caught up his words; and there was danger from joseph's servants, for they were now standing by his gate. he looked round uneasily, and as nicodemus showed no signs of taking leave of him, he thought it would be more prudent to ask him into the house, warning him, however, that he had no beautiful things to show him in the way of engraved weapons, swords from damascus or daggers from circassia. it was not, however, to see beautiful weapons that nicodemus inclined; only so far as they related to jesus was he interested in arms; and he besought joseph to tell him more of jesus, whom he seemed to have already accepted as the leader of a revolt against the romans. but joseph, who had begun to fear the young man, protested that jesus' kingdom was not of this earth, thinking thereby to discredit jesus in nicodemus' eyes. nicodemus was not to be put off so easily: the jews spoke of the kingdom of heaven so that they might gain the kingdom of earth. a method not very remarkable for its success, joseph interposed. the romans do otherwise, never thinking about the kingdom of heaven, but only of riches and vainglory, whereas jesus, he said, says it is as hard for the rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven as it would be for a sword to pass through the eye of a needle. a sword through the eye of a needle, nicodemus repeated, walking up and down the floor, stamping his lance as he went. he is the leader we have been waiting for. but it is not always thus that he speaks, joseph interposed, i have heard him myself say: it is as hard for a rich man to enter heaven as it would be for a cow to calve in a rook's nest. as he went to and fro nicodemus muttered: there is much to be said for this revision of his words. jesus wishes to reach the imagination of the poor that know not swords. and he spoke for a long time of the indolence of the rich, of their gross pleasures and sensual indulgences. but we must give them swords, he added under his breath, as if he were speaking for himself alone and did not wish joseph to hear, and then, awaking from his reverie, he turned to his host: tell me more of this remarkable man. and joseph, who was now a little amused at his guest's extravagances, asked him if he knew the answer he had given to antipas, who had invited him to his court in tiberias in consequence of the renown of his miracles. wishing to witness some exhibition of his skill, antipas seated himself in imperial fashion on his highest throne, and, drawing his finest embroideries about him, asked jesus if he had seen anybody attired so beautifully before, to which jesus, who stood between two soldiers, a beggar in rags, before the king, replied: i have indeed; pheasants and peacocks, for nature apparelled them. neither moses nor elijah nor jeremiah, nicodemus declared, could have invented a reply more apt. he asked joseph if any further doubt lingered in his mind that jesus was the prophet promised to the jews. how i envy thy intercourse with him, he cried. how i envy thee, for thou art the friend of him that will overthrow the romans. overthrow the romans! joseph repeated to himself, and as soon as his guest had left his house he was brought to a presentiment of the danger he incurred in allowing this man to come to his house: a young man who walked about extravagantly armed would, sooner or later, find himself haled before pilate. joseph felt that it would be better to refuse to see him if he called at the counting-house: an excuse could be found easily: his foreman might say: master is away in jericho. but when nicodemus called a few weeks afterwards joseph was constrained to tell his foreman to tell nicodemus that he would see him. the truth was, joseph was glad of an interruption, for his business was boring him more than it did usually, but he liked to pretend to himself that he could not escape from nicodemus. a new opinion of nicodemus began to shape itself in his mind when nicodemus said that many and many a year will have to pass before that can be done with success, and the roman rule is so light that the people feel it not. it saves us from quarrels among ourselves, and who have quarrelled as bitterly as we have done? joseph's heart softened at this appreciation of the jewish people, and they began to talk in sympathy for the first time, and it was a pleasure to find themselves in this agreement, that before the jews could conquer the romans they would have to conquer themselves. he is more cautious than i thought for, joseph muttered as he returned to his camel-drivers, for his guest had departed suddenly without giving any reason for his visitation. a spy he cannot be, joseph said to himself. i stand too well with pilate to be suspected of schemes of mutiny. but he will soon come under the notice of pilate; and joseph was not surprised when pilate asked him if he knew an extravagantly dressed young man, nicodemus by name. joseph replied that he did, giving pilate to understand that nicodemus was no more than one of the many eccentrics to be found in every city, with a taste for the beauty of engraved swords, and little for the use of these weapons; and pilate, who seemed to be of the same opinion himself, suddenly asked him if he had ever met in galilee one named jesus. jesus from nazareth, pilate said; and joseph watched the tall, handsome, pompous roman, one of those intelligently stupid men of which there are so many about. he arrived, pilate continued, in jerusalem yesterday with a number of galileans, all talking of the resurrection, and news has just reached me that he had been preaching in the temple, creating some disturbance, which will, i hope, not be repeated, for disturbances in the temple lead to disturbances in the streets. does your father know this new prophet? as joseph was about to answer one of pilate's apparitors entered suddenly with papers that demanded the procurator's attention. we will talk over this on another occasion, pilate said as he bent over the papers, and joseph went out muttering: so he has come, so he has come to jerusalem at last. at any moment he might meet jesus, and to stop to speak to him in the street would, in a sense, involve a profanation of his oath to his father; and he knew he could not turn aside from jesus. he must therefore refrain from going up to jerusalem and transact his business from his house by means of messengers. but if pilate were to send for him? we cannot altogether avoid risk, he said to himself. i can do no more than remain within doors. it was not many days afterwards that one of his servants came suddenly into the room. nicodemus, sir, is waiting in the hall and would see you, though i told him you were engaged with business. he says the matter on which he is come to speak to you is important. well, then, let me see him, joseph answered. now, what has happened? he asked. has he said anything that the sanhedrin will be able to punish him for? he threw some more olive roots on the fire and told the servant to bring a lamp. a lamp, he said, will be welcome, for this grey dusk is disheartening. the weather is cold, so draw your chair near to the fire. i am glad to see you. the men waited for the servant to leave the room. we shall be more comfortable when the curtains are drawn. the lamp, i see, is beginning to burn up.... nicodemus sat grave and hieratic, thin and tall, in the high chair, and the gloom on his face was so immovable that joseph wasted no words. what has fallen out? he said, and nicodemus asked him if he knew phinehas, the great money-changer in the temple. joseph nodded, and, holding his hands before the fire, nicodemus told his story very slowly, exasperating joseph by his slowness; but he did not dare to bid him to hasten, and, holding himself in patience, he listened to him while he told that phinehas was perhaps the worst of the extorters, the most noisy and arrogant, a vicious and quarrelsome man, who, yester-morning, was engaged with a rich alexandrian jew, shamhuth, who had lately arrived from alexandria and was buying oxen, rams and ewes in great numbers for sacrifice. we wondered at his munificence, nicodemus said, not being able to explain it to ourselves, for the feast of the tabernacles is over; and our curiosity was still more roused when it became known that he was distributing largess. the man's appearance aroused suspicion, for it is indeed a fearful one. from his single eye to his chin a fearful avariciousness fills his face, and the empty, withered socket speaks of a close, sordid, secret passion, and so clearly that jesus said: that man has not come to glorify god nor to repent of his sins. he is guilty of a great crime, and he would have it forgiven him. but the crime? of what crime is he guilty? we asked. jesus did not answer us, for at that moment some young man had come to listen to him, and the man's crime appeared to him as of little importance compared to his own teaching. has he come, we asked, to pray that his sight may be restored to him? jesus motioned to us that that was so; and he also bade us be silent, for stories of miracles have a great hold upon the human mind, and jesus wished to teach some young men who had come to ask him how they were to live during these last days. but myself, consumed with desire to hear the man's story, mingled with the herdsmen who had brought in the cattle, and inquired how shamhuth had lost his eye. none could tell me, and i failed to get tidings of him till i came upon an alexandrian jew who told me a strange story. shamhuth's money came from his friend's wife, whom he married after causing him to be killed by hirelings; and when his senses tired of her he persuaded her daughter to come over to him in the night. shamhuth always walked praying aloud, his eyes cast down lest they should fall upon a woman, and his wife did not suspect him. but one night she was bidden in a dream to seek her husband, and rising from her bed she descended and opened the door very softly, not wishing to disturb him in his sleep. the sight that met her eyes kindled such a great flame of hate in her that she returned to her room for a needle, and placing her hands upon her daughter's mouth she quickly pricked out both her eyes, and then, approaching her husband, she pricked out his right eye, and was about to prick out the other, but he slid from her hands and escaped, blind of an eye, to jerusalem, bringing with him great sums of money in the hope that he may purchase a miracle, which is a great blasphemy in itself, and shows what the man really is in his heart. such was the story that the alexandrian jew, who knew him, told us; and as soon as these abominations became known in the temple a riot began, and somebody cried: the adulterer must be put away. whereupon phinehas, seeing the large profits he had expected vanishing, turned to jesus and said: it is thou who hast brought this disaster upon me, lying galilean, who callest thyself the son of david, when all know ye to be the son of joseph the carpenter. son of david! son of david! how can that be? the people began to ask each other, and in the midst of their questioning a great hilarity broke over them. in great wrath jesus overturned phinehas' table, and phinehas would have overthrown jesus had not peter, who had armed himself with a sword, raised it. the people became like mad: tables were broken for staves, some rushed away to escape with a whole skin, and the frightened cattle dashed among them, a black bull goring many. and in all the mob jesus was the fiercest fighter, lashing the people in the face with the thongs of the whip he had taken from a herdsman, and felling others with the handle. the cages of the doves were broken, the birds took flight, and the priests, at their wits' end, called for the guards to come down from the porticoes, and it was not till much blood had been spilt that order was restored. joseph asked how phinehas came out of all this trouble, and heard that he had escaped without injury. merely losing a few shekels, not more, though he deserved to lose his life, for he placed his money above the temple, not caring whether it was polluted by the presence of an adulterer, only thinking of the great profit he could make out of the man's sins, differing in no wise in this from the priests and sacristans. jesus should never have gone to the temple nor come to jerusalem, joseph said. but in this nicodemus could not agree with him, for if jesus were the messiah his mission was nothing less than to free jerusalem from the roman yoke. but he should have brought a larger body of disciples with him--some thousands, instead of a few hundreds--not enough to bring about the abolition of the temple, which, according to nicodemus, was the galilean's project--one more difficult to accomplish than he thinks for. the romans support the temple, he cried, because the temple divides us. i say it myself, sadducee though i am. it was these last words that proved to joseph that the ringlets and bracelets did not comprise the whole of this young man's soul, and he was moved forthwith to confide the story of his father's sickness to him, dwelling on all its consequences: he had not been elected an apostle, and jesus consequently had no one by to tell him that he must not speak of the abolition of the law in jerusalem. but if he did not come to incite the people against the temple, for what did he come? nicodemus asked. you've heard him preach in galilee, tell me who he is, and in what does his teaching consist?--a direct question that prompted joseph to relate his associations with the essenes, banu, john, the search for jesus in egypt and among the judean hills--a long story i'm afraid it is, joseph mentioned apologetically to nicodemus, who begged him to omit no detail of it. nicodemus sat with his eyes fixed on joseph while joseph told of the discovery of jesus in galilee among his father's fishermen; and as if to excuse the almost immodest interest awakened in nicodemus, joseph murmured that the story owed nothing to his telling of it; he was telling it as plainly as it could be told for a purpose; nicodemus must judge it fairly. resuming his narrative, joseph related the day spent in the forest and jesus' interpretation of the prophecies. nicodemus cried: he is the stone cut by no hand out of the mountain; the idol shall fall, and the stone that felled it shall grow as big as a mountain and fill the whole earth. chap. xvii. as they sat talking the servant brought in a letter which, he said, has just arrived from galilee. the messenger rode the whole journey in two days, sir, and you'll have to do the same, sir, and to start at once if you would see your father alive. if i would see my father alive! if i would see my father alive! joseph repeated, and, seizing nicodemus by the hand, he bade him farewell. let an escort be called together at once, he cried, and an hour later he was on the back of a speedy dromedary riding through the night, his mind whirling with questions which he did not put to the messenger, knowing he could not answer any of them. and they rode on through that night and next day, stopping but once to rest themselves and their animals--six hours' rest was all he allowed himself or them. six hours' rest for them, for him not an hour, so full was his mind with questions. he rode on, drinking a little, but eating nothing, thinking how his father's life might be saved, of that and nothing else. were they feeding him with milk every ten minutes?--he could not trust nurses, nobody but himself. were they shouting in his ear, keeping him awake, as it were, stimulating his consciousness at wane? once, and only once, while attending on his father did joseph remember that if his father died he would be free to follow jesus: a shameful thought that he shook out of his mind quickly, praying the while upon his knees by the bedside that he might not desire his father's death. as the thought did not come again, he assumed that his prayer was granted, and when he returned to jerusalem a month later (the new year springing up all about him), immersed in a sort of sad happiness, thanking god, who had restored his father to health (joseph had left dan looking as if he would live to a hundred), a strange new thought came into his mind and took possession of it: the promise given his father only bound him during his father's lifetime; at his father's death he would be free to follow jesus; but the dead hold us more tightly than the living, and he feared that his life would be always in his father's keeping. he was about his father's business in the counting-house; his father seemed to direct every transaction, and, ashamed of his weakness, he refrained from giving an order till he heard, or thought he heard, his father's voice speaking through him, and when he returned to his dwelling-house, over against the desert, it often seemed to him that if he were to raise his eyes from the ashes in which some olive roots were burning he would see his father, and as plain as if he were before his eyes in the flesh. but my father isn't dead, so what is the meaning of this dreaming? he cried one evening; and, starting out of his chair, he stood listening to the gusts whirling through the hills with so melancholy a sound that joseph could not dismiss the thought that the moment was fateful. his father was dying ... something was befalling, or it might be that jesus was at the door asking for him. the door opened, and he uttered a cry: what is it? nicodemus, the servant answered, has come to see you, sir. and he waited for his order to bid the visitor to enter or depart. his master seemed unable to give either order, and stood at gaze till the servant reminded him that nicodemus was waiting in the hall; and then, as if yielding to superior force, joseph answered he was willing to receive the visitor, regretting his decision almost at once, while the servant descended the stairs, and vehemently on seeing nicodemus, who entered, the lamplight falling upon him, more brilliantly apparelled than joseph had ever seen him. a crimson mantle hung from his shoulders and a white hand issuing from a purfled sleeve grasped a lance; weapons, jewelled and engraved, appeared among the folds of his raiment, and he strode about the room in silence, as if he thought it necessary to give joseph a few moments in which to consider his war gear (intended as an elaborate piece of symbolism). in response to the riddle presented, joseph began to wonder if nicodemus regarded himself rather as a riddle than as a reality--a riddle that might be propounded again and again, or if he could not do else than devise gaud and trappings to conceal his inner emptiness, a dust-heap of which he himself was grown weary. a great deal of dust-heap there certainly is, joseph said to himself as his eyes followed the strange figure prowling along and across the room, breaking occasionally into speech. but he could not help thinking that beneath the dust-heap there was something of worth, for when nicodemus spoke, he spoke well, and to speak well means to think well, and to think well, joseph was prone to conclude, means to act well, if not always, at least sometimes. but could an apt phrase condone the accoutrements? he had added a helmet to the rest of his war gear, and the glint of the lamplight on the brass provoked joseph to beg of him to unarm and relate his story, that burdens you more than your armour, he said. at these words nicodemus was raised from the buffoon to a man of sense and shrewdness. i have come here, he said, to speak to you about jesus. but the story is a somewhat perilous one, and as it rains no longer i will walk with you along the hillside and tell it to you. he raised his hand to joseph, forbidding him to speak, and it was not till they reached a lonely track that nicodemus stopped suddenly: his death had been resolved upon, he said, and the two men stood for a moment looking into each other's eyes without speaking. it was nicodemus who fell to walking again and the relation of circumstances. he had come straight from the sanhedrin, where he defended jesus against his enemies and accusers at some personal risk, as he was quickly brought to see by raguel's retort: and art thou too a galilean? and walking with his eyes on the ground, as if communing with himself, nicodemus related that there was now but one opinion in the sanhedrin: jesus and judaism were incompatible; one or the other must go. better that one man should perish than that a nation should be destroyed, he said, are the words one hears. stopping again, he said, looking joseph in the face: it is believed that sufficient warrant for his death has been gotten, for he said not many days ago he could destroy the temple and build it again in three days, which can be interpreted as speech against the law. joseph asked that a meaning should be put on the words, and nicodemus answered that jesus spoke figuratively. to his mind the temple stood for no more than observances from which all spiritual significance had faded long ago, and jesus meant that he could and would replace dead formulæ by a religion of heart: the true religion which has no need of priests or sacrifices. we must persuade him to leave jerusalem and return to galilee, joseph cried, his voice trembling. by no means, by no means, nicodemus exclaimed, raising his voice and stamping his lance. he has been called to the work and must drive the plough to the headland, though death be waiting him there. but he can be saved, i think, nicodemus continued, his voice assuming a thoughtful tone, for though he has spoken against the law the jews may not put him to death: his death can be obtained only by application to pilate. will pilate grant it to please the jews? joseph asked. the romans are averse, nicodemus answered, from religious executions and will not comprehend the putting to death of a man for saying he can destroy the temple and build it again in three days. nicodemus became prolix and tedious, repeating again and again that it was the second part of the sentence that would save jesus, for it was obvious that though a man might destroy the temple in three days (a great fire would achieve the destruction in a few hours), he could not build it again in three days. this second part of the sentence proved beyond doubt that jesus was speaking figuratively, and the romans would refuse to put a man to death because he was a poet and spoke in symbols and allegories. the romans were hard, but they were just; and he spoke on roman justice till they came round the hills shouldering over against bethany, and found themselves in the midst of a small group of men taking shelter from the wind behind a large rock. why, master, it is you. and joseph recognised peter's voice, and afterwards the voices of james and john, who were with him, called to matthew and aristion, who were at some little distance, sitting under another rock, and the five apostles crowded round joseph, bidding him welcome, peter, james and john demonstratively, and aristion and matthew, who knew joseph but little, giving him a more timid but hardly less friendly welcome. we did not know why you had left us, they said. but it is pleasant to find you in jerusalem, for we are lonely here, matthew said, and the hierosolymites mock at us for not speaking as they do. but you are with us here, young master, as you were in galilee? john asked. we knew not why you left us. but we did, john, peter interposed, we knew well that jesus said to him, when he returned from his father's sick-bed, that those who would follow him must leave father and mother, brother and sister, wives and children to live and die by themselves, which is as we have done. yes, sir, peter continued, freeing himself from john and turning to joseph, we've left this world behind us, or if not this world itself, the things of this world: our boats and nets, our wives and our children. all that jesus calls our ghostly life we have thrown into the lake. my wife and children and mother-in-law are all there, and john and james have left their mother, salome. but, said james, the neighbours will not be lacking to give her a bite if she wants something when she is hungry. she'll be getting men to fish for her, for we've left her our boats and nets. they've done this, peter chimed in, and my wife and children will have to be fishing for themselves; but we hope they'll manage to get somehow a bite and a sup of something till the kingdom comes, which we hope will not be delayed much longer, for we like not jerusalem, and being mocked at in the temple. but say ye, master, that we've done wrong in leaving our wives and children to fish for themselves? it seemed hard at first, and you were weak, master, and stayed with your father; but after all he has money and could pay for attendance, whereas our wives and little ones have none; ourselves will be in straits to get our living if the kingdom be delayed in its coming, for what good are fishermen except along the sea coast or where there is a lake or a river, and here there isn't enough water for a minnow to swim in. our wives and our children are better off than we are, for they'll be getting someone to fish for them, and will stand at the doors at capernaum waiting for the boats to return, praying that the nets weren't let down in vain; but we aren't as sure of the kingdom as we were of a great take of fishes in galilee when the wind was favourable to fishing. not that we'd have you think our faith be failing us; we be as firm as ever we were, as john and james will be telling you. and peter, interrupting them again, reminded joseph that if they lacked faith the promised kingdom would not come. it was jesus' faith that upheld us, john said, pushing peter aside, and the promises he made us that we might hear the trumpets of the cherubims and seraphims announcing the kingdom at any moment of the day or night. and making himself the spokesman of the five, john told joseph and nicodemus that jesus now looked upon the arrival of the kingdom as a very secondary matter, and his own death as one of much greater import. he says that he'll have to give his blood to the earth and his flesh to the birds of the air else none will believe his teaching. he says that god demands a victim; and looks upon him as the victim; but if that be so, the world will get his teaching and we shall get nothing, for we know his teaching of old. as peter has told you, james interrupted, there be no water here, not a spring nor a rivulet, nothing in which a fish could live; we're fishermen stranded in a desert without boats or nets, which would be of no use to us, nor am i gainsaying it; but if he gives himself as a victim how shall we get back to galilee? he now talks not of these matters to us, but of his father only, and of doing his father's will. he seems to have forgotten us, and everything else but his father and his father's will, and we cannot make him understand when we try that we shall want money, that money will be wanting to get us back to galilee, nor does he hear us when we say: our nets and our boats may have passed into other hands. we know not what is come over him; he's a changed man; a lamb as long as you're agreeing with him, but at a word of contradiction he's all claws and teeth. the walk is a long one, matthew interjected, and the taxes will be collected by the time we get back if the kingdom don't come, and sore of foot i'll be sitting in a desolate house without wife or children or fire in the hearth. but we have faith, they all cried out together, and having followed jesus so far we'll follow him to the end. but we are glad, sirs, james said, that you've come, for you'll see jesus and tell him that we would like to have a word from him as to when we may expect the kingdom; and a word, too, as to what it will be like; whether there'll be rivers and lakes well stocked with fish in it, and whether our chairs shall be set; peter on the master's right hand to be sure, we are all agreed as to that. but you remember, master, our mother, salome, how she took jesus aside and said that myself and john were to be on his left with andrew one below us? peter began to raise his voice, and, straightening his shoulders, he declared that his brother andrew must sit on jesus' left. you remember, master? i remember, joseph interrupted, that the master answered you all saying that every chair had been made and caned and cushioned before the world was. you can't have forgotten, peter, this saying: that every one would find a chair according to his measure? yes, master, he did say something like that. i'm far from saying we'd all sit equally easy in the same chairs, and if the chairs were before the world was, all i can say is that there seems to have been a lack of foresight, for how could god himself know what our backsides would be like years upon years before they came into being. about that we will speak later; but now point out the house of simon the leper to us where jesus lodges, joseph asked. you see yon house, james replied, and they went forward together, meeting on the way thither several apostles and many disciples; and these accompanied joseph and nicodemus to the door, telling them the while that jesus had driven them out of the house. it is a main struggle that is going by in him, philip said, and so we left him, being afraid of his looks. isn't that so, bartholomew? and they all acquiesced, and bartholomew nodded, saying: yes, we were afraid of his looks. it was then that simon the leper opened the door, and joseph, remembering his promise to his father, laid his hand on nicodemus' shoulder: i may not enter, he said. i have come thus far but may not go into the house; but do you go in and tell him, nicodemus, that in spirit i am with him. on these words nicodemus passed into the house, leaving joseph in the centre of a small crowd of apostles, disciples and sympathisers in several degrees, all eager to talk to him and to hear him say that they had but to follow jesus to jerusalem and the scribes and pharisees would give way before them at once. you that are of the sanhedrin should know if we are strong enough to cast them out of the temple. but, my good men, i know nothing of your plot to clear the temple of its thieves, joseph answered, and there'll always be thieves in this world, wherever you go. but the day of judgment is approaching. when may we expect his second coming? somebody shouted from out of a group of men standing a little way back from the others, and the cry was taken up. he is coming with his father in a chariot, one said. with our father, somebody interrupted, and an eddying current of theology spread through the crowd. i've come from galilee, from my father's sick-bed, and know nothing of your numbers and have not seen him these many months, joseph said. he is the true messiah, and we believe in him, was an unexpected utterance; but joseph was not given time to ponder on it, for a woman, thrusting her way up to him, cried out in his face: he can destroy the temple and build it again in three days. and when joseph asked her who had said that, she told him that jesus had said it. he turned to peter, john and james to ask them the meaning of these words. what did jesus mean when he said he could destroy the temple and build it again in three days? he means, said half-a-dozen voices, that the priests and the scribes are to be cast out, and a new temple set up, for the pure worship of the true god, who desires not the fat of rams. joseph understood that the rams destined for sacrifice were to be given to the poor. if you don't mind, will you be telling us why you refuse to go up with nicodemus to ask jesus to delay no longer, but to lead us into jerusalem? he was asked, and perforce had to answer that nicodemus wished to talk privily to jesus, at which they pressed round him, and from every side the question was put to him: is he going to lead us into jerusalem? and then joseph began to understand that these people would find themselves on the morrow, or perhaps the next day, fighting with the roman legions, and, knowing how the fight would end, he answered them that the romans would be on the side of the priests and scribes. whereupon they tore their garments and cast dust on their heads, and in his attempt to pacify them he asked if it would not be better for jesus to go up to galilee and wait till the priests were less prepared to resist him. no, no, to jerusalem, to jerusalem, they cried on every side, and voices were again raised, and the galileans admitted that they had come down from galilee for this revolution, and had been insulted in the temple by the scribes, and laughed at, and called "foolish galileans"; but they would show the scribes what the galileans could do. was it true that jesus was the messiah promised to the jewish people by the prophet daniel?--and while joseph was seeking an answer to this question a woman cried: you're not worthy of a messiah, for do you not know that he is the one promised to us in holy writ? and do not his miracles prove that he is the messiah we have been waiting for? none but the true messiah could have rid my son of the demon that infested him for two years; and with these words gaining the attention of the crowd she related how the ghost of a man long dead had come into her boy when he was but fourteen, bringing him to the verge of death in two years--a pale, exhausted creature, having no will of his own nor strength for anything. but how, asked joseph, do you know that the demon was the ghost of a man that had lived long ago? because in life he had dearly loved his wife, but had found her to be unfaithful to him and had died of grief twenty years ago, and was captured then by the beauty of my boy; and his grief entered into the boy and abode in him, and would have destroyed him utterly if jesus had not imposed his hands upon him and put the vampire to flight. whither i know not, but my boy is free. it is as the woman says, a man cried out, for i've seen the boy, and he is free now of the demon. my limb, too, is proof that jesus is a prophet. and the lion-hunter told how in a fight with a great beast his thigh had been dislocated; and for seven years he had walked with a crutch, but the moment jesus imposed his hands upon him the use of his limb was given back to him. another came forward and showed his arm, which for many a year had hung lifeless, but as soon as jesus took it in his hand the sinews reknit themselves, and now it was stronger than the other. and then a woman pressed through the crowd, and she wished everybody to know that a flux of blood that had troubled her for seven years had been healed. but the people were bored with accounts of miracles and were now anxious to hear from joseph if jesus was going up to jerusalem for the feast of the passover. but, my friends, i have but just returned from galilee, and have come from there to learn these things. he is watching for a sign from his father in heaven, a woman cried, shaking her head. a man tried to get some words privily with joseph: will he speak against the taxes? he asked, but before he could get any further nicodemus appeared in the doorway, and the people pressed round him, asking what jesus had said to him, and if he were coming down to speak to them. but before nicodemus could answer any of them the lion-hunter cried out that a priest was not so terrible a beast as a lion, and while he was with them jesus had nothing to fear. at which his enemy in the crowd began to jeer, saying: asiel wears the lion's skin, we all know, but he has never told anybody who killed the lion for him. and the men might have hit each other if the woman who suffered for seven years had not cried out: now, what are you fighting for? know ye not that jesus cannot come down to us, for he is waiting for a sign from his father? from our father, john thundered out. nicodemus said he had spoken truly, and the crowd followed nicodemus and joseph a little way. do not return to the house of simon the leper. leave jesus in peace to-night to pray, meditate, and rest, for he needs rest. he'll lead you to jerusalem as soon as he gets a sign from our father which is in heaven, nicodemus said. at these words the people dispersed in great joy, and joseph and nicodemus walked on together in silence, till joseph, feeling that they were safely out of hearing, asked if jesus spoke of his intention to take jerusalem by assault. nicodemus seemed to examine his memory for a moment, and then, as if forgetting joseph's question, he began to tell that jesus was standing in the middle of the room when he entered, seemingly unaware that his disciples were assembled about the house. his eyes fixed, as it were, on his thoughts or ideas, he did not hear the door open, and to get his attention nicodemus had to lay his hand upon his arm. at his touch jesus awoke from his dream, but it seemed quite a little while before he could shake himself free from his dream, and was again of this world. joseph asked nicodemus to repeat his first words. was he violent or affectionate? affectionate, gentle, and winning, nicodemus answered. a few moments of sweetness, and then he seemed suddenly to become old and wild and savage. the two men stopped on the road, and nicodemus looking into joseph's eyes, said: i asked him if he were going up to jerusalem for the feast of the passover, and after speaking a few words on the subject he broke out, coiling himself like a diseased panther meditating on its spring, and as if uncertain if he could accomplish it, he fell back into a chair and into his dream, out of which he spoke a few words clear and reasonable; and then with a concentrated hate he spoke of the temple as a resort of thieves and of the priests as the despoilers of widows and orphans, saying that the law must be abrogated and the temple destroyed. until then there would be no true religion in judea. it is like that he speaks now; the one-time reformer sees clearly that the temple must go. and would he, joseph asked, build another in its place? i'm not sure that he would. i put the question to him and he was uncertain if the old foundations could be used. the old spirits of lust, and blood, and money would haunt the walls, and as fast as we raised up a new temple the spirits would pull it down and rebuild it as it was before. we are forbidden by the law of moses to create any graven image of man, of bird or beast. would that moses had added: build no walls, for as soon as there are walls priests will enter in and set themselves upon thrones. the priests have taken the place of god, and i have come, he said, to cast them out of their thrones, and to cut the knot of the bondage of the people of israel. i come, he said, with a sword to cut that knot, which hands have failed to loosen, and in my other hand there is a torch, and with it i shall set fire to the thrones. all the world as ye know it must be burnt up like stubble, for a new world to rise up in its place. in the beginning i spoke sweet words of peace, and they were of no avail to stay the sins that were committed in every house; so now i speak no more sweet words to anybody, but words that shall divide father from son, and mother from daughter, and wife from husband. there is no other way to cure the evil. what say i, he cried, cure! there is none. the evil must be cut down and thrown upon the fire, and whosoever would be saved from the fire must follow me. the priests hate me and call me arrogant, but if i seem arrogant to them it is because i speak the word of god. and then, seizing me by the shoulder, he said: look into my eyes and see. they shall tell thee that those who would be saved from the fire must follow me. i am the word, the truth, and the life. follow me, follow me, or else be for ever accursed and destroyed and burnt up like weeds that the gardener throws into heaps and fires on an autumn evening. yes, he cried, we are nearing the springtime when life shall begin again in the world. but i say to thee that this springtime shall never come to pass. never again shall the fig ripen on the wall and the wheat be cut down in the fields. before these things come to pass in their natural course the son of man shall return in a chariot of fire to make an end of things; or if thou wilt thou can say that he'll come not to make an end but a new beginning, a world in which justice and peace shall reign. and it is for this end i offer myself, a victim to appease our father in heaven. i'm the sacrifice and the communion, for it is no longer the fat of rams that my father desires, but my blood, only that; only my blood will appease his wrath. as i have said, i am the communion, and thou shalt eat my flesh and drink my blood, else perish utterly, and go into eternal damnation. but i love thee and---- and after a pause he said: those that love god are loved by me, and willingly and gladly will i yield myself up as the last sacrifice. nicodemus stopped, for his memory died suddenly, and, unable to discover anything in the blank, he turned to joseph and said: he speaks with a strange, bitter energy, like one that has lost control of his words; he is hardly aware of them, nor does he retain any memory of them. they are as the wind, rising we know not why, and going its way unbidden. i have seen him like that in galilee, joseph answered. ah! nicodemus answered suddenly, i remember, but cannot put words upon it. he said that before the world was, he and his father were one, and that his great love of man induced him to separate himself---- at that moment a man came out from the shadow of a rock and approached the wayfarers, who drew back quickly, thinking they were about to be attacked. it is judas, joseph whispered, one of the apostles. you have seen jesus? judas asked breathlessly, and when nicodemus told how jesus had said he would go up to jerusalem for the passover he cried out: to lead us against the temple? he must be saved. from what? nicodemus asked: from his mission? he must go on to the end with the work he has been called out of heaven to accomplish. i can see that you have been speaking with him. called out of heaven to accomplish! and then, clasping his hands, judas looked with imploring eyes upon them: save him, he cried, save him, for if not, i must myself, for every day his pride redoubles and now he believes himself to be the messiah, the messiah as sent by god, judas cried. by whom else could he be sent? joseph replied. if he be not taken by the priests and put to death he will be driven by the demon into the last blasphemy; one which no jew has yet committed even in his heart, and if that word be spoken all will be accomplished, and the lord will choose another nation from among the gentiles. he will declare himself god, judas continued. nicodemus and joseph raised their hands. he speaks already of the time before the world was, when he and his father were one; and setting aside the scriptures in his madness he has begun to imagine that the angels that revolted against god were changed into men, and given the world for abode till their sins so angered the father (remark you, of whom jesus was then a part) that he determined to destroy the world; at which jesus in his great love of men (or of fallen angels, for betimes he doesn't know what he is saying) said he would put godhead off and become man, and give his life as atonement for the sins of men. sirs, i'll ask you how god or man may by his death make atonement for the sins that men have committed? hear me to the end, for as many minutes as you have listened, i have listened hours. by this sacrifice of his life his teaching will become known to men and he will reign the one and only king till the world itself crumbles and perishes. then he will become one with his father, and from that moment there will be but one god. these are the thoughts, noble sirs, on which he is brooding, and if he go up to yon town it will be to---- judas could not bring himself to pronounce the words "declare himself god," so blasphemous did they seem to him. and before the wayfarers could ask him, as they were minded to, if he were sure that he had rightly understood jesus, the apostle had bidden them farewell, and, running up a by-track, disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind him a memory of a large bony nose hanging over a thin black moustache that barely covered his lips. as they walked towards the city, over which the moon was hanging, filling the valleys and hills with strange, fantastical shadows, they remembered the black, shaggy eyebrows, the luminous eyes, and the bitter, penetrating voice, and they remembered the gait, the long striding legs as they hastened up the steep path; even the pinched back often started up in their memory. and the next three or four days they sought him in the crowds that assembled to make the triumphal entry with jesus into jerusalem, but he was not to be seen; and if he had been among the people they could not fail to have discovered him. he is not here to welcome jesus, joseph muttered under his breath, and added: can it be that he has deserted to the other side? he is a sort of other jesus, nicodemus said. but yonder jesus comes riding on an ass, on which a crimson cloak has been laid. as jesus passed nicodemus and joseph he waved his hand, and there was a smile on his lips and a light in his eye. he seems to have become suddenly young again, joseph said. he is exalted, nicodemus added sadly, by his following. and they counted about fifty men and women. does he think that with these he will drive the pharisees and sadducees out of the temple? he added. he is happy again, joseph answered. see how he lifts up the fringe of the mantle they have laid upon the ass, and admires it. his face is happier than we have seen it for many a day. he likes the people to salute him as the son of david. yet he knows, nicodemus said, that he is the son of joseph the carpenter. ask him to beg the people not to call him the son of david, joseph pleaded. and, running after the ass, nicodemus dared to say: ask the people not to call thee the son of david, for it will go against thee in the end. but jesus' heart at that moment was swollen with pride, and he answered nicodemus: what thou hearest to-day on earth was spoken in heaven before our father bade the stars give light. be not afraid for my sake. remember that whomsoever my father sends on earth to do his business, him will he watch over. he has no eyes for me, joseph said sadly, for i left him to attend my father in sickness. and, taking nicodemus' arm, he drew him close, that he might more safely whisper that two men seemed to be searching in their garments as if for daggers. nicodemus knew them to be hirelings in the pay of the priests. look, he said, how their hands fidget for their daggers; the opportunity seems favourable now to stab him; but no, the crowd closes round his ass again, and the zealots draw back. god saved daniel from the flames and the lions, joseph answered. but will he, nicodemus returned, be able to save him from the priests? chap. xviii. nicodemus invited joseph to follow jesus, saying that at a safe distance he would like to see him ride through the gates into the city; but joseph, sorely troubled in his mind, could not answer him, and an hour later was hastening along the jericho road, praying all the while that he might be given strength to keep the promise he had given to his father. but no sooner was he in jericho than he began to feel ashamed of himself, and after resisting the impulse to return to jesus for two days he yielded to it, and returned obediently the way he had come, uncertain whether shame of his cowardice or love was bringing him back. one or the other it must be, he said, as he came round the bend in the road into bethany; and it was soon after passing through that village, somewhere about three o'clock, that he met his masons coming from mount scropas. coming from my tomb, he said to himself, and, reining up his horse and speaking to them, he heard that his tomb was finished. we've chiselled a great stone to be rolled into the doorway, he heard one of the masons say; another uttered vauntingly that the stone closed the tomb perfectly, and joseph was about to press his horse forward when the men called after him, and, gathering about his stirrup, they related that jesus of nazareth had been tried and condemned by pilate that morning, and was now hanging on a cross, a-top of golgotha, one of the masons said: you can see him yourself, master, if you be going that way, and between two thieves. one of them was to have been jesus bar-abba, but the people cried out that he was to be released instead of jesus. as joseph repeated the words, bar-abba instead of jesus, as if he only half understood them, the masons reminded him that it was the custom to deliver up a prisoner to the people at the time of the passover. at the time of the passover, he repeated.... at last, realising what had happened, his face became overwrought; his eyes and mouth testified to the grief he was suffering; and he pressed his spurs to his horse's side, and would have been away beyond call if two of his workmen had not seized the bridle and almost forced the horse on his haunches. loose my bridle, joseph cried, astonished and beside himself. a moment with you, master. be careful to speak no word in his favour, and make no show of sympathy, else a zealot's knife will be in your back before evening, for they be seeking the galileans everywhere, at the priests' bidding. before joseph could break away he heard that the priests stirred up the people against jesus, giving it forth against him that he had come to jerusalem to burn down the temple, and would set up another--built without the help of hands, of what materials he did not know, but not of stones nor wood, yet a temple that will last for ever, the mason shouted after joseph, who had stuck his spurs again into his horse and was riding full tilt towards a hill about half-a-mile from the city walls. on his way thither he met some of the populace--the remnant returning from the crucifixion--and he rode up the ascent at a gallop in the hope that he might be in time to save jesus' life. he knew pilate would grant him almost any favour he might ask; but within fifty yards of the crosses his heart began to fail him, for, whereas the thieves were straining their heads high in the air above the crossbar, jesus' head was sunk on to his chest. he died a while ago, the centurion said, and as soon as he was dead the multitude began to disperse, the sabbath being at hand; and guessing joseph to be a man of importance, he added: if you like i'll make certain that he is dead, and, taking his spear from one of the soldiers, he would have plunged it into jesus' side, but joseph, forgetful of the warning he had received, on no account to show sympathy with jesus, laid his hand on the spear-head, saying: respect the dead. as you will, the centurion replied, and gave the spear back to the soldier, who returned to his comrades, it being his turn to cast the dice. they have cast dice, the centurion continued, and will divide the clothes of these men amongst them; and, hearing the words, one of the soldiers held up the rags that had come to him, while another spread upon the ground jesus' fine cloak, the one that peter had bought for jesus with money that joseph gave to him. that he should see the cloak again, and on such an occasion, touched his heart. it was a humble incident in a cruel murder committed by a priest; and the thought crossed joseph's mind that he might purchase the cloak from the soldier, but, remembering the warning he had received, he did not ask for the cloak, nor did he once lift his eyes to jesus' face, lest the sight of it should wring his heart, and being overcome and helpless with grief, the priests and their hirelings might begin to suspect him. he strove instead to call reason to his aid: jesus' life being spent, his duty was to obtain the body and bury it: far worse than the death he endured would be for his sacred body to be thrown into the common ditch with these malefactors. i know not how you can abide here, he said to the centurion; their groans make the heart faint. we shall break their bones presently; the jews asked us to do this, for at six o'clock their sabbath begins. and in this the thieves are lucky, for were it not for their sabbath they would last on for three or four days: the first day is the worst day; afterwards the crucified sinks into unconsciousness, and i doubt if he suffers at all on the third day, and on the fourth day he dies. but, sir, what may i do for you? i've come for the body of this man, joseph answered; for, however erring, he was not a thief, and deserves decent burial. you can come with me to testify that i've buried it in a rock sepulchre, the stone of which yourself shall roll into the door. to which the centurion answered that he did not dare to deliver up the body of jesus without an order from pilate, though he was dead. dead an hour or more, truly dead, he added. pilate will not refuse his body to me, joseph replied. pilate and i are well acquainted; we are as friends are; you must have seen me at the prætorium before now, coming to talk with the procurator about the transport of wheat from moab, and other things. these words filled the centurion with admiration, and, afraid to seem ignorant, he said he remembered having seen joseph and knew him to be a friend of pilate. well then, come with me at once to jerusalem, joseph said coaxingly, and you'll see that pilate will order thee to deliver the dead unto me. but the centurion demurred, saying that his orders were not to leave the gibbets. upon my own word, pilate will not deliver up the body unless i bring you with me; i shall require you to testify of the death. so come with me. the unwillingness of the centurion was reduced to naught at the mention of a sum of money, and, giving orders to his soldiers that nothing was to be done during his absence, he walked beside joseph's horse into jerusalem, telling to joseph as they went the story of the arrest in the garden, the haling of jesus before the high priest, and the sending of him on to pilate, who, though unwilling to confirm the sentence of death, was afraid of a riot, and had yielded to the people's wish. the account of the scourging of jesus in the hall of the palace, and the bribing of the soldiers by the jews to make a mocking-stock of jesus, was not finished when joseph, who had been listening without hearing, said: here is the door. and while they waited for the door to be opened, and after the doorkeeper had opened it, the centurion continued to tell his tale: how a purple cloak was thrown upon the shoulders of jesus, a reed put into his hand, and a crown of thorns pressed upon his forehead. we wondered how it was that he said nothing. we have come to see his worship, joseph interrupted; and the doorkeeper, who knew joseph to be a friend of pilate, was embarrassed, for pilate had sent down an order that he would see no one again that day; but, like the centurion, he was amenable to money, and consented to take in joseph's name. there was no need to give him money, he would not have dared to refuse pilate's friend, the centurion said as they waited. word came back quickly that joseph was to be admitted, and after begging pilate to forgive him for intruding upon his privacy so late in the day, he put his request into words, saying straight away: i have come to ask for the body of jesus, who was condemned to the cross at noon. at these words pilate's face became overcast, and he said that he regretted that joseph had come to ask him for something he could not grant. it would have been pleasant to leave jerusalem knowing that i never refused you anything, joseph, for you are the one jew for whom i have any respect, and, i may add, some affection. but why, pilate, cannot you give me jesus' body? his body, is that what you ask for, joseph? it seemed to me that you had come to ask me to undo the sentence that i pronounced to-day at noon. the body! is jesus dead then? the centurion answered for joseph: yes, sir; he died to-day at the ninth hour. i put a lance into him to make sure, and blood and water came from his side. at which statement joseph trembled, for he was acquiescing in a lie; but he did not dare to contradict the centurion, who was speaking in his favour for the sake of the money he had received, and in the hope of receiving more for the lie that he told. on the cross at noon and dead before the ninth hour! pilate muttered: he could but bear the cross for three hours! after the scourging we gave him, sir, the centurion answered, he was so weak and feeble that we had to pass on his cross to the shoulders of a jew named simon of cyrene, who carried it to the top of the mount for him. if he be dead there is no reason for my not giving up the body, pilate answered. which i shall bury, joseph replied, in my own sepulchre. what, joseph, have you already ordered your sepulchre? to my eyes you do not look more than five or six and twenty years, and to my eyes you look as if you would live for sixty more years at least; but you jews never lose sight of death, as if it were the only good. we romans think so too sometimes, but not so frequently as you. and then this tall, grave, handsome man, whose face reflected a friendly but somewhat formal soul, took joseph by the arm and walked with him up and down the tessellated pavement, talking in his ear, showing himself so well disposed towards him that the centurion congratulated himself that he had accepted joseph's bribe. if i had only known that you were a close friend, pilate said to joseph--but if i had known as much it would only have made things more difficult for me. a remarkable man. and now, on thinking it over, it must have been that i was well disposed to him for that reason, for there could have been no other; for what concern of mine is it that you jews quarrel and would tear each other to pieces for your various beliefs in god and his angels? so jesus was your friend? tell me about him; i would know more about him than i could learn from a brief interview with him in the prætorium, where i took him and talked to him alone. a brief account i pray you give me. and joseph, who was thinking all the while that the sabbath was approaching, gave to pilate some brief account of jesus in galilee. so you too, joseph, are susceptible to this belief that the bodies of men are raised out of the earth into heaven? i would ask you if the body is ridded of its worms before it is carried away by angels. but i see that you are pressed for time; the sabbath approaches; i must not detain you, and yet i would not let you go without telling you that it pleases me to give his body for burial. a body deserves burial that has been possessed by a lofty soul, for how many years, thirty? i would have saved him if it had been possible to do so; but he gave me no chance; his answers were brief and evasive; and he seemed to desire death; seemingly he looked upon his death as necessary for the accomplishment of his mission. have i divined him right? joseph answered that pilate read jesus' soul truly, which flattered pilate and persuaded him into further complaint that if he had not saved jesus it was because jesus would not answer him. he seemed to me like a man only conscious of his own thoughts, pilate said; even while speaking he seemed to rouse hardly at all out of his dream, a delirious dream, if i may so speak, of the world redeemed from the powers of evil and given over to the love of god. this, however, he did say: that any power which i might have over him came to me from above, from his father which is in heaven, else i could do nothing; and there was bitterness in his voice as he spoke these words, which seemed to suggest that he was of opinion that his father had gone a little too far in allowing the jews to send him to me to condemn to death. his father in heaven and himself are one, and yet they differ in this. so he was your friend, joseph? if i had known it there would have been an additional reason for my trying to save him from the hatred of the jews; for i hate the jews, and would willingly leave them to-morrow. but they cried out: you are not cæsar's friend; this man would set up a new kingdom and overthrow the romans; and, as i have already told you, joseph, i asked jesus if he claimed to be king of the jews, but he answered me: you have said it, adding, however, that his kingdom was not of this world. evasive answers of that kind are worthless when a mob is surging round the prætorium. a hateful crowd they looked to me; a cruel, rapacious, vindictive crowd, with nothing in their minds but hatred. i suspect they hated him for religious reasons. you jews are--forgive me, joseph, you are an exception among your people--a bitter, intolerant race. you would not allow me to bring the roman eagles to jerusalem, for you cannot look upon graven things. all the arts you have abolished, and your love of god resolves itself into hatred of men; so it seems to me. it would have pleased me very well indeed to have thwarted the jews in their desire for this man's life, but i was threatened by a revolt, and the soldiers at my command are but auxiliaries, and not in sufficient numbers to quell a substantial riot. i will tell you more: if the legion that i was promised had arrived from cæsarea the lust of the jews for the blood of those that disagree with them would not have been satisfied. i went so far as to send messengers to inquire for the legion. but the man is dead now, and further talking will not raise him into life again. you have come to ask me for his body, and you would bury it in your own tomb. it is like you, joseph, to wish to honour your dead friend. methinks you are more roman than jew. say not so in the hearing of my countrymen, joseph replied, or i may meet my death for your good opinion. the sabbath is now approaching, and you'll forgive me if i indulge in no further words of thanks, pilate. i may not delay, lest the hour should come upon me after which no work can be done. not that i hold with such strict observances. a good work done upon the sabbath must be viewed more favourably by god than a bad work done on another day of the week. but i would not have it said that i violated the sabbath to bury jesus. as you will, my good joseph, pilate said, and stood looking after joseph and the centurion, who, as they drew near to the gate of the city, remembered that a sheet would be wanted to wrap the body in. joseph answered the centurion that there was no time for delay, but the centurion replied: in yon shop sheets are sold. moreover, you will want a lantern, sir, for the lifting of the body from the cross will take some time, and the carrying of it to the tomb will be a slow journey for you though you get help, and the day will be gone when you arrive. you had better buy a lantern, sir. joseph did as he was bidden, and they hurried on to golgotha. nothing has been done in my absence? the centurion asked the soldiers, who answered: nothing, sir; and none has been here but these women, whom we did not drive away, but told that you were gone with one joseph of arimathea to get an order from pilate for the body. that was well, the centurion answered. and now do you loose the cords that bind the hands, and get the dead man down. which was easy to accomplish, the feet of the crucified being no more than a few inches from the ground; and while this was being done joseph told the centurion that the women were the sisters of lazarus, whom jesus had raised from the dead; a story that set the roman soldiers laughing. can a man be raised from the dead? they asked; and if this man could do such a thing how is it that he did not raise himself out of death into life? to which neither joseph nor the two women made any answer, but stood, their eyes fixed on their thoughts, asking themselves how they were to carry jesus to the sepulchre, distant about a mile and a half. and it not seeming to them that they could carry the body, the centurion offered joseph the help of one of his soldiers, which they would have accepted, but at that moment an ox-cart was perceived hastening home in the dusk. joseph, going after the carrier, offered him money if he would bring the body of one of the crucified to the sepulchre in mount scropas for him. to which the carrier consented, though he was not certain that the job might not prevent him from getting home before the sabbath began. but he would see what could be done. jesus was laid on the ox-cart, and mary, martha and joseph following it reached mount scropas, in which was the tomb, before sunset. as i told thee with half-an-hour for thee to get home before the sabbath, joseph said to the carrier, his eyes fixed on the descending sun. now take this man by the feet and i'll take him by the head. but will you not light the lantern, sir? the carrier said; for though there be light on the hillside, it will be night in the tomb, and we shall be jostling our heads against the stone and perhaps falling over the dead man.... i have steel and tinder. wherefrom the lantern was lit and given to martha, who lighted them into the tomb, joseph and the carrier bearing the body, with mary following. jesus was laid on the couch beneath the arch, and when mary and martha had drawn the sheet over his face joseph turned to the women, saying: now do you go hence to bethany and prepare spices and cloths for the embalmment, and come hither with them in the early morning the day after the sabbath. the carrier, who was standing by waiting for his wage, received it thankfully. now, master, if you want another shoulder to help with that sealing stone, i can give it you. but joseph, looking at the stone, said it would offer no trouble to him, for he believed in his strength to do it, though the carrier said: it looks as if two men, or more like three, would be needed. but it is as you like, master. on this he went to his oxen, thinking of the sabbath, and whether joseph had forgotten how near it was to them. he hasn't blown out his lantern yet. my word, he be going back into the tomb, the carrier said; maybe he's forgotten something, or maybe to have a last look at his friend. he talks like one in a dream, or one that hadn't half recovered his wits. and it was just in the mood which the carrier divined that joseph entered the tomb: life had been coming and going like a dream ever since he met the masons; and asking himself if he were truly awake and in his seven senses, he returned to bid jesus a last farewell, though he would not have been astonished if he sought him in vain through the darkness filled with the dust of freshly cut stones and the smell thereof. but jesus was where they had laid him; and joseph sate himself by the dead master's side, so that he might meditate and come to see better into the meanings of things, for all meaning seemed to have gone out of life for him since he had come up from jericho. the flickering shadows and lights distracted his meditation, and set him thinking of the masons and their pride in their work; he looked round the sepulchre and perceived it to be a small chamber with a couch at the farther end.... martha and mary have gone, he said to himself, and he remembered he had bidden them go hence to prepare spices, and to return after the sabbath. which they will do as soon as the sabbath is over, he repeated to himself, as if to convince himself that he was not dreaming.... god did not save him in the end as he expected he would, he continued: he'd have done better to have given pilate answers whereby pilate would have been able to save him from the cross. pilate was anxious to save him, but, as nicodemus said, jesus had come to think that it had been decreed in heaven that his blood must be spilt, so that he might rise again, as it were, out of his own blood, to return in a chariot with his father in three days.... but will he return to inhabit again this beautiful mould? joseph asked, and striving against the doubt that the sight of the dead put into his mind, he left the tomb with the intention of rolling the stone into the door. better not to see him than to doubt him, he said. but who will, he asked himself, roll away the stone for martha and mary when they come with spices and fine linen for the embalming? his mind was divided whether he should close the tomb and go his way, or watch through the sabbath, and while seeking to come upon a resolve he was overcome by desire to see his dead friend once more, and he entered the tomb, holding high the lantern so that he might better see him. but as he approached the couch on which the body lay he stopped, and the colour went out of his face; he trembled all over; for the sheet with which martha and mary covered over the face had fallen away, and a long tress of hair had dropped across the cheek. he must have moved, or angels must have moved him, and, uncertain whether jesus was alive or dead, joseph remembered lazarus, and stood watching, cold and frightened, waiting for some movement. he is not dead, he is not dead, he cried, and his joy died, for on the instant jesus passed again into the darkness of swoon. joseph had no water to bathe his forehead with, nor even a drop to wet his lips with. there is none nearer than my house, he said. i shall have to carry him thither. but if a wayfarer meets us the news that a man newly risen from the tomb was seen on the hillside with another will soon reach jerusalem; and the pharisees will send soldiers.... the tomb will be violated; the houses in the neighbourhood will be searched. why then did he awaken only to be taken again? jesus lay as still as the dead, and hope came again to joseph. on a sabbath evening, he said, i shall be able to carry him to my house secretly. the distance is about half-a-mile. but to carry a swooning man half-a-mile up a crooked and steep path among rocks will take all my strength. he took cognisance of his thews and sinews, and feeling them to be strong and like iron, he said: i can do it, and fell to thinking of his servants loitering in the passages, talking as they ascended the stairs, stopping half-way and talking again, and getting to bed slowly, more slowly than ever on this night, the night of all others that he wished them sound asleep in their beds. half-a-mile up a zigzagging path i shall have to carry him; he may die in my arms; and he entertained the thought for a moment that he might go for his servants, who would bring with them oil and wine; but dismissing the thought as unwise, he left the tomb to see if the darkness were thick enough to shelter himself and his burden. but jesus might pass away in his swoon. if he had some water to give him. but he had none, and he sat by the couch waiting for jesus to open his eyes. at last he opened them. the twilight had vanished and the stars were coming out, and joseph said to himself: there will be no moon, only a soft starlight, and he stood gazing at the desert showing through a great tide of blue shadow, the shape of the hills emerging, like the hulls of great ships afloat in a shadowy sea. a dark, close, dusty night, he said, and moonless, deserted by every man and woman; a sabbath night. on none other would it be possible. but thinking that some hours would have to pass before he dared to enter his gates with jesus on his shoulder, he seated himself on the great stone. though jesus were to die for lack of succour he must wait till his servants were in bed asleep. and then? the stone on which he was sitting must be rolled into the entrance of the tomb before leaving. he had told the carrier that he would have no trouble with it, and to discover that he had not boasted he slid down the rock, and, putting his shoulder to it, found he could move it, for the ground was aslant, and if he were to remove some rubble the stone would itself roll into the entrance of the tomb. but he hadn't known this when he refused the carrier's help. then why?... to pass away the time he fell to thinking that he had refused the carrier's aid because of some thought of which he wasn't very conscious at the time; that he had been appointed watcher, and that his watch extended through the night, and through the next day and night, until mary and martha came with spices and linen cloths. the cycle of his thoughts was brought to a close and with a sudden jerk by some memory of his maybe dying friend; and in his grief he found no better solace than to gaze at the stars, now thickly sown in the sky, and to attempt to decipher their conjunctions and oppositions, trying to pick out a prophecy in heaven of what was happening on earth. his star-gazing was interrupted suddenly by a bark. a jackal, he said. other jackals answered the first bark; the hillside seemed to be filled with them; but, however numerous, he could scare them away; a wandering hyena scenting a dead body would be more dangerous, for he was weaponless. but it was seldom that one ventured into the environs of the city; and he listened to the jackals, and they kept him awake till something in the air told him the hour had come for him to go into the tomb and carry jesus out of it ... if he were not dead. he slid down from the rock again, and no sooner did he reach the ground than he remembered having left galilee to keep his promise to his father; but, despite his obedience to his father's will, had not escaped his fate. in vain he avoided the temple and refused to enter the house of simon the leper.... if he were to take jesus to his house and hide him he would become a party to jesus' crime, and were jesus discovered in his house the angry pharisees would demand their death from pilate. if he would escape the doom of the cross he must roll the stone up into the entrance of the sepulchre.... a dying man perceives no difference between a sepulchre and a dwelling-house. he would be dead before morning; before the sabbath was done for certain; and mary and martha would begin the embalmment on sunday. he would be dead certainly on sunday morning, and dead men tell no tales, so they say. but do they say truly? the dead are voiceless, but they speak, and are closer to us than the living; and for ever the spectre of that man would be by him, making frightful every hour of his life. yet by closing up the sepulchre and leaving jesus to die in it he would be serving him better than by carrying him to his house and bringing him back to life. to what life was he bringing him? he could not be kept hidden for long; he could not remain in jerusalem, and whither jesus went joseph would follow, and his bond to his father would be broken then in spirit as well as in fact. a cold sweat broke out on his forehead and for a long time his mind seemed like a broken thing and the pieces scattered; and as much exhausted as if he had carried jesus a mile on his shoulders, he stooped forward and entered the tomb, without certain knowledge whether he was going to kiss jesus and close the tomb upon him or carry him to his house about a half-an-hour distant. as he drew the cere-cloths from the body, a vision of his house rose up in his mind--a large two-storeyed house with a domed roof, situated on a large vineyard on the eastern slopes of the mount of olives, screened from the highway by hedges of carob, olive garths and cedars. and this house seemed to joseph as if designed by providence for the concealment of jesus. the only way, he muttered, will be to lift him upon my shoulders, getting the weight as far as i can from off my arms. if he could walk a little supported on my arm. he questioned jesus, but jesus could not answer him; and there seemed to be no other way but to carry him in his arms out of the tomb, place him on the rock, and from thence hoist him on to his shoulders. jesus was carried more easily than he thought for, as easily carried as a child for the first hundred yards, nor did he weigh much heavier for the next, but before three hundred yards were over joseph began to look round for a rock against which he might rest his burden. one of the hardships of this journey was that howsoever he held jesus he seemed to cause him great pain, and he guessed by the feel that the body was wounded in many places; but the stars did not show sufficient light for him to see where not to grasp it, and he sat in the pathway, resting jesus across his knees, thinking of a large rock within sight of his own gates and how he would lean jesus against it, if he managed to carry him so far. he stopped at sight of something, something seemed to slink through the pale, diffused shadows in and out of the rocks up the hillside, and joseph thought of a midnight wolf. the wolves did not venture as near the city, but--whatever joseph saw with his eyes, or fancied he saw, did not appear again, and he picked up his load, thinking of the hopeless struggle it would be between him and a grey wolf burdened as he was. he could not do else than leave jesus to be eaten, and his fear of wolf and hyena so exhausted him that he nearly toppled at the next halt. a fall would be fatal to jesus, and joseph asked himself how he would lift jesus on to his shoulder again. he did not think that he could manage it, but he did, and staggered to the gates; but no sooner had he laid his burden down than he remembered that he could not ascend the stairs without noise. the gardener's cottage is empty; i will carry him thither. the very place, joseph said, as he paused for breath by the gate-post. i must send away the two men-servants, he continued, one to galilee and the other to jericho. the truth cannot be kept from esora. i need her help: i can depend upon her to cure jesus of his wounds and keep the young girl in the house, forbidding her the garden while jesus is in the cottage. the danger of dismissal would be too great, she would carry the story or part of it to jerusalem, it would spread like oil, and in a few days, in a few weeks certainly, the pharisees would be sending their agents to search the house. with jesus hoisted on to his shoulder he followed the path through the trees round the shelving lawn and crossed the terrace at the bottom of the garden. he had then to follow a twisting path through a little wood, and he feared to bump jesus against the trees. the path led down into a dell, and he could hardly bear up so steep was the ascent; his breath and strength were gone when he came to the cottage door. fortune seems to be with us, he said, as he carried jesus through the doorway, but he must have a bed, and fortune is still with us, they haven't removed the bed; and as soon as jesus was laid upon it he began to remember many things. he must go to the house and get a lamp, and in the house he remembered that he must bring some wine and some water. he noticed that his hand and his sleeve were stained with blood. he must have been badly scourged, he said, and continued his search for bottles, and after mixing wine and water he returned to the gardener's cottage, hoping that casual ministrations would relieve jesus of some of the pain he was suffering till esora would come with her more serious remedies in the morning. he put the lamp on a chair on the opposite side of the bed and turned jesus over and began to pick out of the wounds the splinters of the rods he had been beaten with, and after binding up the back with a linen cloth he drew jesus' head forward and managed to get him to swallow a little wine and water. i can do no more, he said, and must leave him.... it will be better to lock the door; he must bide there till i hear esora on the stairs coming down from her room. she is always out of bed first, and if luck is still with us she will rise early this morning. he tried to check his thoughts, but they ran on till he remembered that he must fetch the lantern forgotten among the rocks, and that he should follow the twisting path up and down the hillside seemed more than he could accomplish. strength and will seemed to have departed from him; yet he must go back to fetch the lantern. he had left it lighted, and some curious person might be led by the light ... the open sepulchre would attract his eye, and he might take up the light and discover the tomb to be empty. it wasn't likely, but some such curious one might be on the prowl. now was the only safe time to fetch the lantern. he daren't leave it.... at the first light mary and martha would be at the sepulchre, and the finding of a lantern by the door of the empty sepulchre would give rise to-- he passed through his gates, locking them after him, too weary to think further what might and might not befall. chap. xix. and when he returned with the lantern he had forgotten he threw himself on his bed, remembering that he must not sleep, for to miss esora as she came downstairs would mean to leave jesus in pain longer than he need be left. but sleep closed his eyelids. sleep! he did not know if he had slept. the room was still quite dark, and esora did not come down till dawn; and, sitting up in his bed, he said: god saved him from death, or raised him out of death, but he has not raised him yet into heaven. he is in the gardener's cottage! if only esora can cure him of his wounds, he continued, he and i might live together in this garden happily. he closed his eyes so that he might enjoy his dream of jesus' companionship, but fell into a deeper sleep, from which he was awakened by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. it is esora trying to descend without awakening me, he said. but nobody was on the stairs, and he stood listening on the landing, asking himself if esora was at work so early. and then it seemed to him that he could hear somebody in her pantry.... to make sure he descended and found her before her table brushing the clothes he had thrown off. you must have been in my room and picked up my clothes without my hearing you, he said; it was not till you were on the second flight of stairs that i awoke. i didn't know that you rose so early, esora. it is still dusk. and if i didn't, master, i don't know how the work would get done. but the sabbath, joseph rejoined; and incontinently began to discuss the observances of the sabbath with her. but even on the sabbath there is work to be done, she answered; your clothes--a nice state you brought them home in, and if they were not cleaned for you, you could not present yourself in the synagogue to-day. but, esora, joseph answered faintly, i don't see why you should be up and at work at this hour and that girl, matred, still asleep. does she never help you in your work? esora muttered something that joseph did not hear, and in answer to his question why she did not rouse matred from her bed she said that the young require more sleep than the old; an answer that surprised joseph, for he had never been able to rid himself of his first impression of esora. he remembered when he was a child how he hated her long nose, her long yellow neck and her doleful voice always crying out against somebody, her son, her kitchen-maid, or joseph himself. she used to turn him out of her kitchen and larder and dairy, saying that his place was upstairs, and once raised her hand to him; later she had complained to his father of his thefts; for he brought his dogs with him and stole the larder key and cut off pieces of meat for them, and very often dipped jars into the pans of milk that were standing for cream. his father reproved him, and from that day he hated esora, casting names at her, and playing many pranks upon her until the day he tipped a kettle of boiling water over his foot while running to scald the wasps in their nest--one of the apes was stung; it was to avenge the sting he was running, and no one had known how to relieve his suffering; his father had gone away for the doctor, but esora, as soon as she heard what had happened, came with her balsam, and it subdued the pain almost miraculously. after his scalding joseph brought all his troubles to her to be cured, confiding to her care coughs, colds, and cut fingers; and, as she never failed to relieve his pain, whatever it was, he began to look upon her with respect and admiration. all the same something of his original dislike remained. he disliked her while he admired her, and his suspicion was that she loved him more for his father's sake than for his own---- it was his father who sent her from galilee to look after him. there was no fault to find with her management, but he could not rid his mind of the belief that she was a hard task-mistress, and often fell to pitying the servants under her supervision, yet here she was up at five while matred lay drowsing. this testimony of her kind heart was agreeable to him, for he had need of all her kindness and sympathy that morning--only with her help could jesus be cured of his wounds and the story of his escape from the cross he kept a secret. he was in her hands, and, confident of her loyalty to him, he told her that he had left his door open because he wished to speak to her before the others were out of bed. she lifted her face till he saw her dim eyes, perhaps for the first time: but ye haven't been in bed, and there be dust on thy garments, and blood upon thy hands and sleeves. yes, esora, my cloak is full of dust, and the blood on my sleeve is that of a man who lies wounded in the gardener's cottage belike to death. but thou canst cure him and wilt keep the secret of his burial if we have to bury him in the garden. it may be that some day i'll tell thee his story, but think now only how thou mayst relieve his suffering. another time thou shalt hear everything; but now, esora, understand nobody must know that a man is in the gardener's cottage. it is a matter of life and death for us. i am here to serve you, master, and it matters not to me what his story may be; but tell how he is wounded; are the wounds the clean wounds of the sword or the torn wounds of rods? if he have been scourged---- a cruel scourging it must have been, joseph answered. now, before we go, esora, understand that i shall send the two men away, one to galilee and one to jericho. better both should go to jericho, she said. i'd trust neither in jerusalem. let them go straight from here as soon as the sabbath is over, the journey is shorter, and they'll be as well out of the way in one country as in the other. esora is wiser than i, joseph thought, and together they shall go to jericho, and with an important message. but to whom? not to gaddi, who might come up to jerusalem to see me. i'll send a letter to hazael, the essene, and after having delivered the message they can remain at the caravanserai in jericho. some excuse that will satisfy gaddi must be discovered, esora. i shall find one later. both the men are now in bed, but if for some reason one of them should come down to the gardener's cottage! it isn't likely, esora answered. not likely, joseph replied; but we must guard against anything. if thou knewest the risk! i'll lock the door of the passage leading to their rooms, and i'll do it at once. give me the keys. she handed him the keys, and, having locked the men in, he returned, saying: the wounded man, whom thou'lt cure, esora, may be here for a month or more, and till he leaves us thou must watch the girl and see she doesn't stray through the garden. i can manage her, esora answered. but now about the poor man who is waiting for attendance in the gardener's cottage. what have ye done for him, master? i picked from his back the splinters i could see by the light of the lamp, and gave him some wine and water, and laid him on a linen cloth. the old woman muttered that the drawing of the cloth from the wound would be very painful. i dare say it will, joseph returned, but i knew not what else to do, and it seemed to relieve him. can you help him, esora? yes, i can; and she began telling him of her own famous balsam, the secret of which was imparted to her by her mother, who had it from her mother; and her great-grandmother learnt it from an arabian. but knowledge of the balsam went back to the queen of sheba, who brought the plant to king solomon. thou must have seen the bush in the garden in galilee. it throws a white flower, like the acacia, and the juice when drawn passes through many colours, honey colour and then green. the egyptians use it for many sicknesses, and it heals wounds magically. the sweet liquor pours from cuts in the branches, and care must be taken not to wound them too sorely. this plant fears the sword, for it heals sword wounds, so the cuts in the tree are best made with a sharp flint or shell, these being holier than steel. if thou hast missed the bush in magdala, master, thou must have seen it in jericho, for i brought some seeds from galilee to jericho and planted them by the gardener's cottage. esora, all that thou tellest me about the balsam is marvellous. i could listen to thee for hours, and thou'lt tell me about thy grandmother and the arabian who taught her how to gather the juice of the plant, but we must be thinking now of my friend's agony. hast any of thy balsam ready, or must thou go to jericho for the juice?--you draw the juice from the tree? no, master, esora answered him, i have here in my press a jar of the balsam, and, going to her press, she held the jar to joseph, who saw a white, milky liquid, and after smelling and liking its sweet smell he said: let us go at once. but thou mustn't hurry me, master; i'm collecting bandages of fine linen and getting this kettle of water to boil; for this i learnt from a man who learnt it from the best surgeons in rome: that freshly boiled water holds no more the humours that make wounds fructify, and if boiled long enough the humours fall to the bottom. i strain them off, and let the water cool. thou mustn't hurry me; what i do, i do well, and at my own pace; and i'll not touch a wound with unclean things. now i'll get some oil. some hold denbalassa is best mixed with oil, but i pour oil upon the balm after i have laid it on the wound, and by this means it will stick less when it is removed. but is thy friend a patient man? wounds from scourging heal slowly; the flesh is bruised and many humours must come away; wounds from rods are not like the clean cut of a sword, which will heal under the balm when the edges have been brought together carefully, so that no man can find the place. this balm will cure all kinds of coughs, and will disperse bile as many a time i have found. some will wash a wound with wine and water, but i hold it heats the blood about the wound and so increases the making of fresh humours. now, master, take up the pot of water and see that ye hold it steady. i'll carry the basket containing the oil and the balm.... it was the queen of sheba who first made the balm known, because she gave it to solomon. but we must keep the flies from him; and while i'm getting these things go to him and take with thee a fine linen cloth; thou'lt find some pieces in that cupboard, and a hammer and some nails. i'm thinking there are few flies in the gardener's cottage, half of it being underground; but hasten and nail up the linen cloth over the window, for the first sun ray will awaken any that are in the cottage, and, if there aren't any, flies will come streaming in from the garden as soon as the light comes, following the scent of blood. no, not there, a little to the right, he heard her crying, and, finding a piece of linen and a hammer and some nails, he went out into the greyness still undisturbed by the chirrup of a half-awakened bird. on either side of the shelving lawn or interspace were woods, the remains of an ancient forest that had once covered this hillside; paths wound sinuously through the woods, and, taking the one he had followed overnight, he passed under sycamore boughs, through some woodland to the terrace that he had crossed last night with a naked man on his shoulders. and he remembered how hard it had been to keep to the path overnight, and how fortunate it was that the gardener's cottage was not locked, for if he had had to lay jesus down he would never have been able to lift him up again on to his shoulder. he had done all he could to relieve his suffering. but jesus, he said to himself, is lying in agony, and if he has regained consciousness he may believe himself buried alive. i must hasten. yet when he arrived at the cottage he did not enter it at once, but stood outside listening to the moans of the wounded man within, which were good to hear in this much that they were an assurance that he was still alive. at last he pushed the door open and found jesus moving his head from side to side, unable to rid himself of a fly that was crawling about his mouth. joseph drove it away and gave jesus some more weak wine and water, which seemed to soothe him, and feeling he could do no more he sat down by the bedside to wait for esora. a few minutes after he heard her steps and she came into the cottage with balsam and bandages in a basket, divining before any examination jesus' state. he is in a bad way; you've given him wine and water, but he'll need something stronger, and, taking a bottle from her basket, she lifted jesus' head so that he might drink from it. it will help him to bear the pain of the dressing, she said. now, master, will you roll him over on to his side, so that i may see his back. the pain, she said, looking up, when we remove this cloth on which you have laid him will almost kill him, but we must get it off. the water with which i'll cleanse the wound, you'll find it in that basket: it is cool enough now to use. take him by the wrists and pull him forward, keeping him in a sitting position. which joseph did, esora washing his back the while and removing the splinters that joseph missed overnight. and, taking pleasure in her ministrations, she steeped a piece of linen in the balm, and over the medicated linen laid a linen pad, rolling a bandage round the chest; and the skill with which she wound it surprised joseph and persuaded him that the worst was over and there was no cause for further fear, a confidence esora did not share. he'll rest easier, she said, and will suffer no pain at the next dressing; for the oil will prevent the balm from sticking. we can roll him on his back now, and without asking any question she dressed his hands and feet. joseph thanked her inwardly for her reticence, and he nailed up the fine linen cloth before the window, saying: now he is secure from the flies. but one or two have got in already, esora answered, and one or two will trouble the sick man as much as a hundred. we can't leave him alone; one of us must watch by his side; for he is still delirious and knows not yet what has befallen him nor where he is. if he were to return to clear reason and find the door locked he might lose his reason for good and all, and if we left the door open he might run out into the garden. it isn't safe to leave him. and perceiving all she said to be sound sense, joseph took counsel with her, and his resolve was that the two men-servants should remain in their house till the sunset that i should send them away to jericho on my own horses will surprise them, he said to himself, but that can't be altered. a long, weary day lies before us, esora, and we shall have to take it in turns, and neither can be away for more than two hours at a time from the house. matred will be asking for instructions whether she is to feed the poultry or to kill a chicken. though it be the sabbath, she'll find reasons to be about because we would have her indoors. and when i'm watching by the sick man, esora returned, she'll be asking: where, master, is esora? thou'lt have to invent excuses. we've forgotten the servants, esora. give me the key. i must run with it and unlock the door of the passage. do you wait here till i return. he hoped to find his servants asleep, and his hopes were fulfilled; and after rousing them with vigorous reproof for their laziness, he descended the stairs, thinking of the letter he would devise for them to carry to jericho. these men, sarea and asiel, were his peril. once they were away on their journey to jericho he would feel easier. but all these hours i shall suffer, he said. but, master, they know the cottage to be empty. one never can think, my good esora, whither idle men will be wandering, and the risk is great. having gone so far we must have courage, esora answered. now give me the key, and i'll lock myself in with him; we'll take it in turns, and the day will not be as long passing as you think for. it is now six o'clock, he answered: twelve hours will have to pass away before the men start for jericho. and then the night will be before us, replied esora. i hadn't thought of the night, joseph answered, and she reminded him that it might be days before his friend, who had been scourged, could recover sufficiently for him to leave. for he won't always remain here, she added. no! no! joseph replied, and gave her the key of the cottage, and returned to the house to tell sarea and asiel that he hoped they would remain indoors during the sabbath, for he wished them to start for jericho as soon as the sabbath was over. they shall ride my horses, he said to himself, and bear letters that will detain them in jericho for some weeks, and if jesus be not well enough to leave me, another letter will delay their return. it can be so arranged, with a little luck on our side! the lantern suddenly flashed into his mind. he had left it on the table in his room and esora would see it. but why shouldn't she see the lantern? the centurion and the carrier and martha and mary all knew that he had brought from jerusalem a sheet in which to wrap the body of jesus, and a lantern to light their way into the tomb. it would be in agreement with what he had already said to tell that he brought the lantern back with him, nor would it have mattered if he had not returned to the tomb to fetch the lantern. the lantern would not cast any suspicion upon him. but he had done well to refrain from closing the sepulchre with the stone, for the story of the resurrection would rise out of the empty tomb, and though there were many among the jews who would not believe the story, few would have the courage to inquire into the truth of a miracle. a faint smile gathered on his lips, and he began to wonder what the expression would be on the faces of martha and mary when they came to him on the morrow with the news that jesus had risen from the dead. chap. xx. he said to himself that they would start at dawn, and getting to the sepulchre soon after three, and finding it empty, would come running to him, and, so that himself might open the gate to them, he ordered his watch (it should have ended by midnight) to continue till four o'clock. and, sitting by the sick man's side, he listened expectant for the hush that comes at the end of night. at last it fell upon his ear. the women are on their way to the sepulchre, he said, and in about an hour and a half i'll hear the bell clang. but the bell clanged sooner than he thought for; and so impatient was he to see them that he did not remember to draw his cloak about him as if he were only half dressed (a necessary thing to do if he were to deceive them) till he was in the middle of the garden. but feigning of disordered raiment was vanity, for the women were too troubled to notice that he had not kept them waiting long enough to testify of any sudden rousing from his bed, and began to cry aloud as he approached: he has risen, he has risen from the dead as he promised us. joseph came towards them yawning, as if his sleep were not yet dispersed sufficiently for him to comprehend them; and he let them through the gate, inviting them into his house; but they cried: he's risen from the dead. the sepulchre is empty, mary cried, anticipating her sister's words, and we have come to you for counsel. are we to tell what we have seen? seen! said joseph. forthwith both began to babble about a young man in a white raiment. his counsel to them was neither to spread the news nor to conceal it. let the apostles, he began--but martha interrupted him, saying: they are all in hiding, in great fear of the pharisees, who have power over pilate, and he will condemn them all to the cross, so they say, if they do not escape at once into galilee. but since we can vouch that we found the stone rolled away and a young man in white garments in the sepulchre, we are uncertain that they may not take courage and delay their departure, for they can no longer doubt the second coming of the lord in his chariot of fire by the side of his father, the judgment book upon his lap. those that have already gone will return, mary answered; and our testimony will cause the wicked pharisees to repent before it be too late. his words were that his blood was the means whereby we might rise into everlasting life. martha then broke in with much discourse, which joseph interrupted with a question: had the young man they saw in the tomb spoken to them? the sisters were taken aback, and stood asking each other what he said, martha saying one thing and mary another; and so bewildered were they that joseph bade them return to bethany and relate to lazarus, and any others of their company they might meet, all they had seen and heard: if you've heard anything, he added. then thou believest jesus to be risen from the dead, they cried through the bars as he locked the gates. yes, i believe that jesus lives. will he return to us? martha cried; and joseph as he crossed the garden heard mary crying through the dusk: shall we see him again? a fine story they'll relate, one which will not grow smaller as it passes from mouth to mouth. sooner or later it will reach pilate, and pilate's first thought will be: the centurion told me that jesus died on the cross after three hours; and i believed him, though it was outside of all reason to suppose the cross could kill a man in three hours. but if the pharisees should go to pilate and say to him: the rumour is about that jesus has risen from the dead. will you, pilate, cause a search to be made from house to house? pilate would answer that the law had been fulfilled, and that the testimony of his centurion was sufficient; for he hated the pharisees and would refuse any other answer; but pilate might send for him, joseph; and joseph fell to wondering at the answers he would make to pilate, and at the duplicity of these, for he had never suspected himself of cunning. but circumstances make the man, he said, and before jesus passes out of my keeping i shall have learnt to speak even as he did in double meanings. he lay down to sleep, and when he rose it was time to go to help esora to change the bandages, and while they were busy unwinding them (it was towards the end of the afternoon) they were interrupted suddenly in their work by matred's voice in the garden calling: esora, where are you? and, not getting an answer from esora, she cried: master! master! a moment after her voice came from a different part of the garden, and joseph said to esora: she'll be knocking at the door in another minute; she mustn't come hither. go and meet her, esora, and as soon as the girl is safe come back to me. it shall be as thou sayest, master; but meanwhile hold the man forward; let him not fall back upon the pillow, for it will stick there and my work will be undone. to which joseph obeyed, himself quaking lest the pharisees had come in search of jesus, saying to himself: the pharisees might be persuaded that jesus is risen from the dead, but the sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. what answer shall i give to them? at last he heard esora's voice outside: fear nothing, master, for friends have come; one named cleophas and another are here with a story of a miracle, and, unable to rid myself of them without rudeness, i asked them into the house, saying that you had business (meaning that we must finish dressing this poor man's wounds), but as soon as your business was finished you would go to meet them. you spoke as you should have spoken, joseph answered her, and went towards the house certain and sure that they too came to tell jesus' resurrection; and the moment he entered it and saw his guests, their faces and demeanour told him that he guessed rightly. leaning towards them over the table familiarly, so as to help them to narrate simply, he heard cleophas, whom the friend elected as spokesman, say they heard martha and mary telling they had found the stone rolled away, and a young man in white raiment seated where jesus was overnight, and from him they had learnt that he whom they sought was risen from the dead. so we said to one another: if he sent an angel to tell these women of his resurrection he will not forget us, for we loved him; and in hopes of getting news of him in the country, and that we might better think of him, we agreed to walk together to emmaus; for when a man is sad he likes to be with another one who may share his sadness, and khuza and i have always loved the same jesus of nazareth. we walked sadly, without speech, indulging in recollections of jesus, and were half-way on our journey when a wayfarer approached us and asked us the cause of our grief. we asked him in reply if he were the only one in jerusalem that had not heard speak of jesus of nazareth, a great prophet before god and the people. do you not know that our priests and our rulers condemned him who we hoped would deliver israel and to-day is the third day since all that has befallen? some women of our company told us this morning that they had been to the sepulchre at daybreak and found nobody, but had seen angels, who told them that he lived; and then others of our company went to the sepulchre and they found that the women spoke truthfully; the tomb was empty of all but the cere-cloths. so did we tell the story to the wayfarer, who then asked us whither our way was, and we told him to emmaus, and that our hope was our master might send an angel to us with news of himself. it was with that hope that we left the city. and your way, honoured sir? and he answered me, to emmaus, and perceiving him as we walked thither to be a pious man, and more learned than ourselves in the scriptures, we begged him to remain with us. he seemed averse, as if he had business farther on, but myself and my friend here, khuza, persuaded him to stay and sup with us, so that we might tell our memories of him that was gone. but he seemed to know all we related to him of jesus, interrupting us often with: as was foretold in the scriptures, giving us chapter and verse; and enlivened by a glass of good wine, he spoke to us of the fruit of the vine which jesus would drink with us in the kingdom of his father; and he broke bread and shared it with us, as it was meet that the head of the house should, and the gesture with which he broke it is one of our memories of jesus. we fell to dreaming ourselves back in galilee, and the intonations of jesus' voice and the faces of the apostles were all remembered by us. we don't know for how long we dreamed, but when our eyes were opened to reality again we saw that our friend, who was anxious to continue his journey, had risen and gone away without bidding us good-bye, belike not wishing to disturb the current of our recollections. did we not feel something strange while he was with us? my friend asked me, so to my friend here i put the question: did not our hearts burn while he spoke to us on the road hither? and i cited prophecies that were testimony that the messiah must suffer before he entered into glory. and khuza answered: did you not recognise him, cleophas, by the way in which he broke bread? now you speak of it, i replied-- our eyes that had not seen saw, and we knew that jesus had been with us, and hurried to jerusalem to tell the apostles that we had seen him. but their hearts are hard and narrow and dry, as jesus himself well knew, and as he said would be evinced at the striking of the hour, and when we told peter that martha and mary had been to the sepulchre and found the stone rolled away he answered: i too have visited the sepulchre and saw nothing. it was open, but i saw no young man sitting in white raiment, nor did an angel greet me. john said: three days have now passed away since he was put on the cross, and in three days he was to have returned in a chariot of fire by the side of his father and made a great kingdom of happiness and peace in this country. but he hasn't come; he has deceived us and put our lives in jeopardy, for if the pharisees find us here they'll bring us before pilate, who is a man without mercy, and eleven more will hang on crosses. salome, mother of john and james, too, got in her word and railed against jesus for having brought them all from galilee for naught. john and james, he promised me, were to sit on either side of him in kingdom come. whereupon peter said: thou liest, woman. i was to sit on his right hand. and while these disciples disputed on jesus' words bartholomew praised judas, who had withdrawn as soon as jesus began to talk of the angels that would surround the chariot. thomas reproved bartholomew, saying that jesus never said that there would be angels; and they all began to wrangle, asking each other how many angels would be required to match a roman legion. nor were they sure that jesus said he was god's own son, and equal to god; at which many were scandalised and turned away their faces; nor could they say that they had not desired to find a god in him on account of the chairs. i'm not speaking of james and john. and then the ugly twain turned upon us, saying that we--myself and khuza--were but disciples and could baptize with water, but not with the holy breath, which was reserved for the apostles; nor with fire. at his words the lightning flashed into the room, and john said: we are in the midst of a great miracle--the baptism by fire of the apostles. and when the storm ceased they were all mixed in a dispute about the imposition of hands; of this right they were the inheritors, so they said, and all were resolved to practise it as soon as they got back to galilee, from whence they had foolishly strayed, abandoning their boats and nets. on the morrow they would return thither and pray that the lord, who is the only god of israel, would forgive them and send them a great draught of fish, which they hoped your father, sir, would pay for at more than ordinary price to recompense them for what they lost by following the master hither. joseph would have asked him if nathaniel and thomas and bartholomew denied jesus as well as peter and james and john: if there was not one among the eleven that had faith that he might return. but prudence restrained him from putting needless questions, for cleophas was loquacious, and he had only to listen to hear that peter and james and john were eager that it should be known that they no longer believed jesus to be the true messiah that the jews were waiting for. it is said, khuza interrupted, becoming suddenly talkative in his turn, it is said that they are afraid lest the agents of the pharisees should discover them. many left for galilee on the friday evening, and in three days the fishers he brought hither will be letting down their nets again and the publican matthew will start on his round asking for the taxes. all will be-- but, said joseph, whose thoughts had gone back to the great draught of fish which peter and john hoped his father would pay for above the usual price so that they might be recompensed for their journey to jerusalem, you did not come to me to pray me to write to my father that he may punish the apostles for their lack of faith by refusing to buy their fish? no, it wasn't for that we came hither, khuza answered quickly, and cleophas looked at him, wondering if he would have the courage to put into words the cause of their visit. we thought that because pilate had given the body of jesus to you to lay in your sepulchre, and as you were the last to see him, you might come into jerusalem with us and declare the miracle to the people. you see, sir, martha and mary have testified to the rolling back of the stone, and no more is needed than your word for all to believe. joseph looked in their faces for some moments, unable to reply to them; and then, collecting his thoughts as he spoke, he impressed upon cleophas and khuza that for him to go down to jerusalem and proclaim his belief in the resurrection would only anger the pharisees and give rise to further persecutions. it will be better, he said, to let the truth leak out and convince men naturally, without suspicion that we are attempting to deceive them with testimony which their hearts are already hardened against. this answer, which showed a knowledge of men that joseph did not know he possessed, satisfied both cleophas and khuza, and perceiving that they were detaining joseph they rose to go. on the way to the gate joseph's words lighted up in their minds: he said it would be not well for him to go down to jerusalem and proclaim his belief in the resurrection; therefore he believed in the resurrection, and, unable to restrain his curiosity, khuza besought him to answer if jesus ever said that it would be his corruptible body or a spiritual body (a sort of spirit of sense) that would ascend. it could not be the fleshy body which eats and drinks and passes soil and water, for unless there be in heaven corners where one can loosen one's belt the body would be gravely incommoded; and he began to argue, placing his foot so that joseph could not close the gate, saying that if the corruptible body had not ascended into heaven it must be upon earth. but where-- joseph's cheek paled, and cleophas, noticing the pallor and interpreting it to mean joseph's anger against his friend for his insistence in putting questions which joseph could not answer--for had he not rolled up the stone of the sepulchre and sealed it and gone his way?--took his friend by the arm and said: we must leave joseph of arimathea some time to attend to his business. we are detaining him. come, khuza, we are trespassing on his time. joseph smiled in acquiescence; but khuza, who was still anxious to learn how many roman soldiers equalled one angel, hung on until joseph's patience ran dry. at last cleophas got him away, and no sooner were their backs turned than joseph forgot them completely as if they had never been: for esora had said that she hoped to be able to get jesus to swallow a little soup, and he hastened his steps, anxious to know if she had succeeded. i got him to swallow two or three spoonfuls, she said, and they seem to have done him good. dost think he seems to be resting easier? yes; but the fever hasn't left him. his brain is still clouded and feeble. this is but the third day, she replied. truthfully i can say that i've never seen any man scourged like this one. it is more than the customary scourging; the executioners must have gotten an extra fee. as she had seen men crucified in tiberias and cæsarea, he asked her if it were common for the crucified to live after being lifted from the cross. those that haven't been on the cross more than two days are brought back frequently, but the third day ends them, so great are the pains in the head and heart. but i knew one--and she began to relate the almost miraculous recovery of a man who had been on the cross for nearly three days, and had been brought back by strong remedies to live to a good old age. but none die on the first day? joseph said, and esora answered that she never heard of anyone that died so quickly; without, however, asking joseph if the man before them had been lifted down from the cross the first, second or third day. he expected her to ask him if cleophas had come to warn him that inquiries were on foot regarding the disappearance of the body of one of the crucified, but she asked no questions, and he knew not whether she refrained from discretion or because her interest in things was dying. not dying but dead, he said to himself as he scanned the years that her face and figure manifested, and judged them to be eighty. now esora, i'll go and lie down for a little while, and lest i should oversleep myself i'll tell the girl to call me. but how shall i recompense thee for this care, esora? i am too old, master, to hope for anything but your pleasure, she answered, and when he returned she told him that jesus was fallen into another swoon, and they began talking of the sick man. his mind wanders up and down galilee, she said. and now i'll leave you to him. i've that girl on my mind. and while jesus slept, joseph pondered on the extraordinary adventure that he found himself on, giving thanks to god for having chosen him as the humble instrument of his will. chap. xxi. it was after she had persuaded him to take a little soup, which he did with some show of appetite, that esora began to think she might save him: if his strength does not die away, she said. but will it? joseph inquired. not if he continues to take food, she replied; and two hours later she returned to the bedside to feed him again, and for a few seconds he was roused from his lethargy; but it was not till the seventh day that his eyes seemed to ask: who art thou, and who am i? and how came i hither? thou'rt jesus of nazareth, and i am joseph of arimathea, whom thou knewest in galilee, and it was i that brought thee hither, but more than that i dare not tell lest too much story should fatigue thy brain. i do not remember coming here. where am i? is this a holy place? was a prophet ever taken away to heaven from here? afraid to perplex the sick man, joseph answered that he never heard that anything of the sort had happened lately. but thou canst tell me, jesus continued, why thou'rt here? thou'rt the rich man's son. ah, yes, and my sorrow for some wrong done to thee brought thee hither. his eyelids fell over his eyes, and a few minutes afterwards he opened them, and after looking at joseph repeated: my sorrow brought thee here; and still in doubt as to what answer he should make, joseph asked him if he were glad he was by him. very glad, he said, and strove to take joseph's hand. but my hand pains me, and the other hand likewise; my feet too; my forehead; my back; i am all pain. thou must have patience, esora broke in, and the pain will pass away. who is that woman? a leper, or one suffering from a flux of blood? tell her i cannot impose my hands and cast out the wicked demon that afflicts her. he mustn't be allowed to talk, esora said; he must rest. and on these words he seemed to sink into a lethargy. has he fallen asleep again? it is sleep or lethargy, she answered, and they went to the door of the cottage, and, leaning against the lintels, stood balancing the chances of the sick man's recovery. we can do no more, she said, than we are doing. we must put our trust in my balsam and give him food as often as he'll take it from us. which they did day after day, relieving each other's watches, and standing over jesus' bed conferring together, wondering if he cared to live or would prefer that they suffered him to die.... for many days he lay like a piece of wreckage, and it was not till the seventh day that he seemed to rouse a little out of his lethargy, or his indifference--they knew not which it was. in answer to esora he said he felt easier, and would be glad if they would wheel his bed nearer to the door. outside is the garden, he whispered, for i see boughs waving, and can hear the bees. wilt thou let me go into the garden? as soon as i've removed the dressing thou shalt have a look into the garden, esora replied, and she called upon joseph to pull jesus forward. all this, she said, was raw flesh a week ago, and now the scab is coming away nicely; you see the new skin my balsam is bringing up. his feet, too, are healing, joseph observed, and look as if he will be able to stand upon them in another few days. wounds do not heal as quickly as that, master. thou must have patience. but he'll be wanting a pair of crutches very soon. we might send to jerusalem for a pair. there is no need to send to jerusalem, he answered. i think i'd like to make him a pair. anybody can make a pair of crutches, however poor a carpenter he may be; and every evening as soon as his watch was over he repaired to the wood-shed. they won't be much to look at, esora reflected, but that won't matter, if he gets them the right length, and strong. come and see them, he said to her one evening, and when she had admired his handiwork sufficiently he said: tell me, esora, is a man's mind the same after scourging and crucifixion as it was before? esora shook her head. i suppose not, joseph continued, for our minds draw their lives from our bodies. he'll be a different man if he comes up from his sickness. but he may live to be as old as i am, or the patriarchs, she returned. with a different mind, he added. so i've lost him in life whom i saved from death. esora did not ask any questions, and fearing that her master might tell her things he might afterwards regret having said, she remarked that jesus would be needing the crutches in about another week. and it was in or about that time, not finding jesus in the cottage, they came down the pathway in great alarm, to be brought to a sudden stop by the sight of jesus sitting under the cedars. how did he get there? esora cried, for the crutches were in the wood-shed. they were, esora, but i took them down to the cottage last night, and seeing them, and finding they fitted him, he has hobbled to the terrace. but he mustn't hobble about where he pleases, esora said. he is a sick man and in our charge, and if he doesn't obey us he may fall back again into sickness. the bones have not properly set---- we don't know that any bones were broken, do we, esora? we don't; for the nails may have pierced the feet and hands without breaking any. but, master, look! didst ever see such imprudence? go! drive away my cat, or else my work will be undone. her cat, large, strong and supple as a tiger, had advanced from the opposite wood, and, unmindful of a bitch and her puppies, seated himself in the middle of the terrace. as he sat tidying his coat the puppies conceived the foolish idea of a gambol with him. the cat continued to lick himself, though no doubt fully aware of the puppies' intention, and it was not till they were almost on him that he rose, hackle erect, to meet the onset in which they would have been torn badly if jesus had not hopped hastily forward and menaced him with his crutches. even then the puppies, unmindful of the danger, continued to dance round the cat. you little fools, he will have your eyes, jesus cried, and he caught them up in his arms, but unable to manage them and his crutches together, he dropped the crutches and started to get back to his seat without them. it was this last imprudence that compelled esora to cry out to joseph that her work would be undone if joseph did not run at once to jesus and give him his crutches: now, master, i hope ye told him he must leave cats and dogs alone, she said as soon as joseph returned to her. if he doesn't we shall have him on our hands all the winter. all the winter! joseph repeated. it is for thee to say, master, how long he is to stay here; three weeks, till he is fit to travel, or all the winter, it is for you to say. fit to travel, joseph repeated. why should he leave when he is fit to travel? he asked. only, master, because it will be hard to keep him in hiding much longer. secrets take a long time to leak out, but they leak out in the end. but i may be wrong, master, in thinking that there is a secret. i hardly know anything about this man, only that thou broughtest him back one night. so thou'rt not certain then that there is a secret, esora? joseph said. i won't say that, master, for i can see by his back that he has been scourged, and cruelly, she answered. his hands and feet testify that he has been on the cross. therefore, joseph interposed, thou judgest him to be a malefactor of some sort. master, i would judge no one. he is what thou choosest to tell me he is. come then, esora, joseph replied, and i will tell thee his story and mine, for our stories have been strangely interwoven. but the telling will take some time. come, let us sit in the shade of the acacia-trees yonder; there is a seat there, and we shall be in view of our sick man, ready to attend upon him should he require our attention. she sat listening, immovable, like a figure of stone, her hands hanging over her knees. and when he told how jesus opened his eyes in the tomb, and how he carried him through the rocks, seeking perhaps to astonish her a little by his account of the darkness, and the wild beasts, he said: now tell me, esora, if i could have done else but bring him here on my shoulders. true it is that pilate believed he was giving me not a live but a dead body; but pilate wouldn't expect me to go to him with the tidings that jesus was not dead, and that he might have him back to hoist on to a cross again. pilate did not want to give him up for crucifixion. he found no fault with him. dost understand, esora? i understand very well, master, that pilate would think thee but a false friend if you had acted differently. he would not have thanked thee if thou hadst brought back this man to him. but, esora, thy face wears a puzzled look. one thing puzzles me, she answered, for i cannot think what could have put it into his head that he was sent into the world to suffer for others. for are we not all suffering for others? the simplicity of her question took joseph aback, and he replied: i suppose thou'rt right in a way, esora. thou hast no doubt suffered for thy parents; i have suffered for my father. i left galilee to keep my promise not to see jesus; when i heard he was going to ride into jerusalem in triumph on an ass from bethany i ran away to jericho. could a man do more to keep his promise? but it was of no avail, for we may not change in our little lives the fate we were branded with a thousand years before we were born. thou'rt of one mind with me, esora, that i couldn't have left him to die in the sepulchre? thou couldst not have done such a thing and remained thyself; and it was god that gave you those fine broad shoulders for the burden. i saw thee a baby, and thou hast grown into a fine image like those they've put up to cæsar in tiberias; and then, as if abashed by her familiarity, she began: master, i wouldn't wish him to return to jerusalem, for they would put him on the cross again, but he had better leave judea. art thou weary, esora, of attendance on him? joseph asked, and the servant answered: have i ever shown, master, that i found attendance on him wearisome? he is so gentle and patient that it is a pleasure to attend on him, and an honour, for one feels him to be a great man. the highest i have met among men, joseph interposed, and i have searched diligently, wishing always to worship the best on earth. he is that, and maybe there's no better in heaven; after god comes jesus. it wouldn't be a woman then that thou wouldst choose to meet in heaven, but a man? men love women, joseph said, for their corruptible bodies, and women love men for theirs; but even the lecher would choose rather to meet a man in heaven, and the wanton another woman. if we would discover whom we love most, we can do so by asking ourselves whom we would choose to meet in heaven. heaven without jesus would not be heaven for me. but if he be not the messiah after all? esora asked. should i love him less? he answered her. none is as perfect as he. i have known him long, esora, and can say truly that none is worthy to be the carpet under his feet. i have never spoken like this before, but i am glad to have spoken, for now thou understandest how much thou hast done for me. thou and thy balsam and thy ministration. my balsam, she answered, has done better than i expected it would do. thou sawest his back this morning. one can call it cured. his hands and feet have mended and his strength is returning. in a few days he will be fit to travel. this is the third time, esora, that thou hast said he'll be able to travel soon--yet thou sayest he is so patient and gentle that it is a pleasure to attend on him; and an honour. but, master, the danger is great, and every day augments the danger. secrets, as i've said, take a long time to leak out, but they leak out in time. her words are wise, he thought to himself, and he overlooked her, guessing her to have shrunken to less than her original size; she seemed but a handful of bones and yellow skin, but when she looked up in his face her eyes were alive, and from under a small bony forehead they pleaded, and with quavering voice she said: let him go, dear master, for if the pharisees seek him here and find him, he will hang again on the cross. thou wouldst have me tell him, esora, that rumours are about that he did not die on the cross and that a search may be made for him. i wouldn't have thee speak to him of pilate or his crucifixion, master, for we don't know that he'd care to look back upon his troubles; he might prefer to forget them as far as he is able to forget them. but thou canst speak to him of his health, master, which increases every day, and of the benefit a change would be to him. speak to him if thou wouldst of a sea voyage, but speak not of anything directly for fear of perplexing him. lead rather than direct, for his mind must be a sort of maze at present. a great deal has befallen, and nothing exactly as he expected. nor would i have thee speak to him of anything but actual things; speak of what is before his eyes as much as possible; not a word about yesterday or of to-morrow, only so far as his departure is concerned. keep his thoughts on actual things, master: on his health, for he feels that, and on the dogs about his feet, for he sees them; he takes an interest in them; let him speak to thee of them, which will be better still, and in your talk about dogs many things will happen. the hills about cæsarea may be mentioned; see that they are mentioned; ask him if they are like the hills above jericho. i cannot tell thee more, master, but will pray that thou mayest speak the right words. a shrewd old thing, joseph thought, as he went towards jesus, looking back once to see esora disappearing into the wood. she'd have me keep his thoughts on actual things, he continued, and seeing that jesus had called the puppies to him and was making himself their playmate, he asked him if he were fond of dogs; whereupon jesus began to praise the bitch, saying she was of better breeding than her puppies, and that when she came on heat again she should be sent to a pure thracian like herself. joseph asked, not because he was interested in dog-breeding, but to make talk, if the puppies were mongrels. mongrels, jesus repeated, overlooking them; not altogether mongrels, three-quarter bred; the dog that begot them was a mongrel, half syrian, half thracian. i've seen worse dogs highly prized. send the bitch to a dog of pure thracian stock and thou'lt get some puppies that will be the sort that i used to seek. joseph waited, for he expected jesus to speak of the essenes and of the time when he was their shepherd; but jesus' thoughts seemed to have wandered from dogs, and to bring them back to dogs again joseph interposed: thou wast then a shepherd? but jesus did not seem to hear him, and as he was about to repeat his question he remembered that esora told him to keep to the present time. we do not know, she said, that he remembers, and if he has forgotten the effort to remember will fatigue him, or it may be, she had added, that he wishes to keep his troubles out of mind. a shrewd old thing, joseph said to himself, and he sat by jesus considering how he might introduce the subject he had come to speak to jesus about, the necessity of his departure from judea. but as no natural or appropriate remark came into his mind to make, he sat like one perplexed and frightened, not knowing how the silence that had fallen would be broken. it is easy, he thought, for esora to say, speak only of present things, but it is hard to keep on speaking of things to a man whose thoughts are always at ramble. but if i speak to him of his health an occasion must occur to remind him that a change is desirable after a long or a severe illness. it may have been that joseph did not set forth the subject adroitly; he made mention, however, of a marvellous recovery, and as jesus did not answer him he continued: esora thought that thou wouldst be able to get as far as the terrace in another week, but thou'rt on the terrace to-day. still jesus did not answer him, and feeling that nothing venture nothing win, he struck boldly out into a sentence that change of air is the best medicine after sickness. jesus remaining still unresponsive, he added: sea air is better than mountain air, and none as beneficial as the air that blows about cæsarea. the word cæsarea brought a change of expression into jesus' face, and joseph, interpreting it to mean that jesus was prejudiced against those coasts, hastened to say that a sick man is often the best judge of the air he needs. but, joseph, i have none but thee, jesus said; and the two men sat looking into each other's eyes, joseph thinking that if jesus were to recover his mind he would be outcast, as no man had ever been before in the world: without a country, without kindred, without a belief wherewith to cover himself; for nothing, joseph said to himself as he sat looking into jesus' eyes, has happened as he thought it would; and no man finds new thoughts and dreams whereby he may live. i did not foresee this double nakedness, or else might have left him to die on the cross. will he, can he, forgive me? a moment afterwards he recovered hope, for jesus did not seem to know that the hills beyond the terrace were the judean hills, and then, as if forgetting the matter in hand (his projected residence in cæsarea), he began to speak of bethlehem, saying he could not think of bethlehem without thinking of nazareth, a remark that was obscure to joseph, who did not know nazareth. it was to make some answer--for jesus seemed to be waiting for him to answer--that joseph said: nazareth is far from cæsarea, a remark that he soon perceived to be unfortunate, for it awakened doubts in jesus that he was no longer welcome in joseph's house. why speakest thou of cæsarea to me? he said. is it because thou wouldst rid thyself of me? whereupon joseph besought jesus to lay aside the thought that he, joseph, wished him away. i would have thee with me always, deeming it a great honour; but esora has charge of thy health and has asked me to say that a change is needed. my health, jesus interrupted. am i not getting my strength quickly? do not send me away, joseph, for i am weak in body and in mind; let me stay with thee a little longer; a few days; a few weeks. if i go to cæsarea i must learn greek, for that is the language spoken there, and thou'lt teach me greek, joseph. send me not away. but there is no thought of sending thee away, joseph answered; my house is thy house for as long as thou carest to remain, and the words were spoken with such an accent of truth that jesus answered them with a look that went straight to joseph's heart; but while he rejoiced jesus' mind seemed to float away: he was absent from himself again, and joseph had begun to think that all that could be said that day had been said on the subject of his departure from judea, when a little memory began to be stirring in jesus, as esora would say, like a wind in a field. i remember thee, joseph, as one to whom i did a great wrong, but what that wrong was i have forgotten. do not try to recall it, joseph said to him, no wrong was done, jesus. thou'rt the rich man's son, he said, and what i remember concerning thee is thy horse, for he was handsomer than any other. his name was xerxes. dost still ride him? is he in the stables of yon house? he was sold, joseph answered, to pay for our journey in syria, and some of the price went to pay for thy cloak. the cloak on my shoulders? jesus asked. the cloak on thy shoulders is one of my cloaks. thou earnest here naked. i was carried here by an angel, jesus replied, for i felt the feathers of his wings brush across my face. but why that strange look, joseph?--those curious, inquisitive eyes? it was an angel that carried me hither. no, jesus, it was i that carried thee out of the sepulchre up the crooked path. what is thy purpose in saying that it was no angel but thou? jesus asked; and joseph, remembering that he must not say anything that would vex jesus, regretted having contradicted him and tried to think how he might mend his mistake with words that would soothe jesus; but, as it often is on such occasions, the more we seek for the right words the further we seem to be from them, and joseph did not know how he might plausibly unsay his story that he had carried him without vexing jesus still further: he is sure an angel carried him, joseph said: he felt the feathers of the wings brush across his face, and he is now asking himself why i lied to him. as joseph was thinking that it might be well to say that bethlehem was like nazareth, he caught sight of jesus' face as pale as ashes, more like a dead face than a living, and fearing that he was about to swoon again or die, joseph called loudly for esora, who came running down the pathway. thou mustn't call for me so loudly, master. if matred had heard thee and come running---- but, esora, look. as likely as not it is no more than a little faintness, she said. he has been overdoing it: running after puppies, and talking with thee about cæsarea. but it was thyself told me to ask him to go to cæsarea for change of air. never mind, master, what i told thee. we must think now how we shall get him back to bed. do thou take one arm and i'll take the other. chap. xxii. jesus did not speak about angels again, and one morning at the end of the week before going away to jerusalem to attend to some important business joseph, after a talk with esora, turned down the alley with the intention of asking jesus to leave judea. it would have been better, she said to herself, if he had waited till evening; these things cannot be settled off-hand; he'll only say the wrong thing again, and she stood waiting at her kitchen door, hoping that joseph would stop on his way out to tell her jesus' decision, but he went away without speaking, and she began to think it unlikely that anything was decided. he is soft-hearted and without much will of his own, she said.... jesus is going to stay with us, so we may all hang upon crosses yet, unless, indeed, master comes to hear something in jerusalem that will bring him round to my way of thinking. he believes, she continued, that jesus is forgotten because the apostles have returned to their fishing, but that cannot be; the two young women that came here one sunday morning with a story about an empty sepulchre have found, i'll vouch, plenty of eager gossips, and a smile floated round her old face at the additions she heard to it yester morning at the gates. but no good would come of my telling him, she meditated, for he'd only say it was my fancies, though he has to acknowledge that i am always right when i speak out of what he calls my fancies. in about three weeks, she muttered, the stories that are going the round will begin to reach his ears. the old woman's guess was a good one. it was about that time the camel-drivers, assembled in the yard behind the counting-house, began to tell that jesus had been raised from the dead, and their stories, being overheard by the clerk, were reported to joseph. the pharisees are angry with pilate for not having put a guard of soldiers over the tomb, the clerk was saying, when joseph interjected that a guard of soldiers would be of no avail if god had wished to raise jesus from the dead. the point of their discourse, the clerk continued, is that no man but jesus died on the cross in three hours; three days, sir, are mentioned as the usual time. it is said that a man, sir, often lingers on until the end of the fourth day. joseph remained, his thoughts suspended, and the clerk, being a faithful servant, and anxious for joseph's safety, asked if he might speak a word of counsel, and reading on joseph's face that he was permitted to speak, he said: i would have you make an end of these rumours, sir, and this can be done if you will attend the next meeting of the sanhedrin and make plain your reason for having gone to pilate to ask him for the body. as it seemed to joseph that his clerk had spoken well, he attended the next meeting of the council, but the business that the councillors had come together for did not admit of interruption for the sake of personal explanation, however interesting, and the hostility of everybody to him was notable from the first. only a few personal friends spoke to him; among them was nicodemus, who would not be dismissed, but went away with him at the close of the meeting, beseeching him not to cross the valley unarmed, and if thou wouldst not draw attention to thyself by the purchase of arms, he said, i will give thee the arms thou needest for thyself and will arm some camel-drivers for thee. i thank thee, nicodemus, but if i were to return home accompanied by three or four armed camel-drivers i should draw the attention of jerusalem upon me, thereby quickening the anger of the pharisees, and my death would be resolved upon. but art thou sure that the hirelings of the priests haven't been told to kill thee? nicodemus asked. pilate's friendship for me is notorious, joseph replied. i'm not afraid, nicodemus, and it is well for me that i'm not, for assassination comes to the timorous. that is true, nicodemus rejoined, our fears often bring about our destiny, but thou shouldst avoid returning by the valley; return by the eastern gate and on horseback. but that way, joseph answered, is a lonely and long one, and thinking it better to put a bold face on the matter, though his heart was beating, he began to speak scornfully of the pharisees who, seemingly, would have consented to a desecration of the sabbath. he had done no more than any other jew who did not wish the sabbath to be desecrated, and remembering suddenly that nicodemus would repeat everything he said, he spoke again of pilate's friendship, and the swift vengeance that would follow his murder. pilate is my friend, and whoever kills me makes sure of his own death. i do not doubt that what thou sayest is true, joseph, but pilate may be recalled, and it may suit the next roman to let the priests have their way. i am going to egypt to-morrow, he said suddenly. to egypt, joseph repeated, and memories awoke in him of the months he spent in alexandria, of the friends he left there, of the greek that he had taken so much trouble to perfect himself in, and the various philosophies which he thought enlarged his mind, though he pinned his faith to none; and reading in his face the pleasure given by the word egypt, nicodemus pressed him to come with him: all those who are suspected of sympathy with jesus, he said, will do well to leave judea for a year at least. alexandria, as thou knowest, having lived there, is friendly to intellectual dispute. in alexandria men live in a kingdom that belongs neither to cæsar nor to god. but all things belong to god, joseph replied. yes, answered nicodemus; but god sets no limits to the mind, but priests do in the name of god. remember egypt, where thou'lt find me, and glad to see thee.... on these words the men parted, and joseph descended into the valley a little puzzled, for the traditionalism of nicodemus seemed to have undergone a change. but more important than any change that may have happened in nicodemus' mind was the journey to egypt, that he had proposed to joseph. joseph would like to go to egypt, taking jesus with him, and as he walked he beheld in imagination jesus disputing in the schools of philosophy, but if he were to go away to egypt the promise to his father would be broken fully. if his father were to fall ill he might die before the tidings of his father's illness could reach him; a year's residence in egypt was, therefore, forbidden to him; on the top of the mount of olives he stopped, so that he might remember that nicodemus' disposition was always to hear the clashing of swords; spears are always glittering in his eyes for one reason or another, he said, and though he would regret a friend's death, he would regard it as being atoned for if the brawl were sufficiently violent. he has gone to egypt, no doubt, because it is pleasing to him to believe his life to be in danger. he invents reasons. pilate's recall! now what put that into his mind? he may be right, but this mount of olives is peaceful enough and the road beyond leading to my house seems safe to the wayfarer even at this hour. he followed the road in a quieter mood, and it befell that esora opened the gates to him, for which he thanked her abruptly and turned away, wishing to be alone; but seeing how overcast was his face, she did not return to her kitchen as she had intended, but remained with him, anxious to learn if the rumours she knew to be current had reached his ears. she would not be shaken off by silence, but followed him down the alley leading to jesus' cottage, answering silence by silence, certain in this way to provoke him thereby into confidences. they had not proceeded far into the wood before they came upon jesus in front of a heap of dead leaves that he had raked together. a great many had fallen, he said, and the place was beginning to look untidy, so i thought i would gather them for burning. thou must not tire thyself, joseph answered, as he passed on with esora, asking her as they went through the autumn woods if jesus found the rake for himself or if she gave it to him. he asked me if he might be allowed to feed the chickens, she said, and i would have let him if matred's window did not overlook the yard. master, the hope of getting him out of judea rests upon the chance that he may recover his mind, and staring at the desert all day won't help him. he musn't brood, and as there is no work like raking up leaves to keep a man's thought off himself, unless, indeed, it be digging, i thought i had better let him have the rake. but if matred should meet him? joseph asked. she will see the new gardener in him, that will be all. i told her last night, esora continued, that we were expecting the new gardener, and she said it would be pleasant to have a man about the house again. but he musn't attempt any hard work like digging yet awhile; he has done enough to-day; i'll go and tell him to put away the rake and pass on to his supper. she waited for joseph to answer, but he was in no humour for speech, and she left him looking at the hills. a cloud lifts, and we are; another cloud descends, and we are not; so much do we know, but we are without sufficient sight to discover the reason behind all this shaping and reshaping, for like all else we ourselves are changing as heraclitus said many years ago. and while thinking of this philosopher, whose wisdom he felt to be more satisfying than any other, he paced back and forth, seeking a little while longer to untie the knot that all men seek to untie, abandoning at last, saying: fate tied it securely before the beginning of history, and on these words he ran up the steps of his house, pausing on the threshold to listen, for he could distinguish esora's voice, and matred's; afterwards he heard jesus' voice, and he said: jesus eats with my servants in the kitchen! this cannot be, and he very nearly obeyed the impulse of the moment, which was to call jesus and tell him to come and eat his supper with him. to do this, however, would draw matred's attention to the fact that jesus was not of her company but of her master's, and distinctions between servants and master, he continued, are not for him, who thinks in eternal terms. he sat at table, his thoughts suspended, but awakening suddenly from a reverie, of which he remembered nothing, he rose from his seat and went to the kitchen door, regretting that he was not with jesus, for to miss his words, however slight they might be, seemed to him to be a loss that could not be repaired. they are listening to him, he said, with the same pleasure that i used to do, watching his eyes lighting his words on their way. at that moment a shuffling of feet sent him back to his seat again, and he put food into his mouth just in time to escape suspicion of eavesdropping. i thought, master, that thy supper was finished, and that i might take away the plates. i've hardly begun my supper, esora. your voices in the kitchen prevented me from eating. we are sorry for that, master, she replied. make no excuses, esora. i said it was the voices in the kitchen that disturbed me, but in truth it was my own thoughts, for i have heard many things to-day in jerusalem. esora's face brightened and she said to herself: my words to him are coming true. sit here, esora, and i'll tell thee what i've heard to-day. and while matred listened to jesus in the kitchen esora heard from joseph that the camel-drivers had been talking of the resurrection in the yard behind the counting-house, and that his clerk's advice to him had been to attend the sanhedrin, and make plain that his reason for going to pilate to ask for the body of jesus was because he did not wish a desecration of the sabbath. but he had only met a show of dark faces, and left the meeting in company with nicodemus. esora, is our danger as great as this young man says it is? master, i have always told thee that as soon as jesus leaves judea he will be safe from violence, from death, and we shall be safe too, but not till then. but how are we to persuade him to leave judea, esora? thou must try, master, to persuade him, there is no other way. he is talking now with matred in the kitchen. ask him to come here, and thou'lt see, esora, the sad face that uplifts when i speak to him of cæsarea. i'll speak for thee, master, she answered, and going to the door she called jesus to them, and when he stood before them she said: have i not proved a good physician to thee? to-day thy back gives thee no trouble. only aching a bit, he answered, from stooping, but that will pass away. and my balsam having cured thy feet and hands is it not right that i should take a pride in thee? and, smiling, jesus answered: had i voice enough i would call the virtue of thy balsam all over the world. my balsam has done well with thee, but a change is needed to restore thee to thyself, and seeing a cloud come into his face, she continued: we weren't talking of sending thee to cæsarea, for it is of little use to send a man in search of health whither he is not minded to go. our talk was not of cæsarea. but of what city then? jesus asked, and esora began to speak of alexandria, and joseph, thinking that she repeated indifferently all that she had heard of that city from him, interrupted her and began to discourse about the several schools of philosophy and his eagerness to hear jesus among the sages. but why should thy philosophers listen to me? jesus asked. because thou'rt wise. no man, he replied, is wise but he who would learn, and none is foolish but he who would teach. if there are learners there must be teachers, joseph said, and he awaited jesus' answer eagerly, but esora, fearing their project would be lost sight of in argument, broke in, saying: neither teaching nor learning avails, but thy health, jesus, and to-morrow a caravan starts for egypt, and we would know if thou'lt join it, for one whom thou knowest goes with it, a friend, one nicodemus, a disciple, whose love for thee is equal to my master's. jesus' face darkened, but he said nothing, and esora asked him if he did not care to travel with nicodemus, and he answered that if he went to egypt he would like to go with joseph. but my master has business here, and may not leave it easily. is this so, joseph? jesus asked, and joseph answered: it is true that i have business here, but there are other reasons, and weightier ones than the one esora has put before thee, why i may not leave jerusalem and go to live in egypt. but wouldst thou have me go to egypt with nicodemus, joseph? jesus asked, and joseph could not do else than say that the companion he would choose would not be one whose tongue was always at babble. but wilt thou go to egypt, he asked, if i tell thee that it is for thy safety and for ours that we propose this voyage to thee? and jesus answered: be it so. then, jesus, we'll make plans together, esora and myself, for thy departure; and having thanked him, jesus returned to matred in the kitchen, and they could hear him talking with her while they debated, and as soon as the kitchen door closed joseph told esora that he could not break the promise he gave to his father, and it was this very promise that she strove to persuade him to forgo. for it is the only way, she said, and he, agreeing with her, said: though i have promised my father not to keep the company of jesus, it seems to me that i should be negligent in my duty towards jesus if i did not go with him to egypt; and esora said: that is well said, master, and now we will go to our beds. god often counsels us in sleep and warns us against hasty promises. and it was as he expected it would be: he was that night disturbed by a dream in which his father appeared to him wearing a distressful face, saying: i have a blessing that i would give to thee. there were more words than this, but joseph could not remember them; but the words he did remember seemed to him a warning that he must not leave judea; and jesus was of one mind with him when he heard them related on the terrace. a son, he said, must be always obedient to his father, and love him before other men. whereupon esora, who was standing by when these words were spoken, was much moved, for she, too, believed in dreams and their interpretation, and she could put no other interpretation upon joseph's dream than that he was forbidden to go to egypt. but joseph might write, she said, to some of his friends in egypt, and they could send a friend, if they wished it, who would meet jesus at jericho; and this plan was in dispute till all interest in egypt faded from their minds, and they began to talk of other countries and cities; of athens and corinth we were talking, joseph said to esora, who had come into the room, and of india, of judea. but if jesus were to go to india we should never see him again, she answered. it is thy good pleasure, master, to arrange the journey, and when it is arranged to thy satisfaction thou'lt tell me, though i do not know why thou shouldst consult me again. i came to tell thee that one of thy camel-drivers has come with the news that the departure of the caravan for egypt has been advanced by two days. but if thou'rt thinking of egypt no longer i may send him away. tell him to return to the counting-house, and that there is no order for to-day, joseph replied. you will settle the journey between you, esora said, turning back on her way to the kitchen to speak once more. she would have me go, jesus said. put that thought out of thy mind, joseph replied quickly, for it is not a true thought. thou shouldst have guessed better; it is well that thou goest, but we must find the country and the city that is agreeable to thee, and that will be discovered in our talk in the next few days, to which jesus answered nothing; and at the end of the next few days, though much had been said, it seemed to joseph that jesus' departure was as far away as ever. it has become, he said to esora, a little dim. i know nothing, he continued, of jesus' mind. on these words he went to his counting-house distracted and sad, expecting to hear from his clerk that the story of jesus' resurrection was beginning to be forgotten in jerusalem, but the clerk knew nothing more, and was eager to speak on another matter. pilate had sent soldiers to prevent a multitude from assembling at the holy mountain, gerezim, for the purpose of searching for some sacred vessels hidden there by moses, so it was said. many had been slain in the riot, and the samaritans had made representations to vitellius, artfully worded, the clerk said, and dangerous to pilate, for vitellius had a friend whom he would like to put in pilate's place. joseph sat thinking that it was not at all unlikely he was about to lose his friend and protector, and the clerk, seeing his master troubled, dropped in the words: nothing has been settled yet. joseph gave no heed, and a few days afterwards a messenger came from the prætorium to tell joseph that pilate wished to see him. we shall not meet again, joseph, unless you come to rome, and you must come quickly to see me there, for my health is declining. we have been friends, such friends as may rarely consist with roman and hebrew, he said, and the words stirred up a great grief in joseph's heart, and when he returned that evening to his house he was overcome by the evil tidings, but he did not convey them to esora that evening, nor the next day, nor the day afterwards, and they becoming such a great torment in his heart he did not care to go to his counting-house, but remained waiting in his own rooms, or walking in the garden, startled by every noise and by every shadow. day passed over day, and it was one of the providers that came to the gates that brought the news of pilate's departure to esora, and when she had gotten it she came to joseph, saying: so your friend pilate has been ordered to rome? he has, indeed, joseph answered, overcome by the intrigues of the samaritans, who sought to assemble together, not so much to discover sacred vessels as to bring about a change of government. we are beset with danger, esora, for it has come to my mind that the stories about the resurrection of jesus of nazareth may be kindled again, and it will not be difficult to incite the priests against me; everybody is saying that i was the last man to see jesus, and must know where his body is hidden; that is enough for the priests, and they will send up a band of zealots to seek him in this garden. there is no place here where we can hide him from them. that is why i haven't been to my counting-house for three days, fearing to leave thee and matred alone with him, for they would surely choose the time when i was away in jerusalem to plunder my house. as he was saying these things matred came into the room with some wood for the fire, but before throwing the logs on the hearth that jesus carried up she looked at them, and it seemed to joseph her eyes were full of suspicion, and as soon as she left the room he said: now why did she bring the logs into the room while we were talking of jesus, and why did she mention that he carried them up this afternoon, having felled a dead tree this morning? esora tried to persuade him that his fears were imaginary, but she too feared that matred might begin to suspect that jesus was no ordinary gardener; she had said, ye speak strangely in galilee, and to kindle the story again it would only be necessary for somebody to come up to the gates and ask her if one, jesus, a galilean, was known to her, one that pilate condemned to the cross. her answer would be: there is one here called jesus, he is a galilean, and may have been on the cross for aught i know. and such answer would be carried back to the priests, who would order their hirelings to make a search for jesus, and the master and servant often sat of an evening listening to the wind in the chimney, thinking it was warning them of the raid of the jews. if a tree fell it was an omen, and they related their dreams to each other in the alleys of the gardens, till it occurred to them that to be seen in long converse together would awaken matred's suspicion. the shutters were put up and they sat in the dark afraid to speak lest the walls had ears. esora, who was the braver of the two, often said, master, strive to quell thy fears, for the new procurator has given pause to the story of the resurrection. we have heard little of it lately, and jesus is beginning to be forgotten. not so, esora, for to-day i heard--and joseph began a long relation which ended always with the phrase: we are beset with danger. we have been saying that now for a long while, esora answered, yet nothing has befallen us yet, and what cannot be cured must be endured. we must bear with him. if, esora, i could bring myself to break all promises to my father and go away with him to egypt this misery would be ended. master, thou canst not do this thing; thou hast been thinking of it all the winter, and were it possible it would be accomplished already. if it hadn't been for that dream--and joseph began to relate again the dream related many times before. forget thy dream, master, esora said to him, for it will not help us; as i have said, what cannot be cured must be endured. we must put our trust in time, which brings many changes; and in the spring something will befall; he'll be taken from us. the spring, esora? and in safety? tell me, and in safety? nay, master, i cannot tell thee more than i have said; something will befall, but what that thing may be i cannot say. will it be in the winter or in the spring? it will be in february or march, she said. it was, however, before then, in january (the winter being a mild one, the birds were already singing in the shaws), that a camel-driver came to the house on the hillside to tell joseph that a camel had been stolen from them on their way from jericho to jerusalem during the night or in the early morning, and with many words and movements of the hands, that irritated joseph, he sought to describe the valley where they pitched their tent. get on with thy story, joseph said; and the man told that they had succeeded in tracking the band, a small one, to a cave, out of which, he said, it will be easy to smoke them if fadus, the procurator, will send soldiers at once, for they may go on to another cave, not deeming it safe to remain long in the same one. didst beg the camel back from the robbers? joseph asked, for he was not thinking of the robbery, but of his meeting with fadus. no, master, there was no use doing that. they would have taken our lives. but we followed them, spying them from behind rocks all the way, and the cave having but one entrance they can be smoked to death with a few trusses of damp straw. but care must be taken lest our camel perish with them. if we could get them to give up the camel first, i'm thinking-- it was a serious matter to hear that robbers had again established themselves in the hills; and while joseph pondered the disagreeable tidings a vagrant breeze carried the scent of the camel-driver's sheepskin straight into jesus' nostrils as he came up the path with a bundle of faggots on his shoulders. he stopped at first perplexed by the smell and then, recognising it, he hurried forward, till he stood before the spare frame and withered brown face of the desert wanderer. joseph looked on puzzled, for jesus stood like one in ecstatic vision and began to put questions to the camel-driver regarding the quality of the sheep the shepherds led, asking if the rams speeded, if there were many barren ewes in the flock, and if there was as much scab about as formerly, questions that one shepherd might put to another, but which seemed strangely out of keeping with a gardener's interests. the camel-driver answered jesus' question as well as he was able, and then, guessing a former shepherd in the gardener, he asked if jesus had ever led a flock. joseph tried to interrupt, but the interruption came too late; jesus blurted out that for many years he was a shepherd. and who was thy master? the camel-driver asked; jesus answered that he was in those days an essene living in the great settlement on the eastern bank of jordan. whereupon the camel-driver began to relate that brother amos was not doing well with the sheep and that some of the brethren were gone to the brook kerith and had taken possession of a cave in the rocks above it. the camel-driver was about to begin to make plain this amos' misunderstanding of sheep, but jesus interrupted him. who may their president be? he asked; and with head bent, scratching his poll, the camel-driver said at last that he thought it was hazael. hazael! jesus answered, and forthwith his interest in the camel-driver began to slacken. the anemone is on the hills to-day, he said, and joseph looked at him reproachfully; his eyes seemed to say: hast forgotten so easily the danger we passed through by keeping thee here, counting it as nothing, so great was our love of thee?--and jesus answering that look replied: but, joseph, how often didst thou speak to me of cæsarea, alexandria, athens, and other cities. esora, too, was anxious that i should leave judea ... for my sake as well as yours. india was spoken of, but the brook kerith is not twenty odd miles from here and i shall be safe among the brethren. why this silence, joseph? and whence comes this change of mood? jesus asked, and joseph began to speak of the parting that awaited them. but there'll be no parting, jesus interposed. thou'lt ride thy ass out to meet me, and we shall learn to know each other, for thou knowest nothing of me yet, joseph. thou'lt bring a loaf of bread and a flagon of wine in thy wallet, and we shall share it together. i shall wait for thy coming on the hillside. even so, jesus, i am sad that our life here among the trees in this garden should have come to an end. we were frightened many times, but what we suffered is now forgotten. the pleasure of having thee with us alone is remembered. but it is true we have been estranged here. may we start to-night? jesus asked, and joseph said: if a man be minded to leave, it is better that he should leave at once. chap. xxiii. an hour later, about two hours before midnight, they were riding into the desert, lighted by a late moon and incommoded by two puppies that jesus could not be dissuaded from bringing with him: for if brother amos give up his flock to me, he argued, i shall need dogs. but brother amos will give thee his dogs, joseph said. a shepherd, jesus answered, cannot work with any dogs but his own. but what has become of the dogs that were left behind? joseph asked, and not being able to tell him, jesus fell to wondering how it was he had forgotten his dogs. at that moment one of the puppies cried to be let down: see how well he follows, jesus said, but hardly were the words past his lips than the puppy turned tail, and jesus had to chase him very nearly back to bethany before he allowed himself to be overtaken and picked up again. the way is long, joseph cried, more than seven hours to the city of jericho, and if these chases happen again we shall be overtaken by the daylight. one of my caravans starts from jericho at dawn; and if we meet it i shall have my camel-drivers round me asking pertinent questions and may be compelled to return with them to jericho. come, jesus, thine ass seems willing to amble down this long incline; and dropping the reins over the animal's withers, and leaning back, holding a puppy under each arm, jesus allowed the large brown ass he was riding to trot; it was not long before he left far behind the heavy weighted white ass, which carried joseph. now seeing the distance lengthening out between them joseph was tempted to cry to jesus to stop, but dared not, lest he might awaken robbers (their strongholds having lately been raided by soldiers), and he had in mind the fugitives that might be lurking in the hills, so instead of crying to jesus to hold hard, he urged his ass forward. but the best speed he could make was not sufficient to overtake the nimbly trotting brown ass, and the pursuit might have been continued into jericho if jesus had not been suddenly behoven by the silence to stop and wait for joseph to overtake him, which he did in about ten minutes, whispering: ride not so fast, robbers may be watching for travellers. not at this hour, jesus replied; and he prepared to ride on. this time one of the puppies succeeded in getting away and might have run back again to bethany had not joseph leapt from his ass and driven him back to jesus with loud cries that the ravines repeated again and again. if there were robbers asleep, thy cries would awaken them. true, true, joseph replied; i forgot; and he vowed he would not utter another word till they passed a certain part of the road, advantageous, he said, to robbers. no better spot between jerusalem and jericho for murder and robbery, he continued: cast thine eyes down into the ravine into which he could throw us. but if a robber should fall upon me do not stay to defend me; ride swiftly to the inn for help, and, despite the danger, joseph rode in front of jesus, sustained by the hope that the good fortune that attended him so far would attend him to the end. and they rode on through the grey moonlight till a wolf howled in the distance. joseph bent over and whispered in jesus' ear: hold thy puppies close to thy bosom, jesus, for if one be dropped and start running back to bethany he will be overtaken easily by that wolf and thou'lt never hear of him again. jesus held the puppies tighter, but there was no need to do so, for they seemed to know that the howl was not of their kin. the wolf howled again, and was answered by another wolf. the twain have missed our trail, joseph said, and had there been more we might have had to abandon our asses. if we hasten we shall reach the inn without molestation from robbers or wolves. how far are we from the inn, jesus? about two hours, jesus answered, and joseph fell to gazing on the hills, trying to remember them, but unable to do so, so transformed were they in the haze of the moonlight beyond their natural seeming. they attracted him strangely, the hills, dim, shadowy, phantasmal, rising out of their loneliness towards the bright sky, a white cliff showing sometimes through the greyness; the shadow of a rock falling sometimes across a track faintly seen winding round the hills, every hill being, as it were, a stage in the ascent. as the hills fell back behind the wayfarers the inn began to take shape in the pearl-coloured haze, and the day joseph rested for the first time in this inn rose up in his memory with the long-forgotten wanderers whom he had succoured on the occasion: the wizened woman in her black rags and the wizened child in hers. they came up from the great desert and for the last fifteen days had only a little camel's milk, so they had said, and like rats they huddled together to eat the figs he distributed. he had seen the inn many times since then and the thought came into his mind that he would never see it again. but men are always haunted by thoughts of an impending fate, he said to himself, which never befalls. but it has befallen mine ass to tire under my weight, he cried. he must be very tired, jesus answered, for mine is tired, and i've not much more than half thy weight; and the puppies are tired, tired of running alongside of the asses, and tired of being carried, and ourselves are tired and thirsty; shall we knock at the door and cry to the innkeeper that he rouse out of his bed and give us milk for the puppies if he have any? i wouldn't have him know that i journeyed hither with thee, joseph replied, for stories are soon set rolling. esora has put a bottle of water into the wallet; the puppies will have to lap a little. we can spare them a little though we are thirstier than they. she had put bread and figs into the wallet, so they were not as badly off as they thought for; and eating and drinking and talking to the puppies and feeding them the while, the twain stood looking through the blue, limpid, syrian night. at the end of a long silence jesus said: the dawn begins; look, joseph, the stars are not shining as brightly over the jericho hills as they were. but joseph could not see that the stars were dimmer. are they not with-drawing? jesus asked, and then, forgetful of the stars, his thoughts went to the puppies: see how they crouch and tremble under the wall of the garth, he said. there must be a wolf about, he said, and after he had thrown a stone to hasten the animal's departure he began to talk to the puppies, telling them they need have no fear of wolves, for when they were full-grown and were taught by him they would not hold on but snap and snap again. that is how the thracian dogs fight, like the wolves, he said, turning to joseph. he is thinking, joseph said to himself, of sheep and dogs and being a shepherd again. but of-what art thou thinking, joseph?--of that strip of green sky which is the dawn? i can see, now, that thy shepherd eyes did not deceive thee, joseph answered. the day begins again; and how wonderful is the return of the day, hill after hill rising out of the shadow. an old land, he said, like the end of the world. why like the end of the world? jesus asked. joseph had spoken casually; he regretted the remark, and while he sought for words that would explain it away a train of camels came through the dusk rocking up the hillside, swinging long necks, one bearing on its back what looked like a gigantic bird. a strange burden, joseph said, and what it may be i cannot say, but the camels are my camels, and thou art safe out of sight under the wall of this garth. a moment after the word that the master had bidden a halt was passed up the line, and one of the camel-drivers said: she stopped half-an-hour ago to drop her young one, and we put him on the dam's back, and she doesn't feel his weight. we shall rest for an hour between this and jerusalem, and when we lift him down he'll find the dug. but i've a letter for you, master, from gaddi, who wishes to see you. i thought to deliver it in jerusalem. it was fortunate to meet you here. gaddi will see you half-a-day sooner than he hoped for. i shall get to him by midday, joseph said, raising his eyes from the letter. by midday, master? why, in early morning i should have thought for, unless, indeed, you bide here till the innkeeper opens his doors. i have business, joseph answered, with the essenes that have settled in a cave above the brook kerith. about whom, the camel-driver interjected, there be much talk going in jericho. they've disputed among themselves, some remaining where they always were on the eastern bank of the jordan, but ten or a dozen going to the brook kerith, with hazael for their president. and for what reason? joseph inquired. i have told you, master, all i know, and since you be going to the brook kerith the brethren themselves will give reasons better than i can, even if i had heard what their reasons be for differing among themselves. whereupon joseph bade his caravan proceed onward to jerusalem. we shall be surprised here by the daylight if we delay any longer, he said, returning to jesus, and, mounting their asses, they rode down the hillside into a long, shallow valley out of which the track rose upwards and upwards penetrating into the hills above jericho. chap. xxiv. now it is here we leave the track, jesus said, and he turned his ass into a little path leading down a steeply shelving hillside. we shall find the brethren coming back from the hills, if they aren't back already. it is daylight on the hills though it is night still in this valley; and looking up they saw a greenish moon in the middle of a mottled sky of pink and grey. over the face of the moon wisps of vapour curled and went out: and the asses, joseph said, are loath to descend the hillside for fear of this strange moon, or it may be they are frightened by the babble of this brook; it seems to rise out of the very centre of the earth. how deep is the gorge? very deep, jesus answered; many hundred feet. but the asses don't fear precipices, and if ours are unwilling to descend the hillside it is because the paths do not seem likely to lead to a stable; so would i account for their obstinacy. i'll not ride down so steep a descent, and joseph slipped from his ass's back; and, rid of his load, the ass tried to escape, but jesus managed to turn him back to joseph, who seized the bridle. dismount, jesus, he cried, for the path is narrow, and to please him jesus dismounted, and, driving their animals in front of them, they ventured on to a sort of ledge. it passed under rocks and between rocks to the very brink of the precipice as it descended towards the bridge that spanned the brook some hundreds of feet lower down. already our asses scent a stable, jesus said; he called after them to stop, and the obedient animals stopped and began to seek among the stones for a tuft of grass or a bramble. i see no place here for a hermitage, joseph said, only roosts for choughs and crows. there have been hermits here always, jesus answered. we shall pass the ruins of ancient hermitages farther down on this side above the bridge. the bridge was built by hermits who came from india, jesus said. and was destroyed, joseph interjected, by the romans, so that they might capture the robbers that infested the caves. but the essenes must have repaired the bridge lately, jesus replied, and he asked joseph how long the essenes had been at the brook kerith. my camel-driver did not say, joseph answered, and jesus pointed to the ledge that the essenes must have chosen for a dwelling: it cannot be else, he said; there is no other ledge large enough to build upon in the ravine; and behind the ledge thou seest up yonder is the large cave whither the ravens came to feed elijah. if the brethren are anywhere they are on that ledge, in that cave, and he asked joseph if his eyes could not follow the building of a balcony: thine eyes cannot fail to see it, for it is plain to mine. joseph said he thought he could discern the balcony. but how do we reach it? we aren't angels, he said. we shall ascend, jesus answered, by a path going back and forth, through many terraces. lead on, joseph answered. but stay, let us admire the bridge they have built and the pepper-trees that border it. i am glad the romans spared the trees, for men that live in this solitude deserve the beauty of these pepper-trees. jesus said: yonder is the path leading to the source of the brook; fledged at this season with green reeds and rushes. they have built a mill i see! turned by the brook and fed, no doubt, by the wheat thy camels bring from moab. but the essenes seem late at work this morning. as he spoke these words an old man appeared on the balcony, and joseph said: that must be hazael, but his beard has gone very white. it is hazael, our president, jesus answered. let us go to him at once, and still driving the asses in front of them and carrying the puppies in their arms they worked their way up through the many terraces; not one is more than three feet wide, yet in every one are fig-trees, jesus remarked, and there seem to be vines everywhere, for though the essenes drink no wine, they sell their grapes to be eaten or to be turned into wine, joseph. our rule is not to kill, but we sell our sheep, and alas! some go to the temple and are offered in sacrifice. i used to weep for my sheep, he muttered, but in this world---- the steep ascent checked further speech, and they walked to the east and then to the west, back and forth, fifty little journeys taking them up to the cenoby. the great door was opened to them at once, and hazael came forward to meet them, giving his left hand to joseph and his right to jesus, whom he drew to his bosom. so, my dear jesus, thou hast come back to us, hazael said, and he looked into jesus' face inquiringly, learning from it that it would not be well to ask jesus for the story of what had befallen him during the last three years; and joseph gave thanks that hazael was possessed of a mind that saw into recesses and appreciated fine shades. we are glad to have thee back again, jesus; and thou hast come to stay, and perhaps to take charge of our flock again, which needs thy guidance. how so? jesus asked. hasn't the flock prospered under brother amos? ah! that is a long story, hazael answered. we'll tell it thee when the time comes. but thou hast brought dogs with thee, and of the breed that our shepherds are always seeking. it was thus that jesus and hazael began to talk to each other, leaving joseph to admire the vaulting of the long dwelling, and to wander out through the embrasure on to the balcony, from whence he could see the essenes going to their work along the terraces. among the ruins of the hermitage on the opposite side above the bridge, a brother fondled a pet lamb while he read. he is one, joseph said to himself, that has found the society of this cenoby too numerous for him, so he retired to a ruin, hoping to draw himself nearer to god. but even he must have a living thing by him; and then, his thoughts changing, he fell to thinking of the day when he would ride out to meet jesus among the hills. his happiness was so intense in the prospect that he delighted in all he saw and heard: in the flight of doves that had just left their cotes and were flying now across the gorge, and in the soothing chant of the water rising out of the dusk. jesus had told him that the gorge was never without water. the spring that fed it rose out of the earth as by enchantment. hazael's voice interrupted his reveries: would you like, sir, to visit our house? he asked, and he threw open the door and showed a great room, common to all. on either side of it, he said, are cells, six on one side, four on the other, and into these cells the brethren retire after breaking bread, and it is in this domed gallery we sit at food. but jesus has spoken to thee of these things, for though we do not speak to strangers of our rule of life, jesus would not have transgressed in speaking of it to thee. joseph asked for news of banu, and was sorry to hear that he had been killed and partially eaten by a lion. the tidings seemed to affect jesus strangely; he covered his face with his hands, and hazael repented having spoken of banu, guessing that the hermit's death carried jesus' thoughts into a past time that he would shut out for ever from his mind. he atoned, however, for his mistake by an easy transition which carried their discourse into an explanation of the dissidence that had arisen among the brethren, and which, he said, compelled us to come hither. the essenes are celibates, and it used to be my duty to go in search of young men whom i might judge to be well disposed towards god, and to bring them hither with me so that they might see what our life is, and, discovering themselves to be true servants of the lord, adopt a life as delightful and easy to those who love god truly as it is hard to them whose thoughts are set on the world and its pleasures. i have travelled through palestine often in search of such young men, and many who came with me are still with me. it was in nazareth that we met, he said, and he stretched his hand to jesus. dost remember? and without more he pursued his story. the brother, however, who succeeded me as missionary brought back only young men who, after a few months trial, fell away. it would be unjust for me to say that the fault was with the missionary: times are not as they used to be; the spirit of the lord is not so rife nor so ardent now as it was once, and the dwindling of our order was the reason given for the proposal that some of us should take wives. the argument put forward was that the children born of these marriages would be more likely than other children to understand our oaths of renunciation of the world and its illusions. it was pleaded, and i doubt not in good faith, that it were better the essenes should exist under a modified and more worldly rule than not to exist at all; and while unable to accept this view we have never ceased to admire the great sacrifice that our erstwhile brethren have made for the sake of our order. that the large majority was moved by such an exalted motive cannot be doubted; but temptations are always about; everyone is the adam of his own soul, and there may have been a few that desired the change for less worthy motives. there was a brother---- at that moment an accidental tread sent one of the puppies howling down the dwelling, and hazael, fearing that he might fall into the well and drown there, sent jesus to call him back. the puppy, however, managed to escape the well in time, and the pain in his tail ceasing suddenly he ran, followed by his brother, out of the cenoby on to the rocks. i must go after them, for they will roll down the rocks if left to themselves, jesus cried. a matter of little moment, hazael replied, compared with the greater calamity of drowning himself in the well, for it is of extraordinary depth and represents the labour of years. wonderful are the works of man, he added. but greater are the works of god, joseph replied. you did well to correct me, hazael answered, for one never should forget that god is over all things, and the only real significance man has, is his knowledge of god. but we were speaking of the exodus of a few monks from the great cenoby on the eastern side of jordan. we came hither for the reason that i have told. we left protesting that even if it were as our brethren said, and that the children of essenes would be more likely than the children of pharisees and sadducees to choose to worship god according to the spirit rather than to wear their lives away in pursuit of vain conformity to the law--even if this were so, we said, man can only love god on condition that he put women aside, for woman represents the five senses: pleasure of the eyes, of the ears, of the mouth, of the finger-tips, of the nostrils: we did not fail to point out that though our brethren might go in and unto them for worthy motives, yet in so doing they would experience pleasure, and sexual pleasure leads to the pleasure of wine and food. one of the brethren said this might not be so if elderly women were chosen, and at first it seemed as if a compromise were possible. but a moment after, a brother reminded us that elderly women were not fruitful. to which i added myself another argument, that a different diet from ours is necessary to those who take wives unto themselves. thou understandest me, joseph? women have never been a temptation to me, joseph answered, nor to jesus, and in meditative mood he related the story of the wild man in the woods, at the entrance of whose cave jesus had laid a knife so that he might cut himself free of temptation. at this hazael was much moved, and they talked of jesus, joseph saying that he had suffered cruelly for teaching that the kingdom of god is in our own hearts; for to teach that religion is no more than a personal aspiration is to attack the law, which, though given to us by moses, existed beforetimes in heaven, always observed by the angels, and to be observed by them for time everlasting. jesus, then, set himself against the temple? hazael said slowly, looking into joseph's eyes. in a measure, joseph answered, but it was the priests who exasperated the people against him, and what i have come here for, beyond his companionship on the journey is to beg of you to put no questions to him. a day may come when he will tell his story if he remain with thee. here he is safe, hazael said, and i pray god that he may remain with us. but where is jesus? hazael asked, and they sought him in the terraces, where the monks were at work among the vines. see our fig-trees already in leaf. without our figs we should hardly be able to live here, and it is thy transport that enables us to sell our grapes and our figs and the wine that we make, for we make wine, though there are some who think it would be better if we made none. it was thou that urged pilate to free these hills from robbers, and hadst thou not done so we shouldn't have been able to live here. but i'm thinking of so many things that i have lost thought of him whom we seek. he cannot have passed this way, unless, indeed, he descended the terrace towards the bridge, and he could hardly have done that. he has gone up the hills, and they will help to put the past out of his mind. and, talking of jesus' early life in the cenoby, and of his knowledge of flocks and suchlike, hazael led joseph through the long house and up some steps on to a rubble path. the mountain seems to be crumbling, joseph said, and looked askance at the quiet room built on the very verge of the abyss. where thou'lt sleep when thou honourest us with a visit, hazael said, which will be soon, we trust, he continued; for we owe a great deal to thee, as i have already explained, and now thou com'st with a last gift--our shepherd. on these words they passed under an overhanging rock which joseph said would fall one day. one day, replied the essene, all the world will fall, and i wish we were as safe from men as we are from this rock. part of the bridge over the brook is of wood and it can be raised. but the ledge on which we live can be reached only from the hills by this path, and it would be possible to raid us from this side. thou seest here a wall, a poor one, it is true; but next year we hope to build a much stronger wall, some twenty feet high and several feet in thickness, and then we shall be secure against the robbers if they would return to their caves. we have little or nothing to steal, but wicked men take pleasure in despoiling even when there is nothing to gain: our content would fill them with displeasure, he said, as he sought the key. but on trying the door it was found to be unlocked, and joseph said: it will be no use building a wall twenty feet high to secure yourself from robbers if you leave the door unlocked. it was jesus that left the door unlocked, hazael answered, he must have passed this way, we shall find him on the hillside; and joseph stood amazed at the uprolling hills and their quick descents into stony valleys. beyond that barren hill there is some pasturage, hazael said; and in search of jesus they climbed summit after summit, hoping always to catch sight of him playing with his dogs in the shadow of some rocks, but he was nowhere to be seen, and hazael could not think else than that he had fallen in with amos and yielded to the beguilement of the hills, for he has known them, hazael continued, since i brought him here from nazareth, a lad of fifteen or sixteen years, not more. we shall do better to return and wait for him. he will remember us presently. to which joseph answered, that since he was so near jericho he would like to go thither; a great pile of business awaited his attention there, and he begged hazael to tell jesus that he would return to bid him good-bye on his way back to jerusalem that evening, if it were possible to do so. chap. xxv. it was as hazael had guessed: the puppies had scampered up the loose pathway leading to the hills; jesus had let them through the door, and had followed them up the hills, saying to himself: they have got the scent of sheep. the stubborn, unruly ground lay before him just as he remembered it, falling into hollows but rising upwards always, with still a little grass between the stones, but not enough to feed a flock, he remarked, as he wandered on, watching the sunrise unfolding, and thinking that amos should be down by the jordan, and would be there, he said to himself, no doubt, were it not for the wild beasts that have their lairs in the thickets. whosoever redeems the shepherd from the danger of lions, he added, as he climbed up the last ascents, will be the great benefactor. but the wolves perhaps kill more sheep than lions, being more numerous. it was at this moment that brother amos came into sight, and he walked so deep in meditation that he might have passed jesus without seeing him if jesus had not called aloud. why, jesus, it is thou, as i'm alive, come back to us at last. well, we've been expecting thee this long while. and thou hast not come back too soon, as my poor flock testifies. i'm ashamed of them; but thou'lt not speak too harshly of my flock to hazael, who thinks if he complains enough he'll work me up into a good shepherd despite my natural turn for an indoor life. but i'd not have thee think that the flock perished through my fault, and see in them a lazy shepherd lying always at length on the hillside. i walk with them in search of pasture from daylight till dark, wearing my feet away, but to no purpose, as any man can see though he never laid eyes on a sheep before. but it was thou, brother, that recommended me for a shepherd, and i can think of naught but my love of wandering with thee on the hills, and listening to thee prating of rams and ewes, that put it into my head that i was a shepherd by nature and thy successor. thou wast brought up to the flock from thy boyhood, and a ram's head has more interest for thee than a verse of scripture; thy steady, easy gait was always the finest known on these hills for leading a flock; but my feet pain me after a dozen miles, and a shepherd with corny feet is like a bird with a torn wing. thou understandest the hardship of a shepherd, and that one isn't a shepherd for willing it; and i rely on thee, brother, to take my part and to speak up for me when hazael puts questions to thee. so thou wouldst be freed from the care of the flock? jesus said. my only wish, he answered. but thou'lt make it clear to hazael that it was for lack of a good ram the flock fell away. i gave thee over a young ram with the flock, one of the finest on these hills, jesus said. thou didst; and he seemed like coming into such a fine beast, amos answered, that we hadn't the heart to turn him among the ewes the first year but bred from the old fellow. an old ram is a waste, jesus replied, and he would have said more if amos had not begun to relate the death of the fine young beast that jesus had bred for the continuance of the flock. we owe the loss of him, he said, to a ewe that no shepherd would look twice at, one of the ugliest in the flock, she seemed to me to be and to everybody that laid his eyes on her, and she ought to have been put out of the flock, but though uninviting to our eyes she was longed for by another ram, and so ardently that he could not abide his own ewes and became as a wild sheep on the hills, always on the prowl about my flock, seeking his favourite, and she casting her head back at him nothing loath. it would have been better if i had turned the evil ewe out of the flock, making him a present of her, but i kept on foiling him; and my own ram, taking rage against this wild one, challenged him, and one day, seeing me asleep on the hillside, the wild ram came down and with a great bleat summoned mine to battle. it seemed to me that heaven was raining thunderbolts, so loud was the noise of their charging; and looking out of my dreams i saw the two rams backing away from each other, making ready for another onset. my ram's skull was the softer, he being a youngling, it had been already shaken in several charges, and it was broken in this last one, a terrible one it was, i can still hear them, they are still at it in my mind--the ewes of both flocks gathered on different sides, spectators. but where were thy dogs all this while? jesus inquired. my dogs! if i'd had a thracian he never would have suffered that the sheep killed each other. a thracian would have awakened me. my dogs are of the soft syrian breed given to growling and no more. the wild ram might have become tame again, and would doubtless have stayed with me as long as i had the ewe; but he might have refused to serve any but she. no man can say how it would have ended if i had not killed him in my anger. so thou wast left, jesus remarked, without a serviceable ram. with naught, amos sighed, but the old one, and he was that weary of jumping that he began to think more of his fodder than ewes. without money one can't get a well-bred ram, as i often said to hazael, but he answered me always that he had no money to give me, and that i must do as well as i could with the ram i had.... he is gone now, but before he died he ruined my flock. it is true that the shepherd's labour is wasted without a good ram, jesus repeated. thou speakest but the truth, amos replied; and knowing the truth, forget not to speak well of me to hazael, as a shepherd, finding reason that will satisfy him for the dwindling of the flock that henceforth will be in thy charge. jesus said that he was willing to resume his charge, but did not know if hazael and the brethren would receive him back into the order after his long absence. amos seemed to think that of that there could be no doubt. all will be glad to have thee back ... thou'rt too useful for them to slight thee, he cried back, and jesus returned to the cenoby dreaming of some grand strain that would restore the supremacy of the flock. as he passed down the gallery hazael, who was sitting on the balcony, cried to him; joseph, he said, waited an hour and has gone; he had business to transact in jericho. but, jesus, what ails thee? it seems strange, jesus answered, he should have gone away like this. but have i not told thee, jesus, that he will return this evening to wish thee good-bye. but he may not be able to return this evening, jesus replied. that is so, hazael rejoined. he said that he might have to return to jerusalem at once, but he will not fail to ride out to meet thee in a few days. but he will not find me on the hills, no tryst has been made, jesus said, as he turned away; and guessing his intention to be to leave at once for jericho, hazael spoke of joseph's business in jericho, and how displeased he might be to meet jesus in the middle of his business and amongst strangers. the essenes are not well looked upon in jerusalem, he said. we do not send fat rams to the temple. fat rams, jesus repeated. amos has been telling me that what lacks is a ram, and the community had not enough money to buy one. that is true, hazael said. rams are hard to get even for a great deal of money. joseph might lend us the money, he is rich. he will do that, jesus answered, and be glad to do it. but a ram must be found, and if thou'lt give me all the money thou hast i will go in search of one. joseph will remit to thee the money i have taken from thee when he returns. it will be a surprise for him to find in the flock a great fine ram of the breed that i remember to have seen on the western hills. i'll start at daybreak. thou shalt have our shekels, hazael said; they are few, but the lord be with thee and his luck. chap. xxvi. his was the long, steady gait of the shepherd, and he had not proceeded far into the hills before he was looking round acknowledging them, one after the other; they were his friends, and his sheep's friends, having given them pasturage for many a year; and the oak wood's shade had been friendly beforetimes to himself and his sheep. and he was going to rest in its shade once more. at noon he would be there, glad of some water; for though the day was still young the sun was warm, the sky told him that before noon his tongue would be cleaving to the sides of his mouth; a fair prediction this was, for long before the oak wood came into sight he had begun to think of the well at the end of the wood, and the quality of the water he would find in it, remembering that it used to hold good water, but the shepherds often forgot to replace the stopper and the water got fouled. as he walked his comrades of old time kept rising up in his memory one by one; their faces, even their hands and feet, and the stories they told of their dogs, their fights with the wild beasts, and the losses they suffered from wolves and lions in the jungles along the jordan. in old times these topics were the substance of his life, and he wished to hear the shepherds' rough voices again, to look into their eyes, to talk sheep with them, to plunge his hands once more into the greasy fleeces, yes, and to vent his knowledge, so that if he should happen to come upon new men they would see that he, jesus, had been at the job before. now the day seems like keeping up, he said; but there was a certain fear in his heart that the valleys would be close and hot in the afternoon and the hill-tops uninviting. but his humour was not for fault-finding; and with the ram in view always--not a long-legged brute with a face like a ewe upon him, but a broad, compact animal with a fine woolly head--he stepped out gaily, climbing hill after hill, enjoying his walk and interested in his remembrance of certain rams he had once seen near cæsarea, and in his hope of possessing himself of one of these. with money enough upon me to buy one, he kept saying to himself, i shouldn't come back empty-handed. but, o lord, the the day is hot, he cried at the end of the fourth hour. but yonder is the oak wood; and he stopped to think out the whereabouts of the well. a moment after he caught sight of a shepherd: who is, no doubt, by the well, he said. he is, and trying to lift out the stopper; and the shepherd, catching sight of jesus, called him to come to his help, saying that it would need their united strength to get it out. we're moving it, the shepherd cried after a bit. we are, jesus replied. how is the water? fair enough if thy thirst be fierce, the shepherd replied. there is better about a mile from here, but i see thou'rt thirsty. as soon as the men had quenched their thirst, the sheep came forward, each waiting his turn, as is their wont; and when the flock was watered it sought the shade of a great oak, and the twain, sitting under the burgeoning branches, began to talk. it was agreed between them that it would not do to advise anybody to choose shepherding as a trade at present, for things seemed to be going more than ever against the shepherd; the wild animals in the thickets along the jordan had increased, and the robbers, though many had been crucified, were becoming numerous again; these did not hesitate to take a ewe or wether away with them, paying little for it, or not paying at all. but art thou a shepherd? jesus answered that he had been a shepherd--an erstwhile essene, he said; one that has returned to the brethren. the essenes are good to the poor, the shepherd said, and glad to hear he was talking to a mate, he continued his complaint, to which jesus gave heed, knowing well that it would not be long before they would be speaking of the breed of sheep best suited to the hills; the which came to pass, for, like jesus, he lacked a good ram, and for the want of one, he said, his flock had declined. the better the breed, he continued, the more often it required renewing, and his master would not pay money for new blood, so he was thinking of leaving him; and to justify his intention he pointed out the ram to jesus that was to serve the flock that autumn, asking him how a shepherd could earn with such a one the few lambs that he receives in payment if the flock increase under his care. he's four years old if he's a day, jesus muttered. he is that, the shepherd answered; yet master told me yesterday he must serve another season, for he won't put his hand in his pocket, rams being so dear; but nothing, say i, is dearer than an old ram. i'm with thee in that, jesus answered; and my plight is the same as thine. i'm searching for a ram, and have a friend who would pay a great sum of money for one if one of the style i am looking for can be found. well, luck will be with thee, but i know no ram on these hills that i'd pay money for, the shepherd answered, none we see is better than yon beast, and he is what thou seest him to be, a long-backed, long-legged, ugly ram that would be pretty tough under the tooth, and whose fleece a shepherd would find thin in winter-time. but there were once fine sheep on these hills, jesus answered, and i remember a ram---- ay, mate, thou mayest well remember one, and i think i know the shepherd that thou'rt thinking of, but he that owns the breed will not sell a ram for the great sums of money that have been offered to him, for his pride is to keep the breed to himself. we've tried to buy, and been watching this long while for a lucky chance to drive one away, for a man that has more than he needs and will not sell aught thereof calls the thief down into his house, as it were, creating the thief out of an honest man, for which he deserves to be punished. but the rich are never punished and this man's shepherds are wary, and his dogs are fierce, and none has succeeded yet in getting a sample of the breed. but where may this man be found? jesus asked, and the shepherd mentioned a village high up on the mountains over against the sea. but go not thither, for twenty miles is a long walk if the end of it be but jeers and a scoffing. a scoffing! jesus returned. ay, and a fine one in thine ears; and a fine thirst upon thee, the shepherd continued, and turning to the oak-tree he began to cut branches to feed his goats. twenty miles uphill in front of me, jesus meditated, with jeers and scoffings at the end of the journey, of which i have had plenty; and he began to walk quickly and to look round the hills in search of pasture for a flock, for these hills were but faintly known to him. it isn't reasonable that a man will not part with a ram for a great sum of money, he said, and though he may not sell the lamb to his neighbours, whom he knows for rascals, he may sell to the essenes, whose report is good. and he continued his way, stopping very often to think how he might find a bypath that would save him a climb; for the foot-hills running down from west to east, off the main range, formed a sort of gigantic ridge and furrow broken here and there, and whenever he met a shepherd he asked him to put him in the way of a bypath; and with a word of counsel from a shepherd and some remembrance he discovered many passes; but despite these easy ways the journey began to seem very long, so long that it often seemed as if he would never arrive at the village he was seeking. he told me i'd find it on the last ridge looking seaward. he said i couldn't miss it; and shading his eyes with his hand, jesus caught sight of some roofs that he had not seen before. maybe the roofs, he said, of the village in which i shall find my ram, and maybe he who will sell me the ram sits under that sycamore. if such be my fortune he will rise to meet me, jesus continued, and he strove against the faintness coming over him. is there a fountain? he asked. by that arch the fountain flows, drink thy fill, wayfarer. his sight being darkened he could not see the arch but stumbled against it and stood there, his face white and drawn, his hand to his side, till, unable to bear up any longer, he fell. somebody came to him with water, and after drinking a little he revived, and said he could walk alone, but as soon as they loosed him he fell again, and when lifted from the ground a second time he asked for the inn, saying he had come a long way. whereupon a man said, thou shalt rest in my house; i guess thee to be a shepherd, though thy garb isn't altogether a shepherd's. but my house is open to him who needs food and shelter. lean on my arm. let me untie thy sandals, were the next words jesus heard, and when his feet were bathed and he had partaken of food and drink and was rested, the villager, whom jesus guessed to be a shepherd, began to ask him about the length of the journey from jericho to cæsarea: we're three hours from cæsarea, he said; thou must have been walking many hours. many hours indeed, jesus answered. i've come from the brook kerith, which is five miles from jericho. from the brook kerith? the villager repeated. a shepherd i guessed thee to be. and a fair guess, jesus answered. a shepherd i am and in search of a ram of good breeding, sent on hither by a shepherd. he did but make sport of thee, the villager answered, for it is i that own the breed that all men would have. so a shepherd sent thee hither to buy a ram from me? no, jesus replied, he said thou wouldst not sell. then he was an honester shepherd than i thought for: he would have saved thee a vain journey, and it would have been well hadst thou listened to his counsel, for i will not part with the breed; and my hope is that my son will not be tempted to part with the breed, for it is through our sheep that we have made our riches, such small riches as we possess, he added, lest he should appear too rich in the eyes of a stranger. if thou'lt not sell i must continue my journey farther, jesus answered. in quest of a ram? the shepherd said. but thou'lt not find any but long-backed brutes tucked up in the belly that offend the eye and are worse by far than a hole in the pocket. with such rams the hills abound. but get thee the best, though the best may be bad, for every man must work according to his tools. if thou asked me for anything but my breed of sheep i would have given it, for thy face and thy speech please me, but as well ask me for my wife or my daughter as for my rams. be it so, jesus answered, and he rose to continue his way, but his host said that having taken meat and drink in his house he must sleep in it too, and jesus, being tired, accepted the bed offered to him. he could not have fared farther; there was no inn nor public guest-room, and in the morning his host might be in the humour to part with a ram for a great sum of money. but the morning found his host in the same humour regarding his breed of sheep--determined to keep it; but in all other things willing to serve his guest. jesus bade him good-bye, sorry he could not persuade him but liking him all the same. in two hours he was near the cultivated lands of cæsarea, and it seemed to him that his best chance of getting news of a ram would be to turn westward, and finding bed and board in every village, he travelled far and wide in search of the fine rams that he had once caught sight of in those parts. but the rams of yore seemed to have disappeared altogether from the country: thou mayest journey to cæsarea and back again, but thou'lt not find anything better than that i offer thee one man said to jesus, whereupon jesus turned his back upon cæsarea and began the return journey sad and humble, but with hope still a-flutter in his heart, for he continued to inquire after rams all the way till he came one bright morning to the village in which lived the owner of the great breed of sheep that he coveted, honourably coveted, he muttered to himself, but coveted heartily. the sun was well up at the time, and jesus had come by the road leading up from the coast. he had passed over the first ridge, and had begun to think that he must be near the village in which the man lived who owned the great breed of sheep when his thoughts were interrupted by a lamb bleating piteously, and, looking round, he saw one running hither and thither, seeking his dam. now the lamb seeming to him a fine one, he was moved to turn back to the village to tell the man he had lodged with that a lamb of his breed had lost the ewe. thou sayest well, the man answered, and that lamb will seek vainly, for the ewe hurt her hoof, and we kept her in the house so that she might be safer than with my shepherd out on the hills, and the luck we have had is that a panther broke into our garden last night. we thought he had killed the lamb as well, but he only took the ewe, and the lamb thou bringest me tidings of will be dead before evening. my thanks to thee, shepherd, for thy pains. but, said jesus, thou'lt sell me the lamb that runs bleating after ewe, on the chance that i shall rear him? whereat the villager smiled and said: it seems hard to take thy money for naught, for thou hast a pleasant face; but who knows what luck may be with thee. for a shekel thou shalt have the lamb. jesus paid the shekel, and his eyes falling upon a bush in whose stems he knew he should find plenty of sap, he cut some six or seven inches off, and, having forced out the sap, showed it to the villager, and asked him for a rag to tie round the end of it. i hardly know yet what purpose thou'lt put this stem to, the shepherd said, but he gave jesus the rag he asked for, and jesus answered: i've a good supply of ewe's milk drawn from the udder scarce an hour ago. thou hast ewe's milk in thy bottle! the villager said. then it may be i shall lose my breed through thoughtlessness. and it was with a grave face that he watched jesus tie a rag around the hollow stem. he put the stem into the lamb's jaws and poured milk down it, feeding the lamb as well as the ewe could have done. it may be i shall get him home alive, jesus muttered to himself. thou'lt do it, if luck be with thee, and if thou canst rear him my breed has passed from me. thou'lt be rewarded for taking my shekel, jesus answered. a fine lamb for a month, the villager remarked. one that will soon begin to weigh heavy in my bosom, jesus answered; a true prophecy, for after a few miles jesus was glad to let him run by his side; and knowing now no other mother but jesus, he trotted after him as he might after the ewe: divining perhaps, jesus said to himself, the leathern bottle at my girdle. but very soon jesus had to carry him again, and, despite his weight, they were at noon by the well at the end of the oak wood. lamb, we'll sleep awhile together in a pleasant hollow at the edge of the wood. lay thyself down and doze. the lamb was obedient, but before long he awoke jesus with his bleating. he wants some milk, he said, and undid the leather girdle and placed the feeding-pipe into the lamb's mouth. but before giving him milk he was moved to taste it: for if the milk be sour---- the milk has soured, he said, and the poor bleating thing will die in the wood, his bleatings growing fainter and fainter. he'll look into my face, wondering why i do not give him the bottle from which he took such a good feed only a few hours ago; and while jesus was thinking these things the lamb began to bleat for his milk, and as jesus did not give it to him he began to run round in search of the ewe, and jesus let him run, hoping that a wild beast would seize and carry him away and with his fangs end the lamb's sufferings quicker than hunger could. but no wolf or panther was in the thicket, and the lamb returned to him: brought back, he said, by a memory of the bottle. but, my poor wee lamb, there is no sweet milk in my bottle, only sour, which would pain thee. think no more of life, but lie down and die: we shall all do the same some day.... thy life has been shorter than mine, and perhaps better for that. no, i've no milk for thee and cannot bear to look in thy face: run away again in search of the ewe and find instead the panther that took her. poor little lamb, dying for milk in this wild place. so thou hast returned to me, having found neither ewe nor panther. go, and seek a wolf, he will be a better friend to thee than i. he had seen many lambs die and did not understand why he should feel more pain at this lamb's death than another's. but it was so; and now all his hopes and fears centred in this one thing that fate had confided to his bosom. a little milk would save it, but he had no milk. he might pick him up and run, calling to the shepherds, but none would hear. i cannot listen to his bleating any longer, he said, and tried to escape from the lamb, but he was followed round the trees, and just as he was about to climb into one out of the lamb's sight his nostrils caught the scent of fleeces coming up the hillside. a shepherd is leading his flock to the well-head, he said, so, wee lamb, thou wilt not die to-day, and, addressing himself to the shepherd, he said: i've got a lamb of the right breed, but have no milk to give him. canst thou pay for it? the shepherd asked; and jesus said, i can, and the shepherd called a ewe and the lamb was fed. well, luck is in thy way, the shepherd said, for i was on my way to another well, and cannot tell what came into my mind and turned me from it and brought me up here. every life, jesus said, is in the hands of god, and it was not his will to let this lamb die. dost believe, the shepherd answered, that all is ordered so? and jesus answered him: thou'lt fill my bottle with milk? the shepherd said: i will; but thou hast still a long way before the lamb can be fed again. hide thy bottle under a cool stone in yon forest and in the evening the milk will still be sweet and thou canst feed thy lamb again and continue thy journey by starlight. but these hills are not my hills; mine are yonder, jesus said, and at night all shapes are different. no matter, the way is simple from this well, the shepherd answered, and he gave jesus such directions as he could follow during the night. now mind thee, he continued, look round for a shepherd at daybreak. he'll give thee fresh milk for thy lamb and by to-morrow evening thou'lt be by the brook kerith. and this advice appearing good to jesus, he turned into the shade of the trees with his lamb, and both slept together side by side till the moon showed like a ghost in the branches of the trees. it was time then to feed the lamb, and the milk being sweet in the bottle, the lamb drank it greedily; and when he had drunk enough jesus was tempted to drink what the lamb could not drink, for he was thirsty after eating his bread, but he went to the well and took a little water instead, and lay down, telling the lamb that he might sleep but a little while, for they must be ready at midnight to travel again. if we meet a shepherd thou livest, if he fail us thou diest. jesus said, and seeing a shepherd leaving a cavern at dawn with his flock, jesus called to him and bought milk from him and once more the twain continued their journey, the lamb becoming so dependent on the shepherd that jesus took pleasure sometimes in hiding himself behind a rock, and as soon as the lamb missed him he would run to and fro bleating in great alarm till he found jesus; and when he came upon him he thrust his nozzle into jesus' hand. it was then more than at any time he delighted in being carried. no, my good lamb, i've carried thee far and now can barely carry myself to the bridge; and the lamb had to follow to the bridge, and they began to ascend the terraces together, but the steep ascents very soon began to tire him, and the lamb lay down and bleated for jesus to take him up in his arms, which he did, but, overcome with the weariness of a long journey, he had to lay him down after a few paces. yet he would not surrender the lamb to the brethren who came and offered to carry him, saying: i have carried him so far and will carry him to the end, but ye must let me rest on your arms. meanwhile, fetch me a little milk, for the lamb has had all that i could buy from the shepherds on the hills, and do not ask how i became possessed of this lamb, for i am too tired to tell the story. so did he speak, holding the lamb to his bosom; and leaning on the arm of one of the brethren while another pushed from behind, and in this exhausted state he reached the cenoby. now i must feed my lamb; go to brother amos and ask him to bring some ewe's milk at once. but the brethren were loath to go, saying: brother amos is feeding his sheep far from here, but will return in the evening. but the lamb must be fed every three or four hours, jesus answered, and do ye go at once to amos and tell him to bring the milk at once. he must not be kept waiting for his milk. now look at him and say if any of ye have seen a finer lamb. i can speak no more, but will sleep a little as soon as i have placed him in a basket. but wake me up as soon the milk comes, for i will trust none to feed him but myself, and he dropped off to sleep almost on these words. the essenes, understanding that the lamb had caused jesus a long search, went after amos as they were bidden, and finding him not as far as they thought for with his flock, they related to him jesus' request that he should bring some ewe's milk at once, which he did, and seeing jesus in deep sleep he said: it is a pity to waken him, for i know how to feed a lamb as well as he does. may i not? but the essenes said: he'll be vexed indeed if the lamb be fed by any but him. so be it, amos answered; and they roused jesus with difficulty, for his sleep was deep, and when he opened his eyes he knew not where he was for some time. at last memory returned to him, and, struggling from the couch, he said: i must feed my lamb. the milk is fresh from the ewe? he asked. yes, jesus, amos answered, i have just drawn it from the udder. as soon as he is old enough to run with the flock i'll bring him, jesus said, and thou'lt be free to return to the scriptures. and having asked that he might be awaked in four hours his eyes closed, which is not to be wondered at, he having slept hardly at all for four days. does he put his lamb before the scriptures? the essenes asked each other, and they withdrew, shaking their heads. chap. xxvii. jesus fell back into sleep as soon as the lamb was fed, and it was in this second sleep of more than six hours that he regained his natural strength. has joseph returned? he asked on awakening, and the brother nearest him answered that he had not; whereupon jesus asked that hazael should come to him, and he said to him: hazael, joseph told thee that as soon as his business was transacted in jericho he would return hither, and if that were not possible the delay would not be long. but four days have passed and we haven't seen him nor have we news of him. now how is this? he couldn't have heard in jericho nor in jerusalem of my faring among the hills of cæsarea in search of a lamb. it was only on those hills that i might find a lamb that would recover for us the strength that has gone out of the flock. and i would that joseph were here to see him that i've brought back. my heart misgives me. thou'lt feed him in my absence, he said to one of the brethren, and i'll go down on to the terraces and wander across the bridge, for on the hills over yonder i may catch sight of joseph coming to meet me. can none tell me if he will come from jericho or jerusalem? a brother cried that he would feed the lamb as jesus directed, and the brethren at work among the fig-trees spoke to each other of the grief visible on jesus' face as he passed them and questioned each other and sought a reason for it. has the lamb fallen sick? one asked, and on that thought they ran up the terraces to inquire for the lamb, who, that day, had been given the name of cæsar. the lamb sleeps in peace, hazael answered, but jesus, his saviour, has gone out in great disorder of mind to get tidings of joseph, the great trader in figs and dates. he promised to return the same evening after transacting his business in jericho, hazael continued. four days have passed away without news of him; some misfortune may have befallen him. may have! hazael repeated under his breath as he walked away. _has_ befallen him without doubt. the brethren waited for jesus to return, but he did not return to them; and at nightfall a watch was set at the bridge head, and the same was done for many succeeding days, till the story reached the brook kerith that joseph had been killed in the streets of jerusalem by order of the zealots. priests never forget to revenge themselves on those that do not submit to their ideas and exactions, hazael muttered, thereby stirring the curiosity of the brethren; but he could not tell them more, joseph's relation having been insufficient to make plain the truth that joseph, as jesus' friend, must have earned the high priest's displeasure. a very little suspicion, he said to himself, is enough to bring about the death of a man in our days; and the priests were always jealous and afraid of prophets. is then our jesus a prophet? saddoc asked, and manahem's eyes were full of questions. i can tell ye no more than i've said already, hazael answered, and the brethren forgot their curiosity, for their hearts were stirred with pity. a great grief it surely will be, they said to one another, when jesus returns and hears that his friend is dead, and they asked which among them should be the one to tell him of this great loss that had befallen him. not i, said one, nor i, another answered, and as they passed into their cells it was the opinion of all that hazael should tell him. next morning when they came forth from their cells, after giving thanks for the returning light, they stood on the hillside, hoping that every minute would bring them sight of jesus returning. at last a shepherd came through the dusk, but it was not jesus but amos coming towards them, and the news he brought was that he had met jesus on the hills wandering like one of disordered mind. he has taken my sheep from me and has lost them, i fear. but why, the brethren cried, didst thou leave thy sheep to him? to which amos could make no straightforward answer: all he knew was that he had met jesus and been greatly frightened by his speech and his show of gestures and demeanour. all the same, he said, i felt i had better let him have the sheep. and the brethren said: ruin has befallen us this time. we know the reason of the disordered mind that thou tellest of. joseph was slain by the zealots in jerusalem by order of the priests, and the tidings must have come to jesus as he wandered out on to the hills seeking his friend, and it was they that robbed him of his mind. we are ruined, the brethren cried, for our sheep are with him, and he without thought for anything but his grief. amos could not answer them nay, for their words seemed to him but the truth, and they all returned to the cenoby to mourn for jesus and themselves till jesus was brought back to them by some shepherds who found him wandering, giving no heed to the few sheep that followed him; only a few had escaped the wolves, and the brethren charged amos with the remnant, muttering among themselves: his heart is broken. he is without knowledge of us or the world around him. but why does he turn aside from our dwelling preferring to lie with his dogs under the rocks? it is for that our dwelling reminds him of joseph. it was here he saw him last, manahem replied. it will be well to leave him to wander at will, giving him food if his grief allows him to come for it; any restraint would estrange him from us, nor may we watch him, for when the mind is away man is but animal; and animals do not like watchful eyes. we may only watch over him lest he do himself bodily harm, eleazar said, there is no harm, manahem said, he can do himself, but to walk over the cliffs in a dream and so end his misery. we would not that the crows and vultures fed on jesus, caleb answered. we must watch lest he fall into the dream of his grief.... but he lives in one. behold him now. he sees not the cliffs over yonder nor the cliffs beneath. nor does he hear the brook murmur under the cliffs. grief is a wonderful thing, manahem said, it overpowers a man more than anything else; it is more powerful even than the love of god, but it wears away; and in this it is unlike the love of god, which doesn't change, and many of us have come here so that we may love god the better without interruptions. it is strange, eleazar said, that one who loves god as truly as jesus, should abandon himself to grief. eleazar's words caused the essenes to drop into reveries and dreams, and when they spoke out of these their words were: his grief is more like despair. and in speaking these words they were nearer the truth than they suspected, for though jesus grieved and truly for joseph, there was in his heart something more than mortal grief. it often seemed to him as he sat gazing across the abyss that his temerity in proclaiming himself the messiah was punished enough by crucifixion: the taking from him of the one thing that crucifixion had left behind often put the thought into his mind that god held him accursed; and in his despair he lost faith in death, believing he would be held accursed for all eternity. he forgot to take food and drink; he fed upon his grief and would have faded out of life if cæsar had not conceived a dislike to his keeper and run bleating among the rocks till he came upon jesus whom he recognised at once and refused to leave, thrusting a nozzle into jesus' hand and lying down by his side. nor could the brethren beguile the lamb from jesus with milk, and jesus taking pity on the faithful animal said: give me the feeding bottle, i will feed him. whereupon cæsar began to bleat, and so cheerfully, that all conceived a new affection for him, but he had none for anybody but jesus, whom he followed about the cliffs as a dog might, lying down at his side. the twain strayed together whither there was scarce foothold for either, and the brethren said as they watched them: if cæsar were to miss his footing and fall over the edge, the last link would be broken and jesus would go over after him. but sheep and goats never miss their footing, a brother answered. it is fortunate, another replied, that cæsar should have attached himself to jesus. he seems to say, i get happier and happier every day, and his disposition will react on jesus and may win him out of his melancholy. and it seemed as if the brother had guessed rightly, for though jesus' face showed no interest in the brethren, nor in the cenoby, he seemed to enjoy the sympathy of the dumb animal. he liked to call to cæsar and to lay his hand upon cæsar's head, and to look into his eyes, and in those moments of sympathy the brethren said: he forgets his grief. but cæsar is coming into ramhood, saddoc answered, and will have to go away with the flock. there were brethren who cried out against this: let the flock perish rather than jesus should be deprived of cæsar. wouldst have him remain when he is a great ram? manahem asked, and the others answered: yes, for jesus takes no thought for anything but cæsar, and the brethren conferred together, and spent much thought in trying to discover a remedy other than cæsar for jesus' grief. but one day jesus said to the brethren: cæsar is coming into ramhood, and i must take him away to the hills, he must come with me and join the ewes. art thou going to be our shepherd again? said they. if ye will entrust the flock to me. my thoughts will never wander from it again. jesus spoke the words significantly, and many of the brethren believed that he would prove himself to be the great shepherd that he was of yore, but others said: his grief will break out upon him on the hills; but these counsels were overruled by manahem and saddoc. jesus, saddoc said, never smiles and his words are few, but he is himself again, and the best shepherd that ever walked these hills is worse than he, so it is said. he lost a few sheep, manahem said, in the first days of his great grief, but his mind is altogether now on the encouragement of the flock and amos is wearied of it and would return to the reading of the scriptures. thou speakest well, manahem, saddoc returned, for it was in his mind as it was in manahem's that the sight of men and the sound of men's voices were a torture to jesus, and that he longed for solitude and silence and the occupation of the flock. the cenoby will never be the same again without our pet, some of the brethren cried, but others said: it must be so. we'll go to see cæsar's lambs, they cried, as he was being led away. there will be no lambs by cæsar this spring, jesus answered. he'll run with the ewes and that's about all; for a ram is not fit for service till he is two years old. whereupon the distraction of jesus' grief being removed from the cenoby, the essenes fell to talking again of the great schism and what came of it. are our brothers happier in wedlock than we are in celibacy? was the question they often put to each other on the balcony; and a sudden meeting of thoughts set them comparing the wives beyond jordan with the ewes of the hills. which are the most fruitful? they asked themselves; and it was averred that though twin lambs were of equal worth, it might fall out in the strange destinies that beset human life that one of human twins might be a robber and the other a devout essene. on a balcony overhanging an abyss some hundred feet in depth, through which a brook sings a monotonous song, men may dream a long while on the problem of destiny, and on awaking from their different meditations it was natural that they should speak about the difficulties the brethren by the lake would experience when they set themselves to discover women who would accept the rule of life of the essenes and for no enjoyment for themselves, but that the order might not perish, and with it holiness pass out of the world. of what women will they possess themselves? a brother often asked. not jewish women, who would prefer to join themselves with pharisees or sadducees rather than with essenes, and the converts, the brother continued, that might be made among the gentile women from mesopotamia and arabia could not be counted upon to produce pious children, though the fathers that begot the children might be themselves of great piety. these words put the thought into another brother's mind, that a woman is never faithful to one man, an abiding doctrine among the essenes: and the group of three, caleb, eleazar and benjamin, began to speak of the stirs and quarrels that these converts would provoke in the cenoby. for even amongst those who have renounced women, there are always a few that retain a longing for women in their heart, and the smouldering embers will burst into flame at the sight of woman. is not that so, benjamin? there is much truth in thy words, caleb, benjamin answered, and i would know if they partition off the women into an enclosure by themselves, and only take them out at a time judged to be the fruitfullest, for it is not lawful for us to experience pleasure, and as soon as the women are with child, the brethren we have left behind, i trust, withdraw from the company of their wives. unless, said eleazar, all the rules of our order be abolished. we did well to leave them, caleb answered. and then, posing his small fat hands on the parapet, he said: women have ever been looked upon as man's pleasure, and our pleasures are as wolves, and our virtues are as sheep, and as soon as pleasure breaks into the fold the sheep are torn and mangled. we're better here with our virtues than they by the lake with their pleasures. trouble has begun amongst them already, eleazar said, and benjamin turned to ask him if he had gotten news of the brethren by the lake; and he answered that yesterday a shepherd told him that many brothers had left the settlement. we did well, caleb said, to cherish our celibacy, and the price of living on this rock was not too high a price for it. but tell us what thou hast heard, eleazar. eleazar had heard that troubles were begun, but he hoped children would bring peace to all. but all women aren't fruitful, caleb said, and benjamin was vexed with eleazar because he hadn't asked how many women were already quick. and they fell to talking scandal, putting forward reasons why some of the brethren should separate themselves from their wives. perhaps we shall never know the why and the wherefore, eleazar said, it being against our rules to absent ourselves without permission from the cenoby, and if we were to break this rule, hazael might refuse to receive us again. we should wander on the hills seeking grass and roots, for our oaths are that we take no food from strangers. yet i'd give much to hear how our brethren, for they are our brethren, fare with their wives. and when they met on the balcony, the elder members of the community, hazael, mathias, saddoc and manahem, like the younger members conferred together as to whether any good could come to those that had taken wives to themselves for their pleasure. not for their pleasure, hazael said, but that holiness may not pass out of the world for ever. but as holiness, mathias was moved to remark, is of the mind, it cannot be affected by any custom we might impose upon our corporeal nature. whereupon a disputation began in which manahem urged upon mathias that if he had made himself plain it would seem that his belief was that holiness was not dependent upon our acts; and if that be so, he asked, why do we live on this ledge of rock? to which question mathias answered that the man whose mind is in order need not fear that he will fall into sin, for sin is but a disorder of the mind. a debate followed regarding the relation of the mind to the body and of the body to the mind, and when all four were wearied of the old discussion, saddoc said: is it right that we should concern ourselves with these things, asking which of the brothers have taken wives, and how they behave themselves to their wives? it seems to me that saddoc is right, these matters don't concern us who have no wives and who never will have. but, said manahem, though this question has been decided so far as our bodies are concerned, are we not justified in considering marriage as philosophers may, no subject being alien to philosophy? is not that so, mathias? no subject is alien to philosophy, mathias agreed, to which saddoc replied: we could discuss this matter with profit if we knew which of the brothers had taken to himself a wife; but only rumours reach us here; and the brethren looked across the chasm, their thoughts crossing it easily and passing over the intervening hills down into the plains and over jordan. we should no doubt be content, said manahem, with our own beliefs, and abide in the choice that we have made without questioning it further, as hazael has said. yet it is hard to keep thoughts of the brethren we have left out of our minds. how are we, hazael, to remain unmoved when rumours touching on the lives of those we have left behind reach us? is it not merely natural that we should desire to hear how our brethren fare in married life? dost think, hazael, that those we left behind never ask each other how we fare in our celibacy? man is the same all the world over inasmuch as he would like to hear he has avoided the pitfall his brother has fallen into. it is said, manahem continued, that the elders yonder are disturbed now as to whether they too should take wives, though in the great disputation that we took part in, it was decided that marriage should be left to the younger and more fruitful. wherefore, if it is said that trouble has come, hazael answered, we should be sorry for our weak brethren, and if stories reach us, he continued, we should receive them with modesty: we should not go out to seek stories of the misfortunes of those who have not been as wise as we, and of all we should not wish to go down to jordan to inquire out the truth of these stories; caleb and benjamin ask betimes for leave to visit them. eleazar, too, has asked; but i have refused them always, knowing well whither their curiosity would lead them. lest, mathias interposed, they bring back the spirit and sense of women with them. a flock of doves crossing over the chasm on quick wings put an end to the discourse, and as no more stories reached them who dwelt in the cavern above the brook kerith regarding the behaviour of the wives to their husbands and of the husbands towards their wives, the thoughts of the younger brethren reverted to cæsar, and to the admiration of the ewes for his beauty. a year later, when jesus came down from the hills, he was met with cries of: how fares it with cæsar? does he tire on the hills? when will the ewes begin to drop their lambs? a buzz of talk began at once in the cenoby when the news arrived that cæsar's lambs were appearing, but the brethren could not conceal their disappointment that they should look like the lambs they had seen before. we expected the finest lambs ever seen on these hills, they said, and thou hast no more word to say in praise of them than that they are good lambs. jesus answered that in two months he would be better able to judge cæsar's lambs, and to choose amongst them some two or three that would continue the flock worthily. which? the brethren asked, but jesus said a choice would be but guess-work at present, none could pick out the making of a good ram till past the second month. caleb marked one which he was sure would be chosen later, and benjamin another, and eleazar another; but when the time came for jesus to choose, it was none of these that he chose, and on hearing of their mistakes, the brethren were disappointed, and thought no more of the flock, asking only casually for cæsar, and forgetting to mourn his decease at the end of the fourth year; his successor coming to them without romantic story, the brethren were from henceforth satisfied to hear from time to time that the hills were free from robbers; that the shepherds had banded together in great wolf hunts; and that freed from their natural enemies, the wolves and robbers, the flock had increased in numbers beyond the memory of the oldest shepherd on the hills. chap. xxviii. the brethren waxed rich, and after their midday meal they talked of the exceeding good fortune that had been vouchsafed to them, dwelling on the matter so earnestly that a scruple sometimes rose up in their hearts. did we do well to forgo all troubles? do the selfish find favour in god's sight? they were asking, when caleb said: we have visitors to-day, and looking across the chasm they saw three men emerging from the shadow of the high rock. they may be robbers, benjamin cried, and we would do well to tell the brethren working along the terraces to pass the word down to him who stands by the bridge-head that he is to raise the bridge and refuse to lower it till the strangers speak to him of their intentions and convince him that they are peaceful. that is well said, benjamin, eleazar replied: amos, who is standing by the fig-tree yonder, will pass on the word. they cried out to him and watched the warning being passed from essene to essene till it reached the brother standing by the bridge-head. he looked in the direction of the strangers coming down the path, and then in haste set himself to pull the ropes and press the levers whereby the bridge was raised and lowered. now they are speaking across the brook to each other, benjamin said: and the group on the balcony saw the bridge being let down for the strangers to cross over. it seems to me, benjamin continued, bartholomew might have spent more time inquiring out their intentions. but we are many and they are few, caleb answered, and the essenes on the balcony watched somewhat anxiously bartholomew conducting the strangers back and forth through the terraces. is not bartholomew as trustworthy as any amongst us? eleazar asked. it isn't likely that he would mistake robbers for pilgrims; and as if bartholomew divined the anxiety of those above him he called up the rocks that the visitors he was bringing were essenes from the lake. essenes from the lake! caleb cried. then we shall learn, eleazar replied, which is preferable, celibacy or marriage. but we mustn't speak at once to them of such matters. we must prepare food for them, which they will require after their long journey. our president will be with you in a moment, bartholomew said, addressing shallum, a tall thin man, whose long neck, sloping shoulders and dark round eyes reminded his brethren of an ungainly bird. his companions, shaphan and eleakim, were of different appearances. shaphan's skull, smooth and glistening, rose, a great dome above a crumpled face; he moped like a sick monkey, dashing tears from his eyes continually, whereas eleakim, a sprightly little fellow with half-closed eyes like a pig, agreed that shallum should speak for them. shallum began: we are, as you have already heard, from the great cenoby at the head of the lake and, therefore, i need not tell you the reason why you are here and why the residue are yonder, but will confine myself to the story of our flight from the lake to the brook. honourable president and brethren, it is known unto you that the division of our order was not brought about by any other reason than a dispute on both sides for the maintenance of the order. we know that, hazael answered, and attribute no sinfulness to the brethren that differed from us. our dream, shallum continued, was to perpetuate holiness in this world, and our dream abides, for man is a reality only in his dreams; his acts are but a grotesque of his dream. at these words the essenes gathered close together, and with brightening eyes listened, for they interpreted these words to mean that the brethren by the lake had fallen headlong into unseasonable pleasures, whereof they were now reaping the fruit: no sweet one, if the fruit might be judged by the countenances of their visitors. as i have said, shallum continued, it was with us as it has been with men always--our acts became a mockery of our dreams almost from the beginning, for when you left us we gave out that we were willing to receive women who would share our lives and with us perpetuate holiness. we gave out that we were willing to view all who came and consider their qualifications, and to take them as wives if they should satisfy us, that they would obey our rule and bear children; but the women that came in response to our advertisement, though seemingly of pious and honourable demeanour, were not satisfied with us. our rule is, as you brethren know well, to wear the same smock till it be in rags, and never to ask for a new pair of sandals till the last pieces of the old pair have left our feet. we presented, therefore, no fair show before the women who came to us, and when our rule was told to them, they withdrew, dissatisfied with our appearances, with the food we ate, and the hours we kept, and of all with the rule that they should live apart from us, only keeping company with us at such times when women are believed to be most fruitful. such was the first batch in brief; the second batch (they came in batches) pleaded that they could not be wives for us, it being that we were held in little esteem by the sadducees and the pharisees, and we were reproved by them for not sending animals for sacrifice to the temple, a thing that we must do if we would have them live with us. but it being against our rule to send animals to the temple for sacrifice, we bade them farewell and sent forth messengers into other lands, inviting the gentiles to come to us to receive instruction in the jewish religion, with promises to them that if our rule of life was agreeable to them, and they were exact in the appointments of all rites and ceremonies, we should be willing to marry them after their time of probationship was over. on this second advertisement, women came to us from arabia and mesopotamia, and though we did not approve of the fine garments they wore and the sweet perfumes that trailed after them, we liked these things, as all men do, with our senses; and our minds being filled with thoughts of the children that would continue the order of the essenes, we spoke but little against the fine linen that these women brought and the perfumes they exhaled, whereby our ruin was consummated. joazabdus, our president, himself fell into the temptation of woman's beauty and was led into sinful acquiescence of a display of the images she had brought with her; for without a display of them on either side of the bridal bed she would not permit his embraces. she was of our religion in all else, having abjured her gods and goddesses at every other moment of the day and night; but licence of her body she could not grant except under the eyes of astarte, and joazabdus, being a weak man, allowed the images to remain. as soon as the news of these images spread, we went in deputation to our president to beg him to cast out the images from our midst, but he answered us: but one image remains--that of astarte: none looks upon it but she, and if i cast out the image that she reverences she will go hence and with the fruit of my body within her body, and a saint may be lost to us. but we answered him that even as jacob set up parti-coloured rods before the conceiving ewes that they might bear parti-coloured lambs, so to gaze in the marriage-bed upon the image of astarte would surely stamp upon the children that might come the image of that demon. but he was not to be moved, whereupon we withdrew, saying to one another: we shall not move him out of his wickedness; and that was why we went to his brother daddeus and asked him to accept the headship of the community in his brother's place. and seeing that he was unwilling to set himself against his brother, we said: our god comes before all things, and here we have heathen goddesses in our midst; and the end of it was that cozby, that was the chaldean woman's name, put poison into daddeus' food, thinking to establish her rule thereby, but as soon as the death of daddeus became known many left the cenoby polluted in their eyes by heathenism and murder. so it always falls out, hazael cried, wine and women have lost the world many saints. wine deceives the minds of those that drink it, and it exalts men above themselves, and leads them into acts that in any other moment they would shrink from, leaving them more stupid than the animals. nor is the temptation of women less violent than that of wine. women's beauty is even more potent, for once a man perceives it he becomes as if blind to all other things; his reason deserts him, he broods upon it by day, and falls at last, as our brother has told us, into unseasonable pleasures, like solomon himself, about whom many things are related, but not so far as i know that he became so intoxicated with women's various beauty that he found his pleasure at last in his own humiliation. if solomon did not, others have; for there is a story of a king that allowed his love of a certain queen to take so great a hold upon him that he asked her to come up the steps of his throne to strike him on the face, to take his crown from his head and set it upon her own. this was in his old age, and it is in old age that men fall under the unreasonable sway of women--he was once a wise man, so we should refrain from blame, and pity our brethren who have fallen headlong into the sway of these chaldean and arabian women. i might say much more on this subject, but words are useless, so deeply is the passion for women ingrained in the human heart. proceed, therefore, brother: we would hear the trouble that women have brought on thee, brother eleakim. at once all eyes were turned towards the little fellow whose wandering odours put into everybody's mind thoughts of the great price he must have paid in bracelets and fine linen, but eleakim told a different story--that he was sought for himself alone, too much so, for the arabian woman that fell to his lot was not content with the chaste and reasonable intercourse suitable for the begetting of children, the reason for which they had met, but would practise with him heathen rites, and of a kind so terrible that one night he fled to his president to ask for counsel. but the president, who was absorbed in his own pleasures, drove him from his door, saying that every man must settle such questions with his wife. hazael threw up his hands. say no more, brother eleakim, thou didst well to leave that cenoby. we welcome thee, and having heard thee in brief we would now hear brother shaphan. at once all eyes were turned towards the short, thick, silent man, who had till now ventured into no words; and as they looked upon him their thoughts dwelt on the strange choice the curator had made when he chose brother shaphan for a husband; for though they were without knowledge of women, their sense told them that brother shaphan would not be pleasing to a woman. but eleakim's story had prepared them for every strange taste, and they waited eagerly for shaphan. but shaphan had not spoken many words when tears began to roll down his cheeks, and the brethren of the brook kerith bethought themselves that it might be a kindly act to avert their eyes from him till he recovered his composure; but as his grief continued they sought to comfort him, telling him that his troubles were now ended. he would not, however, lift his face from his hands at their entreaty, and his companions said that the intervals between his tears since he was married were never long. at these words shaphan lifted his face from his hands and dashed some tears from his eyelids. he will tell us now, the brethren said to themselves, but he only uttered a few incoherent words, and his face sank back into his hands. and it was then that jesus appeared at the end of the domed gallery. hazael signed to one of the brethren to bring a chair to him, and when jesus was seated hazael told him who the strangers were in these words: great trouble has fallen upon our order, he said, the wives the brethren have taken unto themselves against my counsel have not obeyed their husbands. wilt tell our brother jesus the trouble that has befallen those that stayed by the lake, shallum? i will, shallum replied, for it will please him to hear my story and it will be a satisfaction to me to tell the quarrels that set my wife and me apart till at last i was forced to send her back to her own people. my story will be profitable to you, though you are without wives, for to err is human. the brethren were at once all ear for the new story, but shallum was so prolix in his telling of his misfortunes that the brethren begged him to tell them again of the ranging of the gods and goddesses on either side of the president's marriage-bed. he paid no heed to them, however, but proceeded with his own story, and so slow was his procedure that hazael had to interrupt him again. shallum, he said, it is clear to me that our shepherd has come with some important tidings to me, and it will be kind of thee to forgo the rest of thy story for the present at least, till i have conferred with our shepherd. i should have been loath, jesus interposed, to interrupt a discourse which seems to be pleasing to you all and which would be to me too if i had knowledge of the matters which concern you, but the differences of men with their wives and wives with their husbands are unknown to me, my life having been spent on the hills with rams and ewes. as he said these words a smile came into his eyes. the first smile i have seen on his face for many years, hazael said to himself, and jesus continued: i have left my flock in charge of my serving boy, for i have come to tell the president that he must not be disappointed if many sheep are lost on the hills this year; robbers having hidden themselves again in the caves and fortified themselves among cliffs so difficult that to capture them soldiers must be let down in chests and baskets--a perilous undertaking this is, for the robbers are armed and determined upon revolt against herod, who they say is not a jew, and holds his power in judea from the romans. they are robbers inasmuch as they steal my sheep, but they are men who value their country higher than their lives. this i know, for i have conferred with them: and jesus told the essenes a story of an old man who lived in a cave with his family of seven, all of whom besought him to allow them to surrender to the romans. cowards, he said, under his breath, and made pact with them that they should come out of the cave one by one, which they did, and as they came he slew them and threw their bodies into the precipice, sons and daughters, and then he slew his wife, and after reproaching herod with the meanness of his family, although he was then a king, he threw himself from the cliff's edge. it is a great story that thou tellest, jesus, manahem said, and it is well to hear that there are great souls still amongst us, as in the days of the maccabees. however this may be, saddoc interposed, these men in their strife against the romans must look to our flocks for food. three sheep were taken from me last night, jesus answered, and the rest will go one by one, two by two, three by three, unless the revolt be quelled. and if the revolt be not quelled, saddoc continued, the robbers will need all we have gotten, which is little; they may even need our cave here, and unless we join them they will cast us over the precipices. it was to ask: are we to take up arms against these robbers that i came hither, jesus said. you will confer amongst yourselves, brethren, hazael said, and will forgive me if i withdraw: jesus would like to speak with me privately. the essenes bowed, and hazael walked up the domed gallery with jesus, and as soon as they disappeared at the other end shallum began: your shepherd tells you the truth; the hills are once more infested with the remains of theudas' army. but who may theudas be? one of the brethren asked. so you have not heard, shallum cried, of theudas, and you living here within a few miles of the track he followed with his army down to jordan. little news reaches us here, saddoc said, and he asked shallum to tell of theudas, and shallum related how theudas had gathered a great following together in jerusalem and provoked a great uprising of the people whom he called to follow him through the gates of the city, which they did, and over the hills as far as jordan. the current of the river, he said, will stop, and the water rise up in a great wall as soon as i impose my hands. we have no knowledge if the waters would have obeyed his bidding, for before the waters had time to divide a roman soldier struck off the prophet's head and carried it to jerusalem on a spear, where the sight of it was well received by the priests, for theudas preached against the temple, against the law, and the traditions as john and his disciples had done beforetimes. a great number, he continued, were slain by the roman soldiers, and the rest dispersed, having hidden themselves in the caves, and become robbers and rebels. nor was theudas the last, he began again, there was another, an egyptian, a prophet or a sorcerer of great repute, at whose bidding the people assembled when he announced that the walls of the city would fall as soon as he lifted up his hands. they must follow him through the breach into the desert to meet the day of judgment by the dead sea. and what befell this last prophet? saddoc asked. he was pursued by the roman soldiers, eleakim cried, starting out of a sudden reverie. and was he taken prisoner? manahem asked. no, for he threw a rope into the air and climbed out of sight, eleakim answered. he must have been a great prophet or an angel more like, for a prophet could not climb up a rope thrown into the air, caleb said. no, a prophet could not do that. but it is easier, shaphan snorted, to climb up a rope thrown into the air than to return to a wife, if the flesh be always unwilling. at the words all eyes were turned to shaphan, who seemed to have recovered his composure. it is a woeful thing to be wedded, he cried. but why didst thou accept a wife? manahem asked. why were ye not guided by our counsels? we hoped, shaphan said, to bring saints into the world and we know not yet that robbers may not be the fruit of our wives' wombs. but if the flesh was always unwilling, manahem answered, thou hast naught to fear. it would be better, shallum interrupted, to turn us adrift on the hills than that we should return to the lake where all is disorder now. ye are not many here, eleakim said, to defend yourselves against robbers, and we have hands that can draw swords. our president alone can say if ye may remain, manahem said; he is in the gallery now and coming towards us. our former brethren, hazael, have renounced their wives, manahem began, and would return to us and help to defend our cave. you come submissive to our wisdom? hazael asked. the three strangers replied that they did so, and hazael stood, his eyes fixed on the three strangers. we will defend you against robbers if these would seek to dispossess you of your cave, eleakim cried. we have but two cells vacant, hazael said. it matters not to us where we sleep if we sleep alone; and the president smiling at shaphan's earnestness said: but three more mouths to feed will be a strain upon our stores of grain. even though there be three more mouths to feed, shallum answered, there will be six more hands to build a wall against the robbers. to build a wall against robbers? hazael said. it is a long while we have been dreaming of that wall; and now it seems the time has come to hold a council. we have been speaking of a wall to protect us against robbers ever since we came here, manahem cried, and saddoc answered: we have delayed too long, we must build: the younger brethren will reap the benefit of our toil. we all seem to be in favour of the wall, hazael said. are there no dissentients? none. for the next year or more we shall be builders rather than interpreters of the scriptures. mathias will come to the wall to discourse to us, caleb interjected, and saddoc answered him: whatsoever may befall us, we are certain of one thing, we shall always be listening to mathias. but mathias is a man of great learning, caleb replied. of greek learning may be, saddoc answered. but even that is not sure, some years ago---- but if greek wisdom be of no value why is it taught here? caleb interrupted, and the old essene answered: that greek wisdom was not taught in the brook kerith, but greek reasoning was applied to the interpretation of scripture. but there will be no occasion for mathias' teaching for some years. years, sayest thou, saddoc? amos interjected. i spoke plainly, did i not? saddoc answered. if it will take us years to build the wall, amos said, we may as well save ourselves the trouble of becoming builders, for the robbers will be upon us before it is high enough to keep them out; we shall lose our lives before a half-finished wall, and methinks i might as well have been left to my flock on the hills. thou speakest truly, saddoc replied, for i doubt if thou wilt prove a better builder than thou wast a shepherd. if my sheep were poor, thy interpretations of the scriptures are poorer still, amos said, and the twain fell to quarrelling apart, while the brethren took counsel together. if this mischief did not befall them, and a wall twenty feet high and many feet in thickness were raised, would they be able to store enough food in the cave to bear a three-months' siege? and would they be able to continue the cultivation of their figs along the terrace if robbers were at the gates? but a siege, manahem answered these disputants, cannot well be, for the shepherds on the hills would carry the news of the siege to jericho, whence troops would be sent to our help, and at their approach the robbers would flee into the hills. what we have to fear is not a siege, but a sudden assault; and from a successful assault a wall will save us. that is true, saddoc said. and to defend the wall we must possess ourselves of weapons, caleb, benjamin and eleakim cried; and shallum told them that a certain hard wood, of which there was an abundance in jericho, could be shaped into cutlasses whereby a man's head might be struck off at a blow. at these words the brethren took heart, and hazael selected shallum for messenger to go to jericho for the wood, and a few days afterwards the essenes were busy carving cutlasses for their defence, and designing a great wall with towers, whilst others were among the cliffs hurling down great masses of stone out of which a wall would soon begin to rise. and every day, an hour after sunrise, the essenes were quarrying stone and building their wall, and though they had designed it on a great scale, it rose so fast that in two months they were bragging that it would protect them against the great robber, saulous, a pillager of many caravans, of whom jesus had much to say when he came down from the hills. the wall will save you, jesus said, from him. but who will save my flock from saulous, who is besieged in a cave, and comes forth at night to seek for food for himself and his followers? but if the cave is besieged? caleb said, laying down his trowel. the cave has two entrances, jesus answered, and he told them that his belief now was that what remained of the flock should be sent to jerusalem for sale. the rams, of course, should be kept, and a few of the best ewes for a flock to be raised in happier times. these were his words one sad evening, and they were so convincing that the builders laid down their trowels and repaired to the vaulted gallery to sit in council. but while they sat thinking how they might send representatives to the procurator the robbers were preparing their own doom by seizing a caravan of more than fifty camels laden with wheat for jerusalem. a very welcome booty no doubt it was considered by the robbers, but booty--was not their only object? they hoped, as the procurator knew well, to bring about an uprising against roman rule by means of bread riots, and this last raid provided him with a reason for a grand punitive expedition. many troops of soldiers were sent out with orders to bring all that could be taken alive into jerusalem for crucifixion, no mean punishment when carried out as the procurator meditated it. he saw it in his thoughts reaching from jerusalem to jericho, and a death penalty for all. pilate's methods of smoking the robbers out of their caves has not proved a sufficient deterrent, he said to himself, and a smile came into his face and he rubbed his hands when the news of the first captures was brought to him, and every day small batches were announced. we shall wait, he said, until we have fifty-three, the exact number of camels that were stolen, and then the populace shall come out with me to view them. the spectacle will perhaps quench the desire of robbery in everybody who is disposed to look upon it as an easy way of gaining a livelihood. and the renown of this crucifixion will spread through judea. for three days at least malefactors will be seen dying at distances of half-a-mile, and lest their sufferings should inspire an attempt at rescue, a decree shall be placed over every cross that any attempt at rescue will be punishable by crucifixion, and to make certain that there shall be no tampering with roman justice, the soldiers on guard shall be given extra crosses to be used if a comrade should cut down a robber or give him drugs to mitigate his agony. and all this was done as had been commanded. the robbers were exposed at once on the road from jerusalem, and it was on the first day of the great crucifixion that jesus, coming round the shoulder of the hill with his flock, was brought to a sudden stop before a group of three. these, about six or seven hours, a roman soldier said, in answer to jesus' question as to the length of time they had been on their crosses, not more than six hours, the soldier repeated, and he turned to his comrade for confirmation of his words. put a lance into my side, a robber cried out, and god will reward thee in heaven. thou hast not ceased to groan since the first hour. but put a lance into my side, the robber cried again. i dare not, the soldier answered. thou'lt hang easier to-morrow. but all night i shall suffer; put a lance into my side, for my heart is like a fire within me. and do the same for me, cried the robbers hanging on either side. all night long, cried the first robber, the pain and the ache and the torment will last; if not a lance, give me wine to drink, some strong, heady wine that will dull the pain. thy brethren bear the cross better than thou. take courage and bear thy pain. i was not a robber because i wished it, my house was set on fire as many another to obtain recruits. yon shepherd is no better than i. why am i on the cross and not he? his turn may come, who knows, though he stands so happy among his sheep. to-night he will sleep in a cool cavern, but i shall linger in pain. give me drink and i will tell thee where the money we have robbed is hidden. the money may not be in the cave, and if it be we might not be able to find it, the soldier answered; and the crucified cried down to him that he could make plain the spot. the soldier was not, however, to be bribed, and they told the crucified that the procurator was coming out to visit the crosses on the morrow, and would be disappointed if he found dead men upon them instead of dying men. shepherd, the soldiers will not help us, canst thou not help us? happy shepherd, that will sleep to-night amongst thy sheep. come by night and give us poison when these soldiers are asleep. we will reward thee. lift not thy hand against roman justice, the soldier said to jesus, lest thou takest his place on the cross. such are our orders. jesus hurried away through the hills, pursued by memories of the crucified robbers, and he went on and on, with the intent of escaping from their cries and faces, till, unable to walk farther, he stopped, and, looking round, saw the tired sheep, their eyes mutely asking him why he had come so far, passing by so much good herbage without halting. poor sheep, he said, i had forgotten you, but there is yet an hour of light before folding-time. go, seek the herbage among the rocks. my dogs, too, are tired, he added, and want water, and when he had given them some to drink he sat down, hoping that the crucified might not return to his eyes and ears. but he need not have hoped: he was too tired to think of what he had seen and heard, and sat in peace watching the sunset till, as in a vision, a man in a garden, in an agony of doubt, appeared to him. he was betrayed by a disciple and taken before the priests and afterwards before pilate, who ordered him to be scourged and crucified, and beneath his cross the multitude passed, wagging their heads, inviting him to descend if he could detach himself from the nails. a veil fell and when it was lifted joseph was bending over him, and soon after was carrying him to his house. the people of that time rose up before him: esora, matred, and the camel-driver, the scent of whose sheepskin had led him back to his sheep, and he had given himself to their service with profit to himself, for it had kept his thoughts from straying backwards or forwards, fixing them in the present. he had lived in the ever-fleeting present for many years--how many? the question awoke him from his reverie, and he sat wondering how it was he could think so quietly of things that he had put out of his mind instinctively, till he seemed to himself to be a man detached as much from hope as from regret. it was through such strict rule that i managed to live through the years behind me, he said; i felt that i must never look back, but in a moment of great physical fatigue the past returned, and it lies before me now, the sting taken out of it, like the evening sky in tranquil waters. even the memory that i once believed myself to be the messiah promised to the jews ceases to hurt; what we deem mistakes are part and parcel of some great design. nothing befalls but by the will of god. my mistakes! why do i speak of them as mistakes, for like all else they were from the beginning of time, and still are and will be till the end of time, in the mind of god. his thoughts continued to unroll, it was not long before he felt himself thinking that the world was right to defend itself against those that would repudiate it. for the world, he said to himself, cannot be else than the world, a truth that was hidden from me in those early days. the world does not belong to us, but to god. it was he that made it, and it is for him to unmake it when he chooses and to remake us if he chooses. meanwhile we should do well to accept his decrees and to talk no more of destroying the temple and building it up again in three days. nor should we trouble ourselves to reprove the keepers of the temple for having made themselves a god according to their own image and likeness, with passions like a man and angers like a man, thereby falling into idolatry, for what else is our god but an assyrian king who sits on a throne and metes out punishments and rewards? it may be that the priests will some day come into the knowledge that all things are equal in god's sight, and that he is not to be won by sacrifices, observances or prayers, that he has no need of these things, not even of our love, or it may be that they will remain priests. but though god desires neither sacrifices, observances, nor even love, it cannot be that we are wholly divorced from god. it may be that we are united to him by the daily tasks which he has set us to perform. jesus was moved to put his pipes to his lips, and the sheep returned to him and followed him into the cavern in which they were to sleep that night. chap. xxix. it is a great joy to return to thought after a long absence from it, and jesus was not afraid, though once his conscience asked him if he were justified in yielding himself unreservedly to reason. a man's mind, he answered, like all else, is part of the godhead; and at that moment he heard god speaking to him out of the breeze. my beloved son, he said, we shall never be separated from each other again. and jesus replied: not again, father, for thou hast returned to me the god that i once knew in nazareth and in the hills above jericho, and lost sight of as soon as i began to read the book of daniel. how many, he asked himself, have been led by reading that book into the belief that they were the precursors of the messiah? we know of theudas and the egyptian, and there were many others whose names have not reached us. but i alone believed myself to be the messiah. he was astonished he could remember so great a sin and not fear god. but i cannot fear god, for i love god, he said; my god neither forgives nor punishes, and if we repent it should be for our own sakes and not to please god. moreover, it must be well not to waste too much time in repentance, for it is surely better to understand than to repent. we learn through our sins. if it had not been for mine, i should not have learnt that quires and scrolls lead men from god, and that to see and hear god we have only to open our eyes and ears. god is always about us. we hear him in the breeze, and we find him in the flower. he is in these things as much as he is in man, and all things are equal in his sight; solomon is no greater than joshbekashar. he had not remembered the old shepherd, who had taught him all he knew about sheep, for many a day. it is nigh on five and forty years, he said to himself, since he called me to hold the ewes while he made them clean for the winter. it was in yon cave the flock was folded when i laid hands on the ewes for the first time and dragged them forward for him to clip the wool from the rumps. he could see in his memory each different ewe trotting away, looking as if she were thankful for the shepherd's kind office towards her. there was something extraordinarily restful in his memory of old joshbekashar, and to prolong it jesus fell to recalling the old man's words; and every little disjointed sentence raised up the old man before him. it was but three times that i held the ewes for him, so it cannot be much more than forty years since that first clipping. now i come to think on it, the clipping befell on a day like to-day. we'll clip our ewes to-day, and it was with a sense of memorial service in his mind that he called to young jacob to come to his aid, saying: joshbekashar's flock was always folded in yon cave for this clipping, the only change is that i am the clipper and thou'rt holding them for me. there are forty-five to be clipped, and just the same as before each ewe will trot away into the field looking as if she were thankful at having been made clean for the winter. on these words both fell to their work, and the cunning hand spent no more than a minute over each. stooping over ewes makes one's back ache, he said, rising from the last one, using the very same words he heard forty years before from joshbekashar: time brings back the past! he said. we repeat the words of those that have gone before while doing their work; and it is likely we are doing god's work as well by making the ewes clean for the winter as by cutting their throats in the temple. all the same stooping over ewes makes one's back ache, he repeated, for the words evoked the old shepherd, and he waited for jacob to answer in the words spoken by him forty years ago to joshbekashar. himself had forgotten his words, but he thought he would recognise them if jacob were inspired to speak them. but jacob kept silence for shame's sake, for his hope was that the flock would be given to his charge as soon as old age obliged jesus to join his brethren in the cenoby. thou'lt be sorry for me, lad, i know that well, but thou hast begun to look forward to the time when thou'lt walk the hills at the head of the flock like another; it is but proper that thou shouldst, and it is but natural that the time should seem long to thee; but take on a little patience, this much i can vouch for, every bone in me was aching when i left the cavern this morning, and my sight is no longer what it was. master jesus, i'd as lief wait; the hills will be naught without thee. dost hear me, master? jesus smiled and dropped back into his meditations and from that day onward very little sufficed to remind him that he would end his days in the cenoby reading the scriptures and interpreting them. in the cenoby, he said, men do not think, they only read, but in the fields a shepherd need never lose sight of the thought that leads him. a good shepherd can think while watching his sheep, and as the flock was feeding in good order, he took up the thread of a thought to which he had become attached since his discovery that signs and sounds of god's presence are never lacking on earth. as god's constant companion and confidant he had come to comprehend that the world of nature was a manifestation of the god he knew in himself. i know myself, he said one day, but i do not know the god which is above, for he seems to be infinite; nor do i know nature, which is beyond me, for that, too, seems to run into infinite, but infinite that is not that of god. a few moments later it seemed to him he might look upon himself as an islet between two infinities. but to which was he nearer in eternity? ah, if he knew that! and it was then that a conviction fell upon him that if he remained on the hills he would be able to understand many things that were obscure to him to-day. it will take about two years, he said, and then many things that are dark will become clear. two infinites, god and nature. at that moment a ewe wandering near some scrub caught his attention. a wolf, he said, may be lurking there. i must bring her back; and he put a stone into his sling. a wolf is lurking there, he continued, else gorbotha would not stand growling. gorbotha, a golden-haired dog, like a wolf in build, stood snuffing the breeze, whilst thema, his sister, sought her master's hand. a moment after the breeze veered, bringing the scent to her, and the two dogs dashed forward into the scrub without finding either wolf or jackal lying in wait. all the same, he said, a wolf or a jackal must have been lying there, and not long ago, or else the dogs would not have growled and rushed to the onset as they did. they returned perplexed and anxious to their master, who resumed his meditation, saying to himself that if aching bones obliged him to return to the cenoby he would have to give up thinking. for one only thinks well in solitude and when one thinks for oneself alone; but in the cenoby the brethren think together. all the same my life on the hills is not over yet, and an hour later he put his pipes to his lips and led his flock to different hills, for, guided by some subtle sense, he seemed to divine the springing up of new grass; and the shepherds, knowing of this instinct for pasturage, were wont to follow him, and he was often at pains to elude them, for on no hillside is there grass enough for many flocks. my poor sheep, he said, as he watched them scatter over a grassy hillside. ye're happy this springtime for ye do not know that your shepherd is about to be taken from you. but he has suffered too much in the winter we've come out of to remain on the hills many more years. before leaving you he must discover a shepherd that will care for you as well as i have done. amos is dead; there is no one in the cenoby that understands sheep. would ye had speech to counsel me. but tell me, what would ye say if i were to leave you in jacob's charge? he stood waiting, as if he expected the sheep to answer, and it was then it began to seem to jesus he might as well entrust his flock to jacob as to another. he had sent him out that morning with twenty lambs that were yet too young to run with the flock, and he now stood waiting for him, thinking that if he lost none between this day and the end of the summer, the flock might be handed over to him. every young man's past is tarnished, he continued, for he could not forget that jacob had begun by losing his master's dogs, two had been killed by panthers. nor was this the only misfortune that had befallen him. having heard that rain had fallen in the west, he set out for cæsarea to redeem his credit, he hoped, but at the end of the fourth day he could find no cavern in which to fold his sheep, and he lay down in the open, surrounded by his flock, unsuspicious that a pack of wolves had been trailing him from cavern to cavern since he left the jordan valley--the animals divining that their chance would come at last. it would have been better, jacob said, if the wolves had fallen upon him, for after this disaster no one would employ him, and he had wandered an outcast, living on the charity of shepherds, sharing a little of their bread. but such charity could not last long and he would have had to sit with the beggars by the wayside above jericho if jesus had not given his lambs into his charge, by this act restoring to jacob some of his lost faith in himself. he had gone away saying to himself: jesus, who knows more than all the other shepherds put together, holds me to be no fool, and one day i'll be trusted again with a flock. i'm young and can wait, and, who knows, jesus may tell me his cure for the scab, and by serving him i may get a puppy when thema has a litter. in such wise jacob looked to jesus and thema for future fortune, and as he came over the ridge and caught sight of jesus waiting for him, he said: call up thy dogs, master, lest they should fall upon mine and upon me. gorbotha has already risen to his feet and thema is growling. jesus laid his staff across their backs. what, will ye attack jacob, he cried, and what be your quarrel with his dogs? poor syrian dogs, jacob answered, that would be quickly killed by thine. if i had had dogs like gorbotha and thema the wolves would not---- but, jacob, thou wouldst have lost thy dogs as well as thy sheep. what stand could any dogs make against a pack of wolves, and a shepherd without dogs is like a bird without wings, as brother amos used to say. yes, that is just it, jacob replied, struck by the aptness of the comparison. thou art known, jesus, to be the most foreseeing shepherd on the hills; but the flock would not have increased without thy dogs. abdiel is great in his knowledge of dogs, and he told me that he had never known any like thine, master. come now, thema, jesus cried. come, lie down here; lay thy muzzle against my knee. and growl not at jacob or i'll send thee away. so abdiel spoke of my dogs! they are well enough, one can work with them. but i've had better dogs. whereupon jesus told a story how one night he had lain under a fair sky to sleep and had slept so soundly that the rain had not wakened him, but boreth--that was the dog's name--distressed at the sight of me lying in the rain, began to lick my face, and when i had wrung out my cloak he led me to a dry cave unknown to me, though i thought i knew every one in these hills. he must have gone in search of one as soon as it began to rain, and when he found a dry one he came back to awaken me. more faithful dogs, he said, there never were than these at my feet, but i've known stronger and fiercer. but i'd tell thee another story of boreth, and he related how one night in december as he watched, having for his protection only boreth (his other dogs, anos and torbitt, being at home, one with a lame paw, the other with puppies), he had fallen asleep, though he knew robbers were about in the hills, especially in the winter months, he said; but i knew i could count on boreth to awake me if one came to steal the sheep. now what i'm about to say, jacob, happened at the time of the great rain of december, when the nights are dark about us. i was sleeping in a sheltered place in the coign of a cliff, the flock was folded and boreth was away upon his rounds, and it was then that two robbers stole into the cave. one was about to plunge his dagger into me, but i had time to catch his wrist and to whistle; and in a few seconds boreth leapt upon the robber that was seeking to stab me. he bit his neck and shoulder; and then, leaving that robber disabled, he attacked the robber's mate, and it was wonderful how he crept round and round in the darkness, biting him all the time, and then pursuing the two he worried them up the valley until his heart misgave him and he thought it wouldn't be safe to leave me alone any longer. but gorbotha would defend thee against a robber, jacob said, and he called to the dog, but gorbotha only growled at him. have patience with them, jesus rejoined; i'll not feed them for three days, and after feeding them thou'lt take them to the hills, and when they have coursed and killed a jackal for thee it may be that they'll accept thee for master. but these thracians rarely love twice. come, jacob, and we'll look into thy flock of lambs and take counsel together. they seem to be doing fairly well with thee--a bit tired, i dare say thou hast come a long way with them. we walked too fast, jacob answered, saying he had had to go farther than he thought for in search of grass, and had found some that was worth the distance they had journeyed, for the lambs had fallen to nibbling at once. fell to nibbling at once, did they? jesus repeated when they're folded with the ewes, thou'lt put into their jaws a stick to keep them from sucking. and without waiting for jacob to answer he asked which of all these lambs he would choose to keep for breeding from. jacob pointed out first one and then another; but jesus shook his head and showed him a lamb which jacob had not cast his eyes over and said: one may not say for certain, but i shall be surprised if he doesn't come into a fine, broad-shouldered ram, strong across the loins and straight on his legs, the sort to get lambs that do well on these hills. and thou'lt be well advised to leave him on his dam another hundred days; shear him, for it will give him strength to take some wool from him, but do not take it from his back, for he will want the wool there to protect him from the sun. and all the first year he will skip about with the ewes and jump upon them, but it will be only play, for his time has not yet come; in two more years he'll be at his height, serving ten ewes a day; but keep him not over-long; thou must always have some new rams preparing, else thy flock will decline. the ram thou seest on the right is old, and must soon be replaced. but the white ram yonder is still full of service: a better i've never known. the white ram is stronger than the black, though the black ewe will turn from him and seek a ram of her own colour. i've known a white ram so ardent for a black ewe that he fought the black ram till their skulls cracked. master, it is well to listen to thee, jacob interrupted, for none knows sheep like thee, but as none will ever give me charge of a flock again, thy teaching is wasted upon me. look to the ewes' teeth, jacob, and to their udders; see that the udders are sound. master, never before didst thou mock at me, who am for my misfortunes the mocking-stock of all these fields. in what have i done wrong? that my lambs are a bit tired is all thou hast to blame me for to-day. jacob, i'm not mocking at thee, but looking forward a little, for time is on thy side and will soon put thee in charge of a flock again. time is on my side, jacob repeated. if i understand thee rightly, master, thy meaning is, that the hills are beginning to weary thee. look into my beard, jacob, and see how much grey hair is in it, and my gait is slower than it used to be, a stiffness has come upon me that will not wear out, and my eyes are not as keen as they were, and when i see in thee a wise shepherd, between the spring and autumn, it may be that hazael, our president, at my advice, will entrust my flock to thy charge. chap. xxx. so thou thinkest, eliab, that the autumn rains will make an end of him. and maybe of thee too, bozrah, eliab returned. a hard life ours is, even for the young ones. hard bread by day and at night a bed of stones, a hard life from the beginning one that doesn't grow softer, and to end in a lion's maw at fifty is the best we can hope for. for us, perhaps, bozrah answered; but jesus will go up to the cenoby among the rocks and die amongst the brethren reading the scriptures. if the autumn rains don't make an end of him, eliab interjected testily, as if he did not like his forecast of jesus' death to be called into question. as i was saying, a shepherd's life is a hard one, and when the autumn rains make an end of him, the brethren will be on the look-out for another shepherd, and there's not one amongst them that would bring half the flock entrusted to him into the fold at the end of the year. the best of us lose sheep: what with---- the flock will go to jacob, the lad he's been training to follow him ever since his friend was killed, havilah remarked timidly. eliab and bozrah raised their eyes, and looked at havilah in surprise, for a sensible remark from havilah was an event, and to their wonder they found themselves in agreement with havilah. the flock would go to jacob without doubt. of course, havilah cried, excited by the success of his last remark, he be more than fifty. thou mightst put five years more to the fifty and not be far wrong, bozrah interposed. havilah was minded to speak again, but his elders' looks made him feel that they had heard him sufficiently. now, bozrah, how many years dost thou make it since joseph of arimathea was killed? how many years? bozrah repeated. i can't tell thee how many years, but many years.... stay, i can mark the date down for thee. it was about ten years before theudas (wasn't that his name?) led the multitude over these hills. a great riot that was surely--fires lighted at the side of the woods for the roasting of our lambs, and many's the fine wood that was turned to blackened stems and sad ashes in those days. it comes back to me now, eliab interjected. theudas was the name. i'd forgotten it for the moment. he led the multitude to jordan, and while he was bidding the waters divide to let him across the romans had his head off. it was nigh ten years before that rioting gaddi's partner was killed in jerusalem. i believe thee to be right, bozrah replied, and they talked of the different magicians and messiahs that were still plaguing the country, stirring them up against the romans. but, cried bozrah suddenly, the story comes back to me. not getting any news of his friend, jesus left his flock with jacob, and came down to the pass between the hills where the road descends to the lake to inquire from the beggars if they had seen gaddi's partner on his way to jerusalem or jericho, and seeing the lepers and beggars gathering about jesus, i came down to hear what was being said, but before i got as far i saw jesus turn away and walk into the hills. it was from the beggars and lepers that i heard that joseph had been killed in the streets of jerusalem. thou knowest how long beggars take to tell a story; jesus was far away before they got to the end of it, simple though it was. i'd have gone after him if they'd been quicker. more of the story i don't know. it was just as thou sayest, mate, eliab answered, and thou'lt bear me out that it was some months after, maybe six or seven, that jesus was seen again leading the flock. i remember the day i saw him, for wasn't i near to rubbing my eyes lest they might be deceiving me--i remember, eliab continued, it comes back to me as it does to thee, for within two years he had gathered another handsome flock about him. a fine shepherd, havilah said. none better to be found on the hills. thou speakest well, eliab answered him, and for thee to speak well twice in the same day is well-nigh a miracle. belike thou'lt awake one morning to find thyself the messiah israel is waiting for, so great is thy advancement of late in good sense. havilah turned aside, and eliab, divining his wounded spirit, sought to make amends by offering him some bread and garlic, but havilah went away, a melancholy, heavy-shouldered young man, one that, eliab said, must feel life cruelly, knowing himself as he must have done from the beginning to be what is known as a good-for-nothing. and it was soon after havilah's departure that jesus returned to the shepherds and, stopping in front of eliab and bozrah, he said: i've come back, mates, to give you my thanks for many a year of good-fellowship. so the time has come for us to lose thee, mate, eliab answered. we are sorry for it, though it isn't altogether unlocked for. we were saying not many moments ago, bozrah interjected, that the life on the hills is no life for a man when he has gone fifty, and thou'lt not see fifty again: no, and not by three years, jesus answered. it was just about fifty years that the feeling began to come over me that i couldn't fight another winter, and to think of jacob, who is waiting for a flock, and he may as well have mine during my life as wait for my death to get it. better so, said eliab, whose wont it was to strike his word in whenever the speaker paused. he did not always wait for the speaker to pause, and this trick being known to bozrah, he said, and by all accounts thou hast made a true shepherd of him, passing over to him all thy knowledge. a lad of good report, jesus answered, who had fallen on a hard master, a thing that has happened to all of us in our time, bozrah interjected. he's not the first that fell out of favour, for that his ewes hadn't given as many lambs as they might have done. nor was there anything of neglect in it, but such a bit of ill luck as might run into any man or any man might run up against. he was told, said eliab, who could not bear anyone to tell a story but himself, that though he were to bring the parts of the sheep the wolf had left behind to his master he would have to seek another master. such severity frightens the shepherd, and the wolf smells out the frightened shepherd, jesus said, and he told his mates that he had not found jacob lacking in truthfulness nor in natural discernment, and he asked them to give all their protection to jacob, who will, he said, go forth in charge of our flock to-morrow. the shepherds said again that they were sorry to lose jesus, and that the hills would not seem like the hills without him, and jesus answered that he, too, would be lonely among the brethren reading the scriptures. when one is used to sheep one misses them sorely, eliab said, there's always something to learn from them; and he began to tell a story; but before he had come to the end of it jesus' thoughts took leave of the story he was listening to, and he turned away, leaving the shepherd with his half-finished story, and walked absorbed in his thoughts, immersed in his own mind, till he had reached the crest of the next hill and was within some hundred yards of the brook. it was then that he remembered he had left them abruptly in the middle of a half-finished relation, and he stopped to consider if he should return to them and ask for the end of the story. but fearing they would think he was making a mocking-stock of them, he sighed, and was vexed that they had parted on a seeming lack of courtesy: on no seeming lack, on a very clear lack, he said to himself; but it would be useless to return to them; they would not understand, and a man had always better return to his own thoughts. repent, repent, he said, picking up the thread of his thoughts, but acknowledgment comes before repentance, and of what help will repentance be, for repentance changes nothing, it brings nothing unless grief peradventure. i was in the hands of god then just as i am now, and everything within and without us is in his hands. the things that we look upon as evil and the things that we look upon as good. our sight is not his sight, our hearing is not his hearing, we must despise nothing, for all things come from him, and return to him. i used, he said, to despise the air i breathed, and long for the airs of paradise, but what did these longings bring me?--grief. god bade us live on earth and we bring unhappiness upon ourselves by desiring heaven. jesus stopped, and looking through the blue air of evening, he could see the shepherds eating their bread and garlic on the hillside. folding-time is near, he said to himself, but i shall never fold a flock again.... his thoughts began again, flowing like a wind, as mysteriously, arising he knew not whence, nor how, his mind holding him as fast as if he were in chains, and he heard from within that he had passed through two stages--the first was in jerusalem, when he preached against the priests and their sacrifices. god does not desire the blood of sheep, but our love, and all ritual comes between us and god ... god is in the heart, he had said, and he had spoken as truly as a man may speak of the journey that lies before him on the morning of the first day. in the desert he had looked for god in the flowers that the sun called forth and in the clouds that the wind shepherded, and he had learnt to prize the earth and live content among his sheep, all things being the gift of god and his holy will. he had not placed himself above the flowers and grasses of the earth, nor the sheep that fed upon them, nor above the men that fed upon the sheep. he had striven against the memory of his sin, he had desired only one thing, to acknowledge his sin, and to repent. but it seemed to him that anger and shame and sorrow, and desire of repentance had dropped out of his heart. it seemed to him as he turned and pursued his way that some new thought was striving to speak through him. rites and observances, all that comes under the name of religion estranges us from god, he repeated. god is not here, nor there, but everywhere: in the flower, and in the star, and in the earth underfoot. he has often been at my elbow, god or this vast providence that upholds the work; but shall we gather the universal will into an image and call it god?--for by doing this do we not drift back to the starting-point of all our misery? we again become the dupes of illusion and desire; god and his heaven are our old enemies in disguise. he who yields himself to god goes forth to persuade others to love god, and very soon his love of god impels him to violent words and cruel deeds. it cannot be else, for god is but desire, and whosoever yields to desire falls into sin. to be without sin we must be without god. jesus stood before the door of the cenoby, startled at the thoughts that had been put into his mind, asking himself if any man had dared to ask himself if god were not indeed the last uncleanliness of the mind. chap. xxxi. if thou wouldst not miss mathias' discourse, brother jesus, thou must hasten thy steps. he is telling that the scriptures are but allegories. some of us are opposed to this view, believing that adam and eve are--yea, brother, and my thanks to thee for thy admonishment, jesus said, for he did not wish to discredit mathias' reputation for theological argument; but no sooner was he out of sight of the gate-keeper than he began to examine the great rock that joseph had predicted would one day come crashing down, and, being no wise in a hurry, fell to wondering how much of the mountain-side it would bring with it when it fell. at present it projected over the pathway for several yards, making an excellent store-house, and, his thoughts suspended between the discussion that was proceeding regarding adam and eve--whether the original twain had ever lived or were but allegories (themselves and their garden)--he began to consider if the brethren had laid in a sufficient stock of firewood, and how long it would take him to chop it into pieces handy for burning. he would be glad to relieve the brethren from all such humble work, and for taking it upon himself he would he able to plead an excuse for absenting himself from mathias' discourses. hazael would not refuse to assign to him the task of feeding the doves and the cleaning out of their coops; he would find occupation among the vines and fig-trees--he was something of a gardener--and hazael would not refuse him permission to return to the hills to see that all was well with the flocks. jacob will need to be looked after; and there are the dogs; and if they cannot be brought to look upon jacob as master their lives will be wasted, he said. i seem to read supper in their eyes, he said, and having tied them up supperless he visited the bitch and her puppies. brother ozias hasn't forgotten to feed her. there is some food still in the platter. but they must submit, he continued, his thoughts having returned to his dogs, theusa and tharsa, and then he stood listening, for he could hear mathias' voice. the door of the lecture-room is closed; if i step softly none will know that i have returned from the hills, and i can sit unsuspected on the balcony till mathias' allegories are ended, and watching the evening descending on the cliff it may be that i shall be able to examine the thoughts that assailed me as i ascended the hillside; whether we pursue a corruptible or an incorruptible crown the end is the same, he said. it was not enough for me to love god, i must needs ask others to worship him, at first with words of love, and when love failed i threatened, i raved; and the sin i fell into others will fall into, for it s natural to man to wish to make his brother like himself, thereby undoing the work of god. myself am no paragon; i condemned the priests whilst setting myself up as a priest, and spoke of god and the will of god though in all truth i had very little more reason than they to speak of these things. god has not created us to know him, or only partially through our consciousness of good and evil. good and evil do not exist in god's eyes as in our eyes, for he is the author of all, but it may be that our sense of good and evil was given to us by him as a token of our divine nature. if this be true, why should we puzzle and fret ourselves with distinctions like mathias? it were better to leave the mystery and attend to this life, casting out desire to know what god is or what nature is, as well as desire for particular things in this world which long ago i told men to disregard.... a flight of doves distracted his attention, and a moment after the door of the lecture-room opened and saddoc and manahem appeared, carrying somebody dead or who had fainted. as they came across the domed gallery towards the embrasure jesus heard manahem say: he will return to himself as soon as we get him into the air. and they placed him where jesus had been sitting. a little water, saddoc cried, and jesus ran to the well, and returning with a cup of water he stood by sprinkling the worn, grey face. the heat overcame me, he murmured, but i shall soon be well and then you will bear me back to hear--the sentence did not finish, and jesus said: thou'lt be better here with me, hazael, than listening to discourses that fatigue the mind. mathias is very insistent, manahem muttered. he is indeed, saddoc answered. and while jesus sat by hazael, fearing that his life might go out at any moment, manahem reproved saddoc, saying that whereas duty is the cause of all good, we have only to look beyond our own doors to see evil everywhere. even so, saddoc answered, what wouldst thou? that the world, manahem answered, was created by good and evil angels. whereupon saddoc asked him if he numbered lilith, adam's first wife, among the evil angels. a question manahem did not answer, and, being eager to tell the story, he turned to jesus, who he guessed did not know it, and began at once to tell it, after warning jesus that it was among their oldest stories though not to be found in the scriptures. she must be numbered among the evil angels, he said, remembering that saddoc had put the question to him, for she rebuked adam, who took great delight in her hair, combing it for his pleasure from morn to eve in the garden, and left him, saying she could abide him no longer. at which words, jesus, adam sorrowed, and his grief was such that god heard his sighs and asked him for what he was grieving, and he said: i live in great loneliness, for lilith, o lord, has left me, and i beg thee to send messengers who will bring her back. whereupon god took pity on his servant adam and bade his three angels, raphael, gabriel and michael, to go away at once in search of lilith, whom they found flying over the sea, and her answer to them was that her pleasure was now in flying, and for that reason i will not return to adam, she said. is that the answer we are to bring back to god? they asked. i have no other answer for him, she answered, being in a humour in which it pleased her to anger god, and the anger that her words put upon him was so great that to punish her he set himself to the creation of a lovely companion for adam. be thou lonely no more, he said to adam. see, i have given eve to thee. adam was never lonely again, but walked through a beautiful garden, enjoying eve's beauty unceasingly, happy as the day was long, till tidings of their happiness reached lilith, who by that time had grown weary of flying from sea to sea: i will make an end of it, she said, and descending circle by circle she went about seeking the garden, which she found at last, but failing to find the gate or any gap in the walls she sat down and began combing her hair. nor was she long combing it before lucifer, attracted by the rustling, came by, saying: i would be taken captive in the net thou weavest with thy hair, and she answered: not yet; for my business is in yon garden, but into it i can find no way. wilt lend me thy sinewy shape, lucifer? for in it i shall be able to glide over the walls and coil myself into the tree of forbidden fruit, and i shall persuade eve as she passes to eat of it, for it will be to her great detriment to do so. but of what good will that be to me? lucifer answered, wouldst thou leave me without a shape whilst thou art tempting eve? thy reward will be that i will come to thee again when i have tempted eve and made an end of her happiness. we shall repeople the world with sons and daughters more bright and beautiful and more supple than any that have ever been seen yet. all the same, lucifer answered, not liking to part with his shape. but as his desire could not be gainsaid, he lent his shape to lilith for an hour. and it was in that hour our first parents fell into sin, and were chased from the garden. did she return to lucifer and fulfil her promise or did she cheat him? saddoc asked. as manahem was about to answer saddoc intervened again: manahem, thou overlookest the fact that mathias holds that the garden of eden and adam and eve, to say nothing of lilith, are a parable, and his reason for thinking thus is, as thou knowest well, that the scriptures tell us that after eating of the forbidden fruit adam and eve sought to hide themselves from god among the trees. he holds as thou sayest, saddoc, that the garden means the mind of man as an individual; and he who would escape from god flees from himself, for our lives are swayed between two powers: the mind of the universe, which is god, and the separate mind of the individual. then, if i understand thee rightly, manahem, and thy master, mathias, the scriptures melt into imagery? what says jesus? this, saddoc, that it was with such subtleties of discourse and lengthy periods that mathias fatigued our father till he fainted away in his chair. jesus is right, manahem answered; it was certainly mathias' discourse that fatigued our father, so why should we prolong the argument in his face while he is coming back to life? it was not the length of mathias' discourse, nor his eloquence, hazael said, that caused my senses to swoon away. my age will not permit me to listen long. i would be with jesus, and i would that ye, saddoc and manahem, return to the lecture-room at once, else our brother will think his discourse has failed. jesus is here to give the attendance i require. go, hasten, lest ye miss any of his points. the brethren were about to raise a protest, but at a sign from jesus they obeyed; mathias' voice was heard as soon as the door of the lecture-room was opened, but the brethren did not forget to close it, and when silence came again hazael said: jesus, come hither, sit near me, for i would speak to thee, but cannot raise my voice. thou'lt sleep here to-night, and to-morrow we shall meet again. and this is well, for my days are numbered. i shall not be here to see next year's lambs and to agree that this new shepherd shall be recompensed by a gift of eighteen, as is the custom. and jesus, understanding that the president was prophesying his own death, said: why speakest like this to me who have returned from the hills to strangers, for all are strangers to me but thou. i shall be sorry to leave thee, jesus, for our lives have been twisted together, strands of the same rope. but it must be plain to thee that i am growing weaker; month by month, week by week, my strength is ebbing. i am going out; but for what reason should i lament that god has not chosen to retain me a few months longer, since my life cannot be prolonged for more than a few months? my eighty odd years have left me with barely strength enough to sit in the doorway looking back on the way i have come. every day the things of this world grow fainter, and life becomes to me an unreal thing, and myself becomes unreal to those around me; only to thee do i retain anything of my vanished self. so why should i remain? for thy sake, lest thou be lonely here? well, that is reason enough, and i will bear the burden of life as well as i can for thy sake. a burden it is, and for a reason that thou mayest not divine, for thou art still a young man in my eyes, and, moreover, hast not lived under a roof for many years listening to learned interpretations of scripture. thou hast not guessed, nor wilt thou ever guess, till age reveals it to thee, that as we grow old we no longer concern ourselves to love god as we used to love him. no one would have thought, not even thou, whose mind is always occupied with god, and who is more conscious of him perhaps than any one i have known, no one, i say, not even thou, would have thought that as we approach death our love of god should grow weaker, but this is so. in great age nothing seems to matter, and it is this indifference that i wish to escape from. thou goest forth in the morning to lead thy flock in search of pasture, if need be many hours, and god is nearer to us in the wilderness than he is among men. this meaning, jesus said, that under this roof i, too, may cease to love god? not cease to love god: one doesn't cease to love god, hazael answered. but, hazael, this night i've yielded up the flocks to a new shepherd, for my limbs have grown weary, and what thou tellest me of old age frightens me. thou wouldst warn me that god is only loved on the hills under the sky---- i am too weak to choose my thoughts or my words, and many things pass out of my mind, hazael answered. had i remembered i shouldn't have spoken. but why not speak, father? jesus asked, so that i may be prepared in a measure for the new life that awaits me. life never comes twice in the same way, hazael replied; nor do the same things befall any two men. i know not what may befall thee: but the sky, jesus, will always be before thine eyes and the green fields under thy feet, even while listening to mathias. but thou didst live once under the sky, jesus said. not long enough, hazael murmured, but the love of god was ardent in me when i walked by day and night, sleeping under the stars, seeking young men who could give up their lives to the love of god and bringing them back hither into the fold of the essenes. in those days there was little else in me but love of god, and i could walk from dusk to dusk without wearying; twelve and fifteen hours were not too many for my feet: my feet bounded along the road while my eyes followed white clouds moving over the sky; i dreamed of them as god's palaces, and i saw god not only in the clouds but in the grass, and in the fields, and the flower that covers the fields. i read god in the air and in the waters: and in every town in palestine i sought out those that loved god and those that could learn to love god. i could walk well in those days, fifteen hours were less than as many minutes are now. i have walked from jerusalem to joppa in one day, and the night that i met thy father outside nazareth i had walked twelve hours, though i had been delayed in the morning: eight hours before midday, and after a rest in the wood i went on again for several hours more, how many i do not know, i've forgotten. i did not know the distance that i had walked till i met thy father coming home from his work, his tools in the bag upon his shoulder. his voice is still in my ear. but if it be to nazareth thou'rt going, come along with me, he said. and i can still hear ourselves talking, myself asking him to direct me to a lodging, and his answering: there's a house in the village where thou'lt get one, and i'll lead thee to it. but all the beds in that house were full; we knocked at other inns, but the men and women and children in them were asleep and not to be roused; and if by chance our knocking awakened somebody we were bidden away with threats that the dogs would be loosed upon us. nazareth looks not kindly on the wayfarer to-night, i said. yet it shall not be said that a stranger had to sleep in the streets of nazareth, were thy father's very words to me, jesus. come to my house, he said, though it be small and we have to put somebody out of his bed, it will be better than that our town should gain evil repute. thou canst not have forgotten me coming, for thy father shook thee out of thy sleep and told thee that he wanted thy bed for a stranger. i can see thee still standing before me in thy shift, and though the hours i'd travelled had gone down into my very marrow, and sleep was heavy upon my eyes, yet a freshness came upon me as of the dawn when i looked on thee, and my heart told me that i had found one that would do honour to the essenes, and love god more than any i had ever met with yet. but i think i hear thee weeping, jesus. now, for what art thou weeping? there is nothing sad in the story, only that it is a long time ago. our speech next day still rings in my ear--my telling thee of the pharisees that merely minded the letter of the law, and of the sadducees that said there was no life outside this world except for angels. it is well indeed that i remember our two selves sitting by the door on two stools set under a vine, and it throwing pretty patterns of shadow on the pavement whilst we talked--whilst i talked to thee of the brethren, who lived down by the bitter lake, no one owning anything more than his fellow, so that none might be distracted from god by the pleasures of this world. i can see clearly through the years thy face expectant, and nazareth--the deeply rutted streets and the hills above. the days that we walked in nazareth are pleasant memories, for i could never tell thee enough about the essenes: their contempt of riches, and that if there were one among them who had more than another, on entering the order he willingly shared it. we were among the hills the day that i told thee about the baker; how he put a platter with a loaf on it before each of the brethren, how they broke bread, deeming the meal sacred, and it was the next day that we bade farewell to thy father and thy mother and started on our journey; a long way, but one that did not seem long to us, so engaged were we with our hopes. it was with me thou sawest jerusalem for the first time; and i remember telling thee as we journeyed by the jordan seeking a ford that the essenes looked upon oil as a defilement, and if any one of them be anointed without his approbation it is wiped off, for we think to be sweaty is a good thing, and to be clothed in white garments, and never to change these till they be torn to pieces or worn out by time. and of the little band that came with us that day from galilee there remain saddoc, manahem and thyself. all of you learnt from me on the journey that we laboured till the fifth hour and then assembled together again clothed in white veils, after having bathed our bodies in cold water. but, jesus, why this grief? because i am going from thee? but, dear friend, to come and to go is the law of life, and it may be that i shall be with thee longer than thou thinkest for; eighty odd years may be lengthened into ninety: the patriarchs lived till a hundred and more years, and we believe that the soul outlives the body. out of the chrysalis we escape from our corruptible bodies, and the beautiful butterfly flutters godward. grieve for me a little when i am gone, but grieve not before i go, for i would see thy face always happy, as i remember it in those years long ago in nazareth. jesus, jesus, thou shouldst not weep like this! none should weep but for sin, and thy life is known to me from the day in nazareth when we sat in the street together to the day that thou wentest to the jordan to get baptism from john. ah! that day was the only day that my words were unheeded. but i am saying things that would seem to wound thee, and for why i know not! tell me if my words wound or call up painful memories. thy suffering is forgotten, or should be, for if ever any man merited love and admiration for a sincere and holy life thou---- i beg of thee, father, not to say another word, for none is less worthy than i am. the greatest sinner amongst us is sitting by thee, one that has not dared to tell his secret to thee.... the memory of my sin has fed upon me and grown stronger, becoming a devil within me, but till now i have lacked courage to come to thee and ask thee to cast it out. but now since thou art going from us this year or the next, i wouldn't let thee go without telling it; to none may i tell it but to thee, for none else would understand it. i am listening, jesus, hazael answered. the mutter of the water in the valley below them arose and grew louder in the silence; as jesus prepared to speak his secret the doors of the lecture-room opened and the monks came out singing: in the lord put i my trust: how say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? for, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? for the righteous lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. the words of the psalm are intended for me, jesus whispered, and now that the brethren are here i may not speak, but to-morrow---- there may be no to-morrow for us, the president answered. even so, jesus answered, i cannot speak to-night. it is as if i were bidden to withhold my secret till to-morrow. we know not why we speak or why we are silent, but silence has been put upon me by the words of the psalm. be it so, the president answered, and he was helped by saddoc and manahem to his feet. our brother jesus, he said, has given over the charge of our flocks to a young shepherd in whom he has confidence, and jesus sleeps under a roof to-night, the first for many years, for, like us, he is getting older, and the rains and blasts of last winter have gone into his bones. all the cells, father, saddoc replied, are filled. i know that well, saddoc, hazael said as he went out; jesus can sleep here on these benches; a mattress and a cloak will be sufficient for him who has slept in caverns, or in valleys on heaps of stones that he piled so that he might not drown in the rains. manahem will get thee a mattress, jesus; he knows where to find one. i am strong enough to walk alone, saddoc. and disengaging himself from saddoc's arm he walked with the monks towards his cell, joining them in the psalm: all the powers of the lord bless ye the lord; praise and exalt him above all for ever. as the doors of the cell closed saddoc approached jesus, and, breaking his reverie, he said: thou hast returned to us at last; and it was not too soon, for the winter rains are cold on bones as old as thine. but here comes manahem with a mattress for thee. on the bench here, manahem; on the bench he'll lie comfortably, and we'll get him a covering, for the nights are often chilly though the days be hot, we must try to make a comfortable resting-place for him that has guarded our flocks these long years. wilt tell us if thou beest glad to yield thy flock to jacob and if he will sell ewes and rams to the temple for sacrifice? ask me not any questions to-night, brother saddoc, for i'm troubled in mind. forgive me my question, jesus, saddoc answered, and the three essenes, leaning over the edge of the gorge, stood listening to the mutter of the brook. at last, to break the silence that the brook rumpled without breaking, jesus asked if a wayfarer never knocked at the door of the cenoby after dark asking for bread and board. none knows the path well enough to keep to it after dark, saddoc said; though the moon be high and bright the shadows disguise the path yonder. the path is always in darkness where it bends round the rocks, and the wayfarer would miss his footing and fall over into the abyss, even though he were a shepherd. thyself wouldst miss it. saddoc speaks well; none can follow the path, manahem said, and fortunately, else we should have all the vagrants of the country knocking at our door. we shall have one to-night--vagrant or prophet, jesus said, and asked his brethren to look yonder; for it seemed to him that a man had just come out of the shadow of an overhanging rock. manahem could see nobody, for, he said, none could find the way in the darkness, and if it be a demon, he continued, and fall, it will not harm him: the devil will hold him up lest he dash himself at the bottom of the ravine. but if it be a man of flesh and blood like ourselves he will topple over yon rock, and manahem pointed to a spot, and they waited, expecting to see the shadow or the man they were watching disappear, but the man or the shadow kept close to the cliffs, avoiding what seemed to be the path so skilfully that saddoc and manahem said he must know the way. he will reach the bridge safely, cried saddoc, and we shall have to open our doors to him. now he is crossing the bridge, and now he begins the ascent. let us pray that he may miss the path through the terraces. but would you have him miss it, saddoc, jesus asked, for the sake of thy rest? he shall have my mattress; i'll sleep on this bench in the window under the sky, and shall be better there: a roof is not my use nor wont. but who, said saddoc, can he be?--for certainly the man, if he be not an evil spirit, is coming to ask for shelter for the night; and if he be not a demon he may be a prophet or robber: once more the hills are filled with robbers. or it may be, jesus said, the preacher of whom jacob spoke to me this evening; he came up from the jordan with a story of a preacher that the multitude would not listen to and sought to drown in the river, and our future shepherd told me how the rabble had followed him over the hills with the intent to kill him. some great and terrible heresy he must be preaching to stir them like that, manahem said, and he asked if the shepherd had brought news of the prophet's escape or death. jesus answered that the shepherd thought the prophet had escaped into a cave, for he saw the crowd dispersing, going home like dogs from a hunt when they have lost their prey. if so, he has been lying by in the cave. who can he be? saddoc asked. only a shepherd could have kept to the path. now he sees us ... and methinks he is no shepherd, but a robber. the essenes waited a few moments longer and the knocking they had expected came at their door. do not open it, saddoc cried. he is for sure a robber sent in advance of his band, or it may be a prisoner of the romans, and to harbour him may put us on crosses above the hills. we shall hang! open not the door! if it be a wayfarer lost among the hills a little food and water will save him, jesus answered. open not the door, jesus; though he be a prophet i would not open to him. a prophet he may be, and no greater danger besets us, for our later prophets induced men to follow them into the desert, promising that they should witness the raising of the dead with god riding the clouds and coming down for judgment. i say open not the door to him, jesus! he may be one of the followers of the prophets, of which we have seen enough in these last years, god knows! the cavalry of festus may be in pursuit of him and his band, and they have cut down many between jerusalem and jericho. i say open not the door! we live among terrors and dangers, jesus; open not the door! hearken, saddoc, he calls us to open to him, jesus said, moving towards the door. he is alone. we know he is, for we have seen him coming down a path on which two men pass each other with difficulty. he is a wayfarer, and we've been safe on this ledge of rock for many years; and times are quieter now than they have been since the dispersal of the great multitude that followed theudas and were destroyed, and the lesser multitude that followed banu; they, too, have perished. open not the door, jesus! saddoc cried again. there are sicarii who kill men in the daytime, mingling themselves among the multitude with daggers hidden in their garments, their mission being to stab those that disobey the law in any fraction. we're essenes, and have not sent blood offerings to the temple. open not the door. sicarii or zealots travel in search of heretics through the cities of samaria and judea. open not the door! men are for ever fooled, saddoc continued, and will never cease to open their doors to those who stand in need of meat and drink. it will be safer, jesus, to bid him away. tell him rather that we'll let down a basket of meat and drink from the balcony to him. art thou, manahem, for turning this man from the door or letting him in? jesus asked. there is no need to be frightened, manahem answered; he is but a wanderer, saddoc. a wanderer he cannot be, for he has found his way along the path in the darkness of the night, saddoc interjected. open not the door, i tell thee, or else we all hang on crosses above the hills to-morrow. but, saddoc, we are beholden to the law not to refuse bed and board to the poor, manahem replied, returning from the door. if we do not open, jesus said, he will leave our door, and that will be a greater misfortune than any that he may bring us. hearken, saddoc! he speaks fair enough, saddoc replied; but we may plead that after sunset in the times we live in---- but, manahem, jesus interjected, say on which side thou art.... we know there is but one man; and we are more than a match for one. put a sword in saddoc's hand. no! manahem! for i should seem like a fool with a sword in my hand. since thou sayest there is but one man and we are three, it might be unlucky to turn him from our doors. may i then open to him? jesus asked, and he began to unbar the great door, and a heavy, thick-set man, weary of limb and mind, staggered into the gallery, and stood looking from one to the other, as if trying to guess which of the three would be most likely to welcome him. his large and bowed shoulders made his bald, egg-shaped skull (his turban had fallen in his flight) seem ridiculously small; it was bald to the ears, and a thick black beard spread over the face like broom, and nearly to the eyes; thick black eyebrows shaded eyes so piercing and brilliant that the three essenes were already aware that a man of great energy had come amongst them. he had run up the terraces despite his great girdlestead and he stood before them like a hunted animal, breathing hard, looking from one to the other, a red, callous hand scratching in his shaggy chest, his eyes fixed first on saddoc and then on manahem and lastly on jesus, whom he seemed to recognise as a friend. may i rest a little while? if so, give me drink before i sleep, he asked. no food, but drink. why do ye not answer? do ye fear me, mistaking me for a robber? or have i wandered among robbers? where am i? hark: i am but a wayfarer and thou'rt a shepherd of the hills, i know thee by thy garb, thou'lt not refuse me shelter. and jesus, turning to saddoc and manahem, said: he shall have the mattress i was to sleep upon. give it to him, manahem. thou shalt have food and a coverlet, he said, turning to the wayfarer. no food! he cried; but a drink of water. there is some ewe's milk on the shelf, manahem. thou must be footsore, he said, giving the milk to the stranger, who drank it greedily. i'll get thee a linen garment so that thou mayst sleep more comfortable; and i'll bathe thy feet before sleep; sleep will come easier in a fresh garment. but to whose dwelling have i come? the stranger asked. a shepherd told me the essenes lived among the rocks.... am i among them? he told me to keep close to the cliff's edge or i should topple over. we watched thee, and it seemed every moment that thou couldst not escape death. it will be well to ask him his name and whence he comes, saddoc whispered to manahem. the shepherd told thee that we are essenes, and it remains for thee to tell us whom we entertain. a prisoner of the romans---- a prisoner of the romans! saddoc cried. then indeed we are lost; a prisoner of the romans with soldiers perhaps at thy heels! a prisoner fled from roman justice may not lodge here.... let us put him beyond our doors. and becoming suddenly courageous saddoc went up to paul and tried to lift him to his feet. manahem, aid me! jesus, who had gone to fetch a basin of water and a garment, returned and asked saddoc and manahem the cause of their unseemly struggle with their guest. they replied that their guest had told them he was a prisoner of the romans. even so, jesus answered, we cannot turn him from our doors. these men have little understanding, paul answered. i'm not a criminal fled from roman justice, but a man escaped from jewish persecution. why then didst thou say, cried saddoc, that thou'rt a prisoner of the romans? because i would not be taken to jerusalem to be tried before the jews. i appealed to cæsar, and while waiting on the ship to take me to italy, festus gave me leave to come here, for i heard that there were jews in jericho of great piety, men unlike the jews of jerusalem, who though circumcised in the flesh are uncircumcised in heart and ear. of all of this i will tell you to-morrow, and do you tell me now of him that followed me along the cliff. we saw no one following thee; thou wast alone. he may have missed me before i turned down the path coming from jericho. i speak of timothy, my beloved son in the faith. what strange man is this that we entertain for the night? saddoc whispered to manahem. and if any disciple of mine fall into the hands of the jews of jerusalem---- we know not of what thou'rt speaking, jesus answered; and it is doubtless too long a story to tell to-night. i must go at once in search of timothy, paul said, and he turned towards the door. the moon is setting, jesus cried, and returning to-night will mean thy death over the cliffs edge. there is no strength in thy legs to keep thee to the path. i should seek him in vain, paul answered. rest a little while, jesus said, and drink a little ewe's milk, and when thou hast drunken i'll bathe thy feet. without waiting for paul's assent he knelt to untie his sandals. we came from cæsarea to jericho to preach the abrogation of the law. what strange thing is he saying now? the abrogation of the law! saddoc whispered to manahem. the people would not listen to us, and, stirred up by the jews, they sought to capture us, but we escaped into the hills and hid in a cave that an angel pointed out to us. hark, an angel pointed out a cave to him! manahem whispered in saddoc's ear. then he must be a good man, saddoc answered, but we know not if he speaks the truth. we have had too many prophets; he is another, and of the same tribe, setting men by the ears. we have had too many prophets! now let me bathe thy feet, which are swollen, and after bathing paul's feet jesus relieved him of his garment and passed a white robe over his shoulders. thou'lt sleep easier in it. they would have done well to hearken to me, paul muttered. thou'lt tell us thy story of ill treatment to-morrow, jesus said, and he laid paul back on his pillow, and a moment after he was asleep. chap. xxxii. jesus feared to awaken him, but was constrained at last to call after him: thou'rt dreaming, paul. awake! remember the essenes ... friends, friends. but paul did not hear him, and it was not till jesus laid his hand on his shoulder that paul opened his eyes: thou hast been dreaming, paul, jesus said. where am i? paul inquired. with the essenes, jesus answered. i was too tired to sleep deeply, paul said, and it would be useless for me to lie down again. i am afraid of my dreams; and together they stood looking across the abyss watching the rocks opposite coming into their shapes against a strip of green sky. the ravine was still full of mist, and a long time seemed to pass before the bridge and the ruins over against the bridge began to appear. as the dawn advanced sleep came upon paul's eyelids. he lay down and dozed awhile, for about an hour, and when he opened his eyes again jesus' hand was upon his shoulder and he was saying: paul, it is now daybreak: at the brook kerith we go forth to meet the sunrise. to meet the sunrise, paul repeated, for he knew nothing of the doctrine of the essenes. but he followed jesus through the gallery and received from him a small hatchet with instructions how he should use it, and a jar which he must fill with water at the well. we carry water with us, jesus said, for the way is long to the brook; only by sending nearly to the source can we reach it, for we are mindful not to foul the water we drink. but come, we're late already. jesus threw a garment over paul's shoulder and told him of the prayers he must murmur. we do not speak of profane matters till after sunrise. he broke off suddenly and pointed to a place where they might dig: and as soon as we have purified ourselves, he continued, we will fare forth in search of shepherds, who, on being instructed by us, will be watchful for a young man lost on the hills and will direct him to the essene settlement above the brook kerith. be of good courage, he will be found. hadst thou come before to-day myself would be seeking him for thee, but yesterday i gave over my flock to jacob, a trustworthy lad, who will give the word to the next one, and he will pass it on to another, and so the news will be carried the best part of the way to cæsarea before noon. it may be that thy companion has found his way to cæsarea already, for some can return whither they have come, however long and strange the way may be. pause, we shall hear jacob's pipe answer mine. jesus played a few notes, which were answered immediately, and not long afterwards the shepherd appeared over a ridge of hills. thy shepherd, paul said, is but a few years younger than timothy and he looks to thee as timothy looks to me. tell him who i am and whom i seek. jacob, jesus said, thou didst tell me last night of a preacher to whom the multitude would not listen, but sought to throw into the jordan. he has come amongst us seeking his companion timothy. the twain escaped from the multitude, jacob interjected. that is true, jesus answered, but they ran apart above the brook, one keeping on to cæsarea, this man followed the path round the rocks (how he did it we are still wondering) and climbed up to our dwelling. we must find his companion for him. jacob promised that every shepherd should hear that a young man was missing. as soon as a shepherd appears on yon hillside, jacob said, he shall have the word from me, and he will pass it on. jesus looked up into paul's anxious face. we cannot do more, he said, and began to speak with jacob of rams and ewes just as if timothy had passed out of their minds. paul listened for a while, but finding little to beguile his attention in their talk, he bade jesus and jacob good-bye for the present, saying he was returning to the cenoby. i wonder, he said to himself, as he went up the hill, if they'd take interest in my craft, i could talk to them for a long while of the thread which should always be carefully chosen, and which should be smooth and of equal strength, else, however deftly the shuttle be passed, the woof would be rough. but no matter, if they'll get news of timothy for me i'll listen to their talk of rams and ewes without complaint. it was kind of jacob to say he did not think timothy had fallen down a precipice, but what does he know? and on his way back paul tried to recall the ravine that he had seen in the dusk as he leaned over the balcony with jesus. and as he passed through the domed gallery he stopped for a moment by the well, it having struck him that he might ask the brother drawing water to come with him to look for timothy. if my son were lying at the bottom of the ravine, he said, i should not be able to get him out without help. come with me. the essene did not know who paul was, nor of whom he was speaking, and at the end of paul's relation the brother answered that there might be two hundred feet from the pathway to the brook, more than that in many places; but thou'lt see for thyself; i may not leave my work. if a man be dying the essene, by his rule, must succour him, paul said. but i know not, the essene answered, that any man be dying in the brook. we believe thy comrade held on to the road to cæsarea. so it may have befallen, paul said, but it may be else. it may be, the essene answered, but not likely. he held on to the road to cæsarea, and finding thee no longer with him kept on--or rolled over the cliff, paul interrupted. well, see for thyself; and if he be at the bottom i'll come to help thee. but it is a long way down, and it may be that we have no rope long enough, and without one we cannot reach him, but forgive me, for i see that my words hurt thee. but how else am i to speak? i know thy words were meant kindly, and if thy president should ask to see me thou'lt tell him i've gone down the terraces and will return as soon as i have made search. this search should have been made before. that was not possible; the mist is only; just cleared, the brother answered, and paul proceeded up and down the terraces till he reached the bridge, and after crossing it he mounted the path and continued it, venturing close to the edge and looking down the steep sides as he went, but seeing nowhere any traces of timothy. had he fallen here, he said to himself, he would be lying in the brook. but were timothy lying there i could not fail to see him, nor is there water enough to wash him down into jordan. it must be he is seeking his way to cæsarea. let it be so, i pray god, and paul continued his search till he came to where the path twisted round a rock debouching on to the hillsides. we separated here, he said, looking round, and then remembering that they had been pursued for several miles into the hills and that the enemy's scouts might be lurking in the neighbourhood, he turned back and descended the path, convinced of the uselessness of his search. we parted at that rock, timothy keeping to the left and myself turning to the right, and if anything has befallen he must be sought for by shepherds, aided by dogs. only with the help of dogs can he be traced, he said, and returning slowly to the bridge, he stood there lost in feverish forebodings, new ones rising up in his mind continually, for it might well be, he reflected, that timothy has been killed by robbers, for these hills are infested by robbers and wild beasts, and worse than the wild beasts and the robbers are the jews, who would pay a large sum of money for his capture. and his thoughts running on incontinently, he imagined timothy a prisoner in jerusalem and himself forced to decide whether he should go there to defend timothy or abandon his mission. a terrible choice it would be for him to have to choose between his duty towards men and his love of his son, for timothy was more to him than many sons are to their fathers, the companion of all his travels and his hope, for he was falling into years and needed timothy now more than ever. but it was not likely that the jews had heard that timothy was travelling from jericho to cæsarea, and it was a feverish imagination of his to think that they would have time to send out agents to capture timothy. but if such a thing befell how would he account to eunice for the death of the son that she had given him, wishing that somebody should be near him to protect and to serve him. he had thought never to see eunice again, but if her son perished he would have to see her. but no, there would be no time--he had appealed to cæsar. he must send a letter to her telling that he had started out for jericho. a dangerous journey he knew it to be, but he was without strength to resist the temptation of one more effort to save the jews: a hard, bitter, stiff-necked, stubborn race that did not deserve salvation, that resisted it. he had been scourged, how many times, at the instigation of the jews? and they had stoned him at lystra, a city ever dear to him, for it was there he had met eunice; the memories that gathered round her beautiful name calmed his disquiet, and the brook murmuring under the bridge through the silence of the gorge disposed paul to indulge his memory, and in it the past was so pathetic and poignant that it was almost a pain to remember. but he must remember, and following after a glimpse of the synagogue and himself preaching in it there came upon him a vision of a tall, grave woman since known to him as a thorn in his flesh, but he need not trouble to remember his sins, for had not god himself forgiven him, telling him that his grace was enough? why then should he hesitate to recall the grave, oval face that he had loved? he could see it as plainly in his memory as if it were before him in the flesh, her eyes asking for his help so appealingly that he had been constrained to relinquish the crowd to barnabas and give his mind to eunice. and they had walked on together, he listening to her telling how she had not been to the synagogue for many years, for though she and her mother were proselytes to the jewish faith, neither practised it, since her marriage, for her husband was a pagan. she had indeed taught her son the scriptures in greek, but no restraint had been put upon him; and she did not know to what god or goddess he offered sacrifice. but last night an angel visited her and told her that that which she had always been seeking (though she had forgotten it) awaited her in the synagogue. so she had gone thither and was not disappointed. i've always been seeking him of whom thou speakest. her very words, and the very intonation of her voice in these words came back to him; he had put questions to her, and they had not come to the end of their talk when laos, calling from the doorstep, said: wilt pass the door, eunice, without asking the stranger to cross it? whereupon she turned her eyes on paul and asked him to forgive her for her forgetfulness, and barnabas arriving at that moment, she begged him to enter. and they had stayed on and on, exceeding their apportioned time, barnabas reproving the delay, but always agreeing that their departure should be adjourned since it was paul's wish to adjourn it. so barnabas had always spoken, for he was a weak man, and paul acknowledged to himself that he too was a weak man in those days. laos seemed to love barnabas as a mother, and laos and eunice were received by me into the faith, paul said. on these words his thoughts floated away and he became absorbed in recollections of the house in lystra. the months he had spent with these two women had been given to him, no doubt, as a recompense for the labours he had endured to bring men to believe that by faith only in our lord jesus christ could they be saved. he would never see lystra again with his physical eye, but it would always be before him in his mind's eye: that terrible day the jews had dragged him and barnabas outside the town rose up before him. only by feigning death did they escape the fate of stephen. in the evening the disciples brought them back. laos and eunice sponged their wounds, and at daybreak they left for derbe, barnabas saying that perhaps god was angry at their delay in lystra and to bring them back to his work had bidden the jews stone them without killing them. eunice was not sure that barnabas had not spoken truly, and paul remembered with gratitude that she always put his mission before herself. thou'lt be safer, she said, in derbe, and from derbe thou must go on carrying the glad tidings to the ends of the earth. but thou must not forget thy galatians, and when thou returnest to lystra timothy will be old enough to follow thee. he had fared for ever onwards over seas and lands, ever mindful of his faithful galatians and eunice and her son whom she had promised to him, and whom he had left learning greek so that he might fulfil the duties of amanuensis. the silence of the gorge and the murmur of the brook enticed recollections and he was about to abandon himself to memories of his second visit to lystra when a voice startled him from his reverie, and, looking round, he saw a tall, thin man who held his head picturesquely. i presume you are our guest, and seeing you alone, i laid my notes aside and have come to offer my services to you. your services? paul repeated. if you desire my services, mathias replied; and if i am mistaken, and you do not require them, i will withdraw and apologise for my intrusion. for your intrusion? paul repeated. i am your guest, and the guest of the essenes, for last night timothy and myself were assailed by the jews. by the jews? mathias replied, but we are jews. whereupon paul told him of his journey from cæsarea, and that he barely escaped drowning in the jordan. in the escape from drowning mathias showed little interest, but he was curious to hear the doctrine that had given so much offence. i spoke of the lord jesus christ, paul answered, the one mediator between god and man who was sent by his father to redeem the world. only by faith in him the world may be saved, and the jews will not listen. a hard, bitter, cruel race they are, that god will turn from in the end, choosing another from the gentiles, since they will not accept him whom god has chosen to redeem men by the death and resurrection from the dead of the lord jesus christ, raised from the dead by his father. mathias raised his eyes at the words "resurrection from the dead." of whom was paul speaking? he could still be interested in miracles, but not in the question whether the corruptible body could be raised up from earth to heaven. he had wearied of that question long ago, and was now propense to rail against the little interest the jews took in certain philosophical questions--the relation of god to the universe, and suchlike--and he began to speak to paul of his country, egypt, and of alexandria's schools of philosophy, continuing in this wise till paul asked him how it was that he had left a country where the minds of the people were in harmony with his mind to come to live among people whose thoughts were opposed to his. that would be a long story to tell, mathias answered, and i am in the midst of my argument. the expression that began to move over mathias' face told paul that he was asking himself once again what his life would have been if he had remained in alexandria. talking, he said, to these essenes who stand midway between jerusalem and alexandria my life has gone by. why i remained with them so long is a question i have often asked myself. why i came hither with them from the cenoby on the eastern bank, that, too, is a matter that i have never been able to decide. you have heard, he continued, of the schism of the essenes. how those on the eastern bank believe that the order can only be preserved by marriage, while those on the western bank, the traditionalists up there on that rock in that aerie, would rather the order died than that any change should be made in the rule of life. in answer to a question from paul he said he did not believe that the order would survive the schism. it may be, too, that i return to alexandria. no man knows his destiny; but if you be minded, he said, to hear me, i will reserve a place near to me. my mind is distracted, paul replied, by fears for the safety of timothy; and perhaps to save himself from mathias' somewhat monotonous discourse he spoke of his apostolic mission, interesting mathias at once, who began to perceive that paul, however crude and elementary his conceptions might be (so crude did they appear to mathias that he was not inclined to include them in his code of philosophical notions at all), was a story in himself, and one not lacking in interest; his ideas though crude were not common, and their talk had lasted long enough for him to discern many original turns of speech in paul's incorrect greek, altogether lacking in construction, but betraying constantly an abrupt vigour of thought. he was therefore disappointed when paul, dropping suddenly the story of the apostolic mission, which he had received from the apostles, who themselves had received it from the lord jesus christ, began to tell suddenly that on his return from his mission to cyprus with barnabas he had preached in derbe and lystra. it was in lystra, he cried, that i met timothy, whom i circumcised with my own hand; he was then a boy of ten, and his mother, who was a pious, god-fearing woman, foresaw in him a disciple, and said when we left, after having been cured by her and her mother of our wounds, when thou returnest to the galatians he will be nearly old enough to follow thee, but tarry not so long, she added. but it was a long while before i returned to lystra, and then timothy was a young man, and ever since our lives have been spent in the lord's service, suffering tortures from robbers that sought to obtain ransom. we have been scourged and shipwrecked. but, said mathias, interrupting him, i know not of what you are speaking, and paul was obliged to go over laboriously in words the story that he had dreamed in a few seconds. and when it was told mathias said: your story is worth telling. after my lecture the brethren will be glad to listen to you. but, said paul, what i have told you is nothing to what i could tell; and mathias answered: so much the better, for i shall not have to listen to a twice-told story. and now, he added, i must leave you, for i have matter that must be carefully thought out, and in those ruins yonder my best thinking is done. speak to the essenes; tell them of my conversion? paul repeated. why not? he asked himself, since he was here and could not leave till nightfall. festus had given him leave to go to jericho to preach while waiting for the ship that was to take him to rome, and he had found in jericho the intolerance that had dragged him out of the temple at jerusalem; circumcision of the flesh but no circumcision of the spirit.... but here! he had been led to the essenes by god, and all that had seemed dark the night before now seemed clear to him. there was no longer any doubt in his mind that the lord wished his chosen people to hear the truth before his servant paul left palestine for ever. he had been led by the lord among these rocks, perhaps to find twelve disciples, who would leave their rocks when they heard the truth of the death and ascension of jesus of nazareth and would carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth. chap. xxxiii. the essenes, ten in number, were seated in an embrasure. a reader had been chosen (an elder) to read the scriptures, and the attention of the community was now engaged in judgment of his attempt to reconcile two passages, one taken from numbers in which it is said that god is not as man, with another passage taken from deuteronomy in which god is said to be as man. he had just finished telling the brethren that these two passages were not in contradiction, the second being introduced for the instruction of the multitude and not because the nature of man is as god's nature, and, on second thoughts, he added: nor must it be forgotten that the book of deuteronomy was written when we were a wandering tribe come out of the desert of arabia, without towns or cities, without a temple, without an ark--ours having fallen into the hands of the philistines. he continued his gloss till mathias held up his hand and asked hazael's permission to speak: the words that had been quoted from deuteronomy, those in which the scriptures speak of god as if he were a man, attributing to him the acts and motives of man, were addressed, as our reader has pointed out, to men who had hardly advanced beyond the intelligence of childhood, whose minds were still simple and unable to receive any idea of god except the primitive notion that god is a greater man. now the reason for my interruption is this: i should like to point out that for those who have passed beyond this stage, whose intelligence is not limited to their imagination, and whose will is not governed by selfish fears and hopes, there is another lesson in the words: we can rise to the consciousness of god as an absolute being, of whom we know only that he is, and not what he is, and this is what is meant when god is spoken of by the name i am that i am. eleazar was minded to speak: mathias begged of him not to withhold his thoughts, but to speak them, and it was at this moment that paul entered, walking softly, lest his footsteps should interrupt eleazar, whom he heard say that he disagreed with the last part of mathias' speech, inasmuch as it would be against the word of the scriptures and likewise against all tradition to accept god as no more than the absolute substance, which strictly taken would exclude all differences and relation, even the differences and relation of subject and object in self-consciousness. i shall not be lacking in appreciation of the wisdom of our learned brother, paul heard him say, if i venture to hold to the idea of a god whom we know at least to be conscious, for he says: i am, a statement which had much interest for paul; and while considering it he heard manahem say: it is hard to conceive of god except as a high principle of being and well-being in the universe, who binds all things to each other in binding them to himself. then there are two gods and not one god, saddoc interposed quickly, an objection to which manahem made this answer: not two gods but two aspects, thereby confuting saddoc for the moment, who muttered: two aspects which have, however, to be reduced to unity. paul's eyes went from saddoc to mathias, and he thought that mathias' face wore an expression of amused contempt as he listened and called upon other disputants to contribute their small thoughts to the discussion. encouraged by a wave of his hand, caleb ventured to remark: there is god and there is the word of god, to which hazael murmured this reply: there is only one god; one who watches over his chosen people and over all the other nations of the earth. but does god love the other nations as dearly as the hebrew people? manahem asked, and hazael answered him: we may not discriminate so far into the love of god, it being infinite, but this we may say, that it is through the hebrew people that god makes manifest his love of mankind, on condition, let it be understood, of their obedience to his revealed will. and if i may add a few words to the idea so eloquently suggested by our brother mathias, i would say that god is the primal substance out of which all things evolve. but these words must not be taken too literally, thereby refusing to god a personal consciousness, for god knows certainly all the differences and all the relations, and we should overturn all the teaching of scripture and lose ourselves in the errors of greek philosophy if we held to the belief of a god, absolute, pure, simple, detached from all concern with his world and his people. but in what measure, manahem asked, laying his scroll upon his knees and leaning forward, his long chin resting on his hand, in what measure, he asked, speaking out of his deepest self, are we to look upon god as a conscious being; if mathias could answer that question we should be grateful, for it is the question which torments every essene in the solitude of his cell. has any other brother here a word to say? now you, brother caleb? i am sure there is a thought in your heart that we would all like to hear. brother saddoc, i call upon thee! brother saddoc seemed to have no wish to speak, but mathias continued to press him, saying. brother saddoc, for what else hast thou been seeking in thy scroll but for a text whereon to base an argument? and seeing that it was impossible for him to escape from the fray of argument, brother saddoc answered that he took his stand upon deuteronomy. do we not read that the lord thy god that goeth before thee shall fight for thee, and in the desert thou hast seen that he bore thee, as a man bears his sons, all the way that ye went till ye came unto this place. but saddoc, eleazar interrupted, has forgotten that one of the leading thoughts in this discourse is that the words in deuteronomy were written for starving tribes that came out of arabia rather than for us to whom god has given the land of canaan. we were then among the rudiments of the world and man was but a child, incapable, as mathias has said, of the knowledge of god as an absolute being. but then, answered saddoc, the scriptures were not written for all time. was anything, mathias murmured, written for all time? paul was about to ask himself if mathias numbered god among the many things that time wastes away when his thought was interrupted by manahem asking how we are to understand the words, the heavens were created before the earth. do the scriptures mean that intelligence is prior to sense? mathias' face lighted up, and, foreseeing his opportunity to make show of his greek proficiency he began: heaven is our intelligence and the earth our sensibility. the spirit descended into matter, and god created man according to his image, as moses said and said well, for no creature is more like to god than man: not in bodily form (god is without body), but in his intelligence; for the intelligence of every man is in a little the intelligence of the universe, and it may be said that the intelligence lives in the flesh that bears it as god himself lives in the universe, being in some sort a god of the body, which carries it about like an image in a shrine. thus the intelligence occupies the same place in man as the great president occupies in the universe--being itself invisible while it sees everything, and having its own essence hidden while it penetrates the essences of all other things. also, by its arts and sciences, it finds its way through the earth and through the seas, and searches out everything that is contained in them. and then again it rises on wings and, looking down upon the air and all its commotions, it is borne upwards to the sky and the revolving heavens and accompanies the choral dances of the planets and stars fixed according to the laws of music. and led by love, the guide of wisdom, it proceeds still onward till it transcends all that is capable of being apprehended by the senses, and rises to that which is perceptible only by the intellect. and there, seeing in their surpassing beauty the original ideas and archetypes of all the things which sense finds beautiful, it becomes possessed by a sober intoxication, like the corybantian revellers, and is filled with a still stronger longing, which bears it up to the highest summit of the intelligible world till it seems to approach to the great king of the intelligible world himself. and while it is eagerly seeking to behold him in all his glory, rays of divine light are pouring forth upon it which by their exceeding brilliance dazzle the eyes of the intelligence. whilst he spoke, his periods constructed with regard for every comma, mathias' eyes were directed so frequently towards paul that paul could not but think that mathias was vaunting his knowledge of greek expressly, as if to reprove him, paul, for the aramaic idiom that he had never been able to wring out of his greek, which he regretted, but which, after hearing mathias, he would not be without; for to rid himself of it he would have to sacrifice the spirit to the outer form; as well might he offer sacrifice to the heathen gods; and he could not take his eyes off the tall, lean figure showing against the blue sky, for mathias spoke from the balcony, flinging his grey locks from his forehead, uncertain if he should break into another eloquent period or call upon paul to speak. he was curious to hear paul, having divined a quick intelligence beneath an abrupt form that was withal not without beauty; he advanced towards hazael and, leaning over his chair, whispered to him. he is telling, paul said to himself, that it would be well to hear me as i am about to start for rome to proclaim the truth in that city wherein all nations assemble. well, let it be so, since it was to this i was called hither. hazael raised his eyes and was about to ask paul to speak, but at that moment the bakers arrived with their bread baskets, and the essenes moved from the deep embrasure in the wall into the domed gallery, each one departing into his cell and returning clothed in a white garment and white veil. paul was about to withdraw, but hazael said to him: none shares this repast with us; it is against the rule; but so many of the rules of the brethren have been set aside in these later days that, with the consent of all, i will break another rule and ask paul of tarsus to sit with us though he be not of our brotherhood, for is he not our brother in the love of god, which he has preached travelling over sea and land with it for ever in his mouth for the last twenty years. preaching, paul answered, the glad tidings of the resurrection, believing myself to have been bidden by the same will of god that called me hither and saved me from death many times that i might continue to be the humble instrument of his will. i will tell you that i was behoven to preach in jericho--called out of myself--god knowing well they would not hear me and would drive me into the mountains and turn my feet by night to this place. be it so, paul, thou shalt tell thy story, the president answered, and the cook put a plate of lentils before the brethren and the baker set by each plate a loaf of bread, and everyone waited till the grace had been repeated before he tasted food. the peace, concord and good will; all that he had recommended in his epistles; paul saw around him, and he looked forward to teaching the essenes of the approaching end of the world, convinced that god in his great justice would not allow him, paul, to leave palestine without every worthy servant hearing the truth. so he was impatient to make an end of the food before him, for the sustenance of the body was of little importance to him, its only use being to bear the spirit and to fortify it. he took counsel therefore with himself while eating as to the story he should tell, and his mind was ready with it when the president said: paul, our meal is finished now; we would hear thee. chap. xxxiv. yesterday the jews would have thrown me into the jordan or stoned me together with timothy, my son in the faith, who instead of following me round the hill shoulder kept straight on for cæsarea, where i pray that i may find him. these things you know of me, for three of the brethren were on that balcony yesternight when, upheld by the will of god, my feet were kept fast in the path that runs round this ravine. the jews had abandoned their hunt when i arrived at your door, awakening fear in brother saddoc's heart that i was a robber or the head of some band of robbers. such thoughts must have disturbed his mind when he saw me, and they were not driven off when i declared myself a prisoner to the romans; for he besought me to depart lest my presence should bring all here within the grip of the roman power. a hard and ruthless power it may be, but less bitter than the power which the jews crave from the romans to compel all to follow not the law alone, but the traditions that have grown about the law. but you brethren who send no fat rams to the temple for sacrifice, but worship god out of your own hearts, will have pity for me who have been persecuted by the jews of jerusalem (who in their own eyes are the only jews) for no reason but that i preach the death and the resurrection from the dead of our lord jesus christ, whose apostle i am, being so made by himself when he spoke to me out of the clouds on the road to damascus. of this great wonder you shall hear in good time, but before beginning the story you have asked me to relate i would before all calm brother saddoc's fears: i am no prisoner as he imagines me to be, but am under the law to return to cæsarea, having appealed to cæsar as was my right to do, being a roman citizen long persecuted by the jews; and i would thank you for the blankets i enjoyed last night and for the bread i have broken with you. also for the promise that i have that one of you shall at nightfall put me on the way to cæsarea and accompany me part of the way, so that i may not fall into the hands of my enemies the jews, of jerusalem, but shall reach cæsarea to take ship for rome. none of you need fear anything; you have my assurances; i am here by the permission of the noble festus. and now that you have learnt from me the hazard that cast me among you i will tell you that i am a jew like yourselves: one born in tarsus, a great city of cilicia; a roman citizen as you have heard from me, a privilege which was not bought by me for a great sum of money, nor by any act of mine, but inherited from my father, a hebrew like yourselves, and descended from the stock of abraham like yourselves. and by trade a weaver of that cloth of which tents are made; for my father gave me that trade, for which i thank him, for by it i have earned my living these many years, in various countries and cities. at an early age i was a skilful hand at the loom, and at the same time learned in the scriptures, and my father, seeing a rabbi in me, sent me to jerusalem, and while i was taught the law i remember hearing of the baptist, and the priests of the temple muttering against him, but they were afraid to send men against him, for he was in great favour with the people. afterwards i returned to tarsus, where i worked daily at my loom until tidings came to that city that a disciple of john was preaching the destruction of the law, saying that he could destroy the temple and build it up again in three days. we spoke under our breaths in tarsus of this man, hardly able to believe that anyone could be so blasphemous and reprobate, and when we heard of his death upon a cross we were overjoyed and thought the pharisees had done well; for we were full of zeal for the traditions and the ancient glory of our people. we believed then that heresy and blasphemy were at an end, and when news came of one stephen, who had revived all the stories that jesus told, that the end of the world was nigh and that the temple could be destroyed and built up again, i laid my loom aside and started for jerusalem in great anger to join with those who would root out the nazarenes: we are now known as christians, the name given to us at antioch. i was telling that i laid aside my loom in tarsus and set out for jerusalem to aid in rooting out the sect that i held to be blasphemous and pernicious. now on the day of my arrival in that city, while coming from the temple i saw three men hurrying by, one whose face was white as the dead, with a small crowd following; and everyone saying: not here, not here! and as they spoke stones were being gathered, and i knew that they were for stoning the man they had with them, one stephen, they said, who had been teaching in the temple that jesus was born and died and raised from the dead, and that since his death the law is of no account. so did i gather news and with it abhorrence, and followed them till they came to an angle, at which they said: this corner will do. stephen was thrown into it, and stones of all kinds were heaped upon him till one spattered his brains along the wall, after which the crowd muttered, we shall have no more of them. that day i was of the crowd, and the stone that spattered the brains of stephen along the wall seemed to me to have been well cast; i hated those who spoke against the law of our fathers, which i held in reverence, as essential and to be practised for all time; and the mild steadfastness in their faces, and the great love that shone in their eyes when the name of our lord jesus christ was mentioned, instead of persuading me that i might be persecuting saints, exasperated me to further misdeeds. i became foremost in these persecutions, and informed by spies of the names of the saints, i made search in their houses at the head of armed agents and dragged them into the synagogue, compelling them to renounce the truth that the messiah had come which had been promised in the scriptures. nor was i satisfied when the last nazarene had been rooted out of jerusalem, but cast my eyes forward to other towns, into which the saints might have fled, and, hearing that many were in damascus, i got letters from the chief priests and started forth in a fume of rage which i strove to blow up with the threats of what we would put the saints to when we reached damascus. but while the threats were on my lips there was in my heart a mighty questioning, from which i did not seem to escape, perhaps because i had not thrown a stone but stood by an approving spectator merely. i know not how it was, but as we forded the jordan the cruelties that i had been guilty of, the inquisitions, the beatings with rods, the imprisonment--all these things rose up in my mind, a terrible troop of phantoms. gentle faces and words of forgiveness floated past me one night as we lay encamped in a great quarry, and i asked myself again if these saints were what they seemed to be; and soon after the thought crossed my mind that if the nazarenes were the saints that they seemed to be, bearing their flogging and imprisonments with fortitude, without complaint, it was of persecuting god i was guilty, since all goodness comes from god. i had asked for letters from hanan, the high priest, that would give me the right to arrest all ill thinkers, and to lead them back in chains to jerusalem, and these letters seemed to take fire in my bosom, and when we came in view of the town, and saw the roofs between the trees, i heard a voice crying to me: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks; and trembling i fell forward, my face upon the ground, and the lord said: i am jesus whom thou persecutest. arise, and go into the city and it shall be told to thee what thou must do; by these words appointing me his apostle and establishing my rights above those of peter or john or james or any of the twelve who walked with him whilst he lived as a man in galilee. my followers, who were merely stricken, but not blinded as i was, took me by the arm and led me into damascus, where i abode as a blind man till ananias laid his hands upon me and the scales fell from my eyes, and i cried out for baptism, and having received baptism, which is spiritual strength, and taken food, which is bodily, i went up to the synagogue to preach that jesus is the son of god, and continued till the jews in that city rose up against me and would have killed me if i had not escaped by night, let down from the wall in a basket. from damascus i went into arabia, and did not go up to jerusalem for three years to confer with the apostles, nor was there need that i should do so, for had i not received my apostleship by direct revelation? but after three years i went thither, hearing that the persecutions had ceased, and that some of those whom i had persecuted had returned. the brother of jesus, james, had come down from galilee and as a holy man was a great power in jerusalem. his prayers were valued, and his appearance excited pity and belief that god would hearken to him when he knelt, for he was naked but for a coarse cloth hanging from his neck to his ankles. of water and cleanliness he knew naught, and his beard and hair grew as the weeds grow in the fields. peter, too, was in jerusalem, and come into a great girth since the toil of his craft, as a fisher, had been abandoned, as it had to be, for, as ye know, it is dry desert about jerusalem, without lakes or streams. but he lived there better than he had ever lived before, by talking of our lord jesus christ, of whom it was no longer a danger to talk, for james had made his brother acceptable in jerusalem by lopping from him all that was jesus, making him according to his own image; with these christians he no longer stood up as an opponent of the law, but as one who believed in it, who had said: i come not to abolish the law but to confirm it. so did his brother james interpret jesus to me who had heard jesus speak out of the spirit, and when i answered that he had said too that he had come to abolish the law, james answered only that his brother had said many things and that some were not as wise as others. peter, who was called upon to testify that jesus wished the jews to remain jews, and that circumcision and all the observances were needed, answered that he did not know which was the truth, jesus not having spoken plainly on these matters, and neither one nor the other seemed to understand that it was of no avail that jesus should have been born, should have died and been raised from the dead by his father if the law were to prevail unchanged for evermore. to james and to peter jesus was a prophet, but no more than the prophets, and unable to understand either peter or jesus, i returned to tarsus broken-hearted, for there did not seem to be on earth a true christian but myself, and i knew not whom to preach to, gentiles or jews. only of one thing was i sure, that the lord jesus christ had spoken to me out of the clouds and ordained me his apostle, but he had not pointed out the way, and i mourned that i had gone up to jerusalem, and abode in tarsus disheartened, resuming my loom, sitting at it from daylight till dark, waiting for some new sign to be given me, for i did not lose hope altogether, but, knowing well that the ways of providence are not immediate, waited in patience or in such patience as i might possess myself. barnabas i had forgotten, and he was forgotten when i said that i had met none in jerusalem that could be said to be a follower of the master. it was barnabas who brought me to james, the brother of the lord, and to peter, and told them that though i had persecuted i was now zealous, and had preached in many synagogues that christ jesus had died and been raised from the dead. but whether they feared me as a spy, one who would betray them, or whether it was that our minds were divided upon many things, i know not, but barnabas could not persuade them, and, as i have said, i left jerusalem and returned to tarsus, and resumed my trade, until barnabas, who had been sent to antioch to meet some disciples, said to them, but there is one at tarsus who has preached the life and death of our lord jesus christ and brought many to believe in him. so they said to him: go to tarsus for this man and bring him hither. and when they had seen and conferred with me and knew what sort of man i was, barnabas said, with your permission and your authority, paul and i will start together for cyprus, for that is my country, and my friends there will believe us when we tell them that jesus was raised from the dead and was seen by many: first by martha and mary, the sisters of lazarus, and afterwards by peter and by the apostles and many others. as the disciples were willing that we should go to preach the gospel in cyprus, we went thither furnished with letters, and received a kindly welcome from everybody, as it had been foretold by barnabas, and many heard the gospel, and if my stay among you essenes could be prolonged beyond this evening and for several days i could tell you stories of a great magician and how he was confuted by me by the grace of god working through me, but as everything cannot be told in the first telling i will pass from cyprus back to antioch, where we rested awhile, so that we might tell the brethren of the great joy with which the faith had been received in cyprus, of the churches we founded and our promise to the cyprians to return to them. and so joyful were the brethren in antioch at our success that i said to barnabas: let us not tarry here, but go on into galatia. we set out, accompanied by john mark, barnabas' cousin, but he left us at perga, being afraid, and for his lack of courage i was unable to forgive him, thereby estranging myself later on from barnabas, a god-fearing man. but to tell you what happened at lystra. we found the people there ready to listen to the faith, and it was given to me to set a cripple that had never walked in his life straight upon his feet, and as sturdily as any. the people cried out at this wonder, the gods have come down to us, and when the rumour reached the high priest that the gods had come to their city, he drove out two oxen, garlanded, and would have sacrificed them in our honour, but we tore our garments, saying, we are men like yourselves and have come to preach that you should turn from vanities and false gods and worship the one true living god, who created the earth, and all the firmament. the people heard us and promised to abjure their idolatries, and would have abjured them for ever if the jews from the neighbouring cities had not heard of our preaching and had not gathered together and denounced us in lystra, where there were no jews, or very few. nor were they content with denouncing us, but on a convenient occasion dragged barnabas and myself outside the town, stoned us and left us for dead, for we, knowing that god required us, feigned death, thereby deceiving them and escaping death we returned to the town by night and left it next day for derbe. now, essenes, this story that i tell of what happened to us at lystra has been told with some care by me, for it is significant of what has happened to me for twenty years, since the day, as you have heard, when the lord jesus himself spoke to me out of the clouds and appointed me to preach the gospel he had given unto me, which, upheld by him, i have preached faithfully, followed wherever i went by persecution from jews determined to undo my work. but undeterred by stones and threats, we returned to lystra and preached there again, and in perga and attalia, from thence we sailed to antioch, and there were great rejoicings in saigon street, as we sat in the doorways telling of the churches that we founded in galatia, and how we flung open the door of truth to the pagans, and how many had passed through. but some came from jerusalem preaching that the uncircumcised could not hope for salvation, and that there could be no conversion unless the law be observed, and the first observance of the law, they said, is circumcision. we answered them as is our wont that it is no longer by observances of the law but by grace, through our lord jesus christ, that men may be saved; and we being unable to yield to them or they to us, it was resolved that barnabas and titus, a gentile that we brought over to the faith, should go to jerusalem. on the way thither we preached that the saviour promised to the jews had come, and been raised from the dead, and the samaritans hearkened and were converted in great numbers, and the news of these conversions preceding us the joy among the brethren was very great, for you, who know the scriptures, need not be told that the conversion of the gentiles has been foretold; nor was it till we began to talk about the abrogation of the law that james and the followers of james rose up against us. we wondered, and said to each other: were ever two brothers as unlike as these? though myself had never seen the lord in the flesh, i knew of him from peter, and we whispered together with our eyes fixed on the long, lean man whose knees were reported callous from kneeling in the temple praying that god might not yet awhile destroy the world. it was sufficient, so it was said, for him to hold up his hand to perform miracles, and we came to dislike him and to remember that he had always looked upon jesus our lord with suspicion during his lifetime. why then, we asked, should he come into power derived from his brother's glory? he seemed to be less likely than any other jew to understand the new truth born into the world. so i turned from him to peter, in whom i thought to find an advocate, knowing him to be one with us in this, saying that it were vain to ask the gentiles to accept a yoke which the hebrews themselves had been unable to bear; but peter was still the timid man that he had ever been, and myself being of small wit in large and violent assemblies said to him: thou and i and james will consult together in private at the end of this uproar. but james could not come to my reason, saying always that the gentiles must become jews before they became christians; and remembering very well all the trouble and vexation the demand for the circumcision of titus had put upon me (to which i consented, for with a jew i am a jew so that i may gain them), and how he had submitted himself lest he should be a stumbling-block, i said to timothy, my own son in the faith, thy mother and grandmother were hearers of the law, and he answered, let me be a jew externally, and myself took and circumcised. a good accommodation peter thought this to be, and i said to peter, henceforth for thee the circumcised and for me the uncircumcised. against which peter and james had nothing to say, for it seemed to them that the uncircumcised were one thing in jerusalem and another thing beyond jerusalem. but i was glad thus to come to terms with them, thinking thereby to obtain from them the confirmation of my apostleship, though there was no need for any such, as i have always held, it having teen bestowed upon me by our lord jesus christ himself; and holding it to be of little account that they had known our lord jesus in the flesh, i said to their faces, it were better to have known him in the spirit, thereby darkening them. it might have been better to have held back the words. myself and barnabas and titus returned to antioch and it was some days after that i said to barnabas: let us go again into the cities in which we have preached and see if the brethren abide in our teaching and how they do with it. but barnabas would bring john mark with him, he who had left us before in perga from cowardice of soul. therefore i chose silas and departed. he was our warrant that we were one with the church of jerusalem, which was true inasmuch as we were willing to yield all but essential things so that everybody, jews and gentiles, might be brought into communion with jesus christ. we went together to lystra and mysia, preaching in all these towns, and the brethren were confirmed in their faith in us, and leaving them we were about to set out for bithynia and would have gone thither had we not been warned one night by the holy breath to go back, and instead we went to troas, where one night a vision came to me in my sleep: a man stood before me at the foot of my bed, a macedonian i knew him to be, by his dress and speech, for he spoke not the broken greek that i speak, but pure greek, the greek that mathias speaks, and he told me that we were to go over into macedonia. to tell of all the countries we visited and the towns in which we preached, and the many that were received into the faith, would be a story that would carry us through the night and into the next day, for it would be the story of my life, and every life is long when it is put into words; nor would the story be profitable unto you in any great measure, though it be full of various incidents. but i am behoven to tell that wherever we went the persecution that began in lystra followed us. as soon as the jews heard of our conversions they assembled either to assault us or to lay complaints before the roman magistrates, as they did at philippi, the chief city of macedonia. among my miracles was the conversion of a slave, a pythonist, a teller of fortunes, a caster of horoscopes, who brought her master good money by her divinations, and seeing that he would profit thereby no longer, he drew myself and silas into the market-place and calling for help of others had us brought before the rulers, and the pleading of the man was, and he was supported by others, that we taught many things that it was not lawful of them, being jews, to hearken to, and the magistrates, wishing to please the multitude, commanded us to be beaten, and when many stripes had been laid on us we were cast into prison, and the jailer being charged to keep us in safety thrust our feet into the stocks. myself and silas prayed and sang praises unto god despite our wounds, and as if in response there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken and all the doors opened, on seeing which the keeper of the prison drew his sword and would have fallen upon it, believing that the prisoners had fled, if i had not cried to him in a loud voice: there is no reason to kill thyself, for thy charges are here. what may i do to be saved? he said, being greatly astonished at the miracle, and we answered: believe in the lord jesus christ. thereupon he invited us into his house and set food before us, and he was baptized and bidden to have no fear, for we confided to him that we were romans, and that the magistrates would tremble when they heard that they had ordered a citizen of rome to be beaten and him uncondemned. why, he asked, did ye not declare yourselves to be romans? because, we answered, we were minded to suffer for our lord jesus christ's son, at which he wondered and gave thanks. he was baptized by us, and when he had carried the news of their mistake to the ears of the magistrates they sent sergeants saying that we were to be allowed to go. but we refused to leave the prison, saying, we are romans and have been beaten uncondemned. let the magistrates come to fetch us. which message being taken to them they came beseeching us to go, and not to injure them, for they had done wrong unwittingly, and taking pity of them for the sake of our lord jesus christ we passed into thessalonica, where i preached in the synagogues for three sabbaths and reasoned with the jews, showing them passages in the scriptures confirming all that we said to them about the christ that had suffered and been raised from the dead. some believed, and others assaulted the house of jason, in which we were living, and the romans were perplexed to know how to keep order, for wherever we went there were stirs and quarrels among the jews, the fault being with them and not with us. in corinth too the jews pleaded against us before the roman magistrates and---- chap. xxxv. a sudden dryness in paul's throat prevented him from finishing his sentence, and he asked for a cup of water, and having drained it he put down the cup and said, looking round, i was speaking to you about corinth. the moment seemed a favourable one to mathias to ask a question. how was it, he said, that you passed on to corinth without stopping at athens? i made stay at athens, paul answered, and i thank you, mathias, for having reminded me of athens, for the current of my discourse had borne me past that city, so eager was i to tell of the persecutions of the jews. we are all jews here! i speak only of the hierosolymites who understand only that the law has been revealed, and we have only to follow it; though, indeed, some of them cannot tell us why we should follow any law, since they do not believe in any life except the sad life we lead on the surface of this earth. but you asked me, mathias, about athens. a city of graven images and statues and altars to gods. on raising my eyes i always saw their marble deities--effigies, they said, of all the spirits of the earth and sea and the clouds above the earth and the heavens beyond the clouds. whereupon i answered that these statues that they had carved with their hands could in no wise resemble any gods even if the gods had existence outside of their images, for none sees god. moses heard god on mount sinai, but he saw only the hinderparts; which is an allegory, for there are two covenants, and i come to reveal---- whereat they were much amused and said: if moses saw the hinderparts why should we not see the faces, for our eyes see beauty, whereas the hebrews see but the backside? at which i showed no anger, for they were not jews, but strove, as it is my custom, to be all things to all men. the jews require a miracle, the greeks demand reason, and therefore i asked them why they set up altars to the unknowable god. and they said: paul, thou readest our language as badly as thou speakest it; we have inscriptions "to unknown gods" but not to the unknowable god. didst go to school at tarsus, yet canst not tell the plural from the singular? to which i answered: then you are so religious-minded that you would not offend any god whose name you might not have heard, and so favour him by the inscription to an unknown god? but some of your philosophers, athenians, call god unknowable. i knew this before i learnt how superstitious ye are. ye are all alike ignorant since god left you to your sins for your idolatry; god, unknown or unknowable, has been made manifest to us by our lord jesus christ, who was born like us all for a purpose, his death, which was to save the world from its sins, whereupon, greedy for a story, they began to listen to me, and i had their attention till i came to these words--"and was raised by his father from the dead." paul, they answered, we will listen another day to the rest of this story of thy new divinity. a frivolous people, mathias, living in a city of statues in the air, and in the streets below a city of men that seek after reason, and would explain all things in the heavens above and the earth beneath by their reason, and only willing to listen to the story of a miracle because miracles amuse them. a race much given to enjoyment, like women, mathias, and among their mountains they are not a different race from what they are in the city, but given to milking goats and dancing in the shade to the sounds of a pipe, and dreaming over the past glories of athens, that are dust to-day though yesterday they were realities, a light race that will be soon forgotten, and convinced of their transience i departed for corinth, a city of fencing masters, merchants, slaves, courtesans, yet a city more willing to hearken to the truth than the light athenians, perhaps because it has much commerce and is not slothful in business, a city wherein i fortuned upon a pious twain, aquila and priscilla, of our faith, and of the same trade as myself, wherefore we set up our looms together in one house and sold the cloths as we weaved them, getting our living thereby and never costing the faithful anything, which was just pride, and mine always, for i have travelled the world over gaining a living with my own hands, never taking money from anybody, though it has been offered to me in plenty by the devout, thinking it better to be under no obligation, for such destroys independence.... once only was this rule broken by me. in macedonia, a dyer of purple---- but lydia's story concerns ye not, therefore i will leave her story untold and return to corinth, to priscilla and aquila, weavers like myself, with whom i worked for eighteen months, and more than that; preaching the death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ to all who would hear us when our daily work was done, until the same fate befell us--the intervention of the jews, who sought to embroil us, as beforetimes, with the romans. we preached in the synagogues on the sabbath and i upheld the faith i had come to preach: that the messiah promised to the jews had lived and had died for us. whereupon there was a great uproar among the jews, who would not believe, and so i tore my garments and said: then i will go forth to the gentiles, and find believers in our lord jesus christ, and leave you who were elected by god as his chosen people, who were his by adoption, a privilege conferred upon you throughout the centuries, the race out of whom came the patriarchs, and jesus christ himself in the flesh. i will leave you, for you are not worthy and will perish as all flesh perishes; will drift into nothingness, and be scattered even as the dust of the roads is scattered by the winds. my heart is broken for you, but since ye will it so, let it be so. so did i speak, but my heart is often tenderer than my words, and i strove again to be reconciled with the jews, and abode in corinth proving their folly to them by the scriptures till again they sought to rid themselves of me by means of the romans, saying before gallic: this fellow persuadeth men to worship god contrary to the law. but gallic, understanding fully that his judgment seat had not been set up for the settling of disputes of the spirit, but of the things of this world, drove the jews out of his court, and there was an uproar and sosthenes, a god-fearing man, was beaten. yet for the sake of the race of the patriarchs, the chosen people of god, i abode in corinth till the close of the second year, when news reached me of the many dissensions that had arisen in jerusalem. the old questions always stirring: whether the gentiles should be admitted without circumcision and if the observances of the law were sufficient; if salvation could be obtained by works without faith, and many other questions that i thought had long been decided; in the hope of putting an end to these discussions, which could only end in schism, i bade the brethren good-bye on the wharf, and, shaving my head as a sign of my vow to keep the feast of pentecost, i set sail with aquila and priscilla for syria and left them at ephesus, though there were many christians there who prayed me to remain and speak to them; but pointing to my shaved head, i said, my vow! and went down to jerusalem and kept the feast of pentecost and distributed money among the poor, which had been given to me by the churches founded by me in macedonia, in greece and syria. i hoped to escape from discussion with james, the brother of the lord, for of what good could it be to discuss once again things on which it is our nature to think differently, but upheld by hope that the jews might be numbered among the faithful at the last day i told him that the jews were the root of the olive-trees whose branches had been cut, and had received grafts, but let not the grafts, i said, indulge in vainglory; it is not the branches that bear the root, but the root that bears the branches. and many other things of this sort did i say, wishing to be in all things conciliatory; to be, as usual, all things to all men; but james, the brother of the lord, answered that jesus had not come to abrogate the law but to confirm it, which was not true, for the law stood in no need of confirmation. james could do that as well as his brother and better, and peter not being there to bear witness of the teaching of jesus (he too had gone forth upon a mission with john mark as an interpreter, for peter cannot speak greek), silas, who was with me, was won over by james, and easily, for silas was originally of the church of jerusalem; as i have already told you, he had been sent with us to antioch. but i would not weary you with such small matters as silas' desertion of me to join peter, who was preaching in syria, and whose doctrine he said was nearer to jesus' than mine, it having been given to him by jesus, whom he had known in the flesh. so be it, i said to silas, and went without him to antioch, a city dear to me for that it was there the word christian was spoken for the first time; my return thither was fortunate, for there i met barnabas, whom it was pleasant after these many years to meet again, all memory of our dissension was forgotten, which was no great matter, it having arisen out of no deeper cause than my refusal to travel with john mark, his cousin. titus was there too, and we had much to tell each other of our travels and the conversions we had made, and all was joy amongst us; and our joy was increased by peter, who appeared amongst us, bringing silas with him, who must have been grieved though he said nothing to me of it; but who must have seen that the law to which he was attached was forgotten at antioch; not by us only, but by his new leader, peter, who mixed like ourselves with the gentiles and did not refuse to eat with them. a moment indeed of great joy this was, but it did not last longer than many other moments of the same kind with which my life has been sprinkled. james, the brother of the lord, sent up agents to antioch with letters signed by himself. they had come to tell the people that i had not authority to teach, and could not be considered by anybody as a true apostle, for i had not known the christ, it was said: and when i answered them that my authority came straight from him, they began to make little of my revelation, saying: even if thou didst hear the christ on the road to damascus, as thou sayest, it was but for a few minutes, and he couldn't teach thee all his doctrine in a few minutes. a year or more would be required. thou wast deceived. no vision can be taken as of equal evidence to the senses. those that we see in a vision may be but the evil spirits that, if it were possible, would deceive the very elect. if we question an apparition it answers anything that we wish. the spectre shines for an instant and disappears quickly before one has time to put further questions; the thoughts of the dreamer are not under his control. to see the son of god outside of the natural flesh is impossible. even an angel wishing to be seen has to clothe himself in flesh. nor were they satisfied with such sayings as these, but mentioned the vision of infidels and evil livers, and to support their argument thus quoted scripture, proving that god sent visions when he was irritated. as in numbers, murmured eleazar. and likewise in exodus, said manahem, and he turned over the quires before him. these emissaries and agents asked me how it was that even if jesus had appeared to me he could not have instructed me wrongly. if i wished to prove the truth of my vision it were better for me to accept the teaching of the apostles, who had received it directly from him; to which i made answer: my revelation was not from jesus when he lived in the flesh, but from the spiritual jesus; the spirit descended out of heaven to instruct me, and if god has created us, which none will deny, he has created our souls wherewith to know him, and he needs not the authority of other apostles who speak as men, falling into the errors that men must fall into when they speak, for every man's truth is made known unto him by god. one day we came out of a house heated with argument, and as we loitered by the pavement's edge regretting we had not said certain things whereby we might have confuted each other, we came upon peter in a public inn, eating and drinking with the uncircumcised, whereupon the hierosolymites said we see now what ye are, peter, a jew that eats with gentiles and of unclean meats. peter did not withstand them and say as he should have done: how is it that you call them that god has made unclean? but being a timid man and anxious always to avoid schism, he excused himself and withdrew, and was followed by barnabas and silas. it was for this that i withstood him before all in the assembly, reproaching him for his inconsequences, saying to him: if thou that art a jew livest according to the manner of gentiles, how is it that thou wouldst compel the gentiles to live as the jews do? and until this man came thou wert one with us, saying as we say, that none is justified by conforming to the law and practising it, but by the faith in jesus christ. but if we seek justification in christ, and in him alone, and yet are found to be sinners, of what help is christ then to us? is he a minister of sinners? god forbid! by his life and death he abolished the law, whereby we might live in faith in christ, for the law stands between us and christ. i say unto thee, peter, that if christ was crucified for me i live in christ; no longer my own life of the flesh, but the spiritual life that christ has given me. i say unto thee likewise, that if we care only to know christ through the law then christ has died in vain. to which peter answered nothing, but went his way, as is his custom, in silence, and my grief was great; for i could see that the many were shocked, and wondered at our violence, and could not have said else than that we were divided among ourselves, though they said it under their breath. nor did peace come till the emissaries of james left us to go to the churches i had founded in galatia and undo the work i had done there. whereupon i collected all my thoughts for an epistle that would comfort those, and enable them to resist, saying: though an angel from heaven tell you a different doctrine from the one that i have taught you, listen not to him. copies of this letter were sent to the churches that i had founded, but the sending of the letter did not calm my anger. an angry soul i have been since god first separated me from my mother's womb, gaining something on one side and losing on the other side; but we make not ourselves; god makes us. and there is a jealousy still within me; i know it and have suffered from it, and never did it cause me greater suffering than in those days in antioch. my jealousy was like a hungry animal, gnawing at my ribs till, unable to bear it any longer, and seeing in visions all that i had raised pulled down, i started with titus and travelled all over galatia and phrygia to bithynia, along the shores of pontus, and returned back again, informing the kindly, docile souls, who loved us in their weakness, of lystra, derbe and other towns, setting up my loom and preaching every evening the coming of the lord, whither i went in macedonia, thessalonica, iconium, laodicea, not forgetful of colossae for two years or more (i have forgotten), and then hearing that apollos, an alexandrian jew of great learning, our most notable convert, of whom i have not spoken, for there is no time to speak of everything, had taken ship at corinth for ephesus, i returned the way i had come along the coast to meet him there, likewise many good friends, aquila and priscilla, who were working at their looms, gathering a faithful circle about them. we set up shop again as we had done at corinth, aquila, priscilla and myself worked at our looms all day, and preached in the evening in and about the city, and on the sabbath in the synagogue. chap. xxxvi. in ephesus stands a temple said to be one of the wonders of the world, the temple of diana; pilgrims come to it from all countries, and buy statues of the goddess to set upon their tables (little silver statues), and as the making of these is the principal industry in that city, the silversmiths raised cries against me in the theatre, where once i stood up to address the people. great is diana, goddess of the ephesians! they cried out, and would have thrown me to the beasts. yea, i fought with the beasts, for they were nothing else, and had not aquila and priscilla risked their lives to save me i should have perished that day. that day or another day; it matters not; we all perish sooner or later. my life has never been my concern, but god's, a thing upheld by god for so many years that i shun danger no longer. it has even come to pass that i am lonely in security, withdrawn from god in houses, and safe in his arms when clinging to a spar in the dark sea. god and our lord jesus christ, his beloved son, have walked on either side of me in mountain passes where robbers lie in wait. we are nearer to god in hunger and thirst than when the mouth is full. in fatigue rather than in rest, and to know oneself to be god's servant is good cheer for the traveller, better than the lights of the inn showing over the horizon, for false brethren may await him in the inn, some that will hale him before rulers, but if he knows that he is god's servant he will be secure in his own heart, where alone security matters. it may have been my sin to weary too often at the length of the journey, and to cry out to the lord jesus to make an end of it. it may have been that i was often too eager to meet my death and to receive the reward of all my labour, but who shall judge me? our lord jesus christ is the only judge and his reign shall endure over this world till the last man has vanished into death. and when the last man has perished? mathias asked. paul answered: jesus shall pass into his father's keeping and again there shall be but one god. but, paul, mathias rejoined, if i understand thee rightly, there are now two gods, and our hope is that in time to come the twain may turn to one. paul was about to answer, but his lips were parched, and he raised the cup of water to his lips, and when he had drunk he was about to answer mathias, but hazael said: mathias, we are all eager to hear the story of paul's own life. there will be time afterwards to discuss his doctrine. mathias waved his hand, a sign that paul might continue his story, which he did. from ephesus we returned to corinth and to macedonia, and dreams began to take hold on us of longer journeys than any we had yet undertaken; we dreamed of rome, and then of spain, for all should hear the joyful tidings that there is salvation for all, and we live in dread that the judgment may come upon the world before the distant countries have heard that the christ has been born and has died and been raised by his father from the dead, thereby abolishing the law, which was no longer needed, faith in christ being sufficient. but if the judgment comes before all men have heard of the christ, then is god unjust. god forbid: our sloth and tardy feet are responsible. our fear is for the jews that have closed their ears to the truth, and, therefore, we were warned not to leave palestine without a last effort to save them. once more my soul said unto me: paul, go to jerusalem, for the last time enter the temple and comply with all the law, for these things matter not whether they be done or left undone; all that matters is that jerusalem should accept jesus. be all things, once more, to all men. and it was after this command, given to me in the silence of the night, that i took leave of the brethren at ephesus, saying to them: brethren, you knew from the first day that i came unto asia what manner of man had come among you, directing you only towards repentance towards god, and faith in our lord jesus christ. i would indeed remember all i said on that occasion, for i spoke well, the holy ghost being upon me, putting the very words of the leave-taking into my mouth that i should speak, words which i cannot find again, but which were written by me afterwards, as i wished them to be preserved for the use of the faithful. they shall be sent to you. but in this moment i'm too tired to remember them, and will continue my story, telling how when the sails of the ship were lifted we came with a straight course unto coos, and the day following unto rhodes, and thence patara, and finding a ship about to start for phoenicia, we went aboard and set forth again. we left cyprus on the left, and were landed at tyre, where there were many disciples who said to me that i must not go to jerusalem. we kneeled on the shore and prayed; and when we had taken leave of one another, and i had said: my face you shall see no more, we took ship, and they returned home. next day we were at cæsarea and went to the house of philip the apostle (him of many daughters, and all prophetesses), and lived with him, tarrying till there came from judea agabus, who, when he saw me, took my girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said: so at jerusalem shall the jews bind him that owns this girdle, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. at which all my disciples there wept, and i said: why do ye weep? for your weeping breaks my heart. think not of what this man has said, even if he has spoken the truth, for i am ready to die for the name of the lord jesus christ. i comforted them and went up to jerusalem, and was received by the brethren. james and all the elders were present, and after having heard from me how widely the name of our lord jesus christ had been made known to the gentiles and to the jews that lived among the gentiles, they answered: brother, there are a great many believers among the jews, and all here are ardent followers of the law, and these have heard that thou teachest to the jews in exile that moses may be forsaken, and that they need not circumcise their children and may set aside our customs. now, paul, they asked, what favour dost thou expect from us if these things be as they have been reported to us? and being sure within myself that it was not counsel they sought from me, but words out of my own mouth whereby they might stir up the people against me, i answered only: upon whose testimony do ye say these things? there are, they said, four holy men, who are under a vow; go with them and purify thyself and pay the money they need for the shaving of their heads and all other expenses. whereupon i was much angered, seeing the snare that they were laying for me, but, as i have told you, my rule is always to be all things to all men, and remembering that though jesus christ our lord has set us free from the law, it would be better to forgo this liberty than to scandalise a brother, i said: i will do, brethren, as you ask, and went with the four poor men to the temple and remained there with them for five days, abstaining from wine, and cutting off--well, there was little hair for me to cut off, but what there was i cut off. all went well during the first days, but the emissaries and agents of james, seeing that my devotion in the temple might win over the jews to me, laid another snare, and i was accused of having held converse with trophimus, an uncircumcised greek, in the street the day of my arrival in jerusalem, and this not being a sufficient offence to justify them in stoning me as they had stoned stephen before my eyes, it was said that i had brought him into the temple, and the agents of the priests came on the fifth day to drag me out and kill me in some convenient byway, the sacristans closing the doors of the temple behind me. we will make an end of this mischief, the hirelings said, and began to look around for stones wherewith to spatter out my brains; they cast off their garments and threw dust into the air, and i should have met my death if the noise had been any less, but it was even greater than the day stephen died, and the roman guard came upon the people and drew me out of their hands, saying: what is the meaning of this? the jews could not tell them so great was their anger. we'll take him to the castle, the centurion said, and the crowd followed, pressing upon us and casting stones at me till the soldiers had perforce to draw their swords so as to get me to the castle alive. we were thrown hither and thither, and the violence of the crowd at the foot of the stairs and the pressure obliged the soldiers to carry me up the steps in their arms. so i turned to the chief captain, who was trying in vain to calm the rioters, and said to him in greek: may i speak to them? so thou canst speak greek? he answered, surprised, and gave me leave to speak, and i said: hebrews, listen to a hebrew like yourselves, and i told of the vision on the road to damascus, to which they listened, but as soon as the tale was over they cried: remove him from this world, he is not fit to live. at these words the centurion, who was anxious to appease the people, signed to his apparitors to seize me, and before i had time to make myself heard these strapped me to the whipping-post, my hands above me. but is it lawful to scourge a roman and he uncondemned? i said to the centurion next to me. whereupon the lictors withdrew and the centurion turned to the chief captain, who looked me up and down, for, as you see, my appearance did not command respect. is it true that thou'rt a roman citizen? he asked, and i answered, yes, and he was astonished, for he had paid a great deal of money for the title. but i was born free, i answered him, confusing and perplexing him and putting a great fear in his heart that belike his office might be taken from him for having tied a roman citizen to the whipping-post, merely that and nothing more. it was to gain my favour that he promised to summon a council (the sanhedrin), and on the day appointed, ordering my chains to be unlocked, introduced me to the jews as a free man, saying he would remain to hear the discussion. brothers, i have lived till to-day in good conscience before god. on that the high priest ordered those that stood by him to strike me on the face. god shall strike thee, thou whited wall, i answered him, for thou sittest to judge me according to the law, and breaking the law thou orderest me to be struck. those that were present said: so that is how thou revilest the high priest. i did not know he was the high priest, i answered: if i had i should not have spoken as i spoke, for is it not written, thou must not insult the chief of thy people? as i spoke these words, i saw that the assembly was divided into two parts, that each part was inspired by different ideas, and that one part, the sadducees, were determined upon my death. therefore my words were, brothers, i am a pharisee and the son of a pharisee, do you know of what they accuse me? of saying that the dead will be raised out of their graves for judgment, a thing which you all believe. so did i divide my enemies, persuading the pharisees thereby to defend me, and they, believing the story i told of my vision on the road to damascus, said: let us hear nothing against him, a spirit or angel may have spoken to him. but the sadducees were the stronger party, and dividing the pharisees with their arms many rushed to kill me, and they would have done this if the captain of the guard had not sent soldiers to my assistance, who with difficulty rescued me from the jews and brought me back to the castle. i was sorry for the captain of the guard, who came to me and said: i know not how this will end or what to do with thee, and i answered him: there are knots in every business, and the clever man unties them, and thou'lt find a way of untying this knot in thy sleep to-night.... and i likewise, which was true, for a vision came to me that night, jesus himself, and he said: thou hast testified of me in jerusalem and thou shalt testify of me in rome, and jesus having said this much, i knew that i should go to rome, how i should go i knew not, but i knew that i should go and had no fear when my sister's son, my nephew, came to me next day and said: forty of the jews have banded together to kill thee, uncle, and this is how they will do it. they will present a petition to the chief captain to have thee down among the council again so that they may question thee regarding some points of the law which they affirm thou hast transgressed. thou must not go down to them, uncle, for they have knives concealed under their cloaks, and are upon oath neither to eat nor to drink until they have killed thee. so they are base enough for this, i answered, but i'll outwit them, and calling to the centurion said: take this young man to the chief captain of the guard; he has matter to relate which the chief captain should hear at once, and when he had told the plot chief captain lysias said: they have sworn in vain. thou shalt go with me to cæsarea and under a strong guard, two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen; these will be able to resist any attack that the jews may attempt even should they hear of thy departure. at nine o'clock to-night i shall put into thy hand a letter to felix, the governor, telling him that i know nothing against thee that merits death or prison. the orders of the captain of the guard were carried out punctually; we marched all night, arriving at antipatris in the morning, which is about half-way between jerusalem and cæsarea, and all danger of surprise being now over the escort divided, the four hundred men returning to jerusalem, myself going on to cæsarea with the horsemen, to be judged by felix, who said: i shall sit in judgment as soon as thy accusers arrive from jerusalem. and it was five days afterwards that my accusers began to come into cæsarea, ananias arriving first with some of the elders and with one named tertullus, who began his speech against me with many coaxings of the governor, saying that it was through him that palestine enjoyed its great peace and prosperity and for these gifts he was truly thankful, and though he feared he might prove tedious, still he would hope that felix in his great clemency might allow him to say a few further words about a pestilential fellow, an agent of sedition among the jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect known as the nazarenes: one who came to jerusalem but to profane the temple, and wishing, he said, to judge him for his blasphemy according to our law, we laid hands upon him, but the captain, lysias, came upon us and with great violence took him out of our hands, and after hearing him disputing with us in the council said, i find no fault with him but will send him to the noble felix. and you, most noble felix, have sent for us, and we have come, and feel right well that we have not come in vain, for your knowledge and your justice are known in all the world. he said these things and many more of this sort till he feared that his first words were coming true and that he was beginning to weary felix, which was the truth, for felix raised his hand for me to speak, whereupon without cozenage and without preamble i told felix that i had gone to jerusalem with alms collected from all parts of the world for the poor and also for worship in the temple. why then, if i am the pestilential fellow that tertullus says i am, is it that the jews allowed me the temple to abide therein for five days and that they have not brought witnesses to testify that they found me disputing therein or stirring the people to riot in the synagogue and in the city. and i see none here to bear witness that i do not believe in all that is written in the law and in the prophets; only that i believe with a great part of the citizens of jerusalem that the dead will be raised from their graves for judgment at the last day. if i am guilty of heresy so are many others here. but you essenes do not hold with the pharisees, that the corruptible body is raised from the dead, you believe that the soul only is immortal; i believe that there is a spiritual body also which is raised; and paul turned his searching eyes on mathias, in whose mind an answer began to form, but before he had time to speak it the brethren began to evince a desire that paul should continue his story. felix after hearing me bade the jews return to jerusalem. i will deliver no sentence until i have conferred with lysias, he said. the jews returned discomfited, and felix said to my jailer, let him be relieved of his chains and be free to see his friends and disciples and to preach what he pleases. nor was this all: felix came with his wife, drusilla, who was a jewess, and she heard me tell felix that there would be a judgment, and he answered: speak to me again of this, and they came to me many times to hear of the judgment, and to hint at a sum of money which would be easy for me to collect; my disciples would pay for my liberty and the money would enable him to risk the anger of the jews, who, he said, desired my death most savagely. but i was of no mind to ask my disciples to pay for my release; and then felix, desirous of obtaining the good will of the jews, put chains upon me again, and so left me for two years, till festus was appointed in his place. it was three days after festus had disembarked at cæsarea that he went up to jerusalem, and no sooner had he arrived there than the high priest asked for audience and besought him to send for paul that he might be judged in jerusalem; the intention of the high priest being that i should be waylaid and killed by a highwayman among the hills. but festus thought it was unnecessary to bring me to jerusalem, for he was about to return to cæsarea. come, he said, with me, and accuse this man, and they agreed. and it was ten days afterwards that festus returned to cæsarea and commanded me to be brought before his judgment seat. the jews that had come with him sat about, and with many voices complained against me of blasphemy, but their accusations were vain, for i answered: i have not offended against the law of the jews nor against cæsar, and they answered, so thou sayest, but wilt thou come to jerusalem to be judged by us? and festus, who now only thought to avoid trouble and riot, said to me, will you go to jerusalem that i may hear you? but, lord festus, i answered, you can hear me here as well as in jerusalem, and these men desire but my death and ask that i shall be brought to jerusalem to kill me secretly, therefore i appeal to cæsar. whereupon festus answered that he had no fault to find with me, but since i had appealed to cæsar i must go by the next ship, and as there would be none for some weeks festus, who had said to king agrippa and berenice, when they came to pay a visit to the new governor, and, being jews, were curious about my gospel, i find no fault with this man and would have set him at liberty, but he has appealed to cæsar and by the next ship he goes to rome, permitted me my liberty to go whither i pleased and to preach as i pleased in the city and beyond the city if i pleased. whereupon i notified to festus i would go to jericho, a two days' journey from cæsarea, and he said, go, and in three weeks a ship will be here to take thee to rome. but he said: if the jews should hear of thee thou'lt lose thy life, and he offered me a guard, which i refused as useless, knowing well that i should not meet my death at jericho. why cherish a love for them that hate thee? he said, and i answered: they are my own people, and my heart was filled again with the memory of the elect race that had given birth to the prophets. shall these go down dead into their graves never to rise again, god's chosen people? i asked myself, and set out with timothy, my son in the faith, for jericho, a city i had never seen nor yet the banks of jordan down which jesus went for john's baptism. but for these things i had little thought or care, but was as if propelled by some force that i could not understand nor withstand; and a multitude collected and hearkened to the story of my conversion on the road to damascus, but discontent broke out among them when i said that jesus had come neither to confirm nor to abolish the law, that the law was well while we were children but now we could only enter into eternal life through faith in jesus christ our lord. the rest of my story you know: how we fled into the hills for our lives' sake, and how timothy in the dark of the evening kept to the left whereas i came round the shoulder of the hill and was upheld in the path by god, who has still need of me. his ways are inscrutable, for, wishing to bring me to you, he sent me to preach in jordan and urged the jews to threaten me and pursue me into the hills, for he wished you holy men who live upon this ridge of rock in piety, in humility, in content, in peace one with the other, fearing god always, to hear of jesus and his resurrection from the dead and the meaning thereof, which is that christ came to redeem us from the bondage of the law and that sense of sin which the law reveals unceasingly and which terrifies and comes between us and love of jesus christ, who will (at the sound of the last trump) raise the incorruptible out of the corruptible. even as the sown grain is raised out of its rotten grave to nourish and rejoice again at the light, so will ye nourish again in the fields of heaven, never again to sink into old age and death if you have faith in christ, for you have all else, fear of god, and charity, piety and humility, brotherly love, peace and content in the work that the day brings to your hands and the pillow that the night brings to your head for reward for the work done. god that knows all knew you were waiting on this margin of rock for the joyful tidings, and he sent me as a shepherd might send his servant out to call in the flock at the close of day, for in his justice he would not have it that ten just men should perish. he sent me to you with a double purpose, methinks, for he may have designed you to come to my aid, for it would be like him that has had in his heart since all time my great mission to italy and spain, to have conceived this way to provide me with new feet to carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth; and now i stand amazed, it being clear to me that it was not for the jews of jericho that i was sent out from cæsarea but for you. paul waited for one of the essenes to answer, and his eyes falling on mathias' face he read in it a web of argument preparing wherein to catch him, and he prayed that god might inspire his answers. at last mathias, in clear, silvery voice, broke the silence that had fallen so suddenly, and all were intent to hear the silken periods with which the egyptian thanked paul for the adventurous story he had related to them, who, he said, lived on a narrow margin of rock, knowing nothing of the world, and unknown to it, content to live, as it were, immersed in god. paul's narrative was full of interesting things, and he regretted that paul was leaving them, for he would have liked to have given longer time to the examination of the several points, but his story contained one thing of such great moment that he passed over many points of great interest, and would ask paul to tell them why the resurrection of jesus christ should bring with it the abrogation of the law of moses. if the law was true once, it was true always, for the law was the mind and spirit and essence of god. that is, he continued, the law spiritually understood; for there are those among us essenes who have gone beyond the letter. i, too, know something of that spiritual interpretation, paul cried out, but i understand it of god's providence in relation to man during a certain period; that which is truth for the heir is not truth to the lord. mathias acquiesced with lofty dignity, and continued his interrogation in measured phrases: that if he understood paul rightly, and he thought he did, his teaching was that the law only served to create sin, by multiplying the number of possible transgressions. thy meaning would seem to be that jews as well as gentiles sin by acquiring consciousness of sin, but by faith in jesus christ we get peace with god and access unto his grace. upon grace, paul, we see thee standing as on a pedestal crying out, sin abounds but grace abounds, fear not sin. the words of my enemies, paul cried, interrupting; sin so that grace may abound, god forbid. those that are baptized in christ are dead to sin, buried with him to rise with him again and to live a new life. the old man (that which we were before christ died for us) was crucified with christ so that we might serve sin no longer. freed from the bondage of the law and concupiscence by grace we are saved through faith in our lord jesus christ from damnation. it is of this grace that we would hear thee speak. do we enter into faith through grace? mathias asked, and, having obtained a sign of assent from paul, he asked if grace were other than a free gift from god, and he waited again for a sign of assent. paul nodded, and reminded him that god had said to moses, i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy, and i will have compassion on whom i will have compassion. then, mathias said, the law of moses is not abrogated, thou leanest upon it when it suiteth thy purpose to lean, and pushest it aside when it pleases thee to reprove us as laggards in tradition and among the beginnings of things. it was lest some mood of injustice might be imputed to god in neglecting us that we were invited to become thy disciples, and to carry the joyful tidings into italy and spain. but we no longer find those rudiments in the law. we read it with the eyes of the mind, and we receive not from thy lips that god is like a man--a parcel of moods, and obedient to them. it is true that god justifies whom he glorifies, paul answered, but for that he is not an unjust god. if he did not spare his son, but delivered him to death that we might be saved, will he not give us all things? who shall accuse god's elect? he that chose them? who will condemn them? christ that will sit on the right hand of his father, that intercedes for us? neither death nor life nor angels can separate me from the love of our lord jesus christ, and if i came hither it is for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen that might be saved. god has not broken his promise to his chosen people. a man may be born an israelite and not be one; we are true israelites, not by birth but by election. god calls whom he pleases, and without injustice. but, brethren, mathias would ask of me: why does god yet find a fault though none may resist his will? we dare not reason with god or ask him to explain his preferences. does the vase ask the potter: why hast thou made me thus? had not the potter power over the clay to make from the same lump two vases, one for noble and the other for ignoble use. not in discourse of reason is the kingdom of god, but in its own power to be and to grow, and that power is manifested in my gospel. the approval of the brethren whitened mathias' cheek with anger, and he answered paul that his denial of the law did not help him to rise to any higher conception of the deity than to compare him to a potter, and he warned paul that to arrive at any idea of god we must forget potters, rejecting the idea of a maker setting out from a certain moment of time to shape things according to a pattern out of pre-existing matter. and i would tell thee before thou startest for the end of the earth that the jesus christ which has obsessed thee is but the logos, the principle that mediates between the supreme god and the world formed out of matter, which has no being of its own, for being is not in that mere potency of all things alike, which thou callest power, but in divine reason. i have heard men speak like thee in athens, paul answered slowly and sadly, and i said then that the wisdom of man is but foolishness in god's sight. but thy stay there was not long, and thou hast not spoken of my country, egypt, mathias answered, and rising from his seat he left the table and passed out on to the balcony like one offended, and, leaning his arms on the rail, he stood looking into the abyss. a jew of alexandria, manahem whispered in paul's ear, but he holds fast by the law in his own sense, and in telling of this christ thou---- we would hear of peter, saddoc interrupted, the fisherman thou foundest eating unclean meat with the gentiles. have i not said, paul answered, that what is eaten and what is drunk finds neither favour nor disfavour in god's eyes--that it is not by observance we are saved, but by faith in our lord jesus christ that died to redeem us from the law, and was raised from the dead by his father, and who appeared to the twelve and to five hundred others, some of whom are dead, but many are still alive? but this christ, who was he when he lived upon this earth? manahem inquired. son of the living god, paul answered, that took on the beggarly raiment of human flesh at nazareth, was baptized by john in jordan, and preached in galilee, went up to jerusalem and was crucified by pilate between two thieves; the third day he rose from the dead, that our sins---- didst say he was born in nazareth? hazael asked, the word nazareth having roused him from his reveries, and was baptized by john in jordan, preached afterwards in galilee, and suffered under pilate? was crucified, paul interjected; then you have heard, he said, of the resurrection? not of the resurrection; but we know that our brother jesus was born in nazareth, was baptized in jordan by john, preached in galilee and suffered under pilate. pilate condemned many men, paul answered, a cruel man even among the romans. but born in nazareth and was baptized by john didst say? i said it, hazael answered. which among you, paul asked, looking into every face, is he? jesus is not here, hazael replied, he is out with the flock. he slept by thy side on this balcony last night. we've listened to thy story with interest, paul; we give thee thanks for telling it, and by thy leave we will return to our daily duties and to our consciences. chap. xxxvii. one of the essenes had left some quires of his scriptures upon the table; paul picked them up, but, unable to fix his attention, he walked out on to the balcony, and when the murmur of the brook began to exasperate him he returned to the domed gallery and walked through it with some vague intention of following the rubble path that led out on to the mountains, but remembering the thracian dogs chained under the rocks, he came back and stood by the well, and in its moist atmosphere fell into argument with himself as to the cause of his disquiet, denying to himself that it was related in any way to the story he had heard from the essenes--that there was one amongst them, a shepherd from nazareth, who had received baptism from john and suffered under pilate, the very one whom he had heard talking that morning to jacob about ewes and rams. at last he attributed his disquiet to his anxiety for the safety of timothy. all the same, he said, it was strange that pilate should have put one from the cenoby on the cross, another jesus of nazareth.... it might be that this essene shepherd and his story were but a trap laid for him by the jews! but no---- paul remembered he had written a long epistle to the galatians reproving them for lack of faith, and now he found himself caught in one of those moments to which all flesh seems prone. but no; the cause of his disquiet was timothy; jesus had promised him news of timothy, else he would not have delayed so long among these clefts. he might start at once; but he would not be able to find the way through these hills without a guide, and he could not leave till he heard from this essene why pilate had ordered him to be scourged. what crime was he guilty of? a follower he was, no doubt, of judas the gaulonite, else pilate would not have ordered him to be crucified. but the reason for his having left the wilderness? there must be one, and he sought the reason through the long afternoon without finding one that seemed plausible for more than a few minutes. the drone of the brook increased his agitation and the day was well-nigh spent when the doors of the cells opened and the brethren began to appear in their white garments; and when they had found seats about the table paul related that he was waiting for jesus to return from the hills. at last he heard one say: here is jesus, and at the sound of the familiar name paul started up to meet him, and speaking the first words that came to his lips he asked him if it were true that he was from nazareth and had received baptism from john and suffered under pilate. i was born in nazareth, but what of that? why dost thou look into my face so steadfastly? because this noon, paul answered, while thou wast with thy flock, i was moved to tell the brethren of jesus of nazareth, who died on the cross to redeem us, for i would that all you here should join with us and carry the joyful tidings to italy and spain. the doors are open---- hazael coming from his cell at that moment stayed the words that had risen up in paul's mind, and he looked at the president as if he expected him to speak, but hazael sank into his chair and soon after into his own thoughts. so thy name is jesus and thou'rt from nazareth? paul said, turning to the shepherd, and jesus answered: i was born in nazareth and my life has been lived among these hills. our guest, saddoc said, interrupting, has told us the story of his life, and he hopes to persuade us to leave this gorge and go with him to italy and on to spain. to spain? jesus asked. to carry the joyful tidings that the doors of salvation are now open to all, saddoc answered. he has told us that he was once a great persecutor of christians. of christians? jesus repeated. and who are they? the christians are they that believe the messiah promised to the jews was raised by god from the dead, saddoc replied, and our guest would have us go with him to spain, for on the road to damascus he had a vision, and nearly lost his sight in it. and ever since he has been preaching that the doors are open to all. he is the greatest traveller the world has ever known. christ is a greek word, manahem said, for it seemed to him that saddoc was speaking too much, and that he could give jesus a better account of paul's journeyings, his conversions of the gentiles and the persecutions that followed these conversions: for the jews, manahem said, have been on his track always, and his last quarrel with them was yester even by the jordan, where he was preaching with timothy. they lost each other in the hills. of timothy i have news, jesus answered. he met a shepherd in the valley who pointed out the way to cæsarea to him, and it may be that he is not far from that city now. then i will go to cæsarea at once, paul cried. i have promised to put thee on the direct road, jesus said, but it is for thee to choose another guide, he added, for paul's face told him the thoughts that were passing in paul's mind: that he would sooner that any other of the brethren should guide him out of the wilderness. after looking at paul for some time he said: i've heard from manahem and saddoc that thou wast a persecutor of christians, but without understanding, so hurried was the story. and they tell me, paul said, that thou'rt from nazareth and suffered under pilate. more than that they do not seem to know; but from what they tell me thy story resembles that of our lord jesus christ who was betrayed in a garden and was raised from the dead. at the words, who was betrayed in a garden, a light seemed to break in jesus' face and he said: some two years of my life are unknown to anybody here, even hazael does not know them, and last night i was about to tell them to him on the balcony. you all remember how he was carried out of the lecture-room on to this balcony by saddoc and manahem, who left him with me. i had just returned from the mountain, having left my flock with jacob, our new shepherd, and hazael, who recovered his senses quickly in the evening air, begged me to tell him of jacob's knowledge of the flock, and i spoke to him highly of jacob.... hazael, have i thy permission to tell the brethren here assembled the story i began to tell thee last night, but which was interrupted? the old man raised his head and said: jesus, i hearken, go on with thy story. brethren, yester evening i returned from the hills after having left our flock in charge of jacob. you know, brethren, why i confided the flock to him. after fifty (i am fifty-five) our steps are no longer as alert as they were: an old man cannot sleep in a cavern like a young man nor defend himself against robbers like a young man, and yesternight was the first night i spent under a roof for many a year, and under that roof i am to live henceforth with you here, tending on our president, who needs attention now in his great age. these things were in his mind and in mine while we sat on the balcony last night taking the air. hazael had spoken his fear that the change from the hills to this dwelling would prove irksome to me at first, and our talk turned upon the life i have led since boyhood. our president seemed to think that the better life is to live under the sky and the sure way to happiness is in solitude: he had fallen to admiration of my life spent among the hills, and had spoken to me of the long journeys he used to undertake in his youth over palestine, seeking for young men in whom he foresaw the making of good essenes; many of you here are his discoveries, myself certainly. we indulged in recollection, and listening to him my thoughts were back in nazareth, and i waited for him to tell me how one night he met my father, joseph the carpenter, returning home after his day's work, and seeing in him a native of the district, he addressed himself to him and begged my father to point out the road to nazareth. my father answered: i am going thither, thou canst not do better than follow me. so the two fared on together, talking of a lodging for the night, my father fearing that no house would be open to a stranger, which was the truth. they knocked at many, but received only threats that the dogs would be turned upon them if they did not hasten away. my father said: never shall it be rumoured in nazareth that a stranger was turned away and had to sleep in the streets. thou shalt have my son's bed, and taking hazael by the hand my father urged him and forced him into our house. thou shalt sleep in my house, my father said, and shook me out of my sleep, saying, jesus, thy bed is wanted for a stranger, and to this day i remember standing in my smock before hazael, my eyes dazed with sleep. next day hazael was teaching me; and it pleasing him to see in me the making of a good essene, and my father being willing that i should go (a good carpenter he did not see in me), he took me away with him through samaria into jerusalem, and we struck across the desert, descending the hills into the plain of jericho, and crossed the jordan. after a year's probationship i was admitted into the order of the essenes and was given choice of a trade, and it was put forth that i should follow the trade of my father or work amid the fig-trees along our terraces, but my imagination being stirred by the sight of the shepherds among the hills, i said, let me be one. and for fifteen years i led my flock, content to see it prosper under my care, until one day, spying two wolves scratching where i knew there was a cave, an empty one i thought, the hermit having been taken by wolves not long before, i couched my spear and went forward; at sight of me and my dogs the wolves fled, as i expected they would, and the hermit that had come to the cave overnight came out, and after thanking me for driving off the wolves asked me if i could guide him to a spring of pure water. thou'rt not far from one, i said, for the cave he had come to live in was situated in the valley of the leopard's den, which is but half-a-mile from our brook. i will go thither with thee this evening, but first drink from my water-bottle, i said, for i could see he needed water, and i spoke to him of the number of hermits we had lost lately from wild animals, but he did not heed me, and as soon as he had soothed his parched tongue with my water-bottle he began to tell me that he had come from the shores of the dead sea and was about to begin to preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, and that we must not indulge in hope of salvation because we have abraham for our father. his words seemed to be true words, and i pondered on them, and along the jordan everybody was asking whether he was the promised christ. i walked miles to hear him, leaving my flock in another's charge, or waited for him to return to his cave, and often spent the night watching over him lest a wild beast should break in upon him while he slept. i had known none but my brethren, nor any city, and john had travelled through all judea, and it was from him i learnt that the world was nearing its end, and that if man did not repent at once god would raise another race out of the stones by the wayside, so needful was the love of man to god; and though it had always seemed to me god was gentler than he seemed to be in john's prophesying, yet his teaching suddenly seemed to be right to me. i got baptism from him in jordan and went into the wilderness to read the book of daniel, in which he said all had been foretold, and, having read, at his advice i bade farewell to the brethren. manahem, saddoc, mathias, caleb and eleazar remember my departure; you regretted it and tried to dissuade me, but i answered you, saying that god had called me to preach in my own country, galilee, that whosoever has two coats should give one to the poor; for it is the poor that will intercede for us on the last day; and, carrying john's doctrine further, i declared that it were easier for a sword to pass through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven, which may be true, but such judgments should be left to god, and, carrying it still further, i said it was as hard for a rich man to go to heaven as for cow to calve in a rook's nest. in my teaching i wandered beyond our doctrines and taught that this world is but a mock, a shame, a disgrace, and that naught was of avail but repentance. john's teaching took possession of me, but i would not have you think here that i am about to lay my sins at john's door, for sin it is for a man to desire that which god has not given, and i should have remained an essene shepherd following my flocks in the hills, whereas john did well to come out of his desert and preach that the end of the world was approaching and that men must repent, for god willed him to preach these things. his teaching was true when he was the teacher, but when i became his disciple his teaching became false; it turned me from my natural self and into such great harshness of mind that in nazareth when my mother came with my brothers and sisters to the synagogue i said, woman, i have no need of thee, and when joseph of arimathea returned to me after a long attendance by his father's bedside (his father had lain in a great sickness for many months; it was through joseph's care that he had been saved from death, joseph was a good son), i told him he must learn to hate his father and his mother if he would become worthy to follow me. but my passion was so great in those days that i did not see that my teaching was not less than blasphemy against god, for god has created the world for us to live in it, and he has put love of parents into our hearts because he wishes us to love our parents, and if he has put into the heart of man love of woman, and into the heart of woman love of man, it is because he wishes both to enjoy that love. i fear to think of the things i said at that time, but i must speak of them. one man asked me before he left all things to follow me if he might not bury his father first. i answered, leave the dead to bury their dead, and to another who said, my hand is at the plough, may i not drive it to the headland, i answered: leave all things and follow me. my teaching grew more and more violent. it is not peace, i said, that i bring to you, but a sword, and i come as a brand wherewith to set the world in flame. i said, too, that i came to divide the house; to set father against mother, brother against brother, sister against sister. i can see that my remembrance of him who once was wounds the dear brethren with whom i have lived so long; i knew it would be hard for you to hear that an essene had broken the rules of a holy order, and it is hard for me to stand before you and tell that i, who was instructed by hazael in all the pious traditions of our race, should have blasphemed against god's creation and god's own self. you will thrust me through the door as an unworthy brother, saying, go, live in the wilderness, and i shall not cry out against my expulsion through the hills and valleys, but continue to repent my sins in silence till death leads me into silence that never ends. you are perhaps asking yourselves why i returned here: was it to hide myself from pilate and the jews? no, but to repent of the evil seed that i had sown that i returned here; and it was because he wished me to repent that god took me down from the cross and cured me of my wounds in joseph's house and sent me here to lead the sheep over the hills, and it was he who put this last confession into my mouth. it seems to me that in telling this story, brethren, i am doing but the work of god; no man strays very far from the work that god has decreed to him. but in the time i am telling i was so exalted by the many miracles which i had performed by the power of god or the power of a demon, i know not which, that i encouraged my disciples to speak of me as the son of david, though i knew myself to be the son of joseph the carpenter; and when i rode into jerusalem and the people strewed palms before me and called out, the son of david, and joseph said to me, let them not call thee the son of david, i answered in my pride, if they did not call it forth the stones themselves would. in the days i am telling, pride lifted me above myself, and i went about asking who i was, moses, elijah, jeremiah or the messiah promised to the jews. a madman! a madman, or possessed by some evil spirit, paul cried out, and rising to his feet he rushed out of the cenoby, but nobody rose to detain him; some of the essenes raised their heads, and a moment after the interruption was forgotten. a day passed in the great exaltation and hope, and one evening i took bread and broke it, saying that i was the bread of life that came down from heaven and that whosoever ate of it had everlasting life given to him. after saying these words a great disquiet fell upon me, and calling my disciples together i asked them to come to the garden of olives with me. and it was while asking god's forgiveness for my blasphemies that the emissaries and agents of the priests came and took me prisoner. at the touch of their hands the belief that i was the messiah promised to the jews rose up in my heart again, and when the priests asked me if i were the christ, the son of the blessed, i answered, i am, and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of god; and it was not till i was hanging on the cross for upwards of two hours that the belief i had come down from heaven to do our father's will faded; again much that i had said seemed to me evil and blasphemous, and feeling myself about to die i called out to my father, who answered my call at once, bringing joseph of arimathea to the foot of the cross to ask the centurion for my body for burial. but the centurion could not deliver me unto him without pilate's order, and both went to pilate, and he gave me to joseph for burial. nor did our father allow the swoon to be lifted till joseph entered the tomb to kiss me for the last time. it was then he opened my eyes and i saw joseph standing by me, a lantern in his hand, looking at me ... for the last time before closing the tomb. he lifted me on to his shoulder and carried me up a little twisting path to his house, and an old woman, named esora, attended to my wounds with balsam, and when they were cured joseph began to tell me that my stay in his house was dangerous to him and to me, and he vaunted to me in turn cæsarea and antioch as cities in which i should be safe from the jews. but my mind was so weak and shaken that his reasons faded from my mind and i sat smiling at the sunlight like one bereft of sense. strive as he might, he could not awaken me from the lethargy in which i was sunken, and every day and every week increased his danger and mine; and it was not till the news came that my old comrades had come to live in the brook kerith that my mind began to awaken and to move towards a resolution; an outline began to appear, when i said, i have led my sheep over the hills yonder many a time, and tempted me to speak of you till the desire arose in me to see you again. you remember our arrival one morning at daybreak and my eagerness to see the flock. brother amos was glad to see me back again, and in talking of the flock joseph was almost forgotten, which shows how wandering my mind was at the time.... he left without seeing me, but not without warning hazael not to question me else my mind might yield to the strain, saying that it hung on a thread, which was true, and i remember how for many a year every cliff's edge tempted me to jump over. joseph was gone for ever, and the memory of my sins were as tongues of flame that leaped by turns out of the ashes. but the fiercest ashes grow cold in time; we turn them over without fear of flame, and last night i said to hazael as we sat together, there is a sin in my life that none knows of, it is buried fathoms deep out of all sight of men, and hazael having said there was little of the world's time in front of him, i felt suddenly i could not conceal from him any longer the sin that joseph had not dared to tell him--that i had once believed myself to be a precursor of the messiah like many that came before me, but unlike any other i began to believe myself to be the incarnate word. a soft, vague sound, the gurgle of the brook, rose out of the stillness, as it flowed down the gorge from cavern to cavern. after a little while hazael called to manahem and bade him relate to jesus the story paul had told them, and when jesus had heard the story he was overtaken with a great pity for paul. but thinkest that he will believe thee? hazael asked, lifting his chin out of his beard, and the calm of jesus' face was troubled by the question and he sank upon a stool close by hazael's chair. what may we do? he muttered, and the essenes withdrew, for they guessed that the elders had serious words to speak together. thou hast heard my story, hazael; nothing remains now but to bid farewell to thy old friend. to say farewell, jesus, hazael repeated, why should we say farewell? hazael, the rule of our order forbids me to stay, jesus answered; those who commit crimes like mine are cast out and left to starve in the desert. but, jesus, hazael replied, thou knowest well that none here would put thee beyond the doors. thy crimes, whatever they may have been, are between thee and god. it is for thee to repent, and from hill-top to hill-top thou hast prayed for forgiveness, and through all the valleys. all things in the end rest with him. speak to us not of going. but if god had forgiven me, jesus answered, and my blasphemies against him, he would not have sent this man hither. and what dost thou propose to do? hazael asked, raising his head from his beard and looking jesus in the face. to go to jerusalem, jesus answered, and to tell the people that i was not raised from the dead by god to open the doors of heaven to jews and infidels alike. but who will believe thee to be jesus that pilate condemned to the cross? hazael asked. twenty years have gone over and they will say: a poor, insane shepherd from the judean hills. be this as it may, my repentance will then be complete, jesus muttered. but thou hast repented, hazael wailed in his beard. but, jesus, all religions, except ours, are founded on lies, and there have been thousands, and there will be thousands more. why trouble thyself about the races that cover the face of the earth or even about thine own race. let thy thoughts not stray from this group of essenes whom thou hast known always or from me who found thee in nazareth and took thee by the hand. why think of me? it is enough to remember that all good and all evil (that concern us) proceeds from ourselves. hast not said to me that god has implanted a sense of good and evil in our hearts and that it is by this sense that we know him rather than through scrolls and miracles? abide by thy own words, jesus. be not led away again by an impulse, and go not forth again, for it is by going forth, as thou knowest, that we fall into sin. wouldst try once more to make others according to thine own image and likeness, to make them see and hear and feel as thou feelest, seest and hearest; but such changes may not be made by any man in another. we may not alter the work of god, and we are all the works of god, each shaped out of a design that lay in the back of his mind for all eternity. we cannot reshape others nor ourselves, and why do i tell things thou knowest better than i? the thoughts that i am teaching now are thine own thoughts related to me often on thy return from the hills and collected by me in faithful memory. hast forgotten, jesus, having said to me, the world cannot be remoulded, all men may not be saved, only a few, by the grace of god? i said these things to thee, hazael, but what did i say but my thoughts, and what are my thoughts? lighter than the bloom of dandelion floating on the hills. it is not to our own thoughts we must look for guidance but god's thoughts, which are deep in us and clear in us, but we do not listen and are led away by our reason. my sin was to have preached john as well as myself. i strayed beyond myself and lost myself in the love of god, a thing a man may do if he love not his fellows. my sin was not to have loved men enough. but we are as god made us, and must do the best we can with ourselves. jesus waited for hazael to answer him, but hazael made no answer, but sat like a stone, his head hanging upon his chest. why dost thou not answer, hazael? he said, and hazael answered: jesus, my thoughts were away. i was thinking of last night, of our talk together in that balcony--i was thinking, jesus, how sweet life is in the beginning, and how it grows bitter in the mouth; and the end seems bitter indeed when we think of the gladness that day when we walked through the garlanded streets of our first day together in nazareth. it was in the springtime of our lives and of the year. how delightful it was for me to find one like thee so eager to understand the life of the essenes: so eager to join us. such delight i shall not find again. we spoke last night of our journey from nazareth to jerusalem and across the jordan. thou wouldst not follow thy father's trade, but would lead flocks from the hills, and becamest in time the best shepherd, it is said, ever known in the hills. no one ever had an eye for a ram or ewe like thee, and of thy cure for scab all the shepherds are envious. we were proud of our shepherd, but he met john and came to me saying that god had called him to go forth and convert the world. since god has placed thee here, i said, how is it that he should come and call thee away now? and thou wast eager with explanation up and down the terraces till we reached the bridge. we crossed it and followed the path and under the cliffs till we came to the road that leads to jerusalem. it was there we said farewell. two years or more passed away, and then joseph brought thee back. a tired, suffering man whose wits were half gone and who recovered them slowly, but who did not recover them while leading his flock. how often have we talked of its increase, and now we shall never talk again of rams and ewes nor of thy meditations in the desert and on the hill-tops and in the cave at night. so much to me were these sweet returnings of thee from the hills that my hope was that the dawn was drawing nigh when thou wouldst return no more to the hills, and yesternight was a happy night when we sat together on the balcony indulging in recollection, thinking that henceforth we should live within sight of each other's faces always. my hope last night was that it would be thou that wouldst close my eyes and lay me in a rock sepulchre out of reach of the hyenas. but my hopes have all vanished now. thou art about to leave me. the brethren? no, they will not leave me, but even should all remain, if thou be not here i shall be as alone. but, hazael, all may be as thou sayest, the jews will welcome me, jesus answered. i am no longer the enemy; paul is the enemy of judaism and i am become the testimony. judaism, he says, is the root that bears the branches, and if i go to jerusalem and tell the jews that the nazarene whom pilate put upon the cross still lives in the flesh, they will rejoice exceedingly, and send agents and emissaries after him wherever he goes. paul persecuted me and my disciples, and now it would seem that my hand is turned against him. remain with us, hazael cried. forget the world, leave it to itself and fear not; one lie more will make no difference in a world that has lived upon lies from the beginning of time. a counsel that tempts me, for i would begin no persecution against paul, but the lie has spread and will run all over the world even as a single mustard seed, and the seed is of my sowing; all returns to me; that paul was able to follow the path is certain testimony that he was sent by god to me, and that i am called to be about my father's work. as thou sayest, things repeat themselves. farewell, hazael. farewell, my father in the faith. so there is no detaining thee, my dear son, and, rising from his seat, hazael put a staff in jesus' hand and hung a scrip about his neck. if thy business be done perhaps---- but no, let us indulge in no false hopes. neither will look upon the other's face again. jesus did not answer, and returning to the balcony hazael said: i will sit here and watch thee for the last time. but jesus did not raise his eyes until he reached the bridge, and then he took the path that led by the cenobies of other days, and walked hastily, for he was too agitated to think. a little in front of him, some hundred yards, a great rock overhung the path, and when he came there he stopped, for it was the last point from which he could have sight of the balcony. as he stood looking back, shading his eyes with his hand, he saw two of the brethren come and touch hazael on the shoulder. as he did not raise his head to answer, they consulted together, and jesus hurried away lest some sudden and impetuous emotion should call him back from his errand. chap. xxxviii. a small black bird with yellow wings, usually met with along the brook flitting from stone to stone, diverted his thoughts from jerusalem and set him wondering what instinct had brought the bird up from the brook on to a dry hill-top. the bird must have sensed the coming rain, he said, and he came up here to escape the torrent. on looking round the sky for confirmation of the bird's instinct, he saw dark clouds gathering everywhere and in a manner that to his shepherd's eye betokened rain. the bird seems a little impatient with the clouds for not breaking, he continued, and at that moment the bird turned sharply from the rock on which he was about to alight, and jesus, divining a cause for the change of intention, sought behind the rock for it and found it in a man lying there with foam upon his lips. he seemed to jesus like one returning to himself out of a great swoon, and helping him to his feet jesus seated him on a rock. in a little while, paul said, i shall be able to continue my journey. thou'rt jesus whom i left speaking in the cenoby. give me a little water to drink. i forgot to fill the bottle before i left the brook, jesus answered. there is a little left, but not the fresh water that i would like to give thee, paul, but water from overnight. it matters not, paul said, and having drunk a little and bathed his temples, paul asked jesus to help him to his feet, but after a few yards he tottered into jesus' arms and had to rest again, and while resting he said: i rushed out of the cenoby, for i felt the swoon was nigh upon me. i am sorry to have interrupted thy discourse, he added, but refrain from repeating any of it, for my brain is too tired to listen to thee. thou'lt understand the weakness of a sick man and pardon me. now i'm beginning to remember. i had a promise from thee to lead me out of this desert. yes, paul, i promised to guide thee to cæsarea---- but i rushed away, paul said, and thou hast followed me, knowing well that i should not find my way alone to cæsarea. i should have missed it and perhaps fallen into the hands of the jews or fallen over the precipice and become food for vultures. now my strength is coming back to me, but without thee i shall not find my way out of the desert. fear nothing, paul, i shall not leave thee till i have seen thee safely on thy way to cæsarea or within sight of that city. thou hast come to guide me? paul asked, looking up. yes, to guide thee, paul, to accompany thee to cæsarea, if not all the way the greater part of it, jesus answered. thou'lt sleep to-morrow at a village about two hours from cæsarea, and there we shall part. but be not afraid. i'll not leave thee till thou'rt safe out of reach of the jews. but i must be at cæsarea to-morrow, paul said, or else my mission to italy and spain will be delayed, perhaps forfeited. my mission to spain, dost hear me? do not speak of thy mission now, jesus answered, for he was afraid lest a discussion might spring up between him and paul, and he was glad when paul asked him how it was he had come upon him in this great wilderness. he asked jesus if he had traced his footsteps in the sand, or if an angel had guided him. my eyes are not young enough to follow footsteps in the sand, jesus replied, and i saw no angel, but a bird turned aside from the rock on which he was about to alight abruptly, and going to seek the cause of it i found thee.... now if thy strength be coming back we will try to walk a little farther. i'll lean on thee, and then, just as if paul felt that jesus might tell him once again that he was jesus of nazareth whom pilate had condemned to the cross, he began to put questions: was jesus sure that it was not an angel disguised as a bird that had directed him? jesus could only answer that as far as he knew the bird was a bird and no more. but birds and angels are alike contained within the will of god; whereupon paul invited jesus to speak of the angels that doubtless alighted among the rocks and conversed with the essenes without fear of falling into sin, there being no women in the cenoby. but in the churches and synagogues it was different, and he had always taught that women must be careful to cover their hair under veils lest angels might be tempted. for the soiled angel, he explained, is unable to return to heaven, and therefore passes into the bodies of men and women and becomes a demon, and when the soiled angel can find neither men nor women to descend into they abide in animals, and become arch demons. paul, who had seemed to jesus to have recovered a great part of his strength, spoke with great volubility and vehemence, saying that angels were but the messengers of god, and to carry on the work of the world god must have messengers, but angels had no power to carry messages from man back to god. there was but one mediator, and he was on the point of saying that this mediator was jesus christ our lord, but he checked himself, and said instead that the power to perform miracles was not transmitted from god to man by means of angels. angels, he continued, were no more than god's messengers, and he related that when he had shed a mist and darkness over the eyes of elymas, the sooth-sayer in cyprus, he had received the power to do so direct from god; he affirmed too, and in great earnestness, that it was not an angel but god himself that had prompted him to tell the cripple at iconium to stand upright on his feet; he had been warned in a vision not to go into bithynia; and at troas a man had appeared to him in the night and ordered him to come over to macedonia, which was his country; he did not know if the man was a real man in the flesh or the spirit of a man who had lived in the flesh: but he was not an angel. of that paul was sure and certain; then he related how he had taken ship and sailed to samothrace, and next day to neopolis, and the next day to philippi, and how in the city of thyatira he had bidden a demon depart out of a certain damsel who brought her master much gain by soothsaying. and for doing this he had been cast into prison. he knew not of angels, and it was an earthquake that caused the prison doors to open and not an angel. peter had met angels, but he, paul, had never met one, he knew naught of angels, except the terrible kosmokratores, the rulers of this world, the planetary spirits of the chaldeans, and he feared angel worship, and had spoken to the colossians against it, saying: remember there is always but one mediator between god and man, jesus christ our lord, who came to deliver us from those usurping powers and their chief, the prince of the powers of the air. they it was, as he had told the corinthians, that crucified the lord of glory. but perhaps even they may be saved, for they knew not what they did. jesus was afraid that paul's vehemence would carry him on into another fit like the one that he had just come out of, and he was glad to meet a shepherd, who passed his water-bottle to paul. fill thy bottle from mine, the shepherd said to jesus, and there is half-a-loaf of bread in my wallet which i'd like thee to have to share with thy traveller in the morning, else he will not be able to begin the journey again. nay, do not fear to take it, he said, my wife'll have prepared supper for me. jesus took the bread and bade his mate farewell. there is a cave, paul, jesus said, in yonder valley which we can make safe against wolves and panthers. lean on my arm. thy head is still a trouble; drink a little more water. see, the shepherd has given me half-a-loaf, which we will share in the morning. come, the cave is not far: in yon valley. paul raised his eyes, and they reasoned with vague, pathetic appeal, for at that moment jesus was the stronger. since it must be so, i'll try, he said, and he tottered, leaning heavily on jesus for what seemed to him a long way and then stopped. i can go no farther; thou wouldst do well to leave me to the hyenas. go thy way. but jesus continued to encourage him, saying that the cave in which they were to rest was at the end of the valley, and when paul asked how many yards distant, he did not answer the exact distance, but halved it, so that paul might be heartened and encouraged, and when the distance mentioned had been traversed and the cave was still far away he bore with paul's reproaches and answered them with kindly voice: we shall soon be there, another few steps will bring us into it, and it isn't a long valley; only a gutter, paul answered, the way the rains have worn through the centuries. a strange desert, the strangest we have seen yet, and i have travelled a thousand leagues but never seen one so melancholy. i like better the great desert. i have lived all my life among these hills, jesus replied, and to my eyes they have lost their melancholy. all thy life in these deserts, paul replied eagerly, and his manner softened and became almost winning. thou'lt forgive, he said, any abruptness there may have been in my speech, i am speaking differently from my wont, but to-morrow i shall be in health and able to follow thee and to listen with interest to thy tales of shepherding among these hills of which thou must know a goodly number. my speech is improving, isn't it? answer me. jesus answered that he understood paul very well; and could tell him many stories of flocks, pillaging by robbers and fights between brave thracian dogs and wolves, and if such stories interested paul he could relate them. but here is our cave, he said, pointing to a passage between the rocks. we must go down on our hands and knees to enter it; and in answer to paul, who was anxious to know the depth of the cave, jesus averred that he only knew the cave through having once looked into it. the caves we know best are the vast caves into which the shepherd can gather his flocks, trusting to his dogs to scent the approach of a wild animal and to awaken him. go first and i'll follow thee, and jesus crawled till the rocks opened above him and he stood up in what paul described as a bowel in the mountain; a long cave it was, surely, twisting for miles through the darkness, and especially evil-smelling, paul said. because of the bats, jesus answered, and looking up they saw the vermin hanging among the clefts, a sort of hideous fruit, measuring three feet from wing to wing, paul muttered, and as large as rats. we shall see them drop from their roosts as the sky darkens and flit away in search of food, jesus said. paul asked what food they could find in the desert, and jesus answered: we are not many miles from jericho and these winged rats travel a long way. in brook kerith they are destructive among our figs; we take many in traps. our rule forbids us to take life, but we cannot lose all our figs. i've often wondered why we hesitate to light bundles of damp straw in these caves, for that is the way to reduce the multitudes, which are worse than the locusts, for they are eaten; and jesus told stories of the locust-eating hermits he had known, omitting, however, all mention of the baptist, so afraid was he lest he might provoke paul into disputation. see, he said, that great fellow clinging to that ledge, he is beginning to be conscious of the sun setting, and a moment after the bat flopped away, passing close over their heads into the evening air, followed soon after by dozens of male and female and many half-grown bats that were a few months before on the dug, a stinking colony, that the wayfarers were glad to be rid of. but they'll be in and out the whole night, jesus said, and i know of no other cave within reach where we can sleep safely. sometimes the wild cats come after them and then there is much squealing. but think no more of them. i will roll up my sheepskin for a pillow for thee, and sleep as well as thou mayest, comrade, for to-morrow's march is a long one. chap. xxxix. it was as jesus had said, the bats kept coming in and going out all the night through, and their squeakings as they settled themselves to sleep a little before dawn awakened paul, who, lifting his head from the sheepskin that jesus had rolled into a comfortable pillow for him, spied jesus asleep in a corner, and he began to ask himself if he should awaken jesus or let him sleep a little while longer. but myself, he said, must escape from the stifle of this cave and the reek of the bats, and, dropping on his hands and knees, he crawled into the air. it was a great joy to draw the pure air into his lungs, to drink a deep draught, and to look round for a wild cat. one may be lurking, he said, impatient for our departure, and as soon as we go will creep in and spring among the roosts and carry off the flopping, squeaking morsel. but if a cat had been there licking her fur, waiting for the tiresome wayfarers to depart, she would have remained undiscovered to paul's eyes, so thick was the shadow, and it was a long time before the valley lengthened out and the rocks reassumed their different shapes. he was in a long narrow valley between steep hills, with a path zigzagging up the hillside at the farther end, among rocks that set paul thinking of the little that would remain of his sandals before they reached cæsarea. a long day's march of twelve or thirteen hours lay before him, one that he would have been able to undertake in the old days without a thought of failure, but it was over and above his strength to-day. but was it? it seemed to him that he could walk a long way if the present breeze that had come up with the day were to continue. it came up the valley, delicious as spring water, but suddenly he recognised in it the smell of a wild animal; the sour smell of wolves, he said to himself, and looking among the rocks he spied two large wolves not more than fifty yards distant. it is fortunate, he said, that the wind is blowing from them to me, else they would have scented me; and paul watched the lolloping gait of the wolves till they were out of sight, and then descending from the rock he returned to the cave, thinking he had done wrong to leave it, for he had entrusted himself to jesus, and perforce to clear his conscience had to confide to him he had been out in the valley and seen two wolves go by. but they did not scent me, the wind being unfavourable. if they had, and been hungry, it might have gone hard with thee, jesus said, and then he spoke of bethennabrio, a village within a dozen miles of cæsarea in which paul would sleep that night. thou canst not get to cæsarea to-night, jesus affirmed to him, and they resumed their journey through a country that seemed to grow more arid and melancholy as they advanced. paul complained often that he had come by a more direct and a better way with timothy, but jesus insisted that the way they were going was not many miles longer than the way paul had come by. moreover, the way he was taking was safer to follow. the jews of jericho had had many hours in which to lay plans for his capture, but jesus thought that if paul would believe in him he would be able to get him in safety to the village of bethennabrio, where paul thought he would be safe; the jews would not dare to arrest a roman prisoner, one who had been ordered by festus to italy to receive cæsar's judgment within a few miles of cæsarea. thou'lt be within two hours of cæsarea, jesus said, and can look forward to seeing your comrade timothy the next day. jesus' words brought comfort to paul's heart and helped him to forget his feet that were beginning to pain him. but a long distance would still have to be traversed, and his eyes wandered over the outlines of the round-backed hills divided by steep valleys, so much alike that he asked himself how it was that jesus could distinguish one from the other; but his guide seemed to divine the way as by instinct, and paul struggled on, encouraged by a promise of a half-hour's rest as soon as they reached the summit of the hill before them. but no sooner had they reached it than jesus said, come behind this rock and hide thyself quickly. and when he was safely hidden jesus said, now peep over the top and thou'lt see a shepherd leading his sheep along the hillside. what of that? paul answered, and jesus said, not much, only i am thinking whether it would be well to let him go his way without putting a question to him, or whether it would be better to leave thee here while i go to him with the intention of finding out from him if there be tidings going about that one paul of tarsus, a spreader of great heresies, a pestilential fellow, a stirrer-up of sedition, has been seen wandering, trying to find his way back to cæsarea. the shepherd was passing away over the crest of the hill when jesus said, the pretext will come to me on my way to him. do thou abide here till i return, and paul watched him running, lurching from side to side over the rough ground towards the shepherd, still far away. will he overtake him before he passes out of sight and hearing? he asked himself. the sheep were running merrily, and the breeze carried down to paul's ear the sound of the pipe, setting him thinking of the patriarchs and then of his guide; only mad, he said, in one corner of his brain, convinced that he returned to the essenes because he had said in jerusalem that he was the messiah. a strange blasphemy, he muttered, and yet not strange enough to save the brethren from the infection of it. it would seem that they believe with him that he suffered under pilate, without knowing, however, for what crime he was punished; and a terrible curiosity arose in paul to learn the true story of his guide's life, who, he judged, might be led into telling it if care were taken not to arouse his suspicion. but these madmen are full of cunning, he said to himself, and when jesus returned paul asked if he had discovered from the shepherd if an order was abroad from jericho to arrest two itinerant preachers on their way to cæsarea. jesus answered him that he had put no direct question to the shepherd. he had talked to him of the prospect of future rains, and we were both agreed, jesus said, that the sky looked like rain, and he told me we should find water in the valley collected in pools among the rocks; he mentioned one by a group of fig-trees which we could not miss seeing. thou art safe, paul, have no fear for thy safe arrival at cæsarea at midday to-morrow. if a search had been ordered to arrest two wayfarers my shepherd would have heard of it, for it was about here that they would try to intercept us, and we shall do well to turn into a path that they will overlook even if they have sent out agents in pursuit of thee and timothy. chap. xl. by midday they reached a region more rugged than the one they had come out of. the path they followed zigzagged up steep ascents and descended into crumbling valleys and plains filled with split stones, rubble and sand, a desert truly, without sign of a living thing till the shadow of an eagle's wings passed over the hot stones. jesus told paul that the birds nested up among the clefts yonder and were most destructive in the spring when the ewes were lambing. having to feed three or four eaglets, he said, the birds would descend on the flocks, the she-eagle, the larger, stronger and fiercer, will attack and drive off even the dog that does not fear a wolf, yet i have seen, he continued, a timid ewe, her youngling behind her in a coign in the hill, face the bird fiercely and butt it till she lost her eyes, poor ewe, for i came up too late with my staff. and the lamb? paul inquired: was far away, jesus answered, aloft among the eaglets. jesus had stories of wolves and hyenas to beguile the way with, and he pointed with his staff to the narrow paths above them up which they would have to climb. but be not discouraged, he said, we shall be in a better country presently; as soon as we pass the hill yonder we shall begin to descend into the plain, another three leagues beyond yon hill we shall be where we bid each other farewell. paul answered he was leaving palestine for ever. his way was first to italy and then to spain and afterwards his life would be over, his mission fulfilled, but he was glad to have been to jericho to have seen the jordan, the river in which john had baptized jesus. he was sorry now when it was too late that he had never been to galilee, and jesus told of wooded hills rising gently from the lake shore, and he took pleasure in relating the town of magdala and the house of dan of arimathea, joseph's father, and the great industry he had established there; he continued talking, showing such an intimate and personal knowledge of galilee that paul could not doubt that he was what he professed to be, a nazarene. there were hundreds of nazarenes, many of which were called jesus: but there was only one jesus of nazareth. he did not say this to jesus; but after jesus had asked him how it was that he who had travelled the world over had never turned into galilee, he replied that the human life of jesus in galilee concerned him not at all and his teaching very little. he taught all the virtues, but these were known to humanity from the beginning; they are in the law that god revealed to moses. even pagans know of them. the greeks have expounded them excellently well. a teacher jesus was and a great teacher, but far more important was the fact that god had raised him from the dead, thereby placing him above all the prophets and near to god himself. so i have always taught that if jesus were not raised from the dead our teaching is vain. a miracle, he said, and he looked into jesus' face just as if he suspected him to be thinking that something more than a miracle was needed to convince the world of the truth of paul's doctrine. a miracle, to the truth of which more than five hundred have already testified. first he appeared to mary and martha, afterwards to cleophas and khuza. on the way to emmaus he stayed and supped with them and afterwards he appeared to the twelve. hast met all the twelve and consulted with them? jesus asked, and paul, a little irritated by the interruption, answered that he had seen peter and john and james and philip but he knew not the others; and, of course, james, the brother of the lord. tell me about him, jesus answered. he admits jesus as a prophet among the others but no more, and observes the law more strictly than any other jew, a narrow-minded bigot that has opposed my teaching as bitterly as the priests themselves. it was he who, paul began, but jesus interrupted and asked about peter. where was he? and what doctrine is he preaching? paul answered that peter was at antioch, though why he should choose to live there has always seemed strange to me, for he does not speak greek. but what trade does he follow? jesus asked. there are marshes and lakes about antioch, paul replied, and these are well stocked with fish, of a quality inferior, however, to those he used to catch in the lake of gennesaret, but still fish for which there is some sale. he and john own some boats and they ply up and down the marshes, and draw up a living in their nets, a poor and uncertain living i believe it to be, for they are often about telling stories to the faithful of our lord jesus christ, who pay them for their recitals. one is always with them, a woman called rachel. it is said that she poisoned a rival at a wedding, a girl called ruth whom jesus raised from the dead. ruth went to her husband, but rachel followed jesus of nazareth.... thou'rt a galilean, paul said, and know these stories better than i. as they walked on together, paul's thoughts returned to the miracle of his apostleship, received, he said, by me from jesus christ our lord himself on the road to damascus. thy brethren have doubtless related the story to thee how in my journey from jerusalem to damascus, full of wrath to kill and to punish the saints, i was blinded by a great light from the skies, and out of a cloud jesus christ our lord spoke to me: paul! paul! he cried, why persecutest thou me? ever since i have preached that there is but one mediator between god and man--christ jesus our lord, and if i ran out whilst thou wast telling thy story, crying, he is mad, he is mad! it was because it seemed to me that thou wert speaking by order of the jews who would ensnare and entrap me or for some other reason. none may divine men's desire of soul, unless an evil spirit has descended into thee i may not divine any reason for thy story. there is some mistake that none would regret more than thou, for thou wouldst hear the truth from me this day, thereby gaining everlasting life. why dost thou not answer me, jesus? because thou'rt waiting to hear from me the words that our lord jesus christ spoke to me? my brethren have told it to me, jesus answered. and thou believest it not? paul cried. i believe, jesus answered, that the jesus that spake to thee out of a cloud never lived in the flesh; he was a lord jesus christ of thy own imagining, and i believe, too, that if we had met in galilee thou wouldst not have heeded me, and thou wouldst have done well, for in galilee i was but a seeker; go thou and seek and be not always satisfied with what first comes to thy hand. these words provoked a great rage in paul, and believing jesus to be an evil spirit come to tempt him, he turned fiercely upon him, threatening him with his staff, bidding him begone. but as he could not desert paul in the wilderness jesus dropped behind him and directed paul's journey, bidding him tread here and not there, to avoid the hill in front of him, and to keep along the valley. in this way they proceeded for about another hour, and then jesus cried out to paul: yonder are the fig-trees where the shepherd told me to look for a pool among the rocks after the late rains. art overcome, paul, with the long march and the heat? rest. let me untie thy sandals. alas! they are worn through and will scarce carry thee into bethennabrio. but they must carry me thither, paul answered, and if there be water in the pool after we have drunken and filled our water-bottle i'll loose the thongs and bathe my feet. the season was advanced, but there were still leaves on the fig-trees, and among the rocks some water had collected, and having drunk and filled the water-bottle, jesus loosed the thongs of paul's sandals and bound his feet with some bandages torn from his own clothing. he broke the bread that the passing shepherd had given him, but paul could eat very little so overcome was he with fatigue. i shall try to eat after i have slept a little, and having made his head comfortable with his sheepskin, jesus watched him doze away. soon after the warm rocks brought sleep to jesus' eyes, and he fell asleep trying to remember that he had nothing more explicit to rely upon than his own declaration (where should it be made, in the streets to the people or in the sanhedrin to the priests?) that he was jesus of nazareth whom pilate condemned to the cross, only his own words to convince the priests and the people that he was not a shepherd whom the loneliness of the hills had robbed of his senses. he could not bring the essenes as testimony, nor could they if they came vouch for the whole truth of his story. chap. xli. hast slept well, paul, and hath sleep refreshed thee and given thee strength to pursue thy journey? paul answered that he was very weary, but however weary must struggle on to cæsarea. thy strength wilt not suffer thee to get farther than bethennabrio, and to reach bethennabrio i must make thy sandals comfortable, jesus answered, and on these words he knelt and succeeded in arranging the thongs so that paul walked without pain. they walked without speaking, paul afraid lest some chance word of his might awaken jesus' madness, and jesus forgetful of paul, his mind now set on jerusalem, whither he was going as soon as paul was safely out of the way of the jews. each shut himself within the circle of his own mind, and the silence was not broken till paul began to fear that jesus was plotting against him, and to distract jesus' mind from his plots, if he were weaving any, he ventured to compare the country they were passing through with galilee, and forthwith jesus began to talk to paul of peter and john and james, sons of zebedee, mentioning their appearances, voices, manner of speech, relating their boats, their fishing tackle, the fish-salting factory at magdala, dan, and joseph his son. he spoke volubly, genially, a winning relation it was of the fishing life round the lake, without mention of miracles, for it was not to his purpose to convince paul of any spiritual power he may have enjoyed, but rather of his own simple humanity. and paul listened to all his narratives complacently, still believing his guide to be a madman. if thou hadst not run away crying, he is mad, he is mad! thou wouldst have heard how my crucifixion was brought about; how my eyes opened in the tomb and---- interrupting jesus, paul hastened to assure him that if he cried out, he is mad, he is mad, he had spoken the words unwittingly, they were put into his mouth by the sickness in which jesus had discovered him. and the sickness, he admitted, might have been brought about by the shock of hearing thee speak of thyself as the messiah. but, paul, i did not speak of myself as the messiah, but as an essene who during some frenzied months believed himself to be the messiah. but, shepherd, paul answered, the messiah promised to the jews was jesus of nazareth, who was raised by his father from the dead, and thou sayest that thou art the same. if thou didst once believe thyself to be the messiah thou hast repented thy blasphemy. let us talk no more about the messiah. in the desert these twenty years, jesus answered. but not till now did i know my folly had borne fruit. nor do i know now if joseph knew that a story had been set going. it may be that the story was not set going till after his death. now it seems too late to go into the field thou hast sown with tares instead of corn. to which paul answered: it is my knowledge of thy seclusion among rocks that prompts me to listen to thee. the field i have sown like every other field has some tares in it, but it is full of corn ripening fast which will be ready for the reaping when it shall please the lord to descend with his own son, jesus of nazareth, from the skies. as soon as the words jesus of nazareth had left his lips paul regretted them, for he did not doubt that he was speaking to a madman whose name, no doubt, was jesus, and who had come from nazareth, and having got some inkling of the true story of the resurrection had little by little conceived himself to be he who had died that all might be saved; and upon a sudden resolve not to utter another word that might offend the madman's beliefs, he began to tell that he had brought hope to the beggar, the outcast, to the slave; though this world was but a den of misery to them, another world was coming to which they might look forward in full surety; and many, he said, that led vile lives are now god-fearing men and women who, when the daily work is done, go forth in the evening to beseech the multitude to give some time to god. in every field there are tares, but there are fewer in my field than in any other, and that i hold to be the truth; and seeing that jesus was listening to his story he began to relate his theology, perplexing jesus with his doctrines, but interesting him with the glad tidings that the burden of the law had been lifted from all. if he had stopped there all would have been well, so it seemed to jesus, whose present mind was not able to grasp why a miracle should be necessary to prove to men that the love of god was in the heart rather than in observances, and the miracle that paul continued to relate with so much unction seemed to him so crude; yet he once believed that god was pleased to send his only begotten son to redeem the world by his death on a cross. a strange conception truly. and while he was thinking these things paul fell to telling his dogma concerning predestination, and he was anxious that jesus should digest his reply to mathias, who had said that predestination conflicted with the doctrine of salvation for all. but jesus, who was of mathias' opinion, refrained from expressing himself definitely on the point, preferring to forget paul, so that he might better consider if he would be able to make plain to paul that miracles bring no real knowledge of god to man, and that our conscience is the source of our knowledge of god and that perhaps a providence nourishes beyond the world. meanwhile paul continued his discourse, till, becoming suddenly aware that jesus' thoughts were far away, he stopped speaking; the silence awoke jesus from his meditation, and he began to compare paul's strenuous and restless life with his own, asking himself if he envied this man who had laboured so fiercely and meditated so little. and paul, divining in a measure the thoughts that were passing in jesus' mind, began to speak to jesus of our life in the flesh and its value. for is it not true, he asked, that it is in our fleshly life we earn our immortal life? but, paul, jesus said, it seems unworthy to love virtue to gain heaven. is it not better to love virtue for its own sake? i have heard that question many times, paul answered, and believe those that ask it to be of little faith; were i not sure that our lord jesus christ died, and was raised by his father from the dead, i should turn to the pleasures of this world, though there is but little taste in me for them, only that little which all men suffer, and i have begged god to redeem me from it, but he answered: my grace suffices. a great pity for paul took possession of jesus, and seeking to gain him, jesus spoke of the essenes and their life, and the advantage it would be to him to return to the brook kerith. among the brethren thou'lt seek and find thyself, and every man, he continued, is behoven sooner or later to seek himself; and thyself, paul, if i read thee rightly, hath always been overlooked by thee, which is a fault. so thou thinkest, jesus, that i have always overlooked myself? but which self? for there have been many selves in me. a pharisee that went forth from jerusalem with letters from the chief priests to persecute the saints in damascus. the self that has begun to wish that life were over so that i may be brought to christ, never to be separated again from him. or the self that lies beyond my reason, that would hold me accursed from christ, if thereby i might bring the whole world to christ in exchange: which self of those three wouldst thou have me seek and discover in the brook kerith? he waited a little while for jesus to answer, then he answered his own question: my work is my conscience made manifest, and my soul is in the lord jesus christ that was crucified and raised from the dead by his father. he lives in me, and it is by his power that i live. the men stopped and looked into each other's eyes, and it seemed to them that no two men were so irreparably divided. thou must bear with me, paul, jesus said, a little while longer, till we reach a certain hillside, distant about an hour's journey from this valley. i must see thee to a place of safety, and the thoughts in my mind i will consider while we strive up these sand-hills. now if thy sandals hurt thee tell me and i will arrange the thongs differently. paul answered that they were easy to wear, and they toiled up the dunes in silence, paul thinking how he might persuade this madman to return to his cenoby and leave the world to him. there are some, he said, as they came out of a valley, that think the time is long deferred before the lord will come. thou'rt jesus of nazareth, i deny it not, but the jesus of nazareth that i preach is of the spirit and not of the flesh, and it was the spirit and not the flesh that was raised from the dead. thy doctrine that man's own soul is his whole concern is well enough for the philosophers of egypt and greece, but we who know the judgment to be near, and that there is salvation for all, must hasten with the glad tidings. wilt tell me, paul, of what value would thy teaching be if jesus did not die on the cross? many times and in many places i have said my teaching would be as naught if our lord jesus had not died, paul answered. are not my hands and feet testimony, paul, that i speak the truth? look unto them. pilate put many beside thee on the cross, paul replied, and, as i have told thee, my christ is not of this world. if he be not of this world, is he god or angel? jesus asked, and paul said: neither, but god's own son, chosen by god from the beginning to redeem the world, not the jews only, but all men, gentiles and jews alike. thou hast asked me to look into thy hands and feet, but what testimony may be a few ancient scars to me that heard our lord jesus christ speak out of the clouds? thou wast not in the cenoby when i told my story, hoping thereby to get a dozen apostles to accompany me to spain, a wide and difficult country i'm told, a dozen would not be too many; but thou wast not there to hear what befell me on the road to damascus, whither i was going to persecute the saints; and again a great pity for paul took possession of jesus as he listened to the story. were i to persuade him that there was no miracle, his mind would snap, jesus said to himself, and he figured paul wandering demented through the hills. and when paul came to the end of his story he seemed to have forgotten the man walking by his side. he is rapt, jesus said to himself, in the jesus of his imagination. and when they had walked for another hour jesus said: seest the ridge of hills over yonder? there we shall find the village, two hours' march from cæsarea. the sea rises up in front of thee and a long meandering road will lead thee into cæsarea. at yonder ridge of hills we part. and whither goest thou? paul asked. returnest thou to the brook kerith? i know not whither i go, but a great seeming is in my heart that it will not be to the brook kerith nor to jerusalem. to jerusalem? paul repeated. what persuasion or what desire would bring thee to that accursed city of men more stubborn than all others? i left the brook kerith, paul, after listening to hazael for a long while; he sought to dissuade me against jerusalem, but i resisted his counsel, saying that now i knew thee to be preaching the resurrection of jesus of nazareth from the dead, thereby leading the people astray, i must return to jerusalem to tell the priest that he whom they believed to be raised from the dead still lived in the flesh. however mad thou beest, the priests will welcome thy story and for it may glorify thee or belike put thee on the cross again. but this is sure that emissaries will be sent to italy and spain, who will turn the people's mind from the truth; and the testimony of the twelve that saw jesus and of the five hundred that saw him afterwards will be as naught; and the jews will scoff at me, saying: he whom thou declarest was raised from the dead lives; and the gentiles will scoff and say: we will listen to thee, paul, another day; and the world will fall back into idolatry, led back into it by the delusions of a madman. the word of god is a weak thing, paul, jesus answered, if it cannot withstand and overcome the delusions of a madman, and god himself a derision, for he will have sent his son to die on the cross in vain. of the value of the testimony of the twelve i am the better judge. then thou goest to jerusalem, paul asked, to confute me? no, paul, i shall not return to jerusalem. because, paul interrupted, thou wouldst not see the world fall back into idolatry? thou art a good man despite---- despite my delusions, jesus said, interrupting paul. so thou'rt afraid the world will fall back into idolatry?--yet jesus of nazareth has been proclaimed by thee as the messiah, a man above mankind. a spiritual being, higher than the angels, therefore, in a way, part and parcel of the godhead though not yet equal to god. thinkest, paul, that those that come after thee will not pick up the messiah where thou hast left him and carry him still further into deity? it is not fear of idolatry, paul, that turns me from jerusalem. the world will always be idolatrous in some sort of fashion. bear that well in mind whither thou goest. the world cannot be else than the world. let us sit here, paul answered, for i would hear thee under this rock in front of this sea; thou shalt tell me how thou earnest into these thoughts. thou, a shepherd among the judean hills. jesus answered him: the things that i taught in galilee were not vain, but i only knew part of the truth, that which thou knowest, that sacrifices and observances are vain; and when i went to jerusalem the infamy of the temple and its priests became clear to me, and i yielded to anger, for i was possessed of a great desire to save the people. the scribes and pharisees conspired against me, and i was brought before the high priest, who rent his garments. we have but little time to spend together, and rather than that story i would hear thee tell of the thoughts that came to thee whilst thou didst lead thy flocks over the hills. for many years, paul, there were no thoughts in my mind, or they were kept back, for i was without a belief; but thought returned to my desolate mind as the spring returns to these hills; and the next step in my advancement was when i began to understand that we may not think of god as a man who would punish men for doing things they have never promised not to do, or recompense them for abstinence from things they never promised to abstain from. soon after i began to comprehend that the beliefs of our forefathers must be abandoned, and that if we would arrive at any reasonable conception of god, we must not put a stint upon him. and as i wandered with my sheep he became in my senses not without but within the universe, part and parcel, not only of the stars and the earth, but of me, yea, even of my sheep on the hillside. all things are god, paul: thou art god and i am god, but if i were to say thou art man and i am god, i should be the madman that thou believest me to be. that was the second step in my advancement; and the third step, paul, in my advancement was the knowledge that god did not design us to know him but through our consciousness of good and evil, only thus far may we know him. so thou seest, paul, he has not written the utmost stint of his power upon us, and this being so, paul--and who shall say that it is not so--it came to me to understand that all striving was vain, and worse than vain. the pursuit of a corruptible crown as well as the pursuit of an incorruptible crown leads us to sin. if we would reach the sinless state we must relinquish pursuit. what i mean is this, that he who seeks the incorruptible crown starts out with words of love on his lips to persuade men to love god, and finding that men do not heed him he begins to hate them, and hate leads on into persecution. such is the end of all worship. there is but one thing, paul, to learn to live for ourselves, and to suffer our fellows to do likewise; all learning comes out of ourselves, and no one may communicate his thought; for his thought was given to him for himself alone. thou art where i was once, thou hast learnt that sacrifices and observances are vain, that god is in our heart; and it may be that in years to come thy knowledge will be extended, or it may be that thou hast reached the end of thy tether: we are all at tether, paul. wouldst thou have me learn, jesus, that god is to be put aside? again, paul, thou showest me the vanity of words. god forbid that i should say banish god from thy hearts. god cannot be banished, for god is in us. all things proceed from god; all things end in god; god like all the rest is a possession of the mind. he who would be clean must be obedient to god. god has not designed us to know him except through our conscience. each man's conscience is a glimpse. these are some of the things that i have learnt, paul, in the wilderness during the last twenty years. but seek not to understand me. thou canst not understand me and be thyself; but, paul, i can comprehend thee, for once i was thou. whither goest thou? paul cried, looking back. but jesus made no answer, and paul, with a flutter of exaltation in his heart, turned towards cæsarea, knowing now for certain that jesus would not go to jerusalem to provoke the jews against him. italy would therefore hear of the life and death of our lord jesus christ that had brought salvation for all, and spain afterwards. spain, spain, spain! he repeated as he walked, filled with visions of salvation. he walked with spain vaguely in his mind till his reverie was broken by the sound of voices, and he saw people suddenly in a strange garb going towards the hillside on which he had left jesus; neither jews nor greeks were they, and on turning to a shepherd standing by he heard that the strangely garbed people were monks from india, and they are telling the people, the shepherd said, that they must not believe that they have souls, and that they know that they are saved. what can be saved but the spirit? paul cried, and he asked the shepherd how far he was from the village of bethennabrio. not more than half-an-hour, the shepherd answered, and it was upon coming into sight of the village that paul began to trace a likeness between the doctrines that jesus had confided to him and the shepherd's story of the doctrines that were being preached by the monks from india. his thoughts were interrupted by the necessity of asking the first passenger coming from the village to direct him to the inn, and it was good tidings to hear that there was one. however meagre the food might be, it would be enough, he answered, and while he sat at supper he remembered jesus again, and while thinking of his doctrines and the likeness they bore to those the indians were preaching, some words of jesus returned to him. he had said that he did not think he was going back to the brook kerith, and it may well be, paul muttered, that in saying those words he was a prophet without knowing it. the monks from india will meet him in the valley, and if they speak to him they will soon gather from him that he divined much of their philosophy while watching his flock, and finding him to be of their mind they may ask him to return to india with them and he will preach there. sleep began to gather in paul's eyes and he was soon dozing, thinking in his doze how pleasant it was to lie in a room with no bats above him. a remembrance of the smell kept him awake, but his fatigue was so great that his sleep grew deeper and deeper and many hours passed over, and the people in the inn thought that paul would never wake again. but this long sleep did not redeem him from the fatigue of his journeys. he could not set out again till late in the afternoon, and it was evening when he passed over the last ridge of hills and saw the yellow sands of cæsarea before him. the sky was grey, and the rain that jesus had foreseen was beginning to fall, and it was through shades of evening that he saw the great mole covered with buildings stretching far into the sea. timothy will be waiting for me at the gate if he has not fallen over a precipice, he said, and a few minutes after he caught sight of timothy waiting for him. paul opened his arms to him. thoughtest that i was lost to thee for ever, timothy? god whispered in my ears, timothy answered, that he would bring thee back safely, and the ship is already in offing. it would be well to go on board now, for at daybreak we weigh anchor. thou'lt sleep better on board. and paul, who was too weary even to answer, allowed himself to be led. and, too weary to sleep, he lay waking often out of shallow sleeps. he could hear timothy breathing by his side, and when he raised his eyes he saw the stars that were to guide them along the coasts; but the beauty of the stars could not blot out of his mind the shepherd's face: and paul's thoughts murmured, he who believed himself the messiah and still thinks he is jesus of nazareth which was raised by his father from the dead. yet without his help i should not have reached cæsarea. it then seemed to paul that the shepherd was an angel in disguise sent to his aid, or a madman. a madman with a strange light in his eyes, he continued, and fell to thinking if the voice that spoke out of the cloud bore any likeness to the voice that had compelled his attention for so long a term on the hillside. but a bodily voice, he said, cannot resemble a spiritual voice, and it is enough that the lord jesus spoke to me, and that his voice has abided in me and become my voice. it is his voice that is now calling me to rome, and it is his voice that i shall hear when my life is over, saying: paul, i have long waited for thee; come unto me, faithful servant, and receive in me thy gain and the fruit of all thy labour. he repeated the words so loudly that timothy awoke, and at the sight of the young man's face the present sank out of sight and he was again in lystra, and on looking into the young man's eyes he knew that timothy would remind him always of the woman in lystra whom he would never see again. of what art thou thinking, paul? the voice seemed to come from the ends of the earth, but it came from timothy's lips. of lystra, timothy, that we shall never see again nor any of the people we have ever known. we are leaving our country and our kindred. but remember, timothy, that it is god that calls thee homeward. and they sat talking in the soft starlight of what had befallen them when they separated in the darkness. timothy told that he remembered the way he had come by sufficiently not to fall far out of it, and that at daybreak he had met shepherds who had directed him. he had walked and he had rested and in that way managed to reach cæsarea the following evening. a long journey on foot, but a poor adventure. but thou hast been away three days, three days and three nights.... how earnest thou hither? thy eyes are full of story. a fair adventure, timothy, and he related his visit to the essenes and their dwelling among the cliffs above the brook kerith. a fair adventure truly, timothy. would i'd been with thee to have seen and heard them. would indeed that we had not been separated---- he was about to tell the shepherd's story but was stopped by some power within himself. but how didst thou come hither? timothy asked again, and paul answered, the essenes sent their shepherd with me. timothy begged paul to tell him more about the essenes, but the sailors begged them to cease talking, and next day the ship touched at sidon, and julius, in whose charge paul had been placed, gave him the liberty to go unto his friends and to refresh himself. the sea of cilicia was beautifully calm, and they sailed on, hearing all the sailors, who were greek, telling their country's legends of the wars of troy, and of venus whose great temple was in cyprus. after passing cyprus they came to myra, a city of cilicia, and were fortunate enough to find a ship there bound for alexandria, sailing from thence to italy. julius put them all on board it; but the wind was unfavourable, and as soon as they came within sight of the cnidus the wind blew against them and they sailed to crete and by salome till they came to a coast known as the fair havens by the city of lasea, where much time was spent to the great danger of the ship, and also to the lives of the passengers and the crew as paul fully warned them, the season, he said, being too advanced for them to expect fair sailings. i have fared much by land and sea, he said, and know the danger and perils of this season. he was not listened to, but the haven being not safe in winter they loosed for phoenice; and the wind blew softly, and they mocked paul, but not long, for a dangerous wind arose known as euroclydon, against which the ship could not bear up, and so the crew let her drive before it till in great fear of quicksands they unloaded the ship of some cargo. and next day, the wind rising still higher, they threw overboard all they could lay hands upon, and for several days and nights the wrack was so thick and black overhead that they were driven on and on through unknown wastes of water, paul exhorting all to be of good cheer, for an angel of god had exhorted him that night, telling that none should drown. and when the fourteenth day was spent it seemed to the sailors that they were close upon land. upon sounding they found fifteen fathoms, and afraid they were upon rocks, they cast out anchors. but the anchors did not hold, and the danger of drowning became so great as the night advanced that the sailors would have launched a boat, but paul besought them to remain upon the ship; and when it was day they discovered a certain creek in which they thought they might beach the ship, which they did, and none too soon, for the ship began to break to pieces soon after. but shall our prisoners be supposed to swim ashore? the soldiers asked, and they would have killed the prisoners, but the centurion restrained them, for he was minded to save paul's life, and all reached the shore either by swimming or clinging to wreckage which the waves cast up upon the shore. they were then upon the island of melita, where paul was mistaken for a murderer because a viper springing out of a bundle of sticks fastened on his hand. but he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm, and the barbarians waited for him to swell and fall down suddenly, but when he showed no sign of sickness they mistook him for a god, and in fear that they would offer sacrifices in his honour, as the priests of lystra wished to do when he bade the cripple stand straight upon his feet, he told them that he was a man like themselves; he consented, however, that they should bring him to publius, the chief man of the island, who lay sick with fever and a flux of blood, and he rose up healed as soon as paul imposed his hand upon him. and many other people coming, all of whom were healed, the barbarians brought him presents. after three months' stay they went on board a ship from alexandria, whose sign was castor and pollux, and a fair wind took them to syracuse, where they tarried three days; a south wind arose at rhegium and carried them next into puteoli, where paul found the brethren, who begged the centurion julius to allow him to remain with them for a few days, and on account of his great friendship and admiration of paul he allowed him to tarry for seven days. from puteoli paul and timothy and aristarchus went forward towards rome with the centurion, and the news of their journey having preceded them the brethren came to meet them as far as the three taverns.... with great rejoicing they all went on to rome together, and when they arrived in rome the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but paul was permitted to live by himself with a soldier on guard over him, and he enjoyed the right to see whom he pleased and to teach his doctrine, which he did, calling as soon as he was rested the chiefs of the jews together, and when they were come together he related to them the story of the persecutions he had endured from the jews from the beginning, and that he had appealed to cæsar in order to escape from them. he expounded and testified the kingdom of god, persuading them on all matters concerning jesus, his birth, his death and his resurrection, enjoining them to look into the scriptures and to accept the testification of five hundred, many of whom were still alive, while some were sleeping. he spoke from morning to evening. the rest of his story is unknown. a translation of the new testament from the original greek. humbly attempted with a view to assist the unlearned with clearer and more explicit views of the _mind of the spirit_ in the scriptures of truth. by t. haweis, l.l. b. rector of all-saints, aldwinckle, northamptonshire; and chaplain to the late countess of huntingdon. london: printed for t. chapman, no. , fleet-street. . preface. appearing before the public as a translator of the oracles of god, it would ill become me to deprecate the severity of criticism, when i most cordially desire the intelligent and learned of my brethren to point out my mistakes for correction, and, in love and in the spirit of meekness, to smite me friendly. should, however, the shafts of malignity, and the weapons not of our warfare, be employed against this humble, yet well-meant, attempt to make the scriptures better understood, i shall endeavour to pluck the honey-comb from the lion's carcase, and be thankful for real information, in whatever mode it may be communicated. respecting highly, as i do, the translation of our reformers, whose language has dignity, and whose soundness in the faith i hope, living and dying, to maintain, it must be acknowledged--that there are in our present version, obscurities which may be avoided--words become in the lapse of ages obsolete--expressions feeble and inexact--for which others more accurate and energetic may be substituted--and in some passages the sense embarrassed, and probably mistaken. to make therefore the scriptures as intelligible as i can to men of common capacity, who are destitute of the knowledge of the original, and sometimes perhaps to suggest a sense not unworthy the adoption of the judicious scholar, i have endeavoured to render every passage with the most literal exactness--to use the most forcible and clear expressions corresponding with the original--not to omit a particle--preserving the participles--and following, as much as the genius of our tongue will permit, the exact order of the greek words, persuaded that, thus placed, the sense often receives clearness and energy. to transfuse the spirit of the original into a translation must be admitted to be very difficult in any language, peculiarly so where the matters treated of are so weighty, and the words so significant, and where holy men of god are speaking as they were moved by the holy ghost, without whose continual light and teaching i humbly conceive no man ever did or can understand and receive the things which are of the spirit of god, so as to know them as he ought to know. as the words of the spirit contain one precise meaning, and to communicate his mind is the intention of revelation, it must be our endeavour not to leave them equivocal, but to fix a clear and determinate idea to each, in exact conformity to the original, that the true sense may be understood, which can be but one. that i have endeavoured to obtain this knowledge it is no presumption to affirm. during forty years and upwards this blessed book of god hath been continually in my hands--never a day hath passed in which it hath not been matter of my meditation; i may venture to say i have read it over more than an hundred times, and many of the passages much oftener. i have consulted the works of the most godly and ingenious of the dead, and often conversed with some of the ablest and most experienced ministers of christ among the living. i have at two different times of my life translated and transcribed the whole of the new testament, and considered every word, and phrase, and passage, with attention: indeed the leading object and employment of my whole life hath been to discover and communicate to mankind the truth as it is in jesus; and every day have i bowed my knees to the divine interpreter, who giveth wisdom and understanding to the simple, that he would lighten my darkness, and shine into my heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god, as it is manifested in the face of jesus christ. i recommend to my readers to tread in the same path, looking up to the fountain of wisdom and knowledge. i am not ashamed to own my conviction, that an unlearned person thus seriously attentive to the scriptures, and crying to god for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, will be led into all saving truth; and gain greater and clearer discoveries of the mind of the spirit in the scriptures than any mere natural man, however ingenious and learned. a word, a phrase, an allusion, may indeed exercise critical acumen, and afford a display for erudition; but the scope and tendency of the sacred oracles, the doctrines therein revealed, the principles inculcated, and the practice enjoined, never were, and never will be truly known, but by those who are taught of god. as the division of the scripture into verses interrupts the subject, and often embarrasses the sense, i have preferred paragraphs, placing the verses of the old version in the margin, for the sake of reference and comparison; and though i have admitted the same division of chapters, in a few instances they might be more judiciously arranged: matt. ii. . belongs to the former chapter, as also acts, viii. . coloss. iv. . i have only now to commend this labour of love to the divine benediction. the translation itself, and the necessary attentive consideration of every passage, hath not, i trust, been without instruction to myself, and some sweet savour of the truth: so far i have already my reward. it will be highly enhanced if god my saviour deigns to make this service acceptable and profitable to his people, and the means of communicating clearer and more explicit views of his revealed will to the poor and unlearned of the flock. to them i have long dedicated my life and my labours, believing that of such is the kingdom of heaven. every attempt to make the scriptures more read, and better understood, must be acknowledged laudable. should the present effort fail to answer this end, it may yet provoke men of more wisdom and spiritual gifts, to produce a translation more exact, and suited to general edification. then i shall be content to be forgotten. the gospel according to matthew. chap. i. the book of the genealogy of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham. ( )abraham begat isaac, and isaac begat jacob, and jacob begat judas and his brethren, ( )and judas begat phares, and zara of thamar, and phares begat esrom, and esrom begat aram; ( )and aram begat amminadab, and amminadab begat naasson, and naasson begat salmon, ( )and salmon begat boaz of rachab, and boaz begat obed of ruth, and obed begat jesse, ( )and jesse begat david the king, and david the king begat solomon of her _that had been the wife_ of urias, ( )and solomon begat roboam, and roboam begat abia, and abia begat asa, ( )and asa begat josaphat, and josaphat begat joram, and joram begat ozias, ( )and ozias begat joatham, and joatham begat ahaz, and ahaz begat hezekias, ( )and hezekias begat manasses, and manasses begat amon, and amon begat josias, ( )and josias begat jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to babylon, ( )and after they were brought to babylon, jechonias begat salathiel, and salathiel begat zorobabel, ( )and zorobabel begat abiud, and abiud begat eliakim, and eliakim begat azor, ( )and azor begat sadoc, and sadoc begat achim, and achim begat eliud, ( )and eliud begat eleazar, and eleazar begat matthan, and matthan begat jacob, ( )and jacob begat joseph, the husband of mary, of whom is born jesus, who is called christ. ( )so all the generations from abraham to david _are_ fourteen generations, and from david to the carrying away into babylon fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into babylon unto christ fourteen generations. ( )now the generation of jesus christ was attended with these circumstances: his mother mary being betrothed to joseph, before they cohabited together, she was found with child from the holy spirit. ( )then joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing to expose her publicly, designed to put her away privately. ( )and as he was revolving the matter in his mind, behold, an angel of the lord in a dream appeared unto him, saying, joseph, son of david, fear not to take mary for thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the holy spirit. ( )and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. ( )now the whole of this was done, that what was spoken of the lord, by the prophet, might be fulfilled, saying[ ], ( )"a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name immanuel," which is being interpreted, god with us. ( )then joseph when arisen from sleep, did as the angel of the lord commanded him, and took his wife; ( )and he knew her not, until she had brought forth her son, the first begotten, and he called his name jesus. chap. ii. now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herod the king, lo! magians from the east came to jerusalem, ( )saying, where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to pay him homage. ( )now when herod the king heard this, he was much agitated, and all jerusalem with him. ( )and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he enquired of them, where the messiah should be born. ( )then they answered him, in bethlehem of judea, for so it is written by the prophet[ ], ( )"and thou bethlehem, land of judah, art in no respect the least amongst the princes of judah, for from thee shall go forth the ruler, who shall conduct my people israel." ( )thereupon herod secretly calling to him the magians, enquired very particularly of them the time of the star's appearing, ( )and sending them to bethlehem said, go, and procure the most exact information respecting this child; and when you have found him, bring me intelligence, that i may come, and pay him homage also. ( )so having heard the king, they went on; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, had gone before them, till it came and stood over the place where the infant was. ( )and when they saw the star, they were exceedingly transported with joy. ( )and coming into the house, they found the infant with mary his mother, and falling prostrate, they paid their homage to him. and opening their treasures, they made their offerings to him, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. ( )and having received warning in a dream not to go back to herod, they departed into their own country by another road. ( )now when they were gone, behold an angel of the lord appeared unto joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the infant and his mother by night, and flee into egypt, and stay there, till i speak to thee, for herod will search for the infant to destroy it. ( )so rising up, he took the babe and his mother by night, and retired into egypt, ( )and was there till the death of herod; that what was spoken of the lord by the prophet, might be fulfilled, saying[ ], "out of egypt have i called my son." ( )then herod, perceiving that he was treated delusively by the magians, was greatly exasperated, and he sent and slew all the male infants, that were in bethlehem, and in all its territories, from their entering their second year and all under it, according to the time, which he had accurately enquired from the magians. ( )then was fulfilled what was spoken by jeremiah the prophet, saying[ ], ( )"a cry was heard at ramah, lamentation, and wailing, and bitter moaning, rachel weeping for her children, and will not be comforted, because they are no more." ( )now when herod was dead, behold, the angel of the lord appeared in a dream to joseph in egypt, ( )saying, arise, and take the little boy and his mother, and go into the land of israel: for they who sought the life of the infant are dead. ( )so he arose, and took the child and his mother, and came unto the land of israel. ( )but hearing that archelaus reigned in judea in the stead of herod his father, he was afraid to go thither. and being divinely warned in a dream, he retired into the country of galilee, ( )and came and dwelt in a city called nazareth: that what was said by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he shall be called a nazarean. chap. iii. then in those days came john the baptist, preaching in the desert country of judea, ( )and saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh. ( )for this is the person spoken of by isaiah the prophet, saying[ ], "the voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make his paths strait." ( )now this john had his garment made of camel's hair, and a girdle of leather about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ( )then went out to him jerusalem and all judea, and all the regions about jordan, ( )and were baptized by him in jordan, on making confession of their sins. ( )but when he saw many of the pharisees and of the sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, o ye broods of vipers! who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ( )produce then worthy fruits of repentance: ( )and think not to say in yourselves, we have abraham for our father: for i say unto you, that god is able out of these stones to raise up children to abraham. ( )and now also the ax is laid to the root of the trees: every tree therefore which produceth not good fruit, is hewing down, and casting into the fire. ( )i indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that is coming after me is mightier than i, whose sandals i am not worthy to carry: he shall baptize you with the holy spirit, and with fire: ( )whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will collect the wheat into his granary; but the chaff will he burn up with fire unquenchable. ( )then came jesus from galilee unto jordan to john, that he might be baptized by him. ( )but john earnestly withheld him, saying, i have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? ( )but jesus answering said unto him, permit it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. then he permitted him. ( )and jesus, after his baptism, came straight from the water: and lo! the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the spirit of god descending as it were a dove, and coming upon him: ( )and lo! a voice from the heavens, saying, this is my son, the beloved, in whom is my delight. chap. iv. then was jesus led away by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. ( )and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he became hungry. ( )and the tempter coming to him said, if thou art the son of god, command that these stones be made loaves. ( )but he answering said, it is written[ ], "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of god." ( )then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and placed him on a wing of the temple, ( )and saith to him, if thou be the son of god, cast thyself down: for it is written[ ], "that he shall give his angels a charge concerning thee: and in their hands shall they hold thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." ( )jesus said unto him, it is written again[ ], "thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god." ( )again the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; ( )and saith unto him, all these things will i give thee, if thou wilt fall prostrate and worship me. ( )then saith jesus unto him, avaunt satan! for it is written[ ], "thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and to him only thou pay divine adoration." ( )then the devil leaveth him, and lo! angels came and ministered unto him. ( )but when jesus heard that john was cast into prison, he retired into galilee; ( )and leaving nazareth, he came and resided at capernaum, a maritime city, on the confines of zebulun and nephthali: ( )that what was spoken by the prophet isaiah might be fulfilled, saying[ ], ( )"the land of zabulun, and the land of naphthali, the road to the sea, beyond jordan, galilee of the gentiles; ( )the people who sat in darkness saw a great light; and on those who sat in the region and shadow of death, even on them hath the light arisen." ( )from that time jesus began to preach, and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is approaching. ( )and as jesus was walking by the sea of galilee, he saw two brothers, simon who is called peter, and andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ( )and he saith to them, follow me, and i will make you fishers of men. ( )then immediately quitting their nets they followed him. ( )and going on from thence, he saw two other brothers, james son of zebedee, and john his brother, in a boat with zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. ( )then they instantly quitting the ship and their father, followed him. ( )and jesus went about all galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every malady among the people. ( )and there went out a report of him into all syria: and they brought unto him all who had illness, the afflicted with various diseases and painful complaints, and the demoniacs, and lunatics, and paralytics; and he healed them. ( )and great multitudes followed him from galilee, and decapolis, and jerusalem, and judea, and from beyond jordan. chap. v. then seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and seating himself, his disciples came to him: ( )and opening his mouth, he taught them, saying, ( )blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven. ( )blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. ( )blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ( )blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be fed to the full. ( )blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. ( )blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see god. ( )blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of god. ( )blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for their's is the kingdom in heaven. ( )blessed are ye, when they shall revile and persecute you, and lying, speak every thing evil against you for my sake. ( )rejoice and exult; for plenteous is your reward in the heavens: for just so they persecuted the prophets who went before you. ( )ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt become insipid, with what can it be salted? it is of no farther use for any purpose, but to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men. ( )ye are the light of the world. a city cannot be hid that is situated on an eminence. ( )neither do men burn a lamp, and set it under a bushel, but on its stand; and it sheds light on all that are in the house. ( )just so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in the heavens. ( )think not that i am come to destroy the law and the prophets: i came not to destroy, but to fulfil. ( )for i tell you assuredly, that till heaven and earth pass away, not one iota, or the smallest stroke of a letter, shall pass from the law, until all things shall be accomplished. ( )whosoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and teach men so, he shall be accounted the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall practise, and teach them, he shall be reckoned great in the kingdom of heaven. ( )for i say unto you, that except your righteousness abounds more than that of the scribes and pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )ye have heard that it was said to the men of antient times, "thou shalt do no murder;" and whosoever shall commit murder, shall be liable to the judgment: ( )but i say unto you, that every man who is angry with his brother without cause, shall be liable to the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, raca, shall be liable to the sanhedrim: but whosever shall say, thou fool, shall be liable to be cast into hell fire. ( )if therefore thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; ( )leave there thy gift before the altar, and go: first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. ( )be disposed to agree with thy prosecutor speedily, whilst thou art in the way with him _to the bar_; lest the prosecutor deliver thee up to the judge, and the judge commit thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. ( )verily i say unto thee, thou shalt in no wise come out from thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing. ( )ye have heard that it was said to those of old, "thou shalt not commit adultery:" ( )but i say unto you, that every one who looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. ( )if then thine eye, the right, leads thee to offend, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is highly for thy advantage, that one of thy members be destroyed, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. ( )and if thy right hand leads thee to offend, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is highly thy interest that one of thy members should be destroyed, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. ( )it hath been said indeed, that whosoever will put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce: ( )but i say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except on account of whoredom, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery. ( )again ye have heard that it was said to those of old, "thou shalt not perjure thyself, but shalt perform to the lord thine oaths:" ( )but i say to thee, swear not at all; neither by the heaven; for it is the throne of god: ( )nor by the earth; for it is the footstool of his feet: nor by jerusalem; for it is the city of the great king: ( )neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or black. ( )but let your discourse be, yea, yea; no, no: for all addition to these is from the wicked one. ( )ye have heard that it was said, "eye for eye, and tooth for tooth:" ( )but i say unto you, resist not an injurious act; but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him also the other. ( )and if a man will prosecute thee, and take thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. ( )and whosoever shall press thee for one mile, go with him two. ( )give to him that asketh thee; and from him who wants to borrow of thee, turn not away. ( )ye have heard that it hath been said, "thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." ( )but i say unto you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who treat you insolently, and persecute you; ( )that ye may be the children of your father who is in heaven: for he causeth his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and tendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. ( )for if ye love those who love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans the same thing? ( )and if ye embrace your brethren only, what do ye extraordinary? do not even the publicans so? ( )be ye therefore perfect, as your father who is in heaven is perfect. chap. vi. take heed that ye do not your alms before men, in order to catch their eye: for otherwise ye have no reward from your father who is in heaven. ( )therefore when thou givest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. verily i say unto you, they receive their reward. ( )but when thou givest alms, let not thy right hand know what thy left is doing: ( )that thine alms may be in secret: and thy father who seeth in secret, will himself reward thee openly. ( )and when thou prayest, be not as the hypocrites: for they love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, to pray, that they may make a shew to men. verily i say unto you, that they have their reward. ( )but when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and shut thy door, to pray to thy father who is in secret; and thy father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. ( )and when thou art at prayer, use not vain repetitions, like the heathen: for they imagine that they shall be heard for their much speaking. ( )be not ye therefore like them: for your father knoweth of what things ye have need, before you ask him. ( )thus then pray ye: our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. ( )thy kingdom come. thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. ( )give us this day our daily bread. ( )and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ( )and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. amen! ( )for if ye forgive men their offences, your heavenly father will also forgive you: ( )but if ye forgive not to men their offences, neither will your father forgive your offences. ( )and when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, affecting a gloomy look: for they disfigure their visages, that they may make a shew of fasting to men. verily i say unto you, that they have their reward. ( )but when thou keepest a fast, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; ( )that thou mayest not make a shew of fasting to men, but to thy father who is in secret: and thy father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. ( )lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where the rust and canker spoil, and where thieves dig through and steal: ( )but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor canker spoil, and where thieves do not dig through and steal; ( )for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ( )the lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be transparent, thy whole body shall be enlightened. ( )but if thine eye be vitiated, thy whole body will be darkened. if therefore the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! ( )no man can serve two masters: for he will either hate the one, and love the other; or he will adhere to the one, and disregard the other. ye cannot serve god and mammon. ( )for this cause i tell you, be not anxious about your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. is not the life of more value than meat, and the body than raiment? ( )look on the birds of the air: for they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedeth them. are you not of more value than they? ( )but which of you, by his cares, can add one cubit to his stature? ( )and why are ye anxious about clothing? contemplate the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, nor spin: ( )yet i tell you, not even solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. ( )if god then so clothe a vegetable of the field, which to-day is, _in beauty_, and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, shall he not much more clothe you, o ye of little faith? ( )wherefore be under no anxiety, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, with what shall we be clothed? ( )(for after all these things the heathen seek:) and your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of them all. ( )but seek ye, in the first place, the kingdom of god, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be given you over. ( )be not therefore anxious about to-morrow: for tomorrow will provide for its own wants. sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. chap. vii. judge not, that ye be not judged. ( )for with the same judgment ye judge others, shall ye be judged: and with the measure ye mete, shall it be measured to you again. ( )and why spiest thou out the mote which is in thy brother's eye, yet payest no attention to the beam which is in thine own eye? ( )or how wilt thou say to thy brother, suffer me to take the mote off from thine eye: and behold there is a beam in thine own eye? ( )thou hypocrite, take first the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to take off the mote from thy brother's eye. ( )give not that which is holy to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine; lest they tread them under foot, and turning round tear you. ( )ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ( )for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ( )what man is there of you, of whom if his son ask a loaf, will he give him a stone? ( )or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ( )if ye then, evil as ye are, know how to bestow good gifts on your children; how much more will your father who is in heaven, bestow good things on those who ask him? ( )all things therefore whatsoever ye would be willing that men should do to you, just so do ye to them: for this is the law and the prophets. ( )enter in through the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and spacious the road, which leadeth to perdition, and they are many who enter that way: ( )because strait is the gate, and narrow the road, which leadeth to life, and they are but a few who find it. ( )take heed then of false prophets, who come to you in the garb of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ( )by their fruits ye shall know them. do men gather a bunch of grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? ( )so every good tree beareth good fruits; but every bad tree in kind, produceth bad fruits. ( )a good tree cannot produce bad fruits, neither can a tree bad in kind produce good fruits. ( )every tree that beareth not good fruit, is cut down, and cast into the fire. ( )well then! by their fruits ye shall know them. ( )not every one who saith to me, lord, lord! shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father who is in heaven. ( )many will say unto me in that day, lord, lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have we not cast out devils? and in thy name done many miracles? ( )and then will i profess unto them, that i never knew you: depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. ( )every man therefore who is hearing from me these words, and puts them in practice, i will compare him to the intelligent man, who erected his house upon a rock: ( )and the rain descended, and the rivers rushed, and the winds blew, and they beat against that house, and it fell not; for it was founded on a rock. ( )and every man who is hearing these sayings of mine, and doth not practise them, he will resemble the foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: ( )and the rain descended, and the rivers rushed, and the winds blew, and set against that house, and it fell; and the fall of it was great. ( )and it was so, that when jesus had concluded all these sayings, the multitudes were exceedingly struck with his teaching: ( )for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. chap. viii. now when he descended from the mount, great multitudes followed him. ( )and lo! a leper came and worshipped him, saying, lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ( )and stretching out his hand, jesus touched him, saying, i will; be thou clean. and instantly the leprosy was cleansed. ( )and jesus said to him, see thou tell no man; but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which moses commanded for a testimony unto them. ( )then as jesus was entering into capernaum, there met him a centurion, intreating him, ( )and saying, my servant is lying in the house paralytic, terribly tormented with pain. ( )and jesus said unto him, i will come and heal him. ( )and the centurion said, i am not a fit person, that thou shouldest come under my roof: but only speak a word, and my servant be cured. ( )for i also am a man under authority, having under my command soldiers and i say to this soldier, go, and he goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. ( )and jesus hearing him, marvelled, and said to those who were following, verily i say unto you, not even in israel have i found so great faith. ( )and i say unto you, that many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with abraham, and isaac, and jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. ( )but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ( )and jesus said to the centurion, go; and as thou hast believed, be it to thee. and his servant was cured at that very hour. ( )and when jesus was come into the house of peter, he saw his mother-in-law laid on a bed, and in a fever. ( )and he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and waited upon them. ( )and when evening was come, they brought him many possessed by devils: and he cast out the spirits by a word, and all who had illnesses he cured: ( )that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet, "himself he took our infirmities, and bore our diseases." ( )now when jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave orders to pass to the other side. ( )and a certain scribe came, and said unto him, master, i will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ( )and jesus said unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where he can lay his head. ( )and another of his disciples said unto him, permit me first to go and bury my father. ( )and jesus said unto him, follow me; and let the dead bury their own dead. ( )and going on board a vessel, his disciples followed him. ( )and, behold, there was a great tempest in the sea, so that the vessel was hid by the waves; but he was asleep. ( )and his disciples coming, awoke him, saying, lord, save us: we are perishing! ( )and he said unto them, why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith? then arising, he issued his mandate to the winds, and to the sea; and there was a great calm. ( )and the men marvelled, saying, what a wondrous man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! ( )and when he came to the other side, into the region of the girgasenes, there met him two demoniacs, coming from the sepulchres; exceeding fierce, so that no person was able to pass by that road. ( )and lo! they cried out, saying, what have we to do with thee, jesus, thou son of god? art thou come hither before the time to torment us? ( )and at a considerable distance, there was a great herd of swine feeding. ( )then the devils besought him, saying, if thou cast us out, permit us to go into the herd of swine. ( )and he said to them, go. then they going forth out _of him_, entered into the herd of swine: and lo! the whole herd of the swine rushed down a precipice into the sea, and perished in the waters. ( )but they who fed them fled, and going away into the city, reported all things, and what had happened to the demoniacs. ( )and, behold, all the city came out to meet him: and when they saw him, they besought him to depart from their territories. chap. ix. and going on board the vessel, he passed over, and came to his own city. ( )and lo! they brought him a paralytic stretched on a bed: and jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, be of good cheer, son; thy sins are forgiven thee. ( )and lo! some of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. ( )and jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, wherefore do ye imagine evil things in your hearts? ( )for which is the easier, to say, thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, arise, and walk? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man hath authority upon earth to forgive sins, (then he saith to the paralytic,) arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. ( )and he arose, and went to his house. ( )but when the multitude saw it, they were astonished, and glorified god, who had given such power unto men. ( )and jesus passing from thence, saw a man sitting at the custom house, called matthew: and saith unto him, follow me. and he arose and followed him. ( )and it came to pass, as he sat in his house, many tax-gatherers and sinners came, and sat down at table with jesus and his disciples. ( )and the pharisees observing it, said to his disciples, how is this, that your master eateth with publicans and sinners? ( )but jesus hearing it, said unto them, they who are in the vigour of health have no need of the physician, but they who have illness. ( )go then, and learn what is said, "i require mercy and not sacrifice:" for i am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ( )then came unto him disciples of john, saying, why do we and the pharisees keep many fasts, but thy disciples fast not? ( )and jesus said unto them, can the children of the bridechamber weep, whilst the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast. ( )but no man ingrafts a patch of undressed cloth into an old garment, for the piece supplied taketh from the garment, and the rent becomes worse. ( )nor do they put new wine into old bottles: but if they do, the bottles burst, and the wine is spilt, and the bottles are destroyed: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. ( )as he was speaking these things to them, behold, there came a ruler, and prostrated himself before him, saying, my daughter hath just now died: but come and lay thine hand upon her, and she shall live. ( )and jesus arose, and followed him, and his disciples also. ( )and, behold, a woman, who had an haemorrage twelve years, came behind, and touched the fringe of his garment: ( )for she said within herself, if i only touch his garment, i shall be cured. ( )then jesus, turning about and beholding her, said, be encouraged, daughter; thy faith hath saved thee. and the woman was cured from that hour. ( )and when jesus was come into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and a multitude confusedly lamenting, ( )he saith to them, retire; for the little girl is not dead, but sleeping. and they derided him. ( )so when the multitude was put out, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. ( )and the fame of it went forth into all that country. ( )and as jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying out, and saying, have mercy on us, son of david! ( )so when he came into the house, the blind men came to him: and jesus said to them, believe ye that i am able to do this? they said unto him, yes, lord. ( )then he touched their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. ( )and their eyes were opened; and jesus strictly charged them, saying, take care that no person know it. ( )but they going forth, blazoned his fame through all that country. ( )and when they were coming out, behold, they brought unto him a man, dumb, a demoniac. ( )and when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, never at any time was the like to this seen in israel. ( )but the pharisees said, by the prince of the devils doth he cast the devils out. ( )and jesus took a circuit through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease, and every malady among the people. ( )and beholding the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were fainting, and lying here and there, as sheep that had no shepherd. ( )then said he to his disciples, the harvest indeed is abundant, but the labourers are few; ( )entreat therefore the lord of the harvest, that he would send forth workmen for his harvest. chap. x. and having called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease, and every malady. ( )now these are the names of the twelve apostles; the first, simon, who is called peter, and andrew his brother; james son of zebedee, and john his brother; ( )philip, and bartholomew; thomas, and matthew the tax-gatherer; james son of alpheus, and lebbeus, whose surname is thaddeus; ( )simon the cananite, and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. ( )these twelve did jesus send forth, commanding them, saying, go not into the way of the gentiles, and into any city of the samaritans enter not: ( )but go rather to the sheep that are lost of the house of israel. ( )and as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is approaching. ( )heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. ( )provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, ( )nor a scrip for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor stick: for the workman is worthy of his food. ( )and into whatsoever city or village ye enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye depart. ( )and when ye come into a family, salute it: ( )and if the family shall be deserving, your peace shall come upon it: and if it be not deserving, your peace shall return to you. ( )and whosoever shall not receive you, nor attend to your discourses, go out of that house, or city, and shake off the dust of your feet. ( )verily i say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom and gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. ( )behold, i send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore prudent as serpents, and harmless as doves. ( )but be on your guard against men: for they will deliver you up to the sanhedrim, and scourge you in their synagogues. ( )and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the heathen. ( )but when they shall deliver you up, be under no anxiety what ye shall say; for it shall be given you in that very hour what ye should speak: ( )for it is not you who are speaking, but the spirit of your father which is speaking in you. ( )then brother shall surrender brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. ( )and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, that man shall be saved. ( )but when they shall persecute you in one city, flee unto another: for verily i say unto you, ye shall not complete your circuit through the cities of israel before the son of man comes. ( )the disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the servant above his master. ( )it is sufficient if the disciple be as his teacher, and the servant as his master. if they have called the master of the family beelzebub, how much more his domestics? ( )however, fear them not: for there is nothing concealed, which shall not be discovered; nor hid, which shall not be known. ( )what i say unto you in the dark, publish in the light: and what ye hear whispered into the ear, proclaim upon the roofs. ( )and be not afraid of those who kill the body, and cannot kill the soul: but fear him rather who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ( )are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your father. ( )but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ( )fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. ( )every one therefore who shall make confession of me before men, of him will i also make confession before my father who is in heaven. ( )but whosoever shall disown me before men, him will i also disown before my father who is in heaven. ( )think not that i am come to bring peace to the earth: i came not to bring peace, but a sword. ( )for i came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ( )and the enemies of a man shall be those of his own house. ( )he that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. ( )and he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. ( )he that preserveth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall preserve it. ( )he that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. ( )he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive the reward of a righteous man. ( )and whosoever shall give to one of these little ones, if but a cup of cold water to drink, in the name of a disciple, verily i say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. chap. xi. and it came to pass, when jesus had finished his injunctions to his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. ( )then john, having heard in prison the works of christ, sent two of his disciples, ( )and said unto him, art thou he that cometh, or should we expect another? ( )and jesus answering said unto them, go, and tell john what things ye hear and see. ( )the blind receive sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ( )and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended at me. ( )and when they were gone, jesus began to speak to the multitudes concerning john, what went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind? ( )but what went ye out to see? a man clothed in delicate garments? lo! they who wear delicate garments are in the houses of kings. ( )yet what went ye out to see? a prophet? yes, i tell you, and abundantly more than a prophet. ( )for this is he of whom it is written, "behold, i send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee." ( )verily i say unto you, there hath not arisen, from those born of women, a greater than john the baptist: yet he that is the least in the kingdom of god is greater than he. ( )but from the days of john the baptist unto the present, the kingdom of heaven is assaulted by violence, and the invaders forcibly seize upon it. ( )for all the prophets and the law until john, foretold _this_. ( )and if ye will receive it, this is elias who was to come. ( )he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )but to whom shall i resemble this generation? it is like little boys sitting in the places of concourse, and calling to their companions, ( )and saying, we have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have sung mournful ditties to you, and ye have not beat your breasts. ( )for john came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil: ( )the son of man is come eating and drinking, and they say, behold, what a man! a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners: though wisdom hath been justified by her children. ( )then began he to upbraid the cities in which the chief of his miracles had been wrought, because they repented not: ( )wo unto thee, chorazin! wo unto thee, bethsaida! for if the miracles which had been wrought in you had been done in tyre and sidon, long since would they have repented in sack-cloth and ashes. ( )wherefore i say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ( )and thou, capernaum, who hast been exalted unto heaven, shalt be cast down to hell: for if the miracles which have been wrought in thee had been done in sodom, it had remained unto this day. ( )wherefore i say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. ( )at that time jesus spake and said, i thank thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and the intelligent, and hast revealed them to babes: ( )yes, father! since such is thy good pleasure. ( )all things are delivered up to me by my father: and no person knoweth the son but the father; neither knoweth any person the father but the son, and he to whom the son is pleased to reveal him. ( )come to me, all who labour hard, and sustain heavy burdens, and i will give you relief. ( )take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for i am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest to your souls. ( )for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. chap. xii. at that time jesus walked through corn-fields on a sabbath-day; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. ( )but when the pharisees saw it, they said to him, behold, thy disciples do a thing that it is not lawful to do on the sabbath. ( )and he said unto them, have ye not read what david did, when he was hungry, and they who were with him? ( )how they went into the house of god, and did eat the loaves of shew-bread, of which it was not lawful for him or those who were with him to eat, but for the priests alone? ( )or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are not culpable? ( )now i tell you, that one greater than the temple is here. ( )but if ye had known what that meant, i desire mercy and not sacrifice; ye would not have condemned the innocent. ( )for the son of man is lord also of the sabbath. ( )and going on from thence, he came into their synagogue; ( )and, behold a man was there who had a withered hand. and they asked him, saying, is it lawful to heal on sabbath days? that they might accuse him. ( )then he said to them; what man of you is there who hath one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath, doth he not lay hold on him, and lift him out? ( )of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath days. ( )then saith he to the man, stretch out thy hand; and he stretched it out, and it was restored, sound as the other. ( )then the pharisees went out, and held a consultation against him, how they might make away with him. ( )but jesus knew it, and retired from thence, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all, ( )and charged them that they should not make him known. ( )that what was spoken by isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ( )"behold, my servant, whom i have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul delighteth: i will put my spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim judgment for the heathen. ( )he shall not contend, nor be clamorous; neither shall any man in the streets hear his voice. ( )a bruised reed shall he not break down, and smoking flax shall he not quench, until he break forth in judgment for victory. ( )and in his name shall the gentiles hope." ( )then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb; and he cured him, so as to enable the blind and dumb both to speak and see. ( )and all the multitudes were lost in amazement, and they said, is not this the son of david? ( )but the pharisees hearing them, said, this fellow casteth not out devils, but by beelzebub, the prince of the devils. ( )but jesus knowing their thoughts, said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself will be desolated; and every city, or family, divided against itself cannot subsist: ( )so if satan cast out satan; he is divided against himself; how then can his kingdom subsist? ( )and if i by beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. ( )but if i by the spirit of god cast out the devils, then truly the kingdom of god is come unto you. ( )else how can one enter into a strong man's house and plunder his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then will he plunder his goods? ( )he that is not with me, is against me; and he that associates not with me, scattereth abroad. ( )therefore i say unto you, all sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men; but the blasphemy against the spirit shall not be forgiven to men. ( )and whosoever may speak a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever shall speak against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. ( )either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by the fruit. ( )ye broods of vipers, how can ye speak good things, yourselves being wicked? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ( )a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things: and a wicked man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things. ( )but i tell you, that every idle word which men speak, for it shall they give an account in the day of judgment. ( )for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. ( )then certain of the scribes and pharisees addressed him, saying, master, we desire to see a sign from thee. ( )but he answered and said unto them, a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; and no sign shall be given it, but the sign of jonah the prophet: ( )for as jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights; so shall the son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. ( )the men of nineveh shall rise up in judgment against this generation, and condemn it: for they repented on the preaching of jonah; and behold, a greater than jonah is here. ( )the queen of the south shall rise up in judgment against the men of this generation, and condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon; and behold, a greater than solomon is here. ( )when the unclean spirit is indeed gone out of a man, he traverses through places destitute of water, in search of rest, but cannot find it. ( )then he saith, i will return to my mansion, whence i came; and on his arrival, he findeth it unoccupied, swept, and furnished. ( )then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. so shall it also be with this wicked generation. ( )and while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak to him. ( )and a person said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak to thee. ( )but he answered and said to him that told him, who is my mother? and who are my brethren? ( )and stretching out his hand towards his disciples, he said, behold my mother and my brethren. ( )for whosoever shall do the will of my father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. chap. xiii. then the same day jesus going out from the house, sat down near the sea. ( )and vast multitudes were gathered together unto him, insomuch that he entered into a vessel to be seated; and all the multitude stood on the beach. ( )and he spake unto them many things in parables, saying, behold, a sower went out to sow: ( )and as he was sowing, some seeds fell indeed by the road-side; and the birds came and ate them up: ( )and other seed fell on a rocky soil, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: ( )and when the sun arose, it was scorched up; and because it had no root, it withered away. ( )and other seeds fell among the thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them: ( )but others fell on good ground, and produced fruit, some an hundred, some sixty, and some thirty. ( )he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and when his disciples came, they said to him, why speakest thou to them in parables? ( )and he answered and said unto them, because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. ( )for whosoever hath, more shall be given to him, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, even that he hath shall be taken from him. ( )therefore i speak to them in parables: that seeing, they may not see; and hearing, they may not hear nor understand. ( )and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of isaiah, which saith, with the hearing ye shall hear, and not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and in no wise perceive: ( )for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with the eves, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and be converted, and i should heal them. ( )but blessed are your eyes; for ye see: and your ears; for ye hear. ( )for verily i tell you, that many prophets and righteous men have greatly desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them. ( )hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. ( )when any person heareth the word of the kingdom, and doth not understand it, the wicked one cometh, and snatcheth away what was sown on his heart: such is he who is the sown by the road-side. ( )but the sown on the rocky soil, is he who having heard the word, and instantly with joy receiving it, ( )hath not really root in himself, but is merely temporary: and when tribulation or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately he is stumbled. ( )but the sown among the thorns, is he who heareth the word, and the anxiety about this world and the deceitfulness of riches, choketh the word, and it becometh unfruitful. ( )but the sown upon the good ground, is he who heareth the word, and understandeth it; who truly beareth fruit, and produceth, one an hundred fold, and another sixty, and another thirty. ( )another parable proposed he to them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man who sowed good seed in his field: ( )and while the men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed zizane among the wheat, and departed. ( )but when the blade was shot up, and produced fruit, then appeared also the zizane. ( )the servants of the proprietor came, and said to him, master, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it the zizane? ( )he saith unto them, some man, an enemy, hath done this. then the servants said to him, wilt thou that we go and weed them out? ( )he replied, no; lest perhaps in weeding out the zizane, we root up the wheat with them. ( )let them both grow together till the harvest: and at the harvest-time i will say to the reapers, gather out first the zizane, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. ( )another parable he proposed to them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field: ( )which indeed is among the smallest of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is among the greatest of herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make their nests in the branches of it. ( )another parable spake he to them: the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and covered up in three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened. ( )all these things spake jesus in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable he spake not to them: ( )that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, i will open my mouth in parables, i will bring forth things hid from the foundation of the world. ( )then jesus dismissing the multitudes, went into a house; and his disciples came unto him, saying, explain to us the parable of the zizane of the field. ( )and he replying said to them, he that sowed the good seed, is the son of man; ( )the field is the world: and the good seed are those who are the children of the kingdom; but the zizane are the children of the wicked one; ( )the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. ( )as therefore the zizane are gathered, and burned in the fire; just so shall it be at the end of this world. ( )the son of man shall send out his angels, and shall gather together out of his kingdom all things offensive, and those who practise iniquity; ( )and will cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ( )then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their father. he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field: which when a man findeth, he hideth, and for joy thereof, goeth away and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchantman in search of beautiful pearls: ( )who, having discovered one of vast price, went away and sold all that he possessed, and bought it. ( )again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and colleting fish of every kind: ( )which, when it was full, they drew to the beach, and sitting down, selected the good into baskets, but cast those of a bad kind away. ( )just so shall it be at the end of this world: the angels shall go forth, and shall separate the wicked from amidst the just, ( )and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( )jesus saith unto them, have ye understood all these things? ( )they say unto him, yes, lord. then said he unto them, therefore every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man, the master of a family, who bringeth out of his storehouse things new and old. ( )and it came to pass, when jesus had finished there parables, he departed thence. ( )and coming into his own country, taught them in their synagogues, so that they were exceedingly struck, and said, whence hath this man this wisdom, and these miracles? ( )is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called mary? his brethren, james, and joses, and simon, and judas? ( )and his sisters, are they not all among us? whence then hath he all these things? ( )and they were offended at him. but jesus said unto them, a prophet is not disrespected, except in his own country, and in his own family. ( )and he did not there many miracles because of their unbelief. chap. xiv. at that time herod the tetrarch heard the report of jesus, ( )and said unto his servants, this is john the baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are wrought by him. ( )for herod having seized john, had bound him, and put him in prison, for the sake of herodias, the wife of philip his brother. ( )for john said unto him, it is unlawful for thee to have her. ( )and though he wished to kill him, he was afraid of the multitude, for they held him as a prophet. ( )but when herod's birth-day was kept, the daughter of herodias danced in the circle, and pleased herod: ( )so that with an oath he promised to give her whatever she should ask. ( )and she, being previously urged on by her mother, said, give me here, in a spacious dish, the head of john the baptist. ( )and the king was grieved: but for his oath's sake, and on account of those who were with him, he commanded it to be given her. ( )and he sent, and beheaded john in the prison. ( )and his head was brought on a large dish, and was given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother. ( )and his disciples came and took the body, and buried it, and they came and told jesus. ( )and when jesus heard it, he withdrew from thence in a vessel into a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. ( )and when jesus was come forth, he saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion towards them, and healed their sick. ( )but when evening was come, his disciples came unto him, saying, the place is desert, and the day is far advanced; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves provisions. ( )but jesus said unto them, they need not depart: give ye them to eat. ( )and they said unto him, we have nothing here except five loaves and two fishes. ( )then he said, bring them hither to me. ( )and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ( )and they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up the superabundance of the fragments, twelve baskets full. ( )and they who had eaten, were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ( )and immediately jesus compelled his disciples to go on board the vessel, and pass before him to the other side, while he dismissed the people. ( )and when he had sent away the multitude, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when evening came, he was there alone. ( )but the vessel was already in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. ( )then at the fourth watch of the night came jesus unto them, walking on the sea. ( )and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were greatly agitated, saying, it is his apparition. and they cried out with terror. ( )and immediately jesus spake to them, saying, be of good courage: it is i; be not terrified. ( )then peter answering, said, lord, if it be thou, command me to come unto thee upon the waters. ( )and he said, come. and descending from the vessel, peter walked upon the waters to come to jesus. ( )but seeing the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink in the deep, he cried out, saying, lord save me. ( )then immediately jesus stretching out his hand, laid hold on him, and said to him, o thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt? ( )and when they came aboard the vessel, the wind ceased. ( )and they who were in the vessel, came and worshipped him, saying, truly thou art the son of god. ( )and passing over, they came to the land of gennesareth. ( )and when the men of that place knew him, they sent into all that neighbourhood, and brought to him all that had illnesses: ( )and they besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment: and as many as touched it were cured. chap. xv. then came to jesus scribes and pharisees from jerusalem, saying, ( )why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread? ( )and he answering said to them, and why do you transgress the command of god, by your tradition? ( )for god commanded, saying "honour thy father and thy mother:" and, he that curseth father or mother, let him surely die. ( )but ye say, if any man declare to his father or mother, this is a _devoted_ gift, which else might have been employed by me for thy advantage; ( )then he shall not with it honour his father and mother: so have ye vacated the command of god by your tradition. ( )ye hypocrites, well hath isaiah prophesied concerning you, saying, ( )this people draweth nigh to me with their mouths, and honoureth me with the lips, but their heart is far distant from me. ( )but in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines the commandments of men. ( )and he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, hear, and understand: ( )not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but what cometh out of the mouth, that defileth the man. ( )then his disciples approaching, said to him, knowest thou how offended the pharisees were at hearing that speech? ( )then he answered and said, every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted up. ( )leave them to themselves: they are blind leaders of the blind. but if the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into the pit. ( )then peter answering said unto him, explain to us this parable. ( )and jesus said, are ye also to this time destitute of intelligence? ( )do ye not observe, that every thing which entereth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is ejected into the vault? ( )but the things which go forth out of the mouth, come out of the heart, and they are the things which defile a man: ( )for out of the heart proceed wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies: ( )these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man. ( )and going forth thence, jesus retired into the coasts of tyre and sidon. ( )and lo! a woman of canaan coming out of these coasts, cried aloud, saying to him, have mercy on me, lord, son of david: my daughter is a grievous demoniac. ( )but he replied not a word to her. then his disciples came and intreated him, saying, send her away; for she is crying aloud after us. ( )but he said in reply, i am not sent, save only to the lost sheep of the house of israel. ( )then she came, and worshiped him, saying, lord, help me! ( )but he answering said, it is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. ( )and she said, true, lord: yet even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. ( )then jesus answering said unto her, o woman, great is thy faith! be it unto thee even as thou desirest. and her daughter was cured from that hour. ( )and departing thence, jesus went to the sea-side of galilee; and ascending a mountain, he sat down there. ( )and great multitudes came to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb, cripples, and many others, and cast them down at the feet of jesus; and he cured them all: ( )insomuch that the multitude marvelled when they saw the dumb speaking, the cripples sound, the lame walking, and the blind restored to sight: and they glorified the god of israel. ( )then jesus calling his disciples, said, i have compassion on the multitude, for they have now continued with me three days, and have not any thing to eat: and send them away fasting i will not, lest they faint on the road. ( )and his disciples said unto him, whence can we in the wilderness have loaves enough to satisfy the cravings of so great a multitude? ( )and jesus said unto them, how many loaves have ye? and they said, seven, and a few small fishes. ( )and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ( )and taking the seven loaves and the fishes, he gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ( )and they did all eat, and were filled: and took up a superabundance of fragments seven baskets full. ( )and they that had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. ( )and dismissing the multitudes he went on board a vessel, and came into the coasts of magdala. chap. xvi. and the pharisees and the sadducees came to him, and, to make trial of him, desired him to shew them a sign from heaven. ( )and he answering, said unto them, when evening comes, ye say, fair weather, for the sky is red. ( )and in the morning, it will be tempestuous to-day, for the sky is gloomy and fiery red. ye hypocrites, do ye know how to discern the appearance of the sky, and are ye unable to discern the signs of the times? ( )a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet jonah. and he left them, and departed. ( )and when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ( )then jesus said to them, beware and abstain from the leaven of the pharisees and of the sadducees. ( )so they reasoned among themselves, saying, it is because we have not taken bread. ( )but when jesus knew it, he said unto them, why are ye reasoning among yourselves, o ye of little faith, because ye have not taken bread? ( )do you not consider, nor remember the five loaves among the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ( )nor the seven loaves among the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ( )how is it that ye do not understand, that i spake not to you of bread, to beware of the leaven of the pharisees and of the sadducees? ( )then understood they, that he spake about abstaining not from the leaven in the bread, but from the doctrine of the pharisees and the sadducees. ( )then jesus coming into the parts of caesarea philippi, questioned his disciples, saying, who do men say that i am? the son of man? ( )but they replied, some, that thou art john the baptist; but others, elias; and others again, jeremiah, or one of the prophets. ( )he saith unto them, but who do ye say that i am? ( )then simon peter answering said, thou art the messiah, the son of the living god. ( )and jesus replying, said to him, blessed art thou, simon barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed this to thee, but my father, who is in heaven. ( )and i tell thee, that thou art peter, and upon this rock will i build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ( )and i will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ( )then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no man that he was jesus the messiah. ( )from that time jesus began to shew his disciples, that he must go to jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and of the chief-priests, and of the scribes, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. ( )and peter taking him aside, began to chide him, saying, mercy on thee, lord! this shall never be thy case. ( )then turning from him, he said unto peter, get thee behind me satan! thou art an offence to me: for thou dost not relish the things of god, but those of men. ( )then said jesus to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ( )for whosoever is desirous to preserve his life, shall lose it; but whosoever would lose his life for my sake, shall find it. ( )for what would a man be advantaged, though he could gain the whole world, if he should suffer the loss of his soul? or what will a man give as the ransom for his soul? ( )for the son of man shall hereafter come in the glory of his father, with his angels, and then shall he recompense every man according to his practice. ( )verily i say unto you, there are some of those standing here, who shall in no wise taste of death, until they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. chap. xvii. then six days after, jesus taketh peter, and james, and john his brother, and bringeth them into an exceeding high mountain apart. ( )and he was transformed before them; and his face shone as the sun, and his garments were white as the light. ( )and behold, there appeared to them, moses and elias talking with him. ( )then peter addressing him, said to jesus, lord, it is well that we are here; if it please thee, we will make here three tents; one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias. ( )and while he was yet speaking, behold, a luminous cloud overshadowed them; and lo! a voice out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son, in whom is my delight; hear him! ( )and the disciples hearing it, fell on their face, and were exceedingly affrighted. ( )and jesus came and touched them, and said, arise, be not affrighted. ( )then lifting up their eyes, they saw no person, but jesus only. ( )and when they were coming down from the mountain, jesus commanded them, saying, tell no man the vision, until the son of man is risen from the dead. ( )and his disciples asked him, saying, why then do the scribes affirm, that elias must come first? ( )then jesus answering said unto them, elias indeed cometh first, and will reform all things. ( )but i say unto you, that elias is already come, and they knew him not, but have done by him whatsoever they chose: even so also must the son of man suffer by them. ( )then understood the disciples that he spake to them of john the baptist. ( )and when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a man, kneeling down to him, and saying, ( )lord, have compassion on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffers grievously; for oftentimes he falleth into the fire, and often into the water. ( )and i brought him to thy disciples, and they have not been able to cure him. ( )then jesus answering, said, o generation, faithless, and perverse! how long shall i be with you? how long shall i bear with you? bring him hither to me. ( )and jesus rebuked him, and the devil came out of him; and the child was cured from that hour. ( )then the disciples of jesus coming privately, said, why could not we cast it out? ( )then said jesus unto them, because of your unbelief: for verily i say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mountain, remove from hence, thither, and it will remove; and nothing will be impossible for you. ( )but this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. ( )and as they were returning into galilee, jesus said unto them, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of men: ( )and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again. and they were grieved exceedingly. ( )and when they came to capernaum, they who receive the tax of two drachmas came to peter, and said, doth not your master pay tribute? ( )he saith, yes. and when he came into the house, jesus prevented him, saying, what thinkest thou, simon? of whom do the kings of the earth receive customs and tax? from their own children, or from aliens? ( )peter saith to him, from aliens. jesus saith unto him, in that case then the children are free. ( )but that we give them no offence, go unto the sea, and cast in a hook, and take the first fish which cometh up; and on opening his mouth, thou wilt find a stater, that take and give them for me and thee. chap. xviii. at that time came the disciples to jesus, saying, who is indeed the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ( )and jesus calling a little boy, set him in the midst of them, ( )and said, verily i say unto you, except ye be changed and be as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )whosoever therefore shall humble himself, as this little child, he shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ( )and whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me. ( )and whosoever shall cause one of these little ones, who believe in me, to stumble, it were better for him that a millstone was hung at his neck, and that he was sunk in the depth of the sea. ( )wo to the world because of offences! for there is a necessity that offences come: nevertheless, wo to that man by whom the offence cometh! ( )if then thy hand, or thy foot, lead thee to offend, cut them off, and cast them from thee: for it were better for thee to enter into life, halting or maimed, than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the fire, which is eternal. ( )and if thine eye lead thee to offend, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it were better for thee to enter into life with one eye only, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire. ( )see that ye despise not one of these little ones, for i say unto you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of my father who is in heaven. ( )for the son of man is come to save that which was lost. ( )what think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them stray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine in the mountains, and go and seek that which had strayed? ( )and if he happen to find it, verily i say unto you, that he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which never went astray. ( )even so it is not the will of your father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones perish. ( )now if thy brother sin against thee, go and reprove him between thyself and him alone; if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. ( )but if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed. ( )but if he disregard them, inform the church: and if he disregard the church, let him be to thee as a heathen, or a publican. ( )verily i say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever things ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ( )again i say unto you, that if two of you are concurring upon earth, respecting any matter, which ye shall ask, it shall be done for them by my father who is in heaven. ( )for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them. ( )then peter coming to him, said, lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and i forgive him? till seven times? ( )jesus saith to him, i tell thee not until seven times, but unto seventy times seven. ( )therefore is the kingdom of heaven like unto a certain king who purposed to settle his account with his servants. ( )and when he began to make up the account, there was brought to him one debtor, ten thousand talents in arrear: ( )but not having wherewithal to pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, and his wife and his children, and all things whatsoever he possessed, and payment to be made. ( )then that servant falling prostrate, paid him the most profound homage, saying, lord, have forbearance with me, and i will pay thee all. ( )then his lord, moved with compassion towards that servant, discharged him, and forgave him the debt. ( )but that servant going out, found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing, throttled him, saying, pay me what thou owest. ( )then his fellow-servant fell at his feet, and besought him, saying, have forbearance with me, and i will pay thee all. ( )and he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay what he owed. ( )then his fellow-servants, when they saw what was done, were exceedingly sorry, and came to their lord, and gave him an explicit account of all things that had passed. ( )then his lord, calling him before him, said to him, thou vile slave! all that debt i forgave thee, because thou besoughtest me: ( )and oughtest thou not to have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as i had pity on thee? ( )and his lord, incensed, delivered him up to the torturers, till he should pay all that he owed him. ( )even so also will my heavenly father do to you, except ye forgive every one of you his brother, from your hearts, their trespasses. chap. xix. and it came to pass when jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from galilee, and came into the coasts of judea beyond jordan. ( )and great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. ( )and the pharisees came to him, tempting him, and saying, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? ( )but he replying, said unto them, have ye not read, that he who created them from the beginning, created them male and female? ( )and he said, for this reason shall a man forsake father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. ( )wherefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. what therefore god hath yoked together, let no man separate. ( )they say unto him, why then did moses command to give her a bill of divorce, and to put her away? ( )he saith unto them, it was on account of the hardness of your hearts that moses gave you permission to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not thus. ( )and i tell you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for whoredom, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth the divorced woman, committeth adultery. ( )his disciples said unto him, if the case of a man with his wife be thus, it is not expedient to marry. ( )then he said to them, all men are not capable of receiving this saying, but they to whom it is given. ( )for there are eunuchs, who were so from their mothers' womb; and there are eunuchs, who have been made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. he that is capable of receiving, let him receive it. ( )then were brought to him little children, that he should lay his hands upon them, and pray _for them_: but the disciples rebuked them. ( )then said jesus, permit little children, and hinder them not from coming to me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. ( )and when he had laid his hands upon them, he departed thence. ( )and lo! a person coming to him, said, good master, what good thing shall i do, in order to attain eternal life? ( )then he said to him, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, even god: but if thou art desirous of entering into life, keep the commandments. ( )he saith unto him, which? then said jesus, these, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, ( )honour thy father and thy mother; and, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ( )the young man saith to him, all these things have i observed from my youth: in what am i still deficient? ( )jesus said to him, if thou art desirous to be perfect, go, sell all thy substance, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. ( )now when the young man heard this speech, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. ( )then jesus said to his disciples, verily i say unto you, that very difficultly shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven. ( )and again i repeat it to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )but when his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, who then can be saved? ( )and jesus looking upon them, said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with god all things are possible. ( )then peter addressing him, said unto him, lo! we have left all and followed thee; what, i pray thee, shall we receive? ( )then said jesus unto them, verily i say unto you, that ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. ( )and every one who hath left family, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit life eternal. ( )but many, now first, will be the last; and last, who will be the first. chap. xx. for the kingdom of heaven is like a man, the master of a family, who went out at break of day, to hire labourers into his vineyard. ( )and when he had agreed with the labourers at a denarius a day, he sent them into the vineyard. ( )and going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place unemployed. ( )and he said to them, go ye also into the vineyard, and whatever is equitable, i will give it you. so they went. ( )again going out, about the sixth and ninth hour, he did after the same manner. ( )but about the eleventh hour, going out, he found others standing unemployed, and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? ( )they say unto him, because no man hath hired us. he saith to them, go ye also into the vineyard; and whatever is equitable, ye shall receive. ( )now when the evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his overseer, call the labourers, and give them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. ( )and when they came, who began about the eleventh hour, they received each a denarius. ( )but when the first came, they expected that they should receive more; and they also received every man a denarius. ( )but when they received it, they murmured against the master of the family: ( )saying, these last have wrought only a single hour, and thou hast put them on an equality with us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. ( )but he answering, said to one of them, friend, i do thee no injustice; did i not agree with thee for a denarius? ( )take then thine own, and begone: i chuse to give to this last even as to thee. ( )is it not lawful for me to do what i will with my own? is thine eye evil, because i am good? ( )thus shall the last be first, and the first last; for many are called, but the elect are few. ( )and jesus going up to jerusalem, took his twelve disciples aside on the road, and said to them; ( )lo! we are going up to jerusalem, and the son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, ( )and shall deliver him to the gentiles, to insult, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall rise again. ( )then came to him the mother of zebedee's children, with her sons, paying him obeisance, and petitioning a favour of him. ( )then he said to her, what is thy wish? she saith unto him, tell me that these my two sons shall sit, the one at thy right hand, and the other at thy left, in thy kingdom. ( )then jesus answering said, ye know not what ye ask. can ye drink of the cup that i am going to drink, and be baptised with the baptism with which i am baptised? they say unto him, we are able. ( )and he saith unto them, ye shall indeed drink of my cup, and with the baptism with which i am baptised, shall ye be baptised; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, it is not in my power to bestow, but on those, for whom it was prepared by my father. ( )and the twelve, on hearing this, were filled with indignation against the two brethren. ( )but jesus, calling them to him, said, ye know that the princes of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority among them. ( )but thus shall it not be with you. but whosoever will be a great man among you, let him be your servant; ( )and whosoever will be first, let him be your slave. ( )even as the son of man came not to be waited upon, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. ( )and as they were going out of jericho, a great multitude followed him. ( )and, behold, two blind men sat by the road side, who hearing that jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, have mercy on us, o lord, son of david! ( )and the multitude checked them, that they should be silent; but they cried out the more, have mercy on us, lord, son of david. ( )and jesus standing called them, and said, what desire ye, that i should do for you? ( )they say unto him, lord, that our eyes may be opened. ( )then jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes recovered sight, and they followed him. chap. xxi. and when they drew nigh to jerusalem, and were come to bethphage to the mount of olives, then jesus sent two disciples, ( )saying to them, go into the village, which is opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a foal with her; loose and bring them to me. ( )and if any man say aught to you, ye shall tell them, that the lord hath need of them, and immediately he will send them. ( )now this was entirely done, that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ( )"tell the daughter of sion, lo! thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting on an ass, even on a foal the ass's colt." ( )then the disciples going, and doing as jesus had commanded them, ( )brought the ass and her foal, and they spread over them their garments, and seated him upon them. ( )and a vast multitude spread their garments on the road, and others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them on the road: ( )and the multitudes who went before, and who followed after, cried, saying, hosanna, to the son of david; blessed is he who cometh in the name of the lord: hosanna in the highest. ( )and when he was entered into jerusalem, the whole city was in commotion, saying, who is this? ( )then the multitudes said, this is jesus, the prophet, who is from nazareth of galilee. ( )and jesus entered into the temple of god, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves ( )and said unto them, it is written, "my house shall be called a house of prayer," but ye have made it a den of robbers. ( )then the blind and the lame came unto him, into the temple, and he cured them. ( )but when the chief priests and scribes saw the marvellous acts which he did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, hosanna to the son of david; they were filled with indignation; ( )and said to him, hearest thou what these say? jesus replied to them, yes; but have ye never read, "that out of the mouths of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" ( )and turning his back upon them, he went out of the city to bethany, and lodged there. ( )now in the morning, when returning into the city, he was hungry: ( )and seeing a fig-tree at the road side, he went up to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only: and saith unto it, let no fruit spring from thee henceforth for ever: and immediately the fig-tree withered entirely away. ( )and when his disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, how suddenly is the fig-tree withered away! ( )but jesus addressing them, said, verily i tell you, if ye have faith, and entertain no doubt, not only shall ye do what is done to the fig-tree, but if ye should even say to this mountain, be lifted up, and be cast into the sea, it be done. ( )and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. ( )and when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him, as he was teaching, demanding, by what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? ( )then jesus answering, said to them, i also will ask you one question, which if ye answer me, then will i tell you by what authority i do these things. ( )the baptism of john whence was it? from heaven, or from men? hereupon they reasoned among themselves, saying, if we reply, from heaven, he will say to us, why then did ye not believe him? ( )but if we say, from men, we are afraid of the populace, for they all hold john as a prophet. ( )so they answered jesus, and said, we cannot tell. then said he also to them, neither tell i you by what authority i do these things. ( )but what think ye? a man had two sons; and coming to the first he said, son, go work to-day in my vineyard. ( )but he answering said, i will not: yet repenting afterwards, he went. ( )and coming to the other, he spake after the same manner, and he replying, said, i go, sir; yet went not. ( )which of the two did the will of his father? they say to him, the first. jesus saith to them, verily i say unto you, that tax-gatherers and harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of god. ( )for john came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the tax-gatherers and harlots believed on him. but ye, when ye saw it, repented not afterwards, that ye should believe on him. ( )hear another parable: there was a certain man, the master of a family, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and hired it out to husbandmen, and went into a distant country. ( )but when the season for fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen to receive his fruits. ( )and the husbandmen took his servants, one they beat, and another they killed, and a third they stoned. ( )again he sent other servants more than the first, and they treated them in the same manner. ( )then at last he sent unto them his son, saying, they will reverence my son. ( )but the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, this is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on the inheritance. ( )and they took him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. ( )when therefore the master of the vineyard cometh, what will he do with these husbandmen? ( )they say unto him, he will dreadfully destroy those wicked wretches, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render him the fruits in their seasons. ( )jesus saith unto them, have ye not read in the scriptures, "the stone, which the builders rejected; the same is become the head of the corner; this is done by the lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes." ( )therefore i tell you, that the kingdom of god shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation, producing the fruits thereof. ( )and whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken in pieces, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. ( )and when the chief priests and pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking concerning them. ( )and they sought to apprehend him; but were afraid of the people, for they held him as a prophet. chap. xxii. and jesus continuing his discourse, spake again to them in parables, saying, ( )the kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, who made a marriage-feast for his son: ( )and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the entertainment: and they would not come. ( )again he sent other servants, saying, tell those who have been invited, behold, i have prepared my dinner; my oxen and the fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage-feast. ( )but they gave themselves no concern about it, and went their several ways, one to his own farm, and another to his traffick: ( )and the rest seizing his servants, insulted and slew them. ( )then the king, when he heard it, was incensed: and sending out his armies, destroyed these murderers, and burnt down their city. ( )then he said to his servants, the wedding entertainment indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy: ( )go therefore into the thoroughfares of the roads, and as many as ye find, invite to the banquet. ( )so these servants going out into the roads, collected all, as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding feast was fully furnished with guests. ( )then the king coming in to look around on the guests, saw there a man who had not put on the wedding garment: ( )and he saith to him, friend, how came thou in here, not having the garment provided for the marriage feast? and he was speechless. ( )then said the king to the servants, bind his feet and hands, and take him away, and cast him into the darkness, which is without; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( )for many are called, but few elect. ( )then went the pharisees, and took counsel together how they might lay a snare to entrap him in his discourse. ( )and they sent to him their disciples, with the herodians, saying, master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of god with veracity; and carest for no man, for thou regardest not the person of men: ( )tell us therefore, what thinkest thou? is it lawful to pay tribute to caesar, or not? ( )but jesus knew their wicked design, and said, why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? ( )shew me the money for the tribute; and they brought him a denarius. ( )and he saith unto them, whose figure is this and inscription? ( )they say unto him, caesar's. then saith he to them, render therefore to caesar, the things which are caesar's; and to god, the things which are god's. ( )and when they heard him, they marvelled, and leaving him, went away. ( )on the same day the sadducees came to him, who say, that there is no resurrection, and they put a question to him, ( )saying, master, moses said, "if a man die having no children, his brother in right of affinity shall marry his wife, and raise up seed for his brother." ( )now there were with us seven brothers; and the first marrying, died, and had no offspring, and left his wife to his brother; ( )likewise the second also; then the third; so on to the seven. ( )last of all the woman died also. ( )in the resurrection therefore, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. ( )jesus then answering, said unto them, ye are in an error, from not knowing the scriptures, and the power of god. ( )for at the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of god in heaven. ( )but with respect to the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was spoken to you of god, saying, ( )"i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob?" god is not the god of the dead, but of the living. ( )and when the multitude heard it, they were amazingly struck with his doctrine. ( )but the pharisees hearing that he had stopped the sadducees' mouths, they assembled together: ( )and one of them, a teacher of the law, put a question to him, to make trial of him, and said, ( )master, which is the great commandment in the law? ( )then jesus said to him, "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." ( )this is the first and great commandment. ( )and the second is like to it, "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." ( )on these two commandments, the whole law and the prophets depend. ( )the pharisees being then assembled, jesus put a question to them, ( )saying, what think ye of the messiah, whose son is he? they say unto him, david's. ( )he saith unto them, how then doth david by the spirit call him lord? saying, ( )"the lord said unto my lord, sit at my right hand, till i put thine enemies as a footstool for thy feet." ( )if then david calleth him lord, how is he his son? ( )and no man could answer him a word, neither durst any man, from that day, interrogate him any more. chap. xxiii. then jesus spake to the multitudes and to his disciples, ( )saying, the scribes and pharisees are seated on the chair of moses; ( )all things therefore which they prescribe for you to observe, observe and practise; but do not according to their works, for they say, yet do not practise. ( )for they bind burdens grievous, and difficultly borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they will not move them with a finger of their own. ( )and all their works they do to be seen of men: they make their phylacteries broad, and deepen the fringes of their garments, ( )and love the principal couch at suppers, and the chief seats in the synagogues, ( )and salutations in the places of public concourse, and to be called of men, rabbi, rabbi. ( )but be not ye called rabbi, for one is your leader, the messiah; and ye all are brethren. ( )and call no man your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven. ( )and be not called leaders; for one is your leader, the messiah. ( )but he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ( )for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and whosoever abaseth himself shall be exalted. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven from men; for ye yourselves enter not in, and those who were coming in, ye suffer not to enter. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: wherefore ye shall receive greater condemnation. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is gained, ye make him doubly more the child of hell than yourselves. ( )wo unto you ye blind guides! who say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, it is binding. ( )ye fools and blind! for which is the greater, the gold, or the temple which consecrates the gold? ( )and again, whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, it is binding. ( )ye fools and blind! which is the greater, the gift, or the altar which consecrates the gift? ( )whosoever therefore sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it. ( )and whosoever sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him also who dwelleth in it. ( )so he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of god, and by him who is seated upon it. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithes of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier precepts of the law, judgment, and mercy, and fidelity: these thing ought ye to have done, and not to leave the others undone. ( )ye blind guides! who strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup, and of the dish, but within they are full of rapacity and intemperance. ( )thou blind pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and dish, that their outside may become clean also. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye resemble tombs whitewashed, which outwardly indeed appear specious, but within are full of dead men's bones, and all manner of impurity. ( )and just so, ye without indeed appear to men righteous, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the sepulchres of the just, ( )and say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. ( )wherefore ye bear a testimony to yourselves, that ye are the children of those who killed the prophets. ( )fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. ( )ye serpents, ye broods of vipers! how can ye escape from the damnation of hell? ( )therefore, behold, i am sending to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill, and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: ( )that upon you may come all the righteous blood which hath been poured out upon the earth, from the blood of the righteous abel, to the blood of zachariah, son of barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. ( )verily i say unto you, all these things shall come on this generation. ( )o jerusalem, jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest those who were sent unto thee, how often would i have gathered thy children to me, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? ( )behold, your habitation is left unto you desolate. ( )for i tell you, ye shall henceforth no more see me, until ye say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord. chap. xxiv. and jesus departing was going his way from the temple: and his disciples came to him, to point out to his observation the buildings of the temple. ( )but jesus said unto them, do you not see all these things? i tell you of a certainty, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be utterly thrown down. ( )then as he was sitting upon the mount of olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us, when shall there things be? and what is the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? ( )and jesus answering said unto them, beware that no man deceive you. ( )for many will come in my name, saying, i am the messiah; and shall deceive multitudes. ( )and ye shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars: see that ye be not terrified: for these things must first be, but the end is not yet. ( )for nation shall be roused up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. ( )now all these things are the beginning of the travailing pangs. ( )then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ( )and then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and hate one another. ( )and many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. ( )and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will grow cool. ( )but he that endureth to the end, that man will be saved. ( )and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached through the whole world for a testimony to all the nations: and then shall come the final close. ( )when therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet daniel, erected in the holy place, (let him that readeth, mark this,) ( )then let such as are in judea flee into the mountains. ( )let not him who is upon the roof go down to take any thing out of his house. ( )and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to take his garment. ( )but wo to those who are with child, and have an infant at their breasts in those days! ( )and pray that your flight be not in winter, nor on the sabbath. ( )for then the tribulation will be great, such as never was from the beginning of the world, and never more shall be. ( )and except those days were shortened, there would be no flesh saved: but for the elect's sake these days shall be shortened. ( )then if any man say unto you, lo! here is the messiah, or there; believe it not: ( )for false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and give out great signs and wonders; so as to deceive, if it were possible, even the elect. ( )behold, i have forewarned you. ( )therefore if they say to you, he is in the wilderness; go not out: lo! he is in the secret closets; believe it not. ( )for as the lightning cometh out from the east, and flashes to the west; so shall be the coming of the son of man. ( )for wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ( )then, immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. ( )and then shall the sign of the son of man appear in the heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth lament bitterly, and they shall see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ( )and he shall send forth his angels with a trumpet, and a great shout, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens to the extremities of the same. ( )learn then a parable from the fig-tree; when its branch is now tender, and the leaves shoot forth, ye know that summer is nigh: ( )just so ye, when ye behold these things, know that it is near, even at the gates. ( )verily i say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things shall be done. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away. ( )but of that day and hour no man knoweth, not even the angels of heaven, but my father alone. ( )but as the days of noah were, so also shall the coming of the son of man be. ( )for as they were in the days preceding the deluge, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that noah entered into the ark, ( )and they knew it not till the deluge came, and swept them all away; such also shall the coming of the son of man be. ( )then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other dismissed. ( )two women grinding at the mill; the one taken, the other dismissed. ( )watch therefore: for ye know not at what hour your master cometh. ( )and this observe, that if the master of the family had known in which watch of the night the thief would have come, he would have watched, and not have suffered him to break into his house. ( )therefore be ye also prepared: for in an hour that ye think not, the son of man cometh. ( )who then is the faithful and provident servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his household, to give them meat in the proper time? ( )blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find thus occupied. ( )verily i say unto you, that he will place him over all his substance. ( )but if that wicked servant say in his heart, my master will be a long while ere he comes; ( )and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; ( )the master of that servant will come in a day that he doth not expect him, and at an hour which he knoweth not. ( )and will cut him asunder, and give him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. chap. xxv. then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom. ( )but five of them were provident, and five foolish. ( )those who were taking their lamps, took no oil with them: ( )but the provident took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ( )but as the bridegroom stayed long, they all slumbered and slept. ( )then at midnight the cry came, behold, the bridegroom is coming; go forth to meet him. ( )then all these virgins arose, and set about trimming their lamps. ( )and the foolish said to the provident, give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. ( )but the provident replied, saying, no; lest there be not a sufficiency for us and you: but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. ( )but while they were gone away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they who were prepared went in with him to the marriage-feast: and the door was shut. ( )then came afterwards the other virgins, saying, lord, lord, open unto us. ( )but he answering said, verily, i know you not. ( )watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour in which the son of man cometh. ( )for the case is like that of a man, who travelling abroad, called his own servants, and delivered to them his goods. ( )and to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his several capacity; and immediately went abroad. ( )he then who had received the five talents, went and traded with them, and acquired five other talents. ( )in the same manner also he that had the two, gained also himself two others. ( )but he that had received the one talent, went and digged a hole in the ground, and hid the silver of his master. ( )then after a long absence the master of these servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. ( )and he who had received the five talents, coming to him, brought five other talents, saying, sir, thou deliveredst to me five talents: i have gained to them five other talents. ( )his master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will place thee over many: enter into the joy of thy master. ( )then came also he that had received the two talents: and said, sir, thou deliveredst to me two talents: lo! i have gained to them two other talents. ( )his master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will place thee over many: enter thou into thy master's joy. ( )then came also he that had received the one talent, and said, sir, knowing thee, that thou art a severe man, reaping where thou hast not sowed, and gathering from whence thou hast not scattered: ( )and being afraid, i went and hid thy talent in the ground: see here, thou hast thine own. ( )then his master answering said to him, thou wicked and idle slave, thou knewest that i reap whence i had not sown, and gather where i had not scattered: ( )thou oughtest then to have placed my money with the bankers, so when i came i should have received my own with interest. ( )take therefore from him the talent, and give it to him that hath the ten talents. ( )for to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. ( )and cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( )but when the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: ( )and before him shall all the nations be gathered together; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats: ( )and he shall place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. ( )then shall the king say to those on his right-hand, come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ( )for i was hungry, and ye gave me to eat: i was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink: i was a stranger, and ye received me hospitably: ( )naked, and ye clothed me: i was sick, and ye took care of me: i was in prison, and ye came to me. ( )then shall the righteous answer him, saying, lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ( )when indeed saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ( )when indeed saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ( )and the king answering shall say to them, verily i tell you, for as much as ye have done it to one of these my brethren, the very least of them, ye have done it unto me. ( )then shall he say also to those on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ( )for i was hungry, and ye gave me nothing to eat: i was thirsty, and ye gave me nothing to drink: ( )i was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye did not clothe me: sick, and in prison, and ye took no care of me. ( )then shall they also answer him, saying, lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ( )then shall he reply to them, saying, for as much as ye have not done it to one of the least of these, neither have ye done it to me. ( )and these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. chap. xxvi. and it came to pass, that when jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ( )ye know that after two days is the passover, and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified. ( )then were the chief priests and scribes, and the elders of the people gathered together in the palace of the high-priest, called caiaphas. ( )and they consulted together, how they might seize jesus by guile, and put him to death. ( )but they said, not on the feast-day, lest there be a tumult among the people. ( )now when jesus was at bethany, in the house of simon the leper, ( )there came to him a woman having an alabaster-box of very precious aromatic ointment, and poured it upon his head as he sat at table. ( )but when the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, for what end is this waste? ( )for this ointment might have been sold for a considerable sum, and given to the poor. ( )then jesus knowing it, said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? for she hath performed a good act upon me: ( )for the poor ye have always with you, but me ye have not always: ( )for in pouring this odoriferous ointment on my body, she hath done it for my burial. ( )verily i say unto you, wherever this gospel is preached through the whole world, what she hath done shall be also spoken of for a memorial of her. ( )then went one of the twelve, called judas iscariot, to the chief priests, ( )and said, what will ye give me, and i will deliver him unto you? then they placed before him thirty pieces of silver. ( )and from that time he sought an opportunity to deliver him up to them. ( )then on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to jesus, saying to him, where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? ( )and he said, go into the city, unto such a man, and say unto him, the master saith, my time is at hand: i will keep the passover with my disciples at thy house. ( )and his disciples did as jesus commanded them; and they made ready the passover. ( )and when the evening was come, he sat down at table with the twelve. ( )and as they were eating, he said, verily i say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ( )and exceedingly grieved, they began to say to him every one of them, lord, am i the person? ( )but he answering said, he that dippeth his hand with me into the dish, that man shall betray me. ( )the son of man indeed is departing, as it is written of him: but wo to that man, by whom the son of man is betrayed! well had it been for that man if he had never had a being. ( )then judas, who betrayed him, addressing him said, master, is it i? he saith to him, thou hast named the person. ( )then as they were eating, jesus took bread, and blessing, brake, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat: this is my body. ( )and taking the cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of this: ( )for this is my blood, that _blood_ of the new testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. ( )and i tell you, that i will no more henceforth drink of this produce of the vine, until that day when i drink it with you, new, in the kingdom of my father. ( )and when they had sung an hymn, they went out to the mount of olives. ( )then saith jesus unto them, ye all will be offended at me this night: for it is written, "i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." ( )but after i am risen, i will go before you into galilee. ( )then peter, taking up the word, said to him, though all should be offended at thee, yet will i never be offended. ( )jesus saith to him, i tell thee of a certainty, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. ( )peter said to him, though i should die with thee, never will i deny thee. in like manner also said all the disciples. ( )then cometh jesus with them to a place called gethsemane, and saith to his disciples, sit ye here, while i go and pray yonder. ( )and taking peter and the two sons of zebedee, he began to be deeply sorrowful, and to be overwhelmed with dejection. ( )then saith he to them. my soul is exceeding sorrowful even to death: abide here, and watch with me. ( )and going a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, and saying, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as i will, but as thou wilt. ( )and he cometh to the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and he saith to peter, is it so, that ye have not strength to watch with me one hour? ( )watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. ( )again the second time he went away, and prayed, saying, o my father, if it be not possible, that this cup pass from me, but that i should drink it, thy will be done. ( )and coming, he found them asleep again, for their eyes were weighed down. ( )and leaving them, he went away again, and prayed the third time, repeating the same sentence. ( )then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, do ye still sleep on, and repose yourselves? lo! the hour is at hand, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ( )arise, let us go: lo! he that betrayeth me approaches. ( )and while he was yet speaking, behold, judas one of the twelve came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ( )now he that betrayed him had given them a signal, saying, whomsoever i shall kiss, that is he: seize him. ( )and immediately approaching to jesus, he said, hail, master; and kissed him. ( )then spake jesus to him, friend, for what purpose art thou here? then approaching they laid hands on jesus, and seized him. ( )and behold, one of those who were with jesus stretching out his hand, drew his sword, and striking at a servant of the high-priest, cut off his ear. ( )then saith jesus unto him, return thy sword into its sheath: for all who take the sword, shall perish by the sword. ( )thinkest thou, that i cannot now entreat my father, and he will give me more than twelve legions of angels? ( )but how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? ( )in that hour said jesus to the multitudes, are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves to apprehend me? i sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid not hold upon me. ( )but all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets should be fulfilled. then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. ( )then they who had apprehended jesus, brought him to caiaphas the high-priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. ( )but peter followed him at a great distance unto the palace of the high-priest, and entering in, sat down with the servants, to see the issue. ( )now the chief priests and elders and the whole sanhedrim, sought false witness against jesus, that they might put him to death; ( )and found none: and though many false witnesses came, they found it not _sufficient_. but at the last two false witnesses stepping forth, ( )said, this fellow said, i am able to pull down the temple of god, and to build it up in three days. ( )and the high-priest rising up, said to him, answerest thou nothing? what do these men witness against thee? ( )but jesus was silent. and the high-priest addressing him, said, i adjure thee, by the living god, that thou tell us, if thou art the messiah, the son of god. ( )jesus saith to him, thou hast spoken _the fact_. moreover i tell you, hereafter ye shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. ( )then the high-priest rent his garments, saying, he hath blasphemed: what farther need have we of witnesses? lo! now ye have heard his blasphemy: ( )what think ye? they answered and said, he is deserving of death. ( )then they spit in his face, and buffeted him about; and some slapt his face with their hands, ( )saying, prophesy to us, you messiah, who it is that struck thee! ( )now peter sat without in the hall: and there came to him a single maid-servant, saying, thou also wert with jesus of galilee. ( )but he denied it before them all, asserting, i know not what thou art saying. ( )then as he was going out at the gate, another maid-servant saw him, and saith to those who were there, this fellow also was with jesus of nazareth. ( )then again he denied with an oath, i know not the man. ( )but after a little while they who stood by, came up and said to peter, assuredly thou also art one of them: for even thy speech maketh thee manifest. ( )then began he to utter the bitterest curses, and to swear, i know not the man. and immediately the cock crew. ( )and peter remembered the word of jesus, who had said unto him, before the cock shall crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. and going out, he wept bitterly. chap. xxvii. now when the morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against jesus how they might put him to death. ( )and having bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to pontius pilate the governor. ( )then judas who betrayed him, seeing that he was condemned, repenting, carried back the thirty silver pieces to the chief priests and the elders, ( )saying, i have sinned, in betraying innocent blood. but they said, what is that to us? see thou to that. ( )and throwing down the silver pieces in the temple, he departed; and going out, hanged himself. ( )then the chief priests taking up the silver pieces, said, it is not lawful to put them to the treasure destined for sacred uses, because it is the price of blood. ( )so taking counsel, they bought with them a potter's field, as a burial-place for strangers. ( )therefore is that field called, the field of blood unto this day. ( )then was fulfilled what was spoken by jeremiah the prophet, saying, and they took the thirty silver pieces, the price of him who had been estimated at that rate, whom they of the children of israel did value: ( )and gave them for the potter's field, as the lord had ordered me. ( )then was jesus placed before the governor, and the governor interrogated him, saying, art thou the king of the jews? then jesus replied to him, thou sayest _true_. ( )and when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he made no reply. ( )then saith pilate to him, hearest thou not how many things they testify against thee? ( )and he made him no reply, no not to a single word: so that the governor marvelled exceedingly. ( )now at the feast, the governor had been accustomed to release one prisoner to the people, whomsoever they chose. ( )and they had at that time a notorious prisoner, called barabbas. ( )being therefore gathered around him, pilate said to them, whom will ye that i release unto you? barabbas, or jesus called messiah? ( )for he knew that out of envy they had delivered him up. ( )then, as he was sitting on the tribunal, his wife sent a message to him, saying, have thou nothing to do with that righteous person; for i have suffered much to-day in a dream on his account. ( )but the chief priests and elders persuaded the populace that they should ask for barabbas, and destroy jesus. ( )the governor repeating the question, said to them, which of the two will ye that i release unto you? they said barabbas. ( )pilate saith unto them, what then shall i do with jesus, who is called the messiah? they all say to him, let him be crucified. ( )the governor replied, but what evil hath he done? they cried out with greater vehemence, saying, let him be crucified. ( )when pilate saw that it was of no use to contend, but that rather a tumult was rising, he took water, and washed his hands before the people, saying, i am innocent of the blood of this righteous man: ye must answer for it. ( )then all the people answering said, his blood be on us, and on our children. ( )then he released unto them barabbas: but having scourged jesus, he delivered him up to be crucified. ( )thereupon the soldiers of the governor taking jesus away to the praetorium, gathered around him the whole band: ( )and stripping him, put about him a scarlet cloak. ( )and platting a crown of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a cane in his right hand: and bowing the knee before him, mocked him, saying, hail, king of the jews! ( )and spitting upon him, they took the cane, and struck him upon his head. ( )and when they had insulted him, they took off from him the cloak, and put his own garments on him, and led him away to crucify him. ( )and as they were going out, they found a man of cyrene, simon by name; him they compelled to carry his cross. ( )and when they were come to a place called golgotha (which is called the place of a skull), ( )they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and having tasted it, he refused to drink. ( )then having crucified him, they parted his garments, casting the lot: that it might be fulfilled, what was spoken by the prophet, they parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they threw the lot. ( )and sitting down, they guarded him there. ( )and they placed over his head his accusation in writing, this is jesus the king of the jews. ( )then were crucified with him two robbers, one on his right hand, and the other on his left. ( )and they who were passing by reviled him, shaking their heads, ( )and saying, thou that canst pull down the temple, and build it in three days, save thyself. if thou be the son of god, descend from the cross. ( )and with similar language also did the chief priests, insulting him, with the scribes and elders, and pharisees, ( )say, he saved others, himself he is unable to save. if he be the king of israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. ( )he trusted in god; let him now deliver him, if he will have him: for he said, i am the son of god. ( )and in the same manner also, did the robbers who were crucified with him, revile him. ( )now from the fifth hour darkness fell upon all the land, unto the ninth hour. ( )but about the ninth hour jesus cried out with an exceeding loud cry, saying, eli! eli! lama, sabacthani? that is, my god! my god! why hast thou forsaken me? ( )then some of those who stood there, hearing him, said, this man is calling out for elias. ( )and immediately one of them, running, and taking a sponge, and filling it with vinegar, and fastening it to a pole, put it to him to drink. ( )the others said, let him alone, let us see whether elias will come to save him. ( )then jesus crying again with a loud voice gave up the ghost. ( )and, lo! the vail of the temple was rent in two, from the upper part to the bottom; and the earth was shaken; and the rocks were rent; ( )and the sepulchres were opened; and many bodies of saints, who slept, arose; ( )and coming out of the sepulchres after his resurrection, entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many. ( )then the centurion, and they who were with him, guarding jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things which were done, were exceedingly terrified, saying, assuredly this was the son of god. ( )now there were many women on the spot, looking on at a distance, who had followed jesus from galilee, ministering unto him: ( )among whom was mary magdalen, and mary the mother of james and joses, and the mother of zebedee's children. ( )but when the evening was come, there came a rich man of arimathea, whose name was joseph, who himself also was a disciple of jesus: ( )he going in to pilate, begged for the body of jesus. then pilate ordered the body to be given him. ( )and joseph receiving the body, wrapped it in clean linen; ( )and laid it in his own new sepulchre, which he had hewn out in a rock: and rolling a vast stone against the door of the sepulchre, departed. ( )and mary magdalen, and the other mary, were there sitting opposite the sepulchre. ( )now on the morrow, which is the day after the preparation, the chief priests and pharisees came in a body to pilate, ( )saying, sir, we have reflected, that this deceiver, when yet alive, said, after three days i will rise again. ( )command therefore that the sepulchre be made perfectly secure until the third day, lest his disciples coming by night, steal him, and say to the people, he is risen from the dead, so the last delusion would be worse than the first. ( )then said pilate unto them, ye have a guard, go and make it as secure as ye think fit. ( )so they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting a seal upon the stone, after placing the guard. chap. xxviii. now after the eve of the sabbath, as the light was dawning, towards the first day of the week, mary magdalen had come, and the other mary, to view the sepulchre. ( )and, lo! there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the lord descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. ( )his aspect was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow. ( )and for fear of him the guards shook, and became as dead men. ( )then the angel addressing them, said to the women, fear not ye; for i know that ye are seeking jesus who was crucified. ( )he is not here: he is risen, as he said. come hither, behold the place where the lord lay. ( )and go quickly, tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead: and, lo! he goeth before you into galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. ( )and they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear, and great joy; and ran to carry the tidings to his disciples. ( )and as they were going to tell the disciples, then behold jesus met them saying, hail! and they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. ( )then saith jesus to them, be not affrighted: go, tell my disciples that they go into galilee, there shall they see me. ( )and as they were going, some of the guards who were come into the city, had told the chief priests all things which had happened. ( )and being assembled with the elders, and having held a council, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ( )saying, report, that his disciples coming by night stole him away, while you were asleep. ( )and if this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and preserve you harmless. ( )so they took the money, and did as they were instructed. and this account is circulated among the jews to this day. ( )then the eleven disciples went into galilee, to the mountain, where jesus had ordered them. ( )and when they saw him, they worshipped him. still some doubted. ( )then jesus approaching, spake to them, saying, all power is given me in heaven and upon earth. ( )go therefore, make disciples among all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost: ( )teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you: and, lo! i am with you at all times even to the end of the world. amen. the gospel according to mark. chap. i. the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ, the son of god; ( )as it is written in the prophets[ ]; "behold, i send my messenger before thy face, he shall prepare thy way before thee. ( )the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make his paths strait." ( )john was baptising in the wilderness, and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. ( )and all the country of judea went out to him, and they of jerusalem, and were all baptised by him in the river jordan, confessing their sins. ( )now john was clothed with a camel's hair garment, and a girdle of leather about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. ( )and he preached, saying, one mightier than i is coming after me, the string of whose shoes i am not worthy, stooping down, to unloose. ( )i indeed baptise you with water; but he shall baptise you with the holy ghost. ( )and it came to pass in those days, jesus came from nazareth in galilee, and was baptised of john in jordan. ( )and immediately on going up from the water, he saw the heavens divided by a chasm, and the spirit as a dove descending upon him: ( )and a voice came from heaven, thou art my beloved son, in thee i am well pleased. ( )and immediately the spirit impelled him to go into the wilderness. ( )and he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministred unto him. ( )but after john was delivered up, jesus came into galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god: ( )and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god draweth nigh: repent, and believe the gospel. ( )and as he walked near the sea of galilee, he saw simon and andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ( )and jesus said to them, come after me, and i will appoint you to be fishers of men: ( )and immediately leaving their nets, they followed him. ( )and going from thence a little farther, he saw james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, and others in the vessel mending the nets. ( )and immediately he called them: and leaving their father zebedee in the vessel with the hirelings, they went after him. ( )and they entered into capernaum; and immediately on the sabbath going into the synagogue, he taught. ( )and they were struck with astonishment at his doctrine; for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ( )and there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ( )saying, let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou jesus of nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? i know thee who thou art, the holy one of god. ( )and jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent, and come out of him. ( )and the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ( )and they were all in astonishment, so that they questioned one another, saying, what is this? what is this new doctrine? that with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him? ( )and there went out a report of him immediately into all the region of galilee round about. ( )then straitway going out of the synagogue, they came into the house of simon and andrew, with james and john. ( )but simon's wife's mother lay in a fever, and immediately they informed him of her. ( )and he came and raised her up, and the fever left her immediately, and she waited upon them. ( )but when the evening was come, after the sun was set, they brought unto him all that had illnesses, and the demoniacs. ( )and the whole city was gathered together about the door; ( )and he healed many who were grievously afflicted with a variety of diseases; and he cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak for they knew him. ( )and very early (the night being far advanced towards morning) rising up, he went forth, and retired into a desert place, and there prayed. ( )and simon, and those who were with him, eagerly pursued him; ( )and when they had found him, they say unto him, all men are inquiring after thee. ( )and he said unto them, let us go into the neighbouring towns, that i may preach there also; for unto this purpose came i forth. ( )and he was preaching in their synagogues, through all galilee, and casting out devils. ( )and there came to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ( )then jesus, moved with compassion, stretching out his hand, touched him, and said to him, i will; be thou cleansed. ( )and as he spake, the leprosy instantly departed from him, and he was cleansed. ( )and giving him a strict charge, he immediately sent him away; ( )and said to him, take care, that thou speak not a word to any man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy purification, what moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. ( )but he going out, began to proclaim it much, and to publish abroad an account of it, so that he could no more openly come into the city; but was without in desert places; and they came to him from all parts of the country. chap. ii. and again he entered into capernaum after some days: and it was heard, that he was in the house; ( )and immediately many collected round him, so that there was no room, not even at the door; and he spake the word to them. ( )and they come to him, carrying a paralytic, borne of four: ( )and not being able to come nigh him because of the crowd, they stripped off the roofing of the house where he was; and having broken a way through, they let down with ropes the couch, on which the paralytic lay. ( )then jesus beholding their faith, saith to the paralytic, son, thy sins are forgiven thee. ( )now there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, ( )why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but the one god? ( )and instantly jesus knowing by his spirit, that they reasoned thus among each other, said to them, why reason ye about these things in your hearts? ( )which is the easier thing, to say to a paralytic, thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, arise and take up thy couch, and walk away? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man hath authority upon earth to forgive sins, he saith to the paralytic, ( )i say unto thee, arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thy house. ( )and he arose instantly, and taking up his couch, went out before them all; so that they were all astonished, and glorified god, saying, we never before saw any thing like this. ( )and he went forth again to the sea side; and all the people came unto him; and he taught them. ( )and passing by, he saw levi the son of alpheus sitting at the custom-house, and he saith to him, follow me. and he arose and followed him ( )and it came to pass, as he sat at table in his house, many publicans also, and sinners, sat down with jesus and his disciples; for they were numerous, and they followed him. ( )and the scribes and the pharisees seeing him eat with publicans and sinners, said to his disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? ( )and when jesus heard it, he said unto them, they who are in strong health have no need of a physician, but they who have illness: i came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ( )and the disciples of john and of the pharisees kept fasts; and they came and said to him, wherefore do the disciples of john, and of the pharisees, fast? but thy disciples keep no fast. ( )and jesus said to them, can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ( )but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. ( )and no man seweth on a patch of cloth undressed upon an old garment: but if otherwise, the new piece supplied taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. ( )and no man putteth new wine into old bottles; but if otherwise, the new wine will burst the bottles, and the wine will be spilt, and the bottles destroyed: but new wine must be put into new bottles. ( )and he was walking through the cornfields on the sabbath; and his disciples as they went on the road plucked the ears of corn. ( )and the pharisees said to him, see, why are they doing on the sabbath, what is not lawful? ( )and he said unto them, have ye never read what david did, when he was under necessity, and was hungry, himself and they who were with him? ( )how he entered into the house of god to abiathar the high-priest; and did eat the shewbread, which it was not lawful for any to eat except the priests, and he gave also to those who were with him? ( )and he said unto them, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. ( )wherefore the son of man is lord also of the sabbath. chap. iii. and he entered again into the synagogue; and a man was there who had a withered hand. ( )and they watched him if he would cure him on the sabbath; that they might accuse him. ( )and he saith to the man who had the withered hand, rise up in the midst. ( )and he saith to them, is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil, to preserve life, or to kill? but they were silent. ( )then looking round about on them with indignation, exceedingly grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith to the man, stretch out thine hand; and he stretched it out: and his hand was restored sound as the other. ( )and the pharisees instantly going out, held a council with the herodians against him, how they might destroy him. ( )and jesus retired with his disciples to the sea side; and a great multitude from galilee followed him, and from judea, ( )and from jerusalem, and from idumea, and from the farther side of jordan; and they around tyre and sidon, a vast multitude, when they heard what wonders he did, came unto him. ( )and he spoke to his disciples that a little boat should be ready for him, because of the crowd, lest they should press upon him: ( )for he healed many; insomuch, that they thronged in upon him, that they might touch him, as many as had afflictive diseases. ( )and the unclean spirits, when they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried out saying, thou art the son of god. ( )and he repeatedly charged them, that they should not make him known. ( )and he went up into a mountain, and called to him those whom he chose; and they came to him. ( )and he appointed twelve to be with him, and to send them out to preach: ( )and to have authority to cure diseases, and to cast out devils: ( )and simon he surnamed peter; ( )and james the son of zebedee, and john the brother of james; and surnamed them boanerges, that is, sons of thunder: ( )and andrew and philip, and bartholomew, and matthew, and thomas, and james the son of alpheus, and thaddeus, and simon the canaanite, ( )and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him: and they came into an house. ( )and the multitude came together again, so that they were not able even to eat bread. ( )and when his relations heard it, they went out to restrain him, for they said, he is transported beyond all bounds. ( )and the scribes who came down from jerusalem, said, he hath beelzebub, and by this prince of the devils doth he cast out devils. ( )so calling them to him, he spake to them in parables, how can satan cast out satan? ( )even if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand: ( )and if a family be divided against itself, that family cannot be established. ( )so if satan rise up against himself, and is divided, he cannot subsist, but cometh to an end. ( )no man entering into his house, can plunder a strong man's goods, unless he first bind the strong man, then indeed he spoileth his house. ( )verily i say unto you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and the blasphemies, whatsoever they may blaspheme: ( )but whosoever shall blaspheme against the holy ghost, hath no forgiveness to eternity, but is adjudged to everlasting damnation. ( )because they said, he hath an unclean spirit. ( )then came his brethren and his mother, and standing without sent unto him, calling aloud for him. ( )and the multitude sat around him, and they said to him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren without are asking for thee. ( )and he answered them, saying, who is my mother or my brethren? ( )and looking about on those who were sitting in a circle round him, he saith, behold my mother and my brethren! ( )for whosoever shall do the will of god, that person is my brother, and my sister, and mother. chap. iv. and again he began to teach by the sea side: and a vast multitude was assembled about him, so that he went into a vessel to sit down on the sea, and all the multitude was on the land close by the sea. ( )and he taught them in parables many things, and said unto them in the course of his teaching, ( )hear me! behold, a sower went out to sow; ( )and it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the road side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up. ( )and some fell on a rocky soil, where it had not much mold, and immediately it sprung up, because it had no depth of earth: ( )and when the sun arose it was scorched up; and because it had not root, it withered away. ( )and some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it, and it produced no fruit. ( )and some fell on good ground, and produced fruit, growing up, and increasing, and yielded one part thirty fold, and another sixty, and another an hundred. ( )and he said unto them, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )but when they were alone, those who were about him with the twelve, asked him the meaning of the parable. ( )and he said to them, to you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god; but to those who are without, all things are in parables: ( )that seeing they may see, yet not perceive; and hearing may hear, yet not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven them. ( )and he saith to them, know ye not this parable? and how will ye know all parables? ( )the sower soweth the word. ( )now these are they by the road side; where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately satan cometh, and taketh away the word sown on their hearts: ( )and these in like manner are they who were sown on the rocky soil; who when they have heard the word, instantly with joy receive it; ( )and have no root in themselves, but are temporary _professors_: afterwards, when tribulation cometh or persecution for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. ( )and those are the sown among the thorns; such as are hearers of the word; ( )but the anxious cares of this world, and the seducing nature of wealth, and inordinate desires after other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. ( )and these are they who are sown on the good ground, such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, and some sixty, and some an hundred. ( )and he said unto them, is a lamp brought out to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be placed on a stand? ( )for there is nothing hid, but that it should be brought to light, nor is any thing concealed, but that it should come into open day. ( )if any man hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and he said unto them, take heed what ye hear: with the measure ye mete, shall it be measured back to you; and something over shall be given to you that hear. ( )for to him that hath, there shall more be given to him; but he that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. ( )and he said, the kingdom of heaven is of that kind, as if a man should cast seed into his field; ( )and sleep and rise, night and day, and the sown corn should sprout, and grow into length, he knoweth not how: ( )for the earth, naturally prolific, beareth fruit; first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. ( )but when the grain is ready, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because harvest is come. ( )and he said, to what shall i liken the kingdom of god, and under what parabolic figure shall i represent it? ( )it is like a grain of mustard, which when it is sown in the earth, is among the least of all the seeds which are upon the earth: ( )but when it is sown, it groweth up and becomes greater than all herbaceous plants, and produceth vast branches; so that the birds of the air may roost under the shadow of it. ( )and with many such like parables spake he to them the word. ( )and without a parable spake he not unto them; but in private he explained them all to his disciples. ( )and the same day he saith unto them, as the evening shut in, let us pass over to the other side. ( )and sending the multitude away, they took him just as he was in the vessel; and there were also some other little vessels with him. ( )and a great hurricane arose, and the waves broke into the vessel, so that it was now full of water: ( )and he was in the stern, sleeping on a pillow: and they awoke him, and say unto him, master, is it no concern to thee that we are perishing? ( )and rising, he with authority charged the wind, and said to the sea, silence! be still! and the wind subsided, and there was a great calm. ( )and he said to them, why are ye so timorous? how is it that ye have not confidence? ( )and they were filled with the most reverential awe, and said one to another, what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? chap. v. and they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the gadarenes. ( )and as he was going out of the vessel, immediately there met him a man with an unclean spirit, ( )coming out of the tombs; who had his abode among the tombs; and no man could secure him, not even with chains; ( )for he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains were burst asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, and no man was able to master him: ( )and continually night and day he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, screaming, and cutting himself with stones. ( )but when he saw jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, ( )and crying with a loud voice, said, what have i to do with thee, jesus thou son of god most high? i adjure thee by god, that thou dost not send me to torment. ( )(for he had said unto him, come out, unclean spirit, from the man.) ( )and he interrogated him, what is thy name? and he replied, saying, legion is my name; for we are many. ( )and he entreated him much that he would not send them out of the country. ( )and a great herd of swine was there feeding on the mountain: ( )and all the devils besought him, saying, send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. ( )and immediately jesus permitted them. and the unclean spirits going forth, entered into the swine; and the herd rushed violently down a precipice into the sea (they were about two thousand), and were suffocated in the sea. ( )then the swineherds fled, and carried the tidings into the city and into the country. and they went out to see what was done. ( )and they came to jesus, and saw the demoniac that had the legion, seated and clothed, and in his sound mind: and they were afraid. ( )and they who saw the transaction, told them how it had been with the demoniac, and concerning the swine. ( )and they began to entreat him to depart out of their coasts. ( )and when he embarked on board the vessel, the demoniac besought him, that he might go with him. ( )but jesus did not permit him, but said to him, go to thine house, and to thy friends, and tell them how great things the lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. ( )and he went out, and began to publish in decapolis, what great things jesus had done for him: and all men marvelled. ( )and when jesus had passed over again in the vessel to the other side, a vast multitude came together unto him; and he was by the sea side. ( )and, behold, there cometh to him one of the rulers of the synagogue, named jairus; and seeing him, fell at his feet, ( )and entreated him importunately, saying, my little daughter is at the last gasp; wilt thou come, and lay thy hands upon her, that she may recover, and she shall live. ( )and he went with him: and there followed him a great crowd, and they thronged him. ( )and a certain woman, having a flux of blood twelve years, ( )and had suffered much from many physicians; and had expended all she had, and was nothing better, but rather growing worse and worse; ( )when she heard of jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched his garment: ( )for she said, if i but touch his clothes, i shall recover. ( )and instantly the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was cured of her afflictive disease. ( )and jesus immediately perceiving in himself that miraculous power had gone forth from him, turning about in the crowd, said, who touched my garments? ( )and his disciples said to him, thou seest the crowd thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? ( )and he looked round to see her who had done this. ( )then the woman, fearful and trembling, knowing what had been done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. ( )and he said unto her, daughter, thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace, and be whole from thy distressing disease. ( )and while he was yet speaking, they came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying, thy daughter is dead; why dost thou trouble the master any further? ( )but jesus, instantly hearing the account given, said to the ruler of the synagogue, fear not, only believe. ( )and he permitted no person to follow him, but peter, and james, and john a brother of james. ( )and he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the confusion, as they were greatly lamenting and making loud moanings. ( )and entering in he saith, why make ye this uproar, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. ( )and they derided him; but he thrusting them all out, took the father and the mother of the maiden, and those who were with him, and went in where the damsel was laid out. ( )and taking the hand of the damsel, he saith unto her, talitha cumi! which is, being interpreted, damsel, i say unto thee, arise! ( )and immediately the damsel arose and walked about, for she was twelve years old. and they were astonished with vast astonishment. ( )and he very strongly charged them that no person should know it; and ordered something to be given her to eat. chap. vi. and he went out thence, and came into his native country; and his disciples followed him. ( )and when the sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many when they heard him were amazed, saying, whence hath this man these things? and what is the wisdom given to him, that even such miracles are done by his hands? ( )is not this the carpenter, the son of mary, the brother of james and joses, and judah and simon? and are not his sisters here with us? and they were offended at him. ( )then said jesus unto them, a prophet is not without honour, save in his native place, and among his relations, and in his own family. ( )and he could not do there any miracle, except that laying his hands on a few sick persons he cured them. ( )and he marvelled at their infidelity. and he went about the villages around, teaching. ( )and called the twelve, and began to send them two and two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits. ( )and he commanded them, that they should take nothing for the journey, except a staff only; neither scrip, nor bread, nor even brass money in their purse: ( )wearing sandals, and not to be clothed with two coats. ( )and he said unto them, wheresoever ye enter into a family, there abide until ye depart thence. ( )and as many as shall not receive you, neither hearken to you, when ye go from thence, shake off the dust from beneath your feet, for a testimony against them. verily i say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for sodom and gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. ( )and going forth, they preached, that men should repent. ( )and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many sick persons, and cured them. ( )and king herod heard it (for his name was celebrated), and he said, this is john the baptist, he is risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are wrought by him. ( )others said, that it is elias; and others said, he is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. ( )but when herod heard it, he said, this is john whom i beheaded; he is risen from the dead. ( )for herod himself had sent and seized upon john, and bound him in prison, for herodias' sake, his brother philip's wife; because he had married her. ( )for john said to herod, it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. ( )therefore herodias bore him a rooted resentment, and would have slain him; yet could not: ( )for herod feared john, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man; and paid great attention to him and when he heard him, did many things, and heard him with delight. ( )and a favourable day being come for her purpose, when herod on his birth-day made a supper for his nobles, and military commanders, and the principal personages of galilee; ( )and the daughter of this herodias coming in, and dancing, and delighting herod, and his company, the king said to the damsel, ask me whatsoever thou wilt, and i will give it thee. ( )and he swore unto her, that whatsoever thou shalt ask, i will give thee, even to the half of my kingdom. ( )then she went out and said to her mother, what shall i ask? and she said, the head of john the baptist. ( )and she came in immediately with eagerness to the king, and asked, saying, i desire that thou wilt give me on the spot, in a charger, the head of john the baptist. ( )and the king was exceedingly sorry; yet on account of his oath, and those who sat with him, he would not refuse her. ( )and the king immediately sending a centinel, commanded his head to be brought thither: and he went, and beheaded him in the prison, ( )and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. ( )and when his disciples heard it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a sepulchre. ( )and the disciples came together unto jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. ( )and he said unto them, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and repose a little while: for there were multitudes coming and going, so that they had not even time to eat. ( )and they went into a desert place in a vessel privately. ( )and the multitudes observed them going off, and many knew him, and ran thither on foot out of all the cities, and got before them, and came together unto him. ( )and jesus, when he landed, saw a vast multitude, and was moved with companion towards them, for they were as sheep having no shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. ( )and when great part of the day was already gone, his disciples coming to him said, this is a desert place, and much of the day is already gone: ( )send them away, that they may go into the country places and villages around, and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. ( )but he answering said unto them, give ye them to eat. and they say unto him, shall we go and buy the value of two hundred denarii, in loaves, and give them to eat? ( )but he said to them, how many loaves have ye? go and see. and when they knew, they said, five, and two fishes. ( )and he commanded them to seat them all by companies on the green grass: ( )and they lay along row against row, a hundred deep, and fifty wide. ( )and taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, that they should set them before them, and the two fishes he divided among them all. ( )and they did all eat, and were filled: ( )and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. ( )and they who did eat of the loaves, were about five thousand men. ( )and immediately he compelled his disciples to go on board the vessel, and to go before him to the other side, to bethsaida, while he sent the multitude away. ( )and having bid them farewell, he went into a mountain to pray. ( )and when the evening was come, the vessel was in the midst of the sea, and himself alone on the land. ( )and he saw them greatly fatigued with rowing, for the wind was contrary to them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh to them, walking upon the sea, and seemed intending to pass by them. ( )but when they saw him walking upon the sea, they thought it was an apparition, and screamed out: ( )for they all saw him, and were greatly agitated: and straitway he spoke to them, and said, take courage, it is i, be not terrified. ( )and he went up to them into the vessel, and the wind ceased and they were beyond all imagination amazed in themselves, and lost in wonder. ( )for they reflected not upon the loaves, for their heart was hardened. ( )and when they had passed over, they came to the land of gennesareth, and went on shore. ( )and when they came out of the vessel, immediately perceiving him, ( )running through all parts of that country, they began to carry about on couches those who were afflicted with diseases, wherever they heard that he was. ( )and wherever they entered into villages or cities, or country places, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch, if but the fringe on his garment; and as many as touched it, were cured. chap. vii. and the pharisees, and some of the scribes, who came from jerusalem, collected together around him. ( )and seeing some of his disciples eating bread with hands unclean, that is, unwashed, they found fault. ( )for the pharisees and all the jews, unless they wash their hands to the wrist, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. ( )and coming from the market, unless they have washed, they never eat. and there are many other things which they have by tradition received to observe, as the washings of cups, and pots, and vessels of brass, and couches. ( )then the pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do not thy disciples walk conformable to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? ( )then he answering said to them, well did isaiah prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it is written[ ], "this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ( )now vainly do they worship me, while teaching doctrines the commandments of men." ( )for leaving the command of god, ye adhere to the tradition of men, the washings of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye practise. ( )and he said to them, strangely do ye make void the command of god, that ye may observe your tradition. ( )for moses said[ ], "honour thy father and thy mother:" and "he that curseth father or mother, let him assuredly be put to death[ ]." ( )but ye affirm, if a man say to his father or mother, it is corban (that is, a gift), which otherwise might have been advantageous to thee from me; ( )then ye permit him no more to do any thing for his father, or his mother; ( )abrogating the word of god by the tradition, which ye have transmitted down; and many such like things ye do. ( )and he called to him all the multitude, and said unto them, hear me all of you, and understand. ( )there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can make him unclean: but the things which come out from him, these are the things which make a man unclean. ( )if any man hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )and when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. ( )and he saith to them, are ye also so defective of intelligence? do you not consider, that every thing from without that entereth into a man, cannot make him unclean? ( )because it entereth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the vault, carrying off all the impurities of the food. ( )but, said he, what cometh out of a man, that makes a man unclean. ( )for from within out of the heart of men proceed wicked reasonings, adulteries, whoredoms, murders, ( )thefts, inordinate cravings, mischievous actions, knavery, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, folly: ( )all these wicked things come from within, and render a person unclean. ( )and rising, he departed thence into the confines of tyre and sidon; and entering into a house, desired that no man should know it: yet he could not be hid. ( )for a woman hearing of him, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, came and fell at his feet. ( )the woman was a greek, a syrophenician by birth, and she entreated him that the devil might be cast out of her daughter. ( )and jesus said unto her, let the children first be fed, for it is not proper to take the children's bread, and throw it to the dogs. ( )but she replied, and said to him, true, lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. ( )and he said unto her, for this speech, go home, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. ( )and going to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid on a couch. ( )and again departing from the coasts of tyre and sidon, he came to the sea of galilee, through the midst of the coasts of decapolis. ( )and they bring him a deaf man, who could scarcely articulate; and they entreat him to put his hand upon him. ( )and he took him aside out of the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and spitting, he touched his tongue; ( )and looking up to heaven, he heaved a deep sigh, and saith unto him, ephphatha! that is, be opened. ( )and instantly his ears were opened, and the tie of his tongue loosed, and he spake distinctly. ( )and he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged, the more abundantly they published it abroad. ( )and they were astonished beyond all imagination, saying, he hath done all things admirably; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. chap. viii. in those days the multitude being exceedingly great, and having nothing to eat, jesus calling his disciples to him, said unto them, ( )i have compassion on the multitude, for they have stayed with me already three days, and have nothing to eat: ( )and if i send them away fasting to their houses, they will faint on the road; for many of them came from a great distance. ( )his disciples answered him, whence can a man here in the desert satisfy these with bread? ( )and he asked them, how many loaves have ye? and they said, seven. ( )and he commanded the multitude to recline in order on the ground: and taking the seven loaves, having given thanks he brake them, and gave to his disciples, that they should set before the people; and they distributed them to the multitude. ( )and they had a few small fishes; and blessing, he commanded to set these also before them. ( )and they did eat and were filled and they took up what remained of the fragments, seven baskets. ( )and the persons who had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. ( )and immediately going into the vessel with his disciples, he came into the coasts of dalmanutha. ( )then the pharisees came out, and began to question him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. ( )and fetching a deep sigh from his very soul, he saith, why seeketh this generation a sign? verily i tell you, no sign shall be given to this generation. ( )and leaving them, going again on board the vessel, he departed to the other side. ( )and they had forgotten to take bread, and had not with them in the vessel but a single loaf. ( )and he earnestly charged them, saying, beware, take heed of the leaven of the pharisees, and of the leaven of herod. ( )and they talked the matter over among themselves, saying, this is because we have no loaves of bread. ( )and jesus knowing it said unto them, why reason ye together, because ye have no loaves? do ye not yet consider, nor understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? ( )having eyes, do ye not see? and having ears, do ye not hear? and do ye not remember? ( )when i broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? they say unto him, twelve. ( )and when the seven loaves among the four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? they said, seven. ( )and he said unto them, how is it that ye do not understand? ( )and he cometh to bethsaida; and they bring him a blind man, and entreat him that he would touch him. ( )and he took the blind man by the hand, and led him without the city; and spitting on his eyes, he laid his hands upon him, and asked him if he saw aught. ( )and looking up, he said, i see men walking, as trees. ( )then again he put his hands upon his eyes, and made him look up again: and he was entirely restored, and saw all men distinctly. ( )and he sent him away unto his own house, saying, neither enter thou into the city, nor speak to any in the city. ( )and jesus and his disciples went out into the towns of caesarea philippi: and on the road he asked his disciples, saying unto them, who do men say that i am? ( )and they answered, john the baptist: others say, elias; and others, one of the prophets. ( )and he said unto them, but who do ye say that i am? then peter answering, said unto him, thou art the messiah. ( )and he strictly enjoined them, that they should tell no man of this. ( )and he began to teach them, that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be slain, and after three days rise again. ( )and he spake this saying openly. and peter taking him aside, began to remonstrate with him. ( )but he turned himself around, and seeing his disciples, he rebuked peter, saying, get thee behind me, satan: for thou dost not relish the things which are of god, but those that are of men. ( )then calling to him the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ( )for whosoever would preserve his life shall lose it; but whosoever would lose his life for my sake and the gospel, he shall preserve it. ( )for what would it profit a man, though he should gain the whole world, if he be punished with the loss of his own soul? ( )or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ( )for whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, before this adulterous and sinful generation; of him will the son of man also be ashamed, when he shall come in the glory of his father, with the holy angels. chap. ix. and he said unto them, i tell you of a certainty, that there are some standing here who shall not taste of death, until they see the kingdom of god come with power. ( )and six days after jesus taketh with him peter and james and john, only, and carrieth them up with him into an exceeding high mountain in great privacy; and was transfigured before them. ( )his garments became glistering, exceeding white, like snow; such as no fuller upon earth can whiten. ( )and there appeared to him elias with moses: and they were conversing with jesus. ( )then peter addressing him, said unto him, master, it is desirable for us to be here: and let us erect three tents, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias. ( )for he knew not what he should say: for they were very much affrighted. ( )and there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son: hear him. ( )and instantly looking round, they saw no man any longer with them, but jesus only. ( )and as they were coming down from the mountain, he strictly charged them, that they should tell no man what they had seen, till after the son of man should have arisen from the dead. ( )and they caught at that word, considering among themselves what this rising from the dead could mean. ( )and they asked him, saying, why say the scribes, that elias must come first? ( )then he answering said unto them, elias indeed cometh first, and will reform all things; and how speaks the scripture of the son of man? that he must suffer many things, and be treated with contempt. ( )but i say unto you, that elias is come, and they have done to him whatsoever they chose, as it is written of him. ( )and when he came to his disciples, he saw a great crowd around them, and the scribes disputing with them. ( )and immediately all the multitude, when they beheld him, were struck with amazement, and coming to him, saluted him. ( )and he asked the scribes, what are ye disputing about among yourselves? ( )and one of the people addressing him, said, master, i have brought my son to thee, who hath a dumb spirit; ( )and wherever he seizeth him, he throws him into strong convulsions: and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and pines away. and i spoke to thy disciples, that they should cast him out; and they were unable. ( )then addressing him, he said, o faithless generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i bear with you? bring him to me. ( )and they brought him unto him. and seeing him, instantly the spirit threw him into convulsions; and falling to the ground, he rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ( )and he asked his father, for how long a time hath this been the case with him? and he replied, from his infancy. ( )and often it hath cast him into the fire, and into water, to destroy him: but if thou art able, have compassion upon us, and help us. ( )then said jesus unto him, this _is the point_: if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. ( )and immediately the father of the child said with tears, i believe, lord! help my unbelief! ( )then jesus, seeing that the multitude were running up to him, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, thou dumb and deaf spirit, i command thee, come out of him, and enter into him no more. ( )and screaming, and convulsing him violently, it came out: and the child lay as if dead; insomuch that many said, he is dead. ( )but jesus taking him by the hand, raised him up; and he arose. ( )and when he was come into the house, the disciples asked him privately, why could not we cast it out? ( )and he said to them, this kind can be driven out by nothing but prayer and fasting. ( )and going from thence, they passed through galilee: and he would not have any person know it. ( )for he taught his disciples, and said unto them, the son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him: and after being killed, the third day he shall rise again. ( )but they understood not the meaning of that declaration, and were afraid to ask him. ( )and he came to capernaum: and when he was in the house, he asked them, what was the subject of your dispute among yourselves on the road? ( )but they held their peace. for they had been disputing with each other on the road, which was the greatest. ( )and when he was seated, he called the twelve, and saith to them, if any man desires to be the first, let him be last of all, and servant of all. ( )and taking a little boy, he set him in the midst of them: and taking him in his arms, he said unto them, ( )whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me merely, but him that sent me. ( )then john addressed him, saying, master, we saw a person in thy name casting out devils, who followeth us not: and we forbad him, because he did not follow us. ( )then said jesus, forbid him not: for there is no man who shall perform a miracle in my name, who will be able presently after to speak evil of me. ( )for he that is not against us, is for us. ( )for whosoever shall give you even a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to the messiah, verily i say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. ( )and whosoever shall give occasion of offence to one of these little ones who believe in me, it were desirable for him rather that a milestone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea. ( )and if thy hand cause thee to offend, cut it off: it were better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having both hands to go into hell, into the fire that never will be quenched: ( )where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )and if thy foot cause thee to offend, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life halting, than having both feet to be cast into hell, into the fire which never can be quenched: ( )where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )and if thine eye cause thee to offend, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of god with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the fire of hell: ( )where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. ( )for every one shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be sprinkled with salt. ( )salt is good: but if the salt become insipid, with what will you season it? have salt in yourselves, and live in peace with each other. chap. x. and arising, he went from thence into the coasts of judea, through the country on the other side of the jordan; and again the multitudes came together unto him; and as his custom was, he again taught them. ( )and the pharisees coming to him, put a question to him, is it lawful for a husband to put away his wife? tempting him. ( )he answered and said unto them, what did moses command you? ( )they said, moses permitted to write a bill of divorce, and to put her away. ( )then jesus answering said unto them, for the hardness of your hearts he wrote you that ordinance. ( )but from the beginning of the creation, god made them male and female; ( )and said, for this cause shall a man forsake father and mother, and shall adhere to his wife; ( )and they two shall be one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh. ( )what therefore god hath yoked together, let no man separate. ( )and in the house the disciples again asked him of this matter. ( )and he said unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her: ( )and if a wife put away her husband, and marrieth another, she committeth adultery. ( )and they brought unto him little children, that he should touch them: but his disciples rebuked those who brought them. ( )but when jesus saw it, he felt indignation, and said to them, permit little children to come to me, and hinder them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. ( )verily i say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, he shall in nowise enter into it. ( )and he took them in his arms, and laying his hand upon them, gave them his benediction. ( )and as he went out to the road, a person ran to him, and kneeling down, asked him, good master, what shall i do that i may inherit eternal life? ( )then said jesus unto him, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, even god. ( )thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honour thy father and mother. ( )then he replying, said, master, all these things have i observed from my youth. ( )then jesus looking upon him, loved him, and said to him, in one thing thou art defective: go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross, and follow me. ( )and groaning over this speech, he went away sorrowful: for he had many estates. ( )and jesus looking round, said to his disciples, how difficultly shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of god! ( )then his disciples were astonished at these words. but jesus again addressing them, said unto them, children, how difficult is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of god! ( )it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and they were exceedingly amazed, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? ( )and jesus looking upon them, said, with men it is impossible, but not with god: for with god all things are possible. ( )and peter began to say unto him, lo, we have left all, and followed thee. ( )then jesus in reply said, verily i say unto you, there is no man who hath left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, ( )who shall not receive an hundred-fold more now, at this very time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution, and in the world to come life everlasting. ( )but many first, will be last; and the last, first. ( )and they were on the road going up to jerusalem; and jesus was advancing before them: and they were astonished; and followed him full of fear. and again taking the twelve aside, he began to tell them what things were about to befall him: ( )for, lo! said he, we are going up to jerusalem; and the son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests, and to the scribes; and they will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the gentiles: ( )and they will insult him, and scourge him, and spit upon him, and kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. ( )and james and john the sons of zebedee came to him, saying, master, we desire that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we request. ( )he said unto them, what will ye that i should do for you? ( )they say unto him, grant us to sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy glory. ( )then jesus said unto them, ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup which i drink? and be baptised with the baptism with which i am baptised? ( )and they said unto him, we are able. then said jesus unto them, ye shall indeed drink of the cup of which i drink; and be baptised with the baptism with which i am baptised: ( )but to sit on my right-hand, and on my left, is not mine to give; but to those for whom it is prepared. ( )and when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant against james and john. ( )but jesus called them, and said to them, ye know that they who appear to rule over the gentiles, lord it over them; and their great men exercise dominion over them. ( )but it shall not be so with you: but whosoever will be great among you let him be your servant: ( )and whosoever will be first, let him be the servant of all. ( )for the son of man came not to be waited upon, but to be a servant, and to give his life a ransom for many. ( )and they came to jericho. and as he was going out of jericho with his disciples, and a great multitude, bartimeus, the blind, the son of timeus, sat by the road-side begging: ( )and hearing that jesus of nazareth was passing by, he began to cry out, and say, o son of david, jesus, have mercy on me! ( )and many chid him, that he should be silent: but he cried out so much the more, son of david, have mercy on me! ( )and jesus stood still, and ordered him to be called: and they call the blind man, saying to him, cheer up, arise; he calleth thee. ( )then casting off his cloak, he arose, and came to jesus. ( )and jesus addressing him, said, what dost thou wish that i should do for thee? and the blind man said to him, rabboni, that i may receive my sight! ( )then said jesus unto him, go thy way: thy faith hath saved thee. and immediately he received sight, and followed jesus in the road. chap. xi. and when he drew nigh to jerusalem, unto bethphage and bethany, to the mount of olives, he sent two of his disciples, ( )and saith unto them, go into the village opposite to you: and immediately as you enter it, you will find a foal tied, on which no man yet hath rode; loose him, and bring him hither. ( )and if any man say to you, why do ye this? say, that the lord hath need of it; and immediately he will send it hither. ( )and they went, and found the foal tied to a gate without, where two ways met; and they untie him. ( )then some of those who stood by, said unto them, what are ye about, untying the colt? ( )then they said unto them, as jesus commanded them: and they permitted them to do it. ( )and they brought the colt to jesus, and put on him their garments; and he rode upon it. ( )and multitudes spread their garments on the road: and others cut off boughs from the trees, and strewed them on the road. ( )and they who went before, and who followed after, cried, saying, hosanna: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord. ( )blessed be the kingdom of our father david, that is coming in the name of the lord: hosanna in the highest. ( )and jesus entered into jerusalem, and into the temple: and looking round about upon all things, it being now even-tide, he departed to bethany with the twelve. ( )and on the morrow, as they were coming out of bethany, he was hungry: ( )and seeing a fig-tree at a distance, full of leaves, he went to it, expecting probably that he might find some fruit upon it: and when he came to it, he found none, only leaves: for it was not a _good_ season for figs. ( )and jesus spake and said to it, let no man eat fruit from thee henceforth for ever. and his disciples heard him. ( )and they came to jerusalem and jesus entered into the temple, and began to cast out those who sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves; ( )and would not suffer that any person should carry a vessel through the temple. ( )and he taught them, saying, is it not written, that "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" but ye have made it a den of thieves. ( )and the scribes and chief priests heard him, and sought how they might destroy him: for they were afraid of him, because all the people were exceedingly struck with his teaching, ( )and when the evening came, he went away out of the city. ( )and in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig-tree withered from the roots. ( )and peter reminding him said, rabbi, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away. ( )and jesus answering said to them, have faith in god. ( )for verily i say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, be thou lifted up, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall harbour no doubt in his heart, but believe that what he saith shall come to pass; whatsoever he may speak shall be done for him. ( )therefore i say unto you, that all things whatever ye ask in prayer, believe that ye shall receive them, and they shall be given you. ( )and when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have a matter against any man: that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. ( )but if ye forgive not, neither will your father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. ( )and they come again to jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, come to him, ( )and say to him, by what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority, that thou shouldest do these things? ( )then jesus answering said unto them, i also will ask you one question; and answer me; and i will tell you by what authority i do these things. ( )the baptism of john, was it of heaven, or of men? answer me. ( )and they reasoned among themselves, saying, if we reply, from heaven; he will say, why then did ye not believe him? ( )but if we say of men--they feared the people: for all men held john to be in truth a prophet. ( )and they answering said to jesus, we do not know. and jesus in reply said to them, neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. chap. xii. and he began to speak to them in parables. a man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and digged a wine-press, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. ( )and in the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. ( )but they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. ( )and again he sent unto them another servant; and they cut the account short with him, by stoning him, and sent him away shamefully treated. ( )and again he sent another; and him, they slew; and many others, some of whom they beat, and others they killed. ( )now he had yet one son, his beloved, and he sent him unto them last, saying, they will reverence my son. ( )but these husbandmen said to each other, this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be our own. ( )and they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. ( )what then will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy these husbandmen, and give his vineyard to others. ( )have ye never read this scripture? "the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: ( )this was the lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." ( )and they sought to seize him, and were afraid of the people: for they knew that he had spoken this parable against them: and leaving him, they departed. ( )and they sent unto him certain of the pharisees and of the herodians, that they might entrap him in discourse. ( )and they come and say to him, master, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of god in truth: is it lawful to pay tribute to caesar, or not? ( )shall we pay, or shall we not pay it? but he, perceiving their hypocrisy, said unto them, why tempt ye me? bring me a denarius, that i may see it. ( )and they brought it. and he said unto them, whose figure and inscription is this? they say unto him, caesar's. ( )and jesus addressing them, said, render the things which are caesar's, to caesar; and what belongs to god, to god. and they marvelled at him. ( )and the sadducees come to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they put a question to him, saying, ( )master, moses left it in writing for us, that if a man's brother die, and leave a wife, and leave no children; that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed for his brother. ( )now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying left no issue: ( )and the second took her, and died, and neither did he leave issue; and the third in like manner. ( )and the seven had her, and left no issue. last of all died also the wife. ( )in the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had the very same wife. ( )and jesus answering said unto them, do ye not therefore err, from not knowing the scriptures, and the power of god? ( )for when they rise from the dead, they will neither marry, nor be given in marriage; but they are as the angels which are in heaven. ( )but concerning the dead, that they do rise; have ye not read in the book of moses, how god spake to him at the bush, saying, i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob? ( )he is not the god of the dead, but the god of the living. ye are therefore vastly erroneous. ( )and one of the scribes coming, and hearing them questioning him, perceiving that he had answered them admirably, asked him, which is the first commandment of all? ( )then jesus replied to him, the first of all the commandments is, hear o israel; the lord thy god is one lord: ( )and thou shalt love the lord thy god, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. this is the first commandment. ( )and the second, like it, is this; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: there is no greater commandment than these. ( )and the scribe said unto him, admirably, master! thou hast spoken the very truth: for there is one god; and there is no other besides him: ( )and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength; and to love his neighbour as himself, is better than all burnt offerings, and sacrifices. ( )and jesus perceiving that he had answered as a man of intelligence, said to him, thou art not far from the kingdom of god. and no man thenceforth presumed to question him. ( )and jesus addressing them said, as he taught in the temple, how say the scribes that the messiah is the son of david? ( )for david himself saith by the spirit, the lord said to my lord, sit thou at my right hand, until i make thy enemies the foot-stool for thy feet. ( )david himself therefore calleth him lord; and whence then is he his son? and a vast multitude heard him with delight. ( )and he spake to them in the course of his teaching, beware of the scribes, who love to go about in trailing robes, and like salutations in the places of concourse, ( )and the principal seats in the synagogues, and the first couch at suppers: ( )who devour widows' houses, and in pretence make long prayers: such shall receive greater damnation. ( )and as jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, he saw a multitude casting money into the treasury: and many who were rich cast in many _pieces_. ( )and one poor widow coming, cast in two mites, which is a farthing. ( )and having called his disciples, he said unto them, i tell you truly, that this poor widow hath cast in more than all who have cast into the treasury: ( )for all they have cast in of their superfluities; but she from her indigence hath cast in all that she had, even her whole substance. chap. xiii. and as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said unto him, master, behold what vast stones, and what structures! ( )and jesus answering said to him, beholdest thou these magnificent structures? there shall not be left one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down. ( )and as he was sitting on the mount of olives, opposite the temple, peter and james and john and andrew asked him privately, ( )tell us, when shall these things be? and what is the sign when all these things shall come to pass? ( )then jesus answering them, began to say, beware that no man deceive you: ( )for many will come in my name, saying, i am the messiah; and shall deceive many. ( )but when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars, be not troubled: for these things must be; but the end is not yet. ( )and nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and commotions: these are the beginnings of sorrows. ( )but take ye heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to their sanhedrims, and to the synagogues; ye shall be beaten with rods, and be set before kings and governors for my name's sake, for a testimony unto them. ( )and the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ( )but when delivering you up, they shall bring you to the bar, be not previously anxious what ye shall say, neither premeditate: for it shall be given to you at that very hour, what ye shall speak: for it is not you, who are speaking, but the holy ghost. ( )and brother shall deliver up brother unto death, and the father the son: and children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. ( )and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. ( )but when ye see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet daniel, standing where it ought not (let him that readeth observe), then let those who are in judea fly to the mountains: ( )and let not him who is on the roof go down into the house, nor enter into it, to carry away any thing out of the house: ( )and he that is in the field, let him not return back to take his garment. ( )but wo to those who are big with child, and who have infants at their breasts in those days! ( )and pray that your flight be not in winter. ( )for these days shall bring tribulation, such as the like hath never been from the beginning of the creation which god created unto this time, and never shall be more. ( )and except the lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been preserved: but for the sake of those elect, whom he hath elected, he hath shortened the days. ( )and then, if any man say to you, lo, here is the messiah! or, lo there! believe it not. ( )for many false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and shall propose signs and wonders to deceive, if it were possible, even the elect. ( )but be ye on your guard: lo! i have told you all things: ( )but in those days, after that distressing season, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not emit her light; ( )and the stars of the heaven will be falling, and the powers that are in heaven will be shaken. ( )and then shall they see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with vast power and glory. ( )and then shall he send his angels, and shall gather to him his elect from the four winds, from the extremity of the earth to the utmost bound of heaven. ( )now learn from the fig-tree, a parable; when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; ( )so also you, when ye see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. ( )verily i say unto you, that this generation shall not pass away, until all these things are fulfilled. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall never pass away. ( )but of that day and hour knoweth no man, nor the angels which are in heaven, nor the son, but the father. ( )take ye heed, watch, and pray; for ye know not when the time is. ( )as a man going abroad, when he left his abode, and gave his servants authority, and to each his work, commanded also the porter to watch. ( )watch ye therefore; for ye know not at what time the master of the house cometh, at evening, or midnight, or cock-crowing, or in the morning: ( )lest coming suddenly he find you asleep. ( )now what i say to you, i say to all, watch. chap. xiv. now the passover and the feast of unleavened bread were but two days distant; and the chief priests, and the scribes, sought how they might seize him by craft, and kill him. ( )but they said, not on the feast day, lest there be a commotion among the people. ( )and when he was at bethany in the house of simon the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came, having an alabaster vase of ointment, of genuine spikenard, of vast value: and breaking the vase, she let it flow down upon his head. ( )and there were some who felt indignation within themselves, saying, wherefore is this waste of the ointment made? ( )for it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor. and they bitterly murmured against her. ( )then said jesus, let her alone; why give ye her uneasiness? she hath performed a laudable act towards me. ( )for the poor ye have always with you, and when ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. ( )what was in her power she hath done; she has seized the opportunity to anoint my body beforehand for burial. ( )verily i say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached through the whole world, there shall, what she hath done, be told for a memorial of her. ( )then judas iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, that he might betray him unto them. ( )when they heard it, they rejoiced, and promised to give him a sum in silver. and he watched how opportunely he might deliver him up. ( )and on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, where wilt thou that we go and prepare for thee to eat the passover? ( )and he sent two of his disciples, and saith unto them, go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water, follow him. ( )and where he enters, say to the master of the family. that the teacher saith, where is the dining-room, where i may eat the passover with my disciples? ( )and he will shew you a large upper room ready furnished: there make preparation for us. ( )and his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found as he had spoken to them; and they made ready the passover. ( )and when it was evening he came with the twelve. ( )and as they sat at table, and were eating, jesus said, verily i tell you, that one of you, who is eating with me, shall betray me. ( )and they began to be very sorry, and to say to him, one by one, is it i? and another said, is it i? ( )but he answering said to them, it is one of the twelve, who is dipping his hand with me into the dish. ( )the son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him; but wo to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! it had been desirable for that man if he had never been born. ( )and as they were eating, jesus taking a loaf, when he had blessed, brake it, and gave to them, and said, take, eat; this is my body. ( )and taking the cup, when he had given thanks, he gave it to them; and they all drank out of it. ( )and he said unto them, this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. ( )verily i say unto you, that i will henceforth no more drink of the produce of the vine, until that day when i shall drink it new in the kingdom of god. ( )and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of olives. ( )and jesus saith to them, all ye will be offended at me this night; for it is written, "i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be dispersed:" ( )but after i am risen, i will go before you into galilee. ( )then said peter unto him, though all should be offended, yet will not i. ( )and jesus saith to him, verily i tell thee, that to-day, in the course of this very night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny me. ( )but he said with more vehement assertion, though i should die with thee, yet would i in no wise deny thee. and they all spake also in the same manner. ( )and they come to a place called gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, sit ye here whilst i shall pray. ( )and he taketh peter, and james, and john, with him; and he began to be filled with horrible dread, and to be sunk under dejection of spirit: ( )and he saith to them, my soul is deeply afflicted even to death: abide here, and watch. ( )and he went a little farther forward, and fell on the earth, and prayed, that if it were possible the hour might pass from him. ( )and he said, abba, father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not as i will, but as thou wilt. ( )and he came and found them asleep: and saith unto peter, sleepest thou? hast thou not strength to watch with me a single hour? ( )watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ( )and again he went away, and prayed, speaking the same sentence. ( )and when he returned, he found them again sleeping; for their eyes were weighed down: and they knew not what to answer him. ( )then the third time he cometh, and saith unto them, sleep on now, and repose: it is enough, the hour is come; lo! the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners; ( )arise, let us go; behold, the traitor approaches me. ( )and immediately, while he was yet speaking, judas, one of the twelve, came up, and a great multitude with him, with swords and staves, from the chief priests, and scribes, and elders. ( )now he that betrayed him, had given them a countersign, saying, whomsoever i shall kiss, that is he, seize him, and lead him off safely. ( )and coming, he immediately drew up to him and said, rabbi, rabbi, and kissed him. ( )then they laid their hands on him, and seized him. ( )and one particular person of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. ( )and jesus addressing them said, are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves, to apprehend me? ( )daily was i with you in the temple teaching, and ye laid no hold upon me: but _this is done_ that the scriptures might be fulfilled. ( )then they all deserting him, fled. ( )and a certain youth followed him, having a linen cloth wrapped round his naked body; and the young men laid hold of him; ( )and leaving the linen cloth behind, he fled naked from them. ( )and they led jesus unto the high-priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes. ( )and peter followed him at a distance, until he came into the palace of the high-priest: and was seated with the servants, and warming himself at the fire. ( )then the chief priests, and the whole sanhedrim, sought for witness against jesus, that they might put him to death; yet found none. ( )for many bore false witness against him, and their attestations did not correspond. ( )and certain persons rising up, bore false witness against him, saying, ( )we have heard him affirm, i will destroy this temple made with hands, and after three days i will build another not made with hands. ( )but even then their testimony was not correspondent. ( )so the high-priest rising up in the midst interrogated jesus, answerest thou nothing? what is it that these witness against thee? ( )but he kept silence, and made them not a word of reply. again the high-priest questioned him, and said to him, art thou the messiah, the son of the blessed? ( )then said jesus, i am. and ye shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. ( )then the high-priest rent his clothes, and said, what farther need have we of witnesses? ( )ye have heard his blasphemy. what think ye? and they all adjudged him to be deserving of death. ( )and some began to spit upon him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him, prophesy: and the servants slapped him on the face with their hands. ( )and as peter was in the hall, at the lower end, there came to him one of the high-priest's maid-servants: ( )and seeing peter warming himself, stedfastly looking at him, she said, thou also wast with jesus of nazareth. ( )then he denied it, saying, i do not so much as know him, nor understand what thou art saying. and he went out into the vestibule; and the cock crew. ( )and a maid-servant observing him again; began to say to those who stood by, this man is one of them. ( )then he denied it again. and after a little while, they who stood by said to peter, of a certainty thou art one of them; for thou art a galilean, and thy speech is correspondent. ( )then began he to make the most dreadful imprecations, and to swear, i know not the man of whom ye speak. ( )and the second time the cock crew. and peter remembered the word which jesus spake unto him, that before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. and casting his mantle over his face, he wept. chap. xv. and immediately the chief priests having held a council in the morning, with the elders, and scribes, and the whole sanhedrim, after binding jesus, led him away, and delivered him up to pilate. ( )and pilate asked him, art thou the king of the jews? he answering said to him, thou sayest true. ( )and the chief priests laid many accusations against him. ( )then pilate again interrogated him, saying, answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they testify against thee. ( )but jesus notwithstanding made not a word of reply; so that pilate marvelled. ( )now at the feast, he released one prisoner to them, whomsoever they petitioned for. ( )and there was one called barabbas, bound with those who had made an insurrection with him, and had committed murder in the insurrection. ( )and the multitude, clamorous, began to petition him to do, as he had always done to them. ( )then pilate answered them, saying, will ye that i release unto you the king of the jews? ( )(for he knew that out of envy the chief priests had delivered him up.) ( )then the chief priests stirred up the people, that he should rather release barabbas unto them. ( )then pilate addressing them, said unto them again, what therefore do you wish that i should do with him whom ye call the king of the jews? ( )and they cried out again, crucify him. ( )then pilate said unto them, but what criminal act hath he done? and they cried the more vociferously, crucify him. ( )so pilate, willing to do what would be satisfactory to the people, released to them barabbas, and delivered jesus to be scourged, in order to be crucified. ( )then the soldiers led him to the hall, which is the praetorium, and called together the whole band. ( )and they invested him with a robe of purple, and platting a crown of thorns, put it about his head, ( )and began to pay their salutations to him, hail, king of the jews! ( )and they struck him on the head with a cane, and spat upon him, and bowing their knees payed him homage. ( )and when they had treated him with mockery, they took off the purple robe from him, and clothed him with his own garments, and led him out to crucify him. ( )and they compel one simon, a cyrenian, who was passing by, coming out of the field, the father of alexander and rufus, to carry his cross. ( )and they convey him to a place called golgotha, which is being interpreted, the place of a skull. ( )and they gave him to drink wine medicated with myrrh: but he received it not. ( )and having crucified him, they divided his garments, casting the lot upon them, what each should take. ( )now it was the third hour, and they crucified him. ( )and there was an inscription of his crime written over him, the king of the jews. ( )and with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right hand, and the other on his left. ( )and the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, "and he was reckoned among the transgressors." ( )and they who passed along, blasphemed him, shaking their heads, and saying, aha! thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, ( )save thyself, and come down from the cross. ( )and in the same manner also, the chief priests mocking him, among each other, with the scribes, said, he saved others, himself he cannot save. ( )thou messiah, king of israel, come now down from the cross, that we may see, and believe. even those who were crucified with him railed on him. ( )now when the sixth hour came, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ( )and at the ninth hour, jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani? which is, being interpreted, my god, my god, for what cause hast thou abandoned me? ( )and some of those who stood by, hearing him, said, behold, he crieth for elias. ( )then one ran, and filling a sponge with vinegar, fixed it round a cane, and gave him to drink, saying, let alone, let us see if elias comes to take him down. ( )then jesus, uttering a loud cry, gave up the ghost. ( )and the vail of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. ( )and the centurion, who stood opposite to him, observing, that with such a cry he gave up the ghost, said, assuredly this was the son of god. ( )now there were also women looking on at a distance; among whom also was mary magdalene, and mary the mother of james the small, and the mother of joses, and salome. ( )these women followed him when he was in galilee, and supplied his wants; and many other women who went up with him to jerusalem. ( )and when the evening was now come (since it was the preparation, that is the day preceding the sabbath), ( )joseph, who was from arimathea, came, a respectable person, a counsellor, and who himself also was expecting the kingdom of god; taking courage, he went in to pilate, and begged the body of jesus. ( )then pilate marvelled that he should be already dead: and calling for the centurion, he asked him, if he had been dead any time. ( )and when he knew it from the centurion, he gave the body to joseph. ( )and having bought a wrapper of fine linen, and taken him down, he wrapped him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a sepulchre, which was hewn out of a rock; and rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. ( )now mary magdalene, and mary the mother of joses, saw where he was laid. chap. xvi. and when the sabbath was past, mary magdalene, and mary the mother of james, and salome, purchased aromatics, that they might come, and anoint him. ( )and very early on the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, as the sun was rising. ( )and said among themselves, who will roll away for us the stone from the door of the sepulchre? ( )and looking again, they saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was vastly large. ( )and entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting at the right hand, clothed in a white robe; and they were greatly terrified. ( )but he saith unto them, be not affrighted, ye seek jesus the nazarean, who was crucified; he is risen, he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. ( )but go, tell his disciples, and peter, that he goeth before you into galilee; there shall ye see him, as he told you. ( )and they going out hastily, fled from the sepulchre, for trembling and astonishment had seized them: and they said not a word to any person, for they were affrighted. ( )now being arisen early, on the first day of the week, he appeared first to mary magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. ( )she going, told it to those who had been with him, as they were wailing and weeping. ( )and they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, gave no credit to her. ( )then after this, he was manifested under another form, to two of them as they were walking, and going into the country. ( )and they came back and told the news to the rest; neither did they believe them. ( )afterwards he shewed himself to the eleven, as they were sitting at table, and upbraided them for their infidelity and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he was risen. ( )and he said unto them, go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. ( )he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned. ( )and these signs shall follow those that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; ( )they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly potion, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover health. ( )then the lord, after having thus spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of god. ( )but they going forth preached every where, the lord working mightily with them, and confirming the word, by attendant miracles. the gospel according to luke. chap. i. since many have attempted to compose a narrative of facts, confirmed to us by the fullest evidence: ( )exactly as they delivered them to us, who were eve witnesses from the first, and ministers of the word; ( )it seemed right to me also, having obtained accurate knowledge of all things from above, to write to thee in regular order, most excellent theophilus, ( )to the intent that thou mayest clearly know the certainty of those matters, concerning which thou hast been instructed. ( )there was in the days of herod, the king of judea, a certain priest named zacharias, of the course of abiah: and his wife of the daughters of aaron, and her name elisabeth. ( )and they were both righteous before god, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless. ( )and they had no child, because elizabeth was barren, and both were far advanced in years. ( )and it came to pass, as he discharged his priestly office in the order of his periodical ministration before god, ( )according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to his lot to burn the incense when he went into the temple of the lord. ( )and all the multitude of people was praying without, at the time of the burning the incense. ( )and an angel of the lord appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ( )and zacharias was agitated greatly at the sight, and fear fell upon him. ( )but the angel said unto him, fear not, zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife elisabeth shall bring thee a son, and thou shalt call his name john. ( )and it shall give thee joy and exultation; and many shall rejoice at his birth: ( )for he shall be great in the sight of the lord; and he shall never drink wine, nor any intoxicating liquor; and he shall be filled with the holy ghost, even from his mother's womb. ( )and many of the children of israel shall he turn unto the lord, their god. ( )and he shall go forth before him in the spirit and power of elias, to convert the hearts of fathers with their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people ready for the lord. ( )and zacharias said to the angel, by what shall i know this? for i am old, and my wife far advanced in her age. ( )and the angel answering said to him, i am gabriel, that stand in the presence of god; and i have been sent to speak to thee, and to proclaim these glad tidings to thee. ( )and behold, thou shalt be dumb, and unable to speak, until that day when these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled at their exact time. ( )and the people were waiting for zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. ( )and when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he himself made signs to them, and continued deaf and dumb. ( )and it came to pass, when the days of his ministry were fulfilled, he went to his own house. ( )and after those days elisabeth his wife conceived, and kept herself in retirement five months, saying, ( )thus hath the lord dealt with me in the days in which he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men. ( )now in the sixth month the angel gabriel was sent from god into a city of galilee, the name of which was nazareth, ( )to a virgin of the house of david, betrothed to a man whose name was joseph; and the virgin's name was mary. ( )and the angel coming in to her said, all hail! o thou highly favoured one! the lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. ( )and when she saw him, she was greatly agitated at his address: and reasoned in herself what kind of salutation this could be. ( )and the angel said unto her, fear not, mary, for thou hast found favour with god. ( )and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name jesus. ( )he shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest: and the lord god will give him the throne of david his father; ( )and he shall reign over the house of jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ( )and mary said, how shall this be, seeing i know not man? ( )and the angel answering said unto her, the holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee; wherefore also the holy one that shall be born of thee, shall be called the son of god. ( )and, behold, elisabeth thy cousin, she also hath conceived in her old age: and this is the fifth month _of pregnancy_ with her who was called barren. ( )for there is nothing impossible with god. ( )then said mary, behold a servant of the lord, be it to me according to thy declaration. and the angel departed from her. ( )then mary arose in those days, and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of judah, ( )and entered into the house of zachariah, and saluted elisabeth. ( )and it came to pass, when elisabeth heard the salutation of mary, the babe leaped for joy in her womb; and elisabeth was filled with the holy ghost: ( )and she exclaimed with a loud voice, and said, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ( )and whence is this favour shewn me, that the mother of my lord should come to me? ( )for, lo! as the voice of thy salutation reached my ears, the babe leaped for joy in my womb. ( )and blessed is she that hath believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things told her from the lord. ( )and mary said, my soul doth magnify the lord, ( )and my spirit hath exulted in god my saviour: ( )for he hath looked upon the lowly state of his maid-servant: for, lo! henceforth shall all generations pronounce me blessed. ( )for the mighty one hath done great things for me; and holy is his name. ( )and his mercy is upon those who fear him, from generation to generation. ( )he hath displayed strength from his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ( )he hath cast down potentates from the throne, and hath exalted the lowly. ( )he hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. ( )he hath succoured israel his servant, that he might be mindful of mercy for ever; ( )as he had spoken to our fathers, to abraham, and to his seed. ( )and mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her home. ( )now elisabeth's time was up that she should be delivered; and she brought a son. ( )and her neighbours and her relations heard, that the lord had magnified his mercy upon her; and they congratulated her. ( )and it came to pass, on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him after the name of his father, zacharias. ( )and his mother spake and said, no; but he shall be called john. ( )and they said to her, there is not one among thy relations, who is called by this name. ( )and they made signs to his father, what he would have him called. ( )and desiring a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, john is his name. and they were all surprised. ( )instantly then his mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he burst out in praises to god. ( )and great awe fell on all those who dwelt around them: and in all the mountainous country of judea, all these circumstances were the subject of conversation. ( )and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, well! what a child will this be! and the hand of the lord was with him. ( )and zacharias his father was filled with the holy ghost, and prophesied, saying, ( )blessed be the lord the god of israel; for he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people; ( )and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant david: ( )as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been from the beginning: ( )even preservation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ( )to perform mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his own holy covenant: ( )the oath which he sware to abraham our father, ( )to give us, that we, secure from fear, rescued from the hands of our enemies, should serve him, ( )in righteousness and holiness before him, all the days of our life. ( )and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the most high; for thou shalt go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways; ( )to give the knowledge of salvation to his people, by the remission of their sins, ( )through the bowels of mercy of our god; with which he hath visited us, as the dawn of the morning from on high, ( )to illumine those who sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace. ( )and the child grew, and became mighty in spirit, and was in the deserts until the days of his public exhibition to israel. chap. ii. now it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from caesar augustus, that the whole land should be registered. ( )(and this first enrolment was made by cyrenius, _afterwards_ governor of syria) ( )and all went to be registered, every one to his own city. ( )then joseph also went up from galilee, from the city of nazareth, to judea, to the city of david, which is called bethlehem; because he was of the house and family of david; ( )to be enregistered with mary, the wife espoused to him, who was big with child. ( )and it came to pass, while they were there, that her time was up, that she should be delivered. ( )and she brought forth a son, her first-born, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ( )and there were shepherds in that country abiding in the open air, and keeping guard over their flock by night. ( )and, behold, the angel of the lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone around them; and they were exceedingly affrighted. ( )and the angel said unto them, be not affrighted: for, behold, i bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be for all the people. ( )because this day there is born for you a saviour, which is messiah, the lord, in the city of david. ( )and this shall be a sign for you; ye shall find the babe in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger. ( )and suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising god, and saying, ( )glory in the highest heavens to god! and upon earth, peace! towards men complacence. ( )and it came to pass, as the angels went from them into heaven, the men, the shepherds, said also to each other, let us now go to bethlehem, and see this thing which hath happened, which the lord hath made known to us. ( )and they came with haste, and found mary, and joseph, and the babe, lying in the manger: ( )and when they saw it, they made a public report of the declaration delivered to them respecting this child. ( )and all who heard it, marvelled at the things told them by the shepherds. ( )but mary carefully preserved all these declarations, laying them together in her heart, in order to apprehend their meaning. ( )and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising god for all the things which they had heard and seen, exactly as had been told them. ( )and when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising the child, his name also was called jesus, the name imposed by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ( )and when the days of her purification were accomplished according to the law of moses, they brought him to jerusalem, to present him to the lord; ( )as it is written in the law of the lord, every male child, that openeth the womb, shall be called holy to the lord; ( )and to offer a sacrifice, according to what is prescribed in the law of the lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. ( )and, behold, there was a man at jerusalem, whose name was simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of israel: and the holy ghost was upon him. ( )and it had been divinely communicated to him by the holy spirit, that he should not see death, till he had seen the lord's messiah. ( )and he came by the spirit into the temple; just as the parents were bringing in the child jesus, that they might do according to what was the custom of the law concerning him; ( )and he took him into his arms, and blessed god, and said, ( )now dismiss thy servant, lord, according to thy word, in peace; ( )for my eyes have seen thy salvation, ( )which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. ( )a light to give revelation to the gentiles, and glory to thy people israel. ( )and joseph and his mother were amazed at the things spoken concerning him. ( )and simeon blessed them, and said to mary his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall, and rising again of many in israel; and for a marked object to be spoken against; ( )(so shall a dart pierce through thy own soul) that the reasonings of many hearts may be laid open, ( )and there was anna, a prophetess, the daughter of phanuel, of the tribe of asser: she was far advanced in old age, having lived but seven years with a husband, from her virgin state: ( )though she was now a widow, of about eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, attending the divine service, with fastings and prayers night and day: ( )and at the very same moment coming up, she also in turn confessed the lord, and spake of him to all who were expecting redemption in jerusalem. ( )and when they had finished all things according to the law of the lord, they returned into galilee, into their own city nazareth. ( )and the child grew, and became endued with great powers of spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of god was upon him. ( )and his parents went annually to jerusalem at the feast of the passover. ( )and when he was twelve years old, they went up to jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast. ( )and when they had concluded the days, as they were returning, the child jesus remained at jerusalem, and joseph and his mother knew it not: ( )but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey; and they sought him among their relations and acquaintances; ( )and not finding him, they returned to jerusalem in search of him. ( )and it came to pass after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. ( )and all who heard him, were in a transport of admiration, at his understanding and answers. ( )and when they saw him, they were struck with surprise; and his mother said to him, son, why hast thou behaved to us in this manner? lo! thy father and i have been seeking thee in anguish of heart. ( )and he said unto them, wherefore did ye seek me? did you not know, that i must be occupied with my father's affairs? ( )and they understood not the meaning of what he spake to them. ( )and he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was in subjection to them: though his mother preserved all these sayings in her heart. ( )and jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favour with god and men. chap. iii. now in the fifteenth year of the reign of tiberius caesar, pontius pilate being governor of judea, and herod tetrarch of galilee, and philip his brother tetrarch of iturea and the region of trachonitis, and lysanias tetrarch of abilene: ( )when annas and caiaphas were high-priests, the word of god came to john the son of zacharias in the wilderness; ( )and he came into all the country on the confines of jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; ( )as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet isaiah, saying, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the lord, make his paths strait: ( )every valley shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be levelled, and the crooked ways made strait, and the rough roads smooth: ( )and all flesh shall see the salvation of god." ( )he said, therefore, to the multitudes who came out to be baptised by him, ye broods of vipers, who hath warned you to fly from the approaching wrath? ( )produce then fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say in yourselves, we have a father, even abraham; for i say unto you, that god is able out of these stones to raise up children to abraham. ( )but now is the ax laid even to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that produceth not good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. ( )and the multitudes asked him, saying, what then shall we do? ( )and he answering said to them, he that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath provisions, let him do in like manner. ( )then came also the farmers of the taxes to be baptised, and they said unto him, master, what shall we do? ( )he said unto them, exact nothing more than is appointed for you. ( )and the military men also asked him, and what shall we do? and he said unto them, extort nothing by force; nor turn informers; and be content with your pay. ( )now when the people were in expectation, and many reasoned in their hearts respecting john, whether he were the messiah, ( )john addressed himself to them all, saying, i indeed baptise you with water; but one mightier than i is coming, the thong of whose sandals i am not worthy to untie: he shall baptise you with the holy ghost and with fire; ( )whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor, and collect the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. ( )thus in many and various discourses exhorting them, he preached the glad tidings of the gospel to the people. ( )now herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him, on account of herodias his brother philip's wife, and for all the other wicked actions which he had done, ( )added this also to all the rest, and shut up john in prison. ( )now it came to pass, at the time when john was baptising all the people, that jesus also was baptised, and as he prayed, the heaven was opened, ( )and the holy ghost descended in a bodily form, like a dove, upon him, and a voice came from heaven, saying, thou art my beloved son, in thee i am well pleased. ( )and jesus himself was about thirty years of age when he began his ministry, being (as was supposed the son of joseph) of heli, ( )of matthat, of levi, of melchi, of janna, of joseph, ( )of mattathias, of amos, of naum, of esli, of nagge, ( )of maath, of mattathias, of semei, of joseph, of juda, ( )of joanna, of rhesa, of zerubbabel, of salathiel, of neri, ( )of melchi, of addi, of cosam, of elmodam, of er, ( )of jose, of eliezer, of jorim, of matthat, of levi, ( )of simeon, of judah, of joseph, of jonan, of eliakim, ( )of melea, of menan, of mattatha, of nathan, of david, ( )of jesse, of obed, of booz, of salmon, of naasson, ( )of aminadab, of aram, of esrom, of phares, of judah, ( )of jacob, of isaac, of abraham, of terah, of nachor, ( )of saruch, of ragau, of phalec, of heber, of sala, ( )of cainan, of arphaxad, of sem, of noe, of lamech, ( )of methusaleh, of enoch, of jared, of maleleel, of cainan, ( )of enos, of seth, of adam, _the son_ of god. chap. iv. then jesus full of the holy ghost returned from jordan, and was led by the spirit into the wilderness, ( )being tempted forty days by the devil; and did eat nothing during those days: and when they were ended, afterwards he was hungry. ( )and the devil said to him, if thou art the son of god, command this stone that it become a loaf. ( )and jesus answered him, saying, it is written, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of god." ( )and the devil taking him up into an exceeding high mountain, displayed before him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time: ( )and the devil said unto him, i will give thee all this authority, and the glory of these; for to me it is delivered, and to whomsoever i will, i give it. ( )if therefore thou wilt worship before me, all shall be thine. ( )and jesus answering him, said, get thee behind me, satan, for it is written, "thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and to him alone shalt thou pay divine honour." ( )and he brought him to jerusalem, and set him on a wing of the temple, and said to him, if thou art the son of god, cast thy self down from hence: ( )for it is written, "he shall give his angels a charge over thee, to guard thee safely; ( )and that in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." ( )and jesus answering said unto him, it is said, "thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god." ( )and when the devil had closed all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. ( )and jesus returned in the power of the spirit into galilee: and a report went out into all the region round about concerning him. ( )and he taught in their synagogues, being universally admired. ( )and he came to nazareth, where he was brought up; and he went, according to his usual custom, into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, and rose up to read. ( )and there was given to him the book of the prophet isaiah: and unrolling the volume, he found the passage where it is written, ( )"the spirit of the lord is upon me, for the work whereunto he hath anointed me; he hath sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor; to heal the contrite in heart; to proclaim liberty to the captives; and restore sight to the blind; to send forth the bruised free from bonds; ( )to publish the acceptable year of the lord." ( )and rolling up the volume, he gave it to the attendant officer, and sat down. and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were attentively fixed on him. ( )and he began to say to them, to day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears. ( )and all concurred in their testimony to him, and marvelled at the gracious words which proceeded from his mouth. and they said, is not this the son of joseph? ( )and he said unto them, ye will probably say to me this parable, physician, heal thyself! the works which we have heard to have been performed by thee at capernaum, do the like here in thy own country. ( )but he said, verily, i say unto you, that no prophet is acceptable in his own country. ( )now i tell you of a certainty, that there were many widows in the days of elias, in israel, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, so that a grievous famine was upon all the land. ( )and unto none of them was elias sent, but unto sarepta, a city of sidon, to a widow woman. ( )and many lepers were in israel in the days of the prophet elisha, and no one of them was cleansed, but naaman the syrian. ( )and they were all filled with rage in the synagogue, when they heard these observations: ( )and rising up, dragged him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill, on which their city was built, in order to cast him down headlong: ( )but he passing through the midst of them, went away. ( )and he came down to capernaum, a city of galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. ( )and they were struck with astonishment at his teaching; for his discourse was with authority. ( )and there was in the synagogue a man, who had a spirit of an unclean devil, and he roared out with a great cry, ( )saying, let us alone; what have we to do with thee, jesus the nazarean? art thou come to destroy us? i know thee who thou art; the holy one of god. ( )and jesus rebuked him, saying, stop thy mouth, and come out of him. and the devil throwing him down into the midst, came out of him, doing him no injury. ( )and amazement seized on all present, and they spake one to another, saying, what a word is this? for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. ( )and the fame of him went forth into all the adjacent region. ( )then rising up out of the synagogue, he came into the house of simon: and simon's mother-in-law was seized with a violent fever, and they besought him on her behalf. ( )and standing over her, he charged the fever _to depart_; and it left her: and immediately she arose, and waited upon them. ( )so when the sun was set, all who had any indisposed with various diseases, brought them to him; and laying his hands severally on each of them, he cured them. ( )and devils also went out of many, crying out, and saying, thou art the messiah the son of god. and rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was the messiah. ( )and as the day was coming on, he went forth and departed into a desert place: and the multitude sought him out, and came to him, and would have detained him that he should not leave them. ( )but he said unto them, i must preach the glad tidings of the kingdom of heaven in other cities also: for on this service am i sent. ( )and he continued preaching in the synagogues of galilee. chap. v. and it came to pass, as the multitude were thronging upon him, in order to hear the word of god, that he was standing by the lake of gennesaret: ( )and he saw two vessels a-ground near the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and washing their nets. ( )then he went on board one of the vessels, which was simon's, and desired him to put off a little from the land: and sitting down, he taught the multitudes out of the vessel. ( )and when he ceased speaking, he said to simon, go off into deep water, and shoot your nets for a draught. ( )and simon answering, said unto him, sir, we have been toiling all night, and have taken nothing: but at thy command i will shoot the net. ( )and having done so, they inclosed a prodigious multitude of fishes; and their net was broken. ( )and they made signals to their partners in the other vessels, that they should come to their assistance. and they came, and filled both the vessels, so that they were ready to founder. ( )then simon peter seeing it, fell down on his knees before jesus, saying, go from me; for i am a sinful man, o lord! ( )for amazement had seized on him, and on all who were with him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken: ( )as also on james and john the sons of zebedee, who were partners with simon. and jesus said to simon, fear not: henceforward thou shalt catch men. ( )and when they had brought their vessels on shore, they left all, and followed him. ( )and it came to pass as he was just at one of the cities, behold, a man full of leprosy! and seeing jesus, he fell on his face, and besought him, saying, lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ( )and he stretching out his hand touched him, saying, i will: be thou cleansed. and instantly the leprosy departed from him. ( )and he commanded him to tell no man: but go shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy purification, as moses enjoined, for a testimony unto them. ( )now the discourse concerning him more and more spread through the country: and vast multitudes came together to hear him, and to be cured by him of their disorders. ( )but he himself was in the desert for retirement and prayer. ( )and on a certain day it happened that he was teaching, and there were sitting pharisees, and doctors of the law, who had come from every town of galilee, and judea, and jerusalem: and the power of the lord for healing them was exercised. ( )and behold, men carried on a couch a man who was a paralytic; and sought to bring him into the house, and to place him before him. ( )and not discovering by what means they could introduce him, because of the crowd, they went up to the roof, and through the tiling let him down with his little couch into the midst, before jesus. ( )and seeing their faith, he saith to him, man, thy sins are forgiven thee. ( )and the scribes and pharisees began to reason, saying, who is this that speaketh blasphemies? who can forgive sins but god alone? ( )and jesus knowing their reasoning, in reply said to them, why do ye reason in your hearts? ( )for which is the easier? to say, thy sins are forgiven; or to say, arise and walk? ( )but that ye may know that the son of man hath authority upon earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the paralytic,) i say to thee, arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thy house. ( )and instantly he rose up before them, took up that on which he had lain, and went away to his house, giving glory to god. ( )and an extacy of admiration seized upon them all, and they glorified god; and they were filled with awe, saying, we have seen wondrously strange things to-day. ( )and after these things he went out, and saw a farmer of the taxes, named levi, sitting at the custom-house: and he said unto him, follow me. ( )and leaving all behind, he rose, and followed him. ( )and levi made him a great entertainment at his house and there was a great number of publicans and others, sitting at table with them. ( )and their scribes and pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? ( )and jesus answering said unto them, they who are well, have no need of a physician: but they who have illness. ( )i came not to call righteous men, but sinners, to repentance. ( )then said they unto him, why do the disciples of john observe frequent fasts, and make prayers; but thine are eating and drinking? ( )and he said unto them, can you make the children of the bridechamber fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? ( )but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then shall they fast in those days. ( )then he spake a parable unto them, no man putteth a patch of new cloth on an old garment; but if otherwise, both the new makes a rent, and the patch from the new is not of a piece with the old. ( )and no man putteth new wine into old bottles; for if he doth, the new wine will burst the bottles, and it will itself be spilled, and the bottles be destroyed. ( )but new wine should be put into new bottles; then both are preserved. ( )and no man drinking old wine, immediately desires new: for he saith, the old is better. chap. vi. and it came to pass on the sabbath after the second day of the passover, that he was passing through the cornfields; and the disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them out in their hands. ( )then said some of the pharisees unto them, why do ye that which is not lawful on the sabbath-day? ( )and jesus answering said to them; have ye never read what david did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him? ( )how he entered into the house of god, and took the loaves of shew-bread, and did eat, and gave also to those who were with him; which it was not lawful for any to eat, but the priests alone? ( )and he said, the son of man is lord also of the sabbath-day. ( )and it came to pass on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and a man was there, and his right hand was shrunk. ( )then the scribes and pharisees watched him, if he would heal on the sabbath-day, that they might find an accusation against him. ( )now he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, rise, and stand in the midst. and he arose, and stood up. ( )then said jesus unto them, i will ask you a question; is it lawful to do good on the sabbath-day, or to do evil? to preserve life or to destroy it? ( )and looking round upon them all, he said to the man, stretch out thine hand; and he did so: and his hand was restored sound as the other. ( )but they were filled with madness, and talked earnestly to each other what they could do to jesus. ( )now it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in an oratory of god. ( )and when it was day, he called his disciples to him; and elected from them twelve, whom he named apostles: ( )simon, whom he also called peter, and andrew his brother, james and john, philip and bartholomew, ( )matthew and thomas, james son of alpheus, and simon called the zealous, ( )jude the brother of james, and judas iscariot, who also was the traitor. ( )and coming down with them, he stood on a level spot: and the crowd of his disciples, and a vast multitude of people from all judea and jerusalem, and the sea coast of tyre and sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; ( )and they who were disturbed with unclean spirits: and they were cured. ( )and all the multitude strove to touch him, for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. ( )and he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of god. ( )blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled. blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. ( )blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from them, and shall revile you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the son of man's sake. ( )rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for, lo! your reward is great in heaven: for after the same manner did your fathers to the prophets. ( )but wo unto you who are rich! for ye have received your consolation. ( )wo unto you who are full! for ye shall hunger. wo unto you who laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. ( )wo unto you, when men shall speak well of you! for just so did their fathers of the false prophets. ( )but i say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; ( )bless those who curse you, and pray for those who wantonly insult you. ( )to him that smiteth thee on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who would take from thee thy cloak, withhold not thy coat also. ( )and give to every one that asketh thee; and from him who would take thy goods, demand them not again. ( )and as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also to them in like manner. ( )and if ye love them that love you, what thanks are due to you? for even sinners love those who love them. ( )and if ye do good to them who do good to you, what thanks have ye? do not even sinners the same thing? ( )and if ye lend to those, from whom ye hope to receive back again, what thanks are due to you? for sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive an equivalent. ( )but love your enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return: and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the most high; for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the wicked. ( )be ye therefore compassionate, as also your father is compassionate. ( )and judge not, that ye be not judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: ( )give, and there shall be given unto you; good measure pressed down, and shook, and running over, shall they give into your lap. for with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured back to you again. ( )and he spake a parable unto them, can the blind lead the blind? will they not both fall into the pit? ( )the disciple is not above his teacher; but every one who is completely taught shall be as his master. ( )but why beholdest thou the mote which is in thy brother's eye, but observest not the beam which is in thine own eye? ( )or how canst thou say to thy brother, brother, permit me to take off the mote which is on thine eye, not seeing thyself the beam in thine own eye? thou hypocrite! cast out the beam which is in thine eye, and then shalt thou see distinctly to take off the mote which is in thy brother's eye. ( )for there is no good tree which produceth fruit of a bad quality; neither doth a tree of a bad sort produce good fruit. ( )every tree is known by its own peculiar fruit. for men do not gather figs from off thorns, nor do they gather from the bramble a bunch of grapes. ( )a good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, produceth what is good; and a wicked man, from the evil treasure in his heart, produceth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ( )and why call ye me, lord, lord, and do not the things which i say? ( )every one who cometh to me, and heareth my words, and puts them in practice, i will shew you to whom he is like: ( )he is like to a man, building a house, who digged, and sunk deep, and laid the foundation on a rock; and when there was a flood, the river rushed violently against that house, and was not of force to shake it, for it was founded on a rock. ( )but he that heareth, and doth not practice, is like a man who built his house on the earth without a foundation; against which the river rushed violently, and immediately it fell; and the crash of the fall of that house was great. chap. vii. now after he had finished all these sayings in the ears of the people, he entered into capernaum. ( )and the servant of a certain centurion, who was very valuable to him, being seized with an illness, was ready to die. ( )but when he heard of jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the jews, entreating him that he would come and preserve the life of his servant. ( )and when they came to jesus, they entreated him importunately, saying, he is a worthy man on whom thou wilt confer this favour: ( )for he loveth our nation, and hath himself built us a synagogue. ( )then jesus went with them. and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion dispatched towards him friends, saying to him, lord, trouble not thyself: for i am not deserving that thou shouldest enter beneath my roof. ( )therefore neither did i think myself worthy to come unto thee, but speak in a word, and my servant will be cured. ( )for i also am a man under authority, and have under my command soldiers; and i say to this man, go, and he goeth; and to another, come hither, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. ( )then jesus, on hearing these things, respected him highly, and turning to the multitude which was following him, he said, i tell you, i have not found such faith, even in israel. ( )and they who were sent, on their return to the house, found the servant who was sick in perfect health. ( )and it came to pass the next day, that he went into a city called nain; and a considerable number of his disciples went with him, and a vast multitude. ( )and as he drew near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carrying out, an only son to his mother, and she a widow; and a great concourse of the city was with her. ( )and when jesus saw her, he was moved with compassion for her, and said unto her, weep not. ( )and approaching, he touched the bier: and the bearers stood still; and he said, young man, i say to thee, arise. ( )and the dead man sat up, and began to speak: and he delivered him to his mother. ( )and fear fell on all, and they glorified god, saying, that a great prophet is risen up among us, and that god hath looked down with mercy on his people. ( )and this account respecting him went abroad through all judea, and all the region adjacent. ( )and his disciples informed john of all these things. ( )and john calling two certain persons of his disciples, sent them to jesus, saying, art thou he that cometh, or are we to expect another? ( )then the men came to him, saying, john baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, art thou he that cometh, or are we to expect another? ( )and in that very hour he cured many of diseases and acute complaints, and evil spirits; and to many blind persons he gave sight. ( )and jesus addressing them, said, go, tell john what things ye have seen and heard: that the blind recover sight, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached unto them. ( )and blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended at me. ( )now when john's messengers were departed, he began to speak to the people concerning john, what went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind? ( )but what went ye out to see? a man clothed in delicate garments? behold, they who indulge in soft raiment, and delicate food, are in king's palaces. ( )but what went ye out to see? a prophet? yea, i say unto you, and more than a prophet. ( )for this is he of whom it is written, behold, i send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. ( )for i tell you, of those born from woman, there is not a greater prophet than john the baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he. ( )and all the people when they heard it, and the publicans, glorified god, being baptised with the baptism of john. ( )but the pharisees and teachers of the law rejected the counsel of god towards themselves, not being baptised by him. ( )and the lord said, to what then shall i compare the men of this generation? and to what are they like? ( )they are like to children sitting in the markets, and calling to each other, and saying, we have played the flute to you, and ye have not danced; we have raised the cry of mourning, and ye have not wept. ( )for john the baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say, he hath a devil. ( )the son of man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! ( )though wisdom hath been justified by her children. ( )then one of the pharisees invited him to eat with him. and he went into the pharisee's house, and sat down to table. ( )and, behold, a certain woman in the city, who was a notorious offender, when she knew that jesus was sitting at table in the pharisee's house, brought an alabaster vessel of odoriferous balm, ( )and standing at his feet behind him, began to water his feet with her tears, and to wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfumed balm. ( )and when the pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said within himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of a woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a notorious sinner. ( )and jesus addressing himself to him said, simon, i have somewhat to say to thee. and he said, master, speak freely. ( )a certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ( )but having nothing to pay, he forgave them both. tell me, which of these, then, will love him most? ( )and simon answering said, i suppose, he to whom he forgave most. and he said unto him, thou hast judged rightly. ( )so turning to the woman, he said to simon, thou seest this woman? i came into thine house, even water for my feet thou gavest not; but she hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ( )one kiss hast thou not given me, but she from the time she hath come in, hath not ceased tenderly to kiss my feet. ( )my head with oil thou hast not anointed; but she hath anointed my feet with odoriferous balm. ( )for which cause, i tell thee, her many sins are forgiven, for she hath loved much: but to whom a little is forgiven, he loveth little. ( )and he said to her, thy sins are forgiven. ( )and they who sat at table with him began to say in themselves, who is this, who even forgives sins? ( )but he said unto the woman, thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. chap. viii. and it came to pass afterwards, that he went through every city and village, preaching and publishing the glad tidings of the kingdom of god, and the twelve with him. ( )and certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and sicknesses, mary called magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out. ( )and joanna the wife of chuza, herod's lieutenant-governor, and susanna, and many others, who ministred to his support out of their possessions. ( )now when a vast multitude was collected, even those who came to him out of every city, he spake by a parable. ( )a sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell by the road side, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it up. ( )and other seed fell on a rock, and vegetating, withered because it had no moisture. ( )and other seed fell amidst thorns, and the thorns springing up with it, choked it. ( )and some fell on good ground, and shooting up, produced fruit an hundred fold. so saying, he cried, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ( )then his disciples asked him, saying. what might this parable mean? ( )and he said, to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of god; but to the rest in parables: that seeing they may not perceive, and hearing may not comprehend. ( )now this is the parable: the seed is the word of god. ( )they by the road side, are such as hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh the word from their heart, that they should not be saved in believing. ( )and they on the rock, are such as when they have heard, with joy embrace the word; and these have not root, who for a time believe, and in a season of trial apostasize. ( )and that which fell among thorns, are they having heard, and going away, are choked by the cares, and wealth, and pleasures of life, and bring forth no perfect fruit. ( )but that on the good ground are they who having heard the word, retain it in a heart excellent and good, and bring forth fruit with patience. ( )no man lighting a lamp hides it with a cover, or putteth it under a bed, but on a stand, that they who are coming in, may see the light. ( )for there is nothing hid which shall not be made manifest, nor concealed, which shall not be known and brought to light. ( )take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, even what he seemeth to have shall be taken away from. ( )then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come near him because of the crowd. ( )and it was told him, saying, thy mother and thy brethren are standing without, desirous of seeing thee. ( )then he answered and said to them, my mother and my brethren are they, who hear the word of god, and practise it. ( )and it came to pass on one of the days, that he went himself into a ship, and his disciples, and said unto them, let us pass over to the farther side of the lake. and they set fail. ( )and while they were on the passage, he went to sleep: and a hurricane of wind rushed down on the lake; and they were filled with water, and imminent danger. ( )then they came and awoke him, saying, master, master, we are perishing. then arising, he issued his command to the wind, and the billows of water, and they subsided, and there was a calm. ( )and he said to them, where is your faith? and they feared and were astonished, saying one to another, well! what a man is this! that he commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him. ( )and they sailed over unto the region of the gadarenes, which is opposite galilee. ( )and as he landed, there met him a certain man from the city, who had devils for a long while, and kept no clothes on him, and never abode in a house, but in the tombs. ( )but when he saw jesus, roaring out, he fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, what have i to do with thee, jesus, thou son of god most high? i pray thee, torment me not. ( )for he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man; for many times it had seized on him; and though under a guard, and bound with chains and fetters; yet bursting the bonds, he was driven by the devil into the desert places. ( )then jesus asked him, saying, what is thy name? and he said, legion: for many devils were entered into him. ( )and he besought him that he would not order them to go into the abyss. ( )now a herd of many swine was there feeding on the mountain; and they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them. and he permitted them. ( )then the devils going out of the man, entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down a precipice into the lake, and was suffocated. ( )but when those who fed them saw what was done they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country places. ( )and they came out to see what had happened; and they came to jesus, and found the man sitting, from whom the devils were gone out, clothed, and in his sound mind, at the feet of jesus; and they were afraid. ( )then they also who had seen how the demoniac was recovered, told them. ( )and the whole multitude of the country around the gadarenes, entreated him to depart from them; for they were seized with great terror: and he embarked on the vessel, and returned. ( )and the man out of whom the devils had gone, besought him to be with him; but jesus sent him away, saying, ( )return to thy house, and declare what things god hath done for thee. and he went away, and published through the whole city what things jesus had done for him. ( )and it came to pass, when jesus returned, the people welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ( )and, behold, there came a man whose name was jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and falling at the feet of jesus, he entreated him to come to his house; ( )for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying: and as he was going, the multitude thronged him. ( )and a woman, who had a flux of blood, for twelve years, who had spent all her substance on physicians, and could not get a cure from any; ( )coming behind him, touched the fringe of his garment; and instantly the flux of her blood stopped. ( )and jesus said, who touched me? and when all denied, peter, and those who were with him, said, master, the multitudes throng and press thee, and sayest thou, who hath touched me? ( )then said jesus, some person hath touched me, for i know that miraculous power is gone out from me. ( )then the woman seeing she was not hid, came trembling, and falling down before him, declared to him before all the people, for what cause she had touched him; and how she was cured instantaneously. ( )then he said unto her, be of good cheer, daughter, thy faith hath made thee well; go in peace. ( )and while he was yet speaking, a person came to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him, thy daughter is dead, give the master no further trouble. ( )then jesus hearing it, addressed him, saying, fear not, only believe, and she shall be saved. ( )and entering into the house, he suffered no person to come in, but peter, and james, and john, and the father and mother of the child. ( )now all were weeping and lamenting her: and he said, weep not, she is not dead, but asleep. ( )and they derided him, for they knew that she was dead. ( )and he put them all without, and taking her by the hand, cried, saying, maid, arise! ( )and her spirit returned, and she immediately arose; and he commanded to give her something to eat. ( )and her parents were struck with amazement. but he enjoined them to tell no man what was done. chap. ix. then calling his twelve disciples, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. ( )and he sent them to preach the kingdom of god, and to heal the sick. ( )and he said to them, take nothing for the journey, neither staffs, nor satchel, nor bread, nor money, nor have two coats each. ( )and into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence go out. ( )and whosoever shall not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the dust from your feet, for a testimony against them. ( )and they went forth, and passed through the villages, preaching the gospel, and performing cures everywhere. ( )then herod the tetrarch heard of all things that were done by him; and he was in much distraction of mind, because it was said by some, that john was risen from the dead: ( )and of some that elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the ancient prophets was risen again. ( )and herod said, john i beheaded; but who is this, of whom i hear such things? and he sought to see him. ( )and when the apostles returned, they told him what they had done. and taking them, he withdrew privately into a desert place belonging to the city called bethsaida. ( )but when the multitudes knew it, they followed him and receiving them, he spake to them concerning the kingdom of god, and healed those who had need of a cure. ( )now the day began to decline: and the twelve coming to him, said, dismiss the multitude, that going away into the villages and farms round about, they may lodge and find provision; for here we are in a desert place. ( )then he said unto them, give ye them to eat. and they said, we have no more than five loaves, and two fishes; unless we go somewhere and buy provisions for all this multitude: ( )for there were about five thousand men. then said he to his disciples, make them sit down by fifties each in companies. ( )and they did so: and they made them all sit down. ( )and taking the five loaves, and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. ( )and they did all eat, and were filled; and there were taken up of the fragments which were more than enough for them, twelve baskets. ( )and it came to pass, as he had been praying in retirement, his disciples were with him, and he asked them, who do the multitudes say that i am? ( )and they answering said, john the baptist; but some elias; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again. ( )and he said to them, but who do ye say that i am? then peter answering said, the messiah of god. ( )and strictly charging them, he commanded, that they should tell no man this: ( )saying, the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day rise again. ( )and he said unto them, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. ( )for whosoever would preserve his life shall lose it; but whosoever would lose his life for my sake, shall preserve it. ( )for what advantage hath a man in gaining all the would, if he destroy himself, or be punished with the loss of life? ( )for whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and his father's, and of the holy angels. ( )and i tell you of a certainty, there are some of those who stand here, who shall not taste death, till they see the kingdom of god. ( )and it was about eight days after these discourses, that taking peter, and john, and james, he went up into a mountain to pray. ( )and it came to pass, as he was at prayer, that the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment white and refulgent. ( )and, lo! two men conversed with him, who were moses and elias: ( )who appeared in glory, and mentioned his departure, which he was ready to accomplish at jerusalem. ( )but peter and they who were with him were weighed down with sleep: but when they awoke, they beheld his glory, and the two men who were standing with them. ( )and it came to pass, as they were departing from him, peter said unto jesus, it is well that we are here, and we will make three tents, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias; not knowing what he said. ( )and as he was thus speaking, a cloud came and overshadowed them: and they were afraid as they were entering into the cloud. ( )and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son; hear him. ( )and when the voice ceased, jesus was found alone. and they held their peace, and told no man in those days a word of the things which they had seen. ( )and it came to pass, on the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. ( )and, behold, a man from among the multitude cried out aloud, saying, master, i pray thee, look upon my son; for he is my only begotten. ( )and, behold! a spirit taketh him, and suddenly he crieth out, and convulseth him, with foaming; and bruising him, with difficulty retires from him. ( )and i besought thy disciples that they would cast him out, and they could not. ( )then jesus answering, said, o faithless and perverse generation! how long shall i be with you, how long shall i bear with you? bring hither thy son. ( )and while he was yet approaching the devil threw him down, and violently convulsed him. then jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and cured the child; and restored him to his father. ( )and they were all struck with amazement at the mighty power of god. and while they were all wondering at the things which jesus did, he said to his disciples, ( )keep ye these sayings in your ears; for the son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. ( )and they understood not that declaration, and it was hid from them, that they should not comprehend its meaning: and they were afraid to ask him concerning that saying. ( )then a dispute sprang up among them, which of them should be the greatest. ( )but jesus knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a little boy, and set him by his side, ( )and said unto them, whosoever shall receive this little child in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me: for he who is the least among you all, he shall be great. ( )then john addressing him said, master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followed not with us. ( )and jesus said to him, forbid him not; for he that is not against us, is for us. ( )and it came to pass, as the days hastened to their period when he should be received up _to glory_, that he resolutely set his face to go to jerusalem; ( )and sent messengers before his face; and they advancing entered into a samaritan village, to make preparation for him. ( )and they would not admit him, because his face was directed to jerusalem. ( )and when the disciples james and john saw it, they said, lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as elias did? ( )and turning to them, he reproved them, and said, ye know not what spirit ye are of: ( )for the son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to preserve them. and he proceeded to another village. ( )and it came to pass, as they were walking on the road, a certain person said to him, lord, i will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ( )and jesus said to him, the foxes have holts, and the birds of the air, nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. ( )and he said to another, follow me. and he said, lord, permit me first to return home, and put my father in his grave. ( )and jesus said unto him, leave the dead to bury their own dead, but go thou, preach the kingdom of god. ( )then said another, i will follow thee, lord, but give me leave first to bid adieu to those at my house. ( )but jesus said unto him, no man laying his hand on the plough, and looking to the things left behind, is fit for the kingdom of god. chap. x. then after these things the lord appointed other seventy persons also, and sent them, two and two before his face, into every city and place, whither he himself designed to go. ( )he said therefore unto them, the harvest indeed is plenteous, but the labourers few: pray ye therefore to the lord of the harvest, that he would send out labourers into his harvest. ( )go forth! behold, i send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ( )carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor sandals: and stay to salute no man on the road. ( )and into whatever house ye enter, first say, peace be to this house. ( )and if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it; but if not, it shall return back to you again. ( )and in the same family abide, eating and drinking such as they have: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. go not about from house to house. ( )and into whatsoever city ye enter, and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you: ( )and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of god is come nigh unto you. ( )and into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go out into the streets of it, and say, ( )even the dust of your city, which sticks to us, we shake off against you: nevertheless this know, that the kingdom of god is come near to you. ( )now i tell you, that it shall be more tolerable for sodom in that day, than for that city. ( )wo to thee chorazin! wo to thee bethsaida! for if the miracles which have been done in thee, had been done in tyre and sidon, long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes, would they have repented. ( )but it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the judgment than for you. ( )and thou capernaum, which hast been lifted up to heaven, shalt be cast down to hell. ( )he that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. ( )then the seventy returned with joy, saying, lord, even the devils are subject to us through thy name. ( )and he said unto them, i beheld satan falling as lightning from heaven. ( )behold, i give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shalt in any wise hurt you. ( )nevertheless, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are made subject to you; but rejoice rather, that your names are inscribed in the heavens. ( )in the same hour jesus exulted in spirit, and said, i ascribe glory to thee, father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and intelligent, and hast revealed them to babes: be it so, o father! since such is thy good pleasure. ( )all things are given up to me by my father: and no man knoweth who is the son, but the father; and who is the father, but the son, and he to whomsoever the son is pleased to reveal him. ( )then turning to the disciples, he said privately, blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see: ( )for i tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them. ( )and, behold, a certain doctor of the law arose, to make trial of him, saying, master, by doing what shall i inherit eternal life? ( )and he said unto him, what is written in the law? how readest thou? ( )and he answering said, "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and with all thy understanding, and thy neighbour as thyself." ( )and he said unto him, thou hast answered rightly: this do, and thou shalt live. ( )then he, desirous to make himself appear a righteous person, said unto jesus, and who is my neighbour? ( )then jesus answering said, a certain man went down from jerusalem to jericho, and fell among robbers, who, when they had both stripped him, and covered him with wounds, got off, leaving him half dead. ( )and it so fell out, that a certain priest went down that way, and seeing him, he kept the opposite side of the road. ( )and a levite also, in the same way, being near the place, came, and seeing him, kept the opposite side of the road. ( )but a certain samaritan travelling, came by him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion, ( )and coming up to him, bound up his wounds, after pouring on them oil and wine; then setting him on his own beast, he led him to an inn, and took particular care of him. ( )and on the morrow, as he was departing, he took out of his purse two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, take great care of him; and whatever farther expence may be incurred, when i return, i will repay thee. ( )which then of these three do you suppose to be the neighbour of him who fell into the robbers' hands? ( )and he said, he that shewed mercy towards him. then said jesus to him, go, and do thou exactly the same. ( )and it came to pass, as they were travelling, that he entered into a certain village; and a woman, named martha, received him into her house. ( )and she had a sister called mary, who sitting down also at the feet of jesus, hearkened to his discourse. ( )but martha was hurrying about to provide a large entertainment, and coming up to him, she said, lord, is it no concern to thee, that my sister hath left me to make the whole provision by myself? bid her therefore to assist me. ( )but jesus answering said to her, martha, martha, thou art anxious and disturbing thyself about many things. ( )but of one thing there is need: and mary hath made her election of that good portion, which shall not be taken away from her. chap. xi. and it came to pass, as he was in a certain place praying, when he had done, one of his disciples said to him, lord, teach us to pray, even as john also taught his disciples. ( )and he said unto them, when ye pray say, our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will be done as in heaven so upon earth. ( )give us our necessary food, day by day: ( )and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one who is indebted to us. and bring us not into temptation; but deliver us from the wicked one. ( )and he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend, and he shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves; ( )for a friend of mine is come to me off a journey, and i have nothing to set before him. ( )and he from within answering, shall say, give me no farther trouble: my door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed; i am unable to rise and give thee. ( )i tell you, though even he would not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet because of his importunity, roused up, he will give him as many as he needeth. ( )and i say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. ( )for every one who asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ( )for what father of you, if his son ask a loaf, will he give him a stone? or if a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? ( )or if he ask also an egg, will he give him a scorpion? ( )if ye then, evil as ye are, know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your father, who is in heaven, give his holy spirit to those who ask him? ( )and he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. and it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb person spake, and the people marvelled. ( )but some of them said, he casteth out devils by beelzebub the prince of the devils. ( )but others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. ( )but he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house against a house, falleth. ( )and if satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom be established? because ye say, that i cast out devils by beelzebub. ( )but if i by beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. ( )but if with the finger of god i cast out devils, then, verily the kingdom of god is come unto you. ( )when a strong man, in complete armour, guards his palace, his goods are in peace. ( )but when a stronger person than he coming, vanquisheth him, he takes away his suit of armour in which he confided, and distributes the spoils. ( )he that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad. ( )when the unclean spirit goeth out of a man, he passes through places destitute of water, seeking repose; and not finding it, saith, i will go back to my habitation from whence i came out: ( )and coming, he findeth it swept and furnished. ( )then goeth he, and taketh seven other spirits, more wicked than himself; and they entering in, take up their abode there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. ( )and it came to pass as he was speaking these words, a certain woman from among the multitude lift up her voice, and said unto him, blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked. ( )but he said, yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of god and observe it. ( )then the multitudes thronging around him, he began to say, this is a wicked generation: it seeketh a sign, and no sign shall be given it, but the sign of jonah the prophet. ( )for as jonas was a sign to the ninevites, so shall the son of man also be to this generation. ( )the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against the men of this generation, and shall condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon, and, behold, a greater than solomon is here. ( )the men of nineveh shall rise up in judgment against this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented on the preaching of jonah, and, behold, a greater than jonah is here. ( )but no man lighting a lamp putteth it in a concealed place, or under a bushel, but on a stand, that they who are coming in, may see the light. ( )the lamp of the body is the eye: when therefore thine eye is clear, thy whole body will be luminous, but if it be vitiated, thy whole body will be darkened. ( )let it be thy aim then, that the light which is in thee do not become darkness. ( )if then thy whole body be illuminated, not having any dark part, it will be wholly luminous, as a lamp by its brightness diffuseth light. ( )now as he was speaking, a certain pharisee invited him to dine with him; and going in with him, he sat down. ( )but the pharisee seeing it, marvelled, that he had not washed before dinner. ( )then said the lord unto him, now ye pharisees make the outside of the cup and of the dish clean, but your inward parts are full of extortion and wickedness. ( )ye senseless men! did not he who made that which is without, make also that which is within? ( )but give what is within them for alms; and, lo! all will be pure unto you. ( )but wo to you, pharisees, because ye tithe mint, and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of god. these ought ye to have done, and not to have omitted the other. ( )wo unto you, pharisees, for ye love the first seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the places of public concourse. ( )wo unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves concealed, which men, while walking over them, see not. ( )then one of the doctors of the law addressing him, said, master, thus speaking, thou reproachest us also. ( )and he said, wo also to you, teachers of the law! for ye load men with burdens hardly bearable, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. ( )wo unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ( )ye do indeed bear witness to, and with pleasure concur in your fathers' deeds; for they truly killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. ( )therefore also the wisdom of god hath said, i will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall kill, and shall persecute: ( )that the blood of all the prophets, which hath been shed since the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation: ( )from the blood of abel to the blood of zachariah, who was slain between the altar and the temple: verily i tell you, it shall be required of this generation. ( )wo unto you, teachers of the law! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; ye yourselves enter not in, and those who were entering ye have hindered. ( )and as he was saying these things unto them, the scribes and pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to extort answers from him respecting many things; ( )laying snares for him, and seeking to catch hold of something from his mouth, that they might accuse him. chap. xii. meantime myriads of people collecting, so that they trod on one another, he began to speak to his disciples, take heed principally of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ( )for there is nothing concealed, that shall not be laid open; nor hid, which shall not be known. ( )wherefore whatsoever things ye have spoken in darkness, they shall be reported in the light; and what ye have whispered into the ear in the closets, shall be proclaimed on the house-tops. ( )but i say to you my friends, be not afraid of those who may kill the body, but after that, have nothing farther which they can do. ( )but i will point out to you, whom ye should fear: fear him, who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, i say unto you, fear him! ( )are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, yet not one of them is forgotten before god? ( )but even the hairs of your head are all numbered: fear not then, ye are of more value than many sparrows. ( )but i tell you, every one who shall confess me before men, him will the son of man also confess before the angels of god: ( )but he that disowns me before men, shall be disowned before the angels of god. ( )and every one who shall utter a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but for him who hath blasphemed against the holy ghost, there shall be no forgiveness. ( )and when they shall bring you before the synagogues, and magistrates, and the ruling powers, be under no anxiety how or what defence ye shall make, or what ye shall say: ( )for the holy ghost will teach you at that very hour what ye ought to say. ( )then spake one of the multitude to him, master, order my brother to divide the inheritance with me. ( )but he said to him, man, who made me a judge and a divider among you? ( )then said he to them, beware, and be on your guard against covetousness; for a man's life doth not depend on the abundance of his possessions. ( )and he spake a parable unto them, saying, the estate of a certain rich man bore plentifully: ( )and he thought within himself, saying, what shall i do? for i have not room where i may house my crops. ( )and he said, i will do this; i will take down my barns, and build them larger, and collect there all my crops, and my good things! ( )and i will say to my soul, soul, thou hast a multitude of good things in store for many years, be at ease, eat, drink, and be merry! ( )but god said to him, thou fool! this night shall they demand thy life from thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? ( )just such is every one who heapeth up treasure for self, and is not rich towards god. ( )then said he to his disciples, for this reason i tell you, be under no anxiety about your life, what ye shall eat, nor for your body, how ye shall be clothed. ( )the life is more than food, and the body than raiment. ( )consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn; yet god feedeth them: how much are ye more excellent than the birds? ( )which of you, with all his anxiety, can add one moment to his life? ( )if therefore ye are unable to do the least thing, why are ye anxious about the others? ( )observe the lillies how they grow up, they toil not, nor spin; but i tell you, that solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. ( )if god then so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is thrown into the furnace; how much more you, o ye of little faith? ( )so then be not ye inquisitive what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor be agitated with restless anxiety. ( )for after all these things are the nations of the world seeking; and your father knoweth that ye have need of these things. ( )but seek ye the kingdom of god, and all these things shall be given you over. ( )fear not, little flock! for your father takes delight in giving you the kingdom. ( )sell all your possessions, and give in charity; make yourselves purses that wax not old, a treasure never failing in the heavens, where no thief approaches, nor doth the moth destroy. ( )for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ( )let your loins be firmly girded round, and your lamps burning: ( )and ye like men, expecting their master, when he shall return from the marriage; that when he comes and knocks, they may instantly open the door for him. ( )blessed are those servants, whom the master, when he cometh, shall find watchful: verily i say unto you, that he will gird up himself, and make them sit down at table, and come and wait upon them. ( )and if he come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them so watchful, blessed are those servants. ( )now this be assured of, that if the master of the family had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. ( )therefore be ye also ready, for at an hour that ye think not of, the son of man cometh. ( )then said peter unto him, lord, speakest thou this parable to us, or also for all? ( )and the lord said, who indeed is a faithful steward, and prudent, whom the lord will place over his household, to give them their proportion of provision at the proper season? ( )blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so employed. ( )verily i say unto you, that he will place him over all his property. ( )but if that servant say in his heart, my master will be a long while ere he comes; and shall begin to beat the men and maid-servants, and to eat and to drink, and to get drunk; ( )the master of that servant will come in a day when he doth not expect him, and at an hour which he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and give him his portion with the unfaithful. ( )and that servant, who knew his master's will, and made no preparation for him, nor did according to his pleasure, shall be beaten with many stripes. ( )but he that knew it not, yet did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. for of every one to whom much is given, much shall be required from him: and to whom men commit much, they will of him demand abundantly more. ( )i am come to cast fire on the earth, and what is my wish? that it may be now kindled. ( )but i have a baptism to be baptised with; and how am i distressed in spirit till it is finished! ( )think ye that i came to bring peace upon earth? no, i tell you; but rather division: ( )for henceforth five shall be in one house, divided, three against two, and two against three. ( )the father shall take part against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the step-mother against her daughter-in-law, and the son's wife against her mother-in-law. ( )then said he to the multitudes, when ye see a cloud rising from the west, ye say immediately, there cometh a shower; and it is so. ( )and when the south wind gently blows, ye say, it will be sultry hot; and so it is. ( )ye hypocrites! ye know how to discern by experience from the appearance of the earth and of the sky; but how is it that ye do not discern this particular time? ( )and why even of yourselves do ye not decide what is just? ( )for as thou art going with thy prosecutor to the magistrate, on the way endeavour to make up the matter with him; lest he drag thee before the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. ( )i tell thee, thou mayest in no wise come out from thence, until thou hast paid the very last mite. chap. xiii. now there were some present at that time who informed him of the galileans, whose blood pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ( )and jesus in reply said to them, think ye that these galileans were sinners above all the galileans, because they suffered such things? ( )i tell you, no: for except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. ( )or those eighteen, on whom the tower in siloam fell, and killed them, think ye that they were debtors to divine justice above all the men who dwell at jerusalem? ( )i tell you, no: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. ( )then he spake this parable: a certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; and he came, expecting fruit on it, and found none. ( )then said he to the vine-dresser, lo! for three years have i come, expecting fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it render the ground thus useless? ( )he answering said to him, sir, let it e'en remain this year, until that i dig around it, and spread some manure: ( )perhaps it may then produce fruit: but if it does not, afterwards thou shalt cut it down. ( )and he was teaching in one of the synagogues, on the sabbath. ( )and, behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and unable to raise herself at all up. ( )but when jesus saw her, he called out aloud, and said to her, woman, thou art delivered from thine infirmity. ( )and he laid his hands upon her: and instantly she became erect, and glorified god. ( )then the ruler of the synagogue, indignant, that on the sabbath jesus had performed the cure, addressing himself to the multitude, said, there are six days in which work is to be done: on these therefore come and be cured, and not on the sabbath-day. ( )then the lord answered him, and said, thou hypocrite, doth not every one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead him to water? ( )and ought not this woman, being a daughter of abraham, whom satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath-day? ( )and when he had made this speech, all his opposers were covered with shame: and all the multitude rejoiced in all the glorious things which were done by him. ( )then said he, to what is the kingdom of god like? and whereunto shall i compare it? ( )it is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and put into his garden; and it grew, and became a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged on its branches. ( )and again he said, to what shall i liken the kingdom of god? ( )it is like leaven, which a woman taking, covered up in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. ( )and he passed through the cities and villages, teaching, and making his way towards jerusalem. ( )and a person said to him, lord, are the saved few? and he said unto them, ( )exert all your powers to enter through the strait gate: for many, i tell you, will seek to enter, but will not be able. ( )when the master of the family shall have arisen, and shut the door, and ye shall begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, master, master, open it for us! and he answering will tell you, i know you not whence ye are: ( )then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. ( )and he will say, i tell you, i know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. ( )there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see abraham, and isaac, and jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom, and yourselves cast out. ( )and they shall come from the east, and west, and from north, and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of god. ( )and, behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last. ( )the same day came certain pharisees, saying to him, depart, and begone from hence: for herod will kill thee. ( )and he said to them, go tell that fox, behold, i cast out devils, and perform cures today and to-morrow, and on the third day i shall be perfected. ( )but i must go on to-day and to-morrow, and the day following: for it is impossible that a prophet perish out of jerusalem. ( )o jerusalem! jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest those who are sent unto thee; how often would i have collected thy children unto me, just as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not! ( )behold, your house is left unto you desolate: verily i say unto you, that ye shall see me no more, till the day come when ye shall say, blessed is he who cometh in the name of the lord. chap. xiv. and it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the principal pharisees, to eat bread on the sabbath, that they were watchfully observant of him. ( )and, behold, there was a certain man who had a dropsy, before him. ( )and jesus addressing himself to the teachers of the law and the pharisees, spake, saying, is it lawful to perform cures on the sabbath? ( )and they said nothing. and he took him, and healed him, and sent him away; ( )and addressing them, said, whose ass or ox is fallen into a pit, and doth he not immediately pull him out on the sabbath-day? ( )and they were unable to answer him in opposition to these things. ( )then he spake to those who were invited, a parable, when he observed how they chose the principal seats; saying unto them, ( )when thou art invited of any person to a marriage entertainment, recline not on the principal couch; lest a more honourable personage than thyself be invited by him; ( )and he that invited thee and him, coming say to thee, yield this person the place; and so thou shalt begin with shame to go down to the lowest place. ( )but when thou art invited, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee comes, he may say to thee, friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have respect in the presence of those who are seated with thee. ( )for every one who exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. ( )then said he also to the person who had invited him, when thou makest a dinner or a supper, invite not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy relations, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also invite thee again, and a recompence be made to thee. ( )but when thou makest an entertainment, invite the poor, the maimed, the halt, the blind: ( )and thou shalt be blessed; because they cannot recompense thee: for a recompence shall be made thee at the resurrection of the just. ( )then one of those who sat at table hearing these things, said to him, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of god. ( )and he said unto him, a certain man made a great supper, and invited many: ( )and sent his servants at supper-time to say to the invited, come; for all things are now ready. ( )and they all began with one voice to frame excuses. the first said to him, i have bought a field, and i must of necessity go and survey it: i pray thee hold me excused. ( )and another said, i have bought five yoke of oxen, and am going to make a trial of them: i pray thee accept my excuse. ( )and another said, i have married a wife, and therefore i cannot come. ( )and that servant returning, informed his master of these things. then the master of the family, being highly incensed, said to his servant, go out instantly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. ( )and the servant said, sir, it is done as thou orderedst, and yet there is room. ( )and the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, that my house may be filled. ( )for i say unto you, that not one man of those who were invited shall taste of my supper. ( )and great multitudes followed him about: and he turned, and spoke to them, ( )if any man cometh after me, and hateth not father, and mother, and wife and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. ( )and whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, he cannot be my disciple. ( )for what man of you designing to erect a tower, doth not first sitting down calculate the expence, if he have sufficient to complete the work? ( )lest haply, after having laid the foundation, and being unable to finish it, all who look upon it begin to ridicule him, ( )saying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish. ( )or what king, going forth to encounter another king in battle, doth not sit down first, and consult if he is able with ten thousand men to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand? ( )and if he be not, whilst he is still at a distance, he sendeth an embassy, and desires terms of peace. ( )so then, every one of you who will not part with all his possessions, cannot be my disciple. ( )salt is good: but if the salt become insipid, by what shall it be seasoned? ( )it is neither fit for the land, nor for manure; but they cast it out. he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. chap. xv. then drew nigh unto him all the tax-farmers and the sinners to hear him. ( )and the pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, this man entertains sinners, and eateth with them. ( )then spake he unto them this parable, saying, ( )what man is there of you, possessing an hundred sheep, though he lose but one of them, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? ( )and when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ( )and coming home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, congratulate me; for i have found that sheep of mine which was lost. ( )i tell you, that just so will there be joy in heaven over one repentant sinner, more than over ninety-nine righteous persons, who hold not their need of repentance. ( )or what woman having ten pieces of silver coin, if she lose one of them, doth she not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and make diligent search until she find it? ( )and having found it, she calleth her female friends and neighbours together, saying, congratulate me; for i have found the silver piece i had lost. ( )even so, i tell you, there is joy among the angels of god, over one repentant sinner. ( )then he said, a certain man had two sons: ( )and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the portion of substance which falls to my share. and he divided with them his fortune. ( )and not many days after, the younger son, collecting his all, travelled into a far distant country, and there dissipated his substance in a life of debauchery. ( )but when he had spent all, there came a terrible famine in that region; and he began to know want. ( )and he went and connected himself with one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ( )and he eagerly longed to fill his belly with the charob berries which the swine did eat: and no person gave him _a morsel_. ( )then coming to himself, he said, how many hirelings of my father abound with loaves of bread, and i am pining away with famine! ( )i will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, i have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ( )and i am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hirelings. ( )and he arose and came to his father. but when he was yet at a considerable distance, his father discovered him, and was moved with compassion, and running, fell on his neck, and kissed him again and again. ( )then said the son unto him, father, i have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ( )but the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe, and clothe him; and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet: ( )and bring hither the stall-fed steer, and kill it; and let us eat, and be joyous. ( )for this my son was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. and they began to be joyous. ( )now his elder brother had been in the field: and when coming home he drew near the house, he heard a concert of music, and the chorus. ( )and calling one of the servants, he inquired what these things meant. ( )and he said, thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed for him the stall-fed steer, because he hath received him in health. ( )then he was in great wrath, and would not enter the doors: therefore his father came out, and entreated him. ( )but he answering said to his father, lo, these many years i am serving thee, and never have transgressed thy command: yet to me thou hast never once given a kid, that i might make merry with my friends: ( )but no sooner is this son of thine come, who hath devoured thy substance with whores, than thou hast killed for him the stall-fed steer. ( )and he said unto him, son, thou art ever with me, and all my possessions are thine. ( )but it was right that we should rejoice, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. chap. xvi. then said he also to his disciples, there was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and he received an information against him, as having dissipated his treasures. ( )and calling him, he said to him, what is this report i hear of thee? give up the account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer in that office. ( )then the steward said within himself, what shall i do? because my master is taking away the stewardship from me: to dig, i have not the strength; to beg, i am ashamed. ( )i know what i will do, that, when i am removed from the stewardship, they may entertain me at their houses. ( )so calling upon every one of his master's debtors, he said to the first, how much owest thou to my master? ( )and he said, a hundred baths of oil. and he said, take thy account, and sit down directly, and write fifty. ( )then said he to another, and how much owest thou? and he said, an hundred core of wheat. and he saith to him, take thy account, and write fourscore. ( )and the master praised the unjust steward, because he had acted providently: for the children of this world are more provident among their own generation of men, than the children of light. ( )and i say unto you, make yourselves friends with the unrighteous mammon that when ye fail, they may receive you into the eternal mansions. ( )he that is faithful in the least thing, is faithful also in much: and he who is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. ( )if therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust you with the true? ( )and if ye have not been faithful in that which belongs to another, who will give up to you that which is your own? ( )no domestic can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will cleave to the one, and neglect the other. ye cannot serve god and mammon. ( )then the pharisees also, who were dear lovers of money, heard all these things, and they sneered at him. ( )and he said unto them, ye are they who affect to be righteous persons before men; but god knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men, is an abomination in the sight of god. ( )the law and the prophets were until john: since that the kingdom of god is preached, and every man presseth into it. ( )but it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fail. ( )every one who putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and every one who marrieth a woman divorced from her husband, committeth adultery. ( )now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making splendid entertainments every day: ( )and there was a certain pauper, named lazarus, who was laid at his gate covered with ulcers, ( )and importunately desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: yea even the dogs came and licked his ulcers. ( )now it came to pass that the poor man died, and was carried up by angels into the bosom of abraham. then the rich man also died, and was buried: ( )and in hell, lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he seeth abraham at a vast distance, and lazarus in his bosom. ( )and crying out, he said, father abraham, have compassion on me, and send lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for i am tormented with this flame. ( )but abraham said, son, remember that thou hast received thy good things during thy life, and lazarus, in like manner, what was afflictive: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. ( )and besides all these considerations, between us and you there is a vast chasm fixed: so that they who might be willing to pass from hence to you, cannot; neither can they pass through to us, from thence. ( )and he said, i entreat thee then, father, that thou wouldest send him to my paternal mansion: ( )for i have five brothers: that he may testify to them, that they also come not into this place of torment. ( )abraham saith to him, they have moses and the prophets; let them hearken to them. ( )but he said, ah no, father abraham! but if one came to them from the dead, they will repent. ( )then he said to him, if they hearken not to moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. chap. xvii. then he said to his disciples, it is impossible that offences should not come; but wo to him through whom they come! ( )it would be advantageous for him, if a milstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea, rather than offend one of these little ones. ( )take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin against thee, reprove him; and if he repent, forgive him. ( )and if seven times in the day he sin against thee, and seven times in the day return to thee, saying, i repent; thou shalt forgive him. ( )and the disciples said unto the lord, increase our faith. ( )and the lord said, if ye had faith as a grain of mustard, ye might say to that sycamore-tree, be rooted up, and be planted in the sea; and it would obey you. ( )but which of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, when he cometh from the field, will say immediately, come, sit down at table? ( )and will he not rather say, prepare for me to sup, and gird thyself, and wait upon me, till i eat and drink; and after that, thou shalt eat and drink thyself? ( )doth he hold it as a favour from that servant, that he did the things which were ordered him? i think not. ( )so also ye, when ye have done all things commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants: for we have but done what was our duty to do. ( )and it came to pass, as he was going towards jerusalem, he passed also through the midst of samaria and galilee. ( )and as he was entering a certain village, ten leprous men met him, who stood at a distance: ( )and they lift up their voice, saying, jesus, master, have mercy on us! ( )and looking towards them, he said, go, shew yourselves to the priests. and it came to pass, that as they were on the road, they were made clean. ( )then one of them, seeing that he was cured, returned, and with a loud voice gave glory to god, ( )and fell prostrate at his feet giving him thanks: and he was a samaritan. ( )then jesus spake and said, were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? ( )there are none found returning to give glory to god, but this alien. ( )and he said to him, arise, go thy way: thy faith hath saved thee. ( )and being asked by one of the pharisees, when cometh the kingdom of god? he answered them and said, the kingdom of god cometh not with observation: ( )neither shall they say, lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of god is within you. ( )then said he to the disciples, the days will come when ye shall eagerly desire to see one of the days of the son of man, and shall not see it. ( )and they will say to you, lo here! and lo there! go not after them, nor follow them. ( )for as the lightning flashing from one quarter under heaven, shineth to another quarter under heaven; so shall the son of man also be at his day. ( )but he must first suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation. ( )and as it was in the days of noah, so shall it also be in the days of the coming of the son of man. ( )they did eat, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that noah entered into the ark, and the deluge came, and destroyed them all. ( )even so, likewise, it was in the days of lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; ( )but the day lot went out of sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. ( )just so will it be in the day when the son of man shall be revealed. ( )in that day, let not the man who is upon the roof, and his goods in the house, go down to carry them away: and he that is in the field, in like manner, let him not return for any things behind him. ( )remember lot's wife. ( )whosoever seeketh to preserve his life shall lose it; and whosoever would lose it, shall preserve it. ( )i tell you, in that night two shall be in the same bed; the one shall be seized, and the other dismissed. two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be seized, and the other dismissed. ( )two shall be in the field; the one shall be seized, and the other dismissed. ( )text omitted ( )and they answering, said to him, where, lord? and he said, wherever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. chap. xviii. then he spake also to them a parable, to shew that we ought to pray always, and not faint; ( )saying, there was a certain judge in a particular city, having no fear of god, nor respect for man: ( )and there was a certain widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, do me justice against my adversary. ( )and he would not for a long while: but after this he said, though i fear not god, nor respect man; ( )yet because this woman is so troublesome to me, i will do her justice, lest by her perpetual coming she stun me with her importunity, ( )then said the lord, hear what the unjust judge saith. ( )and shall not god execute vengeance for his own elect, who cry out to him day and night, though he bear long with them? ( )yes, i tell you, that he will avenge them quickly. nevertheless when the son of man cometh, ah! shall he find faith on the earth? ( )then he spake also this parable to certain persons, who had confidence in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others: ( )two men went up to the temple to pray; the one a pharisee, the other a tax-farmer. ( )the pharisee, standing by himself, made this prayer: god, i thank thee, that i am not as the rest of mankind, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or as this tax-gatherer. ( )i keep a fast twice a week, i pay the tenth of all things i possess. ( )and the tax-gatherer standing at a distance, would not even so much as lift his eyes heaven-ward, but smote on his breast, saying, may god accept the atonement for me a sinner! ( )i say to you, went this man down to his house justified, or the other? for every one who exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. ( )then they brought him infants also, that he should touch them: but the disciples, when they saw it, rebuked them. ( )but jesus calling them to him, said, permit little children to come to me, and hinder them not for of such is the kingdom of god. ( )verily i say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, he shall not enter therein. ( )and a certain ruler asked him, saying, good master, by doing what shall i inherit eternal life? ( )jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? there is none good, but one, even god. ( )thou knowest the commandments, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother. ( )then he said, all these things have i observed from my youth. ( )then jesus hearing this, said to him, yet one thing thou lackest: sell all whatsoever thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. ( )but he, on hearing these things, was exceeding sorrowful: for he was very rich. ( )then jesus, observing that he was very sorrowful, said, how difficultly shall they who have riches, enter into the kingdom of god! ( )it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. ( )and those who heard it said, who then can be saved? ( )and he said, the things impossible with men, are possible with god. ( )then said peter, lo, we have left all, and followed thee. ( )and he said unto them, verily i say unto you, that there is no man who hath left family, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of god, ( )who shall not receive back manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. ( )then taking aside the twelve, he said to them, lo, we are going up to jerusalem, and all things written by the prophets concerning the son of man will be fulfilled. ( )for he shall be delivered up to the gentiles, and they shall insult him, and treat him with indignity, and spit upon him: ( )and after scourging, shall slay him: and the third day he shall rise again. ( )and they understood none of these things: and the saying was concealed from them, and they knew not the things which were spoken. ( )and it came to pass, as he drew nigh to jerusalem, a certain blind man sat by the road-side begging: ( )and hearing the multitude passing by, he inquired what was the cause. ( )and they told him, that jesus the nazarean is going by. ( )and he cried, saying, jesus, thou son of david, have mercy on me! ( )and they who were going before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, son of david, have mercy on me! ( )then jesus stood still, and commanded him to be brought to him: and when he was come near, he asked him, ( )saying, what wist thou that i should do for thee? then he said, lord, that i may receive my sight. ( )and jesus said unto him, receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. ( )and instantly he received sight, and followed him, glorifying god: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to god. chap. xix. and entering into jericho, he passed through. ( )and there was a person whose name was zaccheus, and he was a principal farmer of the taxes, and the man was rich. ( )and he was desirous to have a sight of jesus, what sort of person he was; and he could not, because of the crowd, for he was short of stature. ( )so running before, he climbed up a sycamore-tree, in order to get a sight of him: for he was about to pass that way. ( )and when he was come to the spot, jesus looking up, saw him, and said to him, zaccheus, come down speedily; for to-day i must abide at thy house. ( )and he hastened to come down, and entertained him gladly. ( )and when they all saw it, they murmured, saying, that he is gone to lodge with a man, a notorious sinner. ( )then zaccheus standing up, said unto the lord, behold, the half of my goods, lord, i give unto the poor; and if i have got any thing from any man, by laying false informations, i am ready to restore fourfold. ( )then said jesus unto him, to-day is salvation come to this house, because that he also is a son of abraham. ( )for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. ( )and as they were hearkening to these things, he proceeded on, and spake a parable, because he was nigh to jerusalem, and they supposed that immediately the kingdom of god would openly appear. ( )he said therefore, a certain man of noble family went into a distant region, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. ( )and calling his ten servants, he gave them ten manehs[ ], and said unto them, employ yourselves in traffic, till i come back. ( )but his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying, we will not have this man to rule over us. ( )and it came to pass, at his return, after receiving the kingdom, that he ordered the servants to be called, to whom he had given the money, that he might know what every one had gained by his traffic. ( )then came the first, and said, sir, thy maneh has gained ten manehs. ( )and he said unto him, well done, good servant: because thou hast been faithful in the least matter, hold thou dominion over ten cities. ( )and the second came, saying, lord, thy maneh hath gained five manehs. ( )then said he also to this man, be thou also over five cities. ( )and another came, saying, master, there is thy maneh, which i have kept wrapt up in a napkin: ( )for i was afraid of thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up where thou hadst laid nothing down, and reapest where thou didst not sow. ( )and he said to him, out of thine own mouth will i judge thee, thou wicked servant. thou knewest that i am an austere man, taking up what i laid not down, and reaping what i did not sow; ( )why then gavest thou not my money to the bank, so when i came i might have required it with interest? ( )and he said to those who stood by, take from him the maneh, and give it to him who hath the ten manehs. ( )(and they say unto him, sir, he hath ten manehs.) ( )for i say unto you, that to every one who hath, shall more be given; but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. ( )but as for these enemies of mine, who would not that i should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me. ( )and having thus spoken, he proceeded forward, going up to jerusalem. ( )and it came to pass, as he drew near to bethphage and bethany, to the mount called the mount of olives, he sent two of his disciples, ( )saying, go into the opposite village; in which, as ye are at the entrance, ye will find a foal tied, on which no man hath ever yet sat: loose, and bring him. ( )and if any man ask you, why ye loose it? thus shall ye say to him, that the lord hath need of him. ( )then they who were sent, going, found it just as he had described to them. ( )and as they were untying the foal, the owners of it said to them, why loose ye the foal? ( )and they said, the lord hath need of him. ( )and they brought him to jesus: and throwing their cloaks on the foal, they set jesus thereon. ( )and as he went, they spread under him their garments on the road. ( )and when he was now approaching, at the descent of the mount of olives, the whole multitude of the disciples rejoicing began to praise god with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen; ( )saying, blessed is the king, who cometh in the name of the lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. ( )and some of the pharisees from the crowd said unto him, master, reprove thy disciples. ( )and he replying said to them. i tell you that, should these be silent, the very stones would cry out. ( )and as he drew near, beholding the city, he wept over it, ( )saying, oh that thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. ( )for the days will come upon thee, when thy enemies shall cast up a trench around thee, and encircle thee about, and straiten thee on every side, ( )and will dash thee on the ground, and thy children within thee; and will not leave in thee one stone upon another: because thou knewest not the season of thy visitation. ( )and entering into the temple, he began to cast out those who sold and bought in the temple; ( )saying unto them, it is written, my house is the house of prayer[ ]: but ye have made it a den of robbers. ( )and he continued daily teaching in the temple. then the chief priests and the scribes sought to destroy him, with the heads of the people, ( )but did not discover how they could do any thing: for all the people attentively hung on his lips. chap. xx. and it came to pass, on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and scribes with the elders came upon him, ( )and spake to him, saying, tell us by what authority thou doest these things or who is he that giveth thee this authority? ( )then he answering said to them, i also will ask you one question; and resolve me: ( )the baptism of john, was it from heaven, or of men? ( )and they reasoned among themselves, saying, if we reply, from heaven; he will say, wherefore then did ye not believe him? ( )but if we say, of men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that john was a prophet. ( )and they answered, we know not from whence. ( )and jesus said to them, neither tell i you by what authority i do these things. ( )then he began to speak to the people this parable: a certain man planted a vineyard, and delivered it to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long while. ( )and at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that they might give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat, and sent him away empty. ( )and he again sent another servant: and him also they beat, and treating him with indignity, sent him away empty. ( )and he sent yet a third: and him they also wounded, and cast out. ( )then said the master of the vineyard, what shall i do? i will send my beloved son: probably when they see him, they will shew him respect. ( )but when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, this is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be our own. ( )so casting him out of the vineyard, they slew him. what then will the master of the vineyard do with these men? ( )he will come and destroy these husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. and when they heard it, they said god forbid. ( )then he looked on them, and said, what is this then which is written[ ], the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? ( )every one who falleth upon this stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. ( )and the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him at that time; and were afraid of the people: for they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. ( )and watching him, they sent men they had suborned, who pretended that they were righteous persons, in order to lay hold of some word of his, that they might deliver him to the power and authority of the governor. ( )and they asked him, saying, master, we know that thou speakest and teachest rightly, and respectest no man's person, but teachest the way of god in truth: ( )is it lawful for us to pay tribute to caesar, or not? ( )then he, aware of their crafty design, said unto them, why tempt ye me? ( )shew me a denarius. whose image and inscription hath it? and they answering said, caesar's. ( )then said he to them, pay therefore to caesar the things which are caesar's, and to god the things which are god's. ( )and they were unable to lay hold of a single expression of his before the people: and marvelling at his answer, they were silenced. ( )then certain of the sadducees, who contend that there is no resurrection, asked him, ( )saying, master, moses wrote for us[ ], if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he die childless, that his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed for his brother. ( )now there were seven brothers: and the first taking a wife, died childless. ( )and the second taking the wife, he also died childless. ( )then the third took her; and also all the seven in like manner: and left no children, and died. ( )and last of all died also the woman. ( )in the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife. ( )and jesus in reply said to them, the children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: ( )but they who are counted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection of the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: ( )neither can they die any more: for they are like the angels; and are the children of god, being the children of the resurrection. ( )now that the dead are raised, even moses intimated at the bush[ ], when he called the lord, "the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob." ( )now god is not the god of the dead, but of the living: for all live with him. ( )then some of the scribes addressing him said, master, admirably hast thou spoken! ( )and after that they durst not put another question to him. ( )then he spake to them: how say they that the messiah is the son of david? ( )yet david himself, in the book of psalms, saith, "the lord said unto my lord, sit down at my right hand, ( )until i put thine enemies for a footstool of thy feet[ ]." ( )david then calleth him lord, and how then is he his son? ( )and whilst all the people were hearkening, he said to his disciples, ( )beware of the scribes, who desire to walk about in trailing robes, and love salutations in the public places, and the principal seats in the synagogues, and the most honourable couch at suppers; ( )who devour the houses of widows, and for a pretext make long prayers: these shall receive a more abundant punishment. chap. xxi. and as he looked up, he saw some casting their gifts into the treasury who were rich. ( )and he observed also a certain widow, miserably poor, put in there two mites. ( )and he said, of a truth i tell you that this poor widow hath put in more than all they: ( )for all they have of their superfluity cast into the oblations for god: but she out of her indigence hath cast in all the substance which she possessed. ( )and some of them talking of the temple, how adorned it was with the beautiful stone-work and the dedicated offerings, he said, ( )as for these things which ye are gazing upon, the days will come, in which one stone will not be left upon another, that shall not be utterly thrown down. ( )and they asked him, saying, master, but when shall these things be? and what is the sign, when these things are ready to come to pass? ( )then he said, take heed that ye be not deluded: for many will come in my name, saying, i am he; and the period approaches: go not therefore after them. ( )but when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the conclusion is not immediately. ( )then saith he unto them, nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: ( )and great earthquakes shall be in different places, and famines, and pestilences; and in the heaven shall be frightful appearances, and mighty signs. ( )but before all these things, they will lay hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and to prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. ( )and it shall afford you an opportunity to bear your testimony. ( )therefore rest satisfied in your hearts, not to premeditate what apology to make: ( )for i will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall be utterly unable to contradict or resist. ( )but ye shall be betrayed even by parents, and brethren, and relations, and friends; and some of you they shall put to death. ( )and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. ( )though a hair of your head shall in nowise perish. ( )in your patience possess ye your souls. ( )but when ye see jerusalem, encircled with armies, then know that the desolation of it approaches. ( )then let those who are in judea fly unto the mountains; and let those who are in the midst of her get far away: and they who are in the countries, let them not enter into her. ( )for these are the days of vengeance, when all things which are written shall be fulfilled. ( )but wo to those who are big with child, and have infants at their breasts, in those days! for there shall be great distress on the earth, and wrath upon this people. ( )and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and jerusalem shall be trodden under foot of the gentiles, until the times appointed for the gentiles shall come to their period. ( )and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; ( )men terrified to death with fear, and expectation of the calamities coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ( )and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. ( )and when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. ( )and he spake a parable unto them, behold the fig-tree, and all the trees, ( )when they now put forth, as soon as ye see it ye know in yourselves that the summer is now near: ( )so ye also, when ye see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of god is at hand. ( )verily i say unto you, that this generation shall in nowise pass away, until all these things come to pass. ( )heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall never pass away. ( )but take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts should be overloaded with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the anxious cares of life, and that day should come upon you unawares. ( )for as a snare shall it come upon all that are settled on the face of the whole earth. ( )watch therefore, praying at every proper opportunity, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which are ready to come to pass, and to stand before the son of man. ( )and during the day he continued teaching in the temple; but at night he went out, and lodged in the mountain called the mount of olives. ( )and all the people came to him early in the morning at the temple, to hear him. chap. xxii. and the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the passover, was at hand. ( )and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might destroy him; for they were afraid of the people. ( )then entered satan into judas called iscariot, though he was of the number of the twelve. ( )and he went and conversed with the chief priests and the captains, by what means he could betray him unto them. ( )and they were glad, and agreed with him to give him a sum of money. ( )and he gave them his promise, and sought the favourable opportunity to betray him to them, in the absence of the multitude. ( )then came the day of unleavened bread, on which the passover must be killed. ( )and he sent peter and john, saying, go, prepare for us the passover, that we may eat it. ( )and they said unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare it? ( )and he said unto them, lo! as you are at the entrance of the city, there will a man meet you, carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house whither he is going. ( )and say to the master of that family, the teacher saith to thee, where is the dining-room, in which i can eat the passover with my disciples? ( )and he will shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. ( )and they going away, found it just as he had told them: and they made ready the passover. ( )and when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. ( )and he said unto them, with earnest desire have i longed to eat this passover with you before i suffer: ( )for i tell you, that i will no more ever eat of it, until it shall be fulfilled in the kingdom of god. ( )and taking the cup, after having given thanks, he said, take this, and divide among yourselves: ( )for i say unto you, that i shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of god come. ( )and taking a loaf, he gave thanks, and brake, and gave it to them, saying, this is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me. ( )and the cup in like manner, after supper, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. ( )but lo! the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me at the table. ( )and the son of man indeed goeth, as is decreed: but wo to that man by whom he is betrayed! ( )and they began to question among themselves, who it could possibly be of them who should do this thing. ( )now it came to pass, that there was also a contention among them, even which of them should be accounted to be the greatest. ( )and he said to them, the kings of the gentiles lord it over them; and they who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. ( )but ye shall not act thus: but the superior among you, let him be as the junior; and he that presideth, as he that serveth. ( )for which is the greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that waits? is not he that sitteth at table? but i am in the midst of you as he that serveth. ( )ye are they who have continued with me during my trials. ( )and i appoint you, as my father hath appointed me, a kingdom; ( )that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and be seated on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. ( )and the lord said, simon, simon, lo! satan hath earnestly sought you, that he might sift you as wheat: ( )but i have prayed for thee, that thy faith may not fail: and when thou art returned, stablish thy brethren. ( )then he said unto him, lord, i am ready to go with thee, to prison, and to death! ( )and he said, i tell thee, peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before thou shalt thrice deny having known me. ( )and he said unto them, when i sent you without purse, or scrip, or sandals, lacked ye any thing? and they said, nothing. ( )then said he to them, but now, he that hath a purse, let him also take a scrip: and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. ( )for i tell you, that what hath already been written must be fulfilled in me, namely, "he was numbered with the transgressors[ ]:" for the things also concerning me draw to their period. ( )then they said, lord, behold, here are two swords, and he said to them, it is enough. ( )and going out, he went, according to his custom, to the mount of olives; and his disciples also followed him. ( )and when he came to the spot, he said unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation. ( )and he withdrew from them about a stone's cast, and kneeling down, he prayed, ( )saying, father, if thou wilt, remove this cup from me! nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. ( )and an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. ( )and being in an agony, he prayed with greater intenseness: and his sweat was as clots of blood falling on the ground. ( )and when he rose up from prayer, on coming to his disciples, he found them sleeping from sorrow. ( )and he said unto them, why sleep ye? rise up, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. ( )and while he was yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he who was called judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and approached jesus to kiss him. ( )then said jesus unto him, judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss? ( )then when they who were about him saw what was ready to happen, they said unto him, lord, shall we strike with the sword? ( )and one of them struck at a servant of the high-priest, and cut off his right ear. ( )then jesus, addressing them, said, permit me thus far: and touching his ear, he healed him. ( )then said jesus to the chief priests and captains of the temple, and to the elders who were come forth against him, are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and staves? ( )when i was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched out no hands upon me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. ( )then seizing upon him, they led him away, and brought him into the palace of the high-priest. but peter followed at a distance. ( )and as they had lighted a fire in the middle of the hall, and had seated themselves in a company, peter sat down in the midst of them. ( )but a certain maid-servant who sat at the fire, eyeing him, and looking at him stedfastly, said, this man was also with him. ( )but he denied him, saying, woman, i know him not. ( )and after a little while another seeing him, said, surely thou art one of them. then said peter, man, i am not. ( )and at about an hour's distance, another person strongly asserted, saying, of a certainty this fellow was also with him: for he too is a galilean. ( )and peter said, man, i know not what thou sayest. and instantly, while he was yet speaking, the cock crew. ( )and the lord, turning round, looked upon peter. and peter remembered the word of the lord, how he had said to him, that before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. ( )and peter going without, wept bitterly. ( )and the men who held jesus insulted him, beating him with rods; ( )and blindfolding him, smote him on the face, and asked him, saying, prophesy, who is he that struck thee? ( )and many other things, blaspheming, spake they against him. ( )and when the day broke, the elders of the people and the chief priests and scribes assembled, and brought him into their sanhedrim, saying, ( )if thou art the messiah, tell us. and he said unto them, if i tell you, ye will not believe: ( )and if i shall ask you any question, ye will neither answer me, nor let me go free. ( )hereafter shall the son of man sit at the right hand of the power of god. ( )then said they all, art thou then the son of god? and he said unto them, yourselves say that i am. ( )then they said, what further need have we of witness? for we have heard it from his own mouth. chap. xxiii. and the whole multitude of them rising up, led him to pilate, ( )and began to accuse him, saying, we have found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay tribute to caesar; pretending that he himself is the king messiah. ( )then pilate interrogated him, saying, art thou the king of the jews? and he answering said to him, thou sayest so. ( )then said pilate unto the chief priests and the multitudes, i find nothing culpable in this man. ( )but they were urgent, saying, he stirreth up the people, teaching through all judea, beginning from galilee even to this place. ( )when pilate heard of galilee, he asked whether the man were a galilean? ( )and when he knew that he came out of herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to herod, who was himself at jerusalem in those days. ( )now when herod saw jesus, he was vastly delighted: for he had been long desirous to see him, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to see some miracle wrought by him. ( )and he put a variety of questions to him; but he made him no reply. ( )and the chief priests and the scribes stood up vehemently accusing him. ( )then herod with his guards treated him with contempt, and in derision clothed him in a splendid robe, and sent him back to pilate. ( )and pilate and herod the same day became friends together: for they had previously been at enmity with each other. ( )then pilate, convoking the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ( )said unto them, ye have brought this man to me, as one who perverteth the people: and lo! on examining him before you, i have found nothing culpable in this man, respecting the charges ye bring against him: ( )nor herod neither: for i referred you to him; and, lo, nothing is done to this man, as if he deserved death. ( )i will therefore, after scourging, discharge him. ( )(now he held it necessary to release one to them at the feast.) ( )then the whole multitude set up a cry, saying, away with this fellow, and release unto us barabbas! ( )(who for a certain sedition raised in the city, and for murder, had been cast into prison.) ( )again therefore pilate called out to them, desirous to see jesus at liberty. ( )but they clamoured the more, saying, crucify, crucify him. ( )then the third time he said to them, what evil hath this man done? i have found nothing deserving death in him: i will therefore, after scourging, discharge him. ( )but they were instant with the most clamorous vociferations, soliciting that he might be crucified. and their clamours, and those of the chief priests, bore him down. ( )then pilate decreed that their petition should be granted. ( )then released he to them him who for sedition and murder had been cast into prison; but he gave up jesus to their will. ( )and as they led him out, laying hold on one simon, a cyrenian, who was coming from the country, they laid on him the cross, to carry after jesus. ( )and a great multitude of the people and of women followed him, who also beat their breasts and lamented him bitterly. ( )but jesus turning to them, said, daughters of jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children. ( )for, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, blessed are the barren, and the wombs which have not borne, and the breasts which never suckled. ( )then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us! and to the hills, cover us! ( )for if they do all these things with the green wood, what will be done with the dry? ( )now there were two other persons, malefactors, led out with him to be executed. ( )and when they came to a place called calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, the one on the right hand, and the other on the left. ( )and jesus said, father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. then dividing his garments, they cast the lot. ( )and the people stood looking on. and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, he saved others; let him save himself, if this fellow is the messiah, the elect of god. ( )and the soldiers also insulted him, coming and offering him vinegar, ( )and saying, if thou art the king of the jews, save thyself. ( )and there was an inscription written over him in greek, roman, and hebrew characters, this is the king of the jews. ( )then one of the suspended malefactors blasphemed him, saying, if thou art the messiah, save thyself and us. ( )but the other addressing him, rebuked him, saying, hast thou no fear of god, when thou art under the same condemnation? ( )and we indeed justly, for we receive deserved punishment for the crimes we have committed: but this man hath done nothing amiss. ( )and he said to jesus, remember me, lord, when thou comest in thy kingdom. ( )and jesus said to him. verily i say unto thee, to-day thou shalt be with me in paradise. ( )and it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ( )and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. ( )and jesus crying with a loud voice, said, father, into thy hands i commit my spirit: and having said this, he expired. ( )and the centurion observing what had come to pass, glorified god, saying, verily this man was a righteous person. ( )and all the multitudes who had come together for this spectacle, when they saw the things which were done, beating their breasts, returned. ( )and all his acquaintance stood afar off, and the women which followed him from galilee, beholding these things. ( )and lo! a man named joseph, being a member of the council, a good man, and a just; ( )(who had not given his assent to their determination and deed;) being of arimathea, a city of the jews: who himself also expected the coming of the kingdom of god. ( )he went in to pilate, and begged the body of jesus. ( )and taking it down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen cloth, and laid it in a sepulchre hewn out of a rock, where none had ever yet lain. ( )and that was the preparation-day, and the sabbath's twilight[ ] was approaching. ( )then the women also, his attendants, who had followed him out of galilee, observed the sepulchre, and how his corpse was laid out. ( )and returning, they made preparation of aromatics and unguents; and they rested the sabbath-day, according to the commandment. chap. xxiv. now on the first day of the week, at the earliest dawn of day, they came to the sepulchre, bringing the aromatics which they had prepared, and certain others with them. ( )and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ( )and on entering, found not the body of the lord jesus. ( )and it came to pass, as they were in the greatest perplexity concerning this matter, then behold, two men stood by them in refulgent garments: ( )and when they were exceedingly terrified, and inclined their face to the earth, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? ( )he is not here; he is risen: remember how he spoke to you, while he was yet in galilee, ( )saying, that the son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ( )and they remembered his declarations, ( )and returning from the sepulchre, told all these things to the eleven, and to the rest. ( )now there were mary magdalene, and joanna, and mary the mother of james, and the other women who were with them, that told these things to the apostles. ( )and their declarations seemed in their view as a mere fancy, and they gave them no credence. ( )then peter rising up, ran off to the sepulchre, and leaning forward saw the linen clothes laid separately, and went away wondering in himself what was become of him. ( )and behold, two of them were going the same day to a village, distant about sixty furlongs from jerusalem, called emmaus. ( )and they were conversing with each other, concerning all those things which had happened. ( )and it came to pass, as they were conversing together, and talking the matter over, even jesus himself drew near, and walked on with them. ( )but their eyes were under a restraint, that they might not discover him. ( )and he said unto them, what are these discourses that ye interchange among you, as ye are walking, and bear such a face of dejection? ( )then one of them, named cleopas, answering said, art thou the only sojourner at jerusalem, who hath not known the singular events of those days? ( )and he said to them, of what sort? and they said to him, those which relate to jesus the nazarean, who was a man, a prophet, mighty in word and deed before god and all the people: ( )and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to a sentence of death, and crucified him. ( )but we had entertained hopes that this was the person who should have redeemed israel: and ah! besides all these things, to-day concludes that third day since these things were done. ( )and indeed, certain women belonging to us exceedingly amazed us who were very early at the sepulchre; ( )and not finding his body, came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who told them that he was alive. ( )and some of those who were with us went to the sepulchre, and found every thing just as the women had said: but him they did not see. ( )and he said unto them, o ye void of understanding, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ( )ought not the messiah to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? ( )and beginning from moses and all the prophets, he explained to them in all the scriptures, the things relating to himself. ( )and they drew nigh to the village, whither they were going: and he was proceeding on, as if going farther. ( )and they warmly pressed him, saying, stay with us: for the evening draws on, and the day declines. and he went in to stay with them. ( )and it came to pass, when he was sitting down at table with them, taking up a loaf, he blessed it, and breaking, distributed it to them. ( )then their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he became invisible to them. ( )and they said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us, as he talked with us on the road, and as he distinctly opened to us the scriptures? ( )and rising up the same hour, they returned to jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them crowded together, ( )saying, the lord is risen assuredly, and hath appeared to simon. ( )then these recounted what had passed on the road, and how he was known to them by the breaking of the bread. ( )while they were relating these things, jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, peace be unto you! ( )but terrified and affrighted, they thought they saw a spirit. ( )and he said to them, why are ye under such agitation of mind? and why do reasonings arise in your hearts? ( )look upon my hands and my feet, that it is my very self: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ( )and thus speaking, he exposed to them his hands and his feet. ( )but when they still could not credit it for joy, and marvelled, he said unto them, have ye here any thing eatable? ( )then they gave him a part of a broiled fish, and a piece of honey-comb. ( )and receiving it, he did eat in their presence. ( )and said unto them, these are the sayings which i spake unto you, when i was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law of moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. ( )then opened he thoroughly their understanding, that they should understand the scriptures, ( )and said to them, that thus it is written, and thus must the messiah suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day ( )and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name unto all nations, beginning from jerusalem. ( )and ye are the witnesses of these things. ( )and, behold, i send unto you the promise of my father: but sit ye down in the city of jerusalem, until ye shall be endued with power from on high. ( )and he led them without _the city_ as far as bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ( )and it came to pass, as he pronounced the benediction upon them, he was parted from them, and taken up into heaven. ( )and they, after paying him their adorations, returned to jerusalem with vast joy: ( )and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god. amen. the gospel according to john. chap. i. in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. ( )he was in the beginning with god. ( )all things were made by him; and without him was not one thing made that was made. ( )in him was life; and the life was the light of men. ( )and the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. ( )a man was sent from god, whose name was john. ( )he came for a witness, that he might bear testimony concerning the light, that all men through him might believe. ( )he was not the light, but sent that he should bear testimony concerning the light. ( )he was that true light, which illumines every man by his coming into the world. ( )he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ( )he came unto his peculiar people, and his peculiar people did not receive him. ( )but as many as did receive him, on them he bestowed authority to become children of god, even on those who believe on his name: ( )who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god. ( )and the word became incarnate, and tabernacled with us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth. ( )john bore witness concerning him, and cried, saying, this is he of whom i said, he that is coming after me, is before me: because before me he was. ( )and from his plenitude we all have received, even grace corresponding with _his_ grace. ( )for the law was given by moses, but the grace and the reality came by jesus christ. ( )no man hath seen god at any time; the only begotten son, who is in the bosom of the father, he hath thoroughly described him. ( )and this is the testimony of john, when the jews sent from jerusalem priests and levites, that they should question him, who art thou? ( )and he confessed, and denied it not; but acknowledged, i am not the messiah. ( )and they asked him, what then? art thou elias? and he said, i am not. art thou that prophet? and he answered, no. ( )then said they to him, who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us: what description givest thou of thyself? ( )he said, i am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way for the lord, as said the prophet isaiah. ( )and they who were sent, were of the pharisees. ( )and they questioned him, and said to him, why then dost thou baptise, if thou be not the messiah, nor elias, nor that prophet? ( )john answered them, saying, i baptise with water: but in the midst of you hath stood a person, whom ye have not known; ( )it is he, though coming after me, who was before me, the thong of whole sandal i am not worthy to untie. ( )these things were done in bethabara beyond jordan, where john was baptising. ( )the next day john seeth jesus coming to him, and saith, behold the lamb of god, who taketh away the sin of the world, ( )this is he of whom i spake, after me cometh a man who was before me: for before me he existed. ( )and i knew him not: though that he might be manifested to israel, therefore am i come baptising with water. ( )and john bore witness, saying, i saw the spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it rested upon him. ( )and i did not know him: but he that sent me baptising with water, he said to me, upon whomsoever thou shalt see the spirit descending as a dove, and resting upon him, that is he who baptiseth with the holy ghost. ( )and i have seen it, and have borne testimony that this is the son of god. ( )on the morrow john was again standing with two of his disciples; ( )and looking upon jesus as he walked by, he saith, behold the lamb of god! ( )and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed jesus. ( )then jesus turned about, and seeing them following, saith to them, what are ye seeking? they said unto him, rabbi (which signifies, when translated, master), where is thy abode? ( )he saith unto them, come and see. they came and saw where he abode, and continued with him that day: and it was about the tenth hour. ( )one of the two, who had heard from john mention of jesus, and had followed him, was andrew, simon peter's brother. ( )he first finds his own brother simon, and saith to him, we have found the messiah (which is, being translated, the christ). ( )and he brought him to jesus. then jesus looking on him, said, thou art simon the son of jonas: thou shalt be called cephas, which, interpreted _in greek_, is petros, a rock. ( )the next day jesus resolved to go into galilee, and he findeth philip, and saith to him, follow me. ( )now philip was of bethsaida, the city of andrew and peter. ( )philip findeth nathaniel, and saith to him, we have found him whom moses in the law has described, and the prophets, jesus the son of joseph, who is of nazareth. ( )and nathaniel said to him, can any thing good come out of nazareth? philip saith to him, come and see. ( )jesus saw nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, behold an israelite in reality, in whom there is no guile! ( )nathaniel saith unto him, from whence canst thou know me? jesus answered and said unto him, before philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, i saw thee. ( )nathaniel answered and said to him, rabbi, thou art the son of god; thou art the king of israel. ( )jesus answered and said unto him, because i said to thee, i saw thee under the fig-tree, dost thou believe? thou shalt see greater things than these. ( )and he saith to him, verily, verily, i tell you, from henceforth ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man. chap. ii. and on the third day there was a marriage in cana of galilee; and the mother of jesus was there: ( )so jesus also, and his disciples, were invited to the marriage. ( )and the wine being exhausted, the mother of jesus saith to him, they have no more wine. ( )jesus saith unto her, what is that to me and thee, woman? my hour is not yet come. ( )his mother saith to the waiters, whatsoever he orders you, do it. ( )now there stood there six large stone jars, for the customary purifying ablution of the jews, containing two or three baths each. ( )jesus saith to them, fill these jars with water. and they filled them to the brim. ( )and he said unto them, draw out now, and carry to the president of the table. so they carried it. ( )and when the president of the table had tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it came: (but the waiters knew, who drew the water;) the president of the table called the bridegroom, ( )and saith to him, every man at first produces the good wine; and after men have drunk plentifully, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept back the good wine until now. ( )this beginning of miracles jesus wrought in cana of galilee, and displayed his glory; and his disciples believed on him. ( )after this he went down to capernaum, he and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and he continued there not many days. ( )and the passover of the jews was nigh, and jesus went up to jerusalem. ( )and he found in the temple those who sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the moneychangers seated: ( )and having made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and scattered the money of the exchangers, and overturned the tables; ( )and said to those who sold doves, take these hence; make not my father's house a house of merchandise. ( )then the disciples remembered that it was written, "the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." ( )the jews then addressed him, and said to him, what miracle shewest thou, seeing thou actest thus? ( )jesus answered and said to them, pull down this temple, and in three days i will rear it up again. ( )then said the jews, this temple has been forty-six years in building, and canst thou rear it up in three days? ( )now he had spoken with reference to the temple of his own body. ( )when therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had spoken thus unto them; and they believed the scriptures, and the word which jesus had spoken. ( )now while he was at jerusalem at the passover, during the feast, many believed on his name, when they beheld the miracles which he did. ( )but jesus himself did not trust himself to them, because he knew them all, ( )and because he had no need that any man should testify respecting man; for he knew what was in man. chap. iii. now there was a man of the pharisees, whose name was nicodemus, a ruler of the jews: ( )this man came to jesus in the night, and said to him, rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from god: for no man can do these miracles which thou dost, unless god be with him. ( )jesus answered and said to him, verily, verily, i say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god. ( )nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born? ( )jesus replied, verily, verily, i say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god. ( )that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. ( )marvel not that i said unto thee, ye must be born again. ( )the wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the sound of it, but knowest not from whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth: just so is every one who is born of the spirit. ( )nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these things be? ( )jesus answered and said to him, art thou a teacher of israel, and knowest not these things? ( )verily, verity, i tell thee, that what we know we speak, and what we have seen we affirm; and ye receive not our testimony. ( )if i have told you of earthly things, and ye believe not, how will you believe, if i tell you of heavenly things? ( )though no man hath ascended into heaven, except he that descended from heaven, that son of man the i am in heaven. ( )and as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in like manner must the son of man be lifted up: ( )that every one who believeth on him may not perish, but have life eternal. ( )for god so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that every one who believeth in him should not perish, but have life eternal. ( )for god sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world by him might be saved. ( )he that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is already under condemnation, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten son of god. ( )now this is the condemnation, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. ( )for every one whose practices are foul hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his actions may not be brought to conviction. ( )but he who practices the truth, cometh to the light, that his actions may be evident, as being done for god. ( )after these things jesus and his disciples went into the land of judea; and there he abode with them, and baptised. ( )now john also was baptising at enon, near to salem, for there were many streams of water there: and they came, and were baptised. ( )for as yet john was not cast into prison. ( )then a dispute arose between the disciples of john and the jews with regard to purification. ( )and they came to john, and said to him, rabbi, he that was with thee beyond jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, lo! this man baptiseth, and all men come to him. ( )john answered and said, a man cannot assume any thing, except it be given him from heaven. ( )ye yourselves bear me witness, that i said, i am not the messiah, but that i am sent before him. ( )it is the bridegroom, who possesses the bride: and the friend of the bridegroom, standing by and hearing him, rejoiceth exceedingly at the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. ( )he must grow great, but i diminutive. ( )he that cometh from above is above all: he whose origin is from earth is of the earth, and speaketh of the earth: he who cometh from heaven is above all. ( )and what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; though no man receiveth his testimony. ( )he that receiveth his testimony hath avouched that god is true. ( )for he whom god hath sent speaketh the words of god: for god hath not given the spirit by measure unto him. ( )the father loveth the son, and hath given all things into his hand. ( )he that believeth on the son hath life eternal: and he that believeth not on the son shall not see life: but the wrath of god abideth upon him. chap. iv. as soon then as the lord knew that the pharisees had heard that jesus made and baptised more disciples than john ( )(though jesus himself did not baptise, but his disciples), ( )he left judea, and went again into galilee. ( )now he must necessarily pass through samaria. ( )then he cometh to a city of samaria, called sichar, near the spot of ground which jacob gave to his son joseph. ( )and jacob's well was there. therefore jesus, weary with his journey, e'en sat himself down on the well: it was about the sixth hour. ( )a woman of samaria comes to draw water: jesus saith to her, give me to drink. ( )(for his disciples were gone into the city to buy provisions.) ( )the samaritan woman therefore saith to him, how canst thou, a jew, ask of me, who am a samaritan woman, to drink? for jews avoid all intercourse with samaritans. ( )jesus answered and said to her, if thou hadst known the gift of god, and who he is that speaketh to thee, thou wouldest have requested him, and he would have given thee life-giving water. ( )the woman saith unto him, thou hast no bucket, and the well is deep: whence then canst thou have this water that giveth life? ( )art thou greater than our father jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his children, and his cattle? ( )jesus answered and said unto her, every one who drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ( )but whosoever shall drink of the water which i shall give him, he shall no more thirst to eternity; but the water which i will give him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up to life eternal. ( )the woman saith to him, sir, give me this water, that i may no more thirst, nor come hither to draw. ( )jesus saith to her, go, call thy husband, and come hither. ( )the woman answered and said, i have no husband. jesus saith to her, thou hast spoken right, that thou hast no husband: ( )for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in this thou hast spoken true. ( )the woman saith to him, sir, i perceive that thou art a prophet. ( )our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye affirm, that the place where we ought to worship is at jerusalem. ( )jesus saith to her, woman, believe me, that the hour approaches, when ye shall worship the father neither in this mountain, nor at jerusalem. ( )ye worship ye know not what: we worship what we do know: for salvation cometh from the jews. ( )but the hour is coming, yea, is now come, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such worshippers of him. ( )god is a spirit: and they who worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth. ( )the woman saith, i know that messiah is coming (who is called christ): when he cometh, he will inform us of all things. ( )jesus saith unto her, i that am speaking to thee am he. ( )and upon this came his disciples, and wondered that he talked with the woman: yet no one said, what art thou seeking? or, why art thou talking with her? ( )then the woman left her pitcher, and went into the city, and said to the men, ( )come with me; behold a man, who told me all things that i ever did: is not this the messiah? ( )then they went out of the city, and came unto him. ( )in the mean time his disciples invited him, saying, rabbi, eat. ( )but he said to them, i have meat to eat that ye know not of. ( )then said his disciples to each other, hath any person brought him ought to eat? ( )jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. ( )do ye not say, that yet there are four months, and then the harvest cometh? behold, i tell you, lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields; for they are now white for harvest. ( )and he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. ( )for herein is the saying true, that one soweth and another reapeth. ( )i have sent you to reap that on which ye have bestowed no labour: others have laboured, and ye have entered into their labour. ( )now many of the samaritans of that city believed on him, on the report of the woman, who said, that he told me all things i ever had done. ( )so on this the samaritans came to him, and besought him to abide with them: and he tarried there two days. ( )and many more believed because of his own word; ( )and said to the woman, now we believe, not merely on account of thy relation: for we ourselves have heard, and know that this is of a certainty the saviour of the world, the messiah. ( )then after two days he departed thence, and went into galilee. ( )for jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. ( )when therefore he was come into galilee, the galileans welcomed him, having seen all the things which he did at the feast: for they also had gone to the feast. ( )then came jesus again to cana of galilee, where he had made the water wine. and there was a certain attendant on the king, whose son was sick at capernaum. ( )this person having heard that jesus was come out of judea into galilee, went to him, that he might come down, and cure his son: for he was at the point of death. ( )then said jesus unto him, unless ye see miracles and wonders, ye will not believe. ( )the courtier said to him, sir, come down before my child is dead. ( )jesus saith to him, go home; thy son liveth. and the man believed the word which jesus had spoken, and went home. ( )and as he was now going down home, his servants met him, and told him, saying, thy son is recovered! ( )then inquired he of them the hour at which he began to amend? and they told him, it was yesterday, at the seventh hour, when the fever left him. ( )then the father knew that it was the very hour when jesus said, thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole family. ( )this is again a second miracle which jesus did, when he came from judea into galilee. chap. v. after these things there was a feast of the jews; and jesus went up to jerusalem. ( )now there is at jerusalem near the sheep-market a pool, called in the hebrew tongue bethesda, having five porticos. ( )in these lay a vast multitude of infirm persons, blind, lame, withered, waiting the motion of the water. ( )for occasionally an angel descended into the pool, and put the water into commotion: he therefore who first stepped in after the commotion of the water became well, under whatever complaint he had laboured. ( )and there was a certain man there, who had a complaint of thirty years standing. ( )jesus seeing him laid there, and knowing that he had been so for a long while, saith to him, wilt thou be made sound? ( )the infirm man answered him, sir, i have no man, when the water is disturbed, to cast me into the pool: but when i am coming, another goeth down before me. ( )jesus saith to him, arise, take up thy bed, and walk. ( )and instantly the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked away: and that day was the sabbath. ( )the jews therefore said to him that was cured, it is the sabbath: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. ( )he answered them, he that made me whole, the same person said to me, take up thy bed, and walk. ( )then they asked him, who is the man that said to thee, take up thy bed, and walk? ( )now he that was cured knew not who he was: for jesus had slipped away, a crowd being on the spot. ( )after these things jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, take care; thou art made whole: sin no more, lest something worse befall thee. ( )the man went, and informed the jews, that it was jesus who had made him whole. ( )and therefore did the jews persecute jesus, and sought to kill him, because he had done these things on the sabbath-day. ( )then jesus answered them, my father worketh hitherto, and i work. ( )therefore sought they the more to kill him, because he had not only broken the sabbath, but called god his own father, setting himself on an equality with god. ( )jesus therefore answered and said unto them, verily, verily, i say unto you, the son can do nothing by himself, except what he hath seen the father do: for whatsoever things he doeth, the same and in the same manner doth the son. ( )for the father loveth the son, and sheweth him all things which he himself doeth: and greater works than these will he shew him, that ye may wonder. ( )for as the father raiseth the dead, and quickeneth them; so also doth the son quicken whom he pleases. ( )for the father never judgeth any man, but hath committed all judgment to the son: ( )in order that all may honour the son, just as they honour the father. he that honoureth not the son, doth not honour the father who sent him. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, that he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death into life. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, the hour is coming, yea, it is now, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god: and they that hear shall live. ( )for as the father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the son also to have life in himself; ( )and hath given him authority also to execute judgment, because he is the son of man. ( )marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all who are in the graves shall hear his voice, ( )and they shall come forth; they who have done good actions to the resurrection of life; and they who have been guilty of foul practices, to the resurrection of damnation. ( )i am not able to perform any thing by myself: as i hear, i judge: and my judgment is just; for i seek not my own will, but the will of my father who sent me. ( )if i bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. ( )there is another who beareth witness of me, and i know that his witness is true which he witnesseth concerning me. ( )ye sent to john, and he bore testimony to the truth. ( )but i receive not testimony from man: but i speak these things, that ye may believe. ( )he was a lamp glowing and luminous: and ye were pleased for a time to exult in his light. ( )but i have a testimony greater than that of john: for the works which the father hath given me that i should fulfil them, these very works which i am doing, they bear witness of me, that the father hath sent me. ( )and the father who sent me, himself hath borne witness concerning me. ye have neither at any time heard his voice, nor seen his form. ( )and ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. ( )search the scriptures; for ye suppose in them ye have eternal life: and these are they which testify of me. ( )and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. ( )i receive not glory from men. ( )but i know you, that ye have not the love of god in you. ( )i have come in my father's name, and ye receive me not: if another come in his own name, him ye will receive. ( )how can ye believe, who receiving honour one from another, seek not the honour which cometh from god alone? ( )do not suppose that i shall accuse you to my father: there is one who is accusing you, even moses, on whom ye place your hope. ( )for if ye believed moses, ye would have believed me: for of me did he write. ( )but if ye believe not his writings, how will ye believe my words? chap. vi. after these things jesus went beyond the sea of galilee, that is of tiberias. ( )and a vast multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he performed on those who were diseased. ( )then jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat down with his disciple. ( )and the passover, a feast of the jews, was nigh. ( )then jesus lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a vast concourse of people was come to him, said to philip, whence shall we buy loaves, that these may eat? ( )and this he said to try him: for himself knew what he would do. ( )philip answered him, two hundred denarii spent in bread would not procure a sufficiency for them, that every one of them might have a morsel. ( )one of his disciples saith to him, (andrew, simon peter's brother,) ( )there is a little lad here, who hath five barley-loaves, and two small fishes: but these, what are they among so many? ( )then said jesus, make the men sit down. for there was plenty of grass on the spot. therefore the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ( )and jesus took the loaves; and giving thanks, gave to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sat down; and in the same manner of the fishes, as much as they chose. ( )and when they had made a hearty meal, he saith to his disciples, gather up the broken bits which are left, that not a morsel be wasted. ( )then they collected them, and filled twelve baskets with fragments out of the five barley-loaves, which were more than enough for those who had eaten. ( )when therefore the men saw the miracle which jesus had done, they said, this is of a certainty that prophet which is to come into the world. ( )then jesus, knowing their intention to come and to seize him by force, in order to make him king, retired again into the mountain by himself alone. ( )so when evening was now come, his disciples went down to the sea-side, ( )and embarking on a vessel were coming across the sea to capernaum. and it was now dark, and jesus was not come to them. ( )and the sea was greatly agitated by a tempestuous wind that blew. ( )having rowed therefore about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they saw jesus walking on the sea, and coming near the vessel, and they were affrighted. ( )but he saith to them, it is i; be not afraid. ( )then they desired to take him into the vessel: and instantly the vessel was at the land whither they were going. ( )the next day the multitude who stayed on the other side of the sea, when they saw that there was no little vessel there, except the one into which his disciples went, and that jesus went not with his disciples in the vessel, but that his disciples went away alone; ( )(but now little vessels had come from tiberias near to the spot where they had eaten bread, after the lord had given thanks:) ( )then when the multitude saw that jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they also went into the vessels, and came to capernaum, in search of jesus. ( )and when they found him on the other side the sea, they said to him, rabbi, when camest thou hither? ( )jesus replied to them and said, ye seek me, not because ye have seen the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. ( )labour not for the meat which is perishable, but for that meat which endureth unto life eternal, which the son of man will give you: for him hath the father sealed, even god. ( )then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we may work the works of god? ( )jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of god, that ye should believe on him whom he hath sent. ( )then said they to him, what miracle therefore dost thou, that we may see and believe thee? what dost thou work? ( )our fathers did eat manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "he gave them bread from heaven to eat." ( )then said jesus unto them, verily, verily, i tell you, it was not moses who gave you the bread from heaven; but my father giveth you the real bread from heaven. ( )for he that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world, is the bread of god. ( )then said they unto him, lord, evermore give us this bread. ( )then said jesus to them, i am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst more. ( )but i have told you, that though ye have seen me, yet ye have not believed. ( )every individual which the father giveth me will come to me; and him that cometh to me i will in nowise cast out. ( )for i came down from heaven, not with a view to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. ( )now this is the will of the father who sent me, that every thing which he hath given me i should not be deprived of it, but raise it up at the last day. ( )and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one who seeth the son, and believeth on him, should have life eternal: and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )then the jews murmured against him, because he said, i am the bread which came down from heaven. ( )and they said, is not this jesus, the son of joseph, whose father and mother we know? how then saith this man, that i came down from heaven? ( )jesus answered and said to them, murmur not among yourselves. ( )no man can come to me, except the father who hath sent me draw him: and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )it is written in the prophets, and "they shall all be taught of god." every one therefore who heareth from the father, and learneth, cometh to me. ( )not that any man hath seen the father, except he that is with god, he hath seen the father. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. ( )i am the bread of life. ( )your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and they are dead. ( )this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that any person may eat of it, and never die. ( )i am the bread that giveth life, which came down from heaven: if any person eat of this bread, he shall live to eternity; and the bread indeed which i shall give is my flesh, which i will give for the life of the world. ( )then the jews contended with each other, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? ( )jesus therefore said to them, verily, verily, i say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in yourselves. ( )he that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath life eternal: and i will raise him up at the last day. ( )for my flesh truly is meat, and my blood truly is drink. ( )he that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and i in him. ( )as the life-giving father hath sent me, and i live by the father; so he that eateth me, the same shall live by me. ( )this is the bread which came down from heaven, not as the manna your fathers did eat, and died: he that eateth this bread shall live to eternity. ( )these things he spake in the synagogue, as he taught in capernaum. ( )many therefore of his disciples, who heard him, said, difficult is this discourse, who is able to fathom it? ( )then jesus, conscious in himself that his disciples murmured concerning this discourse, said unto them, doth this stumble you? ( )what then if ye see the son of man ascending where he was formerly? ( )the spirit is the life-giving power; the flesh contributeth nothing: the declarations which i make to you, they are spirit, and they are life. ( )but there are some of you who do not believe. for jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who the person was that should betray him. ( )and he said, therefore have i informed you, that no man can come to me, except it be given him of my father. ( )from that _discourse_ many of his disciples went away back, and no more followed him about. ( )then said jesus to the twelve, will ye also go away? ( )then simon peter answered him, lord, unto whom shall we go from thee? thou hast the words of eternal life. ( )and we have believed and known that thou art the messiah, the son of the living god. ( )jesus answered them, have i not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? ( )now he spake of judas iscariot, the son of simon: for this man was ready to betray him, though he was one of the twelve. chap. vii. and jesus after these things travelled about in galilee: for he would not go about in judea, because the jews sought to kill him. ( )and a feast of the jews was nigh, the feast of tabernacles. ( )then said his disciples to him, depart hence, and go into judea, that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou doest. ( )for no man doeth any thing in secret, yet seeketh himself to appear publicly: if thou doest these things, exhibit thyself to the world. ( )for even his own brethren did not believe on him. ( )jesus therefore saith to them, my proper time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. ( )the world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because i testify of it, that its deeds are evil. ( )go ye up to this feast: for i am not yet going up to this feast, because my fixed time is not yet arrived. ( )thus speaking to them then, he continued in galilee. ( )but as soon as his disciples were gone up, then went he also himself up to the feast: not in public, but as in concealment. ( )the jews then sought for him at the feast, and said, where is he? ( )and there was a great murmur concerning him among the multitude: some said, surely he is a good man: others said, no; he only deceiveth the people. ( )yet no person spake openly of him for fear of the jews. ( )but now at the middle of the feast jesus went up into the temple, and taught. ( )and the jews marvelled, saying, how knoweth this man the scriptures, not being a scholar? ( )jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. ( )if any man will do his will, he shall know respecting the doctrine, whether it is of god, or whether i speak from myself. ( )he that speaketh from himself, seeks his own individual honour: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and iniquity in him there is none. ( )hath not moses given you the law, yet none of you practises the law? why do ye seek to kill me? ( )the multitude answered and said, thou hast a devil: who is seeking to kill thee? ( )jesus answered and said unto them, i have performed one work, and ye all marvel. ( )because moses ordered you circumcision; (not that it comes from moses, but from our ancestors;) so ye circumcise a man on the sabbath-day. ( )if a man receive circumcision on the sabbath-day, that the law of moses should not be violated; are ye incensed against me, because i have made a man whole on the sabbath-day? ( )judge not by appearance, but judge righteous judgment. ( )then said some of the people of jerusalem, is not this the man whom they are seeking to kill? ( )and, lo! he speaketh openly, and they say not a word to him. do the rulers certainly know that this man is really the messiah? ( )but we know this man whence he is: but when the messiah cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. ( )then spake jesus aloud as he was teaching in the temple, and said, ye both know me, and ye know from whence i am: and i came not of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. ( )but i know him: for i am from him, and he hath sent me. ( )then they sought to apprehend him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. ( )but many of the multitude believed on him, and said, when the messiah cometh, will he do greater miracles than those which this man doth? ( )the pharisees heard the people muttering these things respecting him; and the pharisees and chief priests sent officers to apprehend him. ( )then said jesus unto them, a little while longer i am with you, and i am going to him that sent me. ( )ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where i am, ye cannot come. ( )then said the jews among themselves, whither will this man go, that we shall not find him? will he go to the dispersed among the grecians, and teach the greeks? ( )what is this saying which he hath spoken, ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where i am, ye cannot come? ( )now on the last day, the great day of the feast, jesus stood up and spake aloud, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. ( )he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from his belly shall rivers flow of living water. ( )(now he spake this in reference to the spirit, which they who believe on him should afterwards receive: for as yet the holy ghost was not given; because jesus was not yet glorified.) ( )many then of the multitude, when they heard this declaration, said, this man is certainly a prophet. ( )others said, he is the messiah. but others said, no: for cometh the messiah out of galilee? ( )doth not the scripture say, that the messiah cometh of the seed of david, and from the town of bethlehem, whence david originally was? ( )there was a division therefore among the multitude on account of him. ( )now some of them were desirous to apprehend him; but no one laid hands upon him. ( )then came the officers to the chief priests and pharisee; and they said to them, why have ye not brought him? ( )the officers answered, never did man before speak in such a manner as this man. ( )the pharisees then replied to them, are ye also deluded? ( )hath any one of the rulers or of the pharisees believed on him? ( )but this rabble, which knoweth not the law, is accursed. ( )nicodemus saith unto them, (the same person who came to him by night, being one of their body,) ( )doth our law condemn a man, without first hearing his defence, and knowing what he hath done? ( )they answered and said to him, art thou not from galilee too? search and see: for a prophet, out of galilee, never was raised up. ( )so each went to his own home. chap. viii. then jesus went to the mount of olives. ( )but early in the morning he came again to the temple, and all the people came to him; and sitting down he taught them. ( )then the scribes and pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery; and placing her in the midst, ( )they say unto him, master, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. ( )now moses in the law commanded, that such women should be stoned: therefore what sayest thou? ( )but this they said, trying to entrap him, that they might have ground of accusation against him. but jesus stooping down, with his finger wrote on the ground. ( )now when they continued questioning him, raising himself up, he said to them, let the person who is sinless among you, first cast a stone at her. ( )and again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. ( )but when they heard him, and felt the conviction of their conscience, they slunk away one by one, beginning from the elders to the last: so jesus was left alone, with the woman standing in the midst. ( )then jesus raising himself up, and seeing no person but the woman, said unto her, woman, where are these thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ( )she said, no man, lord. then said jesus unto her, neither do i condemn thee: go, and sin no more. ( )then spake jesus again to them, saying, i am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. ( )the pharisees said to him, thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true. ( )jesus answered and said to them, though i do bear witness of myself, my witness is true: for i know whence i came, and whither i am going; but ye know not whence i come, nor whither i am going. ( )ye judge after the flesh; i judge no man. ( )but though i should judge, my judgment is true: for i am not alone, but i and the father who sent me. ( )now even in your law it is written, that the testimony of two men is true. ( )i am a witness for myself, and the father who sent me beareth witness of me. ( )then said they to him, where is thy father? jesus answered, ye neither know me, nor my father: if ye had known me, ye would have known my father also. ( )these words spake jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no person apprehended him; for his hour was not yet come. ( )then spake jesus again to them, i am going away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither i am going ye cannot come. ( )the jews said therefore, will he kill himself? because he said, whither i go, ye cannot come. ( )and he said to them, ye are from those beneath; i am from those above: ye are of this world; i am not of this world. ( )i said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that i am, ye shall die in your sins. ( )they said, therefore to him, who art thou? and jesus said to them, assuredly the same as i am telling you. ( )i have many things to speak and to decide concerning you: but he that sent me is true; and the things which i have heard from him i speak to the world. ( )they knew not that he spake to them of the father. ( )then said jesus to them, when ye shall have lifted up on high the son of man, then shall ye know that i am, and of myself have i done nothing; but as the father hath instructed me, so i speak. ( )and he that sent me is with me: the father hath not left me alone; because i always do the things acceptable to him. ( )as he spake these words, many believed on him. ( )then said jesus to those jews who believed on him, if ye abide in my word, assuredly ye are my disciples; ( )and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ( )they answered him, we are abraham's seed, and never were in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, that we shall be made free? ( )jesus answered them, verily, verily, i say unto you, that every one who committeth sin is the slave of sin. ( )but the slave abideth not in the family for ever: but the son abideth for ever. ( )if the son therefore make you free, ye will be truly free. ( )i know that ye are abraham's seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. ( )i speak what i have seen with my father: and ye do therefore what ye have seen with your father. ( )they answered and said unto him, our father is abraham. jesus saith unto them, if ye were the children of abraham, ye would have done the works of abraham. ( )but now ye seek to kill me, a man who hath told you the truth, which i have heard from god. abraham did not so. ( )ye do the works of your father. they said unto him, we are not born of whoredom; we have one father, even god. ( )then said jesus unto them, if god was your father, ye would have loved me: for i came out from god, and i am coming; neither indeed came i of myself, but he hath sent me. ( )wherefore do ye not understand my speech? because ye cannot hear my word. ( )ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will practise. he was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not fast in the truth, because truth was not in him. when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh what is peculiarly his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. ( )but because i tell you the truth, ye believe me not. ( )which of you can convict me of sin? now if i speak the truth, why do ye not believe me? ( )he that is of god heareth the words of god: ye therefore do not hear him, because ye are not of god. ( )then answered the jews, and said to him, do we not rightly affirm, that thou art a samaritan, and hast a devil? ( )jesus answered, i have not a devil; but i honour my father, and ye dishonour me. ( )but i seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, if any man observe my saying, he shall never see death to all eternity. ( )then said the jews to him, now we know that thou hast a devil. abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, if any man observe my word, he shall never taste of death to eternity. ( )art thou greater than our father abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? ( )jesus answered, if i assume glory to myself, my glory is nothing: it is the father who glorifies me; of whom ye say, that he is your god: ( )yet have ye not known him; but i know him: and if i should say, that i know him not, i should be like you, a liar: but i know him, and observe his word. ( )your father abraham exulted for joy that he should see this day of mine: and saw it, and rejoiced. ( )then said the jews unto him, thou hast not yet reached the age of fifty, and hast thou seen abraham? ( )jesus said unto them, before abraham had a being, i am. ( )then took they up stones to hurl at him: but jesus was hid, and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them, and so went away. chap. ix. and as he passed along, he saw a man blind from his birth. ( )and his disciples inquired of him, saying, rabbi, who was in fault, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? ( )jesus answered, neither hath this man been in fault, nor his parents; but it is in order to make manifest the works of god in him. ( )i must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night is coming, when no man can work. ( )as long as i am in the world, i am the light of the world. ( )so speaking, he spat on the ground, and made mud with the spittle, and anointed with the mud the eyes of the blind man; ( )and said to him, go, wash in the pool of siloam, (which signifies, sent.) then he went and washed, and came seeing. ( )the neighbours therefore, and they who saw him formerly, that he was blind, said, is not this the man who was sitting and begging? ( )some said, that this is he: but others, that he is like him: he himself said, i am he. ( )when said they to him, how were thine eyes opened? ( )he answered and said, a man called jesus made mud, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, go to the pool of siloam, and wash: then i went, and washing received sight. ( )they said to him, where is he? he replied, i know not. ( )they brought him to the pharisees, who had before been blind. ( )(now it was the sabbath-day when jesus made the mud, and opened his eyes.) ( )the pharisees therefore questioned him again, how he had received sight? and he told them, he put mud upon my eyes, and i washed, and do see. ( )then said certain of the pharisees, this man is not from god, because he observeth not the sabbath. others said, how is it possible for a wicked man to do such miracles? and there was a division among them. ( )they say to the blind man again, what sayest thou of him? that he opened thine eyes? then he replied, that he is a prophet. ( )then the jews did not believe that he had been blind, and received sight, until that they had called the parents of him who had received sight. ( )and they questioned them, saying, is this your son, of whom ye say, that he was born blind? how then doth he now see? ( )his parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: ( )but how he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he himself will tell you about it. ( )so spake his parents, because they were afraid of the jews: for the jews had already come to a resolution, that if any person acknowledged him messiah, he should be excluded the synagogue. ( )therefore said his parents, he is of age; ask him. ( )the second time therefore they called the man who had been blind, and said unto him, give the glory to god: we know that this man is a sinner. ( )then answered he and said, whether this man be a sinner, i know not: one thing i do know, that, whereas i was blind, now i see. ( )then said they to him again, what did he to thee? how opened he thine eves? ( )he answered them, i have already told you, and ye did not hearken: why do ye wish to hear it again? will ye also become his disciples? ( )then they reviled him, and said, thou art his disciple, but we are the disciples of moses. ( )we know that god spake to moses: but we know nothing of this man, whence he is. ( )the man replied, and said to them, now herein is something very surprising, that you know not whence he is, though he hath opened my eyes. ( )now we know that god doth not hearken to sinners: but if any man be a devout worshipper, and doeth his will, him he heareth. ( )from the creation of the world hath it never been heard, that any man opened the eyes of one born blind. ( )if this man were not from god, he could not do any thing. ( )they answered and said unto him, thou wast wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us? and they cast him out. ( )jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, said to him, believest thou in the son of god? ( )the man answered and said, who is he, sir, that i might believe on him? ( )then said jesus him, thou hast even seen him, and he that is now talking with thee is the very person. ( )then he said, lord, i believe: and worshipped him. ( )and jesus said, for judgment i am come into this world, that they who see not may see; and they who see become blind. ( )and some of the pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, are we blind also? ( )jesus said to them, if ye were blind, ye should not have had sin: but now ye say, we see; therefore your sin is permanent. chap. x. verily, verily, i say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, but getteth in some other way, that person is a thief and a robber. ( )he that entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ( )to him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own peculiar sheep by name, and leadeth them forth. ( )and when he bringeth out his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: because they know his voice. ( )and a stranger will they not follow, but will fly from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. ( )this parable spake jesus unto them: but they knew nothing of the things which he spake to them. ( )therefore jesus said unto them again, verily, verily, i say unto you, that i am the door of the sheep. ( )all, as many as have gone before me, are thieves and robbers: but the sheep hearkened not to them. ( )i am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved; and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ( )the thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: i am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ( )i am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. ( )but the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own property the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf seizes upon them, and disperseth the sheep. ( )now the hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. ( )i am the good shepherd, and know my own _sheep_, and am known of my own. ( )as the father knoweth me, so know i the father: and i lay down my life for the sheep. ( )and other sheep i have, which are not of this fold: these also i must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, one shepherd. ( )therefore doth the father love me, because i lay down my life, that i may take it again. ( )no man taketh it from me, but i lay it down of myself. i have power to lay it down, and i have power to take it again. this commandment i have received from my father. ( )there was therefore a division again among the jews, on account of these sayings. ( )then many of them said, he hath a devil, and is mad; why hearken to him? ( )others said, these are not the discourses of a demoniac. can a devil open the eyes of the blind? ( )then was the feast of dedication at jerusalem, and it was winter. ( )and jesus was walking in the temple, in solomon's portico. ( )then the jews came about him, and said to him, how long dost thou keep our soul in suspense? if thou art the messiah, tell us plainly. ( )jesus answered them; i told you, and ye believed not: the works which i do in the name of my father, they bear witness of me. ( )but ye believe not, for ye are not of my sheep, as i told you. ( )my sheep hear my voice, and i know them, and they follow me: ( )and i give unto them everlasting life and they shall never perish to eternity, and no person shall pluck them out of my hand. ( )my father, who gave them to me, is greater than all and no one shall pluck them out of my father's hand. ( )i and my father are one. ( )then the jews again brought stones, in order to stone him. ( )jesus said unto them, many good works have i shewed you from my father; for which work of these are ye going to stone me? ( )the jews answered him, for a good work we do not stone thee; but for blasphemy; and that thou, being merely a man, makest thyself god. ( )jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, "i said ye are gods?" ( )if he called those gods, unto whom the word of god came, and the scripture cannot be broken; ( )do ye say of him, whom the father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemest because i said, i am the son of god? ( )if i do not the works of my father, believe me not. ( )but if i do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the father is in me, and i in him. ( )then sought they again to apprehend him and he departed out of their reach, ( )and went again beyond jordan, unto the place where john at first baptised; and there he abode. ( )and many came to him, and said, that john indeed performed no miracle: but all things whatsoever john spake of this man were true. ( )and many believed on him there. chap. xi. now there was a sick man, lazarus, of bethany, the village of mary and her sister martha. ( )(it was the mary who had anointed the lord with the balm, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother lazarus was sick.) ( )the sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. ( )when jesus heard it, he said, this sickness is not for death, but for the glory of god, that the son of god may be glorified thereby. ( )now jesus loved martha, and her sister, and lazarus. ( )then, though he heard he was ill, yet notwithstanding he abode in the same place where he was two days. ( )but after that he saith to his disciples, let us go again into judea. ( )the disciples say unto him, rabbi, the jews have just now sought to stone thee; and art thou going thither again? ( )jesus answered, are there not twelve hours in the day? if any man walk in the day, he doth not stumble, because he seeth the light of this world. ( )but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light with him. ( )these things said he: and after that he saith to them, our friend lazarus is asleep; but i go to waken him up. ( )then said his disciples, lord, if he is asleep, he will recover. ( )now jesus had spoken of his death: but they apprehended that he spake of taking rest in sleep. ( )then jesus therefore told them plainly, lazarus is dead. ( )and i rejoice on your account that i was not there, in order that ye may believe; but let us go to him. ( )then said thomas, (called didymus, the twin,) to his fellow-disciples, let us go too, that we may die with him. ( )then jesus, when he came; found that he had already lain in the tomb four days. ( )now bethany was nigh unto jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: ( )and many of the jews had come with the women who were about martha and mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. ( )then martha, when she heard that jesus was coming, met him: but mary sat in the house. ( )and martha said to jesus, lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ( )but even now i know, that whatsoever things thou shalt ask of god, god will give thee. ( )jesus saith to her, thy brother shall rise again. ( )martha saith to him, i know that he shall rise at the resurrection in the last day. ( )jesus said unto her, i am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ( )and every one who is alive, and believeth in me, shall never die to eternity. believest thou this? ( )she saith to him, yes, lord i believe that thou art the messiah, the son of god, who cometh into the world. ( )so when she had thus spoken, she went away, and called her sister mary privately, saying, the master is near at hand, and calleth for thee. ( )as soon as she heard it, she rose hastily, and came to him. ( )now jesus was not yet come into the village, but was on the spot where martha had met him. ( )then the jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, observing mary, that she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, she is going to the tomb, to weep there. ( )when therefore mary was come where jesus was, beholding him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died! ( )when jesus then saw her weeping, and all the jews who came with her lamenting, he groaned in spirit, and was himself greatly agitated: ( )and he said, where have ye laid him? they say to him, lord, come and see. ( )jesus wept. ( )then said the jews, behold, how he loved him! ( )but some of them said, could not this man, who openeth the eyes of the blind, have caused that this person should not have died? ( )then jesus again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre. it was an excavation, and a stone lay upon it. ( )jesus saith, remove the stone. the sister of the deceased, martha, said to him, lord, he is by this time putrid: for he hath been dead four days. ( )jesus saith unto her, did i not tell thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shalt see the glory of god? ( )then they removed the stone where the deceased was lying. and jesus lifted his eyes upwards, and said, father, i thank thee that thou hast heard me! ( )and i knew that thou always dost hear me: but for the sake of the multitude standing by i spake, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. ( )and when he had thus spoken, with a loud voice he cried, lazarus, come forth! ( )and the deceased came forth, his feet and his hands wrapped with the linen swathes; and his face bound round with a napkin. jesus saith to them, loose him, and let him go! ( )then many of the jews who came to mary, and saw what jesus had done, believed on him. ( )but some of them went to the pharisees, and told them what things jesus had done. ( )the chief priests and pharisees therefore called the sanhedrim together, and said, what are we about? for this man is doing many miracles. ( )if we suffer him to go on thus, all men will believe on him: and the romans will come, and take away both our place and nation. ( )then one particular person of them, caiaphas, being the high-priest of that year, said unto them, ye know nothing, ( )nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation be not destroyed. ( )and this he spake not from himself: but being the high-priest of that year, he prophesied that jesus should die for the nation; ( )and not for that nation only, but that he should collect into one body the children of god wherever dispersed. ( )then from that day they consulted together how they might kill him. ( )jesus therefore walked no more openly among the jews, but went thence into the country bordering on the desert, to a city called ephraim, and there he abode with his disciples. ( )now the passover of the jews was near, and many went up to jerusalem out of the country before the passover, in order to purify themselves. ( )then they sought for jesus, and said one to another, as they stood in the temple, what think ye, that he will not come to the feast? ( )now both the chief priests and the pharisees had given commandment, that, if any person knew where he was, they should declare it, that they might apprehend him. chap. xii. jesus then before the days of the passover came to bethany, where the deceased lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. ( )therefore they made him a supper there; and martha waited: but lazarus was one of those who sat at table with him. ( )then mary taking a pound of unadulterated balm of nard, very valuable, anointed the feet of jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. ( )then said one of his disciples, judas iscariot, the son of simon, who was preparing to betray him, ( )wherefore was not this aromatic ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor? ( )now he said this, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and kept the purse, and carried the money put therein. ( )then said jesus, let her alone: for the day of my burial hath she reserved this. ( )for the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always. ( )then the whole multitude of the jews knew that he was there: and they came not for the sake of jesus only, but also that they might see lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ( )then the chief priests consulted how they might kill lazarus also; ( )because on his account many of the jews went away, and believed on jesus. ( )on the morrow a great multitude who came to the feast, when they heard that jesus was coming to jerusalem, ( )took branches of palm, and went out to meet him, and cried, hosanna! blessed is the king of israel, that cometh in the name of the lord. ( )then jesus, having found a young ass, sat upon it; as it is written, ( )"fear not, daughter of sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on the foal of an ass." ( )these things indeed knew not his disciples at first: but when jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. ( )then the multitude that was with him, when he called lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bore their testimony. ( )therefore also the multitude met him, because they had heard that he had done this miracle. ( )then said the pharisees among themselves, do ye not perceive that ye gain no advantage? behold, the world is gone after him. ( )now there were certain greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast: ( )these then came to philip, who was of bethsaida, of galilee, and they asked him, saying, sir, we wish to see jesus. ( )philip comes and speaks to andrew: and again andrew and philip tell jesus. ( )then jesus answered them, saying, the hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, except a grain of wheat falling on the earth undergo a deathlike change, it abideth single: but if it _thus_ die, it beareth abundant produce. ( )he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, shall preserve it to life eternal. ( )if a man will be my servant, let him follow me; and where i am, there also shall my servant be: and if any man serve me, him will my father honour. ( )now is my soul troubled; and what shall i say? father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came i unto this hour. ( )father, glorify thy name! then came a voice from heaven, i have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. ( )the multitude that stood by, and heard it, said that it was thunder: others said, an angel hath spoken to him. ( )jesus answered and said, this voice came not for my sake, but for your's. ( )now is the judgment of this world: now shall the ruler of this world be ejected out _of it_. ( )and i, when i am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. ( )and this he said, signifying by what death he should die. ( )then the multitude answered him, we have heard out of the law, that the messiah abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, that the son of man must be lifted up? who is this son of man? ( )then said jesus unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. walk while ye have the light, lest the darkness overtake you: he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not even whither he is going. ( )while ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of the light. these things spake jesus, and going away, concealed himself from them. ( )now, though he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not on him: ( )that the saying of isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, "lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the lord been revealed?" ( )for this reason they could not believe, because isaiah had said again; ( )"he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts; lest they should see with their eyes, and understand with the heart, and be converted, and i should heal them." ( )these things said isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. ( )however, notwithstanding, many even of the rulers believed on him; but on account of the pharisees they did not make open profession, lest they should be put out of the synagogues: ( )for they loved honour from men, more than honour from god. ( )then jesus cried and said, he that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. ( )and he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me. ( )i am come a light into the world, that every one who believeth on me should not abide in darkness. ( )and if any man, hearing my words, believeth not, i judge him not: for i came not to judge the world, but to save the world. ( )he that sets me at nought, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: even the word which i have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day. ( )because i have not spoken of myself; but the farther who has sent me, he gave me commandment, what i should say, and what i should speak. ( )and i know that his commandment is life eternal: therefore the things which i speak to you, just as the father spake to me, so speak i. chap. xiii. now before the feast of the passover, jesus, knowing that his hour was come, that he should go out of this world to the father, having loved his peculiar people that are in the world, he loved them to the end. ( )and supper being served, (the devil having now injected into the heart of judas iscariot, the son of simon, that he should betray him;) ( )jesus knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, and that he came out from god, and was going to god; ( )he rises from supper, and lays aside his garments, and taking a towel, he wound it about himself. ( )then he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was begirt. ( )then cometh he to simon peter: and he saith to him, lord, dost thou wash my feet? ( )jesus answered and said to him, what i am doing thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. ( )peter saith to him, thou shalt never wash my feet: no, never. jesus answered him, except i wash thee, thou hast no part with me. ( )simon peter saith to him, lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. ( )jesus saith to him, he that is washed hath need only to wash his feet, for he is entirely clean: and ye are clean, but not all. ( )(for he knew who would betray him; therefore he said, ye are not all clean.) ( )when therefore he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, know ye what i have done unto you? ( )ye call me master, and lord: and ye speak truly; for such i am. ( )if therefore i have washed your feet, though the lord and the master; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. ( )for i have given you an example, that just as i have done to you, ye should do also. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, the servant is not greater than his master; nor the messenger greater than him that sent him. ( )if ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye practise them. ( )i speak not of you all: i know whom i have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me, hath lift up his heel against me. ( )now i tell you previously, before this comes to pass, that, when it cometh to pass, ye may believe that i am. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever i shall send, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. ( )as jesus was speaking these words, he was greatly agitated in spirit, and testified, and said, verily, verily, i say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ( )then the disciples looked one at another, doubting of whom he spake. ( )now there was one of the disciples reclining on the bosom of jesus, whom jesus loved. ( )therefore simon peter gave him a significant look, that he should inquire of jesus, which of them it should be of whom he spake. ( )and he leaning on the breast of jesus, said to him, lord, which is it? ( )jesus answered, it is he to whom i shall give this morsel of bread, when i have dipped it. and dipping the morsel of bread, he gave it unto judas iscariot, the son of simon. ( )and after the sop, then entered satan into him. jesus saith to him, what thou doest, do quickly. ( )now none of those who sat at table knew wherefore he had spoken to him. ( )for some supposed, as judas kept the purse, that jesus was saying to him, buy what we need for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. ( )having then received the sop, he went out immediately: now it was night. ( )when therefore he was gone, jesus saith, now is the son of man glorified, and god is glorified in him. ( )if god is glorified in him, god will also glorify him with himself, and immediately glorify him. ( )my dear children, yet a little while i am with you. ye shall seek me: as i said to the jews, whither i am going, ye cannot come; so say i now to you. ( )a new commandment i give unto you, that ye love one another; even as i have loved you, that ye also love one another. ( )by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ( )simon peter saith to him, lord, whither art thou going? jesus answered him, whither i am going, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me hereafter. ( )peter saith to him, lord, why cannot i follow thee now? i will lay down my life for thee. ( )jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for me? verily, verily, i tell thee, the cock will not crow, before thou shalt deny me thrice. chap. xiv. let not your hearts be troubled: trust in god, and trust in me. ( )in my father's house are many mansions: and if not, i would have told you. i go to prepare a place for you. ( )and if i go and prepare you a place, i will come again, and receive you to myself; that where i am, there ye may be also. ( )and whither i am going ye know, and the way ye know. ( )thomas saith to him, we know not whither thou art going; and how can we know the way? ( )jesus saith to him, i am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the father, but by me. ( )if ye had known me, ye would have known my father: and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. ( )philip saith to him, lord, shew us the father, and it sufficeth us. ( )jesus saith to him, am i all this while with you, and hast thou not known me, philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the father; and how sayest thou, shew us the father? ( )dost thou not believe that i am in the father, and that the father is in me? the words which i speak unto you i speak not of myself: but the father, who dwelleth in me, he performeth these works. ( )believe me that i am in the father, and the father in me: and at least believe me on account of the works themselves. ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works which i do shall he do also; yea, and greater than these shall he do; because i go to the father. ( )and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will i do, that the father may be glorified in the son. ( )if ye ask any thing in my name, i will do it. ( )if ye love me, keep my commandments. ( )and i will ask the father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ( )the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; because he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ( )i will not leave you orphans: i am coming to you. ( )yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because i live, ye shall live also. ( )in that day ye shall know that i am in the father, and ye in me, and i in you. ( )he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he is the person who loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and i will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ( )then judas (not iscariot) said to him, lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world? ( )jesus answered and said to him, if any man love me, he will observe my word: and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. ( )he that loveth me not, doth not observe my sayings: and the word which ye are hearing is not mine, but of him that sent me. ( )these things have i spoken to you, while i continue among you. ( )but the comforter, the holy ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, which i have spoken to you. ( )peace i leave with you, my peace i give unto you: not as the world giveth, give i to you. let not your heart be agitated, nor shrink back through fear. ( )ye have heard that i told you, i am going away, though i am coming again to you. if ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because i said, i am going to the father: because my father is greater than i. ( )and now i have informed you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe. ( )i shall not speak many things more with you: for the ruler of this world is coming, though in me he hath no part. ( )but that the world may know that i love the father; and as the father hath given me commandment, so i do. arise, let us go hence. chap. xv. i am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. ( )every branch in me that beareth no fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he pruneth it clean, that it may bring forth more fruit. ( )ye are already clean through the word which i have spoken unto you. ( )abide in me, and i in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine: so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. ( )i am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and i in him, this person beareth much fruit: because without me ye can do nothing. ( )if any man abide not in me, he is cast out as a branch, and withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ( )if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done for you. ( )herein is my father glorified, that ye should bring forth much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. ( )just as the father hath loved me, i also have loved you: abide in my love. ( )if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as i have kept my father's commandments, and as i abide in his love. ( )these things have i spoken unto you, that my joy may abide in you, and your joy may be full. ( )this is my commandment, that ye love one another, just as i have loved you. ( )greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ( )ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever things i command you. ( )i no more call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his master is doing: but i have called you friends because i have made known to you all things which i have heard of my father. ( )ye have not chosen me, but i have chosen you, and appointed you that ye should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should be permanent: that so whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he may give it you. ( )these things i command you, that ye love one another. ( )if the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before you. ( )if ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but i have elected you out of the world, for this very cause the world hateth you. ( )remember the word which i spake unto you, the servant is not greater than his master. if they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also; if they have observed my words, they will observe your's also. ( )but all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. ( )had i not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin. ( )he that hateth me hateth my father also. ( )if i had not done among them the works which no other ever did, they would not have had sin: but now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. ( )but it is in order that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law, "they hated me without a cause." ( )but when the comforter is come, whom i will send unto you from the father, the spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the father, he shall testify of me: ( )and ye too shall bear your testimony, because ye have been with me from the beginning. chap. xvi. these things have i spoken, that ye might not be stumbled. ( )they will put you out of their synagogues: yea, the hour is coming, that every one who killeth you will think he offers god a sacred service. ( )and these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the father, nor me. ( )but these things have i spoken to you, that when the hour is come, ye may remember the same for i had told you. but these things i told you not at the beginning, because i was with you. ( )but now i am going away to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, whither art thou going? ( )but because i have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart. ( )yet i tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that i go away: for if i went not away, the comforter would not come to you; but if i go, i will send him unto you. ( )and when he cometh, he will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: ( )of sin first, because they believe not in me; ( )then of righteousness, because i am going to the father, so ye see me no more; ( )and of judgment, because the ruler of this world hath sentence pronounced on him. ( )i have many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them just now. ( )but when he is come, the spirit of truth, he will conduct you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever things he shall hear, he shall speak: and he will declare to you the things that shall come hereafter. ( )he shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ( )all things whatsoever the father hath are mine: therefore i said, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ( )a little while longer, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye shall see me, because i am going to the father. ( )then said some of the disciples unto each other, what is this which he saith to us, a little while longer, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye shall see me: and this, because i am going to the father? ( )they said therefore, what is this which he saith, this little while? we know not what he means. ( )now jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, are ye questioning among yourselves concerning this declaration, which i spake, a little while, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye shall see me? ( )verily, verily, i say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be very sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. ( )a woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when the little son is born, she no more remembers the anguish, for joy that a man is brought into the world. ( )and ye therefore have indeed at present sorrow: but i will see you again, and your heart shall be made glad, and your joy no man taketh from you. ( )and in that hour ye shall ask me nothing. verily, verily, i say unto you, that whatsoever things ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give you. ( )hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be complete. ( )these things have i spoken to you in parables: but the hour is coming when i will no more speak to you in parables, but will plainly inform you respecting the father. ( )in that day ye shall ask in my name: and i do not say to you, i will entreat the father for you: ( )for the father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that i came out from god. ( )i came out from the father, and am come into the world: again, i am leaving the world, and going to the father. ( )his disciples said unto him, lo! now thou speakest plainly, and speakest in no-wise proverbial. ( )now we know that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any person should ask thee: by this we believe that thou hast come forth from god. ( )jesus answered them, do ye now believe? ( )behold, the hour is coming, yea, it is already come, that ye shall be dispersed, each after his own concerns, and shall leave me alone: though i am not alone, because the father is with me. ( )these things have i spoken to you, that ye might have peace. in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good courage; i have overcome the world. chap. xvii. these things spake jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, father, the hour is come; glorify thy son, that thy son may glorify thee: ( )even as thou hast given him authority over all flesh, that with regard to all those whom thou hast given him, he should give to them eternal life: ( )and this is eternal life, that they should know thee the only true god, and him whom thou hast sent, jesus, the messiah. ( )i have glorified thee upon earth: i have completed the work which thou gavest me to perform. ( )and now, father, do thou glorify me with thyself in the glory which i held with thee before the world was. ( )i have made known thy name to the persons whom thou gavest me out of the world: for thee they had a being, and to me thou hast given them; and thy word have they kept. ( )now have they known, that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee. ( )for the declarations which thou gavest to me i have delivered to them; and they have received them, and have known assuredly that i came out from thee, and they have believed that thou hast sent me. ( )i entreat for them: i make no request for the world; but for those thou hast given me; for they are thine. ( )and all mine are thine, and thine mine; and i have been glorified in them. ( )and now no longer am i in this world, but these are in the world, and i am coming to thee. holy father! preserve them for thy name's sake whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. ( )when i was with them in the world, i preserved them by thy name: those whom thou hast given me have i guarded, and not one of them is perished, except the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. ( )but now i am coming to thee; and i am speaking these things in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ( )i have given them thy word and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as i am not of the world. ( )i entreat not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest preserve them from the wicked one. ( )they are not of the world, just as i am not of the world. ( )sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth. ( )as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have i sent them into the world. ( )and for them i devote myself, that they also might be sanctified by the truth. ( )and not for them do i make request only, but also for those who shall believe in me through their word; ( )that all may be one; as thou, father, in me, and i in thee, that these also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ( )and i have given them the glory, which thou hast given me; that they may be one, even as we are one: ( )i in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. ( )father, those whom thou hast given me, i will that where i am they may also be with me; that they may behold my glory, which thou gavest me: because thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world. ( )righteous father! though the world hath not known thee, yet i have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. ( )and i have made known to them thy name, and will make it known: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and i in them. chap. xviii. having thus spoken, jesus went out with his disciples beyond the brook cedron, where was a garden, into which he went himself, and his disciples. ( )now judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: for frequently had jesus consorted with his disciples there. ( )then judas having taken a band of soldiers, and the inferior officers of the chief priests and pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and arms. ( )jesus therefore, conscious of all things that were coming upon him, going forward, said to them, whom are ye seeking? ( )they answered him, jesus the nazarean. jesus saith unto them, i am he. then stood also judas, who betrayed him, with these men. ( )as he then spake to them, i am he, they retreated backward, and fell flat on the ground. ( )again therefore he demanded of them, whom seek ye? then they said, jesus the nazarean. ( )jesus answered, i told you that i am he: if therefore ye are seeking me, permit these to go away: ( )that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, that of those whom thou hast given me, i have not lost one of them. ( )then simon peter having a sword, drew it, and struck a servant of the high-priest, and cut off his right ear. now the servant's name was malchas. ( )then said jesus to peter, put up thy sword into the scabbard: the cup which my father hath given me, shall i not drink it? ( )the band therefore, and the chief captain, and the inferior officers of the jews, seized on jesus, and bound him, ( )and led him away to annas first; for he was father-in-law to caiaphas, who was the high-priest of that year. ( )now caiaphas was the person who had given his advice to the jews, that it was expedient that one man should be destroyed instead of the people. ( )now simon peter had followed jesus, and another disciple: and that disciple was acquainted with the high-priest, and went in with jesus into the palace of the high-priest. ( )but peter stood without at the door. then that other disciple, who was acquainted with the high-priest, went out, and spoke to the porteress, and introduced peter. ( )then said the damsel who kept the door to peter, art not thou also one of the disciples of this man? he saith, i am not. ( )now the servants and inferior officers having made a fire, for it was cold, stood and warmed themselves: and there stood peter with them, and warmed himself. ( )the high-priest then questioned jesus concerning his disciples, and respecting his doctrine. ( )jesus answered him, i spake openly to the world; i always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the jews resorted; and in secret have i spoken nothing. ( )why dost thou question me? ask those who have heard me, what i have spoken to them: lo, they know what i said. ( )as he was thus speaking, one of the servants who stood by him gave jesus a slap on the face, saying, dost thou answer the high-priest in this fashion? ( )jesus replied to him, if i have spoken in an improper manner, bear witness of the evil deed: but if properly, why strikest thou me? ( )now annas had sent him bound to caiaphas the high-priest. ( )meanwhile simon peter was standing and warming himself. then said they to him, art not thou also one of this man's disciples? he denied it, and said, i am not. ( )one of the servants of the high-priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear peter cut off, said, did i not see thee in the garden with him? ( )then again peter denied: and instantly the cock crew. ( )then led they jesus from caiaphas to the praetorium: and it was early: and they themselves went not into the praetorium, that they should not be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. ( )pilate then came out to them, and said, what accusation bring ye against this man? ( )they answered and said to him, if this fellow had not been a malefactor, we should not have delivered him up to thee. ( )pilate then said to them, take him yourselves, and according to your own law judge him. the jews then said to him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death: ( )that the saying of jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, intimating by what manner of death he should die. ( )pilate therefore entered again into the praetorium, and called jesus, and said to him, art thou the king of the jews? ( )jesus answered him, dost thou speak this from thyself, or did others speak to thee concerning me? ( )pilate answered, am i a jew? thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee to me: what hast thou done? ( )jesus replied, my kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom had been of this world, then would my servants have struggled hard, that i should not have been delivered up to the jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. ( )then said pilate unto him. art thou not a king then? jesus answered, thou sayest that i am a king. for this end i was born, and for this i came into the world, that i should be a witness for the truth. every one who is of the truth heareth my voice. ( )pilate saith unto him, what is truth? and having thus spoken, he went out again unto the jews and saith to them, i find no fault in him. ( )but ye have a custom, that i should release to you one person at the passover: will ye therefore that i release unto you the king of the jews? ( )then again they all clamoured, saying, not this man, but barabbas. now barabbas was a robber. chap. xix. then pilate therefore took jesus, and scourged him. ( )and the soldiers having platted a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe, ( )and said, hail, king of the jews! and they gave him slaps on the face with their hands. ( )then again went pilate out, and said to them, behold, i bring him out to you, that ye may know that i find in him no fault at all. ( )then came jesus out, bearing the thorny crown, and the purple robe. and he said to them, behold the man! ( )when the chief priests therefore and the officers saw him, they cried vociferously, saying, crucify him! crucify him! pilate saith to them, take him yourselves, and crucify him: for i have not found in him a fault. ( )the jews replied to him, we have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the son of god. ( )when pilate then heard this saying, he was the more afraid: ( )and entered into the praetorium again, and saith to jesus, from whence art thou? but jesus gave him no answer. ( )then saith pilate to him, dost thou not speak to me? dost thou not know that i have power to crucify thee, and that i have power to release thee? ( )jesus answered, thou wouldest have had no authority over me, unless it had been given thee from above: for this reason, he that hath delivered me up to thee hath the greater crime. ( )upon this pilate sought to release him: but the jews clamoured, saying, if thou release this fellow, thou art no friend of caesar's: every one who professes himself a king, speaks in opposition to caesar. ( )when pilate therefore heard this speech, he brought jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat, in a place called the stone pavement, but in the hebrew, gabbatha. ( )and it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith to the jews, behold your king! ( )but they cried vociferously, away with him, away! crucify him! pilate saith unto them, shall i crucify your king? the chief priests answered, we have no king but caesar. ( )then delivered he him therefore unto them, that he should be crucified. and they took jesus and led him away. ( )and carrying his cross he went forth to a place called the place of a skull, which in the hebrew is termed golgotha: ( )where they crucified him, and two others with him, on this side and on that, and in the midst jesus. ( )and pilate also wrote a title, and put it on the cross. and this was the writing: jesus the nazarean, the king of the jews, ( )this title then many of the jews read: for the spot where jesus was crucified was nigh unto the city: and it was written in hebrew, in greek, and in latin. ( )the chief priests of the jews then said to pilate, write not, the king of the jews; but that he said, i am king of the jews. ( )pilate answered, what i have written, i have written. ( )then the soldiers, when they had crucified jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, for each soldier a part; and his vest: now the vest was without a seam, woven from the upper parts throughout the whole. ( )they said therefore one to another, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, "they parted my garments among them, and for my vest they cast lots." so the soldiers therefore did these things. ( )now beside the cross of jesus stood his mother, and his mother's sister, mary the wife of cleopas, and mary magdalene. ( )when jesus then beheld his mother, and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, he saith to his mother, woman, behold thy son! ( )then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother! and from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home. ( )after this, jesus, conscious that all things were now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, i thirst. ( )now there was placed a vessel full of vinegar: they then filling a spunge with the vinegar, and putting it on a stick of hyssop, carried it to his mouth. ( )when therefore jesus had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished: and inclining his head, he surrendered up his spirit. ( )the jews therefore, as it was the preparation, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath-day was a great day,) besought pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ( )then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him. ( )but when they came to jesus, as they saw that he was already dead, they brake not his legs: ( )but one of the soldiers with his lance pierced his side, and immediately there gushed out blood and water. ( )and he that saw it bore witness, and we know that his testimony is true: and he himself is conscious that he speaketh what is true, that ye might believe. ( )now these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled, "a bone of him shall not be broken." ( )and again another scripture saith, "they shall look on him whom they have pierced." ( )and after these things joseph of arimathea, (being a disciple of jesus, but secretly for fear of the jews,) besought pilate that he might take away the body of jesus and pilate permitted him. then he came and took away the body of jesus. ( )and nicodemus, who had come to jesus by night formerly, came also, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred weight. ( )then they took the body, and bound it with swathes together with the aromatics, as the custom is with the jews to bury. ( )and there was near the spot were he was crucified a garden and in the garden a new tomb, wherein no person had ever yet been laid. ( )because of the preparation of the jews therefore, they laid jesus there; for the sepulchre was just by. chap. xx. and on the first day of the week, mary magdalen came very early, whilst yet some darkness remained, to the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. ( )she therefore runneth, and cometh to simon peter, and to the other disciple, whom jesus loved, and saith to them, they have taken away the lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. ( )then peter went out, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. ( )and they two ran together: and the other disciple ran before more swiftly than peter, and came first to the sepulchre. ( )and stooping forward, he sees the swathing clothes lying there; yet he did not go in. ( )then cometh simon peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and saw the swathing clothes lying, ( )and the napkin, which had been round his head, not laid with the linen swathes, but apart folded up in another place. ( )then went in also the other disciple, who had come the first to the sepulchre, and saw, and believed. ( )though not even yet had they known the scripture, that he should rise from the dead. ( )then the disciples went back again to their companions. ( )but mary stood at the sepulchre, without, weeping: as therefore she wept, she bent forward towards the sepulchre. ( )and saw two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of jesus had lain. ( )and they say unto her, woman, why weepest thou? she saith to them, because they have taken away my lord, and i know not where they have laid him. ( )and as she thus spoke, she turned about, and beheld jesus standing by, and knew not that it was jesus. ( )then jesus said to her, woman, why art thou weeping? whom art thou seeking? she, supposing that it was the gardener, said to him, sir, if thou hast carried him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and i will take him away. ( )jesus saith to her, mary! starting round, she said to him, rabboni! that is, master! ( )jesus saith to her, touch me not; for i have not yet ascended to my father: but go to my brethren, and tell them, i am ascending to my father, and your father; to my god, and your god. ( )mary magdalen cometh declaring to the disciples, that she had seen the lord, and that he had spoken these things to her. ( )when the evening therefore was come, on the same first day of the week, and the doors being fastened where the disciples were assembled for fear of the jews, jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them, peace be to you. ( )and thus speaking, he shewed them his hands and his side. then were the disciples glad when they saw the lord. ( )jesus therefore spake to them again, peace be unto you: as the father hath sent me, even so send i you. ( )and so speaking, he breathed on them, and said, receive the holy ghost: ( )whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins soever ye retain, they are retained. ( )now thomas, one of the twelve, who is called didymus, the twin, was not with them when jesus came. ( )then the other disciples said to him, we have seen the lord. but he said to them, except i should see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, i shall never believe it. ( )and eight days after, his disciples were again within, and thomas with them: jesus cometh, though the doors were fastened, and stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you. ( )afterwards he spake to thomas, bring hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and take thy hand, and thrust into my side: and be not incredulous, but a believer. ( )and thomas answered and said unto him, my lord and my god! ( )jesus saith to him, because thou hast seen me, thomas, hast thou believed: blessed are they who though they have not seen me, yet have believed. ( )now many other miracles did jesus therefore also in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ( )but these are written, that ye might believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god; and that believing ye might have life through his name. chap. xxi. after these things jesus again shewed himself to the disciples at the sea of tiberias; and he appeared in the following manner: ( )simon peter, and thomas called didymus, the twin, and nathaniel who was of cana of galilee, and the sons of zebedee, and two others of the disciples were together. ( )simon peter said to them, i am going a-fishing. they say to him, we too will go with thee. they went out, and got on board the vessel immediately; and that night they caught nothing. ( )but when the morning was now come, jesus stood upon the beach: yet the disciples had not discovered that it was jesus. ( )then saith jesus unto them, my youths, have ye any thing eatable? they answered him, no. ( )then he said to them, shoot the net on the right side of the vessel, and ye shall find fish. they shot it therefore, and now they were not able to drag it in from the quantity of fishes. ( )then said that disciple whom jesus loved to peter, it is the lord! then simon peter, when he heard that it was the lord, girt his coat round him, (for he was stripped,) and threw himself into the sea. ( )and the other disciples came in the little vessel, (for they were not far from land, only about two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with the fishes. ( )when therefore they were come to land, they saw a fire laid, and a fish upon it, and a loaf. ( )jesus saith to them, bring some of the fish which ye have just caught. ( )simon peter went aboard, and drew the net to land full of large fishes, to the number of a hundred and fifty-three: and though they were so many, yet was not the net rent. ( )jesus saith to them, come, dine. now not one of the disciples dared inquire, who art thou? conscious that it was the lord. ( )then jesus cometh, and taketh the loaf, and distributed to them, and of the fish in like manner. ( )now this was the third time jesus had shewed himself to the disciples, after he rose from the dead. ( )when therefore they had dined, jesus saith to simon peter, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me more than these? he saith to him, yes, lord! thou knowest that i love thee. he saith to him, feed my lambs. ( )he saith to him again the second time, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me? he saith to him, yes, lord! thou knowest that i love thee. jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep. ( )he saith to him the third time, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me? peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? and he said to him, lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that i love thee! jesus saith to him, feed my sheep. ( )verily, verily, i say unto thee, when thou wast a younger man, thou didst gird up thyself, and go about whithersoever thy choice led thee: but when thou shalt grow old, another person extending thy hands, shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. ( )this he told him, to intimate by what kind of death he should glorify god. and having thus spoken, he said to him, follow me. ( )now peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom jesus loved following; who also at the supper reclined on his bosom, and said, lord, which is the person who betrayeth thee? ( )peter looking at him, saith to jesus, lord, and what will become of this man? ( )jesus saith to him, if i will that he abide till i come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. ( )then this speech went forth among the disciples, as though this disciple was not to die: yet jesus had not said to him, that he shall not die; but, if i will that he abide till i come, what is that to thee? ( )this is the disciple who is testifing of these things, and hath written these things: and we know that his testimony is true. ( )and there are also many other things which jesus did, the which, if every particular was written, i am of opinion that the world itself would not be capable of retaining the books which should be written. amen. the acts of the holy apostles. chap. i. the former treatise, theophilus, i composed, concerning all things which jesus began both to do and to teach, ( )until that day, when having given a charge to his apostles through the holy ghost, whom he had chosen, he was taken up: ( )to whom also he had shewed himself alive, after he had suffered, by many infallible proofs, during forty days being frequently seen by them, and speaking of the things which relate to the kingdom of god: ( )and assembling them together, commanded them not to depart from jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which, said he, ye have heard from me. ( )for john indeed baptised with water; but ye shall be baptised with the holy ghost not many days after the present. ( )they then accordingly assembling together, asked him, saying, lord, wilt thou at this time reestablish the kingdom of israel? ( )but he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which the father hath reserved under his own authority. ( )but ye shall receive power, when the holy ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses for me, both in jerusalem, and throughout all judea, and samaria, and unto the extremity of the earth. ( )and as he was speaking these things, while they were looking upon him, he was taken up; and a cloud enveloping him hid him from their eyes. ( )and as they looked up earnestly into the heaven, while he was passing, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ( )who also said to them, ye men of galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven? this jesus, who hath been taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in the same manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. ( )then they returned unto jerusalem, from the mount called olivet, which is near jerusalem, about a sabbath-day's journey distant. ( )and when they had arrived, they went up to an upper room, where abode peter, and james, and john, and andrew, philip, and thomas, bartholomew, and matthew, james son of alpheus, and simon the zealous, and jude brother to james. ( )these all persevered unanimously in prayer and supplication, with the women, and mary the mother of jesus, and with his brethren. ( )and in those days arose peter in the midst of the disciples, and said, (there was a number of persons together, about an hundred and twenty,) ( )men and brethren, it must needs be that this scripture should be fulfilled, which the holy ghost delivered before by the mouth of david concerning judas, who was the conductor of those who seized on jesus. ( )for he was reckoned of our number, and had obtained an appointment to this ministry. ( )this man indeed accordingly purchased a spot of ground with the wages of iniquity; and projected forward, he burst in the midst, and all his bowels fell out. ( )and it was a fact known to all who dwelt at jerusalem; so that this field is called in their own dialect, aceldama, that is, the field of blood. ( )for it is written in the book of psalms[ ], let his habitation be desolate, and let there be no man to dwell in it: and his office, as bishop, let another take[ ]. ( )wherefore from among the men who have associated with us always during the time that the lord jesus went in and out among us, ( )beginning from his baptism by john, until the day in which he was taken up from us, must there be chosen with us a witness of his resurrection, even one of these. ( )so they appointed two persons, joseph called barsabas, whose sirname was justus, and matthias. ( )and joining in prayer, they said, do thou, o lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, point out the one of these two which thou hast chosen, ( )to take a part in this ministry and apostleship, from which judas by transgression fell, to go to his own place. ( )and they drew lots for them and the lot fell to matthias and he was by unanimous suffrage numbered with the eleven apostles. chap. ii. so when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with unanimity assembled together. ( )and there came suddenly from heaven a sound as it were of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ( )and there was an appearance to them of divided tongues, as of fire, and it rested on every one of them. ( )and they were all filled with the holy ghost, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them power to express themselves. ( )now there were dwelling at jerusalem, jews, men of piety, from every nation under heaven. ( )and when this report spread, the multitude collected around them, and were overwhelmed with astonishment, because they heard them speaking every one in his own peculiar dialect. ( )and they were all amazed, and wondered, saying one to another, are not all these who are speaking galileans? ( )and how do we hear every man in our own peculiar dialect, in which from our birth we were brought up? ( )parthians, and medes, and elamites, and they who inhabit mesopotamia, and judea, and cappadocia, pontus, and asia, ( )and phrygia, and pamphylia, egypt, and the parts of lybia adjoining cyrene, and the sojourners, who are romans, both jews and proselytes, ( )cretans and arabians, we hear them speaking in our own several tongues the marvellous things of god. ( )and they were all amazed, and much perplexed, and knew not what to think, saying one to another, what can this mean? ( )but others scoffing said, these men are brimful of sweet wine. ( )but peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them; men of judea, and all ye who dwell at jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words: ( )for these men are not, as ye suppose, drunk, for it is only the third hour of the day. ( )but this is what was spoken by the prophet joel; ( )"and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith god, i will pour our of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: ( )and upon my servants and my handmaidens in those days will i pour out of my spirit; and they shall prophesy: ( )and i will perform prodigies in the heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. ( )the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and illustrious day of the lord come. ( )and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the lord shall be saved[ ]." ( )men of israel, hear these words; jesus the nazarean, a man from god, pointed out to you by miracles and wonders and signs, which god did by him in the midst of you, as yourselves also know: ( )him, by the destined counsel and foreknowledge of god delivered up, ye have seized, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: ( )whom god hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: forasmuch as it was not possible that he should be held thereby. ( )for david speaketh concerning him, "i have seen the lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that i might not be shaken: ( )therefore is my heart full of joy, and my tongue hath exulted; and still shall my flesh also repose in hope, ( )that thou wilt not leave my soul in the mansion of the dead, nor permit that holy one of thine to see corruption. ( )thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt fill me with delight by thy countenance[ ]." ( )men and brethren, permit me to speak with freedom to you concerning the patriarch david, that he hath been both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us to this day. ( )being therefore a prophet, and knowing that god had sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up the messiah to sit upon his throne; ( )he, foreseeing this, spake of the resurrection of the messiah, that his soul should not be left in the mansion of the dead, and that his flesh should not see corruption. ( )this very jesus hath god raised up, of which we all are witnesses. ( )he therefore being exalted at the right hand of god, and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit, hath poured out this, which ye now see and hear. ( )for david is not ascended into the heavens: for he saith himself, "the lord said unto my lord, sit on my right hand, ( )until i make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet[ ]." ( )let all the house of israel therefore know assuredly, that god hath made him lord and messiah, even that very jesus whom ye crucified. ( )now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said unto peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? ( )then peter said unto them, repent, and be baptised every one of you into the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost. ( )for the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off; even as many as the lord our god shall call. ( )and with many other words he testified and exhorted, saying, be saved from this untoward generation. ( )they therefore who gladly received his discourse were baptised: and there were added to them that day about three thousand souls. ( )and they persevered stedfastly in the doctrine of the apostles, and in communion, and in breaking bread, and in prayers. ( )and on every soul there was an awe: and many miracles and signs were done by the apostles. ( )now all who believed were together, and had all things common; ( )and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as every one had need. ( )and daily continuing with one mind at the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with great joy and simplicity of heart, ( )praising god, and having favour with all the people. and the lord added the saved ones daily to the church. chap. iii. now at that time peter and john were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth; ( )when a certain man who was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple called beautiful, to ask alms of those who were entering into the temple; ( )who seeing peter and john just going into the temple, asked to receive alms. ( )then peter fixing his eves stedfastly on him with john, said, look on us. ( )so he attentively regarded them, expecting to receive something from them. ( )then said peter, i have neither silver nor gold; but what i have, that i give thee: by the name of jesus christ the nazarean, arise, and walk! ( )and taking him by the right hand, he raised him up: and immediately his feet and ancles were restored to strength. ( )and springing up he stood on his feet, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising god. ( )and all the people beheld him walking and praising god: ( )and they took notice of him, that it was the same person who had sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with astonishment and amazed at what had happened to him. ( )but as the lame man that was cured held fast peter and john, all the people ran together unto them into the portico called solomon's, in vast amazement. ( )then peter observing it, addressed himself to the people, ye men of israel, why marvel ye at this? or why gaze ye upon us, as if by our own power or piety we had enabled this man to walk? ( )the god of abraham, and isaac, and jacob, the god of our fathers, hath glorified his son jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of pilate, when he had determined to release him. ( )but ye denied the holy one and the just, and besought that a man, a murderer, might as a favour be given unto you; ( )but ye slew the author of life, whom god raised from the dead: of which we are witnesses. ( )and through faith in his name hath his name restored this man to strength, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the sight of you all. ( )and now, brethren, i know that through ignorance ye did this deed, as did also your rulers. ( )but the things which god before announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that messiah should suffer, he hath thus fulfilled. ( )repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when refreshing seasons shall come from the presence of the lord; ( )and he will send jesus christ, who was before preached unto you: ( )whom the heaven indeed must receive, until the times of restoration of all things, which god hath spoken of by the mouth of all his holy prophets from the beginning of the world. ( )for moses truly said unto the fathers, "a prophet shall the lord your god raise up unto you from among your brethren, like myself; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall speak to you. ( )but it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly exterminated from amidst the people[ ]." ( )and all the prophets indeed from samuel, and those who succeeded him, as many as have spoken, have also foretold those days. ( )ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which god made with our fathers, saying unto abraham, and "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed[ ]." ( )unto you in the first instance, hath god, after raising up his son jesus, sent him to bless you, to the end that every one of you should turn away from your iniquities. chap. iv. and as they were thus speaking, the priests, and the captain of the temple-guard, and the sadducees, came upon them, ( )worn down with vexation, because they taught the people, and preached by jesus the resurrection of the dead. ( )and they laid hands on them, and committed them to prison till the next day: for it was then evening. ( )but many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. ( )now it came to pass that the next morning, their rulers, and elders, and scribes, were assembled at jerusalem, ( )and annas the high-priest, and caiaphas, and john, and alexander, and as many as were the high-priest's relations. ( )and placing them in the midst, they interrogated them, by what power, or by what name, have ye done this thing? ( )then peter, filled with the holy ghost, said unto them, ye rulers of the people, and elders of israel, ( )if we are this day examined relative to the good deed done to the infirm man, by what means he was restored; ( )be it known unto you all, and to all the people of israel, that by the name of jesus christ the nazarean, whom ye crucified, whom god raised from the dead, by him doth this man stand here sound in your presence. ( )this is the stone which, though set at nought by you builders, is become the head of the corner[ ]. ( )and there is no salvation in any other person: for there is no other name under heaven given unto men, whereby we must be saved. ( )attentively regarding then the noble confidence of peter and john, and perceiving that they were men unlettered, and destitute of education, they were astonished; and they recollected them, that they had been with jesus. ( )but seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they had not a word to reply in contradiction. ( )but bidding them retire out of the council-chamber, they conferred among themselves, ( )saying, what shall we do with these men? for that an acknowledged miracle hath been wrought by them is evident to all the inhabitants of jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. ( )but that it be no farther spread among the people, we will menace them with threats, no more to speak in this name to any man. ( )so calling them in, they charged them not to speak in any manner, nor to teach, in the name of jesus. ( )but peter and john, answering them, said, if it be right in the sight of god to obey you rather than god, be yourselves the judges. ( )for we cannot refrain from speaking the things which we have seen and heard. ( )then they with many additional threatenings dismissed them, finding no pretext how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified god for what had been done. ( )for the man was more than forty years of age, upon whom this miracle of healing was performed. ( )but they being dismissed, came unto their own friends, and told them all things which the high-priests and elders had said. ( )now when they heard it, they lifted up their united voice to god, and said, lord, thou art the god which made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all things which are in them: ( )who by the mouth of david thy servant saidst, why do the heathen so furiously rage, and the people meditate vain things? ( )the kings of the earth rose up, and the rulers were gathered together against the lord and against his messiah[ ]. ( )for they have been in truth collected together against thy holy son jesus, whom thou hast anointed, even herod, and pontius pilate, with the heathen, and the people of israel, ( )to do all that thy hand and thy counsel predestined should come to pass. ( )and as to the present transactions, lord, look upon their threatnings: and grant thy servants power with all boldness to speak thy word, ( )by stretching out thy hand for healing; and that signs and miracles may be performed by the name of thy holy child jesus. ( )and while they were praying, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the holy ghost, and they spake the word of god with boldness. ( )and in the multitude of those that believed there was one heart and soul: and not one person said, that any part of his substance was his peculiar property; but all things were in common among them. ( )and with great power bore the apostles witness of the resurrection of the lord jesus: and great grace was upon them all. ( )neither was there any person in want among them: for as many as were possessors of fields or houses disposed of them, and brought the prices of the things sold, ( )and laid them at the apostles' feet: and a distribution was made to every one according as he had need. ( )and joses, who was surnamed barnabas by the apostles, (which is, being interpreted, a son of consolation,) a levite, a cyprian by birth, ( )having a field belonging to him, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. chap. v. now a certain man named ananias, with sapphira his wife, had sold an estate, ( )and secreted a part of the price paid, his wife also being privy to the transaction, and he brought a part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. ( )but peter said, o ananias! why hath satan filled thy heart that thou shouldst lie to the holy ghost, and secrete something from the price of the estate? ( )it remained unsold, was it not vested in thee? and when sold, was it not in thine own power? why then hast thou determined in thine heart to do this deed? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto god. ( )then ananias, hearing those words, sunk down and expired: and great dread fell upon all who heard these things. ( )then the young men arose, and swathed him up, and carrying him out, buried him. ( )now it came to pass at the distance of about three hours, his wife also, not knowing what had passed, came in. ( )and peter addressed her, tell me, if ye sold the estate for so much? and she said, yes, for so much. ( )then peter said unto her, how is it that ye have conspired together to tempt the spirit of the lord? see, the feet of them who have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. ( )then she fell instantly at his feet, and expired: and the young men entering, found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her with her husband. ( )and great awe fell on all the church, and on all who heard these things. ( )but by the hands of the apostles were many signs and miracles done among the people; (and they were all with one accord in the portico of solomon. ( )but of the rest no man had the courage to unite himself with them: though the people extolled them. ( )but believers on the lord were abundantly added to them, multitudes, both of men and women.) ( )insomuch that they carried out into the streets the sick, and laid them on beds and couches, that when peter was coming by, if but even his shadow might pass over some of them. ( )then came together also a multitude from the neighbouring cities to jerusalem, bringing the sick, and those who were disturbed by unclean spirits; who were healed universally. ( )then arose the high-priest, and all those who were connected with him, (which was the sect of the sadducees,) and were filled with zeal, ( )and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. ( )but the angel of the lord by night opened the doors of the prison, and conducting them forth, said, ( )go, and taking your station in the temple, speak to the people all the words of this life. ( )having heard this therefore, they entered very early in the morning into the temple, and taught. but when the high-priest came, and those who were with him, they convoked the sanhedrim, and all the assembly of elders of the children of israel, and sent to the prison to bring them. ( )but the officers, on their arrival, found them not in the prison: and returning, informed them, ( )saying; the prison indeed found we fast locked with all security, and the guards standing without, before the door: but when we opened it, we found no person within. ( )now when they heard these words, both the priest and captain of the temple and the chief priests were in the utmost perplexity concerning these things, what could be the meaning of it. ( )then came a person and informed them, saying, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. ( )then went the captain, with the officers, and brought them; not forcibly, for they were afraid of the people, lest they should stone them. ( )but when they had conducted them, they placed them in the sanhedrim: and the high-priest interrogated them, ( )saying, did we not lay our strict injunction upon you, that you should not teach in this name? and, lo, ye have filled jerusalem with your doctrine, and would fain bring this man's blood upon us. ( )then peter and the apostles answering said, we must obey god rather than men. ( )the god of our fathers hath raised up jesus, whom ye had killed, suspending him on a tree. ( )him hath god exalted at his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, to give repentance unto israel, and remission of sins. ( )and we are witnesses of these things; and the holy ghost also, which god hath given to those who obey him. ( )but when they heard this, they were cut asunder as with a saw, and took counsel how to make away with them. ( )then arose a certain pharisee, in the sanhedrim, named gamaliel, a doctor of the law, held in high esteem by all the people, and ordered the apostles to be taken out for a little space; ( )and he said unto them, men of israel, take heed to yourselves respecting these men, what ye mean to do to them. ( )for before these days arose theudas, saying that he himself was a singular personage: to whom a number of men, about four hundred, attached themselves: who was taken off; and as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing. ( )and after him arose judas the galilean, in the days of the enrolment, and drew away a multitude of the populace after him: he also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. ( )and as to the matters now before you, i say unto you, abstain from these men, and leave them to themselves: for if this design or this work be of men, it will come to nothing: ( )but if it be of god, ye cannot overthrow it; and in that case would be found fighters against god. ( )and to him they assented: and calling in the apostles, after scourging them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of jesus, and dismissed them. ( )then they went rejoicing from the presence of the sanhedrim, that for his name's sake, they had been counted worthy to suffer this injurious treatment. ( )and all the day long in the temple, and from house to house, they never ceased teaching and preaching jesus christ. chap. vi. now in those days, when the disciples were multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the grecian proselytes against the hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily distribution. ( )then the twelve assembling the multitude of the disciples, said, it is not fit that we should leave the word of god, to make distribution to the tables. ( )therefore, brethren, do ye look out for seven men from among yourselves, the best approved, full of the holy ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint to superintend this business. ( )but we will devote ourselves constantly to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. ( )and this saying was very agreeable to all the multitude: and they elected stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy ghost, and philip, and prochorus, and nicanor, and timon, and parmenas, and nicholas a proselyte a man of antioch: ( )whom they presented before the apostles: and having prayed, they laid their hands upon them. ( )and the word of god increased: and the number of the disciples in jerusalem was multiplied greatly; and a vast body of the priests were obedient to the faith. ( )now stephen, full of faith and of power, wrought great miracles and signs among the people. ( )then rose up certain men of the synagogue of the freed-men, and of the cyrenians, and of the alexandrians, and of those from cilicia and asia, disputing with stephen. ( )and they could not resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. ( )then they suborned men to say, we heard him speak blasphemous things against moses, and against god. ( )and they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and coming upon him, they seized him together, and dragged him to the sanhedrim; ( )and they set up false witnesses, saying, this man doth not cease speaking blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: ( )for we have heard him affirm, that jesus the nazarean, even he, will destroy this place, and change the accustomed ordinances which moses delivered to us. ( )and fixing their eyes upon him, all who sat in the sanhedrim, beheld his face as the face of an angel. chap. vii. then said the high-priest, are these things so? ( )he replied, men, brethren, and fathers, hear me: the god of glory appeared to our father abraham, when he was in mesopotamia, before he dwelt in charran, ( )and said to him, go forth out of thy country, and from among thy relations, and come hither to a land which i will shew thee[ ]. ( )then he went out from the country of the chaldeans, and, dwelt in charran: and from thence, after his father was dead, god removed him as a sojourner into this very country, in which we now dwell. ( )yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not so much as the print of his foot: yet he promised to give it for a possession to him and to his seed after him, when he had no son. ( )then spake god to him thus, that his seed should sojourn in a foreign land: and that they should enslave it, and grievously afflict it, four hundred years. ( )and the nation by which they shall be enslaved will i judge, said god: and after these things they shall come out, and shall worship me in this place[ ]. ( )and he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so he begat isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and isaac jacob, and jacob the twelve patriarchs. ( )and the patriarchs, envious, sold joseph into egypt: yet god was with him, ( )and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom before pharaoh king of egypt; and he appointed him governor over egypt and all his house. ( )then came a famine upon all the land of egypt and canaan, and great distress: and our fathers found no provisions. ( )but when jacob heard that there were provisions in egypt, he sent our fathers, the first time. ( )and the second time joseph was made known unto his brethren; and joseph's family was made known unto pharaoh. ( )then sent joseph, and invited his father jacob to come to him, and all his kindred, consisting of seventy-five persons. ( )so jacob went down into egypt, and died, himself, and our fathers, ( )and they removed him to sychem, and laid him in the sepulchre which abraham had bought, at a price paid in silver, of the sons of emmor, the father of shechem. ( )but as the time of the promise which god had with an oath confirmed unto abraham drew nigh, the people increased and multiplied in egypt, ( )until another king arose, who knew not joseph. ( )this man, forming crafty designs against our nation, grievously treated our fathers, so as to cause them to expose their children, in order to exterminate the race. ( )at which time moses was born, and was endued with singular beauty from god, who was brought up three months in the house of his father: ( )and when he was exposed, pharaoh's daughter took him home, and brought him up for herself, as a son. ( )and moses was educated in all the wisdom of egypt, and was mighty in words and actions. ( )but when he had completed his fortieth year, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of israel. ( )and seeing one of them treated injuriously, he defended him, and executed vengeance for him who had suffered the outrage, smiting the egyptian. ( )for he thought that his brethren would understand that god by his hand would give them deliverance: but they understood not. ( )and the following day he shewed himself to them as they were fighting, and urged them to peace, saying, my friends, ye are brethren; wherefore do ye ill treat one another? ( )then he who did his neighbour wrong thrust him from him, saying, who appointed thee a ruler and a judge over us? ( )wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the egyptian yesterday? ( )then fled moses at this saying, and was a sojourner in the land of midian, where he begat two sons. ( )and when forty years were completed, there appeared to him in the desert of mount sinai the angel of the lord, in a flame of fire in a bush. ( )but when moses saw it, he marvelled at the sight: and as he was drawing nearer to observe it, a voice from the lord came to him, ( )"i am the god of thy fathers, the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob[ ]." then moses trembling, dared not to look farther. ( )then the lord said unto him, "loose the sandal from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. ( )attentive i have beheld the evil treatment of my people in egypt, and i have heard their groaning, and i am come down to deliver them. and now come hither, i will send thee into egypt[ ]." ( )this very moses whom they had rejected, saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did god send to be a ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ( )he brought them forth, after performing miracles and signs in the land of egypt, and in the red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. ( )this is the moses who said unto the children of israel, "a prophet shall the lord your god raise up for you from among your brethren, as myself; him shall ye hear[ ]." ( )this is he, who was with the church in the wilderness with the angel who spake to him in the mount sinai, and with our fathers: who received the oracles of life to give unto us: ( )to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto egypt, ( )saying to aaron, make us gods who shall go before us: for this moses, who brought us out of the land of egypt, we know not what hath happened to him. ( )and they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice for the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ( )then god turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, have ye offered me slain beasts and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, o house of israel? ( )yet have ye taken up the tabernacle of moloc, and the star of your god remphan, those figures which ye made to pay adoration to them: and i will transport you beyond babylon[ ]. ( )the tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, as he that spake to moses commanded, that he should make it according to the model which he had seen. ( )which also our fathers having received, brought in with joshua into the place possessed by the gentiles, whom god drove out from before the presence of our fathers, unto the days of david; ( )who found favour before god, and sought to procure an habitation for the god of jacob. ( )but solomon built an house for him. ( )though the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as the prophet saith, ( )"heaven is my throne, and earth the footstool for my feet: what kind of house will ye build me? saith the lord: or what place is there for my repose? ( )hath not my hand made all these things[ ]?" ( )ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears, ye do always oppose yourselves against the holy ghost: as your fathers, so are ye. ( )which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they killed those who before published the tidings of the coming of that righteous person; of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers: ( )who have received the law through arrangements of angels, yet have not observed it. ( )now when they heard these things, they were cut through their hearts as with a saw, and gnashed upon him with their teeth. ( )but he being full of the holy ghost, and looking up stedfastly to heaven, saw the glory of god, and jesus standing at the right hand of god; ( )and he said, behold, i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing at the right hand of god. ( )then they screamed out with a great cry, and stopped their ears, and rushed all together upon him, ( )and dragging him out of the city, stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, named saul. ( )and they stoned stephen, in the act of prayer, and saying, lord jesus, receive my spirit! ( )then falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, lord, impute not to them this sin! and thus speaking, fell asleep. chap. viii. but saul was delighted with his execution. now on that very day commenced a great persecution against the church which was at jerusalem; and all, besides the apostles, were dispersed through the regions of judea and samaria. ( )then some pious men assembling, carried stephen to his grave, and made great lamentation over him. ( )but saul ravaged the church, entering into the houses, and dragging men and women, cast them into prison. ( )those therefore who were dispersed, travelled through the country, preaching the word. ( )but philip, going down to a city of samaria, preached christ unto them. ( )and the multitudes with united minds were very attentive to the things spoken by philip, when they heard him, and saw the miracles which he did. ( )for the unclean spirits, roaring with great cries, came forth out of many who were possessed: and many who were paralytic and lame were healed. ( )and there was great joy in that city. ( )but a certain man, named simon, lived previously in that city, who practised magic, and astonished the nation of samaria, giving out himself as an extraordinary great personage: ( )to whom all gave heed from the small to the great, saying, this man is the great power of god. ( )and to him they attended, because he had of a considerable time astonished them by his magical tricks. ( )but when they believed philip, who preached the glad tidings of the things which related to the kingdom of god, and the name of jesus christ, they were baptised both men and women. ( )then simon also himself believed: and being baptised, he attached himself to philip, and beholding the signs and great miracles which were performed, he was astonished. ( )but when the apostles who were at jerusalem heard that samaria had received the word of god, they sent unto them peter and john: ( )who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the holy ghost: ( )for as yet he had not fallen on any one of them: only they had been baptised into the name of the lord jesus. ( )then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the holy ghost. ( )now when simon saw, that by the imposition of the apostles' hands, the holy ghost was given, he offered them money, ( )saying, confer on me also this power, that on whomsoever i lay my hands, they may receive the holy ghost. ( )but peter said unto him, may thy silver with thyself go into perdition, because thou hast imagined that the gift of god can be purchased with money. ( )there is for thee neither part nor lot in this word: for thy heart is not right before god. ( )repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray to god, if haply this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. ( )for i see that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity. ( )then simon answering said, pray ye for me unto the lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken may come upon me. ( )then they, after bearing their testimony, and speaking the word of the lord, returned towards jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the samaritans. ( )now the angel of the lord spake to philip, saying, arise, and go towards the south, on the road which leads down from jerusalem to gaza: it is a wilderness. ( )and he arose and went: and lo! an ethiopian man, an eunuch, a person in power under candace queen of the ethiopians, who was over all her treasury; he had gone to worship unto jerusalem, ( )and was returning, and sitting in his chariot, was reading the prophet isaiah. ( )then said the spirit to philip, go up, and approach close to that chariot. ( )then philip running up to him, heard him reading the prophet isaiah; and he said, well! but dost thou understand what thou art reading? ( )he replied, how indeed can i, except some person guide me in the way? and he besought philip to come up and sit with him. ( )the portion of scripture which he had been reading was this: "he was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before him who sheareth it is dumb, so he opened not his mouth: ( )in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: but his generation who can describe? for his life was taken away from the earth[ ]." ( )then the eunuch addressing himself to philip, said, i pray thee, of whom doth the prophet thus speak? of himself, or of some other person? ( )then philip opening his mouth, and beginning from that scripture, preached to him jesus. ( )but as they went on the road, they came to some water: and the eunuch said, here is water, what forbids my being baptised? ( )and philip said, if thou believest with the whole heart, it is allowable. then he answered and said, i believe that jesus christ is the son of god. ( )and he bid the carriage stop: and they went down both into the water, both philip and the eunuch; and he baptised him. ( )but when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the lord caught up philip, and the eunuch saw him no more: then he went on his way rejoicing. ( )but philip found himself at azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel in all the cities, until he came to caesarea. chap. ix. but saul, still breathing out threatenings and murder against the disciples of the lord, applying to the high-priest, ( )besought of him letters for the synagogues at damascus, that if he should find any persons of this way, whether men or women, he might bring them in chains to jerusalem. ( )so advancing on his journey, he was drawing nigh to damascus: and suddenly there shone around him a light from heaven: ( )and falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying unto him, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? ( )then said he, who art thou, lord? and the lord said, i am jesus whom thou art persecuting: it is difficult for thee to kick against the goads. ( )and trembling and amazed he said, lord, what wilt thou have me to do? and the lord said unto him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ( )and the men who travelled with him stood astonished, hearing indeed a voice, but seeing no man. ( )then paul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but leading him by the hand, they brought him into damascus. ( )and he was three days seeing nothing, and did neither eat nor drink. ( )now there was a certain disciple at damascus named ananias; and the lord said unto him in a vision, ananias! and he said, here i am, lord. ( )then the lord said to him, arise, go into the street called strait, and inquire at the house of judas for one named saul a man of tarsus: for, behold, he is praying, ( )and hath seen in a vision a man named ananias coming to him, and laying his hand upon him, that he may recover his sight. ( )but ananias answered, lord, i have heard from many of this man, how many evils he hath inflicted on thy saints at jerusalem: ( )and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name. ( )but the lord said unto him, go: for this man is an elect vessel for me, to bear my name before nations, and kings, and the children of israel: ( )for i will shew him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. ( )then went ananias, and entered into the house; and laying his hands upon him, said, brother saul, the lord jesus, who was seen by thee in the way that thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest recover thy sight, and be filled with the holy ghost. ( )and directly there fell from his eyes as it were scales: and he recovered sight instantly, and arose, and was baptised. ( )and when he had taken nourishment, he regained his strength. and saul continued with the disciples who were at damascus several days. ( )and immediately he preached christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of god. ( )and all who heard him were amazed, and said, is not this the man who made havoc at jerusalem, among those who called on this name? and hither he came for this purpose, that he might carry them in chains unto the chief priests? ( )but saul was endued with still greater power, and confounded the jews who dwelt at damascus, conclusively evincing that this person is the messiah. ( )but when many days were fulfilled, the jews consulted together how to kill him: ( )but their design was discovered to saul. and they kept guard at the gates of the city day and night, that they might kill him. ( )but the disciples taking him by night, got him off through the wall, letting him down in a basket. ( )but when saul was come to jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples: and they were all afraid of him, not crediting that he was a disciple. ( )then barnabas taking him by the hand, brought him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had preached at damascus in the name of jesus. ( )and he was with them coming in, and going out at jerusalem: ( )and speaking boldly in the name of the lord jesus. and he talked and disputed with the grecian proselytes: but they made an attempt to murder him. ( )then the brethren, when they knew it brought him down to caesarea, and sent him off to tarsus. ( )then had the churches peace through all judea and galilee and samaria, being edified; and walking in the fear of god, and in the consolation of the holy ghost, were multiplied. ( )now it came to pass, as peter was passing through all parts, that he went down also to the saints which dwelt at lydda. ( )and found there a certain man named aeneas, during six years stretched on a bed, who was paralytic. ( )and peter said to him, aeneas, jesus the messiah maketh thee whole: arise, and make thine own bed. and he arose immediately. ( )and all who dwelt at lydda and saron saw him, and they turned to the lord. ( )but there was at joppa a woman, a disciple, named tabitha, (which by interpretation is called dorcas:) this woman was full of good works and of alms which she did. ( )but it came to pass that in those days she sickened and died: having then washed her, they laid her out in an upper room. ( )and as lydda was near to joppa, the disciples hearing that peter was there, sent two men to him, entreating him without delay to come over to them. ( )then peter arose and went with them. and they carried him, on his arrival, into the upper room: and all the widows stood round him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which dorcas had made, whilst she was with them. ( )but peter putting them all out, fell upon his knees, and prayed; and turning to the body, said, tabitha, arise! and she opened her eyes: and when she saw peter, she sat up. ( )then he gave her his hand, and raised her up; and calling in the saints and the widows, presented her to them alive. ( )and it was known through all joppa; and many believed on the lord. ( )then it came to pass, that he abode many days at joppa with one simon a tanner. chap. x. now there was a man at caesarea named cornelius, a centurion of the cohort called the italic, ( )a man of piety, and who feared god with all his house, giving much alms to the people, and praying to god continually. ( )he saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of god coming to him, and saying to him, cornelius. ( )then looking stedfastly on him, and being terrified, he said, what means this, lord? and he said unto him, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before god. ( )and now send men to joppa, and inquire for simon, who is surnamed peter: ( )he lodgeth with one simon a tanner, whose house is near the sea: this man will tell thee what thou must do. ( )but when the angel departed who spake to cornelius, he called two of his domestics, and a pious soldier, persons who constantly were in attendance upon him; ( )and relating all things to them, sent them to joppa. ( )then the next morning, as they were on their journey, and drew near to the city, peter went up to the flat roof to pray about the sixth hour: ( )and he grew very hungry, and desired something to eat: but whilst they were getting it ready, a sacred ecstacy fell upon him. ( )and he saw heaven opened, and there descended to him a certain vessel, as a great sheet with chains at the four corners, and resting upon the earth: ( )in which were all the quadrupeds of the earth, and wild beasts, and reptiles, and birds of the air. ( )and there came a voice to him, rise, peter; slay and eat. ( )but peter said, by no means, lord for i have never at any time eaten of any thing common or unclean. ( )and the voice again a second time came to him, what god hath cleansed, call not thou unclean. ( )this was thrice repeated: and the vessel was again taken up into heaven. ( )but while peter was perplexed in himself what was meant by the vision which he had seen, then, behold! the men which had been sent by cornelius having inquired out the house of simon, stood before the door, ( )and calling, asked if simon, surnamed peter, lodged there. ( )but while peter was musing upon the vision, the spirit said to him, lo! three men are inquiring after thee. ( )arise then, and go down, and go with them, entertaining no doubt, for i have sent them. ( )then peter went down to the men who were sent by cornelius to him; and said, lo! i am the person that ye ask for: what is the business on which ye are come hither? ( )then they said, cornelius a centurion, a just man, and one that feareth god, and of good report with all the nation of the jews, has been divinely admonished by a holy angel to send for thee to his house, to hear words from thee. ( )then inviting them in, he lodged them there. and the next morning peter went with them, and some of the brethren from joppa accompanied him. ( )and the next day they entered into caesarea. now cornelius was expecting them, having called together his relations and nearest friends. ( )and as peter was entering, cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, paid him homage. ( )but peter raised him up, saying, arise; i also myself am a man. ( )and conversing with him, he entered, and found many assembled together. ( )and he said unto them, ye know how contrary it is to established usage, for a man who is a jew to associate with or visit one of another nation; but god hath shewed me to call no man common or unclean. ( )wherefore also without a word, i came when invited: i beg to know therefore for what purpose ye have sent for me? ( )then cornelius said, four days ago i was fasting till this hour; and at the ninth hour i was praying in my house, and, lo! a man stood before me in shining apparel, ( )and said, cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thy alms are remembered before god. ( )send therefore to joppa, and invite simon, whose surname is peter, to come to thee; he lodgeth in the house of simon the tanner, near the sea: who, when he is come will talk with thee. ( )immediately therefore i sent to thee; and thou hast done well in coming. now therefore are all we here present before god, to hear all things that are given in charge to thee from god. ( )then peter opening his mouth, said, in truth i perceive that god is not a respecter of persons: ( )but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him. ( )the word which he sent to the children of israel, preaching peace by jesus christ, (he is lord of all,) ye know: ( )even that which was the common talk through all judea, beginning from galilee, after the baptism which john preached; ( )respecting jesus, who was of nazareth, how god had anointed him with the holy ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were tyrannically oppressed of the devil; for god was with him. ( )and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the region of the jews, and in jerusalem; whom they killed suspending him on a tree: ( )him god raised up the third day, and ordained that he should be visibly manifested; ( )not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before of god, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he was arisen from the dead. ( )and hath commanded us to proclaim to the people, and to bear our testimony that this is the person who is ordained of god the judge of the living and the dead. ( )to him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one who believeth in him, shall receive remission of sins. ( )while peter was yet speaking these words, the holy ghost fell on all who heard the discourse. ( )and they of the circumcision who were believers, as many as came with peter, were amazed, because even on the gentiles the gift of the holy ghost was poured out. ( )for they heard them speaking in different languages, and magnifying god. then peter addressed them, ( )can any one forbid the water for baptising these persons, who have received the holy ghost as well as we? ( )so he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the lord. then they entreated him to tarry there some days. chap. xi. now the apostles and brethren who were in judea heard that the gentiles also had received the word of god. ( )and when peter went up to jerusalem, they of the circumcision disputed with him, ( )saying, thou hast gone in to men holding uncircumcision, and hast eaten with them. ( )then peter taking up the matter from the beginning, explained it to them regularly, saying, ( )i was in the city of joppa praying and i saw in a trance a vision, a certain vessel descending as a vast sheet let down from heaven by its four corners; and it came close to me: ( )on which looking attentively, i perceived, and saw the quadrupeds of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the reptiles, and the birds of the air. ( )then i heard a voice saying to me, rise, peter; slay and eat. ( )but i said, by no means, lord: for never yet hath any thing common or unclean entered into my mouth. ( )but the voice replied the second time from heaven, what god hath cleansed, call not thou common. ( )now this was repeated thrice: and the whole withdrawn again into heaven. ( )and, lo! immediately three men stood before the house where i was, sent from caesarea unto me. ( )and the spirit bade me go with them, making no hesitation. but with me went also these six brethren, and we entered into the man's house: ( )and he informed us how he had seen an angel in his house, standing and saying to him, send men to joppa, and invite simon, who is surnamed peter; ( )who will speak words to thee, by which thou mayest be saved, and thy house. ( )so when i had begun to speak, the holy ghost fell on them, just as on us at the beginning. ( )then i recollected the word of the lord, how he had said, john indeed baptised with water; but ye shall be baptised with the holy ghost. ( )if god then gave an equal gift to them even as to us, on believing on the lord jesus christ; i, indeed, who was i, that i should be able to restrain god? ( )so when they heard these things they were satisfied, and glorified god, saying, well! then hath god even to the gentiles given repentance unto life. ( )now those also who were dispersed by the persecution which arose on account of stephen passed on as far as phenice, and cyprus, and antioch, speaking the word to no man except the jews only. ( )and some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene, who, when they arrived at antioch, spake to the grecian proselytes, preaching the lord jesus. ( )and the hand of the lord was with them: and a vast multitude believing, turned to the lord. ( )and the report concerning them was heard in the ears of the church which was at jerusalem: and they dispatched barnabas, to go as far as antioch. ( )who, when he arrived there, and beheld the grace of god, rejoiced, and exhorted them all, with full purpose of heart to adhere to the lord. ( )for he was a good man, and full of the holy ghost and of faith: and a great multitude was added to the lord. ( )then went forth barnabas to tarsus, in search of saul: ( )and having found him, he brought him to antioch. and it came to pass, that during a whole year they were jointly employed in that church, and taught a vast multitude, and they called for the first time in antioch the disciples christians. ( )now there came down in those days prophets from jerusalem to antioch. ( )and one of them named agabus, rising up, signified by the spirit that a great famine was coming upon the whole habitable globe: which also came in the reign of claudius caesar. ( )then the disciples, as everyman had ability, determined every individual of them to send a sum to be distributed among the brethren who dwelt in judea: ( )which also they did, sending it off to the presbyters by the hand of barnabas and saul. chap. xii. now at that time herod the king stretched forth his hand to treat cruelly certain persons belonging to the church. ( )and he slew james the brother of john with a sword. ( )and seeing how agreeable this was to the jews, he proceeded to seize peter also. (then were the days of unleavened bread.) ( )whom having apprehended, he put him in prison, delivering him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep guard over him; intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people _for execution_. ( )so then peter was kept in prison: but fervent prayer was offered up by the church to god for him. ( )now when herod was going to bring him forth, the same night was peter fast asleep between the two soldiers, fastened to them with two chains: and the guards before the door kept the prison. ( )and, lo! an angel of the lord stood there, and light glared through the apartment: then with a stroke on peter's side, he roused him up, and said, arise quickly. and his chains fell from his hands. ( )and the angel said to him, gird thyself up, and bind on thy sandals. and he did so. and he said unto him, wrap thyself in thy mantle, and follow me. ( )and going out, he followed him; and knew not that it was a reality which was done by the angel; but he supposed he saw a vision. ( )so passing through the first ward and the second, they came to the iron door which leads into the city, which opened to them spontaneously: and being come out, they walked forward through one street; and immediately the angel departed from him. ( )and peter coming to himself, said, now i know assuredly, that the lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me from the hand of herod, and all the eager expectation of the people of the jews. ( )and after considering with himself, he went to the house of mary the mother of john, who is surnamed mark; where many were thronged together, and praying. ( )peter then knocking at the door of the gatetway, there came a damsel to ask who was there, named rhoda. ( )and well knowing peter's voice, she opened not the door for joy; but running in, told that peter was standing before the door. ( )but they said, thou art raving. but she confidently persisted that it was so. then they said, it is his angel. ( )but peter continued knocking: and they opened the door and saw him, and were astonished. ( )then beckoning with the hand that they should be silent, he informed them in what manner the lord had brought him out of the prison. and he said, tell james and the brethren these things. and departing thence he went into another place. ( )now when the day broke, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what could possibly become of peter. ( )and herod sought him out earnestly, but not being able to find him, after having examined the guards strictly, he commanded them to be executed. and going down from jerusalem to caesarea, took up his abode there. ( )now herod was fiercely bent on war against the tyrians and sidonians: but they presented themselves unanimously before him, and ingratiating themselves with blastus who was over the king's bedchamber, they begged for peace; because their country received all their supply of provisions from the king's territories. ( )then on a day appointed, herod, arrayed in royal apparel, and seated on his throne, made an harangue unto them. ( )and the populace shouted, it is the voice of a god, and not a man. ( )but instantly the angel of the lord smote him, because he gave not the glory to god: and being devoured with worms, he expired. ( )but the word of the lord increased, and was widely diffused. ( )then barnabas and saul departed from jerusalem, having completed the distribution _of the sum entrusted with them_; and they took with them john, whose surname was mark. chap. xiii. now there were at antioch, according to the established church, prophets and teachers; such as barnabas, and simeon called niger the black, and lucius a cyrenian, and manaen, herod the tetrarch's foster-brother, and saul. ( )and as they were employed in the ministry, and kept a fast, the holy ghost said, set apart for me now both barnabas and saul for the work whereunto i have called them. ( )then having kept a fast and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them out. ( )they then being sent forth indeed by the holy ghost, went down to seleucia; and from thence sailed to cyprus. ( )and being at salamis, they preached the word of god in the synagogues of the jews: and they had john also as their attendant. ( )now as they travelled through the island as far as paphos, they found a certain person who professed magic, a false prophet, a jew, whose name was bar-jesus: ( )who was with the proconsul sergius paulus, an intelligent man; he inviting to his house barnabas and saul, desired earnestly to hear the word of god. ( )but elymas the magician (for such is his name when interpreted) opposed them, seeking to pervert the proconsul from the faith. ( )then saul (now paul), filled with the holy ghost, and fixing his eyes upon him, ( )said, o thou full of all guile and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the strait ways of the lord? ( )and now, behold, the hand of the lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, seeing the sun no more for a season. and instantly there fell on him a thick mist and darkness; and groping about he sought some to lead him by the hand. ( )then when the proconsul saw what was done, he believed, being struck with the doctrine of the lord. ( )hereupon sailing from paphos, they who were about paul came to perga in pamphylia: but john departing from them returned to jerusalem. ( )and they departed from perga, and came to antioch in pisidia, and entering into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, they sat down. ( )then after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogues sent to them, saying, men and brethren, if ye are disposed to give a word of exhortation to the people, speak. ( )then paul arose, and waving his hand, said, men of israel, and ye that fear god, hear me. ( )the god of this people israel selected our fathers, and exalted the people during their abode in the land of egypt, and with a mighty arm brought he them out of it. ( )and about the space of forty years he bore with their behaviour in the wilderness. ( )and destroying seven nations in the land of canaan, he distributed their territory to them by lot. ( )and after these things, during a space of about four hundred and fifty years, he gave them judges until samuel the prophet. ( )and from that time they desired a king: and god gave them saul the son of kis, a man of the tribe of benjamin, during forty years. ( )and removing him, he raised up unto them david to be king; respecting whom also he spake testifying, "i have found david the son of jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall perform all my intentions[ ]." ( )from this man's seed according to the promise hath god raised up to israel a saviour, jesus: ( )john having preached before his first coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of israel. ( )but as john was finishing his course, he said, whom do ye suppose me to be? i am not _the messiah_. but, behold! he is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet i am not worthy to loose. ( )men and brethren, children of the race of abraham, and all among you who fear god, to you is the word of this salvation sent. ( )for they who dwell at jerusalem, and their rulers, being ignorant of him, and the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath-day, by condemning him have fulfilled them. ( )and though they found no cause of death in him, they besought pilate that he might be killed. ( )but when they had finished all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. ( )but god raised him from the dead: ( )and he was seen many days by those who went up with him from galilee to jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. ( )and we preach to you the promise made to our fathers; ( )for this hath god fulfilled to their children, even to us, in raising up jesus: as it is also written in the second psalm, "thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee[ ]." ( )but that he raised him from the dead, no more in future to return to corruption, he hath thus spoken, "i will give you the holy things of david, which are sure[ ]." ( )wherefore also he saith in another place, "thou wilt not permit thy holy one to see corruption[ ]." ( )for david indeed, after having served his own generation by the will of god, fell asleep, and was placed with his fathers, and saw corruption. ( )but he, whom god raised up, saw no corruption. ( )be it therefore known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man remission of sin is proclaimed to you: ( )and by this man shall every one who believeth be justified from all things, from which it was not possible that he should be justified by the law of moses. ( )take heed then, that this come not upon you, which is spoken by the prophets; ( )"behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for i do a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though one declare it unto you[ ]." ( )but when the jews were going out of the synagogue, the gentiles entreated that these words might be spoken to them the following sabbath. ( )and when the synagogue was dismissed, many of the jews and of the devout proselytes followed paul and barnabas: who, exhorting them, persuaded them to abide stedfast in the grace of god. ( )and on the next sabbath almost all the city thronged together to hear the word of god. ( )but the jews seeing the multitude, were filled with envy, and opposed the things spoken by paul, contradicting and reviling. ( )then paul and barnabas speaking with undaunted boldness, said, it was necessary that the word of god should be first spoken unto you: but since ye have thrust it from you, and judged yourselves not worthy of eternal life, lo! we turn to the gentiles. ( )for so hath the lord enjoined us, "i have set thee for a light of the gentiles, that thou mightest be for salvation unto the extremity of the earth[ ]." ( )now when the gentiles heard this, they rejoiced, and glorified the word of the lord: and they believed, even as many as were ordained to life eternal. ( )so the word of the lord was diffused through the whole region. ( )then the jews stirred up the devout women, and those who were respectable, and the principal persons of the city, and raised up a persecution against paul and barnabas, and cast them out of their borders. ( )but they, shaking off the dust of their feet against them, came to iconium. ( )and the disciples were filled with joy, and with the holy ghost. chap. xiv. now it came to pass at iconium, that they went together into the synagogue of the jews, and spake in such a manner, as that a vast multitude both of the jews and greek proselytes believed. ( )but the unbelieving jews stirred up, and maliciously prejudiced the spirits of the gentiles against the brethren. ( )a long space therefore continued they there speaking boldly in the lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, and granted signs and miracles to be wrought by their hands. ( )so the multitude was divided: some indeed were with the jews, but others with the apostles. ( )and when there was a strong effort made both by the gentiles and jews with their rulers to ill-treat and stone them, ( )conscious of their danger, they fled unto the cities of lycaonia, lystra, and derbe, and the circum-jacent country: ( )and there they preached the gospel. ( )and there was a certain man at lystra, who having lost the use of his feet was sitting, being lame from his mother's womb, and who had never been able to walk: ( )this person heard paul speaking; who fixing his eyes on him, and discovering that he had faith to be healed, ( )said with a loud voice, stand up firm on thy feet! and he leaped and walked. ( )but when the multitudes beheld what paul had done, they lifted up their voice, in the dialect of lycaonia, saying, the gods in the form of mortals are come down to us. ( )and they called barnabas, jupiter; and paul, mercury, because he principally led the discourse. ( )then the priest of jupiter, who was the presiding deity of their city, brought bulls and garlands unto the gates of the city, and intended to offer a sacrifice with the people. ( )but when the apostles, barnabas and paul, heard it, they rent their garments, and rushed into the crowd, crying out, ( )and saying, sirs, why do ye these things? we too are mortals subject to the same infirmities with you; preaching to you the gospel, that ye should turn from these vain things unto the living god, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things which are therein: ( )who in the past generations hath suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. ( )although indeed he left not himself untestified of, doing us good, giving us from heaven showers, and fruitful seasons, replenishing our hearts with food and gladness. ( )and thus speaking, scarce restrained they the multitudes from offering the sacrifice to them. ( )then came the jews from antioch and iconium, and gaining over the multitudes, they stoned paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ( )but as the disciples stood around him, he arose, and entered into the city: and on the morrow he departed with barnabas for derbe. ( )and after preaching the gospel in that city, and bringing many to become disciples, they returned to lystra, and iconium, and antioch; ( )strengthening the souls of the brethren, exhorting them to abide firm in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must pass into the kingdom of heaven. ( )then appointing them presbyters in every city, by prayer with fastings they commended them to the lord, on whom they had believed. ( )then passing through pisidia, they came unto pamphylia. ( )and having spoken the word in perga, they went down to attalia: ( )and thence sailed for antioch, from whence they had been commended to the grace of god for the service which they had performed. ( )so when they arrived they called the church together, and related what great things god had done by them, and that he had opened to the heathen the door of faith. ( )and there they abode no inconsiderable time with the disciples. chap. xv. and certain persons coming down from judea taught the brethren, that if ye are not circumcised according to the ordinances of moses, ye cannot be saved. ( )there being therefore no small contention and dispute maintained by paul and barnabas against them, they determined that paul and barnabas, and certain others of their body, should go up to the apostles and presbyters at jerusalem, for the decision of this question. ( )they therefore being sent on their way by the church, passed through phoenicia and samaria, giving a particular narrative of the conversion of the gentiles: and they gave great joy to all the brethren. ( )then when they arrived at jerusalem, they were cordially received by the church, and the apostles and presbyters, and they related how great things god had done by them. ( )but up rose some of the pharisaical sect, who professed the faith, insisting, that it was necessary to circumcise them, and to enjoin them to observe the law of moses. ( )then the apostles and presbyters were assembled to consider of this matter. ( )when after much dispute, peter arose, and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know that a considerable time ago god chose among us, by my mouth, that the gentiles should hear the gospel-word, and believe. ( )and god, who is the discerner of the heart, bore them witness, giving them the holy ghost, even as to us; ( )and made no difference betwixt either us or them, purifying their hearts by faith. ( )why then now tempt ye god, by imposing a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ( )but we believe that we shall be saved by the grace of the lord jesus christ, in the same way as they. ( )then the whole multitude kept silence, and listened to barnabas and paul, relating how great signs and miracles god had wrought among the gentiles by them. ( )now when they ceased speaking, james replied, saying, men and brethren, hear me: ( )simon hath fully related, how at first god graciously looked upon _the gentiles_, to take from them a people for his name. ( )and in accord with this are the words of the prophets; as it is written, ( )"after this will i return, and build again the tabernacle of david, that is fallen; and re-edify what hath been dug up from the foundation, and will set it upright again: ( )that the residue of men may diligently seek the lord, and all the gentiles, among whom my name is invoked, even among them, saith the lord, who doth all these things[ ]." ( )known unto god from the beginning are all his works. ( )therefore i am decided, that we give no unnecessary disquietude to those who from the heathen have turned to god: ( )but that we write to them, that they abstain from pollutions of idol _sacrifices_, and from whoredom, and from what is strangled, and from blood. ( )for moses for ages past in every city hath those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath-day. ( )then it was determined by the apostles and presbyters with the whole church, to send select men from themselves unto antioch with paul and barnabas; judas surnamed barsabas, and silas, leading men among the brethren; ( )writing a letter by their hand, in these words: the apostles and presbyters and the brethren, to the brethren from among the gentiles which are at antioch, and in syria, and cilicia, greeting: ( )forasmuch as we have heard, that certain persons who went out from us have disturbed you with discourses, unsettling your minds, insisting, that you should be circumcised, and observe the law: to whom we gave no such charge: ( )it hath seemed fit to us, assembled unanimously, to send unto you select men with our beloved barnabas and paul, ( )men who have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. ( )we have sent therefore judas and silas, and they by word of mouth will tell you the same things. ( )for it hath seemed good to the holy ghost and to us, to lay upon you no other burden except these things which are of absolute necessity; ( )that ye abstain from eating whatever is sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from whoredom: from which things carefully preserving yourselves, ye shall do well. farewell. ( )they then being thus dispatched, came to antioch: and assembling the multitude, they delivered the letter: ( )and when they had read it, they rejoiced in the consolation _of it_. ( )then judas and silas, being also themselves prophets, exhorted the brethren, in many a discourse, and established them. ( )and having stayed their time, they were dismissed in peace from the brethren to the apostles. ( )however silas thought proper to abide there. ( )paul also and barnabas abode at antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others also, the word of the lord. ( )then after certain days said paul to barnabas, let us now return and visit our brethren in every city among whom we have preached the word of the lord, that we may see how they hold on. ( )now barnabas had resolved to take with him john, whose surname is mark. ( )but paul did not think him a fit person to take with them, who had withdrawn from them from pamphylia, and no longer went with them to the service. ( )so there grew up a sudden quarrel, insomuch that they separated from each other: and barnabas, taking mark with him, sailed away to cyprus: ( )but paul selecting silas, departed, being commended by the brethren to the favour of god. ( )and he passed through syria and cilicia, confirming the churches. chap. xvi. then he came to derbe and lystra: and, behold! a certain disciple was there, named timothy, the son of a certain jewish woman, who believed; but his father was a greek: ( )who was highly spoken of by the brethren at lystra and iconium. ( )him paul resolved to take out with him; and took and circumcised him because of the jews who were in those places: for they all knew his father, that he was a greek. ( )so as they passed through the cities, they delivered to them for their observance the ordinances decreed by the apostles and presbyters that were at jerusalem. ( )then were the churches established truly in the faith, and increased in number daily. ( )so passing through phrygia and the region of galatia, being forbidden by the holy ghost to speak the word in asia, ( )coming as far as mysia, they made an effort to go unto bythinia: but the spirit permitted them not. ( )whereupon passing by mysia they went down to troas. ( )and a vision by night appeared to paul; a certain man, a macedonian, stood by him, entreating him, and saying, pass over into macedonia, and help us. ( )but when he saw the vision, immediately we sought to go forth into macedonia, concluding that the lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. ( )therefore sailing from troas, we came in a direct course to samothrace, and the next day to neapolis; ( )and from thence to philippi, which is the first city in that part of macedonia, and a colony: and we abode in that city some days. ( )and on the sabbath-day we went forth out of the city to the river side, where an oratory was by custom established; and sitting down, we spoke to the women who there assembled. ( )and a certain woman, lydia by name, a seller of purple, from the city of thyatira, a worshipper of god, hearkened: whose heart the lord thoroughly opened, to attend to the words spoken by paul. ( )so when she was baptised, and her house, she entreated, saying, since ye have judged that i am faithful to the lord, come and abide at my house. and she constrained us. ( )now it happened as we were going to the oratory, a certain damsel having a pythonic spirit met us, who produced for her masters much gain as a fortuneteller: ( )she following paul and us, cried out, saying, these men are the servants of the most high god, who preach to you the way of salvation. ( )and this she did for several days. then paul was wearied out, and turning, said to the spirit, i command thee in the name of jesus christ to come out of her. and he came out that very hour. ( )but when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on paul and silas, and dragged them into the forum before the chief rulers, ( )and presenting them to the magistrates, they said, these are the men that exceedingly disturb the peace of our city, being jews, ( )and enjoin customs which it is not lawful for us to receive, or to practise, being romans. ( )and the populace stood up together against them: and the magistrates, after having had their garments torn from their backs, commanded them to be beaten with rods. ( )and laying on them many stripes, cast them into prison, commanding the jailor to keep them in safe custody: ( )who, receiving such an injunction, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. ( )but about midnight paul and silas, after joining in prayer, sang hymns to god: and the prisoners heard them. ( )and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken: and instantly all the doors flew open, and every man's chains were loosed. ( )then the jailor being roused from sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison open, drew his sword, going to destroy himself, supposing the prisoners had escaped. ( )but paul called out with a loud voice, saying, do thyself no injury: for we are all here. ( )thereupon calling for a light, he rushed in, and fell down trembling before paul and silas; ( )and having first brought them out, said, sirs! what must i do to be saved? ( )and they said, believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved, thou, and thy house. ( )and they spake unto him the word of the lord, and to all who were in his house. ( )and taking them that same hour of the night, he washed their stripes; and was baptised, himself and all who belonged to him immediately. ( )and when he had brought them into his house, he spread the table, and greatly rejoiced with all his household, believing in god. ( )but when it was day, the magistrates sent the lictors, saying, set those men at large. ( )then the jailor told these words to paul, that the magistrates had sent to set them at liberty: now therefore, _said he,_ get ye out, and pursue your journey in peace. ( )but paul said to them, they have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are roman citizens, and have cast us into prison; and would they now clandestinely send us away? no, verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. ( )then the lictors reported all these words to the magistrates: and they were terrified, when they heard they were roman citizens. ( )so they came and spoke kindly to them, and fetching them out, besought them to depart from the city. ( )then leaving the prison, they went unto lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and went their way. chap. xvii. so journeying through amphipolis and apollonia, they came to thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of jews: ( )and paul, according to his usual custom, went in to them, and for three sabbaths he reasoned with them from the scriptures, ( )opening them clearly, and laying it evidently down that the messiah must suffer, and rise again from the dead; and that this man is the messiah, even jesus, whom i preach unto you. ( )and some of them believed, and associated themselves with paul and silas; and of the religious greeks a vast multitude, and of the wives of the first people not a few. ( )but the unbelieving jews, roused to a fit of zeal, and taking some of the lowest vulgar men of vile characters, and raising a mob, set the city in an uproar, and besetting the house of jason, sought them to bring them unto the people. ( )but not finding them there, they dragged jason and certain brethren to the city magistrates, roaring out, these are the men who are movers of sedition through the world, and are come in hither; ( )whom jason has entertained in his house: and the practice of all these fellows is in direct opposition to all caesar's ordinances, for they affirm that another is king, one jesus. ( )and they greatly agitated the people and the city magistrates when they heard these things. ( )so after taking sufficient security from jason and the rest, they dismissed them. ( )then the disciples immediately by night sent off both paul and silas to berea; who were no sooner arrived, than they went into the synagogue of the jews. ( )now these were more liberally minded men than those of thessalonica, for they received the word with all readiness of mind, daily, examining the scriptures if these things were really so. ( )then many of them truly believed: and of the grecian proselyte women of respectability, and of the men not a few. ( )but when the jews of thessalonica knew that at berea also the word of god was preached by paul, they came thither, and stirred up the populace. ( )then immediately on this the brethren sent off paul, to go as if by sea: but silas and timothy abode there still. ( )and those who conduced paul brought him as far as athens, and receiving an injunction for silas and timothy that they should come to him as speedily as possible, they departed. ( )now while paul waited for them at athens, his spirit within him was greatly grieved, beholding the city so devoted to idolatry. ( )therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the jews, and those who worshipped there, and in the forum every day with those he happened to meet. ( )then certain of the epicurean and stoic philosophers attacked him: and some said, what will this chattering fellow say? but others, he seemeth to be a preacher of foreign deities, because he preached to them jesus and the resurrection. ( )so they took him and led him to the hill of mars, saying, may we know what this novel doctrine taught by thee is? ( )for thou bringest some strange stories to our ears; we wish therefore to know what these things mean. ( )now all the athenians and the strangers who come to sojourn there, take pleasure in spending their time in nothing else but in talking, or hearing of some novelty. ( )then paul standing in the midst of the areopagus said, ye men of athens, i observe that in all things ye are too much devoted to the worship of daemons. ( )for as i walked about, and attentively viewed the objects of your worship, i found even an altar on which was this inscription, to the unknown god. whom therefore you in ignorance adore, him i preach unto you. ( )the god who created the world, and all things in it, he that is lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples of man's construction; ( )nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed any creature, himself imparting to all beings life, and breath, and all things. ( )and hath made from one man's blood all the nations of mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, fixing the predetermined periods of their existence, and the boundaries of their several abodes; ( )that they should seek the lord, if indeed they might haply grope him out, and find him, though truly he is not far from any individual of us: ( )for from him we derive life, and power of motion, and existence; as also some of your own poets have said, "for we are even his offspring." ( )being then the offspring of god, we ought not to imagine that the divinity is like to gold, or silver, or stone sculptured by human art or contrivance. ( )these times indeed of ignorance god then overlooked; but he now commands all men in every place to repent: ( )because he hath fixed the day in which he will judge the whole world in righteousness by the man whom he hath appointed; affording evidence of this to all, by raising him from the dead. ( )but when they heard of the resurrection from the dead, some scoffed: and others said, we will hear thee again on this subject. ( )and so paul departed from the midst of them. ( )but certain persons cleaving to him, believed: among whom was even dionysius the areopagite, and a woman named damaris, and others with them. chap. xviii. and after these transactions, paul departing from athens, came to corinth; ( )and finding a certain jew named aquila, a native of pontus, lately arrived from italy, with priscilla his wife, (because claudius had issued an order that all jews should depart from rome,) he turned in to them. ( )and as he was of the same occupation, he abode with them, and worked, (for by trade they were tent-makers:) ( )and he discoursed in the synagogue every sabbath-day, and persuaded both the jews and the greek proselytes. ( )and when silas and timothy were come from macedonia, paul felt a strong impulse on his spirit, and forcibly testified to the jews, that jesus was the messiah. ( )but as they continued opposing and blaspheming, he shook his garments, and said unto them, your blood be upon your own heads; i am pure from it: from this moment will i go to the gentiles. ( )and departing thence, he came to the house of a person, called justus, one who worshipped god, whose house was contiguous to the synagogue. ( )but crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the lord with all his house: and many of the corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptised. ( )then spake the lord in a vision by night to paul, fear not, but speak; and hold not thy peace: ( )for i am with thee, and no man shall set himself against thee to do thee harm; because i have much people in this city. ( )and he sat down there a year and six months, teaching among them the word of god. ( )but when gallio was the proconsul of achaia, the jews, with one accord, rose up against paul, and brought him to the judgment-seat, ( )saying, this is the fellow that earnestly persuades men to worship god contrary to the law. ( )then paul being about to open his mouth, gallio said to the jews, ( )if indeed this was now a matter of injustice, or wicked knavery, with reason i should hear you patiently; but if it be merely a controversy about the word, and names, and a law peculiar to yourselves, settle it yourselves: for i will be no judge of these matters. ( )and he drove them from the judgment-seat. ( )then all the greeks laid hold on sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the tribunal. and gallio paid no regard to any of these things. ( )then paul abode there yet many days, and taking leave of the disciples, he set sail for syria, and with him priscilla and aquila; having cut off his hair at cenchrea: for he had a vow. ( )and he came to ephesus, and left them there: but he himself went into the synagogue, and discoursed with the jews. ( )but when they were importunate with him to prolong his stay among them, he consented not; ( )but took his leave of them, saying, i must by any means keep the approaching feast at jerusalem: but i mean to return to you again, if god so please. so he sailed from ephesus. ( )and landing at cesarea, he went up, and having saluted the church _at jerusalem_, he went down to antioch. ( )and after making some stay, he departed, passing in regular order through the galatian district, and phrygia, confirming all the disciples. ( )now a certain jew named apollos, an alexandrian by birth, a man of eloquence, who was powerful in the scriptures, had come to ephesus. ( )he was instructed in the way of the lord: and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught very diligently the things concerning the lord, though knowing only the baptism of john. ( )so this man began to speak with great boldness in the synagogue: but when aquila and priscilla heard him, they took him home with them, and more accurately expounded to him the way of the lord. ( )and when he wished to pass over to achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; who arriving, contributed much to _confirm_ those who believed through grace. ( )for he strenuously argued with the jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that jesus is the messiah. chap. xix. now it came to pass that during the time apollos was at corinth, paul, after passing through the upper provinces, came to ephesus; and finding certain disciples, ( )said unto them, have ye received the holy ghost since ye believed? and they said unto him, we have not even heard if the holy ghost is _given_. ( )and he asked them, into what then were ye baptised? and they replied, into john's baptism. ( )then said paul, john indeed baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on him who was coming after him, that is, in christ jesus. ( )now when they heard it, they were baptised into the name of the lord jesus. ( )and paul laying on them his hands, the holy ghost came upon them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. ( )and the men were in all about twelve. ( )and entering into the synagogue, he spake boldly during three months, reasoning and persuading the things that concern the kingdom of god. ( )and when some were hardened, and infidel, speaking evil of the way before the people, he withdrew from them, and separated the disciples, discoursing daily in the school of one tyrannus. ( )and this he did for two years; so that all who dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord jesus, both jews and greeks. ( )and god wrought by the hands of paul extraordinary miracles; ( )so that even from his skin there were brought handkerchiefs and aprons unto the diseased, and their disorders were chased from them, and the evil spirits came out of them. ( )then certain of the jews, who went about as exorcists, attempted to make mention of the name of the lord jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, we adjure you by jesus whom paul preacheth. ( )and they were seven sons of sceva a jew, a chief priest, who did this. ( )then the evil spirit replied, jesus i know, and paul i know; but who are ye? ( )and the man sprang upon them, in whom was the evil spirit, and getting the mastery over them, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ( )and this was known to all, both jews and greeks, who dwelt at ephesus: and fear fell on them all, and they magnified the name of the lord. ( )and many of those who believed came, confessing and declaring their practices. ( )and many of those who practised magical arts brought the books, and burned them before all men; and they calculated the prices of them, and found them worth fifty thousand pieces of silver. ( )so mightily did the word of god increase and prevail. ( )now when these things were accomplished, paul purposed by the spirit, passing through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying, that after i have been there, i must see rome also. ( )then he dispatched into macedonia two of those who attended upon him, timothy and erastus; while he himself continued a while longer in asia. ( )and there happened at that time no small disturbance about this way. ( )for a person named demetrius, a silversmith, who made little temples in silver to represent that of diana, brought to the artificers no small gain; ( )whom collecting together, with the workmen also of such trinkets, he said, sirs, ye know that by this employment we make our advantageous livelihood: ( )and ye see and hear how not only at ephesus, but almost through all asia, this fellow paul, by his persuasions, hath perverted a vast multitude, affirming that they are not gods which are made with hands: ( )so that not only is this our trade in danger of falling into contempt, but also that this temple of the great goddess diana should be counted as nothing, and that henceforth also her magnificence should be utterly destroyed, whom all asia and the whole world worshippeth. ( )on hearing this then, and being filled with rage, they cried out, saying, great is diana of the ephesians. ( )and the whole city was filled with confusion; and they rushed unanimously into the theatre, dragging with them gaius and aristarchus, macedonians, paul's travelling companions. ( )but though paul wished to go in to the people, the disciples would not permit him. ( )and some of the asiarchs also, who were his friends, sent unto him, admonishing him not to venture himself into the theatre. ( )so they were crying out some one thing and some another: for the assembly was a scene of confusion, and the greater part knew not on what account they were collected together. ( )then out of the crowd they brought forward alexander, the jews pushing him on: and alexander, waving his hand, would fain have addressed his apology to the people. ( )but when they knew he was a jew, one shout burst from all, crying for about the space of two hours, great is diana of the ephesians. ( )then the recorder having quieted the multitude, said, men of ephesus, who indeed is the man that doth not know that the city of the ephesians is wholly devoted to the great goddess diana, and to the image which fell down from jupiter? ( )these things being then incontrovertible, it becomes you to be quiet, and to do nothing with precipitation. ( )for ye have brought hither these men, neither robbers of the temple, nor blasphemers of your goddess. ( )if then indeed demetrius and the artificers that are with him have a charge against any man, the courts are held, and there are proconsuls: let them implead one another. ( )and if ye have any dispute about other matters, it shall be terminated in a lawful assembly, ( )for we are even in danger of being called to account for this day's insurrection, there being no cause on account of which we can justify this tumultuary concourse: ( )and so saying, he dissolved the assembly. chap. xx. then after the tumult was quieted, paul called to him the disciples, and taking his leave, departed to go into macedonia. ( )and passing through those parts, and having exhorted them with much discourse, he went into greece. ( )and after three months stay, as the jews were lying in wait for him, when he was just embarking for syria, he determined to return through macedonia. ( )and there accompanied him as far as asia, sopater a berean; and of the thessalonians, aristarchus and secundus; and gaius of derbe, and timothy; and tychicus and trophimus, asiatics. ( )these going before tarried for us at troas. ( )and we sailed from philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them to troas after five days; where we stayed seven days. ( )and on the first day of the week, when the disciples were assembled to break bread, paul preached unto them (ready to depart on the morrow), and extended his discourse until midnight. ( )now there were many lamps in the upper room, where they were assembled. ( )and a certain youth named eutytchus, who sat in the window, fell into a profound sleep: as paul discoursed much longer than usual, quite overpowered with sleep, he fell down from a third story, and was taken up dead. ( )but paul came down, and fell upon him, and taking him in his arms, said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is yet in him. ( )and when he had gone up, and broken bread, and eaten, and conversed a long time, even to the break of day, he then departed. ( )and they brought the lad alive, and were comforted exceedingly. ( )then we going before to the ship, sailed for assos, intending there to take in paul: for so he had ordered, meaning himself to walk thither. ( )and when he met us at assos, we took him up, and came to mytelene. ( )and sailing from thence, on the following day we advanced over against chios; and the next day we touched at samos, and staying at trogyllium, the day following we came to miletus. ( )for paul had determined to sail by ephesus, that he might not spend the time in asia: for he hastened on, if it was possible for him, to be at jerusalem on the day of pentecost. ( )so he sent to ephesus from miletus, and called the presbyters of the church to attend him. ( )and when they were come unto him, he said unto them, ye know, from the very first day in which i entered into asia, how i have been among you at every season, ( )serving the lord with all humility, and with many tears and trials, which have befallen me through the lying in wait of the jews: ( )and that i have suppressed nothing which could conduce to your profiting; not desisting from preaching to you, and teaching you in public, and from house to house, ( )repeatedly urging both on jews and greeks repentance towards god, and faith towards our lord jesus christ. ( )and now behold i am going, bound by the spirit, unto jerusalem, not knowing what things shall there befal me: ( )only this, that the holy ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and tribulation await thee. ( )yet i make no account of any _suffering_, nor regard my life as of any value to myself, farther than as i may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which i have received of the lord, to testify fully the gospel of the grace of god. ( )and now behold, i know that ye shall see my face no more, even ye all, among whom i have gone in and out preaching the kingdom of god. ( )wherefore i appeal to you this day as witnesses that i am pure from the blood of all men. ( )for i have concealed nothing, so as not repeatedly to declare to you the whole counsel of god. ( )take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the holy ghost hath made you bishops, to feed as shepherds the church of god, which he purchased with his own blood. ( )for this i know, that after my departure there will come among you grievous wolves, not sparing the flock: ( )yea, from among yourselves shall men arise, speaking perverting doctrines, to draw away disciples after them. ( )therefore watch, remembering that for three years, by night and by day, i have never ceased with tears to admonish every individual. ( )and now, brethren, i commit you to god and to the word of his grace, which is able to finish the superstructure, and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ( )the silver, or gold, or apparel of no man have i coveted: ( )but ye yourselves know that these hands have by labour furnished necessaries for my own wants, and for those who were with me. ( )in all things i have set you the example, that so labouring hard ye ought to help the infirm, and to remember the words of the lord jesus, because he himself said, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." ( )and when he had spoken these things, he fell on his knees, and prayed with them all. ( )and all of them shed floods of tears, and fell upon paul's neck, and kissed him again and again, ( )most peculiarly afflicted at that word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more: and they accompanied him unto the ship. chap. xxi. and tearing ourselves away from them, when we had set sail, we came in a direct course to coos, and the day after to rhodes, and from thence to patara. ( )and finding a ship passing over to phenice, we went on board and set sail: ( )and coming in sight of cyprus, and leaving it on the left, we sailed unto syria, and landed at tyre; for there the ship was to discharge her cargo. ( )and finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: and they said to paul, by the spirit, that he should not go up unto jerusalem. ( )but when we had stayed out those days, we departed, and went on our journey, all of them attending us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the sea shore, we joined in prayer; ( )and embracing one another, we went on ship-board, and they returned to their own homes, ( )so completing our voyage, we arrived from tyre at ptolemais, and saluting the brethren, tarried with them one day. ( )and on the morrow we who were paul's companions departed with him, and went to caesarea; and entering into the house of philip the evangelist (who was one of the seven deacons), we abode with him. ( )now this man had four maiden daughters endued with the gift of prophecy. ( )and as we tarried there several days, there came down a certain prophet from judea named agabus. ( )and coming to us, he took paul's girdle, and binding both his own hands and feet together, said, thus saith the holy ghost, the man, whose girdle this is, shall the jews bind in like manner at jerusalem, and shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. ( )then when we heard these things, both we and all who were in the place, besought him not to go up to jerusalem. ( )but paul replied, why do ye thus--weeping and breaking my heart? for i am ready not only to be bound, but to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus. ( )and when he could not be persuaded, we desisted, saying, the will of the lord be done. ( )then after those days, packing up our baggage, we went up to jerusalem: ( )and there went also with us some disciples from caesarea, bringing one mnason a cyprian, an ancient disciple, at whose house we were to lodge. ( )and when we arrived at jerusalem, the brethren received us with delight. ( )and on the morrow paul went in with us unto james: and all the presbyters were present. ( )and after embracing them, he related every particular of the things which god had done among the gentiles by his ministry. ( )and they, when they heard it, glorified the lord, and said unto him, thou seest, brother, how many myriads there are of jews who have believed; and they are all zealots for the law: ( )and they have been informed of thee, that thou teachest all the jews, who are among the gentiles, apostacy from moses, saying, that they should not circumcise the children, nor walk after the usual practices. ( )what then is to be done? the multitude must certainly be assembled; for they will hear that thou art come. ( )do this therefore which we say to thee: we have four men, who have a vow upon themselves; ( )them take with thee, be purified with them, and be at the same expence as they, that they may shave their heads: and all men will know that there is no truth in the things reported of thee, but that thou thyself walkest orderly and observest the law. ( )concerning the gentiles who have believed, we have already written, deciding that they should observe no such thing, except that they should guard themselves from idol sacrifices, and blood, and what is strangled, and from whoredom. ( )then paul took the men, and the following day being purified with them, he entered into the temple, declaring when the days of their purification would be completed, in order whereunto an oblation was to be offered for every one of them. ( )but as the seven days were now drawing to their period, some jews from asia seeing him in the temple, excited all the populace to tumult, and laid hands upon him, ( )crying out, men of israel, help! this is the man, who, by his preaching, sets all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place: yea and more still, hath brought greeks into the temple, and defiled this holy place: ( )(for they had before seen trophimus the ephesian in the city with him, whom they imagined that paul had introduced into the temple.) ( )and the whole city was in motion, and there was a concourse of people assembled: and laying hands on paul, they dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. ( )and as they were attempting to murder him, the report reached the military tribune of the band, that all jerusalem was in confusion. ( )who instantly taking soldiers and centurions ran down unto them: and when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they left off beating paul. ( )then the tribune approaching him, laid hold on him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and asked who he was, and what he had done. ( )then some among the multitude bellowed out one thing, and some another: so unable to know the certainty of the case because of the tumult, he ordered him to be brought into the fortress. ( )but when he was on the stairs, it happened that he was borne up by the soldiers, because of the press of the crowd. ( )for a multitude of the people followed, crying, away with him! ( )and when he was just ready to be carried into the fortress, paul said to the military tribune, may i be permitted to speak a word to thee? and he said, dost thou know greek? ( )art not thou certainly that egyptian who some time since raised a sedition, and led out into the desert four thousand cutthroats? ( )but paul replied, i am indeed a jew, a man of tarsus, of cilicia, a citizen of no contemptible city: and, i entreat thee, permit me to speak to the people. ( )so having his permission, paul standing on the stairs, waved his hand to the people. and profound silence being obtained, he spake to them in the hebrew tongue, saying, chap. xxii. men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my apology which i now offer unto you. ( )then when they heard that he spoke unto them in the hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence: and he said, ( )i am indeed a jewish man, born in tarsus of cilicia, but educated in this city at the feet of gamaliel, instructed accurately in the law of our fathers, being zealous for god, as ye all are this day: ( )so much so that i persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women. ( )as also the high-priest will bear me witness, and all the body of elders: from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, i went unto damascus, to bring those who were there in chains unto jerusalem, that they might be punished. ( )but as i went and drew nigh to damascus, at noon-day, suddenly there shone a great light from heaven around me. ( )and i fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? ( )and i answered, who art thou, lord? and he said to me, i am jesus the nazarean, whom thou persecutest. ( )now they who were with me saw the light indeed, and were terrified; but the voice of him that spake to me heard they not. ( )then i said, what shall i do, lord? and the lord said to me, arise, go into damascus; and there information shall be given thee of all things which are ordained for thee to do. ( )then as i could no longer see through the dazzling brightness of that light, led by the hand of those who were with me, i came to damascus. ( )and one ananias, a religious man according to the law, and in high repute with all the jews dwelling there, ( )came to me, and standing by me, said, brother saul, recover sight. and the same hour i looked up at him. ( )and he said, the god of our fathers hath predestinated thee to know his will, and to see the just one, and to hear a voice from his mouth. ( )for thou shalt be a witness for him to all men, of the things which thou hast seen and heard. ( )and now why delay? arise, to be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the lord. ( )now it came to pass, that, when i had returned to jerusalem, and was praying in the temple, that i was in a trance; ( )and beheld him saying to me, make haste, and depart quickly from jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony of me. ( )and i said, lord, they know that i was imprisoning and scourging from synagogue to synagogue those who believe on thee: ( )and when the blood of stephen thy martyr was shed, i myself even stood by, and took delight in his execution, and guarded the garments of those who slew him. ( )and he said to me, go: for i will send thee forth to the gentiles afar off. ( )and they gave him audience to this sentence, and lifted up their voice, saying, away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. ( )so when they began raising a vast clamour, and stripping off their garments, and casting dust into the air, ( )the military tribune commanded him to be brought into the fortress, ordering that he should be put to the question by scourging; that he might know for what cause they clamoured so loudly against him. ( )so as they were tying him up for the thongs, paul said to the centurion standing by him, is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a roman citizen, and uncondemned? ( )and when the centurion heard this, he came and told the military tribune, saying, consider what you are going to do: for this man is a roman citizen. ( )then the tribune came, and said to him, tell me, art thou a roman citizen? and he said, yes. ( )and the tribune replied, with a large sum of money i purchased this citizenship. and paul said, but i enjoy it as my birthright. ( )immediately then they who were about to put him to the question, withdrew from him: and indeed the tribune dreaded the consequences, when he knew that he was a roman citizen, that he had even gone so far as to bind him. ( )so on the morrow, desirous to know of a certainty what it was of which he was accused by the jews, he loosed him from the bonds, and commanded the high-priest and all the sanhedrim to appear, and bringing paul down, set him before them. chap. xxiii. then paul, looking earnestly at the sanhedrim, said, men and brethren, i have lived in all good conscience unto god even to this day. ( )then the high-priest ananias commanded those who stood by him to smite him on the mouth. ( )then said paul unto him, god is ready to smite thee, thou whited wall: for art thou sitting to judge me according to the law, and violating that law, commandest me to be smitten? ( )then they who stood by, said, revilest thou god's high-priest? ( )and paul said, i had not observed, brethren, that he was high-priest: for it is written, "thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people [ ]." ( )now when paul perceived that the one part were sadducees, and the other pharisees, he cried in the sanhedrim, men and brethren, i am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee: for the hope and resurrection of the dead am i brought to this bar. ( )so when he had said this, a great dissension arose between the pharisees and the sadducees: and the multitude was divided. ( )for the sadducees say indeed, that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit: but the pharisees confess both. ( )and a great clamour arose: and the scribes rising up who were of the party of the pharisees, contended stoutly, saying, we find no fault in this man: but if a spirit have spoken to him, or an angel, let us not fight against god. ( )then a great tumult arising, the tribune, apprehensive that paul might be pulled in pieces by them, commanded the guard to go down, and take him by force from the midst of them, and bring him into the fortress. ( )and the night following the lord stood by him, and said, be of good courage, paul: for as thou hast borne testimony of the things concerning me at jerusalem, so must thou bear a testimony at rome also. ( )then as soon as it was day, some of the jews forming a conspiracy, bound themselves under the direst imprecation, declaring that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed paul. ( )now there were more than forty who had on oath formed this conspiracy. ( )so they came to the high-priests and elders, and said, we have bound ourselves by the direst imprecation, to taste nothing till we have killed paul. ( )now therefore do ye with the sanhedrim give notice to the military tribune, that to-morrow he bring him down to you, as if intending to make more accurate inquiries into the things concerning him: but we, ere he come nigh, are ready to kill him. ( )now paul's sister's son having heard of their lying in wait, came, and entering into the fortress told paul. ( )then paul calling to him one of the centurions, said, carry this young man to the tribune: for he hath something to communicate to him. ( )then he took him, and brought him to the tribune, and said, the prisoner paul calling me to him, entreated me to bring this young man to thee, having something to say to thee. ( )hereupon the tribune taking him by the hand, and leading him aside, inquired, what is it that thou hast to communicate to me? ( )and he said, the jews have agreed together to entreat thee that to-morrow thou wouldest bring down paul into the sanhedrim, as about to make some more accurate inquiry concerning him. ( )but do not thou consent to them: for more than forty men of them are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under an anathema, neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now they are in readiness, waiting only to procure the promise from thee. ( )hereupon the tribune dismissed the youth, with an injunction, not to mention it to any body that thou hast discovered these things to me. ( )and calling to him two certain persons of the centurions, he said, get ready two hundred soldiers to go to caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night; ( )and provide beasts, that setting paul thereon, you may convey him safely to felix the governor. ( )and he wrote a letter containing this form of words: ( )claudius lysias to his excellence the governor felix, greeting. ( )this person had been seized by the jews, and was ready to be slain by them: but coming on them with the guard, i rescued him out of their hands, having understood that he was a roman citizen. ( )and desirous of knowing the crime of which they accused him, i brought him down into their sanhedrim ( )and found him accused of some disputed points of their law; but to have no charge laid against him worthy of death or of bonds. ( )but it being discovered to me that a design was forming against the man's _life_ by the jews, immediately i sent him to thee, commanding his accusers also to produce what they have against him before thee. farewel. ( )hereupon then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took paul, and brought him by night unto antipatris. ( )and on the morrow, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the fortress. ( )so when they came to caesarea, and had delivered the letter to the governor, they presented paul also to him. ( )then when the governor had read it, and asked of what province he was, and understood he was of cilicia; ( )i will give thee a thorough hearing, said he, when thy accusers are also come hither. and he commanded them to be kept under guard in herod's praetorium. chap. xxiv. so after five days ananias the high-priest went down with the elders, and a certain rhetorician, tertullus, who made their appearance before the governor against paul. ( )and he being summoned, tertullus began to accuse him, saying, since by thee we enjoy so much peace, and such noble acts are happily performed for this nation by thy provident administration, ( )always and in all places we acknowledge it, most excellent felix, with all gratitude. ( )now that i may not be unnecessarily tedious to thee, i entreat thee to hear us briefly with thy wonted candour. ( )for we found this fellow a pest _to society_, and exciting sedition among all the jews throughout the whole world, and a ringleader of the sect of the nazareans: ( )who even attempted to profane the temple: we seized him therefore, and intended to judge him according to our own law. ( )but lysias the tribune came, and with great violence took him out of our hands, ( )commanding his accusers to appear before thee: whereby thou mayest thyself be able after examination to know the certainty of those things whereof we accuse him. ( )then the jews also joined in affirming, that these things were so. ( )but paul (the governor having made him a sign to speak) replied, knowing that for so many years thou hast been the judge of this nation, i with the more confidence offer my defence respecting the matters which concern me: ( )as thou mayest be ascertained, that it is not more than twelve days ago since i went up to worship in jerusalem. ( )and neither in the temple found they me disputing with any man, nor raising any sedition among the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city: ( )neither can they produce any proof of the facts of which they accuse me. ( )but this i confess to thee, that after the way which they call a sect, so worship i the god of our ancestors, believing all things that are written in the law, and in the prophets: ( )and having hope in god, the same which they also profess to look for, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. ( )for this cause indeed i exert my utmost care to keep my conscience ever unoffending towards god and towards man. ( )now after many years absence i was returned bringing alms to my countrymen, and oblations _to the temple_. ( )in the discharge of which offices certain jews of asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a multitude, nor with any tumult. ( )who ought to have appeared before thee, and prefer their accusation, if they had any thing against me. ( )or let the persons themselves here present say, if they found any thing criminal in me, when i stood before the sanhedrim, ( )except for this one sentence, which i uttered aloud when i was standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead am i this day judged by you. ( )when felix then heard these things he put them off, (for he knew very exactly all that related to that way,) saying, when lysias the tribune is come down, i will inquire thoroughly into the matters between you. ( )and he commanded the centurion that paul should be safe kept, yet have no close confinement, and not to hinder any of his friends from supplying his wants, or visiting him. ( )now after some days, felix returning with drusilla his wife, who was a jewess, sent for paul, and heard him concerning the faith in christ. ( )and as he discoursed of righteousness, and temperance, and the judgment which is ready to be revealed, felix being greatly terrified, replied, go, for the present, i will some time hence take another opportunity of calling for thee. ( )indeed he had also entertained hope that money would be given him by paul, in order to release him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and conversed with him. ( )but when two years were ended, felix had portius festus appointed for his successor: and willing to curry favour with the jews, felix left paul in chains. chap. xxv. when festus then was come into the province, after three days he went up to jerusalem from caesarea. ( )and the high-priest and the principal persons among the jews informed him against paul, and entreated him, ( )begging it as a favour from him, that he would send him back to jerusalem, lying in wait for him to kill him on the road. ( )then festus answered, that paul should be kept in custody at caesarea, and that he himself was going thither shortly. ( )let therefore, said he, those among you who are able, go down with me, and accuse him, if there be anything criminal in this man. ( )and after staying with them more than ten days, he went down to caesarea; and on the morrow seated on the bench, commanded paul to be brought. ( )and on his appearing, the jews who came down from jerusalem surrounded him, and laid many and heavy accusations against paul, which they were not able to prove. ( )but he pleaded in his defence, that neither against the law of the jews, nor against the temple, nor against caesar, have i committed the least offence. ( )then festus, desirous of ingratiating himself with the jews, replying to paul, said, wilt thou go up unto jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? ( )then said paul, i am standing before the tribunal of caesar, where i have a right to be judged: against the jews i have committed no offence, as thou also clearly perceivest. ( )for indeed if i have committed any crime, or done aught worthy of death, i object not to be put to death: but if there is nothing in those things whereof they accuse me, no man dare gratify them by abandoning me to them. ( )i appeal unto caesar. then festus, after conferring with the council, answered, hast thou appealed to caesar? to caesar shalt thou go. ( )now when some days were passed, agrippa and bernice came to caesarea to salute festus. ( )and as their stay there was extended to a considerable time, festus communicated to the king paul's affairs, saying, there is a certain man left by felix, a prisoner: ( )against whom when i was at jerusalem, the high-priest and the elders of the jews appeared, desiring judgment against him. ( )to whom i replied, that it was not customary for romans to give up any man gratuitously to destruction, before that the person accused should have his accusers produced face to face, and be allowed opportunity to defend himself against the charge. ( )when therefore they were come here together, making no demur, the very next day i sat on the tribunal, and commanded the man to be brought. ( )against whom his accusers standing forth, brought no charge of such things as i expected: ( )but only pleaded against him certain disputes about their own mode of religious worship, and about one jesus, who was dead, whom paul affirmed to be alive. ( )but being in doubt respecting a question of this sort, i demanded if he would go to jerusalem, and there be judged of these things. ( )but paul appealing that he should be reserved for the cognizance of augustus, i ordered him to be kept in custody until i should send him to caesar. ( )then agrippa said to festus, i wish also myself to hear the man. he said, to-morrow thou shalt hear him. ( )on the morrow therefore, when agrippa was come, and bernice, with a very splendid retinue, and were entered into the place of audience, with the military tribunes, and the men of superior eminence in the city, then at the order of festus paul was produced. ( )and festus said, king agrippa, and all you, sirs, who are present with us, behold the man, concerning whom the whole multitude of the jews have set upon me, both at jerusalem and in this place, clamouring that he ought not to live a moment longer. ( )but finding on inquiry that he had done nothing worthy of death, and he himself indeed having appealed to augustus, i have determined to send him. ( )respecting whom i have nothing determinate to write to my sovereign. wherefore i have brought him forth before you, and especially before thee, king agrippa, that on a fresh examination taken, i might have something to write. ( )for it appears to me highly unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not also signify the charges against him. chap. xxvi. then agrippa said unto paul, thou art permitted to speak for thyself. then paul stretching out his hand, began his defence: ( )i count myself happy, king agrippa, that i am about to address my defence to thee this day concerning all the things of which i am accused by the jews: ( )especially as thou art skilled both in all the customs, and questions which respect the jews: wherefore i beg the favour of thee to hear me patiently. ( )the manner of my life even from my youth, which from its beginning was spent amidst my own nation at jerusalem, know indeed all the jews; ( )who previously knew me a long while ago, (if they chose to bear testimony,) that according to the most precise sect of our religion i lived a pharisee. ( )and this moment for the hope of the promise made of god to our fathers am i standing here to be judged: ( )which promise our twelve tribes, with fervour night and day worshipping god, hope to attain. for which hope, king agrippa, i am criminated by the jews. ( )what! is it judged a thing incredible by you, that god should raise the dead? ( )i indeed then thought in myself, that i ought to do many things in opposition to the name of jesus the nazarean. ( )which also i did at jerusalem: and many of the saints did i shut up in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were killed, i gave my vote against them. ( )and in every synagogue oftentimes punishing them, i compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly maddened with rage against them, i persecuted them even to the cities that are without. ( )in which pursuits, even as i was going to damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests, ( )at midday, o king, i saw on the road a light from heaven, beyond the splendour of the sun, shining around myself and those who were travelling with me. ( )and as we were all fallen prostrate on the earth, i heard a voice speaking to me, and saving in the hebrew tongue, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is difficult for thee to kick against the goads. ( )then i said, who art thou, lord? and he replied, i am jesus whom thou art persecuting. ( )notwithstanding, arise, and stand on thy feet: for to this end have i appeared to thee, to ordain thee both a minister and a witness of the things which thou hast seen, and of those which i will shew thee; ( )delivering thee both from the people, and from the gentiles, to whom now i send thee, ( )to open their eyes, to convert them from darkness to light, and from the dominion of satan unto god, that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance with those who are sanctified by faith which is in me. ( )whereupon, o king agrippa, i was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: ( )but preached first to those at damascus, and jerusalem, and to all the region of judea, and to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to god, practicing works worthy of repentance. ( )because of these things, the jews seizing me in the temple, attempted to kill me on the spot. ( )having however obtained help from god, unto this day, i stand witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing but what both the prophets and moses said should come to pass: ( )that the messiah should suffer, _and_ that he being the first who should rise from the dead, should display light to the people, and to the gentiles. ( )as thus he was proceeding in his defence, festus with a loud voice said, paul, thou art raving; much reading hath driven thee to madness. ( )but he said, i am not mad, most noble festus; but utter words of truth and sobriety. ( )for the king is well acquainted with these things, before whom also i speak with the greatest freedom. for i am persuaded that none of these events have escaped his notice; for this thing was not done in a corner. ( )king agrippa! believest thou the prophets? i know that thou believest. ( )then agrippa said to paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a christian. ( )and paul replied, would to god, that not only thou, but also that all who are hearing me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as i am, except these chains. ( )so when he had thus spoken, the king arose, and the governor, and bernice, and they who sat with him, ( )and retiring, conversed together, saying, this man hath done nothing worthy of death, or of chains. ( )and agrippa said to festus, this man might have been discharged, if he had not appealed to caesar. chap. xxvii. now as it was determined that we should sail for italy, they delivered paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named julius, of the augustan cohort. ( )and embarking in a ship of adrymittium, ready to sail for the coast of asia, we proceeded on our voyage, aristarchus a macedonian of thessalonica, being with us. ( )and the next day we arrived at sidon: and julius treated paul with the greatest humanity, and permitted him to go to his friends, to enjoy the benefit of their care. ( )and taking our departure from thence, we sailed under cyprus, because the winds were contrary. ( )and traversing the sea opposite to cilicia and pamphylia, we arrived at myra, a city of lycia. ( )and the centurion finding there a ship of alexandria bound for italy, he put us on board of it. ( )then for many days making very slow way, and scarce reaching over against knidos, the wind not favouring us, we coasted crete, opposite cape salmone: ( )and weathering it with difficulty, we came to a certain place called, the fair havens; near to which is the city lasea. ( )and much time being consumed, and sailing now becoming dangerous, because the fast was already past, paul admonished them, ( )saying unto them, sirs, i perceive that this voyage will be attended with much damage and loss, not only of the cargo and of the ship, but _danger_ of our lives also. ( )but the centurion paid more attention to the master and to the pilot than to the things which were spoken by paul. ( )and the harbour not being well situated for a winter station, the greater part advised to sail from thence, if they possibly could reach as far as phenice to pass the winter, a harbour open to the south-west and north-west. ( )so when the south wind blew softly, supposing they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor, and kept near the coast of crete. ( )but not long after a hurricane wind, called euroclydon, drove us towards the island, ( )and the ship becoming ungovernable, and unable to bear up in the eye of the wind, we gave up the attempt, and let her drive. ( )and running under a little island called clauda, it was with difficulty we were able to come at the boat: ( )which when they had hoisted out, they used all helps, carrying ropes round the ship's bottom; and fearing lest they should run on the quick-sands, they lowered the mast, and so were driven. ( )and being exceedingly tossed with the storm, we the next day threw out the cargo. ( )and the third day with our own hands we threw overboard the tackling of the vessel. ( )so when neither sun nor stars had appeared for many days, and no small tempest beating on us, all hope of our being preserved was entirely taken from us. ( )now after being a long while without food, then stood up paul in the midst of them, and said, ye ought, my friends, to have been persuaded by me, and not have sailed from crete, and got this loss and damage. ( )yet even now i exhort you to be of good courage: for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ( )for there stood by me this night an angel of god, whose i am, and whom i serve, ( )saying, fear not, paul; thou must stand before caesar: and behold! god hath graciously given thee all who are sailing with thee. ( )wherefore, sirs, cheer up: for i believe god that it will be so, exactly as he hath spoken to me. ( )but we must be cast on a certain island. ( )now as the fourteenth night was passing, whilst we were driving about in the adriatic sea, about midnight the sailors imagined that some land was near to them: ( )and sounding, had twenty fathoms; then passing on a little farther, and sounding again, they had fifteen fathoms. ( )and fearing lest they might run on some rocky coast, they cast out four anchors astern, and wished eagerly for the day to break. ( )now as the sailors were seeking to escape out of the ship, and had hoisted out the boat into the sea, under pretence as if they were going to carry out anchors a-head, ( )paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these men abide in the ship, ye cannot be preserved. ( )then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. ( )and while they waited until the day should break, paul exhorted them all to take some nourishment, saying, to day, expecting the fourteenth day, ye are continuing without food, taking nothing. ( )wherefore i exhort you to take some food, for this is for your preservation: for a hair shall not fall from the head of any one of you. ( )and so saying, and taking a loaf, he gave thanks to god before them all, and breaking it, began to eat. ( )then were they all cheered up, and they too took refreshment. ( )now all the souls which were in the ship amounted to two hundred seventy-six: ( )and having made a hearty meal, they lightened the vessel, throwing the wheat into the sea. ( )and when the day broke, they knew not the land: but they observed a certain creek with a beach, into which they resolved, if they could, to run the vessel aground. ( )and weighing the anchors, they committed her to the sea, and loosing at the same time the chains of the rudders, and hoisting the foresail to the breeze, they made for the beach. ( )but falling on a shoal where two currents met, they ran the ship aground; and the forecastle stuck fast, and remained immoveable, but the stern was stove in by the violence of the waves. ( )then the soldiers' design was to have murdered the prisoners, lest any of them should swim ashore and escape. ( )but the centurion, desirous to preserve paul, withheld them from their purpose, and commanded those who were able to swim to jump overboard first, and reach the land: ( )and that the rest should make the attempt, some on planks, and some on the floating materials of the ship: and in this manner so it was that they all safely reached the shore. chap. xxviii. and being safe landed, we then understood that the island was called melita. ( )and the rude people treated us with singular humanity; for, lighting a fire, they received us all, because of the violent rain, and because of the cold. ( )but as paul was gathering up a faggot of sticks, and laying them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. ( )now when the rude people saw the venomous animal hanging from his hand, they said one to another, surely this man is a murderer, whom though preserved from the sea, righteous vengeance suffereth not to live. ( )but he then shaking off the venomous animal into the fire, suffered no manner of inconvenience. ( )now they expected that a violent inflammation would ensue, or that he would have fallen suddenly dead: but when, after waiting a considerable time, they saw no inconvenience arise to him, they changed their opinion, and said that he was a divinity. ( )now in the vicinity of that place was the estate of the principal person on the island, named publius, who received us into his house, and lodged us with great humanity three days. ( )and it so happened that the father of publius was then confined to his bed with an attack of fever and dysentery: unto whom paul went in, and after praying, laid his hands upon him, and healed him. ( )this then being the case, all the rest also who had diseases in the island came to him, and were healed. ( )then they honoured us with many tokens of respect; and when we were about to sail, laid in for us every necessary store. ( )and after three months stay we sailed in a ship which had wintered in the island, from alexandria, whose sign was castor and pollux: ( )and proceeding on our voyage to syracuse, we tarried there three days: ( )from whence we came round, and arrived opposite to rhegium; and after one day the south wind arising, we came in two more to puteoli: ( )where finding brethren, we were solicited by them to tarry seven days; and so we went for rome. ( )and the brethren from thence, when they heard of our motions, came out to meet us as far as appii forum and the three taverns: whom when paul saw, he gave thanks to god, and felt fresh courage. ( )and when we were come to rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but he permitted paul to have an apartment by himself, with a soldier only who guarded him. ( )now it came to pass that after three days paul called together the principal persons of the jews. and when they were assembled, he said unto them, men and brethren, though i have done nothing contrary to the people and the customs of our ancestors, yet have i been delivered up a prisoner into the hands of the romans. ( )who, after a full examination, would have discharged me, because there was not the least cause found in me for death. ( )but when the jews opposed it, i was constrained to appeal unto caesar; not that i have any accusation to bring against my countrymen. ( )for this cause therefore have i invited you hither, to see and to converse with you; for on account of the hope of israel am i bound with this chain. ( )then they said to him, we have neither received letters concerning thee from judea, nor hath any one of the brethren who is arrived reported or spoken any thing evil of thee. ( )but we think it highly proper to hear from thee what thy sentiments are; for indeed as to this sect, it is well known to us that everywhere it meets with opposition. ( )then having fixed a day with him, still more of them came to him at his lodging, to whom bearing his testimony, he set forth the kingdom of god, and persuaded them of the things relating to jesus, both out of the law of moses and the prophets, from morning until evening: ( )and some were convinced by the things which were spoken, but others continued in their unbelief. ( )so being divided in sentiment among themselves, they broke up, paul adding one word, that well had the holy ghost spoken by isaiah the prophet unto our fathers, ( )saying, go to this people, and say, "in hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, yet in nowise perceive. ( )for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and with their ears they are thick of hearing, and their eyes have they shut; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and become converts, and i should heal them[ ]." ( )be it known therefore unto you, that to the gentiles is the salvation of god sent, and they will hear. ( )and when he had thus spoken, the jews went away, and had much disputing among themselves. ( )but paul abode two whole years in his own hired apartment, and received all who came to him, ( )preaching the kingdom of god, and teaching the things which concern the lord jesus christ with all freedom of discourse, and without the least interruption. the epistle of paul the apostle, to the romans. chap. i. paul, a servant of jesus christ, a called apostle, set apart for the gospel of god, ( )(which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) ( )concerning his son jesus christ our lord; made from the seed of david after the flesh, ( )definitively marked out as the son of god by miracle, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead: ( )through whom we have received grace and apostolic mission among all nations for his name, to bring them to the obedience of faith: ( )among whom are ye also the called of jesus christ. ( )to all that are at rome, beloved of god, called saints, grace unto you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )first then i give thanks to my god, through jesus christ, for you all, because your faith is proclaimed through the whole world. ( )for god is my witness, whom i serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, how incessantly i make mention of you, ( )always in my prayers entreating that haply now at last i may have a prosperous journey by the will of god, to come to you. ( )for i long to see you, that i may impart unto you some spiritual gift, in order that you may be established; ( )and that so i may be comforted together with you, by the mutual faith both of you and of me. ( )but i would not that ye should be unacquainted, brethren, that oftentimes i have been purposing to come to you (and have been prevented until now), that i might have some fruit among you also, even as among the other gentile nations. ( )both to the greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the ignorant am i a debtor. ( )so, as far as is in my power, i am desirous to preach the gospel to you that are at rome also. ( )for i am not ashamed of the gospel of christ: for it is the power of god for salvation to every one who believeth; to the jew first, and also to the greek. ( )for the righteousness of god by faith is therein revealed for belief; as it is written, "now the just by faith shall live[ ]." ( )for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all impiety and unrighteousness of men, holding back the truth in unrighteousness. ( )because that which is capable of being known relative to god, is evident among them; for god hath manifested it to them. ( )for from the creation of the world his invisible perfections, discoverable in the works that are made, are clearly seen, even his eternal power and deity; so that they are inexcusable: ( )because though they knew _there was_ a god, they glorified him not as god, nor gave him thanks, but became triflers in their disputations, and their stupid heart was darkened. ( )affecting to be sophists, they turned idiots, ( )and changed the glory of the incorruptible god into the likeness of an image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of quadrupeds, and of reptiles. ( )wherefore god abandoned them, through the lusts of their own hearts, unto impurity, to dishonour their own bodies by themselves: ( )who perverted the truth of god by falsehood, and worshipped and paid divine honours to the thing created instead of the creator, who is blessed for evermore. amen. ( )for this cause god gave them up to dishonourable passions. for even their women did change the natural use into that which was contrary to nature; ( )and likewise the men also, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lewdness one towards another; men with men committing indecency, and receiving in themselves the recompence of their delusion, which was meet. ( )and since they thought not fit to hold the deity in acknowledgment, god abandoned them to a reprobate mind, to practise deeds unbecoming; ( )replete with all injustice, whoredom, wickedness, covetousness, villany; full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, evil habits; whisperers, ( )backbiters, god-haters, contumelious, insolent, boasters, inventors of wicked practices, disobedient to parents, ( )unintelligent, unfaithful to engagements, unnatural, implacable, unmerciful: ( )who, though they know the righteous judgment of god, that they who live in such practices are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also find pleasure in the company of those who live in these practices. chap. ii. therefore thou art inexcusable, o man, even every one that judgeth: for in the very thing wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest art living in the practices of the same things. ( )but we know that the judgment of god is according to truth, against those who practise such things. ( )for thinkest thou this, o man, that judgest those who do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of god? ( )or despisest thou the riches of his kindness and patience and long-suffering, ignorant that this goodness of god is leading thee to repentance? ( )but after thy obdurate and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath at the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of god, ( )who will recompense to every man according to his works; ( )to those who, in the patient practice of good works, seek glory and honour and immortality--eternal life. ( )but to those who are of a contentious spirit, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath; ( )tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth wickedness, of the jew first, and also of the greek. ( )but glory and honour and peace be to every man who doeth that which is good, to the jew first and also to the greek: ( )for there is no acceptance of persons with god. ( )for as many as have sinned without the law, shall perish also without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law; ( )for the hearers of the law are not righteous before god, but the doers of the law shall be counted righteous; ( )(for when the gentiles, who have not the law naturally, do the things of the law, these, though not having the law, are a law unto themselves: ( )which exhibit the practice of the law written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing its testimony, and their mutual reasonings at intervals bringing accusations or forming excuses;) ( )in the day when god shall judge the hidden things of men, according to my gospel by jesus christ. ( )lo! thou art named a jew, and restest on the law, and boastest in god, ( )and knowest the will of god, and bringest to the test the things that are different, being instructed out of the law; ( )and hast confidence that thou thyself art a leader of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, ( )an instructor of the uninformed, a teacher of babes, holding the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. ( )thou therefore who teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself? thou that proclaimest aloud that a man should not steal, dost thou steal? ( )thou that sayest, do not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that holdest idols in abomination, dost thou commit sacrilege? ( )thou who gloriest in the law, dishonourest thou god by the transgression of the law? ( )for the name of god is blasphemed through you among the heathen, as it is written[ ]. ( )for circumcision indeed is advantageous, if thou practise the law: but if thou art a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision becomes uncircumcision, ( )if then the uncircumcision observe the righteous judgments of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be accounted for circumcision? ( )and the uncircumcision by nature which fulfilleth the law shall condemn thee, who through the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law. ( )for not he who is outwardly such, is the jew; neither is that which is outward in the flesh, circumcision. ( )but he is a jew who is such inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter; whose praise is not from men, but from god. chap. iii. what then is the superiority of the jew? or what is the advantage of circumcision? ( )much in every view: the principal one indeed is, that the oracles of god were entrusted to them. ( )for what if some were unbelievers? shall their unbelief render the faithfulness of god ineffectual? ( )god forbid: but let god be true, though every man were a liar; as it is written, "that thou mayest be acknowledged just in thy sayings, and overcome when thou art judged[ ]." ( )but if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of god, what shall we say? is not god unrighteous in inflicting wrath? (i speak humanly). ( )god forbid: for how then shall god judge the world? ( )for if the truth of god by my lying hath more abundantly contributed to his glory; why am i notwithstanding judged as a sinner? ( )and why not admit, (as we are falsely reported of; and as some affirm we say,) that we should do evil things, that good may come? whose condemnation is just. ( )what then? have we pre-eminence? not at all: for we have before proved that both the jews and greeks are all under sin; ( )as it is written, "there is not a just person, no not one: ( )there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after god. ( )all are turned aside together, they are become worthless; there is none that doeth good, there is not even one. ( )their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have spoken craftily; the poison of asps is under their lips: ( )whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: ( )their feet are swift to shed blood: ( )destruction and misery are in their ways. ( )and they have not known the way of peace: ( )there is not the fear of god before their eyes[ ]." ( )now we know that whatsoever things the law saith, it speaks to those who are under the law: that every mouth might be sealed up, and all the world become criminal before god. ( )wherefore by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified before god: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ( )but now distinct from the law the righteousness of god is manifest, receiving testimony from the law and the prophets; ( )the righteousness of god indeed by faith in jesus christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there is no difference: ( )for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of god; ( )justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in christ jesus: ( )whom god hath proposed as the propitiatory sacrifice through faith in his blood, in demonstration of his justice for the remission of past sins, through the patience of god; ( )for a demonstration of his justice at this present time: that he might be just, though justifying him who is of the faith of jesus. ( )where then is boasting? it is excluded. by what law? of works? no: but by the law of faith. ( )we conclude therefore that by faith a man is justified, without works of law. ( )is he the god of the jews only, and is he not also of the gentiles? yes, verily, of the gentiles also: ( )since it is one god who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. ( )do we then abolish the law through faith? god forbid: but on the contrary, we give the law stability. chap. iv. what then shall we say that abraham our father hath obtained by the flesh? ( )for if abraham was justified by works, he hath cause for glorying; though not before god. ( )for what doth the scripture say? abraham truly believed god, and it was imputed to him for righteousness[ ]. ( )now to him that worketh, the reward is not brought to account as a favour, but as a debt. ( )but to him who doth not work, but believeth in him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned in account for righteousness. ( )as david also describeth the blessedness of that man, to whom god imputeth righteousness without works, ( )"blessed are they whose unrighteousnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are covered up. ( )blessed is the man to whom the lord will in nowise impute sin[ ]." ( )this blessedness then, _is it_ for the circumcision, or for the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was imputed to abraham for righteousness. ( )how then was it imputed to him? when circumcised, or while uncircumcised? not when circumcised, but whilst uncircumcised. ( )and he received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had when uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all those who believe, though uncircumcised; that to them also the righteousness might be imputed: ( )and the father of circumcision, not to those who are of the circumcision merely, but who also tread in the steps of the faith of our father abraham, which he exercised while uncircumcised. ( )for not by the law _came_ the promise to abraham and his seed, that he should be heir of the world, but by the righteousness of faith. ( )for if they who are of the law are heirs, faith becomes vain, and the promise is useless: ( )for the law causeth wrath: for where there is no law, neither is there transgression. ( )therefore it is by faith, that it might be of grace; in order that the promise might be secured to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of abraham; who is the father of us all, ( )(as it is written "that i have constituted thee father of many nations[ ],") before god, in whom he trusted, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth things that are not as if existing. ( )who contrary to hope, in hope believed, that he should be the father of many nations, according to what was said, "so shall thy seed be[ ]." ( )and not being weak in faith, he regarded not his own body now deadened, being about an hundred years old, nor the deadness of sarah's womb: ( )for he disputed not against the promise of god with unbelief; but was mighty in faith, giving glory to god; ( )and enjoyed the fullest assurance, that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. ( )and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. ( )now it was not written for his sake only, that it was imputed to him; ( )but also for our sakes, to whom it will be imputed, if we believe in him who raised up jesus our lord from the dead; ( )who was delivered up for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. chap. v. being justified therefore by faith, we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ: ( )by whom also we have had an introduction through faith into this grace in which we have stood fast, and are rejoicing in hope of the glory of god. ( )and not only so, but we glory also in tribulations: knowing that tribulation produceth patience; ( )and patience, proof; and proof, hope; ( )and hope doth not make us ashamed; because the love of god is poured out into our hearts by the holy ghost which is given to us. ( )for even then when we were without strength, christ died in due time for the ungodly. ( )for scarcely for a righteous person will any one die: though for a good man perhaps some one might even dare to die. ( )but god commendeth his own love towards us, that, though we were yet sinners, christ died in our stead. ( )therefore much more, being justified already by his blood, shall we be saved by him from wrath. ( )for if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to god by the death of his son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ( )and not so only, but we exult in god through our lord jesus christ, through whom already we have received reconciliation. ( )therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death; even so death passed into all men through him, in whom all have sinned. ( )for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed if there be no law. ( )but death reigned from adam unto moses, even over those who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of adam, who is a type of him that was to come. ( )but not as the transgression, so also _is_ the gift. for if by the transgression of one the many became dead, much more the grace of god, and the gift by grace, which is in that one man, christ jesus, hath abounded unto many. ( )and the gift _is_ not as for one who sinned: for the judgment indeed _came_ by one to condemnation, but the free gift _leads_ to justification from many offences. ( )for if by the offence of one, death reigned by that one; much more they who receive the abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, christ jesus. ( )well then, as by the offence of one, _judgment issued_ against all men unto condemnation; so also by the righteousness of one, _the gift came_ to all men for justification unto life. ( )for as by the disobedience of one man the many were constituted sinners; so also by the obedience of one shall the many be constituted righteous. ( )but the law was introduced, that the offence might be more abundant. but where sin had abounded, there hath grace abounded more exceedingly: ( )that as sin had reigned by death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto life eternal by jesus christ our lord. chap. vi. that then shall we say? shall we abide in sin, that grace may abound? ( )god forbid. we who are dead to sin, how shall we still live therein? ( )do ye not know, that as many as have been baptised into christ jesus have been baptised into his death? ( )we have been buried therefore with him by baptism into death: that as christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, so also we should walk in newness of life. ( )for if we have been planted with him in the likeness of his death, so shall we be also of his resurrection: ( )knowing this, that our old man hath been crucified with him, that the body of sin might be abolished, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. ( )for he that is dead is discharged from sin. ( )but if we have been dead with christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: ( )knowing that christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death over him hath no more dominion. ( )for in that he died, for sin he died once: but in that he liveth, he liveth to god. ( )so also do ye account yourselves dead indeed to sin, but living unto god in christ jesus our lord. ( )let not therefore sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the passions thereof. ( )neither present your members as weapons of unrighteousness for sin: but present yourselves to god, as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness for god. ( )for sin shall not hold dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. ( )what then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? god forbid. ( )do ye not know, that to whomsoever ye present yourselves servants to obey, ye are his servants to whom ye obey; if of sin unto death, or of obedience, unto righteousness? ( )but thanks be to god, that though ye were the servants of sin, ye have obeyed from the heart the model of doctrine into which ye were delivered. ( )emancipated then from sin, ye became servants to righteousness. ( )i speak humanly, because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have presented your members servants to impurity and iniquity for iniquity; so now present your members servants to righteousness for holiness. ( )for when ye were the slaves of sin, ye were free from righteousness. ( )what fruit therefore had ye then in those things at which ye are now confounded? for the end of those things is death. ( )but now being set at liberty from sin, and become servants to god, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and at the end life eternal. ( )for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is life eternal in jesus christ our lord. chap. vii. are you unacquainted, brethren, (for i am speaking to those who know the law,) that the law exercises dominion over a person for as long time as he liveth? ( )for the woman who is subject to a husband, is bound by the law to that husband during his life; but if the husband be dead, she is discharged from that husband. ( )she shall therefore certainly be counted an adulteress, if, her husband being alive, she be for another man: but if her husband is dead, she is free from the law; so that she shall be no adulteress, though married to another husband. ( )wherefore, my brethren, ye also have become dead to the law through the body of christ; that ye might be for another, who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit for god. ( )for when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions excited by the law, wrought powerfully in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death. ( )but now we have been discharged from the law, that being dead by which we were held fast; that we should serve in renovation of spirit, and not in the antiquity of the letter. ( )what then shall we say? is the law sin? god forbid. yea, i had not known sin, but by the law: for i had not even known concupiscence, unless the law had said, thou shalt not covet. ( )but sin, seizing the opportunity by the law, wrought in me all concupiscence. for without the law sin is dead. ( )for though i lived without the law formerly; yet when the commandment came, sin revived, but i died. ( )and the commandment, which _was_ for life, the same was found by me for death. ( )for sin, seizing the occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and thereby slew me. ( )so then the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. ( )did then that which is good become fatal to me? god forbid. but sin, that it might appear sin by that which was good _in itself_, was the cause of death to me; that sin through the commandment might become transcendantly sinful. ( )for we know that the law is spiritual; but i am fleshly, sold under sin. ( )for that which i am doing i approve not: for not the thing which i wish, that do i practise; but the very thing i hate, that i do. ( )but if what i would not, that i do, i concur with the law that it is excellent. ( )now then no more i do this, but sin dwelling in me. ( )for i know that there dwelleth not in me (that is, in my flesh) any good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good i find not. ( )for i do not the good which i wish: but the evil which i would not, that i do. ( )if then i do that which i would not, it is no more i that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ( )i find then a law, that, when i wish to do good, evil is presented to me. ( )for i am delighted with the law of god, as respecting the inward man: ( )but i see another law in my members, militating against the law in my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members. ( )o wretched man, i! who shall pluck me from the body of this death? ( )i give thanks to god through jesus christ our lord. well then, i myself with my mind am servant to the law of god; but in my flesh to the law of sin. chap. viii. there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. ( )for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus hath liberated me from the law of sin and of death. ( )for that which was impossible by the law, inasmuch as it was impotent through the flesh, god having sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in that flesh: ( )that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled by us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. ( )for they who are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh; but they who are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. ( )for to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ( )because the propensity of the flesh is inimical against god: for it is not in subjection to the law of god, neither indeed can it be. ( )they then who are in the flesh, cannot please god. ( )but ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of god dwelleth in you. but if any man hath not the spirit of christ, he is not his. ( )but if christ be in you, the body indeed is dead on account of sin; but the spirit is alive through righteousness. ( )but if the spirit of him who hath raised up jesus from the dead dwell in you, he who raised christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his indwelling spirit in you. ( )truly then we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ( )for if ye live after the flesh, ye are ready to die: but if by the spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ( )for as many as are guided by the spirit of god, they are the sons of god. ( )for ye have not received a spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye have received a spirit of adoption, by which we cry, abba, father. ( )the same spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of god. ( )but if children, then heirs; heirs indeed of god, and joint-heirs with christ; if so be we suffer with him, that we may also together with him be glorified. ( )for i reckon that the sufferings of the present moment are not worthy to be placed against the future glory that shall be revealed to us. ( )for the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revelation of the children of god. ( )for the creation was made subject to vanity, not voluntarily, but by him who made it subject, ( )in hope that the same creation shall be emancipated from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of god. ( )for we know that the whole creation groaneth together and travaileth in birth to this moment. ( )and not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, expecting the adoption, the redemption of our body. ( )for by hope we have been saved: now hope seen is not hope; for that which any man seeth how doth he yet hope for? ( )but if we hope for what we see not, we with patience expect it. ( )in like manner also the spirit affords assistance to our infirmities: for even this, what we should pray for as we ought, we know not: but the same spirit more abundantly maketh intercession for us with groanings unutterable. ( )now he that trieth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, for he maketh intercession for the saints according to god's will. ( )but we know that to those who love god all things work together for good, even to those who are called according to his purpose. ( )for whom he foreknew, he predestinated also to a conformity with the image of his son, that he might be the first-begotten among many brethren. ( )but whom he predestinated, those also he called: and whom he called, those also he justified: but whom he justified, those also he glorified. ( )what then shall we say to these things? if god be for us, who _shall be_ against us? ( )he who even spared not his own son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also, together with him, freely give us all things? ( )who shall put in an accusation against the elect of god? god? he is their justifier. ( )who is he that condemneth? christ? he died, yea, rather, also is risen again, who is even at the right hand of god, who also maketh intercession for us. ( )who shall separate us from the love of christ? shall distress of circumstances, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? ( )as it is written, "that for thy sake we have been put to death the whole day long; we have been reckoned indeed as sheep for slaughter[ ]." ( )but in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ( )for i am assured that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor those to come, ( )nor exaltation, nor deepest depression, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ jesus our lord. chap. ix. i speak the truth in christ, i lie not, (my conscience also bearing witness to me in the holy ghost,) ( )that great is my sorrow and unceasing the anguish in my heart. ( )for could i myself wish that an anathema should be from christ upon my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh? ( )who are israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the gift of the law, and the sacred service, and the promises; ( )of whom are the fathers, and from whom as respecting the flesh christ sprung, who is over all, the blessed god for evermore. amen. ( )now it is not supposable that the word of god hath failed. for these are not all israel, who are of israel: ( )nor, because they are the seed of abraham, are they all children: but, in isaac shall thy seed be called. ( )that is, not the children of the flesh, these are the children of god: but the children of the promise are accounted for the seed. ( )for the word of promise is this, at that time will i come, and sarah shall have a son. ( )and not only so; but when rebecca also had conception by one, even isaac our father; ( )(though the children were not yet born, nor had done any thing good or evil, that according to the election of god the purpose might abide, not from works, but from him who called;) ( )it was said unto her, "that the elder shall be servant to the younger[ ]." ( )as it is written, "jacob have i loved, but esau have i hated[ ]." ( )what shall we say therefore? is there unrighteousness with god? god forbid. ( )for he saith to moses[ ], "i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy, and i will have compassion on whom i will have compassion." ( )well then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of god who sheweth mercy. ( )for the scripture saith[ ] to pharaoh, "that for this very end have i raised thee up, that i might display in thee my power, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." ( )well then, he hath mercy on whom he will, but whom he will he hardeneth. ( )wilt thou then say to me, why yet doth he blame us? who hath resisted his will? ( )nay but, o man, who art thou that disputest against god? shall the thing fashioned say to him that fashioned it, why hast thou made me thus? ( )hath not the potter power over the clay, from the same mass to make one vessel for an honourable use, and another for a dishonourable? ( )but what if god, willing to display his wrath, and to make known what is possible with him, hath borne with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted for perdition: ( )and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon the vessels of mercy which he had before prepared for glory: ( )even us, whom he hath called, not only out of the jews, but out of the gentiles? ( )as also he saith in hosea[ ], "i will call her which was not my people, my people; and her which was not beloved, beloved. ( )and it shall be in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people; there shall they be called the sons of the living god." ( )but isaiah[ ] crieth concerning israel, "though the number of the sons of israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: ( )for he will finish the account, and cut it short in righteousness: because a concise account will the lord make on the earth." ( )even as isaiah had said before[ ], "except the lord of sabaoth had left unto us a seed, we should have become as sodom, and been made like unto gomorrha." ( )what then shall we say? that the gentiles, who pursued not after righteousness, have attained unto righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith. ( )but israel, pursuing after the law of righteousness, hath not come up to the law of righteousness. ( )and why? because they sought it not by faith, but as by the works of the law. for they stumbled against that stone of stumbling; ( )as it is written, "behold, i lay in zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence: and every one that believeth in him shall not be confounded[ ]." chap. x. brethren, the kind wish of my heart indeed, and the prayer which i offer to god for israel, is for their salvation. ( )for i am a witness for them, that they have a zeal for god, but not according to knowledge. ( )for being ignorant of the righteousness which is of god, and seeking to establish a righteousness of their own, they have not submitted to the righteousness of god. ( )for christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. ( )for moses describeth the righteousness which is by the law, "that the man who doeth these things shall live by them[ ]." ( )but the righteousness that is by faith speaketh thus[ ], "say not in thy heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring christ down:) ( )or, who shall descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring christ up again from the dead.) ( )but what saith it? "the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart:" that is, the word of faith which we preach; ( )that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that god raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ( )for with the heart faith is exercised unto righteousness; and with the mouth is confession made unto salvation. ( )for the scripture saith[ ], "every one who believeth in him shall not be confounded." ( )for there is no difference between either jew or greek: for the same lord of all is rich to all that call upon him. ( )"for every one shall be saved, whosoever calleth on the name of the lord[ ]." ( )how then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? but how shall they hear without a preacher? ( )and how shall they preach unless they are sent? as it is written[ ], "how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who preach the glad tidings of good things!" ( )but they have not all obeyed the gospel. for isaiah saith, "lord, who hath believed our report[ ]?" ( )faith then cometh by report, but the report by the word of god. ( )but i say, have they not heard? yea verily, "the sound of their voice is gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world[ ]." ( )but i say, did not israel know? moses first saith, "i will excite your jealousy by what is no nation, and by an ignorant people will i provoke you to wrath[ ]." ( )but isaiah is very bold, and saith[ ], "i have been found by those who sought me not; i have become manifest to those who inquired not after me." ( )but unto israel he saith, "all the day long have i stretched out my hands unto a people disobedient and contradicting." chap. xi. i say then, hath god rejected his people? god forbid. for i also am an israelite, of the seed of abraham, of the tribe of benjamin. ( )god hath not rejected his people whom he foreknew. know ye not what the scripture saith of elias[ ]? how he maketh intercession with god against israel, saying, ( )"lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and i only am left, and they seek my life." ( )but what saith the oracle of god to him? "i have left to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to baal." ( )so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. ( )but if by grace, it is no more by works: otherwise grace is no more grace. but if by works, it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. ( )what then is the result? israel hath not obtained that which it seeketh; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded, ( )as it is written[ ], "god hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this present day." ( )and david saith[ ], "let their table be for a snare, and for a trap, and for a stumbling-block, and for a recompence unto them: ( )let their eyes be blinded, that they may not see, and bow down their back continually." ( )i say then, have they stumbled so as to fall? god forbid: but by their stumbling salvation is come to the gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. ( )for if their stumbling is the riches of the world, and their diminution the riches of the gentiles; how much more their fulness? ( )for i address myself to you gentiles; inasmuch as i am indeed the apostle of the gentiles, i exalt my ministry: ( )if by any means i might provoke to jealousy my flesh, and save some of them. ( )for if the rejection of them is the reconciliation of the world, what shall their recovery be, but life from the dead? ( )now if the first fruits be holy, so is the mass: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. ( )but if some of the branches have been broken off, and thou though a wild olive hast been grafted in among them, and become a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree; ( )boast not against the branches. but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. ( )wilt thou say then, the branches were broken off, that i might be grafted in? ( )admitted; by unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. be not high minded, but fear: ( )for if god spared not the native branches, tremble lest he spare not thee. ( )behold therefore the kindness and severity of god: to those indeed who fell, severity; but unto thee, kindness, if thou continuest in that kindness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. ( )but they also, if they continue not in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for god is able to graft them in again. ( )for if thou hast been cut out of the naturally wild olive, and contrary to nature hast been grafted into the good olive: how much more shall these, which are native branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? ( )for i would not that you should be ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is come on israel, until the fulness of the gentiles be come in. ( )and so all israel shall be saved: as it is written, "the deliverer shall go forth out of sion, and shalt turn away ungodliness from jacob; ( )and this is my covenant with them, when i shall take away their sins[ ]." ( )as concerning the gospel indeed, they are now enemies for your sakes: as concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. ( )for unchangeable are the gifts and the calling of god. ( )for as ye also in times past did not believe in god, but now have obtained mercy through their unbelief: ( )so also these now have not believed in your mercy, that they also might obtain mercy. ( )for god hath shut up all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. ( )o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of god! how unsearchable are his judgments, and how incomprehensible his ways! ( )for who hath known the mind of the lord, or who hath been admitted his counsellor? ( )or who hath first given unto him, and it shall be repaid him again? ( )because by him, and through him, and for him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever. amen. chap. xii. i beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to god, which is your reasonable service. ( )and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your mind, that you may prove by experience what is the will of god, that is good, acceptable, and perfect. ( )for, i say, by the grace which is given unto me, to every one that is among you, not to think of himself above what he ought to think; but to think soberly, as god has divided to every one the measure of faith. ( )for as we have in one body many members, but the members, though many, have not the same function, ( )so we, being many, are one body in christ, and every one reciprocally members of each other. ( )having then different gifts according to the grace which is given unto us, if it be prophecy, speak according to the analogy of faith; ( )or if the deacon's office, be active in the service; or he that teacheth, in teaching; ( )or he that exhorteth, in exhortation; he that distributes, let him do it with simplicity; he that presideth, with diligence; he that is employed in acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. ( )let love be undissembled. abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. ( )in brotherly affection be tenderly attached to each other; in honour preferring one another: ( )not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the lord: ( )rejoicing in hope; patient in affliction; persevering in prayer: ( )communicating to the wants of the saints; prompt to hospitality. ( )bless them who persecute you; bless, and curse not. ( )rejoice with those that rejoice, and weep with those that weep. ( )be of the same mind among each other. affect not high things, but be condescending to the lowly. be not wise in your own conceits. ( )render to no man evil for evil. be provident of things laudable in the sight of all men. ( )if possible, as far as you can, be at peace with all men. ( )avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto wrath: for it is written, "vengeance belongeth to me; i will recompence, saith the lord[ ]." ( )if therefore thine enemy hunger, give him food; if he thirst, give him drink: for so doing, thou shalt heap up coals of fire on his head. ( )be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. chap. xiii. let every soul be subject to the superior powers: for there is no power but from god; the existing powers are appointed by god. ( )wherefore he that sets himself against authority, resists the ordinance of god: and they who resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. ( )for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from it: ( )for he is the minister of god to thee for good. but if thou doest that which is evil, tremble! for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of god, an avenger to inflict wrath on him that practises what is evil. ( )wherefore there is a necessity for being in subjection, not only for fear of wrath, but also for conscience sake. ( )for on this account pay ye taxes also: for they are god's ministers, continually employed on this very service. ( )render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. ( )owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. ( )for this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ( )love doeth no ill to a neighbour; the fulfilment therefore of the law is love. ( )and thus do, knowing the time; for the hour is come that we should awake from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. ( )the night is far advanced, the day approaches: let us therefore put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. ( )let us walk becomingly as in the face of day, not in revels and drunkenness, not in impurities and wantonness, not in strife and envy. ( )but put ye on the lord jesus christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to gratify its passions. chap. xiv. him that is weak in faith take by the hand, and enter not into niceties of disputes. ( )one man indeed thinketh he may eat all meats; another, who is weak, eateth vegetables. ( )let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth; for god hath accepted him. ( )who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth; but he shall be established: for god is able to establish him. ( )one man judgeth one day different from another day: another judgeth every day alike. let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. ( )he that observeth a day, to the lord he observeth it; and he that observeth not a day, to the lord he doth not observe it. he that eateth, to the lord he eateth, for he giveth thanks to god; and he that eateth not, to the lord he eateth not, and giveth thanks to god. ( )for no one of us liveth to himself, and no one dieth to himself. ( )for whether we live, to the lord we live, and whether we die, to the lord we die; whether therefore we live, or whether we die, we are the lord's. ( )for to this end christ both died, and rose again, and revived, that he might be the lord both of the dead and of the living. ( )but thou, why judgest thou thy brother? and thou, why dost thou disparage thy brother? for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of christ. ( )for it is written, "as i live, saith the lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall make confession to god[ ]." ( )assuredly then every one of us shall give an account of himself to god. ( )let us therefore no more judge one another; but judge this rather, that no one put a stumbling-block or offence before his brother. ( )i know, and am convinced by the lord jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who thinketh any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ( )but if by meat thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no more according to love. do not by thy meat destroy him for whom christ died. ( )let not therefore food, which is good for you, give occasion of reproach. ( )for the kingdom of god is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy ghost. ( )for he who in these things is the servant of christ, is acceptable to god, and approved of men. ( )well then, let us earnestly pursue the things that conduce to peace, and the things which are for mutual edification. ( )for the sake of meat destroy not the work of god. all things indeed are clean; but it is an evil thing for a man to eat, giving offence. ( )it is laudable not to eat flesh, or to drink wine, nor to do any thing whereby thy brother is stumbled, or scandalized, or weakened. ( )hast thou faith, exercise it before god within thyself. blessed is the man who condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth. ( )but he that maketh a difference between meats, if he eat is condemned, because he doth it not by faith: for every thing which is not of faith, is sin. chap. xv. we then that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of those who are feeble, and not to gratify ourselves. ( )let every one of us gratify his neighbour in that which is good for his edification. ( )for even christ gratified not himself; but as it is written, "the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me[ ]." ( )for whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our instruction; that by patience and the consolation of the scriptures we might have hope. ( )now the god of patience and consolation give you to be like-minded among each other, according to christ jesus: ( )that in one mind, with one mouth, ye may glorify god, even the father of our lord jesus christ. ( )therefore help one another, as christ also hath helped us, for the glory of god. ( )now i say that jesus christ was the minister of circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: ( )and that the gentiles might glorify god for his mercy; as it is written[ ], "for this cause will i confess unto thee among the gentiles, and sing unto thy name." ( )and again he saith[ ], "rejoice, ye gentiles, with his people." ( )and again[ ], "praise the lord, all ye nations, and laud him, all ye people." ( )and again isaiah saith, "there shall be a root of jesse, and he that ariseth to reign over the gentiles, in him shall the gentiles trust[ ]." ( )now the god of hope fill you with all joy, and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope by the power of the holy ghost. ( )and i myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. ( )but i have written to you, my brethren, in part, with greater freedom, as refreshing your memory through the grace which is given to me of god; ( )that i should be the minister of jesus christ unto the gentiles, ministering the gospel of god; that the oblation of the gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the holy ghost. ( )i have therefore cause to glory in christ jesus with regard to the things of god. ( )for i will not dare to say any thing of those things which christ hath not wrought by my ministry, to engage the obedience of the gentiles, by word and deed, ( )by the power of signs and miracles, by the might of the spirit of god; so that from jerusalem, and in a circle quite round unto illyricum, i have fully spread the gospel of christ. ( )but i have in such manner endeavoured to preach the gospel, not where christ's name had been heard, lest i should build upon another man's foundation: ( )but as it is written[ ], "to whom the tidings concerning him have not reached, they shall see, and they who have not heard, shall understand." ( )wherefore also i have found many things to hinder me from coming to you; ( )but now having no longer cause to detain me in these regions, and having an earnest desire to come unto you for many years past, ( )whenever i proceed on my journey into spain, i will come unto you: for i hope on my journey to see you, and by you to be forwarded thither, after i shall have first, in a measure, fully enjoyed your society. ( )but i am now going to jerusalem, to carry alms to the saints. ( )for macedonia and achaia have been pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints that are at jerusalem. ( )they have been so pleased indeed, and their debtors they are. for if the gentiles have been admitted to a participation in their spiritual things, they ought also to minister to them in carnal things. ( )when therefore i have completed this work, and sealed unto them this fruit, i will pass by you into spain. ( )but i know that, when i come to you, i shall come with the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of christ. ( )now i exhort you, brethren, by our lord jesus christ, and by the love of the spirit, that you wrestle earnestly with me in prayers for me unto god; ( )that i may be delivered from those who do not believe in judea; and that my service which regards jerusalem may be kindly accepted by the saints; ( )that i may come unto you with joy by the will of god, and may be refreshed together with you. ( )now the god of peace be with you all! amen. chap. xvi. i now commend unto you phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church which is at cenchrea: ( )that ye receive her in the lord, as becometh saints, and that you assist her in every matter wherein she may have need of you: for she hath also been a succourer of many, and of me myself. ( )salute priscilla and aquila my fellow-labourers in christ jesus: ( )(who for my life have laid down their own neck: to whom not only i give thanks, but also all the churches of the gentiles:) ( )and the church which is in their house. salute epinetus my beloved, who is the first-fruits of achaia unto christ. ( )salute mary, who laboured in many things to serve us. ( )salute andronicus and junia, my kinsmen, and fellow-prisoners, who are eminent among the apostles, who also were in christ before me. ( )salute amplias my beloved in the lord. ( )salute urban, our fellow-labourer in christ, and stachys my beloved. ( )salute apelles the approved in christ. salute those who are of the family of aristobulus. ( )salute herodion my kinsman. salute those which belong to the family of narcissus, who are in the lord. ( )salute tryphena and tryphosa, who have laboured hard in the lord. salute persis the beloved, who laboured much in the lord. ( )salute rufus elect in the lord, and his mother and mine. ( )salute asyncritus, phlegon, dermas, patrobas, hermes, and the brethren which are with them. ( )salute philologus, and julia, nereus, and his sister, and olympas, and all the saints with them. ( )salute one another with the holy kiss. the churches of christ salute you. ( )now i beseech you, brethren, keep a sharp eye over those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine ye have learned, and turn away from them. ( )for such are not servants to our lord jesus christ, but to their own belly; and by smooth speeches and flattering commendations deceive the hearts of the guileless. ( )for your obedience is gone forth in report to all men. i rejoice therefore on your account: but i wish you to be wise indeed unto good, but harmless respecting evil. ( )now the god of peace shall bruise satan under your feet shortly. the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. amen. ( )there salute you timothy, my fellow-labourer, and lucius, and jason, and sosipater, my kinsmen. ( )i tertius, who have written this epistle, salute you in the lord. ( )gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and quartus a brother. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. _amen_. ( )now to him that is able to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of jesus christ, agreeable to the revelation of the mystery; which was concealed from all former ages, ( )but is now made manifest, and by the prophetical scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal god, notified to all the gentiles to bring them to the obedience of faith: ( )to the only wise god, through jesus christ, be glory for ever and ever. amen. written to the romans, and sent by phoebe, a deaconess of the church in cenchrea. the first epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians. chap. i. paul, a called apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and sosthenes a brother, ( )to the church of god which is at corinth, sanctified in christ jesus, to the called saints, with all those who invoke the name of our lord jesus christ in every place, both their's and our's: ( )grace be unto you, and peace, from god our father, and our lord jesus christ. ( )i give thanks to my god always on your behalf, for the grace of god which hath been given you in christ jesus; ( )that in every thing ye have been enriched by him, in all utterance, and all knowledge; ( )thus the testimony of jesus hath been confirmed among you: ( )so that ye have not been deficient in any gift; waiting for the revelation of our lord jesus christ: ( )who shall confirm you to the end blameless in the day of our lord jesus christ. ( )faithful is god, by whom ye have been called into communion with his son jesus christ our lord. ( )now i conjure you, brethren, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that ye be perfectly united together in the same mind and the same sentiment. ( )for i have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by those of the family of chloe, that there are contentions among you. ( )now this i observe, that one and another of you saith, i am indeed of paul; but i of apollos; but i of cephas; but i am of christ. ( )is christ divided? was paul crucified for you? or were ye baptised into the name of paul? ( )i thank god that i baptised none of you, except crispus and gaius; ( )that no man might say, i baptised into my own name. ( )and i also baptised the household of stephanus: besides these, i know not if i baptised any other person. ( )for christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of discourse, lest the cross of christ should be slighted. ( )for the discourse, _the subject of which is_ the cross, is indeed to those who perish, folly; but to us who are saved it is the power of god. ( )for it is written, "i will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the intelligent will i make useless[ ]." ( )where is the sophist? where is the scribe? where is the inquisitive searcher after this world's wisdom? hath not god turned into folly the wisdom of this world? ( )for since in the wisdom of god the world by its wisdom knew not god, it pleased god by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. ( )for the jews demand a miracle, and the greeks seek wisdom: ( )but we preach christ crucified, to the jews indeed an offence, and to the greeks folly; ( )but to those who are called, whether jews or greeks, christ the power of god, and the wisdom of god. ( )for this foolishness of god is wiser than men; and this weakness of god is stronger than men. ( )for ye see your calling, brethren, that not many fleshly wise, not many men in power, not many men of high birth, are called: ( )but the foolish things of this world hath god elected, that he might confound the wise; and the feeble things of the world hath god elected, that he might confound the mighty; ( )and the ignoble things of the world, and the despicable, hath god elected, and the things that are not, to bring to nought the things which are, ( )that no flesh should glory in his presence. ( )but of him are ye in christ jesus, who hath been made to us of god wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: ( )that, as it is written, "he that glorieth, let him glory in the lord[ ]." chap. ii. and i, when i came to you, brethren, came not with superior excellence of discourse or wisdom, preaching unto you the gospel of god. ( )for i determined not to know any thing among you, save jesus christ and him crucified. ( )and in weakness, and in fear, and in much timidity, was i among you. ( )and my conversation and my preaching was not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but with demonstration of the spirit, and of power: ( )that your faith might not stand on the wisdom of men, but on the power of god. ( )but we speak wisdom among the perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are destroying themselves: ( )but we speak the wisdom of god, which had been hid in mystery, which god predestined before the worlds were, for our glory: ( )which none of the rulers of this world have known: for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the lord of glory. ( )but, as it is written[ ], "the things which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and that have not entered into the heart of man, these hath god prepared for those who love him." ( )but to us hath god revealed them by his spirit: for the spirit searcheth out all things, even the depths of god. ( )for who among men knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? so also the things of god knoweth no man, but the spirit of god. ( )now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from god; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of god. ( )which things also we speak, not in discourses framed by human wisdom, but taught by the spirit of god; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ( )but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god: for they are folly to him: and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ( )but the spiritual man discerneth indeed all things, though himself is discernible by no man. ( )for who hath known the mind of the lord? who will instruct him? but we have the mind of christ. chap. iii. and i, brethren, have been unable to speak to you as unto spiritual men, but as to carnal, even as to babes in christ. ( )and i have given you milk to drink, and not meat: for hitherto ye have not been capable of it, yea, even to the present moment ye are not capable of it. ( )for ye are still carnal: for since there are among you envy, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as _other_ men? ( )for when one saith, i am indeed of paul; and another, i am of apollos; are ye not carnal? ( )who then is paul, and who is apollos, but the ministers through whom ye believed, even as the lord gave to each _of us_? ( )i have planted, apollos watered; but god gave the increase. ( )so then neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth; but god who giveth the increase. ( )now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but every one shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. ( )for we are god's fellowlabourers: ye are god's husbandry, ye are god's building. ( )according to the grace of god given unto me, as a skilful architect, i have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. but let every one take heed how he buildeth upon it. ( )for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is jesus the messiah. ( )but if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, timbers, hay, stubble; ( )every man's work shall be made manifest: for that day shall declare it, for it shall be laid open by fire; and the fire shall prove every man's work of what sort it is. ( )if any man's work which he hath built abide _the trial_, he shall receive a reward. ( )if any man's work be burnt up, he shall suffer loss: but himself shall be saved; yet so as through the fire. ( )know ye not that ye are the temple of god, and that the spirit of god dwelleth in you? ( )if any man prophane the temple of god, him will god destroy; for the temple of god is holy, which temple ye are. ( )let no man deceive himself. if any man among you thinketh himself a wise man in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. ( )for the wisdom of this world is folly in the sight of god. for it is written, "he entangleth the wise in their own craftiness[ ]." ( )and again[ ], "the lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile." ( )wherefore let no man glory in men. for all things are your's; ( )whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all things are your's; ( )and ye are christ's; and christ is god's. chap. iv. let a man so account of us, as the under servants of christ, and stewards of the mysteries of god. ( )moreover it is expected of stewards, that a man be found faithful. ( )but it is my least consideration that i should be judged by you, or by human opinion: yea i decide not respecting myself. ( )for though i am not conscious to myself of any unfaithfulness, yet am i not thereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the lord. ( )wherefore judge nothing before the time until the lord come, who also will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will manifest the counsels of men's hearts; and then shall praise be given to each from god. ( )but these things, brethren, i have figuratively applied to myself, and apollos for your sake; that in us ye might learn not to be attached, beyond what is written, lest one being for one _minister_, ye be puffed up _with prejudice_ against another. ( )for who distinguisheth thee? and what hast thou which thou hast not received? but if thou also hast received it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? ( )now ye are full, now ye have grown rich, ye have reigned without us: and i wish indeed that you may reign, that we also might reign together with you. ( )for i think that god hath exposed us his apostles the last as devoted unto death. for we have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. ( )we are counted fools for christ's sake, but ye are wise in christ; we are weak, but ye are mighty; ye are honourable persons, but we despised. ( )for even to this present hour we undergo hunger and thirst and nakedness, and are buffeted about, and have no settled abode; ( )and work hard, labouring with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; ( )being injuriously spoken of, we entreat; we are made as the ordures of the world, as the sweepings of all things unto this day. ( )i write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved children i admonish you. ( )for though ye may have ten thousand teachers in christ, yet not many fathers: for in christ jesus through the gospel i have begotten you. ( )now i conjure you, be followers of me. ( )for this cause have i sent unto you timothy, who is my son beloved and faithful in christ, who will remind you of my ways which are in christ jesus, as i teach every where in every church. ( )now some are puffed up, as though i would not really come to you. ( )but i will come shortly unto you, if the lord please, and will know, not the prating of them that are puffed up, but the power. ( )for the kingdom of god is not in talk, but in power. ( )what is your wish? that i should come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness? chap. v. it is generally reported that there is whoredom among you, and such whoredom as is not even named among the gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. ( )and ye are puffed up, though ought ye not rather to be grieved? that he who hath done this deed might be plucked from the midst of you. ( )for i indeed, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have already, as present, passed judgment on him who hath so done this thing; ( )in the name of our lord jesus christ, ye being assembled together and my spirit with the power of our lord jesus christ, ( )to deliver such a one over to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the lord jesus. ( )your glorying is not good: know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole mass? ( )purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new mass, as ye are unleavened. for our passover hath been sacrificed for us, even christ. ( )therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ( )i have written unto you in an epistle that you should not associate with fornicators. ( )yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters: for then must ye indeed go out of the world. ( )but now i have written unto you not to associate with him, if any man, professing to be a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one not even to eat. ( )for what call have i to judge those who are without? do not ye judge those who are within _the church_? ( )but those who are without god judgeth. put then away that wicked man from among yourselves. chap. vi. dare any of you, having a matter of controversy with another, sue for judgment before the unjust, and not before the saints? ( )know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to be judges in the smallest matters? ( )know ye not that we shall judge angels, much more things pertaining to this life? ( )if then ye have disputes about the things of this life, do you seat those on the bench who are least esteemed in the church? ( )i speak to you to shame you. is it so, that there is not among you a wise man? not so much as one who is able to judge between one brother and another? ( )but brother goes to law with brother, and this before the unbelievers. ( )now verily therefore there is altogether a fault among you, because ye have law-suits one with another. why do ye not rather submit to the wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? ( )but ye do wrong and defraud, and that the brethren. ( )know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god? be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor sodomites, ( )nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of god. ( )yet such were some of you: but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified in the name of the lord jesus, and by the spirit of our god. ( )all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but i will not put myself under the power of any. ( )meats are for the belly, and the belly for meats; but god will destroy both it and them. now the body is not for whoredom, but for the lord, and the lord for the body. ( )and god hath both raised up the lord, and will raise us up by his own power. ( )know ye not that your bodies are the members of christ? taking then the members of christ, shall i make them members of an harlot? god forbid. ( )do you not know that he that is joined to an harlot is one body with her? for they two, saith he, shall be "one flesh[ ]." ( )but he that is joined to the lord is one spirit. ( )flee whoredom. every other sin which a man may commit is without the body; but he who committeth whoredom sinneth against his own body. ( )do ye not know that your body is the temple of the holy ghost, which is in you, which ye have from god, and ye are not your own? ( )for ye have been bought with a price: glorify then god in your body, and in your spirit, which are god's. chap. vii. now with regard to those things concerning which ye have written unto me, it were good for a man not to touch a woman. ( )but because of the whoredoms, let every man have his own wife, and every wife her own husband. ( )let the husband render to the wife due benevolence, and in like manner also the wife to the husband. ( )the wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: in like manner also the husband has not power over his own body, but the wife. ( )defraud not one another, except it may be by consent occasionally, that ye may have more leisure for fasting and prayer; and come together again, lest satan tempt you through your incontinence. ( )but in this i speak my opinion only, not authoritatively. ( )for i would that all men were even as myself: but every man hath his peculiar gift from god, one of this sort, and another of that. ( )i say then to the unmarried and the widows, that it is becoming them if they abide as i am. ( )but if they have not the gift of continence, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. ( )but to the married not i command, but the lord, that the wife be not separated from the husband: ( )and even if she should be separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. ( )but to the others i speak, not the lord, if any brother hath a wife unbelieving, yet she chuseth to dwell with him, let him not put her away. ( )and the wife which hath a husband not a believer, and he chuses to dwell with her, let her not put him away. ( )for the husband that believeth not is sanctified by the wife, and the wife who believeth not is sanctified by the husband: else indeed your children were unclean, but now are they holy. ( )but if the unbelieving person depart, let him depart. a brother or a sister is not under bondage in these cases, but god hath called us unto peace. ( )for how knowest thou, o wife, but thou shalt save thy husband? and how knowest thou, o husband, but thou shalt save thy wife? ( )nevertheless as god has bestowed the gift on every man as the lord hath called every man, so let him walk, and so i give command in all the churches. ( )is any man called being circumcised? let him not affect uncircumcision. is any man called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. ( )circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the observance of the commandments of god. ( )let every one abide in the calling in which he is called. ( )art thou called being a slave? let it give thee no concern; but if thou canst also obtain thy freedom, rather make use of it. ( )for he that is called in the lord, being a slave, is the lord's freed man: in like manner also, he that is called, being a free man, is the servant of christ. ( )have you been redeemed with a price? become not the slaves of men. ( )let every one, brethren, in the vocation wherein he is called, therein abide with god. ( )now concerning virgins, i have no commandment of the lord; but i offer my opinion, as having obtained mercy from the lord to be faithful. ( )i think then that this is becoming, considering our present straits, that it is proper for a man to be thus. ( )art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. ( )but if thou shouldst marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned; though such will have tribulation in the flesh; but i spare you. ( )now this i say, brethren, that the time is short. the conclusion is, that even they who have wives, should be as though they had not; ( )and they who weep as though they wept not; and they who rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that purchase as though they possessed not; ( )and they who use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. ( )but i would have you to be free from anxiety. he who is unmarried is anxious for the things of the lord, how he shall please the lord: ( )but he who is married is anxious about the things of the world, how he shall please his wife. ( )a wife and a virgin hath different pursuits: the unmarried woman is anxious about the things of the lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the things of the world, how she shall please her husband. ( )now i say this for your own advantage, and not that i should lay a snare in your way, but as what is seemly, and that you may wait on the lord without distraction. ( )but if a person supposes it would be unseemly for a virgin of his if she should pass the flower of her age _in celibacy_, and that duty directs it should be so, let him do as he is inclined, he doth not sin: let such marry. ( )but he that is stedfast in his heart, not having any necessity, but retaineth power over his own inclination, and hath determined this in his heart that he will preserve his own virgin state, doeth well. ( )wherefore though he who giveth in marriage doeth well, yet he who avoids a matrimonial connection, doeth better. ( )the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth: but if her husband be dead, she is free to be married to whomsoever she will, but only in the lord. ( )but she is more blessed if she abide as she is, in my opinion: and i think i have the spirit of god. chap. viii. now concerning the things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth. ( )but if any man conceit that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. ( )but if any man love god, the same is known of him. ( )now concerning eating things sacrificed unto idols: we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other god but one. ( )for though there are gods so called, whether celestial or terrestrial, (as _of this sort_ there are gods many, and lords many;) ( )but to us there is one god, the father; of whom are all things, and we for him; and one lord jesus christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. ( )howbeit there is not in all men this knowledge; but some having conscientious respect for the idol to this moment, eat the meat as sacrificed to the idol; and their conscience being weak, is defiled. ( )but meat commendeth us not to god: for neither if we eat are we the better, or if we eat not are we the worse. ( )but take heed that this power of yours become not an occasion of stumbling to the weak. ( )for if any man see thee that hast knowledge, sitting in an idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? ( )and the weak brother will be destroyed by thy knowledge, for whom christ died. ( )but when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against christ. ( )wherefore if meat give occasion of offence to my brother, i will in no wise eat meat for ever, that i give no cause of offence to my brother. chap. ix. am i not an apostle? am i not a free man? have i not seen jesus christ our lord? are not ye my work in the lord? ( )if i am not an apostle unto others, doubtless i am to you: for ye are the seal of my apostolic mission in the lord. ( )my apology to those who interrogate me is this, ( )have we not power to eat and drink? ( )have we not power to carry about with us a sister wife, as do also the other apostles, even the brethren of the lord, and cephas? ( )or i alone and barnabas, have we not power to forbear labour? ( )who goeth at any time to war at his own expences? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit of it? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? ( )speak i these things _rationally_ as a man, or doth not the law speak the same things? ( )for in the law of moses it is written, "thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox which treadeth out the corn[ ]." doth god take care for oxen? ( )or saith he it altogether for our sakes? for our sakes doubtless it was written; because he who ploweth ought to plow in hope, and he who soweth in hope should be partaker of his hope. ( )if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we should reap your corporal things? ( )if others partake of this power over you, ought not we much more? but we have not used this power, and we suffer all things, that we might not put any obstruction in the way of the gospel of christ. ( )know ye not that they who are employed about the holy things, are fed from the temple? and they who serve at the altar, partake with the altar? ( )so also the lord hath commanded to those who preach the gospel, that they should live by the gospel. ( )but i have used nothing of these things, nor have i written indeed these things, that it should be so done respecting me; for it would become me to die rather than that any man should make my glorying void. ( )for though i preach the gospel, i have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me, yea verily woe is to me if i preach not the gospel. ( )for if i do this willingly, i have a reward; but if unwillingly, i am entrusted with the dispensation _of it_. ( )what then is my reward? that when i preach the gospel, i may put the gospel of christ to no expence, that i abuse not my power in the gospel. ( )for though i be free from all men, i have made myself the servant of all, that i might gain the more. ( )and i became to the jews as a jew, that i might gain the jews; to those under the law, as under the law, that i might gain those who are under the law; ( )to those who are without law, as without law (not as being without law to god, but under the law to christ), that i might gain those who were without law. ( )i became to the weak as weak, that i might gain the weak; i became all things to all men, that by every means i might save some. ( )and this i do for the gospel's sake, that i may be a partaker of it with you. ( )know ye not that they who run on the course, all run indeed, yet but one obtaineth the price? so run, that ye may obtain. ( )and every one who contendeth _in the games_ is temperate in all things: they indeed therefore do it that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. ( )i therefore so run not as uncertainly; so do i exercise with my fists, not as striking the air: ( )but i beat down my body, and bring it into subjection, that i may not by any means, after having preached to others, myself become reprobate. chap. x. but i would not that you should be ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; ( )and were all baptised unto moses in the cloud and in the sea; ( )and did all eat the same spiritual meat; ( )and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them; but that rock was christ. ( )nevertheless with the most of them god was not well pleased, for they were destroyed in the wilderness. ( )now these things were examples for us, that we might not be coveters of evil things, as they also coveted. ( )neither be ye idolaters as some of them; as it is written, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to sport themselves[ ]." ( )neither let us commit whoredom, as some of them also committed, and in one day fell twenty-three thousand[ ]. ( )neither let us tempt christ, as some of them also tempted[ ], and were destroyed by serpents. ( )neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and perished by the destroyer[ ]. ( )now all these things happened unto them as examples, but they are written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are come. ( )wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. ( )no temptation hath overtaken you, but what is common to men. and god is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what ye are able to bear; but will with the temptation make also a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear up under it. ( )wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ( )i speak as unto wise men: judge ye what i say. ( )the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of christ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of christ? ( )for we, though many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf. ( )behold israel after the flesh. are not they who eat of the sacrifices partakers with the altar? ( )what do i say then? that an idol is any thing, or that which is sacrificed to an idol is any thing? ( )but that what the gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to daemons, and not to god: and i would not have you in communion with daemons. ( )ye cannot drink the cup of the lord and the cup of daemons: ye cannot be partakers of the table of the lord, and the table of daemons. ( )do we provoke the lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? ( )all things are lawful for me, but all things are not profitable; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. ( )let no man seek his own gratification, but every one another's good. ( )every thing which is sold in the shambles eat, asking no question for conscience sake; ( )"for the earth is the lord's, and the fulness thereof[ ]." ( )and if any one of those, who do not believe, invite you, and ye incline to go, eat every thing set before you, asking no question for conscience sake. ( )but if any person say unto you, this is an idol's sacrifice, eat not of it, for his sake who pointed it out, and for conscience sake. for the earth is the lord's, and the fulness thereof. ( )conscience indeed i say, not merely thine own, but that of the other person. ( )for why is my liberty abridged by another's conscience? if i truly with thanksgiving am a partaker, why am i evil spoken of for that for which i give thanks? ( )whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all things to the glory of god. ( )give no occasion of stumbling either to the jews or the gentiles, or the church of god: ( )even as i please all men, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, that they may be saved. chap. xi. be ye imitators of me, as i am of christ. ( )now i praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the injunctions as i delivered them unto you. ( )but i desire you to take notice that the head of every man is christ; but the head of the woman is the man, and the head of christ is god. ( )every man praying or prophesying, holding _a veil_ over his head, dishonoureth his head; ( )but every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled, dishonoureth her head; for it is one and the same thing, as if she were shaven. ( )for if the woman be not veiled, let her hair be clipped: but if it would be scandalous for a woman to appear clipped or shaved, let her be veiled. ( )for a man indeed ought not to veil his head, being the image and the glory of god; but the woman is the glory of the man. ( )for the man is not from the woman, but the woman from the man. ( )also the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man. ( )therefore ought the woman to retain upon her head _this badge of authority_, because of the angels _of the churches_. ( )nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the lord. ( )for as the woman was taken out of the man, so also is the man by the woman: but all things are of god. ( )judge among yourselves, is it decent for a woman to be praying to god without a covering? ( )does not even nature itself teach you, that if a man wear long flowing hair it is a dishonour to him? ( )but if a woman let her hair flow, it is an ornament to her; for the hair was given her for a covering, ( )but if any man mean to be contentious about it, we have no such custom, nor the churches of god. ( )but in the matter i am going to denounce, i do not commend you, that ye meet together not for the better, but for the worse. ( )for in the first place, when ye assemble in the church, i hear that there are divisions among you; and i partly believe it. ( )for there must be heresies among you, that they who are the tried ones, may be made manifest among you. ( )when therefore ye assemble in the same place, it is not to eat the lord's supper. ( )for one in the eating it taketh before another his own supper: and one is hungry, and another drinks to excess. ( )what! have ye not houses to eat in and to drink? or despise ye the church of god, and make those ashamed who have none? what shall i say unto you? shall i praise you in this? i praise you not. ( )for i received of the lord what also i delivered to you, that the lord jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took a loaf: ( )and when he had blessed it, he brake it, and said, take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: do this in remembrance of me. ( )in like manner also he took the cup, after they had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. ( )for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew forth the death of the lord till he come. ( )wherefore, whosoever eateth of this bread, or drinketh the cup of the lord unworthily, he is guilty of the body and blood of the lord. ( )but let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. ( )for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, not distinguishing the lord's body. ( )for this cause many are diseased and infirm among you, and some asleep _in death_. ( )for if we thoroughly judged ourselves, we should not be judged of the lord. ( )but being judged, we are corrected by the lord, that we might not be condemned with the world. ( )wherefore, when ye meet together to eat the lord's supper, wait for one another. ( )and if any man be hungry, let him eat at home; that ye meet not together for condemnation. and the other matters i will regulate when i come. chap. xii. now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, i would not have you ignorant. ( )ye know that ye were gentiles, drawn away after the idols that are dumb, even as ye have been led. ( )wherefore i advertise you, that no man speaking by the spirit of god, call jesus anathema: and no man can say, lord jesus, but by the holy ghost. ( )but there are diversities of gifts, though the same spirit. ( )and there are diversities of services, but the same lord. ( )and there are diversities of mighty operations, but it is the same god who worketh all in all. ( )now to every one is given the manifestation of the spirit for usefulness. ( )for to one man by the spirit is given wise discourse; but to another speech _communicative_ of knowledge by the same spirit; ( )to another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing _diseases_ by the same spirit; ( )to another miraculous powers; to another prophecy; to another discernments of spirits; to another different kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: ( )but all these things worketh that one and the same spirit, distributing peculiar gifts to every one even as he wills. ( )for as the body is one, and hath many members, but all the members of that one body, though many, are one body: so also is christ. ( )for by one spirit we all have been baptised into one body, whether jews or greeks, whether slaves or free men; and we have all been made to drink into one spirit. ( )for the body is not one member, but many. ( )if the foot should say, because i am not the hand, i am not of the body; is it, on this account, not of the body? ( )and if the ear should say, because i am not the eye, i am not of the body; is it not therefore of the body? ( )if the whole body were eye, where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? ( )but now hath god placed the members, every one of them in the body, as he hath chosen. ( )but if the whole were one member, where were the body? ( )but now the members indeed are many, but the body one. ( )nor can the eye say to the hand, i have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, i have no need of you. ( )yea, much more the members of the body, which appear to be more feeble, are necessary: ( )and those parts which we esteem as the more dishonourable of the body, on them we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. ( )for our comely parts have no need: but god hath tempered together the body, giving more abundant honour to that part which lacked: ( )that there might be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. ( )and if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; and if one member be exalted, all the members rejoice with it. ( )now ye are the body of christ, and members in particular. ( )and these also hath god placed in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healings, helpers, directors, different kinds of tongues. ( )are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? ( )have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? ( )but zealously seek the gifts that are the best: and yet i shew unto you a more transcendently excellent way. chap. xiii. though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am become as sounding brass, and tinkling cymbal. ( )and though i have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all manner of science; and though i have all faith, so that i could remove mountains, but have not love, i am nothing. ( )and if i deal out all my goods in alms, and deliver up my body that i should be burned, but have not love, i am nothing advantaged by it. ( )love is long-suffering, is kind; love envieth not; love is no vain boaster, is not inflated _with pride_, ( )doth not act unseemly, seeketh not her own advantage, is not passionate, thinketh no evil; ( )rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth in the truth; ( )beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ( )love never faileth: but if there be prophetic gifts, they shall be no more; if tongues, they shall cease; if science, it shall vanish away. ( )for we know partially, and prophesy partially. ( )but when that which is perfect cometh, then that which is in part shall be done away. ( )when i was a child, i spake as a child, i thought as a child, i reasoned as a child: but when i grew a man, i put away childish things. ( )for now we see by reflected light, indistinctly; but then face to face: now i know partially; but then shall i know even as i am known. ( )but now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greater of these is love. chap. xiv. follow earnestly after love, and zealously seek spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. ( )for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speaketh not to men, but to god: for no man understandeth him; although in spirit he speaketh mysterious truths. ( )but he that prophesieth, addresseth men for edification, and exhortation, and consolation. ( )he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth, edifieth the church. ( )now i could wish that you all spake with tongues, but rather that ye should prophesy: for greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret also, that the church may receive edification. ( )now i, brethren, if i should come unto you, speaking in unknown languages, what should i profit you, unless i should speak to you _intelligibly_ by revelation, or by science, or by prophecy, or by doctrine? ( )in like manner things inanimate, giving sound, whether the pipe, or the harp, unless they express a distinction in their tones, how shall it be known what is piped, or what is harped? ( )for if the trumpet also give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle? ( )so also ye, unless with the tongue you speak an intelligible discourse, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye will speak to the air. ( )for though there are so many different kinds of languages in the world, yet is not one of them without its meaning. ( )if therefore i know not the force of the expression, i shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian unto me. ( )so also ye, if ye zealously affect spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound in them for the edification of the church. ( )therefore let him who speaketh in an unknown tongue, pray that he may interpret also. ( )for if i pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my mind produces no fruit. ( )what then is my object? i will pray with the spirit, and i will pray with the understanding also: i will sing psalms with the spirit, and i will sing psalms with the understanding also. ( )else, though thou bless god in spirit, how shall he who filleth the place of an illiterate man, say amen after thy thanksgiving, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest? ( )for thou indeed givest thanks to god well, but another man is not edified by it. ( )i thank my god, that i speak with different tongues more than you all: ( )but in the church i had rather speak five words with my understanding, that i may instruct others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. ( )brethren, be not children in your minds: though in naughtiness be ye children, but in your minds be men complete. ( )in the law it is written, "that with other tongues, and with other lips, will i speak to this people: and even thus will they not attend to me, saith the lord[ ]." ( )wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to those that believe, but to those who do not believe: but the gift of prophecy is not for those who are infidels, but for believers. ( )if then the whole church assemble together in the same place, and all speak different tongues, and there come in illiterate persons, or infidels, will they not say ye are mad? ( )but if all prophesy, and any infidel or illiterate person come in, he receives conviction from all, he is judged of all: ( )and thus the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so falling down on his face, he will worship god, declaring that god verily is among you. ( )how comes it then, brethren, that when ye assemble together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation? let all things be done to edification. ( )if any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at most by three, and one after another; and let one interpret. ( )but if there be not an interpreter, let him be silent in the church; but let him speak to himself and to god. ( )let the prophets two or three speak, and let the others judge. ( )but if any thing should be revealed to one sitting by, let the first be silent. ( )for ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all be comforted. ( )and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. ( )for god is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of his saints. ( )let your women be silent in the churches: for it is not permitted to them to speak: but to be in subjection, as also the law saith[ ]. ( )but if they will learn any thing, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. ( )went the word of god from you? or came it unto you only? ( )if any man thinketh that he is a prophet, or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that the things which i write unto you are the commandments of the lord. ( )but if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. ( )wherefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. ( )let all things be done with propriety, and orderly. chap. xv. now i make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which i have preached unto you, and which ye have received, in which also ye have stood fast; ( )by which also ye are saved; if ye cleave to that word i have preached to you, except haply ye have believed in vain. ( )for i delivered to you among the first things that which i also had received, that christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; ( )and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ( )and that he was seen of cephas, then of the twelve: ( )afterwards he appeared before five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater number remain alive unto this hour, but some also are gone to rest. ( )afterwards he was seen of james; then of all the apostles. ( )and last of all he was seen also by me, who am but as an abortion. ( )for i am the least of the apostles, who am not meet to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of god. ( )but by the grace of god i am what i am: and his grace which was given to me was not in vain; but i laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not i, but the grace of god which was with me. ( )therefore whether i or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. ( )but if christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? ( )but if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither is christ risen: ( )and if christ be not risen, vain indeed is our preaching, and vain also your faith. ( )yea, and we also are found false witnesses for god; because we have testified on the behalf of god, that he raised up christ: whom he raised not up, if indeed the dead are not raised. ( )for if the dead are not raised, neither is christ risen: ( )and if christ be not risen, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ( )then also they who have fallen asleep in christ have perished. ( )if in this life only we have hope in christ, we are more miserable than all other men. ( )but now is christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruit of those who have fallen asleep. ( )for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ( )for as in adam all are dead, so also in christ shall all be made alive. ( )but every one in his own rank: christ the first-fruit; afterwards those that are christ's at his appearing. ( )then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to god, and the father; when he shall have destroyed every dominion and every authority and power. ( )for he must reign, until he hath put all enemies under his feet. ( )the last enemy shall be destroyed, death. ( )for he hath put all things under his feet. but when he saith, that all things are put under him, it is evident that there is an exception of him, who subjected all things to him. ( )but when he shall have put all things under him, then also the son himself shall be subjected to him who put all things under him, that god may be all in all. ( )else what will they do who are baptised? for the dead, if wholly dead they rise no more. why are they then baptised for the dead? ( )and why do we also expose ourselves to danger every hour? ( )i solemnly declare by all the joy over you which i have in christ jesus our lord, i die daily. ( )if after the manner of men i have fought with wild beasts at ephesus, of what advantage would it be to me, if the dead did not rise again? shall we eat and drink; because to-morrow we die? ( )be not deceived: evil conversations corrupt good manners. ( )awake as the righteous, and sin not; for some have an ignorance of god: i speak this to your shame. ( )but will any man say, how are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? ( )thou fool! what thou sowest is not quickened except it die: ( )and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body which shall be afterwards, but the bare grain, perhaps of wheat, or of some of the other seeds: ( )but god giveth it a body as he pleaseth, and to each of the seeds its peculiar body. ( )all flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, and another flesh of cattle, and another of fishes, and another of birds. ( )also there are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and that of the terrestrial another. ( )there is one glory of the sun; and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for star differeth from star in glory. ( )so also is the resurrection of the dead. it is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: ( )it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: ( )it is sown an animal body; it is raised a spiritual body. there is an animal body, and there is a spiritual body. ( )and so it is written, there was a first man adam a living soul; a last adam a quickening spirit. ( )but that which is spiritual was not first, but that which is animal; and afterward that which is spiritual. ( )the first man was of the earth, earthly; the second man was the lord from heaven. ( )as is the earthly, so are they also that are earthly: and as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. ( )and as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. ( )but this i say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god: neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ( )behold, i shew you a mystery; we shall not indeed all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ( )in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ( )for that which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and that which is mortal must put on immortality. ( )so when that which is corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and that which is mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying which is written, death is swallowed up in victory. ( )o death, where is thy sting? o grave, where is thy victory? ( )the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. ( )but thanks be to god, who giveth us the victory through our lord jesus christ. ( )wherefore, my beloved brethren, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the lord. chap. xvi. now concerning the collection which is for the saints, as i have given an order to the churches of galatia, so also do ye. ( )on the first day of the week let every one of you set apart with himself, treasuring it up, whatsoever he may please to give, that when i come there may be then no gatherings. ( )but when i come, whosoever you shall approve by letters, those will i send to carry your charity to jerusalem. ( )but if it be of importance that i should go also, they shall go with me. ( )now i will come unto you when i have passed through macedonia (for i am passing through macedonia); ( )and perhaps i shall abide with you, yea and winter with you, that you may send me forward whithersoever i go. ( )for i will not see you now in passing, but i hope to remain some considerable time with you if the lord permit. ( )but i shall abide at ephesus until the pentecost: ( )for there is opened to me a great door, and effectual, and there are many adversaries. ( )but if timothy come, see that he may be among you without fear: for he worketh the lord's work, as i also do. ( )let no man therefore treat him with disrespect; but forward him on his way in peace, that he may come to me; for i expect him with the brethren. ( )as concerning brother apollos, i besought him much that he would come to you with the brethren; but it was not at all his wish to come at this time: but he will come when he can find a good opportunity. ( )watch ye, stand fast in the faith, be manful, be strong. ( )let all your concerns be transacted in love. ( )now i exhort you, brethren, (ye know the house of stephanas, that it is the first fruits of achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints:) ( )wherefore submit yourselves to such, and to every one that worketh with us and laboureth. ( )i rejoice in the arrival of stephanas, and fortunatus, and achaicus; because what was lacking from you, they have supplied. ( )for they have refreshed my spirit and yours; respect therefore such men. ( )the churches of asia salute you. aquila and priscilla salute you much in the lord, with the church which is in their house. ( )all the brethren salute you. salute one another with a holy kiss. ( )the salutation of paul with mine own hand. ( )if any man love not the lord jesus christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. ( )my love be with you all in christ jesus. amen. the first epistle to the corinthians was written from philippi by stephanas, and fortunatus, and achaicus, and timothy. the second epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians. chap. i. paul an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy a brother, to the church of god which is at corinth, with all the saints which are in all achaia: ( )grace unto you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies, and god of all consolation; ( )who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we might be able to comfort those who are in all tribulation, by the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted of god. ( )because as the sufferings of christ abound in us, so through christ aboundeth also our consolation. ( )but whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectually wrought by patient endurance of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ( )and our hope of you is sure, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also of the consolation. ( )for we would not have you ignorant, brethren, of the tribulation which came to us in asia, that above measure we have been burdened beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life: ( )for we ourselves, in ourselves have received the sentence of death, that we should have no confidence in ourselves, but in god who raiseth the dead. ( )who from so imminent a prospect of death hath delivered us, and still delivers: in whom we trust also that he will yet deliver us: ( )ye also labouring together for us in prayer, that from many persons thanks may be given on our behalf for the gifts bestowed on us by many. ( )for our glorying is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with carnal wisdom, but by the grace of god, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and peculiarly towards you. ( )for we write no other things to you than those which you know and acknowledge; and i trust also ye will acknowledge them even to the end. ( )as also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your glory, as also ye are ours in the day of the lord jesus. ( )and in this confidence i was intending to come unto you a second time, that ye might receive a second blessing; ( )and through you to pass into macedonia, and again from macedonia return unto you, and by you to be forwarded on my journey towards judea. ( )such then being my intention, did i indeed change it with levity? or the things which i purpose, do i purpose after the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? ( )but as sure as god is true, our word to you was not yea and nay. ( )for the son of god, jesus christ, who was preached among you by us--by me and silvanus and timotheus--was not yea and nay, but there was yea in him; ( )for all the promises of god in him are yea, and in him amen, to the glory of god by us. ( )now he that confirmeth us with you in christ, and hath anointed us, is god; ( )who also hath put his seal upon us, and given us the earnest of the spirit in our hearts. ( )but i appeal to god as a witness unto my soul, that to spare you i have not yet come to corinth: ( )not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow-helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand. chap. ii. but i prescribed to myself this rule, not to come again to you with sorrow. ( )for if i make you sorry, who is he that maketh me glad, but he that is made sorrowful by me? ( )and i have written unto you for this very purpose, that i might not, when i come to you, have sorrow from those in whom i ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. ( )for out of much affliction and anguish of heart i wrote unto you with many tears, not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which i have more abundantly towards you. ( )now if any person hath given cause for grief, he hath not grieved me _merely_, but partly all of you; that i may add no farther burden. ( )sufficient for such person is that chastisement which hath been inflicted by the majority of you. ( )wherefore, on the contrary, ye rather ought to forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up with excess of sorrow. ( )wherefore i exhort you to confirm your love towards him. ( )for to this end also have i written, that i may know by this proof of you if ye are obedient in all things. ( )but to whomsoever ye forgive any thing, so do i; and if i forgive any thing, to whom i forgive, for your sakes i do it, in the person of jesus christ, ( )that no advantage be gained over us by satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices. ( )but when i came to troas to preach the gospel of christ, though a door was opened unto me by the lord, ( )i had no test in my spirit on my not finding there titus my brother: so taking my leave of them i went forth unto macedonia. ( )but thanks be to god, who causeth us always to triumph in christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. ( )for we are a sweet odour of christ to god in those who are saved, and in those who perish. ( )to the one we are the odour of death unto death, to the other the odour of life unto life: and who is sufficient for these things? ( )for we are not as the many, adulterating the word of god; but as of sincerity, but as of god, in the sight of god, speak we in christ. chap. iii. do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some, commendatory letters to you, or commendatory letters from you? ( )ye are our letter written in our hearts, acknowledged and read of all men: ( )because ye are manifestly seen to be the letter of christ, of which we have been the secretaries, written not with ink, but by the spirit of the living god, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart. ( )and such confidence have we through christ towards god: ( )not that we are sufficient of ourselves to account any thing of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of god. ( )who hath made us also able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. ( )for if the ministry of death in letters graven on stone, was attended with glory, so that the children of israel could not keep their eyes fixed upon the countenance of moses, because of the glory of his countenance, though _soon_ evanescent; ( )how much more will not the ministry of the spirit be attended with glory? ( )for if the ministry of condemnation is glory, much more doth the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. ( )for that which was glorious hath no glory, comparatively, because of the glory which excelleth. ( )for if that which was abolished came in a glorious manner, much more is that which remaineth glorious. ( )having therefore such a hope, we use much freedom of speech. ( )and _act_ not as moses who spread a veil over his face, in order that the children of israel might not look stedfastly to the end of that which should be abolished. ( )but their understandings were darkened: for unto this day the same veil in their reading the old testament abideth unremoved; which veil is taken away by christ. ( )for unto this day, when moses is read, the veil is spread over their hearts. ( )nevertheless, when israel shall turn unto the lord, the veil shall be taken away. ( )now the lord is that spirit: and where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty. ( )and we all with face unveiled, beholding the glory of the lord _reflected_ as in a mirror, according to the same image, receive a transformation from glory into glory, as by the lord, the spirit. chap. iv. therefore having this ministry, as we have obtained mercy, we faint not; ( )but have renounced all shameful secret practices, not conducting ourselves with artifice, nor deceitfully disguising the word of god, but by clear manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience as in the presence of god. ( )and if now our gospel be hid, it is hid from those who are lost: ( )among whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of christ, who is the image of god, should not dart its bright beams upon them. ( )for we preach not ourselves, but christ jesus the lord; and ourselves your servants for jesus' sake. ( )for the god who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, he hath shined into our hearts, to give illumination of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ. ( )but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the transcendent excellence of the power might be of god, and not of us. ( )we are afflicted on every side, yet not reduced to extremities; under difficulties, yet not in despair; ( )persecuted, yet not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed; ( )always bearing about in the body the death pangs of the lord jesus, that the life also of jesus may be manifested in our body. ( )for we who are yet alive are continually delivered up to death for jesus' sake, that the life also of jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. ( )wherefore death indeed is working in us, but life in you. ( )having then the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, i believed, and therefore i have spoken[ ], we also believe, and therefore speak; ( )knowing that he who raised up our lord jesus christ, will raise up us also through jesus, and present us together with you. ( )for all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace, through the thanksgiving of more persons, may more abound to the glory of god. ( )therefore we never faint; for though our outward man decay, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. ( )for our momentary light affliction worketh for us a transcendently far more exceeding eternal weight of glory; ( )whilst we direct our aim not to the things which are seen, but to the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. chap. v. for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle should be taken down, we have a building from god, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ( )for in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our mansion which is from heaven; ( )that so invested, we may not be found naked. ( )for we which are in this tabernacle, groan, being burdened; wherein we desire not to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. ( )but he that hath wrought us for this very thing is god, who also hath given us the earnest of the spirit. ( )therefore we have always confidence, and know that whilst we are indwelling in the body, we are absent from the lord: ( )(for we walk by faith, not by sight.) ( )we are confident indeed, and with pleasure expect to go out from the body, and to dwell within with the lord: ( )wherefore also our ambition is, that whether dwelling in the body, or out of the body, we may be acceptable to him. ( )for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of christ, that each may receive the things done in the body according to what he hath done, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. ( )knowing therefore the terror of the lord, we persuade men; but we have been made manifest to god, and i hope also have been made manifest in your consciences. ( )for we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion of glorying on our behalf, that ye may have an answer for those who glory in countenance, and not in heart. ( )for if we are transported out of ourselves, it is for god; or if we are sober-minded, it is for your sake. ( )for the love of christ constraineth us, because we judge thus, that if one died for all, then were all dead: ( )and he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again. ( )wherefore from the present moment know we no man after the flesh: yea though we have also known christ after the flesh, yet so henceforth know we him no more. ( )wherefore if any person be in christ, he is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ( )but all things are of god, who hath reconciled us to himself by jesus christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ( )namely, that god was in christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing to them their offences: and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation. ( )therefore we are ambassadors for christ, as though god exhorted you by us; we entreat you for christ's sake, be ye reconciled to god. ( )for he hath made him, who knew no sin, to be a sin offering for us, that we might become the righteousness of god in him. chap. vi. we then as labourers with him, exhort you also that ye receive not the grace of god in vain: ( )for he saith, "in an acceptable time have i heard thee, and in a day of salvation have i succoured thee [ ]." behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ( )giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: ( )but in every thing approving ourselves as ministers of god, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in straits, ( )in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings, ( )in purity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, by kindness, by the holy ghost, by love unfeigned, ( )by the word of truth, by the power of god, with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, ( )through honour and dishonour, through evil report and good report: as deceivers, yet true men; ( )as unknown, though well known; as dying, and lo! we live; as chastened, yet not given over to death; ( )as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. ( )our mouth is opened unto you, o corinthians! our heart is enlarged. ( )ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. ( )let us have a like return; i speak as unto children; be ye also enlarged. ( )be not unequally yoked with infidels; for what participation hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what fellowship _is there_ between light and darkness? ( )and what concord of christ with belial? or what share hath he that believeth with an infidel? ( )or what agreement hath the temple of god with idols? for ye are the temple of the living god; as god hath said, "i will inhabit in them, and walk about in them; and i will be their god, and they shall be for me a people[ ]." ( )"wherefore go forth from the midst of them, and be ye separated, saith the lord, and touch not the unclean; and i will receive you[ ], ( )and i will be as a father unto you, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the lord almighty[ ]." chap. vii. having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of god. ( )give us a favourable reception: we have injured no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. ( )i speak not for your condemnation, for i have already said, that ye are in our hearts to die and live together. ( )great is my freedom of speech to you, great is my glorying over you: i am filled with consolation, i overflow with joy in all our tribulation. ( )for when we were come into macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side; without were fightings; within were fears. ( )but god that comforteth the lowly comforted us by the coming of titus: ( )and not by his coming only, but also by the consolation wherewith he had been comforted among you, declaring to us your fervent desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that i rejoiced the more. ( )for if i grieved you by a letter, i do not repent, though i did repent: for i perceive that this letter made you sorry, though but for a season. ( )now i rejoice, not that ye have been made sorrowful, but that ye have sorrowed unto repentance; for ye have been made sorry in a godly manner, that ye might receive damage from us in nothing. ( )for sorrow of a godly sort worketh repentance unto salvation never to be repented of, but worldly sorrow worketh death. ( )for behold this very thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly manner, how great diligence did it produce in you! yea, what apologizing! yea, what indignation! yea, what fear! yea, what earnest desire! yea, what zeal! yea, what vengeance! in every step ye have approved yourselves as pure in this affair. ( )and indeed though i wrote unto you, i did it not _merely_ for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause who had suffered the injury, but that our diligent attention for you might be more abundantly manifested to you in the presence of god. ( )therefore we were comforted in your consolation; and exceeding abundantly the more rejoiced we in the joy of titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. ( )for if i have boasted of you to him in any thing, i am not ashamed; but as we have spoken all things to you in truth, so our boasting of you to titus hath been found truth. ( )and his bowels more abundantly yearn over you, when he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. ( )i rejoice therefore that in every thing i have confidence in you. chap. viii. now we inform you, brethren, of the grace of god which hath been bestowed on the churches of macedonia; ( )that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, hath more abounded to the riches of their liberality. ( )for unto their power, i bear them witness, and above their power, they were voluntarily ready _to give_: ( )with much entreaty praying us that we would receive the gift, and _undertake_ the communication of the contribution for the saints. ( )and not _merely_ as we hoped, but gave themselves first to the lord, and to us according to the will of god. ( )so that we exhorted titus, that as he had been active before, so also he would perfect in you this grace also. ( )so as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and elocution, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. ( )i speak not by commandment, but because of the forwardness of others, and to prove the genuineness of your love. ( )for ye know the grace of our lord jesus christ, that for your sake he became poor though he was rich, that ye by his poverty should be made rich. ( )and in this i give my opinion: for this is expedient for you, who have before begun not only to do, but also to be willing a year ago. ( )now then accomplish also the doing it, that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be also to perform out of that which ye have. ( )for if there is first a ready mind, a man is acceptable according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not. ( )for i mean not that there should be ease for others and a burden on you; ( )but that according to equality, your abundance on the present occasion should afford a supply for their deficiency, that their abundance also may supply your deficiency, that there may be equality. ( )according as it is written, "he that _gathered_ much had no more than others, and he who _gathered_ little, had no less[ ]." ( )but thanks be to god, who put the same solicitude for you into the heart of titus. ( )for he received in deed the exhortation, but being more diligent, of his own ready mind he went unto you. ( )we have sent with him also a brother, whose praise in the gospel is _spread_ through all the churches; ( )and not only so, but who was chosen by the churches as my fellow-traveller with this charity, ministered by us to the glory of the same lord, and _to shew_ your ready mind. ( )avoiding this, that no man should lay any blame to us in this abundance which is administered by us: ( )providing what is fair, not only before the lord, but also before men. ( )and we have sent with him our brother, whom we have often experienced in many things to be a man of diligence, but now much more diligent, through the great confidence which i have in you. ( )if _any inquire_ concerning titus, he is my companion and fellow-labourer to you; or our brethren _be inquired of_, they are the messengers of the churches, the glory of christ. ( )therefore shew unto them, and in the presence of the churches, a proof of your love, and of our _just_ boasting in you. chap. ix. now concerning the contribution for the saints, it is superfluous for me to write unto you. ( )for i know your readiness of mind, for which i boast of you to the macedonians, that achaia had made preparation a year ago; and your zeal hath stirred up very many. ( )but i have sent the brethren, that our glorying in you might not be vain in this matter; that as i have said, ye may be prepared. ( )lest haply if the macedonians come with me, and find you unprepared, we (not to say, you) may be confounded in this confidence of boasting. i ( )have thought it necessary therefore to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and prepare before your promised bounty, that it may be ready as a matter of bounty, and not as _extorted_ of covetousness. ( )but this i add, he that soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. ( )let every man, as he hath purposed in heart, give, not with reluctance or of necessity; for god loveth a cheerful giver. ( )and god is able to make all grace abound towards you; that in every case having always all sufficiency, ye may abound unto every good work: ( )as it is written, "he hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness abideth for ever[ ]." ( )now he that supplieth seed to the sower, shall also supply bread for food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ( )being in every thing enriched unto all liberality, which _causeth_ by us thanksgiving to god. ( )for the ministration of this _charitable_ service not only abundantly supplies the deficiencies of the saints, but also overflows with many thanksgivings to god; ( )(while by the evidence of this ministration they glorify god for your professed subjection to the gospel of christ, and for your liberality towards them, and towards all men;) ( )and with their prayers for you, greatly longing after you, on account of the transcendent grace of god in you. ( )thanks be to god for his inexpressible gift. chap. x. now i paul myself exhort you by the meekness and gentleness of christ, who, when present, am indeed lowly among you, but being absent, am bold towards you. ( )but i pray, that when i am present i may not be bold with the confidence with which i purpose to act resolutely against some who think of us, as if we walked after the flesh. ( )for though we walk in the flesh, we war not after the flesh: ( )for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through god for the casting down the strong holds _of corruption_; ( )laying low proud reasonings, and every high thing which exalteth itself against the knowledge of god, and making every thought captive to the obedience of christ: ( )and holding ourselves ready to avenge every act of disobedience, when your obedience is fully proved. ( )regard ye the things that are personal? if any man is confident in himself that he is christ's, let him reflect again in himself, that as he is christ's, so are we christ's. ( )yea, and if i should boast somewhat more highly of our authority, which the lord hath given us for your edification, and not for your destruction, i shall not be ashamed; ( )that i may not seem as if i would terrify you by letters. ( )for his letters indeed, say they, are weighty and forcible, but his bodily presence is feeble, and his speech contemptible. ( )let such a man be assured of this, that such as we are by word in our letters when absent, such also will we be in deed when we are present. ( )for we will not presume to put ourselves on the level, or compare ourselves with some who vaunt themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, have no understanding. ( )but we will not glory in things beyond our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which god hath marked out for us--a measure that hath reached even unto you. ( )for we stretch not our pretensions beyond bounds, as though we reached not unto you; for we have advanced even unto you in the gospel of christ: ( )not boasting ourselves unmeasurably in other men's labours; but having hope that when your faith is increased, we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule for more abundant usefulness, ( )to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to arrogate glory in another man's line for things already prepared. ( )but he that glorieth, let him glory in the lord. ( )for not he who commendeth himself is approved, but he whom the lord commendeth. chap. xi. i wish ye would bear with me a little in my foolishness, yea indeed bear with me. ( )for i am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for i have espoused you to one husband, to present you a chaste virgin to christ. ( )but i fear lest as the serpent beguiled eve by his craftiness, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which belongs to christ. ( )for if he indeed that cometh preach another jesus, whom we have not preached, or ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not embraced, ye might well bear with him. ( )for i reckon myself to be nothing inferior to the very chief of the apostles. ( )for though i may be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but on every occasion we have been made manifest in all things among you. ( )am i chargeable with a fault (humbling myself that you might be exalted), that i preached to you the gospel of god freely? ( )i plundered other churches, receiving a provision from them, in order to minister to you. ( )and when i was with you, and in want, i was burdensome to no man; for my want the brethren who came from macedonia supplied; and on every occasion i have kept myself from being burdensome, and will keep myself. ( )i protest, by the truth of christ in me, that from this boasting no man shall seal up my lips in the regions of achaia. ( )wherefore? because i love you not? god knoweth. ( )but what i do, i will do also, that i may cut off occasion from those who desire occasion, that wherein they boast, they may be found even as we. ( )for such are fake apostles, deceitful labourers, transforming themselves into apostles of christ. ( )and no marvel! for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ( )it is no wonder therefore if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness; whose end will be according to their works. ( )i repeat it again, let no man suppose that i am a fool; but if otherwise, then as a fool receive me, that i too may boast myself a little. ( )what i speak, i speak not after the lord, but as it were in folly in this confidence of boasting. ( )seeing many boast themselves after the flesh, i will boast also. ( )for ye bear with fools easily when you are wise yourselves. ( )for ye bear if a man enslave you, if a man eat you up, if a man receive from you, if a man is insolent, if a man smite you on the face. ( )i speak with reference to the reproach _cast on me_, as though we were feeble; but wherein any man is bold (i speak in foolishness), i am bold also. ( )are they hebrews? so am i. are they israelites? so am i. are they the seed of abraham? so am i. ( )are they the ministers of christ? (i speak foolishly) i am above _them_: in labours more abundantly, in stripes exceedingly more, in prisons more frequently, in the most immediate danger of death often. ( )of the jews five times i have received forty stripes save one. ( )thrice i have been scourged with rods, once i have been stoned, thrice i have suffered shipwreck, a whole night and day i have passed in the deep; ( )in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own countrymen, in perils from the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the desert, in perils on the sea, in perils among false brethren; ( )in labour and travail, in watchings often, in fastings frequently, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness; ( )and beside all these things from without, that accumulated burden which cometh on me daily, the care of all the churches. ( )who is feeble, and am i not feeble? who is offended, and am i not on fire? ( )if i must glory, i will glory in the things which respect my infirmities. ( )the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who is blessed for evermore, knoweth that i lie not. ( )in damascus the governor under aretas the king guarded the city of the damascenes, intending to seize me; ( )and through a window in a basket i was let down by the wall, and escaped out of his hands. chap. xii. it is not expedient doubtless for me to boast. i will yet come to visions and revelations of the lord. ( )i knew a man in christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body i know not, or whether out of the body i know not: god knoweth;) such a one was caught up unto the third heavens. ( )and i knew such a man, (whether in the body or out of the body i know not: god knoweth,) ( )that he was caught up into paradise, and heard ineffable words, which it is not permitted to man to speak. ( )of such a one will i boast; but in myself will i not boast, save in my infirmities. ( )for though i should be disposed to boast, i shall not be a fool; for i shall speak truth: but i desist, lest any man think of me above what he seeth me to be, or what he heareth of me. ( )and that i might not be lifted up above measure by the transcendent greatness of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the angel satan, to buffet me, that i might not be lifted up above measure. ( )for this thrice i besought the lord, that he might depart from me. ( )and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of christ may fix its residence in me. ( )therefore i take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for christ's sake; for when i am weak, then am i strong. ( )have i become a fool in boasting? ye have compelled me; for i ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing have i been inferior to the very chief apostles, though i be nothing. ( )the signs indeed of an apostle have been wrought among you in all patience, in miracles, and wonders, and mighty deeds. ( )for what is there wherein ye have been inferior to the other churches, except that i have not been burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong. ( )lo! i hold myself ready the third time to come unto you, and i will not burden you; for i seek not yours but you: for the children ought not to lay up treasure for their parents, but the parents for the children. ( )and i will most cheerfully spend and be spent for your souls, though the more abundantly i love you, the less i am loved. ( )but admit it, i was not burdensome to you: but being crafty, i caught you with guile. ( )did i make a gain of you by any one individual whom i sent unto you? ( )i entreated titus _to go to you_, and with him i sent a brother. did titus make any advantage of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps? ( )think ye that we are again making an apology to you? in the sight of god speak we in christ: but all things, beloved, for your edification. ( )for i am afraid that when i come i shall not find you such as i wish, and that i shall be found of you such as ye would not: lest haply there be contentions, jealousies, animosities, quarrels, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: ( )and lest when i come to you again, my god should bow me down, and i should lament over many who have sinned before, and have not repented of the impurities, and whoredom, and lasciviousness which they have committed. chap. xiii. this third time i am coming to you: by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every charge be established. ( )i have told you before, and i repeat it, as when i was present the second time, and now absent, i write to those who have sinned already, and to all the rest, that if i come again, i will not spare you: ( )since ye demand a proof that christ speaketh in me, who to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. ( )for though he was crucified in weakness, yet he liveth by the power of god: for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of god _displayed_ towards you. ( )examine yourselves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your ownselves: know ye not your ownselves, that jesus christ is in you, except ye be reprobate? ( )but i hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate. ( )now i pray unto god that ye do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you may do that which is laudable, though we should be as reprobates. ( )for we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. ( )for we rejoice when we are weak, but ye are strong: and this also we pray for, even your perfect establishment. ( )for this cause, though absent, i have written these things, that when i am present i may not use severity, according to the power which the lord hath given me for edification, and not for destruction. ( )finally, brethren, rejoice: be perfectly united together, be comforted, be of one mind, live in peace; and the god of love and peace shall be with you. ( )salute one another with a holy kiss. ( )all the saints salute you. ( )the grace of the lord jesus christ, and the love of god, and the communion of the holy ghost be with you all. amen. the second epistle to the corinthians was written from philippi, a city of macedonia, by titus and luke. the epistle of paul the apostle, to the galatians. chap. i. paul the apostle (not _sent_ from men, nor by man, but by jesus christ, and our father who raised him from the dead), ( )and all the brethren with me, to the churches of galatia: ( )grace unto you, and peace from god the father and our lord jesus christ; ( )who gave himself for our sins, that he might pluck us out of this present wicked world, according to the will of god and our father: ( )to whom be glory for ever and ever. amen. ( )i marvel that ye are so quickly departed from him that called you, by the grace of christ into another gospel ( )which is not another; but there are certain persons who trouble you, and desire to pervert the gospel of christ. ( )but though even we, or an angel from heaven, preach unto you another gospel, different from that which we have preached to you, let him be an anathema. ( )as we have before spoken, and i now repeat it again, if any man preach a gospel different from that ye have received, let him be anathema. ( )for do i now use persuasions from men, or from god? or do i seek to please men? for if i yet pleased men, i should not be the servant of christ. ( )but i give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not a merely human ministry. ( )for i neither received it from man, nor was taught, but by immediate revelation from jesus christ. ( )for ye have heard of my former manner of life, when i professed judaism, that in the most outrageous manner i persecuted the church of god, and wasted it: ( )and signalized myself in judaism above many of those of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly a zealot for the traditions of my fathers. ( )but when it pleased god, who selected me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, ( )to reveal his son in me, that i might preach the glad tidings of him to the nations, immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood, ( )nor went up to jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but i went away into arabia, and returned again unto damascus. ( )afterwards at the expiration of three years i went up unto jerusalem to pay a visit to peter, and i abode with him fifteen days. ( )but i saw no other of the apostles except james, the lord's brother. ( )now respecting the things which i write unto you, behold, in the presence of god, i lie not. ( )afterwards i went into the regions of syria and cilicia; ( )and i was personally unknown to the churches of judea, which are in christ: ( )only they had heard, that he who persecuted us in time past, now preaches the faith which he once laid waste. ( )and they glorified god on my behalf. chap. ii. fourteen years afterwards i again went up to jerusalem with barnabas, taking titus also along with us. ( )and i went up then by revelation, and laid before them that gospel which i preach among the heathen, but in private conference with those who were of the first importance, that haply i might not run, nor had run in vain. ( )and even titus, who was with me, though a greek, was not compelled to be circumcised: ( )but this i did because of false brethren artfully introduced, who came to pry into our liberty which we hold in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: ( )to whom not even for an hour have we yielded subjection, that the truth of the gospel might abide with you. ( )but from those who appeared men of the greatest importance, (what sort of men soever they were it maketh no difference to me: god accepteth not a man's person;) for these important personages in conference added nothing to me; ( )but contrariwise when they saw that i was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcision, as peter was to the circumcision: ( )(for he that wrought powerfully by peter in his apostolic mission to the circumcision, wrought mightily also by me among the gentiles.) ( )and when they knew the grace which was bestowed on me, james and cephas and john, who appeared to be the pillars _of the church_, gave unto me and barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the gentiles, and they to the circumcision: ( )only desiring that we would remember the poor--the very thing which i have also been diligent to perform. ( )but when peter came to antioch i withstood him to his face, because he was blameable. ( )for before certain persons came from james, he did eat with the gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision. ( )and the other jews were guilty of the same dissimulation with him, so that even barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ( )but when i saw that they walked not directly according to the truth of the gospel, i said to peter before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest as the gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to judaize? ( )we who are jews by descent, and not sinners sprung from gentiles, ( )knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, even we have believed in jesus christ, that we might be justified by faith in christ, and not by works of the law; because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. ( )for if seeking to be justified by christ, we also ourselves should be found sinners, is christ then a minister of sin? god forbid. ( )for if i build up again the very same things which i have pulled down, i stamp myself a transgressor. ( )for i through the law am dead to the law, that i should live unto god. ( )i am crucified with christ, yet i live; though no more i, but christ liveth in me: and my present life in the flesh, is a life by faith in the son of god, who hath loved me, and delivered up himself for me. ( )i do not set at nought the grace of god; for if righteousness came by the law, truly christ hath died in vain. chap. iii. o infatuated galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth? to whom jesus christ has been described, as before your eyes, crucified among you. ( )this only would i learn of you, received ye the spirit by the works of the law, or from hearing of the faith? ( )are ye so senseless? having begun in the spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh? ( )have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. ( )he therefore who ministereth to you a supply of the spirit, and powerfully worketh miracles among you, doth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of the faith? ( )as abraham believed in god, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. ( )know then that they who are of faith, these are the children of abraham. ( )and the scripture foreseeing that by faith god would justify the gentiles, preached the gospel before unto abraham, saying, that "in thee shall all the nations be blessed[ ]." ( )wherefore they who are of faith are blessed with believing abraham. ( )for as many as are of the works of the law, are under a curse: for it is written, "cursed is every one who continueth not in all the things written in the book of the law to do them[ ]." ( )but that by the law no man is justified before god is evident: because "the just by faith shall live[ ]." ( )now the law is not by faith: but "the man that doeth these things shall live by them[ ]." ( )christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, "cursed is every one who is hanged on a tree[ ]:" ( )that unto the gentiles the benediction pronounced on abraham might come by jesus christ, that we might receive the promise of the spirit by faith. ( )brethren, i speak humanly; to use a similitude, a man's testament, if it be passed in legal form, no man can vacate, or add thereunto. ( )but to abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. he saith not, to seeds, as unto many persons; but as to an individual, and to thy seed, which is christ. ( )now this i say, the covenant confirmed of god to christ, the law, which was given three hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, so as to vacate the promise. ( )for if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more by promise; but to abraham god gave it freely by promise. ( )to what end then was the law given? it was given on account of transgressions, until that seed should come to whom the promise was made, being delivered through the ministry of angels into the hand of a mediator. ( )but the mediator of the one _seed_ he is not, though god is one. ( )is the law then contrary to the promises of god? god forbid. for if there had been a law given which was capable of procuring life, verily righteousness would have been by the law. ( )but the scripture hath shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in jesus christ might be given to those who believe. ( )but before the faith came, we were in ward under the law, shut up together for the faith that should be revealed. ( )wherefore the law was our conductor, as of children, to christ, that we might be justified by faith. ( )but when faith was come, we were no longer under a paedagogue. ( )for ye are all the sons of god through faith in christ jesus. ( )for as many of you as have been baptised into christ, have been invested with christ. ( )there is no more jew or gentile, there is no more slave or freeman, there is no more male or female: but ye are all one in christ jesus. ( )but if ye are christ's, then are ye abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. chap. iv. now i affirm, that as long as the heir is an infant, he differeth nothing from a servant, though he be master of all; ( )but is under tutors and trustees until the time fixed by his father. ( )so we also, when we were infants, were in bondage under the first elementary principles of the world: ( )but when the fulness of time was come, god sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law, ( )that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ( )but because ye are sons, god hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, abba, father! ( )therefore thou art no more a slave, but a son, and if a son, an heir also of god through christ. ( )but at that time when ye knew not god, ye served those who by nature are not gods. ( )but now after having known god, or rather being known of god, how turn ye back again to those weak and beggarly elements, to which again a second time ye desire to be in bondage? ( )ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. ( )i am afraid for you, lest haply i have bestowed on you labour in vain. ( )be as i am, for i also am as ye are, brethren--this is my request to you: ye have not injured me in the least. ( )ye know that with infirmity of flesh i preached to you the gospel at the first. ( )and my temptation, which was in my flesh, ye despised not, nor rejected with disgust; but as an angel of god ye received me, even as christ jesus himself. ( )what then was your blessedness, for i bear witness to you that, if it were possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes, and given them to me. ( )am i therefore become your enemy because i tell you the truth? ( )they affect zeal for you, not honourably; but they wish to exclude us, that you may be zealously attached to them. ( )it is good indeed to be zealously affected in a good cause always, and not only when i am present with you. ( )my little children of whom i travail in birth again, until christ be formed in you, ( )i wish i could be with you now, and change my address; for i am in doubt about you. ( )tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? ( )for it is written[ ] that abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman, and the other by a free. ( )now the son of the bond-maid was born after the flesh, but that by the free woman was by promise. ( )which things are allegorical; for these are the two covenants, the one from mount sinai, gendering unto bondage, which is represented by agar. ( )for this agar is mount sinai in arabia, and corresponds with jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children. ( )but the jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. ( )for it is written, "rejoice, thou barren who bearest not, cry out and shout for joy, thou that travailest not, for more are the children of her that was desolate, than of her which had an husband[ ]." ( )so we, brethren, as isaac, are the children of the promise. ( )but as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so is it now. ( )but what saith the scripture? "cast out the bond-woman and her son for the son of the bond-maid shall in no wise inherit with the son of the free woman[ ]." ( )so then, brethren, we are not the children of the bondwoman, but of the free. chap. v. stand fast therefore in the liberty with which christ has made you free, and be not again held under a yoke of bondage. ( )behold, i paul declare to you, that if ye be circumcised, christ will be of no advantage to you. ( )and again, i testify to every man who is circumcised, that he is under an obligation to keep the whole law. ( )ye have vacated all expectations from christ, as many of you as are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. ( )for we in spirit by faith expect the hope of righteousness. ( )for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith exerting its energy by love. ( )ye were running well: who hath hindered you that ye should not obey the truth? ( )this persuasion cometh not from him who called you. ( )a little leaven leaveneth the whole mass. ( )i have confidence in you through the lord, that ye will be no otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear condign punishment whosoever he be. ( )but i, brethren, if i yet preach circumcision, why am i still persecuted? then indeed the offence of the cross is at an end. ( )i wish that they who trouble you were cut off from you. ( )for ye have been called unto liberty, brethren; only use not that liberty as a pretext for carnality, but in love be subject one to another. ( )for the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ( )but if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed by one another. ( )but i say, walk in the spirit, and ye will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. ( )for the flesh hath appetites contrary to the spirit, and the spirit contrary to the flesh, and these act in opposition the one to the other: so that ye do not the things which ye would. ( )but if ye are under the conduct of the spirit, ye are not under the law. ( )now the works of the flesh are evident, which are these: adultery, whoredom, impurity, lasciviousness, ( )idolatry, magical charms, enmities, strifes, jealousies, animosities, quarrels, divisions, heresies, ( )envyings, murders, drunkenness, revels, and the like of these, concerning which i tell you now, as i have told you already, that they who live in such practices shall not inherit the kingdom of god. ( )but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity, ( )meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. ( )but they who are christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and irregular appetites. ( )if we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit. ( )let us not be vain-glorious, irritating one another, envying one another. chap. vi. brethren, if a man also be surprised into any act of offence, ye that are spiritual, replace such a one in the spirit of meekness; keeping an attentive eye on thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ( )bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of christ. ( )for if any man conceits that he is something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. ( )but let every man bring his own work to the test, and then shall he have glorying in himself alone, and not _by comparison_ with another. ( )for every man shall bear his own burden. ( )let him who is a learner of the word communicate to his instructor in all good things. ( )be not deceived; god is not to be trifled with: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ( )for he that soweth unto his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. ( )let us not then be weary of well-doing; for in due time we shall reap, if we faint not. ( )well then, whilst we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, but especially unto those who are of the household of faith. ( )ye see in how many words i have written unto you with my own hand. ( )as many as wish to make a fair appearance in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of christ. ( )for even they who are themselves circumcised do not keep the law, but desire you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. ( )but god forbid that i should glory, save in the cross of our lord jesus christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and i unto the world, ( )for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. ( )and as many as shall walk after this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the israel of god. ( )henceforth let no man trouble me; for i bear the marks of our lord jesus christ in my body. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit, brethren. amen. to the galatians, written from rome. the epistle of paul the apostle, to the ephesians. chap. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ, by the will of god, to the saints which are at ephesus, and to the faithful in christ jesus: ( )grace be unto you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly things in christ; ( )as he hath elected us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love: ( )having predestinated us for his adopted children by jesus christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ( )to the praise of the glory of his grace, whereby he hath made us acceptable in that beloved one; ( )in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; ( )wherein he hath abounded towards us with all wisdom and intelligence, ( )having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself; ( )at the dispensation of the fulness of the appointed times to gather together under one head all things in christ, whether they be things in heaven or things in earth, in him: ( )in whom also we have obtained our inheritance, predestinated according to the purpose of him who effectually worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will: ( )that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first had hope in christ. ( )in whom ye also _trusted_ after ye had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the holy spirit of promise, ( )which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the final redemption, acquired by him, come, to the praise of his glory. ( )for this cause i also, since i heard of your faith in the lord jesus, and the love ye have to all saints, ( )have not ceased offering up my praises for you, making mention of you in my prayers, ( )that the god of our lord jesus christ, the father of glory, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation by the knowledge of him; ( )the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he hath called you, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance for the saints, ( )and what the transcendent greatness of his power in us, who believe, according to the energy of his mighty strength ( )which he displayed in christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly regions, ( )far above all principality, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; ( )and hath put all things under his feet, and hath appointed him head over all to the church, ( )which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. chap. ii. and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ( )wherein in times past ye walked after the fashion of this world, after the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now worketh with energy in the children of disobedience: ( )among whom also we all have had our conversation in time past, in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, as well as the rest. ( )but god, being rich in mercy, through the great love with which he hath loved us, ( )though we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with christ, (by grace ye are saved,) ( )and hath raised us up together with him, and made us sit down together in the heavenly regions in christ jesus. ( )that he might shew forth in the ages to come the transcendent riches of his grace, in the kindness shewed to us in christ jesus. ( )for by grace ye are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of god: ( )not by works, lest any man should boast; ( )for we are his workmanship, created in christ jesus unto good works, for which god hath before prepared us, that we should walk therein. ( )wherefore remember that ye in time past were gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that called circumcision made by hands in the flesh; ( )that ye were at that time without christ, alienated from the commonwealth of israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and atheists in the world: ( )but now in christ jesus, ye who formerly were far off, are become nigh by the blood of christ. ( )for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of separation, ( )destroying the enmity in his flesh, even the law of precepts, in ordinances, that he might from the two create in himself one new man, making peace, ( )and might reconcile them both in one body to god by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby; ( )and coming, hath preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were nigh: ( )for through him we both have access by one spirit unto the father. ( )so then ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of god; ( )built up on the foundation of apostles and prophets, jesus christ himself being the chief corner stone; ( )in whom the whole building exactly cemented together groweth into a holy temple in the lord: ( )by whom also ye have been built up together for an habitation of god through the spirit. chap. iii. for this cause _am_ i paul, the prisoner of jesus christ for you gentiles, ( )if so be, that ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of god which was given to me for you: ( )that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as i wrote unto you before briefly; ( )wherein when ye read, ye may be able to perceive my knowledge in the mystery of christ, ( )which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it hath been now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit; ( )that the gentiles should be co-heirs, and of the same body, and sharers with them of his promise in christ by the gospel: ( )of which i am made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of god, which was given unto me by the effectual working of his power. ( )to me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that i should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of christ; ( )and to make all men see what the communication of that mystery means, which was hid from the beginning in god, who created all things by jesus christ: ( )that now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly regions, the manifold wisdom of god might be made known by the church, ( )according to the purpose from everlasting, which he formed in christ jesus our lord: ( )in whom we have boldness and access with confidence to god by the faith of him. ( )wherefore beseech you, that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. ( )for this end i bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ, ( )of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; ( )that he would give you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; ( )that christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that rooted and grounded in love, ( )ye may be strengthened to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and height and depth; ( )and to know the love of christ, transcendently surpassing knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of god. ( )now to him that is able to do above all things, exceeding abundantly, beyond what we ask or think, according to the power which effectually worketh in us; ( )to him be glory in the church, in christ jesus, unto all generations for ever and ever. amen. chap. iv. i then, the prisoner of the lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation with which ye are called, ( )with all humility and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; ( )careful to preserve unity of spirit, in the bond of peace. ( )there is one body, and one spirit, even as ye have been called to one hope of your calling; ( )one lord, one faith, one baptism, ( )one god, and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ( )but to every one of us hath the grace been given, according to the measure of the gift of christ. ( )wherefore the scripture saith, "when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men[ ]." ( )now this, that he ascended, what does it imply? but that he also first descended into the more internal parts of the earth? ( )he that descended is the same also, who ascended above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. ( )and he himself appointed, some indeed apostles, and some prophets; and others preachers of the gospel; and others pastors and teachers; ( )for the perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of christ: ( )until we all attain in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the son of god, unto a state of complete manhood, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ: ( )that we should be no longer infants, floating on the waves, and carried about with every wind of novel doctrine, by the juggling of men, by their craftiness after the delusive wiles of error; ( )but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, even christ: ( )from whom the whole body nicely joined together, and firmly connected by every joint of exact proportion, according to the energy exerted in the measure of every several part, causeth the increase of the body unto the edification of itself in love. ( )this then i urge and testify in the lord, that ye walk no more as the other gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, ( )darkened in understanding; alienated from the life of god through the ignorance which is in them; through the blindness of their hearts: ( )who insensible to remorse, have delivered themselves over in lasciviousness, to the practice of all impurity, with insatiable avidity. ( )but ye have not so learned christ; ( )if indeed ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in jesus: ( )that ye put off respecting your former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful passions; ( )but be renewed in the spirit of your minds; ( )and put on the new man, which is created godlike, in righteousness and true holiness. ( )wherefore putting away lying, speak truth, every one with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. ( )are ye provoked; and do you not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath: ( )nor give place to the devil. ( )let him that stole steal no more; but rather labour hard, working with his hands that which is good, that he may have something to give to him that is in want. ( )let no loose discourse proceed out of your mouth, but whatever is good for useful edification, that it may communicate grace to the hearers. ( )and grieve not the holy spirit of god, whereby ye have been sealed unto the day of redemption. ( )let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and scandal, be removed from you, with all malice: ( )but be ye kind one to another, full of sensibility, forgiving mutually, even as god in christ hath forgiven you. chap. v. be ye therefore imitators of god, as beloved children; ( )and walk in love as christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us, an oblation and sacrifice to god, for an odour of a sweet smell. ( )but fornication and all impurity, or insatiable desire, let it not be mentioned among you, as becometh saints; ( )or obscenity, or foolish talk, or loose witticisms; things which become not _a christian_, but rather thanksgiving. ( )for this ye know, that no whoremonger, or impure person, or avaricious, who is an idolater, hath an inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god. ( )let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things, the wrath of god cometh on the children of disobedience. ( )be not ye therefore partakers with them. ( )for ye were formerly darkness, but now are ye light in the lord: walk as children of light; ( )(for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ( )proving what is acceptable to the lord. ( )and have no society with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather rebuke them. ( )for it is scandalous but to mention the things done of them in secret. ( )but all things which are rebukeable are made manifest by the light; for it is the light, by which every thing is made manifest. ( )wherefore he saith, "awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and christ shall give thee light[ ]." ( )take heed, then, that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ( )redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ( )therefore be not unwise, but intelligent concerning what is the will of the lord. ( )and be not drunk with wine, in which there is sottishness, but be filled with the spirit; ( )speaking one to another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in the heart to the lord; ( )giving thanks always for all things in the name of our lord jesus christ, to god even the father; ( )being subject one to another in the fear of god. ( )wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, as to the lord. ( )for the husband is the head of the wife, as also christ is the head of the church; and is himself the saviour of the body. ( )as then the church is subject to christ, so also let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. ( )husbands, love your own wives, as christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ( )that he might sanctify it, purifying it in the laver of water by the word, ( )that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having blemish, nor wrinkle, nor any such things; but that it may be holy and unblameable. ( )so ought husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies. he that loveth his own wife loveth himself. ( )for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the lord the church: ( )for we are the members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. ( )for this reason shall a man forsake his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and the two shall be as one flesh. ( )this mystery is great: but i am speaking with regard to christ, and with regard to the church. ( )nevertheless let every one of you individually see that each love his own wife even as himself; but the wife that she stand in awe of the husband. chap. vi. children, obey your parents in the lord: for this is right. ( )"honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with a promise;) ( )that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest be long-lived upon earth[ ]." ( )and, ye fathers, exasperate not your children: but educate them in the discipline and admonition of the lord. ( )servants, be obedient to your masters after the flesh, with fear and trembling, in simplicity of your heart as unto christ; ( )not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of christ, doing the will of god from the soul; ( )with good will doing service as to the lord, and not unto men: ( )knowing that whatsoever good a man doeth, the same shall he receive from the lord, whether he be a bondman, or whether he be free. ( )and ye masters, do the same things to them, avoiding menacing language: knowing that you also yourselves have a master in heaven; and there is no respect of persons with him. ( )finally, brethren, be strong in the lord, and in the power of his might. ( )be clothed in the panoply of god, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ( )for our conflict is not merely against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and against powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against wicked spirits in the aerial regions. ( )therefore take the whole armour of god, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all things to stand. ( )stand therefore, girded about your loins with truth, and putting on the breastplate of righteousness; ( )and underneath your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ( )and over all lifting up the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ( )and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god: ( )praying at every opportunity with all prayer and supplication in spirit, and watching for this very purpose with perseverance and intercession for all the saints; ( )and for me that there may be given unto me utterance to open my mouth with boldness, to make known the mystery of the gospel, ( )for which i am an ambassador in bonds; that therein i may speak boldly, as i ought to speak. ( )but that ye also may know the things which concern me, and what i am doing, tychicus will inform you of the whole, a beloved brother, and faithful in the lord: ( )whom i have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. ( )peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from god the father and the lord jesus christ. ( )grace be with all those who love our lord jesus christ in sincerity. written to the ephesians from rome by tychicus. the epistle of paul the apostle, to the philippians. chap. i. paul and timothy, servants of jesus christ, to all the saints in christ jesus which are at philippi, with the bishops and deacons: ( )grace be unto you and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. ( )i give thanks to my god on every remembrance of you, ( )always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy, ( )for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day even until now; ( )being confident of this very thing, that he who hath wrought in you the good work will perfect it until the day of jesus christ: ( )as it is right for me to think this of you all, because i bear you on my heart, both in my bonds and in my defence and the confirmation of the gospel, as being all of you sharers in my grace. ( )for god is my witness, how earnestly i long after you all in the bowels of jesus christ. ( )and this i pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all understanding; ( )that ye may prove the things that are excellent, in order that ye may be sincere and without offence unto the day of christ; ( )filled with fruits of righteousness, which by jesus christ are to the glory and praise of god. ( )now i wish you, brethren, to know, that the things which have befallen me have rather conduced to the progress of the gospel; ( )so that my bonds are manifest in christ through the whole palace, and all other places; ( )and very many of our brethren in the lord, assuming confidence from my chains, are more abundantly bold, fearlessly to preach the word. ( )some indeed do it in a spirit of envy and strife; but some also preach christ with cordial good-will: ( )the one indeed preach christ out of contention, not with purity of intention, thinking to add affliction to my bonds: ( )but the others of love, knowing that i am exposed for the defence of the gospel. ( )what then? if christ is preached in whatever manner it be, whether in pretext or reality, even in this do i rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. ( )for i know that this shall issue in my salvation through your prayers, and the supply of the spirit of jesus christ, ( )according to my firm expectation and hope, that i shall be confounded by no event, but that with all boldness, as always hitherto, christ shall now also be magnified in my body, whether by my life or death. ( )for to me to live is christ, and to die is gain. ( )but if it be his will, that i should live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my travail: and what to chuse i know not. ( )for i am in a strait between the two, having an earnest longing to be dissolved, and to be with christ, for this is far, far better: ( )but to abide in the flesh may be more necessary for you. ( )and being so persuaded, i know that i shall stay and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith; ( )that your glorying may abound in christ jesus for me by my coming again unto you. ( )only conduct yourselves worthily as becometh the gospel of christ; that whether i come and see you, or else be absent, i may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul wrestling together in the faith of the gospel; ( )and not dismayed on any occasion by your adversaries; which is indeed the proof of perdition to them, but of salvation to you, and that from god. ( )for this favour on the part of christ is granted you, not only that ye should believe on him, but also that ye should suffer for his sake; ( )experiencing the same conflict which ye have seen in me, and now hear to be in me. chap. ii. if there be then any consolation in christ, if any comfort of love, if any communion of spirit, if any bowels and compassions, ( )fulfil ye my joy, that ye may be united in sentiment, having the same love, of one soul, of one mind. ( )let nothing be done contentiously or vain-gloriously; but in humility reckoning others superior to yourselves. ( )let not each aim at their own particular interests, but every man at those of others. ( )let the same sentiment of mind be in you, which was also in christ jesus: ( )who being in the form of god counted it no usurpation to claim equality with god: ( )but emptied himself, assuming the form of a servant, made after the similitude of mortal men; ( )and found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to the death of the cross. ( )wherefore god also hath transcendently exalted him, and bestowed on him a name which is above every name: ( )that to the name of jesus every knee should bow, of beings celestial and terrestrial, and infernal; ( )and every tongue should confess that the lord jesus _is_ messiah, to the glory of god the father. ( )wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always been obedient, not only during my presence with you, but now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling work out your own salvation. ( )for it is god who worketh effectually in you both to will and to perform of his good pleasure. ( )do all things without murmurings or disputes: ( )that ye may be blameless and harmless, the children of god, inoffensive, in the midst of an untoward and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as luminaries in the world; ( )holding up the word of life, that i may glory in the day of christ, that i have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain. ( )yea, and should i become the victim, in the sacrifice and service of your faith, i joy, and rejoice with you all. ( )in like manner do ye also joy and rejoice with me. ( )but i hope in the lord jesus to send timothy shortly unto you, that i also may be refreshed in spirit, when i know your affairs. ( )for i have no one like minded with him, who will genuinely care for your affairs. ( )for all seek their own interests, not those of christ jesus. ( )but ye have known the trial of him, that, as a son with a father, he hath served with me in the gospel. ( )him therefore i hope to send immediately as soon as i see clearly what will become of me. ( )but i have confidence in the lord that i myself shall come shortly. ( )but i have thought it necessary to send unto you epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow-labourer, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and the minister who supplied my want. ( )for indeed he greatly longed after you all, and was very sorry that ye had heard that he had been sick. ( )for sick indeed he was, nigh unto death: but god had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that i might not have sorrow upon sorrow. ( )i have sent him therefore the more diligently, that seeing him once more ye may rejoice, and i be less sorrowful. ( )receive him therefore in the lord with all joy, and honourably treat those that are such: ( )for in the work of christ he was nigh unto death indifferent about life, that he might afford me that service which it was not in your power to render me. chap. iii. moreover, brethren, rejoice in the lord. to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but is safe for you. ( )beware of dogs, beware of the malicious labourers, beware of the concision. ( )for we are the circumcision, who serve god in spirit, and glory in christ jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. ( )though i too might have confidence in the flesh; if any other man thinks that he may have confidence in the flesh, i may claim more: ( )circumcised the eighth day, of the race of israel, of the tribe of benjamin, a hebrew of hebrews; ( )respecting the law, a pharisee; with regard to zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is by the law, blameless. ( )but what things were gain to me, these have i counted loss for christ. ( )yea doubtless, and i count all things but loss for the transcendently excellent knowledge of jesus christ my lord: for whom i have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as offals of ordure, that i may gain christ, ( )and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is by the law, but that which is through faith in christ, the righteousness which is of god by faith: ( )that i may know him, and the virtue of his resurrection, and communion with his sufferings, being conformed to his death; ( )if haply i may attain unto the resurrection of the dead. ( )not that i have already attained, or am now perfect: but i pursue, that i may overtake that for which also by his apprehension of me i am destined by christ jesus. ( )brethren, i count not myself to have overtaken it; but this one object i pursue, forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching out to those which are before, ( )i press towards the mark for the prize of the divine calling from on high in christ jesus. ( )let as many of us therefore as are perfect, be thus minded: and if ye entertain any other sentiment, god also will unveil this unto you. ( )nevertheless, so far as we have advanced, be it our care to walk by the same rule, to mind the same thing. ( )be ye imitators, brethren, of me, and eye attentively those who walk so as ye have us for an example. ( )for many walk, whom i have often mentioned to you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of christ: ( )whose end is perdition, whose god is their belly, and their glory in their shame, whose minds are occupied with earthly things. ( )but our conversation is in heaven as its citizens, from whence also we are expecting the saviour, the lord jesus christ, ( )who shall transform our body of humiliation, that it may be conformed to his body of glory, according to the effectual working of him who is able to subdue even all things to himself. chap. iv. wherefore, my brethren, beloved, and very dear to me, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the lord, o beloved. ( )i beseech euodias, and i beseech syntiche to be of one mind in the lord. ( )and i beseech thee also, my genuine associate, assist those women who laboured with me in the gospel, with clement also, and my other fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life. ( )rejoice in the lord always; again i say, rejoice. ( )let your moderation be known unto all men. the lord is at hand. ( )be not anxious about any thing, but in every case by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known unto god. ( )and the peace of god which surpasseth all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in christ jesus. ( )finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are serious, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are laudable, if there be any virtue, or any thing praise-worthy, pay attention to these things. ( )whatsoever things also ye have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these practise, and the god of peace shall be with you. ( )now i rejoiced greatly in the lord, that now once more your thoughtful attention about me hath again sprung up, to which also your mind had been disposed, but ye had not found the opportunity. ( )not that i mention this with a view to my indigence: for i have learned in whatever circumstances i am, to be content. ( )i know how to be abased, and i know how to abound; in every state and in all situations i am instructed either to be full or famishing, either to enjoy abundance, or to suffer want: ( )i am enabled for all things by christ who strengtheneth me. ( )nevertheless ye have done nobly in your communications to me during my affliction. ( )but know also, philippians, that at my first preaching the gospel, when i went from macedonia, no church communicated to me in the way of giving and receiving but ye alone. ( )for in thessalonica also ye sent me once, yea twice, a supply for my want. ( )not that i am anxious for a gift; but i am anxious to see fruit abounding on your account. ( )but i have now all things, and abound: i am full, having received from epaphroditus your bounty, an odour of sweet smell, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to god. ( )but my god will fully supply all your want, according to his riches in glory, by christ jesus. ( )now to god, even our father, be glory for ever and ever. amen. ( )salute every saint in christ jesus. the brethren that are with me salute you. ( )all the saints salute you, specially those who are of caesar's household. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. unto the philippians, written from rome by epaphroditus. the epistle of paul the apostle, to the colossians. chap. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy a brother, ( )to the saints at colosse, and to the faithful brethren in christ: grace be unto you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )we give thanks to the god and father of our lord jesus christ, always praying for you, ( )having heard of your faith in christ jesus, and the love ye show to all the saints; ( )because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens, which ye have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel, ( )which is come unto you, as it is also unto all the world; and beareth fruit, as also among you, from the day that ye heard and knew the grace of god in truth; ( )even as ye have learned from epaphras our beloved fellow-labourer, who is a faithful minister of christ for you; ( )who also declared to us your love in the spirit. ( )for this cause we also from the day we heard it have not ceased praying for you, and beseeching god that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ( )that ye may walk worthy of the lord, well pleasing him in all things, in every good work fruitful, and increasing in the knowledge of god; ( )strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joy; ( )giving thanks to god, even the father, who hath made us meet for a portion in the inheritance of the saints in light; ( )who hath plucked us out from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the son of his love: ( )in whom we have redemption through his blood, and forgiveness of sins. ( )who is the image of the invisible god, the prime author of all creation: ( )for by him were all things created, celestial and terrestrial, visible or invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers, all were created by him, and for him: ( )and he is before all, and by him all things subsist. ( )and he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first begotten from the dead, that he might be in all things pre-eminent. ( )for it hath pleased the father that in him all fulness should dwell; ( )and by him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace by the blood of his cross: by him, i say, whether they be things on earth, or things in the heavens. ( )and you who in time past were all aliens, and enemies in mind by wicked works, hath he now reconciled, ( )by the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreprehensible in his presence: ( )if ye abide in faith grounded and firm, and never moved aside from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which hath been preached to the whole creation which is under heaven, of which i paul am a minister. ( )now i rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh the measure of afflictions for christ which remains to be endured for his body, which is the church, ( )of which i am a minister, according to the dispensation of god, which was given me for you to fulfil the ministry of the word of god--( )the mystery which was hid from ages and from generations, but is now unveiled to his saints; ( )to whom god would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is christ in you, the hope of glory: ( )whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in christ jesus; ( )for which also i am labouring, conflicting in the energy of his might, which worketh in me powerfully. chap. ii. for i wish you to know how great a struggle i sustain for you, and those at laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; ( )that their hearts may be comforted, firmly united together in love, and unto all riches of full assurance of understanding, in the knowledge of the mystery of god, and of the father, and of christ; ( )in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ( )now this i say, lest any man pervert you with specious discourse. ( )for though i am absent from you in person, yet i am present with you in spirit, rejoicing and beholding your regular order, and the stedfastness of your faith in christ. ( )as therefore ye have received christ jesus the lord, walk in him: ( )rooted and built up on him, and confirmed in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ( )beware that no man make a prey of you by means of philosophy and vain delusion, after the tradition of men, after the principles of the world, and not after christ: ( )for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily; ( )and ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power: ( )in whom also ye have been circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands, by the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, through the circumcision of christ: ( )buried with him in baptism, in which also ye have been raised up together with him by faith, the energy of god, who raised him from the dead. ( )and you, who were dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened with him, freely forgiving you all trespasses; ( )and hath blotted out the handwriting in ordinances that was against us, which was the obstacle to us, and took it from the midst, nailing it to the cross; ( )spoiling principalities and powers, he exposed them to view openly, triumphing over them on it. ( )let no man therefore judge you concerning what you eat, or what you drink, or the observance of a feast, or new moon, or the sabbaths; ( )which are _merely_ shadows of things to come: but the body is christ's. ( )let no man juggle you out of your prize, voluntary in _his_ humility and the worship of angels, intruding into things which he never saw, vainly puffed up by his carnal imagination; ( )and not firmly attached to the head, from which the whole body, by joints and ligaments, harmoniously adjusted and closely compacted, increaseth with increase from god. ( )if then ye have been dead with christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye dogmatically taught, ( )eat not, nor talk, nor touch, ( )(all which things tend to corruption by abuse) according to the injunctions and doctrines of men? ( )which things indeed hold forth an appearance of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and bodily mortification, _though_ not of any value, _but_ a gratification to the flesh. chap. iii. if ye then be risen with christ, seek the things which are above, where christ is seated at the right hand of god. ( )fix your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. ( )for ye are dead, and your life is hid with christ in god. ( )when christ shall appear, who is our life, then shall you also with him be manifested in glory. ( )mortify therefore your members which are on the earth, fornication, impurity, the vile passion, evil concupiscence, and insatiable desire, which is idolatry: ( )for which things the wrath of god cometh upon the children of disobedience; ( )in which ye also walked formerly when ye lived among them: ( )but now ye have put away all these things, anger, asperity, malice, scandal, obscenity, out of your mouth. ( )lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his practices; ( )and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him. ( )where there is no difference whether a man be greek or jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or scythian, slave or freeman: but christ is all and in all. ( )put on therefore, as the elect of god, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; ( )forbearing one another, and freely forgiving one another, if any man hath a complaint against another: even as christ hath freely forgiven you, so also do ye. ( )but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ( )and let the peace of god set up its throne in your hearts, whereunto also ye have been called in one body; and be ye thankful. ( )let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing with grace in your heart unto the lord. ( )and everything that ye do in word or in work, do all in the name of the lord jesus, giving thanks to god and the father by him. ( )wives be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the lord. ( )husbands, love your wives, and use no asperity against them. ( )children, be obedient to your parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing to the lord. ( )parents, irritate not your children, lest their spirit be broken. ( )servants, obey in all things your masters after the flesh, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but, in simplicity of heart, fearing god. ( )and in every thing that ye do, labour from the soul, as for the lord, and not man; ( )knowing that from the lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye are servants to the lord christ. ( )but he that is guilty of injustice shall receive punishment for the wrong he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. chap. iv. masters, afford to your servants that which is just, and an equivalent, knowing that ye also have a master in the heavens. ( )persevere in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; ( )praying also at the same time for us, that god may open to us a door for the word, that i may speak the mystery of christ, for which i am also in chains: ( )that i may make it evident, as i ought to speak. ( )walk wisely with regard to those without, redeeming the time. ( )let your discourse be always gracious, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to reply to every man. ( )all my affairs will tychicus make known unto you, a beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow-servant in the lord: ( )whom i have sent unto you for this very purpose, that he might know your affairs, and comfort your hearts; ( )with onesimus, that faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you: they will make known unto you all things that have passed here. ( )there salute you aristarchus my fellow-prisoner, and mark nephew to barnabas, concerning whom ye have received injunctions; if he come unto you, receive him, ( )and jesus, who is called justus, who are of the circumcision. these only are my fellow-labourers for the kingdom of god, who have been a comfort to me. ( )epaphras, one of you, saluteth you, a servant of christ, always wrestling for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of god. ( )for i bear him witness that he hath great zeal for you, and for those in laodicea, and those in hierapolis. ( )luke, the beloved physician, saluteth you, and demas. ( )salute the brethren that are in laodicea, and nymphas, and the church which is at his house. ( )and when this epistle hath been read among you, cause that it also be read in the church of the laodiceans, and that ye also read that from laodicea. ( )and say to archippus, take heed to the ministry which thou hast received from the lord, that thou fulfil it. ( )the salutation of paul with mine own hand. remember my chains. grace be with you. amen. written to the colossians from rome by tychicus and onesimus. the first epistle of paul the apostle, to the thessalonians. chap. i. paul, and silvanus, and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians in god the father, and in the lord jesus christ: grace unto you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )we give thanks to god always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; ( )without ceasing calling to mind your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our lord jesus christ, before our god and father; ( )knowing, brethren, beloved of god, your election. ( )for our gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power, and in the holy ghost, and in great fulness of assurance; as ye know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes. ( )and ye became imitators of us, and of the lord, receiving the word in much affliction, with joy of the holy ghost; ( )so that ye became models for all that believe in macedonia and achaia. ( )for from you sounded forth the word of the lord, not only into macedonia and achaia, but into every region also your fidelity towards god is gone out, so that we have no need to say any thing. ( )for they publish concerning you what manner of entrance we had unto you, and how ye turned unto god from idols, to serve the living and true god, ( )and to wait for his son from the heavens, whom he raised from the dead, even jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come. chap. ii. for ye yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in to you, that it was not in vain. ( )but though we had suffered before, and were infamously treated, as ye know, at philippi, we were bold in our god to preach unto you the gospel of god amidst a great conflict. ( )and our exhortation originated not from delusion, or impurity, or from guile; ( )but as we have been approved of god to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but god, who trieth our hearts. ( )for neither at any time used we insinuating language, as ye know, nor a pretext for covetousness; god is witness: ( )not seeking glory from men, neither from you, nor from others, though we might have been burdensome, as apostles of christ. ( )but we were gentle in the midst of you, as a nurse cherisheth her own infants. ( )so, tenderly affected towards you, we could with pleasure have imparted to you not the gospel of god only, but our own lives also, because ye were beloved by us. ( )for ye remember, brethren, our labour and toil: for night and day working hard, that we might be no burden to any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of god. ( )ye are witnesses, and god also, how holily, and justly, and faultlessly we conducted ourselves among you that believe: ( )as ye know how _we treated_ every one of you, as a father doth his children, exhorting you, and admonishing, and conjuring you, ( )that ye should walk worthy of god, as calling you into his kingdom and glory. ( )for this cause do we also give thanks to god unceasingly, because when ye received the word reported by us from god, ye received it not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of god, which worketh also effectually in you that believe. ( )for ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of god which are in judea, in christ jesus: for ye suffered the same things also yourselves from your own countrymen, as they too have of the jews; ( )who both murdered the lord jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not god, and are in opposition to all mankind; ( )forbidding us to speak to the gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up the measure of their iniquities always: but wrath is coming upon them to the extremity. ( )but we, brethren, bereaved of you for a short moment, in person, not in heart, have more abundantly longed to see your face with great desire. ( )therefore we wished to have come unto you, even i paul, once and again; but satan prevented us. ( )for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our lord jesus christ at his coming? ( )for ye are our glory and joy. chap. iii. wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at athens alone: ( )and sent timothy our brother, and a minister of god, and our fellow-labourer in the gospel of christ, that he might stablish you, and comfort you concerning your faith: ( )that no man might be shaken by these tribulations; for ye yourselves know that thereunto we are appointed. ( )for when we were with you, we told you before that we were about to suffer tribulation; as also it came to pass, and ye know. ( )for this cause also, when i could no longer forbear, i sent to know your fidelity, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labour should be in vain. ( )but now when timothy returned to us from you, and brought us the glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye retain a kind remembrance of us always, earnestly desirous to see us, as we are also to see you: ( )for this cause we have felt consolation, brethren, in you under all our tribulation and distress, because of your fidelity. ( )for now we live, if ye stand fast in the lord. ( )for what sufficient thanks can we render to god for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice on your account before our god, ( )night and day most fervently praying that we may see your face, and amply supply the deficiencies of your faith? ( )now god himself, and our father, and the lord jesus christ direct our way unto you. ( )and the lord cause you to abound and overflow with love one to another, and towards all men, as we also do to you: ( )to the end that your hearts may be established blameless in holiness before god and our father, at the coming of our lord jesus christ with all his saints. chap. iv. finally, brethren, we beseech you therefore, and conjure you by the lord jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk, and please god, so ye would abound more and more. ( )for ye know what commandments we gave you by the lord jesus. ( )for this is the will of god, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from whoredom; ( )that every one of you may know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, ( )not in the vile passion of lewdness, as the gentiles which know not god; ( )that no man transgress against, or act dishonestly to his brother in this matter because the lord is the avenger of all such things, as we have told you before, and testified. ( )for god hath not called us unto impurity, but unto holiness. ( )therefore he that despiseth, despiseth not man, but god, who hath also given unto us his holy spirit. ( )now concerning brotherly love, i have no need to write unto you: for ye yourselves are divinely taught to love one another. ( )and indeed ye practise it towards all the brethren that are throughout macedonia: but we conjure you, brethren, to abound more and more; ( )and that you make it your study to live peaceably, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we have enjoined you; ( )that ye walk becomingly towards those without, and need no assistance from any person. ( )now i would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are fallen asleep, that ye be not afflicted, as the rest _of mankind_ who have no hope. ( )for if we believe that jesus died, and rose again, so also those that have fallen asleep for jesus shall god bring with him. ( )for this i say unto you by the word of the lord, that we who are alive, who are left unto the coming of the lord, shall not prevent those who are fallen asleep. ( )for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of god; and the dead in christ shall rise first: ( )then we who are alive, who remain, shall be caught up together with them into the clouds, to meet the lord in the air; and so shall we be ever with the lord. ( )wherefore comfort one another with these words. chap. v. now concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that i should write to you: ( )for yourselves know precisely that the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ( )for when they say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction rusheth upon them, as travail on a woman with child, and they shall in no wise escape. ( )but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. ( )ye are all the children of light, and the children of day: we are not the children of night, nor of darkness. ( )let us not then sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. ( )for they who sleep, sleep in the night, and they who are drunken, are drunken in the night; ( )but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ( )for god hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our lord jesus christ, ( )who died for us, that whether we sleep, or whether we wake, we may live together with him. ( )wherefore comfort one another, and edify one another, as also ye do. ( )now we entreat you, brethren, to know those who labour among you, and preside over you in the lord, and admonish you; ( )and to account of them very highly in love for their work's sake. and live in peace among yourselves. ( )now we conjure you, brethren, admonish the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the infirm, be patient with all men. ( )see that no man return evil for evil to any man; but always pursue that which is good, both towards one another, and towards all men. ( )rejoice evermore. ( )pray without ceasing. ( )in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of god in christ jesus to you-wards. ( )quench not the spirit. ( )despise not prophesyings. ( )prove all things; hold fast that which is good. ( )abstain from all appearance of evil. ( )now the god of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved faultless unto the coming of our lord jesus christ. ( )faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. ( )brethren, pray for us. ( )salute all the brethren with an holy kiss. ( )i conjure you by the lord, that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. amen. the first epistle to the thessalonians was written from athens. the second epistle of paul the apostle, to the thessalonians. chap. i. paul, and silvanus, and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians in god our father and in the lord jesus christ: ( )grace unto you and peace, from god our father, and from the lord jesus christ. ( )we are bound to give thanks to god always for you, brethren, as it is fit, because your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth: ( )so that we ourselves make our boast of you among the churches of god, for your patience and fidelity under all your persecutions and afflictions which ye endure: ( )which is a manifest proof of the righteous judgment of god, that ye should be counted worthy of the kingdom of god, for which ye also suffer: ( )seeing it is a righteous thing with god to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; ( )and to you who are troubled, rest with us, at the revelation of the lord jesus christ from heaven with his mighty angels, ( )in a flame of fire, taking vengeance of them that know not god, and obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ: ( )who shall receive punishment, even eternal perdition, from the presence of the lord, and from the glory of his power: ( )when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired by all those who believe; because our testimony was believed among you in that day. ( )wherefore also we pray continually for you, that our god would count you worthy of the calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: ( )that the name of our lord jesus christ may be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our god and lord, jesus christ. chap. ii. now we entreat you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our lord jesus christ, and our gathering together unto him: ( )that ye be not hastily agitated with apprehension, nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by discourse, nor by letter, as coming from us, as though the day of the lord was instantly approaching. ( )let no man deceive you in any way: because that cannot be till the apostasy come first, and the man of sin appear, the son of perdition, ( )who opposeth himself against, and exalteth himself above all that is called god, or is the object of adoration; so that he in the temple of god sitteth as god, exhibiting himself in public that he is god. ( )do ye not remember that when i was yet with you, i told you these things? ( )and now ye know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his own time. ( )for the mystery of iniquity is already powerfully working; only he that withholdeth hitherto, will do so till he is removed. ( )and then that lawless person will appear, whom the lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming; ( )whose appearing is known by fanatical energy, displayed in all power, and signs, and lying miracles, ( )and in every unrighteous delusion among those who perish: in consequence of which things they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ( )and for this cause god shall send unto them the energy of delusion, that they should believe a lie: ( )that they all might be damned who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness. ( )but we are bound to give thanks always to god for you, brethren, beloved of the lord, because god hath elected you from the beginning unto salvation, by sanctification of the spirit, and faith in the truth: ( )whereunto also he called you by our gospel, in order to your acquisition of the glory of our lord jesus christ. ( )therefore, brethren, stand fast, and firmly hold the injunctions delivered to you, as ye have been taught, whether by our discourse, or by letter. ( )now our lord jesus christ himself, and our god, and father, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace, ( )comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. chap. iii. finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the lord may run, and be glorified, even as among you; ( )and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for there is not faith in all. ( )but the lord is faithful, who will stablish you, and keep you from the wicked one. ( )but we have confidence in the lord towards you, that the things which we have enjoined you, ye both do, and will do. ( )and the lord direct your hearts into the love of god, and into the patience of christ. ( )now we command you, brethren, in the name of our lord jesus christ, to withdraw yourselves from every brother who walketh disorderly, and not according to the injunction which he hath received from us. ( )for ye yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us; for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you, ( )neither did we eat bread with any man unpaid for, but with labour and toil worked night and day, that we might be burdensome to none of you: ( )not that we have not such power, but that we might be ourselves an example for you to imitate. ( )for when we were with you, this we enjoined you, that if a man would not work, neither should he eat. ( )for we hear that there are some among you who walk disorderly, doing no work, but being busy-bodies. ( )now such we command, and conjure, by our lord jesus christ, that with quietness they labour, and eat their own bread. ( )but ye, brethren, be not weary of well doing. ( )and if any man obey not our word by letter, mark that man, and maintain no society with him, that he may be ashamed. ( )yet regard him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ( )and the lord of peace himself give you peace, by every means, in every situation. the lord be with you all. ( )the salutation of paul with my own hand, which is my sign in every letter: so i write. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. the second epistle was written to the thessalonians from athens. the first epistle of the apostle paul to timothy. chap. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ, by the order of god, our saviour, and lord, jesus christ, who is our hope; ( )to timothy, my genuine son in faith: grace, mercy, and peace from god our father, and christ jesus our lord. ( )as i exhorted thee to abide at ephesus when i went into macedonia, that thou mightest enjoin certain persons to introduce no different doctrine, ( )nor to attend to fables and endless genealogies, which give occasion to disputes rather than godly edification, which is by faith; _so do_. ( )for the end of the commandment is love out of a clean heart, and good conscience, and faith unfeigned: ( )from which some, having swerved, have turned aside to vain babbling; ( )affecting to be doctors of the law, though they underhand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. ( )but we know that the law is good if a man use it according to its institution; ( )knowing this, that the law is not made for the just man, but for the lawless and disorderly, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for men-slayers, ( )for whoremongers, for sodomites, for stealers of men, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing which is contrary to sound doctrine, ( )according to the glorious gospel of the blessed god, with which i have been put in trust. ( )and i render thanks to him who hath strengthened me, even to christ jesus our lord, that he hath counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; ( )who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and insolently violent, but i was admitted to mercy, for i did it ignorantly in unbelief; ( )but the grace of our lord hath exceedingly abounded with faith and love, which is in christ jesus. ( )it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom i am the chief. ( )but for this end obtained i mercy, that in me, the chief, jesus christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to those who should after believe in him unto eternal life. ( )now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise god, be honour and glory for ever and ever. amen. ( )this commandment, son timothy, i give thee, according to the prophecies which were before delivered concerning thee, that by them thou mightest war a good warfare; ( )holding faith and a good conscience, which some having renounced, as touching the faith, have been shipwrecked: ( )of whom are hymeneus and alexander, whom i have delivered over unto satan, that they may be corrected, so as to blaspheme no more. chap. ii. i exhort therefore, first of all, that there be offered supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings for the whole race of mankind: ( )for kings, and all that are in a state of eminence, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and seriousness. ( )for this is becoming, and acceptable before god our saviour; ( )who wills all men to be saved, and come to the acknowledgment of truth. ( )for there is one god, and one mediator between god and men, the man christ jesus; ( )who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be born in his appointed times; ( )of which i am ordained a preacher and apostle, (i speak the truth in christ, i lie not,) a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth. ( )i will then that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting: ( )in like manner also that the women dress themselves in decent apparel, with modesty and sobriety; not with plaited tresses, or gold, or pearls, or very costly clothing, ( )but as becometh women professing godliness, with good works. ( )let the woman learn in silence with all subjection: ( )for i permit not a woman to teach in public, or to assume authority over the man, but to abide in silence. ( )for adam was first formed, eve afterwards. ( )and adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, by transgression fell. ( )but she shall be saved through childbearing, if they abide in faith, and love, and holiness with sobriety. chap. iii. it is a true saying, if a man seeks the office of a bishop, he desireth a laudable employment. ( )a bishop then must be irreprehensible, the husband of one wife, temperate, sagacious, respectable, hospitable, well qualified for teaching; ( )not addicted to wine, not using hard words or blows, not greedy of base gain; but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money; ( )presiding over his own family with propriety, having his children under subjection with all gravity of behaviour: ( )for if a man knoweth not how to order his own family, how shall he take proper care of the church of god? ( )not a new convert, lest he be puffed up, and fall into the devil's crime. ( )he must also have a fair character from those who are without, that he may not fall into reproach, and into the snare of the devil. ( )the deacons also in like manner must be grave, not doubletongued, not addicting themselves to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; ( )holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ( )and let these also be first proved, and if found blameless, then let them enter on the deacon's office. ( )their wives in like manner must be grave women, not addicted to scandal, sober, faithful in all things. ( )let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ordering well their children and their own families. ( )for they who discharge the office of a deacon with propriety, acquire to themselves a respectable station _in the church_, and great boldness in the faith which is in jesus christ. ( )these things i write to thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: ( )but should i be delayed, that thou mayest know how it behoveth thee to conduct thyself in the house of god, which is the church of the living god, the pillar and the pedestal of truth. ( )and confessedly great is the mystery of godliness: god was manifested in the flesh, justified by the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. chap. iv. now the spirit speaketh expresly, that in the latter days some will apostatise from the faith, giving heed to spirits of delusion, and doctrines of devils; ( )men who teach lies with hypocrisy; and have their own consciences cauterised; ( )prohibiting marriage, and enjoining abstinence from particular meats, which god created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful, and those who acknowledge the truth. ( )for every creature of god is good, and none to be rejected, if used with thanksgiving: ( )for it is sanctified by the word of god and prayer. ( )if thou suggest these truths to the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of jesus christ, nourished up in the words of faith and sound doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. ( )but profane and antiquated fables reject, but exercise thyself unto godliness. ( )for bodily exercise is of little advantage, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come. ( )this is a faithful saying, and deserving all acceptance. ( )for therefore do we labour and are exposed to abuse, because we have hoped in the living god, who is the saviour of all men, especially of the faithful. ( )announce and teach these things. ( )let no man despise thy youth; but be a pattern of the faithful, in discourse; in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ( )till i come, apply to reading, to exhortation, to teaching. ( )neglect not the gift which is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the presbytery. ( )let these things be thy care; be wholly devoted to them; that thy progress may be evident to all men. ( )take heed unto thyself, and to thy doctrine; abide in them: for so doing thou shalt both save thyself, and those who hear thee. chap. v. rebuke not harshly an aged man, but admonish him as a father; the younger men as brethren; ( )the aged women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. ( )honour the widows, that are widows indeed. ( )but if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn as their first duty to shew their piety towards their own family, and make a grateful return to their progenitors: for this is becoming and acceptable before god. ( )but she who is a widow indeed, and abandoned to solitude, hopeth in god, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. ( )but she who lives voluptuously is dead, though she liveth. ( )and these things inculcate, that they may be blameless. ( )but if any man provide not for his own relations, and especially for those more immediately of his own family, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. ( )let no widow be put on the list under sixty years of age, who hath been the wife of one husband, ( )bringing attestation of her good works; that she hath well educated her children, that she hath been hospitable to strangers, that she hath washed the saints feet, that she hath assisted the afflicted, that she hath followed diligently every good work. ( )but the younger widows reject: for when they give themselves to wantonness contrary to christ, they will marry; ( )incurring censure, for having violated their former engagement. ( )and at the same time also they learn to be idle, visiting about in the houses; and not merely idle, but talkative and inquisitive, speaking things they ought not. ( )i would therefore have the younger widows to marry, bear children, govern their house, give no occasion to the adversary to bring a reproach on them. ( )for some are already turned aside after satan. ( )but if any man or woman who believes hath widows their relations, let him provide for them, and let not the church be burdened; that there may be a sufficiency for the real widows. ( )let the elders who preside properly be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who are laborious in preaching and teaching. ( )for the scripture saith, "thou shalt not muzzle the ox while he treadeth out the corn[ ]." and again, "the labourer is worthy of his hire." ( )against a presbyter receive not an accusation, except it be from two or three witnesses. ( )those who sin rebuke before all, that the rest also may tremble. ( )i adjure thee before god, and the lord jesus christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality. ( )lay hands hastily on no man, nor share another's sins: keep thyself pure; ( )confine thyself no longer to water-drinking; but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thy frequent indispositions. ( )some men's sins are glaringly manifest, going before to judgment; and after others also they follow _to detection_. ( )in like manner also the good works _of some_ are previously manifest; and it is not possible that what they have besides should be concealed. chap. vi. let as many slaves as are under the yoke account their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of god and the doctrine be not blasphemed. ( )but they who have believing masters, let them not think less of them, because they are brethren; but serve them the rather, because they are faithful and beloved, who have equally partaken of the benefit. these things teach and enjoin. ( )if any man teach another doctrine, and attend not to the sound words, which are those of jesus christ our lord, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; ( )he is conceited, knowing nothing, but delirious with disputes and quarrels about words, from whence come wrath, contentions, evil speakings, wrong suspicions, ( )perverse wranglings of men corrupt in mind, and destitute of truth, who think to make gain of godliness; depart from such men. ( )but godliness with contentment is great gain. ( )for that we brought nothing into the world is evident, neither can we carry any thing out of it. ( )having then food and raiment, let us be therewith content. ( )for they who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful passions, which sink men in the abyss of destruction and perdition. ( )for the love of money is the root of all evils, which some coveting, have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ( )but thou, o man of god, flee from these things; but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. ( )strain every nerve in the noble conflict of faith, lay fast hold on eternal life, unto which also thou hast been called, and hast confessed the good confession before many witnesses. ( )i conjure thee in the presence of god, who giveth life to all things, and of christ jesus, who witnessed that noble confession before pontius pilate; ( )that thou observe this injunction spotless, irreproachable, unto the appearing of our lord jesus christ: ( )which in his own appointed times he will shew forth, who is the blessed and only potentate, the king of kings, and lord of lords; ( )who alone possesseth immortality, inhabiting light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and glory eternal. amen. ( )charge the rich in this world not to be lifted up with pride, nor to trust on the stability of wealth, but on the living god, who giveth us richly all things for our enjoyment; ( )to do good, to be rich in generous actions, to take pleasure in liberality, ready to distribute; ( )laying up treasure for themselves a noble foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. ( )o timothy, guard the sacred deposit, avoiding profane trifling talk, and antitheses of misnamed science: ( )which some affecting have erred concerning the faith. grace be with thee.--amen. the first epistle was written from laodicea, which is the metropolis of phrygia pacatiana. the second epistle of paul the apostle to timothy. chap. i. paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, according to the promise of the life which is in christ jesus, ( )to timothy, my beloved son: grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and christ jesus our lord. ( )i thank god, whom i serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience, that i keep up a constant remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; ( )earnestly desiring to see thee, remembering thy tears, that i might be filled with joy; ( )recalling to my memory the unfeigned faith which was in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother lois, and in thy mother eunice; and i am persuaded that _it is_ in thee also. ( )for which cause i remind thee that thou fan into a flame the divine gift, which is in thee by the imposition of my hands. ( )for god hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of courage, and of love, and of sobriety. ( )be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer affliction with me in the gospel, supported by the power of god; ( )who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in christ jesus before time had a beginning; ( )but is now made manifest by the appearing of our saviour jesus christ, who hath abolished death, and brought to light life and immortality by the gospel: ( )whereunto i am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the gentiles. ( )for which cause also i suffer these things; but i am not ashamed: for i know on whom i have placed my confidence, and am persuaded that he is mighty to guard my deposit unto the great day. ( )model thy teaching according to the pattern of the sound discourses, which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in christ jesus. ( )the glorious deposit committed to thy trust, guard by the holy ghost who dwelleth in us. ( )knowest thou this, that all those of asia have deserted me? among whom are phygellus and hermogenes. ( )the lord grant mercy unto the household of onesiphorus because he frequently was a refreshment to my soul, and was not ashamed of my chain: ( )but, when he was at rome, he sought me out diligently, and found me. ( )the lord grant that he may find mercy with the lord in the great day; and how liberally he ministered to me at ephesus, thou knowest better than any other person. chap. ii. thou therefore, my son, be mighty in the grace which is in jesus christ. ( )and the things which thou hast heard of me before many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who shall be qualified to teach others also. ( )thou therefore endure hardships, as a brave soldier of jesus christ. ( )no man who enters the army involves himself with secular affairs; that he may please the person who hath enlisted him. ( )and if a man contend in the public games, he is not crowned victor, unless he contend according to the laws. ( )the husbandman who toils is the first who ought to partake of the fruits. ( )consider what i say; and the lord give thee understanding in all things. ( )remember that jesus christ of the seed of david was raised from the dead, according to my gospel: ( )for which i suffer affliction, even unto chains as a malefactor; but the word of god is not bound. ( )therefore i endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in jesus christ with eternal glory. ( )it is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: ( )if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him: if we renounce him, he also will renounce us: ( )if we are unbelieving, he abideth faithful; he cannot contradict himself. ( )put them in mind of these things, adjuring them before the lord not to quarrel about words of no use, but tending to the perversion of the audience. ( )be diligent to present thyself before god approved, a workman that need not blush, rightly dividing the word of truth. ( )but profane vain bablings avoid: for they will proceed to greater lengths of impiety. ( )and their discourse will eat like as a gangrene; of whom are hymeneus and philetus; ( )who with respect to the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection hath been already; and pervert the faith of some. ( )nevertheless the stable foundation of god standeth firm, having this seal, the lord knoweth those who belong to him. and, let every man who mentions the name of the lord depart from unrighteousness. ( )but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and pottery; and some for an honourable use, and others for baser service. ( )if therefore a man preserve himself pure from these things, he shall be a vessel for honour, sanctified and highly useful to the master, ready for every good work. ( )but flee youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call upon the lord out of a pure heart. ( )but foolish and uninstructive disputes avoid, knowing that they produce quarrels. ( )and a servant of the lord ought not to quarrel; but to be gentle to all men, apt to teach, forbearing, ( )with meekness correcting those who are opposers, if at last god may give unto them repentance so as to submit to the conviction of the truth; ( )and that they may escape out of the snare of the devil, who have been captured by him for his will. chap. iii. but this know, that in the last days distressing times will come. ( )for men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, vainglorious, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ( )unnatural, implacable, slanderers, intemperate, inhuman, averse to goodness, ( )treacherous, wilful, puffed up _with pride_, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of god; ( )holding the form of godliness, but denying the power of it: from these men turn with aversion. ( )for such are they who insinuate themselves into houses, and captivate weak women laden with accumulated sins, and actuated by a variety of passions, ( )always learning, yet never able to attain unto the knowledge of truth. ( )but in the same manner as jannes and jambres opposed moses, so do these also set themselves in opposition to the truth; men corrupt in mind, reprobate respecting the faith. ( )but they shall not proceed to the uttermost; for their infatuation shall be evident to all men, as theirs also was. ( )but thou hast fully known my doctrine, conduct, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, ( )the persecutions, the sufferings, which beset me at antioch, at iconium, at lystra; what persecutions i endured, yet out of them all the lord delivered me. ( )and all indeed who will live godly in christ jesus will be persecuted. ( )but wicked men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and deceived. ( )but abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and believed, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ( )and that from a child thou hast known the sacred writings, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in jesus christ. ( )all scripture is given by the inspiration of god, and advantageous for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ( )that the man of god may be properly furnished, fully qualified for every good work. chap. iv. i adjure thee therefore before god, and the lord jesus christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; ( )preach the word, be urgent, in season, out of season; reprove, enjoin, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. ( )for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own inclinations will set up a herd of teachers for themselves, having the itch of hearing; ( )and will turn away their ears from the truth, and listen unto fables. ( )but watch thou in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully discharge thy ministry. ( )for i am now ready to be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution approaches. ( )i have struggled hard in the honourable contest, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith: ( )henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: yet not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. ( )hasten to come to me shortly: ( )for demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is gone unto thessalonica; crescens to galatia; titus to dalmatia. ( )luke alone is with me. take mark, and bring him with thee; for he is very useful to me in the ministry. ( )but tychicus i have sent to ephesus. ( )the cloke which i left behind me at troas with carpus, when thou comest bring, and the books, especially the parchments. ( )alexander the brazier did me many ill offices: the lord repay him according to his works: ( )against whom be thou also on thy guard, for he hath greatly resisted our words. ( )at my first apology no man stood by me, but all forsook me: (may it not be imputed to them!) ( )but the lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully discharged, and that all the gentiles might hear; and i was snatched out of the lion's mouth. ( )and the lord will deliver me from every evil work, and preserve me for his celestial kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. amen. ( )salute priscilla and aquila, and the house of onesiphorus. ( )erastus hath abode at corinth: but trophimus i left behind me at miletum sick. ( )hasten to come before winter. eubulus greeteth thee, and pudens, and linus, and claudia, and all the brethren. ( )the lord jesus christ be with thy spirit. grace be with you. amen. the second epistle to timothy, appointed the first bishop of the ephesian church, was written from rome, when the second time paul stood before the caesar nero. the epistle of paul the apostle to titus. chap. i. paul, a servant of god, and an apostle of jesus christ, according to the faith of the elect of god, and the knowledge of truth which leads to godliness; ( )in hope of life eternal, which god, who cannot lie, hath promised before time had a being; ( )but hath manifested in his own appointed season his word by the preaching, with which i have been entrusted, according to the command of our saviour god; ( )to titus, my genuine son after the common faith, be grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and our lord jesus christ our saviour. ( )for this purpose i left thee behind me at crete, that thou mightest direct the regulations which remained to be executed, and that thou shouldest appoint presbyters in every city, as i charged thee to do: ( )if there be a man blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not under an accusation or debauchery, or disorderly conduct. ( )for a bishop ought to be irreproachable, as the steward of god; not self-willed, not irritable, not addicted to wine, not quarrelsome, not greedy of filthy lucre; ( )but the stranger's host, the good man's friend, grave, just, holy, temperate; ( )firmly attached to the faithful word, according to the doctrine delivered, that he may be able to exhort with sound instruction and to confute the opposers. ( )for there are many disorderly persons vainly talkative, and under a spirit of delusion, especially some of the circumcised; ( )whose mouths ought to be muzzled, who pervert whole families, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of base gain. ( )one of them, a poet of their own nation, hath said, the cretans are always liars, wicked beasts, slothful gluttons. ( )this testimony is true. for which cause rebuke them with severity, that they may be sound in the faith; ( )not attending to jewish fables, and injunctions of men, who have turned away from the truth. ( )all things indeed are clean to the clean: but to the defiled and to the unbelievers there is nothing clean; but their very mind and conscience are defiled. ( )they profess to know god; but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. chap. ii. but speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: ( )that the elder men be sober, grave, discreet, sound in faith, in love, in patience. ( )that the elder women also be sacredly becoming in their behaviour, not slanderers, not enslaved by much wine, teachers of propriety; ( )that they instruct the young women to be discreet, to love their husbands, to love their children, ( )to be sober, domestic, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of god be not ill reported of. ( )the younger men in like manner exhort to be sober minded. ( )in all things approving thyself as a pattern of good works: in thy teaching, shewing integrity, gravity, incorruptibility, ( )sound discourse, incapable of confutation; that he who is in opposition may be confounded, having nothing faulty to say of you. ( )let servants be subject to their own masters, in all things to be agreeable to them; not contradicting; ( )not embezzling their property, but demonstrating all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of god our saviour in all things. ( )for the grace of god which leads to salvation hath appeared unto all men, ( )instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly affections, we should live soberly and righteously, and godly in the present day; ( )expecting the blessed hope, and glorious appearing of our great god and saviour jesus christ; ( )who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. ( )these things speak and enjoin, and reprove with all authority. let no man despise thee. chap. iii. remind them to be subject to princes and those invested with authority, to obey magistrates, to be ready for every good work, ( )to slander no man, to be inoffensive, gentle, shewing all meekness to all men. ( )for we ourselves also in time past were thoughtless, disobedient, erroneous, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. ( )but even then the kindness and love of god our saviour to man shone forth, ( )not for works of righteousness which we had done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and by renovation of the holy spirit; ( )which he poured out upon us richly through jesus christ our saviour; ( )that justified by his grace, we might become heirs in hope of eternal life. ( )faithful is the saying, and of these things i wish thee firmly to testify, that they who have believed in god be careful to be pre-eminent in good works. these are becoming and advantageous to men. ( )but foolish disquisitions, and genealogies, and disputes, and contentions about the law avoid; for they are unprofitable and vain. ( )an heretical person after a first and second admonition reject; ( )knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned. ( )when i shall send artemas unto thee, or tychicus, hasten to come to me unto nicopolis: for there i have determined to pass the winter. ( )send forward diligently zenas the lawyer and apollos, that nothing may be wanting for them. ( )and let those who belong to us learn also to be pre-eminent in good works for all necessary calls, that they be not without fruits. ( )all that are with me salute thee. salute those who love us with fidelity. grace be with you all. amen. this epistle was written to titus appointed by suffrage first bishop of the church of crete, from nicopolis in macedonia. the epistle of paul the apostle, to philemon. paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and timothy a brother, to philemon the beloved, and our fellow-labourer, ( )and to apphia the beloved, and to archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church at thy house: ( )grace be to you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. ( )i thank my god always, making mention of thee in my prayers, ( )hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast towards the lord jesus, and unto all the saints; ( )that there may be an operative communication of thy faith made known by every good thing, which is in you towards jesus christ. ( )for we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother. ( )wherefore, though i have in christ great liberty to enjoin thee what is becoming, ( )i rather for love's sake entreat, being such as paul the aged, and now also a prisoner for jesus christ. ( )i entreat thee for my son, whom i have begotten during my bonds, onesimus: ( )who in time past hath been an unprofitable servant to thee, but now very profitable to thee and to me: ( )whom i have sent back; thou therefore receive him, even as my own bowels: ( )whom i wished to detain about myself, that in thy stead he might have waited upon me during my bonds for the gospel: ( )but without thy consent would i do nothing; that this good deed of thine might not be as of necessity, but from thy own choice. ( )for to this end perhaps was he separated from thee for a season, that thou mightest receive him for ever; ( )no longer as a slave, but above a slave, as a brother beloved, especially by me, but how much more by thee, both in the flesh, and in the lord? ( )if therefore thou holdest me a sharer with thee, receive him as myself. ( )if he hath injured thee or oweth thee ought, put that to my account; ( )i paul have given it under my own hand, i will repay it, not to say to thee, that thou owest even thine own self unto me. ( )yea, brother, i wish to have joy in thee in the lord: refresh my bowels in the lord. ( )having confidence in thy obedience, i have written unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do more than i say. ( )but at the same time prepare me also a lodging: for i hope that through your prayers i shall be given unto you. ( )there salute thee epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in christ jesus; ( )mark, aristarchus, demas, luke, my fellow-labourers. ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with thy spirit. amen. written to philemon from rome, by onesimus one of his household. the epistle to the hebrews. chap. i. god, who spake to the fathers of old at various times, and in different manners by the prophets, ( )in these last days hath spoken to us by a son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; ( )who being the splendour of his glory, and the very impress of his substance, and upholding all things with his powerful word, by himself having effected the cleansing of our sins, he sat down at the right hand of majesty on high; ( )made as much superior to the angels, as he hath inherited a more distinguished name than they. ( )for to which of the angels ever said he, "my son art thou, i have to-day begotten thee[ ]?" and again, "i will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son[ ]?" ( )and again, when he introduces the first-begotten into the world, he saith, "let all the angels of god also worship him[ ]." ( )and concerning the angels indeed he thus speaks: "who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministering servants a flame of fire[ ]." ( )but to the son, "thy throne, o god, is unto eternity; a sceptre of rectitude is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ( )thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore god, thy god, hath anointed thee with the oil of exultation above those who partake with thee[ ]." ( )"and thou from the beginning, o lord, hast founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. ( )they will be destroyed, but thou remainest; and they all will grow old as a garment, ( )and as a cloak thou wilt wrap them up, and they will undergo a change: but thou art the same, and thy years will never end[ ]." ( )unto which indeed of the angels said he ever, "sit at my right hand until i put thine enemies for a footstool of thy feet[ ]?" ( )are they not all ministerial spirits, sent to perform service on account of those who are about to inherit salvation? chap. ii. for this reason we ought to attend more diligently to the things which have been heard, lest by any means we let them flow by us. ( )for if the discourse spoken by angels was confirmed, and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment as its due, ( )how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which, commencing at the beginning to be spoken by the lord, was confirmed unto us by those who had heard him; ( )god superadding his testimony with them, by signs, and wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the holy ghost, according to his own will? ( )for he hath not subjected the future world, of which we are speaking, to the angels. ( )but one in a certain passage testifieth, saying, "what is man, that thou rememberest him, or a son of man, that thou regardest him?" ( )"thou hast made him for a little while lower than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and hast placed him over the works of thy hands: ( )thou hast subjected all things under his feet[ ]." now in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing unsubjected to him; but at present we see not yet all things subjected to him. ( )but we see jesus for a little while made lower than angels, by the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that, by the grace of god, he might taste of death for every one. ( )for it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to perfect the author of their salvation by sufferings. ( )for both he that sanctifies, and they who are sanctified, are all of one. for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, ( )saying, "i will declare thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the church i will sing hymns to thee[ ]." ( )and again, "i will place my confidence in him[ ]." and again, "behold! here am i, and the children which god hath given me[ ]." ( )seeing therefore that the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he also himself, in exact resemblance, partook of the same, that by death he might destroy him who held the power of death, that is, the devil; ( )and deliver those, even as many as through their whole life were subjects of bondage to the fear of death. ( )for he verily took not on him the angelic nature, but assumed that of the seed of abraham. ( )wherefore he ought in all things to be made like to his brethren, in order to become a merciful and faithful high-priest in those things which relate to god, to make a propitiation for the sins of the people: ( )for inasmuch as he hath himself suffered, having been tempted, he is able to succour those who are tempted. chap. iii. wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, contemplate the apostle and high-priest whom ye confess, jesus christ; ( )who was faithful to him who appointed him, as moses also was in all his house. ( )for this personage hath been counted worthy of higher glory than moses, inasmuch as he who built it, hath greater honour than the house. ( )for every house is built by some person; but he who is the architect of all things is god. ( )and moses indeed was faithful in all that house of his as a servant, to bear testimony of the things which should be after spoken; ( )but christ as a son over his own house: whose house are we, if we hold firmly the confidence and glorying of hope stedfast unto the end. ( )wherefore, as the holy ghost saith[ ], to day if ye will hear his voice, ( )harden not your hearts, as in that bitter provocation, at the day of the temptation in the wilderness; ( )when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works during forty years. ( )wherefore i was provoked against that generation, and said, they are always deluded in heart, and they have not known my ways: ( )so i swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest. ( )take heed, brethren, that there be not in any one of you a wicked heart of infidelity, _evident_ in departure from the living god: ( )but exhort one another daily, whilst to-day remains, that no one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ( )for we are partakers with christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end; ( )while it is said, to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation. ( )for some, though they had heard, provoked him; yet not all who came out of egypt by moses. ( )but against whom was he incensed forty years? was it not against those who had sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ( )and to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but to those who did not believe? ( )so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. chap. iv. let us fear then lest, though a promise be left of entering into his rest, any one of you should appear to fail of obtaining it. ( )for we are hearing the same gospel preached as they did; but the word heard did not profit them, not being incorporated by faith with those who heard it. ( )for we who have believed, have entered into the rest, even as he said, "so, i sware in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest;" and that notwithstanding the works were done from the foundation of the world. ( )for he said in a certain passage concerning the seventh day to this purport, "and god rested on the seventh day from all his works[ ]." ( )and in this passage again, "they shall not enter into my rest." ( )forasmuch therefore as it remaineth for some to enter into it, and they who first had the gospel preached to them entered not in because of unbelief; ( )again he limiteth a certain day, saying by david, to-day, after so long a time; as it is said, "to-day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts." ( )for if joshua had given them the rest, he would not afterwards have spoken of another day. ( )a sabbatical rest then still remaineth for the people of god. ( )for he that is entered into his rest, he also hath rested from his works, as god did from his own. ( )let us then earnestly endeavour to enter into that rest, lest any person fall after the same example of unbelief. ( )for the word of god is quickening, and energetic, and sharper than every two-edged sword, and piercing through and through, so as to divide both soul and spirit, both joints and spinal marrow, and critically judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. ( )even creation is not invisible before him, but all things are naked, and fully displayed before his eyes, to whom we must give our account. ( )having then a great high-priest passed through the heavens, jesus the son of god, let us hold fast the confession. ( )for we have not an high-priest incapable of a fellow-feeling with our infirmities, but one tempted in all points, in exact resemblance with ourselves, sin excepted. ( )let us therefore approach with boldness the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable help. chap. v. for, every high-priest taken from among men, is constituted on behalf of men for those services which relate to god, that he should offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: ( )being able to feel tenderly for the ignorant and erroneous; forasmuch as he is himself encompassed with infirmity. ( )and on this account he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifice for sins. ( )and no man assumes to himself this honour, but he who is called of god, even as aaron was. ( )so christ also did not himself assume the glory to become high-priest, but he _gave it_ who spake to him, "thou art my son; i have this day begotten thee." ( )as he saith also in another passage, "thou art priest forever after the order of melchisedec[ ];" ( )who in the days of his flesh, with strong crying and tears, having offered up prayers and supplications to him who was able to save him from death, and being heard for his reverential awe, ( )though he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered: ( )and complete himself, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him; ( )publicly proclaimed of god high-priest after the order of melchisedec. ( )concerning whom we have much to discourse, and of difficult interpretation to explain, seeing ye are dull of hearing. ( )for though ye ought for the time to be teachers of others, ye have again need that some one teach you the leading principles of the oracles of god; and are become as those who need milk, and not solid food. ( )for every one who useth milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness: for he is an infant. ( )but solid nourishment is proper for grown men, even as many as by habit have their organs of perception exercised for the discernment both of good and evil. chap. vi. wherefore, desisting from initiatory discourse respecting christ, let us advance towards perfection; not again laying a foundation of repentance from dead works, and faith in god, ( )of the doctrine of ablutions, and of imposition of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. ( )and so we will do, if god permit. ( )for it is not possible to renew again unto repentance those who have been once illuminated, and have tasted the celestial gift, and have been made partakers of the holy ghost, ( )and have tasted the good word of god, and the powers of the world to come, ( )and yet have fallen away: for they crucify again to themselves the son of god, and expose him to public infamy. ( )for the earth which imbibes the rain which often falls upon it, and bringeth forth herbage suitable for those by whom it is cultured, receiveth a blessing from god; ( )but if it produceth thorns and thistles, it is abandoned, and near the curse _of barrenness_, whose end will be for burning. ( )but, beloved, we are persuaded concerning you that things are better, and connected with salvation, though we thus speak. ( )for god is not unjust, to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have demonstrated in his name, having ministered assistance to the saints, and still ministering. ( )but we earnestly desire that every one of you do manifest the same diligence, in order to obtain the full assurance of hope unto the end: ( )that ye be not slothful, but imitators of those who, by faith and long suffering, are inheriting the promises. ( )for god when he gave the promise to abraham forasmuch as he had nothing greater to swear by, sware by himself, ( )saying, "verily, blessing, i will bless thee, and multiplying, i will multiply thee[ ]." ( )and so after long patient waiting he obtained the promise. ( )for men indeed swear by something greater than themselves; and an oath for confirmation is with them conclusive in all disputes. ( )and thus god, designing more abundantly to demonstrate to the heirs of promise the immutability of his will, pledged himself by oath, ( )that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for god to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us; ( )which, as an anchor for our soul, we hold both sure and stedfast, and entering into the sanctuary within the vail, ( )into which the forerunner for us is entered, even jesus, made after the order of melchisedec an high-priest for ever. chap. vii. for this melchisedec, king of salem, a priest of god most high, who met abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; ( )to whom also abraham gave a tenth share of all the spoil: being, as the interpretation of his name imports, first, king of righteousness, and then also king of salem, that is, king of peace: ( )without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but in exact resemblance with the son of god, abideth a priest for ever. ( )now observe how great is this _melchisedec_, to whom even abraham the patriarch gave the tenth of the spoils. ( )for they indeed of the sons of levi, who are admitted to priesthood, have an order to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though also sprung from the loins of abraham. ( )but he who derived not his genealogy from them, received tithes from abraham, and blessed him who had the promises; ( )but without all dispute the inferior receives benediction from the superior. ( )and here indeed dying men receive the tithes, but there he hath a testimony borne to him that he liveth. ( )and, if i may so say, through abraham even levi, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes. ( )for he was as yet in the loins of his father when melchisedec met him. ( )if therefore there was perfection by the levitical priesthood (for under that the people had the law given to them), what farther need was there that another priest should arise after the order of melchisedec, and not be called after the order of aaron? ( )for the priesthood being transferred, there is of necessity an abrogation of the law also. ( )for he to whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, in which no man approached the altar. ( )for it is evident that our lord sprang from judah; to which tribe moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood; ( )and it is yet more abundantly evident, that there should arise another priest after the likeness of melchisedec, ( )who was not made such by the law of a carnal commandment, but by the power of a life indissoluble. ( )for the testimony is, thou art a priest for ever after the order of melchisedec. ( )for there is indeed an abrogation of the preceding command, because of its weakness and inutility. ( )for the law led to no perfection, but was an introduction to a better hope, by which we draw nigh unto god. ( )moreover, forasmuch as he was not _made priest_ without an oath, ( )(for they indeed were made priests without an oath; but he with an oath, by him who said unto him, "the lord hath sworn, and will not repent, thou art a priest for ever after the order of melchisedec:") ( )by so much is jesus become the surety of a better testament. ( )and they indeed are many who were made priests, because by death they were prevented from abiding _in their office_: ( )but this person, because he abideth for ever, hath a priesthood that passeth not over to another. ( )wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto god by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. ( )for such an high-priest was suitable to us, holy, inoffensive, spotless, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens: ( )who hath not daily need, as the high-priests, first, to offer sacrifice for their own sins, afterwards, for those of the people: for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. ( )for the law constitutes men high-priests, though they have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which is since the law, constitutes the son, unto eternity completely perfect. chap. viii. now the summary of the things spoken is this: we have such an high-priest, who hath taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens; ( )a minister of the holies, and of the true tabernacle which the lord hath pitched, and not man. ( )for every high-priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this person also have somewhat to offer. ( )for if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, there being priests who offer gifts according to the law; ( )who perform the service after the figure and shadow of things in the heavens, as moses was divinely instructed, when he was about to finish the tabernacle. "for see," saith god, "that thou make all things according to the model shewed thee on the mount[ ]." ( )but now hath christ obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been established on better promises. ( )for if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no place sought for a second. ( )for finding fault with them, he saith, "behold, the days are coming, saith the lord; and i will accomplish for the house of israel and for the house of judah a new covenant: ( )not according to that covenant which i made with their fathers, in the day when i laid hold upon their hand to lead them up out of the land of egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and i took no longer care of them, saith the lord. ( )for this is the covenant which i will make with the house of israel after those days, saith the lord; giving my laws to their understanding, even on their hearts will i inscribe them: and i will be to them a god, and they shall be to me a people. ( )and they shall no more teach every man his neighbour, and every one his brother, saying, know the lord: for all shall know me from the mean man of them unto the great among them. ( )for i will be placable to their unrighteousnesses and their sins, and their iniquities i will never more remember[ ]." ( )in calling it a new covenant, he hath made the first antiquated. now what is antiquated and grown aged, is near evanescence. chap. ix. then also the first tabernacle had indeed regulations for the divine service, and a sanctuary furnished. ( )for the tabernacle was prepared; the first part, in which was both the candlestick, and the table, and the shew-bread, which is called the holy. ( )but behind the second vail was the tabernacle, called the holy of holies: ( )having the golden censer, and the coffer of the covenant, overlaid with gold within and without, in which were the golden urn containing the manna, and aaron's rod which had budded, and the stone tables of the covenant; ( )and above, over it the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the propitiatory. ( )now when these things were thus disposed, the priests entered continually into the first tabernacle indeed, performing the divine services: ( )but into the second once in every year entered the high-priest alone, not without blood, which he offered for his own inadvertencies, and for those of the people: ( )the holy ghost thus signifying, that the way into the holies was not yet made manifest, whilst the first tabernacle held its station; ( )which figurative representation _continues_ unto the present time, according to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot, with respect to conscience, make him perfect who performs the services, ( )as they consist only of meats, and drinks, and different ablutions, and corporal services, until the appointed time of perfect reformation. ( )but christ becoming the high-priest of future good things, through a better and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation; ( )nor by the blood of goats and of calves, but by his own blood, he entered once for all into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. ( )for if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the defiled sanctifieth to corporal purification, ( )how much more shall the blood of christ, who, by the eternal spirit, offered up himself in sacrifice without blemish to god, cleanse our conscience from dead works, that we may perform divine service to the living god? ( )and for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. ( )for where a testament is, of necessity the death of the testator is implied. ( )for a testament is valid when men are dead; for else it is of no efficacy whilst the testator is alive. ( )wherefore also that first testament was not consecrated without blood. ( )for when every command according to the law had been spoken by moses to all the people, taking the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ( )saying, this is the blood of the testament which god hath enjoined unto you. ( )and the tabernacle also, and all the vessels employed in the divine service, he in like manner sprinkled with blood. ( )and almost all things are purified by blood according to the law, and without effusion of blood there is no remission of sin. ( )there was a necessity therefore that the representations of the things in heaven should be purified by these; but the celestial things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ( )for christ is not entered into the holies made with hands, the antitypes of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the presence of god for us: ( )and not that he should often offer up himself in sacrifice, as the high-priest enters every year into the holies with blood not his own, ( )(for in that case he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world:) but now once for all at the consummation of the ages hath he been manifested for the abolishing sin by the sacrifice of himself. ( )and forasmuch as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment, ( )so christ having been once offered in sacrifice to bear the sins of men, will appear the second time without sin, to those who expect him, for their salvation. chap. x. now the law, having a shadow of the good things which were to come, not the very substance of the things, cannot possibly, by the same sacrifices which they offer year by year continually, make those perfect who approach _god_; ( )else they would have discontinued to make the offering, because they who performed the service being once made clean, would have had no more sense of sins on their conscience. ( )but in these _sacrifices_ there is a commemoration of sins every year. ( )for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. ( )wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, "sacrifice and oblation thou hast not chosen, but thou hast exactly fashioned a body for me: ( )thou hast had no delight in whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin: ( )then i said, here am i; (in the volume of the book it is written of me) i come to do thy will, o god[ ]." ( )having said before that sacrifice, and oblation, and whole burnt-offerings and sin-offerings thou hast not chosen, nor takest pleasure in, (which are offered according to the law,) ( )he then added, lo, i come to do thy will, o god. he abolishes the first that he may establish the second. ( )by the which will we are sanctified through the oblation of the body of jesus christ, once for all. ( )and every priest standeth indeed daily performing the divine service, and frequently offering the same sacrifices, which cannot possibly take away sins: ( )but this person, having offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever hath seated himself at the right hand of god; ( )henceforth waiting till his enemies be put as a footstool for his feet. ( )for by one oblation he hath made those perfect for ever who are sanctified. ( )now the holy ghost also beareth this testimony to us: for after declaring before, ( )"this is the testament which i will appoint to them after those days, saith the lord; giving my laws to their hearts, even on their minds will i inscribe them;" ( )_he adds,_ "and their sins and their iniquities i will in no wise remember any more." ( )now where there is remission of these, no more offering for sin _is needed_. ( )having therefore, brethren, entire liberty of entrance into the holies by the blood of jesus--( )a way, which he hath consecrated for us, newly opened, and giving life, through the vail, that is, his flesh; ( )and having a great priest over the house of god, ( )let us come to him with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and the body washed with pure water: ( )let us hold fast the profession of hope unwavering, (for he who promises is faithful.) ( )and let us attentively observe one another, to excite an ardour of love and of good works: ( )not deserting the assembling of ourselves together, as is the custom with some, but exhorting to it; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. ( )for if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no more sacrifice for sins remaineth; ( )but a certain terrible expectation of judgment, and a burning indignation, ready to devour these enemies. ( )any man who treated the law of moses with neglect, was put to death, without mercy, on the deposition of two or three witnesses: ( )by how much, think ye, shall he be counted worthy of more condign punishment who hath trampled on the son of god, and regarded the blood of his testament, by which he was sanctified, as an unclean thing, and hath treated the gracious spirit contumeliously? ( )for we know him who declares, "vengeance is mine, i will repay, saith the lord[ ]." and again, "the lord will judge his people." ( )it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. ( )but remember the past days in which, after ye had been illuminated, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings; ( )partly while publicly exposed to revilings and tribulations, partly as being in communion with those who were treated in this manner. ( )for ye have been fellow-sufferers with my bonds, and received with joy the plundering of your properties, knowing in yourselves that you have in the heavens a better substance, and permanent. ( )recede not therefore from your boldness of profession, which brings a great recompence of reward. ( )for ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of god, ye may receive the promise. ( )for yet a little, very little while, and he that is coming will come, and will not delay. ( )"the just man then will live by faith[ ];" and if he draw back, my soul shall have no delight in him. ( )but we are not of those who turn back unto perdition; but of those who believe to the salvation of the soul. chap. xi. now faith is the realizing confidence of the things hoped for, and the demonstration of things unseen: ( )for thereby the ancients obtained a testimony of approbation. ( )by faith we understand that the worlds were exactly formed by the word of god, so that the visible objects were not made out of things which now appear. ( )by faith abel offered unto god a sacrifice of more excellence than cain, by which he received a testimony that he was a righteous man, god bearing witness upon his gifts: and by this, though dead, he still speaketh. ( )by faith enoch was translated, so as not to see death; and was not found, because god had translated him: for before his translation he was recorded to have been acceptable to god. ( )but without faith it is impossible to be acceptable; for he must believe, who cometh unto god, that he exists, and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. ( )by faith noah, being divinely warned respecting things not yet seen, filled with reverential awe, prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. ( )by faith abraham, called to go forth unto a place which he should in future obtain as an heritage, obeyed; and he went forth, not knowing whither he was going. ( )by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as a foreign land, dwelling in tents with isaac and jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise. ( )for he expected a city having foundations, of which god is the planner and architect. ( )by faith also that very sarah, who was barren, received ability for the conception of seed, and past the usual time of life brought forth a child, because she accounted that he who promised it, would be true to his promise. ( )wherefore even from one person, and he become dead in respect to these matters, there sprang a race, as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the sand, which is on the shore of the sea, innumerable. ( )all these died in faith, not having received the promises, but beholding them at a great distance, though believing and embracing them, and confessing that they were strangers and sojourners in the land. ( )now they who speak thus, shew evidently that they are in earnest search of their native country. ( )and if indeed they had fixed their minds on that from whence they had gone forth, they might have had opportunity to go back to it again. ( )but now their longing desires are after a better country, that is, the heavenly one: wherefore god is not ashamed of them to be called their god: for he hath prepared a city for them. ( )by faith abraham, when tried, offered up isaac; and he who had received the promise, presented in sacrifice his only begotten son, ( )unto whom it had been said, "that by isaac shall there be a seed bearing thy name[ ]:" ( )reasoning that god was able to raise him up again, even from the dead; from whence also figuratively he had received him. ( )by faith isaac blessed jacob and esau with regard to future things. ( )by faith, dying jacob blessed each of the sons of joseph, and bowed down in adoration upon the top of his staff. ( )by faith joseph, approaching his end, made mention of the children of israel's departure thence; and gave a charge respecting his bones. ( )by faith moses, after he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child singularly beautiful; and they were not intimidated by the command of the king. ( )by faith moses, when he became a grown man, refused to be called the son of pharaoh's daughter; ( )choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of god, than to have a temporary fruition of sin; ( )esteeming the reproach of christ riches greater than the treasures of egypt: for he looked earnestly to the recompence of reward. ( )by faith he forsook egypt, not intimidated by the wrath of the king: for he boldly persisted, as seeing the invisible _jehovah_. ( )by faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the first-born might not touch them. ( )by faith they passed through the red sea, as on dry ground; which the egyptians attempting to do were swallowed up. ( )by faith the walls of jericho fell, after being circled round seven days. ( )by faith rahab the harlot perished not with those who were infidels, having received the spies in peace. ( )and what more shall i say: for the time would fail me if i should make a narration concerning gideon, and barac, and sampson, and jephtha, and david, and samuel, and the prophets: ( )who by faith vanquished kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ( )extinguished the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, they were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in battle, routed the armies of aliens. ( )women received by a resurrection their dead: but others were tortured, not accepting a release; that they might obtain a better resurrection: ( )and others had trials of mockeries and whippings, yea and farther of chains and imprisonment: ( )they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they experienced the severest trials, they were slain by the edge of the sword: they went about wrapped in skins of sheep and goats, destitute of all things, pressed down with afflictions, suffering all kind of misery; ( )of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered up and down in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caverns of the earth. ( )and these all though having obtained a testimony by faith, received not the promise: ( )god having provided for us something better, that without us they should not attain to perfection. chap. xii. therefore also seeing we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, and that most easily besetting sin, let us run with patience the race lying before us, ( )earnestly looking up to jesus the author and the finisher of faith; who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of god. ( )consider then attentively him that endured from sinners such opposition against himself, that ye be not wearied out, fainting in your souls. ( )as yet ye have not resisted unto blood, struggling against sin. ( )and have you forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you, as children, "my son, count not lightly of the lord's childlike correction, nor faint when under his rebuke: ( )for whom the lord loveth he correcteth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth[ ]." ( )if ye patiently endure correction, god carries himself towards you as his children: for who is the son whom the father doth not correct? ( )if then ye are without correction, of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not children. ( )if then we have had the fathers of our flesh for correctors, and reverenced them; shall we not much more be under subjection to the father of spirits, and live? ( )for they indeed for a few days as seemed proper to themselves corrected us; but he for our own advantage, that we might be partakers of his holiness. ( )now all correction at the moment seemeth not to be cause for joy, but for sorrow; but after a while it produceth peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have thereby been disciplined. ( )wherefore stretch out again the hands that hang down, and the paralytic knees; ( )and make strait paths for your feet, that what is halting may not be turned out of the way; but that it may rather be healed. ( )earnestly seek peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the lord: ( )carefully observing lest any of you fail of attaining the grace of god; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and by it many be defiled; ( )lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as esau, who for one morsel of bread parted with his birthrights. ( )for ye know, that when afterwards he wished to inherit the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place for a change of _his father's_ mind, though he sought it earnestly with tears. ( )for ye have not approached the mountain that could only be groped for, and that burned with fire, and the thick cloud, and the darkness, and the tempest, ( )and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which they who heard, earnestly begged that the discourse might not be directed to them: ( )for they could not bear the charge given, and "if but a beast touch the mountain he shall be stoned, or shot through with a dart[ ]:" ( )and so terrible was the appearance, that moses said, i am exceedingly afraid and trembling: ( )but ye are come unto mount sion, and to the city of the living god, to the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, ( )and to the general assembly and church of the first-born registered in the heavens, and to god the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men perfected, ( )and to jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of abel. ( )beware that ye reject not him that speaketh: for if they escaped not, who rejected him, that upon earth spake by divine influence, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven: ( )whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised, saying, "yet once more i shake not the earth only, but also the heaven[ ]." ( )now this word yet once more manifests the removal of the things shaken, as of things formed, that the things not shaken may endure. ( )wherefore receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, may we hold fast the grace, by which we can offer to god acceptably divine service, with reverence and pious awe: ( )for our god is a devouring fire. chap. xiii. let brotherly love continue. ( )forget not to exercise hospitality: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ( )remember those who are in chains, as in chains with them; and those who are suffering afflictions, as being yourselves also in the body. ( )marriage is honourable for all persons, and the marriage bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers god will judge. ( )let the tenor of your life be divested of the love of money; content with your present possessions: for he hath said, "i will in no wise leave thee, neither will i in any case forsake thee[ ]." ( )so that we may with confidence say, the lord is my helper, and i will not fear what man shall do unto me. ( )remember your presidents, who have spoken to you the word of god: the ultimate issue of whose conduct attentively observing, be imitators of their fidelity. ( )jesus christ _is_ the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. ( )be not tossed about by various and strange doctrines: for it is good to have the heart firmly established by grace, not by meats, in which observances they who have walked have found no manner of advantage. ( )we have an altar, of which they have no right to eat, who perform the service in the tabernacle. ( )for the bodies of those beasts are burnt without the camp, whose blood for a sin offering is brought into the holy of holies by the high-priest. ( )wherefore jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. ( )therefore let us go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ( )for we have not here an abiding city, but we earnestly seek that which is to come. ( )by him therefore let us offer a sacrifice of praise perpetually to god, that is the fruit of our lips confessing his name. ( )but of beneficence, and liberal distribution, be not unmindful: for such sacrifices god accepts with delight. ( )obey your presidents, and be subject to them: for they are vigilant for your souls, as being to render an account, that they may do it with joy, and not groaning: for that would be disadvantageous for you. ( )pray for us: for we have confidence that we maintain a good conscience, in all things desirous to conduct ourselves with propriety.--( )but i entreat you the rather to do this, that i may the more speedily be restored to you. ( )now the god of peace, who brought again from the dead our lord jesus, the great pastor of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting testament, ( )make you fit for every good work to do his will, producing in you that which is acceptable in his sight, through jesus christ; to whom be glory unto the everlasting ages. amen. ( )but i entreat you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation; for i have written to you in few words. ( )know that our brother timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, i will see you. ( )salute all your presiding ministers, and all the saints. they of italy salute you. ( )grace be with you all.--amen. written to the hebrews from italy by timothy. the epistle general of james the apostle. chap. i. james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes which are dispersed, greeting. ( )my brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into various trials; ( )knowing that the proof of your faith produceth patience. ( )but let patience have its work perfected, that ye may be perfect and complete, deficient in nothing. ( )but if any man of you be deficient in wisdom, let him ask it of god, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. ( )but let him ask in faith, harbouring no doubt: for he who is doubtful is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind, and in constant agitation. ( )for let not that man think that he shall receive any thing from the lord. ( )a double-minded man is unsteady in all his ways. ( )let the brother low in station rejoice in his elevation: ( )but the rich, in his abasement: for as the flower of grass he shall pass away. ( )for the sun arose with fervour, and burnt up the grass, and the flower of it fell off, and the beauty of its appearance was lost: just so the rich man in his course of life shall wither away. ( )blessed is the man who patiently supports temptation: for when he is proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord hath promised to those who love him. ( )let no man under temptation say, i am tempted of god: for god is incapable of temptation from evils, and he tempteth no man: ( )but every person is tempted, when by his own peculiar passion he is born away, and ensnared. ( )then passion impregnated, bringeth forth sin, and sin reaching its consummation, bringeth forth death. ( )be not deceived, my beloved brethren. ( )every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, descending from the father of illuminations, with whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of change. ( )of his own choice he produced us by the word of truth, that we might be a sort of first fruit of his creatures.--( )wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. ( )for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of god. ( )wherefore laying aside all vicious pollution, and the abundance of iniquity, receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which hath power to save your souls. ( )but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves by false reasoning. ( )for if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man that looks at his natural face in a glass; ( )for he beheld himself, and went away, and immediately forgot what sort of person he was. ( )but he that looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and perseveres, this man not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, he shall be blessed in his practice. ( )if any man thinks he is a religious character among you, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. ( )pure religion and undefiled with god even the father is this, to pay diligent attention to the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to preserve himself spotless from the world. chap. ii. my brethren, hold not the faith of our glorious lord jesus shewing a respect for persons. ( )for if there come into your congregation a man with a gold ring, and in splendid apparel, and there come in also a poor man in a sordid garb; ( )and ye fix your eyes upon him who bears the splendid robe, and say to him, sit thou here in an honourable place; and ye say to the poor man, stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: ( )are you not thus partial among yourselves, and form your decision from bad reasonings? ( )hear me, my beloved brethren. hath not god elected the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which god hath promised to those who love him; ( )but ye have put contempt on the poor man? do not the rich men tyrannize over you? and they drag you to the tribunals. ( )do they not blaspheme that honourable name by which ye are called? ( )if indeed ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: ( )but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ( )for whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offendeth in a single particular, he is chargeable with the breach of all. ( )for he that said, thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, thou shalt not commit murder. now if thou dost not commit adultery, yet dost commit murder, thou art a transgressor of the law. ( )so speak, and so act, as those who shall be judged by the law of liberty. ( )for judgment without mercy shall be on him who shewed no mercy, and mercy glorieth against judgment. ( )what is the advantage, my brethren, if a man profess to have faith, but hath not works; can faith save him? ( )now if a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, ( )and should one of you say to them, go in peace, be warm, be replenished with food: yet if ye give them not the necessaries for their body; what doth it avail? ( )so also faith, if it hath not works, is dead itself. ( )perhaps a man will say, thou hast faith, and i have works: shew me thy faith by thy works, and i will shew thee by my works my faith. ( )thou believest that there is one god; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble. ( )but wilt thou know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead? ( )was not our father abraham justified by works, when he offered up isaac his son upon the altar? ( )thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith consummated. ( )and the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, "abraham believed god, and it was imputed to him for righteousness[ ];" and he was called "the friend of god[ ]." ( )observe therefore that by works a man is justified, and not by faith merely. ( )but was not rahab the harlot in like manner justified by works, when she entertained the messengers, and sent them away by a different road? ( )for as the body without breath is dead, so faith without works is dead also. chap. iii. my brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we shall receive a severer judgment. ( )for in many things we all offend. if any man offend not in word, he is a perfect man, and capable of reining in the whole body. ( )behold, we put bits into the horses' mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. ( )behold also the ships, though so great, and driven by tempestuous winds, are turned about by the smallest rudder, whithersoever the inclination of the pilot pleaseth. ( )so also the tongue is a little member, and proudly vaunts. behold how great a pile of wood, a little fire kindleth! ( )and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: in such manner is the tongue placed among our members, that it defileth all the body, and setteth on fire the circle of nature; and is set on fire of hell. ( )for every species of wild beasts, and also of birds, of reptiles, and even of fishes, is tamed, and hath also been tamed by human ingenuity: ( )but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ( )with it we bless god even the farther; and with the same we curse men, though after the likeness of god. ( )out of the same mouth goeth forth blessing and cursing. these things, my brethren, ought not to be thus. ( )doth a fountain from the same aperture spout forth sweet water and bitter? ( )can a fig-tree, my brethren, produce olives; or a vine figs? so also can no fountain send forth salt water and sweet. ( )who is a wise man and intelligent among you, let him shew in a becoming conduct his works with the meekness of wisdom. ( )but if ye have bitter envy and contention in your heart, boast not, and lie not against the truth. ( )this is not the wisdom which cometh from above, but is earthly, sensual, diabolical. ( )for where envy and contention dwell, there is tumult and every vile deed. ( )but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, meek, easily persuadable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and void of dissimulation. ( )but the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for those who are peacemakers. chap. iv. from whence come wars and conflicts among you? spring they not from hence, even from your passions, which war in your members? ( )ye eagerly covet, yet have not: ye murder, and are envious, yet cannot obtain _your object_; ye wage war, but have not, because ye pray not. ( )ye ask, and receive nothing, because ye ask vilely, in order to consume it on your sensual appetites. ( )ye adulterers and adultresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity against god? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is set down an enemy to god. ( )think ye that the scripture saith without meaning, the spirit which dwelleth in you strongly urges to envy? ( )but he giveth mightier grace. wherefore he saith, "god sets himself against the proud, but giveth grace to the lowly[ ]." ( )be in subjection then to god. resist the devil, and he will fly from you. ( )draw nigh to god, and he will draw nigh to you. make clean your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. ( )be bitterly afflicted and lament, and let your tears run down; let your laughter be converted into mourning, and your joy into dejection. ( )be humbled in the presence of god, so he will exalt you. ( )traduce not one another, brethren. he that traduceth his brother, and judgeth his brother, traduceth the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but as judge. ( )there is one lawgiver, who can save or destroy: who art thou that judgest another man? ( )come now, ye that talk, to-day or to-morrow we will go to such a town, and do business there during one year, and traffic, and make great profits: ( )though ye know nothing of what shall be to-morrow. for what is your life? it is but a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and then vanishes away. ( )instead of your saying, if the lord pleases, and we are alive, then we will do this or that thing. ( )but now ye glory in your proud boastings: all such glorying is wicked. ( )therefore if a man knoweth how to act properly, and doth not, he is criminal. chap. v. come now, ye rich men, let your tears run down, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. ( )your wealth is corrupted, and your robes are moth-eaten. ( )your gold and silver is cankered with rust; and the rust upon them is a testimony against you, and shall eat into your flesh as fire. ye have heaped up treasures in the last days. ( )behold, the wages of the workmen who have mowed down your fields, which is kept back by you from them, crieth out: and the loud moans of the reapers are entered into the ears of the lord of sabaoth. ( )ye have gormandized upon the earth, and lived in every luxury: ye have pampered your hearts, as in a day of feasting on the victim slain. ( )ye have falsely condemned, ye have murdered the just man; nor doth he resist you. ( )be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the lord. see, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, in patient expectation for it, till it receives the former and the latter rain. ( )be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the lord is at hand. ( )grudge not one against another, brethren, lest be ye condemned: lo! the judge standeth at the gates. ( )my brethren, take a pattern for suffering affliction, and patience from the prophets, who have spoken to you in the name of the lord. ( )behold, we esteem those blessed who patiently endure. ye have heard of the patience of job, and have seen the end of the lord; for the lord is full of bowels of mercy, and tenderly compassionate. ( )but above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your no, no; that ye fall not under condemnation. ( )is any man among you under afflictions? let him pray. is any man happy in mind? let him sing psalms. ( )is any man sick among you? let him send for the presbyters of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord: ( )and the prayer of faith shall recover the sick man, and the lord will raise him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ( )confess your offences one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. the energetic prayer of a righteous man is mightily prevalent. ( )elias was a man of like feelings with us, and he prayed fervently that it should not rain; and there fell no rain on the earth during three years and six months. ( )and he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth shot up its fruit. ( )brethren, if any man among you should have erred from the truth, and one convert him; ( )let him know, that he that converteth a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins. the first epistle general of peter the apostle. chap. i. peter, an apostle of jesus christ, to the sojourners, dispersed through pontus, galatia, cappadocia, asia, and bithynia, ( )elect according to the foreknowledge of god the father, by sanctification of the spirit, that they might be brought to the obedience, and sprinkled with the blood of jesus christ: grace unto you and peace be multiplied. ( )blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto an animating hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead, ( )for an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you, ( )who are guarded by the omnipotence of god, through faith to obtain the salvation which is ready to appear at the last time. ( )wherein ye exult, though yet for a little space, (if it must be so,) ye are in sorrow through various trials: ( )that the test of your faith (much more precious than that of gold, which is of a perishing nature, though proved by fire) may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the revelation of jesus christ: ( )whom though ye have not seen, ye love; on whom, though ye have not as yet gazed, yet believing, ye exult with joy unutterable and glorious: ( )receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ( )concerning which salvation the prophets eagerly sought and diligently inquired, who prophesied of the grace which is come to you: ( )investigating to what time and to what conjuncture the spirit of christ in them pointed, when predicting the sufferings coming upon christ, and the glories subsequent thereto. ( )to whom it was revealed, that not for themselves, but for us were their ministrations employed in the things which are now declared unto you by those who have preached the gospel unto you by the holy ghost sent down from heaven; on which things the angels bending forwards eagerly desire to gaze. ( )wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, vigilant, wait with assured hope for the grace, which shall be brought unto you at the revelation of jesus christ; ( )as obedient children, not conformed to the former passions of the days of your ignorance: ( )but as he who hath called you is holy, be ye holy also in all your conduct: ( )because it is written, "be ye holy; for i am holy[ ]." ( )and if ye invoke him as father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, conduct yourselves during the time of your sojourning with _jealous_ fear: ( )knowing that ye have not been redeemed out of your vain manner of life, derived traditionally from your fathers, by the corruptible things, silver and gold, ( )but by the precious blood of christ, as the unblemished and spotless lamb: ( )who was indeed predestined before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times for us, ( )who by him believe in god, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in god. ( )having purified your souls by obedience to the truth through the spirit unto fraternal affection undissembled, love each other intensely out of a pure heart: ( )born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the quickening word of god, and which abideth for ever. ( )"for all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man, as the flower of grass. the grass withereth, and the flower of it falleth off[ ]:" ( )but the word of the lord abideth for ever. and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. chap. ii. wherefore putting far away wickedness of every kind, and all deceit, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all backbitings, ( )as new-born babes desire earnestly the unadulterated milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: ( )if so be ye have tasted that the lord is gracious. ( )whom approaching, as the living stone, rejected indeed of men, but elect of god, and honourable, ( )ye also, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, well pleasing to god through jesus christ. ( )wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, "behold, i lay in sion a cornerstone, elect, precious, and the believer on him shall never be confounded[ ]." ( )by you therefore who believe is he honoured: but respecting the disobedient, "the stone which the builders rejected, this very stone is become the head of the corner, ( )and a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence[ ]," to those who stumble at the word, disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed. ( )but ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired by purchase; that ye should publish abroad the excellencies of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: ( )who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of god; who had not obtained mercy, but are now the objects of mercy. ( )beloved, i exhort you, as strangers and sojourners, abstain from carnal lusts, which war against the soul; ( )having your conduct ornamental among the gentiles: that, whereas they malign you as wicked doers, they may, being eye-witnesses of your good works, glorify god in the day when he visits them. ( )be subject therefore to every human constitution for the lord's sake; whether to a king as the supreme magistrate; ( )or to governors, as sent by him for the punishment of wicked doers, but the praise of those who do well. ( )for such is the will of god, that by well doing ye hold under restraint the ignorance of foolish men: ( )as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for wicked practices; but as being servants of god. ( )honour all men. love the brotherhood. fear god. honour the king. ( )servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but even to the froward. ( )for this is gracious conduct, if for conscience towards god, any man undergo sorrows, suffering wrongfully. ( )for what glory would there be, if committing faults, and being buffeted, ye suffered patiently? but if, when ye behave well, yet suffer, ye bear it patiently, this is graciously accepted of god. ( )for hereunto have ye been called, because christ also hath suffered for you, leaving you a pattern, that ye should follow his steps; ( )who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ( )who, when reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he used no menaces; but referred himself to him who judgeth righteously: ( )who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead unto sins, might live unto righteousness; "by whose stripes, _even_ his, ye were healed[ ]." ( )for ye were as sheep wandering astray; but are now returned unto the pastor and bishop of your souls. chap. iii. likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if some obey not the word, by their wives' conduct without the word, they may be won over; ( )being eye-witnesses of your chaste behaviour with timidity. ( )whose adorning let it not be that exterior one of braided locks, and golden trimmings, and dresses put on with nicety; ( )but let it be the hidden man of the heart, with that incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god highly valuable. ( )for so in times of old the holy women also, who hoped in god, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands; ( )as sarah obeyed abraham, calling him lord: whose children ye are, if ye do well, and are not affrighted with any terror. ( )ye husbands, in like manner dwell with them discreetly, putting respect on the dear woman as being the weaker vessel, and as co-heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers may meet no interruption. ( )finally, be all like-minded, sympathizing, loving fraternally, compassionate, friendly hearted, ( )not returning evil for evil, or railing for railing; but, contrariwise, wishing men every blessing; knowing that hereunto ye have been called, that ye should inherit the _divine_ benediction. ( )"for he that would love life, and see good days, let him restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile. ( )let him depart from every wicked thing, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it[ ]." ( )for the eyes of the lord are upon the just, and his ears open to their prayers: but the face of the lord is against those who practise wicked things. ( )and who will do you harm if ye be imitators of him that is good? ( )but if ye should even suffer for righteousness, blessed are ye: be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled, ( )but sanctify the lord god in your hearts: and be always ready with your reply to every man who demands a reason respecting the hope which is in you with meekness and fear: ( )keeping a good conscience; that whereas they malign you, as evil doers, they may be confounded who take pleasure in ridiculing your good conduct in christ. ( )for it is better (if it be god's will) to suffer as well doers than as evil doers. ( )for christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to god, put to death indeed in the flesh, but raised to life by the spirit: ( )by which also he went and preached to those spirits imprisoned; ( )who in time of old were disobedient, when the long suffering of god in the days of noe waited, while the ark was preparing, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were preserved through the water. ( )the antitype to which baptism now saveth us (not the mere removal of filth from the flesh, but the engagement of a good conscience to god), by the resurrection of jesus christ: ( )who is at the right hand of god, gone into heaven, angels and dominations and powers being put in subjection under him. chap. iv. christ then having suffered for us in the flesh, be ye also in mind armed for the same conflict: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sinning; ( )that he might not spend the remaining space of life in the flesh after human passions, but the divine will. ( )for the time past of life is enough for us to have wrought the will of the heathen, when we walked in all impurities, lewd appetites, excess of wine, revels, drinking-bouts, and abominable idolatries; ( )wherein they think it a strange thing, that you are not running with them into the same gulph of profligacy, spreading every scandalous report of you: ( )who shall give an account to him, who holds himself ready to judge the living and the dead. ( )for to this end was the gospel preached to those that are dead, that they might be judged indeed in the flesh according to the will of men, but live in spirit according to the will of god. ( )but the end of all things is near: be ye therefore sober-minded, and vigilant in prayers. ( )but above all things have fervent love towards each other: for love will conceal a multitude of faults. ( )exercise hospitality one towards another without grudgings. ( )let every one, according as he hath received a gift, minister it to others, as good stewards of the manifold grace of god. ( )if any man speak, let it be agreeably to the oracles of god; if any man act as a deacon, let it be from the strength which god supplieth: that in all things god may be glorified through jesus christ; to whom be glory and might for ever and ever. amen. ( )beloved, be not amazed at the fiery trial among you which is to bring you to the test, as though something strange happened to you; ( )but as ye share in the sufferings of christ rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory also ye may hail him with exultations. ( )if ye suffer reproach for the name of christ, blessed are ye; for the spirit of glory and of god resteth upon you: by them indeed he is blasphemed, but by you he is glorified. ( )let no one of you then suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or a meddler in other persons' business. ( )but if any man suffer as a christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him give glory to god on this very account. ( )for now is the time when judgment is commencing at the house of god; and if it begin with us, what will be the end of those who obey not the gospel of god? ( )and if the righteous man is hardly saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? ( )wherefore let those who suffer according to the will of god commit their souls to him in well-doing as to the faithful creator. chap. v. the presbyters among you i exhort, who am a co-presbyter and a witness of the sufferings of christ, and a partaker of the glory which shall be revealed: ( )feed the flock of god which is among you, exercising your pastoral office not of necessity, but of choice, not for base gain, but with alacrity of mind; ( )not as domineering over your allotted congregations, but as being examples of the flock. ( )and when the arch shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that will never fade away. ( )in like manner, ye who are younger persons, be in subjection to your elders: but all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed from head to foot with humility: for god sets himself in opposition to the proud, but he giveth grace to the lowly. ( )humble yourselves therefore beneath the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in due season: ( )casting all your anxiety upon him; for he careth for you. ( )be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, prowleth around, seeking whom he may devour: ( )against whom stand fast, firm in the faith, knowing that the very same sufferings are fully endured by the brotherhood which is in the world. ( )but the god of all grace, who hath called us to his eternal glory by christ jesus, when ye have suffered a little while, himself perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. ( )to him be glory and might for ever and ever. amen. ( )by silvanus, a faithful brother as i think, i have written to you a few words, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of god wherein ye are standing fast. ( )she who is co-elect at babylon, saluteth you, and my son mark. ( )salute one another with a kiss of love. peace be with you all that are in christ jesus. amen. the second general epistle of the apostle peter. chap. i. simon peter, the servant and apostle of jesus christ, to those who have obtained with us the same precious faith by the righteousness of our god and saviour jesus christ: ( )grace unto you and peace be multiplied through the knowledge of god, even jesus our lord, ( )as his divine power hath freely given us all things tending to life and godliness, through the acknowledgment of him who hath called us to glory and fortitude: ( )whereby superlatively great and precious promises are freely given to us: that by these ye might become partakers of a divine nature, having fled far away from the corruption that is in the world through inordinate concupiscence.--( )and for this very purpose employing the greatest diligence, lead up in the train of your faith courage; and with courage intelligence; ( )and with intelligence moderation; and with moderation patience; and with patience piety; ( )and with piety fraternal affection; and with fraternal affection love. ( )for if these things are in your possession, and abounding, they will render you neither inactive nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our lord jesus christ. ( )but he that hath no possession of these things, is blind, dim-sighted, sinking into oblivion of his purification from the sins of his former days. ( )wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make sure your calling and election: for by doing these things, ye shall never at any time stumble: ( )but an entrance will thus be richly afforded you into the eternal kingdom of our lord and saviour jesus christ. ( )wherefore i will not be negligent continually to remind you of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the present truth. ( )indeed, i think it right, as long as i am in this frail tabernacle, to rouse up your attention by reminding you: ( )knowing that the deposition of this frail tabernacle of mine is hastily approaching, as our lord jesus christ hath made evident to me. ( )i will endeavour then that even after my decease, ye may always have wherewith to preserve the remembrance of these things. ( )for we have not followed artfully devised fables, when we made known to you the power and advent of our lord jesus christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. ( )for he received from god the father honour and glory, when such a voice was sent forth to him from the transcendently magnificent glory, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. ( )and this voice we heard coming out of heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. ( )and we hold the prophetic word more confirmed, to which ye do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark passage, until the day dawn, and the morning-star arise upon your hearts. ( )knowing this in the first place, that all scriptural prophecy is not from any man's own suggestions. ( )for prophecy in old time came not by the will of man: but the holy men of god spake under the impulse of the holy ghost. chap. ii. but there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers also among you, who wickedly introduce damnable heresies, and deny the sovereign lord who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. ( )and many will go out of the way after their fatal errors; by means of whom the way of truth will be injuriously reviled. ( )and with plausible speeches will they avariciously make gain of you whose condemnation from of old lingereth not, and their perdition doth not slumber. ( )for if god spared not the angels when they sinned, but casting them bound in chains of darkness into hell, delivered them to be kept fast until the judgment; ( )and spared not the old world, but guarded safely noah the eighth person, the preacher of righteousness, when he brought a deluge on the world of the ungodly: ( )and reducing the cities of sodom and gomorrah to ashes, condemned them to final destruction, making them an example for all who in future should live ungodly; ( )but righteous lot, afflicted grievously with the infamously impure conduct of those lawless men, he plucked out: ( )for by seeing and hearing, that righteous man whilst sojourning among them, suffered torment day by day in his righteous soul from their lawless doings; ( )the lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, but to reserve the wicked unto the day of judgment to be punished: ( )especially such as walk after the flesh in the eager pursuit of defilement, and despise government. daring, self-sufficient, they tremble not at dignities, railing against them. ( )whereas the angels, though so much greater in might and power, bring not a reviling accusation against them before the lord. ( )but these men, as the naturally irrational brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil of the things of which they are ignorant, will perish by their own corruption; ( )receiving the recompence of iniquity, counting daily luxury their pleasure; spots and blemishes, when they feast together with you; riotously indulging in their own delusions: ( )having eyes full of adultery, and insatiable of sin; ensnaring souls of no stability; having a heart practised in all the wiles of covetousness; children for a curse: ( )who forsaking the strait road are gone out of the way, following the path of balaam the son of bosor who loved the wages of iniquity. ( )but received a reproof for his peculiar transgression: the dumb ass articulating with a human voice restrained the perverseness of the prophet. ( )these are fountains without water, clouds driven by a hurricane; for whom the blackness of darkness for ever is reserved. ( )uttering pompous discourses of inanity, ensnaring by the lusts of the flesh, by lascivious impurities, those who had truly escaped from such as live in a course of delusion. ( )preaching liberty to them, while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for by whatever a man is overcome, by that also he is enslaved. ( )for if having escaped from the defilements of the world by the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ, they are again enveloped by them and overcome, their last deeds are worse than the first. ( )for it had been better for them never to have been acquainted with the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to have turned aside from the holy commandment delivered unto them. ( )but the true proverb is verified in them, the dog hath returned to his own vomit; and the sow which was washed to its wallowing in the mire. chap. iii. this second epistle, beloved, i now write unto you; in both which i rouse up your sincere mind by awakening your recollection ( )to remember the words, that have been spoken aforetime by the holy prophets, and the injunction of us the apostles of the lord and saviour: ( )knowing this principally, that in the last of the days there will come scoffers, walking after their own lewd passions, ( )and saying, where is the promise of his coming? for ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue in the same state as from the beginning of the creation. ( )for this they chuse to keep out of sight, that by the word of god the heavens were created of old, and the earth rising out of the water and subsisting amidst the water; ( )whence the world then existing, being deluged by water, was destroyed; ( )but the present heavens and earth by the same word are treasured up, reserved for fire at the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ( )but let not this particular be concealed from you, beloved, that one day with the lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ( )the lord doth not delay the promise (as some count it delay); but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should have space for repentance. ( )but the day of the lord will come as a thief by night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a rushing noise, and the first principles of matter in flames dissolve, and the earth and all the works upon it be burnt up. ( )seeing then that all these things must be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in a course of holy conduct and acts of piety, ( )expecting and hastening towards the coming of god's day, at which the heavens on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements in flames be melted as wax? ( )but we expect according to his promise new heavens and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness. ( )wherefore, beloved, seeing ye are expecting these things, be diligent to be found of him in peace, spotless and blameless. ( )and account the long suffering of our lord conducive to salvation; as our beloved brother paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, hath written unto you; ( )as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, of which some are difficult to be understood, which the uninstructed and the unstable torture, as indeed they do the rest of the scriptures unto their own destruction. ( )ye therefore, beloved, knowing this before, be on your guard, that ye be not carried away with the delusion of these lawless men, and fall from your own stedfastness. ( )but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ. to him be glory now and unto the day of eternity. amen. the first general epistle of the apostle john. chap. i. that which was from the beginning, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have gazed upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life; ( )(for the life was manifested, and we have beheld it, and bear testimony, and declare unto you that life eternal, which was with the father, and was manifested to us;) ( )that which we have seen and heard, declare we to you, that ye also may have communion with us: and indeed our communion is with the father, and with his son jesus christ. ( )and these things write we unto you, that your joy may be complete. ( )and this is the promise which we have heard from him, and declare unto you, that god is light, and that darkness in him there is none. ( )if we say that we have communion with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and practise not the truth: ( )but if we walk in the light, as he is himself in the light, we have communion with each other, and the blood of jesus christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. ( )if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ( )if we confess our sins, faithful is he and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ( )if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. chap. ii. my dear children, these things i write to you, that ye should not sin. and if any of us sin, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the righteous: ( )and he himself is the propitiatory victim for our sins: and indeed not for ours only, but for the whole world. ( )and hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. ( )he that saith, i know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and in him the truth is not. ( )but whosoever keepeth his word, verily in him is the love of god perfected: by this we know that we are in him. ( )he who saith that he abideth in him, ought as he walked, even so himself to walk. ( )brethren, i write not a new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. ( )again, a new commandment i write unto you, which is a true thing in him, and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light is now shining. ( )he who saith, that he is in the light, yet hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. ( )he that loveth his brother is in the light, and occasion of stumbling in him there is none. ( )but he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he is departing, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. ( )i write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. ( )i write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. i write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. i write unto you, little children, because ye have known the father. ( )i have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him, who is from the beginning. i have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of god abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. ( )love not the world, neither the things which are in the world. if any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. ( )for every thing which is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pomp of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. ( )and the world is passing away, and the lust thereof, but he who doeth the will of god abideth for ever. ( )my dear children, it is the last hour; and as ye have heard that antichrist is coming, even now there are many antichrists: by which we know it is the last hour. ( )they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they departed, that they might be made manifest that they are not all of us: ( )though ye have an unction from the holy one, and know all things. ( )i have not written to you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. ( )who is the liar, but he that denieth that jesus is the messiah? this man is the antichrist, who denieth the father and the son. ( )every one that denieth the son, neither doth he hold the father; but he that acknowledgeth the son, holdeth the father also. ( )let that abide in you therefore which ye have heard from the beginning. if that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning, ye also shall abide in the son and in the father. ( )and this is the promise which he hath promised to us, even life eternal. ( )these things have i written unto you concerning those who are leading you astray. ( )but the unction which ye have received from him abideth in you; and ye need not that any person should instruct you. but as the same unction teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie; and as it hath taught you, abide in him. ( )and now, my dear children, abide in him; that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be put to shame by him at his coming. ( )if ye know that he is righteous, know that every one who practises righteousness is born of him. chap. iii. behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of god! therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. ( )beloved, now are we the children of god, and it is not yet evident what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; because we shall see him as he is. ( )and every one who hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. ( )every one who committeth sin, committeth also a transgression of the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. ( )and ye know that he was manifested, that he might take away our sins; and in him there is no sin. ( )every one who abideth in him, doth not sin; every one who sinneth hath not seen him, nor known him. ( )my dear children, let no man deceive you: he who doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous: ( )he that practises sin is of the devil; for from the beginning the devil sinneth. for this purpose the son of god was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. ( )every one who is born of god, doth not practise sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of god. ( )by this the children of god are manifestly seen, and the children of the devil. every one that doth not practise righteousness, is not of god, and he that loveth not his brother. ( )for this is the commandment which ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ( )not as cain, who was of the wicked one, and slew his brother: and wherefore did he slay him? because his own works were wicked, and those of his brother righteous. ( )marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. ( )we know that we are passed out of _a state of_ death into life, because we love the brethren: he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. ( )every one who hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life eternal abiding in him. ( )by this we have known the love _of christ_, because for us he laid down his own life: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ( )but whosoever hath worldly abundance, and seeth his brother under necessity, and shutteth his bowels of compassion against him, how dwelleth the love of god in him? ( )my dear children, let us not love in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth; ( )and hereby we know that we are of the truth, and in his presence have this persuasion in our hearts. ( )for should our heart condemn us, god is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. ( )beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have confidence towards god. ( )and whatsoever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and do the things which are pleasing in his sight. ( )and this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his son, jesus christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. ( )and he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him; and by this we know that he abideth in us, from the spirit which he hath given us. chap. iv. beloved, believe not every pretender to inspiration, but bring these spirits to the trial whether they are of god; because many false prophets are gone forth into the world. ( )by this ye know the spirit of god: every spirit who confesseth that jesus the messiah is come in the flesh, is from god. ( )and every spirit who confesseth not that jesus the messiah is come into the world, is not from god: and this is that spirit of antichrist which ye have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world. ( )ye are of god, my dear children, and have overcome them; because he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. ( )they are of the world, therefore speak they as of the world, and the world heareth them. ( )we are of god: he that knoweth god heareth us; he that is not of god heareth us not. by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of delusion. ( )beloved, let us love one another; because love is from god, and every one who loveth is born of god, and knoweth god. ( )he that loveth not, never knew god; for god is love. ( )by this was the love of god manifested to us, that god sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might have life by him. ( )herein is love, not that we have loved god, but that he hath loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. ( )beloved, if god so loved us, we ought also to love one another. ( )no man hath seen god at any time. if we love one another, god abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us. ( )by this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his own spirit. ( )and we have seen and bear testimony, that the father sent the son to be the saviour of the world. ( )whosoever shall confess that jesus is the son of god, god abideth in him, and he in god. ( )and we have known and believed the love which god hath towards us. god is love; and he that abideth in love, abideth in god, and god in him. ( )by this is his love towards us perfected, that we might have confidence at the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. ( )fear is not in this love; but the perfect love casteth out fear: for fear hath anguish. he that is afraid is not made perfect in love. ( )we love him, because he first loved us. ( )if any person say, i love god, yet hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love the god whom he hath not seen? ( )so this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth god love also his brother. chap. v. every one who believeth that jesus is the messiah, is born of god; and every one who loveth him that begat, loveth him also who is begotten by him. ( )hereby we know that we love the children of god, when we love god, and keep his commandments. ( )for this is the love of god, that we should keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. ( )because every one that is born of god overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. ( )who is he that overcometh the world, except he that believeth that jesus is the son of god? ( )this is he who came by water and blood, jesus the messiah; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood: and the spirit is the witnessing person, because the spirit is the truth. ( )for they are three who bear witness in heaven, the father, the word, and the holy spirit, and these, even the three, are one. ( )and there are three which bear witness upon earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are for the same one object. ( )if we receive the testimony of man, the testimony of god is stronger: for this is the testimony of god which he testified concerning his son. ( )he that believeth on the son of god, hath the testimony in himself; he that believeth not god, hath made him a liar, because he hath not believed on the testimony which god testified of his son. ( )and this is the testimony, that god hath given life eternal to us; and this life is in his son. ( )he that hath the son, hath this life; and he that hath not the son of god, hath not this life. ( )these things have i written to you who believe on the name of the son of god, that ye may know that ye have life eternal, and that ye may believe on the name of the son of god. ( )and this is the confidence that we have towards him, that whatsoever we ask according to his will, he heareth us. ( )and if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we receive the petitions, which we have requested, from him. ( )if any person see his brother committing a sin not unto death, he shall request, and god will grant him life for those that sin not unto death. there is a sin unto death: i say not that he should request for that. ( )all unrighteousness is sin; and there is sin not unto death. ( )we know that every one who is born of god sinneth not; but he that is born of god preserveth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not. ( )we know that we are of god, and the whole world is under the power of that wicked one. ( )but we know that the son of god hath come, and hath given to us understanding, that we might know the true god; and we are in him that is true, in his son jesus the messiah. he is the true god, and the life eternal. ( )my dear children, guard yourselves against idols. amen. the second epistle general of the apostle john. the presbyter to the elect lady and her children, whom i love in the truth; and not i only, but also all who have known the truth: ( )because of the truth which abideth in us, and shall be with us for ever: ( )grace, mercy, peace be with you from god the father, and from the lord jesus christ, the son of the father, in truth and love. ( )i rejoiced greatly that i found thy children walking in truth, as we have received commandment from the father. ( )and now i beseech thee, lady, not as writing to thee a new commandment, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we should love one another. ( )and this is love, that we should walk after his commandments. this is the commandment, as ye have heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. ( )for many deceivers are gone out into the world, who do not confess jesus the messiah as come in the flesh. such a one is a deceiver and an antichrist. ( )take heed to yourselves that we lose not the things which we have wrought, but receive a full reward. ( )every one that transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of christ, hath not god: he that abideth in the doctrine of christ, this man holdeth both the father and the son. ( )if any person come unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house, nor say to him, welcome. ( )he that biddeth him welcome, takes part in his wicked works. ( )having many things to write unto you, i would not do it with paper and ink; but i hope to come unto you, and speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be complete. ( )the children of thy elect sister salute thee. amen. the third general epistle of the apostle john. the presbyter to the beloved gaius, whom i love in the truth. ( )beloved, above all things i pray that thou mayest prosper, and be in sound health of body, even as thy soul prospereth. ( )i rejoiced greatly when the brethren came, and bore witness to thy truth, even as thou walkest in the truth. ( )i have no greater joy than these tidings, that i hear my own children are walking in the truth. ( )beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever services thou performest for the brethren, and for strangers; ( )who have borne testimony to thy love before the church; to whom thou wilt perform a good act of service in forwarding them on their journey, in a manner worthy of god. ( )for on account of his name they went forth, receiving nothing from the heathen. ( )we therefore ought to assist such men, that we may become fellow-labourers in the truth. ( )i wrote unto the church: but diotrephes, who affects pre-eminence over them, receiveth us not. ( )therefore if i come i will remember his works which he doth, with wicked words prating against us; and not content with these things, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and those who are willing he hindereth, and casteth them out of the church. ( )beloved, be not an imitator of what is evil, but of that which is good. he that doeth good is of god, but he that doeth evil hath not seen god. ( )demetrius hath a good testimony from all men, and from the truth itself: and we also bear our testimony, and ye know that our testimony is true. ( )i had many things to write; but i would not write to thee with ink and pen: ( )but i hope shortly to see thee, and we shall speak mouth to mouth. peace be to thee. the friends salute thee. salute the friends by name. the epistle general of the apostle jude. jude a servant of jesus christ, and brother of james, to those who are sanctified in god the father, and preserved by jesus christ, the called: ( )mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied. ( )beloved, when i gave all diligence to write unto you concerning the common salvation, i held it necessary to write unto you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints. ( )for certain men have craftily introduced themselves, who were from of old proscribed for this condemnation, ungodly men, changing the grace of god into impurity, and denying our only sovereign god and lord, jesus christ. ( )but i would remind you, though ye once knew this, that the lord, though he delivered the people out of the land of egypt, afterwards destroyed those who believed not. ( )and the angels who preserved not their own primitive state, but deserted their proper abode, hath he reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. ( )as sodom and gomorrha and the surrounding cities, in like manner with them abandoned to whoredom, and going after other flesh, are set forth an example, suffering the judicial punishment of eternal fire. ( )in like manner also do these men, even when they dream, defile indeed the flesh, despise sovereignty, and revile dignities. ( )though michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of moses, dared not to produce a railing accusation, but said, the lord rebuke thee. ( )but these men speak evil even of the things of which they have no knowledge: but such things as they know naturally, as the brute beasts, in these they corrupt themselves. ( )wo unto them! for they have walked in the way of cain, and have eagerly run in balaam's erroneous path of hire, and have perished in opposition, like corah. ( )these are in your feasts of love, as sunken rocks; though joining in your banquet, they feed themselves fearlessly; clouds without water carried about by the winds; trees untimely withering, fruitless, twice dead, rooted up; ( )raging billows of the sea foaming out their own infamies; stars wandering from their courses, for whom the blackness of darkness for ever is reserved. ( )now enoch, the seventh from adam, prophesied also of these men, saying, behold, the lord cometh with myriads of his saints, ( )to execute judgment against all men, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness which they have impiously committed, and of all the bitter words which impious offenders have spoken against him. ( )these men are murmurers, complainers at their lot in life, walking after their own corrupt passions; and their mouth utters hyperbolically pompous expressions, pretending high personal admiration, in order to make their advantage. ( )but ye, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our lord jesus christ, ( )how they told you that in the last time there will be scoffers, walking after their own ungodly passions. ( )these are the men who separate themselves, sensual, destitute of the spirit. ( )but ye, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying by the holy ghost, ( )preserve yourselves in the love of god, waiting for the mercy of our lord jesus christ unto eternal life. ( )and of some have compassion, distinguishing their case; ( )and others save with trembling, snatching them out of the fire; though hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. ( )now to him who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with exultation, ( )to the only wise god our saviour, be glory and majesty, might and dominion, both now and unto all eternity. amen. the revelation of john the theologian. chap. i. the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave to him, to shew to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass; and sending by his angel, he shewed them to his servant john: ( )who was a witness for the word of god, and for the testimony of jesus christ, and for the things which he saw. ( )blessed is he that readeth, and they who hear the words of this prophecy, and observe the things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. ( )john to the seven churches which are in asia: grace be with you, and peace from him, who is, and who was, and who is coming; and from the seven spirits which are before the throne of god, ( )and from jesus christ, the faithful witness, and first-born from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth: to him who loved us, and washed us from our sins by his blood, ( )and made us kings and priests to his god and father; to him be glory and might for ever and ever. amen. ( )behold! he is coming with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall lament bitterly, smiting their bosoms, because of him: even so! amen. ( )i am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, saith the lord, who is, and who was, and who is coming--the almighty. ( )i john, your brother and companion also with you in the tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of jesus christ, was in the island which is called patmos, for the word of god, and for the testimony of jesus christ. ( )i was _rapt_ in spirit on the lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, ( )saying, i am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last; and what thou seest write in a book, and send to the churches which are in asia: to ephesus, and to smyrna, and to pergamos, and to thyatira, and to sardis, and to philadelphia, and to laodicea. ( )and i turned to see what voice spake to me. and when i turned round i saw seven lamps of gold; ( )and in the midst of the seven lamps one like unto a son of man, clothed to the very feet, and girded about the breasts with a golden zone; ( )his head and flowing locks white as a white fleece of wool, even as the snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire; ( )and his feet resembled molten brass, as though they glowed in the furnace; and his voice was as the roar of many waters. ( )and he held in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and his countenance was as when the sun shineth in his meridian lustre. ( )and when i beheld him, i fell at his feet as dead: and he laid his right hand upon me, saying to me, fear not; i am the first and the last, ( )and i am the living one, though i was dead and lo! i am alive for evermore, amen; and i hold the keys of hell and of death. ( )write the things which thou seest, and the things which are, and the things which shall be in future after these, ( )the mystery of the seven stars which thou seest in my right hand, and the seven golden lamps. the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamps which thou seest are the seven churches. chap. ii. to the angel of the ephesian church write; these things saith he who grasps the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh round in the midst of the seven golden lamps; ( )i know thy works, and thy travail, and thy patience, and that thou canst not bear the wicked; and hast tried those who give themselves out as apostles, yet are not, and hast found them liars; ( )and hast borne, and hast exercised patience, and for my name sake hast endured great toil, and hast not fainted. ( )yet have i a charge against thee, that thou art gone back from thy first love. ( )remember then from whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and practise thy first works; but if not, i am coming to thee quickly, and i will remove thy lamp out of its place, except thou repent. ( )but this thou holdest, that thou abhorrest the deeds of the nicolatans, which i also abhor. ( )he that hath ears, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches, to him that overcometh will i give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of god. ( )and to the angel of the church of the smyrnians write, these things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and is alive: ( )i know thy works, and thy tribulation, and thy poverty (though thou art rich), and the calumnies of those who say they are jews, yet are not, but are satan's synagogue. ( )fear nothing from the things which thou shalt suffer: lo! the devil will cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have a ten day's tribulation: be thou faithful until death, and i will give thee a crown of life. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. he that overcometh shall receive no injury from the second death. ( )and to the angel of the church at pergamos write, these things saith he who holdeth the sharp two-edged sword; ( )i know thy works and where thou hast thy abode, even where satan's throne _is erected_: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days when antipas was my faithful martyr, who was put to death among you, where satan dwelleth. ( )yet i have a few things against thee, that thou hast there some who hold the doctrine of balaam, who taught balac to lay a stumbling-block before the children of israel, to eat of idol sacrifices, and to commit whoredom. ( )thou hast also some who hold the doctrine of the nicolaitans, which i abhor. ( )repent! but if not, i am coming to thee quickly, and will war against them with the sword of my mouth. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches, to him that overcometh will i give to eat of the hidden manna, and i will give him a white pebble, and upon the pebble a new name inscribed, which no man knoweth except the person who receiveth it. ( )and to the angel of the church which is at thyatira write, these things saith the son of god, who hath his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet like the molten brass; ( )i know thy deeds, and thy love, and thy charity to the poor, and thy faith, and thy patience, and thy works, and that the last are more abundant than the first. ( )yet i have a few things against thee, because thou hast suffered that woman jezabel, calling herself a prophetess, to teach, and to lead my servants into error, to commit whoredom, and eat the idol sacrifices. ( )and i gave her a space that she should repent of her whoredom, and she hath not repented. ( )behold, i am about to cast her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. ( )and i will slay her children by death; and all the churches shall know that i am he who searcheth the reins and the hearts: and i will give to you, even to every one, according to your works. ( )but to you i say, and to the rest that are at thyatira, as many as do not hold this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of satan, as they speak, i will lay upon them no other burden. ( )nevertheless that which you have, hold fast till i come. ( )and he who overcometh, and perseveres in my works unto the end, to him will i give authority over the nations; ( )he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as a potter's vessels they shall be broken in pieces, even as i have received authority from my father: ( )and i will give him the star of the morning. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. chap. iii. and to the angel of the church in sardis write, these things saith he that hath the seven spirits of god, and the seven stars; i know thy works, and that thou hast a name, as though thou wert alive, yet art dead. ( )be vigilant and strengthen the things which remain, which are ready to die; for i have not found thy works complete before god. ( )remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and observe, and repent. if then thou art not found watching, i will come upon thee as a thief, and thou shalt in no wise know at what hour i will come upon thee. ( )thou hast a few names even in sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white robes, for they are worthy. ( )he that overcometh, this man shall be clothed in white robes; and i will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and i will confess his name before my father, and before his angels. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. ( )and to the angel of the church in philadelphia write, these things saith the holy one, he that is true, who hath the key of david, who openeth, and none shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth. ( )i know thy works: behold, i have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; because thou hast but little strength, yet hast thou kept my word, and hast not denied my name. ( )behold, i give thee out of satan's synagogue those who say they are jews, yet they are not, but do lie. lo! i will make them that they shall come and prostrate themselves at thy feet, and they shall know that i have loved thee. ( )because thou hast keep the word of my patience, i also will preserve thee from the hour of temptation, which is coming upon the whole habitable globe to try the dwellers upon earth. ( )behold, i come quickly: hold fast that thou hast, that no man take thy crown. ( )he that overcometh, i will make him a pillar in the temple of my god, and he shall never more go out from thence: and i will write upon him the name of my god, and the name of the city of my god, the new jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my god, and my own new name. ( )he that hath an ear to hear, let him ear what the spirit saith unto the churches. ( )and to the angel of the church of the laodiceans write, these things saith the amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of the creation of god; ( )i know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: ( )i wish thou wert cold or hot. so because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, i will vomit thee out of my mouth: ( )because thou sayest, i am rich, and wallow in wealth, and have no want unsupplied; yet thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. ( )i advise thee to buy of me gold purified by the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white robes, that thou mayest be completely clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thine eyes with a collyrium, that thou mayest see. ( )as many as i love, i rebuke and correct: be zealous then, and repent. ( )lo! i stand at the door, and knock: if any person hear my voice, and open the door, i will come in to him, and i will sup with him, and he with me. ( )he that overcometh, i will give to him to sit on my throne, as i also have overcome, and have sat down with my father on his throne. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. chap. iv. after these things i beheld, and, lo! a door was opened in heaven, and a voice, the first which i heard, as of a trumpet, speaking to me, said, come up hither, and i will shew thee what things will be after these. ( )and immediately i was _rapt_ in spirit: and, lo! a throne was placed in heaven, and upon the throne a person sitting. ( )and he that sat was in appearance like a stone of jasper and sardine: and a rainbow encircled the throne, like in hue to an emerald. ( )and around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon these thrones i saw twenty-four presbyters seated, clothed in white robes; and they had on their heads golden crowns. ( )and out of the throne issued forth lightnings, and thunder, and loud voices; and seven lamps of fire burned before the throne, which are the seven spirits of god. ( )and before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and within the circle of the throne, were four living beings full of eyes before and behind. ( )and the first living being was like a lion, and the second living being was like a calf, and the third living being had a face as a man, and the fourth living being was like an eagle with wings expanded. ( )and the four living beings had each for himself six wings encircling him, and within they were full of eyes; and they never cease day and night, saying, holy, holy, holy, lord god almighty, who was, and who is, and who is coming. ( )and when these living beings give glory, and honour, and thanksgiving to him that sitteth on the throne, to him who liveth for ever and ever, ( )the four and twenty presbyters prostrate themselves before him who is seated on the throne, and worship him who liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ( )worthy art thou, o lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast created all things, and by thy will they exist, and were created. chap. v. and i saw on the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a _volume of a_ book written within, and on the back sealed with seven seals. ( )and i saw mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book, and to break the seals thereon? ( )and no man was able in heaven, nor upon earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look into it. ( )and i wept much because no man was found worthy either to open or read the book, or even to look upon it. ( )and one of the presbyters said unto me, weep not: behold the lion who is of the tribe of judah, the root of david, hath prevailed, to open the book, and to break the seven seals upon it. ( )and i beheld, and lo! in the midst of the throne, and of the four living beings, and in the midst of the presbyters, stood a lamb as just slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of god that are sent forth into all the world: ( )and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that was seated upon the throne. ( )and when he had taken the book, the four living beings and the four and twenty presbyters prostrated themselves before the lamb, having each harps, and vases of gold, full of perfumes smoaking, which are the prayers of the saints. ( )and they sung a new song, saying, worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereon; because thou hast been slaughtered, and hast redeemed us for god by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; ( )and hast made us for our god kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth. ( )and i looked, and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and the living beings, and the presbyters, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ( )crying with a loud voice, worthy is the slaughtered lamb to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing. ( )and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those who are on the sea, and all things which are therein, heard i, saying, to him who is seated on the throne, and to the lamb, be blessing, and honour, and glory, and might for ever and ever. ( )and the four living beings said, amen. and the four and twenty presbyters prostrated themselves, and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. chap. vi. and i saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, and i heard one of the four living beings, saying, as with a voice of thunder, come, and see. ( )and i looked, and lo! a white horse; and he who sat on it held a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. ( )and when he opened the second seal, i heard the second living being say, come and see. ( )and there went out another horse flame-coloured; and to him who sat thereon there was power given to take peace from the earth, and that men should kill each other; and there was given to him a great sword. ( )and when he opened the third seal, i heard the third living being say, come and see. and i saw, and lo! a black horse; and he that sat upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. ( )and i heard a voice from amidst the four living beings saying, a choenix[ ] of wheat for a denarius[ ], and three choenixs of barley for a denarius; yet to the oil and the wine do no injury. ( )and when he opened the fourth seal, i heard the voice of the fourth living being saying, come and see. ( )and i looked, and lo! a pale coloured horse, and one sat on it, whose name was death, and the grave followed after him: and power was given to them to kill the fourth part of the earth with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and with the wild beasts of the earth. ( )and when he opened the fifth seal i saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of god, and for the testimony which they maintained. ( )and they cried with a loud voice, how long will it be, o sovereign, the holy one and the true, ere thou judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? ( )and to each of them were given white robes, and it was told them that they should wait yet a little longer space, until the number of their fellow-servants and their brethren, who should be slain as well as they, should be completed. ( )and i saw when he opened the sixth seal, and lo! there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ( )and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as the fig-tree sheddeth her early ripe figs when shaken by a mighty wind: ( )and the heaven was removed away as a volume rolled up and every mountain and island were removed out of their places: ( )and the kings of the earth, and the grandees, and the rich, and the military commanders, and the men in power, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the caves, and in the rocks of the mountains; ( )and said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb: ( )for the great day of his wrath is come, and who is able to stand? chap. vii. and after these things i saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, to hold back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, neither on the sea, nor on any tree. ( )and i saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living god; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom power was given for them to hurt the earth and the sea, ( )saying, hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our god in their foreheads. ( )and i heard the number of those who were sealed; one hundred and forty and four thousand were sealed out of every tribe of the children of israel. ( )of the tribe of judah were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of reuben were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of gad were sealed twelve thousand. ( )of the tribe of aser were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of nephtalim were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. ( )of the tribe of simeon were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of levi were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of issachar were sealed twelve thousand. ( )of the tribe of zebulon were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of joseph were sealed twelve thousand. of the tribe of benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. ( )after these things i looked, and beheld a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation, and tribe, and people, and tongue, standing before the throne, and before the lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands ( )and crying with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our god that sitteth on the throne, and to the lamb. ( )and all the angels stood in a circle about the throne, and the presbyters and the four living beings, and fell on their faces before the throne, and worshipped god, ( )saying, amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be to our god for ever and ever. amen. ( )and one of the presbyters addressed me, saying, who are these persons who are clothed in white robes? and from whence came they? ( )and i said to him, sir, thou knowest. and he said to me, these are persons who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made their robes white in the blood of the lamb. ( )therefore are they before the throne of god, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. ( )they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun scorch them, nor any burning heat. ( )because the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them, as a shepherd, and lead them unto living fountains of waters; and god shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. chap. viii. and when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about half an hour. ( )and i saw the seven angels which stood before god, and there were given to them seven trumpets. ( )and another angel came, and stood by the altar, holding a golden censer; and there were given to him many perfumes, to offer with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ( )and the smoke of the perfumes went up with the prayers of the saints, out of the angel's hand before god. ( )and the angel took the censer, and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake. ( )and the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. ( )and the first angel blew the trumpet, and there were hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast on the earth; and a third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. ( )and the second angel sounded, and there was cast into the sea as it were a vast mountain burning with fire: and the third part of the sea became blood; ( )and a third part of the creatures having life, which are in the sea, died; and a third part of the ships was destroyed. ( )and the third angel blew the trumpet, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water; ( )and the name of the star is called wormwood: and the third part of the waters was turned into wormwood, and multitudes of men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. ( )and the fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars; so that a third part of them was darkened, and the day had no light during a third part of it, and the night likewise. ( )and i saw and heard one angel flying in the mid-heavens, saying with a loud voice, wo, wo, wo, to the dwellers upon earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels, which are ready to sound. chap. ix. and the fifth angel sounded, and i saw a star fall from heaven to the earth; and to him was given the key of the pit of the abyss _of hell_. ( )and he opened the pit of the abyss; and a smoke ascended out of the pit like the smoke of a vast furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. ( )and out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given to them, such power as the scorpions of the earth possess. ( )and it was told them, hurt not the grass of the earth, nor any herb, nor any tree, but only those men who have not the seal of god in their foreheads. ( )and it was given them in charge that they should not kill these men outright, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. ( )and in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall earnestly desire to die, and death shall fly from them. ( )and the figures of the locusts were like horses equipped for war; and upon their heads there were as crowns, like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ( )and they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. ( )and they had breastplates, as breastplates of iron: and the sound of their wings was as the rumbling of chariots of many horses rushing to battle. ( )and they had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and they had power to hurt men five months. ( )and they had over them a king, the angel of the abyss _of hell_, whose name in hebrew is abaddon, and in greek he is called appollyon. ( )one woe is past; and, behold, there are coming yet two woes after these. ( )and the sixth angel sounded, and i heard a great voice from the four horns of the altar of gold which is before god, ( )saying to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound at the great river euphrates. ( )and the four angels were loosed, who were ready at the hour, and day, and month, and year, to kill the third part of mankind. ( )and the number of the armies of cavalry was two myriads of myriads and i heard the number of them. ( )and in this manner saw i the horses in the vision, and those who were mounted upon them, having breastplates of the colour of fire, and jacinth, and sulphur; and the horses' heads were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and brimstone. ( )by these three were slain the third part of mankind, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the sulphur, which proceeded out of their mouths. ( )for their powers are in their mouth, and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they do hurt. ( )and the residue of mankind, who were not slain by these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of wood, and of stone: which can neither see nor hear, nor walk: ( )and they repented not of their murders, nor of their magical arts, nor of their whoredom, nor of their thefts. chap. x. and i saw another mighty angel descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow on his head, and his countenance as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: ( )and he held in his hand a little book open; and he placed his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land, ( )and cried with a loud voice, as a lion roareth: and when he had cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. ( )and when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, i was about to write: and i heard a voice from heaven saying to me, seal up the things, which the seven thunders have spoken, and write them not down. ( )and the angel which i saw standing upon the sea and upon the land lifted up his hand towards heaven, ( )and he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things which are therein, and the earth and the things which are in it, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that time shall be no longer: ( )but that in the days of the blast of the seventh angel, when he shall sound, then shall the mystery of god be completed, as he spake by his own servants the prophets. ( )and the voice which i heard out of heaven again spoke to me, and said, go take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the land. ( )and i went up to the angel, saying unto him, give me that little book. and he saith to me, take it, and eat it up; and it will make thy belly bitter, though in thy mouth it will be sweet as honey. ( )and i took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth as honey sweet; yet when i had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. ( )and he said to me, thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and monarchs. chap. xi. and there was given me a cane like a measuring staff; and the angel stood by, saying, arise, and measure the temple of god, and the altar, and those who worship therein. ( )but the exterior court of the temple leave out, and measure it not; because it is given to the gentiles: and they shall trample under foot the holy city forty-two months. ( )and i will give charge to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. ( )these are the two olive trees, and the two lamps which stand before the face of the god of the earth. ( )and if any person attempts to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any person attempts to injure them, he must thus be slain. ( )these have power to shut up the heaven, that no rain water the earth during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will. ( )and when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast which ascendeth out of hell shall make war with them, and shall overcome them, and put them to death. ( )and their corpses shall be exposed in the streets of the great city, which is called spiritually sodom and egypt, where also our lord was crucified. ( )and they of the people and tribes and tongues and nations will look upon their corpses three days and half, and they will not permit their corpses to be laid in sepulchres. ( )and the dwellers upon earth will rejoice over them, and be very glad, and will send gifts to each other; because these two prophets were a torment to those who dwell on the earth. ( )and after three days and half, the spirit of life from god entered into them, and they stood up on their feet; and great terror fell on those who beheld them. ( )and they heard a great voice out of heaven, saying unto them, ascend up hither. and they ascended into heaven in a cloud: and their enemies beheld them. ( )and in the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and there were slain in the earthquake seven thousand men of note: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the god of heaven. ( )the second woe is past; behold the third woe is coming quickly. ( )and the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of the world are become our lord's, and his messiah's, and he shall reign for ever and ever. ( )and the four and twenty presbyters, who were seated before god upon their thrones, fell upon their faces, and worshipped god, ( )saying, we give thanks to thee, lord the almighty god, who is and who was, and who is coming, because thou hast assumed thy great power, and hast set up the throne of thy kingdom. ( )though the nations were incensed, yet thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all who fear thy name, to the small and to the great; and to destroy those who have destroyed the earth. ( )and the temple of god was opened in the heaven, and there appeared the ark of his covenant in his temple: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and earthquake, and a great hail. chap. xii. and there appeared a great sign in the heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ( )and being with child, she cried out in travailing pain, and in anguish to be delivered. ( )and there appeared another sign in the heaven; and lo! a great fiery dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven crowns. ( )and his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them on the earth: and the dragon placed himself before the woman who was ready to be delivered, that when she should bring forth, he might devour her babe. ( )and she brought forth a male child, who should rule the nations with an iron sceptre: and her infant was caught up to god, and his throne. ( )and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of god, that she might there be fed during a thousand two hundred and sixty days. ( )then was there war in the heaven: michael and his angels warred against the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels, ( )and they could not prevail; neither was there any more place found for them in the heaven. ( )and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and satan, who deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ( )and i heard a great voice saying in the heaven, now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our god, and the authority of his christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our god day and night. ( )and they have vanquished him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death. ( )therefore be exceeding glad ye heavens, and ye who dwell in them. wo to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. ( )and when the dragon saw that he was cast out into the earth, he persecuted the woman which had brought forth the male child. ( )and there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she should fly into the wilderness, unto her place, where she is supported there for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. ( )and the serpent cast out after the woman, from his mouth water, as a river, that he might sweep her away with the flood. ( )and the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. ( )and the dragon was incensed against the woman, and went forth to make war against the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of god, and hold the testimony of jesus christ. chap. xiii. and i stood upon the sand of the sea, and i saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon the horns ten diadems, and upon the heads a title of blasphemy. ( )and the beast which i saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority. ( )and i saw one of his heads as if wounded unto death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the earth wondered after the beast. ( )and they worshipped the dragon who had given authority to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like to the beast? who is able to wage war with him? ( )and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to make war forty-two months. ( )and he opened his mouth in blasphemy against god, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ( )and it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and authority was given to him over every tribe, and tongue, and nation. ( )and all the inhabitants who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. ( )he that hath an ear, let him hear. ( )if any person leads _others_ into captivity, he shall be led into captivity; if any person kills with the sword, he must be slain by the sword. here is the patience and the faith of the saints. ( )and i saw another beast rising up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, though he spake as the dragon. ( )and he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth, and those who inhabit therein, to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. ( )and he performeth great signs, so that he even causeth fire to come down from heaven to the earth, in the sight of men, ( )and deceiveth the inhabitants of the earth by the signs, which he is enabled to perform before the beast, saying to the dwellers upon the earth, that they should make an image for the beast who had the stroke of the sword, and survived. ( )and he is enabled to impart life to the image of the beast that even the image of the beast should speak, and cause as many as will not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. ( )and he causeth all the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the freemen and the slaves, to receive a brand upon their right hand, and upon their foreheads: ( )and that no man may buy or sell, but he that hath the mark impressed, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ( )here is wisdom. let him that hath understanding calculate the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred sixty-six. chap. xiv. and i saw, and lo, a lamb stood upon the mount zion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having the name of his father inscribed on their foreheads. ( )and i heard a voice from heaven, as the sound of many waters, and as the roar of loud thunder; and i heard the sound of harpers harping on their harps: ( )and they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living beings, and the presbyters: and no person could learn that song, but the hundred forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth. ( )these are they who have not defiled themselves with women; for they are virgins: these are they who follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth: these have been redeemed among men, as first-fruits to god, and to the lamb. ( )and in their mouth no guile is found; for they are blameless before the throne of god. ( )and i saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach the glad tidings to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people, ( )saying with a loud voice, fear god, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. ( )and another angel followed, saying, babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because all nations have been made to drink of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom. ( )and a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any person worship the beast, and his image, and receive the brand upon his forehead, and upon his right hand, ( )he also shall drink of the wine of the fury of god, which is mixed undiluted with water in the cup of his wrath; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the lamb: ( )and the smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever: and they have no respite day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the brand of his name. ( )here is the patience of the saints: here are they who keep the commandments of god, and the faith of jesus. ( )and i heard a voice from heaven saying to me, write, blessed are the dead who die in the lord, from henceforward: yea, saith the spirit, that they may have rest from their labours; but their works follow after them. ( )and i saw, and, lo! a white cloud, and upon the cloud sat one like to a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. ( )and anther angel came forth out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud, put in thy sickle, and reap: for the hour is come for thee to reap; because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. ( )and he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped. ( )and another angel came forth out of the temple which is in heaven, having also himself a sharp sickle. ( )and another angel came forth from the altar, having authority over fire; and he cried with a loud voice to him who held the sharp sickle, saying, put in thy sharp sickle, and gather the bunches of the vine of the earth; for her clusters are ripe. ( )and the angel thrust in his sickle upon the earth, and gathered the grapes of the vine of the earth, and cast them into the great winepress of the wrath of god. ( )and the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood issued from the wine-press, as high as the horses' bridles, for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. chap. xv. and i saw another sign in the heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels having the seven last plagues because by them is the wrath of god completely executed. ( )and i saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and those who had obtained the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name standing upon the sea of glass, holding the harps of god. ( )and they sung the sacred ode of moses the servant of the lord, and the song of the lamb, saying, great and marvellous are thy works, o lord god almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, o king of saints. ( )who should not fear thee, o lord, and glorify thy name? because thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee, because thy righteous judgments are made evident. ( )and after these things i beheld, and, lo! the temple of the tabernacle of witness in heaven was opened: ( )and the seven angels having the seven plagues came forth out of the temple, clothed in linen white and shining, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles. ( )and one of the four living beings gave unto the seven angels seven golden vases full of the wrath of god, who liveth for ever and ever. ( )and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god, and from his power; and no person was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completely executed. chap. xvi. and i heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, go and pour out the vases of the wrath of god upon the earth. ( )and the first angel went, and poured out his vase upon the earth; and there came an ulcer malignant and painful upon the men that had the brand of the beast, and upon those who worshipped his image. ( )and the second angel poured his vase upon the sea and it became blood as of a dead man: and every living creature died in the sea. ( )and the third angel poured out his vase upon the rivers and upon the fountains of waters; and they became blood. ( )and i heard the angel of the waters saying, righteous art thou, o lord, who art, and who wast, even the holy one, because thou hast judged these things. ( )for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. ( )and i heard another angel from the altar saying, yea, lord god almighty, true and just are thy judgments. ( )and the fourth angel poured out his vase upon the sun; and there was given to it a charge to burn men with fire. ( )and the men were scorched with a fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of god, who had power over these plagues: and they repented not, to give him glory. ( )and the fifth angel poured out his vase upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their own tongues from anguish, ( )and they blasphemed the god of heaven, in the midst of their anguish, and of their ulcers, and repented not of their works. ( )and the sixth angel poured out his vase upon the great river euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings who come from the rising of the sun might be prepared. ( )and i saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. ( )for they are the spirits of demons doing wonders, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole habitable globe, to gather them together unto the battle of that great day of god almighty. ( )behold, i come as a thief. blessed is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, that he walk not about naked, and men see his shame. ( )and he gathered them together into a place called in the hebrew, armageddon. ( )and the seventh angel poured out his vase into the air; and a loud voice come out from the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done. ( )and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not from the day that men were upon the earth, an earthquake of such a kind, and so great. ( )and the great city was cleft into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and babylon the great came in remembrance before god, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. ( )and every island fled, and the mountains were no more found. ( )and a great storm of hail, each about a talent weight, fell from heaven upon men: and men blasphemed god for the plague of hail: for great was the plague of it, exceedingly great. chap. xvii. and one of the seven angels who had the seven vases, came to me, and talked with me, saying to me, come hither, i will shew thee the judgment of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters: ( )with whom the kings of the earth have committed whoredom, and all the inhabitants of the world have intoxicated themselves with the wine of her whoredom. ( )and he bore me away in spirit into the wilderness: and i saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads, and ten horns. ( )and the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and all over decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and of the impurity of her whoredom. ( )and upon her forehead was there a name written, mystery, babylon the great, the mother or harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. ( )and i saw the woman drunk with the blood of saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of jesus: and when i saw her, i wondered with great amazement. ( )and the angel said unto me, wherefore dost thou wonder? i will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath seven heads and ten horns. ( )the beast which thou seest was, and is not; and shall come up out of the abyss _of hell_, and shall go into perdition: and the dwellers upon earth will wonder, (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) when they shall see the beast which was, and is not, though he is. ( )here is the mind that hath wisdom. the seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman is seated even upon them. ( )and these are seven kings: five have fallen, and the one exists, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must abide but a little while. ( )and the beast which was, and is not, though he is himself the eighth, yet is of the seven, and shall go away into perdition. ( )and the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, who have not yet received their kingdoms; but will receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. ( )they hold one sentiment, and will give their own power and authority to the beast. ( )they shall make war against the lamb, and the lamb shall overcome them: because he is lord of lords, and king of kings and they that are with him, are called, and elect, and faithful. ( )and he saith to me, the waters which thou sawest, on which the whore sat, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. ( )and the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, they shall hate the whore, and make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her up with fire. ( )for god hath put it into their hearts to do his will, to perform one purpose, even to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of god are fulfilled. ( )and the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which holds dominion over the kings of the earth. chap. xviii. and after these things i saw an angel descending from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was enlightened by his glory. ( )and he cried mightily with a great voice, saying, babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every impure spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ( )because all nations have drunk of the wine of the rage of her whoredom, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, and the merchants of the earth have been enriched by the excess of her profligate luxury. ( )and i heard another voice from heaven, saying, come forth out of her, my people, that ye have no share in her sins, and that so ye may not receive of her plagues. ( )for her sins have reached unto heaven, and god hath remembered her iniquities. ( )render to her as she also hath done to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath mingled mingle for her double. ( )as much as she hath glorified herself, and rioted in luxury, so much torment and sorrow give her: because she hath said in her heart, i sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. ( )therefore in one hour shall all her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine: and she shall be consumed with fire; because mighty is the lord god, who judgeth her. ( )and the kings of the earth who have committed whoredom with her, and shared in her luxuries, shall bewail her, and lament bitterly over her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ( )standing afar off through terror of her torment, saying, alas, alas, that great city babylon, that strong city! how in one hour is thy judgment come upon thee! ( )and the merchants of the earth wept and wailed over her: because no man buyeth their merchandise any more: ( )the merchandise of gold and of silver, and of precious stones, and of pearl, and of fine linen, and of purple, and of silk, and of scarlet, and every sweet scented wood, and every ivory vessel, and every vessel of most precious wood, and of gold, and of iron, and of marble, ( )and cinnamon, and perfumes, and myrrh, and libanum, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies, and the souls of men. ( )and the delicate autumnal fruit of thy soul's earner longing is gone from thee, and all things that are dainty and that are splendid are departed from thee, and never shalt thou find them any more. ( )the merchants of these things who enriched themselves by her, shall stand afar off through terror of her torment, weeping and wailing, ( )and saying, alas, alas, the great city, which was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and overlaid with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! how in one hour is so great wealth laid waste! ( )and every pilot, and all the crew in the ships, and the mariners, and as many as exercise their labours on the sea, stood afar off, ( )and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what is like that great city! ( )and they cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, that great city, by which all who occupied ships on the sea were enriched from her opulence! how in one hour is she made desolate! ( )rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye the holy apostles and prophets, for god hath adjudged her to punishment, for the judgment inflicted on you by her. ( )and a mighty angel took up a stone as a great milestone, and cast it into the sea, saying, so with rapidity shall the great city babylon be hurled into the deep, and never shall be found more. ( )and the sound of harpers, and musicians, and flute players, and trumpeters, shall never be heard in thee more; and no artificer of whatever trade shall be found in thee any more; and the sound of a milstone shall be heard in thee no more; ( )and never shall the light of a lamp shine in thee any more; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard in thee no more: because thy merchants were the grandees of the earth; because all nations were deluded by thy magical incantation. ( )and in her was found the blood of prophets, and holy men, and of all who have been slaughtered upon the earth. chap. xix. and after these things i heard a loud sound as of a vast multitude in heaven, saying, hallelujah: salvation, and glory, and honour, and power be to the lord our god: ( )because true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, that corrupted the earth with her whoredom, and hath avenged the blood of his servants shed by her hand. ( )and the second time they said, hallelujah. and her smoke ascended up for ever and ever. ( )and the four and twenty presbyters fell prostrate, and the four living beings, and they worshipped god who was seated on the throne, saying, amen; hallelujah. ( )and there came a voice out of the throne, saying, praise our god, all ye servants of his, and all that fear him, both the small and the great. ( )and i heard as it were the voice of a vast multitude, and as the noise of many waters, and as the roar of mighty thunderings, saying, hallelujah: for the lord god omnipotent reigneth. ( )let us rejoice and exult, and give him glory: because the marriage of the lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself ready. ( )and it was granted her to be clothed in fine linen, clean and splendid: for the fine linen is _the emblem of_ the righteousness of the saints. ( )and he said to me, write, blessed are they that are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. and he said to me, these are the true sayings of god. ( )and i fell down before his feet to worship him: and he said unto me, see thou dost not so: i am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who hold the testimony of jesus: worship god: for the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of jesus. ( )and i saw heaven opened, and lo a white horse; and he that sat upon it, is called faithful and true, and with righteousness doth he judge and make war. ( )and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and upon his head were many diadems; and he hath a name inscribed which no man knoweth but himself. ( )and he was clothed in a garment dipt in blood, and his name is styled the word of god. ( )and the hosts which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ( )and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword, that therewith he may smite the heathen and he will rule them with an iron sceptre: and he will tread the wine-press of the fury and of the wrath of god almighty. ( )and he hath upon his vesture and upon his thigh this name written, king of kings, and lord of lords. ( )and i saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls which fly in the midst of heaven, come hither and flock together unto the supper of the great god: ( )that ye may eat the carcasses of kings, and the carcasses of military commanders, and the carcasses of mighty men, and the carcasses of horses, and of those who ride upon them, and the carcasses of all, freemen and slaves, both small and great. ( )and i saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that was sitting upon the horse, and with his army. ( )and the beast was seized upon, and with him the false prophet who performed the wonders before him, by which he deceived those who received the brand of the beast, and those who worshipped his image. they were both hurled alive into the lake of fire which burneth with brimstone. ( )and all the rest were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which issued from his mouth: and all the fowls were gorged with their carcasses. chap. xx. and i saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss _of hell_, and a great chain in his hand: ( )and he seized on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years, ( )and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and put a seal upon it, that he might deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are completed: and after that he must be loosed a short time. ( )and i saw thrones, and persons were seated upon them, and authority to judge was given to them: and i saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of jesus, and for the word of god, and who had not worshipped the beast, nor his image, and had not received the brand in their foreheads, and upon their right hand; and they lived and reigned with christ a thousand years. ( )but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are completed. this is the first resurrection. ( )blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; over these the second death hath no dominion: but they shall be priests of god and of christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years. ( )and when the thousand years shall be completed, satan shall be loosed out of his prison; ( )and he shall go forth to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, gog, and magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ( )and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and encircled the camp of the saints, and the beloved city: and there came down fire from god out of heaven, and devoured them up. ( )and the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ( )and i saw a great white throne, and one sat upon it, from whose presence fled the earth and the heaven, and no place was found for them. ( )and i saw the dead, small and great, standing before god, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works. ( )and the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to his works. ( )and death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire: this is the second death. ( )and if any one was not found inscribed on the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. chap. xxi. and i saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ( )and i john saw the holy city, the new jerusalem, descending from god out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ( )and i heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold the tabernacle of god is with men, and he shall pitch his tent with them, and they shall be his people, and god himself shall be with them, their own god. ( )and god shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; nor shall mourning, nor crying, nor toil be any more: because the former things are passed away. ( )and he that sat upon the throne said, lo! i make all things new: and he said unto me, write that these sayings are true and faithful. ( )and he said to me, it is done. i am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end; i will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ( )he that overcometh shall inherit all things, and i will be to him a god, and he shall be to me a son. ( )but to those who shrink back through fear, and to the infidels, and to the abominable, and to murderers, and to whoremongers, and to those who use magical incantations, and to idolaters, and to all liars, is their portion _appointed_ in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. ( )and there came to me one of the seven angels who held the seven vases full of the seven last plagues, and he talked with me, saying, come hither, i will shew thee the bride, the lamb's wife. ( )and he bore me away in spirit unto a great and exceeding high mountain, and shewed me the great city, the holy jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, ( )having the glory of god: and her brilliance was like the most precious gem, as a jasper stone, transparent as crystal; ( )and she had a great wall and lofty, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the children of israel. ( )from the east three gates; from the north three gates; from the south three gates; from the west three gates. ( )and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb. ( )and he that talked with me held a golden cane to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ( )and the city is a quadrangle, and the breadth of it is just as much as the length of it; and he measured the city with the cane, twelve thousand furlongs: the breadth, and the length, and the height of it, are exactly proportioned. ( )he measured also the wall of it a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, for such is that of an angel. ( )the structure of the wall of it was jasper, and the city pure gold, like clear glass. ( )and the foundations of the walls of the city were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation a jasper; the second a sapphire; the third a chalcedony; the fourth an emerald; ( )the fifth a sardonyx; the sixth a sardius; the seventh a chrysolite; the eighth a beryl; the ninth a topaz; the tenth a chrysoprasus; the eleventh a jacinth; the twelfth an amethyst. ( )and the twelve gates were twelve several pearls; every one of the gates was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass. ( )and i saw no temple therein; for the lord god almighty is the temple thereof, even the lamb. ( )and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine upon it: for the glory of god illuminates it, and the lamb is the lamp thereof. ( )and the nations of those that are saved shall walk about in the light thereof; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and their honour into it; ( )and her gates shall be never shut by day (for there is no night there); ( )and they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations into it. ( )and there shall no more enter into it any thing unclean, or that practises abomination and lying; but only those who are written in the book of life of the lamb. chap. xxii. and he shewed me a clear river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of god and of the lamb. ( )in the midst of the street of it, even on this side, and on that of the river, grew the tree of life, producing twelve crops of fruit, and ripening its fruit in succession every month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ( )and no accursed thing is there any more; and the throne of god and of the lamb are in it, and his servants will pay divine worship to him. ( )and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads. ( )and there shall be no night there, and they have no need of a lamp, or the light of the sun; because the lord god illumines them: and they shall reign for ever and ever. ( )and he said to me, these words are faithful and true. and the lord god of the holy prophets hath sent his angel to shew to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. ( )behold, i come quickly! blessed is he that observeth the words of the prophecy of this book. ( )and i john saw and heard these things. and when i had heard and seen, i fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who shewed me these things. ( )and he said to me, see thou do it not; for i am a fellow-servant of thine, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of those who observe the words of this book: worship god. ( )and he said to me, seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand. ( )he that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. ( )and behold, i come quickly: and my reward is with me, to give to every man as his work shall be. ( )i am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ( )blessed are they who keep his commandments, that they may have authority to approach unto the tree of life, and that they may enter in by the gates into the city. ( )but without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and every one who loveth and maketh a lie. ( )i jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. i am the root and the offspring of david, the bright and morning star. ( )and the spirit and the bride say, come. and let him that heareth say, come. and let him who is athirst come: and whosoever is desirous, let him take of the water of life freely. ( )for i testify to every one who heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man add to these things, god will lay upon him the plagues that are written in this book: ( )and if any take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god will take away his part from the book of life, and from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. ( )he that testifieth these things saith, verily, i come quickly. amen. yea come, lord jesus! ( )the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen the end. footnotes [ ] isa. vii. [ ] micah, v. [ ] hos. ii. [ ] jer. xxxi. [ ] isa. xl. [ ] deut. viii. [ ] psal. xci. , [ ] deut. vi. [ ] deut. vi. [ ] isa. ix. , [ ] mal. iii. . isa. xl. . [ ] isa. xxix. . [ ] exod. xx. . [ ] levit. xx. . [ ] equal to sixty shekels, above seven of our pounds. [ ] isaiah, lvi. . [ ] psalm cxviii. . [ ] deut. xxv. . [ ] exod. iii. . [ ] psalm cx. . [ ] isa. liii. . [ ] their day commenced at sun-set. [ ] psalm lxix. . [ ] psalm cix. . [ ] joel, ii. , . [ ] psalm xvi. - . [ ] psalm cx. . [ ] deut. xviii. , . [ ] gen. xii. . [ ] psalm cxviii. . [ ] psalm ii. , . [ ] gen. xi. . [ ] gen. xv. , . [ ] exod. iii. . [ ] exod. iii. - . [ ] deut. xviii. . [ ] amos, v. - . [ ] isaiah, lxvi. . [ ] isaiah, liii. , . [ ] sam. xiii. . [ ] psalm ii. . [ ] isa. lv. . [ ] psalm xvi. . [ ] isa. xxix, . [ ] isa. xlix. . [ ] amos, ix. , . [ ] exod. xxii. . [ ] isaiah, vi, . . [ ] habb. ii. . [ ] isaiah, lii. . [ ] psalm, li. . [ ] psa. xiv. - . psa. v. . [ ] gen. xv. . [ ] psa. xxxii. , . [ ] gen. xvii. . [ ] gen. xv. . [ ] psalm, xliv. . [ ] gen. xxv. . [ ] mal. i. , . [ ] exod. xxxiii. . [ ] exod. ix. . [ ] hos. i. . [ ] isa. x. , . [ ] isa. i. . [ ] isa. viii. . [ ] lev. xviii. . [ ] deut. xxx. - . [ ] isa. xxviii. . [ ] joel, ii. . [ ] isa. lii. , . [ ] isa. liii. . [ ] psa. xix. . [ ] deut. xxxii. . [ ] isa. lxv. , . [ ] kings, xix. . [ ] isa. xxix. . [ ] psa. lxix. . [ ] isa. lix. . [ ] deut. xxxii. . [ ] isaiah, xlv. . [ ] psa. lxix. [ ] psa. xviii. . [ ] deut. xxxii, . [ ] psa. cxvii. . [ ] isaiah, xi. . [ ] isaiah, lii. . [ ] isa. xxix. . [ ] jerem. ix. . [ ] isa. lxiv. . [ ] job. v. . [ ] ps. xciv. . [ ] gen. ii. . [ ] deut. xxv. . [ ] exod. xxxii. - . [ ] num. xxv. - . [ ] num. xxi. . [ ] num. xiv . [ ] psalm xxiv. . [ ] isa. xxviii. . [ ] gen. iii. . [ ] psalm cxvi. . [ ] isaiah, xlix. . [ ] lev. xxvi. . [ ] isai. lii. . [ ] jerem. xxxi. . [ ] exod. xvi. . [ ] psalm cxii. . [ ] gen. xii. . [ ] deu. xxvii. . [ ] habb. ii. . [ ] lev. xviii. . [ ] deut. xxi. . [ ] gen. xvi. . [ ] isa. liv. . [ ] gen. xxi. . [ ] psa. lxviii. . [ ] isaiah, lx. . [ ] exod. xx. . [ ] deut. xxvi. . [ ] psa. ii. . [ ] sam. vii. . [ ] psa. xcvii. . [ ] psa. civ. . [ ] psa. xlv. , . [ ] psa. cii. . [ ] psalm cx. . [ ] psalm viii. . [ ] psalm xxii. . [ ] psalm xviii. . [ ] isai. viii. . [ ] psalm xcv. . [ ] gen. ii. . [ ] psalm cx. . [ ] gen. xxii. . [ ] exod. xxv. . [ ] jerem. xxxi. - . [ ] psalm xl. . [ ] deut. xxxii. , [ ] habb. ii. . [ ] gen. xxi. . [ ] prov. iii. , . [ ] exod. xix. , . [ ] haggai, ii. . [ ] joshua, i. . [ ] gen. xv. . [ ] isa. xli. . [ ] prov. iii. . [ ] levit. xi. . [ ] isaiah, xl. . [ ] isa. xxviii. . [ ] psa. cxviii. . [ ] isa. liii. . . [ ] psalm xxxiv. , . [ ] about ten ounces. [ ] about ten ounces. supernatural religion: an inquiry into the reality of divine revelation. by walter richard cassels in three volumes: vol. ii. complete edition. carefully revised. london: longmans, greenland co., . pg editor's note: this file has been provided with an image of the original scan for each page which is linked to the page number in the html file. nearly every page in the text has many greek passages which have been indicated where they occur by [���] as have many complex tables; these passages may be viewed in the page images. some of the pages have only a few lines of text and then the rest of the page is taken up with complex footnotes in english, greek and hebrew. the reader may click on the page numbers in the html file to see the entire page with the footnotes. �dw an inquiry into the reality of divine revelation part ii. chapter v. the clementines--the epistle to diognetus we must now as briefly as possible examine the evidence furnished by the apocryphal religious romance generally known by the name of "the clementines," and assuming, falsely of course,( ) to be the composition of the roman clement. the clementines are composed of three principal works, the homilies, recognitions, and a so-called epitome. the homilies, again, are prefaced by a pretended epistle addressed by the apostle peter to james, and another from clement. these homilies were only known in an imperfect form till , when dressel( ) published a complete greek text. of the recognitions we only possess a latin translation by rufinus (a.d. ). { } although there is much difference of opinion regarding the claims to priority of the homilies and recognitions, many critics assigning that place to the homilies,( ) whilst others assert the earlier origin of the recognitions,( ) all are agreed that the one is merely a version of the other, the former being embodied almost word for word in the latter, whilst the epitome is a blending of the other two, probably intended to purge them from heretical doctrine. these works, however, which are generally admitted to have emanated from the ebionitic party of the early church,( ) are supposed to be based upon older petrine writings, such as the "preaching of peter" [------], and the "travels of peter" [------].( ) { } it is not necessary for our purpose to go into any analysis of the character of the clementines. it will suffice to say that they almost entirely consist of discussions between the apostle peter and simon the magician regarding the identity of the true mosaic and christian religions. peter follows the magician from city to city for the purpose of exposing and refuting him, the one, in fact, representing apostolic doctrine and the other heresy, and in the course of these discussions occur the very numerous quotations of sayings of jesus and of christian history which we have to examine. the clementine recognitions, as we have already remarked, are only known to us through the latin translation of rufinus; and from a comparison of the evangelical quotations occurring in that work with the same in the homilies, it is evident that rufinus has assimilated them in the course of translation to the parallel passages of our gospels. it is admitted, therefore, that no argument regarding the source of the quotations can rightly be based upon the recognitions, and that work may, consequently, be entirely set aside,( ) and the clementine homilies alone need occupy our attention. we need scarcely remark that, unless the date at which these homilies were composed can be ascertained, their value as testimony for the existence of our synoptic gospels is seriously affected. the difficulty of arriving at a correct conclusion regarding this point, great under almost any circumstances, is of course increased by the fact that the work is altogether apocryphal, and most certainly not held by any one to have { } been written by the person whose name it bears. there is in fact nothing but internal evidence by which to fix the date, and that internal evidence is of a character which admits of very wide extension down the course of time, although a sharp limit is set beyond which it cannot mount upwards. of external evidence there is almost none, and what little exists does not warrant an early date. origen, it is true, mentions [------],( ) which, it is conjectured, may either be the same work as the [------], or recognitions, translated by rufinus, or related to it, and epiphanius and others refer to [------];( ) but our clementine homilies are not mentioned by any writer before pseudo-athanasius.( ) the work, therefore, can at the best afford no substantial testimony to the antiquity and apostolic origin of our gospels. hilgenfeld, following in the steps of baur, arrives at the conclusion that the homilies are directed against the gnosticism of marcion (and also, as we shall hereafter see, against the apostle paul), and he, therefore, necessarily assigns to them a date subsequent to a.d. . as reuss, however, inquires: upon this ground, why should a still later date not be named, since even tertullian wrote vehemently against the same gnosis.( ) there can be little doubt that the author was a representative of ebionitic gnosticism, which had once been the purest form of primitive christianity, but later, through its own development, though still more through the rapid growth around it of paulinian doctrine, had { } assumed a position closely verging upon heresy. it is not necessary for us, however, to enter upon any exhaustive discussion of the date at which the clementines were written; it is sufficient to show that there is no certain ground upon which a decision can be based, and that even an approximate conjecture can scarcely be reasonably advanced. critics variously date the composition of the original recognitions from about the middle of the second century to the end of the third, though the majority are agreed in placing them at least in the latter century.( ) they assign to the homilies an origin at different dates within a period commencing about the middle of the second century, and extending to a century later. in the homilies there are very numerous quotations { } of sayings of jesus and of gospel history, which are generally placed in the mouth of peter, or introduced with such formulae as: "the teacher said," "jesus said," "he said," "the prophet said," but in no case does the author name the source from which these sayings and quotations are derived. that he does, however, quote from a written source, and not from tradition, is clear from the use of such expressions as "in another place [------]( ) he has said," which refer not to other localities or circumstances, but another part of a written history.( ) there are in the clementine homilies upwards of a hundred quotations of sayings of jesus or references to his history, too many by far for us to examine in detail here; but, notwithstanding the number of these passages, so systematically do they vary, more or less, from the parallels in our canonical gospels, that, as in the case of justin, apologists are obliged to have recourse to the elastic explanation, already worn so threadbare, of "free quotation from memory" and "blending of passages" to account for the remarkable phenomena presented. it must, however, be evident that the necessity for such an apology at all shows the insufficiency of the evidence furnished by these quotations. de wette says: "the quotations of evangelical works and histories in the pseudo-clementine writings, from their nature free and inaccurate, permit only an uncertain conclusion to be { } drawn as to their written source."( ) critics have maintained very different and conflicting views regarding that source. apologists, of course, assert that the quotations in the homilies are taken from our gospels only.( ) others ascribe them to our gospels, with a supplementary apocryphal work: the gospel according to the hebrews, or the gospel according to peter.( ) some, whilst admitting a subsidiary use of some of our gospels, assert that the author of the homilies employs, in preference, the gospel according to peter;( ) whilst others, recognizing also the similarity of the phenomena presented by these quotations with those of justin's, conclude that the author does not quote our gospels at all, but makes use of the gospel according to peter, or the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) evidence permitting of such divergent conclusions manifestly cannot be of a decided character. we may affirm, however, that few of those who are { } willing to admit the use of our synoptics by the author of the homilies along with other sources, make that concession on the strength of the absolute isolated evidence of the homilies themselves, but they are generally moved by antecedent views on the point. in an inquiry like that which we have undertaken, however, such easy and indifferent judgment would obviously be out of place, and the point we have to determine is not whether an author may have been acquainted with our gospels, but whether he furnishes testimony that he actually was in possession of our present gospels and regarded them as authoritative. we have already mentioned that the author of the clementine homilies never names the source from which his quotations are derived. of these very numerous quotations we must again distinctly state that only two or three, of a very brief and fragmentary character, literally agree with our synoptics, whilst all the rest differ more or less widely from the parallel passages in those gospels. some of these quotations are repeated more than once with the same persistent and characteristic variations, and in several cases, as we have already seen, they agree more or less closely with quotations of justin from the memoirs of the apostles. others, again, have no parallels at all in our gospels, and even apologists are consequently compelled to admit the collateral use of an apocryphal gospel. as in the case of justin, therefore, the singular phenomenon is presented of a vast number of quotations of which only one or two brief phrases, too fragmentary to avail as evidence, perfectly agree with our gospels; whilst of the rest, which all vary more or less, some merely resemble combined passages of two gospels, others merely contain the sense, some { } present variations likewise found in other writers or in various parts of the homilies are repeatedly quoted with the same variations, and others are not found in our gospels at all. such phenomena cannot be fairly accounted for by any mere theory of imperfect memory or negligence. the systematic variation from our synoptics, variation proved by repetition not to be accidental, coupled with quotations which have no parallels at all in our gospels, more naturally point to the use of a different gospel. in no case can the homilies be accepted as furnishing evidence even of the existence of our gospels. as it is impossible here to examine in detail all of the quotations in the clementine homilies, we must content ourselves with this distinct statement of their character, and merely illustrate briefly the different classes of quotations, exhausting, however, those which literally agree with passages in the gospels. the most determined of recent apologists do not afford us an opportunity of testing the passages upon which they base their assertion of the use of our synoptics, for they simply assume that the author used them without producing instances.( ) the first quotation agreeing with a passage in our synoptics occurs in hom. iii. : "and he cried, saying: come unto me all ye that are weary," which agrees with the opening words of matt. xi. , but the phrase does teschendorf only devotes a dozen linos, with a note, to the clemontinos, and only in connection with our fourth gospel, which shall hero-after have our attention. wann wurden u. s. w., p. . in the same way canon westcott passes them over in a short paragraph, merely asserting the allusions to our gospels to be "generally admitted," and only directly referring to one supposed quotation from mark which we shall presently examine, and one which he affirms to be from the fourth gospel. on the canon, p. f. [in the th edition he has enlarged his remarks, p. ff.] { } not continue, and is followed by the explanation: "that is, who are seeking the truth and not finding it."( ) it is evident, that so short and fragmentary a phrase cannot prove anything.( ) the next passage occurs in hom. xviii. : "for isaiah said: i will open my mouth in parables, and i will utter things that have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."( ) now this passage, with a slightly different order of words, is found in matt. xiii. . after giving a series of parables, the author of the gospel says (v. ), "all these things spake jesus unto the multitudes in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them; (v. ) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet (isaiah), saying: i will open my mouth in parables, &c." there are two peculiarities which must be pointed out in this passage. it is not found in isaiah, but in psalm lxxviii. ,( ) and it presents a variation from the version of the lxx. both the variation and the erroneous reference to isaiah, therefore, occur also in the homily. the first part of the sentence agrees with, but the latter part is quite different from, the greek of the lxx., which reads: "i will utter problems from the beginning," [------].( ) the psalm from which the quotation is really taken is, by its superscription, ascribed to asaph, who, in the septuagint version of ii. chronicles xxix. , is called a { } prophet.( ) it was, therefore, early asserted that the original reading of matthew was "asaph," instead of "isaiah." porphyry, in the third century, twitted christians with this erroneous ascription by their inspired evangelist to isaiah of a passage from a psalm, and reduced the fathers to great straits. eusebius, in his commentary on this verse of the psalm, attributes the insertion of the words, "by the prophet isaiah," to unintelligent copyists, and asserts that in accurate mss. the name is not added to the word prophet. jerome likewise ascribes the insertion of the name isaiah for that of asaph, which was originally written, to an ignorant scribe,( ) and in the commentary on the psalms, generally, though probably falsely, ascribed to him, the remark is made that many copies of the gospel to that day had the name "isaiah," for which porphyry had reproached christians,( ) and the writer of the same commentary actually allows himself to make the assertion that asaph was found in all the old codices, but ignorant men had removed it.( ) the fact is, that the reading "asaph" for "isaiah" is not found in any extant ms., and, although "isaiah" has disappeared from all but a few obscure codices, it cannot be denied that the name anciently stood in the text.( ) in the sinaitic codex, which is probably the earliest ms. extant, and which is assigned to the fourth century, "the prophet _isaiah_" stands in the text by the first hand, but is erased by the second (b). { } the quotation in the homily, however, is clearly not from our gospel. it is introduced by the words "for isaiah says:" and the context is so different from that in matthew, that it seems most improbable that the author of the homily could have had the passage suggested to him by the gospel. it occurs in a discussion between simon the magician and peter. the former undertakes to prove that the maker of the world is not the highest god, and amongst other arguments he advances the passage: "no man knew the father, &c.," to show that the father had remained concealed from the patriarchs, &c., until revealed by the son, and in reply to peter he retorts, that if the supposition that the patriarchs were not deemed worthy to know the father was unjust, the christian teacher was himself to blame, who said: "i thank thee, lord of heaven and earth, that what was concealed from the wise thou hast revealed to suckling babes." peter argues that in the statement of jesus: "no man knew the father, &c.," he cannot be considered to indicate another god and father from him who made the world, and he continues: "for the concealed things of which he spoke may be those of the creator himself; for isaiah says: 'i will open my mouth, &c.' do you admit, therefore, that the prophet was not ignorant of the things concealed,"( ) and so on. there is absolutely nothing in this argument to indicate that the passage was suggested by the gospel, but, on the contrary, it is used in a totally different way, and is quoted not as an evangelical text, but as a saying from the old testament, and treated in connection with the prophet himself, and not with its supposed fulfilment in jesus. it may be remarked, that in the corresponding part of { } the recognitions, whether that work be of older or more recent date, the passage does not occur at all. now, although it is impossible to say how and where this erroneous reference to a passage of the old testament first occurred, there is no reason for affirming that it originated in our first synoptic, and as little for asserting that its occurrence in the clementine homilies, with so different a context and object, involves the conclusion that their author derived it from the gospel, and not from the old testament or some other source. on the contrary, the peculiar argument based upon it in the homilies suggests a different origin, and it is very probable that the passage, with its erroneous reference, was derived by both from another and common source. another passage is a phrase from the "lord's prayer," which occurs in hom. xix. : "but also in the prayer which he commended to us, we have it said: deliver us from the evil one" [------]. it need scarcely be said, however, that few gospels can have been composed without including this prayer, and the occurrence of this short phrase demonstrates nothing more than the mere fact, that the author of the homilies was acquainted with one of the most universally known lessons of jesus, or made use of a gospel which contained it. there would have been cause for wonder had he been ignorant of it. the only other passage which agrees literally with our gospels is also a mere fragment from the parable of the talents, and when the other references to the same parable are added, it is evident that the quotation is not from our gospels. in hom. iii. , the address to the good servant is introduced: "well done, good and faithful servant" [------], which agrees { } with the words in matt. xxv. . the allusion to the parable of the talents in the context is perfectly clear, and the passage occurs in an address of the apostle peter to overcome the modest scruples of zaccheus, the former publican, who has been selected by peter as his successor in the church of caesarea when he is about to leave in pursuit of simon the magician. anticipating the possibility of his hesitating to accept the office, peter, in an earlier part of his address, however, makes fuller allusions to the same parable of the talents, which we must contrast with the parallel in the first synoptic. "but if any of those present, having the ability to instruct the ignorance of men, shrink back from it, considering only his own ease, then let him expect to hear:" [--table--] { } the homily does not end here, however, but continues in words not found in our gospels at all: "and reasonably: 'for,' he says, 'it is thine, o man, to put my words as silver with exchangers, and to prove them as money/"( ) this passage is very analogous to another saying of jesus, frequently quoted from an apocryphal gospel, by the author of the homilies, to which we shall hereafter more particularly refer, but here merely point out: "be ye approved money-changers" [------].( ) the variations from the parallel passages in the first and third gospels, the peculiar application of the parable to the _words_ of jesus, and the addition of a saying not found in our gospels, warrant us in denying that the quotations we are considering can be appropriated by our canonical gospels, and, on the contrary, give good reason for the conclusion, that the author derived his knowledge of the parable from another source. there is no other quotation in the clementine homilies which literally agrees with our gospels, and it is difficult, without incurring the charge of partial selection, to illustrate the systematic variation in such very numerous passages as occur in these writings. it would be tedious and unnecessary to repeat the test applied to the quotations of justin, and give in detail the passages from the sermon on the mount which are found in the homilies. some of these will come before us presently, but with regard to the whole, which are not less than fifty, we may broadly and positively state that they all more or less differ from our gospels. to take the { } severest test, however, we shall compare those further passages which are specially adduced as most closely following our gospels, and neglect the vast majority which most widely differ from them. in addition to the passages which we have already examined, credner( ) points out the following. the first is from hom. xix. .( ) "if satan cast out satan he is divided against himself: how then can his kingdom stand?" in the first part of this sentence, the homily reads, [------] for the [------] of the first gospel, and the last phrase in each is as follows:-- [------] the third gospel differs from the first as the homily does from both. the next passage is from hom. xix. .s "for thus, said our father, who was without deceit: out of abundance of heart mouth speaketh." the greek compared with that of matt. xii. . [------] the form of the homily is much more proverbial. the next passage occurs in hom. iii. : "every plant which the heavenly father did not plant shall be rooted up." this agrees with the parallel in matt. xv. , with the important exception, that although in the mouth of jesus, "_the_ heavenly father" is substituted for the "_my_ heavenly father" of the gospel. the last passage pointed out by credner, is from hom. viii. : "but also 'many,' he said, 'called, but few chosen;'" which may be compared with matt. xx. , &c. [------] { } we have already fully discussed this passage of the gospel in connection with the "epistle of barnabas,"[ ] and need not say more here. the variations in these passages, it may be argued, are not very important. certainly, if they were the exceptional variations amongst a mass of quotations perfectly agreeing with parallels in our gospels, it might be exaggeration to base upon such divergences a conclusion that they were derived from a different source. when it is considered, however, that the very reverse is the case, and that these are passages selected for their closer agreement out of a multitude of others either more decidedly differing from our gospels or not found in them at all, the case entirely changes, and variations being the rule instead of the exception, these, however slight, become evidence of the use of a gospel different from ours. as an illustration of the importance of slight variations in connection with the question as to the source from which quotations are derived, the following may at random be pointed out. the passage "see thou say nothing to any man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest" [------] occurring in a work like the homilies would, supposing our second gospel no longer extant, be referred to matt viii. , with which it entirely agrees with the exception of its containing the one extra word [------]. it is however actually taken from mark i. , and not from the first gospel. then again, supposing that our first gospel had shared the fate of so many others of the [------] of luke, and in some early work the following passage were found: "a prophet is not without honour except in his own country { } and in his own house" [------]t this passage would undoubtedly be claimed by apologists as a quotation from mark vi. , and as proving the existence and use of that gospel. the omission of the words "and among his own kin" [------] would at first be explained as mere abbreviation, or defect of memory, but on the discovery that part or all of these words are omitted from some mss., that for instance the phrase is erased from the oldest manuscript known, the cod. sinaiticus, the derivation from the second gospel would be considered as established. the author notwithstanding might never have seen that gospel, for the quotation is taken from matt. xiii. .( ) we have already quoted the opinion of de wette as to the inconclusive nature of the deductions to be drawn from the quotations in the pseudo-clementine writings regarding their source, but in pursuance of the plan we have adopted we shall now examine the passages which he cites as most nearly agreeing with our gospels.( ) the first of these occurs in hom. iii. : "the scribes and the pharisees sit upon moses' seat; all things therefore, whatsoever they speak to you, hear them," which is compared with matt, xxiii. , : "the scribes and the pharisees sit upon moses' seat; all things therefore, whatsoever they say to you, do and observe." we subjoin the greek of the latter half of these passages. { } that the variation in the homily is deliberate and derived from the gospel used by the author is clear from the continuation: "hear _them_ [------], he said, as entrusted with the key of the kingdom, which is knowledge, which alone is able to open the gate of life, through which alone is the entrance to eternal life. but verily, he says: they possess the key indeed, but to those who wish to enter in they do not grant it."( ) the [------] is here emphatically repeated, and the further quotation and reference to the denunciation of the scribes and pharisees continues to differ distinctly from the account both in our first and third gospels. the passage in matt, xxiii. , reads: "but woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye go not in yourselves neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."( ) the parallel in luke xi. is not closer. there the passage regarding moses' seat is altogether wanting, and in ver. , where the greatest similarity exists, the "lawyers" instead of the "scribes and pharisees" are addressed. the verse reads: "woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."( ) the first gospel has not the direct image of the key at all: the scribes and pharisees "shut the kingdom of { } heaven;" the third has "the key of knowledge" [------] taken away by the lawyers, and not by the scribes and pharisees, whilst the gospel of the homilies has the key of the kingdom [------], and explains that this key is knowledge [------]. it is apparent that the first gospel uses an expression more direct than the others, whilst the third gospel explains it, but the gospel of the homilies has in all probability the simpler original words: the "key of the kingdom," which both of the others have altered for the purpose of more immediate clearness. in any case it is certain that the passage does not agree with our gospel.( ) the next quotation referred to by de wette is in hom. iii. : "and also that he said: 'i am not come to destroy the law.... the heaven and the earth will pass away, but one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.'" this is compared with matt. v. , :( ) "think not that i am come to destroy the law or the prophets: i am not come to destroy but to fulfil, (v. ) for verily i say unto you: till heaven and earth pass away one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." the greek of both passages reads as follows:-- [------] { } that the omissions and variations in this passage are not accidental is proved by the fact that the same quotation occurs again literally in the epistle from peter( ) which is prefixed to the homilies in which the [------] is repeated, and the sentence closes at the same point the author in that place adds: "this he said that all might be fulfilled" [------]. hilgenfeld considers this epistle of much more early date than the homilies, and that this agreement bespeaks a particular text.( ) the quotation does not agree with our gospels, and must be assigned to another source. the next passage pointed out by de wette is the erroneous quotation from isaiah which we have already examined.( ) that which follows is found in hom. viii. : "for on this account our jesus himself said to one who frequently called him lord, yet did nothing which he commanded: why dost thou say to me lord, lord, and doest not the things which i say?" this is compared with luke vi. :( ) "but why call ye me lord, lord, and do not the things which i say?" [------] this passage differs from our gospels in having the second person singular instead of the plural, and in substituting [------] for [------] in the first phrase. the homily, moreover, in accordance with the use of the second person singular, distinctly states that the saying was addressed to a person who frequently called jesus "lord," whereas in the gospels it forms part of the sermon on the mount with a totally impersonal application to the multitude. { } the next passage referred to by de wette is in hom. xix. : "and he declared that he saw the evil one as lightning fall from heaven." this is compared with luke x. , which has no parallel in the other gospels: "and he said to them, i beheld satan as lightning fall from heaven." [------] the substitution of [-------] for [-------], had he found the latter in his gospel, would be all the more remarkable from the fact that the author of the homilies has just before quoted the saying "if satan cast out satan,"( ) &c. and he continues in the above words to show that satan had been cast out, so that the evidence would have been strengthened by the retention of the word in luke had he quoted that gospel. the variations, however, indicate that he quoted from another source.( ) the next passage pointed out by de wette likewise finds a parallel only in the third gospel. it occurs in hom. ix. : "nevertheless, though all demons with all the diseases flee before you, in this only is not to be your rejoicing, but in that, through grace, your names, as of the ever-living, are recorded in heaven." this is compared with luke x. : "notwithstanding, in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens." [------] { } the differences between these two passages are too great and the peculiarities of the homily too marked to require any argument to demonstrate that the quotation cannot be successfully claimed by our third gospel. on the contrary, as one of so many other passages systematically varying from the canonical gospels, it must rather be assigned to another source. de wette says: "a few others (quotations) presuppose (voraussetzen) the gospel of mark,"( ) and he gives them. the first occurs in hom. ii. : "there is a certain justa( ) amongst us, a syrophoenician, a canaantte by race, whose daughter was affected by a sore disease, and who came to our lord crying out and supplicating that he would heal her daughter. but he being also asked by us, said: 'it is not meet to heal the gentiles who are like dogs from their using different meats and practices, whilst the table in the kingdom has been granted to the sons of israel.' but she, hearing this and exchanging her former manner of life for that of the sons of the kingdom, in order that she might, like a dog, partake of the crumbs falling from that same table, obtained, as she desired, healing for her daughter."( ) this is compared with mark vii. -- ,( ) as it is the only gospel which calls the woman a syrophoenician. the homily, however, not only calls her so, a very unimportant point, but gives her name as "justa." { } if, therefore, it be argued that the mention of her nationality supposes that the author found the fact in his gospel, and that as we know no other but mark( ) which gives that information, that he therefore derived it from our second gospel, the additional mention of the name of "justa" on the same grounds necessarily points to the use of a gospel which likewise contained it, which our gospel does not. nothing can be more decided than the variation in language throughout this whole passage from the account in mark, and the reply of jesus is quite foreign to our gospels. in mark (vii. ) the daughter has "an unclean spirit" [------]; in matthew (xv. ) she is "grievously possessed by a devil" [------], but in the homily she is "affected by a sore disease" [------]. the second gospel knows nothing of any intercession on the part of the disciples, but matthew has: "and the disciples came and besought him [------] saying: 'send her away, for she crieth after us,'"( ) whilst the homily has merely "being also asked by us," [------] in the sense of intercession in her favour. the second gospel gives the reply of jesus as follows: "let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs. and she answered and said unto him: 'yea, lord, for the dogs also eat under the table of the crumbs of the children. and he said unto her: for this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."( ) the nature of the reply of the woman is, { } in the gospels, the reason given for granting her request; but in the homily the woman's conversion to judaism,( ) that is to say judeo-christianity, is prominently advanced as the cause of her successful pleading. it is certain from the whole character of this passage, the variation of the language, and the reply of jesus which is not in our gospels at all, that the narrative cannot rightly be assigned to them, but the more reasonable inference is that it was derived from another source.( ) the last of de wette's( ) passages is from hom. iii. : "hear, o israel; the lord thy( ) god is one lord." this is a quotation from deuteronomy vi. , which is likewise quoted in the second gospel, xii. , in reply to the question, "which is the first commandment of all? jesus answered: the first is, hear, o israel; the lord our god is one lord, and thou shalt love the lord thy god," &c. &c. in the homily, however, the quotation is made in a totally different connection, for there is no question of commandments at all, but a clear statement of the circumstances under which the passage was used, which excludes the idea that this quotation was derived from mark xii. . the context in the homily is as follows: "but to those who were beguiled to imagine many gods as the scriptures say, he said: hear, o israel," &c, &c.( ) there is no hint of the assertion of many gods in the gospels; but, on the contrary, the question is put by one of the scribes in mark to whom jesus says: "thou art not far from the kingdom of god." the quotation, { } therefore, beyond doubt, cannot be legitimately appropriated by the second synoptic, but may with much greater probability be assigned to a different gospel. we may here refer to the passage, the only one pointed out by him in connection with the synoptics, the discovery of which canon westcott affirms, "has removed the doubts which had long been raised about those (allusions) to st. mark."( ) the discovery referred to is that of the codex ottobonianus by dressel, which contains the concluding part of the homilies, and which was first published by him in . canon westcott says: "though st mark has few peculiar phrases, one of these is repeated verbally in the concluding part of the th homily."( ) the passage is as follows: hom. xix. : "wherefore also he explained to his disciples privately the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens." this is compared with mark iv. .... "and privately to his own disciples, he explained all things." [------] we have only a few words to add to complete the whole of dr. westcott's remarks upon the subject. he adds after the quotation: "this is the only place where [------] occurs in the gospels."( ) we may, however, point out that it occurs also in acts xix. and peter i. . it is upon the coincidence of this word that { } canon westcott rests his argument that this passage is a reference to mark. nothing, however, could be more untenable than such a conclusion from such an indication. the phrase in the homily presents a very marked variation from the passage in mark. the "all things" [------] of the gospel, reads: "the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens" [------] in the homily. the passage in mark iv. , to which dr. westcott does not refer, reads [------]. there is one very important matter, however, which our apologist has omitted to point out, and which, it seems to us, decides the case--the context in the homily. the chapter commences thus: "and peter said: we remember that our lord and teacher, as commanding, said to us: 'guard the mysteries for me, and the sons of my house.' wherefore also he explained to his disciples privately," &c.:(l) and then comes our passage. now, here is a command of jesus, in immediate connection with which the phrase before us is quoted, which does not appear in our gospels at all, and which clearly establishes the use of a different source. the phrase itself which differs from mark, as we have seen, may with all right be referred to the same unknown gospel. it must be borne in mind that all the quotations which we have hitherto examined are those which have been selected as most closely approximating to passages in our gospels. space forbids our giving illustrations of the vast number which so much more widely differ from parallel texts in the synoptics. we shall confine { } ourselves to pointing out in the briefest possible manner some of the passages which are persistent in their variations or recall similar passages in the memoirs of justin. the first of these is the injunction in hom. iii. : "let your yea be yea, your nay nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of the evil one." the same saying is repeated in hom. xix. with the sole addition of "and." we subjoin the greek of these, together with that of the gospel and justin with which the homilies agree. [------] as we have already discussed this passage( ) we need not repeat our remarks here. that this passage comes from a source different from our gospels is rendered still more probable by the quotation in hom. xix. being preceded by another which has no parallel at all in our gospels. "and elsewhere he said, 'he who sowed the bad seed is the devil' [------]( ): and again: 'give no pretext to the evil one.'( ) [------]. but in exhorting he prescribes: 'let your yea be yea.'" &c. the first of these phrases differs markedly from our gospels; the second is not in them at all; the third, which we are considering, differs likewise in an important degree in common with justin's quotation, and there is every reason for supposing that the whole were derived from the same unknown source.( ) in the same homily, xix. , there occurs also the passage which exhibits variations likewise found in justin, which we have already examined,( ) and now { } merely point out: "begone into the darkness without, which the father hath prepared for the devil and his angels."( ) the quotation in justin (dial. ) agrees exactly with this, with the exception that justin has [------] instead of [------], which is not important, whilst the agreement in the marked variation from the parallel in the first gospel establishes the probability of a common source different from ours.( ) we have also already( ) referred to the passage in hom. xvii. . "no one knew [------] the father but the son, even as no one knoweth the son but the father and those to whom the son is minded to reveal him." this quotation differs from matt. xi. in form, in language, and in meaning, but agrees with justin's reading of the same text, and as we have shown the use of the aorist here, and the transposition of the order, were characteristics of gospels used by gnostics and other parties in the early church, and the passage with these variations was regarded by them as the basis of some of their leading doctrines.( ) that the variation is not accidental, but a deliberate quotation from a written source, is proved by this, and by the circumstance that the author of the homilies repeatedly quotes it elsewhere in the same form.( ) it is unreasonable to suppose that the quotations in these homilies are so systematically and consistently erroneous, and not only can they not, from their actual variations, be legitimately referred to the synoptics exclusively, but, considering all the circumstances, the { } only natural conclusion is that they are derived from a source different from our gospels.( ) another passage occurs in hom. iii. : "wherefore ye do err, not knowing the true things of the scriptures; and on this account ye are ignorant of the power of god." this is compared with mark xii. :( ) "do ye not therefore err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of god?" the very same quotation is made both in hom. ii. and xviii. , and in each case in which the passage is introduced it is in connection with the assertion that there are true and false scriptures, and that as there are in the scriptures some true sayings and some false, jesus by this saying showed to those who erred by reason of the false the cause of their error. there can scarcely be a doubt that the author of the homilies quotes this passage from a gospel different from ours, and this is demonstrated both by the important variation from our text and also by its consistent repetition, and by the context in which it stands.( ) upon each occasion, also, that the author of the homilies quotes the foregoing passage he likewise quotes another saying of jesus which is foreign to our gospels: "be ye approved money-changers," [------].( ) the saying is thrice quoted without { } variation, and each time, together with the preceding passage, it refers to the necessity of discrimination between true and false sayings in the scriptures, as for instance: "and peter said: if, therefore, of the scriptures some are true and some are false, our teacher rightly said: 'be ye approved money-changers,' as in the scriptures there are some approved sayings and some spurious."( ) this is one of the best known of the apocryphal sayings of jesus, and it is quoted by nearly all the fathers,( ) by many as from holy scripture, and by some ascribed to the gospel of the nazarenes, or the gospel according to the hebrews. there can be no question here that the author quotes an apocryphal gospel.( ) there is, in immediate connection with both the preceding passages, another saying of jesus quoted which is not found in our gospels: "why do ye not discern the good reason of the scriptures?" "[------]; "( ) this passage also comes from a gospel different from ours,( ) and the connection and sequence of these quotations is very significant. one further illustration, and we have done. we find the following in hom. iii. : "and to those who ( ) think that god tempts, as the scriptures say, he said: 'the evil one is the tempter,' who also tempted himself. "l this short saying is not found in our gospels. it probably occurred in the gospel of the homilies in connection with the temptation of jesus. it is not improbable that the writer of the epistle of james, who shows acquaintance with a gospel different from ours,( ) also knew this saying.( ) we are here again directed to the ebionite gospel. certainly the quotation is derived from a source different from our gospels.( ) these illustrations of the evangelical quotations in the clementine homilies give but an imperfect impression of the character of the extremely numerous passages which occur in the work. we have selected for our examination the quotations which have been specially cited by critics as closest to parallels in our gospels, and have thus submitted the question to the test which is most favourable to the claims of our synoptics. space forbids our adequately showing the much wider divergence which exists in the great majority of cases between them and the quotations in the homilies. to sum up the case: out of more than a hundred of these quotations only four brief and fragmentary phrases really agree with parallels in our synoptics, and these, we have shown, are either not used in the same context as in our gospels or are of a nature far from special to them. of the rest, all without exception systematically vary more or less from our gospels, and many in their variations agree with similar quotations in other writers, { } or on repeated quotation always present the same peculiarities, whilst others, professed to be direct quotations of sayings of jesus, have no parallels in our gospels at all. upon the hypothesis that the author made use of our gospels, such systematic divergence would be perfectly unintelligible and astounding. on the other hand, it must be remembered that the agreement of a few passages with parallels in our gospels cannot prove anything. the only extraordinary circumstance is that, even using a totally different source, there should not have been a greater agreement with our synoptics. but for the universal inaccuracy of the human mind, every important historical saying, having obviously only one distinct original form, would in all truthful histories have been reported in that one unvarying form. the nature of the quotations in the clementine homilies leads to the inevitable conclusion that their author derived them from a gospel different from ours; at least, since the source of these quotations is never named throughout the work, and there is not the faintest direct indication of our gospels, the clementine homilies cannot be considered witnesses of any value as to the origin and authenticity of the canonical gospels. that this can be said of a work written a century and a half after the establishment of christianity, and abounding with quotations of the discourses of jesus, is in itself singularly suggestive. it is scarcely necessary to add that the author of the homilies has no idea whatever of any canonical writings but those of the old testament, though even with regard to these some of our quotations have shown that he held peculiar views, and believed that they contained spurious elements. there is no reference in the { } homilies to any of the epistles of the new testament.( ) one of the most striking points in this work, on the other hand, is its determined animosity against the apostle paul. we have seen that a strong anti-pauline tendency was exhibited by many of the fathers, who, like the author of the homilies, made use of judeo-christian gospels different from ours. in this work, however, the antagonism against the "apostle of the gentiles" assumes a tone of peculiar virulence. there cannot be a doubt that the apostle paul is attacked in it, as the great enemy of the true faith, under the hated name of simon the magician,( ) whom peter follows everywhere for the purpose of unmasking and confuting him. he is robbed of his title of "apostle of the gentiles," which, together with the honour of founding the church of antioch, of laodicaæ, and of rome, is ascribed to peter. all that opposition to paul which is implied in the epistle to the galatians and elsewhere( ) is here realized and exaggerated, and { } the personal difference with peter to which paul refers( ) is widened into the most bitter animosity. in the epistle of peter to james which is prefixed to the homilies, peter says, in allusion to paul: "for some among the gentiles have rejected my lawful preaching and accepted certain lawless and foolish teaching of the hostile man."( ) first expounding a doctrine of duality, as heaven and earth, day and night, life and death,( ) peter asserts that in nature the greater things come first, but amongst men the opposite is the case, and the first is worse and the second better.( ) he then says to clement that it is easy according to this order to discern to what class simon (paul) belongs, "who came before me to the gentiles, and to which i belong who have come after him, and have followed him as light upon darkness, as knowledge upon ignorance, as health upon disease."( ) he continues: "if he had been known he would not have been believed, but now, not being known, he is wrongly believed; and though by his acts he is a hater, he has been loved; and although an enemy, he has been welcomed as a friend; and though he is death, he has been desired as a saviour; and though fire, esteemed as light; and though a deceiver, he is listened to as speaking the truth."( ) there is much more of this acrimonious abuse put into the mouth of peter.( ) the indications that it is paul who is really attacked under the name of simon are much too clear to admit of doubt. in hom. xi. , peter, warning the church against false { } teachers, says: "he who hath sent us, our lord and prophet, declared to us that the evil one.... announced that he would send from amongst his followers apostles( ) to deceive. therefore, above all remember to avoid every apostle, or teacher, or prophet, who first does not accurately compare his teaching with that of james called the brother of my lord, and to whom was confided the ordering of the church of the hebrews in jerusalem," &c., lest this evil one should send a false preacher to them, "as he has sent to us simon preaching a counterfeit of truth in the name of our lord and disseminating error."( ) further on he speaks more plainly still. simon maintains that he has a truer appreciation of the doctrines and teaching of jesus because he has received his inspiration by supernatural vision, and not merely by the common experience of the senses,( ) and peter replies: "if, therefore, our jesus indeed was seen in a vision, was known by thee, and conversed with thee, it was only as one angry with an adversary.... but can any one through a vision be made wise to teach? and if thou sayest: 'it is possible,' then wherefore did the teacher remain and discourse for a whole year to us who were awake? and how can we believe thy story that he was seen by thee? and how could he have been seen by thee when thy thoughts are contrary to his teaching? but if seen and taught by him for a single hour thou becamest an apostle:( ) preach his words, interpret his sayings, love his { } apostles, oppose not me who consorted with him. for thou hast directly withstood me who am a firm rock, the foundation of the church. if thou hadst not been an adversary thou wouldst not have calumniated me, thou wouldst not have reviled my teaching in order that, when declaring what i have myself heard from the lord. i might not be believed, as though i were condemned.... but if thou callest me condemned, thou speakest against god who revealed christ to me,'"( ) &c. this last phrase: "if thou callest me condemned" [------] is an evident allusion to galat. ii. ii: "i withstood him to the face, because he was condemned" [------]. we have digressed to a greater extent than we intended, but it is not unimportant to show the general character and tendency of the work we have been examining. the clementine homilies,--written perhaps about the end of the second century, which never name nor indicate any gospel as the source of the author's knowledge of evangelical history, whose quotations of sayings of jesus, numerous as they are, systematically differ from the parallel passages of our synoptics, or are altogether foreign to them, which denounce the apostle paul as an impostor, enemy of the faith, and disseminator of false doctrine, and therefore repudiate his epistles, at the same time equally ignoring all the other writings of the new testament,--can scarcely be considered as giving much support to any theory of the early formation of the new testament canon, or as affording evidence even of the existence of its separate books. { } . among the writings which used formerly to be ascribed to justin martyr, and to be published along with his genuine works, is the short composition commonly known as the "epistle to diognetus." the ascription of this composition to justin arose solely from the fact that in the only known ms. of the letter there is an inscription [------] which, from its connection, was referred to justin.( ) the style and contents of the work, however, soon convinced critics that it could not possibly be written by justin,( ) and although it has been ascribed by various isolated writers to apollos, clement, marcion, quadratus, and others, none of these guesses have been seriously supported, and critics are almost universally agreed in confessing that the author of the epistle is entirely unknown. such being the case, it need scarcely be said that the difficulty of assigning a date to the work with any degree of certainty is extreme, if it be not absolutely impossible to do so. this difficulty, however, is increased by several circumstances. the first and most important of these is the fact that the epistle to diognetus is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient { } writer, and consequently there is no external evidence whatever to indicate the period of its composition.( ) moreover, it is not only anonymous but incomplete, or, at least, as we have it, not the work of a single writer. at the end of chapter x. a break is indicated, and the two concluding chapters are unmistakably by a different and later hand.( ) it is not singular, therefore, that there exists a wide difference of opinion as to the date of the first ten chapters, although all agree regarding the later composition of the concluding portion. it is assigned by critics to various periods ranging from about the end of the first quarter of the second century to the end of the third century or later,( ) whilst some denounce it as a mere modern forgery.( ) nothing can be more insecure in one { } direction than the date of a work derived alone from internal evidence. allusions to actual occurrences may with certainty prove that a work could only have been written after they had taken place. the mere absence of later indications in an anonymous epistle only found in a single ms. of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, however, and which may have been, and probably was, written expressly in imitation of early christian feeling, cannot furnish any solid basis for an early date. it must be evident that the determination of the date of this epistle cannot therefore be regarded as otherwise than doubtful and arbitrary. it is certain that the purity of its greek and the elegance of its style distinguish it from all other christian works of the period to which so many assign it.( ) the epistle to diognetus, however, does not furnish any evidence even of the existence of our synoptics, for it is admitted that it does not contain a single direct quotation from any evangelical work.( )we shall hereafter have to refer to this epistle in connection with the fourth gospel, but in the meantime it may be well to add that in chapter xii., one of those, it will be remembered, which are admitted to be of later date, a brief quotation is made from cor. viii. , introduced merely by the words, [------]. chapter vi. basilides--valentinus. we must now turn back to an earlier period, and consider any evidence regarding the synoptic gospels which may be furnished by the so-called heretical writers of the second century. the first of these who claims our attention is basilides, the founder of a system of gnosticism, who lived in alexandria about the year of our era.( ) with the exception of a very few brief fragments,( ) none of the writings of this gnostic have been preserved, and all our information regarding them is, therefore, derived at second-hand from ecclesiastical writers opposed to him and his doctrines; and their statements, especially where acquaintance with, and the use of, the new testament scriptures are assumed, must be received with very great caution. the uncritical and inaccurate character of the fathers rendered them peculiarly liable to be misled by foregone devout conclusions. eusebius states that agrippa castor, who had written a refutation of the doctrines of basilides: "says that he had composed twenty-four books upon the gospel."( ) { } this is interpreted by tischendorf, without argument, and in a most arbitrary and erroneous manner, to imply that the work was a commentary upon our four canonical gospels;( ) a conclusion the audacity of which can scarcely be exceeded. this is, however, almost surpassed by the treatment of canon westcott, who writes regarding basilides: "it appears, moreover, that he himself published a gospel--a 'life of christ' as it would perhaps be called in our days, or 'the philosophy of christianity,( )--but he admitted the historic truth of all the facts contained in the canonical gospels, and used them as scripture. for, in spite of his peculiar opinions, the testimony, of basilides to our 'acknowledged' books is comprehensive and clear. in the few pages of his writings which remain there are certain references to the gospels of st. matthew, st. luke, and st. john,"( ) &c. now in making, in such a manner, these assertions: in totally ignoring the whole of the discussion with regard to the supposed quotations of basilides in the work commonly ascribed to hippolytus and the adverse results of learned criticism: in the unqualified assertions thus made and the absence either of explanation of the facts or the reasons for the conclusion: this statement must be condemned as only calculated to mislead readers who must generally be ignorant of the actual facts of the case. we know from the evidence of antiquity that basilides made use of a gospel, written by himself it is said, but certainly called after his own name.( ) an attempt has these names are pure inventions of dr. westcott's fancy, of course. on the canon, p. f. [since these remarks were first made, dr. westcott has somewhat enlarged his account of basilides, but we still consider that his treatment of the subject is deceptive and incomplete.] { } been made to explain this by suggesting that perhaps the work mentioned by agrippa castor may have been mistaken for a gospel;( ) but the fragments of that work which are still extant( ) are of a character which precludes the possibility that any writing of which they formed a part could have been considered a gospel.( ) various opinions have been expressed as to the exact nature of the gospel of basilides. neander affirmed it to be the gospel according to the hebrews which he brought from syria to egypt;( ) whilst schneckenburger held it to be the gospel according to the egyptians.( ) others believe it to have at least been based upon one or other of these gospels.( ) there seems most reason for the hypothesis that it was a form of the gospel according to the hebrews, which was so generally in use. returning to the passage already quoted, in which eusebius states, on the authority of agrippa castor, whose works are no longer extant, that basilides had composed a work in twenty-four books on the gospel { } [------], and to the unwarrantable inference that this must have been a work on our four gospels, we must add that, so far from deriving his doctrines from our gospels or other new testament writings, or acknowledging their authority, basilides professed that he received his knowledge of the truth from glaucias, "the interpreter of peter," whose disciple he claimed to be,( ) and thus practically sets gospels aside and prefers tradition.( ) basilides also claimed to have received from a certain matthias the report of private discourses which he had heard from the saviour for his special instruction.( ) agrippa castor further stated, according to eusebius, that in his [------] basilides named for himself, as prophets, barcabbas and barcoph (parchor( )), as well as invented others who never existed, and claimed their authority for his doctrines.( ) with regard to all this canon westcott writes: "since basilides lived on the verge of the apostolic times, it is not surprising that he made use of other sources of christian doctrine besides the canonical books. the belief in divine inspiration was still fresh and real,"( ) &c. it is apparent, however, that basilides, in basing his doctrines upon tradition and { } upon these apocryphal books as inspired, and in having a special gospel called after his own name, which, therefore, he clearly adopts as the exponent of his ideas of christian truth, completely ignores the canonical gospels, and not only does not offer any evidence for their existence, but proves, on the contrary, that he did not recognize any such works as of authority. there is no ground, therefore, for tischendorfs assumption that the commentary of basilides "on the gospel" was written upon our gospels, but that idea is negatived in the strongest way by all the facts of the case.( ) the perfectly simple interpretation of the statement is that long ago suggested by valesius,( ) that the commentary of basilides was composed upon his own gospel,( ) whether it was the gospel according to the hebrews or the egyptians. moreover, it must be borne in mind that basilides used the word "gospel" in a peculiar sense. hippolytus, in the work usually ascribed to him, writing of the basilidians and describing their doctrines, says: "when therefore it was necessary, he (?) says, that we, the children of god, should be revealed, in expectation of whose revelation, he says, the creation groaned and travailed, the gospel came into the world, and passed through every principality and power and dominion, and every name that is named."( ) "the gospel, therefore, { } came first from the sonship, he says, through the son, sitting by the archon, to the archon, and the archon learnt that he was not the god of all things but begotten,"( ) &c. "the gospel, according to them, is the knowledge of supramundane matters,"( ) &c. this may not be very intelligible, but it is sufficient to show that "the gospel" in a technical sense( ) formed a very important part of the system of basilides. now there is nothing whatever to show that the twenty-four books which he composed "on the gospel" were not in elucidation of the gospel as technically understood by him, illustrated by extracts from his own special gospel and from the tradition handed down to him by glaucias and matthias. the emphatic assertion of canon westcott that basilides "admitted the historic truth of all the facts contained in the canonical gospels," is based solely upon the following sentence of the work attributed to hippolytus; jesus, however, was generated according to these (followers of basilides) as we have already said.( ) but when the generation which has already been declared had taken place, all things regarding the saviour, according to them, occurred in like manner as they have been written in the gospel."( ) there are, however, several important points to be borne in mind in reference to this passage. the statement in question is not made in { } connection with basilides himself, but distinctly in reference to his followers, of whom there were many in the time of hippolytus and long after him. it is, moreover, a general observation the accuracy of which we have no means of testing, and upon the correctness of which there is no special reason to rely. the remark, made at the beginning of the third century, however, that the followers of basilides believed that the actual events of the life of jesus occurred in the way in which they have been written in the gospels, is no proof whatever that either they or basilides used or admitted the authority of our gospels. the exclusive use by any one of the gospel according to the hebrews, for instance, would be perfectly consistent with the statement. no one who considers what is known of that gospel, or who thinks of the use made of it in the first half of the second century by perfectly orthodox fathers, can doubt this. the passage is, therefore, of no weight as evidence for the use of our gospels. canon westcott himself admits that in the extant fragments of isidorus, the son and disciple of basilides, who "maintained the doctrines of his father," he has "noticed nothing bearing on the books of the new testament.."( ) on the supposition that basilides actually wrote a commentary on our gospels, and used them as scripture, it is indeed passing strange that we have so little evidence on the point. we must now, however, examine in detail all of the quotations, and they are few, alleged to show the use of our gospels, and we shall commence with those of tischendorf. the first passage which he points out is found in the stromata of clement of alexandria. tischendorf guards himself, in reference to these quotations, { } by merely speaking of them as "basilidian" (basilidianisch),( ) but it might have been more frank to have stated clearly that clement distinctly assigns the quotation to the followers of basilides [------],( ) and not to basilides himself.( ) the supposed quotation, therefore, however surely traced to our gospels, could really not prove anything in regard to basilides. the passage itself compared with the parallel in matt. xix. , , is as follows:-- [------] now this passage in its affinity to, and material variation from, our first gospel might be quoted as evidence for the use of another gospel, but it cannot reasonably be cited as evidence for the use of matthew. apologists in their anxiety to grasp at the faintest analogies as testimony seem altogether to ignore the history of the creation of written gospels, and to forget the very existence of the [------] of luke.( ) the next passage referred to by tischendorf( ) is one { } quoted by epiphanius( ) which we subjoin in contrast with the parallel in matt. vii. :-- [------] here, again, the variation in order is just what one might have expected from the use of the gospel according to the hebrews or a similar work, and there is no indication whatever that the passage did not end here, without the continuation of our first synoptic. what is still more important, although teschendorf does not mention the fact, nor otherwise hint a doubt than by the use, again, of an unexplained description of this quotation as "basilidianisch" instead of a more direct ascription of it to basilides himself, this passage is by no means attributed by epiphanius to that heretic. it is introduced into the section of his work directed against the basilidians, but he uses, like clement, the indefinite [------], and as in dealing with all these heresies there is continual interchange of reference to the head and the later followers, there is no certainty who is referred to in these quotations and, in this instance, nothing to indicate that this passage is ascribed to basilides himself, his name is mentioned in the first line of the first chapter of this "heresy," but not again before this [------] occurs in chapter v. teschendorf does not claim any other quotations. { } canon westcott states: "in the few pages of his (basilides') writings which remain there are certain references to the gospels of st. matthew, st. luke,"( ) &c. one might suppose from this that the "certain" references occurred in actual extracts made from his works, and that the quotations, therefore, appeared sc( ) (sp.) in a context of his own words. this impression is strengthened when we read as an introduction to the instances: "the following examples will be sufficient to show his method of quotation."( ) the fact is, however, that these examples are found in the work of hippolytus, in an epitome of the views of the school by that writer himself, with nothing more definite than a subjectless [------] to indicate who is referred to. the only examples canon westcott can give of these "certain references" to our first and third synoptics, do not show his "method of quotation" to much advantage. the first is not a quotation at all, but a mere reference to the magi and the star. "but that every thing, he says [------], has its own seasons, the saviour sufficiently teaches when he says:... and the magi having seen the star,"( ) &c. this of course canon westcott considers a reference to matt. ii. , , but we need scarcely point out that this falls to the ground instantly, if it be admitted, as it must be, that the star and the magi may have been mentioned in other gospels than the first synoptic. we have already seen, when examining the evidence of justin, that this is the case. the only quotation asserted to be taken from luke is the phrase: "the holy spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow { } thee,"( ) which agrees with luke i. . this again is introduced by hippolytus with another subjectless "he says," and apart from the uncertainty as to who "he" is, this is very unsatisfactory evidence as to the form of the quotation in the original text, for it may easily have been corrected by hippolytus, consciously or unconsciously, in the course of transfer to his pages. we have already met with this passage as quoted by justin from a gospel different from ours. as we have already stated, however, none of the quotations which we have considered are directly referred to basilides himself, but they are all introduced by the utterly vague expression, "he says," [------] without any subject accompanying the verb. now it is admitted that writers of the time of hippolytus, and notably hippolytus himself, made use of the name of the founder of a sect to represent the whole of his school, and applied to him, apparently, quotations taken from unknown and later followers.( ) the passages which he cites, therefore, and which appear to indicate the use of gospels, instead of being extracted from the works of the founder himself, in all probability were taken from writings of gnostics of his own time. canon westcott himself admits the possibility of this, in writing of other early heretics. he says: "the evidence that has been collected from { } the documents of these primitive sects is necessarily somewhat vague. it would be more satisfactory to know the exact position of their authors, and the precise date of their being composed. it is just possible that hippolytus made use of writings which were current in his own time without further examination, and transferred to the apostolic age forms of thought and expression which had been the growth of two, or even of three generations."( ) so much as to the reliance to be placed on the work ascribed to hippolytus. it is certain, for instance, that in writing of the sect of naaseni and ophites, hippolytus perpetually quotes passages from the writings of the school, with the indefinite [------],( ) as he likewise does in dealing with the peratici,( ) and docetæ,( ) no individual author being named; yet he evidently quotes various writers, passing from one to another without explanation, and making use of the same unvarying [------] in one place,( ) where he has "the greeks say," [------] he gives, without further indication, a quotation from pindar.( ) a still more apt instance of his method is that pointed out by volkmar,( ) where hippolytus, writing of "marcion, or some one of his hounds," uses, without further explanation, the subjectless [------] to introduce matter from the later followers of marcion.( ) now, with regard to { } basilides, hippolytus directly refers not only to the heretic chief, but also to his disciple isidorus and all their followers,( ) [------] and then proceeds to use the indefinite "he says," interspersed with references in the plural to these heretics, exhibiting the same careless method of quotation, and leaving the same complete uncertainty as to the speaker's identity as in the other cases mentioned.( ) on the other hand, it has been demonstrated by hilgenfeld, that the gnosticism ascribed to basilides by hippolytus, in connection with these quotations, is of a much later and more developed type than that which basilides himself held,( ) as shown in the actual fragments of his own writings which are still extant, and as reported by irenæus,( ) clement of alexandria,( ) and the work "adversus omnes hæreses," annexed to the "præscriptio hæreticorum" of tertullian, which is { } considered to be the epitome of an earlier work of hippolytus. the fact probably is that hippolytus derived his views of the doctrines of basilides from the writings of his later followers, and from them made the quotations which are attributed to the founder of the school.( ) in any case there is no ground for referring these quotations with an indefinite [------] to basilides himself. of all this there is not a word from canon westcott,( ) but he ventures to speak of "the testimony of basilides to our 'acknowledged' books," as "comprehensive and clear."( ) we have seen, however, that the passages referred to have no weight whatever as evidence for the use of our synoptics. the formulae (as [------] to that compared with luke i. , and [------] with references compared with some of the epistles) which accompany these quotations, and to which canon westcott points as an indication that the new testament writings were already recognized as holy scripture,( ) need no special attention, because, as it cannot be shown that the expressions were used by basilides himself at all, they do not come into question. if anything, however, were required to complete the evidence that these quotations are not from the works of basilides himself, but from later writings by his followers, it would be the use of such formulae, for as the writings of pseudo-ignatius, polycarp, justin martyr, papias, hegesippus, { } and others of the fathers in several ways positively demonstrate, the new testament writings were not admitted, even amongst orthodox fathers, to the rank of holy scripture, until a very much later period.( ) . much of what has been said with regard to the claim which is laid to basilides, by some apologists, as a witness for the gospels and the existence of a new testament canon, and the manner in which that claim is advanced, likewise applies to valentinus, another gnostic leader, who, about the year , came from alexandria to rome and flourished till about a.d. .( ) very little remains of the writings of this gnostic, and we gain our only knowledge of them from a few short quotations in the works of clement of alexandria, and some doubtful fragments preserved by others. we shall presently have occasion to refer more directly to these, and need not here more particularly mention them. tischendorf, the self-constituted modern defensor fidei,( ) asserts, with an assurance which can scarcely be characterized otherwise than as an unpardonable calculation upon the ignorance of his readers, that valentinus used { } the whole of our four canonical gospels. to do him full justice, we shall as much as possible give his own words; and, although we set aside systematically all discussion regarding the fourth gospel for separate treatment hereafter, we must, in order to convey the full sense of dr. tischendorf s proceeding, commence with a sentence regarding that gospel. referring to a statement of irenæus, that the followers of valentinus made use of the fourth gospel, tischendorf continues: "hippolytus confirms and completes the statement of irenæus, for he quotes several expressions of john, which valentinus employed. this most clearly occurs in the case of john x. ; for hippolytus writes: 'because the prophets and the law, according to the doctrine of valentinus, were only filled with a subordinate and foolish spirit, valentinus says: on account of this, the saviour says: all who came before me were thieves and robbers.'"(l) now this, to begin with, is a practical falsification of the text of the philosophumena, which reads: "therefore all the prophets and the law spoke under the influence of the demiurge, a foolish god, he says, (they themselves being) foolish, knowing nothing. on this account, he says, the saviour saith: all who came before me," &c. &c.( ) there is no mention whatever of the name of valentinus in the passage, and, as we shall presently { } show, there is no direct reference in the whole chapter to valentinus himself. the introduction of his name in this manner into the text, without a word of explanation, is highly reprehensible. it is true that in a note tischendorf gives a closer translation of the passage, without, however, any explanation; and here again he adds, in parenthesis to the "says he," "namely, valentinus." such a note, however, which would probably be unread by a majority of readers, does not rectify the impression conveyed by so positive and emphatic an assertion as is conveyed by the alteration in the text. tischendorf continues: "and as the gospel of john, so also were the other gospels used by valentinus. according to the statement of irenæus (i. , § ), he found the said subordinate spirit, which he calls demiurge, masterworker, emblematically represented by the centurion of capernaum (matt. viii. , luke vii. ); in the dead and resuscitated daughter of jairus, when twelve years old, (luke viii. ), he recognized a symbol of his 'wisdom' (achamoth), the mother of the masterworker (i. , § ); in like manner, he saw represented in the history of the woman who had suffered twelve years from the bloody issue, and was cured by the lord (matt. ix. ), the sufferings and salvation of his twelfth primitive spirit (aeon) (i. , § ); the expression of the lord (matt. v. ) on the numerical value of the iota ('the smallest letter') he applied to his ten aeons in repose."l now, in every instance where tischendorf here speaks of valentinus by the singular "he," irenæus uses the plural "they," referring not to the original founder of the sect, but to his followers in his own day, and the { } text is thus again in every instance falsified by the pious zeal of the apologist. in the case of the centurions "they say" [------] that he is the demiurge;( ) "they declare" [------] that the daughter of jairus is the type of achamoth;( ) "they say" [------] that the apostasy of judas points to the passion in connection with the twelfth aeon, and also the fact that jesus suffered in the twelfth month after his baptism; for they will have it [------] that he only preached for one year. the case of the woman with the bloody issue for twelve years, and the power which went forth from the son to heal her, "they will have to be horos" [------]{ } in like manner they assert that the ten aeons are indicated [------] by the letter "iota," mentioned in the saviour's expression, matt v. .( ) at the end of these and numerous other similar references in this chapter to new testament expressions and passages, irenæus says: "thus they interpret," &c. [------].( ) the plural "they" is employed throughout. tischendorf proceeds to give the answer to his statement which is supposed to be made by objectors.: "they say: all that has reference to the gospel of john was not advanced by valentinus himself, but by his disciples. and in fact, in irenæus, 'they--the valen-tinians--say,' occurs much oftener than 'he--valentinus--says.' but who is there so sapient as to draw the line between what the master alone says, and that which the disciples state without in the least repeating the { } master?"( ) tischendorf solves the difficulty by referring everything indiscriminately to the master. now, in reply to these observations, we must remark in the first place that the admission here made by tischendorf, that irenæus much more often uses "they say" than "he says" is still quite disingenuous, inasmuch as invariably, and without exception, irenæus uses the plural in connection with the texts in question. secondly, it is quite obvious that a gnostic, writing about a.d. - , was likely to use arguments which were never thought of by a gnostic, writing at the middle of the second century at the end of the century, the writings of the new testament had acquired consideration and authority, and gnostic writers had therefore a reason to refer to them, and to endeavour to show that they supported their peculiar views, which did not exist at all at the time when valentinus propounded his system. tischendorf, however, cannot be allowed the benefit even of such a doubt as he insinuates, as to what belongs to the master, and what to the followers. such doubtful testimony could not establish anything, but it is in point of fact also totally excluded by the statement of irenæus himself. in the preface to the first book of his great work, irenæus clearly states the motives and objects for which he writes. he says: "i considered it necessary, having read the commentaries [------] _of the disciples of valentinus_, as they call themselves, and having had personal intercourse with some of them and acquired full knowledge of their opinions, to unfold to thee," &c., and he goes on to say that he intends to set forth "the opinions of those who are _now_ teaching heresy; i speak { } particularly of the followers of ptolemæus, whose system is an offshoot of the school of valentinus."( ) nothing could be more explicit than this statement that irenæus neither intended nor pretended to write upon the works of valentinus himself, but upon the commentaries of his followers of his own time, with some of whom he had had personal intercourse, and that the system which he intended to attack was that actually being taught in his day by ptolemæus and his school, the offshoot from valentinus. all the quotations to which tischendorf refers are made within a few pages of this explicit declaration. immediately after the passage about the centurion, he says: "such is their system" [------, and three lines below he states that they derive their views from unwritten sources [------].( ) the first direct reference to valentinus does not occur until after these quotations, and is for the purpose of showing the variation of opinion of his followers. he says: "let us now see the uncertain opinions of these heretics, for there are two or three of them, how they do not speak alike of the same things, but contradicted one another in facts and names." then he continues: "for the first of them, valentinus, having derived his principles from the so-called gnostic heresy, and adapted them to the peculiar character of his school declared this:" &c., &c. and { } after a brief description of his system, in which no scriptural allusion occurs, he goes on to compare the views of the rest, and in chap. xii. he returns to ptolemæus and his followers [------]. in the preface to book ii, he again says that he has been exposing the falsity of the followers of valentinus (qui sunt a valentino) and will proceed to establish what he has advanced; and everywhere he uses the plural "they," with occasional direct references to the followers of valentinus (qui sunt a valentino).( ) the same course is adopted in book iii., the plural being systematically used, and the same distinct definition introduced at intervals.( ) and again, in the preface to book iv. he recapitulates that the preceding books had been written against these, "qui sunt a valentino" (§ ). in fact, it would almost be impossible for any writer more frequently and emphatically to show that he is not, as he began by declaring, dealing with the founder of the school himself, but with his followers living and teaching at the time at which he wrote. canon westcott, with whose system of positively enunciating unsupported and controverted statements we are already acquainted, is only slightly outstripped by the german apologist in his misrepresentation of the evidence of valentinus. it must be stated, however, that, acknowledging, as no doubt he does, that irenæus never refers to valentinus himself, canon westcott passes over in complete silence the supposed references upon { } which teschendorf relies as his only evidence for the use of the synoptics by that gnostic. he, however, makes the following extraordinary statement regarding valentinus: "the fragments of his writings which remain show the same natural and trustful use of scripture as other christian works of the same period; and there is no diversity of character in this respect between the quotations given in hippolytus and those found in clement of alexandria. he cites the epistle to the ephesians as 'scripture,' and refers clearly to the gospels of st. matthew, st. luke, and st. john, to the epistles to the romans,"( ) &c. we shall now give the passages which he points out in support of these assertions.( ) the first two are said to occur in the stromata of the alexandrian clement, who professes to quote the very words of a letter of valentinus to certain people regarding the passions, which are called by the followers of basilides "the appendages of the soul." the passage is as follows: "but one only is good, whose presence is the manifestation through the son, and on the canon, p. f. [in the th ed. of his work, published since the above remarks were made, dr. westcott has modified or withdrawn his assertions regarding valentinus. as we cannot well omit the above passage, it is right to state that the lines quoted now read: "the few unquestionable fragments of valentinus contain but little which points to passages of scripture. if it were clear that the anonymous quotations in hippolytus were derived from valentinus himself, the list would be much enlarged, and include a citation of the epistle to the ephesians as 'scripture,' and clear references to the gospels of st. luke and st. john, to corinthians, perhaps also to the epistle to the hebrews, and the first epistle of st. john," (p. f.). in a note he adds: "but a fresh and careful examination of the whole section of hippolytus makes me feel that the evidence is so uncertain, that i cannot be sure in this case, as in the case of basilides, that hippolytus is quoting the words of the founder" (p. , n. ). under these circumstances the statements even in the amended edition present many curious features.] { } through him alone will the heart be enabled to become pure, by the expulsion of every evil spirit from the heart. for many spirits dwelling in it do not allow it to be pure, but each of them, while in divers parts they riot there in unseemly lusts, performs its own works. and, it seems to me, the heart is somewhat like an inn. for that, also, is both bored and dug into, and often filled with the ordure of men, who abide there in revelry, and bestow not one single thought upon the place, seeing it is the property of another. and in such wise is it with the heart, so long as no thought is given to it, being impure, and the dwelling-place of many demons, but as soon as the alone good father has visited it, it is sanctified and shines through with light, and the possessor of such a heart becomes so blessed, that he shall see god."( ) according to canon westcott this passage contains two of the "clear references" to our gospels upon which he bases his statement, namely to matt. v. , and to matt. xix. . now it is clear that there is no actual quotation from any evangelical work in this passage from the epistle of valentinus, and the utmost for which the most zealous apologist could contend is, that there is a slight similarity with some words in the gospel, and canon { } westcott himself does not venture to call them more than "references." that such distant coincidences should be quoted as evidence for the use of the first gospel shows how weak is his case. at best such vague allusions could not prove anything, but when the passages to which reference is supposed to be made are examined, it will be apparent that nothing could be more unfounded or arbitrary than the claim of reference specially to our gospel, to the exclusion of the other gospels then existing, which to our knowledge contained both passages. we may, indeed, go still further, and affirm that if these coincidences are references to any gospel at all, that gospel is not the canonical, but one different from it. the first reference alluded to consists of the following two phrases: "but one only is good [------]..... the alone good father" [------]. this is compared with matt. xix. :{ } "why askest thou me concerning good? there is one that is good" [------].( ) now the passage in the epistle, if a reference to any parallel episode, such as matt. xix. , indicates with certainty the reading: "one is good the father" [------]. there is no such reading in any of our gospels. but although this reading does not exist in any of the canonical gospels, it is well known that it did exist in uncanonical gospels no longer extant, and that the passage was one upon which various sects of so-called heretics laid great stress. irenseus quotes it as one of { } the texts to which the marcosians, who made use of apocryphal gospels,( ) and notably of the gospel according to the hebrews, gave a different colouring: [------]( ) epiphanius also quotes this reading as one of the variations of the marcionites: [------].( ) origen, likewise, remarks that this passage is misused by some heretics: "velut proprie sibi datum scutum putant (hæretici) quod dixit dominus in evangelio: nemo bonus nisi unus deus pater."( ) justin martyr quotes the same reading from a source different from our gospels,( ) [------]( ) and in agreement with the repeated similar readings of the clementine homilies, which likewise derived it from an extra canonical source,( ) [------. the use of a similar expression by clement of alexandria, as well as by origen, only serves to prove the existence of the reading in extinct gospels, although it is not found in any ms. of any of our gospels. the second of the supposed references is more diffuse: "one is good and through him alone will the heart be enabled to become pure [------]... but when the alone good father has visited it, it is sanctified and shines through with light, and the possessor of such a heart becomes so blessed, that he shall see god" [------] { } [------]. this is compared( ) with matthew v. : "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see god" [------]. it might be argued that this is quite as much a reference to psalm xxiv. - as to matt. v. , but even if treated as a reference to the sermon on the mount, nothing is more certain than the fact that this discourse had its place in much older forms of the gospel than our present canonical gospels,( ) and that it formed part of the gospel according to the hebrews and other evangelical writings in circulation in the early church. such a reference as this is absolutely worthless as evidence of special acquaintance with our first synoptic.( ) tischendorf does not appeal at all to these supposed references contained in the passages preserved by clement, but both the german and the english apologist join in relying upon the testimony of hippolytus,( ) with regard to the use of the gospels by valentinus, although it must be admitted that the former does so with greater fairness of treatment than canon westcott. tischendorf does refer to, and admit, some of the difficulties of the case, as we shall presently see, whilst canon westcott, as in the case of basilides, boldly makes his assertion, and totally ignores all adverse facts. the only gospel { } reference which can be adduced even in the philosophumena, exclusive of one asserted to be to the fourth gospel, which will be separately considered hereafter, is advanced by canon westcott, for teschendorf does not refer to it, but confines himself solely to the supposed reference to the fourth gospel. the passage is the same as one also imputed to basilides: "the holy spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee;" which happens to agree with the words in luke i. ; but, as we have seen in connection with justin, there is good reason for concluding that the narrative to which it belongs was contained in other gospels.( ) in this instance, however, the quotation is carried further and presents an important variation from the text of luke. "the holy spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee; therefore the thing begotten of thee shall be called holy"( ) [------]. the reading of luke is: "therefore also the holy thing begotten shall be called the son of god" [------]. it is probable that the passage referred to in connection with the followers of basilides may have ended in the same way as this, and been derived from the same source. nothing, however, can be clearer than the fact that this quotation, by whoever made, is not taken from our third synoptic, inasmuch as there does not exist a single ms. which contains such a passage. we again, however, come to the question: who really made the quotations which hippolytus introduces so indefinitely? we have already, in speaking of basilides, { } pointed out the loose manner in which hippolytus and other early writers, in dealing with different schools of heretics, indifferently quote the founder or his followers without indicating the precise person quoted. this practice is particularly apparent in the work of hippolytus when the followers of valentinus are in question. tischendorf himself is obliged to admit this. he asks: "even though it be also incontestable that the author (hippolytus) does not always sharply distinguish between the sect and the founder of the sect, does this apply to the present case"?( ) he denies that it does in the instance to which he refers, but he admits the general fact. in the same way another apologist of the fourth gospel (and as the use of that gospel is maintained in consequence of a quotation in the very same chapter as we are now considering, only a few lines higher up, both the third and fourth are in the same position) is forced to admit: "the use of the gospel of john by valentinus cannot so certainly be proved from our refutation-writing (the work of hippolytus). certainly in the statement of these doctrines it gives abstracts, which contain an expression of john (x. ), and there cannot be any doubt that this is taken from some writing of the sect. but the apologist, in his expressions regarding the valentinian doctrines, does not seem to confine himself to one and the same work, but to have alternately made use of different writings of the school, for which reason we cannot say anything as to the age of this quotation, and from this testimony, therefore, we merely have further confirmation that the gospel was early( ) (?) used in the why "early"? since hippolytus writes about a.d. . { } school of the valentinians,"( ) &c. of all this not a word from canon westcott, who adheres to his system of bare assertion. now we have already quoted( ) the opening sentence of book vi. , of the work ascribed to hippolytus, in which the quotation from john x. , referred to above occurs, and ten line further on, with another intermediate and equally indefinite "he says" [------], occurs the supposed quotation from luke i. , which, equally with that from the fourth gospel, must, according to weizsäcker, be abandoned as a quotation which can fairly be ascribed to valentinus himself, whose name is not once mentioned in the whole chapter. a few lines below the quotation, however, a passage occurs which throws much light upou the question. after explaining the views of the valentinians regarding the verse: "the holy ghost shall come upon thee," &c., the writer thus proceeds: "regarding this there is among them [------] a great question, a cause both of schism and dissension. and hence their [------] teaching has become divided, and the one teaching according to them [------] is called eastern ['------] and the other italian. they from italy, of whom is heracleon and ptolemæus, say [------] that the body of jesus was animal, and on account of this, on the occasion of the baptism, the holy spirit like a dove came down--that is, the logos from the mother above, sophia--and became joined to the animal, and raised him from the dead. this, _he says_ [------] is the declaration [------],"--and here be it observed we come to another of the "clear { } references" which canon westcott ventures, deliberately and without a word of doubt, to attribute to valentinus himself,( )--"this, he says, is the declaration: 'he who raised christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies,'( ) that is animal. for the earth has come under a curse: 'for dust, he says [------] thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.'( ) on the other hand, those from the east [------], of whom is axionicus and bardesanes, say [------] that the body of the saviour was spiritual, for the holy spirit came upon mary, that is the sophia and the power of the highest."( ) &c. in this passage we have a good illustration of the mode in which the writer introduces his quotations with the subjectless "he says." here he is conveying the divergent opinions of the two parties of valentinians, and explaining the peculiar doctrines of the italian school "of whom is heracleon and ptolemæus," and he suddenly departs from the plural "they" to quote the passage from romans viii. , in support of their views with the singular "he says." nothing can be more obvious than that "he" cannot possibly be valentinus himself, for the schism is represented as taking place { } amongst his followers, and the quotation is evidently made by one of them to support the views of his party in the schism, but whether hippolytus is quoting from heraclcon or ptolemæus or some other of the italian( ) school, there is no means of knowing. of all this, again, nothing is said by canon westcott, who quietly asserts without hesitation or argument, that valentinus himself is the person who here makes the quotation. we have already said that the name of valentinus does not occur once in the whole chapter (vi. ) which we have been examining, and if we turn back we find that the preceding context confirms the result at which we have arrived, that the [------] has no reference to the founder himself, but is applicable only to some later member of his school, most probably contemporary with hippolytus. in vi. , hippolytus discusses the heresy of valentinus, which he traces to pythagoras and plato, but in ch. he passes from direct reference to the founder to deal entirely with his school. this is so manifest, that the learned editors of the work of hippolytus, professors duncker and schneidewin, alter the preceding heading at that part from "valentinus" to "valentiniani." at the beginning of ch. hippolytus writes: "valentinus, therefore, and heracleon and ptolemæus and the whole school of these (heretics)... have laid down as the fundamental principle of their teaching the arithmetical system. for according to these," &c. and a few lines lower down: "there is discernible amongst them, however, considerable difference of opinion. for many of them, in order that the quotation from an epistle to the romans by the italian school is appropriate. { } the pythagorean doctrine of valentinus may be wholly pure, suppose, &c., but others," &c. he shortly after says that he will proceed to state their doctrines as they themselves teach them [------]. he then continues: "there is, he says [------]" &c. &c., quoting evidently one of these followers who want to keep the doctrine of valentinus pure, or of the "others," although without naming him, and three lines further on again, without any preparation, returning to the plural "they say" [------] and so on through the following chapters, "he says" alternating with the plural, as the author apparently has in view something said by individuals or merely expresses general views. in the chapter ( ) preceding that which we have principally been examining, hippolytus begins by referring to "the quaternion according to valentinus," but after five lines on it, he continues: "this is what they say: [------]"( ) and then goes on to speak of "their whole teaching" [------], and lower down he distinctly sets himself to discuss the opinions of the school in the plural: "thus these (valentinians) subdivide the contents of the pleroma," &c. [------], and continues with an occasional "according to them "[------] until, without any name being mentioned, he makes use of the indefinite "he says" to introduce the quotation referred to by canon westcott as a citation by valentinus himself of "the epistle to the ephesians as scripture."( ) "this is, he says, what is written in scripture," and there follows a quotation which, it may merely be mentioned as canon westcott says nothing of it, differs considerably from the passage in the epistle { } iii. -- . immediately after, another of canon west-cott's quotations from cor. ii. , is given, with the same indefinite "he says," and in the same way, without further mention of names, the quotations in ch. compared with john x. , and luke i. . there is, therefore, absolutely no ground whatever for referring these [------] to valentinus himself; but, on the contrary, hippolytus shows in the clearest way that he is discussing the views of the later writers of the sect, and it is one of these, and not the founder himself, whom in his usual indefinite way he thus quotes. we have been forced by these bald and unsupported assertions of apologists to go at such length into these questions at the risk of being very wearisome to our readers, but it has been our aim as much as possible to make no statements without placing before those who are interested the materials for forming an intelligent opinion. any other course would be to meet mere assertion by simple denial, and it is only by bold and unsubstantiated statements which have been simply and in good faith accepted by ordinary readers who have not the opportunity, if they have even the will, to test their veracity, that apologists have so long held their ground. our results regarding valentinus so far may be stated as follows: the quotations which without any explanation are so positively imputed to valentinus are not made by him, but by later writers of his school;( ) and, moreover, the passages which are indicated by the english apologist as references to our two synoptic gospels not only do ( ) not emanate from valentinus, but do not agree with our gospels, and are apparently derived from other sources.( ) the remarks of canon westcott with regard, to the connection of valentinus with our new testament are on a par with the rest of his assertions. he says: "there is no reason to suppose that valentinus differed from catholic writers on the canon of the new testament."( ) we might ironically adopt this sentence, for as no writer whatever of the time of valentinus, as we have seen, recognized any new testament canon at all, he certainly did not in this respect differ from the other writers of that period. canon westcott relies upon the statement of tertullian, but even here, although he quotes the latin passage in a note, he does not fully give its real sense in his text. he writes in immediate continuation of the quotation given above: "tertullian says that in this he differed from marcion, that he at least professed to accept 'the whole instrument,' perverting the interpretation, where marcion mutilated the text." now the assertion of tertullian has a very important modification, which, to any one acquainted with the very unscrupulous boldness of the "great african" in dealing with religious controversy, is extremely significant. he does not make the assertion positively and of his own knowledge, but modifies it by saying: "nor, indeed, if valentinus seems to use the on the canon, p. . [dr. westcott omits these words from his th ed., but he uses others here and elsewhere which imply very nearly the same assertion.] { } whole instrument, (neque enim si valentinus integro instrumento uti videtur),"( ) &c. tertullian evidently knew very little of valentinus himself, and had probably not read his writings at all.( ) his treatise against the valentinians is avowedly not original, but, as he himself admits, is compiled from the writings of justin, miltiades, irenæus, and proclus.( ) tertullian would not have hesitated to affirm anything of this kind positively, had there been any ground for it, but his assertion is at once too uncertain, and the value of his statements of this nature much too small, for such a remark to have any weight as evidence.( ) besides, by his own showing valentinus altered scripture (sine dubio emen-dans),( ) which he could not have done had he recognized it as of canonical authority.( ) we cannot, however, place any reliance upon criticism emanating from tertullian. all that origen seems to know on this subject is that the followers of valentinus [------] have altered the form of the gospel [------].( ) clement of alexandria, however, informs us that valentinus, like basilides, professed to have direct traditions from the apostles, his teacher being theodas, a disciple of the apostle paul.( ) if he had known any gospels which he believed to have apostolic authority, there would clearly not have been any need of such tradition. hippolytus distinctly affirms that valentinus derived his system from pythagoras and plato, { } and "not from the gospels" [-----], and that consequently he might more properly be considered a pythagorean and platonist than a christian.( ) irenæus, in like manner, asserts that the valentinians derive their views from unwritten sources [------],( ) and he accuses them of rejecting the gospels, for after enumerating them,( ) he continues: "when, indeed, they are refuted out of the scriptures, they turn round in accusation of these same scriptures, as though they were not correct, nor of authority.... for (they say) that it (the truth) was not conveyed by written records but by the living voice."( ) in the same chapter he goes on to show that the valen-tinians not only reject the authority of scripture, but also reject ecclesiastical tradition. he says: "but, again, when we refer them to that tradition which is from the apostles, which has been preserved through a succession of presbyters in the churches, they are opposed to tradition, affirming themselves wiser not only than presbyters, but even than the apostles, in that they have discovered the uncorrupted truth. for (they say) the apostles mixed up matters which are of the law with the words of the saviour, &c.... it comes to this, they neither consent to scripture nor to tradition. (evenit itaque, neque scripturis jam, neque traditioni consentire eos.)"( ) we find, therefore, that even in the time of irenæus the valentinians rejected the writings { } of the new testament as authoritative documents, which they certainly would not have done had the founder of their sect himself acknowledged them. so far from this being the case, there was absolutely no new testament canon for valentinus himself to deal with,( ) and his perfectly orthodox contemporaries recognized no other holy scriptures than those of the old testament. irenæus, however, goes still further, and states that the valentinians of his time not only had many gospels, but that they possessed one peculiar to themselves. "those indeed who are followers of valentinus," he says, "again passing beyond all fear, and putting forth their own compositions, boast that they have more gospels than there actually are. indeed they have proceeded so far in audacity that they entitle their not long written work, agreeing in nothing with the gospels of the apostles, the gospel of truth, so that there cannot be any gospel among them without blasphemy."( ) it follows clearly, from the very name of the valentinian gospel, that they did not consider that others contained the truth,( ) and indeed irenæus himself perceived this, for he continues: "for if what is published by them be the gospel of truth, yet is dissimilar from those which have been delivered to us by the apostles, any may perceive who please, as is demonstrated by these very scriptures, that that which has been handed down from the apostles is not the gospel of truth."( ) these passages speak for { } themselves. it has been suggested that the "gospel of truth" was a harmony of the four gospels.( ) this, however, cannot by any possibility have been the case, inasmuch as irenæus distinctly says that it did not agree in anything with the gospels of the apostles. we have been compelled to devote too much space to valentinus, and we now leave him with the certainty that in nothing does he afford any evidence even of the existence of our synoptic gospels. { } chapter vii. marcion we must now turn to the great heresiarch of the second century, marcion, and consider the evidence regarding our gospels which may be derived from what we know of him. the importance, and at the same time the difficulty, of arriving at a just conclusion from the materials within our reach have rendered marcion's gospel the object of very elaborate criticism, and the discussion of its actual character has continued with fluctuating results for nearly a century. marcion was born at sinope, in pontus, of which place his father was bishop,( ) and although it is said that he aspired to the first place in the church of rome,( ) the presbyters refused him communion on account of his peculiar views of christianity. we shall presently more fully refer to his opinions, but here it will be sufficient to say that he objected to what he considered the debasement of true christianity by jewish elements, and he upheld the teaching of paul alone, in opposition to that of all the other apostles, whom he accused of mixing { } up matters of the law with the gospel of christ, and falsifying christianity,( ) as paul himself had protested.( ) he came to rome about a.d. -- ,( ) and continued teaching for some twenty years.( ) his high personal character and elevated views produced a powerful effect upon his time,( ) and, although during his own lifetime and long afterwards vehemently and with every opprobrious epithet denounced by ecclesiastical writers, his opinions were so widely adopted that in the time of epiphanius his followers were to be found throughout the whole world.( ) marcion is said to have recognized as his sources of christian doctrine, besides tradition, a single gospel and ten epistles of paul, which in his collection stood in the following order;--epistle to galatians, corinthians ( ), romans, thessalonians ( ), ephesians (which he had with { } the superscription "to the laodiceans"),( ) colossians, philippians, and philemon.( ) none of the other books which now form part of the canonical new testament were either mentioned or recognized by marcion.( ) this is the oldest collection of apostolic writings of which there is any trace,( ) but there was at that time no other "holy scripture" than the old testament, and no new testament canon had yet been imagined. marcion neither claimed canonical authority for these writings,( ) nor did he associate with them any idea of divine inspiration.( ) we have already seen the animosity expressed by contemporaries of marcion against the apostle paul. the principal interest in connection with the collection of marcion, however, centres in his single gospel, the nature, origin, and identity of which have long been actively and minutely discussed by learned men of all shades of opinion with very varying results. the work itself is unfortunately no longer extant, and our only knowledge of it is derived from the bitter and very inaccurate opponents of marcion. it seems to have borne much the same analogy to our third canonical gospel which existed between the gospel according to { } the hebrews and our first synoptic.( ) the fathers, whose uncritical and, in such matters, prejudiced character led them to denounce every variation from their actual texts as a mere falsification, and without argument to assume the exclusive authenticity and originality of our gospels, which towards the beginning of the third century had acquired wide circulation in the church, vehemently stigmatized marcion as an audacious adulterator of the gospel, and affirmed his evangelical work to be merely a mutilated and falsified version of the "gospel according to luke."( ) this view continued to prevail, almost without question or examination, till towards the end of the eighteenth century, when biblical criticism began to exhibit the earnestness and activity which have ever since more or less characterized it. semler first abandoned the prevalent tradition, and, after analyzing the evidence, he concluded that marcion's gospel and luke's were different versions of an earlier work,( ) and that the so-called heretical gospel was one of the numerous gospels from amongst which the canonical had been selected by the church.( ) griesbach about the same time also rejected the ruling opinion, and denied the close relationship usually asserted to exist between the two gospels.( ) loffler( ) and corrodi( ) strongly supported sender's { } conclusion, that marcion was no mere falsifier of luke's gospel, and j. e. c. schmidt( ) went still further, and asserted that marcion's gospel was the genuine luke, and our actual gospel a later version of it with alterations and additions. eichhorn,( ) after a fuller and more exhaustive examination, adopted similar views; he repudiated the statements of tertullian regarding marcion's gospel as utterly untrustworthy, asserting that he had not that work itself before him at all, and he maintained that marcion's gospel was the more original text and one of the sources of luke. bolten,( ) bertholdt,( ) schleiermacher,( ) and d. schulz( ) likewise maintained that marcion's gospel was by no means a mutilated version of luke, but, on the contrary, an independent original gospel a similar conclusion was arrived at by gieseler,( ) but later, after hahn's criticism, he abandoned it, and adopted the opinion that marcion's gospel was constructed out of luke.( ) on the other hand, the traditional view was maintained by storr,( ) arneth,( ) hug,( ) neander,( ) and gratz,( ) although with little originality of investigation or argument; and { } paulus( ) sought to reconcile both views by admitting that marcion had before him the gospel of luke, but denying that he mutilated it, arguing that tertullian did not base his arguments on the actual gospel of marcion, but upon his work, the "antitheses." hahn,( ) however, undertook a more exhaustive examination of the problem, attempting to reconstruct the text of marcion's gospel( ) from the statements of tertullian and epiphanius, and he came to the conclusion that the work was a mere version, with omissions and alterations made by the heresiarch in the interest of his system, of the third canonical gospel. olshausen( ) arrived at the same result, and with more or less of modification but no detailed argument, similar opinions were expressed by credner,( ) de wette,( ) and others.( ) not satisfied, however, with the method and results of { } hahn and olshausen, whose examination, although more minute than any previously undertaken, still left much to be desired, ritschl(l) made a further thorough investigation of the character of mansion's gospel, and decided that it was in no case a mutilated version of luke, but, on the contrary, an original and independent work, from which the canonical gospel was produced by the introduction of anti-marcionitish passages and readings. baur( ) strongly enunciated similar views, and maintained that the whole error lay in the mistake of the fathers, who had, with characteristic assumption, asserted the earlier and shorter gospel of marcion to be an abbreviation of the later canonical gospel, instead of recognizing the latter as a mere extension of the former. schwegler( ) had already, in a remarkable criticism of marcion's gospel declared it to be an independent and original work, and in no sense a mutilated luke, but, on the contrary, probably the source of that gospel. kostlin,( ) while stating that the theory that marcion's gospel was an earlier work and the basis of that ascribed to luke was not very probable, affirmed that much of the marcionitish text was more original than the canonical, and that both gospels must be considered versions of the same original, although luke's was the later and more corrupt. these results, however, did not satisfy volkmar,( ) who entered afresh upon a searching examination of the whole subject, and concluded that whilst, on the one hand, the { } gospel of marcion was not a mere falsified and mutilated form of the canonical gospel, neither was it, on the other, an earlier work, and still less the original gospel of luke, but merely a gnostic compilation from what, so far as we are concerned, may be called the oldest codex of luke's gospel, which itself is nothing more than a similar pauline edition of the original gospel. volkmar's analysis, together with the arguments of hilgenfeld, succeeded in convincing ritschl,{ } who withdrew from his previous opinions, and, with those critics, merely maintained some of marcion's readings to be more original than those of luke,{ } and generally defended marcion from the aspersions of the fathers, on the ground that his procedure with regard to luke's gospel was precisely that of the canonical evangelists to each other;{ } luke himself being clearly dependent both on mark and matthew.{ } baur was likewise induced by volkmar's and hilgenfeld's arguments to modify his views;{ } but although for the first time he admitted that marcion had altered the original of his gospel frequently for dogmatic reasons, he still maintained that there was an older form of the gospel without the earlier chapters, from which both marcion and luke directly constructed their gospels;--both of them stood in the same line in regard to the original; both altered it; the one abbreviated, the other extended it.{ } encouraged by this success, but not yet satisfied, volkmar immediately undertook a further and more exhaustive examination of the text of marcion, in the hope of finally settling the { } discussion, and he again, but with greater emphasis, confirmed his previous results.( ) in the meantime hilgenfeld( ) had seriously attacked the problem, and, like hahn and volkmar, had sought to reconstruct the text of marcion, and, whilst admitting many more original and genuine readings in the text of marcion, he had also decided that his gospel was dependent on luke, although he further concluded that the text of luke had subsequently gone through another, though slight, manipulation before it assumed its present form. these conclusions he again fully confirmed after a renewed investigation of the subject.( ) this brief sketch of the controversy which has so long occupied the attention of critics will at least show the uncertainty of the data upon which any decision is to be based. we have not attempted to give more than the barest outlines, but it will appear as we go on that most of those who decide against the general independence of mansion's gospel, at the same time admit his partial originality and the superiority of some of his readings over those of the third synoptic, and justify his treatment of luke as a procedure common to the evangelists, and warranted not only by their example but by the fact that no gospels had in his time emerged from the position of private documents in limited circulation. marcion's gospel not being any longer extant, it is important to establish clearly the nature of our knowledge regarding it, and the exact value of the data from which various attempts have been made to reconstruct the text. it is manifest that the evidential force of any deductions from a reconstructed text is almost wholly { } dependent on the accuracy and sufficiency of the materials from which that text is derived. the principal sources of our information regarding marcion's gospel are the works of his most bitter denouncers tertullian and epiphanius, who, however, it must be borne in mind, wrote long after his time,--the work of tertullian against marcion having been composed about a.d. ,( ) and that of epiphanius a century later. we may likewise merely mention here the "_dialogus de recta in deum fide_," commonly attributed to origen, although it cannot have been composed earlier than the middle of the fourth century.( ) the first three sections are directed against the marcionites, but only deal with a late form of their doctrines.( ) as volkmar admits that the author clearly had only a general acquaintance with the "antitheses," and principal proof passages of the marcionites, but, although he certainly possessed the epistles, had not the gospel of marcion itself,( ) we need not now more particularly consider it. we are, therefore, dependent upon the "dogmatic and partly blind and unjust adversaries"( ) of marcion for our only knowledge of the text they stigmatize; and when the character of polemical discussion in the early centuries of our era is considered, it is certain that great caution must be exercised, and not too much weight attached to the statements of opponents who regarded a heretic with abhorrence, and attacked him with an acrimony which carried them far beyond the limits of fairness and truth. their religious controversy bristles with { } misstatements, and is turbid with pious abuse. tertullian was a master of this style, and the vehement vituperation with which he opens( ) and often interlards his work against "the impious and sacrilegious marcion" offers anything but a guarantee of fair and legitimate criticism. epiphanius was, if possible, still more passionate and exaggerated in his representations against him.( ) undue importance must not, therefore, be attributed to their statements.( ) not only should there be caution exercised in receiving the representations of one side in a religious discussion, but more particularly is such caution necessary in the case of tertullian, whose trustworthiness is very far from being above suspicion, and whose inaccuracy is often apparent.( ) "son christianisme," says reuss, "est ardent, sincere, profondément ancré dans son âme. l'on voit qu'il en vit. mais ce christianisme est âpre, insolent, brutal, ferrailleur. ii est sans onction et sans charité, quelquefois merae sans loyauté, des qu'il se trouve en face d'une opposition quelconque. c'est un soldat qui ne sait que se battre et qui oublie, tout en se battant, qu'il faut aussi respecter son ennemi. dialecticien subtil et rusé, il excelle h, ridiculiser ses adversaires. l'injure, le sarcasme, un langage qui rappelle parfois en vérité le genre de rabelais, une effronterie d'affirmation dans les moments de faiblesse qui frise et atteint meme la mauvaise foi, voila ses armes. je sais ce qu'il faut en cela mettre surde compte de l'époque.... si, au second siècle, { } tous les partis, sauf quelques gnostiques, sont intolerants, tertullian test plus que tout le monde."( ) the charge of mutilating and interpolating the gospel of luke is first brought against marcion by irenæus,( ) and it is repeated with still greater vehemence and fulness by tertullian,( ) and epiphanius;( ) but the mere assertion by fathers at the end of the second and in the third centuries, that a gospel different from their own was one of the canonical gospels falsified and mutilated, can have no weight whatever in itself in the inquiry as to the real nature of that work.( ) their arbitrary assumption of exclusive originality and priority for the four gospels of the church led them, without any attempt at argument, to treat every other evangelical work as an offshoot or falsification of these. the arguments by which tertullian endeavours to establish that the gospels of luke and the other canonical evangelists were more ancient than that of marcion( ) show that he had no idea of historical or critical evidence.( ) we are, however, driven back upon such actual data regarding the text and contents of marcion's gospel as are given by the fathers, as the only basis, in the absence of the gospel itself, upon which any hypothesis as to its real character can be built. the question therefore is: are these data sufficiently ample and trustworthy for a decisive judgment { } from internal evidence? if indeed internal evidence in such a case can be decisive at all. all that we know, then, of marcion's gospel is simply what tertullian and epiphanius have stated with regard to it. it is, however, undeniable, and indeed is universally admitted, that their object in dealing with it at all was entirely dogmatic, and not in the least degree critical( ). the spirit of that age was indeed so essentially uncritical( ) that not even the canonical text could waken it into activity. tertullian very clearly states what his object was in attacking marcion's gospel. after asserting that the whole aim of the heresiarch was to prove a disagreement between the old testament and the new, and that for this purpose he had erased from the gospel all that was contrary to his opinion, and retained all that he had considered favourable, tertullian proceeds to examine the passages retained,( ) with the view of proving that the heretic has shown the same "blindness of heresy" both in that which he has erased and in that which he has retained, inasmuch as the passages which marcion has allowed to remain are as opposed to his system, as those which he has omitted. he conducts the controversy in a free and discursive manner, and whilst he appears to go through marcion's gospel with some regularity, it will be apparent, as we proceed, that { } mere conjecture has to play a large part in any attempt to reconstruct, from his data, the actual text of marcion. epiphanius explains his aim with equal clearness. he had made a number of extracts from the so-called gospel of marcion which seemed to him to refute the heretic, and after giving a detailed and numbered list of these passages, which he calls [------], he takes them consecutively and to each adds his "refutation." his intention is to show how wickedly and disgracefully marcion has mutilated and falsified the gospel, and how fruitlessly he has done so, inasmuch as he has stupidly, or by oversight, allowed much to remain in his gospel by which he may be completely refuted.( ) as it is impossible within our limits fully to illustrate the procedure of the fathers with regard to marcion's gospel, and the nature and value of the materials they supply, we shall as far as possible quote the declarations of critics, and more especially of volkmar and hilgenfeld, who, in the true and enlightened spirit of criticism, impartially state the character of the data available for the understanding of the text. as these two critics have, by their able and learned investigations, done more than any others to educe and render possible a decision of the problem, their own estimate of the materials upon which a judgment has to be formed is of double value. with regard to tertullian, volkmar explains that his desire is totally to annihilate the most dangerous heretic of his time,--first (books i.--iii.), to overthrow marcion's system in general as expounded in his "antitheses,"--and then (book iv.) to show that even the gospel of marcion { } only contains catholic doctrine (he concludes, "_christus jesus in evangelio tuo mens est_" c. ); and therefore he examines the gospel only so far as may serve to establish his own view and refute that of marcion. "to show," volkmar continues, "wherein this gospel was falsified or mutilated, _i.e._, varied from his own, on the contrary, is in no way his design, for he perceives that marcion could retort the reproach of interpolation, and in his time proof from internal grounds was hardly possible, so that only exceptionally, where a variation seems to him remarkable, does he specially mention it."( ) on the other hand volkmar remarks that tertullian's latin rendering of the text of marcion which lay before him,--which, although certainly free and having chiefly the substance in view, is still in weightier passages verbally accurate,--directly indicates important variations in that text. he goes on to argue that the silence of tertullian may be weighty testimony for the fact that passages which exist in luke, but which he does not mention, were missing in marcion's gospel, but he does so with considerable reservation. "but his silence _alone_," he says, "can only under certain conditions represent with diplomatic certainty an omission in marcion. it is indeed probable that he would not lightly have passed over a passage in the gospel of marcion which might in any way be contradictory to its system, if one altogether similar had not preceded it, all the more as he frequently drags in by force such proof passages from marcion's text, and often plainly with but a certain sophistry tries to refute his adversary out of the words of his own gospel. but it remains always possible that in his eagerness he has { } overlooked much; and besides, he believes that by his replies to particular passages he has already sufficiently dealt with many others of a similar kind; indeed, avowedly, he will not willingly repeat himself. a certain conclusion, therefore, can only be deduced from the silence of tertullian when special circumstances enter."(l) volkmar, however, deduces with certainty from the statements of tertullian that, whilst he wrote, he had not before him the gospel of luke, but intentionally laid it aside, and merely referred to the marcionitish text, and further that, like all the fathers of the third century, he preferred the gospel according to matthew to the other synoptics, and was well acquainted with it alone, so that in speaking of the gospel generally he only has in his memory the sense, and the sense alone of luke except in so far as it agrees or seems to agree with matthew.( ) with regard to the manner in which tertullian performed the work he had undertaken, hilgenfeld remarks: "as tertullian, in going through the marcionitish gospel, has only the object of refutation in view, he very rarely states explicitly what is missing in it; and as, on the one hand, we can only venture to conclude from the silence of tertullian that a passage is wanting, when it is altogether inexplicable that he should not have made use of it for the purpose of refutation; so, on the other, we must also know how marcion used and interpreted the gospel, and should never lose sight of tertullian's refutation and defence."( ) hahn substantially expresses the same opinions. he { } says: "inasmuch as tertullian goes through the mar-cionitish text with the view of refuting the heretic out of that which he accepts, and not of critically pointing out all variations, falsifications, and passages rejected, he frequently quotes the falsified or altered marcionitish text without expressly mentioning the variations.( )... yet he cannot refrain--although this was not his object--occasionally, from noticing amongst other things any falsifications and omissions which, when he perhaps examined the text of luke or had a lively recollection of it, struck and too grievously offended him."( ) volkmar's opinion of the procedure of epiphanius is still more unfavourable. contrasting it with that of tertullian, he characterizes it as "more superficial," and he considers that its only merit is its presenting an independent view of marcion's gospel. further than this, however, he says: "how far we can build upon his statements, whether as regards their completeness or their trustworthiness is not yet made altogether clear."( ) volk-mar goes on to show how thoroughly epiphanius intended to do his work, and yet that, although from what he himself leads us to expect, we might hope to find a complete statement of marcion's sins, the father himself disappoints such an expectation by his own admission of incompleteness. he complains generally of his free and misleading method of quotation, such, for instance, as his alteration of the text without explanation; alteration of the same passage on different occasions in more than one way; abbreviations, and omissions of parts of quotations; the sudden breaking off of passages just commenced with { } the indefinite [------], without any indication how much this may include.( ) volkmar, indeed, explains that epiphanius is only thoroughly trustworthy where, and _so far as_, he wishes to state in his scholia an omission or variation in marcion's text from his own canonical gospel, in which case he minutely registers the smallest point, but this is to be clearly distinguished from any charge of falsification brought against marcion in his refutations; for only while earlier drawing up his scholia had he the mar-cionitish gospel before him and compared it with luke; but in the case of the refutations, on the contrary, which he wrote later, he did not at least again compare the gospel of luke. "it is, however, altogether different," continues volkmar, "as regards the statements of epiphanius concerning the part of the gospel of luke which is preserved in marcion. whilst he desires to be _strictly literal_ in the account of the _variations_, and also with two exceptions _is_ so, he so generally adheres _only to the purport_ of the passages retained by marcion, that altogether literal quotations are quite exceptional; _throughout_, however, where passages of greater extent are referred to, these are not merely abbreviated, but also are quoted in _very free_ fashion, and nowhere can we reckon that the passage in marcion ran verbally as epiphanius quotes it."( ) and to this we may add a remark made further on: "we cannot in general rely upon the accuracy of his statements in regard to that which marcion had in common with luke."( ) on the other hand volkmar had previously { } said: "absolute completeness in regard to that which marcion's gospel did not contain is not to be reckoned upon in his scholia. he has certainly not intended to pass over anything, but in the eagerness which so easily renders men superficial and blind much has escaped him."(l) hahn bears similar testimony to the incompleteness of epiphanius. "it was not his purpose," he says, "fully to notice all falsifications, variations, and omissions, although he does mark most of them, but merely to extract from the gospel of marcion, as well as from his collection of epistles, what seemed to him well suited for refutation."( ) but he immediately adds: "when he quotes a passage from marcion's text, however, in which such falsifications occur, he generally,--but not always,--notes them more or less precisely, and he had himself laid it down as a subsidiary object of his work to pay attention to such falsifications."( ) a little further on he says: "in the quotations of the remaining passages which epiphanius did not find different from the gospel of luke, and where he therefore says nothing of falsification or omission, he is often very free, neither adhering strictly to the particular words, nor to their arrangement, but his favourite practice is to give their substance and sense for the purpose of refuting his opponent. he presupposes the words known from the gospel of luke."( ) it must be stated, however, that both volkmar( ) and hilgenfeld( ) consider that the representations of { } tertullian and epiphanius supplement each other and enable the contents of marcion's gospel to be ascertained with tolerable certainty. yet a few pages earlier volkmar had pointed out that: "the ground for a certain fixture of the text of the marcionitish gospel, however, seems completely taken away by the fact that tertullian and epiphanius, in their statements regarding its state, not merely repeatedly seem to, but in part actually do, directly contradict each other."( ) hahn endeavours to explain some of these contradictions by imagining that later marcionites had altered the text of their gospel, and that epiphanius had the one form and tertullian another;( ) but such a doubt only renders the whole of the statements regarding the work more uncertain and insecure. that it is not without some reason, however, appears from the charge which tertullian brings against the disciples of marcion: "for they daily alter it (their gospel) as they are daily refuted by us."( ) in fact, we have no assurance whatever that the work upon which tertullian and epiphanius base their charge against marcion of falsification and mutilation of luke was marcion's original gospel at all, and we certainly have no historical evidence on the point.( ) the question even arises, whether tertullian, and indeed epiphanius, had marcion's gospel in any shape before them when they wrote, or merely his work the { } "antitheses."( ) in commencing his onslaught on marcion's gospel, terlullian says: "marcion seems (videtur) to have selected luke, to mutilate it."( ) this is the first serious introduction of his "mutilation hypothesis," which he thenceforward presses with so much assurance, but the expression is very uncertain for so decided a controversialist, if he had been able to speak more positively.( ) we have seen that it is admitted that epiphanius wrote without again comparing the gospel of marcion with luke, and it is also conceded that tertullian at least had not the canonical gospel, but in professing to quote luke evidently does so from memory, and approximates his text to matthew, with which gospel, like most of the fathers, he was better acquainted. this may be illustrated by the fact that both tertullian and epiphanius reproach marcion with erasing passages from the gospel of luke, which never were in luke at all.( ) in one place tertullian says: "marcion, you must also remove this from the gospel: 'i am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of israel,'( ) and: 'it is not meet to take the children's bread, and give it to dogs,'( ) in order, be it known, that christ may not seem to be an israelite."( ) the "great african" { } thus taunts his opponent, evidently under the impression that the two passages were in luke, immediately after he had accused marcion of having actually expunged from that gospel, "as an interpolation,"( ) the saying that christ had not come to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them,( ) which likewise never formed part of it. he repeats a similar charge on several other occasions.( ) epiphanius commits the same mistake of reproaching marcion with omitting from luke what is only found in matthew.( ) we have, in fact, no certain guarantee of the accuracy or trustworthiness of their statements. we have said enough, we trust, to show that the sources for the reconstruction of a text of marcion's gospel are most unsatisfactory, and no one who attentively studies the analysis of hahn, ritschl, volkmar, hilgenfeld, and others, who have examined and systematized the data of the fathers, can fail to be struck by the uncertainty which prevails throughout, the almost continuous vagueness and consequent opening, nay, necessity, for conjecture, and the absence of really sure indications. the fathers had no intention of showing what marcion's text actually was, and their object being solely dogmatic and not critical, their statements are very insufficient for the purpose.( ) the materials have had to be ingeniously collected and sifted from polemical writings whose authors, so far from professing to furnish them, were only bent upon seeking in marcion's gospel such points as could legitimately, or by sophistical skill, be used against him. passing observations, general { } remarks, as well as direct statements, have too often been the only indications guiding the patient explorers and, in the absence of certain information, the silence of the angry fathers has been made the basis for important conclusions. it is evident that not only is such a procedure necessarily uncertain and insecure, but that it rests upon assumptions with regard to the intelligence, care and accuracy of tertullian and epiphanius, which are not sufficiently justified by that part of their treatment of marcion's text which we can examine and appreciate. and when all these doubtful landmarks have failed, too many passages have been left to the mere judgment of critics, as to whether they were too opposed to marcion's system to have been retained by him, or too favourable to have been omitted. the reconstructed texts, as might be expected, differ from each other, and one editor finds the results of his predecessors incomplete or unsatisfactory, although naturally at each successive attempt, the materials previously collected and adopted have contributed to an apparently more complete result. after complaining of the incompleteness and uncertainty of the statements of tertullian and epiphanius, ritschl affirms that they furnish so little solid material on which to base a hypothesis, that rather by means of a hypothesis must we determine the remains of the gospel from tertullian.( ) hilgenfeld quotes this with approval, and adds, that at least ritschl's opinion is so far right, that all the facts of the case can no longer be settled from external data, and that the general view regarding the { } gospel only can decide many points.( ) this means of course that hypothesis is to supply that which is wanting in the fathers. volkmar, in the introduction to his last comprehensive work on marcion's gospel, says: "and, in fact, it is no wonder that critics have for so long, and substantially to so little effect, fought over the protean question, for there has been so much uncertainty as to the very basis (fundament) itself,--the precise text of the remarkable document,--that baur has found full ground for rejecting, as unfounded, the supposition on which that finally-attained decision (his previous one) rested."( ) critics of all shades of opinion are forced to admit the incompleteness of the materials for any certain reconstruction of marcion's text and, consequently, for an absolute settlement of the question from internal evidence,( ) although the labours of volkmar and hilgenfeld have materially increased our knowledge of the contents of his gospel. we must contend, however, that, desirable and important as it is to ascertain as perfectly as possible the precise nature of marcion's text, the question of its origin and relation to luke would not by any means be settled even by its final reconstruction. there would, as we shall presently show, remain unsolved the problem of its place in that successive manipulation of materials by which a few gospels gradually absorbed and displaced the rest. our own synoptics { } exhibit unmistakable traces of the process, and clearly forbid our lightly setting aside the claim of marcion's gospel to be considered a genuine work, and no mere falsification and abbreviation of luke. before proceeding to a closer examination of marcion's gospel and the general evidence bearing upon it, it may be well here briefly to refer to the system of the heresiarch whose high personal character exerted so powerful an influence upon his own time,( ) and whose views continued to prevail widely for a couple of centuries after his death. it was the misfortune of marcion to live in an age when christianity had passed out of the pure morality of its infancy, when, untroubled by complicated questions of dogma, simple faith and pious enthusiasm had been the one great bond of christian brotherhood, into a phase of ecclesiastical development in which religion was fast degenerating into theology, and complicated doctrines were rapidly assuming that rampant attitude which led to so much bitterness, persecution, and schism. in later times marcion might have been honoured as a reformer, in his own he was denounced as a heretic.( ) austere and ascetic in his opinions, he aimed at superhuman purity, and although his clerical adversaries might scoff at his impracticable doctrines regarding marriage and the subjugation of the flesh, they have had their parallels amongst those whom the church has since most delighted to honour; and at least the whole tendency of his system was markedly towards the side of virtue.( ) it would of course be foreign to our { } purpose to enter upon any detailed statement of its principles, and we must confine ourselves to such particulars only as are necessary to an understanding of the question before us. as we have already frequently had occasion to mention, there were two broad parties in the primitive church, and the very existence of christianity was in one sense endangered by the national exclusiveness of the people amongst whom it originated. the one party considered christianity a mere continuation of the law, and dwarfed it into an isrealitish institution, a narrow sect of judaism; the other represented the glad tidings as the introduction of a new system applicable to all and supplanting the mosaic dispensation of the law by a universal dispensation of grace. these two parties were popularly represented in the early church by the apostles peter and paul, and their antagonism is faintly revealed in the epistle to the galatians. marcion, a gentile christian, appreciating the true character of the new religion and its elevated spirituality, and profoundly impressed by the comparatively degraded and anthropomorphic features of judaism, drew a very sharp line of demarcation between them, and represented christianity as an entirely new and separate system abrogating the old and having absolutely no connection with it. jesus was not to him the messiah of the jews, the son of david come permanently to establish the law and the prophets, but a divine being sent to reveal to man a wholly new spiritual religion, and a hitherto unknown god of goodness and grace. the creator [------], { } the god of the old testament, was different from the god of grace who had sent jesus to reveal the truth, to bring reconciliation and salvation to all, and to abrogate the jewish god of the world and of the law, who was opposed to the god and father of jesus christ as matter is to spirit, impurity to purity. christianity was in distinct antagonism to judaism, the spiritual god of heaven, whose goodness and love were for the universe, to the god of the world, whose chosen and peculiar people were the jews, the gospel of grace to the dispensation of the old testament. christianity, therefore, must be kept pure from the judaistic elements humanly thrust into it, which were so essentially opposed to its whole spirit. marcion wrote a work called "antitheses" [------], in which he contrasted the old system with the new, the god of the one with the god of the other, the law with the gospel, and in this he maintained opinions which anticipated many held in our own time. tertullian attacks this work in the first three books of his treatise against marcion, and he enters upon the discussion of its details with true theological vigour: "now, then, ye hounds, yelping at the god of truth, whom the apostle casts out,( ) to all your questions! these are the bones of contention which ye gnaw!"( ) the poverty of the "great african's" arguments keeps pace with his abuse. marcion objected: if the god of the old testament be good, prescient of the future, and able to avert evil, why did he allow man, made in his own image, to be deceived { } by the devil, and to fall from obedience of the law into sin and death?( ) how came the devil, the origin of lying and deceit, to be made at all?( ) after the fall, god became a judge both severe and cruel; woman is at once condemned to bring forth in sorrow and to serve her husband, changed from a help into a slave; the earth is cursed which before was blessed, and man is doomed to labour and to death.( ) the law was one of retaliation and not of justice,--lex talionis--eye for eye, tooth for tooth, stripe for stripe.( ) and it was not consistent, for in contravention of the decalogue, god is made to instigate the israelites to spoil the egyptians, and fraudulently rob them of their gold and silver;( ) to incite them to work on the sabbath by ordering them to carry the ark for eight days round jericho;( ) to break the second commandment by making and setting up the brazen serpent and the golden cherubim.( ) then god is inconstant, electing men, as saul and solomon, whom he subsequently rejects;( ) repenting that he had set up saul, and that he had doomed the ninevites,( ) and so on. god calls out: adam, where art thou? inquires whether he had eaten the forbidden fruit; asks of cain where his brother was, as if he had not yet heard the blood of abel crying from the ground, and did not already know all these things.( ) anticipating the results of modem criticism, marcion denies the applicability to jesus of the so-called messianic prophecies. the emmanuel of { } isaiah (vii. , cf. viii. ) is not christ;( ) the "virgin" his mother is simply a "young woman" according to jewish phraseology;( ) and the sufferings of the servant of god (isaiah lii. --liii. ) are not predictions of the death of jesus.( ) there is a complete severance between the law and the gospel, and the god of the latter is the antithesis of that of the former.( ) "the one was perfect, pure, beneficent, passionless; the other, though not unjust by nature, infected by matter,--subject to all the passions of man,--cruel, changeable; the new testament, especially as remodelled by marcion,( ) was holy, wise, amiable; the old testament, the law, barbarous, inhuman, contradictory, and detestable."( ) marcion ardently maintained the doctrine of the impurity of matter, and he carried it to its logical conclusion, both in speculation and practice. he, therefore, asserting the incredibility of an incarnate god, denied the corporeal reality of the flesh of christ. his body was a mere semblance and not of human substance, was not born of a human mother, and the divine nature was not degraded by contact with the flesh.( ) marcion finds in paul the purest promulgator of the truth as he understands it, and emboldened by the epistle to the galatians, in which that apostle rebukes even apostles for "not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel," he accuses the other apostles of having depraved the pure form of the gospel doctrines delivered to them by we give this quotation as a resume by an english historian and divine, but the idea of the "new testament remodelled by marcion," is a mere ecclesiastical imagination. { } jesus,( ) "mixing up matters of the law with the words of the saviour."( ) tertullian reproaches marcion with having written the work in which he details the contrasts between judaism and christianity, of which we have given the briefest sketch, as an introduction and encouragement to belief in his gospel, which he ironically calls "the gospel according to the antitheses;"( ) and the charge which the fathers bring against marcion is that he laid violent hands on the canonical gospel of luke, and manipulated it to suit his own views. "for certainly the whole object at which he laboured in drawing up the 'antitheses.'" says tertullian, "amounts to this: that he may prove a disagreement between the old and new testament, so that his own christ may be separated from the creator, as of another god, as alien from the law and the prophets. for this purpose it is certain that he has erased whatever was contrary to his own opinion and in harmony with the creator, as if interpolated by his partisans, but has retained everything consistent with his own opinion."( ) the whole hypothesis that marcion's gospel is a mutilated version of our third synoptic in fact rested upon this accusation. it is obvious that if it cannot be shown that marcion's gospel was our canonical gospel merely garbled by the heresiarch for dogmatic reasons in the interest of his system,--for there could not be any other conceivable { } reason for tampering with it,--the claim of marcion's gospel to the rank of a more original and authentic work than luke's acquires double force. we must, therefore, inquire into the character of the variations between the so-called heretical, and the canonical gospels, and see how far the hypothesis of the fathers accord with the contents of marcion's gospel so far as we are acquainted with it. at the very outset we are met by the singular phenomenon, that both tertullian and epiphanius, who accuse marcion of omitting everything which was unfavourable, and retaining only what was favourable to his views, undertake to refute him out of what remains in his gospel. tertullian says: "it will then be proved that he has shown the same defect of blindness of heresy both in that which he has erased and that which he has retained."( ) epiphanius also confidently states that, out of that which marcion has allowed to remain of the gospel, he can prove his fraud and imposture, and thoroughly refute him.( ) now if marcion mutilated luke to so little purpose as this, what was the use of his touching it at all? he is known as an able man, the most influential and distinguished of all the heretical leaders of the second century, and it seems unreasonable to suppose that, on the theory of his erasing or altering all that contradicted his system, he should have done his work so imperfectly.( ) the fathers say that he endeavours to get rid of the contradictory passages which remain by a system of false interpretation; but surely he would not have allowed himself to be driven { } to this extremity, leaving weapons in the hands of his opponents, when he might so easily have excised the obnoxious texts along with the rest? it is admitted by critics, moreover, that passages said to have been omitted by marcion are often not opposed to his system at all, and sometimes, indeed, even in favour of it;( ) and on the other hand, that passages which were retained are contradictory to his views.( ) this is not intelligible upon any theory of arbitrary garbling of a gospel in the interest of a system. it may be well to give a few instances of the anomalies presented, upon this hypothesis, by marcion's text. some critics believe that the verses luke vii. -- , were wanting in marcion's gospel.( ) hahn accounts for the omission of verses , , regarding the baptism of john, because they represented the relation of the baptist to jesus in a way which marcion did not admit.( ) but as he allowed the preceding verses to remain, such a proceeding was absurd. in verse he calls john a prophet, and much more than a prophet, and in the next verse ( ) quotes respecting him the words of { } malachi iii. : "this is he of whom it is written: behold i send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." it is impossible on any reasonable ground to account for the retention of such honourable mention of the baptist, if verses , were erased for such dogmatic reasons.( ) still more incomprehensible on such a hypothesis is the omission of luke vii. -- , where that generation is likened unto children playing in the market-place and calling to each other: "we piped unto you and ye danced not," and jesus continues: "for john is come neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, he hath a devil ( ). the son of man is come, eating and drinking; and ye say: behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." hahn attributes the omission of these verses to the sensuous representation they give of jesus as eating and drinking.( ) what was the use of eliminating these verses when he allowed to remain unaltered verse of the same chapter,( ) in which jesus is invited to eat with the pharisee, and goes into his house and sits down to meat? or v. -- ,( ) in which jesus accepts the feast of levi, and defends his disciples for eating and drinking against the murmurs of the scribes and pharisees? or xv. ,( ) { } where the pharisees say of him: "this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them?" how absurdly futile the omission of the one passage for dogmatic reasons, while so many others were allowed to remain unaltered.( ) the next passage to which we must refer is one of the most important in connection with marcion's docetic doctrine of the person of jesus. it is said that he omitted viii. : "and his mother and his brethren came to him and could not come at him for the crowd," and that he inserted in verse , [------]; making the whole episode in his gospel read ( ): "and it was told him by certain which said: thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee: . but he answered and said unto them: who are my mother and brethren? my mother and my brethren are these," &c. the omission of verse is said to have been made because, according to marcion, christ was not born like an ordinary man, and consequently had neither mother nor brethren.( ) the mere fact, however, that marcion retains verse , in which the crowd simply state as a matter fully recognized, the relationship of those who were seeking jesus, renders the omission of the preceding verse useless,( ) except on the ground of mere redundancy. marcion is reported not to have had the word [------] in x. ,( ) "so that the question of the lawyer simply ran: { } "master, what shall i do to inherit life?" the omission of this word is supposed to have been made in order to make the passage refer back to the god of the old testament, who promises merely long life on earth for keeping the commandments, whilst it is only in the gospel that _eternal_ life is promised.( ) but in the corresponding passage, xviii. ,( ) the [------] is retained, and the question of the ruler is: "good master, what shall i do to inherit eternal life?" it has been argued that the introduction of the one thing still lacking (verse ) after the keeping of the law and the injunction to sell all and give to the poor, changes the context, and justifies the use there of _eternal_ life as the reward for fulfilment of the higher commandment.( ) this reasoning, however, seems to us without grounds, and merely an ingenious attempt to account for an embarrassing fact. in reality the very same context occurs in the other passage, for, explaining the meaning of the word "neighbour," love to whom is enjoined as part of the way to obtain "life," jesus inculcates the very same duty as in xviii. , of distributing to the poor (cf. x. -- ). there seems, therefore, no reasonable motive for omitting the word from the one passage whilst retaining it in the other.( ) the passage in luke xi. -- , from the concluding words of verse , "but the sign of the prophet jonah" { } was not found in marcion's gospel.( ) this omission is accounted for on the ground that such a respectful reference to the old testament was quite contrary to the system of marcion.( ) verses -- of the same chapter, containing the saying of the "wisdom of god," regarding the sending of the prophets that the jews might slay them, and their blood be required of that generation, were also omitted.( ) the reason given for this omission is, that the words of the god of the old testament are too respectfully quoted and adopted to suit the views of the heretic.( ) the words in verses -- , "and a greater than solomon--than jonah is here," might well have been allowed to remain in the text, for the superiority of christ over the kings and prophets of the old testament which is asserted directly suits and supports the system of marcion. how much less, however, is the omission of these passages to be explained upon any intelligent dogmatic principle, when we find in marcion's text the passage in which jesus justifies his conduct on the sabbath by the example of david (vi. -- ),( ) and that in which he assures the disciples of the greatness of their reward in heaven for the persecutions they were to endure: { } "for behold your reward is great in heaven: for after the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets" (vi. ).( ) as we have seen, jesus is also allowed to quote an old testament prophecy (vii. ) as fulfilled in the coming of john to prepare the way for himself. the questions which jesus puts to the scribes (xx. -- ) regarding the christ being david's son, with the quotation from ps. ex. , which marcion is stated to have retained,( ) equally refute the supposition as to his motive for "omitting" xi. ff. it has been argued with regard to the last passage that jesus merely uses the words of the old testament to meet his own theory,( ) but the dilemma in which jesus places the scribes is clearly not the real object of his question: its aim is a suggestion of the true character of the christ. but amongst his other sins with regard to luke's gospel, marcion is also accused of interpolating it. and in what way? why the heresiarch, who is so averse to all references to the old testament that he is supposed to erase them, actually, amongst his few interpolations, adds a reference to the old testament. between xvii. and (some critics say in verse ) marcion introduced the verse which is found in luke iv. : "and many lepers were in israel in the time of elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed saving naaman, the syrian."( ) now is it conceivable that a man who inserts, as it is said, references to the { } old testament into his text so gratuitously, can have been so inconsistent as to have omitted these passages because they contain similar references? we must say that the whole of the reasoning regarding these passages omitted and retained, and the fine distinctions which are drawn between them, are anything but convincing. a general theory being adopted, nothing is more easy than to harmonise everything with it in this way; nothing is more easy than to assign some reason, good or bad, apparently in accordance with the foregone conclusion, why one passage was retained, and why another was omitted, but in almost every case the reasoning might with equal propriety be reversed if the passages were so, and the retention of the omitted passage as well as the omission of that retained be quite as reasonably justified. the critics who have examined marcion's gospel do not trouble themselves to inquire if the general connection of the text be improved by the absence of passages supposed to be omitted, but simply try whether the supposed omissions are explainable on the ground of a dogmatic tendency in marcion. in fact, the argument throughout is based upon foregone conclusions, and rarely upon any solid grounds whatever. the retention of such passages as we have quoted above renders the omission of the other for dogmatic reasons quite purposeless.( ) the passage, xii. , , which argues that as the sparrows are not forgotten before god, and the hairs of our head are numbered, the disciples need not fear, was not found in mansion's gospel.( ) the supposed omission { } is explained on the ground that, according to marcion's system, god does not interest himself about such trifles as sparrows and the hairs of our head, but merely about souls.( ) that such reasoning is arbitrary, however, is apparent from the fact, that marcion's text had verse of the same chapter:( ) "consider the ravens," &c., &c., and "god feedeth them:" &c., and also v. ,( ) "but if god so clothe the grass," &c., &c., "how much more will he clothe you, o! ye of little faith?" as no one ventures to argue that marcion limited the providence of god to the ravens, and to the grass, but excluded the sparrows and the hair, no dogmatic reason can be assigned for the omission of the one, whilst the other is retained.( ) the first nine verses of ch. xiii. were likewise absent from marcion's text,( ) wherein jesus declares that like the galilæans, whose blood pilate had mixed with their sacrifices (v. , ), and the eighteen upon whom the tower in siloam fell (v. ), "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," (v. and ), and then recites the parable of the unfruitful fig-tree (v. -- ), which the master of the vineyard orders to be cut down (v. ), but then spares for a season (v. , ). the theory advanced to account for the asserted "omission" of these { } verses is that they could not be reconciled with marcion's system, according to which the good god never positively punishes the wicked, but merely leaves them to punish themselves in that, by not accepting the proffered grace, they have no part in the blessedness of christians.( ) in his earlier work, volkmar distinctly admitted that the whole of this passage might be omitted without prejudice to the text of luke, and that he could not state any ground, in connection with marcion's system, which rendered its omission either necessary or even conceivable. he then decided that the passage was not contained at all in the version of luke, which marcion possessed, but was inserted at a later period in our codices.( ) it was only on his second attempt to account for all omissions on dogmatic grounds that he argued as above. in like manner hilgenfeld also, with rettig, considered that the passage did not form part of the original luke, so that here again marcion's text was free from a very abrupt passage, not belonging to the more pure and primitive gospel.( ) baur recognizes not only that there is no dogmatic ground to explain the omission, but on the contrary, that the passage fully agrees with the system of marcion.( ) the total insufficiency of the argument to explain the omission, however, is apparent from the numerous passages, which were allowed to remain in the text, which still more clearly outraged this part of marcion's system. in the parable of the great supper, xiv. -- , the lord is angry (v. ), and declares that none of those who were { } bidden should taste of his supper (v. ). in xii. , jesus warns his own disciples: "fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, i say unto you: fear him." it is not permissible to argue that marcion here understands the god of the old testament, the creator, for he would thus represent his christ as forewarning his own disciples to fear the power of that very demiurge, whose reign he had come to terminate. then again, in the parable of the wise steward, and the foolish servants, xii. ff, he declares (v. ), that the lord of the foolish servant "will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers," and (vs. , ) that the servants shall be beaten with stripes, in proportion to their fault. in the parable of the nobleman who goes to a far country and leaves the ten pounds with his servants, xix. ff, the lord orders his enemies, who would not that he should reign over them, to be brought and slain before him (v. ). then, how very much there was in the epistles of paul, which he upheld, of a still more contradictory character. there is no dogmatic reason for such inconsistency.( ) marcion is accused of having falsified xiii. in the following manner: "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see _all the just_ [------] in the kingdom of god, but you yourselves being thrust, _and bound_ [------] without." the substitution of "all the just" for "abraham, isaac, and jacob, and all the prophets," is one of those variations which the supporter of the dogmatic theory greedily lays hold of, as bearing evident tokens of falsification in anti-judaistic interest.( ) but marcion had in his gospel { } the parable of the rich man and lazarus, xvi. -- , where the beggar is carried up into abraham's bosom.( ) and again, there was the account of the transfiguration, ix. -- , in which moses and elias are seen in converse with jesus.( ) the alteration of the one passage for dogmatic reasons, whilst the parable of lazarus is retained, would have been useless. hilgenfeld, however, in agreement with baur and ritschl, has shown that marcion's reading [------] is evidently the contrast to the [------] of the preceding verse, and is superior to the canonical version, which was either altered after matth. viii. , or with the anti-marcionitish object of bringing the rejected patriarchs into recognition.( ) the whole theory in this case again goes into thin air, and it is consequently weakened in every other. marcion's gospel did not contain the parable of the prodigal son, xv. -- .( ) the omission of this passage, { } which is universally recognized as in the purest paulinian spirit, is accounted for partly on the ground that a portion of it (v. -- ) was repugnant to the ascetic discipline of marcion, to whom the killing of the fatted calf, the feasting, dancing and merry-making, must have been obnoxious, and, partly because, understanding under the similitude of the elder son the jews, and of the younger son the gentiles, the identity of the god of the jews and of the christians would be recognized.( ) there is, however, the very greatest doubt admitted as to the interpretation which marcion would be likely to put upon this parable, and certainly the representation which it gives of the gentiles, not only as received completely on a par with the jews, but as only having been lost for a time, and found again, is thoroughly in harmony with the teaching of paul, who was held by marcion to be the only true apostle. it could not, therefore, have been repugnant to him. any points of disagreement could very easily have been explained away, as his critics are so fond of asserting to be his practice in other passages.( ) as to the supposed dislike of marcion for the festive character of the parable, what object could he have had for omitting this, when he retained the parable of the { } great supper, xiv. -- ; the feast in the house of levi, v. -- ; the statements of jesus eating with the pharisees, vii. , xv. ? if marcion had any objection to such matters, he had still greater to marriage, and yet jesus justifies his disciples for eating and drinking by the similitude of a marriage feast, himself being the bridegroom: v. , , "can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them: then will they fast in those days." and he bids his disciples to be ready "like men that wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding," (xii. ), and makes another parable on a wedding feast (xiv. -- ). leaving these passages, it is impossible to see any dogmatic reason for excluding the others.( ) the omission of a passage in every way so suitable to marcion's system as the parable of the vineyard, xx. -- , is equally unintelligible upon the dogmatic theory. marcion is accused of falsifying xvi. , by altering [------],( ) making the passage read: "but it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of my words to fail." the words in the canonical gospel, it is argued, were too repugnant to him to be allowed to remain unaltered, representing as they do the permanency of "the law" to which he was opposed.( ) upon this hypothesis, why did he leave { } x. f. (especially v. ) and xviii. ff, in which the keeping of the law is made essential to life? or xvii. , where jesus bids the lepers conform to the requirements of the law? or xvi. , where the answer is given to the rich man pleading for his relatives: "they have moses and the prophets, let them hear them"?(l) hilgenfeld, however, with others, points out that it has been fully proved that the reading in marcion's text is not an arbitrary alteration at all, but the original expression, and that the version in luke xvi. , on the contrary, is a variation of the original introduced to give the passage an anti-marcionitish tendency.( ) here, again, it is clear that the supposed falsification is rather a falsification on the part of the editor of the third canonical gospel.( ) one more illustration may be given. marcion is accused of omitting from xix. the words: "forasmuch as he also is a son of abraham," [------] leaving merely: "and jesus said unto him: this day is salvation come to this house." marcion's system, it is said, could not tolerate the phrase which was erased.( ) it was one, however, eminently in the spirit of his apostle paul, and in his favourite epistle to the galatians he retained the very parallel { } passage iii. , "ye know, therefore, that they which are of faith, these are the sons of abraham."( ) how could he, therefore, find any difficulty in such words addressed to the repentant zacchaeus, who had just believed in the mission of christ? moreover, why should he have erased the words here, and left them standing in xiii. , in regard to the woman healed of the "spirit of infirmity:" "and ought not this woman, _being a daughter of abraham_, whom satan hath bound, lo! these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" no reasoning can explain away the substantial identity of the two phrases. upon what principle of dogmatic interest, then, can marcion have erased the one while he retained the other?( ) we have taken a very few passages for illustration, and treated them very briefly, but it may roundly be said that there is scarcely a single variation of marcion's text regarding which similar reasons are not given, and which do not present similar anomalies in consequence of what has elsewhere been retained.( ) as we have already stated, much that is really contradictory to marcion's system was found in his text, and much which either is not opposed or is favourable to it is omitted { } and cannot be set down to arbitrary alteration. moreover, it has never been shown that the supposed alterations were made by marcion himself,( ) and till this is done the pith of the whole theory is wanting. there is no principle of intelligent motive which can account for the anomalies presented by marcion's gospel, considered as a version of luke mutilated and falsified in the interest of his system. the contrast of what is retained with that which is omitted reduces the hypothesis _ad absurdum_. marcion was too able a man to do his work so imperfectly, if he had proposed to assimilate the gospel of luke to his own views. as it is avowedly necessary to explain away by false and forced interpretations requiring intricate definitions( ) very much of what was allowed to remain in his text, it is inconceivable that he should not have cut the gordian knot with the same unscrupulous knife with which it is asserted he excised the rest the ingenuity of most able and learned critics endeavouring to discover whether a motive in the interest of his system cannot be conceived for every alteration is, notwithstanding the evident scope afforded by the procedure, often foiled. yet a more elastic hypothesis could not possibly have been advanced, and that the text obstinately refuses to fit into it, is even more than could have been expected. marcion is like a prisoner at the bar without witnesses, who is treated from the first as guilty, attacked by able and passionate adversaries who warp every possible circumstance against him, and yet who cannot be convicted. the foregone conclusion by which every supposed omission from his gospel is explained, is, as we have shown, almost in { } every case contradicted by passages which have been allowed to remain, and this is rendered more significant by the fact, which is generally admitted, that marcion's text contains many readings which are manifestly superior to, and more original than, the form in which the passages stand in our third synoptic.( ) the only one of these to which we shall refer is the interesting variation from the passage in luke xi. , in the substitution of a prayer for the holy spirit for the "hallowed be thy name,"--[------]. the former is recognized to be the true original reading. this phrase is evidently referred to in v. . we are, therefore, indebted to marcion for the correct version of "the lord's prayer."( ) there can be no doubt that marcion's gospelbore great analogy to our luke, although it was very considerably shorter. it is, however, unnecessary to repeat that there were many gospels in the second century which, although nearly related to those which have become canonical, were independent works, and the most favourable interpretation which can be given of the relationship between our three synoptics leaves them very much in a line with marcion's work. his gospel was chiefly distinguished { } by a shorter text,( ) but besides large and important omissions there are a few additions,( ) and very many variations of text. the whole of the first two chapters of luke, as well as all the third, was wanting, with the exception of part of the first verse of the third chapter, which, joined to iv. , formed the commencement of the gospel. of chapter iv. verses -- , -- and were likewise probably absent. some of the other more important omissions are xi. -- , -- , xiii. -- , -- , xv. -- , xvii. -- (probably), xviii. -- , xix. -- , xx. -- , -- , xxi. -- , , -- > xxii. -- , -- , -- , -- , and there is great doubt about the concluding verses of xxiv. from to the end, but it may have terminated with v. . it is not certain whether the order was the same as luke,( ) but there are instances of decided variation, especially at the opening. as the peculiarities of the opening variations have had an important effect in inclining some critics towards the acceptance of the mutilation hypothesis,( ) it may be well for us briefly to examine the more important amongst them. marcion's gospel is generally said to have commenced thus: "in the fifteenth year of the reign of tiberius cæsar, jesus came down to capernaum, a city of galilee."( ) { } there are various slightly differing readings of this. epiphanius gives the opening words, [------]. tertullian has: anno quintodecimo principatus tiberiani.... de-scendisse in civitatem galilsææ capharnaum."( ) the [-------]s of epiphanius has permitted the conjecture that there might have been an additional indication of the time, such as "pontius pilate being governor of judæa,"( ) but this has not been generally adopted.( ) it is not necessary for us to discuss the sense in which the "came down" [------] was interpreted, since it is the word used in luke. marcion's gospel then proceeds with iv. : "and taught them on the sabbath days, (v. ), and they were exceedingly astonished at his teaching, for his word was power." then follow vs. -- containing the healing of the man with an unclean spirit,( ) and of simon's wife's mother, with the important omission of the expression "of nazareth" (najapipc) after "jesus" in the cry of the possessed (v. ). the vs. -- immediately _follow_ iv. , with important { } omissions and variations. in iv. , where jesus comes to nazareth, the words "where he had been brought up" are omitted, as is also the concluding phrase "and stood up to read."( ) verses -- , in which jesus reads from isaiah, are altogether wanting.( ) volkmar omits the whole of v. , hilgenfeld only the first half down to the sitting down, retaining the rest; hahn retains from "and he sat down" to the end.( ) of v. only: "he began to speak to them" is retained.( ) from v. the concluding phrase: "and said: is not this joseph's son" is omitted,( ) as are also the words "in thy country" from v. .( ) verse , containing the proverb: "a prophet has no honour" is wholly omitted,( ) but the best critics differ regarding the two following verses -- ; they are omitted according to hahn, ritschl and de wette,( ) but retained by volkmar and hilgenfeld.( ) verse , { } referring to the leprosy of naaman, which, it will be remembered, is interpolated at xvii. , is omitted here by most critics, but retained by vojkmar.( ) verses -- come next,( ) and the four verses iv. -- , which then immediately follow, complete the chapter. this brief analysis, with the accompanying notes, illustrates the uncertainty of the text, and, throughout the whole gospel, conjecture similarly plays the larger part. we do not propose to criticise minutely the various conclusions arrived at as to the state of the text, but must emphatically remark that where there is so little certainty there cannot be any safe ground for delicate deductions regarding motives and sequences of matter. nothing is more certain than that, if we criticise and compare the synoptics on the same principle, we meet with the most startling results and the most irreconcileable difficulties.( ) the opening of marcion's gospel is more free from abruptness and crudity than that of luke. it is not necessary to show that the first three chapters of luke present very many differences from the other synoptics. mark omits them altogether, and they do not even agree with the account in matthew. some of the oldest gospels of which we have any knowledge, such as the gospel according to the hebrews, are said not to have had the narrative of the first two chapters at all,( ) and there is much more than doubt as to their originality. the mere omission of the history of { } the infancy, &c., from mark, however, renders it unnecessary to show that the absence of these chapters from marcion's gospel has the strongest support and justification. now luke's account of the early events and geography of the gospel history is briefly as follows: nazareth is the permanent dwelling-place of joseph and mary,( ) but on account of the census they travel to bethlehem, where jesus is born;( ) and after visiting jerusalem to present him at the temple,( ) they return "to their own city nazareth."( ) after the baptism and temptation jesus comes to nazareth "where he had been brought up,"( ) and in the course of his address to the people he says: "ye will surely say unto me this proverb: physician heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in capernaum do also here in thy country."( ) no mention, however, has before this been made of capernaum, and no account has been given of any works done there; but, on the contrary, after escaping from the angry mob at nazareth, jesus goes for the first time to capernaum, which, on being thus first mentioned, is particularized as "a city of galilee,"( ) where he heals a man who had an unclean spirit, in the synagogue, who addresses him as "jesus of nazareth;"( ) and the fame of him goes throughout the country.( ) he cures simon's wife's mother of a fever( ) and when the sun is set they bring the sick and he heals them.( ) the account in matthew contradicts this in many points, some of which had better be indicated here. jesus is born in bethlehem, which is the ordinary { } dwelling-place of the family;( ) his parents fly thence with him into egypt,( ) and on their return, they dwell "in a city called nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets: he shall be called a nazarene."( ) after john's imprisonment, jesus leaves nazareth, and goes to dwell in capernaum.( ) from that time he begins to preach.( ) here then, he commences his public career in capernaum. in mark, jesus comes from nazareth to be baptized,( ) and after the imprisonment of john, he comes into galilee preaching.( ) in capernaum, he heals the man of the unclean spirit, and simon's wife's mother,( ) and then retires to a solitary place,( ) returns after some days to capernaum( ) without going to nazareth at all, and it is only at a later period that he comes to his own country, and quotes the proverb regarding a prophet.( ) it is evident from this comparison, that there is very considerable difference between the three synoptics, regarding the outset of the career of jesus, and that there must have been decided elasticity in the tradition, and variety in the early written accounts of this part of the gospel narrative. luke alone commits the error of making jesus appear in the synagogue at nazareth, and refer to works wrought at capernaum, before any mention had been made of his having preached or worked wonders there to justify the allusions ii. . we need not pause here to point out that there is no such prophecy known in the old testament. the reference may very probably bo a singularly mistaken application of the word in isaiah xi. , the hebrew word for branch being [----] nazer. { } and the consequent agitation. it is obvious that there has been confusion in the arrangement of the third synoptic and a transposition of the episodes, clearly pointing to a combination of passages from other sources.( ) now marcion's gospel did not contain these anomalies. it represented jesus as first appearing in capernaum, teaching in the synagogue, and performing mighty works there, and _then_ going to nazareth, and addressing the people with the natural reference to the previous events at capernaum, and in this it is not only more consecutive, but also adheres more closely to the other two synoptics. that luke happens to be the only one of our canonical gospels, which has the words with which marcion's gospel commences, is no proof that these words were original in that work, and not found in several of the writings which existed before the third synoptic was compiled. indeed, the close relationship between the first three gospels is standing testimony to the fact that one gospel was built upon the basis of others previously existing. this which has been called "the chief prop of the mutilation hypothesis,"( ) has really no solid ground to stand on beyond the accident that only one of three gospels survives out of many which may have had the phrase. the fact that marcion's gospel really had the words of luke, moreover, is mere conjecture, inasmuch as epiphanius, who alone gives the greek, shows a distinct variation of reading. he has: [------] cf. luke iv. ; matt. viii. ; mark vi. -- . we do not go into the question as to the sufficiency of the motives ascribed for the agitation at nazareth, or the contradiction between the facts narrated as to the attempt to kill jesus, and the statement of their wonder at his gracious words, v. , &o. there is no evidence where the various discrepancies arose, and no certain conclusions can be based upon such arguments. { } [------].( ) luke reads: [------]. we do not of course lay much stress upon this, but the fact that there is a variation should be noticed. critics quietly assume, because there is a difference, that epiphanius has abbreviated, but that is by no means sure. in any case, instances could be multiplied to show that if one of our synoptic gospels were lost, one of the survivors would in this manner have credit for passages which it had in reality either derived from the lost gospel, or with it drawn from a common original source. now starting from the undeniable fact that the synoptic gospels are in no case purely original independent works, but are based upon older writings, or upon each other, each gospel remodelling and adding to already existing materials, as the author of the third gospel, indeed, very frankly and distinctly indicates,( ) it seems a bold thing to affirm that marcion's gospel must necessarily have been derived from the latter. ewald has made a minute analysis of the synoptics assigning the materials of each to what he considers their original source. we do not of course attach any very specific importance to such results, for it is clear that they must to a great extent be arbitrary and incapable of proof, but being effected without any reference to the question before us, it may be interesting to compare ewald's conclusions regarding the parallel part of luke, with the first chapter of marcion's gospel. ewald details the materials from which our synoptic gospels luke i. -- . he professes to write in order the things in which theophilus had already been instructed, not to tell something new, but merely that he might know the certainty thereof. { } were derived, and the order of their composition as follows, each synoptic of course making use of the earlier materials: i. the oldest gospel. ii. the collection of discourses (spruchsammlung). iii. mark. iv. the book of earlier history. v. our present matthew. vi. the sixth recognizable book. vii. the seventh book. viii. the eighth book; and ix. luke.( ) now the only part of our third canonical gospel corresponding with any part of the first chapter of marcion's gospel which ewald ascribes to the author of our actual luke is the opening date.( ) the passage to which the few opening words are joined, and which constitute the commencement of marcion's gospel, luke iv. -- , is a section commencing with verse , and extending to the end of the chapter, thereby including verses -- , which ewald assigns to mark.( ) verses -- , which immediately follow, also form a complete and isolated passage assigned by ewald, to the "sixth recognizable book."( ) verses -- , also are the whole the verses iv. -- , which. volkmar wished to include, but which all other critics reject (see p. , note ), from marcion's text, ewald likewise identifies as an isolated couple of verses by the author of our luke inserted between episodes derived from other written sources. cf. ewald, . c. { } of another isolated section attributed by ewald, to the "book of earlier history," whilst -- , in like manner form another complete and isolated episode, assigned by him to the "eighth recognizable book."( ) according to ewald, therefore, luke's gospel at this place is a mere patchwork of older writings, and if this be in any degree accepted, as in the abstract, indeed, it is by the great mass of critics, then the gospel of marcion might be an arrangement different from luke of materials not his, but previously existing, and of which, therefore, there is no warrant to limit the use and reproduction to the canonical gospel. the course pursued by critics, with regard to marcion's gospel, is necessarily very unsatisfactory. they commence with a definite hypothesis, and try whether all the peculiarities of the text may not be more or less well explained by it. on the other hand, the attempt to settle the question by a comparison of the reconstructed text with luke's is equally inconclusive. the determination of priority of composition from internal evidence, where there are no chronological references, must as a general rule be arbitrary, and can rarely be accepted as final. internal evidence would, indeed, decidedly favour the priority of marcion's gospel. the great uncertainty of the whole system, even when applied under the most favourable circumstances, is well illustrated by the contradictory results at which critics have arrived as to the order of production and dependence on each other of our three synoptics. without going into details, we may say that critics who are all agreed upon the mutual dependence of those gospels have variously arranged them in the following order: i. matthew-- { } mark--luke.( ) ii. matthew--luke--mark.( ) iii. mark--matthew--luke.( ) iv. mark--luke--matthew.( ) v. luke--matthew--mark.( ) vi. all three out of common written sources.( ) were we to state the various theories still more in detail, we might largely increase the variety of conclusions. these, however, suffice to show the uncertainty of results derived from internal evidence. it is always assumed that marcion altered a gospel to suit his own particular system, but as one of his most orthodox critics, while asserting that luke's narrative lay at the basis of his gospel, admits: "it is not equally clear that all the changes were due to marcion himself;"( ) and, although he considers that "some of the omissions can be explained by his peculiar doctrines," he continues: "others are unlike arbitrary corrections, and must be considered as various readings of the greatest interest, dating as they do from a time anterior to all of course we only pretend to indicate a few of the critics who adopt each order. so bengel, bolton, ebrard, grotius, hengstenberg, hug, hilgenfeld, holtzmann, mill, seiler, townson, wetstein. so ammon, baur, bleek, delitzsch, fritzsche, gfrorer, griesbach, kern, eostlin, neudecker, saunier, schwarz, schwegler, sieffert, stroth, theilo, owon, paulus, de wette. so credner, ewald, hitzig, lachmann, (?) xteuss, bitschl, meyer, storr, thiersch. b. bauer, hitzig (?) schnockonburger, volkmar, weisse, wilke. busching, eyanson. bortholdt, le clerc, corrodi, eichhorn, gratz, hanlein, koppe, kuinoel, leasing, marsh, michaelis, niemeyer, semler, schleiermacher, schmidt, weber. this view was partly shared by many of those mentioned under other orders. { } other authorities in our possession."( ) now, undoubtedly, the more developed forms of the gospel narrative were the result of additions, materially influenced by dogmatic and other reasons, made to earlier and more fragmentary works, but it is an argument contrary to general critical experience to affirm that a gospel, the distinguishing characteristic of which is greater brevity, was produced by omissions in the interest of a system from a longer work. in the earlier editions of this work, we contended that the theory that marcion's gospel was a mutilated form of our third synoptic had not been established, and that more probably it was an earlier work, from which our gospel might have been elaborated. we leave the statement of the case, so far, nearly in its former shape, in order that the true nature of the problem and the varying results and gradual development of critical opinion may be better understood. since the sixth edition of this work was completed, however, a very able examination of marcion's gospel has been made by dr. sanday,( ) which has convinced us that our earlier hypothesis is untenable, that the portions of our third synoptic excluded from marcion's gospel were really written by the same pen which composed the mass of the work and, consequently, that our third synoptic existed in his time, and was substantially in the hands of marcion. this conviction is mainly the result of the linguistic analysis, sufficiently indicated by dr. sanday and, since, exhaustively carried out for ourselves. we still consider the argument based upon the mere dogmatic views of marcion, which has hitherto been almost { } exclusively relied on, quite inconclusive by itself, but the linguistic test, applied practically for the first time in this controversy by dr. sanday, must, we think, prove irresistible to all who are familiar with the comparatively limited vocabulary of new testament writers. throughout the omitted sections, peculiarities of language and expression abound which clearly distinguish the general composer of the third gospel, and it is, consequently, not possible reasonably to maintain that these sections are additions subsequently made by a different hand, which seems to be the only legitimate course open to those who would deny that marcion's gospel originally contained them. here, then, we find evidence of the existence of our third synoptic about the year , and it may of course be inferred that it must have been composed at least some time before that date. it is important, however, to estimate aright the facts actually before us and the deductions which may be drawn from them. the testimony of marcion does not throw any light upon the authorship or origin of the gospel of which he made use. its superscription was simply: "the gospel," or, "the gospel of the lord" [------],( ) and no author's name was attached to it. the heresiarch did not pretend to have written it himself, nor did he ascribe it to any other person. tertullian, in fact, reproaches him with its anonymity. "and here { } already i might make a stand," he says at the very opening of his attack on marcion's gospel, "contending that a work should not be recognized which does not hold its front erect... which does not give a pledge of its trustworthiness by the fulness of its title, and the due declaration of its author."( ) not only did marcion himself not in any way connect the name of luke with his gospel, but his followers repudiated the idea that luke was its author.( ) in establishing the substantial identity of marcion's gospel and our third synoptic, therefore, no advance is made towards establishing the authorship of luke. the gospel remains anonymous still. on the other hand we ascertain the important fact that, so far from its having any authoritative or infallible character at that time, marcion regarded our synoptic as a work perverted by jewish influences, and requiring to be freely expurgated in the interests of truth.( ) amended by very considerable omissions and alterations, marcion certainly held it in high respect as a record of the teaching of jesus, but beyond this circumstance, and the mere fact of its existence in his day, we learn nothing from the evidence of marcion. it can scarcely be maintained that this does much to authenticate the third synoptic as a record of miracles and a witness for the reality of divine revelation. { } there is no evidence whatever that marcion had any knowledge of the other canonical gospels in any form.( ) none of his writings are extant, and no direct assertion is made even by the fathers that he knew them, although from their dogmatic point of view they assume that these gospels existed from the very first, and therefore insinuate that as he only recognized one gospel, he rejected the rest.( ) when irenæus says: "he persuaded his disciples that he himself was more veracious than were the apostles who handed down the gospel, though he delivered to them not the gospel, but part of the gospel,"( ) it is quite clear that he speaks of the gospel--the good tidings--christianity--and not of specific written gospels. in another passage which is referred to by apologists, irenæus says of the marcionites that they have asserted: "that even the apostles proclaimed the gospel still under the influence of jewish sentiments; but that they themselves are more sound and more judicious than the apostles. wherefore also marcion and his followers have had recourse to mutilating the scriptures, not recognizing some books at all, but curtailing the gospel according to luke and the epistles of paul; these they say are alone authentic which they themselves have abbreviated."( ) { } these remarks chiefly refer to the followers of marcion, and as we have shown, when treating of valentinus, irenæus is expressly writing against members of heretical sects living in his own day and not of the founders of those sects.( ) the marcionites of the time of irenæus no doubt deliberately rejected the gospels, but it does, not by any means follow that marcion himself knew anything of them. as yet we have not met with any evidence even of their existence. the evidence of tertullian is not a whit more valuable. in the passage usually cited, he says: "but marcion, lighting upon the epistle of paul to the gaia-tians, in which he reproaches even apostles for not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, as well as accuses certain false apostles of perverting the gospel of christ, tries with all his might to destroy the status of those gospels which are put forth as genuine and under the name of apostles or at least of contemporaries of the apostles, in order, be it known, to confer upon his own the credit which he takes from them."( ) now here again it is clear that tertullian is simply applying, by inference, marcion's views with regard to the preaching of the gospel by the two parties in the church, represented by the apostle paul and the "pillar" apostles whose leaning to jewish doctrines he condemned, to the written gospels recognized in his day though not in marcion's. "it is uncertain," says even canon westcott, { } "whether tertullian in the passage quoted speaks from a knowledge of what marcion may have written on the subject, or simply from his own point of sight."( ) any doubt is, however, removed on examining the context, for tertullian proceeds to argue that if paul censured peter, john and james, it was for changing their company from respect of persons, and similarly, "if false apostles crept in," they betrayed their character by insisting on jewish observances. "so that it was _not on account of their preaching_, but of their conversation that they were pointed out by paul,"( ) and he goes on to argue that if marcion thus accuses apostles of having depraved the gospel by their dissimulation, he accuses christ in accusing those whom christ selected.( ) it is palpable, therefore, that marcion, in whatever he may have written, referred to the preaching of the gospel, or christianity, by apostles who retained their jewish prejudices in favour of circumcision and legal observances, and not to written gospels. tertullian merely assumes, with his usual audacity, that the church had the four gospels from the very first, and therefore that marcion, who had only one gospel, knew the others and deliberately rejected them. { } chapter viii. tatian--dionysius of corinth from marcion we now turn to tatian, another so-called heretic leader. tatian, an assyrian by birth,( ) embraced christianity and became a disciple of justin martyr( ) in rome, sharing with him, as it seems, the persecution excited by crescens the cynic( ) to which justin fell a victim. after the death of justin, tatian, who till then had continued thoroughly orthodox, left rome, and joined the sect of the encratites, of which, however, he was not the founder,( ) and became the leading exponent of their austere and ascetic doctrines.( ) the only one of his writings which is still extant is his "oration to the greeks"[------]. this work was written after the death of justin, for in it he refers to that event,( ) and it is generally dated between { } a. d. - . (l) teschendorf does not assert that there is any quotation in this address taken from the synoptic gospels;( ) and canon westcott only affirms that it contains a clear reference" to "a parable recorded by st. matthew," and he excuses the slightness of this evidence by adding: "the absence of more explicit testimony to the books of the new testament is to be accounted for by the style of his writing, and not by his unworthy estimate of their importance."( ) this remark is without foundation, as we know nothing whatever with regard to tatian's estimate of any such books. the supposed "clear reference" is as follows: "for by means of a certain hidden treasure [------] he made himself lord of all that we possess, in digging for which though we were covered with dust, yet we give it the occasion of falling into our hands and abiding with us."( ) this is claimed as a reference to matt. xiii. : "the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden [------] in the field, which a man found and hid, and for his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field." so faint a similarity could not prove anything, but it is evident that there are decided differences here. were the probability fifty times greater than it is that tatian had in his mind the parable, which is reported in our first gospel, nothing could be more unwarrantable than the deduction that he must have derived it from our matthew, and not from any other of the numerous gospels which we know to have early been in circulation. ewald ascribes the parable in matthew originally to the "spruchsammlung" or collection of discourses, the second of the four works out of which he considers our first synoptic to have been compiled.( ) as evidence even for the existence of our first canonical gospel, no such anonymous allusion could have the slightest value. although neither tischendorf nor canon westcott think it worth while to refer to it, some apologists claim another passage in the oration as a reference to our third synoptic. "laugh ye: nevertheless you shall weep."( ) this is compared with luke vi. : "woe unto you that laugh now: for ye shall mourn and weep,"( ) here again, it is impossible to trace a reference in the words of tatian specially to our third gospel, and manifestly nothing could be more foolish than to build upon such vague similarity any hypothesis of tatian's acquaintance with luke. if there be one part of the gospel which was more known than another in the first ages of christianity, it was the sermon on the mount, and there can be no doubt that many evangelical works now lost contained versions of it. ewald likewise assigns this passage of luke originally to the spruchsammlung, and no one can doubt that the saying was recorded long before the writer of the third gospel { } undertook to compile evangelical history, as so many had done before him. further on, however, canon westcott says: "it can be gathered from clement of alexandria... that he (tatian) endeavoured to derive authority for his peculiar opinions from the epistles to the corinthians and galatians, and probably from the epistle to the ephesians, and the gospel of st. matthew."( ) the allusion here is to a passage in the stromata of clement, in which reference is supposed by the apologist to be made to tatian. no writer, however, is named, and clement merely introduces his remark by the words: "a certain person," [------] and then proceeds to give his application of the saviour's words "not to treasure upon earth where moth and rust corrupt" [------].( ) the parallel passage in matthew vi. , reads: "lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt," [------]. canon westcott, it is true, merely suggests that "probably" this may be ascribed to tatian, but it is almost absolutely certain that it was not attributed to him by clement. tatian is several times referred to in the course of the same chapter, and his words are continued by the use of [------] or [------], and it is in the highest degree improbable that clement should introduce another quotation from him in such immediate context by the vague and distant reference "a certain person" [------]. on the other hand reference is made in the chapter to on the canon, p. . [in the th edition dr. westcott has altered the "probably" of the above sentence to "perhaps," and in a note has added: "these two last references are from an anonymous citation [------] which has been commonly assigned to tatian." p. , n. .] { } other writers and sects, to one of whom with infinitely greater propriety this expression applies. no weight, therefore, could be attached to any such passage in connection with tatian. moreover the quotation not only does not agree with our synoptic, but may much more probably have been derived from the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) it will be remembered that justin martyr quotes the same passage, with the same omission of "[------]," from a gospel different from our synoptics.( ) tatian, however, is claimed by apologists as a witness for the existence of our gospels--more than this he could not possibly be--principally on the ground that his gospel was called by some diatessaron [------] or "by four," and it is assumed to have been a harmony of four gospels. the work is no longer extant and, as we shall see, our information regarding it is of the scantiest and most unsatisfactory description. critics have arrived at very various conclusions with regard to the composition of the work. some of course affirm, with more or less of hesitation nevertheless, that it was nothing else than a harmony of our four canonical gospels;( ) many of these, however, are constrained to admit that it was also partly based upon the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) some maintain that it was { } a harmony of our three synoptics together with the gospel according to the hebrews;( ) whilst many deny that it was composed of our gospels at all,( ) and either declare it to have been a harmony of the gospel according to the hebrews with three other gospels whose identity cannot be determined, or that it was simply the gospel according to the hebrews itself,( ) by which name, as epiphanius states, it was called by some in his day.( ) tatian's gospel, however, was not only called diatessaron, but, according to victor of capua, it was also called diapente [------] "by five,"( ) a complication which shows the incorrectness of the ecclesiastical theory of its composition. tischendorf, anxious to date tatian's gospel as early as possible, says that in all probability it was composed earlier than the address to the greeks.( ) of this, however, he does not offer any evidence, and upon { } examination it is very evident that the work was, on the contrary, composed or adopted after the oration and his avowal of heretical opinions. theodoret states that tatian had in it omitted the genealogies and all other passages showing that christ was born of david according to the flesh, and he condemned the work, and caused it to be abandoned, on account of its evil design.( ) if the assumption be correct, therefore, as tischendorf maintains, that tatian altered our gospels, and did not merely from the first, like his master justin, make use of gospels different from those which afterwards became canonical, he must have composed the work after the death of justin, up to which time he is stated to have remained quite orthodox.( ) the date may with much greater probability be set between a.d. -- .( ) the earliest writer who mentions tatian's gospel is eusebius,( ) who wrote some century and a half after its supposed composition, without, however, having himself seen the work at all, or being really acquainted with its nature and contents.( ) eusebius says: "tatian, however, their former chief, having put together a certain amalgamation and collection, i know not how, of the gospels, named this the diatessaron, which even now is current with some."( ) { } it is clear that such hearsay information is not to be relied on. neither irenæus, clement of alexandria, nor jerome, who refer to other works of tatian, make any mention of this one. epiphanius, however, does so, but, like eusebius, evidently without having himself seen it.( ) this second reference to tatian's gospel is made upwards of two centuries after its supposed composition. epiphanius says: "it is said that he (tatian) composed the diatessaron, which is called by some the gospel according to the hebrews."( ) it must be observed that it is not said that tatian himself gave this gospel the name of diates-saron,( ) but on the contrary the expression of epiphanius implies that he did not do so,( ) and the fact that it was also called by some the gospel according to the hebrews, and diapente, shows that the work had no superscription from tatian of a contradictory character. theodoret, bishop of cyrus (+ ), is the next writer who mentions tatian's gospel, and he is the only one who had personally seen it he says: "he (tatian) also composed the gospel which is called _diatessaron_, excising the genealogies and all the other parts which declare that the lord was born of the seed of david according to the flesh. this was used not only by those of his own sect, but also by those who held the apostolic doctrines, who did not perceive the evil of the composition, but made use of the book in simplicity on account of its conciseness. i myself found upwards of two hundred such books held in honour among our churches, and collecting them all together, i had them put aside and, instead, introduced the gospels of the four evangelists." again it must be observed that theodoret does not say that the gospel of tatian _was_ a diatessaron, but merely that it was called so [------].( ) after quoting this passage, and that from epiphanius, canon westcott says with an assurance which, considering the nature of the evidence, is singular:--"not only then was the diatessaron grounded on the four canonical gospels, but in its general form it was so orthodox as to enjoy a wide ecclesiastical popularity. the heretical character of the book was not evident upon the surface of it, and consisted rather in faults of defect than in erroneous teaching. theodoret had certainly examined it, and he, like earlier writers, regarded it as a compilation from the four gospels. he speaks of omissions which were at least in part natural in a harmony, but notices no such apocryphal additions as would have found place in any gospel not derived from canonical sources."( ) now it must be remembered that the evidence regarding tatian's gospel is of the very vaguest description. it is not mentioned by any writer until a century and a half after the date of its supposed on the canon, p. . [in the th edition, the first sentence in the above passage is altered to: "from this statement it is clear that the diatessaron was so orthodox as to enjoy a wide ecclesiastical popularity." p. .] { } composition, and then only referred to by eusebius, who had not seen the work, and candidly confesses his ignorance with regard to it, so that a critic who is almost as orthodox as canon westcott himself acknowledges: "for the truth is that we know no more about tatian's work than what eusebius, who never saw it, knew."( ) the only other writer who refers to it, epiphanius, had not seen it either, and while showing that the title of diatessaron had not been given to it by tatian himself, he states the important fact that some called it the gospel according to the hebrews. theodoret, the last writer who mentions it, and of whom dr. donaldson also says: "theodoret's information cannot be depended upon,"( ) not only does not say that it is based upon our four gospels, but, on the contrary, points out that tatian's gospel did not contain the genealogies and passages tracing the descent of jesus through the race of david, which our synoptics possess, and he so much condemned the mischievous design of the work that he confiscated the copies in circulation in his diocese as heretical. canon westcott's assertion that theodoret regarded it as a compilation of our four gospels is most arbitrary. omissions, as he himself points out, are natural to a harmony, and conciseness certainly would be the last quality for which it could have been so highly prized, if every part of the four gospels had been retained. the omission of the parts referred to, which are equally omitted from the canonical fourth gospel, could not have been sufficient to merit the condemnation of the work as heretical, and had tatian's gospel not been different in various respects from our four gospels, such summary treatment would have been totally { } unwarrantable. the statement, moreover, that in place of tatian's gospel, theodoret "introduced the gospels of the four evangelists," seems to indicate that the displaced gospel was not a compilation from them, but a substantially different work. had this not been the case, theodoret would naturally have qualified such an expression. speaking of the difficulty of distinguishing tatian's harmony from others which must, the writer supposes, have been composed in his time, dr. donaldson points out: "and then we must remember that the harmony of tatian was confounded with the gospel according to the hebrews; and it is not beyond the reach of possibility that theodoret should have made some such mistake."( ) that is to say, that the only writer who refers to tatian's gospel who professes to have seen the work is not only "not to be depended on," but may actually have mistaken for it the gospel according to the hebrews. there is, therefore, no authority for saying that tatian's gospel was a harmony of four gospels at all, and the name diatessaron was not only not given by tatian himself to the work, but was probably the usual foregone conclusion of the christians of the third and fourth centuries, that everything in the shape of evangelical literature must be dependent on the gospels adopted by the church. those, however, who called the gospel used by tatian the gospel according to the hebrews must apparently have read the work, and all that we know confirms their conclusion. the gospel was, in point of fact, found in wide circulation precisely in the places in which, earlier, the gospel according to the hebrews was more particularly current.( ) the singular { } fact that the earliest reference to tatian's "harmony," is made a century and a half after its supposed composition, and that no writer before the fifth century had seen the work itself, indeed that only two writers before that period mention it at all, receives its natural explanation in the conclusion that tatian did not compose any harmony at all, but simply made use of the same gospel as his master justin martyr, namely, the gospel according to the hebrews,( ) by which name his gospel had been actually called by those best informed. although theodoret, writing in the fifth century, says in the usual arbitrary manner of early christian writers, that tatian "excised" from his gospel the genealogies and certain passages found in the synoptics, he offers no explanation or proof of his assertion, and the utmost that can be received is that tatian's gospel did not contain them.( ) did he omit them or merely use a gospel which never included them? the latter is the more probable conclusion. neither justin's gospel nor the gospel according to the hebrews contained the genealogies or references to the son of david, and why, as credner suggests, should tatian have taken the trouble to prepare a harmony with these omissions when he already found one such as he desired in justin's gospel? tatian's gospel, like that of his master justin, or the gospel according to the hebrews, was different from, yet nearly related to, our canonical gospels, and as we have already seen, justin's gospel, like tatian's, was considered by many to be a harmony of our gospels.( ) no { } one seems to have seen tatian's "harmony," probably for the very simple reason that there was no such work, and the real gospel used by him was that according to the hebrews, as some distinctly and correctly called it. the name diatessaron is first heard of in a work of the fourth century, when it is naturally given by people accustomed to trace every such work to our four gospels, but as we have clearly seen, there is not up to the time of tatian any evidence even of the existence of three of our gospels, and much less of the four in a collected form. here is an attempt to identify a supposed, but not demonstrated, harmony of gospels whose separate existence has not been heard of. even dr. westcott states that tatian's diatessaron "is apparently the first recognition of a fourfold gospel,"( ) but, as we have seen, that recognition emanates only from a writer of the fourth century who had not seen the work of which he speaks. no such modern ideas, based upon mere foregone conclusions, can be allowed to enter into a discussion regarding a work dating from the time of tatian.( ) the fact that the work found by theodoret in his diocese was used by orthodox christians without dr. lightfoot (contemp. rev., - , p. ) refers to an apocryphal work, "the doctrine of addai," recently edited and published by dr. phillips, in which it is stated that a large multitude assembled daily at edessa for prayer and the reading of the old testament, "and the new of the diatessaron." dr. lightfoot assumes that this is tatian's gospel. even if it were so, however, we cannot discover in this any addition to our information regarding the composition of the work. we have already the fuller statement of theodoret respecting the use of tatian's work in the churches of his diocese, so that beyond an interesting reference, no fresh light is thrown upon the question by the phrase quoted. but we cannot see any ground for asserting that the diatessaron here spoken of was tatian's gospel. on the contrary, it seems perfectly clear that the writer speaks only of the four gospels of the new testament. { } consciousness of its supposed heterodoxy, is quite consistent with the fact that it was the gospel according to the hebrews, which at one time was in very general use, but later gradually became an object of suspicion and jealousy in the church as our canonical gospels took its place. the manner in which theodoret dealt with tatian's gospel, or that "according to the hebrews," recalls the treatment by serapion of another form of the same work: the gospel according to peter. he found that work in circulation and greatly valued amongst the christians of rhossus, and allowed them peaceably to retain it for a time, until, alarmed at the docetic heresy, he more closely examined the gospel, and discovered in it what he considered heretical matter.( ) the gospel according to the hebrews, which narrowly missed a permanent place in the canon of the church, might well seem orthodox to the simple christians of cyrus, yet as different from, though closely related to, the canonical gospels, it would seem heretical to their bishop. as different from the gospels of the four evangelists, it was doubtless suppressed by theodoret with perfect indifference as to whether it were called tatian's gospel or the gospel according to the hebrews. it is obvious that there is no evidence of any value connecting tatian's gospel with those in our canon. we know so little about the work in question, indeed, that as dr. donaldson frankly admits, "we should not be able to identify it, even if it did come down to us, unless it told us something reliable about itself."( ) its earlier history is enveloped in obscurity, and as canon westcott observes: "the later history of the diatessaron is { } involved in confusion."( ) we have seen that in the sixth century it was described by victor of capua as diapente, "by five," instead of "by four." it was also confounded with another harmony written, not long after tatian's day, by ammonius of alexandria (+ ). dionysius bar-salibi,( ) a writer of the latter half of the twelfth century, mentions that the syrian ephrem, about the middle of the fourth century, wrote a commentary on the diatessaron of tatian, which diatessaron commenced with the opening words of the fourth gospel: "in the beginning was the word." the statement of bar-salibi, however, is contradicted by gregory bar-hebraeus, bishop of tagrit, who says that ephrem syrus wrote his commentary on the diatessaron of ammonius, and that this diatessaron commenced with the words of the fourth gospel: "in the beginning was the word."( ) the syrian ebed-jesu (+l ) held tatian and ammonius to be one and the same person; and it is probable that dionysius mistook the harmony of ammonius for that of tatian. it is not necessary further to follow this discussion, for it in no way affects our question, and no important deduction can be derived from it.( ) we allude to the point for the mere sake of showing that, up to the last, we have no certain information throwing light on the composition of tatian's gospel. all that we do know of it,--what it did not contain--the places where it largely circulated, and the name by which it was { } called, tends to identify it with the gospel according to the hebrews. for the rest, tatian had no idea of a new testament canon, and evidently did not recognize as inspired, any scriptures except those of the old testament.( ) it is well known that the sect of the encratites made use of apocryphal gospels until a much later period, and rejected the authority of the apostle paul, and tatian himself is accused of repudiating some of the pauline epistles, and of altering and mutilating others.( ) . dionysius of corinth need not detain us long. eusebius informs us that he was the author of seven epistles addressed to various christian communities, and also of a letter to chrysophora, "a most faithful sister." eusebius speaks of these writings as catholic epistles, and briefly characterizes each, but with the exception of a few short fragments preserved by him, none of these fruits of the "inspired industry" [------] of dionysius are now extant.( ) these fragments are all from an epistle said to have been addressed to soter, bishop of rome, and give us a clue to the time at which they were written. the bishopric of soter is generally dated between a.d. -- ,( ) during which years the epistle must have been composed. it could not have { } been written, however, until after dionysius became bishop of corinth in a.d. ,( ) and it was probably written some years after.( ) no quotation from, or allusion to, any writing of the new testament occurs in any of the fragments of the epistles still extant; nor does eusebius make mention of any such reference in the epistles which have perished. as testimony for our gospels, therefore, dionysius is an absolute blank. some expressions and statements, however, are put forward by apologists which we must examine. in the few lines which tischendorf accords to dionysius he refers to two of these. the first is an expression used, not by dionysius himself, but by eusebius, in speaking of the epistles to the churches at amastris and at pontus. eusebius says that dionysius adds some "expositions of divine scriptures" [------].( ) there can be no doubt, we think, that this refers to the old testament only, and tischendorf himself does not deny it.( ) the second passage which tischendorf( ) points out, and which he claims with some other apologists as evidence of the actual existence of a new testament canon when dionysius wrote, occurs in a fragment from the epistle { } to soter and the romans which is preserved by eusebius. it is as follows: "for the brethren having requested me to write epistles, i wrote them. and the apostles of the devil have filled these with tares, both taking away parts and adding others; for whom the woe is destined. it is not surprising then if some have recklessly ventured to adulterate the scriptures of the lord [------] when they have formed designs against these which are not of such importance."( ) regarding this passage, canon westcott, with his usual boldness, says: "it is evident that the 'scriptures of the lord'--the writings of the new testament--were at this time collected, that they were distinguished from other books, that they were jealously guarded, that they had been corrupted for heretical purposes."( ) we have seen, however, that there has not been a trace of any new testament canon in the writings of the fathers before and during this age, and it is not permissible to put such an interpretation upon the remark of dionysius. dr. donaldson, with greater critical justice and reserve, remarks regarding the expression "scriptures of the on the canon, p. . dr. westcott, in the first instance, translates the expression: [------] "the scriptures of the new testament." in a note to his fourth edition, however, he is kind enough to explain: "of course it is not affirmed that the collection here called [------] was identical with our 'new testament,' but simply that the phrase shows that a collection of writings belonging to the new testament existed," p. , n. . such a translation, in such a work, assuming as it does the whole question, and concealing what is doubtful, is most unwarrantable. the fact is that not only is there no mention of the new testament at all, but the words as little necessarily imply a "collection" of writings as they do a "collection" of the epistles of dionyaius. { } lord:" "it is not easy to settle what this term means," although he adds his own personal opinion, "but most probably it refers to the gospels as containing the sayings and doings of the lord. it is not likely, as lardner supposes, that such a term would be applied to the whole of the new testament"( ) the idea of our collected new testament being referred to is of course quite untenable, and although it is open to argument that dionysius may have referred to evangelical works, it is obvious that there are no means of proving the fact, and much less that he referred specially to our gospels. in fact, the fragments of dionysius present no evidence whatever of the existence of our synoptics. in order further to illustrate the inconclusiveness of the arguments based upon so vague an expression, we may add that it does not of necessity apply to any gospels or works of christian history at all, and may with perfect propriety have indicated the scriptures of the old testament. we find justin martyr complaining in the same spirit as dionysius, through several chapters, that the old testament scriptures, and more especially those relating to the lord, had been adulterated, that parts had been taken away, and others added, with the intention of destroying or weakening their application to christ.( ) justin's argument throughout is, that the whole of the old testament scriptures refer to christ, and tryphon, his antagonist, the representative of jewish opinion, is made to avow that the jews not only wait for christ, but, he adds: "we admit that all the scriptures which you have cited refer to him."( ) not only, therefore, were the scriptures of the old testament { } closely connected with their lord by the fathers and, at the date of which we are treating, were the only "holy scriptures" recognised, but they made the same complaints which we meet with in dionysius that these scriptures were adulterated by omissions and interpolations.( ) the expression of eusebius regarding "expositions of divine scriptures" [------] added by dionysius, which applied to the old testament, tends to connect the old testament also with this term "scriptures of the lord." if the term "scriptures of the lord," however, be referred to gospels, the difficulty of using it as evidence continues undiminished. we have no indication of the particular evangelical works which were in the bishop's mind. we have seen that other gospels were used by the fathers, and in exclusive circulation amongst various communities, and even until much later times many works were regarded by them as divinely inspired which have no place in our canon. the gospel according to the hebrews for instance was probably used by some at least of the apostolic fathers,( ) by pseudo-ignatius,( ) polycarp,( ) papias,( ) hegesippus,( ) justin martyr,( ) and at least employed along with our gospels by clement of alexandria, origen, and jerome.( ) the fact that serapion, in the third century allowed the gospel of peter to be used in the church of rhossus( ) shows at the same time the consideration in which it was held, and the incompleteness of the canonical position of the new testament writings. so does the circumstance this charge is made with insistance throughout the clementine homilies. { } that in the fifth century theodoret found the gospel according to the hebrews, or tatians gospel, widely circulated and held in honour amongst orthodox churches in his diocese.( ) the pastor of hermas, which was read in the churches and nearly secured a permanent place in the canon, was quoted as inspired by irenæus.( ) the epistle of barnabas was held in similar honour, and quoted as inspired by clement of alexandria( ) and by origen,( ) as was likewise the epistle of the roman clement. the apocalypse of peter was included by clement of alexandria in his account of the canonical scriptures and those which are disputed, such as the epistle of jude and the other catholic epistles,( ) and it stands side by side with the apocalypse of john in the canon of muratori, being long after publicly read in the churches of palestine.( ) tischendorf indeed conjectures that a blank in the codex sinaiticus after the new testament was formerly filled by it. justin, clement of alexandria, and lactantius quote the sibylline books as the word of god, and pay similar honour to the book of hystaspes.( ) so great indeed was the consideration and use of the sibylline books in the church of the second and third centuries, that christians from that fact were nicknamed sibyllists.( ) it is unnecessary to multiply, as justin, apol., i. , ; clem. al., strom., vi. , §§ , ; ladantius, instit. div., i. , , vii. , . clement of alexandria quotes with perfect faith and seriousness some apocryphal book, in which, he says, the apostle paul recommends the hellenic books, the sibyl and the books of hystaspes, as giving notably clear prophetic descriptions of the son of god. strom., vi. , § , . { } might so easily be done, these illustrations; it is too well known that a vast number of gospels and similar works, which have been excluded from the canon, were held in the deepest veneration by the church in the second century, to which the words of dionysius may apply. so vague and indefinite an expression at any rate is useless as evidence for the existence of our canonical gospels. canon westcott's deduction from the words of dionysius, that not only were the writings of the new testament already collected, but that they were "jealously guarded," is imaginative indeed. it is much and devoutly to be wished that they had been as carefully guarded as he supposes, but it is well known that this was not the case, and that numerous interpolations have been introduced into the text. the whole history of the canon and of christian literature in the second and third centuries displays the most deplorable carelessness and want of critical judgment on the part of the fathers. "whatever was considered as conducive to christian edification was blindly adopted by them, and a vast number of works were launched into circulation and falsely ascribed to apostles and others likely to secure for them greater consideration. such pious fraud was rarely suspected, still more rarely detected in the early ages of christianity, and several of such pseudographs have secured a place in our new testament. the words of dionysius need not receive any wider signification than a reference to well-known epistles. it is clear from the words attributed to the apostle paul in thess. ii. , iii. , that his epistles were falsified, and setting aside some of those which bear his name in our canon, spurious epistles were long { } ascribed to him, such as the epistle to the laodiceans and a third epistle to the corinthians. we need not do more than allude to the second epistle falsely bearing the name of clement of rome, as well as the clementine homilies and recognitions, the apostolical constitutions, and the spurious letters of ignatius, the letters and legend of abgarus quoted by eusebius, and the epistles, of paul and seneca, in addition to others already pointed out, as instances of the wholesale falsification of that period, many of which gross forgeries were at once accepted as genuine by the fathers, so slight was their critical faculty and so ready their credulity.( ) in one case the church punished the author who, from mistaken zeal for the honour of the apostle paul, fabricated the _acta pauli et theclæ_ in his name,( ) but the forged production was not the less made use of in the church. there was, therefore, no lack of falsification and adulteration of works of apostles and others of greater note than himself to warrant the remark of dionysius, without any forced application of it to our gospels or to a new testament canon, the existence of which there is nothing to substantiate, but on the contrary every reason to discredit. before leaving this passage we may add that although even tischendorf does not, canon westcott does find in it references to our first synoptic, and to the apocalypse. "the short fragment just quoted," he says, "contains two obvious allusions, one to the gospel of st matthew, and one to the apocalypse."( ) the words: "the apostles of the devil have filled these with tares," are, he supposes, the epistle of jude quotes as genuine the assumption of moses, and also the book of enoch, and the defence of the authenticity of the latter by tertullian (de cultu fem., i. ) will not be forgotten. { } an allusion to matt. xiii. ff. but even if the expression were an echo of the parable of the wheat and tares, it is not permissible to refer it in this arbitrary way to our first gospel, to the exclusion of the numerous other works which existed, many of which doubtless contained it obviously the words have no evidential value. continuing his previous assertions, however, canon westcott affirms with equal boldness: "the allusion in the last clause"--to the "scriptures of the lord"--"will be clear when it is remembered that dionysius 'warred against the heresy of marcion and defended the rule of truth '" [------].( ) tischendorf, who is ready enough to strain every expression into evidence, recognizes too well that this is not capable of such an interpretation. dr. westcott omits to mention that the words, moreover, are not used by dionysius at all, but simply proceed from eusebius.( ) dr. donaldson distinctly states the fact that, "there is no reference to the bible in the words of eusebius: he defends the rule of the truth "( ) [------]. there is only one other point to mention. canon westcott refers to the passage in the epistle of dionysius, which has already been quoted in this work regarding the reading of christian writings in churches. "today," he writes to soter, "we have kept the lord's holy day, in which we have read your epistle, from the reading of which we shall ever derive admonition, as we do from the former one written to us by clement."( ) it is evident that there was no idea, in selecting the works to be read at the weekly assembly of christians, of any { } canon of a new testament. we here learn that the epistles of clement and of soter were habitually read, and while we hear of this, and of the similar reading of justin's "memoirs of the apostles,"( ) of the pastor of hermas,( ) of the apocalypse of peter,( ) and other apocryphal works, we do not at the same time hear of the public reading of our gospels. { } chapter ix. melito of sardis--claudius apollinaris--athenagoras--the epistle of vienne and lyons. we might here altogether have passed over melito, bishop of sardis in lydia, had it not been for the use of certain fragments of his writings made by canon westcott. melito, naturally, is not cited by tischendorf at all, but the english apologist, with greater zeal, we think, than critical discretion, forces him into service as evidence for the gospels and a new testament canon. the date of melito, it is generally agreed, falls after a.d. , a phrase in his apology presented to marcus antoninus preserved in eusebius(l) [------] indicating that commodus had already been admitted to a share of the government.( ) canon westcott affirms that, in a fragment preserved by eusebius, melito speaks of the books of the new testament in a collected form. he says: "the words of melito on the other hand are simple and casual, and yet their meaning can scarcely be mistaken. he writes to onesimus, a fellow-christian who had urged him 'to { } make selections for him from the law and the prophets concerning the saviour and the faith generally, and furthermore desired to learn the accurate account of the old [------] books;' 'having gone therefore to the east,' melito says, 'and reached the spot where [each thing] was preached and done, and having learned accurately the books of the old testament, i have sent a list of them.' the mention of 'the old books'--'the books of the old testament,' naturally implies a definite new testament, a written antitype to the old; and the form of language implies a familiar recognition of its contents."( ) this is truly astonishing! the "form of language" can only refer to the words: "concerning the saviour and the faith generally," which must have an amazing fulness of meaning to convey to canon west-cott the implication of a "familiar recognition" of the contents of a supposed already collected new testament, seeing that a simple christian, not to say a bishop, might at least know of a saviour and the faith generally from the oral preaching of the gospel, from a single epistle of paul, or from any of the [------] of luke. this reasoning forms a worthy pendant to his argument that because melito speaks of the books of the old testament he implies the existence of a definite collected new testament. such an assertion is calculated to mislead a large class of readers.( ) the fragment of melito is as follows: "melito to his on the canon, p. . [in the fourth edition dr. westcott omits the last phrase, making a full stop at "old." p. .] it must be said, however, that canon westcott merely follows and exaggerates lardner, here, who says: "from this passage i would conclude that there was then also a volume or collection of books called the new testament, containing the writings of apostles and apostolical men, but we cannot from hence infer the names or the exact number of those books." credibility, &c., works, ii. p. . { } brother onesimus, greeting. as thou hast frequently desired in thy zeal for the word [------] to have extracts made for thee, both from the law and the prophets concerning the saviour and our whole faith; nay, more, hast wished to learn the exact statement of the old books [------], how many they are and what is their order, i have earnestly endeavoured to accomplish this, knowing thy zeal concerning the faith, and thy desire to be informed concerning the word [------], and especially that thou preferrest these matters to all others from love towards god, striving to gain eternal salvation. having, therefore, gone to the east, and reached the place where this was preached and done, and having accurately ascertained the books of the old testament [------], i have, subjoined, sent a list of them unto thee, of which these are the names"--then follows a list of the books of the old testament, omitting, however, esther. he then concludes with the words: "of these i have made the extracts dividing them into six books."( ) canon westcott's assertion that the expression "old books," "books of the old testament," involves here by antithesis a definite _written_ new testament, requires us to say a few words as to the name of "testament" as applied to both divisions of the bible. it is of course well known that this word came into use originally from the translation of the hebrew word "covenant" [------], or compact made between god and the israelites,( ) in the septuagint version, by the greek word [------], which in a legal sense also means a will or testament,( ) and that word is adopted throughout the new the legal sense of [------] as a will or testament is distinctly intended in heb. ix. . "for where a testament [------] is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator" [------]. the same word [------] is employed throughout the whole passage. heb. ix. -- . { } testament.(l) the vulgate translation, instead of retaining the original hebrew signification, translated the word in the gospels and epistles, "testamentum" and [------] became "vetus testamentum" instead of "vetus foedus" and whenever the word occurs in the english version it is almost invariably rendered "testament" instead of covenant. the expression "book of the covenant," or "testament," [------], frequently occurs in the lxx version of the old testament and its apocrypha,( ) and in jeremiah xxxi. - ,( ) the prophet speaks of making a "new covenant" [------] with the house of israel, which is indeed quoted in hebrews viii. . it is the doctrinal idea of the new covenant, through christ confirming the former one made to the israelites, which has led to the distinction of the old and new testaments. generally the old testament was, in the first ages of christianity, indicated by the simple expressions "the books" [------], "holy scriptures" [------],( ) or "the scriptures" [------,( ) but the preparation for the distinction of "old testament" began very early in the development of the doctrinal idea of the new testament of christ, before there was any part of the new testament books written at all. the expression "new testament," derived thus { } antithetically from the "old testament," occurs constantly throughout the second part of the bible. in the epistle to the hebrews viii. - , the mosaic dispensation is contrasted with the christian, and jesus is called the mediator of a better testament [------].( ) the first testament not being faultless, is replaced by the second, and the writer quotes the passage from jeremiah to which we have referred regarding a new testament, winding up his argument with the words, v. : "in that he saith a new (testament) he hath made the first old." again, in our first gospel, during the last supper, jesus is represented as saying: "this is my blood of the new testament" [------];( ) and in luke he says: "this cup is the new testament [------] in my blood."( ) there is, therefore, a very distinct reference made to the two testaments as "new" and "old," and in speaking of the books of the law and the prophets as the "old books" and "books of the old testament," after the general acceptance of the gospel of jesus as the new testament or covenant, there was no antithetical implication whatever of a written new testament, but a mere reference to the doctrinal idea. we might multiply illustrations showing how ever-present to the mind of the early church was the contrast of the mosaic and christian covenants as old and new. two more we may venture to point out. in romans ix. , and gal. iv. , the two testaments or covenants [------], typified by sinai and the heavenly jerusalem, are discussed, and the superiority of the latter asserted. there is, however, a passage, still more clear and decisive. paul says in corinthians iii. : "who also (god) made us sufficient to be ministers of the new { } testament [------] not of the letter, but of the spirit" [------]. why does not canon westcott boldly claim this as evidence of a definite written new testament, when not only is there reference to the name, but a distinction drawn between the letter and the spirit of it, from which an apologist might make a telling argument? but proceeding to contrast the glory of the new with the old dispensation, the apostle, in reference to the veil with which moses covered his face, says: "but their understandings were hardened: for until this very day remaineth the same veil in the reading of the old testament" [------];(l ) and as if to make the matter still clearer he repeats in the next verse: "but even unto this day when moses is read, the veil lieth upon their heart." now here the actual reading of the _old_ testament [------] is distinctly mentioned, and the expression quite as aptly as that of melito, "implies a definite new testament, a written antitype to the old," but even canon westcott would not dare to suggest that, when the second epistle to the corinthians was composed, there was a "definite written new testament" in existence. this conclusively shows that the whole argument from melito's mention of the books of the old testament is absolutely groundless. on the contrary, canon westcott should know very well that the first general designation for the new testament collection was "the gospel" [------] and "the apostle" [------], for the two portions of the collection, in contrast with the divisions of the old testament, the law and the prophets [------] { } [------],( ) and the name new testament occurs for the very first time in the third century, when tertullian called the collection of christian scriptures _novum instrumentum and novum testamentum._( ) the term [------] is not, so far as we are aware, applied in the greek to the "new testament" collection in any earlier work than origen's _de principiis_, iv. . it was only in the second half of the third century that the double designation [------] was generally abandoned.( ) as to the evidence for a new testament canon, which dr. westcott supposes he gains by his unfounded inference from melito's expression, we may judge of its value from the fact that he himself, like lardner, admits: "but there is little evidence in the fragment of melito to show what writings he would have included in the new collection."( ) little evidence? there is none at all. there is, however, one singular and instructive point in this fragment to which canon westcott does not in any way refer, but which well merits attention as { } illustrating the state of religious knowledge at that time, and, by analogy, giving a glimpse of the difficulties which beset early christian literature. we are told by melito that onesimus had frequently urged him to give him exact information as to the number and order of the books of the old testament, and to have extracts made for him from them concerning the saviour and the faith. now it is apparent that melito, though a bishop, was not able to give the desired information regarding the number and order of the books of the old testament himself, but that he had to make a journey to collect it. if this was the extent of knowledge possessed by the bishop of sardis of what was to the fathers the only holy scripture, how ignorant his flock must have been, and how unfitted, both, to form any critical judgment as to the connection of christianity with the mosaic dispensation. the formation of a christian canon at a period when such ignorance was not only possible but generally prevailed, and when the zeal of believers led to the composition of such a mass of pseudonymic and other literature, in which every consideration of correctness and truth was subordinated to a childish desire for edification, must have been slow indeed and uncertain; and in such an age fortuitous circumstances must have mainly led to the canonization or actual loss of many a work. so far from affording any evidence of the existence of a new testament canon, the fragment of melito only shows the ignorance of the bishop of sardis as to the canon even of the old testament. we have not yet finished with melito in connection with canon westcott, however, and it is necessary to follow him further in order fully to appreciate the nature of the evidence for the new testament canon, which, in default { } of better, he is obliged to offer. eusebius gives a list of the works of melito which have come to his knowledge, and in addition to the fragment already quoted, he extracts a brief passage from melito's work on the passover, and some much longer quotations from his apology, to which we have in passing referred.( ) with these exceptions, none of melito's writings are now extant. dr. cureton, however, has published a syriac version, with translation, of a so-called "oration of meliton, the philosopher, who was in the presence of antoninus caesar," together with five other fragments attributed to melito.( ) with regard to this syriac oration, canon westcott says: "though if it be entire, it is not the apology with which eusebius was acquainted, the general character of the writing leads to the belief that it is a genuine book of melito of sardis;"( ) and he proceeds to treat it as authentic. in the first place, we have so little of melito's genuine compositions extant, that it is hazardous indeed to draw any positive deduction from the "character of the writing." cureton, bunsen, and others maintain that this apology is not a fragment, and it cannot be the work mentioned by eusebius, for it does not contain the quotations from the authentic orations which he has preserved, and which are considerable. it is, however, clear from the substance of the composition that it cannot have been spoken before the emperor,( ) and, moreover, it has in no way the character of an "apology," for there is not a single word in it about either christianity or christians. there is { } every reason to believe that it is not a genuine work of melito.( ) there is no ground whatever for supposing that he wrote two apologies, nor is this ascribed to him upon any other ground than the inscription of an unknown syriac writer. this, however, is not the only spurious work attributed to melito. of this work canon westcott says: "like other apologies, this oration contains only indirect references to the christian scriptures. the allusions in it to the gospels are extremely rare, and except so far as they show the influence of st. john's writings, of no special interest."( ) it would have been more correct to have said that there are no allusions in it to the gospels at all. canon westcott is somewhat enthusiastic in speaking of melito and his literary activity as evinced in the titles of his works recorded by eusebius, and he quotes a fragment, said to be from a treatise "on faith," amongst these syriac remains, and which he considers to be "a very striking expansion of the early historic creed of the church."( ) as usual, we shall give the entire fragment: "we have made collections from the law and the prophets relative to those things which have been declared respecting our lord jesus christ, that we may prove to your love that he is perfect reason, the word of god; who was begotten before the light; who was creator together with the father; who was the fashioner of man; who was all in all; who among the patriarchs was patriarch; who in the law was the law; among the priests chief priest; among kings governor; among the prophets the prophet; { } among the angels archangel; in the voice the word; among spirits spirit; in the father the son; in god god the king for ever and ever. for this was he who was pilot to noah; who conducted abraham; who was bound with isaac; who was in exile with jacob; who was sold with joseph; who was captain with moses; who was the divider of the inheritance with jesus the son of nun; who in david and the prophets foretold his own sufferings; who was incarnate in the virgin; who was born at bethlehem; who was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger; who was seen of shepherds; who was glorified of angels; who was worshipped by the magi; who was pointed out by john; who assembled the apostles; who preached the kingdom; who healed the maimed; who gave light to the blind; who raised the dead; who appeared in the temple; who was not believed by the people; who was betrayed by judas; who was laid hold of by the priests; who was condemned by pilate; who was pierced in the flesh; who was hanged upon the tree; who was buried in the earth; who rose from the dead; who appeared to the apostles; who ascended to heaven; who sitteth on the right hand of the father; who is the rest of those who are departed; the recoverer of those who are lost; the light of those who are in darkness; the deliverer of those who are captives; the finder of those who have gone astray; the refuge of the afflicted; the bridegroom of the church; the charioteer of the cherubim; the captain of the angels; god who is of god; the son who is of the father; jesus christ, the king for ever and ever. amen."(l) { } canon westcott commences his commentary upon this passage with the remark: "no writer could state the fundamental truths of christianity more unhesitatingly, or quote the scriptures of the old and new testaments with more perfect confidence."( ) we need not do more than remark that there is not a single quotation in the fragment, and that there is not a single one of the references to gospel history or to ecclesiastical dogmas which might not have been derived from the epistles of paul, from any of the forms of the gospel according to the hebrews, the protevangelium of james, or from many another apocryphal gospel, or the oral teaching of the church. it is singular, however, that the only hint which canon westcott gives of the more than doubtful authenticity of this fragment consists of the introductory remark, after alluding to the titles of his genuine and supposititious writings: "of these multifarious writings very few fragments remain in the original greek, but the general tone of them is so decided in its theological character as to go far to establish the genuineness of those which are preserved in the syriac translation."( ) now, the fragment "on faith" which has just been quoted is one of the five syriac pieces of dr. cureton to which we have referred, and which even apologists agree "cannot be regarded as genuine."( ) it is well known that there were other writers in the early church bearing the names of melito and miletius or meletius,( ) { } which were frequently confounded. of these five syriac fragments one bears the superscription: "of meliton, bishop of the city of attica," and another, "of the holy meliton, bishop of utica," and cureton himself evidently leant to the opinion that they are not by our melito, but by a meletius or melitius, bishop of sebastopolis in pontus.( ) the third fragment is said to be taken from a discourse "on the cross," which was unknown to eusebius, and from its doctrinal peculiarities was probably written after his time.( ) another fragment purports to be from a work on the "soul and body;" and the last one from the treatise "on faith," which we are discussing. the last two works are mentioned by eusebius, but these fragments, besides coming in such suspicious company, must for other reasons be pronounced spurious.( ) they have in fact no attestation whatever except that of the syriac translator, who is unknown, and which therefore is worthless, and, on the other hand, the whole style and thought of the fragments are unlike anything else of melito's time, and clearly indicate a later stage of theological development.( ) moreover, in the mechitarist library at venice there is a shorter version of the same passage in a syriac ms., and an armenian version of the extract as given above, with some variation of the opening lines, in both of which the passage is distinctly ascribed to irenæus.( ) besides the oration and the five syriac fragments, we have other two works extant falsely attributed to melito, one, "de transitu virginis mariæ," describing the miraculous presence of the apostles at the { } death of mary;( ) and the other, "de actibus joannis apostoli," relates the history of miracles performed by the apostle john. both are universally admitted to be spurious,( ) as are a few other fragments also bearing his name. melito did not escape from the falsification to which many of his more distinguished predecessors and contemporaries were victims, through the literary activity and unscrupulous religious zeal of the first three or four centuries of our era. . very little is known regarding claudius apollinaris to whom we must now for a moment turn. eusebius informs us that he was bishop of hierapolis,( ) and in this he is supported by the fragment of a letter of serapion bishop of antioch preserved to us by him, which refers to apollinaris as the "most blessed."( ) tischendorf, without any precise date, sets him down as contemporary with tatian and theophilus (the latter of whom, he thinks, wrote his work addressed to autolycus about a.d. -- ).( ) eusebius( ) mentions that, like his somewhat earlier contemporary melito of sardis, apollinaris presented an "apology" to the emperor marcus antoninus, and he gives us further materials for a date( ) by stating that claudius apollinaris, probably in his apology, refers to it is worthy of remark that the virgin is introduced into all these fragments in a manner quite foreign to the period at which melito lived. eusebius himself sets him down in his chronicle as flourishing in the eleventh year of marcus, or a.d. , a year later than he dates melito. { } the miracle of the "thundering legion," which is said to have occurred during the war of marcus antoninus against the marcomanni in a.d. .( ) the date of his writings may, therefore, with moderation be fixed between a.d. -- .( ) eusebius and others mention various works composed by him,( ) none of which, however, are extant; and we have only to deal with two brief fragments in connection with the paschal controversy, which are ascribed to apollinaris in the paschal chronicle of alexandria. this controversy, as to the day upon which the christian passover should be celebrated, broke out about a.d. , and long continued to divide the church.( ) in the preface to the paschal chronicle, a work of the seventh century, the unknown chronicler says: "now even apollinaris, the most holy bishop of hiera-polis, in asia, who lived near apostolic times, taught the like things in his work on the passover, saying thus: 'there are some, however, who through ignorance raise contentions regarding these matters in a way which eusebius, h. e., v. ; mosheim, inst. hist. ecclee., book i. cent. ii. part. i. ch. i. § . apollinaris states that in consequence of this miracle, the emperor had bestowed upon the legion the name of the "thundering legion." we cannot here discuss this subject, but the whole story illustrates the rapidity with which a fiction is magnified into truth by religious zeal, and is surrounded by false circumstantial evidence. cf. tertullian, apol. , ad scapulam, ; dion cassius, lib. ; scaliyer, animadv. in euseb., p. f.; cf. donaldson, hist. chr. lit. and doctr., iii. p. f. { } should be pardoned, for ignorance does not admit of accusation, but requires instruction. and they say that the lord, together with his disciples, ate the sheep [------] on the th nisan, but himself suffered on the great day of unleavened bread. and they state [------] that matthew says precisely what they have understood; hence their understanding of it is at variance with the law, and according to them the gospels seem to contradict each other.'"( ) the last sentence is interpreted as pointing out that the first synoptic gospel is supposed to be at variance with our fourth gospel. this fragment is claimed by teschendorf( ) and others as evidence of the general acceptance at that time both of the synoptics and the fourth gospel. canon westcott, with obvious exaggeration, says: "the gospels are evidently quoted as books certainly known and recognized; their authority is placed on the same footing as the old testament.:( ) the gospels are referred to merely for the settlement of the historical fact as to the day on which the last passover had been eaten, a narrative of which they contained. there are, however, very grave reasons for doubting the authenticity of the two fragments ascribed to { } apollinaris, and we must mention that these doubts are much less those of german critics, who, on the whole, either do not raise the question at all, or hastily dispose of it, than doubts entertained by orthodox apologists, who see little ground for accepting them as genuine.( ) eusebius, who gives a catalogue of the works of apol-linaris which had reached him,( ) was evidently not acquainted with any writing of his on the passover. it is argued, however, that "there is not any sufficient ground for doubting the genuineness of these fragments 'on easter,' in the fact that eusebius mentions no such book by apollinaris."( ) it is quite true that eusebius does not pretend to give a complete list of these works, but merely says that there are many preserved by many, and that he mentions those with which he had met.( ) at the same time, entering with great interest, as he does, into the paschal controversy, and acquainted with the principal writings on the subject,( ) it would indeed have been strange had he not met with the work itself, or at least with some notice of it in the works of others. eusebius gives an account of the writings of melito and apollinaris together. he was acquainted with the work of melito on the passover, and quotes it,( ) and it is extremely improbable that he could have been ignorant of a treatise by his distinguished contemporary westcott, on the canon, p. , note ; cf. baur, unters. kan. evv., p. f. this is the only remark which dr. westcott makes as to any doubt of the authenticity of these fragments. tischendorf does not mention a doubt at all. { } on the same subject, had he actually written one. not only, however, does eusebius seem to know nothing of his having composed such a work, but neither do theodoret,( ) jerome,( ) nor photius,( ) who refer to his writings, mention it; and we cannot suppose that it was referred to in the lost works of irenæus or clement of alexandria on the passover. eusebius, who quotes from them,( ) would in that case have probably mentioned the fact, as he does the statement by clement regarding melito's work, or at least would have been aware of the existence of such a writing, and alluded to it when speaking of the works of apollinaris. this silence is equally significant whether we regard apollinaris as a quartodeciman or as a supporter of the views of victor and the church of rome. on the one hand, eusebius states that "all the churches of asia"( ) kept the th nisan, and it is difficult to believe that, had apollinaris differed from this practice and, more especially, had he written against it, the name of so eminent an exception would not have been mentioned. the views of the bishop of hierapolis, as a prominent representative of the asiatic church, must have been quoted in many controversial works on the subject, and even if the writing itself had not come into their hands, eusebius and others could scarcely fail to become indirectly acquainted with it. on the other hand, supposing apollinaris to have been a quartodeciman, whilst the ignorance of eusebius and others regarding any contribution by him to the discussion is scarcely less remarkable, it is still more surprising that no allusion is made to { } him by polycrates( ) when he names so many less distinguished men of asia, then passed away, who kept the th nisan, such as thaseas of eumenia, sagoris of laodicea, papirius of sardis, and the seven bishops of his kindred, not to mention polycarp of smyrna and the apostles philip and john. he also cites melito of sardis: why does he not refer to apollinaris of hierapolis? if it be argued that he was still living, then why does eusebius not mention him amongst those who protested against the measures of victor of rome?( ) there has been much discussion as to the view taken by the writer of these fragments, hilgenfeld and others( ) maintaining that he is opposed to the quartodeciman party. into this it is not necessary for us to enter, as our contention simply is that in no case can the authenticity of the fragments be established. supposing them, however, to be directed against those who kept the th nisan, how can it be credited that this isolated convert to the views of victor and the roman church, could write of so vast and distinguished a majority of the churches of asia, including polycarp and melito, as "some who through ignorance raised contentions" on the point, when they really raised no new contention at all, but, as polycrates represented, followed the tradition handed down to them from their fathers, and authorized by the practice of the apostle john himself? none of his contemporaries nor writers about his own time seem to have known that apollinaris wrote any work from which these fragments can have been taken, and there is absolutely no independent evidence that he { } ever took any part in the paschal controversy at all. the only ground we have for attributing these fragments to him is the preface to the paschal chronicle of alexandria, written by an unknown author of the seventh century, some five hundred years after the time of apollinaris, whose testimony has rightly been described as "worth almost nothing."( ) most certainly many passages preserved by him are inauthentic, and generally allowed to be so.( ) the two fragments have by some been conjecturally ascribed to pierius of alexandria,( ) a writer of the third century, who composed a work on easter, but there is no evidence on the point in any case, there is such exceedingly slight reason for attributing these fragments to claudius apollinaris, and so many strong grounds for believing that he cannot have written them, that they have no material value as evidence for the antiquity of the gospels. . we know little or nothing of athenagoras. he is not mentioned by eusebius, and our only information regarding him is derived from a fragment of philip sidetes, a writer of the fifth century, first published by dr. donaldson rightly calls a fragment in the chronicle ascribed to melito, "unquestionably spurious." hist. chr. lit. and doctr., iii. p. . { } dodwell.( ) philip states that he was the first leader of the school of alexandria during the time of hadrian and antoninus, to the latter of whom he addressed his apology, and he further says that clement of alexandria was his disciple, and that pantsenus was the disciple of clement. part of this statement we know to be erroneous, and the christian history of philip, from which the fragment is taken, is very slightingly spoken of both by socrates( ) and photius.( ) no reliance can be placed upon this information.( ) the only works ascribed to athenagoras are an apology--called an embassy, [------]--bearing the inscription: "the embassy of athenagoras the athenian, a philosopher and a christian, concerning christians, to the emperors marcus aurelius antoninus and lucius aurelius commodus, armeniaci sarmatici and, above all, philosophers"; and further, a treatise: "on the resurrection of the dead," a quotation from the apology by methodius in his work on the resurrection of the body, is preserved by epiphanius( ) and photius,( ) and this, the mention by philip sidetes, and the inscription by an unknown hand, just quoted, are all the evidence we possess regarding the apology. we have no evidence at all regarding the treatise on the resurrection, beyond the inscription. the authenticity of neither, therefore, stands on very sure grounds.( ) the address of the apology and internal evidence furnished by it, into which we need not go, show that it could not { } have been written before a.d. -- , the date assigned to it by most critics,( ) although there are many reasons for dating it some years later. in the six lines which tischendorf devotes to athenagoras, he says that the apology contains "several quotations from matthew and luke,"( ) without, however, indicating them. in the very few sentences which canon westcott vouchsafes to him, he says: "athenagoras quotes the words of our lord as they stand in st. matthew four times, and appears to allude to passages in st. mark and st. john, but he nowhere mentions the name of an evangelist."( ) here the third synoptic is not mentioned. in another place he says: "athenagoras at athens, and theophilus at antioch, make use of the same books generally, and treat them with the same respect;" and in a note: "athenagoras quotes the gospels of st matthew and st. john."( ) here it will be observed that also the gospel of mark is quietly dropped out of sight, but still the positive manner in which it is asserted that athenagoras quotes from "the gospel of st. matthew," without further explanation, is calculated to mislead. we shall refer to each of the supposed quotations. athenagoras not only does not mention any gospel, but singularly enough he never once introduces the { } name of "christ" into the works ascribed to him, and all the "words of the lord" referred to are introduced simply by the indefinite "he says," [------], and without any indication whatever of a written source.( ) the only exception to this is an occasion on which he puts into the mouth of "the logos" a saying which is not found in any of our gospels. the first passage to which canon westcott alludes is the following, which we contrast with the supposed parallel in the gospel:-- [------] it is scarcely possible to imagine a greater difference in language conveying a similar idea than that which exists between athenagoras and the first gospel, and the parallel passage in luke is in many respects still more distant. no echo of the words in matthew has lingered in the ear of the writer, for he employs utterly different phraseology throughout, and nothing can be more certain { } than the fact that there is not a linguistic trace in it of acquaintance with our synoptics. the next passage which is referred to is as follows: [------] the same idea is continued in the next chapter, in which the following passage occurs: [------] there is no parallel at all in the first gospel to the phrase "and lend to them that lend to you," and in luke vi. , the passage reads: "and if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?" { } [------]; it is evident, therefore, that there are decided variations here, and that the passage of athenagoras does not agree with either of the synoptics. we have seen the persistent variation in the quotations from the "sermon on the mount" which occur in justin,( ) and there is no part of the discourses of jesus more certain to have been preserved by living christian tradition, or to have been recorded in every form of gospel. the differences in these passages from our synoptic present the same features as mark the several versions of the same discourse in our first and third gospels, and indicate a distinct source. the same remarks also apply to the next passage: [------] the omission of [------], "with her," is not accidental, but is an important variation in the sense, which we have already met with in the gospel used by justin martyr.( ) there is another passage, in the next chapter, the parallel to which follows closely on this in the great sermon as reported in our first gospel, to which canon westcott does not refer, but which we must point out: [------] { } [------] it is evident that the passage in the apology is quite different from that in the "sermon on the mount" in the first synoptic. if we compare it with matt. xix. , there still remains the express limitation [------], which athenagoras does not admit, his own express doctrine being in accordance with the positive declaration in his text. in the immediate context, indeed, he insists that even to marry another wife after the death of the first is cloaked adultery. we find in luke xvi. , the reading of athenagoras,( ) but with important linguistic variations: [------] it cannot, obviously, be rightly affirmed that athenagoras must have derived this from luke, and the sense of the passage in that gospel, compared with the passage in matthew xix. , on the contrary, rather makes it certain that the reading of athenagoras was derived from a source combining the language of the one and the thought of the other. in mark x. , the reading is nearer that of athenagoras and confirms this conclusion; and the addition there of [------] "against her" after { } [------], further tends to prove that his source was not that gospel. we may at once give the last passage which is supposed to be a quotation from our synoptics, and it is that which is affirmed to be a reference to mark. athenagoras states in almost immediate context with the above: "for in the beginning god formed one man and one woman."( ) this is compared with mark x. : "but from the beginning of the creation god made them male and female": [------] now this passage differs materially in every way from the second synoptic. the reference to "one man" and "one woman" is used in a totally different sense, and enforces the previous assertion that a man may only marry one wife. such an argument directly derived from the old testament is perfectly natural to one who, like athenagoras, derived all his authority from it alone. it is not permissible to claim it as evidence of the use of mark. now we must repeat that athenagoras does not name any source from which he derives his knowledge of the sayings of jesus. these sayings are all from the sermon on the mount, and are introduced by the indefinite phrase [------], and it is remarkable that all differ distinctly from the parallels in our gospels. the whole must be taken together as coming from one source, and while the decided variation excludes the inference that they must have been taken from our gospels, there is reasonable ground for assigning them to a different { } source. dr. donaldson states the case with great fairness: "athenagoras makes no allusion to the inspiration of any of the new testament writers. he does not mention one of them by name, and one cannot be sure that he quotes from any except paul. all the passages taken from the gospels are parts of our lord's discourses, and may have come down to athenagoras by tradition."( ) he might have added that they might also have been derived from the gospel according to the hebrews or many another collection now unhappily lost. one circumstance strongly confirming this conclusion is the fact already mentioned, that athenagoras, in the same chapter in which one of these quotations occurs, introduces an apocryphal saying of the logos, and connects it with previous sayings by the expression "the logos again [------] saying to us." this can only refer to the sayings previously introduced by the indefinite [------]. the sentence, which is in reference to the christian salutation of peace, is as follows: "the logos again saying to us: 'if any one for this reason kiss a second time because it pleased him (he sins);' and adding: 'thus the kiss or rather the salutation must be used with caution, as, if it be defiled even a little by thought, it excludes us from the life eternal.'"( ) this saying, which is directly attributed to the logos, is not found in our gospels. the only natural deduction is that it comes from the same source as the other sayings, and that source was not our synoptic gospels. { } the total absence of any allusion to new testament scriptures in athenagoras, however, is rendered more striking and significant by the marked expression of his belief in the inspiration of the old testament.( ) he appeals to the prophets for testimony as to the truth of the opinions of christians: men, he says, who spoke by the inspiration of god, whose spirit moved their mouths to express god's will as musical instruments are played upon:( ) "but since the voices of the prophets support our arguments, i think that you, being most learned and wise, cannot be ignorant of the writings of moses, or of those of isaiah and jeremiah and of the other prophets, who being raised in ecstasy above the reasoning that was in themselves, uttered the things which were wrought in them, when the divine spirit moved them, the spirit using them as a flute player would blow into the flute."( ) he thus enunciates the theory of the mechanical inspiration of the writers of the old testament, in the clearest manner,( ) and it would indeed have been strange, on the supposition that he extended his views of inspiration to any of the scriptures of the new testament, that he never names a single one of them, nor indicates to the emperors in the same way, as worthy of their attention, any of these scriptures along with the law and the prophets. there can be no doubt that he nowhere gives reason for supposing that he regarded any other writings than the old testament as inspired or "holy scripture."( ) in the treatise on the resurrection there are no arguments derived from scripture. { } . in the th year of the reign of marcus aurelius, between the th march, - , a fierce persecution was, it is said,( ) commenced against the christians in gaul, and more especially at vienne and lyons, during the course of which the aged bishop pothinus, the predecessor of irenæus, suffered martyrdom for the faith. the two communities some time after addressed an epistle to their brethren in asia and phrygia, and also to eleutherus, bishop of rome,( ) relating the events which had occurred, and the noble testimony which had been borne to christ by the numerous martyrs who had been cruelly put to death. the epistle has in great part been preserved by eusebius,( ) and critics generally agree in dating it about a.d. ,( ) although it was most probably not written until the following year.( ) no writing of the new testament is mentioned in this epistle,( ) but it is asserted that there are "unequivocal coincidences of language"( ) with the gospel of luke, and others of its books. the passage which is referred to as { } showing knowledge of our synoptic, is as follows. the letter speaks of one of the sufferers, a certain vettius epagathus, whose life was so austere that, although a young man, "he was thought worthy of the testimony [------] borne by the elder [------] zacharias. he had walked, of a truth, in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless, and was untiring in every kind office towards his neighbour; having much zeal for god and being fervent in spirit."( ) this is compared with the description of zacharias and elizabeth in luke i. : "and they were both righteous before god, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless."( ) a little further on in the epistle it is said of the same person: "having in himself the advocate [------], the spirit [------], more abundantly than zacharias," &c.( ) which again is referred to luke i. , "and his father zacharias was filled with the holy spirit and prophesied, saying," &c.( ) a few words must be said regarding the phrase [------], "the testimony of the presbyter zacharias." this, of course, may either be rendered: "the testimony borne to zacharias," that is to say, borne by others to his holy life; or, "the { } testimony borne by zacharias," his own testimony to the faith: his martyrdom. we adopt the latter rendering for various reasons. the epistle is an account of the persecution of the christian community of vienne and lyons, and vettius epagathus is the first of the martyrs who is named in it: [------] was at that time the term used to express the supreme testimony of christians--martyrdom, and the epistle seems here simply to refer to the martyrdom, the honour of which he shared with zacharias. it is, we think, very improbable that, under such circumstances, the word [------] would have been used to express a mere description of the character of zacharias given by some other writer. the interpretation which we prefer is that adopted by tischendorf. we must add that the zacharias here spoken of is generally understood to be the father of john the baptist, and no critic, so far as we can remember, has suggested that the reference in luke xi. , applies to him.( ) since the epistle, therefore, refers to the martyrdom of zacharias, the father of john the baptist, when using the expressions which are supposed to be taken from our third synoptic, is it not reasonable to suppose that those expressions were derived from some work which likewise contained an account of his death, which is not found in the synoptic? when we examine the matter more closely, we find that, although none of the canonical gospels, except the third, gives any narrative of the birth of john the baptist, that portion of the gospel, in which are the words we are discussing, cannot be considered an original the great majority of critics consider it a reference to chron. xxiv., , though some apply it to a later zacharias. { } production by the third synoptist, but like the rest of his work is merely a composition based upon earlier written narratives.( ) ewald, for instance, assigns the whole of the first chapters of luke (i. --ii. ) to what he terms "the eighth recognizable book."( ) however this may be, the fact that other works existed at an earlier period in which the history of zacharias the father of the baptist was given, and in which not only the words used in the epistle were found but also the martyrdom, is in the highest degree probable, and, so far as the history is concerned, this is placed almost beyond doubt by the protevangclium jacobi which contains it. tischendorf, who does not make use of this epistle at all as evidence for the scriptures of the new testament, does refer to it, and to this very allusion in it to the martyrdom of zacharias, as testimony to the existence and use of the protevangelium jacobi, a work whose origin he dates so far back as the first three decades of the second century,( ) and which he considers was also used by justin, as hilgenfeld had already observed.( ) tischendorf and hilgenfeld, therefore, agree in affirming that the reference to zacharias which we have quoted, indicates acquaintance with a different gospel from our third synoptic. hilgenfeld rightly maintains that the protevangelium jacobi in its present shape is merely an { } altered form of an older work,( ) which he conjectures to have been the gospel according to peter, or the gnostic work [------],( ) and both he and tischendorf show that many of the fathers( ) were either acquainted with the protevangelium itself or the works on which it was based. the state of the case, then, is as follows: we find a coincidence in a few words in connection with zacharias between the epistle and our third gospel, but so far from the gospel being in any way indicated as their source, the words in question are connected with a reference to events unknown to our gospel, but which were indubitably chronicled elsewhere. as part of the passage in the epistle, therefore, could not have been derived from our third synoptic, the natural inference is that the whole emanates from a gospel, different from ours, which likewise contained that part in any case, the agreement of these few words, without the slightest mention of the third synoptic in the epistle, cannot be admitted as proof that they must necessarily have been derived from it and from no other source. { } chapter x. ptolemÆus and heracleon--celsus--the canon of muratori--results. we have now reached the extreme limit of time within which we think it in any degree worth while to seek for evidence as to the date and authorship of the synoptic gospels, and we might now proceed to the fourth gospel; but before doing so it may be well to examine one or two other witnesses whose support has been claimed by apologists, although our attention may be chiefly confined to an inquiry into the date of such testimony, upon which its value, even if real, mainly depends so far as we are concerned. the first of these whom we must notice are the two gnostic leaders, ptolemæus and heracleon. epiphanius has preserved a certain "epistle to flora" ascribed to ptolemseus, in which, it is contended, there are "several quotations from matthew, and one from the first chapter of john."( ) what date must be assigned to this epistle? in reply to those who date it about the end of the second century, tischendorf produces the evidence for an earlier period to which he assigns it. he says: "he (ptolemæus) appears in all the oldest sources tischendorf wann wurden, u. s. w., p. . canon westcott with greater caution says: "he quoted words of our lord recorded by st. matthew, the prologue of st. john's gospel, &c." on the canon, p. . { } as one of the most important, most influential of the disciples of valentinus. as the period at which the latter himself flourished falls about , do we say too much when we represent ptolemæus as working at the latest about ? irenæus (in the nd book) and hippolytus name him together with heracleon; likewise pseudo-tertullian (in the appendix to de præscriptionibus hæreticorum) and philastrius make him appear immediately after valentinus. irenæus wrote the first and second books of his great work most probably (hochst warscheinlich) before , and in both he occupies himself much with ptolemæus."( ) canon westcott, beyond calling ptolemæus and heracleon disciples of valentinus, does not assign any date to either, and does not of course offer any further evidence on the point, although, in regard to heracleon, he admits the ignorance in which we are as to all points of his history,( ) and states generally, in treating of him, that "the exact chronology of the early heretics is very uncertain."( ) let us, however, examine the evidence upon which tischendorf relies for the date he assigns to ptolemæus. he states in vague terms that ptolemæus appears "in all the oldest sources" (in alien den altesten quellen) as one of the most important disciples of valentinus. we shall presently see what these sources are, but must now follow the argument: "as the date of valentinus falls about , do we say too much when we represent ptolemæus as working at the latest about ?" it is obvious that there is no evidence here, but merely assumption, and the manner in which the period "about " is begged, is a clear admission that there are no certain data. the year { } might with equal propriety upon those grounds have been put ten years earlier or ten years later. the deceptive and arbitrary character of the conclusion, however, will be more apparent when we examine the grounds upon which the relative dates and rest. tischendorf here states that the time at which valentinus flourished falls about a.d. , but the fact is that, as all critics are agreed,( ) and as even tischendorf himself elsewhere states,( ) valentinus came out of egypt to rome in that year, when his public career practically commenced, and he continued to flourish for at least twenty years after.( ) tischendorf s pretended moderation, therefore, consists in dating the period when valentinus flourished from the very year of his first appearance, and in assigning the active career of ptolemseus to when valentinus was still alive and teaching. he might on the same principle be dated , and even in that case there could be no reason for ascribing the epistle to flora to so early a period of his career. tischendorf never even pretends to state any ground upon which ptolemæus must be connected with any precise part of the public life of valentinus, and still less for discriminating the period of the career of ptolemæus at which the epistle may have been composed. it is obvious that a wide limit for date thus exists. after these general statements tischendorf details the only evidence which is available. ( ) "irenæus (in the nd book) and hippolytus name him together with heracleon; likewise ( ) pseudo-tertullian (in the { } appendix to _de præscriptionibus hæreticorum_) and philastrius make him appear immediately after valentinus," &c. we must first examine these two points a little more closely in order to ascertain the value of such statements. with regard to the first ( st) of these points, we shall presently see that the mention of the name of ptolemseus along with that of heracleon throws no light upon the matter from any point of view, inasmuch as tischendorf has as little authority for the date he assigns to the latter, and is in as complete ignorance concerning him, as in the case of ptolemseus. it is amusing, moreover, that tischendorf employs the very same argument, which sounds well although it means nothing, inversely to establish the date of heracleon. here, he argues: "irenæus and hippolytus name him (ptolemæus) together with heracleon;"(l) there, he reasons: "irenæus names heracleon together with ptolemæus,"( ) &c. as neither the date assigned to the one nor to the other can stand alone, he tries to get them into something like an upright position by propping the one against the other, an expedient which, naturally, meets with little success. we shall in dealing with the case of heracleon show how untenable is the argument from the mere order in which such names are mentioned by these writers; meantime we may simply say that irenæus only once mentions the name of heracleon in his works, and that the occasion on which he does so, and to which reference is here made, is merely an allusion to the Æons "of ptolemseus himself, and of heracleon, and all the rest who hold these views."( ) this phrase might have been used, exactly as it stands, with { } perfect propriety even if ptolemæus and heracleon had been separated by a century. the only point which can be deduced from this mere coupling of names is that, in using the present tense, irenæus is speaking of his own contemporaries. we may make the same remark regarding hippolytus, for, if his mention of ptolemæus and heracleon has any weight at all, it is to prove that they were flourishing in his time: "those who are of italy, of whom is heracleon and ptolemæus, say..."( ) &c. we shall have to go further into this point presently. as to ( ) pseudo-tertullian and philastrius we need only say that even if the fact of the names of the two gnostics being coupled together could prove anything in regard to the date, the repetition by these writers could have no importance for us, their works being altogether based on those of irenæus and hippolytus,( ) and scarcely, if at all, conveying independent information.( ) we have merely indicated the weakness of these arguments in passing, but shall again take them up further on. the next and final consideration advanced by tischendorf is the only one which merits serious attention. "irenæus wrote the first and second book of his great work most probably before , and in both he occupies himself much with ptolemæus." before proceeding to examine the accuracy of this statement regarding the time at which irenæus wrote, we may ask what conclusion would be involved if irenæus really did compose the two books in a.d. in which he mentions indeed the direct and avowed dependence of hippolytus himself upon the work of irenæus deprives the philosophumena, in many parts, of all separate authority. { } our gnostics in the present tense? nothing more than the simple fact that ptolemæus and heracleon were promulgating their doctrines at that time. there is not a single word to show that they did not continue to flourish long after; and as to the "epistle to flora" irenæus apparently knows nothing of it, nor has any attempt been made to assign it to an early part of the gnostic's career. tischendorf, in fact, does not produce a single passage nor the slightest argument to show that irenæus treats our two gnostics as men of the past, or otherwise than as heretics then actively disseminating their heterodox opinions, and, even taken literally, the argument of tischendorf would simply go to prove that about a.d. irenseus wrote part of a work in which he attacks ptolemæus and mentions heracleon. when did irenæus, however, really write his work against heresies? although our sources of credible information regarding him are exceedingly limited, we are not without materials for forming a judgment on the point irenæus was probably born about a.d. - , and is generally supposed to have died at the beginning of the third century (a.d. ).( ) we know that he was deputed by the church of lyons to bear to eleutherus, then bishop of rome, the epistle of that christian community describing their sufferings during the persecution commenced against them in the seventeenth year of the reign of marcus aurelius antoninus ( th march, -- ).( ) it is very improbable that this journey was undertaken, in any case, before the spring of a.d. at the earliest, and, indeed, in accordance with the given data, the { } persecution itself may not have commenced earlier than the beginning of that year, so that his journey need not have been undertaken before the close of or the spring of , to which epoch other circumstances might lead us.( ) there is reason to believe that he remained some time in rome. baronius states that irenæus was not appointed bishop of lyons till a.d. , for he says that the see remained vacant for that period after the death of pothinus in consequence of the persecution. now certain expressions in his work show that irenæus did not write it until he became bishop.( ) it is not known how long irenæus remained in rome, but there is every probability that he must have made a somewhat protracted stay, for the purpose of making himself acquainted with the various tenets of gnostic and other heretics then being actively taught, and the preface to the first book refers to the pains he took. he wrote his work in gaul, however, after his return from this visit to rome. this is apparent from what he himself states in the preface to the first book: "i have thought it necessary," he says, "after having read the memoirs [------] of the disciples of valentinus as they call themselves, and _having had personal intercourse with some of them_ and acquired full knowledge of their opinions, to unfold to thee,"( ) &c. a little further on, he claims from the friend to whom he addresses his work indulgence for any defects of style on the score of his being resident amongst the keltæ.( ) irenæus no doubt during his stay in rome came in { } contact with the school of ptolemæus and heracleon, if not with the gnostic leaders themselves, and shocked as he describes himself as being at the doctrines which they insidiously taught, he undertook, on his return to lyons, to explain them that others might be exhorted to avoid such an "abyss of madness and blasphemy against christ."( ) irenæus gives us other materials for assigning a date to his work. in the third book he enumerates the bishops who had filled the episcopal chair of rome, and the last whom he names is eleutherus (a.d. -- ), who, he says, "now in the twelfth place from the apostles, holds the inheritance of the episcopate."( ) there is, however, another clue which, taken along with this, leads us to a close approximation to the actual date. in the same book, irenæus mentions theodotion's version of the old testament: "but not as some of those say," he writes, "who now [------] presume to alter the interpretation of the scripture: 'behold the young woman shall conceive, and bring forth a son,' as theodotion, the ephesian, translated it, and aquila of pontus, both jewish proselytes."( ) now we are informed by epiphanius that theodotion published his translation during the reign of the emperor commodus( ) (a.d. -- ). the chronicon paschale adds that it was during the consulship of marcellus, or as massuet( ) proposes to read marullus, who, jointly with Ælianus, assumed office a.d. . these dates decidedly agree with the passage of irenæus and with the other data, all of which lead { } us to about the same period within the episcopate of eleutherus (+ c. ).( ) we have here, therefore, a clue to the date at which irenæus wrote. it must be remembered that at that period the multiplication and dissemination of books was a very slow process. a work published about or could scarcely have come into the possession of irenæus in gaul till some years later, and we are, therefore, brought towards the end of the episcopate of eleutherus as the earliest date at which the first three books of his work against heresies can well have been written, and the rest must be assigned to a later period under the episcopate of victor (+ -- ).( ) at this point we must pause and turn to the evidence which tischendorf offers regarding the date to be assigned to heracleon.( ) as in the case of ptolemæus, we shall give it entire and then examine it in detail. to the all-important question: "how old is heracleon?" tischendorf replies: "irenæus names heracleon, together canon westcott adds no separate testimony. he admits that: "the history of heracleon, the great valentinian commentator, is full of uncertainty. nothing is known of his country or parentage." on the canon, p. , and in a note: "the exact chronology of the early heretics is very uncertain," p. , note . p { } with ptolemaeus ii. , § , in a way which makes them appear as well-known representatives of the valentinian school. this interpretation of his words is all the more authorized because he never again mentions heracleon. clement, in the th book of his stromata, written shortly after the death of commodus ( ), recalls an explanation by heracleon of luke xii. , when he calls him the most noted, man of the valentinian school [------] is clement's expression). origen, at the beginning of his quotation from heracleon, says that he was held to be a friend of valentinus [------]. hippolytus mentions him, for instance, in the following way: (vi. ); 'valentinus, and heracleon, and ptolemæus, and the whole school of these, disciples of pythagoras and plato....' epiphanius says (hser. ): 'cerdo (the same who, according to irenæus iii. , § , was in rome under bishop hyginus with valentinus) follows these (the ophites, kainites, sethiani), and heracleon.' after all this heracleon certainly cannot be placed later than to . the expression which origen uses regarding his relation to valentinus must, according to linguistic usage, be understood of a personal relation."( ) we have already pointed out that the fact that the names of ptolemæus and heracleon are thus coupled together affords no clue in itself to the date of either, and their being mentioned as leading representatives of the school of valentinus does not in any way involve the inference that they were not contemporaries of irenæus, living and working at the time he wrote. the way in which irenæus mentions them in this the only passage throughout his whole work in which he names { } heracleon, and to which tischendorf pointedly refers, is as follows: "but if it was not produced, but was generated by itself, then that which is void is both like, and brother to, and of the same honour with, that father who has before been mentioned by valentinus; but it is really more ancient, having existed long before, and is more exalted than the rest of the Æons of ptolemseus himself, and of heracleon, and all the rest who hold these views."( ) we fail to recognize anything special, here, of the kind inferred by tischendorf, in the way in which mention is made of the two later gnostics. if anything be clear, on the contrary, it is that a distinction is drawn between valentinus and ptolemaeus and heracleon, and that irenæus points out inconsistencies between the doctrines of the founder and those of his later followers. it is quite irrelevant to insist merely, as tischendorf does, that irenæus and subsequent writers represent ptolemaeus and heracleon and other gnostics of his time as of "the school" of valentinus. the question simply is, whether in doing so they at all imply that these men were not contemporaries of irenæus, or necessarily assign their period of independent activity to the lifetime of valentinus, as tischendorf appears to argue? most certainly they do not, and tischendorf does not attempt to offer any evidence that they do so. we may perceive how utterly worthless such a fact is for the purpose of affixing an early date by merely considering the quotation which tischendorf himself makes from hippolytus: "valentinus, therefore, and heracleon and ptolemæus, and { } the whole school of these, disciples of pythagoras and plato.... "(l) if the statement that men are of a certain school involves the supposition of coincidence of time, the three gnostic leaders must be considered contemporaries of pythagoras or plato, whose disciples they are said to be. again, if the order in which names are mentioned, as teschendorf contends by inference throughout his whole argument, is to involve strict similar sequence of date, the principle applied to the whole of the early writers would lead to the most ridiculous confusion. teschendorf quotes epiphanius: "cerdo follows these (the ophites, kainites, sethiani), and heracleon." why he does so it is difficult to understand, unless it be to give the appearance of multiplying testimonies, for two sentences further on he is obliged to admit: "epiphanius has certainly made a mistake, as in such things not unfrequently happens to him, when he makes cerdo, who, however, is to be placed about , follow heracleon."( ) this kind of mistake is, indeed, common to all the writers quoted, and when it is remembered that such an error is committed where a distinct and deliberate affirmation of the point is concerned, it will easily be conceived how little dependence is to be placed on the mere mention of names in the course of argument. we find irenæus saying that "neither valentinus, nor marcion, nor saturninus, nor basilides" possesses certain knowledge,( ) and elsewhere: "of such an one as valentinus, or ptolemæus, or basilides."( ) to base { } an argument as to date on the order in which names appear in such writers is preposterous. tischendorf draws an inference from the statement that heracleon was said to be a [------] of valentinus, that origen declares him to have been his friend, holding personal intercourse with him. origen, however, evidently knew nothing individually on the point, and speaks from mere hearsay, guardedly using the expression "said to be" [------]. but according to the later and patristic use of the word, [------] meant nothing more than a "disciple," and it cannot here be necessarily interpreted into a "contemporary."( ) under no circumstances could such a phrase, avowedly limited to hearsay, have any weight. the loose manner in which the fathers repeat each other, even in serious matters, is too well known to every one acquainted with their writings to require any remark. their inaccuracy keeps pace with their want of critical judgment we have seen one of the mistakes of epiphanius, admitted by tischendorf to be only too common with him, which illustrates how little such data are to be relied on. we may point out another of the same kind committed by him in common with hippolytus, pseudo-tertullian and philastrius. mistaking a passage of irenæus,( ) regarding the sacred tetrad (kol-arbas) of the valentinian gnosis, hippolytus supposes irenæus to refer to another heretic leader. he at once treats the tetrad as such a leader named "kolarbasus," and after dealing (vi. ) with the doctrines of secundud, and ptolemæus, and heracleon, he proposes, § , to show "what are the opinions held by marcus and { } kolarbasus."( ) at the end of the same book he declares that irenæus, to whom he states that he is indebted for a knowledge of their inventions, has completely refuted the opinions of these heretics, and he proceeds to treat of basilides, considering that it has been sufficiently demonstrated "whose disciples are marcus and kolarbasus, the successors of the school of valentinus."( ) at an earlier part of the work he had spoken in a more independent way in reference to certain who had promulgated great heresies: "of these," he says, "one is kolarbasus, who endeavours to explain religion by measures and numbers."( ) the same mistake is committed by pseudo-tertullian,( ) and philastrius,( ) each of whom devotes a chapter to this supposed heretic. epiphanius, as might have been expected, fell into the same error, and he proceeds elaborately to refute the heresy of the kolarbasians, "which is heresy xv." he states that kolarbasus follows marcus and ptolemæus,( ) and after discussing the opinions of this mythical heretic he devotes the next chapter, "which is heresy xvi.," to the heracleonites, commencing it with the information that: "a certain heracleon follows after kolarbasus."( ) this absurd mistake( ) shows how little these writers { } knew of the gnostics of whom they wrote, and how the one ignorantly follows the other. the order, moreover, in which they set the heretic leaders varies considerably. it will be sufficient for us merely to remark here that while pseudo-tertullian( ) and philastrius( ) adopt the following order after the valentinians: ptolemæus, secundus, heracleon, marcus, and kolarbasus, epiphanius( ) places them: secundus, ptolemæus, marcosians, kolarbasus, and heracleon; and hippolytus( ) again: secundus, ptolemæus, heracleon, marcus, and kolarbasus. the vagueness of irenæus had left some latitude here, and his followers were uncertain. the somewhat singular fact that irenæus only once mentions heracleon whilst he so constantly refers to ptolemæus, taken in connection with this order, in which heracleon is always placed after ptolemæus,( ) and by epiphanius after marcus, may be reasonably explained by the fact that whilst ptolemæus had already gained considerable notoriety when irenæus wrote, heracleon may only have begun to come into notice. since tischendorf lays so much stress upon pseudo-tertullian and philastrius making ptolemaeus appear immediately after valentinus, this explanation is after his own principle. we have already pointed out that there is not a single passage in irenæus, or any other early writer, assigning ptolemæus and heracleon to a period anterior to the time when irenæus undertook to refute their opinions. indeed, tischendorf has not attempted to show that { } they do, and he has merely, on the strength of the general expression that these gnostics were of the school of valentinus, boldly assigned to them an early date. now, as we have stated, he himself admits that valentinus only came from egypt to rome in a.d. , and continued teaching till ,( ) and these dates are most clearly given by irenæus himself.( ) why then should ptolemæus and heracleon, to take an extreme case, not have known valentinus in their youth, and yet have flourished chiefly during the last two decades of the second century? irenæus himself may be cited as a parallel case, which tischendorf at least cannot gainsay. he is never tired of telling us that irenæus was the disciple of polycarp,( ) whose martyrdom he sets about a.d. , and he considers that the intercourse of irenæus with the aged father must properly be put about a.d. ,( ) yet he himself dates the death of irenæus, a.d. ,( ) and nothing is more certain than that the period of his greatest activity and influence falls precisely in the last twenty years of the second century. upon his own data, therefore, that valentinus may have taught for twenty years after his first appearance in rome in a.d. --and there is no ground whatever for asserting that he did not teach for even a much longer period--ptolemaeus and heracleon might well have personally sat at the feet of valentinus in their youth, as irenseus is said to have done about the very same period at those of polycarp, and yet, like him, have flourished chiefly towards the end of the century. { } although there is not the slightest ground for asserting that ptolemæus and heraclcon were not contemporaries with irenæus, flourishing like him towards the end of the second century, there are, on the other hand, many circumstances which altogether establish, the conclusion that they were. "we have already shown, in treating of valentinus,( ) that irenæus principally directs his work against the followers of valentinus living at the time he wrote, and notably of ptolemæus and his school.( ) in the preface to the first book, having stated that he writes after personal intercourse with some of the disciples of valentinus,( ) he more definitely declares his purpose: "we will, then, to the best of our ability, clearly and concisely set forth the opinions of those who are now [------] teaching heresy, _i speak particularly of the disciples of ptolemæus_ [------] whose system is an offshoot from the school of valentinus."( ) nothing could be more explicit. irenæus in this passage distinctly represents ptolemæus as teaching at the time he is writing, and this statement alone is decisive, more especially as there is not a single known fact which is either directly or indirectly opposed to it. tischendorf lays much stress on the evidence of hippolytus in coupling together the names of ptolemæus and heracleon with that of valentinus; similar testimony of the same writer, fully confirming the above statement of irenæus, will, therefore, have the greater force. hippolytus says that the valentinians differed materially among themselves regarding certain points which led to divisions, one party being called the { } oriental and the other the italian. "they of the italian party, of whom is heracleon and ptolemæus, say, &c.... they, however, who are of the oriental party, of whom is axionicus and bardesanes, maintain," &c.( ) now, ptolemæus and heracleon are here quite clearly represented as being contemporary with axionicus and bardesanes, and without discussing whether hippolytus does not, in continuation, describe them as all living at the time he wrote,( ) there can be no doubt that some of them were, and that this evidence confirms again the statement of irenæus. hippolytus, in a subsequent part of his work, states that a certain prepon, a marcionite, has introduced something new, and "now in our own time [------] has written a work regarding the heresy in reply to bardesanes."( ) the researches of hilgenfeld have proved that bardesanes lived at least over the reign of heliogabalus ( -- ), and the statement of hippolytus is thus confirmed.( ) axionicus again was still flourishing when tertullian wrote his work against the valentinians { } ( -- ). tertullian says: "axionicus of antioch alone to the present day (ad hodiernum) respects the memory of valentinus, by keeping fully the rules of his system."( ) although on the whole they may be considered to have flourished somewhat earlier, ptolemæus and heracleon are thus shown to have been for a time at least contemporaries of axionicus and bardesanes.( ) moreover, it is evident that the doctrines of ptolemæus and heracleon represent a much later form of gnosticism than that of valentinus. it is generally admitted that ptolemæus reduced the system of valentinus to consistency,( ) and the inconsistencies which existed between the views of the master and these later followers, and which indicate a much more advanced stage of development, are constantly pointed out by irenæus and the fathers who wrote in refutation of heresy. origen also represents heracleon as amongst those who held opinions sanctioned by the church,( ) and both he and ptolemæus must indubitably be classed amongst the latest gnostics.( ) it is clear, therefore, that ptolemæus and heracleon were contemporaries of irenæus( ) at the time he composed his work against heresies ( -- ), both, and especially { } the latter, flourishing and writing towards the end of the second century.( ) we mentioned, in first speaking of these gnostics, that epiphanius has preserved an epistle, attributed to ptolemæus, which is addressed to flora, one of his disciples.( ) this epistle is neither mentioned by irenæus nor by any other writer before epiphanius. there is nothing in the epistle itself to show that it was really written by ptolemæus himself. assuming it to be by him, however, the epistle was in all probability written towards the end of the second century, and it does not, therefore, come within the scope of our inquiry. we may, however, briefly notice the supposed references to our gospels which it contains. the writer of the epistle, without any indication whatever of a written source from which he derived them, quotes sayings of jesus for which parallels are found in our first gospel. these sayings are introduced by such expressions as "he said," "our saviour declared," but never as quotations from any scripture. now, in affirming that they are taken from the gospel according to matthew, apologists exhibit their usual arbitrary haste, for we must clearly and decidedly state that there is not a single one of the passages which does not present decided variations from the parallel passages in our first synoptic. we subjoin for comparison in parallel columns the passages from the epistle and gospel:-- [------] [------] { } it must not be forgotten that iræneus makes very explicit statements as to the recognition of other sources of evangelical truth than our gospels by the valentinians, regarding which we have fully written when discussing the founder of that sect.( ) we know that they professed to have direct traditions from the apostles through theodas, a disciple of the apostle paul;( ) and in the { } epistle to flora allusion is made to the succession of doctrine received by direct tradition from the apostles.( ) irenæus says that the valentinians profess to derive their views from unwritten sources,( ) and he accuses them of rejecting the gospels of the church,( ) but, on the other hand, he states that they had many gospels different from what he calls the gospels of the apostles.( ) with regard to heracleon, it is said that he wrote commentaries on the third and fourth gospels. the authority for this statement is very insufficient. the assertion with reference to the third gospel is based solely upon a passage in the stromata of the alexandrian clement. clement quotes a passage found in luke xii. , , , and says: "expounding this passage, heracleon, the most distinguished of the school of valentinus, says as follows," &c.( ) this is immediately interpreted into a quotation from a commentary on luke.( ) we merely point out that from clement's remark it by no means follows that heracleon wrote a commentary at all, and further there is no evidence that the passage commented upon was actually from our third gospel.( ) the stromata of clement were not written until after a.d. , and in them we find the first and only reference to this supposed commentary. "we need not here refer to the commentary on the fourth gospel, which is merely { } inferred from references in origen (c. a.d. ), but of which we have neither earlier nor fuller information.( ) we must, however, before leaving this subject, mention that origen informs us that heracleon quotes from the preaching of peter [------], pesedicatio petri), a work which, as we have already several times mentioned, was cited by clement of alexandria as authentic and inspired holy scripture.( ) the epoch at which ptolemæus and heracleon flourished would in any case render testimony regarding our gospels of little value. the actual evidence which they furnish, however, is not of a character to prove even the existence of our synoptics, and much less does it in any way bear upon their character or authenticity. . a similar question of date arises regarding celsus, who wrote a work, entitled [------], true doctrine, which is no longer extant, of which origen composed an elaborate refutation. the christian writer takes the arguments of celsus in detail, presenting to us, therefore, its general features, and giving many extracts; and as celsus professes to base much of his accusation upon the writings in use amongst christians, although he does not name a single one of them, it becomes desirable to ascertain what those works were, and the date at which { } celsus wrote. as usual, we shall state the case by giving the reasons assigned for an early date. arguing against volkmar and others, who maintain, from a passage at the close of his work, that oligen, writing about the second quarter of the third century, represents celsus as his contemporary,( ) tischendorf, referring to the passage, which we shall give in its place, proceeds to assign an earlier date upon the following grounds: "but indeed, even in the first book, at the commencement of the whole work, origen says: 'therefore, i cannot compliment a christian whose faith is in danger of being shaken by celsus, who yet does not even [------] still [------] live the common life among men, but already and long since [------] is dead.'... in the same first book origen says: 'we have heard that there were two men of the name of celsus, epicureans, the first under nero; this one' (that is to say, ours) 'under hadrian and later.' it is not impossible that origen mistakes when he identified his celsus with the epicurean living 'under hadrian and later;' but it is impossible to convert the same celsus of whom origen says this into a contemporary of origen. or would origen himself in the first book really have set his celsus 'under hadrian ( -- ) and later,' yet in the eighth have said: 'we will wait (about ), to see whether he will still accomplish this design of making another work follow?' now, until some better discovery regarding celsus is attained, it will be well to hold to the old opinion that celsus wrote his book about the middle of the second century, probably between -- ," &c.( ) { } it is scarcely necessary to point out that the only argument advanced by tischendorf bears solely against the assertion that celsus was a contemporary of origen, "about ," and leaves the actual date entirely unsettled. he not only admits that the statement of origen regarding the identity of his opponent with the epicurean of the reign of hadrian "and later," may be erroneous, but he tacitly rejects it, and having abandoned the conjecture of origen as groundless and untenable, he substitutes a conjecture of his own, equally unsupported by reasons, that celsus probably wrote between - . indeed, he does not attempt to justify this date, but arbitrarily decides to hold by it until a better can be demonstrated. he is forced to admit the ignorance of origen on the point, and he does not conceal his own. now it is clear that the statement of origen in the preface to his work, quoted above, that celsus, against whom he writes, is long since dead,( ) is made in the belief that this celsus was the epicurean who lived under hadrian,( ) { } which tischendorf, although he avoids explanation of the reason, rightly recognizes to be a mistake. origen undoubtedly knew nothing of his adversary, and it obviously follows that, his impression that he is celsus the epicurean being erroneous, his statement that he was long since dead, which is based upon that impression, loses all its value. origen certainly at one time conjectured his celsus to be the epicurean of the reign of hadrian, for he not only says so directly in the passage quoted, but on the strength of his belief in the fact, he accuses him of inconsistency: "but celsus," he says, "must be convicted of contradicting himself; for he is discovered from other of his works to have been an epicurean, but here, because he considered that he could attack the word more effectively by not avowing the views of epicurus, he pretends, &c.... remark, therefore, the falseness of his mind," &c.( ) and from time to time he continues to refer to him as an epicurean,( ) although it is evident that in the writing before him he constantly finds evidence that he is of a wholly different school. beyond this belief, founded avowedly on mere hearsay, origen absolutely knows nothing whatever as to the personality of celsus, or the time at which he wrote,( ) and he sometimes very naively expresses his uncertainty regarding him. referring in one place to certain passages which seem to imply a belief in magic on the part of celsus, origen adds: "i do not know whether he is the same who has written several books { } against magic."( ) elsewhere he says: "... the epicurean celsus (if he be the same who composed two other books against christians)," &c.( ) not only is it apparent that origen knows nothing of the celsus with whom he is dealing, however, but it is almost impossible to avoid the conviction that during the time he was composing his work his impressions concerning the date and identity of his opponent became considerably modified. in the earlier portion of the first book( ) he has heard that his celsus is the epicurean of the reign of hadrian, but a little further on,( ) he confesses his ignorance as to whether he is the same celsus who wrote against magic, which celsus the epicurean actually did. in the fourth book( ) he expresses uncertainty as to whether the epicurean celsus had composed the work against christians which he is refuting, and at the close of his treatise he seems to treat him as a contemporary. he writes to his friend ambrosius, at whose request the refutation of celsus was undertaken: "know, however, that celsus has promised to write another treatise after this one.... if, therefore, he has not fulfilled his promise to write a second book, we may well be satisfied with the eight books in reply to his discourse. if, { } however, he has commenced and finished this work also, seek it and "send it in order that we may answer it also, and confute the false teaching in it," &c.( ) from this passage, and supported by other considerations, volkmar and others assert that celsus was really a contemporary of origen.( ) to this, as we have seen, tischendorf merely replies by pointing out that origen in the preface says that celsus was already dead, and that he was identical with the epicurean celsus who flourished under hadrian and later. the former of these statements, however, was made under the impression that the latter was correct, and as it is generally agreed that origen was mistaken in supposing that celsus the epicurean was the author of the [------],( ) and tischendorf himself admits the fact, the two earlier statements, that celsus flourished under hadrian and consequently that he had long been dead, fall together, whilst the subsequent doubts regarding his identity not only stand, but { } rise into assurance at the close of the work in the final request to ambrosius.( ) there can be no doubt that the first statements and the closing paragraphs are contradictory, and whilst almost all critics pronounce against the accuracy of the former, the inferences from the latter retain full force, confirmed as they are by the intermediate doubts expressed by origen himself. even those who, like tischendorf, in an arbitrary manner assign an early date to celsus, although they do not support their conjectures by any satisfactory reasons of their own, all tacitly set aside these of origen.( ) it is generally admitted by these, with lardner( ) and michaelis,( ) that the epicurean celsus to "whom origen was at one time disposed to refer the work against christianity, was the writer of that name to whom lucian, his friend and contemporary, addressed his alexander or pseudomantis, and who really wrote against magic,( ) as origen mentions.( ) but although on this account lardner assigns to him the date of a.d. , the fact is that lucian did not write his pseudomantis, as lardner is obliged to admit,( ) until the reign of the { } emperor commodus ( -- ), and even upon the supposition that this celsus wrote against christianity, of which there is not the slightest evidence, there would be no ground whatever for dating the work before a.d. . on the contrary, as lucian does not in any way refer to such a writing by his friend, there would be strong reason for assigning the work, if it be supposed to be written by him, to a date subsequent to the pseudo-mantis. it need not be remarked that the references of celsus to the marcionites,( ) and to the followers of marcellina,( ) only so far bear upon the matter as to exclude an early date.( ) it requires very slight examination of the numerous extracts from, and references to, the work which origen seeks to refute, however, to convince any impartial mind that the doubts of origen were well founded as to whether celsus the epicurean were really the author of the [------]. as many critics of all shades of opinion have long since determined, so far from being an epicurean, the celsus attacked by origen, as the philosophical opinions which he everywhere expresses clearly show, was a neo-platonist.( ) indeed, although origen seems to retain some impression that his antagonist must be an epicurean, as he had heard, and frequently refers to him as such, he does not point out epicurean { } sentiments in his writings, but on the contrary, not only calls upon him no longer to conceal the school to which he belongs and avow himself an epicurean,( ) which celsus evidently does not, but accuses him of expressing views inconsistent with that philosophy,( ) or of so concealing his epicurean opinions that it might be said that he is an epicurean only in name.( ) on the other hand, origen is clearly surprised to find that he quotes so largely from the writings, and shows such marked leaning towards the teaching, of plato, in which celsus indeed finds the original and purer form of many christian doctrines,( ) and origen is constantly forced to discuss plato in meeting the arguments of celsus. the author of the work which origen refuted, therefore, instead of being an epicurean, as origen supposed merely from there having been an epicurean of the same name, was undoubtedly a neo-platonist, as mosheim long ago demonstrated, of the school of ammonius, who founded the sect at the close of the second century.( ) the promise of celsus to write a second book with practical rules for living in accordance with the philosophy he promulgates, to which origen refers at the close of his work, confirms this conclusion, and indicates a new and recent system of philosophy.( ) an epicurean would not have thought of such a work--it would have been both appropriate and necessary in connection with neo-platonism. we are, therefore, constrained to assign the work of { } celsus to at least the early part of the third century, and to the reign of septimius severus. celsus repeatedly accuses christians, in it, of teaching their doctrines secretly and against the law, which seeks them out and punishes them with death,( ) and this indicates a period of persecution. lardner, assuming the writer to be the epicurean friend of lucian, from this clue supposes that the persecution referred to must have been that under marcus aurelius (f ), and practically rejecting the data of origen himself, without advancing sufficient reasons of his own, dates celsus a.d. .( ) as a neo-platonist, however, we are more accurately led to the period of persecution which, from embers never wholly extinct since the time of marcus aurelius, burst into fierce flame more especially in the tenth year of the reign of severus( ) (a.d. ), and continued for many years to afflict christians. it is evident that the dates assigned by apologists are wholly arbitrary, and even if our argument for the later epoch were very much less conclusive than it is, the total absence of evidence for an earlier date would completely nullify any testimony derived from celsus. it is sufficient for us to add that, whilst he refers to incidents of gospel history and quotes some sayings which have pandlels, with more or less of variation, in our gospels, celsus nowhere mentions the name of any christian book, unless we except the book of enoch;( ) and he accuses christians, not without reason, of interpolating the books of the sibyl, whose authority, he states, some of them acknowledged.( ) { } . the last document which we need examine in connection with the synoptic gospels is the list of new testament and other writings held in consideration by the church, which is generally called, after its discoverer and first editor, the canon of muratori. this interesting fragment, which was published in by muratori in his collection of italian antiquities,( ) at one time belonged to the monastery of bobbio, founded by the irish monk columban, and was found by muratori in the ambrosian library at milan in a ms. containing extracts of little interest from writings of eucherius, ambrose, chrysostom, and others. muratori estimated the age of the ms. at about a thousand years, but so far as we are aware no thoroughly competent judge has since expressed any opinion upon the point. the fragment, which is defective both at the commencement and at the end, is written in an apologetic tone, and professes to give a list of the writings which are recognised by the christian church. it is a document which has no official character,( ) but which merely conveys the private views and information of the anonymous writer, regarding whom nothing whatever is known. from any point of view, the composition is of a nature permitting the widest differences of opinion. it is by some affirmed to be a complete treatise on the books received by the church, from which fragments have been lost;( ) whilst { } others consider it a mere fragment in itself.( ) it is written in latin which by some is represented as most corrupt,( ) whilst others uphold it as most correct.( ) the text is further rendered almost unintelligible by every possible inaccuracy of orthography and grammar, which is ascribed diversely to the transcriber, to the translator, and to both.( ) indeed such is the elastic condition of the text, resulting from errors and obscurity of every imaginable description, that by means of ingenious conjectures critics are able to find in it almost any sense they desire.( ) considerable difference of opinion exists as to the original language of the fragment, the greater number of critics maintaining that the composition is a translation from the greek,( ) whilst others assert it to { } have been originally written in latin.( ) its composition is variously attributed to the church of africa( ) and to a member of the church in rome.( ) the fragment commences with the concluding portion of a sentence.... "quibus tamen interfuit et ita posuit"--"at which nevertheless he was present, and thus he placed it." the ms. then proceeds: "third book of the gospel according to luke. luke, that physician, after the ascension of christ when paul took him with him..., wrote it in his name as he deemed best (ex opinione)--nevertheless he had not himself seen the lord in the flesh,--and he too, as far as he could obtain information, also begins to speak from the nativity of john." the text, at the sense of which this is a closely approximate guess, though several other { } interpretations might be maintained, is as follows: tertio evangelii librum secundo lucan lucas iste medicus post ascensum christi cum eo paulus quasi ut juris studiosum secundum adsumsisset numeni suo ex opinione concribset dominum tamen nec ipse vidit in carne et idem prout asequi potuit ita et ad nativitate johannis incipet dicere. the ms. goes on to speak in more intelligible language "of the fourth of the gospels of john, one of the disciples." (quarti evangeliorum johannis ex decipolis) regarding the composition of which the writer relates a legend, which we shall quote when we come to deal with that gospel the fragment then proceeds to mention the acts of the apostles,--which is ascribed to luke--thirteen epistles of paul in peculiar order, and it then refers to an epistle to the laodiceans and another to the alexandrians, forged, in the name of paul, after the heresy of marcion, "and many others which cannot be received by the catholic church, as gall must not be mixed with vinegar." the epistle to the ephesians bore the name of epistle to the laodiceans in the list of marcion, and this may be a reference to it.( ) the epistle to the alexandrians is generally identified with the epistle to the hebrews,( ) although some critics think this doubtful, or deny the fact, and consider both epistles referred to pseudographs { } attributed to the apostle paul. the epistle of jude, and two (the second and third) epistles of john are, with some tone of doubt, mentioned amongst the received books, and so is the book of wisdom. the apocalypses of john and of peter only are received, but some object to the latter being read in church. the epistle of james, both epistles of peter, the epistle to the hebrews (which is, however, probably indicated as the epistle to the alexandrians), and the first epistle of john are omitted altogether, with the exception of a quotation which is supposed to be from the last-named epistle, to which we shall hereafter refer. special reference is made to the pastor of hermas, which we shall presently discuss, regarding which the writer expresses his opinion that it should be read privately but not publicly in church, as it can neither be classed amongst the books of the prophets nor of the apostles. the fragment concludes with the rejection of the writings of several heretics.( ) it is inferred that, in the missing commencement of the fragment, the first two synoptics must have been mentioned. this, however, though of course most probable, cannot actually be ascertained, and so far as these gospels are concerned, therefore, the "canon of muratori" only furnishes conjectural evidence. the statement regarding the third synoptic merely proves the existence of that gospel at the time the fragment { } was composed, and we shall presently endeavour to form some idea of that date, but beyond this fact the information given anything but tends to establish the unusual credibility claimed for the gospels. it is declared by the fragment, as we have seen, that the third synoptic was written by luke, who had not himself seen the lord, but narrated the history as best he was able. it is worthy of remark, moreover, that even the apostle paul, who took luke with him after the ascension, had not been a follower of jesus either, nor had seen him in the flesh, and certainly he did not, by the showing of his own epistles, associate much with the other apostles, so that luke could not have had much opportunity while with him of acquiring from them any intimate knowledge of the events of gospel history. it is undeniable that the third synoptic is not the narrative of an eye-witness, and the occurrences which it records did not take place in the presence, or within the personal knowledge, of the writer, but were derived from tradition, or from written sources. such testimony, therefore, could not in any case be of much service to our third synoptic; but when we consider the uncertainty of the date at which the fragment was composed, and the certainty that it could not have been written at an early period, it will become apparent that the value of its evidence is reduced to a minimum. we have already incidentally mentioned that the writer of this fragment is totally unknown, nor does there exist any clue by which he can be identified. all the critics who have assigned an early date to the composition of the fragment have based their conclusion, almost solely, upon a statement made by the author regarding the pastor of hennas. he says: "hermas in { } truth composed the pastor very recently in our times in the city of rome, the bishop pius his brother, sitting in the chair of the church of the city of rome. and, therefore, it should indeed be read, but it cannot be published in the church to the people, neither being among the prophets, whose number is complete, nor amongst the apostles in the latter days." "pastorem vero nuperrime temporibus nostris in urbe roma herma conscripsit sedente cathedra urbis romæ ecclesiæ pio episcopus fratre ejus et ideo legi eum quidem oportet se publicare vero in ecclesia populo neque inter prophetas completum numero neque inter apostolos in fine temporum potest."( ) muratori, the discoverer of the ms., conjectured for various reasons, which need not be here detailed, that the fragment was written by caius the roman presbyter, who flourished at the end of the second (c. a.d. ) and beginning of the third century, and in this he was followed by a few others.( ) the great mass of critics, however, have rejected this conjecture, as they have likewise negatived the fanciful ascription of the composition by simon de magistris to papias of hierapolis,( ) and by bunsen to hegesippus.( ) such attempts to identify the unknown author are obviously mere speculation, and it is impossible to suppose that, had papias, hegesippus, or any other well-known writer of the same period composed such a list, eusebius could have failed to refer to { } it, as so immediately relevant to the purpose of his work. thiersch even expressed a suspicion that the fragment was a literary mystification on the part of muratori himself.( ) the mass of critics, with very little independent consideration, have taken literally the statement of the author regarding the composition of the pastor "very recently in our times" (nuperrime temporibus nostris), during the episcopate of pius (a.d. -- ), and have concluded the fragment to have been written towards the end of the second century, though we need scarcely say that a few writers would date it even earlier.( ) on the other hand, and we consider with reason, many critics, { } including men who will not be accused of opposition to an early canon, assign the composition to a later period, between the end of the second or beginning of the third century and the fourth century.( ) when we examine the ground upon which alone an early date can be supported, it becomes apparent how slight the foundation is. the only argument of any weight is the statement with regard to the composition of the pastor, but with the exception of the few apologists who do not hesitate to assign a date totally inconsistent with the state of the canon described in the fragment, the great majority of critics feel that they are forced to place the composition at least towards the end of the second century, at a period when the statement in the composition may agree with the actual opinions in the church, and yet in a sufficient degree accord with the expression "very recently in our times," as applied to the period of pius of rome, -- . it must be evident that, taken literally, a very arbitrary interpretation is given to this indication, and in supposing that the writer may have appropriately used the phrase thirty or forty years after the time of pius, so much licence is taken that there is absolutely no reason why a still greater interval may not be allowed. with this sole exception, there is not a single word or statement in the fragment which would oppose our assigning the { } composition to a late period of the third century. volkmar has very justly pointed out, however, that in saying "very recently in our times" the writer merely intended to distinguish the pastor of hermas from the writings of the prophets and apostles: it cannot be classed amongst the prophets whose number is complete, nor amongst the apostles, inasmuch as it was only written in our post-apostolic time. this is an accurate interpretation of the expression,( ) which might with perfect propriety be used a century after the time of pius. we have seen that there has not appeared a single trace of any canon in the writings of any of the fathers whom we have examined, and that the old testament has been the only holy scripture they have acknowledged; and it is therefore unsafe, upon the mere interpretation of a phrase which would be applicable even a century later, to date this anonymous fragment, regarding which we know nothing, earlier than the very end of the second or beginning of the third century, and it is still more probable that it was not written until an advanced period of the third century. the expression used with regard to pius: "sitting in the chair of the church," is quite unprecedented in the second century or until a very much later date.( ) it is argued that the fragment is imperfect, and that sentences have fallen out; and in regard to this, and to the assertion that it is a translation from the greek, it has been well remarked by a writer whose judgment on the point will scarcely be called prejudiced: "if it is thus mutilated, why might it not also be interpolated? if moreover the translator { } was so ignorant of latin, can we trust his translation? and what guarantee have we that he has not paraphrased and expanded the original? the force of these remarks is peculiarly felt in dealing with the paragraph which gives the date. the pastor of hermas was not well known to the western church, and it was not highly esteemed. it was regarded as inspired by the eastern, and read in the eastern churches. we have seen, moreover, that it was extremely unlikely that hermas was a real personage. it would be, therefore, far more probable that we have here an interpolation, or addition by a member of the roman or african church, probably by the translator, made expressly for the purpose of serving as proof that the pastor of hennas was not inspired. the paragraph itself bears unquestionable mark of tampering,"( ) &c. it would take us too far were we to discuss the various statements of the fragment as indications of date, and the matter is not of sufficient importance. it contains nothing involving an earlier date than the third century. the facts of the case may be briefly summed up as follows, so far as our object is concerned. the third synoptic is mentioned by a totally unknown writer, at an unknown, but certainly not early, date, in all probability during the third century, in a fragment which we possess in a very corrupt version very far from free from suspicion of interpolation in the precise part from which the early date is inferred. the gospel is attributed to luke, who was not one of the followers of jesus, and of whom it is expressly said that "he himself had not seen the lord in the flesh," but wrote "as he deemed best (ex opinione)," and followed his history as he was able (et { } idem prout assequi potuit).( ) if the fragment of muratori, therefore, even came within our limits as to date, its evidence would be of no value, for, instead of establishing the trustworthiness and absolute accuracy of the narrative of the third synoptic, it distinctly tends to discredit it, inasmuch as it declares it to be the composition of one who undeniably was not an eye-witness of the miracles reported, but collected his materials, long after, as best he could.( ) . we may now briefly sum up the results of our examination of the evidence for the synoptic gospels. after having exhausted the literature and the testimony bearing on the point, we have not found a single distinct trace of any of those gospels, with the exception of the third, during the first century and a half after the death of jesus. only once during the whole of that period do we find even a tradition that any of our evangelists composed a gospel at all, and that tradition, so far from favouring our synoptics, is fatal to the claims of the first and second. papias, about the middle of the passage is freely rendered thus by canon westcott: "the gospel of st. luke, it is then said, stands third in order [in the canon], having been written by 'luke the physician,' the companion of st. paul, who, not being himself an eye-witness, based his narrative on such information as he could obtain, beginning from tho birth of john." on the canon, p. . we do not propose, to consider the ophites and peratici, obscure gnostic sects towards the end of the second century. there is no direct evidence regarding them, and the testimony of writers in the third century, like hippolytus, is of no value for the gospels. { } the second century, on the occasion to which we refer, records that matthew composed the discourses of the lord in the hebrew tongue, a statement which totally excludes the claim of our greek gospel to apostolic origin. mark, he said, wrote down from the casual preaching of peter the sayings and doings of jesus, but without orderly arrangement, as he was not himself a follower of the master, and merely recorded what fell from the apostle. this description, likewise, shows that our actual second gospel could not, in its present form, have been the work of mark. there is no other reference during the period to any writing of matthew or mark, and no mention at all of any work ascribed to luke. the identification of marcion's gospel with our third synoptic proves the existence of that work before a.d. , but no evidence is thus obtained either as to the author or the character of his work, but on the contrary the testimony of the great heresiarch is so far unfavourable to that gospel, as it involves a charge against it, of being interpolated and debased by jewish elements. the freedom with which marcion expurgated and altered it clearly shows that he did not regard it either as a sacred or canonical work. any argument for the mere existence of our synoptics based upou their supposed rejection by heretical leaders and sects has the inevitable disadvantage, that the very testimony which would show their existence would oppose their authenticity. there is no evidence of their use by heretical leaders, however, and no direct reference to them by any writer, heretical or orthodox, whom we have examined. it is unnecessary to add that no reason whatever has been shown for accepting the testimony of these gospels as sufficient to establish the reality of { } miracles and of a direct divine revelation.( ) it is not pretended that more than one of the synoptic gospels was written by an eye-witness of the miraculous occurrences reported, and whilst no evidence has been, or can be, produced even of the historical accuracy of the narratives, no testimony as to the correctness of the inferences from the external phenomena exists, or is now even conceivable. the discrepancy between the amount of evidence required and that which is forthcoming, however, is greater than under the circumstances could have been thought possible. a comparison of the contents of the three synoptics would have confirmed this conclusion, but this is not at present necessary, and we must hasten on. { } part iii. the fourth gospel chapter i. the external evidence "we shall now examine, in the same order, the witnesses already cited in connection with the synoptics, and ascertain what evidence they furnish for the date and authenticity of the fourth gospel apologists do not even allege that there is any reference to the fourth gospel in the so-called epistle of clement of rome to the corinthians.( ) a few critics( ) pretend to find a trace of it in the epistle of barnabas, in the reference to the brazen serpent as a type of jesus. tischendorf states the case as follows:-- { } "and when in the same chapter xii. it is shown how moses in the brazen serpent made a type of jesus 'who should suffer (die) and yet himself make alive,' the natural inference is that barnabas connected therewith john iii. , f. even if the use of this passage in particular cannot be proved. although this connection cannot be affirmed, since the author of the epistle, in this passage as in many others, may be independent, yet it is justifiable to ascribe the greatest probability to its dependence on the passage in john, as the tendency of the epistle in no way required a particular leaning to the expression of john. the disproportionately more abundant use of express quotations from the old testament in barnabas is, on the contrary, connected most intimately with the tendency of his whole composition."( ) it will be observed that the suggestion of reference to the fourth gospel is here advanced in a very hesitating way, and does not indeed go beyond an assertion of probability. we might, therefore, well leave the matter without further notice, as the reference in no case could be of any weight as evidence. on examination of the context, however, we find that there is every reason to conclude that the reference to the brazen serpent is made direct to the old testament. the author who delights in typology is bent upon showing that the cross is prefigured in the old testament. he gives a number of instances, involving the necessity for a display of ridiculous ingenuity of explanation, which should prepare us to find the comparatively simple type of the brazen serpent naturally selected. after pointing out that moses, with his arms stretched out in prayer that the israelites might prevail in the fight, was a type of the { } cross, he goes on to say: "again moses makes a type of jesus, that he must suffer and himself make alive [------], whom they will appear to have destroyed, in a figure, while israel was falling;"(l) and connecting the circumstance that the people were bit by serpents and died with the transgression of eve by means of the serpent, he goes on to narrate minutely the story of moses and the brazen serpent, and then winds up with the words: "thou hast in this the glory of jesus; that in him are all things and for him."( ) no one can read the whole passage carefully without seeing that the reference is direct to the old testament.( ) there is no ground for supposing that the author was acquainted with the fourth gospel. to the pastor of hermas tischendorf devotes only two lines, in which he states that "it has neither quotations from the old nor from the new testament."( ) canon { } westcott makes the same statement,( ) but, unlike the german apologist, he proceeds subsequently to affirm that hermas makes "clear allusions to st. john;" which few or no apologists support. this assertion he elaborates and illustrates as follows:-- "the view which hermas gives of christ's nature and work is no less harmonious with apostolic doctrine, and it offers striking analogies to the gospel of st. john. not only did the son 'appoint angels to preserve each of those whom the father gave to him;' but 'he himself toiled very much and suffered very much to cleanse our sins.... and so when he himself had cleansed the sins of the people, he showed them the paths of life by giving them the law which he received from his. father.'( ) he is 'a rock higher than the mountains, able to hold the whole world, ancient, and yet having a new gate.'( ) 'his name is great and infinite, and the whole world is supported by him.'( ) 'he is older than creation, so that he took counsel with the father about the { } creation which he made.'( ) 'he is the sole way of access to the lord; and no one shall enter in unto him otherwise than by his son.'"( ) this is all canon westcott says on the subject.( ) he does not attempt to point out any precise portions of the fourth gospel with which to compare these "striking analogies," nor does he produce any instances of similarity of language, or of the use of the same terminology as the gospel in this apocalyptic allegory. it is evident that such evidence could in no case be of any value for the fourth gospel. when we examine more closely, however, it becomes certain that these passages possess no real analogy with the fourth gospel, and were not derived from it. there is no part of them that has not close parallels in writings antecedent to our gospel, and there is no use of terminology peculiar to it. the author does not even once use the term logos. canon westcott makes no mention of the fact that the doctrine of the logos and of the pre-existence of jesus was enunciated long before the composition of the fourth gospel, with almost equal clearness and fulness, and that its development can be traced through the septuagint translation, the "proverbs of solomon," some of the apocryphal works of the old testament, the writings of philo, and in the apocalypse, epistle to the hebrews, as well as the pauline epistles. to any one who examines the passages cited from the works of hennas, and still more to any one acquainted with the history of the logos doctrine, it will, we fear, { } seem wasted time to enter upon any minute refutation of such imaginary "analogies." we shall, however, as briefly as possible refer to each passage quoted. the first is taken from an elaborate similitude with regard to true fasting, in which the world is likened to a vineyard and, in explaining his parable, the shepherd says: "god planted the vineyard, that is, he created the people and gave them to his son: and the son appointed his angels over them to keep them: and he himself cleansed their sins, having suffered many things and endured many labours.... he himself, therefore, having cleansed the sins of the people, showed them the paths of life by giving them the law which he received from his father."( ) it is difficult indeed to find anything in this passage which is in the slightest degree peculiar to the fourth gospel, or apart from the whole course of what is taught in the epistles, and more especially the epistle to the hebrews. we may point out a few passages for comparison: heb. i. - ; ii. - ; v. - ; vii. , - ; viii. - ; x. - ; romans viii. - ; matt. xxi. ; mark xii. ; isaiah v. , liii. the second passage is taken from an elaborate parable on the building of the church: [------] "and in the middle of the plain he showed me a great white rock which had risen out of the plain, and the rock was higher than the mountains, rectangular so as to be able to hold the whole world, but that rock was old having a gate [------] hewn out of it, and the hewing out of the gate [------] seemed to me to be recent."( ) upon this rock the tower of the church is built. further on an explanation is given of the similitude, in which occurs another of the { } passages referred to.[------] "this rock [------] and this gate [------] are the son of god. 'how, lord,' i said, 'is the rock old and the gate new?' 'listen,' he said, 'and understand, thou ignorant man. [------] the son of god is older than all of his creation [------], so that he was a councillor with the father in his work of creation; and for this is he old.' [------] 'and why is the gate new, lord?' i said; 'because,' he replied, 'he was manifested at the last days [------] of the dispensation; for this cause the gate was made new, in order that they who shall be saved might enter by it into the kingdom of god.'"( ) and a few lines lower down the shepherd further explains, referring to entrance through the gate, and introducing another of the passages cited: [------] "'in this way,' he said, 'no one shall enter into the kingdom of god unless he receive his holy name. if, therefore, you cannot enter into the city unless through its gate, so also,' he said, 'a man cannot enter in any other way into the kingdom of god than by the name of his son beloved by him'... 'and the gate [------] is the son of god. this is the one entrance to the lord.' in no other way, therefore, shall any one enter in to him, except through his son."( ) now with regard to the similitude of a rock we need scarcely say that the old testament teems with it; and we need not point to the parable of the house built upon a rock in the first gospel.( ) a more apt illustration is the famous saying with regard to peter: "and upon this rock [------] i will build my church," upon which { } indeed the whole similitude of hermas turns; and in cor. x. , we read: "for they drank of the spiritual rock accompanying them; but the rock was christ" [------]. there is no such similitude in the fourth gospel at all. we then have the "gate," on which we presume canon westcott chiefly relies. the parable in john x. -- is quite different from that of hermas,( ) and there is a persistent use of different terminology. the door into the sheepfold is always [------], the gate in the rock always [------]. "i am the door,"( ) [------] is twice repeated in the fourth gospel. "the gate is the son of god" [------] is the declaration of hermas. on the other hand, there are numerous passages, elsewhere, analogous to that in the pastor of hermas. every one will remember the injunction in the sermon on the mount: matth. vii. , . "enter in through the strait gate [------], for wide is the gate [------], &c., . because narrow is the gate [------] and straitened is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."( ) the limitation to the one way of entrance into the kingdom of god: "by the name of his son," is also found everywhere throughout the epistles, and likewise in the acts of the apostles; as for instance: acts iv. , "and there is no salvation in any other: for neither is there any other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." the reasons given why the rock is old and the gate new [------] have anything but special analogy with compare the account of the new jerusalem, rev. xxi. ff.; cf. xxii. , . in simil. ix. , it is insisted that, to enter into the kingdom, not only "his name" must be borne, but that we must put on certain clothing. { } the fourth gospel. we are, on the contrary, taken directly to the epistle to the hebrews in which the pre-existence of jesus is prominently asserted, and between which and the pastor, as in a former passage, we find singular linguistic analogies. for instance, take the whole opening portion of heb. i. : "god having at many times and in many manners spoken in times past to the fathers by the prophets, . at the end of these days [------] spake to us in the son whom he appointed heir [------]( ) of all things, by whom he also made the worlds, . who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his substance, upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made by himself a cleansing of our sins sat down at the right hand of majesty on high, . having become so much better than the angels,"( ) &c., &c; and if we take the different clauses we may also find them elsewhere constantly repeated, as for instance: [------] the son older than all his creation: compare tim. i. , colossiansi. ("who is... the first born of all creation"--[------], , , , rev. iii. , x. . the works of philo are full of this representation of the logos. for example: "for the word of god is over all the universe, and the oldest and most universal of all things created" [------] { } [------].( ) again, as to the second clause, that he assisted the father in the work of creation, compare heb. ii. , i. , xi. , rom. xi. , cor. viii. , coloss. i. , .( ) the only remaining passage is the following: "the name of the son of god is great and infinite and supports the whole world." for the first phrase, compare tim. iv. , heb. i. ; and for the second part of the sentence, heb. i. , coloss. i. , and many other passages quoted above.( ) the whole assertion( ) is devoid of foundation, and might well have been left unnoticed. the attention called to it, however, may not be wasted in observing the kind of evidence with which apologists are compelled to be content. tischendorf points out two passages in the epistles of pseudo-ignatius which, he considers, show the use of the fourth gospel.( ) they are as follows--epistle to the romans vii.: "i desire the bread of god, the bread of { } heaven, the bread of life, which is the flesh of jesus christ the son of god, who was born at a later time of the seed of david and abraham; and i desire the drink of god [------], that is his blood, which is love incorruptible, and eternal life" [------].( ) this is compared with john vi. : "i am the bread which came down from heaven" .... "i am the bread of life," .... "and the bread that i will give is my flesh;" . "he who eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life" [------]. scholten has pointed out that the reference to jesus as "born of the seed of david and abraham" is not in the spirit of the fourth gospel; and the use of [------] for the [------] of vi. , and [------]; instead of [------] are also opposed to the connection with that gospel.( ) on the other hand, in the institution of the supper, the bread is described as the body of jesus, and the wine as his blood; and reference is made there, and elsewhere, to eating bread and drinking wine in the kingdom of god,( ) and the passage seems to be nothing but a development of this teaching.( ) nothing could be proved by such an analogy.( ) the second passage referred to by tischendorf is in the epistle to the philadelphians vii.: "for if some { } would have led me astray according to the flesh, yet the spirit is not led astray, being from god, for it knoweth whence it cometh and whither it goeth, and detecteth the things that are hidden."( ) teschendorf considers that these words are based upon john iii. -- , and the last phrase: "and detecteth the hidden things," upon verse . the sense of the epistle, however, is precisely the reverse of that of the gospel, which reads: "the wind bloweth where it listeth; and thou hearest the sound thereof but _knowest not_ whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the spirit;"( ) whilst the epistle does not refer to the wind at all, but affirms that the spirit of god does know whence it cometh, &c. the analogy in verse is still more remote: "for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be detected."( ) in cor. ii. , the sense is found more closely: "for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, even the deep things of god."( ) it is evidently unreasonable to assert from such a passage the use of the fourth gospel.( ) even tischendorf recognizes that in themselves the phrases which he points out in pseudo-ignatius could not, unsupported by other corroboration, possess much weight as testimony for the use of our gospels. he says: "were these allusions of ignatius to matthew and john a wholly isolated phenomenon, and one which perhaps other undoubted results { } of inquiry wholly contradicted, they would hardly have any conclusive weight. but--."( ) canon westcott says: "the ignatian writings, as might be expected, are not without traces of the influence of st. john. the circumstances in which he was placed required a special enunciation of pauline doctrine; but this is not so expressed as to exclude the parallel lines of christian thought. love is 'the stamp of the christian.' (ad magn. v.) 'faith is the beginning and love the end of life.' (ad ephes. xiv.) 'faith is our guide upward' [------], but love is the road that 'leads to god.' (ad eph. ix.) 'the eternal [------] word is the manifestation of god' (ad magn. viii.), 'the door by which we come to the father' (ad philad. ix., cf. john x. ), 'and without him we have not the principle of true life' (ad trail, ix.: [------]. cf. ad eph. iii.: [------]. the true meat of the christian is the 'bread of god, the bread of heaven, the bread of life, which is the flesh of jesus christ,' and his drink is 'christ's blood, which is love incorruptible' (ad rom. vii., cf. john vi. , , ). he has no love of this life; 'his love has been crucified, and he has in him no burning passion for the world, but living water (as the spring of a new life) speaking within him, and bidding him come to his father' (ad rom. . c). meanwhile his enemy is the enemy of his master, even the 'ruler of this age.' (ad rom. . c, [------]. cf. john xii. , xvi. : [------] and see cor. ii. , .( ))" part of these references we have already considered; { } others of them really do not require any notice whatever, and the only one to which we need to direct our attention for a moment may be the passage from the epistle to the philadelphians ix., which reads: "he is the door of the father, by which enter in abraham, isaac, and jacob and the prophets, and the apostles, and the church."(l) this is compared with john x. . "therefore said jesus again: verily, verily, i say unto you, i am the door of the sheep" [------]. we have already referred, a few pages back,( ) to the image of the door. here again it is obvious that there is a marked difference in the sense of the epistle from that of the gospel. in the latter jesus is said to be the door into the sheepfold;( ) whilst in the epistle, he is the door into the father, through which not only the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles enter, but also the church itself. such distant analogy cannot warrant the conclusion that the passage shows any acquaintance with the fourth gospel.( ) as for the other phrases, they are not only without special bearing upon the fourth gospel, but they are everywhere found in the canonical epistles, as well as elsewhere. regarding love and faith, for instance, compare gal. v. , , ; rom. xii. , , viii. , xiii. ; cor. ii. , viii. ; ephea iii. , v. , , vi. ; philip, i. , ii. ; thess. iii. ; tim. i. , vi. ; tim. i. ; heb. x. f., xi., &c., &c. we might point out many equally close analogies in { } the works of philo,( ) but it is unnecessary to do so, although we may indicate one or two which first present themselves. philo equally has "the eternal logos" [------],( ) whom he represents as the manifestation of god in every way. "the word is the likeness of god, by whom the universe was created" [------].( ) he is "the vicegerent" [------] of god,( ) "the heavenly incorruptible food of the soul," "the bread [------] from heaven." in one place he says: "and they who inquired what is the food of the soul... learnt at last that it is the word of god, and the divine logos.... this is the heavenly nourishment, and it is mentioned in the holy scriptures... saying, 'lo! i rain upon you bread [------] from heaven.' (exod. xvi. .) 'this is the bread [------] which the lord has given them to eat'" (exod. xvi. ).( ) and again: "for the one indeed raises his eyes towards the sky, contemplating the manna, the divine word, the heavenly incorruptible food of the longing soul."( ) elsewhere: "... but it is { } taught by the hierophant and prophet moses, who will say: 'this is the bread [------], the nourishment which god gave to the soul'--that he offered his own word and his own logos; for this is bread [------] which he has given us to eat, this is the word [------]."( ) he also says: "therefore he exhorts him that can run swiftly to strive with breathless eagerness towards the divine word who is above all things, the fountain of wisdom, in order that by drinking of the stream, instead of death he may for his reward obtain eternal life"( ) it is the logos who guides us to the father, god "by the same logos both creating all things and leading up [------] the perfect man from the things of earth to himself."( ) these are very imperfect examples, but it may be asserted that there is not a representation of the logos in the fourth gospel which has not close parallels in the works of philo. we have given these passages of the pseudo-ignatian epistles which are pointed out as indicating acquaintance with the fourth gospel, in order that the whole case might be stated and appreciated. the analogies are too distant to prove anything, but were they fifty times more close, they could do little or nothing to establish an early origin for the fourth gospel, and nothing at all to elucidate the question as to its character and authorship.( ) in general the epistles follow the synoptic narratives, and not the account of the fourth gospel. see for instance the reference to the anointing of jesus, ad eph. xvii., cf. matt. xxvi. ff.; mark ziy. flf.; cf. john xii. ff. { } the epistles in which the passages occur are spurious and of no value as evidence for the fourth gospel. only-one of them is found in the three syriac epistles. we have already stated the facts connected with the so-called epistles of ignatius,( ) and no one who has attentively examined them can fail to see that the testimony of such documents cannot be considered of any historic weight, except for a period when evidence of the use of the fourth gospel ceases to be of any significance. there are fifteen epistles ascribed to ignatius--of these eight are universally recognized to be spurious. of the remaining seven, there are two greek and latin versions, the one much longer than the other. the longer version is almost unanimously rejected as interpolated. the discovery of a still shorter syriac version of "the three epistles of ignatius," convinced the majority of critics that even the shorter greek version of seven epistles must be condemned, and that whatever matter could be ascribed to ignatius himself, if any, must be looked for in these three epistles alone. the three martyrologies of ignatius are likewise universally repudiated as mere fictions. from such a mass of forgery, in which it is impossible to identify even a kernel of truth, no testimony could be produced which could in any degree establish the apostolic origin and authenticity of our gospels. it is not pretended that the so-called epistle of polycarp to the philippians contains any references to the fourth gospel. tischendorf, however, affirms that it is weighty testimony for that gospel, inasmuch as he discovers in it a certain trace of the first "epistle of { } john," and as he maintains that the epistle and the gospel are the works of the same author, any evidence for the one is at the same time evidence for the other.( ) we shall hereafter consider the point of the common authorship of the epistles and fourth gospel, and here confine ourselves chiefly to the alleged fact of the reference. the passage to which teschendorf alludes we subjoin, with the supposed parallel in the epistle.[------] { } this passage does not occur as a quotation, and the utmost that can be said of the few words with which it opens is that a phrase somewhat resembling, but at the same time materially differing from, the epistle of john is interwoven with the text of the epistle to the philippians. if this were really a quotation from the canonical epistle, it would indeed be singular that, considering the supposed relations of polycarp and john, the name of the apostle should not have been mentioned, and a quotation have been distinctly and correctly made.( ) on the other hand, there is no earlier trace of the canonical epistle, and, as volkmar argues, it may well be doubted whether it may not rather be dependent on the epistle to the philippians, than the latter upon the epistle of john.( ) we believe with scholten that neither is dependent on the other, but that both adopted a formula in use in the early church against various heresies, the superficial coincidence of which is without any weight as evidence for the use of either epistle by the writer of the other. moreover, it is clear that the writers refer to different classes of heretics. polycarp attacks the docetæ who deny that jesus christ has come in the flesh, that is with a human body of flesh and blood; whilst the epistle of john is directed against those who deny that jesus who has come in the flesh is the { } christ the son of god.( ) volkmar points out that in polycarp the word "antichrist" is made a proper name, whilst in the epistle the expression used is the abstract "spirit of antichrist." polycarp in fact says that whoever denies the flesh of christ is no christian but antichrist, and volkmar finds this direct assertion more original than the assertion of the epistle; "every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god,"( ) &c. in any case it seems to us clear that in both writings we have only the independent enunciation, with decided difference of language and sense, of a formula current in the church, and that neither writer can be held to have originated the condemnation, in these words, of heresies which the church had begun vehemently to oppose, and which were merely an application of ideas already well known, as we see from the expression of the epistle in reference to the "spirit of antichrist, of which ye have heard that it cometh." whether this phrase be an allusion to the apocalypse xiii., or to thessalonians ii., or to traditions current in the church, we need not inquire; it is sufficient that the epistle of john avowedly applies a prophecy regarding antichrist already known amongst christians, which was equally open to the other writer and probably familiar in the church. this cannot under any circumstances be admitted as evidence of weight for the use of the st epistle of john. there is no testimony whatever of the existence of the epistles ascribed to john previous to this date, and that fact would have to { } be established on sure grounds before the argument we are considering can have any value. on the other hand, we have already seen( ) that there is strong reason to doubt the authenticity of the epistle attributed to polycarp, and a certainty that in any case it is, in its present form, considerably interpolated. even if genuine in any part, the use of the st epistle of john, if established, could not be of much value as evidence for the fourth gospel, of which the writing does not show a trace. so far from there being any evidence that polycarp knew the fourth gospel, however, everything points to the opposite conclusion. about a.d. - we find him taking part in the paschal controversy,( ) contradicting the statements of the fourth gospel,( ) and supporting the synoptic view, contending that the christian festival should be celebrated on the th nisan, the day on which he affirmed that the apostle john himself had observed it.( ) irenæus, who represents polycarp as the disciple of john, says of him: "for neither was anicetus able to persuade polycarp not to observe it (on the th) because he had always observed it with john the disciple of our lord, and with the rest of the apostles with whom he consorted."( ) not only, therefore, does polycarp not refer to the fourth gospel, but he is on the the date has, hitherto, generally been fixed at a.d. , but the recent investigations referred to in vol. i. p. f. have led to the adoption of this earlier date, and the visit to rome must, therefore, probably have taken place just after the accession of anicetus to the roman bishopric. cf. lipsius, zeitschr. w. theol. , p. f. { } contrary an important witness against it as the work of john, for he represents that apostle as practically contradicting the gospel of which he is said to be the author. the fulness with which we have discussed the character of the evangelical quotations of justin martyr renders the task of ascertaining whether his works indicate any acquaintance with the fourth gospel comparatively easy. the detailed statements already made enable us without preliminary explanation directly to attack the problem, and we are freed from the necessity of making extensive quotations to illustrate the facts of the case. whilst apologists assert with some boldness that justin made use of our synoptics, they are evidently, and with good reason, less confident in maintaining his acquaintance with the fourth gospel. canon westcott states: "his references to st john are uncertain; but this, as has been already remarked, follows from the character of the fourth gospel. it was unlikely that he should quote its peculiar teaching in apologetic writings addressed to jews and heathens; and at the same time he exhibits types of language and doctrine which, if not immediately drawn from st. john, yet mark the presence of his influence and the recognition of his authority."( ) this apology for the neglect of the fourth gospel { } illustrates the obvious scantiness of the evidence furnished by justin. tischendorf, however, with his usual temerity, claims justin as a powerful witness for the fourth gospel. he says: "according to our judgment there are convincing grounds of proof for the fact that john also was known and used by justin, provided that an unprejudiced consideration be not made to give way to the antagonistic predilection against the johannine gospel." in order fully and fairly to state the case which he puts forward, we shall quote his own words, but to avoid repetition we shall permit ourselves to interrupt him by remarks and by parallel passages from other writings for comparison with justin. tischendorf says: "the representation of the person of christ altogether peculiar to john as it is given particularly in his prologue i. (" in the beginning was the word and the word was with god, and the word was god"), and verse ("and the word became flesh"), in the designation of him as logos, as the word of god, unmistakably re-echoes in not a few passages in justin; for instance:( ) 'and jesus christ is alone the special son begotten by god, being his word and first-begotten and power.'"( ) with this we may compare another passage of justin from the second apology. "but his son, who alone is rightly called son, the word before the works of creation, tischendorf uses great liberty in translating some of these passages, abbreviating and otherwise altering them as it suits him. we shall therefore give his german translation below, and we add the greek which tischendorf does not quote--indeed he does not, in most cases, even state where the passages are to be found. { } who was both with him and begotten when in the beginning he created and ordered all things by him,"( ) &c. now the same words and ideas are to be found throughout the canonical epistles and other writings, as well as in earlier works. in the apocalypse,( ) the only book of the new testament mentioned by justin, and which is directly ascribed by him to john,( ) the term logos is applied to jesus "the lamb," (xix. ): "and his name is called the word of god" [------]. elsewhere (iii. ) he is called "the beginning of the creation of god" [------]; and again in the same book (i. ) he is "the first-begotten of the dead" [------]. in heb. i he is the "first-born" [------], as in coloss. i. he is "the first-born of every creature" [------]; and in cor. i. we have: "christ the power of god and the wisdom of god"[------], and it will be remembered that "wisdom" was the earlier term which became an alternative with "word" for the intermediate being. in heb. i. , god is represented as speaking to us "in the son.... by whom he also made the worlds" [------]. in tim. i. , he is "before all worlds" [------], cf. heb. l , ii. , kom. xi. , cor. viii. , ephes. iii. . the works of philo are filled with similar representations of the logos, but we must restrict ourselves to a very { } few. god as a shepherd and king governs the universe "having appointed his true logos, his first begotten son, to have the care of this sacred flock, as the vicegerent of-a great king."( ) in another place philo exhorts men to strive to become like god's "first begotten word" [------],( ) and he adds, a few lines further on: "for the most ancient word is the image of god" [------]. the high priest of god in the world is "the divine word, his first-begotten son" [------].( ) speaking of the creation of the world philo says: "the instrument by which it was formed is the word of god" [------].( ) elsewhere: "for the word is the image of god by which the whole world was created" [------].( ) these passages might be indefinitely multiplied. tischendorf's next passage is: "the first power [------] after the father of all and god the lord, and son, is the word [------]; in what manner having been made flesh [------] he became man, we shall in what follows relate."( ) { } we find everywhere parallels for this passage without seeking them in the fourth gospel. in cor. i. , "christ the power [------] of god and the wisdom of god;" cf. heb. i. , , , , ; ii. . in heb. ii. -- , there is a distinct account of his becoming flesh; cf. verse . in phil. ii. -- : "who (jesus christ) being in the form of god, deemed it not grasping to be equal with god, ( ) but gave himself up, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men," &c. in rom. viii. we have: "god sending his own son in the likeness of the flesh of sin," &c. [------] it must be borne in mind that the terminology of john i. , "and the word became flesh" [------] is different from that of justin, who uses the word [------]. the sense and language here is, therefore, quite as close as that of the fourth gospel we have also another parallel in tim. iii. , "who (god) was manifested in the flesh" [------], cf. cor. xv. , . in like manner we find many similar passages in the works of philo. he says in one place that man was not made in the likeness of the most high god the father of the universe, but in that of the "second god who is his word" [------].( ) in another place the logos is said to be the interpreter of the highest god, and he continues: "that must be god of us imperfect beings" [------].( ) elsewhere he says: "but the { } divine word which is above these (the winged cherubim).... but being itself the image of god, at once the most ancient of all conceivable things, and the one placed nearest to the only true and absolute existence without any separation or distance between them ";( ) and a few lines further on he explains the cities of refuge to be: "the word of the governor (of all things) and his creative and kingly power, for of these are the heavens and the whole world."( ) "the logos of god is above all things in the world, and is the most ancient and the most universal of all things which are."( ) the word is also the "ambassador sent by the governor (of the universe) to his subject (man)" [------].( ) such views of the logos are everywhere met with in the pages of philo. tischendorf continues: "the word (logos) of god is his son."( ) we have already in the preceding paragraphs abundantly illustrated this sentence, and may proceed to the next: "but since they did not know all things concerning the logos, which is christ, they have frequently contradicted each other."( ) these words are { } used with reference to lawgivers and philosophers. justin, who frankly admits the delight he took in the writings of plato( ) and other greek philosophers, held the view that socrates and plato had in an elementary form enunciated the doctrine of the logos,( ) although he contends that they borrowed it from the writings of moses, and with a largeness of mind very uncommon in the early church, and indeed, we might add, in any age, he believed socrates and such philosophers to have been christians, even although they had been considered atheists.( ) as they did not of course know christ to be the logos, he makes the assertion just quoted. now the only point in the passage which requires notice is the identification of the logos with jesus, which has already been dealt with, and as this was asserted in the apocalypse xix. , before the fourth gospel was written, no evidence in its favour is deducible from the statement. we shall have more to say regarding this presently. tischendorf continues: "but in what manner through the word of god, jesus christ our saviour having been made flesh,"( ) &c. it must be apparent that the doctrine here is not that of the fourth gospel which makes "the word become flesh" simply, whilst justin, representing a less advanced form, and more uncertain stage, of its development, draws a distinction between the logos and jesus, and describes jesus christ as being made flesh by the power { } of the logos. this is no accidental use of words, for he repeatedly states the same fact, as for instance: "but why through the power of the word, according to the will of god the father and lord of all, he was born a man of a virgin,"( ) &c. tischendorf continues: "to these passages out of the short second apology we extract from the first (cap. ).( ) by the spirit, therefore, and power of god (in reference to luke i. : 'the holy spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee') we have nothing else to understand but the logos, which is the first-born of god."( ) here again we have the same difference from the doctrine of the fourth gospel which we have just pointed out, which is, however, so completely in agreement with the views of philo,( ) and characteristic of a less developed form of the idea. we shall further refer to the terminology hereafter, and meantime we proceed to the last illustration given by tischendorf. "out of the dialogue (c. ): 'for that he was the only-begotten of the father of all, in peculiar wise begotten of him as word and power [------], and afterwards became man through the virgin, as we have learnt from the memoirs, i have already stated.'"( ) { } the allusion here is to the preceding chapters of the dialogue, wherein, with special reference (c. ) to the passage which has a parallel in luke i. , quoted by tischendorf in the preceding illustration, justin narrates the birth of jesus. this reference very appropriately leads us to a more general discussion of the real source of the terminology and logos doctrine of justin. we do not propose, in this work, to enter fully into the history of the logos doctrine, and we must confine ourselves strictly to showing, in the most simple manner possible, that not only is there no evidence whatever that justin derived his ideas regarding it from the fourth gospel, but that, on the contrary, his terminology and doctrine may be traced to another source. now, in the very chapter ( ) from which this last illustration is taken, justin shows clearly whence he derives the expression: "only-begotten." in chap. he refers to the ps. xxii. (sept. xxi.) as a prophecy applying to jesus, quotes the whole psalm, and comments upon it in the following chapters; refers to ps. ii. : "thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee," uttered by the voice at the baptism, in ch. , in illustration of it; and in ch. he arrives, in his exposition of it, at verse : "deliver my soul from the sword, and my( ) only-begotten [------] from the hand of the dog." then follows the passage we are discussing, in which justin affirms that this should probably be "thy." { } he has proved that he was the only-begotten [------] of the father, and at the close he again quotes the verse as indicative of his sufferings. the memoirs are referred to in regard to the fulfilment of this prophecy, and his birth as man through the virgin. the phrase in justin is quite different from that in the fourth gospel, i. : "and the word became flesh [------] and tabernacled among us, find we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the father" [------], &c. in justin he is "the only-begotten of the father of all" [------], and he "became man [------] through the virgin," and justin never once employs the peculiar terminology of the fourth gospel, [------], in any part of his writings. there can be no doubt that, however the christian doctrine of the logos may at one period of its development have been influenced by greek philosophy, it was in its central idea mainly of jewish origin, and the mere application to an individual of a theory which had long occupied the hebrew mind. after the original simplicity which represented god as holding personal intercourse with the patriarchs, and communing face to face with the great leaders of israel, had been outgrown, an increasing tendency set in to shroud the divinity in impenetrable mystery, and to regard him as unapproachable and undiscernible by man. this led to the recognition of a divine representative and substitute of the highest god and father, who communicated with his creatures, and through whom alone he revealed himself. a new system of interpretation of the ancient traditions of the nation was rendered necessary, and in the septuagint translation of the bible we are fortunately able to trace { } the progress of the theory which culminated in the christian doctrine of the logos. wherever in the sacred records god had been represented as holding intercourse with man, the translators either symbolized the appearance or interposed an angel, who was afterwards understood to be the divine word. the first name under which the divine mediator was known in the old testament was wisdom [------], although in its apocrypha the term logos was not unknown. the personification of the idea was very rapidly effected, and in the book of proverbs, as well as in the later apocrypha based upon it: the wisdom of solomon, and the wisdom of sirach, "ecclesiasticus:" we find it in ever increasing clearness and concretion. in the school of alexandria the active jewish intellect eagerly occupied itself with the speculation, and in the writings of philo especially we find the doctrine of the logos--the term which by that time had almost entirely supplanted that of wisdom--elaborated to almost its final point, and wanting little or nothing but its application in an incarnate form to an individual man to represent the doctrine of the earlier canonical writings of the new testament, and notably the epistle to the hebrews,--the work of a christian philo,( )--the pauline epistles, and lastly the fourth gospel( ) { } in proverbs viii. ff., we have a representation of wisdom corresponding closely with the prelude to the fourth gospel, and still more so with the doctrine enunciated by justin: . "the lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works. . before the ages he established me, in the beginning before he made the earth. . and before he made the abysses, before the springs of the waters issued forth. . before the mountains were settled, and before all the hills he begets me. . the lord made the lands, both those which are uninhabited and the inhabited heights of the earth beneath the sky. . when he prepared the heavens i was present with him, and when he set his throne upon the winds, , and made strong the high clouds, and the deeps under the heaven made secure, , and made strong the foundations of the earth, , i was with him adjusting, i was that in which he delighted; daily i rejoiced in his presence at all times."( ) in the "wisdom of solomon" we find the writer addressing god: ix. ... "who madest all things by thy word" [------]; and further on in the same chapter, v. , "and wisdom was with thee who knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable { } in thy sight, and right in thy commandments. "( ) in verse , the writer prays: "give me wisdom that sitteth by thy thrones" [-----].( ) in a similar way the son of sirach makes wisdom say (ecclesiast. xxiv. ): "he (the most high) created me from the beginning before the world, and as long as the world i shall not fail."( ) we have already incidentally seen how these thoughts grew into an elaborate doctrine of the logos in the works of philo. now justin, whilst he nowhere adopts the terminology of the fourth gospel, and nowhere refers to its introductory condensed statement of the logos doctrine, closely follows philo and, like him, traces it back to the old testament in the most direct way, accounting for the interposition of the divine mediator in precisely the same manner as philo, and expressing the views which had led the seventy to modify the statement of the hebrew original in their greek translation. he is, in fact, thoroughly acquainted with the history of the logos doctrine and its earlier enunciation under the symbol of wisdom, and his knowledge of it is clearly independent of, and antecedent to, the statements of the fourth gospel. referring to various episodes of the old testament in which god is represented as appearing to moses and the patriarchs, and in which it is said that "god went up from abraham,"( ) or "the lord spake to moses,"( ) or "the lord came down to behold the town," &c.,( ) or "god { } shut noah into the ark,"( ) and so on, justin warns his antagonist that he is not to suppose that "the unbegotten god" [------] did any of these things, for he has neither to come to any place, nor walks, but from his own place, wherever it may be, knows everything although he has neither eyes nor ears. therefore he. could not talk with anyone, nor be seen by anyone, and none of the patriarchs saw the father at all, but they saw "him who was according to his will both his son (being god) and the angel, in that he ministered to his purpose, whom also he willed to be born man by the virgin, who became fire when he spoke with moses from the bush."( ) he refers throughout his writings to the various appearances of god to the patriarchs, all of which he ascribes to the pre-existent jesus, the word,( ) and in the very next chapter, after alluding to some of these, he says: "he is called angel because he came to men, since by him the decrees of the father are announced to men... at other times he is also called man and human being, because he appears clothed in these forms as the father wills, and they call him logos because { } he bears the communications of the father to mankind."( ) justin, moreover, repeatedly refers to the fact that he was called wisdom by solomon, and quotes the passage we have indicated in proverbs. in one place he says, in proof of his assertion that the god who appeared to moses and the patriarchs was distinguished from the father, and was in fact the word (ch. -- ): "another testimony i will give you, my friends, i said, from the scriptures that god begat before all of the creatures [------] a beginning [------],( ) a certain rational power [------] out of himself, who is called by the holy spirit, now the glory of the lord, then the son, again wisdom, again angel, again god, and again lord and logos;" &c., and a little further on: "the word of wisdom will testify to me, who is himself this god begotten of the father of the universe, being word, and wisdom, and power [------], and the glory of the begetter," &c.,( ) and he quotes, from the septuagint version, proverbs viii. -- , part of which we have given above, and indeed, elsewhere (ch. ), he quotes the passage a second time as evidence, with a similar context. justin refers to it { } again in the next chapter, and the peculiarity of his terminology in all these passages, so markedly different from, and indeed opposed to, that of the fourth gospel, will naturally strike the reader: "but this offspring [------] being truly brought forth by the father was with the father before all created beings [------], and the father communes with him, as the logos declared through solomon, that this same, who is called wisdom by solomon, had been begotten of god before all created beings [------], both beginning [------] and offspring [------]," &c.( ) in another place after quoting the words: "no man knoweth the father but the son, nor the son but the father, and they to whom the son will reveal him," justin continues: "therefore he revealed to us all that we have by his grace understood out of the scriptures, recognizing him to be indeed the first-begotten [------] of god, and before all creatures [------].... and calling him son, we have understood that he proceeded from the father by his power and will before all created beings [------], for in one form or another he is spoken of in the writings of the prophets as wisdom," &c.;( ) and again, in two other places he refers to the same fact.( ) on further examination, we find on every side still { } stronger confirmation of the conclusion that justin derived his logos doctrine from the old testament and philo, together with early new testament writings. we have quoted several passages in which justin details the various names of the logos, and we may add one more. referring to ps. lxxii., which the jews apply to solomon, but which justin maintains to be applicable to christ, he says: "for christ is king, and priest, and god, and lord, and angel, and man, and captain, and stone, and a son born [------], &c. &c., as i prove by all of the scriptures."( ) now these representations, which are constantly repeated throughout justin's writings, are quite opposed to the spirit of the fourth gospel, but are on the other hand equally common in the works of philo, and many of them also to be found in the philonian epistle to the hebrews. taking the chief amongst them we may briefly illustrate them. the logos as king, justin avowedly derives from ps. lxxii., in which he finds that reference is made to the "everlasting king, that is to say christ."( ) we find this representation of the logos throughout the writings of philo. in one place already briefly referred to,( ) but which we shall now more fully quote, he says: "for god as shepherd and king governs according to law and justice like a flock of sheep, the earth, and water, and air, and fire, and all the plants and living things that are in them, whether they be mortal or divine, as well as the course of heaven, and the periods of sun and moon, and the variations and harmonious revolutions of the other stars; having appointed his true word [------] { } [------] his first-begotten son [------] to have the care of this sacred flock as the vicegerent of a great king;"( ) and a little further on, he says: "very reasonably, therefore, he will assume the name of a king, being addressed as a shepherd."( ) in another place, philo speaks of the "logos of the governor, and his creative and kingly power, for of these is the heaven and the whole world."( ) then if we take the second epithet, the logos as priest [------], which is quite foreign to the fourth gospel, we find it repeated by justin, as for instance: "christ the eternal priest" [------],( ) and it is not only a favourite representation of philo, but is almost the leading idea of the epistle to the hebrews, in connection with the episode of melchisedec, in whom also both philo,( ) and justin,( ) recognize the logos. in the epistle to the hebrews, vii. , speaking of melchisedec: "but likened to the son of god, abideth a priest for ever:"( ) again in iv. : "seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed through the heavens, jesus the son { } of god," &c.;( ) ix. : "christ having appeared a high priest of the good things to come;"( ) xii. : "thou art a priest for ever."( ) the passages are indeed far too numerous to quote.( ) they are equally numerous in the writings of philo. in one place already quoted,( ) he says: "for there are as it seems two temples of god, one of which is this world, in which the high priest is the divine word, his first-begotten son" [------].( ) elsewhere, speaking of the period for the return of fugitives, the death of the high priest, which taken literally would embarrass him in his allegory, philo says: "for we maintain the high priest not to be a man, but the divine word, who is without participation not only in voluntary but also in involuntary sins;"( ) and he goes on to speak of this priest as "the most sacred word" [------].( ) indeed, in many long passages he descants upon the "high priest word" [------].( ) proceeding to the next representations of the logos { } as "god and lord," we meet with the idea everywhere. in hebrews i. : "but regarding the son he saith: thy throne, o god, is for ever and ever" [------], and again in the epistle to the philippians, ii. , "who (jesus christ) being in the form of god, deemed it not grasping to be equal with god" [------].( ) philo, in the fragment preserved by eusebius, to which we have already referred,( ) calls the logos the "second god" [------].( ) in another passage he has: "but he calls the most ancient god his present logos," &c. [------];( ) and a little further on, speaking of the inability of men to look on the father himself: "thus they regard the image of god, his angel word, as himself" [------].( ) elsewhere discussing the possibility of god's swearing by himself, which he applies to the logos, he says: "for in regard to us imperfect beings he will be a god, but in regard to wise and perfect beings the first. and yet moses, in awe of the superiority of the unbegotten [------] god, says: 'and thou shalt swear by his name,' not by himself; for it is sufficient for the creature to receive assurance and testimony by the divine word."( ) it must be remarked, however, that both justin and { } philo place the logos in a position more clearly secondary to god the father, than the prelude to the fourth gospel i. . both justin and philo apply the term [------] to the logos without the article. justin distinctly says that christians worship jesus christ as the son of the true god, holding him in the second place [------],( ) and this secondary position is systematically defined through justin's writings in a very decided way, as it is in the works of philo by the contrast of the begotten logos with the unbegotten god. justin speaks of the word as "the first-born of the unbegotten god" [------],( ) and the distinctive appellation of the "unbegotten god" applied to the father is most common throughout his writings.( ) we may in continuation of this remark point out another phrase of justin which is continually repeated, but is thoroughly opposed both to the spirit and to the terminology of the fourth gospel, and which likewise indicates the secondary consideration in which he held the logos. he calls the word constantly "the first-born of all created beings" [------] "the first-born of all creation," echoing the expression of col. i. . (the son) "who is the image of the invisible god, the first-born of all creation" [------]. this is a totally different view from that of the fourth gospel, which in so emphatic a manner { } enunciates the doctrine: "in the beginning was the word and the word was with god, and the word was god," a statement which justin, with philo, only makes in a very modified sense. to return, however, the next representation of the logos by justin is as "angel." this perpetually recurs in his writings.( ) in one place, to which we have already referred, he says: "the word of god is his son, as we have already stated, and he is also called messenger [------] and apostle, for he brings the message of all we need to know, and is sent an apostle to declare all the message contains."( ) in the same chapter reference is again made to passages quoted for the sake of proving: "that jesus christ is the son of god and apostle, being aforetime the word and having appeared now in the form of fire, and now in the likeness of incorporeal beings;"( ) and he gives many illustrations.( ) the passages, however, in which the logos is called angel, are too numerous to be more fully dealt with here. it is scarcely necessary to point out that this representation of the logos as angel, is not only foreign to, but opposed to the spirit of, the fourth gospel, although it is thoroughly in harmony with the writings of philo. before illustrating this, however, we may incidentally remark that the ascription to the logos of the name "apostle" which occurs in the two passages just quoted above, as well as in other parts of the writings of justin,( ) { } is likewise opposed to the fourth gospel, although it is found in earlier writings, exhibiting a less developed form of the logos doctrine; for the epistle to the hebrews iii. , has: "consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, jesus," &c. [------]. we are, in fact, constantly directed by the remarks of justin to other sources of the logos doctrine, and never to the fourth gospel, with which his tone and terminology do not agree. everywhere in the writings of philo we meet with the logos as angel. he speaks "of the angel word of god" in a sentence already quoted,( ) and elsewhere in a passage, one of many others, upon which the lines of justin which we are now considering (as well as several similar passages)( ) are in all probability moulded. philo calls upon men to "strive earnestly to be fashioned according to god's first-begotten word, the eldest angel, who is the archangel bearing many names, for he is called { } the beginning [------], and name of god, and logos, and the man according to his image, and the seer of israel."( ) elsewhere, in a remarkable passage, he says: "to his archangel and eldest word, the father, who created the universe, gave the supreme gift that having stood on the confine he may separate the creature from the creator. the same is an intercessor on behalf of the ever wasting mortal to the immortal; he is also the ambassador of the ruler to his subjects. and he rejoices in the gift, and the majesty of it he describes, saying: 'and i stood in the midst between the lord and you' (numbers xvi ); being neither unbegotten like god, nor begotten like you, but between the two extremes," &c.( ) we have been tempted to give more of this passage than is necessary for our immediate purpose, because it affords the reader another glimpse of philo's doctrine of the logos, and generally illustrates its position in connection with the christian doctrine. the last of justin's names which we shall here notice is the logos as "man" as well as god. in another place justin explains that he is sometimes called a man and human being, because he appears in these forms as the father wills.( ) but here confining ourselves merely { } to the concrete idea, we find a striking representation of it in tim. ii. : "for there is one god and one mediator between god and man, the man christ jesus; [------]; and again in rom. v. : "... by the grace of the one man jesus christ" [------], as well as other passages.( ) we have already seen in the passage quoted above from "de confus. ling." § , that philo mentions, among the many names of the logos, that of "the man according to (god's) image" [------],( ) or "the typical man"). if, however, we pass to the application of the logos doctrine to jesus, we have the strongest reason for inferring justin's total independence of the fourth gospel. we have already pointed out that the title of logos is given to jesus in new testament writings earlier than the fourth gospel. we have remarked that, although the passages are innumerable in which justin speaks of the word having become man through the virgin, he never once throughout his writings makes use of the peculiar expression of the fourth gospel: "the word became flesh" [------]. on the few occasions on which he speaks of the word having been _made_ flesh, he uses the term [------].( ) in one instance he has [------],( ) and speaking of the eucharist justin once explains that it is in memory of christ's having made himself _body_, [------] justin's most common phrase, { } however, and he repeats it in numberless instances, is that the logos submitted to be born, and become man [------], by a virgin, or he uses variously the expressions: [------].( ) in several places he speaks of him as the first production or offspring [------] of god before all created beings, as, for instance: "the logos... who is the first offspring of god" [------];( ) and again, "and that this offspring was begotten of the father absolutely before all creatures the word was declaring" [------].( ) we need not say more of the expressions: "first-born" [------], "first-begotten" [------], so constantly applied to the logos by justin, in agreement with philo; nor to "only begotten" [------], directly derived from ps. xxii*. (ps. xxi. , sept.). it must be apparent to everyone who seriously examines the subject, that justin's terminology is markedly different from, and in spirit sometimes opposed to, that of the fourth gospel, and in fact that the peculiarities of the gospel are not found in justin's writings at all.( ) on the { } other hand, his doctrine of the logos is precisely that of philo,( ) and of writings long antecedent to the fourth gospel, and there can be no doubt, we think, that it was derived from them.( ) { } we may now proceed to consider other passages adduced by tischendorf to support his assertion that justin made use of the fourth gospel. he says: "passages of the johannine gospel, however, are also not wanting to which passages in justin refer back. in the dialogue, ch. , he writes of john the baptist: 'the people believed that he was the christ, but he cried to them: i am not the christ, but the voice of a preacher.' this is connected with john i. and ; for no other evangelist has reported the first words in the baptist's reply."( ) now the passage in justin, with its context, reads as follows: "for john sat by the jordan [------] and preached the baptism of repentance, wearing only a leathern girdle and raiment of camel's hair, and eating nothing but locusts and wild honey; men supposed [------] him to be the christ, wherefore he himself cried to them: 'i am not the christ, but the voice of one crying: for he shall come [------] who is stronger than i, whose shoes i am not meet [------] to bear.'"( ) now the only ground upon which this passage can be compared with the fourth gospel is the reply: "i am not the christ" [------], which in john i. reads:[------] { } [------]: and it is perfectly clear that, if the direct negation occurred in any other gospel, the difference of the whole passage in the dialogue would prevent even an apologist from advancing any claim to its dependence on that gospel. in order to appreciate the nature of the two passages, it may be well to collect the nearest parallels in the gospel, and compare them with justin's narrative. [------] { } the introductory description of john's dress and habits is quite contrary to the fourth gospel, but corresponds to some extent with matt. iii. . it is difficult to conceive two accounts more fundamentally different, and the discrepancy becomes more apparent when we consider the scene and actors in the episode. in justin, it is evident that the hearers of john had received the impression that he was the christ, and the baptist becoming aware of it voluntarily disabused their minds of this idea. in the fourth gospel the words of john are extracted from him ("he confessed and denied not") by emissaries sent by the pharisees of jerusalem specially to question him on the subject. the account of justin betrays no knowledge of any such interrogation. the utter difference is brought to a climax by the concluding statement of the fourth gospel:-- [------] in fact the scene in the two narratives is as little the same as their details. one can scarcely avoid the conclusion, in reading the fourth gospel, that it quotes some other account and does not pretend to report the scene direct. for instance, i. , "john beareth witness of him, and cried, saying: 'this was he _of whom i said_: he that cometh after me is become before me, because he was before me,'" &c. v. : "and this is the testimony of john, _when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him: who art thou?_ and he confessed and denied not, and confessed that i am not the christ," &c. now, as usual, the gospel which justin uses more nearly approximates to our first synoptic { } than the other gospels, although it differs in very important points from that also--still, taken in connection with the third synoptic, and acts xiii. , this indicates the great probability of the existence of other writings combining the particulars as they occur in justin. luke iii. , reads: "and as the people were in expectation, and all mused in their hearts concerning john whether he were the christ, . john answered, saying to them all: i indeed baptize you with water, but he that is stronger than i cometh, the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire," &c. whilst, however, with the sole exception of the simple statement of the baptist that he was not the christ, which in all the accounts is clearly involved in the rest of the reply, there is no analogy whatever between the parallel in the fourth gospel and the passage in justin, many important circumstances render it certain that justin did not derive his narrative from that source. we have already( ) fully discussed the peculiarities of justin's account of the baptist, and in the context to the very passage before us there are details quite foreign to our gospels which show that justin made use of another and different work. when jesus stepped into the water to be baptized a fire was kindled in the jordan, and the voice from heaven makes use of words not found in our gospels; but both the incident and the words are known to have been contained in the gospel according to the hebrews and other works. justin likewise states, in immediate continuation of the passage before us, that jesus was considered the son of { } joseph the carpenter, and himself was a carpenter and accustomed to make ploughs and yokes.( ) the evangelical work of which justin made use was obviously different from our gospels, therefore, and the evident conclusion to which any impartial mind must arrive is, that there is not only not the slightest ground for affirming that justin quoted the passage before us from the fourth gospel, from which he so fundamentally differs, but every reason on the contrary to believe that he derived it from a gospel different from ours.( ) the next point advanced by tischendorf is, that on two occasions he speaks of the restoration of sight to persons born blind, the only instance of which in our gospels is that recorded, john ix. . the references in justin are very vague and general. in the first place he is speaking of the analogies in the life of jesus with events believed in connection with mythological deities, and he says that he would appear to relate acts very similar to those attributed to Æsculapius when he says that jesus "healed the lame and paralytic, and the maimed from birth [------], and raised the dead."( ) in the dialogue, again referring to Æsculapius, he says that christ "healed those who were from birth and according to the flesh blind [------], and deaf, and lame."( ) in the fourth gospel { } the born-blind is described as [------]. there is a variation it will be observed in the term employed by justin, and that such a remark should be seized upon as an argument for the use of the fourth gospel serves to show the poverty of the evidence for the existence of that work. without seeking any further, we might at once reply that such general references as those of justin might well be referred to the common tradition of the church, which certainly ascribed all kinds of marvellous cures and miracles to jesus. it is moreover unreasonable to suppose that the only gospel in which the cure of one born blind was narrated was that which is the fourth in our canon. such a miracle may have formed part of a dozen similar collections extant at the time of justin, and in no case could such an allusion be recognized as evidence of the use of the fourth gospel. but in the dialogue, along with this remark, justin couples the statement that although the people saw such cures: "they asserted them to be magical illusion; for they also ventured to call him a magician and deceiver of the people."( ) this is not found in our gospels, but traces of the same tradition are met with elsewhere, as we have already mentioned;( ) and it is probable that justin either found all these particulars in the gospel of which he made use, or that he refers to traditions familiar amongst the early christians. tischendorfs next point is that justin quotes the words of zechariah xii. , with the same variation from the text of the septuagint as john xix. --"they shall look on him whom they pierced" [------] { } [------] instead of [------], arising out of an emendation of the translation of the hebrew original. tischendorf says: "nothing can be more opposed to probability, than the supposition that john and justin have here, independently of each other, followed a translation of the hebrew text which elsewhere has remained unknown to us."( ) the fact is, however, that the translation which has been followed is not elsewhere unknown. we meet with the same variation, much earlier, in the only book of the new testament which justin mentions, and with which, therefore, he was beyond any doubt well acquainted, rev. i. : "behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him [------], and they which pierced [------] him, and all the tribes of the earth shall bewail him. yea, amen." this is a direct reference to the passage in zech. xii. . it will be remembered that the quotation in the gospel: "they shall look upon him whom they pierced," is made solely in reference to the thrust of the lance in the side of jesus, while that of the apocalypse is a connection of the prophecy with the second coming of christ, which, except in a spiritual sense, is opposed to the fourth gospel. now, justin upon each occasion quotes the whole passage also in reference to the second coming of christ as the apocalypse does, and this alone settles the point so far as these two sources are concerned. if justin derived his variation from either of the canonical works, { } therefore, we should be bound to conclude that it must have been from the apocalypse. the correction of the septuagint version, which has thus been traced back as far as a.d. when the apocalypse was composed, was noticed by jerome in his commentary on the text;( ) and aquila, a contemporary of irenæus, and later symmachus and theodotion, as well as others, similarly adopted [------]. ten important mss., of the septuagint, at least, have the reading of justin and of the apocalypse, and these mss. likewise frequently agree with the other peculiarities of justin's text. in all probability, as credner, who long ago pointed out all these circumstances, conjectured, an emendation of the rendering of the lxx. had early been made, partly in christian interest and partly for the critical improvement of the text,( ) and this amended version was used by justin and earlier christian writers. ewald( ) and some others suggest that probably [------] originally stood in the septuagint text. every consideration is opposed to the dependence of justin upon the fourth gospel for the variation.( ) the next and last point advanced by tischendorf is a passage in apol. i. , which is compared with john iii. { } -- , and in order to show the exact character of the two passages, we shall at once place them in parallel columns:--[------] this is the most important passage by which apologists endeavour to establish the use by justin of the { } fourth gospel, and it is that upon which the whole claim may be said to rest. we shall be able to appreciate the nature of the case by the weakness of its strongest evidence. the first point which must have struck any attentive reader, must have been the singular difference of the language of justin, and the absence of the characteristic peculiarities of the johannine gospel. the double "verily, verily," which occurs twice even in these three verses, and constantly throughout the gospel( ), is absent in justin; and apart from the total difference of the form in which the whole passage is given (the episode of nicodemus being entirely ignored), and omitting minor differences, the following linguistic variations occur: justin has: [------] indeed it is almost impossible to imagine a more complete difference, both in form and language, and it seems to us that there does not exist a single linguistic trace by which the passage in justin can be connected with the fourth gospel. the fact that justin knows nothing of the expression [------] ("born from above"), upon which the whole statement in the fourth gospel turns, but uses a totally different word, [------] (born again), { } is of great significance. tischendorf wishes to translate [------] "anew" (or again), as the version of luther and the authorised english translation read, and thus render the [------] of justin a fair equivalent for it; but even this would not alter the fact that so little does justin quote the fourth gospel, that he has not even the test word of the passage. the word [------], however, certainly cannot here be taken to signify anything but "from above"(l)--from god, from heaven,--and this is not only its natural meaning, but the term is several times used in other parts of the fourth gospel, always with this same sense,( ) and there is nothing which warrants a different interpretation in this place. on the contrary, the same signification is manifestly indicated by the context, and forms the point of the whole lesson. "except a man be born of water and _of spirit_( ) he cannot enter into the kingdom of god. . that which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the spirit is spirit. . marvel not that i said unto thee: ye must be born from above" [------]. the explanation of [------] is given in verse . the birth "of the spirit" is the birth "from above," which is essential to entrance into the kingdom of god.( ) { } the sense of the passage in justin is different and much more simple. he is speaking of regeneration through baptism, and the manner in which converts are consecrated to god when they are made new [------] through christ. after they are taught to fast and pray for the remission of their sins, he says: "they are then taken by us where there is water, that they may be regenerated ("born again," [------]), by the same manner of regeneration (being born again, [------]) by which we also were regenerated (born again, [------]. for in the name of the father of the universe the lord god, and of our saviour jesus christ, and of the holy spirit they then make the washing with the water. for the christ also said, 'unless ye be born again [------], ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven., now that it is impossible for those who have once been born to go into the matrices of the parents is evident to all." and then he quotes isaiah i. -- , "wash you, make you clean, &c.," and then proceeds: "and regarding this (baptism) we have been taught this reason. since at our first birth we were born without our knowledge, and perforce, &c., and brought up in evil habits and wicked ways, therefore in order that we should not continue children of necessity and ignorance, but become children of election and knowledge, and obtain in the water remission of sins which we had previously committed, the name of the father of the universe and lord god is pronounced over him who desires to be born again [------], and has repented of his sins, &c."( ) now it is clear that whereas justin speaks simply of regeneration by baptism, the fourth gospel indicates a later development of the doctrine by spiritualizing the idea, { } and requiring not only regeneration through the water ("except a man be born of water"), but that a man should be born from above ("and of the spirit"), not merely [------], but [------]. the word used by justin is that which was commonly employed in the church for regeneration, and other instances of it occur in the new testament.( ) the idea of regeneration or being born again, as essential to conversion, was quite familiar to the jews themselves, and lightfoot gives instances of this from talmudic writings: "if any one become a proselyte he is like a child 'new born.' the gentile that is made a proselyte and the servant that is made free he is like a child new born."( ) this is, of course, based upon the belief in special privileges granted to the jews, and the gentile convert admitted to a share in the benefits of the messiah became a jew by spiritual new birth. justin in giving the words of jesus clearly professed to make an exact quotation:( ) "for christ also said: unless ye be born again, &c." it must be remembered, however, that justin is addressing the roman emperors, who would not understand the expression that it was necessary to be "born again" in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. he, therefore, explains that he does not mean a physical new birth by men already born; and this explanation may be regarded as natural, under the circumstances, and independent of any written source. in any case, the striking difference of his language from that of the fourth gospel at least forbids the inference that it must necessarily have been derived from that gospel. { } to argue otherwise would be to assume the utterly untenable premiss that sayings of jesus which are maintained to be historical were not recorded in more than four gospels, and indeed in this instance were limited to one. this is not only in itself inadmissible, but historically untrue,( ) and a moment of consideration must convince every impartial mind that it cannot legitimately be asserted that an express quotation of a supposed historical saying must have been taken from a parallel in one of our gospels, from which it differs so materially in language and circumstance, simply because that gospel happens to be the only one now surviving which contains particulars somewhat similar. the express quotation fundamentally differs from the fourth gospel, and the natural explanation of justin which follows is not a quotation at all, and likewise fundamentally differs from the johannine parallel. justin not only ignores the peculiar episode in the fourth gospel in which the passage occurs, but neither here nor anywhere throughout his writings makes any mention of nicodemus. the accident of survival is almost the only justification of the affirmation that the fourth gospel is the source of justin's quotation. on the other hand, we have many strong indications of another source. in our first synoptic (xviii. ), we find traces of another version of the saying of jesus, much more nearly corresponding with the quotation of justin: "and he said, verily i say unto you: except ye be turned and become as the little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."( ) the last phrase of this saying is literally the same as the quotation of justin, { } and gives his expression, "kingdom of heaven," so characteristic of his gospel, and so foreign to the johannine. we meet with a similar quotation in connection with baptism, still more closely agreeing with justin, in the clementine homilies, xi. : "verily i say unto you: except ye be born again [------] by living water in the name of father, son, and holy spirit, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."( ) here again we have both the [------], and the [------] as well as the reference only to water in the baptism, and this is strong confirmation of the existence of a version of the passage, different from the johannine, from which justin quotes. as both the author of the clementines and justin probably made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, some most competent critics have, with reason, adopted the conclusion that the passage we are discussing was probably derived from that gospel; at any rate it cannot be maintained as a quotation from our fourth gospel,( ) and it is, therefore, of no value as evidence even { } for its existence. "were it successfully traced to that work, however, the passage would throw no light on the authorship and character of the fourth gospel. if we turn for a moment from this last of the points of evidence adduced by tischendorf for the use of the fourth gospel by justin, to consider how far the circumstances of the history of jesus narrated by justin bear upon this quotation, we have a striking confirmation of the results we have otherwise attained. not only is there a total absence from his writings of the peculiar terminology and characteristic expressions of the fourth gospel, but there is not an allusion made to any one of the occurrences exclusively narrated by that gospel, although many of these, and many parts of the johannine discourses of jesus, would have been peculiarly suitable for his purpose. we have already pointed out the remarkable absence of any use of the expressions by which the logos doctrine is stated in the prologue. we may now point out that justin makes no reference whatever to any of the special miracles of the fourth gospel. he is apparently quite ignorant even of the raising of lazarus: on the other hand, he gives representations of the birth, life, and death of jesus, which are ignored by the johannine gospel, and are indeed opposed to its whole conception of jesus as the logos; and when he refers to circumstances which are also narrated in that gospel, his account is different from that which it gives. justin perpetually refers to the birth of jesus by the virgin of the race of david and the patriarchs; his logos thus becomes man,( ) (not "flesh"--[------],not [------]); he is born in a cave in bethlehem;( ) he grows in stature and intellect by the use of ordinary means like other men; he is accounted { } the son of joseph the carpenter and mary: he himself works as a carpenter, and makes ploughs and yokes.( ) when jesus is baptized by john, a fire is kindled in jordan; and justin evidently knows nothing of john's express declaration in the fourth gospel, that jesus is the messiah, the son of god.( ) justin refers to the change of name of simon in connection with his recognition of the master as "christ the son of god,"( ) which is narrated quite differently in the fourth gospel (i. -- ), where, indeed, such a declaration is put into the mouth of nathaniel (i. ), which justin ignores. justin does not mention nicodemus either in connection with the statement regarding the necessity of being "born from above," or with the entombment (xix. ). he has the prayer and agony in the garden,( ) which the fourth gospel excludes, as well as the cries on the cross, which that gospel ignores. then, according to justin, the last supper takes place on the th nisan,( ) whilst the fourth gospel, ignoring the passover and last supper, represents the last meal as eaten on the th nisan (john xiii. f., cf. xviii. ). he likewise contradicts the fourth gospel, in limiting the work of jesus to one year. in fact, it is impossible for writings, so full of quotations of the words of jesus and of allusions to the events of his life, more completely to ignore or vary from the fourth gospel throughout; and if it could be shown that justin was acquainted with such a work, it would follow certainly that he did not consider it an apostolical or authoritative composition. "and it is written that on the day of the passover you seized him, and likewise during the passover you crucified him." dial., ill; cf. dial. ; matt, xxvi. , ff., , . { } we may add that, as justin so distinctly and directly refers to the apostle john as the author of the apocalypse,( ) there is confirmation of the conclusion, otherwise arrived at, that he did not, and could not, know the gospel and also ascribe it to him. finally, the description which justin gives of the manner of teaching of jesus excludes the idea that he knew the fourth gospel. "brief and concise were the sentences uttered by him: for he was no sophist, but his word was the power of god."( ) no one could for a moment assert that this description applies to the long and artificial discourses of the fourth gospel, whilst, on the other hand, it eminently describes the style of teaching in the synoptics, with which the numerous gospels in circulation amongst early christians were, of course, more nearly allied. the inevitable conclusion at which we must arrive is that, so far from indicating any acquaintance with the fourth gospel, the writings of justin not only do not furnish the slightest evidence of its existence, but offer presumptive testimony against its apostolical origin. tischendorf only devotes a short note to hegesippus,( ) and does not pretend to find in the fragments of his writings, preserved to us by eusebius, or the details of his life which he has recorded, any evidence for our gospels. apologists generally admit that this source, at least, is barren of all testimony for the fourth gospel, but canon westcott cannot renounce so important a witness without an effort, and he therefore boldly says: "when he, (hegesippus) speaks of 'the door of jesus' in his account of the death of st. james, there can be little { } doubt that he alludes to the language of our lord recorded by st. john."( ) the passage to which canon westcott refers, but which he does not quote, is as follows:--"certain, therefore, of the seven heretical parties amongst the people, already described by me in the memoirs, inquired of him, what was the door of jesus; and he declared this ([------]--jesus) to be the saviour. from which some believed that jesus is the christ. but the aforementioned heretics did not believe either a resurrection, or that he shall come to render to every one according to his works. as many as believed, however, did so, through james." the rulers fearing that the people would cause a tumult, from considering jesus to be the messiah [------], entreat james to persuade them concerning jesus, and prevent their being deceived by him; and in order that he may be heard by the multitude, they place james upon a wing of the temple, and cry to him: "o just man, whom we all are bound to believe, inasmuch as the people are led astray after jesus, the crucified, declare plainly to us what is the door of jesus."( ) to find in this a reference to the fourth gospel, requires a good deal of apologetic ingenuity. it is perfectly clear that, as an allusion to john x. , : "i am the door," the question: "what is the door of jesus?" is mere nonsense, and the reply of james totally irrelevant. such a question in reference to the discourse { } in the fourth gospel, moreover, in the mouths of the antagonistic scribes and pharisees, is quite inconceivable, and it is unreasonable to suppose that it has any connection with it. various emendations of the text have been proposed to obviate the difficulty of the question, but none of these have been adopted, and it has now been generally accepted, that [------] is used in an idiomatic sense. the word is very frequently employed in such a manner, or symbolically, in the new testament,( ) and by the fathers. the jews were well acquainted with a similar use of the word in the old testament, in some of the messianic psalms, as for instance: ps. cxviii. , (cxvii. , sept.). ," open to me the gates [------] of righteousness; entering into them, i will give praise to the lord;" , "this is the gate [------] of the lord, the righteous shall enter into it"( ) quoting this passage, clement of alexandria remarks: "but explaining the saying of the prophet, barnabas adds: many gates [------] being open, that which is in righteousness is in christ, in which all those who enter are blessed."( ) grabe explains the passage of hegesippus, by a reference to the frequent allusions in scripture to the two ways: one of light, the other of darkness; the one leading to life, the other to death; as well as the simile of two gates which is coupled with them, as in matt. vil ff. he, therefore, explains the question of the rulers: "what is the door of jesus?" as an inquiry into the judgment of james concerning him: { } whether he was a teacher of truth or a deceiver of the people; whether belief in him was the way and gate of life and salvation, or of death and perdition.( ) he refers as an illustration to the epistle of barnabas, xviii.: "there are two ways of teaching and of power: one of light, the other of darkness. but there is a great difference between the two ways."( ) the epistle, under the symbol of the two ways, classifies the whole of the moral law.( ) in the clementine homilies, xviii. , there is a version of the saying, matt. vii. f, derived from another source, in which "way" is more decidedly even than in our first synoptic made the equivalent of "gate:" "enter ye through the narrow and straitened way [------] through which ye shall enter into life." eusebius himself, who has preserved the fragment, evidently understood it distinctly in the same sense, and he gave its true meaning in another of his works, where he paraphrases the question into an enquiry, as to the opinion which jamas held concerning jesus [------].( ) this view is supported by many learned men, and routh has pointed out that ernesti considered he would have been right in making [------], doctrine, teaching, the equivalent of [------], although he admits that eusebius does not once use it in his history, in connection with christian doctrine.( ) { } he might, however, have instanced this passage, in which it is clearly used in this sense, and so explained by eusebius. in any other sense the question is simple nonsense. there is evidently no intention on the part of the scribes and pharisees here to ridicule, in asking: "what is the door of jesus?" but they desire james to declare plainly to the people, what is the teaching of jesus, and his personal pretension. to suppose that the rulers of the jews set james upon a wing of the temple, in order that they might ask him a question, for the benefit of the multitude, based upon a discourse in the fourth gospel, unknown to the synoptics, and even in relation to which such an inquiry as: "what is the door of jesus?" becomes mere ironical nonsense, surpasses all that we could have imagined even of apologetic zeal. we have already( ) said all that is necessary with regard to hegesippus, in connection with the synoptics, and need not add more here. it is certain that had he said anything interesting about our gospels and, we may say, particularly about the fourth, the fact would have been recorded by eusebius. nor need we add much to our remarks regarding papias of hierapolis.( ) it is perfectly clear that the works of matthew and mark,( ) regarding which he records it is evident that papias did not regard the works by "matthew" and "mark" which he mentions, as of any authority. indeed, all that he reports regarding the latter is merely apologetic, and in deprecation of criticism. { } such important particulars, are not the gospels in our canon, which pass under their names; he does not seem to have known anything of the third synoptic; and there is no reason to suppose that he referred to the fourth gospel or made use of it. he is, therefore, at least, a total blank so far as the johannine gospel and our third synoptic are concerned, but he is more than this, and it may, we think, be concluded that papias was not acquainted with any such gospels which he regarded as apostolic compositions, or authoritative documents. had he said anything regarding the composition or authorship of the fourth gospel, eusebius would certainly have mentioned the fact, and this silence of papias is strong presumptive evidence against the johannine gospel.( ) tischendorfs argument in regard to the phrygian bishop is mainly directed to this point, and he maintains that the silence of eusebius does not make papias a witness against the fourth gospel, and does not involve the conclusion that he did not know it, inasmuch as it was not, he affirms, the purpose of eusebius to record the mention or use of the books of the new testament which were not disputed.( ) it might be contended that this reasoning is opposed to the practice and express declaration of eusebius himself, who says: "but in the course of the history i shall, with the successions (from the apostles), carefully intimate what ecclesiastical writers of the various periods made use of { } the antilegomena (or disputed writings), and which of them, and what has been stated by these as well regarding the collected [------] and homologumena (or accepted writings), as regarding those which are not of this kind."( ) it is not worth while, however, to dwell upon this, here. the argument in the case of papias stands upon a broader basis. it is admitted that eusebius engages carefully to record what ecclesiastical writers state regarding the homologumena, and that he actually does so. now papias has himself expressed the high value he attached to tradition, and his eagerness in seeking information from the presbyters. the statements regarding the gospels composed by matthew and mark, quoted by eusebius, are illustrative at once both of the information collected by papias and of that cited by eusebius. how comes it, then, that nothing whatever is said about the fourth gospel, a work so peculiar and of such exceptional importance, said to be composed by the apostle whom jesus loved? is it possible to suppose that when papias collected from the presbyter the facts which he has recorded concerning matthew and mark he would not also have inquired about a gospel by john had he known of it? is it possible that he could have had nothing interesting to tell about a work presenting so many striking and distinctive features? had he collected any information on the subject he would certainly have recorded it, and as certainly eusebius would have quoted what he said,( ) as he did the account of the other two gospels, for he even mentions that papias { } made use of the st epistle of john, and st epistle of peter, two equally accepted writings. the legitimate presumption, therefore, is that, as eusebius did not mention the fact, he did not find anything regarding the fourth gospel in the work of papias, and that papias was not acquainted with it. this presumption is confirmed by the circumstance that when eusebius writes, elsewhere (h. e. iii. ), of the order of the gospels, and the composition of john's gospel, he has no greater authority to give for his account than mere tradition: "they say" [------]. proceeding from this merely negative argument, tischendorf endeavours to show that not only is papias not a witness against the fourth gospel, but that he presents testimony in its favour. the first reason he advances is that eusebius states: "the same (papias) made use of testimonies out of the first epistle of john, and likewise out of that of peter."(l) on the supposed identity of the authorship of the epistle and gospel, tischendorf, as in the case of polycarp, claims this as evidence for the fourth gospel. eusebius, however, does not quote the passages upon which he bases this statement, and knowing his inaccuracy and the hasty and uncritical manner in which he and the fathers generally jump at such conclusions, we must reject this as sufficient evidence that papias really did use the epistle, and that eusebius did not adopt his opinion from a mere superficial analogy of passages.( ) but if it were certain that papias actually quoted from the epistle, it does not in the least follow that he { } ascribed it to the apostle john, and the use of the epistle would scarcely affect the question as to the character and authorship of the fourth gospel the next testimony advanced by tischendorf is indeed of an extraordinary character. there is a latin ms. (vat. alex. ) in the vatican, which tischendorf assigns to the ninth century, in which there is a preface by an unknown hand to the gospel according to john, which commences as follows: "evangelium iohannis manifestatum et datum est ecclesiis ab iohannc ad hue in corpore constituto, sicut papias nomine hicrapolitanus discipulus iohannis carus in exotericis id est in extremis quinque libris retulit." "the gospel of john was published and given to the churches by john whilst he was still in the flesh, as papias, named of hierapolis, an esteemed disciple of john, related in his 'exoterics' that is his last five books." tischendorf says: "there can, therefore, be no more decided declaration made of the testimony of papias for the johannine gospel."( ) he wishes to end the quotation here, and only refers to the continuation, which he is obliged to admit to be untenable, in a note. the passage proceeds: "disscripsit vero evangelium dictante iohanne recte." "he (papias) indeed wrote out the gospel, john duly dictating;" then follows another passage regarding marcion, representing him also as a contemporary of john, which tischendorf likewise confesses to be untrue.( ) now tischendorf admits that the writer desires it to be understood that he derived the information that papias wrote the fourth gospel at the dictation of john likewise from the work of papias, and as it is perfectly impossible, by his own admissions, that papias, who was not a { } contemporary of the apostle, could have stated this, the whole passage is clearly fabulous and written by a person who never saw the book at all. this extraordinary piece of evidence is so obviously absurd that it is passed over in silence by other critics, even of the strongest apologetic tendency, and it stands here a pitiable instance of the arguments to which destitute criticism can be reduced. in order to do full justice to the last of the arguments of tischendorf, we shall give it in his own words: "before we separate from papias, we have still to consider one testimony for the gospel of john which irenæus, v. , § , quotes out of the very mouth of the presbyters, those high authorities of papias: 'and therefore, say they, the lord declared: in my father's house are many mansions( ) (john xiv. ). as the presbyters set this declaration in connection with the blessedness of the righteous in the city of god, in paradise, in heaven, according as they bear thirty, sixty, or one hundred-fold fruit, nothing is more probable than that irenæus takes this whole declaration of the presbyters, which he gives, §§ - , like the preceding description of the thousand years' reign, from the work of papias. but whether this be its origin or not, the authority of the presbyters is in any case higher than that of papias," &c.( ) now in the quotation from irenseus given in this { } passage, tischendorf renders the oblique construction of the text by inserting "say they," referring to the presbyters of papias, and, as he does not give the original, he should at least have indicated that these words are supplementary. we shall endeavour as briefly as possible to state the facts of the case. irenæus, with many quotations from scripture, is arguing that our bodies are preserved, and that the saints who have suffered so much in the flesh shall in that flesh receive the fruits of their labours. in v. , § , he refers to the saying given in matt. xix. (luke xviii. , ) that whosoever has left lands, &c., because of christ shall receive a hundred-fold in this world, and in the next, eternal life; and then, enlarging on the abundance of the blessings in the millennial kingdom, he affirms that creation will be renovated, and the earth acquire wonderful fertility, and he adds: § , "as the presbyters who saw john the disciple of the lord, remember that they heard from him, how the lord taught concerning those times and said:" &c. ("quemadmodum pres-byteri meminerunt, qui joannem discipulum domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo, quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat dominus, et dicebat," &c.), and then he quotes the passage: "the days will come in which vines will grow each having ten thousand branches," &c.; and "in like manner that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears," &c. with regard to these he says, at the beginning of the next paragraph, v. , § , "these things are testified in writing by papias, a hearer of john and associate of polycarp, an ancient { } man, in the fourth of his books: for there were five books composed by him.( ) and he added saying: 'but these things are credible to believers. and judas the traitor not believing, and asking how shall such growths be effected by the lord, the lord said: they who shall come to them shall see.' prophesying of these times, therefore, isaiah says: 'the wolf also shall feed with the lamb,' &c. &c. (quoting isaiah xi. -- ), and again he says, recapitulating: 'wolves and lambs shall then feed together,'" &c. (quoting isaiah lxv. ), and so on, continuing his argument. it is clear that irenæus introduces the quotation from papias, and ending his reference at: "they who shall come to them shall see," he continues, with a quotation from isaiah, his own train of reasoning. we give this passage to show the manner in which irenæus proceeds. he then continues with the same subject, quoting (v. , ) isaiah, ezekiel, jeremiah, daniel, the apocalypse, and sayings found in the new testament bearing upon the millennium. in c. he argues that the prophecies he quotes of isaiah, jeremiah, and the apocalypse must not be allegorized away, but that they literally describe the blessings to be enjoyed, after the coming of antichrist and the resurrection, in the new jerusalem on earth, and he quotes isaiah vi. , lx. , , and a long passage from baruch iv. , v. (which he ascribes to jeremiah), isaiah xlix. , gala-tians iv. , rev. xxi. , xx. -- , xxi. -- , all descriptive, as he maintains, of the millennial kingdom prepared for the saints; and then in v. , the last chapter of his work on heresies, as if resuming his eusebius has preserved the greek of this passage (h. e., iii. ), and goes on to contradict the statement of irenæus that papias was a hearer and contemporary of the apostles. eusebius states that papias in his prefaco by no means asserts that he was. { } previous argument, he proceeds:( ) § . "and that these things shall ever remain without end isaiah says: 'for like as the new heaven and the new earth which i make remain before me, saith the lord, so shall your seed and your name continue,'( ) and as the presbyters say, then those who have been deemed worthy of living in heaven shall go thither, and others shall enjoy the delights of paradise, and others shall possess the glory of the city; for everywhere the saviour shall be seen as those who see him shall be worthy. § . but that there is this distinction of dwelling [------] of those bearing fruit the hundred fold, and of the (bearers) of the sixty fold, and of the (bearers of) the thirty fold: of whom some indeed shall be taken up into the heavens, some shall live in paradise, and some shall inhabit the city, and that for this reason [------] propter hoc) the lord declared: in the... (plural) of my father are many mansions [------].( ) for all things are of god, who prepares for all the fitting habitation, as his word says, that distribution is made to all by the father according { } as each is or shall be worthy. and this is the couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the wedding. the presbyters disciples of the apostles state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance,"( ) &c. &c. now it is impossible for any one who attentively considers the whole of this passage, and who makes himself acquainted with the manner in which irenæus conducts his argument, and interweaves it with quotations, to assert that the phrase we are considering must have been taken from a book referred to three chapters earlier, and was not introduced by irenæus from some other source. in the passage from the commencement of the second paragraph irenæus enlarges upon, and illustrates, what "the presbyters say" regarding the blessedness of the saints, by quoting the view held as to the distinction between those bearing fruit thirty fold, sixty fold, and one hundred fold,( ) and the interpretation given of the { } saying regarding "many mansions," but the source of his quotation is quite indefinite, and may simply be the exegesis of his own day. that this is probably the case is shown by the continuation: "and this is the couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the wedding"--an allusion to the marriage supper upon which irenæus had previously enlarged;( ) immediately after which phrase, introduced by irenæus himself, he says: "the presbyters, the disciples of the apostles, state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved," &c. now, if the preceding passages had been a mere quotation from the presbyters of papias, such a remark would have been out of place and useless, but being the exposition of the prevailing views, irenæus confirms it and prepares to wind up the whole subject by the general statement that the presbyters, the disciples of the apostles, affirm that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance and ascend through the spirit to the son, and through the son to the father, &c., and a few sentences after he closes his work. in no case, however, can it be legitimately affirmed that the citation of "the presbyters," and the "presbyters, disciples of the apostles," is a reference to the work of papias. when quoting "the presbyters who saw john the disciple of the lord," three chapters before, irenæus distinctly states that papias testifies what he quotes in writing in the fourth of his books, but there is nothing whatever to indicate that "the presbyters," and "the presbyters, disciples of the apostles," subsequently referred to, after a complete change of context, have anything to do with papias. the references to presbyters in this { } work of irenæus are very numerous, and when we remember the importance which the bishop of lyons attached to "that tradition which comes from the apostles, which is preserved in the churches by a succession of presbyters,"( ) the reference before us assumes a very different complexion. in one place, irenæus quotes "the divine presbyter" [------], "the god-loving presbyter" [------],( ) who wrote verses against the heretic marcus. elsewhere he supports his extraordinary statement that the public career of jesus, instead of being limited to a single year, extended over a period of twenty years, and that he was nearly fifty when he suffered,( ) by the appeal: "as the gospel and all the presbyters testify, who in asia met with john the disciple of the lord (stating) that these things were transmitted to them by john. for he continued among them till the times of trajan."( ) that these presbyters are not quoted from the work of papias may be inferred from the fact that eusebius, who had his work, quotes the passage from irenseus without allusion to papias, and as he adduces two witnesses only, irenæus and clement of alexandria, to prove the assertion regarding john, he would certainly have referred to the earlier authority, had the work of papias contained the statement, as he does for the stories regarding the { } daughters of the apostle philip; the miracle in favour of justus, and other matters.( ) we need not refer to clement, nor to polycarp, who had been "taught by apostles," and the latter of whom irenæus knew in his youth.( ) irenæus in one place also gives a long account of the teaching of some one upon the sins of david and other men of old, which he introduces: "as i have heard from a certain presbyter, who had heard it from those who had seen the apostles, and from those who learnt from them."( ) &c. further on, speaking evidently of a different person, he says: "in this manner also a presbyter disciple of the apostles, reasoned regarding the two testaments:"( ) and quotes fully. in another place irenæus, after quoting gen. ii. , "and god planted a paradise eastward in eden," &c., states: "wherefore the presbyters who are disciples of the apostles [------], say that those who were translated had been translated thither," there to remain till the consummation of all things awaiting immortality, and irenæus explains that it was into this paradise that paul was caught up ( cor. xii. ).( ) it seems highly probable that these "presbyters the disciples of the apostles" who are quoted on paradise, are the same "presbyters the disciples of the apostles" referred to on the same subject (v. , §§ , ) whom we { } are discussing, but there is nothing whatever to connect them with papias. he also speaks of the scptuagint translation of the bible as the version of the "presbyters,"( ) and on several occasions he calls luke "the follower and disciple of the apostles" (sectator et discipulus apostolorum)( ), and characterizes mark as "the interpreter and follower of peter" (interpres et sectator petri)( ), and refers to both as having learnt from the words of the apostles.( ) here is, therefore, a wide choice of presbyters, including even evangelists, to whom the reference of irenæus may with equal right be ascribed,( ) so that it is unreasonable to claim it as an allusion to the work of papias.( ) in fact, dr. tischendorf and canon westcott( ) stand almost alone in in the new testament the term presbyter is even used in reference to patriarchs and prophets. heb. xi. ; cf. matt xv. ; mark vii. , . with regard to the presbyters quoted by irenæus generally. cf. routh, reliq. sacrse, i. p. ff. { } advancing this passage as evidence that either papias or his presbyters( ) were acquainted with the fourth gospel, and this renders the statement which is made by them without any discussion all the more indefensible. scarcely a single writer, however apologetic, seriously cites it amongst the external testimonies for the early existence of the gospel, and the few who do refer to the passage merely mention, in order to abandon, it.( ) so far as the question as to whether the fourth gospel was mentioned in the work of papias is concerned, the passage has practically never entered into the controversy at all, the great mass of critics having recognized that it is of no evidential value whatever, and, by common consent, tacitly excluded it.( ) it is { } admitted that the bishop of hierapolis cannot be shown to have known the fourth gospel, and the majority affirm that he actually was not acquainted with it. being, therefore, so completely detached from papias, it is obvious that the passage does not in any way assist the fourth gospel, but becomes assignable to vague tradition, and subject to the cumulative force of objections, which prohibit an early date being ascribed to so indefinite a reference. before passing on there is one other point to mention: andrew of cæsarea, in the preface to his commentary on the apocalypse, mentions that papias maintained "the credibility" [------] of that book, or in other words, its apostolic origin.( ) his strong millenarian opinions would naturally make such a composition stand high in his esteem, if indeed it did not materially contribute to the formation of his views, which is still more probable. apologists admit the genuineness of this statement, nay, claim it as undoubted evidence of the acquaintance of papias with the apocalypse.( ) canon westcott, for instance, says: "he maintained, moreover, 'the divine inspiration' of the apocalypse, and commented, at least, upon part of it."( ) now, he must, therefore, have recognized the book as the work of the apostle john, and we shall, hereafter, show that it is impossible that the author of the apocalypse is the author of the gospel; therefore, in this way also, papias { } is a witness against the apostolic origin of the fourth gospel. we must now turn to the clementine homilies, although, as we have shown,( ) the uncertainty as to the date of this spurious work, and the late period which must undoubtedly he assigned to its composition, render its evidence of very little value for the canonical gospels. the passages pointed out in the homilies as indicating acquaintance with the fourth gospel were long advanced with hesitation, and were generally felt to be inconclusive, but on the discovery of the concluding portion of the work and its publication by dressel in , it was found to contain a passage which apologists now claim as decisive evidence of the use of the gospel, and which even succeeded in converting some independent critics.( ) tischendorf( ) and canon westcott,( ) in the few lines devoted to the clementines, do not refer to the earlier proof passages, but rely entirely upon that last discovered. with a view, however, to making the whole of the evidence clear, we shall give all of the supposed allusions to the fourth gospel, confronting them with the text. the first is as follows:-- [------] { } [------] the first point which is apparent here is that there is a total difference both in the language and real meaning of these two passages. the homily uses the word [------] instead of the [------] of the gospel, and speaks of the gate of life, instead of the door of the sheepfold. we have already( ) discussed the passage in the pastor of hernias in which similar reference is made to the gate [------] into the kingdom of god, and need not here repeat our argument. in matt. vii. , , we have the direct description of the gate [------] which leads to life [------], and we have elsewhere quoted the messianic psalm cxviii. , : "this is the gate of the lord [------],( ) the righteous shall enter into it." in another place, the author of the homilies, referring to a passage parallel to, but differing from, matt. xxiii. , which we have elsewhere considered,( ) and which is derived from a gospel different from ours, says: "hear _them_ (scribes and pharisees who sit upon moses' seat), he said, as entrusted with the key of the kingdom which is knowledge, which alone is able to open the gate of life [------], through which alone is the entrance to eternal life."( ) now in the very next chapter to that in which the saying which we are discussing occurs, a very few lines after it indeed, we have the following passage: "indeed he said further: 'i am he { } concerning whom moses prophesied, saying: 'a prophet shall the lord our god raise up to you from among your brethren as also (he raised) me; hear ye him regarding all things, but whosoever will not hear that prophet he shall die.'"( ) there is no such saying in the canonical gospels or other books of the new testament attributed to jesus, but a quotation from deuteronomy xviii. f., materially different from this, occurs twice in the acts of the apostles, once being put into the mouth of peter applied to jesus,( ) and the second time also applied to him, being quoted by stephen.( ) it is quite clear that the writer is quoting from uncanonical sources, and here is another express declaration regarding himself: "i am he," &c., which is quite in the spirit of the preceding passage which we are discussing, and probably derived from the same source. in another place we find the following argument: "but the way is the manner of life, as also moses says: 'behold i have set before thy face the way of life, and the way of death'( ) and in agreement the teacher said: 'enter ye through the narrow and straitened way through which ye shall enter into life,' and in another place a certain person inquiring: 'what shall i do to inherit eternal life?' he intimated the commandments of the law."( ) it has to be observed that the homilies teach the doctrine { } that the spirit in jesus christ had already appeared in adam, and by a species of transmigration passed through moses and the patriarchs and prophets: "who from the beginning of the world, changing names and forms, passes through time [------] until, attaining his own seasons, being on account of his labours anointed by the mercy of god, he shall have rest for ever."( ) just in the same way, therefore, as the homilies represent jesus as quoting a prophecy of moses, and altering it to a personal declaration: "i am the prophet," &c., so here again they make him adopt this saying of moses and, "being the true prophet," declare: "i am the gate or the way of life,"--inculcating the same commandments of the law which the gospel of the homilies represents jesus as coming to confirm and not to abolish. the whole system of doctrine of the clementines, as we shall presently see, indicated here even by the definition of "the true prophet," is so fundamentally opposed to that of the fourth gospel that there is no reasonable ground for supposing that the author made use of it, and this brief saying, varying as it does in language and sense from the parallel in that work, cannot prove acquaintance with it. there is good reason to believe that the author of the fourth gospel, who most undeniably derived materials from earlier evangelical works, may have drawn from a source likewise used by the gospel according to the hebrews, and thence many analogies might well be presented with quotations from that or kindred gospels.( ) we find, further, this community of source in the fact, { } that in the fourth gospel, without actual quotation, there is a reference to moses, and, no doubt, to the very passage (deut. xviii. ), which the gospel of the clementines puts into the mouth of jesus, john v. : "for had ye believed moses ye would believe me, for he wrote of me." whilst the ebionite gospel gave prominence to this view of the case, the dogmatic system of the logos gospel did not permit of more than mere reference to it. the next passage pointed out as derived from the johannine gospel occurs in the same chapter: "my sheep hear my voice." [------] there was no more common representation amongst the jews of the relation between god and his people than that of a shepherd and his sheep,( ) nor any more current expression than: hearing his voice. this brief anonymous saying was in all probability derived from the same source as the preceding,( ) which cannot be identified with the fourth gospel. tradition, and the acknowledged existence of other written records of the teaching of jesus oppose any exclusive claim to this fragmentary saying. we have already discussed the third passage regarding the new birth in connection with justin,( ) and may therefore pass on to the last and most important passage, to which we have referred as contained in the concluding portion of the homilies first published by dressel in { } . we subjoin it in contrast with the parallel in the fourth gospel [------] it is necessary that we should consider the context of this passage in the homily, the characteristics of which are markedly opposed to the theory that it was derived from the fourth gospel we must mention that, in the clementines, the apostle peter is represented as maintaining that the scriptures are not all true, but are mixed up with what is false, and that on this account, and in order to inculcate the necessity of distinguishing between the true and the false, jesus taught his disciples, "be ye approved money changers,"( ) an injunction not found in our gospels. one of the points which peter denies is the fall of adam, a doctrine which, as neander remarked, "he must combat as blasphemy."( ) at the part we are { } considering he is discussing with simon,--under whose detested personality, as we have elsewhere shown, the apostle paul is really attacked,--and refuting the charges he brings forward regarding the origin and continuance of evil. the apostle peter in the course of the discussion asserts that evil is the same as pain and death, but that evil does not exist eternally and, indeed, does not really exist at all, for pain and death are only accidents without permanent force--pain is merely the disturbance of harmony, and death nothing but the separation of soul from body.( ) the passions also must be classed amongst the things which are accidental, and are not always to exist; but these, although capable of abuse, are in reality beneficial to the soul when properly restrained, and carry out the will of god. the man who gives them unbridled course ensures his own punishment.( ) simon inquires why men die prematurely and periodical diseases come, and also visitations of demons and of madness and other afflictions; in reply to which peter explains that parents by following their own pleasure in all things and neglecting proper sanitary considerations, produce a multitude of evils for their children, and this either through { } carelessness or ignorance.( ) and then follows the passage we are discussing: "wherefore also our teacher," &c., and at the end of the quotation, he continues: "and truly such sufferings ensue in consequence of ignorance," and giving an instance,( ) he proceeds: "now the sufferings which you before mentioned are the consequence of ignorance, and certainly not of an evil act, which has been committed,"( ) &c. now it is quite apparent that the peculiar variation from the parallel in the fourth gospel in the latter part of the quotation is not accidental, but is the point upon which the whole propriety of the quotation depends. in the gospel of the clementines the man is not blind from his birth, "that the works of god might be made manifest in him,"--a doctrine which would be revolting to the author of the homilies,--but the calamity has befallen him in consequence of some error of ignorance on the part of his parents which brings its punishment; but "the power of god" is made manifest in healing the sins of ignorance. the reply of jesus is a professed quotation, and it varies very substantially from the parallel in the gospel, presenting evidently a distinctly different version of the episode. the substitution of [------] for [------] in the opening is also significant, more especially as justin likewise in his general remark, which we have discussed, uses the same word. assuming the passage in the fourth gospel to be the account of a historical episode, as apologists, of course, maintain, the case stands thus:--the author of the homilies introduces a narrative of a historical { } incident in the life of jesus, which may have been, and probably was, reported in many early gospels in language which, though analogous to, is at the same time decidedly different, in the part which is a professed quotation, from that of the fourth gospel, and presents another and natural comment upon the central event. the reference to the historical incident is, of course, no evidence whatever of dependence on the fourth gospel, which, although it may be the only accidentally surviving work which contains the narrative, had no prescriptive and exclusive property in it, and so far from the partial agreement in the narrative proving the use of the fourth gospel, the only remarkable point is, that all narratives of the same event and reports of words actually spoken do not more perfectly agree, while, on the other hand, the very decided variation in the reply of jesus, according to the homily, from that given in the fourth gospel leads to the distinct presumption that it is not the source of the quotation. it is perfectly unreasonable to assert that such a reference, without the slightest indication of the source from which the author derived his information, must be dependent on one particular work, more especially when the part which is given as distinct quotation substantially differs from the record in that work. we have already illustrated this on several occasions, and may once more offer an instance. if the first synoptic had unfortunately perished, like so many other gospels of the early church, and in the clementines we met with the quotation: "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" [------], apologists would certainly assert, according to the principle upon which they act in { } the present case, that this quotation was clear evidence of the use of luke vi. : "blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of god." [------], more especially as a few codices actually insert [------], the slight variations being merely ascribed to free quotation from memory. in point of fact, however, the third synoptic might not at the time have been in existence, and the quotation might have been derived, as it is, from matt. v. . nothing is more certain and undeniable than the fact that the author of the fourth gospel made use of materials derived from oral tradition and earlier records for its composition.( ) it is equally undeniable that other gospels had access to the same materials, and made use of them; and a comparison of our three synoptics renders very evident the community of materials, including the use of the one by the other, as well as the diversity of literary handling to which those materials were subjected. it is impossible with reason to deny that the gospel according to the hebrews, for instance, as well as other earlier evangelical works now lost, may have drawn from the same sources as the fourth gospel, and that narratives derived from the one may, therefore, present analogies with the other whilst still perfectly independent of it.( ) whatever private opinion, therefore, any one may form as to the source of the anonymous quotations which we have been considering, it is evident that they are totally insufficient to prove that the author of { } the clementine homilies must have made use of the fourth gospel, and consequently they do not establish even the contemporary existence of that work. if such quotations, moreover, could be traced with fifty times greater probability to the fourth gospel, it is obvious that they could do nothing towards establishing its historical character and apostolic origin. leaving, however, the few and feeble analogies by which apologists vainly seek to establish the existence of the fourth gospel and its use by the author of the pseudo-clementine homilies, and considering the question for a moment from a wider point of view, the results already attained are more than confirmed. the doctrines held and strongly enunciated in the clementines seem to us to exclude the supposition that the author can have made use of a work so fundamentally at variance with all his views as the fourth gospel, and it is certain that, holding those opinions, he could hardly have regarded such a gospel as an apostolic and authoritative document. space will not permit our entering adequately into this argument, and we must refer our readers to works more immediately devoted to the examination of the homilies for a close analysis of their dogmatic teaching,( ) but we may in the briefest manner point out some of their more prominent doctrines in contrast with those of the johannine gospel. { } one of the leading and most characteristic ideas of the clementine homilies is the essential identity of judaism and christianity. christ revealed nothing new with regard to god, but promulgated the very same truth concerning him as adam, moses, and the patriarchs, and in fact the right belief is that moses and jesus were essentially one and the same.( ) indeed, it may be said that the teaching of the homilies is more jewish than christian.( ) in the preliminary epistle of the apostle peter to the apostle james, when sending the book, peter entreats that james will not give it to any of the gentiles,( ) and james says: "necessarily and rightly our peter reminded us to take precautions for the security of the truth, that we should not communicate the books of his preachings, sent to us, indiscriminately to all, but to him who is good and discreet and chosen to teach, and who is _circumcised_,( ) being faithful."( ) &c. clement also is represented as describing his conversion to christianity in the following terms: "for this cause i fled for refuge to the holy god and law of the jews, with faith in the certain conclusion that, by the righteous judgment of god, both the law is prescribed, and the soul beyond doubt everywhere receives { } the desert of its actions."( ) peter recommends the inhabitants of tyre to follow what are really jewish rites, and to hear "as the god-fearing jews have heard "( ) the jew has the same truth as the christian: "for as there is one teaching by both (moses and jesus), god accepts him who believes either of these."( ) the law was in fact given by adam as a true prophet knowing all things, and it is called "eternal," and neither to be abrogated by enemies nor falsified by the impious.( ) the author, therefore, protests against the idea that christianity is any new thing, and insists that jesus came to confirm, not abrogate, the mosaic law.( ) on the other hand the author of the fourth gospel represents christianity in strong contrast and antagonism to judaism.( ) in his antithetical system, the religion of jesus is opposed to judaism as well as all other belief, as light to darkness and life to death.( ) the law which moses gave is treated as merely national, and neither of { } general application nor intended to be permanent, being only addressed to the jews. it is perpetually referred to as the "law of the jews," "your law,"--and the jewish festivals as feasts of the jews, and jesus neither held the one in any consideration nor did he scruple to shew his indifference to the other.( ) the very name of "the jews" indeed is used as an equivalent for the enemies of christ.( ) the religion of jesus is not only absolute, but it communicates knowledge of the father which the jews did not previously possess.( ) the inferiority of mosaism is everywhere represented: "and out of his fulness all we received, and grace for grace. because the law was given through moses; _grace and truth_ came through jesus christ."( ) "verily verily i say unto you: moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven."( ) the fundamental difference of christianity from judaism will further appear as we proceed. the most essential principle of the clementines, again, is monotheism,--the absolute oneness of god,--which the author vehemently maintains as well against the ascription of divinity to christ as against heathen polytheism and the gnostic theory of the demiurge as distinguished from the supreme god.( ) christ not only is not god, { } but he never asserted himself to be so.( ) he wholly ignores the doctrine of the logos, and his speculation is confined to the [------], the wisdom of proverbs viii., &c., and is, as we shall see, at the same time a less developed and very different doctrine from that of the fourth gospel.( ) the idea of a hypostatic trinity seems to be quite unknown to him, and would have been utterly abhorrent to his mind as sheer polytheism. on the other hand, the fourth gospel proclaims the doctrine of a hypostatic trinity in a more advanced form than any other writing of the new testament. it is, indeed, the fundamental principle of the work,( ) as the doctrine of the logos is its most characteristic feature. in the beginning the "word not only was with god, but "the word was god" [------].( ) he is the "only begotten god" [------],( ) equivalent to the "second god" [------] of philo, and, throughout, his absolutely divine nature is asserted both by the evangelist, and in express terms in the discourses of jesus.( ) nothing could be more opposed to the principles of the clementines. { } according to the homilies, the same spirit, the [------], appeared in adam, enoch, noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, moses, and finally in jesus, who are the only "true prophets" and are called the seven pillars [------] of the world.( ) these seven( ) persons, therefore, are identical, the same true prophet and spirit" who from the beginning of the world, changing names and forms, passes through time,"( ) and these men were thus essentially the same as jesus.( ) as neander rightly observes, the author of the homilies "saw in jesus a new appearance of that adam whom he had ever venerated as the source of all the true and divine in man."( ) we need not point out how different these views are from the logos doctrine of the fourth gospel.( ) in other points there is an equally wide gulf between the clementines and the fourth gospel. according to the author of the homilies, the chief dogma of it is very uncertain by what means the author of the homilies considered this periodical reappearance to be effected, whether by a kind of transmigration or otherwise. critics consider it very doubtful whether he admitted the supernatural birth of jesus (though some hold it to be probable), but at any rate he does not explain the matter: uhlhorn, die homilien, p. f.; neander, k. g., ii. p. , anm. ; credner thought that he did not admit it, . c. p. ; schliemann, whilst thinking that he did admit it, considers that in that case he equally attributed a supernatural birth to the other seven prophets: die clementinen, p. ff. { } true religion is monotheism. belief in christ, in the specific johannine sense, is nowhere inculcated, and where belief is spoken of, it is merely belief in god. no dogmatic importance whatever is attached to faith in christ or to his sufferings, death, and resurrection, and of the doctrines of atonement and redemption there is nothing in the homilies,( )--everyone must make his own reconciliation with god, and bear the punishment of his own sins.( ) on the other hand, the representation of jesus as the lamb of god taking away the sins of the world,( ) is the very basis of the fourth gospel. the passages are innumerable in which belief in jesus is insisted upon as essential. "he that believeth in the son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god abideth on him "( )...."for if ye believe not that i am he, ye shall die in your sins."( ) in fact, the "whole of christianity according to the author of the fourth gospel is concentrated in the possession of faith in christ.( ) belief in god alone is never held to be sufficient; belief in christ is necessary for salvation; he died for the sins of the world, and is the object of faith, by which alone forgiveness and justification before god can be secured.( ) the same discrepancy is apparent in smaller details. in the clementines the apostle peter { } is the principal actor, and is represented as the chief amongst the apostles. in the epistle of clement to james, which precedes the homilies, peter is described in the following terms: "simon, who, on account of his true faith and of the principles of his doctrine, which were most sure, was appointed to be the foundation of the church, and for this reason his name was by the unerring voice of jesus himself changed to peter; the first-fruit of our lord; the first of the apostles to whom first the father revealed the son; whom the christ deservedly pronounced blessed; the called and chosen and companion and fellow-traveller (of jesus); the admirable and approved disciple, who as fittest of all was commanded to enlighten the west, the darker part of the world, and was enabled to guide it aright," &c.( ) he is here represented as the apostle to the heathen, the hated apostle paul being robbed of that honourable title, and he is, in the spirit of this introduction, made to play, throughout, the first part amongst the apostles.( ) in the fourth gospel, however, he is assigned a place quite secondary to john,( ) who is the disciple whom jesus loved and who leans on his bosom.( ) we shall only mention one "other point the homilist, when attacking the apostle paul, under the { } name of simon the magician, for his boast that he had not been taught by man, but by a revelation of jesus christ,( ) whom he had only seen in a vision, inquires: why, then, did the teacher remain and discourse a whole year to us who were awake, if you became his apostle after a single hour of instruction?( ) as neander aptly remarks: "but if the author had known from the johannine gospel that the teaching of christ had continued for _several years_, he would certainly have had particularly good reason instead of one year to set _several_."( ) it is obvious that an author with so vehement an animosity against paul would assuredly have strengthened his argument, by adopting the more favourable statement of the fourth gospel as to the duration of the ministry of jesus, had he been acquainted with that work. our attention must now be turned to the anonymous composition, known as the "epistle to diognetus," general particulars regarding which we have elsewhere given.( ) this epistle, it is admitted, does not contain any quotation from any evangelical work, but on the strength of some supposed references it is claimed by apologists as evidence for the existence of the fourth gospel. tischendorf, who only devotes a dozen lines to this work, states his case as follows: "although this short apologetic epistle contains no precise quotation from any gospel, yet it contains repeated references to evangelical, and particularly to johannine, passages. for when the author writes, ch. : 'christians dwell in the world, but they are not of the world;' and in { } ch. : 'for god has loved men, for whose sakes he made the world.... to whom he sent his only begotten son,' the reference to john xvii. ('but they are in the world'); ('the world hateth them, for they are not of the world'); ('they are not of the world as i am not of the world'); and to john iii. ('god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son'), is hardly to be mistaken."( ) dr. westcott still more emphatically claims the epistle as evidence for the fourth gospel, and we shall, in order impartially to consider the question, likewise quote his remarks in full upon the point, but as he introduces his own paraphrase of the context in a manner which does not properly convey its true nature to a reader who has not the epistle before him, we shall take the liberty of putting the actual quotations in italics, and the rest must be taken as purely the language of canon westcott. we shall hereafter show also the exact separation which exists between phrases which are here, with the mere indication of some omission, brought together to form the supposed references to the fourth gospel. canon westcott says: "in one respect the two parts of the book are united,( ) inasmuch as they both exhibit a combination of the teaching of st. paul and st. john. the love of god, it is said in the letter to diognetus, is the source of love in the christian, who must needs 'love god who thus first loved him' [------], and find an expression for this love by loving his neighbour, { } whereby he will be '_an imitator of god!_' for god loved men, for whose sakes he made the world, to whom he subjected all things that are in the earth.... unto whom [------] he sent his only begotten son, to whom he promised the kingdom in heaven [------], _and will give it to those who love him._' god's will is mercy; '_he sent his son as wishing to save [------].... and not to condemn'_ and as witnesses of this, '_christians dwell in the world, though they are not of the world!_( ) at the close of the paragraph he proceeds: "the presence of the teaching of st. john is here placed beyond all doubt. there are, however, no direct references to the gospels throughout the letter, nor indeed any allusions to our lord's discourses."( ) it is clear that as there is no direct reference to any gospel in the epistle to diognetus, even if it were ascertained to be a composition dating from the middle of the second century, which it is not, and even if the indirect allusions were ten times more probable than they are, this anonymous work could do nothing towards establishing the apostolic origin and historical character { } of the fourth gospel. written, however, as we believe it to have been, at a much later period, it scarcely requires any consideration here. we shall, however, for those who may be interested in more minutely discussing the point, at once proceed to examine whether the composition even indicates the existence of the gospel, and for this purpose we shall take each of the passages in question and place them with their context before the reader; and we only regret that the examination of a document which, neither from its date nor evidence can be of any real weight, should detain us so long. the first passage is: "christians dwell in the world but are not of the world" [------]. dr. westcott, who reverses the order of all the passages indicated, introduces this sentence (which occurs in chapter vi.) as the consequence of a passage following it in chapter vii. by the words "and as witnesses of this: christians," &c.... the first parallel which is pointed out in the gospel reads, john xvii. : "and i am no more in the world, and these are in the world [------], and i come to thee, holy father keep them,"&c. now it must be evident that in mere direct point of language and sense there is no parallel here at all. in the gospel, the disciples are referred to as being left behind in the world by jesus who goes to the father, whilst, in the epistle, the object is the antithesis that while christians _dwell_ in the world they are not of the world. in the second parallel, which is supposed to complete the analogy, the gospel reads: v. , "i have given them thy word: and the world hated them because they are not of the world, [------] even as i am not of the world." here, again, the parallel words are merely introduced as a reason why the world hated them, and not antithetically, and from this very connection we shall see that the resemblance between the epistle and the gospel is merely superficial. in order to form a correct judgment regarding the nature of the passage in the epistle, we must carefully examine the context. in chapter v. the author is speaking of the manners of christians, and he says that they are not distinguished from others either { } by country or language or by their customs, for they have neither cities nor speech of their own, nor do they lead a singular life. they dwell in their native countries, but only as sojourners [------], and the writer proceeds by a long sequence of antithetical sentences to depict their habits. "every foreign land is as their native country, yet the land of their birth is a foreign land" [------], and so on. now this epistle is in great part a mere plagiarism of the pauline and other canonical epistles, whilst professing to describe the actual life of christians, and the fifth and sixth chapters, particularly, are based upon the epistles of paul and notably the nd epistle to the corinthians, from which even the antithetical style is derived. we may give a specimen of this in referring to the context of the passage before us, and it is important that we should do so. after a few sentences like the above the fifth chapter continues: "they are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. they continue on earth, but are citizens of heaven "[------].( ) it is very evident here, and throughout the epistle, that the epistles of paul chiefly, together with the other canonical epistles, are the sources of the writer's inspiration. the next chapter (vi) begins and proceeds as follows: "to say all in a word: what the soul is in the body, that christians are in the world. the soul is dispersed throughout all the members of the body, and christians throughout all the cities of the world. the soul dwells in the body but is not of the body, and christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world. [------]. the invisible soul is kept in the visible body, and christians are known, indeed, to be in the world, but their worship of god remains invisible. the flesh hates the soul and wages war against it, although in no way wronged by it, because it is restrained from indulgence in sensual pleasures, and the world hates christians, { } although in no way wronged by them, because they are opposed to sensual pleasures [------]. the soul loves the flesh that hates it, and the members, and christians love those who hate them "[------]. and so on with three or four similar sentences, one of which, at least, is taken from the epistle to the corinthians,( ) to the end of the chapter. now the passages pointed out as references to the fourth gospel, it will be remembered, distinctly differ from the parallels in the gospel, and it seems to us clear that they arise naturally out of the antithetical manner which the writer adopts from the epistles of paul, and are based upon passages in those epistles closely allied to them in sense and also in language. the simile in connection with which the words occur is commenced at the beginning of the preceding chapter, where christians are represented as living as strangers even in their native land, and the very essence of the passage in dispute is given in the two sentences: "they are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh" [------], which is based upon cor. x. , "for we walk in the flesh, but do not war( ) according to the flesh" [------], and similar passages abound; as for instance, rom. viii. ... "in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit; . but ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit [------]: ... so then, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, that we should live after the flesh" [------] &c., &c. (cf. , .). and the second: "they continue on earth but are citizens of heaven" [------], which recall philip, iii. : "for our country (our citizenship) is in heaven" [------].( ) the sense of the passage is everywhere found, and nothing is more natural than { } the use of the words arising both out of the previous reference to the position of christians as mere sojourners in the world, and as the antithesis to the preceding part of the sentence: "the soul dwells in the body, but is not of the body," and: "christians dwell in the world but are not of the world." cf. cor. ii. ; vii. ; cor. l . gal. iv. , v. ff. , , vi. . rom. viii. ff. ephes. ii. , , ff. coloss. iii. ff: titus ii. . james i. . there is one point, however, which we think shows that the words were not derived from the fourth gospel. the parallel with the epistle can only be made by taking a few words out of xvii. and adding to them a few words in verse , where they stand in the following connection "and the world hated them, because they are not of the world" [------]. in the epistle, in a passage quoted above, we have: "the flesh hates the soul, and wages war against it, although unjustly, because it is restrained from indulgence in sensual pleasures, and the world hates christians, _although in no way wronged by them, because they are opposed to sensual pleasures_." [------].now nothing could more clearly show that these analogies are mere accidental coincidence, and not derived from the fourth gospel, than this passage. if the writer had really had the passage in the gospel in his mind, it is impossible that he could in this manner have completely broken it up and changed its whole context and language. the phrase: "they are not of the world" would have been introduced here as the reason for the hatred, instead of being used with quite different context elsewhere in the passage. in fact, in the only place in which the words would have presented a true parallel with the gospel, they are not used. not the slightest reference is made throughout the epistle to diognetus to any of the discourses of jesus. on the other hand, we have seen that the whole of the passage in the epistle in which these sentences occur is based both in matter, and in its peculiar antithetical form, upon the epistles of paul, and in these and other canonical epistles again, we find the source of the sentence just quoted: gal. iv. . "but as then, he that was born after the flesh { } persecuted him (that was born) after the spirit, even so it is now."( ) v. . "walk by the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. . for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary the one to the other, that ye may not do the things that ye would."( ) there are innumerable passages in the pauline epistles to the same effect. we pass on now to the next passage in the order of the epistle. it is not mentioned at all by tischendorf: dr. west-cott introduces it with the words: "god's will is mercy," by which we presume that he means to paraphrase the context "he sent his son as wishing to save [------].... and not to condemn."( ) this sentence, however, which is given as quotation without any explanation, is purely a composition by canon westcott himself out of different materials which he finds in the epistle, and is not a quotation at all. the actual passage in the epistle, with its immediate context, is as follows: "this (messenger--the truth, the holy word) he sent to them; now, was it, as one of men might reason, for tyranny and to cause fear and consternation? not so, but in clemency and gentleness, as a king sending his son [------] a king, he sent [------]; as god he sent (him); as towards men he sent; as saving he sent[------] (him); as persuading [------], not forcing, for violence has no place with god. he sent as inviting, not vindictively pursuing; he sent as loving, not condemning [------]. for he will send him to judge, and who shall abide his presence?"( ) the supposed parallel in the gospel is as follows (john iii. ): "for god sent not his son into the world that he might condemn the { } world, but that the world through him might be saved"( ) [------]. now, it is obvious at a glance that the passage in the epistle is completely different from that in the gospel in every material point of construction and language, and the only similarity consists in the idea that god's intention in sending his son was to save and not to condemn, and it is important to notice that the letter does not, either here or elsewhere, refer to the condition attached to salvation so clearly enunciated in the preceding verse: "that whosoever believeth in him might not perish." the doctrine enunciated in this passage is the fundamental principle of much of the new testament, and it is expressed with more especial clearness and force, and close analogy with the language of the letter, in the epistles of paul, to which the letter more particularly leads us, as well as in other canonical epistles, and in these we find analogies with the context quoted above, which confirm our belief that they, and not the gospel, are the source of the passage--rom. v. : "but god proveth his own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us. . much more then....... shall we be saved [------] through him from the wrath (to come).'" cf. , . rom. viii. : "there is, therefore, now no condemnation [------] to them which are in christ jesus.( ) .... god sending his own son" [------] &c. and coming to the very nd epistle to the corinthians, from which we find the writer borrowing wholesale, we meet with the different members of the passage we have quoted: v. .... "god was reconciling the world unto himself in christ, not reckoning unto them their trespasses..... . on christ's behalf, then, we are ambassadors, as though god were entreating by us; we pray on christ's behalf: be reconciled to god. v. . for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ, &c. . knowing, then, the fear of { } the lord, we persuade [------] men," &c. galatians iv. : "but when the fulness of time came, god sent out his son [------], . that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons,"( ) &c. ephes. ii. . "but god being rich in mercy because of his great love wherewith he loved us, . even when we were dead in our trespasses, quickened us together with christ--by grace ye have been saved"--cf. verses , . thess. v. . "for god appointed us not to wrath, but to the obtaining salvation [------] through our lord jesus christ." tim. i. . "this is a faithful saying.... that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners" [------]. tim. ii. . "for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our saviour [------]. . who willeth all men to be saved "[------]. cf. v. , . tim. i. . "who saved us [------], and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose, and the grace which was given to us in christ jesus before time began; . but hath been made manifest by the appearing of our saviour [------] jesus christ" these passages might be indefinitely multiplied; and they contain the sense of the passage, and in many cases the language, more closely than the fourth gospel, with which the construction and form of the sentence has no analogy. now, with regard to the logos doctrine of the epistle to { } diognetus, to which we may appropriately here refer, although we must deal with it in the briefest manner possible, so far is it from connecting the epistle with the fourth gospel, that it much more proves the writer's ignorance of that gospel. the peculiar terminology of the prologue to the gospel is nowhere found in the epistle, and we have already seen that the term logos was applied to jesus in works of the new testament, acknowledged by all to have been written long before the fourth gospel. indeed, it is quite certain, not only historically, but also from the abrupt enunciation of the doctrine in the prologue, that the theory of the logos was well known and already applied to jesus before the gospel was composed. the author knew that his statement would be understood without explanation. although the writer of the epistle makes use of the designation "logos," he shows his greek culture by giving the precedence to the term truth or reason. it has indeed been remarked( ) that the name jesus or christ does not occur anywhere in the epistle. by way of showing the manner in which "the word" is spoken of, we will give the entire passage, part of which is quoted above; the first and only one in the first ten chapters in which the term is used: "for, as i said, this was not an earthly invention which was delivered to them (christians), neither is it a mortal system which they deem it right to maintain so carefully; nor is an administration of human mysteries entrusted to them, but the almighty and invisible god himself, the creator of all things [------] has implanted in men, and established in their hearts from heaven, the truth and the word, the holy and incomprehensible [------], not as one might suppose, sending to men some servant or angel or ruler [------], or one of those ordering earthly affairs, or one of those entrusted with the government of heavenly things, but the artificer and creator of the universe [------] himself, by whom he created the heavens [------];( ) by { } whom he confined the sea within its own bounds; whose commands [------] all the stars [------]--elements) faithfully observe; from whom (the sun) has received the measure of the daily course to observe; whom the moon obeys, being bidden to shine at night; whom the stars obey, following in the course of the moon; by whom all things have been arranged and limited and subjected, the heavens and the things in the heavens, the earth and the things in the earth, the sea and the things in the sea [------], fire, air, abyss, the things in the heights, the things in the depths, the things in the space between. this (messenger--the truth, the word) he sent to them. now, was it, as one of men might reason, for tyranny and to cause fear and consternation? not so, but in clemency and gentleness, as a king sending his son, a king, he sent; as god he sent (him); as towards men he sent, as saving he sent (him); as persuading," &c., &c.( ) the description here given, how god in fact by reason or wisdom created the universe, has much closer analogy with earlier representations of the doctrine than with that in the fourth gospel, and if the writer does also represent the reason in a hypostatic form, it is by no means with the concreteness of the gospel doctrine of the logos, with which linguistically, moreover, as we have observed, it has no similarity. there can be no doubt that his christology presents differences from that of the fourth gospel.( ) we have already seen how jesus is called the word in works of the new testament earlier than the fourth gospel,( ) and how the doctrine is constantly referred to in the pauline epistles and the epistle to the hebrews, and it is to these, and not to the fourth gospel, that the account in the epistle to diognetus may be more properly traced. heb. l . "the son of god by whom also he made the worlds. . the heavens are works of thy hands" [------]. xi. . "by faith we understand that the worlds were framed [------], by the word of god" [------]. cor. viii. . "jesus christ by whom are all things" [------]. coloss. i. . "... the { } son of his love: . who is the image of the invisible god [------] the first-born of all creation; . because in him were all things created, the things in the heavens, and the things in the earth, the things visible and the things invisible [------] whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things have been created by him and for him [------]. . and he is before all things, and in him all things subsist. . and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning( ) [------]; the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might be the first. . because he was well pleased that in him should all the fulness dwell. . and through him to reconcile all things unto himself," &c., &c. these passages might be greatly multiplied, but it is unnecessary, for the matter of the letter is substantially here. as to the titles of king and god they are everywhere to be found. in the apocalypse, the lamb whose name is "the word of god" [------], (xix. ) has also his name written (xix. ), "king of kings and lord of lords" [------].( ) we have already quoted the views of philo regarding the logos, which also merit comparison with the passage of the epistle, but we cannot repeat them here. the last passage to which we have to refer is the following: "for god loved men, for whose sakes he made the world, to whom he subjected all things that are in the earth... unto whom [------] he sent his only-begotten son, to whom he promised the kingdom in heaven [------] and will give it to those who love him."( ) the context is as follows: "for god loved men [------] for whose sake he made the world, to whom he subjected all things that are in it, to whom he gave reason and intelligence, to whom alone he granted the right of looking towards him, whom he formed after his own image, to whom he sent his only begotten son [------], to whom he has promised the kingdom in heaven, and will give it to those who have loved him. and when you know this, with what { } gladness, think you, you will be filled? or how will you love him, who beforehand so loved you? [------]. but if you love, you will be an _imitator of his kindness_," &c. [------].( ) this is claimed as a reference to john iii. f. "for god so loved the world [------] that he gave his only begotten son [------] that whosoever believeth in him might not perish," &c. . "for god sent not his son into the world that he might judge the world," &c. [------]. here, again, a sentence is patched together by taking fragments from the beginning and middle of a passage, and finding in them a superficial resemblance to words in the gospel. we find parallels for the passage, however, in the epistles from which the unknown writer obviously derives so much of his matter. rom. v. : "but god giveth proof of his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us. .... through the death of his son." chap. viii. , "god sending his son, &c. .... them he also foreordained to bear the likeness of the image of his son, &c. . he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all," &c. . (nothing can separate us) "from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord." gal. ii. .... "by the faith of the son of god who loved me and gave himself for me." chap. iv. . "god sent out his son [------] .... that he might redeem," &c. ephes. ii. . "but god being rich in mercy because of his great love wherewith he loved us. . even when we were dead in our trespasses hath quickened us together with christ. . that he might show forth the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness [------] towards us in christ jesus." chap. iv. . "be ye kind [------] one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as god also in christ forgave you."* chap. v. . "beye therefore imitators [------] of god as beloved children. . and walk { } in love [------] even as christ also loved you [------], and gave himself for us," &c., &c. titus iii. . "but when the kindness [------] and love towards men [------] of our saviour god was manifested. ... according to his mercy he saved us.... .... through jesus christ our saviour. . that being justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." the words: "or how will you love him who so beforehand loved you?" [------], canon westcott refers to john iv. , "we love god( ) because he first loved us" [------]. the linguistic differences, however, and specially the substitution of [------], distinctly oppose the claim. the words are a perfectly natural comment upon the words in ephesians, from which it is obvious the writer derived other parts of the sentence, as the striking word "kindness" [------], which is commonly used in the pauline epistles, but nowhere else in the new testament,( ) shows. dr. westcott "cannot call to mind, a parallel to the phrase 'the kingdom in heaven'"( ) which occurs above in the phrase "to whom he has promised the kingdom in heaven, and will give it to those who have loved him" [------]. this also we find in the epistles to which the writer exclusively refers in this letter: james il , "heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him" [------] i. . "... he shall receive the crown of life which he promised to them that love him" [------]. in tim. iv. , we have: "the lord... shall preserve me safe unto his heavenly kingdom" [------]( ) the very fact that there is no exact parallel to the phrase "kingdom in heaven" in our gospels is unfavourable to the argument that they were used by the author. whatever evangelical works he may have read, { } it is indisputable that the writer of this epistle does not quote any of them, and he uses no expressions and no terminology which warrants the inference that he must have been acquainted with the fourth gospel. as we have already stated, the writer of the epistle to diognetus is unknown; diognetus, the friend to whom it is addressed, is equally unknown; the letter is neither mentioned nor quoted by any of the fathers, nor by any ancient writer, and there is no external evidence as to the date of the composition. it existed only in one codex, destroyed at strasburg during the franco-german war, the handwriting of which was referred to the thirteenth or fourteenth century, but it is far from certain that it was so old. the last two chapters are a falsification by a later writer than the author of the first ten. there is no internal evidence whatever in this brief didactic composition requiring or even suggesting its assignment to the second or third centuries, but on the contrary, we venture to assert that there is evidence, both internal and external, justifying the belief that it was written at a comparatively recent date. apart from the uncertainty of date, however, there is no allusion in it to any gospel. even if there were, the testimony of a letter by an unknown writer at an unknown period could not have any weight, but under the actual circumstances the epistle to diognetus furnishes absolutely no testimony at all for the apostolical origin and historical character of the fourth gospel.( ) the fulness with which we have discussed the supposed testimony of basilides( ) renders it unnecessary for us to re-enter at any length into the argument as to his knowledge of the fourth gospel. tischendorf( ) and { } canon westcott(l) assert that two passages, namely: "the true light which lighteth every man came into the world," corresponding with john i. , and: "mine hour is not yet come," agreeing with john ii. , which are introduced by hippolytus in his work against heresies( ) with a subjectless [------]" he says,"are quotations made in some lost work by basilides. we have shown that hippolytus and other writers of his time were in the habit of quoting passages from works by the founders of sects and by their later followers without any distinction, an utterly vague [------] doing service equally for all. this is the case in the present instance, and there is no legitimate reason for assigning these passages to basilides himself,( ) but on the contrary many considerations which forbid our doing so, which we have elsewhere detailed. these remarks most fully apply to valentinus, whose supposed quotations we have exhaustively discussed,( ) as well as the one passage given by hippolytus containing a sentence found in john x. ,( ) the only one which can be pointed out. "we have distinctly proved that the quotations in question are not assignable to valentinus himself, a fact which even apologists admit. there is no just ground for asserting that his terminology was derived from the fourth gospel, the whole having been in current use long before that gospel was composed. { } there is no evidence whatever that valentin us was acquainted with such a work.( ) we must generally remark, however, with regard to basilides, valentinus and all such heresiarchs and writers, that, even if it could be shown, as actually it cannot, that they were acquainted with the fourth gospel, the fact would only prove the existence of the work at a late period in the second century, but would furnish no evidence of the slightest value regarding its apostolic origin, or towards establishing its historical value. on the other hand, if, as apologists assert, these heretics possessed the fourth gospel, their deliberate and total rejection of the work furnishes evidence positively antagonistic to its claims. it is difficult to decide whether their rejection of the gospel, or their ignorance of its existence is the more unfavourable alternative. the dilemma is the very same in the case of marcion. we have already fully discussed his knowledge of our gospels,( ) and need not add anything here. it is not pretended that he made any use of the fourth gospel, and the only ground upon which it is argued that he supplies evidence even of its existence is the vague general statement of tertullian, that marcion rejected the gospels "which are put forth as genuine, and under the name of apostles or at least of contemporaries of the apostles," denying their truth and integrity, and maintaining the sole { } authority of his own gospel.( ) we have shown( ) how unwarrantable it is to affirm from such data that marcion knew, and deliberately repudiated, the four canonical gospels. the fathers, with uncritical haste and zeal, assumed that the gospels adopted by the church at the close of the second and beginning of the third centuries must equally have been invested with canonical authority from the first, and tertullian took it for granted that marcion, of whom he knew very little, must have actually rejected the four gospels of his own canon. even canon westcott admits that: "it is uncertain whether tertullian in the passage quoted speaks from a knowledge of what marcion may have written on the subject, or simply from his own point of sight."( ) there is not the slightest evidence that marcion knew the fourth gospel,( ) and if he did, it is perfectly inexplicable that he did not adopt it as peculiarly favourable to his own views.( ) if he was acquainted with the work and, nevertheless, rejected it as false and adulterated, his testimony is obviously opposed to the apostolic origin and historical accuracy of the fourth gospel, and the critical acumen which he exhibited in his selection of the pauline epistles renders his judgment of greater weight than that of most of the fathers. we have now reached an epoch when no evidence regarding the fourth gospel can have much weight, { } and the remaining witnesses need not detain us long. "we have discussed at length the diatessaron of tatian,( ) and shown that whilst there is no evidence that it was based upon our four gospels, there is reason to believe that it may have been identical with the gospel according to the hebrews, by which name, as epiphanius( ) states, it was actually called. we have only now briefly to refer to the address to the greeks [------], and to ascertain what testimony it bears regarding the fourth gospel. it was composed after the death of justin, and scarcely dates earlier than the beginning of the last quarter of the second century. no gospel and no work of the new testament is mentioned in this composition, but tischendorf( ) and others point out one or two supposed references to passages in the fourth gospel. the first of these in order, is one indicated by canon westcott,( ) but to which tischendorf does not call attention: "god was in the beginning, but we have learned that the beginning is the power of reason [------]. for the lord of the universe [------] being himself the substance [------] of all, in that creation had not been accomplished was alone, but inasmuch as he was all power, and himself the substance of things visible and invisible, all things were with him [------]. with him by means of rational power the reason [------] itself also which was in him subsisted. but by the will of his simplicity, reason [------] springs forth; but the reason [------] not { } proceeding in vain, because the first-born work [------] of the father. him we know to be the beginning of the world [------]. but he came into existence by division, not by cutting off, for that which is cut off is separated from the first: but that which is divided, receiving the choice of administration, did not render him defective from whom it was taken, &c., &c. and as the logos (reason), in the beginning begotten, begat again our creation, himself for himself creating the matter [------], so i," &c., &c.( ) it is quite evident that this doctrine of the logos is not that of the fourth gospel, from which it cannot have been derived. tatian himself( ) seems to assert that he derived it from the old testament. we have quoted the passage at length that it might be clearly { } understood; and with the opening words, we presume, for he does not quote at all but merely indicates the chapter, canon westcott compares john i. : "in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god" [------]. the statement of tatian is quite different; _god_ was in the beginning" [------], and he certainly did not identify the word with god, so as to transform the statement of the gospel into this simple affirmation. in all probability his formula was merely based upon genesis i. : "in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth" [------].( ) the expressions: "but we have learned that the beginning [------] was the power of reason," &c., "but the reason [------] not proceeding in vain became the first-born work [------] of the father. him we know to be the beginning [------] of the world," recall many early representations of the logos, to which we have already, referred: pro v. viii. : "the lord created me the beginning [------] of ways for his works [------], . before the ages he established me, in the beginning [------] before he made the earth," &c., &c. in the apocalypse also the word is called "the beginning [------] of the creation of god," and it will be remembered that justin gives testimony from prov. viii. if. "that god begat before all the creatures a beginning [------] a certain rational power [------], out of himself," &c., &c., and elsewhere: "as the logos declared through solomon, that this same.... had been begotten of god, before all created beings, both beginning [------]" &c.( ) we need not, however, refer to { } the numerous passages in philo and in justin, not derived from the fourth gospel, which point to a different source for tatian's doctrine. it is sufficient that both his opinions and his terminology differ distinctly from that gospel.( ) the next passage we at once subjoin in contrast with the parallel in the fourth gospel: [------] the context to this passage in the oration is as follows: tatian is arguing about the immortality of the soul, and he states that the soul is not in itself immortal but mortal, but that nevertheless it is possible for it not to die. if it do not know the truth it dies, but rises again at the end of the world, receiving eternal death as a punishment. "again, however, it does not die, though it be for a time dissolved, if it has acquired knowledge of god; for in itself it is darkness, and there is nothing luminous in it, and this, therefore, is (the meaning of) the saying: the darkness comprehends not the light. for the soul [------] did not itself save the spirit [------], but was saved by it, and the light comprehended the darkness. the logos (reason) truly is the light of god, but the ignorant soul is darkness [------]. for this reason, if it remain we have already mentioned that the gospel according to peter contained the doctrine of the logos. { } alone, it tends downwards to matter, dying with the flesh," &c., &c.( ) the source of "the saying" is not mentioned, and it is evident that, even if it were taken to be a reference to the fourth gospel, nothing would thereby be proved but the mere existence of the gospel. "the saying," however, is distinctly different in language from the parallel in the gospel, and it may be from a different gospel. we have already remarked that philo calls the logos "the light,"( ) and quoting in a peculiar form ps. xxvi. : "for the lord is my light [------] and my saviour," he goes on to say that, as the sun divides day and night, so, moses says, "god divides light and darkness" [------].( ) when we turn away to things of sense we use "another light," which is in no way different from "darkness."( ) the constant use of the same similitude of light and darkness in the canonical epistles( ) shows how current it was in the church; and nothing is more certain than the fact that it was neither originated by, nor confined to, the fourth gospel. the third and last passage is as follows: [------] { } tatian here speaks of god, and not of the logos, and in this respect, as well as in language and context, the passage differs from the fourth gospel. the phrase is not introduced as a quotation, and no reference is made to any gospel. the purpose for which the words are used, again, rather points to the first chapters of genesis than to the dogmatic prologue enunciating the doctrine of the logos.( ) under all these circumstances, the source from which the expression may have been derived cannot with certainty be ascertained and, as in the preceding instance, even if it be assumed that the words show acquaintance with the fourth gospel, nothing could be proved but the mere existence of the work about a century and a half after the events which it records. it is obvious that in no case does tatian afford the slightest evidence of the apostolic origin or historical veracity of the fourth gospel. dr. lightfoot points out another passage, § , [------], which he compares with john iv. , where the same words occur. it is right to add that he himself remarks: "if it had stood alone i should certainly not have regarded it as decisive. but the epigrammatic form is remarkable, and it is a characteristic passage of the fourth gospel.( ) neither tischendorf nor dr. westcott refer to it. the fact is, however, that the epigrammatic form only exists when the phrase is quoted without its context. "god is a spirit, not pervading matter, but the creator of material spirits, and of the forms that are in it. he is invisible and impalpable," &c. &c. further on, tatian says (§ ), "for the perfect god is without flesh, but man is flesh." &c. a large { } part of the oration is devoted to discussing the nature of god, and the distinction between spirit [------] and soul [------], and it is unreasonable to assert that a man like tatian could not make the declaration that god is a spirit without quoting the fourth gospel. we have generally discussed the testimony of dionysius of corinth,( ) melito of sardis,( ) and claudius apol-linaris,( ) and need not say more here. the fragments attributed to them neither mention nor quote the fourth gospel, but in no case could they furnish evidence to authenticate the work. the same remarks apply to athenagoras.( ) canon westcott only ventures to say that he "appears to allude to passages in st. mark and st. john, but they are all anonymous."( ) the passages in which he speaks of the logos, which are those referred to here, are certainly not taken from the fourth gospel, and his doctrine is expressed in terminology which is different from that of the gospel, and is deeply tinged with platonism.( ) he appeals to proverbs viii. , already so frequently quoted by us, for confirmation by the prophetic spirit of his exposition of the logos doctrine.( ) he nowhere identifies the logos with jesus;( ) indeed he does not once make use of the name of christ in his works. he does not show the slightest knowledge of the doctrine of salvation so constantly enunciated in the fourth gospel. there can be no doubt, as we have already shown,( ) that he considered the old testament to { } be the only inspired holy scriptures. not only does he not mention nor quote any of our gospels, but the only instance in which he makes any reference to sayings of jesus, otherwise than by the indefinite [------] "he says," is one in which he introduces a saying which is not found in our gospels by the words: "the logos again saying to us:" [------], &c. from the same source, which was obviously not our canonical gospels, we have, therefore, reason to conclude that athenagoras derived all his knowledge of gospel history and doctrine. we need not add that this writer affords no testimony whatever as to the origin or character of the fourth gospel. it is scarcely worth while to refer to the epistle of vienne and lyons, a composition dating at the earliest a.d. - , in which no direct reference is made to any writing of the new testament.( ) acquaintance with the fourth gospel is argued from the following passage: [------] now such a passage cannot prove the use of the fourth gospel. no source is indicated in the epistle from which the saying of jesus, which of course apologists assert to be historical, was derived. it presents decided variations from the parallel in the fourth gospel; and in the { } synoptics we find sufficient indications of similar discourses l to render it very probable that other gospels may have contained the passage quoted in the epistle. in no case could an anonymous reference like this be of any weight as evidence for the apostolic origin of the fourth gospel. we need not further discuss ptolemoeus and heracleon. we have shown( ) that the date at which these heretics flourished places them beyond the limits within which we propose to confine ourselves. in regard to ptolemæus all that is affirmed is that, in the epistle to flora ascribed to him, expressions found in john i. are used. the passage as it is given by epiphanius is as follows: "besides, that the world was created by the same, the apostle states (saying all things have been made [------] by him and without him nothing was made)." [------].( ) now the supposed quotation is introduced here in a parenthesis interrupting the sense, and there is every probability that it was added as an illustration by epiphanius, and was not in the epistle to flora at all. omitting the parenthesis, the sentence is a very palpable reference to the apostle paul, and coloss. i. .( ) in regard to heraclcon, it is asserted from the unsupported references of origen( ) that he wrote a commentary on the fourth gospel. even if this be a fact, there is not a single word of it preserved by origen which in the least degree bears upon the apostolic origin { } and trustworthiness of the gospel. neither of these heresiarchs, therefore, is of any value as a witness for the authenticity of the fourth gospel. the heathen celsus, as we have shown,( ) wrote at a period when no evidence which he could well give of his own could have been of much value in supporting our gospels. he is pressed into service,( ) however, because after alluding to various circumstances of gospel history he says: "these things, therefore, being taken out of your own writings, we have no need of other testimony, for you fall upon your own swords,"( ) and in another place he says that certain christians "alter the gospel from its first written form in three-fold, four-fold, and many-fold ways, and re-mould it in order to have the means of contradicting the arguments (of opponents)." ( ) this is supposed to refer to the four canonical gospels. apart from the fact that origen replies to the first of these passages, that celsus has brought forward much concerning jesus which is not in accordance with the narratives of the gospels, it is unreasonable to limit the accusation of "many-fold" corruption to four gospels, when it is undeniable that the gospels and writings long current in the church were very numerous. in any case, what could such a statement as this do towards establishing the apostolic origin and credibility of the fourth gospel? we might pass over the _canon of muratori_ entirely, { } as being beyond the limit of time to which we confine ourselves,( ) but the unknown writer of the fragment gives a legend with regard to the composition of the fourth gospel which we may quote here, although its obviously mythical character renders it of no value as evidence regarding the authorship of the gospel. the writer says: quarti euangeliorum iohannis ex decipolis cohortantibus condescipulis et episcopis suis dixit conieiunate mihi hodie triduo et quid cuique fuerit reuelatum alterutrum nobis ennarremus eadem nocte reue latum andrew ex apostolis ut recognis centibus cunctis iohannis suo nomine cuncta describeret et ideo ( ) licit uaria sin culis euangeliorum libris principia docoantur nihil tamen diffort creden tium fidei cum uno ac principali spiritu de clarata sint in omnibus omnia de natiui tate de passione de resurrectione de conuersatione cum decipulis suis ac de gemino eius aduentu primo in humilitate dispectus quod fo... .u ( ) secundum potestate regali... pre clarum quod futurum est ( ) quid ergo minim si iohannes tarn constanter sincula etiam in epistulis suis proferat dicens in semeipsu quae uidimus oculis nostris et auribus audiuimus et manus nostra palpauerunt heec scripsimus nobis sic enim non solum uisurem sed et auditorem sed et scriptorem omnium mirabilium domini per ordi nem profetetur { } "the fourth of the gospels, of john, one of the disciples. to his fellow-disciples and bishops (episcopis) urging him he said: 'fast with me to-day for three days, and let us relate to each other that which shall be revealed to each.' on the same night it was revealed to andrew, one of the apostles, that, with the supervision of all, john should relate all things in his own name. and, therefore, though various principles (principia) are taught by each book of the gospels, nevertheless it makes no difference to the faith of believers, since, in all, all things are declared by one ruling spirit concerning the nativity, concerning the passion, concerning the resurrection, concerning the intercourse with the disciples, and concerning his double advent; the first in lowliness of estate, which has taken place, the second in regal power and splendour, which is still future. what wonder, therefore, if john should so constantly bring forward each thing (singula) also in his epistles, saying in regard to himself: the things which we have seen with our eyes, and have heard with our ears, and our hands have handled, these things have we written unto you. for thus he professes himself not only an eye-witness and hearer, but also a writer of all the wonders of the lord in order." it is obvious that in this passage we have an apologetic defence of the fourth gospel,( ) which unmistakably implies antecedent denial of its authority and apostolic origin. the writer not only ascribes it to john, but he clothes it with the united authority of the rest of the apostles, in { } a manner which very possibly aims at explaining the supplementary chapter xxi., with its testimony to the truth of the preceding narrative. in his zeal, the writer goes so far as to falsify a passage of the epistle, and convert it into a declaration by the author of the letter himself that he had written the gospel. "'the things which we have seen, &c., these things have we written unto you' (hæc scripsi-mus vobis).( ) for thus he professes himself not only an eye-witness and hearer, but also a writer of all the wonders of the lord in order." credner argues that in speaking of john as "one of the disciples" (ex discipulis), and of andrew as "one of the apostles," the writer intends to distinguish between john the disciple, who wrote the gospel and epistle, and john the apostle, who wrote the apocalypse, and that it was for this reason that he sought to dignify him by a special revelation, through the apostle andrew, selecting him to write the gospel. credner, therefore, concludes that here we have an ancient ecclesiastical tradition ascribing the gospel and first epistle to one of the disciples of jesus different from the apostle john.( ) into this, however, we need not enter, nor is it necessary for us to demonstrate the mythical nature of this narrative regarding the origin of the gospel. we have merely given this extract from the fragment to make our statement regarding it complete. not only is the evidence of the fragment of no value, from the lateness of its date and the uncritical character of its author, but a vague and fabulous tradition recorded by an unknown writer could not, in any case, furnish testimony calculated to establish the apostolic origin and trustworthiness of the fourth gospel. { } chapter ii. authorship and character of the fourth gospel the result of our inquiry into the evidence for the fourth gospel is sufficiently decided to render further examination unnecessary. we have seen that, for some century and a half after the events recorded in the work, there is not only no testimony whatever connecting the fourth gospel with the apostle john, but no certain trace even of the existence of the gospel. there has not been the slightest evidence in any of the writings of the fathers which we have examined even of a tradition that the apostle john had composed any evangelical work at all, and the claim advanced in favour of the christian miracles to contemporaneous evidence of extraordinary force and veracity by undoubted eye-witnesses so completely falls to the ground, that we might here well bring this part of our inquiry to a close. there are, however, so many peculiar circumstances connected with the fourth gospel, both in regard to its authorship and to its relationship with the three synoptics, which invite further attention, that we propose briefly to review some of them. we must, however, carefully restrict ourselves to the limits of our inquiry, and resist any temptation to enter upon an exhaustive discussion of the problem presented by the fourth gospel from a more general literary point of view. { } the endeavour to obtain some positive, or at least negative, information regarding the author of the fourth gospel is facilitated by the fact that several other works in the new testament canon are ascribed to him. these works present such marked and distinct characteristics that, apart from the fact that their number extends the range of evidence, they afford an unusual opportunity of testing the tradition which assigns them all to the apostle john, by comparing the clear indications which they give of the idiosyncrasies of their author with the independent data which we possess regarding the history and character of the apostle. it is asserted by the church that john the son of zebedee, one of the disciples of jesus, is the composer of no less than five of our canonical writings, and it would be impossible to select any books of our new testament presenting more distinct features, or more widely divergent views, than are to be found in the apocalypse on the one hand, and the gospel and three epistles on the other. whilst a strong family likeness exists between the epistles and the gospel, and they exhibit close analogies both in thought and language, the apocalypse, on the contrary, is so different from them in language, in style, in religious views and terminology, that it is almost impossible to believe that the writer of the one could be the author of the other. the translators of our new testament have laboured, and not in vain, to eliminate as far as possible all individuality of style and language, and to reduce the various books of which it is composed to one uniform smoothness of diction. it is, therefore, impossible for the mere english reader to appreciate the immense difference which exists between the harsh and hebraistic greek of the apocalypse and the polished { } elegance of the fourth gospel, and it is to be feared that the rarity of critical study has prevented any general recognition of the almost equally striking contrast of thought between the two works. the remarkable peculiarities which distinguish the apocalypse and gospel of john, however, were very early appreciated, and almost the first application of critical judgment to the canonical books of the new testament is the argument of dionysius bishop of alexandria, about the middle of the third century, that the author of the fourth gospel could not be the writer of the book of revelation.( ) the dogmatic predilections which at that time had begun to turn against the apocalypse, the nonfulfilment of the prophecies of which disappointed and puzzled the early church, led dionysius to solve the difficulty by deciding in favour of the authenticity of the gospel, but at least he recognized the dilemma which has since occupied so much of biblical criticism. it is not necessary to enter upon any exhaustive analysis of the apocalypse and gospel to demonstrate anew that both works cannot have emanated from the same mind. this has already been conclusively done by others. some apologetic writers,--greatly influenced, no doubt, by the express declaration of the church, and satisfied by analogies which could scarcely fail to exist between two works dealing with a similar theme,--together with a very few independent critics, have asserted the authenticity of both works.( ) the great majority of { } critics, however, have fully admitted the impossibility of recognizing a common source for the fourth gospel and the apocalypse of john.( ) the critical question regarding the two works has, in fact, reduced itself to the dilemma which may be expressed as follows, in the words of llicke: "either the gospel and the first epistle are genuine writings of the apostle john, and in that case the apocalypse is no genuine work of that apostle, or the inverse."( ) after an elaborate comparison of the two writings, the same writer, who certainly will not be suspected of wilfully subversive criticism, resumes: "the difference between the language, way { } of expression, and mode of thought and doctrine of the apocalypse and the rest of the johannine writings, is so comprehensive and intense, so individual and so radical; the affinity and agreement, on the contrary, are so general, and in details so fragmentary and uncertain (zuruckweichend), that the apostle john, if he really he the author of the gospel and of the epistle--which we here assume--cannot have composed the apocalypse either before or after the gospel and the epistle. if all critical experience and rules in such literary questions are not deceptive, it is certain that the evangelist and apocalyptist are two different persons of the name of john,"(l) &c. de wette, another conservative critic, speaks with equal decision. after an able comparison of the two works, he says: "from all this it follows (and in new testament criticism no result is more certain), that the apostle john, if he be the author of the fourth gospel and of the johannine epistles, did not write the apocalypse, or, if the apocalypse be his work, that he is not the author of the other writings."( ) ewald is equally positive: "above all," he says, "we should err in tracing this work (the gospel) to the apostle, if the apocalypse of the new testament were by him. that this much earlier writing cannot have been composed by the author of the later is an axiom which i consider i have already, (in - ) so convincingly demonstrated, that it would be superfluous now to return to it, especially as, since then, all men capable of forming a judgment are of the same opinion, and what has been brought forward by a few writers against it too clearly depends upon { } influences foreign to science."( ) we may, therefore, consider the point generally admitted, and proceed very briefly to discuss the question upon this basis. the external evidence that the apostle john wrote the apocalypse is more ancient than that for the authorship of any book of the new testament, excepting some of the epistles of paul, and this is admitted even by critics who ultimately deny the authenticity of the work.( ) passing over the very probable statement of andrew of cæsarea,( ) that papias recognized the apocalypse as an inspired work, and the inference drawn from this fact that he referred it to the apostle, we at once proceed to justin martyr, who affirms in the clearest and most positive manner the apostolic origin of the work. he speaks to tryphon of "a certain man whose name was john, one of the apostles of christ, who prophesied by a revelation made to him," of the millennium, and subsequent general resurrection and judgment.( ) the statement of justin is all the more important from the fact that he does not name any other writing of the new testament, and that the old testament was still for him the only holy scripture. the genuineness of this { } testimony is not called in question by any one. eusebius states that melito of sardis wrote a work on the apocalypse of john,( ) and jerome mentions the treatise.( ) there can be no doubt that had melito thrown the slightest doubt on the apostolic origin of the apocalypse, eusebius, whose dogmatic views led him to depreciate that writing, would have referred to the fact. eusebius also mentions that apollonius, a presbyter of ephesus, quoted the apocalypse against the montanists, and there is reason to suppose that he did so as an apostolic work.( ) eusebius further states that theophilus of antioch made use of testimony from the apocalypse of john;( ) but although, as eusebius does not mention anything to the contrary, it is probable that theophilus really recognized the book to be by john the apostle, the uncritical haste of eusebius renders his vague statement of little value. we do not think it worth while to quote the evidence of later writers. although irenæus, who repeatedly assigns the apocalypse to john, the disciple of the lord,( ) is cited by apologists as a very important witness, more especially from his intercourse with polycarp, we do not attribute any value to his testimony, both from the late date at which he wrote, and from the uncritical and credulous character of his mind. although he appeals to the testimony of those "who saw john face to face" with regard to the number of the name of the beast, his own utter ignorance of the interpretation shows how little information he can have derived from polycarp.( ) the same remarks apply still more strongly to tertullian, who, however, most { } unhesitatingly assigns the apocalypse to the apostle john.( ) it would be useless more particularly to refer to later evidence, however, or quote even the decided testimony in its favour of clement of alexandria,( ) or origen.( ) the first doubt cast upon the authenticity of the apocalypse occurs in the argument of dionysius of alexandria, one of the disciples of origen, in the middle of the third century. he mentions that some had objected to the whole work as without sense or reason, and as displaying such dense ignorance, that it was impossible that an apostle or even one in the church, could have written it, and they assigned it to cerinthus, who held the doctrine of the reign of christ on earth.( ) these objections, it is obvious, are merely dogmatic, and do not affect to be historical. they are in fact a good illustration of the method by which the canon was formed. if the doctrine of any writing met with the approval of the early church, it was accepted with unhesitating faith, and its pretension to apostolic origin was admitted as a natural consequence; but if, on the other hand, the doctrine of the writing was not clearly that of the community, it was rejected without further examination. it is an undeniable fact, that not a single trace exists of the application of historical criticism to any book of the new testament in the early ages of christianity. the case of the apocalypse is most intelligible:--so long as the expectation and hope of a second advent and of a personal reign of the risen and glorified christ, of the prevalence of which we have abundant testimony in the pauline epistles and other early works, continued to animate the church, the { } apocalypse which excited and fostered them was a popular volume: but as years passed away and the general longing of christians, eagerly marking the signs of the times, was again and again disappointed, and the hope of a millennium began either to be abandoned or indefinitely postponed, the apocalypse proportionately lost favour, or was regarded as an incomprehensible book misleading the world by illusory promises. its history is that of a highly dogmatic treatise esteemed or contemned in proportion to the ebb and flow of opinion regarding the doctrines which it expresses. the objections of dionysius, resting first upon dogmatic grounds and his inability to understand the apocalyptic utterances of the book, took the shape we have mentioned of a critical dilemma:--the author of the gospel could not at the same time be the author of the apocalypse. dogmatic predilection decided the question in favour of the apostolic origin of the fourth gospel, and the reasoning by which that decision is arrived at has, therefore, no critical force or value. the fact still remains that justin martyr distinctly refers to the apocalypse as the work of the apostle john and, as we have seen, no similar testimony exists in support of the claims of the fourth gospel. as another most important point, we may mention that there is probably not another work of the new testament the precise date of the composition of which, within a very few weeks, can so positively be affirmed. no result of criticism rests upon a more secure basis and is now more universally accepted by all competent critics than the fact that the apocalypse was written in a.d. - .( ) the writer distinctly and repeatedly mentions his name: i. , "the revelation of jesus christ.... { } unto his servant john;"( ) i. , "john to the seven churches which are in asia;"( ) and he states that the work was written in the island of patmos where he was "on account of the word of god and the testimony of jesus."( ) ewald, who decides in the most arbitrary manner against the authenticity of the apocalypse and in favour of the johannine authorship of the gospel, objects that the author, although he certainly calls himself john, does not assume to be an apostle, but merely terms himself the servant [------] of christ like other true christians, and distinctly classes himself amongst the prophets( ) and not amongst the apostles.( ) we find, however, that paul, who was not apt to waive his claims to the apostolate, was content to call himself: "paul a servant [------] of jesus christ, called to be an apostle," in writing to the romans; (i. ) and the superscription of the epistle to the philippians is: "paul and timothy servants [------] of christ jesus."( ) there was, moreover, reason why { } the author of the book of revelation, a work the form of which was decidedly based upon that of daniel and other jewish apocalyptic writings, should rather adopt the character of prophet than the less suitable designation of apostle upon such an occasion. it is clear that he counted fully upon being generally known under the simple designation of "john," and when we consider the unmistakeable terms of authority with which he addresses the seven churches, it is scarcely possible to deny that the writer either was the apostle, or distinctly desired to assume his personality. it is not necessary for us here to enter into any discussion regarding the "presbyter john," for it is generally admitted that even he could not have had at that time any position in asia minor which could have warranted such a tone. if the name of apostle, therefore, be not directly assumed--and it was not necessary to assume it--the authority of one is undeniably inferred. ewald, however, argues that, on the contrary, the author could not more clearly express that he was not one of the twelve, than when he imagines (apoc. xxi. ) the names of the 'twelve apostles of the lamb' shining upon the twelve foundation stones of the wall of the future heavenly jerusalem. he considers that no intelligent person could thus publicly glorify himself or anticipate the honour which god alone can bestow. "and can any one seriously believe," he indignantly inquires, "that one of the twelve, yea, that even he whom we know as the most delicate and refined amongst them could have written this of himself?"( ) now, in the first place, we must remark that in this discussion { } it is not permissible to speak of our knowing john the apostle as distinguished above all the rest of the twelve for such qualities. nowhere do we find such a representation of him except in the fourth gospel, if even there, but, as we shall presently see, rather the contrary, and the fourth gospel cannot here be received as evidence. we might, by way of retort, point out to those who assert the inspiration of the apocalypse, that the symbolical representation of the heavenly jerusalem is held to be practically objective, a revelation of things that "must shortly come to pass," and not a mere subjective sketch coloured according to the phantasy of the writer. passing on, however, it must be apparent that the whole account of the heavenly city is typical, and that in basing its walls upon the twelve, he does not glorify himself personally, but simply gives its place to the idea which was symbolised when jesus is represented as selecting twelve disciples, the number of the twelve tribes, upon whose preaching the spiritual city was to be built up. the jewish belief in a special preference of the jews before all nations doubtless suggested this, and it forms a leading feature in the strong hebraistic form of the writer's christianity. the heavenly city is simply a glorified jerusalem; the twelve apostles, representatives of the twelve tribes, set apart for the regeneration of israel, are the foundation-stones of the new city with its twelve gates, on which are written the names of the twelve tribes of israel( ) for whom the city is more particularly provided. for , of israel are first sealed, , of each of the twelve tribes before the seer beholds the great multitude of all nations and tribes and peoples.( ) the whole description is a { } mere allegory characterized by the strongest jewish dogmatism, and it is of singular value for the purpose of identifying the author. moreover, the apparent glorification of the twelve is more than justified by the promise which jesus is represented by the synoptics(l) as making to them in person. when peter, in the name of the twelve, asks what is reserved for those who have forsaken all and followed him, jesus replies: "verily i say unto you that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall be set upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of israel."( ) ewald himself, in his distribution of the materials of our existing first synoptic to the supposed original sources, assigns this passage to the very oldest gospel.( ) what impropriety is there, and what improbability, therefore, that an apostle, in an apocalyptic allegory, should represent the names of the twelve apostles as inscribed upon the twelve foundation stones of the spiritual jerusalem, as the names of the twelve tribes of israel were inscribed upon the twelve gates of the city? on the contrary, we submit that it is probable under the circumstances that an apostle should make such a representation, and in view of the facts regarding the apostle john himself which we have from the synoptics, it is particularly in harmony with his character, and these characteristics directly tend to establish his identity with the author. "how much less is it credible of the apostle john," says ewald, elsewhere, pursuing the same argument, "who, as a writer, is so incomparably modest and { } delicate in feeling, and does not in a single one of the writings really emanating from him name himself as the author, or even proclaim his own praise."(l) this is merely sentimental assumption of facts to which we shall hereafter allude, but if the "incomparable modesty" of which he speaks really existed, nothing could more conclusively separate the author of the fourth gospel from the son of zebedee whom we know in the synoptics, or more support the claims of the apocalypse. in the first place, we must assert that, in writing a serious history of the life and teaching of jesus, full of marvellous events and astounding doctrines, the omission of his name by an apostle can not only not be recognized as genuine modesty, but must be condemned as culpable neglect. it is perfectly incredible that an apostle could have written such a work without attaching his name as the guarantee of his intimate acquaintance with the events and statements he records. what would be thought of a historian who published a history without a single reference to recognized authorities, and yet who did not declare even his own name as some evidence of his truth? the fact is, that the first two synoptics bear no author's name because they are not the work of any one man, but the collected materials of many; the third synoptic only pretends to be a compilation for private use; and the fourth gospel bears no simple signature because it is neither the work of an apostle, nor of an eye-witness of the events and hearer of the teaching it records. if it be considered incredible, however, that an apostle could, even in an allegory, represent the names of the twelve as written on the foundation stones of the new jerusalem, and the incomparable modesty and delicacy { } of feeling of the assumed author of the fourth gospel be contrasted with it so much to the disadvantage of the writer of the apocalypse, we ask whether this reference to the collective twelve can be considered at all on a par with the self-glorification of the disguised author of the gospel, who, not content with the simple indication of himself as john a servant of jesus christ, and with sharing distinction equally with the rest of the twelve, assumes to himself alone a pre-eminence in the favour and affection of his master, as well as a distinction amongst his fellow disciples, of which we first hear from himself, and which is anything but corroborated by the three synoptics? the supposed author of the fourth gospel, it is true, does not plainly mention his name, but he distinguishes himself as "the disciple whom jesus loved," and represents himself as "leaning on jesus' breast at supper."( ) this distinction assumed to himself, and this preference over the other disciples in the love of him whom he represents as god, is much greater self-glorification than that of the author of the apocalypse. we shall presently see how far ewald is right in saying, moreover, that the author does not clearly indicate the person for whom at least he desires to be mistaken. we must conclude that these objections have no weight, and that there is no internal evidence whatever against the supposition that the "john" who announces himself as the author of the apocalypse was the apostle. on the contrary, the tone of authority adopted throughout, and the evident certainty that his identity would everywhere be recognized, denote a position in the church which no other person of the name of john could well have held at the time when the apocalypse was written. { } the external evidence, therefore, which indicates the apostle john as the author of the apocalypse is quite in harmony with the internal testimony of the book itself. we have already pointed out the strong colouring of judaism in the views of the writer. its imagery is thoroughly jewish, and its allegorical representations are entirely based upon jewish traditions, and hopes. the heavenly city is a new jerusalem; its twelve gates are dedicated to the twelve tribes of israel; god and the lamb are the temple of it; and the sealed of the twelve tribes have the precedence over the nations, and stand with the lamb on mount zion (xiv. ) having his name and his father's written on their foreheads. the language in which the book is written is the most hebraistic greek of the new testament, as its contents are the most deeply tinged with judaism. if, finally, we seek for some traces of the character of the writer, we see in every page the impress of an impetuous fiery spirit, whose symbol is the eagle, breathing forth vengeance against the enemies of the messiah and impatient till it be accomplished, and the whole of the visions of the apocalypse proceed to the accompaniment of the rolling thunders of god's wrath. we may now turn to examine such historical data as exist regarding john the son of zebedee, and to inquire whether they accord better with the character and opinions of the author of the apocalypse or of the evangelist. john and his brother james are represented by the synoptics as being the sons of zebedee and salome. they were fishermen on the sea of galilee, and at the call of jesus they left their ship and their father and followed him.( ) their fiery and impetuous character led { } jesus to give them the surname of [------]: "sons of thunder,"( ) an epithet justified by several incidents which are related regarding them. upon one occasion, john sees one casting out devils in his master's name, and in an intolerant spirit forbids him because he did not follow them, for which he is rebuked by jesus.( ) another time, when the inhabitants of a samaritan village would not receive them, john and james angrily turn to jesus and say: "lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as elijah did?"( ) a remarkable episode will have presented itself already to the mind of every reader, which the second synoptic gospel narrates as follows: mark x. , "and james and john the sons of zebedee come unto him saying unto him: teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask thee. . and he said unto them: what would ye that i should do for you? . they said unto him: grant that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand in thy glory. . but jesus said to them: ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink the cup that i drink? or be baptized with the baptism that i am baptized with? . and they said unto him: we can. and jesus said unto them: the cup that i drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that i am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: . but to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared. . and when the ten heard it they began to be much displeased with james and john." it is difficult to say whether the { } effrontery and selfishness of the request, or the assurance with which the brethren assert their power to emulate the master is more striking in this scene. apparently, the grossness of the proceeding already began to be felt when our first gospel was edited, for it represents the request as made by the mother of james and john; but that is a very slight decrease of the offence, inasmuch as the brethren are obviously consenting, if not inciting, parties to the prayer, and utter their "we can," with the same absence of "incomparable modesty."( ) after the death of jesus, john remained in jerusalem,( ) and chiefly confined his ministry to the city and its neighbourhood.( ) the account which hegesippus gives of james the brother of jesus who was appointed overseer of the church in jerusalem will not be forgotten,( ) and we refer to it merely in illustration of primitive christianity. however mythical elements are worked up into the narrative, one point is undoubted fact, that the christians of that community were but a sect of judaism, merely superadding to mosaic doctrines belief in the actual advent of the messiah whom moses and the prophets had foretold; and we find, in the acts of the apostles, peter and john represented as "going up into the temple at the hour of prayer,"( ) like other jews. in the epistle of paul to the galatians, we have most valuable evidence with regard to the apostle john. paul found him still in jerusalem on the occasion of the visit referred to in that letter, about a.d. -- . we need not quote at length the important passage gal. ii. ff., but the fact { } is undeniable, and stands upon stronger evidence than almost any other particular regarding the early church, being distinctly and directly stated by paul himself: that the three "pillar" apostles representing the church there were james, peter, and john. peter is markedly termed the apostle of the circumcision, and the differences between him and paul are evidence of the opposition of their views. james and john are clearly represented as sharing the views of peter, and whilst paul finally agrees with them that he is to go to the gentiles, the three [------] elect to continue their ministry to the circumcision.( ) here is john, therefore, clearly devoted to the apostleship of the circumcision as opposed to paul, whose views, as we gather from the whole of paul's account, were little more than tolerated by the [------]. before leaving new testament data, we may here point out the statement in the acts of the apostles that peter and john were known to be "unlettered and ignorant men"( ) [------]. later tradition mentions one or two circumstances regarding john to which we may briefly refer. irenæus states: "there are those who heard him (polycarp) say that john, the disciple of the lord, going to bathe at ephesus and perceiving cerinthus within, rushed forth from the bath-house without bathing, but crying out: 'let us fly lest the bath-house fall down: cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, being within it.'... so great was the care which the apostles and their disciples took not to hold even verbal intercourse with any of the corrupters of the truth,"( ) &c. polycrates, who was bishop of ephesus { } about the beginning of the third century, states that the apostle john wore the mitre and petalon of the high priest [------],( ) a tradition which agrees with the jewish tendencies of the apostle of the circumcision as paul describes him.( ) now if we compare these data regarding john the son of zebedee with the character of john the author of the apocalypse, as we trace it in the work itself, it is impossible not to be struck by the singular agreement. the hebraistic greek and abrupt inelegant diction are natural to the unlettered fisherman of galilee, and the fierce and intolerant spirit which pervades the book is precisely that which formerly forbade the working of miracles, even in the name of the master, by any not of the immediate circle of jesus, and which desired to consume an inhospitable village with fire from heaven.( ) the judaistic form of christianity which is represented throughout the apocalypse, and the jewish elements which enter so largely into its whole composition, are precisely those we need not refer to any of the other legends regarding john, but it may be well to mention the tradition common amongst the fathers which assigned to him the cognomen of "the virgin." one codex gives as the superscription of the apocalypse: "t[------]" and we know that it is reported in early writings that, of all the apostles, only john and the apostle paul remained unmarried, whence probably, in part, this title. in connection with this we may point to the importance attached to virginity in the apocalypse, xiv. ; cf. schwegler, das naohap. zeit, ii. p. ; lilcke, comm. lib. d. br. joh., , p. f.; craftier, einl. n. t., i. p. . the very objection of ewald regarding the glorification of the twelve, if true, would be singularly in keeping with the audacious request of john and his brother, to sit on the right and left hand of the glorified jesus, for we find none of the "incomparable modesty" which the imaginative critic attributes to the author of the fourth gospel in the john of the synoptics. { } which we might expect from john the apostle of the circumcision and the associate of james and of peter in the very centre of judaism. parts of the apocalypse, indeed, derive a new significance when we remember the opposition which the apostle of the gentiles met with from the apostles of the circumcision, as plainly declared by paul in his epistle to the galatians ii. . ff., and apparent in other parts of his writings. we have already seen the scarcely disguised attack which is made on paul in the clementine homilies under the name of simon the magician, the apostle peter following him from city to city for the purpose of denouncing and refuting his teaching. there can be no doubt that the animosity against paul which was felt by the ebionitic party, to which john as well as peter belonged, was extreme, and when the novelty of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, taught by him, is considered, it is very comprehensible. in the apocalypse, we find undeniable traces of it which accord with what paul himself says, and with the undoubted tradition of the early church. not only is paul silently excluded from the number of the apostles, which might be intelligible when the typical nature of the number twelve is considered, but allusion is undoubtedly made to him, in the epistles to the churches. it is clear that paul is referred to in the address to the church of ephesus: "and thou didst try them which say that they are apostles and are not, and didst find them false;"( ) and also in the words to the church of smyrna: "but i have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the teaching of balaam, who taught { } balak to cast a stumbling block before the sons of israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols,"( ) &c., as well as elsewhere.( ) without dwelling on this point, however, we think it must be apparent to every unprejudiced person that the apocalypse singularly corresponds in every respect--language, construction, and thought--with what we are told of the character of the apostle john by the synoptic gospels and by tradition, and that the internal evidence, therefore, accords with the external in attributing the composition of the apocalypse to that apostle. } we may without hesitation affirm, at least, that with the exception of one or two of the epistles of paul there is { } no work of the new testament which is supported by such close evidence. we need not discuss the tradition as to the residence of the apostle john in asia minor, regarding which much might be said. those who accept the authenticity of the apocalypse of course admit its composition in the neighbourhood of ephesus,( ) and see in this the confirmation of the wide-spread tradition that the apostle spent a considerable period of the latter part of his life in that city. we may merely mention, in passing, that a historical basis for the tradition has occasionally been disputed, and has latterly again been denied by some able critics.( ) the evidence for this, as for everything else connected with the early ages of christianity, is extremely unsatisfactory. nor need we trouble ourselves with the dispute as to the presbyter john, to whom many ascribe the composition, on the one hand, of the apocalypse and, on the other, of the gospel, according as they finally accept the one or the other alternative of the critical dilemma which we have explained. we have only to do with the apostle john and his connection with either of the two writings. if we proceed to compare the character of the apostle john, as we have it depicted in the synoptics and other writings to which we have referred, with that of the author of the fourth gospel, and to contrast the peculiarities of both, we have a very different result. instead of the hebraistic greek and harsh diction which might { } be expected from the unlettered and ignorant fisherman of galilee, we find, in the fourth gospel, the purest and least hebraistic greek of any of the gospels (some parts of the third synoptic, perhaps, alone excepted), and a refinement and beauty of composition whose charm has captivated the world, and in too many cases prevented the calm exercise of judgment instead of the fierce and intolerant temper of the son of thunder, we find a spirit breathing forth nothing but gentleness and love. instead of the judaistic christianity of the apostle of circumcision who merely tolerates paul, we find a mind which has so completely detached itself from judaism that the writer makes the very appellation of "jew" equivalent to that of an enemy of the truth. not only are the customs and feasts of the jews disregarded and spoken of as observances of a people with whom the writer has no concern, but he anticipates the day when neither on mount gerizim nor yet at jerusalem men shall worship the father, but when it shall be recognized that the only true worship is that which is offered in spirit and in truth. faith in jesus christ and the merits of his death is the only way by which man can attain to eternal life, and the mosaic law is practically abolished. we venture to assert that, taking the portrait of john the son of zebedee, which is drawn in the synoptics and the epistle of paul to the galatians, supplemented by later tradition, to which we have referred, and comparing it with that of the writer of the fourth gospel, no unprejudiced mind can fail to recognize that there are not two features alike. it is the misfortune of this case, that the beauty of the gospel under trial has too frequently influenced the decision of the judges, and men who have, in other { } matters, exhibited sound critical judgment, in this abandon themselves to sheer sentimentality, and indulge in rhapsodies when reasons would be more appropriate. bearing in mind that we have given the whole of the data regarding john the son of zebedee furnished by new testament writings,--excluding merely the fourth gospel itself, which, of course, cannot at present be received in evidence,--as well as the only traditional information possessing, from its date and character, any appreciable value, it will become apparent that every argument which proceeds on the assumption that john was the beloved disciple, and possessed of characteristics quite different from those we meet with in the writings to which we have referred, is worthless and a mere petitio principii. we can, therefore, appreciate the state of the case when, for instance, we find an able man like credner commencing his inquiry as to who was the author of the fourth gospel, with such words as the following: "were we entirely without historical data regarding the author of the fourth gospel, who is not named in the writing itself, we should still, from internal grounds in the gospel itself--from the nature of the language, from the freshness and perspicacity of the narrative, from the exactness and precision of the statements, from the peculiar.manner of the mention of the baptist and of the sons of zebedee, from the love and fervour rising to ecstacy which the writer manifests towards jesus, from the irresistible charm which is poured out over the whole ideally-composed evangelical history, from the philosophical considerations with which the gospel begins--be led to the result: that the author of such a gospel can only be a native of palestine, can only be a direct eye-witness, can only be an apostle, can { } only be a favourite of jesus, can only be that john whom jesus held captivated to himself by the whole heavenly spell of his teaching, that john who rested on the bosom of jesus, stood beneath his cross, and whose later residence in a city like ephesus proves that philosophical speculation not merely attracted him, but that he also knew how to maintain his place amongst philosophically cultivated greeks."( ) it is almost impossible to proceed further in building up theory upon baseless assumption; but we shall hereafter see that he is kept in countenance by ewald, who outstrips him in the boldness and minuteness of his conjectures. we must now more carefully examine the details of the case. the language in which the gospel is written, as we have already mentioned, is much less hebraic than that of the other gospels, with the exception of parts of the gospel according to luke, and its hebraisms are not on the whole greater than was almost invariably the case with hellenistic greek, but its composition is distinguished by peculiar smoothness, grace, and beauty, and in this respect it is assigned the first rank amongst the gospels. it may be remarked that the connection which credner finds between the language and the apostle john arises out of the supposition, that long residence in ephesus had enabled him to acquire that fecility of composition in the greek language which is one of its characteristics. ewald, who exaggerates the hebraism of the work, resorts nevertheless to the conjecture, which we shall hereafter more fully consider, that the gospel was written from dictation by young friends of john in ephesus, who put the aged apostle's thoughts, in many places, into purer greek as they { } wrote them down.( ) the arbitrary nature of such an explanation, adopted in one shape or another by many apologists, requires no remark, but we shall at every turn meet with similar assumptions advanced to overcome difficulties. now, although there is no certain information as to the time when, if ever, the apostle removed into asia minor, it is at least pretty certain that he did not leave palestine before a.d. .( ) we find him still at jerusalem about a.d. -- , when paul went thither, and he had not at that time any intention of leaving, but, on the contrary, his dedication of himself to the ministry of the circumcision is distinctly mentioned by the apostle.( ) the "unlettered and ignorant" fisherman of galilee, therefore, had obviously attained an age when habits of thought and expression have become fixed, and when a new language cannot without great difficulty be acquired. if we consider the apocalypse to be his work, we find positive evidence of such markedly different thought and language actually existing when the apostle must have been between sixty and seventy years of age, that it is quite impossible to conceive that he could have subsequently acquired the language and mental characteristics of the fourth gospel.( ) it would be perfectly absurd, so far as language goes, to find in the fourth gospel the slightest indication of the apostle john, of whose language we have no information whatever except from the apocalypse, a composition { } which, if accepted as written by the apostle, would at once exclude all consideration of the gospel as his work. there are many circumstances, however, which seem clearly to indicate that the author of the fourth gospel was neither a native of palestine nor a jew, and to some of these we must briefly refer. the philosophical statements with which the gospel commences, it will be admitted, are anything but characteristic of the son of thunder, the ignorant and unlearned fisherman of galilee who, to a comparatively advanced period of life, continued preaching in his native country to his brethren of the circumcision. attempts have been made to trace the logos doctrine of the fourth gospel to the purely hebraic source of the old testament, but every impartial mind must perceive that here there is no direct and simple transformation of the theory of wisdom of the proverbs and old testament apocrypha, and no mere development of the later memra of the targums, but a very advanced application to christianity of alexandrian philosophy, with which we have become familiar through the writings of philo, to which reference has so frequently been made. it is quite true that a decided step beyond the doctrine of philo is made when the logos is represented as [------] in the person of jesus, but this argument is equally applicable to the jewish doctrine of wisdom, and that step had already been taken before the composition of the gospel. in the alexandrian philosophy everything was prepared for the final application of the doctrine, and nothing is more clear than the fact that the writer of the fourth gospel was well acquainted with the teaching of the alexandrian school, from which he derived his philosophy, and its elaborate and systematic application to jesus alone indicates a late { } development of christian doctrine, which we maintain could not have been attained by the judaistic son of zebedec.( ) we have already on several occasions referred to the attitude which the writer of the fourth gospel assumes towards the jews. apart from the fact that he places christianity generally in strong antagonism to judaism, as light to darkness, truth to a lie, and presents the doctrine of a hypostatic trinity in the most developed form to be found in the new testament, in striking contrast to the three synoptics, and in contradiction to hebrew monotheism, he writes at all times as one who not only is not a jew himself, but has nothing to do with their laws and customs. he speaks everywhere of the feasts "of the jews," "the passover of the jews," "the manner of the purifying of the jews," "the jews' feast of tabernacles," "as the manner of the jews is to bury," "the jews' preparation day," and so on.( ) the law of moses is spoken of as "your law," "their law," as of a people with which the writer was not connected.( ) moreover, the jews are represented as continually in virulent opposition to jesus, and seeking to kill him; and the word "jew" is the unfailing indication of the enemies of the truth, and the persecutors of the christ.( ) the jews are not once spoken of as the favoured people of god, but they are denounced as "children of the devil," who is "the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning."( ) the author makes caiaphas and the chief most critics agree that the characteristics of the fourth gospel render the supposition that it was the work of an old man untenable. { } priests and pharisees speak of the jewish people not as [------], but as [------], the term employed by the jews to designate the gentiles.( ) we need scarcely point out that the jesus of the fourth gospel is no longer of the race of david, but the son of god. the expectation of the jews that the messiah should be of the seed of david is entirely set aside, and the genealogies of the first and third synoptics tracing his descent are not only ignored, but the whole idea absolutely excluded. then the writer calls annas the high priest, although at the same time caiaphas is represented as holding that office.( ) the expression which he uses is: "caiaphas being the high priest that year"[------]. this statement, made more than once, indicates the belief that the office was merely annual, which is erroneous. josephus states with regard to caiaphas, that he was high priest for ten years from a.d. -- .( ) ewald and others argue that the expression "that year" refers to the year in which the { } death of jesus, so memorable to the writer, took place, and that it does not exclude the possibility of his having been high priest for successive years also.( ) this explanation, however, is quite arbitrary and insufficient, and this is shown by the additional error in representing annas as also high priest at,the same time. the synoptists know nothing of the preliminary examination before annas, and the reason given by the writer of the fourth gospel why the soldiers first took jesus to annas: "for he was father-in-law to caiaphas, who was high priest that same year,"( ) is inadmissible. the assertion is a clear mistake, and it probably originated in a stranger, writing of facts and institutions with which he was not well acquainted, being misled by an error equally committed by the author of the third gospel and of the acts of the apostles. in luke iii. , the word of god is said to come to john the baptist: "in the high priesthood of annas and caiaphas" [------], and again, in acts iv. , annas is spoken of as the high priest when peter and john healed the lame man at the gate of the temple which was called "beautiful," and caiaphas is mentioned immediately after: "and annas the high priest, and caiaphas, and john, and alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest." such statements, erroneous in themselves and not understood by the author of the fourth gospel, may have led to the confusion in the narrative. annas had previously been high priest, as we know from josephus,( ) but nothing is more certain than the fact that the title was not continued after the office was resigned; aud ishmael { } eleazar, and simon, who succeeded annas and separated his term of office from that of caiaphas, did not subsequently bear the title. the narrative is a mistake, and such an error could not have been committed by a native of palestine,( ) and much less by an acquaintance of the high priest.( ) there are also several geographical errors committed which denote a foreigner. in i. , the writer speaks of a "bethany beyond jordan, where john was baptizing." the substitution of "bethabara," mentioned by origen, which has erroneously crept into the vulgar text, is of course repudiated by critics, "bethany" standing in all the older codices. the alteration was evidently proposed to obviate the difficulty that, even in origen's time, there did not exist any trace of a bethany beyond jordan in peræa. the place could not be the bethany near { } jerusalem, and it is supposed that the writer either mistook its position or, inventing a second bethany, which he described as "beyond jordan," displayed an ignorance of the locality improbable either in a jew or a palestinian.( ) again, in iii. , the writer says that "john was baptizing in Ænon, near to salim, because there was much water there." this Ænon near to salim was in judaea, as is clearly stated in the previous verse. the place, however, was quite unknown even in the third century, and the nearest locality which could be indicated as possible was in the north of samaria and, therefore, differing from the statements in iii. , iv. .( ) Ænon, however, signifies "springs," and the question arises whether the writer of the fourth gospel, not knowing the real meaning of the word, did not simply mistake it for the name of a place.( ) in any case, there seems to be here another error into which the author of the fourth gospel, had he been the apostle john, could not have fallen.( ) { } the account of the miracle of the pool of bethesda is a remarkable one for many reasons. the words which most pointedly relate the miraculous phenomena characterizing the pool, are rejected by many critics as an interpolation. in the following extract we put them in italics: v. .--"in these (five porches) lay a multitude of the sick, halt, withered, _waiting for the moving of the water. . for an angel went down at certain seasons into the pool and was troubling the water: he, therefore, who first went in after the troubling of the water was made whole of whatsoever disease he had_." we maintain, however, that the obnoxious passage is no spurious interpolation, but that there is ample evidence, external and internal, to substantiate its claim to a place in the text. it is true that the whole passage is omitted by the sinaitic and vatican codices, and by c: that a( ), l, , and others omit the last phrase of verse , and that d, , which contain that phrase, omit the whole of verse , together with , and some other mss.: that in many codices in which the passage is found it is marked by an asterisk or obelus, and that it presents considerable variation in readings. it is also true that it is omitted by cureton's syriac, by the thebaic, and by most of the memphitic versions. but, on the other hand, it exists in the alexandrian codex, c , e, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, it, v, r, a and other mss( ), and it forms part of the peschito, jerusalem syriac, vulgate, watkin's memphitic, Æthiopic and armenian versions.( ) { } more important still is the fact that it existed in the ancient latin version of tertillian, who refers to the passage;( ) and it is quoted by didymus, chrysostom, cyril, ambrose, theophylact, euthymius, and other fathers. its presence in the alexandrian codex alone might not compensate for the omission of the passage by the sinaitic and vatican codices and c, d, but when the alexandrian ms. is supported by the version used by tertullian, which is a couple of centuries older than any of the other authorities, as well as by the peschito, not to mention other codices, the balance of external evidence is distinctly in its favour. the internal evidence is altogether on the side of the authenticity of the passage. it is true that there are a considerable number of [------] in the few lines: [------] and perhaps [------]; but it must be remembered that the phenomena described are exceptional, and may well explain exceptional phraseology. on the other hand, [------] is specially a johannine word, used v. and six times more in the fourth gospel, but only five times in the rest of the new testament; and [------] with [------] occurs in v. , , , , and with [------] in v. , , vii. and nowhere else. [------] also may be indicated as employed in v. , and five times more in other parts of the gospel, and only eleven times in the rest of the new testament, and the use of [------] in v. is thus perhaps naturally { } accounted for. the context, however, forbids the removal of this passage. it is in the highest degree improbable that verse could have ended with "withered" [------], and although many critics wish to retain the last phrase in verse , in order to explain verse , this only shows the necessity, without justifying the arbitrary maintenance, of these words, whilst verse , which is still better attested, is excluded to get rid of the inconvenient angel. it is evident, however, that the expression: "when the water was troubled" [------] of the undoubted verse is unintelligible without the explanation that the angel "was troubling the water," [------] of verse , and also that the statement of the verse , "but while i am coming, another goeth down before me" [------] absolutely requires the account: "he, therefore, who first went in &c." [------] of verse . the argument that the interpolation was made to explain the statement in verse is untenable, for that statement necessarily presupposes the account in the verses under discussion, and cannot be severed from it. even if the information that the water was "troubled" at certain seasons only could have been dispensed with, it is obvious that the explanation of the condition of healing, given in verse , is indispensable to the appreciation of the lame man's complaint in verse , for without knowing that priority was essential, the reason for the protracted waiting is inconceivable. it is also argued, that the passage about the angel may have been interpolated to bring out^the presence of supernatural agency, but it is much more reasonable to believe that attempts have been made to omit these verses, of which there is such ancient attestation, in order to eliminate an embarrassing excess of { } supernatural agency, and get rid of the difficulty presented by the fact, for which even tertullian( ) endeavoured to account, that the supposed pool had ceased to exhibit any miraculous phenomena. this natural explanation is illustrated by the alacrity with which apologists at the present day abandon the obnoxious passage.( ) the combined force of the external and internal evidence, however, cannot, we think, be fairly resisted.( ) now, not only is the pool of bethesda totally unknown at the present day, but although possessed of such miraculous properties, it was not known even to josephus, or any other writer of that time. it is inconceivable that, were the narrative genuine, the phenomena could have been unknown and unmentioned by the jewish historian.( ) there is here evidently neither the narrative of an apostle nor of an eye-witness. another very significant mistake occurs in the account of the conversation with the samaritan woman, which is said to have taken place (iv. ) near "a city of samaria "the biblical critic is glad that he can remove these words from the record, and cannot be called upon to explain them."--rev. h. w. watkins, m.a., in "a new test. commentary for english readers," edited by charles john ellicott, d.d., lord bishop of gloucester and bristol, i. p. . { } which is called sychar." it is evident that there was no such place--and apologetic ingenuity is severely taxed to explain the difficulty. the common conjecture has been that the town of sichem is intended, but this is rightly rejected by delitzsch,( ) and ewald.( ) credner,( ) not unsupported by others, and borne out in particular by the theory of ewald, conjectures that sychar is a corruption of sichem, introduced into the gospel by a greek secretary to whom this part of the gospel was dictated, and who mistook the apostle's pronunciation of the final syllable. we constantly meet with this elastic explanation of difficulties in the gospel, but its mere enunciation displays at once the reality of the difficulties and the imaginary nature of the explanation. hengstenberg adopts the view, and presses it with pious earnestness, that the term is a mere nickname for the city of sichem, and that, by so slight a change in the pronunciation, the apostle called the place a city of lies [------] a lie), a play upon words which he does not consider unworthy.( ) the only support which this latter theory can secure from internal evidence is to be derived from the fact that the whole discourse with the woman is ideal. hengstenberg( ) conjectures that the five husbands of the woman are typical of the gods of the five nations with which the king of assyria peopled samaria, ii. kings, xvii. -- , and which they worshipped instead of the god of israel, and as the actual god of the samaritans was not recognized as the true god by the jews, nor their { } worship of him on mount gerizim held to be valid, he considers that under the name of the city of sychar, their whole religion, past and present, was denounced as a lie. there can be little doubt that the episode is allegorical, but such a defence of the geographical error, the reality of which is everywhere felt, whilst it is quite insufficient on the one hand, effectually destroys the historical character of the gospel on the other.( ) the inferences from all of the foregoing examples are strengthened by the fact that, in the quotations from the old testament, the fourth gospel in the main follows the septuagint version, or shows its influence, and nowhere can be shown directly to translate from the hebrew. these instances might be multiplied, but we must proceed to examine more closely the indications given in the gospel as to the identity of its author. we need not point out that the writer nowhere clearly states who he is, nor mentions his name, but expressions are frequently used which evidently show the desire that a particular person should be understood. he generally calls himself "the other disciple," or "the disciple whom jesus loved."( ) it is universally understood that he { } represents himself as having previously been a disciple of john the baptist (i. ff.),( ) and also that he is "the other disciple" who was acquainted with the high priest (xviii. , ),( ) if not an actual relative as ewald and others assert.( ) the assumption that the disciple thus indicated is john, rests principally on the fact that whilst the author mentions the other apostles, he seems studiously to avoid directly naming john, and also that he never distinguishes john the baptist by the appellation [------], whilst he carefully distinguishes the two disciples of the name of judas, and always speaks of the apostle peter as "simon peter," or "peter," but rarely as "simon" only.( ) without pausing to consider the slightness of this evidence, it is obvious that, supposing the disciple indicated to be john the son of zebedee, the fourth gospel gives a representation of him quite different from the synoptics and other writings. in the fourth gospel (i. ff.) the calling of the apostle is described in a peculiar manner. john (the baptist) is standing with two of his disciples, and points out jesus to them as "the lamb of god," whereupon the two disciples follow jesus and, finding out where he lives, { } abide with him that day and subsequently attach themselves to his person. in verse it is stated: "one of the two which heard john speak, and followed him, was andrew, simon peter's brother." we are left to imagine who was the other, and the answer of critics is: john. now, the "calling" of john is related in a totally different manner in the synoptics--jesus, walking by the sea of galilee, sees "two brethren, simon called peter and andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers, and he saith unto them: follow me, and i will make you fishers of men. and they straightway left their nets and followed him. and when he had gone from thence, he saw other two brethren, james the son of zebedee and john his brother, in the ship with zebedee their father mending their nets; and he called them. and they immediately left the ship and their father and followed him."( ) these accounts are in complete contradiction to each other, and both cannot be true. we see, from the first introduction of "the other disciple" on the scene, in the fourth gospel, the evident design to give him the precedence before peter and the rest of the apostles. we have above given the account of the first two synoptists of the calling of peter, according to which he is the first of the disciples who is selected, and he is directly invited by jesus to follow him and become, with his brother andrew, "fishers of men." james and john are not called till later in the day, and without the record of any special address. in the third gospel, the calling of peter is introduced with still more important details. jesus enters the boat of simon and bids him push out into the lake and let down his net, and the miraculous draught of fishes is taken: "when simon peter { } saw it, he fell down at jesus' knees, saying: depart from me, for i am a sinful man, o lord. for he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken." the calling of the sons of zebedee becomes even less important here, for the account simply continues: "and so was also james and john, the sons of zebedee, who were partners with simon." jesus then addresses his invitation to simon, and the account concludes: "and when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all, and followed him."( ) in the fourth gospel, the calling of the two disciples of john is first narrated, as we have seen and the first call of peter is from his brother andrew, and not from jesus himself. "he (andrew) first findeth his own brother simon, and saith unto him: we have found the messias (which is, being interpreted, christ), and he brought him to jesus. jesus looked on him and said: thou art simon, the son of jonas;( ) thou shalt be called cephas (which is by interpretation, peter)."( ) this explanation of the manner in which the cognomen peter is given, we need not point out, is likewise contradictory to the synoptics, and betrays the same purpose of suppressing the prominence of peter. the fourth gospel states that "the other disciple," who is declared to be john, the author of the gospel, was known to the high priest, another trait amongst many others elevating him above the son of zebedee as he is depicted elsewhere in the new testament. the { } account which the fourth gospel gives of the trial of jesus is in very many important particulars at variance with that of the synoptics. we need only mention here the point that the latter know nothing of the preliminary examination by annas. we shall not discuss the question as to where the denial of peter is represented as taking place in the fourth gospel, but may merely say that no other disciple but peter is mentioned in the synoptics as having followed jesus; and peter enters without difficulty into the high priest's palace.( ) in the fourth gospel, peter is made to wait without at the door until john, who is a friend of the high priest and freely enters, obtains permission for peter to go in, another instance of the precedence which is systematically given to john. the synoptics do not in this particular case give any support to the statement in the fourth gospel, and certainly in nothing that is said of john elsewhere do they render his acquaintance with the high priest in the least degree probable. it is, on the contrary, improbable in the extreme that the young fisherman of galilee, who shows very little enlightenment in the anecdotes told of him in the synoptics, and who is described as an "unlettered and ignorant" man in the acts of the apostles, could have any acquaintance with the high priest. ewald, who, on the strength of the word [------],( ) at once elevates him into a relation of the high priest, sees in the statement of polycrates that late in life he wore the priestly [------], a confirmation of the supposition that he was of the high priest's race and family.( ) the { } evident judaistic tendency, however, which made john wear the priestly mitre may distinguish him as author of the apocalypse, but it is fatal to the theory which makes him author of the fourth gospel, in which there is so complete a severance from judaism. a much more important point, however, is the designation of the author of the fourth gospel, who is identified with the apostle john, as "the disciple whom jesus loved." it is scarcely too much to say, that this suggestive appellation alone has done more than any arguments to ensure the recognition of the work, and to overcome doubts as to its authenticity. religious sentimentality, evoked by the influence of this tender epithet, has been blind to historical incongruities, and has been willing to accept with little question from the "beloved disciple" a portrait of jesus totally unlike that of the synoptics, and to elevate the dogmatic mysticism and artificial discourses of the one over the sublime morality and simple eloquence of the other. it is impossible to reflect seriously upon this representation of the relations between one of the disciples and jesus without the conviction that every record of the life of the great teacher must have borne distinct traces of the preference, and that the disciple so honoured must have attracted the notice of every early writer acquainted with the facts. if we seek for any evidence, however, that john was distinguished with such special affection,--that he lay on the breast of jesus at supper--that even the apostle peter recognised his superior intimacy and influence( )--and that he received at the foot of the cross the care of his mother from the dying jesus,( )--we seek in vain. the synoptic gospels, which minutely record the details { } of the last supper and of the crucifixion, so far from reporting any such circumstances or such distinction of john, do not even mention his name, and peter everywhere has precedence before the sons of zebedee. almost the only occasions upon which any prominence is given to them are episodes in which they incur the master's displeasure, and the cognomen of "sons of thunder" has certainly no suggestion in it of special affection, nor of personal qualities likely to attract the great teacher. the selfish ambition of the brothers who desire to sit on thrones on his right and on his left, and the intolerant temper which would have called down fire from heaven to consume a samaritan village, much rather contradict than support the representation of the fourth gospel. upon one occasion, indeed, jesus in rebuking them, adds: "ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."( ) it is perfectly undeniable that john nowhere has any such position accorded to him in the synoptics as this designation in the fourth gospel implies. in the lists of the disciples he is always put in the fourth place,( ) and in the first two gospels his only distinguishing designation is that of "the brother of james," or one of the sons of zebedee. the apostle peter in all of the synoptics is the leader of the disciples. he it is who alone is represented as the mouth-piece of the twelve or as holding conversation with jesus; and the only occasions on which the sons of zebedee address jesus are those to which we have referred, upon which luke ix. . these words are omitted from some of the oldest mss., but they are in cod. d (bezae) and many other very important texts, as well as in some of the oldest torsions, besides being quoted by the fathers. they were probably omitted after the claim of john to be the "beloved disciple" became admitted. { } his displeasure was incurred. the angel who appears to the women after the resurrection desires them to tell his disciples "and peter" that jesus will meet them in galilee,( ) but there is no message for any "disciple whom he loved." if peter, james, and john accompany the master to the mount of transfiguration, and are witnesses of his agony in the garden, regarding which, however, the fourth gospel is totally silent, the two brethren remain in the back ground, and peter alone acts a prominent part. if we turn to the epistles of paul, we do not find a single trace of acquaintance with the fact that jesus honoured john with any special affection, and the opportunity of referring to such a distinction was not wanting when he writes to the galatians of his visit to the "pillar" apostles in jerusalem. here again, however, we find no prominence given to john, but the contrary, his name still being mentioned last and without any special comment. in none of the pauline or other epistles is there any allusion, however distant, to any disciple whom jesus specially loved. the apocalypse, which, if any book of the new testament can be traced to him, must be ascribed to the apostle john, makes no claim whatever to such a distinction. in none of the apocryphal gospels is there the slightest indication of knowledge of the fact, and if we come to the fathers even, it is a striking circumstance that there is not a trace of it in any early work, and not the most remote indication of any independent tradition that jesus distinguished john or any other individual disciple with peculiar friendship. the roman clement, in referring to the example of the apostles, only mentions peter and paul.( ) polycarp, who is described as a disciple of the { } apostle john, apparently knows nothing of his having been especially loved by jesus. pseudo-ignatius does not refer to him at all in the syriac epistles, or in either version of the seven epistles.( ) papias, in describing his interest in hearing what the apostles said, gives john no prominence: "i inquired minutely after the words of the presbyters: what andrew, or what peter said, or what philip or what thomas or james, or what john or matthew, or what any other of the disciples of the lord, and what aristion and the presbyter john, the disciples of the lord, say,"( ) &c. as a fact, it is undenied and undeniable that the representation of john, or of any other disciple, as specially beloved by jesus, is limited solely and entirely to the fourth gospel, and that there is not even a trace of independent tradition to support the claim, whilst on the other hand the total silence of the earlier gospels and of the other new testament writings on the point, and indeed their data of a positive and unmistakeable character, oppose rather than support the correctness of the later and mere personal assertion. those who abandon sober criticism, and indulge in mere sentimental rhapsodies on the impossibility of the author of the fourth gospel being any other than "the disciple whom jesus loved," strangely ignore the fact that we have no reason whatever, except the assurance of the author himself, to believe that jesus specially loved any disciple, and much less john the son of zebedee. indeed, the statements of the fourth gospel itself on the subject are indeed in the universally repudiated epistles, beyond the fact that two are addressed to john, in which he is not called "the disciple whom jesus loved," the only mention of him is the statement, "john was banished to patmos." ad tars., iii. { } so indirect and intentionally vague that it is not absolutely clear what disciple is indicated as "the beloved," and it has even been maintained that not john the son of zebedee, but andrew the brother of simon peter was "the disciple whom jesus loved," and consequently the supposed author of the fourth gospel.( ) we have hitherto refrained from referring to one of the most singular features of the fourth gospel, the chapter xxi., which is by many cited as the most ancient testimony for the authenticity of the work, and which requires particular consideration. it is obvious that the gospel is brought to a conclusion by verses , of chapter xx., and critics are universally agreed at least that, whoever may be its author, chapter xxi. is a supplement only added after an interval. by whom was it written? as may be supposed, critics have given very different replies to this important question. many affirm, and with much probability, that chapter xxi. was subsequently added to the gospel by the author himself.( ) a few, however, exclude the last two verses, which they consider to have been added by another hand.( ) a much larger number assert that the whole { } chapter is an ancient appendix to the gospel by a writer who was not the author of the gospel.( ) a few likewise reject the last two verses of the preceding chapter. in this supplement (v. ), "the disciple whom jesus loved, who also leaned on his breast at the supper and said: lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?" is (v. ) identified with the author of the gospel. we may here state the theory of ewald with regard to the composition of the fourth gospel, which is largely deduced from considerations connected with the last chapter, and which, although more audaciously minute in its positive and arbitrary statement of details than any other with which we are acquainted, introduces more or less the explanations generally given regarding the composition of chapter xxi. out of all the indications in the work, ewald decides: " . that the gospel, completed at the end of chapter xx., was composed by the apostle about the year , with the free help of friends, not to be immediately circulated { } throughout the world, but to remain limited to the narrower circle of friends until his death, and only then to be published as his legacy to the whole of christendom. in this position it remained ten years, or even longer. . as the preconceived opinion regarding the life or death of the apostle (xxi. ) had perniciously spread itself throughout the whole of christendom, the apostle himself decided, even before his death, to counteract it in the right way by giving a correct statement of the circumstances. the same friends, therefore, assisted him to design the very important supplement, chapter xxi., and this could still be very easily added, as the book was not yet published. his friends proceeded, nevertheless, somewhat more freely in its composition than previously in writing the book itself, and allowed their own hand more clearly to gleam through, although here, as in the rest of the work, they conformed to the will of the apostle, and did not, even in the supplement, openly declare his name as the author. as the supplement, however, was to form a closely connected part of the whole work, they gave at its end (verses f.), as it now seemed to them suitable, a new conclusion to the augmented work. . as the apostle himself desired that the preconceived opinion regarding him, which had been spread abroad to the prejudice of christendom, should be contradicted as soon as possible, and even before his death, he now so far departed from his earlier wish, that he permitted the circulation of his gospel before his death. we can accept this with all certainty, and have therein trustworthy testimony regarding the whole original history of our book. . when the gospel was thus published it was for { } the first time gradually named after our apostle, even in its external superscription: a nomination which had then become all the more necessary and permanent for the purpose of distinction, as it was united in one whole with the other gospels. the world, however, has at all times known it only under this wholly right title, and could in no way otherwise know it and otherwise name it."( ) in addressing ourselves to each of these points in detail, we shall be able to discuss the principal questions connected with the fourth gospel. the theory of ewald, that the fourth gospel was written down with the assistance of friends in ephesus, has been imagined solely to conciliate certain phenomena presented throughout the gospel, and notably in the last chapter, with the foregone conclusion that it was written by the apostle john. it is apparent that there is not a single word in the work itself explaining such a mode of composition, and that the hypothesis proceeds purely from the ingenious imagination of the critic. the character of the language, the manner in which the writer is indirectly indicated in the third person, and the reference, even in the body of the work (xix. ), to the testimony of a third person, combined with the similarity of the style of the supplementary chapter, which is an obvious addition intended, however, to be understood as written by a different hand, have rendered these conjectures necessary to reconcile such obvious incongruities with the ascription of the work to the apostle. the substantial identity of the style and vocabulary of chapter xxi. with the rest of the gospel is asserted by a multitude of the most competent critics. ewald, whilst he recognizes the great { } similarity, maintains at the same time a real dissimilarity, for which he accounts in the manner just quoted. the language, ewald admits, agrees fully in many rare _nuances_ with that of the rest of the gospel, but he does not take the trouble to prove the decided dissimilarities which, he asserts, likewise exist. a less difference than that which he finds might, he thinks, be explained by the interval which had elapsed between the writing of the work and of the supplement, but "the wonderful similarity, in the midst of even greater dissimilarity, of the whole tone and particularly of the style of the composition is not thereby accounted for. this, therefore, leads us," he continues, "to the opinion: the apostle made use, for writing down his words, of the hand and even of the skill of a trusted friend who later, on his own authority (fur sich allein), wrote the supplement. the great similarity, as well as dissimilarity, of the style of both parts in this way becomes intelligible: the trusted friend (probably a presbyter in ephesus) adopted much of the language and mode of expression of the youthful old apostle, without, however, where he wrote more in his own person, being carefully solicitous of imitating them. but even through this contrast, and the definite declaration in v. , the apostolical origin of the book itself becomes all the more clearly apparent; and thus the supplement proves from the most diverse sides how certainly this gospel was written by the trusted disciple."( ) elsewhere, ewald more clearly explains the share in the work which he assigns to the apostle's disciple: "the proposition that the apostle composed in a unique way our likewise unique gospel is to be understood only with the { } important limitation upon which i have always laid so much stress: for john himself did not compose this work quite so directly as paul did most of his epistles, but the young friend who wrote it down from his lips, and who, in the later appendix, chapter xxi., comes forward in the most open way, without desiring in the slightest to conceal his separate identity, does his work at other times somewhat freely, in that he never introduces the narrator speaking of himself and his participation in the events with 'i' or 'we' but only indirectly indicates his presence at such events and, towards the end, in preference refers to him, from his altogether peculiar relation to christ, as 'the disciple whom the lord loved,' so that, in one passage, in regard to an important historical testimony (xix. ), he even speaks of him as of a third person." ewald then maintains that the agreement between the gospel and the epistles, and more especially the first, which he affirms, without vouchsafing a word of evidence, to have been written down by a different hand, proves that we have substantially only the apostle's very peculiar composition, and that his friend as much as possible gave his own words.( ) it is obvious from this elaborate explanation, which we need scarcely say is composed of mere assumptions, that, in order to connect the apostle john with the gospel, ewald is obliged to assign him a very peculiar position in regard to it: he recognizes that some of the characteristics of the work exclude the supposition that the apostle could himself have written the gospel, so he represents him as dictating it, and his secretary as taking considerable liberties with the composition as he writes it { } down, and even as introducing references of his own; as, for instance, in the passage to which he refers, where, in regard to the statement that at the crucifixion a soldier pierced the side of the already dead jesus and that forthwith there came out blood and water (xix. ), it is said: "and he that saw it hath borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye may believe."( ) it is perfectly clear that the writer refers to the testimony of another person( )--the friend who is writing down the narrative, says herr ewald, refers to the apostle who is actually dictating it. again, in the last chapter, as elsewhere throughout the work, "the disciple whom jesus loved," who is the author, is spoken of in the third person, and also in verse : "this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things" [------]. this, according to ewald, is the same secretary, now writing in his own person. the similarity between this declaration and the appeal to the testimony of another person in xix. , is certainly complete, and there can be no doubt that both proceed from the same pen; but beyond the assertion of herr ewald there is not the slightest evidence that a secretary wrote the gospel from the dictation of another, and ventured to interrupt the narrative by such a reference to testimony, which, upon the supposition that the { } apostle john was known as the actual author, is singularly out of place. if john wrote the gospel, why should he appeal in utterly vague terms to his own testimony, and upon such a point, when the mere fact that he himself wrote the statement was the most direct testimony in itself? an author who composed a work which he desired to ascribe to a "disciple whom jesus loved" might have made such a reference as xix. , in his anxiety to support such an affirmation, without supposing that he had really compromised his design, and might have naturally added such a statement as that in the last two verses, but nothing but the foregone conclusion that the apostle john was the real author could have suggested such an explanation of these passages. it is throughout assumed by ewald and others, that john wrote in the first instance, at least, specially for a narrow circle of friends, and the proof of this is considered to be the statement of the object with which it was written: "that ye may believe,"(l) &c., a phrase, we may remark, which is identical with that of the very verse (xix. ) with which the secretary is supposed to have had so much to do. it is very remarkable, upon this hypothesis, that in xix. , it is considered necessary even for this narrow circle, who knew the apostle so well, to make such an appeal, as well as to attach at its close (xxi. ), for the benefit of the world in general as ewald will have it, a certificate of the trustworthiness of the gospel upon no hypothesis which supposes the apostle john the author of the fourth gospel is such an explanation credible. that the apostle himself could have written of himself the words in xix. is impossible. after { } having stated so much that is much more surprising and contradictory to all experience without reference to any witness, it would indeed have been strange had he here appealed to himself as to a separate individual, and on the other hand it is quite inadmissible to assume that a mend to whom he is dictating should interrupt the narrative to introduce a passage so inappropriate to the work, and so unnecessary for any circle acquainted with the apostolic author. if, as ewald argues, the peculiarities of his style of composition were so well known that it was unnecessary for the writer more clearly to designate himself either for the first readers or for the christian world, the passages we are discussing are all the more inappropriate. that any guarantee of the truth of the gospel should have been thought desirable for readers who knew the work is to be composed by the apostle john, and who believed him to be "the disciple whom jesus loved," is inconceivable, and that any anonymous and quite indirect testimony to its genuineness should either have been considered necessary or of any value is still more incredible. it is impossible that nameless presbyters of ephesus could venture to accredit a gospel written by the apostle john; and any intended attestation must have taken the simple and direct course of stating that the work had been composed by the apostle. the peculiarities we are discussing seem to us explicable only upon the supposition that the unknown writer of the gospel desired that it should be understood to be written by a certain disciple whom jesus loved, but did not choose distinctly to name him or directly to make such an affirmation. it is, we assert, impossible that an apostle who composed a history of the life and teaching of jesus could { } have failed to attach his name, naturally and simply, as testimony of the trustworthiness of his statements, and of his fitness as an eye-witness to compose such a record. as the writer of the fourth gospel does not state his name, herr ewald ascribes the omission to the "incomparable modesty and delicacy of feeling" of the apostle john. we must further briefly examine the validity of this explanation. it is universally admitted, and by ewald himself, that although the writer does not directly name himself, he very clearly indicates that he is "the other disciple" and "the disciple whom jesus loved." we must affirm that such a mode of indicating himself is incomparably less modest than the simple statement of his name, and it is indeed a glorification of himself beyond anything in the apocalypse. but not only is the explanation thus discredited but, in comparing the details of the gospel with those of the synoptics, we find still more certainly how little modesty had to do with the suppression of his name. in the synoptics a very marked precedence of the rest of the disciples is ascribed to the apostle peter; and the sons of zebedee are represented in all of them as holding a subordinate place. this representation is confirmed by the pauline epistles and by tradition. in the fourth gospel, a very different account is given, and the author studiously elevates the apostle john,--that is to say, according to the theory that he is the writer of the gospel, himself,--in every way above the apostle peter. apart from the general pre-eminence claimed for himself in the very name of "the disciple whom jesus loved," we have seen that he deprives peter in his own favour of the honour of being the first of the disciples who was called; he suppresses the account of the circumstances under which { } that apostle was named peter, and gives another and trifling version of the incident, reporting elsewhere indeed in a very subdued and modified form, and without the commendation of the master, the recognition of the divinity of jesus, which in the first gospel is the cause of his change of name.( ) he is the intimate friend of the master, and even peter has to beg him to ask at the supper who was the betrayer. he describes himself as the friend of the high priest, and while peter is excluded, he not only is able to enter into his palace, but he is the means of introducing peter. the denial of peter is given without mitigation, but his bitter repentance is not mentioned. he it is who is singled out by the dying jesus and entrusted with the charge of his mother. he outruns peter in their race to the sepulchre, and in the final appearance of jesus (xxi. ) the more important position is assigned to the disciple whom jesus loved. it is, therefore, absurd to speak of the incomparable modesty of the writer, who, if he does not give his name, not only clearly indicates himself, but throughout assumes a pre-eminence which is not supported by the authority of the synoptics and other writings, but is heard of alone from his own narrative. ewald argues that chapter xxi. must have been written, and the gospel as we have it, therefore, have been completed, before the death of the apostle john. he considers the supplement to have been added specially to contradict the report regarding john (xxi. ). "the supplement must have been written whilst john still lived," he asserts, "for only before his death was it worth while to contradict such a false hope; and if his death had actually taken place, the result itself would { } have already refuted so erroneous an interpretation of the words of christ, and it would then have been much more appropriate to explain afresh the sense of the words 'till i come.' moreover, there is no reference here to the death as having already occurred, although a small addition to that effect in ver. would have been so easy. but if we were to suppose that john had long been dead when this was written, the whole rectification as it is given would be utterly without sense."( ) on the contrary, we affirm that the whole history of the first two centuries renders it certain that the apostle was already dead, and that the explanation was not a rectification of false hopes during his lifetime, but an explanation of the failure of expectations which had already taken place, and probably excited some scandal. we know how the early church looked for the immediate coming of the glorified christ, and how such hopes sustained persecuted christians in their sorrow and suffering. this is very clearly expressed in thess. iv. -- , where the expectation of the second coming within the lifetime of the writer and readers of the epistle is confidently stated, and elsewhere, and even in john ii. , the belief that the "last times" had arrived is expressed. the history of the apocalypse in relation to the canon illustrates the case. so long as the belief in the early consummation of all things continued strong, the apocalypse was the favourite writing of the early church, but when time went on, and the second coming of christ did not take place, the opinion of christendom regarding the work changed, and disappointment, as well as the desire to explain the non-fulfilment of prophecies upon which so much hope had been based, led many to reject the apocalypse { } as an unintelligible and fallacious book. we venture to conjecture that the tradition that john should not die until the second coming of jesus may have originated with the apocalypse, where that event is announced to john as immediately to take place, xxii. , , , and the words with which the book ends are of this nature, and express the expectation of the writer, : "he which testifieth these things saith: surely i come quickly. amen. come, lord jesus." it was not in the spirit of the age to hesitate about such anticipations, and so long as the apostle lived, such a tradition would scarcely have required or received contradiction from any one, the belief being universal that the coming of jesus might take place any day, and assuredly would not be long delayed. when the apostle was dead, however, and the tradition that it had been foretold that he should live until the coming of the lord exercised men's minds, and doubt and disappointment at the non-fulfilment of what may have been regarded as prophecy produced a prejudicial effect upon christendom, it seemed to the writer of this gospel a desirable thing to point out that too much stress had been laid upon the tradition, and that the words which had been relied upon in the first instance did not justify the expectations which had been formed from them. this also contradicts the hypothesis that the apostle john was the author of the gospel. such a passage as xix. , received in any natural sense, or interpreted in any way which can be supported by evidence, shows that the writer of the gospel was not an eye-witness of the events recorded, but appeals to the testimony of others. it is generally admitted that the expressions in ch. i. are of universal application, and capable of being adopted by all christians, and, { } consequently, that they do not imply any direct claim on the part of the writer to personal knowledge of jesus. we must now examine whether the gospel itself bears special marks of having been written by an eye-witness, and how far in this respect it bears out the assertion that it was written by the apostle john. it is constantly asserted that the minuteness of the details in the fourth gospel indicates that it must have been written by one who was present at the scenes he records. with regard to this point we need only generally remark, that in the works of imagination of which the world is full, and the singular realism of many of which is recognized by all, we have the most minute and natural details of scenes which never occurred, and of conversations which never took place, the actors in which never actually existed. ewald admits that it is undeniable that the fourth gospel was written with a fixed purpose, and with artistic design and, indeed, he goes further and recognizes that the apostle could not possibly so long have recollected the discourses of jesus and verbally reproduced them, so that, in fact, we have only, at best, a substantial report of the matter of those discourses coloured by the mind of the author himself.( ) details of scenes at which we were not present may be admirably supplied by imagination, and as we cannot compare what is here described as taking place with what actually took place, the argument that the author must have been an eyewitness because he gives such details is without validity. moreover, the details of the fourth gospel in many cases do not agree with those of the three synoptics, and it is an undoubted fact that the author of the fourth gospel gives the details of scenes at which the apostle john was not { } present, and reports the discourses and conversations on such occasions, with the very same minuteness as those at which he is said to have been present; as, for instance, the interview between jesus and the woman of samaria. it is perfectly undeniable that the writer had other gospels before him when he composed his work, and that he made use of other materials than his own.( ) it is by no means difficult, however, to point out very clear indications that the author was not an eye-witness, but constructed his scenes and discourses artistically and for effect. we shall not, at present, dwell upon the almost uniform artifice adopted in most of the dialogues, in which the listeners either misunderstand altogether the words of jesus, or interpret them in a foolish and material way, and thus afford him an opportunity of enlarging upon the theme. for instance, nicodemus, a ruler of the jews, misunderstands the expression of jesus, that in order to see the kingdom of god a man must be born from above, and asks: "how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mothers womb and be born?"( ) now, as it is well known, and as we have already shown, the common expression used in regard to a proselyte to judaism was that of being born again, with which every jew, and more especially every "ruler of the jews," must have been well acquainted. the stupidity which he displays { } in his conversation with jesus, and with which the author endowed all who came in contact with him, in order, by the contrast, to mark more strongly the superiority of the master, even draws from jesus the remark: "art thou the teacher of israel and understandest not these things?"(l) there can be no doubt that the scene was ideal, and it is scarcely possible that a jew could have written it. in the synoptics, jesus is reported as quoting against the people of his own city, nazareth, who rejected him, the proverb: "a prophet has no honour in his own country."( ) the appropriateness of the remark here is obvious. the author of the fourth gospel, however, shows clearly that he was neither an eye-witness nor acquainted with the subject or country when he introduces this proverb in a different place. jesus is represented as staying two days at sychar after his conversation with the samaritan woman. "now after the two days he departed thence into galilee. for [------] jesus himself testified that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. when, therefore [------], he came into galilee, the galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did in jerusalem, at the feast--for they also went unto the feast."( ) now it is manifest that the quotation here is quite out of place, and none of the ingenious but untenable explanations of apologists can make it appropriate. he is made to go into galilee, which was his country, because a prophet has no honour in his country, and the galilaeans are represented as receiving him, which is a contradiction of the proverb. the writer evidently misunderstood the facts of the case or { } deliberately desired to deny the connection of jesus with nazareth and galilee, in accordance with his evident intention of associating the logos only with the holy city. we must not pause to show that the author is generally unjust to the galilaeans, and displays an ignorance regarding them very unlike what we should expect from the fisherman of galilee.( ) we have already alluded to the artificial character of the conversation with the woman of samaria, which, although given with so much detail, occurred at a place totally unknown (perhaps allegorically called the "city of lies"), at which the apostle john was not present, and the substance of which was typical of samaria and its five nations and false gods. the continuation in the gospel is as unreal as the conversation. another instance displaying personal ignorance is the insertion into a discourse at the last supper, and without any appropriate connection with the context, the passage "verily, verily, i say unto you: he that receiveth whomsoever i send, receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."( ) in the synoptics, this sentence is naturally represented as part of the address to the disciples who are to be sent forth to preach the gospel;( ) but it is clear that its insertion here is a mistake.( ) again, a very obvious slip, which betrays that what was intended for realistic detail is nothing but a reminiscence of some earlier gospel misapplied, occurs in a later part { } of the discourses very inappropriately introduced as being delivered on the same occasion. at the end of xiv. , jesus is represented, after saying that he would no more talk much with the disciples, as suddenly breaking off with the words: "arise, let us go hence" [------]. they do not, however, arise and go thence, but, on the contrary, jesus at once commences another long discourse: "i am the true vine," &c. the expression is merely introduced artistically to close one discourse, and enable the writer to begin another, and the idea is taken from some earlier work. for instance, in our first synoptic, at the close of the agony in the garden which the fourth gospel ignores altogether, jesus says to the awakened disciples: "rise, let us go" [------].( ) we need not go on with these illustrations, but the fact that the author is not an eyewitness recording scenes which he beheld and discourses which he heard, but a writer composing an ideal gospel on a fixed plan, will become more palpable as we proceed. it is not necessary to enter upon any argument to prove the fundamental difference which exists in every respect between the synoptics and the fourth gospel. this is admitted even by apologists, whose efforts to reconcile the discordant elements are totally unsuccessful. "it is impossible to pass from the synoptic gospels to that of st john," says canon westcott, "without feeling that the transition involves the passage from one world of thought to another. no familiarity with the general teaching of the gospels, no wide conception of the character of the saviour is sufficient to destroy the { } contrast which exists in form and spirit between the earlier and later narratives."(l) the difference between the fourth gospel and the synoptics, not only as regards the teaching of jesus but also the facts of the narrative, is so great that it is impossible to harmonize them, and no one who seriously considers the matter can fail to see that both cannot be accepted as correct. if we believe that the synoptics give a truthful representation of the life and teaching of jesus, it follows of necessity that, in whatever category we may decide to place the fourth gospel, it must be rejected as a historical work. the theories which are most in favour as regards it may place the gospel in a high position as an ideal composition, but sober criticism must infallibly pronounce that they exclude it altogether from the province of history. there is no option but to accept it as the only genuine report of the sayings and doings of jesus, rejecting the synoptics, or to remove it at once to another department of literature. the synoptics certainly contradict each other in many minor details, but they are not in fundamental disagreement with each other and evidently present the same portrait of jesus, and the same view of his teaching derived from the same sources. the vast difference which exists between the representation of jesus in the fourth gospel and in the synoptics is too well recognized to require minute demonstration. we must, however, point out some of the distinctive features. we need not do more here than refer to the fact that, whilst the synoptics relate the circumstances of the birth of jesus, two of them at least, and give some history of his family and origin, the fourth gospel, ignoring all this, introduces the great { } teacher at once as the logos who from the beginning was with god and was himself god. the key-note is struck from the first, and in the philosophical prelude to the gospel we have the announcement to those who have ears to hear, that here we need expect no simple history, but an artistic demonstration of the philosophical postulate. according to the synoptics, jesus is baptized by john, and as he goes out of the water the holy ghost descends upon him like a dove. the fourth gospel says nothing of the baptism, and makes john the baptist narrate vaguely that he saw the holy ghost descend like a dove and rest upon jesus, as a sign previously indicated to him by god by which to recognize the lamb of god.( ) from the very first, john the baptist, in the fourth gospel, recognizes and declares jesus to be "the christ,"( ) "the lamb of god which taketh away the sins of the world."( ) according to the synoptics, john comes preaching the baptism of repentance, and so far is he from making such declarations, or forming such distinct opinions concerning jesus, that even after he has been cast into prison and just before his death,--when in fact his preaching was at an end,--he is represented as sending disciples to jesus, on hearing in prison of his works, to ask him: "art thou he that should come, or look we for another?" ( ) jesus carries on his ministry and baptizes simultaneously with john, according to the fourth gospel, but his public career, according to the synoptics, does not begin until after the baptist's has concluded, and john is cast into prison.( ) the synoptics clearly { } represent the ministry of jesus as having been limited to a single year,( ) and his preaching is confined to galilee and jerusalem, where his career culminates at the fatal passover. the fourth gospel distributes the teaching of jesus-between galilee, samaria, and jerusalem, makes it extend at least over three years, and refers to three passovers spent by jesus at jerusalem.( ) the fathers felt this difficulty and expended a good deal of apologetic ingenuity upon it; but no one is now content with the explanation of eusebius, that the synoptics merely intended to write the history of jesus during the one year after the imprisonment of the baptist, whilst the fourth evangelist recounted the events of the time not recorded by the others, a theory which is totally contradicted by the four gospels themselves.( ) the fourth gospel represents the expulsion of the money-changers by jesus as taking place at the very outset of his career,( ) when he could not have been known, and when such a proceeding is incredible; whilst the synoptics place it at the very close of his ministry, after his triumphal entry into jerusalem, when, if ever, such an act, which might have contributed to the final catastrophe, becomes conceivable.( ) the variation from the parallels in the synoptics, moreover, is exceedingly instructive, and further indicates the amplification of a later writer imperfectly acquainted with the circumstances. the { } first and second synoptists, in addition to the general expression "those buying and selling in the temple," mention only that jesus overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling doves. the third synoptist does not even give these particulars. the author of the fourth gospel, however, not only-makes jesus expel the sellers of doves and the moneychangers, but adds: "those selling oxen and sheep." now, not only is there not the slightest evidence that sheep and oxen were bought and sold in the temple, but it is obvious that there was no room there to do so. on the contrary, it is known that the market for cattle was not only distant from the temple, but even from the city.( ) the author himself betrays the foreign element in his account by making jesus address his words, when driving them all out, only "to them selling doves." why single these out and seem to exclude the sellers of sheep and oxen? he has apparently forgotten his own interpolation. in the first gospel, the connection of the words of jesus with the narrative suggests an explanation: xxi. "... and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats _of those selling doves, and saith to them_, &c." upon the occasion of this episode, the fourth gospel represents jesus as replying to the demand of the jews for a sign why he did such things: "destroy this temple, and within three days i will raise it up," which the jews understand very naturally only in a material sense, and which even the disciples only comprehended and believed "after the resurrection." the synoptists not only know nothing of this, but represent the saying as the false testimony which the false witnesses bare { } against jesus.( ) no such charge is brought against jesus at all in the fourth gospel. so little do the synoptists know of the conversation of jesus with the samaritan woman, and his sojourn for two days at sychar, that in his instructions to his disciples, in the first gospel, jesus positively forbids them either to go to the gentiles or to enter into any city of the samaritans.( ) the fourth gospel has very few miracles in common with the synoptics, and those few present notable variations. after the feeding of the five thousand, jesus, according to the synoptics, constrains his disciples to enter a ship and to go to the other side of the lake of gennesaret, whilst he himself goes up a mountain apart to pray. a storm arises, and jesus appears walking to them over the sea, whereat the disciples are troubled, but peter says to him: "lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee over the water," and on his going out of the ship over the water, and beginning to sink, he cries: "lord save me;" jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and when they had come into the ship, the wind ceased, and they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying: "of a truth thou art the son of god." ( ) the fourth gospel, instead of representing jesus as retiring to the mountain to pray, which would have been opposed to the authors idea of the logos, makes the motive for going thither the knowledge of jesus that the people "would come and take him by force that they might make him a king."( ) the writer altogether ignores the episode of peter walking on the sea, and adds a new miracle by stating that, as soon as jesus was received on { } board, "the ship was at the land whither they were going."( ) the synoptics go on to describe the devout excitement and faith of all the country round, but the fourth gospel, limiting the effect on the multitude in the first instance to curiosity as to how jesus had crossed the lake, represents jesus as upbraiding them for following him, not because they saw miracles, but because they had eaten of the loaves and been filled,( ) and makes him deliver one of those long dogmatic discourses, interrupted by, and based upon, the remarks of the crowd, which so peculiarly distinguish the fourth gospel. without dwelling upon such details of miracles, however, we proceed with our slight comparison. whilst the fourth gospel from the very commencement asserts the foreknowledge of jesus as to who should betray him, and makes him inform the twelve that one of them is a devil, alluding to judas iscariot,( ) the synoptists represent jesus as having so little foreknowledge that judas should betray him that, shortly before the end and, indeed, according to the third gospel, only at the last supper, jesus promises that the disciples shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of israel,( ) and it is only at the last supper, after judas has actually arranged with the chief priests, and apparently from knowledge of the fact, that jesus for the first time speaks of his betrayal by him.( ) on his way to jerusalem, two days before the passover,( ) jesus comes to bethany where, { } according to the synoptics, being in the house of simon the leper, a woman with an alabaster box of very precious ointment came and poured the ointment upon his head, much to the indignation of the disciples, who say: "to what purpose is this waste? for this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor."( ) in the fourth gospel the episode takes place six days before the passover,( ) in the house of lazarus, and it is his sister mary who takes a pound of very costly ointment, but she anoints the feet of jesus and wipes his feet with her hair. it is judas iscariot, and not the disciples, who says: "why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?" and jesus makes a similar reply to that in the synoptics, showing the identity of the occurrence described so differently.( ) the synoptics represent most clearly that jesus on the evening of the th nisan, after the custom of the jews, ate the passover with his disciples,( ) and that he was arrested in the first hours of the th nisan, the day on which he was put to death. nothing can be more distinct than the statement that the last supper was the paschal feast. "they made ready the passover [------], and when the hour was come, he sat down and the apostles with him, and he said to them: with desire i desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer" [------].( ) the fourth gospel, however, in accordance with the principle which is dominant throughout, represents the last repast { } which jesus eats with his disciples as a common supper [------], which takes place, not on the th, but on the th nisan, the day "before the feast of the passover" [------],( ) and his death takes place on the th, the day on which the paschal lamb was slain. jesus is delivered by pilate to the jews to be crucified about the sixth hour of "the preparation of the passover" [------],( ) and because it was "the preparation," the legs of the two men crucified with jesus were broken, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the great day of the feast.( ) the fourth gospel totally ignores the institution of the christian festival at the last supper, but, instead, represents jesus as washing the feet of the disciples, enjoining them also to wash each other's feet: "for i gave you an example that ye should do according as i did to you."( ) the synoptics have no knowledge of this incident. immediately after the warning to peter of his future denial, jesus goes out with the disciples to the garden of gethsemane and, taking peter and the two sons of zebedee apart, began to be sorrowful and very depressed and, as he prayed in his agony that if possible the cup might pass from him, an angel comforts him. instead of this, the fourth gospel represents jesus as delivering, after the warning to peter, the longest discourses in the gospel: "let not your heart be troubled," &c; "i am the true vine,"( ) &c; and, although said to be written by one of the sons of zebedee who were with jesus on the occasion, the fourth gospel does not mention the agony in the garden but, on the contrary, makes jesus utter the long { } prayer xvii. -- , in a calm and even exulting spirit very far removed from the sorrow and depression of the more natural scene in gethsemane. the prayer, like the rest of the prayers in the gospel, is a mere didactic and dogmatic address for the benefit of the hearers. the arrest of jesus presents a similar contrast. in the synoptics, judas comes with a multitude from the chief priests and elders of the people armed with swords and staves, and, indicating his master by a kiss, jesus is simply arrested and, after the slight resistance of one of the disciples, is led away.( ) in the fourth gospel, the case is very different. judas comes with a band of men from the chief priests and pharisees, with lanterns and torches and weapons, and jesus--"knowing all things which were coming to pass"--himself goes towards them and asks: "whom seek ye?" judas plays no active part, and no kiss is given. the fourth evangelist is, as ever, bent on showing that all which happens to the logos is predetermined by himself and voluntarily encountered. as soon as jesus replies: "i am he," the whole band of soldiers go backwards and fall to the ground, an incident thoroughly in the spirit of the early apocryphal gospels still extant, and of an evidently legendary character. he is then led away first to annas, who sends him to caiaphas, whilst the synoptics naturally know nothing of annas, who was not the high priest and had no authority. we need not follow the trial, which is fundamentally different in the synoptics and fourth gospel; and we have already pointed out that, in the synoptics, jesus is crucified on the th nisan, whereas in the fourth gospel he is put to death--the spiritual paschal lamb--on the th nisan. according { } to the fourth gospel, jesus bears his own cross to calvary,( ) but the synoptics represent it as being borne by simon of cyrene.( ) as a very singular illustration of the inaccuracy of all the gospels, we may point to the circumstance that no two of them agree even about so simple a matter of fact as the inscription on the cross, assuming that there was one at all. they give it respectively as follows: "this is jesus the king of the jews;" "the king of the jews;" "this (is) the king of the jews;" and the fourth gospel: "jesus the nazarene the king of the jews."( ) the occurrences during the crucifixion are profoundly different in the fourth gospel from those narrated in the synoptics. in the latter, only the women are represented as beholding afar off,( ) but "the beloved disciple" is added in the fourth gospel, and instead of being far off, they are close to the cross; and for the last cries of jesus reported in the synoptics we have the episode in which jesus confides his mother to the disciple's care. we need not at present compare the other details of the crucifixion and resurrection, which are differently reported by each of the gospels. we have only indicated a few of the more salient differences between the fourth gospel and the synoptics, which are rendered much more striking, in the gospels themselves, by the profound dissimilarity of the sentiments uttered by jesus. we merely point out, in passing, the omission of important episodes from the fourth { } gospel, such as the temptation in the wilderness; the transfiguration, at which, according to the synoptics, the sons of zebedee were present; the last supper; the agony in the garden; the mournful cries on the cross; and, we may add, the ascension; and if we turn to the miracles of jesus, we find that almost all of those narrated by the synoptics are ignored, whilst an almost entirely new series is introduced. there is not a single instance of the cure of demoniacal possession in any form recorded in the fourth gospel. indeed the number of miracles is reduced in that gospel to a few typical cases; and although at the close it is generally said that jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, these alone are written with the declared purpose: "that ye might believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god."( ) we may briefly refer in detail to one miracle of the fourth gospel--the raising of lazarus. the extraordinary fact that the synoptists are utterly ignorant of this the greatest of the miracles attributed to jesus has been too frequently discussed to require much comment here. it will be remembered that, as the case of the daughter of jairus is, by the express declaration of jesus, one of mere suspension of consciousness,( ) the only instance in which a dead person is distinctly said, in any of the synoptics, to have been restored to life by jesus is that of the son of the widow of nain.( ) it is, therefore, quite impossible to suppose that the synoptists could have known of the raising of lazarus and wilfully omitted it. it is equally impossible to believe that the authors of the synoptic gospels, from whatever sources they may have drawn their materials, { } could have been ignorant of such a miracle had it really-taken place. this astounding miracle, according to the fourth gospel, created such general excitement that it was one of the leading events which led to the arrest and crucifixion of jesus.( ) if, therefore, the synoptics had any connection with the writers to whom they are referred, the raising of lazarus must have been personally known to their reputed authors either directly or through the apostles who are supposed to have inspired them, or even if they have any claim to contemporary origin the tradition of the greatest miracle of jesus must have been fresh throughout the church, if such a wonder had ever been performed.( ) the total ignorance of such a miracle displayed by the whole of the works of the new testament, therefore, forms the strongest presumptive evidence that the narrative in the fourth gospel is a mere imaginary scene, illustrative of the dogma: "i am the resurrection and the life," upon which it is based. this conclusion is confirmed by the peculiarities of the narrative itself. when jesus first hears, from the message of the sisters, that lazarus whom he loved was sick, he declares, xi. : "this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of god, that the son of god may be glorified thereby;" and v. : "when, therefore [------], he heard that he was sick, at that time he continued two days in the place where he was." after that time he proposes to go into judaea, and explains to the disciples, v. : "our friend lazarus is fallen asleep; but i go that i may awake him out of sleep." the disciples reply, with the stupidity with which the fourth evangelist endows all those who hold colloquy with jesus, { } v. : "lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover. howbeit, jesus spake of his death; but they thought that he was speaking of the taking of rest in sleep. then said jesus unto them plainly: lazarus is dead, and i am glad for your sakes that i was not there, to the intent that ye may believe." the artificial nature of all this introductory matter will not have escaped the reader, and it is further illustrated by that which follows. arrived at bethany, they find that lazarus has lain in the grave already four days. martha says to jesus (v. £): "lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. and i know that even now whatsoever thou shalt ask of god, god will give thee. jesus saith unto her: they brother shall rise again." martha, of course, as usual, misunderstands this saying as applying to "the resurrection at the last day," in order to introduce the reply: "i am the resurrection and the life," &c. when they come to the house, and jesus sees mary and the jews weeping, "he groaned in spirit and troubled himself," and on reaching the grave itself (v. . f.), "jesus wept: then said the jews: behold how he loved him!" now this representation, which has ever since been the admiration of christendom, presents the very strongest marks of unreality. jesus, who loves lazarus so much, disregards the urgent message of the sisters and, whilst openly declaring that his sickness is not unto death, intentionally lingers until his friend dies. when he does go to bethany, and is on the very point of restoring lazarus to life and dissipating the grief of his family and friends he actually weeps and groans in his spirit. there is so total an absence of reason for such grief at such a moment that these tears, to any sober reader, are unmistakably mere theatrical adjuncts of a scene { } elaborated out of the imagination of the writer. the suggestion of the bystanders (v. ), that he might have prevented the death, is not more probable than the continuation (v. ): "jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself cometh to the grave." there, having ordered the stone to be removed, he delivers a prayer avowedly intended merely for the bystanders (v. ff): "and jesus lifted up his eyes and said, father, i thank thee that thou hast heard me, and i knew that thou hearest me always: but for the sake of the multitude which stand around i said this, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." this prayer is as evidently artificial as the rest of the details of the miracle but, as in other elaborately arranged scenic representations, the charm is altogether dispelled when closer examination shows the character of the dramatic elements. a careful consideration of the narrative and of all the facts of the case must, we think, lead to the conclusion that this miracle is not even a historical tradition of the life of jesus, but is wholly an ideal composition by the author of the fourth gospel. this being the case, the other miracles of the gospel need not detain us. if the historical part of the fourth gospel be in irreconcilable contradiction to the synoptics, the didactic is infinitely more so. the teaching of the one is totally different from that of the others, in spirit, form, and terminology; and although there are undoubtedly fine sayings throughout the work, in the prolix discourses of the fourth gospel there is not a single characteristic of the simple eloquence of the sermon on the mount. in the diffuse mysticism of the logos, we can scarcely recognise a trace of the terse practical wisdom of jesus of nazareth. it must, of course, be apparent even to the most superficial { } observer that, in the fourth gospel, we are introduced to a perfectly new system of instruction, and to an order of ideas of which there is not a vestige in the synoptics. instead of short and concise lessons full of striking truth and point, we find nothing but long and involved dogmatic discourses of little practical utility. the limpid spontaneity of that earlier teaching, with its fresh illustrations and profound sentences uttered without effort and untinged by art, is exchanged for diffuse addresses and artificial dialogues, in which labour and design are everywhere apparent. from pure and living morality couched in brief incisive sayings, which enter the heart and dwell upon the ear, we turn to elaborate philosophical orations without clearness or order, and to doctrinal announcements unknown to the synoptics. to the inquiry: "what shall i do to inherit eternal life?" jesus replies, in the synoptics: "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself,... this do, and thou shalt live."( ) in the fourth gospel, to the question: "what must we do, that we may work the works of god?" jesus answers, "this is the work of god, that ye should believe in him whom he sent."( ) the teaching of jesus, in the synoptics, is almost wholly moral and, in the fourth gospel, it is almost wholly dogmatic. if christianity consist of the doctrines preached in the fourth gospel, it is not too much to say that the synoptics do not teach christianity at all. the extraordinary phenomenon is presented of three gospels, each professing to be complete in itself and to convey the good tidings of salvation to man, { } which have actually omitted the doctrines which are the condition of that salvation. the fourth gospel practically expounds a new religion. it is undeniable that morality and precepts of love and charity for the conduct of life are the staple of the teaching of jesus in the synoptics, and that dogma occupies so small a place that it is regarded as a subordinate and secondary consideration. in the fourth gospel, however, dogma is the one thing needful, and forms the whole substance of the preaching of the logos. the burden of his teaching is: "he that believeth on the son, hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the son, shall not see life, but the wrath of god abideth on him."( ) it is scarcely possible to put the contrast between the synoptics and the fourth gospel in too strong a light if we possessed the synoptics without the fourth gospel, we should have the exposition of pure morality based on perfect love to god and man. if we had the fourth gospel without the synoptics, we should have little more than a system of dogmatic theology without morality. not only is the doctrine and the terminology of the jesus of the fourth gospel quite different from that of the jesus of the synoptics, but so is the teaching of john the baptist. in the synoptics, he comes preaching the baptism of repentance( ) and, like the master, inculcating principles of morality;( ) but in the fourth gospel he has adopted the peculiar views of the author, proclaims "the lamb of god which taketh away the sins of the world,"( ) and bears witness that he is "the son of god."( ) we hear of the paraclete for the first time in the fourth gospel it is so impossible to ignore the distinct individuality { } of the jesus of the fourth gospel, and of his teaching, that even apologists are obliged to admit that the peculiarities of the author have coloured the portrait, and introduced an element of subjectivity into the discourses. it was impossible, they confess, that the apostle could remember verbally such long orations for half a century, and at best that they can only be accepted as substantially correct reports of the teaching of jesus.( ) "above all," says ewald, "the discourses of christ and of others in this gospel are clothed as by an entirely new colour: on this account also scepticism has desired to conclude that the apostle cannot have composed the gospel; and yet no conclusion is more unfounded. when the apostle at so late a period determined to compose the work, it was certainly impossible for him to reproduce all the words exactly as they were spoken, if he did not perhaps desire not merely to recall a few memorable sentences but, in longer discussions of more weighty subjects, to charm back all the animation with which they were once given. so he availed himself of that freedom in their revivification which is both quite intelligible in itself, and sufficiently warranted by the precedent of so many great examples of antiquity: and where the discourses extend to greater length, there entered involuntarily into the structure much of that fundamental conception and language regarding the { } manifestation of christ, which had long become deeply rooted in the apostle's soul. but as certainly as these discourses bear upon them the colouring of the apostle's mind, so certainly do they agree in their substantial contents with his best recollections--because the spruchsammlung proves that the discourses of christ in certain moments really could rise to the full elevation, which in john only surprises us throughout more than in matthew. to deny the apostolical authorship of the gospel for such reasons, therefore, were pure folly, and in the highest degree unjust. moreover, the circumstance that, in the drawing up of such discourses, we sometimes see him reproduce or further develop sayings which had already been recorded in the older gospels, can prove nothing against the apostolical origin of the gospel, as he was indeed at perfect liberty, if he pleased, to make use of the contents of such older writings when he considered it desirable, and when they came to the help of his own memory of those long passed days: for he certainly retained many or all of such expressions also in his own memory."( ) elsewhere, he describes the work as "glorified gospel history," composed out of "glorified recollection."( ) another strenuous defender of the authenticity of the fourth gospel wrote of it as follows: "nevertheless, everything is reconcilable," says gfrörer, "if one accepts that testimony of the elders as true. for as john must have written the gospel as an old man, that is to say not before the year -- of our era, there is an interval of more than half a century between the time { } when the events which he relates really happened, and the time of the composition of his book,--space enough certainly to make a few mistakes conceivable, even presupposing a good memory and unshaken love of truth. let us imagine, for instance, that to-day (in ) an old man of eighty to ninety years of age should write down from mere memory the occurrences of the american war (of independence), in which he himself in his early youth played a part. certainly in his narrative, even though it might otherwise be true, many traits would be found which would not agree with the original event. moreover, another particular circumstance must be added in connection with the fourth gospel. two-thirds of it consist of discourses, which john places in the mouth of jesus christ. now every day's experience proves that oral impressions are much more fleeting than those of sight. the happiest memory scarcely retains long orations after three or four years: how, then, could john with verbal accuracy report the discourses of jesus after fifty or sixty years! we must be content if he truly render the chief contents and spirit of them, and that he does this, as a rule, can be proved. it has been shown above that already, before christ, a very peculiar philosophy of religion had been formed among the egyptian jews, which found its way into palestine through the essenes, and also numbered numerous adherents amongst the jews of the adjacent countries of syria and asia minor. the apostle paul professed this: not less the evangelist john. undoubtedly, the latter allowed this theosophy to exercise a strong influence upon his representation of the life-history of jesus,"( ) &c. { } now all such admissions, whilst they are absolutely requisite to explain the undeniable phenomena of the fourth gospel, have one obvious consequence: the fourth gospel, by whomsoever written,--even if it could be traced to the apostle john himself,--has no real historical value, being at best the "glorified recollections" of an old man, written down half a century after the events recorded. the absolute difference between the teaching of this gospel and of the synoptics becomes perfectly intelligible, when the long discourses are recognized to be the result of alexandrian philosophy artistically interwoven with developed pauline christianity, and put into the mouth of jesus. it will have been remarked that along with the admission of great subjectivity in the report of the discourses, and the plea that nothing beyond the mere substance of the original teaching can reasonably be looked for, there is, in the extracts we have given, an assertion that there actually is a faithful reproduction in this gospel of the original substance. there is not a shadow of proof of this, but on the contrary the strongest reason for denying the fact; for, unless it be admitted that the synoptics have so completely omitted the whole doctrinal part of the teaching of jesus, have so carefully avoided the very peculiar terminology of the logos gospel, and have conveyed so unhistorical and erroneous an impression of the life and religious system of jesus that, without the fourth gospel, we should not actually have had an idea of his fundamental doctrines, we must inevitably recognize that the fourth gospel cannot possibly be a true reproduction of his teaching. it is impossible that jesus can have had two such diametrically opposed systems of teaching,--one purely moral, the other wholly dogmatic; one expressed in { } wonderfully terse, clear, brief sayings and parables, the other in long, involved, and diffuse discourses; one clothed in the great language of humanity, the other concealed in obscure philosophic terminology;--and that these should have been kept so distinct as they are in the synoptics, on the one hand, and the fourth gospel, on the other. the tradition of justin martin applies solely to the system of the synoptics: "brief and concise were the sentences uttered by him: for he was no sophist, but his word was the power of god."( ) we have already pointed out the evident traces of artificial construction in the discourses and dialogues of the fourth gospel, and the more closely these are examined, the more clear does it become that they are not genuine reports of the teaching of jesus, but mere ideal compositions by the author of the fourth gospel. the speeches of john the baptist, the discourses of jesus, and the reflections of the evangelist himself,( ) are marked by the same peculiarity of style and proceed from the same mind. it is scarcely possible to determine where the one begins and the other ends.( ) it is quite clear, for instance, that the author himself, without a break, continues the words which he puts into the mouth of jesus, in the colloquy with nicodemus, but it is not easy to determine where. the whole dialogue is artificial in the extreme, and is certainly not genuine, and this is apparent not only from the replies attributed to the "teacher of israel," but to the irrelevant manner in which the reflections loosely ramble from the new birth to the dogmatic statements in the thirteenth and following verses, which are the never-failing resource of the { } evangelist when other subjects are exhausted. the sentiments and almost the words either attributed to jesus, or added by the writer, to which we are now referring, iii. ff., we find again in the very same chapter, either put into the mouth of john the baptist, or as reflections of the author, verses -- , for again we add that it is difficult anywhere to discriminate the speaker. indeed, while the synoptics are rich in the abundance of practical counsel and profound moral insight, as well as in variety of illustrative parables, it is remarkable how much sameness there is in all the discourses of the fourth gospel, a very few ideas being constantly reproduced. whilst the teaching of jesus in the synoptics is singularly universal and impersonal, in the fourth gospel it is purely personal, and rarely passes beyond the declaration of his own dignity, and the inculcation of belief in him as the only means of salvation. there are certainly some sayings of rare beauty which tradition or earlier records may have preserved, but these may easily be distinguished from the mass of the work. a very distinct trace of ideal composition is found in xvii. : "and this is eternal life, to know thee the only true god, and him whom thou didst send, even jesus christ." even apologists admit that it is impossible that jesus could speak of himself as "jesus christ." we need not, however, proceed further with such analysis. we believe that no one can calmly and impartially examine the fourth gospel without being convinced of its artificial character. if some portions possess real charm, it is of a purely ideal kind, and their attraction consists chiefly in the presence of a certain vague but suggestive mysticism. the natural longing of humanity for any revelation regarding a future state has not been { } appealed to in vain. that the diffuse and often monotonous discourses of this gospel, however, should ever have been preferred to the grand simplicity of the teaching of the synoptics, illustrated by such parables as the wise and foolish virgins, the sower, and the prodigal son, and culminating in the sermon on the mount, each sentence of which is so full of profound truth and beauty, is little to the credit of critical sense and judgment. the elaborate explanations by which the phenomena of the fourth gospel are reconciled with the assumption that it was composed by the apostle john are in vain, and there is not a single item of evidence within the first century and a half which does not agree with internal testimony in opposing the supposition. to one point, however, we must briefly refer in connection with this statement. it is asserted that the gospel and epistles--or at least the first epistle--of the canon ascribed to the apostle john are by one author, although this is not without contradiction,( ) and very many of those who agree as to the identity of authorship by no means admit the author to have been the apostle john. it is argued, therefore, that the use of the epistle by polycarp and papias is evidence of the apostolic origin of the gospel. we have, however, seen, that not only is it very uncertain that polycarp made use of the epistle at all, but that he does not in any case mention its author's name. there is not a particle of evidence that he ascribed the epistle, even supposing he knew it, to the { } apostle john. with regard to papias, the only authority for the assertion that he knew the epistle is the statement of eusebius already quoted and discussed, that: "he used testimonies out of john's first epistle,"( ) there is no evidence, however, even supposing the statement of eusebius to be correct, that he ascribed it to the apostle. the earliest undoubted references to the epistle, in fact, are by irenæus and clement of alexandria, so that this evidence is of little avail for the gospel. there is no name attached to the first epistle, and the second and third have the superscription of "the presbyter," which, applying the argument of ewald regarding the author of the apocalypse, ought to be conclusive against their being written by an apostle. as all three are evidently by the same writer, and intended to be understood as by the author of the gospel, and that writer does not pretend to be an apostle, but calls himself a simple presbyter, the epistles likewise give presumptive evidence against the apostolic authorship of the gospel. there is another important testimony against the johannine origin of the fourth gospel to which we must briefly refer. we have pointed out that, according to the fourth gospel, jesus did not eat the paschal supper with his disciples, but that being arrested on the th nisan, he was put to death on the th, the actual day upon which the paschal lamb was sacrificed. the synoptics, on the contrary, represent that jesus ate the passover with his disciples on the evening of the th, and was crucified on the th nisan. the difference of opinion indicated by these contradictory accounts actually prevailed in various churches, and in the { } second half of the second century a violent discussion arose as to the day upon which "the true passover of the lord" should be celebrated, the church in asia minor maintaining that it should be observed on the th nisan,--the day on which, according to the synoptics, jesus himself celebrated the passover and instituted the christian festival,--whilst the roman church as well as most other christians,--following the fourth gospel, which represents jesus as not celebrating the last passover, but being himself slain upon the th nisan, the true paschal lamb,--had abandoned the day of the jewish feast altogether, and celebrated the christian festival on easter sunday, upon which the resurrection was supposed to have taken place. polycarp, who went to rome to represent the churches of asia minor in the discussions upon the subject, could not be induced to give up the celebration on the th nisan, the day which, according to tradition, had always been observed, and he appealed to the practice of the apostle john himself in support of that date. eusebius quotes from irenæus the statement of the case: "for neither could anicetus persuade polycarp not to observe it (the th nisan), because he had ever observed it with john the disciple of our lord, and with the rest of the apostles with whom he consorted."( ) towards the end of the century, polycrates, the bishop of ephesus, likewise appeals to the practice of "john who reclined upon the bosom of the lord," as well as of the apostle philip and his daughters, and of polycarp and others in support of the same day: "all these observed { } the th day of the passover, according to the gospel, deviating from it in no respect, but following according to the rule of the faith."(l) now it is evident that, according to this undoubted testimony, the apostle john by his own practice, ratified the account of the synoptics, and contradicted the data of the fourth gospel, and upon the supposition that he so long lived in asia minor it is probable that his authority largely contributed to establish the observance of the th nisan there. we must, therefore, either admit that the apostle john by his practice reversed the statement of his own gospel, or that he was not its author, which of course is the natural conclusion. without going further into the discussion, which would detain us too long, it is clear that the paschal controversy is opposed to the supposition that the apostle john was the author of the fourth gospel.( ) we have seen that, whilst there is not one particle of evidence during a century and a half after the events recorded in the fourth gospel that it was composed by the son of zebedee, there is, on the contrary, the strongest reason for believing that he did not write it. the first writer who quotes a passage of the gospel with the mention of his name is theophilus of antioch, who gives the few words: "in the beginning was the word and the word was with god," as spoken by "john," whom he considers amongst the divinely inspired [------] { } [------],( ) though even he does not distinguish. him as the apostle. we have seen the legendary nature of the late traditions regarding the composition of the gospel, of which a specimen was given in the defence of it in the canon of muratori, and we must not further quote them. the first writer who distinctly classes the four gospels together is irenæus; and the reasons which he gives for the existence of precisely that number in the canon of the church illustrate the thoroughly uncritical character of the fathers, and the slight dependence which can be placed upon their judgments. "but neither can the gospels be more in number than they are," says irenæus, "nor, on the other hand, can they be fewer. for as there are four quarters of the world in which we are, and four general winds [------], and the church is disseminated throughout all the world, and the gospel is the pillar and prop of the church and the spirit of life, it is right that she should have four pillars, on all sides breathing out immortality and revivifying men. from which it is manifest that the word, the maker of all, he who sitteth upon the cherubim and containeth all things, who was manifested to man, has given to us the gospel, four-formed but possessed by one spirit; as david also says, supplicating his advent: 'thou that sittest between the cherubim, shine forth.' for the cherubim also are four-faced, and their faces are symbols of the working of the son of god.... and the gospels, therefore, are in harmony with these amongst which christ is seated. for the gospel according to john relates his first effectual and glorious generation from the father, saying: 'in the ad autolyc, ii. . tischendorf dates this work about a.d. . wann wurden, a. s. w., p. , anm. . { } beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god,' and 'all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made.' on this account also this gospel is full of all trustworthiness, for such is his person.( ) but the gospel according to luke, being as it were of priestly character, opened with zacharias the priest sacrificing to god.... but matthew narrates his generation as a man, saying: 'the book of the generation of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham,' and 'the birth of jesus christ was on this wise,' this gospel, therefore, is anthropomorphic, and on this account a man, humble and mild in character, is presented throughout the gospel. but mark makes his commencement after a prophetic spirit coming down from on high unto men, saying: 'the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ, as it is written in isaiah the prophet;' indicating the winged form of the gospel; and for this reason he makes a compendious and precursory declaration, for this is the prophetic character.... such, therefore, as was the course of the son of god, such also is the form of the living creatures; and such as is the form of the living creatures, such also is the character of the gospel. for quadriform are the living creatures, quadriform is the gospel, and quadriform the course of the lord. and on this account four covenants were given to the human race.... these things being thus: vain and ignorant and, moreover, audacious are those who set aside the form of the gospel, and declare the aspects of the gospels as either more or less than has been said."( ) as such principles of criticism presided the greek of this rather unintelligible sentence is not preserved. the latin version reads as follows: propter hoc et omni fiducia plenum est evangelium istud; talis est enim persona ejus. { } over the formation of the canon, it is not singular that so many of the decisions of the fathers have been reversed. irenæus himself mentioned the existence of heretics who rejected the fourth gospel,( ) and epiphanius( ) refers to the alogi, who equally denied its authenticity, but it is not needful for us further to discuss this point. enough has been said to show that the testimony of the fourth gospel is of no value towards establishing the truth of miracles and the reality of divine revelation. end of vol. ii. the origin and permanent value of the old testament by charles foster kent, ph.d. woolsey professor of biblical literature in yale university "ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" preface during the past generation the old testament has commanded equally with the new the enthusiastic and devoted study of the great body of biblical scholars throughout the world. two out of every three graduate students in our universities who specialize in the general field of biblical literature choose the old as the special centre of their work. at the same time the tendency of the rank and file of the christian church within the past decade has undoubtedly been to neglect the older testament. preachers as a rule select less than a fourth of their texts from it; the prevailing courses of bible study devote proportionately less time to it; and teachers and scholars in the great majority of cases turn to the old testament with much less enthusiasm than they do to the new. why are these two great currents setting in opposite directions, and what are the causes of the present popular neglect of the old testament? if the old testament should be relegated to a second place in our working canon of the bible, let us frankly and carefully define our reasons. if, on the other hand, the prevailing apathy and neglect are due to ignorance of the real character and value of the old testament, let as lose no time in setting ourselves right. the present volume has been suggested by repeated calls from ministerial bodies, popular assemblies, and groups of college students for addresses on the themes here treated. the aim has been to give in concise, popular form answers to some of the many questions thus raised, with the conviction that they are in the mind of every thoughtful man and woman to-day, and especially on the lips of earnest pastors, missionaries, and sunday-school teachers. there are indications on every side of a deepening and far more intelligent interest in the needs and possibilities of religious education. its vital importance to the life of the church and the nation is being understood as never before. earnest and fruitful efforts are being put forth to improve the methods and courses of instruction. the first essential, however, is a true understanding and appreciation of that book of books, which will forever continue to be the chief manual "for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, in righteousness, that the man of god may be perfect, completely fitted for every good work." the supreme importance and practical value of the new testament are recognized by all, but we usually forget when we quote the familiar words of paul that he had in mind simply the scriptures of the old testament. in divine providence mighty forces have been quietly at work during the past century removing false rabbinical traditions and misconceptions that had gathered about these ancient scriptures, while from other sources has come new light to illumine their pages. the result is that in the old testament the christian world is discerning a new heritage, the beauty and value of which is still only half suspected even by intelligent people. this fact is so significant and yet so little recognized that one feels impelled to go out and proclaim it on the housetops. the old testament can never be properly presented from the pulpit or in the class-room while the attitude of preacher and teacher is apathetic and the motive a sense of duty rather than an intelligent acquaintance with its real character and genuine admiration and enthusiasm for its vital truths. the irresistible fascination which has drawn many of the most brilliant scholars into the old testament field is a proof that it has lost nothing, of its power and attractiveness. already the circle of those who have rediscovered the old testament is rapidly broadening. observation and experience confirm the conviction that all that is lacking to make that devotion universal is a right attitude toward it and an intelligent familiarity with its real origin, contents, and teachings. the sooner this is realized the sooner some of the most difficult problems of the church, of the sunday-school, and of popular religious education will be solved. as the repository of a great and varied literature, as a record of many of the most important events in human history, and as a concrete revelation of god's character and will through the life and experiences of a race and the hearts of inspired men, the old testament has a vital message marvellously adapted to the intellectual, moral, social, and spiritual needs of to-day and supremely fitted to appeal to the thought and imagination of the present age. this little volume is intended to be simply a very informal introduction to it. since of the two testaments the new is by far the more easily understood and the better known, it is made the point of departure in the approach to the more complex field represented by the old. many unexpected analogies will aid in understanding the intricate literary history of the older scriptures. the point of view assumed throughout is that of the busy pastor, missionary, sunday-school teacher, and scholar, who have little time for technical study, but who are not afraid of truth because it is new and who firmly believe that god is ever revealing himself more fully to men and that his truth shall make us free. it is hoped that this general survey will prove for them but an introduction to a far deeper and more profitable study. to the reverend j.f. mcfarland, d.d., of the bible study union, to the reverend s.a. cooke, d.d., of the methodist book concern, to mr. john h. scribner of the presbyterian board of publication and sunday-school work, to the reverend m.c. hazard, d.d., of the pilgrim press, and to the reverend f.k. sanders, ph.d., of the congregational sunday-school and publishing society, who have generously read the manuscript of this book, i am deeply indebted, not only for their valuable suggestions, but also for their strong expressions of personal interest in the practical ends which it seeks to conserve, i am also under great obligation to the reverend morgan miller, of yale, for his untiring vigilance in revising the proof of a volume written within the all too brief limits of a christmas vacation. c.f.k. yale university, january, . contents i. the eclipse and rediscovery of the old testament ii. the real nature and purpose of the old testament iii. the earliest chapters in divine revelation iv. the place of the old testament in divine revelation v. the influences that produced the new testament vi. the growth of the old testament prophetic histories vii. the history of the prophetic sermons, epistles, and apocalypses viii. the development of the earlier old testament laws ix. influences that gave rise to the priestly laws and histories x. the hebrew sages and their proverbs xl the writings of israel's philosophers xii. the history of the psalter xiii. the formation of the old testament canon xiv. the interpretation of the early narratives of the old testament xv. practical methods of studying the old testament xvi. religious education--the fundamental problem of to-day i the eclipse and rediscovery of the old testament [sidenote: _jesus' study of the old testament_] the opening chapters of the gospels record only three or four meagre facts regarding the first thirty years of jesus' life. the real history of those significant years ran so far beneath the surface of external events that it completely escaped the historian. the history of the mental and spiritual life of the master is recorded in his mature character and teachings. the fugitive hints, however, vividly illustrate the supreme fact that he ever _grew stronger, becoming filled with wisdom;--and the grace of god was upon him_ (luke ii. ). they reveal a soul not only in closest touch with god and with human life, but also in eager quest for the vital truth regarding god and man recorded in the scriptures of his race. it requires no imagination to picture the young jew of nazareth eagerly studying in the synagogue, at the temple, and alone by himself the sacred writings found in our old testament, for this fact is clearly recorded on every page of the gospels. [sidenote: _his familiarity with all parts of it_] the events of hebrew history, and its heroes --abraham, david, elijah-- were all familiar to him. the old testament was the background of a large portion of the sermon on the mount. from deuteronomy vi. , , and leviticus xix. he drew his marvellous epitome of all law and duty. in the wisdom literature, and especially in the book of proverbs, he found many of those practical truths which he applied to life with new authority and power. from the same storehouse of crystallized experience he derived certain of those figures which he expanded into his inimitable parables; he adopted also, and put to new use, the effective gnomic form of teaching of the wisdom school. as in the mouth of his herald, john the baptist, the great moral and spiritual truths, first proclaimed by the ancient prophets, live again on the lips of jesus. at every point in his teachings one recognizes the thought and language of the older scriptures. at the moments of his greatest temptation and distress, even in the last agony, the words of the ancient law and psalms were on his lips and their consoling and inspiring messages in his mind. [sidenote: _attitude of the apostles_] what is so strikingly true of jesus is equally true of the apostles and disciples who have given us the new testament books: the atmosphere in which they lived, the thoughts which they thought, and the language in which they spoke, were those of the old testament. not bowing slavishly before it, as did their jewish contemporaries, but with true reverence, singling out that which was vital and eternal, they made it the basis of their own more personal and perfect message to humanity. but for them, and for the early church, until at least the middle of the second christian century, the only scriptures regarded as authoritative were those of the old testament. even then, only gradually, and under the pressure of real needs, were different groups of christian writings added and ascribed an authority equal to that of the older scriptures. [sidenote: _attitude of the later church, and especially puritanism_] throughout the middle ages and in the eyes of the protestant reformers the two great divisions of the bible continued to command equal respect and attention. from the old testament and its reflection in the teachings of paul, puritanism and the theology of the past three centuries derived most of that which revealed their strength as well as their weakness. from the law, the prophets, and the book of proverbs they drew their stern spirit of justice, their zeal for righteousness, and their uncompromising condemnation of everything that seemed to them wrong. their preachers nobly echoed the thunders of sinai and the denunciations of an elijah, an amos, and an hosea. they often failed, however, to recognize the divine love which prompted the stern words of the prophets, and to see that these denunciations and warnings were simply intended to arouse the conscience of the people and to make them worthy of the rich blessings that god was eager to bestow. misinterpretation of the spirit of the later old testament reformers, who dramatically portrayed jehovah's hatred for the abominable heathen cults in the form of commands to slaughter the peoples practising them, frequently led the puritan fathers to treat their foes in a manner neither biblical nor christian. to this narrow interpretation of the letter rather than the spirit of the old testament, and the emphasis placed upon its more primitive and imperfect teachings can be directly traced the worst faults of that courageous band who lived and died fighting for what they conceived to be truth and right. [sidenote: _reaction against the bible of puritanism_] it is undoubtedly true that during the past two decades the old testament has in fact, if not in theory, been assigned to a secondary place in the life and thought of christendom. this is not due to the fact that the christ has been exalted to his rightful position of commanding authority and prestige. all that truly exalts him likewise exalts the record of the work of his forerunners which he came to bring to complete fulfilment and upon which he placed his eternal seal of approval. rather, the present eclipse of the old testament appears to be due to three distinct causes. the first is connected with the reaction from puritanism, and especially from its false interpretation of the bible. against intolerance and persecution the heart of man naturally rebelled. these rang true neither with life nor the teaching of jesus. refuge from the merciless and seemingly flawless logic of the earlier theologians was found in the simple, reassuring words of the gospels. the result was that, with the exception of a very few books like the psalter, the old testament, which was the arsenal of the old militant theology, has been unconsciously, if not deliberately, shunned by the present generation. [sidenote: _doubts aroused by the work of the "higher critics"_] within the past decade this tendency has been greatly accelerated by the work of the so-called "higher critics." because it presents more literary and historical problems, and because it was thought, at first, to be farther away from the new testament, the citadel of the christian faith, the old testament has been the scene of their greatest activity. with what seemed to the onlooker to be a supreme disregard for the traditions long accepted as established by the church, they have persistently applied to the ancient scriptures the generally accepted canons and methods of modern historical and literary study. in their scientific zeal they have repeatedly overturned what were once regarded as fundamental dogmas. unfortunately the first reports of their work suggested that it was only destructive. the very foundations of faith seemed to be shaking. sinai appeared to be enveloped in a murky fog, instead of the effulgence of the divine glory; moses seemed to become a vague, unreal figure on the distant horizon of history; david's voice only faintly echoed through the psalter; and the noblest messages of prophet, sage, and psalmist were anonymous. [sidenote: _the mistakes of the critics_] little wonder that many who heard only from afar the ominous reports of the digging and delving, and vague rumors,--all the more terrifying because vague,--either leaped to the conclusion that the authority of the old testament had been undermined or else rallied in a frantic effort to put a stop, by shouting or compulsion, to the seemingly sacrilegious work of destruction. when the history of the higher criticism of the old testament is finally written, it will be declared most unfortunate that the results first presented to the rank and file of the christian church were, as a rule, largely negative and in many cases relatively unimportant. in their initial enthusiasm for scientific research scholars, alas! sometimes lost the true perspective and failed to recognize relative values. the date, for example, of isaiah xl.-lv. is important for the right understanding and interpretation of these wonderful chapters, but its value is insignificant compared with the divine messages contained in these chapters and their direct application to life. moreover, instead of presenting first the testimony and then patiently pointing out the reasonableness and vital significance of the newer conclusions, scholars sometimes, under the influence of their convictions, made the fatal mistake of enunciating those conclusions simply as dogmas. [sidenote: _resulting loss of faith in the old testament_] history demonstrates that established religions and churches always hold tenaciously to old doctrines, and therefore regard new conclusions with suspicion. this tendency is clearly illustrated in the experience of jesus; for with all his divine tact and convincing authority, he was not able to win the leaders of judaism to the acceptance of his revolutionizing teachings. yet one cannot escape the conviction that if in this age of enlightenment and open-mindedness, the positive results of modern scholarship had been presented first, this latest chapter in god's revelation of himself to man would have been better understood and appreciated by the leaders of the church, and its fruits appropriated by those whose interests are fixed on that which is of practical rather than theoretical import. at least many open-minded people might have been saved from the supreme error of writing, either consciously or unconsciously, _ichabod_ across the pages of their old testament. [sidenote: _difficulties in understanding it_] the third reason why the old testament has suffered temporary eclipse in so many minds is more fundamental; it is because of the difficulties in understanding it. the background of the new testament is the roman world and a brief century with which we western readers are well acquainted; but the background of the old is the ancient east--the age and land of wonder, mystery, and intuition, far removed from the logical, rushing world in which we live. the old testament contains a vast and complex literature, filled with the thoughts and figures and cast in the quaint language of the semitic past. between us and that past there lie not merely long centuries, but the wide gulf that is fixed between the east and the west. [sidenote:_the new light from the monuments_] with three such distinct and powerful currents--reaction, suspicion, and misunderstand--bearing us from the old testament, it might be predicted that in a decade or two it would lie far behind our range of vision. other forces however are, in divine providence, rapidly bringing it back to us again, so that we are able to understand and appreciate it as never before since the beginning of the christian era. the chasm between us and it is really being bridged rather than broadened. the long centuries that lie back of the old testament have suddenly been illuminated by great search-lights, so that today we are almost as well acquainted with them as with the beginning of the christian era. from ancient monuments have arisen, as from the dead, an army of contemporary witnesses, sometimes confirming, sometimes correcting, but at all times marvellously supplementing the biblical data. now the events and characters of old testament history no longer stand alone in mysterious isolation, but we can study in detail their setting and real significance. at every point the biblical narrative and thought are brought into touch with real life and history. the biographies and policies, for example, of sennacherib and cyrus, are almost as well known as those of napoleon and washington. the prophets are not merely voices, but men with a living message for all times, because they primarily dealt with the conditions and needs of their own day. the vital relation and at the same time the infinite superiority of the religious teachings of the old testament to those of earlier ages and peoples are clearly revealed. [sidenote: _modern aids in interpreting the old testament_] interpreted in the light of contemporary literature and language, most of the obscurities of the old testament melt away. modern research in the fields of semitic philology and syntax and the discovery of older texts and versions have put into the hands of translators new and valuable tools for making clear to all the thoughts in the minds of the original writers of the old testament. studies in comparative religion, geography, and modern oriental life and customs have illuminated and illustrated at every point the pages of the ancient writings. to utilize all these requires time and devotion, but he who is willing to study may know his old testament to-day as well as he does the new. [sidenote: _rejection of rabinical traditions_] fully commensurate with the great light that has been shed upon it from without, is that which has come from a careful study of the testimony of the old testament itself. until recent times the church has been content to accept blindly the traditions of the late jewish rabbis regarding the origin, history, and interpretation of their scriptures. handed down through the church fathers and interwoven with creeds and popular beliefs, they have been identified in many minds with the teaching of the bible itself. yet, when we analyze their origin and true character, we find that many of them have absolutely no support in the scriptures, and in many cases are directly contradictory to the plain biblical teachings. too often they are but the fanciful conjectures of the rabbis. developed in an uncritical age, and based upon the unreliable methods of interpretation current among the jews in the early christian centuries, they are often sadly misleading. a close analogy is found in the traditional identifications of most of the palestinian sacred sites. to-day the oriental guide shows the skull of adam beneath the spot where tradition places the cross of christ. if the traveller desires, he will point out the very stones which jesus declared god could raise up to be children of abraham. every question which curiosity or genuine interest has raised is answered by the seemingly authoritative voice of tradition. investigation, however, proves that almost all of these thousand identifications are probably incorrect. the discovery is a shock to the pious imagination; but to the healthy mind uncertainty is always better than error. furthermore, uncertainty often proves the door which leads to established truth. [sidenote: _acceptance of the testimony of the old testament regarding its origin and history._] even so the modern historical and critical spirit has led men to turn from the generally accepted but exceedingly doubtful rabbinical traditions regarding, for example, the date and authorship of many of the old testament books, to the authoritative evidence found in those writings themselves. in this they are but following the example of the great teacher, who repeatedly appealed from the same rabbis and their misleading traditions to the same ancient scriptures. the saddest fact is that many of his followers, even to-day, hesitate to follow his inspired leadership. fortunately, as the varied, strata and formations of the rocks tell the story of the earth's early history, so these early writings furnish the data for reconstructing the illuminating history of their origin, growth, and transmission. often the testimony of the facts differs as widely from the familiar inherited traditions as the conclusions of modern science from the vague guesses of primitive man regarding the riddles of existence. neither may represent absolute and final truth, and yet no serious-minded man can question which is really the more authoritative. to-day one of the most vital issues before the christian. church is whether it will follow the guidance of its founder and accept the testimony of the bible itself or cling blindly to the traditions of the rabbis and church fathers. [sidenote: _historical significance of the modern movement_] the student of history at once recognizes in the modern movement, of which the watchword is, "back to the testimony of the bible," the direct sequel to the protestant reformation. the early reformers took the chains off the bible and put it into the hands of men, with full permission to study and search. vested interests and dogmatism soon began to dictate how it should be studied and interpreted, and thus it was again placed practically under lock and key. it is an interesting fact that a young zulu chief, a pupil of bishop colenso of south africa, first aroused the anglo-saxon world to the careful, fearless, and therefore truly reverential study of its old testament. with this new impetus, the task of the reformers was again taken up, and in the same open, earnest spirit. for two generations it has commanded the consecrated energies of the most thorough scholars of christendom. those of england, scotland, ireland, france, germany, austria, switzerland, norway, sweden, america, and canada have worked shoulder to shoulder, dividing the work, carefully collecting and classifying the minutest data, comparing results, and, on the basis of all this work, formulating conclusions, some assured and some hypothetical, which best explain the facts. [sidenote: _the unveiling of the old testament_] often, to those who have not followed the detailed steps, these conclusions have seemed only destructive. many of them are assuredly so; but the vital question which every honest man should ask is, do they destroy the bible, or simply the false traditions that have gathered about it? fortunately, most of the leaders of the church and most intelligent laymen have already discerned the only emphatic answer to this question. the church is undoubtedly passing quietly through a revolution in its conception and attitude toward the bible, more fundamental and far-reaching than that represented by its precursor the protestant reformation; but its real significance is daily becoming more apparent. not a grain of truth which the bible contains has been destroyed or permanently obscured. instead, the _débris_ of time-honored traditions and dogmas have been cleared away, and the true scriptures at last stand forth again in their pristine splendor. [sidenote: _the true old testament_] freed from the misconceptions and false traditions which have gathered about it, the true old testament rises from amidst the dust and din of the much digging and delving. to those who have known only the old it is a fresh revelation. its literary beauty, its naturalness, its dignity, its majestic authority are a surprise to those who have not followed its unveiling. the old vagueness and mystery have in part disappeared, and instead it is found to contain a thousand vital, living messages for to- day. its human as well as its divine qualities command our interest and attention. through it all god speaks with a new clearness and authority. thus, that which we thought was dead has risen, and lives again to inspire us to noble thought and deed and service. ii the real nature and purpose of the old testament [sidenote: _a large and complex library_] turning from the jewish and mediæval traditions and theories which so easily beset us, we ask, what is the real nature of the old testament as it is revealed in this new and clearer light? the first conclusion is that it is a library containing a large and complex literature, recording the varied experiences, political, social, ethical, and religious, of the israelitish race. the fact that it is a library consisting of many different books is recognized by the common designation of the two testaments. as is well known, our english word _bible_ came originally from the papyrus or byblus reed, the pith of which was widely used in antiquity as the material from which books were made. it was natural, therefore, that in the greek a little book should be designated as a _biblion_. about the middle of the second christian century the greek christians (first in the so-called second epistle of clement xlv. ) began to call their sacred scriptures, _ta biblia_, the books. when this title was transferred to the latin it was, by reason of a natural and yet significant error, treated as a feminine singular, _biblia_, which, reappears in english as _bible_. this most appropriate name emphasizes the fact that the books thus described are a unit and yet a collection of little books, selected from a larger literature and given their present position of preeminent authority. [sidenote: _the record of god's vital, personal relations to the israelitish race_] the term testament suggests not the form and authority of the books, but their theme. it is the english translation, through the latin and greek, of the hebrew word, _berîth_, usually rendered, _covenant_. it means a _bond_ or _basis of agreement_. it implies a close and binding contract between two parties, and defines the terms to which each subscribes and the obligations which they thus assume. the _old covenant_ or _testament_, therefore, is primarily the written record of the origin, terms, and history of the solemn agreement which existed between the israelitish nation and jehovah. the early narratives preserve the traditions of its origin; the lawgivers endeavored to define its terms and the obligations that rested upon the people; the prophets interpreted them in the life of the nation, and the sages into the life of the individual; and the historical books recorded its practical working. the significant fact is that back of the old testament records exists something greater and deeper than pen can fully describe: it is a vital, living connection between jehovah and his people that makes possible the unique relation which finds expression in the remarkable history of the race and in the experiences and souls of its spiritual leaders. thus through life, and in the concrete terms of life, god reveals himself to the life of humanity. [sidenote: _written in history and human minds and hearts_] in the light of this truth the jewish and medieval dogma that every word, and even every letter of scripture, was directly dictated by god himself, seems sadly mechanical and bears the marks of the narrow schools of thought in which it took form. hebrew was not, and probably will never be, the language of heaven! not on skins and papyrus rolls, but in the life of the israelitish race and on the minds and consciences of enlightened men, god wrote his revelation. history and the character and consciousness of the human race are its imperishable records. fortunately he also aroused certain men of old, not by word and act only, but by the pen as well, to record the revelation that was being perfected in the life of their nation and in their own minds and hearts. he did not, however, dictate to them the form of their writings nor vouch for their verbal inerrancy. in time, out of their writings were gradually collected and combined the most significant passages and books, and to these was finally attributed the authority that they now rightfully enjoy. [sidenote: _secondary sources of its authority_] the ultimate basis of that authority, however, is not their presence in the canon of the old testament. at the same time their presence there is deeply significant, for it represents the indorsement of many ages and of countless thousands who, from the most varied points of view and amid the most diverse experiences, have tested and found these ancient scriptures worthy of the exalted position that has gradually been assigned to them. it is not the support of the church, although this also for the same reason is exceedingly significant. it is not the calm assumption, of authority that appears at every point throughout the old testament, although this is richly suggestive; the sacred writings of other religions make even more pretentious claims. it is not that its commands and doctrines come from the mouths of great prophets and priests, like moses, samuel, isaiah, and jeremiah. this fact undoubtedly had great weight with those who formed the final canon of the old testament, and the authority of a strong, noble personality is supremely impressive; but divine authority never emanates primarily from a man, however great be his sanctity. furthermore, to establish the authority derived from a moses or a samuel it is necessary in every case to prove that the books attributed to them by late tradition actually came from their pens. even if this could in every case be done, some of the noblest passages in the old testament remain avowedly anonymous; for the tendency of the great majority of its authors was clearly to send forth their messages without any attempt to associate their own names with them. [sidenote: _its ultimate basis of authority_] the ultimate authority of the old testament, therefore, is not dependent upon devoted canon-makers, nor the weighty testimony of the church, nor upon its own claims, nor the reputation of the inspired men who have written it, nor the estimate of any age. its seat of authority is more fundamental. it contains the word of god because it faithfully records and interprets the most important events in the early religious history of man, and simply and effectively presents god's revelation of himself and of his will in the minds and hearts of the great pre-christian heralds of ethical and spiritual truth. back of the old testament is a vast variety of vital experiences, national and individual, political and spiritual, social and ethical, pleasurable and painful. back of all these deeply significant experiences is god himself, through them making known his character and laws and purpose to man. [sidenote: _its authority ethical and religious, not scientific_] students of the rediscovered old testament also recognize, in the light of a broader and more careful study, the fact, so often and so fatally overlooked in the past, that its authority lies not in the field of natural science, nor even of history in the limited sense. time and patience were destined to increase man's knowledge in these great departments and also to develop his mind in attaining it. the teaching of the old testament is authoritative only in the far more important realm of ethics and religion. paul truly voiced its supreme claim when he said that it was _profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of god may be perfect, completely fitted for every good work_ (ii tim. iii. , ). the assertion by the church in the past of claims nowhere made or implied by the old testament itself is unfortunately still a fertile source of perplexity and dissension to many faithful souls. their salvation is to be found in a clear and intelligent appreciation of the real nature and claim of these ancient writings. [sidenote: _its dominant purpose to teach spiritual truth_] one dominant aim determines the form of each book and the selection of individual passages and binds together the whole: it is effectively to set forth spiritual truth and to mould in accordance with god's will the characters and beliefs of men. it was the supreme bond that bound together prophets, priests, sages, and psalmists, although the means by which they accomplished their common purpose differed widely. many a current tradition, and the crude conceptions of the ancients regarding the natural world, are recorded in the old testament; but they are not there merely to perpetuate history nor to increase the total of scientific knowledge, but rather because they concretely illustrate and impress some vital ethical and spiritual truth. such singleness of religious purpose is paralleled nowhere else except in the work and teachings of jesus and his apostles. [sidenote: _its present fruits the proof of its inspired authority_] the ever-present evidence of the divine authority back of the spiritual teachings of the old testament as a whole is that they ring true to life and meet its needs. by their fruits we know them. it is the demonstration of the laboratory. we know that they are inspired because they inspire. the principles underlying the social sermons of amos are as applicable to present conditions as when first uttered. the sooner they are practically applied the sooner our capitalistic civilization can raise its head now bowed in shame. the faith that breathes through the psalms is the faith that upholds men to-day in the midst of temptation and trial. the standards of justice, tempered by love, which are maintained in the old testament laws make good citizens both of earth and heaven. as long as men continue to test the teachings of the old testament scriptures in the laboratory of experience and to know them by their fruits, nothing can permanently endanger their position in the christian church or in the life of humanity. neglect and indifference, not higher criticism, alone permanently threaten the authority of the old testament as well as that of the new. [sidenote: _significance of the variations and inconsistencies_] recognizing the real nature and purpose of these ancient records, the true student neither denies nor is disturbed by the marks of their human authorship. as in the case of the gospels, the variations between the parallel narratives are all evidence of their genuineness and of the sincerity of their purpose. they demonstrate that god's revelation is adapted to the needs of life and the comprehension of man, because it was through life and expressed in the terms of life. their individual peculiarities and minor errors often introduce us more intimately to the biblical writers and help us to understand more clearly and sympathetically their visions of truth and of god. above all, they teach us to look ever through and beyond all these written records to the greater revelation, which they reflect, and to the infinite source of all knowledge and truth. [sidenote: _the record of a gradual revelation_] the inconsistencies and imperfect teachings which are revealed by a critical study of the old testament are also but a few of the many indices that it is the record of a gradually unfolding revelation. late jewish tradition, which is traceable even in the old testament itself, was inclined to assign the origin of everything which it held dear to the very beginnings of hebrew history, and in so doing it has done much to obscure its true genesis. fortunately, however, the history of god's gradual training of the race was writ too plainly in the earlier old testament scriptures to be completely obscured by later traditions. the recognition that god's all-wise method of revealing spiritual as well as scientific truth was progressive, adapted to the unfolding consciousness of each succeeding age, at once sweeps away many of the greatest difficulties that have hitherto obscured the true old testament. jesus with his divine intuition appreciated this principle of growth. unhesitatingly he abrogated certain time-honored old testament laws with the words, _ye have heard that it was said ... but i say to you_. his own interpretation of his relation to the sacred writings of his race was that he came to bring them to complete fulfilment. rearranged in their approximately chronological order, the old testament books become the harmonious and many-sided record of ten centuries of strenuous human endeavor to know and to do the will of god and of his full and gracious response to that effort. the beatitude of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness was as true in the days of moses as it was when jesus proclaimed it. [sidenote: _its different books of very different values_] finally, the right and normal attitude toward the old testament leads to the wholesome conclusion that its different books are of very different values. the great critic of nazareth again set the example. as we have just seen, certain of the old testament laws he distinctly abrogated; others he quietly ignored; others, as, for example, the law of love (deut. vi. , and lev. xix. ) he singled out and gave its rightful place of central authority. a careful study of the gospels, in the light of the old testament, demonstrates that a very important element in his work, as the saviour of men, was in thus separating the dross in the older teachings from the gold, and then in giving to the vital truth a clearer, more personal, and yet more universal application. for the intelligent student and teacher of to-day the old testament still remains a great mine of historical, ethical, and religious truth. some parts, like genesis, deuteronomy, hosea, jeremiah, isaiah xl.-lv., and the psalter, are richly productive. others, like numbers, chronicles, and esther, are comparatively barren. [sidenote: _application of this truth_] since the old testament is the record of a progressively unfolding revelation, it is obvious that all parts do not possess an equal authority. to place the example of the patriarchs or of david, who lived when ethical standards and religious beliefs were only partially developed, on an equality with the exalted ideals of the later prophets, is to misinterpret those ancient scriptures and to reject the leadership of the great teacher. at the same time, studied from the newer point of view, the examples of those early heroes are found to illustrate vital principles in human life and to inspire and warn the child of to-day as effectively as they did far back in the childhood of the race. [sidenote: _the old testament not a fetish but a spiritual guidebook_] in these later days god has taken the bible from the throne of infallibility on which protestantism sought to place it. by a gradual yet benign process, which we were nevertheless at first inclined bitterly to resent, he has opened our eyes to its true character and purpose. again, he has pronounced his _thou shall not_ to the natural and yet selfish human desire to transfer moral and intellectual responsibility from the individual conscience to some external authority. again, he has told us that only in the sanctuary of the human soul is the infallible one to be found. yet in order that we each may find him there, the cumulative religious experience of the countless thousands who have already found him is of inestimable value. the old testament contains not merely the word of god, but, together with its complement the new, is the great guide-book in finding and knowing him, it blazes the way which, the pilgrim of to-day, as in the past, must follow from his cradle to the throne of god. at each point it is richly illustrated by the actual religious experiences of real men and women. their mistakes and their victories, are equally instructive. from many vantage-points reached by prophets and priests and psalmists, we are able to catch new and glorious visions of god's character and purpose for mankind. through its pages--sometimes dimly, sometimes brightly, but growing ever clearer--shines the giving light of god's truth and revelation, culminating in the christ, the perfected revelation and the supreme demonstration that man, though beset by temptation, baffled by obstacles, deserted by friends, and maligned by foes, can nevertheless, by the invincible sword of love and self-sacrifice, conquer the world and become one with god, as did the peerless knight of nazareth. iii the earliest chapters in divine revelation [sidenote: _the nature of inspiration_] since the days of the greek philosophers the subject of inspiration and revelation has been fertile theme for discussion and dispute among scholars and theologians. many different theories have been advanced, and ultimately abandoned as untenable. in its simplest meaning and use, inspiration describes the personal influence of one individual upon the mind and spirit of another. thus we often say, "that man inspired me." what we are or do under the influence of that intellectual or spiritual impulse is the effect and evidence of the inspiration. similarly, divine inspiration is the influence of god's spirit or personality upon the mind and spirit of man. it may find expression in an exalted emotional state, in an heightened clarity of mental perception, in noble deeds, in the development of character, indeed in a great variety of ways; but its seat is always the mind of man and its ultimate cause the deity himself. [sidenote: _in the old testament_] the early old testament expression most commonly used to describe inspiration was that _the spirit of god rushed upon the man_, as it did upon saul, causing him to burst forth into religious ecstasy or frenzy (i sam. x. , ), and upon samson, giving him great bodily strength or prowess in war (judg. xiv. , , xv. ). skill in interpreting dreams and in ruling was also regarded as evidence that the spirit of god was in a man like joseph (gen. xli. ); but above all the prophetic gift was looked upon as the supreme evidence of the presence of the spirit of jehovah (hos. ix. ; micah ii. , iii. ). the word _spirit_ as thus used in the old testament is exceedingly suggestive. it means primarily the breath, that comes from the nostrils. though invisible to the eye, the breath was in the thought of primitive man the symbol of the active life of the individual. in the full vigor of bodily strength or in violent exercise it came quick and strong; in times of weakness it was faint; when it disappeared, death ensued; the living personality was gone, and only the play remained. the same hebrew word, _rúach_, described the wind--unseen, intangible, and yet one of the most real and irresistible forces in all the universe. thus it was a supremely appropriate term to describe the activity of god, as it produced visible effects in the minds and lives of men. in the later old testament literature its use was extended, so that to the spirit of god was ascribed activity in the natural world and in human history. [sidenote: _nature of revelation_] of the two terms, _revelation_ is broader than _inspiration_. sometimes it is used collectively, to designate the truth revealed, but it more properly describes the means or process whereby it is made apparent to the human mind. it implies that truth is always existent, but only gradually recognized. inspiration is one of the chief means whereby the human vision is clarified so as to perceive it. natural phenomena, environment, and above all experience, are also mighty agents in making the divine character and truth clear to the mind of man. the author of the epistle to the hebrews declares, with true insight, that _god spoke in divers manners_. all the universe, all history, and all life reveal him and his ultimate truths, for each is effective in opening the mental and spiritual eye of man to see the realm long awaiting him as conqueror. [sidenote: _man's role in the process of revelation_] for countless ages electricity has inscribed its magic tracery on the storm-cloud and performed its all-important functions in organic life, but not until men's eyes were opened by experience and trained observation to recognize its laws, was it practically applied to the needs of civilization. similarly, unchanging moral and spiritual laws have existed through all time, but they have not become operative in human life until the eye of some seer is opened by a great experience, or under the direct influence of the spirit of god he is led to see and proclaim them. thus god is in all and reveals himself through all nature and life, but it is only through the mind and on the lips of his highest creature, man, that truth is fully appreciated, formulated, and applied. [sidenote: _the revelation recorded in the bible_] in the broader sense all revelation is divine, for it reveals god and his laws; and yet it is obvious that there is a real difference between the revelation recorded in a scientific book and that of the bible. it is a difference both in subject-matter and in the ends to which the truth thus made manifest shall be applied. the one relates to the objective world, the world of things; the other relates to human beliefs, emotions, and acts. [sidenote: _its breadth and gradualness_] moreover, it is evident that the spiritual revelation which is in part recorded in the bible was not limited to the israelitish race or to the twelve centuries represented by the old and new testaments. the biblical writers themselves assume this fact. according to the early judean prophetic narratives, enoch, who lived ages before abraham and moses, was a worshipper of jehovah (gen. iv. ). cain and abel are both represented in the familiar story of genesis iv., as bringing their offerings to jehovah. one of the chief teachings of the earliest stories in the old testament is that men from the first knew and worshipped god and were held responsible for their acts according to their moral enlightenment. history, science, and the bible unite in testifying that the revelation of spiritual truth to mankind was something gradual, progressive, and cumulative; also that it is dependent upon the ability of men to receive it. this capacity of the individual to receive is, after all, the determining factor in the process of divine revelation; for god's truth and his desire to impart it are always the same. hence, whenever conditions favor, or national or private experiences clarify the vision of a race or group of men, a revelation is assured. [sidenote: _antiquity of human civilization and religion_] in the light of ancient history and the result of recent excavations it is possible, now as never before, to study the varied influences and forces employed by god in the past to open the spiritual eyes of mankind to see him and his truth. the geological evidence suggests that man, as man, has lived on this earth, fifty, perhaps one hundred thousand years. anthropology, going farther back than history or primitive tradition, traces the slow and painful stages by which early man learned his first lessons in civilization and religion. from the beginning, man's instincts as a religious being have asserted themselves, crude though their expression was. the oldest mounds of babylonia and egypt contain ruins of ancient temples, altars, and abundant evidence of the religious zeal of the peoples who once inhabited these lauds. the earliest examples of human literature thus far discovered are largely religious in theme and spirit. [sidenote: _primitive unfolding of the innate religious instinct_] all these testify that early man believed in a power or powers outside himself, and that his chief passion was to know and do the will of his god or gods. jesus himself bore witness in the opening words of the prayer which he taught his disciples, that this is the essence of religion. it was natural and inevitable that primitive man, with his naive view of the universe, should believe not in one but in many forces or spirits, and that he should first enthrone the physical above the ethical and spiritual. it is the instinctive tendency of the child to-day. the later identification of the divine powers with the sun, that gave light and fertility to the soil, or with the moon, that guided the caravans by night over the arid deserts, or with the other heavenly bodies, that moved in majestic array across the midnight sky, was likewise a natural step in the evolution of primitive belief. [sidenote: _reasons why babylonia developed an early civilization_] civilization and religion in antiquity developed, as a rule, side by side. the two great rivers, the tigris and the euphrates, commanding the trade of the north and the south; proximity to the desert with its caravans of traders going back and forth from the euphrates to the nile; the rich alluvial soil, which supported a dense population when properly drained and cultivated; and the necessity of developing in a higher degree the arts of defence in order to maintain the much contested territory,--these were a few of the many conditions that made ancient babylonia one of the two earliest if not the oldest centre of human civilization. the commercial habits and the abundance of the plastic clay, which could easily be moulded into tablets for the use of the scribe, also fostered the early development of the literary art. the durability of the clay tablets and the enveloping and protecting qualities of the ruined mounds of ancient babylonia have preserved in a marvellous way its early literature. the result is that we can now study, on the basis of contemporary documents, this early and yet advanced chapter in that divine revelation, the later culmination of which is recorded in the bible. [sidenote: _progress during the period of city states_] it begins as far back of moses as he is removed from us in point of time. its political background at first is the little city states of babylonia, each with its independent organization and its local schools of artists, whose products in many respects surpass anything that comes from the hands of later semitic craftsmen. each city had its temple, at which the patron god of the local tribe and district was worshipped. in some places it was the moon god sin, as at haran and ur beside the desert; elsewhere, as at nippur, bel, or at eridu near the persian gulf, ea, the god of the great deep, was revered. in the name of the local deity offerings were brought, hymns were sung, and traditions were treasured, which extolled his might. the life of these little city states centred about the temple and its cult. to make it more glorious the artisans vied with each other, and the kings made campaigns that they might dedicate the spoils to the deity. [sidenote: _the growth of extensive empires_] in time, perhaps as early as b.c., certain more energetic and ambitious kings succeeded in conquering neighboring cities; they even broadened their boundaries until they ruled over great empires extending to the mediterranean on the west and the mountains of elam on the east. in the name of the local god, each went forth to fight, and to him was attributed the glory of the victory. naturally, when the territory of a city state grew into an empire, the god of that city was proclaimed and acknowledged as supreme throughout all the conquered territory. at the same time the local deities of the conquered cities continued to be worshipped at their ancient sanctuaries, and many a conquering king won the loyalty of his subjects by making a rich offering to the god and at the temple of a vanquished foe. [sidenote: _its effect in developing the pantheon and popular theology_] the logical and inevitable result of political union was the development of a pantheon, modelled after the imperial court, with the god of the victorious city at its head and the leading deities of the other cities in subordinate positions. when, during the latter part of the third millennium before christ, babylon's supremacy was permanently established under the rule of hammurabi. marduk, the god of that city, was thus placed at the head of the babylonian pantheon. the theologians of the day also recast and combined the ancient legends, as, for example, those of the creation, so as to explain why he, one of the later gods, was acknowledged by all as supreme. a relationship was also traced between the leading gods, and their respective functions were clearly defined. corresponding to each male deity was a female deity: thus, the consort of marduk was ishtar, while that of bel was belit. furthermore, the ancient myths appear to have been, coördinated, so that from this time on babylonian, theology presents a certain unity and symmetry, although one is constantly reminded of the very different elements out of which it had been built up. [sidenote: _development of ethical standards and laws_] parallel to the evolution of babylonian religion was that unfolding of ethical ideals and laws which finds its noblest record and expression in the remarkable code of hammurabi (about b.c.). in its high sense of justice; in its regard for the rights of property and of individuals; in its attitude toward women, even though it comes from the ancient east; and above all in its protection of widows and orphans, this code marks almost as high a stage in the revelation of what is right as the primitive old testament laws, with which it has points of striking resemblance. [sidenote: _a general comparison between the religions and laws of egypt and babylonia_] the evolution of ancient egyptian civilization and religion was parallel at almost every stage with that of babylonia, only in the dreamy land of the nile the pantheon and the vast body of variant myths were never so thoroughly coördinated. the result is that its religion forever remains a labyrinth. since all interest centred about the future life, instead of commercial pursuits, there is no evidence that the egyptians ever produced a legal code at all comparable with that of hammurabi. they did, however, develop a doctrine of sin which anticipates that of the hebrew prophets. while the babylonians conceived of sin as simply the failure to bring offerings, or to observe the demands of the ritual, or, in general, to pay proper homage to the gods, the egyptians held that each individual was answerable, not only to the state, but also to the gods, for his every act and thought. [sidenote: _significance of this early religious progress_] if they admitted of a comparison, it would be safe to say that the babylonian religion and law in the days of hammurabi were as far removed from the crude belief in spirits and the barbarous cults and practices of primitive man as the teachings of jesus were from those of the kingly babylonian lawgiver and his priestly advisers. humanity's debt is exceedingly great to the thousands of devoted souls who, in ancient babylonia and egypt, according to their dim light, groped for god and the right. in part they found what they sought, although they never ceased to look through, a glass darkly. [sidenote: _its arrest and decline_] the sad and significant fact is that from the days of hammurabi to those of nebuchadrezzar, babylonian religion, law, and ethics almost entirely ceased to develop. no other great kings with prophetic insight appear to have arisen to hold up before the nation the principles of justice and mercy and true piety, the old superstitions and magic also continued in babylonia as in egypt to exercise more and more their baneful influence. saddest of all the priesthood and ceremonialism, which had already reached a point of development commensurate and strikingly analogous to that of later judaism, became the dominant power in the state, and defined religion not in terms of life and action, but of the ritual, and so constricted it that all true growth was impossible. hence the religions of the babylonians and egyptians perished, like many others, because they ceased to grow, and therefore degenerated into a mere worship of the letter rather than the spirit. iv the place of the old testament in divine revelation [sidenote: _advent of the hebrews_] modern discovery and research have demonstrated that the truth revealed through the babylonians and with less definiteness through the people of the nile was never entirely lost. such a sad waste was out of accord with the obvious principles of divine economy. as the icy chill of ceremonialism seized decadent babylonia and egypt, there emerged from the steppes south and east of palestine a virile, ambitious group of nomads, who not only fell heir to that which was best in the revelation of the past, but also quickly took their place as the real spiritual leaders of the human race. possibly their ancestors, like those of hammurabi, belonged to that wave of nomadic emigration which swept out of overpopulated northern arabia about b.c., part of it to settle finally in babylonia and part in palestine. [sidenote: _why were they the chosen people?_] whatever be the exact date of their advent, the much mooted and more fundamental question at once presents itself, why were the hebrews "the chosen people"? it is safe to assert at once that this was not arbitrary nor without reason. moreover, the choice was not that of a moment, but gradual. rather the real question is, by what divine process were the israelites prepared to be the chosen people that their later prophets and the event of history declare them to be? certain definite historical reasons at once suggest themselves; and these in turn throw new light upon the true relation of the old testament to divine revelation as a whole. [sidenote: _their preparation to be the chosen people: genius for religion_] there is undoubtedly a basis for what renan was pleased to call, "the semitic genius for religion." it is a truly significant fact that the three great conquering religions of the world, judaism, christianity, and mohammedanism, sprang from semitic soil. to this might be added the religion of babylonia, which, was unquestionably the noblest of early antiquity. in general the semitic mind is keen, alert, receptive, and intuitional rather than logical. restless energy and the tendency to acquire have also tended to make them leaders in the widely different fields of commerce and religion. the patriarch jacob is a remarkable example of these combined qualities and results. by day he got the better of his kinsmen, and by night he wrestled with god. these combined and highly developed characteristics of mind and nature at least suggest why the semites have furnished the greatest prophets and prophet nations for the moulding of the faith of the world. [sidenote: _inheritance through their arabian antecedents_] in contrast with contemporary semitic nations, and especially the highly civilized babylonians, the hebrews were fortunate in their immediate inheritances through arabian or aramean ancestors. the wandering, nomadic life leaves no place for established sanctuaries, with their elaborate ceremonial customs and debasing institutions inherited from more primitive ages. instead, that life imposes limitations that make for simplicity. the mysteries and constant dangers of the wild desert existence also emphasize the constant necessity of divine help. the long marches by night under the silent stars inspire awe and enforce contemplation. the close unity of the tribe suggests the worship of one tribal god rather than many. from the desert the ancestors of the hebrews brought strong bodies, inured to hardship, and a grim austerity that found frequent expression on the lips of their prophets and a response in the minds of the people, when luxury threatened to engulf them. they also inherited from their desert days those democratic ideas and high ideals of individual liberty which, enabled elijah and isaiah to stand up add champion the rights of the people even though it involved a public denunciation of their kings. [sidenote: _contact with babylonian civilization_] on the other hand, the israelites undoubtedly became in time the inheritors of the best in religion and law that had been attained by the older semitic races. their late traditions trace back their ancestry to ancient babylonia. already for long centuries, by conquest and by commerce, the dominant civilization of the euphrates valley had been regnant in the land of canaan, the tell-el-amarna letters, written from palestine in the fourteenth century, employ the babylonian language and system of writing, and reveal a high semitic civilization, closely patterned after that of babylonia. when the israelites settled in canaan and began to intermarry and assimilate with the older inhabitants, as the earliest hebrew records plainly state (_cf_. judg. i.), they found there, among the canaanites, established civil and religious institutions and traditions which were largely a reflection of those of babylonia. also, when in the eighth and seventh centuries assyrian armies conquered palestine, they brought babylonian institutions, traditions, and religious ideas. we know that during the reigns of ahaz and manasseh these threatened to displace those peculiar to the hebrews. again, during the babylonian exile the influence of the same powerful civilization upon the thought and religion of israel was also strongly felt. thus the opportunities, direct and indirect, for receiving from babylonia much of the rich heritage that it held were many and varied. [sidenote: _heirs of the older semitic civilizations_] certain parts of the old testament itself testify that the wealth of tradition, of institutions, of laws, and religious ideas, gradually committed to the semitic ancestors of the hebrews and best preserved by the babylonians, was not lost, but, enriched and purified, has been transmitted to us through its pages. a careful comparison of the biblical and babylonian accounts of the creation and the flood leaves little doubt that there is a close historical connection between these accounts. investigation reveals in language, spirit, and form many analogies between the laws of hammurabi and those of the old testament which suggest at least an indirect influence. many of the ceremonial institutions of later judaism are almost identical with those of babylonia. while it is exceedingly easy to over or under estimate this influence, it is a mistake to deny or ignore its deep significance. [sidenote: _recipients of all that was best in earlier revelation_] thus one of the chief elements in the providential training of the hebrews as the heralds and exponents of the most exalted religious and ethical truths revealed before the advent of the prophet of nazareth was the fact that they were the heirs and interpreters of the best that had been hitherto attained. babylonia, egypt, and later, persia and greece, each contributed their noblest beliefs and ideals. in the israelites the diverse streams of divine revelation converged. the result is that, instead of many little rivulets, befouled by errors and superstitions, through their history there flowed a mighty stream, ever becoming broader and deeper and clearer as it received fresh contributions from the new fountains of purest revelation that opened in hebrew soil. [sidenote: _in close geographical relations to the earlier civilizations_] clear evidences of the divine purpose to be realized through the obscure peasant people who lived among the uplands of central canaan are found in a study of the characteristics of the old testament world. it is indeed the earliest and one of the most significant chapters in divine revelation. most of its area is a barren wilderness, supporting only a small nomadic population. the three fertile spots are babylonia, canaan, and egypt. the first and last are fitted by nature and situation to be the seats of powerful civilizations, destined to reach out in every direction. canaan, on the contrary, is shut in, with no good harbors along the mediterranean; and its largest river system leads to the dead sea, far below the surface of the ocean,--an effective negation to all commerce. although thus shut in by itself, canaan lies on the isthmus of fertile land that connects the great empires of the nile and the euphrates. on the east and south it is always subject to the influences and waves of immigration, that come from the arabian desert. it attracted from their nomadic life the ancestors of the israelites, and during their early period of development gave them a secluded home. when they were ready to learn the larger lessons in the stream of life, egypt and the great empires of the tigris and euphrates valley contended for them, conquered and ultimately scattered them throughout the then known world. while their conquerors, egypt, assyria, babylonia, persia, greece, and rome, the greatest powers of the ancient world, took from them their gold and their freedom, from the same conquerors they appear to have received the infinitely more precious treasures of tradition and thought. [sidenote: _trained by remarkable national experience_] great as was their heritage from the past, the truth that came through the hebrews themselves constitutes by far the greatest and most significant part of that revelation which the old testament records. their history suggests the ways in which, jehovah opened the spiritual eyes of the people. from the beginning to the present day it has been characterized by a series of crises unparalleled in the life of any other race. experiences, intense and often superlatively painful, have come to them in rapid succession, forcing them to think and develop. the little street arab, alert, resourceful, uncanny in his prematurity, is a modern illustration of what grim necessity and experience can produce. it was in the school supremely adapted to divine ends that jehovah, trained his people to be his spokesmen to the world. [sidenote: _guided by unique spiritual teachers_] other peoples, however, had their crises and yet had no such message as did the israelites. what made the crises in the history of the israelites richly fruitful in ethical and spiritual truth was the presence within their midst of certain devoted, responsive teachers, and especially the prophets, who guided them in their time of peril, interpreted its significance, and appealed to the awakened conscience of the nation. like begets like. at the beginning of israel's history stands the great prophet moses, and during the long centuries that followed the voice of the prophets was rarely hushed. [sidenote: _taught by inspired prophets_] in seeking the ultimate answer to our question, how were the israelites prepared to be the chosen people, we are confronted by a miracle that baffles our power to analyze: it is the supreme fact that the spirit of the almighty touched the spirit of certain men in ancient israel so that they became seers and prophets. this is their own testimony, and their deeds and words amply confirm it. the experiences of men to-day also demonstrate its possibility. indeed it is not surprising, but most natural, that the one supreme personality in the universe should reveal himself to and through human minds, and that the most enlightened men of the most spiritually enlightened race should be the recipients of the fullest and most perfect revelation. it is the truth that they thus perceived, and then proclaimed by word and deed and pen, that completed the preparation of the chosen people, for it was none other than the possession of a unique spiritual message that constituted the essence of their choice. furthermore, as the greatest of the later prophets declares (is. xl.-lv.), that divine choice did not mean that they were to be the recipients of exceptional favors, but rather that they were called to service. by the patient enduring of suffering and by voluntary self-sacrifice they were to perfect the revelation of god's character and will in the life of humanity. [sidenote: _jesus' relation to the old testament_] the old testament, therefore, is the final record of a revelation extending through thousands of years, finding at last its most exalted expression in the messages of the hebrew prophets, and its clearest reflection in the thoughts and experiences of the priests, sages, and psalmists of ancient israel. in varied literary forms and by many different writers the best fruits of that revelation have been preserved. ancient traditions, songs, proverbs, laws, historical narratives, prophecies, and psalms, each present their precious truth. the israelitish race, however, never fully completed the work to which it was called. a master was needed to distinguish between the essential and the non-essential, to simplify and unify the teachings of the old testament as a whole, and to apply them personally to individual life, a man was demanded to realize fully in his own character the highest ideals of this ancient revelation. a divinely gifted prophet was required to perfect man's knowledge, and to bring him into natural, harmonious relations with his eternal father. the world awaited the advent of a messiah who would establish, on the everlasting foundations of justice and truth and love, the universal kingdom of god. these supreme needs were met in fullest measure by the master, the perfect man, the prophet, and the messiah, whose work the new testament records. [sidenote: _points of likeness and contact between the two testaments_] while there are many superficial points of difference in language, literary form, background, and point of view between the old and the new testaments, these are insignificant in comparison with the essential points of likeness and contact. each testament is but a different chapter in the history of the same divine revelation. the one is the foundation on which the other is built. the writers of the new constantly assume the historical facts, the institutions, and the teachings of the old. although in greek garb, their language and idioms are also those of the old. on many themes, as, for example, man's duty to society, jesus said little, for the teachers of his race had fully developed them and there was little to add. repeatedly by word and act he declared that he came not to destroy the older teachings, but simply to bring them to full perfection. the old testament also tells of the long years of preparation and of the earnest expectations of the israelitish race; the new records a fulfilment far transcending the most exalted hopes of hebrew seers. the same god reveals himself through both testaments. one progressively unfolding system of religious teachings, one message of love, and one divine purpose bind both together with bonds that no generation or church can break. v the influences that produced the new testament [sidenote: _importance of the study of origins_] the present age is supremely interested in origins. not until we have traced the genesis and earliest unfolding of an institution or an idea or a literature do we feel that we really understand and appreciate it. familiarity with that which is noble breeds not contempt but reverence, and intelligent devotion. acquaintance with the origin and history of a book is essential to its true interpretation. therefore it is fortunate that modern discovery and research have thrown so much light upon the origin of both the old and the new testaments. [sidenote: _the growing recognition that the natural is divine_] equally fortunate is it that we are also learning to appreciate the sublimity and divinity of the natural. the universe and organic life are no less wonderful and awe-inspiring because, distinguishing some of the natural laws that govern their evolution, we have abandoned the grotesque theories held by primitive men. similarly we do not to-day demand, as did our forefathers, a supernatural origin for our sacred books before we are ready to revere and obey their commands. with greater insight we now can heartily sing, "god moves in a natural way his wonders to perform." our ability to trace the historical influences through which he brought into being and shaped the two testaments and gave them their present position in the life of humanity does not in a thoughtful mind obscure, but rather reveals the more clearly, their divine origin and authority. [sidenote: _value of the comparative study of the origin of both testaments_] through contemporary writings and the results of modern biblical research it is possible to study definitely the origin of the various new testament books and to follow the different stages in their growth into a canon. this familiar chapter in the history of the bible is richly suggestive, because of the clear light which it sheds upon the more complex and obscure genesis and later development of the old testament. it will be profitable, therefore, to review it in outline, not only because of its own importance, but also as an introduction to the study of the influences that produced the older scriptures; for almost every fact that will be noted in connection with the origin and literary history of the new has its close analogy in the growth of the old testament. [sidenote: _the threefold grouping of the new testament books_] we find that as they are at present arranged, the books of the new testament are divided into three distinct classes. the first group includes the historical books: the gospels and acts; the second, the epistles--the longer, like the letters to the romans and corinthians, being placed first and the shorter at the end; while the third group contains but one book, known as the apocalypse or revelation. the general arrangement is clearly according to subject-matter, not according to date of authorship; the order of the groups represent different stages in the process of canonization. [sidenote: _why the gospels are not the earliest_] their position as well as the themes which they treat suggest that the gospels were the first to be written. it is, however, a self-evident fact that a book was not written--at least not in antiquity, when the making of books was both laborious and expensive--unless a real need for it was felt. if we go back, and live for a moment in imagination among the band of followers which jesus left behind at his death, we see clearly that while the early christian church was limited to palestine, and a large company of disciples, who had often themselves seen and heard the christ, lived to tell by word of mouth the story of his life and teachings, no one desired a written record. it is not surprising, therefore, that the oldest books in the new testament are not the gospels. the exigencies of time and space and the burning zeal of the apostles for the churches of their planting apparently produced the earliest christian writings. [sidenote: _origin of the earliest epistles_] in his second missionary journey paul preached for a time at thessalonica, winning to faith in the christ a small mixed company of jews and proselyte greeks. his success aroused the bitter opposition of the narrower jews, who raised a mob and drove him from the city before his work was completed. but the seed which he had planted continued to grow. naturally he was eager to return to the infant church. twice he planned to visit it, but was prevented. in his intense desire to help the brave christians of thessalonica, he sent timothy to inquire regarding their welfare and to encourage them. when about a.d. timothy reported to paul at corinth, the apostle wrote at once to the little church at thessalonica a letter of commendation, encouragement, and counsel, which we know to-day as first thessalonians and which is probably one of the oldest writings in our new testament, galatians perhaps being the earliest. [sidenote: _paul's later epistles_] another letter (ii thess.) soon followed, giving more detailed advice. as the field of paul's activity broadened, he was obliged more and more to depend upon letters, since he could not in person visit the churches which he had planted. questions of doctrine as well as of practice which perplexed the different churches were treated in these epistles. to certain of his assistants, like timothy, he wrote dealing with their personal problems. frankly, forcibly, and feelingly paul poured out in these letters the wealth of his personal and soul life. they reveal his faith in the making as well as his mature teachings. since he was dealing with definite conditions in the communities to which he wrote, his letters are also invaluable contemporary records of the growth and history of the early christian church. thus between and a.d., during the period of his greatest activity, certainly ten, and probably thirteen, of our twenty-seven new testament books came from the burning heart of the apostle to the gentiles. [sidenote: _growth of the other epistles_] similar needs impelled other apostles and early christian teachers to write on the same themes with the same immediate purpose as did paul. the result is a series of epistles, associated with the names of james, peter, john, and jude. in some, like third john, the personal element is predominant; in others, the didactic, as, for example, the epistle of james. [sidenote: _purpose of the epistle to the hebrews_] a somewhat different type of literature is represented by the epistle to the hebrews. its form is that of a letter, and it was without doubt originally addressed to a local church or churches by a writer whose name has ever since been a fertile source of conjecture. the only fact definitely established is that paul did not write it. it is essentially a combination of argument, doctrine, and exhortation. the aim is apologetic as well as practical. most of paul's letters were written as the thoughts, which he wished to communicate to those to whom he wrote, came to his mind; but in the epistle to the hebrews the author evidently follows a carefully elaborated plan. the argument is cumulative. the thesis is that christ, superior to all earlier teachers of his race, is the perfect mediator of salvation. [sidenote: _value of the epistles_] thus the epistles, originally personal notes of encouragement and warning, growing sometimes into more elaborate treatises, were made the means whereby the early christian teachers imparted their doctrines to constantly widening groups of readers. at best they were regarded simply as inferior substitutes for the personal presence and spoken words of their authors. like the old testament books, their authority lies in the fact that they faithfully reflect, in part at least, the greater revelation coming through the lives and minds of the early apostles. [sidenote: _the larger group_] as is well known, the twenty-one letters in our new testament were selected from a far larger collection of epistles, some of which were early lost, while others, like the epistles of barnabas and polycarp and clement, were preserved to share with those later accepted as canonical, the study and veneration of the primitive church. [sidenote: _influences that gave rise to the earliest gospels_] the influences which originally produced the gospels and acts were very different from those which called forth the epistles. the natural preference of the early christians for the spoken word explains why we do not possess to-day a single written sentence in the gospels which we can with absolute assurance assign to the first quarter-century following the death of jesus. two influences, however, in time led certain writers to record his early life and teachings. the one was that death was rapidly thinning the ranks of those who could say, _i saw and heard_; the other was the spread of christianity beyond the bounds of judaism and palestine, and the resulting need for detailed records felt by those christians who had never visited palestine and who had learned from the lips of apostles only the barest facts regarding the life of the christ. [sidenote: _testimony of luke's gospel_] the opening verses of luke's gospel are richly suggestive of the origin and growth of the historical books of the new testament: forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us,--they who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed. this prologue states that many shorter gospels had previously been written, not by eye-witnesses, but by men who had listened to those who had themselves seen. luke leaves his readers to infer that he also drew a large number of his facts from these earlier sources as well as from the testimony of eye-witnesses. the implication of the prologue is that he himself was entirely dependent upon written and oral sources for his data. this is confirmed by the testimony of the _muratorian fragment_: luke the physician, after the ascension of christ, when paul had taken him, as it were, as a follower zealous of the right, wrote the gospel book according to luke in his own name, as is believed. nevertheless he had not himself seen the lord in the flesh, and, accordingly, going back as far as he could obtain information, he began his narrative with the birth of john. his many literal quotations from it and the fact that he makes it the framework of his own, indicate that mark's gospel was one of those earlier attempts to which he refers. [sidenote: _luke's motive in writing_] the motive which influenced luke to write is clearly stated. it was to prepare a comprehensive, accurate, and orderly account of the facts in regard to the life of jesus for his greek friend theophilus, who had already been partially instructed in the same. his gospel confirms the implications of the prologue. it is the longest and most carefully arranged of all the gospels. the distinctively jewish ideas or institutions which are prominent in matthew are omitted or else explained; hence there is nothing which would prove unintelligible to a greek. the book of the acts of the apostles, dedicated to the same patron, is virtually a continuation of the third gospel, tracing, in a more or less fragmentary manner, the history and growth, of the early christian church, and especially the work of paul. [sidenote: _purpose of mark's gospel_] very similar influences called forth the shortest and undoubtedly the oldest of the four gospels, the book of mark. the testimony of the contents confirms in general the early statement of papias and other christian fathers that it was written at rome by john mark, the disciple and interpreter of the apostle peter, after the death of his teacher. the absence of many old testament quotations, the careful explanation of all jewish and palestinian references which would not be intelligible to a foreigner, the presence of certain latin words, and many other indications, all tend to establish the conclusion that it was written for the gentile and jewish christians, probably at rome, and that its purpose was simply historical. [sidenote: _the two-fold purpose of the gospel of matthew_] the memoir of jesus, which we know as the gospel of matthew, is from the hand of a jewish christian and, as is shown by the amount of material drawn from mark's gospel, must be placed at a later date. the great number of quotations from the old testament, the interest in tracing the fulfilment of the messianic predictions, and the distinctively jewish- christian point of view and method of interpretation, indicate clearly that he wrote not with gentile but jewish christians in mind. nevertheless, like that of mark and luke, his purpose was primarily to present a faithful and, as far as his sources permitted, detailed picture of the life and teachings of jesus. his arrangement of his material appears, however, to be logical rather than purely chronological. the different sections and the individual incidents and teachings each contribute to the great argument of the book, namely, that jesus was the true messiah of the jews; that the jews, since they rejected him, forfeited their birthright; and that his kingdom, fulfilling and inheriting the old testament promises, has become a universal kingdom, open to all races and freed from all jewish bonds. [footnote: cf. e.g., x. , ; xv. ; viii. , ; xii. - ; xxi. , ; xxii. ; xxiii. , , ; xxiv. ; xxviii. ] this suggests that the first gospel represents a more mature stage in the thought of the early church than mark and luke. [sidenote: _origin of matthew's sayings of jesus_] its title and the fact that the church fathers constantly connect it with matthew, the publican, and later apostle is explained by the statement of papias, quoted by eusebius: matthew accordingly composed the oracles in the hebrew dialect, and each one interpreted them as he was able (h.e., iii. ). these oracles evidently consisted of a written collection of the sayings of jesus. since they were largely if not entirely included in our first gospel, it was therefore known as the _gospel of matthew_. there is no evidence that the original matthew's _sayings of jesus_ contained definite narrative material. the fact that the first gospel draws so largely from mark for its historical data would indicate that this was not supplied by its main source. the _sayings of jesus_ was probably the oldest written record of the work of jesus, for, while oral tradition, easily remembers incidents, disconnected teachings are not so readily preserved by the memory. their transcendent importance would also furnish a strong incentive to use the pen. it was natural also that, of all the disciples, the ex-customs officer of capernaum should be the one to undertake this transcendently important task. [sidenote: _aim of the the fourth gospel_] the fourth is clearly the latest of the gospels, for it does not attempt fully to reproduce the facts presented in the other three, but assumes their existence. its doctrines are also more fully developed, and its aim is not simply the giving of historical facts and teachings, but also, as it clearly states, that those reading it _might believe that jesus was the christ, the son of god, and that believing they might have life in his name_ (xx. ). the motive that produced it was, therefore, apologetic and evangelical rather than merely historical. [sidenote: _review of growth of the gospels_] a detailed comparison of the differences between the gospels, as well as of their many points of likeness which often extend to exact verbal agreement, furnishes the data for reconstructing their history. in general the resulting conclusions are in perfect harmony with the testimony of the church fathers. mark, the shortest and more distinctively narrative gospel, is clearly the oldest of the four. possibly it was originally intended to be the supplement of the other early source, matthew's _sayings of jesus_, now known only through quotations. these two earliest known christian records of the work of the master in their original form were the chief sources quoted in the first and third gospels. so largely is mark thus reproduced that, if lost, it would be possible from these to restore the book with the exception of only a few verses. but in addition, matthew and luke each have material peculiar to themselves, suggesting other independent written as well as oral sources. to such shorter written gospels, and also to the oral testimony of eyewitnesses, luke refers in his prologue. in the fourth gospel, the doctrinal motive already apparent in matthew, and prominent in the church at the beginning of the second christian century, takes the precedence of the merely historical. a distinct source, the personal observation of the beloved disciple, probably also furnishes the majority of the illustrations which are here so effectively arrayed. [sidenote: _influences that produced the apocalypses_] more complex were the influences which produced the single example of the third type of new testament literature,--the apocalypse, or book of revelation. the so-called apocalyptic type of literature was a characteristic product of later judaism. the book of daniel is the most familiar example. although in the age of scribism the voice of the prophets was regarded as silent, and the only authority recognized was that of the past, the popular messianic hopes of the people continued to find expression anonymously in the form of apocalypses. in the periods of their greatest distress jews and christians found encouragement and inspiration in the pictures of the future. since the present situation was so hopeless, they looked for a supernatural transformation, which would result in the triumph of the right and the establishment of the rule of the messiah. underlying all the apocalypses is the eternal truth voiced by the poet: "god's in his heaven and all's right with the world." [sidenote: _origin of the book of revelation_] the immediate historical background of the apocalypse is the bitter struggle between christianity and heathenism. rome has become _drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of jesus_ (xvii. ). the contest centres about the worship of the beast,--that is, caesar. the book possibly includes older apocalypses which reflect earlier conflicts, but in its present form it apparently comes from the closing years of domitian's reign. the obvious aim of its jewish christian writer was to encourage his readers by glowing pictures of the coming victory of the lamb, and thus to steel them for unfaltering resistance to the assaults of heathenism. the purpose which actuated the writer was therefore in certain respects the same as that which led paul to write his letter to the persecuted church of thessalonica, although the form in which that purpose was realized was fundamentally different. [sidenote: _the literary activity of the first four centuries_] many other apocalypses were written by the early christians. the one recently discovered and associated with the name of peter is perhaps the most important. thus, the second half of the first century after the death of jesus witnessed the birth of a large christian literature, consisting of epistles, gospels, and apocalypses. the work of the next three centuries was the appreciation and the selection of the books which, to-day constitute our new testament. the influences which led to this consummation may be followed almost as clearly as those which produced the individual books. [sidenote: _influences that led to the canonization of the gospels_] early in the second century the motives which had originally led certain christians to write the four gospels induced the church to regard those books as the most authentic, and therefore authoritative, records of the life and teachings of the master. we have no distinctive history of the process. it was gradual, and probably almost unconscious. the fact that three of the gospels were associated with the names of apostles and the other with luke, the faithful companion of paul, undoubtedly tended to establish their authority; but the chief canonizing influence was the need of such records for private and public reading. the production, early in the second century, of spurious gospels, like the gospel of marcion, written to furnish a literary basis for certain heretical doctrines, also the desire of the church fathers to have records to which they could appeal as authoritative hastened the formation of the first new testament canon. the use of the gospels in the services of the church, which probably began before the close of the first christian century, by degrees gave them an authority equal to that of the old testament scriptures. the earliest canon consisted simply of these four books. they seem to have been universally accepted by the western church by the middle of the second century. about a.d. justin martyr, in proving his positions, refers to the _memoirs of the apostles compiled by christ's apostles and those who associated with them_, and during the same decade his pupil tatian made his _diatessaron_ by combining our present four gospels. [sidenote: _the second edition of the new testament_] meantime the natural desire to supplement the teachings of jesus by those of the apostles led the church to single out certain of the epistles and associate them with the gospels. already in the first century the apostolic epistles and traditions were cherished by the individual churches to which they had been first directed. in time, however, the need for a written record of the apostolic teachings and work became widely felt. hence, by the end of the second century, acts and the thirteen pauline epistles, first peter, first john, and the apocalypse, were by common consent placed side by side with the gospels, at least by the leaders of the western church. [sidenote: _the disputed books_] regarding the authority of the remaining new testament books, hebrews, james, first and second john, and jude, opinion long remained undecided. concerning them an earnest discussion was carried on for the next two centuries. by certain leaders in the church they were regarded as authoritative, while elsewhere and at different periods, other books, like the gospel to the hebrews, the epistle of barnabas, clement's epistle to the corinthians, the shepherd of hermas, and the apocalypse of peter, were included in the canon and even given the priority over the disputed books later included in our new testament. [sidenote: _final completion of the new testament canon_] the final decision represents the result of an open and prolonged and yet quiet consideration of the merits of each book and of its claims to apostolic authority. the ablest scholars of the early christian church devoted their best energies to the problem. gradually, thoughtfully, prayerfully, and by testing them in the laboratory of experience, the christian world separated the twenty-seven books which we find to-day in our new testament from the much larger heritage of kindred writings which come from the early christian centuries. time and later consideration have fully approved the selection and confirmed the belief that through the minds of consecrated men god was realizing his purpose for mankind. as is well known, at the council of carthage, in a.d., the western world at last formally accepted them, although the syrian churches continued for centuries to retain a somewhat different canon. [sidenote: _conclusions from this study of the influences that produced the new testament_] this brief historical study of the origin of our new testament has demonstrated twelve significant facts: ( ) that the original authors of the different books never suspected that their writings would have the universal value and authority which they now rightfully enjoy. ( ) that they at first regarded them as merely an imperfect substitute for verbal teaching and personal testimony. ( ) that in each case they had definite individuals and conditions in mind. ( ) that the needs of the rapidly growing church and the varied and trying experiences through which it passed were all potent factors in influencing the authors of the new testament to write. ( ) that certain books, especially the historical, like luke and matthew, are composite, consisting of material taken bodily from older documents, like matthew's _sayings of jesus_ and the original narrative of mark. ( ) that our new testament books are only a part of a much larger early christian literature. ( ) that they are unquestionably, however, the most valuable and representative writings of that larger literature. ( ) that they were only gradually selected and ascribed a value and authority equal to that of the old testament writings. ( ) that there were three distinct stages in the formation of the new testament canon: the gospels were first recognized as authorative; then acts, the apostolic epistles, and the apocalypse; and last of all, the complete canon. ( ) that the canon was formed as a result of the need felt by later generations, in connection with their study and worship, for reliable records of the history and teachings of christianity. ( ) that the principles of selection depended ultimately upon the intrinsic character of the books themselves and the authority ascribed to their reputed authors. ( ) that the process of selection continued for fully three centuries, and that the results represent the thoughtful, enlightened judgment of thousands of devoted christians. thus through definite historical forces and the minds and wills of men, the eternal father gradually perfected the record of his supreme revelation, to humanity. vi the growth of the old testament prophetic histories [sidenote: _analogies between the influences that produced the two testaments_] very similar influences were at work in producing and shaping both the old and the new testaments; only in the history of the older scriptures still other forces can be distinguished. moreover, the old testament contains a much greater variety of literature. it is also significant that, while some of the new testament books began to be canonized less than a century after they were written, there is clear evidence that many of the old testament writings were in existence several centuries before they were gathered together into a canon and thus crystallized into their final form. the inevitable result is that they bear the marks of much more elaborate editorial revision than those of the new. it is, however, not the aim of the present work to trace this complex process of revision in detail, nor to give the cumulative evidence and the many data and reasons that lead to each conclusion. these can be studied in any modern old testament introduction or in the volumes of the present writer's _student's old testament_. [sidenote: _the present classification of the old testament books_] in their present form, the books of the old testament, like those of the new, fall into three classes. the first includes the historical books. in the old, corresponding to the four gospels and acts of the new, are found the books from genesis through esther. next in order, in the old, stand the poetical books, from job through the song of songs, with which the new testament has no analogy except the liturgical hymns connected with the nativity, preserved in the opening chapters of matthew and luke. the third group in the old testament includes the prophecies from isaiah through malachi. [sidenote: _close correspondence between the old testament prophecies and the new testament apocalypses and epistles_] one book in this group, daniel, and portions of ezekiel and joel, are analogous to the new testament apocalypse, but otherwise the prophetic books correspond closely in character and contents to the epistles of the new. both are direct messages to contemporaries of the prophets and apostles, and both deal with then existing conditions. both consist of practical warnings, exhortations, advice, and encouragement. the form is simply incidental. the prophets of jehovah preached, and then they or their disciples wrote down the words which they had addressed to their countrymen. when they could not reach with their voices all in whom they were interested, the prophets, like the apostles, committed their teachings to writing and sent them forth as tracts (_cf_. jer. xxxvi.). at other times, when they could not go in person, they wrote letters. thus, for example, the twenty-ninth chapter of the prophecy of jeremiah opens with the interesting superscription: now these are the words of the letter that jeremiah the prophet sent from jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom nebuchadrezzar had carried away captive from jerusalem to babylon; by the hand of elasah the son of shaphan, and gemariah the son of hilkiah, whom zedekiah king of judah sent unto babylon to nebuchadrezzar. if it were not for this superscription, no one would suspect from the nature of the letter which follows that it was anything other than a regular spoken or written prophecy. its contents and spirit are exactly parallel to those of paul's epistles. undoubtedly many prophecies were never delivered orally, but were originally written like paul's epistle to the ephesians, and sent out as circular letters. the babylonian exile scattered the jews so widely that the exilic and post-exilic prophets depended almost entirely upon this method of reaching their countrymen and thus became writers of epistles. [sidenote: _the oldest literature poetry_] like the epistles in the new, certain of the prophecies,--as, for example, those of amos, hosea, and isaiah,--are among the earliest writings of the old testament. but in the light of modern biblical study, it has become apparent that prose was not the earliest form of expression among the hebrews, in this respect their literary history is parallel with that of other early peoples; for first they treasured their thought in heroic song and ballad. while they were nomads, wandering in the desert, and also while they were struggling for the possession of canaan, they had little time or motive for cultivating the literary art. the popular songs which were sung beside the camp-fires, at the recurring festivals, and as the hebrews advanced in battle against their foes, were the earliest records of their past. there is evidence that many of the primitive narratives now found in the opening chapters of genesis were also once current in poetical form. in some cases the poetic structure has been preserved. [sidenote: _israel's early song-books_] the earliest collections of writings referred to in the old testament bear the suggestive titles, _the book of the upright_ (i.e., israel), and, _the book of the wars of jehovah_. from the quotations which we have from them it is clear that they consisted of collections of songs, recounting the exploits of israel's heroes and the signal victories of the race. [sidenote: _the song of deborah_] that stirring paean of victory known as the song of deborah was perhaps once found in the book of the wars of jehovah. it is one of the oldest pieces of literature in the old testament, and breathes the heroic spirit of the primitive age from which it comes. through the eyes of the poet one views the different scenes in the mighty conflict. [footnote: the translation is from "the student's old testament," vol. i., pp. - .] [sidenote: _exordium_] that the leaders took the lead in israel, that the people volunteered readily, bless jehovah! hear, o kings, give ear, o rulers. i myself will sing to jehovah, i will sing praise to jehovah, the god of israel. [sidenote: _advent of jehovah_] jehovah, when thou wentest forth from seir, when thou marchest from the land of edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dripped, yea, the clouds dropped water. the mountains quaked before jehovah, yon sinai before jehovah, the god of israel. [sidenote: _conditions before the war_] in the days of shamgar the son of anath, in the days of jael, the highways ceased to be used, and travellers walked by round-about paths. the rulers ceased in israel, they ceased, until than didst arise, deborah, until thou didst arise a mother in israel. * * * * * [sidenote: _the rally about deborah and barak_] then the people of jehovah went down to the gates, crying, "arise, arise, deborah, arise, arise, strike up the song! arise barak, and take thy captives, thou son of abinoam!" so a remnant went down against the powerful, the people of jehovah went down against the mighty, from ephraim they rushed forth into the valley, thy brother benjamin among thy peoples, from machir went down, commanders, and from zebulun those who carry the marshal's staff. and the princes of issachar were with deborah; and napthali was even so with barak, into the valley they rushed forth at his back. [sidenote: _the cowards who remained at home_] by the brooks of reuben great were the resolves! why didst they sit among the sheepfolds, listening to the pipings for the flocks? by the brooks of reuben there were great questionings! gilead remained beyond the jordan; and dan, why does he stay by the ships as an alien? asher sits still by the shore of the sea, and remains by its landings. [sidenote: _the battle and defeat of the canaanites_] zebulun was a people who exposed their lives to deadly peril, and napthali on the heights of the open field. bless jehovah! kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of canaan, at taanach by the waters of megiddo; they took no booty of silver. from heaven fought the stars, from their courses fought against sisera. the river kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the river kishon. o my soul, march on with strength! then did the horse-hoofs resound with the galloping, galloping of the powerful steeds. [sidenote: _david's dirge over saul and jonathan_] in the book of the upright is included that touching elegy which david sang after the death of saul and jonathan, and which stands next to the song of deborah as one of the earliest surviving examples of old testament literature. [footnote: "student's old testament," vol. ii., pp. , .] [sidenote: _the greatness of the calamity_] weep, o judah! grieve, o israel! on thy heights are the slain! how have the mighty fallen! tell it not in gath, declare it not in the streets of askelon; lest the daughters of the philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. ye mountains of gilboa, may no dew descend, nor rain upon you, o ye fields of death! for there was the shield of the mighty cast away, the shield of saul, not anointed with oil. [sidenote: _bravery and attractiveness of the fallen_] from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of jonathan turned not back, the sword of saul returned not empty. saul and jonathan, the beloved and the lovely! in life and in death they were not parted; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. [sidenote: _saul's services to israel_] daughters of israel, weep over saul, who clothed you daintily in fine linen, who put golden ornaments on your garments, [and say:] "how have the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!" [sidenote: _david's love for jonathan_] jonathan, in thy death hast thou wounded me! i am distressed for thee, my brother jonathan! thou wert surpassingly dear to me, thy love to me was far more than the love of woman! how have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! [sidenote: _the blessing of jacob_] the so-called _blessing of jacob_ (gen. xlix, - ) is a poetical delineation of the strength and weakness of the different tribes of israel with references to specific events in their history. these historical allusions suggest that it probably comes from the reigns of david and solomon, when the tribes were for the first time all united under a common rule and had passed through certain of the experiences alluded to in the poem. [sidenote: _israel's heritage of oral traditions_] the israelitish race was supremely rich in possessing not only many ancient songs, but also a large body of oral traditions which had long been handed down from father to son or else treasured by the story-tellers and by the priests of the ancient sanctuaries. many of these traditions were inherited from their semitic ancestors, and, in the light of recently discovered babylonian literature, can be traced back far beyond the days of abraham and moses. some were originally the possessions of certain nomadic tribes; others recorded the early experiences of their ancestors or told of the achievements of early heroes. in the process of continuous retelling, all unnecessary details had been eliminated and the really dramatic and essential elements emphasized, until they attained their present simple, graphic form, which fascinates young and old alike. [sidenote: _value of these oral traditions_] the superlative value of these varied traditions is apparent. they were the links which bound later generations to their prehistoric past. incidentally, in the characteristic language of semitic tradition, they preserved the memory of many important events in their early tribal history. they are also the illuminating record of the primitive beliefs, customs, and aspirations of their semitic ancestors. subject as they inevitably were to the idealizing tendency, they became in time the concrete embodiment of the noblest ideals of later generations. thus they presented before the kindled imagination of each succeeding age, in the character and achievements of their traditional ancestors, those ideals of courage, perseverance, and piety which contributed much toward making the israelites the chosen people that they were. [sidenote: _influences that led to the writing of history_] in time this growing heritage of traditions became too great for even the remarkable oriental memory to retain. meantime the hebrews had also acquired that system of writing which they learned from their more civilized neighbors the canaanites and phoenicians. from, the days of solomon, scribes were to be found in court and temple, and probably among the prophetic guilds; although the common people, as in the same land to-day, doubtless had little knowledge of the literary art. while the nation was struggling for the soil of canaan, or enjoying the full tide of victory and achievement that came under the leadership of david, there was no time or incentive to write history. but with the quieter days of solomon's reign, and the contrasting period of national decline that followed his death, the incentive to take up the pen and record the departed glories became strong. with a large body of definite oral traditions dealing with all the important men and events of the earlier periods, the task of the historian was chiefly that of writing down and coordinating what was already at hand. [sidenote: _the early judean prophetic history_] the oldest hebrew history that has been preserved in the old testament was the work of an unknown judean prophet or group of prophets who lived and labored probably during the latter part of the ninth century before christ. this history corresponds closely in relative age and aim to mark's graphic narrative of the chief facts in the life of jesus. the motive which influenced the earliest historians both of the old and new testaments to write was primarily the religious significance of the events which they thus recorded. this early judean prophetic history (technically known as j) begins with the account of the creation of man from the dust by the hand of jehovah, and tells of the first sin and its dire consequences (gen. ii. to iii. ); then it gives an ancient list of those who stood as the fathers of nomads, of musicians and workers in metal (gen. iv. , l b- ). this is followed by the primitive stories of the sons of god and the daughters of men (gen. vi. - ), of noah the first vineyard-keeper (ix. - ), and of the tower of babel and the origin of different languages (xi. - ). in a series of more or less closely connected narratives the character and experiences of the patriarchs, the life of the hebrews in egypt and the wilderness, and the settlement in canaan are presented. its basis for the history of the united kingdom was for the most part the wonderfully graphic group of saul and david stories which occupy the bulk of the books of samuel. thus this remarkable early judean prophetic history begins with the creation of the universe and man and concludes with the creation of the hebrew empire. [sidenote: _its unity and characteristics_] in its present old testament form it has been closely combined with other histories, just as mark's narrative is largely reproduced in matthew and luke; but when, it is separated from the later narratives its unity and completeness are astounding. almost without a break it presents the chief characters and events of israel's history in their relations to each other. the same peculiar vocabulary, the use of jehovah as the designation of the deity, the same vivid, flowing narrative style, the same simple, naïve, primitive conception of jehovah, the same patriotic interest in the history of the race, and the same emphasis upon the vital religious significance of men and facts, characterize every section of this narrative and make comparatively easy the task of separating it from the other histories with which it has been joined. [sidenote: _the early ephraimite prophetic history_] a little later, sometime about the middle of the eighth century before christ, a prophet or group of prophets in northern israel devoted themselves to the similar task of writing the history of israel from the point of view of the northern kingdom. since this state is called _ephraim_ by hosea and other writers of the north, its history may be designated as _the early ephraimite prophetic_ (technically known as e). naturally its author or authors utilized as the basis of their work the oral traditions current in the north. sometimes these are closely parallel, and sometimes they vary widely in order and representation from the judean versions. in general the variations are similar, although somewhat greater than those between the parallel narratives of matthew and luke. [sidenote: _its characteristics_] marked peculiarities in vocabulary and literary style distinguish this northern history from the judean. since _elohim_ or _god_ is consistently used to describe the deity, it has sometimes been called the _elohistic_ history. interest inclines to the sanctuaries and heroes and events prominent in the life of the north. in that land which produced a samuel, an elijah, an elisha, and an hosea, it was natural that especial emphasis should be placed on the role of the prophet. throughout these narratives he is portrayed as the dominant figure, moulding the history as god's representative. abraham and moses are here conceived of as prophets, and the ephraimite history of their age is largely devoted to a portrayal of their prophetic activity. [sidenote: _its scope_] the interests of later editors who combined these early prophetic histories, as we now find them in the old testament, were centred in the judean, and hence they have introduced citations from the ephraimite narratives chiefly to supplement the older history. possibly it never was as complete as that of the south. at present it begins with abraham and traces the parallel history of the patriarchs and the life of the hebrews in egypt and the wilderness. its account of the conquest, is somewhat fuller, probably because joshua was a northern leader. it also preserves many of the stories of the heroes in the book of judges. with these the citations from the early ephraimite prophetic history seem to disappear, but the opening stories in the book of samuel, regarding the great prophet whose name was given to the book, apparently come from the pen of later disciples of this same ephraimite group of prophets. [sidenote: _later editorial supplementing and combination of the two histories_] the eighth and seventh centuries before christ were periods of intense prophetic activity both in the north and the south. it was natural, therefore, that these early prophetic histories should be supplemented by the disciples of the original historians. traditions that possessed a permanent historical or religious value, as, for example, the familiar story of cain and abel (gen. iv. - ), and the earlier of the two accounts of the flood, were thus added. also when in b.c. the northern kingdom fell and its literary heritage passed to judah, it was most natural that a prophetic editor, recognizing the valuable elements in each, and the difficulties presented by the existence of the two variant versions of the same events, should combine the two, and furthermore that, in the days of few manuscripts, the older originals should be lost and only the combined history survive. to-day we find this in turn incorporated in the still later composite history extending from genesis through samuel. [sidenote: _method of combining_] the later editor's method of uniting his sources is exceedingly interesting, and is analogous in many ways to the methods followed in the citations in matthew and luke from their common sources, the original mark and matthew's _sayings of jesus_. where the two versions were closely parallel, as in the account of jacob's deception of his father isaac, or the story of the spies, the two are completely amalgamated; short passages, verses, and parts of verses are taken in turn from each. in other cases the editor introduced the different versions--as, for example, the two accounts of the flight of hagar--into different settings. from subsequent allusions to two versions, of which only one survives in the old testament, it is to be inferred that sometimes he simply preserved the fuller, usually the judean. as a rule, however, there is clear evidence that he made every effort to retain all that he found in his original sources, even though the resulting composite narrative contained many inconsistencies. [sidenote: _practical value of the rediscovery of the original histories_] to the careful student, seeking to recover the original narratives in their primal unity, these inconsistencies are guides as valuable as the fossils and stratification of the earth are to the geologist intent upon tracing the earth's past history. guided by these variations and the distinctive peculiarities in vocabulary, literary style, point of view, religious conceptions, and purpose of each of the groups of narratives, old testament scholars have rediscovered these two original histories; and with their recovery the great majority of seeming inconsistencies and many perplexing problems fade into insignificance. supplementing each other, as do the earliest gospels, these two independent histories present with new definiteness and authority the essential facts in israel's early political, social and religious life. like eye-witnesses, they testify to the still more significant fact that from the first god was revealing his character and will through a unique race. [sidenote: _the brief late prophetic history_] a third survey of the period beginning with the sojourn in egypt and concluding with the conquest of the east-jordan land is found in the introduction to the book of deuteronomy. it is the prologue to the laws that follow, appropriately and effectively placed in the mouth of the pioneer prophet moses. a comparison quickly demonstrates that it is in reality a brief summary of the older histories, and especially of the early ephraimite prophetic. like the gospel of matthew, its aim is not merely to present historical facts, but to illustrate and establish a thesis. the thesis is that jehovah has personally led his people, and that when they have been faithful to him they have prospered, but when they have disobeyed calamity has overtaken, them. the message is distinctly prophetic; and to distinguish this third history, which was probably written near the close of the seventh century before christ, from the earlier, it may be designated as the late prophetic or _deuteronomic history_ (technically represented by d). [sidenote: _comparison of the old with the new testament histories_] these three prophetic histories correspond strikingly to the three synoptic gospels: mark, luke and matthew. the essential differences in their literary history are that they come, not from a single limited group of writers and a brief quarter century, but represent the work of many hands and at least two hundred and fifty years of literary activity. two, at least, of these histories, are no longer extant in their original form, but only as they have been quoted verbatim by later historians and closely amalgamated. similarly, as is well known, tatian, the pupil of justin martyr, in the middle of the second christian century, did for the four gospels precisely what an old testament editor did for the two early prophetic histories,--he combined them into one composite, continuous narrative. by joining passages and verses and parts of verses taken from the different gospels, by omitting verbal duplicates, by rearranging in some cases and by occasionally adding a word or phrase to join dissimilar parts, tatian produced a marvellous mosaic gospel, known as the _diatessaron_. all of the fourth gospel is thus preserved, and most of the first three. so successfully was the work done that the volume was widely used throughout the eastern church. if, as once seemed possible, it had completely supplanted the original four gospels, the literary history of these would have been a repetition of that of the earliest old testament records. [sidenote: _the dominant motive of the prophetic historians_.] it is very important to note that the motive which led the prophetic historians to commit to writing the earlier traditions of their race was not primarily historical. like the author of the fourth gospel, they selected their material chiefly with a view to enforcing certain important religious truths. if an ancient semitic tradition illustrated their point, they divested it of its heathen clothing and, irrespective of its origin, pressed it into service. for example, it seems clear that the elements which enter into the story of the garden of eden and man's fall were current, with variations, among the ancient babylonians centuries before the hebrews inherited them from their semitic ancestors. the early prophet who wrote the second and third chapters of genesis appreciated their value as illustrations, and made them the medium for imparting some of the most important spiritual truths ever conveyed to mankind. like the preachers or moral teachers of to-day, the first question the prophets asked about a popular story was not, is it absolutely historical or scientifically exact? but, does it illustrate the vital point to be impressed? undoubtedly israel's heritage of oral traditions was far greater than is suggested by the narratives of the old testament; but only those which individually and collectively enforced some important religious truth, were utilized. just as jesus drew his illustrations from nature and human life about him, so these earlier spiritual teachers, with equal tact, took their illustrations from the familiar atmosphere of song and story and national tradition in which their readers lived. a secondary purpose, which they obviously had in view, was also to remove from certain of the popular tales the immoral implications which still clung to them from their heathen past, and to reconsecrate them to a diviner end. [sidenote: _the permanent and vital value of these narratives_] questions of relative date and historical accuracy concern the historian, but they should not obscure the greater value of these narratives. to the majority of us, who turn to the old testament simply as the record of divine revelation and as a guide to life, the essential thing is to put ourselves into touch with these ancient prophets, who taught by illustration as well as by direct address, and ask, what was the ethical or spiritual truth that illumined their souls and finds concrete expression and illustration through these primitive stories? to discuss the literal historicity of the story of the garden of eden is as absurd as to seek to discover who was the sower who went forth to sow or the samaritan who went down to jericho. even, if no member of the despised samaritan race ever followed in the footsteps of an hypocritical levite along the rocky road to jericho and succored a needy human being, the vital truth abides. not until we cease to focus our gaze on the comparatively unimportant, can we discern the great spiritual messages of these early narratives. [sidenote: _the sequel to the early prophetic histories_] the sequel to the great prophetic histories which underlie the old testament books, from genesis through samuel, is in the books of kings. these carry the record of israel's life down to the babylonian exile. the opening chapters of first kings contain the conclusion of the judean prophetic david stories. fortunately the rest of the biblical history to the exile was largely compiled from much earlier sources. as in most of the historical writings, the later editors, also, quoted _verbatim_ from these earlier records and histories, so that in many cases we have the testimony of almost contemporary witnesses. the titles of certain of these earlier books are given: _the book of the acts of solomon_, _the chronicles of the kings of israel_, and _the chronicles of the kings of judah_. [sidenote: _earlier sources quoted by the editor of kings_] a careful study of the books of kings suggests many other ancient sources. for the reign of solomon, state annals, temple records, and popular solomon traditions appear to have been utilized. the graphic account of the division of the hebrew empire was probably drawn from an early jeroboam history. in the latter part of first kings appear citations from an early ahab history and a group of ephraimite elijah stories. the political data throughout first and second kings were probably drawn from the annals of the northern and southern kingdoms. furthermore, in ii kings ii.-viii. appear long quotations from two cycles of elisha stories, centring, respectively, about the ancient northern sanctuary of gilgal, near shiloh, and about samaria. the rest of the book includes citations from sources which may be designated as a prophetic jehu history, temple records, a hezekiah history, and a group of isaiah stories. [sidenote: _influences that produced this later prophetic history_] these valuable quotations the late prophetic editor of kings has arranged in chronological order and fitted into a framework which gives the length of each reign and the date of accession of the different kings, according to the chronology of the other hebrew kingdom. to this data he adds a personal judgment upon the policy of each ruler, thereby revealing his prophetic spirit. history is to him, as to every true prophet, a supreme illustration of fundamental spiritual principles. clearly the influence that led him to compile and edit his great work was his recognition of the fact that the record of israel's national experience as a whole was of deep religious import. the same motive undoubtedly guided him in the selection of material from his great variety of sources. only that which was essential was presented. thus he, or a later editor of his book, traced israel's remarkable history down to the middle of the babylonian exile ( b.c.), and completed that wonderful chain of prophetic narratives which record and interpret the first great chapter of divine revelation through the chosen race. vii the history of the prophetic sermons, epistles, and apocalypses [sidenote: _real character and aims of the prophets_] to understand and rightly interpret the prophetic writings of the old testament it is necessary to cast aside a false impression as to the character of the prophets which is widely prevalent. they were not foretellers, but forth-tellers. instead of being vague dreamers, in imagination living far in the distant future, they were most emphatically men of their own times, enlightened and devoted patriots, social and ethical reformers, and spiritual teachers. their characteristic note of conviction and authority was due to the fact that, on the one hand, they knew personally and distinctly the evils and needs of their nation, and that, on the other hand, their minds and hearts, ever open to receive the truth, were in vital touch with the infinite. thus, just as aaron became moses' prophet to the people, publicly proclaiming what the great leader imparted to him in private (ex. vii. , ), so the hebrew prophets became jehovah's heralds and ambassadors, announcing by word and life and act the divine will. [sidenote: _influences that led the prophets to write down their sermons_] while the historians were perfecting their histories certain prophets also were beginning to commit their sermons to writing. the oldest recorded address in the old testament is probably that of amos at bethel. his banishment from the northern kingdom under strict injunction not to prophesy there (am. vii. - ) may well explain why he resorted to writing to give currency to his prophetic message, though, like paul in later days, he undoubtedly regarded writing as an inferior substitute for the spoken word. jeremiah appears to have preached twenty years before he dictated a line to his scribe baruch, and then it was because he could not personally speak in the temple (xxxvi. - ). sometimes complete sermons of the prophets are preserved, but more often we seem to have only extracts and epitomes. in some of the prophetic books, like that of jeremiah, there are also popular reports of a prophetic address, and narrative sections, telling of the prophet's experience. [sidenote: _the editing of the earlier prophecies_] evidences of editing are very apparent in the earlier prophecies. sudden interruptions, and verses or clauses, in which appear ideas and literary style very different from that of the immediate context, indicate that many of the prophecies have been supplemented by later notes, some explanatory and some hortatory. other longer passages are intended to adjust the earlier teaching to later conditions and beliefs and so to adapt them to universal human needs that they are not limited to the hour and occasion of their first delivery. some of these passages come from the hands of disciples of the prophets and often contain valuable additional data; others are from later prophetic editors and scribes. a detailed comparison, for example, of the hebrew and greek versions of jeremiah quickly discloses wide variations of words, verses, and even long passages, added in one or the other text by later hands. all these additions testify to the deep interest felt by later generations in the earlier writings, even before they were assigned a final place in the canon. it is one of the important tasks of biblical scholars to distinguish the original from the additions and thus determine what were the teachings of each prophet and what are the contributions of later generations. [sidenote: _the background of isaiah xl.-lv._] many of the later additions possess a value and authority entirely independent of that possessed by the prophet with whose writings they have been joined by their original authors or later editors. thus the sublime chapters appended to the original sermons of isaiah contain some of the noblest teachings in the old testament. the different themes and literary style; the frequent references to the babylonians, not as distant allies, as in the days of isaiah the son of amoz, but as the hated oppressors of the jews; the evidence that the prophet's readers are not exiles far from judah; the many allusions to the conquests of cyrus,--all these leave little doubt that chapters xl.-lv. were written in the latter part of the babylonian or the first of the persian period. interpreted in the light of this background, their thought and teachings become clear and luminous. similarly, the varied evidence within the chapters themselves seems to indicate that isaiah lvi.-lxvi. contain sermons directed to the struggling jewish community in palestine during the days following the rebuilding of the temple in b.c. [sidenote: _the order and date of the prophetic books_] the prophetic sermons, epistles, and apocalypses fall naturally into five great groups. the books prophets of the assyrian period were amos and hosea, who between and b.c. preached to northern israel; also isaiah and micah, whose work lies between and b.c. nahum's little prophecy, although much later, echoes the death-knell of the great assyrian kingdom, which for two or three centuries dominated southwestern asia. the prophets of judah's decline were zephaniah (about b.c.), jeremiah ( - ), and habakkuk ( - ). to the same period belong ezekiel's earlier sermons, delivered between and , just before the final destruction of jerusalem. the prophets of the babylonian exile were obadiah, whose original oracle belongs to its opening years; ezekiel (xxv.-xlviii.), who continued to preach until b.c., and the great prophet whose deathless messages ring through isaiah xl.-lv. the prophets of the persian period were haggai and zechariah, whose inspiring sermons kept alive the flagging zeal of those who rebuilt the second temple; the authors of isaiah lvi.-lxvi.; the author of the little book of malachi; and joel. to this list we may perhaps add the prophet who has given us that noble protest, found in the much misunderstood book of jonah, against the narrow and intolerant attitude of later judaism toward foreigners. [sidenote: _growth of anonymous and apocalyptic literature_] with the exception of ezekiel, haggai, zechariah, and joel, all the prophecies which come from the centuries following the fall of jerusalem in b.c. are anonymous. the worship of the authority of the past had begun, and there is evidence that the belief was gaining currency that the days of the prophets were past. hence the natural tendency to resort to anonymous authorship or else to append a later message to an earlier prophecy. chapters ix.-xiv. of the book of zechariah illustrate this custom,--chapters which apparently come from the last old testament period, the greek or maccabean. the habit of presenting prophetic truth in the highly figurative, symbolic form, of the apocalypse also became prominent in later judaism. this has already been noted in the study of the growth of the new testament, and is illustrated by the book of revelation. it was especially adapted to periods of religious persecution, for it enabled the prophet to convey his message of encouragement and consolation in language impressive and clear to his people, yet unintelligible to their foreign masters. [sidenote: _the historical background of the book of daniel_] to the mind of one who has carefully studied the book of daniel in the light of the great crisis that came to the jews as a result of the relentless persecutions of antiochus epiphanes, between the years and b.c., there remains little doubt that it is in this period the wonderful apocalypse finds its true setting and interpretation. the familiar examples of the heroic fidelity of daniel and his friends to the demands of their religion and ritual were supremely well adapted to arouse a similar resistance toward the demands of a tyrant who was attempting to stamp out the jewish, religion and transform the chosen people into a race of apostates. the visions found in the book trace rapidly, in succession, the history of the babylonian, median, persian, and, last of all, the greek kingdoms. the culmination is a minute description of the character and reign, of the tyrant antiochus epiphanes (xi. - ). he is clearly the little horn of chapter viii. but suddenly, in the midst of the account of the persecutions, the descriptions become vague and general. nor is there any reference to the success of the maccabean uprising; instead, the prediction is made that jehovah himself will soon come to establish his messiah's kingdom. [sidenote: _date of the book_] the inference is, therefore, that the prophecy was written a short time before the rededication of the temple in b.c. this conclusion is confirmed by many other indications. for example the language, in part aramaic, is that of the greek period. the mistakes regarding the final overthrow of the babylonian empire, which was by cyrus, not darius, and brought about not by strategy, but as a result of the voluntary submission of the babylonians, are identical with the errors current in greek tradition of the same late period. here, as in the early narratives of genesis, a true prophet has utilized earlier stories as effective illustrations. he has also given in the common apocalyptic form an interpretation of the preceding four centuries of human history, and showed how through it all god's purpose was being realized, the book concludes with the firm assurance that those who now prove faithful are to be richly rewarded and to have a part in ms coming messianic kingdom. [sidenote: _the common motive actuating the prophets and the authors of the new testament_] thus, from the minds of the prophets come the earliest writings of the old testament. they consist of exhortations, warnings, messages of encouragement, or else stories intended to illustrate a religious principle or to present, in concrete form, a prophetic ideal. the fundamental motive which produced them all was identical with that which led the disciples and apostles to write the gospels and epistles of the new. in the case of the historico-prophetic writings, like samuel and kings, the desire to inspire and mould the minds and wills of their readers was combined with the desire to preserve in permanent form a record of the events which, in their national history, revealed most clearly jehovah's character and purpose. in this respect they correspond perfectly to the gospels and acts of the new testament. it is easy to see, therefore, that kindred aims and ideals actuated these unknown prophetic writers and their later successors, matthew, mark, and luke. their literary products differ only because their subject-matter is different. the one group records jehovah's revelation of himself through the life of the messianic nation, the other through the life of the perfect messiah. [sidenote: _the new testament the sequel of the prophetic writings_] it is interesting to note, in conclusion, that from the point of view of the old, all the literature of the new may be designated as prophetic. the three distinct groups of writings found in the new, namely, the gospels and acts, the epistles, and the apocalypse, correspond exactly to the three types of prophetic literature found in the old: the historico-prophetical writings, direct written prophecies, and apocalypses. if the final canon of the old testament had been completed before the days of josiah, there is every reason to believe that it also would have contained little beside prophetic writings. in divine providence it was not closed until seven centuries later, so that, as it has come to us, it is a comprehensive library, representing every stage and every side of israel's development. it is, however, in perfect keeping with the spirit of the master that the new testament should contain significant facts and broad principles rather than detailed laws or even the songs of worship. he whose ideals, teachings, and methods were in closest harmony with those of the hebrew prophets, naturally begat, through his immediate followers, a group of distinctively prophetic writings. viii the development of the earlier old testament laws [sidenote: _first the principle, and then the detailed laws_] if the canon of the new testament had remained open as long as did that of the old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. from the writings of the church fathers and the records of the catholic church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. the early history of christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are first enunciated by a great prophetic leader or leaders, and that in succeeding centuries these new principles are gradually embodied in detailed laws and ceremonials. also the principles must be accepted, partially at least, by the majority of the people before the enactments based upon them can be enforced. this important fact, stated in old testament terms, is that the prophet must and always does precede the lawgiver. [sidenote: _meaning of the hebrew word for law_] _torah_, the common hebrew word for law, comes from a hebrew word meaning to _point out_ or _direct_. it is probably also connected with the older root signifying, to cast the sacred lot. the _torah_, therefore, was originally the decision, rendered in connection with specific questions of dispute, and referred to jehovah by means of the sacred lot. thus the early priests were also judges because they were the custodians of the divine oracle. [sidenote: _origin of this hebrew belief in the divine origin of law_] here we are able to trace, in its earliest hebrew form, the universal belief in the divine origin of the law. in the primitive laws of exodus xxi.-xxiii., in connection with a case of disputed responsibility for injury to property, the command is given: _the cause of both parties shall come before god; he whom god shall condemn shall pay double to his neighbor_ (xxii. , ). in ancient times all cases of dispute were thus laid before god and decided by the lot or by god's representatives, usually the priests. when, in time, customs and oral laws grew up on the basis of these decisions, a similar divine origin and authority were naturally attributed to them. individually and collectively they were designated by the same suggestive term, _torah_. when they were ultimately committed to writing, the legal literature bore this title. in the hebrew text it still remains as the designation of the first group of old testament books which contain the bulk of israel's laws. [sidenote: _its ultimate basis in fact_] a belief in the divine origin of law was held by most ancient peoples. in connection with the tablet which records the laws of hammurabi, we have a picture of shamash the sun-god giving the laws to the king. in the epilogue to these laws he states that by the command of shamash, the judge supreme of heaven and earth, he has set them up that judgment may shine in the land. the statements in the old testament that jehovah talked face to face with moses or wrote the ten words with his finger on tablets of stone reflect the primitive belief which pictured god as a man with hands and voice and physical body; still they are the early concrete statement of a vital, eternal truth. not on perishable stone, but in the minds of the ancient judges, and in the developing ethical consciousness of the israelitish race, he inscribed the principles of which the laws are the practical expression. if he had not revealed them, there would have been no progress in the knowledge of justice and mercy. the thesis of the old testament, and of hammurabi also, is fundamentally true. the vivid forms in which both expressed that thesis were admirably fitted to impress it upon the mind of early man. [sidenote: _method in which hebrew law grew_] the early israelitish theory of the origin, of law provided fully for expansion and development to meet the new and changed conditions of later periods. whenever a new question presented itself, it could be referred to jehovah's representatives, the priests and prophets; and their _torah_, or response, would forthwith become the basis for the new law. malachi ii. , clearly defines this significant element in the growth, of israel's legal codes: _the torah of truth was in the mouth of the priest... and the people should seek the torah at his mouth._ similarly haggai commands the people to ask a _torah_ from the priests in regard to a certain question of ceremonial cleanliness (ii, ). until a very late period in israelitish history, the belief was universal that jehovah was ever giving new decisions and laws through his priests and prophets, and therefore that the law itself was constantly being expanded and developed. this belief is in perfect accord with all historical analogies and with the testimony of the old testament histories and laws themselves. not until the days of the latest editors did the tendency to project the old testament laws back to the beginning of israel's history gain the ascendency and leave its impression upon the pentateuch. even then there was no thought of attributing the literary authorship of all of these laws to moses. this was the work of still later jewish tradition. [sidenote: _moses' relation to israelitish law_] the earliest old testament narratives indicate clearly the real historical basis of the familiar later tradition, and vindicate and help us in the effort to define the title, _law of moses_. the early ephraimite narratives describe moses as a prophet rather than as a mere lawgiver. in exodus xviii. they give us a vivid picture of his activity as judge. to him the people came in crowds, with their cases, _to inquire of god_ ( ). in , to his father-in-law jethro, he states: _whenever they have a matter of dispute they come to me, that i may decide which of the two is right, and make known the statutes of god and his decisions (tôrôth)_. jethro then advises him to appoint reliable men, gifted with a high sense of justice, to decide minor cases, while he reserves for himself the difficult questions involving new principles. the origin and theory of israel's early laws are vividly presented in jethro's words to moses in verses , : _you be the people's advocate with god, and bring the cases to god, and you make known to them the statutes and the decisions, and show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do._ [sidenote: _historical basis of the tradition of mosaic authorship_] it appears from these and other passages that moses' traditional title as the father of israelitish legislation is well established. as a prophet, he proclaimed certain fundamental principles that became the basis of all later codes. as a judge, he rendered decisions that soon grew into customary laws. as a leader and organizer, he laid the foundations of the later political and institutional growth of the nation. furthermore, it is probable that he taught the people certain simple commands which became the nucleus of all later legislation. naturally and properly, as oral laws subsequently grew up and were finally committed to writing, they were attributed to him. later, when these laws were collected and codified, they were still designated as _mosaic_, even, though the authors of these codes added many contemporary enactments to the earlier laws. thus the traditions, as well as the theory, of israelitish law fortunately raised no barrier against its normal growth. it was not until the late jewish period, when the tradition became rigid and unnatural, that the rabbis, in order to establish the authority of contemporary laws, were forced to resort to the grotesque legal fictions which appear in the talmud. [sidenote: _evidences that the earliest laws were oral_] the earliest hebrew laws, like the traditions, were apparently long transmitted in oral form. the simple life of the desert and early canaan required no written records. custom and memory preserved all the laws that were needed. also, as we have seen, before the hebrews came into contact with the canaanites and phoenicians, they do not seem to have developed the literary art. instead, they cast their important commands and laws into the form of pentads and decalogues. the practical aim seems to have been to aid the memory by associating a brief law with each finger of the two hands. the system was both simple and effective. it also points clearly to a period of oral rather than written transmission. [sidenote: _the earliest hebrew laws_] the nucleus of all israelitish law appears to have been a simple decalogue, which gave the terms of the original covenant between jehovah and his people, and definitely stated the obligations they must discharge if they would retain his favor. the oldest version of this decalogue is now embedded in the early judean narrative of exodus xxxiv. there is considerable evidence, however, that it once stood immediately after the judean account of jehovah's revelation of himself at sinai, and was transposed to its present position in order to give place for the later and nobler prophetic decalogue of exodus xx. - . its antiquity and importance are also evidenced by the fact that it has received many later introductory, explanatory, and hortatory notes. exodus xxxiy. preserves the memory that it originally consisted of simply ten words. the slightly variant version of these original ten words is also found in exodus xx. , xxiii. , , , , , . furthermore, it probably once occupied a central position in the corresponding northern israelltish account of the covenant at sinai. [sidenote: _the oldest decalogue_] with the aid of these two different versions, that of the north and that of the south, it is possible to restore approximately the common original: i. thou shalt worship no other god. ii. thou shalt make no molten gods, iii. thou shalt observe the feast of unleaven bread. iv. every first-born is mine. v. six days shalt thou toil, but on the seventh thou shalt rest. vi. thou shalt observe the feast of weeks and ingathering at the end of the year, vii. thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. viii. the fat of my feast shall not be left until morning. ix. the best of the first-fruits of thy land shalt thou bring to the house of jehovah. x. thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk. [sidenote: _its date_] these laws bear on their face the evidence of their primitive date and origin. they define religion not in the terms of life, as does the familiar prophetic decalogue of exodus xx., but, like the old babylonian religion, in the terms of the ritual. loyalty to jehovah, as the god of the nation, and fidelity to the demands of the cult is their watchword. their antiquity and the central position they occupy in old testament legislation are shown further by the fact that all of them are again quoted in other codes, and most of them four or five times in the old testament. three of them apply to agricultural life; but agriculture is not entirely unknown to the nomadic life of the wilderness. possibly in their present form certain of these commands have been adapted to conditions in canaan, but the majority reflect the earliest stages in hebrew history. in all probability the decalogue in its original form came from moses, as the earliest traditions assert, although comparative semitic religion demonstrates that many of the institutions here reflected long antedated the days of the great leader. [sidenote: _the_ judgements _of exodus xxi., xxii_] although in part contemporary, the next stage in the development of israelitish law is represented by the civil, social, and humane decalogues in exodus xx. to xxiii. . the best preserved group is found in xxi. to xxii. , and bears the title _judgments_, which recalls hammurabi's title to his code, the _judgments_ of righteousness. like this great babylonian code, the hebrew _judgments_ deal with civil and social cases, and are usually introduced by the formula, _if so and so_, followed by the penalty or decision to be rendered. they are evidently intended primarily for the guidance of judges. the parallels with the code of hammurabi are many, both in theme, form, and penalty, although there is no conclusive evidence that the hebrew borrowed directly from the older babylonian. undoubtedly many of the striking points of resemblance are due simply to common semitic ideas and institutions and to the recurrence of similar questions. but on the whole, the hebrew laws place a higher estimate on life and less on property. they reflect also a simpler type of civilization than the babylonian. [sidenote: _their arrangement and contents_] when three or four obviously later additions have been removed, the _judgments_ are found to consist of five decalogues, each divided into two pentads which deal with different phases of the same general subject. they are as follows: _first decalogue: the rights of slaves._ first pentad: males, ex. xxi. , a, b, , - . second pentad: females, xxi. , , , , . _second decalogue: assaults._ first pentad: capital offences, xxi. , , , , . second pentad: minor offences, xxi. - , , , , . _third decalogue: laws regarding domestic animals._ first pentad: injuries by animals, xxi. , , , , . second pentad: injuries to animals, xxi. - , , ; xxii. , . _fourth decalogue: responsibility for property._ first pentad: in general, xxii. , , , , . second pentad: in cattle, xxii. - , , , l a, i b. _fifth decalogue: social purity._ first pentad: adultery, deut. xxii. - , - , , - , - . second pentad: fornication and apostasy, ex. xxii. , , , , . [sidenote: _their date_] many of these laws anticipate the settled agricultural conditions of palestine. society, however, is very simple. the decalogue and peatad form also points clearly to an early period, when the laws were transmitted orally. many of the laws probably came from the days of the wilderness wandering, and therefore go back to the age of moses, in some cases much earlier, as is shown by close analogies with the code of hammurabi. although in their present written form these oral _judgments_ bear the marks of the northern israelitish prophetic writers who have preserved them, the majority, if not all, may with confidence be assigned to the days of david and solomon. [sidenote: _the early humane and ceremonial laws_] the remaining verses of exodus xx. to xxiii. , contain, groups of humane and ceremonial laws. in the process of transmission they have been somewhat disarranged, but, with the aid of the fuller duplicate versions in deuteronomy, four complete decalogues can be restored and part of a fifth. the following analysis will suggest their general character and contents: humane and ceremonial laws _first decalogue: kindness._ first pentad: towards men, ex. xxii. la, - , a, b, - . second pentad; towards animals, ex, xxiii. [deut. xxii. ], deut. xxii. , ; ex. xxiii. [deut. xxii. ], deut. xxii. - . _second decalogue: justice_. first pentad: among equals, ex. xxiii. a, b, a, b, . second pentad: on the part of those in authority, xxiii, , a, b, c, . _third decalogue: duties to god._ first pentad: worship, ex. xx. a, b, , , . second pentad: loyalty, ex. xxii. , a, b, , . _fourth decalogue: sacred seasons._ first pentad: command to observe them, xxiii. - , , l a, a, b. second pentad: method of observing them, xxiii, , a, b, a, b. [sidenote: _period represented by the primitive codes_] here the primitive ceremonial decalogue has been expanded into the third and fourth group given above. like the _judgments_, these decalogues bear testimony to their northern origin, and probably they also have had much the same history, although their relation to the primitive decalogue and the fact that they are prefixed and added to the solid group of _judgments_, would seem to indicate that they were somewhat later. these two collections, together with their older prototype, the ancient decalogue, represent the growth of israel's laws during the four centuries beginning with moses and extending to about b. c. to distinguish them from later collections they may be designated as the _primitive codes_. [sidenote: _the need for new laws_] the eighth and seventh centuries before christ which brought to the hebrews great crises and revolutionary changes in both their political and religious life, witnessed the epoch-making work of amos, hosea, isaiah, and micah. this remarkable group of prophets proclaimed so many new principles that a fundamental revision and expansion of israel's primitive codes became necessary in order to adapt the latter to the new needs of the age. the reactionary reign of manasseh had also brought out plainly the contrast between the older heathen cults, still cherished by the people, and the exalted ideals of the true prophets. if the prophetic teachings were to become operative in the life of the nation, it was also seen that they must be expressed in concrete legal enactments, which could be universally understood and definitely enforced. [sidenote: _application of prophetic principles in the life of the people_] accordingly, a group of prophets, disciples of the older masters, and inspired by the spirit of reform, devoted themselves to this all-important task. the results of their work are represented by the prophetic law-book of deuteronomy. through its pages glow the new ethical teachings of the prophets of the assyrian period. the elements of hosea's doctrine, love to god and love to men and kindness to the needy and oppressed, in their new setting and application, make it one of the evangels of the old testament. its lofty standards of justice and social responsibility reflect the impassioned addresses of amos and hosea. since the new laws, as a whole, represented the practical application of the messages of the prophets to life, they were justly and appropriately placed in the mouth of moses, the real and traditional head of the nation and of the prophetic order. [sidenote: _relation to the older laws_] a comparison of this prophetic law-book with the older primitive laws shows that the latter were made the basis of the new codes, since most of them, in revised form, are also found in deuteronomy. the prophetic lawmakers, however, in the same spirit that actuated jesus in his attitude toward the ancient law, freely modified, supplemented, and in some cases substituted for the primitive enactments, laws that more perfectly embodied the later revelation. [sidenote: _promulgation and date of the prophetic codes_] the nature of the reforms instituted by josiah, according to ii kings xxii., clearly prove that the laws which inspired them were those of deuteronomy, and that this was the law-book discovered in the temple by hilkiah the priest and publicly read and promulgated by the king in b.c. originally it was probably prepared by the prophetic reformers as a basis for their work; but it incorporates not only most of the primitive codes, but also many other ancient laws and groups of laws, some doubtless coming from the earliest periods of israel's history. it also appears to have been further supplemented after the reformation of josiah. in general it represents the second great stage in old testament law, as it rapidly developed between and b.c. under the inspiring preaching of the remarkable prophets of the assyrian period. [sidenote: _their historical and permanent value_] these laws represent, in many ways, the high-water mark of old testament legislation. every effort is made to eliminate that which experience had proved to be imperfect in the older laws and customs. the chief aim is to protect the rights of the wronged and dependent. the appeal throughout is not to the fear of punishment--in a large number of laws no penalty is suggested--but to the individual conscience. not merely formal worship is demanded, but a love to god so personal that it dominates the individual heart and soul and finds expression through energies completely devoted to his service. these laws required strict justice, but more than that, mercy and practical charity toward the weak and needy and afflicted. even the toiling ox and the helpless mother-bird and her young are not beyond the kin of these wonderful laws. under their benign influence the divine principles of the prophets began to mould directly the character and life of the israelitish race. the man who lives in accord with their spirit and injunctions to-day finds himself on the straight and narrow way, hallowed by the feet of the master. ix influences that gave rise to the priestly laws and histories [sidenote: _influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws_] the babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. while the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. hence, there was little need of writing them down. but when most of the priests were carried captive to babylonia, as in b.c., and ten years later the temple was laid in ruins and all sacrifice and ceremonial worship suddenly ceased, written records at once became indispensable, if the customs and rules of israel's ritual were to be preserved. the integrity and future of the scattered israelitish race also largely depended upon keeping alive their distinctive traditions. torn from their altars, the exiled priests not only had a strong incentive, but likewise the leisure, to write. the ritualistic zeal of their babylonian masters doubtless further inspired them. the result was, that during the babylonian exile and the following century most of the ceremonial laws in the old testament appear to have been first committed to writing. [sidenote: _ezekiel's code_] even ezekiel, the prophet of the early exile, yielded to the influence of his early priestly training and the needs of the situation. in he issued the unique code found in chapters xl.-xlviii. of his prophecy. it provides for the rebuilding of the temple, and defines the duties of its different officials and the form of ritual that is to be observed. the whole is intended primarily to emphasize, through the arrangement of the sanctuary and the forms of the ceremonial, the transcendent holiness of jehovah. ezekiel also proclaims, through this elaborate program for the restored community, the certainty that the exiles would be allowed to return and rebuild the temple. he evidently reproduces many of the proportions and regulations of the first temple, but, with the same freedom that characterizes the authors of the deuteronomic codes, he unhesitatingly sets aside earlier usages where something better has been revealed. [sidenote: _genesis and character of the holiness code_] ezekiel's code was never fully adopted by the later jews, for much of it was symbolic rather than practical; but it powerfully influenced subsequent lawmakers, and was indicative of the dominant tendency of the day. even before he issued his code, some like-minded priest had collected and arranged an important group of laws, which appear to have been familiar to ezekiel himself. they are found in leviticus xvii.-xxvi., and have felicitously been designated as the _holiness code_, because they constantly emphasize the holiness of jehovah and the necessity of the people's being holy in thought and act. in chapters xvii.-xix. most of the original laws are still arranged in the decalogue and pentad form. this strong evidence that they had been transmitted by word of mouth from a much earlier period is supported by their contents. they resemble and supplement the primitive laws of exodus xx. to xxiii. . many of them probably came from the early periods of israelitish history. most of the laws, like those of the prophetic codes in deuteronomy, are ethical and humane rather than ceremonial. the code, as a whole, is a remarkable combination of prophetic and priestly teaching. it marks the transition from the age of the prophets, represented by deuteronomy, to that of the priests and ritual, represented by the priestly codes proper. like every important early collection of laws, it also has been much supplemented by later editors; the original holiness code, however, may be given a date soon after the first captivity in b.c. [sidenote: _the priestly codes_] the influences represented by ezekiel and the holiness code have given us the remaining laws of the old testament. these are found in leviticus i-xvi., xxviii., and, excepting exodus xx.-xxiii., xxxiv., in the legal sections of exodus and numbers. they deal almost entirely with such ceremonial subjects, as the forms and rules of sacrifice, the observation of the annual religious festivals, and the rights and duties of priests. many of them incorporated laws and customs as old or older than the days of moses. an early and important group, technically known as the priestly teaching (lev. i.-iii., v.-vii., xi.-xv.; num. v., vi., xv., xix. - ), is repeatedly designated as _the torah of the burnt-offering_ (lev. vi. ), or _the torah of the meal-offering_ (vi, ), or _the torah of the unclean and clean beast or bird_ (xi. , ). it is evidently based upon the _toroth_, or decisions, rendered by the priests concerning the various ceremonial questions thus treated. the recurring phrase, _according to the ordinance_, probably refers to the fixed usage observed in connection with the first temple. [sidenote: _their date_] the atmosphere and point of view of these priestly laws as a whole are the exilic and post-exilic periods. the ritual has become much more elaborate, the position of the priests much more prominent, and their income far greater than before the exile. the distinction between priest and levite, which was not recognized before the exile, is clearly defined. the annual feasts have increased, and their old joyous character has largely disappeared under the dark shadow of the exile. sin-offerings, guilt-offerings, trespass-offerings, and the day of atonement (practically unknown before the fall of jerusalem in b.c.) reflect the spirit of the later judaism which sought to win jehovah's favor by its many sacrifices. within these priestly codes there is also evidence of development. the older collections, such as the priestly teachings, were probably made early in the babylonian exile. others represent the gradual expansion and supplementing of these older groups, the process apparently continuing until the days of nehemiah and ezra. the whole, therefore, is the fruit of the remarkable priestly literary activity between and b.c., and possibly extending even later. [sidenote: _adoption of the priestly law about b.c._] the jewish community which nehemiah found in palestine was still living under the deuteronomic law, and apparently knew nothing of the very different demands of the priestly codes. his reform measures recorded in nehemiah v. and xiii., as well as his effective work in repairing the walls, prepared the way for the sweeping innovations which followed the public acceptance of the new law-book, brought according to tradition by ezra. five out of the eight regulations specified by the oath then taken by the leaders of the nation (neh. x. - ) are found only in the priestly codes; one of them, indeed, is not presented elsewhere in the old testament. henceforth the life of the jewish race is moulded by these later codes. it is, therefore, safe to conclude that they constituted the essence of the new law-book solemnly adopted by the jewish community as its guide somewhere about b.c. [sidenote: _aim and characteristics of the priestly narratives_] inasmuch as the interest of the priests centred in ceremonial institutions and the history of the law rather than about individuals and politics, it was natural that they also should write their own history of the race. their general purpose was to give an introduction and setting to their laws. as might be anticipated, this priestly history incorporates the traditions of the late priestly school, and therefore those current long centuries after the events recorded transpired. as in the case of the prophetic narratives, the aim is not primarily historical, but doctrinal. the peculiar vocabulary, language, and theological conceptions are those which distinguish the post-exilic priestly editors of the latest old testament laws. [sidenote: _their sketch of the earlier history_] their history begins with the majestic account of creation in genesis i. to ii. a. god does not form man from the dust, as in the primitive prophetic account, but by a simple word of command; and by progressive acts of creation he realizes his perfect plan, which culminates in the creation of mankind. the literary style is that of a legalist: formal, precise, repetitious, and generic. the ultimate aim of the narrative is to trace the origin of the institution of the sabbath back to the creation. the genealogical history of genesis v. connects this account of creation with the priestly version of the flood story which leads up to the covenant with noah. the priestly genealogical histories of genesis x. and xi. - trace the ancestry of the hebrews through abraham. regarding this patriarch these later historians present only a brief sketch; in genesis xvii., however, they expand their narrative to give in detail the origin of the rite of circumcision, which they associate with him. jacob is to them chiefly of interest as the father of the ten tribes. [sidenote: _from egypt to canaan_] the history of the experiences of the hebrews in egypt is briefly outlined as the prelude to the traditional institution of the feast of the passover. sinai, however, is the great goal of the priestly narratives, for about it they group all their laws. it is their concrete method of proclaiming the antiquity and divine origin of israelitish legislation. the period of the wilderness wandering is also made the background of many important legal precedents. the priestly history concludes with an account of the conquest of canaan and the allotment of the territory to the different tribes. [sidenote: _the lack of historical perspective_] in these late priestly narratives the historical perspective is sometimes considerably shortened and sometimes lengthened. moreover, their representation often differs widely from that of the parallel but much earlier prophetic histories. the original traditions have also assumed larger proportions, and the supernatural element is much more prominent. this is evidently the result of long transmission, in an age that had largely lost the historic sense, and among the priestly exiles, who were far removed from the real life of palestine. [sidenote: _variations between the older and later narratives_.] the wide variations between the older prophetic and late priestly accounts of the same events might be illustrated by scores of examples. the following parallel account of the exodus will suffice: [sidenote: _early judean prophetic account_] ex. xiv. l b. then the pillar of cloud changed its position from before them and stood behind them. ( b) and the cloud lighted up the night; yet throughout the entire night the one _army_ did not come near the other. ( b) and jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the bed of the sea dry. ( b) and it came to pass in the watch before the dawn that jehovah looked forth through the pillar of fire and of cloud upon the host of the egyptians, ( ) and he bound their horsemen. [sidenote: _late priestly account of the exodus_] ( a, c) then moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the waters were divided, ( ) so that the israelites went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ( b) and the egyptians went in after them into the midst of the sea, all pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. ( ) then jehovah said to moses, stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the egyptians, upon their chariots and their chariot wheels, so that they proceeded with difficulty. then the egyptians said, let us flee from before israel; for jehovah fighteth for them against the egyptians. ( b) but the sea returned to its ordinary level toward morning, while the egyptians were flying before it. and jehovah shook off the egyptians into the midst of the sea, ( b) so that not one of them remained. ( ) thus jehovah saved israel that day out of the power of the egyptians; and israel saw the egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. ( a) so moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, ( a) and the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of pharaoh that went in after them into the sea. ( ) but the israelites walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. [footnote: "student's old testament," vol. i., , .] [sidenote: _inferior historical value of the priestly narratives_] no one can doubt for a moment that the older, simpler, and more natural version is, from the historical point of view, the more accurate. the normal man to-day has outgrown the craving for the grotesquely supernatural. the omnipotent, omniscient, loving creator, who reveals himself through the growing flower, commands our admiration as fully as a god who speaks through the unusual and extraordinary. everything is possible with god, and the man is blind indeed who would deny the infinite being, who is all and in all, the ability to pass beyond the bounds of that which we, with our extremely limited vision, have designated as natural. the real question is, how did god see fit to accomplish his ends? our judicial and historical sense unhesitatingly inclines to the older and simpler narratives as containing the true answer. in distinguishing these different strands of narrative, it must be acknowledged that modern biblical scholarship has performed a service invaluable alike to the student of literature, of history, and of revelation. [sidenote: _recognition of their defects and real value_] in passing, it is instructive to note that, almost without exception, ingersoll's once famous examples of the mistakes of moses were drawn from the priestly narratives. it is safe to predict that had that learned jurist been introduced, when a boy, to the old testament, as revealed in modern light, he would have enjoyed a very different popular fame. in the divine economy, however, even the sledge-hammer of ridicule may play an important rôle in shattering false claims and the untenable theories which obscure the real truth. it is wholesome to apply the principle of relative values to the bible, since one cannot fully appreciate the best without recognizing that which is inferior. these priestly narratives come from a school which, in its reverence for the form and the letter, had began to lose sight of the vital and spiritual. its still later product is that ritualistic judaism which stands in such unfavorable contrast to the perfected spiritual revelation which came through jesus. at the same time, the recognition of the defects of the late priestly school should not deter us from appreciating the rich religious teaching of a narrative like the first chapter of genesis, nor from accepting its great message, namely, that through all natural phenomena and history god is revealing and perfecting his gracious purpose. [sidenote: _the ecclesiastical history of chronicles and ezra-nehemiah_] the long ecclesiastical history found in i and ii chronicles and the original sequel of these books, ezra and nehemiah, were written from the same general point of view as the late priestly narratives, but in a much later period. the same peculiar literary style and conceptions, which recur throughout these four books, show clearly that they are from one author and age. since they trace the history to the beginning of the greek period and speak of the kings and events of the persian period as if they belonged to the distant past, it is evident that the anonymous author, who is usually designated as the chronicler, lived after the conquests of alexander. the internal evidence all points to the middle of the third century before christ as the date of their composition. [sidenote: _its general point of view_] from the author's evident interest in the ritual of the temple, and especially its song service, it would appear that he belonged to one of the guilds of temple singers that became prominent in the post-exilic period. his history centres about the sanctuary and its services. since judah, not israel, is the land of the temple, northern israel is almost completely ignored. like the late priestly historians, his chief aim is to trace the origin of the ceremonial institutions back to the beginnings of hebrew history. thus he represents the song service and the guilds of singers as having been established in the days of david. living as he did under the glamour of the great persian and greek empires, he, in common with his contemporaries, idealized the past glories of his race. as we compare his versions of early events with the older parallel accounts of samuel and kings, we find that iron has become gold, and hundreds have become thousands, and defeats are transformed into victories. no mention is made of the crimes of such kings as david and solomon, since they are venerated profoundly as the founders of the temple. [sidenote: _sources of i and ii chronicles_] the basis of i and ii chronicles is the prophetic history of samuel and kings; from these the author quotes _verbatim_ chapter after chapter, according as their contents are adapted to his purpose. this groundwork he supplements by introducing the priestly traditions current in his own day. possibly he quotes also from certain somewhat earlier written collections of traditions, for to those, following the example of the author of kings, he frequently refers his readers for further information. in some cases these later traditions may have preserved authentic, supplemental data; but when the representation of chronicles differs, as it frequently does, from that of samuel and kings, the older and more sober prophetic history is undoubtedly to be followed. [sidenote: _the older sources quoted in ezra-nehemiah_] in ezra and nehemiah the author has preserved some exceedingly valuable historical material, for he has quoted, fortunately, long sections from two or three older sources. oae is the document in ezra iv. to vi. , the original aramaic of which is retained. this appears to have been a temple record, dating from the middle or latter part of the persian period, and tells of the interruption of the temple building in the days of darius and the finding of the original decree of cyrus sanctioning the restoration of the shrine of jerusalem. still more important is the wonderful memoir of nehemiah quoted in nehemiah i., ii., iv. to vii. , xii. , , - , and xiii. - . here we are able to study the events of an exceedingly important period through the eyes of the man who, by his able and self-sacrificing efforts, did more than any one else to develop and shape later judaism. less important, yet suggestive, citations are taken from the priestly traditions regarding the work of ezra. the final editor has apparently rearranged this material in order to give to the work of ezra the scribe such precedence over that of nehemiah the layman, as, from his later levitical point of view, he deemed proper. restoring what seems to have been the original order (_i.e._, ezra vii. viii., neh. vii. to viii. ; ezra ix., x.; neh. ix., x.) and studying it as the sequel of nehemiah's essential pioneer work, the obscurities of this period begin to disappear and its significant facts to stand out in clear relief. [sidenote: _value of the writings of the priestly school_] thus we find that, quoting largely as he does, from much older sources, the author of this great ecclesiastical history of judah and the temple has given us, in ezra and nehemiah, some exceedingly important historical data. his writings also clearly reveal the ideas and institutions of his own day; but otherwise it is not as history that his work is of permanent value. rather it is because, in common with all the great teachers who speak to us through the old testament, he believed firmly in the moral order of the universe, and that back of all events and all history is an infinitely powerful yet just and merciful god who is constantly revealing himself to mankind. while these later priestly writers were not in such close touch with fact and life as were the prophets, and while they were subject to the defects of all extreme ritualists and theologians, they were faithful heralds of truth to their own and later generations. behind their symbolism and traditions lie certain great universal principles which amply reward an earnest quest. x the hebrew sages and their proverbs [sidenote: _rôle of the sages in israel's life_] in the days of jeremiah and ezekiel (jer. xviii. ; ezek. vii. ) three distinct classes of religious teachers were recognized by the people: the prophets, the priests, and the wise men or sages. from their lips and pens have come practically all the writings of the old testament. of these three classes the wise men or sages are far less prominent or well known. they wrote no history of israel, they preached no public sermons, nor do they appear to have been connected with any sanctuaries. quietly, as private teachers, they appealed to the nation through the consciences and wills of individuals. proverbs viii. - reveals their methods: doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice? on the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she standeth; beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coining in at the doors, she crieth aloud: unto you, o men, i call; and my voice is to the sons of men. o ye simple, understand prudence; and ye fools, be of an understanding heart. at the open spaces beside the city gates, where legal cases were tried, at the intersections of the streets, wherever men congregated, the sages of ancient israel could be found, ready and eager to instruct or advise the inexperienced and foolish. [sidenote: _their functions_] the wise man or sage is a characteristic oriental figure. first kings iv. speaks of the far-famed wisdom of the nomadic tribes of northern arabia and of the wisdom of egypt. the sage appears to have been the product of the early nomadic semitic life, in which books were unknown and the practical wisdom gained by experience was treasured in the minds of certain men who were called the wise or sages. in our more complex western life such functions have been distributed among the members of the legal, medical, and clerical professions, but even now, in smaller towns, may be found an uncle toby who is the counterpart of the ancient hebrew sage. to men of this type young and old resort with their private problems, and rarely return without receiving real help and light. in the east, sages are still to be found, usually gray-bearded elders, honored and influential in the tribe or town. [sidenote: _source of their knowledge and inspiration_] of the three classes of israel's teachers the sages stood in closest touch with the people. they were naturally the father-confessors of the community. observation was their guide, enlightened common sense their interpreter, and experience their teacher. the great book of human life, which is one of the most important chapters of divine revelation, was thrown open wide before them. the truths that they read there, as their eyes were divinely opened to see it, are recorded in the wisdom books of the old testament,--proverbs, job, the song of songs, and ecclesiastes. [sidenote: _the objects of their attention_] it is significant that neither israel nor the nation is mentioned in all the wisdom literature, and that man is spoken of thirty-three times in the book of proverbs alone. man was the object of their study and teaching; the nation, only as it was made up of individuals. in this respect the sages stand in contrast with the prophets, whose message usually is to the nation. they also have little to say about the ritual or the forms of religion. _to them the fear and knowledge of god is the beginning of wisdom_, and its end a normal relation to god, to one's fellowmen, and to life. their message is directed equally to all mankind. the subjects that command, their attention are of universal interest: the nature and tendencies of man, and his relations and duties to god, to society, to the family, and to himself. everything that concerns man, whether it be the tilling of the soil, the choice of a wife, the conduct of a lawsuit, or the proper deportment in the presence of a ruler, commands their earnest consideration. [sidenote: _their aims not theoretical but practical_] the hebrew sages, however, were not mere students of human nature or philosophers. knowledge to them was not an end in itself, but only a means. their contribution to israel's life was counsel (jer. xviii. ). their aim was, by the aid of their tried maxims, to so advise the inexperienced, the foolish, indeed, all who needed advice, that they might live the fullest and best lives and successfully attain all worthy ends. while their teaching was distinctively ethical and religious, it was also very practical and utilitarian. as pastors and advisers of the people, they drew their principles and ideals from israel's prophets, and applied them to the practical, every-day problems of life. it is obvious that without their patient, devoted instruction the preparation of the chosen people for their mission would have been imperfect, and that without a record of their teachings the old testament would have been incomplete. [sidenote: _their teachings preserved in proverbs_] the proverb was the most characteristic literary form in which the sages treasured and imparted their teachings. poetical in structure, terse, often figurative or epigrammatic, the proverb was well calculated to arouse individual thought and make a deep impression on the mind. transmitted from mouth to mouth for many generations, like the popular tradition or law, it lost by attrition all its unnecessary elements, so that, 'like an arrow,' it shot straight to the mark. based on common human experience, it found a ready response in the heart of man. in this way crystallized experience was transmitted, gathering effectiveness and volume in each succeeding generation. job viii. - speaks of this accumulated wisdom handed down from _the former age, that which the fathers have searched out. they shall teach man and inform him, and utter words out of their heart_. job xv. also refers to that _which wise men have told from their fathers and have not hid it_. a proverb thus orally transmitted not only gains in beauty of form but also in authority, for it is constantly being tested in the laboratory of real life and receives the silent attestation of thousands of men and of many different generations. [sidenote: _expansion of the proverb_] when the sages desired to treat a many-sided subject, as, for example, intemperance, they still used proverbs, but combined them into brief gnomic essays (_e. g_., xxiii. - , xxvi. - ). sometimes, to fix the attention of their hearers, they combined two proverbs, so as to produce a paradox, as in proverbs xxvi. , : answer not a fool according to his folly, lest them also be like unto him. answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. later they developed the simple gnomic essay into a philosophical drama, of which job is the classic example, or into a homily, like ecclesiastes. [sidenote: _use of fables and riddles_] side by side with the proverb, the sages appear from the earliest times to have used the fable also; this is illustrated by the fable of jotham in judges ix. - . of the riddle a famous examples is that of samson in judges xiv. , , which combines rhythm of sound with rhythm of thought and well illustrates the form of the earliest popular hebrew poetry: out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet, and its answer: if with my heifer you did not plow, you had not solved my riddle now. proverbs xxx. - contains a collection of numerical riddles, combined with their answers. [sidenote: _traces of proverbs and the work of sages in the hebrew history_] proverbs are found in the oldest hebrew literature. the midianite kings, awaiting death at the hand of gideon, cite a popular proverb, _for as the man, so is his strength_. david in his conversation with saul says, _as runs the proverb, "out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness"_ (i sam. xxiv. ). frequent references are also found to wise men and women, and examples are given of their prudence and insight thus joab, david's iron-hearted commander, brings a wise woman from tekoa, the later home of the prophet amos, to aid him in securing the recall of the banished absalom. by her feigned story she succeeds in working upon the sympathy of the king to such a degree that he commits himself finally to a principle which she at once asks him to apply to the case of his own son (ii sam. xiv. - ). [sidenote: _basis of solomon's reputation for wisdom_] the stories told in i kings iii. - , to illustrate the wisdom of solomon, suggest the historical basis of the reputation which he enjoyed in the thought of succeeding generations. such stories also indicate, as do the other early examples of the work of the wise, the conception of wisdom held in that more primitive age. such wisdom does not necessarily include ethical righteousness or even practical executive ability, for the true solomon of history was lacking in both; but rather a certain. shrewdness, versatility, and keenness of insight which enable its possessor to discern what is not clearly apparent. first kings iv. - contains the later popular tradition of solomon's wisdom: ( ) and god gave solomon wisdom and insight in plentiful measure, and breadth of mind, even as the sand that is on the seashore, ( ) so that solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the eastern arabians and all the wisdom of egypt. ( ) for he was wiser than all men: than ethan the ezrahite, and heman, calcol, darda, the sons of mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ( ) and he uttered three thousand proverbs, and his songs were five thousand. ( ) and he spoke of different varieties of trees, from the cedar that is in lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, of birds, of creeping things, and of fishes. ( ) and there came some from among all peoples to hear the wisdom of solomon, deputed by all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. [sidenote: _reason why all ancient proverbs were attributed to him_] a popular proverb, like a primitive oral law, usually grows out of common human experience, and is gradually formulated and moulded into its final literary form by successive generations. no one man can claim it as his own, and even if he could, the ancient semitic east, which cared so little about authors' titles, would have quickly forgotten his name. that solomon did utter certain brilliant aphorisms, embellished by illustrations drawn from animal and plant life, cannot be doubted; and that some of them have been preserved in the book of proverbs is probable. these facts and the popular tradition that tended to exalt his wisdom clearly explain why all hebrew proverbs were attributed to him (prov. i. ), in the days of the final editing of the book of proverbs. [sidenote: _evidence that proverbs comes from many different writers_] that our present book of proverbs is the work of many unknown sages, and consists of a collection of smaller groups coming from different periods, is demonstrated by the superscriptions which recur throughout the book, such as, _these are the proverbs of solomon_ (x. ), _these also are the sayings of the wise_ (xxiv. ), _these are the proverbs of solomon which the men of_ _hezekiah king of judah copied out_ (xxv. ), _the words of king lemuel_ (xxxi. ), the same proverbs also recur in different groups, indicating that originally they were independent collections, gleaned from the same field. when the first collection was made, the title _proverb of solomon_ evidently meant a popular maxim handed down from antiquity and therefore naturally attributed to the most famous wise man in israel's early history. it is an instructive fact that later proverbs, the immediate superscriptions to which plainly state that they come from many different sages, are still called _proverbs of solomon;_ it betrays an exact parallel to the similar tendency, apparent in the legal and prophetic literature, to attribute late anonymous writings to earlier authors. this is also further illustrated by such late jewish books as _the wisdom of solomon_ or the _psalms of solomon._ [sidenote: _testimony of the individual proverbs_] the individual proverbs confirm the general conclusion that they come from many different authors. those which commend fidelity to one wife and kingly consideration for the rights of subjects, qualities in which solomon was sadly lacking, do not fit in his mouth. many are written from the point of view of a subject, and describe what a man should do in the presence of a ruler. furthermore, the ethical standards upheld are those of prophets who lived and taught long after the days of the grand monarch who fascinated his own and succeeding generations by his brilliant wit rather than by his sterling virtues. [sidenote: _real nature of proverbs_] the book of proverbs is far more than an epitome of his versatile sayings: it represents at least ten centuries of experience divinely guided, but won often through mistakes and bitter disappointments. it contains the many index hands, set up before the eyes of men to point them from error to truth, from folly to right, and from failure to success. like most of the old testament books, it embodies the contributions of many different teachers writing from many different ages and points of view. their common aim is well expressed by the sage who appended to proverbs the preface: to acquire wisdom and training, to understand rational discourse, to receive training in wise conduct, in uprightness, justice, and rectitude, to impart discretion to the inexperienced, to the young knowledge and insight; that the wise man may hear and add to his learning, and the man of intelligence gain education, to understand a proverb and a parable, the words of sages and their aphorisms. [sidenote: _the first edition of proverbs_] the structure and contents of the book suggest its literary history. like the new testament, it appears to have passed through different stages, and to have been supplemented repeatedly by the addition of new collections. the original nucleus is probably found in x. to xxii. ; this is introduced by the simple superscription, _the proverbs of solomon_. the form of the proverb is simple; the atmosphere is joyous, prosperity prevails, virtue is rewarded; a king who loves justice and righteousness is on the throne (xiv. , xvi. , , , xx. , xxii. ); the rich, and poor stand in the same relation to each other as in the days of the pre-exile prophets; and the teaching of their prophets--righteousness is more acceptable than sacrifice--is frequently reiterated (xv. , xvi. , xxi. , ). while this long collection doubtless contains many proverbs antedating even the beginnings of israel's history and possibly some added later, the indications are that they represent the original edition of the book which the jews carried with them into the babylonian exile. this early collection was perhaps made under the inspiring influence of the reign of josiah. [sidenote: _dates of the other collections_] undoubtedly the remaining collections also contain many very ancient proverbs, but as a whole their literary form and thought is more complex. the descriptions of the kings suggest the persian and greek tyrants who ruled over the jews during the long centuries after the exile (_cf._ xxv. - , xxviii. , , , , xxix. , , , xix. ), the age of the prophets has apparently been succeeded by that of the priest and the law (xxix. ). already the jews have tasted the bitterness of exile (xxvii. ). there are also certain points of close contact with proverbs of ben sira, written about b.c. the sages as a class are very prominent, as in the later centuries before christ. these and many other indications lead to the conclusion that the different collections were probably made after the exile, and that the noble introduction, i.-ix., and the two chapters in the appendix were not added until some time in the greek period,--not long before b.c. the date, however, when these proverbs arose and were committed to writing is comparatively unimportant, save as a knowledge of their background aids in their interpretation, and as they, in turn, reveal the life and thought of the persecuted, tempted jews, whose religious life centred in the second temple. [sidenote: _teaching of the song of songs_] probably in the greek period also a poet-sage collected and wove together certain love and wedding songs of his race. the result was called the song of songs, that is, the peerless song. according to one interpretation, it presents, in a series of scenes, the heart struggle of a simple country maiden with the promptings of a true, pure love for a shepherd lover and the bewildering attractions of a royal marriage; and true love in the end triumphs. whatever be the interpretation, it is clear that this exquisite little book, so filled with pictures of nature and simple country life, was intended to emphasize the duty and beauty of fidelity to nature and the promptings of the human heart. this thought is expressed in the powerful passage which seems to voice the central teaching of the poem: love is strong as death; jealousy is as cruel as sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of jehovah. many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would utterly be condemned. xi the writings of israel's philosophers [sidenote: _discussions the problem of evil_] an intense interest in man led certain of israel's sages in time to devote their attention to more general philosophical problems, such as the moral order of the universe. in the earlier proverbs, prophetic histories, and laws, the doctrine that sin was always punished by suffering or misfortune, and conversely that calamity and misfortune were sure evidence of the guilt of the one affected, had been reiterated until it had become a dogma. in nine out of ten cases this doctrine was true, but in time experience proved that the tenth case might be an exception. while most of the teachers of the race denied or ignored this exception, certain wise men, faithful and unflinching in their analysis of human life, faced the fact that the innocent as well as the guilty sometimes suffer. their quest for the answer to the eternal question, why? is recorded in the books of job and ecclesiastes. [sidenote: _the primitive story of job_] the basis of the book of job is undoubtedly a primitive story. traces of a tradition somewhat similar have recently been discovered in the babylonian-assyrian literature. the babylonian treatment of the moral problem that it presents is even more strikingly similar. ezekiel also refers to a well-known popular hebrew version of the story of job (xiv. ): _though these three men, noah, daniel, and job, were in it_ (the guilty land), _they would deliver simply their own lives their righteousness, saith the lord jehovah_ (_cf._ also xiv. ). evidently in ezekiel's day these names represented three ancient worthies, each conspicuous for his superlative piety. the hebrew word here used also indicates that the righteousness attributed to them was conformity to the demands of the ritual. this agrees closely with the representation of the prose version of the story found in job i. ii. and xlii. - ; here the supreme illustration of job's piety is that he repeatedly sacrifices burnt-offerings, whenever there is the least possibility that his sons have sinned (i. , ). also in describing his perfection (i. ), the same unusual term is employed as in the priestly narrative of genesis vi. , where noah's righteousness is portrayed. [sidenote: _original teaching and application of the prose story_] it seems probable, therefore, that the ancient story of job was committed to writing by some priest during the babylonian exile. since job and his friends live out on the borders of the arabian desert to the east or southeast of palestine, it seems clear that the tradition came to the hebrews originally from some foreign source; but in the prose form in which we find it in job, it has been thoroughly naturalized, for job is a faithful servant of jehovah and the law. ignoring for the moment the poetical sections (iii. to xlii. ), we find that the prose story has a direct, practical message for the broken-hearted exiles, crushed beneath an overpowering calamity. jehovah is testing his servant people, as he tests job in the story, to prove whether or not they _fear god for nought_ (i, ). if they bear the test without complaint, as did job, all their former possessions will be restored to them in double measure (xlii. - ). [sidenote: _the problem of the poetical sections of job_] this prose story has apparently been utilized and given a very different interpretation by a later poet-sage in whose ears rang jeremiah's words of anguish, found in chapter xx. - of his prophecy (_cf_. job iii.), and to whose ears came also the cry of the pious voiced in malachi ii. : _every one who does evil is good in the sight of jehovah, and he delighteth in_ _them. where is the god of justice_? the old solutions of the problem of evil were being openly discarded. _they who feared jehovah_ were saying (iii, , ), _it is vain to serve god; and what profit is it to have kept his charge or to have walked in funeral garb before jehovah of hosts? even now we must congratulate the arrogant; yea, they who work wickedness are entrenched; yea, they tempt god and escape!_ with a boldness and thoroughness that must have seemed to his contemporaries dangerous and heretical, the great poet-sage presents the problem in all its intensity. [sidenote: _the role of job and his friends in presenting the problem_] he adopts the popular story, utilizing it as his prologue and epilogue: but as we pass to chapter iii, the simple, pure hebrew yields to sublime poetry, shot through with the words and idioms and ideas of a much later age. the designation of god is no longer _jehovah_ but _el_ or _eloah_ or _shaddai_. the character of job suddenly changes; instead of being the patient, submissive servant of the law, he boldly, almost defiantly, charges god with injustice. the role of the friends also changes, and they figure as champions of the deity. in their successive speeches they present in detail the current dogmas and the popular explanations of suffering. in his replies job points out their inapplicability to the supreme problem of which he is the embodiment. the action and progress in this great drama is within the mind of job himself. by degrees he rises to a clear perception of the fact that he is innocent of any crime commensurate with the overwhelming series of calamities which have overtaken him; and he thus throws off the shackles of the ancient dogma. from the seemingly cruel and unjust god who has brought this undeserved calamity upon him, he then appeals to the infinite being who is back of all phenomena. [sidenote: _the message of the book_] the reply to this appeal, and the author's contribution to the eternal problem of evil, are found in xxxviii. i to xlii. . it is not a solution, but through the wonders of the natural world, it is a fuller revelation to the mind of job, of the omnipotence, the omniscience, the wisdom, and the goodness of god. even though he cannot discern the reason of his own suffering, he learns to know and to trust the wisdom and love of the divine ruler. i had heard of this by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee (xlii. ). [sidenote: _teaching the elihu passage xxxii-xxxvii_] faith triumphs over doubt, and the problem, though unsolved, sinks into comparative insignificance. apparently another poet-sage has added, out of the depths of his own experience, his contribution to the problem of suffering in the speeches of elihu (chapters xxxii-xxxvii). it is that suffering rightly borne becomes a blessing because it is one of god's ways of training his servants. this indeed is an expansion of the explanation urged by eliphaz in v. , _behold, happy is the man whom god correcteth_. while these speeches of elihu are written in a different literary style and have, in fact, no vital connection with the original poem of job, they nevertheless contain a great and intensely practical truth; they have rightly found a place in this marvellous book. similarly the sublime description of wisdom in chapter xxviii. makes good its title; it can, however, be studied best by itself apart from job's impassioned protestations of his innocence (chapter xxix.). [sidenote: _probable history of the book of job_] thus the book of job, like so many other old testament writings, has its own literary history. somewhere and sometime, back in an early semitic period, there doubtless lived a man, conspicuous for his virtue and prosperity. upon him fell a misfortune so great and apparently undeserved that it made a deep impression, not only upon his contemporaries, but also upon the minds of later generations. thus there grew up a common semitic story of job which was in time thoroughly naturalized in israel. probably a jewish priest in the exile first committed it to writing in order to assure his fellow-sufferers that could they but be patient and submissive jehovah would soon restore them to their former prosperity. the painful experiences that came to the jews, especially to the pious, during the middle and latter part of the persian period (sometime between and b.c.), convinced a poet- sage that the old interpretations of the meaning of suffering did not suffice. accordingly into the heart of the familiar story of job he injected his powerful, impassioned message. later writers, inspired by his inspiring genius, added their contributions to the solution of the perennial problem. hence by b.c., at least, the book of job was probably current in its present form. [sidenote: _age and point of view of ecclesiastes_] the same ever-recurring, insistent questions regarding the moral value and meaning of life led another later wise man to embody the results of his observation and experience in what we now know as the book of ecclesiastes. although i. and ii. , clearly imply that many kings had already reigned in jerusalem, the author seems to put his observations in the mouth of solomon, the acknowledged patron of wisdom teaching. the evidence, however, that the book is one of the latest in the old testament is overwhelmingly conclusive. the language is that of an age when hebrew had long ceased to be spoken. the life mirrored throughout is that of the luxurious, corrupt greek period. if not directly, at least indirectly, it reflects the doctrines of the stoics and the epicureans. it was a crooked, sordid, weary world upon which its author looked. it is not strange that a vein of materialism and pessimism runs through his observations and maxims. _all is vanity_ is the dominant note, and yet light alternates with shadow. he loses faith in human nature; yet he does not give up his faith in god, though that faith is darkened by the desolateness of the outlook. while the book has practical religious teachings, perhaps its chief mission, after all, is vividly to portray the darkness just before the dawn of the belief in a future life and before the glorious rising of the sun of righteousness. [sidenote: _significance of the later additions_] its teachings naturally called forth many protests, explanations, and supplements, and these have found the permanent place in the book that they rightfully deserve. its fragmentary structure and abrupt transitions also made later insertions exceedingly easy. these are the simplest and the most natural explanation of the sharp contradictions that abound in the book (_cf. e.g_., ii. and iii. , or iv. and ix. , or iii. and iii. , or viii. and ix. , or iii. - and iii. ). the preacher, whose painful experiences and prevailingly pessimistic teachings are the original basis of the book, appears to have been consistent throughout. he ends in xii. with the same refrain, _vanity of vanities; all is vanity!_ in a divine library like the old testament, reflecting every side of human thought and experience, such a book is not inappropriate. its contradictions provoke thought; they beget also a true appreciation of the positive notes thus brought into dramatic contrast with the ground tones of pessimism which resound through all literature and history. xii the history of the psalter [sidenote: _nature of the psalter_] corresponding to the book of proverbs, itself a select library containing israel's best gnomic literature, is the psalter, the compendium of the nation's lyrical songs and hymns and prayers. it is the record of the soul experiences of the race. its language is that of the heart, and its thoughts of common interest to worshipful humanity. it reflects almost every phase of religious feeling: penitence, doubt, remorse, confession, fear, faith, hope, adoration, and praise. even the unlovely emotion of hatred is frankly expressed in certain of the imprecatory psalms. the psalms appeal to mankind in every age and land because, being so divine and yet so human, they rest on the foundations of universal experience. whenever a heart is breaking with sorrow or pulsating with thanksgiving and adoration, its strongest emotions find adequate expression in the simple and yet sublime language of the psalter. [sidenote: _influence of the prophets upon it_] in the familiar doings of mary and zacharias, found in the opening chapters of luke, we may trace the beginnings of the hymn literature of the early christian church, a literature which later became one of the church's most valued possessions. if the canon of the new testament had been closed in instead of a.d., its books would doubtless have included a hymnal which would have corresponded closely to the psalter of the old. just as the psalms represent the application of the great doctrines of the hebrew prophets in the spiritual life of the community, so this new hymnal would represent the personal application of the teachings of jesus and the apostles to the religious life of the church and the individual. the psalter is also what it is because its background is a period of stress and severe trial. in the hot furnace of affliction and persecution the psalmists learned to appreciate the truths which they so confidently and effectively proclaim. then the spiritual teachings of the earlier prophets, which were contemptuously rejected by their contemporaries, were at last appropriated by the community. the psalter as a whole appears, therefore, to be one of the latest and most precious fruits of the divine revelation recorded in the old testament. [sidenote: _evidence of distinct collections of psalms_] in its present form, the psalter is divided into five books or collections. at the end of each collection there is a concluding doxology (xli., lxxii., lxxxix., cvi). the last psalm (cl.) serves as a concluding doxology, not only to the fifth collection, but also to the psalter as a whole. certain psalms are also reproduced in two different collections with only slight variations. for example, xiv. is practically identical with liii., except that in the first _jehovah_ is always used as the designation of the deity, and in liii. _elohim_ or _god_; again psalm xl. - is reproduced in lxx.; lvii. - and lx. - are together practically equivalent to cviii. these and kindred facts indicate that the psalter, like the book of proverbs, is made up of collections originally distinct. the division into exactly five groups appears to be comparatively late, and to be in imitation of the fivefold division of the pentateuch. [sidenote: _the oldest collection_] the genesis of the book of proverbs is exceedingly helpful in tracing the closely analogous growth of the psalter. the prevailing form of the superscriptions and the predominant use of the name _jehovah_ or _elohim_ also aid in this difficult task. psalms i. and ii. are introductory to the entire book. psalms iii-xli. all bear the davidic superscription and use the designation _jehovah_ two hundred and seventy-two times, but _elohim_ only fifteen. the form and contents of these psalms, as well as their position, suggest that they are the oldest collection in the book. in the greek version all the psalms of the collection found in li-lxxii., excepting psalm lxvi., which is anonymous, and lxxii., which is attributed to solomon, have also the davidic superscription. although certain subsequent psalms are ascribed to david, as, for example, lxxxvi., ci., and ciii., the close of the collection, is the significant epilogue (lxxii. ), _the prayers of david the son of jesse are ended._ [sidenote: _meaning and value of the superscriptions_ ] before the approximate date of these collections can be determined the significance of the davidic title needs interpretation. in the hebrew version, this title is borne by seventy-three psalms. two are ascribed to solomon (lxxii. and cxxvii.), one to moses (xc.), and twenty-four to the members of the post-exilic guilds of temple singers. the superscriptions of the greek and syrian versions contain many variations from those in the hebrew. this is probably due to the fact that superscriptions are usually added by later scribes in whose minds the question of authorship first became prominent. in earlier hebrew the phrase commonly translated _psalm of david_ would more naturally mean a _psalm for david_ or _dedicated_ or _attributed to david._ the latter appears to have been its original significance. like the title, _proverbs of solomon,_ it was used to distinguish an ancient poem, which, being a psalm, was naturally ascribed to david, and to him later judaism, in common with the new testament writers, attributed all psalm literature. a detailed study of the superscriptions soon demonstrates that the majority of them represent only the conjectures of scribes who were guided by current traditions or suggestions embodied in the psalms themselves. in this manner, to solomon, the builder of the temple, is ascribed psalm cxxvii., because it refers to the building of the house in its opening verse. the greek version even attributes to david psalm xcvi., which, it states, was written _when the temple was being built after the captivity._ [sidenote: _david's relation to the psalter_] since the superscriptions to the psalter were only very late additions, the question still remains, what was the basis of the late jewish tradition that makes david the father of the psalm literature, as was solomon of the wisdom, moses of the legal, and enoch of the apocalyptical? the other old testament books give no direct answer. they tell us, however, that the warrior king was skilled in playing the lyre, and we are aware that to this, in antiquity, an improvised accompaniment was usually sung. we also have the account of david's touching elegies over the death of saul and jonathan and of abner (ii sam. i., iii. , ). moreover, the early historical books vividly portray the faults of david, the limitations which he shared in common with his contemporaries, and his deeply religious spirit; but they leave the question of his relation to the psalter to be settled by the testimony of the individual psalms. here the evidence is not conclusive. it is clear that many of the psalms attributed by tradition to him were written in the clearer light of later prophetic teaching and amid very different circumstances from those which surrounded israel's early king. still it would be dogmatic to assert that nothing from his lips is to be found in the psalter; and to point out with assurance those passages and psalms which must be davidic is quite as unwarrantable. [sidenote: _evidence of pre-exilic elements in the psalter_] the psalter is clearly the repository of that which was best in the earlier spiritual life and thought of the race. while there are no direct references to songs in connection with the pre-exilic jewish temple, amos (v. ) found them in use at the sanctuary at bethel; and from psalm cxxxvii. , it would appear that the exiles in babylonia were acquainted with certain _songs of zion_ or _songs of jehovah_. treasured in the hearts of the people, and attributed, perhaps even by the time of the exile, as a whole to david, they constituted the basis of the earliest collections of psalms, which, as we have noted, practically without exception bear the davidic superscription. the date of each individual psalm, however, must be determined independently on the basis of its own testimony, although the historical allusions are few and the data in many cases are far from decisive. [sidenote: _approximate date of the earliest collections_] just when the earliest collections, found in iii.-xli. and li.-lxxii., were made is a comparatively unimportant yet difficult question to decide. probably the rebuilding of the temple in b.c. was one of the great incentives. the example of the babylonians, who possessed a large and rich psalm literature, may also have exerted an indirect influence. at least it is certain that the guilds of temple singers and the song service became increasingly prominent in the religious life of the jewish community which grew up about the restored temple. the presence of alphabetical psalms, as, for example, ix., x., xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., in the earliest collection suggests also the leisure of the exile. the historical background of many of these psalms is clearly the exile and the long period of distress that followed. they voice the experiences of the poor, struggling band of the pious, who, living in the midst of oppressors, found in jehovah alone their refuge and their joy. some of these psalms also reflect the prophetic teachings of jeremiah (_e.g._, xvi., xxxix) and of isaiah xl.-lxvi. in general their attitude toward sacrifice is that of the prophets: for thou desirest not sacrifice; else would i give it. thou delightest not in burnt offering. the sacrifices of god are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, o god, thou wilt not despise. religion is defined in the terms of life and acts. ceremonialism has not yet cast its chilling influence over the heart of the nation. therefore the earliest collections may, with considerable assurance, be assigned to a date not later than the days of nehemiah (about b.c.). [sidenote: _later collections_] psalms xlii.-l. and lxxiii-lxxxiii. constitute a collection of levitical hymns. if we may follow the indications of their superscriptions, they consist of two originally distinct groups, the one, xlii.-xlix., associated with and possibly at first collected and preserved by the post-exilic guild of temple singers, known as the sons of korah, and the other, l., lxxiii.-lxxxiii., similarly attributed to asaph, the guild of temple singers, mentioned first in the writings of the greek period. in these two groups the priests and levites and the liturgy are prominent. psalms lxxxiv.-lxxxix. constitute a short levitical supplement. the remainder of the psalter is also made up of originally smaller collections, as, for example, the psalms of ascent or the pilgrim psalms (cxx.-cxxxiv.), and the hallelujah psalms (cxi.-cxiii. and cxlvi.-cl.). some of the latter come perhaps from the jews of the dispersion. each collection appears to represent a fresh gleaning of the same or slightly different fields, incorporating ancient with contemporary psalms, and, as has been noted, not infrequently including some already found in earlier collections. [sidenote: _completion of the psalter_] certain of the psalms, such as lxxiv., lxxix., lxxxiii., seem clearly to reflect the horrors of the maccabean struggle ( - b.c.). later jewish literature bears testimony that in the last two centuries before christ psalm writing increased rather than decreased (_cf. e.g._, psalms of solomon). certainly the experiences through which the jews passed during the middle of the second century were of a nature to evoke psalms similar to those in the psalter. the probabilities, therefore, are that the psalter, in its final form, is, like the book of daniel, one of the latest writings in the old testament. it was possibly during the prosperous reign of simon, when the temple service was enriched and established on a new basis, that its canon was finally closed. [sidenote: _the book of lamentations_] the fact that they all gather about a definite event in israel's history, and probably antedate the majority of the psalms in the psalter, explains why the little collection of lyrical poems, known as the book of lamentations, never found a place beside the kindred psalms (_e.g._, pss. xlii., xliii) in the larger book. their theme is the babylonian exile and the horrors and distress that it brought to the scattered members of the jewish race. their aim is prophetic, that is, to point out and confess the guilt of the nation and its dire consequences. they reflect the teachings of both jeremiah and ezekiel. while it is not strange that later tradition attributed the collection to the first of these prophets, its contents do not support the conjecture. four out of the five poems are alphabetical, and distinctly different points of view are represented. chapters ii. and iv. probably come from the middle of the babylonian exile, and to the remainder must be assigned a still later period. [sidenote: _the national and individual element in the psalter_] the psalter, with its natural appendix, the book of lamentations, was the song and prayer book of the jewish community. a majority of the psalms, and especially those in the latter part of the book, were doubtless originally intended for liturgical use. many, particularly where the first person singular is used, are to be interpreted collectively, for here, as often in the book of lamentations, the psalmist is speaking in behalf of the community. others have been adapted to liturgical ends. but in the final analysis it is the experience and emotions of the individual soul that find expression throughout all the psalms. since these experiences and emotions were shared in common by all right-minded members of the community, it was natural that they should in time be employed in the liturgy. [sidenote: _e pluribus unum_] again, as we review the history of the psalter, we are impressed with the many sides of israel's life and human experience that it represents. not one, but perhaps fifty or a hundred, inspired souls, laymen, prophets, priests, sages, kings, and warriors, have each clothed the divine truth that came to them or to their generation in exquisite language and imagery, and given it thus to their race and humanity. successive editors have collected and combined the noblest of these psalms, and the psalter is the result. the exact date of each psalmist and editor is comparatively unimportant, for though differing widely in origin and theme, they are all bound together by a common purpose and a common belief in the reality and the immediate presence of god. all nature and history and life are to them but the manifestation of his justice and mercy and love. in direct communion with the god whom they personally knew, they found the consolation and peace and joy that passeth all understanding, even though the heathen raged and their foes plundered and taunted them. to that same haven of rest they still pilot the world's storm-tossed mariners. xiii the formation of the old testament canon [sidenote: _israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century before christ_] could we have studied the scriptures of the israelitish race about b.c., we should have classified them under four great divisions: ( ) the prophetic writings, represented by the combined early judean, ephraimite, and late prophetic or deuteronomic narratives, and their continuation in samuel and kings, together with the earlier and exilic prophecies; ( ) the legal, represented by the majority of the old testament laws, combined with the late priestly history; ( ) the wisdom, represented by the older small collections of proverbs; ( ) the devotional or liturgical, represented by lamentations and the earlier collections of psalms. [sidenote: _the combining of the prophetic and priestly histories_] even before all the old testament books were written, the work of canonization began; before the first large canon was adopted, the prophetic and priestly narratives, and with them the earlier and later laws, were combined. this amalgamation was the work of a late priestly editor. the pentateuch and its immediate sequel, joshua, is the result. [sidenote: _the method of combining_] a study of these books makes clear the editor's method. naturally he gave the late priestly versions the precedence. he placed, therefore, its version of the creation first,--a position that it well deserves. probably as a result of this arrangement the older and more primitive prophetic version of genesis ii. a- was somewhat abridged, for it begins with the picture of a level plain, watered by a daily mist, and is immediately followed by the account of the creation of man. genesis iii. and iv. are taken entirely from the prophetic, and practically all of v. from the priestly, group of narratives. confronted by two variant versions of the flood, he joined them together into a closely knit narrative; but all the elements of both versions are so faithfully preserved that when they are again separated, behold! the two originally complete and self-consistent versions reappear. the story of noah, the first vineyard-keeper, in ix. - , is taken entirely from the prophetic history, but in x. two distinct lists of the nations are joined together. all the story of the tower of babel in xi. - is from the prophetic, while the genealogical list in the remainder of the chapter is from the priestly history. the patriarchal and subsequent narratives are likewise combined with, the same remarkable skill. [sidenote: _later biblical analogies_] thus the first six old testament books were given their final form. the method in general was the same as that followed by the authors of the first and third gospels in their use of matthew's sayings of jesus and the original mark narrative, or by the authors of samuel, kings, and chronicles in their citations from the older sources. in his close fusion of three or four parallel narratives the editor's work resembled most closely that of tatian, who thus combined the four gospels in his _diatessaron_. so far as we are able to observe, the final editor of the hexateuch preserved, like tatian, most of the material in his older sources, except where a parallel version verbally duplicated another. the prophetic and priestly narratives also followed lines so distinctly different that cases of duplication were comparatively few. [sidenote: _deep significance of the work of the later editors_] to the latest editor of the early narratives we owe the preservation of some or the oldest and most valuable sections of the old testament. in that age and land of perishable writing materials, the prevailing method of compilation was one of the effective means whereby the important portions of primitive records were handed down in practically their original form. it is well that we are beginning to understand its significance in the realization of the divine purpose. important beyond words, although often overlooked, were the services of the faithful editors who without the slightest desire for personal glory or reward, other than the perpetuation of truth, carefully selected, condensed, and combined material gleaned from earlier and fuller sources. to them is due the marvellous preservation of our old testament, to the honored rôle of the prophets and apostles, therefore, let us add the anonymous redactors. [sidenote: _date of the beginning of the cannonization of the law_] the final editors were the immediate precursors of those who formed the successive canons of the old testament. indeed, between the work of the former and the latter there is no clear line of demarcation. a period shortly after b. c. is the date usually accepted for the work of the final editor of the pentateuch; the canonization of the law, which included these five books, is dated between and b.c. the real canonization of israel's laws had, however, begun much earlier. the primitive decalogue, represented by exodus xxxiv., and probably from the first associated with moses, appears, in the earliest periods of israel's history, to have enjoyed a canonical authority. the primitive accounts, in exodus xix., of the establishment of the covenant by jehovah with his people mark the real beginning of the process of canonization,--a process, that is, of attributing to certain laws a unique and commanding authority. [sidenote: _popular acceptance and promulgation of the earlier codes_] likewise the successive civil, humane, and ceremonial decalogues appear from the days of the united kingdom to have occupied a similar position. primarily this was probably due to the fact that each was based upon a divine _torah_ or decision, received from jehovah through the priestly oracle. the public reading and promulgation of the deuteronomic laws in the days of josiah, with the attestation of the prophets and the solemn adoption by the people, was an act of canonization far more formal than the final acceptance of the new testament writings by the council of carthage. [sidenote: _adoption of the late priestly law_] the next great stage in the canonization of the law is recorded in nehemiah x. then the representatives of the jewish community _entered into a solemn obligation and took oath to walk in god's law, which was given by moses the servant of god, and to observe to do all the commands of jehovah our lord and his ordinances and his statutes_ (v. .) this action appears to be the historical basis of the fanciful and incredible jewish traditions concerning the work of the great synagogue and the authority of ezra. the new law thus adopted was evidently the one gradually developed and finally formulated by the jewish priests in babylonia. it was accepted, as was the earlier deuteronomic code, because it met the needs and appealed to the moral and religions sense of those by whom it was adopted. [sidenote: _acceptance of the completed torah_] to set completely aside the deuteronomic lawbook and the primitive decalogue of exodus xx.-xxiii., already in force among the jews of palestine, was impossible and unnecessary. hence, as we have noted, it was the task of some editor of the next generation to combine these and the earlier prophetic histories with the late priestly law and its accompanying history. naturally this whole collection was still called the _torah_ or _law_ and was at once accepted as canonical by the jews. this step was also most natural because their interests all centred about the ritual, and for two centuries the dominant tendency had been to exalt the sanctity of the written law. [sidenote: _date of the final canonization of the law_] it is possible to fix approximately the date of this first edition of the old testament writings, since the samaritans adopted and still retain simply the pentateuch and an abbreviated edition of joshua as their scriptures. although josephus, following a late jewish tradition, dates the samaritan schism at about b.c., the contemporary evidence of nehemiah xiii. suggests that it was not long after . it is therefore safe to conclude that by b.c. the first five books of our old testament had not only been singled out of the larger literature of the race, but were regarded as possessing a unique sanctity and authority. [sidenote: _principles of canonization_] as the name _law_ suggests, the chief reason for this was the fact that these five books embodied laws long since accepted as binding. the second reason was probably because they were by current tradition ascribed to moses. the third, and not the least, was, doubtless, because they met the need felt by the community for a unified and authoritative system of laws and for an authentic record of the earlier history of their race, especially that concerning the origin of their beloved institutions. [sidenote: _evidence that the law was first canonized_] the priority of the canon of the law is also proved by the fact that, although it contains some of the later old testament writings, it stands first, not only in position but in the esteem of the jewish race. furthermore, it became in time the designation of all the old testament canonical writings. the term _law_ is thus used in the new testament (_e.g._, john x. , xii. ; i cor. xiv. ), in the talmud, and by the rabbis, indicating that the later groups of historical, prophetic, and poetical books were simply regarded as supplements. [sidenote: _canonization of the prophetic writings_] the history of the canonization of the next group, known as the _prophets_, is very obscurely recorded, and this largely because it reached its culmination in the greek period, concerning which we have only the most meagre information. here analogy with the history of the new testament is helpful. the same influences which led the early christians to add the epistles and acts undoubtedly operated upon the minds of the jews. the law represented only a limited period in their national and religious history. but the addition of the early prophetic and legal histories to the detailed laws prepared the way for the expansion of the canon. this included first, the four historical books, joshua, judges, samuel, and kings, with the exception of ruth. these were designated as the _former prophets_. thus even the later jews recognized their true character and authorship. the second division of the _prophets_ included isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, and the book of the twelve, which contained the minor prophets. [sidenote: _evidence that the historico-prophetic books were first added to the law_] the order of the book and the probabilities of the situation suggest that the _former prophets_, since they were the immediate sequel of the prophetic histories of the pentateuch, and recorded the deeds of such heroes as david, solomon, and isaiah, were added first. that they also bear the marks of late priestly revision, is direct evidence of the esteem in which they were held by the late priestly school that completed the canon of the law. they therefore may have been added as early as b.c. they were certainly known to the author of chronicles, as his many quotations from them show, although it is difficult to see how he would have felt as free as he does to substitute the testimony of later tradition, if they were regarded as equally sacred with the law. [sidenote: _reverence for the prophetic word_] the reference to the prediction of jeremiah, in the opening verse of ezra, suggests the reverence with which the author of chronicles regarded the words of this prophet. the post-exilic jews never ceased to revere the prophetic word. the popular belief, current in the greek period, that the prophets had ceased to speak only deepened their reverence for the teachings of moses' successors (deut. xviii. - ). the devotion of the later scribes is evinced by the scores of glosses which they have added to the older prophecies. it is manifest, therefore, how strong was the tendency, even in priestly circles, to add the prophets to the law. [sidenote: _date of completion of the prophetic canon_] the process was probably gradual and perhaps not complete until the jews had learned fully to appreciate the value of their ancient scriptures, after martyrs had died for the sacred writings during the maccabean struggle. aside from supplements made to older books, as, for example, zechariah ix.-xiv., the canon of the prophets was probably closed not later than b.c. from direct evidence it is clear that the book of daniel (written about b.c.) did not find a place in this canon. it is also significant that in the prologue to the greek version of ben sira or ecclesiasticus ( b.c.) the translator refers repeatedly--as though they were then regarded as of equal authority--to the _law and the prophets and the rest of the books_, or to _the other books of the fathers_. but most significant of all, ben sira, who wrote about b.c., includes in his list of israel's heroes (xliv.-l.) not only those mentioned in the _torah_, but also david, solomon, hezekiah, and the chief characters in the _former prophets_. furthermore, isaiah and jeremiah and ezekiel are introduced in their proper settings, and the panegyric closes with a reference to the twelve prophets collectively, indicating that ben sira was also acquainted with the _latter prophets_ as a group. [sidenote: _the beginning of the last stage in the canonization of the old testament_] the reference to _the rest of the books_ in the prologue to ben sira indicates that even before b.c. certain other writings had been joined to the canon of the law. ben sira himself, to judge from his description of david (_cf_. xlvii. , , and i chron. ), zerubbabel, joshua, and nehemiah, was acquainted with the books of chronicles, ezra, and nehemiah. chapter xlvii. apparently contains an allusion to a hymn-book attributed to david. evidently he was also familiar with the book of proverbs, including its introductory chapters. thus we have a glimpse of the beginning of that third stage in the canonization of the old testament which, as in the case of the new, continued for fully three centuries. [sidenote: _canonization of the psalter and lamentations_] the psalter doubtless passed through different stages of canonization, as did the old testament itself. the earliest collection was, in the beginning, probably made for liturgical purposes, and its adoption in the service of the temple was practically equivalent to canonization. when successive collections were added, they too were thus canonized. the result was that the psalter, when complete, enjoyed a position somewhat similar to that of the law and the prophets, although the authority of each rested upon a different basis. that the psalter was early canonized is further demonstrated by a quotation in i maccabees vii. (about b.c.) from psalm lxxix. , , introduced by the words, _as it is written in the scriptures_. this conclusion is also supported by the significant reference in the new testament to the _law, the prophets, and the psalms_ (lk. xxiv. ). jesus' use of the psalter indicates that in his day its canonicity was already thoroughly established. lamentations, by a late tradition attributed to jeremiah, was probably also canonized contemporaneously with the psalms. [sidenote: _the other books of the fathers_] the canonization of the book of proverbs, like that of the psalter, was undoubtedly by successive stages. the jews of the greek and maccabean period were especially appreciative of this type of literature, and it was doubtless accorded its position of authority primarily because it rang true to human experience. that it was attributed to solomon also told in its favor. ben sira's indirect testimony suggests that it and the books of chronicles, ezra, and nehemiah, which were in close accord with the point of view of later judaism, were already in his day associated with the law and the prophets. the book of ruth was probably at this time added to the other historical books. [sidenote: _canonization of the book of daniel_] the absence of any reference in ben sira to daniel is significant. the first allusion to it comes from the last half of the second century before christ. first maccabees i. appears to quote the prediction of daniel ix. , and in i maccabees ii. , , daniel and his three friends are held up as noble examples of virtue. thus it would seem that within a half century after the book of daniel was written its authority was recognized. in new testament times its canonicity is fully established (_e.g., cf_. i cor. vi. , and dan. vii. ). [sidenote: _date of the completion of the hebrew old testament canon_] concerning the canonicity of two books, ecclesiastes and the song of songs or canticles, the opinions of the rabbis continued to differ until the close of the first christian century. from the mishna we learn that the school of shammai accepted ecclesiastes, while that of hillel rejected it. finally, in a conference in jamnia, about a.d., the two schools finally agreed to accept both books as canonical. from second esdras and josephus, however, we learn that the present hebrew and protestant canon of the old testament had already for some time been practically adopted by common consent. [sidenote: _contents of the last group of writings_] the last collection, which includes eleven books known as the _hagiographa_ or _sacred writings_, constitutes the third general division of the hebrew scriptures. it is a heterogeneous group of histories, prophecies, stories, and wisdom books. some, like the psalter, were, as we have seen, probably canonized as early as the prophets; although the final canon of the old testament was not closed until a.d. even later the canonicity of ecclesiastes, the song of songs, and esther was sometimes questioned; most of them were regarded as authoritative as early as b.c. here, as in the case of the new testament, the real decision was not the work of any school or council; but gradually, on the basis of their intrinsic merit, the twenty-four books of the hebrew bible were singled out of a much larger literature and recognized, at least by the jews of palestine, as the authoritative record of god's revelation through their race. [sidenote: _differences between the palestinian and alexandrian canons_] jewish tradition, represented by second esdras xiv. and the talmudic treatise _baba bathra_ xv. a, states that all the canonical books were in existence in the time of ezra. while the tradition is refuted by the historical facts, it appears to have influenced the jews of palestine in shaping their canon; since no books purporting to come from a later date or author are found in it. the broader-minded jews of the dispersion, and especially alexandria and the early christian church, refused to be bound by the narrow principle that divine revelation ceased with ezra. accordingly we find them adopting a larger canon, that included many other later writings known in time as the apocryphal or hidden books. [sidenote: _additional books in the greek and christian canon_] these consisted of three genuine works,--i and ii maccabees and ben sira or ecclesiasticus; two didactic stories,--tobit and judith; four books wrongly ascribed to earlier authors,--the wisdom of solomon, baruch, the epistle of jeremy, and second esdras (gk. iv esdras); and four additions to the hebrew canonical books,--first esdras, an expansion of the book of ezra, the prayer of manasses, and additions to esther and daniel. [sidenote: _history of the apocryphal books in the christian church_] as is well known, these books were retained by the christian church, as they still are by the roman catholic and greek churches, until the protestant reformers relegated them, as a whole, to a secondary place. ultimately the bible societies, during the first part of the last century, ceased to print them in the ordinary editions of the bible. the result is that the present generation has almost forgotten their existence. the last decade or two, however, has witnessed a significant revival of interest among the scholars of christendom, and the wholesome tendency to restore certain of the apocrypha to the working old testament canon is very marked. this is only a correction of the error of the protestant reformers in estimating the apocryphal books, not by the intrinsic merit of each individual writing but of the group as a whole. [sidenote: _great value of these later jewish writings_] some of the apocrypha and kindred books like the apocalypse of enoch, were quoted and recognized by new testament scholars as having authority equal to that of the other old testament scriptures. the rejection of i and ii maccabees and ben sira from the palestinian canon because they were written after the days of ezra and not associated with the names of any early old testament worthies, was due to a narrow conception of divine revelation, directly contrary to that of christianity which recognized the latest as the noblest. these later jewish writings also bridge the two centuries which otherwise yawn between the two testaments--two centuries of superlative importance both historically and religiously, witnessing as they do the final development of the life and thought of judaism and the rise of those conditions and beliefs which loom so large in the new testament. [sidenote: _the larger working canon of the old testament_] while they will always be of great value in the study of later jewish history, literature, and religion, the majority of the apocryphal books undoubtedly belong in the secondary group to which the palestinian jews and the protestant reformers assigned them. three or four, however, tested by the ultimate principles of canonicity, are equal, if not superior, to certain books like chronicles, esther, and ecclesiastes. first maccabees records one of the most important crises in israelish history. as a faithful historical writing, it is hardly equalled in ancient literature. its spirit is also genuinely religious. the later but parallel history of ii maccabees is not the equal of the first, although its religious purpose is more pronounced. its historical character, style, aim, and point of view are strikingly similar to those of the book of chronicles. the proverbs of ben sira, while not all of the same value, yet abound in noble and practical teachings, very similar to those in the book of proverbs. not only does the wisdom of solomon contain many exalted and spiritual passages, but it is also of unique importance because it represents that wonderful fusion of the best elements in hebrew and hellenic thought which formed the background of christianity. probably the church, will ultimately restore to its larger working old testament canon the beautiful prayer of manasses, already largely adopted in the prayer-book of the anglican church. [sidenote: _conclusion_] our rapid historical study has revealed the unity and the variety of teaching reflected in the old testament, and has suggested its real place in the revelation of the past and its true place in the life of to-day. this older testament is the record of god's gradual revelation of himself through the history of the israelitish race and the experiences and minds of countless men and women whose spiritual eyes were open and whose ears were attentive to divine truth. the same benign father who has always spoken to his children has influenced them also to recognize the writings that most faithfully and fully record the spiritual truth thus revealed. had the task been entrusted to our own or later generations, it is not probable that the result would have differed in any important essential. for a few brief centuries false theories and traditions may partially obscure the truth, but these, like the mists of morning, are sure in time to melt away and reveal the eternal verities in their sublime beauty and grandeur. xiv the interpretation of the early narratives of the old testament [sidenote: _importance of regarding each story as a unit_] of all the different groups of writings in the old testament, undoubtedly the early narratives found in the first seven books present the most perplexing problems. this is primarily due to the fact that they have been subject to a long process of editorial revision by which stories, some very old and others very late and written from a very different point of view, have been closely joined together. while there is a distinct aim and unity in the whole, in approaching them it is simplest to study each story as a unit in itself. not only is this practical, but it is justified by the fact that almost every story was once current in independent form. often, as in the case of the accounts of creation and the flood, it is possible to recover the older versions and even to trace their origin and earlier history. [sidenote: _classification necessary to determine the point of view_] the first essential, however, is to determine to the point of view and purpose of the biblical writer, who has taken the given story from the lips of his contemporaries and incorporated it in the cycle of stories in which it is now found, here the language, literary style, theme, and conceptions of god and religion are the chief guides. if, as in the first chapter of genesis, the deity is always designated as _god_ or _elohim;_ if the literary style is formal, repetitious, and generic; if the theme is the origin of an institution like the sabbath; and if the deity is conceived of as a spirit, accomplishing his purpose by progressive stages through the agency of natural forces,--it is not difficult to recognize at once the work of a late priestly writer. if, on the contrary, as in genesis ii. b to iii. , _jehovah_ is the name of the deity; if the style is vivid, picturesque, and flowing; if the interest centres in certain individuals instead of species; if the themes vitally concern the spiritual life of man; if the deity is conceived of after human analogies, as intimately associating with men, and as revealing himself directly to them by word and visible presence,--the work of an early prophetic writer is evidently before us. the identification of the point of view of the author at once puts us into appreciative sympathy with him. [sidenote: _value of knowing an author's point of view_] it also enables us intelligently to interpret his words and figures. knowing, for example, that the first chapter of genesis was written by a priest who lived long after his race had ceased to think of god as having a body like a man, we cannot make the common mistake of interpreting verse as implying physical likeness. rather, as his conception of god as a spirit demands and the latter part of the verse proves, his sublime teaching is that man, the end and culmination of the entire work of creation, is like his creator, a spiritual being, endowed with a mind and a will, and as god's viceregent, is divinely commanded to rule over all created things. [sidenote: _practical value of the critical analysis_] where two distinct versions of the same narrative have been amalgamated in the process of editorial revision, the analysis of the original sources is indispensable to a true understanding and interpretation of the thought of the prophet and priest who have each utilized the ancient story,--as, for example, that of the flood,--to illustrate the inevitable consequences of sin and god's personal interest in mankind. here the culminating purpose of the prophet, however, is to proclaim jehovah's gracious promise that he will never thus again destroy man or living things; that (viii. , ): while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. the priest, on the other hand, is interested in the renewal of the covenant which insures man's dominion over the natural world, and in the sanctity of blood, and in the primitive, divine origin of the command, thou shalt not kill (ix. - ). [sidenote: _the necessary basis for intelligent interpretation_] fortunately the work of analysis has been so thoroughly carried out during the last century that there is practical agreement among the christian scholars of the world on the essential questions. these results are now also available in popular form, so that, without wasting time on technicalities, the pastor and teacher of to-day can utilize them as the basis for more important study and teaching. the origin, the literary form, and the scientific and historical accuracy of each narrative all suggest definite and interesting lines of study, but, as has been noted (p. ), these are of secondary value compared with the religious truths that each story is intended to illustrate. [sidenote: _principles of religious interpretation_] since these stories were preserved because they conserve this higher purpose, it is always safe to ask, what are their distinctive contributions to the grand total of ethical and spiritual teaching found in the old testament? at the same time it is exceedingly important always to be sure to read the teachings out of, and not into, a given narrative. by unnatural and fanciful interpretation of these simple stories the friends of the bible in the past have often wronged it more than have its avowed foes. each story, like the parables of jesus, had its one or two central teachings, usually conveyed to the mind by implication rather than by direct statement. the characters who figure in them by their words and deeds proclaim the practical truths and embody the ideals in the minds of the ancient prophets and priests. [sidenote: _theme of genesis ii. and iii._] the heterogeneous group of stories found in genesis i.-xi. constitute the general introduction to the succeeding narratives which gather about the names of the traditional ancestors of the hebrews. each of these originally independent stories illustrates its own peculiar religious teachings. none has taken a deeper hold on the imagination and made a deeper impression on the thought and literature of the world than that which is found in the second and third chapters of genesis. its theme-- the origin and nature and consequences of sin--is of vital, personal interest to every man of every age. [sidenote: _the problem of presenting it in a form intelligible to early man_] the problem that confronted the early judean prophet was to present in form intelligible to the minds of his primitive readers a subject that has taxed to the utmost the resources of the world's greatest philosophers and theologians. the task was comparable to that which fell to the master when he sought to make clear to his untutored disciples the real nature of the mighty tempest of temptation that raged in his soul at the beginning, and, indeed, later in his ministry. the method adopted was strikingly similar in each case. if the language of modern philosophy and psychology had been at the command of these great religious teachers, it would have but obscured the great truths. these truths must be made objective; they must be expressed in the familiar language of the people. even the inner struggle of conflicting motives must be presented in words so simple that a child could understand. [sidenote: _pictorial elements drawn from popular tradition_] the second and third chapters of genesis record the effective way in which a great early prophet dealt with his difficult problem. from the lips of the people he took fragments of ancient semitic traditions. almost all of the elements which enter into the story of man's fall have been traced to far earlier sources; but the narrative in its present unity and suggestiveness never has and never will be found outside the bible. how far the prophet adapted to his higher purpose the current hebrew version can not be absolutely determined. the fact alone remains that it is one of the truest bits of history in the old testament, and this not because it is a leaf from the diary of adam and eve, but because it concretely and faithfully portrays universal human experience. [sidenote: _creation of man and the elements necessary for his development_] in the simple language of popular tradition it proclaims, among other truths, that jehovah, israel's god, created man, breathing into him from his own nostrils the vital principle of life and making him the commanding figure in the universe; then that the creator graciously provided all that was needful and best for his true physical and spiritual development. incidentally the prophet calls attention to that innate and divine basis of the marriage bond which jesus re-emphasizes (matt. xix. - ). physical death, according to the story in its present form, was not a necessary part of jehovah's plan; the implication is that man would not die while he remained in the garden and ate of the life-giving tree. temptation is not in itself evil, but necessary, if man is to develop positive virtue, for beside the tree of life grows the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with its attractive, alluring fruit guarded by the divine prohibition. [sidenote: _the struggle in the woman's heart_] the elements of the temptation are all presented in chapter ii., but the serpent, the craftiest of animals, in his conversation with the woman is required to make clear and objective the real nature of the conflict within her mind. the rôle of the serpent is the opposite of that of balaam's ass, which figures in a story which comes from the same early judean prophetic school. in the conversation between the woman and the serpent the true character of all temptation is revealed: it is the necessity of choosing between two courses of conduct neither of which is altogether bad. curiosity, which is the guide to all knowledge, the beauty of the apple, which appeals to the aesthetic sense, and physical appetite, not in itself bad,--all these powerfully attracted the oriental woman of the ancient story. on the other side she felt the compelling power of love and gratitude and the definite divine command. [sidenote: _the essence of all temptation_] the prophet saw clearly that all the elements of temptation are within man--a truth sometimes obscured in later jewish thought. milton has also led us astray in identifying the crafty serpent with the satan of later judaism. the prophet graphically presents another great fact of human experience, namely, that what is one man's temptation is not another's, that the temptation to be real must appeal to the one tested. the crafty serpent is not represented as speaking to the man; he would probably have turned away in loathing. his wife, she who had already sinned, the one whom jehovah had given him as a helpmeet, herself appeals to the sense of chivalry within him. hence the conflict rages in his soul between love and obligation to jehovah and his natural affection and apparent duty to his wife. thus in all temptation the diviner impulses struggle with those which are not in themselves necessarily wrong but only baser by contrast. duty is the call of the diviner, sin is the yielding to the baser, motives. [sidenote: _the real nature of sin_] the hebrew word for sin, which means the missing of the mark set up before each individual, is the only altogether satisfactory definition of sin ever devised, for it absolutely fits the facts of human experience. deflection from the moral standard set up by each man's conscience, even though his resulting act seem in itself noble, is for him a sin. although the influences which led the man and woman of the story to disobey were exceedingly strong, the higher standard had been set up, and in falling short of it they sinned. thus sin is not god's but man's creation, and results from the deliberate choice of what the sinner knows to be wrong. [sidenote: _the effects of sin_] in the same simple yet powerful way the prophet depicts the inevitable consequences of sin. at every point the picture is true to universal experience. the most appalling effect of a wrong act is that it destroys peace and purity of mind. it also makes cowards of brave men, and the presence and tender affection of the one wronged suddenly become intolerable. sin also begets sin. to the cowering fugitives jehovah comes, as he always does, with a message intended to evoke a frank confession which would tear down the hideous barrier that their sin had reared between himself and them; but, like most foolish, blind adams and eves, they hug their crime to their breasts and raise the barrier heaven high by trying to excuse their guilt. thus they pronounce their own doom. for god himself only one course of action remains: it is to send them forth from his presence and from the life-giving tree, out into the school of hardship and bitter pain, that there they may learn the lessons which are necessary before they can again become citizens of the true garden of eden. [sidenote: _the sequel to the story of man's fall_] two simple yet exceedingly significant touches lighten the gloom of this universal tragedy of human life. the one is that for the guilty, unrepentant pair, jehovah himself made tunics of skins to protect them from the inclemency of their new life,--evidence that his love and care still went with them. the other is the implication that the true garden of eden was still to be found on earth, and was closed simply to the guilty and unrepentant. the bible is the record of how men learned the all-important lessons in the painful school of experience. israel's teachers, each in his characteristic way, led their race on toward the common goal. the gospels tell of how _a man, tempted in all points as we are_ in a distant day and land found his way again into the abiding presence of god. he _was one with the father_, not because he did not meet temptation in all its power, but because, unlike the actors in the primitive story, and all other participants in the drama of life, he yielded only to the guidance of divine impulses. not content with achieving the goal himself, he gave his energies and his life to showing others how they also might overcome the baser impulses within them and find their way to god's presence and become one with him. thus, because of what he did and said and was, he forever vindicated his title of saviour of mankind. [sidenote: _the religious teachings of other early stories_] no other early old testament narrative is perhaps so full of rich spiritual suggestion as the one just considered, and yet each has its valuable contribution. even such a story as that of the killing of abel by cain forcibly teaches the great prophetic truth that it is not the form of the offering, but the character and deeds back of the sacrifice, that determine jehovah's favor or disfavor (iv. ). graphically it sets forth the spirit that prompts the greatest of crimes. in contrast to cain, defiant yet pursued by haunting fear of vengeance, it also presents the divine tenderness and mercy in granting him a tribal mark to protect him from the hand of man. the similar story of noah, the first vineyard-keeper, preaches the first temperance sermon in all literature, and also suggests the inevitable consequences of moral depravity so forcibly illustrated in the history of the ancient canaanites. even the prosaic table of the nations in genesis x. emphasizes the conception of the unity of the human family which was destined in time to become the basis of israel's belated missionary activity. [sidenote: _ideals presented in the early prophetic portrait of abraham_] when we pass to the twelfth chapter of genesis the independent stories coalesce into cycles, and each cycle, as well as each narrative, has its own religious purpose. in definite outlines each successive group of teachers painted the character of abraham, the traditional father of the israelitish race, and held it up before their own and succeeding generations as a perpetual example and inspiration. in the early judean prophetic narratives he is pictured as the friend of jehovah. his own material interests are entirely secondary, as illustrated in his dealing with lot. without hesitation he leaves home and kindred behind, for his dominating purpose in life is simply to know and do the will of jehovah. to this end he rears altars throughout the land of canaan. his chief joy is in communion with god and in the promises to be realized in his descendants. through warring, hostile canaan he passes unscathed, for his eyes are fixed on things heavenly. [sidenote: _its significance_] it matters little whether or not, far back in the primitive days of israel's history, a bedouin sheik anticipated in actual character and life all that was gradually revealed to the prophets of a much later age. the supremely significant fact is that the noble ideal of israel's earliest teachers was thus vividly and concretely embodied in the portrait of him whom the hebrews regarded with pride and adoration as the founder of their race. in hosea and jeremiah, and less imperfectly in the nation as a whole, the ideal in time became an historical reality. [sidenote: _later portraits of abraham_] the early ephraimite school of writers picture abraham as a prophet (gen. xx. ), and therefore as an exemplification of their highest ideal. in the remarkable fourteenth chapter of genesis he is a courageous, chivalrous knight, attacking with a handful of followers the allied armies of the most powerful kings of his day. returning victorious, he restores the spoil to the plundered and gives a princely gift to the priest of the local sanctuary. in the later priestly narratives the picture suddenly changes, and abraham figures as the faithful servant of the law, with whom originates the rite of circumcision, the seal of a new covenant (xvii). later jewish and moslem traditions each have their characteristic portrait. one, which pictures him as in heaven the protector of the faithful, is reflected in the new testament (luke xvi. - ), thus each succeeding age and group of teachers made him the embodiment and supreme illustration of its noblest ideals, and it is this ideal element that gives the old testament stories their permanently practical value. [sidenote: _practical teachings of the abraham stories_] having noted the teachings that each individual story and the cycle as a whole conveyed to the minds of their first readers, it only remains for the teacher of to-day to translate them into modern terms. some of the most important implications of the abraham stories thus interpreted are, for example: ( ) god calls each man to a high mission. ( ) he will guide and care for those who are responsive. ( ) to those who seek to know him intimately, and to do his will, he will reveal himself in fullest measure, and for such he has in store his richest blessings. ( ) _he that findeth his life_ (lot) _shall lose it, and he that loseth his life_ (abraham) _shall find it_. [sidenote: _significance of the character of esau_] the jacob and esau stories contain marvellously exact and realistic portraits of the two races (the israelites and the edomites) that they respectively represent. of the two brothers, esau is in many ways the more attractive. he suggests the open air and the fields, where he loved to hunt. he is easy-going, ingenuous, and impulsive. his faults are those of not being or doing. as long as he had enough to eat and was comfortable, he was contented. he is the type of the world's drifters. since aram was far distant he disregards the wishes of his parents and marries one of the daughters of the land. no ambition stirred him and no devotion to jehovah or to the ideals of his race gave content and direction to his life. thus he remained a laggard, and the half-nomadic, robber people that he represented became but a stagnant pool, compared with the onrushing stream of israel's life. [sidenote: _jacob's faults_] jacob's faults are also presented by the early prophets with an astonishing fidelity. rarely does a race early in its history have a portrait of its weaknesses as well as its strength held up thus prominently before its eyes. jacob is the antithesis of esau. while his brother was hunting care-free in the fields, he was at home plotting how he could farther his own interests. when the opportunity offers, he manifests a cold, calculating shrewdness. to make good the title to the birthright thus acquired he does not hesitate to resort to fraud and lying. then he flees, pursued by his own guilty conscience, and, tricked by laban, he serves as a slave fourteen years to win the wife whom he loves. at last, again a fugitive from the consequences of his own questionable dealing, he returns with quaking heart to face the brother that he had wronged. [sidenote: _the elements of strength in israel's character_] the character is far from a perfect one, and yet the ancient stories suggest its elements of strength. by nature he was selfish and crafty; and yet he has what esau fatally lacks: energy, persistency, and a commanding ambition. from the first his ambition looks beyond himself to the future of his descendants. measured by our modern standards, his religious professions seem only hypocrisy; but as we analyze his character we find that a faith in jehovah, narrow and selfish though it be, was ever his guiding star. out of the tortuous windings of his earlier years it ultimately led him to a calm old age. imperfect though his character was, like that of the race which he represented, the significant fact is that god ever cared for him and was able to utilize him as an agent in divine revelation. [sidenote: _the noble teachings of the joseph stories_] even more obvious and universal are the practical lessons illustrated by the joseph stories. in the early prophetic narratives, abraham is the perfect servant of god, jacob the type of the israelitish race, but joseph is the ideal man of affairs. graphically the successive stories picture the man in his making and reveal his true character. he is simple, affectionate, and yet strongly ambitious. his day-dreams make him odious, as in the case of many a boy to-day, to his unimaginative brothers. a seemingly hard fate rudely snatches him from the enervating influences of his childhood home and places him in the severe school of experience, where he is tested and trained. it also opens wide the door of opportunity. fidelity to every interest and an unselfish response to every opportunity for service soon bring him into the presence of the pharaoh. his judicious counsels, diplomacy, and organizing ability win for him the highest honors egypt can confer. with modesty and fidelity he endures this supreme test--success. toward his brothers, who had bitterly wronged him, he is nobly magnanimous, and to his kinsmen, who belong to the shepherd class especially despised as boors by the cultured egyptians, he is loyal and considerate. above all, not by professions, but by deeds, he reveals the true source of his strength,-- a natural faith in the god of his race and an unfailing loyalty to him. [sidenote: _conclusion_] in the same way moses, the exodus, and the great men and events of israel's dramatic history, all have a religious importance and significance far surpassing the merely historical. at the same time the methods of modern literary and historical investigation reveal rather than conceal the deeper spiritual truths that they illustrate. the more light that can be turned upon them the more clearly will their essential teachings stand forth. like the old testament as a whole, they grew up out of real life and truly reflect and interpret it, and therefore have a living, vital message to life to-day. any interpretation that does not ring true to life may well be questioned. finally, the authority of these ancient narratives depends not upon the historical or scientific accuracy of the individual story that is used as an illustration, but upon the fact that through the experiences and hearts of those who employed them god was seeking to make men free by the knowledge of the truth. xv practical methods of studying the old testament [sidenote: _the various methods of approach_] the old testament may be studied as literature, as history, as the record of an important stage in the evolution of religion, as the revelation of god to the race, or as a practical aid to the individual in living the true life. each angle of approach calls for different methods and yields its correspondingly rich results. studied in accordance with the canons of modern literary investigation, a literature is disclosed of surpassing variety, beauty, and fascination. after the principles of historical criticism have been vigorously applied, the old testament is found to contain some of the most important and authentic historical data that have come down to us from antiquity. to the general student of religion there is no group of writings that equals in value those included in these ancient scriptures. as a simple, clear revelation of the character and will of the divine ruler, present and regnant in all life, the old testament is surpassed by only one other volume, and that is its complement, the new. [sidenote: _the supreme aim of old testament study_] it is, however, as the guide to right thinking, and being, and acting, _that the man of god may be perfect, completely equipped for every good work_, that the old testament is and always will be studied by the majority of people. in so doing they will be realizing its primary and supreme purpose. like true religion, it is not an end in itself, but simply an effective force, drawing and binding individual men to god and to the right. any method of study that fails to attain this definite and practical end does not achieve the chief aim of the old testament writings. [sidenote: _necessity of studying the old testament as an organic whole_] this practical and personal end, however, cannot be attained at a leap. it is impossible to achieve the best results by taking a truth or a passage here and there and applying it at once to the individual. both the old testament and the individual are something organic. each book has a unity and a history that must be understood, if a given passage is to be fairly interpreted or its truths intelligently applied, individual books are also related to others and to their historical background. also, as has already been shown, to appreciate fully the vital message of a given writer it is necessary, not to know his name, but his place in history, his point of view, his method of expression, and his purpose. the old testament and israelitish history as a whole are the best and most essential interpreters of individual books and passages. the most serious handicap to the ordinary bible teacher and scholar is the lack of this broader, systematic, constructive knowledge. much earnest, devoted study, especially in the old testament fields, is deficient in inspiration and results, because it is simply groping in an unknown land. it is all important, therefore, to ascend some height and spy out the land as a whole, to note the relation of different books and events to each other, and to view broadly the great stream of divine revelation which flows out of the prehistoric past on through the old and new testaments to the present. [sidenote: _remarkable adaptation of the old testament to different ages and degrees of moral culture._] in order effectively to apply the truths of the old testament to life, it is also necessary to regard the point of view of the individual to be taught. this fundamental principle of all education was fully appreciated and applied by israel's great spiritual teachers. the result is that the old testament contains truths marvellously adapted to every age and type of mind. the importance of the religious culture of the child is emphasized by the comparatively large proportion, of writings especially fitted to hold the attention and arouse the imagination and shape the ideals even of the youngest. nearly half of the old testament consists simply of narratives. those inimitable stories, which come from the childhood of the race, have a perennial fascination for the child of to-day. they find him on his own mental and moral plane, as they did the primitive child, and by natural stages lead him on and up to the higher standards and broader faith of israel's later prophets and sages, and thus prepare him to understand and appreciate the perfected life and teachings of jesus. [sidenote: _the prophetic stories the children's bible_] in the modern use of the old testament, the faithful application of this fundamental principle also leads to a most practical conclusion; the stories peculiarly adapted to children are not the mature, legalistic narratives of the late priestly writers, but the early prophetic stories, which begin in the second chapter of genesis. if children are taught only these, they will not be disconcerted by widely variant versions of the same events. above all, they will be delivered from the inconsistencies and erroneous impressions which are often the cause of stumbling to the child. the later process of unlearning, which is always dangerous, will be avoided. if the problems presented by the priestly narratives be reserved until they can be studied from the broader and truer point of view, they will be readily solved, and the great positive teachings of these later didactic stories will be fully appreciated. [sidenote: _the prophets the best story-tellers_] the subject-matter, therefore, supremely suitable for the earliest moral and spiritual culture of the child, is clearly the simple and yet profound prophetic stories of the old testament. it is very questionable whether the many excellent paraphrases now current are a gain or a hindrance. the ancient prophets and the generations who have retold them were inimitable story-tellers. to attempt to improve upon their work is futile. a simple, clear translation is all that is required. [footnote: a children's bible is now being prepared according to the plan suggested above.] the interpretation and application of their practical teachings can best be left to the intuition of the child and the direction of the intelligent parent and teacher. [sidenote: _their effective methods of presenting truths_] it is also astonishing how readily even a little child appreciates the essential lessons, as, for example, those regarding the nature and consequences of sin, presented by the story of the garden of eden. under the charm of the attractive personalities that figure in them, and the stirring achievements, so dramatically presented that they command breathless attention, the early prophetic narrations unconsciously and, therefore, all the more effectively, instil into the mind of the child the most essential truths regarding god and life and duty. at the same time, as they study in order the deeds of the heroes and makers of israel's history, they are becoming familiar with the real background of the earlier revelation recorded in the old testament. [sidenote: _the present position of these stories_] therefore scattered throughout genesis, exodus, numbers, joshua, judges, ruth, samuel, kings, and the older sections of ezra, nehemiah, and i maccabees, are to be found in rich profusion the material for the earliest years of bible study. these should naturally be supplemented by the stories of the prophets, found in such books as isaiah, jeremiah, and haggai. their sequel and culmination are the corresponding stories in the gospels and acts. [sidenote: _study of the direct personal teachings of the old testament_] in connection with the earliest study of the achievements of israel's heroes and spiritual leaders, many of their greatest teachings would be appropriated and applied, but when the years of early adolescence are reached, the prophets in their sermons, the priests in their laws, the usages in their proverbs, and the psalmists in their psalms, each have certain personal messages, superbly adapted to the critical, formative years, when childhood begins to unfold into maturity. to make this material available, judicious selection and interpretation are required. the organism of each book and of the child must both be carefully regarded to make the adjustment perfect. naturally this most vital line of study would be the introduction to a corresponding study of the direct, personal teachings of jesus and the apostles. [sidenote: _study of the origin and growth of the old testament_] this intensely practical work could profitably be preceded or followed by a study of the origin and growth of the different books and groups of old testament writings and the gradual stages whereby these scriptures attained their present form and authority. the guides in this investigation should not be the jewish rabbis or even the traditions of the church fathers. we have been misled too long by the pious guesses of the mediæval saints; but rather the testimony of the bible itself and the evidence of contemporary writings should be the guides. the spirit should also be frank and constructive. the results cannot fail to be practically helpful in a great variety of ways. thus on the basis of facts, in the light of history, and by the use of those methods of research which alone command respect and acceptance in other kindred lines of investigation, the questions which come to every thoughtful boy and girl will be fairly and truly answered. in this way those experiences which are inevitable in this critical age will deepen and broaden rather than destroy the foundations of individual faith. [sidenote: _the historical method of approach_] with this general introduction, many students and classes will find it profitable to approach the old and new testaments from the distinctively historical point of view. beginning with the unfolding of the civilization and religion of ancient babylonia, they will study in conjunction the history, the strong personalities, the literature, and the thought of each successive period. the advantages of this method of study are many. each book will be read and its messages interpreted in the light of the conditions and forces that constitute its true background. the different characters will live again, and the significance of their work and words will be fully appreciated as they are viewed in the clear perspective of history. [sidenote: _its practical aims and results_] above all, such a synthetic study of the unfolding of the supreme truths of revelation lays a foundation for the individual faith as broad as human experience. this is to attain one of the chief aims of all study, which is to put the individual into practical possession of all that is vital and best in the experiences and achievements of the past, that, thus equipped, he may go forth to fight the battle of life, valiantly and successfully. [sidenote: _its natural sequel_] this last course of study would call for several years, and, more than that, for enthusiasm, devotion, and real work. it would also take the student in time through the new testament period, with its literature and commanding personalities and events, and perhaps beyond to the great epochs of church history. many would not stop until they had studied the latest chapter in church history, the noble missionary activity and achievement of the past and present century. [sidenote: _advances courses of study_] when the bible had thus been studied, the scholars in our schools would not be ready to graduate, but rather to enter upon that still deeper and more fundamental study which would mean an ultimate conquest of the broad field that it represents. then it might be safe and profitable to adopt the topical method and study some one of the vital themes that are treated from many different points of view in the various parts of the bible. [sidenote: _study of old testament history_] it will, however, probably be found easier and more natural next to take up in succeeding years the detailed study of the nine or ten great groups of writings which are found in the bible. the natural and easiest method of approach to those of the old testament would be through a careful, constructive study of the history of the israelitish race, perhaps beginning with the definite historical period of saul and samuel and concluding with the advent of rome. far better than any modern history of israel is that marvellous history written by its own historians, which begins with the book of samuel and ends with i maccabees. analyzed and arranged in their chronological order, these narratives tell the story with rare fascination and suggestiveness. [footnote: volume ii of the "student's old testament": contains the narratives from samuel through i maccabees, thus arranged.] [sidenote: _study of the prophecies and earlier narratives_] on the basis of this detailed study of the historical background, the work and teachings of the prophets could next be traced in their true and chronological order. no old testament field is more neglected and none is more intensely interesting, when once the student understands the problems and aims of each great prophet. none has a more practical message for to-day, provided its supreme truths are interpreted into modern terms and conditions. after becoming intimately acquainted with the hebrew prophets, it would be possible to go back and study with a new understanding and appreciation the early narratives which gather about the beginnings of hebrew history. then the intricate problems of the first eight books of the bible would vanish in the light of a fuller knowledge. above all, that which is essential and permanent would stand out in clear relief. [sidenote: _study of the devotional literature_] from the earliest fruits of prophetic activity it would then be profitable to turn to the later, represented by lamentations and the psalter. here the best results require a classification of the different psalms according to their themes, so that their teachings can be studied systematically and as a whole. in this field of study the student comes very close to the heart of the old testament and the heart of the god who speaks through it. [sidenote: _study of the wisdom literature_] less spiritual and yet intensely interesting and practical is the great department of the old testament known as the wisdom literature. _he that walketh with the wise shall be wise_ (prov. xiii. ) is as true to-day as when first uttered. this literature is a great mine of truth, almost entirely neglected by the christian world. systematic classification is the first requisite for the profitable study of the proverbs and the later wisdom of ben sira. from these the student may pass on to the fuller treatment of the omnipresent human problem, so sublimely presented in the book of job, and to the many fundamental questions raised by eccleslastes and the wisdom of solomon. [sidenote: _study of the old testament laws and institutions_] last of all a year might well be spent in the study of the unfolding and concrete application and illustration of israel's ethical and religious principles in the legal codes and institutions of the old testament. many of these have found a higher expression, some are but symbolic, but others still have permanent authority and value. studied as a whole and on the basis of a logical classification, this little understood field would also cease to be a jungle, and instead would yield its own practical spiritual fruits. xvi religious education--the fundamental problem of to-day [sidenote: _the practical realization of these possibilities_] this very brief and fragmentary outline of methods and possibilities of old testament study is not an impossible dream. in colleges and in a few bible schools it is already being tried with the gratifying results that might be anticipated. to put it at once into force in most of our sunday-schools would be absolutely impracticable. it is presented simply as a suggestion of a definite and practical goal toward which to work. with careful adjustment, these courses, adapted to different ages, could be arranged so that at least the intermediate grades in the sunday-school would be studying in the same field at the same time. this plan provides for no graduation from the school of the bible. it assumes that the christian world is at last awakening to the real significance of religious education and to a recognition of the fact that the ultimate solution of our gravest national and social problems is to be found only in the inculcation of the true ethical ideals in the mind of the individual. it also assumes the fundamental principle that no worthy ends can be attained without real work, enthusiastic devotion, systematic methods, and above all a definite and worthy goal. it rests on the belief that the sense of gradual conquest and the attainment of practical results will alone inspire permanent devotion and evoke faithful work, and in the end prepare the individual scholar for the intelligent and loyal service of god. [sidenote: _the overwhelming responsibility of the sunday-schools_] frank confessions are good for a cause as well as for the soul. we must admit that most of our sunday-schools, with their vast resources in opportunity, in financial support, and in the devotion of the teachers and officers, do not permanently hold their scholars, and in the great majority of cases do not give them a thorough or systematic knowledge, even of the most vital teachings of the bible. the ignorance of its literature and history on the part of even, the more intelligent students who enter college, is almost past belief, as many of us can testify from personal observation. the limitations in time and equipment of the sunday-schools are undoubtedly great in comparison with those of the secular schools; and yet the responsibility now thrown upon the bible schools is even greater than upon the latter. parents have ceased to instruct their children in spelling and the multiplication-table because they have found that the teachers can do this better. without justification, but by analogy and because they are themselves often unacquainted with the bible, or uncertain regarding its interpretation, they are more and more leaving the religious education of their sons and daughters to the church and the sunday-school. [sidenote: _the transcendent importance of religious education_] it is safe to say, and this without reservation, the most fundamental problem in england and america to-day is the problem of religious education, because this lies at the roots of all else--political, social, and theological. when the christian world awakens to its profound significance, and when its ideals and methods are raised, even to a level with those of the public schools, the other grave problems will be near their solution. if the individual is thoroughly taught during the impressionable years of childhood and youth, the fundamental principles of ethics and religion, society and the state will have no difficulty in meeting their problems; but if not, these will perforce continue to remain unsolved. [sidenote: _important that the old testament be taught in the public schools_] it is a time for all earnest men of every denomination or creed to unite in meeting this need. in the old testament, jew and christian, catholic and protestant, stand on common ground. the modern inductive historical methods of study have prepared the way for union; for they aim to support no denominational interpretation, but simply to attain the truth. the last reasons, therefore, why the literature, history, geography, and ethical teachings of the old testament should not be taught in our public schools are rapidly disappearing, and the hundreds of reasons why any system of secular education is incomplete without it are coming to the front. with this fundamental basis of knowledge and instruction, the work of the sunday-schools could also at once be placed on a far more effective plane. it is a consummation for which every intelligent citizen should earnestly work. [sidenote: _the task of the church in the present century_] the achievement of the last century was to complete the work of the protestant reformation and rediscover the bible. the task of the present century is to instil its essential teachings, thus revealed, into the mind of the individual, so that they will become controlling factors in human life. here lies the great responsibility and opportunity of the christian church. if it is to renew its hold on modern men, it will be through the mind as well as the heart, and its most efficient method will be--as it always has in reality been--religious education. horace bushnell proclaimed the watchword of the church triumphant: "christian culture." [sidenote: _the examples of the prophets and jesus_] his, however, was no new discovery. the hebrew prophets, priests, and sages were not primarily preachers, but teachers. the prophetic messages which fell on deaf ears, instilled into the minds of a few humble disciples, in time won acceptance from the nation. jesus himself was not so much the preacher as the great teacher. his earliest public preaching was but the net cast to catch the few faithful disciples. when these had been secured, he turned his back upon a popular preaching ministry, and devoted the best part of his brief public work to instructing a little group of disciples. history completely vindicates the wisdom of his method. only by following closely on his footsteps can the church hope to realize its true mission, especially in this age, when the heart and will must be reached through the mind. in this respect, it must also be confessed that the catholic are far in advance of the protestant churches and sunday-schools, where the preaching still overshadows the teaching. [sidenote: _the call for a teaching ministry_] to inspire and direct thorough religious instruction, carefully trained leaders are needed. the demand to-day is for a teaching as well as a preaching ministry, with an apostolic sense of a mission and a message. men with natural gifts and the most thorough preparation are wanted to raise the standards and to organize and transform, as they alone can, by personal contact, the teaching corps of our sunday-schools into effective forces. such men and women certainly can be found. it is a conviction, based on a wide experience, that many of the ablest students in our colleges and universities, who for many valid reasons do not feel the call to a preaching mission, would gladly and enthusiastically devote themselves to the work of religious instruction, could they be sure of a field, when their preparation was complete. our universities and seminaries already have the facilities and could readily assume this important responsibility. as soon as our large city churches and the federated churches in our smaller towns, demand a teaching pastor as the permanent director of their sunday-schools, and of the religious educational work under their charge, they will enter upon a new career of permanent conquest. the needs are undoubtedly great, the volunteers are at hand, thorough preparation can be assured; but the call must come from the church, united and awake to its supreme opportunity and responsibility. [sidenote: _the antiquated methods of our sunday-schools_] it must also be confessed that our religious systems--if such they may be called--are still in the experimental stage. they are far inferior in every respect, except in the self-sacrificing devotion of the teachers and officers, to those of the secular schools. what is most vital to our national and individual life is most neglected. instead of the latest and best pedagogical methods, the most antiquated largely prevail. saddest of all, the bible which is being taught in the majority of our schools is the bible of later judaism and the middle ages, not the book of books which stands forth in the light of god's latest revelation, as a message of beauty and life to the present age. it is not strange that there is a growing distrust of the sunday-school among many intelligent people, and an appalling apathy or distaste for bible study in the mind of the rising generation. [sidenote: _the crying need for improved courses of study_] if we shut our eyes to these facts, they will remain; but if we frankly face them, a decade of intelligent and devoted work will effect a great transformation. the first step is obviously along the line of improved courses and methods of study. many different courses are at present in the field. all have their merits, and to those who have developed them highest praise and credit is due. some have been prepared to meet immediate and practical needs, but ignore the larger unities and the historical background, and in general neglect the results of modern educational and biblical knowledge. some have been worked out in the study and have a strong academic flavor, but do not meet the needs of the average scholar or teacher. others are models of pedagogical perfection, but lack content. progressive sunday-schools are trying one system after another, and meantime the note of discontent is rapidly rising. the crisis is too serious to admit of personal rivalries or prejudices. [sidenote: _how to meet this need_] the moral of the situation is simple: that which will fully meet the needs of the present must be a combination of all that is good in existing courses, and embody what is best in the scholarship and methods of to-day. like the most effective systems in the past, it must be wrought out in the laboratory of practical experience. it must be planned from the point of view of actual needs and conditions. it must also have a worthy and definite goal and a high ideal. it should emphasize the importance of fundamental religious instruction, as well as preaching. all that is practical and permanent in modern educational methods should be utilized. it should preserve the existing superb sunday-school organization, and, as far as possible, the unity of the splendid system now under the direction of the international committee. finally, it should incorporate the positive and illuminating results of modern constructive biblical research. the task cannot be accomplished in a moment, nor by one man nor a small group of men. it is certainly important enough to command the best experience, the ripest scholarship, and the most unselfish devotion. [sidenote: _the advent of a new era in the history of the kingdom of god_] when this task has been thoroughly performed, and the ablest of our educated men and women have been enlisted in our bible schools, the cause of religious education will command the respect of the world, not merely because of the fundamental need which it aims to meet, but also because it is effectually meeting it. the christian church will also find itself in sympathy and touch with that which is best and most significant in modern life and thought. religious teachers and scientific investigators will work shoulder to shoulder in a common study and interpretation of god's many-sided revelation. pastors will feel the solid foundations of historical truth beneath their feet. leaving behind the din and distractions of the transitional period, the disciples of the great teacher will go forth with fresh zeal to make the eternal truths of the bible regnant in the lives of men, and the kingdom of god a reality in human history. transcriber's note: where [oe] appears it represents the ligature oe which cannot be represented in latin- characters. [=a] represents the letter a with a macron (bar) above. "granny's chapters" (on scriptural subjects) by lady mary ross. =the new testament=, with a sketch of the subsequent history of the jews. _new edition._ london: hatchards, piccadilly. . preface to volume iv. the new testament has been treated in a manner somewhat different to that adopted in regard to the books of the old testament. the object has been, to sketch out the earthly life of our blessed lord, and to draw attention to a few important points. it was obviously impossible to dwell particularly upon the details of every miracle, parable, and conversation, recorded by the evangelists. nor was such a course necessary. the language of the gospels is so simple and clear, that details are better read from holy writ itself. that this volume may lead the young to a reverent study of our saviour's character, and an earnest endeavour to "follow the blessed steps of his most holy life," is the earnest prayer of the author. mary ross. _november, ._ part i. chapter i.--john the baptist born. we have now seen that the sceptre had departed from judah. the whole country was subject to the romans, who had appointed herod to govern it for them; and the time was now come when the blessed promises, that "the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head," and that "in the seed of abraham all nations of the earth should be blessed," were to be fulfilled by the coming of the messiah, the son of god, jesus christ, our saviour and redeemer; born of a woman, that thus being as man upon the earth, he might suffer for man, and make that atonement for man, which he could only make because he was the son of god. unless the messiah had been at once god and man, he could have been no saviour for man; no mediator between a holy god and his sinful creatures. very soon after the death of herod's sons, alexander and aristobulus, the last princes of the asmonean family, the wonderful events related in the new testament began to take place. no doubt we are all well acquainted with the story of the priest zacharias, a good and holy man, who, whilst performing his duty in the house of god, saw an angel standing on the right side of the altar of incense. zacharias was an old man, and his wife elisabeth was also an old woman, and therefore when the angel told him that the lord would work as great a miracle as he had done in abraham's case, and give a son to elisabeth, as he had given isaac to sarah, zacharias must indeed have been greatly astonished. the angel moreover told zacharias, that this child, whom god would give him, was to be named john; and that he should be in an especial manner guided and protected by the holy spirit, for that he was to be the messenger spoken of by prophets, as sent to prepare the way for the messiah, and give notice of his coming. such particulars should have overcome any doubts which zacharias might at the first moment have felt; but his faith failed him, and therefore, considering only the impossibility of such an event happening without the special interposition of the lord, he, guided by sight and not by faith, presumed to ask for some sign, to assure him that what the angel spake would really come to pass. this sinful unbelief was punished, even whilst his faithless request was granted; for zacharias immediately lost the power of speaking, and remained speechless for many months: but his unbelief was gone, and he certainly made his wife elisabeth acquainted with the promises and directions spoken by the angel. about six months after this appearance of the angel gabriel to zacharias, he "was sent from god, unto a city of galilee, named nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david; and the virgin's name was mary." the angel told mary, that she had been chosen by the almighty to be the mother of the promised messiah, whose birth was to be a miracle; inasmuch as he would have no earthly father, but should be called the son of god. gabriel also told mary, that when she had brought forth her son, she should call his name jesus; that is, a saviour. mary was greatly troubled when the angel first spake to her, and when she expressed her wonder and astonishment, he comforted her, and told her that her cousin elisabeth, the wife of zacharias, was also about to become a mother; adding, "for with god nothing shall be impossible." mary's faith now showed itself, and she said, "behold the handmaid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word." meaning that she was willing to serve the lord in everything, and suffer whatever might come upon her in consequence. for, as she had no husband whom she could name as the father of her child, she was liable to punishment. when joseph, to whom mary was espoused, or promised in marriage, found that she would have a son, he was astonished, and had some thoughts of putting her away from being his wife; but being a just, or good and kind man, he meant to do this quietly and secretly, or "privily," so as not to expose mary to blame or punishment. but while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a dream, and told him not to fear about taking mary to be his wife, for that the holy spirit had worked a great miracle, and that mary was to be the mother of the promised messiah; and as the angel had said to mary herself, so he now repeated to joseph, "she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." then all joseph's doubts and fears were at an end: he did as the angel bade him, and thus was looked upon by men as the father of mary's holy son, who had in truth no father but god. the scripture tells us, "now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the lord by the prophet, saying, behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name emmanuel; which being interpreted is, god with us." that is, god taking the form and nature of man; living as man amongst men; dying as man for men. "emmanuel--god with us." the next thing we read of is, that "mary arose and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of judah" where zacharias dwelt, that she might talk over with elisabeth all those wonderful things which the angel gabriel had said to her. "and she entered into the house of zacharias and saluted elisabeth"; who, under the guidance of the holy spirit, "spake out with a loud voice" words that must have greatly comforted mary. elisabeth told her, that she was blessed among women in being chosen for the mother of the messiah, and said, "whence is this to me, that the mother of my lord should come to me?" meaning that she was not worthy of the honour of receiving in her house one who was to be the mother of the son of god. elisabeth ended by commending mary for her faith and trust, saying, "blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the lord." mary now uttered that beautiful hymn of praise, beginning, "my soul doth magnify the lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my saviour." a hymn familiar to us all, as part of our liturgy, or form of public worship, used in our churches. this hymn, called "the magnificat," is said or sung after the first lesson in the evening service. mary abode with her cousin for about three months, and then returned to her own home, at nazareth, in galilee. not long after mary's departure, john the baptist was born; "elisabeth brought forth a son. and her neighbours and her cousins heard how the lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. and it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child," and give him a name, as amongst us is done in baptism; for baptism in the christian church, takes the place of circumcision in the jewish church. when the friends of zacharias wished to give the infant his father's name, elisabeth spoke out at once, and said, "he shall be called john." this surprised them so much, that they at once asked zacharias "how he would have him called." zacharias immediately, by signs, asked for a writing-table, or rather for a tablet, upon which to write, and then wrote down, "his name is john. and they marvelled all." they must have marvelled, or wondered, still more, when suddenly zacharias recovered his power of speaking; for "his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised god." now he could tell all that had happened to him, and how his unbelief in the angel's promise had been punished by temporary dumbness. "and fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of judæa: and all they that heard" these things "laid them up in their hearts": took notice of them, and remembered them, "saying, what manner of child shall this be!" the extraordinary events connected with the birth of john, made all men believe that a child so born must be intended to do great things during his lifetime. zacharias, inspired by the holy spirit, then uttered the hymn called "the benedictus," sometimes said in our churches after the second lesson in the morning service, instead of the psalm (c.), "jubilate deo," also belonging to our liturgy. in this hymn, zacharias praised and blessed god for the coming of the saviour; and then, addressing the unconscious infant john, he foretold that he should be the messenger to prepare the way of the lord jesus christ, and incline men to listen to, and believe in, him. of john's infancy and childhood we are told nothing, except that he grew in body, and waxed strong in spirit, and that "the hand of the lord was with him." "and he was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto israel." he passed a quiet and retired life, until he was called upon to baptize the people, and point to the son of mary as the son of god; the lamb of god, that taketh away the sin of the world. chapter ii.--birth of jesus christ. mary and her husband joseph lived at nazareth, a town in galilee not far from the lake of tiberias, or sea of galilee; and the prophets had declared that the messiah should be born in "bethlehem of judah," a small place to the south of jerusalem, nearly a hundred miles from nazareth. that mary should take such a long journey to a strange place, instead of staying quietly at home until her child was born, was the most unlikely thing that could well be imagined. here, therefore, we again see how wonderfully the lord rules all things, and makes use of people who know nothing of him, to do what he wills should be done. god now made use of a heathen emperor, to accomplish his will, that jesus christ should be born in bethlehem. the roman emperor augustus, in order to know what taxes he could lay upon the different parts of his dominions, determined to take the number of the people who were subject to him; and in order to do this, he commanded that the name of every one should be written down. as judæa was now under the dominion of the romans, all the inhabitants of that country were obliged to put their names upon lists, prepared for the purpose: but all belonging to the same tribe or family were to go to one place, so that many of the jews, who were scattered throughout the country, had to travel a long way to the place appointed for the registering of their tribe. amongst these were mary and joseph, who were both "of the house and lineage of david"; that is, both were descended from david, who was of the tribe of judah; and therefore bethlehem was the place in which they must appear before the roman officers, appointed to take down the names of all the people, and register, or make lists of them. the commands of the roman emperor were not to be disobeyed: and mary and joseph set out upon their long and fatiguing journey. upon their arrival, they found the place so full of people come upon the same business, that there was no room for them in the inn, and they being poor, and not able to pay for better accommodation, were glad to lodge in a stable; and here, it pleased god, that jesus christ, the lord of life, the king of glory, should be born: and mary "brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger." but though born in a stable, unnoticed and uncared for by men, the angels of god proclaimed the wonderful event to the shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night. at that time, there was amongst the jews, a general expectation that the messiah would soon appear upon earth: those who believed all that god had made known by the prophets, seeing that the sceptre, or kingly power, had departed from shiloh, were daily looking for the fulfilment of the blessed promise, and were ready to welcome the saviour under any circumstances: of this number were the shepherds, who, when they had heard the "good tidings of great joy," at once followed the direction to go to bethlehem: and when they found all things there, exactly as the angels had told them, they at once believed, and acknowledged the infant as their saviour; and "made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. and all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them of the shepherds." they wondered; but alas! too many of them only wondered, and did not believe. the greater part of the jews at this time had forsaken their god, and had become careless about pleasing him. they expected a messiah, but regardless of the prophets who had spoken such different things, they had formed their own notions on the subject, and looked for the messiah to come as a king or conqueror, surrounded with pomp and splendour. these men would not believe that a helpless infant, born in a stable at bethlehem, _could_ be the son of god, the promised messiah, who was to be the saviour of the world: pride and unbelief led them to reject the lord, even from his birth. mary, who knew that her son was no common child, marked everything that happened; "she kept all these things, and pondered," or thought over "them in her heart." jesus christ came not only to be a sacrifice for sin, but also an example of godly life; he was to fulfil all righteousness, and therefore, though he came to do away with the ceremonial law, and establish a better covenant, he submitted to all the ordinances of the law, just as if he had been a sinful mortal. thus on the eighth day he was circumcised, and publicly received the name of jesus, which had before been given to him by the angel gabriel. and again, in obedience to the law, the infant saviour was brought by his mother to jerusalem "to present him to the lord." we have heard before, that among the children of israel, the first-born child, if a son, was especially dedicated to the service of the lord; though afterwards, the whole tribe of levi was taken, "instead of the first-born of all israel." the same law ordained, that after a certain time, called "the days of her purification," every woman to whom god had given a son or daughter, should offer in sacrifice, a young lamb and a turtledove or pigeon. but if she was too poor to be able to bring a lamb, she was allowed to bring two turtledoves or pigeons instead; and this sacrifice mary brought with her son, into the temple. then were fulfilled the prophecies, that the lord should come suddenly into his temple; and that the glory of the second temple should exceed that of the first. at the presentation of jesus christ in the temple, a remarkable testimony to his being the promised messiah was given by the just and devout simeon, to whom it had been made known by the holy ghost, that he should not die until he had seen the lord's christ. full of faith, this old man was "waiting for the consolation of israel," the messiah, who was to save his people from their sins. guided by the holy spirit, simeon was in the temple "when the parents brought in the child jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law." at once the holy spirit made known to the aged simeon, that in this infant he beheld the saviour for whom he waited; "then took he him up in his arms, and blessed god, and said, lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of thy people israel." we are told that joseph and mary marvelled at those things which were spoken by simeon; and we may be sure that mary treasured them up also in her heart, and looked upon her infant son with reverence, as well as love. then simeon blessed mary, and warned her of future suffering. another testimony to the divinity of jesus christ was then given by an aged widow, who coming into the temple "in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in jerusalem." nor did these aged jews alone bear testimony to the messiah. the glorious light of the shechinah, the visible sign of the presence of god, which had not been seen for many hundred years, until it appeared surrounding the angels who proclaimed the birth of jesus to the shepherds of bethlehem, was not seen by them alone. in far off countries, it was seen as a remarkable star. the inhabitants of chaldea, part of the once famous babylonian empire, were at this time very learned in astronomy: that is, they studied the stars, and the motions of the heavenly bodies. they worshipped the sun, because they thought that must be the best representation of the deity: had they known the real true god, the god of israel, they would not have worshipped any of his works, which he had created and made. the wise and learned men of chaldea were called magi, and many of them were princes and rulers in their various tribes. some of these magi, generally supposed to have been three, (though the scripture says nothing as to their number,) saw a wonderful star shining in the direction of judæa. they at once concluded that this star signified the birth of the king of the jews--and immediately they set off and travelled towards the land of judæa. and when they reached jerusalem, they enquired, "where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." that is, in the eastern land where they lived, they had seen this star. chapter iii.--flight into egypt. to understand the question of the magi, "where is he that is born king of the jews?" a few words of explanation may be useful. the expectation of a coming messiah was not confined to the jews: through the long captivity of the jews, the writings of the prophets had become known throughout many lands, and there was therefore at this time, in all the countries of the east, a general idea that a king would shortly be born in judæa, who should rule over all the world. balaam, who was well known in those countries of which we are speaking, had said, "there shall come a star out of jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of israel"; hence it was generally believed, that the appearance of some peculiar star in the heavens, would inform mankind of the birth of this mighty king. the messiah, we must recollect, was promised to gentiles as well as to jews; and therefore all nations who had heard any of the prophecies concerning him, expected some benefit from the birth of this wonderful being. under such circumstances, we can easily imagine that the magi, who paid such attention to the stars in general, should eagerly watch for the appearance of one, which was to announce, that the long-looked-for king was born in judæa. hence, when from their home in the east, they beheld the glorious light of the shechinah, shining in the direction of the land of judæa, they felt no doubt as to its meaning; and without hesitation, they at once set off on their long journey, to worship and do honour to the new-born king. the star had disappeared; but the prophets had so plainly pointed out the land of judæa as the birthplace of the messiah, that the magi fearlessly and confidently journeyed on to that country. when at length they reached it, they naturally expected that so wonderful an event would be well known to all the inhabitants of jerusalem, and that they should have no difficulty in finding the abode of this glorious child; therefore, as soon as they arrived in the city, they asked, "where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." when herod the king had heard these words he was troubled, and all jerusalem with him. the birth of jesus christ made known by angels to the shepherds, and by them "made known abroad" among their neighbours and friends, the humble of the land, does not seem to have been noticed by the rulers and priests living at jerusalem. their own scriptures taught them that the messiah was to come; and they expected that his birth would be immediately followed by revolts and wars, earthquakes, famine and plague; therefore they might well be "troubled," when they heard he was actually come; though, if they had rightly believed and understood the great blessing he was to bring to mankind, they would have rejoiced at his coming, and thought all temporal sufferings easy to be borne for his sake. herod was troubled; for though he was now an old man, and not likely to live till a new-born infant should grow up, yet he did not like the idea of another king to interfere with him: he did not understand the nature of the messiah's kingdom, and thought only of a king who would govern the country and the people, make laws, and impose taxes; he had no idea of a king who was to reign over the hearts of men on earth, and finally receive them into his kingdom in heaven. herod's behaviour on this occasion showed a strange mixture of belief and unbelief. in common with the jews in general, he believed that the messiah was to come; and he evidently believed that the child, whose birth had been made known by the star, was indeed the christ. he therefore called together the wise and learned men, well acquainted with the scriptures of the old testament, and asked them where the messiah should be born. the chief priests and scribes at once declared that bethlehem was pointed out by the prophets as the birthplace of messiah; thus giving another proof, that the infant just born in that place, was the promised messiah. so far herod believed; but now his unbelief was shown by his fancying for one moment, that if this child really was the messiah, he could kill him, and so frustrate the purpose for which he was sent by god. it seems strange that any one believing as herod did, that the infant whom the magi were seeking was really the messiah, should have thought it possible to fight against god, and destroy his anointed: but so it was. herod, under pretence of wishing to go himself and worship the king of the jews, begged the magi to come and bring him word when they had found the young child; and he also asked them particularly about the time at which the star had first appeared, that he might know what would be the age of the babe, whom he was determined to destroy. the wise men, or magi, departed, and though they had received no clear directions from the inhabitants of jerusalem, better help was at hand: the star which they had seen in the east, now appeared to them again, and even moved on before them: "when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy," and followed it, until "it came and stood over" the stable "where the young child was." "and when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him:" at once they acknowledged him to be something more than an earthly king--a being entitled to worship. then they gave such presents as were given to kings. it was the custom in the east, where presents were so much given, to proportion their value to the rank and station of those to whom the gift was offered. mary and joseph were poor and in a humble rank of life, and to their infant, therefore, flowers or fruit, or something of little value, would have been a sufficient gift. but in the son of mary, the magi acknowledged the long-promised messiah; and to him they gave the most valuable gifts, suitable for a king to receive: "when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." thus the lord provided joseph with the means for taking proper care of the young child and his mother. at bethlehem, the place of his birth, jesus had now been worshipped as a king, both by jews and gentiles; thus fulfilling prophecy, and showing that the messiah was to be the saviour of gentiles, as well as jews. our church has appointed a day, to be observed in remembrance of this first showing, or manifestation, of christ to the gentiles. in common talk we call this day twelfth day, and the custom of drawing for king and queen is very old, and is founded upon the visit of the magi, or kings of the east to bethlehem. the name by which twelfth day is distinguished in our prayer-book is the "epiphany," a word which means "manifestation" or "showing"--the manifestation of jesus christ to the gentiles. the wise men, not suspecting herod's wicked purpose, would no doubt have gone back to him as he desired, but "being warned of god in a dream" not to return to jerusalem, "they departed into their country another way." after the departure of the magi, the lord, who knows the secrets of all hearts, warned joseph in a dream, that herod would seek the young child to destroy him. in obedience to the command then given to him, joseph "arose, and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into egypt"; thus fulfilling a prophecy which had spoken of that country, as the place where the messiah should for a time dwell. at this time, a great many jewish families lived in egypt, and supported themselves by their own industry: there were so many of them, that they divided themselves into companies, according to their trades or occupations: there was a company of silversmiths, who manufactured articles of gold and silver, set jewels, and made ornaments to be worn; there was another company of weavers, who wove threads of flax and silk, into linen and silk of which garments were made; and so on. in short, every trade had its own company; so that if a poor jew came into any city inhabited by his fellow countrymen, he always knew where to find those who carried on the trade which he had learned: then he could join them at once, and so find work, and earn a maintenance for himself and family. perhaps joseph joined one of these companies of his countrymen; but the presents given by the magi, would for a long time supply him with all that he needed. chapter iv.--the innocents. herod anxiously expected the return of the wise men, with full information as to where he might find the infant king of the jews: but, as day after day passed and they came not, he saw that they did not mean to do his bidding. "then was herod exceeding wroth, and sent forth his soldiers, and slew all the children that were in bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof,"--that is, in the neighbouring parts of the country,--"from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men." as much less than two years had passed, since the wise men saw the star which heralded the birth of the messiah, herod made sure that, by killing all the little boys under that age, he should destroy the infant king of the jews, and so rid himself of any further anxiety. terrible was the distress and mourning amongst the poor mothers, who saw their infants torn from their arms and murdered! but their dear babes were safe; taken from the dangers and troubles of this world, to be for ever happy in the presence of god: "for they are without fault before the throne of god." our church sets apart three days, immediately after christmas day, in remembrance of three classes of martyrs. a martyr is one who suffers in the cause of duty, and will die rather than give way: those who thus suffered for christ, and would die rather than offend or forsake him, are called martyrs. "the innocents," as the murdered babes of bethlehem are called, suffered death for jesus's sake; but, of course, they had no will in the matter; they were too young: these were the first martyrs. the day after christmas day is called "st. john the evangelist's day": st. john was, when jesus grew up, one of his disciples: he dearly loved his master, and was ready to die for him, but he was not called upon to give up his life, though he suffered much for jesus's sake. the day following "st. john's day," is called "st. stephen's day": st. stephen was the first who willingly gave up his life for the sake of jesus christ. thus we have three classes of martyrs commemorated in our church: martyrs in deed only--the innocents; martyrs in will only--st. john; martyrs in will and in deed--st. stephen. but to return to our history. herod was guilty of a great sin; and, in spite of all his wickedness, the child jesus lived and was safe. it is said that antipater, who had caused the death of mariamne's sons, advised his father to slay the infants of bethlehem. antipater was a bad man, and, as he was very anxious to be king of judæa whenever herod should die, he wished to destroy one who might, as he feared, dispute the kingdom with him: no doubt he rejoiced when the cruel deed was done, concluding that jesus had perished, and that he was now sure of the throne: but he was disappointed; for very shortly afterwards he in some way displeased his father, who at once caused him to be put to death. it is dreadful to think of the numbers of persons killed by herod's orders, but antipater was the last; for five days afterwards herod himself died. this herod, called herod the great, left four sons living--archelaus, herod antipas, philip, and herod philip. there are three other herods also mentioned in scripture--herod agrippa, and his brother, also called herod, who were sons of aristobulus, and consequently grandsons of herod the great; and, afterwards, a son of herod agrippa, called by the same names as his father, herod agrippa. as it is difficult always to know which herod is spoken of, the table below will be useful to refer to. . herod the great. | +------------------------+---------------+ | . | . | herod antipas. herod philip. | sons of aristobulus. +------------------+ | . | . herod agrippa. herod. | | . herod agrippa. after the death of herod the great, archelaus became governor of the provinces of judæa and samaria, and herod antipas ruled over the province of galilee, under the title of tetrarch: but upon this subject we must say a little more before we go on with the history of jesus christ. when herod died, he left a will, in which he declared his wish, that his son archelaus should be king over the greatest part of his dominions: but as the whole kingdom was subject to the romans, this could not be done without the emperor's leave. before archelaus could go to home to ask this permission, there was a great disturbance amongst the jews in jerusalem, in consequence of archelaus refusing to grant some request: they assembled in great numbers in the courts of the temple, and behaved in such a riotous and disorderly manner, that archelaus ordered his soldiers to attack them, and , men are said to have been killed on this occasion; a piece of cruelty which probably disinclined the emperor augustus to give archelaus as much power as his father herod the great had had; at any rate, archelaus only succeeded in being made governor of judæa and samaria, with the promise, that if he acted so as to give the emperor satisfaction, he should have the title of king: but instead of obtaining this, he behaved so ill, that a few years afterwards he was deprived of all power, and banished to a city in gaul, where he died. returning to the history of our blessed lord, we find that after the death of antipater and herod, the angel appeared to joseph in egypt, saying, "arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life." the angel did not name any particular place for the young child to go to, but the messiah was not to stay long out of the holy land, given to abraham and his descendants, as a heritage for ever. when joseph, with mary and the holy child, got back into the land of israel, he found that "archelaus reigned in the room of his father"; that is, he was governor of judæa; fearing his cruelty, he was afraid to take the young child and his mother there, and the lord, by means of a dream, warned him to go into the land of galilee, which was under the government of herod antipas. joseph in consequence made choice of nazareth in galilee as a dwelling-place, and there the lord jesus christ lived till he grew up to be a man, and was ready to begin the work which he came into the world to do. during all these years, up to the time when jesus was thirty years old, we are told nothing of what he did, except his questioning the priests in the temple, when he was twelve years old. twelve was the age appointed for the young jews to begin to keep the feasts and fasts prescribed by their law; and accordingly, jesus, who came to fulfil all righteousness, accompanied mary and joseph to jerusalem on this occasion: but after all the ceremonies had been observed, he, unknown to them, remained behind, and going into the temple astonished the priests and learned men by his questions, his knowledge of the scriptures, and the way in which he spake: no wonder that all who looked upon him merely as a human being, should be astonished. when mary missed her son, she and joseph returned to jerusalem, where "after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions." to his mother's gentle rebuke, "son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?" the holy child made that answer at once referring to his divine nature, and to the work for which he had left his father's kingdom, "wist ye not that i must be about my father's business?" they understood not fully then his meaning; but mary "kept all these sayings in her heart." but jesus had now done all that was to be done for many years, as to his great work; and therefore, though he knew himself to be the son of god, he submitted to his earthly parents: he went "down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject unto them"--thus in his first work, setting us the great example of obedience to parents--an example which all of us must carefully and cheerfully copy. no sin, not even the least approach to it, was found in him: one act of disobedience would have prevented his making atonement for us. and this perfect being so loved us, his sinful creatures, as to die for us: let us love him; and show our love by trying to copy his example in all things; beginning with obedience to our parents, and all whom they set over us. chapter v.--baptism of jesus. how gladly should we all learn something of our saviour's early life; of his childhood; of the pursuits of his youth and manhood! but these things are hidden from us, and whatever legends may exist respecting such matters, we must remember that scripture has not revealed to us any knowledge of these things. for the eighteen years following his questioning the learned men in the temple, one entry suffices--"and jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with god and man." as partaking of the human nature, his body grew gradually to its full size and strength, enduring, no doubt, pain and sickness, so inseparable from mortality: in this, all who are born into the world follow his example, whether they will or no; but are all careful to "increase in wisdom, and in favour with god and man"? and yet this is what all may do. these words again set the saviour before us, as an example to be diligently followed: by prayer and study of the scriptures, we shall obtain from god, that heavenly wisdom which will make us wise unto salvation; that practical wisdom, by which we shall walk daily in a manner pleasing to god; so shall we, day by day, grow in favour with our heavenly father, and with all men whose approbation and favour is worth securing. of john the baptist's early life we have not even one glimpse afforded us, beyond the notice "that the child grew, and waxed strong in the spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto israel." in silence and solitude was the wonderful son of zacharias prepared for his work: the spirit of the lord was upon him, and under its blessed influence he became strong to do, and suffer. for thirty years did the sons of mary and of elisabeth wait patiently, unnoticed, till the time came when they were to enter on the work appointed for each. at that time, herod antipas (one of the sons of herod the great) was tetrarch or governor of galilee, while his brother philip was tetrarch of ituræa, and of other parts of the country lying to the east of the sea of galilee and the river jordan. archelaus, as we have already said, had for his misconduct been banished by the romans into gaul, and the province of judæa was governed by a roman, called pontius pilate. augustus cæsar, who was the emperor of rome when jesus christ was born, died when our lord was about fourteen years old; and another emperor, called tiberius cæsar, ruled over the vast possessions of the romans, when jesus and his forerunner john the baptist, entered upon their public ministry. the bible tells us, that at this time annas and caiaphas were high priests: by the law of moses, the jews could only have one high priest at a time, and when once appointed, he continued to hold that high office as long as he lived; but when the romans took possession of the holy land, they appointed the high priest at their pleasure--often depriving one of the office, in order to bestow it upon another. annas was high priest for eleven years, and then the roman governor deprived him of the office, and made caiaphas, who had married the daughter of annas, high priest in the place of his father-in-law. according to the will of the romans, therefore, caiaphas was actually high priest at this time; though, according to the law of moses, he had no right to be so, as long as annas was alive. no doubt the more devout jews, who wished to keep their law, looked upon annas as their high priest; whilst those who were careless and indifferent, and wished rather to please the romans, acknowledged caiaphas: for this reason st. luke speaks of them both as high priests. we must remember that john was born a few months before jesus, to "go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways," consequently he was the first to appear in public. he went first as a messenger, to prepare the people to listen to the messiah: john came, and called upon all men to repent of their sins and wickedness, to leave off doing wrong, and to do such things as god commanded them to do. john also invited the people to be baptized. baptism was a rite or ceremony in use amongst the jews before this time, by way of admitting strangers into their church: for instance, if any gentiles wished to join the jews, and worship god as they did, they were baptized, or washed with water; and after this ceremony, they were looked upon as new creatures, fit to be admitted into the jewish church. the jews, by baptizing the heathen, admitted them into their church, into a new religion; john called upon the jews to be baptized, because they were to change their religion, and become members of a church, which should have christ for her head. the jews baptized persons who, according to their law, were unclean, in order to purify them; but john called upon those, who according to the law were clean already, to come to him and be baptized, in order to show, that all who would belong to christ must purify their hearts, and obey the spirit as well as the letter of all the commandments. this distinction between the letter and the spirit of any commandment, must be carefully and constantly borne in mind, by every christian. for example, the sixth commandment says, "thou shalt do no murder"; therefore all, who do not actually kill a fellow creature, may be said to obey the _letter_, or exact _words_, of this commandment; but to obey the spirit, we must never do anything wilfully to hurt our neighbour in any way; we must, on the contrary, do all the good we possibly can to our fellow creatures. to make this plainer, suppose a mother to say to her children, "you may go out, but it is so hot that you must not run about": the children go out, and then amuse themselves by jumping--they have obeyed the letter of their mother's commands, for they did not _run_, but they have broken the spirit--she wished them not to heat themselves,--that was the spirit and meaning of the precept; and that they have broken, just as much as if they had run about. the jews must have well understood, that when john the baptist called upon them to be baptized as if they were unclean, he meant to show them that the messiah required men to be holy, far beyond what they then were; and great numbers of the people listened to his teaching, and went out unto him, and were baptized of him in the river jordan, confessing their sins. "and it came to pass in those days, that jesus came from nazareth of galilee to jordan unto john to be baptized of him. but john forbad him, saying, i have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? and jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. then he suffered him." john spake of the baptism administered by him, as "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins"; meaning that those who repented and were baptized, would have their sins forgiven and done away with, so that they would no longer be looked upon as guilty. john knew that jesus was perfectly holy, and had no need of the baptism of repentance, so necessary for mere mortals. john had also told those who came to him to be baptized "with water unto repentance," that they still needed another baptism from the son of god; even the gift of the holy spirit, without which no man could please the lord. he told them, "there cometh one mightier than i after me, whose shoes i am not worthy to bear,"--"the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to unloose,"--"he shall baptize you with the holy ghost." in eastern countries, the visitors to princes and great men, took off their shoes, that is, the sandals or slippers worn upon the feet, and left them at the door, whilst they went barefooted into the presence of the prince. the fastenings or latchets of these shoes were often undone by a slave, who also held the shoes till his master again required them. thus to unfasten or bear the shoes of another, signified being his servant, ready to do any service that might be required. john therefore meant, that he who was to come after him was so greatly his superior, that he (john) was not worthy even to do for him the lowest offices required from a slave. no wonder that with such feelings, john objected to jesus being baptized by him, who was in every respect so far his inferior; and who, like all other human beings, had need of the holy spirit which god alone could give. but amongst the jews, those who were admitted to perform the office of priest were always anointed and baptized; and, as jesus came to be our great high priest, it was necessary that he should observe this form, as he had undergone the rite of circumcision. he came to fulfil all righteousness, to do all that was right, and then to suffer punishment, as if he had been sinful instead of sinless. to make atonement for the sin of man, it was necessary that he who made it, should obey and fulfil perfectly the whole will of god, and then suffer, "the just for the unjust." only so could atonement be made: this jesus explained to john, and then the baptist no longer hesitated to baptize with water the sinless son of god. chapter vi.--jesus tempted of the devil "and jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased." the three persons in the holy trinity were thus at once made manifest, or shown to john the baptist: before him, under the form of man, stood god the son: god the holy ghost came down from heaven in a bodily form, with a gentle motion like that of a dove, and rested upon the son of god: god the father was not made visible to the eyes, but his voice was heard, declaring jesus to be his son, the promised messiah, the saviour of the world. after his baptism, jesus was, by the appointment of his father, "led by the holy spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." it was necessary that jesus should gain a victory over the great enemy of mankind, and show that the devil had no power to lead him to do evil. since adam fell, no human being had ever so completely resisted the devil as to _deserve_ the favour of god; thus no one had ever earned eternal life even for himself. jesus came to make atonement for the sin of countless millions: but he could not have made satisfaction for the sins of others, if he had in the least thing given way to the devil. therefore he must fight and conquer, or the work which he came to do must have remained for ever undone. in scripture, jesus christ is called the second adam: "the first adam is of the earth, earthy, the last adam is the lord from heaven." the first adam was created holy and good, but he was tempted by the devil and sinned; "so by the disobedience of one man came death, for in adam all die." all who bear the same nature, must share the punishment due to that sinful nature. but the holy and eternal son of god took upon himself the human nature of man, and became subject to the like infirmities, but without sin. thus was atonement made--"in christ shall all," who give themselves to him, "be made alive": "thus by man came also the resurrection of the dead." the devil exerted all his power to lead jesus to do something which would displease god, and destroy the blessed work of redemption. taking advantage of jesus being hungry and faint after long fasting, the devil gently proposed that he should turn some stones into bread, and thus at the same time supply his own wants, and give a convincing proof that he was indeed the son of god, as he had been just declared to be. we are ready enough to take any excuse for doing what we wish to do; and by this means we often fall into the snare which satan so cleverly spreads for us. but jesus thought of nothing but how to do the will of his father completely and entirely. he had been led into the wilderness by the spirit of god, and it was the will of his heavenly father that he should now be enhungered. jesus was therefore determined to leave the matter entirely in the hands of god. this is what we should all do, rather than try to help ourselves by doing anything that we fear may displease god. satan next wanted jesus to throw himself down from the roof of the temple into the court below, where the people were assembled, and thus show them at once that he was the promised messiah, the son of god, of whom david had written, god "shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." but jesus, still bent upon doing his father's will, answered from scripture, "it is said, thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god," meaning that no one must run into unnecessary danger, to try whether god will preserve him: this is tempting providence, and is sinful. to do our duty in spite of danger is trusting god, and is right: but to run into danger just to please ourselves, expecting that god will preserve us, is presumptuous and sinful. satan made a last attempt to get jesus to bow down to him, by promising to give him power over all the kingdoms of the world; but jesus was content to have only what god saw fit to give him, and replied, "get thee hence, satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve." the battle was over; the victory was gained: as man, jesus had been tempted; as man, he had resisted the devil. he had fought and conquered, and thus could go on with his blessed work, which he never could have accomplished, had he at this, or any other time, given way in the least degree to the devil. for the first time since the creation, satan found himself defeated: against our blessed saviour he could not prevail, as he had done against adam and his descendants; he departed therefore: we are told, "then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." the father sent his angels to minister to his son; that is, to serve him; to supply those wants to which, as man, he was subject. no doubt they brought him food of which his human nature stood greatly in need. we have seen how jesus resisted the devil; each time using the very words of scripture, which forbade him to do as the tempter proposed. the devil is constantly tempting every human being to sin, by suggesting that they had better follow their own wishes and inclinations, instead of denying themselves, and trying in all things to please god. we should therefore bear in mind, that we possess the same scriptures, and far more; since we have now our saviour's own words whilst he was upon earth, and also the letters of his apostles: and then, when we are tempted to do what is wrong, let us remember what the scriptures say, and obey _that_, instead of following our own wills. the young are never too young to begin to resist the devil, who has temptations suited to every age and condition: if you feel disinclined to obey your parents cheerfully, remember that the bible says, "children obey your parents in all things": let all inclination to dispute with one another be driven away by the recollection of the precept, "be ye kind one to another." the direction, "speak every man truth with his neighbour," should strengthen you to resist every temptation to hide a fault, by saying what is not true, or even by keeping silence, or doing anything to deceive another. the fault into which so many young people fall, of being idle and careless about their lessons, would best be checked by calling to mind the precepts, "be not slothful in business," and "whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the lord." these, and many like precepts, warn us to conquer faults of which we are apt to think too lightly; not seeing that they are temptations set before us by the devil, who strives to destroy our souls. but it is also written, "resist the devil, and he will flee from you." begin at once to resist him with all your strength--struggle against your own will and inclinations, which will too often incline you to yield to his suggestions. fight manfully as long as you live upon earth; praying always for help from god, without whom ye can do nothing. if thus steadily and heartily you endeavour to renounce the devil and all his works, with all the sinful lusts of the flesh, and do everything to please god, you will hereafter receive your reward in heaven for jesus christ's sake. after the baptism and temptation of jesus christ, he began his work amongst men, by declaring to them the blessed truths of the gospel. the first men who became disciples, or followers of jesus christ, were andrew and john, who were already disciples of john the baptist. "the next day," after the baptism of our lord, "john stood and two of his disciples; and looking upon jesus as he walked, he saith, behold the lamb of god!" the priests and levites, as well as all the people of the jews, knew that lambs were daily offered up as an atonement for sin, but that the blood of these creatures could never wash out the stain of sin, nor obtain its forgiveness. they were quite aware that these sacrifices were only offered up as a type, or sign of the messiah; for whose coming they looked, to make atonement for the sin of the whole world. john the baptist had repeatedly told his disciples that he was not himself the messiah, but was the messenger to prepare his way before him. when, therefore, john the baptist exclaimed, "behold the lamb of god," andrew and john at once understood, that this was indeed the long-looked-for messiah, the true lamb of god, who was to take away the sins of the whole world. "the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed jesus." jesus asked them, "what seek ye?" at once acknowledging him to be their master, the disciples asked him, "rabbi, where dwellest thou? he saith unto them, come and see. they came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day; for it was about the tenth hour." that is, it was about two hours before sunset. andrew next went in search of his own brother simon peter, and "saith unto him, we have found the messiah." simon peter at once believed these glad tidings, and went with andrew to jesus, who received him kindly. the next day philip, who lived in the same town as andrew and peter, and had no doubt often talked with them of the promised saviour, also became a follower of jesus; and he likewise brought a friend called nathanael, of whom we must say something more. chapter vii.--the first miracle. nathanael, who was brought to jesus by philip, was one of those devout jews who had studied the writings of moses and the prophets, and was in consequence anxiously expecting the coming of the promised messiah. philip went and told him that the messiah was really come at last, and that he himself had seen the wondrous being, of whom moses and the prophets had written; and that he was no other than jesus of nazareth, the son of joseph. now at that time the inhabitants of nazareth did not generally bear a good character, and were not therefore held in esteem by their fellow countrymen; and besides, nathanael had learned from the scriptures, that christ should be born in bethlehem; hence he doubted the possibility of jesus being the promised redeemer, and asked in a tone of incredulity, "can there any good thing come out of nazareth?" philip, whose faith was firm, gave the best answer which ever can be given to those who doubt the testimony of others, "come and see"; certain that if nathanael were to see and talk with jesus, he would be convinced that he was indeed the messiah. nathanael, who was willing and anxious to learn the truth, laid aside all prejudice, and went to jesus; and fully was he rewarded for his willingness to learn. when jesus saw nathanael coming unto him, he spoke in a manner which surprised the latter, and made him ask, "whence knowest thou me? jesus answered and said unto him, before that philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, i saw thee." it seems that nathanael, following a custom amongst the devout jews, had gone into a quiet, retired part of his garden, to meditate and pray. here he knew that no human eye could see him, and therefore the words now spoken by jesus convinced him that jesus of nazareth was indeed the promised messiah; he doubted no longer, but without hesitation, exclaimed, "rabbi, thou art the son of god, thou art the king of israel." jesus, pleased with nathanael's willing faith, told him that he should see greater proofs of his being indeed the son of god, the promised messiah. the word rabbi means a "teacher having authority." andrew and peter, james and john, of whom we have heard as the first disciples of christ, did not at this time remain with him as his constant attendants, but returned to their own occupation as fishermen: they all lived at bethsaida, a town on the northern coast of the sea of galilee. the next event which we have to notice, is the first miracle worked by christ, at cana in galilee, where with those who had already become his disciples, he attended a marriage feast. here, when wine was wanted, jesus performed his first miracle, by turning water into wine. thirty years had now passed away since the birth of christ; the shepherds, and others who had seen or heard the wonderful things which took place at that time, had probably ceased to think much about them; or if they thought of them, it was probably to wonder what had become of the holy babe, who had been declared by angels to be "christ the lord." such a miracle as that now worked at cana, would be talked of far and wide; and those who remembered the birth of mary's son at bethlehem, would have no difficulty in believing that jesus christ was that wondrous child. to all who were inclined to listen to jesus, miracles were a confirmation of their faith; for these wonderful displays of supernatural power plainly showed him to be the son of god; yet in spite of such unmistakable signs, few of the jews accepted jesus as their expected messiah. the poorer people, the lower classes, who benefited mostly by his miracles, "heard him gladly," for a time, at least; though at the period of his crucifixion their voices called out, "crucify him, crucify him!" when we read the account of christ's life and miracles, it does seem most extraordinary, that throughout his career on earth, very few of the higher class of jews, or of the priests and those best acquainted with the scriptures, would acknowledge him. but we must remember that they had made up their minds, in spite of all that the prophets had said to the contrary, that the messiah was to come as an earthly king and conqueror, surrounded with pomp and splendour: this idea they would not give up: they were not like nathanael, willing to be taught, and they could not bear the idea that a poor man, born in a humble rank of life, and only distinguished from other men by his holiness, should be their messiah. besides this, the greater part of the jews had by this time grown careless about their religion; they still observed the outward forms and ceremonies ordered by the law, but they did not obey the command given through moses, to love the lord their god with all their heart: they did not wish to be holy, as jesus plainly told his disciples they must be. he went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom, that is, telling all men that they must repent of all their sins, and leave off doing wrong, and try to please god in everything, if they would hereafter be received into the kingdom of heaven. such doctrine was very displeasing to the jews, and therefore they were determined not to own such a teacher as their lord: thus they rejected the true messiah, whilst they pretended to be anxiously looking out for his coming. not very long after the miracle at cana, we are told that "the jews' passover was at hand, and jesus went up to jerusalem." the law of moses commanded, that at this feast every male among the jews, should appear before the lord in his holy temple; and jesus, who was to set an example of perfect obedience to all the commandments of god, journeyed from capernaum up to jerusalem, to keep the feast in the place which the lord had chosen. when jesus went up to this passover, he drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple, an action repeated on a future occasion. at this time st. john says, that jesus "found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, take these things hence; make not my father's house a house of merchandise." it is not meant that these animals, or the money changers, were in the _building of the temple itself_, but in one of the courts surrounding it. so many creatures were required for sacrifices, that it was a great convenience for persons coming from a distance, to be able to buy what they wanted on the spot; and therefore it had long been the custom for traders to establish themselves outside of the outer court of the temple, to supply the worshippers with oxen, sheep or doves. then again, people coming from a distance, might bring their money in a large sum, and then they would want to have it changed for coins of less value; just as we might carry a sovereign, which would give us no trouble to carry, and then get it changed into shillings, when we wanted to spend it. some jews also, who came to the temple from time to time, lived in foreign countries, and they would naturally bring the money of those countries, which would be of no use in judæa; and they would therefore wish to change their foreign money into the money current amongst the jews. for these reasons the money changers were most useful; and they therefore established themselves with the traders, outside the temple courts. but the priests, as well as the people, became careless about obeying god perfectly, or worshipping him in a proper manner and honouring his house; and therefore, at length, these money changers and sellers of cattle, established themselves in the court of the gentiles, and so carried on their trade within the sacred precincts of the temple. this outer court, in which the money changers and those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves appear to have established themselves, was the court of the gentiles; and was intended for the use of devout persons, who, though not willing in all respects to imitate the jews, were to worship the one true god. in this court also, all jews who happened to be _unclean_, performed their devotions, as they were not then allowed to go into the inner court. there were very many things which caused a jew to be looked upon as unclean, without any fault of his. illness, a death in the house, nursing the sick; and many other things, rendered a man "unclean," and unfit to enter the inner court. under these circumstances, there were always many unclean jews, worshipping god in the court of the gentiles; and the presence of the traders and money changers was a great disturbance to both jews and gentiles; for they could not attend properly to their prayers, in the midst of all the noise and confusion made by the buyers and sellers. this wrong state of things jesus put an end to, by driving all these traders out of the temple courts; telling the people not to make the house of god a house of business, a place for buying and selling. the disciples of jesus who witnessed his conduct on this occasion, remembered that david, speaking of the messiah who was to come, said, "the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," words that meant, that jesus would not allow any dishonour or disrespect to be shown to the house of god. by saying to the people, "make not my father's house a house of merchandise," jesus plainly declared himself to be the son of god; and the jews so understood his words, though they would not own him to be the son of god, but immediately asked, "what sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" that is, what proof can you give us that you are what you say, and that you have any right to turn these people out of the court of the temple? had this question been asked in a proper spirit, from a real desire to know for certain, in order that they might worship jesus as the messiah, they would no doubt have received a plain and direct answer. but they had no intention of following and obeying jesus as their lord and master, and only wished to find excuses for not believing in him; therefore our lord, who knew all the thoughts in their hearts, answered them in a very remarkable way, giving them a sign which would hereafter prove him to be indeed the son of god. chapter viii.--nicodemus comes by night to jesus. to the question, what sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? jesus answered, "destroy this temple, and in three days i will raise it up." these words were a prophecy: jesus "spake of the temple of his body," and thus declared that his own body would be killed, but that after three days he would rise to life again. the jews, thinking only of the building before their eyes now, exclaimed in astonishment, "forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?" it had taken herod forty-six years to repair and beautify the second temple, and the jews might well doubt its being done in three days: they thought of nothing further, and were probably quite satisfied that jesus had now said what could not possibly be. but the disciples felt sure that these words of their lord had some hidden meaning, though they did not understand what: they therefore remembered them; and after their accomplishment their faith was strengthened; for we read, "when therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which jesus had said." all scripture, as we know, was written for our instruction, and therefore we must always think what we can learn from it: now the clearing of the temple court by jesus teaches us two great lessons: first, that we must never use the house of god for any purpose but that for which it is intended. now, to us, our churches are the house of god; and if we do not use them as we ought, we sin as did the jews. of course, we cannot make them a house of merchandise as the jews did; but if we are thinking of our business, or our pleasure, or anything else, instead of attending to what is going on, we are not using the house of god in a proper manner. our churches are set apart for the worship of god as much as the temple was; and if we do not worship god when we go for that purpose, we displease our heavenly father. everything belonging to god must be treated with reverence, and honoured by being used according to his will. in this way, therefore, we must reverence and honour his day, his house, and his word. you will thus see that being careless and inattentive at church is a great sin. god sees your heart, and knows all your thoughts, so that if you are thinking of something else, though you may be sitting still and thus _appear_ good to man, he will be displeased. in all the prayers you must join heartily: when the lessons are read, you will generally be able to understand them. when the clergyman begins to preach his sermon, try to understand what he says: if you really cannot understand his sermon, then think about some person mentioned in scripture, as adam, abraham, jacob, david, solomon, samuel, and many others, and consider what they did to please or displease god; or say over your hymns and texts to yourself: this will prevent your thoughts from wandering off to your business, or pleasures, or any such things. in the house of god, you must _think_ of _nothing but_ god, and how to please him. now let us talk of the other lesson, which we are to learn from what jesus did. jesus spake of his body as a temple; and st. paul tells us, that all who love and follow christ are so joined together in him, that they are like stones joined together to build up a holy temple, for an habitation of god through the spirit. as christians baptized in the name of the father, son, and holy ghost, we have all become stones or parts of that holy temple the church of christ; members or parts of his body: for the scripture calls the church of christ his body. now as long as we are obedient and faithful members of christ's body, the church, the holy spirit will bless and help us: but if we give way to our own sinful feelings, we bring bad passions into this holy temple, the church of christ, and "defile," or make it unclean, as the jews defiled the temple built by hands by bringing oxen and sheep into its courts. st paul warns us of the consequence of such sin: "if any man defile the temple of god, him will god destroy." but further, the same apostle st. paul teaches each one of us to look upon our own body as a temple, for the abode of the holy spirit. now, as a temple is devoted to the service of god, so we must employ our bodies in serving him, and doing his will. the temple must not be defiled; so we must try hard to keep all naughty tempers out of our hearts. disobedience, passion, quarrelsomeness, idleness--in short, all the faults you can have--are evil things which defile the temple, and render it unfit for the abode of the holy spirit. if you try to resist evil, the holy spirit will help you to do so; but if you give way to bad passions, and allow the devil to govern you, you will grieve the holy spirit of god, and at last _force_ him to leave you to follow your own ways. to be left to follow your own evil ways is the most dreadful thing that can happen to you. pray to god, and try to have him always for your friend. we have said that during our saviour's ministry on earth, few of the higher class of jews became his disciples; but there was one remarkable exception, in the case of a man named nicodemus, whose conversation with our blessed lord is particularly instructive. we read in the gospel of st. john, "there was a man of the pharisees, named nicodemus, a ruler of the jews: the same came to jesus by night, and said unto him, rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from god: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except god be with him." nicodemus was a man of sense, and the miracles of jesus had convinced him; for he felt certain that no one but the son of god, the messiah, could do such things. he was willing to acknowledge this; but afraid of the ridicule or reproaches of his friends, he came to jesus by night, that no man might know of his visit. christ, who is very merciful, did not refuse to listen to nicodemus, but began to show him that there must be some proof of faith in a holy life. so when nicodemus declared his belief that jesus came from god, "jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, i say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god." nicodemus, not understanding the real meaning of these words, "saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old?" meaning that it was impossible for a man who had been born many years before, again to become a baby. "jesus answered, verily, verily, i say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god. that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." jesus meant that, as to the body or flesh, no man could of course be born again; but that by the help of the holy spirit, the man's nature might be changed so that he would become holy, trying in all things to please god: such a change in the character, temper, and disposition might be compared to a new birth; and without such a complete change, no one could enter into the kingdom of god. such teaching might well cause nicodemus great surprise; and jesus said unto him, "marvel not that i said unto thee, ye must be born again. the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the spirit." in these words our saviour warns nicodemus, that a man's conduct only can show whether he has been born of the spirit: just as we cannot see the wind, but we know that it blows, because we hear the noise it makes, and see its effects in the way the trees and other things are blown about. nicodemus, in astonishment at all he heard, now said, "how can these things be?" and then jesus told him how necessary it was to have faith when hearing of heavenly things, since it is impossible for man to understand how the great works of god are done. at this time jesus uttered that remarkable prophecy, comparing his crucifixion to the setting up of the brazen serpent in the wilderness; saying, "and as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." when the children of israel were dying from the effects of the bites of the fiery flying serpents, those who so believed the words of moses, as to look up at the brazen serpent, were saved at once from the death of the body. when all the children of men were dying from the effects of sin (the bite of that old serpent the devil), all who would in faith look up to the cross of christ, and believe in him, would be saved from the far more dreadful death (or eternal misery) of the soul. and then our saviour went on to speak of the great love of god, as shown by his giving his son to die for man. "after these things came jesus and his disciples into the land of judæa; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. and john also was baptizing in Ænon, near to salim, because there was much water there": here many of the people came to john, and were baptized. some of those who came to him, seem to have been rather distressed or surprised that jesus was drawing men away from him; and they said, "rabbi, he that was with thee beyond jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." john immediately reminded his hearers, that he had always told them that he had only come as the messenger of christ to prepare his way, and that now that christ was come, his ministry was ended, and he had only to rejoice in the success of his heavenly master. he himself was but a man, "of the earth, earthy"; but of him whose messenger he was, he said, "he that cometh from above, is above all." moreover, john said, "he must increase, but i must decrease." jesus had just begun his work, which would go on and increase; john's work was finished, and he himself would not long remain on earth. and so it was; for very shortly afterwards, john the baptist was shut up in prison by herod antipas, the governor of galilee. chapter ix.--john put into prison. herod antipas, one of the sons of herod the great, was governor of galilee: philip, another of them, was governor or tetrarch of itruria. the word "tetrarch" means the governor of a certain portion of a kingdom. the land of palestine being subject to the romans, they had divided it into portions; and the governors of each portion were styled tetrarchs. philip had a wife called herodias, a bad woman, who behaved ill to her husband, and at length left him, and became the wife of his brother herod. now this was a great sin on the part of herod, as well as that of herodias, and john the baptist reproved them for it: this holy man was not afraid to speak the truth, though doing so was sure to bring trouble upon himself, for herod was a proud man, who would not like to be told of his faults, and herodias would be much more angry. but john had been sent by god the father to prepare the way of the lord, by teaching his will to men, and exhorting them to repentance and amendment of life: this john was determined to do, undismayed by any fear of what man might do to him; and therefore he told herod, that it was not lawful, not allowed by the law of god, that he should thus take his brother's wife to be his wife. the consequence was, that john was immediately put into prison. herodias, who hated him for reproving her, would gladly have had him put to death; but she could not yet prevail on herod to consent to so wicked an act. there seems to have been two reasons which made herod unwilling to put his prisoner to death. in the first place, many of the jews looked upon john as a prophet and a teacher sent by god; and herod feared that there might be some riot amongst the people, in which case the romans might accuse him of having misgoverned the country, and suffer him to be no longer governor. the other reason was, that although herod was angry with john, he could not help seeing that he was a good and holy man; so much so, that he listened to his advice on many points, though he would not act according to it, in the matter of herodias. even after john was cast into prison, herod often "sent for him, and heard him gladly, and did many things." well would it have been for herod, if he had done _all_ things according to john's advice. "now after that john was put in prison, jesus came into galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god": preaching, that is, the good tidings of how sinful man might enter into the kingdom of god, from which the fall of adam had shut him out. "repent ye and believe the gospel," was the sum of his preaching: true repentance would make men leave off sinning; and belief in the gospel would lead them to strive to be holy, out of love for the saviour, who was come upon earth to deliver them from eternal misery. he preached the gospel of the kingdom of god to all who would hear him; they naturally told others; so that "there went out a fame of him through all the region round about." besides this, "jesus taught in their synagogues." synagogues were buildings in which the jews assembled to pray to god, and to hear the holy scriptures read and explained. the use of synagogues began after the return of the jews from their captivity in babylon; and in our saviour's time there were great numbers of them, not only in towns and villages, but all over the country: some writers tell us, that wherever there were ten grown-up men, able to form a congregation, the jews thought it right to build a synagogue. it would be well if christians had in this matter followed the example of the jews; for unhappily there are not now nearly enough churches in our land, so that there are great numbers of men, women, and children in england, who could not go to church if they wished to do so, because there is not room enough for them. this is very sad, and we should always be ready to give our money to help in building churches, which are so much wanted all over the country. the synagogues were generally built close to rivers and brooks, so as to have water at hand for all the ceremonies of purification: it was right in the jews to observe these outward ceremonies, but it would have been better for them if they had remembered, that they were only ordered, to show the necessity of purifying the heart and life from sin. let _us_ remember this, and pray to god, "make me a clean heart, o god." the daily service in the synagogue, consisted of prayers and the reading of a portion from the books of moses, which was afterwards expounded or explained: on the sabbath days, a second portion of scripture, from the writings of the prophets, was read in addition. a certain number of wise and serious men, were chosen to be rulers of each synagogue; that is, to settle all matters concerning it, and to arrange the services, and appoint the readers. the readers were usually some of the scribes; but strangers were often allowed to read and expound the scriptures in their place, and any one who was looked upon as a prophet, would be eagerly listened to. to show their reverence for the scriptures, the jewish doctors stood up whilst they read the daily portions, and then sat down, whilst they explained the meaning to their congregation. whenever any person among the jews set himself up as the founder or leader of a party, by teaching any peculiar doctrines, he was allowed by the rulers to explain these doctrines publicly in the synagogues; so that all men might have an opportunity of hearing his opinions, and judging whether such a teacher spoke according to the scriptures, and ought to be listened to, and followed. in consequence of this custom, jesus christ, and in after times his apostles also, were allowed to read and expound in the synagogues. every considerable synagogue, that is, every one so situated as to have a large congregation, had attached to it an academy, or school for elder children, who here studied the scriptures under the guidance of the rabbis. but unfortunately, with the scriptures, which are the word of god, these rabbis instructed the jewish youth in the traditions of man. "traditions" were sayings and doctrines which had never been written down, but had merely been told by word of mouth from father to son, and had thus been handed down through many generations. many of these traditions, which had some truth in them at first, had become sadly altered by thus being told by one to another; so that some of them were, in our saviour's time, quite contrary to the commandments and precepts of god. other traditions again had been entirely invented by men, and were not deserving of any attention; but the jews received them all, and looked upon them as equal in authority, or rather as superior, to the holy scriptures themselves. the rabbis who taught in the academies attached to the synagogues, sat in the midst of their scholars, who all stood round them. we have said, that "when jesus had heard that john was cast into prison, he departed into galilee," preaching and teaching throughout the country. "and leaving nazareth," which had been the home of his childhood, "he came and dwelt in capernaum, which is upon the sea coast (of the lake of tiberias), in the borders of zabulon and nepthalim." thus was fulfilled the prophecy spoken by esaias, that is isaiah, "the land of zabulon and the land of nepthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond jordan, galilee of the gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." in the holy scriptures, the word "darkness" constantly means ignorance and sin; whilst "light" is used to express the contrary, as knowledge and goodness. the people of galilee were ignorant and sinful, but the gospel of jesus christ was as a light to drive away this darkness, by teaching men to believe in their saviour, and obey the will of god. this blessing was now brought, as the prophet isaiah had foretold, to the country round about capernaum. from this time, capernaum seems to have been the home of jesus christ; as far, at least, as he could be said to have a home, when his whole life was spent in moving about the country from one place to another, "teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people." in the four gospels you must look for the full account of the miracles, parables, and conversations of our blessed saviour; here many of them will be only briefly mentioned. in passing on one occasion from judæa into galilee, "he must needs go through samaria." his disciples being gone into the town to buy food, jesus asked a woman of samaria who came to draw water from the well, to give him to drink; and he took this occasion to tell her, that it signified little in what place men worshipped god, if they worshipped him properly "in spirit and in truth," that is, truly and sincerely, in faith; and he ended by telling her plainly that he was the messiah, expected by samaritans as well as by jews. in consequence of what passed between our lord and this woman, many of the samaritans believed in him as the christ, the saviour of the world. jesus appears to have remained at samaria for two days; and we may be quite sure that during that time he preached "the gospel of the kingdom" to all who would hear his words. next we hear of another miracle worked at cana, where he had changed the water into wine. a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at capernaum, came to him to implore his help: this nobleman believed that jesus could heal his son, and his faith was rewarded by having his child restored to health. after this, jesus "came to nazareth, where he had been brought up; and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet esaias. and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the lord. and he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him," eagerly expecting the explanation of this passage of holy writ. jesus told them, that this prophecy was now fulfilled in him; and when they hesitated to believe in "joseph's son," and seemed to wonder why he did not work miracles there, he reminded them that miracles were worked, and always had been worked, just according to the pleasure of god, who often chose the most unlikely persons to work his miracles upon. his words made all who were in the synagogue very wrath; "and they rose and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow (or edge) of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong," and so put an end to his life and his preaching; but not yet, and not so, was the son of man to die. he therefore worked a miracle to save himself, and "passing through the midst of them, went his way." chapter x.--calling of simon and others. the number of christ's disciples increased, but it was necessary that he should have a certain number of faithful men constantly with him, to be witnesses of all that he said and did whilst on earth; so that they might teach "the gospel of the kingdom" to others, when he should have returned to his father in heaven. to this end, therefore, when walking by the sea of galilee, jesus bid the two brothers, simon called peter, and andrew, leave their occupation of fishermen, and follow him wheresoever he should go; telling them that he would make them fishers of men: meaning, that as by putting their nets into the sea, they had hitherto brought fish to land; so now, by preaching the gospel, they should bring men to the kingdom of heaven. jesus did not speak in vain: "straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. and when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. and straightway he called them; and they left their father zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him." a miracle quickly confirmed the faith of these four disciples. the people, who had gathered round our lord to hear his words, so pressed upon him, that he entered into simon's ship, and from thence taught the people. when he had spoken to them for some time, "he said unto simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." now peter, who had been toiling all night, which is the best time for catching fish, knew that there was little chance of taking any then; but the command of his master was enough for him. his obedience was rewarded by a wonderful draught (or take) of fishes, which greatly astonished simon and andrew, as well as their partners, james and john. peter, seeing the wonderful works of god, felt that he was utterly unworthy even to be the servant of so glorious a being, and falling at jesus's knees, he exclaimed, "depart from me; for i am a sinful man, o lord!" but jesus encouraged him, and repeated his promise, that his disciples should by their preaching of the gospel bring the hearts of men to love and obey the lord, for "he said unto simon, fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. and when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him." from henceforth these four disciples, who had been especially called, became the constant attendants of our lord. three of them, simon, james, and john, were more particularly favoured; for they are mentioned as being with the lord on many occasions, when his other disciples were not with him; thus they were witnesses of all the wonderful events in his life. after the calling of simon and his companions, jesus went with them into capernaum; "and on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught." jesus did not talk to the people, as many of the scribes did, about ceremonies and traditions; but he tried to draw their thoughts away from such comparative trifles, and fix them upon the lord god almighty--upon his goodness and mercy, and upon the necessity of faith and love producing perfect obedience to his holy will. jesus spake of holiness and righteousness in a way that they had never before heard; and he spake also in a tone of authority as one who had a right to command. he told them that he was indeed the son of god, and that he spake unto them in the name of the lord god of israel: he warned the impenitent and disobedient, that they would bring eternal misery upon themselves, while he promised eternal happiness to all who would believe and obey. no wonder that his hearers were astonished at such teaching, from one who appeared to be merely a man like themselves. but to convince them that they might safely believe in him, jesus, even in the synagogue, healed a man who had a spirit of an unclean devil, so that "the people spake among themselves, saying, what a word is this? for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. and immediately the fame of him went out, and spread abroad throughout all the region, into every place of the country round about galilee." "and when they were come out of the synagogue, jesus with james and john entered into the house of simon and andrew: here the mother of simon's wife lay sick of a fever." the poor woman's friends besought jesus for her; he took her by the hand; the fever left her at once; and then, instead of being weak, as people naturally are after a fever, her health and strength returned at once, and "immediately she arose and ministered unto them." the news of so wonderful a cure, increased the fame of jesus. the wonderful cures performed by jesus brought many to ask his help. "and when the even was come," that is, as soon as the sabbath was over,--for the jews reckoned their sabbath to begin at sunset, or about six o'clock on friday evening, and to end at the same hour on saturday night,--as soon, therefore, as the sabbath was past, "all the city was gathered together at the door, and they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick." thus were fulfilled the words spoken, years before, by esaias the prophet, who said, "himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." this prophecy was doubly fulfilled: first, by healing sicknesses and diseases, christ, during his lifetime, took away the consequence of the punishment of sin; secondly, by his death upon the cross, he took away sin, and procured forgiveness and salvation, for all who seek it in the way appointed by him. "and in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place and there prayed." having taken upon himself the form and nature of man, jesus now set his disciples an example of what prayer ought to be. it is a blessed thing to be allowed to pray to god--to tell him of all our joys and sorrows--and to beg him to bless us, and make us able to do well, whatever work he may give us to do. we sinful creatures have also another thing to pray for; and that is, forgiveness of our sins for jesus christ's sake, and such true repentance, as will make us try every day to do his holy will better and better. for all these blessings we should constantly pray: but you must remember, that it is quite possible for you to kneel down every morning and evening and repeat the prayers which you have learnt, and _yet never really pray one bit_. prayer is speaking to god, and begging him to give us what we stand in need of, both for our souls and bodies. now, amongst ourselves, it is thought very rude and disrespectful, to speak to any person without thinking of what we are saying: and what should we think of a person who went into the presence of an earthly king, to ask some great favour, and then spake in a careless, indifferent manner, without seeming to know or care what he was asking for? we should all blame such a person; and think that he did not deserve to have his petitions granted. what must it be, then, to speak to the lord god almighty, the king of kings, in such a manner? then, again, if you really wanted your parents to do anything for you, or give you anything, you would not ask them carelessly, as if you did not care whether they said "yes" or "no"; you would beg and pray earnestly with all your heart. now this is what you should do when you say your prayers to god, your heavenly father, who can give you all you need on earth; and can besides, put his holy spirit into your heart, and give you eternal happiness hereafter. try, then, always to pray from your heart, and never allow yourself to repeat words carelessly, as if prayer was a task, to be got through as soon as possible. such prayers can never please god; on the contrary, by praying in such a way we commit a great sin; for we take god's holy name in vain, every time we kneel down to say our prayers. written prayers are useful as helps; but you should also try of your own self to ask god to forgive you for any naughty things you have done, and help you to do better: god does not care what words we say, if our hearts really pray. jesus, you will observe, got up before it was light, and went into a quiet place, where he could pray without interruption. he would rather give up his night's rest, than not have time to pray to his heavenly father; and we must remember, that as he had taken upon him the nature of man, he was just as liable to be tired and sleepy as we are; and therefore, he suffered as much from giving up his night's rest as we should do; let his conduct, therefore, be an example to us. in the morning, "simon and they that were with him," (the three other disciples already called,) missed their master, "and followed after him. and when they had found him, they said unto him, all men seek for thee." no doubt, as soon as it was day, all they that had any sick in their families, brought them to be healed, and were disappointed at finding only the disciples. after this, "jesus went about all galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. and his fame went throughout all syria; his wonderful cures were heard of in neighbouring lands, and they brought unto him all sick people and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic (or mad); and he healed them." and there followed him great multitudes of people from galilee, and from decapolis, and from jerusalem, and from judæa, and from beyond jordan. chapter xi.--the leper healed. we read so often in the gospels, of jesus casting out devils and unclean spirits, that it may be as well to say something on this subject, as in these days there is nothing of the kind. we know that the devil has ever been the greatest enemy of mankind, trying to destroy the souls and bodies of men. in the old testament, we read of diviners, enchanters, wizards, sorcerers, and magicians, who were all persons wicked enough to try to have communication with evil spirits; and we also read that the children of israel were commanded to put all such to death. but it seems that when men would persist in doing the devil's work by sinning against god, the evil spirits were allowed to have power over their bodies, as they had, by listening to his temptations, given him power over their souls. certain it is, that in the time of our lord, the evil spirits had some extraordinary power over the bodies of some men; entering into them as it were, and making them do things hurtful to themselves and others. such people are spoken of as "demoniacs," or as being "possessed of devils" or "unclean spirits." most likely the reason why god allowed the devil to have power over the bodies of men, was to show the people the reality of a "ghostly enemy"; and to remind them, that if they allowed the devil to get into their hearts and make them serve him, they would be unfit ever to go into the kingdom of god. the sad state in which these poor demoniacs were, was a sort of sign of the dreadful condition in which all the descendants of adam must for ever have continued, if the son of god had not come down to destroy the works of the devil, and free the souls of men from his power. when jesus cast the devils and unclean spirits out of the _bodies_ of men, it was a plain proof that his power was greater than theirs; and that he could, therefore, most certainly deliver the _souls_ of men from the power of their enemy. evil spirits were thus allowed to show their power, in order more clearly to manifest, or show forth, the great power and glory of the son of god, whom even the devils were bound to obey: they were, moreover, forced to bear witness to the fact that he _was_ the messiah, for on many occasions they cried out, "thou art christ, the son of god." when we read of these unhappy men who were possessed by devils, let us remember that the same evil spirit is watching to destroy us; and that though he has now no power over the bodies of men, he tries to get possession of our hearts, and unless we resist him steadfastly, he will succeed. to encourage us to fight against the devil, we must remember that he has no power over our souls but what we give him, by wilfully sinning against god. powerful as our enemy is, our friend and saviour is vastly more powerful; and he will bless and keep all who do resist the devil, and strive to obey and serve god faithfully. the next miracle mentioned, was the cure of a leper. both jews and gentiles looked upon leprosy as a type of sin; that is, as being to the body, what sin is to the soul: the leprosy first shows itself in a little spot, but quickly spreads, and covers the whole body with sores. sin begins in some act of disobedience; not being resisted, one sin leads to another, till the whole heart is filled with evil passions. the leper was considered unclean, and was not allowed to live amongst god's people, nor enter into the courts of the temple; typifying that sin is hateful in the sight of god, and that those who persist in it cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. the leprosy was looked upon as incurable by any human means, and therefore whenever a leper was healed, it was attributed to an especial exertion of the divine power. in like manner, god only could take away the guilt and punishment of sin, and cleanse the heart of a sinner. the leper, who went to jesus beseeching him, knew that no human skill could heal his disease; but believing him to be the son of god--the messiah, he "fell on his face worshipping him, and saying, lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." pleased with the man's faith, jesus touched him, and said, "i will; be thou clean: and immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. and jesus saith unto him, see thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which moses commanded for a testimony unto them." the levitical law declared, that the priests were to be judges in all cases of leprosy. any one suspected of having this dreadful disease, was to be examined by the priest: if the priest pronounced his disease to be leprosy, he was at once considered unclean, and cut off from all communication with his fellow men. in like manner, if it pleased god to take away the disease, the leper was to go again to the priest to be examined, and if he pronounced him to be cured, the poor man was then considered clean, and restored to the society of his fellow creatures. when our lord dismissed the leper, he told him to "offer those things which moses commanded." the ceremony of cleansing, to be observed by every one who had been cured of leprosy, was as follows:--two live and clean birds were to be taken, with cedar-wood, hyssop, and other things; one of these birds was to be killed over a brook of running water, and its blood received in an earthen vessel: the living bird, with the other things mentioned, was to be dipped in the blood of the dead bird, and the leper was afterwards to be sprinkled with the blood. this was to show, as all sacrifices were intended to do, that sin and uncleanliness could only be done away with, by shedding the blood of the innocent and clean: and thus pointing out to all men, that the blood of jesus christ, the spotless lamb of god, could alone wash away the sin of man. the living bird was then to be let loose in the open fields, to signify that the leper now cleansed from his plague, was free to go where he would amongst his fellow men. this was the ceremony which jesus bade the leper observe, and he was not to mention his cure until all was accomplished. for this there appear to have been two reasons: in the first place, jesus did not wish his ministry to be disturbed, by the excitement which the knowledge of such a miracle would create amongst the people, who on several occasions desired to make him their king even on earth. in the second place, the priests were so obstinately prejudiced against our lord, that they would have been very unwilling to pronounce the leper to be clean, had they known how his cure had been effected: but when once they had declared him to be healed, they could not unsay their own words. the healing of this leper, was the plainest proof that christ could give of his being indeed the son of god; for there was a tradition universally believed by the jews, that when the messiah should come, he would cure the leprosy. the leper did not keep silence, but began to publish it abroad, and so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and "to be healed of their infirmities; insomuch that jesus could no more openly enter the city," without exciting that attention, which at present he wished to avoid: and "he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed": but even here, "they came to him from every quarter." "and again he entered into capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. and straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them." when we read of the multitudes who crowded to hear jesus, it does seem sad that so few profited by what they heard: let us try not to be only "hearers of the word, but doers also." one day, when jesus was thus teaching, with pharisees and doctors of the law, which were come out of every town of galilee, and judæa, and jerusalem, sitting by, a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed which was borne of four, was brought to be healed. the palsy is a sad disease, which often takes away the use of the legs and arms, and renders the poor sufferer perfectly helpless; nor can the physician restore the use of the limbs. those who had brought this poor man on a kind of litter, sought means to bring him into the house, and lay him before jesus: and when they found that they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they went upon the house-top, and uncovered the roof where he was; and when they had broken it up, they let the poor man down through the tiling with his couch, into the midst of the multitude, before jesus. the jewish houses, as we must remember, were only one story high; and in the flat roof was an opening, leading directly to the room below. this opening was closed by a flat door; but it seems that when they had uncovered the opening, by removing the trapdoor, the aperture was not large enough for the litter to pass through it; and therefore they broke up some of the roof, so as to enlarge the opening, and when they had done this, they fastened ropes to the four corners of the sick man's bed, and so let him down at jesus's feet. the trouble they had taken to bring to him a man, who, as they well knew, could not be cured by any human creature, showed that those who brought him, believed that jesus was indeed the son of god, able to heal all manner of diseases. and they received the blessing sought in faith. chapter xii.--calling of matthew. when jesus saw the faith of those who had brought the man sick of the palsy, he said, "son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." these words offended the scribes (or doctors) and the pharisees who were sitting there; and they said within themselves, or thought, "this man blasphemeth," that is, he takes to himself a power which no human being can possess, for "who can forgive sins, but god alone?" here they were right: no _man could_ forgive sin, nor with a word take away the diseases consequent upon sin. the scribes and pharisees do not appear to have even spoken their thoughts to each other, but jesus, by the spirit of god which was in him, perceived that they so reasoned within themselves; "and knowing their thoughts, he answering, said unto them, why reason ye these things, and think evil in your hearts?" that is, why do ye think evil of me, and condemn me as guilty of blasphemy, because i have spoken such words? then jesus asked them, "whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, arise, and take up thy bed and walk?" thus jesus reminded the scribes and pharisees, that to heal a man sick of the palsy was as impossible for a man, as to forgive sin; and that therefore he who could do such things, must be indeed the son of god: and he instantly gave this proof of his being the messiah, saying, "but that ye may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins"--no more _words_ were necessary, the sentence was ended by an action; for turning to the sick of the palsy, he saith, "i say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. and immediately he rose up before them, and took up the bed whereon he lay," that is, the mattress, rolled it up, "and went forth before them all, and departed to his own house, glorifying god." had the pharisees and scribes been really anxious to know the truth, praying to god to show it to them, this miracle must indeed have convinced them that jesus was the messiah; but their hearts were hardened against believing in a messiah, who did not come as a king in earthly power and glory. but whilst the scribes and pharisees would not believe the evidence of their own eyes, the poorer people were less obstinate. when they saw the poor sick man walk away completely cured, the multitude were all amazed at such a wonderful proof of the power of god. "and they said, we have seen strange things to-day: we never saw it on this fashion: and they glorified god, which had given such power unto men." perhaps some of these people became real and true followers of christ: but many of them, notwithstanding all they had seen, did not like to give up their sins, so as to become holy, as christ's disciples must be. we think it strange that men could see such miracles, and not believe and follow jesus: but do we do everything that he bids us? and yet we _know him_ to be the son of god, the saviour of the world. let us take care that we do not love our sins, so as to make us unwilling to be true followers of jesus christ. after these things, we read that as jesus was walking by the sea of galilee, he saw "a man, a publican named levi," also called matthew, "sitting at the receipt of custom." a publican was a tax-gatherer; one who was appointed by the romans to collect the taxes which they required the inhabitants of judæa to pay. the jews disliked paying taxes very much, because it was a mark of their being under the dominion of gentile rulers: and therefore they hated all publicans or tax-gatherers. in general, too, the bad characters and ill conduct of these men did not tend to make men like them: the romans were in the habit of farming out the taxes; that is, they appointed some person who was willing to give them a certain sum of money, and take his chance of what taxes he could collect. if the taxes he collected did not amount to as much as the sum he had paid to the romans, of course he was the loser: if, on the contrary, the taxes came to more than what he had to give to the romans, he was the gainer: thus the publicans, having paid a large sum of money for the privilege of collecting the taxes, were anxious to collect as much as possible, in order to have more for themselves: and so they often oppressed the people, by making them pay more than was right; and of course the people could not like those whom they found so troublesome and unjust, and therefore they hated the whole class of tax-gatherers. levi, or matthew, of whom we are speaking, was a jew, who had taken the office of tax-gatherer under the romans: his particular business seems to have been to receive the money, which every person who carried goods across the sea of galilee was obliged to pay as a tax to their roman masters. matthew was sitting in his appointed place for the receipt, or receiving, of "custom," that is, of the tax which it was the custom to pay on landing, when our lord passed by and saw him. the pharisees and scribes looked upon all publicans, whether they were jews or not, as heathens, unfit to be even spoken to: they would not even try to make them better, as they chose to think that god had quite cast them off. jesus taught a very different lesson, and showed that god is ready to receive all who will repent of their sins and follow him. jesus, who sees what thoughts and feelings are in the heart of every one, made choice of matthew as a fit man to be one of his constant attendants, and therefore, when he saw him sitting at the receipt of custom, "he said unto him, follow me. and he left all, rose up, and followed him." at once, without doubt or hesitation, matthew left all and followed jesus: now, jesus calls all of us when we are baptized; but how few of us try to follow him really and truly? we might perhaps think that it was wrong of matthew thus to leave his business and go away, because then the people who crossed the sea would not pay the tax required by the romans: but as he had paid money to the romans for the situation, they would not be cheated out of the tax: he himself would be the only sufferer. if this had not been the case, he _would_ have been wrong to go away before some other person was appointed in his place: for the bible teaches us, that we must do our duty to man fairly and faithfully, in whatever state of life we are. by doing our earthly business honestly and well, we serve god: if our business takes up too much of our thoughts, and makes us forget god and neglect his worship, then we must give up our business; for we should always think _first_ of pleasing god. the next event we hear of in our saviour's life is, that with his usual obedience to the law, he went up to jerusalem to keep a "feast of the jews": most probably the feast of tabernacles; a feast celebrated in the autumn, as a thanksgiving for the harvest or in-gathering of corn, grapes for wine, and all other fruits of the earth: this feast was also intended to remind them of the journeyings of their forefathers in the wilderness, where they lived in booths or tents for forty years; and therefore they were to keep it, by dwelling for seven days in booths, made of the branches of trees. it seems that by the sheep gate, on the eastern side of jerusalem, there was a pool of water, in which at a certain time of the year god showed his almighty power, by the miraculous cure of any sick person, who, after the troubling or stirring up of the water, first stepped into the pool. by this pool was a building, having five porches, through which the unclean went down to wash in the pool. this building was properly called bethesda, a hebrew word, meaning the house of mercy; and the pool was from it called the pool of bethesda. jesus visited this place, where, in the porches, "lay a great multitude of impotent folk," that is, people who were unable to help themselves on account of blindness, or of diseases which took away the use of their legs and arms. these poor creatures were waiting for the moving of the waters; each hoping that he might be the one to get first into the pool, and be cured. amongst these was a certain man, who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years. jesus chose this man as the object of a miracle, and saith unto him, "wilt thou be made whole?" the poor man, thinking only of the pool, told the lord that he had no chance of being healed, for he had no friends to help him; and that long before he could drag himself to the water, some other person was sure to step in and secure the blessing. jesus then "saith unto him, rise, take up thy bed, and walk." whether this poor man had heard of jesus before, we do not know; but he at once showed his faith, by _trying_ to do, what he knew he _could not_ do, unless he received some miraculous help from god. how delighted he must have been, when he found that a perfect cure was the reward of his faith and obedience! it was on a sabbath day that this miracle was worked; and the jews, probably the scribes and pharisees, found fault with the man, saying, "it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed on the sabbath day." this was so far true, that in the law it was written, "take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day"; and the pharisees, and others who were fond of adding to the outward observances of the law, and of keeping traditions, reckoned a man guilty of breaking the law, if he even carried anything in his hand on the sabbath day. when the jews blamed this man, he answered very properly, that he could not be wrong in obeying the commands of one who had showed that he had power from god, by healing him of his disease. the jews allowed that a prophet had power to excuse men from the strict observance of the sabbath; and, as jesus had proved himself to be more than a prophet, they could say no more on that subject; but wishing to have something to find fault with, they asked the man, "what man is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed, and walk?" this question the man could not answer, for he "wist not who it was, for jesus had conveyed himself away" after working the miracle at the pool of bethesda. chapter xiii.--the pharisees' pretended zeal for the sabbath. the man whom jesus had healed at the pool of bethesda, seems to have made the first use of his restored power by going into the house of god, to thank and praise him for having been made whole. jesus, finding him in the temple, bade him remember the cure which had been worked upon him, and show his gratitude by forsaking all his sins and leading a holy life, so that he might not bring upon himself far more terrible sufferings than any which he could feel upon earth. the man now understood who had cured him, and went "and told the jews that it was jesus which had made him whole": evidently believing that jesus was the messiah, and that his command was quite sufficient to justify a man for doing that which was not strictly lawful on the sabbath day. the jews, however, would not allow this: therefore did they "persecute jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day." jesus, then, in a conversation of which st. john gives us an account, tried to convince the jews that he was indeed the messiah, and as such, _had_ authority even to heal on the sabbath. on this occasion he gave the jews advice that all of us should listen to and follow; for he said, "search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." the jews believed that the scriptures of the old testament, which were all that at that time were written, were indeed the word of god, and that they showed them how to obtain eternal life: jesus therefore bids them read and study them honestly and carefully, and that they would then see that he must be the messiah, of whom those scriptures testify or speak. we know that the new testament as well as the old, is the word of god; and that it shows us the way to eternal life. let us then obey our lord's command, and search the scriptures, that we may learn his will in order to do it. jesus also told the jews, that moses, whom they pretended to obey exactly, wrote of him; and that if they really believed moses, and wished to obey the law, they would acknowledge him to be indeed the messiah, of whom moses and all the prophets had written. all that jesus said, does not seem to have had any effect; for on the next sabbath, something of the same kind happened. the disciples who were following jesus through the corn-fields, being hungry, began to pluck the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands, to take off the husk, and eating them as they went. it might seem to us that the disciples had no right to take ears of corn which did not belong to them, but this was, under the circumstances, allowed by the law of moses, or the levitical law: a hungry man, who was passing through standing corn, might pluck the ears with his hand to satisfy his wants, though he was forbidden "to move a sickle unto his neighbour's standing corn." the pharisees, who were constantly watching for an opportunity to find fault, now asked jesus, why he allowed his disciples to do what was not lawful for them to do on the sabbath day. for very many years the jews had neglected to observe the sabbath in a proper manner, and this neglect of a positive command, had been one cause of the destruction of their kingdom, and of all the misery they afterwards suffered. now their descendants had gone into another sin, and instead of making the sabbath a day of rest from worldly cares,--a day to be devoted to the service of god, and to thinking of all his mercies,--they made so many rules as to what might or might not be done, that the most common and necessary actions, such as healing the sick, or saving the life of an animal, came to be looked upon as unlawful, and therefore sinful. jesus reminded the jews who thus blamed his disciples, that david was not considered to have broken the law of moses, because once, when pressed by hunger, he and his followers had eaten the shewbread, which it "was not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone." he also told them, that no one accused the priests of breaking the law, because on the sabbath day they, in performing the temple services, did things in themselves forbidden on that holy day. jesus ended by declaring, that "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath": that is, that the sabbath was meant for the benefit of mankind, as well as for the glory of god, and not to be an oppressive burden; and that the son of man was lord also of the sabbath, and had therefore power to dispense with its rigorous observance; and that if they had understood the meaning of god's words, "i will have mercy and not sacrifice," they would not have been so ready to blame his disciples, as if they had been guilty of a crime, merely because, to relieve the pangs of hunger, they had plucked a few ears of corn on the sabbath day. on another sabbath, jesus went into a synagogue and taught: and behold, there was a man whose right hand was withered; that is, his hand was so shrunk and dried up, that he could make no use of it. the scribes and pharisees, thinking it likely that jesus would heal this man in spite of its being the sabbath day, watched him; that they might find an accusation against him. "but he knew their thoughts" and purposes, and said to the man with the withered hand, "rise up, and stand forth in the midst. and he arose and stood forth" in the sight of all the people in the synagogue. "and the scribes and pharisees seeing this, asked him, is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him." one party of jews, in their mistaken zeal for the strict observance of the sabbath, had come to the extraordinary decision, that no one might comfort the sick or mourning on that day; though another party did permit the people to prepare medicine, and to perform any service which was required for the actual preservation of life. instead of answering a question only put for the purpose of having something to accuse him of, jesus said unto them, "i will ask you one thing; is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil? to save life or to destroy it?" for he knew that they wished to destroy him, whilst he only wanted to do good to a suffering human creature. whatever might be their wishes, they could not openly declare that it was more lawful to do evil than good; therefore they made no answer, but held their peace. "and he said unto them, what man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? how much then is a man better than a sheep? wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." to such words the jews could make no answer. jesus, grieved to see the hardness of heart that prevented the pharisees believing in him, and made them angry instead of glad, to see a fellow-creature relieved; "looked round about on them with anger, and saith unto the man, stretch forth thine hand": the man had faith to try, and the power to do so was given to him; "he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other." then the pharisees, almost beside themselves with anger, are said to have been filled with madness; and they went forth, with the herodians, and straightway held a council against him; and communed one with another, what they might do to jesus, and how they might destroy him. it is sad to think that all the proofs of our saviour's power, only made the pharisees and others more and more anxious to put him to death. when we read such accounts as these, let us be thankful for our sabbaths, and try to keep them holy; spending our time in worshipping god, in learning our duty, and in doing good to others. above all, let us take particular care to be holy on this holy day; and not to do the least wrong thing, on a day which is called the lord's day. the time was not yet come for jesus to give up his life, and therefore, knowing that the pharisees sought to destroy him, he withdrew himself from jerusalem, and went with his disciples into galilee "to the sea; and a great multitude followed him" from all parts, even from beyond jordan; and also many of the inhabitants of tyre and sidon, having heard what great things jesus had done, came unto him. as many as had plagues or diseases "pressed upon him for to touch him," and he healed them all. "and unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, thou art the son of god." thus was fulfilled what had been said years before by the prophet isaiah, who declared that when the messiah should come to set up a new law, even the gospel, he would use no force nor violence, but do it entirely by kindness; and by showing an example of kindness and forbearance to the weak, encouraging them to become better. the prophet's words, put into his mouth by god, were, "behold, my servant, whom i have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; i will put my spirit upon him; and he shall show judgment to the gentiles. he shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. a bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. and in his name shall the gentiles trust." an _example_ of goodness and holiness and kindness, has more effect than all that can be _said_ on the subject. by the piety and good conduct of the followers of jesus, men were led to take the same part, and thus by the blessing of god, has the gospel spread over the earth. all christians should remember this, and try to show by their conduct that they are followers of jesus. even children can set an example to other children, either for good or evil: but if they do it for evil, they are doing the work of the devil. chapter xiv.--the apostles chosen. as jesus was to live only for a short time on earth, it was needful that he should leave behind him others who should carry on his work, and preach the gospel after his death. but if these men were to repeat to others the words which jesus had spoken, and show them the wonderful things which he had done, it was necessary that they should be constantly with their lord, so as to be able to bear witness as to all that he had said or done. during the time that our saviour had been teaching and healing the sick, many persons had become his followers, besides those whom he had especially called to be his disciples. from amongst the number of those who had become disciples, twelve were now to be chosen, to be in constant attendance upon their master, that they might, after his death, bear witness to his life, and actions, and teaching. the night before this choice was to be made jesus "went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to god." thus he set us an example of the way in which we should prepare ourselves for any important work we have to do; and that is, by asking guidance and help from our heavenly father. "and when it was day, he called unto him his disciples whom he would; and they came unto him: and of them he chose twelve (whom also he named apostles) that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." he ordained twelve--simon (whom he also named peter) and andrew his brother; and "james the son of zebedee, and john the brother of james; and he surnamed them boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder; and philip, and bartholomew; and matthew, and thomas; and james the son of alphæus, and judas thaddæus, the brother of james; and simon the canaanite, called zelotes; and judas iscariot, which also betrayed him." we have already seen how andrew, simon peter, james and john the sons of zebedee, philip, and matthew, were called in the first instance to be the disciples of jesus: bartholomew, who was also ordained an apostle, is supposed to be the same person spoken of as nathanael, who being brought to jesus by philip, at once acknowledged him to be the son of god, and became one of his disciples. of the other five apostles, we know nothing previous to their being now chosen: to the name of one, there is a terrible distinction, "who also betrayed him"; and in the three accounts of this event, written by different writers, he is thus pointed out as "the traitor." of the twelve apostles, five have left us valuable records of our saviour's life and teaching. you will remember that in the bible we have four gospels; that is, four different accounts of our lord's sayings and doings whilst on earth, and of the gospel which he came to teach. the first of these was written by matthew, about five years after the death of jesus christ. the gospels "according to st. mark and st. luke," were written about twenty-seven years later: st. luke was a disciple of christ's before his crucifixion, and st. mark was probably one also, but neither of them was an apostle. as the gospel of st. matthew gives an account of the birth of jesus christ, st. mark's says nothing on the subject, but begins with the public appearance of john the baptist; whilst, on the contrary, that of st. luke gives many particulars omitted by st. matthew. st. john, who lived to be years old, did not write his gospel until sixty-four years after the death of christ: he seems to have written it, in order to tell us many things not mentioned in the former gospels, particularly the conversations and discourses of our lord: and he repeats very little of what is recorded by the other evangelists, as we call those who wrote the gospels. out of the four evangelists, two were apostles also, and two were not. st. luke has also left us another very valuable record, of the acts done by the apostles after our saviour's death: this is the only history of all that the apostles did and said, and it is called "the book of the acts of the apostles." before st. john wrote his gospel, he wrote what is called "the book of the revelation of st. john," being an account of visions vouchsafed him, and prophecies made known to him, whilst in banishment in the isle of patmos, on account of his religion. st. john also wrote three of the epistles, or letters, which form part of the new testament. peter wrote two epistles, james and jude, or judas thaddæus, each one: but the greater number of the epistles were written by st. paul, who did not become a disciple or follower of jesus until after the crucifixion. the jewish rabbis preferred to take as their pupils and disciples, rich and learned men; but, as we have seen, jesus chose poor and ignorant men, to show that learning was not necessary to enable men to understand the gospel; for that its truths are so plain, that even the most ignorant person, who in his heart loves god, can understand the gospel, and learn how to please god. multitudes of the people continued to come to christ, to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases: he healed them all, and also tried to show them how they ought to behave, in order to obtain the blessing of god. seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and there spake all the words which we call the "sermon on the mount": an account of this sermon is given to us both by st. matthew and st. luke. all christians should study it, and try to obey it: even children can understand a good deal of it, if they will try. when jesus "had ended his sayings," and was come down from the mount, "he entered into capernaum, where at this time he worked the miracle of healing the centurion's servant." a centurion, amongst the romans, was the captain or commander of men. this centurion, though he was himself a gentile, was kindly disposed towards the jews, and had at his own expense built a synagogue for their use: he also believed in jesus as the son of god; and did not doubt that at his word the disease of which his servant was dying would at once be removed: therefore, not thinking himself worthy even to speak to the lord, he sent unto him the elders of the jews; probably the elders belonging to the synagogue he had built. jesus immediately went with these elders; but when they got near the centurion's house, some of his friends came at his desire, to beg that jesus would not trouble himself to come, for if he would only speak the word, his servant would be healed. it would seem that the centurion himself quickly followed the last messengers; and he received the reward of his faith, for his servant was healed, and at the same time jesus told those about him, that the centurion had shown more faith than he had found amongst the jews; and that many gentiles would through their faith be received into the kingdom of heaven, whilst many of the jews would be shut out, on account of their wilful unbelief. the next miracle we hear of, was the bringing to life of the widow's son, who was being carried out of nain to be buried, when jesus came to the gate of that city. "and there came a fear on all" who saw these things: "and they glorified god, saying, that a great prophet is risen up among us; and that god hath visited his people." these people rightly felt, that the doer of such things must indeed be the messiah: and this saying was spread abroad, not only throughout all judæa, but throughout all the region round about. "and the disciples of john" went to him in prison, where he had been, as we have heard, put by herod; "and shewed him of all these things." "now when john had heard in the prison the works of christ, he, calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to jesus," telling them to say, "art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" john did not send to ask this question for his own satisfaction; he knew well enough that jesus was indeed the messiah that "should come," and that no other was to be looked for: but he wanted to strengthen the faith of his own disciples, and convince them that jesus was indeed the messiah, and that they must follow him. "when the men" whom john had sent "were come unto" jesus, "they said, john baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, art thou he that should come? or look we for another?" this question our lord did not immediately answer, in words, at least; but "in the same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind, he gave sight." then jesus, answering the question put to him by the disciples of john, said unto them, "go your way, and tell john what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them." the jews all knew perfectly well, that the doing of all these wondrous miracles was to be a sign to point out the messiah, for the prophets had declared that he should do them. now these things were being done every day, and therefore it was quite clear, to all who were not determined not to believe, that he who did them was the promised messiah, the son of god. all who heard what jesus now said must have understood him to mean that he was the promised messiah, and that they need not look for another. chapter xv.--jesus in simon's house. when the baptist's messengers were gone away, jesus spake to the multitude about him; telling them that john was the messenger spoken of by the prophet malachi--the elias, who was to come before the messiah. he also told them, that john the baptist was more than a prophet, but that the humblest follower of christ might become greater than he was. many other things spake jesus unto the people: those who were humble, and felt that they were sinners, gladly accepted the offer of forgiveness, on the condition of repentance; but the pharisees and scribes, who thought themselves righteous, neglected his gracious offers of mercy. it seems that before jesus left nain, where he had raised the widow's son, a pharisee named simon "desired him that he would eat with him. and he went into the pharisee's house, and sat down to meat." whilst he sat, or rather reclined upon a couch, as was the custom at meals in those days, a woman, well known to have been a great sinner, came "and stood at his feet behind him, weeping; and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment" which she had brought. the pharisees considered themselves too holy even to touch any person whom they looked upon as a sinner: when, therefore, the master of the house saw that jesus allowed this woman to touch him, he said within himself (or thought), "this man, if he were a prophet, would have known what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner." meaning, that if jesus had known how greatly this woman had sinned, he would not have allowed her to touch him. but jesus did know all, and _more_ than the pharisee knew; for he knew that this woman, however sinful she had been, was now truly sorry for her sins, and anxious to lead a better life; and such truly penitent sinners he was, and is, always ready to receive. jesus therefore, knowing what simon's thoughts were, spake to him, and told him a little parable, to show him that this poor woman, whom he so despised, had given proofs of greater love towards himself than simon had done; and he ended by turning to the repentant woman, and saying the comforting words, "thy sins are forgiven." with what joy must the poor sinner have heard these words! but we are not told what her feelings or words were; we are only told, that "they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins also?" they might easily have known that he could be none other than the son of god, the messiah; but they would not own as such a poor man who went about amongst publicans and sinners. that he did show such love towards sinners, is our greatest comfort; for we are all sinners, and stand greatly in need of his mercy. knowing how the pharisees were offended by his words, he only repeated his assurance to the woman in other words; saying, "thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." her faith had brought her to jesus; and those who come to him in faith and penitence, he will in no wise cast out. in the parable which jesus spake to simon, reference is made to two customs of the jews: one, washing the feet, or making the servants wash the feet, of every guest, to remove the dust which must settle on the feet during the shortest journey; the other, the custom of welcoming a distinguished guest with a kiss, as a sign of respectful attention and love. jesus continued to go throughout the country of galilee, "preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of god: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, mary called magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and joanna the wife of chuza, herod's steward, and susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance." these women, one of whom, at least, had been delivered from bondage to satan, having "substance," that is, some property of their own, seem to have been constant attendants upon our lord, and to have supplied his temporal wants. jesus so devoted himself to the work he had undertaken, that from the constant thronging of people around him, he had not time "so much as to eat bread." at this time there was brought to jesus a wretched object, a man possessed with a devil, who was also blind and dumb: "and he healed him," so that the man who had been blind and dumb both saw and spake. the multitudes marvelled, saying, "it was never so seen in israel"--never before had such things been done in the land of israel; and therefore the multitude rightly felt, that he who could do such wonderful things must be a very different being from any of their teachers, or from the prophets or holy men of old. seeing the wonderful miracles worked by jesus, "all the people were amazed, and said, is not this the son of david?"--that is, is not this man, who can cast out devils, the messiah of david's seed, so long promised to our fathers and to us? these people saw the truth; but the scribes and pharisees laboured hard to prevent their accepting jesus as the promised messiah: and they immediately declared, that the evil spirits were only cast out by the permission of beelzebub, or satan, the prince of the devils; and that therefore, so far from proving jesus to be the messiah, these miracles showed that he was under the power of the devil, and that no one ought to listen to his teaching. this was dreadful blasphemy; and might have drawn upon them the immediate wrath of god: but instead of punishing them, jesus tried to show them and all the people, how foolish it was to suppose that the devil would fight against himself, and undo his own work. but when people are determined not to listen to those who warn them of their sins, and point out their duty, they will believe, or pretend to believe, anything however foolish, that gives them an excuse for not listening to good advice. jesus warned the pharisees, that speaking of the work done by the holy spirit of god as being done by the devil was a most fearful sin; and one for which there could be no forgiveness. jesus also told the people, that if the heart of a man was not full of faith and love, it would be as impossible for him to do anything pleasing to god, as it would be for a bad tree to bring forth good fruit; for the quality of the tree is known by its fruits; and the heart of man is known by his conduct and actions. certain of the scribes and pharisees, asked jesus to give them a sign of his being indeed the son of god. this was displeasing to the lord, for his miracles were a sufficient sign of his having come from heaven; and from the writings of their own prophets, the jews should have understood, that the promised messiah whilst on earth would be in a humble condition, and be finally put to death for the sins of his people. jesus therefore told the scribes and pharisees, that no further sign of his being the messiah would be given, than the sign of the prophet jonas, or jonah. "for as jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." the meaning of this was, that the only further sign they could expect as to his being the messiah, would be that one, of which jonas was a type (or sign): for that as jonas, though buried in the whale's body, came out alive; so he would be buried in the ground for three days, and then rise up again to live for ever. then jesus took occasion to show the pharisees, that they were more sinful in the eyes of god than the men of nineveh, "because _they_ repented at the preaching of jonas," whilst the scribes and pharisees refused to listen to him, who was far greater than jonas. many other things jesus said unto the people, teaching them also by parables. one parable spoken at this time was that of the sower. afterwards, when they were alone, the disciples asked jesus the meaning of this parable, which he immediately explained: teaching them that many may hear the gospel, and receive no benefit from it; either because they listen carelessly; or because, having listened, they have not faith to hold its doctrines fast when temptations and trials come; or because they allow the cares and pleasures of life to take up too much of their hearts, and so prevent their serving god properly. none of these will be the better for hearing the word: but those who listen to it with a sincere and honest intention of obeying it, and pray to god for grace to do so, striving at the same time to root out all those sinful feelings and passions which, like stones and thorns, prevent their bringing forth the fruit of good works; those, and those only, will bear fruit pleasing unto the lord. let us learn from this parable to listen attentively to the word of god, and try to do whatever it bids us. other parables, which seem to have been delivered at this time, are those of the tares, the grain of mustard seed, and the leaven: "and with many such parables spake he the word unto them"; "and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples," and added the parables of the hidden treasure, the goodly pearl, and the net. "and it came to pass when jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence." after this, jesus went down to the lake of gennesareth, "and said unto his disciples, let us go over unto the otter side of the lake." "and when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him." and there were also with him other little "ships." "and they launched forth." chapter xvi.--stilling the tempest, etc. the lake of gennesareth, or sea of galilee, is a large body of water; and the river jordan, which runs through it, causes at all times a considerable motion in the centre of the lake; when the wind blows strongly from the s.e., and meets the current of the river, the sea becomes so rough, that any small vessels are in the greatest danger, and in this way many are lost. we read, that as they sailed, jesus fell asleep. we must remember, that for our sakes jesus had become subject to all the pains of hunger, fatigue, cold, &c.; well might he, therefore, be tired out with his continual labours, for he never spared himself, or consulted his own ease or comfort; but was always at work, going from one place to another, doing good to others. what a difference between him and us! for we are unwilling to deny ourselves in the least thing for the sake of saving trouble to others; nor are we willing to give up our own wills, even for the sake of pleasing god. whilst jesus and his disciples were now crossing the lake of gennesareth, "there came down a storm of wind on the lake," and a "great tempest in the sea," "insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves," and was filled with water, and in great danger of sinking. "and jesus was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow." the disciples knew where to look for help; they were in jeopardy or danger, so they "came to him and awoke him, saying, master, carest thou not that we perish? lord, save us: we perish!" the fears of the apostles were at this time stronger than their faith; they should have felt that sleeping or waking their lord could preserve them through every danger. for this they were blamed, for "he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith?" but he had compassion on their weakness, for "he arose, and rebuked the winds and the raging of the water: and said unto the sea, peace, be still. and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." after a great storm the waves naturally continue rough for some hours, but now at a word the waters of the lake became at once smooth and still. this sudden ceasing of the storm filled the apostles, accustomed as they were to see wonderful works done by jesus, with astonishment and awe. we are told, that "the men marvelled, and they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, what manner of man is this? for he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him." such a miracle must have strengthened the faith of the disciples, and convinced them more and more, that he who could do such things, was indeed no mere man, but the son of god, the ruler of the universe, to whom all things do bow and obey. the voyage was now over; the ship reached the shore; and jesus and his disciples came into the country of the gadarenes, or gergesenes, where jesus immediately performed another miracle, on a man possessed with devils, exceeding fierce. jesus, pitying the condition of this unhappy man, commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him. then the devil who spake in this poor demoniac, cried out, "what have i to do with thee, jesus, thou son of the most high god? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? i beseech thee, torment me not." even the devils acknowledged jesus to be the messiah; and knew well that in the end of the world, all evil spirits would be driven away into misery and darkness; but he now asks him not to interfere with his power before that time. to such a request jesus could not, of course, listen: and the devils, finding that they must leave the poor man whom they had so long tormented, then besought him that he would at least suffer them to go away into a herd of swine, which were feeding nigh unto the mountains, a good way off from them. "and jesus said unto them, go." no sooner was the permission given, than the evil spirits entered into the swine, and the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters: and they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country; and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. pigs were unclean animals, and it was therefore sinful of any jew to keep them: if the owners of these swine were jews, they were justly punished for their disobedience. perhaps the gadarenes were not jews, and kept these swine to show that they did not regard or obey the law of moses; if so, it was well for them to see that the lord god of the hebrews could force men to obey his commands. when we read what happened as soon as the evil spirits took possession of the swine, we should remember the dreadful fate of all who suffer themselves to be led or guided by the devil. there is no escape for them; the swine could not help themselves, but the devil has no more power over us now than we choose to give him. if we resist him, he will not harm us; he will try, and we may have to fight hard, but if we do, we shall be more than conquerors through jesus christ. we read that the keepers of the swine fled, and told how they had been destroyed, and how the demoniac had been healed. the men of the city, grieved at the loss of their property, and probably afraid that if jesus remained amongst them the same sort of thing might happen again, besought him to depart out of their coasts: a request in which the whole multitude of the gadarenes joined. they had better have besought him to remain, and teach them what they should do. it is a dreadful thing to wish god to leave us undisturbed in our sins! the man who had been delivered from the power of the devil, wished, on the contrary, to go away in the ship with jesus and his disciples; but he was told rather to go home to his friends, and tell them what great things the lord had done for him. and he did so, and declared through all the country what great things jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. after this, levi, or matthew, made a feast for jesus in his own house; and a great company of publicans, and of others, and of sinners, sat down together with jesus and his disciples. the scribes and pharisees took occasion to find fault with this, and asked the disciples, "how is it that your master eateth with publicans and sinners?" but jesus told them, that it was to do good to sinners that he was come upon earth: he reminded them that it was only sick people who had need of a physician, and that those who thought themselves well, would not send for one; and that it was the same with him, for he was come as a physician to heal the souls of the sick, and that therefore he must go amongst those who, feeling themselves to be sinners, wished for pardon. the pharisees thought themselves righteous, and therefore they did not feel the need of a saviour. after these things, jesus appears to have returned into his own city, that is, to capernaum, where he had taken up his abode, at those times when he was not occupied in going about the country. here a ruler of the synagogue, named jairus, came to entreat jesus to go and heal his little daughter, who was dying. jesus immediately went with him, and on the way he cured a poor woman, whose faith was strong enough to make her believe that if she did but touch the hem of his garment she should be made whole. her hopes were not disappointed, and jesus commended her faith. while jesus was yet speaking with her, messengers came from the ruler's house to tell him that his daughter was even now dead. the lord, however, bid jairus not to be afraid, for that if he would only believe, his child should still be made whole. no doubt the miracle that jairus had just witnessed strengthened his faith, and the result was, that his little daughter was restored to life. on quitting the house of jairus, two blind men followed our lord, who gave them sight; and he also enabled a dumb man to speak, by casting out the devil which possessed him. the multitudes were filled with wonder in seeing things which had never been so seen in israel; but the pharisees again declared, "he casteth out devils through the prince of the devils." jesus continued to teach, and to preach, and to heal sicknesses and diseases, in spite of the unbelief of the people; for though they all marvelled, and some doubtless became his disciples, many rejected him, saying, "is not this the carpenter's son?" meaning that a man in such a humble condition of life could not be the messiah. after this, jesus gave his apostles a more solemn charge or commission for the work they were to do. for he called the twelve together, and gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease; and then he sent them forth two by two to preach the gospel, and to heal the sick. the gospel was to be first offered to the jews, and therefore jesus now commanded the twelve, "go not into the way of the gentiles, and into any city of the samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel." and as ye go say, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." jesus also bade the twelve not to make any provision of money or food for their journey, but to depend on the charity of those to whom they should preach: promising a blessing to those cities where they would be well received. many other things did he say unto them at this time: and when he "had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence, to teach and to preach in their cities." and the twelve also departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, that men should repent. and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, healing them everywhere. chapter xvii.--death of john the baptist. we must now return to the history of john the baptist; he was about this time put to death by herod, who, as we have already seen, had thrown the baptist into prison to please herodias, who was angry with him because he had reproved her and herod for their sins. but this wicked woman was not satisfied with the imprisonment of this holy man; she wanted to destroy him, and watched for an opportunity of doing so. it is a terrible thing to determine in one's heart to do a wicked action: it is bad enough to give way to temptation, and so sin against god, but to make up one's mind to break his commandments, is far worse. after john the baptist had been in prison for some months, herod's birthday came round; and to celebrate this event, the king made a great feast to the officers of his household, and the chief men in galilee. on this occasion, salome, the daughter of herodias, came in and danced before herod and his guests, in order to amuse them. this was a very old custom among the kings of the east at that time, though to us it seems a very strange and bad custom. herod and those who sat with him, were very much pleased with the damsel's dancing; and herod, very rashly and foolishly, made a solemn promise, that he would, as a reward, give her anything she liked to ask for. "and she went forth, and said unto her mother, what shall i ask?" herodias had probably expected something of this kind; at any rate, she had an answer ready, and said, "the head of john the baptist". it does not seem that salome was astonished at this advice, or that she was at all unwilling to follow it: for she returned straightway with haste unto the king, and said, "i will that thou give me by and by in a charger, the head of john the baptist". a charger was a large dish or tray: in some countries, even to this day, when the king orders a great man to be beheaded, the head is brought to him afterwards, to show that his commands have been obeyed. such a request as salome now made, startled even herod himself: we read that "the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat at meat with him, he would not reject her." he therefore sent an executioner, who cut off john the baptist's head in the prison, and brought it to salome, who gave it to her mother. this history teaches us many things: first, although it is the duty of children to obey their parents, they must obey god before them: thus, if parents are unhappily so wicked as to tell their children to do anything that god has forbidden, they must please god rather than their parents. children should, be very thankful when they have parents who will never wish them to break the lord's commandments. another thing we learn is, to be careful how we make promises. a solemn promise once made ought to be kept, however inconvenient it may be to keep it; and therefore we should never promise positively to do anything, unless we are quite sure that we can do it. but though it is displeasing to god that an oath should be broken, it is still more displeasing to him that it should be kept, when it can only be done by committing some positive act of sin. herod made a rash oath, and to keep it, he was guilty of the murder of a good and holy man. although herod was angry with john, he had a high opinion of his holiness and goodness, and would not willingly have put him to death: but amongst men it was considered shameful to break an oath; and herod, caring more for the praise of men than the praise of god, sacrificed john the baptist at the request of a bad woman. when the disciples of john heard of their master's death, they came to the prison, and took up his body and laid it in a tomb, and went and told jesus. after this, herod heard of the fame of jesus, and of all the wonderful things that he had done, and he was greatly troubled, and knew not what to think. some people said, "that john was risen from the dead;" others, "that elias, who was expected to come before the messiah, had appeared;" and others, "that one of the old prophets was risen again." amongst these different opinions, herod was greatly perplexed: like most of the jews of high rank, herod belonged to the sect of the sadducees, who denied that the body would rise again, or the soul live for ever. he would not, therefore, willingly allow the possibility of john the baptist having returned to life; but his fears got the better of his opinions. his conscience told him that he had done wickedly in putting to death a true servant of god, and therefore, when he heard that there was one going about the country working miracles, he feared that john had returned to life, armed with power to punish all who had ill-treated him. herod, disturbed by all he heard of jesus, questioned his servants who told him these things, and said, "john have i beheaded; but who is this of whom i hear such things?" he could get no satisfactory answer, and his guilty conscience drove him to the conclusion, "it is john whom i beheaded; he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him." "and he desired to see jesus." herod's desire to see jesus, does not appear to have been gratified until just before our lord's death; and then the king derived no profit from the interview. herod had had plenty of opportunities for learning the truths of the gospel from john the baptist. he would not make use of them. our lord has told us, that if we do not make a good use of all the opportunities given to us, he will take from us the blessings we will not use. in our country, the young are blessed with innumerable opportunities of learning their duty to god: make a proper use of them, and do not force the lord to take them away, and leave you in wilful ignorance and sin. the feast of the passover was now drawing near: the second passover which had occurred, since our saviour had entered on his public work. for this feast, our lord went up to jerusalem; and on his way, he fed , people with five loaves and two small fishes; and after they had all eaten as much as they wanted, pieces enough were left to fill twelve baskets; although the whole quantity of loaves and fishes, if they had at first been broken into pieces, could not probably have filled one of these baskets. in working this miracle, jesus taught us never to waste anything; he said, "gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." let us remember that many things that we do not want, may be useful to others, and that nothing should be wasted. children should be careful not to ask for more food than they are sure they can eat, for that is wasteful. the people, who had been fed in such a wonderful manner, now said, "this is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world": meaning the messiah, spoken of by all the prophets, and whose coming was expected about this time. having come to this conclusion, the people, according to their mistaken ideas, that the messiah was to be an earthly sovereign and conqueror, determined to make him king over the land of judæa. but jesus desired only to rule the hearts of men; "when, therefore, he perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king," he sent his disciples by ship unto bethsaida, and having dismissed the multitude, he went up into a mountain alone to pray. a storm of wind overtook the disciples in the midst of the lake, and then it was that jesus went to them, walking on the sea. if the faith of the disciples had been strong, they would have felt that it was as easy for jesus to walk on the water, as to work any other miracle; but they could not believe it was him, and "they cried out for fear." the lord, in his mercy, spake straightway unto them, saying, "be of good cheer; it is i; be not afraid." "and peter answered, and said, lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. and he said, come." peter at once obeyed; but his faith was not strong enough to carry him through this trial: for a little while he walked on the water to go to jesus, but when he found himself in the midst of raging waves, with a boisterous wind howling around him, his faith failed, and he was afraid. but he had not forgotten where to look for help; and finding himself beginning to sink, he cried out earnestly, "lord, save me." immediately jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said, "oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?--why didst thou doubt my power and my will to save thee?" no sooner had jesus with peter come into the ship, than the storm ceased, and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. they were sore amazed: but "they came and worshipped him saying, of a truth thou art the son of god." chapter xviii.--the woman of tyre. in the land of gennesaret again, the people flocked to jesus to be healed of their diseases: and when jesus returned to capernaum, many followed him: and the lord spake to them and told them that they only came to him because they had seen his miracles, and more particularly because they had partaken of the loaves and fishes; and he warned them, that they had better seek those far greater spiritual blessings, which the son of man could give them. many things he said unto them, trying to persuade them to believe in him, as the messiah the son of god. what our lord said, displeased those who were not really willing and anxious to be taught their duty, in order to do it: and in consequence, many of those who had been reckoned amongst his disciples, "went back and walked no more with him. then said jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away?" peter, in the name of the rest, immediately declared his faith in jesus christ as the messiah, saying, "lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. and we believe and are sure that thou art that christ, the son of the living god." believing this, peter declared that whatever happened, they would hold fast to him, and obey him: let _us_ make the same determination; and obey the word of the lord, whether it tells us what we _like_ or not. jesus now showed, that he knew the hearts of all men; for alluding to judas he answered, "have i not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" thus teaching peter not to be too hasty in answering for other men, since even in so small a number as the twelve, there was one whose heart was not really devoted to him. the pharisees with certain of the scribes came together unto jesus, and blamed him for not observing all the "traditions of the elders." then jesus explained to the pharisees, that all their washings and outward performances could never please god, unless they also loved and served him, and put away all their sins. in one of those journeys which jesus was constantly taking, he went to that part of the country bordering on tyre and sidon. here a poor woman, a gentile, came to him, and prayed him to heal her daughter, who had an unclean spirit. this woman, living on the borders of the land of judæa, had doubtless heard that the messiah was expected; and she was certainly convinced that jesus was that messiah, and that he had power even to cast out devils. this poor woman now came to jesus, and cried, "have mercy on me, o lord, thou son of david; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." at first jesus took no notice of her, and answered her not a word. the poor woman continued her supplications, but still in vain; this greatly surprised the disciples, who were used to see their heavenly master listening to the prayers of all who were in distress: they were grieved also for this poor creature, who followed them, crying out for mercy; and therefore they begged their lord to "send her away," that is, to grant her petition, that she might go away in peace. jesus answered, "i am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of israel." the benefits of christ's teaching and miracles, were at first to be offered to the jews, the chosen people of god; and this woman, being a gentile, had no claim to share them. the whole nation of the jews, scattered without any ruler or shepherd, might well be called "lost sheep"--sheep who had strayed from their shepherd, even from god, and who must be lost unless they were brought back to him. the scriptures often speak of the people of god, as his sheep: and sinners are compared to sheep, who, instead of following their shepherd, have gone astray. in the confession, which forms part of our morning service, we say, "we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep." in the east, sheep were not driven by the shepherd as with us, but followed him: remembering this fact will be a help towards understanding many passages of scripture, especially some in the gospel written by st. john. the poor woman continued to implore mercy; and coming nearer to the lord, "she fell down and worshipped him, saying, lord, help me!" jesus now answered, and said, "let the children first be filled; for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." the jews looked upon every nation except their own as "unclean"; and likened them to dogs, which are unclean animals. jesus himself did not look upon the gentiles as dogs, but he spoke thus to try the faith of the woman, and to show those who were about him, that faith in him would save gentiles as well as jews. the lord's reply to the syrophenician woman would have disheartened most, and offended many; but she was too much in earnest to be repulsed easily: she was quite willing to own that the gentiles were not _worthy_ to be looked upon, as in any way equal to the children of israel, god's peculiar people: she knew she had no _claim_ to the mercy of the lord; but still, hoping to share it, she reminded jesus, that even the dogs were allowed to pick up the crumbs which their masters did not need: she believed that in jesus there were help and mercy for every living creature, and that he could heal the gentiles, without taking any blessing from the jews; therefore, she at once answered, "truth, lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." jesus was no longer silent: pleased with her faith, he said aloud, "o woman, great is thy faith: for this saying, be it unto thee even as thou wilt: go thy way: the devil is gone out of thy daughter." even as he spake the words, the unclean spirit was cast out: "and her daughter was made whole from that very hour;" so that when the mother, who at once went home, "was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed." this poor gentile woman is an example to us, to go on praying earnestly to god, although he may see fit not at once to grant our petitions. when we know that we are asking right and proper things, we must pray on in faith, and wait patiently. we should pray that the devil, and all the bad feelings and thoughts he puts into our hearts, may be cast out of us, and of those we love. for this we must go on praying earnestly: jesus granted the prayer of the syrophenician woman because of her faith; and if we have faith like hers, he will most certainly answer our prayers: but we must watch and fight, as well as pray: for, if we encourage the devil to abide in our hearts, we cannot expect that the lord will cast him out. after this miracle, jesus, "departing from the coasts of tyre and sidon, came unto the sea of galilee, through the midst of the coasts of decapolis." here we are told, that he cured one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and that "great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at jesus's feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the god of israel." they glorified and praised god with their words, because of the wonderful things they had seen; but few of them, it is to be feared, glorified him in their hearts, by becoming his disciples. at this time, jesus, having compassion upon the multitude, who had been with him for three days, listening to his words, and were now faint for want of food, fed , men, besides women and children, with seven loaves and a few little fishes: this time, seven baskets were filled with the pieces left, after everybody was satisfied. soon after the feeding of this multitude, jesus "entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the coast of magdala, into the parts of dalmanutha," to the s.e. of the sea of tiberias. "and when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf." jesus, who lost no opportunity of impressing his lessons on his disciples, now "said unto them, take heed and beware of the leaven of the pharisees, and of the sadducees, and of the leaven of herod." by leaven, our saviour here means the doctrines and opinions taught by the pharisees and sadducees; doctrines very different from his, for they looked upon religion as consisting mostly in outward forms and ceremonies; whilst, in their hearts, they indulged all manner of evil passions. jesus desired to teach his disciples, that, if they in any way followed the doctrines of the pharisees or sadducees, they would soon become quite unfit to be his disciples; just as leaven quite alters the nature of the dough with which it is mixed. at first, the disciples did not understand their lord's meaning, and thought that he was reproving them for having forgotten to bring any bread with them. but jesus reproved them for their want of faith, in being uneasy about a supply of needful food, after seeing the miracle worked with seven loaves and a few small fishes: and he said, "how is it that ye do not understand, that i spake it not to you concerning bread? then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the pharisees and of the sadducees." jesus then cometh to bethsaida, where he healed a blind man; not all at once, but first allowing him to see objects indistinctly, and then restoring his sight, so that he saw all things clearly. what happened in the case of this man's bodily sight, happens generally as regards our spiritual sight, that is, our understanding of spiritual things. even in common learning, we do not all at once acquire knowledge; it comes by little and little, as we strive to gain it. so our understanding of things spiritual is a gradual work, carried on in our mind, by the holy spirit working _with_ us; but we must work, and strive, and pray, that we may grow wise unto salvation. chapter xix.--the transfiguration. "and jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of cæsarea philippi:" that is, into the country and towns round about cæsarea philippi, a town some miles to the north of the sea of galilee. the name of this city had been paneus; but philip, governor of that part of the country, repaired and beautified its houses and other buildings, and added more, so making quite a new and large city, which he called cæsarea, in honour of tiberius cæsar, who became emperor of rome about fourteen years after the birth of jesus christ. there was another town called cæsarea, on the mediterranean sea; and to distinguish between the two, that which philip had beautified was called cæsarea philippi. like most of the flourishing cities mentioned in the bible, cæsarea philippi has been completely destroyed; and amongst its ruins there is a little village, consisting of twenty miserable huts, inhabited by mahometans, for the holy land now belongs to the turks, who are not christians. this little village is called paneas or baniass. the walls of the great city can be distinctly traced. whilst they were on this journey, jesus "asked his disciples, whom do men say that i, the son of man, am?" they told him that some thought him john the baptist; others, that he was elias; others, that he was jeremias, or some other of the old prophets, risen again from the dead. jesus then put the still more important question, "but whom say ye that i am? and simon peter answered and said, thou art the christ, the son of the living god." the apostles were thoroughly convinced by all that they had seen and heard, that jesus was indeed the expected messiah. no doubt they had often talked over the matter together, and now, in the name of all the rest, peter, always first and foremost when anything was to be done, declared most positively and unhesitatingly their belief in jesus, as being at once god and man. jesus then pronounced peter to be blessed in having such faith. then he told him, that the fact of his being the true messiah was the rock upon which his church was to be built: that is, that it was only by depending and resting upon this truth that men could become his followers, and form a church. jesus also told peter, that he would give unto him the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and power to unbind or unloose. by which he seems to have meant, that peter would have power to open the way for the gentiles to join the church of christ; and that he should have power to declare how far the laws of moses must be kept or dispensed with; that is, what things were lawful or unlawful. after the disciples had declared, through the mouth of peter, their firm belief that jesus was indeed the messiah, he began to speak to them of his sufferings and death; but the apostles could not easily give up the idea held by the jews in general, that the messiah was to establish a kingdom upon earth; and peter therefore expressed his belief, that such terrible things could not happen to the lord. for this, peter was severely blamed by jesus, who told him, that by objecting to the way appointed by god for the salvation of man, he was in reality doing satan's work, and was an "offence" or hindrance in his master's way. at this same time jesus taught those around him the duty of self-denial; the necessity of giving up everything we most value, and bearing any pain or trouble, rather than do the least thing contrary to the will of god. he said, "if any man will come after me," to be my disciple, "let him deny himself" the indulgence of his own will, "and take up his cross daily"; bearing cheerfully all those daily troubles and anxieties which may be called crosses, and "follow me"; follow in all things my example, for i came not to please myself, but to do the will of god. jesus also impressed upon them the fact, that the soul was of infinitely more value than the perishing body, and that our first object must be to secure the salvation of our souls, at any cost, for "what" (said he) "shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" about a week after this, what is called the "transfiguration" took place. st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke all give an account of this event: the place where it occurred was probably mount tabor, which lies a little to the s.w. of the lake of galilee: into this mountain jesus went up, taking with him peter, and james, and john his brother. the brief account of the transfiguration is, that whilst jesus was praying in the mount, the disciples fell asleep: suddenly, when they awoke, they saw a wonderful and glorious sight--"jesus was transfigured before them": that is, his appearance was entirely changed; "his face did shine as the sun," and "his raiment became shining," "exceeding white," and "glistening." nor was he alone; for "behold, there talked with him two men, which were moses and elias; who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish in jerusalem." all that the three disciples now heard, should have convinced them that jesus must indeed die, and that his death would give the very strongest proof of his being really the son of god, the promised messiah. the disciples would further learn, that everything which moses and the prophets (represented by elijah) had taught, was intended to prepare the jews to believe in jesus, and follow him. peter, dazzled and confused at the wonderful scene before him, exclaimed, "lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias." peter seems to have had an idea, that moses and elijah had returned to remain on earth; and that if three tents were set up, they might abide with jesus in the mount, where he and the other disciples might be constantly with them. but as we read, "he wist not what to say, for they were sore afraid." whilst peter yet spake, an answer came; "a bright cloud overshadowed them," "and they feared as they entered into the cloud;" "and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased; hear ye him." and when the disciples heard it, knowing it to be the voice of god, "they were sore afraid, and fell on their face." "and when the voice was past, jesus, was found alone;" "and he came and touched the disciples, and said, arise, and be not afraid. and when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save jesus only." moses and elias had disappeared; whilst the voice of god had plainly declared, that as the people of god had hitherto obeyed moses and the prophets, they were in future to look to jesus only, the messiah of whom moses and the prophets did write. the old dispensation of the law had passed away; but the new dispensation of the gospel had taken its place, and would last for ever. that the law of moses, even as regarded ceremonial observances, should ever be abolished or done away with, was what the jews could not or would not believe. even many years after the resurrection of jesus, we read, that many thousand jews who believed in christ were also zealous for the law, that it should still be observed. it was not, therefore, at this time suitable to speak to the jews in general of the abolition of the law of moses; and therefore as jesus came down from the mountain with his disciples, he "charged them, saying, tell the vision to no man, until the son of man be risen from the dead." "and they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen:" "questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." it was at this time, that in answer to a question from his disciples, whose thoughts were naturally full of what they had just seen, jesus told them that the elias spoken of by the prophets, as coming to prepare the way before him, was not elijah himself, as many supposed, but john the baptist, who had already been put to death; and that the son of man must in like manner suffer death. when jesus was come down from the mount, he found the disciples, who had not accompanied him, surrounded by a great crowd, and the scribes questioning, or disputing with them. a man, whose only child was possessed of an evil spirit, had brought him to the disciples, begging them to cast out the devil; "but they could not." this failure of the apostles gave the scribes an opportunity of trying to persuade the people, that the power of jesus was not so great as his disciples taught; and most likely what they said made the poor father doubt the power of jesus, in whose name he had expected the apostles to heal his son. when jesus heard all that had passed, he lamented the perverse want of faith, which prevented men from believing in him. then he said to the man, "bring thy son hither." even whilst he was coming, the devil gave a proof of his power over this poor child; and still more to convince all who stood round, that the boy really was possessed by a devil, and could not be cured by any human means, jesus asked his father some questions on the subject: he then told the poor man, that if he could really and truly believe, there was nothing too difficult for god to do. the father did believe; but fearing that his faith was weak, and that he had sinned in allowing the scribes to raise a doubt in his mind, he "cried out, and said with tears, lord, i believe; help thou mine unbelief!" this was enough, and "the child was cured from that very hour." chapter xx.--jesus goes to the feast of tabernacles. when the disciples were alone with their master, after the miracle of casting the devil out of the child, they naturally asked, why, as he had given them authority to cast out evil spirits, they had not in this case been able to do so? jesus told them plainly, that it was because their faith was weak; for that no miracle would be too hard for them if they had a lively and increasing faith, or "faith as a grain of mustard seed." this was an expression in common use amongst the jews, to signify something very _very_ small, because the mustard seed was the least of all seeds. but when sown in the ground, the plant grows from it quickly, and spreads in every direction, so as to become quite a large plant: and thus it was very properly compared to faith, which should always be increasing and growing stronger. jesus ended by reminding his disciples that, though he had given them permission to work miracles, they would not have power to do so, unless they prayed earnestly for it, and tried to lead holy lives. after this, jesus and his disciples passed through galilee, on their way to capernaum. again he spake to them of his sufferings, his death, and his rising again on the third day. still they did not understand: they were exceedingly sorry to hear of such things as likely to befall their beloved master, but they did not like to ask any questions on the subject. how little they yet understood the real nature of christ's kingdom is plain; for at this time "there arose a reasoning (or disputing) among them, which of them should be greatest": as if they still expected jesus to be a king on earth, and appoint them to places of trust and honour under him. when they were come to capernaum, they, whose business it was to collect the tribute-money for the service of the temple, "came to peter, and said, doth not your master pay tribute? he saith, yes." jesus afterwards showed peter, that he, being the son of god, was _not_ called upon to pay this tribute; for that earthly kings do not take tribute from their own children, but only of their subjects, or of strangers. jesus, however, would not give the jews any pretence for saying, that he taught his disciples to be careless about the temple and its worship, or to disobey the laws of the country; and therefore he now worked a miracle, to provide the tribute-money required from him and his disciples. when they were quietly in a house together, jesus spake to the disciples about their dispute by the way, as to who should be greatest; and told them that all who wished to be really and truly his disciples and followers must be humble and meek and obedient, as little children _ought_ to be. many other things jesus taught his disciples: and he told them a parable (matt. xviii. ), to show us, that if we wish god to forgive us our sins, we must be always willing to forgive those who have offended against us. after these things, jesus chose out from those disciples who constantly followed him seventy persons; and desired them to go two and two together, and enter into the cities which he meant by and by to visit, and prepare the people to listen to him. these seventy were disciples, but none of them were apostles: all the apostles were disciples, and are generally so called in scripture; but all the disciples were not, of course, apostles. to these seventy, jesus gave many directions as to what they were to do and teach. jesus was at this time in galilee; but as the time for keeping the feast of tabernacles was drawing near, the brethren, or rather near kinsmen of jesus, begged him to go into judæa, and let all the people, who would then be assembled in jerusalem, see his works. they said, "if thou do these things, show thyself unto the world. for neither did his brethren believe in him." to a certain degree, his kinsmen did believe in jesus; but like the jews in general, they expected that the messiah would be great and powerful upon earth, publicly acknowledged and worshipped by all nations: and when they saw jesus in such very different circumstances, they had not faith enough to feel quite sure that he was indeed the messiah: they therefore wanted him to take this opportunity to make himself known, by working miracles at jerusalem: this open display of his power would, they thought, strengthen the faith of all who were already his disciples, and force the great men among the jews, as well as all the strangers collected together, to acknowledge him as the messiah. jesus, who in all things sought only to do his father's will, told those who wished him to go up at once to the feast of tabernacles that it was not yet time for him to do so: that, instead of receiving him as the messiah, worldly men, who thought but little of god, would all be against him, because he showed them their sinfulness. but he told his brethren, and those about him, to "go up unto this feast." after they were gone, our lord followed them, privately taking his journey through the country on the other side of the jordan. again the people resorted unto him, and he taught them as he was wont: "and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there." it is likely that the jews, expecting jesus to go up to this feast, had laid some plot for taking him on his way: but it was not yet time for him to lay down his life, and therefore he thus avoided the danger; setting us an example, not to run unnecessarily into danger, when we can avoid doing so without neglecting any duty. meantime, the jews assembled at jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles, seem to have been disappointed at not seeing jesus there; and enquired, "where is he?" and "there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, he is a good man: others said, nay; but he deceiveth the people. howbeit no man spake openly of him, for fear of the jews." the people had seen his miracles, and heard his teaching; but all that they knew of his condition in life was so unlike what they had expected of the messiah, that they could not make up their minds to acknowledge him as the son of god. they could not understand all he said, for he spake of spiritual things,--things belonging to the kingdom of heaven, which can be understood only by those who give their whole heart to god. some of these people, seeing his holiness, allowed that he was a good man. others objected to his being called "good," because he tried to make people acknowledge him as the messiah, which, according to their ideas, was deceiving the people. but even those who were most inclined to believe in him, dared not speak openly in his favour, for fear of displeasing the jewish rulers, who were violently opposed to him. the feast of tabernacles lasted for eight days; and in the middle of it jesus arrived in jerusalem, and immediately "went up into the temple, and taught." his teaching greatly astonished all the learned men, who knew that he had never been taught in any of the schools of the scribes; and they wondered how he could know so much of the books of the law and of the prophets. jesus told them plainly, that what he taught he had learnt not from man, but from god himself; and he further said, that if any man were really desirous to do the will of god, he would be enabled to believe that all he taught was true. other things he said; but though his teaching might incline some of the people to believe, they had got some idea that, when the messiah came, nothing would be known of his parents; and therefore they settled that it was impossible he could be that messiah. "we know this man whence he is; but when christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is." jesus tried to show them that they were in error; for though they knew where he was born, as man, and who his earthly parents were, this should not prevent their believing that he was indeed sent by god, and had another nature and being, of which they knew nothing. "many of the people believed on him, and said, when christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?" they doubted whether any one could do _more_ than jesus had done: if not, then the only reasonable conclusion would be, that he _must_, indeed, be the christ, the promised messiah. the rulers of the jews heard of these things said by the people, and they would gladly have prevented his speaking any more to them: and they sent officers to take him: but in vain, for the time appointed for his death was not yet come, and therefore the lord kept him in safety, and would allow no man to hurt him. moreover, jesus plainly told them, that he should remain in the world a little longer, because it was the will of his father that he should do so; and that then he should go back to his father, who had sent him from heaven to preach the gospel upon earth. but the jews did not understand his meaning; and when he said, "ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where i am, thither ye cannot come," they said one to another, "whither will he go, that we shall not find him?" "what manner of saying is this that he said?" chapter xxi.--return of the seventy. "in the last day, that great day of the feast," when there was a holy convocation, or assembling of the people, jesus stood up, and invited all men to believe in him, and receive the gift of the holy spirit, which he compared to "living water"--water that would wash away all their sins, and give life and strength to their souls: just as a good drink of pure water, given to a man who is fainting with fatigue and thirst, will revive him, and give him fresh strength and spirit for his work. again was there "a division among the people because of him": some said, "of a truth, this is the prophet"; others, more plainly, "this is the christ"; whilst others, influenced by their false ideas, asked, "shall christ come out of galilee? hath not the scripture said, that christ cometh of the seed of david, and out of the town of bethlehem, where david was?" they were right; the scriptures did say so: but had the people with an earnest desire endeavoured to learn the truth, they would have found that in jesus, these words of scripture were fulfilled, although nazareth, in galilee, had accidentally been his dwelling-place. again, the chief priests and pharisees, fearing his influence with the people, sent out officers to take jesus; and when these returned without him, they were asked, "why have ye not brought him?" the officers, though sent out for that very purpose, could not bring themselves to lay violent hands on one to whom they had listened with astonishment; and they now answered, as their reason for not having brought him in as a prisoner, "never man spake like this man." the pharisees, in their wilful blindness and hardness of heart, reproached the officers for being also "deceived," as they called it; and reminded them that none of the rulers, or learned men, had believed in jesus, and that as to the people, they were ignorant; adding the most unwarrantable assertion, "this people, who knoweth not the law, are cursed." the pharisees, who were very proud of their own knowledge, not only despised all who were unlearned, but believed that _only_ the learned would enjoy happiness after death, whilst the ignorant would be miserable. they mistook knowledge for religion. but the gospel teaches a very different lesson; worldly knowledge is good and useful, and those who have the means, do well to acquire it; but it cannot take a man to heaven, nor will ignorance of it, keep any man _out_ of heaven. a knowledge of our own sinfulness, of the salvation brought by jesus, and a consequent endeavour to please him in all things, is the only knowledge that is really necessary as far as our souls are concerned. without _this_ knowledge, the most learned man can never gain admittance into heaven; with it, the most ignorant will be received into the kingdom of god. one of the councillors present on this occasion was nicodemus, who, being a believer, had come to jesus secretly, in the night, for fear of the jews: he now ventured to speak in behalf of jesus, showing that it was not according to their law to condemn any one as teaching what was wrong, or untrue, until they had heard what he had to say for himself. his words had no effect but to make the other members of the council ask him, "art thou also of galilee?"--that is, art thou one of those who have the folly to believe in this galilean. "search and look" in the scriptures, for they will show that "out of galilee ariseth no prophet." nothing more was at this time said or done, and the pharisees probably broke up the council in anger, vexed at not having got jesus into their power. "every man went unto his own house." jesus now went unto the mount of olives, or mount olivet, where he doubtless passed part of the night in prayer. this mount rose about half a mile east of jerusalem, and the brook kedron ran between it and the city. it took its name from the number of olive trees which grew upon it; they were cultivated for the purpose of extracting oil from the fruit. on this mount there were several villages: bethphage was on that side farthest from jerusalem; and on the side nearest to the city, stood the village of gethsemane. the word gethsemane means "the place of oil presses"; which shows that the people of the village were occupied in squeezing the oil out of the olives that were brought down from other parts of the mount. it was up the mount of olives that king david went weeping, when the rebellion of absalom had forced him to quit jerusalem. after spending the night on the mount of olives, or in one of its villages, jesus, early in the morning, "came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them." the scribes and pharisees, always trying to find some cause of complaint against him, now brought a woman who had committed a sin, for which the law of moses pronounced death to be the punishment: they now asked jesus, whether this woman should be stoned or not. if jesus condemned the woman to death, they could accuse him to the romans of trespassing upon their authority: if he acquitted the woman, they could hold him up to the people as acting contrary to the jewish law. but jesus knew the wickedness of their hearts, and that in the sight of god, their guilt was as great, if not greater, than that of this woman; therefore he gave them no answer, but "he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. and they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one." none of these scribes or pharisees could dare to pronounce themselves free from sin, therefore they all retired. then jesus dismissed the woman with the warning, "go, and sin no more." at this time, jesus spake many things to all who came into the temple to hear him. he spake to them of his death: he told them that if they were really the children of abraham, spiritually as well as by natural descent, they would do the works of abraham: and that if god were their father, as they pretended, they would love him, who was the son of god; but that they were, in fact, the children of the devil, who was a liar from the beginning. during these discourses, "many believed on him"; but many others would gladly have "laid hands on him": and when at length, in answer to their questions, jesus declared unto them, "verily, verily, i say unto you, before abraham was, i am," their rage could no longer be repressed: "then took they up stones to cast at him": but "his hour was not yet come" to die, and therefore "jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by," disappointing the malice of his enemies. after this, the seventy disciples, whom jesus had sent out to preach and to teach in the different cities, "returned again with joy, saying, lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." he then told them, that this need not surprise them, since god had begun to destroy the power of satan: and he also told them, that they had a far greater cause for joy than the subjection of evil spirits; even that they had been chosen to be the servants and children of god, and were thereby set in the way that would, if they walked steadily in it, bring them to everlasting life. the parable of the good samaritan was now told by jesus to one of the scribes, or lawyers, who came and asked him a question: not from any real desire to learn, but from a wish to make our lord say something that he could find fault with. to his question, "master, what shall i do to inherit eternal life?" he expected that jesus would make an answer not quite agreeing with the law of moses: but our lord at once showed him that his teaching was the same as that of moses; for he asked him, "what is written in the law? how readest thou?" "and he answering, said, thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." these words, taken from the books of deuteronomy and leviticus, were repeated twice every day in the synagogue service, as a short statement of all that the law was intended to teach; that is, love to god and man. these same words were written on some of the phylacteries, or strips of parchment which the jews wore on their foreheads, and on the left wrist. most likely, the lawyer who questioned jesus had these very words written on his phylactery; and that jesus pointed to the words when he asked, "how readest thou?" the gospel, as well as the law, teaches us to love god and man; and shows us, that those who really and truly do so are sure to find favour with god, who can alone admit us to eternal life. the scribe's answer was right, under the gospel as well as under the law: and jesus therefore replied, "thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live": by obeying the words of moses, he would, through the tidings made known by the gospel, inherit eternal life. may these words be written in all our hearts, and may we make them the guide of all our actions. chapter xxii.--the lord's prayer. the answer which jesus gave, as to loving god with all the heart, and his neighbour as himself, did not silence the lawyer: he, "willing to justify himself," being anxious to prove that he was a just and righteous man, now asked, "who is my neighbour?" the jews had in many points altered or explained the law, to suit their own feelings and wishes; and they would not look upon any man as a neighbour, unless he were of their own religion. this lawyer had probably always been kind to his jewish brethren, and if our lord had, as he expected, told him that his neighbour meant one of his jewish brethren, he would have been able to boast that he had obeyed this command. but very different was our saviour's teaching: instead of giving him a direct answer, he in a beautiful parable taught him and us, that any fellow creature who needs our help, is our neighbour in the sight of god: even though he be an enemy, or one hated, as the jews hated the samaritans. the lawyer could not but own that the samaritan in the parable had best obeyed the commandment of moses; and in answer to the question, "which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among thieves?" he said, "he that showed mercy on him." "then said jesus unto him, go and do thou likewise," that is, copy this example; and look upon every man that needs your help as a neighbour and brother, whom you are to love; and take care that your love is not in word and tongue only, but in deed and in truth. journeying through the land of judæa with his disciples, jesus "entered into a certain village"; this was bethany, on the eastern side of the mount of olives: "and a certain woman named martha received him into her house. and she had a sister called mary, which also sat at jesus's feet and heard his word. but martha was cumbered about much serving." both these sisters loved the lord, though they showed it in a very different way: mary, delighted to have such an opportunity of listening to his teaching, sat at his feet to learn all that he might teach her; martha, anxious to show her pleasure at receiving jesus as her guest, appears to have busied herself in preparing a feast in his honour. presently, tired with her exertions, and fearing that all might not be ready, "she came to him, and said, lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me." but instead of doing this, jesus rebuked martha for thinking too much of worldly matters, instead of giving her mind to the "one thing needful" for the salvation of man: that one thing was faith in jesus as the son of god; such faith, as would produce piety and holiness; and that as mary had chosen that good part, she must not be disturbed, but that martha would do well to follow her example. when, therefore, martha asked that mary might be bid to help her, "jesus answered and said unto her, martha, martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." now, from this little history we should all learn this lesson: that though worldly business must be done, and well done, too, it must not take up too much of our thoughts and hearts, and so make us careless in our religious duties: to please and serve god in every way is the one thing needful for us. on one occasion, when jesus had been praying, according to his constant custom, "when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, lord, teach us to pray as john also taught his disciples." jesus then gave them that beautiful prayer, called the lord's prayer, because the very words of it were dictated by the lord himself, in whose name we pray unto god, the father almighty. the prayer begins by acknowledging god to be "our father"; and these words should ever remind us of two things: that as "our father," all we his children are bound to love and obey him; and, secondly, that we must love all our fellow creatures as brethren, seeing that we are all the children of one heavenly father. next we pray, "hallowed be thy name"; in which words we ask that all men everywhere may hallow, or treat as holy, his name, his word, his day, and all things that belong to him. by "thy kingdom come," we ask that all mankind may become christians, and so be brought into the lord's kingdom on earth: also, that we, and all who are christians, may have the kingdom of god in our hearts; that is, may obey, and love, and serve him with all our hearts; so that when we die we may be admitted into his glorious kingdom in heaven. further, we pray, that the will of god may be done by man on earth, as perfectly and entirely as it is done by the angels in heaven. let us remember that the sole object and work of the holy angels is to do the will of god; and that therefore we, who use this prayer, must always try to do the same, and not think of doing what will only please ourselves. the next petition of the lord's prayer is, "give us this day our daily bread." by these words we ask for all things which are needful both for our souls and bodies: the body needs daily food to preserve it in life, and make it strong to do its work; the soul also wants food, to nourish and increase the spiritual life; and render it more active in the service of god. the word of god, prayer, religious teaching, all the services of our religion, are the food of the soul; by the proper use of which, the love of god will be more and more shed abroad in our hearts, producing the fruit of holy obedience, and devotion to his service. next we pray, that god will forgive us our sins, on condition that we forgive all those who have sinned against us. when we consider how dreadful will be our condition, if god does _not_ forgive us, we should be very careful never to indulge angry, revengeful feelings against those who have injured us. nothing that man can do to us, can be as bad as what we have done against god; and therefore we may well forgive our fellow creatures; and we _must_ do so, if we would obtain forgiveness of our heavenly father. we then ask the lord not to suffer us to give way to temptation, but to keep us from all evil; to keep our bodies in safety, and above all to keep our souls from the great evil of sin, from the power of our ghostly or spiritual enemy, the devil, who is always watching to do us harm. we end the lord's prayer by declaring our firm belief, that god is able to do all that we can ask or think. now we often _say_ the lord's prayer with our lips, but do we really say it with our hearts, wishing and striving to gain what we are asking for? this we should all do; and besides this, throughout the day, we must each of us try to _do_ those things that we pray may be done. we must each of us try to reverence and obey our heavenly father; to be satisfied with whatever he gives us for our bodies; to take every opportunity of feeding our souls, by learning all we can about him, and praying earnestly for his grace. we must also try to keep down all angry feelings, and be kind to those who are unkind to us; and we must watch over ourselves continually, and strive to resist the devil, and practise self-denial, that we may not fall into sin. the lord's prayer teaches us what things we ought to ask of god; and we may do so more particularly in our own words; god is well pleased when we do so. after giving his disciples this beautiful form of words, to be a model for all their prayers, jesus exhorted and entreated them to pray earnestly for the help of the holy spirit: and told them to go on praying, and not to be discouraged, because they did not immediately receive those things for which they asked; for that the lord would hear their prayers, and "give the holy spirit to them that ask him." "and as jesus spake, a certain pharisee besought him to dine with him; and he went in and sat down to meat." the word here translated "dine" means to eat the first meal of the day, and so ought rather to have been called breakfast. the jews were accustomed to have only two regular meals in the day: breakfast, or dinner, as it is here called, about twelve of the middle of the day; and supper, which was the principal meal, in the evening, after the heat of the day was past. the pharisees were very particular about washing before they sat down to meals, and this one who had besought the lord to eat with him, "marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner." the lord took this opportunity of teaching, that no outward washings can be pleasing in the sight of god, if the heart be full of sinful, evil passions: no outward forms and observances of any kind, can ever please god, unless those who do such things really love god, and try to do their duty and please him in everything. many things also jesus said, rebuking the scribes and pharisees. he likewise spake to the people who crowded to hear him, and warned them to fear god rather than man; for though men might kill their bodies, they had no further power. "and one of the company said unto him, master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me." it would seem that this brother had acted very unkindly, if not unjustly, in not sharing with his brother the money left by their father; and the one who felt himself aggrieved came, hoping that jesus would interfere. but jesus answered, "man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?"--meaning, that he was not come upon earth to act as a judge or magistrate in settling such matters, but to teach men their duty to god. he then took this occasion to warn his hearers against covetousness, or the too eager desire for riches, or for any of the good things this world can give: bidding them rather be contented, and try to please god by doing good with what they have. covetousness is, as we are elsewhere told, idolatry,--and truly, if our hearts are set upon riches, pleasures, or anything else, they will be drawn away from god. chapter xxiii.--healing of the man born blind. much did the lord say upon the subject of covetousness; an evil passion which, if indulged, must draw the heart more and more from heavenly things to things of the earth; saying unto them, "for where your treasure is there will your heart be also." jesus, then, in a short parable, showed the necessity of constantly watching, that we may not be found unready whenever we are summoned to die. many other things jesus said, and continued to teach through the cities and villages: on one occasion he raised the indignation of the ruler of a synagogue, because he had healed a poor woman, who was "bowed down by a spirit of infirmity," which she had had for eighteen years. but jesus rebuked those who blamed him, and so spake that "all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for the glorious things that were done by him." "and as jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. and his disciples asked him, saying, master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" some of the jews seem at this time to have taken up an idea held by the heathen, that, after the death of a man, his soul was sent into another body; and that the souls of bad men even went into the bodies of animals. another false notion of the jews was, that any one who was a great sufferer upon earth must have been a greater sinner than others, who did not so suffer: an idea quite contrary to all the teaching of jesus. with these two ideas in their minds, some of those who had become followers of jesus, asked him, whether this blind man was born so, as a punishment for sins he had committed in another body; or whether his blindness was a punishment for the sins of his parents. jesus immediately answered, that it was neither for one nor the other of these causes, that this man was born blind; but that god in his wisdom had allowed it to be so, "that the works of god should be made manifest in him." jesus then, in a very remarkable manner, gave sight to the blind man; clearly proving that it was the power of god only, and not the means used, which had effected his cure: and he also enabled the blind man to show his faith, by making the final restoration of his sight, depend upon his obedience to the command, "go, wash in the pool of siloam: he went his way therefore, and washed, and came (back) seeing." "the neighbours and they which before had seen him that he was blind," were much surprised; and began questioning whether he were indeed the same man, or one like him; but he quickly put an end to all doubts, and said, "i am he." then, in answer to their questions, he told them the exact manner in which this cure had been effected, by "a man that is called jesus": for at this time, he had no knowledge of jesus as the son of god, the promised messiah. whether from a good or bad motive we do not know, but "they brought to the pharisees him that aforetime was blind." and it was the sabbath day when jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. then the pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. he said, "he put clay upon mine eyes, and i washed, and do see." the pharisees could not deny the miracle; but immediately some of them raised the objection, "this man is not of god, because he keepeth not the sabbath day." others, however, less determined to disbelieve even the testimony of their own senses, said, "how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? and there was a division among them. they say unto the blind man again, what sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes?" the blind man, though still ignorant of the real character of jesus, felt that he was most certainly more than a common man, and said, "he is a prophet." but the jews now affected to disbelieve that the man had ever been blind, and called his parents, asking them, "is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? his parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. these words spake his parents, because they feared the jews," who "had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was the christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." his parents, therefore, not wishing to bring this punishment upon themselves, merely bore witness to the fact that he was their son who was born blind: as to the rest, they told the jews to let him speak for himself. "then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, give god the praise: we know that this man is a sinner." that is, they called upon the man, who had been healed, to acknowledge that jesus was merely a sinful mortal, and had in reality no part in his cure, which was the work of the god of israel alone. the man, however, would by no means allow this: "he answered and said, whether he be a sinner or no, i know not: one thing i know, that, whereas i was blind, now i see." this answer by no means pleased the jews, and again they asked, "how opened he thine eyes?" he answered them, "i have told you already, and ye did not hear (or believe): wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? then they reviled him, and said, thou art his disciple; but we are moses's disciples. we know that god spake unto moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is." all the doubts and disputes of the pharisees, so far from shaking the faith of this man, seem to have strengthened it; and now, fearless of consequences, he spake out boldly the words of common sense, and said, "why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. now we know that god heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of god and doeth his will, him he heareth. since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. if this man were not of god, he could do nothing." the answer of the man who had been born blind, made the pharisees very angry. they could not contradict what he said; but they were determined not to allow that jesus came from god, and as they chose to believe that this man was a greater sinner than other men because he had been born blind, they immediately cried out, "thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? and they cast him out:" that is, expelled him from the synagogue, as they had resolved to do to any one who should confess that jesus was the christ. this casting out of the synagogue, or excommunication, was a very severe punishment; there seem to have been three degrees of it. in the first instance, the person under sentence of excommunication was forbidden to enter a synagogue, or to join in the services of the temple; and he was to be looked upon as no longer belonging to the chosen people of god. after such a sentence had been passed, no jew would speak to, or have any intercourse with, the excommunicated person: this was the sentence now passed upon the man who had been so wonderfully healed. in the second degree of excommunication, the loss of property was added to the former sentence; all the goods possessed by the excommunicated person were taken from him, and given to the service of god. the third degree of this terrible punishment ordained the death of the unfortunate wretch, who had already been cut off from all his friends, and deprived of his property. when jesus heard that the blind man had for his sake been cast out, he appears to have gone in search of him; "and when he had found him, he said unto him, dost thou believe on the son of god?" the man, in doubt as to the real nature of him who had healed him, and anxious to know the truth, "answered and said, who is he, lord, that i might believe on him?" jesus, ever ready to teach those who heartily seek to learn the truth, plainly answered, and "said unto him, thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." all doubts now vanished; "and he said, lord, i believe. and he worshipped him." we may surely hope that this man, to whom the lord had given both spiritual and bodily sight, became a true and sincere disciple of jesus. after this, jesus blamed the pharisees for not believing in him themselves, and for trying to prevent others from doing so either. then he spake of himself as the good shepherd; comparing the people to a flock of sheep. the meaning of what jesus now said, was, that he who came to teach the people the way of salvation is the only good shepherd; and that all who do not come to them in the way appointed by god, teaching as he has commanded, are like thieves and robbers; who only come to do mischief in the flock, and must be shut out; just as the porters, who took care of the sheep brought up to be sold for sacrifice, would not let any but the rightful owner enter into the sheepfold. jesus plainly declared himself to be the good shepherd, who would lead the jews to salvation, if they would follow him, as the sheep in those eastern countries follow their shepherd, when he calls them. alluding to the gentiles, jesus also said, that he had other sheep whom he would also by means of the gospel bring into his fold, the church of christ on earth; and hereafter into his heavenly fold in heaven. all that our lord now said, made a great impression upon some of his hearers; and again caused a division of opinion among the jews. those who were disposed to believe in him were reproached by others, who, foolishly as well as blasphemously, said, "he hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?" others, who did not allow prejudice to blind their common sense, reasonably answered, "these are not the words of him that hath a devil,"--no man possessed with a devil could speak such good and beautiful words; and then they referred to the recent miracle, in proof that the lord could not be under the influence of satan in any way; for they asked, "can a devil open the eyes of the blind?" no more appears to have been said: we will hope that many went away determined to follow jesus, but many, no doubt, hardened their hearts and continued in unbelief. we next hear of jesus being at jerusalem, for "the feast of the dedication, and it was winter." this feast of the dedication had been appointed by judas maccabeus, in remembrance of the cleansing of the temple, and devoting it again to the proper worship of god, after it had been profaned by the heathen. by attending this feast, jesus set us an example to keep solemn days appointed by man, in order to offer up thanksgiving to god for particular mercies. the feast of the dedication took place in the month which answers to our december. chapter xxiv.--jesus's last journey to jerusalem. "and it was at jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. and jesus walked in the temple in solomon's porch:" that is, in a porch or colonnade, which stood on the same spot where solomon's porch had formerly stood; for the temple which existed in our saviour's time was the one built by the jews, after their return from their captivity in babylon. the jews came round about jesus whilst he was in this porch, and most unreasonably accused him of keeping them in doubt, as to whether he was the messiah or not; saying, "if thou be the christ tell us plainly." jesus in answer told them, that all the works which they had seen would have convinced them of that fact, if they had not been obstinately determined not to believe: and then, when he did plainly declare that he was the son of god, by saying, "i and my father are one," "the jews took up stones again to stone him"; telling him that they did so, because he had spoken blasphemy in making himself, or saying that he was, the son of god. in spite of all he could say, they persisted in their unbelief; and when he again referred them to his works as proving him to be really the son of god, "they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond jordan into the place where john at first baptized." "many resorted," or went out to him, there: those who had before listened to the teaching of john the baptist, could not but see that he was greater than the baptist; for as they truly said, "john did no miracle: but all things that john spake of this man were true. and many believed on him there." it seems to have been at this time, that those about our saviour asked him, "lord, are there few that be saved?" whereupon our lord bid them, "strive to enter in at the strait gate," by which he meant, that if any one really wished to go to heaven, he must try with all his might to walk in the path of holiness, by resisting the devil and giving up his own will or wishes, to do whatever would please god. the same day there came certain of the pharisees, saying unto him, get thee out, and depart hence: for herod "will kill thee." the answer that jesus made meant, that neither herod nor any other man could put him to death before the time appointed by god for his death; but that when the proper time came, he should perfect or finish his work by dying. he added, moreover, that he must return to jerusalem to die, "for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of jerusalem." by the jewish laws, a prophet could only be judged by the sanhedrim, or great council of the jews at jerusalem. jesus then lamented over the troubles which he foresaw would fall upon jerusalem, because the jews would not come to him for safety. again we hear of a miracle of healing performed on the sabbath day, when jesus cured a man of the dropsy. at the same time, he spake various parables to the people, and taught them many things. amongst the parables now spoken, were those of "the prodigal son" and "the unjust steward": the first of these was intended to teach the jews, that they who had always been the chosen people of god, did wrong to be angry because the gentiles were admitted to share their privileges; and also to show that, although the pharisees would have nothing to say to those whom they looked upon as sinners, god was more merciful, and would receive and bless sinners who were truly penitent. the parable of "the unjust steward" was intended to teach all men, that they ought to use as much diligence in seeking for spiritual blessings, as they would make use of in regard to temporal blessings. shortly after this, we read of little children being brought to the lord, who received them kindly, and blamed those who would have kept them from him. the parable of the rich man and lazarus the beggar, was now told: an awful warning to all who lead a life of luxury and self-indulgence, denying themselves nothing. "and it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to jerusalem." the appointed time being near, jesus now began his last journey to jerusalem, in the course of which he said many things to his disciples and the people in general, speaking often in parables; and he told his disciples plainly that he was going up to jerusalem, not to become an earthly king, as they still hoped, but to be ill treated and put to death. during this time jesus healed the ten lepers, only one of whom, and he was a samaritan, "returned to give glory to god" for his cure. to him our lord spake the comfortable words, "arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." then a certain young ruler came, and asked jesus, "good master, what good thing shall i do that i may have eternal life." jesus first shows him, that he must not look upon him as man only, but as god; and then tells him that, to enter into eternal life, he must keep all the commandments and precepts of god; and then, when the young man "went away sorrowful," jesus warned his followers of the danger of letting the love of riches draw their hearts from god. another remarkable parable spoken by jesus at this time was that of the labourers in the vineyard. this parable taught two lessons; first it showed to the jews as a nation, that though they might be said to have been labourers, from the time that they were first chosen by god, they ought not to be envious and angry, because the gentiles were now, at the eleventh hour, called also to be the servants of god. the jews in general could not bear the idea of any other people sharing with them, privileges, which they considered to belong to themselves alone; and many of christ's discourses and parables were meant to correct this wrong feeling. the second lesson taught by this parable comes home to every individual; and shows, that though those are most blessed who from their childhood have truly served god, or, as it is called, "worked in the vineyard," still, _all_ who, at any age, so truly repent as to go and work, obeying the word of god in everything, will be graciously received by the lord of the vineyard; and must not therefore be despised by their fellow labourers, who were called at an earlier age. jesus next received a message from martha and mary, the sisters of his friend lazarus, saying, "lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick." when, after a delay of two days, jesus "saith to his disciples, let us go into judæa again"; they reminded him that the jews had of late sought to kill him, and that he had better not go back. but jesus told them, that as long as it was day, that is, his time for working, he was safe anywhere. he explained to them that lazarus was now dead, and that he was going to wake him out of the sleep of death. the faith of the disciples seems to have been weak, but their love was strong, for all agreed in thomas's proposal, "let us also go, that we may die with him." "and as they went on their way, jesus took again the twelve disciples apart, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him"; speaking plainly of being betrayed, delivered unto the chief priests, mocked, spitefully entreated, spitted on, scourged, and put to death by the gentiles, and rising again the third day. but "they understood none of these things": so little idea had they of the literal meaning of our lord's words, that at this very time, james and john, the sons of zebedee, came with their mother, to beg that they might sit, one on his right hand and the other on his left hand, in his kingdom. in earthly courts, to be nearest the king's person, was a mark of dignity and favour; and, misunderstanding still the nature of christ's kingdom, the sons of zebedee made this request, to the indignation of the other apostles; who did not see why two of their number should be favoured so far beyond the rest. but jesus rebuked them all; and told them, that his followers must not seek for power and greatness as the gentiles did; for that those who were humble and meek were most pleasing to god. and he bid them, and all christians in all times, follow his example; reminding them, that although he was lord of all, he came on earth to serve men, and give his life for them. passing through jericho, jesus, when he came near the town, gave sight to two blind men, who were sitting by the wayside begging. hearing an unusual bustle, as of many people passing by, they asked what it meant; and being told that "jesus of nazareth passeth by," they, believing in his power, cried out earnestly, "have mercy on us, o lord, thou son of david:" and this prayer they continued to repeat, although many of those who accompanied jesus "rebuked them, that they should hold their peace," and not trouble him with their cries. in the gospel accounts of this miracle, st. mark and st. luke only mention the healing of one blind man; but st. matthew tells us there were two. st. matthew, who was one of the twelve apostles, was present on this occasion, so we may be sure that he saw two blind men healed. st. mark and st. luke, writing many years afterwards, only mentioned one of these men, who seems to have been the most known amongst the jews: for st. mark speaks of him by his name, "bartimæus," as if those for whom he wrote would know the man, and therefore think more of the miracle, about which they could also ask him. perhaps, too, bartimæus is more particularly mentioned, because his faith was greater than that of his companion; for st. mark tells us, that jesus said to him, "go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." however that may be, these blind men cried to jesus for mercy, and "jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and their eyes received sight, and they followed him," "glorifying god: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto god." "and jesus entered and passed through jericho": and now he gave another lesson to the pharisees, against despising any of their fellow creatures. chapter xxv.--zacchÆus and lazarus. at jericho "there was a man named zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich." he had already heard much of jesus, and now "he sought to see jesus, who he was; and could not for the press," or crowd of people who surrounded the lord, for zacchæus was a short man, or "little of stature." being really anxious to see jesus, zacchæus did not content himself with merely _wishing_, and _regretting_; but he took some trouble to accomplish his object, and met with his reward. we read that zacchæus "ran on before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree," under which jesus must pass; and by this means nothing could prevent his seeing the lord. the sycamore tree here spoken of, is also called the egyptian fig; the leaves are like those of the mulberry tree, but the fruit resembles the fig, in size, shape, and taste. jesus, who knows all things, saw the heart of zacchæus, and knew that he was willing to become a true disciple; and none such will he ever overlook. therefore, "when jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to-day i must abide at thy house." most joyfully did zacchæus obey: he had taken some trouble merely to see jesus, and now he would have the privilege of listening to his words. but many of the jews who were present were offended and displeased, because jesus took such notice of a man belonging to a class, whom they, in their self-righteous spirit, condemned as unworthy to associate with them; "they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner." zacchæus, seeing that jesus was blamed for noticing him, thought it right to show that whatever his sins might have been, he was now truly penitent, and determined to undo as much as possible any wrong he had done to his fellow creatures, in making them pay more taxes than were justly due: so he stood up, "and said unto the lord, behold, lord, the half of my goods i give," that is, i will from this time give, "to the poor, and if i have taken anything from any man by false accusation," (or over-taxing,) "i will restore him fourfold": that is, i will give him back four times as much as he has lost, through any fault of mine. this was true repentance, springing from faith, and as such it found favour with god. "and jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of abraham. for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." zacchæus had shown himself to be, spiritually, as well as by descent, a son of faithful abraham; and as such he and his family were to receive that salvation, which jesus came to bring to those who would turn from their sins and be saved. at this time, "jesus spake a parable; because he was nigh to jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of god should immediately appear." by this parable of the nobleman, who went into a far country to receive a kingdom, and then returned to judge his servants for the use they had made of the talents which he had given them, jesus showed that although he was lord of all, he must leave this world for a time, and return again to judge his servants, before his kingdom could be visibly established,--before the kingdom of god could appear in glory. it is very easy to understand the meaning of this parable: we all, that is, all the men, women, and children, who have ever been born, are sent upon earth that we may serve god, and show our love to him, by doing his will in all things; and in doing all the good we can to others. some have greater means and opportunities of doing good than others; such means and opportunities, as riches, wisdom, health, leisure, &c., are the "talents" entrusted to us; and we are to use them in the service of god, and not for our own pleasure only. some have more of these "talents" than others; but all of us have opportunities of being useful, if we are ready to practise self-denial, and give up our own pleasure, wishes, and ease, in order to do little acts of kindness to others, in obedience to the word of god. if we do not do our duty to god and man to the best of our power whilst we are on earth, the lord will be angry with us, as the king in the parable was with the "wicked servant," who had kept his talent "laid up in a napkin," instead of using it so as to make a proper return to the master, who had given it to him. when jesus reached bethany, lazarus had already been buried four days. bethany was a village about two miles from jerusalem; "and many of the jews came to martha and mary, to comfort them concerning their brother." it was a custom amongst the jews for friends and relations to come in this way to the house where any one had died, and there to mourn and lament, with particular ceremonies, for seven days. we have no such custom; but when any one is in trouble, we should do all we can to comfort and help: even in all the little troubles and vexations which daily happen to those around us, we should try to do anything we can to help them. the best rule in this, as in all other matters, is to observe the precept, "do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you." that is, think how you would feel if the same misfortune, trouble, or vexation, fell upon you; and thus try and feel for others: then think what you would wish to be done for you in a like case, and do the same for them. show that you are sorry for them, by doing any little act of kindness that is in your power, without thinking of yourself,--your own wishes, pleasure, or convenience. even children can do this; and the sooner they begin to do so, the more will they grow in favour with god and man. the beautiful story of the raising of lazarus is to be read in st. john's gospel (ch. xi.). martha's faith seems to have been weak; for though she believed that jesus could have saved her brother's life had he come in time, she certainly did not believe that he could now restore him to life. mary, too, seems only to have thought that jesus could have kept lazarus from dying; but her faith was stronger than martha's, for she made no objection to the taking away the stone that lay upon the cave in which lazarus was buried. jesus here sets us an example of feeling for others: he saw the great sorrow of martha and mary, and, although he was going to remove the cause of their grief, yet he felt for them in their distress--"jesus wept." what a comfort to all who are in trouble upon earth, to know that their lord in heaven feels for them, and will hear their prayers for help and comfort; though he will not answer them in the same way that he answered the prayers of mary and her sister. "many of the jews which came to mary, and had seen the things which jesus did, believed on him. but some of them," determined not to acknowledge him as the messiah, "went their ways to the pharisees, and told them what things jesus had done." the chief priests and pharisees immediately called together the members of the sanhedrim, or great council, and said, "what do we? for this man worketh many miracles." they could not deny that jesus had worked many miracles; for multitudes of the people had seen, and been benefited by them. to the question, "what do we?" or rather, what shall we do? we might reasonably expect the answer, we will acknowledge him as the messiah, the son of god; but, no: they did not say this; on the contrary, their only thought was to prevent others from believing in him. rightly did they judge, "if we let him thus alone, all men will believe in him": but they added, "and the romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." in their blindness as to the spiritual nature of the messiah's kingdom, these jews thought, that if they acknowledged jesus, the roman emperor would consider them as rebels, wishing to set up a temporal kingdom, and would send his armies to destroy them utterly. far better would it have been for these unhappy men, if they had _only_ considered the proofs before them, and acknowledged jesus to be the messiah, without fearing what man could do unto them. in a few years moreover, the very evil which they so wickedly strove to avoid did come upon them: their nation was totally destroyed, the people scattered over all lands, and the temple burnt to the ground. no doubt there were many different opinions amongst the members of the sanhedrim, for, after much discussion, "one of them, named caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. and this spake he not of himself; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather in one the children of god that were scattered abroad." chapter xxvi.--jesus in the house of simon the leper the speech made in the sanhedrim by caiaphas, meant a great deal more than he did, when he _used_ the _words_. caiaphas meant, that if there were any chance of offending the romans, it would be better at once to put one man to death, than to bring destruction upon the whole nation. but st. john bids us take notice that, without intending it, caiaphas thus proclaimed the blessed plan of salvation through the atonement, which, by the death of one, would be made for all mankind. caiaphas was the "high priest that same year." by the appointment of god, a man who once became high priest continued to be so as long as he lived; but the romans forced the jews to alter many of their customs, and it had been so in regard to the office of high priest, which was now seldom held by the same person for more than a year. what caiaphas said, seems to have decided the sanhedrim as to what should be done; and the only question that remained was, how it should be done: how the death of jesus could be safely managed, without causing a disturbance amongst the people, who might not be willing to see one who had worked such miracles for their good, put to death. this required consideration on the part of the sanhedrim: "and from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death." jesus, knowing that his time was not fully come, went with his disciples into a small city, situated among the mountains in the wilderness of judah, which lay on the borders of the dead sea. we read, "jesus therefore walked no more openly among the jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called ephraim, and there continued with his disciples." "and the jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves": that is, to observe certain forms and ceremonies, without which no man was looked upon as fit to partake of this holy feast. this was the third passover which had occurred since jesus began his public teaching; the last of which he was to partake. it was fitting that "the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world," should be sacrificed at this solemn season. the feast of the passover was kept in remembrance of the deliverance of the children of israel from death, by the blood of the paschal lamb; but it was also a type, or sign, of a greater deliverance to come; when through the shedding of the blood of the lamb of god, all mankind would be delivered from a far more terrible death. in the new testament, jesus christ is called "our passover." the jews who now assembled in jerusalem, to prepare themselves for the approaching feast, naturally spake to each other of jesus, whom all must have heard of, and whom many had, no doubt, seen. they sought for jesus amongst those who were purifying themselves, and not finding him, spake to each other, saying, "what think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" many of them probably thought, that jesus would be afraid to show himself in public; for "both the chief priests and the pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him." mean time jesus was calmly preparing to finish the work given to him of the father, by delivering himself up to death; that through him all men might have life. till the time was fully come, jesus remained with his disciples in the wilderness. "then six days before the passover jesus came to bethany, where lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead." it is probable that at this time jesus abode in the house with lazarus and his sisters; but we read of him as being "in the house of simon the leper," a man whom our lord had, no doubt, cured of leprosy; where "they made him a supper." lazarus was one of the guests who "sat at the table with him," "and martha served"; helped the giver of the feast to entertain and wait upon jesus. an event now took place, which is spoken of by st. matthew, st. mark, st. luke, and st. john; though it is rather differently told by each, some mentioning circumstances of which the others take no notice: so much so, that some people have thought that they speak of different events; but it seems much more probable that they all allude to the same event, and therefore it will be so considered now. the circumstance which happened at the supper given to jesus in the house of simon, (distinguished from others of that name by being still called the leper, though now no longer one,) must be related according to what is generally believed. "mary having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious and very costly, brake the box, and poured it on his head as he sat at meat, and anointed the feet of jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." thus did mary show her love for the lord. "but when his disciples saw it, there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? then saith one of his disciples, judas iscariot, which should betray him, why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" judas iscariot, under pretence of wishing to give the money to the poor, blamed mary for thus wasting the ointment; and some of the other disciples seem to have held the same idea, and "they murmured against her." a roman penny, the money here spoken of, was worth about - / _d._ of our money; so the cost of this box of ointment was about _l._: and probably some of the disciples, not understanding the meaning of mary's action as afterwards described by jesus, really thought it would have been well to give that sum away in charity. but this was not the case with judas, for st. john adds, "this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." the joint stock of money, out of which the necessaries of life were purchased for jesus and his apostles, was trusted to the care of judas, who was a thief, and took money out of the common bag for his own private purposes. if so large a sum as three hundred pence were to be added to the common stock, judas would be able easily to take some without being found out; especially if he pretended that he had given it to the poor. let us, as the bible bids us, beware of covetousness even in the smallest matter. this feeling indulged in the heart is a great sin; and it constantly leads to the breaking of the eighth commandment as well. when mary was blamed for what she had done, the lord defended her, saying, "let her alone,"--do not blame her,--"why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. for ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. she hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. for in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial." it was the custom among the jews to anoint the bodies of the dead before burial, with perfumes and spices: this was also a custom of other nations, and the egyptians had a manner of anointing, or embalming, the body, so that it would keep its shape, and not turn to dust, as it would otherwise do. bodies so prepared are called mummies; and many have been found, which have been in that state for , or , years. when jesus said that mary "had anointed his body to the burying," he meant, that she had done an action which was significant of his approaching death; but, of course, neither she nor the disciples understood it as such. he also declared, that so far from deserving blame, what she had done should be for ever remembered to her praise: "verily, i say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." whilst jesus was still in the house of simon, much people of the jews, knowing he was there, came not only to see him, "but that they might see lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead." such a miracle had naturally been much talked of; and the chief priests, fearing the effect it might have on the people's mind, consulted whether they could not "put lazarus also to death, because that by reason of him many of the jews went away, and believed on jesus." the next day,--that is, five days before the passover,--the people that were assembled at jerusalem for the feast, "when they heard that jesus was coming to jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, hosanna; blessed is the king of israel, that cometh in the name of the lord." the word "hosanna" is made up of parts of two hebrew words, which mean "_save now_." it was a word commonly used by the people to express their joy upon solemn occasions. chapter xxvii.--christ's entry into jerusalem. then jesus sent forth two of his disciples, with directions where to find a colt, the foal of an ass, upon which he purposed to ride into jerusalem. the disciples did as they were directed, and "cast their garments upon the colt, and they sat jesus thereon": and he rode towards jerusalem, accompanied by many of the people who had been with him in simon's house, and "that was with him when he called lazarus out of his grave." these were soon met by those who, with palm branches in their hands, had come from jerusalem. "and as they went, a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way." casting garments, branches of trees and flowers on the ground, for kings and conquerors to tread upon, was a mark of honour and welcome in the eastern nations; and it was a fitting homage to him, who is king of kings, and the conqueror of sin and death. "and when he was come nigh the mount of olives, the whole multitude of the disciples, and the multitudes that went before, and that followed, began to rejoice, and praise god with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that they had seen; and cried, saying hosanna to the son of david--hosanna in the highest. blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the lord: hosanna in the highest." "all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken" years before "by the prophet" zechariah, saying, "tell ye the daughter of sion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." at the feast of tabernacles, it had long been the custom for the jewish people to sing hosannas, and also to carry in their hands branches of palm or other trees, in honour of the messiah whom they were expecting; and by receiving jesus as they now did, the multitudes did, in fact, acknowledge him to be that expected messiah--at once god and man--the king spoken of by the prophets; promised by the almighty. no other king ever entered jerusalem in this manner, which had been foretold by the prophets; and therefore what had now happened, ought to have convinced all the jews that jesus christ was indeed the messiah: but nothing will convince those who are obstinately determined not to believe, and even now, "some of the pharisees from among the multitude," who chose to think it was blasphemy to give jesus, a man, the honour due to the messiah, "said unto him, master, rebuke thy disciples." but instead of doing so, jesus "answered and said unto them, i tell you that, if these should, hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." by this answer, jesus plainly told the pharisees, that so far from meriting a rebuke for speaking _blasphemy_, all that the people had said was so pleasing to god, that if they were prevented from saying it, the almighty would, even by a miracle, raise up others to glorify his name, by proclaiming this wonderful truth. nothing, however, could overcome the obstinate unbelief of the pharisees. they "said among themselves, perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him." they could not but own, that in spite of all they had done, the people did believe jesus to be the messiah; but this had no other effect than to make them the more anxious to put him to death. mean time jesus rode on; "and when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. for the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." the meaning of what jesus now said is, that it would have been a happy thing for the inhabitants of jerusalem, if while he was with them they would have believed on him, for then he would have given them peace and happiness. and he wept in pity, whilst he foretold the utter destruction that would come upon the city, as a punishment to the jews for refusing to believe in him, and receive him as the messiah. everything that jesus foretold, came to pass exactly a few years afterwards, when the romans laid siege to jerusalem, and made a trench, and a wall with strong towers all round the city, so as to prevent the inhabitants getting any help. the consequence was, that the want of food caused the most dreadful suffering and misery. when at last the city was taken, the romans did destroy it so completely, that it might truly be said, that one stone was not left upon another. "and when jesus was come into jerusalem," accompanied by multitudes, waving palm branches, and singing hosannas, "all the city was moved," or filled with astonishment, saying, "who is this? and the multitude said, this is jesus, the prophet of nazareth of galilee. and jesus went into the temple of god, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, it is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." very soon after our lord's baptism, he thus cleared the temple for the first time (ch. vii.); then he blamed the people for making his father's house a house of merchandise; now he tells them that they have made it like a den of thieves. there have always been people wicked enough to break the eighth commandment. in the land of judæa, there were then many lawless men, who, instead of working to gain an honest living, went about the country robbing their fellow creatures, and so living on what they could get. these robbers joined together in bands, and took up their abodes in hollow places in the sides of the mountains, called dens or caves. these dens generally had a small entrance, but inside were of different sizes: they had no light but what came in through the entrance hole; but the inhabitants could burn lamps or torches to give them light, and of course they were quite sheltered from wind and rain. the robbers used to leave their hiding-places at night, and prowl about to take whatever they could find. even if they met with cattle or sheep unguarded, they drove them away into their dens, where they kept all manner of things which they had stolen; and therefore when the court of the temple was filled with oxen and sheep, and other animals, it might well be compared to a den of thieves. nothing like this can happen in our days; but let us remember that jesus referred to the words of the prophet isaiah, "mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people": jesus blamed the people for profaning the temple, and not making the proper use of it: we are guilty of this sin, if we do not make a proper use of our churches, and behave reverently when we are in them. let us all be careful to make our churches houses of prayer, by joining devoutly in the prayers, and listening attentively to all that we hear there: unless we do this, we shall sin against god by not hallowing his name; and he will be as much displeased with us, as he was with the jews for their desecration of the temple. the blind and the lame came to jesus in the temple; "and he healed them. and when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying hosanna to the son of david; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, hearest thou what these say?" meaning that he should stop these children from so speaking: instead of that, jesus again plainly declared himself to be the messiah spoken of by the prophets, by applying to what had now taken place, the inspired words of david; for we read, that "jesus saith unto them, yea; have ye never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" "and there were certain greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast." the greek language was very much spoken at this time, and the jews called all foreigners who spoke it, greeks: many of these persons had been converted, or turned, from the worship of idols to that of the one true god: but as they were not really jews, they could only be admitted to worship in the court of the gentiles. these men wished to see jesus, and expressed their wish to philip--"philip cometh and telleth andrew; and again andrew and philip tell jesus." our lord in his answer, declared that the time was now come, when his power and glory should be shown, not to the jews alone, but to all nations upon earth. but he also said, that before he could be glorified, he must die; just as a corn or grain of wheat must be put into the ground and die, or rot, before it could bring forth fruit and fulfil its purpose: and then he warned his disciples, that any man who really desired to serve and follow him, must be ready to give up everything he most values, and even to part with his life, if necessary, for the service of god. jesus in his human nature must have shrunk from suffering as a man; though firmly resolved to suffer the utmost agony for our sakes. he would not, therefore, ask god to save him from the approaching trial, because he had come into the world for the express purpose of going through it, in order to purchase the salvation of man. chapter xxviii.--the voice from heaven. at this time jesus saith, "now is my soul troubled; and what shall i say? father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came i unto this hour. father, glorify thy name." by these last words jesus expressed his willingness to give himself up entirely to god, that god might do with him whatever would be for his own praise and glory. this same feeling of perfect resignation and self-denial should also govern us in all things. jesus spake these words, and "then came there a voice from heaven, saying, i have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. the people therefore that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, an angel spake to him." one of the most ancient signs, or tokens, of the presence of god was a voice from heaven, uttering words that could be heard by man. the jews called such a voice "the bath col," which means the "daughter of the voice." it was often a deep, loud sound, attended, as in this case, with thunder; and many would not now believe it to be anything more. others, who knew that their fathers of old had been spoken to in this way, acknowledged it to be the voice of an angel. jesus told those around him, that this voice came to show them that he was the true messiah. many other things spake he unto them; but although they had seen so many miracles done by him, yet they believed not that he was the messiah; thus fulfilling the words spoken by isaiah the prophet. "nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him but, because of the pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of god." the fear of man bringeth a snare. never let us be tempted, for fear of man, to say or do the least thing which we know to be displeasing to god. in the evening, jesus again left jerusalem, and lodged in bethany, with the twelve disciples. we are now come to the last week of our saviour's life: we call it "passion week," because of his sufferings and death, which are often spoken of as "his passion." the sunday that begins this holy week is often called palm sunday, in remembrance of christ's riding into jerusalem, accompanied by multitudes carrying palm branches; but in our prayer book it is only called "the sunday next before easter." on this first day of the week, jesus, after he had finished speaking to the people in the temple, went out to the little village of bethany. now the next morning, answering to our monday in passion week, jesus and his disciples returned into the city. on the way "he hungered, and seeing a fig tree by the way side having leaves, he came to it, if haply he might find any fruit thereon; for the time of figs was not yet,"--that is, it was not yet time for the figs to have been gathered, and therefore a tree which looked so flourishing ought to have had fruit upon it. but there was none; nothing, but leaves only. "then jesus said unto it, let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. and his disciples heard it." and they came to jerusalem, and went into the temple. it appears that, though driven out at the time, the buyers, and sellers, and money-changers had again established themselves in their former places. again did our lord cast them out, reminding them that his house was to be a house of prayer only: and this time we are told, that he "would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple." jesus remained in the temple teaching the people, who "were very attentive to hear him." "and the scribes, and the chief priests, and the chief of the people heard it, and sought how they might destroy him"; but they could do nothing openly for fear of the people, who were "astonished at his doctrine," and evidently inclined at this time to believe in him as the messiah. the next morning, answering to tuesday in passion week, jesus and the twelve again returned to jerusalem; and "as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. and when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, how soon is the fig tree withered away! and peter, calling to remembrance" (what had happened the day before), "saith unto him, master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away! and jesus, answering, saith unto them, have faith in god." then he went on to speak to them of the necessity of having faith; and told them that, if their faith were strong, the most difficult things would become easy for them to do. he also told them to pray earnestly in faith; for that the faithful never pray in vain: but he again warned the disciples, that if they asked god to forgive their sins, they must truly forgive all who had in any way offended or hurt them; saying, "for if ye do not forgive, neither will your father, which is in heaven, forgive your trespasses." the fate of the fig tree teaches two lessons. in the first place, it was a warning to the jews, who made a great show of their religion, and were very particular in performing all the outward forms and ceremonies which could be seen by men, and lead them to believe that those who did such things must be really good and religious men. thus they were like the fig tree, with its green leaves making a good show to the eye. but the jews, with all their outward show, did not do the will of god: they did not bring forth the fruit of good works, and so their whole religion was valueless, and was to be put an end to by the destruction of the temple. here again they were like the fig tree, which, in spite of its flourishing leaves, bore no figs, and being therefore useless, was to wither away. but from all this we may learn an important lesson for ourselves. we should each compare ourselves to this fig tree, and consider whether we bear fruit, or have only a show of leaves. leaves would be outward observances; such things as can be seen of men. going to church, even reading the bible and saying our prayers, may be looked upon as leaves, because they can be seen and known by others: but, if under these good leaves there is no fruit of obedience, kindness, self-denial, and holiness,--in short, if we are not trying to please god by growing better and better day by day, where is the fruit? if, in spite of our bible and our prayers, we follow our own wills, and indulge our own naughty tempers and feelings, then we are like the barren fig tree; and in the end, like that, we shall be rejected by our lord in heaven. let each of us often ask our own conscience this question, am i a good or bad fig tree? have i only leaves, or do i bear fruit also? at this time jesus taught daily in the temple; and on one occasion the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people "spake unto him, saying, tell us by what authority thou doest these things? and jesus answered and said unto them, i also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, i in like wise will tell you by what authority i do these things. the baptism of john, whence was it? was it from heaven, or of men? answer me." this question greatly perplexed those to whom it was put. they saw plainly, that if they acknowledged that john the baptist was sent by god, jesus would justly say, why then did ye not believe him, when he told you i was the messiah? on the other hand, they were afraid to say that john had no authority from god, because all the people looked upon him as a prophet, and would be ready to stone any one who said that he was not. "and they answered and said unto jesus, we cannot tell whence it was." they had not asked the question from any real wish to know, for they would not speak what they felt to be the truth, because it would show that they were wrong. under such circumstances, "jesus answering saith unto them, neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things." but our lord did not leave them without an answer, if they would have laid it to heart; for, in the parable of the man who bid his two sons "go work to-day in my vineyard," he showed them plainly, that, in spite of all their profession of religion, they did not do what god had bade them, and therefore they would lose his favour; whilst the gentiles, and all who repented and became the obedient sons of god, would go into the kingdom of heaven before them. "then began he to speak to the people another parable" of the householder; who, after planting a vineyard and doing all that was necessary to make it produce good wine, sent first his servants and then his son to receive the fruits: but instead of making the proper return, the servants were ill-used, and the son killed. the people, on being asked what the lord of the vineyard would do to such men, answered, "he will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their due season." jesus then showed them, that this parable exactly described what the jewish nation had done; and he said, "therefore i say unto you, the kingdom of god shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." jesus also spake another parable, wherein the kingdom of heaven is said to be like unto a certain king, which made a marriage feast for his son. this parable taught the same lesson; that if people will not come to god when he calls them, he will deprive them of the blessings they do not value. at the end of this parable, the king is represented as sending away into punishment a man who had not on a wedding garment. this is to warn us, that though the lord has now given to christians the blessings refused by the jews, it is not enough to be called a christian: each one of us must be really and truly a christian in heart and life; clothed, as it were, with faith, love, obedience, and holiness, as with a wedding garment: without this, no man can enter into christ's church in heaven. chapter xxix.--discourses on the tuesday. in the parable of the marriage feast just spoken of, we read that when the invited guests refused to come, beggars were compelled to come in from the highways; now, though this may seem to us a strange thing, it would not appear so to those who heard this parable, as it was according to the customs of the east. even now, the arab princes often dine in the open air before their dwellings, and invite all that pass, even beggars, to share their meal: these guests sit down and eat, and when they have done, return thanks and go away. another custom of those times is also referred to in this parable: kings and great men, when they made a feast, provided garments or robes to be lent to any guests who came without a proper dress for the occasion. as every man who needed it could have a garment if he asked for it, there was no excuse for any person who sat down _without_ one. the man spoken of in the parable, could have had a wedding garment if he had sought for it; and so we read that he "was speechless," had nothing to say in his own defence, and was cast from the presence of the lord. so it is with us; god will give faith, and love, and strength to keep his holy word, to all who ask, and seek: therefore, if we are not covered with the garment of faith and holiness, it will be our own fault that we are not allowed to sit down with the righteous in the kingdom of heaven. the righteousness of christ is the real wedding garment of believers; and this will cover and save all, whose faith is true and lively; such as will show itself in their words and deeds. the pharisees and scribes saw that these parables were spoken against them, to show them how wrong they were; and this made them the more angry, and the more desirous to destroy jesus. being afraid to do this openly by violence, they "took counsel (or consulted together) how they might entangle him in his talk": that is, get him to say something which would either offend the people, or give them a pretence for accusing him to the roman governor of teaching the people to rebel against the authority of cæsar. they, therefore, sent forth certain of their own disciples, with the herodians; spies, which should feign themselves just and good men, anxious to learn the truth by asking questions; whilst all the time, they hoped he would say something to enable them to "deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor." the herodians here spoken of, seem to have been a party amongst the jews, who were very favourable to the romans; and thought they had the best right to appoint the kings and governors of judæa. this party took its rise in the time of herod the great. these herodians, though jews themselves, had been quite ready to join with herod, when, to please the romans, he set apart temples for the worship of their false gods: by such means they had got into great favour with the romans, as also with herod the great and all his family. the pharisees and herodians then came to jesus, and having first declared their belief, that no fear of man would prevent his telling them plainly what was the will of god, they said, "tell us therefore, what thinkest thou, is it lawful to give tribute unto cæsar, or not? shall we give or shall we not give?" the romans had laid a tax upon judæa when it became a roman province: the jews hated this mark of subjection, and the pharisees taught, that as the jews were god's chosen people, they ought not to pay tax or tribute to any foreign power. the herodians held the contrary opinion; and some of the jews followed them. cæsar was a common name or title given to all the roman emperors, who had each their own particular name besides. augustus cæsar was emperor of rome when jesus christ was born; and, at the time we are speaking of, tiberius cæsar was the emperor. if, to the question now asked, jesus should answer, "do not pay tribute," the herodians would be offended, and would get the roman governor to punish him. if, on the other hand, jesus should declare that it was lawful and right to pay tribute, the greater part of the jewish people would be very indignant, and perhaps stone him at once: at any rate, he would lose their favour, so that they would not oppose his destruction. thus the pharisees felt confident that jesus must fall into the snare. "but jesus perceived their wickedness; and knowing their hypocrisy, said, why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? show me the tribute-money," that i may see it. "and they brought unto him a penny"--a roman coin, equal to - / _d._ of our money, having upon it the image or figure of the emperor's head, with some words, called the superscription, round it: just as our money has the queen's image upon it, and writing also. "and he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription? they say unto him, cæsar's. then saith he unto them, render therefore unto cæsar the things which are cæsar's; and unto god the things that are god's." thus teaching, that their duty to god as his people, did not interfere with their duty to the romans as temporal rulers. the pharisees could not take hold of such words: "they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace, and left him, and went their way." let us remember that with us also, our duty to god will not interfere with our duty to man: on the contrary, those who most love god, will best do their duty as parents and children, kings and subjects, masters and servants, friends and neighbours. the pharisees having been put to silence in the matter of the tribute-money, another party or sect amongst the jews, who did not believe in the future resurrection of the dead, came to jesus, hoping also to entangle him in his talk. these jews, who were called sadducees, asked our lord a question, which they thought it would be impossible for him to answer: but jesus showed them, that only their own ignorance and inattention to what was written in their scriptures, made them find any difficulty as to the resurrection of the dead: and he told them most plainly, that all the dead should certainly rise again; and that those who were worthy to live in heaven, should "be as the angels of god." some of the scribes, who were present, agreed to the truth of all that jesus spake, and said, "master, thou hast well said." but when the pharisees had heard that he had put the sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. then one of them, which was a lawyer, one of the scribes, came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, "asked him a question, tempting him"; that is, hoping that his answer might give an opportunity of finding fault with him. before we speak of the question now asked, it is necessary to understand, that at this time the scribes and pharisees had taken up an opinion, that it was quite impossible for anybody to observe all the precepts and commandments contained in the law of moses; and that, therefore, every man might choose out one or two, and that if he observed these perfectly, he would be forgiven for not keeping the others. this was, of course, quite contrary to the teaching of scripture, where we learn that all men must do their very best to keep the whole law of god, and do his will in all things. the pharisees having thus settled that they need only keep one commandment, the question was, which it should be: some considered that the ordinances as to sacrifices were the most important; others thought attention to the wearing of phylacteries was the chief thing. no doubt it was much easier to attend to such outward observances, than to keep the temper in order and practise self-denial; but no outward service can please god if the heart is not right. as the scribes and pharisees were constantly disputing amongst themselves, as to which of the commandments it was most important to keep, this lawyer now asked jesus, "master, which is the first commandment of all?" which is the great commandment in the law? "and jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, hear, o israel; the lord our god is one lord: and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first and great commandment." this answer could not be found fault with; for it agreed exactly with what moses had said. but jesus did not stop here. he knew that the pharisees behaved with great unkindness to their jewish brethren, who did not hold the same opinions as they did; and that they actually hated all their fellow creatures of a different religion: he therefore told them, that there was a second commandment, of almost equal importance to the first, and _both_ must be kept. he said, "and the second is like unto it, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. there is none other commandment greater than these. on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets": meaning, that these two commandments contain all that the law and the prophets had taught, and that any man who kept these, would indeed, keep the whole law. just as in our catechism we say, that from the commandments of the law we learn two things: our duty towards god, and our duty towards man: nor can they be separated; he who really does love god with heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, will try in all things to please him, and will not willingly break the least of his commands. he who so loves his fellow creatures, as to do them all the good he can, and treat them as he would himself wish to be treated, will certainly never injure any one in his person or his property; nor even be unkind to him, in word or deed. the scribe who had asked the question, "tempting him," appears to have been more honest than many of his brethren: he felt the truth of our lord's words, and at once "said unto him, well, master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one god; and there is none other but he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. and when jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, thou art not far from the kingdom of god." jesus meant, that this scribe was not far from being a true believer and disciple, and, we may hope, that he did become a sincere follower of the lord, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. "and no man after that durst ask him any question." seeing how all had failed to entangle jesus in his talk, the pharisees appear to have given up asking questions, which only gave him an opportunity of showing his wisdom and holiness. chapter xxx.--wednesday--judas covenants to betray jesus. whilst the pharisees, who had asked questions in the hope of finding a fault, were gathered together, jesus in his turn questioned them: he "asked them, what think ye of christ? whose son is he? they say unto him, the son of david. he saith unto them, how then doth david in spirit call him lord? for david himself said by the holy ghost, in the book of psalms, the lord said unto my lord, sit thou on my right hand, till i make thine enemies thy footstool. david therefore calleth him lord; if david then call him lord, how is he his son?" the pharisees could make no answer to this, without contradicting what david had said; or acknowledging that christ, though in one sense the son of david, was more, and must be the son of god spoken of by david and all the prophets. therefore "no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. the common people heard him gladly," however, not being so prejudiced against him. jesus at this time reproved the scribes and pharisees for their pride and hypocrisy; and for their observance of outward forms only, whilst they did not even try to act according to the real meaning and spirit of the law of moses. jesus also told his disciples and the multitude, that though they ought to observe and do whatever the scribes (whose business it was to explain and teach the law) showed them that they ought to do, they must be careful not to follow their example: "the scribes and the pharisees sit in moses's seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not." other things jesus said at this time (matt xxiii., mark xii., luke xx.), and he ended with again lamenting over the misery which jerusalem was bringing upon herself, by refusing to receive him, the lord of life and glory: and he reminded his hearers, that he would have saved them had they been willing. "o jerusalem, jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would i have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! behold, your house is left unto you desolate." jesus was teaching in that part of the temple where stood the chest, into which those who came to worship, put gifts of money, to be used for the service of the temple. "and jesus sat over against the treasury. and he looked up and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. and there came also a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." there was a curious law at this time amongst the jews, forbidding any one to put into the treasury so small a sum as _one_ mite: this poor widow therefore put in the smallest sum she could. many who saw her, most likely despised her offering; and thought that such a paltry sum was not worth giving. but he who seeth the heart, judged very differently: "he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, verily i say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of god: but she of her penury hath cast in all that she had, even all her living." the difference was, that the rich men had given large sums, of which they would not feel the loss: but the poor widow had practised the greatest self-denial, in order to do something for the service of god. she had to work hard to gain money to buy necessary food, and by giving all she had at this time, she would be obliged to go without a meal. without self-denial, we cannot please god: and we can all practise self-denial, though it seems very hard to do so. if we give up our own wishes, and practise self-denial, in the most trifling things, though men may not know it at all, god does: and if he sees that we do it _because_ he has bid us deny ourselves, he will be pleased with us. our lord now departed from the temple, and as he went out "his disciples came to him, for to show him, the buildings of the temple"; that is, to draw his attention to the strength of the walls, and the size of the stones used in building it; as if they thought it almost impossible that one stone should not be left upon another. but jesus again assured them that the temple, as well as the city, should be utterly destroyed. jesus then spake of the misery that would come upon the jews, when the destruction of their city should take place. from this, he went on to speak of the end of the world, which must surely take place some day or other: and he warned them, that as no man could know when this event would take place, it was necessary that every one should be prepared to meet their god. let us remember this: let each one of us try to live every day as if it was to be our last. many things he spake, to enforce the duty of watching, so as to be always ready. in order to impress more strongly upon his disciples the dreadful consequence of not being ready, when the lord should come to judge the world, jesus told them the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish. these latter were shut out from the marriage; and jesus showed how this parable applied to all men, by saying, "watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh." again, to show them the necessity of being found at the last day, doing the will of god, and improving the talents committed to our care, jesus told his disciples another parable of the servants and the talents; greatly resembling one spoken before, as given by st. luke, chap. xix. he likewise showed his disciples, that though here all men seem to go on much alike, so that it is often difficult to know who are really serving god with all their hearts, and who are not, there will be no difficulty in the last day, when the godly and the ungodly shall be as easily divided, "as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats": and that while the lord would take the one to live with him for ever, the others should go away into everlasting punishment. jesus also declared, that one way of gaining the favour of god, was by doing acts of kindness and self-denial, to help our suffering fellow creatures. all these discourses, which followed the last cleansing of the temple, seem to have been uttered on the tuesday in passion week. "and in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount, that is called the mount of olives;" at bethany, as is generally believed. we have now come to the wednesday in passion week, two days before the feast of the passover, called also the feast of unleavened bread. jesus, to prepare his disciples for what was about to happen, said unto them, "ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified." "now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the passover. then assembled together the chief priests and the scribes, and the elders of the people" (who had long sought to destroy jesus), "unto the palace of the high priest, who was called caiaphas, and consulted how they might take jesus by craft and put him to death," without causing any uproar among the people. if once they could contrive to deliver him up as a prisoner to the roman governor, there would be no possibility of his being rescued by the people. the priests and elders were now offered help from an unexpected quarter. "then entered satan into judas, surnamed iscariot, being of the number of the twelve." judas had probably taken offence at what jesus said, when mary anointed his feet: he was a bad man, without any real love for his master; and instead of fighting against the sinful lusts or desires of his own heart, he indulged them, and so let the devil enter in, and lead him to betray the lord. "and he went his way unto the chief priests, and communed with them how he might betray him unto them. and said unto them, what will ye give me, and i will deliver him unto you? and when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give him money. and they covenanted (or agreed with him) for thirty pieces of silver." thirty shekels or pieces of silver (worth about _l._ _s._), was the sum which moses had commanded to be paid by the owner of any beast, which had by accident killed the slave of another man: thus, in every respect, did christ take upon him the form and condition of a servant or slave. judas having consented to sell the life of his master for thirty shekels, "from that time sought opportunity how he might conveniently betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude." it is a terrible thing when a man is so hardened, as to watch for an opportunity of committing a crime! that, indeed, is wilful sin. the next day, thursday, was "the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover. the disciples came and said unto jesus, where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? and he sendeth forth two of his disciples, peter and john, saying, go ye into the city; and behold when ye are entered into the city, there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him into the house where he entereth in; and say ye to the good man (or owner) of the house, the master saith unto thee, my time is at hand; i will keep the passover at thy house: where is the guest chamber, where i shall eat the passover with my disciples? and he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. and his disciples went forth and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover." what a strengthening of the apostles' faith this must have been: he who could thus foretell all, even the most trifling events, must be god indeed. the blessed thought that god knows and governs all things, should make us trust in him, and do our duty without any fear of the consequences. chapter xxxi.--mode of celebrating the passover. in order to a better understanding of all that the gospels tell us of the last supper, it will be well to see how the jews at that time kept the passover. in the first place, on the day when the paschal lamb was to be killed and eaten, the jews were to put away out of their houses all leaven or yeast, and live for a whole week on cakes made of unleavened dough: hence the feast of the passover was also called the "feast of unleavened bread." . when the guests were assembled in the evening to eat the passover, the ceremonies began, by the master of the house giving to each one a cup of wine mixed with water, saying at the same time, "blessed be he that created the fruit of the vine": then they all gave thanks and drank the wine. . all the guests after drinking the wine, washed their hands; and then the three things ordered by the law of moses, were placed on the table before the master of the house. these three things were, the paschal lamb roasted whole; two cakes of unleavened bread; and a dish of bitter herbs. to these were added the remains of the peace-offerings offered the day before, and some other meats; also a thick sour sauce, intended to remind the jews of the bricks made by their forefathers in egypt. the master of the house, or whoever took the direction of the feast, then ate, and gave to each of the guests a small piece of lettuce; at the same time blessing god for the fruits of the earth; afterwards each person present, ate a bit of the unleavened bread dipped in the bitter herbs. . in the third place, all the dishes were taken off the table, and the children, who were not of age to keep the feast, were called in: the meaning of the feast was then explained to them, in obedience to the commandment of the lord, spoken by moses, saying, "and it shall come to pass when ye be come to the land which the lord will give you, and your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service? that ye shall say, it is the sacrifice of the lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of israel in egypt, when he smote the egyptians and delivered our houses." . after the young people had been duly taught, the supper was, in the fourth place, again set upon the table. each person then, in turn, lifted up the bitter herbs and the unleavened cakes, and afterwards joined in declaring, that they ate them in remembrance of the bondage in egypt, and the deliverance from it: then they praised god, by singing the th and th psalms; and having blessed the lord, a second cup of wine was drunk. . in the fifth place, the guests again washed their hands; and then the master of the family took the two unleavened cakes, broke one of them into pieces, and placed the broken pieces on the top of the whole cake: after this, he blessed it; and each person taking one of the broken pieces with some of the bitter herbs, dipped them into the sour sauce, and ate them; they then blessed god again. thanks were now given over the remains of the yesterday's peace-offering, and some of that eaten. the next step was to give thanks over the paschal lamb, of which all partook. the passover feast was now, in fact, finished; but the jews made the supper last longer, by eating any other food they liked; always taking care to _finish_ by swallowing a little morsel of lamb, as after partaking of that, they were not supposed to eat anything more that night. . in the sixth place, the hands were washed for the third time; and the master of the house said a blessing over a third cup of wine, which was then drunk by each guest. this third cup of wine was commonly called the "cup of blessing." a fourth cup of wine was then mixed with water; and over this, certain psalms, from the th to th inclusive, were sung; and then a prayer concluded the whole ceremony. this was the manner in which the jews kept the passover feast, when jesus ate it with his disciples. when jerusalem was destroyed, the jews who were forced to go and live in other lands, could not sacrifice the lambs in a proper manner; and therefore they used to put a bit of unleavened bread under a napkin, and keep it for a last mouthful, instead of the morsel of lamb. in the impossibility of continuing to carry out the ordinances of the ceremonial law, after the death of jesus, we see the hand of god, fulfilling his word. the passover was a type of christ--signifying the deliverance of his people from bondage to the devil. when christ had come, and once for all made atonement as the lamb of god, a ceremony to _prefigure_ his sacrifice was out of place. another rite was instituted, "in thankful remembrance of his death." but the jews, who would not believe that christ was the true passover, endeavoured, and still do endeavour, to observe that law which he has done away with. "and in the evening jesus cometh with the twelve, and when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him." then he told them plainly that this was the last passover he should eat on earth; saying, "with desire i have desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer; for i say unto you, i will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of god." then when jesus, as master of the family, had given the first cup to the disciples, "he gave thanks and said, take this, and divide it among yourselves: for i say unto you, i will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of god shall come." jesus being the true lamb of god, now about to be sacrificed for the deliverance of his people, would not himself partake of things, only appointed as _signs_ or _types_ of what he was to accomplish by the sacrifice of himself. when the supper, or some part of it, was ended, there arose some strife or dispute amongst the disciples, as to "which of them should be accounted the greatest." for this jesus gently rebuked them; and then, wishing to set them an example of humbleness and kindness, "he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself:" that is, he took off his robe or upper garment, and then bound his other garments round him with a towel, as was usually done by those who served, or waited upon others. "after that he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. then cometh he to simon peter;" but he, believing that jesus was indeed the messiah, could not bear the idea of his acting a servant's part, and objected, saying "lord, dost thou wash my feet? jesus answered and said unto him, what i do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." these words should have overcome all doubts and scruples; but in his anxiety and zeal for what he considered to be the glory of the lord, peter quite lost sight of his own duty, which was to be obedient in all things, and hastily exclaimed, "thou shalt never wash my feet." peter was quickly recalled to a sense of his fault, for "jesus answered him, if i wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." such a declaration might well alarm peter, who really loved his lord, and wished to serve him; and in his zeal he rushed into the opposite extreme, and cried out, "lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." but true and perfect obedience is _doing exactly_, as _we are told_, neither more nor less; and of this peter was reminded by jesus, who "saith to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." but these words of our lord had a further meaning. by washing their feet, jesus meant to teach his disciples, that as washing with water was necessary to cleanse the body, so holiness and purity were necessary to cleanse the soul: and that as through him alone they could receive the latter, he now used that "outward and visible sign" as a type, or proof, of "the inward and spiritual grace" he would give to them. by washing the feet _only_, jesus signified, that those who through faith and repentance were by his mercy cleansed from their sins, and redeemed from the curse by his sacrifice, would only in future need to be cleansed from such sins, as the weakness and frailty of man cause him daily to fall into: just as a guest, who after making himself clean to come to a feast, would only need, on his arrival, to wash off the dust which must settle on his bare feet during his walk. to the words thus spoken to peter, jesus added, "and ye are clean, but not all": for knowing the hearts of all, he thus showed that the sin of judas was not hid from him: the disciples naturally would not understand these words, except judas, whose conscience ought to have reproached him. "after jesus had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, know ye what i have done to you? ye call me master and lord: and ye say well; for so i am. if i then, your lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. for i have given you an example, that ye should do as i have done to you. verily, verily, i say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him." these words are too plain to require much comment. washing the feet, was looked upon as the business of the lowest servant; and by taking such an office upon himself, the lord and master of all, jesus taught the disciples and all of us, that it can never be beneath us to do any kind office in our power, to help our fellow creatures. let us ever remember, that jesus christ came upon earth not only to be a "sacrifice for our sins," but also "an ensample (or example) of godly life"; and that it is our duty as well as our happiness, to try in everything to follow his example where he has set us one; and in other matters, to think _how_, under the circumstances, _he would have been likely_ to act, that we may do the same. this is, indeed, to follow christ; and so following we shall enter into his kingdom in heaven. chapter xxxii.--the last supper. "and as they sat and did eat, jesus said, verily, verily, i say unto you, that one of you which eateth with me shall betray me: behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table." the disciples, hearing this, "began to be exceeding sorrowful, and to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing: and one by one, they asked him, lord, is it i? and another said, is it i?" it was well for the disciples to be sorrowful, and fearful of doing wrong. when we hear of sin committed, we should never say or think, "i am sure _i_ should not do this, or that"; because we do not know what we might do, if we were tempted as others have been. let us, on the contrary, when we hear of others falling into sin, watch and pray the more earnestly, that we may never be led to do anything which we know to be wrong. in answer to the question asked by each one of the disciples, jesus repeated what he had said, that one of them should betray him; and "said unto them, it is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish; the same shall betray me." and then he told them that, although he came on earth on purpose to die, yet the man who sinfully betrayed him would bring upon himself the utmost wrath of god. "the son of man, indeed, goeth as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake." but though eleven of the disciples knew not the meaning of their lord's words, there was one who could have had no doubt upon the subject--one who had sold himself to do evil, and was only waiting for a convenient opportunity to execute his wicked purpose. even now he might have taken warning, and given up his guilty purpose; but no: he had listened to the devil, and his heart was hardened against jesus. according to the custom in those times, when people did not _sit_ as we do to their meals, but lay upon couches, so that one guest leant upon the one next to him, john, who was next to jesus, was leaning on jesus's bosom. john is always spoken of as "the disciple whom jesus loved"; showing that he was, as a man, especially dear to his master, in consequence of which, doubtless, his place at supper was next to that of jesus. simon peter, always eager and active, now beckoned, or made signs, to john, "that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. he then, lying on jesus's breast, saith unto him, lord, who is it? jesus answered, he it is to whom i shall give a sop, when i have dipped it. and when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to judas iscariot, the son of simon. and after the sop satan entered into him,"--that is, gained more entire possession of his soul; as will always be the case when we once listen to the devil. what our lord said to john does not appear to have been heard by any of the other disciples. judas himself now dared to ask, "master, is it i? he said unto him, thou hast said,"--which was a most solemn form of saying "yes." jesus then said unto judas, "that thou doest do quickly." judas immediately left the company, and went out. even then the other disciples do not seem to have understood that judas was the traitor. st. john tells us, that "no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. for some of them thought, because judas had the bag (or common purse), that jesus had said unto him, buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or that he should give something to the poor." there were still sacrifices needed for the remaining days of the feast. after judas was gone out, jesus told the disciples that, as in his life he had glorified the father, he was now about to glorify him still farther by his death. then he bade them love one another, as he had loved them: and this he called "a new commandment," because the love of his followers for one another, was to be something very different from what the jews taught and practised. jesus then warned peter, that satan would tempt him, but that he had prayed for him that his faith might not entirely fail, although he would fall into sin: and he charged him, when he should have recovered himself, to strengthen the faith of others. peter had not yet learned the lesson of humility, which would have made him distrust himself. he knew that he loved his master, and therefore he fancied, that for his sake he could bear and do anything. instead, therefore, of being filled with fear at this warning, he exclaimed, "lord, i am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death." and jesus said, "i tell thee, peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." the jewish day was reckoned from one sunset to another. the passover was always eaten in the evening; and thus a new day was beginning when jesus spake these words. jesus next asked the disciples, whether they had lacked or wanted anything when he sent them to teach throughout the country, taking with them neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes. they answered, that they had wanted for nothing. "then said he unto them, but now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. for i say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, and he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end,"--an end or object,--that is, everything which the prophets had spoken concerning the circumstances of our saviour's passion, was intended to fulfil some especial purpose, and therefore all must be exactly fulfilled. in answer to what jesus said, the disciples "said, lord, behold, here are two swords. and he said unto them, it is enough." simon peter appears still not to have understood that his master's death was at hand, for "he said unto him, lord, whither goest thou? jesus answered him, whither i go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards." peter was not to die with his lord; but he did afterwards follow him indeed, for he was crucified some years after, in the reign of the emperor nero. peter, as usual in his zeal and self-confidence, lost sight of the fact, that his duty was to believe and acquiesce without questioning and gainsaying: he needed the severe lesson he received afterwards, to teach him this. now, in his love for his master, "he said unto him, lord, why cannot i follow thee now? i will lay down my life for thy sake. jesus answered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? verily, verily, i say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou has denied me thrice." we now come to a very important event in the life of our saviour, namely, his instituting another feast, or ceremony, to take the place of the passover. the passover was a means of reminding the jews of a past bodily deliverance, and also of keeping them in remembrance of the promised messiah, who _was to come_, and deliver them from spiritual bondage. when the messiah had actually come and finished his work, it would no longer be right to keep the passover, as given to moses. jesus therefore, in doing away with this feast, gave to his disciples another, which was for ever to remind men of all he had done for them. this holy feast we call "the lord's supper," "the eucharist," or giving of thanks, "the communion" of his blessed body and blood. "the lord's supper" is one of the two sacraments which christ hath ordained in his church. the other is baptism, whereby we are admitted into christ's church. this is only partaken of once; just as in the natural world a child can only be born once. the lord's supper, on the contrary, should be partaken of constantly; just as we daily eat and drink to keep ourselves alive. but children do not partake of this sacrament until they are old enough to understand its nature, and to fight for themselves against the world, the flesh, and the devil. the four gospels do not give us exactly the same account of what took place at the institution of the lord's supper. some mention one thing, and some another; and therefore it is difficult to say _the order_ in which the events took place: that is however, of little consequence, since we are sure that everything they do tell us, did happen during the last supper which jesus ate with his disciples. "as they were eating,"--probably at that part of the feast when the master of the family broke one of the unleavened cakes (see , p. ),--"jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." they were to look upon this bread as the body of christ, sacrificed for them; and in the same spirit they were to eat bread in a solemn manner, from time to time, in remembrance of all the blessings which jesus purchased for mankind, by giving up his body, or his human life, for our redemption. "likewise also, after supper, he took the cup,"--probably that one called the cup of blessing (see , p. ),--"and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it: and they all drank of it. and he said unto them, this is my blood of the new testament. this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins." the wine in the cup was to be taken as a memorial, or remembrance, of that new covenant, or agreement, made between god and man, by the shedding of that precious blood wherewith the saviour blotted out our sins. the old covenant of works, made by god with the children of israel, was now done away with. the new covenant of grace was to take its place. in this new covenant, god promised, that as jesus bore our punishment, and washed out our sins with his atoning blood, we for his sake should be looked upon as righteous, because he was righteous: our part of this new covenant being to repent and forsake our sins, and have such faith in christ as will constantly show itself by our trying to please him, and prove our love by doing his will. chapter xxxiii.--jesus in the garden of gethsemane. our blessed lord loved his disciples to the end; and in order that they might remember all the blessings secured to them by his death on the cross, he appointed the "outward and visible sign," of eating bread and drinking wine, which were to figure, or represent to their minds, his body and blood thus given for them: but not given for them _only_, but for all mankind; and therefore it is just as necessary for all christians to remember these things. we consequently find, that ever since that last supper, when jesus said, "do this in remembrance of me," christians _have_ constantly done the same thing, that christ then commanded his disciples to do. we, as members of christ's holy church, continue to receive bread and wine in the sacrament of the lord's supper, in token of our belief, that the body of jesus was broken and his blood shed for us; and that we thereby hope, "that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood." when you are of an age to partake of the blessed sacrament of the lord's supper, you will learn more about it: mean time do not forget that it was appointed by jesus christ, only a few hours before he made that sacrifice of himself, which we commemorate, or remember, in this solemn service. after the institution of the lord's supper, jesus told his disciples (john xiv.) that though he was about to leave them, it was for their good that he should go; because then the holy spirit would come upon them, to teach and comfort them: and that if they believed in him, and followed in the way that he had already pointed out, they should abide with him in heaven. he likewise declared, that all who professed to love him must show their love by keeping his commandments. jesus, having spoken these things, said, "arise, let us go hence." and when "they had sung an hymn," according to the custom at the passover, where psalms were sung after the fourth cup of wine, jesus came out, and went, as he was wont, "to the mount of olives; and his disciples followed him." here again jesus spake many things to the disciples--(john xv., xvi.). he compared himself to a vine, and his disciples to the branches. he is the root, without which there can be no tree: as long as the branches remain part of the tree, they receive nourishment from the root, and bring forth fruit: but if the branches are cut off, and so separated from the root, they wither and die, and are of no use except to be burned. in the same way all who will be his disciples, must by faith abide in him as their root; doing his will, copying his example, and so bringing forth the fruit of good works to the glory of god. amongst other things, jesus spake to the disciples of prayer; and promised that god would give them whatsoever they should ask in his name. he also warned them, that if they faithfully followed his precepts and obeyed his commands, they would in this world meet with troubles, and be cruelly treated and even killed, by those who would not believe in him. the enemies of jesus, those who knew not him who sent him, would persecute his faithful servants for their master's sake. having warned his disciples that they must suffer for the sake of their faith, jesus bid them fear nothing so long as they continued to love and serve him: for whilst they did so, god would bless and comfort them, and finally take them to himself in heaven. "in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; i have overcome the world." now all that jesus said to his disciples was meant for _all_ his followers in all times, even unto the end of the world. such promises and hopes have supported the "noble army of martyrs," who in the early ages of the church suffered tortures, and died the most cruel death, rather than give up, or even _pretend_ to give up, their faith in the lord jesus christ. the same spirit should be in us: we are not called to martyrdom as were the holy men of old; but should the lord allow it to be so again, should we be ready so to suffer for our religion? but let us ask ourselves another question, of more practical importance at the present time: are we willing to give up _anything_ for the sake of pleasing jesus? do we give up our own wishes and pleasures to please him, who bids us deny ourselves? do we try to conquer our evil tempers, passions, and inclinations, because he has said, "resist the devil"? if we have anything like the spirit which guided the martyrs, we shall force ourselves to be attentive and industrious, when we feel careless and idle: obedient, when we feel wilful and perverse; kind and generous, when we feel selfish: gentle and patient, when we feel cross and irritable; and so on. this is no easy task; no easy life. but we must remember christ's warning, that those who will be his faithful servants, _must_ meet with difficulties and hindrances in their way. let us then pray for the holy spirit, to teach, and guide, and support us; so that, our hearts being filled with faith and love, we "may never be ashamed to confess the faith of christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner, against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue christ's faithful soldiers and servants unto our life's end." when jesus had said these things, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and prayed to his father, to support him through the coming trial; so that he might glorify the father, by securing the salvation of men. then jesus prayed for the disciples who did already believe in him, and besought that they might be kept in his faith and love, and enabled to teach others all that he had taught them. our lord also prayed for all who should in after times learn true religion from the teaching or writings of the apostles, and so become one of them, by having the same faith, the same wish to glorify god by obedience to his holy will. for all who do thus join themselves to him, jesus prayed that they may be with him in heaven. our blessed lord thus prayed for us, and for all his followers in every age: and he still prays for us, and intercedes for us in heaven. all christians are now one body, of which christ is the head; one vine, of which christ is the root; one flock, of which christ is the shepherd. we call this body the church of christ; by baptism we are taken into this church, and made part of this body; therefore, we must try always to know and do the will of our head. when jesus had ended his prayer, he saith unto the disciples, "all ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. but after i am risen again, i will go before you into galilee." by being "offended," jesus meant that they would be afraid to own him as their master, and would forsake him: but to show them that he would not punish their weakness by casting them off for ever, he told them where they might see him again, after he should have risen from the dead. notwithstanding the warnings already received, peter was still full of self-confidence, and "answered and said unto him, though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will i never be offended." why should peter have thought himself more likely than others to do right? why should any of us think so? whenever we do thus depend upon ourselves to do right, we are almost sure to fall into sin, for the devil takes advantage of our pride and self-conceit, to tempt us; and then god frequently leaves us to ourselves, that from our fall we may learn by painful experience our exceeding weakness and sinfulness. jesus now showed peter, that though he thought himself so safe, he would do worse than his fellow disciples; for "he saith unto him, verily i say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. and jesus said unto him, verily, i say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. peter spake the more vehemently, and said unto him, though i should die with thee, yet will i not deny thee in any wise. likewise also said all the disciples." poor peter little knew himself! no doubt he and all the disciples felt what they now said: but if men would bear in mind their weakness and proneness to sin, they would never feel _sure_ of not doing wrong; but would watch and pray, so that the devil may get no advantage over them. "when jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples" from the place on the mount of olives, where they were, "unto a place called gethsemane, over the brook cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. and judas also knew the place, for jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples." having entered into this garden with the eleven disciples, jesus saith unto eight of them, "sit ye here while i go and pray yonder. and he taketh with him peter, and james and john, the two sons of zebedee, and when he was at the place" to which he had intended to go, "he began to be sorrowful, and sore amazed, and to be very heavy." now began the mysterious, and most bitter part of our blessed lord's sufferings for sinful man. what those sufferings were, we do not exactly know: they were not bodily, but spiritual; his soul suffered such agony, as we can form little idea of: we only know that sin, the sin of man, _our sin_, caused his sufferings; and that the holy and righteous lord now bore for our sakes, all the agony that is the fruit of sin. it seems likely that at this time the devil and his evil spirits again attacked jesus, and tried by every means in their power to prevail upon him not to finish his work, even the salvation of man, but to spare _himself_, and leave his guilty creatures to the fearful consequences of their sins. in his agony, prayer was our lord's refuge; and feeling the necessity of being alone with god, that he might freely pour out his soul before him, "he saith unto the three who accompanied him, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me." thus he asked them to help him with their prayers; setting, in his human nature, an example for all men to follow. then, knowing the power and malice of the devil, jesus added a caution to pray for themselves, that they might not be led into sin, by any temptation which should come upon them; "he saith unto them pray, that ye enter not into temptation." chapter xxxiv.--jesus betrayed. when jesus had cautioned peter, james and john, to watch and pray, "he went forward a little, and was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed"; in the earnestness of his prayer, "he fell on his face on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him." it was not the death upon the cross which jesus prayed might pass from him: human martyrs have borne bodily sufferings and cruel deaths, supported by the grace of god; and though in his human nature christ might well shrink from the pain of crucifixion, he was ready to give his body for our redemption. but his sufferings in the garden of gethsemane, were far beyond what any human being could suffer, or than we can understand. his heavenly father saw fit to let him suffer for a time, all the unspeakable agony which the just anger of god can lay upon the impenitent soul. and we may well believe that this agony was a hundred-fold increased for him, who was thereby to redeem countless myriads of souls. and might not this terrible agony be increased, by the foreknowledge that, in spite of his tremendous sacrifice, men would reject him as a saviour, and persevere in sin; until by their impenitence, they too would share those horrible agonies which for a time were laid upon him, that by enduring them, he might save all men from so terrible a condition? when we thus consider of what nature christ's sufferings in the garden of gethsemane were, we can fully understand the prayer, that such an hour might pass from him. but mark his inconceivable love, as shown in the words, "if it were possible"; that is, if man's redemption could possibly be secured without his passing through such dreadful agony; if that were _not_ possible, then he was willing even to undergo that awful and mysterious extremity of suffering. let us not pass on without taking a practical lesson from what has been said: what made our lord undergo such agony for us? love. then, if he so loved us, what should be our feelings towards him? love. truly, love; sincere, heartfelt love; love that will show itself. but how? hear his own words, "if ye love me, keep my commandments." this let us ever strive to do; and so, through the mediation of jesus, shall we escape those agonies, which for us he endured in the garden of gethsemane. jesus prostrate on the ground, prayed in the agony of his soul, and said, "abba, father--o my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: all things are possible unto thee: if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done." all through this dreadful scene of agony, our blessed lord sets us an example of perfect submission to his father's will, however much that will may be contrary to our wishes and desires: this example we should do well to follow, in every time of trouble. we may pray, that god will, if he sees fit, remove from us the affliction or sorrow which we feel or fear; but, at the same time, our hearts must be perfectly submissive to his will, and willing to continue to bear the suffering, should he not see fit to take it away from us. in this spirit our lord in his human nature prayed to god; but though god saw fit to let him for a time suffer all the agony which sin brings on man, he did vouchsafe to send him some comfort, in this bitter time of trial; for "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him," to complete his work. "and being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. and when he rose up from prayer, he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping from sorrow." had they obeyed the words of their lord, to watch and pray, their sorrow would not at such a time have made them sleep. but they had failed to do this; and satan, who _is_ ever watchful, had doubtless taken advantage of this, and tempted them to sit thinking sorrowfully of all that was coming upon their beloved master, instead of obeying his command, to watch and pray. overcome with such sad thoughts, they fell into a sort of stupor or heavy sleep, and were thus found by jesus when he returned to them. he awoke them, and "said unto them, why sleep ye? simon, sleepest thou? what, could ye not watch with me one hour?" peter had but lately declared his readiness to do some great thing, to give up his life for jesus; and now he fails in doing a little thing, merely praying for one hour. this is another proof of man's weakness, and of the danger of self-confidence. again our lord repeated the needful warning, "watch ye, rise and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak." our lord, who knew the weakness of man's nature, was thus merciful to the failing of his disciples: but let us remember, that the more we are convinced of the weakness of the flesh, and how it hinders the spirit, the more earnestly must we strive to overcome it, and be led by the spirit only. "and jesus went away again the second time, and prayed, and spake the same words, saying, o my father, if this cup may not pass away from me except i drink it, thy will be done. and when he returned, he found them asleep again (for their eyes were heavy), neither wist they what to answer him. and he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words." "then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, sleep on now, and take your rest; it is enough, the hour is come: behold the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." by this jesus meant, that they had lost the opportunity of watching with him; they could no longer show any kindness by praying for him: he would no longer ask them to do this, for the time was come, when he was to be given up to his enemies. jesus did not mean that the disciples were actually to lie still and sleep; for he added immediately, "rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. and immediately, while he yet spake, judas, one of the twelve, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns, and torches, and weapons." upon reading this passage, if we think at all, it must appear strange that as the moon was at the full, it should have been necessary to take lanterns and torches, as the light of the full moon in those countries, is far too bright to need any other. but travellers tell us, that in fact the light of the full moon only made the garden of gethsemane _darker_, for it is situated on the slope of the mount of olives, away from the moon; that is, the moon at the time of the passover rises behind the mount of olives, and thus casts the shadow of the mountain upon the garden of gethsemane; so that whilst all surrounding parts were lighted up, there was complete darkness amongst the trees in the garden of gethsemane. judas, well knowing this, had been careful to procure lanterns and torches, to render the execution of his purpose easy; and now, leading the way, he cometh, "and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people. now he that betrayed him had given them a token," whereby the servants of the high priests might surely know which was jesus. judas had told them, "whomsoever i shall kiss, that same is he; take him, hold him fast, and lead him away safely." a kiss was in those times a common form of salutation; and a sign or token of respect and regard: judas iscariot now made use of it for a very different purpose. "and as soon as he was come," with his band, into the garden, "he went before them, and drew near unto jesus to kiss him. and forthwith he came to jesus, and said, hail, master; and kissed him. and jesus said unto him, friend, wherefore art thou come? judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss?" jesus did not ask this question because he needed to be told; but in order to give judas another warning against the sin he was about to commit. the officers did not immediately lay hold upon jesus; we can well believe that his calm and dignified behaviour, and his question to judas, struck them with awe. but jesus, knowing all things that should come upon him, now showed his readiness to do his father's will: for "he went forth and said unto them, whom seek ye? they answered him, jesus of nazareth. jesus saith unto them, i am he." as soon then as he had said unto them i am he they went backward, and fell to the ground: whether in fear or out of respect, we are not told; but in any case their behaviour made it clear that the saviour's sacrifice was a voluntary act; for he could certainly, even as a man, have escaped. "then asked he them again, whom seek ye? and they said, jesus of nazareth. jesus answered, i have told you that i am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way." even at such a moment, jesus took care for his disciples, that they might not suffer with him: "that the saying might be fulfilled which he spake, of them which thou gavest me i have lost none." by this time, the officers seem to have recovered from their surprise and alarm: "then came they and laid hands on jesus, and took him." the disciples now seem to have thought that it was time for them to use the two swords, which they had brought for the deliverance of their master. "and behold one of them which were with jesus, simon peter, having a sword, stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's and smote off his ear; the servant's name was malchus." "and jesus answered and said, suffer ye thus far." these words seem to have been addressed to the roman soldiers, who would naturally be made very angry by such an occurrence taking place; therefore he asked for their forbearance; though he at once removed the cause of complaint--"for he touched the ear of the wounded man, and healed him." chapter xxxv.--jesus taken before annas and caiaphas. after he had healed malchus, jesus said unto peter, "put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. thinkest thou that i cannot now pray to my father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? but how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? the cup which my father hath given me, shall i not drink it?" here jesus plainly declares that he _gave_ himself to fulfil the scriptures, which declared, that in no other way could man be redeemed from the curse of the law. his sufferings and death were the means appointed by the father for the redemption of man; but his sufferings and death were voluntary--no man could _take_ his life unless he chose to give it. he _could_ have saved himself, but then his work would have been unfinished, and mankind for ever lost. therefore was he willing to drink the cup which his father had given him. "in that same hour jesus answered and said unto the chief priests and captains of the temple, and to the multitudes, and to the elders, which were come to him, are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? i sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me: ye stretched forth no hands against me: but the scriptures must be fulfilled; this is your hour and the power of darkness." here, again, jesus showed that those who came against him, could only succeed because the time was now come, when they were allowed to execute their wicked purposes, "that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." jesus christ had now given himself into the hands of his enemies: the disciples seeing this, and being perhaps afraid of sharing his fate, did the very thing they had lately thought impossible when their lord had warned them of it. "then all the disciples forsook him, and fled." "then the band and the captain and officers of the jews took jesus, and bound him, and led him away to annas first; for he was father-in-law to caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year." it has already been said that the romans had made caiaphas high priest instead of annas. annas had filled that office for eleven years, and ought to have continued in it as long as he lived: but the romans, who had no regard to the jewish law, had made this change. the jews, however, had a great respect for annas as their rightful high priest; and in spite of the romans they still considered and treated him as such; and therefore, in the first place, they took jesus before him, that he might advise them as to what was next to be done. as they were on their way, leading their prisoner, "there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body": this young man felt sufficient interest in jesus to follow him; "but when," for some reason which we are not told, "the young men" who guarded the lord, "laid hold on him," he gave a further proof of the fear which now prevailed amongst all the disciples and followers of jesus; for "he left the linen cloth" upon which they had laid hold, "in their hands," and so escaping, "fled from them naked." this young man seems to have been clothed in the manner common to the poorer sort of people in those days. even in later times travellers tell us, that in some places the arabs only wear a large blanket or sheet, wrapped round them in a peculiar manner; and that the same thing is done in some parts of palestine also. annas, it would seem, sent jesus at once to caiaphas; no doubt fear of the romans who had unlawfully deprived him of his dignity, prevented his exercising that authority, which by the law of god still belonged to him, and to him only: so he sent jesus away at once. "then they took him, and led him away to caiaphas the high priest. (now caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people)." jesus was then brought into the high priest's house, where were assembled with him all the chief priests and scribes; evidently waiting for the return of those whom they had sent out, under the guidance of judas iscariot, to take jesus. mean time, peter and john had so far recovered themselves, as to venture to follow jesus at a distance: for they really loved their master, and were anxious to learn what would become of him. "and simon peter followed jesus afar off, unto the high priest's palace, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with jesus into the palace of the high priest." "that disciple" here spoken of, was john, who himself gives us the account of the matter. he was in some way known to caiaphas, and was therefore allowed to go into the palace. "but peter stood at the door without." john, who had been admitted into the high priest's palace, was not one of those selfish people who care only for their own comfort: he thought of peter standing outside, and went out and spake unto the young woman, who, according to the custom of the hebrews, kept the door or acted as porter; and in consequence she "brought in peter," who joined the servants and attendants: "and when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, peter sat down among them, and warmed himself at the fire; and sat with the servants to see the end." though the month abib, which answers to our april, is very much warmer in palestine than it is here, still the nights are often very cold; and a gentleman who travelled in galilee tells us, that even in the month of may, an arab chief who entertained him, had a fire lighted in a ruined building for them to sit by, because it was cold. the fire now kindled by the attendants, though in the same hall, was no doubt at some distance from that part where jesus was standing before the high priest; whilst john, being known to caiaphas, was probably standing much nearer to his beloved master. "the high priest then asked jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. jesus answered him, i spake openly to the world; i ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the jews always resort; and in secret have i said nothing"; that is, he had said nothing in secret contrary to what he had taught in public, and therefore instead of now answering such questions, jesus referred caiaphas to those who, having heard him, were able to bear witness as to what he had said. "why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what i have said unto them: behold, they know what i said. when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck jesus with the palm of his hand (or with a rod which he held in his hand), saying, answerest thou the high priest so?" jesus quietly rebuked this man, showing that if he had said or done what was wrong, the officer should have accused him of it in a proper way, and not have struck him, contrary to the law, which forbids any one to be treated as guilty until proved to be so. "jesus answered him, if i have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?" the jews knew very well that they could not ask the romans to put jesus to death, unless they could find some fault to lay to his charge: they must get persons to witness or declare, that he had done things for which he deserved to die; and they well knew that no one could with truth do this. therefore, "the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against jesus to put him to death; but found none" to answer their purpose: "yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none," whose testimony would be sufficient: "for many bear false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together." no man could be put to death unless two witnesses gave testimony as to his guilt: if witnesses speak the truth, their testimony must be the same: but naturally when witnesses tell lies, one will say one thing and one another, and therefore the words of these men who spake against jesus, "agreed not together." the sin of the chief priests and elders was very great; they _sought_ for false witnesses: unhappily, there never is any difficulty in finding men who care so little for what is right, that for a bribe or reward they are ready to tell lies; but if liars are the children of the devil, what must those be who _encourage_ them, and almost force them to speak untruly? "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour," is one of the commandments: let us be very careful not to break this commandment, even unintentionally. we may not _mean_ to say what is _not_ true, and we may not _mean_ to make mischief; but we shall certainly do both, unless we are very careful always to repeat _exactly_ what we see or hear, _adding_ nothing, and _leaving out nothing_. even the manner or tone of voice in which anything is said or done, makes a difference. for instance, things may be done or said in fun, and there may be no harm in them; but if you repeat them, as if they were done or said in earnest, they may appear very wrong; and so you will cause people to be blamed, and thought ill of, when they do not deserve it. there is, perhaps, no commandment which we all break more frequently than the ninth--not wilfully; few, it is to be hoped, would act so wickedly as to do that; but from carelessness: by chattering about other peoples' concerns; repeating things when we are not _sure_ they are true; telling tales; and so on. our god is a god of truth: we are told that he loves truth in the inward parts, that is, in the heart; and therefore if we love him, we shall always speak the truth from the heart, and be very careful to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, even in the smallest matters. the perfect truth that god requires, forbids deceit of all kinds. we may deceive others by our actions, and even by our silence; but let us ever remember, that all deception is in the eyes of god as the sin of lying, that sin which is an abomination to the lord. chapter xxxvi.--jesus condemned by caiaphas. "at the last came two false witnesses." they did not mean to speak the truth; all that they wished was to please the priests, who, far from desiring them to speak truly, only wanted something to be said, which would give them an excuse for having jesus put to death. the two witnesses who now came before them, furnished them with the pretence they sought for: these men "bare false witness against him, saying, we heard him say, i am able to destroy the temple of god, and to build it in three days. i will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days i will build another made without hands." now this is an instance of bearing false witness, by misrepresenting the words spoken, and twisting their meaning to something which they were never intended to express. we have read that jesus did say in reference to his own body, "destroy this temple, and in three days i will raise it up." the jews did not understand what he meant; but that did not justify these witnesses in what they now said, for jesus had _not_ said, "i _will_ destroy this temple," nor had he said one word of "_building_." these witnesses meant to make it appear, that he had said that he would destroy the temple so dear to the jews, and that in three days he would _build_ another. "but neither so did their witness agree together." the priests and elders were, however, too anxious to condemn jesus, to be particular about that; for to speak disrespectfully of the temple was looked upon as blasphemy, and blasphemy was a crime to be punished with death. blasphemy is really speaking disrespectfully of the majesty and power of the almighty--father, son, and holy ghost; and ascribing to man that power which belongs to god alone. after these two false witnesses had spoken, "the high priest arose, and stood up in the midst, and asked jesus, and said unto him, answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?" our lord would make no reply to charges which even his enemies must have known to be false; and therefore he "held his peace, and answered nothing. again the high priest asked him, art thou the christ, the son of the blessed? i adjure thee by the living god, that thou tell us whether thou be the christ, the son of god." to "adjure" was to call upon a person to speak the truth in the name of god. any one so _adjured_ was looked upon as bound by the most solemn oath to speak the whole truth. when, therefore, the high priest called upon jesus in this solemn manner to say whether he really was the promised messiah, the son of god, our lord kept silence no longer; but in an equally solemn manner answered the question, adding words spoken by the prophet daniel--words always understood by the jews to be a prophecy respecting the messiah: therefore, by applying this prophecy to himself, jesus declared most plainly that he was indeed the messiah. in his answer to the high priest, as to whether he was the christ, the son of the blessed god almighty, jesus used the jewish form of saying that what had been stated was true. "jesus saith unto him, thou hast said"; and then he added, "i am: nevertheless i say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." "then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, he hath spoken blasphemy." the high priest had asked his solemn question without any intention of believing the answer: he must have felt sure what the answer would be, and therefore he had asked the question, that he might be able to accuse jesus of claiming for himself, a man, the honour due to god alone. to show his grief and horror at such a dreadful sin as blasphemy, he, according to the jewish custom, rent his robe. then appealing to those around him, caiaphas asked, "what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. what think ye?" there could be no doubt of the answer to such questions. the priests, and scribes, and elders were bent upon destroying their victim; and gladly seizing the opportunity now given them by the high priest, "they answered and said, he is guilty of death,"--that is, he is guilty of a crime which the law of moses orders to be punished with death. "and they all condemned him to be guilty of death." the priests and elders had now accomplished their work, as far as they were concerned; but its final execution did not rest with them. judæa was a roman province, and as such the jews could put no man to death without the permission of the roman governor, who was at that time pontius pilate. to obtain pilate's consent was the next step to be taken; and that the jews determined to set about as soon as possible in the morning. it was now about midnight of the thursday--the day on which jesus had eaten the last supper with his disciples. some six or seven hours must pass before jesus could be taken before pilate, and this time the jews occupied in ill using and mocking our innocent and holy lord. the priests and elders having passed sentence upon jesus, now left him in the hands of the attendants and soldiers, who, as we have said, passed the rest of the night in ill treating him. "and the men that held jesus mocked him and smote him: and some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, prophesy unto us, thou christ, who is he that smote thee? and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands." to spit upon a person, was the greatest affront and indignity that could be offered by one man to another: it signified the utmost scorn and contempt. then, in mockery of our blessed lord's claim to be the messiah, the son of god, he was blindfolded, and then desired to show his divine power, by telling the names of those who struck him on the face. it is most painful to think of jesus being so treated: for our sakes he bore meekly and patiently this savage treatment. he might with one word have put an end to it, and struck dead those who thus insulted him. but these indignities were a part of the cup appointed for him by the father, and this cup he was ready to drink to the last drop, for the redemption of man. should we not love the lord in heart and in deed, for all that he has done and suffered for us? "and many other things blasphemously spake they against him." thus passed the hours of this terrible night. all this time peter sat in some part of the palace; "and there cometh one of the maids of the high priest, the damsel that kept the door, unto peter: and when she saw peter warming himself, she looked earnestly upon him," as if trying to remember where she had seen him before. then she said to those around, "this man was also with him"; and, referring to peter himself to confirm her statement, she asked, "art not thou also one of this man's disciples?" we may well believe that peter was horrified at the treatment he had seen inflicted upon his master; and most probably, in spite of all jesus had said, peter was disappointed at his not taking some signal measures to check his persecutors. this for a time weakened his faith, and made him fearful that if he confessed himself to be a disciple, he might bring upon himself similar treatment, to that which jesus was silently and calmly undergoing. in his perplexity and fear, therefore, he committed a fearful sin; for in answer to the damsel's question, "art not thou also one of this man's disciples?" "he saith, i am not." but the damsel was not convinced, and presently said, "and thou also wast with jesus of nazareth, of galilee." one departure from truth is sure to lead to another: and now peter even pretends not to understand what she can possibly mean by charging him with being one of christ's disciples: thus "he denied him before them all, saying, woman, i know him not. i know not, neither understand i what thou sayest." perhaps peter now hoped that he had silenced his accusers, and should be left in peace; but he was shortly undeceived. "the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and peter stood with them, and warmed himself. they said therefore unto him, art not thou also one of his disciples? he denied it, and said, i am not. one of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear peter cut off," seems, however, to have recognized peter as the person who did this act, and saith, "did not i see thee in the garden with him?" what had been denied before was not likely to be confessed now. "peter then denied again; and he went out into the porch; and immediately the cock crew." these three denials,--first, to the damsel; secondly, to the servants and officers; and thirdly, to the kinsman of malchus,--which are related in the different gospels, all took place much at the same time, and are therefore to be looked upon as one act: thus we see how every word spoken by jesus on the subject of peter's denial came true. he said that before it was time for the cock to crow at all, peter would have denied him three times; and this he had done, and the warning voice of the cock had been heard for the first time. if we resist the devil, he will flee from us: if we give way to one temptation, we shall be more likely to fall again: so it was with peter. "when he was gone out into the porch, after a little while another saw him, and said, thou art also of them. and peter said, man, i am not. and another maid saw him, and began to say to them that stood by, this fellow was also with jesus of nazareth. this is one of them." peter now added to his sin, "for he denied with an oath, i do not know the man,"--thus calling upon god as a witness to the truth of what he was saying. this was peter's second denial of his lord and master. about an hour afterwards, when it was nearly three o'clock in the morning, peter seems to have been again in the hall, where the soldiers were waiting with jesus, until it should be time for them to take him before pontius pilate, the roman governor. here the third denial took place. before we go further, some little explanation is necessary. you know that in different countries, as in france, spain, china, &c., the people speak different languages; so that without learning one another's language, the natives of different countries cannot talk to each other. but even in different parts of the same country, the people often pronounce their words in such a different manner as to make it almost a different language, so that the "dialect," or manner of speaking, in one province, would be hardly understood in another province of the same country. even in england we have something of the same kind; and if you were to hear the people of yorkshire or of somersetshire talking to each other, you would not understand much of their conversation. chapter xxxvii.--peter's third denial. when peter had returned into the hall where jesus still was, another man "confidently affirmed, saying, of a truth this fellow also was him: for he is a galilean." the jews, who were natives of galilee, used a different dialect to that of the inhabitants of judæa; and this man, having heard peter speak, at once perceived that he was a galilean, and doubtless the follower of jesus. but peter at once said, "man, i am not": he would not even now allow that he was a galilean; but the fact was too plain; for his manner of speaking betrayed or showed that he was certainly a native of galilee. they that stood by could not therefore be deceived, and said again to peter, "surely thou also art one of them, for thou art a galilean: and thy speech agreeth thereto, for thy speech bewrayeth (or betrayeth) thee." peter now went still further in his denial, and added to his sin; for getting frightened and angry, he allowed himself to use language sinful in itself. "then began he to curse and to swear, saying, i know not the man: i know not this man of whom ye speak. and immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew; the second time the cock crew. and the lord turned and looked upon peter." what a look must that have been! a look of reproach for peter's sin; of grief for his sad fall mixed with love for his weak and erring follower. such as it was, it went straight to peter's heart; bringing all things to his memory, and making him feel deeply the sin he had committed against one, whom he did truly love; though under temptation, he had acted very contrary to what that love demanded from him. but the saviour's look awakened all peter's better feelings: "and peter remembered the word of the lord, how that he had said unto him, before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice. and when he thought thereon, he wept; he went out and wept bitterly." peter's tears were tears of true repentance: we know this, because in future we find him no longer confident in himself, and boasting of his love, but humble, and looking to god for strength; whilst he devoted his life to doing his master's work, never letting the fear of man prevent his declaring the truth, as it is in jesus. when we blame peter for denying the lord, let us remember that he sinned, _because_ he trusted too much in himself, and did not watch and pray as he ought to have done. this is a warning to us, not to do as he did. but let us also remember, that having sinned, he repented truly; and showed his repentance, by his changed conduct during the rest of his life. here is an example for us to follow. this terrible night was over at last. "and straightway in the morning, as soon as it was day" (about four o'clock in the morning of friday), the chief priests seem to have called the whole council of the sanhedrim together, to consult what was next to be done to secure their object: "they took counsel against jesus to put him to death. and they led him into their council, saying, art thou the christ? tell us." jesus had already answered this question before caiaphas, and knowing their motive in repeating it, "he said unto them, if i tell you, ye will not believe. and if i also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go." jesus would not, however, allow them to suppose that he denied being the messiah: and he therefore repeated the words, which they chose to call blasphemy, saying, "hereafter shall the son of man sit on the right hand of the power of god. then said they all, art thou then the son of god? and he said unto them, ye say that i am. and they said, what need we any further witnesses? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth." "then judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, i have sinned in that i have betrayed the innocent blood." some feelings of sorrow and remorse for having given up an innocent man to be put to death, now led judas to bring back the "reward of iniquity," and at once to confess his own sin, and bear witness to the innocence of jesus. perhaps he had a hope of thus saving jesus from the fate which awaited him: if so, judas soon learnt, what many have learnt before and since, that it is easy to do wrong, but by no means easy to undo the wrong when done. many of us, in a moment of passion or self-will, commit acts which embitter our whole future lives. let the young beware, lest they bring upon themselves such life-long misery; they may truly repent and mourn, and god, for jesu's sake, may forgive the sin; but the act itself, and its bitter consequences, can never be undone. the priests and elders cared not whether jesus was innocent or guilty, so as they could treat him as if he _were_ guilty. his holy life, his heavenly teaching, showed them their own sinfulness, and therefore it was _because_ he was good, that they sought to destroy him. neither did they care for judas's sufferings: they had gladly profited by his sin, and given him the reward agreed upon: now that they had got from him all that they wanted, they cared not what became of the miserable sinner. and this is often the case amongst men, who to gain something they want, persuade others to do wrong. those who have sinned to help them, may afterwards be filled with remorse and misery; but they will meet with neither help nor pity from those who led them into sin. like the priests, they will say, what is that to us? in vain did judas look for pity from his partners in guilt; the unfeeling answer of the priests was, "what is that to us? see thou to that." had judas repented truly, he would, like peter, have gone out and wept bitterly, and sought forgiveness of his lord; but, unable to bear the feeling of remorse which lay heavy upon his heart, he committed a crime for which there is no repentance: "he departed, and went and hanged himself, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." what may be the exact meaning of this passage, it is difficult to say; but it is certain that judas perished in some remarkable and dreadful manner. after judas had departed from the council, leaving the money behind, "the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, it is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood." the jews considered it unlawful to put into the treasury of the temple, any money which had been got by taking away life. the executioners, whose duty it was to put criminals to death, were not allowed to make any offering to the treasury, because the money that they gained was looked upon as the price of blood. these priests, who were ready to break a positive commandment by putting an innocent person to death, would not break the law in a small matter. the fact is, that by this time the religion of the jews had become a mere form: they made a great fuss about observing ceremonies and customs, which required no self-denial; but they did not care to obey the will of god, when it interfered with their own wishes and inclinations. they had had no scruple in buying the life of an innocent man, but they would not put the price of his blood into the treasury. so "they took counsel," or consulted together, as to what should be done with the silver pieces, "and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in." by "strangers" was probably meant jews, who came from distant parts of the country, or from some of the nations through which jews were scattered: these people had, of course, no burial-place of their own in jerusalem, and therefore this field was bought, in order that any foreign jews, who died in the city, might be buried there. the potter's field lay to the s.e. of jerusalem, on the other side of the brook gihon. from this time, this field was called "aceldama," a hebrew word, meaning the field of blood: now the christians in those parts call it "the holy field." this buying of the field, was foretold years before, in the time of ezra. "then was fulfilled that which was spoken by jeremy the prophet, saying, and they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of israel did value; and gave them for the potter's field, as the lord appointed me." this prophecy is not, however, to be found in the book which we call by the name of jeremiah, but in that of zechariah (xi.), another of the prophets. the jews had an old custom of dividing the scriptures of the old testament into three parts. the first part, called "the law," contained the books of moses and those of kings and chronicles: the psalms formed the second part: and the third part contained the writings of the prophets. as this third part began with the prophecies of jeremiah, the whole division was often called by his name; and thus any words spoken by another prophet, might be said to be in jeremy or jeremiah. the priests and the whole council of the sanhedrim had condemned jesus to death, for what they called blasphemy; and the next step was to get pilate's permission to execute the sentence. "and the whole multitude of them arose, and bound jesus, and when they had bound him, they led him away from caiaphas unto the hall of judgment, and delivered him to pontius pilate the governor: and it was early," probably about five o'clock in the morning. "and they themselves went not into the judgment hall lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." these jews were _preparing_ to eat the passover, in the evening of that day, friday; but jesus and his disciples had eaten it the evening _before_; that is, on thursday. this difference needs some explanation. we divide our year into months, some of days, and some of , whilst, as a general rule, february has only . the earth on which we live goes round the sun in days and hours, all but a few minutes. by "the day" we mean hours, or what we call a day and a night. our months, therefore, contain the days; but the extra hours are unaccounted for. now in four years the extra hours amount to --another day: and therefore every fourth year february has an additional day to provide for them. the year in which february has days is called "leap year," because we seem to leap over a day. for instance, suppose christmas day to be on saturday one year, it would naturally fall on sunday the next year: but if it were leap year, it would leap over sunday and fall upon monday instead. our year is called a solar year, because it is regulated by the course of the earth round the sun, and _sol_ is the latin word for the sun. the jews, on the contrary, divided their year according to the course of the moon, which goes round the earth in something more than thirty days. theirs was a lunar year, because _luna_ is latin for the moon. the twelve months amongst the jews had not the same fixed number of days every year, because they reckoned the month to begin when the new moon first appeared. this practice often led to mistakes, so that what ought to have been the th day of any month was frequently called the th, or the th. something of this kind seems to have taken place at this time: so that whilst jesus and his disciples ate the passover on the evening of the right day, the th of nisan or abib (answering to the end of march with us), many of the jews celebrated the feast on the next day, calling that the th, though it was, in reality, the th. chapter xxxviii.--jesus sent by pilate to herod. whatever might be the cause, it is plain that the priests and elders were preparing to keep the passover, on the evening _after_ that on which jesus had eaten it with his disciples: and that lest they should be defiled and rendered unclean according to the law, they would not enter the judgment hall, which was full of roman soldiers. any jew who (in one of the many ways) became unclean, could not partake of the feast of the passover: and it was even held, that upon occasions of such peculiar holiness, mixing with the gentiles or heathens, made a jew unclean; therefore, to avoid all risk, they went not in. they did not consider that all the laws about purity and uncleanness, were only meant to show the necessity of being pure and holy in thought, word, and deed; and that their persecution of an innocent being, rendered them far more unclean in the sight of god, than any ceremonial defilement could possibly do. but it was ever so; they paid more attention to outward forms than to real holiness and goodness. let us beware never to fall into the like fatal sin. as the jews would not go into the judgment hall, "pilate then went out unto them, and said, what accusation bring ye against this man?" instead of naming any crime of which their prisoner had been guilty, the jews merely answered, "if he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. then said pilate unto them, take ye him, and judge him according to your law." this was not at all what the jews wanted, and they "therefore said unto him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death." some writers think that the jews were _not_ deprived of the power of putting to death criminals found guilty according to their law; but that at the time of this holy feast, it was _not lawful_ for them to put any man to death. in any case, in all this we see the hand of god; "that the saying of jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die." "and they began to accuse him, saying, we found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to cæsar, saying that he himself is christ a king." in answer to pilate's desire to know the crime of which they accused jesus, the jews said not one word about blasphemy, for which alone the sanhedrim had condemned him to be deserving of death: they knew very well that pilate would take no notice of such a charge as that, for he, being a heathen, would care for none of these things; and therefore, by a very false representation of what jesus _had_ said, they now tried to make pilate believe that jesus claimed to be king of judæa; and that he endeavoured to pervert or turn the nation from paying any obedience to the emperor of rome. such a charge as this could not be disregarded by a roman governor; for the romans would not tolerate anything like revolt or sedition in their conquered provinces. "then pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called jesus, and jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, art thou the king of the jews? jesus answered him, sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?" the meaning of this question was, dost thou ask this question of thyself, from a real wish to know whether i am the messiah so long expected by the jews? or have others laid it to my charge as a crime, that i have declared myself to be that christ their king? "pilate answered, am i a jew?" meaning that as he was not a jew, he was not likely to know or care whether jesus was the messiah or not; and then he called upon jesus to tell him for what crime he had been delivered up by his own countrymen, who had thus plainly shown that they did not believe him to be their messiah. "thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?" jesus in his answer, showed pilate, that, declaring himself to be a king, could be no crime against the roman emperor, as he neither claimed nor sought for power upon earth: if he had done so, his followers would have fought for him. "jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that i should not be delivered to the jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. pilate, therefore, said unto him, art thou a king then?" that is, dost thou really mean that thou art a king? "jesus answered, and said unto him, thou sayest that i am a king. to this end was i born, and for this cause came i into the world, that i should bear witness unto the truth. every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." jesus here states again the nature of his kingdom. it was founded only upon truth. his conquests were to be only over falsehood and sin. he came into the world on purpose by his words to bring men to believe all that god had said, and to do his will in all things; such were to be his subjects. he came to win the _hearts_ of men, and rule and govern them. such a kingdom could in no way interfere with the dominion of cæsar, or any other earthly sovereign. on the contrary, those whose hearts are ruled by christ, will be the most obedient subjects to the powers that be. pilate was evidently convinced by the words of jesus, that he could in no way be found guilty of stirring up the people to disobey cæsar, but before he told the jews this, he put to our lord the question, "what is truth?" that is, what dost thou mean by that truth, which will make every one hear thy words. had pilate asked this important question with a sincere desire to _know_ the truth, it would have been a happy day for him; for the truth which jesus would have taught him, is the only thing to give real happiness in life or death. but pilate did not even wait for an answer, for when "he had said this, he went out again to the jews, and saith unto the chief priests and to the people, i find no fault in this man; i find in him no fault at all." thus did the roman governor, a heathen, bear witness to the blamelessness of our blessed lord; but the jews, determined on the death of their victim, would by no means accept such a sentence. it is plain from all that follows, that though jesus remained in the hall, he was so placed as to be able to hear all that was said outside. "and the chief priests accused him of many things: but when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. then said pilate unto him, hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? and he answered him to never a word. and pilate asked him again, saying, answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. but jesus yet answered nothing: insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly." men are in general eager enough to say all they can in their own defence, especially when conscious of their innocence: well, therefore, might pilate be astonished at the calm and dignified conduct of one accused of so many crimes; and whom even he held to be guiltless. but our lord's behaviour was thoroughly consistent with his character, and with his work. when he had an opportunity of declaring the great truth that he was the son of god, the messiah, then he spake boldly before the priests and the council, as well as to pilate: but now, when the jews were saying all manner of evil falsely against him, he treated their charges with the silent contempt they deserved. but this seems to have increased the rage of his accusers, "and they were the more fierce, saying, he stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all jewry, beginning from galilee to this place." it was true that jesus had taught throughout the whole land of judæa: but the jews wished to make pilate believe that his object was to stir up the people to rebellion against cæsar, and other crimes: whereas all he did was to stir up the people to believe in him as the messiah, and to turn to god with all their hearts, and keep his commandments. pilate was greatly perplexed what to do; he could not but see that jesus was innocent, and he had not strength of mind to do his duty conscientiously, without any fear of what man could do unto him: he was, therefore, too glad of an opportunity of throwing the responsibility of passing sentence upon another; and when he heard the jews thus speaking of galilee, "he asked whether the man were a galilean." in galilee our lord had dwelt from childhood, and as a resident in that province, he was subject to the authority of herod antipas, appointed by the romans to be king of galilee. "and as soon as pilate knew that he belonged unto herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to herod, who himself also was at jerusalem at that time," in order to keep the passover feast. herod being acquainted with the jewish religion and customs, would be better able to judge between jesus and his accusers; and thus his opinion might help pilate in deciding upon the case. herod antipas (who had caused john the baptist to be beheaded) was, we are told, exceeding glad to see jesus: he had long been desirous to see one, of whom he had heard many things; "and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him." it does not seem that herod wished to see jesus from any good motive, or from any desire to _learn_ of him, but simply out of curiosity: he was, therefore, disappointed. jesus worked no miracle, neither would he give any account of what he had done and taught. herod "questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. and the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him," as they had done before pilate. herod was probably provoked by our lord's silence: at any rate, he allowed him to be ill treated, and himself joined in showing contempt for his claims to be a king: for in ridicule, "herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to pilate." chapter xxxix.--jesus condemned. st. luke tells us, that "the same day pilate and herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves." "enmity" means just the contrary to friendship: pilate and herod had quarrelled, as the different governors throughout the roman provinces were very apt to do. the bible does not tell us the cause of this enmity; but from other histories we learn, that some time before this, pilate had dedicated some shields of gold to the emperor tiberius, and placed them in the palace called herodium, built by herod the great. the jews looked upon this as an insult to their religion, and with herod's permission, sent messengers to rome, to petition the emperor to order these shields to be removed. this caused a quarrel between herod and pilate: but when the latter, not wishing to help the jews in condemning jesus, sent him to herod, the king, considering this as an acknowledgment of his authority, was pleased; and willing again to become friends with the roman governor. the herodium was a very large palace, consisting of two separate buildings, one called cæsareum and the other agrippeum: it stood near the temple. it is probable that pontius pilate inhabited one of the buildings, and herod the other, so that jesus was not long gone. pilate, seeing that herod had pronounced no sentence against jesus, was still more unwilling that he should die: he was, however, too much afraid of the people to act as a just judge should have done, and set the prisoner at liberty; so he thought that, if he offered to punish him in some way, he might satisfy the jews, and yet save the life of his innocent prisoner: to propose to punish him at all was unjust; but even this expedient availed nothing, as we shall see. herod having sent jesus back, it was necessary that pilate should take some further steps. "and pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, i, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. no, nor yet herod: for i sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. i will therefore chastise him, and release him." there was a custom amongst the jews at this time, that at the feast of the passover the jews might claim any one of the criminals then under sentence of death for their crimes. whoever the jews chose was to be set at liberty: this custom appears to have been introduced by some roman governor of judæa, in order to gain favour with the jews; who were thus allowed to choose one amongst the prisoners to be pardoned. "now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would; and they had then a notable prisoner, called barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. and the multitude, crying aloud, began to desire pilate to do as he had ever done unto them. (for of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)" "therefore, when they were gathered together, pilate said unto them, ye have a custom, that i should release unto you one at the passover: whom will ye that i release unto you? barabbas, or jesus which is called christ? will ye therefore that i release unto you the king of the jews? for he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy." the roman governor saw truly that it was to gratify private passions alone, that the chief priests had brought jesus before him; and, hoping that the people might be more just, he offered them a choice between jesus and one of the greatest criminals then in prison: a man who had committed the very crime, which the priests pretended that christ was trying to stir up the people to commit; who, in the prosecution of his designs, had committed the murder; and who was also a robber: his evil deeds had been many; and many must have suffered from his wickedness and violence. well might pilate hope, that the contrast between such a man and jesus, whose whole life had been spent in going about doing good, would have inclined the people to demand his liberty, and leave barabbas to the fate he had so justly deserved. but no; "the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask barabbas and destroy jesus. and they cried out all at once saying, away with this man, and release unto us barabbas." one reason why pilate strove anxiously to release jesus was, that during the night his own wife had some remarkable dreams concerning our lord: what they were, we are not told; but they had convinced her that he was an innocent and righteous man, and that it would be a sin to allow any harm to befall him. therefore, "when pilate was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, have thou nothing to do with that just man": nothing, that is, in the way of punishing or harming him; "for i have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." "pilate the governor therefore, willing to release jesus, answered and spake again to them, and said unto them, whether of the twain will ye that i release unto you? they said, barabbas. then cried they all again, saying, not this man, but barabbas. and pilate answered and said again unto them, what will ye then that i shall do with jesus which is called christ? unto him whom ye call king of the jews? and they cried out again, crucify him; they all say unto him, crucify him, crucify him, let him be crucified." pilate made another effort to save jesus, by reminding the people of his innocence; and in answer to their savage cry, "crucify him, crucify him," he "said unto them the third time, why? what evil hath he done? i have found no cause of death in him: i will therefore chastise him and let him go. and they cried out the more exceedingly, crucify him. and they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. and the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed." pilate could stand out no longer; the people showed symptoms of breaking out into a riot, which at that moment would have been a serious matter; as there were an unusual number of jews assembled for the passover, and pilate had not soldiers enough to keep order, if the people should make a disturbance. if anything like a riot had occurred, the emperor tiberius would probably have considered pilate to blame; and would certainly have deprived him of his office, and most likely of his life also. pilate had not that fear of god, which admits no fear of man; neither was his wish to save jesus strong enough to make him risk his life to deliver him. as a heathen, the life of one man would seem to him of little consequence; but whilst he gave way to the clamours of the jews, he performed a symbolical action, whereby he testified that jesus was innocent, and that he, pilate, did not consent to his death, though forced to allow it. for "when pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, i am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it. then answered all the people, and said, his blood be on us, and on our children." fearful words in the sense in which they uttered them! meaning, that if jesus was innocent, they were quite willing that the punishment for putting him to death should rest upon them and upon their children. little did they foresee how dreadful would be that punishment; and how severely they and their descendants would suffer, in consequence of the crime they were wilfully committing. in one sense, we may all pray that "his blood may be on us and on our children"; even as the blood of the paschal lamb upon the door-posts turned aside the visit of the destroying angel. in regard to pilate's action on this occasion, we must recollect that it was ordered by the law of moses, that if a man were found dead in a field, and it was not known who or what had killed him, the elders of the nearest city should sacrifice a heifer, or young cow, with particular ceremonies: after which they should wash their hands over the slain beast, and declare solemnly before god, that they had had no hand in the death of the man, and that they knew not by what means he had met his death. in imitation of this custom, pilate now washed his hands; meaning thereby to show that, if jesus were put to death, he was no party to his death. but even in this pilate was mistaken; for to allow a bad action to be committed, when we can prevent it, is to incur the guilt of it. as governor, pilate might have refused to allow jesus to be slain, and it was his duty to do so: had a riot followed, he could have been in no way guilty in the sight of god: but pilate, being a heathen, did not consider the matter in this light. do not many christians, who should know better, act upon the same principles as those which influenced the roman governor? they know some particular act to be wrong, and yet it seems so expedient, so likely to be useful in some way or other, that they do it. then, again, they perceive that they ought to do something which may bring trouble upon themselves, or displease some one whose favour they wish to gain, and therefore they leave such action undone. "pilate, willing to content the people," and put an end to the tumult, "gave sentence that it should be as they required. and he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired." chapter xl.--jesus condemned by pilate. "then pilate therefore took jesus, and scourged him." this was a very unnecessary piece of cruelty practised by the romans; whose custom it was to scourge, or whip with cords, every criminal condemned to death. we must now think of our blessed lord, with his back all cut and bleeding from the stripes laid upon him, aching and smarting all over; then we must remember that this was the punishment of _our_ sins, which he bore, and that, "with his stripes we are healed." shall not such thoughts stir us up to show our love for him, who, out of his wondrous love for us, bore all these tortures? "and when pilate had scourged him, he delivered jesus to their will, to be crucified." "then the soldiers of the governor took jesus, and led him away into the common hall, called prætorium"; where fresh insults and sufferings were inflicted upon the holy jesus, the messiah: for "they call together the whole band of soldiers," and in mockery and ridicule for his having styled himself a king, "they stripped him" of his own clothes, "and put on him a scarlet or purple robe," (for the same word signifies both colours,) and then made a crown or wreath, by twisting together some branches of a prickly plant. "and when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand," to represent the sceptre, carried by kings. when the soldiers had thus arrayed our lord, in ridicule of his claim to be a king, they went a step further, and in derision, "they bowed the knee before him, and worshipped him, and mocked him, saying, hail, king of the jews!" not satisfied with this mockery, "they smote him with their hands. and they spit upon him," to show the greatest possible degree of hatred and contempt; "and took the reed, and smote him on the head"; thus driving the thorns into him, and so increasing his sufferings. all this he bore for us; and all he asks in return is, that we should take him for our king, so as to let him reign in our hearts, and rule our lives. pilate made another attempt to save the life of jesus; he probably hoped, that if the people saw him bleeding and suffering, they would feel pity, and be ashamed of so treating a man, declared to be innocent, and known to all as going about doing good. "pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, behold, i bring him forth to you, that ye may know that i find no fault in him. then came jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. and pilate saith unto them, behold the man!" the priests, however, were determined that nothing should save the life of their victim, and "therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, crucify him, crucify him." pilate finding all his efforts vain, and being still afraid to offend the jews, "then saith unto them, take ye him, and crucify him: for i find no fault in him." as if he had said, if you are determined to crucify him, do it; but remember it is not my doing, "for i find no fault in him." "the jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the son of god." the jews now changed their ground of accusation, and simply named the sin of blasphemy, as the cause for which their law required our lord's death. "when pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid": the heathen governor had clearly seen that jesus was no common man: if he were put to death for declaring himself to be the son of god, he would probably suffer for saying what was _true_; and though pilate, as a heathen, had no knowledge of the nature and power of the lord god almighty, he was afraid to crucify one, whom he believed to be the son of god. hesitating and perplexed, pilate "went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto jesus, whence art thou? but jesus gave him no answer. then saith pilate, speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that i have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? jesus answered, thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." jesus meant to tell pilate, that no earthly ruler or governor could have power to put him to death, unless it had been the will of god, who dwells in heaven above, that he should suffer whatever the jews chose to do to him. the jews had cruelly and unjustly persecuted him, and in spite of his acknowledged innocence, had treated him as the worst of malefactors: and therefore jesus told pilate, that the sin of the chief priests and others in insisting upon his death, was far greater than the sin of pilate in giving way to them, in order to prevent a tumult amongst the people. the words spoken by jesus, his whole conduct and manner, so totally unlike that of a guilty person, convinced pilate more and more, that he had _not_ "spoken _blasphemy_" in declaring himself to be the son of god; and "from thenceforth he sought to release him." to prevent the escape of their innocent victim, the jews now returned to their original charge of treason and rebellion against the roman emperor, "and cried out, saying, if thou let this man go, thou art not cæsar's friend; whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against cæsar." tiberius, who at that time was emperor of rome, was a suspicious and cruel tyrant; and would have punished with death any governor, supposed to have spared the life of a man, who had set himself up to be a king in any of the roman provinces. pilate, therefore, did not dare to give the jews any excuse for thus complaining of him to tiberius: so "when he heard that saying, (if thou let this man go, thou art not cæsar's friend,) he brought jesus forth," from the judgment hall into which the jews would not enter, "and sat down in the judgment seat, in a place" outside, "that is called the pavement, but in the hebrew, gabbatha. and it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the jews, behold your king! but they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him! pilate saith unto them, shall i crucify your king? the chief priests answered, we have no king but cæsar. then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified." as st john's account of the hour at which the crucifixion took place appears to differ from that named by the other evangelists, it may be well to explain why st. john says, "the _sixth_ hour," and st. mark "the _third_." st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke, speak according to the jewish mode of computing time. the jews reckoned the day to begin at one sunset, and end at the next; so that their night came before the day, instead of after, as with us. from sunset, (about o'clock of our time,) they divided the night into four equal portions or watches, of three hours each. the first from o'clock p.m. to o'clock; the second from p.m. to o'clock, or midnight. the third watch, called also the first cock crowing, ended at what we call o'clock a.m.; and the fourth and last, called the second cock crowing, at our o'clock a.m. the next hour after o'clock was called the st hour, and so on; the rd hour answered, therefore, to our o'clock a.m.: and this was the hour at which st. mark states that they crucified jesus. it must be remarked, that the jews also divided their day into four portions, calling each by the name of the hour at which it began: thus the rd hour, being the beginning of a portion, would include the other two hours in that portion. in this manner, the rd hour, our o'clock, would include the th and th hours, or our and o'clock. then the th hour, answering to our o'clock mid-day, would extend to o'clock, the th jewish hour, and so on. st. john, on the other hand, reckoned the time according to the roman and asiatic mode, still used by us. thus the day, as spoken of by him, began at midnight; and therefore, his th hour was our o'clock in the morning, or o'clock p.m. but the romans also divided their time into watches of three hours each, speaking of the whole three hours under the name of the hour with which the watch began. thus the th hour, or o'clock a.m., would include all the time up to o'clock, which according to the romans was the th hour, and according to the jews the rd hour. st. john further says, that it was "_about_ the sixth hour when they crucified him"; now _about_ may mean a little before, or a little after, the time mentioned; and therefore, we find that all the apostles mean the same thing; viz., that jesus was crucified soon after o'clock in the morning. the following table may help us to understand clearly the time at which the different events happened; beginning with the passover, which jesus ate with his disciples:-- --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- | | our time. | jewish time. | events. | | thursday, probably | | about o'clock. | evening. | jesus eats the | | passover. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock p.m. | end of day. | " " | first night watch. | jesus on the mount of | | olives. " " | | --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock p.m. | second night watch. | jesus in garden of | | gethsemane. " " | | betrayed by judas, | | and taken to annas. " " | | taken before caiaphas. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock midnight.| third watch. | peter's first denial. | first cock crowing. | jesus condemned by the | | priests. a.m. friday. | | abused by the | | attendants. " " | | peter's second denial. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock a.m. | fourth watch. | peter's third denial. | second cock crowing.| " " | | jesus condemned by | | the sanhedrim. " " | | taken before pilate. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock a.m. | romans' th hour. | jesus sent to herod. | | returned to pilate. " " | jews' st hour. | crowned with thorns. " " | " nd hour. | delivered to be | | crucified. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- o'clock a.m. | jews' rd hour. | jesus crucified. --------------------+---------------------+----------------------- chapter xli.--jesus crucified. in reading the account of our blessed lord's condemnation, it may seem strange to us that pilate was ready to receive him so early as five o'clock in the morning; though we can understand the priests and the sanhedrim sitting up all night, to accomplish their wicked purpose. but we must remember, that the jews were at all times ready to make disturbances; and that as very great multitudes came into jerusalem for the passover, those who were in authority were obliged to be very watchful, so as to check the first symptoms of a riot: and no doubt they were doubly watchful now, remembering that when jesus rode into the city, a few days before, all the people accompanied him, shouting, and declaring him to be that king, the promised messiah. "and they took jesus, and led him away. and after that they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. and he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called, in the hebrew, golgotha." it was the custom of the jews and romans never to put condemned persons to death within the city walls. golgotha was a hill outside the city, set apart for executions, and was, of course, an unclean and polluted place. it is thought that the name golgotha was given to this hill because, in shape, it resembled a head or skull; and that for the same reason, the romans called it calvary: the latin word so translated, meaning the same as the hebrew word golgotha. the romans compelled those who were to undergo the terrible death by crucifixion, to carry their own cross to the appointed place. thus we find jesus "bearing his cross": but when we remember how our blessed lord had passed the whole night, we shall not be surprised that he had no strength to carry a heavy cross of wood up a hill. most likely he fell under the load; and those who led him out saw, that faint and weary as he was, it was impossible for this part of his sentence to be carried out, and therefore, "they laid hold upon one simon, a cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country: him they compelled to bear his cross. and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after jesus." "and there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him." many of these, doubtless, had benefited by his miracles of healing, either in themselves or in their children; and all were grieved to see such cruelty practised upon one, who had ever gone amongst them doing good. jesus, always mindful of others, and foreseeing the dreadful sufferings that would come upon the city in consequence of his death, "turning unto them, said, daughters of jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. for, behold, the days are coming in the which they shall say, blessed are the barren" (that is, the women who have no children to suffer). "then shall they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us; and to the hills, cover us. for if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" this is figurative language, meaning that the calamities about to fall on jerusalem would be so dreadful, that the jewish women, who considered it a great misfortune to have no children, would then be thankful, and considered blessed because they had none: and that, in the impossibility of escaping from their miseries, all people would be glad if the mountains could fall and crush them. then jesus reminded them, that if a green tree is quickly burnt up, a dry and withered one will be burnt much more quickly. in the scriptures, good men are often compared to green and flourishing trees; and bad men to dry and barren ones. the meaning of our lord was therefore, if god in his wisdom sees fit to let me, who am holy and righteous in his sight, suffer such things as ye have seen; what think ye will he do to the wicked and unrighteous? jesus was not crucified alone: it seems that at this time there were two criminals sentenced to a similar death. "and there were two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death." in reading these words, we must be very careful to pause at the comma after other, because the meaning is, "and there were two other (persons, who were) malefactors, led with him," &c. malefactors mean persons that have done evil. st. matthew tells us that these men were thieves: probably some of those robbers who troubled judæa at that time, carrying off cattle and whatever they could lay their hands upon, and often killing those who tried to defend their property. these men were justly condemned to death in punishment of their sins, and they were now led out to be crucified with the innocent and holy jesus. the prophet isaiah, speaking seven hundred years before of the messiah, had said, "he was numbered with the transgressors"; "and he made his grave with the wicked." he was, indeed, "numbered," or considered to be one of the transgressors, fit only to share the fate of such. literally was isaiah's prophecy fulfilled, when jesus was led out with two malefactors to die with them. "and when they were come to the place, which is called golgotha, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. and they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not." st. matthew mentions the vinegar and gall; st. mark, the wine and myrrh. some people have thought that both mean the same thing; but it is most probable that two separate mixtures were offered to christ at this time. the jews always gave wine, with myrrh in it, to the criminal about to be executed, to stupefy him, and make him less able to feel pain. the first draught of vinegar and gall was probably offered to jesus in mockery. any one expecting the usual stupefying draught, would be disappointed at getting another instead. jesus submitted for our sakes to every suffering and insult inflicted by his persecutors, therefore he tasted the mixture; but when the stupefying draught was offered, "he received it not"; for he would do nothing to lessen his appointed sufferings, nor to render him less able to pray to god. "and when they were come to the place, which is called calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left, and jesus in the midst." "and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors." crucifixion was not only a most painful death, but it was also looked upon as a very shameful one; only to be awarded to the vilest criminals, in order to show contempt and hatred. sometimes the criminal was merely bound to the cross with ropes, and there left to die of hunger and exposure. but our saviour was actually nailed to the cross, according to the words spoken by king david, one thousand years before, "they pierced my hands and my feet." the manner of crucifixion was as follows: the cross of wood being laid upon the ground, the poor victim was laid upon it; and his arms being stretched out along the cross bar, a great nail was driven through the hollow of each hand into the wood: the feet were then crossed over each other upon the perpendicular part of the cross, and then a very long nail was forced through both into the wood beyond. there appears to have been under the feet a small ledge of wood, just to support them. the poor victim being thus made fast to the wood, the cross was raised up, and placed upright in a hole already prepared to receive it. the torture felt by the unhappy sufferer was most intense: the ledge beneath the feet did not prevent the weight of the body hanging from the hands, nailed to the upper part of the cross. the agony of such a position was beyond all that we can conceive; and this agony often lasted many hours, before death put an end to suffering. such was the death christ endured for us. surely no one can think of all jesus suffered at this time, without feeling the deepest grief, and shrinking with horror from the idea that we could have joined his enemies. and yet the word of god tells us that, if we persist in sin, we "crucify the son of god afresh, and put him to an open shame." we can all understand, that if we have taken a great deal of trouble, and put ourselves to inconvenience and even to pain, in order to do good to some person, it would be very grievous to see that person not a bit better or happier than he would have been, had we _not troubled_ ourselves about him. then let us remember that jesus christ suffered and died that we might be taken into heaven. but we cannot go into heaven, unless we forsake our sins and try to obey god: if, therefore, we will not take the trouble to resist the devil, all that jesus has done and suffered will be of no use to us. let us take care that he has not suffered in vain: let us pray for faith; that true and lively faith which will constrain us to repent, and love, and obey. now let us turn our thoughts again to jesus hanging on his cross, between those upon which the two thieves were fastened. it was the custom of the romans, to cause a list of the crimes for which a malefactor was condemned, to be carried before him, or fastened to the instrument of his punishment. this was called his "accusation." in compliance with this custom, "pilate wrote a title, and set up over his head his accusation written, and put it on the cross. and the writing was in letters of greek, jesus of nazareth the king of the jews; and in latin, the king of the jews; and in hebrew, this is jesus the king of the jews. this title then read many of the jews: for the place where jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in hebrew, and greek, and latin"; so that all strangers who did not understand hebrew might also read this "accusation." chapter xlii.--christ on the cross. the chief priests were by no means satisfied with the superscription written by pilate, for they persisted in believing that jesus had no _right_ to be called king or messiah. "then said the chief priests of the jews to pilate, write not, the king of the jews; but that he said, i am king of the jews": an alteration which would have made it appear that he had been justly punished by the romans, for claiming a power to which no one had any right in the roman provinces. "pilate answered, what i have written, i have written." this was a common mode of expression, meaning that a thing was done, and could not be undone. probably pilate wrote this title on purpose, knowing that the jews would not like it; for he was displeased with them for forcing him, as it were, to do what he felt to be wrong: at any rate, in this title he declared a blessed truth: even that the king of the jews, the long-expected messiah, the son of god, was actually hanging on the cross, atoning for the guilt of man, and purchasing our pardon by the sacrifice of himself. let us remember this with such thankfulness and gratitude, as will lead us to love, so as to obey. whilst jesus was hanging in agony upon the cross, he prayed for those who had so cruelly persecuted him. he had often taught the lesson of loving our enemies, and doing them good whenever we have the opportunity; and now he set us a most wonderful example of that love which we are to show to them. "then said jesus, father, forgive them; for they know not what they do": well might he say of those who had delivered him to be crucified, "they know not what they do." little did they indeed consider the sin they were committing; still less did they know what blessings their sin would bring upon all mankind. but their ignorance was in a great degree wilful, and wilful ignorance must always be a great sin: they had, therefore, much need that christ should pray for them, as now he did. by law, the executioners had a right to the clothes of their victim; and accordingly we read, "then the soldiers, when they had crucified jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout." "they said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it whose it shall be. and they parted his raiment and cast lots, that the scripture might be fulfilled which saith, they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. these things, therefore, the soldiers did:" according as david had spoken in the nd psalm. thus having finished the work of crucifixion, the soldiers, "sitting down" at the foot of the cross, "watched him there. and the people stood beholding. and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, he saved others; let him save himself, if he be christ, the chosen of god." had jesus, indeed, been the worst of criminals, mocking or deriding him thus, whilst he hung in agony upon the cross, would have been a most cowardly and brutal act: but these insults were borne patiently by one, who with a word could have silenced these mocking tongues, and have confounded all, by coming down from the cross, and leaving man's redemption for ever unfinished. blessed be god, that no taunts or mockings could so move him, who suffered all for our sakes. we cannot wonder, that following the example of the jewish priests and rulers, the heathen "soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar," or a light wine drunk by the common people, "and saying, if thou be the king of the jews, save thyself. and they that passed by reviled him, and railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross. if thou be the son of god, come down from the cross. likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said among themselves, he saved others; himself he cannot save. if he be the king of israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. he trusted in god; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, i am the son of god. let christ, the king of israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." would they have believed, if jesus had indeed come down from the cross? no; their hearts were hardened in wilful unbelief, and their words were empty mockery. one great truth, however, the chief priests unknowingly proclaimed, when in mockery they cried out, "he saved others, himself he cannot save": truly the choice lay between the two; jesus could not save himself and us. for our salvation an atonement must be made: the only effectual atonement was the death of jesus, he might have saved himself from this, and left us to perish. blessed be god for the love, that endured to the end, and thus saved us. we are told, that even "they that were crucified with him, reviled him"; joining in the abuse now heaped upon him; but without provoking one word of reproof or complaint. no doubt the behaviour of our lord at this time must have gained the admiration of many, and convinced them that he who now hung upon the cross was no mere man. the lord certainly saw fit to touch the heart of one of those who were crucified with him, for while "one of the malefactors which were hanged," continued to rail "on him, saying, if thou be the christ, save thyself and us," the other, answering, rebuked him, "saying, dost not thou fear god, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." here was true repentance; an acknowledgment of the justice of the punishment inflicted, coupled with a declaration of the innocence of him, whom the dying thief now believed to be indeed the son of god, the promised messiah. in christ's agony and humiliation, the penitent malefactor looked to him as the king of the jews, the saviour of mankind; and in the strength of his new-born faith, "he said unto jesus, lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom": he felt the true nature of christ's kingdom: and jesus, who knows the hearts of all "said unto him, verily i say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." what blessed words for the poor penitent thief to hear! may each one of us, when we are dying, have the comfort of believing, this day shall i be in the kingdom of the lord: but unless our actions during life have shown that we do belong to his kingdom on earth, we cannot feel this comfort. "now there stood by the cross of jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, mary the wife of cleophas, and mary magdalene." mary's sorrow at witnessing the suffering of her son, must indeed have been, as if a sword had pierced through her own soul, as simeon had foretold, when three and thirty years before she had carried the holy babe into the temple, to do for him according to the law. mary, the wife of cleophas or alphæus, was the mother of james called the less, to distinguish him from james the brother of john, the son of zebedee. the apostles had, as we have seen, fled away; but john, who had followed jesus to the high priest's palace, now stood with the women beside the cross. even in the midst of all his agony, jesus could think of others: he felt for the misery and desolation of his mother, and was anxious to provide for her future comfort; thus he set a double example, showing children that they should never cease to love and honour their parents; and teaching us all, never to let our own troubles or sorrows, whatever they may be, make us unmindful of the sufferings of others. "when jesus, therefore, saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, woman, behold thy son! then saith he to his disciple, behold thy mother!" by these words, he bade his mother look for comfort to his beloved disciple; bidding him treat her for the future as if she were his own mother. faithfully was this last commandment obeyed, "and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." jesus had now been hanging on the cross for three hours, suffering the extreme of bodily agony; but the worst was not yet over. it was the sixth hour, or twelve o'clock,--mid-day, as we call it,--when an event took place, which must have greatly alarmed all men. without any apparent cause, "the sun was darkened"; "when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour." during these three hours of darkness, we have reason to believe that jesus was allowed to feel the full weight of god's wrath against sin. all the misery deserved by sinful man was in some wonderful and mysterious way laid upon him, so that in some incomprehensible manner, he, holy as he was, tasted the bitterness of that death from which by his agonies he delivered man. what his sufferings really were, we know not. god grant we never may! but for the time he felt as if his father had cast him off for ever. what a dreadful thing must sin be, since it could not be forgiven without such terrible agony, as for three hours was endured in silence by our blessed lord; and at length wrung from him that heart-rending cry, "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" let us, for whose redemption he thus felt the wrath of god, watch and pray, that his sufferings may not have been in vain for any one of us. chapter xliii.--jesus dies. three hours of agony beyond what we can imagine passed slowly away; and then, "at the ninth hour, jesus cried with a loud voice, eli, eli, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?"--the very words which stand, at the beginning of the nd psalm, wherein david foretells many things that would happen at this time. "some of them that stood by," not understanding hebrew, "when they heard the words spoken by jesus, said, behold, he calleth elias. after this, jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished," and that his release was at hand, "that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, i thirst. now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and straightway one" of the by-standers, more humane than the others, "ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it on a reed," with which he raised it high enough "to put it to his mouth, and (so) gave him to drink. the rest said, let be; let us see whether elias will come to take him down." the common drink of the roman soldiers was "posea," a poor kind of wine, often called vinegar, but not like what we mean by vinegar. this "posea" was now offered to jesus. "when jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished." all was now accomplished; every prediction uttered by the prophets concerning the messiah, had been fulfilled; the redemption of man was completed. let the cost of that redemption make us give ourselves to our redeemer, to be his faithful followers and servants. "jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, said, father, into thy hands i commend my spirit: and having said thus, he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost,"--he yielded up his life, according to his own words, "i lay down my life for the sheep. no man taketh it from me, but i lay it down of myself." the sacrifice was voluntary, otherwise it could have availed us nothing. jesus died: his spirit departed from the body; and his last words prove that the mysterious suffering had passed away, that he again felt the comfort of his father's love, and that he was no longer forsaken. the almighty god now again bore testimony to the divine nature of him who had just yielded up his human life: heaven and earth alike testified that this was indeed the son of god. during the time of his deepest agony, "the sun was darkened"; now that he had given up the ghost, "the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened. and behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain, in the midst, from the top to the bottom." the veil which divided the holy of holies from the rest of the temple, was a thick curtain, something like a worked carpet. the tearing of this down the middle was a very significant action, showing that the death of jesus had done away with all the ceremonial observances established by the law of moses. a new covenant, the covenant of grace, was now to replace the old covenant of works. the holy of holies was looked upon by the jews as a type of heaven; and only the high priest was allowed to enter into it. christ died to open the way into heaven to all mankind, whether jews or gentiles; thus the veil was rent, to show that through the mediation of jesus, all might have access to god the father. "now when the centurion which stood over against him, watching jesus, and they that were with him, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, and that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the son of god." the roman centurion had witnessed many executions, and the wonderful events attendant upon this one had convinced him of the truth of all that jesus had said; "and he glorified god, saying, certainly, this was a righteous man." the very people, who had been persuaded by the priests to ask for the release of barabbas and the crucifixion of jesus, now shared the feelings of the centurion; for we read that "all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts," in token of remorse and grief, "and returned." "and all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from galilee," "among whom was mary magdalene, and mary the mother of james the less and of joses, and salome" "the mother of zebedee's children," "and many other women which came up with him unto jerusalem," "stood afar off, beholding these things." the ninth hour, after which our saviour breathed his last, answers to our o'clock p.m., and a new day, according to the jewish mode of reckoning, would begin at o'clock p.m. as jesus was crucified on friday morning, the day now about to begin, was the sabbath; and being the sabbath in the passover week, it was a particularly solemn, or "high day," to be observed with special reverence. on the morrow after that sabbath, the jewish people, according to the ordinances of the mosaical law, were accustomed to assemble in the temple, bringing with them, as a thank-offering to the lord, a sheaf of corn, the "first fruits" of the harvest, which began at this season of the year. at the same time, particular sacrifices were to be offered, all in thanksgiving to him who giveth us the fruits of the earth in due season. crucifixion, as we have said, was often a lingering death: and sometimes, to hasten the end, the legs of the poor wretches hanging upon the cross were broken. the beginning of the passover sabbath was now fast approaching: it was not lawful, according to the jewish law, for any criminal who had been hanged, to be left hanging all night; that is, beyond the close of the day of their execution. the bodies of criminals who had been executed, were usually buried without any form or ceremonies; but sometimes, at the earnest entreaty of the family, they were allowed to take the body, and bury it with funeral honours. the jewish priests and rulers were very particular in observing all outward rites and ceremonies, even when they had just been guilty of a fearful sin; and "therefore, because it was the preparation," the time for preparing for the coming sabbath, "that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (for that sabbath day was an high day)" the jews "besought pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. but when they came to jesus and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water": this water, proved that the heart had been actually pierced, so that none could doubt that jesus was really and truly dead. it was very necessary that the fact of his death should be clearly established, so that men might afterwards have no doubt as to his "resurrection from the dead." amongst those who saw the water and blood flowing from the wound made by the spear, was the beloved disciple, st. john; for in his gospel, he tells us, "and he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe." in this treatment of the body of jesus by the roman soldiers, two prophecies concerning our saviour, the true paschal lamb, were fulfilled. "for these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken," and "they shall look on him whom they pierced." "and after this, when the evening was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, there came a rich man of arimathæa, a city of the jews: named joseph, an honourable counsellor," who "had not consented to the counsel and deed of them" in putting jesus to death. "he was a good man, and a just: who also himself waited for the kingdom of god: being a disciple of jesus, but secretly, for fear of the jews." anxious to save the sacred body of him in whom he believed, from further injury or insult, this man "came, and went in boldly unto pilate, and craved the body of jesus: and besought pilate that he might take away the body of jesus." arimathæa, supposed to be the same as rama, where samuel dwelt in the time of saul, lay to the n.w. of jerusalem, on the way to joppa. joseph, as a man of wealth and influence, must have been known to the roman governor, who would be willing to oblige him, especially in such a matter, since he himself was convinced that jesus was no malefactor. his only hesitation arose from his doubt as to whether jesus was at that time dead; "pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. and when he knew it of the centurion, pilate gave him leave; and commanded the body to be delivered to joseph." joseph having obtained pilate's leave to remove the body of jesus, "bought fine linen" to wrap it in, according to custom. "he came therefore," and with the help of others, "took the body of jesus" down from the cross. "and when joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth: there came also nicodemus, which at the first came to jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. then took they the body of jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the jews is to bury." this was all that the time allowed to be done then, in the way of embalming. "now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, and joseph laid the body in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock, wherein was man never yet laid." it was a custom in those days, for the rich, with whom christ was to be in his death (as isaiah had said), to form their tombs, by having a sort of small room cut out of the solid rock; leaving a narrow door, which was the only possible way by which any one could go in or out. this door or entrance was always closed by a large stone. within the room or cave, was a sepulchre or sepulchres, in which the body was laid. in such a sepulchre "they laid jesus therefore, because of the jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand: and the sabbath drew on." and they rolled a great stone to the door "of the sepulchre, and departed." chapter xliv.--jesus rises from the sepulchre. "and mary magdalene, and mary the mother of joses, and the women also which came with him from galilee, followed after" joseph and nicodemus, "and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid." and they returned and prepared spices and ointments, in order that the process of embalming, hastily begun by joseph and nicodemus, might be properly finished after the sabbath should be past. having made their preparations, they "rested the sabbath day, according to the commandment." by comparing the accounts of all that happened after jesus was laid in the tomb, we find that though the greater number of the women went away, as has been said, two of them remained watching the spot which now contained the body of him whom they so loved and reverenced: for we read, "and there was mary magdalene and the other mary (the mother of james and joses) sitting over against the sepulchre." there they stayed, probably till the sabbath had begun, when, of course, it was too late for them to prepare their share of spices, without breaking the fourth commandment. "now the next day that followed the day of the preparation" (this seems to mean in the beginning of the sabbath, soon after o'clock on friday evening, just after the burial of our lord), "the chief priests and pharisees came together unto pilate, saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days i will rise again. command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. pilate said unto them, ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. so they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." thus did the lord make these priests and pharisees bear witness to christ's resurrection. it was little likely that the apostles would make any attempt to carry off the body, and still less likely that they could succeed in any such an attempt; but what was now done rendered it _impossible_; for there was no way of carrying the body out of the sepulchre but through the door, which was closed by a heavy stone, and was now watched by a guard of soldiers, who would not allow any one even to touch the stone, which could not be moved without making much noise. it was essential that there should never be any doubt as to the fact of christ's having risen from the dead, and therefore his very enemies were made to furnish the strongest proofs of his resurrection. thinking they had made the sepulchre sure, they went away to rest on the sabbath. but vain the stone, the watch, the seal, christ has burst the gates of hell; death in vain forbids his rise, christ hath opened paradise. jesus laid in the grave all through the sabbath, from o'clock on friday evening to o'clock on saturday evening. the sabbath was now past; the first day in the week, called by us sunday, was begun. "and when the sabbath was past, mary magdalene, and mary the mother of joses, and salome," who had not had time to make any preparations before the sabbath, set out from their homes to go to the sepulchre; and they "had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him." but while they were on their way, "behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men." the time and circumstances of jesus's rising from the dead, are veiled in mystery. he had evidently left the sepulchre before the stone was rolled away. all that we know is, that christ rose, and was the "first fruits of them that slept"; and he rose on the day when the first fruits of the harvest were presented in thankfulness to the lord god almightly. his resurrection secured ours; and, as a sign that it did so, "many bodies of the saints which slept arose out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the city, and appeared unto many." the graves were opened when jesus gave up his life on the cross: when he arose, the bodies which lay in them arose also, testifying to his triumph over death and the grave. wonderful indeed were all the events which took place at this time! in their several accounts of what happened after our saviour had risen, some of the evangelists mention one thing, and some another; but as clever men, who have considered the subject, show us how all the events mentioned must have followed one another, we shall keep to their account. we have said that before the earthquake took place, mary magdalene and the other mary, accompanied by salome, who had joined them, set out to go to the sepulchre: knowing that it was closed by a great stone, they naturally, as they drew near, "at the rising of the sun, said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" of the watch set there, they probably knew nothing. but on coming close, this difficulty was at an end, "for when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great." very probably mary magdalene was the first who observed this fact, for st. john speaks especially of her, and says, "the first day of the week cometh mary magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre." here you must understand, that the hebrew sepulchres had two divisions, or chambers. the inner division, or chamber, in which the body was laid, was separated from the outer division by a door, closed, as we have heard, by a large stone. the outer chamber, or porch, had an open door, or entrance. as soon as mary magdalene and her companions came near, they could see, through the open entrance of the outer chamber, that the door of the inner chamber was also open, and that the great stone, which they had seen placed there after jesus was laid in the tomb, had been taken away: but they did not see either the stone itself or the angel sitting upon it, on the right-hand side of the door; as this could not be seen without going into the porch, or outer chamber. as soon, then, as mary magdalene saw, through the open entrance of the porch, that the stone was rolled away from the door of the inner chamber, or sepulchre, she, concluding that some persons, either friends or enemies, had opened it, and carried away the body of jesus, "runneth, and cometh to simon peter, and to the other disciple whom jesus loved, and saith unto them, they have taken away the lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him." after mary magdalene had left them, the other mary and salome went into the outer division, and, "entering into the sepulchre" (that is, into the porch), "they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. and the angel answered, and said unto the women, fear not ye; be not affrighted; for i know that ye seek jesus of nazareth, which was crucified: he is not here: for he is risen, as he said. come, see the place where the lord lay; behold the place where they laid him." having thus assured these women that the lord was indeed risen from the dead, the angel bade them make the good tidings known to others, saying, "but go your way quickly, tell his disciples and peter that he is risen from the dead, and that he goeth before you into galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you; lo, i have told you. and they departed quickly from the sepulchre, with fear, and fled; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man." these women were so confused and overpowered with surprise, fear, and joy, that they scarcely knew what to say or do: so they told no man what they had seen or heard as they went along, but "with great joy did run to bring his disciples word" of what the angel had said. it must have been a great comfort to peter to hear that he had been particularly mentioned by name, as it showed that jesus had not cast him off, but still looked upon him as a disciple, notwithstanding his sin in denying his lord and master. it seems that when the disciples saw their lord condemned and crucified, they must have forgotten all that he had told them as to his rising again; and, instead of going early to the sepulchre on the third day, they appear to have remained at home, mourning and lamenting his death. now, however, mary magdalene's tidings must have brought their lord's words to remembrance. "peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple (john), and came to the sepulchre. so they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun peter, and came first to the sepulchre. and he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in." the clothes in which the body had been wrapped were there; but the body itself was gone. no angel was now to be seen, nor did the disciples know that one had been seen at all; for mary magdalene had left the sepulchre before her two companions went into the porch of the sepulchre. "then cometh simon peter, following john, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." this circumstance was very important. if the body of jesus had been _stolen away_, either by friends or enemies, they would have carried it away as it was, and not waited to unwind the linen clothes, and more especially not to have folded the napkin up and laid it in a separate place. the astonishment of peter when he saw the burial clothes thus lying in order caused john also to go into the sepulchre: "and he saw and believed." "for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." chapter xlv.--christ appears to mary magdalene. the apostles appear to have come to the sepulchre, without any idea that the lord had risen from the dead. they had not understood rightly what the prophets had said of the death and rising again of the messiah; nor had the words of the lord, though he had told them plainly that he should die and rise again the third day, prepared them for what had happened. when john examined the tomb, he saw that the body of jesus must, in some miraculous way, have slipped out of the linen clothes, leaving them lying in such perfect order: "he saw, and believed" that jesus was indeed risen. "for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." up to this time they had not rightly understood this scripture; and john's faith now rested on what he had _seen_, not, as it should have done, upon the word of god. peter and john, having satisfied themselves that the body of jesus was no longer in the sepulchre, "went away again unto their own home," before mary magdalene, who had followed them, reached the sepulchre for the second time: she arriving after they had left, would naturally be disappointed at not hearing their opinion, as to the disappearance of the body of jesus. she was grieved that any one should have carried him away; and this, added to the recollection of what she had witnessed in the sufferings and death of jesus, so disturbed mary, that she "stood without at the sepulchre weeping. and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the (inner) sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of jesus had lain. and they say, woman, why weepest thou? she saith unto them, because they have taken away my lord, and i know not where they have laid him." so little did mary expect the lord to rise again to life, that even the sight of angels sitting by his open tomb, did not convince her that the body had not been removed to another place. she was soon to know the truth; for "when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw jesus standing." but it pleased the lord to appear to her in such a form, that at first she knew not that it was jesus. this was the first appearance of jesus christ after his resurrection; for, as st. mark tells us, "now when jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to mary magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." "jesus saith unto her, woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? she, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and i will take him away. jesus saith unto her, mary." this one word, spoken in the tone she had been accustomed to hear, removed all doubts and fears: now she sees and knows that it is indeed jesus restored to life, who stands by her. we can imagine with what surprise and joy "she turned herself" quickly towards her lord, "and saith unto him, rabboni; which is to say, master." from what follows, we may suppose that in her exceeding gladness, mary would have laid hold upon the lord to detain him; for "jesus saith unto her, touch me not; for i am not yet ascended to my father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, i ascend unto my father, and your father; and to my god, and your god." by these words, he seems to have meant that the time was not quite come for him to ascend into heaven; and that mary need not therefore hold him, as if she was afraid of not seeing him again; but, on the contrary, that she should at once go and remind his disciples of all that he had before told them, about his going to his father, and not leaving them comfortless; because if he left them, he would send the holy ghost to teach and guide them. the message thus sent by jesus, should remind us all, that the lord god almighty is indeed our god; a kind and loving father to _all_ who believe in his beloved son, so as to love and obey him. mary magdalene set out immediately to tell "the disciples that she had seen the lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her." on her way it seems that she fell in with the other mary and salome, who had fled from the sepulchre at the sight of the angel. the three women now went on together. "and as they went to tell his disciples, behold, jesus met them, saying, all hail." "all hail" signified welcome; it was a common mode of expressing pleasure at meeting. mary and salome, who had heard from mary magdalene that the lord was indeed alive again, were neither astonished nor frightened at his appearance; but, filled with joy and love, they fell at his feet; "they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him." "then said jesus unto them, be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into galilee, and there they shall see me." the action of holding his feet, showed fear that the lord would at once disappear; but he bids them have no fears, for that, on the contrary, he would meet his disciples in galilee. but before that, he appeared also to his apostles. whilst the women were on their way to tell the disciples all they had seen and heard, "behold some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done." we have heard how, when the angel of the lord descended, those who were guarding the sepulchre were so terrified, that they "became as dead men,"--unable to move, or know what to do. when they came to themselves, they would see that the sepulchre was empty; whilst they well knew that no human power could have removed the body. they went therefore, and told those who had set them to watch, how vain all their precautions had been. the chief priests immediately called the council together: "and when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel," or consulted amongst themselves what they had best do to prevent their countrymen from believing in the resurrection of christ, "they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, say ye, his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. so they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the jews until this day." great indeed was the wilful unbelief of the jews, if they could for one moment believe such an absurd story, as the priests and elders had bribed the soldiers to tell. amongst the romans, death was the punishment for any soldier who went to sleep whilst upon guard: yet, in spite of this, men were required to believe, that sixty soldiers, and their commander, were all so fast asleep, that the noise which must have been made by moving the stone, did not even awake one of them. besides, if they had all been asleep, how could they have known that the disciples had been there? the chief priests and elders knew that this story was false; and we may be quite sure that pilate and those in authority did not believe it, or the soldiers would not have escaped punishment: but the romans did not care what the jews believed on the subject: and the soldiers, being heathens, and therefore careless about speaking the truth, took the money offered by the council, and in return told what they knew to be a lie. even up to this day, the jews, of whom there are many thousands scattered in different parts of the world, believe the story invented by the chief priests; and instead of acknowledging jesus as the messiah, still look for christ's coming. it seems to us quite impossible that any one should disbelieve in jesus christ being the promised messiah; but unhappily it is so. let us pray to god that he will take from the jews all blindness and hardness of heart, and bring them into the christian church. now let us return in thought to the sepulchre, where, after the departure of mary magdalene, and of the other mary and salome, another party of women arrived. these were the women which came with him from galilee, and who, after seeing where the body of jesus was laid, went away immediately to prepare spices and ointments, and then rested on the sabbath day. "now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others," that is, some other women came, "with them." these women had had a longer way to come than mary magdalene and her companions, and therefore, although they set out as soon as the sabbath was past, they did not reach the sepulchre until some time after them: although it was still early. "and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre." this circumstance would naturally cause them no surprise, as they would conclude that the disciples or others had reached the sepulchre before them, and were already engaged in the work of embalming the body, in which they were come to assist. but their surprise was to come; for "they entered in, and found not the body of the lord jesus. and it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? he is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in galilee, saying, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." the sudden appearance "of two men in shining garments," alarmed the women; who at once knew them to be angels. then the angels reproved these women for the want of faith, which had made them expect to find amongst the dead, one whom they ought to have known must be alive, if they had remembered and believed what he himself had formerly told them. when the women heard the words of the angels, they remembered the words of jesus, "and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest." but the eleven had already heard these wonderful tidings from mary magdalene and joanna, and mary the mother of james, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles, as they mourned and wept for the death of their lord. chapter xlvi.--jesus appears to the disciples. the testimony of so many different witnesses had not yet convinced the apostles: when they had heard that "jesus was alive, and had been seen of mary magdalene, they believed not. and when the other women came with their testimony," their words seemed to the apostles as "idle tales, and they believed them not." still all that they heard was not without some effect; for peter was anxious to visit the sepulchre again: "then arose peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves." but he saw nothing more; "and he departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." we learn from the scriptures that peter was the first of the apostles who did see the lord after his resurrection; but how and when this meeting took place, we are not told; and it is most likely that it took place now, whilst peter was returning from his second visit to the sepulchre, "wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." what joy it must have been to peter, to see that his lord and master was indeed alive, and to be able to receive forgiveness for the sin he had committed, in denying all knowledge of him. what passed between our lord and peter on this occasion, is not written down in either of the gospels; but we may be sure that jesus spake kindly and lovingly to peter. it is no wonder to find that ever afterwards, peter devoted himself heartily to the service of god. after this interview with peter, jesus appeared to two of the disciples, who were not also apostles: "he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country." to peter, jesus probably appeared in his own person, so as to be recognized at once: on the occasion of which we are now to speak, he concealed himself under the form of a "stranger." st. luke tells us, that two of the disciples went that same day, (the first day of the week,) to a village called emmaus, which was from jerusalem about three-score furlongs; that is, about seven miles and a half, for eight furlongs make a mile. and, very naturally, "they talked together of all these things which had happened. and it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, jesus himself drew near, and went with them. but their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. and he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that ye have one with another, and are sad?" jesus asked not such questions for his own information, but to enable him to show the truth to the disciples, who were surprised that any person, even a stranger, should be ignorant of the wonderful events which had happened. "and one of them, whose name was cleopas, answering said unto him, art thou only a stranger in jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? and he said unto them, what things? and they said unto him, concerning jesus of nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before god and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. but we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed israel: and beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. yea, and certain women of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. and certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not." in this account of the matter, given by these two to a stranger, as they supposed, we see the state of doubt and perplexity in which all the disciples were: a little more faith would have set their minds at rest: but it is evident that though, whilst he lived they had believed jesus to be the true messiah, who should redeem israel, his death and burial had so far shaken their belief, that they could not at once feel sure that he had risen from the dead, though they could not altogether reject that idea. when these two disciples had ended their account, they must have been somewhat surprised at being reproached for their unwillingness to believe all that their prophets had spoken concerning the messiah; for jesus, still in his character of a stranger, "said unto them, o fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken"! and then he reminded them, that the scriptures had expressly said, that christ must suffer death on earth, before he could enter into glory in heaven: saying, "ought not christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" that is, ought not these very things which trouble you to have happened just as they have done, to fulfil the scriptures, and to show that this was indeed the promised messiah. when jesus had shown the two disciples that want of faith alone caused their perplexity, he graciously went on, "and beginning at moses and all the prophets, he expounded (or explained) unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. and they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. but they constrained him, saying, abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." no wonder these disciples, whose faith must have been strengthened by the explanations of their unknown companion, were unwilling so soon to part with one so learned in the scriptures; and, as it was near evening, they urged him to go in and abide with them for the night. at their earnest entreaty, "he went in to tarry with them." emmaus, where our lord now was, was a village about seven or eight miles to the west of jerusalem; the dwelling-place, probably, of the two disciples whose guest he was. "and it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." jesus probably did what he had done at the last passover supper, when he appointed bread and wine to be taken and received, in "continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby." at any rate, by this act, jesus made himself known to cleopas and his companion: "their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. and they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" they had felt great interest in the conversation and teaching of the stranger, and now they seem to feel that all he had said should have shown them that one who thus taught could be no other than the lord himself. their next thought was to tell these great and glad tidings to the rest of the disciples; and though it was drawing towards night, and they had already had a long walk, "they rose up the same hour, and returned to jerusalem,"--setting us a good example not to let any personal inconvenience prevent us from doing anything that we feel it is our duty to do. when they reached jerusalem, they "found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, the lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to simon." peter had by this time related how the lord had spoken to him, and his testimony had convinced his fellow disciples that their lord had indeed risen from the dead. cleopas and his companion now bore witness to the same fact, and "told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread." but some of the disciples do not seem to have been convinced even yet, for st. mark says of these two, "they went and told it unto the residue, neither believed they them." "then the same day at evening," (nearly o'clock,) still being the first day of the week, "when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the jews, came jesus: as they thus spake, jesus stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, peace be unto you." notwithstanding all that had already past, it seems that the greater part, at least, of the disciples could not believe that this was really and truly the lord, in the same body as he had borne before his death: "they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. and he said unto them, why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? behold my hands and my feet, that it is i myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. and when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet, and his side. then were the disciples glad when they saw the lord." doubts, however, still lingered in the minds of some, and these our lord graciously condescended to remove; for "while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, have ye here any meat? and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and an honeycomb. and he took it, and did eat before them. then said jesus to them again, peace be unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so i send you. and when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the holy ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." "remit" here means _forgive_; sins remitted are sins forgiven. to "retain" means just the contrary--not forgiven sins; "retained" means sins that are not forgiven, of which the guilt still rests upon those who have committed them. jesus did not, of course, mean that his apostles, or any human being, had power to forgive or remit the smallest sin committed against god; none can forgive sin, but god only. but our lord meant, that when, by the teaching of the apostles, poor sinners should be brought to believe the gospel and repent, they, the apostles, might safely declare unto them the blessed truth, that their sins are forgiven, and done away with, for the sake of all that jesus christ has done for us. but in the same way, the apostles must warn all who will not believe and repent, that their sins cannot be forgiven; but that their guilt remains, and must hereafter meet with due punishment. chapter xlvii.--unbelief of thomas. "but thomas, one of the twelve, called didymus, was not with them when jesus came." as soon as they met again, "the other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the lord." thomas, however, was so convinced that it was impossible for jesus to appear again in his own body, that he declared that he would not believe, unless he actually _saw_ that it was the very same body which had been crucified: therefore, "he said unto them, except i shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print," or hole made by "the nails, and thrust my hand into" the wound made by the spear in "his side, i will not believe." this want of faith was wrong: thomas knew that the other apostles would not say anything that they did not believe to be true; and it was impossible that all the ten, should have merely _fancied_ that they had seen and talked with their beloved lord and master. thomas was now left for one whole week in his unbelief; and a good many of the disciples, who had not themselves seen jesus, took his view of the matter: though the ten apostles, and a great number of the disciples, were convinced that christ was indeed risen. "and after eight days again," that is, on the first day of the next week, "the disciples were within, and thomas with them: then came jesus, the doors being shut," so that he could not possibly have come into the room that way, "and stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you." the disciples were probably at supper, for st. mark says, "he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." to "upbraid" means to reproach: all had deserved reproach for their slowness and unwillingness to believe the testimony of others, but to thomas such upbraiding was principally addressed: but whilst he reproved, jesus also showed mercy: for "then saith he to thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands: and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." thomas had now received the proofs which he had demanded; he saw and was convinced that jesus had indeed, according to the scriptures, risen in his own human body from the grave. "and thomas answered and said unto him, my lord and my god. jesus saith unto him, thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they, that have not seen, and yet have believed." these are comfortable words for all christians who believe without seeing: and we may indeed thank god for the unwillingness of this apostle to believe, as it afforded a still further testimony to the reality of the resurrection. it seems that the next appearance of jesus christ was to a large number of his disciples at once. we read, "then the eleven disciples went away into galilee, into a mountain where jesus had appointed them." here many other disciples must have joined them; for another part of scripture tells us, that "he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." "and when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted." it appears probable that at first, jesus showed himself at a great distance, so that some could still hardly believe that he was the lord. "but jesus came and spake unto them." we may imagine how all doubts were removed at once, and with what joyful gladness the disciples acknowledged him now, as the long-expected messiah. "after these things, jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of tiberias." it seems that the apostles had so little idea of the nature of the work they were from henceforth to do, that they had returned to their usual occupation of fishermen. "there were together simon peter, and thomas called didymus, and nathanael of cana in galilee, and the sons of zebedee, and two other of his disciples. simon peter saith unto them, i go a fishing. they say unto him, we also go with thee. they went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. but when the morning was now come, jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was jesus. then jesus saith unto them, children, have ye any meat?" meaning, have ye now taken any fish. to this question, put, as they supposed, by a man, the disciples "answered him, no. and he said unto them, cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." it seems probable that the disciples now began to have some suspicions as to the true nature of him, who gave them this direction, since no mere man could have foretold the result of their casting the net in one particular spot. "they cast, therefore, and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes." this completely convinced the disciples; "therefore, that disciple whom jesus loved, saith unto peter, it is the lord. now, when simon peter heard that it was the lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea," eager to swim quickly to the land on which his beloved master stood. the word "naked," in this place, only means that peter had not his outer garments on--only the inner one he wore whilst fishing; and this he girt on, bound close round him, that it might be no hindrance whilst he swam. "and the other disciples came in a little ship (or boat), for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits (about yards), dragging the net with fishes. as soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. jesus saith unto them, bring of the fish which ye have now caught. simon peter went up (to help), and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. jesus saith unto them, come and dine." the word here translated _dine_, means rather breakfast, the first meal of the day, for it was now early morning. "and none of the disciples durst ask him, who art thou? knowing that it was the lord. jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise." st. john, in his account of this meeting of jesus and his disciples at the sea of tiberias, says, "this is now the third time that jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead." it is the third appearance mentioned by st. john; and it was the third time that jesus had appeared to the apostles, when all or most of them were together; and this is probably what st. john meant. the first of these appearances, was to the ten on the day of his resurrection, when thomas was not with them; the second took place on the first day of the next week, when all the eleven were assembled; and the third, was the one of which we have just been speaking at the sea of tiberias. of jesus appearing to mary magdalene and the other women, to peter alone, to the two disciples on their way to emmaus, and to "above five hundred brethren at once," john makes no mention. st. paul, in his epistle to the corinthians, speaking of the appearing of jesus after the resurrection, says, "he was seen of cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once: after that, he was seen of james, then of all the apostles." now none of the gospels gives an account of any special appearance to james: we may therefore conclude that we are not told of every appearance vouchsafed to his disciples, during the time that jesus remained on earth after his resurrection; though enough are related, to prove the reality of that blessed fact. we may remark, that "cephas" is a greek word, meaning the same as peter, that is, a rock, or stone; and that as st. paul was writing to the inhabitants of a city of greece, he called simon peter by his greek name: by "the twelve," the body of the apostles is meant, though at that time there were, in fact, only eleven of them. when the apostles had eaten their meal of fish and bread, to which they had been invited by the lord, a remarkable conversation took place. we read, "so when they had dined, jesus saith to simon peter, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"--that is, dost thou love me more than these other of my disciples love me? you will remember how before the crucifixion, peter, in his self-confidence, declared, that though all the other disciples should forsake jesus, he never would, but would die for him if necessary: but his grievous fall had shown him his own weakness; and now, so far from boasting of his greater love, he humbly replied, "yea, lord; thou knowest that i love thee. he saith unto him, feed my lambs." by lambs and sheep, our saviour meant all his people, young and old: all, who should believe in him, and so belong to his church, or flock, as it is often called. this mode of speaking of the people of god, as of a flock, consisting of sheep and lambs, is very common throughout the scripture. david pleading for his people, who were suffering from pestilence in consequence of his sin in numbering them, says, "but these sheep, what have they done?" the same idea is often repeated in the psalms, and in the prophets; and in our liturgy, or church service, we confess that we "have erred and strayed like lost sheep." peter would well understand this figurative manner of speaking. the question was repeated: "jesus saith to him again the second time, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me? he saith unto him, yea, lord; thou knowest that i love thee. he saith unto him, feed my sheep. he saith unto him the third time, simon, son of jonas, lovest thou me? peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? and he said unto him, lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that i love thee. jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep." three times had peter denied his lord; three times now had he been asked, lovest thou me? well might he be grieved at the remembrance of that sin, which could have cast a doubt upon the love he bore his divine master: deeply did he feel the rebuke which he had deserved. humbly, without making any professions, did he appeal to him, who knows all hearts, to judge whether he loved him. peter's love for jesus was both strong and sincere, and his whole future life bore witness to its strength and sincerity, until he did indeed lay down his life for his master's sake. let us take peter for our example, and try, by every action of our lives, to show that we do love and wish to please our god and saviour. after this jesus said to peter, "verily, verily, i say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify god. and when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, follow me." about thirty years after this time, in the reign of the emperor nero, peter was crucified at rome by the heathens, because he tried to make them christians; he stretched out his arms on the cross, and another bound him and carried him to execution. faithfully did peter obey his master's command, "follow me"; for he went about teaching after his example, until he died by the same death. but in his death, peter gave a further proof of humility; for considering himself unworthy even to die in the same way as jesus had done, he begged to be crucified with his head downwards; and this request was granted. death for the sake of our religion is called martyrdom, and those who so suffer, are martyrs. chapter xlviii.--jesus taken into heaven. we are not told that peter made any remark upon what jesus told him, "signifying by what death he should glorify god:" we only read, "then peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom jesus loved, following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?" this you will remember was john, one of the sons of zebedee; the same john who alone gives us any account of what passed on this occasion. "peter, seeing him, saith to jesus, lord, and what shall this man do?" jesus, instead of satisfying peter's curiosity, gave him an answer, which should teach us all, that we must not seek curiously to know things hidden from us; and that the great point is, for every man to follow christ by faith and practice, and not to concern himself too much about others; any further than by setting a good example, and using what influence he may have over others, for a good purpose. in answer to peter's question, "jesus saith unto him, if i will that he tarry till i come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die," but should _tarry_, or remain alive upon earth, until the saviour should come again to judge the world. there was no ground for the disciples to form such a mistaken notion; for as st. john truly says, "yet jesus said not unto him, he shall not die; but, if i will that he tarry till i come, what is that to thee?" jesus then appeared again to his apostles at jerusalem, and gave them his last directions as to their conduct, when he should have left them to return to his father in heaven. "being assembled together with them, (he) commanded them that they should not depart from jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. for john truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the holy ghost, not many days hence." in these words, jesus reminded the disciples of his frequent promises to send upon them the holy spirit, the comforter, to be their guide; and he bade them wait in jerusalem, until this promise should be fulfilled. "and he said unto them, these are the words which i spake unto you, while i was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures," and see how exactly his death and resurrection had accomplished everything prophesied of the messiah. "and (he) said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at jerusalem. and ye are witnesses of these things. and, behold, i send the promise of my father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." such were our lord's last directions to the apostles whom he was about to leave; and either immediately after this conversation, or a few days later, "he led them out as far as to bethany," where he purposed to take his final leave of them on earth. the bethany here meant, was not the actual village of that name, which was about two miles from jerusalem, but a part of mount olivet, or the mount of olives, nearer to the city. the mount olivet began about furlongs (little more than half a mile) from jerusalem: the first tract or part of the mount was called bethphage, and in this tract was the village bearing that name: another portion of the mount went by the name of bethany, and in that tract was the village of bethany. jesus led his apostles to the spot where the tract of bethany joined that of bethphage. "when they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to israel?" the apostles had not yet a clear idea of the spiritual nature of christ's kingdom, nor of the time which was to elapse, before it should be established upon earth; and they seem even to have thought that now, when by his rising from the dead he had proved himself to be the messiah, the king of the jews, he would at once restore them to their former state of prosperity, and make judæa again an independent kingdom. jesus reproved them for asking such a question, and "said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the father hath put in his own hand." there are, indeed, many things said of future blessings in store for the children of israel; but _how_ or _when_ god will give them, is one of the secret things, which are at present hidden from us. after reproving his disciples for undue curiosity as to future events, jesus calls their attention back to matters more nearly concerning themselves; namely, to the work which they were now to do, in bearing witness of all that he had done, and in teaching men everywhere the blessed truths of the gospel; and for this important and arduous task, jesus again promises them that divine help, without which man can do nothing good. therefore, he said unto them, "but ye shall receive power, after that the holy ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in jerusalem, and in all judæa, and in samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." "and he said unto them, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you. go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. and these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. and, lo, i am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." by being baptized, those who heard the gospel preached, showed their faith in christ, and their determination to follow his precepts and commands: and by baptism, god gave them grace and strength to do so. by baptism, we are now received into christ's church--we become christians. in the time of the apostles, of course, the grown-up people were baptized: when they had heard the gospel preached, and believed that jesus christ came into the world to save sinners, they would repent of all their sins, and try to serve and obey him; and then they would be baptized in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost; to show that they _did_ mean to dedicate, or give themselves up, to the service of god: and he, in return, would pour out upon them his holy spirit, to enable them to do so. but god, who is a merciful father, does not require his creatures to wait for the blessings of baptism, until they are old enough to understand and value them; and therefore amongst christian nations, infants are baptized long before they can either believe or repent, and so they become the children of god--lambs of his flock; and receive his blessing before they have sense to know anything about it. when they are old enough, they must learn to know what great blessings were given to them by baptism, and what solemn promises were made for them--promises which they are bound to keep, if they would partake of the benefits, and live with jesus hereafter in heaven. in our own strength, no one can keep these promises entirely; but we must continually _strive hard_ to do so, and above all pray without ceasing, that we may be strengthened to do it. after jesus had given his apostles commands to preach the gospel to every creature, and to baptize all who were willing, he told them, as we have read, that they should have power to work miracles, in order to prove to all men that they really were the chosen messengers of god, giving his messages to his people: for if they were able to cast devils out of the bodies of men, to heal the sick, to speak languages which they had never learned, and to take up venomous serpents, or drink poison without suffering any harm, it would be quite plain that god was with them; since only by his special grace could a man do any of these things. "and when he had spoken these things, he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. and it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight, and (he was) carried up into heaven." "so then, after the lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of god." "and while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, ye men of galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." from the question asked by these angels, it would seem that even now the apostles could hardly believe that their beloved lord was gone from their sight for ever, upon the earth. they are therefore reminded, that their "gazing up" is useless; but that a day shall come when he shall return to earth: but then it will be as a judge, to pass sentence of happiness or misery upon every living creature. we know not how soon that awful day may come; let us therefore watch and pray, that we may find mercy before our judge--the saviour of all who so believe in him, as to love him and keep his commandments. the words of the angels recalled the disciples' minds to earth, and to the work which their master had left them to do. "and they worshipped him, and returned to jerusalem, from the mount called olivet, with great joy. and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god." "and they went forth, and preached everywhere, the lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." not immediately, however; but in these words st. mark, as it were, sums up the future history of the apostles; stating how they at once set to work to fulfil the commandments given to them by jesus christ. here, then, the history of our lord and saviour jesus christ must end; and we cannot do better than close it with the words of st. john himself, speaking of our lord's miracles: "and many other signs truly did jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written that ye might believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god; and that believing, ye might have life through his name." st. john ends his account of his master's life and death with the following words: "this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. and there are also many other things which jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, i suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. amen." part ii. chapter i.--the gift of the holy ghost. after the four gospels, there is in the new testament a book called "the acts of the apostles," which gives us an account of the principal acts, or doings, of some of the apostles, after the lord was taken from them. this book of acts was written by st. luke, who also wrote one of the four gospels; and it is the only scriptural account we have of what the apostles said and did, though we gather a few more particulars from the epistles, or letters written by the apostles themselves, to the brethren in different places. the book of acts furnishes us with much that has been said of the ascension, or "_going up into heaven_," of jesus christ. we have already heard that the apostles returned to jerusalem with "joy," which might seem strange when one they so dearly loved had just been taken from them. but they had indeed cause for joy: they had seen their lord suffer and die, to purchase pardon for sinners; they had seen him come to life again, thus showing that he had indeed made a sufficient atonement for all: and now they had beheld him received up into heaven, proving that, for his sake, all his true disciples might follow him: "where i am, there shall ye be also." great therefore was their joy, and they showed it in the most fitting manner, by being "continually in the temple, praising and blessing god." the first thing we have an account of after their return from mount olivet to jerusalem is, that, "when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both peter, and james, and john, and andrew, philip, and thomas, bartholomew (called also nathanael), and matthew, james the son of alphæus (known to us as the less), and simon zelotes, and judas (or jude) the brother of james." the word "zelotes" means full of zeal, or eagerness; and this simon was probably so called, because he was eager in doing the work of god. st. matthew speaks of him as "simon the canaanite"; and it is supposed that he was a native of the city of cana, in galilee. here we find the eleven apostles all together: and they "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and with mary the mother of jesus, and with his brethren": waiting for the promised outpouring of the holy spirit. during this time, peter proposed, that from amongst the disciples who had accompanied them all the time that the lord jesus went in and out among them, they should choose one to take the place of judas iscariot, and be with them a witness of the resurrection of christ; thus making the number of the apostles twelve, as it had been at first, by the lord's appointment. peter's suggestion was at once followed. "and they appointed two, joseph called barsabas, who was surnamed justus, and matthias," both of whom appeared to be in every way fit for the office they were to fill; and then, not trusting in their own judgment, "they prayed, and said, thou, lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. and they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." the mode of deciding doubtful matters by lot had been appointed by the law of moses; and was, at the time we are speaking of, a solemn way of seeking the will of god, who directed the lot as he saw fit. matthias, now chosen to be an apostle, was probably one of the seventy, whom our lord during his life sent out by twos to teach the people, and work miracles, in order to prepare the way for him. it is believed that matthias first went about teaching in judæa, and that he afterwards travelled eastward, where he met with cruel treatment from the barbarous nations of asia. with great labour and suffering, he did convert many of the heathens to christianity; but at last he was put to death for the sake of jesus. but these things did not, of course, happen until many years after matthias was chosen to fill up the number of the apostles. jesus had remained on earth for forty days from the day of his resurrection; and during that time he showed himself at different times to his disciples. the day on which he rose from the grave we call "easter day," from an old word, meaning "to rise." the apostles kept a feast every year afterwards on that day, in memory of this glorious event; and our church teaches us also to observe easter as a season of especial joy. in consequence of christ having risen on the first day of the week, the disciples, and all christians since their time, have observed that day as a day of holy rest, and called it the lord's day: this is sunday, which amongst us is dedicated to the special service of god, instead of the seventh day, or jews' sabbath, our saturday. forty days after easter day, jesus went up, or "ascended," into heaven; and our church keeps that day holy, and calls it "the ascension day," because "ascension" means going up. for ten days after the ascension, the disciples, who had seen their lord ascend, remained quietly at jerusalem, praising god for all that had been done, and praying continually both in private and in public. another great feast of the jews was now drawing near: this feast is spoken of under different names in the old testament, and we must now say something about it. in the law of moses, the jews were, as has already been said, commanded to offer up a sheaf of corn on the day after the sabbath which followed the feast of the passover; that is, on the first day of the week, after the passover week. this sheaf was offered up as a thank-offering at the beginning of harvest, for they began to cut the barley (the first corn crop) immediately after the passover. seven weeks after this beginning of harvest, the jews were to keep one of the three great feasts, ordained by the mosaical, or levitical law. this great feast was called "the feast of weeks," because it was observed seven weeks after that of the passover: seven weeks were called "a week of weeks," because seven days make a week, and there were seven times seven days in the feast of weeks. it was also called "the day of first fruits," because it was then the time to begin to gather in the other crops and productions of the ground; and in thankfulness for all these fruits of the earth, a new meat offering was offered unto the lord. the jewish rabbis also called this great feast, "the day of the giving of the law," because the law was given by god to moses on mount sinai, fifty days after the children of israel ate the first passover in egypt; and this feast, as we have said, was kept on the fiftieth day after the feast of the passover. in the new testament this feast day is called "the day of pentecost": because in greek, "pentecost" means fiftieth, and as we have said, the jews were to number fifty days from the morrow after the passover sabbath, and then to keep this great feast. as jesus rose on the morrow after the passover sabbath, our easter day (or easter sunday), the fiftieth day, would again be on the first day of the week, sunday with us: seven weeks or fifty days from the blessed day on which our lord rose from the grave, and ten days after his ascension. this day of pentecost, distinguished already as a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving for many blessings, temporal and spiritual, and called "the feast of weeks," "of first fruits," and of "the giving of the law," was now chosen by god as the day on which the promised gift of the holy spirit was to be poured out upon the apostles, to their great spiritual benefit, as well as to that of all who were to look to their teaching, for the knowledge of what jesus christ has done for sinners. we read in the book of acts, "and when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." fire was looked upon by the jews as a sign of the presence of god. and those upon whom these tongues of fire descended, were at once "filled with the holy ghost": a visible and miraculous sign immediately followed, for they "began to speak with other tongues," that is, in strange and foreign languages, which they had never learnt, "as the spirit gave them utterance." thus were accomplished the promises of jesus, to send the comforter upon his apostles, and that they should be baptized with the holy ghost. the power of speaking strange languages was a most valuable gift, enabling the apostles to obey the command "to teach all nations," which they could not have done had they not been able to make themselves understood by all men. one miracle had, as a punishment, confounded the language of men, so that they ceased to have intercourse with each other: now another miracle mercifully removed this barrier, so that all nations might hear from the apostles the glad tidings of salvation--the gospel of our lord jesus christ. at the time when the holy ghost descended so miraculously upon the apostles, "there were dwelling at jerusalem, jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." by "devout men," is meant worshippers of the one true god: these were mostly jews, either from having been born so, or from having turned from idolatry to follow the religion of the jews. these jews were scattered over the face of the world; and wherever they went, they endeavoured to make proselytes: the feast of the passover would naturally bring numbers of them to jerusalem, to add to those who dwelt in the city. "now when this," that had happened to the apostles, "was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded (or astonished beyond measure), because that every man heard them speak in his own language. and they were all amazed, and marvelled, saying one to another, behold, are not all these which speak galileans? and how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? parthians, and medes, and elamites, (or persians), and the dwellers in mesopotamia, and in judæa, and cappadocia, in pontus, and asia, phrygia, and pamphylia, in egypt, and in the parts of libya about cyrene, and strangers of rome, jews and proselytes, cretes and arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of god." most of the countries here mentioned are parts of what we call asia: but in the new testament, when asia is spoken of, it seems to mean only the parts about lydia; that part of asia, in short, known to us as asia minor, which borders on the archipelago, or Ægean sea. libya, as well as egypt, was a part of africa. one of the kings of egypt, ptolemy lagus, the father of that ptolemy who employed seventy-two learned men to translate the hebrew scriptures into greek, did place a good many captive jews in cyrene, and other parts of libya. the descendants of these people, and the proselytes they had made, were amongst the number of jews gathered together to the city of jerusalem at this time. chapter ii.--the lame man healed by peter and john. when the multitude of jews from all parts of the earth, heard twelve poor ignorant men of galilee, able to speak easily in many different languages, which they had most probably never even heard spoken before, "they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, what meaneth this?" the great truths of the gospel thus proclaimed, must indeed have startled them, for they could not but perceive that god was with these men in a very remarkable manner. some of them, unwilling to believe the words spoken by the apostles, tried to make out that they had been drinking so much wine, that they did not know what they were talking about, and ought not, therefore, to be listened to. "others mocking said, these men are full of new wine,"--as if being drunk, could make any man speak a real language, of which, in his sober moments, he knew nothing. it was of the greatest importance that all men should clearly understand that the apostles were really and truly the messengers of god, and that the holy spirit had been wonderfully given to them, to enable them to teach all nations: and therefore, when the accusation of being drunk was brought against them, they stood up, and peter, no longer timid and fearful as to what man might do to him, lifted up his voice, and spake boldly to the assembled multitude. it is most probable that all this took place in some part of the temple. peter began by declaring to the people, that he and his fellows were not drunk, reminding them that it was only the third hour of the day. the third hour, nine o'clock in the morning with us, was the time appointed for service in the temple, and the pious and devout jews did not eat nor drink _anything_ before they attended it. then peter told his hearers, that what they had now seen, was only the fulfilment of the prophecies, that the lord would pour out his spirit upon all flesh. then he went on, and spake to them of many solemn things, and of the death and resurrection of jesus of nazareth; and how david, whom all the jews acknowledged to be a prophet, had declared beforehand those things which had happened unto jesus. peter also told the people, that "this jesus, being by the right hand of god exalted" into heaven, "and having received of the father the promise of the holy ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear": and he ended his discourse with these plain and fearless words, "therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly, that god hath made that same jesus, whom ye have crucified, both lord and christ." these words seem to have had a great effect on the people, for "when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart," that is, their consciences told them that they had greatly sinned in putting jesus to death; and now, feeling their need of help and guidance, they "said unto peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?" the answer was ready: "then peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost. for the promise is unto you and to your children, to all that are afar off, even as many as the lord our god shall call. and with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation,"--that is, separate yourselves from the unbelieving and sinful multitude, and so save yourselves from the wrath of god, which will rest upon all impenitent sinners. the success of peter's words, proving the reality of the power given to them by the holy spirit, must have been a great encouragement to the apostles to continue their labours, in humble confidence that the same help would be ever with them. we read, "then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them," to the company of disciples, "about three thousand souls"--a large number. nor was it a momentary feeling that actuated them, for we read, "and they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers"; that is, they continued to listen to the blessed truths taught by the apostles of the forgiveness of sins for jesus christ's sake, partaking with them of the lord's supper in remembrance of his death, and joining in earnest prayer for grace, to enable them to serve god acceptably. "and fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." those who saw such miracles performed, were more and more convinced that the apostles were the messengers of god; and they would naturally fear to offend the almighty god, whose power was thus shown, and of whose goodness the apostles spake. "and all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. and they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising god, and having favour with all the people. and the lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." those who now became christians, devoted themselves and all their possessions to the service of god: content with food for the supply of their daily wants, their whole object was to do the work of god with "singleness of heart"; that is, with a heart wholly filled with love towards him, and to their fellow creatures for his sake,--a heart whose single purpose it was to do the will of god. no wonder that those who acted in such a manner, found favour with all the people, and that their example was followed, so that many were daily added to the church, or body of believers in jesus christ. we read just now, that those who believed had all things common, and sold their possessions so as to make one common fund, out of which the daily wants of each were supplied. thus those who had goods and riches gave them up; and those who had none were supplied out of their abundance. this giving up of all private property by the rich, so that the poor believers might be supported, was necessary at that time: for the poorer class of people on becoming christians, would get neither employment nor help from their jewish brethren; nor would they receive any part of those sacrifices offered in the temple, which were devoted to the relief of the poor. but however desirable this arrangement was then, it was not _commanded_; it was a sacrifice made willingly by the rich, for the benefit of the poorer brethren. in these days, to have everything in common would be impossible; but though we are not called upon to do this, we _are_ called upon and _commanded_ to help others; and to deny ourselves, and sacrifice our own wishes, that we may be able to do good to our fellow creatures; and thus show our love for jesus, who says, "if any man seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of god in him?" and again, "to do good and to distribute forget not, for with such sacrifices god is well pleased." many other passages of scripture teach us the same lesson, and it is summed up as it were in the command, "do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you." the next act we hear of as done by the apostles is, that "peter and john went up together into the temple, at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour." there were three fixed times for public prayer in the temple: the third hour (or o'clock in the morning), when the morning sacrifices were offered; the sixth hour, that is, o'clock or noon; and the ninth hour, o'clock in the afternoon, when the evening sacrifices were offered. the gates of the temple were the favourite resorts of cripples, who caused themselves to be carried to them, that they might beg for money from those who were continually passing and re-passing. peter and john, going up to prayer in the middle of the day, saw a poor man who had been lame ever since he was born, and "whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple." when this man begged of the apostles they said unto him, "look on us." the man readily gave heed unto them, and did as they told him, "expecting to receive something of them"; and so he did, though not of the kind he expected. "then peter said, silver and gold have i none; but such as i have give i thee: in the name of jesus christ of nazareth, rise up and walk. and he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. and he, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising god." when the people saw this man, whom they had long known as a helpless cripple, "walking, and praising god," they were naturally full of wonder and amazement. "and as the lame man which was healed held peter and john, all the people ran together unto them, in the porch that is called solomon's, greatly wondering." this porch was, you must remember, a sort of colonnade or piazza, built over the same spot on which that built by solomon in the first temple, had stood. when peter saw such a number of people assembled, he spake to them, and said, "ye men of israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" and then he told them, that this cripple was made whole, because he had faith in jesus christ, who was truly the son of god the promised messiah, though they had refused to believe in him, and had forced pilate to crucify him. but that, although they had preferred a murderer, and had killed him who was the prince of life, god had raised him from the dead; as all the apostles could bear witness, and that in his name and by his power alone, was this miracle worked. peter then went on to say, that they did not know what they were about when they persecuted jesus even unto death; and that if now, they would repent, and believe all that the apostles could tell them of jesus christ, their sins should be "blotted out." and he reminded them, that moses, and all the prophets since his time, had spoken of the coming of christ; and that to them, as the descendants of the children of israel with whom the first covenant was made, god had now sent his son jesus christ, to bless them, in turning away every one from his iniquities. peter and john were not long left to preach undisturbed to the people: for "as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through jesus the resurrection from the dead. and they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide." the captain of the temple was one of the priests, who directed and looked after all the guards and watches of the priests and levites, who were appointed to keep the temple from being in any way profaned. before the death of jesus, the scribes and pharisees were his chief enemies; but now that his disciples declared and taught that he had risen from the dead, the sadducees became the most violent opposers of the apostles, who taught the doctrine of the resurrection. chapter iii.--ananias and sapphira. although the priests and the sadducees did for the time put a stop to peter's discourse, they could not undo the effect which it produced; for we read, "howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." the next day peter and john were taken before the sanhedrim, where annas, the high priest, and caiaphas, with many others, were assembled. "and when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" peter, filled with the holy ghost, immediately told the members of the council, that the lame man was healed solely and entirely by the name or power of the very jesus of nazareth, whom they had crucified, whom god had raised again from the dead. and further he told them, that jesus, whom they had rejected, was the corner stone as it were, the foundation of christ's church; and that none who would not believe in him could be saved; saying also, "neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." the boldness of the apostles in thus speaking, greatly astonished their hearers; especially as they "perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men." unlearned and ignorant according to the ideas of the world, but full of the best knowledge and wisdom; for by the holy spirit, they had been taught those things which make men wise unto salvation. all the learning in the world, although very useful and desirable, will be of no value in the day of death; but the wisdom which is from above, will then prove an inestimable treasure. many who are ignorant of everything but what the bible teaches them, will then be found more _truly wise_, than those who have spent their lives in acquiring knowledge, without searching the scriptures. the priests and elders might well marvel; they knew the apostles to be unlearned fishermen, and they despised them as being galileans; "and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with jesus. and beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it." they saw that peter and john were two of those who had always followed jesus whilst he was on earth, and now it was certain that they had worked a great miracle: they could not deny this, for there, by the side of the two apostles, stood the very man whom they had healed: a man well known to all at jerusalem, as having never been able to stand upon his feet since he was born. the priests and elders could not say the man was _not_ healed; and therefore, as they were determined _not_ to acknowledge the power of jesus, they were in difficulty as to what they could do to the apostles. "but when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, what shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them, is manifest to all them that dwell in jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. but that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name." it is sad to hear of rulers who were only anxious to prevent the people from believing in the truth! how truly did they bring upon themselves the sentence pronounced by our lord, when he said, "woe unto you lawyers, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." having made up their minds what to do, the members of the council sent again for the apostles: "and they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of jesus. but peter and john answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of god to hearken unto you more than unto god, judge ye. for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." the jews, who professed to obey the law given to moses by god, could not possibly say that it was right to obey man rather than god; and the sudden and complete cure of this man, who was above forty years old, had given such a proof that the apostles acted under the immediate direction of the almighty, that the priests knew not what to say or do. "so when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified god for that which was done. and being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them." and when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to god, and praised him who had done such great things, and had accomplished every word that david and the prophets had spoken concerning the messiah, the holy child jesus, against whom "both herod and pontius pilate, with the gentiles, and the people of israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." and then the disciples prayed the lord to grant them grace to speak the truth boldly, undismayed by the fear of man; and to continue those signs and wonders, which proved them to be acting by his special direction. they were comforted and encouraged by an immediate answer to their prayers: for "when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the holy ghost, and they spake the word of god with boldness. and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the lord jesus: and great grace was upon them all." they had well and fearlessly used the grace already given to them, and therefore the lord increased the gift, and strengthened them still further for their work. "and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul": united together in perfect love and harmony; believing the same truths, and having the same object in all they did; namely, that of bringing all men to serve and obey the lord. even as to worldly matters, as we have said, the same unity or oneness of feeling prevailed, "neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." at this time the church of christ, that is, the company of believers, was joined by a man who afterwards took a great share in the work of the apostles: we read, "and joses, who by the apostles was surnamed barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation,) a levite, and of the country of cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet." this joses had either been born in the isle of cyprus, which lies in the eastern part of the mediterranean sea, or he had lived there so long, that it was quite like his native country. as a levite, he could never at any time have had any inheritance of land in judæa; but of course a levite might _buy_ land in foreign countries, or even in judæa itself, particularly now, when the distinction into tribes was almost lost. joses had land probably in cyprus, and being convinced that jesus was the messiah, he determined to join the company of believers, and devote his future life to the service of god and man, by preaching the gospel to others. he therefore gave up all that he possessed, and was henceforth content to receive merely what was necessary for his food and raiment, like the poorest disciple. his joining them, was a great comfort and encouragement to the apostles in their work, and they therefore surnamed him barnabas, which means the son of consolation. by the name of barnabas, he is always spoken of in scripture. soon after barnabas had joined the apostles, a fearful punishment fell upon a man named ananias, and his wife sapphira, who also sold some land, and then brought part of the money they had received for it, pretending that they had brought the whole. when ananias laid "a certain part at the apostles' feet," he _acted_ a lie, though he did not speak one; and for the lie in his heart, peter reproved him, reminding him that he was not obliged to sell his land, and that after he had sold it, he could have done as he pleased with the money; but that to pretend he had brought the whole price, when he had only given a part, was a grievous sin; for, said peter, "thou hast not lied unto man, but unto god." immediately the wrath of god was shown in an awful manner. "ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost: and the young men arose, wound him up" in grave clothes, "and carried him out, and buried him," "and great fear came upon all them that heard these things." we must observe also, that ananias showed a great want of faith: had he believed that the apostles were really filled with the holy ghost, he could not have expected to hide the truth from them: in lying to the apostles he had lied unto god; but in fact all lies _are_ a sin against god. about three hours after the burial of ananias, his wife sapphira, not knowing as yet what was done, came in. what she said we are not told; but we read, "and peter answered unto her, tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?" her answer was a lie, for "she said, yea, for so much;" not, however, stating how _much more_ they had received for the land. "then peter said unto her, how is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. and great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." well might fear come upon all who heard of these two, struck dead in their sin! let us also fear, lest we likewise fall into the same condemnation; for though liars may not now be struck dead with the lie on their lips, we know that the devil is the father of lies, and that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, prepared for the devil and his angels." when we read such awful words, let us remember that we may be guilty in the sight of god, without telling a direct falsehood. all deceit and hypocrisy; holding our tongues when we ought to speak the truth; and telling _part_ of the truth; are as displeasing in the sight of god as direct lies. we must speak and do the truth from our hearts; never attempting in any way to deceive others, or even to allow them to believe what we know is not true. the apostles, in spite of the threats of the sanhedrim, continued to preach to the people in solomon's porch, doing many signs and wonders among the people, who "magnified," or thought much of them; "and of the rest durst no man join himself to them." after such a warning as that given in the case of ananias and sapphira, no one who was not really and truly willing to devote himself entirely to the service of god, would dare to pretend to do so. chapter iv.--appointment of deacons. the apostles continued to teach the people, "and believers were the more added to the lord, multitudes both of men and women. insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of peter passing by might overshadow some of them. there came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." the priests and elders were much displeased at the apostles having such influence over the people, who, witnessing the miracles worked by them in the name of jesus, naturally believed in them, and in him whose servants they were. "then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison." in the morning the high priest called the council together, "and sent to the prison to have them brought" up for trial. but the officers sent, returned, "saying, the prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no man within." and so indeed it was; for after the apostles were shut up in prison, "the angel of the lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. and when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught." thus, whilst the keepers did not even know that their prisoners were gone, they were fearlessly preaching the gospel in the temple, in obedience to the lord's command. when the members of the council heard that the apostles were no longer in the prison, they could not help feeling that a miracle had been worked for their deliverance; and they dreaded the consequence of this fresh proof that the lord was with them. greatly perplexed, the high priest, and the captain of the temple, and the chief priests, debated amongst themselves, and "doubted of them whereunto this would grow." whilst the priests and elders were thus considering the matter, "came one and told them, saying, behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people." this proof of the determination of the apostles to obey god rather than man, without fear of the consequences, must have added to the perplexity of the council, and increased their difficulty as to how they should deal with these men, whom the people loved, and were ready to defend against all who should attempt to hurt them. wishing again to speak to the apostles, they gave orders accordingly. "then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned." nor was there any occasion to use violence, for the apostles had no idea of resisting: they were ready to bear witness to the lord jesus before the council, as well as in every other place. "and when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, saying, did not we straitly command you, that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us,"--that is, to make the people treat them as if they were guilty of murder, for having put jesus to death. peter and the other apostles repeated their declaration, that they must obey god rather than men; and then they plainly told the priests and elders that they had indeed killed jesus christ, the messiah; and that the god of israel had raised him from the dead, to be the saviour of all who would believe and repent: and they further said, that god had appointed them to bear witness of all things which jesus had said and done; and that the holy ghost, by whose help they worked miracles, was also a witness to the truth of all that they taught to the people. "when they heard that, they were cut to the heart"; but it was not a right sort of grief; for, instead of believing the apostles' words, and so turning to the lord, they "took counsel to slay them," that they might no longer preach the gospel of jesus christ. one of the members of the sanhedrim was a pharisee, named gamaliel, a very learned man, much looked up to by all the jews for his great wisdom. this man stood up, and having commanded the apostles to be taken away for a short time, he spake to the other members of the council, "and said unto them, ye men of israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men." then he reminded them, that on two former occasions, when false teachers had for a time led many of the people even to rebel against their rulers, it had ended in the false teachers being slain, and their followers dispersed, so that no evil consequences had arisen. he therefore advised that the apostles should be left alone; "for," said he, "if this counsel or this work be of men" (an invention of men only), "it will come to nought: but if it be god, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against god." gamaliel evidently began to think that what the apostles said might be true, and that therefore, in persecuting them, the jews might be fighting against god. to fight against god is to resist his will, to try to prevent what he wills from being done. this is folly as well as sin; for the will of god must be done, and we "cannot overthrow it." let us try to bring our wills into subjection and agreement with the will of god: where his will contradicts our hopes and wishes, let us yield at once, and pray that we may at all times be able to say from our hearts, "father, not my will, but thine be done." those who through life resist, and fight against the will of god, will be forced at last to submit to it, to their eternal misery. the other members of the council agreed to follow the advice of gamaliel; but they did not do so without making another attempt to frighten the apostles from continuing their work. "and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of jesus, and let them go." these commands had, of course, no more effect upon the apostles than the former threats. "and they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." they felt it an honour to suffer for the sake of him, who had suffered so much for them, and were only strengthened in their determination to show their love, by faithfully doing the work which their beloved master had given them to do. "and daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach jesus christ." we have seen that the believers, or disciples, forming the church of christ, had at this time all things in common; and, as their numbers increased, it became impossible for the apostles to divide the money to every person according to their need, without neglecting the more important work of preaching the gospel to every creature. they had not time to do both things properly. we read: "and in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the grecians against the hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." we must remember that "grecians" were not the inhabitants of greece, as the word might seem to signify. the hebrews here spoken of were of course jews, natives of judæa, now become believers in christ, or christians. but, as has been already said, there were jews established in all lands, who had been born, and always lived, there. numbers of these had also become christians, and had now joined the apostles' company at jerusalem. these persons were called "grecians," "hellenists," or "hellenistic jews," because in the countries to which they belonged the grecian language was spoken. these "grecians," living amongst foreigners, had lost all knowledge of the hebrew language, in which the old testament was originally written; so that they made use of the greek translation of the scriptures. _hebrews_, then, were jews of judæa, who had become christians; _grecians_ were jews born in foreign lands, who had become christians. the natives of greece were called greeks. it seems that the grecians thought their poor were not so well attended to as those of the hebrews, and so they were dissatisfied, and a murmuring arose. the apostles considered amongst themselves how to remedy this matter; then, calling the multitude of the disciples together, they explained that it was not reasonable to expect them to leave their special work of teaching, to attend to worldly matters; and they said, "wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the holy ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. but we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. and the saying pleased the whole multitude." such a wise and sensible arrangement could not fail to meet with approval; and it was immediately put in execution. of the seven men thus chosen (called by us deacons), there are only two, of whose particular acts we read in scripture. these are, a man named philip, and stephen, of whom it is especially said, that he was "a man full of faith and of the holy ghost." these men, chosen from amongst themselves by the "multitude of disciples," were then "set before the apostles," who approved of the choice; "and when they had prayed" for a blessing upon the step now taken, "they laid their hands on them," thus consecrating, or solemnly appointing, the deacons to their work, and passing on to them by this significant action some of their own power and authority; for, although these seven men were to take care of the poor, and see that the common funds were properly distributed, they were also to help in preaching, and even to baptize those whom they should convert. the _word_ "deacon" is not in the book of acts; but in the epistles, deacons are spoken of as persons appointed to help the apostles, and serve under them. in the church now, when a young man is first admitted to be what is called a clergyman, he is said to be a deacon: afterwards he becomes a priest; but every man must be a deacon _before_ he can be a priest. the new arrangement now made as to deacons, appears to have answered well, for we read that "the word of god increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith,"--that is, they came to believe the things spoken by the apostles, and to acknowledge jesus to be the messiah; and then they were obedient, and _did_ those things which the gospel required. faith must always produce obedience. if it does not, it is not true faith, acceptable to god; nor will it avail us anything. let us ever remember, that faith is a root from which must spring all manner of good works, the fruits of faith. if it does not produce these fruits, it is of no more value than the root of an apple-tree, when the tree bears no apples. chapter v.--the first martyr, stephen. "and stephen," (the deacon,) "full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people." his success among the people stirred up enemies against him. every considerable synagogue among the jews, had an academy or school belonging to it, where young persons were instructed by the rabbis: and it would seem that stephen visited different synagogues, and tried to convince the jews that jesus was the christ. "then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the libertines, and cyrenians, and alexandrians (jews from parts of africa), and of them of cilicia and of (other parts of) asia, disputing with stephen," and trying to contradict him; but as stephen spake as the holy spirit guided him, "they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake." when these rabbis found that they could bring no proofs against the truth of what stephen taught, "they suborned (or bribed) men, which said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against moses, and against god"--an accusation as false as the similar one brought against our blessed lord himself. by this false charge, the people and the elders and the scribes were stirred up against stephen, and they "came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council." stephen now stood before the sanhedrim, and the rabbis "set up false witnesses, which said, this man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this jesus of nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which moses delivered us." stephen had, no doubt, taught that the ceremonial part of the law, given to keep the people in mind of the promised messiah, need no longer be observed, since the messiah _had_ come in the person of jesus of nazareth. probably, too, he had warned the jews, that the temple, and even jerusalem itself, would shortly be destroyed, because the inhabitants refused to acknowledge jesus to be the messiah. we have seen before, how easy it is to give to true and good words a false and bad meaning, if people are wickedly bent upon doing so. the lord god almighty now seems to have given a remarkable sign, that this man now accused of blasphemy, a sin directly against god himself, was, on the contrary, one of his favoured servants, and under his peculiar care and protection: for we read that, "all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." to compare in this way the face of a man to that of an angel, was a jewish way of saying, that there was something more than commonly pleasing and majestic in the countenance of such a man; and most likely the lord now gave to stephen's face, some particularly bright and holy look, so as to fill all who beheld it with surprise. the false witnesses, having made their accusation, "then said the high priest, are these things so?" instead of answering as to the accusations of blasphemy, stephen endeavoured to show his hearers how mistaken they were in their ideas of the messiah; and how differently they would act, if they would consider all that had been told to abraham and the rest of their forefathers, by god himself. to this end, stephen reminded them of how god had called abraham out of his own land to be the father of the children of israel, giving him many precious promises, and establishing with him and his seed the covenant of circumcision in token of their being his peculiar people. then stephen spake of isaac and of jacob, and of the twelve patriarchs; and of how joseph had been sold into egypt, and was in time followed by his father and brothers and their descendants; who remained in egypt four hundred years, according to what the lord had told abraham. then stephen spake of the cruel treatment endured by the children of israel; and how, in his own appointed time, god had wonderfully preserved the infant moses to be the deliverer of his chosen people. he reminded them of the unwillingness of the hebrews to listen to moses, although appointed by god for this very purpose; and then he said, "this moses whom they refused, saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did god send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. he brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of egypt, and in the red sea, and in the wilderness forty years." all these things were well known to the jews, who held moses in great reverence: and stephen now reminds them, that it was this very moses himself who prophesied concerning the expected messiah, "a prophet shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear." then proceeding with his history, stephen shortly noticed the giving of the law; the idolatry and other sins of the children of israel, which caused them to wander for forty years in the wilderness, and caused the almighty even then to warn them of a future punishment for forsaking him, "i will carry you away beyond babylon." stephen then spake of "the tabernacle of witness," set up in the wilderness by the command of god, as a sign or token of the covenant made between him and his people. this tabernacle, he reminded them, had been brought by their fathers under the leading of joshua, (for the word jesus here used means joshua,) into that land which had hitherto been "the possession of the gentiles"; and that, about four hundred years after, david, "who found favour before god," "desired to find," or build, a more suitable tabernacle for the god of jacob. "but solomon built him an house." having thus mentioned the temple, stephen took occasion to remind them, that though it had pleased the lord to manifest his glory in the temple, and promise in a certain way to be present there, yet "the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet (isaiah), heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the lord: or what is the place of my rest? hath not my hand made all these things?" stephen spake with proper respect of the temple, whilst he tried to show the jews that they now thought too _much_ of the temple, which was only a building set up in honour of the lord god almighty; and too _little_ of him, in whose honour and for whose worship it had been set up. it seems probable that when stephen spake of the temple, the council interrupted him, and showed their determination not to listen to his teaching: for he now changed his tone entirely, and severely reproached them, saying, "ye stiffnecked (or obstinate) and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the holy ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the just one (the messiah); of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers." stephen also charged them with not having kept the law which was given to them by god himself, through the disposition or ministry of angels; in that they had not received jesus, who was the _object_ of that law. this plain speaking made the members of the council, and all who were present, quite furious against stephen. "when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth." their rage had no effect on stephen: supported by the holy spirit, by whose inspiration he had spoken, he had no fear of death: all his hope and trust were in heaven. stephen was destined to be the first martyr; and now to strengthen his faith, and the faith of those who were still to remain and do their work on earth, it pleased the lord to show to stephen a glorious vision, as a proof that their crucified master was really, as he had said, at the right hand of god in heaven; and that having done everything exactly as he had predicted, he would most assuredly also fulfil the gracious promise, to "be with them alway even unto the end." stephen, as we read, "being full of the holy ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of god, and jesus standing on the right hand of god, and said, behold, i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of god." these words, so full of comfort and encouragement to his fellow labourers, raised the fury of the unbelieving jews to the highest pitch: "then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears," that they might hear no more of what they considered blasphemy. nor was this all; without waiting for a trial, they at once "ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him." "and they stoned stephen, calling upon god, and saying, lord jesus, receive my spirit. and he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, lord, lay not this sin to their charge." like his blessed master, he prayed for them that did the wrong--setting us an example that we should forgive injuries, and pray for them which despitefully use us and persecute us. when stephen "had said this, he fell asleep." the death of a faithful follower of christ is but a sleep, from which he will awaken in the presence of the lord. thus died the first martyr; "and devout men," that is, true believers, "carried stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him"; as well they might, when they thought of their own loss. in reading this history, let us remember that this same jesus, whom stephen saw at the right hand of god, still liveth there, to make intercession for us. when stephen was stoned, "the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was saul." those persons, upon whose witness or testimony any man was executed, were, by the law, required to cast the first stone; thus, as it were, taking upon themselves the guilt of murder, if they had become _false_ witness. the witnesses who had accused stephen of blasphemy, prepared to do their part by taking off their long upper robes, so as to have freer use of their arms: the garments thus taken off, were placed under the charge of some one who had also been active in getting the victim condemned. saul was a young man, neither poor nor ignorant: he was a jew, born at tarsus, a city in cilicia; and under the care of gamaliel, (who had advised that the apostles should be let alone,) he had been strictly brought up as a pharisee, and was filled with an intense hatred of all who believed in jesus. he "was consenting unto the death of stephen," anxious for it. nor was he satisfied with one victim: for he took an active part in "the great persecution of the church," which arose in jerusalem at this time. the violent behaviour of the jews, scattered abroad throughout the regions of judæa and samaria, "all the disciples except the apostles." how it happened, that the apostles were allowed to remain in peace at jerusalem, we do not know; but it was needful that they should for the present remain there, to direct and govern the affairs of the church, and bring more believers into it; and therefore the lord protected them in jerusalem, that the gospel might first be fully preached to the jews, as had been appointed. mean time, by driving so many disciples out of jerusalem, the jewish rulers did the very thing they wished to prevent: for wherever these disciples went, they did not cease to speak of the messiah; thus spreading the knowledge of the gospel over the country, and bringing many believers into the church. saul mean time was active against the truth: hunting out believers in their own houses, that they might be punished: "he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison." chapter vi.--conversion of saul. the deacon philip, having left jerusalem in consequence of the persecution after the martyrdom of stephen, "went down to the city of samaria, and preached christ unto them. and the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. for unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. and there was great joy in that city." there was, however, in samaria at that time, a man named simon magus, who pretended himself to be the expected messiah. the scripture says of him, that he used sorcery and bewitched the people. we know that before the coming of the lord jesus, evil spirits had a power which he took from them, of getting possession of the bodies of men: and as has been said before, it seems that bad men had sometimes dealings with evil spirits, by whose help they did things which otherwise they could not have done. but any one who did seek to have dealings with evil spirits, was guilty of a very great sin: such unlawful deeds were strictly forbidden by the law; those who were guilty of them, were called magicians, sorcerers, wizards, witches, &c., and were, by the command of god, to be put to death. simon had for some time deceived the people of samaria by his arts; but when philip preached to them of jesus christ and his kingdom, they believed his words, and "were baptized, both men and women." simon himself also believed that jesus of nazareth was the true messiah, and he likewise was baptized in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost, though he was still far from understanding the true nature of the religion taught by philip. "when he was baptized, he continued with philip," and "wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." the account of all that had been done by philip at samaria, soon reached jerusalem; and the apostles sent peter and john to finish the work so well begun, for although philip had taught and baptized the people, he had no power like the apostles, to bestow the gift of the holy spirit. when peter and john were come down, they prayed for the converts "that they might receive the holy ghost: (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus). then laid they their hands on them, and they received the holy ghost." simon now showed how little he understood of the things of god; for when he "saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the holy ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, give me also this power, that on whomsoever i lay hands, he may receive the holy ghost." peter reproved simon very severely for having thought it possible that the gifts of god could be bought with money; and told him, that although he had received the outward form of baptism, it was quite plain that he was no true believer in jesus christ, but was still in bondage to satan. he then called upon him to repent truly of all his wickedness, and especially of the fearful sin of which he was now guilty, and pray to god, who could alone forgive the thought of his heart. peter's words alarmed simon, who now besought peter's help, "and said, pray ye to the lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me." when peter and john had testified to the truth of all that philip had taught, they returned to jerusalem; and as they went, they "preached the gospel in many villages of the samaritans." after these things had passed, philip was directed by god to go into a desert part of judæa, lying between joppa and gaza, to meet an officer belonging to candace, the queen of a country called ethiopia. this man, who held the important office of treasurer, had become a jew, and was a sincere worshipper of god as far as his knowledge went. he had taken a long journey in order to worship god in the temple, after the manner of the jews: and now returning homewards, he was sitting in his chariot studying the scriptures. "then the spirit said unto philip, go near, and join thyself to this chariot." philip obeyed, and heard him read that part of the prophecy of isaiah which saith, "he was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth." philip asked him, "understandest thou what thou readest? and he said, how can i, except some man should guide me?" being earnest in his desire to learn, this officer was rejoiced to meet with some one who seemed likely to give him the guidance he needed; and so "he desired," or entreated "philip, that he would come up and sit with him" in his chariot, and explain the passage of scripture which he had just read. "and the eunuch (or officer) answered philip, and said, i pray thee of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself or of some other man? then philip," guided by the holy spirit, "opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him jesus": showing him that these words were spoken of the promised messiah; and that jesus of nazareth, whom the jews had so lately crucified, was indeed the messiah spoken of by the prophets: and he doubtless spake of baptism, in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost, as the appointed means of admission into the church of christ: for "as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, see, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? and philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. and he answered and said, i believe that jesus christ is the son of god." this was enough. "and he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." philip had now done the work which he had been sent to do. "and when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the lord caught away philip," who was thus conveyed in some miraculous way to a place called azotus, "so that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing," that he had been instructed in the gospel, and admitted into the church of christ by baptism. this ethiopian officer was a true convert, and no doubt his future life proved him to be so. philip mean time found himself in a miraculous manner at azotus, and from thence journeyed northward, and "preached in all the cities, till he came to cæsarea," where his home was. the next event recorded in the book of acts, is the wonderful conversion of saul, who was suddenly, by the mercy of the lord, changed from being an enemy to all the followers of jesus, into a true believer, and an active and zealous preacher of the truth as it is in jesus. we have already heard of saul as a persecutor, making havoc of the church at jerusalem, after the death of stephen. we now learn from the book of acts, that, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord," he "went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to damascus to the synagogues," giving him authority "that if he found any of this way," any believers in jesus, "whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto jerusalem." the high priest was no doubt too glad to give this power to one who would execute it zealously; and saul set out on his journey, which turned out very differently from what he expected and intended. for when "he came near damascus, suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me?" saul's answer to this question, shows that he was even now convinced that the voice was none other than the voice of god; for he said, "who art thou, lord? and the lord said, i am jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." this seems to have been a jewish expression, meaning that it was useless for any persons to resist an authority and power, which they could have no hope of overcoming, for that they would only hurt and injure themselves; just as any person kicking against thorns, would tear and injure himself, instead of harming the thorns. saul's heart was indeed touched and changed by the holy spirit, and willing to obey the commands of him whose followers he had so cruelly persecuted; "he trembling and astonished said, lord, what wilt thou have me to do? and the lord said unto him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." "and saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man": the excessive brightness of the vision he had seen, had deprived him of his sight, and he arose from the earth blind and helpless. "and the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man." they had heard and seen something of what saul had done; enough to make them unable to speak from astonishment and awe: they had heard a voice, but did not understand the words spoken, and seeing no man, they were perplexed as to whence the voice came. now, however, seeing their master was blind, "they led him by the hand, and brought him into damascus. and he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." we can well imagine how saul passed these three days in meditation and earnest prayer to the lord, who had so mercifully called him to be a true believer. his continued blindness did not shake his faith, or lessen his love; on the contrary, they increased more and more; and soon he had his reward, for the lord showed him in a vision that his sight should be restored to him. there was residing in damascus at this time a certain disciple, one of the believers in jesus, "named ananias: and to him said the lord in a vision, ananias. and he said, behold, i am here, lord,"--which meant, here i am, ready to obey thee, and do whatever thou shalt bid me do. "and the lord said unto him, arise and go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of judas for one called saul, of tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight." this direction rather startled ananias, who well knew saul of tarsus to be the bitter enemy of jesus christ, and of all who believed in him: therefore, "ananias answered, lord, i have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name." but the lord forbade ananias to make any further objections, since it was his duty simply to believe and obey; and he said unto him, "go thy way," do as i command thee. at the same time, the lord in his mercy encouraged ananias, by making known his purpose concerning saul; saying, "for he is a chosen vessel unto me (that is, a messenger), to bear my name," or to bear witness of the things belonging unto god, "before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of israel: for i will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." ananias hesitated no longer, but went to the house pointed out to him, "and putting his hands on him, said, brother saul, receive thy sight: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." after this, saul at once joined the church, or company of believers at damascus, and "straightway he preached christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of god." all that heard him preach were greatly amazed, knowing with what a very different purpose saul had come to damascus. from other parts of scripture we learn, that saul did not at this time stay long in damascus, but went away into arabia, where he stayed quietly for three years; no doubt studying the scriptures, and preparing for the great work he was to do amongst the gentiles. after that, he returned to damascus, about anno domini ; that is, thirty-eight years from the year in which jesus christ was born. chapter vii.--saul joins the church at jerusalem. syria, of which damascus was the capital, had become a roman province about sixty-three years before the birth of christ. whilst saul was in arabia, aretas, the king of that country, went into the land of judæa, to fight against herod antipas, who had married the daughter of aretas, and then treated her very ill. herod was defeated in a battle, and then he applied for help to the emperor tiberius, as supreme ruler of judæa. tiberius commanded his general vitellius to chastise aretas for his attack upon herod, and bring him to rome, alive or dead. whilst vitellius was at jerusalem preparing to execute this order, tiberius died; and vitellius marched his army into winter quarters. aretas took advantage of this, and attacked the city of damascus, which he took, and kept possession of for some time. saul, as has been said, returned to damascus whilst aretas still held possession of it. by his preaching, he confounded the jews which were at damascus; for strengthened more and more by the holy spirit, he spake of jesus of nazareth, "proving that this is very christ." not knowing how to answer him, and fearing the effect of such preaching, the jews, after many days were fulfilled, "took counsel to kill him." from another part of scripture we learn, that the governor set over the city of damascus by aretas, took part with the jews, and caused the gates to be watched night and day, to kill saul, should he attempt to leave the city, before the jews had accomplished their purpose. but all these plots were, by the mercy of god, made known in some way to saul. the disciples of course knew that the lord could work a miracle, to save one who was chosen to be a preacher of the gospel; but they also knew that it is the duty of man in all cases, to take proper means for his own safety: and trusting that the lord would bless their efforts, "they took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket." saul being thus outside the walls, without passing through the gates, journeyed on to jerusalem. at that time, people living in one city, knew very little of what was going on in others at a distance; and the war between herod and aretas, would naturally have cut off even the usual communication between jerusalem and damascus. if the chief priests and other members of the sanhedrim, had heard any rumour of saul's wonderful conversion, they would of course try to keep such a matter secret. these things account for the fact, that the apostles in jerusalem had never heard of the change that had taken place in saul, whom they remembered as consenting to the death of stephen, and then going to damascus to persecute the believers. three years had now passed since that time, and the apostles probably thought that during that period, saul had been actively employed in trying to prevent the spreading of the gospel. "and when saul was come to jerusalem, he assayed (or attempted) to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple." barnabas, however, in some way had become acquainted with the circumstances concerning saul: he therefore "took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus." this was sufficient; on the testimony of barnabas, the apostles gladly received saul as a fellow labourer, and from that time "he was with them coming in and going out at jerusalem. and he spake boldly in the name of the lord jesus," especially endeavouring to convince the grecians, or foreign jews. but instead of listening to saul, "they went about to slay him"; which, when the "brethren knew, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus," his native place in cilicia. the removal of saul at this time, seems to have had a good effect; for we read, "then had the churches rest throughout all judæa and galilee and samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the lord, and in the comfort of the holy ghost, were multiplied." leaving the history of saul for awhile, the book of acts gives us some account of peter's labours: he went from place to place, spreading the knowledge of the gospel everywhere. at lydda, a very large village not far from joppa, "he found a certain man named Æneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. and peter said unto him, Æneas, jesus christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. and he arose immediately," the palsy leaving him and his strength returning, as peter spake these words. the news of what had happened at lydda soon reached joppa; and the disciples who dwelt there, sent unto peter, desiring that he would not delay to come to them. the cause of their sending for the apostle, was the death of a certain disciple, a woman "named tabitha, which by interpretation is called dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did": her kindness and charity had made her to be loved by all, and her death therefore caused great grief to those who had benefited by her kindness. peter obeyed the summons of the messengers; he "arose and went with them. when he was come" to joppa, "they brought him into the upper chamber," where they had laid the body: "and all the widows stood by, weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which dorcas made, while she was with them." but peter put them all out of the chamber, and then "kneeled down, and prayed." after this, turning to the body, he said, "tabitha, arise. and she opened her eyes: and when she saw peter, she sat up. and he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. and it was known throughout all joppa; and many believed in the lord," in whose name, and by whose power, peter had worked this great miracle. it has been said of this tabitha, that "by interpretation her name was dorcas." this good woman was a _grecian_, or foreign jewess, and as such, her name was tabitha, which means an "antelope"--a very graceful animal of the deer kind, having very beautiful eyes. it was a common practice amongst the arabs, and other nations of asia, to give to female children the names of such animals as were particularly admired. the jews, instead of calling tabitha by what was _to them a foreign_ name, called her dorcas; because that word, in their language, meant antelope. therefore, dorcas was the jewish interpretation of tabitha. peter did not leave joppa again immediately after the restoration of dorcas; on the contrary, "he tarried many days in joppa, with one simon a tanner." the gospel had by this time been preached freely to the jews in jerusalem, and throughout judæa, samaria, and galilee; and the time was now come for it to be preached to the gentiles also. peter was accordingly chosen by god to begin this work, about a.d. . we are told, "there was a certain man in cæsarea called cornelius, a centurion of the band called the italian band, a devout man, and one that feared god with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to god alway." the italian band, was a company of a thousand roman soldiers, acting probably as a guard to the roman governor of judæa, whose usual residence was at cæsarea, a city of great importance. cornelius was one of the centurions, or captains, of the italian band: he was a gentile, who had already given up idolatry, and become a sincere worshipper of the god of israel: but as he had not observed all the forms and ceremonies required by the law, the jews did not look upon him as one of themselves. such persons were called "proselytes of the gate"; and although they were allowed to dwell among the jews, they were looked upon as unclean. cornelius had brought all his household to worship the one true god: he was constant in prayer; and he showed his love for god, by charity to man for his sake. such a devout man was well pleasing to the lord, who now called him to a "knowledge of the truth as it is in jesus." cornelius being engaged in prayer about the ninth hour of the day, one of the times especially appointed for prayer in the temple, saw in a vision an angel of god, who told him that by his prayers and his alms (signs of faith and obedience), he had found favour with god. the angel then bade him send to joppa for simon peter, saying also, "he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do." we may be sure that cornelius received this divine message with joy and thankfulness, and he immediately sent "two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually"--men upon whom he could thoroughly depend, to joppa, to fetch peter. on the morrow, as these messengers drew near to joppa, the lord, by means of a vision, prepared peter to receive them. about the sixth hour peter went up upon the house-top to pray, where he would be quiet and undisturbed. "and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance," or kind of fainting fit. in this state he had a vision; and "saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit (or fastened together) at the four corners, and let down to the earth." in this vessel, which is compared to a large sheet, were "all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air"--many of these creatures being unclean, according to the jewish law. "and there came a voice to him, rise, peter; kill and eat. but peter said, not so, lord; for i have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. and the voice spake unto him again the second time, what god hath cleansed, that call not thou common. this was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven." although peter was a true follower of jesus christ, he had not yet got over his jewish prejudices; but like the rest of his countrymen, looked upon the gentiles as unclean, and thought that it was as great a sin for a jew to keep company with a gentile, as it would be for him to eat any of the unclean animals, which the lord forbade him to touch. the vision now sent to peter, plainly showed him that jesus did not wish his followers to observe any longer the ceremonial law; and above all, that in preaching the gospel, no distinction was to be made between jew and gentile. no man was to be looked upon as unclean, since it was the will of god that _all_ should come to the knowledge of the truth, and be joined together in one body, the church. this vision greatly astonished peter, and perplexed him: but while he "doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean," the whole matter was made plain to him. by this time "the men which were sent from cornelius" had reached joppa, and having made inquiry for the house of simon the tanner, they now "stood before the gate, and called, and asked whether simon, which was surnamed peter, were lodged there:" and "while peter thought on the vision," trying to discover what it might mean, "the spirit said unto him, behold, three men seek thee. arise therefore, and get thee down," to hear wherefore they are come, and "go with them," as they will ask thee, "doubting nothing"--having no doubts or fears upon the subject, but feeling sure that you are doing right by going with them,--"for i have sent them." chapter viii.--peter and cornelius. having received the direct commands of god by the holy spirit, "peter" at once "went down to the men which were sent unto him from cornelius; and said, behold, i am he whom you seek; what is the cause wherefore ye are come? and they said, cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth god, and of good report among all the nation of the jews, was warned from god by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. then called he them in, and lodged them. and on the morrow peter went away with them, and certain brethren from joppa accompanied him. and the morrow after they entered into cæsarea." cornelius, knowing at about what time his messengers might be expected back, had called his friends together to receive peter, whom he was anxiously expecting to come with his servants. "and cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. and as peter was coming in, cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him." thus did the centurion show his joy and gratitude after the manner of the gentiles, who often did pay to their fellow creatures that degree of reverence and worship due to god alone; and cornelius, looking upon peter as the especial servant of god sent to him by the interposition of an angel, might naturally on his appearance fall into this error. peter, however, at once checked such an expression of the centurion's feeling; teaching him, that the worship due to god must never be given to any man under any circumstances; so, when cornelius fell at his feet, "peter took him up, saving, stand up; i myself also am a man. and as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. and he said unto them, ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation; but god hath shewed me that i should not call any man common or unclean. therefore came i to you without gainsaying, as soon as i was sent for." having thus given an account of himself, peter very naturally added, "i ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?" cornelius at once gave to peter an account of the vision that had been vouchsafed to him, and in consequence of which he had sent for him; and added, "and thou hast well done that thou art come. now therefore are we all here present before god, to hear all things that are commanded thee of god." peter, as a jew, had been brought up to believe that the favour of god was confined to the descendants of abraham; but he now openly expresses his conviction, that no such line of separation existed, saying, "of a truth i perceive that god is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him:" a doctrine very displeasing to the unbelieving jews, but most comforting to the gentiles, who were no longer shut out from the favour of god, now that all distinction between jew and gentile was done away with by the preaching of the gospel. peter then spake to cornelius and his friends of jesus; of his life, death, resurrection, and of the commandment which he had given to his apostles "to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of god to be the judge of quick and dead;" and peter ended his discourse by repeating the great gospel truth, "that through faith in jesus all may receive remission or pardon of their sins." even while peter was speaking, the lord gave a signal proof that there was indeed, in his sight, no difference between jew and gentile, amongst those who believed the gospel, and became followers of jesus; for "the holy ghost fell on all them which heard the word," that is, the gospel as now preached by peter; and the spirit enabled "them to speak with tongues," that is, to speak foreign languages, as in the case of the apostles on the day of pentecost: for this instance of mercy they did magnify and praise the lord. "and they of the circumcision," the jews who had become believers, and had now accompanied peter from joppa to cæsarea, "were astonished, because that on the gentiles also was poured out the holy ghost," in this plain and unmistakeable manner. "then answered peter, can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the holy ghost as well as we?" peter justly felt, that these gentiles, who had so evidently been made partakers of "the inward and spiritual grace of baptism," might be safely allowed to receive "the outward visible sign." "and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the lord. then prayed they him to tarry certain days" at cæsarea, that he might yet further instruct them in the doctrines of the gospel. peter no doubt complied with this request, and we may be sure that he dwelt on the necessity of holiness in all the followers of jesus, and exhorted his hearers to constant and earnest prayer to him, from whom come all good gifts, and without whose help man can do no good thing. "the apostles and brethren that were in judæa, heard that the gentiles had also received the word of god," without at the same time hearing under what circumstances peter had gone amongst them to preach it. "and when peter was come up to jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision,"--that is, those jews who, although they had become disciples, still thought that the law of moses was to be obeyed in all its ceremonies, and that the gospel should be preached to jews only,--blamed, or "contended with peter, saying, thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them." peter, instead of being angry, that he, one of the apostles appointed by christ, should be thus called to account by those whose duty it was to learn of him, quietly "rehearsed (or repeated) the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them," beginning with his own vision at joppa, and ending with the baptism of cornelius and his friends, in consequence of the pouring out of the holy ghost upon them; saying, in regard to this subject, "then remembered i the word of the lord, how that he said, john indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the holy ghost. forasmuch then as god gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the lord jesus christ, what was i, that i could withstand god?" "when they heard these things, they held their peace," ceased to blame peter, seeing that he had only done as god directed him: and being now convinced that it was indeed the will of the lord that the gospel should be preached to all nations, they "glorified god, saying, then hath god also to the gentiles granted repentance unto life." all who believe in jesus christ themselves, will always rejoice when others are brought to do so too: christians will ever show their love for jesus, by doing all in their power to bring others to know and love him: and whatever else we may be able to do, let us always remember to pray for them, and to ask god to let "his knowledge cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." one thing more we should remark, as it teaches us a useful lesson in our dealings with our fellow creatures; and that is, how often disputes and quarrels would be avoided, if we followed peter's example; and, instead of being angry when we are unjustly blamed, were to take it patiently, and then quietly explain all the circumstances which have caused the misunderstanding. but instead of that, amongst us, whether children or grown-up people, if one makes a false accusation, or casts undeserved blame upon another, that other too often feels provoked and angry, and answers sharply; one sharp cross answer leads to others; and so on, until there is a regular quarrel, whereby both parties sin against god: and all this might have been prevented by a few quiet gentle words of explanation. let us remember, "that a soft answer turneth away wrath," and that the "beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water,"--we cannot tell where it will stop. the lord bids us live peaceably with all men: let us try to do so, striving never to provoke others, nor to be provoked by them. we have seen that, after stephen's death, most of the disciples left jerusalem, and "they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about stephen, travelled as far as the country of phenice," or ph[oe]nicia, to the n.w. of judæa, and to the isle of cyprus, and to the town of antioch in syria, which lay about twelve miles from the sea, having the river orontes running through it. to all these distant parts the disciples travelled, "preaching the word to none but unto the jews only," who happened to be in those different places. "and some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene, which, when they were come to antioch, spake unto the grecians," the jews born in foreign lands, preaching the lord jesus. the people of cyprus, and of cyrene on the coast of africa, spake the greek language; and therefore, could make themselves understood by the grecians, who knew nothing of hebrew, the language in which the other disciples preached. "and the hand of the lord was with" all them that preached; and "a great number believed, and turned unto the lord." "then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in jerusalem: and they sent forth barnabas, that he should go as far as antioch," to ascertain the truth of what the apostles had heard, and to confirm the faith of those who had turned to the lord. barnabas was now numbered with the apostles, and exercised like authority; "for he was a good man, and full of the holy ghost and of faith." when he came to antioch, and had seen how by the grace of god so many were truly converted, he "exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the lord": that is, that they would continue steadfast in the faith, and determine to devote themselves entirely, body and soul, heart and mind, to the service of the lord. the preaching of such a man could not fail to have its effect; for he was full of the holy ghost; and so we read that "much people was added unto the lord." chapter ix.--peter delivered from prison. barnabas, finding that there was plenty of work to be done at antioch, "departed to tarsus, for to seek saul," that he might come and help him. "and when he had found him, he brought him unto antioch. and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church" (that is, joined in the assemblies of the believers), "and taught much people,"--converting, we may be sure, gentiles as well as jews. scripture tells us here, "and the disciples were called christians first in antioch." some people have thought that this name, in which we glory, was given to the disciples by their enemies, in scorn of them as followers of christ; but it is far more likely that it was given them by saul and barnabas, under the direction of the holy spirit. up to this time, the jewish converts were called amongst themselves "disciples," "believers," "saints"; and all together, "the church." their enemies called them "nazarenes," "galileans," or the "men of this way." now that there were so many of them, it was quite necessary that they should be distinguished by some peculiar name; and what name could be more appropriate, than one which marked them as the followers and disciples of jesus christ--believers in the messiah, the anointed, through whom alone they, and all mankind, could receive pardon of their sins? let us, whilst we glory in the name of christians, take care that we are not so in name _only_. all who are joined to christ, or made part of his body the church, by baptism, are now called christians. the cross is the sign, or symbol, of the christian faith. in baptism, the figure of the cross is made on the forehead of the person baptized, to signify that he, or she, is now entered as a faithful soldier and servant of christ; and that this service is to be continued as long as life lasts. this shows us what each one of us should be,--"a faithful soldier," fighting against all the enemies of our lord, which are the devil and his evil angels, our own bad passions and desires, and every kind of sin: and "a faithful servant," studying to know his master's will, that he may do it thoroughly, whatever suffering or trouble it may bring upon himself. let us seriously consider whether we are such christians, really and truly trying to serve and please god. if we are _not_, the name of christian will be of no use to us. jesus himself says, "not every one that saith unto me, lord, lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." let each one of us pray earnestly to god, that for the sake of his blessed son, jesus christ, he will give us the help of the holy spirit, so that we may become true christians in the sight of him, by whom all our thoughts, words, and actions are known. in order to understand perfectly all that the bible tells us, it is necessary to mention a few circumstances connected with the history of the jews, which are not written in the scriptures, but are told us by a man called josephus, himself a jew, who lived at this time, and has left us an account of all that he saw and heard amongst his countrymen. we have already heard that herod the great, who slew the infants of bethlehem, had many descendants, who all bore the same name, and several of whom are spoken of in scripture. some account has already been given of them. aristobulus, one of the unfortunate sons of herod the great and mariamne, left two sons: one named herod agrippa, called also the elder, to distinguish him from his own son, named also herod agrippa; and another son, also called herod, who became king of chalcis. herod agrippa the elder lived for some years quietly at rome, as a private person, and was in favour with tiberius, who became emperor of rome a.d. . but some persons having accused herod, whether truly or falsely we cannot say, of wishing for the emperor's death, he was put into prison, where he remained until tiberius died, about four years after the crucifixion of jesus. caligula, who became emperor at the death of tiberius, a.d. , made herod agrippa king over iturea and some neighbouring parts of the country. pontius pilate had ceased before this to be governor, or procurator, of judæa. a riot, or disturbance, had taken place amongst the people of samaria. pilate put a stop to it; but he afterwards treated the people with such extreme severity, that the roman emperor deprived him of his government, which he had held for about ten years. pilate was banished to vienne, a place in gaul (as france was then called), and there he killed himself. about the same time that pilate was deprived of his office, herod antipas was also deprived of his. herod antipas, the second son of herod the great, was the tetrarch, or governor of galilee, who put john the baptist to death, and who, with his men of war, mocked and ill treated our blessed lord, who was sent to him by pilate. a few years after the death of jesus, herod wished to make himself king of judæa; and he was in consequence deprived of his government, and banished into spain, also a roman province, where he died miserably. so soon did punishment fall upon these two bad men, who had sinned against the lord jesus christ. caligula, who made herod agrippa king over some parts of syria and palestine, was anxious to be looked upon and treated as a god; and of course his heathen subjects did not much care whether he were so considered or not. but although the jews had refused to believe in the messiah, they had, ever since the return from the captivity, a horror of worshipping anything but the lord god almighty, the god of abraham. when, therefore, caligula ordered that a gilt statue of himself, as a god, should be set up in the temple, all judæa was filled with horror; and for several weeks the people ceased from following their usual occupations, and the country towards mount carmel was crowded with people in mourning. the roman governor of syria, charged to set up this statue, seeing the distress of the people, kindly listened to their entreaties, that he would wait a little before he executed this dreadful order. the jews then applied to herod agrippa the elder, who happened to be in rome; and he, with great difficulty, persuaded caligula not to insist upon setting up this statue. when claudius became emperor, a.d. , he added the provinces of judæa and samaria to herod's dominions, so that he governed the whole land of palestine, bearing the title of king. the trouble that the jews were in under caligula, prevented their thinking so much of persecuting the christians; and thus the church of christ had a little rest, and went on increasing. but now that herod agrippa had become king of judæa, it was different; for he, seeing the number of christians increasing in a most extraordinary manner, was fearful that they might rebel, and refuse to obey him as their king: therefore we read, "now about that time herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. and he killed james the brother of john with the sword. and because he saw it pleased the jews, he proceeded further to take peter also." herod was anxious to gain favour with his jewish subjects; and there was no more certain way of doing so, than by persecuting the christians. having therefore killed one of the sons of zebedee, he determined to take peter, who was one of the chief amongst the apostles. "then were the days of unleavened bread"--that is, the feast of the passover was now drawing near; and the preparation for that holy sacrifice had already begun, by the putting away of leaven out of every jewish house, according to the law of moses. "and when herod had apprehended peter, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after easter to bring him forth to the people," with the intention, no doubt, of slaying him, as he had already slain james. four soldiers formed a quaternion; four quaternions therefore were sixteen men, who were especially appointed to guard peter. "peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto god for him": and the prayers of the saints were more effectual than all the precautions taken by herod. it was customary with the romans to fasten a prisoner to his keeper by a light chain, which went round the wrist of each; thus rendering it impossible for the prisoner to move without the knowledge of his keeper. for greater security, peter was thus bound to two of the soldiers. during the night before the day on which "herod would have brought peter forth, he was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. and, behold, the angel of the lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote peter on the side," (to awaken him,) "and raised him up, saying, arise up quickly. and his chains fell off from his hands," (without disturbing the keepers). "and the angel said unto him, gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. and so he did. and he saith unto him, cast thy garment about thee, and follow me." peter did as he was told; but all this time he was not aware that he was really free, but thought he was merely dreaming: he "wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. when they were past the first and the second ward," (different parts of the prison, without being perceived by any of those who kept the doors,) "they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him." his miraculous work being now accomplished, the angel left peter to go on his own way. the departure of his heavenly guide seems to have aroused peter to the reality of what had happened; he no longer thought he had seen a vision. "and when peter was come to himself, he said, now i know of a surety, that the lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the jews. and when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of mary the mother of john, whose surname was mark." this mark, whose name was also john, was the writer of the gospel bearing his name: his mother was sister to barnabas, and her house was no doubt a place, where the christian brethren often met for the purpose of prayer; and now, although it was not yet daylight, "many were gathered together praying." probably they had spent the night in prayer for the deliverance of peter. "and as peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named rhoda. and when she knew peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how peter stood before the gate." the faith of the brethren was not strong enough to make them at once believe in such a wonderful answer to their prayers. they knew that peter was securely shut up in prison; and so, when rhoda suddenly announced that he was standing at the door, they said unto her, "thou art mad"; thinking that she did not know what she was saying: and when she insisted "that it was even so," they could not then believe that it really was peter himself, but said, "it is his angel," or spirit. "but peter continued knocking"; thus showing that it was no spirit, but a real living being: "and when they had opened the door, they were astonished." peter would not allow them to express their astonishment, but "beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace," (that is, making a sign unto them not to speak,) he "declared unto them how the lord had brought him out of the prison." when he had finished the wonderful recital, he said, "go, shew these things unto james, and to the brethren." though in many respects all the apostles were upon an equality, it was necessary that some one of them should have the particular direction of the affairs of the church at jerusalem; and james seems to have held this office. the other apostles therefore gave him an account of their labours, and of anything remarkable which took place. this james, called "the less," to distinguish him from james the son of zebedee, is sometimes spoken of as "the lord's brother," though there is every reason to believe that he was not his brother, but the nephew of his mother mary. in those times, such near kinsmen as first cousins--that is, the children of brothers and sisters--were often called brethren. if the mother of jesus had had any other children, it would not have been necessary for our lord to commend her to the care of his beloved disciple john, whom he bade her to look upon as a son. james is always considered as the first bishop: he was bishop of the church in jerusalem; and he remained in that city, whilst the other apostles travelled from place to place, preaching the gospel to all people. peter was anxious that james, and all the brethren, should know what had happened to him, that they might bless god for answering their prayers in such a wonderful manner, and that their faith might be strengthened, by seeing how able and willing the lord is to preserve his servants, and defend them from all enemies, as long as he has any work for them to do upon earth. chapter x.--saul and barnabas called to preach to the gentiles. after giving his message for james, "peter departed, and went unto another place," where herod's officers would be less likely to look for him, than in a house where the christians were in the habit of meeting. nor did peter remain in jerusalem, where he would at any moment be liable to be discovered: what he did is not quite certain, but there is good reason to believe that he went to rome, and preached the gospel to jews and gentiles; so as to found, or begin, the establishment of a christian church in that city. it is also believed that mark went with peter, and that he then wrote his gospel, for the use of the christian converts at rome. when herod found that peter had actually escaped out of prison, he caused all the keepers of the prison to be put to death. after this, he "went down from judæa to cæsarea, and there abode." from other writings we learn, that herod went to cæsarea at this time, for the purpose of celebrating a festival in honour of claudius cæsar, who had become emperor of rome a year or two before, in a.d. . we also learn that the people of tyre and sidon had in some way or other offended herod, who was intending to make war upon them. the idea of war greatly alarmed the inhabitants of ph[oe]nicia, because they got the chief part of their wheat and honey, and other provisions, from the land of judæa; and of course if there were a war, such supplies would be stopped, and a famine would be the consequence. we read in the scripture, that "herod was highly displeased with them of tyre and sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country." herod, at the request of blastus, consented to receive the messengers sent from tyre and sidon. "and upon a set day," a day appointed for the purpose, "herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration" (or long speech) "unto them." what herod said, we do not know; but josephus tells us that he wore on this occasion a magnificent robe of silver tissue, and that the sun shining upon it, made it look so dazzlingly bright and beautiful, that the people cried out, forgive us for having only paid honour to you as a mortal king: from this time we shall look upon you as being far superior to mortals! instead of reproving them for thus setting up a mortal man as being equal to god, herod was pleased with this speech; but he had soon cause to repent of his pride and folly: for before he left the theatre, or public building in which such assemblies took place, he was seized with most dreadful pains in his stomach, so that in his agony he exclaimed, "i whom ye have called a god am now going to die a miserable death." the king was then carried to his palace, where he died after five days of fearful suffering: a warning to all, who allow others to treat them as if they were beings superior to their fellow-men. none of this is told us in the bible: all that we read on this subject in the book of acts, is, that herod "made an oration. and the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. and immediately the angel of the lord smote him, because he gave not god the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." herod died about a.d. , lamented by the jews, whose favour he had gained by his persecution of the christians: the roman soldiers, on the contrary, rejoiced at his death, and spake against him, which made the jews very angry. this bad feeling now raised between the roman soldiers and the jews, was one cause of the troubles and disturbances which soon followed: for from this time until jerusalem was destroyed, twenty-six years later, the land of judæa never enjoyed any real rest or quiet. how could the blessing of god, which can alone give peace and happiness, rest upon a people who had so fearfully sinned against god, by their rejection of the messiah, his son jesus christ. herod agrippa the elder, of whose death we have just spoken, left three children: a son, bearing his own name of herod agrippa; and two daughters, bernice and drusilla, both mentioned in scripture. herod agrippa the second, or younger, was only seventeen years old when his father died; and his dominions were therefore placed under the care of a roman governor; but afterwards he was allowed to rule over a part of them, and to take the title of king: and upon the death of his uncle, herod king of chalcis, the emperor claudius allowed this herod agrippa to succeed to his kingdom. nero, who became emperor of rome, a.d. , added to the dominions already possessed by herod agrippa the second, in the land of judæa. we shall hear of him again in the book of acts. both drusilla and bernice were bad women: drusilla married azizus, king of the emesians; but felix, a roman, who afterwards became governor or procurator of judæa, persuaded her to leave her husband, and become his wife. of this felix we shall hear more by and by, after he became the governor of judæa. we must now go back to the history of saul and barnabas, whom we left at antioch preaching the gospel, and bringing into the church many converts, who were then called christians. whilst barnabas and saul were still at antioch, preaching the gospel of jesus, there "came prophets from jerusalem unto antioch. and there stood up one of them named agabus, and signified (or foretold) by (the direction of) the spirit that there should be great dearth (or famine) throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of claudius cæsar," who was at that time emperor of rome. the word here translated "world," sometimes means the roman empire, and sometimes only the land of judæa. in this case, it appears to mean judæa only; for the dearth seems to have been confined to that country: and josephus, speaking of this dearth in the reign of claudius, tells us, that large quantities of corn were sent up to jerusalem from the neighbouring provinces, which could not have been the case if the dearth had been felt in them also. on the announcement of the distress about to come upon their brethren in judæa, "the disciples" at antioch, "every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in judæa." by this we learn, that the custom of having all things in common had not been followed at antioch. most probably by this time it had been given up altogether; for now that the numbers of christians had so largely increased on all sides, the plan of having all things in common would be no longer desirable, or even practicable. each christian of antioch determined then to give what he could for the relief of their fellow christians in judæa; "which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and saul," who immediately set out from antioch, to take the money thus collected to the elders of the church at jerusalem. these two apostles stayed in jerusalem for some months; probably about a year. we learn from another part of the book of acts, that during this stay at jerusalem, saul had a very remarkable vision. he was praying in the temple, when by the power of god he fell into a trance. whilst he was in this state, his bodily senses suspended as it were, and his mind more alive to spiritual things, jesus christ appeared to him, and said, "make haste, and get thee quickly out of jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." it surprised saul to be told that the jews of jerusalem would not believe him: they knew how he had formerly persecuted the christians, and therefore his change of opinions would, he thought, have great weight in convincing them of the truth of what he now taught them: therefore he answered, and said, "lord, they know that i imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed in thee: and when the blood of thy martyr stephen was shed, i was also standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him." to man, these things might seem to make saul the most fit person to convince his countrymen, but not so with god, who had chosen saul especially to preach the gospel to the gentiles. in answer to his pleading, therefore, jesus now gave this positive command, "depart: for i will send thee far hence unto the gentiles." this was enough, and from henceforth saul became a distinguished preacher to the gentiles. "and barnabas and saul returned from jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry," (that is, the work which they came to do,) "and took with them john, whose surname was mark," who had before this accompanied peter to rome. barnabas and saul therefore went back to antioch, but they did not long remain there. "now there were in the church that was at antioch certain prophets and teachers," who joined with barnabas and saul in preaching the gospel. "as they ministered to the lord, and fasted, the holy ghost said, separate me barnabas and saul for the work whereunto i have called them." in what way the holy ghost spake, we are not told; but in some way or other the lord made known his will to his faithful servants, whilst they were engaged in the performance of their religious duties. the work unto which barnabas and saul were now called, was that of preaching the gospel, not to jews only, or even to proselytes of the gate, but also to the idolatrous gentiles, so as to bring them to leave their false religion and become christians. although the appointment of barnabas and saul to this work was direct from god, yet outward forms were to be observed in dedicating them to it, and solemn prayers offered up for their success. in this matter, no doubt the prophets and teachers acted by the direction of the same spirit which had bade them separate, or set apart the two apostles for this particular work. "and when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." barnabas and saul now set out on their first journey, about a.d. . "so they, being sent forth by the holy ghost, departed unto seleucia," a port at the mouth of the river orontes, a little to the west of antioch; "and from thence they sailed to cyprus. and when they were at salamis," a city in the eastern part of the island, "they preached the word of god in the synagogues of the jews"; for though they had a positive commission to preach to the gentiles, they were not to neglect the jews, but preach the gospel first to them, if they would but listen to it. "and they had also john (or mark) to their minister,"--to help in their ministry or work. chapter xi.--saul's name changed to paul. having preached the word at salamis, barnabas and saul, with mark, journeyed on, proclaiming their good tidings in every village. "and when they had gone through the isle," they came unto paphos, the chief city, situated on the western coast of cyprus. here the "deputy of the country," that is, the magistrate or governor appointed by the roman emperor, resided: this deputy, whose name was sergius paulus, was himself a roman and a heathen; but he was "a prudent man," that is, a man of good sense and understanding; therefore, when he heard of barnabas and saul teaching new and wonderful doctrines, he was anxious to hear and judge for himself as to their truth: he therefore "called for barnabas and saul, and desired to hear the word of god." but sergius paulus had with him, as his friend and adviser, a jew, whose name was bar-jesus: he was also called elymas, because he was looked upon as a sorcerer or magician, and the word "elymas" means something of that sort. this man, who pretended to be a prophet, and to have power to work miracles, did not at all wish that christianity should spread; and seeing that the roman governor was inclined to believe what the apostles taught, he contradicted them, "withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith." for this conduct saul reproved him severely, pronouncing upon him a heavy punishment: we read, "then saul, (who also is called paul,) filled with the holy ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, o full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the lord? and now, behold, the hand of the lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. and immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the lord." he saw that the apostles were far superior to elymas, who could not save himself; and he at once believed all that they taught, convinced that god was indeed with them. we have read, "then saul, who also is called paul"; and we find that from this time he is never again spoken of in scripture by the name of saul. as the bible does not tell us _why_ his name was changed, we cannot be sure; but there are several reasons which may have caused the change. first, sergius paulus was the first idolatrous gentile mentioned as having become a christian, and it is very probable that the apostle had the name of paul (which is the same as paulus) given to him, in remembrance of this act of mercy shown to the gentiles by god. then, again, the jews, particularly those who like paul were not born in the land of judæa, often had a roman as well as a hebrew name given to them; and they called themselves by either, according to the custom of the people amongst whom they went. some persons think that the apostle now chose the name of paul, which means "little" or "weak," instead of that of saul, meaning "beloved" or "desirable." paul was now humble; he felt that he was weak, and that whatever he might be able to do, could be done only by the power of the holy ghost, directing and helping him. but whatever the cause may be, it is certain that from this time he is always called paul--a name much more pleasing to the gentiles, amongst whom he was appointed to teach, than the hebrew appellation of saul. the remaining chapters of the book of acts give us the account of the five journeys made by this apostle, in order to preach the gospel to the gentiles: of the other apostles we hear but little. we generally speak of the apostles and evangelists as _st._ peter, _st._ john, _st._ paul, _st._ matthew, _st._ luke, &c. "saint" means good and holy; and we may well call the apostles so, to distinguish them from other men; for they were holy men, inspired and guided in a peculiar way by the holy ghost, and we should, therefore, speak of them and think of them with reverence; remembering, that by their preaching and writings, we, and all mankind, have learnt the blessed tidings of salvation through jesus christ. st. paul was now on his first journey, in company with st. barnabas; and st. mark was with them. from paphos they sailed to perga, in pamphylia, a country in the southern part of asia minor. the scripture tells us that here john, or st. mark as we call him, "departing from them, returned to jerusalem." why he did this, we are not told; but from what we read in other parts of scripture, we are sure that he did wrong. he was a young man, and probably he was discouraged by the idea of all the difficulties and hardships which the apostles must meet with. after the departure of st. mark, st. paul and st. barnabas travelled northward into the province of pisidia, where there was also a town called antioch, built, like antioch in syria, by seleucus nicanor, who was king of syria after the death of alexander the great. seleucus gave the name of antioch to these cities, in memory of his father antiochus. when the apostles came to antioch in pisidia, they "went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. and after the reading of the law and of the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." we have already learnt that the jews were required to set up a synagogue, in any place where ten men could meet for public worship; and that every synagogue had its rulers: men respectable both from age and character, who directed the services, and had some authority over other members of the congregation. on the sabbath morning, two lessons were appointed to be read: one out of the law, or books of moses; the other from the writings of the prophets: on week-day mornings, the law only was read. after these lessons had been read, it was customary for some teacher or rabbi to preach or speak to the people: and if any strange teacher or learned man happened to be present, he was often called upon by the rulers of the synagogue, to perform this part of the service. even if the rulers of the synagogue at antioch in pisidia, knew nothing before this of the apostles, they would see at once that they were rabbis or teachers, because they "sat down," which was customary for all belonging to this class: probably, too, they sat down in the seats expressly set apart for the doctors and teachers. being invited by the rulers of the synagogue to "say on," if they had "any word of exhortation for the people," the apostles gladly seized the opportunity of speaking to them of jesus, and exhorting them to believe in him. "then paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand," to draw the attention of the congregation, "said, men of israel, and ye that fear god, give audience," that is, listen to my words. by the "men of israel," st. paul meant jews born of jewish parents, the real descendants of abraham: by "ye that fear god," he meant proselytes from the gentiles who had adopted the jewish religion, though they were not jews by birth. both equally needed to be taught the gospel, and st. paul, calling upon both to listen, spake of the bringing of the children of israel out of egypt; of the mercy of god shown to them in their wanderings, in spite of all their sins; and of their final settlement in the land of canaan. he then mentioned their government by judges, until, at the wish of the people, god gave them a king in the person of saul, who was succeeded by david, a man favoured by the lord. st. paul then went on to explain that god had, according to his promise, raised up from david's seed or descendants, a saviour in the lord jesus christ, to whom john the baptist had borne testimony; but that the jews and their rulers had put him to death: thus fulfilling the prophecies, though, if they had attended to their meaning, they would have understood that jesus was indeed the promised messiah. st. paul then proceeded to show that god had fulfilled all his promises, as written in the psalms or elsewhere, by raising jesus from the dead; adding, "be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of moses." none could be justified, or accounted righteous by the law, because none could keep all its commandments and ordinances; but those who believed in jesus as their saviour, would for his sake, be _looked_ upon as righteous. having thus preached to the congregation the great gospel truth of remission of sins, st. paul warned his hearers not to disregard his words, lest the sentence pronounced by one of their prophets, "behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish," should fall upon them. the words of st. paul made an impression upon some part of his hearers; for when the jews were gone out of the synagogue, the gentiles, that is, the jewish proselytes from the gentiles, besought that these words might be preached to them again. many of the jews and religious proselytes also followed paul and barnabas, when the congregation was broken up, and were persuaded by the apostles to hold fast the blessed truths, which by the grace of god they had learnt. the fame of st. paul's preaching, mean time, spread rapidly, "and the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of god. but when the jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy," fearing lest the gospel, which they rejected, should be believed by others; and therefore they "spake against those things which were spoken by paul, contradicting and blaspheming." then paul and barnabas plainly told these jews, that they had begun by preaching the word of god to them, because such was the will of god; but, as they wilfully refused the salvation thus offered to them, they should now, in obedience to the same god, turn to the gentiles, and bring the heathens into the church of christ, who was to "be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." the gentiles, the idolatrous gentiles, who now for the first time forsook their idols, as well as those who had already turned from idolatry to worship the god of the jews, were very glad when they heard this, "and glorified the word of the lord"; and many of them believed. this made the jews very angry, and they "stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against paul and barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts." the devout and honourable women were female proselytes of rank, who had great influence over the lower classes in the city. by their false accusations, the unbelieving jews managed to stir up the higher class of citizens and the rulers of the city, to persecute the apostles and drive them out of their country. "but they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto iconium," a town to the s.e. of antioch, in the province of lycaonia. we must remember, that when jesus first gave commandment to his apostles to go and preach to the jews, he told them that when they left any house or city, where the people refused to hear them, they were to shake off the dust of their feet, to show that they would have nothing more to do with them: just as the jews, who looked upon the dust of heathen lands to be polluted, shook it off their garments, to signify that they had nothing to do with such idolaters. but the disciples, who were left at antioch, "were filled with joy, and with the holy ghost." they rejoiced in the knowledge of those blessed truths which they had learnt from the apostles; and the holy ghost was abundantly shed upon the members of the infant church at antioch, encouraging and assisting them to increase in faith and righteousness of life. chapter xii.--st. paul's first apostolic journey. "and it came to pass in iconium, that paul and barnabas went both together into the synagogue of the jews, and so spake, that a great multitude of the jews and also of the greeks believed. but the unbelieving jews stirred up the gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren." still the apostles abode there for a long time, speaking boldly; the lord bearing testimony to the truth of what they taught, by the miracles he enabled them to work. "but the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the jews, and part with the apostles." the result was, that the apostles were in danger of being stoned, by the joint attack of the heathens, and the jews and their rulers. but being aware of their danger, "they fled unto lystra," a town to the s.e. of iconium, "and there they preached the gospel." at lystra there was a certain man who had been lame from his birth, and had never walked, being "impotent in his feet." "the same heard paul speak," and believed. paul, "perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet." the people, seeing such a wonderful cure effected at the bidding of the apostle, immediately thought that he and barnabas were two of their imaginary gods; and cried out, "the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. and they called barnabas, jupiter," who was their chief god; "and paul, mercurius, because he was the chief speaker." mercurius, or as we call him mercury, was the god of eloquence; supposed to enable people to speak well: he was considered to be a constant attendant upon jupiter. "then the priest of jupiter, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people," to the gods whom they supposed had honoured them with a visit. oxen and bulls were sacrificed to jupiter; garlands of flowers were placed on their heads, and the priests also wore garlands. every heathen city was placed under the protection of some particular deity, called its tutelary god; whose temple or statue was set up before the city gate. the tutelary god of lystra was jupiter, the statue of "which was before the city." the apostles were dreadfully distressed at the idea of such things being done in their honour; and "they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, sirs, why do ye these things? we also are men of like passions with you"; and then they went on to tell them, that they were come on purpose to teach all people to give up worshipping idols and believing in vain gods, and to turn instead to the one only god, who made all things, and caused the fruits of the earth to grow for the food of man; and who, though in times past he had suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, had now sent his messengers, the apostles, to teach men better things. with difficulty the apostles prevented the people from doing sacrifice unto them. these people, who had been ready to worship the apostles as gods, were soon led into a contrary extreme: for certain jews came from antioch and iconium, who probably told the people of lystra, that paul and barnabas were only magicians and sorcerers; and that though they had by their wicked arts healed one cripple, they were just as likely to do harm to their fellow creatures as good. these men, "persuaded the people, and, having stoned paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city." the lord had work for him to do, and now restored him to life. what had now happened, was a warning to paul to remain no longer at lystra; "and the next day he departed with barnabas to derbe," another city of lycaonia, not far from lystra. "and when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many," they, trusting in the protection of god, went again to lystra, and to iconium, and antioch, to strengthen the faith of those whom they had already converted to christianity; "confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith"; and showing them that those who would enter into the kingdom of heaven, must expect many troubles upon earth. the apostles then appointed elders to look after and direct the affairs of every church, or body of christians in those towns, and with prayer and fasting, they commended them to the protection and blessing of "the lord, on whom they believed." st. paul and his company then journeyed through pisidia and pamphylia: "and when they had preached the word in perga," the chief city in pamphylia, "they went down into attalia," a sea-port to the s. w. of perga, "and thence sailed to antioch," in syria. this ended st. paul's first apostolic journey, which had occupied rather more than one year. at antioch they had been appointed to their work; and the protection and grace of god had been prayed for to enable them to perform it. they had now accomplished their work, and therefore they "gathered the church together," and told all that they had done, or rather "all that god had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the gentiles"--that is, how, by their preaching, god had given to the idolatrous gentiles an opportunity of becoming true believers, and members of the church,--an opportunity of which great numbers had gladly taken advantage. no doubt all the believers in antioch rejoiced greatly when they heard of the success which had attended the apostles' preaching; for all who know and love god themselves, are anxious that others should do so also. st. paul and st. barnabas abode for some time with the disciples at antioch: probably for about two years. towards the end of this period, the christians at antioch were disturbed by the mistaken teaching of certain men who came down from judæa. these men, who were jews, had belonged to the sect of the pharisees, and though now converted to be christians, they could not yet believe that all the ceremonial part of the law of moses was to be entirely done away with: therefore, when they were come to antioch, they "taught the brethren, and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of moses, ye cannot be saved." such teaching, so very different from that of the apostles, caused great distress in antioch, where most of the believers had either been proselytes of the gate, only worshipping the lord god of israel, but not observing any of the ceremonies commanded by the law of moses; or else idolaters, until they became christians. all these converts had been truly taught by st. paul and st. barnabas, that if they believed in jesus so as to obey his word, that was quite sufficient; and that they would be as acceptable in the sight of god, as if they had been jews from their birth, keeping the whole law perfectly. the christians of antioch therefore might well be frightened and distressed, at being now told that they could not obtain the salvation promised by the gospel, unless they kept all the ordinances of the mosaic law: in short, that if they wished to be saved, they must be jews as well as christians. the apostles of course opposed these jewish teachers, and tried to convince them that the gospel was all-sufficient; and that christ's disciples had but to follow their master's teaching. they do not seem, however, to have succeeded, and the perplexity of the christians continued. "when therefore paul and barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that paul and barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question"--that is, to ask james and the elders of their church, to decide, whether the jewish teachers or the apostles were to be believed. just before this time, we learn from other histories, that there had been great troubles amongst the jews in judæa. a famine had afflicted the country,--probably that which agabus had foretold. this had been followed by riots. in the year (a.d.), a roman soldier, who cared nothing for the religion of the jews, and did not look upon the temple as a holy place, profaned it in some way, and thus made the jews very angry. a great tumult was immediately raised, and several thousand jews were crushed or trampled to death, in the narrow ways leading to the temple; and other disturbances followed. these things are not mentioned in the bible, but it is well to note them, as they show us how the punishment of the jews as a nation, was continually felt, from the time when they filled up the measure of their guilt, by crucifying their messiah. it was in the year (a.d.), that st. paul and st. barnabas left antioch for jerusalem, in order to consult the church there, as to the necessity of keeping the law of moses. we read in the book of acts, that "being brought on their way by the church, they passed through phenice and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that god had done with them. but there rose up certain of the sect of the pharisees which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of moses." this last passage is not very clearly put: the last verse is what the apostles _said_ as to the reason of their coming to jerusalem. the meaning of the whole passage is, that st. paul and st. barnabas explained to the church all that it had pleased god to do by means of their preaching, and how great numbers of the gentiles had become christians, and were serving god faithfully: but that certain of the sect of the pharisees which believed, had disturbed them by saying, that it was needful that they should be circumcised like the jews, and keep all the ceremonies and ordinances commanded by the law of moses. james and the other elders of the church, having heard all that st. paul and st. barnabas had to say, saw that it was very necessary to settle a question, which was of the greatest importance to the converts from the gentiles. and they "came together for to consider of this matter," and decide upon what message should be sent back to antioch. when the apostles and elders of the church began to talk over the matter, there was much difference of opinion amongst the brethren: some being inclined to agree with the pharisees, that the law of moses ought to be observed; others thinking that the gospel was to be _instead_ of the law, and not added to it. this gave rise to a great deal of discussion and argument; each side advancing their own opinions, and trying to persuade the other party to agree with them. this went on for some time, till at last, st. peter, who was present, stood up, and gave his opinion upon the matter. chapter xiii.--decision of the church as to observing the mosaical law. "and when there had been much disputing, peter rose up, and," alluding to the affair of cornelius, "said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago god made choice among us, that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." he then reminded them, that the holy ghost had been visibly poured out upon those gentile converts, showing that in the eyes of him who seeth the heart, they were as acceptable as the jewish converts; and that therefore it could not be necessary for them to observe the ceremonial part of the law, which jesus came to do away with. the jews themselves had never kept the law so perfectly as to deserve the favour of god; and now that jesus had delivered them from the observance of that law, why should the gentiles be required to observe it. "now therefore," peter asks, "why tempt ye god," why provoke ye him to anger in opposing his will, "to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? but we believe that through the grace of the lord jesus christ we shall be saved, even as they." such words from st. peter, who was well known to have been formerly of a different opinion, could not fail to produce an effect upon his hearers, who now listened quietly and patiently to what was told them by st. paul and st. barnabas. "then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to barnabas and paul, declaring what miracles and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them." when these two apostles had ended their history, and "held their peace," james, the ruler and director of the church, declared it to be his opinion, that it was most certainly the will of god, that the gentiles should be received into the christian church _without_ being required to keep the law, as the jewish teachers had insisted; and that this had been the intention of the lord from the beginning, and had been accordingly foretold by the prophets. "wherefore," said he, "my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the gentiles are turned to god: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. for moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day." this speech of st. james requires a little explanation. the law of moses required that animals used for food should be killed in a particular way; and a jew was to be considered as unclean, if he ate any meat not prepared in this manner. much of the meat eaten by the gentiles, was the flesh of animals offered in sacrifice to their false gods, or idols: to eat of such food polluted a jew,--that is, made him unclean. now, an idol was in reality nothing, nor did it signify how food was prepared, if it was eaten with thankfulness. but at that time there were very many jewish converts who had long kept the law of moses, and held that to eat of meat offered to idols, or of the flesh of animals "strangled," instead of being killed as the law required, did pollute a man, and render him unclean. st. james therefore considered, that for the present, it would be better for the gentile converts to abstain from animal food, prepared in a different way from what the jews thought lawful, that they might not offend them; and that they might, moreover, show that they had given up offering any sacrifices to idols. st. james therefore thought it well, in excusing them from most of the observances of the law, to caution the gentile converts not only to keep themselves free from all manner of sin, but also to avoid every appearance of idolatry. the reason which st. james gives for this decision is, that as the law of moses was read every sabbath day, and reverenced by all the jewish converts, it was better not to disregard such ordinances, though in themselves they were matters of indifference. what st. james said was approved of by the other members of the church. "then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to antioch with paul and barnabas; namely, judas surnamed barsabas, and silas, chief men among the brethren: and they wrote letters by them," bidding the gentile converts at antioch not to be troubled by the teaching of the jewish teachers, saying, "for it seemed good to the holy ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. fare ye well." in this letter, st. paul and st. barnabas are spoken of as "beloved," "men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ": and the christians of antioch are told, that judas and silas have been sent, in order that they might explain more fully what had been written on the subject, about which st. james and the church at jerusalem had been consulted. sending these two brethren was a very wise measure. had st. paul and st. barnabas returned alone, the jewish teachers might have raised a question, as to how far they, being interested in the matter, could be trusted to deliver any messages correctly; but judas and silas, having nothing to do with the affair, must be regarded as unprejudiced witnesses as to what they had heard in jerusalem. judas and silas are both called prophets. "the prophets" appear to have been a class of teachers who were inspired to foretell future events, as well as to preach the gospel; but they had not so much power and authority as the apostles. then, again, there were other teachers, who were not prophets. god gave different gifts and powers to different men, according to the work he appointed for them to do. it is the same now: we have not all the same power, but each one of us should try to do _all_ we _can_ to serve god, and do good to our fellow creatures. the letters being written, and delivered to judas and silas, the apostles were dismissed, and "came to antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: which when" the christian brethren "had read, they rejoiced for the consolation" it had given them, in the assurance that they were by no means called upon to keep the whole law of moses. judas and silas made themselves very useful at antioch; for they "exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them" in the faith. "and after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles" in jerusalem. but one only availed himself of this permission: for "it pleased silas to abide there still," and therefore he remained in antioch with st. paul and st. barnabas, "teaching and preaching the word of the lord." many other teachers also helped them; and thus another year passed away. we next read that, "some days after, paul said unto barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the lord, and see how they do." this was a very good thought: another visit from the apostles would be a great comfort to the christians of iconium, lystra, derbe, and other places; and especially to the elders of those churches, who would be glad to have their advice on many subjects. st. barnabas was very willing to go; but now a dispute arose, which caused the separation of these two apostles; for "barnabas determined to take with them mark," his nephew; "but paul thought not good to take with them" one who had left them on their first journey as soon as they landed in pamphylia; "and went not with them to the work," of preaching to the gentiles in asia minor. differences of opinion will arise amongst the best of men, and so far there was nothing wrong in the conduct of the apostles: but, alas! instead of seeking counsel from god, and settling the matter peaceably, scripture tells us that "the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other." it is sad to hear of these two holy men parting from each other in anger; but it is a warning to us to keep a strict watch over all _our_ words, that we may not fall into that strife, which is so displeasing in the eyes of god. let us always remember that no dispute or quarrel, can be carried on unless both parties give way to sinful feelings. differences must arise; and even if we feel it our duty not to give up our own design, we can, by gentleness, forbearance, and self-denial, prevent any "sharp contention," even though we may thus be obliged to offend our adversary. where no principle of right is concerned, we should give up our own wishes for the sake of "living peaceably with all men," as the gospel enjoins us to do. st. paul was afraid to trust st. mark: he had failed once; and perhaps the apostle was too stern in his condemnation of his fault, and too unwilling to believe in his repentance. st. barnabas, on the other hand, from his nearer connexion with st. mark, felt that he might now be trusted; and he was probably angry with st. paul for not also believing this. a little calm and quiet talk might perhaps have settled the matter; or, at any rate, might have led to an amicable separation, instead of "a sharp contention," which parted them asunder. however it was, this unhappy dispute was overruled for the good of the church; because by going separately, these two zealous apostles could visit many more places than they could have done, had they continued to journey together. we must remember also, that though these apostles were for the moment angry with each other, these feelings did not last; and, some years afterwards, we find st. mark the companion of st. paul. at the time of which we are now speaking, however, "barnabas took mark, and sailed unto cyprus." how long he stayed there, or where he went afterwards, we are not told; but we may be sure that, wherever he went, his words strengthened the faith of believers, whilst he laboured to bring fresh converts into the church. "and paul chose silas" to accompany him on his second apostolic journey, "and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of god. and he went through syria and" the neighbouring province of "cilicia, confirming the churches." he then went northward into lycaonia; and at either derbe or lystra he found a young man, called timotheus, or timothy, one of the believers, who was well spoken of by other christians in those parts, because they saw that in all things he tried to obey jesus, and follow his example. the mother of timothy was called eunice, and his grandmother lois. both these women were jewesses, but had become christians many years before. eunice then married the father of timothy, by birth a greek, but then a proselyte of the gate, worshipping the god of israel, but not observing the law of moses. as soon as the little timothy was old enough to learn, his mother eunice had carefully taught him the things of god, and instructed him in the faith of jesus christ: so that now, by the blessing of god, he was a true christian. many children are taught nothing while they are young, and know no more of god and jesus christ than if they were heathens. we must pity and pray for them; and children who have the blessing of being early taught these things, should show their thankfulness, by trying to _learn_ and _do_ all that the gospel teaches. no teaching can _make_ a child _love_ and _serve_ god; but no one can love or serve him unless they learn how to do so. therefore children should pay the greatest attention to all that is taught from the bible and prayer book, praying to god that the holy spirit may help them to do whatever they see to be right. chapter xiv.--paul and silas at philippi. timothy had paid attention to the teaching of his mother, praying for grace to perceive and know what things he ought to do; and striving earnestly to fulfil the same: and now, st. paul, seeing that such a young man would be most useful in preaching both to jews and gentiles, "would have him to go forth with him" on his journey: and he "took and circumcised him because of the jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a greek." as the son of a jewess, timothy would be supposed to have been circumcised; and the jews, finding that this was not the case, and knowing that his father had been a heathen, would probably have been unwilling to listen to him; and thus his usefulness would have been sadly interfered with. circumcision, in timothy's case, was _unnecessary_, but there was nothing _wrong_ in it; and therefore, to avoid giving offence to the jews, st. paul acted as we have heard. taking timothy with him, st. paul now continued his journey. "and as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at jerusalem," that is, the decrees concerning the observance of the law of moses by the gentiles. and so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. after preaching the gospel in phrygia and galatia, st. paul and his companions would have gone into other parts of asia minor, but the spirit of god made it known to them, that they were not to do so: they went therefore to troas, a sea-port quite in the northern part of the archipelago. here st. paul's little band of followers was increased, for st. luke joined them; and from this time, in relating what happened, st. luke writes "we" and "us," showing that he was one of those concerned in the events he describes. besides writing the book of acts, st. luke wrote the gospel which bears his name. we know nothing of st. luke, except that he was a jew and a physician: he was probably a native of antioch, in syria. st. luke tells us that, at troas, st. paul saw in a vision a man of macedonia, who stood and prayed him, saying, "come over into macedonia, and help us." st. paul, rightly looking upon this as a call from god, immediately embarked on board a ship, and sailing by the island of samothracia, landed at neapolis, a sea-port of thracia. macedonia had once been a separate kingdom, but the romans, who had in the apostles' time got possession of all that country called greece, had divided the whole into two great parts: one of these contained macedonia, thessaly, and epirus, but went by the name of macedonia: the other division, called achaia, contained the rest of greece, including the peloponnesus. from neapolis st. paul proceeded to philippi, which was "the chief city of that part of macedonia," and a roman colony: that is, it was peopled or inhabited by the descendants of romans, who had been placed there by julius cæesar and by the emperor augustus. the place had got the name of philippi long before, from philip then king of macedonia, who repaired the buildings of the city, and added many handsome new ones. philip was the father of alexander the great, a famous king, of whom we read much in ancient history. both philip and alexander lived and died more than years before jesus christ was born. st. paul and his companions remained some time at philippi; and st. luke says, "on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." besides the synagogues, or buildings for public worship, the jews had also, in every place where they took up their residence, smaller buildings or oratories, to which people might constantly resort for the purposes of prayer. these oratories were generally built in the fields, or by the side of a stream. to one of these oratories, close to the city of philippi, st. paul and his companions went, that they might speak of the lord jesus christ, to those who went there to worship the lord god of israel. amongst their first converts was "a certain woman named lydia," a native of the city of thyatira, in asia minor, but resident in philippi for the purposes of trade. scripture says, she was a "seller of purple": what this may mean, we do not exactly know; but it probably means, that she sold some fine materials for female dress. at any rate, she had become a "proselyte of the gate," and worshipped god: and the lord "opened her heart," so "that she attended unto the things which were spoken of paul," with a sincere desire to learn; and in consequence became a real convert to christianity, inducing all the members of her family to follow her example. "and when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, if ye have judged me to be faithful to the lord, come into my house, and abide there." eager to show her sincerity by _doing_ something for the service of god, she now anxiously sought to be of use to the messengers of jesus for their lord's sake; and entreated them to take up their abode in her house. st. luke adds, "and she constrained us"--that is, so urged and entreated, as to force them to do as she wished. we now read, "and it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying." this damsel seems to have been a slave, who, being possessed by an evil spirit, spake in a mysterious way, foretelling future events: and as the heathens were great believers in such things, many of them consulted this unfortunate girl, and gave her money for exercising her powers. this money went to her masters, to whom she thus brought much gain. the lord now chose this damsel, to give a proof that he can constrain even evil spirits to bear testimony to the truth of christ's religion; for st. luke says, "the same followed paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the most high god, which shew unto us the way of salvation." the damsel at philippi, though under the influence of the evil spirit, was constrained by a higher power to bear evidence to the truth of doctrines, calculated to overthrow the empire of satan. "and this did she many days. but paul, being grieved" to see her under the dominion of an evil spirit, "turned, and said to the spirit, i command thee in the name of jesus christ to come out of her. and he came out the same hour": thus putting an end to all future soothsaying. "and when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone," they were greatly enraged, and "caught paul and silas and drew them into the market-place unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, these men, being jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being romans." such an accusation was sure to gain immediate attention from the magistrates, or governors of the city, as the roman emperors were very severe in any cases of rebellion or opposition, in their distant provinces: and though there was at that time no express law against christianity, there was a law requiring all persons to worship the gods of the country; and christianity was, of course, opposed to all idolatrous practices. covetousness, or a sinful love of money, is, we are told, the root of much evil: the masters of the damsel cared not how much st. paul preached the gospel, as long as it did not interfere with their gains; but as soon as it did, they raised an outcry against the apostles. now let us remember that covetousness, or an eager desire for our own gain, whether of riches, honours, or pleasures, is just as great a sin now, as it was when the scriptures were first written; and let us try never to let any thoughts of our own advantage or gain, lead us to _do_ or _allow_ what we know to be wrong; or _prevent_ our doing what we feel is right. these men succeeded in their persecution of paul and silas, for "the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates," without further consideration, "rent off their clothes," preparatory to their being scourged, "and commanded to beat them. and when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely." the jailor, having received so special a charge, determined to keep it: and therefore "thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks"--a machine fixed to the floor, having round holes just to go round the ancles, so that when it was shut upon them, it was quite impossible for the poor prisoners to move. now imagine the sufferings of st. paul and his companion: bleeding and smarting from the severe wounds made by the scourge, and their feet so confined, that they could get no ease by any change of posture! we might expect to find them lamenting over their terrible sufferings, or, at least, praying to god to deliver them. but the scripture tells us, "and at midnight paul and silas prayed, and sang praises unto god": their faith was great; they rejoiced to suffer for the sake of jesus, and they praised god for all his wondrous works: they sang from their hearts with loud voice, and the other "prisoners heard them." no doubt such joyful songs, from the lips of those whom they knew to be in pain, surprised their fellow prisoners, who had soon a greater cause for astonishment. the prayers and praises of paul and silas went up to god: "and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. and the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled." the jailor knew full well, that if the prisoners under his charge had escaped from prison, he would surely be put to death by the roman magistrates; and, to avoid the disgrace of such a death, he was about to kill himself. being a heathen, he did not know, as christians do, that it is a fearful sin to put an end to our own lives: and therefore, rather than be punished for a fault of which he was not guilty, he prepared to kill himself. "but paul," knowing his intention, "cried with a loud voice, saying, do thyself no harm: for we are all here. then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling." having thus convinced himself that his prisoners were indeed still in the prison, the jailor felt at once that the apostles were certainly holy men, the messengers of god. no doubt he knew that for preaching the gospel they had been cast into prison, and the wonderful things which he had now seen, convinced him that all they had said was true: therefore he "fell down" on his knees "before paul and silas, and brought them out" of prison, "and said, sirs, what must i do to be saved? and they said, believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." what blessed words! and then they doubtless explained to him that the faith here spoken of, meant such a belief in jesus, as would lead to repentance for all sin so displeasing to him, and make men strive to do all in their power to please him: for to believe the gospel, means to do all that the gospel teaches. such, no doubt, was the apostles' teaching, as "they spake unto him the word of the lord, and to all that were in his house." the jailor showed his gratitude to the apostles by doing all he could for their relief and comfort: for "he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes." "and when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in god with all his house." convinced and truly converted from the errors of idolatry to a belief of the truth as it is in jesus, the jailor of philippi with his family were at once admitted as members of the christian church; he "was baptized, he and all his, straightway." chapter xv.--st. paul leaves philippi. it would seem that the magistrates of philippi, upon thinking calmly over the matter, felt that they had acted hastily and unjustly, in commanding two men to be scourged and put into prison, without a trial; for we read, "and when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants," officers under their command, to the jailor, "saying, let those men go." the keeper of the prison, well pleased to receive such an order, told this to paul, saying, "the magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. but paul said unto" the serjeants who stood by, "they have beaten us openly uncondemned, being romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out." now in order to understand all this, we must remember that the romans, who thought themselves greatly superior to any other people in the world, were very jealous of their power and privileges as citizens of rome. thus, if a roman citizen was ill treated, the roman government would severely punish any one who had dared to ill treat him. all persons whose parents were natives and citizens of rome, were looked upon as _free-born_ citizens; and enjoyed from their birth, all the rights and privileges given by the roman government to her subjects. persons not born of roman citizens, if they had done good service, either by fighting for rome, or in any other way, were often rewarded by receiving the _freedom of the city_; that is, by being looked upon and treated as roman citizens, and having an equal share in all the privileges and benefits, granted to such romans as _were_ free-born. st. paul was not a native of rome, nor were his parents; for they were jews, settled at tarsus, in cilicia: probably some of his ancestors, his grandfather or great-grandfather, had served in the roman armies, and been rewarded for some great service, by receiving the freedom of the city: after which, all his descendants would be looked upon as free-born citizens of rome. the roman emperors sometimes allowed strangers to _buy_ the privileges: the emperor claudius did so: and for a large sum of money allowed people to have _for themselves_ the privileges of a roman citizen--a great advantage in those days, as the rulers of every roman province were bound to protect every roman citizen in it, and not suffer any one to be ill treated. to scourge and imprison a roman citizen, without having first _proved_ him to have been guilty of some great crime, was an offence which the roman government punished most severely; and therefore, we find that when the serjeants went back, and "told these words unto the magistrates, they feared, when they heard that they were romans. and they came and besought them" not to report the treatment they had received, "and brought them out" of prison, "and desired (or entreated) them to depart out of the city." we may be quite sure that st. paul neither valued nor used the privileges of a roman, further than they could serve to the glory of god. in this case, many of the people who had seen him and silas beaten and cast into prison, would naturally think that they must have done something wrong: this would prevent the people from listening to what they taught. it was necessary, therefore, that st. paul should show clearly that he had _not_ deserved any punishment; and that the magistrates themselves acknowledged, that they had sinned in treating him in such a manner. st. paul, by his conduct, plainly proved his innocence of all offence. "and they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed." of course the brethren were very sorry to lose st. paul; but now that he had established a church at philippi, they could go on without him, whilst his teaching was much wanted in other places: and consequently, he and silas journeyed on to the south-west. "now when they had passed through amphipolis and apollonia," preaching the gospel no doubt, though we hear nothing as to their success, they went to thessalonica, an important city of macedonia, and one in which many jews resided; for there was a synagogue there. "and paul, as his manner was, went in unto them" in their synagogue, "and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures": showing that those holy writings, prophesied both the sufferings and the rising again of christ the messiah; and then plainly telling them, "this jesus, whom i preach unto you, is christ," the promised messiah, of whom your scriptures speak. "and some of them believed, and consorted with paul and silas; and of the devout greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." as usual, the jews were more bitter against the gospel than the gentiles; and we read that "the jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,"--men of no principle, ready at any time to do any mischief which came in their way: by the help of these men, the jews "gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted (or attacked) the house of jason," where they supposed the apostles to be, "and sought to bring them out to the people," who, in their excited state, would probably have put them to death without further inquiry. jason was one of those who had become a christian, and he appears to have shown hospitality to the apostles, and lodged them in his house; though the mob did not find them there, when they assaulted the house. "and when they found them not, they drew jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, these (men) that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of cæsar, saying that there is another king, one jesus. and they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things." but the rulers could find no cause to punish jason or the other brethren that were dragged with him before the judgment seat, so "they let them go," "when they had taken security of them." what this "security" was, we do not know; probably some promise not to entertain the apostles, nor to rebel against the roman emperor. by "turning the world upside down," the accusers of jason meant, that what the apostles taught was so different to anything ever heard of before, that it would quite alter everything, and make the world no longer like the same place. this, let us remember, is exactly what the gospel was meant to do. it was not considered advisable for the apostles to remain longer at thessalonica, where the people were too much enraged to listen to them; and therefore, "the brethren immediately sent away paul and silas by night unto berea." there was a synagogue of the jews also at berea, whither, when it was neither useful nor safe for them to remain at thessalonica, paul and silas were sent; "who coming thither went into the synagogue of the jews. these were more noble (more liberal-minded and unprejudiced) than those in thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, (listened willingly to the teaching of the apostles,) and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so": they compared the teaching of st. paul with the written word of the old testament, in order to see whether they were justified in believing all he taught them. the consequence of this was, that many of the jews believed; "also of honourable women which were greeks, and of men, not a few." but when the unbelieving jews of thessalonica, heard that the people of berea were listening to st. paul and becoming christians, some of them came down on purpose to try and put an end to his preaching. they easily found plenty of unbelieving jews and gentiles ready for mischief, and stirred them up to make a riot: the brethren now acted as those at thessalonica had done, and fearing for the apostle's safety, immediately "sent away paul to go as it were to the sea: but silas and timotheus abode," still in berea. two or three of the brethren went with st. paul to guard him from danger. we read, "and they that conducted paul brought him unto athens," either by sea or by land; "and receiving a commandment," that is, a message, from him "unto silas and timotheus," bidding them "for to come to him with all speed, they departed" to return unto berea; leaving st. paul alone at athens. athens was the chief city of achaia, the other province which, with macedonia, formed what the romans then called "greece." athens long before this had been a powerful and famous city: it was founded, or begun to be built, by a king called cecrops, who came over from asia during the time that the israelites were in bondage in egypt, before moses was born. in the course of time athens became, as we have said, a great and powerful city; full of beautiful temples and other buildings: some of these are even standing now; and a great many ruins are to be seen, all showing how magnificent the city must once have been. in st. paul's time, athens, like most other cities and countries in the known world, was under the dominion of the romans; and the athenians, or inhabitants of the city, were quite devoted to the worship of false gods: we are told that there were more idols to be seen at athens, than could be found in any other place. now while st. paul waited at athens, for silas and timotheus to join him, "his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." grieved at the state of the athenians, the apostle felt eager to try and teach them better things: "his spirit was stirred in him; therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the jews, and with the devout persons," proselytes of the gate, "and in the market daily with them that met with him"; who must have been for the most part gentiles, or heathen idolaters. the market, as has been explained, was a public place, where people met for business of all kinds; and to talk to each other upon any subjects of importance. there were at this time in athens, a great many wise and clever men, fond of learning: such men were called "philosophers." these philosophers held different opinions; some believing one thing, some another; and as they each wished to bring people over to join them, they constantly spake in the market-place, explaining their doctrines, and persuading men to believe in them. two chief sects (or parties) of these philosophers, were the epicureans and the stoics. the epicureans thought that the gods were only so in name, and that there was no divine power whatever to rule over the world; therefore they held, that the wisest thing was, for every man to do exactly what he liked best, and only to think of his own pleasure, as long as he lived. the stoics believed, that there were gods who ruled all things in the world so completely, that man became a mere machine, not answerable for his own conduct; so that he could never be said to do right or wrong: thus they taught, that the only real wisdom was to learn to bear with _indifference_ whatever the gods caused to happen to them, whether it was what men call good or evil, happiness or misery. both these "systems of philosophy" (or sets of opinions), were equally contrary to all that st. paul was appointed to teach. we read, "then certain of the epicureans, and of the stoics, encountered him." but when they had heard, his teaching, "some said, what will this babbler say?"-mocking the apostle as if he had been talking nonsense, without any meaning, just from a love of "babbling," or talking foolishly. others said, "he seemeth to be a setter-forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them jesus, and the resurrection." so little did all their wisdom help them to understand spiritual things, that they fancied the resurrection of which st. paul spake, was some _female deity_ called by that name, instead of understanding it to be an action done by jesus, whom st. paul preached. the god of whom st. paul spake, was indeed a strange god unto the athenian philosophers! but instead of ill using the preacher, they, like sensible men, determined to hear more on the subject. chapter xvi.--st. paul before the areopagus. we have said that the philosophers of athens were desirous to hear more of st. paul's doctrines. "and they took him, and brought him unto areopagus, saying, may we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean." the areopagus was a court of justice, the chief court in athens; and one of its duties was, to pay particular attention to all matters relating to religion, or the worship of the gods. the members of this court met in a building erected upon a certain hill dedicated to mars, the god of war; and thence called mars' hill. st. paul was now brought before this court, that he might give an account of the new doctrines which he had begun to teach in athens. the athenians were so fond of learning, that whenever they heard anything which they did not understand, they were anxious to inquire into it, and see what it did mean. to a certain degree this was right, for we should all try to get as much knowledge as we can, as to good and useful things. but the athenians were too curious; for st. luke tells us, that "all the athenians and strangers which were" in the city, "spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing": and from other writers we learn, that the athenians went from place to place in order to meet others, and hear if there was anything new. now this love of change and novelty, or "new things," is a great fault, and one which often leads us into sin. if we are always wishing for some _new_ occupation or business, we shall never do anything well: if we are longing and seeking for _new_ amusements, we shall not enjoy what we have: if children are always wishing for _new_ toys, they will cease to care about the old ones. therefore all this desire for novelty and change will lead to indolence, discontent, covetousness, and many other evil passions. let us remember that people who cultivate a contented spirit, are always happy with whatever they have: discontented people are never happy; whatever they have, they will still be wishing for something else: for it is quite impossible for anybody to have everything he wishes for. but we must go back to st. paul, standing before the court of areopagus, and desired there to give an account of his doctrines. the apostle, glad to have such an opportunity of preaching the gospel before the chief men in athens, now stood up, and spake gently and kindly. he began by telling them, that as he had gone about their city looking at the different images to which they bowed down, and at the different altars set up for the worship of those whom they called gods, he had found one, bearing an inscription "to the unknown god." this showed that they were "too superstitious," for to worship a god of whom they knew nothing, was superstition rather than religion. this ignorance, therefore, st. paul now proposed to remove, so that the unknown god might no longer be so to them: "whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare i unto you." before we proceed with what st. paul said to the athenians on this subject, we will see how they came to dedicate an altar to "the unknown god." some time before this, there had been a plague or pestilence in athens; that is, a bad illness, which spread from one person to another, until thousands of people died of it. in vain did the athenians pray to all their false gods to stop it: such prayers of course _could_ have no effect, and the pestilence went on killing the people. at last a number of sheep were taken to mars' hill, and there set at liberty, to go wherever they pleased, followed by men, appointed to watch them. whenever one of these sheep laid down, it was immediately sacrificed to "the propitious god." "propitious" means favourable, kind, willing to grant a request, or supply a want. the sheep were thus sacrificed to that one amongst the gods, who would be kind enough to put an end to the pestilence. soon afterwards it did please the almighty to remove this terrible plague: the athenians of course attributed their deliverance to one of their gods; but as they could not tell which one of them had been "the propitious god," they set up this altar to "the unknown god," who had come to their help in the time of trouble. we know very well that the lord god almighty can alone take away disease and sickness, or any other trouble; and therefore, though the athenians did not mean it so, they had really dedicated this altar to the one true god, of whom st. paul spake. well therefore did st. paul, when speaking to them of the unknown god, say, "whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare i unto you." st. paul then told the athenians, that he whom they worshipped as the unknown god, was the lord who had made the world and all things in it: that he gave life and breath and all things to his creatures, and did not require to be worshipped with sacrifices and gifts, as though he needed anything at the hands of man. st. paul said, also, that god had made men, in order that they might love and serve him as their father: and he reminded them, that one of their own poets had said, "for we are also his offspring." the poet here meant, was one called aratus: he was born in cilicia, but had probably lived and studied in athens, so that the athenians considered him as one of their own poets, and were well acquainted with his poem 'on the heavenly bodies'; from which st. paul quoted a line. st. paul proceeded to explain, that the lord god almighty, their "unknown god," was a very different being to idols of gold, or silver, or stone, made or "graven by art and man's device." and he told the athenians, that although the lord god had hitherto forborne to punish those, who in ignorance worshipped idols, that time was now past; for now, said the apostle, he "commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained"; meaning the lord jesus christ, who shall come to judge the quick and dead: and as a proof that god would do this, st. paul mentioned that jesus christ himself had already risen from the grave, saying, "whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." when the athenians heard st. paul speaking "of the resurrection of the dead," it seemed to them so impossible that a dead man should ever come back to life, that they quite laughed at his words: "some mocked; and others said, we will hear thee again of this matter. so paul departed from among them"; apparently without having made any impression upon his hearers: but it was not so, for in spite of the unbelief and ridicule of many, we read, "howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was dionysius the areopagite," that is, a member of the court of areopagus, "and a woman named damaris, and others with them." "after these things, paul departed from athens, and came to corinth"; another city of achaia, in that part of greece which used to be called the peloponnesus, or rather on the isthmus which joined the peloponnesus to the rest of greece, and took its name from this town. the situation of corinth, with sea on both sides, made it an important place for trade; because ships could easily come there from different countries, to sell the merchandise they brought with them, and buy such things as they wanted to take home. by means of their trade, the inhabitants of corinth had become very rich; their city was flourishing; and many learned men resided in it, when st. paul now came there about a.d. . a little before this time, the roman emperor claudius, had for some reason or other, banished the jews from rome. we do not know the reason, but it seems likely that it was because there had been a famine in rome, which the people foolishly thought was the fault of the jews, whom they hated; and so to satisfy the people, and prevent any disturbance, claudius commanded all jews to leave the city. among the jews thus obliged to leave rome, was a man named aquila, born in pontus, a country to the n.e. of galatia, on the black sea: he was therefore one of the jews called "grecians," because, though his parents were jews, he was not born in the land of judæa. when he was obliged to leave rome, aquila and his wife priscilla settled in corinth, where they greatly helped st. paul. whether they had become believers before they left rome or afterwards, we do not know; but they were christians when st. paul came to corinth, and were probably known in some way to the apostle, for he "came unto them. and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent-makers." the jews had a saying, that "every man who does not teach his son some trade, teaches him to be a thief"--in which there is a great deal of truth; for if a man has learnt no trade by which he can support himself honestly, there is great danger of his being tempted to obtain a living by dishonest means. it was therefore the custom amongst the jews, even of the higher classes, who like st. paul had been well educated as to letters, to teach their sons some "craft" or occupation, whereby they could, if ever it became necessary, earn money to provide themselves with food and clothes, and such things as are needful. st. paul had learnt the trade of tent-making; and he now abode with aquila and priscilla, working with them for his daily bread, whilst every sabbath he "reasoned in the synagogue, and persuaded the jews and the greeks": trying, that is, to bring them to believe in jesus christ. at corinth, st. paul was joined by silas and timotheus, who had remained at berea when he was so suddenly sent to athens: they had afterwards returned to thessalonica, from whence they now came to corinth, and gave st. paul an account of what they had been doing since he left them. in consequence of what he now heard from silas and timotheus, st. paul wrote an epistle or letter to the thessalonians, who had become christians. in this letter, st. paul tells the thessalonians, how thankful he is to hear that those who had become christians, were trying to do all that the gospel taught them they ought to do: and then he assures them, that he prays to god to give them more and more faith, and to make them love jesus better and better. then the apostle warned them not to listen to any teachers, who might try to teach them anything different to what he, and silas, and timothy, had already taught them. st. paul also told the thessalonian christians, that they must endeavour to be good and holy; and he gave them many particular directions for their conduct, one of which is, "pray without ceasing." the apostle ends his letter with a prayer, that god will keep them free from all sin both in body and soul. this letter of st. paul's is to be found in the bible, where it is called, "the first epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalonians." chapter xvii.--st. paul finishes his second apostolic journey. after timothy and silas had joined st. paul, he spake still more plainly and decidedly to the jews at corinth, wishing to make them follow the example of their brethren at thessalonica: but when he tried to convince them that jesus was indeed the messiah, they would not listen to him, but "opposed themselves, and blasphemed." then "he shook his raiment, and said unto them, your blood be upon your own heads; i am clean: from henceforth i will go unto the gentiles." st. paul meant by this, that if by their own obstinacy they _would_ provoke the lord to punish them, he was not to blame, for he had tried to teach them what was right: and that from henceforth he would preach only to the gentiles in corinth, and have nothing more to say to the jews; and he shook his raiment, as a sign that he would have nothing more to do with them. when st. paul had thus spoken to the jews in their synagogue, "he departed thence," ceasing to preach in the synagogue, "and entered into a certain man's house, named justus, one that worshipped god" as a proselyte of the gate, "whose house joined hard to the synagogue." most probably he had in his house some large room, in which it was convenient for st. paul to preach: and here he converted many. "and crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the lord with all his house; and many of the corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized." st. paul was at this time greatly encouraged by a vision. we read, "then spake the lord to paul in the night by a vision, be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for i am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for i have much people in this city,"--many, that is, who, from hearing st. paul, would become true christians. thus encouraged, he continued in corinth "a year and six months, teaching the word of god among them." during the eighteen months which st. paul spent in corinth, he appears to have written "the epistle to the galatians," which was probably written before that to the thessalonians. st. paul had, as we have heard, preached in galatia before he went into macedonia. it seems, however, that the galatians had not continued steadfast in the faith; and the apostle now writes kindly, to express his surprise at their having fallen away from the gospel they had once received; warning them seriously not to believe any doctrines contrary to those which he had taught them: for that he had been chosen by the lord in a miraculous manner to be an apostle, and the doctrines which he taught to others he had received from god himself. he also reminds the galatians, that no man could obtain salvation by the works of the law, since none could do them perfectly, and that it is through faith in jesus only, that all men, whether jews or gentiles, can be saved. before closing his epistle, st. paul gives a list of the works of the flesh, or sinful nature of man, and of the works of the spirit. this list we shall do well to study, and also to take as addressed to ourselves the apostle's exhortation, "walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh": remembering always, that "they that are christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." from corinth, at this time, st. paul also wrote his second epistle to the thessalonians; expressing his thankfulness that in the midst of persecutions they were increasing in faith; and he encourages them to persevere, by reminding them of that day when christ shall come to judge the world, and reward the faithful with everlasting life. he then begged those to whom he wrote, to pray that the gospel preached by him might be received by others as it had been by them; and he prays for them, that the lord will "direct their hearts into the love of god, and into the patient waiting for christ." st. paul was not allowed to rest undisturbed at corinth, for when gallio was deputy-governor, or pro-consul, of achaia, "the jews made insurrection with one accord against paul; and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, this fellow persuadeth men to worship god contrary to the law,"--meaning their own law, the law of moses. st. paul was going to speak in answer to this charge, but gallio interrupted him, and told the jews that if they had any wickedness, or crime, to accuse st. paul of, he must of course listen to the charge; and adding, "but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for i will be no judge of such matters." gallio, a heathen, despised both jews and christians, and cared nothing about the law of moses, whether it were observed or not; therefore he would not listen to the jews: "and he drave them from the judgment seat." "then all the greeks took sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat." why the greeks beat this jew, we are not told. some think that sosthenes was favourable to st. paul, and that on this account the jews stirred up the heathens to treat him in this way. but it seems more likely that sosthenes was one of the most bitter enemies of the apostle, and had been particularly anxious to get him punished; and that the greeks thought that beating him severely, would be the most likely way of putting a stop to any future disturbance from the jews. however that might be, "gallio cared for none of those things": though, as governor and judge of a province, he was neglecting his duty by allowing _any_ man to be treated in such a way. soon after this, st. paul left corinth for a time. when st. paul left corinth, soon after the affair with gallio, it would seem that he went to the island of crete, or candia, and there left one of his companions, called titus, to direct the affairs of the christian church in that country. we know nothing of titus, except that his parents were gentiles, and that he was converted to christianity by st. paul, who would not allow him to be circumcised, lest it should be thought a proof of the _necessity_ of circumcision, which the church had declared to be _unnecessary_ for those heathens who embraced the gospel. titus was highly esteemed by st. paul, who speaks of him as his "partner" and "fellow helper"; showing that he greatly helped him in his work. we do not exactly know where st. paul went to from crete: there is reason to believe that in trying to return to corinth he encountered a storm, and was driven by the wind to the western coast of greece, and there shipwrecked, and forced to take refuge in the city of nicopolis. here the apostle determined to spend the winter, that he might preach the gospel to the inhabitants of illyricum--a country to the north, forming the eastern shore of the adriatic sea. from nicopolis he appears to have written the epistle to titus, giving him directions as to his own conduct, and telling him what sort of men he must choose to help him in teaching the people of crete. st. paul also told titus to be very careful to teach all who became christians, that they must try to be good, and lead holy lives, following in all things the example of the lord jesus christ. from nicopolis, in due time, st. paul went back to corinth. in the book of acts we read nothing of this little journey of st. paul's. st. luke does not of course tell us everything that the apostle did, and he speaks as if he had remained at corinth all the time. speaking of st. paul's final departure from corinth, st. luke says, "and paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into syria, and with him priscilla and aquila; having shorn his head in cenchrea: for he had a vow." this vow must either have been a vow of nazaritism, already mentioned (vol. ii. p. ), which st. paul had on some occasion taken in order to please the jews; or some other vow, which he had made in acknowledgment of the goodness and mercy of god. cenchrea was a small sea-port, not far from corinth; and from thence st. paul and his company, with aquila and priscilla, sailed to syria; and then proceeded to ephesus, a large town in lydia. ephesus was particularly celebrated for its beautiful and magnificent temple, erected in honour of the heathen goddess diana, and set apart for her worship. this diana, one of the pretended deities of the heathen, was supposed to rule all things belonging to the chase--to be the goddess of hunting. the moon was looked upon as a sign, or symbol, of diana; and under this form she was also worshipped. st. paul, as usual, preached in the synagogue at ephesus, and "reasoned with the jews," who seem to have listened willingly, and even wished him to stay on. but "when they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, i must by all means keep this feast" (of the passover) "that cometh, in jerusalem: but i will return again unto you, if god will. and he sailed from ephesus. and when he had landed at cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church" at jerusalem, and kept the passover, "he went down to antioch," a.d. ; thus ending his second apostolic journey, which had occupied about four years. st. luke has mentioned the places at which st. paul made any long stay during this time; but as we have already seen, he does not notice all his short visits to other places. in the same way, st. luke tells us all the most remarkable events that took place during these four years; but of course he cannot tell us _everything_ that the apostle did or said: just as the gospels, though they tell us all things needful for us to know, do not relate every word that jesus said, or every miracle that he worked; because, as st. john remarks, "if they should be written every one of them, the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." after st. paul had spent some time at antioch, he began his third apostolic journey: "he departed, and went over all the country of galatia and phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples,"--that is, he went again to all those places where he had before established churches, or companies of believers, to see how they were going on, and to encourage them to persevere in their endeavours to serve the lord faithfully. but in the mean time the church at ephesus was not left without a teacher; for aquila and priscilla remained there, and were no doubt of great use in reminding others of all that st. paul had taught them: and of one good work done by them st. luke gives us an account; for we read, "and a certain jew named apollos, born at alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to ephesus. this man was instructed in the way of the lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the lord, knowing only the baptism of john." alexandria was a famous city, built by alexander the great, in the north of egypt, and celebrated for the many learned men who lived in it. apollos had there studied the scriptures of the old testament, and being "eloquent," able to speak well, he taught them diligently in ephesus. but he seems to have heard only of the baptism of john, and to have known only that men were to receive the baptism of repentance, of which john spake, to prepare them for believing in the messiah, of whom john was the messenger, or forerunner. but apollos does not seem to have understood that the messiah had come, or to have known of his promise, to give the holy spirit to those who would believe in him and be baptized in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost. apollos was fervent in spirit, full of zeal; and so, as far as he knew, he taught diligently. "and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue." when aquila and priscilla heard him, "they took him unto them," probably to reside in their house, "and expounded unto him the way of god more perfectly,"--that is, they explained all that he was ignorant of; they spake to him of jesus and of his baptism, and showed him that the sins of all who believed, and were baptized, would be forgiven. apollos listened gladly to the words of aquila and priscilla, and then wished to go into greece, to teach others the things he had learnt. and when he was disposed to pass into achaia, the members of the church at ephesus wrote to those of corinth, to receive him into their company. at corinth, apollos, by his earnestness and faith, "helped them much which had believed through grace": nor was this all, "for he mightily convinced the jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that jesus was christ." chapter xviii.--st. paul and the sons of sceva. we have said that st. paul began his third apostolic journey by going again through galatia and phrygia: then, having passed through the "upper coasts" of asia minor, he came again to ephesus, after apollos had gone to corinth. at ephesus st. paul now found certain disciples, about twelve men, who had been taught by apollos, before aquila and priscilla had expounded to him the way of god more perfectly: to these men st. paul said, "have ye received the holy ghost since ye believed? and they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any holy ghost. and he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? and they said, unto john's baptism." then st. paul explained to them that john the baptist came to call all men to repentance, and that his baptism was only meant to prepare the way for that of jesus, and to lead all men to believe in him, and be baptized in the way which he should appoint. "when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus. and when paul had laid his hands upon them, the holy ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." st. paul, anxious to convert the jews, spake boldly in the synagogue for three months, "disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of god." but, as usual, many of the jews were determined not to believe; and not only rejected the truth themselves, but spake evil of it, and abused it to the multitude, so as to try and prevent their believing it either. st. paul, seeing this, would teach no longer in the synagogue; and "departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one tyrannus"; that is, he assembled all who were willing to listen to him, in a large room or "school"--a name given to those buildings or rooms used for instruction in any kind of knowledge. in the school of tyrannus, who was a teacher of some science, and probably a convert, st. paul now preached to all who would come and listen. "and this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord jesus, both jews and greeks. and god wrought special miracles by the hands of paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." they were healed by merely touching those articles which the apostle had touched. such a wonderful exercise of miraculous power must have drawn many to listen to the teaching of one, who did such things; and no doubt many, who so listened, became true christians. we must now say something of the unhappy state of the province of judæa at this time, of which the bible gives no account. a roman named felix had been made governor of judæa a.d. , whilst st. paul was at corinth: felix treated the jews cruelly, and ill-used them to such a degree, as to drive them into open rebellion; and this, of course, led to severe punishments and fresh cruelties. the whole country was in a sadly disturbed state: robbers infested every part of it; men came forward pretending to be the messiah, for the jews, who disbelieved in jesus christ, still expected the coming of the promised messiah; murders and executions took place constantly: the high priest was murdered at the very altar, and many persons were killed in the temple. in short, as josephus writes, "god seemed to have abandoned jerusalem as a detested city, and to have sent the romans, to punish the jews for their sin in rejecting and crucifying the lord jesus christ." during this dreadful time of trouble, a jew from egypt came to jerusalem, and having persuaded many of the unhappy inhabitants of judæa to believe the lies he told them, he led an immense number of them to the top of the mount of olives, promising that the lord would there work a great miracle, and deliver them and their country from the hands of the romans. of course nothing of the kind took place. many of these wretched dupes were slain by the roman soldiers, and the rest fled away, in order to save their lives. the land of judæa was indeed in a sad state; the sufferings of the jews were terrible; but they had deserved them. often and often had they been entreated to repent and believe in jesus, but they would not; and now the mercy of god was forced to give place to his just anger. let this be a warning to us christians, never to force the lord to take away his mercy from us. if, by our obstinate impenitence and continuance in sin, we force him to punish us _as we deserve_, we must perish miserably for ever. but god sees our hearts, and if we are really sorry for our sins, and are earnestly trying to conquer ourselves and resist our evil passions and desires, he will have mercy upon us, and not be extreme to mark what is done amiss. we have seen that st. paul remained for two years in ephesus, converting many by his preaching and his miracles. his success as usual raised the envy and anger of the unbelieving jews, who were anxious to draw the people away from the apostle, by making them believe that they could work miracles as well as st. paul. the means they took we shall shortly hear. the gentile inhabitants of ephesus were much given to the study of all the arts of magic, and were considered to be very clever in the practice of them. we have already spoken of sorcery, witchcraft, and magic: how far the professors of them were allowed to appear to do wonderful things by these means, we do not know; but we do know, that any attempt to have such communications with evil spirits was sinful in the sight of god, and that the jews were especially forbidden to practice any such arts, or to hold communication with those who did so. in spite of this, many of the jews did follow these sinful studies. st. luke says, "then certain of the vagabond jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the lord jesus," using that sacred name as they would have used any of their magical spells or words. "vagabond" means wandering; and we generally use the word to describe idle, worthless people, who go about begging or stealing, instead of working honestly to gain their own living. "exorcists" was only a name given to those who professed to cast out evil spirits by the arts of sorcery. "and there were seven sons of one sceva, a jew, and chief of the priests, which did so." the spiritual state of the jews must indeed have been sad, when the sons of a priest could be found thus wilfully practising arts, upon which the sentence of death was pronounced by the law! these men, seeing that when st. paul spake to the evil spirits in the name of jesus, they immediately left the bodies of those whom they had possessed, wickedly determined to use that holy name, in order to heal a man in whom was an evil spirit. and they said, "we adjure you by jesus whom paul preacheth" to come out of this man. "and the evil spirit answered and said, jesus i know, and paul i know; but who are ye?" the devils were forced to acknowledge the power of jesus, and that for his sake they must obey his servant paul; but they plainly told these jews that they were in no way subject to them: and they gave a strong proof of this, for "the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." such an event as this showed clearly that all power belonged to god alone, and that all magical arts were useless, as well as sinful. "and this was known to all the jews and greeks also dwelling at ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the lord jesus was magnified,"--more thought of, and treated with greater respect. and many that believed, who had, before they became christians, practised magical arts, now convinced of their extreme sinfulness and folly, "came and confessed, and shewed their deeds,"--expressing their repentance for these former sins. nor was this all: "many of them also which (still) used curious arts" saw the wickedness of such practices; and warned by what had happened, showed their repentance by their acts; for they "brought their books together, and burned them before all men." this was a great proof of their earnestness to put an end to the use of magical arts in others, as well as in themselves; for they did not attempt to sell these books to others, but destroyed them. the books were very valuable, for "they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver"--all this money these men were willing to sacrifice, in order to please god. this is a _warning_ as well as an example to us, who are too often unwilling to deny ourselves in anything, or make the least sacrifice in order to please or obey our lord. "so mightily grew the word of god and prevailed,"--that is, the blessed truths of the gospel spread on every side, so that the numbers of christians increased daily. st. paul, who had now been nearly three years in ephesus, began to think of continuing his journey; and "purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying, after i have been there, i must also see rome." just at this time, st. paul heard an unsatisfactory account of what was going on at corinth. we have seen that the apostle had passed eighteen months in corinth, forming a church there; and that apollos had afterwards preached the gospel in that city with great success: but very soon afterwards, false teachers rose up--that is, persons, who were not sufficiently instructed themselves, fancied that they were able to teach others. but, as they did not themselves understand the whole truth, they could not teach it to others; and therefore their imperfect teaching created great confusion, and unsettled the minds of many believers. some of these "false teachers" were converts from the gentiles, who, having been converted by apollos, now called themselves his disciples; though they mixed up with the truths he had taught them, many of the doctrines and opinions of their philosophers. some of these teachers on the other hand, were converts from amongst the jews, who would not give up the idea that it was necessary to keep the whole law of moses, observing all the forms and ceremonies ordained by it. these jewish christians called themselves followers of cephas, the greek word for peter. these two sets of teachers, both teaching doctrines contrary to the truths of the gospel as delivered to the corinthians by st. paul, made two parties in the church, so that there were constant disputes and great confusion. mean time also, many of the native corinthians, who had joined the church, began to return to the sinful ways and practices they had followed when they were heathens. this was the account that now reached st. paul at ephesus; and greatly did it grieve him. so he at once sent into macedonia two of his company, timotheus and erastus, that they might pass on to corinth, and try to put an end to all these evil doings: he himself remained at ephesus a little longer. chapter xix.--st. paul at ephesus. we have said that st. paul sent timotheus and erastus to corinth: timotheus, or timothy, has already been spoken of: of erastus we know nothing, but his name is mentioned in two of st. paul's epistles. after timothy and erastus had left ephesus, st. paul received a letter, written by those members of the christian church who had kept steadily in the right way, and not been led astray by either of the false teachers. this letter told st. paul how much the church was disturbed by their mistaken teachers, and begged for his advice and direction. in answer to this letter, st. paul wrote a long one, called "the first epistle to the corinthians." in this letter, st. paul blames the corinthians for their disputes and differences of opinion; reminding them that he, the apostle and messenger of the lord, had taught them what was right; and that therefore they should have kept fast to what they had learnt from him. he tells them, that as they have all believed in one lord jesus christ, they should live together in peace, believing and doing the same things. then addressing the teachers who had done the mischief, st. paul warns them, that if they wilfully continue to teach false doctrines, god will certainly punish them: and he exhorts all the members of the corinthian church to listen to timothy, whom he had sent on purpose that he might show them the whole truth. the apostle then gives the corinthian brethren many directions as to their personal conduct, in order that they might lead holy lives on earth, such as would be pleasing to god, and tend also to their own happiness. in the twelfth chapter of this epistle, st. paul gives a beautiful description of charity, that is, of love to god, and of love to man for his sake: and he shows that those whose hearts are really full of this charity, or love, will be gentle and humble, not thinking much of themselves, or of their own comfort or pleasure; but being ready to give up to others, striving to be kind to all, even to those who are unkind to them. in another part of this epistle, st. paul speaks of the resurrection of jesus, and of the consequent certainty that all men shall in like manner rise from the dead, though now they may not understand how such a thing can be: and he therefore entreats the corinthian brethren, to keep steadily in the faith taught by the gospel, doing the work of the lord always; remembering, that those who do serve him here in faith and love, will live with him for ever hereafter. st. paul ends his letter, by saying that he shall not come to corinth at present; but that he hopes to pass the winter with them. it was spring when st. paul wrote this letter, for he tells the corinthians, "i will tarry at ephesus until pentecost": and the feast of pentecost took place about the month of may; so that there were now a good many months before winter, when st. paul hoped, with the permission of the lord, to tarry awhile at corinth. before st. paul left ephesus, a great tumult took place in that city; for, as st. luke says, "there arose no small stir about that way,"--that is, the people were stirred up against the doctrines of christianity, so as to make a tumult in the city. "for a certain man named demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen." we have said, that the temple of diana, at ephesus, was a most beautiful and magnificent building, and people came from all parts to see this wonderful temple, and to worship before an image of diana, which was supposed by all the heathens to have been sent down direct from heaven. those who came from far distant places to worship in this famous temple, were glad to carry away some remembrance of the goddess; and strangers who only came out of curiosity, also bought the "shrines," or little models of the temple, which the silversmiths at ephesus made: these "shrines" had a small image of diana within them. by these means, the craftsmen, or workers in silver, gained a great deal of money; and the more they sold, the better it was for them. st. paul had of course taught all who listened to him, that diana was no goddess, only an imaginary being, and that it was very sinful to worship or honour her in any way: those who believed him therefore, would not buy these silver shrines, and consequently the silversmiths found their trade very much fallen off. this great loss of money, caused demetrius, one of the chief silversmiths, to call together all the craftsmen and workmen of the like occupation. when they were assembled, he said to them, "sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at ephesus, but almost throughout all asia, this paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all asia and the world worshippeth." this speech was well calculated to stir up the bad passions of all who heard it; the craftsmen would be angry at the idea of losing their wealth, whilst all the gentiles at ephesus, would be indignant that their favourite goddess and her splendid temple should be less thought of, and thus bring fewer people to ephesus, to admire and worship. this decrease in the number of strangers attracted to ephesus, would of course cause less money to be spent in the city, which would be a great loss to the inhabitants generally. when, therefore, those to whom demetrius spake, "heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, great is diana of the ephesians." what demetrius had said to the craftsmen whom he had called together, spread quickly throughout the city: "and the whole city was filled with confusion"--the people were now ready for any mischief; and meeting with two of st. paul's companions, gaius and aristarchus, they caught them, and "rushed with one accord into the theatre"--a large building, in which public shows and games took place, and which was also used for assemblies of the people, when any important occasion brought them together. when st. paul understood what had happened, he would have gone also into the theatre to speak to the people; but the disciples, fearing that they might do the apostle some mischief, suffered him not to go in. "and certain of the chief of asia, which were his friends," knowing that in the present excited state of the people, st. paul's life would be in danger amongst them, "sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre." the persons here spoken of as chiefs of asia, were the rulers of the provinces into which asia minor was divided: they were called "asiarchs," and were chosen from amongst the men of wealth and rank in the different provinces. their office was to direct all religious ceremonies and solemnities; and to celebrate at their own expense, public games in the theatre, in honour of the heathen gods. it seems probable that at this very time, public shows and games were going on in the city of ephesus; and that some of the asiarchs who were his friends, feared that if st. paul now went into the theatre, the people might lay hold of him, and throw him to the wild beasts, whose fights with one another were generally a part of all the public games. in after times, very many christians were cruelly given to be killed by wild beasts, because they would not give up their religion, and bow down to the false gods of the heathen. the tumult and disturbance in the theatre at ephesus became worse and worse. st. luke tells us, "some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." the greater number of those who were now assembled, and were loudest in their cries against st. paul, did not even know what had caused this tumultuous meeting. they copied the example of others, without attempting to find out whether they were right or wrong. this is too often the case amongst ourselves; but we should be careful not to join in blaming any person, merely because others do so, without taking the trouble to find out whether they deserve blame or not. the jews, seeing the rage of the people in the theatre, did their best to turn it all upon the christians, and to show that they had taken no part in teaching men to despise the goddess diana: and they now put forward a jew named alexander, that he might explain this to the assembly. "and they drew alexander out of the multitude, the jews putting him forward. and alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. but when they knew that he was a jew," and therefore no worshipper of diana, they refused to hear him, "and all with one voice (for) about the space of two hours cried out," over and over again, "great is diana of the ephesians." the town-clerk, or principal magistrate of the city, succeeded at last in stopping this senseless outcry and tumult; and so far appeased the people, as to get them to listen to him. they were perhaps the more inclined to do this, as they must have been tired of repeating this cry for two hours, without knowing why. as soon as the town-clerk was allowed to speak, he reminded the people, that as it was well known to all men, that the ephesians were worshippers of the great goddess diana, they need not be troubled by anything st. paul said; more especially as the image of diana had come down from heaven, and could not therefore be one of those idols, made by the hands of men, against which the apostle had spoken. then he went on to show them, that they had done wrong in seizing gaius and aristarchus, whom they could not accuse of any crime whatever: they were neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of the goddess, and could not justly be taken before the magistrates; but if demetrius and his fellow workmen had injury to complain of, there were proper courts of law, where such complaints would be heard and judged. but he also told them, that if they wished to inquire into the doctrines taught by st. paul and his companions, it must be done in a very different manner: a proper assembly must be called, of people who had authority to judge of such questions; and then the matter must be brought before them: and he ended by telling them, that they were in danger of being punished for the uproar and confusion they had made, for there was no cause for it, and therefore they would not be able to give a satisfactory answer to the roman governor, if he should call them to account for what had happened. when the town-clerk had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. "and after the uproar was ceased, paul called unto him the disciples," to take leave of them, "and embraced them, and departed for to go into macedonia." from another part of the bible, we learn that timothy was now left at ephesus, to direct the affairs of the church in that city. we are not told what places st. paul now visited in macedonia, but no doubt he went wherever he had been before, as well as to other places. from one of these places in macedonia, st. paul wrote the first epistle to timothy; directing him how to answer the jewish teachers, who tried to bring false doctrines into the church at ephesus. after giving timothy much advice as to what he was to teach to others, st. paul ends his letter by begging him to keep steadfast in the faith of the gospel; to avoid and flee from all sins; and to follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness, that so he might, for jesus christ's sake, receive eternal life. chapter xx.--st. paul's journey to miletus. during the time that st. paul was journeying about in macedonia, he suffered much both from the unbelieving jews and the infidels; for he says himself, in one of his epistles ( cor. vii.), "when we were come into macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears." but in the midst of his troubles, the apostle had one great comfort, for titus came to him from corinth, and brought him a very satisfactory account of the state of the church in that city. a short time afterwards, he sent titus back to corinth, and by him he sent his "second epistle to the corinthians." some of the teachers, who had been reproved for disturbing the faith of the believers by their mistaken teaching, had, in their anger at the reproof, spoken ill of st. paul himself. in this letter, therefore, st. paul shows the corinthians that all he has done or said has been according to the will of god, and that therefore they may safely believe him rather than any teachers, whose doctrines do not agree with what he had taught them. many other things he wrote; above all, entreating the members of the corinthian church to keep steadily in the faith of the lord jesus christ, and to strive to please god in all things, by living in peace and holiness. this epistle st. paul sent to corinth by titus, remaining himself a little longer in macedonia. "and when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into greece, and there abode three months." we are told nothing of what st paul did during these three months, but no doubt he visited corinth amongst other places; and we are quite sure that wherever he went he was doing the work of the lord. it seems that st paul proposed to go by sea from achaia to syria; but the jews, who were as usual greatly vexed at the success of his preaching, laid some plot to take or kill him, at the port from which he must sail. hearing in some way of this plot, st. paul "purposed," or determined, to return through macedonia, and so disappoint the malice of his enemies. accordingly he went into macedonia, where he was joined by several of the brethren from different cities in that province. and they "accompanied him into asia," together with some others who had come with him from that country. st. paul appears to have merely passed through macedonia at this time, sending most of his company on before, for st. luke says of them, "these going before tarried for us at troas,"--that is, they crossed over into asia, and waited at troas until the apostle should join them there. st. luke and one or two others stayed with st. paul, and we read, "and we sailed away from philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to troas in five days; where we abode seven days." whilst st. paul was on his way through macedonia at this time, he wrote a long letter, called "the epistle to the romans," about the year (a.d.). in our bibles, this epistle stands first of all; but the epistles are not _chronologically_ arranged; that is, they are not arranged according to the order in which they were written. if they had been chronologically arranged, "the epistle to the galatians," written a.d. , would have stood first; then "the first epistle to the thessalonians," also written a.d. ; and next, "the second epistle to the thessalonians," a.d. ; and that to "titus," a.d. . after these, the next in order would have been, "the first epistle to the corinthians," a.d. , and "the first epistle to timothy," in the same year; and "the second epistle to the corinthians," a.d. , just before st. paul wrote that of which we are speaking, to "the romans." in this letter, st. paul speaks both to the jews and gentiles; trying to persuade both, that the only possible way of salvation for all mankind was through faith in jesus christ. he tells the gentiles that their learning and wisdom will not save them; and that even all their moral virtues, such as truth, honesty, charity, and such like, will be of no use without faith: they must first believe in jesus christ, and then do all these things, _because_ they are pleasing to him. to the jews, the apostle writes, that all their obedience to the law of moses cannot save them, or give them eternal life; that the law was only given to prepare the way for christ, who had now made known that the only way of salvation was through faith in him, and consequent obedience to his holy word. st. paul also explained clearly, that adam's sin had made all men sinners; and that therefore all men deserved the wrath of god; but that christ, by his sufferings and death, had undone the evil brought upon all mankind by adam, and purchased for them forgiveness and justification. much more st. paul taught in this epistle, and we have it to teach us now. the epistles are of the greatest use to us, for they explain and teach much, that is not even mentioned in the gospels. from troas, st. paul determined to go on foot to assos, another sea-port town a little to the south; but at the same time he purposed to send most, if not all, his companions to that place by sea. during the seven days spent by st. paul at troas, he of course preached the gospel diligently; and, on the last occasion of his speaking to the people, a very remarkable event took place, of which we must now read the account given us by st. luke in the book of acts. "and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow." the "breaking of bread" here spoken of, was the partaking of the bread and wine which, on the night before his death, our blessed lord commanded to be received constantly by all his faithful followers, in remembrance of his body given, and his blood shed, for our redemption. this receiving of bread and wine we call "the sacrament of the lord's supper." the early christians met to partake of the lord's supper on the first day of every week, the day on which jesus rose from the dead. on the night before st. paul intended to leave troas, the disciples met together to partake with him, for the last time, of the lord's supper, and to listen to his farewell counsels. much had the apostle to say, and his hearers were anxious to learn of him, so that he continued his speech until midnight. "and there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together." this upper chamber was, on what we should call the third story, and, like all eastern houses, would have large windows opening even with the floor. "many lights," and a number of people, naturally made the room very hot, so that the windows were wide open. "and there sat in a window a certain young man named eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead." the terrible death of this young man would, of course, create much confusion and distress amongst the assembled christians. "and paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him." the apostle did not ask god to bring eutychus at once to life, but he told the brethren that his life would come back, and that they need not therefore grieve and distress themselves about him. those to whom st. paul now spake had faith in god, whose servant he was, and therefore believed his words, and were content to wait the lord's time; and so they returned to the upper chamber, leaving the lifeless body of eutychus for a time, while st. paul continued his preaching. "when he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed," and went at once on his way to assos. the apostle grudged no labour done for the lord; on the eve of a journey he gave up his night's rest to preach the gospel: eutychus, who might probably never have another opportunity of learning from him, had fallen asleep instead of listening to the words of salvation. after st. paul's departure from amongst the brethren, the miracle which he had foretold came to pass; for "they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted." comforted as to eutychus himself, and comforted in this additional proof, that st. paul's words were indeed the words of one under the especial direction and blessing of god almighty, the lord of life and death. st. luke now says, "and we went before to ship, and sailed unto assos, there intending to take in paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. and when he met with us at assos, we took him in, and came to mitylene." this was the chief town in lesbos, one of the islands of the archipelago: the whole island is now called metelin. st. paul did not stop at mitylene, for we read that he and his company passed the island of chios next day, then that of samos, and landed at trogyllium, a town of asia minor, to the s.w. of ephesus; and next day they came to miletus, still lower on the coast, but directly to the south of ephesus, from whence it was no great distance. st. paul knew that if he went to ephesus, he should find it difficult to get away again so soon as he wished; and therefore he "had determined to sail by ephesus, because he would not spend the time in asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at jerusalem the day of pentecost." but although he could not spare time to visit ephesus, he would not be so near without seeing some of the elders of the church, especially as he had something he wished particularly to say to them. the chief ruler of the church under st. paul was now journeying with him; for timotheus, or timothy, was bishop of ephesus, and during his absence had left the care of the church to a certain number of elders, or chief men amongst the believers. from miletus, therefore, st. paul "sent to ephesus, and called the elders of the church. and when they were come to him," st. paul spake to them. he reminded them, that he had freely preached unto them the gospel of jesus christ, in spite of all difficulties and dangers; keeping back nothing that was profitable for them to know; "testifying both to the jews, and also to the greeks, repentance toward god, and faith toward our lord jesus christ." he then told them that now, by the direction of the holy spirit, he was going up to jerusalem, not knowing what would happen to him there; except that the holy ghost had made known unto him, that in every city bonds and afflictions awaited him. but st. paul then declared, that the prospect of imprisonments and persecutions did not trouble him, for that he was quite ready to give up his life also, if so he could best finish the work which the lord had given him to do: in the faithful service of god he should finish his course, or end his life, with joy. the apostle then spake words grievous for the ephesians to hear; saying, "and now, behold, i know that ye all, among whom i have gone preaching the kingdom of god, shall see my face no more. wherefore i take you to record this day, that i am pure from the blood of all men; for i have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of god." st. paul had thoroughly done his duty to the ephesians, in showing them the way of salvation; and if any of them failed to obtain it, such failure could in no way be laid to him: he was "pure from the blood," the _spiritual death_, of all men. chapter xxi.--st. paul goes up to jerusalem. after reminding the elders of ephesus of what he had done for them and their countrymen, st. paul exhorted them to take heed unto themselves, and to all the flock over which the holy ghost had made them overseers, so as in all things to set a good example to others; and to feed the church, or nourish and strengthen the souls of the brethren, with the blessed truths of the gospel, the pure word of him who had purchased the church with his own blood. he told them, that he was the more anxious to exhort them to do this, because he knew that, after his departing, wicked men, whom he likens to "grievous wolves," would enter in among them, not sparing the flock, but leading the brethren astray to the destruction of their souls. and not only this, but also of their own selves men should arise teaching false doctrines, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. having thus warned them, st. paul entreated them to "watch," remembering that for three years he had not ceased to warn them of these things. again the apostle commended the ephesians to the grace of god, which was able to give them an inheritance "among all them which are sanctified": and ended by reminding them that he had "coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel"; but that he had maintained himself by working with his own hands, setting them an example that they also should "remember the words of the lord jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive." "and when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all." st. paul knew well that without the blessing and help of god no good thing can be done; and thus did he set an example to all men for ever, to ask his aid in all their works. "and they all wept sore, and fell on paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. and they accompanied him unto the ship," in which he was about to sail from miletus; anxious not to lose sight of him before it was absolutely necessary. it was natural and right that the elders of ephesus should be deeply grieved, at hearing that they would never again in this world, see one who had been so much with them, and from whom they had learnt so much. but had they duly considered his words, they would not have sorrowed most of all on this account, but for the troubles which were to fall upon their church from false and wicked teachers, who would lead many to forsake the gospel, and thus destroy them for ever. having taken a final leave of the elders of ephesus, st. paul and his company sailed to the island of coos, or cos; then to another called rhodes; and from thence to the coast of asia minor, where they landed at patara, a sea-port of lycia. here they found a ship about to sail into ph[oe]nicia, and going on board, they passed near the isle of cyprus, and finally landed at tyre, "for there the ship was to unlade her burden." finding disciples at tyre, st. paul stayed with them seven days, teaching and exhorting them. st. luke tells us that some of these disciples "said to paul through the spirit, that he should not go up to jerusalem." this means that the holy spirit had made known to these disciples, that great troubles and dangers awaited the apostle at jerusalem; and therefore they tried to persuade him that he should not go up at all. st. paul, however, knew that it was his duty to go to jerusalem at this time, and therefore no fear of personal suffering would keep him away: he was ready to undergo whatever god saw fit to send. st. luke then says, "and when we had accomplished those days, we departed, and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed." the brethren at tyre were grieved to part with st. paul, particularly foreseeing that sufferings awaited him at jerusalem. they accompanied him to the sea-shore, where the ship waited for him. their last act sets us an example of what we should do in all times of sorrow and anxiety. they would not part without praying to god; so they all knelt down where they were, and prayed earnestly from their hearts. the lord will hear all such real prayers, wherever we say them, or whether we are kneeling or not; but if we kneel down and repeat words without caring or thinking about what we are saying, that is not such prayer as the lord our god has promised to hear. when st. paul and his companions had prayed with the christians of tyre, and taken leave of them, they "took ship,"--that is, embarked on board the ship, whilst the others "returned home again." from tyre st. paul sailed to ptolemais, and landing there, stayed one day with the brethren. ptolemais was a celebrated sea-port of syria, to the north of mount carmel. in the old testament, ptolemais is called accho. it was situated in that part of the land of canaan given to the tribe of asher; and it was one of those cities out of which the children of israel did not drive the idolatrous inhabitants, as the lord had commanded them to do. you will remember the sin and trouble that came upon the land of israel, in consequence of the disobedience of several of the tribes, who, instead of entirely driving out the canaanites, let them continue to live amongst them; by which they were afterwards led into sin, and suffered much misery in consequence. the town of accho was enlarged and beautified, after the death of alexander the great, by the first of the egyptian kings, called ptolemy; and the name of the city was in consequence changed to ptolemais. we now call it acre, and you will find acre often spoken of in history. st. luke now says, "and the next day we that were of paul's company departed, and came unto cæsarea: and we entered into the house of philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him." we have heard of philip as one of the seven deacons, (of whom stephen was another,) chosen to help the apostles, by distributing food and money to the believers, when they had all things in common; and we have also heard of his being sent by the spirit into the desert between jerusalem and gaza, to teach the officer of candace, queen of ethiopia; after which he returned to his home in cæsarea. this philip must not be confounded with the apostle of the same name, a native "of bethsaida, the city of andrew and peter," unto whom our lord said, "follow me." we do not call the deacon philip an "evangelist," because we only give that name to those four men who, by the inspiration of god, wrote their several accounts of christ's life and death; but st. luke might well call philip so, because he preached the gospel in every place to which he was sent; and one who spreads the knowledge of the gospel by preaching it, was as much an "evangelist" as he who spread it by his writing. philip had four unmarried daughters, to whom god had, in a miraculous way, given his holy spirit, so that they "did prophesy." this was a fulfilment of the ancient promise recorded by the prophet joel, that in the days of the messiah the spirit should be poured out upon their sons and daughters, servants and handmaidens, so that they should prophesy. st. paul stayed many days with philip. we hear nothing of the work he then did there; but st. luke says, "and as we tarried there many days, there came down from judæa a certain prophet, named agabus. and when he was come unto us, he took paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, thus saith the holy ghost, so shall the jews at jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles." we have heard already of agabus, as one of the prophets who went from jerusalem to antioch, and foretold the dearth, or famine, in consequence of which the christians of antioch made a collection for the poorer brethren at jerusalem, and "sent it up by the hands of barnabas and saul," as st. paul was at that time called. agabus, inspired by the holy spirit, now bore his testimony to the dangers which threatened the apostle at jerusalem. the consequence of this was, that st. paul's companions themselves, and "they of that place," (the brethren at cæsarea,) "besought him not to go up to jerusalem"; and so avoid the dangers which threatened him in that city. here we see that even our friends may tempt us to sin, and that we must be careful not to yield to their entreaties when they would make us do wrong. when we know what our duty is, we must not be prevented from doing it, either by love to our friends or fear of our enemies. it is often very hard and difficult to do right, when those we love, ask and beg us not to do it. in this way, children are often led to do wrong. let us all, whether we are old or young, take care not to give way to such temptations; and, above all, let us never so tempt others to do wrong: let us never ask any one to do what is wrong, but, on the contrary, do all we can to persuade all to do what is right and pleasing in the sight of god. st. paul knew that it was his duty to go up to jerusalem; and therefore when those about him entreated him not to go, he answered, "what mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus." though the apostle was firmly resolved to do his duty, and quite ready to lay down his life for christ's sake, if called upon to do so, it grieved him to give pain to his friends; and therefore he reminds them, that all their sorrow and weeping would but distress him more and more--break his heart, as he expressed it, without in any way changing his settled purpose to go up to jerusalem. when st. paul had thus declared his unalterable determination, those who had tried to persuade him not to carry it out, did what they should have done at first: they left the whole matter in the hands of god, for "when he would not be persuaded," they "ceased, saying, the will of the lord be done." thus st. paul's example had a good effect upon the brethren. st. luke then says, "and after those days we took up our carriages, and went to jerusalem." the word "carriages" here does not mean conveyances to take people from one place to another, but rather such things as they _carried_ with them--their baggage, in short. some of the disciples from cæsarea went with the apostles. amongst them was an old disciple, a native of cyprus, called mnason, who appears at this time to have had a house in jerusalem, where st. paul and his company were to lodge. st. luke tells us, "and when we were come to jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. and the day following paul went in with us unto james; and all the elders were present. and when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things god had wrought among the gentiles by his ministry. and when they heard it, they glorified the lord." chapter xxii.--tumult at jerusalem. st. james, and the elders of the church at jerusalem, glorified god, upon hearing of the conversion of so many gentiles by the teaching of st. paul, and then they "said unto him, thou seest, brother, how many thousands of jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: and they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the jews which are among the gentiles to forsake moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. what is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come." the elders feared, that st. paul's coming to jerusalem might cause a disturbance amongst the jewish converts; who, though christians, reverenced the law, and could not bear that it should be neglected. they had heard exaggerated accounts of what the apostle had taught; for he had never said that it was _wrong_ to observe and do the things commanded by moses, and that therefore they _ought not_ to do them. he had only said, that it was not _necessary_ to keep the ceremonial law; and that it was _useless_ to do so, because no man could obtain eternal life by any such outward acts. st. paul's great object was to make the jews understand, that the law given by moses, was only meant to be binding until the messiah came; and that as jesus had now visited his people, the ceremonial part of the law was done away with. god no longer required it to be observed: therefore, if the jews chose still to observe it, they must not imagine that by doing so they would now find favour with god: the only way to gain his favour was by believing in jesus christ, and trying, out of love for him, to obey all the commands and precepts of the gospel: all who thus strove to please god, would find favour in his sight, whether they kept the ceremonial law or not. the jewish converts at jerusalem, not clearly understanding what st. paul had taught, were set against him; and as they would be sure to meet together to discuss the matter, as soon as they heard of his arrival, the elders now said to one another, "what is it therefore?"--that is, what can be done to quiet the fears of these jewish brethren. the plan that the apostles and elders now proposed, was one that would show the jews, that st. paul did not think it _wrong_ to observe the forms of the law, though he taught that it was not _necessary_ to do so. what this plan was, we shall hear from what they now said to st. paul, "do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men which have a vow on them; them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law." to understand this speech, we must remember that even in the time of moses, the children of israel were in the habit of showing their piety, and their wish to serve god, by devoting themselves for a time to the performance of special acts of worship; separating themselves from their brethren, for the observance of certain forms and ceremonies. a person who thus separated himself for a time from others by a particular profession of religion, was called a nazarite; and the lord himself gave moses directions, as to the outward forms and ceremonies to be observed by every one, who should vow the vow of a nazarite. to take the vow of a nazarite was a _voluntary_ act; that is, it was at the choice of any person to take it: but once taken, the person who had thus devoted himself to the special service of god, was neither to drink wine, nor any of the drinks made from fruits or honey: he was to drink water only, that his head might be cool and clear, and better able to attend to his religious studies and exercises. then he was not to shave his head, nor to cut his hair; neither was he to do any of the things usually done upon the death of a relation, because such mourning for the dead would render him unclean. some persons vowed themselves to be nazarites for life; others only for a certain number of years, months, or even days: and at the end of the time, the nazarite was to bring certain offerings unto the priest to be presented to the lord: then he was to shave his head at the door of the tabernacle, and burn the hair in the fire which consumed the peace offerings. after all the appointed ceremonies had been gone through, the nazarite was free from his vow, and might return to live like other people. you will, i hope, remember samson, who was a nazarite from his birth; and who fell into great trouble, because his vow was broken, when his hair was cut off by delilah. now at the time when st. paul came to jerusalem, there were four men there, who had taken the vows of a nazarite for a short time: their time was nearly out, and the elders proposed that st. paul should join them in abstaining (or keeping) from such things, as they were forbidden to do; and that he should "be at charges with them," that is, pay for the sacrifices they must offer, before they could shave their heads, and be free from their vows. the jews looked upon it as an act of piety, for any person to pay the expenses of those who had taken the vow of a nazarite. we have now seen what the elders advised st. paul to do, in order to show the jews that he was no _enemy_ to the law of moses, and did not think it _wrong_ to observe its forms, if people liked to do so, though it was unnecessary. and they added, "as touching the gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication": thus repeating that decision of the church, with which the teaching of st. paul agreed. "then paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them." all this was done for the sake of peace, and to make the jews more willing to listen to st. paul. some people think it was not right nor wise to act in this manner, because it might lead man to believe, that the law _ought_ to be observed in all its ceremonies, and that st. paul's practice did not quite agree with his preaching. at any rate it had not the effect of satisfying the jews; on the contrary, it caused a serious disturbance. "when the seven days were almost ended," some unbelieving jews of asia, who had persecuted st. paul in their own country, and were now come to jerusalem for the same purpose, "when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, crying out, men of israel, help: this is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place." they declared that st. paul, by his teaching, was taking away from the jews all their privileges as the chosen people of god, and putting the heathen on an equality with them; that he taught men not to respect the law, nor to reverence the temple; and that he did not reverence it himself, but had polluted and defiled it; for, said they, he "brought greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place." this they said, because they had seen an ephesian convert, named trophimus, in the city with st. paul, and "supposed that paul had brought (him) into the temple"; which of course he had not done: because, though he knew that the entrance of a true christian into the temple would not be displeasing to god, he knew that it would greatly offend the jews, if any one who had been a gentile, went any further than the outer court of the temple, set apart for the gentiles: and he did not wish to offend or vex the jews needlessly. we should never do anything to vex or grieve others, unless it is our _duty_ to do it. our duty we must do, whatever be the consequence. the jews, who now tried to stir up the people against st. paul, succeeded to their utmost wish in raising a disturbance, for "all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. and as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all jerusalem was in an uproar." the band here spoken of, was the roman garrison, or party of soldiers, posted in jerusalem, to keep the city in order, and prevent any kind of disturbance or riot amongst the jews. the chief captain of this band, at the time we are speaking of, was a roman named claudius lysias; "who," upon hearing of the uproar, "immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them." they had not far to go, for the place in which they were posted was the castle of antonia, close to the north-west corner of the temple. this castle, or strong tower, had been built by herod the great: it was so high, that from the upper part, the soldiers on watch could see what was going on in the two outer courts of the temple: they would therefore have seen st. paul dragged out of the temple by an angry mob, and they would at once have taken these tidings to their captain, who went down with all haste, and arrived in time to save the apostle's life; for the jews feared the roman soldiers, and when they saw them, "they left beating of paul"--that is, ceased to beat him. "then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains"; for as he naturally concluded that st. paul must have committed some crime, to make the jews treat him in this way, his first care was to secure him, that he might not run away, and thus escape the punishment he deserved. we may be quite sure that the apostle would have made no attempt to escape; but that the romans could not know. when claudius lysias had secured his prisoner, he "demanded who he was, and what he had done." to this question, no reasonable answer could be given; for as st. paul had not committed any crime, no intelligible accusation could be brought against him: and therefore, "some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude": so that claudius lysias could make out nothing for certain; "and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle." the jews, unwilling to lose their victim, pressed after the soldiers who were leading him away, eager to kill him. "and when he came upon the stairs," leading up into the castle, "so it was, that he was borne," or carried, by "the soldiers for the violence of the people. for the multitude followed after, crying, away with him." on the top of the stairs, the apostle was out of reach of his furious enemies; "and as paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, may i speak unto thee?" these words were spoken in greek, to the astonishment of claudius lysias, who imagined that his prisoner must be a certain egyptian, or rather a jew who had come from egypt to jerusalem, about two years before this time. giving out that he was a great prophet sent by god, this man persuaded great numbers of people to go with him to the mount of olives, promising, that they should see the walls of the city fall down at his command: but he intended, with the help of these people, to force his way into the city, and destroy the roman guards. this attempt was, however, prevented by felix, the governor of judæa: many of these foolish people were killed, and the leader himself fled into the wilderness, accompanied by a great number of men, that "were murderers," or had committed other crimes which made them liable to punishment. josephus the historian tells us, that these murderers were persons who, under pretence of religion, came up to jerusalem with daggers or short swords, concealed under their cloaks, ready to do any act of violence. they were employed by felix to murder jonathan the high priest; and for this crime they of course received no punishment. they afterwards made it a practice, to come up to jerusalem for all the feasts; and then, either by hiring themselves out as assassins to those who wished to get rid of an enemy, or by killing those against whom they had any grudge, they committed numerous murders, even in the temple itself. the number of these murderers became very considerable, and the roman government wished to destroy them. chapter xxiii.--st. paul brought before the sanhedrim. when st. paul said in greek to the chief captain, "may i speak unto thee?" he said, in answer, "canst thou speak greek? art not thou that egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? but paul said, i am a man which am a jew of tarsus, a city in cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, i beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people." claudius lysias readily granted this request. "and when he had given him licence, paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people"; signifying that he had something to say, if they would only be quiet and listen to him. the people were now willing to hear him. "and when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the hebrew tongue, saying, men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which i make now unto you." it would seem that many of those who had been crying out against st. paul, had no idea that he was himself a jew, and able to speak to them in their own beloved language; for "when they heard that he spake in the hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence." st. paul then told the people that he himself was born a jew, and had been brought up in jerusalem by their famous teacher gamaliel, who had taught him the very strictest observance of the law of moses; and that he himself had been so zealous for the law, that he had at one time cruelly persecuted the christians, as the high priest and all the elders of the jews could bear witness. then he went on to give an account of all that had happened to him on his way to damascus, and how he had in consequence become himself a believer in jesus christ. he also told the people, that when he was afterwards in jerusalem, the lord had appeared to him in a vision, and given him a positive command to go and preach to the gentiles, saying, "depart: for i will send thee far hence unto the gentiles." hitherto, the assembled multitude had listened quietly to what the apostle said, "they gave him audience unto this word"; but when they heard him plainly declare, that it was the will of god that the gentiles should share his favour, which they thought belonged only to themselves, they were filled with rage, and would hear no more: they "lifted up their voices, and said, away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live": and they cast off their upper garments, that they might be ready to stone him, and threw dust up into the air, to show their hatred and contempt. the arabs in these days have a custom like this; for when any person, who is speaking in public, says anything they disapprove of, they throw dust into the air, to show that they have no respect for the speaker and do not believe what he is saying. st. paul was now in great danger of being torn in pieces, if the people, who stood raging and shouting round the stairs on which he stood, could catch hold of him. claudius lysias saw that the only hope of stopping the uproar, was to take st. paul out of sight of the enraged multitude. "and as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle." but he was as far as ever from knowing what the jews accused st. paul of: he did not understand hebrew, and therefore he had no idea of what had been said; but he naturally thought, that it must be something very wrong to put the people into such a rage. seeing therefore, that there was no other chance of learning the truth, he now determined to have st. paul beaten, according to the custom of the romans, who treated prisoners in this way, in order to make them confess what crimes they had committed. claudius lysias therefore, after having had the apostle brought into the castle, "bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. and as they bound him with thongs" to a pillar, as was usual in such cases, "paul said unto the centurion that stood by, is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a roman, and uncondemned?" the privileges of a roman, that is, of a roman citizen, have been explained. the centurion, who commanded the party of soldiers about to scourge the prisoner, was fully aware of the danger of so treating one, who had in any way obtained the freedom of rome; and therefore, when he heard such words spoken by his prisoner, he at once "went, and told the chief captain, saying, take heed what thou doest; for this man is a roman." such a startling piece of intelligence, at once brought claudius to the spot where the prisoner stood bound with thongs to a pillar, with the soldiers round ready to scourge him. "then the chief captain came, and said unto him, tell me, art thou a roman? he said, yea. and the chief captain answered, with a great sum obtained i this freedom. and paul said, but i was free born. then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him" by this torture: and not only did the chief captain give up all idea of scourging st. paul, but he "also was afraid, after he knew that he was a roman, and because he had bound him." even binding a roman citizen was unlawful, and for doing this claudius lysias was liable to be punished. nero, who had become emperor of rome about four years before this time, on the death of claudius, a.d. , was a harsh and cruel tyrant; and though he would not have cared whether st. paul was tortured or not, he would have been very angry if any of the laws concerning the roman privileges had been broken; and therefore claudius lysias had good reason to fear, that if st. paul complained of the treatment which he, a free-born citizen of rome, had received, the emperor would cause him to be punished. if he had known more of the precepts taught by jesus, he would have felt sure that st. paul would have no wish to revenge himself in such a manner. the apostle made use of his rights as a roman citizen to save himself from a cruel punishment; because, if he had been scourged, it might have led men to think that he must have been guilty of some crime to deserve such a punishment; and it was necessary that the teachers of the holy word of god should appear blameless before all men. the chief captain now took other measures for finding out what st. paul was accused of; and he summoned the sanhedrim to meet, that they might in a lawful manner examine and judge the prisoner, and so ascertain whether there was any reason for the rage of the people against him. we read, "on the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought paul down, and set him before them. and paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, men and brethren, i have lived in all good conscience before god until this day." now that the apostle was called upon to defend himself, he rightly wished all men to understand, that he was no criminal deserving of anger or punishment; but a man who had always tried to do what he believed to be his duty in the sight of god: most truly could he say that he had done this; for even when he persecuted the followers of jesus, it was under the mistaken idea that it was his duty to do so. but the jews were angry at his saying this, "and the high priest ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. then said paul unto him, god shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? and they that stood by said, revilest thou god's high priest? then said paul, i wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." the apostle meant, that if he had known, or looked upon ananias as the high priest, he would not have rebuked him in such words; because a ruler of the people must be treated with respect, on account of his office: but ananias deserved the rebuke, for the law commanded all who ruled, or judged others, to do no unrighteousness or injustice themselves; and ananias broke the law, and was guilty of very great injustice in ordering st. paul to be smitten in this way, before he had been proved to be guilty of any crime. we must mention here that, in fact, ananias was _not_ the high priest at this time. he had been high priest at the time of the famine, when barnabas and saul took help to the poor brethren at jerusalem; but after that, there had been some disturbance between the jews and samaritans, and the romans, thinking ananias to blame, deprived him of his sacred office, and sent him as a prisoner to rome: and though he was afterwards allowed to return to jerusalem, he was not restored to the office of high priest, to which another man, named jonathan, had been appointed. this jonathan had been killed by the "murderers" hired by felix the roman governor, and no other high priest had as yet been appointed; therefore there was, in fact, _no_ high priest to be president, or head, of the sanhedrim. under these circumstances, ananias set himself up as chief of the council, and behaved in the unjust manner related. st. paul had only been a very few days in jerusalem, and did not perhaps know that ananias had taken the office of high priest upon himself; or if he did know it, what he said would be a just rebuke to him for having done so. one other matter requires a few words, that is, the "whited wall," to which st. paul compared ananias. we shall remember that our saviour said, "woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. even so ye also appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." in the same manner st. paul applied the comparison of the "whited wall" of a sepulchre to ananias, who pretended to judge and rebuke another, whilst his own heart was full of all evil passions and iniquity. let us remember, that each such passage of scripture has a lesson for us: all who only think of what men will say, and try to _appear_ good in the eyes of their fellow creatures, without trying to love and serve god with all their heart, and to do his will whatever men may think of them, are no more pleasing in the eyes of our lord, than were the pharisees, whom jesus compared to "whited sepulchres." now we must return to the council of the sanhedrim, and hear what the apostle said in his defence. st. luke says, "but when paul perceived that the one part (of his hearers) were sadducees, and the other pharisees, he cried out in the council, men and brethren, i am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead i am called in question"--meaning that he was persecuted and called to account, because he had taught that the dead would rise again. "and when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the pharisees and sadducees: and the multitude was divided. for the sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the pharisees confess both. and there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, we find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against god." these scribes spake well: but unhappily they did not speak in sincerity, but only out of contradiction and spite to the sadducees, whom they hated. they were quite as much opposed to st. paul's preaching to the gentiles, as any other class of persons could be; and therefore it was hypocrisy to pretend to believe that an angel had bid him do so. st paul, moreover, had said nothing of any angel speaking to him; but had plainly declared that jesus christ had spoken to him: and this of course the pharisees could not allow, because they would not acknowledge jesus christ to be the messiah. they were, in fact, fighting against god--the very thing which they pretended to be afraid of doing. the sadducees were very angry, and the whole council became a scene of the greatest confusion and violence; so that claudius lysias feared for his prisoner's life; and being answerable for his safety, he sent his soldiers to bring him back into the castle, where he would be out of danger. chapter xxiv.--st. paul sent to cÆsarea. we read in the book of acts, "and when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle." in the midst of the troubles and dangers with which he was now surrounded, the faithful servant of god was not left without comfort and encouragement; for we read, that "the night following the lord stood by him, and said, be of good cheer, paul: for as thou hast testified of me in jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at rome. and when it was day, certain of the jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed paul." these men belonged to a party amongst the jews, who were particularly strict in the observance of all the forms and ceremonies of the law; and for their _zeal_ or eagerness in this matter, they were called zealots. these zealots, quite overlooking the moral law, which commanded "thou shalt not kill," taught, that it was right to kill any man who did not observe the whole of the ceremonial law: they therefore made a practice of murdering, whenever they had an opportunity, all whom they looked upon as enemies of the law, without waiting for any trial to decide whether or not they deserved punishment. the chief priest and elders, instead of trying to prevent such wickedness, too often approved of the practices of the zealots; as by their means they got rid of many whom they feared and hated, and who certainly could not justly have been found guilty of any crime, for which they could have been put to death. these jewish zealots had bound themselves by a curse to kill st. paul; that is, they expressed a wish that god would bring evil upon them, if they did not kill st. paul, before they ate or drank anything. any such oaths are very sinful at all times, even if the act we bind ourselves to do is a good and righteous one, because it may not please god that we should do it: man proposes, but god disposes; and we must be content with striving to do what is right and useful, and leave the issue in his hands. the zealots, though they wickedly bound themselves by such an oath, knew that there was no risk in any case of their being starved to death, because any of their rabbis could absolve, or set them free from such oaths, whenever they did not find it convenient to keep them. there were more than forty of the zealots which made this conspiracy against st. paul; and they, knowing that the chief priests and elders would be only too glad to have the apostle silenced in any way, went to them to get their help in the execution of this wicked plot. they told the priests and elders how they had bound themselves by a curse to kill st. paul: and then said, "now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to-morrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him; and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him." this was a plan very likely to succeed: claudius lysias would have thought it very natural that the sanhedrim should wish to examine st. paul quietly, which could not be done in the tumult and excitement of the day before. he would, therefore, have sent his prisoner down with a small guard of soldiers, sufficient to prevent his escaping: these, the zealots who would be lying in wait, could easily overpower by their greater number, and thus they would have no difficulty in murdering the apostle. it is sad to think that priests and rulers, whose duty it was to teach the people what was right, and to see that every man was treated justly, should have agreed thus to entrap and slay a man who had been guilty of no crime: but so it was, for they consented to do their part in the proposed scheme. the enemies of st. paul must now have thought his destruction certain: but they forgot that if the lord was on the apostle's side, all their plots would come to nothing. and so it proved: for the lord, who had work for his faithful servant to do, caused this plot to become in some way known to a young man, the son of st. paul's sister. we know nothing of this young man; whether he was still a jew, or had, as is more probable, become a christian: all we are told is, "and when paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told paul." we have now another example as to the duty of using all human means, whilst humbly depending upon the blessing of god, without which all our efforts are unavailing. st. paul had the promise of god, that he should live to preach the gospel in rome; therefore he was well assured that the zealots could not harm him. he also knew that the almighty could work a miracle for his deliverance; but he knew that to depend upon such a display of divine power, would be tempting god, not trusting in him. st. paul felt, that the lord, who most generally brings about events through human actions, had now given him the means of saving his own life; and that it was his duty to make use of them, in order to defeat the wicked plot contrived by the zealots and the council. when st. paul had heard from his sister's son the plot laid for his destruction, he "called one of the centurions unto him, and said, bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. so" the centurion "took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, what is that thou hast to tell me?" then the young man told him all that was proposed, and begged him not to yield to the request of the council. having heard what he had to say, "the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, see thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me." claudius lysias immediately took measures to save st. paul, without giving any cause or pretence for a disturbance, by refusing what would appear to be a reasonable request from the sanhedrim: and he determined at once to send his prisoner out of the city, so that when asked to produce him before the council, he could truly say, that it was no longer in his power to do so. we read that "he called unto him two centurions, saying, make ready two hundred soldiers to go to cæsarea, and horsemen three-score and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; and provide them beasts, that they may set paul on, and bring him safe unto felix the governor," whose residence was at cæsarea. at the same time claudius lysias wrote a letter to be given to felix, by those who conducted st. paul to cæsarea. "and he wrote a letter after this manner: claudius lysias unto the most excellent governor felix sendeth greeting. this man was taken of the jews, and should have been killed of them: then came i with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a roman. and when i would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, i brought him forth into their council: whom i perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. and when it was told me how that the jews laid wait for the man, i sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. farewell." now this letter was not quite a truthful account of what had happened: claudius lysias told the story most favourably for himself, by making it appear that he rescued st. paul because he was a roman citizen; whereas he did not know that fact, till he was on the point of scourging the prisoner--a circumstance of which he makes no mention. in relating anything, either by word of mouth or by letter, we should be very careful to state exactly what happened, whether it is favourable to ourselves or not. saying that he had given commandment to the accusers to go down to cæsarea with their complaints, was different; because by the time the letter reached felix, the command would be given. of course he could say nothing to the jews that evening, as it was needful to send the apostle away secretly; but we may be sure that the next day, when the council demanded that st. paul should be brought before them for further examination, this advice was given to them. the third hour of the night was about nine o'clock in the evening, and "then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took paul, and brought him by night to antipatris," a city about thirty-eight miles from jerusalem, and twenty-seven from cæsarea. it had been rebuilt, like many other cities, by herod the great, who called it antipatris, after his father antipater. here st. paul was quite out of reach of the zealots who had banded to kill him, and so large a guard was therefore quite unnecessary: so that "on the morrow" the soldiers "left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle" of antonia. the horsemen went on, "who, when they came to cæsarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented paul also before him. and when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province" the prisoner was. and when he understood that he was of cilicia, "i will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. and he commanded him to be kept in herod's judgment hall." herod's judgment hall, in which felix commanded the apostle to be kept till his accusers should come down, was a large building erected by herod the great as a palace for himself: part of it was afterwards made into a residence for the roman governor of judæa; and part of it was used as a prison for prisoners, not charged with any great or serious crime. here, then, st. paul was kept for five days. "and after five days ananias the high priest descended," or went down to cæsarea, "with the elders, and with a certain orator named tertullus, who informed the governor against paul." an orator was a person who was able to make a good speech upon any subject set before him. many men made a business of this; that is, a man who was able to speak well, would speak for others, who were not able to do so, on condition of being paid for his services. thus, if any man were accused of a crime, he would get one of these public orators to speak for him at the time of trial, and try to persuade the judge that he was innocent, whether he really were so or not. the same sort of thing is done amongst us, by barristers--men who have made it their business to study the laws of their country, in order to advise and help others who are ignorant in such matters. the jewish priests and rulers were so very anxious that felix should believe st. paul to be in the wrong, and condemn him accordingly, that they had engaged an orator named tertullus, to come and speak for them, and make the best of their case; so as to persuade felix to condemn st. paul, and thus gratify their malice. chapter xxv.--st. paul accused before felix. tertullus "informed the governor against paul,"--that is, he came to cæsarea for the express purpose of informing the governor of the many and serious accusations, which the jews brought against the prisoner. the accusers being now come, felix sat to judge the matter, and hear what each party had to say. "and when he was called forth, tertullus," in the name of the jewish priests and rulers, "began to accuse" paul, "saying, seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, we accept it always, and in all places, most noble felix, with all thankfulness. notwithstanding, that i be not further tedious unto thee, i pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words." now felix was a harsh and tyrannical governor; and though he had done good service in freeing the country from the robbers which had infested it, and in punishing impostors (like the egyptian), he had caused the high priest to be murdered, and had often driven the jews into rebellion by his barbarous and unjust acts. in short, his whole conduct created such disturbances in the land, and made him so hateful to the jewish people, that within two years of this time, they petitioned the roman government for his removal; and porcius festus was appointed governor instead of him. when therefore tertullus, as the mouthpiece of the jews, spake in this way of the peace and quiet they enjoyed under his excellent government, they were not expressing their real true opinions, but were only saying what they thought would please felix, and make him more willing to do what they wished. tertullus having thus prepared the way, went on to bring his accusations against st. paul, saying, "for we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the nazarenes: who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law. but the chief captain lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him." this speech was full of falsehood, inasmuch as it so misrepresented what had happened, as to lead felix to think that the prisoner before him had proved himself a dangerous enemy to the roman government, and that the chief captain had violently and unnecessarily interfered with the peaceable exercise of the council's rights, of examining into those matters of which st. paul was accused. the jews, however, assented, saying that these things which tertullus had spoken were true. when tertullus had thus informed felix, the latter called upon st. paul to answer to these charges. felix having now been governor of judæa for four or five years, knew something of the religion, laws, and customs of the jews, and was therefore the better able to judge in these matters. "then paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, forasmuch as i know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, i do the more cheerfully answer for myself: because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since i went up to jerusalem for to worship. and they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city: neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me." in these few words, the apostle contradicted absolutely the charges brought against him by his enemies. felix, he knew, would understand his wish of going to jerusalem to keep the feast of pentecost, and that, as he had only been in the city for twelve days, he could not have done much to stir up the people to rebellion. having thus declared the falseness of the charges brought against him, the apostle went on to notice what was in fact the real cause of all the persecution against him; and boldly said, "but this i confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship i the god of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward god, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. and herein do i exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward god, and toward men. now after many years i came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings. whereupon certain jews from asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult. who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had ought against me. or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while i stood before the council, except it be for this one voice, that i cried standing among them, touching the resurrection of the dead i am called in question by you this day." we cannot read this beautiful speech without wishing that each one of us could say from our hearts, that we too are endeavouring so to live and act, that our consciences may not reproach us with any wilful sin. it was customary for the jews, in whatever countries they might happen to dwell, to send alms and offerings from time to time to jerusalem; and st. paul had now, according to that custom, brought contributions from the foreign jews. we should notice the close of st. paul's speech, when he challenges the priests and rulers to say, whether any fault whatever had been proved against him during his examination before the sanhedrim, unless they looked upon his having said, "that the jews persecuted him because he had preached the resurrection of the dead," as a crime. st. paul's accusers seem to have answered nothing; they were unable to contradict him, for he had spoken nothing but the truth, and had plainly shown that he was no "pestilent fellow," nor mover of sedition among the people. "and when felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, when lysias the chief captain shall come down, i will know the uttermost of your matter. and he commanded a centurion to keep paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him." felix, living at cæsarea, where cornelius, a roman centurion, had been so wonderfully converted, and where philip the deacon, and many other christians resided, must have heard a good deal about the doctrines of "that way" of worshipping the lord; and he had certainly found, that the christians were better subjects, and altogether better men, than the jews. he would not therefore be inclined to condemn st. paul _because_ he was a christian; and, listening carefully to the accusations and defence just made before him, he saw at once that the prisoner had not committed any crime whatever, and that the whole affair arose from the hatred, which the jews bore to the followers of jesus christ. instead, however, of boldly pronouncing sentence one way or the other, he tried to pacify the jews by putting off the trial till claudius lysias, whom they had accused of illegal violence, could come down; and mean time he entrusted st. paul to the care of a centurion, with orders not to treat him as a prisoner. it must have been a bitter disappointment to the jews, to see the man whom they persecuted thus kindly treated. we may also see the protecting hand of god overruling these events. had st. paul been set at liberty, the jews would doubtless have tried to take his life; but under the watchful care of the centurion, he was safe from their malice. whether claudius lysias ever did come down to cæsarea, we are not told; but it is quite clear that st. paul was neither declared guilty of any offence deserving punishment, nor set at liberty, which, as an innocent man, he ought to have been. st. luke next tells us, "and after certain days, when felix came with his wife drusilla, which was a jewess, he sent for paul, and heard him concerning the faith in christ." it has already been said that drusilla was one of the daughters of herod agrippa, who died miserably at cæsarea, as a punishment for allowing himself to be treated as a god. drusilla had been married to another man, but felix had persuaded her to leave her husband, and become his wife. this was a great sin in both felix and drusilla. after the trial of st. paul, the governor appears to have left cæsarea for a while; and when he came back, bringing drusilla with him, they both wished to hear more of the doctrines of christianity, and therefore they sent for st. paul, that he might talk to them "concerning the faith in christ." st. paul was always ready to speak the truth boldly in the service of his heavenly master; and knowing that felix was an unjust and unrighteous ruler, and a man who at all times thought only of pleasing and indulging himself, without caring what injury or suffering he inflicted upon others, he took this opportunity of showing the sinfulness of such conduct, and that those who persisted in it would be punished hereafter, when jesus christ should come to judge the world. "and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, felix trembled"; for his conscience told him, that he was guilty of the very sins for which the apostle declared that the wrath of god would fall upon the impenitent. well would it have been for him, if the fear which made him tremble, had made him at once anxiously inquire in true penitence, what must i do to be saved? but, unhappily, he took another course, too often followed amongst ourselves: he did not _like to hear_ such things, and so he tried to put them away, and answered, "go thy way for this time; when i have a convenient season, i will call for thee." even in worldly matters, it is a good maxim, never to put off till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day. infinitely more does it apply to spiritual things; to repentance, to abstaining from what we feel to be wrong, to making the sacrifice we know we ought to make, to doing the duty which we perceive we ought to do. never let us put off such things, and thus quench the spirit of god speaking in our hearts. if we wilfully let one opportunity slip, we may never have another given to us. there is no "season" so "convenient" for doing right as the moment in which we feel what _is_ right. felix stifled the voice of conscience, which answered to st. paul's teaching; and we have no reason to believe that the convenient season ever came, for, though he often talked with him after this, we hear of no good results from such meetings; nor could any good results be expected, from a course in which covetousness had so great a share; for one of the governor's motives for keeping the apostle still in some sort as a prisoner, was the hope that he or his friends would purchase his liberty, by giving money. but felix ought to have felt, that st. paul would never offer a bribe, which it was very wrong for any judge to take. however that may be, we read, "he hoped also that money should have been given him of paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him." chapter xxvi.--st. paul before festus. "but after two years, porcius festus came into felix' room: and felix, willing to shew the jews a pleasure, left paul bound." felix might now at least have let the apostle go, for he could no longer hope for any advantage by leaving him still a prisoner. this governor had never tried to please the jews by a just and kind government: then he preferred pleasing himself: now, that it does not interfere with his own gratification, he was willing to do the jews a pleasure, by committing another sin, in the detention of an innocent man, whom he well knew ought to have been set free long ago. the bible says truly, that "the fear of man bringeth a snare," and the same may be said of the wish to please him, when we cannot do so without doing wrong or neglecting our duty. felix gained nothing by thus sacrificing st. paul, for the jews of cæsarea followed him to rome, and there made such complaints of him to the emperor nero, that it was with great difficulty that felix saved himself from severe punishment. the new governor of judæa, when he "was come into the province," made in the first instance a very short stay at cæsarea, and "after three days" went up to jerusalem. of course in this short time, he had not had leisure to hear anything concerning st. paul. the jews of jerusalem, therefore, gladly seized this opportunity to try and prejudice festus against st. paul. "then the high priest and the chief of the jews informed him against paul, and besought him, and desired favour against him, that he would send for him to jerusalem," to be there tried. but they had another end in view; even the same which the zealots, with the approbation of the sanhedrim, had hoped to accomplish on a former occasion. the high priest and the elders, knowing well that st. paul could not be found guilty of any crime, only besought festus to have him brought to jerusalem, because they were determined to get rid of him, by "laying wait in the way to kill him." but their wicked scheme was again defeated, for "festus answered, that paul should be kept at cæsarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither. let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him." and when festus had been about ten days in jerusalem, "he went down unto cæsarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat, commanded paul to be brought. and when he was come" before the judgment seat, "the jews which came down from jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against paul, which they could not prove. while he answered for himself, neither against the law of the jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against cæsar, have i offended anything at all." festus quite saw that st. paul had been guilty of no offence towards the roman government, but that the whole matter concerned the doctrines and customs of the jewish law; and that he, as the roman governor, had no cause to keep him prisoner, or trouble him any further. "but festus, willing to do the jews a pleasure, answered paul, and said, wilt thou go up to jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?" the sanhedrim was the proper court to try questions concerning the jewish law. festus knew nothing of the plots to kill st. paul, for he was a just man, and would not have countenanced such wickedness. he could not order st. paul to be tried by the sanhedrim, for the authority of that court was not recognized by the romans; but probably with the view of convincing the jews that st. paul had not offended against their law, he proposed that the apostle should go up to jerusalem to answer their charges. "then said paul, i stand at cæsar's judgment seat, where i ought to be judged: to the jews have i done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. for if i be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, i refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. i appeal unto cæsar." as a freeman of rome, st. paul could only be tried for any crime, by a court composed of judges appointed by cæsar; hence called "cæsar's judgment seat." again, he declared that he was innocent of any offence against the jews, but that he had no wish to escape a lawful trial, or any just punishment; but that if he were not found guilty of any crime, no person had any right to put him in the power of men so well known to be his enemies as the jews were. he ended by making use of another privilege belonging to a roman citizen, that of appealing unto cæsar: after which he could only be tried at rome, by persons appointed especially for that purpose by the emperor himself. a freeman of rome who had been tried anywhere and found guilty, could then appeal to cæsar, if he thought his sentence unjust. or before trial, if he suspected that his judge was not acting according to law, he could thus appeal to the emperor. an appeal to cæsar was highly respected by every person in authority, and any magistrate who, after such an appeal, dared to punish a prisoner, would himself be liable to severe punishment. this, and all the privileges of a roman citizen, were so much respected, that many years after this time, when the christians were persecuted by order of the emperor trajan, a roman called pliny, whose duty it was to have all christians put to death, wrote a letter to the emperor, in which, after speaking of the numbers he had executed because they would not give up their religion, he says, "there are others, guilty of similar folly, but finding them to be roman citizens, i have determined to send them to rome." perhaps these poor creatures had appealed to cæsar; at any rate, pliny, respecting their privileges, thought it safest to send them to rome, though there could be no doubt that the emperor would immediately order them to be put to death. it was usual for a roman president, or judge, to have a small council of some of the chief romans in the province, whose advice he could ask in any doubtful matter. festus had such a council; for we read, "then festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, hast thou appealed unto cæsar? unto cæsar shalt thou go." thus did the lord overrule events to fulfil his words, "thou must bear witness also at rome." before st. paul could be sent off from cæsarea, he was again called upon to defend himself and declare his doctrines. st. luke says, "and after certain days king agrippa and bernice came unto cæsarea to salute festus." this agrippa and bernice were both the children of herod agrippa, and therefore drusilla was their sister. the emperor claudius had made agrippa king of some of the roman provinces in asia, and had also given him some dominions in judæa, which had been added to by the present emperor nero. it was probably to look after these dominions that agrippa was now come into the country, bringing his sister bernice with him; and it was very natural that they should go to cæsarea to visit the governor. festus, who was evidently rather puzzled about st. paul, as he could see no reason for the accusations of the jews, was glad to have an opportunity of talking over the matter with one, who being himself a jew, would know the laws and customs of his own people, as well as those of the romans. therefore, when agrippa and bernice had been at cæsarea "many days, festus declared paul's cause unto the king, saying, there is a certain man left in bonds by felix: about whom, when i was at jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him. to whom i answered, it is not the manner of the romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him. therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow i sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth. against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as i supposed: but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one jesus, which was dead, whom paul affirmed to be alive. and because i doubted of such manner of questions, i asked him whether he would go to jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters. but when paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of augustus, i commanded him to be kept till i might send him to cæsar." by "their superstition," festus meant the religion of the jews: for the heathen always thus spake of it, and said, that "moses was the inventor of the jews' superstition." the heathens saw that the jews believed in an almighty power, of which they knew nothing, and did certain things to obtain favour from the god they worshipped: this they called superstition, and no doubt they looked upon the christian religion in much the same light. the term "superstition," might much more properly be applied to the belief and practice of the romans themselves, with all their omens and auguries, supposed to reveal the will of their imaginary gods; and their sacrifices and ceremonies, in order to gain their favour. at the time of which we are now speaking, the jews _had_ indeed introduced many superstitions into their religion; for they thought to please god by outward forms and ceremonies, whilst they committed all manner of sins, and rejected the messiah. the christians were ready to give up all earthly joys and comforts, and to suffer death, rather than act contrary to the religion which they professed; and this the heathens looked upon as "foolishness." festus evidently thought that both jews and christians were very foolish, to dispute upon such a subject as the life or death of jesus; for he neither knew nor cared about the doctrines of christianity, and the need of a saviour. little did the roman governor conceive, that the question concerning the resurrection of jesus christ was one of the greatest importance to all mankind, when he thus slightingly spake of "one jesus," "whom paul affirmed to be alive." had st. paul been accused of crimes, as the governor supposed would have been the case, he would have known how to act: but when the accusations were only about such matters as to the romans were "foolishness," festus was perplexed and doubtful, as to the course which he ought to take; for as these questions had caused disturbances in the country, they could not be allowed to pass unnoticed by a roman governor. and probably it was as much to relieve himself from his perplexity as to please the jews, that he proposed to the apostle to go up to jerusalem. all the roman emperors had the title of cæsar, and they also all took that of augustus: but each one had his own particular name or names besides: the "augustus cæsar" here spoken of, was the emperor nero. agrippa listened with interest to all that festus told him of st. paul, and then said, "i would also hear the man myself"--a desire which festus was too happy to gratify. "to-morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him." chapter xxvii.--st. paul before agrippa. "and on the morrow, when agrippa was come, and bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at festus' commandment paul was brought forth." this "place of hearing" was probably some large apartment in the palace where festus lived, set apart for the governor to receive, and give audience to, all persons who came to him on business. this we must remember was no _trial_ of st. paul; he could now have no further trial till he reached rome: there were now no jews present to make accusations against him; it was, in fact, only a private examination of st. paul's opinions, for the gratification of king agrippa. if the apostle had now refused to speak, he could not have been held guilty of disobedience; but he was always ready and willing to give an account of the faith which was in him, and probably he was particularly glad to have an opportunity of speaking of "jesus christ, and him crucified," before agrippa, who, as a jew, had learnt from the prophets to expect the messiah. when all was ready, festus opened the business, and explained the matter to the assembly; who, with the exception of king agrippa, and perhaps a few of his attendants, were all heathens. "and festus said, king agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the jews have dealt with me, both at jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. but when i found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to augustus, i have determined to send him. of whom i have no certain thing to write unto my lord." (that is, no crimes or offences to give, as a reason for his being tried at all.) "wherefore i have brought him forth before you, and especially before thee, o king agrippa, that, after examination had, i might have somewhat to write. for it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him. then agrippa said unto paul, thou art permitted to speak for thyself. then paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: i think myself happy, king agrippa, because i shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof i am accused of the jews: especially because i know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the jews: wherefore i beseech thee to hear me patiently." agrippa having been brought up in jerusalem, when his father herod agrippa lived there as king of judæa by permission of the emperor caligula, had been well instructed in the jewish law and customs; and at this time the emperor nero had entrusted to him the government of the temple, and the care of its treasury: he was also allowed to nominate the high priest. st. paul, conscious of his own innocence, was glad to speak before one so well able to judge of the truth of his words. having bespoken a patient hearing from the king, the apostle continued, "my manner of life from my youth, which was at first among mine own nation at jerusalem" (where he was brought up at the feet of gamaliel), "know all the jews; which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion i lived a pharisee. and now i stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of god unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving god day and night, hope to come. for which hope's sake, king agrippa, i am accused of the jews." the "promise" here spoken of, was that made by god himself to abraham and the patriarchs, and repeated more plainly by the prophets, that the messiah should come upon earth, and by his rising from the dead, prove the truth of the promise of a future life for all men. this promise had always been believed, and its fulfilment looked for, by all true israelites. so far, then, there was no difference of opinion. but the apostle had been convinced, by unmistakable signs, that the promise was fulfilled in jesus christ. for declaring that jesus of nazareth was the messiah, the hope of israel, for whom the twelve tribes had ever been looking, and that he had risen from the dead according to the promise, st. paul was "accused" and persecuted by the jews: some denying that there could be any resurrection at all; others, who allowed that, denying that jesus christ had risen. agrippa as a jew ought to have learnt from all the wonderful things that had been done for his forefathers, that with god nothing was impossible; whilst his study of the jewish scriptures should have taught him, that the resurrection was more than a possibility. st. paul now, therefore, speaking to him as a jew, asks, "why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that god should raise the dead?" the doctrine of the resurrection--or rather the great truth that jesus christ had really risen from the dead--was the one especial point of st. paul's teaching: because all by whom that was once acknowledged, could not fail to see, that he was indeed the promised messiah, worthy of all the love and service his creatures could give him. having spoken of the resurrection, st. paul went on to show agrippa, that what he now taught upon the subject was the more worthy of belief, inasmuch as he himself had not been easily persuaded of this truth, or inclined to join those who believed it. on the contrary, he says, "i verily thought with myself, that i ought to do many things contrary to the name of jesus of nazareth." then, after telling agrippa how in consequence of this idea, he persecuted the followers of jesus, he described the wonderful manner in which he had been brought to see that he _was_ the promised messiah; and he mentioned the peculiar charge given unto him by god, to go unto the gentiles, "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith." "whereupon," continued the apostle, "i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but shewed first unto them of damascus, and at jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of judæa, and then to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to god, and do works meet for repentance. for these causes the jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. having therefore obtained help of god, i continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and moses did say should come: that christ should suffer, and that he should be the first who should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the gentiles." strange indeed did these things sound in the ears of the heathen governor; and without pausing to consider whether they might not indeed be true, "festus said with a loud voice, paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." firm and respectful was the reply to this charge, that he knew not what he was saying: for he said, "i am not mad, most noble festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. for the king knoweth of these things, before whom also i speak freely: for i am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner." agrippa, who could bear witness to the things spoken by moses and the prophets, must also have heard of the many wonderful acts done by jesus during his life; of the events attending his death; and of the works since performed by his apostles; and therefore st. paul refers to him, as able to bear witness that the words which had so astonished festus, were not the words of madness, but of sober truth. having thus replied to festus, st. paul, turning to agrippa, said, "king agrippa, believest thou the prophets?" as a jew, the king must necessarily be a believer in all the scriptures of the old testament; therefore, without waiting for an answer, the apostle added, "i know that thou believest." he said no more, but his meaning was easy to understand. any one, who believing in the scriptures of the old testament, would carefully and honestly compare all that was written concerning the messiah with the birth, life, and death of jesus, must perceive that he was indeed the promised messiah, the anointed, the christ. it is clear by the answer, that the king did so understand the question. "then agrippa said unto paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a christian." he could not deny the truth of what the apostle had said; his reason, if he would have followed its teaching to the end, would have convinced him that the gospel preached by st. paul was the gift of god; the continuation and ending, as it were, of the law of moses; that it involved no _change_ of religion, but its completion or _perfect state_, for that the law had been given to prepare the way for the gospel. just as st. paul, in his epistle to the galatians, wrote, "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto christ." it is probable that agrippa felt much of this; why then did he not become entirely, not _almost_, a christian? because he was not willing to renounce the devil and all his works, and the sinful lusts of the flesh. his life and actions were very far from the purity and holiness necessary in a real true christian; he could not make up his mind to endeavour to lead a new life, consistent with the profession of christianity; and therefore, though almost persuaded, he stopped there. to be _almost_ a christian, is to be in a condition most displeasing to the lord; and yet there are many now, who professing to be members of the church of christ, are, it is to be feared, in this sad state. let us watch and pray, that such may not be our case--remembering, that if we are not daily striving with all our might, to keep our part of the baptismal covenant, whatever it may cost us to do so, we are no more than _almost_ christians, who will never be received as good and faithful servants by our heavenly master. agrippa was not ready to live a life of self-denial, and therefore he could only say, "almost thou persuadest me to be a christian. and paul said, i would to god, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as i am, except these bonds." st. paul could not offer a better prayer for his hearers, nor for all mankind who have ever lived upon earth, than that they should be true and sincere christians, like him in every respect, except in that of being prisoners. the "bonds" here spoken of were the light chains upon his hands, by which, as we have said, prisoners amongst the romans were usually bound to the soldier who had charge of them. st. paul bore no ill-will to those who had unjustly kept him so long a prisoner; he only desired their good, expressing, in the words we have just read, his solemn wish that they might become true christians. chapter xxviii.--st. paul begins his fourth voyage. st. paul's solemn prayer for all who had listened to his words closed the examination. "and when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and bernice, and they that sat with them: and when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, this man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds." all who had heard st. paul speak, saw at once that he had been guilty of no offence against the roman government: and agrippa, who understood the jewish law, pronounced that there was no reason on that account either, to keep him a prisoner. "then said agrippa unto festus, this man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto cæsar." having done so, no prisoner could be set at liberty, without the express command of the emperor. agrippa's opinion would incline the unprejudiced jews not to believe all that the priests and elders had said against st. paul; and it would make festus write a favourable report of his case to rome. probably it was owing to what agrippa now said, that st. paul met with kind treatment, both on the voyage to italy and after his arrival in rome. nothing now remained but to send st. paul to cæsar; and of this voyage, st. luke, who appears never to have quitted him, gives us a full account, saying, "and when it was determined that we should sail into italy, they delivered paul and certain other prisoners unto one named julius, a centurion of augustus' band." although the garrison of cæsarea was at this time composed of syrian soldiers, there was also a small body of roman soldiers, called the augustan band, as belonging particularly to the emperor. under a centurion of this band, st. paul was now to begin his fourth and last journey, a.d. . this journey differed from the three former, inasmuch as they had been undertaken voluntarily, (by direction of the holy spirit,) for the accomplishment of the work given him to do. this fourth journey, though it would equally serve to the great work of spreading the gospel, was to be made as a prisoner. in those days, a voyage was a more serious affair than it is now. it was not easy to find a ship sailing direct from any port in asia to italy, and accordingly we read, "and entering into a ship of adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of asia; one aristarchus, a macedonian of thessalonica, being with us." adramyttium was a sea-port of mysia, quite out of the way of any person wishing to go to italy; but, as the ship was to touch at many ports in asia minor on her way home, it was probable that at one of these ports some vessel might be found which was going into italy, and could take julius and his company on board. the aristarchus here mentioned had become a christian when st. paul preached the gospel in macedonia, and had then gone with the apostle to jerusalem, and helped him in his great work. _why_ he was now a prisoner, we are not told; but it was no doubt for preaching the gospel that he was now a fellow prisoner of st. paul. st. luke, after mentioning the launching at cæsarea, says, "and the next day we touched at sidon. and julius courteously entreated paul," (that is, treated him kindly,) "and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself." there were at this time many christians in ph[oe]nicia; and it must have been a great comfort both to them and to st. paul, to meet and talk and pray together. then we read, "and when we had launched from thence, we sailed under cyprus, because the winds were contrary." the wind blowing pretty strongly from the south-west, the ship, instead of passing to the south of the island, which would have been the shortest way into the archipelago, sailed to the north, where it would be sheltered from the wind by the island itself. thus coming to myra, a sea-port of lycia, julius disembarked his company, as it was useless for those who wished to go into italy, to continue any longer in a ship bound for adramyttium, which would take them greatly out of their way. at myra, the centurion found a ship which had come from the opposite port of alexandria, in egypt, and was now going on to italy. st. luke says, "and he put us therein." much corn was taken from egypt into italy. it was brought from different parts of the country to alexandria, and there put on board ships, which landed it at puteoli, in the south-eastern part of italy; and from thence it was taken to other places as it was wanted. it was one of these vessels, laden with corn, in which julius now embarked his prisoners. st. luke says, "and when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under crete, over against salmone; and, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called the fair havens, nigh whereunto was the city of lasea." cnidus stood on a point of high land at the south-west corner of asia minor; and from thence the master of the vessel meant to steer directly westward, passing to the north of the isle of crete; but the wind being contrary, the vessel was many days in going from myra as far as cnidus, and then it was obliged to go to the south of crete, passing by salmone, a promontory, or cape, on the eastern end of the island. this they had much difficulty in passing; and then they took refuge in a port, called the fair havens, near to which was a city called lasea. it was now a time of year when sailing was considered dangerous, on account of high winds, called the equinoctial gales, which generally begin to blow in september. at this time of the year, on the th of their month tisri, answering to our th of september, the jews, by the appointment of god, kept the great "fast of expiation," according to the law of moses. on this day, no work was to be done; the people were to spend their time in confessing their sins, and praying for true repentance, and consequent forgiveness. they were further to afflict their souls by fasting, and by abstaining from every kind of pleasure or amusement. in the early times of the jewish history, this fast was so strictly kept, that no jew would upon it wash his face, nor put on his shoes, nor even read any part of the scriptures which gave him pleasure. the law commanded that this day should be kept entirely as a day of mourning and sorrow; whilst the priests were to offer certain sacrifices as an atonement, or expiation, for all the sins of the people, that they might be looked upon as clean from all their sins. all that was commanded to be done on this solemn fast-day, was to be a type, or sign, of the great future sacrifice to be made by jesus christ; who by his death, made a sufficient expiation and atonement for the sins of the whole world, and thus took away from all his faithful people the dreadful consequences of sin, which _no_ sacrifice of beasts ever could have done. the "fast of expiation" took place, as we have said, on the th of september; and after that time, the ancients considered a sea-voyage dangerous, on account of the tempestuous winds which blew at that season: they therefore generally laid up their ships for the winter. st. paul had had considerable experience in the dangers of the sea, for he had often been in "perils of the sea," of which st. luke makes no mention. in the second epistle to the corinthians, written, as we have heard, about two years before this last voyage, st. paul, speaking of the dangers and sufferings he had undergone whilst preaching the gospel, says, amongst other things, "thrice i suffered shipwreck, a night and a day i have been in the deep." st. paul therefore was well aware of the danger of sailing at this season of the year; and probably the holy spirit had made known unto him, that danger awaited the ship if she now continued her voyage. this explanation is necessary for the right understanding of what we shall now read, as told us by st. luke. the ship, we must remember, had with much difficulty arrived safely at the "fair havens" in crete. "now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, paul admonished them, and said unto them, sirs, i perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by paul. and because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of crete, and lieth toward the south-west and north-west." that is, phenice was on the south-west coast of the island, to the north-west of lasea and the fair havens. a change in the weather at this time, confirmed those who were anxious to reach phenice, in their opinion that it might be done. "and when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by crete." by keeping close to the shore, they hoped to accomplish their purpose. "but not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called euroclydon." the word "euroclydon" is made up from two greek words, one of which means a wave, and the other the south-east wind. it was a violent wind which blew furiously generally from the south-east, and made the waves exceedingly rough, and very dangerous for small vessels. the same kind of wind is now known in the mediterranean sea as a "levanter," because it generally blows from the east, and the levant is the eastern part of that sea. sometimes it blows for a short time from some other quarter, which makes it all the more dangerous, because the sudden change of a very violent wind is apt to capsize, or overset, a ship, not prepared for such a change. this terrible wind now came on, blowing furiously from the east. the rudder--that is, the machine by which a ship is guided on its course--was useless in such a storm, and the vessel became quite unmanageable. st. luke says, "and when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive." the ship, thus left to the mercy of the wind, was driven straight to an island, called clauda. we read, "and running under a certain island which is called clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship." most ships have a small boat, which is usually drawn after them by a rope fastened to the stern, or hind part, of the vessel; but, fearing that the violence of the wind and waves would wash the boat quite away, the sailors, though with great difficulty, managed to draw it up on the ship's deck, ready for use in case of need. "undergirding," was passing strong ropes under the ship, and bringing the ends from each side upon deck, where they were fastened together; so as to support and hold in their places, all the planks and timbers of which the ship was built. sheltered a little from the storm under the north side of the island of clauda, the seamen were able to accomplish this work, after which they could do no more. chapter xxix.--the ship runs aground. st. luke having mentioned the undergirding of the ship, adds, "and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven." the ship being unable to resist the wind blowing strongly from the north-east, must of necessity be carried into the gulf of syrtis minor, on the african coast; but before reaching it, the vessel would have to pass a dangerous bank of sand on the coast of africa. this bank was of great extent, and any ship that was carried upon it would gradually sink, and sink into the sand, until it was quite buried. the sailors, fearing such a fate for their ship, took down all the sails, so that the wind might have less power over it. in this condition the ship was at the mercy of the wind and waves; and was driven here and there, without power to help herself. all on board the ship were now in a dreadful situation: exposed to the fury of a wind which blew them sometimes one way and sometimes another. in order to make the ship lighter, so that it might more easily rise to the top of the waves, the seamen first threw overboard the cargo of wheat carried by the ship, and then even the very ropes and sails belonging to it. but the storm continued, the sky was dark with clouds, and as there was no possibility of help, all gave themselves up for lost, and expected to be swallowed up in this tempestuous sea. under such circumstances, all regular habits were at an end; no one thought of taking food, and consequently the strength of all was rapidly becoming less and less. st. luke's account is, "and we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. but after long abstinence paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. and now i exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. for there stood by me this night the angel of god, whose i am, and whom i serve, saying, fear not, paul; thou must be brought before cæsar: and, lo, god hath given thee all them that sail with thee. wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for i believe god, that it shall be even as it was told me. howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island." st. paul's words and his steadfast faith, must have been a comfort to his fellow voyagers; and if any of the heathens were then inclined to believe in the god whose servant he was, their faith would be confirmed by all that took place afterwards. we next read in the book of acts, "but when the fourteenth night was come," (think of being fourteen days in such an awful position!) "as we were driven up and down in adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; and sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day." the ancients seem to have given the name of "adria," to that part of the mediterranean sea between greece and the south of italy, extending up into what we call the adriatic sea; here, by the force of the wind and the currents, the ship was driven backwards and forwards, even as far as the islands off the coast of dalmatia. "sounding" means measuring how deep the sea is: this is done by means of a piece of lead fastened to a very long string, called "the line," which has marks upon it, to show the number of feet. the lead of course sinks straight down into the water: if it touches the bottom of the sea, it is immediately drawn up, and by observing how much of the line is wet, they can tell how deep the sea is in any particular spot. as every ship has a good portion of it _below_ the water, she requires a certain depth of water to keep her from touching the bottom. the sea generally becomes less deep near the shore, and thus when the shipmen found that the depth of the sea had diminished from twenty to fifteen fathoms, it was high time to wait for daylight to see where they were; lest during the night the ship should run upon some land, or rock, or sandbank, and so be lost. a fathom is seven feet, so that twenty fathoms were feet, and fifteen feet. in order to understand what follows, we must remember that although _now_ anchors are always let down from the _prow_, or fore part of the ship, it was the custom of the ancients to let them down from the _stern_, or hind part of their vessels. some of the large egyptian ships do even now carry their anchors at the stern, and not at the prow. the vessel in which st. paul was, was anchored from the stern by four anchors, to wait for daylight. it seems that some of the shipmen, or sailors, seeing the dangerous condition of the ship, thought they should be safer out of it; and so without any consideration for others, made up their minds to steal away secretly during the night, taking the boat with them; under pretence that their only object in now leaving the ship, was to make its position more secure, by letting down some anchors from the prow also. st. luke says, "and as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off." of course the lord could equally have saved the passengers, whether the sailors remained in the ship or not; but it was his will that all should be delivered in one way; and perhaps this was intended to be a test of faith and obedience. the roman soldiers certainly had faith in st. paul as the servant of a mighty god, to whom all things are possible, and whose promise would be assuredly fulfilled: therefore they at once took effectual means to prevent any one leaving the ship, by cutting the ropes which still held the boat, and letting it drift away. according to the opinion of man, they did a very foolish act in getting rid of a boat, which might be of the greatest use to them. at crete they had "believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by paul"; but they had had good reason to change their opinion, and to believe that the apostle was indeed guided by his god; and their faith made them obedient. "and while the day was coming on, paul besought them all to take meat, saying, this day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. wherefore i pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you"; meaning, that no one would suffer the slightest injury, but that it was necessary for them to take some food, that they might have strength for all that they would be called upon to do. to his precept, the apostle added example; for "when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to god in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat." even at such a moment, st. paul did not forget to give god thanks for his food. the whole company in the ship would thus see how constantly he thought of god, and endeavoured to do him honour; and heathens though they were, his example must have taught them to think with reverence of the god of the christians. mean time the calm and firm trust displayed by the whole conduct of the apostle, gave comfort and encouragement to all. "then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat." st. luke tells us how many people there were on board the ship: for he says, "and we were all in the ship two hundred three-score and sixteen souls," or persons. "and when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea." this wheat was probably the remainder of their provisions for the voyage, for the cargo seems to have been thrown overboard before: but perhaps the owner of the vessel had tried to keep some of the cargo, in hope of still carrying it to italy: but now, finding that hope was vain, he consented to let it be cast out, so as to lighten the ship, and render her more likely to go safely on shore. whilst, under all circumstances, we put our whole trust in god, who alone can bless any of our efforts with success, we must never forget that it is our duty to _use_ all our efforts, and make use of every means which the lord places within our reach. "and when it was day, they knew not the land," the shore which they saw was that of a strange land; "but they discovered a certain creek with a shore," a narrow arm of the sea, with a shore on each side; into this creek "they were minded," that is, they wished "to thrust in the ship," as it would then be easier for those on board to get to shore. "and when they had taken up the anchors," or rather cut the ropes which held the ship to them, "they committed themselves unto the sea," that is, left the ship to be carried along by the wind and waves, "and loosed the rudder bands," which appear to have been ropes used to fasten the rudder, so as to steer the ship in any particular direction; "and hoised up the mainsail," to give the wind more power to move the ship, and so "made toward shore." the wind now seemed likely to take them into the creek; but at the entrance of it, there appears to have been a headland or bank of earth, which caused a strong current from two sides, so that two seas might be said to meet. as they could not guide the ship to go round either end of this barrier, the wind drove it directly upon it. st. luke's account is, "and falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves." it was now evident that the ship must go to pieces in a few minutes, and that to remain in it would be certain death. chapter xxx.--the ship's company saved. in the hopeless condition of the ship, gradually breaking up from the violence of the waves which beat upon the hind part, whilst the fore part was held fast on the bank, all possibility of guarding the prisoners was at an end. "and the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape." they probably feared, that even under such peculiar circumstances, if any of the prisoners under their charge escaped, they would be blamed and punished by the roman government; which treated with great severity any fault or carelessness committed by soldiers, or others trusted with the charge of criminals. but the centurion, "willing to save paul," to whom he must have felt that their safety was owing, "kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: and the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship"; in short, anything which would float on the top of the water, and so keep them from sinking, whilst the wind and the waves would drive them to the shore. "and so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land." there have been many wonderful escapes of shipwrecked persons, but that people, many of whom could not swim, should all have got safe to the shore in such a storm, must be looked upon as the miraculous fulfilment of the lord's promise to st. paul, that there should be no loss of any man's life. "and when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called melita." in the map we find the island of melita, or meleda, in the adriatic sea, on the coast of dalmatia; and this is most probably the island upon which st. paul and his companions were shipwrecked: but in maps where the journeys of this apostle are traced out by lines, you will not see any line running out to this melita; but you will observe that they go to melita, or malta, to the south of sicily, because many people have imagined that _that_ was the island on which the ship was wrecked. now when we have read st. luke's account of what happened when st. paul landed at melita, we shall see the reasons why the island must have been melita, or meleda, on the dalmatian coast, and not melita, or malta, in the mediterranean sea. st. luke says, "and the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. and when paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." a viper is a very dangerous kind of serpent, as the venom or poison from its bite will kill a man; these creatures become stupid in cold wet weather, and lie _torpid_, or as if they were asleep: one of them lying thus amongst the sticks, was picked up with them by st. paul; but as soon as it felt the heat it came to life, and darting out upon the apostle's hand, bit it. "and when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, no doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live." these people having no idea of true religion, fancied that the gods punished crimes upon earth only; and that as st. paul had not been drowned, they had caused the viper to sting him, that he might die as he deserved. "and he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god." now we must remember, that the shipwreck took place as the vessel was driven up and down in adria, that part of the sea close to meleda. the inhabitants of that island were, as st. luke calls them, "barbarous" and "barbarians," in the sense of being uncivilized, unacquainted even with the comforts and conveniences of life. the inhabitants of malta, on the contrary, were a civilized people: they had good towns and fine buildings: the people were rich and prosperous, and acquainted with the arts and science of civilized life: the finest linen was made there; and ships came from all parts for the purposes of trade. then, again, meleda _is_ cold and damp, with plenty of trees all over it, even down to the water's edge; and there are many serpents in the island. malta, on the contrary, is warm and dry; there are but few trees in the island, and none near the shore: and besides, there are no serpents there. now all these are good reasons for our believing that st. paul was shipwrecked on the island of melita, or meleda, in the adriatic sea, and not upon the melita, or malta, which lies to the south of sicily. st. luke next tells us, that "in the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously": by which time some arrangement could be made for the future entertainment of the shipwrecked strangers, who would have to remain for some months in the island. the father of publius lay ill at this time of a painful and dangerous illness; "to whom paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. so when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary." these people were truly grateful for all the benefits they received from the apostle; and besides honouring or treating him with respect, whilst he lived amongst them, they furnished the provisions needful for himself and his companions, when at last they quitted melita. we may be quite sure, though we are told nothing on the subject, that during the three months passed in this island by st. paul, he preached the gospel faithfully and earnestly: and we may well hope and believe, that some of these barbarous people became true followers of the blessed jesus, of whose power they had seen such a wonderful instance, in the preservation of st. paul and his companions. another ship from alexandria had passed the winter at meleda: perhaps she had come up the adriatic to bring corn from egypt to the countries on the borders of that sea, and when the storm came on, had wisely determined to remain where she was for the winter; or perhaps she had only been on her way to rome, and had turned out of her course to take shelter, as soon as the storm arose and made sailing dangerous. however that may be, this ship, which was called "the castor and pollux" had passed the winter at meleda. we all know that ships and boats always have a name painted upon the stern, to distinguish them from one another. many large ships have also a figure or image as well: thus a ship called "the lord nelson," would have fastened to the _fore_ part, or prow, an image or figure of lord nelson cut out in wood and painted. this sort of thing is called the "figure-head." the ancients, instead of putting a figure, painted the picture of one, on the fore part of their vessels, and this was called "the sign." castor and pollux were two of the imaginary gods or heroes of the ancients: they were twin brothers, and were supposed to take particular care of sailors. a picture of castor and pollux was painted on this ship of alexandria. st. luke says, "and after three months we departed in a ship of alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was castor and pollux." their voyage was undisturbed now, and they soon reached the island of sicily, "and landing at syracuse," then the capital of the island, "tarried there three days. and from thence," st. luke says, "we fetched a compass, and came to rhegium," a town in italy, almost opposite to that of messina, another considerable town in sicily, and just at the entrance of the straits of messina. at rhegium they appear to have intended to wait for a favourable wind; for we read, "and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to puteoli." here the voyage ended: at puteoli the ship would land whatever cargo she carried, and then return to alexandria. st. paul and his companions must go by land to rome, about one hundred miles to the north-west of puteoli. puteoli was not only a great place of trade for corn, but also for merchandise of all kinds, which was brought there from different countries, to be exchanged for the productions of italy. this exchange is, as we have already said, called "commerce." with so many people from all parts coming to puteoli, it was impossible that the christian religion should not have been brought into the place by some of them; and it appears that there were at this time a certain number of christians at puteoli: for st. luke says, "where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days." they were naturally glad of such an opportunity of conversing with the apostle, and wished to keep him with them for seven days; and it seems that he was allowed to remain with them, which speaks well for the kindness of julius, the centurion under whose care he was placed, and who had all along evidently favoured st. paul. they then "went toward rome. and from thence," st. luke says, "when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as appii forum, and the three taverns." rome was at this time the most important city in the world: people came there from all countries; so we are not surprised to find that there were great numbers of christians there. when the news reached them that st. paul, whom many of them had probably known in other countries, was not only landed in italy, but was actually approaching rome from puteoli, great numbers went out to meet and welcome him. some of them went as far as appii forum, a place about fifty miles from rome; others met him at the "three taverns," about thirty miles from rome. the sight of so many true christians was a great joy to the apostle, who was anxious that all men everywhere should repent and turn to god. st. luke says, "whom when paul saw, he thanked god, and took courage." thanked god for all that had been done in the conversion of the heathen; whilst he was encouraged to hope for a still further spread of the gospel, whatever might be his own fate. chapter xxxi.--st. paul a prisoner at rome. the centurion julius had now finished his work, he had brought st. paul from cæsarea to rome, as he had been ordered to do. on the way, he had seen wonderful things, which must have convinced him that the prisoner whom he was now to deliver into the charge of others, was a good and holy man, under the especial protection of his god; and he had moreover seen that this god was great and powerful, and able to command the wind and waves, as none of the gods worshipped by the heathen, could do. whether he, or any other of st. paul's fellow voyagers, became christians, we are not told. st. luke tells us, "and when we came to rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him." it was probably owing to what festus had written after agrippa's interview with his prisoner, that he was now allowed to live in a hired house of his own, with merely one soldier to guard him; instead of being shut up in prison, as he would have been, had he been supposed to have broken any of the roman laws. according to custom, he was probably linked by a small chain to this soldier, but he was not prevented from seeing anybody who came to him; and he soon made use of this liberty, for "it came to pass, that after three days paul called the chief of the jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, men and brethren, though i have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was i delivered prisoner from jerusalem into the hands of the romans, who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. but when the jews spake against it, i was constrained to appeal unto cæsar; not that i had ought to accuse my nation of. for this cause therefore have i called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of israel i am bound with this chain." st. paul was anxious that the jews at rome should not be prevented from listening to his teaching, by the idea that he was a prisoner on account of any crimes he had committed; and as they might, perhaps, have heard some account of all that had happened at jerusalem, he took the earliest opportunity of explaining, that he had done nothing contrary to the religion taught by moses; and that, in fact, the only reason for which he was a prisoner was, that he had preached of the coming of the messiah, and of the future resurrection of all men,--matters taught by all the prophets, and so firmly believed by the children of israel in all ages, that the doctrine might truly be called "the hope of israel"; for upon it, depended all their hope of obtaining favour and mercy from the almighty. the jews of rome, however, had heard nothing of the treatment which st. paul had received from their brethren in jerusalem, "and they said unto him, we neither received letters out of judæa concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. but we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against." these jews were not prejudiced against st. paul, but were willing to listen to all he had to say. they knew that the christians, "this sect," as they called them, were much spoken against, and that while some thought their doctrines were true and right, others said they were false and mischievous,--likely to make men _wicked_ instead of good,--and ought not, therefore, to be attended to at all. under these circumstances, the jews at rome were anxious to hear from st. paul's own mouth, a true account of the doctrines which he taught. the apostle was only too glad of having such an opportunity of explaining the truths of the gospel to the jews. "and when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of god, persuading them concerning jesus, both out of the law of moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening,"--that is, he showed them from what had been said both by moses and the prophets, that jesus of nazareth was indeed the messiah, promised to faithful abraham, as the son or seed in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed. for one whole day, from morning till evening, did the apostle argue with these jews, trying to persuade them to become followers of jesus: with some he succeeded; with some he failed: for st. luke says, "and some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. and when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that paul had spoken one word." this "one word" of which st. luke speaks, was a quotation from the writings of the prophet isaiah, showing them, that by their obstinate refusal to believe the word of god, they put themselves amongst the number of those, who would be left in their own wilful blindness: and that the gospel, or words of salvation, would be preached to the gentiles, and that they would be far more willing to receive it, than the jews had ever been. the apostle's speech, or "one word," addressed to these unbelieving jews, was, "well spake the holy ghost by esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, go unto this people, and say, hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and i should heal them. be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of god is sent unto the gentiles, and that they will hear it." we have read the words which st. paul spake to the unbelieving jews, "and when he had said these words, the jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves." whether their "reasoning," or talking together, led to the conversion of any of them, we do not know. nor are we told of any trial of st. paul taking place, either before the emperor himself, or by persons appointed by him: all that we do know is, that "paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of god, and teaching those things which concern the lord jesus christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." this shows that st. paul enjoyed a great deal of liberty, although he was still considered as a prisoner, and could not leave rome. during these two years, st. paul, besides preaching to all who would hear him, wrote epistles to the ephesians; philippians, or inhabitants of philippi; to the colossians, or people of colossé, in asia minor; and one to philemon, a rich man of colossé. in these epistles he speaks of himself as a "prisoner," and mentions his "bonds." you will remember all that happened at ephesus, and how long st. paul remained there at one time; and how on another occasion he sent for the elders to miletus, and took leave of them, knowing that he should see them again no more. that was three years before the time of which we are now speaking: but st. paul had not forgotten them, and therefore, in the year (a.d.), he, being a prisoner at rome, wrote an epistle, or letter, to the christians at ephesus. in this epistle, the apostle speaks to the ephesians of the great mercy shown by god to the gentiles (amongst whom they themselves were), in allowing them to share the blessings of the gospel, without being required to keep the law of moses. in return for such great mercy, st. paul entreats the ephesians to show their gratitude by their conduct, and to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called. "vocation" means calling, profession, employment, state, or condition: they were _called_ to be christians; their _profession_ was that they were his servants; their _employment_ ought to be doing the will of god: by the atonement of jesus, they had been brought into a state or condition for obtaining salvation, and now they must try to walk worthy of their vocation: leading in all things such a life as was expected from the followers of the holy jesus, who are bound to follow his example to the extent of their powers. what st. paul said on this subject, equally applies to us; for our vocation is the same as that of the ephesians, and we must strive hard to work worthy of it, that is, to be good christians. in this epistle, many particular rules are given for the conduct of christians; one of which is, "children, obey your parents." st. paul had, as we have read, established during his second journey a church, or company of believers, at philippi, in macedonia. we shall remember how lydia showed her gratitude to st. paul, and how the imprisonment of him and silas, led to the conversion of the jailor, who became a true believer in jesus. during his third journey, st. paul again went into macedonia, after the riot at ephesus, and then he visited philippi once more. the philippians, grateful to god for the gift of the holy gospel received through st. paul, were anxious to do whatever they could for the apostle; and whilst he was preaching at thessalonica, the chief town in their part of the country, the christians of philippi, who were but a small company, twice sent money to st. paul, that the success of his teaching might be in no way hindered, by his having to depend upon the thessalonians for the supply of his temporal wants. they did the same thing again whilst st. paul was at corinth; and now, hearing that he was in confinement at rome, they feared that he might be badly off for food and other necessary things. a collection was therefore made amongst the christians at philippi, and the sum thus collected was sent to rome by epaphroditus, one of their pastors, or ministers. st paul was truly thankful for this timely supply; for before epaphroditus came, he really had been in great want of necessaries: he could not work at his trade of tent-making now he was a prisoner, and he did not think it advisable to ask assistance from the christians at rome. epaphroditus stayed at rome for several months; and during the time he became extremely ill. after he got well again, st. paul sent him back to philippi: and by him, he sent an epistle, which he had written to thank the philippians for their thoughtful care of him in his time of need. in this epistle, also, the apostle begs the christians of philippi not to listen to false teachers, who tried to draw them away from the truth as he had taught it to them; but to try to obey the lord in all things, and continue to love each other. as usual in all his epistles, st. paul gives the philippians much good advice and many holy precepts: he also speaks much of jesus christ, and of the necessity of loving him, and following his example. chapter xxxii.--st. paul set at liberty. the epistle to the colossians was also written by st. paul whilst he was a prisoner at rome: probably about the end of the year (a.d.). colossé was a city of phrygia, where st. paul had founded a church; that is, converted a certain number to be believers or christians, during his first or second journey, when he was travelling throughout asia minor. the believers of colossé, having heard of the apostle's imprisonment at rome, sent one of their ministers, named epaphras, to see how he was treated; and also to give him an account of how the church at colossé was going on. after hearing all that epaphras could tell him, st. paul wrote an epistle, which he sent to the colossians by tychicus, of whom he speaks as a "beloved brother," that is, a faithful fellow christian. tychicus was accompanied to colossé by onesimus, of whom we shall say more presently. in this epistle to the colossians, st. paul proves, that man's only hope of salvation rests upon the atonement made by jesus christ; and he shows, therefore, how wrong the jews were to insist upon the observance of the law of moses, as if that could save them. he also warned the colossians not to be led away by the errors of the philosophers, or wise men, who taught doctrines _not_ taught by the gospel. he exhorts them to show their faith in christ by holiness of life, and the due performance of every duty to their fellow creatures; and entreats them to "continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." st. paul ends this letter, by telling the colossians that they will hear everything concerning him from tychicus and onesimus, by whom he had sent the epistle. onesimus, who is here spoken of, had been the slave of a rich man of colossé, named philemon, who had been converted to christianity by st paul. onesimus ran away from his master, to whom he belonged, and thus robbed him of his services; and some think he also robbed philemon of money. onesimus fled to rome; and there god inclined this runaway slave to listen to the teaching of st. paul, and, in consequence, he became a christian and was baptized: after this, the apostle kept onesimus with him for some time, that he might see whether his conduct showed that he was really and truly a christian. he soon saw that this was the case; and indeed onesimus gave a strong proof of the change in his heart and feelings, by wishing to go back to colossé, and give himself up again as a slave to philemon, in order to make up for the injury he had done him by running away. in doing this, onesimus ran some risk; for the laws of phrygia allowed a master to punish a runaway slave very severely, and even put him to death if he pleased: but he felt that it was his duty to go back, and make amends for the wrong he had done; and therefore he went, trusting in god to save him, or to enable him to bear whatever punishment might be inflicted. st. paul felt a great interest in onesimus, whom he speaks of as his son, because he had converted him to the new life of a christian; and therefore he wrote to philemon, earnestly begging of him not only to pardon onesimus for any wrong he had done him, but also now to receive him, not as a servant, but as a fellow christian, "a brother beloved." we are not told in the scriptures any more on this subject, but there can be no doubt that philemon did all that st. paul requested. there is reason to believe that onesimus became a preacher of the gospel: some people think that he was afterwards bishop of ephesus, and that he finally suffered martyrdom at rome: but this is not certain. st. paul was not the only apostle who wrote epistles, though he wrote twice as many as all the other apostles put together. during this time, when st. paul was a prisoner in rome, st. james wrote the epistle which bears his name. st. james was, we must remember, head or bishop of the church at jerusalem; and from jerusalem he wrote his epistle, not to the inhabitants of any particular place, but to the jewish christians in general; that is, to those christians who had been jews before, wherever they might now be residing. in this epistle, st. james warns those to whom he wrote, not to be led away to follow any of the bad practices which were but too common in those days; and he also explained to them, that they were mistaken as to the meaning of some of the doctrines taught by st. paul, who had never preached anything that was not quite according to the will of god. st. james also gave many precepts for the conduct of christians, and for the due performance of their various duties--encouraging them to try, by showing that the lord had promised success to those who do really try. "resist the devil, and he will flee from you." "draw nigh to god, and he will draw nigh to you." "god resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." "humble yourselves in the sight of the lord, and he shall lift you up." these are texts full of encouragement to all christians, to the end of time. and equally necessary for us now, as for the believers to whom st. james wrote, are, "be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." "speak not evil one of another." "grudge not one against another"; and all the other warnings and precepts contained in this short, but beautiful epistle, written by st. james. some time in the course of the year (a.d.), st. paul was set completely at liberty, so that he might go wherever he pleased: but he did not immediately quit rome, but remained there till he had completed two years; "preaching the kingdom of god, and teaching those things which concern the lord jesus christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." the roman emperor nero had not made any law to forbid the christian religion being preached and followed; the jews did not therefore, dare to persecute st. paul at rome; for by his being set at liberty, the roman government had shown that they considered him an innocent man, unjustly accused by his fellow countrymen. it seems that one reason why st. paul now remained in italy was, that he expected timothy to join him in rome, and then set out with him on another voyage. whilst st. paul was thus waiting for timothy, he wrote his epistle to the hebrews. the object of this epistle was to convince the hebrews or jews, of the truth of the gospel; and in it, he pointed out that everything which he had told them of christ's human and divine nature, of his atonement and intercession, agreed perfectly with all that the scriptures of the old testament, the writings of moses and the prophets, had said of the messiah. he showed them that the gospel was far superior to the law; for that, in fact, the law had only been given to prepare the way for the messiah, and to lead men to believe in him and to serve him. the bible gives us no further account of st. paul's travels, but we have reason to believe, that after timothy had joined him at rome, they went to spain and britain, and to other western countries, preaching the gospel everywhere, and converting great numbers of his hearers. after this voyage to the west, st. paul appears to have visited jerusalem again; and then to have gone through syria and other parts of asia minor, and so on even into macedonia; this we gather from one of his epistles, in which he says, that at miletum he had been obliged to leave one of his companions, called trophimus, who was too ill to go on any further, and that at troas he had left a cloak and some parchments. parchment is the skin of sheep, prepared in a particular manner, so as to be fit to write upon. very soon after st. paul left jerusalem, to make this fifth and last journey, st. james was killed at jerusalem by the unbelieving jews. festus, the roman governor, died; and before his successor, albinus, could get to judæa, the jews raised a tumult, and st. james is said to have been thrown down from some part of the temple, and then knocked on the head with a club or heavy stick. albinus, when he did come, proved himself to be a very bad ruler; for he was so extremely fond of money, that in order to get it, he was not only guilty of great oppression, but he allowed the people to commit all sorts of wickedness without being punished, if they would only give him a sufficient sum of money. he was not governor for long, but was succeeded by gessius florus, about a.d. . this gessius florus was one of the worst of men, and the jews suffered dreadfully under his government, for he pillaged whole provinces; encouraged the banditti, on condition that they gave him part of their plunder; he robbed the sacred treasury, and even tried to excite the jews to open rebellion, in order that, in the confusion, no complaints of his conduct might be carried to rome. awful indeed were the evils which now began to fall upon the unhappy jews, who had provoked the wrath of god by their rejection of the messiah. in consequence of the sad state of judæa, many of the inhabitants sought refuge in foreign countries; those who remained applied to cestius gallus, the governor of syria, and earnestly begged that he would deliver them from the cruel tyranny of florus. gallus, instead of inquiring into florus's conduct, sent the jews away, merely telling them their governor should behave better for the future, which, however, he did not do. in the year (a.d.), there was a fire at rome, which burnt a great many houses, and did much damage in the city; the emperor nero himself was greatly suspected of having caused it, in order to have an excuse for persecuting the christians: he delighted in the sufferings and miseries of others, and would have no pity for the poor creatures who would lose all their property in such a fire. at any rate, nero chose to accuse the christians of having set fire to the city, and on this pretence they were now treated with the greatest cruelty; tortured first, and then put to death in many barbarous ways. when this persecution began, it is probable that st. paul was in the island of crete; but, on hearing of the sufferings of the christians at rome, he immediately went there, to strengthen and encourage the brethren to bear any torture, and even death itself, rather than give up their religion. he comforted them by reminding them of the love of christ, and by assuring them that his blessing would rest upon them, whether they lived or died. st paul was not long allowed to carry on this good work, for he was himself imprisoned on account of his religion; and he saw plainly that he should soon be called upon to give up his life for the sake of his divine master; but this prospect did not disturb him; he was ready and willing to go, and be with christ. chapter xxxiii.--martyrdom of st. paul and st. peter. st. paul, feeling that he was about to be taken away from earth, wrote to take leave of timothy, whom he had loved as his own son. this letter, which is called "the second epistle of paul the apostle to timothy," gave him such advice as the apostle thought might be useful to him. the first epistle to timothy has already been mentioned, as having been written nine years before, when st. paul went into macedonia, after the riot at ephesus, where he had left timothy to direct the affairs of the church. in this second epistle, st paul entreats timothy to keep steadfastly in the faith of the gospel, in spite of every danger. in this epistle the apostle declares his willingness to die; his conscience told him that ever since he became a follower of jesus, he had tried to please his heavenly master; and therefore he felt, that he should enjoy in heaven that happiness which god has promised to all who truly love and serve him. st. paul's own words are, "i am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. i have fought a good fight, i have finished my course, i have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." we must all try to fight a good fight against the devil, and all our own sinful tempers and wishes: we too must keep the faith, doing all those things which the gospel bids christians do: then when we have finished our course, and done the work given us to do, we, like st. paul, may hope, that for the sake of jesus christ, we shall be looked upon as righteous, and as such, be received into everlasting happiness. very soon after writing this second epistle to timothy, st. paul suffered martyrdom by command of nero, because he would not renounce his faith, and bow down to the false gods of the heathen. being a freeman of rome, st. paul was put to death by having his head cut off with a sword, instead of being given to be devoured by wild beasts, as the christians usually were. the apostle died in the month of june, a.d. . slaves and persons guilty of great crimes, were often condemned to fight with wild beasts, who of course tore them to pieces: this was a most cruel barbarous way of putting even the greatest criminals to death; and yet to such a fate were christians condemned, because they would not "deny the lord who bought them!" it is dreadful to think that the people delighted in witnessing such dreadful fights, which took place in the amphitheatres. these amphitheatres were buildings without roofs; each consisting of a large space enclosed by walls of moderate height, called the arena; and rows of seats outside the wall of the arena, rising up like steps to the outward wall of the building. from these seats, which were always crowded, the spectators could see whatever was going on in the arena. about the time that st. paul suffered martyrdom at rome, strange and awful sights were seen at jerusalem: the almighty thus warning his once-favoured people, that as they had forsaken him, so he had given them up; and that all the evils foretold by jesus christ, were now about to fall upon their devoted city. the cruel and unjust conduct of their governor florus, and the consequent anger of the people, threatened to produce a war in judæa; and in addition to this there were famines and earthquakes, and fearful sights in the heavens. just before the passover, when a multitude of people were assembled at jerusalem to keep it, on a sudden, in the middle of the night, such a brilliant light shone round the temple and the altar, that it seemed to be day. a few days afterwards, just before the sun set, chariots and troops of soldiers were seen passing through the clouds, fighting with each other. then the eastern gate of the temple, which was of solid brass, and so heavy that twenty men could hardly open or shut it, flew open of itself one night, although it was fastened with strong bars and bolts. at the feast of pentecost, when the priests were going into the inner temple by night to attend to their duties, they heard voices saying, "let us depart hence"; and immediately there was a noise as of a multitude of people, rushing forth out of the temple. these and other wonderful signs must have filled the jews with alarm; whilst real troubles were daily increasing upon them. there had long been a dispute between the syrians and the jews, as to which of them had the best right to the city of cæsarea philippi, built on the borders of the two countries. in the time of felix, the two parties were preparing to fight for the possession of it; but the governor stopped them for a time, and sent the chiefs of both nations to rome, to plead their cause before the emperor. nothing had then been decided; but now, in the year a.d. , nero declared that the town of cæsarea philippi should belong to the syrians. this decision was very displeasing to the jews, and led to a dreadful war, which ended in the destruction of jerusalem a few years later. but before we go on with this subject, we must go back a little, and say a few words about st. peter. the book of acts tells us nothing more of the apostle st. peter after the council held by st. james and the church at jerusalem, when "paul and barnabas, and certain other of them," were sent up from antioch "to jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders," to inquire whether it was needful for the gentiles who became christians, to be also "circumcised after the manner of moses," and "to keep the law." when there had been much disputation on the subject, st. peter spake out boldly; reminding the assembly of the conversion of cornelius, and telling them that after what god had then done, it would be quite wrong to require the gentiles to be circumcised and keep the law of moses. this speech decided the matter; and st. james then gave sentence, that the ceremonial law was not binding upon the gentile converts. soon after this, st. peter and st. paul were together at antioch; and there, st. peter, in his eagerness to please the jews, withdrew himself from the gentiles, as thus countenancing the idea that being uncircumcised, they were not fit company for the jews. st. paul blamed him, and showed him that he was doing wrong, since he himself knew, that in the sight of god there would be no difference between jew and gentile, circumcision or uncircumcision, when once they became believers in jesus christ. this happened a.d. . where st. peter spent the next seventeen years, we do not know; but wherever he was, we may be quite sure that he zealously preached the gospel, and endeavoured to bring all men to believe in jesus christ. it is most likely that st. peter came to rome just before or after st. paul's martyrdom, in the year (a.d.); and he then wrote his first epistle. this epistle was not written to the inhabitants of any particular place, but generally, to all the jewish christians, who had been forced by persecution to leave their own land and take refuge in heathen countries; and also to those gentiles who had become christians, and were now living in many different countries. in his epistle, st. peter entreats all to whom he writes, to keep steady to their religion, and suffer anything rather than give it up. he also shows them how necessary it is that they should lead holy and blameless lives, not only for their own sake, that they might obtain the blessing of god, but also to show all men, that christians were in every respect better than any other men. st. peter speaks of writing from "babylon"; but by babylon, he means the city of rome, which in figurative language he calls babylon, because in the idolatry and wickedness of its inhabitants, it resembled that ancient city. besides this, the real babylon was the place where the jews, then the church of god, suffered much during their long captivity; and now the christian church was suffering fearful things at rome. st. peter might well then use the figurative language so common amongst the jews at that time, and speak of wicked, persecuting rome, as "babylon." it was prudent moreover to do so, for had the christians spoken openly and plainly of rome, they would have provoked the anger of the romans; and though the christians suffered patiently all that was laid upon them, they never provoked persecution unnecessarily. st. peter did not long escape persecution; and with the prospect of a cruel death before him, he wrote his second epistle to the jewish and gentile christians in all countries, to warn them not to listen to the doctrines of false teachers, but to keep firm in the faith of the holy gospel, which he and the other apostles had taught. in this letter, he gives many directions for living a holy life; and reminds those to whom he writes, that the lord jesus christ will one day come to judge the world, and that all who believe this, must try to be then found blameless, without spot of sin. this applies just as well to each one of us, as it did to those to whom st. peter originally wrote: let us therefore watch and pray, that we may, as he says at the end of this epistle, "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ." very soon after he had written this second epistle, the death which st. peter had expected came upon him. he who had once denied his lord from fear, now boldly refused to give up his religion to purchase safety: he was therefore sentenced to be crucified, according to what the lord had foretold to him long before; saying, "when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." from histories of that time, we learn that st. peter, not thinking himself worthy to die in the same manner as his blessed lord and master, begged that he might be fastened to the cross with his head downward: this must greatly have increased his sufferings for the time they lasted, though it probably caused him to die sooner. st. peter was thus crucified at rome with his head downward, a.d. , when nero had been emperor for fourteen years; and, as we believe, about two years after st. paul's death; though some people think that st. peter was put to death first. we cannot, of course be quite sure; but it is most probable as we have said, that st. paul was beheaded a.d. , and that st. peter was crucified a.d. . nero died very soon after the crucifixion of st. peter, and in the short space of one year, three different emperors, galba, otho, and vitellius, succeeded each other. we must now return to jerusalem. chapter xxxiv.--vespasian sent into judÆa. the decree of the emperor giving cæsarea philippi to syria, was no sooner known, than the jews in all parts of judæa took up arms. agrippa happened at this time to be in jerusalem, and he did his best to show the jews the extreme folly of trying to fight against such a powerful people as the romans, and begged and entreated of them not to rebel, and so bring misery upon themselves. instead of listening to this wise and kind advice, the jews were so enraged with agrippa for giving it, that he was obliged to leave the city at once, to save himself from their violence. war now raged on every side, and fearful acts of cruelty were perpetrated by both parties. thousands and thousands of jews were massacred at cæsarea, at ptolemais, and even at alexandria; and at jerusalem, the soldiers of florus put , to death in one day. the jews acted in the same manner as far as they could, and murdered great numbers both of syrians and romans. upon this general revolt of the jews, cestius gallus the governor of syria, marched with a large army into judæa and galilee; burning all the towns and villages in his way, and killing the inhabitants. near jerusalem he was met by a great number of jews, who attacked him with such fury, that his whole army was in the greatest danger. agrippa, who with a body of troops had joined gallus, now again attempted to stop further bloodshed, and sent two of his officers to speak to his countrymen, the jews, and propose terms of peace. the enraged jews, however, killed one of the officers, whilst the other escaped wounded: gallus then advanced with his whole army, defeated the rebellious jews, and took possession of the lower parts of jerusalem. had he at once attacked the upper part of the city, and laid siege to the forts, it is probable that he would have taken the whole, and then the war must have ended. but, as a writer of that time says, "it seems as if god, being angry with the jews, had determined that they should expiate their sin by the most severe suffering, and would not therefore allow the war to end so soon." some say, gallus was advised to retire by some of his own officers, who had been bribed to do so by florus. however that maybe, gallus suddenly went away with his army: his retreat gave the jews fresh hopes, and they pursued him even to his camp at gibeon, about six miles from jerusalem: here, the jews attacked the syrians with the greatest fury, and killed more than , of them; whilst gallus escaped by night. leaving the history of this terrible war for a few minutes, we must speak of another epistle to be found in the new testament, where it is called "the general epistle of jude." the writer of this epistle was, the "judas (not iscariot)" mentioned by st. john; whom st. luke tells us (ch. vi.) was the brother of james; and he appears to have been the same person whom st. mark (ch. iii.) calls "thaddeus," and of whom st. matthew (ch. x.) speaks as "lebbeus, whose surname was thaddeus." in the gospels, therefore, we have four names for this apostle, jude, judas, thaddeus, and lebbeus. the book of acts makes no mention of him. from other histories we have reason to believe, that this apostle was a husbandman, or cultivator of the earth, and not a fisherman, as so many of the twelve were. after jude became an apostle, he, of course, followed the lord as long as he lived; and then we have reason to believe that he went eastward, and preached the gospel in mesopotamia and other countries. he then returned to syria, from whence he wrote his epistle, about the same time as st. peter wrote his first epistle from rome, that is, a.d. ; just when nero gave that decree concerning cæsarea, that led to the war of which we have been speaking. st. jude's epistle is very short, and was written to warn the christians in general not to listen to false teachers; but to take care to believe only such truths as had been taught by jesus christ and his apostles. after writing this epistle, it is supposed that st. jude travelled again eastward, and preached the gospel in persia, where he suffered martyrdom. to return to the jews: their defeat of gallus made them more obstinate in their determination not to submit to the romans, and they accordingly made very great preparations for carrying on the war with vigour. at this time all the christians quitted jerusalem. they remembered how jesus had told his disciples, that when they should see jerusalem surrounded with armies, and "the abomination of desolation," they would know that the destruction of the city was near at hand, and that they must leave it, and take refuge in the mountains. the prophecy had now been fulfilled; for the armies of the heathen romans had compassed or surrounded the city, and these armies were fitly called "the abomination of desolation," because they not only spread desolation and misery wherever they went, but they were abominable and hateful to the jews, because on their standards and flags they had images and pictures of the false gods of the romans, and also of their emperors, to whom, as well as to the gods, they offered sacrifices. the christians, seeing that the time of which jesus had warned them was now come, left jerusalem, and crossing the river jordan journeyed on about one hundred miles, and took refuge in a city called pella, belonging to king agrippa: the inhabitants of pella were gentiles. nero, who was still alive when the jews defeated gallus, ordered vespasian, one of his bravest and most skilful generals, to march at once into judæa with a large army. vespasian set to work to collect soldiers, and his son titus went into egypt to fetch from alexandria two roman _legions_, or "regiments," as we should call them. an immense army thus entered galilee: one town after another fell into the hands of the romans, and thousands of the jews were slain. at joppa, large numbers of the wretched inhabitants took refuge on board their ships, hoping thus to escape; but a violent storm dashed the vessels back upon the rocks; many of the people were drowned or crushed by the broken ships; and many, seeing no further hope of escape, killed themselves: such as did reach the shore, were slaughtered without mercy by the romans. it is said that for a long space the sea was red with the blood of these poor creatures, and that not a man remained alive to carry these terrible tidings to jerusalem. during this time vespasian had taken prisoner a man, who is famous for having written a history of the jews, and of the destruction of jerusalem. this man, whose name was josephus, was a jew, born in jerusalem, a few years after the crucifixion of our lord. when he was quite young he showed a great fondness for learning, and was so very clever and sensible, that when he was only sixteen years old, the chief priests and rulers often asked his advice. josephus adopted the opinions of the pharisees; and as he grew up he took an active part in the management of public affairs. when the wars broke out, josephus showed so much knowledge and skill in military matters, that he was made governor, and acted as general of the jewish armies. amongst other places which the romans besieged, was a small town called jotapa, or jotaphata. josephus defended it for nearly two months, but at last the romans took it, and slew all the inhabitants except josephus and forty of his men who escaped, and took refuge in a cave. some one told vespasian where josephus was concealed; and the roman general sent to offer life and safety to him and his companions, upon certain conditions, which they might have accepted without any disgrace. josephus wished to accept these terms; but when he spake of submitting to the romans, his companions threatened to murder him. determined not to live to become prisoners to the romans, and unwilling to be guilty of the great crime of self-murder, these wretched people drew lots to decide who should kill his companion: in this way one fell after another, until one man only remained alive besides josephus, who had of course taken no share in this transaction. josephus easily persuaded his companion to submit to the romans: vespasian treated the jewish general with the greatest kindness: he kept him with him more as a friend than as a prisoner, and often consulted him, and asked his advice. mean time, vespasian in one part of the country, and his son titus in another, carried on the war with vigour; taking one city after another: in vain they besought the jews to submit; these miserable people persisted in their useless resistance, and thus enraged the romans, who treated them with great barbarity. multitudes were destroyed, and a vast number were sold as slaves. after the whole of galilee had been thus subdued, titus joined his father at cæsarea, and there their armies had a little rest. the troubles in rome after the death of nero, a.d. , prevented vespasian having the means of carrying on the war with vigour; and indeed he was in no hurry to begin the siege of jerusalem, because the jews were daily rendering his task more easy, by fighting amongst themselves, and so wasting that strength which should have been kept to resist the enemy. the city of jerusalem was at this time in a most dreadful state of confusion and tumult. the inhabitants were divided into two parties: one party, seeing that a continuance of war would totally ruin their country, wished to submit to the romans; the other party, the zealots, would not hear of submission; and as they were the worst of men, they committed the most horrid crimes, often under pretence of religion. no person's life was safe, and the whole city was distracted by acts of violence and cruelty. the leader of the party of zealots within the city was a man named john; another man named simon, of equally bad character, headed a party outside, and collecting a band of ruffians, encamped with them before the city. some of the inhabitants of jerusalem, who suffered severely from the tyranny of john, fearing that he would burn the city, unhappily determined to let simon and his troops come in, by way of defending them against john. but this step only increased their miseries; for they now suffered from the violence and wickedness of two parties, instead of one. thus a third party was formed in jerusalem; and these three parties, instead of joining to defend themselves against the romans, fought against each other, and many were killed, even in the temple, and before the very altar itself. chapter xxxv.--destruction of jerusalem. we have said that after the death of nero, a.d. , there were great troubles in rome, where three different emperors succeeded each other in the space of one year; but this state of things was put an end to in a.d. , when the romans chose vespasian to be their emperor. the next year, the emperor vespasian sent his son titus to force the rebellious jews into obedience, and so put an end to this destructive war. titus and his army marched towards jerusalem, which to look at was a most magnificent and glorious city, though it had unhappily become the habitation of violence and all that is bad and wicked. the city was built upon two mountains, enclosed with walls, and surrounded by deep valleys. the walls were guarded by towers; and altogether the place was well able to resist the attacks of an enemy. but, instead of preparing to defend themselves, the jews hurried on their own destruction; for at the very time when a formidable army was rapidly approaching the city, the contending parties within the walls were continually occupied in inventing new ways of destroying each other; and in their fury, they wasted and destroyed considerable quantities of provisions, of which they had afterwards great reason to repent. although danger and misery now threatened the city from the factions within and the enemy without, multitudes of people unwisely crowded into it to keep the passover; thus adding sadly to the general confusion and distress. miserable indeed was the state of jerusalem when, in the year a.d. , titus marched towards it with a formidable army. the actual approach of the romans, put a stop for the time to the fighting amongst the jews; and joining together, they left the city, and forced titus and his soldiers to leave their camp and retire to the mountains: but no sooner had the jews thus obtained an interval of quiet, than their quarrels began again. in the mean time the romans were making every exertion to prepare for the siege of jerusalem, which was surrounded by three walls, one within another, with a good space between them, filled with buildings. titus sent josephus to speak to his countrymen, and offer them peace and safety if they would now submit and receive him into their city; but these offers were refused by the infatuated jews. they were repeated with no better success; and after they had been several times rejected, the romans made their first attack; and at length made a breach, or gap, in the first, or outermost, wall, and so entered into that part of the city, whilst the jews retreated within the second wall. the romans having encamped within the first wall, now attacked the second wall, and forced their way through that also: and the jews retired within the third wall, many of them taking refuge in the temple and in the fort antonia. the greater part of the wretched inhabitants would now have submitted to the romans, and given up their city; but the zealots murdered all who ventured to speak of such a thing. the great numbers of people now shut up within the walls of jerusalem, soon devoured the provisions, and added the horrors of famine to the other terrible sufferings of the jews. the zealots forced their way into the houses of all whom they suspected of having any food, and carried away whatever they could find. the nearest relations snatched food from each other, in the extremity of their hunger. many of the starving jews, who during the night ventured to go beyond the city walls, to collect roots and herbs, were seized by the roman soldiers, and crucified in the morning: so that several hundreds were frequently seen at a time, suffering the same agony of body which had been endured by our blessed lord jesus christ. it is impossible to describe what the jews went through at this time. we shall remember that when they insisted on the crucifixion of jesus, contrary to the wishes of pilate himself, they had cried out, "his blood be on us and on our children"; and fearfully were they now punished for having shed his blood. josephus, in his history of all that happened in jerusalem at this time, writes: "never did any other city suffer such woes, nor was there ever a more wicked generation since the beginning of the world." at length the romans broke through the third, or inner, wall, and got possession of the fort antonia, and pursued the jews into the temple. the jews for a moment fled before their enemies; but the foremost soldier slipped upon the marble pavement and fell. then the jews turned, and killed him, and drove the rest of the soldiers back into the fort. even now the jews still refused to submit; and the temple, instead of being a place of worship, became a scene of battle and confusion. at this time, when the famine pressed sore upon all the people, a most horrible thing was done; for a mother killed her infant child, roasted it, and actually ate part of it! titus was so shocked when he heard of this, that he declared that he would leave nothing but the ruins of a city, in which so horrible a crime had been committed. again he attacked the temple, and got possession of the outer courts. he wished to preserve the temple itself, and gave orders for that purpose. but the lord himself had foretold the destruction of the temple, and a roman soldier was the means of fulfilling this prophecy. contrary to orders, this man threw a flaming brand, or stick, into one of the chambers: the flames quickly burst forth and spread on all sides: the roman soldiers rushed into the sacred building, and all became a scene of plunder and murder. the once glorious temple was soon nothing but a heap of smoking ruins, in spite of all the efforts made by the command of titus to stop the conflagration. this sad destruction of the second temple took place on the anniversary of that day upon which the first temple, built by solomon, was destroyed by nebuchadnezzar, years before jesus christ came upon earth. even whilst the temple was in flames, , people actually listened to an impostor, who led them to the roof of a part of the building, promising them a miraculous deliverance: they all of course perished in the flames. thousands of jews were now killed by the romans, and every building in the city, excepting a few towers, was burned. in this dreadful war, the greater part of the jewish people perished: many of the rest were sold as slaves, and nothing could be more wretched than the state of all who were left. jerusalem has ever since been "trodden down," or oppressed, by the gentiles; and the jews have remained in such a state as constantly to remind us of the prophecy of moses (deut. xxix.), where it is written, "even all nations shall say, wherefore hath the lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?" the answer is given to us, "_because_ they have forsaken the covenant of the lord god." let us ever bear this in mind, and not provoke god by _our_ sins, to punish us as he punished the descendants of his chosen people, the children of israel. titus commanded the whole city and its walls to be destroyed. this was done so completely, that not one stone was left upon another, as the lord himself had said. when titus saw how strong the walls and forts of the city were, he made a remark worthy of a christian; saying, "we have fought with the assistance of god: it was god who drove the jews out of these fortifications; for what can the hands of men, or the force of machines, effect against these towers?" after the destruction of jerusalem, titus went back to rome, taking with him josephus, to whom vespasian gave the freedom of the city and a pension. josephus immediately set to work to learn the greek language, in which he wrote his history of the wars of the jews and of the destruction of jerusalem. he died a.d. , at the age of fifty-six: but we are now speaking of the year a.d. , when titus took him to rome. the roman senate decreed a triumph to titus and vespasian. "a triumph" was a grand procession, in honour of a general who had gained some great victory. a magnificent car was provided to convey the person for whom the honour was intended: his army, partly before, partly behind the car, marched with flags and banners, to the sound of music: any prisoners who had been taken in the war were made to follow the car, chained two and two together; and if any valuable spoils had been taken from the enemy, they were carried in the procession. in short, everything was done to make the triumph a very grand affair; and it was considered the greatest honour that could be bestowed upon a military leader: it often cost an immense sum of money. the senate now decreed, that a triumph should take place in honour of titus and vespasian, who were to share the chariot provided for the occasion. amongst the beautiful things carried in this procession, the most remarkable were the golden candlestick, and other precious things saved from the temple at jerusalem: also the volume, or book of the law of moses, which was indeed deserving of the greatest respect, though the heathens did not know its real value. in remembrance of the great deeds of titus, a marble arch was erected at rome, not far from the forum. on the inside of the archway are carved representations of the golden candlestick, and of many other things brought from jerusalem. this arch, called "the arch of titus," still stands in rome; and not one of the jews, of whom there are now many thousands living in rome, will ever pass under this archway, because it reminds them of the destruction of their once glorious temple, and of the ruin of their nation. when jerusalem was destroyed, there still remained in the almost desolate land of judæa three strong castles, which resisted the romans. two were soon taken; but the third was so very strong both by nature and art, and was so well defended by a man of great courage, called eleazer, that for some time the romans could not succeed in getting possession of it. at last they built a high wall round it, so that no one could come out or go in: they then set fire to the gates, and prepared to storm, or attack, the castle the next day. the jews now saw that there was no hope of defending the fortress, or of saving their own lives; and eleazer therefore persuaded the garrison to burn all their valuable stores, kill the women and children that were with them, and then destroy themselves. ten men were chosen to murder all the rest: after they had done this, they killed each other; and the last man who was left set fire to the place, and then killed himself. the next day, when the romans were preparing to climb the walls, two of the women who had hid themselves, and so escaped being murdered, came forth, and told all that had happened. chapter xxxvi.--st. john's writings. after the terrible event which has just been related, the jews who still remained in the land, ceased for a time to oppose the romans. it was the submission of despair; for they felt that they had no power to resist, and ruin and desolation surrounded them on all sides. the once flourishing fields and plains of judæa were covered with dead bodies; most of the celebrated cities were merely heaps of ruins. all the fighting men were removed from jerusalem, and only some women and old men were allowed to take up their abode amongst the ruins of their beloved city. the emperor only allowed the jews to observe the forms of their own religion, on condition of their paying to the temple of jupiter capitolinus, one of the heathen deities, the tax hitherto paid by every jew for the service of the temple, or house of the lord. ever since judæa had been made a roman province, the jews had been allowed to collect their own taxes: the annual tribute to the temple they looked upon as an offering to god, whose subjects they were. the emperor now, in their opinion, usurped the place of god; and this was a great affliction to the jews; whilst the use to which the tax was to be put, and the severity exercised in collecting it, made these unhappy people feel it to be an intolerable disgrace and burden. vespasian died nine years after the destruction of jerusalem, a.d. , and his son titus became emperor. titus reigned for only two years, and was succeeded by his brother domitian, a.d. . we have reason to believe that only one of the apostles was alive when titus took jerusalem: this was st. john, the disciple "whom jesus loved." as the bible tells us nothing concerning this holy man, during the time that st. paul was journeying about, we cannot be sure as to what he was doing; but he is supposed to have remained in his native land, and probably in jerusalem itself, till he saw the city compassed by foreign soldiers, and beheld the other signs of its approaching ruin, as foretold by his divine master. then it is believed, that st. john travelled through parthia, india, and arabia; and also founded churches at smyrna, pergamos, thyatira, sardis, philadelphia, laodicia, and other places in asia minor; after which, he passed some time at ephesus. there is a story that he afterwards went to rome, and was, by the order of domitian, who persecuted the christians most cruelly, thrown into a large vessel of boiling oil. but instead of dying in tortures, as was expected, the lord preserved him, and he came out unhurt. we may well believe this story, though we cannot be quite sure that it is true. after this, domitian banished the apostle, now a very old man, to the island of patmos, in the southern part of the archipelago. at patmos, the lord sent st. john a most wonderful vision; and his account of it forms part of the new testament, where it is called "the revelation of st. john the divine": it is also called the "apocalypse." "revelation" means some hidden secret thing made known. "apocalypse" comes from a greek word, meaning the same as revelation. the apocalypse is a book of prophecies, revealing and foretelling in mysterious language, events which are to happen even to the end of the world. it is of course very difficult to understand any of the prophecies in this book, and quite impossible to do so perfectly; but like every other part of scripture, it teaches men to be holy. in the first chapter of this book, st. john tells us himself, that this revelation was made known to him in the isle of patmos, to which he had been banished on account of his religion. domitian persecuted the jews as well as the christians; and great numbers of both were put to death by this tyrannical and wicked emperor, who proposed to destroy all the descendants of david, lest any one of them should attempt to become king of judæa. some grandsons of the apostle jude, or thaddeus, who was of the family of david, were brought before the emperor; but on being asked concerning the kingdom of christ, they declared that it was a spiritual, not a temporal kingdom; and as they were very poor, and could only by the hardest labour contrive to support themselves, and pay the tax demanded by the romans, he spared them, as persons who were not to be feared. some of the jews, who had retired to alexandria, had endeavoured to get up a disturbance there; but the jews, who had long lived quietly in that city, fearful of the consequence of any revolt, gave up their seditious countrymen to the romans, who put them to death: they were obstinate to the last, and even their children suffered the greatest tortures, rather than acknowledge the roman emperor to be their master. such conduct, however mistaken it may have been, sets a good example to christians in every age. these jews believed that to submit to the roman emperor was contrary to their duty to god; and therefore they bore any sufferings rather than do it. let us ever be ready and willing to suffer, rather than do anything which we believe to be contrary to our duty to god. the emperor domitian, displeased with what had happened in alexandria, ordered the temple which had been built in that city to be shut up; lest, under pretence of public worship, the jews of that place should meet there and plot rebellion. domitian died a.d. , and was succeeded by nerva, who immediately set st. john at liberty: the apostle at once left patmos, and went into asia minor, where he wrote the account of the wonderful vision or revelation made to him in that island. very soon afterwards, st. john wrote the three epistles called by his name. the first of these epistles is not addressed to any persons in particular; but was written to warn all christians not to listen to the false teachers, who were then leading many into serious error. some of these false teachers, pretended that jesus was not really man; and that, as he had no real body like ours, he did not really suffer crucifixion. others, on the contrary, taught that he was _only_ man. both doctrines were equally fatal to the hopes of christians: if jesus christ did not share our human nature, he could not atone for the sin of man; if he were only man, however free from sin himself, he could not atone for the sins of his fellow mortals. thus a firm belief in jesus christ as _god and man_, is absolutely necessary for all who look for salvation through him. another set of false teachers taught, that those who believed themselves to be justified by faith, and so freed from the restraints of the levitical law, might sin without fear of punishment. st. john cautions all christians not to be led away by these, or any other false doctrines; and he shows them how very different they are from the truths contained in the gospel as taught by jesus christ, and fully explained by his apostles. st. john, in this epistle, speaks much of the love of god towards his creatures, and of the duty of all men to love him and their fellow creatures for his sake. the second epistle of st. john was probably written from ephesus, his usual abode at this time. this epistle is addressed to some particular lady, to warn her and her children not to listen to the dangerous doctrines of false teachers. the third of st. john's epistles is written to a man named gaius, who is supposed to have been converted by the apostle, who therefore speaks of him as one of his children: a very usual figure of speech with teachers, respecting those whom they converted. in this way st. paul calls timothy his "son." in the acts of the apostles, and in the epistles, we meet with the name of gaius five times; and four different persons seem to be meant. gaius, of macedonia (acts xix.); gaius, of derbe (acts xx.); gaius, whom st. paul baptized at corinth ( cor. i.), and who lodged that apostle in his own house at corinth (rom. xvi.); and this gaius, to whom st. john writes his epistle; whether he was one of those already mentioned, we cannot know. the object of this epistle from st. john, seems to have been to praise gaius for his steady faith, and for having shown kindness to some christian strangers, who had passed through the place where he lived: at the same time, st. john cautions him to have nothing to do with a teacher named diotrephes, who had denied st. john's authority, and set himself up as the head of a party, in opposition to the apostles. st. john entreats gaius to do, what may equally apply to each one of us, for he says, "follow not that which is evil, but that which is good." he also recommends to him demetrius, of whom we know nothing, except that he was a good man. this letter to gaius is very short, because, as st. john writes, he hoped shortly to meet and talk to him. st. john spent the last years of his long life at ephesus, and there, about a.d. , he wrote that very valuable and beautiful portion of holy scripture known to us as "the gospel according to st. john." when st. john wrote, he was of course well acquainted with the gospels of st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke, and also with the book of acts, for they had all been written many years before this time. he does not, therefore, repeat much of what they tell us, but gives an account of many things which they do not mention; and repeats especially much of what his blessed lord said at different times to his disciples. there was a good reason for this. even by this time, many errors had crept into the christian church, as has already been said, when speaking of st. john's first epistle. st. john, therefore, wrote his gospel to correct these errors, and to show all men, that jesus christ was truly and indeed the son of man and the son of god: the word that was from the beginning with god, and was god, and was made man, that he might suffer for us. the gospel of st. john completed the canon of scripture; that is, those writings which are undoubtedly written by inspiration of god, and are, therefore, to be the general rule of christian faith and practice. chapter xxxvii.--the death of st. john. st. john was nearly years old when he wrote his gospel: he had spent a long life in preaching and exhorting, and we are told that, when his great age prevented his continuing his active labours, he used to be carried into the public assemblies of the christians, in order to repeat his exhortation, "little children, love one another": words constantly repeated in some shape or other, in the writings of this apostle, who also dwells much upon the love of christ for man, as a reason why men should love him, and love each other for his sake. let us try to obey the precept, "love one another"; remembering that st. john also says, "love not in word neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth"; that is, do not talk about your love, but show it by your actions. love to christ must show itself in obedience; love to man for his sake, by kindness to every fellow creature, and by doing all the good we can to them, whether they are kind to us or not. st. john died quietly at ephesus, about a.d. : his faith and love were great, therefore his death was peaceful and happy; for he felt that he was now going home to his beloved master, whom he had faithfully served for many years on earth. a century, or space of years, had now passed since the birth of jesus christ: at the time of that event, the inhabitants of the world, with the exception of the jews, were heathens or pagans; who, in their total ignorance of an almighty and holy god, gave themselves up to follow their own sinful inclinations, and were guilty of every sort of wickedness and vice. the jews, though still retaining a nominal observance of the law of moses and the worship of one true god, had strangely forgotten and forsaken the religion, so long the glory of their nation. thinking more of temporal than of spiritual things, they wilfully misunderstood the writings of the prophets, and looked for a temporal king in the promised messiah: those who dared to hold a different opinion, were treated with contempt. the two sects of sadducees and pharisees, though in other matters opposed to each other, equally set at naught the holiness of heart and life commanded by the law of moses. the sadducees, denying the possibility of a future life, laughed at the idea of denying one's self any gratification here, from the fear of punishment hereafter. the pharisees, passing by the moral law, which it did not suit them to keep, taught, that a strict observance of the ceremonial law, and of the traditions handed down from father to son, would secure the favour of god. thus sadducees and pharisees both destroyed all true religion; that is, all devotion of the heart to god, producing holiness of life. the consequence of this was, that the knowledge and love of god were daily growing less amongst the jewish people, and rapidly ceasing to have any effect on their motives and actions. so that, both as regarded jews and gentiles, it might truly be said, "the whole world lieth in wickedness." the doctrines and precepts of our blessed lord, were meant to make man hate and renounce all sin and wickedness; to show him the necessity of self-denial, and of holiness in thought, word, and deed; and to set before him that love towards god, which was to be the motive and principle to govern all his actions. thus, wherever the gospel was received, a great change at once took place; and the close of the first century, found the world in a very different condition from that, in which it had been at the beginning. mankind must now be considered as divided into three classes: first, the heathen, who, in addition to all former wickedness, now added a spirit of hatred and persecution towards those who rejected their false religion, for the truth as is in jesus. second, the jews, who, in spite of all the miseries they had gone through for their rejection of jesus christ, still clung to the law of moses; hating the heathen, but above all, hating the followers of jesus with an increasing hatred. the third class comprehended all, who, by the mercy of god, had been brought out of either of the other two classes, to be sincere and faithful followers of the precepts and examples of the holy jesus. this class, called christians, already contained a very large number of persons of all ages and sexes; and their number was increasing daily, by fresh converts from amongst the gentiles. thus, by the close of the first century, the church of christ was so firmly established upon earth, as to defy all the efforts made to overthrow it. even during the first century the christians suffered persecution; and many of them were put to death, because they would not give up their belief in jesus, and act contrary to his precepts. this cruel persecution of the christians continued during the second and third centuries; sometimes with greater, sometimes with less severity. but it has been truly said, that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church"; for numbers, seeing their holy lives, and then witnessing the wonderful manner in which they were supported to bear the most exquisite tortures rather than give up their religion, felt that there must be some sure and strong foundation for such faith and steadfastness, and were thus led to become christians themselves; and by their future conduct and martyrdom they again, in their turn, brought others to join the church of christ, which thus extended itself rapidly on all sides. before the close of the second century, christianity had been established as the religion of the britons; but how, or by whom, it was brought into our island, we do not know: it seems very probable that, during the long interval in which we know nothing of st. peter's movements, he came to britain, and established the church which has ever since existed here. in reading of the martyrs, we should remember that they, knowing that the favour of god was the only thing worth having, were willing to suffer and die in order to obtain it; trusting to the lord to give them a happy issue out of all their sufferings. they did not trust in vain. we must also recollect, that the religion of the martyrs was no sham; no system of outward forms, but an entire devotion of the whole heart and life to god; and that the same devotion is required of christians now. if we are not now called upon to suffer martyrdom, we are called upon to give our hearts to god; and show our faith, by denying ourselves in everything contrary to his will, whatever pain or difficulty we may have in doing so. do we do this? the jews, who outlived the destruction of their city and temple, sought refuge in different parts of the world. many went into egypt, where there was a jewish colony, that had been established in the time of alexander the great. others fled to cyrene, another part of africa. a large number removed to babylon, and joined their brethren who had remained from father to son in that country, instead of returning to jerusalem when the decree of cyrus permitted them to do so. some took refuge in persia and other eastern countries. by degrees, these jews formed a regular system of government for themselves. they were divided into eastern and western jews. the eastern jews were those who settled in babylon, chaldæa, assyria, persia, and the adjacent countries. those who remained in judæa, or took up their abode in egypt, italy, and other parts of the roman dominions in europe, were called western jews. in the course of time, these two parties each chose some distinguished person as their head, or chief. the chiefs of the eastern jews were called "princes of the captivity"; and those of the western jews, were simply styled "patriarchs." gradually these chiefs obtained more and more influence and authority amongst their fellow countrymen in all matters. both parties of jews also founded schools, that the children might be fully and carefully instructed in all the doctrines and practices of their religion. but these things were done gradually during a long course of years, one step leading to another; for naturally, on their first dispersion after the destruction of jerusalem, their whole attention was turned to securing a safe asylum, where they might worship god after the manner of their fathers--as far, at least, as they could do so; but the destruction of the temple had rendered it impossible to keep the feasts and offer the sacrifices, so strictly enjoined by the law of moses. the impossibility of obeying the precepts of their religion, should have made the jews more ready to listen to those, who declared that the promised messiah had indeed come; and that therefore, the old dispensation contained in the law of moses was at an end. as scripture history closes before the destruction of jerusalem, all that has been said regarding that and subsequent events, has been gathered from other histories; and all that has been related concerning the latter days of some of the apostles, has been supplied in a similar way. it will be well now to give a short account of the labours and deaths of such of the apostles as have not been already mentioned; only remembering, that whilst we have every reason to believe such accounts are true, we cannot feel certain, as we do in regard to all the facts related in the holy scriptures. taking, then, "the names of the twelve apostles" as given by st. matthew (x. , &c.), we have "first, simon, who is called peter." of him we have heard much in the course of our lord's life, and during the time of which the book of acts gives us the history: and we have also spoken of what he is believed to have done after that period, and of his martyrdom. of "andrew his brother," we only know that he was also a fisherman, and that he was a disciple of john the baptist, with whom he was standing when the baptist said of jesus, "behold the lamb of god." andrew, nothing doubting, at once sought an interview with jesus, and then went to find, his own brother simon, giving him the joyful news, "we have found the messias." andrew became afterwards one of the constant followers of our lord, chosen to be apostles; and his name is mentioned two or three times in sacred history. from other sources we learn, that after the ascension of our lord, st. andrew travelled to byzantium, now called constantinople, and there founded a church; and that he also preached the gospel in the crimea. but he ended his life in greece, under the following circumstances: st. andrew was preaching at a place in achaia with great success, when Ægeas, the pro-consul or roman governor of the province, came there, and was greatly enraged to find that multitudes had already been converted from heathenism to christianity: he therefore told the apostle, that he should be crucified unless he would himself offer a sacrifice to the heathen gods. this st. andrew of course refused to do, and he was put into prison; but the people were so angry at this, that they would have rescued him by force, had he not begged them not to do so; telling them that he was quite ready to suffer martyrdom, if such was the will of god. it is said, that amongst other miracles performed in the name of jesus by st. andrew, he had healed the wife and the brother of Ægeas of diseases; and that both had, in consequence, become christians. this made the pro-consul still more furious; and, in his rage, he ordered st. andrew to be severely scourged by seven men, before he was put to death. he was tied to a cross of the shape of the letter x; and it is said that he hung upon it for two days, during which, in the midst of his agony, he continued to instruct and exhort the people. after his death, his body was embalmed and buried with all honour, at the expense of a noble lady, named maximilla. we are told that, years later, st. andrew's body was taken to constantinople by the emperor constantine, who had become a christian, and buried in a church which the emperor had built in honour of the apostles. in after times, st. andrew came to be looked upon as the patron saint of scotland. a cross, the shape of that upon which st. andrew was crucified, is always called a st. andrew's cross. chapter xxxviii.--the apostles. the next on the list of the apostles, are "james the son of zebedee, and john his brother." both of these have been already mentioned: the scripture tells us, that st. james the elder, the brother of st. john, was killed with the sword by herod agrippa. st. john, as we have heard, survived the destruction of jerusalem; was banished for some years to the island of patmos; and finally died a natural death at ephesus. "philip and bartholomew" are the next upon our list; and throughout their lives they seem to have been intimately connected with each other. philip's name is mentioned two or three times in scripture. he was no sooner called to be a follower of jesus, than, as we are told, "he findeth nathanael (or bartholomew), and saith unto him, we have found him of whom moses in the law and the prophets did write, jesus of nazareth, the son of joseph." or, in other words, that they had found out, that jesus of nazareth the reputed son of joseph, was, in truth, the messiah, of whom moses and the prophets had written. after the lord's ascension, philip is supposed to have preached the gospel in some parts of asia, and then to have suffered martyrdom in phrygia. it is said, that coming to a place where the inhabitants were the grossest idolaters, philip, greatly distressed at their condition, prayed constantly for them; at the same time labouring to convince them of the folly of their present worship, and telling them of the true god, and of his son jesus christ. the lord so blessed philip's efforts, that many of his hearers turned from idolatry and became christians. this success, stirred up the opposition and persecution of the heathen magistrates, who accordingly seized the apostle, put him in prison, caused him to be unmercifully scourged, and afterwards crucified. it is said, moreover, that whilst hanging on the cross, he was stoned to death; and that then, such a violent earthquake took place, as greatly alarmed all the people; and that many, in consequence, repented of their idolatry and wickedness, and turned to god. bartholomew, or nathanael, could not at first believe that jesus of nazareth was the promised messiah, but after acting according to philip's advice, of "come and see," he cordially acknowledged jesus christ to be the "son of god, the king of israel." after our lord's ascension, this apostle is said to have laboured amongst the savage tribes of abyssinia, then called ethiopia; and we are told, that years afterwards, a missionary who went to preach the gospel in those parts, found a copy of st. matthew's gospel, which was said to have been left there by bartholomew. bartholomew was in phrygia with philip, when the latter was put to death: and it is said that he was also fastened to a cross, but that the heathens were so alarmed by the earthquake, that they took him down, and set him at liberty. after this, he is said to have preached in various parts of asia minor, ending with armenia, where he was seized by the idolatrous governor, and treated with the greatest cruelty; he was beaten to the ground with staves; crucified head downwards; then taken from the cross, flayed, and finally beheaded. thomas, the next on the list of apostles, is well known to us for his doubts as to the reality of the resurrection--doubts mercifully removed by the lord himself. after the ascension, thomas is said to have laboured in judæa, parthia, medea, persia, and other countries, until he reached india. here he was at first afraid of venturing amongst the dark-coloured and cruel heathens, who inhabited the country; but being encouraged by a vision, he fearlessly journeyed on into the country, and was most successful in bringing the people out of the darkness of paganism into the light of the gospel. the brahmins or priests, however, were much opposed to him: at a certain town he began to build a place of worship for the christians, and segamo, the prince of the country, persuaded probably by the brahmins, forbade him to go on with it. thomas, however, by the help of god, performed several miracles, which so convinced segamo of the truth of all his doctrines, that he himself became a christian, and allowed the building to be continued. the idolatrous priests now saw that their religion was in great danger, and therefore, watching for a convenient opportunity, they came upon thomas in a quiet spot, to which he had gone to pray, and shot him with their arrows. having thus disabled the apostle, the brahmins stoned him, and finally ran a lance through his body. the dead body of thomas was carried by his disciples to the church which he had just completed, and there buried. about , years afterwards, when the portuguese first made their way to india, they found upon the malabar coast many christian families, who called themselves "st. thomas's christians"; being descendants of those, who had been converted from paganism to christianity, by this apostle. matthew's name stands next on the list of the apostles; he has already been spoken of, as far as the scriptures make mention of him; and also as the writer of the first of the four accounts of our saviour's life and death. we neither know what this apostle did after our lord's ascension, nor how he died; but there is a tradition that he was murdered in ethiopia, where by his teaching, and the miracles he was enabled to perform, he had been the means of converting multitudes from heathenism to christianity. "james the son of alphæus, and lebbæus, whose surname was thaddæus," now come under consideration. they were brothers; two of the sons of mary, sister to the virgin mary, and of cleophas one of the disciples to whom, after his resurrection, the lord appeared on the way to emmaus. this james, distinguished as "the less," has already been spoken of as bishop of jerusalem, and his death has also been mentioned (p. ). lebbæus, also called judas and jude, was, as has been said, the writer of an epistle. no ancient writer gives any account either of his labours after the lord's ascension, or of the manner of his death. of "simon the canaanite," whose name stands next on our list, scripture tells us nothing, except that he was also called "simon zelotes." "zelotes" means full of zeal and eagerness; and the name was probably given to this apostle, on account of his great zeal and earnestness in the service of his master. the term "canaanite" seems to be derived from a hebrew word, which also means zeal. after the ascension, simon is said to have preached the gospel amongst some of the barbarous nations in africa; and then to have gone westward, finally reaching britain, where he was crucified, probably by the romans. the last on the list of apostles is judas iscariot, whose surname, it is thought, is merely derived from the place of his birth. of him it is unnecessary to speak now. the mention of judas iscariot naturally reminds us of him who was afterwards chosen to fill the place, "from which by transgression he fell." matthias, chosen after the ascension to complete the original number of apostles, was one of those disciples "which had companied with the apostles, all the time that the lord jesus went in and out among them." beyond this, scripture says nothing about him; nor do any ancient writers tell us how long he laboured in the holy office to which he was appointed; but it is said, that he was finally put to death by some amongst whom he was preaching. no sketch of our lord's apostles would be complete without some notice of paul and barnabas; who, though not called to be apostles until after the ascension, laboured zealously in that sacred ministry. st. paul has already been spoken of most fully, and frequent mention has been made of st. barnabas, up to the time of his separation from st. paul, after which the book of acts contains no account of him: but in one of his epistles, st. paul writes of him in such a manner, as shows that though for the moment "the contention between them was so sharp as to part them asunder," it had not caused any real coolness or estrangement. another proof of this, is found in the fact, that st. mark afterwards became a devoted attendant upon st. paul, by whom he was highly valued. st. mark was with the apostle whilst he was a prisoner in rome. of the labours of st. barnabas after his separation from st. paul, we have no certain account anywhere: in the end he is said to have been stoned. before closing this chapter, it seems well to take notice of st. luke and st. mark, who, though not apostles, are, as writers of the gospel, entitled to the respect and gratitude of all who value the holy scriptures. there is, however, little to add to what has been already said of them. luke, by birth a jew, and probably a native of antioch in syria, was a physician, who became a convert to the religion of jesus. he is said to have been one of the seventy disciples, sent out on one occasion, "two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." this is very probable, although, as he is not once named in any of the gospels, we cannot be sure. from st. luke's own account in the book of acts, we find that he went with st. paul on his first voyage to macedon. at philippi, he seems to have left the apostle; why we know not, but perhaps st. paul sent him on some mission. it is not unlikely that he remained in that country; but during st. paul's second journey, he rejoined him, and sailed with him from philippi. for the next five years, st. luke continued with st. paul: this brings us to the release of the apostle from his confinement in rome. here ends any certain account of st. luke. it is said that he then went into achaia, and afterwards preached the gospel in africa. as no ancient writers mention his having suffered martyrdom, it is probable that he died a natural death. if the evangelist st. mark was, as there is every reason to believe, the same "mark whose surname was john," he was nephew to barnabas. we first hear of him in scripture, as going from antioch to jerusalem with barnabas and saul; and then accompanying them on a journey, but leaving them unaccountably at perga; in consequence of which, st. paul afterwards refused to take him with them on another journey, thus causing the contention already mentioned. "barnabas, taking mark, sailed to cyprus." it is said that st. mark was with st. barnabas at the time of the latter's death, and received his dying commands to go without delay to st. paul, by whom, as has been already said, he was well received. what his ultimate fate was, we know not. it may not be amiss to mention, before we take leave of the immediate followers of our lord, that in pictures, the four evangelists are distinguished by certain signs or symbols. st. matthew is simply a man with a pen in his hand; st. mark is accompanied by a lion; st. luke by an ox; and st. john by an eagle. part iii. chapter i.--the jews to the time of the emperor adrian. the history of those chosen by the lord to be his peculiar people, has now been traced for more than two thousand years, from the call of abraham, b.c. . for the two centuries immediately following that event, we have the history of abraham's descendants, isaac, jacob or israel, and the twelve sons of israel, or patriarchs, as they are called, from being the fathers of all the tribes of israel. israel and his sons and grand-children, to the number of sixty-six persons, went down, b.c. , into egypt, where joseph then was, having been sold as a slave about twenty years before. during the next years, the descendants of israel multiplied so wonderfully that, in b.c. , , men, besides women and children, went out of egypt under the guidance of moses. the giving of the law, ceremonial and political, as well as moral, established the chosen people of god, as a church and nation. forty years of wandering in the wilderness brought the children of israel to the eastern banks of the jordan, b.c. . the bible then relates how, under the command of joshua, the jordan was crossed, and the heathen wonderfully driven out of the land, which the lord had promised to give to abraham and his descendants, for a possession. for forty-six years, the children of israel were ruled by joshua and the elders who outlived him. for the next years, they were governed by judges, raised up by the almighty at different times, as they were needed. in b.c. the children of israel were bent upon having a king, and saul was accordingly crowned, and reigned for forty years. during the next eighty years, the kingdom flourished under david and his son solomon; the latter of whom built the glorious temple, dedicated to the service of the lord with much ceremony, b.c. . it had taken eight years to build. the division of the country into the two kingdoms of judah and israel, under solomon's son rehoboam, took place b.c. . one king succeeded another more or less quickly, until the sins of kings and people led to the destruction of the kingdom of israel by shalmaneser, king of assyria, b.c. ; and to the burning of jerusalem and of the temple, b.c. , when nebuchadnezzar carried the inhabitants of the kingdom of judah into a long captivity in babylon. some years before, in b.c. , this same nebuchadnezzar had carried away many of the children of judah; and from _this_ date the captivity, which lasted seventy years, is reckoned to have begun. the seventy years expired in b.c. ; and cyrus, king of medea and persia, having conquered the babylonian empire, gave the children of judah leave to go back into their own land, showing them much kindness upon the occasion. the jews, as they were now called, returned in great numbers to judæa; though many of them still, by their own choice, remained in the land where they had been born and bred. the jews who did return, had great difficulties to overcome; but at length they built a second temple, which was dedicated b.c. . under the governance of ezra and nehemiah, the jews served the lord in the land of their fathers; but soon they again fell into grievous sin, though they were never more guilty of idolatry: that crime which principally caused their captivity. so far the bible has given us the history of the people of god. from other histories we learn, that alexander the great, who became king of macedonia b.c. , conquered persia and all the countries in any way dependent upon her: judæa, of course, amongst the rest. the remarkable vision which made alexander treat the jews with kindness has been mentioned (iii. ). after the death of this monarch, b.c. , judæa became in some sort dependent upon syria; and we have already seen how severely the jews suffered during the next years, from the wars and fightings going on continually between syria and egypt. the cruelty and oppression of the syrian princes became intolerable; and, after antiochus epiphanes had taken jerusalem, b.c. , the lord in mercy raised up the family of maccabæus, to deliver the jews from his tyranny. under the maccabæan princes, the jews fought successfully against the enemies of their religion. judæa gradually recovered from its desolation and misery, and again became prosperous; whilst the pure worship of the one true god was once more the established religion of the nation. but after the death of john hyrcanus (iii. ), b.c. , enemies without, and divisions and troubles amongst themselves, again filled judæa with confusion. in b.c. , judæa became, like so many other countries, a province of rome; and we have seen how the romans appointed governors or kings, and even high priests also. the government of rome itself underwent a great change about this time: the republic, or commonwealth, which had lasted years, from the expulsion of tarquinius superbus, b.c. , now came to an end, and octavius augustus cæsar was chosen as the first emperor, b.c. . octavius augustus had ruled the vast dominions of rome as emperor for twenty-seven years, when that event took place, destined to affect in the most momentous manner all races and kindreds of men: even the birth of jesus christ, the long-promised messiah. when our blessed lord was twenty-nine years old, that is, in a.d. , he began to teach publicly amongst the jews. octavius augustus was no longer emperor of rome at this time; he had died when jesus was fourteen years old, and had been succeeded by tiberius. although a small number of the jews owned and received jesus christ as the expected messiah, he was rejected by the nation in general: and after his crucifixion, the jews tried in every way to oppose his apostles, and prevent the spreading of christianity. we have read their punishment in the destruction of jerusalem, a.d. , and the dreadful sufferings which came upon the unhappy jews, and forced them to scatter themselves through all lands, hoping to find safety--a hope too often disappointed, and that constantly through their own fault. the history of the jews has thus been traced to the close of the first century after the birth of christ, that is, to a.d. . it will now be advisable to give a slight sketch of their history, from that date until the present time. unhappily there are many thousand jews who profess still to expect the promised messiah; refusing to believe that jesus of nazareth, in whom all the prophecies of their scriptures have been so literally and exactly fulfilled, was indeed the messiah, of whom moses and the prophets did write. may the lord take away their blindness, and bring them into the one fold, under the one shepherd, jesus christ. in spite of all that the jews had suffered from their opposition to the romans, they could not make up their minds to submit quietly to foreign rulers. trajan, who became emperor quite at the close of the first century, treated them with great severity, and even forbade them to read the law. in consequence, a rebellion broke out, a.d. , at cyrene, in africa, where the jews had been settled for many years: it quickly spread over libya into alexandria: in the struggle, the country was plundered and ruined, whilst thousands of people were killed on both sides: but finally, after a great slaughter, the romans got the better of the rebellious jews. the next year, the jews in mesopotamia took up arms, and filled the country with terror. trajan sent against them a famous general, who, after killing great numbers of the people, forced the rest to submit to the roman power: the successful general was then made governor of judæa, that he might keep the jews still residing there, in submission. soon afterwards, there was a still more dreadful insurrection in the isle of cyprus, where the jews massacred an incredible number of the inhabitants: a roman general called adrian, then went into cyprus, and defeated the jews after an obstinate battle. trajan now published an order, that all jews should leave the isle of cyprus, and never return to it. when trajan died, a.d. , adrian became emperor; he forbade the jews to circumcise their children, and sent strangers to settle in the land of judæa, and rebuild the city of jerusalem, which he meant to ornament in the roman style, and call by some roman name. these measures so enraged the jews, that they again broke out into open rebellion: their leader was coziba, one of the banditti who infested the country; and under his command, all kinds of violence were committed against the subjects of rome. coziba pretended that he himself was the person spoken of by balaam, when he said, "there shall come a star out of jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of israel": and in consequence, he called himself barchocheba, or "the son of a star." even before this time, several impostors had pretended to be either the promised messiah, or the elias who was to prepare his way; but coziba was the first whose pretensions led to any important consequences. coziba promised to deliver his countrymen from the power of adrian, and to make them once more an independent and glorious nation: such a messiah as this exactly suited the false ideas of the jews, and they acknowledged coziba to be the christ, the son of god. the rabbi akibha, chosen by the impostor to be his forerunner or messenger, publicly anointed him as the messiah, the king of the jews; placed a crown upon his head; coined money in his name; and collected for him a body of , disciples. by calling upon all the descendants of abraham to help "the hope of israel," promised to their common forefather, an immense army was soon assembled at bither, a town near jerusalem, chosen by coziba to be the capital of his new kingdom. adrian, not believing that after all they had gone through, the jews could raise an army, thought little of this revolt at first; and when at length he did send against them a powerful army, it was totally defeated. the news of this misfortune caused great astonishment and dismay at rome: and julius severus, one of the greatest generals of his time, was sent to put an end to this dangerous rebellion,-a matter which he found it difficult to accomplish; but at length, in an attack upon bither, coziba was killed; a dreadful slaughter of men, women, and children followed; and akibha and his sons were put to a cruel death by the roman conqueror. the jewish historians say, that between battle, famine, sickness, fire, and other calamities, the number of jews that perished in this war was greater than the number of the children of israel who originally came out of egypt: and they also declare, that their terrible sufferings under nebuchadnezzar and titus, were not so great as those inflicted upon them in the reign of adrian. both these statements are probably exaggerated; but they show that the misery of the unhappy jews at this time, was most extreme. chapter ii.--state of the jews to the end of the third century. the repeated provocations which, by their rebellions, the jews gave to the romans, could not, of course, tend to make their conquerors deal mercifully with them: thus did they, time after time, draw upon themselves those miseries, which were a chastisement for all their sins against god; and especially of that crowning one, the crucifixion of "the lord of life and glory." after the rebellion under coziba, numbers of the jews who outlived it, were offered for sale at the same price as a horse, at the fair of terebinth, held every year on the plain of mamre. the horror of such a fate was doubled by the fact, that the plain of mamre was looked upon by the jews as a sacred spot; because here their great forefather abraham received the angel, who gave him the promise of a son. those of the unhappy captives who were not sold at terebinth, were taken to another fair, at gaza, or sent into egypt, to be disposed of there. when this terrible war was at an end, adrian caused the building of his city to be continued. he did all he could to profane, and hold up to contempt, whatever the jews looked upon as most sacred: he placed a marble hog over the gate of the city nearest to bethlehem; built a temple to jupiter capitolinus, on the spot where the temple of the jews, the house of god, had stood; and used the stones which had been employed for the temple, to build a theatre. as adrian hated the christians as well as the jews, he set up statues of heathen deities at bethlehem, where jesus christ was born; on the spot where he was crucified; and in the garden, from whence he rose again from the dead. adrian also forbade the jews to enter jerusalem, or even to go near enough to look upon its ruins. before this time, they were constantly to be seen, clothed in rags, wandering sadly upon the mount of olives, and amongst the ruins of their once glorious temple and city: a roman garrison was now charged to see that adrian's harsh decree was obeyed, or to put the transgressors to death. but by giving money to the garrison, the unhappy jews did get leave to go once a year, on the anniversary of the destruction of jerusalem, to weep over the ruins of their beloved city. thus were the jews forced to pay even for the privilege of shedding tears, in the places where they had purchased and shed the blood of jesus christ. truly was "his blood," that is, the punishment for shedding it, "on them and on their children." when they had madly cried, "his blood be on us and on our children," they had, in fact, _asked_ that the curse of god might come upon them; and heavily indeed had it fallen. the dreadful fate of the jews should ever be a warning to each individual christian. we have owned jesus christ to be the messiah, the redeemer of mankind; we are called by his name; his word is in our hands: if we do not love and obey him, shall we not deserve a greater punishment even than the jews? whose history is given us as a warning of the hatefulness of sin, in the sight of the almighty. whilst the western jews had been suffering as has been described, the eastern jews were more fortunate. the emperor adrian had agreed to let the euphrates be the eastern boundary of the roman empire, and therefore the jews on the eastern side were no longer subject to his power. many of them, however, eager for the liberty of their country, went into judæa to help their brethren, but they only added to the number of sufferers. little is known of these eastern jews: they chose chiefs, called "princes of the captivity," to preside over their synagogues; they founded schools, and encouraged learned men; so that some of their rabbis became famous for their learning. one of these rabbis, named judah, wrote a book called "the misna," of which some account must be given. after the destruction of jerusalem, the sect of pharisees became very powerful amongst the jews; the chief thing taught by them in the schools was, not the written law of moses, but all the _traditions_, or doctrines and precepts, handed down by word of mouth from father to son. of course doctrines handed down in such a way, got sadly altered from what they had been at first; and thus the truth was corrupted. as time went on, fresh traditions were added, till at last they were so many, that the doctors, whose duty it was to explain the meaning of them, found it necessary to write them out, as it was impossible otherwise even to remember them. the disciples of the doctors again, took notes of the explanations given of these traditions; and all this made so much confusion, that the rabbi judah undertook to make a new arrangement of the traditions, or oral law. the meaning of the word "oral," is "delivered by the mouth"; and this law was called "oral," because it was originally given by the mouth. judah, therefore, collected together all the traditions, with the commentaries or explanations given by the most famous amongst their teachers or doctors. this work occupied him for forty years; it contained all the laws and doctrines, with an account of the institutions and modes of life, which the jews supposed themselves bound to observe, _beyond_ those commanded in the mosaical law. the jews held this work in the greatest possible veneration, and called it "the misna"--misna being a hebrew word, meaning the second law. it was also called "the first talmud." the jews called it "the misna," or second law, because they considered that it was as necessary to obey it, as it was to keep the pentateuch, or first law. the misna did not, however, settle all the doubtful cases and questions often raised by the jews; and another rabbi, with the assistance of two of judah's disciples, wrote a commentary, or rather an addition to the misna. this addition was called the talmud of jerusalem, because it was compiled or put together in the land of judæa, for the benefit of those jews who still remained in their native country. during the second century the jews became still further divided into sects, holding many opinions or doctrines contrary to those held originally by the jewish people; but the sect of the pharisees still continued to be the largest. the consequence of these divisions into numerous sects was, that there were perpetual jealousies and contentions amongst them. one great subject of dispute was, as to the use of the septuagint version of the scriptures by the hellenists. the hellenists were jews who spoke greek, and did not understand hebrew, so as to read the scriptures in their original language; and who were, therefore, very glad to make use of the septuagint version, which was written in greek. the rest of the jews used the hebrew scriptures; but at last they agreed that the hellenists might use the greek copies. afterwards, however, finding that the christians always used the septuagint, when endeavouring to convince the jews that jesus christ was the messiah, their dislike to that version of the holy scriptures increased to such a degree, that they came to look upon all persons who used it as schismatics; that is, as persons who sinfully separated themselves from their brethren, who held the true faith as delivered to them by moses. antoninus pius became emperor of rome towards the middle of the second century, that is, in a.d. . the edict forbidding the jews to circumcise their children, was so hateful to them, that in spite of the warnings given them by former sufferings, they again revolted. antoninus put down the revolt by force; but afterwards he treated the jews very mildly, and gave them the privilege for which they had fought; only forbidding their attempting to make proselytes. in the reign of marcus aurelius, who became emperor a.d. , the eastern jews, who were subject to the king of parthia, joined that monarch in a war against the romans; and marcus aurelius was so angry, that he unjustly revenged himself upon his jewish subjects, and once more ordered adrian's law against circumcision to be put in force: but in the distant provinces this law was not observed. in a.d. , septimius severus became emperor: at this time the jews had settlements in galilee, but the law forbidding them to enter jerusalem was still in force. though defeated and humbled so constantly, this unhappy people attempted to get possession of samaria and judæa by force. when the romans had again brought them into subjection, severus treated the jews as antoninus had done before; and in reward for some service they had done him, he also granted them the privilege of roman citizens, and even allowed them to be chosen to fill offices of trust and honour. so ended the second century. early in the third century, heliogab[=a]lus became emperor of rome, a.d. . this emperor pretended to be in some respects a jew himself, and would not, in consequence, eat the flesh of swine; but at the same time he built a temple in honour of the sun, and was anxious to make both jews and samaritans mix this worship, with their own religious observances. the jews, who never would have consented to such idolatry, were saved from the misery which a refusal would have brought upon them, by the death of heliogab[=a]lus, who was assassinated by his own soldiers, a.d. . alexander severus, who succeeded him, favoured the jews, and caused himself to be instructed in their religion. the great object of alexander severus was to mix up the christian and jewish doctrines with those of paganism, and make one religion of the whole: this shows that he could have had no real knowledge of the two former. in his own private chapel, severus placed statues of jesus christ, of abraham, and of orpheus, a famous musician of ancient times, of whom many mythological tales are told. the eastern jews established academies in the beginning of the third century; and in persia their rabbis were for some time treated with great respect: but at last the persians became jealous of the power and influence of the jews, and persuaded sapor, king of the country, to allow a violent persecution to be carried on against these unhappy people: those who could escape sought refuge in other lands. under zenobia, queen of palmyra, (the tadmor built by solomon,) the jews flourished exceedingly: they built handsome synagogues in every part of her dominions, and filled the highest offices in the state. in a.d. , the emperor aurelian defeated zenobia, and took possession of her dominions: some of the jews then returned into persia; but under aurelian, and the pagan emperors who succeeded him during the remainder of the third century, the jews enjoyed peace and tranquillity in the dominions of the romans. in this respect they were more fortunate than the christians, who were persecuted by various emperors, and especially by diocletian, who began to reign a.d. . whilst the christians were treated with the most barbarous cruelty, because they would not give up their religion, the jews were allowed to celebrate all the forms of their worship in the most public manner. thus ended the third century; but early in the next, an event took place, which made a great change in the condition of jews and christians. chapter iii.--jews in the fourth century. early in the fourth century, as has been said, a great change took place in religious matters. constantine, surnamed the great, who began to reign as sole emperor of rome a.d. , became a christian. it is said, that when going to fight against a rival who claimed the imperial power, constantine saw, or dreamed that he saw in the sky, a bright cross, and upon it the words, "in hoc vince" (in this conquer). he gained the victory; and ascribing it to the god worshipped by the christians, (whose emblem was a cross,) he became a convert to their religion, and adopted the cross as his standard. the example of constantine was followed by the greater part of his subjects, so that christianity was established as the religion of the roman empire, though many of the inhabitants still remained pagans. the city of jerusalem, which adrian had called elia, took again its own name; and many beautiful churches were built in it by constantine. but the establishment of the christian religion was by no means a favourable circumstance for the jews, who were looked upon as its worst enemies: against them, constantine, in the beginning of his reign, made some very severe laws. the jews in persia had grown insolent in consequence of the prosperity they had enjoyed: they insulted and abused all christians, and were even supposed to have put to death some of their brethren who had embraced christianity. constantine, indignant at such conduct, visited it upon the jews in his own dominions, and treated them with the greatest severity, even forbidding christians to eat with them. in short, the unhappy israelites were now subjected to every sort of insult and suffering. the persian jews were very angry at such treatment of their brethren; and as they had great influence over the king of persia, they now tried to avenge the jews in the west, by raising a bloody persecution against christians in the east: numbers of christ's followers were accordingly killed; their churches destroyed; and their sacred book burnt. this persecution was carried on, until every trace of christianity was almost rooted out of the country. but the cruelty of the persian jews did not go unpunished, although the roman empire was now greatly disturbed by internal strife, as well as by the attacks of foreign enemies. constantine the great died in a.d. ; and after his death the roman empire rapidly declined, both in extent and power; but of this we need say nothing here, as our business is with the jews. constantius, who succeeded constantine as emperor, hated the jews, and by his cruel treatment, drove them to raise an insurrection in palestine. this only enraged the emperor still more, and led him to add new and more severe laws to those already made against these unhappy creatures, by former emperors. any jew who dared to marry a christian, was to be put to death; and the same punishment was inflicted upon one who tried to make a proselyte of his own slave; or who kept in slavery any man who had become a christian. on the death of constantius, a.d. , the jews experienced some relief from his successor the emperor julian, surnamed the apostate; because, after having been brought up as a christian, he renounced that true religion, and lived as a pagan. when constantine the great died, he left constantius and two other sons, who were to divide his dominions amongst them: and he left two brothers, who had sons also. gallus and julian were the sons of one of these brothers, and were consequently cousins to constantius. the generals and ministers of constantine, persuaded the people after his death, that there would be constant struggles for power between the brothers and sons of the late emperor. the soldiers, who were very fond of constantine, declared that no one but a son of their beloved emperor should reign over his dominions, or rule in the city of constantinople, which he had built to be the capital of his dominions, and the royal residence. the soldiers stirred up the people, and formed a plot to destroy the brothers and nephews of constantine. constantius, when he first came to constantinople after his father's death, had solemnly promised to protect his uncles and cousins from all their enemies; but in spite of this, he was easily persuaded to join in the plot for their destruction; and a pretext was soon found for carrying out the scheme. a paper was produced, which was pretended to have been written by constantine just before his death. in this paper, the emperor was made to declare his belief, that he had been poisoned by his brothers; and he desired his sons to revenge his death, and secure their own safety, by the destruction of their uncles and cousins. such a pretext was quite sufficient; and the soldiers, without waiting for any inquiry or trial, murdered the suspected princes and all their sons, excepting the two young boys gallus and julian, who were hidden by their attendants from the fury of the soldiers; and thus escaped the fate of the two brothers and seven nephews of constantine, who were now murdered. gallus and julian, who alone escaped the slaughter, were of the respective ages of twelve and six years. constantius justly felt, that to put these children to death in cold blood, would be looked upon by all mankind as an act of wanton and needless cruelty: perhaps, too, he felt some sorrow for the crime already committed. at any rate, the two boys were allowed to live, and were sent to some city in bithynia, or ionia, where persons were appointed by the emperor to educate them. as gallus and julian grew up, constantius feared that they might plot against him; and he therefore chose for their residence a strong castle, standing in a pleasant situation, with extensive grounds belonging to it: having been an ancient palace, it contained very good rooms. here, attended, or rather _guarded_, by a numerous household, the young princes lived for six years: they were carefully instructed by the best teachers, in all branches of learning, as well as in active exercises; but in spite of every attention and comfort, they felt themselves to be prisoners, shut out from all society except that of persons devoted to constantius, and ready to obey him in every matter. a very strict observance of all the outward forms of christianity, had been forced upon them; but upon the heart of julian, at least, the blessed truths and precepts of the gospel had taken no hold. he had rather learnt to connect constantius and his religion, with cruelty and tyranny; and the violent disputes carried on by the bishops, who professed to be the followers of jesus christ, still further increased his dislike to a religion, associated in his mind with his own sufferings. when gallus was twenty-five years old, disturbances in his dominions induced constantius to release him, and even to place him as governor over part of the country. the cousins, therefore, met, and took a solemn oath, never to do anything to injure each other; and then gallus was settled at antioch, to rule over the neighbouring provinces. gallus was not unmindful of his brother, but also obtained liberty for him. julian, now nineteen years of age, having been so long restricted in his choice of society, eagerly sought that of learned men, the greater part of whom were unfortunately pagans; to whose ideas of religion he willingly listened, until he became convinced that paganism was a better religion than christianity, which he accordingly renounced; and from that time, became a devout and sincere worshipper of the gods of rome and athens. on the death of constantius, a.d. , julian became emperor of rome, and he proved a just and wise ruler. as it was his great wish entirely to destroy the christian religion, julian gave great encouragement to its enemies the jews; allowing them the free exercise of their religion, and treating them with the greatest kindness. this emboldened the jews to destroy the churches of the christians, and commit other acts of violence against them--an example followed by their brethren in egypt, who destroyed the finest churches in alexandria. julian issued a law establishing paganism as the religion of his empire; but he did not put to death those who held contrary opinions. he hated the christians, and would not allow them to have any power in the state; he forbade them to teach any sort of science in the public schools; he fined and banished their clergy; and also fined all who refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan deities. but nothing he could do had any effect upon the christians, who held firm to the true faith. the emperor then determined to rebuild the temple, and settle a powerful colony of jews in judæa; where they would be always ready to join in any measure against the christians. the destruction and desolation of the temple having been foretold by jesus christ, julian thought, that by rebuilding it, and re-establishing in it the ancient worship, he should shake the faith of mankind as to the truth of christianity. great preparations were made for the work; but when the workmen began to clear out the foundations, they were hindered by balls of fire which broke out, scorching and burning the unfortunate people. some writers doubt the truth of this account; but though we cannot be quite sure, there is great reason to believe that it really did happen. we may well believe that the almighty worked this miracle, to prove the truth of prophecy; and to show that the christians were now his chosen people, instead of the jews, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities by crucifying the saviour of mankind. at any rate, julian gave up the attempt to rebuild the temple. julian was killed in battle a.d. , and was succeeded by christian emperors. christianity was then re-established as the national religion, although both pagans and jews were allowed to practise their own forms of worship in peace, until the close of the fourth century, when the emperor theodosius put an end to paganism in the roman empire: sacrifices to the heathen deities were absolutely forbidden; and all the heathen temples were destroyed, or shut up. chapter iv.--fifth and sixth centuries. by the close of the fourth century, the roman empire was very considerably weakened and diminished, by the attacks of barbarian tribes on all sides. on the death of the emperor theodosius, a.d. , all that remained of the once roman empire was finally divided between his two young sons: arcadius becoming emperor of the east, with constantinople for his capital; honorius emperor of the west, with the ancient capital of rome. the jews of the eastern empire, emboldened by the mild treatment they had experienced, now insulted the christians. whilst celebrating the feast of purim, in remembrance of their deliverance from the wicked plots of haman, instead of hanging a figure of haman on a gibbet, and burning it, according to custom; the jews, in mockery of the christians, nailed the figure to a cross, and burnt that. this, of course, greatly displeased and shocked the christians; and the magistrates caused the houses, as well as the synagogues of the jews, to be burnt. laws were now made, forbidding the jews to insult the established religion; and also forbidding the christians to destroy the synagogues of the jews: but these unhappy people were still subject to great cruelty and injustice from the zeal of the christians, and the emperor was obliged to make fresh laws, for their protection from those, who would have done well to copy the _example_ of him, whose followers they professed to be. during the early part of the fifth century, the jews in the west, enjoyed the free exercise of their religion under the emperor honorius: the office of patriarch was, however, abolished by law; and this was a great grief to the jews, who from this time were under the direction of chiefs of the synagogues, whom they called primates. the fifth century was remarkable for the still further curtailment of the roman dominions, especially in the west. britain was lost. rome itself was plundered, and a visigothic empire established in spain. the jews of the eastern empire were much worse off during the fifth century than their brethren in the western. a great number of jews had settled at alexandria, in the north of egypt: they were very clever in their various trades, and therefore prospered and grew powerful; but they were not at all disposed to obey any rulers or magistrates. as early as a.d. , they had become much less strict in their observance of the forms and ceremonies enjoined by their religion; and instead of attending the services of the synagogue on saturday, their sabbath, they fell into a habit of going to witness the public amusements which took place on that day. on these occasions, there were frequent quarrels between the jews and the christians, and blood was often shed. cyril, bishop of alexandria, who had an extreme hatred of the jews, threatened them with the severest punishments; but as the governor of the city was their friend, they paid no attention to the bishop, and even laid a plot, and attacked the christians during the night, killing many of them. cyril, without waiting for a legal sentence against these murderers, encouraged the christians to attack and destroy the synagogues. after doing this, the people entered the houses of all jews, whether innocent or guilty, and robbed them of their goods, which were given up for the use of the christian church. the jews were thus forced to quit the city, and alexandria lost a useful and rich colony. the governor orestes was much displeased at the jews having been driven out of the city; and fresh disturbances arose in consequence, between him and cyril. towards the middle of the fifth century, a man appeared in the island of candia, pretending that he was a second moses. there were a great many rich jews in the island, and this impostor persuaded them that he was sent by the almighty to deliver his people from worse than egyptian bondage; and that the sea would be divided before them, to give them a safe passage to their own land. this man passed through every town and village in candia, and persuaded the jews to meet him at a particular spot on the sea-shore, on a certain day which he named. multitudes did so, taking with them as much of their wealth as they could carry. the impostor then led the assembled multitude to the top of a rock, and ordered them to throw themselves into the sea. men, women, and children, with a faith worthy of a better cause, at once jumped into the sea, where most of them were, of course, drowned: some were rescued from their fate by christian fishermen. the survivors, convinced too late of the falsehood of their pretended deliverer, now attempted to seize him, but he managed to escape. many of the jews, ashamed of having believed in such an impostor, are said to have become christians. what the object of this man was it is hard to see: it certainly does not seem that he was any friend to the jews, whom he misled to their destruction. during the fifth century, the jewish work, called "the talmud of babylon," was probably compiled: like "the talmud of jerusalem," it contained the misna of judah, with other remarks and explanations. it is supposed that another work, called "the masora," was also written at this time. the masora fixed the true reading of the hebrew words, and numbered the chapters and verses, and even the words and letters, of the old testament scriptures. the object was, to prevent the hebrew scriptures from being in any way altered, and so corrupted; and therefore the jews called the masora "the hedge of the law." towards the close of the fifth century, a tribe of goths, called heruli, led by their king odoacer, put an end to the western empire, a.d. . romulus augustulus, the emperor, was deposed; but his life was spared, and a pension was granted him by odoacer, who established a kingdom of his own in italy. he protected the jews, who had establishments for trade and commerce at rome, naples, milan, and genoa: laws were made to defend them from the attacks of the christians; but, nevertheless, they were often robbed and ill-used by the populace. a few years later, a.d. , the kingdom of the heruli was overthrown by the ostrogoths; but this change in the masters of the country does not appear to have made any difference in the treatment of the jews. during the sixth century, the jews in persia were cruelly persecuted by the kings, who wanted to force them to follow the idolatrous religion of the country. nor were the jews on the western side of the euphrates better off, for the emperor justinian, who began to reign at constantinople a.d. , oppressed them most severely; and by degrees deprived them of all the privileges they had enjoyed. he took upon himself to settle all matters connected with religion: he would not allow the jews to keep the passover at the time they wished; nor to educate their children in their own faith; and he forbade the magistrates to receive evidence against a christian from any jew. justinian also forbade the jews of carthage to worship god in their own way; and commanded that their synagogues should be turned into places of worship for the christians. all these harsh measures inclined the jews to revolt, and a man called julian, taking advantage of this disposition, pretended to be the messiah, whose coming the jews still expected. many of these unhappy people joined julian in palestine, confidently hoping for deliverance from their bondage: he immediately led them to attack the christians, who, not being prepared, were defeated with great slaughter. but the triumph of the jews was of short duration, for justinian sent troops, which routed the rebels entirely; julian was taken prisoner, and immediately put to death. some years afterwards, the jews of cæsarea rebelled against the government of justinian, and notwithstanding the hatred which existed between them and the samaritans, the two people joined together to fight against the christians: the governor of cæsarea, and great numbers of the christians, were massacred; and many of their churches were destroyed. this rebellion was quickly put down by the troops of justinian; many, who had taken part in it, were beheaded, and the rich were deprived of all their property. when belisarius, the famous general of justinian, besieged the city of naples, the jews defended it most obstinately; and the length of the siege caused the death of very many of the assailants. belisarius at length took the city: he tried to protect the jews from the fury of his own soldiers, but his efforts were unsuccessful, and men, women, and children were murdered. the jews were now so terrified, that they kept quiet for the remainder of the sixth century. the seventh century was a time of great suffering for the jews in general. those of antioch brought their first miseries upon themselves, by attacking the christians a.d. : the christians defended themselves bravely, but were overpowered: many were burnt in their houses; others, with their bishop, were treated with every insult, and then put to death. this rebellion was at last crushed, and the jews were most severely punished for their cruelty. cyprus gives us a pleasanter picture: in spite of adrian's edict of banishment, the jews had again become numerous and powerful in that island; and leontius, the christian bishop, fearing such an insurrection as had taken place at antioch, treated the jews kindly, and tried by gentle means to convert them. we are told that, under his wise management, numbers really did become christians. in rome, too, the bishops or pontiffs, who, under the title of pope, began to have great power and authority over all christians, would not allow the jews to be persecuted. but heraclius, the greek emperor, hated the hebrew race; and, not satisfied with persecuting them himself, stirred up other sovereigns to do the same. the greek empire, of which heraclius was now emperor, was that division of the roman empire which has been called hitherto the eastern empire, having constantinople for its capital. there was now no _roman_ empire; many of the countries that had formerly been parts of it had become separate kingdoms, under monarchs of their own. the two principal kingdoms were spain, and gaul, which we call france. neither spain nor gaul was, however, one kingdom, but each was divided amongst several kings or rulers. chapter v.--rise of mahometanism. the jews settled in spain had become rich by trading, and were very flourishing, until heraclius, who had been at war with that country, made peace, on condition that all the jews who would not consent to be baptized, should be destroyed or driven out of spain. many to save their lives and property submitted to the outward rite of baptism; others, more conscientious, stood firm, and were cruelly tortured. some escaped into gaul, but met with cruel treatment there: and during the remainder of the seventh century, the unhappy jews, both in spain and gaul, were oppressed and ill-used by christian kings, priests, and people. the most remarkable event in the seventh century was, the rise of the mahometan religion; so called from its founder, a man named mahomet--an arabian, the son of a prince of one of the chief wandering tribes who inhabited the country. the religion of these arabians was a mixture of the superstitious belief of neighbouring people; they also believed themselves to be descended from the patriarch abraham, and observed circumcision, with other rites and ceremonies belonging to the jewish religion. they believed in one supreme being; and also in three goddesses of equal power and wisdom, to be worshipped as well: they likewise worshipped idols. at mecca, the capital of arabia, there was a small temple, called the c[=a][=a]bba, in which there was a stone, said to have fallen _white_ from heaven, in the time when man was innocent, and to have gradually lost its pure colour as man became sinful; it was now quite black. this stone was held in such veneration, that people from all parts of arabia came to the c[=a][=a]bba, to worship, bringing gifts; and thus mecca grew to be a rich and flourishing city. mahomet was left an orphan when he was quite young, and in order to provide for him, his relations placed him in the service of a woman, who was in the habit of going backwards and forwards to syria, trading; that is, selling the spices and other things which grew in arabia, to the syrians; and bringing back such things as she could sell to her countrymen. mahomet now accompanied her on her journeys; looking after the camels, and doing any other services required. syria was at this time a roman province. mahomet, being a clever, intelligent lad, of an observing turn of mind, soon saw how much difference there was between the laws, manners, and customs of the polished syrians, and those of his own uncivilized countrymen; and he greatly regretted not being able to read or write. the mixture of jews and christians which he found in syria, turned his thoughts towards religious matters, and made him think that it would be a good thing to work a reformation in the corrupt and idolatrous religion of his own country. his ambition made him wish to distinguish himself as the founder of a new religion; but his poverty and dependent position seemed to render this impossible. in the course of time, however, mahomet made himself so useful to his mistress cadigha, and gained such favour with her, that she married him, and thus gave him the riches and consideration necessary for carrying out his schemes. his first step was to remedy the defects of his education; the next to gain favour with the people: he gave much in charity; led a solitary life; and occasionally retired into the desert, where he pretended to receive instructions from the angel gabriel. his wife assisted him by every means in her power; and in a short time the whole city of mecca talked of nothing but mahomet, who then began to lecture publicly. he taught that mankind should acknowledge one god (without division of persons, as in christianity); he declared that the love of this being was equal to his power, and that all his laws tended to make his creatures happy. mahomet also taught, that as mankind sinned, god had from time to time sent prophets upon earth to reprove them, and bring them back to his service; and that the chief of these prophets were, abraham, moses, jesus christ, and mahomet; the last being the greatest of all "there is one god, and mahomet is his prophet," was their confession of faith. prayers were to be offered to god seven times a day; and the pilgrimages to mecca, as well as circumcision and ablutions, were recommended as outward signs of belief, in the doctrines of what mahomet declared to be a new revelation, delivered to him by the angel gabriel. the book, in which all the doctrines and precepts taught by mahomet were recorded, is called "the koran." the koran contains many precepts worthy of christianity; and many doctrines in which there is much truth, mixed, however, with a great deal of falsehood and error, whilst the indulgence of man's evil passions is allowed. such a religion accorded well with the disposition of the arabians; the disciples of mahomet increased greatly, and amongst them were the richest and most respectable citizens of mecca. very shortly, mahomet began to spread his religion by conquest; and in a few years he had subdued to his empire and religion, all arabia; thus establishing the "saracen empire," which afterwards extended itself over much of asia, africa, and even europe. the arabian followers of mahomet took the name of "saracens," to induce a belief that they were descended from abraham and his wife sara; whereas they were the descendants of ishmael, the son of abraham and the bond-maid hagar. after the destruction of jerusalem, many of the jews settled in arabia; and by the beginning of the seventh century, they possessed several towns and fortifications, and had armies commanded by princes of their own. their number and influence made mahomet wish for their help in his undertaking, and he treated them at first with great attention: he had adopted many of their opinions and customs, and he ordered his followers to turn towards jerusalem when they prayed. he thus succeeded in gaining favour with the children of israel, who seeing what wonderful victories he gained, and misled by their own obstinate ideas as to the character of the promised messiah, began actually to think that in this conqueror, they beheld the long-expected messiah. many of the jews, therefore, embraced the mahometan religion, which all, who were conquered by mahomet, were forced to adopt. the jews were soon afterwards offended by his eating the flesh of camels, a meat forbidden by the mosaical law; and they had speedily other reasons for changing their opinions concerning the pretended prophet; they then became his determined enemies. mahomet returned their hatred; and in the koran, to which he was continually adding chapters, as supposed to be delivered to him from time to time by the angel gabriel, he reproaches the jews with betraying and murdering the prophets sent by god, amongst whom he numbers jesus christ. he also declares, that for these things, and for breaking the laws of god and neglecting the sabbaths, and above all for having refused to acknowledge his authority to establish a new revelation, the jews were justly accursed of god. not contented with such declarations, the impostor cruelly persecuted the unhappy jews; their property was taken from them, many were driven into exile, and thousands were slaughtered. but in spite of all sufferings, the jews remained faithful to their religion. after the death of mahomet, a.d. , the miserable remnant of the once flourishing people of israel was forced to remove into syria; as the impostor's dying command was, that none but followers of what he called "the true religion," should be allowed to dwell in his native land of arabia. one of the caliphs, or princes, who succeeded to the power of mahomet, carried on war to force all nations to become mahometans or mussulmans: he subdued mesopotamia, persia, and syria: the jews rejoiced in the downfall of persia, where they had met with persecution. at the head of an army of saracens, this caliph (abubeker) attacked jerusalem: the christians gallantly defended it for four months, and were then obliged to surrender the city to the saracens; who built a mosque, or mussulman place of worship, on the very spot where the magnificent temple of solomon had formerly stood. the first caliphs allowed the jews the free exercise of their own religion, and even permitted the princes of the captivity to exercise considerable authority. during the eighth and ninth centuries the jews had their share in the troubles and calamities caused by civil wars among the caliphs. besides this, their treatment varied much under the rule of the different saracen princes, who succeeded each other more or less quickly: by some they were allowed to live in peace, and worship god in their own way; by others they were persecuted. one of the caliphs forbade their riding on horses, and only permitted them to have mules, and make use of iron stirrups: the jews were also deprived of every office or employment in the state, and they were obliged to wear a cord round the waist, to point them out to the ridicule and abuse of the people. in christian countries, during the seventh and eighth centuries, we find the jews exposed to equal, and even greater persecutions. the members of the christian church were at this time divided into two great parties, one of which objected to having any images of saints in the churches: the jews, being accused of encouraging these disputes, were commanded by the greek emperor to give up their religion, on pain of the severest punishment. to save their lives, many of the hebrews were baptized, but without any intention of really becoming christians. this being suspected, afforded an excuse for still further persecutions of these unhappy people; but subsequent emperors showed them favour, and allowed them to practise all the rites and ceremonies of their religion. chapter vi.--tenth and eleventh centuries. the jews in spain brought trouble upon themselves by listening to one of their own countrymen, who declared himself to be the expected messiah, and persuaded the multitude to follow him to palestine, where he promised to establish his kingdom. many perished on this expedition; and those who did return to spain had cause to repent bitterly of their foolish credulity, for during their absence the government had seized upon all their lands and property. when gaul was taken from the romans by the barbarians, various tribes of germans, calling themselves franks, established their empire in the country. charles the great, or "charlemagne," as he is always called, became sovereign of the empire of the franks (or france, as we may now term it), a.d. . the saracens at this time were very troublesome in making frequent attacks upon the country; and the jews were suspected of encouraging and aiding the infidels, out of hatred to the christians. charlemagne, after defeating the saracens at toulouse, in the south of france, determined utterly to destroy the jews, who were accused of causing all this bloodshed. he was, however, persuaded only to put to death some of those supposed to be the most guilty. the others were condemned to pay an annual fine; and were, moreover, obliged to assemble three times a year, at the gate of some christian church appointed by the bishop, to receive a box on the ear! which we may well believe to have been no slight blow. at other times, the jews were treated with gentleness and moderation. louis le débonnaire became king on the death of his father, charlemagne, early in the ninth century, a.d. . his favourite physician was a jew; and for his sake louis granted great privileges to the jews. these marks of favour made them haughty and insolent; but when the bishops complained of their behaviour, the king would not listen to any proposition for their punishment. the favour and protection thus granted by the monarch, produced a great effect among his subjects; and those about the court declared openly, that the descendants of abraham ought to be treated with the greatest respect. some even went so far as to observe the jewish sabbaths, and to attend the synagogues; preferring to hear the discourses of the learned rabbis, rather than the sermons of the christian priests and monks, who were at this time extremely ignorant. during the reign of the next king, charles the bold, the jews met with little favour; and in some places they were constantly insulted with impunity by the populace. in one part of languedoc, it was the custom to pelt the jews with stones, from palm sunday--that is, the sunday before good friday--until the tuesday after easter day. during the tenth century, when there was much ignorance in all christian countries, the saracens were great promoters of learning; and under their protection the jews were also able to apply themselves to study, and many famous men appeared amongst them at this time; but, unhappily, disputes between themselves soon brought them into fresh difficulties. we now come to the eleventh century, during which, if not before, colonies of jews settled in england; for when william, duke of normandy, conquered the country, a.d. , a considerable number of them were already established in the kingdom. william also brought with him, from rouen, another colony of jews, and gave them places to live in, from whence they could carry on trade with other nations. in return, they were to pay the king certain sums of money. the jews also appear to have been in favour with william rufus, who encouraged disputes between the learned rabbis and the christian bishops, declaring that he himself was quite ready to follow the religion of whichever party had the best of the argument or dispute. the jews, always an industrious and money-making people, are said to have become so rich and powerful in england during william the second's reign, that they not only held public meetings for the purpose of converting the upper and more learned classes, but also endeavoured by bribes to induce the poor and ignorant to renounce christianity, and enrol themselves amongst the jews. what has been said of the condition of the jews in england, applies also to all other european countries, where the jews were richer, more fond of learning, and more polished--that is, more civil and gentle in their manners--than any other people. they were the only bankers; all trade with foreign nations was carried on by them alone; and even the gold and silver ornaments and vessels used in christian churches, were mostly made by these determined enemies of christianity. during the eleventh century, of which we have been speaking, the jews in egypt were for a short time persecuted by a saracen prince, who wished to establish a new religion in the place of mahometanism, or islamism, as the religion established by mahomet was called. as neither jews nor christians would assist him, he persecuted both; obliging the former to wear some outward mark to distinguish them, and point them out as objects for hatred and insult. he commanded their synagogues to be closed, and tried to force them to follow the new religion, of which he wanted to be the head. after a time, however, he allowed them to return to the practice of their own rites and ceremonies. towards the middle of the eleventh century, an eastern caliph determined to get rid of the jews altogether. he shut up their academies or schools; banished the teachers; and killed the prince of the captivity, with all his family. this cruel persecution drove many of the jews into the deserts of arabia; but most of them took refuge in the western countries; and by the end of the eleventh century, they had become numerous and powerful in different towns of germany. some of the jews, driven out of the east, passed through africa into spain, and there joined their brethren, who, having helped the saracens to conquer spain, were now greatly favoured by the caliphs, and were a wealthy and flourishing people. hatred of the christians was a bond of union between the jews and the mahometans; but when one of the rabbis tried to convert the saracens of grenada to the jewish religion, the king was so enraged, that he caused the rabbi to be seized and put to death at once. this was followed by a terrible persecution of the hebrew race. the jews, however, suffered still greater miseries in those parts of spain which were under the rule of christian princes. one of these, called ferdinand, having declared war against the saracens, resolved, in the first place, to destroy all the jews in his dominions, expecting by such an act of cruelty to obtain the favour and blessing of god! but the clergy of his kingdom objected to the execution of such a scheme; and the pope himself wrote, and blamed ferdinand for such unchristianlike zeal, so that the design was given up. alphonso, the successor of ferdinand, found himself in such difficulties, owing to the increasing power of the saracens, that he showed favour to the jews, in order to get them to help him with men and money in his wars against the infidels. he even allowed them to act as judges over christians; but the pope did not at all approve of this, and reproached the king for having, as he expressed it, "put the synagogue of satan above the church of christ." alphonso, however, did not take away the indulgences, which he had granted only to further his own interest. the close of this eleventh century was remarkable for the first of the crusades, or wars undertaken by christian nations, in order to take palestine, or the holy land, out of the hands of the saracens. in many parts of spain, great numbers of jews were massacred by those about to join the crusade, under the mistaken idea that they should bring the blessing of god upon their intended expedition, by destroying the descendants of those who had crucified the saviour of mankind. in germany, the crusaders, who marched through the country, murdered all the jews who refused to become christians. an immense number thus perished, many of whom were burnt in their houses; for the unhappy jews barricaded their dwellings, and then threw their families, their property, and themselves into the flames, thus disappointing the avarice of their enemies, who coveted their riches. even mothers, on the approach of the merciless crusaders, killed their children with their own hands, telling them it was far better for them to go at once into abraham's bosom, than to fall into the hands of the christians. some of the jews, less brave and conscientious than their brethren, saved their lives by pretending to adopt the christian religion, which they must naturally have hated more than ever, since those who professed to be guided by its precepts, had acted with a degree of cruelty and inhumanity, worthy only of the most ignorant savages. the same dreadful scenes took place in palestine, for when the crusaders arrived in that country, they, actuated by very mistaken notions of the spirit of christianity, inhumanly murdered all the jews they could lay hands upon; and men, women, and children alike perished by hundreds. during this dreadful time, it is pleasant to know that some of the christian bishops and clergy did try to protect the jews; and they received into their houses such fugitives as could manage to escape from the fury of their enemies. thus ended the eleventh century. chapter vii.--twelfth century. our history has now brought us to the twelfth century; that is, to the space of years, from a.d. to a.d. . the twelfth century began as the eleventh had ended; for the crusaders continued to persecute the jews in germany and other countries, as well as in palestine. the cry of the christians was, "let us destroy the descendants of those who crucified jesus christ, so that the name of israel be no more remembered"--a cry as much at variance with prophecy, as with the spirit of christianity; for the holy scriptures had plainly declared, that the once chosen people of god, though scattered throughout all lands, and severely punished for their unbelief, should _never be destroyed_. among the christian bishops who interfered in favour of the jews, was one called st. bernard, who thought that it was the duty of christians to _convert_ rather than destroy them; and that kindness was more likely to do this than persecution. st. bernard brought innocent the second, who was then pope, to agree with him, and to befriend the hebrew race. on one occasion, when this pope entered with much pomp and show into paris, the jews, approaching him with great respect, gave him a volume, or roll, containing the law. the pope received it, and said, "i reverence the law given by god to moses, but i condemn your explanation of it, because you still expect the coming of the promised messiah, instead of believing, as the catholic church does, that jesus christ was indeed the messiah our saviour; and that he now liveth and reigneth in heaven, with god the father, and god the holy ghost." the next pope was also favourable to the jews, and forbade the people to insult them on any occasion whatever. under such circumstances, the jews became a rich and flourishing people in rome, and in all the other cities of italy. towards the close of the twelfth century, a jewish rabbi, named joseph, was prime minister to a christian king of spain, and had a coach of state, and guards to attend upon him; but having cause to be displeased with the wicked conduct of one of his countrymen, this man, whose name was gonzales, contrived by his falsehoods to set the king against joseph, who was in consequence turned out of his office in disgrace. gonzales, who, though a jew himself, was no friend to his brethren, now, under pretence of enriching the king, persuaded him to allow him to do as he pleased with eight of the principal jews. the king consented; gonzales caused these eight men to be put to death, and seized all their property. he then asked the king to give up to him twenty more; but the monarch refused, thinking it more honourable to demand some of their riches for his own use, than to deprive them of life as well as property: the unhappy jews gladly consented to give the king large sums of money, in order to preserve their lives. shortly afterwards, gonzales, having displeased the king, was shut up in prison, and then the jews again enjoyed that peace and quiet so favourable to the pursuit of learning, of which they were very fond. among the learned men who distinguished themselves at this time, the chief was moses maimonides, or the son of maimon. this man claimed to be descended from king david: his knowledge and learning were so wonderfully great, and so far superior to that of any other rabbi, that his countrymen called him "the eagle of doctors," (the eagle being the king of his kind,) and declared, that no one before had ever come so near in wisdom to their great founder and lawgiver, whose name he bore. but the very wisdom and learning for which they praised him, soon raised the jealousy of the jews against maimonides; and this feeling was increased by his showing very little respect for the talmud, and by his teaching some extraordinary doctrines, learnt from a mahometan of arabia, under whom he had studied. thus maimonides offended a great part of the jewish people; and at montpelier, a town in the south of france, the chief of the synagogue persuaded certain learned men to preach against maimonides, and defend the talmud: he also caused the works of maimonides to be burnt, and excommunicated all who should dare to read them. the learned men amongst the jews were now divided into two parties: one _for_ and one _against_ maimonides; and disputes were in consequence carried on for many years. at this time, learning was not entirely confined to _men_ amongst the hebrew race; for several learned jewish _women_ made themselves remarkable in the twelfth century. one of these women was so skilful in explaining the law and the talmud, that many went to hear her lectures upon these subjects: she spake to the people from behind a latticed window, so that, whilst her voice was heard, she herself could not be seen by those outside. from jewish historians we learn, that during this twelfth century many of their nation were raised, at different times, to high offices in the courts of princes; and that others became celebrated as generals. several learned jews also renounced their religion and became christians, and then wrote books in favour of christianity. one of these jews turned mahometan, and wrote a book, accusing his jewish brethren of having altered the law given to moses by god. this greatly pleased the followers of mahomet, who forbade any person to quote or translate any part of the pentateuch, as used by either jews or christians. in france, towards the end of this century, the jews suffered greatly under philip augustus, or philip the second, who began to reign a.d. . some jews were accused of having murdered a christian youth; king philip eagerly seized upon such an excuse, and, under pretence of piety and zeal for the glory of god, banished all the hebrew race from his dominions; allowing them only to keep the money for which they could sell their furniture, the king taking for his own use all the rest of their property. it is even said that these poor creatures were robbed of what money they had been allowed to keep, and reduced to such a state of want and misery, that many died in consequence. the industry and skill of the jews, however, made their loss felt in every country from which they were expelled; and no doubt that was the case now, for shortly afterwards philip recalled them, excusing himself to such of his subjects as disapproved of the measure, by saying, that he allowed the jews to return in order to get from them money to pay the expenses of the crusades. so wickedly were the jews treated at this time, that if one became a christian, all his property was taken from him--a measure not likely to encourage conversions. something must now be said of the treatment of the jews in england during the twelfth century. henry the second, who began to reign a.d. , has been blamed by monkish writers for allowing them to live in peace; but the scene was soon changed. the great wealth of the jews caused them often to be applied to by those who wished to borrow money; but they were hated by all christians, and grievously oppressed and ill-treated in most christian countries. when richard the first succeeded his father, a.d. , the jews hoped, by giving him large sums of money, to secure his favour and protection; and great numbers of them came up to london from the most distant parts of england, just before the king's coronation. the common people in those days were very ignorant and superstitious, and fancied that the jews were magicians or conjurors, who could bewitch the king, and so do him harm; and richard, therefore, forbade any jew to be present in westminster abbey at his coronation. some of them, however, hoping to forward their own interests, ventured into the abbey, loaded with valuable presents for the monarch; but as they knelt before him, the king spurned them with his foot, and the courtiers followed his example. a great outcry was immediately raised outside the abbey; and at the same time a report was spread, that richard had given an order for the general massacre of the jews. an order so agreeable to the people, who hated the race of israel, was instantly acted upon; and under this false impression, hundreds of jews perished miserably: houses were broken open, and all the inhabitants murdered; or if they resisted the entrance of their foes, their houses were set on fire. many of these wretched jews put their own wives and children to death, to prevent their falling into the merciless hands of the christians. the day after the coronation, a proclamation was published to stop these shocking acts; but the fury of the people was not so easily checked, and the persecution continued in some degree for several months. nor was it confined to london, for in other parts of england similar outrages were committed upon the unfortunate jews. when richard the first went to palestine to take part in the third crusade, the jews suffered a still worse persecution; for although they had furnished the king with large sums of money for the expenses of this war, their enemies were not satisfied. it has been said, that in those times the jews best understood how to get rich by trade; one way in which they made money was, by lending it at high interest. if, for instance, any person wanted a large sum of money at once, in order to buy an estate, or carry out any great object, he would borrow it of the jews; engaging, in return, to pay a certain sum every year, or every month, as _interest_ on the money lent, until he could repay the whole sum. the jews who lent money asked very high interest for it; and were often guilty of great injustice and harshness to those who had borrowed it: all this added considerably to the hatred felt towards the hebrew race on account of their religion. chapter viii.--impostors in the twelfth century. when richard the first was making preparations for the holy war, (as the crusade was called,) his christian subjects felt very angry that they, who looked upon themselves as the favourites of heaven, should be obliged to deprive their families even of needful things, in order to fit themselves or others out to join in this war, whilst the enemies of christ were left in peaceable enjoyment of their riches; and they persuaded themselves that it would be a meritorious act, acceptable to god, to destroy all the descendants of those who had crucified the saviour, and then take their wealth to pay the expenses of the crusade. before his departure for the holy land, the king gave an order that the jews were not to be disturbed in any way; but no sooner had he left england, than the fury of the people broke out afresh, and very many of the unhappy israelites were destroyed in different places, and their property seized; whilst the magistrates, whose duty it was to keep order and protect _all_ the king's subjects, made little or no attempt to stop these acts of cruelty and violence. at york, the most dreadful scenes took place. the jews of that city were great money-lenders, or _usurers_, as they were called in reproach; and as they lived in a sumptuous manner, indulging themselves in every luxury, the people envied them for their riches, and hated them more and more; and hearing what had been done in other parts of england, they prepared to attack their victims. upon this, the chief persons among the israelites prevailed upon the governor of york to allow their countrymen to take refuge in the castle, as its walls were strong enough to protect those within them. very soon, however, the jews, seeing that the governor frequently went out of the castle into the city, suspected that he was plotting with their enemies for their destruction; and therefore, one day, when he had gone out as usual, they shut the gates, and refused to let him in again. the governor, very indignant, complained to the sheriff and to the heads of the christian party, who, as they were the chief debtors to the jews, were most anxious to destroy them. the sheriff immediately ordered the governor to attack the castle; but he soon repented of having given such a hasty order, and many of the principal citizens refused to join in its execution. it was, however, too late to check the populace, who were bent upon murder and robbery. the attack was made, the assailants encouraging each other by the cry, "destroy the enemies of jesus." the jews offered to give large sums of money, on condition that their lives should be spared; but this offer was refused. when they saw that they could defend themselves no longer, one of their most esteemed rabbis proposed that they should kill themselves, saying, that it was better to die courageously for the law than to fall into the hands of the christians. accordingly, these poor creatures killed their wives and children, set fire to the castle, and then slew themselves. in this way perished. a few, who gave themselves up in hopes of meeting with mercy, were murdered, and all the houses belonging to the jews were plundered. richard was very angry when he heard of such disobedience to his orders, and ordered the bishop of ely, as chief justice of england, to punish the guilty most severely. the chief offenders, however, had left york before the bishop entered that city; and he contented himself with depriving the sheriff and governor of their offices, and laying a fine upon some of the richest citizens. although so much has been said about the jews in the twelfth century, there is still something more to be added, because during this period there were more impostors pretending to be the messiah, than during any other similar period of time. the first of these impostors appeared in france a.d. , and committed so many crimes, that the government caused several synagogues to be destroyed, and at length the man himself was put to death, with a large number of his followers. the next year a false messiah appeared in persia, and collected a formidable army. the king of the country bribed him with a large sum of money to disband his followers, and then treacherously caused him to be beheaded, forcing the jews to return to him the money, which he had given as a bribe to the unfortunate man. spain had also her impostor, who appeared in a.d. , and was supported by one of the most learned rabbis of cordova, who had just written a book to prove that the messiah must shortly come--a work which had probably put it into the head of this man to assume the character. the greater part of the educated and sensible jews looked upon this impostor as a madman; but the people in general believed in him, and suffered severely for their folly. ten years afterwards, a person appeared in the kingdom of fez, in africa, and declared that in the course of a year the promised messiah would come. the conduct of this impostor greatly displeased the mahometans, to whom the kingdom belonged, and brought persecution upon all the jews scattered throughout the country. in the same year in which a false messiah appeared in fez, another jew of arabia took the title of messiah. he pretended to work miracles, and gained many followers. he was at length seized, and taken before the ruler of the country, who asked him, what had led him to try and impose upon his countrymen? he boldly answered, that he had not done so, for that he was indeed a prophet sent by god. being then asked what miracle he could work to prove that he was really sent by god, he said, "cut off my head, and i will come back again to life." the king took him at his word, and ordered him to be beheaded, promising to believe in him if he came to life again. his followers actually continued for some time to expect his re-appearance; but at last they were obliged to give up all hope: they were heavily fined, as a punishment for listening to this impostor. we have now spoken of eight pretended messiahs; but there is still one more, the most famous of them all: this was a jew, named david alroi, or el david, who, with about , of his countrymen, dwelt in a city subject to the king of persia, to whom they paid tribute. in el david took the title of messiah; and, being a learned and clever man, he deceived the multitude by his pretended miracles, and persuaded them to take up arms in his cause. the king of persia, alarmed by the success of the rebels, commanded el david to go to court, promising to acknowledge him as the messiah, if he would give some miraculous proof of being so. contrary to all expectation, the impostor appeared before the king, persisting in his claim to be the true messiah. he was then put into prison, in order to see whether he could work a miracle to set himself free. somehow or other, he did manage to escape, and those who were sent in search of him were unable to find him; but, through the treachery of his son-in-law, who took a large bribe to betray him, he was given up to the king, and put to death, with a great number of those who had been deceived by him. thus remarkably was fulfilled our saviour's prophecy, that "false christs and false prophets should arise and deceive many." it may seem strange to us that the jews, after refusing to acknowledge jesus christ, who had given so many proofs of his divine power, should afterwards have been so ready to follow any impostor who chose to style himself the messiah, without being able to do one single thing to support such a claim. the reason of this appears to be, that the jews, in spite of all prophecy, still set their minds upon a messiah, who could at once establish a kingdom upon earth; and they were, in consequence, always ready to take up arms, hoping that the time for establishing such a kingdom was now come. jesus, by his conduct, put an end to all hopes of the kind in him; and therefore he was despised and rejected. the impostors who took his name promised to deliver the jews from all their enemies, and restore them to their country; and therefore they were believed and followed. the cruel treatment experienced by the jews in england during the reign of richard the first, led many of those who still possessed any property, to leave the country; so that when john became king, a.d. , the absence of so many rich people and the falling off of trade were much felt in the kingdom; and, in the early part of the thirteenth century, the king used every means in his power to bring them back. he solemnly promised, that if they would give him a large sum of money, they should enjoy all their former privileges: he allowed them to possess lands, build synagogues, and even choose a high priest. great numbers of jews then returned to england, where they were soon more cruelly plundered than they had been before. it was the old story; they were odious to the people on account of their religion, and still more so, perhaps, for the enormous usury which they exacted for money lent. thus there was a continual cry for their banishment, or rather for their destruction; but the king found it more for his own interest to keep them in the country, where he could upon all occasions make them purchase his protection by paying a heavy fine; and the jews, seeing that so long as they gave money to the king they might exact what interest they pleased for money lent to his subjects, acted accordingly, and became more and more oppressive to all who were so unfortunate as to be their debtors. in the beginning of the thirteenth century, a.d. , john wished to raise a large sum of money: as usual, he fell upon the jews. the money not being readily paid, the king, in spite of the privileges which these unfortunate people had so dearly purchased, ordered men and women to be put into prison until he received the enormous sum which he now demanded. a jew of bristol was called upon to furnish such an immense sum, that he refused, declaring that the payment of it would reduce him to beggary. upon this refusal, the king cruelly ordered that one of the poor man's teeth should be taken out every day until he did pay. this wretched jew lost seven teeth, and then agreed to give the sum demanded by the king. chapter ix.--thirteenth century in england and france. henry the third became king of england on the death of john, a.d. : he was quite a child when his father died; but those who governed for him, set the jews who were in prison at liberty; and ordered that they should be protected against the violence of the crusaders. still, during the whole of henry's long reign, which extended far into the latter half of the thirteenth century, the jews were subject to great oppression and ill-usage in england. as a privilege and favour to the citizens of newcastle, the king commanded that no jew should be allowed to dwell in their city. the archbishop of canterbury, and the bishops of lincoln and norwich, took a sure way of driving the jews out of their dioceses; for they forbade all christians to sell them any provisions whatever. the prior of dunstable, on the other hand, gave the jews leave to reside in those places over which he had any control, on condition of their paying him every year two silver spoons. the jews were at this time accused of committing all sorts of dreadful crimes; how far these accusations were true or false, we do not know. they were human creatures, and the cruel treatment they met with, might well lead them into the commission of many wrong acts, which would, of course, be exaggerated by the hatred of their enemies; who believed them guilty, upon the slightest suspicion, and compelled them, in consequence, to pay heavy fines. in the middle of the century, when henry the third demanded fresh supplies of money for the purposes of war, the jews, irritated by such repeated oppression, wished to leave england, and seek some more hospitable country, in which they might dwell: the king refused to allow them to leave the country, and forced them to pay the tax demanded. the next year, the king again applied to them, declaring that in spite of the taxes he had already levied, he continued to be greatly in want of money, and must raise it from any quarter, and by any means. the unfortunate jews truly declared that they could not pay the taxes now demanded of them; upon which henry the third actually sold them and their possessions to his brother, to raise the sum required! it was now expected that the jews would be completely robbed of everything they possessed, in order to repay the prince the money for which he had bought them; but he, being convinced that they really could not have furnished the sum required, had compassion upon them, and left them in peace. to such a height had hatred of the jews risen in this reign, that when (about ) the barons took up arms to force the king to agree to their demands, they could think of no better way of gaining the favour and help of the people, than by killing the jews; and were accordingly massacred. the pretence for this massacre was, that one of the jews had tried to force a christian to pay an enormous and unfair interest for a loan of money: supposing this to have been true, the crime of one man should not have caused the death of hundreds. at the same time, houses were plundered, and the magnificent synagogue, built in the beginning of henry the third's reign, was burnt to the ground: it was afterwards rebuilt; but in , the king most unjustly took it from the jews, and gave it to a body of friars, who lived near it, and complained that their devotions were disturbed by the howling of the jews during their worship. the fact was, that the chapel belonging to the friars was small and dark, and they coveted the fine large synagogue close by their dwelling; and as no ideas of justice ever interfered with the treatment of the jews, they begged the king to give them this synagogue, and furnished him with an excuse for doing so. on the death of henry the third, a.d. , his son edward the first became king of england, and very soon afterwards a law was made, which promised to improve the condition of the jews; as it fixed a yearly tax to be paid by them, instead of leaving them liable to be called upon for contributions on every occasion, at the will of their enemies. this law also permitted them to possess houses and lands wherever they pleased. but, on the other hand, it was forbidden for any christian to lodge in the house of a jew; and every one of the hebrew race above seven years of age, was obliged to wear a distinguishing mark upon his upper garment: this mark was a figure of two ropes joined together. in the latter part of his reign, edward changed his conduct towards the jews, and they were treated with much injustice and even cruelty. the oppression suffered by these unhappy people, had not unnaturally raised up in them a spirit of retaliation; it made them think, that it was justifiable to use every possible means, right or wrong, to repay themselves for all the money unjustly taken from them by the christians: their attempts to do this, increased the hatred entertained for them. they were accused of coining false money, and of cheating in every possible way. a great outcry being raised against them, they were, in all parts of the kingdom, thrown into prison, and many of them were executed, whilst their houses, lands, and goods, were sold for the use of government. but to show the people that these measures were not taken merely for the sake of the plunder, the king ordered, that half the money produced by this sale should be put by, and given to such jews as would renounce their religion and become christians. very few, however, could be brought, for the sake of worldly advantages, to embrace the religion of their persecutors; nor can we be surprised, that the very unchristianlike conduct of the followers of the blessed jesus, should have increased the hatred and contempt felt by the jews for the christian religion. towards the end of the thirteenth century, about a.d. , edward the first, who had already banished the children of israel from those parts of france which were under his dominion, now commanded them all to leave england, and never to come back on pain of death. he took whatever property they had, only allowing them to keep enough money to pay the expenses of removal into foreign countries; and of this miserable sum many of them were robbed by the seamen at dover and other ports, whilst some hundreds of the poor wretches were even thrown into the sea and drowned: for this crime, however, many of the guilty seamen were punished by death. the clergy in england were so delighted to get rid of the jews, that they willingly gave the king very considerable sums of money to make up for the loss of a people, from whom former monarchs had always obtained help in time of need. after this banishment of the jews by edward the first, they never appeared in any considerable numbers in england, until the seventeenth century. in france we have seen the jews banished by philip the second, and then recalled by the same monarch at the end of the twelfth century (p. ). they immediately returned to all their former ways of making money by usury, so that early in the thirteenth century they had again become rich, and purchased lands of the lords who had large estates; but on certain conditions, which made them in some degree the property of the liege lord, of whom they held their lands. this "feudal tenure," as it was called, was common over europe in those times; and all, whether jews or christians, who thus held lands under a liege lord, were called his "vassals," and were bound to do him certain services, whenever called upon to do so. for some time philip allowed, or at least did not try to put a stop to, the usurious practices of the jews, because they gave him large sums of money in return for letting them alone; but at last the complaints of his subjects forced him to make some laws to check the evil. philip the second died a.d. ; louis the eighth, who succeeded him, reigned only three years: but when louis the ninth, surnamed saint louis, became king, a.d. , he immediately made a law, forbidding any of his subjects to borrow money of a jew. the condition of the jews in france at this time was miserable enough; their property was at the mercy of those lords, in whose territories they had fixed their residence; without his leave, they could not change their place of abode, and if they ventured to do so, their liege lord had a right to follow them, and seize upon them as runaway, slaves! if one lord sold land to another, the jews living on such land, also became the property of the purchaser: sometimes even, they were sold apart from the land, the price asked for them varying according to the talent and industry of each individual. but there was something worse still; if one of these jews did become a christian, the whole of his property was forfeited to his liege lord. so that these unhappy people were at the same time oppressed and persecuted for being jews, or for becoming christians; and this, by persons calling themselves christians, who should have rejoiced at every conversion, and done all in their power to make them more frequent. louis the ninth, although called st. louis on account of his remarkable piety and devotion, not only approved of these cruel and unjust laws, but added others; forbidding christians to have any intercourse with the jews, who were, in short, treated with the greatest harshness and injustice. but the most terrible persecution of this unhappy race, took place in a.d. , when they were accused of having, in mockery of the christians, crucified some children on good friday: on this supposition, multitudes of the jews were put to death with the most cruel tortures, until the pope, gregory the ninth, interfered to save them from further slaughter. during the imprisonment of louis the ninth in the holy land, whither he had gone upon a crusade, he ordered the jews to be driven out of his dominions; but when philip the third (the bold) became king, in a.d. , he recalled the jews, because he stood in need of their money. in other parts of france, which were governed by dukes or princes of their own, subject more or less to the king, the jews met with much the same kind of treatment; but in some provinces they did become magistrates, and possessed christian slaves. philip the fourth (the fair), who succeeded his father as king, a.d. , followed the example of edward the first, who was then king of england, and banished the jews altogether from france; seizing all their wealth, with the exception of a small sum to pay the expenses of their journey: many died of fatigue and want by the way, and the rest sought refuge in germany. some avoided banishment by being baptized: most of these returned afterwards to judaism; but the conversion of some of them, at least, was sincere. amongst those who became true christians, was one nicolas de lyra, who spent the remainder of his life in explaining the scriptures; and even wrote a book to prove from scripture, that the jews were wrong in not acknowledging jesus christ to be indeed the promised messiah. chapter x.--thirteenth century concluded. in spain during the thirteenth century, the jews suffered as much as they did in england and in france. at this time there were two christian kingdoms in spain: namely, the kingdom of castile and the kingdom of arragon; the southern part of spain formed the kingdom of the moors, who were mahometans. the bishop of toledo, vexed at the increased numbers and riches of the israelites in spain, excited the populace against them, and putting himself at the head of the rioters, entered and plundered synagogues and houses; the crusaders completed the work so unworthily begun by a christian bishop, and, according to jewish writers, this was one of the most severe and bloody persecutions ever endured by their unhappy countrymen: great numbers quitted the country at this time. the spanish nobles tried to put a stop to the horrible cruelties practised towards the jews; but ferdinand the third, who became king of castile, a.d. , rather encouraged the persecution, in order to make himself popular with the lower orders, who detested the jews. in the kingdom of arragon, towards the middle of the century, great efforts were made for the conversion of the jews. one of the clergy, named raymond, contrived to keep in check the violence of the people, who had a great respect for him; and at the same time he persuaded the king, james the first, who was a zealous christian, that the best way to convert the jews was by treating them with kindness, and trying to convince them of their errors. to carry out his views, raymond caused many of the friars to learn the hebrew and arabic languages, and to study the scriptures carefully, so as to be able to reason with the jews, and point out to them how all the prophecies in the old testament were fulfilled in jesus of nazareth. all his attempts to convert the jews were, however, unsuccessful, although they highly esteemed raymond himself for his moderation and humanity. the king of arragon mean time, so far from sharing the prejudices against the jews, applied to them for instruction in many matters of learning and science: the great and learned men amongst the spaniards also encouraged and admired them; but the people, and the ignorant and ill-educated among the clergy, hated and despised them, and would gladly have destroyed them altogether. in the middle of the century, alphonso the tenth, who was then king of castile, encouraged all learned men, whatever might be their religious opinions; and the favour shown in consequence to the jews, excited the jealousy of the people, who formed fresh plots for their destruction. the dead body of a man was thrown into the house of a jew, who was then accused of having murdered the man: this accusation roused the fury of the populace, who put numbers of the jews to death. the massacre threatened to become general, but the authorities interfered, and declaring that the jew was innocent of the crime laid to his charge, order was at length restored. during those times, when the israelites enjoyed the favour of the kings in spain, many learned men flourished, and educated pupils, who afterwards became celebrated amongst their countrymen. the spanish jews were again disturbed by an impostor called zechariah, who pretended that by studying the prophecies, he had discovered the exact day on which the messiah would appear; and declared that the jewish people would then be gathered together by the lord, who would subdue their enemies and resettle them in their ancient kingdom. the jews, always too easily deceived, prepared for this grand event by prayer and fasting; and on the appointed day they crowded to the synagogues clothed in white robes. besides having the mortification of a bitter disappointment, they thus brought upon themselves the insult and ridicule of their enemies. in germany, during the thirteenth century, the jews suffered much, in consequence of their being constantly accused of committing crimes more or less heinous. at one time they were charged with encouraging the persians and tartars to attack the country and destroy the christians; at another time, with preventing the baptism of those amongst them who wished to become christians; and they were repeatedly accused of murdering christian children at the time of the passover. what truth there was in any of these accusations, we do not know, but each was made by the people a pretext for robbery and murder; nor could the authorities save the wretched jews from the fury of their christian enemies. on one occasion, when the people of munich were murdering all the jews they could find, the town officers, unable to stop the tumult, advised the wretched victims to take refuge in their synagogue, a strong stone building, till the fury of their persecutors should cool down: but in spite of the efforts made by the duke of bavaria and his officers, they were all burnt, or otherwise killed in the synagogue. notwithstanding all these persecutions, many learned rabbis flourished in germany during this century; and towards its close violent disputes arose amongst the jews themselves, as to the doctrines which were to be believed and taught. the consequence was, that the jews were divided into two parties or sects, the rabbinists and the caraites: these two sects hated each other, since the caraites taught that the talmud, regarded by the rabbinists with the greatest veneration, was not to be depended upon in any way whatever. towards the end of the century, when germany was disturbed by the wars between albert of austria and another prince, who both wished to be emperor of germany, a peasant pretended that he was sent by god to destroy all the jews. this man went about the country declaring his errand, and exciting the people to execute the will of god. the multitude rose at once, and killed great numbers of the jews; whilst many of these unhappy people destroyed themselves and their families, to escape from their enemies. albert would gladly have put a stop to this barbarous persecution; but he was afraid that if he did so, many of his followers, who believed that the peasant really had a divine commission, would abandon him, and take the side of the rival prince. the riot was at last stopped, and a heavy fine laid upon the town of nuremburg, where it had begun: half the town was already burnt down, by the jews setting fire to their own houses. it has been already said, that the roman pontiffs, or popes, often interfered to stop the persecution of the jews, and to check the mistaken zeal of those who wanted to _force_ them to become christians. in , innocent the fourth wrote a letter in defence of the jews, declaring that they were not guilty of the crimes laid to their charge; and he also said, that their condition under christian princes, was far more miserable and wretched than that of their fathers had been under pharaoh. there were a great many jews in the kingdom of naples, and they had much wealth: as they had done the king some important service, he treated them with great indulgence. but after his death, attempts were made to convert them, instead of allowing them still to enjoy the free exercise of their religion. the jews, fearing a persecution, offered to become christians, provided they were allowed to marry into the richest and noblest families in the kingdom--a condition that they felt certain would be refused; but to their surprise and sorrow, permission was granted, and thus they were obliged to profess christianity; but those who were not able to make advantageous marriages, soon returned to the practice of their own religion. it is said, that a monk, who wished the jews to be punished for pretending to be christians, hid a cross in a heap of earth, and then accused one of these poor creatures of having done it: the people, enraged at such an act, rose at once and massacred a great number of the jews, and more would have been put to death if the nobles had not interposed, and even given shelter in their own houses to some of the most wealthy, who were always the peculiar objects of popular fury. in the east, the number and the power of the jews were much lessened during the thirteenth century. the caliph of bagdad, who was a zealous mahometan, and very fond of money, was vexed to see a people growing rich by their own industry, whilst they were always ready to receive any one who declared himself to be the messiah: and he therefore began a persecution, by which he hoped to compel all jews, either to become mahometans or to leave his dominions. some departed; others, to avoid exile, pretended to become followers of mahomet. in some parts of the east the jews suffered greatly from the invasions of the tartars; but towards the end of the century they enjoyed peace for a short time, under a prince, whose chief minister and favourite was a jewish physician, who obtained many privileges and indulgences for his countrymen. but on the death of this prince, his mahometan subjects, enraged at the favour he had shown to the jews for the sake of his minister, accused the latter of having poisoned his master: he was condemned without any proof, and vast numbers of his countrymen were at the same time murdered. palestine was greatly distressed by the wars between the christians and the saracens. the jews had still some synagogues in their native land; and even amidst their troubles, several learned rabbis appeared amongst them, the most remarkable of whom was styled the "father of wisdom"; he had been born in spain, but went to live in judæa, where he built a synagogue. several learned rabbis of the caraite sect flourished in different parts of the east during the thirteenth century. the fourteenth century does not seem to have brought any comfort to the wretched hebrews. the same avarice or love of money which made philip the fourth drive them out of france, made louis the tenth, who became king a.d. , bring them back again; because he wanted some of their money to enable him to reduce the flemings to subjection. the flemings were the inhabitants of flanders, a country in that part of europe which we now call belgium. the conditions upon which the jews were allowed to return to france were, that they should pay a heavy tax to the king; and that their stay in the country should be limited to a period of twelve years. during this time they might make money by trade and labour: they might buy land for synagogues and burying-places, and they might purchase any books they pleased with the exception of the talmud: but they were forbidden to converse publicly or privately with any christian; and they were obliged, as before, to wear a mark upon their upper garment. philip the fifth became king of france in a.d. , and during his reign the jews suffered much from a body of men called "the shepherds." they really were shepherds and labourers, who left their usual occupations to go, as they said, to the relief of the holy land. their leaders were two priests, who, by pretending to work miracles, got many of the lowest classes of the people to join the band. having thus strengthened themselves by the addition of a considerable body of desperate ruffians, the shepherds plundered the southern provinces of france, and by breaking open the prisons, added still further to their own numbers, by receiving the liberated criminals as brethren. they committed the most unheard-of barbarities, especially upon the jews, who fled before this savage band, and took refuge in considerable numbers, in a strong castle, near toulouse; and here defended themselves bravely, but in vain. when no hope of safety remained, they put themselves or each other to death. many of the shepherds were taken and executed. chapter xi.--end of the fourteenth century. about ten years after the affair of the shepherds, the jews in france were accused of having been bribed by the saracen king of granada to poison all the wells and rivers in the country. there was no proof of this but the declaration of a leper, who said, that a rich jew had given him money to poison some wells; but this was enough for the populace, who, without waiting for inquiry or trial, rose at once, and put numbers of the suspected race to a cruel death. the king, philip the sixth, shamefully took advantage of this popular outcry, and imprisoned the wealthy jews in paris until they told him where their treasures were hid; he then seized the greatest part for his own use, and banished the whole race from his dominions. the jews, thus expelled from france, took refuge in the northern part of italy, then called lombardy, and there first established "banks," and the system called "banking"; by which merchants, in lands far distant from each other, could receive the price of goods exchanged, without the risk of sending money: and by this means, the jews from this time were often able to save their riches from the avarice and violence of their enemies. but the system of banking was not useful to the jews alone: it was of the greatest service to trade in general, as well as to individuals, and has continued so up to the present time, when every considerable town in almost all european countries has its bank or banks. the great skill and cleverness of the jews in all matters connected with money, made the monarchs of various kingdoms willing to let them remain in their dominions; for though they would gladly have been rid of the jews themselves, they were anxious to keep their wealth in the country. after john the second became king of france, a.d. , the jews tried to obtain leave to return to france; but the permission was not granted until , when, john having been taken prisoner by the english, the money of the jews was needed to raise the sum demanded for his ransom. the children of israel were, therefore, re-admitted into france for twenty years, on condition that they should at once pay a considerable sum, and that each jew should pay annually a fixed tax. they would have been wiser to have remained out of the kingdom; for during the reign of charles the sixth, which began in , they were often fined, scourged, and many of them executed, on pretence of their having committed various crimes. the wicked absurdity of many of these accusations is proved by the fact, that when charles the sixth became mad, the jews were accused of having deprived him of his senses! towards the end of the fourteenth century, the people of france again became clamorous for the banishment of the jews; and supported by certain noblemen who owed those unhappy creatures money, they broke into their houses, murdered the inhabitants, and seized all the property they could find. some of the persecuted race took refuge in one of the prisons: their wives attempted to follow them, with their children in their arms, but the mob forced the little ones away from their mothers, and carried them off to be baptized. the government, too weak to venture on punishing the perpetrators of these crimes, replaced the jews who survived in their houses; and ordered that all persons who had taken any of their property should give it back to them--an order which was, of course, only laughed at. in a.d. , an act was passed, banishing the jews from france for ever; but as the town of metz, in that part of the country called lorraine, was then a free city, under the protection of the emperor of germany, the jews continued to reside there in peace; and after lorraine became a part of the kingdom of france, the french monarchs did not molest the jews in metz. but though, until the seventeenth century, metz was the only city in france where the jews were _allowed_ to reside, a few were always to be found in different parts of the kingdom. mary de medicis, the wife of henry the fourth, who became king a.d. , sent for a jewish physician to paris, where he was allowed free exercise of his religion for himself and his family. the jews, who were driven out of france in , went mostly into germany, where, however, they could not have much hope of peace, as their brethren in that country had suffered much from the beginning of the fourteenth century. about the middle of the century, a number of ignorant and superstitious christians, imagining that the almighty had ordered them to scourge themselves and kill the jews, formed themselves into a company, called "flagellants," for the purpose of carrying out what they conceived to be the divine commission. they proceeded to whip themselves in the most cruel manner, and then began their work of destruction. after many of the jews had been murdered, the flagellants came to some agreement with their unhappy victims; but this was rendered useless by the conduct of a jew of frankfort, who, not being satisfied with the agreement made, set fire to one of the public buildings, which was burnt down, with all the valuable papers it contained: the flames spread to the cathedral, and burnt that also to ashes. for this crime, not only the guilty jew, but all his innocent brethren also, were put to death; with the exception of a few, who managed to escape, and took refuge in bohemia. the year after the affair of the flagellants, the jews in germany were accused of poisoning wells and springs, and a fresh massacre took place all over the country. at metz, the jews not only defended themselves, which they were perfectly right to do, but in revenge put to death, in a barbarous manner, unarmed christians, who were in no way answerable for the attack upon them. the enraged populace punished this real crime, by killing many thousands of the jews, and setting fire to their houses. the flames spread, and did much damage in the town. this persecution extended over the whole of germany; some of the princes and nobles tried to save and help the miserable victims, but with little success. the jews who had fled into bohemia suffered equally at prague; during the feast of the passover, they were burnt in their synagogues whilst engaged in their devotions. soon afterwards another persecution was raised, on the old charge of poisoning springs and rivers; and this persecution extended through germany and into italy, provence, and other parts. the emperor of germany himself, convinced of their innocence of this pretended crime, endeavoured to convince his council that it was impossible for the jews to have committed it; but such was the feeling against the hebrew race, that in order to save them from worse calamities, the emperor was forced, at the close of the fourteenth century, to command these unhappy creatures either to be baptized, or to leave the country. the jewish historians tell us, that very few did give up their religion; or, as they expressed it, "forsake the glory of their god." in spain, the jews suffered dreadfully at the beginning of the fourteenth century from the shepherds, who, after finishing their work of destruction in france, carried fire and sword into spain; marking out the race of israel as their especial victims: and a pestilence that broke out in the army of the shepherds increased their fury against these devoted people, whom they accused of having caused it by poisoning the rivers. this story was readily believed, or at least accepted, by those who ought to have known better; and great numbers of jews were actually imprisoned on this charge: after a long confinement, the judges declared them to be innocent. the king, unwilling to allow that he had imprisoned them unjustly, pretended that he had only kept them in prison in order to convert them; but he caused a large number who refused to be baptized, to be put to death. alphonso the eleventh, king of castile, was the friend and protector of the jews, and had one of that nation for his principal minister and adviser. but this displeased his turbulent and rebellious subjects, who accused a jewish boy of having in some way insulted the sacrament: they became so violent upon the subject, that the king was obliged to summon a council, to decide whether the israelites should be put to death, or banished. banishment was decided upon; and they were commanded to leave the country within three months' time: but mean time it was discovered that a _christian_, and not a _jewish_ lad, had committed the offence complained of; and the king recalled the sentence of banishment, to the great disappointment and indignation of the enemies of the jews, who declared, that the witnesses who had proved the christian lad to be guilty, had been bribed to do so. the same kind of treatment was experienced by the israelites in other parts of spain during the fourteenth century; but during that period the popes in general treated them with humanity. troubles and disputes unconnected with the jews had caused the popes for a time to leave rome, and take up their residence at avignon, in the south of france. clement the fifth, then pope, did all in his power to save the jews from the violence of the shepherds, and all their other enemies: he also provided for them the means of instruction, by ordering that hebrew should be taught in all the christian universities, or places of education for young men; so that there might be some, able to show the jews from their own scriptures, how all ancient prophecies pointed out jesus christ as the true messiah. again, when the jews were persecuted on pretence of their having poisoned the rivers, pope clement the sixth exerted himself on their behalf; many of them found a safe asylum in avignon, and the pope left nothing undone to relieve their misery, and soften the fury of their persecutors. in italy, the jews seem to have been pretty well treated during the fourteenth century, and in poland they met with favour and indulgence: by their industry they gained wealth and power, and became a prosperous and flourishing people, as they have ever since continued to be in that country. poland produced many learned jews; and jewish children from all parts were sent there to study the talmud, and to learn and practise all the peculiar rites and ceremonies of their religion. we have now come to the close of the fourteenth century. the dreadful sufferings endured by the jews up to this time, and during future years, must remind us how surely all the prophecies contained in scripture will be fulfilled. the prophets had foretold, that in consequence of their sins they would suffer unheard-of miseries: history shows us the accomplishment of this prediction. then again, it is wonderful that with such persecutions, they should not have been utterly destroyed; but, no, the lord had said by his prophets, that they should be scattered throughout all lands, but not destroyed. the whole history of the jews proves the truth of the bible; and it should remind us, that scripture equally warns us, that if we sin we shall also suffer; and that nothing will be acceptable to god, but a true, loving, and faithful devotion of ourselves to the service of jesus christ, whom we acknowledge to be the son of god, the promised messiah. chapter xii.--the jews and the inquisition. during the fifteenth century there were no jews in england or france. of course, there may have been a few scattered here and there; but there was no body of jews in either country during this period. in germany, their condition continued much the same. the slightest pretence sufficed to raise a persecution; and a pretence was afforded, at the close of the century, by an impostor, named david, who declared that the messiah would positively appear in the year . he afterwards declared, that the messiah had delayed his coming on account of the sins of the people; and he caused the credulous jews to appoint a solemn fast, in order to obtain pardon and hasten the appearance of the deliverer. the jews of course suffered; and david was imprisoned, and died shortly afterwards. in the beginning of this century, great efforts were made for the conversion of the jews in the spanish kingdom of arragon. the pope was zealous in the work; and one of their own race, named jerome, who had himself embraced christianity, undertook to convince his countrymen even by passages from the talmud, that jesus christ must certainly be the messiah. although the jews treated the pope with great respect, they were by no means disposed to listen to jerome, with whom they were very angry; first, for deserting the faith of his people; and, secondly, for drawing them into disputes, which might bring persecution upon them. it is said, however, that , jews were then converted, and that a few years later, through the zeal of one of the clergy, a still larger number were baptized; but the greater part, having only submitted to baptism out of fear, continued to observe in secret all the rites and ceremonies of the hebrews. in a great change took place in the condition of the jews in spain, for ferdinand, king of arragon, married isabella, the queen of castile; so that from this time the two kingdoms became _one_, called the kingdom of spain. ferdinand and isabella were very anxious that all the inhabitants of spain should be christians. in the moors were driven out of granada, and their country became also a part of the kingdom of spain; but many of the moors, rather than leave their beloved granada, pretended to become christians. having driven the moors out of spain, ferdinand thought it would be desirable to get rid of the jews also; and he commanded them either to be baptized or to quit spain altogether. in order to prevent jews or mahometans who had been baptized, from ever returning to the practices of their former faith, ferdinand and isabella were persuaded to establish the court of the inquisition in spain. the inquisition was a court of inquiry, the members of which were charged by the pope to examine all persons accused, or suspected of holding any opinions in religious matters, not agreeing entirely with the doctrines taught by the church of rome. they had power to torture the accused, in order to force them to confessions, and to put to death all who continued to hold any opinions condemned by the pope. so much was this dreadful tribunal feared by the people, that none ventured to withhold their nearest and dearest relations from the officers of the inquisition, whose duty it was to arrest all persons, upon whom rested the slightest suspicion of what was called heresy. the unfortunate creatures thus dragged from their homes, were kept for a long time in the dungeons of the inquisition, until they accused themselves and declared the cause of their imprisonment; for they were not told of what crimes they were accused, nor were their accusers ever brought face to face with them to witness against them, as justice would have demanded. seldom did any, who were once consigned to the dungeons of the inquisition, return to their families; and so well was this known that, when they were taken away by the officers, their friends and relations looked upon them as dead: nor did they dare to make any effort to save them, lest they should themselves be looked upon as accomplices in some unknown crime. when no shadow of proof could be brought against the wretched prisoners, they were discharged, with the loss of great part of their property, after suffering the most cruel tortures during a tedious and dreadful imprisonment. many of those whom the inquisitors (or judges in this court) chose to consider guilty, were secretly put to a cruel death, in the dungeons of the inquisition. sometimes a number of these so-called "heretics" were executed publicly, by being all burnt together with great pomp and ceremony, so as to make quite a show of their execution! this terrible show was called an "auto-da-fé," meaning a sacrifice offered up by faithful christians to prove their devotion to god! it is dreadful to think of all the cruel and wicked things which have been done under pretence of religion, when true religion should fill our hearts with love to god, and love to man for his sake, and make us strive to subdue all our own evil passions and tempers. sad too, to remember, that this cruel tribunal, under whose authority the most barbarous and wicked acts were committed through a long series of years, was established by christian bishops, under the idea that they could thus please a god of love and mercy! it is necessary to mention the circumstances which led to the establishment of a tribunal, so opposed to the spirit of christianity. the popes, from being originally the bishops of rome, had gradually claimed and obtained influence and power over the church in all christian kingdoms; and they required that every member of these churches, should believe exactly whatever they and their council declared to be right and true. the different orders of monks, who were established in every christian country, supported the pope's claims, and did all in their power to increase the power and authority of the roman pontiffs. not content with spiritual power, the popes, little by little, claimed the right to interfere in temporal affairs; so that, by degrees, the pope claimed and exercised a kind of sovereign power over all christian kings, and required them to obey him in temporal as well as spiritual matters. such was the influence of the priests over an ignorant and superstitious people, that their kings would not have dared to deny the superior authority of the pope, had they wished to do so; for the people were taught to believe, that the roman pontiff had power to draw down upon individuals and nations who had displeased him, the severest judgments, or visible signs of the displeasure of the almighty god himself. in england, the pope's power never was so great as it became in italy and other european countries. but though christians in general, and the monks in particular, were ready to profess belief in whatever the popes declared to be the truth, there arose from time to time men who, contrary to the papal order, dared to search the scriptures for themselves; and thus perceived clearly, that the church of rome had adopted many doctrines and practices which were, in fact, quite contrary to those taught by the apostles, and given to them by the lord jesus christ. those who made such an important discovery, naturally told others of it; and thus there grew up in the christian church, a party who were opposed to the pope's authority, both in spiritual and temporal matters. this was of course highly displeasing to the sovereign pontiff; and, in order to check the spread of feelings and opinions which weakened the papal power, the terrible court of the inquisition was established in italy, by pope gregory the ninth, in the year --that is, towards the middle of the thirteenth century. it became the constant endeavour of all future pontiffs, to persuade the various sovereigns of europe, to introduce this iniquitous tribunal into their dominions. but, although gregory the ninth may be said to have established the inquisition as a permanent tribunal, it was not altogether a new institution; for, at the close of the twelfth century, the same desire to check the growth of feelings opposed to papal power, led innocent the third, in the year , to nominate inquisitorial courts, to examine all persons accused of heresy. from this beginning, sprang the court of inquisition, established by gregory a.d. . innocent the third is well known in english history, as the pope to whom king john gave up his kingdom, to be returned to him as a papal fief. he is also remarkable for the encouragement given to the cruel persecution of the albigenses in the south of france, and of the waldenses in the valleys of piedmont. the albigenses were a body of men living about toulouse and albigeois, in languedoc, who distinguished themselves by their opposition to the doctrines and ceremonies of the church of rome. their name appears to have been given them, either because a great number of them resided in the diocese of albi, or because they were condemned as heretics by a council held in that town. the albigenses became so powerful, that pope innocent the third sent a legate into their country; but, as that step produced no good effect, he stirred up against them philip the second, king of france, who, being joined by other princes, carried on a regular crusade against these unfortunate people. they were at first supported by raimond, count of toulouse; but when the king of france made war upon them, he deserted them, and made his submission to the pope; but, soon afterwards, finding himself plundered by the crusaders, he declared war against them. he was, however, defeated and slain at the siege of toulouse; and the consequence was, that the city surrendered to the crusaders, who also conquered the greater part of languedoc and provence. his son, also called raimond, who succeeded him, published a declaration against the albigenses, a.d. ; and agreed with the pope and the king of france, to set up the inquisition in his territories. from this time the albigenses gradually decreased in number, until, in the sixteenth century, the remnant had become so intermingled with the vaudois, that all are known by the latter name. the waldenses took their name from peter waldo, who was a rich merchant of lyons, in the latter part of the twelfth century. waldo, being extremely anxious for the increase of christian knowledge and piety, employed a priest, in the year , to translate from the latin into french, the four gospels and some other parts of scripture. when this was done, waldo found that there was no authority in scripture, for many of the doctrines and practices taught by the church over which the pope presided; in fact, that they were quite contrary to the word of god. in consequence, he gave up his mercantile profession, distributed his riches among the poor, and devoted himself, as a public teacher, to spread a knowledge of scriptural truth. his success was great. his followers took their name of waldenses from him; and they were also called "the poor men of lyons." the archbishop of lyons, and other rulers of the church in those parts, opposed waldo vigorously, but with little effect; for the simplicity and beauty of his doctrines, and the pious and blameless lives led by him and his followers, caused a daily increase of their numbers. being driven out of lyons, they spread over dauphiné, provence, and the valleys of piedmont. the merciless persecution carried on against these innocent people, by philip the second and innocent the third, failed to destroy them utterly, although the king is said to have destroyed the country seats of gentlemen in the attempt. amongst those who distinguished themselves most in this barbarous persecution, was simon de montfort, whose son, bearing the same name, retired to england, and became a favourite of henry the third, who created him earl of leicester. after one quarrel and reconciliation with his sovereign, leicester put himself at the head of the english barons who rebelled successfully against henry the third; but in the battle of evesham, when the royal forces were led by prince edward, the earl was defeated and slain. in spite of the united efforts of the pope, the king of france, and of the count simon de montfort, the waldenses continued to exist, and were in later times known as the vaudois. chapter xiii.--treatment of the jews by ferdinand. the monks took such an active part in the persecution of the jews, that it may be well to give some account of the "religious orders," as they are called; all of which hated the hebrew race, and would gladly have seen it extirpated. very soon after the establishment of the christian religion, there were men who wished to devote their hearts and lives to the service of god, and thought they could better do this by giving up all the pleasures and business of ordinary life. it became the practice for such to leave their families and live together in houses, thence called religious houses, under the direction and authority of some priest. here they spent their time in devotion, and in doing good to their fellow creatures: the services in the churches were performed by them; they undertook the education of the young; books were prepared by them, for in those days there were no books except such as were written by hand; and to them the sick and poor applied for relief, which was never denied. those who became inmates of such houses, were not bound to remain in them; but as long as they did so, they were bound to obey the orders of the ruling priest. but before long, a change took place: these religious houses took the name of monastery, abbey, priory, or convent. those who entered these houses, took a solemn oath to remain in them until their death, and to be in all things obedient to the priests, who, under the appellation of abbots or priors, ruled over these establishments, whilst they themselves were completely subject to the pope. as the gifts of money and lands bestowed upon these religious houses, gave them power and influence, those who ruled over them became ambitious, and desired to have a share in the government of kingdoms: in this they gradually succeeded by persuading kings and princes, that by following their advice in all things, they would please the lord god, and ensure his favour. as time went on, the heads of the abbeys, monasteries, priories, and convents, became more and more powerful, in the various kingdoms where they were established. the inmates of these various houses belonged to different classes or "orders"; the chief of which, were the benedictines, dominicans, and franciscans. st. benedict, the founder of the first religious order in europe, was born at spoleto, in italy, a.d. . at the age of fourteen, he retired to a cavern, where the fame of his pious austerities brought him numerous followers. he afterwards founded the monastery of monte casino, near naples, and thus established the order of st. benedict, or the benedictines. the oath taken by all who entered this order, bound them never to marry, nor to quit their convent; to practise the strictest self-denial in every matter; to speak but little to the other members of the community; to give up all intercourse with the world; and to place their minds and bodies at the absolute disposal of their superior; so as not only to do at once whatever he bid them do, but to hold no opinions contrary to his. the pope or bishop of rome, naturally looked with especial favour upon this order of monks; because being pledged to implicit obedience, they formed a sort of army, ready to do anything to increase the power of the priesthood and the pope. the benedictine order was introduced into england by dunstan, when he became superior of glastonbury abbey, in the tenth century. the founder of the dominican order, was a man named dominic, born at calahorra, in old castile, a.d. . he was employed by pope innocent the third to convert the albigenses; but failing in his endeavours, he joined in the horrible persecution carried on against them; and for his zeal in the cause, he was, after his death, a.d. , canonized, (that is, ordered to be called a saint) by the pope. the founder of the franciscan order was born at assisi, in a part of italy called umbria, a.d. ; and was after his death canonized, and called st. francis d'assisi. he was the son of a merchant, and had in his youth led a wild and dissipated life: but on recovering from a dangerous illness, he became enthusiastically devout; retired into solitude; and underwent every species of penance and mortification; so that his family thought he had gone mad. he gave up all claim to his father's property, and took a vow of poverty. being looked upon as a saint, many joined him, and he drew up rules for them to observe; and these rules being approved of by pope innocent the third, the order of franciscan friars was established, and its members increased rapidly. st. francis d'assisi was, as well as st. dominic, a zealous persecutor of the albigenses and waldenses. st. francis made an unsuccessful attempt to convert the sultan, or sovereign of turkey, and then returned to assisi, where he died, a.d. : he was canonized four years later, by gregory the ninth. it has been said, that the members of the dominican and franciscan orders were called friars, instead of monks. the difference between the two classes was, that the friars rejected the possession of all worldly wealth, and depended entirely for their subsistence upon what they could collect from the pious, in their wanderings about the country. on this account, they were also called "mendicants," that is, "beggars." there were four orders of these mendicant friars: the dominicans, or black friars; the franciscans, or grey friars, sometimes called "frères mineurs" (lesser friars), or minorites; the augustines, or mendicants, properly so called; and the carmelites, who claimed their origin from the prophet elijah. before we leave this subject, we must mention that there were also religious houses, called nunneries and convents, for females: the inmates were called nuns, and there were various orders of them, distinguished from each other by some differences in their rules and discipline. but all monks, friars and nuns were bound by their vows never to marry, nor leave their retirement; and to be in all things obedient to their superior. when the court of inquisition was set up in spain, it was directed to pay particular attention to the conduct of the jews, as the clergy had found out that their change of religion was generally only a pretence; and therefore the pope exhorted all christian princes to bring them to punishment. great numbers of the jews, terrified at the fate which awaited them, gave up the observance of their own rites and ceremonies, and submitted to any penance or punishment appointed by the clergy: but many of these unhappy creatures were put to death, even after they had confessed jesus christ to be the messiah: others were imprisoned for a long time, and when set at liberty, were obliged to wear two red crosses on their upper garment, which was considered as an acknowledgment that they deserved to be burnt. property was, of course, seized; and besides their persecution by the inquisition, the populace oppressed and ill-used them, so that their condition was as miserable as possible. the sufferings of the jews whom ferdinand drove out of spain, were most extraordinary. the greater part embarked on board ships, some of which, from being too heavily laden, sunk, and all on board were drowned; some of the ships are said to have been burnt; some were wrecked on foreign shores, where the miserable passengers died of want. the master of one ship determined to murder all his passengers, in order, as he said, to avenge the death of christ, whom their ancestors had crucified: the jews, aware of his design, reminded this bad man, that one doctrine of christianity was, that christ desired the salvation, and not the death of sinners; but the master, instead of feeling how little his conduct was like what a christian's ought to be, caused the jews to be stripped, and landed on the coast of africa, where he left them. some of these poor creatures were destroyed by wild beasts; some died of hunger; but some were saved by the master of another vessel. some of the jews, on leaving spain, sailed direct to the city of fez, in africa; but the inhabitants cruelly refused to admit them into the city, and they, too, died of want. another party sailed to genoa, which was at that time suffering from a scarcity of food, so that provisions were very dear: the inhabitants, seeing the miserable condition of the jews, who had no money to buy food, met them with a cross in one hand and in the other bread, which they refused to give to any one who would not first worship the cross. many who had hitherto resisted all temptation to conform to christian worship, could hold out no longer, and did what was required of them. the way in which ferdinand had treated the jews, was greatly blamed; and many nations expressed their astonishment, that the king should have so little regard to his own interest, as to banish a people, whose skill in money matters was so useful to the country. this very skill enabled the jews to disappoint the avarice of the king; for they had managed to send the greater part of their wealth safely out of the country, and consequently ferdinand got much less money from them than he had expected. meantime his subjects felt the loss of moors and jews, and the nobles complained that their towns were deserted and ruined. many of the jews on leaving spain, went into portugal, where their brethren had done good service to the king, by bringing him accounts of the coasts of the red sea; and also by helping his subjects to discover the way of reaching india, by sailing round the southern point of africa. but notwithstanding the services of the jews already in portugal, the king only allowed the fugitives from spain to enter his dominions, on condition of their paying a sum of gold, with an understanding, that on a certain day fixed, they must either leave portugal again, or be sold as slaves: on his part, the king promised to provide ships to take them wherever they wished to go. when the time came, the king really wished to keep his promise; but his orders were not obeyed, and the jews who were about to sail, were so barbarously used by the seamen, that they chose rather to be sold as slaves than to put themselves into the power of such ruffians. the next king of portugal had pity on the jews, and set them free from slavery; but afterwards, in order to gain favour with ferdinand and isabella, he ordered the israelites to leave the kingdom on a certain day, after which, all who remained would be again treated as slaves. but the king did not like the idea of expelling such a number of skilful and industrious people, and he determined at least to keep all the children under fourteen years of age, and have them baptized and brought up as christians. when, therefore, the time of departure drew near, he forbade the jews to embark from any port except lisbon; and when they came to that city, the king's officers seized their children, and dragged them away from their parents. we may imagine what a dreadful scene this was! many, in despair, rather than give their children up, killed them and then put an end to their own lives. besides this, the king contrived to delay their embarkation so much, that the day fixed passed away before they had sailed, and consequently they became slaves. in utter despair, these poor creatures now agreed to become christians, in order to recover their liberty, and their children. but such christianity could only be a pretence; and their enemies, suspecting this, watched them narrowly. the least sign of their observing any of the rites and ceremonies of the jewish religion, or of their preferring the law of moses to the gospel, exposed them to the horrible cruelties of the inquisition. shame upon christians, who could thus treat their fellow creatures! and instead of trying to win them over by christian love, could thus render the very name of christian more and more hateful to them. chapter xiv.--separation in the church. the events which have been noticed in spain and portugal, extended well into the sixteenth century, and thus belong to modern history; for the fifteenth is the last of the ten centuries known in history as "the middle ages," during which, as we have seen, the sufferings of the jews were very terrible. it is impossible here to give a particular account of this persecuted race in all countries, during the centuries that have since elapsed. in the sixteenth century took place that important movement in the christian church, spoken of in history as "the reformation." in speaking of the inquisition, allusion has been made to the feelings of mistrust and opposition, which had arisen in regard to the pope, and the church of which he claimed to be the head. by the beginning of the eleventh century, the papal power, or power of the popes, was far greater than that of any sovereign; and kings were obliged to acknowledge and submit to it, because in case of any dispute, their subjects would probably have obeyed the pope rather than their own sovereigns. nor was this extraordinary, since the people were led by the priests to believe, that they could not possibly be saved, unless they obeyed the pope in everything; and that on the other hand, he could forgive their sins, and ensure their salvation. thus was the pope put almost into the place of god. this naturally produced evil consequences, and for more than two centuries the corruptions of the church of rome went on increasing: the real doctrines and truths of the gospel were more and more forgotten, and its precepts disobeyed; so that wickedness seemed everywhere triumphant. such a sad state of things led many to think, that as the pope and his clergy were not teaching the truth as contained in the scripture, some reform was greatly needed. this feeling once roused, spread rapidly; and in the beginning of the sixteenth century, it was strengthened and confirmed by the preaching of a german, called martin luther. luther was born in a.d. , at eisleben, in lower saxony: wishing to devote himself to a religious life, he entered a monastery of augustines. his fondness for learning caused him to be appointed as a teacher in the new university of wittemberg: but his studies soon taught him that the church to which he belonged, had departed very far from gospel truth and practice; and a journey to rome showed him so much that was wrong in the lives and conduct of her clergy, as quite to destroy all his reverence for the pope. his own mind being thus made up, luther boldly declared his convictions; and taught that all who wished to be saved by jesus christ, must make a great change in their religious opinions and practice; and instead of blindly obeying the church of rome, must strive to worship god as the apostles and early christians had done; for this purpose he urged every individual to read and study the holy scriptures, which the pope did not permit any member of his church to do. people of all ranks listened to luther's words; and many determined no longer to submit to the pope's dictation, but to purify the church, by extirpating the errors which had one after another crept into her doctrines and practice, so as to restore her to her original condition of a scriptural church. whole nations now shook off the authority of the pope, and became separate branches of the one catholic or universal church established by the apostles, and of which jesus christ is the true and only head. in a.d. , when henry the eighth was king of england, such a branch was established in our own country, and called "the church of england"; whilst to that branch over which the pope still rules, we give the name of "the church of rome." all the works of man are liable to error, and in this great separation from the church of rome, some mistakes were probably made; nor were all who advocated the changes actuated by holy and religious motives. but whatever mistakes may have been made, we find in the teaching of the church of england the way of salvation. all of us who have been baptized into this church, must ever remember with thankfulness that we belong to a church which bids us take the holy scripture as our rule of life. as members of such a church, let us always strive to act up to our baptismal vows, carefully studying all the articles of the christian faith, that we may hold them fast; and that our faith may be firm and lively: let us renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil, constantly striving against sin in every form, so that we may truly keep the commandments and precepts of god: loving him with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves, for his sake. if we are thus true and worthy members of the church militant upon earth, we shall, through the atonement and mediation of jesus christ, be hereafter received into his church triumphant in heaven. before we go on, it will be well to say a few words as to the word "protestant," often applied both to churches and individuals who have separated from the church of rome. to "protest," means to "object to," to "declare against." "protestant," therefore, only means one who objects to anything, or declares against it; and so the word came to be applied to those, who so objected to the errors and false doctrines of the church of rome (which claimed for itself alone the title of catholic), as to separate from it, and establish a reformed branch. in _this_ sense the church of england may be called _protestant_; but we must never give up our claim of being a true and pure branch of the holy catholic and apostolic church, of which jesus christ is the head. the separation from the church of rome was not effected in any country without great struggles; many battles were fought, and many crimes committed, under pretence of religion, on both sides. luther died in , having lived to see the doctrines he had taught, too firmly established ever to be overthrown by the opposition of the pope and his supporters, who made great efforts to bring all men back to the church of rome. mary, the daughter of henry the eighth, who became queen of england on the death of her brother edward the sixth, a.d. , tried hard to make her subjects submit again to the church of rome, and many were burnt to death for refusing to do so. elizabeth, who succeeded her sister mary in , was zealous for the doctrines opposed to the papal teaching; and in her time the church of england was firmly established in this country, though many englishmen have never joined it, and continue to this day to be roman catholics, as we call those who belong to the church of rome, to distinguish them from those who have renounced her errors; for we all claim to be catholics, as members of the catholic or universal church of christ. many, too, in our own times have unhappily forsaken the church of their forefathers, and joined that of rome. let us watch and pray, that we fall not into such grievous error. the reformation relieved the jews from much active persecution, but, on the other hand, luther declared, that no christian might even employ a jewish physician; for as the whole race lay under the curse of god, they ought not to cure those who were the children of god: the jews naturally detested luther, by whose advice many christian princes in germany, refused to receive them into their dominions. the chief persecution against the israelites in europe during this century, arose from their being falsely accused of causing a fire that did great damage in bohemia. in persia they suffered much from one of the kings, who was resolved to make them embrace the mahometan faith. the jews at this time, seem to have enjoyed more peace in egypt, abyssinia, and other parts of africa, than in any other countries in the world. they became numerous, wealthy, and powerful at cairo, and also in morocco, from whence one of them was sent as ambassador to the united provinces of holland, in the beginning of the seventeenth century. although the king of portugal had banished the jews from his european dominions, he allowed them to settle at goa and other places, which then belonged to him in the east indies: but, unfortunately, after some years, these jews allowed themselves to be deceived by a pretended messiah. the news spread to portugal where some of the israelites, who had become christians, showed such joy at the intelligence, as to make it clear that they still clung to their old faith, and were christians only in name. the inquisition, therefore, interfered, and all jews living in such parts of the east as were subject to the king of portugal, were forced either to become christians, or to leave the country. the jews had now been shut out of england for about years; but when, after the murder of king charles the first, cromwell became ruler under the name of protector, a.d. , he, seeing the benefit which holland had gained by allowing this persecuted race to settle in that country, was anxious to bring their industry and their riches back into great britain. at his request, the parliament allowed manasses ben israel, who was greatly looked up to by the whole jewish people, to come to england, to beg permission for his countrymen to return: but the idea was so displeasing to the people in general, and was so strongly opposed by some persons of ability and learning, that cromwell was unwillingly obliged to dismiss manasses, without giving him any positive answer. some of his countrymen, however, did venture into england, where they were left in peace, and allowed to reside together in a certain part of london: but no laws were made for their protection, though they were ready to pay large sums for any such marks of favour. unfortunately for cromwell's project of re-establishing the jews in england, a deputation arrived from the asiatic jews, for the purpose of making out that cromwell was the messiah. this made the protector very angry; and when the object of these jews became known, it excited so much indignation throughout the country, that they were obliged to leave the kingdom in all haste. this incident greatly increased the feelings of prejudice and dislike, with which the children of israel were regarded. when charles the second was restored to the english throne, a.d. , he, being greatly in want of money, sold to the jews permission to settle in england, and their numbers increased greatly in consequence. james the second, who in succeeded his brother charles, also favoured the jews; and during this seventeenth century, they also regained a footing in france, from whence they had been finally banished in , though, as has been said, some jews were always to be found in different parts of that kingdom. the first place in which they were now permitted to reside and carry on trade, was bordeaux; they were also allowed to buy estates in france. chapter xv.--seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. the most curious event connected with the jews in the seventeenth century is the history of the impostor, zabathai tzevi, who was born in syria, of poor jewish parents; and being gifted with wonderful talents and great powers of learning, was enabled to take advantage of the ignorance and credulity of his countrymen. towards the close of the century, there was a general idea amongst the jews, that some wonderful event was about to take place, and all sorts of strange tales were told, and believed: amongst others, it was related that a ship had reached the coast of scotland, filled with sailors who could speak nothing but the hebrew language; that the sails of this ship were made of the most beautiful silk; and that upon them were embroidered the words, "the twelve tribes of israel." tzevi immediately took advantage of so favourable an opportunity, proclaimed himself to be the messiah, and promised the jews a glorious kingdom, in which they should enjoy peace and prosperity. he pretended to work miracles, and reproached some of his followers with wilful blindness, because they would not own that they had seen him rise up into the air! the multitude believed in tzevi, but many of the better instructed and more intelligent jews condemned him as an impostor, and would gladly have put him to death, could they have done so. after visiting greece and alexandria, tzevi went to gaza, where he persuaded a celebrated jew, named nathan levi, to act as his forerunner. tzevi and levi then went to jerusalem, and actually named a time when the jews should recover their kingdom by the conquest of the sultan, who then held it in subjection. some of the more sensible among the jews, saw that such folly could lead only to their own destruction, and therefore they condemned tzevi and his forerunner, to be put to death as impostors; but they went off to constantinople: the jews there had, however, been warned not to listen to them, and they therefore proceeded to smyrna. here tzevi received presents from the jews of many countries; and although the jewish council at smyrna condemned him as an impostor, his party was too numerous and powerful for any active steps to be taken against him. at length tzevi having, as he said, received the command of god to do so, went again to constantinople, where, by the sultan's orders, he was seized and cast into prison; but this event did not in any way shake the faith of his followers, who firmly believed that it was not in the sultan's power to put him to death. when he was questioned by the sultan's ministers, tzevi declared that he had only called himself the messiah, because his nation had forced him to do so: his life was therefore spared, and although he was kept in prison, all who chose were allowed to visit him. he remained a prisoner for some months, visited by the infatuated jews from all parts, who still persisted in looking upon him as the messiah; but as the turks made all these jews pay for the privilege of visiting tzevi, they did not interfere with the attentions and honours paid to him. in the height of his fame he was visited by a learned jew from poland, who wanted to be admitted in some manner to share his honours: this, tzevi was by no means inclined to allow, and the two men quarrelled. in revenge, the polish jew told the sultan that tzevi was a dangerous impostor, who was plotting to overthrow the turkish dominion: upon this, the sultan ordered that he should be set up as a mark for his archers to aim at, and that if he escaped unwounded, it would be a proof that he was not an impostor. tzevi naturally had no mind to submit to such a trial of his truth, and therefore he at once confessed himself to be an impostor; and when he found that this was not now enough to save his life, he became a mahometan, declaring that he had long wished to do so. this step filled his followers with grief and horror. tzevi lived for many years at constantinople, and became a learned and zealous mahometan: he still declared himself to be the appointed deliverer of the jews, but told them that he should not be able to prevail with the almighty to restore them as a nation to the holy land, until they gave up the law of moses and followed that of mahomet, as he had done. multitudes did actually, in consequence, go to constantinople, and there declare themselves to be followers of the false prophet mahomet. by this means, tzevi hoped to keep his influence over the jews, and at the same time remain in favour with the turks; but all his impiety and wickedness soon met with just punishment, for, for some cause or other, he was beheaded by order of the sultan. during the eighteenth century, the condition of the jews improved greatly throughout europe. no more dreadful persecutions took place; and though the prejudices of the people often led them to treat the jews with contempt and ridicule, and to annoy them in many ways, still the laws of the different countries in which they lived, did more or less, protect the hebrew race from real injuries and violence. in the middle of the eighteenth century there were nine synagogues in rome, and also an academy for the instruction of youth: the jews in this city seem to have exercised some authority over their brethren in other parts of italy, who consulted them upon all important matters, and paid great respect to their advice. there are now great numbers of jews in rome, who are all obliged to dwell together in one part of the city, called the ghetto. the king of naples, in the eighteenth century, granted such great privileges to the jews, as to make the roman catholics very uneasy; but in spite of the remonstrances of the clergy, he persevered in this course, until the jews, by their ill conduct, forced him to make a change. in spain and portugal during this century, there were a great many jews who, according to the permission granted them by the talmud, _pretended_ to be christians, and as such, filled various offices in the state, and even performed the functions of priests in the roman catholic church. outwardly they were zealous roman catholics; inwardly they were jews: so that it has been said, that whenever a house was more than usually furnished with crucifixes, images of the virgin and of the saints, relics and lamps, the inhabitants were sure to be israelites in heart. by pretending great zeal for the christian religion which they detested, these dissemblers generally escaped detection; though from time to time some of them did fall into the hands of the inquisition. jews can now live openly and unmolested in spain and portugal: they claim to be descended from the tribe of judah, and declare that many of their ancestors went into those countries, at the time of the captivity, more than two thousand years ago! for these reasons, the spanish and portuguese jews think themselves superior to those in other countries, and will not allow of marriages with them. the daughter of a portuguese jew having married a jew of berlin, the parents of the bride put on mourning for her as if she had been dead, which she was to them, as they never would see or hear of her again: they renounced her for ever. after the revolution in france towards the end of the eighteenth century, when the king louis the sixteenth was murdered, the jews were allowed all the privileges of citizens, on condition of taking an oath of obedience to the government of the country. their numbers then increased amazingly in france. in germany also, during this century, the jews gained many privileges from the emperors. in short, the children of israel were now everywhere protected by the laws, though they were still often robbed of their property, ridiculed and scoffed at, and employed in the lowest work. at frankfort, as in rome, the jews rich and poor, are all obliged to live in one quarter of the town: this consists of a long street, with high walls at the backs of the houses, to separate them from those parts in which the christians dwell. zealous christians have often formed plans for the conversion of the jews; not, as formerly, by violence, but in a manner more suitable to the spirit of the gospel; that is, by endeavouring to convince them that jesus christ was indeed the messiah prophesied of in the holy scriptures, and that they must look for no other, until in the end of the world he shall come again in glory, to judge both the quick and the dead. these efforts have met with some little success, but still there are an immense number of jews. one of these converts to christianity in the middle of the eighteenth century, was a young man named moses marcus, whose parents, rich jews of london, had him carefully instructed in hebrew and chaldee, and in all the learning of their people. when he was old enough, he was sent from england to finish his education at hamburg, and there became acquainted with some clergymen of what was called the reformed church,--that is, a branch of the church which had given up many of the doctrines and practices of the church of rome. with these clergymen, marcus frequently talked of the difference between the religion of the christians and that of the jews. by their advice he studied the scriptures of the new testament, and became thereby convinced that jesus christ was indeed the messiah. mean time the father of marcus had been to india, and when he returned to england he sent for his son, then about twenty years old. on his arrival, the young man at once told his father of the change which had taken place in his religious feelings and opinions. his father received this intelligence with the greatest displeasure, and spared neither threats nor promises to induce the young man not to desert the synagogue. but the faith of marcus had been strengthened by conversation with clergymen of the church of england, and therefore, disregarding all threats and promises, he persevered, even at the risk of his life, and was baptized: soon afterwards, he published a work explaining his reasons for becoming a christian; pointing out the fulfilment of prophecy in the person of jesus christ; and showing how many absurdities and contradictions were contained in the talmud. chapter xvi.--conclusion. of late years many privileges have been granted to the jews in england, and many societies have also been formed, for the purpose of trying to prove to them from their own scriptures, that the promised messiah, _has_ accomplished his work, and that the christian religion should now take the place of the jewish dispensation,--that the two are but in fact, only two parts of one religion,--that the jewish dispensation, the law, the covenant of works, was designed to prepare mankind for the coming of the messiah,--and that, as that event has taken place, we are now living under the christian dispensation, the gospel, the covenant of grace. some have believed; but many, alas! believe not, and still cling to their old faith. at the present time, no persecution is carried on against the hebrew race, and jews are to be found in all parts of the world, having free liberty to observe the rites and ceremonies of their own religion, as far as they can do so. their manners and customs, and their mode of observing the ceremonies of their religion, differ in different countries; but all agree in denying that jesus christ was the messiah. one thing we must remark about the higher class of jews in the present day--they are very charitable, not to their own people only, but also to christians, helping even to support christian schools. it is said that there is in these days a growing feeling amongst the jews, that the messiah must have come unobserved by them. let us pray, that through this feeling, they may be led to see and acknowledge, that jesus of nazareth is indeed that messiah. great efforts have been made, and are still being made, for the conversion of the jews, but with little success at present. the time is not yet come for them to be brought into the fold, and made one flock with the christians, under one shepherd, jesus christ our lord. but the time _will_ come, when by some means or other, the lord god almighty will do this thing, for the scriptures contain very many prophecies as to the restoration of the children of israel to the favour of god. the scripture predictions of future happiness for the jews, _will_ as surely be fulfilled, as those _have been_, which foretold the miseries that have fallen upon the once chosen people of god. the whole history of this remarkable nation, the chosen people of god, warns us in a most forcible manner of the evil of sin, which made the almighty at last cast off the people whom he had so loved, and whose sins he had so long borne with. let us learn from this, that sin persisted in will bring destruction upon any people; though, for the lord jesus christ's sake, those who repent of it and forsake it, shall be forgiven. the history of the jews gives also the clearest proofs of the truth of prophecy. to go no further than moses, let us see how exactly his words have been accomplished in the sufferings of the jews. his prophecies, fulfilled in part when the children of israel and judæa were carried into captivity, also describe most truly the circumstances of the jews, since the destruction of jerusalem by titus, a.d. , put a final end to their existence as a nation. moses says, "and the lord shall scatter thee among all people from one end of the earth even to the other." in the sketch which has been given of the jews, we have read of them as being found in all parts of the known world. again, their condition, as described by moses, "thou shalt only be oppressed and spoiled evermore," exactly agrees with all that has been said of them. we have seen that, in the east as well as in the west, they have been continually "oppressed" by the cruel laws and heavy taxes of the rulers of the various countries in which they sought refuge, as well as by the violence of the people, who have repeatedly "oppressed" them in every way, robbed them, "and spoiled" them of all their possessions. again moses says, "the lord will make thy plagues wonderful, even great plagues, and of long continuance." no people have ever suffered so much as the jews: their "plagues," or calamities, have indeed been wonderfully great, and of "long continuance," carried on, as we have seen, with little intermission through , years. some of the calamities inflicted upon the jews were especially foretold; for instance, "thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people"; and "thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." we have read that the children of the unhappy jews were cruelly taken from them by force, and "given to another people," to be educated as christians. their despair on this and other occasions, when they saw that their children were likely to fall into the hands of their enemies, drove them to madness; and in their frenzy and despair, they often destroyed their families and themselves. they were indeed made "mad," by the sight which their eyes had seen. again moses tells them, "thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb and a by-word among all nations, whither the lord shall lead thee." the amazing sufferings of the jews, and their existence through them; their obstinate attachment to their own religion; and the manner in which they have constantly believed in impostors declaring themselves to be the messiah,--must ever be an "astonishment" to all who read their history: and, whether justly or unjustly, their avarice, usury, and hard-heartedness, _did_ everywhere become a "proverb." even now, if any person is peculiarly avaricious and miserly, it is not unusual to hear his neighbours say of him, "oh, he is quite a jew,"--meaning that he has those bad qualities ascribed to the children of israel. in short, the name of jew has been a "by-word," or term of reproach, signifying all that is bad; and the treatment of the poor creatures has been in accordance with such notions. then again, rulers have forced them to wear marks on their clothes, and have made their condition as low and disgraceful as possible: the people have insulted and abused them, and treated them rather as brutes than as fellow creatures. pagans, mahometans, and, sad to say, christians also, have alike persecuted them; making their very name a "proverb" and a "by-word," in every part of the world whither they have been scattered. that any jews should be left, after all that this persecuted race has gone through, must ever appear truly wonderful. they have, as we have read, been massacred by thousands, and exposed to privations and sufferings, which might have blotted out their name from the face of the earth; yet they still exist. let us once more refer to moses, for the reason of this wonderful circumstance. "and yet...when they be in the land of their enemies, i will not cast them away, neither will i abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for i am the lord their god." these words, and these only, explain _why_ their unprecedented sufferings have, contrary to all human expectation, failed to "_destroy_" the jews "_utterly_." the prophet jeremiah also, in regard to the jews, says, "i am with thee, saith the lord, to save thee; though i make a full end of all the nations whither i have scattered thee, yet i will not make a full end of thee." since the jews were first scattered amongst all nations, great changes have taken place amongst the kingdoms of the earth; old empires have been utterly destroyed, and new ones have risen in their place; a "full end" has been made to many of the eastern nations, amongst whom the jews were scattered; most, if not all, the nations of europe have changed their masters, and become, as it were, new nations: but amidst all these changes, the race of israel has ever remained a distinct people, a nation without a country, "a homeless race," clinging to the religion, laws, and customs of their forefathers. many prophecies there are, pointing to great blessings still to come upon the jews; and, as has been already said, they _will_ come as surely as the miseries foretold, have done: _how_ and _when_ these things will be, it is not for us to know, until the lord shall perform his work of mercy, and take his chosen people again into favour. mean time the exact fulfilment of prophecy, as shown by their history, has ever been regarded as one of the strongest proofs of the truth of the christian religion: thus through the dispensation of the almighty, the jews have been made the means of strengthening the faith of others in those blessed gospel truths, which unhappily for themselves, they still refuse to believe. it only remains for us to pray for the conversion and salvation of the jews; and to ask god to pour out upon us the help of the holy spirit, that we may so truly believe all the articles of the christian faith, as to practise the duties which the gospel sets before us, and act always as the servants of the lord jesus christ, whose followers and disciples we became at our baptism. london: printed by e. j. francis, took's court, e.c. transcriber's note: italics are indicated by _underscores_. not paul, but jesus by jeremy bentham, esqr.,--the eminent philosopher of sociology, jurisprudence, &c., of london. with preface containing sketches of his life and works together with critical notes by john j. crandall, esqr., of the new jersey bar--author of right to begin and reply editor's preface. jeremy bentham, an eminent english judicial or jural philosopher, was born in london, february , , and died at westminster, his residence for six years previously, june , . his grandfather was a london attorney; his father, who followed the same profession, was a shrewd man of business, and added considerably to his patrimony by land speculations. these london benthams were probably an offshoot from an ancient york family of the same name, which boasted a bishopric among its members; but our author did not trouble himself to trace his genealogy beyond the pawnbroker. his mother, alicia groove, was the daughter of an andover shopkeeper. jeremy, the eldest, and for nine years the only child of this marriage, was for the first sixteen years of his life exceedingly puny, small and feeble. at the same time, he exhibited a remarkable precocity which greatly stimulated the pride and affection of his father. at five years of age he acquired a knowledge of musical notes and learned to play the violin. at four or earlier, having previously learned to write, he was initiated into latin grammar, and in his seventh year entered westminster school. meanwhile, he was taught french by a private master at home and at seven read telemaque, a book which strongly impressed him. learning to dance was a much more serious undertaking, as he was so weak in his legs. young as he was, he acquired distinction at westminster as a fabricator of latin and greek verses, the great end and aim of the instruction given there. when twelve years old, he was entered as a commoner at queen's college, oxford, where he spent the next three years. though very uncomfortable at oxford, he went through the exercises of the college with credit and even with some distinction. some latin verses of his, on the accession of george iii, attracted a great deal of attention as the production of one so young. into all of the disputations which formed a part of the college exercises, he entered with zeal and much satisfaction; yet he never felt at home in the university because of its historical monotony, and of all of which he retained the most unfavorable recollections. in , while not yet sixteen, he took the degree of a.b. shortly after this he began his course of law in lincoln's inn, and journeyed back and forth to oxford to hear blackstone's lectures. these lectures were published and read throughout the realm of england and particularly in the american colonies. these were criticised by the whole school of cromwell, milton and such followers as priestly and others in england and many in the colonies in america. young bentham returned to london and attended as a student the court of the king's bench, then presided over by mansfield, of whom he continued for some years a great admirer. among the advocates, dunning's clearness, directness and precision most impressed him. he took the degree of a.m. at the age of , the youngest graduate that had been known at the universities; and in he was admitted to the bar. young bentham had breathed from infancy, at home, at school, at college and in the courts, an atmosphere conservative and submissive to authority, yet in the progress of his law studies, he found a striking contrast between the structural imperialism of the british empire as expounded by blackstone and others of his day, and the philosophical social state discussed by aristotle, plato, aurelius, the struggling patriots of france, and the new brotherhood, then agitating the colonies of america. his father had hoped to see him lord-chancellor, and took great pains to push him forward. but having perceived a shocking contrast between the law as it was under the church imperial structure and such as he conceived it ought to be, he gradually abandoned the position of a submissive and admiring student and assumed a position among the school of reformers and afterwards the role of sharp critic and indignant denouncer. he heroically suffered privations for several years in lincoln's inn garrett, but persevered in study. he devoted some of his time to the study of science. the writings of hume, helvetius and others led him to adopt utility as the basis of morals and legislation. there had developed two distinct parties in england: the radicals and imperialists. the radicals contended that the foundation of legislation was that utility which produced the greatest happiness to the greatest number. blackstone and the ecclesiastics had adopted the theory of locke, that the foundation of legislation was a kind of covenant of mankind to conform to the laws of god and nature, as interpreted by hereditarily self-constituted rulers. bentham contended that this was only a vague and uncertain collection of words well adapted to the promotion of rule by dogmatic opinions of the lords and king and ecclesiastics in combination well calculated to deprive the people of the benefits of popular government. he conceived the idea of codifying the laws so as to define them in terms of the greatest good to the greatest number, and devoted a large share of the balance of his life to this work. in he published a small book in defense of the policy of lord north toward the colonies, but for fear of prosecution it was issued by one john lind and extensively read. a little later he published a book entitled "a fragment on government." this created a great deal of attention. readers variously ascribed the book to mansfield, to camden and to dunning. the impatient pride of bentham's father betrayed this secret. it was variously interpreted as a philosophical treatise and a critical personal attack upon the government. but he persevered in the advocacy of his principals of morals and government. he hoped also to be appointed secretary of the commission sent out by lord north to propose terms to the revolted american colonies. but as king george iii had contracted a dislike to him, he was disappointed in his plan of conference with the colonies. his writings were, however, more appreciated in france. he was openly espoused as a philosopher and reformer by d'alimbert, castillux, brissat and others. but in the meantime some such men as lord shelbourne, mills and others became his friends and admirers, and encouraged him to persevere with his philosophical code of laws, largely gleaned from the ancient philosophers of liberty and equality which had been smothered and superseded by military and church imperialism. in he took an extensive tour across the alps and while at kricov on the dou, he wrote his letters on usury. these were printed in london, which were now welcomed by the people largely on account of his reputation in france as a philosopher of popular government. in the meantime, paley had printed a treatise on the principle of applying utility to morals and legislation. he determined to print his views in french and address them to that people then struggling for liberal government. he revised his sheets on his favorite penal code and published them under the title of "an introduction to the principles of morals and legislation." the principles enunciated in this treatise attracted the attention of the liberals in france, as well as england and america. mirabeau and other french publishers spread his reputation far and wide. meanwhile, bentham with the idea of aiding the deliberations of the states general of france, and encouraged by the liberals on both continents, and especially such men as franklin, jefferson and others, printed a "draft of a code for the organization of a judicial establishment in france," for which services the national assembly conferred on him the citizenship of france by a decree, august , , in which his name was included with those of priestly, paine, wilberforce, clarkson, mackintosh, anacharsis, clootz, washington, klopstock, kosiosco, and several others. in the meantime, in his travels, he conceived an extensive plan of prison reform which he strenuously urged the crown officers and the english parliament to adopt. after several years of strenuous labors and the expenditure of a large part of the patrimony left him by his father, the enterprise was thwarted by the refusal of the king to concur with parliament in the enterprise. this scheme is fully set forth in the histories of the reign of george iii. but to avoid persecution under the drastic penal codes of england, bentham boasted that he was a man of no party but a man of all countries and a fraternal unit of the human race, he had come to occupy at home the position of a party chief. he espoused with characteristic zeal and enthusiasm the ideas of the radicals, who, in spite of themselves, were ranked as a political party. he went, indeed, the whole length, not merely republicanism, but on many points of ancient democracy including universal suffrage and the emancipation of all colonies. no matter how adroitly the contention was managed, the imperialists insisted that it was merely resurrecting the historic struggle of the days of cromwell and his "bare bones." the church establishment by way of the lords and bishops and bishop lords was the real foundation of the crown rule in all its ramifications. this superstructure was protected by all forms of penal laws against "lease" majesty and even the appearance of church creed heresy. the radicals always confronted by crown detectives were compelled to be very wary in their attacks upon this that they called imperial idolatry and were compelled to move by indirect and flank attacks. the upheaval by martin luther in the reign of henry viii at the council of trent and others over the divine authenticity of the athanasian creed never abated among the humanitarians of england or france. but in the presence of criminal inquisitions too barbarous to mention, the radicals were handicapped and were compelled to work strategically and by pits and mines beneath the superstructure of church imperialism. the church structure as established in europe is by common consent based upon the hypothesis of divinity in the life, works, and dogmas of one saul of tarsus, or as denominated paul, or the canonized st. paul. the substantial creed might well be denominated paulism. hence the legendary paul has been one of the points of attack by the rationalists of the centuries. while many of the contemporaries of bentham both in england, america and the continent denied the verity of the whole mosaic cosmogony and historiology, yet bentham seemed to ignore this task as superserviceable and unimportant. he and his school of radicals were devoted to the life works and teachings of jesus. jesus was the idol of his school and he heartily espoused the task of eliminating paul as the nemesis of jesus and his apostles, and a character invented and staged by imperialists to subordinate the toiling classes to the production of resources to subserve their personal luxuries. bentham began writing a philosophic analysis of the church's pretensions concerning the divine agency of paul. after several years of examination and study, and while he was writing his famous treatise entitled "the rational of judicial evidence" afterwards collected and published by mill, he finished the manuscript criticisms of paul and entitled them "not paul but jesus." for fear of prosecution for direct heresy or denunciation of the creed of the church, he evaded the use of his own name as writer of the criticism and used the name of conyers middleton, a cambridge divine, who by his writings had created a great deal of disturbance. he had been convicted twice for heresy. he had been dead fifty years when bentham introduced him in the first lines in the introduction to his criticisms herein published (see introduction). bentham, no doubt, intended to evade prosecution, as it will be seen that his name does not appear in the book, and yet at the same time used the name most obnoxious to the church in all its history. in middleton published his "letter from rome" in which he boldly essayed to demonstrate that the then religion of the roman church was derived from their heathen ancestral idolaters. he published other works on the uses of miracles and prophecy. but bentham's "not paul but jesus" did not long remain anonymous. it was read extensively in france and america. but this treatise formed a part of the labor of his life, which was to promote the theory of the social state based upon "the greatest good to the greatest number, and subordinate the whole to rational calculations of utility." these views he continually urged in the form of codification so as to eliminate all pretensions of hierarchical control by historical divine prophets, the faithful souls and agents of kings and princes. in the meantime, he was indefatigable in his attacks upon the english system of jurisprudence, which was being operated in america as a kind of paternal inheritance. dumont, in , compiled from the manuscripts of bentham a complete code which was readily adopted in france, because it conformed so closely to the old roman procedure which was held tenaciously in france. in the meantime, by importunity of lord brougham and others, and particularly of his friends in america, such as adams, franklin and others, he wrote to madison offering his services to draw up a complete code of laws for the united states. mr. madison caused these ideas to be spread broadcast by pamphlets as pamphleteering was much in vogue for such purposes in those days. but on account of our dual form of government, and as the code would apply to the states separately, the scheme as a whole failed. but some of the governors, especially those of pennsylvania, virginia and new hampshire, got hold of the manuscripts and many of the provisions were adopted and still obtain. in the meantime, mr. mill had collected his manuscripts on "the rationale of judicial evidence" and published them in vols. they shortly became a part of the libraries of the lawyers and statesmen of england, and especially in the united states. his manuscripts on "not paul but jesus" were extensively read and universally admitted to be rational and sound in point of rational jural demonstration. during this time, thomas jefferson had been writing on the same subject and after reading the prints of bentham, he abandoned the part directed to the criticism of paul, but he arranged chronologically all of the verses from the four gospels that pertain to the career of jesus, omitting, however, every verse or paragraph that to his mind was ambiguous or controversial, and every statement of fact that would not have been admitted as evidence in a court of justice. the original copy of what is denominated as "jefferson bible," is now preserved in the national museum at washington. it was purchased by the government as a memento of the author of the declaration of independence. this "the thomas jefferson bible" has lately been republished by david mckay, s. washington sq., philadelphia. the treatise "not paul but jesus" was published in . the printing art was not as well advanced as at present, and the division of subjects for discussion and correlation were not arranged strictly methodically, so the editor has rearranged some of the titles with a view to improve the order of sequence. with this change, every word has been preserved. it will all the time be borne in mind that the examination is judicial and the character paul had to be staged from many points of view and examination. jeremy bentham has revolved him in the limelight of inquisition with a thoroughness that commands the attention of all thoughtful readers. with this view the editor hopes to be justified in its republication by the reading and inquiring public. j. j. crandall. introduction. illustrious, in the church of jesus in general, and in the church of england in particular, is the name of conyers middleton. signal was, and is, the service rendered by him to the religion of jesus. by that bold, though reverend, hand, it now stands cleared of many a heap of pernicious rubbish, with which it had been incumbered and defiled, by the unhallowed labours of a succession of writers, who,--without personal intercourse with the founder, any more than we have now,--have, from the mere circumstance of the comparative vicinity of their days to those in which he lived, derived the exclusive possession of the imposing title of _fathers of the church_, or, in one word, _the fathers_. so able, so effectual, has been this clearance, that, as it has been observed by the edinburgh reviewers,--speaking of course of protestants, and more particularly of english protestants,--till one unexpected exception, which it mentions, had presented itself, they had thought that in no man's opinion were those writers any "longer to be regarded as guides, either in faith or morals." one step further was still wanting. one thorn still remained, to be plucked out of the side of this so much injured religion,--and that was, the addition made to it by _saul of tarsus_: by that _saul_, who, under the name of _paul_, has,--as will be seen, without warrant from, and even in the teeth of, the history of jesus, as delivered by his companions and biographers the four evangelists,--been dignified with the title of _his_ apostle: his _apostle_, that is to say, his _emissary_: his _emissary_, that is to say, _sent out_ by him: sent out, by that jesus, whose immediate disciples he so long persecuted and destroyed, and whose person,--unless dreaming of a person after his death, or professing to have dreamt of him, is seeing him,--he never saw. in the course of the ensuing examination, the subject of _miracles_ has come, unavoidably, under consideration. on this delicate ground, it has been matter of no small comfort to the author, to behold precursors, among divines of different persuasions, whose reputation for piety has not been diminished by the spirit of critical inquiry which accompanies it. such were mede, sykes, and others, whose ingenious labours were, in the case called that of the _daemoniacs_, employed in the endeavor to remove the supernatural character, from what, in their eyes, was no more than a natural appearance. on the success of these their labours, any judgment would here be irrelevant. not altogether so the observation, that in no instance does it appear to him that any such latitude of interpretation has been employed, as that which, on that occasion, was found necessary for the conversion of _devils_ into _diseases_. the _dissentions_ which, at all times, have had place among persons professing the religion of jesus, are but too notorious. the _mischiefs_, produced by these dissentions, are no less so. these dissentions, and these mischiefs--in what have they had their source? in certain words. these words, of whom have they been the words? of jesus? no: this has not been so much as pretended. of paul, and of paul alone: he giving them all along not as the words of jesus, but as his own only:--he all along preaching (as will be seen) in declared opposition to the eleven who were undisputedly the apostles of jesus: thus, of paul only have they been the words. that, by these words, and, consequently, by him whose words they were and are, all the mischiefs, which have been imputed to _the religion of jesus_, have been produced,--in so far as the dissentions, from which these mischiefs flowed, have had these words for their subjects,--cannot be denied. but, moreover, in these same words, that is to say, in the doctrines delivered by them, cannot but be to be found the origin, and the cause, of no small part--perhaps of the greatest part--of the _opposition_, which _that religion, with its benevolent system of morals_, has hitherto experienced. if this be so, then, by the clearing it of this incumbrance, not only as yet unexampled purity, but additional extent, may not unreasonably be expected to be given to it. it was by the frequent recurrence of these observations, that the author of these pages was led to the inquiry, whether the religion of paul,--as contained in the writings ascribed to paul, and with a degree of propriety which the author sees no reason to dispute,--whether the religion of paul has any just title to be considered as forming a part of the religion of jesus. the result was in the negative. the considerations, by which this result was produced, will form the matter of the ensuing pages. if, by cutting off a source of useless privations and groundless terrors, comfort and _inward peace_ should be restored or secured;--if, by cutting off a source of bitter animosity,--good-will, and peace from _without_, should be restored or secured;--if, by the removal of an incongruous appendage, acceptance should be obtained for what is good in the religion commonly ascribed to jesus;--obtained at the hands of any man, much more of many, to whom at present it is an object of aversion;--if, in any one of these several ways, much more if in all of them, the labours of the author should be crowned with success,--good service will, so far, and on all hands, be allowed to have been rendered to mankind. whosoever, putting aside all prepossessions, feels strong enough in mind, to look steadily at the originals, and from _them_ to take his conceptions of the matter, not from the discourses of others,--whosoever has this command over himself, will recognise, if the author does not much deceive himself, that by the two persons in question, as represented in the two sources of information--the gospels and paul's epistles,--two quite different, if not opposite, religions are inculcated: and that, in the religion of jesus may be found all the _good_ that has ever been the result of the compound so incongruously and unhappily made,--in the religion of paul, all the _mischief_, which, in such disastrous abundance, has so indisputably flowed from it. . that paul had no such commission as he professed to have;-- . that his enterprize was a scheme of personal ambition, and nothing more;-- . that his system of doctrine is fraught with mischief in a variety of shapes, and, in so far as it departs from, or adds to, those of jesus, with good in none;--and that it has no warrant, in anything that, as far as appears from any of the four gospels, was ever said or done by jesus;--such are the conclusions, which the author of these pages has found himself compelled to deduce, from those materials with which history has furnished us. the grounds of these conclusions he proceeds to submit to the consideration of his readers. plan of the work. the work may be conceived as divided into five parts. . in part the first, the five different, and in many respects discordant, accounts given of paul's conversion, which, in these accounts, is of course represented as being not only _outward_ but _inward_, are confronted, and, so far as regards inward conversion, shown to be, all of them, untrue: and, immediately after, the state of things, which produced, accompanied, and immediately followed, his outward conversion,--together with the time and manner in which that change was declared,--is brought to view. this part occupies the first two chapters. . part the second is employed in showing,--that, from the first commencement, of the intercourse, which, upon the tokens given of his outward conversion, took place at jerusalem between him and the apostles, acts : , to the time when,--in consequence of the interposition of the roman commander, to save him from the unanimous indignation of the whole people, more particularly of the disciples of the apostles,--he was conveyed from thence under guard to rome, a space, according to the commonly received computation, not less than six and twenty years, (acts and ), no supernatural commission from jesus, nor any inward conversion, was,--either by those distinguished servants and companions of jesus, or by their disciples at jerusalem,--believed to have place in his instance. this part occupies eight chapters: to wit, from the d to the th inclusive. . in part the third, in further proof of the insincerity of his character,--in addition to an oath proved to be false, are brought to view two unquestionably false assertions:--each having for its subject a matter of prime importance,--each deliberate and having in view a particular purpose: the one, a false account of the number of the witnesses to the resurrection of jesus; cor. : ; the other, a prediction of the end of the world before the death of persons then living; thes. , , , . this part occupies chapters and . . part the fourth is employed in showing,--that no proof, of his alleged supernatural commission from the almighty, is deducible, from any account we have, of any of those scenes, in which he is commonly regarded as having exercised a power of working miracles. for, that not only he himself never made exercise of any such power,--on any of those occasions, on which the demand for it, for the purpose of overcoming the disbelief entertained of his story by the apostles, was extreme,--but, neither on those, nor any other occasions, did he ever take upon himself to make reference, to so much as any one instance of any such proof of special authority from the almighty, as having been exhibited by him on any other occasion: that, for the belief in any such gift, we have no other ground, than the relations contained in the history called "_the acts of the apostles_," or, for shortness, _the acts_: and that such throughout is,--on the one hand, the nature of the occurrence itself, on the other hand, the character of the representation given of it,--that, to a disbelief in the exercise of any such supernatural power, it is not necessary that any such imputation as that of downright and wilful falsehood should be cast upon the author of that narrative: the occurrences in question being, mostly, if not entirely, such as lie within the ordinary course of nature,--but, upon which, either by the fancy, or by the artifice of the narrator, a sort of supernatural colouring has been superinduced. for this purpose, these supposed miracles are, each of them, separately brought to view and examined. this part occupies the th chapter. . part the fifth is employed in showing, that,--even if, on all these several occasions, the exercise of a power of producing supernatural effects had, by unequivocal statements, been ascribed to paul by the author of the acts,--such testimony, independently of the virtual contradiction given to it by the above-mentioned circumstantial evidence,--could not, with any propriety, be regarded as affording adequate proof--either of the fact of paul's having received a divine commission, and thereby, having become, inwardly as well as outwardly, a convert to the religion of jesus--either of that radical fact, or so much as of any one of the alleged achievements, which, upon the face of the accounts in question, are wont to present themselves as miraculous: for that, in the first place, it is only by error that the history in question has been ascribed to saint luke: it being, in respect of the account given of the circumstances accompanying the ascension of jesus, inconsistent with the account given in the gospel of saint luke, when compared with acts : to ,--and as to those attendant on the death of judas, inconsistent with the account in saint matthew : to and acts : to : and moreover, such being the whole complexion of his narrative, as to render it incapable of giving any tolerably adequate support to any statement whereby the exercise of supernatural power is asserted. this part occupies chapter . in part the sixth, to give additional correctness and completeness, to the conception supposed to be conveyed, of the character of paul and his attendant historiographer, jointly and severally considered,--a conjunct view is given of _five_ reports of his five trials, as reported in the acts. this part has been added since the publication of the above-mentioned summary view. it occupies chapter of the present work. chapter xvi. and last, winds up the whole, with some general observations on the self-declared oppositeness of paul's gospel, as he calls it, to that of the apostles: together with an indication of a real antichrist, in compensation for the fabulous one, created by paul, and nursed by the episcopal authors and editors of the church of england, translators of the bible: and by chapter of the present work, the imaginary antichrist is, it is hoped, strangled. at the time of the publication of the summary view,--for the more complete and satisfactory demonstration of the relative insufficiency of the narrative in question, a short but critical sketch was, as herein stated, intended to be given, of the parts not before noticed of the _history of the church_,--from the ascension of jesus, being the period at which that narrative commences, to that at which it terminates,--to wit, about two years after the arrival of paul at rome, acts : the history--to wit, as deducible from the materials which, in that same narrative, are brought to view: the duration of the period being, according to commonly received computations, about or years[a]: the author of "_the acts_" himself,--if he is to be believed,--an eyewitness, during a considerable portion of the time, to the several occurrences which he relates. on this occasion, and for this purpose,--the history in question had been sifted, in the same manner and on the same principles, as any profane history, in which, in a series of occurrences mostly natural, a few, wearing a supernatural appearance, are, here and there, interspersed: as, for instance, in livy's, and even in tacitus's roman history: on the one hand, the authority not being regarded as affording a sufficient foundation, for a belief in the supernatural parts of the narrative; nor, on the other hand, the sort of countenance, given to the supernatural parts, as affording a sufficient reason, for the disbelief of those, which have nothing in them that is unconformable to the universally experienced course of nature. in respect of _doctrine_, the conclusion is--that no point of doctrine, which has no other authority than that of paul's writings for its support, can justly be regarded as belonging to the religion of jesus,--any more than if, at this time of day, it were broached by any man now living: that thus, in so far as he is seen to have _added_ anything to the religion of jesus, he is seen to set himself _above_ it and _against_ it: that, therefore, if this be true, it rests with every professor of the religion of jesus, to settle with himself, to which of the two religions, that of jesus and that of paul, he will adhere: and, accordingly, either to say, _not jesus but paul_,--or, in the words of the title to this work, _not paul but jesus_.[b] footnotes: [a] to prevent, if possible, an embarrassment, which might otherwise be liable to have place on the part of the reader,--and therewith, the idea of inconsistency, as having place here and there in the work,--the following indication may be found to have its use. a cloud of uncertainty, to the length of one or two years, hangs over the duration of the period embraced by this work: namely, that between the point of time at which the conversion of paul is stated to have taken place, and the point of time at which the history, intituled the acts of the apostles, as therein declared, concludes:--a point of time, posterior by two years to that of his arrival at rome. [b] for making the requisite separation, between the two religions of jesus and the religion of paul,--an instrument, alike commodious and unexceptionable, has--for these many years, though, assuredly, not with any such view,--been presented to all hands, by doctor _gastrell_, an english and church of england bishop: namely, in a well-known work, intituled _the christian institutes_: date of the th edition, . it is composed of a collection of points of faith and morality, and under each are quoted the several texts, in the new testament, which are regarded by the author as affording grounds for the positions indicated. if then, anywhere, in his composition of the ground, passages, one or more, from this or that epistle of paul, are employed,--unaccompanied with any passage, extracted from any of the four gospels,--the reader may, without much danger of error, venture to conclude, that it is to the religion of paul alone, that the point of doctrine thus supported appertains, and not to the religion of jesus. as to any of the epistles, which bear the name of any of the real apostles of jesus,--a corresponding question may perhaps be here suggesting itself. but, with regard to the design of the present work, scarcely will they be found relevant. for, when compared with the sayings of jesus as repeated in the four gospels, scarcely will they be found exhibiting any additional points of doctrine: never, pregnant with any of those dissentions, which, from the writings of paul, have issued in such disastrous abundance. only lest they should be thought to have been overlooked, is any mention here made, of those documents, which, how much soever on other accounts entitled to regard, may, with reference to the question between the religion of jesus and the religion of paul, be, as above, and without impropriety, stated as irrelevant. table i. outward conversion. _showing at one view, under the head of paul's conversion, the different accounts from which the inference is drawn that the conversion was outward only, not inward._ vision i. acts account. ch. ix. - . .--but saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, went unto the high priest, and asked of him letters to damascus unto the synagogues, that if he found any that were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to jerusalem. and as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto damascus: and suddenly there shone around about him a light out of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? and he said, who art thou, lord? and he said, i am jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks: ( ) but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. and the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice,--but beholding no man. and saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; (old version "no man") and they led him by the hand, and brought him into damascus. and he was three days without sight, and did neither eat nor drink. ii. paul's first personal account. as per acts xxii. - . i am a jew, born in tarsus of cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for god, even as ye all are this day: and i persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. as also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also i received letters unto the brethren; and journeyed to damascus, to bring them also which were there unto jerusalem in bonds, for to be punished. and it came to pass, that, as i made my journey, and drew nigh unto damascus, about noon, suddenly there shown from heaven a great light round about me. and i fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? and i answered, who art thou, lord? and he said unto me, i am jesus of nazareth, whom thou persecutest. and they that were with me beheld in deed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. and i said, what shall i do, lord? and the lord said unto me, arise, and go into damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. and when i could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, i came into damascus. iii. paul's second personal account. as per acts xxvi. - . i verily thought with myself, that i ought to do many things contrary to the name of jesus of nazareth. and this i also did in jerusalem: and i both shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, i gave my vote against them. and punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, i strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, i persecuted them even unto foreign cities. whereupon as i journeyed to damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, o, king, i saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me. and when we were all fallen to the earth, i heard a voice saying unto me in the hebrew language, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. and i said, who art thou, lord? and the lord said, i am jesus whom thou persecutest. but arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have i appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein i will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the gentiles, unto whom i send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. wherefore, o king agrippa, i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but declared both to them of damascus first, and at jerusalem, and throughout all the country of judea, and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to god, doing works worthy of repentance. iv. paul's allusions. i. as per paul to corinth. i. xv. . and last of all, as unto one born out of due time, he appeared to me, also. ii. as per paul to gal. i. , , , . . for neither did i receive it from man, nor was i taught it, but it came to me through revelation of jesus christ. . but when it was the good pleasure of god, who separated me, even from my mother's womb, . and called me through his grace, to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood: . neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me: but i went away into arabia; and again i returned unto damascus. ii. vision .--ananias's. _i. acts account._ ix. - . . now there was a certain disciple at damascus, named ananias; and the lord said unto him in a vision, ananias! and he said, behold, i am here, lord. and the lord said unto him, arise, and go to the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of judas for one named saul, a man of tarsus: for behold, he prayeth: and he hath seen a man named ananias coming in, and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight. but ananias answered, lord, i have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name. but the lord said unto him, go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the gentiles and kings, and the children of israel: for i will shew him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. iii. ananias's visit to paul. _i. acts account._ ix. - . and ananias departed, and entered into the house; and laying his hands on him said, brother saul, the lord even jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the holy ghost. and straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. and he was certain days with the disciples which were at damascus. and straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed jesus, that he is the son of god. and all that heard him were amazed, and said, is not this he that in jerusalem made havock of them which called on his name? and he had come hither for this intent, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests. but saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the jews which dwelt at damascus, proving that this is the christ. _ii. paul's account._ as per acts xxii. - . xxii. . and one ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the jews that dwelt there, came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, brother saul, receive thy sight. and in that very hour i looked up on him. and he said, the god of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the righteous one, and to hear a voice from his mouth. for thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. and now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. not paul, but jesus chapter i. _paul's conversion._[ ]--_improbability and discordancy of the accounts of it._ section i. list of these accounts, with preliminary observations. (_see_ table i., _in which they are confronted_.) in one single work, and that alone, is comprised the whole of the information, in which, in relation to this momentous occurrence, any particulars are at this time of day to be found. this is that historical work, which in our edition of the bible, has for its title _the acts of the apostles_; for shortness, let us say _the acts_. of this same occurrence, in this one short work no fewer than three separate accounts are visible; one, in which the story is related by the historian in his own person; two others, in each of which paul is introduced as giving his own account of it. of these three accounts, no two will be found agreeing with each other. by the historian, paul when introduced as speaking in his own person, is represented as contradicting not only the historian's account, but his own account. on each occasion, it should seem, paul's account is adapted to the occasion. on the first occasion, the historian's account was not exactly adapted to that same first occasion. by the historian's ingenuity, paul is accordingly represented as giving on that same occasion another and better-adapted account. on the second occasion, neither was the historian's account nor paul's own account, as given on the former occasion, found suitable to this fresh occasion; on this same fresh occasion, a suitable amendment is accordingly framed. here, at the very outset of the inquiry, the distance of time between the point of time on which the occurrence is supposed to have taken place, and the time at which the historian's account of it was penned, are circumstances that present a claim to notice. the year after the birth of christ is the year which, according to the received accounts, is assigned to the occurrence. according to these same accounts, the year is the date given to the last occurrence mentioned by the historian, acts : after which occurrence, two years are stated by him as having elapsed, at the time at which the history closes. here then is an interval of about years, between the time at which the occurrence is stated to have happened, and the time at which these three mutually contradictory accounts of it were framed. in regard to this radical occurrence in particular, namely paul's conversion,--for the foundation of this his report, what evidence was it that the reporter had, or could have had in his possession, or at his command? one answer may serve for all; the accounts given of the matter by paul himself. with paul, then, what were this same reporter's means and mode of intercourse? in the year , and not before, (such is the inference from his own words) did it fall to his lot to be taken into the train of this self-denominated apostle. then it is, that for the first time, in the several accounts given by him of paul's migrations from place to place, the pronouns _us_, acts : , and _we_ make their appearance. from to years are . at the end of this interval came the earliest opportunity, which, for anything that appears, he could have had of hearing from his master's own mouth, whatsoever account, if any, it may have been the pleasure of that same master to give, of an occurrence, in relation to which there existed not among men any other percipient witness. having accompanied his master during the whole of his progress from jerusalem, the historian speaks of himself as being still in his train on his arrival at rome. acts xxviii. , "and when we came to rome," &c. it is not precisely stated, nor can it very determinately be inferred, whether at the point of time at which the history closes, the historian was still at that capital; the negative supposition presents itself as the most probable. posterior to the closing of the real action of the history, the penning of it will naturally be to be placed. "paul, says the acts xxviii. , dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him," &c. when this last verse but one of the history was penning, had the historian been living with paul, he would naturally have given us to understand as much; instead of _dwelt_, he would have said _has been dwelling_. by the tokens of carelessness afforded by the omission of so many particulars, which in every work of an historical nature the reader will naturally expect to see specified; such as the name of the historian, the particulars, occasion and manner of his being taken into the company of the illustrious missionary, and the time of that event;--by these tokens, two inferences, how different soever their tendency, seem at once to be suggested. one is, the genuineness of the narrative. a writer, who was conscious that he was not the man he was thus representing himself to be, viz. the companion of the missionary, would hardly have slid in, in so careless a manner, the mention of so material a circumstance. the other is, the slenderness of the author's qualification for the task thus executed by him; the lowness of his station in the scale of trustworthiness, and consequently the smallness of the probative force, with which a mass of evidence thus circumstanced can reasonably be considered as operating, in support of any alleged matter of fact, which, (either by the extraordinariness of its nature, or the temptation which the circumstances of the case afforded for entire fiction or misrepresentation), presents itself as exposed to doubt or controversy. a supernatural conversion, and the receipt of a supernatural commission for the delivery of a fresh body of doctrine; such are the two events, which, though in their nature so perfectly distinguishable, were according to this narrative combined in one:--the conversion from an unbelieving, cruel, and destructive persecutor of the new fellowship, into a most zealous supporter and coadjutor: the body of doctrine such as if it amounted to anything, could not but have been--what the person in question declared it to be--a supplement to the religion taught by jesus while in the flesh;--a supplement, containing matter never revealed to, and consequently never taught by, his apostles. now then, of all these supernatural occurrences, which, by the nameless historiographer, are related to have happened to paul, if anything had really happened to him--on this supposition, (so many as were the different sets of disciples of his, inhabitants of so many mutually distant provinces, no fewer than eight in number); is it in the nature of the case, that in no one instance, in any of his numerous epistles, he should have felt the necessity of stating and accordingly have stated, to any of these his disciples, the circumstances attending the event of his conversion--an event on which alone all his professions were founded? circumstances to which, as stated in his historian's narrative, could not from their nature have been known to any human being other than himself? yet, in no one of all his epistles, to any one of these his disciples, of any such particular, either in the way of direct assertion, or in the way of allusion, is any trace to be found. of _revelation_, yes: of _revelation_--this one most momentous indeed, but at the same time most mysterious and uninstructive word, repetitions we have in abundance. but of the time and manner of the alleged communication, or of the matter communicated, nothing is anywhere said. in these considerations may be seen a part, though but a part, of those, on which, in due season, will be seen grounded the inference,--that at no time, in all the personal conferences he had with the apostles, was any such story told by paul, as is related by the author of the acts. on the supposition that the narrative, such as it is, is genuine,--taking it as a whole, a very important source of division, from which it will require to be divided in idea into two parts or periods, here presents itself. period the first, containing the portion of time _anterior_ to the historian's admission into the train of the supposed apostle: period the second, containing the portion of time _posterior_ to that event: this latter portion continuing, as far as appears, to the time at which the history closes. in this latest and last-mentioned period are comprised all the several facts, or supposed facts, in relation to which any grounds appear for the supposition that the historian was, in his own person, a percipient witness. in relation to all the several facts, or supposed facts, anterior to this period,--the best evidence, which, for anything that appears, ever came within his reach, was composed of such statements as, in the course of his service, it may have been the pleasure of the master to make to, or in the hearing of, this his attendant. whatsoever may be the grounds of suspicion that may be found attaching themselves to evidence passing through such a channel, or issuing from such a source; other evidence will, if taken in the lump, present itself as being in comparison much less trustworthy. all other evidence consists of statements, coming from we know not whom, at we know not what times, on we know not what occasion, each of them with we know not how many reporting witnesses, one after and from another, through so many different and successive channels, between the percipient witness or witnesses, and the last reporting witness or witnesses, from whom the historian received the statement in the way of personal intercourse. the period of _rumour_, and the period of _observation_--by these two appellations it should seem, may the two periods be not altogether unaptly or uninstructively distinguished. with reference to the period of rumour,--whether, it was from paul's own statement, or from a source still more exposed to suspicion, that the historian's conception was derived,--one consideration presents itself, as requisite to be kept in mind. this is, with what facility, especially in that age, upon an occurrence in itself true, and including nothing that lies without the ordinary course of nature,--a circumstance out of the course of nature, giving to the whole a supernatural, and to use the ordinary word a miraculous, character, may, in and by the narrative, have been superinduced.[ ] fact, for instance, as it _really_ was--at the word of command, (suppose) a man, having the appearance of a cripple, stands up erect and walks: untrue circumstances, one or both superinduced by _rumour_--the man had been so from his birth; from his birth down to that same time he had been an inhabitant of that same place. in the chapter on paul's supposable miracles, about a dozen occurrences of this description will be found. on each one of these several occasions, the propriety of bearing in mind the above-mentioned consideration, will, it is believed, not appear open to dispute, whatsoever on each several occasion may be the application made of it. section . vision i.--dialogue on the road: paul hears a voice, sees nothing. i. account.--_as per acts_ ix. - . ix. . and saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, went unto the high priest,--and _desired_ of him letters to damascus to the _synagogues_, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto jerusalem.--and as he journeyed, he came near damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from _heaven_:--and he fell to the earth, and _heard a voice_ saying unto him, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me?--and he said, who art thou, lord? and the lord said, i am jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.--and he trembling and astonished said, lord, what wilt thou have me to do? and the lord said unto him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.--and the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, _hearing a voice_ but _seeing no man_.--and saul arose from the earth; and _when his eyes were opened, he saw no man_; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into damascus.--and he was _three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink_. ii. paul's supposed first or unstudied account.--_as per_ acts xxii. - . xxii. . i am verily a man which am a jew, born in tarsus, a city in cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward god, as ye all are this day.--and i persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.--as also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also i _received_ letters unto the _brethren_, and went to damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto jerusalem, for to be punished.--and it came to pass, that, as i made my journey, and was come nigh unto damascus _about noon_, suddenly there shone from _heaven_ a great light round about me.--and i fell unto the ground, and _heard a voice_ saying unto me, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me?--and i answered, who art thou, lord? and he said unto me, i am jesus of nazareth whom thou persecutest.--and they that were with me _saw indeed the light_, and were afraid; but _they heard not_ the voice of him that spake to me.--and i said, what shall i do, lord? and the lord said unto me, arise, and go into damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.--and when i could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, i came into damascus. iii. paul's supposed oratorical or studied account.--_as per_ acts xxvi. - . xxvi. . i verily thought with myself, that i ought to do many things contrary to the name of jesus of nazareth.--which thing i also did in jerusalem: and many of the saints did i shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death i gave my voice against them.--and i punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, i persecuted them even unto strange cities.--whereupon as i went to damascus with _authority_ and _commission_ from the _chief priests_,--at _midday_, o king, i saw in the way a light from _heaven_, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.--and when we were all fallen to the earth, _i heard_ a voice speaking unto me, and saying _in the hebrew tongue_, saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. and i said, who art thou, lord? and he said, i am jesus whom thou persecutest.--but rise, and stand upon thy feet: for i have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which i will appear unto thee;--delivering thee from the people, and from the gentiles, unto whom now i send thee. on comparing the three accounts of vision st, the particulars will be found referable to twelve heads. under no more than two of the twelve, will the conformity among them be found entire. where disconformity has place it may be clear or not clear of contradiction. clear it may be of contradiction, when it consists either of mere deficiency or mere redundancy, or of both: deficiency or redundancy, according as it is this or that account, which, on the occasion of the comparison, is taken for the standard. on the occasion in question, such is the importance of the occurrence, that the proper standard of reference and comparison is that which is most ample: that which, if not strictly speaking complete, wants the least of being so. on the part of the historian, speaking in his own person, omission is in such a case without excuse. not so, necessarily, in the case of a person whom the historian speaks of as giving that person's own account of that same occurrence. what may be is, that in the nature of the occasion in which the person is represented as speaking of it, there is so much of suddenness, by reason of impending danger, or urgent pressure, that, of the quantity of time necessary for complete utterance, and even of that necessary for complete and correct recollection, more or less was wanting. on the occasion of that account of the matter, which is the first of the two on which the historian represents paul as giving an account of this momentous occurrence,--this justification for want of completeness, or this excuse for want of correctness, might naturally enough have place. for it was while pleading for his life at jerusalem, before a mixed multitude, no inconsiderable part of which were endeavouring at the destruction of it, that paul is represented as delivering this first of his two accounts:--call that _the supposed unstudied or unpremeditated account_. not so, on the occasion on which he is represented as delivering the second of these same two accounts. on this occasion, it is true, he is represented as pleading in his defence. but it is pleading in and before a regularly constituted judiciary, and after time for preparation in much greater abundance than he could have wished:--call this _the supposed studied or premeditated account_. in this view, the proper standard of comparison can not be dubious. the historian being himself, in all three accounts, the immediately reporting witness, and having had his own time for the forming of them all,--that which he gives in his own person, and which therefore naturally occupies the first place, should, in respect of both qualities, as well as in that of clearness, have been, (and, setting aside deceptious design, naturally would have been), as perfect as it was in his power to make it. to the others alone could any excuse be afforded, in respect of any one of those requisites, by any circumstance peculiar to the respective cases. what is above being observed--of the ten following instances of disconformity, seven will be found to be cases of simple deficiency, three of contradiction. in those which are cases of simple deficiency, it will be seen to have urgency for its justification or excuse; for the others there appears no justification or excuse.[ ] of the twelve distinguishable heads in question, under two alone, viz. that of _place_ and that of _time_, will the conformity be found complete. _place_, a spot near to damascus, in the road leading from jerusalem to damascus: _time_, meaning time of _day_,--about noon. but, in the quality of trustworthiness deficient as all three accounts will presently be shown to be, it will be seen how little is contributed, by conformity as to the mere circumstances of time and place. now then let us see the subjects, in relation to which a want of conformity is observable. to save words, the shortest form of description possible will throughout be employed. { . the light seen. { . the dialogue. _omissions_ { . falling to the ground. { . language of the voice. { . kicking against the pricks. { . the lord's commands. { . paul's companions' posture. _contradictions_ { . paul's companions' hearing or not hearing. { . if hearing, what they heard. { . nothing seen but light. . _light seen._ between acts account and paul's st or supposed unstudied account, no disconformity worth remarking. in acts it is a "_light_," in paul st a "_great light_";[ ] in both it is about midday. but in paul's d or supposed studied account, it is above the brightness of the sun at that time of the day. in acts the passage is simply narrative: in paul's st, the urgency of the occasion left no room for flowers. but in paul's d, time being abundant, flowers were to be collected, and this is one of them. in the ordinary course of nature there exists not upon earth any light equal in brightness to that of the sun; especially the sun at midday, and in such a latitude. supposing the light in question ever so much greater than the midday sun, neither paul nor this his historian could, without a miracle on purpose, have had any means of knowing as much. for a miracle for such a purpose, the existence of any effectual demand does not seem probable. for the purpose mentioned,--namely the bereaving of the power of vision every open eye that should direct itself towards it,--to wit, so long as that same direction should continue,--the ordinary light of the sun would have been quite sufficient. at the time and place in question, whatever they may have been, suppose it true that, though midday was the time, the atmosphere was cloudy, and in such sort cloudy, that without something done for the purpose, a light productive of such effects could not have been produced. still, for this purpose, a specially created body of light different from that of the sun, and exceeding it in intensity, could not be needful. the removal of a single cloud would have been amply sufficient:--a single cloud, and that a very small one. * * * * * but if the light was really a light created for the purpose, and brighter than that of the sun; of circumstances so important, mention should not have been omitted in the standard narrative. * * * * * here then is either a deficiency in the standard narrative,--and this deficiency, as already observed, an inexcusable one,--or a redundancy in the subsequent account: a redundancy, the cause of which seems sufficiently obvious: a redundancy--in that account which, being premeditated on the part of the historian, is given by him as being premeditated on the part of the speaker, whom he represents as delivering it: a redundancy,--and that in a word a falsehood: a falsehood, and for what purpose?--for deception: the hero represented by his historian as using endeavours to deceive. . _dialogue._ per acts, the dialogue contained five speeches: to wit, . the voice's speech; . paul's; . the lord's, whose voice, paul and his historiographer[ ], from what experience is not said, knew the voice to be; . paul's; . the lord's. in paul st, speeches the same in number, order, and, save in one phrase about kicking against the pricks, nearly so in terms. but in paul d, the number of the speeches is no more than three: and, as will be seen below, of the last the import is widely different from that of any of those reported in the other two accounts. . _falling to the ground._ per acts and paul st, by paul alone was this prostration experienced. per paul d, by his unnumbered companions, by the whole company of them, as well as by himself. deficiency here on the part of the proper standard; so, in the case of the unstudied speech. in the studied speech it is supplied. . _language of the voice._ per acts and paul st, of the language nothing is said. deficiency, as in the case last mentioned; to wit, in the regular history, and in the unstudied speech. in the studied speech it is supplied. stage effect greater. agrippa, to whom it was more particularly addressed, being, under the roman viceroy, a sort of king of the jews,--what seems to have occurred to the historian is--that it might be a sort of gratification to him to be informed, that his own language, the hebrew, was the language which, on this occasion, was employed by that voice, which by paul, by whom it had never been heard before, was immediately understood to be the lord's; _i.e._ jesus's; _i.e._ god's. the character, in which paul was on this occasion brought by his historiographer on the stage, being that of a consummate orator, furnished with all his graces,--this compliment was among the rest put into his mouth. moreover, by jesus no language, for aught that appears, but the hebrew, having been ever spoken, hence the account became the more consistent or credible. . _kicking against the pricks._[ ] "hard for thee to kick against the pricks." per acts, this proverbial expression is employed by the voice, as soon as it turns out to have been the lord's. in the supposed and hasty unstudied speech, it is dropped. this is natural enough. in paul d--in that studied speech, it is employed: it stands there among the flowers. . _the lord's commands._ commands delivered to paul by the lord. under this head there is a disastrous difference; a sad contradiction. per acts, the command is for paul to go into damascus: there it stops. follows immediately an article of information, which is, that at that time and place there is no information for him; but that, sooner or later, some will be ready for him. after he has arrived at damascus, it shall there, by somebody or other, be told him, it is said, what he is to do. so likewise in paul st, in the unstudied speech, he is, in like manner, to learn not merely what he is to do, but everything that he is to do. lastly comes, paul d, the studied speech. by the time the historian had arrived at this point in his history, he had forgotten that, according to his own account of the matter, no information at all had, during the road scene, been given to paul by the lord's voice; by that voice which was so well known to be the lord's. that the supposed studied speech, by the charms of which the favour of the king was so happily gained, might be the more impressive,--he makes his orator, in direct contradiction to the account which, on the former occasion, had by him (the historian) been given, enter, on the very spot, into all the details of the lord's commands. when the time had come for composing this supposed studied speech,--the historian had, it should seem, forgot ananias's vision, that subsidiary vision, which we shall come to presently, containing a further promise of the lord's commands and instructions; and which, after all, unless it is by this studied speech that they are to be regarded as given, are not given by him anywhere. . _paul's companions--their posture._ per acts, though he fell, they stood it out. per paul st, not said whether they fell or stood it out. per paul d, they fell. the supposed studied oratorical account is here in full contradiction with the historical one. . _paul's companions--their hearing or not hearing._ per acts, they not only saw the light, but heard the voice. per paul st, they did not hear the voice. in the supposed hasty and unstudied speech is the oratorical account made to contradict the historical one. in this particular, which of the accounts was true? if the historical, the haste must, in the oratorical, be the apology, not only for the incompleteness but for the incorrectness. in paul d, nothing is said about their hearing or not hearing. supposing the story in any of the accounts to have had any truth in it, there was a middle case, fully as possible and natural as either of these extreme and mutually contradictory ones. it may have been, that while some stood their ground, others fell. and the greater the numbers, the greater the probability of this middle case. but as to their number, all is darkness. . _paul's companions--if they heard, what it was they heard._ if they heard anything, they heard, as far as appears, whatever paul himself heard. per acts, it is after the order given to paul to go on to damascus,--with the promise thereupon, that there and then, and not before, he should receive the information he should receive; it is after the statement made of his hearing all this from the voice, that the further statement comes, declaring that it was by paul's companions also that this same voice was heard. but this same voice was, it is said, the lord's voice. that when the voice had answered to the name by which paul called it, to wit, the name of lord, it stopt there, so far as concerned paul's companions;--and that it reserved what followed, to wit, the above-mentioned order with the promise, for paul's single ear; true it is, this may be _imagined_ as well as anything else: but at any rate it is not _said_. if paul d--the studied oratorical account--is to be believed, all the information for the communication of which this miracle was performed was, as will be seen, communicated here upon the road: viz. immediately after the voice had been called by him _lord_. but, if this was the case, and, as above, paul's companions heard all that he heard,--then so it is, that the revelation was made as well to them as to him;--this revelation, upon the strength of which we shall see him setting himself up above all the apostles; himself and that gospel of his own, which he says was his own, and none of theirs. now then--these companions--was it upon the same errand as his that they went, to wit, the bringing in bonds to jerusalem all the damascus christians? if so, or if on any other account they were any of them in a condition to need conversion,--they were converted as well as he; or else, so far as concerned them, the miracle was thrown away. companions as they were of his, were they or were they not respectively attendants of his? attendants going under his orders, and on the same errand? unless, by the jerusalem rulers, on the part of the damascus rulers, both will and power were depended upon, as adequate to the task of apprehending the followers of jesus and sending them bound to jerusalem, such these companions ought to have been, every one of them--supposing always on the part of this about-to-be apostle an ordinary prudence: that sort and degree of prudence with which no ordinary police-officer is unprovided. some persons under his orders he must have had, or he could never have been sent on so extensively and strongly coercive an errand. these companions, if, on this occasion, any such or any other companions he had, had each of them a name. to this vision, such as it was, they being each of them respectively, as well as himself, whether in the way of sight and hearing both, or in the way of sight alone, percipient witnesses, their names, in the character of so many percipient witnesses, ready upon every proper occasion to answer in the character of _reporting_ witnesses, would have been of no small use: of use, were it only for the giving to this story a little more substance than it has in the form we see it in. as to ananias--the supposed principal actor in the scene next to paul--for him, indeed, supposing any such person to have existed, a name, it is seen, was found. but, with a view to any purpose of evidence, how little that name amounted to, will be seen likewise. in this vision of paul's, as it is called,--was any person seen, or anything but light--light at midday? no; positively not any person, nor as far as appears, the light excepted, anything whatsoever. per acts, chap. ix: , when "his eyes were opened,"--so it is expressly said,--"he saw no man." this was after he had fallen to the earth; for it was after he arose from the earth. but, it was before he fell to the earth, and thereupon heard the voice, that, according to this same account, he saw the extra light--the light created for the purpose: and, forasmuch as at the conclusion of the dialogue with the five speeches in it--forasmuch as at the conclusion of it, such was the effect produced upon him by the light, as to render him at that time stone-blind, requiring to be led by the hand, it could not from the first have been anything less effective. per acts, in this state he continues all the way as far as damascus, and for three days after his arrival there. so likewise in the supposed unstudied speech, paul st. but in the studied speech, paul d, there is no blindness; the blindness is either forgotten or discarded. but the curious circumstance is, his being led by the hand--all the way to damascus led by the hand:--led by the hand by these same companions. now these same companions, how was it that they were able to lead him by the hand? all that he saw was the light, and by that light he was blinded. but all that he saw they saw: this same light they saw as well as he. this same light, then, by which he was blinded--were they not blinded likewise by it? was it a privilege--a privilege reserved for a chosen favourite--a privilege which it cost a miracle to produce--the being blinded when nobody else was blinded? blinded then as they were, how came he to be led by them, any more than they by him? can the blind lead the blind? let jesus answer. shall they not both fall into the ditch? oh! but (says somebody) it is only in paul st,--in paul's supposed unstudied speech, that the historian makes them see the light that paul saw. answer. true: but neither in his own person does he say the contrary. as to their seeing, all he says is, that _they_ saw no man, "hearing a voice but seeing no man." (ver. .) but by the same account, (ver. .) "when _his_ eyes were opened, he saw no man;" so that, though in what he says in his own person the historian does not mention this which he mentions, speaking in paul's person,--yet he does not contradict it. . _paul's companions. what part, if any, took they in the conversation?_ per acts, they stood speechless: and it is after the dialogue has been reported, that this is stated. in the unstudied speech, nothing is said about their speech. in the studied speech, with reference to them, no mention is made of speech; any more than of sight or hearing. but, forasmuch as, according to acts, whatever paul saw and heard, they saw and heard likewise; how happened it, that by no one of them, so much as a word, on an occasion so interesting to all, was said--or a question put? to be sure it was to paul alone, that by the voice, whosever it was, any address was made. it was his concern:--his alone, and none of theirs. so, indeed, some might think; but, others in their situation, quite as naturally might think otherwise. sooner or later, at any rate, they would recover whatever it was they lost: sight, if sight; speech, if speech. whenever recovered, speech would thereupon range with but the greater freedom, for the restraint which, for a time, had been put upon it:--range over the whole business, including whatever secrets paul had been put in possession of:--the commission, the sweeping and incarcerating commission he had been intrusted with by the rulers, and the unperformed promise that had been made to him by the voice, which being at midday, accompanied by an extraordinary light, was of course the lord's voice. these things would naturally, by these his companions, have been converted from secrets into town-talk. nay but (says somebody) though it _is_ said he saw no _man_, it is _not_ said, he saw not the lord: and elsewhere he may be seen saying--saying in the most positive terms, that he did see the lord[ ]. and if he did see the lord anywhere, why not here as well as anywhere else? "_saw no man._" yes: so says the english version. but the original is more comprehensive:--saw no person, says the original: that is, to speak literally, saw no one of the masculine gender. no one what? no one person of this gender: this is what the word means, if it means anything. no person; and therefore no lord: no god; if so it be that, when applied to denote god, the word person means god, or as some say, a part of god. note, likewise,--that, when the companions are spoken of,--both in the translation and in the original, the object to which the negative is applied is expressed by the same word as when he, paul, is spoken of. section . vision ii.--ananias's. topic .--_ananias's description._ of the vision itself there being but one account, by this singleness discordancy is saved. but, of the description belonging to ananias there are two accounts. one the historical, as before: the other, the unpremeditated oratorical account supposed to be given by paul in the first of his two supposed speeches, as above; and, room being thus given for discordancy,--discordancy, as of course, enters--or at any rate a strong suspicion of it. per acts, ananias is a disciple: a disciple, to wit, a christian; a disciple immediately of jesus or his apostles: for, such is the signification attached to the word _disciple_ in the acts: such he would on this occasion be of course understood to be; for, otherwise the word would be uncharacteristic and insignificant. materially different is the description supposed to have been given of this same ananias by paul in that same supposed unpremeditated speech; so different as to be not without effort, if by any effort, reconcilable with it. he is now a disciple of jesus and the apostles; of that jesus, by whom the law, _i.e._ the mosaic law, was after such repeated exposure of its inaptitude, pronounced obsolete. he is now not only spoken of as being, notwithstanding this conversion, a devout man according to that same law; but, moreover, as having a good report of all the jews which dwelt there, to wit, at damascus. of the jews? yes; of "_all_" the jews. if, notwithstanding his conversion to a religion by which that of the jews was slighted and declared to be superseded, he was still so happy as to be the subject of this good _report_, which is as much as to say--of a correspondently unanimous good opinion; this, it would seem, would have been the man to preach to them that religion: especially if that part of the story were true, according to which he was distinguished by the same supernatural sort of communication; this man, who was already a christian, this man, and not paul, who of all opposers of christianity had been the most fierce and the most mischievous, would naturally have been the man to receive the supernatural commission. supposing his vision real, and the reports of it true, no difficulty, rationally speaking, could he have found in obtaining credence for it at the hands of the apostles: those apostles, at whose hands, from first to last it will be seen, never was it the lot of paul, with _his_ vision or visions, to obtain credence. the audience, before which this speech was supposed to be delivered, of whom was it composed? with the exception of a few romans, to whom it was probably unintelligible unless by accident, altogether of jews; and these--no one can say in what proportion, probably in by much the largest, jews not christianized. hence then the sort of character, which the occasion and the purpose required should be given, to this supposed miraculously formed acquaintance of the person who, upon the strength of this acquaintance, was to be numbered among the apostles. topic .--_mode of conversation._ by this vision is produced a dialogue. interlocutors, the lord and ananias. in the course of the dialogue, speeches five: whereof, by the lord, three; the other two by ananias. in and by the first pair of speeches the lord calls the man by his name: the man answers, behold, says he, i am here, lord. in the english translation, to atone for the too great conciseness of the greek original, the words "_am here_" are not improperly interpolated. giving to this supposed supernatural intercourse what seemed to him a natural cast--a cast suited to the occasion--seems to have been the object of the historian in the composition of this dialogue. but, upon so supernatural a body, a natural colouring, at any rate a colouring such as this, does not seem to fit quite so completely as might have been wished. on the road, when the voice,--which turned out to be that of the lord, that is, being interpreted, jesus's,--addressed itself to paul, this being the first intercourse, there was a necessity for its declaring itself, for its declaring whose it was; and the declaration was made accordingly. here, on the other hand, no sooner does ananias hear himself called by his name, than he knows who the person is by whom he is thus addressed. taken as it stands, an answer thus prompt includes the supposition of an already established intercourse. such intercourse supposed--in what way on former occasions had it been carried on? laying such former occasion out of the question--in what way is it supposed to be carried on on the occasion here in question? on the occasion of his visit to paul,--the lord, to whomsoever he may have been audible, had never, from first to last, as we have seen, been visible. on the occasion of this visit of his to ananias--was the lord audible only, or visible only, or both audible and visible? if both audible and visible, or even if only visible,--the mode of revelation was more favourable to this secondary and virtually unknown personage, than to the principal one. between mortal and mortal, when it is the desire of one man to have personal communication with another whom he supposes to be within hearing, but who is either not in his sight or not looking towards him,--he calls to him by his name; and in token of his having heard, the other answers. from man to man, such information is really necessary; for--that the requisite attention has place where it is his desire that it should have place, the human interlocutor has no other means of knowing. not considering, that the person to whom the information is supposed to be conveyed is a sort of person to whom no such information could be necessary, the historian represents his ananias as giving to the lord, as if to a mere mortal, information of his presence. behold, lord! i am here. topic .--_lord's commands and information: want of particularization a disprobative circumstance._ the conversation being thus begun, the interlocutors proceed to business. in speech the d, lord delivers to ananias, the devout jew, a command, and thereupon a piece of information. the command is--to repair to a place therein described, and find out paul: the information is--that at the time then present paul is praying; and that, at an anterior point of time not designated, he had seen a vision. in the command, the designation of the place wears, upon the face of it, the appearance of that sort and degree of particularity, the exaction of which is, in these days, in which genuine visions are never exemplified, matter of course, on every occasion on which it is the real intention, of those on whom it depends, that through the medium of personal testimony the truth should be extracted. on every such occasion, the object in question, whether it be an event or a quiescent state of things, is endeavoured to be individualized: and, for the production of this effect, the individual portion of space, and the individual portion of time, are endeavoured to be brought to view together. on the occasion here in question, towards the individualization of the portion of space some approach is made: the town being foreknown, to wit, damascus, the _street_ is particularized; it is the street called _straight_: as in westminster we have _long-ditch_, and in london _crooked-lane_. moreover, the _house_ is particularized; it is the house of judas. to this judas had any one of those marks of distinction been added, which in that age and nation we find to have been common,--as in the instance of the too notorious judas the iscariot, _i.e._, the inhabitant of iscara, and in that of judas barsabas, _i.e._, the son of sabas, or, as we should say, sabasson, not long after mentioned, acts : ,--it would have been something. but, destitute of such limitative adjunct, _judas_ of itself was nothing. in that age and country, even without reckoning notorious traitors, there was never any want of judases. not inferior in plenty were ananiases: in the acts we have three of them;--this private inhabitant of damascus: the high priest, whose seat was at jerusalem; and the husband of sapphira: and in josephus they vie in abundance with the johns and jesuses. but, on the occasion in question, and to the purpose in question, though a distinctive adjunct as above would have done something, it would have done very little. in the field of time,--seven-and-twenty years at least, and we know not how much more, according to the received chronology, was the distance between the event in question, and the report given of it in this history. neither in damascus nor yet in jerusalem was any such thing as a newspaper,--not even an enslaved newspaper, in existence; no, nor yet so much as a printing-press,--not even an enslaved printing-press. for writing, the materials were expensive; and handwriting was the only mode of copying. publication was not, as under the printing-press, promiscuous: unless by accident, for an indefinite length of time, into no other hand did any copy find its way, other than those of the author's confidential friends, or friends separated from the author by a greater or less number of removes, as it might happen; but all of them linked to one another by the bonds of amity, and unity of principle and practice. in such a capital as damascus, straight street might have been as long as oxford street; and, unless the style of building in those earlier days had much more of convenience and luxury in it than in these latter days, was much more crowded. conceive a man at this time of day, going to oxford street with the intention of finding the house, in which, thirty years ago, a man of the name of brown or smith had his residence,--to wit, on some indeterminate day, of the number of those included within the space of an indeterminate number of years; and this, for the purpose of ascertaining whether, on this indeterminate day, and by this smith or this brown, a vision, not seen by anybody else, had been seen. suppose a man in rome set out on such an errand--and then say what would be the probable result of it. topic .--_vision reported to ananias by the lord as having been seen by paul._ of the report then given of this anterior vision, the character is too remarkable to be given, as it were, in a parenthesis: it is therefore referred to a separate head. acts ix. . "and paul hath seen in a vision a man named ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight." topic .--_ananias's objection to the lord's commands to visit paul--he informs the lord what he had heard about paul._ by the two first speeches of this dialogue, we are given to understand that ananias had already held intercourse with the lord; an intercourse which, the nature of the two parties considered, could not have been other than a supernatural intercourse: yes, and on this very subject: for, if not on this particular subject, the subject of it, whatever it was, could not but have called for notice and communication. but, no sooner does this next speech commence, than we are given to understand that there had not--could not have been any such intercourse: for if there had been, what follows would have been rendered useless and needless. upon receiving the command, ananias's first thought is--to endeavour to excuse himself from paying obedience to it; for in this endeavour it is, that he gives the lord a piece of information; to wit--of what, in relation to paul's character, he (ananias) had heard. acts ix. : "then ananias answered, lord, i have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at jerusalem. and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name." thus then, commands known to have been the lord's, having that instant been received,--the man by whom they have been received--so small is the confidence, reposed in the lord by this his favoured disciple--instead of paying obedience to them, answers them by an objection. this objection, prepared for it or not prepared for it, the lord, as might well be expected, immediately overrules. a question that here presents itself is--since it was from _many_, i.e. _many men_, that ananias had heard, not only what everybody had been hearing for weeks, or months, or years,--viz. of the evil that paul had been doing to the jerusalem saints, but of the authority that he had so lately received, to bind at damascus all the damascus saints he could find--since it was from so many, who then were these many? how was it, that in the compass of the three days (ver. ), during which paul had remained without sight or nourishment, a commission,--to the execution of which secrecy was so obviously necessary,--had to such a degree transpired? suppose the secret to have thus transpired,--two results would, in any natural and credible state of things, have been among the consequences. the persons thus devoted to destruction would have made their escape; the commission by which alone the supposed proceedings against them could have found a justification or a cause, not having been delivered. on the other hand, hearing that paul was there, and that he either was, or pretended to be, in the house in question, or in some other, in the extraordinary condition above described,--the persons spoken of in the acts under the name of _the synagogue_, would not have left him there, but would have convened him before them, and, if he really had any such commission, have caused it to be produced, and read it: convened before them, not only paul with his supposed commission, but those companions of his that we have already heard of, if any such he had[ ]. but of these there will be occasion to speak in another place. topic .--_the lord's answer, obviating the objection, and giving intimation of his designs in favour of paul._ this objection, no sooner has the lord overruled it, than he undertakes to answer it, and to explain to this his so singularly favoured old disciple the intentions he had formed in favour of his intended new convert, whose conversion is, however, as yet but in progress (ver. ): "but the lord said to him, go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the gentiles and kings, and the children of israel:--for (continues the lord) i will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." being, and therefore at the time of paul's vision purposing to be, in relation to his designs for paul, thus communicative to this same ananias, who is a perfect stranger to this same paul,--to what purpose, on the occasion of his supposed visionary intercourse with paul, should _the lord_ have stopped short; reserving the communication, for the intention of giving it him at second-hand by the mouth of that same stranger? this is one of the swarms of questions which an account of this sort could scarcely fail to present to any inquiring mind. meantime, as to the lord's having thus stopped short, this we shall see is in full contradiction with the account which the historian makes him give in his supposed second reported speech, to wit, the supposed premeditated one, spoken before agrippa, who, under the proconsul festus, was king of the jews, and who, on that occasion, is spoken of as being assessor to the said proconsul festus. on that occasion the lord is represented as explaining himself more fully to paul himself, than here, for the benefit of paul, through ananias. section . ananias: his visit to paul at damascus. we now come to the visit, which, we are to understand, was, in reality, paid to paul by ananias, in consequence of this vision, in obedience to the command imagined to be given in it. note that, though, in the original--in _the including vision_, as it may be called--the command is given to inquire in the house in question for the person (saul) in question,--this is _all_ the command which, in that least visionary of the two visions, is delivered. in the first instance to make the inquiry, and in conclusion to go his way--this is all to which the commands given to him in the direct way extend themselves. to accomplish the object of this intercourse--to do anything towards it beyond the making of this inquiry--he has to take hints and to draw inferences:--inferences from the lord's speech, which is thus continued, acts ix. : "and (paul) _hath seen in a vision_ a man named ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight." from having been told what--in a vision, to wit, this _contained or included vision_--this same paul had been _fancying_ he _had_ seen him (ananias) do--from this he was to conclude that it was the lord's will that he (ananias) _should_ do _in reality_ that which paul had been fancying him to have done; though the only effect, for the doing of which it had so been fancied to have been performed, had never been produced. this was what he was to conclude was the lord's will; although the lord himself, who (if any person) should have known how to speak plainly and beyond danger of misconception, had forborne to tell him as much. on the occasion of this important visit--this visit of ananias to paul,--the double light--the light cast by the first of the two oratorical accounts--to wit, the supposed unpremeditated one, upon the historical one--recommences. follows now--and from both sources--the account of the interview, and of the cure performed in the course of it. acts' account.--ch. ix. ver. - . and ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him, said: brother saul, the lord, _even_ jesus, that _appeared_ unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, _and be filled with the holy ghost_.--and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been _scales_: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and _was baptized_.--and when he had received meat, he was strengthened. then was saul _certain days_ with the disciples which were _at damascus_.--and straightway he _preached_ christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of god.--but all that heard _him_ were amazed, and said: is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?--but saul _increased the more_ in strength, and _confounded the jews_ which dwelt at _damascus_, proving that this is very christ. paul's account.--acts, ch. xxii. ver. - . . and one ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the jews which dwelt _there_,--came unto me, and stood, and said unto me: brother saul, receive thy sight. and the same hour i looked up upon him.--and he said: the god of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and _see_ that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.--for thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast _seen_ and heard.--and now, why tarriest thou? arise, and _be baptized_, and wash away thy sins; calling on the name of the lord. topic .--_on visiting paul, ananias's introductory speech--preliminary recital._ i. in the historical account, the speech has in it several distinguishable parts. i. "brother saul." first comes the address, in which saul, the future paul, is addressed by disciple ananias by the name of _brother_. if, as between jew and jew, this was a common form of salutation,--so far everything is in order. but, if it was only in consideration of his having been denominated a disciple, to wit, of jesus,--the salutation is rather premature: the conversion, supposing it effected, is, at any rate, not yet declared. not only in the historical account is this appellation employed, but likewise in the oratorical one. the attention of paul being thus bespoken by his visitor, mention is thereupon made of the purpose of the visit. i. in the first place comes a recital. "the lord (says he), even jesus, that _appeared_ unto thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent me".... unfortunately, according to the historian himself, this assertion, as we have seen already, is not true. in no manner or shape did the lord jesus, or any other person, make his appearance;--all that _did_ appear was the light--the light at midday: so he has just been writing, and before the ink, if ink it was that he used, was dry, already had he forgotten it. this, however, is but a collateral averment:--a recital, an episode, matter of _inducement_, as an english lawyer would phrase it. topic .--_declared purposes or objects of the visit._ purpose the first. "that thou mightest," says ananias, "receive thy sight." thus says ananias in the historical account: in the supposed oratorical one he is more concise. no supposed past occurrence referred to:--no purpose declared. "receive thy sight" are the words. purpose the second. that thou mightest "be filled with the holy ghost," says the historical account. but in a succeeding passage what is the purpose, which, in the supposed oratorical account ananias is made to speak of, in the design that it should be taken for the purpose which the lord by his commandment meant to be accomplished? not the being filled by the holy ghost; only the being baptized. "and now, why tarriest thou? (acts xxii. ver. ) arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the lord." well but (says somebody) receiving the holy ghost, and being baptized,--by these two expressions, is not one, and no more than one effect--one and the same effect--to be understood? no, in truth, if the historian himself is to be believed. turn to another chapter--the very next chapter before this, acts to , and there you will see, that the being baptized was one thing, the receiving the holy ghost another thing, and much more. for administering the ceremony of baptism, a single apostle, philip, was sufficient: whereas, for the causing the holy ghost to be received, nothing less was requisite than the cooperation of two apostles, and those two commissioned by the rest. so serious always, according to this historian, was the difference, that it was after he had been already baptized, and baptized gratis in a crowd, that for the power of conferring this benefit, whatever it was that it was composed of, sorcerer simon made to the two apostles, those offers--those pecuniary offers--which are said to have been no sooner made than rejected. acts to . topic .--_actual effects of the visit, and the application in consequence made in the course of it._ effect . _scales fall from eyes, and sight is received in consequence._ in the historical narrative, the effect is as complete as it is remarkable. fall from his eyes a portion of matter of the nature or resemblance of scales: whereupon he receives sight forthwith. in the supposed oratorical account, whatsoever had been meant by scales, nothing is said of them. neither is the declaration made of the completeness of the case quite so explicit. one look he gave--gave to his wonder-working surgeon--and instead of its being given forthwith--to give this one look required, it should seem, if not a whole hour, at any rate so little less, that any time less than an hour could not--such, in this supposed unpremeditated speech, was the anxiety felt for correctness--could not be ventured to be particularized. the more closely these scales, or things resembling scales, are looked at, the more difficult will it be to find them amount to anything. in no cure, performed upon eyes in any natural way, in these our days--upon eyes that have lost their sight--do any scales fall off, or anything in any degree resembling scales;--in no disorder of the eyes, known to have place in these our days, do scales, or anything like scales, come over the eyes. by the taking of matter from the eyes, sight, it is true, is every now and then restored: but this matter is not matter, foreign in relation to the eye and exterior to it; but one of the component parts called _humours_ of the eye, which, by losing its transparency having suspended the faculty of vision, is let out by a lancet; whereupon not only is the faculty of sight restored, but the part which had been extirpated restored likewise; and without any expense in the article of miracles. on the supposition of falsity,--quere the use of this circumstance? _answer._ to afford support to the conception, that memory and not imagination was the source from which the story was derived. true it is, that, instead of support, a circumstance exposed to contradiction would be an instrument of weakness: if, for example, on the supposition that paul had no companions on the road, names indicative of really existing and well-known persons had been added, to the intimation given in the _acts_, of the existence of such companions. but to no such hazard was the story of the scales exposed: not to any great danger, on the supposition of the existence of paul's ananias: not to any danger at all, upon the supposition of his non-existence. but, upon this occasion, now again once more present themselves--present themselves to the mind's eye--paul's companions. that they were blinded at all can scarcely, it has been seen, be believed, if on this matter the historian himself is believed. for, per acts ix. , "they led him by the hand:" so, per paul st, acts xxii. , "when i could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with me, i came unto damascus." but if, notwithstanding so it was that _they_ too were blinded,--how was it with _their_ eyes? had _their_ eyes scales upon them? did these scales ever fall off?--if so, by what means were they made to fall off? _their_ evidence would have been not much, if anything, less impressive,--and it would have been much less open to suspicion,--than paul's evidence, supposing him to have spoken of these scales--which the historian, to whom, if he is to be believed, their existence is so well known, did not take upon him to represent paul as saying that he did. but if so it was, that, though rendered blind as paul's, no scales were superinduced upon, nor consequently made to fall off, the eyes of those nameless and unknown persons,--how came they to be superinduced upon and made to fall off from the eyes of their singularly favoured principal? if, for a length of time more or less considerable, they really were made blind,--it was, if the historian is to be believed, by the same cause by which, in the instance of paul's eyes, this same effect was produced:--the same cause, to wit an extraordinary light at noonday. if, whatsoever was the matter with them, the eyes of these ordinary persons could be set to rights without a miracle, what need could there be of a miracle for the producing the same desirable effect in the person of this their leader or master, extraordinary as this same leader or master was? topic .--_baptism--was it performed? when, where, by whom, &c.?_ the baptism thus spoken of--was it performed? yes: if you will believe the historian, speaking in his own person, speaking in his own historical account: "and forthwith," in the first place, "paul recovered his sight;"--then, when, his sight having been recovered, he was able to go about as usual,--he arose and was baptized: baptized--that is say, as from this expression taken by itself any one would conclude--baptized, as soon as he arose, to wit, as soon as water could be found for the purpose: that water, which his guest ananias, foreknowing what was to come to pass, and what was to be done to make it come to pass, might naturally be expected to have provided, and this without any supernatural foresight: in a word, without the expense of any additional miracle in any shape:--the water being thus ready upon the spot, and he in equal readiness to administer it. this, according to the historian, speaking in his own person: but, when the time comes for giving an account of the matter in the person of paul himself,--to wit in the supposed unpremeditated oratorical speech,--then, for whatever it was that stopped him, (whether the supposed urgency of the occasion on which the supposed speech was supposed to be made, or any thing and what else,) so it is, that he gives not any such information: he leaves the matter to hang in doubt:--a doubt, which, down to the present day remains unsolved. a command to this effect is spoken of as having been given: thus much is said. but, what is not said is--whether to this same command any or what obedience was paid. thus it is that, instead of an _effect_ which it seems desired that we should consider as being produced, what we see directly stated as being produced, is nothing more than a _command_--a command, by which, as by its cause, we are to suppose the effect to have been produced. what is more, in the same blind way, is intimation given us, of another and very different effect--_the washing away of sins_--as if produced by the first-mentioned physical operation;--namely, by that of a man's being dipped in, or sprinkled with, water: and thus it is, that from a mere physical operation of the most trivial nature, we are called upon to infer a spiritual and supernatural effect of the most awful importance; the spiritual effect stated as if it were produced by the physical operation, to which it has no perceptible real relation--nothing but the mere verbal one thus given to it; produced by it, and following it, as of course--just as if sins were a species of dirt, which, by washing, could as surely be got off as any other dirt.[ ] and was he then really baptized? if so he was, then also if, speaking in the person of his hero, the historian is to be believed,--then also, by this ceremony, the name of the lord being at the same time called upon,--then also were his sins washed away; his sins washed away; the sinner, therefore and thereby, put into the same case as if the sins had not any of them been ever committed. how can it be understood otherwise? for if, in and by this passage, intimation--sufficiently perfect information--is given, that the ceremony was performed--then also is sufficiently perfect information given, that such was the effect actually produced by it. "arise" (ananias is made to say)--"_arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the lord._" this is no light matter: if so it really were, that according to the religion of jesus, by such a cause, such an effect was on that occasion produced;--that such effect could, in a word, on any occasion, in any case be produced,--that _murders_, or (not to embarrass the question with conceits of local jurisprudence) _killings_ of men--killings of men by persecution carried on, on a religious account--slaughters of christians by non-christians--could thus, as in paul's case, be divested of all guilt, at any rate of all punishment, at the hands of almighty justice;--if impunity could indeed be thus conferred by the sprinkling a man with water or dipping him in it, then would it be matter of serious consideration--not only what is the _verity_ of that religion, but what the _usefulness_ of it, what the usefulness--with reference to the present life at any rate, not to speak of a life to come: what the usefulness of it; and on what ground stands its claim to support by all the powers of factitious punishment and factitious reward, at the hands of the temporal magistrate.[ ] topic .--_performance of the promise, supposed to have been made by the lord, in favour of paul, to ananias._ if the supposed promise is inadequate to the occasion, the supposed performance is still more inadequate with reference to the promise. in the supposed promise are two distinguishable parts, and in neither of them is the one thing needful to be found. of these two parts, the only one in which in any direct stage the matter of a promise is contained, is the one last mentioned: it is the promise to show him, (paul) what sufferings he will have to undergo in the course of the career, whatever it is, in which he is about to engage: to wit, in name and profession, the preaching the religion of jesus: "for i will show him," says the lord, according to the historian,--"i will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." if so it was, that upon this promise, such as it is, performance never followed, the regret for the failure need not be very great. whatsoever were the sufferings that he was predestined to undergo, that which was _not_ in the nature of this foreshowing, was--the lessening their aggregate amount; that which _was_ in the nature of it was--the making an addition to that same afflicting aggregate; to wit, by constant and unavoidable anticipation of the approach of such sufferings. of this talk, vague as it is, about sufferings, the obvious enough object was--the giving exaltation to the idea meant to be conveyed of the merits of the hero:--an object, which, by this and other means, has accordingly, down to the present day, in no small degree been accomplished. so much as to sufferings: as to enjoyments, by any idea entertained of the enjoyments derived by him from the same source, this design would have been--not promoted, but counteracted. but, when the time arrives, whether the mass of suffering was not, to no small amount, overbalanced by that of his enjoyments--meaning always worldly sufferings and worldly enjoyments--the reader will be left to judge. here then we have the only promise, which in any direct way is expressed:--a promise which, in the first place would have been useless, in the next place worse than useless. topic .--_indirect promise, that paul shall spread the name of jesus._ in the whole substance of this promise, if there be anything, which, with reference to the professed end--to wit the giving extension to the religion of jesus--would have been of use, it is in the foregoing part that it must be looked for. in this part then, if there be any such matter to be found, it will be this: to wit, a promise that he (paul) shall bear, and therefore that he shall be enabled to bear, the name of the lord, to wit, the name of jesus, before the classes of persons specified, to wit, the gentiles, and kings, and children of israel: acts ix. . but, only in an indirect way is this solely material part of the promise expressed: "he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name," &c. _i.e._ when i chose him, it was my design that he should do so. but, in the case of the lord, according to the picture drawn of him by this historian, how very inconclusive evidence _intention_ is of _execution_, there will, in the course of this work, have been abundant occasion to see. bear the name of jesus? so far, so good. but for this function no such special and supernatural commission was necessary: without any such commission, the name of jesus had been borne to the people at large, if in this particular the gospel history is to be believed. luke ix. , : "and john answered and said, 'master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name: and we forbad him, because he followed not with us.' and jesus said unto him, 'forbid him not, for he that is not against us, is for us.'" how inadequate soever, with reference to the professed end, to wit, giving extension to the religion of jesus, the promise was perfectly adequate, and commensurate, to what we shall find to be paul's real design; to wit, the planting a gospel of his own, as, and for, and instead of, the gospel of jesus. the gospel of jesus was the gospel of jesus: and the gospel, which, availing himself of the name of jesus, it was paul's design and practice to preach, was, as he himself declares,--as we shall see him declaring in the plainest and most express terms,--a gospel of his own; a gospel which was not the gospel of the apostles, and which, for fear of its being opposed by them, he kept studiously concealed from those confidential servants and real associates of jesus, as may be seen in the following passages: gal. i. , , and ; "as we said before, so say i now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be accursed.--but i certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.--for i neither received it of man, neither was i taught it but by the revelation of jesus christ." gal. : : "and i went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which i preach among the gentiles; but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means, i should run, or had run, in vain." in the course of paul's dialogue with the voice on the road--that voice which we are given to understand was the lord's, _i.e._ jesus's--the promise supposed to be made to paul, it must be remembered, was--the promise to tell him, when in the city, what he was to do. "what thou must do," says the historian in his historical account:--"all things which are appointed for thee to do," says the historian in the supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, which, in this so often mentioned first of the speeches, he is supposed by the historian to have delivered. among all these things,--one thing, which it is manifestly the design of the historian, as it was that of his hero, to make men believe, was accomplished: to wit, the satisfying them what was the religious doctrine, for the dissemination of which the expense of this miracle was incurred. this, moreover, is the promise; which, in the reading of the story everybody looks for: this too is the promise which in the reading of this same story, the believers in the religion of jesus have very generally been in the habit of considering as performed. not in and by this history, however, will they have any such satisfaction, when the matter comes to be looked into. for, in respect of this information, desirable as it is,--paul is, in this strangely supposed intercourse, put off--put off to another time and place: put off, for no reason given, nor for any substantial reason that can be imagined. further on, when a show of performing the promise comes to be made, then, instead of accomplishment, we have more evasion. instead of furnishing the information to paul himself--to paul directly--for, when the time and place for performance comes, performance--what the lord is not supposed so much as to profess to do, what he professes to do is--to make the communication to this man, who, his existence being supposed, was an utter stranger to paul--namely to this ananias. well, and for the conveying the information, in this indirect and inadequate way--for conveying it to and through this same ananias--what is done?--as we have seen, what amounts to nothing. when, for affording the information--had any information been intended to be afforded--the time and place are come; when ananias and paul have been brought together; what is it that, from the information afforded us by the historian, we are to understand, passed? _answer_, that, after the scales had fallen from his eyes, paul was baptized; that he ate meat, and that after he had eaten meat he was strengthened: strengthened, we are warranted to suppose, by the meat which he had so eaten. moreover, that somehow or other, in this large city he was certain days--number not specified,--with certain disciples--neither names nor number specified,--and preached christ in the synagogues, saying that he was the son of god. thus far then we are got; and, of the supposed revelation, in all this time nothing revealed. promises, put-offs, evasions--and, after all, no performance. among the purposes of this work, is the satisfying the reader--not only that paul received not any revelation from the almighty; but that, even upon his own showing, never did he receive any such revelation: that, on pretence of his having received it from the almighty by a special revelation, he preached indeed a certain doctrine; but that this doctrine was partly one of his own, contrary to that of jesus's apostles, and therefore contrary to that of jesus: and that, in the way of revelation, he never did receive anything; neither that doctrine of his own which he preached, nor anything else. topic .--_doctrine, supposed to be preached by paul at damascus in the synagogues._ straightway, if the historian is to be believed;--straightway after being strengthened by the meat;--and straightway after he had passed the certain days with the disciples;--then did paul preach christ in the synagogues--preach that he is the son of god. here, had he really preached in any such places--here would have been the time, and the best time, for telling us what, in pursuance of the supposed revelation, he preached. for, whatever it was, if anything, that he ever learnt from his supposed revelation, it was not till he had learnt it, till he made this necessary acquisition, that the time for beginning to preach in the synagogues in question or anywhere else was come. and, no sooner had he received it, than then, when it was fresh in his memory--then was the time for preaching it. but, never having received any such thing as that which he pretended, and which the historian has made so many people believe, he received,--no such thing had he to preach at any time or place. whatever of that nature he had had, if he had had at any _time_, damascus was not the _place_, at any rate at _that time_, for him to preach it, or anything else, in synagogues--in any receptacle so extensively open to the public eye. preach, in the name of jesus--in the name of that jesus, whose disciples, and with them whose religion, he now went thither with a commission to exterminate,--preach in that name he could not, without proclaiming his own religion--his own perfidy;--his own rebellion, against the authorities, from which, at his own solicitation, the commission so granted to him had been obtained:--his own perfidious contempt--not only of those jerusalem rulers, but of those damascus authorities, from whom, for that important and cruel purpose, he was sent to receive instruction and assistance. at some seven-and-twenty years distance in the field of time, and at we know not what distance in the field of space, probably that between rome and damascus, it was as easy for the historian to affirm the supposed preaching, as to deny it: but, as to the preaching itself, whether it was within the bounds of moral possibility, let the reader judge. topic .--_supposed amazement of the people of damascus at this paul's supposed preaching of christ in the synagogues there._ had there really been any such preaching, well might have amazement followed it. but there was no such preaching, therefore no such amazement. had there been real preaching, and real amazement produced by it--what would have been the subject of the amazement! not so much the audacity of the preacher--for madmen acting singly are to be seen in but too great frequency: not so much the audacity of the speaker, as the supineness of the constituted authorities; for, madmen acting in bodies in the character of public functionaries have never yet been visible. and if any such assemblage was ever seen, many such would be seen, before any one could be seen, whose madness took the course of sitting still, while an offender against their authority, coming to them single and without support,--neither bringing with him support, nor finding it there,--continued, at a public meeting, preaching against them, and setting their authority at defiance. topic .--_matter of the revelation, which, in and by the supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, is supposed to have been made._ forgetting what, as we have seen, he had so lately been saying in his own person--in the person of paul,--he on this occasion, returns to the subject: and more evasive is the result. on this occasion--this proper occasion--what is it that he, paul, takes upon him to give an account of.--that which the lord had revealed to him?--revealed, communicated in the supernatural way of revelation, to him--paul? no; but that which, according to him,--if he, and through him the historian, is to be believed,--the lord communicated to ananias concerning him--paul. the almighty having minded to communicate something to a man, and yet not communicating to that man any part of it, but communicating the whole of it to another! what a proceeding _this_ to attribute to the almighty, and upon such evidence! still we shall see, supposing it communicated, and from such a source communicated--still we shall see it amounted to nothing: to nothing--always excepted the contradiction to what, in relation to this subject, had, by this same historian, been a little before asserted. observe what were the _purposes_, for which, by this ananias, paul is supposed to be made to understand, that god--the god, says he, of our fathers--had chosen him. . purpose the first--"to know his will." his will, respecting what? if respecting anything to the great purpose here in question, respecting the new doctrine which, to this paul, to the exclusion of the apostles of jesus, is all along supposed to have been revealed. of no such doctrine is any indication anywhere in these accounts to be found. . purpose the second--"and see this just one." meaning, we are to understand, the person all along spoken of under the name of the lord; to wit, jesus. but, in the vision in question, if the historian is to be believed, no jesus did paul see. all that he saw was a light,--an extraordinary strong light at midday; so strong, that after it, till the scales fell from his eyes, he saw not any person in any place: and this light, whatever it was, was seen by all that were with him, as well as by him. . purpose the third--"and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth." oh! yes; if what the historian says in that other place is to be believed--hear a voice he did; and if the historian is to be again believed, that voice was the lord's. but, by hearing this voice, how was he distinguished? those that were with him, according to the historian's own account, heard it as well as he. and what was he the wiser? this also, it is hoped, has been rendered sufficiently visible--just nothing. purpose the fourth and last--"thou shalt be his witness (the lord's witness), of everything thou hast seen and heard:"--that is, of that which was nothing, and that which amounted to nothing. unhappily, even this is not all: for, before the subject is concluded, we must go back and take up once more the supposed premeditated and studied speech, which, on the second occasion, the self-constituted apostle is supposed to have made to the sub-king of the jews, agrippa, sitting by the side of his superior--the roman proconsul, festus. in the course of this long-studied speech,--to whom, is the communication, such as it is,--to whom, in an immediate way, and without the intervention of any other person, is it supposed to be made? not to ananias;--not to any such superfluous and unknown personage;--not to ananias, but to paul himself: viz. to the very person _by_ whom this same communication, supposed to have been made to him, is supposed to be reported (acts xxvi. to ): to this principal, or rather, only person concerned:--to this one person, the communication, such as it is, and to him the whole of it at once, is supposed to be made. here then is this ananias discarded:--discarded with this vision of his, and that other vision which we have seen within it: the communication, which, speaking in the first place in his own person,--and then, on one occasion, in the person of this same hero of his--the historian had just been declaring, was made--not to paul, but to ananias;--this all-important communication, speaking again in this same third person, but on another occasion--the discourse being supposed to be a long-studied one--he makes this same paul declare, was given--not to any ananias, not to any other person--but directly to him, paul, himself. let us now see what it amounts to. in the most logical manner, it begins with declaring the _purposes_ it is made for; and, when the purposes are declared, all that it does is done. ver. . "but now: rise, and stand upon thy feet; for i have appeared unto thee for this purpose."...in this purpose are several parts: let us look into them one by one. . part . "to make thee (says the lord) a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which i will appear unto thee." but, as to the things which he had seen, by this same account they amounted to nothing but a glare of light. here then was the light to _bear witness of_, if it was worth while: but, as to the _ministering_, here was nothing at all to minister to: for the light was past, and it required no ministering to, when it was present. had it been the light of a lamp--yes; but there was no lamp in the case. thus much, as to these things which he had seen. thereupon comes the mention of those things "in the which, the lord is supposed to say, i will appear unto thee!" here, as before, we have another put-off. if, in the way in question, and of the sort in question, there had been anything said, here was the time, the only time, for saying it. for immediately upon the mention of this communication, such as it is, follows the mention of what was due in consequence of it, in obedience to the commands supposed to be embodied in it, and by the light of the information supposed to be conveyed by it. "whereupon, says he, king agrippa, i was not disobedient to the heavenly vision..." part . the purpose continued.--"delivering thee from the people, and from the gentiles, unto whom i now send thee." this, we see, is but a continuation of the same put-off: no revelation, no doctrine, no gospel here. as to the doctrine--the gospel--that gospel which he preached, and which he said was his own, no such gospel is on this occasion given to him; and, not being so much as reported to have been given to him on any other occasion, was it not therefore of his own making, and without any such supernatural assistance, as christians have been hitherto made to believe was given to him? as to the deliverance from the people and from the gentiles, this is a clause, put in with reference to the dangers, into which the intemperance of his ambition had plunged him, and from whence in part it had been his lot to escape. here then the sub-king and his roman superior were desired to behold the accomplishment of a prophecy: but the prophecy was of that sort which came after the fact.--"unto whom now i send thee..." in this they were desired to see a continuation of the prophecy: for, as to this point, it was, in the hope of the prophet, of the number of those, which not only announce, but by announcing contribute to, their own accomplishment. part . the purpose continued.--"to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god..." still the same nothingness: to his life's end a man might be hearing stories such as these, and still at the end of it be none the wiser:--no additional doctrine--no additional gospel--no declaration at all--no gospel at all--here. part . the purpose continued and concluded... "that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." good. but this is not doctrine; this is not gospel; this is not itself the promised doctrine: but it is a description of the effect, of which the promised doctrine was to be the cause. now it is, as we have just seen, that paul is represented as commencing his preaching, or sallying forth upon his mission; preaching, from _instructions_ received in a supernatural way--received by revelation. yet, after all, no such _instructions_ has he received. thrice has the historian--once in his own person, twice in that of his hero--undertaken to produce those instructions. but by no one, from first to last, have they anywhere been produced. truly, then, of his own making was this gospel which paul went preaching; of his own making, as well as of his own using; that gospel, which he himself declares to his galatians was not of man, was not, therefore, of those apostles, to whom the opposition made by him is thus proclaimed. when, after having given in his own person an account of a supposed occurrence,--an historian, on another occasion, takes up the same occurrence; and, in the person of another individual, gives of that same occurrence another account different from, and so different from, as to be irreconcileable with it; can this historian, with any propriety, be said to be himself a believer in this second account which he thus gives? instead of giving it as a true account, does he not, at any rate, in respect of all the several distinguishable circumstances in which it differs from the account given in his own person--give it in the character of a fable? a fable invented on the occasion on which the other person is supposed to speak--invented in the intent that it shall promote the purpose for which this speech is supposed to be made? yet this account, which in the eyes of the very man by whom it is delivered to us, is but a fable, even those to whom in this same character of a fable it is delivered--this account it is that _christians_ have thus long persisted in regarding, supporting, and acting upon, as if it were from beginning to end, a truth--a great body of truth!--o locke! o newton! where was your discernment! on such evidence would any judge fine a man a shilling? would he give effect to a claim to that amount? yet such is the evidence, on the belief of which the difference between happiness and misery, both in intensity as well as duration, infinite, we are told, depends! section . vision iii.--paul's anterior vision, as reported by the lord to ananias. by the nature of the acts which are the objects of it, the command, we see, is necessarily pregnant with information: but now comes the information given as such--the piece of information with which the command is followed. this information--in and by which another, an antecedent vision, is brought upon the carpet, and communicated--has been reserved for a separate consideration. this information is in its complexion truly curious: to present a clear view of it, is not an altogether easy task. the information thus given by the lord--given to this ananias--this information, of which paul is the subject, is--what? that, on some former occasion, neither time nor place mentioned, he, ananias, to whom the lord is giving the information, had been seen by this same paul performing, with a certain intention, a certain action; the intention being--that, in relation to this same paul, a certain effect should be produced--to wit, that of his receiving his sight. the lord declares, acts ix. , to ananias, that paul "had _seen in a vision_ a man, ananias himself, coming and putting his hand on him, that he (paul) might receive his sight." well then--this action which the lord thus informs ananias that he, ananias, had performed,--did he, at any time and place, ever perform it? oh, no; that is not necessary: the question is not a fair one; for it was only in a vision that it was performed. well then--if it was only in a vision that it was performed, then, in reality, it was never performed. the lord said that it had been performed; but in so saying the lord had said that which was not true. the lord had caused him to believe this--the lord knowing all the while that it was not true. such is the deed, which, according to our historian, the lord relates himself to have achieved. but the _intention_, was that true? oh, no; nor was there any need of its being so: for the intention, with which the act was supposed to be performed, was part and parcel of the divinely-taught untruth. the effect, the production of which had been the object of the intention, was it then--had it then been--produced? wait a little; no, not at that time. but the time was not then as yet come; and now it is coming apace. but this effect--what is it? a man's receiving his sight; this same paul's receiving his sight; this same paul, of whom ananias knew nothing, nor had ever heard anything, except what he had just been hearing--to wit, that, by a man of that name, he, ananias, had once been seen--seen to do so and so--he, all the while--he, the doer, knowing nothing of what he was doing--knowing nothing at all about the matter. however, only in a vision did all this pass; which being the case, no proper subject of wonder was afforded to him by such otherwise somewhat extraordinary ignorance. but this sight--which, at the hands of this seer of visions, to whom this information is thus addressed, this stranger, whose name was still _saul_, was to receive--how happened it that it was to him, ananias, that he came to receive it? this faculty--at his birth, was he not, like any other man, in possession of it? if he was, what was become of it? in this particular, the information thus supposed to have been given by omniscience, was rather of the scantiest. supposing the story to have any foundation in truth,--such, to ananias, it could not but have appeared; and, supposing him bold enough to ask questions, or even to open his mouth, a question, in the view of finding a supply for the deficiency, is what the assertion would naturally have for its first result. no such curiosity, however, has ananias: instead of seeking at the hands of omniscience an information, the demand for which was so natural, the first use he makes of his speech, or rather would have made of it, if, instead of being imagined in a vision, the state of things in question had been true, is--the furnishing to omniscience a quantity of information of a sort in no small degree extraordinary. for, hereupon begins a speech, in and by which ananias undertakes to give omniscience to understand, what reports, in relation to this same paul, had reached his (ananias's) ears. what he is willing thus to _speak_ is more, however, than omniscience is willing to _hear:_ the story is cut short, and the story-teller bid to "go his way." "then ananias," says the text, acts ix. . "then ananias answered, lord, i have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at jerusalem. and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. but the lord said unto him, go thy way; for..." &c. but, though thus cut short, he is far from being in disgrace. so far from it, that he is taken into confidence. then comes--still in a vision, and the same vision--information of the till then secret acts and intentions of omnipotence in relation to this same paul: he had actually been "chosen" as "a vessel to bear the lord's name before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of israel:" and the determination had been taken, says the lord in this vision, "to show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." "for i will show him," says the acts, ix. , "how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." and, with the announcement thus made of this determination, the historical account, thus by the historian in his own person given, of this same vision, closes. thus highly distinguished, and favoured with a confidence, equalling, if not surpassing, any which, according to any of the gospel accounts, appears ever to have been imparted to any one of the apostles, how comes it that ananias has never been put in the number of the _saints?_ meaning always the calendar _saints_--those persons, to wit, who, as a mark of distinction and title of honour, behold their ordinary names preceded by this extraordinary one? still the answer is: aye, but this was but in vision: and of a vision one use is--that of the matter of which all that there is _not_ a use for, is left to be taken for false; all that there _is_ a use for, is taken, and is to pass, for true. when, by the name of ananias, who, humanly speaking, never existed but in name, the service for which it was invented has been performed--to wit, the giving a support to paul and his vision,--it has done all that was wanted of it: there is no, further use for it. supposing that thirdly mentioned vision really seen, at what point of time shall we place the seeing of it? in this too there seems to be no small difficulty. between the moment at which paul is said to have had his vision, if a vision that can be called in which, the time being midday, he saw nothing but a glare of light,--between the moment of this vision, of which a loss of sight was the instantaneous consequence--between the moment of this loss of sight and the moment of the recovery of it, the interval is mentioned: three days it was exactly. acts ix. , "and he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." the time during which, in verse , he has just been declared to have been the whole time without sight,--this is the time, within which he is declared--declared, if the historian is to be believed, declared by the lord himself--to have seen this introductory vision--this preparatory vision, for which it is so difficult to find a use. and thus it is, that in a vision, though _vision_ means seeing, it is not necessary a man should have sight. meantime, of all these matters, on which his own existence, not to speak of the salvation of mankind, so absolutely depends, not a syllable is he to know, but through the medium of this so perfectly obscure and questionable personage--this personage so completely unknown to him--this same ananias. three whole days he is kept from doing anything: during these three whole days the business of the miracle stands still. for what purpose is it thus kept at a stand? is it that there might be time sufficient left for his learning to see, when his sight is returned, this preparatory vision, by which so little is done, and for which there is so little use? section . visions, why two or three instead of one. as to the matter of fact designated by the words _paul's conversion_, so far as regards _outward_ conversion, the truth of it is out of all dispute:--that he was _converted, i.e._ that after having been a persecutor of the votaries of the new religion, he turned full round, and became a leader. whether the so illustriously victorious effect, had for its cause a supernatural intercourse of paul with jesus after his resurrection and ascension, and thence for its accompaniment an _inward_ conversion--in this lies the matter in dispute. from those, by whom, in its essential particular, the statement is regarded as being true, a natural question may be--if the whole was an invention of his own, to what cause can we refer the other vision, the vision of ananias? to what purpose should he have been at the pains of inventing, remembering, and all along supporting and defending, the vision of the unknown supposed associate? answer.--to the purpose, it should seem, of giving additional breadth to the basis of his pretensions. among that people, in those times, the story of a vision was so common an article,--so difficultly distinguishable from, so easily confounded with, on the one hand the true story of a dream, on the other hand a completely false story of an occurrence, which, had it happened, would have been a supernatural one, but which never did happen,--that a basis, so indeterminate and aërial, would seem to have been in danger of not proving strong enough to support the structure designed to be reared upon it. on the supposition of falsity, the case seems to be--that, to distinguish his vision from such as in those days were to be found among every man's stories, as well as in every history,--and which, while believed by some, were disbelieved and scorned by others,--either paul or his historian bethought himself of this contrivance of a _pair_ of visions:--a pair of corresponding visions, each of which should, by reference and acknowledgment, bear witness and give support to the other: a _pair_ of visions: for, for simplicity of conception, it seems good not to speak any further, of the antecedent vision interwoven so curiously in the texture of one of them, after the similitude of the flower termed by some gardeners _hose in hose_. of this piece of machinery, which in the present instance has been seen played off with such brilliant success upon the theological theatre, the glory of the invention may, it is believed, be justly claimed, if not by paul, by his historian. with the exception of one that will be mentioned presently[ ], no similar one has, upon inquiry, been found to present itself, in any history, jewish or gentile. the other pair of visions there alluded to, is--that which is also to be found in the acts: one of them ascribed to saint peter, the other to the centurion cornelius. paul, or his historian?--the alternative was but the suggestion of the first moment. to a second glance the claim of the historian presents itself as incontestable. in the case of peter's pair of visions, suppose the story the work of invention, no assignable competitor has the historian for the honour of it: in the case of paul's pair of visions, supposing _that_ the only pair, the invention was at least as likely to have been the work of the historian as of the hero: add to this pair the other pair--that other pair that presents itself in this same work of this same history--all competition is at an end. in the case of even the most fertile genius, copying is an easier task than invention: and, where the original is of a man's own invention, copying is an operation still easier than in the opposite case. that an occurrence thus curious should find so much as a single inventor, is a circumstance not a little extraordinary: but, that two separate wits should jump in concurrence in the production of it, is a supposition that swells the extraordinariness, and with it the improbability, beyond all bounds. section . commission to paul by jerusalem rulers--commission to bring in bonds damascus christians--paul's contempt put upon it. per acts, in the historical account, is stated the existence of a commission:--granters, the jerusalem rulers; persons to whom addressed, paul himself at jerusalem; and the synagogues, _i.e._ the rulers of the synagogues, at damascus: object, the bringing in custody, from damascus to jerusalem, all christians found there: all adult christians at any rate, females as well as males; at paul's own _desire_, adds this same historical account (ix. .); "for to be punished," adds paul st supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, xxii. . in the supposed premeditated oratorical account, paul nd, the existence of authority and commission granted to him by the chief priests is indeed mentioned, xxvi. : but, of the object nothing is said. in the unpremeditated oratorical account, such is the boldness of the historian, nothing will serve him but to make the orator call to witness the constituted authorities--the jerusalem rulers--whoever they were, that were present,--to acknowledge the treachery and the aggravated contempt he had been guilty of towards themselves or their predecessors: towards themselves, if it be in the literal sense that what on this occasion he says is to be understood: "as also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders, from whom also i received letters," &c., acts xxii. . in the premeditated oratorical account, the boldness of the orator is not quite so prominent; he says--it was "with authority and commission from the chief priests" at jerusalem, that he went to damascus; but, for the correctness of this statement of his, he does not now call upon them, or any of them, to bear witness. in respect of the description of the persons, of whom the jerusalem rulers, exercising authority in their behalf, were composed,--the conformity, as between the several accounts, is altogether entire. in the historical account, it is the authority of the high priest, and the high priest alone, that is exercised: in the unpremeditated oratorical account, it is that of the high priest and all the estate of the elders: in the premeditated account, it is that of the chief priests: nothing said either of high priests or elders. neither, in the supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, is it stated--that, at the time and place of the tumult, the rulers thus called to witness, or any of them, were actually on the spot. but, the spot being contiguous to the temple--the temple, out of which paul had been that instant dragged, before there had been time enough for accomplishing the determination that had been formed for killing him,--the distance, between the spot, at which paul with the surrounding multitude was standing, paul being under the momentary protection of the roman commander--between this spot and the spot, whatever it was, at which the question might have been put to them, or some of them, could not be great. on the part of the historian, the boldness, requisite for the ascribing the correspondent boldness to the orator, may be believed without much difficulty. the materials for writing being at hand, there was no more danger in employing them in the writing of these words, than in the writing of an equal number of other words. not so on the part of the orator himself. for, supposing the appeal made, the multitude might have saved themselves the trouble of putting him to death: the constituted authorities whom he was thus invoking--those rulers, against whom, by his own confession, he had committed this treason--would have been ready enough to proceed against him in the regular way, and take the business out of the hands of an unauthorized mob. the truth of the story, and for that purpose the trustworthiness of the historian, being to be defended at any rate,--by some people, all this contradiction, all this mass of self-contradiction, will of course be referred to _artlessness_, or, to take the choice of another eulogistic word, to _simplicity:_ and, of trustworthiness, this amiable quality, whatever may be the name given to it, will be stated as constituting sufficient proof. no such design, as that of deceiving, inhabited, it will be said, his artless bosom: no such design was he capable of harbouring: for, supposing any such wicked design harboured by him, could he have been thus continually off his guard? but--by all this self-contradiction, the quality really proved is--not artlessness, but weakness: and, with the desire of deceiving, no degree of weakness, be it ever so high, is incompatible. by weakness, when risen even to insanity, artfulness is not excluded: and, in the fashioning, from beginning to end, of all this story, art, we see, is by no means deficient, how unhappily soever applied. but the story being such as it is, what matters it, as to the credence due to it, in what state, in respect of probity, was the author's mind? being, as it is, to such a degree untrustworthy and incredible, as that, in so many parts of it, it is impossible it should have been true, the truth of it is impossible: what matters it then, whether it be to the weakness of the moral, or to that of the intellectual, quarter of the author's mind, that the falsity is to be ascribed? not only in the whole does this history, anonymous as it is, present satisfactory marks of _genuineness_,--that is, of being written by the sort of person it professes to be written by, namely, a person who in the course of paul's last excursion was taken into his suite; but in many parts, so does it of _historic verity_. true or not true,--like any other history ancient or modern, it has a claim to be provisionally taken for true, as to every point, in relation to which no adequate reason appears for the contrary: improbability, for example, of the supposed facts as related, contradictoriness to itself, contradictoriness to other more satisfactory evidence, or probable subjection to sinister and mendacity-prompting interest. but, under so much self-contradiction as hath been seen,--whether _bias_ be or be not considered, could any, the most ordinary fact, be regarded as being sufficiently proved? meantime, let not any man make to himself a pretence for rejecting the important position thus offered to his consideration;--let him not, for fear of its being the truth, shut his eyes against that which is presented to him as and for the truth;--let him not shut his eyes, on any such pretence, as that of its being deficient in the quality of _seriousness_. if, indeed, there be any such duty, religious or moral, as that of _seriousness_; and that the stating as absurd that which is really absurd is a violation of that duty;--at that rate, _seriousness_ is a quality, incompatible with the delivery and perception of truth on all subjects, and in particular on this of the most vital importance: seriousness is a disposition to cling to falsehood, and to reject truth. in no part has any ridicule _ab extra_, been employed:--ridicule, by allusion made to another object, and that an irrelevant one.[ ] section . companions--had paul any upon the road? meantime, if all these miraculous visions and other miracles must needs be supposed,--a cluster of other miracles, though not mentioned, must be supposed along with them: miracles, for the production of which a still greater mass of supernatural force must have been expended. here, their existence being supposed, here were those companions of his, who, unknown in names and number, saw or saw not all or anything that he saw, and heard or heard not all or anything that he heard. these men, at any rate, if so it be that they themselves, blind or not blind, led him, as it is said they did, into the city, because he could not see to guide himself,--must, in some way or other, have perceived that something in no small degree extraordinary had happened to him: so extraordinary, that, in the condition in which he was, and in which, if they saw anything, they saw him to be--no such commission, as that, for the execution of which, if, as well as companions, they were his destined assistants, they were put under his command,--could, in any human probability, receive execution at his hands. if they were apprised of this commission of his, could they, whether with his consent or even without his consent, avoid repairing to the constituted authorities to tell them what had happened? this commission of his, so important in itself, and granted to a man of letters by men of letters, could not but have been in writing: and accordingly, in the form of letters we are, by the historian, expressly informed it was. of the existence of these letters, on the tenor of which their future proceedings as well as his depended,--these conductors of his, if _he_ did not, with or without his consent would of course have given information, to the rulers to whom these same letters were addressed. not being struck dumb, nor having, amongst the orders given by the voice, received any order to keep silence, or so much as to keep secret anything of what little they had heard, they would scarcely, under these circumstances, have maintained either silence or secrecy. the historian, knowing what he (the historian) intended to do with his hero--knowing that, at three days' end, he intended not only to make scales fall from his eyes, but to fill his belly,--might not feel any great anxiety on his account. but paul himself, if he, in the condition he is represented in by the historian,--was, for three days together, with scales on his eyes, and nothing in his stomach: and, at the end of the three days, as ignorant as at the beginning, whether the scales would, at any time, and when, drop off, and his stomach receive a supply: in such a state surely, a man could not but feel a curiosity, not unattended with impatience, to know when and how all this was to end. under these circumstances, by some means or other, would all these tongues have been to be stopped: otherwise, instead of the house of judas in straight-street, paul might have had no other place, to receive his visitor in, than the town jail, or some one other of those strong places, into which visitors do not always find it more easy to gain entrance, than inmates to get out. these tongues then--paul's tongue, his companions' tongues--this assemblage of tongues, all so strongly urged to let themselves loose--by what could they have been stopped? if, by anything, by a correspondent cluster of miracles--nothing less. that, from jerusalem, about the time in question, paul went to damascus,--and that it was with some such letters in his possession,--seems, as will be seen presently, altogether probable;--also, that when there, he acted in the way his historian speaks of, betraying the confidence reposed in him by the constituted authorities, and joining with those whom he had solicited and received a commission to destroy;--that these were among the circumstances of his alleged conversion, seems probable enough:--though he, with all the need he had of miracles, if any were to be had, gives not--in what he himself, writing to his galatian converts, says of his conversion--any of the slightest hint of them. as to his conversion--meaning his _outward_ conversion, which was all that was necessary to the production of the effect so notoriously produced by him--to _that_, it will be seen, no miracle was necessary: nothing but what belonged to the ordinary course of things. as to companions on the journey--whether he had any or not; and if he had any, whether they were attendants on his orders, or acquaintances of his not under his orders; or mere strangers into whose company accident threw him--all this we must satisfy ourselves, as well as we can, under the ignorance of. that, for giving effect, by his means, to the sort of commission he went entrusted with, the power of local authorities was trusted to, is a supposition altogether natural. for bringing to jerusalem "bound, for to be punished (acts ix. . xxii. ), all the christians that could be found in damascus, both men and women," if the damascus rulers were favourable to the persecuting design, no large force from jerusalem could be needful. even a small one would be superfluous: and, by a force, great or small, sent from the one set of constituted authorities, a slight would be shown to the other. section . in paul's epistle to his galatians,--by his silence, acts' accounts of his conversion are virtually contradicted. of paul's _outward_ conversion--conversion from the character of an authorized persecutor of the religion of jesus, to that of a preacher of a religion preached in the name of jesus--such, as we have seen, is the account given in the acts; given by the author of the acts, and by him alone. for, what ought never to be out of mind, if instead of two different accounts--declared by him as having been, on different occasions, delivered by paul--he had given two hundred, still they would have been his:--not paul's, but his. all this while, now for little less than years, from paul's own pen we have an account of this his conversion: and, of any such story as that of its being effected through the instrumentality of visions,--in this account of his, not any the slightest trace is to be found;--not any the slightest allusion to it. at the time of his giving this account--supposing this story of the mode of his conversion true--supposing even that, though false, it had been got up and propagated--at the time of his giving the account which bears such unquestionable marks of being his, was the occasion such as to render it probable, that he could thus have omitted all allusion, to an occurrence at once so extraordinary and so important? if not, then so it is--that, by the silence of paul himself, the story related by his historian is virtually contradicted. the occasion here in view is--that of his writing the so often mentioned, and so often about to be mentioned, epistle to his galatian disciples. at the time of his writing this letter, so we shall have occasion to see over and over again in the tenor of it, he was acting in opposition--declared and violent opposition--to the apostles: struggling with them for the mastery; declaring that to them he was not beholden for anything;--that the gospel he preached was not their gospel, but a gospel of his own, received by him directly from jesus;--declaring, that in jerusalem itself, the seat of their authority, he had preached this gospel of his, which was not theirs; but confessing, at the same time, that when he did so, it was in a secret manner, for fear of the opposition, which he well knew, had they known of it, they could not but have made to it. in this state of contention--supposing any such miracle as that in question wrought in his favour--was it in the nature of the case that he should have failed to avail himself of it?--to avail himself of the account which the truth--the important truth--would have so well warranted him in giving of it? supposing it true, had there at that time been witnesses to it--any percipient witnesses--the supposed ananias--the supposed companions on the road,--would he have failed making his appeal to their testimony? supposing even that there were none such left, the truth of the occurrence--of an occurrence of such momentous importance, would it not have inspired him with boldness, sufficient for the assertion of it, with all that intensity for which the case itself furnished so sufficient a warrant, and which the vehemence of his character would have rendered it so impossible for him to avoid? supposing even the story an utter falsehood, yet, had it been at this time got up and promulgated, could he, if he saw any tolerable prospect of its obtaining credence, have failed to endeavour to avail himself of it? no, surely. yet, in this his address, made to his galatian disciples, and to all such inhabitants of that country, as he could see a prospect of numbering among his disciples--in this address, written under a sense of the necessity he was under, of making for his support against the apostles, the most plausible case his ingenuity could enable him to make,--not any, so much as the slightest, hint of any such miracle, does he venture to give. _revelation! revelation!_--on this single word--on the ideas, which, in the minds with which he had to deal, he hoped to find associated with that word--on this ground, without any other, did he see himself reduced to seek support in his contest with the apostles. revelation? revelation from jesus? from the lord, speaking from heaven? from the almighty? on what occasion, in what place, at what time, in what company, if in any, was it thus received? to no one of these questions does he venture to furnish an answer--or so much as an allusion to an answer. why?--even because he had none to give. he had been a persecutor of the disciples of jesus--this he confesses and declares: he became a preacher in the name of jesus--this he also declares; a preacher in the name of him, of whose disciples--the whole fellowship of them--he had been a persecutor--a blood-thirsty and blood-stained persecutor. his conversion, whatever it amounted to, how came it about? what was the cause, the time, the place, the mode of it; who the percipient witnesses of it? to all these questions, _revelation_; in the single word is contained all the answer, which--in this letter--in this plea of his--he, audacious as he was, could summon up audacity enough to give. why, on so pressing an occasion, this forbearing? why? but that, had he ventured to tell any such story, that story being a false one, there were his opponents--there were the apostles, or men in connection with the apostles--to contradict it--to confute it. had he made reference to any specific, to any individual, portion of place and time, the pretended facts might have found themselves in contradiction with some real and provable facts. but, time as well as place being left thus unparticularized,--he left himself at liberty, on each occasion, if called upon for time or place, to assign what portion of time and place the occasion should point out to him as being most convenient;--best adapted to the purpose of giving lodgment to an appropriate falsity;--and without danger, or with little danger, of exposure. at distinct and different times, _five_ interviews we shall see him have, with the apostles--one or more of them: the first interview being,--according to his own account, as given in this very epistle,--at little if anything more, than three years' distance from the time of his quitting the occupation of persecution. then, says he, it was, gal. i. and , that "i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days." in all these days, is it possible, that, if the conversion miracle had really taken place as stated in the acts, with the companions on the road and ananias for witnesses,--he should not have related to peter, and, if not spontaneously, at any rate in answer to such questions as a man in peter's situation could not fail to put, have brought to view, every the minutest circumstance? this then was the time--or at least _one_ time--of his trial, on the question, _revelation or no revelation_. here then, when, with such vehemence, declaring--not his independence merely, but his superiority, in relation to the apostles--and _that_ on no other ground than this alleged revelation, was it, had the judgment in that trial been in his favour--was it possible, that he should have omitted to avail himself of it? yet no such attempt, we see, does he make:--no attempt, to avail himself of the issue of the trial, or of anything that passed on the occasion of it. altogether does he keep clear of any allusion to it: and indeed, if his historian--the author of the acts--is to be believed,--with very good reason: for, whatever it was that, on that occasion, he said, in the acts it is expressly declared that, by the disciples at least, he was utterly disbelieved. acts ix. : "he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. but barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles," &c. why it was, that, after the disciples had thus unanimously declared him and his story unworthy of credit, the apostles gave him notwithstanding a sort of reception;--and that, by no countenance, which they on that occasion gave him, was any ground afforded, for the supposition that any more credence was given to him and his story, by them than by the disciples at large,--will be explained in its place. table ii.--paul disbelieved. table--_showing, at one view, the passages, from which the inference is drawn, that paul's inward conversion was never believed, by any of the apostles, or their disciples._ _explanations._--the interviews here seen are between paul and one or more apostles. number of interviews five,--of visits the same: whereof, by paul to peter, four,--by peter to paul,--one: besides the one supposed fictitious. of the accounts, paul's as far as it goes, is taken for the standard. of paul's epistles the genuineness is out of dispute: acts history is anonymous. paul's evidence is that of an alleged percipient witness. his historian's,--as to these matters, mostly that of a narrator,--narrating--but from hearsay, probably from paul's. interviews, a.d. (i); a.d. (iii). as per paul, gal. a.d. . . _introduction._ gal. : . "paul, an apostle, not from men, neither through man, but through jesus christ, and god the father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of galatia: grace to you and peace from god the father, and our lord jesus christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our god and father: to whom be the glory for ever and ever. amen." . _independence declared._ gal. : . "i marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of christ unto a different gospel; which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of christ. but though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. as we have said before, so say i now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. for am i now persuading men, or god? or am i seeking to please men? if i were still pleasing men, i should not be a servant of christ. "for i make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. for neither did i receive it from man, nor was i taught it, but it came to me through revelation of jesus christ." . _conversion spoken of._ ver. . "for ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the jews' religion, how that beyond measure i persecuted the church of god, and made havock of it: and i advanced in the jews' religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. but when it was the good pleasure of god, who separated me, even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me: but i went away into arabia; and again i returned unto damascus." . _account of interview i._ ver. . "then after three years i went up to jerusalem to visit cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days. but other of the apostles saw i none, save james the lord's brother. now touching the things which i write unto you, behold, before god, i lie not. then i came into the regions of syria and cilicia. and i was still unknown by face unto the churches of judea which were in christ: but they only heard say, he that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havock; and they glorified god in me." . _account of interview iii. ii._ gal. : . "then after the space of fourteen years i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, taking titus also with me. and i went up by revelation; and i laid before them the gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but privately before them who were of repute, lest by any means i should be running, or had run, in vain. but not even titus who was with me, being a greek, was compelled to be circumcised: and that because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. but from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: god accepteth not man's person)--they, i say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me: but contrariwise, when they say that i had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as peter with the gospel of the circumcision, for he that wrought for peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for me also unto the gentiles." . _partition treaty._ ver. . "and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, james and cephas and john, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the gentiles, and they unto the circumcision; only they would that we should remember the poor; which very thing i was also zealous to do." . _jealousy, notwithstanding._ ver. . "but when cephas (peter) came to antioch, i resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned. for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. and the rest of the jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. but when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto cephas before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest as do the gentiles, and not as do the jews, how compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews? we being jews by nature, and not sinners of the gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, save through faith in jesus christ, even we believed on christ jesus, that we might be justified by faith in christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. but if, while we sought to be justified in christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is christ a minister of sin? god forbid. for if i build up again those things which i destroyed, i prove myself a transgressor. for i through the law died unto the law, that i might live unto god. i have been crucified with christ; yet i live; and yet no longer i, but christ liveth in me: and that life which i now live in the flesh i live in faith, the faith which is in the son of god, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. i do not make void the grace of god: for if righteousness is through the law, then christ died for nought." interview i. a.d. . _paul's jerusalem visit i._ reconciliation visit. (_departure from damascus._) acts : - . "and when many days were fulfilled, the jews took counsel together to kill him: but their plot became known to saul. and they watched the gates also day and night that they might kill him: but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket." (_arrival at jerusalem--results._) ver. . "and when he was come to jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. but barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at damascus he had preached boldly in the name of jesus. and he was with them going in and going out at jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the lord." (_departure--cause._) ver. . "and he spake and disputed against the grecian jews; but they went about to kill him. and when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus." interview i. a.d. . _departure--cause._ in paul's first account. acts : - . "and it came to pass, that, when i had returned to jerusalem, and while i prayed in the temple, i fell into a trance, and saw him saying unto me, make haste, and get thee quickly out of jerusalem: because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me. and i said, lord, they themselves know that i imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: and when the blood of stephen thy witness was shed, i also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. and he said unto me, depart: for i will send thee forth far hence unto the gentiles." interview ii. a.d. . _paul's jerusalem visit ii._ money-bringing visit. acts : - . "and the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in jerusalem: and then sent forth barnabas as far as antioch: who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of god, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the lord: for he was a good man, and full of the holy ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the lord. and he went forth to tarsus to seek for saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto antioch. and it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the disciples were called christians first in antioch. "now in these days there came down prophets from jerusalem unto antioch. and there stood up one of them named agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be a great famine over all the world: which came to pass in the days of claudius. and the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in judea: which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of barnabas and saul." interview iii. a.d. . _paul's jerusalem visit iii._ deputation visit. as per acts xv. - . acts : - . "and certain men came down from judea and taught the brethren, saying, except ye be circumcised after the custom of moses, ye cannot be saved. and when paul and barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that paul and barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. they therefore, being brought on their way by the church, passed through both phoenicia and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they rehearsed all things that god had done with them. but there arose up certain of the sect of the pharisees who believed, saying, it is needful to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of moses. "and the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider of this matter. and when there had been much questioning peter rose up, and said unto them, "brethren, ye know how that a good while ago god made choice among you, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. and god, which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the holy ghost, even as he did unto us; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. now therefore why tempt ye god, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? but we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the lord jesus, in like manner as they. "and all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened unto barnabas and paul rehearsing what signs and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them. and after they had held their peace, james answered, saying, "brethren, hearken unto me: symeon hath rehearsed how first god did visit the gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. and to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, "after these things i will return, and i will build again the tabernacle of david, which is fallen; and i will build again the ruins thereof, and i will set it up: that the residue of men may seek after the lord, and all the gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the lord, who maketh these things known from the beginning of the world. "wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them which from among the gentiles turn to god; but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. for moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath." interview iv. a.d. . _peter's visit to antioch._ acts : - . "then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to chose men out of their company, and send them to antioch with paul and barnabas; namely, judas called barsabbas, and silas, chief men among the brethren: and they wrote thus by them, the apostles and the elder brethren unto the brethren which are of the gentiles in antioch and syria and cilicia, greeting: forasmuch as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment; it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved barnabas and paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. we have sent therefore judas and silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth. for it seemed good to the holy ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. fare ye well. "so they, when they were dismissed, came down to antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. and when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation. and judas and silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. and after they had spent some time there, they were dismissed in peace from the brethren unto those that had sent them forth." interview a.d. . _paul's visit._ as per acts xviii. - . (_supposed fictitious._) "and they came to ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the jews. and when they asked him to abide a longer time, he consented not; but taking his leave of them and saying, i will return again unto you, if god will, he set sail from ephesus. and when he had landed at cæsarea, he went up and saluted the church, and went down to antioch. and having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of galatia and phrygia in order, stablishing all the disciples." interview v. a.d. . _paul's jerusalem visit iv._ invasion visit. (_visit proposed. a.d._ .) acts : - . "now after these things were ended, paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying, after i have been there, i must also see rome. and having sent into macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, timothy and erastus, he himself stayed in asia for a while." (_visit again proposed. a.d._ .) acts : . "for paul had determined to sail past ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at jerusalem the day of pentecost. "and from miletus he went to ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church. and when they were come to him, he said unto them, "ye yourselves know, from the first day that i set foot in asia, after that manner i was with you all the time, serving the lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the lots of the jews: how that i shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to jews and to greeks repentance toward god, and faith toward our lord jesus christ. and now, behold, i go bound in the spirit unto jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the holy ghost testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. but i hold not my life of any account, as dear unto myself, so that i may accomplish my course, and the ministry which i received from the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god. and now, behold, i know that ye all, among whom i went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more." acts : - . "and when we had finished the voyage from tyre, we arrived at ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. and on the morrow we departed, and came unto cæsarea: and entering into the house of philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. now this man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy." (_visit opposed. a.d._ .) ver. . "and as we tarried there many days, there came down from judea a certain prophet, named agabus. (see acts xi. .) "and coming to us, and taking paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, thus saith the holy ghost, so shall the jews at jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. and when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to jerusalem. then paul answered, what do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus. and when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, the will of the lord be done." interview v. a.d. . _paul's jerusalem visit iv._ invasion visit--results. _arrival._ acts : - . "and after these days we took up our baggage, and went up to jerusalem. and there went with us also certain of the disciples from cæsarea, bringing with them one mnason of cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. "and when we were come to jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly." _test, proposed for riddance._ "and the day following paul went in with us unto james; and all the elders were present. and when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which god had wrought among the gentiles by his ministry. and they, when they heard it, glorified god; and they said unto him, thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the jews of them which have believed; and they are all zealous for the law: and they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the jews which are among the gentiles to forsake moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. what is it therefore? they will certainly hear that thou art come. do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men which have a vow on them; these take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. but as touching the gentiles which have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication." _the test swallowed._ "then paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them." _indignation universal._ "and when the seven days were almost completed, the jews from asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude, and laid hands on him, crying out, men of israel, help: this is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place: and moreover he brought greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place. for they had before seen with him in the city trophimus the ephesian, whom they supposed that paul had brought into the temple. and all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they laid hold on paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut. and as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the chief captain of the band, that all jerusalem was in confusion. and forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating paul. then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done. and some shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle. and when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd; for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, away with him." footnotes: [ ] of the word _conversion_, as employed everywhere and in all times in speaking of paul, commonly called saint paul, the import has been found involved in such a cloud, as, on pain of perpetual misconception, it has been found necessary, here at the outset, to clear away. that, from being an ardent and destructive persecutor of the disciples of the departed jesus, he became their collaborator, and in _that_ sense their ally,--preaching, in speech, and by writing, a religion under the name of the religion of jesus, assuming even the appellation of an _apostle_ of jesus,--_apostle_, that is to say, special envoy--(that being the title by which the twelve most confidential servants of jesus stood distinguished), is altogether out of dispute. that in this sense he became a _convert_ to the religion of jesus, and that in this sense his alleged conversion was real, is accordingly in this work not only admitted, but affirmed. few points of ancient history seem more satisfactorily attested. in this sense then he was converted beyond dispute. call this then his _outward conversion_; and say, paul's _outward conversion_ is indubitable. but, that this conversion had for its cause, or consequence, any supernatural intercourse with the almighty, or any belief in the supernatural character of jesus himself; this is the position, the erroneousness of which has, in the eyes of the author, been rendered more and more assured, the more closely the circumstances of the case have been looked into. that, in speech and even in action, he was in outward appearance a convert to the religion of jesus; this is what is admitted: that, inwardly, he was a convert to the religion of jesus, believing jesus to be god, or authorized by any supernatural commission from god; this is the position, the negative of which it is the object of the present work to render as evident to the reader, as a close examination has rendered it to the author. the consequence, the practical consequence, follows of itself. in the way of doctrine, whatsoever, being in the epistles of paul is not in any one of the gospels, belongs to paul, and paul alone, and forms no part of the religion of jesus. this is what it seemed necessary to state at the opening; and to this, in the character of a conclusion, the argument will be seen all along to tend. [ ] see ch. . paul's supposable miracles explained. [ ] in regard to the matter testified, that is, in regard to the object of the testimony; it is, first of all, a requisite condition, that what is reported to be true should be possible, both absolutely, or as an object of the elaborative faculty, and relatively, or as an object of the presentative faculties,--perception, external or internal. a thing is possible absolutely, or in itself, when it can be construed to thought, that is, when it is not inconsistent with the logical laws of thinking; a thing is relatively possible as an object of perception, external or internal, when it can affect sense or self-consciousness, and, through such affection, determine its apprehension by one or other of these faculties. a testimony is, therefore, to be unconditionally rejected, if the fact which it reports be either in itself impossible, or impossible as an object of the representative faculties. but the impossibility of a thing, as an object of these faculties, must be decided either upon physical, or upon metaphysical, principles. a thing is physically impossible as an object of sense, when the existence itself, or its perception by us, is, by the laws of the material world impossible.--hamilton's logic .--ed. [ ] "_light_,--great _light_."--it will be noticed that this "light" is presented first objectively as a phenomenon, a thing, but what is "light"? the universal answer is "that force in nature which, acting on the retina of the eye produces the sensation we call vision." this vision is the total of the subjective effect of that agency of nature, the subjective realization through the functions of the cerebellum. but functions are accomplished through agencies called organs. the retina is one of these organs. through the operations of these organs and cerebellum subjective apprehension is produced as an effect, but in some cases of very forcible apprehensions they are interpreted as a diseased condition of the organs of sense. ideas sometimes acquire unusual vividness and permanence and are, therefore, peculiarly liable to be mistaken for their objective prototypes and hence specters, spectral allusions which are very common in cases of emotional excitement. further, it will be noticed all the time that the reporter, luke, wrote what paul, or some other person or rumor had previously communicated to him. now luke, was accustomed to pen these wonders, these superhuman chimerical prodigies. take the example of the trial of stephen, acts . after the charges of the complainants, ib. - , "libertines" and others had been heard by the high priest, he inquired of stephen personally as to the verity of the charges, and luke reports his responses, and then to make sure of portraying fully the emotional conditions of the witnesses and the spectators, he reports, v. . "when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and they grabed on him with their teeth; but he, stephen, being full of the holy ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of god and jesus standing at the right hand of god, and said, behold i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of god. then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was saul." this saul, now paul, must have acted as overseer or umpire. paul, is by chronologers reckoned to have been about years of age; but it will be seen that luke, the narrator, is just such a superserviceable witness as wholly impairs his credibility. he says first, stephen was in fact filled with the holy ghost, saw the glory of god, for he evidently was gloriable, and jesus standing on the right hand of god; and that in addition thereto he states that stephen, said he saw the same wonders--with the addition that the heavens were opened, &c. if he had been cross-examined and asked whether little paul, did not behold all these wonders, he no doubt would have answered in the affirmative and volunteered the statement, that they all saw these wonders, the high priest, the accusers, by-standers, and human canines that gnashed their teeth upon stephen. consult any author on psychology on the subject of emotions, exstatic illusions, &c. but in the assembly inquisitors of stephen, paul and others before the high priests, what special law or cannons were they accused of violating? answer, one cannon is quite conspicuous, to wit:--ex. : . "thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of the people." when the inquisitor the high priest found the accused guilty, he was delivered over to the witnesses for execution. the detectives enjoyed the luxury of doing the stoning. if christ's limitation had been in use, to wit:--that none but the guiltless should throw stones, the accusing sleuths might have been less zealous.--ed. [ ] historiographer is used purposely by the author to denote a specialist for the occasion. [ ] "goad" is the word used in the douay testament and in the late revisions of the protestants. [ ] cor. : --"as unto one born out of due time, he appeared unto me also." [ ] another question that here presents itself is--how could it have happened that, jerusalem being under one government, and damascus under another (if so the case was), the will of the local rulers at jerusalem found obedience, as it were of course, at the hands of the adequate authorities at damascus? to the question how this _actually_ happened, it were too much to undertake to give an answer. for an answer to the question how it may be _conceived_ to have happened, reference may be made to existing english practice. the warrant issued by the constituted authorities in jerusalem expected to find, and found accordingly in damascus, an adequate authority disposed to back it. in whatsoever gentile countries jews, in a number sufficient to compose a synagogue, established themselves, a habit naturally enough took place, as of course, among them--the habit of paying obedience, to a considerable extent, to the functionaries who were regarded as rulers of the synagogue. few are or have been the conquered countries, in which some share of subordinate power has not been left, as well to the natives of the conquered nation as to any independent foreigners, to whom, in numbers sufficient to constitute a sort of corporate body, it happened from time to time to have become settlers. after all, what must be confessed is--that, in all this there seems nothing but what might readily enough have been conceived, without its having been thus expressed. [ ] it is well known that this dogma of original sin--a disease that the human family enjoys by sad inheritance, christ treated with negligible indifference. he dealt with the problems of man in a social state, as socially conditioned only. a human being conditioned as isolated from neighbors, friends and society, he did not as he scientifically could not deal with, he discoursed upon social duties, however sublimely, n.b. acts : , "but if thy brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke him between thee and him alone, if he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy brother. but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. and if he shall neglect to hear them then tell it unto the church. and if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican, amen i say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven." now without quibbling about the translation this scheme of social arbitration contains the ultimate of justice, it contains the only working hypothesis within any social condition of mankind. there is no such thing as justice in the abstract or concrete, it is like heat and electricity, a mere mode of motion, a form of action. and when a controversy between citizens is fairly submitted to the judgment of normal men the voice of their consciousness, being the ultimate organ of nature's creator, must be "binding" so far as man is concerned socially. and as there does not appear to the natural man any appeal to heaven, the arbitrament of man in the special case carries the seal of the eternities and forecloses all further controversy. the speech of the honorable consciousness of man is the voice of the creator of his personality.--ed. [ ] since what is in the text was written, maturer thoughts have suggested an interpretation, by which, if received, the sad inferences presented by the doctrine, that misdeeds, and consequent suffering that have had place, could by a dip into a piece of water be caused never to have happened, may be repelled. according to this interpretation, the act of being baptized--the bodily act--is one thing; an act of washing away the sins--the spiritual act--another. the effect produced is--not the causing the misdeeds and sufferings never to have had place, but the causing them to be compensated for, by acts productive of enjoyment, or of saving in the article of sufferings, to an equal or greater amount. [ ] see ch. xvii. §. v. . peter's and cornelius's visions. [ ] see bentham's _church of englandism examined_. chapter ii. _outward conversion--how produced--how planned._ section . motive, temporal advantage--plan. how flourishing the state of the church had at this period become, will be seen more fully in another place. long before this period,--numbers of converts, in jerusalem alone, above three thousand. the aggregate, of the property belonging to the individuals, had been formed into one common fund: the management--too great a burden for the united labours of the eleven apostles, with their new associate mathias--had, under the name so inappositely represented at present by the english word _deacon_, been committed to seven trustees; one of whom, stephen, had, at the instance of paul, been made to pay, with his life, for the imprudence, with which he had, in the most public manner, indulged himself, in blaspheming the idol of the jews--their temple.[ ] of that flourishing condition, paul, under his original name of saul, had all along been a witness. while carrying on against it that persecution, in which, if not the original instigator, he had been a most active instrument, persecuting, if he himself, in what he is made to say, in acts xxii. , is to be believed,--"persecuting unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women;"--while thus occupied, he could not in the course of such his disastrous employment, have failed to obtain a considerable insight into the state of their worldly affairs. samaria--the field of the exploits and renown of the great sorcerer simon, distinguished in those times by the name of _magus_--samaria, the near neighbour and constant rival, not to say enemy, of jerusalem;--is not more than about five and forty miles distant from it. to paul's alert and busy mind,--the offer, made by the sorcerer, to purchase of the apostles a share in the government of the church, could not have been a secret. at the hands of those rulers of the christian church, this offer had not found acceptance. shares in the direction of their affairs were not, like those in the government of the british empire in these our days, objects of sale. the nine rulers would not come into any such bargain; their disciples were not as cattle in their eyes: by those disciples themselves no such bargain would have been endured; they were not as cattle in their own eyes. but, though the bargain proposed by the sorcerer did not take place, this evidence, which the offer of it so clearly affords,--this evidence, of the value of a situation of that sort in a commercial point of view, could not naturally either have remained a secret to paul, or failed to engage his attention, and present to his avidity and ambition a ground of speculation--an inviting field of enterprise. from the time when he took that leading part, in the condemnation and execution, of the too flamingly zealous manager, of the temporal concerns of the associated disciples of that disastrous orator, by whom the preaching and spiritual functions might, with so much happier an issue, have been left in the hands of the apostles--from that time, down to that in which we find him, with letters in his pocket, from the rulers of the jews in their own country, to the rulers of the same nation under the government of the neighbouring state of damascus, he continued, according to the acts ix. ; "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord." of these letters, the object was--the employing the influence of the authorities from which they came, viz. the high priest and the elders, to the purpose of engaging those to whom they were addressed, to enable him to bring in bonds, to jerusalem from damascus, all such converts to the religion of jesus, as should have been found in the place last mentioned. in his own person the author of the acts informs us--that, by saul, letters to this effect were _desired_[ ]. in a subsequent chapter, in the person of paul, viz. in the speech, to the multitude by whom he had been dragged out of the temple, in the design of putting him to death, he informs us they were actually _obtained_[ ]. it was in the course of this his journey, and with these letters in his pocket, that, in and by the vision seen by him while on the road--at that time and not earlier--his conversion was, according to his own account of the matter, effected. that which is thought to have been already proved, let it, at least for argument's sake, be affirmed. let us say accordingly--this vision-story was a mere fable. on this supposition, then, what will be to be said of those same letters?--of the views in which they were obtained?--of the use which was eventually made of them?--of the purpose to which they were applied? for all these questions one solution may serve. from what is known beyond dispute--on the one hand, of his former way of life and connections--on the other hand, of his subsequent proceeding--an answer, of the satisfactoriness of which the reader will have to judge, may, without much expense of thought, be collected. if, in reality, no such vision was perceived by him, no circumstance remains manifest whereby the change which so manifestly and notoriously took place in his plan of life, came to be referred to _that_ point in the field of time--in preference to any antecedent one. supposing, then, the time of the change to have been antecedent to the commencement of that journey of his to damascus--antecedent to the time of the application, in compliance with which his letter from the ruling powers at jerusalem the object of which was to place at his disposal the lot of the christians at damascus, was obtained;--this supposed, what, in the endeavour to obtain this letter, was his object? manifestly to place in his power these same christians: to place them in his power, and thereby to obtain from them whatsoever assistance was regarded by him as necessary for the ulterior prosecution of his schemes, as above indicated. on this supposition, in the event of their giving him that assistance, which, in the shape of money and other necessary shapes, he required--on this supposition, he made known to them his determination, not only to spare their persons, but to join with them in their religion; and, by taking the lead in it among the heathen, to whom he was, in several respects, so much better qualified for communicating it than any of the apostles or their adherents, to promote it to the utmost of his power. an offer of this nature--was it in the nature of things that it should be refused? whatsoever was most dear to them--their own personal security, and the sacred interests of the new religion, the zeal of which was yet flaming in their bosoms, concurred in pressing it upon their acceptance. with the assistance thus obtained, the plan was--to become a declared convert to the religion of jesus, for the purpose of setting himself at the head of it; and, by means of the expertness he had acquired in the use of the greek language, to preach, in the name of jesus, that sort of religion, by the preaching of which, an empire over the minds of his converts, and, by that means, the power and opulence to which he aspired, might, with the fairest prospect of success, be aimed at. but, towards the accomplishment of this design, what presented itself as a necessary step, was--the entering into a sort of _treaty_, and forming at least in appearance, a sort of junction, with the leaders of the new religion and their adherents--the apostles and the rest of the disciples. as for _them_, in acceding to this proposal, on the supposition of anything like sincerity and consistency on his part, _they_ would naturally see much to gain and nothing to lose: much indeed to gain; no less than peace and security, instead of that persecution, by which, with the exception of the apostles themselves, to all of whom experience seems, without exception, to have imparted the gift of prudence, the whole fraternity had so lately been driven from their homes, and scattered abroad in various directions. with the christians at damascus, that projected junction was actually effected by him: but, in this state of things, to return to jerusalem was not, at that time, to be thought of. in the eyes of the ruling powers, he would have been a trust-breaker--a traitor to their cause: in the eyes of the christians, he would have been a murderer, with the blood of the innocent still reeking on his hands: no one would he have found so much as to lend an ear to his story, much less to endure it. in damascus, after making his agreement with his new brethren, there remained little for him to do. much had he to inform himself of concerning jesus. damascus--where jesus had already so many followers--damascus was a place for him to _learn_ in: not to _teach_ in:--at any rate, at that time. arabia, a promising field of enterprise--arabia, a virgin soil, opened to his view. there he would find none to abhor his person--none to contradict his assertions: there his eloquence--and, under the direction of his judgment, his invention--would find free scope: in that country the reproach of inconsistency could not attach upon him: in that foreign land he beheld his place of quarantine--his school of probation--the scene of his novitiate. by a few years employed in the exercise of his new calling--with that spirit and activity which would accompany him of course in every occupation to which he could betake himself--he would initiate himself in, and familiarize himself with, the connected exercises of preaching and spiritual rule. at the end of that period, whatsoever might be his success in that country, such a portion of time, passed in innocence, would at any rate allay enmity: such a portion of time, manifestly passed, in the endeavour at any rate to render service to the common cause, might even establish confidence. at the end of that time, he might, nor altogether without hope of success, present himself to the rulers of the church, in the metropolis of their spiritual empire: "behold, he might say, in me no longer a persecutor, but a friend. the persecutor has long vanished: he has given place to the friend. too true it is, that i was so once your persecutor. years spent in unison with you--years spent in the service of the common cause--have proved me. you see before you, a tried man--an ally of tried fidelity: present me as such to your disciples: take me into your councils: all my talent, all my faculties, shall be yours. the land of israel will continue, as it has been, the field of _your_ holy labours; the land of the gentiles shall be mine: we will carry on our operations in concert; innumerable are the ways in which each of us will derive from the other--information, assistance, and support." to arabia he accordingly repaired: so, in his epistle to the galatians, gal. i. , he himself informs us: in that little-known country, he continued three whole years--so also, in the same place, he informs us. there it was, that he experienced that success, whatever it was, that went to constitute the ground, of the recommendation given of him by barnabas to the apostles. from thence he returned to damascus: and, in that city, presenting himself in his regenerated character, and having realized by his subsequent conduct the expectations raised by his promises at the outset of his career[ ]; he planned, and as will be seen, executed his expedition to jerusalem: the expedition, the object of which has just been brought to view. "then," says paul himself, "i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days." gal. : . there, says the author of the acts, acts : , , "barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles ... and he was with them coming in and going out of jerusalem." section . at damascus, no such ananias probably. this same ananias--of whom so much has been seen in the last chapter--paul's own imagination excepted, had he anywhere any existence? the probability seems to be on the negative side: and, in the next section, as to whether paul's companions on the road are not in a similar predicament, the reader will have to judge. but let us begin with ananias. at damascus, at any rate--with such power in his hands, for securing obsequiousness at the hands of those to whom he was addressing himself--with such power in his hands, paul could not have had much need of anything in the shape of a vision:--he could not have had any need of any such person as the seer of the correspondent vision--ananias. for the purpose of aiding the operation of those considerations of worldly prudence, which these powers of his enabled him to present, to those whom it concerned,--there might be some perhaps, who, for yielding to those considerations, and thus putting themselves under the command of this formidable potentate, might look for an authority from the lord jesus. but, forasmuch as, in this very case, even at this time of day, visions, _two_ in name, but, in respect of probative force, reducible to _one_--are so generally received as conclusive evidence,--no wonder if, at that time of day, by persons so circumstanced, that _one_ vision should be received in that same character. at damascus, therefore, on his first arrival, there could not be any occasion for any such corroborating story as the story of the vision of ananias. at damascus--unless he had already obtained, and instructed as his confederate, a man of that name--no such story could, with any prospect of success, have been circulated: for the purpose of learning the particulars of an occurrence of such high importance, the residence of this ananias would have been inquired after: and, by supposition, no satisfactory answer being capable of being given to any such inquiries,--no such story could be ventured to be told. such was the case, at that place and at that time. as to any such evidence, as that afforded by the _principal_ vision, viz. paul's own,--perhaps no such evidence was found necessary: but, if it _was_ found necessary, nothing could be easier than the furnishing it. as to the _secondary_ vision, viz. that ascribed afterwards to a man of the name of ananias,--at that time scarcely could there have been any need of it--any demand for it; and, had there been any such demand, scarcely, unless previously provided, could any such correspondent supply have been afforded. in other places and posterior times alone, could this supplemental vision, therefore, have been put into circulation: accordingly, not till a great many years after, was mention made of it by the author of the acts:--mention made by him, either in his own person, or as having been related, or alluded to, by paul himself. even the author of the acts,--though in this same chapter he has been relating the story of ananias's vision,--yet, when he comes to speak, of the way, in which, according to him, paul, by means of his protector and benefactor barnabas, obtained an introduction to the apostles, viz. all the apostles, in which, however, he is so pointedly contradicted by paul himself,--yet speaks not of barnabas, as including, in the recommendatory account he gave them, of paul--his vision, and his merits--any mention of this supplemental vision:--any mention of any ananias. acts : . at damascus, howsoever it might be in regard to the christians--neither to jews, nor to gentiles, could the production, of any such letters as those in question, have availed him anything. such as had embraced christianity excepted, neither over gentiles nor over jews did those letters give him any power: and, as to jews, the character in which--after any declaration made of his conversion--he would have presented himself, would have been no better than that of an apostate, and betrayer of a highly important public trust. to men of both these descriptions, a plea of some sort or other, such as, if believed, would be capable of accounting for so extraordinary a step, as that he should change, from the condition of a most cruel and inveterate persecutor of the new religion, to that of a most zealous supporter and leader,--could not, therefore, but be altogether necessary. no sooner was he arrived at damascus, than, if the author of the acts is to be believed, he began pleading, with all his energy, the cause of that religion, which, almost to that moment, he had with so much cruelty opposed. as to the story of his vision,--what is certain is--that, sooner or later, for the purpose of rendering to men of all descriptions a reason for a change so preëminently extraordinary, he employed this story. but, forasmuch as of no other account of it, as given by him, is any trace to be found;--nor can any reason be found, why that which was certainly employed afterwards might not as well be employed at and from the first;--hence comes the probability, that from the first it accordingly was employed. section . on damascus journey--companions none. in the preceding chapter, a question was started, but no determinate answer as yet found for it: this is--what became of the men, who--according to all the accounts given by paul, or from him, of his conversion vision--were his _companions_ in the journey? at damascus, if any such men there were, they would in course arrive as well as he, and at the same time with him. this circumstance considered, if any such men there were,--and they were not in confederacy with him,--the imposition must have been put upon _them_: and, for that purpose, he must, in their presence, have uttered the sort of discourse, and exhibited the sort of deportment, mentioned in the above accounts. to this difficulty, however, a very simple solution presents itself. _he had no such companions._ neither by name, nor so much as by any the most general description,--either of the persons, or of the total number,--is any designation to be found anywhere:--not in the account given in the acts; not in any account, given by himself, in any epistle of his; or, as from himself, in any part of the acts. in the company of divers others, a man was struck down, he says, or it is said of him, by a supernatural light: and, at the instant, and on the spot, has a conversation with somebody. instead of saying who these _other_ men are, the credit of the whole story is left to rest on the credit of this _one_ man:--the credit, of a story, the natural improbability of which, stood so much need of collateral evidence, to render it credible. not till many years had elapsed, after this journey of his were these accounts, any one of them, made public: and, in relation to these pretended companions--supposing him interrogated at any time posterior to the publication of the account in the acts,--after the lapse of such a number of years, he could, without much difficulty, especially his situation and personal character considered, hold himself at full liberty, to remember or to forget, as much or as little, as on each occasion he should find convenient. section . flight from damascus: causes--false--true. acts ix. - . and when he had received meat he was strengthened. then was saul certain days with the disciples which were at damascus.--and straightway he preached christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of god.--but all that heard him were amazed, and said: is not this he that destroyeth them which called on his name in jerusalem; and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?--but saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the jews which dwelt at damascus, proving that this is very christ.--and after that many days were fulfilled, the jews took counsel to kill him.--but their laying await was known of saul. and they watched the gates day and night to kill him.--then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. the conception, which it was the evident design of this passage to impress upon the mind of the reader, is--that, as soon almost as he was arrived at damascus, paul not only went about preaching jesus, but preaching to that effect openly, and without reserve, in all the synagogues: and that it was for this preaching, and nothing else, that "the jews," thus undiscriminating is the appellation, purposely it should seem, employed, "went about to kill him:" that thereupon it was, that he made his escape over the wall, and having so done, repaired immediately to jerusalem. in this conception, there seems to be evidently a mixture of truth and falsehood. that he addressed himself, in a greater or less number, to the disciples,--must assuredly have been true: to the accomplishment of his designs, as above explained, intercourse with them could not but be altogether necessary. that, when any probable hope of favourable attention and secrecy were pointed out to him--that, in here and there an instance, he ventured so far as to address himself to this or that individual, who was not as yet enlisted in the number of disciples,--may also have been true: and, for this purpose, he might have ventured perhaps to show himself in some comparatively obscure synagogue or synagogues. but, as to his venturing himself so far as to preach in all synagogues without distinction,--or in any synagogue frequented by any of the constituted authorities,--this seems altogether incredible. to engage them to seek his life; to lie in wait to kill him; in other words, to apprehend him for the purpose of trying him, and probably at the upshot killing him,--this is no more than, considering what, in their eyes, he had been guilty of, was a thing of course: a measure, called for--not, for preaching the religion of jesus; not, for any boldness in any other way displayed; but, for the betraying of the trust, reposed in him by the constituted authorities at jerusalem: thus protecting and cherishing those malefactors, for such they had been pronounced by authority, for the apprehending and punishing of whom, he had solicited the commission he thereupon betrayed. independently of all other offence, given by preaching or anything else,--in this there was that, which, under any government whatever, would have amply sufficed--would even more than sufficed--to draw down, upon the head of the offender, a most exemplary punishment. in this view, note well the description, given in the acts, of the persons, by whose enmity he was driven out of damascus; compare with it what, in relation to this same point, is declared--most explicitly declared--by paul himself. by the account in the acts, they were the persons to whom he had been preaching jesus; and who, by that preaching, had been confounded and provoked. among those persons, a conspiracy was formed for murdering him; and it was to save him from this conspiracy that the disciples let him down the wall in a basket. such is the colour, put upon the matter by the author of the acts. now, what is the truth--the manifest and necessary truth, as related--explicitly related--by paul himself? related, in the second of his letters to his corinthians, on an occasion when the truth would be more to his purpose than the false gloss put upon it by his adherents as above? the peril, by which he was driven thus to make his escape, was--not a murderous conspiracy, formed against him by a set of individuals provoked by his preaching;--it was the intention, formed by the governor of the city. intention? to do what? to put him to death against law? no; but to "_apprehend_" him. to apprehend him? for what? evidently for the purpose of bringing him to justice in the regular way--whatsoever was the regular way--for the offence he had so recently committed: committed, by betraying his trust, and entering into a confederacy with the offenders, whom he had been commissioned, and had engaged, to occupy himself, in concert with the constituted authorities of the place, in bringing to justice. "in damascus," says he, cor. xi. , , "the governor under aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. and through a window in a basket was i let down by the wall, and escaped his hands." and on what _occasion_ is it, that this account of the matter is given by him? it is at the close of a declamation, which occupies ten verses--a declamation, the object of which is--to impress upon the minds of his adherents the idea of his merits: viz. those which consisted in labour, suffering, and perils: merits, on which he places his title to the preference he claims above the competitors to whom he alludes:--alludes, though without naming them: they being, as he acknowledges therein, ministers of christ, and probably enough, if not any of them apostles, persons commissioned by the apostles. greater, it is evident, must have been the danger from the ruling powers of the place, than from a set of individual intended murderers:--from the power of the rulers there could not be so much as a hope of salvation, except by escape: from the individuals there would be a naturally sufficient means of salvation; the power of the rulers presenting a means of salvation, and that naturally a sufficient one. note here, by the by, one of the many exemplifications, of that confusion which reigns throughout in paul's discourses: the result, of that mixture, which, in unascertainable proportions, seems to have had place--that mixture of nature and artifice. it is at the end of a long list of labours, sufferings, and perils, that this anecdote presents itself. was it accordingly at the end of them that the fact itself had taken place?--no: it was _at_ the very commencement: or rather, so far as concerned preaching, _before_ the commencement. only in the way of allusion--allusion in general terms--in terms of merely general description, without mention of _time_ or _place_, or persons concerned,--are any of the other sufferings or perils mentioned: in this instance alone, is any mention made under any one of those heads: and here we see it under two of them, viz. _place_ and _person_: and moreover, by other circumstances, the _time_, viz. the _relative_ time, is pretty effectually fixed. immediately afterwards, this same indisputably false colouring will be seen laid on, when the account comes to be given, of his departure for jerusalem: always for preaching jesus is he sought after, never for anything else. according to this representation, here are two governments--two municipal governments--one of them, at the solicitation of a functionary of its own, giving him a commission to negotiate with another, for the purpose of obtaining, at his hands, an authority, for apprehending a set of men, who, in the eyes of both, were guilty of an offence against both. instead of pursuing his commission, and using his endeavours to obtain the desired cooperation, he betrays the trust reposed in him:--he not only suffers the alleged malefactors to remain unapprehended and untouched, but enters into a confederacy with them. to both governments, this conduct of his is, according to him, matter of such entire indifference, that he might have presented himself everywhere, as if nothing had happened, had it not been for his preaching:--had it not been for his standing forth _openly_, to preach to all that would hear him, the very religion which he had been commissioned to extinguish. in such a state of things, is there anything that can, by any supposition, be reconciled to the nature of man, in any situation,--or to any form of government? three years having been passed by him in that to him strange country, what, during all that time, were his means of subsistence? to this question an unquestionable answer will be afforded by the known nature of his situation. he was bred to a trade, indeed a handicraft trade--tent-making: an art, in which the operations of the architect and the upholsterer are combined. but, it was not to practise either that, or any other manual operation, that he paid his visit to that country. when he really did practise it, he took care that this condescension of his should not remain a secret: from that, as from everything else he ever did or suffered, or pretended to have done or suffered, he failed not to extract the matter of glory for himself, as well as edification for his readers. in arabia, his means of subsistence were not then derived from his trade: if they had been, we should have known it:--from what source then were they derived?[ ] by the very nature of his situation, this question has been already answered:--from the purses of those, whom, having had it in his power, and even in his commission, to destroy, he had saved. and now, as to all those things, which, from the relinquishment of his labours in the field of persecution to the first of his four recorded visits to jerusalem, he is known to have done, answers have been furnished:--answers, to the several questions _why_ and by what _means_, such as, upon the supposition that the supernatural mode of his conversion was but a fable, it will not, it is hoped, be easy to find cause for objecting to as insufficient. section . arabia-visit--mentioned by paul, not acts. not altogether without special reason, seems the veil of obscurity to have been cast over this long interval. in design, rather than accident, or heedlessness, or want of information,--may be found, it should seem, the cause, of a silence so pregnant with misrepresentation. in addition to a length of time, more or less considerable, spent in damascus, a city in close communication with jerusalem, in giving proofs of his conversion,--three years spent in some part or other of the contiguous indeed, but wide-extending, country of arabia--(spent, if paul is to be believed, in preaching the religion of jesus, and at any rate in a state of peace and innoxiousness with relation to it)--afforded such proof of a change of plan and sentiment, as, in the case of many a man, might, without miracle or wonder, have sufficed to form a basis for the projected alliance:--this proof, even of itself; much more, when corroborated, by the sort of certificate, given to the church by its preeminent benefactor barnabas, who, in introducing the new convert, to the leaders among the apostles, for the special purpose of proposing the alliance,--took upon himself the personal responsibility, so inseparably involved in such a mark of confidence. in this state of things then, which is expressly asserted by paul to have been, and appears indubitably to have been, a real one,--considerations of an ordinary nature being sufficient--to produce--not only the effect actually produced--but, in the case of many a man, much more than the effect actually produced,--there was no demand, at that time, for a miracle: no demand for a miracle, for any such purpose, as that of working, upon the minds of the apostles, to any such effect as that of their maintaining, towards the new convert, a conduct free from hostility, accompanied with a countenance of outward amity. but, for other purposes, and in the course of his intercourse with persons of other descriptions, it became necessary for him to have had these visions: it became necessary--not only for the purpose of proving connection on his part with the departed jesus, to the satisfaction of all those by whom such proof would be looked for,--but, for the further purpose, of ascribing to jesus, whatsoever doctrines the prosecution of his design might from time to time call upon him to promulgate;--those doctrines, in a word, which, (as will be seen), being his and not jesus's--not reported by anyone else as being jesus's--we shall find him, notwithstanding, preaching, and delivering,--so much at his ease, and with unhesitating assurance. a miracle having therefore been deemed necessary (the miracle of the conversion-vision), and reported accordingly,--thus it is, that, by the appearance of suddenness, given to the sort and degree of confidence thereupon reported as having been bestowed upon him by the apostles, a sort of confirmation is, in the acts account, given to the report of the miracle: according to this account, it was not by the three or four years passed by him in the prosecution of their designs, or at least without obstruction given to them;--it was not by any such proof of amity, that the intercourse, such as it was, had been effected:--no: it was by the report of the vision--that report which, in the first instance, was made to them by their generous benefactor and powerful supporter, barnabas; confirmed, as, to every candid eye it could not fail to be, by whatever accounts were, on the occasion of the personal intercourse, delivered from his own lips. "but barnabas (says the author) took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had _seen_ the lord by the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus." acts : . when in the year , paul,[ ] to so many other boastings, was added the sufferings he would have us think were courted and endured by him, while preaching in the name of jesus, that gospel, which he proclaims to have been his own, and not that of the apostles, little assuredly did he think, that five years after, or thereabout, from the hand of one of his own attendants, a narrative was to appear, in which, of these same sufferings a so much shorter list would be given; or that, by an odd enough coincidence, more than seventeen centuries after, by a namesake of his honored patron, doctor gamaliel, the contradiction thus given to him, would be held up to view. in the second of his epistles to his corinthians, dated a.d. ,--the following is the summary he gives of those same sufferings. speaking of certain unnamed persons, styled by him false apostles, but whom reasons are not wanting for believing to have been among the disciples of the real ones,--"are they," says he, cor. xi. , "ministers of christ? i speak as one beside himself, i am more: in labours more abundant: in _stripes_ above measure: in prisons more frequent: in deaths, oft.--of the jews five times received i forty stripes, save one.--thrice was i beaten with rods; once was i stoned: thrice i suffered shipwreck: a night and a day have i been in the deep." thus far as per _paul_. add from his former epistle to the same in the same year, battle with beasts, one. "if, after the manner of men, i have fought with beasts at ephesus, what advantageth it me," continues he, cor. xv. , "if the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." let us now see how the account stands, as per _acts_. on the part of this his panegyrist, whether any such habit had place as that of cutting down below their real amount, either the sufferings or the actings of his hero, the reader will have judged. of both together, let it not be forgotten, the acts' account comes some five years lower, than the date of the above tragical list: in it are included those sufferings and perils which we have seen, namely, those produced by the voyage to rome, and which, at the time of paul's list, had not taken their commencement. now then for the acts' list. stripes, nine-and-thirty in a parcel, none: difference five. beatings with rods, saving one possible one, of which presently, none; difference, three. stoning, one[ ]. shipwreck, as yet none: the accident at malta being three years subsequent. "night and day in the deep,"--according as it was _on_ or _in_ the deep--either nothing at all, or an adventure considerably too singular to have been passed over. _diving-bells_ are not commonly supposed to have been, at that time of day, in use; but whoever has a taste for predictions, may, if it be agreeable to him, see those same scientific instruments or the equivalent in this gospel of paul's predicted. as to the parcels of stripes, the self-constituted apostle takes credit for, they would have been,--supposing them administered,--administered, all of them, according to law, meaning always the law of _moses_: for, it is in that law, (namely in deuteronomy xxv. ) that the clause, limiting to nine-and-thirty, the number to be given at a time, is to be found. of these statements of paul's, let it not pass unnoticed, the place is--a formal and studied epistle, not an extempore speech: so that the falsehood in them, if any, was not less deliberate than the temple perjury. of all these same boasted bodily sufferings, eight in the whole, when put together,--one was, at the outset, reserved for consideration: let us see what light, if any, is cast upon it by the acts. one beating, the acts informs us of: and it was a beating by order of magistrates: and accordingly, a beating according to law. but the law, according to which it was given, was not jewish law: the magistrates, by whose order it was given, were not jewish magistrates. the magistrates were heathens: and it was for being jews, and preaching in the jewish style, that paul, and his companion silas, were thus visited. it was at philippi that the affair happened: it was immediately preceded by their adventure with the divineress, as per acts : ; , chap. : and brought about by the resentment of her masters, to whose established business, the innovation, introduced by these interlopers, had given disturbance: it was followed--immediately followed--by the earthquake, which was so dexterous in taking irons off. whether therefore this beating was in paul's account comprised in the eight stripings and beatings, seems not possible, humanly speaking, to know: not possible, unless so it be, that paul, being the wandering jew, we have sometimes heard of, is still alive,--still upon the look-out, for that aërial voyage, which, with or without the expectation of an aërostatic vehicle, we have seen him so confident in the assurance of. remains the battle with the beasts. what these same beasts were, how many there were of them,--how many legs they respectively had--for example, two or four--in what way he was introduced into their company,--whence his difference with them took its rise,--whether it was of his own seeking, or by invitation that he entered the lists with these his antagonists,--how it fared with _them_ when the affair was over,--(for as to the hero himself, it does not appear that he was much the worse for it);--these, amongst other questions, might be worth answering, upon the supposition, that these antagonists of his were real beings and real beasts, and not of the same class as the arch-beast of his own begetting--antichrist. but, the plain truth seems to be, that if ever he fought with beasts, it was in one of his visions: in which case, for proof of the occurrence, no visible mark of laceration could reasonably be demanded. meantime, to prove the negative, as far as, in a case such as this, it is in the nature of a negative to be proved,--we may, without much fear of the result, venture to call his ever-devoted scribe. to this same ephesus,--not more than a twelvemonth or thereabouts, before the date of the epistle--he brings his patron,--finds appropriate employment for him,--and, off and on, keeps him there for no inconsiderable length of time. there it is, that we have seen, chap. , §. ., his handkerchiefs driving out devils as well as diseases: there it is, and for no other reason than that _he_ is there--there it is, that we have seen so many thousand pounds worth of magical books burnt--and by their owners: there it is, that with a single handkerchief of his,--which so it were but used, was an overmatch for we know not how many devils,--we saw a single devil, with no other hands than those of the man he lodged in, wounding and stripping to the skin no fewer than seven men at the same time. if, then, with or without a whole skin at the conclusion of it, he had really had any such rencounter, with one knows not how many beasts, is it in the nature of the case, that this same historiographer of his, should have kept us ignorant of it? to be shut up with wild beasts, until torn to pieces by them, was indeed one of the punishments, for which men were indebted to the ingenuity of the roman lawyers: but, if any such sentence was really executed upon our self-constituted apostle, his surviving it was a miracle too brilliant not to have been placed at the head of all his other miracles: at any rate, too extraordinary to have been passed by altogether without notice. the biographer of daniel was not thus negligent. after all, was it really matter of pure invention--this same battle? or may it not, like so many of the quasi-miracles in the acts, have had a more or less substantial foundation in fact? the case may it not have been--that, while he was at ephesus, somebody or other set a dog at him, as men will sometimes do at a troublesome beggar? or that, whether with hand or tongue, some person, male or female, set upon him with a degree of vivacity, which, according to paul's zoology, elucidated by paul's eloquence, entitled him or her to a place in the order of beasts?--where darkness is thus visible, no light can be so faint, as not to bring with it some title to indulgence. of the accounts, given us by the historiographer, of the exploits and experiences of his hero while at ephesus, one article more will complete the list. when any such opportunity offered, as that of presenting him to view, in his here assumed character, of a candidate for the honours of martyrdom,--was it or was it not in the character of the historiographer to let it pass unimproved? to our judgment on this question, some further maturity may be given, by one more law-case, now to be brought to view. under some such name as that of the _ephesian diana_, not unfrequent are the allusions to it. _church of diana silversmiths versus paul and co._ is a name, by which, in an english law report, it might with more strict propriety be designated. plaintiffs, silversmiths' company just named: defendants, paul and co.; to wit, said paul, alexander, aristarchus, alexander and others. acts, : . action on the case for words:--the words, in tenor not reported: purport, importing injury in the way of trade. out of the principal cause, we shall see growing a sort of cross cause: a case of assault, in which three of the defendants were, or might have been, plaintiffs: cause of action, assault, terminating in false imprisonment. in this exercetitious cause, defendants not individually specified: for, in those early days, note-taking had not arrived at the pitch of perfection, at which we see it at present. that which,--with reference to the question--as to the truth of the beast-fighting story,--is more particularly material in the two cases taken together,--is this: in the situation, in which these junior partners of paul found themselves, there was some difficulty, not to say some danger. pressed, as he himself was afterwards, in his invasion of jerusalem,--pressed in more senses than one, _they_ found themselves by an accusing multitude. what on this occasion does paul? he slips his neck out of the collar. so far from lending them a hand for their support, he will not so much as lend them a syllable of his eloquence. why? because forsooth, says his historiographer, acts xix. , , "the disciples suffered him not:" _item_, v. , "certain" others of "his friends." when, as we have seen him, spite of everything that could be said to him, he repaired to jerusalem on his _invasion visit_,--he was not quite so perfectly under the government of his friends. on the present occasion, we shall find him sufficiently tractable. was this a man to be an antagonist and overmatch for wild beasts? now as to the above-mentioned principal case. plaintiffs, dealers in silver goods: defendants, dealers in words. to be rivals in trade, it is not necessary that men should deal exactly in the same articles:--the sale of the words injured the sale of the goods: so at least the plaintiffs took upon them to aver: for, in such a case, suspicion is not apt to lie asleep. the church of diana was the established church, of that place and time. to the honour, the plaintiffs added the profit, of being silversmiths to that same excellent church. to the value of that sort of evidence, which it is the province of silversmiths to furnish, no established church was ever insensible. the evidence, furnished by the church silversmiths of these days, is composed of _chalices_: under the pagan dispensation, the evidence furnished by the church silversmiths of the church of the ephesian diana, was composed of _shrines_. when, with that resurrection of his own, and that gospel of his own, of which so copious a sample remains to us in his epistles,--paul, with or without the name of jesus in his mouth, made his appearance in the market, plaintiffs, as we have seen, took the alarm. they proceeded, as the pious sons of an established church could not fail to proceed. before action commenced, to prepare the way for a suitable judgment,--they set to work, and set on fire the inflammable part of the public mind. the church was declared to be in danger, ver. : the church of diana, just as the church of england and ireland would be, should any such sacrilegious proposition be seriously made, as that of tearing out of her bosom any of those precious sinecures, of which her vitals are composed. in ephesus, it is not stated, that, at that time, any society bearing the name of the _vice society_, or the _constitutional association_, was on foot. but, of those pious institutions the equivalent could not be wanting. accordingly, the charge of _blasphemy_, it may be seen, ver. , was not left unemployed. so the defence shows: the defence, to wit, made by the probity and wisdom of the judge: for, by the violence of the church mob,--who, but for him, were prepared to have given a precedent, to that which set birmingham in flames,--the defendants were placed in the condition of prisoners: and the judge, seeing the violence, of the prejudice they had to encounter, felt the necessity, of adding to the function of judge, that of counsel for the prisoners. but it is time to turn to the text: not a particle of it can be spared. acts xix. - . . so he sent into macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, timotheus and erastus; but he himself stayed in asia for a season.--and the same time, there arose no small stir about that way;--for a certain man named demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;--whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.--moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at ephesus, but almost throughout all asia, this paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying, that they be no gods, which are made with hands:--so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all asia and the world worshippeth.--and when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, great is diana of the ephesians.--and the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught gaius and aristarchus, men of macedonia, paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.--and when paul would have entered in, unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.--and certain of the chief of asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.--some, therefore, cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.--and they drew alexander out of the multitude, the jews putting him forward. and alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people;--but when they knew he was a jew, all with one voice, about the space of two hours, cried out, great is diana of the ephesians.--and when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, ye men of ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess diana, and of the image which fell down from jupiter?--seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.--for ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.--wherefore, if demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.--but if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.--for we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.--and when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. the _judge_ by whom the principal cause was tried, and the plaintiffs non-suited, is styled, we see "_the town clerk_:" the more appropriate and respected title would not on this occasion have been ill-applied to him. except what we have here been seeing, we know nothing of him that is _positive_: but, seeing thus much of him, we see that he was an honest man: and an honest man is not ill portrayed by negatives. he had no coronet playing before his eyes: no overpaid places and sinecures for relatives. he had not been made judge, for publishing a liturgy of the church of diana, with an embroidery composed of his own comments,--or for circulating, with anonymous delicacy, a pious warning, never to be absent from the shrine of diana, when the sacred cup was, proffered by the hands of holy priests. accordingly, when the charge of _blasphemy_ was brought before him,--being a heathen, he found no difficulty in treating it, in that gentle and soothing mode, in which, when, from the bosom of an established church it enters into a man, the spirit, which calls itself the spirit of christianity, renders him so averse to the treating it. if, when his robes were off, he spoke of diana what we now think of her,--he did not, when they were on, foam or rave, declare--that all, who would not swear to their belief in her, were not fit to be believed, or so much as fit to live. by him, one man was not robbed of his rights, because another man, when called upon as a witness, refused to perjure himself. by him, a man was not refused to be heard as a witness, nor refused protection for the fruits of his industry, nor deprived of the guardianship of his children, because he waited to see diana, before he declared himself a believer in her existence. in the open theatre was pronounced the judgment we have seen. he did not, by secret sittings, deprive men of the protection of the public eye. he did not, we may stand assured--for we see how far the people of ephesus were from being tame enough to endure it--he did not keep men's property in his hands, to be plundered by himself, his children, or his creatures, till the property was absorbed, and the proprietors sent broken-hearted to their graves. he did not--for the people of ephesus would not have endured it--wring out of distress a princely income, on pretence of giving decisions, declaring all the while his matchless incapacity for everything but prating or raising doubts. he did not display,--he could not have displayed--the people of ephesus could not have endured it--any such effrontery, as, when a judicatory was to sit upon his conduct, to set himself down in it, and assume and carry on the management of it. he would not have sought impunity--for if he had sought it in ephesus, he would not have found it there--he would not have sought impunity, in eyes lifted up to heaven, or streaming with crocodile tears. thus much as to his negative merits. but, we have seen enough of him, to see one great positive one. when, from the inexhaustible source of inflammation, a flame was kindled,--he did not fan the flame,--he quenched it. the religion of diana having thus come upon the carpet, a reflection which could not be put by, is--spite of all efforts of the church silversmiths, in how many essential points, negative as they are, the religion of diana had, on the ground of usefulness, the advantage of that, which _is_ the religion of paul, and _is called_ the religion of jesus. diana drove no men out of their senses, by pictures or preachments of never-ending torments. on pretence of saving men from future sufferings, no men were consigned by it to present ones. no mischievous, no pain-producing, no real vice, was promoted by it. it compelled no perjury, no hypocrisy: it rewarded none. it committed, it supported, it blessed, it lauded, no depredation, no oppression in any shape: it plundered no man of the fruits of his industry, under the name of _tithes_. for the enrichment of the sacred shrines,--money, in any quantity, we may venture to say, received: received, yes: but in no quantity extorted. one temple was sufficient for _that_ goddess. believing, or not believing in her divinity,--no men were compelled to pay money, for more temples, more priests, or more shrines. _as to the religion of jesus, true it is, that so long as it continued the religion of jesus, all was good government, all was equality, all was harmony: free church, the whole; established church, none: monarchy, none; constitution, democratical. constitutive authority, the whole community: legislative, the apostles of jesus_; executive, the commissioners of the treasury: not lords commissioners, appointed by a king herod, but trustees or _stewards_; for such should have been the word, and not _deacons_,--_agents elected by universal suffrage_. in this felicitous state, how long it continued--we know not. what we do know, is--that, _in the fourth century_, _despotism_ took possession of it, and made an instrument of it. becoming _established_, it became noxious,--preponderantly noxious. for, where _established_ is the adjunct to it, what does _religion_ mean? what but _depredation_, corruption, oppression, hypocrisy? _depredation_, _corruption_, _oppression_, _hypocrisy_--these four: with delusion, in all its forms and trappings, for support. so pregnant is this same boasting passage-- cor. xv. , the labour it has thrown upon us, is not altogether at an end. by what it says of the resurrection, the memory has been led back, to what we have seen on the same subject, in one of paul's epistles to his thessalonians: brought together, the two doctrines present a contrast too curious to be left unnoticed. of the apparatus employed by him in his trade of _disciple-catcher_, his talk about the resurrection, was, it may well be imagined, a capital article. being, according to his own motto, _all things to all men_, cor. ix. , whatever it happened to him to say on the subject, was dished up, of course, according to the taste of those he had to deal with. to some it was a _prediction_: for such, we have seen, was the form it assumed when the people to be wrought upon were the thessalonians. to others, when occasion called, it was a statement concerning something _past_, or supposed to be past. on an occasion of this sort it was, that the name of jesus, another article of that same apparatus, was of so much use to him. true it is, that to the doctrine of the _general_ resurrection in time future, he had, it must be remembered, no need of declaring himself beholden to jesus: at least, if on this point, the acts' history is to be believed: for, of the pharisees,--the sect to which paul belonged--of the pharisees, as compared with the other sect the sadducees, it was the distinctive tenet. but, of the then future, the then past, as exemplified in the _particular_ case of jesus, could not but afford very impressive circumstantial evidence. of this momentous occurrence, there were the real apostles, ready to give their accounts,--conformable, it may be presumed, to those we see given, as from them, by the four evangelists. these accounts, however, would not suit the purpose of the self-constituted apostle: in the first place, because they came from the real apostles, with whom, as we have so often seen, it was a declared principle with him not to have had anything to do: in the next place, because the apostles were too scrupulous: they would not have furnished him with witnesses enough. his own inexhaustible fund--his own invention,--was therefore the fund, on this occasion, drawn upon: and, accordingly, instead of the number of witnesses,--say _a score_ or two at the utmost--he could have got from the apostles,--it supplied him with _five hundred_: five hundred, _all at once_: to which, if pressed, he could have added any other number of percipient witnesses whatsoever, provided only that it was at _different_ times they had been such. so much for explanation: now for the announced contrast. whoever the people were, whom he had to address himself to,--they had contracted, he found, a bad habit: it was that of _eating and drinking_. reason is but too apt to be seduced by, and enlisted in the service of her most dangerous enemy--_appetite_. not only did they eat and drink; but they had found, as it seemed to them, _reason_ for so doing. they ate and drank--why? because they were to die after it. "let us eat and drink," said the language we have seen him reproaching them with, cor. xv. . "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." the case is--that, in pleasure, in whatever shape they see her,--all men, to whose ambition supernatural terrors supply an instrument of dominion, behold their most formidable rival. against such a rival, wonderful indeed it would be, if their hostility were not proportionable. no morality accordingly do they acknowledge, that does not include, with or without other things, hatred,--with or without contempt, of pleasure. such, too, as is their morality, such is their law. death is scarce severe enough, for a pleasure, which they either have, or would be thought to have, no relish for. so at least says what they teach: but, teaching how to act is one thing; acting accordingly, another. thus we all see it is, in so many instances: and thus, without much danger of injustice, we may venture to suppose it may have been, in that of the self-constituted apostle. not so jesus: no harm did he see in eating and drinking, unless with the pleasure it produced greater pain. with this reserve, no harm,--for anything that appears in any one of the four histories we have of him,--no harm did he see in anything that gives pleasure. what every man knows--and what jesus knew as well as any man--for neither in words nor in acts did he deny it--is,--that happiness, at what time soever experienced,--happiness, to be anything, must be composed of pleasures: and, be the man who he may, of what it is that gives pleasure to him, he alone can be judge. but, to return to eating and drinking. eating and drinking--he gives his men to understand--even he, holy as he is, should not have had any objection to, had it not been for this same resurrection of his, which he was telling them of: eating and drinking--a practice, to which, notwithstanding this resurrection of his, and so much as he had told them of it, he had the mortification to find them so much addicted. so much for his _corinthians_. it was, as we see, _for want_ of their paying, to what he was thus telling them about the resurrection, that attention, to which it was so well entitled,--that _they_ still kept on in that bad habit. but his _thessalonians_--they too, as we have seen, had got the same bad habit. well: and what was it that gave it them? what but their paying too much attention to this same resurrection of his, dished up in the same or another manner, by the same inventive and experienced hand. in conclusion, on laying the two cases together, what seems evident enough is--that, in whatever manner served up to them, his resurrection, whatever it was, was considerably more effectual in making people eat and drink, than in weaning them from it. section . gamaliel--had he part in paul's plan? gamaliel--in the working of this conversion, may it not be that gamaliel--a person whose reality seems little exposed to doubt--had rather a more considerable share, than the above-mentioned unknown and unknowable ananias? gamaliel was "a doctor of law" acts : --a person of sufficient note, to have been a member of the council, in which the chief priests, under the presidency of the high priest, acts : , took cognizance of the offence with which peter and his associates had a little before this been charged, on the occasion of their preaching jesus. under this gamaliel, had paul, he so at least is made to tell us, studied, acts : . between paul and this gamaliel, here then is a connection: a connection--of that sort, which, in all places, at all times, has existence,--and of which the nature is everywhere and at all times so well understood--the connection between _protegé_ and protector. it was by authority from the governing body, that paul was, at this time, lavishing his exertions in the persecution of the apostles and their adherents:--who then so likely, as this same gamaliel, to have been the patron, at whose recommendation the commission was obtained? of the cognizance which this gamaliel took, of the conduct and mode of life of the religionists in question,--the result was favourable. "let them alone," were his words. acts v. . the maintenance, derived by the _protegé_, on that same occasion, from the persecution of these innoxious men--this maintenance being at once odious, dangerous, and precarious,--while the maintenance, derivable from the taking a part in the direction of their affairs, presented to view a promise of being at once respectable, lucrative, and permanent;--what more natural then, that this change, from left to right, had for its origin the advice of this same patron?--advice, to which, all things considered, the epithet _good_ could not very easily be refused. false pretences employed. to the self-constituted apostle, false pretences were familiar. they were not--they could not have been--without an object. one object was power: this object, when pursued, is of itself abundantly sufficient to call forth such means. but, another object with paul was money: of its being so, the passages referred to as above, will afford abundant proofs. a man, in whose composition the appetite for money, and the habit of using false pretences are conjoined, will be still more likely to apply them to that productive purpose, than to any barren one. in the character of a general argument, the observations thus submitted, are not, it should seem, much exposed to controversy. but, of a particular instance, of money obtained by him on a false pretence,--namely, by the pretence of its being for the use of others, when his intention was to convert it to his own use,--a mass of evidence we have, which presents itself as being in no slight degree probative. it is composed of two several declarations of his own,--with, as above referred to, the explanation of it, afforded by a body of circumstantial evidence, which has already been under review: and as, in the nature of the case, from an evil-doer of this sort, evidence to a fact of this sort, cannot reasonably be expected to be frequently observable,--the labour, employed in bringing it here to view, will not, it is presumed, be chargeable, with being employed altogether without fruit. first, let us see a passage, in the first of his epistles to his _corinthians_, date of it, a.d. . in this, we shall see a regularly formed system of money-gathering: an extensive application of it to various and mutually distant countries, with indication given of particular times and places, in which it was his intention to pursue it: also, intimation, of a special charitable purpose, to which it was his professed intention to make application of the produce of it, at a place specified: namely, jerusalem. first then comes, cor. : - . a.d. . "now concerning the collection for the saints, as i have given order to the churches of _galatia_, even so do _ye_.--upon the _first day of the week_, let every one of you _lay by him in store_, as god hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when i come.--and when i come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will i send to bring your liberality unto _jerusalem_.--and if it be meet that i go also, they shall go with me.--now i will come unto you when i shall pass through macedonia; for i do pass through _macedonia_.--and it may be that i will abide, yea and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever i go.--for i will not see you now by the way: but i trust to tarry a while with _you_ if the lord permit.--but i will tarry at _ephesus_ until pentecost." at ephesus, where he becomes an object of jealousy, as we have seen, to the church-silversmiths; and, from his declared business at those _other_ places, some evidence surely is afforded of what was his probable business in _that_ place. next let us see a passage in his epistle to his _romans_: date of it, a.d. . here, in two instances, we shall see the success, with which this system was pursued by him: as also a maxim, laid down by him--a maxim, in which the existence of this same system, on his part, is acknowledged: a maxim, in which his hopes of success in the pursuit of it, are declaredly founded. rom. : - . a.d. . "whensoever i take my journey into _spain_, i will come to you; for i trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first i be somewhat filled with your company.--but now i go unto _jerusalem, to minister unto the saints_.--for it hath pleased them of _macedonia_ and _achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at jerusalem_.--it hath pleased them verily: and their debtors they are. for if the gentiles have been made _partakers of their spiritual things_, their _duty_ is also _to minister unto them in carnal things_.--when therefore i have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, i will come _by you_ into _spain_." in the instance in question, money (we see)--of the quantity of course nothing said--is mentioned by him, as being actually in his hands: the purpose, for which it was there,--and to which he would of course be understood to intend applying it,--being also mentioned by him:--applying it, at jerusalem, to the use of the poor saints. so much for _professed_ intentions. now then for _real_ ones. answer, in his own words: that those gentiles, who by him had been made partakers of his spiritual things, might, as in "_duty_" bound, "minister" to him, so much the more effectively "in carnal things:" that he, who preached, what he called the gospel, might, as he had been preaching to his corinthians also ( cor. ix. ) be enabled so much the more comfortably to "live by" it. "the poor saints which are at jerusalem:"--_the_ poor saints--to wit, not here and there a saint or two, but the whole christian population living together on a common stock--if now, a.d. , they were living, as a.d. they were (acts ii. ; vi. ) and, in this particular, from the beginning to the end of the history, no change is mentioned--in jerusalem--was it in the nature of man, in that state of men and things,--was it in the nature of men and things, that any man, who had any knowledge of their situation, and of the terms on which paul, from first to last, had been with them, could for a moment have thought of lodging, for _their_ use, any the smallest sum of money in _his_ hands? as well might it be said, at this moment--a man, whose wish it was to convey money to spain, for the use of the cortes, would choose the hand of the duc d'angouleme to send it by. all this time, _there_ were the apostles of jesus--patrons of those same saints: and, anywhere more easily than _there_, could he be. that, with this money in his hands, among his objects was--the employing more or less of it in the endeavour to form a party there, may not unreasonably be supposed, from what we have seen of that _invasion visit_, by which his designs upon jerusalem were endeavoured to be carried into effect. for, according to acts : , already when he was at ephesus, as above, was it his known design, to try his fortune once more in jerusalem, and after that in rome. this may have been among his designs, or not. be this as it may, this would have been no more than a particular way, of converting the money to his own use. not that, if at this time, and for _this purpose_ from even the quarters in question, money had come, as he says it had, there was anything very wonderful in its so doing. as to _us_ indeed _we_ know pretty well what sort of terms he was on, from first to last, with the community in question: _we_ know this, because his historiographer has made us know it. but, as to the people of those same countries respectively,--at their distance from jerusalem, what, in their situation, might easily enough happen was,--not to have, as to this point, any adequate information till it was too late to profit by it: and, that such would be their ignorance, is a matter, of which he might not less easily have that which, to a man of his daring and sanguine temper, would be a sufficient assurance. one thing there is, which, on the occasion of any view they took of this subject, may perhaps have contributed to blind their eyes. this is--the fact, of his having actually been concerned, in bringing money to jerusalem, for a similar purpose, though it must be confessed, not less than fourteen years before this: to wit, from antioch, as stated in chapter v., speaking of _that_--his second jerusalem visit, by the name of the _money-bringing visit_. but,--what may easily enough have happened, distance in time and place, together considered, is--that to those particulars, which composed no more than the surface of the business, _their_ knowledge was confined: while _we_, though at the distance of more than seventeen centuries, know more or less of the inside of it,--let into it, as we have been, by the author of the acts. as to their arriving sooner or later, at the suspicion, or though it were the discovery, that the money had not, any part of it, reached the hands it was intended for, nor was in any way to do so,--what bar could the apprehension of any such result oppose, to the enterprise, systematic, as we see it was, of the creator of antichrist? when, to a man, who occupies a certain situation in the eye of the political world, calls for accounts are become troublesome,--scipio might have informed him, if he had not well enough known of himself, how to answer them. when a charge made upon you is true--evidence full against you, and none to oppose to it,--fly into a passion, magnify your own excellence--magnify the depravity of your adversaries. this mode, of parrying a charge, is perfectly well understood in our days, nor could it have been much less well understood in paul's days. as for _his_ adversaries, paul had a storm _in petto_ at all times ready for them: for the materials, turn to any page of his epistles: whatever, in this way, he had for rivals,--_that_ and more he could not fail to have for accusing witnesses. to the creator of antichrist--sower of tares between pharisees and sadducees,--whatever were the charges, defence, the most triumphant, could never be wanting: arguments, suited with the utmost nicety, to the taste of judges. he would warn them, against false brethren, and liars, and wolves, and children of satan, and so forth: he would talk to them, about life and death, and sin and righteousness, and faith and repentance, and this world and that world, and the lord and resurrection: he would talk backwards and forwards--give nonsense for mystery, and terror for instruction: he would contradict everybody, and himself not less than anybody: he would raise such a cloud of words, with here and there an _ignis fatuus_ dancing in the smoke,--that the judges, confounded and bewildered, would forget all the evidence, and cry out _not guilty_ through pure lassitude. as to us,--the case being now before us, what shall be our verdict? obtaining money on false pretences is the charge. guilty shall we say, or not guilty? obtainment on a certain pretence, is proved by _direct_ evidence--his own evidence: proof, of falsity in the pretence, rests, as it could not but rest, on _circumstantial_ evidence. one observation more: for another piece of circumstantial evidence has just presented itself: it consists of the utter silence, about the receipt of the money or any particle of it,--when, if there had been any such receipt, occasions there were in such abundance for the mention of it. a.d. , in his first to his corinthians,--there it is, as we have seen, that he urges them to lay by money for him, declaring it is for the saints at jerusalem; and that on this same errand it is, that he is going to macedonia,--and that in his way to jerusalem he will give them another call, to receive, for that same purpose, the intermediate produce of these proposed _saving-banks_. in his letter to the romans, written the next year, a.d. --written at corinth,--then it is, that he has already made the said intended money-gathering visit, and with success:--with success not only in macedonia, as he had proposed, but in achaia likewise: and, with this money in his hand, and for the purpose of delivering the money to those for whom he obtained it;--for this purpose (he says) it is, that he is at that moment on his way to jerusalem--the place of their abode. this is in the year a.d. . well then: after this it is, that he takes up his abode at ephesus. and when, after his contests with the church silversmiths there, he departs from thence, whither does he betake himself? to jerusalem? no: he turns his back upon jerusalem, and goes for macedonia (acts xx. .) then into greece, where he stays three months; and purposes, acts : , to return through macedonia. a.d. , it is, that, for the first time, acts : , any intention of his to visit jerusalem is declared, he having coveted no man's silver or gold, as his historian, acts xx. , makes him assure us. when, at length he arrived there, what his reception was, we have seen. had any of the _money_ been received there, would such as we have seen have been the reception given to the _man_? when, by the christians at jerusalem, agabus was sent to him, to keep him if possible from coming there,--is it in the nature of things, that they should have already received any of it, or been in any expectation of it? in what passed between him and the elders, headed by the apostle james, is any the slightest allusion made to it? when, in cæsarea, all in tears, acts : , , his attendants were striving, might and main, to dissuade him from going to jerusalem,--did he say anything about the money--the money he had been so long charged with? oh no; not a syllable: to jerusalem he is resolved to go indeed: oh yes: but not the shadow of a reason can he find for going there. when arrived at jerusalem, the brethren, says the acts : , received him gladly. the brethren: yes, what adherents he had, would of course receive him gladly, or at least appear to do so. but the money? on their side, was anything said about the money? not a syllable. either at this time by his own hand, or any time before, by other hands, had they received this money, or any considerable part of it, could they have received him otherwise than not only gladly, but gratefully? all the time, the hero was thus employed in money-craving and money-gathering, the historian, let it never be out of mind, was of the party: four years before, a.d. , had he been taken into it; yet not any the least hint about these money-matters does he give. so far indeed as regarded what was avowedly for paul's own use, neither could the receipt nor the craving of the money from their customers, have been unknown to him; for this was what they had to live upon. but the letters his master wrote--wrote to their customers everywhere--letters, in which the demand was made, for the so much more extensive purpose,--of these, so many of which have reached these our times, the contents may to him have easily enough remained a secret: little reason had he to expect, none at all to fear, the exposure,--which now, at the end of more than seventeen centuries, has, at length, been made of them,--confronted, as they may now be, with the particulars he himself has furnished us with. footnotes: [ ] acts vii. ver. . speech of st. stephen. "but solomon built him an house. howbeit the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the lord: or what is the place of my rest?" in itself, perfectly comfortable all this, to the dictates of reason and the instruction of jesus: but not the less clear blasphemy against the mosaic law. [ ] acts ix. ver. and . "and saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, _went_ unto the _high priest_,--and _desired_ of him letters to damascus to the synagogues, &c." [ ] acts xxii. ver. . "as also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from _whom also i received letters_ unto the brethren, and went to damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto jerusalem for to be punished." [ ] yet, for even at the outset, after certain "days spent with the disciples," and employed of course in receiving from them the necessary instructions, he preached jesus with such energy and success as not only to "confound," acts ix. to , the unbelieving among the jews, but to provoke them to "take counsel to kill him." [ ] paul, says-- nd cor. : --"for though i be rude in speech yet am i not in knowledge nay, in everything we have made it manifest among all men to you-ward, or did i commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because i preached to you the gospel of god for naught? i robbed other churches, taking wages of them that i might minister unto you; and when i was present with you i was in want, i was not a burden on any man; for the brethren, when they came from macedonia supplied the measure of my want, and in everything i kept myself from being burdensome unto you and so i will keep myself. as the truth of christ is in me no man shall stop me of this glorying in the regions of achaia, &c." when ever we get a temperamental and psychological view of paul, we see verified the deductions of the author of this treatise, that he was a transparent imposter. an unscrupulous adventurer. with talent well adapted to dogmatically command the attention of the ignorant and especially those of organized hereditary idolatry, the extreme vanity, the vain glorious pretensions of this new priest was well adapted to obtain obsequious complacence from such people. he always presents himself in a controversial spirit of self-exaltation. his egotistic diction could hardly be made more manifest than in the terms above quoted, to wit:--"i robbed other churches taking wages of them that i might minister unto you, &c." it presents a striking contrast to the benevolent and fraternal spirit of christ and his disciples. [ ] n.b. the editor at this place inserts pages of discussion--which the author exhibited by way of an appendix. at the expense of a little redundancy and incongruity the editor inserts it in this place.--ed. [ ] according to the acts' account, this same stoning, if it was the same, was much in the style of that same resurrection of eutychus, which we have seen in chapter xiii. §. . as to paul, when this martyrdom had been suffered by him,--"some" says acts xiv. , were "supposing he had been dead:" and on that supposition, "drew him out of the city." paul, on the other hand, thought otherwise: he supposed himself alive, and, on that supposition, he walked off, as if nothing had been the matter with him. "certain jews ... say verses and , having stoned paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with barnabas to derbe." chapter iii. _paul disbelieved.--neither his divine commission nor his inward conversion ever credited by the apostles or their jerusalem disciples.--source of proof stated._ section . to paul's conversion vision, sole original witness himself. void, as we have seen, of all title to credence, is the story of paul's commission from jesus:--void may it be seen to be, even if taken by itself, and without need of resort to any counter-evidence. who could have expected to have found it, moreover, disproved by the most irresistible counter-evidence--by the evidence of the apostles themselves? yes: of the apostles themselves, of whom it will plainly enough be seen, that by not so much as one of them was it ever believed: no, not to even the very latest period, of which any account has reached us: namely that, at which the history of the acts of the apostles closes, or that of the date of the last-written of paul's epistles, whichsoever of the two may be the latest. in regard to the story of his conversion, its cause, and manner,--it has been seen, that it is either from himself directly, or from an adherent of his, the author of the acts,--who had it from himself, unless ananias was a person known to the author of the acts, and heard by him,--it is from paul, and paul alone, that all the evidence, which the case has happened to supply, has been derived. in regard to the degree of credence given, to his pretence to the having received a commission from jesus, still the same remark applies: still, either from himself, or from the same partial, and, as will be seen, not altogether trustworthy, narrator, comes the whole of the evidence, with which the case happens to have furnished us. section . counter-witnesses, the apostles. by them, the story was probably not heard--certainly not credited. jerusalem, according to the acts, was the headquarters of the noble army of the apostles: the ordinary residence of that goodly fellowship:--a station, which they none of them ever quitted, for any considerable length of time. in the course of the interval, between the date assigned by paul to his conversion, and that of the last particulars we have of his history,--mention, more or less particular, may be found of four visits of his--distinctly four related visits, and no more than four,--to that metropolis of the new church. on no one of these occasions, could he have avoided using his endeavours, towards procuring admittance, to the fellowship of the distinguished persons, so universally known in the character of the select companions and most confidential servants of jesus: of that jesus, whom, in the flesh at any rate, he never so much as pretended to have ever seen: _from whom_ he had consequently, if they thought proper to impart it, so much to learn, or at least to wish to learn: while _to_ them he had nothing to impart, except that which, if anything, it was only in the way of _vision_, if in any way, that he had learned from jesus. that on three at least of these four occasions, viz. the st, d, and th, he accordingly did use his endeavours to confer with them, will be put out of dispute by direct evidence; and that, in the remaining one, namely that which in the order of time stands second,--successfully or not, his endeavours were directed to the same purpose,--will, it will be seen, be reasonably to be inferred from circumstantial evidence. in the character of an additional occasion of intercourse, between him and one of the apostles, namely, peter, the chief of them,--will be to be added, that which will be seen taking place at antioch; immediately upon the back, and in consequence, of the third of these same visits of his to jerusalem. as to the mode of his conversion as above stated,--the _time_, for him to have stated it to them, was manifestly that of the first of these four visits;--say his _reconciliation-visit_: and that, of that first visit, to see them, or at any rate the chief of them, namely, peter, was the object,--is what, in his epistle to the galatians, we shall see him declaring in express terms. after all--that story of his, in which the supposed manner of his conversion is related, as above,--did he so much as venture to submit it to them? the more closely it is examined, the less probable surely will be seen to be--his having ventured, to submit any such narrative, to a scrutiny so jealous, as theirs, under these circumstances, could not fail to be. one of two things at any rate will, it is believed, be seen to a certainty: namely, either no such story as that which we see, nor anything like it, was ever told to them by him; or, if yes, it obtained no credit at their hands. section . in proof of this, so much of the acts history must here be anticipated. for proof, of the disbelief, which his story will, it is believed, be found to have experienced, at the hands of those supremely competent judges,--the time is now come, for collecting together, and submitting in a confronted state to the reader, all the several particulars that have reached us, in relation to these four important visits. between the first-recorded and the last-recorded of the four, the length of the interval being so considerable as it will be seen to be, namely, upwards of years at the least,--and, in the course of the interval, so numerous and various a series of incidents being to be seen comprised,--the consequence is--that this one topic will unavoidably spread itself to such an extent, as to cover the whole of the chronological field of the history of the church in those eventful times. a sort of necessity has thus been found, of taking a view of the principal part of all those several incidents, in a sort of historical order, in a succeeding part of this work: hence, of that which, for the proof of what has just been advanced, will here be necessary to be brought to view,--no inconsiderable portion will be an anticipation, of that which belongs properly to the historical sketch, and, but for this necessity, would have been reserved for it. section . topics under his several jerusalem-visits. thick clouds, and those covering no small portion of its extent, will, after everything that can be done to dispel them, be found still hanging over the field of this inquiry. but, if to the purpose of the present question, sufficient light be elicited; in whatever darkness any collateral points may remain still involved, the conclusion will not be affected by it. as to the credibility of paul's story,--taken in itself, and viewed from the only position, from which we, at this time of day, can view it,--the question has just been discussed. that which remains for discussion is--whether, from the church, which paul found in existence--the church composed of the apostles of jesus, and his and their disciples--it ever obtained credence. on this occasion, to the apostles more particularly must the attention be directed: and this--not only because by their opinion, that of the great body of those disciples would, of course, on a point of such vital importance, be governed; but, because, in the case of these confidential servants and habitual attendants of jesus, the individuals, of whom the body is composed, and who are designated by one and the same denomination, are always determinable: determinable, in such sort, that, at all times, wheresoever they are represented as being, the eye can follow them. to judge with what aspect paul with his pretensions was viewed by them, always with a view to the main question--whether, in any particular, the alleged supernatural cause of his outward conversion, and thence of his presumable inward conversion, ever obtained credence from them;--one primary object, which requires to be attended to, is--personal intercourse; viz. the sort of personal intercourse, which between him on the one part, and them, or some of them, on the other part, appears to have had place. of this intercourse, the several _interviews_, which appear to have had place, will form the links. correspondent to those _interviews_ will be found to be so many _visits_: all of them, except one, visits made by him to the great original metropolis of the christian world--jerusalem:--the scene of the acts and sufferings of the departed jesus:--the ordinary abode of these his chosen disciples and successors. if, to these visits of paul's is to be added any other interview,--it will be in another city, to wit, antioch: and, in this instance, between paul, and not, as in the case of the other visits might naturally be expected, the apostles in a body; but one, or some other small number of members, by whom a visit to that place was made, in consequence of their having been selected for that purpose, and deputed by the rest. of the interviews corresponding with these visits, the real number,--and not only the real number, but the number upon record,--is unhappily, in no inconsiderable degree, exposed to doubt; for, considering the terms they were upon, as we shall see, at the interviews produced by paul's first jerusalem visit, it does not by any means follow, that, between the persons in question, because there were two more such visits, there was, on each occasion, an interview. two of them, however, at any rate, if any degree of credence whatever be given to the documents, remain altogether clear of doubt: and whatever uncertainty may be found to attach upon any of the others, may be regarded as so many fixed points: fixed points, forming so many standards of reference, to which the others may in speaking of them be referred, and by reference to which the reality and time of those others, will be endeavoured to be ascertained. for the designation of the visits which produced these two unquestionable interviews, the terms _reconciliation visit_, and _invasion visit_, will here be employed: the former being that which gave rise to the first-mentioned of the two interviews, which, after the conversion, appear for certain to have had place between the rival and contending powers; the other, to the last. . by the _reconciliation visit_ is here meant--that visit--by which was produced the _first_ interview, which, after the conversion of paul, had place between him and any of the apostles. its title to this appellation is altogether unquestionable. after these proceedings of paul's, by which the destruction of so many of the christians had already been effected, and that of all the rest was threatened,--it was not possible, that, without a reconciliation,--if not an inward at any rate an outward one,--any interview, on both sides voluntary, should have taken place. of the apostles, peter was the acknowledged chief: that it was for the purpose of seeing peter, that a visit of paul's to jerusalem--the first of those mentioned by him--was made,--is acknowledged by himself: acknowledged, in that epistle of his, to his galatian disciples, of which so much will have to be said, gal. i. and ii.[ ] without the assistance of some mediator, scarcely was it in the nature of the case, that, in any way, any such reconciliation could have been effected. in the person of barnabas,--a most munificent patron, as will be seen, of the infant church,--this indispensable friend was found. according to the received chronology, the time of this visit was a.d. . in the account, given in the acts, acts : , of the conjunct missionary excursion made from antioch by paul and barnabas--an excursion, the commencement of which is, by that same chronology, placed in the year ,--galatia stands fifth, in the number of the places, which they are spoken of as visiting. of any visit, made in that country, either before this or after it, no mention is to be found in the acts, except in acts : : on which occasion, he is spoken of as revisiting galatia, "strengthening the churches."[ ] of what passed on the occasion of this visit, the account, given as above by paul, will be seen receiving explanation, from what is said of this same visit in the acts. acts ix. to . . and when saul was come to jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.--but barnabas took him, and brought _him_ to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus.--and he was with them coming in and going out at jerusalem.--and he spake boldly in the name of the lord jesus, and disputed against the grecians: but they went about to slay him.--which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus. . by the _invasion visit_ is here meant--that visit of paul to jerusalem, by which his arrestation, and consequent visit to rome in a state of confinement, were produced. _invasion_ it may well be termed: the object of it having manifestly been--the making, in that original metropolis of the christian world, spiritual conquests, at the expense of the gentle sway of the apostles: spiritual acquisitions--not to speak of their natural consequences, temporal ones. it was undertaken, as will be seen, in spite of the most strenuous exertions, made for the prevention of it: made, not only by those, whose dominions he was so needlessly invading, but by the unanimous remonstrances and entreaties of his own adherents. the date--assigned to the commencement of this visit, is a.d. . interval, between this his last recorded visit and his first, according to the received chronology, years. neither of the occasion of it, nor of any individual occurrence which took place in the course of it, have we any account--from any other source than the history of the acts. paul's account is all in generals. . paul's jerusalem visit the second.--according to the acts, acts : , "which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and saul," between these two indisputable interviews of paul's with the apostles occurs another visit, herein designated by the name of the _money-bringing visit_. under the apprehension of a predicted dearth, money is sent from the antioch to the jerusalem saints. barnabas, and with him paul, are employed in the conveyance of it. time, assigned to this visit, a.d. . of this visit, not any the least trace is to be found in any epistle of paul's. yet, in this epistle of his to his galatians, he will be seen undertaking in a manner, to give an account, of every visit of his to jerusalem, in which, with reference to spiritual dominion, between himself and the apostles, anything material had ever passed. by this silence of paul's, no counter-evidence is opposed, to the account given of this visit in the acts. what may very well be is,--that he went along with the money, and departed, without having had any personal communication with any apostle, or even with any one of their disciples. . _deputation visit._ paul's jerusalem visit the third--say his deputation visit. according to the acts,[ ] paul being at the syrian antioch, certain men came thither from judea, teaching, that mosaic circumcision is necessary to christian salvation. dissension being thus produced, paul, and barnabas as usual with him, are dispatched to confer on this subject with the apostles and the elders--time, assigned to this visit, a.d. . interval between the first and this third visit--years . in addition to the first jerusalem visit, mentioned as above by paul, to wit, in the first chapter of his epistle to his galatians,--in the second, mention is made of another. of the incidents mentioned by paul, as belonging to this other visit, scarcely can any one, unless it be that of his having barnabas for a companion, be found, that presents itself as being the same with any incident mentioned in the acts, in the account given of the above named deputation visit. but, between the two accounts, neither does any repugnance manifest itself: and, forasmuch as, in a statement, the purpose of which required that no interview, in which anything material passed between him and the apostles, should pass unnoticed,--he mentions no more than one visit besides the first,--it seems reasonable to conclude, that it was but one and the same visit, that, in the penning of both these accounts, was in view. as far as appears, it is from the account thus given by paul of the second, of the two visits mentioned by him as made to jerusalem, that the received chronology has deduced the year, which it assigns to the deputation visit, as recorded in the acts. in paul's account alone--in paul's, and not in that in the acts--is the distance given in a determinate number of years. according to one of two interpretations, --the number above mentioned as adopted in the current chronology--is the number of years mentioned by paul as intervening between those two visits. but even in this place, a circumstance that must not pass altogether unnoticed is,--that, according to another interpretation, to which the text presents itself as almost equally open, the length of the interval would be considerably greater. galatians i. : "neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me: but i went into arabia, and returned again unto damascus. then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days." after what period?--after that of his conversion? or after the expiration of this his second visit to damascus? reckoning from this latter period, the interval may be ever so much greater than that of the three years: for, to the three years may be added an indefinite length of time for the second, and even for the first, of his abodes at damascus. but, as we advance, reason will appear for concluding, that, being in the eyes of the damascus rulers, as well as the jerusalem rulers, a traitor--in the highest degree a traitor--his abode at damascus could not, at either of these times, have been other than short as well as secret. gal. ii. : "then, fourteen years after, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, and took titus also." this being supposed to be the deputation visit, these fourteen added to the former three, make the seventeen. . _peter's antioch visit._--in paul's epistle, addressed to his galatians, as above,--immediately after the mention of his own second jerusalem visit as above, comes the mention of an interview, which he says he has at antioch with peter: "peter being come," he says, "to that place." gal. ii. . in the acts, : , immediately upon the back of the accounts of the deputation visit, as above,--comes an account of what may be called a _counter deputation visit_. of the former deputation visit, according to the acts, the result is--from the apostles, the elders, and the whole church, a _letter_, concluding with a _decree_: and "by men chosen of their own company," this letter is stated as having been carried to antioch: and, with these men, so chosen, paul and barnabas are stated as returning to antioch, from which city, as above, they had been deputed. as and for the names of "chosen men," those of judas, surnamed barsabas, and silas, are mentioned: "chief men among the brethren" is another title by which they are, both of them, distinguished. to these, no other names are added: in particular, not that of peter. thus far the acts. as to paul, in the account _he_ gives, of the discussion, to which, after--and apparently, as above, in consequence of--his _secondly mentioned_ interview with peter at jerusalem,--no mention is made either of judas barsabas, or of silas: of peter--and him alone--it is, that, on this occasion, any mention is made. peter comes, as it should seem, to antioch from jerusalem; which last city seems to have been his ordinary abode. but, on this occasion likewise, in addition to this visitor, mention is again made of barnabas, of whom, as far as appears, from the time of the reconciliation visit down to this time, antioch was the ordinary abode. in relation to each of these several visits, a brief preparatory indication of the topic or topics, which will be brought to view, when an account comes to be given of it, may in this place have its use. i. _reconciliation visit._--on this occasion, a difficulty that naturally presents itself--is--if the relation is in substance true, and the occasion is the same--how it can have happened, that if peter was at antioch--peter, the universally acknowledged chief of the apostles--no mention should be to be found of him in the acts: instead of him, two men as yet unknown--this _judas barsabas_, and this _silas_--neither of them of the number belonging to the goodly fellowship of the apostles,--being the only persons mentioned. but, for this difficulty, conjecture presents a solution, in which there is nothing either in itself improbable, or inconsistent with either of the two accounts--that of paul as above, and that in the acts. this is--that those two were the men, and the only men, deputed in the first instance: but, that after them, at no long interval, came thither to their assistance that chief of the apostles. whether the importance of the question be considered--to wit, whether, upon being received as christians, gentiles should be obliged to submit to mosaic circumcision--whether the importance of the question, or the strenuousness of the debates to which it is spoken of as having given rise, acts : , be considered--the visit of the chief of the apostles at jerusalem, to the scene of controversy at antioch, presents not any supposition, to which any imputation of improbability seems to attach. acts xv. to . . and certain men which came down from judea taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of moses, ye cannot be saved.--when therefore paul and barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that paul and barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.--and being brought on their way by the church, they passed through phenice and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.--and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that god had done with them.--but there rose up certain of the sect of the pharisees which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of moses.--and the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.--and when there had been much disputing, peter rose up, and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago god made choice among us, that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.--and god which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the holy ghost, even as he did unto us:--and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.--now therefore why tempt ye god to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?--but we believe that through the grace of the lord jesus christ, we shall be saved even as they.--then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to barnabas and paul, declaring what miracles and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them.--and after they had held their peace, james answered, saying, men and brethren, hearken unto me.--simeon hath declared how god at the first did visit the gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.--and to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,--after this i will return, and will build again the tabernacle of david which is fallen down; and i will build again the ruins thereof, and i will set it up:--that the residue of men might seek after the lord, and all the gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the lord who doeth all these things.--known unto god are all his works from the beginning of the world.--wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the gentiles are turned to god:--but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.--for moses of old time hath in every city, them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath-day.--then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to antioch with paul and barnabas; _namely_, judas surnamed barsabas, and silas, chief men among the brethren.--and they wrote letters by them after this manner; the apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the gentiles in antioch and syria and cilicia.--forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, ye must be circumcised; and keep the law; to whom we gave no such commandment:--it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you, with our beloved barnabas and paul;--men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ.--we have therefore sent judas and silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.--for it seemed good to the holy ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;--that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. fare ye well.--so when they were dismissed, they came to antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.--which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.--and judas and silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.--and after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.-- . notwithstanding it pleased silas to abide there still. galatians ii. to the end. . then fourteen years after, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, and took titus with me also.--and i went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means i should run, or had run in vain.--but neither titus, who was with me, being a greek, was compelled to be circumcised.--and that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.--to whom we gave place by subjection, no not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.--but of those, who seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; god accepteth no man's person) for they who seemed _to be somewhat_, in conference added nothing to me.--but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto peter:--for he that wrought effectually in peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me towards the gentiles.--and when james, cephas, and john, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.--only _they would_ that we should remember the poor; the same which i also was forward to do.--but when peter was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.--for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them _which were_ of the circumcision.--and the other jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that barnabas also was carried away by their dissimulation.--but when i saw that they walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto peter before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews?--we _who are_ jews by nature, and not sinners of the gentiles,--knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, even we have believed in jesus christ that we might be justified by the faith of christ and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.--but if while we seek to be justified by christ we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore christ the minister of sin? god forbid.--for if i build again the things which i destroyed, i make myself a transgressor.--for i through the law am dead to the law, that i might live unto god.--i am crucified with christ. nevertheless i live; yet not i, but christ liveth in me: and the life which i now live in the flesh, i live by the faith of the son of god, who loved me, and gave himself for me.-- . i do not frustrate the grace of god: for if righteousness _come_ by the law, then christ is dead in vain. of the falsity of his story concerning the manner of his conversion,--one proof, that has been given, has been deduced from the inconsistency, of the several accounts which we have of it--all of them originally from himself--as compared with one another. of the erroneousness of the notion of his having ever been in the eyes of the apostles what he professed himself to be--of this, and at the same time of the want of correctness, and trustworthiness, in every account, which, by him, or from him, is to be seen rendered, of his proceedings, adventures, and dangers--proof will, on the ensuing occasions, be afforded, by evidence of this same kind: by similar instances of inconsistency, which will be all along brought to view. on the occasion of his _first_ visit to jerusalem--to the metropolis of christendom--will be to be noted-- . the cause and manner of his arrival. . the circumstances of his abode--its duration, and business. . the cause and circumstances of his departure. . the general result of this his expedition. . of the cause of his visit, and manner of his arrival, we shall see two different accounts: namely, one, given by himself directly, in an epistle of his to his disciples in galatia; the other, by a man, who afterwards became his adherent and travelling companion--namely the author of the acts. . of the duration and business of his abode, we shall see, in like manner, two different accounts, delivered respectively by those same pens. . so, of the cause of his departure;--from the same two sources. . so, of the circumstances of it. . of the general result of this same expedition of his, we have no fewer than three different accounts: namely, the same two as above; with the addition of a third, as reported, in the acts, to have been given by paul himself, in the course of the speech he made, at the time of his fourth visit, to an assembled multitude, headed by the constituted authorities among the jews:--when, after having been dragged by force out of the temple, he would--had he not been saved by a commander of the roman guard--have been torn to pieces. on this occasion, we shall find, that, by his own confession, made for a particular purpose--for the purpose of saving his life--under an exigency which allowed no time for the study of consistency, and recorded by the blindness and inconsiderateness of his biographer;--we shall find, that the account, whatever it was, which, on the occasion of this his first visit, he gave of himself to the apostles, failed altogether in its endeavours to obtain credence. section . topics under visit ii.--money-bringing visit. of the occasion and particulars of the second of these four visits, we have but one account: viz. that which is to be seen in the acts. compared with what belongs to the other visits, that which belongs to this is but of small importance. the information, to be collected from it, will, however, be seen to be this: namely, that this was the second, of the attempts he made to join himself to the apostles: and that it succeeded no better than the first. it did not even succeed so well: for, notwithstanding the claims which the business of it gave him to their regard--it was to bring them a sum of money, the fruit of the liberality of the church at antioch--he could not so much as obtain admittance into the presence of any one of them. without much hesitation, this may be affirmed. if he had, he would have made mention of it: for, it will be seen, that, whatsoever apparent countenance he ever succeeded in obtaining from them, it was his care to make the most of it. section . remarks on visit iii.--deputation visit. of the occasion, and particulars, and termination, of the _third_ of these four visits, we have two, and but two, accounts: one--that given in the acts; the other--that given by paul himself, as above, in his letter to his galatians: that in the acts, the only one which goes into particulars; and which must accordingly be taken for the basis of the narrative, and in that character be brought to view in the first instance: that given by paul himself confining itself to generals; but, as far as it goes, much more to be depended upon, and affording much more instruction, than that given in the acts. among its immediate consequences, this third visit appears to have had some sort of intercourse between paul and saint peter at antioch--the next most considerable seat of the new religion after jerusalem; at antioch, to which city, paul,--who, with barnabas, had been settled there,--was on his return: peter being then on a temporary visit, made to that place, for the final settlement of the business, by which the last preceding visit of paul to jerusalem had been occasioned. at the time of this visit, the residence of paul was at this same antioch. the occasion of it was--the dissemination there, of a doctrine, which, by certain persons not named, had been imported thither from jerusalem: a doctrine, according to which it was taught to the brethren--"except ye be circumcised after the manner of moses, ye cannot be saved." for the settlement of this important matter,--barnabas, with paul for his companion, besides other companions not named, was, by the brethren at antioch, now, for the second time, sent, as a delegate, to the brethren at jerusalem. on every one of these three visits, it was under the protection of this barnabas (it will be seen) that paul had presented himself:--on the first of them, for the purpose of making known his conversion, and, if possible, forming a connection with the brethren there;--the second, for the purpose of bringing them money, the fruits of the respect and affection of the brethren at antioch;--the third time, for the settlement of this important point of doctrine. as for barnabas, he was a _cypriot_, who, as will be seen, had an establishment at jerusalem: and who, by his indefatigable zeal, added to his unrivalled munificence, appears to have obtained an influence not exceeded by any but that of the apostles. of this same deputation visit, being the third of the recorded visits of paul to jerusalem,--followed by, and coupled with, one of peter to antioch--gal. ii. , the place of paul's residence,--two most important results, or alleged results, are mentioned: the first, mentioned by the author of the acts alone, the decree, of a council, composed of the apostles and certain other persons, by the name of elders, at jerusalem;--which decree, together with a letter, was from thence sent by the hands of judas barsabas and silas, to the brethren at antioch; paul and barnabas being of the party, on their return to that same place: the other result, mentioned by paul alone, a sort of _partition treaty_, by which the field of doctrinal labour, and thence of spiritual dominion was divided between him, (paul), on the one part, and the apostles on the other. the _jewish world_, for a less ambiguous designation would hardly find a sufficient warrant, to remain with the apostles; the _gentile world_, to be left free to the exertions of the declared convert and self-constituted apostle. as to the _decree and letter_, reasons for questioning the authenticity of these documents will be hereinafter brought to view, ch. . of the _partition treaty_, the reality presents itself as altogether natural and probable--and, by circumstantial as well as direct evidence, sufficiently established: by direct evidence supported, by circumstantial evidence confirmed. section . topics under visit iv.--invasion visit. of the occasion of the fourth and last of these four visits--call it _paul's invasion visit_--we have, though but from one immediate source, what may, to some purposes, be called two distinct and different accounts, included one within another: to wit, that which the historian gives as from himself, and that which he puts into the mouth of his hero, whose adventures he is relating. on this subject, from the mouth of the hero, the historian has not given us, and probably could not give us, anything but mystery. from the circumstances, it will be seen, whether the appellation _invasion visit_, by which this last of his recorded visits to jerusalem is here distinguished, is not fully justified. neither, of the occurrences which took place during the course of it, nor of the mode in which it terminated, have we any more than one account; viz. the account which, speaking in his own person, is given of it by the author of the acts.[ ] but, upon one part of this account--and that a part in itself in no small degree obscure--light, and that such as, it is believed, will be found to dispel the darkness, will be seen thrown, by an article of the mosaic law: upon which article, light will be seen reciprocally reflected, by the application here recorded as having been made of it. this regards the _temple scene_:--an expensive ceremony spun out for days together only to produce the effect of an _oath_. on the occasion of this visit, in spite of a universal opposition on the part of all concerned--his own adherents and dependents, as well as his adversaries of all classes included,--paul, for reasons by himself studiously concealed,--and, if brought to light at all, brought to light no otherways than by inference,--will be seen making his entry into jerusalem, as it were by force. in the hope of freeing themselves, as it should seem, of this annoyance, it is,--that the rulers of the christian church, insist upon his clearing himself from certain suspicions, in the harbouring of which the whole church had concurred.[ ] section . self-written biography--its superior value and claim to credence. on the occasion of this portion of history, it seems particularly material, to bring to view an observation, which, on the occasion of every portion of history, it will, it is believed, be of no small use to have in remembrance. in comparison of self-written biography, scarcely does any other biography deserve the name. faint, indeterminate, uninstructive, deceptive, is the information furnished by any other hand, of whatsoever concerns the state of the mental frame, in comparison of what is furnished by a man's own. even of those particulars which make against himself,--even of those motives and intentions which he would most anxiously conceal,--more clear and correct, as far as it goes, if not more complete--is the information given by him, than any which is commonly afforded, even by an impartial hand. by a man's own hand, not unfrequently is information afforded, of a sort which makes against himself, and which would not, because it could not, have been afforded by any other hand, though ever so hostile. he states the self-condemnatory mental facts, the blindness of self-partiality concealing from his eyes the condemnatory inference: or, even with his eyes open, he lays himself under the imputation: bartering merit in this or that inferior shape, for the merit of candour, or for the hope of augmenting the probative force of his own self-serving evidence, in favour of every other merit for which it is his ambition to gain credence. footnotes: [ ] gal. i. . "then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days." [ ] of any mention made of galatia, in any of the books of the new testament, the following are, according to cruden's concordance, the only instances: cor. xvi. . "... have given order to the churches at galatia." times, assigned to these epistles, a.d. . tim. iv. : "crescens is departed to galatia." a.d. . pet. i. : "to the strangers scattered in galatia." date a.d. . [ ] acts xv. - . . "and certain men which came down from judea taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of moses, ye cannot be saved.--when therefore paul and barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that paul and barnabas and certain other of them should go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.--and being brought on their way by the church, they passed through phenice and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.--and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that god had done with them." [ ] be this as it may, that he must have been in the way to hear, from various persons present, accounts, such as they were, of what was said by paul,--seems to follow almost of course. this seems applicable even to the _latest_ of the two occasions; for, though the place, cæsarea, was some distance from jerusalem, miles,--yet the distance was not so great, but that the persons, who were attached to him, might, for the most part, be naturally supposed to have followed him: and in particular the historian, who, according to his history, continued in paul's suite till, at the conclusion of this his forced excursion, he arrived at rome. but, on the subject of _possible materials_, one concluding query here presents itself. on a _subject_ such as that in question, on an _occasion_, such as that in question, for a _purpose_ such as that in question, a _speech_ such as either of those in question, might it not, by a person in the historian's situation--not to speak of other situations--be just as easily made without any special materials, as with any the most correct and complete stock of materials? [ ] between paul's third visit, and that which is here reckoned as his fourth, another is, by some, supposed[i.] to, have been taken place; on which supposition, this concluding one, which is here styled the fourth, ought to be reckoned the fifth. but, for the support of this supposition, the grounds referred to for this purpose do not seem sufficient:--not that, if the supposition were true, any consequence material to the present purpose would follow. for this supposition, what ground there is, consists in a passage in the acts:--acts : , , . . when they, the jews at ephesus, desired [him] to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, i _must_ by all means _keep this feast that cometh in jerusalem_; but i will return again unto you, if god will. and he sailed from ephesus. and when he had _landed_ at cæsarea, and _gone up_, and saluted the _church_, he _went down_ to antioch. there we have the grounds of the supposition. but, what is the support they give to it?--declaration, affirming the existence of an intention, is one thing; actually existing intention is another. even supposing the existence of the intention in question,--intention is one thing; corresponding action, another. jerusalem is not mentioned. cæsarea being on the sea-coast, jerusalem is indeed in the interior: and therefore, it may be said, is a place, to which, if a man went from cæsarea, he would "_go up_:" but, from cæsarea, it being on the coast, a man could not go to any place in judaea not on the coast, without _going up_. so much for _place_:--and now as to _time_. the time mentioned as the object of the _intention_, is the _passover_; but, that the time, at which, being _gone up_, paul "_saluted the church_"--this being all which, upon this _going up_, he is here stated as doing--that this time was the passover, is not stated. as to the _salute_ here stated as given to the _church_,--at the conclusion, and as a material part of the result, of this inquiry, it will appear plain beyond all doubt, that, if by "_the church_" be understood any member of it at jerusalem, besides two, or at most three, of the apostles,--according to this interpretation, from the time of his conversion visit to damascus antecedently to his first visit to jerusalem, down to the last visit here reckoned as his fourth--there never was a day on which the _church_ would have received his salute. what will also be rendered manifest is--that it was an object with the author of the acts, to induce a belief, that paul, before the conclusion of his first visit, was upon good terms with the church, and so continued to the last: and that, to this end, a purposed misrepresentation was employed by the historian. not that, in regard to the visit here in question, to the purpose of the argument--it makes any sort of difference, whether it had place or had not. if it had place, neither the conclusion, nor any part of the argument, will be seen to require any variation in consequence. [i.] wells's _historical geography of the old and new testament_, ii. . ch. . of saint paul's travels and voyages into asia. "st. paul" (says wells very composedly) "_having kept_ the passover at jerusalem, went thence down, &c."--and for this the acts are quoted as above: but the acts, it will here be seen, say no such thing. chapter iv. paul disbelieved _continued_.--_first of his four visits to jerusalem after his conversion_; _say_ jerusalem visit i. _or_ reconciliation visit.--_barnabas introducing him from antioch to the apostles._ section . paul's proceedings between his conversion and this visit.--contradiction. per paul, it was not till after three years spent in arabia; per acts, immediately. already on another occasion, and for a different purpose, have the two accounts, between which this self-contradiction manifests itself, been brought to view: viz. on the occasion of the accounts, given or supposed to be given, by paul, of the cause and manner of his conversion:--accounts given in the first place, in writing, and consequently, with all requisite time for deliberation, in his epistle to the galatians:--given, or supposed to be given, in the next place, by a speech spoken, namely, that which, in the acts is reported as spoken by him, on the occasion of his trial, to festus and agrippa:--festus, the roman proconsul, agrippa, the jewish king. in the whole account of this matter, as given by paul in his epistle to the galatians, how much of truth there probably was, and how much of falsehood or misrepresentation,--has been seen already in some measure, ch. ii. i. , and will be seen more fully as we advance. as to his motive for this visit, he has endeavoured to keep it to himself: but, by the result, according to the account he himself gives of it, it is betrayed. it was--to effect the so much needed _reconciliation_:--his reconciliation with the apostles:--the apostles, in relation to whom his disregard is professed, the need he had of them, no otherwise than virtually, nor yet the less effectually confessed. without an interval of considerable length between his conversion and this visit, all such reconciliation would have been plainly hopeless. from this circumstance, the length, as alleged by him, of his abode in arabia, receives obvious and highly probative confirmation. the confirmation is, indeed, reciprocal. the nature of his situation, proves the need he had, of an interval of considerable length, before any hope of reconciliation could be fulfilled, or, naturally speaking, so much as conceived: by this circumstance, his abode in some other country is rendered probable to us: and this other country may, for aught we know, as well have been the country mentioned by him--to wit, _arabia_, as any other: and, thus it is, that this assertion, of his having been three years in arabia, between the time of his departure from jerusalem to damascus, and his return to jerusalem to see peter, is confirmed:--confirmed, by the natural length, of the interval, requisite to the affording any, the least chance, that peter could be induced to meet upon terms of amity and intercourse a man, in whom he beheld the murderer of a countless multitude of human beings, linked to him by the closest bonds of self-regarding interest, as well as sympathy and brotherly love. as to contradiction, contradiction cannot easily be much more pointed, than it will be seen to be, between the account in respect of time, as given in this instance by paul, and the account given of it by his historiographer in the acts. on a double ground, it is paul's account that claims the precedence. of _his_ account, such as it is, the rank, in the scale of trustworthiness, is that of _immediate_ evidence; that of his historiographer, no higher than that of _unimmediate_ evidence:--evidence once removed; having, for its most probable and least untrustworthy source, that same _immediate_ evidence. paul's evidence is, at the same time, not only more circumstantiated, but supported by the reasons which he has combined with it. not till three years after his alleged miraculous conversion, did he go near to any of the apostles.--why?--because, though, _at_ that time, for reasons which he has left us to guess, he had regarded himself as having considerable need of them,--_till_ that time he did not regard himself as having any need of them. and, why was it, that, for so great a length of time, he did not regard himself as having any need of them?--the answer he himself gives us, gal. i. : ... "do i seek to please men?--i certify to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me, is not after man.--for i received it not of man, nor was i taught it but by the revelation of jesus christ.--when it pleased god, who called me by his grace,--to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the heathen, _immediately_ i conferred not with flesh and blood:--neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but i went into arabia, and returned _again_ unto damascus.--then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days.--but other of the apostles saw i none, save james, the lord's brother." thus far paul himself. let us now see, what is said in regard to the time, by his subsequent attendant and historiographer. acts ix ... "as he (saul) journeyed, he came near damascus, and, suddenly there shined round him a light," &c.--ver. . "and saul arose from the earth, and ... they led him by the hand, and brought him into damascus.--and he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.--and there was a certain disciple at damascus, named ananias; and to him said the lord in a vision...--...go into the street called _straight_, and inquire in the house of judas for one called saul of tarsus...-- . and ananias ... entered into the house, and ... said, brother saul, the lord ... hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight ...--and ... he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.--and when he had received meat, he was strengthened. then was saul certain days with the disciples which were at damascus.--and straightway he preached christ in the synagogues,...-- . ... and confounded the jews which dwelt at damascus,...--and after that many days were fulfilled, the jews took counsel to kill him.--... and they watched the gates day and night to kill him.--then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.--and when saul was come to jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were _all_ afraid of him, and _believed not that he was a disciple_.--but barnabas took him, and brought him to the _apostles_, and declared unto them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus." with what the historiographer says in his own person, agrees, as to the particular point now in question, what, in the studied oration, he puts into paul's mouth. in that account likewise, immediately after the mention of what paul did at damascus,--follows, the mention of what he did at jerusalem: and, as to everything done by him among the gentiles, not only does the mention of it come after the mention of what was done by him at jerusalem, but, between the two, comes the mention, of whatever was done by him, in any of the coasts of judea. acts : . "whereupon, o, king agrippa, i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:--but showed, first unto them of damascus, and of jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of judea; and then to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to god, and do works meet for repentance." here then, according to paul's own account, after his visit to damascus from jerusalem, he visited arabia, and moreover damascus a second time, before he made his visit to jerusalem to see peter: before this visit did he make both those other visits; and, in making them, pass three years, with or without the addition, of the time, occupied by his first visit to damascus,--and the time, occupied by his abode in arabia. according to paul's own account then, between his second departure from, and his arrival at, jerusalem from thence, there was an interval either of three years, or of so much more than three years. on the contrary, according to both the accounts given of the matter by his historiographer in the acts, there was not between the two events in question, any interval other than such as the journey from the one to the other--about british miles as the crow flies, say about , allowance made for turnings and windings,--would require. now, as between jews and gentiles, _alias_ heathens:--to which of these two descriptions of persons, were his preachings addressed in the first instance? according to his epistle to his galatians, preaching to the heathen being his peculiar destination, this accordingly is the vocation upon which he proceeded in the first place: and we have seen how probable it is, not to say certain, that, in this particular, what he asserted was true. his appointment being to "the heathen," he conferred not with flesh and blood: _i.e._ with the apostles, their immediate disciples, or other flesh and blood of the christian persuasion: for, of any such conference--of any assistance or support from any such quarter, he has, in this same epistle, been declaring and protesting--most vehemently protesting--that he had no need. neither then for the purpose of conference with "those who were apostles," as he says, "before him," nor for any other purpose, went he up to jerusalem: no, not till either three years after his conversion, or three years, with the addition of another term of unmeasurable length. now then, how stands this matter according to the acts--according to the speech put into paul's mouth by the author of the acts? instead of the gentiles being the description of persons, to whom, in the first instance, he applies his labours,--it is the jews. what he _shows_ is "_shown_," in the first place, to those "of damascus;" then "at jerusalem;" then "throughout all the coasts of judea;" and, not till _then_--to the gentiles: of his abode in arabia--of any visit of his to arabia--not any of the slightest mention, or so much as allusion to it. but, all this while, for anything that appears to the contrary, arabia was completely open to him: whereas, after the offence he had committed against the authority of the ruling powers at judea, it was not, morally speaking, in the nature of things that he could have continued in any place coming within that description--have continued, long enough to make any sensible impression: and, in jerusalem in particular, in this same epistle to the galatians, from which the above particulars are taken,--it was, as he himself declares, only in secrecy, that, even fourteen years after this, he ventured to disseminate those doctrines, whatever they were, that were peculiar to himself, nd gal.: , . "then, fourteen years after, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, and took titus with me. and i went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but _privately_ to them which were of reputation, lest by any means i should run, or had run, in vain." thus stands the contrariety:--the contrariety, between paul's own account of his own proceedings, and the account, which, by the author of the acts, he is represented as giving of them, on another occasion. says paul _himself_, in his own epistle to his galatians--after my conversion, it was to the gentiles that i applied myself first: to the jews, not till afterwards; nor then, to any considerable extent. says the author of the _acts_, in a speech, which he puts into the mouth of paul--it was to the jews that he applied himself first, and _that_ to a great extent: to the gentiles, not till afterwards. thus stands the contrariety, taken in itself. as to the _cause_, it will neither be far to seek, nor dubious. in the differences of situations, occasions, and purposes in view--in the differences, that had place in respect of all those particulars--it will be found. on the occasion, on which paul himself speaks, what was the persuasion which it was his endeavour to produce? it was--that, for a number of years, commencing from the moment of his conversion,--with no persons, who, to this purpose, could be called _jews_, had he, to any such purpose as this, had any intercourse: for, this being admitted, it followed, of course, that, if, on the subject of the religion of jesus, he had really received the information he declared himself to have received, it was _not_ from the apostles, that he had had it, or any part of it. "on them (says he) i am perfectly independent: to them i am even superior. with jesus _they_ had no communication but in a natural way; with the same jesus _i_ have had communication in a supernatural way:--in the way of '_revelation_.' my communication with him is, moreover, of a date posterior to theirs--to any that they can pretend to: in so far as there is any contrariety between that i teach and what they teach, it is for theirs, on both these accounts--it is for theirs, to yield to mine. from god is my doctrine: in opposition to it, if either they, or any other men presume to preserve, let the curse of god be on their heads. ver. . accordingly, at the time of my first visit to jerusalem after my conversion, no communication had i with them, for, no such communication, teaching as i did from revelation, could i stand in need of, i had already passed three years at least in arabia, teaching to the gentiles there my peculiar doctrine. this peculiar doctrine, as i made no scruple of teaching it to those gentiles, as little, on the occasion of that visit of mine to jerusalem, did i make any scruple of teaching it to jews as well as gentiles. true it is, i did not then teach it publicly:--i did not teach my peculiar doctrine, so publicly as they did theirs. but, as to this comparative secrecy, it had for its cause the advantage of being free from opposition; for, had the fact of my teaching this doctrine so different from theirs--been known to them,--they might have opposed it, and thus my labours might have been lost." whether, in the representation here given of what he says to his galatians, there be any misrepresentation, the reader may judge. on the occasion, on which _his historian_ represents him as speaking, what now, as to this same matter, was the persuasion, which the nature of his situation required him to endeavour to produce? it was, that jews were the sort of persons, with whom, during the period in question, he had, to the purpose in question, been holding intercourse: jews, even in preference to--not to say to the exclusion of--gentiles: so far is he from being _now_ represented, as stating himself to have held converse with gentiles, to the exclusion of jews; which is, that of which he _himself_ has been seen taking so much pains to persuade his galatian disciples. yes: as far as competition could have place, jews, on this occasion, in _preference_, at least, to gentiles: for, on this occasion, what he was labouring at was--to recommend himself to the favour of his jewish judge, king agrippa, acts : - , by magnifying the services he had been rendering to the jews, his very accusers not excepted: services, to the rendering of which, close and continued intercourse, during that same period, could not but have been necessary. on this occasion, being accused of--his historian does not choose to say what,--his defence was--that, of the persecution he was suffering, his preaching the _resurrection_ was the only real cause: that, having been born and bred a pharisee,--in preaching that doctrine, so far from opposing, he had been supporting, with all his might, the principles maintained by the constituted authorities: adducing, in proof of the general proposition, the evidence furnished by a particular fact, the resurrection, that had place in the case of jesus, acts : : that when, in his conversion vision, jesus gave him his commission, the principal object of that commission was--the instruction of the gentiles: to wit, by informing them--that, to such of them as would believe in the resurrection, and repent of their sins, and do works accordingly,--the benefit of it would be extended: that to this mandate, it was true, he did not ultimately fail to pay substantial obedience: yet, such was his affection for his brethren the jews,--that it was not till, for a considerable time, he had been conferring on _them_ the benefit of his labours, that he betook himself to the gentiles. acts : . "i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:--but showed first unto them of damascus, and at jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of judea; and _then_ to the gentiles, that they should repent, &c.--for these causes the jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me." the repugnancy (says somebody), the repugnancy, is--not between paul and paul--but between paul and the author of the acts; and, since the facts in question are occurrences in which paul himself was either agent or patient, to the author of the acts, and not to paul, is the incorrectness, wherever it be, to be imputed. be it so: for the purpose of the argument at least, be it so: but, if so it be, what are we to think of the author of the acts? take away the author of the acts, what becomes of paul? take away the authority of the acts in the character of an inspired writer--writing from supernatural inspiration, after an immediate and continued intercourse, in some unexplained and inexplicable manner, with the almighty,--what remains, then, of the evidence, on the ground of which the mighty fabric of paul and his doctrine has been erected? a man, who is thus continually in contradiction--sometimes with himself, at other times with the most unimpeachable authorities--what credence can, with reason and propriety, be given to his evidence, in relation to any important matter of fact? at any rate, when any purpose, which he himself has at heart, is to be served by it? of such a man, the testimony--the uncross-examined and uncross-examinable testimony--would it, of itself, be sufficient to warrant a verdict, on a question of the most inconsiderable pecuniary import? how much less then, on questions, in comparison of which those of the greatest importance which the affairs of this life admit of, shrink into insignificance? even, suppose veracity, and every other branch of probity, unimpeached and unimpeachable,--if such confusion of mind, such want of memory, such negligence, in relation to incidents and particulars, of too immensely momentous a nature, to escape, at any interval of time, from the most ordinary mind;--if such want of attention, such deficiency, in respect of the most ordinary intellectual faculties and attainments, are discernible in his narrative,--what solid, what substantial ground of dependence can it furnish, or even leave in existence? of this sort are the questions for which already no inconsiderable warrant has, it is believed, been found; nor, if so, throughout the whole remaining course of this inquiry, should they ever be out of mind. section . grounds of paul's prospect of reconciliation on this occasion with the apostles and their disciples. on this head, in addition to, and in explanation of, the sort of narrative given in the acts,--information, of the most instructive and impressive stamp, may be seen furnished by himself: at the head of it, may be placed that, which may be seen in his epistle to his galatian converts. at jerusalem was the board-room in which sat the council of the apostles: of those men, to whom their bitterest enemies would not, any more than their disciples and adherents, have refused the appellation of constant companions and selected disciples of the departed jesus. to them was known, everything that, in relation to jesus, was known to any one else: and moreover, in unlimited abundance, particulars not capable of being known by any one else. as to paul, let us suppose him now a believer in jesus; and, on this supposition, note what could not but have been the state of his mind, with relation to those select servants of jesus. in them he beheld the witnesses--not only of the most material and characteristic acts and sayings of their master, but of his death, and its supernatural consequences--the _resurrection_ and _ascension_, with which it had been followed. in them he beheld--not only the witnesses of his _miracles_, but a set of pupils, to whom such powers of working the like miracles--such miraculous powers, in a word, as it had pleased him to impart,--had been imparted. in their labours, he beheld the causes of whatsoever prosperity, he found the society, established by them, in possession of. in himself, he beheld the man, who, with such distinguished acrimony and perseverance, had done his utmost, for the destruction of that society, into which, for the purposes, indication of which has been so clearly given by his own pen, he was preparing to intrude himself. to form an ostensible cause for his intrusion,--in addition to such information, as, by means of his persecution, it had happened to him to extract from those whom he had been persecuting, what, on his part, had he?--he had his own learning, his own talents, his own restless and audacious temper, and the vision he had got up:--the baseless fabric of that vision, a view of which has just been given. of the representation thus given of the matter,--whether we take his own account of it, or that of the acts,--suppose the truth to rest upon no other ground than this vision, with or without that other vision, which has been seen so slenderly tacked to it, and so strangely inserted into it,--thus slender is the ground, on which we shall find him embarking upon his enterprize,--assuming to himself, without modification or apology, the name of _an apostle_,--thrusting himself into the society, and putting himself altogether upon an equality, not to say more than an equality, with the whole company of the men, whose title to that appellation was above dispute:--those of them who, among the chosen, had been the most favoured, not excepted. galatians i. - . . but i certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.--for i neither received it of man, neither was i taught _it_, but by the revelation of jesus christ.--for ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the jews' religion, how that beyond measure i persecuted the church of god, and wasted it:--and profited in the jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.--but when it pleased god, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called _me_ by his grace,--to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the heathen; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood,--neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but i went into arabia, and returned again unto damascus.--then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days.--but other of the apostles saw i none, save james the lord's brother.--now the things which i write unto you, behold, before god, i lie not.--afterwards i came into the regions of syria and cilicia;--and was unknown by face unto the churches of judea which were in christ.--but they had heard only, that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. thus, however indistinctly and incoherently stated, stands the matter, on the surface of both these accounts. on the surface. but, by a little reflection on the nature of the case--the obvious and indisputable nature of the case--as collected from all accounts, as already brought to view in a preceding chapter ii, we shall be led to another conception, and the only tenable one. the plan of worldly ambition--that plan by which we have already seen his outward conversion produced--had been not only formed, but acted upon:--acted upon, during a course of at least three years: of three years, employed at damascus in preparation,--in arabia in probation. what remained, and was now become necessary, was--some sort of countenance from the apostles: from the apostles, and thence, if possible, from the rest of the then existing church. necessary altogether was this countenance for his support: for, to this plan the _name_ of jesus was essential. it was in that _name_, that all his operations were to be carried on:--in that name, from the use of which it was to be universally understood, that it was according to directions, and with support, from the departed jesus, that by this, his newly-enlisted servant, everything was said and done. in damascus--yes:--in damascus, where were the only persons, with whom, for the purpose of his dominion, he could with safety communicate: that is to say, persons, whom his commission from the jerusalem authorities had placed under his power. in arabia--yes: where, though he had made no progress of which he saw any advantage in giving any account--he at any rate had not experienced any opposition, of such a sort as to engage him to drop his scheme. in those comparatively distant countries--yes. but, in jerusalem--the birthplace of jesus and his religion,--in that metropolis, within which, or the near neighbourhood of it, all the witnesses of its rise and progress--all the proselytes, that had been made to it, were collected,--and from whence, and to which, the votaries of that religion, out of which it had sprung, would be continually flocking from all quarters;--in this place, for a man, known so notoriously to them all as a persecutor, in whose scheme of persecution they had all of them been involved,--for such a man to have, all on a sudden, begun preaching and acting, in the name of that jesus, whom, to use his own language, he had persecuted--such an enterprise as this, which, even with the utmost support which it was in their power to give, would have been audacity, would, without some sort of countenance from them,--have been downright madness. to perfect success it was necessary, that not only these shepherds of the church pasture, but, through them the whole flock, should thus be brought under management. so far as regarded those same _rulers_, we shall find him, in a certain degree,--and even, with reference to his purpose, in a sufficient degree,--successful. but, with reference to the disciples in general, and to all those rulers but three,--it will be seen to have completely failed. circumstanced as he was, to those rulers alone, was it possible for him to have addressed himself, with any the smallest hope. to any assembly of the faithful at large, to have repaired with no better recommendation than his vision story,--even with barnabas, ready, as we shall see, to take him by the hand,--would have been plainly hopeless. not less so would it have been--to present himself to the apostles,--if, in support of such proposition as he had to make,--nothing more apposite, nothing to them in their situation more credible, than this same vision story,--had been capable of being produced. on them, therefore, the case seems already pretty well ripe for the conclusion, that, no such story was ever attempted to be passed. but, setting aside that aërial argument,--inducements of a more substantial nature, such as we shall find brought to view by paul himself, were neither on this occasion wanting,--nor could, at any time, have been out of the view of that same barnabas, whom we shall see appearing so often, in the character of his generous patron and steady friend. "on this plan, might barnabas say to them,--on this plan, which he has chalked out for himself, he will be acting--not only not in opposition to, but even in furtherance of, your wishes and endeavors. grecian as he is,--skilled in that language, and that learning, which serves a man as a passport through the whole of the gentile world,--it is to that world that his labours will confine themselves; a field surely ample enough for the most comprehensive views. to you he will leave,--and leave certainly without privation, and therefore naturally without regret,--that field, of which you are already in possession,--and, by the boundaries of which, your means of convenient culture are circumscribed." "on this plan,--not only will your exertions remain unimpeded, but the influence of the name of jesus--that name, on the influence of which those same exertions are so materially dependent for their success,--will, in proportion to paul's success, be extended." in a discourse, to this effect, from the generous and enlightened mediator,--may be seen the natural origin of that agreement, which, further on in its place, under the name of the _partition treaty_, there will be occasion to bring, in a more particular manner, under review. but, what is little less evident, than the propriety and prudence of this plan, viewed at least in the point of view in which it might not unnaturally be viewed by barnabas, is--the impossibility, of coming forward, with any tolerable prospect of success, with any such plan in hand, in presence of a vast and promiscuous assemblage. to engage, on the part of any such assemblage, not to say any steady confidence, but any the slightest hope,--that, from an enemy even to death, the same man would become a partner and assistant,--would require a most particular and protracted exposition, of all those facts and arguments, which the requisite confidence would require for its support:--a detail, which no such assembly would so much as find time to listen to, were it possible for it to find patience. even in the case of the apostles themselves,--taking the whole council of them together, the nature of the plan, it will be seen, admitted not of any successful negotiation. accordingly, to the chief of them alone, to wit, to peter, was it so much as the intention of paul to make any communication of it in the first instance: and, in the whole length of the intercourse, such as it was, that he kept up with, them--in all the four visits, in the course of which that intercourse was kept up--being a period of not less than twenty-five years, to wit, from the year to the year ,--with no more than three of the eleven, will he be seen so much as pretending to have had any personal interview: _they_ not seeing him, except when they could not avoid it; and _the others_ never seeing him at all. section . occasion of this visit, as per paul's own account. after his conversion--after the time at which, if he is to be believed, he saw that first-mentioned of his visions--that vision, by which the most strenuous opponent of the new religion was changed into one who, in profession, was the most active of its supporters,--what was the course he took? did he repair immediately to jerusalem from whence he came? did he present himself to the eleven apostles--to the confidential companions of the departed jesus, to lay before them his credentials? to report to those by whom everything about jesus that was to be known to man was known--what had been experienced by him?--by him, paul, by whom, till the moment of that experience, nothing of it whatever had been known? not he, indeed. behold what he says himself. instead of so doing, off he goes, in the first instance to arabia; from whence, at the end of a length of time not specified, he returns to damascus. at length, however, to jerusalem he does repair: at length, into the presence of those against whose lives he had so long conspired,--he now uses his endeavours to intrude himself. at length? at the end then of what length of time? at the end of three years? yes: but from what point of time computed? from the time of his conversion on the road,--or from the last day of his stay at damascus, upon his return thither from arabia? by that man, let an answer to these questions be given--by that man who can find grounds for it. thus much, however, may, at any rate, be said:--of the length of this interval three years is the minimum. in what view did it occur to him to seek this conference? in what view to make the attempt? and in what view delay it? . as to his view in seeking it,--it must be left to inference:--to conjecture, grounded on circumstances. . being engaged, as he was, in the plan of making converts to a religion, called by him the religion of jesus,--and this among the nations at large--among others besides those in the bosom of whose religion the founder of the new religion had been born;--feeling, as it seemed to him, the need, of information in various shapes--concerning the acts and sayings of jesus;--not having, for the purpose, had, as yet, access, to any of the persons, to whom the benefit, of an interview with jesus, upon terms of peculiar confidence, had been imparted;--he was desirous, of taking this--his only course--for rectifying the misconception, under which, to no small extent, he must probably have been labouring,--and filling up the deficiencies, under which he could not but be labouring. . obvious is the need he had, of countenance from these universally acknowledged chiefs, of the religion professed to be taught by him. good, says some one: but, having, from the first, been thus long labouring, under the need of information,--how happened it, that he so long delayed, the exertions he made at length, for the obtaining of it? the answer is surely not unobvious. had the time, of his presenting-himself, been when the memory of his conversion was fresh,--when the memory, of the vision, by which it was to be stated as having been effected, would, supposing it really experienced, have been fresh also,--in such case, the narrative, true or untrue, would have found, opposed to its reception, all imaginable repugnance, in so many ulcerated minds: and, on the supposition of its being untrue, he--the supposed percipient and actually narrating witness--he, who knew nothing about the subject of his testimony, would have had to submit himself to the severest imaginable cross-examination, at the hands of those, to whom everything about jesus was matter of perfect knowledge. thus the matter would have stood, in the first instance. on the other hand, as time ran on, several results, favourable to his design, would naturally have taken place. . the exasperation, produced by the experience of the persecution suffered at his hands, would have been diminished. . his own recollection, of the particulars, might be supposed less vivid. . the curiosity, respecting them, would have become less eager. . time might have given admission to behaviour on his part, of a sort, by which distrust might be lessened, confidence strengthened. well; now we have him at jerusalem,--and for the first time after his conversion. when thus, at jerusalem,--of those whom he went to see, whom did he actually see? answer, peter for one; james, whom he styles the lord's brother, and who, according to him, though not literally a brother, was, however, a kinsman of jesus:--these two, according to his own shewing; these two, and no more. "then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days. but of the other apostles saw i none, save james, the lord's brother." gal. : , . section . occasion, as per acts account compared with paul's. such as hath been seen is paul's account of the matter:--paul's own account, of the interval that elapsed, between his conversion, and the first of his subsequent visits to jerusalem:--to the residence of the christians, whom he had been persecuting, and of the rulers, under and by the authority of whom, the persecution had been carried on. such, loose as it is, is his account, of the interval between these two events: and of the place, in which, either almost the whole, or at any rate the greatest part of it, was passed. such was paul's own account of his own proceedings,--at the distance of twenty-five years and more. compare with it, now, the account, given by his historiographer--given, of the interval, that, according to him, had place, between these same two events. acts : - . here, no three years' sojournment in arabia: no visit to that country: no notice, of any place, other than damascus, as being a place, in which the whole, or any part, of the time in question, was passed. in a position, with respect to each other, scarcely different from that of contiguity,--are the two events brought together. the blood of their disciples scarce washed from off his hands, when, with barnabas for his introducer, he presents himself to the apostles! at the very time, when the jerusalem rulers, would have been expecting to receive from him, the proofs of his punctuality, in the execution of the important plan, of official oppression, of which, at his own instance, he had been solemnly constituted and appointed the instrument; when, after going over to and forming a league with the criminals, for such they must have been called, whom he had been commissioned by these rulers to bring to justice;--at this very time it is, that he returns to the seat of their dominion:--to the place in which, at that very time, his return to them, with the intended victims in captivity, could not but be the subject of universal expectation! let any one now judge, whether, in any state of things, natural or supernatural, the sort of conduct thus supposed is credible. at damascus, instead of presenting himself to the damascus rulers, to whom the commission of which he was the bearer was addressed,--the first persons, whom, according to this account, acts : , he sees, are "the disciples," _i.e._, the persons whom, by that commission, he was to arrest: and, with them, instead of arresting them, he passes "certain days." these certain days ended,--does he thereupon, with or without an apology, present himself to these same rulers? not he, indeed. not presenting himself to them, does he, by flight or otherwise, take any measures, for securing himself, against their legitimate and necessarily intended vengeance? no such thing:--instead of doing so, he runs in the very face of it. he shows himself in the jewish synagogues, in the public places of worship: and there, instead of preaching moses and his law, he preaches christ,--that christ, whose disciples he was commissioned to extirpate. this breach of trust--this transgression, which, however commendable in itself, could not but,--in the eyes of all those by whom, or for whom, he was in trust,--be a most flagitious and justly punishable act of treachery,--could it even from the first, for so much as two days, together, remain unknown? not it, indeed: if, in this particular, to this same conversion story, as related by this same author, any credit is due. for, according to this same account,--in this same journey, and at the very time of his conversion vision, was he alone? no; he had companions: companions, who, whatsoever became of him, would, at the very time of his entrance, unless any cause can be shown to the contrary, have entered thither in due course. well, then--ask the men in authority,--"this paul, in whose train you came,--where is he, what has become of him?" such would of course have been the questions put to these, his companions, even on the supposition, that by these same companions, no visit had, of their own accord, been paid to these same rulers, under whose authority they went to place themselves. at length,--and the days which by this time had elapsed were "_many_,"--he finds it expedient to quit damascus. he is driven from thence: but by what force? by the exercise of the legal authority of the offended rulers? in a word, by public vengeance? no: but by a private conspiracy--nothing more: for, to these rulers,--so different are they from all other rulers,--whether their authority is obeyed or contemned, has, all the while, been matter of indifference. acts ix. - . . and when he had received meat, he was strengthened. then was saul _certain days_ with the _disciples_ which were at damascus.--and straightway he preached _christ_ in the synagogues, that he is the son of god.--but all that heard him were amazed, and said, is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?--but saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the jews which dwelt at damascus, proving that this is very christ.--and after that _many days_ were fulfilled, the jews took counsel to kill him:--but their laying await was known of saul. and they watched the gates day and night to kill him.--then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a _basket_.--and when saul was come to jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.--but barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at damascus in the name of jesus.--and he was with them coming in and going out at jerusalem.--and he spake boldly in the name of the lord jesus, and disputed against the grecians: but they went about to slay him.-- . which, when the brethren knew, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus. in the above account--a remarkable incident is presented, by the occasion and manner of his escape from damascus. in part, it has for its support an assertion made by paul himself; but, as usual, as to part it is scarcely reconcileable with the account he gives of it. in respect of the adventure of the _basket_, the two accounts agree: and thus the occasion is identified and fixed. it is in respect of the description of the persons, by whom the attack upon him was made or meditated, that the accounts differ. according to the acts, the hostile hands are those of the jews, who are spoken of as so many unauthorized and criminal conspirators: but, according to paul, they are those of the constituted authorities--a governor acting under a king. . "in damascus"--says he, in cor. : - --"in damascus, the governor under aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. and through a window in a basket was i let down by the wall, and escaped his hands." now, supposing the adverse force to have been that of a band of conspirators, it was natural for them to watch the "city gates": a more promising resource they could scarcely have had at their command. but, suppose it to have been that of the governor,--what need had he to watch the gates? he might have searched houses. by the reference made, to a matter of fact, which, supposing it real, must in its nature have been notorious--to wit, the existence of a king, of the name in question, in the country in question, at the time in question--a comparative degree of probability seems to be given to paul's account. a curious circumstance is--that, in this epistle of paul's, this anecdote of the basket stands completely insulated; it has not any the slightest connection with anything that precedes or follows it. in the acts' account, as already observed, chap. , it looks as if it was immediately after the adventure of the basket, that he went on this his first visit to the apostles at jerusalem: for, as we see, it is immediately thereupon that his arrival at that city is mentioned. if so, the abode he had _then_ been making at damascus, was probably _after_ his return from arabia: that return from arabia, which we have seen him speaking of in his epistle to the galatians, gal. i. . "when it pleased god ... to reveal his son to me, that i might preach him to the heathen; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went i up to jerusalem, to them which were apostles before me; but i went into arabia, and returned again unto damascus. _then after_ three years, i went up to jerusalem, to see peter." &c. "after three years?"--three years, reckoning from what _time_? here we see the ambiguity, and along with it the difficulty. if reckoning from his conversion,--then we have the three years, to be spent--partly in damascus, partly in arabia: in damascus, in obtaining, perhaps, from the christianized jews--in return for the impunity given to them by the breach of the trust committed to him by the jerusalem rulers--money, for defraying his expenses while in arabia. if, reckoning from his escape from damascus in a basket, then we have three years, during which not so much as any the faintest trace of him is perceptible. all, therefore, that is clear is--that according to his account of the matter, there was an interval of at least three years between his conversion, and this first of his subsequent jerusalem visits--this visit of his to jerusalem, to see the apostles. between the two interpretations,--in respect of length of time, observe here the difference. according to one of them, between the conversion and the first jerusalem visit, we have an interval of three years, and no more: and, in this interval, three lengths of time--one passed in damascus, another in arabia, a third, terminated by the basket adventure, passed also in damascus, are all included: the entire interval determinate: but its parts, all of them, indeterminate. according to the other interpretation, we have also three lengths of time: the first, indeterminate, passed in damascus; the second, as indeterminate, passed in arabia; the third, passed in damascus, and this a determinate one--namely, the three years. thus, upon the first supposition, the interval consists of three years, and no more: upon the second supposition, it consists of three years, preceded by two lengths of time, which are both indeterminate, but one of which--that passed in arabia--may have been to any amount protracted. upon either supposition,--it seems not unlikely, that it was immediately after his escape from damascus, that this first visit of his to jerusalem took place. and, the greater the preceding interval of time, whether passed in arabia or damascus, the less unpromising his prospect, that the resentments, produced by the provocations given by him to the christians, by his persecution of them,--and to the jewish rulers, by his treachery towards them,--should, both, have to such a degree subsided, as to render even so short a stay, as that of fifteen days which he mentions, consistent with personal safety. yet, as we see in the acts, are these two events spoken of as if they had been contiguous: at any rate, it is in contiguity that they are spoken of. uncertainties crowd upon uncertainties. at the time of paul's conversion,--had damascus already this same king, named aretas, with a governor under him? if so, how happens it, that, of this state of the government, no intimation is perceptible, in the account given of that conversion in the acts? was it--that, at that time, there existed not any such monarchical personage? but that, before the adventure of the basket, some revolution had placed him there? according to paul's account,--the state of things, produced in damascus by his exertions, was somewhat curious. on the face of this account, in ordinary there was no _garrison_ in damascus: it was only by special order from the monarch, and for no other purpose than the bringing to justice--or what was called justice--the person of the self-constituted apostle,--that a garrison was put into the town, with a governor for the command of it. what a foundation all this for credence! and, with it, for a system of religious doctrine to build itself upon!--religious doctrine--with the difference between eternal happiness and eternal misery depending upon it! section . cause of the discordance between the two accounts. between these two accounts, such being the discordance--where shall we find the _cause_ of it? answer: in the different views, in which, at the time of writing, the two accounts were penned: in the different objects, to the accomplishment of which, at the time of penning their respective accounts, the endeavours of the two writers were directed. the author of the acts--what, then, was _his_ object? to obtain for his patron--his chief hero--alive or dead--a recognition, as universal as possible, in his assumed character of an apostle. the more complete the recognition, bestowed upon him by those most competent of all judges,--the more extensive the recognition he might look for, at the hands of all other their fellow-believers. sufficient was this--sufficient for the general purposes of the party--in the eyes of a person other than paul, even though that other person was a protegé, a retainer, a satellite. sufficient this was not, however, to the arrogance of the head of the party--paul himself: at least, at the time of his writing this his letter to his galatian converts. think you, says he, that any relation, i have ever borne to any of those who were apostles before me, had, on my part, anything in it of dependence? think you, that i ever stood in need of anything at their hands? think you, that i had ever any more need of them, than they of me? not i, indeed. the gospel, which i have always preached--neither from them did i receive it, nor from them, in preaching it, did i ever seek or receive any assistance. gal. i. , . think you, that i stood in any need, or ever supposed myself to stand in any need, of any acceptance or acknowledgement at their hands? not i, indeed. when my revelation had been received by me, did i present myself to them, for any such purpose as that of remuneration and acceptance? not i, indeed. i went not to them: i went not so much as to jerusalem, where they then were: i conferred not with flesh and blood:--off i went to arabia; and when my business in arabia was at an end, even then, did i repair to jerusalem? not i, indeed. i returned again to damascus. true it is, to jerusalem i did go at last.--but when?--not till three years afterwards. well--and, when i was at jerusalem, how many, and which of them, think you that i saw? think you, that i put myself to any such trouble, as that of seeing them all together? the whole herd of them? no. peter was naturally a chief among them: with him i had accordingly some business to settle:--him, accordingly, i saw, as also james, whom, as being a brother, or other near kinsman, of jesus, i had a curiosity to see. paul himself wrote at one time; this his disciple at another: each of them pursued the purpose of the time. not on this occasion, at any rate,--perhaps not on any other, was there anything, that either wrote, concerted between them.[ ] of this want of concert, what has just been seen is one of the consequences. reserved as we have seen him, in regard to time and other circumstances,--one circumstance more there is, for which our curiosity is to no small amount, debtor, to the author of the acts. this is--information, of the means--of the channel, through which paul obtained the introduction, which, without mention made of the object, we have seen him acknowledging that, so far as concerned peter, he was desirous of: and _that_ to such a degree, as to undertake a journey from damascus to jerusalem, some or miles, for the purpose. repugnancy, so natural, and naturally so vehement--even at the end of three years, or the still greater number of years--by what means could he remove it, or so much as flatter himself with a prospect of being able to remove it? to this question, it is to the author of the acts that we are indebted for an answer: and that answer a satisfactory one:--it was by the assistance of barnabas, that the object, so far as it was accomplished, was accomplished. to the religion of jesus, after as well as before this,--to the apostles in particular before this,--barnabas was a supporter of no small importance. at the time when the financial arrangements were for the second time settled;[ ]--when, from the substance of the opulent among the faithful, enough was collected for the support of all the indigent;--among those, by whom, on this second occasion, lands and houses, were for this purpose sold, particular persons are, on this second occasion, for the first time mentioned. the first place is occupied by this barnabas: and not till after him come ananias and sapphira--the unfortunate pair, of whose fate mention will have to be made in another place. joses was, it seems, the original name--the proper name of this beneficent protector: barnabas, the _son of consolation_, acts : , was no more than a title of honour,--a token of gratitude. a title of honour? and by whom conferred? even by the apostles. by barnabas, therefore, whatsoever thereafter comes to be reported as done,--it is by _the son of consolation_ that we are to understand it to have been, and to be, done. as to the arguments, by which this son of consolation succeeded,--in prevailing, upon two, and, if we are to believe paul, no more than two, of these so lately persecuted or threatened servants of jesus,--to be, for a few days, upon speaking terms, with him, who so lately had been their deadly, as well as open enemy,--it is from imagination, with judgment for her guide, that they must, if at all, be deduced from the surrounding circumstances of the case. as to these arguments, however,--whatever were the rest of them, of two of them a hint is given by the author of the acts: these are,--the story of the conversion,--and the boldness of the preaching, which at damascus was among the first-fruits of it. those which, under the guidance of judgment, imagination would not find much difficulty in adding, are,--the evil--that might result from his enmity, in case the advances then made by him were rejected,--and the useful service, which, by the blessing of god, might be hoped for at his hands, if admitted in the character of an ally and cooperator: at any rate, so long as the whole field of his exertions, and in particular the geographical part of it, continued different from theirs. with peter, on whatever account, it was paul's own desire to hold a conference:--so we have seen him declaring to the galatians. to this peter, whom he was desirous of seeing, and whom at length he succeeded in seeing,--to this peter did he then himself tell the story of his vision, of his conversion, and the mode of it? if at any time he did,--at any rate, if the author of the acts is to be believed,--it was not till barnabas, the son of consolation, had told it for him. had it been by himself that his story had been to be told in the first instance,--he would thereby have stood exposed to cross-examination: and, among those things, which barnabas might in his situation say for him,--were many things, which, if at all, he could not, with anything like an equal prospect of good effect, have said for himself. to any asseveration of his own,--in any promises of future amity, it was not in the nature of the case, that from his own mouth they should give credence. but, when by barnabas, of whose zeal in their cause they had received such substantial proofs--when from this son of consolation they received assurance, that paul had actually engaged himself in that line of service, which he professed himself desirous to embrace;--that he had engaged so far, that no prospect of safe retreat could reasonably be in his view;--then it was, that, without imprudence, they might, venture to hold at least a conference with him, and hear and see what he had to say for himself. as to the account, given on this occasion by barnabas, of the famous vision,--had it been but preserved, it would probably have been no less curious than those which we have been already seeing. though we cannot be precisely assured in what way,--we may be pretty well assured, that, in some way or other, additions would have been to be seen made in it, to the list of _variations_. but, the great advantage,--producible, and probably produced, by the opening of the matter, as performed by barnabas,--was this: in company with those arguments, by which the sincerity of paul was to be demonstrated,--would naturally come those, by which intimation would be given, of the advantage there might be, in forbearing to apply too strict a scrutiny, to this important statement. the interests, which, in the character of motives, pleaded for the acceptance, of the advance made towards reconciliation and mutually advantageous cooperation,--would, in this manner, prepare the way, for receiving, without any troublesome counter-interrogation, the important narrative: or, perhaps, for considering the matter, as already sufficiently explained, by the son of consolation,--in such sort that, to the new apostle, the trouble of repeating a narrative, which he must already have so frequently found himself under the necessity of repeating, might be spared. the greater was the importance, of the service thus rendered to paul by the son of consolation,--the more studiously, in giving the account, as above, of the intercourse with the apostles at jerusalem,--the more studiously, would he avoid all mention of it.[ ] section . length of this visit--paul's employment during it. fifteen days, if paul is to be believed--fifteen days, and no more,--was the length of time, during which his intercourse with peter continued: gal. i. , that same length of time, and no greater, it may without much rashness be inferred, was his stay at jerusalem. these fifteen days,--or whatever, if anything longer, was the duration of his stay in that seat of their common religion,--in what occupations were they employed? it is in the acts, if anywhere, that this question will receive its answer. it was in "disputing against the grecians." acts : . that such should have been his occupation, is in his situation altogether natural. of a sort of _partition treaty_, as having, at one time, been entered into between himself and peter,--paul, in his so-often mentioned letters to the galatians, informs us in express terms. as to the time, which, on that occasion, he has in view,--it was, according to appearance, not the time of _this_ his first visit, but of the third. at that third visit, the treaty was, at any rate, either entered into for the first time, or confirmed: receiving, at the same time, what was on both sides agreed upon, as an amendment requisite to add to it, in respect of clearness, correctness, or completeness. but, at this visit, it seems altogether natural, that, with more or less of these same qualities, a treaty of this sort took place. by the sort of relation, produced between them, by the state of interests,--the existence of an agreement of this sort seems sufficiently probabilized: and, from the few words, in which, by the author of the acts, mention is made of the grecians, and of paul's disputes with them,--the inference receives the confirmation afforded by _direct_ evidence. with the grecians then it was, that these disputations of paul were held. why with the grecians, and no other? the reason is no mystery. greek was the language of paul: greek, for anything that appears, was not the language of peter, or of any other of the apostles. applying himself to the grecians, and to them alone,--paul might, to any amount, have given additional extent to his own dominion, without subtracting anything from theirs. not productive, it should seem, of much fruit,--was this portion, of the new apostle's labours. no sooner are we informed, of the boon thus offered to these grecian gentiles, than comes, moreover, the further information, that some there were, that "went about to slay him. which when the brethren knew, they brought him," it is added, "to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus." acts : . meantime, those men, who went about to slay him,--who were they? possibly they were grecians, if by the disputation in question, the annoyance produced was so intolerable to them, as to be productive of a wish and enterprise thus flagitious: and, if the evidence afforded by the rules of grammar be in this case regarded as conclusive,--the pronoun _they_ having for its last possible antecedent the substantive _grecians_--these, and no other, must have been the intended murderers. on the other hand, among the heathen--the philosophical disputants of this nation,--disputations, having any such abstractions for their subject, were not wont to be productive, of any such practical and flagitious consequences. among the heathens, moreover, it appears not, that, antecedently to his conversion, the zeal of paul had led him to put any to death: on the other hand among the christianized jews, his fellow-religionists, the number of persons, of whom he had put to death some, and in other ways plagued others, was unhappily but too great. by the religion _into_ which they had been converted,--revenge, it is true, was not (as in that which they were converted _from_) magnified, but prohibited: but, the influence of it has never been equally efficient upon all minds. be this as it may,--upon his leaving jerusalem, it was to the region of syria and cilicia, that, at this time, he betook himself. so, in his letter to his galatians, he himself says, gal. : ; and, by what is said in the acts, he is not contradicted, but confirmed. by himself what is mentioned is--the _region_, viz. syria and cilicia: by the acts what is mentioned is--the _cities_, viz. cæsarea and tarsus. cæsarea,--whether at that time it was in syria or not,--was, at any rate, little, if anything, out of the way, from jerusalem to tarsus. cæsarea was a town upon the coast:--one among those maritime towns, which, whether parts or not of syria, are in the way between the inland city, of jerusalem, and the coast of cilicia: with which coast, by a river,--tarsus, marked in the map with the mark of a capital town, appears to communicate. in speaking of this change of place, the terms employed by paul, are general terms,--"_i came._" by what _means_ he came, he does not mention: nor does there appear any particular reason why he should have mentioned them. in the acts, the account is more particular:--he was, in a manner, forced from the one place to the other:--he was, at any rate, _escorted_: it was by "_the brethren_," he was so dealt with. "which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus." acts : . by the brethren?--yes.--but by what brethren? by the general body of the christians, or any that belonged to it? no:--for, it was from their wrath, that he was making his escape. no:--not by the justly exasperated many; but by such few adherents as, under such prodigious disadvantage, his indefatigable artifice and energy had found means to conciliate. section . mode and cause of its termination. in relation to this subject, we have two, and no more than two, accounts,--both from the same pen,--that of the historiographer in the acts; and these two accounts, as usual, contradictory of each other. the first, in the order of the history, is that given by him in his own person: acts : , , . the other, is that given by him in the person of paul: namely, in the course of his supposed first-made and unpremeditated speech,--when, on the occasion of his last visit to jerusalem--his invasion visit, he was pleading for his life before the angry multitude. acts : , , , , . now then, let us compare the two accounts. speaking in his own person,--it is to the fear of certain grecians, that the historiographer ascribes paul's departure for jerusalem. in disputing with them, he had been speaking "boldly in the name of the lord jesus": and _thereupon_,--and as we are desired to believe, _therefore_,--came certain designs and endeavours to slay him. designs? on the part of whom? answer:--on the part of those same grecians: cause of these designs and endeavours, irritation, so it is intended we should suppose,--irritation, produced in the breasts of those same grecians;--and produced by the dispute. now, as to the words of the historiographer, speaking in his own person. it is immediately after the mention of paul's transactions with the apostles and the other disciples, that after saying, acts : , that "... he was with them coming in and going out of jerusalem," the narrative continues thus: ver. ; "and he spake boldly in the name of the lord jesus, and disputed against the grecians, but _they_ went about to slay him: ver. ; which when _the brethren_ knew, they brought him down to cæsarea, and sent him forth to tarsus." such is the account given, of the departure of paul from jerusalem, on the occasion in question--given by the historiographer, speaking in his own person, of the manner of the departure, and at the same time of the cause of it. behold now how different is the account given, of the same matter, by the same historiographer, in the same work, when speaking in the person of his hero. nothing now as to any disputes with grecians: nothing now of these, or any other human beings, in the character of beings who were angry with him, and _that_ to such a degree, that, to save his life, it was deemed necessary by his adherents,--styled on this occasion "_the_ brethren," to take charge of him, as we have seen, and convey him from jerusalem to cæsarea and elsewhere. the case seems to be--that, between the time of writing the account which has just been seen, and the time for giving an account of the same transaction in the person of the hero, as above,--a certain difficulty presented itself to the mind of the historiographer: and, that it is for the solution of this difficulty, that he has recourse, to one of his sovereign solvents--_a trance_. the difficulty seems to have been this: the class of persons, whom, on that first visit of his he had exasperated, were--not "_grecians_," or any other gentiles, but christians: christians, the whole body of them--apostles and disciples together: the same class of persons, to which belonged those who, on the occasion of this his last visit--the _invasion visit_--were to such a degree exasperated, by this fourth intrusion of his, as to be attempting his life. how hopeless any attempt would have been, to make them believe, that it was not by themselves, but by a set of heathens, that his life was threatened on that former occasion, is sufficiently manifest. here then comes a demand, for a substitute, to that cause, which, distant as the time was, could not, however, be altogether absent from their memory: and which, so far as it was present, could not but heighten their exasperation:--this substitute was _the trance_. the cause of the departure is now--not the fear of any human being, but the express command of "_the lord_":--a command delivered in the course, and by means, of this same _trance_. moreover, as if, from such a quarter, _commands_ were not sufficient of themselves; on the present occasion, it will be seen, they came backed by _reasons_. was it that, as the historiographer has been telling us in his own person, certain grecians were exasperated? no: but that the persons, to whom, with barnabas for his supporting witness, acts : , he had been telling his story, gave no credit to it: so that, by a man with his reputation in this state, nothing in the way of his business was to be done. but now let us see the text. it comes immediately after that passage, in which paul is made to speak of ananias, as giving orders to him, in the name of the lord: orders, concluding in these words: acts : : ... "arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the lord." this said,--his story, as told to the multitude, continues thus: "and it came to pass that, when i was come again to jerusalem, even while i prayed in the temple, i was in _a trance_: and saw him saying unto me, make _haste_, and get thee _quickly_ out of jerusalem: _for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me_. and i said, lord, they know that i imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those that believed on thee: and when the blood of thy martyr stephen was shed, i also was standing by, and consenting to his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. and he said unto me, depart: for i will send thee far hence unto the gentiles. and they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live." it may now be seen, how useful and convenient an implement this same trance was: how well adapted, to the occasion on which it was employed. taken by itself, this story about the enraged grecians might serve to impose upon readers in general: but, to the knowledge of the really enraged christians, whose wrath he was endeavouring to assuage,--it was not only too palpably false to be related to them, but too much so, to be even for a moment supposed to be related to them: hence came the demand for the supernatural cause. nothing, it is evident, could be better suited to the purpose. the assertion was of the sort of those, which, how palpably soever untrue, are not exposed to contradiction by direct evidence: and which, supposing them believed, ensure universal respect, and put all gainsayers to silence. an incident not unworthy here of notice, is--the sort of acknowledgment contained in the words--"for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." in this may be seen--a confirmation of the important fact, so fully proved on the occasion of the first or _reconciliation visit_: and we see--with what consistency and propriety, the mention of it comes in, on the present occasion: namely, in a speech, made to a multitude, of which, many of those,--by whom he had been disbelieved and rejected on that former occasion,--must of course have formed a part. such is the fact, which, after having communicated to us, in his own person, acts : , "they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple," the historiographer is frank enough to communicate to us a second time, through the mouths of paul and "the lord," the one within the other. _true_ enough this information: and, moreover, at jerusalem, as well when the historiographer was writing, as when paul was speaking, _notorious_ enough: or we should hardly have had it _here_ and _now_. but, what a truth to put into the mouth of paul, whose title to credence for his claim, is so effectually destroyed by it! to return to what, on the occasion of the first visit, is said by the historiographer, in his own person, about the grecians. that it was false, as to the main point,--namely, that it was by the fear of those same gentiles that he was driven out of jerusalem,--is now, it is hoped, sufficiently evident. but, as to his having held disputation with them,--in this there seems not to be anything inconsistent or improbable: and this part, supposing it true, might, in so far as known, help to gain credence for that which was false. a circumstance--not altogether clear, nor worth taking much trouble in the endeavour to render it so, is--on the occasion of this dialogue, the change made, of the supernatural vehicle, from a _vision_ into a "_trance_." whatsoever, if any, is the difference,--they agree in the one essential point: namely, that it is in the power, of any man, at any time, to have had as many of them as he pleases: hearing and seeing, moreover, in every one of them, whatsoever things it suits his convenience to have heard or seen.--"i saw a vision:" or, "i was in a trance": either postulate granted, everything whatsoever follows. this _trance_, it may be observed, is of a much more substantial nature than any of the _visions_. by paul in his _road vision_,--vision as it was,--neither _person_ nor _thing_, with the exception of a quantity of light, was seen: only a voice, _said to be the lord's_, heard. in this trance, the lord is not only heard, but seen. in those visions, that which is said to have been heard, amounts to nothing: on the present occasion, what is said to have been heard, is material to the purpose, and perfectly intelligible. not that there could be any use in paul's _actually_ hearing of it: for what it informed him of, was nothing more than that which, at the very time, he was in full experience of. but, in a situation such as his, it was really of use to him, to be _thought_ to have heard it: and therefore it is, that, in the speech ascribed to him, he is represented as _saying_ that he heard it. footnotes: [ ] in the current chronology, this epistle to the galatians is placed in the year ; on the part of the author of the acts, the first mention of his being in the company of paul is placed in the year next following, to wit, . note, that at the end of the epistle to the galatians, it is stated to be written from rome: yet, according to the current chronology, his arrival at rome, in custody, from jerusalem,--at which time unquestionably he had never as yet visited rome,--did not take place till the year . [ ] first time, acts ii. . second time, acts iv. . [ ] "i conferred not with flesh and blood." (gal. ii. .) "of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me." not till "after three years" did i go "up to jerusalem to see peter." with language in this strain, it would have harmonized but indifferently, to have added, "nor should i have seen him then, had it not been for barnabas." chapter v. _paul disbelieved_ continued.--_jerusalem visit ii._ _money-bringing visit._--_barnabas accompanying him from antioch._ section . at antioch, agabus having predicted a dearth, money is collected for the jerusalem saints. at his own house it was, that we last left our self-declared apostle: at his own birthplace--tarsus: what we have next to see is--what drew him from thence. all this while there were other disciples that had not been idle. to the new religion, already was antioch, antioch in syria, become a new jerusalem. upon the dispersion of the jerusalem christians, occasioned by the judicial murder of the sainted trustee of the poor's fund--stephen,--some of them, among whom were some natives of cyprus,--in which island was situated the property of the son of consolation, barnabas,--had betaken themselves to that same island, others to that same city of antioch in syria. acts xi. - . . now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about stephen, travelled as far as phenice and cyprus, and antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the jews only.--and some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene, which, when they were come to antioch, spake unto the grecians, preaching the lord jesus.--and the hand of the lord was with them; and a great number believed, and turned unto the lord.--then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in jerusalem: and they sent forth barnabas, that he should go as far as antioch.--who, when he came and had seen the grace of god, was glad; and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the lord.--for he was a good man, full of the holy ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the lord. of these, some addressed themselves exclusively to the _jews_: others ventured so far, as to make an experiment upon the _grecians_. unfortunately, these terms are, neither of them, wholly free from ambiguity. by the word _jews_, may have been meant either jews by _birth_ and _abode_, or jews by _religion_: by the word _grecians_, either jews who, born or dwelling within the field of quondam grecian dominion, used the greek as their native language,--or greeks, who were such, not only by language, but by religion. in this latter case, their lot was among the gentiles, and much more extraordinary and conspicuous was the importance of the success. "they which preach the gospel, should live of the gospel." such, in his own words, cor. : , is the maxim laid down by paul, for the edification of his corinthian disciples. to save doubts and disputation, he prefaces it with the assurance--"even so hath the lord ordained." no great need of support from revelation, seems to attach upon a maxim so natural, and so reasonable: from the time of the first planting of the gospel, it appears to have been, as indeed it could not fail to be, universally acted upon; saving such few exceptions as a happy union of zeal, with sufficient pecuniary means, might render possible. how, under the apostolical aristocracy, it had been acted upon in jerusalem, has been seen already. the time was now come,--for its being established, and acted upon in antioch. at jerusalem, under the spiritual dominion of the apostles, lived a man of the name of _agabus_. among the endowments,--of which, in the character of _qualifications_, a demand was by some understood to be created, by the business of propagating the new religion,--qualifications, a list of which, according to his conception of it, paul, cor. : , has given us,--was one, which, among these endowments, was called the "_gift of prophecy_":--a gift, under which, as under that of speech in general, particularly when applied to occasions of importance, the faculty of _prediction_--of forming correct judgments respecting future contingencies--would, if not necessarily, very frequently at least, come to be included. in the instance of the _prophecy_ here in question, this same prospective faculty, it should seem, was actually included. the _fact_, for the purpose of predicting, or giving information of which, this useful emissary was, on the present occasion, sent from jerusalem to antioch,--was--that of signifying, that there should be a great dearth: an _inference_ deduced from it, was--that, at this same antioch, for the relief of the brethren at jerusalem, _contributions_ should be collected, and sent to jerusalem. acts xi. - . . and in these days came prophets from jerusalem unto antioch.--and there stood up one of them named agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world; which came to pass in the days of claudius caesar.--then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in judea:--which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and saul. in the calamity of _dearth_ may be seen one of those events, of which--especially if the time of it be not predesignated with too rigid an exactness--a prediction may be hazarded,--and even by any man,--without much risk of falling under the disgrace attached to the appellation of _a false prophet_. of this observation, an exemplification seems to have been afforded, in the present instance. with not unaccustomed prudence,--"the spirit," by which, on this occasion, the calamity was "signified," forbore, as we see, from the fixation of any particular year--either for the prophecy, or for the accomplishment of it. "the days of claudius caesar" are mentioned as the time of the accomplishment. by agreement of all chronologists,--the duration of his reign is stated as occupying not less than thirteen years. whether this same reign had then already commenced,--is not, on this occasion, mentioned: from the manner in which it is mentioned, the negative seems not improbable; if so, then to find the time which the prophecy had for finding its accomplishment to the definite term of thirteen years, we must add another, and that an indefinite one. according to the situation, of the individuals by whom the word is employed,--_worlds_ vary in their sizes. of the dearth in question, the whole world, "all the world," is, by the author of the acts, stated as having been the afflicted theatre: "great dearth throughout all the world." acts : . as to the rest of the world, we may leave it to itself. for the purpose then and now in question, it was and is sufficient--that two cities, jerusalem and antioch, were included in it. the calamity being thus universal,--no reason of the ordinary kind is given, or seems discoverable--why, of any such contribution as should come to be raised, the course should be--from antioch to jerusalem, rather than from jerusalem to antioch. inquired for, however, on religious ground,--a _reason_ presents itself, without much difficulty. what rome became afterwards, jerusalem was then--the capital of _that world_, which now, for the first time, received the name of _christian_. according to one of the sayings of jesus--if paul, his self-appointed apostle, is to be trusted to--of them it was pronounced "_more blessed to give than to receive_":[ ] but in the eyes of the successors of st. peter at all times,--and at this time, as it should seem, in his own--it was _more blessed to receive than give_. section . barnabas and paul dispatched with the money to jerusalem. of the _amount_ of the eleemosynary harvest, no intimation is to be found. as to the _consequence_ of it, barnabas, we see, is the man stated as having, with obvious propriety, been chosen for the important trust: barnabas--of whose opulence, trustworthiness, steadiness, and zeal, such ample proofs, not to speak of those subsequent ones, which will be seen in their place, had already manifested themselves. in consequence of the information, already received by the mother church in jerusalem, of the prosperity of the daughter church, acts : , , planted, as above, in the capital of syria,--this most active of all christian citizens had been sent to give increase to it. but, of the talents and activity of paul, his indefatigable supporter and powerful patron had had full occasion to be apprized. accordingly, without the aid of this his not less indefatigable helper, still was the strength of the rising church, in the eyes of the patron, incomplete. "a prophet," says a not ill-grounded proverb, "has no honor in his own country." in his native city, among the witnesses of his youth, paul had indeed found _safety_: but, as the nature of the case manifests, in a circle, from which respect stood excluded by familiarity, safety had not been accompanied with _influence_: and, in eyes such as those of paul, safety without influence was valueless. under these circumstances,--the patron, going to tarsus in person in quest of his protegé, could not naturally find much difficulty in regaining possession of him, and bringing with him the so highly-valued prize, on his return to antioch. "then," says the acts, : , , "departed barnabas to tarsus, for to seek saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto antioch." at this place, with their united powers, they had been carrying on their operations for the space of a twelvemonth, when the petition for pecuniary assistance was received there. as for paul,--from the moment of his conversion, notwithstanding the ill success of his first attempt,--the prime object of his ambition--the situation of president of the christian commonwealth--had never quitted its hold on his concupiscence. occasions, for renewing the enterprise, were still watched for with unabated anxiety:--a more favourable one than the one herein question, could not have presented itself to his fondest wishes. the entire produce, of the filial bounty of the daughter church, was now to be poured into the bosom of the necessitous mother. for the self-destined head of that rising church, two more acceptable occupations, than those which one and the same occasion brought to him, could not have been found:--first, the collection of the contributions;--and then the conveying of them, to the place of their destination. of the labours of such agents, in such circumstances, the success, we are told, they found, was a natural result. "then," says the acts : , , "then the disciples, every one according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in judea:--which also they did; and sent it to the elders by the hands of barnabas and saul." thus much as to the _public_ purpose. very different was the lot of paul's _personal_ project. what the elders could not have any objection to the receipt of, was--the money. but, what they had an insuperable objection to, was--the receipt of the yoke of this their outwardly-converted, but once already rejected, persecutor. this second enterprise,--though still under the same powerful leader, and produced by such flattering prospects,--succeeded no better than the first. five-and-twenty verses after, we are told of the _termination_ of this their second jerusalem visit; and this is all we hear of it: "and barnabas and saul," says the acts : , "returned from jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them john, whose surname was mark." this same john mark they got by their expedition: and this, for anything that appears, was all they got by it. between the mention of their arrival at jerusalem, and the mention of their departure from thence,--comes the episode about peter:--his incarceration and liberation under herod; and the extraordinary death of the royal prosecutor,--of which, in its place. as to the interval,--what the length of it was, and in what manner, by paul, under the wing of the son of consolation, it was occupied,--are points, on which we are left altogether in the dark: as also, whether the _time_ of these adventures of peter, the _mention_ of which stands inserted between the mention of the two occurrences in the history of paul, was comprised in that same interval. footnotes: [ ] acts : . it is in the parting scene--when about to break from his dissuading disciples, and enter upon his invasion project--that paul is represented as saying to them: "remember the words of the lord jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive." whence this self-appointed and posthumous apostle of jesus got these words of jesus--if such they were--must be left to conjecture. in the works of the four received biographers of jesus, with _cruden_ and his _concordance_ for guides, all search for them has been fruitless. chapter vi. _paul disbelieved continued.--his third jerusalem visit.--paul and barnabas delegated by antioch saints, to confer on the necessity of jewish rites to heathen converts to the religion of jesus._ section . occasion of this visit. we come now to the transaction, on the occasion of which, the grand object of paul's ambition received, in part, its accomplishment: namely, that, by which,--though without any such popular election as, in the instance of matthias, had been necessary to constitute a man an associate to the apostles,--he was, in some sort, taken by them into fellowship, and admitted, with their consent, into a participation of their labours. this occasion was--the dispute, which, in the syrian antioch, took place, according to the author of the acts, on the question--whether, under the religion of jesus, circumcision was necessary to salvation: a question, in which,--whether explicitly or no,--was implicitly, it should seem, and perhaps inextricably, understood to be involved, the so much wider question--whether, under that same new religion, the old ceremonial law should, in any part of it, be regarded as necessary. on this same occasion, two important subjects present themselves to view at the same time: the one, a question of _doctrine_ relative to circumcision, as above; the other, a question about _jurisdiction_, as between paul on the one part, and peter, with or without the rest of the apostles. as to what concerns the debate about circumcision, we have no other evidence than the statement of the author of the acts. as to what concerns the jurisdiction question, we have the evidence of paul himself, as contained in his letter to the galatian converts: and an original letter, howsoever dubious the correctness of the author in respect of matters of fact, is more trustworthy than a multitude of anonymous narratives.[ ] in respect of the progress made by the religion of jesus,--antioch, it has already been observed--the syrian antioch--had become a second jerusalem; and, so far as concerned the gentiles at large, its maritime situation gave to it a convenience, that was not shared with it by that inland city. at the time here in question,--the gentiles had received more or less of instruction, from three different sets of teachers:-- . from the disciples who had been driven from jerusalem by the tragical death of saint stephen; . from saint peter, principally on the occasion of the excursion made by him to lydda, saron, joppa, and cæsarea; and . from paul and barnabas, on the occasion, and by the means, of the long tour, made by them for that special purpose, as above. at this maritime metropolis of the faith, the new religion was spreading itself,--and, as far at least as depended on exemption from all disturbance from without, in a state of peace and tranquility;--when, by a set of _nameless_ men from judea,--if to the author of the acts credit is to be given on this point, for by him no mention is made of any one of their names,--the harmony of the church was disturbed. converts as they were to the religion of jesus, yet,--in their view of the matter, if the author of the acts is to be believed, without circumcision, no salvation was to be had. by paul it is said, "they came from james," gal. : , which is as much as to say that they were sent by james: and accordingly, when james's speech is seen, by him will these scruples of theirs be seen advocated. if the gospel history, as delivered by the evangelists, is to be believed,--nothing could be more inconsistent, on many occasions with the practice, and at length with the direct precepts, of jesus, than this deference to the mosaic law: if human prudence is to be regarded,--nothing could be more impolitic--nothing more likely to narrow, instead of extending, the dominion of the church. on this principle, no man who was not born a jew, could be a christian without first becoming a jew, without embracing the mosaic law; and thus loading himself with two different, and mutually inconsistent, sets of obligations. from paul, this conceit,--as was natural,--experienced a strenuous resistance. no recognition as yet had paul received, from the body of the apostles. in jerusalem, for anything that appears,--though this was at least seventeen years after the death of jesus--they remained alive--all of them:--at any rate the two chiefs of them, if paul is to be believed, who, gal. i. , says he saw them, namely, saint peter "and james, the lord's brother": which two, he says, he saw, out of a number, the rest of whom, he studiously assures his galatians that he did not see: though by his historiographer, acts : , by his all-comprehensive expression, "_the apostles_," we are desired to believe, that he saw all of them.[ ] whichever be the truth,--at jerusalem, the metropolis of judaism, no employment could, under these circumstances, be reasonably expected for paul: whereas, _out_ of judea,--wherever the language of greece was the mother tongue, or familiarly spoken,--the advantage, which, in every address to the gentiles, he would have over those unlearned jews, was universally manifest. such, however, were the impressions, made by these unnamed manufacturers and disseminators of scruples, who, if paul is to be believed, came from james the brother of our lord--that, by the whole church, as it is called, of antioch, a determination was taken--to send to jerusalem, to the apostles and the elders that were associated with them, a numerous mission, headed by paul and barnabas, who are the only two persons named. accordingly, out they set, "after having been brought on their way," says the author of the acts, : , "by the _church_," which is as much as to say, by the whole fraternity of christians there established. section . the delegates how received.--council of apostles and elders. against the pretensions of a man thus supported, vain, on the part of the original and real apostles, would have been any attempt, to resist the pretensions of this their self-constituted rival: they, barnabas and paul, were received, says the author of the acts, of the church and of the apostles and elders.[ ] arrived at jerusalem, paul and barnabas told their own story--related their adventures and experiences--declared, to use the language of the acts : , all things that god had done unto them. * * * * * notwithstanding the utmost exertion of paul's ever-ready eloquence,--some, it is stated, there were, who, believers as, in a certain sort, they were in the religion of jesus,--were not to be persuaded, to give up so much as a single tittle of the mosaic law: these were, as it was natural they should be, of the sect of pharisees. "there rose up," says the acts : , "certain of the sect of the pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them (the gentiles), and to command them to keep the law of moses." * * * * * of these private discussions, the result was--the convocation of an assembly of the managing body, in which, associated with the apostles, we find others--under the name of _elders_. how, on an occasion, on which the proposed subject of determination was a question of such cardinal importance to the religion of jesus;--how it should have come to pass, that the apostles, to whom alone, and by whom alone, the whole tenor of the acts and sayings of jesus had been made known--made known by an uninterrupted habit of exclusive intimacy, and especially during the short but momentous interval between his resurrection and ascension;--how it should have happened, that, to the apostles, any other persons not possessed of these first of all titles to credence and influence, should have come to be associated,--is not mentioned. upon no other authority than that of this author, are we to believe it to be true? on the supposition of its being true,--there seems to be, humanly speaking, but one way to account for it. that which the apostles, and they alone, _could_ contribute to the cause, was--the authority and the evidence resulting from that peculiar intimacy: what they could _not_ contribute was--money and influence derived from ordinary and external sources: to the exclusive possession of these latter titles to regard, will, therefore, it should seem, be to be ascribed, supposing it credited, the circumstance of an incorporation otherwise so incongruous. "received," say the acts : , they were.--but by whom received?--by the church, by the apostles, by the elders, says that same history in that same place. by _the_ apostles: to wit--so as any one would conclude--by _all_ the apostles--by the whole fellowship of apostles. * * * * * whether in any, and, if so, in what degree that conclusion is correct, we have no determinate means of knowing. * * * * * if, however, it was so to the utmost,--nothing appears in favor of the notion, that between paul on the one part, and the apostles and their disciples on the other, there existed at this time any real harmony. for, in what character was it that he made his appearance? in that of a commissioned envoy, from the whole body of the church, established in that station, which was next in importance to jerusalem, to which he was sent. and who was it that, at that time, as on both the former times, he, paul, had in his company? still his constant patron and associate barnabas--the munificent friend and patron of that church which he was visiting--the indefatigable barnabas. by paul himself, in his epistle to the galatians, : , , , the idea of any such extensive cordiality,--say rather of cordiality to any the smallest extent,--is pretty plainly negatived.[ ] on that occasion, it was that of the partition treaty, what his interest required was--that, on the part of the apostles and their disciples, the concurrence given to it, should appear as extensive as possible. if then they had all of them, really and personally concurred in it,--or even if the contrary had not been notorious, this is the conception which he would have been forward to convey and inculcate. no such notion, however, does he venture to convey. when speaking of them in general terms--of no affection on either side, more kindly than that of ill humor, does he give any intimation. gal. : . "of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: god accepted no man's person: for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me." when, again, he comes to speak of the sort of intercourse, such as it was, which he had with the apostles,--who are the persons that he speaks of? all the apostles? the body of the apostles in general?--no: james, cephas, the hebrew name of which peter is a translation, and john: these three, and no more. these are the men, whom, to him paul and his protector barnabas in conjunction, he on that same occasion speaks of, as "giving the right hand of fellowship:" to wit, for the purpose of the partition treaty, the terms of which immediately follow. and, even of these men, in what way does he speak? as of men "who seemed to be pillars:" so that, as to what concerned the rest of the apostles, he found himself reduced to speak no otherwise than by conjecture. and this same "right hand of fellowship"--what was their inducement for giving it?--it was, says he, that "they perceived the grace that was given unto me": _i.e._, in plain language, and ungrounded pretension apart,--the power, which they saw he had, of doing mischief:--of passing, from the character of a jealous and restless rival, into that of a declared enemy: into that character, in which he had originally appeared, and with such disastrous effect. immediately after this comes the mention of the visit, made by peter to antioch: and therefore it is, that, no sooner is peter--that chief of the apostles of jesus--mentioned,--than he is mentioned, as a man whom this paul "withstood to his face, because he was to be blamed." gal. : . peter was to be blamed: those other jews that were come to antioch from james--they were to be blamed. barnabas, under whose powerful protection,--by the church at jerusalem, her justly odious persecutor had, at three different times, been endured,--he too was to be blamed. he too was, at that time, to be blamed; and, as will be seen presently after, openly quarrelled with; and, if on this point the acts are to be believed, parted with. acts : . "and the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so barnabas took mark, and sailed unto cyprus." section . debates--course carried by james against peter. of what passed at this assembly, the only account we have--the account given to us by the author of the acts--is curious:--curious at any rate; and whether it be in every particular circumstance true or not,--in so far as it can be depended upon, instructive.[ ] we have the persons mentioned as having spoken: they are, in the order in which they are here enumerated, these four:--to wit, peter, barnabas, paul and james. of the speech of peter, the particulars are given: so likewise of that of james: of barnabas and paul, nothing more than the topic. against the mosaic law _in toto_, we find peter; and such contribution as he is represented as furnishing to this side of the cause in the shape of argument. on the same side, were barnabas and paul: what they furnished was matter of fact:--namely, in the language of the acts, "what miracles and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them:"--in plain language, the success they had met with among the gentiles. on this question, on the side of the chief of the apostles, were--the manifest interest of the religion of jesus as to extent of diffusion,--the authority derived from situation,--the express command of jesus as delivered in the gospel history,--and jesus' own practice: not to speak of the inutility and unreasonableness of the observances themselves. yet, as far as appears from the author of the acts,--of these arguments, conclusive as they would or at least should have been,--it appears not that any use was made: the success, he spoke of as having been experienced by himself among the gentiles,--in this may be seen the sole argument employed in peter's speech. thus,--in so far as this report is to be believed,--thus, upon their own respective achievements, did,--not only paul but peter,--rest, each of them, the whole strength of the cause. spite of reason, religion, and jesus, the victory is in this account, given to james--to jesus' kinsman, james. the motion is carried: the course proposed, is a sort of middle course--a sort of compromise. at the hands of gentile proselytes, in deference to the mosaic law, abstinence from four things is required: namely, meats offered to idols, blood, things strangled: these, and the irregularities of the sexual appetite,--whatsoever they were, that were meant by the word, rendered into english by the word _fornication_. if any such decision were really come to,--by nothing but necessity--necessity produced by the circumstances of place and time--will it be found excusable. abstinence from food killed in the way of sacrifice to heathen gods, on the occasion of public sacrifices: yes; for, for such food, little relish could remain, on the part of persons devoted to the religion of jesus: from fornication, yes; for, for a sacrifice in this shape, even among the gentiles, some preparation had been made by stoicism. but, as to blood and things strangled,[ ] that is to say, animals so slaughtered as to have more blood left in their carcasses than the mosaic law would allow to be left in them--animals slaughtered otherwise than in the jewish manner,--thus forbidding teachings of the religion of jesus, to eat a meal furnished by gentile hands,--this, as above observed, was depriving them of their most favourable opportunities, for carrying their pious and beneficent purposes into effect, by adding to the number of believers. altogether remarkable is the consideration, upon the face of it, by which, if the historian is to be believed, this decision was produced. "for moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in synagogues every sabbath day," acts : . may be so: but what if he has? what is that to the purpose? good, if the question were about the jews: but, it is _not_ about the jews: the gentiles, and they only, are the subjects of it. and the gentiles--what know or care _they_ about moses? what is it that is to send _them_ into the synagogues, to hear anything that is "read in synagogues"? by this imaginary abstinence from blood,--for, after all, by no exertion of mosaic ingenuity could the flesh ever be completely divested of the blood that had circulated in it,--of this perfectly useless prohibition, what would be the effect?--not only to oppose obstacles, to the exertions of christian teachers, in their endeavors to make converts among the gentiles,--but, on the part of the gentiles themselves to oppose to them a needless difficulty, in the way of their conversion, by rendering it impossible for them, consistently with the observance of this prohibition, to associate with their unconverted friends and families at convivial hours. thus much as to what concerns the gentiles.[ ] since, and from that time, the religion of jesus has spread itself:--we all see to what extent. spread itself: and by what means? by means of the decision thus fathered upon the apostles? upon the apostles, the elders, and the whole church?--no: but in spite of it, and by the neglect of it. charged with a letter, containing this decision, did paul, together with his friend barnabas, return from jerusalem,--if the author of the acts is to be believed,--to the society of christian converts, by which he had been sent thither: charged with this letter, carrying with it the authority of the whole fellowship of the apostles. paul himself--he paul--what sort of regard did he pay to it? _he wrote against it with all his might._ no more jewish rites! no more mosaic law! such is the cry, that animates the whole body of those writings of his which have reached us. section . result, supposed apostolic decree and letter to antioch, which, per acts, paul circulates. of a decision, agreed upon and pronounced to the above effect--a decision expressed by a decree;--and of a copy of that decree, included in and prefaced by a letter addressed to the saints at antioch,--were paul and barnabas, along with others who were associated with them, on their return to that city, the bearers:--that is to say, if, as to these matters, credence is given, to the statement, made by the author of the acts; by whom the alleged decree and letter are given, in words, which, according to him, were their very words:--these words are those which follow: acts : to . . then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to antioch, with paul and barnabas, and silas, chief men among the brethren.--and they wrote letters by them after this manner: the apostles and elders, and brethren, _send_ greeting unto the brethren which are of the gentiles in antioch and syria and cilicia.--forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, ye _must_ be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:--it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved barnabas and paul,--men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ.--we have sent therefore judas and silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.--for it seemed good to the holy ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;--that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. fare ye well.--so when they were dismissed, they came to antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.--_which_ when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.--and judas and silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed _them_. supposing it genuine,--a most curious, important and interesting document, this letter and decree must be allowed to be. supposing it genuine: and, in favor of its genuineness, reasons present themselves, which, so long as they remain unopposed, and no preponderating reasons in support of the contrary opinion are produced, must decide our judgment. not long after the account of the acceptance given at antioch to this decision,--comes that of a conjunct missionary excursion from that place made by paul, with timotheus, and perhaps silas, for his companion. at the very commencement of this excursion--if, in the decree spoken of, this decree is to be understood as included; and there seems no reason why it should not be, they are represented as taking an active part in the distribution of it. acts : . "and says the historian, as they" (paul, &c.) "went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders that were at jerusalem." that, by paul, this token, of association with the apostles, should at that time be exhibited and made manifest, seems altogether natural. it affords a further proof, of the need, which, at that period of his labors, he regarded himself as having, of the appearance--the outward signs at least--of a connection with the apostles. true, it is, that the persuasion of any such need is altogether inconsistent with that independence, which, in such precise and lofty terms, we have seen him declaring in his epistle to his galatians,--is sufficiently manifest. but, in the current chronology, the date, ascribed to that epistle, is by five years posterior, to the date ascribed to the commencement of this excursion: date of the excursion, a.d. ; date of the epistle, a.d. : difference, five years: and five years are not too great a number of years, for the experience of success and prosperity, to have raised to so high a pitch, the temperature of his mind.[ ] even before this time, we find him even outstretching the concessions, which, in that decree, in the case of the gentiles, in compliance with the scruples of the jewish disciples they had to deal with, we have been seeing made by the apostles, in favor of the mosaic law. abstinence--from meat offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication--composed all the mosaic observances exacted in that decree. to these, he, in his practice, at this time, added another, and _that_, in respect of extent, in a prodigious degree a more important one: to wit, the submitting to circumcision. for, to this painful observance,--in which a submission to all the other mosaic observances was implied,--he had already subjected his new convert timotheus, whom, in this excursion, in addition to silas, he took with him for a companion. born of a greek father as he was,--adult as he was,--he took him, says the historian, and circumcised him. circumcised him--and why?--"_because of the jews, which were in those quarters._"[ ] footnotes: [ ] acts xv. to :--" . and certain men which came down from judea, taught the brethren, _and said_, except ye be circumised after the manner of moses, ye cannot be saved.-- . when therefore paul and barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that paul and barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.-- . and being brought on their way by the church, they passed through phenice and samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.-- . and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders; and they declared all things that god had done with them." [ ] gal. i. , . "then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days.-- . but other of the apostles saw i none, save james the lord's brother." acts : . "and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of _the_ apostles and elders; and they declared all things that god had done with them." the cause of this contrariety lies not far beneath the surface. paul had one object in view; his historiographer another. in the two passages, they wrote at distant times, and with different purposes. in his address to his galatian disciples, paul's object was to magnify his own importance at the expense of that of the apostles: to establish the persuasion, not only of his independence of them, but of his superiority over them. the generality of them were not worth his notice; but having some business to settle with them, peter, the chief of them, he "went" to see, and james, as being "the lord's brother," he vouchsafed to see. on that particular occasion, such was the conception which paul was labouring to produce: and such, accordingly, was his discourse. as for the historiographer, his object was, of course, throughout, to place the importance of his hero on as high a ground as possible. but, in this view, when once paul had come to a settlement with the apostles, the more universal the acceptance understood to have been received by him--received from the whole body of christians, and from those their illustrious leaders in particular,--the better adapted to this his historiographer's general purposes would be the conception thus conveyed: accordingly they were received, he says, "of the church, and the apostles, and elders." [ ] acts xv. . "and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received of the church and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that god had done unto them." [ ] gal. ii. . "but of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: god accepteth no man's person: for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me.--and when james, cephas, and john, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.--only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which i also was forward to do.--but when peter was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." [ ] acts : - . . "but there rose up certain of the sect of the pharisees which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of moses.--and the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.--and when there had been much disputing, peter rose up, and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago god made choice among us, that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe.--and god, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the holy ghost, even as _he did_ unto us;--and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.--now therefore why tempt ye god, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?--but we believe that through the grace of the lord jesus christ we shall be saved, even as they.--then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to barnabas and paul, declaring what miracles and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them.--and after they had held their peace, james answered, saying, men and brethren, hearken unto me:--simon hath declared how god at the first did visit the gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.--and to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,--after this i will return, and will build again the tabernacle of david, which is fallen down; and i will build again the ruins thereof, and i will set it up:--that the residue of men might seek after the lord, and all the gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the lord, who doeth all these things.--known unto god are all his works from the beginning of the world.--wherefore my sentence is,--that we trouble not them, which from among the gentiles are turned to god:--but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.--for moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day." [ ] after the word blood, the mention made of things strangled seems to have been rather for explanation than as a separate ordinance. of strangling, instead of bleeding in the jewish style,--what the effect would be, other than that of retaining blood, which the mosaic ordinance required should be let out, is not very apparent. [ ] another observation there is that applies even to the jews. by moses were all these several things forbidden. true: but so were a vast multitude of other things, from, which (after the exceptions here in question) the prohibition is, by this decision, taken off. these things, still proposed to be prohibited, as often as they entered a synagogue, they would hear prohibited: but, so would they all those other things, which, by this decision, are left free. [ ] in the account of this excursion, galatia--now mentioned for the first time in the acts,--is mentioned, in the number of the countries, which, in the course of it, he visited. it stands fourth: the preceding places being derbe, lystra, iconium and phrygia. acts : to . in acts : , "he ... went over [all] galatia ... strengthening the disciples." [ ] acts : to . then came he to derbe and lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there named timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a jewess and believed: but his father was a greek:--which was well reported of by the brethren that were at lystra and iconium.--him would paul have to go forth to him, and took and circumcised him, because of the jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a greek. chapter vii. _paul disbelieved continued.--after his third jerusalem visit, contest between him and peter at antioch._ partition treaty: paul _for himself_: peter, james _and_ john, _for the apostles_. section . contest and partition treaty, as per acts, and paul's epistles. galatians ii. to . . then fourteen years after i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, and took titus with _me_ also.--and i went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means i should run, or had run, in vain.--but neither titus, who was with me, being a greek, was compelled to be circumcised:--and that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.--to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.--but of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: god accepteth no man's person: for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me;--but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, _as the gospel_ of the circumcision _was_ unto peter;--for he that wrought effectually in peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the gentiles:--and when james, cephas, and john, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.--only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which i also was forward to do.--but _when peter was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face_, because he was to be blamed.--for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.--and the other jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.--but when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto peter before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews?--we who are jews by nature, and not sinners of the gentiles,--knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, even we have believed in jesus christ, that we might be justified by the faith of christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. so much for the question about jewish rites. we come now to the state of affairs between paul and peter. concerning this, we have little, as hath been seen, from the author of the acts: from paul himself, not much: but what there is of it is of prime importance. on this occasion, to judge from the account given in the acts,--between paul and peter, all was harmony. in their principles, in their speeches, they may be seen pleading on the same side: arguing, and arguing in vain, both of them against the superior influence of james: of that james, of whose written works, in comparison of those we have from paul, we have so little. but presently, on one side at least,--we shall see contention--preserving contention--and rival ambition, for the cause of it. in this pregnant and instructive letter,--paul's second letter to his galatians,--the authenticity of which seems to be altogether out of the reach of doubt,--among the particulars, that bear relation to this the third visit, the following are those, by which the greatest share of attention seems demanded at our hands. in the first place, let us view them in the order in which they _stand_: that done, the degree of _importance_ may determine the order in which they are _considered_. . fourteen is the number of years, between this third visit of his to jerusalem, reckoning either from the first of his visits made to that same holy place after his conversion, or from his departure from damascus after his return thither from arabia. . on this journey of his to jerusalem, he has with him not only barnabas, as mentioned in the acts, but _titus_, of whom no mention is there made. . it is by revelation, that this journey of his was undertaken. . the gospel, which he then and there preaches, is a gospel of his own. . private at the same time, and for reasons thereupon given, is his mode of communicating it. . titus, though at his disposal, he leaves uncircumcised. . _false brethren_ is the appellation he bestows upon those, who, on this occasion, standing up for the mosaic law, give occasion to this debate. . elders, apostles, kinsmen of jesus,--be they who they may,--he, paul, is not on this occasion a man to give place to any such persons: to give place by _subjection_: say rather in the way of _subordination_. . unnamed are the persons, on whom the vituperation he discharges, is poured forth. thus much only is said of them: namely, verse , that they "came from james," the brother of our lord. contemptuous throughout is the manner in which he speaks of all those persons whom he does not name. quere, who are they, to whom, in everything that goes before that same verse, he is alluding? it seems from thence, that it was with james, from whom they received support, that those scruples of theirs, out of which sprung these differences and negotiations, originated. . leaving the jews to peter--he claims to himself as his own the whole population of the gentiles. . to this effect, an explicit agreement was actually entered into; parties, he and barnabas of the one part; james, peter, by his hebrew surname of cephas, and john, of the other part. . of this agreement, one condition was--that, of such pecuniary profit, as should be among the fruits of the labors of paul among the gentiles, a part should be remitted, to be at the disposal of peter. . paul, at the time of this visit, stood up against peter. . the cause, of his doing so, was--an alleged weakness and inconsistency in the conduct of peter, and his gaining to his side--not only jews of inferior account, but barnabas. . the weakness and inconsistency consisted in this: viz: that whereas he himself had been in use to act with the gentiles, yet after the arrival at antioch of those who came from james at jerusalem,--he from fear of the jewish converts, not only ceased to eat with the gentiles, but to the extent of his influence forced the gentile converts to live after the manner of the jews. . on the occasion of this his dispute with peter, he gave it explicitly as his opinion,--that, to a convert to the religion of jesus, jew or gentile,--observance of the mosaic law would, as to everything peculiar to it, be useless, not to say worse than useless, gal. : , "for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." . as to his place in relation to the apostles. his was not inferior to anybody's: upon terms altogether equal did he treat with the apostles: in and by the first partition treaty,--he, with barnabas for his colleague,--barnabas, from whom, according to the acts, he afterwards separated,--obtains the whole of the gentile world for the field of their labors. thus elevated, according to his account of the matter, was the situation, occupied by him on the occasion of this his third visit to jerusalem, in comparison of what it had been at the time of his first,--and, to all appearance, at the time of the second. at the time of his first visit, the apostles,--all but peter and james, upon which two barnabas forced him,--turned their backs upon him: upon his second visit, none of them, as far as appears, had anything to do with him: now, upon his third visit, they deal with him upon equal terms: and now, not only peter and james, but john, are stated as having intercourse with him. . of this partition treaty, important as it is, no mention is to be found in the acts. from first to last,--in the account given in the acts, no such figure does he make as in his own. in the acts, of the speech of peter, and even of that of james, the substance is reported: of paul's, nothing more than the subject: viz. his own achievements among the gentiles: against paul's opinion, as well as peter's, the compromise, moved by james, is represented as carried. . as to the cause, or occasion, of his third visit to jerusalem. in the account given in the acts, it is particularly and clearly enough explained. it is in conjunction with barnabas that he goes thither: both of them, to confer with the apostles and elders, on the subject of the notion, entertained by numbers among the jewish converts, that, by conversion to the religion of jesus, they were not set free from any of the obligations imposed by the law of moses. of this commission,--creditable as it could not but have been to him,--paul, in his account of the matter, as given to the galatians, makes not the least mention. no: it is not from men on this occasion nor on others, it is not from men, that he received his authority, but from god: it is by revelation, that is, immediately from god, and by a sort of miracle. . what, in obedience to this revelation, he was to do, and did accordingly, was,--the preaching of a gospel of his own; a gospel which as yet he had not preached to any body but the gentiles. preaching? how and where? in an assembly of the whole body of the believers in jesus, the apostles themselves included? no: but privately, and only to the leading men among them: "to them which were of reputation." a gospel of his own? yes: that he did. further on, it will be seen what it was: a gospel, of which, as far as appears from the evangelists, no traces are to be found, in anything said by jesus: especially, if what, on that occasion, he, paul, taught by word of mouth at antioch, agreed with what we shall find him teaching in his epistles. . "false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring up into bondage." liberty? what liberty? evidently that liberty which consisted in exemption from the ceremonials of the mosaic law. who then were these false brethren, these sticklers for the ceremonial law? if the account in the acts is to be believed,--they were the greater part of the fraternity of christians in jerusalem: a party so considerable, that peter, the chief of the apostles, though in his sentiments on this subject so decidedly and completely opposite to them, was obliged to give way to it: and, as to several of the obligations,--by which, as above stated, no small obstacle was opposed to the progress of the religion of jesus,--the whole body of the apostles found themselves under the like necessity. if he himself is to be believed, gal. : , the men in question were men, who, if they continued in those scruples in which they went beyond the brother of our lord, had, at any rate, in the first instance, received from that highly distinguished personage their instructions. and shortly after this, acts : , in deference to this party, paul himself "took timothy, a gentile, and circumcised him." but, supposing the public transactions, thus reported in the history of the author of the acts, to have really had place;--namely, mission of paul and barnabas, from the christians of antioch to jerusalem,--mission of judas barsabas and silas, from the apostles and elders, with paul and barnabas in their company, to antioch,--letter of the apostles and elders sent by them to the christians of antioch,--all this supposed, how erroneous soever in their opinions, in affirmance of the obligatoriness of these ceremonials,--this majority, to whose scruples the whole body of the apostles saw reason to give way,--could they, by this self-intruded convert, be considered as persons to whom the epithet of _false brethren_, would be admitted to be applicable? . does it not seem, rather, that this story, about the deputation of paul and barnabas to the apostles and brethren at jerusalem from the apostles at antioch, and the counter deputation of judas barsabas, and silas, to accompany paul and barnabas on their return to antioch, bearing all of them together a letter from the apostles at jerusalem,--was an invention of the anonymous author of the acts? or else a story, either altogether false, or false in great part, picked up by him, and thus inserted? . mark now, in this letter of paul, another circumstance: and judge whether it tends not to cast discredit on what is said of peter in the acts. in the acts account we have seen peter in the great council, supporting, in a sort of speech, the liberty side--of the question,--jesus against moses,--supporting it in the great council, in which, in that same account, paul, though present, is, as to that point, represented as silent: in that same account, shall we see peter, five years before this time, addressing himself to the gentiles,--using this same liberty,--and, when called to account for doing so, employing _his_ pair of visions, his and cornelius's, acts : - , in and for his defence: we shall see him in this new part of his career,--in this part, for which he was by both education and habits of life so ill qualified,--we shall see him so much in earliest in this part of his labors, as to have expended miracles,--a supernatural cure, and even a raising from the dead,--for his support in it. had any such facts really happened--facts in their nature so notorious,--would paul, in this letter of his to the galatians, have spoken of peter, as if he had never made, or attempted to make, any progress in the conversion of the gentiles? speaking of the sticklers for moses, as well as of peter,--would he have said "when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was to peter?" gal. : , "for he that wrought effectually in peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the gentiles?" that, in some way or other, peter had tried his hand upon some persons who were gentiles--in this there is nothing but what may well enough be believed: provided it be also believed--that, in the experiment so made by him, he had little or no success:--for, that after the expenditure of two such miracles of so public a nature, besides a pair of visions,--he had after all made so poor a hand of it, as to be content to give up to paul the whole of his prospects from that quarter,--does it seem credible? . as to the partition-treaty itself,--whatsoever were the incidents that had brought it about, nothing could be more natural--nothing more probable--nothing more beneficial to the common cause--to the religion of jesus, meaning always so far as the religion taught by paul was comfortable to it. each retained to himself the only part of the field, for the cultivation of which he was qualified: each gave up no other part of the field, than that, for the cultivation of which he was _not_ qualified. . gal. : . "for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. . "but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto peter. . "and when james, cephas, and john, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. . gal. : . "only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which i also was forward to do. . "but when peter was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. . "for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.--and the other jews dissembled likewise with him: insomuch that barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. . "but when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto peter before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews?" . "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, even we have believed in jesus christ, that we might be justified by the faith of christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." note, in this same letter, the mention made of peter's eating with the gentiles. "for before that certain came from james, he, peter, did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision." note here, an additional reason for discrediting the whole story of peter's expedition,--_miracles_ and visions included,--as reported in the acts. in regard to the _visions_,--from this circumstance it may be seen, that either no such visions were, as stated in the acts : - , related by peter, on his defence against the accusations preferred against him on this ground,--or that, if any such relation was given, no credit was given to it: for, it is after this, and, according to appearance, long after,--that, according to the acts : - , not less than five years after, the meeting at jerusalem took place; that meeting, at which, at the motion of james, the adherence to the mosaic law was indeed in part dispensed with; but, so far as regards the practice charged upon peter as an offence,--namely the eating with the gentiles, insisted on and ordained. if paul's evidence was good and conclusive evidence in support of paul's visions,--how came peter's evidence not to be received as good and conclusive evidence in support of peter's visions? paul's evidence, with the visions reported by it, was not better evidence, in support of his claim to the apostleship,--than peter's visions, if the account in the acts is to be believed, in support of the abrogation of the mosaic law. yet, as, according to the author of the acts, by paul's account of his visions, the apostles were not any of them convinced; so here, according to paul, by peter's account of his visions, if ever really related to the fellowship of the apostles, and to the elders,--their associates,--that same goodly fellowship was not convinced. section . partition-treaty--probability given, by the financial stipulation, to paul's account of it. of this important treaty, mention may have been seen above. in the financial stipulation which may have been observed in it,--may be seen a circumstance, by which an additional degree of credibility seems to be given, to paul's account of the transaction; at the same time that light is thrown upon the nature of it. paul alone, with his adherents, were to address themselves to the gentiles: but, in return for the countenance given to him by peter and the rest of the apostles, he was to _remember the poor_; which is what, says he, "i also was forward to do." now, as to the remembering the poor, what is meant by it at this time of day, was meant by it at that time of day, or it would not have been meant by it at this:--supplying money, need it be added? for the use of the poor. whatsoever, in relation to this money, was the intention of the rulers,--whether to retain any part in compensation for their own trouble, or to distribute among the poor the whole of it, without deduction;--in other words, whether profit as well as patronage,--or patronage alone, and without profit,--was to be the fruit;--human nature must, in this instance, have ceased to be human nature, if, to the men in question--apostles as they were--the money could have been altogether an object of indifference. according to a statement, to which, as above, ch. ii., though contained in this anonymous history, there seems no reason to refuse credence,--community of goods--a principle, even now, in these days, acted upon by the moravian christians--was a principle, acted upon in those days, by the jewish christians. the property of each was thrown into one common stock: and the disposal of it was committed to a set of trustees, who--it is positively related--were confirmed, and, to all appearance, were recommended by,--and continued to act under the influence of,--the apostles. on neither side were motives of the ordinary human complexion--motives by which man's nature was made to be governed--wanting, to the contracting parties. by peter and the rest of the apostles, much experience had been acquired, of the activity and energy of this their self-constituted colleague: within that field of action, which alone was suited to their powers, and within which they had stood exposed to be disturbed by his interference, within that field to be secured against such interference,--was, to them and their interests, an object of no small moment. such seems to have been the consideration, on the part of the acknowledged and indisputable apostles. not less obvious was the advantage, which, by the stipulation of this same treaty in his favour, was in a still more effectual manner, secured to paul. that, when the whole transaction was so fresh,--all that paul was able to say for himself, with all that barnabas was able to say for him, had not been sufficient, to induce the apostles to give credence to his story about the manner of his conversion,--in a word, to regard him in any other light than that of an impostor,--is directly asserted by the author of the acts. so again, in his unpremeditated speech to the enraged multitude, acts : , "they will not receive thy testimony concerning me," is the information which the acts make him report as having been communicated to him by the lord, when "while i prayed in the temple," says he, ver. , "i was in a trance." should a charge to any such effect happen to encounter him in the course of his labours;--should he, in a word, find himself stigmatized as an impostor;--find himself encountered by a certificate of impostorship;--a certificate, signed by the known and sole confidential servants, as well as constant companions, of that jesus, whom--without so much as pretending any knowledge of his person, he had thus pretended to have heard without seeing him,--and at a time and place, in which he was neither heard nor seen by anybody else;--it is obvious enough, in any such case, how formidable an obstruction of this sort was liable to prove. on the other hand, so he were but once seen to be publicly recognized, in the character of an associate and acknowledged labourer in the same field,--a recognition of him in that character--a virtual recognition at least, if not an express one--would be seen to have taken place:--a recognition, such as it would scarcely, at any time after, be in their power to revoke: since it would scarcely be possible for them, ever to accuse him of the principal offence, without accusing themselves of the correspondent connivance. note, that, of this treaty, important as it was--this partition-treaty--by which a division was made of the whole christian world--no mention, not any the least hint, is to be found in the acts. thus much for this third visit of paul's to jerusalem, reckoning from the time of his conversion: thus much for this third visit, and the partition-treaty that was the result of it. in and by his fourth visit to that original metropolis of the christian world,--we shall see how this same treaty was violated--violated, without any the slightest reason or pretext, or so much as an attempt, on the part of his anonymous biographer,--either by his own mouth, or by that of his hero,--to assign a motive. violated--that is to say, by and on the part of paul: for, of peter, no further mention is, in all this history, to be found. the truth is--that, instead of "the acts of the apostles," the history of paul--namely, from the time of his conversion to the time of his arrival at rome--would have been the more proper denomination of it. of any other of the apostles, and their acts,--little, if anything, more is said, than what is just sufficient, to prepare the reader, for the history of paul, by bringing to view the state of the christian world, at the time of his coming upon the stage. as to saint peter,--the author's chief hero being all along saint paul, in whose train, during this last-mentioned of his excursions, he represents himself as being established,--what is said of saint peter and his achievements, stands, as it were, but as an episode. and though, by this historiographer, no mention is made of the _partition-treaty_, it has eventually been of use to us, by serving to show what, at the time of entering into that engagement, was the situation of st. peter; and how good the title is, which the transaction presents to our credence,--as being so natural, because so manifestly for the advantage of both the contracting parties, as well as of the religion of jesus, in so far as that of paul was conformable to it. section . time of the partition treaty, most probably that of visit i. the time, at which this partition-treaty took place, appears involved in much obscurity, and presents some difficulties: question--whether it was at the first, or not till the third, of these visits--of these four visits of paul's to jerusalem. the consideration, by which the assigning to it the time of the first visit has been determined, is--that it was at this first visit, that the demand for it, in respect of all interests concerned, namely, that of the religion of jesus--that of the existing christians in general,--as well as that of the individuals particularly concerned on both sides,--took place: that, from that time, so, as far as appears, did the observance of it: and that it was not till a long time after, that either symptoms, or complaints of non-observance, seem to have made their appearance. . among the conditions of the treaty, the financial stipulation has been brought to view:--party to be remembered, the poor--then under the gentle sway of the apostles: party, by whom they were to be remembered, paul--their recognized, though, for aught appears, no otherwise than locally and negatively recognized, associate. in and by the deputation visit, on the part of paul, with the assistance of barnabas,--we see this stipulation actually conformed to and carried into effect. from the christians at antioch to the apostles at jerusalem,--for the benefit of the poor, at that metropolis of the christian world, by the conjoined hands of paul and barnabas,--money, it has been seen, was actually brought. on the other hand, an observation which, at first sight, may seem to shut the door against this supposition, is--that whereas in his letter, to his galatians, gal. i. , , after saying, "i went up to jerusalem to see peter, and abode with him fifteen days," and adding, "but other of the apostles saw i none, save james, the lord's brother"; he, not more than fourteen verses afterwards, gal. : , in the verse in which his account of this important treaty is continued,--speaks as if it was at that very time that he had seen--not only the above two apostles, on this occasion designated by the names of james and cephas--but john likewise: and that this must have been his third jerusalem visit, because it is after _mention_ made of that same third visit, which, in a passage intermediate between these, namely, gal. : , is stated, in express terms, as being by fourteen years posterior to his first visit,[ ] that this circumstance, of his seeing john likewise, is mentioned as having had place. but, in neither of these considerations, is there anything, that presents itself as conclusive, against the supposition--that whatever treaty there was, took place at the first visit. . as to the first, at that time it is, that for giving intimation of the treaty, _giving the right hands of fellowship_ is the expression employed: and that if this union were to be taken in a literal, and thence in a physical sense, as an agreement in which, as a token of mutual consent, the physical operation of junction of hands was employed,--here must have been an actual meeting, in which john was seen as well as the two others--and, consequently, on the supposition that the account thus given by paul, is, in this particular, on both occasions correct,--this must have been a different meeting from the first: on which supposition, on comparison with the account given in the acts of paul's second visit,--there can be no difficulty in determining that this visit cannot have been any other than the third. but, so evidently figurative is the turn of the expression,--that, even in the language used in this country at this time, slight indeed, if it amounted to anything at all, would be the force, of the inference drawn from it, in favour of the supposition of mutual presence. to signify an agreement on any point--especially if regarded as important--who is there that would scruple to speak of his having given the right hand of fellowship to another, although it were known to be only by letter? or, even through the medium of a common friend, and without any personal intercourse? . as to the other consideration, whatsoever might be the force of it, if applied to a composition of modern times--after so many intervening centuries, during several of which the arts of literary composition have, with the benefit of the facilities afforded by the press, been the subject of general study and practice;--whatsoever on this supposition might be the force of it, applied to the style and character of paul, little weight seems necessary to be attached to it. of the confusion--designed or undesigned--in which the style of this self-named apostle involves every point it touches upon, not a page can be read without presenting samples in abundance, to every eye that can endure to open itself to them: in this very work, some must probably have already offered themselves to notice; and before it closes, many will be presented in this express view: the point in question belongs to the field of chronology: and, of the perturbate mode of his operation in this field, a particular exemplification has been already brought to view, ch. , in a passage, in which, of a long train of sufferings and perils,--some real, some to all appearance not so--the one first undergone is last mentioned.[ ] from the order in which two events are mentioned by this writer, no argument, in any degree conclusive, can be deduced, for the persuasion, that that which stands first mentioned, was so much as intended by him to be regarded as that which first took place. in the very passage, in which the giving the right hands of fellowship to him and barnabas is mentioned, and immediately after these very words,--it is said--that "we _should go_ unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." thus, then, the conjunct excursion of paul and barnabas--an excursion, not commenced till about ten years after this same first visit, acts and , is mentioned, as an incident at _that_ time future. true it is, that the word directly expressive of the future is, in the english translation, but an interpretation, and as such marked. but, had any prior excursion of this kind taken place before, there seems no reason to suppose, that the event, which, by the context, would surely have been taken for an event then as yet to come,--would, had the intention been to represent it as no more than a repetition of what had taken place already, have received a form, so ill adapted to its intended purpose. but, two verses before, stands that, in which mention is made of the circumstance, by which, according to paul, the course taken by the apostles, in respect of their entering, into this treaty, is brought to view. "but contrariwise," says he, gal. : , "when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as _the gospel_ of the circumcision was unto peter:" . "and when james, cephas, and john, who seemed to be pillars, _perceived_ the grace that was given to me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we _should go_ unto the heathen," ... &c. now these _perceptions_--the perceptions thus ascribed by him to the apostles--when was it that they were obtained? evidently at no time whatever, if not at the time of his _first_ visit: for, these were the perceptions--say rather the conceptions--the conveyance of which is beyond dispute manifest, not only from the whole nature of the case, according to the accounts we have of it, but from the account expressly given by the author of the acts; and that account, in some part confirmed, and not in any part contradicted, by paul himself, and in this very epistle.[ ] to conclude. that, at the time of the deputation visit, visit iii., the treaty in question could not but have been on the carpet, seems, it must be confessed, altogether probable, not to say unquestionable. but, that at the time of the reconciliation visit, visit i.,--it was already on the carpet, seems, if possible, still more so. for, without some understanding between paul and the apostles--and that to the effect of this same treaty (the impossibility that paul's conversion story should have been the cause, having, it is believed, been hereinabove demonstrated) without some understanding of this sort, neither the continuance ascribed to the reconciliation visit, nor the existence of either of the two succeeding visits, to wit, the money-bringing visit, and this deputation visit, seem within the bounds of moral possibility.[ ] footnotes: [ ] gal. : . "then fourteen years after, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, and took titus with me also." [ ] cor. : . "in damascus, the governor under aretas the king kept the city of the damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me," &c. namely, on his conversion. [ ] to this same partition treaty, allusion seems discernible in paul's epistle to his roman adherents. romans : to . "nevertheless, brethren, i have written the more boldly unto you, in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of god,--that i should be the minister of jesus christ to the gentiles, ministering the gospel of god, that the offering up of the gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the holy ghost.--i have therefore whereof i may glory through jesus christ in those things which pertain to god.--for i will not dare to speak of any of those things which christ hath not wrought by me, to make the gentiles obedient by word and deed,--through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of god, so that from jerusalem, and round about unto illyricum, i have fully preached the gospel of christ.--yea, so i have strived to preach the gospel, not where christ was named, lest i should build upon another man's foundation:--but, as it is written, to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.--for which cause also i have been much hindered from coming to you." [ ] from this passage in paul's epistle to his galatians[ii.], compared with a passage in his first epistle to the corinthians[iii.]--the bible edited by scholey, in a note to acts xv. , (being the passage in which the rupture between paul and barnabas is mentioned), draws the inference, that, after this rupture between paul and barnabas, a reconciliation took place. [ii.] gal. ii. . "they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." [iii.] cor. ix. . "or, i only, and barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?" from the passage in question, if taken by itself, true it is that this supposition is a natural one enough. for, according to all appearances, the date of this epistle to the corinthians is posterior to that of the rupture: and, from the conjunct mention of the two names, if there were no evidence on the other side, it might naturally enough be supposed probable, how far soever from certain, that the intention was thereby, to report the two persons, as operating in conjunction, and even in each other's company. but, to the purpose of the argument no such supposition (it will be seen) is necessary. labouring they both were herein represented to be, and to all appearance were, in the same field, viz. the field of the gentiles: labouring, after and in conformity to this same treaty--the agreement made by them with the apostles--the partition treaty so often mentioned. but, from this it followed not, by any means, that they were labouring in the _same part_ of that field. for the purpose of the argument, the question was--what was the sort of relation, that had taken place, between these two preachers on the one part, and their respective disciples on the other? it is of this relation that it is stated by paul, and stated truly, that as between him and barnabas, it was the same: both being actual labourers in their respective parts of the same field: both being equally at liberty to cease from, to put an end to, their respective labours at any time: not that both were labouring in the same place, or in any sort of concert. "or i only, and barnabas, have not we, says paul, power to forbear working?" thus inconclusive is the argument, by which the existence of a reconciliation is inferred. against evidence so weak, the contrary evidence seems decisive. after mention made by him of the rupture,--had any reconciliation ever taken place, within the compass of time embraced by his history, would the author of the acts have left it unnoticed? that, among his objects was the painting every incident, in colours at least as favourable, to the church in general, and to paul in particular, as he durst,--is sufficiently manifest. by a rupture between two such holy persons,--a token, more or less impressive, of human infirmity, could not but be presented to view: and, to any reflecting mind--in those marks of _warmth_ at least, to say nothing worse, which, from first to last, are so conspicuous, in the character and conduct, of this the historian's patron and principal hero, ground could scarce fail to be seen, for supposing--that it was to _his_ side rather than that of barnabas--the generous and ever-disinterested barnabas--that the blame, principally, if not exclusively, appertained. chapter viii. _interview the fourth.--peter at antioch.--deputies to antioch from jerusalem, judas and silas.--paul disagrees with peter and barnabas, quits antioch, and on a missionary excursion takes with him silas. what concerns the partition treaty, down to this period, reviewed.--peter and the apostles justified._ section . paul's account of this interview quoted.--acts account of what followed upon it. we now come to the last of the four different and more or less distant occasions on which a personal intercourse, in some way or other, is recorded as having had place, between paul on the one part, and the apostles or some of them on the other, antecedently to that, on which paul's history, so far as any tolerably clear, distinct, and material, information has descended to us, closes. of this interview, the scene lies at antioch: peter having, for some consideration no otherwise to be looked for than by conjecture, been led to pay a visit, to that place of paul's _then_ habitual abode, after, and, as seems probable, in consequence of, paul's third recorded visit to jerusalem--his _deputation visit_. let us now cast an eye on the documents. respecting paul's disagreement with peter, the only one we have, is that which has been furnished us by paul himself. it consists of the following passage in his epistle to his galatians. galatians : to . but when peter was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.--for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.--and the other jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.--but when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto peter before _them_ all, if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews?--we _who are_ jews by nature and not sinners of the gentiles,--knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, even we have believed in jesus christ, that we might be justified by the faith of christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. let us now see the account, given in the acts, of what passed in antioch, in relation to paul, barnabas and silas,--during a period, which seems to be either the same, or one in contiguity with it, probably antecedent to it. acts : to . paul also and barnabas continued in antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the lord with _many others_ also.--and some days after, paul said unto barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren, in every city where we have preached the word of the lord, and see how they do.--and barnabas determined to take with them john whose surname was mark.--but paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.--and the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so barnabas took mark and sailed unto cyprus;--and paul chose silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of god.--and he went through syria and cilicia, confirming the churches. with regard to paul's separation from barnabas, departure from antioch, and taking silas for a companion,--we have nothing from paul himself: nothing, from any other source, than, as above, the acts. in paul's account, however, may be seen a passage, gal. : , by which some light is thrown upon the breach of paul with barnabas. in the acts, though the _"contention" is said to be "sharp,"_ no cause is stated for it, other than a difference respecting the choice of a companion: namely, on an excursion, which they are represented as having agreed to make, in the company of each other, as before. but, according to paul, he had had cause of complaint, against his old friend barnabas, on another account. barnabas had sided with the apostles: barnabas had been "carried away with their dissimulation"; by the dissimulation of those apostles of jesus, the virtuous simplicity of the self-constituted apostle, so he desires his galatian disciples to believe, had been foiled. section . paul disagrees with peter--and barnabas--quits antioch, taking silas from the apostles. in no place can this man exist, but to exercise hostility or provoke it: with no man can he hold intercourse, without acting towards him, if not in the character of a despot, in that either of an open and audacious, or in that of a secret adversary, or both. against peter, at jerusalem, in his deputation visit, he is intriguing, while he is bargaining with him. with the same peter, when arrived at antioch, he quarrels: for, at antioch, peter was but a visitor--a stranger; paul, with barnabas for his constant supporter, was on his own ground: no betrayed rulers _there_ to fear--no persecuted christians. he quarrels--so he himself informs his galatians--he quarrels with the chief of the apostles: he "withstands him to his face." why? because, forsooth, "he was to be blamed." in conclusion, to such a pitch,--by the degree of success, whatever it was, which by this time he had experienced,--to such a pitch of intemperance, had his mind swelled--he quarrels even with barnabas: with barnabas--in all his three antecedent visits to jerusalem, his munificent protector, and steady adherent: with that barnabas, in whose company, and under whose wing, one of his missionary excursions had already been performed. acts : - ; ib. : - . at antioch, the number of his competitors could not but be considerable: at antioch, the number of years, which he appears to have passed in that city, considered,--the number of his enemies could not be small. he accordingly plans, and executes, a new missionary excursion. he stands now upon his own legs: no barnabas now,--no necessary protector, to share with him in his glory: to share with him, in equal or superior proportion, in the profit of his profession: in that profit, the image of which, in all its shapes, was flitting before his eyes,--and which we shall accordingly see him gathering in, in such unequalled exuberance. he now looks out for a humble companion--an assistant: he finds one in silas: that silas, whom, with judas barsabas, we have seen come to antioch, deputed by the apostles and their disciples, to conclude, in that second metropolis, the negotiation, commenced in the first metropolis of the new christian world. deserter from the service in which he was sent, silas enlists in that of the daring and indefatigable adventurer. thus much, and no more, do we learn concerning him: for, in the picture drawn in the acts, no character is given to him, except the being found in company with paul, in some of the places which paul visits: except this exercise of the locomotive faculty, nothing is there to distinguish him from the common stock of still-life. from this fourth recorded epoch in the intercourse between paul and the apostles, we now pass to that which stands fifth and last, to wit: that which was produced by his fourth and last visit to jerusalem:--his _invasion visit_, a.d. . in the interval, come four years,--occupied by a series of successive excursions and sojournments,--in the course of which, all mention of silas is dropped, without remark: dropped, in the same obscure and inexplicit manner, in which the historian affords to the reader, supposing him endowed with the requisite degree of attention, the means of discovering, acts : , that not long after the commencement of this same period, the historian himself, whoever he was, was taken into the train of the self-constituted apostle. to the reader is also left the faculty, of amusing himself in conjecturing, about what time, and in what manner, this latter event may have taken place; an event, from which such important consequences have resulted. of these portions of paul's life, some view will come to be taken, in a succeeding chapter, under another head:--under the head of paul's supposed miracles: for, it is in the account given of his achievements and adventures, and of the transactions in which, in the course of this period, he was engaged,--it is in the course of this account, that we shall have to pick up, the supposed accounts of supposed miracles, which, in this part of the acts history lie interspersed. this review must of necessity be taken, for the purpose of placing in a true light, the evidence, supposed to be thus afforded, in support of his claims to a supernatural commission. to this change of connection on the part of silas,--from the service of the apostles of jesus to that of the self-constituted apostle,--the character of _defection_ on the part of silas,--_seduction_ on the part of paul,--may here be ascribed without difficulty. by the apostles, one gospel was preached--the gospel of jesus:--we see it in the evangelists. by paul, another and different gospel was preached:--a gospel, later and better, according to him, than that which is to be seen in the evangelists:--a gospel of his own. if, even down to this time, mutual prudence prevented an open and generally conspicuous rupture,--there was on his part, at any rate, an opposition. if, to men, whose conduct and temper were such as they uniformly appear to have been,--any such word as _party_ can, without disparagement, be applied, here were two _parties_. he, who was _for_ the self-constituted apostle, was _against_ the apostles of jesus. in a word, in the language of modern party, silas was a _rat_. section . the partition treaty, and the proceedings, in relation to it, down to this period, reviewed. in regard to the partition treaty,--taking the matter from paul's first, or reconciliation visit, a.d. , to his departure from antioch, on his missionary excursion, after the interview he had had at that city with peter,--the state of the affairs, between paul and the apostles, seems to have been thus:-- . on the occasion, and at the time, of his first jerusalem visit--his reconciliation visit--a sort of reconciliation--meaning at least an outward one--could not,--consistently with the whole train, of what is said of his subsequent intercourse and interviews with the apostles,--could not but have taken place. . of this reconciliation, the terms were--that, on condition of _his_ preaching in the name of jesus,--_they_ would not, to such persons in jerusalem and elsewhere, as were in connection with them,--_speak_ of him any longer in the character of a persecutor: for, by his disobedience and breach of trust, as towards the jerusalem constituted authorities,--such he had put it out of his power to _be_ any longer: not speak of him as a persecutor, but, on the contrary, as an associate:--he taking up the name of jesus: and preaching--never in his own, but on every occasion in that holy, name. . on this occasion,--it being manifest to both parties, that, by his intimate acquaintance with the greek language, and with the learning belonging to that language, he was in a peculiar degree well qualified to spread the name of jesus among the gentiles in general;--that is, among those to whom the jewish was not a vernacular language;--whereas their acquaintance with language was confined to their own, to wit, the jewish language;--on this occasion, it followed of course, from the nature of the case, and almost without need of stipulation, that,--leaving to _them_, for the field of their labours, jerusalem, and that part of the circumjacent country, in which the jewish alone was the language of the bulk of the population,--_he_ should confine his exertions, principally if not exclusively, to those countries, of which greek was, or at any rate hebrew was not, the vernacular language. to him, at that time, it was not in the nature of the case, that absentation from jerusalem, or any part of the country under the same dominion, should be matter of regret. within that circle, he could not, for any length of time, abide publicly, for fear of the legal vengeance of the constituted authorities: nor yet among the christians; although from their chiefs he had obtained, as above, a sort of prudential endurance; considering the horror, which his persecution of them had inspired, and the terror, with which, until his conversion had been proved in the eyes of all by experience, he could not as yet fail to be regarded. whatever was the object of his concupiscence,--whether it were the fund--and we have seen how attractive the bait was--which, at that time, in that metropolis of the christian world, offered itself to an ambitious eye,--still, though his opportunities had as yet confined his exertions to the _second_ city in that increasing world, his eyes never ceased looking to the _first_. twice, accordingly, between the first of his visits,--his reconciliation visit--and this his last interview with peter,--we see him visiting that inviting spot: each time, protected and escorted by the munificent barnabas and his influence--to make him endurable: each time with a public commission--to make him respected:--the first time with money in his hand--to make him welcome. that, all this while, neither _good faith_ nor _prudence_ were capable of opposing to the violence of his ambition, any effectual check,--is abundantly manifest. that _good faith_ was not, we learn distinctly from himself. for though, from the very nature of the two correlative situations, it is out of all question, as above, that, without some agreement to the effect above mentioned, he could not, even with the benefit of every possible means of concealment, have been preserved for two days together from the vengeance which pressed upon him, from _below_ as well as from _above_; yet still was he, by his secret intrigues, gal. : , violating the treaty, at the expense of those upright, patient, and long-suffering men, to whose observance of it, he was every day indebted for his life. section . peter and the apostles justified as to the financial stipulation in the treaty, and the succeeding missionary labours of peter among the gentiles. of the financial stipulation, the account we have has been seen:--an account given by one of the parties to it--paul:--the other party being--the apostles. in the instance of paul, in the demonstration, supposed to be given of it, the worldliness, of the motives which gave birth to it, has in a manner been taken for granted. well, then, if in the one instance such was the character of it,--in the other instance, can it have been any other? the question is a natural one; but not less so is the answer. for note, the stipulation is express--that, by paul--by paul out of the profits of his vocation--the poor, meaning the poor of jerusalem--the poor among the disciples of the apostles--should be remembered. remembered, and how? remembered, by payment of the money--into the hands, either of the apostles themselves, or, what comes to the same thing, some other persons, in connection with them, and acting under their influence. now, then, once more. of the man, by whom the money was to be _paid_--of this man, the motives, you say, were worldly: is it credible then, that they should have been less so, in the instance of the men by whom they were to be _received_? answer. oh! yes, _that_ it is. between the two cases, there is this broad difference. whatever paul might receive, he would receive for himself: whatever, after payment made, under the treaty, to the use of the jerusalem poor, he retained,--he might retain for his own use. but the apostles--that which, if anything, they received, in the name of the poor, and as for the use of that same poor,--would they--could they, for their own use, retain it, or any part of it? not they, indeed. not in their hands were the poor's funds: not in theirs, but in a very different set of hands:--in the hands of a set of trustees--of the trustees already mentioned in this work, ch. --of those administrators, whose function, to every reader who has not the greek original in view, is so unfortunately disguised by the word _deacons_. and these deacons, by whom appointed? by the apostles? no; but, by the whole communion of the saints--by the whole number of the members of the christian commonwealth;--and in the way of free election,--_election, on the principle of universal suffrage_. monarchists and aristocrats! mark well!--_of universal suffrage_. so much for the treaty itself. now, as to the subsequent conduct of the parties, under it, and in relation to it. as to the partition--paul to the gentiles, peter and his associates to the jews--such was the letter of it. such being the letter--what, at the same time, was the spirit of it? manifestly this: on the one hand, that the field, to which paul's exertions should apply themselves, and confine themselves, should be that field, for the cultivation of which, with any prospect of success, he was exclusively qualified: on the other hand, that the field, to which their exertions should apply themselves and confine themselves, should be that, for the cultivation of which, they were--if not exclusively, at any rate more peculiarly, qualified. in a word--that, of all that portion of the world, that presented itself as open to the exertions, of those who preached in the name of jesus,--they should reserve to themselves that part which was already in their possession, to wit, jerusalem, and its near neighbourhood, together with such parts of judea, and its neighbourhood, of which their own language, the hebrew, was the vernacular language: this minute portion of the world reserved, all the rest was to be left open to him: over every other part of it he was to be at liberty to cast forth his shoe. judea--the country of the jews? say, rather, the jews themselves:--the jews wherever found: for, revelation apart, it was in _language_, that paul's pretensions--his exclusive qualifications--consisted. the apostles spoke nothing but hebrew: paul was learned, and eloquent, in a certain sort, in greek. in regard to the interpretation to be put upon this treaty,--suppose any doubt to have place,--in the word _gentile_, would obviously the seat and source of it to be to be found. suppose, on the one hand _persons_ to be the objects, of which it was meant to be designative,--then, let there be but so much as one single uncircumcised man in jerusalem, or elsewhere,--to whom, in the view of gaining him over to their communion, the apostles, or, with their cognizance, any of their disciples, addressed themselves,--here would, on _their_ part, be a breach of the treaty. suppose, on the other hand, _places_ to be the objects, of which it was meant to be designative,--on that supposition, within that tract of country, within which alone, the necessary means, of communicating with the bulk of the population, were in their possession,--they might apply themselves, to all persons without restriction: and this, still without any real breach of the agreement--of the spirit and real import of the agreement. in respect either of _persons or places_, by the agreement, according to this--the obvious sense of it--what was it that paul gave up? in truth, just nothing. had his mind been in a sober state,--strange indeed, if the field thus afforded by the whole heathen world, was not wide enough for his labour: in all parts of it he could not be at once; and the most promising parts were open to his choice. cessation of paul's hostilities excepted, what was it that the apostles gained? not much more. as already observed--what was not gained by it, is what is above: what was really gained by it, is what follows. what paul gained was--exemption from the annoyance, which otherwise he would everywhere have been exposed to have received, by being designated as the quondam notorious persecutor, and still unreconciled enemy, of the apostles and their disciples:--in a word, of all others who preached in the name of jesus. that which the apostles actually gained, was--that confirmation and extension of their influence, which followed of course, upon every extension, received by that field, within which the influence of the name of jesus was extended. that which, besides what is above, they _ought to_ have gained, but did not gain, is--exemption from all such annoyance, as could not but be inflicted on them, in proportion as paul, preaching to persons, to whom _they_ had access, a gospel which was his, and not theirs,--should, while in pretence and name an associate, be, in truth and effect, an adversary and opponent. this is what--though they not only should have gained, but might also reasonably have expected to gain--they did _not_ gain. for, not to insist any more on his secret intrigues in jerusalem itself, and his open opposition in the second jerusalem, antioch, as above; we shall--when we come to the next and last of his interviews with the apostles on the occasion of his invasion visit--see, to what lengths the madness of his ambition carried him, in that birthplace and metropolis of the christian world. by the sort of connection, which, notwithstanding such obvious and naturally powerful principles of discrimination, have on each occasion, been visible, as between the undoubted apostles, and this self-styled one--three distinguishable questions cannot but, from time to time, have been presenting themselves:-- . the sort of countenance--partial, cold, and guarded as it was--shown by the old established and goodly fellowship to the ever-intruding individual--is it credible? . can it, in fact, have been manifested, in conjunction with a disbelief, on their part, of his pretensions to a degree of supernatural favour with the almighty, equal or superior to their own? . and, if not only possible, but actual--was it, in point of morality, justifiable? by a few obvious enough considerations, an answer--and, it is hoped, a not altogether unsatisfactory one,--may be given to all these questions. as to whatever was natural in the course of the events, barnabas was necessary to the rising church: and paul was, all along, necessary, or, at least, was so thought, to barnabas. . barnabas was necessary to the church. already, it has been seen, how preeminent was the support received by it from his munificence. in him, it had found at once the most liberal of benefactors, and, unless peter be an exception, the most indefatigable of agents. on the part of no one of even the chosen servants of jesus, do proofs of equal zeal and activity present themselves to our view. in an ensuing chapter, we shall see peter trying his strength among the gentiles. yet, from the direction thus given to his apostolic zeal, no violation of the treaty, it will be seen, can with justice be imputed to him, if the interpretation above given to the word _gentiles_ be correct. . in the first place,--according to the acts, the date of this excursion is _antecedent_ to that third interview, which took place on the occasion of paul's third jerusalem visit--his deputation visit: that is to say, to the time, at which, and not before, though, if the above reasoning be just, in a sort of general terms the preliminaries had been agreed upon, the general preliminary arrangements were followed, confirmed, explained, and liquidated, by more particular ones. . in the next place--of all the places,--which, in the course of this excursion of peter's, are mentioned as having been visited by him,--there is not one, that paul is mentioned as having ever visited: whereas, in the first of them that is mentioned, the apostles are mentioned as having already a band of disciples.[ ] . in the third place,--the date, assigned to this excursion of peter's, is, by several years, antecedent even to the first, of the several excursions of paul's, of which mention is made in the acts. in the received chronology--date assigned to the commencement of peter's excursion, a.d. ; date assigned to paul's first excursion, a.d. . while peter was thus occupying himself, paul was still at tarsus:[ ] at tarsus--his own birthplace--whereto,--in consequence of the danger, to which his life had been exposed by his first jerusalem visit, his reconciliation visit,--he had taken his flight.[ ] . in the fourth place,--notwithstanding the perpetual hostility of paul's mind, as towards peter and the rest of the apostles,--on no occasion, on the score of any breach of this article in the partition treaty, is any complaint, on the part of paul, to be found. when dissatisfaction is expressed, doctrine alone is mentioned by him as the source of it: doctrine, the ostensible; dominion, the original and real source. spite of the treaty,--spite of the manifest interest, of the only genuine religion of jesus--the gospel taught by the apostles,--still in places to which they had access--in places in which, in consequence, they had formed connections,--he persisted in intruding himself: intruding himself, with that gospel which he says himself, was his, not theirs--and not being theirs, was not jesus's:--intruding himself, in places, in which, even had his gospel been jesus's, _their_ connections being established, there existed no demand for him and _his_. can this be doubted of? if yes, all doubt will at any rate be removed, when,--spite of all the endeavours that could be employed, either by them or by his own adherents, to prevail upon him to desist,--we shall see him entering jerusalem on his invasion visit: as if, while, for preaching the religion of jesus, all the world, with the exception of the jewish part of it, was not enough for this intruder,--the apostles of jesus--eleven in number, with their elected associate, matthias,--were not, all together, enough, for that small part of it. the _name_ he preached in, _that_ indeed not his own, but jesus's: but the _doctrine_ he preached--the gospel, as he called it--not _jesus's_, nor anybody else's, but his own. all this, as he has the assurance to declare,--all this did he preach without their knowledge. and why without their knowledge? because, as he himself has the still more extraordinary assurance to _declare_--for _confession_ is the result not of assurance, but weakness--because, as he himself acknowledges,--if so it had been, that this gospel of his had come to the knowledge of the apostles--of those associates, to whom he was all along holding out the right hand of fellowship, this gospel of his could not have been listened to--this preaching of his would have been in vain. already, however--for in this he may be believed--already, throughout this _first_ intercourse, though the expression is not used till he came to speak of the _third_,--already must the right hand of fellowship have been held out, and on both sides: and, what followed of course,--and was not only affirmed by his statement, but demonstrated by the result,--on this last occasion was the treaty again brought upon the carpet and confirmed, after such modifications as it may naturally have received, from the consideration of intervening incidents. footnotes: [ ] acts : . "and it came to pass, as peter passed through all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at lydda." [ ] acts : . "then departed barnabas for to seek saul." a.d. . [ ] acts : , "which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to cæsarea and sent him forth to tarsus." chapter ix. _paul disbelieved continued--the fourth and last jerusalem visit. the purpose concealed: opposition universal; among his own disciples, and among those of the apostles._ section . motives to this visit. of this momentous visit to say what were the real objects, must in a great part be left to conjecture:--to inferences drawn from the known circumstances of the case. by himself, as will be seen, they were concealed with the most persevering anxiety. but, in default of direct evidence, the point may without much danger of error be settled by circumstantial evidence. the common objects of political concupiscence--money, power and vengeance--were all before his eyes: _money_--in no less a quantity than that of the aggregate mass of the property of the whole church:--that fund, for the management of which, the apostles' seven trustees, under the name of deacons, were not more than sufficient:--that fund, by which the repulsed concupiscence of the sorcerer of samaria had so lately been excited:--_power_, that which was exercised by the direction of the consciences of the whole number of the faithful, some time before this, not less in number than three thousand: _vengeance_, for the repeated rebuffs, by which, at the interval of so many years from each other, his endeavours to supplant the apostles had been repelled. in a general point of view, ambition,--rival ambition,--the same motive which sent caesar to rome, may be stated as having sent paul, at this time, to jerusalem: to jerusalem--the metropolis of the christian world, by design; and thence, eventually and undesignedly, to the metropolis of the whole civilized world. by two opposite desires--two antagonizing but correspondent and mutually explanatory desires--desires, in both parts intense and active, the external marks of which are sufficiently visible in two different quarters,--the nature as well as prevalence of this motive, will, it is believed, be found sufficiently proved:--a desire, in the breast of the self-constituted apostle, to establish himself in the original metropolis of the christian world:--a desire on the part of the apostles--of the apostles constituted by jesus--to keep him out of it. section . the visit announced by paul and deferred. ephesus, at which place he had arrived not long after his departure from corinth, where he had made a stay, as it should seem, of more years than one,[ ] touching in the way at cenchrea, where he shaved his head for the performance of a vow--ephesus is the place, at which, by the author of the acts, paul is for the first time made to speak of himself, as harbouring, having in mind the making of this visit: and on that occasion, the visit is spoken of, as being the subject of a settled determination, and in particular as being the time fixed upon by him for the execution of this design. acts : , . "when they, the jews at ephesus, desired him to tarry longer with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, i must _by all means keep this feast_ that cometh in jerusalem: but i will return again to you if god will." as to the keeping of this or any other feast at jerusalem or at any other place--if it was under any such notion as that of contributing to his own personal salvation by any such mosaic work, it was an object inconsistent with his own principles--with his own so repeatedly and strenuously advocated principles:--and the like may be said of the head-shaving and the vow, performed by him, at cenchrea, in his way to ephesus from corinth: and moreover, in this last-mentioned instance, more particularly in contradiction with a precept so positively delivered by jesus, namely, _swear not at all_,--if, under swearing, the making of vows is to be understood to be included. of this design, the next intimation which occurs in the acts, is in the next chapter, acts : , "when these things were ended," namely, the discomfiture of the exorcists, and the burning of the books of curious arts at ephesus,--"paul, it is said, _purposes in the spirit_, when he had passed through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying, after i have been there, i must also see rome." fortunate it is for the credit--either _of the spirit_, or of paul, or of the author of the acts, that it was on this second occasion only, and not on the first, that it was _in the spirit_ that he proposed to go to jerusalem by the then next feast: for, notwithstanding the "_must_" and the "_by all means_,"--so it is, that between those his two determinations as above, no less a space of time than two years is stated as elapsing, on one occasion, at one and the same place.[ ] and this place--what was it? it was ephesus: the same place, at which, on his departure from it, the first determination was declared: after which, and before this his second visit to ephesus,--he is represented as having visited cæsarea and antioch. the next mention, is that which occurs in the next chapter, chapter : . "paul," we are there told, being then at miletus, "had determined to sail by ephesus, because he would not spend the time in asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at jerusalem the day of pentecost." at miletus it is, that he sends for, and receives, from ephesus, a number of his adherents in that place. upon their arrival, he is represented as making a formal speech to them: and now, he not merely proposes in the spirit, as before, but is "_bound in the spirit_," to go thither.[ ] vain would be the attempt to ascertain, with any approach to exactness, the interval of time, during which the operation of the spirit remained in a sort of suspense between _purpose_ and _obligation_: it may have been months, only: it may have been years. while, by one spirit, paul was thus urged on, every now and then, towards jerusalem;--by the same spirit, or by another spirit, he was pulled back.[ ] in the very next verse, acts : , in which he speaks of his being "bound in the spirit unto" that place, not knowing, as, in his speech, he thereupon adds,--"not knowing the things that shall befall me there,"--he goes on, and says: "save that the holy ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. but none of these things," says he, ver. , "move me, neither count i my life dear unto myself, so that i might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which i have received of the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god." to raise, in the breast of paul, the expectation, that of his proceeding in the course it was his way to take in preaching that religion, to which, from a persecutor, he had, in appearance, become a convert, affliction, in a variety of shapes, might prove to be the fruits,--needed no information from the spirit; if, by receiving information from the spirit, he meant any communication of a supernatural kind--anything beyond information in the ordinary shape;--be the effect--be the purpose, good or bad,--such is the lot, that awaits innovation in the field of politics--the spiritual part included, as well as the temporal--at all places, and all times. a passage, which now presents itself, helps to show how easily and copiously, out of a few words, written in ancient times, mysteries and miracles have been manufactured in modern times. in acts : , we have seen paul, "_bound in the spirit_," as he is made to assure us, to go unto jerusalem. in the next chapter, : , we find disciples ... who said to paul, "_through the spirit_," that he should _not_ go up to jerusalem. oh! what a useful word this word _spirit_! let a man say plainly and simply, i shall go, or be going, to jerusalem--or, don't go to jerusalem,--his words go for no more than they are worth: in either case, with a proper proposition to introduce it, add the word "spirit," the matter becomes serious. out of a word or two, you thus add to the godhead a third person, who talks backward and forward for you, and does for you whatever you please. at so small a price, even to this day, are manufactured, every day, a sort of _verbal_ miracles, which, as many as are disposed, are welcome to improve into real ones. to reconcile men to this expedition of paul's, the spirit was the more necessary,--inasmuch as it was not in his own power, or even in that of any one of his numerous attendants and dependants, to assign so much as one ostensible reason for it. that, to the advancement of religion--of the religion of jesus--no such presence of his was necessary;--that no good could result from it;--that much evil could not but result from it;--was obvious to all eyes. of the original number of the apostles,--for aught that appears, not less than eleven were still remaining on the spot: men, to every one of whom, all acts and sayings of jesus were, by memory, rendered so familiar:--men, on the part of some of whom, and, at any rate, on the part of the chief of them, peter,--there was no want of zeal and activity. while to these men a single city, or, at the utmost, one small region--composed the whole field of exertion--the whole earth besides is left open by them to paul: still, such is the ravenousness of his ambition, nothing can content him, but he must be intruding himself--thrusting his restless sickle into their ripening harvest. section . the design indefensible. all this--is it not enough? well then, take this one other--this concluding proof. in the teeth of all their endeavours, and among them, some that will be seen extraordinary enough, to prevent it,--was undertaken the fourth and last of his four recorded visits to their residence--jerusalem. but, in the first place, in the utter indefensibility of the design, shall be shown the _cause_, of the opposition so universally made to it. tired of a mixture of successes and miscarriages,--disdaining the conquests he had been making in so many remote, and comparatively obscure regions of the world,--he had formed--but at what precise time, the documents do not enable us to pronounce--the determination, to exhibit his glories on the two most illustrious of theatres:--in the two capitals--jerusalem, of the jewish, and now of the christian world; rome, of the whole classical heathen world:--and in the first place, jerusalem, now, for the fourth time since his conversion. it was at ephesus, as we have seen, this determination was first declared. to rome, he might have gone, and welcome: namely, in so far as his doctrines could have confined themselves within the limits of those of jesus: which, however, it will be seen, they could not: but, success being moreover supposed, nothing but good could such visit have had for its result. but, by a visit to any place other than jerusalem, various were the points of spleen and ambition, that could not have been satisfied. nothing would serve him, but, over that edom jerusalem, he would, in the first place, cast forth his shoe. unless the eleven most confidential servants, selected by jesus himself to be the propagators of his religion, were altogether unworthy of the task thus allotted to them,--nothing to the good purposes of that religion could be more palpably unnecessary, nothing to the purposes of peace and unity more pernicious, than the intrusion thus resolved upon. that the number of these legitimately instituted apostles had as yet suffered any diminution, is not, by any of the documents, rendered so much as probable. neither in the works of paul himself, nor in that of his historiographer, is any intimation to any such effect to be found. in their own judgments, had there been any need of coadjutors--any deficiency of hands for the spiritual harvest,--they well knew how to supply it. of the sufficiency of such knowledge, they had given the most incontestable proofs: the election of matthias was the fruit of it. they showed--and with a disinterestedness, which has never since had, nor seems destined to have, any imitators--that, in the christian world, if government in any shape has divine right for its support, it is in the shape of democracy;--representative democracy--operating by universal suffrage. in the eye of the christian, as well as of the philosopher and the philanthropist, behold here the only legitimate government: the form, the exclusion of which from the christian world, has been the object of that league, by which, by an unpunishable, yet the most mischievous--if not the only mischievous--sort of blasphemy, the name of christian has been profaned. this method of filling offices, was no more to the taste of paul, than to that of a napoleon or a george. he determined to open their eyes, and prove to them by experience, that monarchy,--himself the first monarch--was the only legitimate form of government. the difficulties of the enterprise were such as could not escape any eyes:--least of all his own: but to die or conquer was his resolve: so he himself declares.[ ] what, in case of success, would have been the use made by him of it? the fate of the apostles may be read in the catastrophe of saint stephen: the vulgar herd would, in his eyes, have been as declaredly foolish as the galatians. gal. : . "o, foolish galatians!" who did bewitch you, etc. the invasion was not less inconsistent with good faith, than with brotherly love, peace and unity. it was a direct violation of the _partition-treaty_: that treaty, of which he gives such unquestionable evidence against himself, in the boast he makes of it to his galatians. gal. : . "when james, cephas (peter), and john, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." section . opposition made to it by his own attendants and other adherents. to find so much as the colour of a reason for this perfidy, was too much for the ingenuity of his attendant panegyrist. in the eyes of the whole body of his attendants, of whom the historian was one, so completely unjustifiable was his design in every point of view,--they joined in a remonstrance to him, beseeching him to give it up. acts : to . and when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to jerusalem.--then paul answered, what mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem, for the name of the lord jesus.--and when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, the will of the lord be done. at no such loss, however, was paul himself: for this, and for everything else it was his will to do, he had a reason ready made. it was no less concise and economical than convenient: a word, and no more than a word, was the price paid for it:--_revelation_ was that word.[ ] so he assures his "foolish" galatians: and if they were foolish enough to believe it, these, though first, have not been last, in the career of foolishness. allow a man but the use of this one word, so it be in the sense in which paul here uses it--admit the matter of fact, of which it contains the assertion,--the will of that man is not only sufficient reason, but sufficient law, for everything: in all places, and to all persons, his will is law. the will of this man is the will of that god, by whom this revelation of it has been made to him: the will of god, what man shall be audacious enough to dispute? the motives, which gave birth to this act of perfidy and hostility, will now be visible enough, to every eye, that dares to open itself to them. at the time in question, they were too manifest to need mentioning: and at the same time too unjustifiable, to bear to be mentioned by his dependent historian, when speaking of the opposition, which, even on the part of his own dependents, it produced. they besought him--with tears they besought him: but, as to the reflections by which these tears were produced, they could not bear the light: it was not for a declared adherent to give them utterance. the sort of colour, put upon the project by paul, with the help of one of his phrases--this was the only colour that could be found for it. it was for the _name_ of the lord jesus, acts : , that he was ready--"ready, not to be bound only, but also to die." for the name? o, yes, for the name at all times; for, in the name of jesus, he beheld from first to last his necessary support: and of the lord jesus, nothing, as we shall find,--nothing from first to last, did he ever employ but the name. but, to be bound at jerusalem--to die at jerusalem--to be bound--to die--supposing this to take place,--where--to the religion of jesus--would be, where could be, the use of it? there, at jerusalem, the apostles--the real apostles of jesus:--executing, without either dying or being bound for it, the commission, which to them had been really given by jesus. section . opposition made to it by the apostles and their disciples. thus indefensible and deplorable, in the eyes even of his own dependents,--it may be imagined in what light the invasion presented itself at jerusalem, to those who found themselves so cruelly menaced by it. at the first place, at which, after a voyage of some length, they landed on their way to judea,--they found the alarm already spread. this place was tyre: there they found "disciples," acts : , "who said to paul," and "through the spirit, that he should not go up to jerusalem." it was through _their spirit_, that they bade him not to go; but _his revelation_, as we have seen, bade him to go, notwithstanding:--his revelation was too strong for their spirit. if it was from the _lord jesus_, as he all along informs us, that his revelation came, while their spirit was the _holy spirit_, otherwise called the _holy ghost_,--already another schism was produced: a schism, in a council still higher than that of the apostles. at ptolemais, on the road from tyre to jerusalem, they stayed but one day: acts : , not long enough, it should seem, for any fresh marks of opposition to this enterprise to manifest themselves. continuing their approach to the metropolis, the next day they came to cæsarea, acts : , "the house," then "entered into," was that of philip, there styled the evangelist, one of the seven trustees, who, under the name, rendered in the english translation by that of deacon, at the recommendation of the apostles, had been chosen by universal suffrage, for the management of the pecuniary affairs of the church. here they took up their quarters: and here a fresh scene awaited them. in the person of a man, whose name was agabus, the apostles and their associates had found, as we have seen, an agent of approved talents, and usefulness: to him they had been indebted, for the most important service, of a temporal nature, which the history of the church in those days furnishes:--the supply of money already received, as above mentioned, from the first-born daughter of the church--the church of antioch, in syria. at this place, cæsarea, as a last resource, this same agabus, or another, was, as it should seem, dispatched to meet--at any rate did meet--the self-appointed apostle in his way; and, in the character of a _prophet_, for so _this_ agabus is styled, strained every nerve, in the endeavour to divert the invader from the so anxiously apprehended purpose. whoever he was, employed on this occasion, but employed in vain, were all the treasures of his eloquence. the holy ghost was once more, and by name, set in array against paul's lord jesus. the powers of verbal and oral eloquence were not thought sufficient: action--and not only of that sort which, in the eyes of demosthenes, was an object of such prime importance, but even pantomime--was employed in aid. acts : . as to argument--fear in the bosom of the church, for a life so precious, was the only one, which the skill of the orator could permit him to employ: as to fear for their own sakes, and resentment for the injury which they were predestinated to suffer,--these were passions, too strongly felt to be avowed. "he took paul's girdle," acts : , "and bound his own hands and feet, and said, thus saith the holy ghost, so shall the jews at jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles." supposing the agabus mentioned on this occasion, to be the same agabus as he who was mentioned on the occasion of the apprehended dearth--supposing this to be he--and no reason presents itself in favour of the contrary supposition--well known indeed must he have been to paul, since it was by his means that paul was indebted for the opportunity of paying, to jerusalem, that second visit of his, from which, as we have seen, so little fruit was reaped. the singular circumstance here is, the manner, in which, on this second occasion, mention is made of this name--agabus: "a certain prophet named agabus," acts : . whether this was, or was not, the same as the former agabus,--this mode of designation presents itself as alike extraordinary. if he _was_ the same,--in that case, as, by the addition of the adjunct "a certain prophet," a sort of cloud is thrown over his identity,--so, by so simple an expedient as that of the non-insertion of these redundant words, the clouds would have been dispelled. if he was _not_ the same,--so expressive being the circumstances, by which identity stands indicated--namely, the quarter _from_ whence the same; the quarter _to_ which the same; the importance of the mission, and the demand for talents and influence, in both cases so great; on this supposition, to prevent misconception, no less obvious than urgent was the demand, for some mark of distinction, to be added on this second occasion: in a word, for that sort of mark of distinction, which, on other occasions; may, in this same history, be seen more than once employed: witness _that john_, twice distinguished by the name of _john, whose surname was mark_. acts : , _ib._ : . hence a suspicion, nor that an unnatural one--that, in this history, the part, in which the name agabus occurs for the first time, and the part, in which that same name occurs for the second time, were not the work of the same hand. with or without the assistance of the holy ghost, with the like importunity, though in a tone corresponding to the difference of situation, was a dissuasion, to the same effect, added, with one voice, by the adherents, of whom the suite of the self-appointed apostle was composed, and by all the other christians then present. "and when we heard these things," says the author of the acts, "both we, and they of that place, cæsarea, besought him not to go up to jerusalem." acts : . the holy ghost, whom all the rest of the church had for their advocate, was no equal match for the holy ghost whom paul had for his adviser. "what mean ye," says he, "to weep and to break mine heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus." acts : . to a holy ghost so highly seated, submission from a holy ghost of inferior rank, was the only course left. "when he could not be persuaded, concludes the historian, we ceased, saying, the will of the lord be done." paul die at jerusalem, for the name of the lord jesus? he, paul, this self-constituted apostle, who, upon his own showing, had never seen jesus? for the name of jesus, forsooth, die at jerusalem? at that jerusalem, at which the indisputable apostles had been, and continued to be, living and labouring, in the service of that same holy name, each of them, or they are much misrepresented, not less ready and willing, both to live and upon occasion to die for it, than he could be? was it then really to die for the name of jesus? was it not rather to live? to live for his own name, for his own glory, for his own profit, and for the pleasure of depriving of their flock those shepherds of souls, by whom his pretensions had been disallowed, his glory disbelieved, his advances received with that distrust and jealousy, for which the long and bitter experience they had had of him, afforded so amply sufficient a warrant? men, in whose eyes, though in the clothing of a shepherd, he was still a wolf? what was he to die for? by whose hands was he to die? by no danger, since he had ceased to be their declared persecutor, had any christians, in their character of christians, whether disciples or preachers, then, or at any time, been menaced;[ ] of no such danger, at any rate, is any, the slightest, intimation ever to be found: if any danger awaited him, it was by himself, by his own restless and insatiable ambition, by his own overbearing and ungovernable temper, that it was created. had he but kept to his agreement; had the whole of the known world, with the single exception of judea, been wide enough for him: no danger would have awaited him:--he and jerusalem might have remained in peace. what service that _they_ could not, could _he_ hope to do to the cause? for doctrine, they had nothing to do but to report the discourses; for proof, the miracles which they had witnessed. to this, what could _he_ add? nothing, but facts, such as we have seen, out of his own head,--or, at best, facts taken at second hand, or through any number of removes from _them_,--and, in an infinity of shapes and degrees, travestied in their passage. in this account, the curious thing is--that upon the face of it, the holy ghost of prophet agabus is mistaken: nothing happened in the manner mentioned by him: for, in the same chapter comes the account of what did happen, or at any rate is, by this same historian, stated as that which happened:--by no jews is the owner of the girdle bound: dragged by the people out of the temple,--by that same people he is indeed attempted to be killed, but bound he is not: for, with his being bound, the attempt to kill him is not consistent: binding requires mastery, and a certain length of time, which killing does not: a single blow from a stone may suffice for it. as to the jews delivering him unto the hands of the gentiles,--it is by the gentiles that he is delivered out of the hands of the jews: of the jews, the endeavour was--to deprive him of his life; of the gentiles, to save it. section . plan of the apostles for ridding themselves of paul. in this important contest, the holy ghost of agabus was predestinated to yield to the irresistible power of paul's lord jesus. he made his entry into jerusalem, acts : , and the very next day commenced the storm, by which, after having been on the point of perishing, he was driven, at last, as far as from jerusalem to rome, but the particulars of which belong not to the present purpose. what _is_ to the present purpose, however, is the company, which, upon this occasion, he saw. james, it may be remembered, was one of the three apostles--out of the whole number, the only three who, on the occasion of the partition treaty, could be prevailed upon to give him the right hand of fellowship. into the house of this james he entered: and there what he saw was an assembly, met together for the purpose, of giving him the advice, of which more particular mention will be made in its place. it was--to clear himself of the charge,--a charge made against him by the jewish converts,--of teaching all the jews, which are among the gentiles, to forsake moses, and of inculcating that doctrine by his own example, acts : - . well! at this assembly who were present? answer--the elders--all of them: of the apostles with the single exception of james, at whose house it was held, not one: not even john,--not even peter:--the two other apostles, by whom on their part, the treaty had been entered into:--peter, the chief of the apostles;--john "the disciple," john : ; : ; : - , whom jesus loved. the nerves of james it appears, from other tokens besides this, were of a stronger texture than those of either of these his two colleagues; he alone stood the brunt. as for peter, he had been so "withstood to his face" by paul on the occasion of his first visit, that he had no stomach to be so withstood a second time. james, it may be remembered, was the apostle, at whose motion, against the opinion and speech of peter, the resolution insisting upon certain jewish observances, on the part of heathen converts to the church, was carried. here then, in support of the proposition maintained, by james,--here, was an assembly of the rulers of the church convened: the elders--the elected coadjutors of the apostles all of them present: of the apostles themselves, not one: james excepted, whose presence, it is evident, could not, on this occasion, be dispensed with. of this assembly, the object, and sole object, was--the insisting upon paul's taking, for the sake of the peace of the church, a certain measure. now, the measure thus insisted upon, what was it? the clearing himself of a certain charge then mentioned. and this charge, what was it? a charge--of which, consistently with truth,--of which without such direct falsehood, as if committed would be notorious,--he could not clear himself. in this case, one of two things would absolutely be the result. either he would be rash enough to commit the falsehood,--in which case his reputation and power of disturbing the peace of the church would be at an end; or, shrinking from the summons, he would virtually confess himself guilty: in which case likewise, he would find his situation, in the midst of an universally adverse multitude, no longer tenable. for this clearance, a ceremony was prescribed to him:--a ceremony, the effect of which was--to declare, in a manner, beyond all comparison, more solemn and deliberate than that of anything which is commonly understood by the word _oath_,--that he had not done anything, of that which he stood charged with having done, and which it could not but be generally known that he had done. witness those epistles of his, which in another place we shall see, ch. :--epistles in which he will be seen, so frequently, and upon such a variety of occasions, and in such a variety of language, not only proclaiming the needlessness of circumcision--its uselessness to salvation,--but, in a word, on all points making war upon moses. no course was so rash, that paul would shrink from it, no ceremony so awful, or so public that paul would fear to profane it. of the asseveration, to which he was called upon to give, in an extraordinary form, the sanction of an oath, the purport was universally notorious: the falsity, no less so: the ceremony, a solemnity on which the powers of sacerdotal ingenuity had been exhausted, in the endeavour to render is efficaciously impressive. place of performance, the most sacred among the sacred: act of entrance, universally public, purpose universally notorious; operations, whatever they were, inscrutably concealed from vulgar eyes: person of the principal actor occasionally visible, but at an awful elevation: time, requisite for accomplishment, acts : , not less than seven days: the whole ceremony, effectually secured against frequent profanation, by "charges" too heavy to be borne by the united power of four ordinary purses.[ ] with all the ingredients of the most finished perjury in his breast,--perfect consciousness, fixed intentionality, predetermined perseverance, and full view of the sanction about to be violated,--we shall see him entering upon the task, and persevering in it. while the long drama was thus acting in the consecrated theatre, the mind of the multitude was accumulating heat without doors. the seven days necessary, were as yet unaccomplished, when indignation could hold no longer: they burst into the sacred edifice, dragged him out, and were upon the point of putting him to death, when the interference of a roman officer saved him, and became the first link in that chain of events, which terminated in his visit to rome, and belongs not to this place. thus much, in order to have the clearer view of the plan of the apostles, and of the grounds of it, from which will be seen the unexceptionableness of it, it seemed necessary for us here to anticipate. but such rashness, with the result that followed--the apostles, in their situation, how could they have anticipated it? baffled, in their former endeavours to keep the invader from entering the holy city--that holy city, with the peace of which his presence was so incompatible, such was the course which they devised and embraced from driving him out of it. for the carrying of this measure into effect, a general assembly of the governing body of the church was necessary. at this assembly had no apostle been present, it could not, in the eyes of the church at large, have been what it was necessary it should appear to be. though, of the whole number of the apostles, no more than one was present,--yet, his being the house at which it was held, and the others, whether summoned or no, being expected of course, by the disciples at large, to be likewise present,--the elders being likewise "_all_" of them present,--this attendance was deemed sufficient: as to the other apostles--all of them but the one whose presence was thus indispensable,--abhorrence, towards the man, whose career had in their eyes commenced with murder, continued in imposture, and had recently been stained with perfidy,--rendered the meeting him face to face, a suffering too violent to be submitted to, when by any means it could be avoided. on this occasion, the opinion, which, as we have seen, cannot but have been entertained by them, concerning paul and his pretensions to revelation, and to a share equal to their own in the confidence of jesus,--must not, for a moment, be out of mind. the whole fellowship of the apostles,--all others, to whom, at the time, anything about the matter was known, believed his story to be, the whole of it, a pure invention. in their eyes it was a fabrication: though we, at this time of day--we, who of ourselves know nothing about it, take for granted, that it was all true. for proving the truth of it, all we have are his own accounts of it: his own accounts, given, some of them, by himself directly: the rest ultimately, his being the only mouth from which the accounts we have seen in the _acts_ could have been derived. bearing all this in mind, let us now form our judgment on the matter, and say, whether the light, in which the apostles viewed his character and conduct, and the course pursued by them as above, was not from first to last, not only conformable to the precepts of their master, but a model of patience, forbearance, and prudence. footnotes: [ ] acts : . "he continued there, at corinth, a year and six months."-- . "and paul tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave." [ ] acts : . "and this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord jesus, both jews and greeks." [ ] acts : . "and now, behold, i go bound in the spirit unto jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there." [ ] acts : . "save that the holy ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me." [ ] acts : . "but none of these things move me, neither count i my life dear unto myself, so that i might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which i have received of the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god." acts : . "then paul answered, what mean ye to weep and to break my heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus." [ ] gal. ii. . "i went up by revelation." [ ] in acts : , king herod is indeed spoken of as having "stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church, and he killed," it is said, "james, the brother of john, with the sword." then comes the story of peter's imprisonment and liberation. but the cause of these inflictions had nothing to do with religion: the proof is--nor can there be a more conclusive one--to no such cause are they attributed. [ ] acts : , . "we have four men, say the apostles and elders, we have four men which have a vow on them:--them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them." chapter x. _paul disbelieved continued.--his fourth jerusalem visit continued. his arrival and reception. accused by all the disciples of the apostles, he commences an exculpatory oath in the temple. dragged out by them--rescued by a roman commander--sent in custody to rome._ section . at jerusalem, paul is received by the elders and james, but by no other apostle. spite of the opposing holy ghost,--spite of the apostles, and their prophet,--there he is at jerusalem. now comes an incident--or say, rather, a relation--which is altogether curious. at "jerusalem," says the history, "the brethren received us gladly," acts : . the brethren? what brethren? the brethren, by whom agabus, with his stage-trick, had been sent some sixty or seventy miles' journey, in the endeavour to keep him at a distance? the thousands of jews thereupon immediately mentioned? those jews, who, though believers in jesus, are not the "less zealous of the law," and enraged at saul for those breaches of it, with which he is charged? that, by such of them, if any, by whom--by the appearance he made, with his suite, it had happened to be more or less overawed,--that by these, an appearance of gladness was assumed, seems credible enough: look for those, by whom he could have been received with real gladness--they will not, it should seem, be very easy to be found. not, till the next day after his arrival, do paul and his suite present themselves to any in authority in this spiritual commonwealth. the first person, to whom, on this occasion, he presents himself, is james: that one of the apostles, who, with the exception of peter, is the person, and the only person, with whom paul has, on the occasion of any of his visits, been represented as holding converse. not with this james--not with any settled inhabitants of jerusalem--has he had his lodging: only with mnason,[ ] a man of cyprus, whom, lest lodging should be wholly wanting, they had brought with them from cæsarea. of this so extensively apprehended arrival, there had been full time for ample notice: among the rulers, those, who, as well as james, chose to see him, were all present. who were they? the elders--"all the elders." of the apostles, not so much as one, besides james. let it not be said, that, under the word _elders_, the apostles were meant to be included: on other occasions, on which elders are mentioned, acts : ; : , the apostles are mentioned, as forming a body, distinct, as they naturally would be,--distinct from these same elders. salutations performed, he addresses the assembly in that strain, which was so familiar to him: boasting upon boasting, and, above all things, boasting that he does not boast: "declaring," says his historian;--declaring? what? declaring what was his business at jerusalem? declaring what service, in his eyes the cause stood in need of, at his hands? not he, indeed: to any such effect, declaration might not have been altogether so easy. what he declared, and that "_particularly_," was--what "things god had wrought among the gentiles by his ministry." exactly on this, as on his last preceding visit,--when all, but himself, were speaking to the question before him--peter on one side; after him, james on the other side--nothing, is either he, or his companion barnabas, represented as saying, that belongs to the question; nothing, but "declaring what miracles and wonders, god had wrought among the gentiles by them." between what is represented, as having been said on the two occasions,--one difference, and no more than one, is visible. on the former occasion, "miracles and wonders"; on this latter occasion, no miracles no wonders:--nothing more than _things_. supposing any of them particularized--neither miracles nor wonders had, it should seem, been fortunate enough to obtain credence: for that reason, it should seem, that, on this occasion, all mention of them is dropped. hearing of these _things_, what did these elders? being things that "god," as they were informed, "had wrought," they could do no less than glorify "the lord." acts : - . as in paul's epistles, so here, in the acts,--by _the lord_, it is jesus, who, as far as it appears, is the person, all along meant to be designated. here, _god_, it may be observed, is the person, by whom everything good, that is done, is done: jesus--the lord jesus--the person, who is _glorified_ for it. to make his boasts, was _his_ business with _them_: but, to subscribe to those same boasts, was not _their_ business with _him_. their business was--to inform him, of the storm of unpopularity, which by his audacity he had brought upon himself: to inform him of the storm, and to point out the only course, which, in their view of the matter, presented a chance for his escape from it. "thou seest,"--say they,--"thou seest how many thousands of jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law. and they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the jews which are among the gentiles to forsake moses; saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after their customs," acts : . "what is it, therefore?" add they, "the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come." section . low tone assumed by him on this occasion. on more accounts than one, remarkable,--and not a little instructive, is the account we have of this last recorded visit: and, in particular, as to what concerns the reception he experienced from the ruling powers of the church. it is, in some particulars, more especially to be depended upon,--inasmuch as, at this important meeting, the author of the acts--if he is to be believed--was himself present. the first remarkable circumstance is--that, on this occasion, paul, the self-elected apostle--instead of taking the lead, and introducing his companions--keeps behind, and is introduced _by them_: such was the pliancy, with which--even on this expedition, of invasion and projected conquest,--an expedition,--undertaken, in spite of everything that could be done, both on the part of the intended objects of the conquest, and on the part of his own adherents--such was the pliancy, with which this man, among whose boasts was that of being all things to all men, could bend himself to circumstances. acts : - . "and after those days, we took up our carriages, and went to jerusalem. there went with us, also, certain of the disciples of cæsarea, and brought with them one mnason of cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge." at jerusalem, not so much as a house, to harbour them, could they have been assured of, but for this old disciple--fellow countryman, of paul's old patron, the son of consolation, barnabas. not even with him could they have been assured of this token of friendship, had he not either been already of their party, or detached himself to meet them, and afford them the assurance: although, at cæsarea,--from some cause, of which, while the effect is brought to view, no intimation is given,--they were fortunate enough to obtain a hospitable reception, acts : , at the house of philip. this, however, be it observed, was not philip, the apostle, whether it may have been philip, styled here the evangelist:--one of the seven trustees, or directors, acts : , to whom, with his six colleagues, under the name, so inexpressively rendered, in the english, by the word _deacons_,--the management of the common fund had, by the suffrages of the disciples, been committed, must be left to conjecture. . "and when we were come to jerusalem, the brethren," acts : , "received _us_ gladly." what _brethren_? the apostles, or any one of them? no: the elders? no. who then?--who, but such of the members of the church, as, notwithstanding the general repugnancy,--as testified at tyre, and afterwards, by prophet agabus, at cæsarea,--could, by the influence of the cypriot mnason, or otherwise, be prevailed upon to see them. and, _to_ whom was it, that this sort of reception, whatsoever it was, was afforded? was it to paul? no: it was to _those_, who, on other occasions, were with _him_; but, with _whom_, on this occasion, his prudence forced his pride to submit to be. witness the next verse, acts : ; "and the day following," not till the day following, "paul went in with us unto james." _with them_--with these his attendants--did paul, then and there, go in:--not _they with him_. at the house of james--mark well, now--who were the persons present? answer--"all the elders." but, forasmuch as these elders were, _all_ of them, present,--notice, within the compass of the two fragments of two days,--notice, to and by all of them must have been given and received: for it has just been seen, whether, between any of them, on the one hand,--and paul, or, so much as any one of his attendants, on the other,--there could have been any such sort of good understanding, as to have produced any the least personal intercourse, but at, and on, the occasion of the general and formal meeting:--a meeting, which--as will be seen presently--had, for its sole object, the imposing upon him, in the event of his continuance at jerusalem, an obligation: an obligation--to a man in his circumstances--it has been seen, of how perilous and repulsive a nature. such, then, was the notice, as to have brought to the place, all the elders--all the elders?--good. but, these _elders_--elders among the _disciples in ordinary_,--on an occasion such as this, what were _they_ in comparison of the apostles--the only known chosen servants, and constant companions of jesus? well, then, while--at this meeting--this formally convened meeting--those elders were, every one of them, present--what was the number of _apostles_ present? answer--besides james, not one. and--why james?--manifestly, because it was at _his_ house, that the meeting was held. and--why at _his_ house? because, on the occasion, and for the purpose, of the _partition treaty_,--that treaty, so necessary to the peace of the church,--on the one hand; and, to the carrying on of paul's scheme of dominion, on the other hand;--james was one, of the only three, who could ever endure the sight of the self-declared apostle: peter and john, as hath been seen, being the two others:--and, because, when, for the purpose of investing the meeting, in the eyes of the disciples at large, with the character of a meeting of the ruling administrative body--the apostles,--less than that one, if there were any, there could not be. this one, james--under the pressure of the present emergency--prevailed upon himself to be: and, to be so irksome an intercourse--notwithstanding the obviousness of the demand for as great a number, as could be collected, of that primarily influential body--of no other of the apostles, could the attendance be obtained: not even of peter, who, on a former occasion, had brought himself to endure the hateful presence. section . posterior to all his supposed miracles, his silence proves them unreal. now, then, as to _miracles_. had paul, really and truly, ever received from jesus, any such preeminent and characteristic appendage and mark of apostleship,--here, of all others, was an occasion, on which it concerned him to make proof of it. here was an occasion, on which, with the design, and for the purpose--the palpable, and almost universally and so strenuously opposed design and purpose--of constituting himself the superior of the apostles, he was presenting himself--though in circumstances of such humiliation--in the character of an equal, with whom they had treated on equal terms. here--in order to impose silence on all gainsayers--here was the occasion, for his bringing to public view, this most important of all items in the list of his credentials. the apostles, to whom--without any exception, by jesus, if the evangelist, mark : - , is to be believed--this power had, previously to his ascension, been imparted,--these, if any, were the men--not to say the only men--qualified to form a judgment on the question--whether, by any other individual, and, more especially, by the individual before them, namely, by this their self-declared colleague, any such extraordinary power had, on any, and what, occasion, been exercised or possessed. of all imaginable occasions, this was the one, on which he had most at stake, in the being able to make proof of so matchless an endowment:--of an endowment, which in the character of a proof, in support of all his claims, would, in the very nature of it, have been so perfectly irresistible. well, then: this proof of his title--did he use every endeavour, or make any offer, to produce it? no: not so much did he venture upon, as, in any the most general terms, to assert, or, so much as insinuate, the existence of it. according to his own statement, what was the general description of the tokens brought forward by him, for the purpose of obtaining acceptance? were they _signs and wonders_? oh, no! his historiographer, indeed--in that, or any other such indeterminate, and conveniently ambiguous phrase--his historiographer, at some twenty or seven-and-twenty years' distance, might venture, acts : , to speak of his exploits--of the effects produced by his exertions: in the like terms, in writing to his corinthian disciples, he might, even himself, venture, for once, to speak of his own exploits.[ ] but, before an assembly, so composed, was this boast, loose, and conveniently ambiguous, as it was,--in his eyes, too much to venture. acts : --behold here the passage: "and when he had saluted them, he declared particularly"--what? what--signs and wonders? no: but simply--"what _things_ god had wrought among the gentiles by his ministry." had he hazarded so much as the general expression of signs and wonders--well, and what were these signs and wonders? give us, at any rate, something by way of a sample of them? in any one of them, was there anything supernatural? anything--beyond the success, the extraordinary success--we are to understand, your exertions were attended with? questions, to some such effect as this, which, in an assembly, so composed, had he ventured upon any such expressions, he could not but have expected to be annoyed with. the occurrences which, in the course of it, in the character of _miracles_, he has ventured to present to view, will have been seen in their place and order. yet,--notwithstanding the mention there respectively and severally made of them--no mention of them does he, in the account given by him of the meeting, venture to put in his leader's mouth. why? because--forasmuch as, by paul himself, no such pretence was ventured to be made--the meeting was too important, and too notorious, to render it safe to advance any such matter of fact; the face being false; or, that any such pretensions were really made. but, hereupon come two questions. . had any such miracles been really wrought--was it in the nature of things, that, on this occasion, paul should have omitted all mention of them? even so much as the most distant allusion to them? . if any such intimation had really been given, by the historian himself, is it in the nature of the case, that, on this occasion,--he having been one of the witnesses, in whose presence they had been performed,--all mention of such intimation should have been omitted? well, then--suppose that to both these questions, let it but be a negative answer or the true one, the consequence is plain--no such miracles were wrought. yet, in his narrative, has this man--exhibiting himself, at the same time, in the character of a _percipient_ witness, in relation to them--ventured to assert the existence, one after another, of the whole list of these particularized miracles, not to speak of the cluster of unparticularized ones. section . accused by the disciples, he commences, at the recommendation of the apostles, an exculpatory oath in the temple. such being in their eyes the danger; now comes their expedient for the arresting of it. it is an altogether curious one: and among those persons styled _elders_--all the elders--to every sincere and pious christian it will naturally be matter of no small satisfaction that no one of the whole fellowship of the apostles is to be found. according to the description here given of it, the expedient is of such a sort, that--but for the occasion on which it is represented as being proposed,--scarcely would it be possible to divine what is meant; what it was that was proposed to be done; or, whatever it was, what could be the use or effect of it? "do therefore this," acts : , continues the speech attributed to these elders, "do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men which have a vow on them:--them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.--as touching the gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood and from fornication.--then paul," it is added, "took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them." in the terms of the historian, the matter of the accusation in question is this: namely, "that thou," speaking to paul, "teachest all the jews which are among the gentiles to forsake moses": it then divides itself into two branches: one is--that "they ought not to circumcise their children"; the other is--that "they ought not to walk after the customs":--_i. e._, conform to any part of the habitual observances--acts and forbearances together--prescribed by the mosaic law. such is the accusation: such the act charged upon him, in the character of an offence:--the teaching of the doctrine in question. in regard to the question--whether the doctrine he is thus said to have taught, had really ever been taught by him,--much will depend upon the difference between simple _permission_ and _prohibition_: in english, upon the difference between _need not_ and _ought not_. if,--in the doctrine, the teaching of which is thus charged upon him as a crime,--simple _permission_ was included--if, in speaking of the converts in question, the saying was--that they _need_ not circumcise their children--that they _need_ not walk after these customs--this and no more;--in this case, that the charge, such as it is, was true, is altogether out of doubt:--if, on the other hand, the act he was charged with, went so far as to the teaching that they _ought_ not to circumcise any of their children, or that they _ought_ not to walk after the customs prescribed in the mosaic law--on this supposition, the truth of the charge will at any rate not be quite so clear as in the other case. according to the english translation, that which is charged as an offence, was not committed, unless, in the doctrine taught, a direct _prohibition_ was contained: to a doctrine importing nothing more than a simple _permission_ to abstain from the acts and forbearances in question, the charge would not have any application. not thus unambiguous, however, is the greek original; either by prohibition, or by ample permission, might the doctrine charged as criminal have been taught. such is the description of the obnoxious practice, with which paul is here stated as having been charged: the practice by which the odium is stated as having been incurred. but this imaginary guilt, in what view do they mention it as imputed to him? in this view evidently, viz., that at their recommendation he may take that course, by which, in their view, he will escape from the wrath of which he had become the object. the effect thus aimed at is,--that the indignation of which he is the object, may be made to cease. how made to cease? in one or other of two ways: for the nature of the case admits not of any other: either by proving that _that_ which he had been supposed to have taught, had not in truth ever been taught by him, and thus, that no such offence as he was charged with, had, in fact, ever been committed by him; or that, if any such offence had been committed, the practice recommended might be accepted as an _atonement_: or rather as an assurance, that whatever in his past conduct had given them offence, would not be repeated by him in future. when the supposed remedial practice has been explained,--then immediately after comes, we see, a more particular indication of the good effects, for the production of which it is recommended. these are--in the first place, that, whatsoever were the doctrines he was charged with having taught it, it will be generally known that no such doctrines were ever taught by him: in the next place, that it will in like manner be known, that by himself no such habitual offence as that of an habitual violation of the law in question was committed. such are the effects, stated as resulting from his performing the ceremony, the performance of which was thus recommended to him. this ceremony we see: and what we see at the same time is--that it could not be, in the nature of it, productive of any such effects. here is a certain doctrine, which he had been charged with having taught. if the case was, that he had taught it; let him have purified himself ever so purely, whatsoever was meant by purification,--let him have purified himself ever so completely, let him have paid ever so much money, let him have shaved his head ever so close,--by any, or all of all these supposed meritorious acts, how could that be caused, not to have happened, which in fact had happened? by what means could they afford proof of his performance of any ceremony, other than those very same purification ceremonies themselves? as to the purpose of furthering the temporal interest of the individual in question; namely, by removing the load of odium, with which at that time it seems he was burdened,--how far, in relation to this object, the expedient promised to be an effectual cure, is more than at this time we can find any ground for saying: as to any good purposes of any other kind, that it was not in the nature of it to be productive of any, may be pronounced without much danger of error. here at any rate was a ceremony--a ceremony the object of which was--to apply, to the purpose of ensuring obsequiousness, the power of the religious sanction. the object, to which it was meant to apply that form, comes, it may be seen, under the general denomination of an _oath_. an oath is either assertory or promissory: if it be an oath of the promissory kind, it is called a _vow_. an oath which is not a vow cannot respect anything but what is past: upon that which is past, no human act can any longer exercise any influence. a _vow_ has respect to something future--to the future conduct of him by whom the vow is taken: and to this conduct a man, in and by the taking of the vow, engages to give the form therein mentioned. whatsoever, therefore, these ceremonies were in themselves,--thus much seems plain enough, respecting the immediate effect they were designed to answer: namely, either the delivery of a certain species of _evidence_, or the entering into an _engagement_ to a certain effect: the evidence being a denial of the act charged: the engagement, a promise not to practice any acts of the sort in question in future. whatsoever was the effect looked for, and intended, by the ceremony,--thus much we know, if the historian is here to be believed: namely, that, in conformity to the advice, paul betook himself to the performance of it. but, in so doing, thus much also we know: namely, that he consented to, and betook himself to one of two things: an act of perjury, if the effect of the ceremony was to convey an assertion, that he had never taught, that a jew, on being converted to the religion of jesus, _need_ not circumcise his children, or walk after the mosaic customs: an act of apostasy, if the effect of it was an engagement never to teach this same doctrine in future: an act of apostasy--and for what? only to save himself from the displeasure entertained towards him on unjust grounds by a set of ill-advised and inconsistent disciples. under the general head of _paul's doctrines_, particular title _faith and works_, it will be seen what pains he had taken, on so many occasions, to weed out of men's breasts, gentiles and jews together, all regard for the mosaic law--to cause them, in the words of the charge, _to forsake moses_. "by the works of the law," says he in his letter to the galatians, gal. : , "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." in this same letter, and in the same paragraph,--he speaks, of a speech which he had made, of a reproof which, at antioch, he had given to peter:--given to him, at a point of time long before the time here in question, namely, that of his last preceding visit--his third visit to jerusalem,--this being the fourth. let us see, once more, on what occasion, and for what cause, this reproof: we shall thereby be the better enabled to judge--how far, supposing the ceremony to have the effect of an assertory oath,--how far that oath can have been conformable to the truth. speaking of peter, "time was," he says, "when he did eat with the gentiles: but at antioch, as above, certain persons came from james": gal. : , , and then it was that "he, peter, withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.--and the jews," continues he, "dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation." of his return to judaism, or at any rate of the dissimulation which accompanied it, what is the judgment which, if he is to be believed, he pronounced? answer, that in so doing "they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel." thereupon it is, that he charged peter with inconsistency, and reproved him for it: "because," says he, "he was to be blamed." gal. : . "when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the gospel, i said unto peter before them all, if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of the gentiles, and not as do the jews, why compellest thou the gentiles to live as do the jews?" before me lies a book by thomas lewis, m. a., in four vo volumes, entitled _origines hebraicae_. in this book, under titles _vow_ and _purification_, my expectation was, to find some explanation of this matter: as also of the other _vow_ taken by paul at cenchrea, acts : , in the interval between his third visit to jerusalem, and this fourth: but no mention is made of either: nor does anything appear, by which any light can be reflected upon either. on the four men, whom, in pursuance of the recommendation in question, paul is said to have taken, that he might "purify himself along with them," the intended effect of the ceremony in question is said to be--the making or performance of a _vow_. but, from the circumstance of its being a vow in their case, it follows not absolutely that it may not have been an oath--an assertory oath, in his case. at jerusalem, for the taking or performance of a vow, a man was received into the temple:--a district more extensive by far, it appears, than the district called _rules of the king's bench_ at london: from the account given by lewis, as well as by this,--it appears that, on every such occasion, fees were taken by the priests. as to the four men here in question--having already, as it is stated, a vow on them, but nothing as yet done in consequence,--it looks as if it had been by poverty that they had hitherto been kept from the accomplishment of their purpose: on which supposition, paul being the head of a considerable party, and as such having a command of money,--part of the recommendation seems to have been--that, to acquire the reputation of liberality, he should open his purse to these his proposed companions, and pay their fees. on the occasion here in question, whatsoever was the purpose and intended effect of the ceremony, what appears from verse , acts , is--that seven days were regarded as necessary for the accomplishment of it: no mention of this in lewis. on this occasion, by the author of the acts, once more is mentioned the conciliatory decree of the apostles and elders. still, not a syllable about it is to be found in any epistle of saint paul, or in any other of the apostolical epistles that have come down to us. humanly speaking,--in what motives, in what circumstances, in what considerations, shall we say, that the causes, final and efficient, of this temperament--this _mezzo termino_--this middle course--are to be found? the answer that presents itself is as follows: two stumbling-blocks were to be steered clear of:--the scruples of the jewish converts, and the refractoriness of the gentiles. so far as regarded abstinence from idolatrous feasts, and from meat with the whole blood in it, killed and dressed in a manner other than that in practice among the jews,--conformity, it was judged, need not be dispensed of, at the hands of the gentiles: and, so long as they would be content with meat killed and dressed after the jewish mode,--the jewish teachers might, without giving offence to their jewish converts, have the convenience of partaking of the tables of the gentile converts. as to the rest--the endless train of habitual observances, by which so large a portion of a man's life was occupied and tormented, neither these permanent plagues, nor the initiatory plague of circumcision, though the affair of a minute, and performed once for all, were found endurable: neither upon himself nor upon his children would a man submit to have it practiced. after all, if the author of the acts is to be believed,--it was by the jews of asia, and not by those of jerusalem, that, at jerusalem, the tumult was raised, by which this purification of paul's was rendered incomplete, and his stay at jerusalem cut short: he being removed for trial to rome; at which place the history leaves him and concludes. of the behaviour observed by the jerusalem christians, on that occasion--apostles, elders, deacons and ordinary brethren all together--nothing is said. yet, of these there were many thousands on the spot, acts : : all of them of course informed of the place--the holy place,--in which, at the recommendation of the elders, paul had stationed himself. by the jews of asia were "all the people on this occasion stirred up," acts : : yet, among so many thousands, no protection, nor any endeavour to afford him protection, for aught that appears, did he experience. yet asia it was, that had been, to the exclusion of judaea, the theatre of his labours: from asia it was, that the train of attendants he brought with him, were come--were come with him to these brethren--"the brethren,"--as if it had been said, _all_ the brethren,--by whom, according to the author of the acts, they were "received so gladly." at this period ends all that, on the present occasion, it will be necessary to say, of this last recorded visit to jerusalem. of the two inconsistent accounts said to have been given by him of his conversion--one to the jerusalem mob, the other to king agrippa--full notice has been taken under the head of his conversion: of the miracles ascribed to him at malta, mention is here made, in the chapter allotted to the history of his supposed miracles. of any other subsequent acts or sayings of his, no notice will require to be taken in this place. the matter here in question has been--the sort of relation, stated as having had place, between this self-constituted apostle, and those who beyond controversy were constituted such by, and lived as such with, jesus himself: and to this have incidentally been added the causes, which have continually been presenting themselves, for suspicion, in respect of the verity and authenticity, or both, of the history, which, under the name of the acts of the apostles, has come down to us, connected by the operations of the bookbinder, in the same volume with the several histories of the four evangelists, and the epistles--not only of paul himself but of others among the apostles; and with the work styled, as if in derision, "_the revelations_." section . the design of this recommendation justified. but the apostles--says somebody--what are we to think of the apostles? if by paul a _perjury_ was thus committed, were they not--all of them who joined in this recommendation--so many _suborners_ of this same perjury? the answer will, it is hoped, by most readers at least, have been anticipated.--yes or no, if so it be, that it was their expectation that he would commit it: no, assuredly; if it were their expectation--their assured expectation--that he would _not_ commit it: that, even in his person, even after all they had witnessed in him, the union of profligacy and rashness would never soar to so high a pitch. the necessity they were under, of ridding themselves of his presence was extreme:--of ridding _themselves_--and, what was so much more, their _cause_. stay in the same town, and in the same company with them, he could not,--without being either their known _adversary_, or their known _associate_. their known _adversary_ he could not be, without either continuing himself to be an object of universal horror, or else rendering _them_ objects of horror, to the whole body of their disciples. their _associate_ he could not be, without involving _them_ in that odium, with which he himself was, by the confession of his own adherent and historiographer, covered. under these circumstances, not to speak of the cause of mankind, for saving _themselves_ and _their_ cause from destruction,--what course could they take, so gentle, and at the same time, to all appearance, so surely effectual, as the proposing to him this test?--a test, which no man could rationally expect, that any man in his circumstances would take. section . dragged out of the temple by jews or christians, he is saved by a gentile, namely, a roman commander. with this occurrence concludes so much of paul's history, as,--for the purpose of perfecting the demonstration given, of the disbelief manifested towards his pretensions to a supernatural intercourse with the almighty,--it was found necessary here to anticipate. in the matter of the chapter--the th--in which paul's supposed miracles are brought to view,--his history is, as to all those particulars which seemed necessary to be brought to view for the purpose of the present inquiry,--deduced to very near the time, at which the historian of the acts, having conducted him to rome, leaves him there: leaves him there, and with no other notice, than that of his having, at the time, at which the history closes, passed two years at that capital, in a sort of ambiguous state between freedom and confinement: waiting to receive, at the hands of the constituted authorities, the final determination of his fate. meantime, lest anything should be wanting, that could have contributed to the elucidation on a point of such supreme importance, follows in the next chapter a concluding and more particular view of the grounds, on which, on the occasion of his visit to the temple, the intention of deliberate perjury was found necessary to be imputed to him. footnotes: [ ] acts : . "there went with us also _certain_ of the disciples of cæsarea, and brought with them one mnason of cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge." [ ] cor. : . "truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." not that, by the words assigns and wonders, when used by paul, anything more was meant, than what, but a few years after, was, according to him, doing, or about to be done, by antichrist. thess. : . "even him, whose coming is, after the manner of satan, with all powers, and signs, and lying wonders." _lying_ is, indeed, the adjunct prefixed, in this instance; but, lying or not lying, if paul be believed, they failed not to produce the effect intended by them. signs and wonders being such equivocal thing, no great wonder if--writing at corinth to nobody knows what disciples of his at rome, a.d. , rom. : , ,--he could venture, if this was venturing, to speak of what he had been doing in jerusalem and illyricum, in the same terms. "for i will not dare to speak, says he, of any of those things which christ has not wrought by me, to make the gentiles obedient by word and deed.--through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of god; so that from jerusalem, and round about, unto illyricum, i have fully preached the gospel of christ." chapter xi. _paul disbelieved continued.--paul's fourth jerusalem visit continued.--perjurious was the purpose of the exculpatory oath commenced by him in the temple._ section . general proof of the perjury from the acts. we have seen the indignation produced by paul's invasion of the dominion of the apostles: we have seen it carried to its height, by his commencement of, and perseverance in, the exculpatory ceremony, for the purpose of which he made his entrance, and took up his lodgment in the temple. we have seen the fruits of that same indignation: we have seen the general result of them. what remains is--to give a clearer and more explicit conception, than can as yet have been given, of the _cause_ of it. this was--neither more nor less, than an universal persuasion--that the assertion,--to which, on his part, this ceremony had for its object the attaching the sanction of an oath,--was, to his full knowledge, false: the oath employed being, in its form, beyond comparison more impressive, than any that has been known to be at any time in use, in this or any other country: and that, accordingly, the confirmation given to the falsehood, in and by means of that most elaborate and conspicuous ceremony, was an act of _perjury_: of perjury, more deliberate and barefaced, than anything, of which, in these days, any example can have place. that, on this occasion, the conduct of the self-constituted apostle was stained with perjury, is a matter, intimation of which has unavoidably come to have been already given, in more parts perhaps of this work than one. but, for a support to a charge, which, if true, will of itself be so completely destructive of paul's pretensions--of all title to respect, at the hands of every professor of the religion of jesus--no slight body of evidence could have been sufficient. for this purpose, let us, in the first place, bring together the several elementary positions, proof or explanation of which, may be regarded as necessary, and at the same time as sufficient, to warrant, in this case, a verdict of _guilty_. to these charges, is immediately subjoined such part of the evidence, as is furnished, by the account of the matter, as given in the acts: in another section will be brought to view the evidence, furnished by paul himself, in his epistles. the evidence from the acts is of the _circumstantial kind_: the evidence from the epistles is _direct_. . to paul was imputed as a misdeed, the having recommended the forsaking of the mosaic law. recommended, namely, to such disciples of his as, having been born and bred under it, were found by him settled in some gentile nation. proof, acts : , ... "they," 'the jews which believe,' ver. , "are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the jews which are among the gentiles to forsake moses, saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs." . to a great extent, the imputation was well grounded: for, to a great extent, it had been his practice, to give the recommendation thus described. of this position the proof will follow presently. . by paul, the truth of this imputation was utterly denied: denied by the opposite denegatory assertion: and, the imputation being as above well grounded,--in so far as any such denegatory assertion had been made by him, he had knowingly uttered a wilful falsehood. . in proof of the sincerity of this denial, it was proposed to paul, on the part of the apostles and elders, to give a confirmation of it, by the performance of a certain appropriate ceremony. . the ceremony thus proposed, was one that was universally understood, to have the effect of attaching, to any assertion, connected with it for the purpose, the sanction of an oath. . knowing such to be the effect of the ceremony, he gave his assent to the proposition, and determined, by means of it, to attach the sanction of an oath to such his denial, as above: and thereby, the assertion contained in that denial, being, as above, to his knowledge, false,--to commit, in that extraordinary solemn and deliberate form and manner, an act of perjury. . in pursuance of such determination, he accordingly repaired for that purpose to the temple and had his abode therein for several days: the completion of the requisite number being no otherwise prevented, than by the irruption of the indignant multitude, assured as they were of his being occupied in the commission of a perjury. proof of charges , , , , , . acts : , , , , . . "_we_, the apostles and the elders, or at least the apostle james, ver. , have _four men_, which have a _vow_ on them; . "them take, and _purify thyself with them_, and be _at charges_ with them, that ... _all_ may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are _nothing_; but _that_ thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. . "then paul took the men, and _the next day purifying himself with them_ entered into the temple, to _signify_ the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an _offering_ should be offered for every one of them. . "and when the _seven days were almost ended_, the jews, which were of asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him. . "crying out, men of israel, help; this is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere _against_ the people, and _the law_, and this place: and further brought greeks also into the temple; and hath _polluted_ this holy place." of the perjuriousness of paul's intent, a short proof, namely of the circumstantial kind, is thus already visible, in the indignation excited,--its intensity, its immorality, and the bitter fruits of it. will it be said no? for that the indignation had, for its adequate cause, his being thought to have spoken slightingly of the law in question--it being the law of the land,--and that, to this imputation, the ceremony, it being, as above the performance of a _vow_, had no reference? assuredly no: no such interpretation will be found tenable. true it is, that, by the persuasion, that he had thus been dealing by the mosaic law,--by this persuasion, without need of anything else, the indignation may well have been produced: but it could only have been by the knowledge, that, upon his having been called upon to confess the having so done, or to deny it, he had, in this most extraordinary and universally conspicuous mode, given continuance and confirmation to his denial--it could only have been by _this_ knowledge, that the excitement was raised up to so high a pitch. for, what was it that the information had charged him with? it was the forsaking moses. what was the purpose, for which the recommendation was given to him--the recommendation to perform this ceremony? it was the _purifying_ himself, "that all might know" that the information was groundless. "that those things," say the apostles with the elders to him, "whereof they," the thousands of jews which believe, ver. , "were informed against thee were _nothing_:"--"to _purify thyself_," says the official translation: more appositely might it have said _to clear thyself_: for in that case, the idea of an _imputation_ would clearly enough, though but implicitly, have been conveyed: whereas, to some minds, the idea conveyed by the word _purify_ may perhaps be no other than that of some _general_ cleansing of the whole character, by means of some physical process, to which, in so many minds, the psychological effect in question has, by the influence of artifice on weakness, been attached. such then, namely, the clearing himself of the imputation by so solemn a confirmation of the denial of it,--such was the purpose, for which, in the most unequivocal terms, his performance of the ceremony was recommended: such, therefore, was the purpose for which it was commenced; such, accordingly, was the purpose for which it would have been consummated, but for the interruption which it experienced: experienced not from his hands, but from hands among which, there seems sufficient reason to believe, were the hands, if not of the very persons by whom it had been recommended, at any rate of those who till that time had been in use to be guided by their influence. to this interpretation, what objection is there that can be opposed? if any, it can only be that which to some minds may perhaps be suggested by the word _vow_. but the fact is--this word _vow_ is a mistranslation: the proper word should have been _oath_. by an oath everyone understands at first mention an _assertory_, not a _promissory_, declaration: by a _vow_, a _promissory_, not an _assertory_ one. but an _assertory_ declaration, as every one sees, is the only sort of declaration, that admits of any application to the case in question. by nothing that, in paul's situation, a man could _promise_ to do, in addition to the performance of the ceremony, could any evidence be given, of a man's having, or not having, done so and so, in any time _past_. that by that which was actually done, that which was essential was considered as having been done,--is proved, by what is put into paul's mouth in relation to this subject, in his defence against the accusation brought afterwards against him, before the roman governor _felix_, by the spokesman of the jewish constituted authorities, _tertullus_. there it is, that, beyond all doubt, what he is speaking of, is his clearance, as above: for there also, the word in the official translation, as well as in the greek original, is _purified_: in the past tense, purified. this being assumed, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that either in the course of that part, which at the time of the irruption, was already elapsed of the _seven days'_ ceremony, in the temple; or, what seems more probable, antecedently to the commencement of it, a denegatory declaration--a declaration denying the fact charged in the accusation,--had been made: for, that the ceremony itself was never accomplished, is what is expressly stated:--of the term of seven days stated as necessary to the accomplishment of it, no more than a part, it is said, had elapsed, when the final interruption of it took place. to return to the time of paul's entrance into the temple. thus, as hath been seen, stands the matter, even upon the face of the official english translation. but in verse , the word employed in the greek original, removes all doubt. "then," says the translation, "paul took the men, and the next day _purifying himself_ with them, entered into the temple." purifying himself, in the present tense, says the translation: and, even this alone taken into consideration, the purifying process, whatever it was, might be supposed to have been but commenced before the entrance into the temple, and as being thus as yet in pendency, waiting the exit out of the temple for its accomplishment. thus it is, that, in the translation, the verb is in the present tense, _purifying himself_: but, in the greek original, it is in the past tense, _having purified_ himself: so that, in the original, the purification, whatever it may have been, is in express terms stated as having, even before his entrance into the temple, already accomplished. note that, if the historian is to be believed, he had on this occasion, the fullest opportunity, of being, in the most particular manner, acquainted with everything that passed. for, when, as above, the recommendation was given to paul, on his appearance before the apostle james and the elders,--he, the historian, was actually present, "and the day following," says he, acts : , "_paul went in with us unto james_; and all the elders were present." supposing _that_ the true interpretation,--of what use and effect then, it may perhaps be asked, was the ceremony, of which the temple was the theatre? the answer has been already given. it cannot have been any other than the attaching, to the declaration that had been made, the sanction, of an oath. without the ceremony performed in the temple, the declaration was a declaration _not_ upon oath, and as such not regarded as sufficient evidence:--evidence, in the shape which, the historian says, had been actually required for the purpose: when the ceremony, of which the temple was the theatre, had been gone through, and the last of the number of days, required for its accomplishment had been terminated;--then, and not before, it was regarded as having been converted into the appropriate and sufficient evidence. thus it was, that this seven days' ceremony was no more than an elaborate substitute to the english ceremony of kissing the book, after hearing the dozen or so of words pronounced by the official functionary. on this occasion, the greek word rendered by the word _vow_, is a word which in its ordinary sense was, among gentiles as well as jews, exactly correspondent to our word _prayer_. but, the idea denoted by the word _prayer_, applies in this case with no less propriety to an _assertory oath_ than to a _promissory vow_. directly and completely, it designates neither. in both cases an address is made to some supposed supernatural potentate: in cases such as the present, beseeching him to apply the sanction of punishment to the _praying_ individual, in the event of a want of sincerity on his part: in this case, in the event of his not having done that which, on this occasion, he declares himself to have done, or, what comes to the same thing, his having done that which he declares himself _not_ to have done: in the other case, in the event of his not doing that which he has promised to do, or doing that which he has promised _not to do_.[ ] all this while, it is not in a direct way, it may be observed, that this word _vow_ is employed, and application made of it to paul's case: not in speaking of paul himself in the first instance, but after speaking of the _four other men_, whom it is proposed he should take for his comrades, on his entrance into the temple. "we have four men," james and the elders are made to say, acts : , , "we have four men which have a vow on them: them take, and purify thyself with them ... that ... all may know, that those things, whereof they," the multitude, ver. , "were informed concerning thee, are nothing": no otherwise, therefore, than by the case these four men were in, is the case designated, in which it is proposed to paul to put himself. as to the case these four men were in,--no otherwise than on account of its connection with the case paul was in,--is it in anywise of importance. as probable a supposition as any seems to be--that of their being in the same case with him: accused, as well as he, of teaching "jews to forsake moses:" for, between their case and his, no intimation is given of any difference: and, as the _"purifying himself"_ is what is recommended to him, so is it what they are stated, as standing eventually engaged to do on their part. if then, in _his_ instance, purifying himself means--clearing himself of a charge made against _him_,--so in their instance must it naturally, not to say necessarily, have meant--clearing themselves of some charge made against _them_. moreover, when, as above, he is, in the greek original, stated as having actually purified himself, before his entrance into the temple, so are they likewise; for it is "_with them_," that his purification is stated as having been performed. this being assumed, it might not be impossible to find a use for the word _vow_, even in its proper sense--its _promissory_ sense: for, what might be supposed is--that before the entrance into the temple, at the same time with the _denegatory declaration_, a _vow_ was made--a solemn _promise_--to enter into the temple, and back of the declaration with the sanction of an oath, by going through the ceremony. but, forasmuch, as, in the import of the greek word, no such idea, as that of a _promise_, is comprised,--the only use of this interpretation would be--to save the translators from the imputation of an impropriety, with which it seems rather more probable that they stand chargeable. all this while, of paul's conduct on this occasion, to what part was it that the blame belonged?--surely, not to the endeavour, to wean men from their attachment to the mosaic laws: for thus far he copied jesus; and in copying did not go against, but only beyond, the great original. true it is, that, in so doing, he served his own personal and worldly purposes: not less so, that, in this subserviency, he found the inducement by which his conduct was determined: for, by how much stronger men's attachment would continue to be to the dead lawgiver, by so much, less strong would it be to the living preacher. but, in so far as a man's conduct is serviceable to mankind at large, it certainly is not rendered the less serviceable, or the less laudable, by his being himself included in the number. the blame lay then--not in teaching men to forsake moses: for, thus far, instead of being blame-worthy, there was nothing in his conduct, that did not merit positive praise. what there was amiss in his conduct--in what, then, did it consist? plainly in this, and this alone: namely, that, on being taxed with having so done,--instead of avowing and justifying it, he denied it: and, having denied it, scrupled not to add to the falsehood the aggravation of such extraordinarily deliberate and solemn perjury, as hath been so plainly visible. and, to what purpose commit so flagrant a breach of the law of morality? plainly, to no other, than the fixing himself in jerusalem, and persevering in a project of insane and selfish ambition, which, in spite of the most urgent remonstrances that could be made by his most devoted adherents, had brought him thither: for, he had but to depart in peace, and the apostles of jesus would have remained unmolested, and the peace of christendom undisturbed. an article of evidence, that must not be left unnoticed,--is the part taken, on this occasion, by the historiographer. nowhere does this eyewitness take upon himself to declare,--nowhere so much as to insinuate--that of the charge, thus made upon his hero, there was anything that was not true: nowhere does he so much as insinuate, that the declaration by which he says paul had cleared himself of the charge, and, as we have seen, _before_ his entrance into the temple for the purpose of enforcing it by the sanction of an oath,--was anything short of a downright falsehood. after this, he makes a defence for paul before felix;[ ] he makes a defence for paul before festus;[ ] he makes a defence for paul before festus and agrippa;[ ] and, on no one of all those occasions, is the defence anything to the purpose. he, indeed, makes paul declare, that he, paul, had always been a strict observer of the mosaic ordinances. this may have been either true or false: but, true or false, it was equally foreign to the purpose. not improbably, it was, in a considerable degree, true: for if, while he gave to other jews his assurance, that the operations in question, burthensome as they were, were of no use, he himself continued to bear the burthen notwithstanding,--the persuasiveness of his advice would naturally be augmented by the manifestation thus given of disinterestedness. it may accordingly have been true: but, false or true, it was equally foreign to the purpose: the question was--not what he had done himself; but what he had recommended it to others to do. thus--from everything that appears, by all such persons as had the best means of information--the charge made upon him was _believed_,--let it now be seen, whether we should not be warranted in saying, _known_,--to be true. as to "_the jews of asia_,"--and the mention made of this class of men, as the instigators of the tumult--can any support be derived from it, for the inference, that it was by something else in paul's conduct, and not by any such perjury as that in question, that the vent, thus given to the indignation, was produced?[ ] no, assuredly: altogether inconsistent would any such supposition be, with the main part of the narrative. whoever were the persons with whom the manual violence originated;--whatever were the reproaches cast upon the invader on other grounds;--the purpose--the sole purpose--for which he entered upon the ceremony, is rendered as plain as words can make it. it was the clearing himself of the charge of teaching jews to forsake moses: and, supposing the fact admitted, everything, in the way of justification, being, before such a tribunal, manifestly inadmissible,--of no such charge was it possible for him to clear himself, without denying the truth of it. but, according to the historian, to confirm this denial, by the solemnity, whatever it was,--was the purpose, and the sole purpose, of it: of this, the negative assertion, contained in the denial, being untrue, and, by him who made it, known to be so,--confirming such denial, by the solemnity,--call it _oath_--call it _vow_--call it anything else,--was committing an act of perjury: and, to believe that such his denial was false, and yet not believing him guilty of perjury--at any rate, on the supposition of the accomplishment of the solemnity--was not possible. how numerous so ever may have been the other causes of provocation, given by him--how numerous so ever, the different descriptions of persons to whom they had been given;--no disproof could, by all of them put together, be given, by this solemnity, to the denial in question,--supposing it false. to the present purpose, the only question is--whether, by paul, on the occasion in question, an act of perjury was, or was not, committed? not--what was the cause, whether that, or any other, of any indignation of which he was the object. even therefore, might it be allowed, that a _vow_, in the sense of which it is contradistinguished from an _oath_, was performed by him, or about to be performed,--still it would not be the less undeniable, that it was for the purpose of converting the simple declaration into a declaration upon oath, that he entered upon the solemnity: and that, therefore, if in the simple declaration there was anything to his knowledge false, the consequence is--that by his converting it into a declaration upon oath, he rendered himself guilty of perjury. the observation, thus applied, to what is said of the "_jews of asia_," will be seen to be applicable, and, with equal propriety, to what is said about his being charged with "bringing _greeks into the temple_:" and, in particular, about his being supposed to have brought in "_the ephesian trophimus_:" and moreover, what may, in this last case, be observable, is--that this about the greeks is expressly stated as being a _further_ charge, distinct from the main one: nor yet is it so much as stated, that, by any such importation, to what degree so ever offensive, any such effect, as that signified by the word _pollution_ was produced. not altogether destitute of probability seems the supposition, that these two circumstances--about the jews of asia, and about trophimus--may have been thrown in, by this adherent of paul's, for the purpose of throwing a cloud of confusion and obscurity over the real charge: and if so, the two circumstances, with the addition of the three different defences, put into the hero's mouth, on the three several occasions of the endeavour,--must be acknowledged to have been employed, not altogether without success. here then closes that part of the evidence, which, to the purpose of a judgment, to be passed at this distance of time from the facts, may be considered as so much _circumstantial_ evidence: in the next section may be seen that part, which comes under the denomination of direct evidence. section . proof from the epistles. we come now to the _direct_ evidence: that evidence--all of it from paul's own pen:--all of it from his own epistles. it consists in those "teachings to forsake moses," which will be now furnished, in such unequivocal terms and such ample abundance, in and by those fruits of his misty and crafty eloquence:--in the first place, in his letter to the disciples, which he had made, or hoped to make at rome:--date of it, according to the received chronology, about four years anterior to the time here in question:--in the next place, in two successive letters to the disciples, whom, it appears, he had made at corinth:--both these addresses, set down, as belonging to the same year as the one to the romans. moreover, in his so often mentioned epistle to the galatians, matter of the same tendency is to be found. but, this last being, according to that same chronology, of a date posterior by some years to the time, at which the charge of having preached the sort of doctrine in question was, on the present occasion, made,--it belongs not to the present question, and is therefore left unemployed. and, in the same case, is some matter that might be found in his epistles to the thessalonians. . first then as to the mosaic "law and customs," taken in the aggregate. on this subject, see in the first place what the oath-taker had said to his _romans_. rom : . "i know, and am persuaded by the lord jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."-- . "for the kingdom of god is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy ghost." rom : . "_by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified_ in his, god's sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin." rom. : , , , , . "where is boasting then? it is excluded. by what law? of works? nay; but by the law of the faith.-- therefore, we conclude, that _a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law_.--is _he_ the god of the jews only? is _he_ not also of the gentiles? yes, of the gentiles also:-- seeing it is one god, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.--_do we then make void_ _the law through faith? god forbid: yea, we establish the law._" rom. : . "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that god hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[ ]-- . for there is no difference between the jew and the greek: for the same lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.--for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved."[ ] rom : . "... one believeth that he may eat all things: another who is weak, eateth herbs.--let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth; for god hath received him.--_one man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike._[ ]" cor. : . "_all things are lawful unto me_, but all things are not expedient:" or _profitable_ margin, "all things are lawful for me, but i will not be brought under the power of any.--_meats for the belly_, and _the belly for meats_; but god shall destroy both it and them." cor. : . "but _meat commendeth us not to god: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither if we eat not, are we the worse_.--wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, i will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest i make my brother to offend." cor. : - . . "for though i be free from all men, yet have i made myself servant unto all, that i might gain the more.--_and unto the jews i became as a jew, that i might gain the jews_; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that i might gain them that are under the law:--_to them that are without law, as without law_, being not without law to god but under the law to christ, _that i might gain them that are without law_.--to the weak became i as weak, that i might gain the weak: i am made all things to all men, that i might by all means save some.--and this i do for the gospel's sake, that i might be partaker thereof with you." cor. : to . "seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.--and not as _moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished_.--but their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in christ.--but even unto this day, _when moses is read, the vail is upon their heart_.--nevertheless _when it shall turn to the lord, the vail shall be taken away_.--now the lord is that spirit; and where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty." now as to _circumcision_ in particular. rom. : , , , , . "for _circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.--therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?_--and shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?--for he is not a jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:--but he is a jew, which is one inwardly: and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of god." rom. : , . "what advantages then hath the jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?--much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of god." rom. : , , , . "_cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?_ for we say that faith was reckoned to abraham for righteousness.--how was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision. not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.--and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which _he had yet_ being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:--and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father abraham, which he had being _yet_ uncircumcised." rom. : . "now i say that jesus christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god to confirm the premises made unto the fathers." cor. : . "is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. _is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.--circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of god._" from any one individual, who, in either of these distant cities, had seen any one of these same epistles,--let it now be seen whether information of their contents, supposing it credited, would not have sufficed to produce those effects, the existence of which is so unquestionable. not but that the same rashness, which suffered him to furnish such abundant evidence against himself in those distant regions, could scarce fail to have given birth to credence in abundance, of various sorts, and of a character, which, on that occasion, would be much more impressive. footnotes: [ ] on this occasion, supposing the purpose of this ceremony to be, as here contended, no other than that of applying, to a declaration concerning a matter of fact, the supernatural penal sanction, by which it was converted into an oath,--a natural enough subject of inquiry is--to what cause is to be attributed the extraordinary length thus given to it?--seven days at the least; to which, upon examination, would be found virtually added, as much greater a length of time, as the holy person, to whose custody the oath-taker consigned himself, might be pleased to prescribe. answer, without difficulty,--the affording time and pretence for the exaction of his _surplice fees_:--namely, those established by law,--with the addition of others, to as large an amount, as the need which the oath-taker had of the accommodation thus to be afforded to him, could engage him to submit to. as to the length of time,--in the passage in question, the translation exhibits some obscurity: nor is it altogether cleared up by the original. a determinate number of days, to wit, seven, is indeed mentioned, ver. , but immediately before this, ver. , comes a passage, from whence it seems unquestionable, that, whatever were the time a man had been thus detained, he was not to be let out, until, over and above what good things it had been made necessary he should bring in with him, a further payment, and as it should seem, in a pecuniary shape, had been made: "to signify," says ver. , "the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them." "and when _the seven_ days were _almost_ ended," continues ver. : immediately after which comes the account of the tumult, by which they were prevented from being _quite_ ended. as to the phrase--"_to signify the accomplishment of the days_," what seems to be meant by it is--to make known when the number requisite for the completion of the train of operations had been _accomplished_. but, to make known when that number had been _accomplished_, it was previously requisite to make known when it had _commenced_: and, for making _this_ known, the act, probably a public one, of making entrance into the temple, was employed. as to the origin, as well as particular nature, of the ceremony,--though no such word as _nazarite_ is here employed, on turning to the book of _numbers_, chapter the sixth, it will be manifest, that the ceremony here in question is the same as that, by which, according to the receipt there given, any man whatever, whether, and any woman also, must be left to conjecture, might be converted into a _nazarite_. _nazarite_ is from a hebrew word, which meant originally neither more nor less than a person _separated_. a person consigned himself to the custody of "_the priest of the congregation_:" or, as we should now say, the _parson of the parish_. the ceremony accomplished, the patient was thereby put into a state of appropriate sanctity: and, from this metamorphosis, as the priest and the nazarite could agree, any inference might be drawn, and any purpose at pleasure accomplished. neither to the _extent_ of the inference, nor therefore to the _purpose_ designed, were any limits visible. everything depended upon the priest: for, though of certain particular operations made requisite, a most particular list is given, all of them of the most insignificant character in themselves, yet so thickly and so plainly sown are the seeds of _nullity_, that, when all the appointed fees, of which there is also an enormous list[iv.], had been paid, it would still lie at the option of the priest, to pronounce the whole procedure null and void, unless, and until any such final compliment as he chose to expect, were paid to him. among the most obviously, as well as extensively convenient purposes, to which it was capable of being applied, is this of which the present case affords an example: namely, the manufacturing of evidence: could he but find means to satisfy the priest, a man might, to all legal purposes, and even to the satisfaction of all appropriately disposed minds, prove, and with conclusive effect, any thing to be false, which everybody knew to be true. by fabrication, falsification, or suppression of evidence, what is the right that may not be usurped? what is the wrong that may not, with success and impunity, be committed? in the mosaic law, immediately before _this_ institution numbers, chap. ., comes another, by means of which every man, who was tired of his wife, might, in another way, with the assistance of a priest--and, for aught that appears, any priest--clear himself of that incumbrance. all the man had to do was--to _say_ he was "_jealous_" of her: the priest thereupon took charge of her. if priest and husband were agreed, "_the water of jealousy_" did its office: if not, the woman remained imprisoned. against the superhuman evidence, afforded by the purifying process here in question, no quantity of human evidence was to be available. in like manner, to warrant this poisoning process, not any the smallest particle of human evidence was necessary: the case in which it is to be performed, is "_if there be no witness against her, neither she be taken_," says the text, _numbers_ . . verily, verily, not without sufficient cause, did jesus, from first to last, take every occasion, to weaken the attachment of the people, to a system of law, of which those institutions afford two, among so many samples. yet, while in the very act of depreciating it, is he represented as declaring his purpose to be the _fulfilling it_: matt. . . for, such was the verbal veil, which the prejudices he had to encounter, rendered it necessary to him at the moment, to throw over the tendency of his endeavors. fulfill the very law he was preaching against? yes: but in one sense only: namely, by fulfilling--not the real purpose of it,--the establishment of the corrupt despotism of the priesthood,--but the professed purpose of it, the good of the community: in regard to the law, fulfilling, in a word, whatever there was that was good in it, whatever there was that deserved to be fulfilled. jesus, in whose opinion death was too severe a punishment, for a wife, in the case of a breach, on _her_ part, of a contract, the breach of which was by the _other_ contending party practised with impunity--jesus, who accordingly, in saving the offender, exposed to merited disgrace the sanguinary law--was doubtless still further from approving, that parish priests, in unlimited numbers, should poison innocent women for the accommodation of their husbands, or sell licenses to commit every imaginable wrong by perjury. _vow_ is _oath_: this is not the only occasion, in which the self-constituted apostle, if his historiographer is to be believed, took the benefit, whatever it was, of this ceremony. in acts : , he "_shaved his head_," it is said, at cenchrea:--why?--"for he had a vow upon him." what the vow was, we are not told; this, however, we know, as well from acts : , as from numbers , he could not have got anything by it, had the parson of the parish of cenchrea been otherwise than satisfied with the "_offering_" that was made. [iv.] in the bargain between vow-maker and vow-sanctifier, the following list of fees, provided for sanctifier, by _excellent church_ of that country, in those days whatever they were,--may serve to show the use of it to one of the contracting parties. to complete our conception of the nature and effects of the arrangement, nothing is wanting, but that which so unhappily must for ever remain wanting--a history of the _purposes_, to which from the commencement of the government to the dissolution of it, the solemnity had been applied on the vow-maker's side. of these purposes, we must content ourselves as well as we can with the sample, for which we are here indebted to the author of the acts. the table of fees is as follows: it is extracted from the book of numbers, chapter : to . fees to be paid in all cases: fees liquidated in quantity, and thence in value. { . he lamb of the first year, one. i. { . ewe-lamb of the first year, one. { . ram without blemish, one. fees, not liquidated in quantity, and thus left to be liquidated in quantity, and thence in value, by the will of the priest. { . basket of unleavened bread, one. { . parcel of cakes of fine flour mingled with oil. ii. { . parcel of wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, one. { . meat-offering, one. { . drink-offerings--numbers and respective quantities not liquidated. fees payable, on a contingency: a contingency not describable without more time and labour, than would be paid for by the result. iii. { . turtle-doves or pigeons, two. { . lamb of the first year, one. iv. mysterious addition, the liquidation of which must be left to the hebrew scholar. ver. . "besides _that_ that his hand shall get:" (whose hand? priest's or vow-maker's?) "according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation:"--probable meaning, according to the purpose, for which he performed the ceremony--the advantage which he looked for from it. moreover, by any one whose curiosity will carry him through the inquiry, causes of _nullity_ may be seen as sedulously and copiously provided, as if by the _astutia_ of an english judge, or pair of judges, to whose profit the fees were to be received: effect of the nullity, of course, repetition; necessity of repeating the process, as in case of _new trial_ or _arrest of judgment_, with the fees. religion was thus no less aptly served at jerusalem, under mosaic institutions,--than justice is to this day, under matchless constitution and english institutions, at westminster. [ ] paul at the suit of tertullus, a.d. . acts : , , , , , , . "and after five days ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named tertullus, who informed the governor against paul.--and when he was called forth, tertullus began to accuse him,--saying, we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the nazarenes:--who also hath _gone about to profane the temple_; whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.--and the jews also assented, saying, that these things were so.--then paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered,--thou mayest understand, that they are yet but twelve days since i went up to jerusalem for to worship.--whereupon certain jews from asia _found me purified in the temple_, neither with multitude nor with tumult." [ ] paul before festus alone, a.d. . acts : , . "and when he was come, the jews which came down from jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against paul, which they could not prove:--while he answered for himself, neither against the law of the jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against caesar, have i offended anything at all." [ ] paul before festus and agrippa, a.d. . acts : , , , , , , , , . "then agrippa said unto paul, thou art permitted to speak for thyself. then paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:--i think myself happy, king agrippa, because i shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things whereof i am accused of the jews;--especially because i know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the jews; wherefore i beseech thee to hear me patiently.--my manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at jerusalem, know all the jews;--which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straightest sect of our religion, i lived a pharisee.--and now i stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of god unto our fathers:--unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving god day and night, hope to come. for which hope's sake, king agrippa, i am accused of the jews.-- . but showed first unto them of damascus and at jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of judea, and then to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to god, and do works meet for repentance.--for these causes, the jews _caught me in the temple_, and went about to kill me." [ ] "and when the seven days were almost ended," says acts : , "_the jews which were of asia_, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him." [ ] a cheap enough rate this, at which salvation is thus put up. of what use then morality? of what use is abstinence from mischievous acts, in what degree so ever mischievous? "oh! but," says somebody, "though paul said this, he meant no such thing:" and then comes something--anything--which it may suit the defender's purpose to make paul say. [ ] another receipt for making salvation still cheaper than as above. not so jesus. matt. : : "_not every one that saith unto me, lord, lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven_; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." [ ] behold here the degree of importance attached by paul to _sabbaths_. chapter xii. more falsehoods.--resurrection witnesses multiplied.--world's end predicted.--to save credit, antichrist invented. section . resurrection-witnesses multiplied. after what has been seen of the seven days' course of perjury, proofs of simple falsehood will be apt to appear superfluous. to make certainty more sure, two preeminent ones shall, however, be brought to view. they may have their use, were it only as examples of the palpableness, of those falsehoods, which, for so many hundreds of years, and through so many generations of commentators, are, under favourable circumstances, capable of remaining undetected. the extravagance of the addition, made by the audacious stranger, to the number of the resurrection-witnesses, as given by themselves:--the predicted end of the world in the prophet's own lifetime,--and the creation of antichrist for the purpose of putting off that catastrophe,--may even be not altogether unamusing, by the picture they will give, of that mixture of rashness and craftiness, which constitutes not the least remarkable, of the ingredients in the composition of this extraordinary character. moreover, antichrist being in the number of the bug-bears, by the images of which many an enfeebled mind has not yet ceased to be tormented;--putting an extinguisher upon this hobgoblin may have the serious good effect, of calming a mass of disquietude, which how completely soever groundless, is not the less afflicting, to the minds into which it has found entrance. first, as to the resurrection-witnesses. in relation to a fact of such cardinal importance, the accounts which have reached us from the four biographers of jesus are not, it must be confessed, altogether so clear as could have been wished. but, on so ample a subject, howsoever tempting the occasion, anything that could here be offered, with any promise of usefulness, would occupy far too much space, and be by much too wide a digression from the design of the present work.[ ] sufficient to the present purpose will be the observation, that nothing can be more palpably or irreconcileably inconsistent with every one of them, than the amply and round number, thus added by the effrontery of this uninformed stranger, to the most ample that can be deduced from any of the accounts, thus stated as given by the only description of persons, whose situation would give to their testimony the character of the best evidence. behold now the account of the number and of the persons in paul's own words. it is in the fifteenth chapter of the first of his two letters to his corinthians. "moreover, brethren," ver. , "i declare unto you the gospel, the good news, which i _preached_ unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.--by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what i preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain.--for i delivered unto you first of all that which i also received, how that christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:--and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures:--and that he was seen of cephas, then of the twelve:--after that, he was seen of _above five hundred brethren at once_; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.--after that he was seen of james, then of all the apostles.--and last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.--for i am the least of the apostles, which am not meet to be called as apostle, because i persecuted the church of god."[ ] as to the five hundred brethren at once, with the additions _in petto_, the more closely the gospel accounts are looked into, the more entire will be a man's conviction of the extravagance of this account. in addition to the eleven apostles that remained after the death of the traitor judas, it may be matter of question, whether so much as a single individual can be found, who, in any one of the gospels, is stated as having, after the death of jesus, received from the testimony of sense, the demonstration of his presence. of the percipient witnesses in question, not to waste space and time in needless discussions, taking a round number, and including both sexes taken together, no number approaching to twenty can be made out from any one of the four gospel accounts, nor from all of them taken together. to what end then substitute, to less than twenty, more than five hundred? to what, but to supply by falsehood the deficiency left by truth. the thing to be done was the coming up to the expectations, whatever they might be, of his corinthians. number twenty,--said he to himself,--may perhaps fall short: well then, strike out the twenty, and set down five hundred. thus did the self-constituted apostle take a leaf out of the book of the unjust steward. luke : - . now then as to mutually contradictory numbers--that given by the four evangelists, and that given by this one stranger,--to which shall we give credence? as to the evangelists,--whether, in the situation in which they were, and writing for the purposes for which they wrote,--these most intimate of the associates of the departed jesus, and percipient witnesses of the several facts in question,--all of them spoken of in the same narration, all of them so fully apprised of the whole real number--could have been disposed, any one of them, to get down a number _short_ of the truth,--may be left to anyone to imagine. but, according to paul's calculation, the truth would not come up to his purpose:--to his particular purpose: a number, such as could not fail of doing so, was therefore to be substituted. _five hundred_ was as easily written as _twenty_. had jerusalem, or any place in its neighbourhood, been the place, to which this letter of his was to be addressed, some caution might have been necessary. but corinth--a place so remote from the scene of action--being the abode of the disciples, to whom this letter of his was addressed,--and the letters themselves, not destined to be seen by any other than devoted eyes,--invention found herself at ease. meantime, while jesus was thus magnified, paul was not to be forgotten. insufficient still would be the cloud of witnesses, unless himself were added to it. "last of all," says he, cor. : , "he," jesus, "was seen of me also." seen by him paul? at what place? at what time? at the time of his conversion, when hearing a voice and seeing light, but nothing else? but the whole constellation of his visions will here be crowding to the reader's view, and any more particular reference to them would be useless: suffice it to observe, that on no other occasion, either does paul himself, or his historiographer for him, take upon himself to say, that he had ever seen jesus any otherwise than in a _vision_, whatsoever may have been meant by this so convenient term. on no occasion is it so much as pretended, either by him or for him, that _in the flesh_ jesus was ever seen by him. by no fingers of his murder-abetting hand, had ever been so much as pretended to have been probed, the wounds of jesus. yet, what are the terms employed, by him, in speaking of the _sight_, he pretended to have had of jesus? exactly the same, as those employed by him, when speaking of the evidence, vouchsafed to the apostles. section . false prophecy,--that the world would end in the lifetime of persons then living. the unsatiableness of paul's ambition meets the eye at every page: the fertility of his invention is no less conspicuous. so long as, between this and the other world, the grave stood interposed,--the strongest impression capable of being made by pictures of futurity, even when drawn by so bold a hand, was not yet sufficient for stocking it with the power it grasped at. this barrier, at whatever hazard, he accordingly determined to remove. the future world being thus brought at both ends into immediate contact with the present,--the obedient, for whom the joys of heaven were provided, would behold the troubles of _the middle passage_ saved to them, while the disobedient would see the jaws of hell opened for their reception, without any such halting-place, as might otherwise seem to be offered by the grave. in particular, by a nearer as well as smoother road than that rugged one, he would make his way to heaven: nor would they, whose obedience gave them a just claim to so high a favour, be left behind. his thessalonians were the disciples, chosen by him for the trial of this experiment. addressed to them we have two of his epistles. in these curious and instructive documents, the general purport--not only of what had been said to the persons in question on a former occasion, but likewise of the observation of which on _their_ part it had been productive,--is rendered sufficiently manifest, by what we shall find him saying in the first of them. "good," said they, "as to _some_ of us, whoever they may be: but, how is it to be with _the rest_? in particular, with those who have actually died already: not to speak of those others who will have been dying off in the meantime: for you do not go so far as to promise, that we shall, all of us, be so sure of escaping death as you yourself are." "make yourselves easy," we shall find him saying to them: "sooner or later, take my word for it, we shall, all of us, mount up together in a body: those who are dead, those who are to die, and those who are not to die--all of us at once, and by the same conveyance: up, in the air, and through the clouds, we shall go. the lord will come down and meet us, and show us the way:--music, vocal and instrumental, will come with him, and a rare noise altogether there will be! those who died first will have risen first; what little differences there may be are not worth thinking about. comfort yourselves," concludes he, "with these words." assuredly not easily could more comfortable ones have been found:--always supposing them followed by belief, as it appears they were. but it is time we should see more particularly what they were. thess. : to .--"and indeed ye do it," viz. love one another, ver. , "toward all the brethren which are in all macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;--and that ye study to be _quiet_, and to do _your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you_;--that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.--but i would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are _asleep_, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.--for if we believe that jesus died and rose again, even so _them also which sleep in jesus will god bring with him_.--for this we say unto you by the word of the lord, that _we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the lord shall not prevent them which are asleep_.--for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of god: and _the dead in christ shall rise first.--then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds_, to meet the lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the lord.--wherefore comfort one another with these words." hereupon, without any intervening matter, follows that of the next chapter. the division into chapters,--though, for the purpose of reference, not merely a useful, but an altogether necessary one,--is universally acknowledged to have been a comparatively modern one. thess. : - . "but _of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that i write unto you_.--for yourselves know perfectly, that _the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night_.--for when they shall say, peace and safety, then _sudden destruction cometh upon them_, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.--_but ye, brethren, are not in darkness_, that that day should overtake you as a thief.--ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.--therefore _let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober_.--for they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night.--but let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of _faith_ and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.--for _god hath not appointed us to wrath_, but to obtain salvation by our lord jesus christ.--who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.--wherefore _comfort yourselves_ together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." an ingenious game was the one thus played by paul, if ever there was one. of this prophecy,[ ] what when once mentioned, is plainly enough visible, is--this is of the number of those predictions, by which profit is put in for, and no loss risked: for such is the shape given to it. so long as the predictor lived, it would remain good and undisfulfilled: at the end of a certain time--namely, at the end of the life of the longest liver of the aggregate number of individuals in existence at that time,--the disfulfillment would indeed take place. but if, by that time, the predictor had made his exit,--as, in this case, being already of a certain age, it is tolerably certain he would,--the reproach of false prophecy would not have reached him: and, even, supposing it to have reached him, as it would do if he survived the last of them, still the speculation would not be a very bad one. his _prophecy_, his _purposes_ would have been fulfilled. not altogether without claim to observation, is the manner, in which, by the adroitness of the soothsayer, the anxiety of questioners is evaded. that he himself does not know, nor ever expects to know,--that is what his prudence forbids his telling them. "the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night:" this is what, in answer to former importunities, he had at _that_ time told them. "for you yourselves," says he, "know this perfectly;" that is, in so far as they could know from _his telling_: this being, in this instance, the only source,--of that _delusion_, to which he gave the name of _knowledge_. this he had told them _then_: and more, he takes care not to tell them _now_. "of the times and seasons, brethren," says he, "ye have no need that i write unto you." meantime, their hopes and fears, and therewith their dependence upon his good pleasure, are kept still alive: in the first place, the hope--that, knowing already more than he as yet desires to disclose, he may by ulterior obsequiousness be prevailed upon to disclose it: in the next place, the hope--that, though not as yet possessed of the information, he may at some future period be able to obtain it, and in that case give them the benefit of it. to a speculation of this sort,--in how particular a degree favourable the mode of communication by letter was, is sufficiently visible. writing, was an operation not quite so prompt, in those days as in these. between thessalonica and athens,--from whence, as they tell us, these epistles were written,--there was not, it may be affirmed without much danger of error, any established letter-post: and, even if there was,--to this or that question, which a man sees in a letter, he makes or does not make answer, as he finds convenient. not exactly so, when the questioner is at his elbow. section . disorder and mischief produced by this prediction. we have seen the prophecy: let us now see the effects of it. they were such as might have been expected. they were such as had been expected: expected, as may have been observed, at a very early period. but there was rather _more_ in them than had been expected. of the confusion, which, by an expectation of this sort, in a state of society, so much inferior, in the scale of moral conduct, to any, of which in this our age and country we have experience, was capable of being produced,--it can scarcely, at this time of day, be in any man's power, to frame to himself anything approaching to an adequate conception. so far as regards peaceable idleness, of the general nature of it, some faint conception may under modern manners be formed, from the accounts of the effects produced by a similar prediction, delivered first in france, then in england, about the time of queen anne:--so far as regards a mixture of idleness and positive mischief in a time of terror, under ancient manners,--from the accounts, given by thucydides, of the effects produced at athens, by the near approach of death, on the occasion of the plague;--and, from that given by josephus, of the effects produced by the like cause, on the occasion of the siege, which, under his eye, terminated in the final destruction of jerusalem by the romans. according to each man's cast of mind, and the colour of the expectations that had been imbibed by it,--terror and self-mortification, or confidence and mischievous self-indulgence, would be the natural result: terror and self-mortification, if apprehensions grounded on the retrospect of past misconduct predominated--mischievous indulgence, if, by the alleged or supposed all-sufficiency of faith,--of faith, of which the preacher was the object--the importance of morality had, even in the imagination of the disciple, been thrown into the back-ground: confabulation without end, in the case of terror; cessation from work, in both cases. had he been somewhat less positive on the head of _time_,--the purposes of those announcements of his might have been completely, and without any deduction, fulfilled. the terror he infused could not be unfavourable to those purposes, so long as it made no deduction, from the value of the produce of their industry! it was his interest, that they should "_walk honestly_," lest they should be punished for walking otherwise:--punished, capitally or not capitally--and, in either case, bring his teaching into disgrace. it was his interest, that they should _work_, in such sort, as to earn each of them the expense of his maintenance; lest, by abstaining from work, they should, any one of them, impose a burthen upon the charity of the others, or be seen to walk dishonestly, to the prejudice of the common cause, as above. it was his interest, that they should, each of them, gain as much as could be gained without reproach or danger; because, the greater the surplus produced by each disciple, the greater the tribute, that could be paid to the spiritual master, under whose command they had put themselves. thus far his interest and theirs were in agreement. but, it was his interest, that, while working to these ends, their minds, at the expense of whatever torment to themselves, should be kept in a state of constant ferment, between the passions of hope and fear; because, the stronger the influence of the two allied passions in their breasts, the more abundant would be the contributions, of which, to the extent of each man's ability, they might reasonably be expected to be productive. here it was, that his interest acted in a direction opposite to theirs: and it was by too ardent a pursuit of this his separate interest, that so much injury, as we shall see, was done to all those other interests. of the disease which we shall see described, the description, such as it is, is presented, by the matter furnished by the practitioner himself, by whose prescription the disease was produced. this matter we must be content to take, in that state of disorder, which constitutes one of the most striking features of the issue of his brain. in speaking of the symptoms,--addressed as his discourse is to nobody but the patients themselves by whom these symptoms had been experienced,--only in the way of allusion, and thence in very general terms, could they naturally have been, as they will actually be seen to be, presented to view. as to details,--from them to him, not from him to them, was, it will readily be acknowledged, the only natural course. in the same epistle,--namely in the second, which is the last, but, in a passage which does not come till after the announcement, which, as will be seen under the next head, was to operate as a remedy,--stands the principal part of the matter from whence we have been enabled to collect the nature of the disease. the chapter is the third and concluding one:--the words that add nothing to the information, are here and there omitted. . "finally, brethren, pray for us ...--that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all men have not faith.--and we have confidence in the lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we _command_ you.--and the lord direct your hearts ... into the _patient waiting for christ_.--now we _command_ you, brethren ... that ye _withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly_, and not after the tradition which he received of us.--for yourselves know how ye ought to follow _us_: for we _behaved not ourselves disorderly among you:--neither did we eat any man's bread for nought_: but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you.--_not because we have not power_, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us.--for _even when we were with you_, this we _commanded_ you, that _if any would not work, neither should he eat_.--for we hear that _there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies_.--now them that are such, _we command_ and exhort by our lord jesus christ, _that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread_.--but ye brethren, _be not weary in well-doing_.--and if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed." by anything we have as yet seen, the symptoms of the disease, it may be thought, are not painted in any very strong colours. but, of the virulence of it there is no want of evidence. it may be seen, in the drastic nature of the remedy:--a remedy, for the invention of which, we shall, in the next section, see the ingenuity of the practitioner put to so extraordinary a stretch. section . paul's remedy for the disorder, and salvo for himself.--antichrist must first come. we have seen the disorder: we had before that seen the causes of it. we now come to the remedy--the remedy provided by the practitioner for a disease of his own creating. of the shape given to this remedy, the ingenuity will be seen to be truly worthy of the author of the disease. it consists in the announcement made, of an intermediate state of things, of the commencement of which, any more than of the termination, nothing is said: except that it was to take place, antecedently to that originally announced state of things, by the expectation of which the disorder had been produced. of the _time_ of its commencement, no: except as above, on that point no information is given. but of its _duration_, though no determinate information, yet such a description is given, as suffices for giving his disciples to understand, that in the nature of things, it could not be a short one: and that thus, before the _principal_ state of things took place, there would be a proportionate quantity of time for _preparation_. satisfied of this, they would see the necessity of conforming themselves to those reiterated "_commands_," with which his prediction had from the first been accomplished; and to which he had so erroneously trusted, when he regarded them as composing a sufficient antidote to the poison he had infused. that the warning thus provided for them would be a very short one, he left them, it will be seen, no great reason to apprehend. a sort of spiritual monster,--a sort of an ape of _satan_, a rival to the almighty,--and _that_ by no means a contemptible one--was to enter upon the stage. what with force and what with fraud, such would be his power,--that the fate of the almighty would have appeared too precarious, had not the spirits of his partisans been kept up, by the assurance, that when all was over, the almighty would remain master of the field. the time, originally fixed, by him for the aerial voyage, was too _near_. by the hourly expectation of it, had been produced all those disastrous effects which had ensued. after what had been said, an _adjournment_ presented the only possible remedy. but this adjournment, after what had been said, by what imaginable means could it be produced? one only means was left by the nature of the case. thess. : - . "now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our lord jesus christ, and by our gathering together unto him,--that ye _be not_ soon shaken in mind, or be _troubled_, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor _by letter as from us,[ ] as that the day of christ is at hand_.--let no man deceive you by any means; for _that day shall not come, except_[ ] there come a falling away first, and _that man of sin be revealed_, the son of perdition;--_who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called god, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of god, showing himself that he is god_[ ]--remember ye not, that when i was yet with you, i told you _these things_[ ]--and now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time.--for the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.--and _then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the lord_ shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and _shall destroy with the brightness of his coming_.[ ]--even _him, whose coming is after the working of satan,[ ] with all power and signs and lying wonders_[ ]--and with all _deceivableness of unrighteousness_ in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.--and for this cause god shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:[ ]--that they all might be _damned, who believed not the truth_,[ ] but had pleasure in unrighteousness." to this rival of his god--god and rival--both of them of his own creation, the creator has not, we see, given any name. by this omission, he has, perhaps, as perhaps he thought to do, rendered the bugbear but the more terrible. the deficiency, such as it is, the church of england translators of the english official translation of the bible, have filled up: they have taken it in hand--this bantling of paul's--and christened it _antichrist_. "he," paul, "showeth," say they, "a discovery of _antichrist_, before the day of the lord come." such is the discovery, communicated in the _heading_, prefixed to the second chapter of the second of the two epistles: and, of the readers of this so abundantly and gratuitously distributed bible, how few are there, by whom any such distinction as that between the headings and the text is borne in mind! the right reverend divines in question,--were they the first authors of this discovery, or was it ready-made to their hands?--made by that church, from the errors of which their own has been so felicitously purified? to this question, let those look out for, and find, the answer,--in whose eyes the profit is worth the trouble. not a few are the divines, who have discovered antichrist sitting in st. peter's chair, with a triple crown on his head. in the chair of luther, or in that of calvin, would the triple monarch be disposed to discover the hobgoblin, if he thought it worth while to look for him. has he ever, or has he not, made this discovery already? "oh, but," says somebody, "_we_ does not here mean _we_ only who are alive at this present writing; it means, _we_ christians of all ages:--any number of ages _after_ this, as well as this, included. in the designation thus given, neither the individuals he was addressing, nor he himself, were necessarily comprehended." this accordingly, if anything, must be said, or the title of the self-constituted apostle, to the appellation of _false prophet_, must be admitted. oh, yes! this may be said, and must be said: but what will it avail him? in no such comprehensive sense did _he_ use it; for, in that sense, it would not have answered his purposes: not even his spiritual and declared purposes, much less his temporal, selfish, and concealed purposes. why was it that these disciples of his, as well as he, were to be so incessantly upon the watch! i thess. : , , . why, but because "you yourselves," says he, ver. , "know perfectly, that the day of the lord cometh like a thief in the night." who, on that occasion, could be meant by _we_, but himself and them? in no such comprehensive sense was it understood by _them_: if it had been, no such consequences as we have seen following, could have followed. after the experience he and they had had, of the mischief produced by the narrow sense put upon the all-important pronoun, would he have continued thus to use it in that same narrow sense, if it had not been his wish that in that same sense it should continue to be understood? would he have been at all this pains in creating the spiritual monster, for the declared purpose of putting off their expectation of the great day, if, but for this put-off, it would not have come on?[ ] in what part of all his preachings can any distinct ground be seen for any such supposition, as that any portion of the field of _time_, beyond that by which his own life was bounded, was ever present to his view? in the field of _place_, yes: in that field his views were of no small amplitude: for in that field it was by his ambition that they were marked out: but in the field of _time_, no symptoms of any the smallest degree of enlargement will anywhere be found. but, on this occasion, suppose other ages, and those others to any extent, included in his views: from their including such future ages, would it follow that they had no application to the age then present?--but, supposing them understood to apply to that age, thereupon in comes the mischief in full force. any man that has been reading these epistles,--let him suppose, in his own breast, any the most anxious desire to raise an expectation, such as that in question: and then let him ask himself, whether it be in the power of that desire to suggest language, that would afford any considerably better promise of giving effect to it. of the _nature_ of the _disorder_, as well as of the cause of it,--the persons, to whom the world is indebted for the preservation of these remains of the self-constituted apostle,--have given us, as above, some conception. of the _effect_ of the _remedy_, it would have been amusing to be informed: unfortunately, this portion of his history is not comprised in the labours of his historiographer.[ ] footnotes: [ ] the account given by luke of the resurrection and ascension of jesus is contained in the last chapter, chap. : . according to this account, by no men was jesus seen in the interval between those two events, besides the eleven apostles and a few others, all together not more than enough, to sit down together at meat, in one of the houses of a village. luke : , , , . number of the occasions on which jesus was seen by the apostles, two: the company the same without addition, and both occasions having place within twenty-four hours. between these two occasions it is that paul sticks in the one of his own invention, in which jesus was seen by above five hundred brethren at once. point-blank on this head is the contradiction given to this story of paul's, by his own attendant and historiographer: namely, in the account put into the mouth of peter, speaking to centurion cornelius, acts : to . expressly is it there said, ver. , "him" (jesus) "god raised up the third day, and showed him openly;--not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of god even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." when in the year , or some posterior year, the author of the acts was writing his history, nothing, it will be inferred, did he know of the contradictory account given by his hero, in writing in a letter written in the year . [ ] follows a sample of paul's logic wrapped up as usual in a cloud of tautologies and paralogisms, the substance of which amounts to this:--jesus resurrects; therefore all men will do the same. admitting the legitimacy of this induction, what will be the thing proved? that every man, a few days after his death, will come to life again, and eat, drink, and walk in company with his friends. [ ] by the word _prophecy_ the idea meant to be conveyed in jewish language seems to be very generally misconceived. it is regarded as exactly synonymous to _prediction_. nothing can be more erroneous. in new testament language in particular, it is no less applicable to past events than to future. witness, "prophecy who is it that smote thee." luke : . in the greek, the word is occasion, it meant evidently neither more nor less than _speak out_. hence it came to signify speaking in public: hence again, speaking as a statesman: hence again, writing as a statesman, as well as speaking. not that a statesman could ever or can ever be a statesman, and in the above sense, _a prophet_, without being a _predictor_ likewise: as often as any proposed measure is on the carpet, such he must be, or what he says must be nothing to the purpose. merely by uttering a prediction concerning future events, paul would not have included, in his prophecy, any such pretension, as that of a supernatural communication received from the almighty: but, the one here in question was one which, supposing it true, could not have come from any other source. [ ] here we have a sort of retractation. this shows how he was frightened. [ ] here he gives the intermediate warning; thence the respite. [ ] here we see the rival of paul's god: and we see how dangerous an one. [ ] like enough; but in the same unintelligible style, in which he tells all men all things. [ ] all's well that ends well: the friends of the almighty may now dismiss their fears. [ ] here we see the rival of the almighty sunk into the ape of satan. what if he and satan had made an alliance? happily they could not agree, or time was wanting for settling the conditions. [ ] all power, with _lying_ to boot. but for the above-mentioned assurance, who would not have trembled for paul's god? [ ] this was fighting the ape of satan with his own weapons. but--this god of paul's creation--in what, except an ultimate superiority of power, is he distinguishable from satan and his ape? those, who have been so quicksighted of late in the discovery of blasphemy, and so bent on punishing it,--have they ever found so clear a case as this which is before us? would not they have begun at the more proper end, had they begun with the editors of these epistles? [ ] for this damnation,--on the present as on so many other occasions, those who are so eager to believe, that all who differ from them on a question of evidence, will be consigned to everlasting torments, are indebted to the right reverend translators: the original says _condemned_. this may be understood to mean--_damned_ in the ordinary sense of the word _damned_, or whatever less unpleasant result may be more agreeable. [ ] of this child of the self-appointed apostle's brain, it seems not altogether improbable, that, in case of need, some further use was in contemplation to be made: with the skin of this bugbear, might, upon occasion, be invested, any person, to whom, either in the character of a declared _adversary_, or in that of a _rival_, it might happen, to have become in a certain degree troublesome: a _declared adversary_,--that is, either a gentile or an unbelieving jew: _a rival_,--that is, one who, believing in the religion of jesus, adhered to that edition of it, which had the apostles of jesus for its publishers, or followed any other edition which was not _his_: one of those, for example, upon whom we have seen him making such bitter war in his epistle to his galatians. of the two, the believing rival would of course be much more troublesome, than the non-believing adversary, from whom, if let alone, he would not experience an annoyance. of this rival class were they whose "_unrighteousness_," thess. : , had recourse to "_deceivableness_:" for as to non-believers, no need could they have of _deceivableness_; to foil him, they had but to turn aside from him, and stand as they were. those men, whose unrighteousness had recourse to deceivableness, who could they be, but the men of the same description in this respect as those, whom in chapter third of his epistle to his galatians, he complains of as having "bewitched" them; and _that_ in such sort, as to have made him so far lose his temper as to call them "_foolish_:" and that _they_ were rivals, is a matter altogether out of doubt. in a word, rivals were the only troublesome sort of men, who, at the writing of this epistle, could, with the nameless monster since named _antichrist_, be yet to come. [ ] as for that "_helmet of faith_," which, in the passage first quoted, he has been seen commanding his disciples to put on--of that faith, which is the everlasting object of his so indefatigably repeated "_command_," and which is always faith in _paul_,--for of jesus scarcely is so much as a word, except the name, to be found in any of his epistles,--as to this helmet, it is the sort of cap, which a man learned how to put on, when he had made himself perfect, in what may be called the _self-deceptive exercise_, or in a word _the exercise of faith_. it is composed of two very simple operations: at the word of command, the recruit turns its face _to_ the arguments on one side; at the word of command, it turns its back to those on the other side. the test of perfection is--its being able to hold in its embrace, for any length of time, both parts together of a self-contradictory proposition; such as, that three _man's-persons_,--to use the german word, or if any _other sorts of persons_ there are three others,--are but one. when the helmet sits close enough on his head to enable him to do this, there is no fear of its falling off. holding fast to improbabilities, how absurd and extravagant soever, is thenceforward but child's play to him:--for example, belief in the future existence of paul's antichrist: including, the coming on of those scenes, in which that _raw-head and bloody bones_ is to be the principal performer. to this, as to anything else, the mind of man is capable of being brought, by assurances of infinite enjoyment, in case of his having made himself perfect in this exercise, or of infinite torment in case of his neglecting it: of course, still more effectually, by both assurances put together; and, considering the facility of both operations, easier terms could not very easily be imagined. a capital convenience is--that, for producing faith in this way, not a particle of anything in the shape of evidence is necessary: the place of evidence is supplied by assurance:--by the intensity, real or apparent, of the persuasion, to which expression has been given, by what the preacher has said or done. the more intense the apparent assurance on the one part, the greater the apparent _safety_, obtained by yielding to it, on the other: and thus it is, that no absurdity can be so flagrant, that the side on which it is found may not be embraced, under the notion of its being the _safe_ side. when paul, with his accustomed vehemence, was preaching the world's end, so many of his thessalonians as believed in it, believed, that believing in it was being on the safe side. on the part of the preacher, the more vehement and impudent the assurance, the greater on the part of the disciple, the apparent _danger_ on the disbelieving, the apparent _safety_ on the believing side. by this means are produced the signs and wonders we read of in the epistles of our modern missionaries; for, how conclusive soever the evidence may be, which the assertions they employ might call in for their support,--conclusive to every reasonable mind by which it was received,--assuredly it is not by the evidence, but by the unsupported assertion, that, on the occasion of those exploits of theirs,--whatever credence has place, is produced. chapter xiii. _paul's supposable miracles explained._ section . objections, applying to them in the aggregate. but, it may be said, paul's alleged commission from god was certainly genuine; for it is proved by his miracles. look at the acts, no fewer than twelve miracles of his you will find. if then taken by themselves, for want of that accurate conception of the probative form of evidence, to which maturer ages have given birth, the account of the miracle by which his conversion was wrought fails of being completely satisfactory,--look at his miracles, the deficiency will be filled up. the man, to whom god had imparted such extraordinary powers--powers so completely matchless in these our times,--can such a man have been a liar--an impostor? a liar for the purpose of deceit--of giving support to a system of deception--and that a lucrative one? an imposition so persevering as to have been carried on, from youth to death, through, perhaps, the greatest part of his life? the observation is plausible:--the answer will not be the less satisfactory. the answer has two branches: one, _general_, applying to all the alleged miracles in question, taken in the lump: the other _particular_, applying to the several miracles separately considered. observations applying to the whole together are, the following: . not by paul himself, in any one of his own epistles, is any such general assertion made, as that he had received from god or from jesus,--or, in a word, that he was in possession of, any such power, as the power of working miracles. . nowhere in the account given of his transactions by the author of the acts, is he in any of his speeches represented as making reference to any one act of his in the character of a miracle. . nowhere in that same account, is he represented as stating himself to be in possession of any such powers. . not by the author of the acts, is he spoken of as being in possession of any such power. . nowhere by the author of the acts, is he in any general terms spoken of, as producing any effects, such as, in respect of the power necessary to the production of them, approach to those spoken of as having been produced by simon magus; by that declared impostor, in whose instance, no such commission from god is represented as having been received. . neither on the occasion of his conversion, nor on any other occasion, is paul stated to have received from jesus any such power as that of working miracles:--any such power as the real apostles are--in mark : , , , --stated to have received from jesus. was it that, in his own conception, for gaining credence to his pretension of a commission from jesus--from jesus, styled by him the lord jesus--any need of miracles, or of a persuasion, on the part of those with whom he had to deal, of _his_ having power to work miracles? by no means. of the negative, the story told by him of the manner of his conversion is abundant proof. of the efficient cause of this change in his mind, the account given, is plainly given in the character of the account of a miracle. but of this miracle, the proof given consists solely in his own evidence: his own statement, unsupported by that of any other person, or by reference to that of any other person: his account, of the discourse, which on the occasion of the vision, in which nothing was seen but a flood of light, he heard from the lord jesus: his own account, of the vision, which he says was seen by ananias: his own account, of that other vision, which, according to ananias, he, paul, had had, but of which paul himself says nothing. in the work of his adherent and sole biographer, the author of _the acts_,--we have five speeches, made by him, in vindication of his conduct, in the character of a preacher of the religion of jesus; and, from his own hand, epistles out of number: yet nowhere is any reference made, to so much as a single miracle wrought by his own hand, unless the trance which he falls into when he is alone, and the vision which he sees, when nobody else sees anything, are to be placed to the account of miracles. miracles? _on_ him, yes; _by_ him, no. true it is, that, on one occasion, he speaks in general terms of "signs and wonders," as having been wrought by him. but vague, in the highest degree, is the import, as well as wide the extent, of those general terms: nor is it by any means clear, that, even by himself, any such claim was meant to be brought forward, as that of having exhibited any such manifestations of supernatural power, as are commonly regarded as designated by the word _miracles_. in the multitude of the persons, whom, in places so widely distant from one another, he succeeded in numbering in the list of his followers--in the depth of the impression, supposed to have been made on the heart of this or that one of them--in all or any one of these circumstances, it was natural he should himself behold, and, whether he did or no, use his endeavours to cause others to behold, not only so many sources of wonder, but so many circumstances; all conspiring to increase the quantity of that confidence, which, with so much industry, and, as far as appears, with such brilliant success, he was labouring to plant in every breast: circumstances, serving, in the minds of his adherents in general, in the character of a sign or proof, of the legitimacy of his pretension, as above. but, of any such supernatural power as that which is here in question, could any such loose and vague expressions be reasonably regarded as affording any sort of proof? no:--unless whatsoever, in the affairs of men, can justly be regarded as _wonderful_, ought also to be regarded as a miracle. in one passage, and one alone, either in the acts or in his own epistles, is he found laying any claim, how distant and vague soever, to any such power, as having ever been exercised by him. and, in this instance, no one individual incident being in any way brought to view or referred to, what is said will be seen to amount absolutely to nothing, being nothing more than, without incurring any such interpretation as that of imposture, is at the present time continually averred by christians of different sects. he who makes so much of his _sufferings_, had he wrought any miracles, would he have made nothing of his _miracles_? in the next place, although it must be admitted, that, on several occasions, by his sole biographer and professed adherent, viz., the author of the acts, a sort of colour of the marvellous seems endeavoured to be laid on; laid on over the incident itself, and over the part, which on that occasion was taken by him; yet on no one of these occasions, unless perhaps it be the last--of which presently,--does the account, given by him of what passed, wear any such complexion as shall render it matter of necessity, either to regard it as miraculous, or to regard the biographer, as having on that occasion asserted a complete and downright untruth. section . supposable miracle i.--elymas the sorcerer blinded.--_acts_ : to . . of these supposable miracles, the first that occurs is that which had for its subject elymas the sorcerer. at paphos, in the island of cyprus,[ ] paul and his associate barnabas are sent for, by "the deputy of the country," sergius paulus, who desires to hear the word of god. but at that same place is a certain jew, of the name of barjesus, alias elymas,--a sorcerer by profession, who "withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith." to this man, it is not said, either where or when, paul is thereupon represented as making a short speech, at the end of which, after calling him a child of the devil, and so forth; he says to him, "_thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season_. thereupon," continues the story, "immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. then the deputy," it concludes, "when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the lord." supposing this story to have had any foundation in fact,--of the appearance of blindness thus exhibited, where shall we look for the cause? in a suspension of the laws of nature, performed by the author of nature, to no other assignable end, than the conversion of this roman governor? at no greater expense, than that of a speech from this same paul, the conversion of a king,--king agrippa--if the author of the acts is to be believed, was nearly effected. "almost," says agrippa, "thou hast persuaded me to become a christian." so often as god is represented, as operating in a direct--however secret and mysterious--manner, upon the heart, _i.e._, the mind, of this and that man,--while the accounts given of the suspension of the laws of nature are comparatively so few--to speak in that sort of human language, in which alone the nature of the case admits of our speaking, if the expense of a miracle were not grudged,--might not, in the way above mentioned, by a much less lavish use of supernatural power, the same effect have been produced? viz., by a slight influence, exercised on the heart of governor paulus? whatsoever may have been the real state of the case,--thus much seems pretty clear, viz., that at this time of day, to a person whose judgment on the subject should have, for its ground, the nature of the human mind as manifested by experience,--another mode of accounting for the appearance in question will be apt to present itself as much more probable. that is--that, by an understanding between paul and elymas--between the ex-persecutor and the sorcerer--the sorcerer, in the view of all persons, in whose instance it was material that credence should be given to the supposed miracle,--for and during "_the season_" that was thought requisite, kept his eyes shut. the sorcerer was a jew:--paul was also a jew. between them here was already one indissoluble bond of connection and channel of intercourse. elymas, by trade a sorcerer, _i.e._, an impostor--a person of the same trade with simon magus, by whom so conspicuous a figure is cut in the chapter of this history--was a sort of person, who, on the supposition of an adequate motive, could not naturally feel any greater repugnance, at the idea of practicing imposition, at so easy a rate as that of keeping his eyes shut, than at the idea of practicing it, in any of the shapes to which he had been accustomed:--shapes, requiring more dexterity, and some, by which he would be more or less exposed, to that detection, from which, in the mode here in question, it would be altogether secure. but paul--was he in a condition to render it worth the sorcerer's while to give this shape to his imposture? who can say that he was not? yes: if to a certain degree he had it in his power, either to benefit him or to make him suffer? and who can say but that these two means of operating, were one or other, or both of them, in his power? as to the sorcerer's betraying him, this is what he could not have done, without betraying himself. true it is, that, by acting this under part,--this self-humiliating part,--so long as paul stayed, so long was the sorcerer, not the first, but only the second wonder-worker of the town. but no sooner did paul's departure take place, than elymas, from being the second, became again the first. section . supposable miracle ii.--at lystra, cripple cured.--_acts_ : to . second of these supposed miracles,--cure of the cripple at lystra. this miracle makes a bad match with the before-mentioned one. seeing a man at lystra, neither man's name, nor place's, except in that general way, nor time, in any way mentioned,--seeing a man in the guise of a cripple, "_stand upright on thy feet_," says paul to him with a loud voice. "and," continues the story, "he leaped and walked, steadfastly beholding and perceiving that he had faith to be healed." chorus of the people thereupon, "the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." to the production of an appearance of this sort, what was necessary? a real miracle? no, surely: so long as a vagrant was to be found, who, without any risk, could act a part of this sort for a few pence, in an age so fertile in imposture. true it is, that this same man, whoever he was, is represented as being "impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked." but these words, how much more than any other words, of the same length, in the same number, did the writing of them cost the author of this story? as to the correctness of his narratives,--of the self-contradictory accounts given by him of paul's conversion, a sample has been already given. as to detection, supposing this circumstance false,--detection is what the account thus given of it renders impossible. for--this same cripple, what was his name? from birth to this time, where had he been living? of this nothing is said. that, at lystra, or anywhere else, the account was ever made public, is neither affirmed, nor so much as insinuated: not but that it might have been published, and, at the same time, though as to everything but the scene that exhibited itself to outward appearance, false,--might not have found any person, at the same time able and willing to contradict the falsity, and thus naturalize the miracle. section . supposable miracle iii.--divineress silenced.--_acts_ : - . while paul and his suite,--of whom, according to the author of the acts, he himself was one,--were at philippi,--a roman colony, and capital of a part of macedonia,--among their hearers, is lydia--a purple-seller of the city of thyatira. being converted, she receives the whole party into her house. from this house, on their way to prayers,--probably in a jewish synagogue,--they are met by a certain damsel, as nameless as the lame-born cripple, who, being possessed of a spirit of divination, or of python, brings to her masters, for masters it seems she had more than one, much gain by soothsaying. here then is a female, who, by being possessed by or with a spirit,--a real spirit, whether devil or a spirit of any other sort,--is converted into a prophetess, and, doubtless, in the main a false prophetess. in the present instance, however, she is a true prophetess: for, following paul and his suite, she runs after them, saying, "these men are the servants of the most high god, which show unto us the way of salvation. and this did she many days." if, instead of a demon, it had been an angel, that took her vocal organs for the instrument of his communications, it is difficult to say, in what manner he could have deserved better at the hands of these "servants," real or pretended, "of the most high god." yet, from some cause or other that does not appear, so it was it seems,--there was something about her with which paul was not well pleased. "being grieved, he turns and says,"--not to the damsel herself, but to the spirit, which _possessed her_, or rather, since for the benefit of her masters, it brought her so much gain, which _she possessed_,--"i command thee, in the name of jesus christ, to come out of her." amongst the superstitions of that and other ages, one was--the notion of a property, possessed by such and such words--possessed, by these mere evanescent sounds--by the air of the atmosphere, when made to vibrate in a certain manner:--a property, of working effects in endless abundance and variety, and those, too, supernatural ones. in some instances, the wonders would be wrought by the words themselves, whatsoever were the mouths by which they were uttered. in other instances, they required, for the production of the effects, a person, who being possessed of a particular and appropriate power, should, for the purpose of giving exercise to such his power, give them passage through his lips. of this latter kind was the present case. the command issued as above, "he," for it was a he-spirit, "came out of her," the damsel, "the same hour." when the devil that josephus saw expelled, came out of the man, the channel at which he made his exit, being manifest, it was accordingly specified: it was the man's _nose_. this was something to know: especially, in relation to an occurrence, the time of which was at so great a distance from our own. at the same time, however, other particulars present themselves, by which curiosity is excited, and for want of which, the information thus bestowed must be confessed to be rather imperfect. what the shape of the devil was? what the substance? whence he last came? to what place, to what occupation, after being thus dislodged, he betook himself, and so forth: not to speak of many others, which howsoever instructive and satisfactory it would have been to be acquainted with, yet now that all acquaintance with them is hopeless, it would be tedious to enumerate. in the present instance, not only as to all these particulars, has the historian,--eyewitness as it should seem he was of everything that passed,--left us in the dark; but, neither has he vouchsafed to afford us that single article of information, scanty as it was, for which, as above, in the case mentioned by josephus, we are indebted to josephus: to josephus--that most respectable and instructive of the uninspired historians of his age. in relation to this story, as well as to those others, the same question still presents itself:--if told of the present time,--if spoken of in some newspaper, as having happened in the present year,--exists here any person, even among the most ignorant populace, with whom it would obtain any permanent credence? but, a reported state of things--which, if reported as having had place in the present century, would, by its disconformity to the manifest state of things, and the whole course of nature, be regarded as too absurd and flagrantly incredible to deserve to be entitled to a moment's notice,--what is there that should render it more credible, when reported as having happened in this same world of ours, at any anterior point of time? section . supposable miracle iv.--at philippi, an earthquake: paul and silas freed from prison, a.d. . the passage, in which these events are related, is in acts : - , inclusive. on this occasion three principal events are narrated;--the incarceration of paul, an earthquake, and the liberation of paul. between the earthquake and the liberation of this prisoner, what was in reality the connection? in the answer there is not much difficulty: the same as that between the earthquake and any other event that took place after it. but, by an answer thus simple, the purpose of the narrator would not have been answered: the purpose was--to induce, on the part of his readers, the belief--that it was for the purpose of bringing about the liberation of the self-constituted apostle of jesus, that the earth was made to shake. as to the liberation, by means altogether natural was that event produced: so he himself has the candour to inform us. of this quasi-miracle, or of the last-mentioned one, philippi, capital of macedonia, was the theatre. by order of the magistrates of that town, paul and his attendant had been beaten one evening, and thrown into prison: next morning, came to the jailor an order of these same magistrates, and in obedience to it the prisoners were discharged. that, in the minds of these magistrates, there was any connection, between the earthquake and the treatment they had given to these adventurers, is not so much as insinuated. the purpose, which it had in view, was answered: it was the ridding the town of a pair of visitors, whose visit to it had produced disturbance to existing institutions. acts : - . be it as it may with regard to the historiographer,--that it was an object with his hero to produce a notion of a connection between the stripes and the imprisonment he had undergone on one hand, and the earthquake on the other, is manifest enough. the person, in whose mind the prisoner had endeavoured to produce the idea of such a connection, was the jailor: and, for its having in this instance been successful, there seems little difficulty in giving credit to the historiographer. everything that appears to have been said, either of paul or by paul, tends to show the wonderful strength of his mind, and the facility and promptitude, with which it enabled him to gain the ascendency over other minds. in the language of the place and time, he had bid the fortune-telling damsel cease her imposture, and the imposture ceased. acts : . committed to prison he formed a project for making a proselyte of the keeper: and, in this too, and in so small a compass of time as a few hours, there seems reason to believe he was successful. in his presumption, in daring to execute the sentence of the law upon so holy a person, the keeper saw the cause of the earthquake; and, whether by paul any very strenuous endeavours were used to correct so convenient an error in geology, may be left to be imagined. paul, when introduced into the prison, found no want of comrades: how then happened it, that it was to paul's imprisonment that the earthquake, when it happened, was attributed, and not to any of his fellow-prisoners? answer: it happened thus. of the trade, which, with such brilliant success, paul,--with this journeyman of his,--was carrying on, a set of songs with the name of god for the burthen of them, constituted a part of the capital, and, as it should seem, not the least valuable. when midnight came, paul--the trader in godliness--treated the company in the prison with a duet: the other prisoners, though they shared in the benefit of it, did not join in it. while this duet was performing, came on the earthquake; and paul was not such a novice as to let pass unimproved the opportunity it put into his hand. the historiographer, if he is to be believed, was at this time in paul's train, as well as silas; for so, by the word _we_, in the tenth verse of this same chapter, he, as it were, silently informs us. the beating and the imprisonment were confined to the two principals; by his comparative insignificance, as it should seem, the historiographer was saved from it. from the relation, given to him by paul or silas, and in particular by paul,--must this conception, formed by the historiographer of what passed on the occasion, have of course been derived. it was coloured of course in paul's manner: and in his colouring, there was of course no want of the marvellous. by the earthquake, not only were "foundations shaken" and "doors opened," but "bands loosened." the "feet" of the two holy men had been "made ... fast in the stocks," ver. : from these same stocks, the earthquake was ingenious enough to let them out, and, as far as appears, without hurt: the unholy part of the prisoners had each of them bands of some sort, by which they were confined; for, ver. , "everyone's bands were loosed:" in every instance if they were locked, the earthquake performed the office of a picklock. earthquakes in these latter days, we have but too many, in breaking open doors they find no great difficulty; but they have no such nicety of touch as the earthquake, which produced to the self-constituted apostle a family of proselytes: they are no more able to let feet out of the stocks, or hands out of hand-cuffs, than to make watches. these elucidations being furnished, the reader is desired to turn to the text, and lay before him: to reprint it would require more paper than he might choose to see thus employed. as to the name of god and the name of jesus, the two names, it should appear, were not--on the occasions in question--used at random. when the fortune-telling damsel was the subject of paul's holy labours, she having been in some way or other already gained, ver. , the case was already of a sort, in which the name of jesus christ, the name under which the self-constituted apostle enlisted all his followers,--might be employed with advantage. when paul and silas were committed to prison, no such name as that of "jesus christ" would as yet have served. of "jesus christ" neither had the keeper as yet heard anything, nor had the other prisoners. but, of god, in some shape or other, they could not but have heard all of them: _god_ accordingly was the name, by which at this time the sensibilities of the persons in question were to be worked upon. when the earth trembled, the jailor trembled likewise: he "came trembling and fell down," ver. , before paul and silas. and brought them out, ver. , and said, "sirs, what must i do to be saved?" now then was the time come for the enlistment--for the enlistment in the spiritual warfare against the devil and his angels: in the as yet new name of "the lord jesus christ" were these recruits accordingly enlisted, as now, for the purpose of carnal warfare, in the name of king george. "and they said," continues the narration, ver. , "believe in the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." section . supposable miracle v.--at corinth, paul comforted by the lord in an unseen vision, a.d. .--_acts_ : - . a vision, being a species of miracle, could, no more than a pantomime, have place without some expense. in the present case, as in any other, a natural question is--what was the object to be accomplished, upon which the expense--whatever it was--was bestowed? the answer is--the keeping his attendants, whoever they were, in the necessary state of obsequiousness: for no other is perceptible. to the dependants in paul's train, it was no very uncommon sentiment to be not quite so well satisfied with the course he took, as he himself was. corinth was at this time the theatre of his labours: of the men, whoever they were, who had staked their fortunes upon _his_, some,--the historiographer, as it should seem, of the number,--there were, whose wish it was to change the scene. in that gentile city,--the chief ruler of the jewish synagogue, crispus by name--this man, besides another man, of the name of justus, "whose house joined hard to" that same synagogue, had become his converts: "and many of the corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized." eyes, however, there were, in which the success, whatsoever it was, was not yet enough to afford a sufficient warrant for his stay. a vision was necessary, and a vision accordingly, or at least a something, which was called by that name, made its appearance. "thus spake the lord," says the historiographer, ver. , "thus spake the lord to paul in the night by a vision, be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace.----for i am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for i have much people in this city." nor was the vision without its effect; for, as the next verse informs us, ver. , "he continued _there_ a year and six months, teaching the word of god among them." that which, on this occasion, may be believed without much difficulty is, that the word thus taught by paul was paul's word: and, that which may be believed with as little, by those, whoever they may be, who believe in his original conversion-vision, is--that it was god's word likewise. from paul himself must the account of this vision have been delivered to the historiographer: for, unless at the expense of a sort of miracle, in the shape of an additional vision at least, if not in some more expensive shape, no information of any such thing could have reached him. in these latter days, no ghost is ever seen but in a _tete-a-tete_: in those days, no vision, as far as appears, was ever seen but in the same degree of privacy. a vision is the word in these pages, because such is the word in the authoritative translation made of the historiographer's. that which paul is related to have heard, is--what we have just seen as above: but that, upon this occasion he saw anything--that he saw so much as a flash of light, this is what we are not told: any more than by what other means he became so well assured, that the voice which he heard, supposing him to have heard a voice, was the lord's voice. in these latter days,--inquiries, of some such sort as these, would as surely be put, by a counsel who were against the vision,--as, in the case of the cock-lane ghost, which gave so much exercise to the faith of the archlexicographer, were put by the counsel who were against the ghost; but, by a sort of general understanding,--than which nothing can be more convenient,--inquiries, such as these,--how strictly soever in season when applied to the th century of the vulgar ear, are altogether out of season, as often as they are applied to the commencement of it. as to the speaking by a vision, the only intelligible way, in which any such thing can really have place, is that, which under the pressure of necessity has been realized by the ingenuity of dramatists in these latter days. such is the mode employed, when the actors, having been struck dumb by the tyranny of foolish laws, and consequently having no auditors, convey to the spectators what information seems necessary, by an appropriate assortment of gold letters on a silk ground: whether the lord who, on this occasion, according to paul, spoke to the eyes of paul, came provided with any such implement, he has not informed us. without much danger of error, we may venture to assert the negative: for, if such was the mode of converse, there was nothing but what might happen without sign or wonder: and, on this supposition, no addition was made by it, to those signs and wonders, which, as has been seen, it was his way to make reference to, in the character of evidence. section . supposable miracle vi.--at ephesus, diseases and devils expelled by foul handkerchiefs.--_acts_ : - . at ephesus, paul makes a stay of between two and three years; for "two years" together, disputing "daily in the school of one tyrannus," "so that all they which dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord jesus, both jews and greeks. "and god," continues the history, "wrought special miracles by the hands of paul." these "_special_ miracles," what were they? of the whole number, is there so much as a single one particularized? no; not one. _special_ as they are, the following is the account, and the only account given of them. "so that," continues the history, "from his body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." no circumstances whatever particularized, name of the person, name of the place, description of the time--nothing, by means of which, in case of falsity _in toto_, or incorrectness in circumstance, the misstatement might have been exposed,--to what degree of credence, or so much as consideration with a view to credence, vague generalities such as these, can they present so much as the slightest claim? if allusions such as these are to pass proof, where is the imposture, to which proofs--proofs sufficient in number and value--can ever be wanting? opposed as paul was, wherever he went,--by gainsayers or persecutors, or both--sometimes successful, sometimes altogether unsuccessful,--sometimes in a slight degree successful--in so much as any one occasion, either in this history, or in any one of his own numerous epistles, do we find so much as a single one of these "_special miracles_," any more than of any other miracles, brought to view by him, or so much as alluded to by him, in the character of proofs of the commission to which he pretended? answer: no, not one. diseases cured, evil spirits driven out, by handkerchiefs and aprons!--by handkerchiefs and aprons brought from a man's body! diseases cured and devils seared away by foul linen! by jesus--by any one of his apostles--were any such implements, any such eye-traps ever employed? no; never. as to diseases, if by such means a disease had been _propagated_, the case would have been intelligible enough. but what was wanted was a miracle: and this would have been no miracle. the price, received by the holy wearer for any of these cast-off habiliments--the price, of the precious effluvia thus conveyed--by any such little circumstance, had it been mentioned, some light might have been cast on what was done. one thing, indeed, may be stated with some assurance: and this is--that, after a man, well or not well, had received one of these same dirty handkerchiefs, or of these same dirty aprons, no evil spirit in him was visible. one other thing may also be stated with no less confidence:--this is that, infection out of the question, and supposing paul free from all contagious disease, if, without handkerchief or apron, the disease would have had its exit,--by no such handkerchief or any such apron was the exit of it prevented. note, that all this time, according to this man, the author of the acts, he himself was in paul's suite. yet, taking credit for all these miracles--taking credit thus for miracles out of number, not so much as one of them all does he take upon himself to particularize.[ ] section . supposable miracle vii.--at ephesus, exorcists scevas bedeviled.--_acts_ : - . thus it is that, as under the last head has been observed, of all these alleged successful exhibitions, not so much as a single one is particularized. in lieu, however, of these successes of paul's, something of a story to a certain degree particularized we have. but this is--what? a successful performance of paul's? no: but an unsuccessful attempt of certain persons,--here termed exorcists,--who took upon themselves to act against him in the character of competitors. well, then: when the time came for demonstrating supernatural powers by experiment, these exorcists--these impostors, no doubt it was intended they should be deemed--made a very indifferent hand of it. good: but the true man, did he go beyond these same impostors? not he, indeed: he did not so much as attempt it. but, let us hear his historiographer, who all this while was at his elbow. acts : - . "then certain of the vagabond jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of the lord jesus, saying, we adjure you by jesus, whom paul preacheth. "and there were," continues the narrative, ver. , "seven sons of sceva, a jew, and chief of the priests, which did so." thus far the narrative. the sons of the chief of the priests? such men styled not only _exorcists_ but _vagabonds_? if they are not here, in express terms, themselves styled _vagabonds_, at any rate, what is here imputed to them is the doing those same things, the doers of which have just been styled, not only _exorcists_, but at the same time _vagabonds_. but let us continue, "and the evil spirit," ver. , "answered and said, jesus, i know, and paul i know, but who are ye?--and the man, in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." thus far the narrative. to whatsoever order of beings the hero of this tale may have belonged;--whatsoever may have been his proper appellative,--a man with two natures, one human, the other diabolical,--a man with a devil in him, a madman,--or a man in his sound senses counterfeiting a diabolized man or a madman,--the tale itself is surely an eminently curious one. of these human or superhuman antagonists of his--of these pretended masters over evil spirits--the number is not less than seven: yet, in comparison of him, so feeble and helpless are they all together, that he not only masters them all seven, but gets them down, all seven together, and while they are lying on the ground in a state of disablement, pulls the clothes off their backs: but whether one after another, or all at the same time, is not mentioned. be this as it may, hereupon comes a question or two. while he was stripping any one of them, what were the others about all that time? the beating they received, was it such as to render them senseless and motionless? no: this can scarcely have been the case; for, when the devil had done his worst, and their sufferings were at the height, out of the house did they flee, wounded as they were. "jesus i know, and paul i know," says the mysterious hero, in the fifteenth verse. hereupon an observation or two calls for utterance. supposing him a man, who, knowing what he was about, counterfeited the sort of being, who was half man, half devil,--one-half of this speech of his, namely, _paul i know_, may without much difficulty be believed. but, upon this supposition, forasmuch as he acted with so much effect against these rivals of paul's,--a supposition not less natural, to say the least of it, is--that to paul he was not unknown, any more than paul to him: in a word, that on this occasion, between the evil spirit and the self-constituted apostle, a sort of understanding had place. be this as it may, how extraordinary a person must he not have been, to undertake the complete mastery of seven men at once! seven men, all of them young enough to have a father, not only living, but officiating as a priest: and at the same time, all of them old enough, if not to exercise, mastery over evil spirits, at any rate to undertake it! in paul's suite, all this time, as far as appears, was the author of this narrative. the scene thus exhibited--was he then, or was he not, himself an eyewitness of it? on a point so material and so natural, no light has he afforded us. another circumstance, not less curious, is--that it is immediately after the story of the unnamed multitudes, so wonderfully cured by foul clothes,--that this story of the devil-masters discomfited by a rebellious servant of theirs, makes its appearance. turn now to the supposed true devil-master--on this score, what was it that he did? just nothing. the devil,--and a most mischievous one he was,--_he_ was doing all this mischief:--the man, who had all such devils so completely in his power, that they quit possession, and decamp at the mere sight or smell of a dirty handkerchief or apron of his;--he, though seeing all this mischief done,--done by this preëminently mischievous as well as powerful devil,--still suffers him to go on;--and not any the least restraint in any shape, does he impose upon him; but leaves him in complete possession of that receptacle, which, according to the narrative, he wanted neither the power nor the will to convert into an instrument of so much mischief. was it from paul himself, that, on this special occasion, for this special purpose, namely, the putting down these presumptuous competitors, this mysterious being received so extraordinary a gift? this is not said, but not improbably, as it should seem, this was the miracle, which it was intended by the historian should be believed. occasions there are--and this we are desired to believe was one of them--in which the impossibility of a thing is no bar to the knowledge of it. "and this was known," continues the narrative, ver. , "and this was known to all the jews and greeks also dwelling at ephesus: and fear fell on them all, and the name of the lord jesus was magnified." now, supposing this thing known, the fear stated as the result of it may without difficulty be believed:--fear of being treated as those sons of the chief of the jewish priests had been: fear of the devil, by whom those, his unequal antagonists, had been thus dealt with: fear of the more skilful devil-master, under whose eye these bunglers had been thus dealt with. but the name here said to be _magnified_--the name of the lord jesus--how _that_ came to be _magnified_: in this lies all the while the difficulty, and it seems no small one. the _name_, on this occasion, and thus said to be employed, whose was it? it was, indeed, the lord jesus's. but was it successful? quite the contrary. it made bad worse. in the whole of this business, what was there from which the name of jesus could in any shape receive magnification? yes: if after the so eminently unsuccessful use, thus made of it by those exorcists, a successful use had, on the same occasion, been made of it by paul. but, no: no such enterprise did he venture upon. madman, devil, counterfeit madman, counterfeit devil,--by proxy, any of these he was ready to encounter, taking for his proxy one of his foul handkerchiefs or aprons: any of this sort of work, if his historiographer is to be believed, he was ready enough to do by proxy. but, in person? no; he knew better things. "and many that believed," concludes this part of the narrative, ver. , "came and confessed, and showed their deeds." yes; supposing there were any, by whom all this or any part of it was believed,--that they spoke and acted in consequence, may be believed without much difficulty: and, with this observation may the story, and the sort of elucidation endeavouring to be given of it, be left to close. section . supposable miracle viii.--magical books burnt by the owners.--_acts_ : , . such as it was, the supposable miracle last mentioned was not without its supposed fruit: destruction of property, such as it was--destruction of property, and to an amount sufficiently wonderful for the satisfaction of any ordinary appetite for wonders. but let us see the text. it follows in the verse , next after that, in which mention is made, as in the last preceding section, of what was done by the "many who believed." "many of them also," ver. , "which used curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all men; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." "so mightily," ver , "grew the word of god, and prevailed." and there ends the story of the books of curious arts. as to the sum total, nothing can be more precise: as to the items, could the list of them be but produced, this would be indeed a treasure. as to the denomination _magical_, given in the title of this section to those books, styled books "_of curious arts_,"--in the text, short is the only apology that need be made for it. of the number of those _curious arts_ could not, most assuredly, have been any of the arts included at present under the name of _fine arts_; of the character of the _arts_ here designated by the appellation of _curious_, a sufficient indication is afforded by the story, by which the mention of them is, as above, immediately preceded. they were the arts, by which effects were undertaken to be produced, such as the self-constituted apostle undertook to produce by so much more simple means. how vast soever were the collection, what would be the value of it,--the whole taken together,--when so much more than could be done by everything which it professed to teach, could be done by about a score or a dozen words, on the single condition, that the lips by which they were uttered were properly commissioned lips, not to speak of the still more simple operation of the touch of a used handkerchief? of the state of art and science in the wake of the great temple of diana, the representation here given is of itself no small curiosity. books of curious arts--all of them arts of imposture--books, employed, all of them, in teaching the most secret of all secrets--books of this description, so well known to all men, as to bear a market-price! a market-price, so well known to all men, as if it were the price of bread and butcher's meat: and, in the single town of ephesus, these books so numerous,--such the multitude or the value,--or rather the multitude as well as value, of them taken in the aggregate, that the price, that had been given for such of them as were thus given up, and which are only part, and, as it should seem by the word _many_, not the larger part, of the whole number, of those, which, at that same place, were at that same time in existence,--was, upon summing up, found actually to amount, so we are required to believe, to that vast sum. of the aggregate, of the prices that had been paid, we are told, for this smaller part of the aggregate number of the books, then and there existing on this single subject,--inadequate, indeed, would our conception be of it were we to regard it as not exceeding the value of the whole library collected by king george the third, and given by his successor to the english part of his subjects. _data_, though not for numeration, yet sufficient for conception, are by no means wanting. to consult arbuthnot, or any successor of his, would be mere illusion; in so far as the value of money is unknown, prices in money serve but to deceive. history--and _that_ the most appropriate history--has furnished us with much surer grounds. thirty pieces of silver, matt. : - , was the purchase-money of the field, called _the potters' field_, bought for a burying-ground, with the money received and returned by the traitor, judas, as the reward for his treachery. suppose it no more than half an acre. what, in english money of the present day, would be the value of half an acre of land in or close by a closely built metropolis? a hundred pounds would, assuredly, be a very moderate allowance. multiply the hundred pounds by fifty thousand, you have five millions; divide the five millions by thirty, you have, on the above supposition, , _l_. and odd for the value of these books. look to the english translation, look to the greek original, the pieces of silver are the same. section . supposable miracle ix.--at troas, eutychus found not to be dead.--_acts_ : - . in this story may be seen another example, of the facility with which, when men are upon the hunt for miracles, something may be made out of nothing: the most ordinary occurrence, by the addition of a loose word or two, metamorphosed into a miracle. paul, one evening, was treating his disciples with a sermon: he was at the same time treating them, or they him, with a supper. the architecture of the house was such, that, under favourable circumstances, a fall might be got from the top of it, or thereabouts, to the bottom, without much difficulty. if any difficulty there was, on the occasion in question it was overcome. according to circumstances, sermons produce on different minds different effects: from some, they drive sleep; in others, they produce it. on the occasion in question, the latter was the effect experienced by a certain youth. his station is represented as being an elevated one:--so elevated that, after the fall he got from it, it may be believed without difficulty, he lay for some time motionless. paul "went down" to him, we are told, and embraced him. the youth received the embrace; paul, the praise of tender-heartedness:--this is what may be asserted with a safe conscience, though it be without any special evidence. trifling, however, is the boon he received from that congregation, in comparison of what he has been receiving from so many succeeding ones--the reputation of having made so brilliant an addition to the catalogue of his miracles. by the accident, whatever may have been the interruption, given by it to the festivity, no end was put to it. sermon and supper ended, the rest of the congregation went their way: and with them went the youth, to whom had anything serious happened, the historian would scarcely have left us uninformed of it. on this occasion, between the hero and his historian, there is somewhat of a difference. the historian will have it, that when paul reached the body he found it dead. paul's own account of the matter is the direct contrary: so the historian himself informs us. here then the historian and his hero are at issue. but, the historian, having the first word, makes, if we may venture to say so, a rather unfair advantage of it, and by this same first word gives a contradiction to what he makes his hero say in the next. "he was taken up dead," says the historian, who was or was not there: "his life is in him," says the preacher, who was there beyond dispute. but let us see the text. acts : - . . and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech till midnight.--and there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.--and there sat in a window a certain young man named eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.--and paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him, said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.--when he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.--and they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. at this time of day, any such contrariety might produce some embarrassment; but, when it is considered how long ago the thing happened, no such uneasy sensation is experienced. a supposition, by which all embarrassment is excluded, is so immediately obvious, as to be scarce worth mentioning. when paul reached the body, the soul was already in the other world; but, with the kisses goes a whisper, and the soul comes back again. whether from indolence or from archness, there is something amusing in the course the historian takes for enlivening his narration with these flowers: he sketches out the outline, but leaves it to our imaginations to fill it up. section . supposable miracle x.--on shipboard, paul comforted by an angel. acts : - . and when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be preserved was thenceforth taken away.--but after long abstinence paul stood in the midst of them, and said, sirs, ye should have hearkened to me, and not have loosed from crete, but have prevented this harm and damage.--and now i exhort you to be of good courage: for there shall be no loss of life among you, but of the ship, _there shall be loss_.--for there stood by me this night an angel of that god, whose i am, and whom i serve, saying,--fear not, paul, thou must be brought before caesar; and lo, god hath graciously given to thee all who sail with thee.--wherefore, sirs, be of good courage: for i believe god, that it will be as it hath been told me. the sea being stormy, the crew are alarmed. the storm, however, is not so violent, but that paul is able to make a speech, and they to hear it. to keep up their spirits, and, at the same time, let them see the sort of terms he is upon with the almighty, he tells them a story about an angel. the angel had been sent to him upon a visit, and was but just gone. the business of the angel was to quiet the mind of the apostle. the matter had been settled. the precious life was in no danger: and, not only so, but, out of compliment to him, god had been pleased to grant to him the lives of all who were happy enough to be in his company. in the situation, in which so many lives are represented as being placed,--no very severe condemnation can easily be passed upon any little fraud, by which they might be saved. but, is it really to be believed, that this angel, whom, in a deckless vessel, for the vessels of _those_ times were not like the vessels of present times, no person but paul either saw or heard, was really sent express from the sky by god almighty, on such an errand? if not, then have we this additional proof,--if any additional proof can be needed,--to help to satisfy us,--that, where a purpose was to be answered, falsehood, or as he would have called it _lying_, was not among the obstacles, by which paul would be stopped, in his endeavours to accomplish it. section . supposable miracle xi.--at malta, a reptile shaken off by paul without hurt.--_acts_ : - . a fire of sticks being kindled, a reptile, here called a viper, is represented as "coming out of the heat," and fastening on paul's hand. on beholding this incident,--"the barbarous people," as the inhabitants are called, whose hospitality kindled the fire for the relief of the shipwrecked company, concluded that paul was a murderer: and were, accordingly, in expectation of seeing him "swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly." nothing of this sort happened, their next conclusion was, _that he was a god_. as such, did these barbarians, as did the civilized inhabitants of lystra, sacrifice to him, or in any other way worship him? no: these conceptions of theirs reported, there the story ends. of this story, what is to be made? at this time of day, among christians in general, what we should expect to find is, that it passed for a miracle. but, if by miracle is meant, not merely an accident, somewhat singular and extraordinary,--but, by a special act of almighty power, an effect produced, by means disconformable to the uniform course of nature,--it might be too much to say, that even by the reporter himself, it is for the decided purpose of its being taken for miracle, that it is brought to view. if, however, the design was not here, that the incident should be taken for a miracle,--the story amounted to nothing, and was not worth the telling. but, if it _is_ to be made into a miracle, where is the matter in it, out of which a miracle can be made? the reptile--was it really a viper? neither the barbarians of malta, nor the reporter of this story, nor in a word, at that time of day, any other persons whatever, were either very complete or very correct, in their conception of matters belonging to the field of natural history. at present, reptiles are crawling creatures. at this time of day, when _leeches_ are excepted, to fasten upon the part they have bitten is not the practice with any reptiles that we know of. if, instead of _viper_, the greek word had been one that could have been translated _leech_,--the story would have been probable enough, but, were it only for that very reason, no miracle could have been made out of it. shaken down into the fire, that is, into the burning fuel,--a small reptile, such as a leech, how brisk soever in the water, would be very apt to be overpowered by the heat, before it could make its escape: with a reptile of the ordinary size of a viper, this would hardly be the case. be this as it may, "he felt,"--so says the story,--"he felt no harm." how came it that he felt no harm? because the almighty performed a miracle to preserve him from harm? so long as eyes are open, causes out of number--causes that have nothing wonderful in them--present themselves to view before this. "the beast," as it is translated, "was not a viper":--if really a viper, it happened, at that moment, not to be provided with a competent stock of venom: it had already expended it upon some other object:--by some accident or other, it had lost the appropriate tooth. not to look out for others,--any mind that was not bent upon having a miracle at any price, would lay hold of some such cause as one of these, sooner than give itself any such trouble as that of torturing the incident into a miracle. to bring under calculation the quantity of supernatural power necessary to the production of a given effect is no very easy task. at any rate,--without more or less of expense in a certain shape, nothing in that way could ever be done. in the case here in question, what could have been the object of any such expense? was it the saving the self-constituted apostle the pain of a bite? the expense then, would it not have been less--the operation, so to speak, more economical--had a slight turn been given to paul's hand, or to the course of the reptile? but, in either case, neither would the name of the lord, nor--what was rather more material--that of his apostle, have received that glorification which was so needful to it. any such design, as that of giving an unequivocal manifestation of almighty power, such as should stand the test of scrutiny, testifying the verity of paul's commission to the end of time,--any such design could the incident have had for its final cause? a more equivocal,--a less conclusive,--proof of the manifestation of supernatural power, seems not very easy to imagine. here then comes once more the so often repeated conclusion:--the narrative began to be in want of a miracle, and the miracle was made. in those days, among that people, miracles were so much in course, that without a reasonable number of them, a history would hardly have obtained credence: at any rate it would not have obtained readers, and without readers no history can ever obtain much credence. section . supposable miracle xii.--at malta, deputy publius's father cured.--_acts_ : - . "in the same quarters," says the story--it follows immediately upon that of the viper. "in the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was _publius_, who received us and lodged us three days courteously.--and it came to pass, that the father of publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux, to whom paul entered in and prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed him.--so when this was done, others also which had diseases in the island, came and were healed.--who also honoured us with many honours, and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary." of the fevers, which, within the compass of any given spot, and any given space of time, have place, it almost always happens, that a certain number go off of themselves. of, perhaps, all sorts of fever,--at least of almost all sorts at present known, thus much is agreed upon by all physicians:--they have at least two regular courses, one of which terminates in death, the other or others in recovery. supposing the person in question to have had a fever,--what is pretty clear is--that, if _of itself_, it would have taken a favourable termination, there was nothing, in the forms employed by paul, viz., utterance of prayers and imposition of hands, that could have any natural tendency to _cause_ it to take an unfavourable one. but--the course afterwards taken by the fever, was there anything in it to distinguish it from the ordinary favourable course? if not, in that case, so far from miraculous, there is nothing that is so much as wonderful in the case. note here two things--the narrator one of the party; the narrative so loose and uncircumstantial. but _to see_ is one thing; _to narrate_, another. three days, it seems, and no more, did paul and his suite stay at the house of this publius. was it during that time, or not till afterwards, that paul performed on him those ceremonies, of which healing is represented as having been the consequence? was it within that same space of time, or not till afterwards, that the healing is supposed to have taken place? as to the english word _healing_, it cannot be accused of being indecisive. but in some languages they have words, by which a very convenient veil is thrown over the result. in the languages in question, for the endeavour to heal, whether successful or unsuccessful, the word employed is the same. the latin affords one of these convenient words, _curo_. the greek has another, _iasato_, and in the greek original of this history, this is the word employed. in a case where a ceremony and nothing else is trusted to, it being supposed that the patient really has the disease, the safe and prudent course is, so to order times and seasons, that between the time of performing the ceremony, and the time at which restoration to health is expected to take place, the time shall have come for the practitioner to have shifted quarters; for, in this case, this is an interval more or less considerable during which it being taken for granted that the desired result will take place of course, reward, in the shapes of profit and honour, will pour in upon the scientific head. here, as elsewhere, not only no _symptoms_ are particularized, but no _place_ is mentioned: no _time_ is particularized, no _persons_ are mentioned as _percipient witnesses_: even the individual who was the subject of the cure is not mentioned by name. as to the givers of the supposed honours and presents--persons are indeed mentioned:--mentioned, but no otherwise than by the name of _others_. one individual alone is particularized: particularized as having received the benefit of these ceremonies. this is the father of publius. this man, to use the phraseology of the passage, was _also healed_. but--this man who was he? he was no less a person than the father of the chief man in the island. well then, what are the honours, what the allotment of "_such things as were necessary_?" what were the proofs of gratitude, afforded by this man, who was so much better able to afford such presents, than any of those other persons cured? by such proofs of remuneration, some evidence--some circumstantial evidence,--supposing them exhibited at a proper time, would have been afforded, in proof of the reality of the service. but, neither by the person thus spoken of as healed, nor by his son--the chief man in the island,--is it said that any such proofs were afforded. for such a silence when the case of an individual was brought to view, coupled with the express declaration made, of gifts presented by persons unnamed,--three cases cannot but present themselves, as being any one of them more probable, than that, on this occasion, a real miracle was performed. one is--that there was no disease, perhaps no such person: another is, that though there was a disease, it went off of itself: the third is, that it never went off at all. one thing may be asserted without much fear of contradiction: and that is, that in this country, if in terms such as these, accounts were inserted in the public prints;--accounts of diseases cured without medicine;--diseases cured by nothing but words and gesticulations;--though the accounts given were ever so numerous, not the smallest notice would they be thought worthy of,--not the smallest attention would they receive from anyone, unless it were for the joke's sake. what is more,--numerous are the publications, in which, encompassed with circumstantiality in all manner of shapes, not only the names of the fortunate patients are mentioned, but under the signatures of those patients declarations made, assuring the public of the reality of the cure,--and yet, when at the same time, by competent persons, due inquiry has been made, it turns out after all that no such cure has been performed. accounts, which would not be believed were they to come out at a time of so widely diffused knowledge, are they to be believed, merely because the time they belonged to,--facts and accounts together,--was, as to all such matters, a time of universal ignorance? the less a man understands the subject, the more firmly is he to be believed, as to everything he says of it? or is it that, between then and now, _men_ and _things_ have undergone a total change? and, if so, when did it take place? section . conclusion: the supposable miracles classed and summed up. inferences,--conveying more or less of instruction,--may, perhaps, be found deducible,--at any rate our conception of the whole series taken together, will be rendered so much the clearer, by bringing the same supposed marvels again under review, arranged in the order of time. for this purpose, the time may be considered as divided into three periods. in the first are included--those, which are represented as having had place during the time when at the outset of his missionary expedition, paul had barnabas for his associate. of these there are two, viz. . at paphos, a.d. , sorcerer elymas blinded. . at lystra, a.d. , cripple cured. of this part of the expedition, the commencement, as in the current account, placed in the year . in the second period are included--those, which are represented as having had place, during the time when paul, after his separation from barnabas, had silas for his associate, and the unnamed author of the acts for an attendant. this ends with his arrival at jerusalem, on the occasion of his fourth visit--the invasion visit. in the current accounts, this event is placed in the year . within this period, we have the seven following supposed marvels: . at philippi, a.d. , divineress silenced. . at philippi, a.d. , earthquake: paul and silas freed from prison. . at corinth, a.d. , paul comforted by the lord in an unseen vision. . at ephesus, a.d. , diseases and devils expelled by paul's foul handkerchiefs. . at ephesus, a.d. , exorcist scevas bedeviled. . at ephesus, a.d. , magic books burned by the owners. . at troas, a.d. , eutychus found not to be dead. in the third period are included--those which are represented as having had place, in the interval between his forced departure from jerusalem for rome, and his arrival at rome. in the current accounts, this event is placed in the year . within this concluding period, we have the following supposed marvels: . on shipboard, a.d. , paul comforted by an angel. . at malta, a.d. , a reptile shaken off by paul without his being hurt. . at malta, a.d. , deputy publius's father cured by paul of some disorder. year of all these three last marvels, the same as that of paul's arrival at rome. total number of supposed marvels, twelve. to the first of these three periods belong two supposed marvels, which, supposing them to have any foundation in truth, present themselves as being, in a greater degree than most of the others, exposed to the suspicion of contrivance. a moderate sum, greater or less according to the state more or less flourishing of his practice, might suffice to engage a sorcerer, for a few minutes or hours, to declare himself struck blind: a still more moderate sum might suffice to engage an itinerant beggar, to exhibit himself with one leg tied up, and after hearing what was proper to be heard, or seeing what was proper to be seen, to declare himself cured. this was the period, during which paul had barnabas, or barnabas paul, for an associate. in these cases, if fraud in any shape had place,--it is not without reluctance, that any such supposition could be entertained, as that barnabas--the generous, the conciliating, the beneficent, the persevering barnabas--was privy to it. but, times and temptation considered, even might this supposition be assented to, on rather more substantial grounds, than that which stands in competition with it: namely, that for the production of two effects,--comparatively so inconsiderable, and not represented as having been followed by any determinate effects of greater moment,--the ordinary course of nature was, by a special interposition of almighty power, broken through and disturbed. is it or is it not a matter worth remarking--that, of all these twelve supposed occurrences, such as they are,--in not more than four is the hero represented,--even by his own attendant, historian, and panegyrist,--as decidedly taking any active part in the production of the effect? these are--the blinding of the sorcerer, the cure of the cripple, the silencing of the divineress, the curing of deputy publius's father: the three first, at the commencement of this supposed wonder-working part of his career; the last,--with an interval of fifteen years between that and the first,--at the very close of it. in the eight intermediate instances, either the effect itself amounted to nothing, or the hero is scarcely represented as being instrumental in the production of it. these are--the being let out of prison after an earthquake had happened--being comforted, whether by god or man, in a vision or without one--having handkerchiefs, by which, when he had done with them, diseases and devils were expelled--being present when a gang of exorcists were beaten and stripped by a devil, whom they had undertaken to drive out of a man--being in a place, in which some nonsensical books were burned by their owners--being in a house, in which a youth said to be dead, was found not to be so--being comforted by an angel, who had the kindness to come on board ship uninvited--shaking off a reptile, without being hurt by it. whatever store may be set at this time of day upon all these marvels, less cannot easily be set upon them by anybody than was by paul himself. for proof, take the whole tenor of his own epistles, as well as the whole tenor of his visions, as delivered by his attendant. numberless as were the scrapes he got himself into,--numberless as were the hosts of enemies he everywhere made himself,--open as all ears were to everything that presented itself as marvellous,--unable as men were to distinguish what could be done from what could not be done,--pressing as was at all times the need he had of evidence, that could arrest the hands of enemies,--on no occasion do we find him calling into his aid, so much as a single one of all these supposed irrefragable evidences. footnotes: [ ] _and they had also john to their minister_, : . what _john_ was this? answer, see chap. : to . this appears to have been that john, whose surname was mark, who was the cause of the angry separation of paul from barnabas. [ ] another branch of his trade, already mentioned in this same chapter, as having been carried on by him in this same place, namely, ephesus,--and which, where circumstances created a demand for the article, appears to have been more profitable than that of expelling devils or diseases,--is _that_, of which the holy ghost was the subject. this power of conferring--that is to say, of being thought to confer--the holy ghost,--such, and of such sort was the value of it, that simon magus, as there may be occasion to mention in another chapter, had, not less than one-and-twenty years before this, offered the apostles money for it. acts : - , a.d. . this power, two preceding verses of the same th chapter, namely the th and th, represent paul as exercising: and, whatsoever was the benefit derived, twelve is the number of the persons here spoken of as having received it. acts : - . after "they," the above twelve, v. , disciples, v. , "were baptized, v. , in the name of the lord jesus;" when paul, v. , "had laid his hands upon them, the holy ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." here then, if, by thus laying on of hands, it is by _paul_ that any operation is performed, it is the conferring of "the holy ghost." but this power, whence had paul received it? not from jesus, had the self-constituted apostle received this gift, whatever it was, any more than he had baptism, by which ceremony, as appears from acts : , it was regularly preceded: as in the case of the magician it actually had been. not from jesus: no such thing is anywhere so much as pretended. not from the apostles, or any of them; from two, for example, by commission from the rest--as in the case of peter and john, acts : - :--no such thing is anywhere so much as pretended. in no such persons could this--would this--their self-declared superior, have vouchsafed to acknowledge the existence, of a power in which he had no share. on this occasion, as on every other, independently of the apostles did he act, and in spite of the apostles. as to the "_speaking with tongues and prophesying_," these are pretensions, which may be acknowledged without much difficulty. _tongues_ are the organs most men speak with. as to _prophesying_, it was an operation that might as well be performed after the fact as before the fact: witness in luke : , "prophesy, who is it that smote thee?" read the bible over from beginning to end, a _prophet_, whatever else be meant, if there be anything else meant, you will find to have been _a politician: to prophesy_ was to talk _politics_. make a new translation, or, what would be shorter, a list of _corrigenda_, and instead of _prophet_ put _politician_,--a world of labour, now employed in explanations, will be saved. chapter xiv. _acts, part false, part true: author not saint luke._ section . by the false parts, the gospel not affected: most parts true. in regard to the acts, a notion, generally, not to say universally, received, is--that it had saint luke for its author: and that, accordingly, it may with propriety be regarded as a continuation of the gospel of that evangelist, written by the same hand. were this conception a correct one, whatsoever shock were given to the credit of the acts, would unavoidably extend itself to the gospel history: at any rate, to that part of it which bears the name of luke. before this chapter is at an end,--the reader, if the author is not much mistaken, will not only be convinced that that opinion is untenable, but see no small ground for wondering, how by any person, by whom any survey had been taken of the two objects in that point of view, any such notion should ever have come to be entertained. another memento, of which, if made before, even the repetition may in this place, perhaps, be not without its use, is--that, from nothing that is here said, is any such conception meant to be conveyed, as that the history called _the acts_, is from beginning to end, like that of geoffrey of monmouth's _history of britain_, a mere falsity. in a great part, perhaps even by much the greatest, it is here looked upon as true: in great part true, although in no inconsiderable part incorrect, to say no worse: and, in particular, on every point, on which the colour of the marvellous is visible. as to the sort and degree of evidence due to it, one general assumption there is, by which the whole of this inquiry has, from first to last, been guided. this is--that, in relation to one and the same work, whatsoever be the subject of it, credence may, without inconsistency or impropriety, by one and the same person, be given and withholden: given, on this or that occasion; withholden, on this or that other occasion: given, in so far as the truth of the contents seems probable; withholden, as far as it seems improbable. for the support of this assumption,--all that, on the present occasion, can be offered, is--an appeal to universal experience. as to the general foundations of the law of evidence,--for any excursion into so wide an expanse, neither this chapter nor any other part of this work would, it has been thought, be generally regarded as a proper place. what had been written on that subject has accordingly been discarded. section . time between resurrection and ascension--acts contradicts luke. in the first place then, saint luke cannot have been the author of the acts. the reason is very simple. in respect of the time between jesus's resurrection and his ascension,--the one of these narratives gives one account, the other, another account: and, so wide is the difference between the two, that by one and the same person they could not have both been given. according to saint luke, the time during which, after his resurrection, and before his ascension, jesus was seen by his disciples, extended not beyond _one_ day: according to the acts, it extended as far as _forty_ days. by saint luke, that the time was not more than a day, is not indeed said in so many words; but upon examination of the text, it will be found, that, consistently with the particulars given, no longer duration can be assigned to it. in the acts, that the time, during which he continued showing himself after his _passion_, acts : ,[ ] to the apostles, was "_forty days_," is affirmed in those very words. the point here in question, be it observed, is not _truth_, but _consistency_: not the truth of either of the two accounts; but their consistency, the one with the other: and, instead of consistency, so palpable is the inconsistency, that the conclusion is,--by no one man, who did not, on one or other of the two occasions, intend thereby to deceive, can both of them, morally speaking, have been penned. now for the proof. first, let us hear saint luke: it is all of it in his last chapter--the th. in verse , mention is made of certain women, three named, others not named. in verses and , "they entered into," it is said, "the sepulchre," ver. , "and found not the body of the lord jesus." in ver. , "they returned," it is said, "from the sepulchre, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest." thereupon it is, that, of all them, "two" ver. , of whom cleopas, ver. , was one, "went _that same day_ to emmaus, which was from jerusalem about sixty furlongs: and while they communed together," it was that "jesus," ver. , "drew near, and went with them," whereupon between him and them a conversation therein reported, ensued. the conversation,--the same conversation, as reported in verses from to ,--continues till their arrival at the village, ver. , namely, emmaus, as per ver. . according to the next verse, ver. , "the day," namely, that same day, "being far spent," at that same place, "he went in to tarry with them," they having "constrained him." then also it is that, ver. , "he sat at meat with them:" and, ver. , "they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight." moreover, "at that same hour" it is, ver. , that "they returned to jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying," ver. , "the lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared unto simon." then it is also, that, ver. , they reporting what had passed, "as they thus spake, jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, peace be unto you." thereupon follows a conversation, reported in verses from to , in the course of which he, ver. , "did eat before them." then it is, that, immediately after the last words, which, in ver. , he is stated to have uttered, come these words, ver. , "and he led them out as far as to bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. and it came to pass," says the next verse, ver. , "while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. and they worshipped him," continues the next verse, ver. , "and returned to jerusalem with great joy." and, with the next verse, which says, "they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god,"--the chapter, and with it the gospel, ends. so much for saint luke. now for the author of the acts, chapter , ver. , "to whom," says he, namely the apostles, ver. , "he," namely jesus, ver. , "showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them _forty_ days..." thus while, according to the author of the acts the time--during which jesus was seen by the persons in question was not less than _forty_ days,--according to saint luke, the whole time, during which this same jesus was seen by those same persons, was not more than _one_ day. and who was this historian, who, on the supposition of the identity, speaking of this all-important scene, on one occasion says, that it lasted no more than _one_ day; and, on another occasion, professing, acts : , to be giving continuance to such his former discourse, declares, in so many words, that it lasted "forty days"? it is saint luke, one of the apostles of jesus;--one, of the eleven, before whose eyes, everything of that which has just been read, is stated as having passed. with all this before him, does the editor of the edition of the bible, called scholey's bible, in a note to the commencement of the acts, very composedly assure us, that "from its style, and other internal marks, it is evidently the production of luke": quoting for his authority, bishop of lincoln's _elements of christian theology_, vol. . who this same bishop of lincoln was, by whose elements of christian theology, instruction such as this is administered, let those inquire, in whose eyes the profit of the inquiry promises payment for the trouble. from any such particular inquiry, the profit will perhaps appear the less, the greater appears the probability, that, in the minds of all bishops,--from the first that ever committed his instructions in theology to the press, down to those by whom the christian world is illuminated at this present writing,--the same sort of discernment, or the same sort of sincerity, has all along had place. when , _l_, a year--or though it were but _l_, once told--or, though it were but salvation from everlasting torment--is to be gained; gained, by the perception, that two men, the one of whom writes in point-blank contradiction to the other, are one and the same man,--the task is not, naturally speaking, of the number of those, by the performance of which much wonder need be excited. the sort of improvement, made by the author of the later history, upon the account given in the earlier, has now been seen. would anyone wish to see the inducement? he will not have far to look for it. for making the impression, which it was his desire to make,--the _one_ day, allotted to the occurrence by one of the company, was not, in the estimation of the anonymous writer, sufficient. to render it sufficient, he calls in the powers of arithmetic: he multiplies the _one_ by forty; and thus, to the unquestionable satisfaction of a host of mathematicians,--barrow, newton, and so many other mathematical divines, not to speak of locke, of the number--thus is done what is required to be done: thus, by so simple an operation, is the probative force of the occurrence multiplied forty-fold.[ ] section . as to ascension, acts is inconsistent with luke. thus far, the embellishments, made by our anonymous artist, have had for their ground the work of the original hand: meaning always saint luke, with whom the common error has identified him. here comes an instance, in which the whole is altogether of his own workmanship. this is the story of the "two men in white apparel," by whom, what, in his eyes, were the deficiencies in the instruction offered by jesus to the witnesses of his ascension, may be seen supplied. still the same delicacy as before: by his own hand no miracle made: only a quantity of matter, fit for this purpose, put into the hands of readers; and to their imagination is left a task so natural and so, agreeable. scarcely, after finishing his instructions to his apostles, has jesus ceased to be visible to them, when, if acts is to be believed, "two men in white apparel"--two men, _to_ whom none of them were known, and _by_ whom none of them were known, make their appearance, and from nobody knows where. but these same two men in white, who are they? "oh!" says _imagination_, for the hints we have already seen given to her are quite sufficient, "oh!" says imagination, "they were angels. think for a moment, and say what else they can have been. had they been men, could they have been thus unknowing and unknown? could their appearance have been thus sudden? not less sudden than the vanishing of a spirit? not to speak of the beautiful white clothes you see they had,--and would they have been thus dressed? to believe them men, would be to believe in direct contradiction to saint luke; for, in his account of the matter, as you may see, from first to last, not two men were there in the whole party, that were not in the most intimate manner known to each other. but though, by saint luke's account, so decided a negative is put upon all men-strangers, yet nothing is said about angels. angels, therefore, they may have been,--you may venture to say they _were_: and the report made by all persons present, remains nevertheless uncontradicted." "another proof, that they cannot have been men, and that therefore they were angels. of these beings, who were then unknown to all the company, what was the errand? it was no less than the giving to the whole company of the companions of jesus,--of that jesus, by whom, after giving to them such instructions as he thought fit to give to them, they had but that moment been left,--the giving to them some _other_ instructions, which he had not thought fit, or else had forgot, to give to them. but, as by no men-strangers could any such conceit have been entertained, as that, by the party in question, any such instructions would be listened to,--so, by no men-strangers can it be that any such instructions were given:--an additional proof that they cannot have been anything but angels." thus readily does the imagination of the reader, answer with her logic, the call given to her by the imagination of the author. angels if they were, they appear not to have been very knowing ones. sent, for the purpose of giving information,--and such information, nothing of that which was known to all those, to whom they came to give it,--nothing, if they themselves are to be believed, was known to them. addressing themselves to the company--the company whom jesus had but that moment left,--"whom saw ye going up," say they, ver. , "into heaven"? then comes the information, which jesus, on his departure, jesus, we are expected to believe, has not thought fit, or else had forgot, to give. "this same jesus," say they, ver. , "which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." here we have the information and--they to whom it was given,--what can they have been the better for it?--"shall so come." yes: but when and where, and to what end, and what to do? points these, as to all which, the information is altogether mute. one other proof is yet behind. what has been seen as yet is in the first chapter. the tenth of his eight and twenty chapters is not finished, where, speaking in agreement with saint luke, he now disagrees with himself. on this occasion, it is by the mouth of peter that he speaks. "god," he makes peter say, acts : , "god showed him," jesus, "openly."--showed him, let anybody ask, and to whom? "not," says he, "to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of god, even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." thus again it is, that for any men-strangers, not a particle of room is left. but, for angels, considering the materials they are made of, no quantity of room can be insufficient: therefore, once more, nothing can these men have been but angels. footnotes: [ ] as to the word _passion_, that by this word could not have been meant the same event as that denoted by the word _resurrection_, cannot but be acknowledged. but, with regard to the alleged inconsistency, this distinction will not be found to make any difference: for, as will be seen, it is not till after his resurrection, that, by saint luke, jesus is represented as having begun to show himself. [ ] in chapter xii. of this work, section , notice has already been taken, of a similar operation as having been performed by paul himself: of the improvement made in _that_ case, the subject was the number of the witnesses: according to the real apostle, who was one of the company, the number, as we have seen, was eleven, and a few more: this number, whatever it was, the self-constituted apostle, who knew nothing about the matter, took in hand, and multiplied till he had raised it to five hundred. thus, with or without concert, with like effect,--and it is almost needless to say, with the same object, and from the same inducement,--may be seen the master and the journeyman, working on different occasions, but with well-matched industry, at the manufacturing of evidence. add now together the results of the two operations, and note the aggregate. number of witnesses, according to luke, say,--for the sake of round numbers,--twenty; though there seems little reason to suppose it so great: addition made to it by paul, . number of days,--during which, as above, they continued seeing and hearing what they saw and heard,--according to saint luke, but one: according to paul's attendant, . multiply together the two improvements, that is to say, the by the , you have , for the sum total of probative force, added by the arguments of the author of the acts to the amount of the original quantity, as reported by saint luke. chapter xv. _law report.--jews versus paul: trials five, with observations._ section . introduction. on the occasion of what passed at the temple, the report of a great law-case,--to speak in modern and english language,--the case of _the jews against paul_, was begun. the judicatory before which he underwent that trial,--partly before the jewish multitude, partly before the roman chief by whom he was rescued,--was a sort of mixed and extempore judicatory, something betwixt a legal and an illegal one: for, as has been seen in the case of saint stephen, and as may be seen in the case of the woman taken in adultery, and moreover, in the body of the law itself, a sort of mob-law might, not altogether without ground, be stated as forming part and parcel of the law of moses. to this sort of irregular trial, succeeded, before the definite judgment was pronounced, no fewer than four others, each of them before a tribunal, as regular as any the most zealous supporter of what is called legitimacy could desire. in execution of this definitive judgment it was, that paul was sent, on that half-forced, half-voluntary expedition of his, to rome: at which place, on his arrival at that capital, the acts history closes. of the reports of these several trials, as given in the acts,--follows a summary view, accompanied with a few remarks for elucidation. section . trial i. place, jerusalem temple.--judicatory, the mixed multitude.--_acts_ : to . scene, the temple. judges, prosecutors, and--stated as intended executioners, a jerusalem multitude. sole class, by whom any declared or special cause of irritation had been received, the christianized jews, provoked by paul's preachings against the law of the land, to which they as yet maintained their adherence; by his intrusion upon their society, by which, were it only for his former persecution, he could not but be abhorred; and by the notorious perjury he was at that moment committing, having chosen to commit it, rather than cease to obtrude upon them the object of their abhorrence. of the particulars of the accusation nothing is said: but, the above circumstances, and the subsequent charges made upon him the next day by the constituted authorities,--who immediately took up the matter, and carried on a regular prosecution against him,--sufficiently show, what, if expressed, would have been the purport of them. by the preparations made for execution, we shall see broken off the defence, before it had come, if ever it was designed to come, to the substance of the alleged offence. points touched upon in it are these:-- . defendant's birthplace, tarsus; parentage, jewish; religious persuasion, pharasaical; education, under gamaliel, verse . . part, borne by him, in the persecution of the christians, when stephen was stoned: his commission for that purpose stated, and the high priest and elders called to witness, verses and . n.b. time of _that_ same commission, according to the received chronology, not less than years before this. . story, of that first vision, of which so much has been seen: namely, that from whence his conversion was dated: occasion, his journey to damascus, for the execution of that same commission, verses to . . story of his trance: for this see chapter iv. §. . in this state, "the lord" seen by him.--_lord to defendant._ "get thee quickly out of jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." _defendant, to lord._ informing or reminding said lord of the details of the part borne by said defendant in the persecution of saint stephen.--_lord to defendant._ "depart, for i will send thee far hence unto the gentiles." note, defendant cut short: lord's patience no match for defendant's eloquence. _judges and executioners._--at the word _gentiles_, exclamation:--"away with him ... he is not fit to live":--clothes cast off, as in stephen's case, as if to prepare for stoning him.[ ] "dust thrown into the air." present, chief captain claudius lysias, who commands him to be "brought into the castle," and "examined by scourging." while, for this purpose, they are binding him, on defendant crying out, "_i am a roman citizen_," the binding ceases, no scourging commences: the next day he is released, and the "chief priests and all their council" are "sent for," and defendant is "set before them." section . trial ii. judicatory, jerusalem council-board.--_acts_ : to . judges, chief priests in council assembled: present, the high priests. prosecutors, the said judge: other prosecutors, as far as appears, none. in modern rome-bred law, this mode of procedure, in which the parts of judge and prosecutor are performed by the same person, is styled the _inquisitorial_: in contradistinction to this, that in which the part of prosecutor is borne by a different person, is stiled the _accusatorial_. charges or questions put, not stated. _defendant._ "i am a pharisee ... the son of a pharisee. of the hope and resurrection of the dead i am called in question." thereupon, ver. , "great cry" ...--"great dissention." "chief captain, fearing lest," defendant, "paul should have been pulled in pieces of them," inuendo the said judges, "commands soldiers," who take him back into the castle. "cry? dissention?"--whence all this? acts has not here been explicit enough to inform us. as to defendant's plea, that it was for believing in the resurrection that he was prosecuted,--what could not but be perfectly known to him was,--that it neither was true, nor by possibility could be so. among said judges, parties two--pharisees and sadducees: pharisees the predominant. "the sadducees," on this occasion, says ver. , "say there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; but the pharisees confess both." prosecuting a pharisee for preaching the resurrection, meaning always the general resurrection, would have been as if a church-of-englandist priest were indicted in the king's bench, for reading the athanasian creed. accordingly--it was a stratagem of the defendant's--this same misstatement: such it is expressly stated to be:--when defendant "_perceived_," ver. , "that the one part were sadducees, and the other pharisees,"--then it was that he came out with it: and, already it has been seen, how effectually it answered its purpose. enter once more the history of the _trance_. note here the sudden termination of defendant's first jerusalem visit, alias his _reconciliation visit_, and turn back to chapter iv. §. , cause of it,--historian speaking in his own person--"grecians," acts : , "went about to slay him," for disputing with them:--historian, speaking, to wit, here, in defendant's person, christianized jews' disbelief of his conversion, and of that vision story of his, that he produced in evidence of it. it is on the occasion of the just-mentioned temple trial, that defendant is made to come out with it. on that occasion, as hath been seen, it was of no use: but, in this second trial, it will be seen to be of prime use. that it was told over again at this trial is not indeed expressly said: but, that it was so is sufficiently manifest. this and no other is the handle which his supporters in the council lay hold of: and this they could not have done, had he not, as will be seen presently, put it into their hands. "the scribes," says ver. , "that were of the pharisees' part, arose, and strove, saying, we find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against god." well then--this spirit, or this angel, who was he? who but that spirit, whom defendant had so manifestly told them of, and who was no other than that "_lord_" of his, whom he had seen in the trance: in the trance, which, while the multitude were beating him, invention had furnished him with for the purpose. mark now, how apposite a weapon the pharisees found, in this same trance, in their war against the sadducees. as to jesus,--though from first to last, so far from being recognized by their sect, he had been the object of that enmity of theirs under which he sunk,--yet, so far as, in general terms, he preached the _general_ resurrection,--his doctrine not only agreed with theirs, but was of no small use to them: it was of use to them, against those political rivals, whose opposition to their sect was the sole cause of everything that was troublesome to it. as to paul,--had he confined himself, to the speaking of jesus's _particular_ resurrection,--this indeed was what no pharisee could be disposed to admit: but if, by paul or anyone else, jesus, or any other person, was at any time seen in an incorporeal state,--here was a piece of evidence on their side. with relation to any interview of the _apostles_ with jesus after his resurrection, nothing that paul had to say--to say with truth or colour of truth--was anything more than _hearsay_ evidence: but, as to that, which on this occasion, he had been relating about the lord, whom he had seen in his trance,--this, how false soever, was not only _direct_, but _immediate_ evidence: evidence, in the delivery of which, the _relating_ witness stated himself to have been, with relation to the alleged fact in question, a _percipient_ witness. that, on this occasion, paul dwelt, with any particularity, on the appearance of jesus in the flesh after his resurrection, is not said: and, as it would not have contributed anything to the purpose, the less particular the safer and the better. _lord_ or not _lord_, that which appeared was at any rate a _spirit_: and for the war against the sadducees, a spirit was all that was wanted: no matter of what sort. section . trial iii. place, cÃ�sarea.--_acts_ : - . scene, "governor" felix's judicatory. judge, said governor. prosecutor, orator tertullus: present, his clients,--the "high priest" and "the elders." procedure, accusatorial. time, "twelve days," ver. , "after trial ; eleven, after trial ." i. counsel's speech--points touched upon in it, these:--verses - . . opening compliment to governor judge.--his "providence" and "clemency." ii. . vituperative surplusage, of course, as if in b. r.: though not paid for, in fees and taxes, by the sheet.--defendant, "a pestilent fellow." charges three. to make the matter more intelligible, had the proceeding been by writing in the first instance, they might have been styled counts. . charge . defendant "a mover of sedition among all the jews throughout the world." . charge . said defendant "a ringleader of the sect of the nazarenes." . charge . defendant "gone about to profane the temple." . statement made of trial , and the termination given to it by roman chief captain lysias, taking said defendant out of their hands, and commanding accusers' appearance in this court: verses , . . _viva voce_ evidence accordant: witnesses, neither quality nor number stated. "and _the jews_ also assented, saying that these things were so." ver. . iii. defendant's defence: verses - . points touched upon in it, these:-- . defendant's confidence in this his judge. . at jerusalem "to worship" was his errand. the ostensible one, yes: of the real one,--supplanting the apostles,--of course nothing said. . in the temple, defendant was not "found by _them_," by whom? "disputing with any man." disputing? no. it was to take the oath--the seven-days-long false oath,--that he went there:--this, and nothing else. the priests, in whose keeping he was, and on whose acceptance the validity and efficacy of the ceremony depended, were not men to be disputed with. . defendant not found by them "raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city." ver. . no: neither was any such raising charged upon him: nor would it have suited his purpose. seditious _acts_ are one thing; seditious _discourses_, another. from seditious acts he had nothing to gain; from seditious discourses everything: to wit, in so far as the effect of it was to weaken men's attachment to the law of the land, and engage them to transfer it to the schism he had raised in the religion of jesus. . general denial: but not amounting to _not guilty_. "neither _can they prove_ the things whereof they now accuse me." ver. . . in verses , , , matter nothing to the purpose. orthodox his belief: among the objects of it, the resurrection: void of offence towards god and man, his conscience. . false pretence--object of this his visit to jerusalem--of this his _invasion visit_--falsely stated. "now after many years i came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings." ver. . . when defendant was "found purified in the temple," it was "neither with multitude, nor with tumult." true: but nothing to the purpose: the priests, in whose boarding-house he was, while the _purifying_, that is to say, the eating and paying, process was carrying on, were not a _multitude_: nor would _tumult_ have been either profitable or practicable. . the men, who so found defendant there, were "certain jews from asia," and, if they were accusers or witnesses, ought to have appeared in that character on the present occasion. "who ought," says ver. , "to have been here before thee, and object, if they had aught against me." ought? why ought they? defendant called no witnesses: by non-appearance of witnesses, if against him, so far from being injured, he was benefited. the proceeding, too, was _inquisitorial_, not _accusatorial_: it required no accusers. jews of asia indeed? as if there were any jews of asia, to whom any more natural or legitimate cause of indignation could have been given by his misdeeds, than had been given by them to all the jews in jerusalem, not to speak of the rest of the world, or the christianized jews. . by defendant's saying to the judges in trial , that it was for preaching the resurrection that he stood accused by and before them--by this, without anything else, the indignation thereupon expressed by them against him had been excited. "or else," say verses , , "let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while i stood before the council, except it be for this one voice, that i cried, standing among them, touching the resurrection of the dead i am called in question by you this day." follows the judge's decision, "when felix," says ver. , "heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, when lysias the chief captain shall come down, i will know the uttermost of your matter." such is stated to have been the decision of the judge: and, so far as regarded what passed on defendant's trial before jerusalem council, it was clearly the only proper one: a more impartial, as well as, in every point of view, suitable witness, the case could hardly have afforded: and, as to the main question, nothing could be more natural, than that what it had fallen in lysias's way on that occasion to observe, might afford instructive light. interlocutory order. defendant recommitted: but access to him free for everybody. "and he commanded a centurion," says ver. , "to keep paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister, or come unto him." in this state continues paul for "two years": at which time, says ver. , "porcius festus came into felix's room: and felix, willing to show the jews a pleasure, left paul bound." in verses , , , this interval of delay is filled up with an account, such as it is, of certain intrigues, of which the defendant was the subject. the roman has a jewess for his wife. the prisoner is sent for, and wife shares with husband the benefit of his eloquence. self-constituted apostle preaches: heathen trembles: trembling, however, prevents not his "hoping" to get money out of the prisoner, if this part of the history is to be believed. "and after certain days," says ver. , "when felix came with his wife drusilla, which was a jewess, he sent for paul, and heard him concerning," what is here called, "the faith in christ." faith _in christ_ indeed? after the word _faith_, the word _christ_ costs no more to write than the word _paul_: but in whatever was said about faith by paul, which would be the most prominent figure,--christ or paul--may by this time be imagined. as for any faith which it was in the nature of the case, that the roman heathen should derive from the greek jew's eloquence, it must have been faith in paul, and paul only. paul he had seen and heard, christ he had neither seen nor heard; nor, for aught that appears, anything concerning him, till that very time. "and as he reasoned," says ver. , "of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, felix trembled, and answered, go thy way for this time, when i have a convenient season, i will call for thee. he hoped," continues ver. , "that money should have been given him of paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him." section . trial iv. place again, cÃ�sarea.--_acts_ : - . scene, cæsarea judicatory.--judge, new roman governor, festus. accusers, "jews," not named, sent by the high priest and his colleagues from jerusalem to cæsarea for the purpose. defendant still in the prison at cæsarea: roman judge, at jerusalem. prosecutors, the council there--petition to have defendant brought thither. judge chooses rather to go to him at cæsarea, than thus send for him to jerusalem. according to the _historian_, it was for the purpose of causing defendant to be murdered, in the way to the judicatory, that the prosecutors were so earnest as they were to obtain the _habeas corpus_: according to _probability_, it was for any purpose, rather than that of committing any such outrage upon the authority of their constituted superior, with an army at his command. be this as it may, instead of sending for defendant to jerusalem, the judge returned himself to cæsarea. "now," says ver. , "when festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from cæsarea to jerusalem.--then the high priest and the chief of the jews informed him against paul, and besought him.--and desired favour against him, that he would send for him to jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.--but festus answered, that paul should be kept at cæsarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither.--let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.--and when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto cæsarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment-seat commanded paul to be brought." charges, not particularized: said of them, not so much as that they were the same as before. "many and grievous complaints against paul, which they could not prove": ver. --such is the only account given of them. defence--points contained in it. as before, no offence, says ver. , against the law--no offence against "the temple." one point added, "nor yet against caesar." good. but how comes this here? here we have a defence, against what, it is plain, was never charged. _festus_--judge, to defendant, ver. : "wilt thou go up to jerusalem, and there be judged of these things _before me_?" defendant to judge, ver. : "i stand at caesar's judgment-seat, where i ought to be judged": meaning, as appears from the direct words of appeal in the next verse,--by a roman, not by a jewish judicatory, ought i to be tried. against the being judged at cæsarea, instead of jerusalem, he could not naturally have meant to object: at least, if the historian speaks true, in what he says about the plot for murdering the prisoner on the road. . "to the jews," says ver. , "have i done no wrong." thus far nothing more is said than _not guilty_. but now follows another trait of that effrontery, which was so leading a feature in paul's eloquence, "as," continues he, "thou very well knowest." now what anybody may see is,--that festus neither did know, nor could know, any such thing. witness the historiographer himself, who, but eight verses after, ( , , ,) makes festus himself, in discourse with king agrippa, declare as much. but the more audacious, the more in defendant's character; and the greater the probability, that, in the conflict between the law-report and the narrative, truth is on the side of the report. . conclusion: ver. , defendant gives judge to understand, that if he, the defendant, has done any of the things he has been charged with, he has no objection to be put to death: but in the same breath ends with saying, "i appeal to caesar!" submitting thus to festus's judgment, whatever it may be, and at the same time appealing from it. festus judge: ver. , "when he had conferred with _the council_," whoever they were,--"hast thou appealed unto caesar? unto caesar thou shalt go." here ends trial iv. section . trial v. and last.--place, still cÃ�sarea. this requires some previous explanation. a few days after the last preceding trial, came to cæsarea, says verse , _agrippa and bernice_: festus being still there: agrippa, sub-king of the jews under the romans: bernice, it may be presumed, his queen: saluting this their superior, their only business mentioned. follows thereupon a conversation, of which defendant is the subject, and which continues the length of fourteen verses. defendant having appealed to caesar, judge has determined to send him to caesar accordingly. but, considering that, by the emperor, on the arrival of a man sent to him in the character of a prisoner, some assigned cause, for his having been put into that condition, will naturally be looked for; and, as the only offences, the jew stands charged with, are of a sort, which, while to the heathen emperor they would not be intelligible, would to a jew sub-king, if to any one, be sufficiently so;--thereupon it is, that he desires his sub-majesty to join with him in the hearing of the cause, and by that means put him in a way to report upon it. speaking of the accusers, "they brought," says festus to agrippa in verse , "none accusation of such things as i supposed.--but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one jesus, which was dead, whom paul affirmed to be alive.--and because i doubted of such manner of questions, i asked him whether he would go to jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.--but paul...had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of augustus..." such, as above noticed, is the declaration which the historian puts into the mouth of festus: and this, after having so recently made paul tell festus, that his, paul's, having done no wrong to the jews, was to him, festus, matter of such perfect knowledge.[ ] now then comes the trial, acts : . scene, at cæsarea, the emperor's bench. lord chief justice, roman governor festus; puisne judge, jew sub-king agrippa. present, "bernice...chief captains and principal men of the city." special accusers, none. sole speaker, whose speech is reported, the defendant. points in defendant's speech, these: . verses and . patient hearing requested, acknowledgment of agrippa's special confidence. . verses and . protestation of phariseeism. . verses , , . same false insinuation as before,--phariseeism the sole crime imputed to him. . verses , , . confession or avowal, whichever it is to be called, of his proceedings six-and-twenty years before, against the christianized jews, shutting them up in prison, in pursuance of authority from "the chief priests," down to the time of his conversion-vision. see table i. conversion table. . verses to . account of this same vision. see that same table. . declaration. "for _these_ causes the jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me."--for these causes? for what causes? if for being a pharisee, or preaching the general resurrection, or even the particular one,--assuredly no. but, if for the breach of trust, in joining with the state offenders, the christianized jews, whom he was commissioned to apprehend;--joining with those state offenders, and then bringing out the vision-story for an excuse;--if telling everybody that would hear him, that the law of the land was a dead letter;--and, if the denying he had ever done so; and, for giving himself the benefit of such mendacious denial, rendering the temple an instrument of notorious perjury;--if it was for all this, that they "went about" indeed "to kill him,"--but to kill him no otherwise than in the manner prescribed by that same law,--jewishly speaking, they were not to blame in what they did,--humanly speaking, nothing can be seen that is not altogether natural in it. . conclusion: namely, if not of what he would have said,--at any rate, of what, according to the reporter, he was permitted to say:--it is formed by a passage, in which, in continuance of his plan for keeping up his interest with the pharisee part of the council, his ingenuity employs itself in strengthening the connection between the particular resurrection of jesus, and the general resurrection maintained by the pharisees. "having therefore," says verse , "obtained help of god, i continue unto this day, _witnessing_ both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and moses did say should come:--that christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the gentiles."--lord chief justice festus, "with a loud voice, as he," the defendant, "thus spake for himself--paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning hath made thee mad." in the mouth of a roman, and that roman so high in rank, the notion thus expressed had nothing in it but what was natural enough. as to the _general_ resurrection, _that_ was one of the above-mentioned "questions about their own superstition," which he therefore left to the jewish judges: as to the _particular_ resurrection, of this he had heard no better evidence than the defendant's: and what, in discriminating eyes, _that_ was likely to be worth, the reader has by this time judged. . defendant in reply, ver. : not mad, but sober:--for confirmation, appeal to the jewish sub-monarch, then and there present. "i am not mad, most noble festus; but speak for the words of truth and soberness.--for the king knoweth of these things, before whom also i speak freely; for i am persuaded, that none of these things are hidden from him; for this was not done in a corner." here would have been a place for the five hundred, by whom, after his resurrection, jesus was seen at once--see above chapter--but, upon the present occasion, the general expression, here employed, was deemed preferable. "king agrippa," continues verse , "believest thou the prophets? i know that thou believest." king agrippa to paul, ver. . "almost thou persuadest me to be a christian." paul to agrippa: "i would to god, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as i am, _except these bonds_." no bad trait of polite oratory this exception. assembly breaks up.--"and when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor and bernice, and they that sat with them. and when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, this man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. then said agrippa unto festus, this man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto caesar." observation. in this observation, something of the obscure seems to present itself. for, paul himself being the appellant, and _that_ for no other purpose than the saving himself from death or bonds, he had but to withdraw the appeal, and, supposing a judgment pronounced to the effect thus mentioned, this was everything he could have wished from it. but, paul having already, to judge from his epistle to the romans, laid the foundation of a spiritual kingdom in the metropolis of the civilized world,--it looks as if he had no objection to figure there, as we shall find him figuring accordingly, in the character of a state-prisoner, for the purpose of displaying, and in the eye of the caesar of that day, a sample of his eloquence, in a cause so much greater than any in which that of the first caesar could ever have displayed itself. reason is not wanting for the supposition, that it was by what passed at the council, that the idea was first suggested to him: for "the night following, the lord," says : , "stood by him, and said, be of good cheer, paul; for as thou hast testified of me in jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at rome." the lord has commanded me so and so, is the sort of language in which he would naturally make communication of this idea to his attendants. the circumstantiated and dramatic style of this part of the narrative, seems to add to the probability, that, on this occasion, the historian himself was present. on this supposition, though in the greek as well as in the english, they are represented as if they had quitted the justice-room,--any conversation, that took place among them immediately after, in the street, might not unnaturally have been overheard by him. in chapter , ver. , stands felix's order of admittance, as above, for paul's acquaintance, to minister or come to him. one other attendant has appeared, in the character of his sister's son, acts : ; by whom information was given to felix, that the men there spoken of were lying in wait for him to kill him. on the occasion of this invasion of his, it would have been interesting enough to have had a complete list of his staff. here ends trial fifth and last: and in the next verse it is, that, together with other prisoners, and the historian at least for his free attendant, he is dispatched on his voyage. acts : . "and when it was determined that we should sail into italy, they delivered paul and certain other prisoners unto one named julius, a centurion of augustus' band.--and entering into a ship of adramyttium, _we_ launched..." footnotes: [ ] if in any former part of this work, in speaking of this scene, the persons in question have been spoken of as having actually proceeded to acts of manual violence, it was an oversight. as to the examination by scourging,--singular enough will naturally appear this mode of collecting evidence: declared purpose of it, "that he," the captain, "might know wherefore _they_," the jews, "cried out against him," meaning the defendant. a simpler way would have been to have asked _them_; and, as to the scourge, what use it could have been of is not altogether obvious. to begin with torturing a man, and proceed by questioning him, was, however, among the romans a well-known mode of obtaining evidence. but, then and there, as now and everywhere, unless the united states form an exception, "whatever is--is right," provided always that it is by power that it is done. [ ] acts : - . "then festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, hast thou appealed unto caesar? unto caesar shalt thou go.--and after certain days king agrippa and bernice came unto cæsarea to salute festus.--and when they had been there many days, festus declared paul's cause unto the king, saying, there is a certain man left in bonds by felix:--about whom, when i was at jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.--to whom i answered, it is not the manner of the romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.--therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow i sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth:--against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as i supposed:--but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one jesus, which was dead, whom paul affirmed to be alive.--and because i doubted of such manner of questions, i asked him whether he would go to jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.--but when paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of augustus, i commanded him to be kept till i might send him to caesar.--then agrippa said unto festus, i would also hear the man myself. to-morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.--and on the morrow, when agrippa was come, and bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains and principal men of the city, at festus' commandment paul was brought forth.--and festus said, king agrippa, and all men which are present with us, ye see this man about whom all the multitude of the jews have dealt with me, both at jerusalem and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.--but when i found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to augustus, i have determined to send him.--of whom i have no certain thing to write unto my lord, wherefore i have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, o, king agrippa, that after examination had, i might have somewhat to write.--for it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him." chapter xvi. _paul's doctrines anti-apostolic_.--_was he not anti-christ?_ section . paul's doctrine was at variance with that of the apostles. if paul's pretensions to a supernatural intercourse with the almighty were no better than a pretence;--his visit to jerusalem, from first to last, an object of abhorrence to the apostles and all their disciples; in a word, to all, who in the birthplace of christianity, bore the name of christian, and were regarded as belonging to the religion of jesus;--if, not only to _their_ knowledge, but to that of the whole population of jerusalem, he was a depraved character, marked by the stain,--not merely of habitual insincerity, but of perjury in its most aggravated form;--if it was no otherwise than by his having declared himself a roman citizen, that he escaped from the punishment--apparently a capital one--attached by the law of the land to the crimes of which he had been guilty; if, in a word, it was only in places, in which jesus--his doctrines, and his apostles--were alike unknown, that this self-declared apostle of jesus was received as such;--if all, or though it were but some, of these points may be regarded as established,--any further proof, in support of the position, that no doctrine of his, which is not contained in some one or other of the four gospels, has any pretension to be regarded as part and parcel of the religion of jesus, might well, in any ordinary case, be regarded as superfluous: and, of the several charges here brought to view, whether there be any one, of the truth of which the demonstration is not complete, the reader has all along been invited to consider with himself, and judge. if thereupon the judgment be condemnatory, the result is--that whatever is in paul, and is not to be found in any one of the four gospels, is not christianity, but paulism. in any case of ordinary complexion, sufficient then, it is presumed, to every judicious eye, would be what the reader has seen already: but the present case is no ordinary case. an error, if such it be, which notwithstanding all the sources of correction, which in the course of the work have at length been laid open and brought to view, has now, for upwards of seventeen centuries past, maintained its ground throughout the christian world, cannot, without the utmost reluctance, be parted with: for dissolving the association so unhappily formed, scarcely, therefore, can any argument which reason offers be deemed superfluous. for this purpose, one such argument, though on a preceding occasion already touched upon, remains to be brought to view. it consists of his own confession. confession? say rather avowal: for--such is the temper of the man--in the way of boasting it is, not in the way of concession and self-humiliation that he comes out with it. be this as it may--when, speaking of the undoubted apostles, he himself declares, that he has received nothing from them, and that he has doctrines which are not theirs, shall he not obtain credence? yes: for this once, it should seem, he may, without much danger of error, be taken at his word. to see this--if he can endure the sight--will not cost the reader much trouble, table ii. _paul disbelieved table_, lies before him. under the head of _independence declared_, in paul's epistle to his galatians, chapter , verses , , he will find these words. "but i certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was _preached of me is not after man_: for _i neither received it of man_, neither was _i taught, but by the revelation of jesus christ_." thus far paul. if then it was not received by him by the revelation of jesus christ--this gospel of his; nor yet, as he assures us, "_of man_,"--the consequence is a necessary one--it was made by him, out of his own head. section . of conformity, use made of the name of jesus no proof. of the name of jesus, whatever use he may have made--made (as it was seen) without authority--can any use, made in contradiction to this his own confession, afford any the slightest ground for regarding _his_ gospel, whatever it be,--his gospel, or any part of it,--as belonging to the religion of jesus? if so, then are all impostors the persons they falsely pretend to be--all counterfeit productions of any kind, genuine ones. while preaching to gentiles at a distance from jerusalem, from any use he could have the assurance to make of so revered a name, it is almost superfluous to observe, how much he had to gain, and how little to lose. in a case of this sort, how much soever there may be that is offensive in the demeanour of the pretended agent eulogizing, no part of it is ascribed to the pretended principal eulogized: and, in such his eulogy, the pretended agent is not hampered by any of those considerations, by which he would stand precluded from all prospect of advantage, had he the effrontery to lay it in equally strong colours on himself. thus, in the case of paul, from putting in the foreground where he did, the name of jesus, there was this great advantage to gain: and, the pretended principal being never present to disavow him, the consequence was--that, so long as no accredited and credited agents, of that same principal, were at hand to contradict his pretensions,--the mere name of this principal would be no obstacle, to the preaching of doctrines, ever so decidedly at variance with his. if, on the other hand,--in a company, in which he was preaching doctrines of his own, which were not jesus's,--men should happen to be present, to whom, by reason of their personal acquaintance with jesus, or with any immediate disciples of jesus, these same doctrines of paul's should be perceived and declared not to be jesus's, here would be an inconvenience: and, on this account,--wherever, without using the name of jesus, or any other name than his own, he could be sufficiently assured, of obtaining a degree of confidence sufficient for his purpose,--this course, supposing it successful, would, on several accounts, be more advantageous. here then, on each occasion, or at any rate on some occasions, would be an option for him to make: namely, either to preach in the name of jesus, or else to set up for himself:--to set up for himself, and, on the strength of a pretended revelation from the almighty, without the intervention of jesus, preach in no other human name than his own. from a passage, in the first of his two epistles to his corinthian disciples, it looks as if an experiment of this kind--an experiment for adding nominal independence to real--had actually been tried: but that, the success of it was not such as to be followed by continuance. for this suspicion--for it is but a suspicion,--any reader who thinks it worth his while may see the grounds in the subjoined note.[ ] section . paul, was he not antichrist? a child, of paul's ready and fruitful brain--a bugbear, which the officious hands of the english official translators of his epistles, have in their way christened, so to speak, by the name of _antichrist_,--has been already brought to view. see chap. xii. §. . if there be any persons, to whose religion,--in addition to a devil, with or without horns and tail,--with or without other spirits, in no less carnal howsoever unrepulsive forms,--an antichrist is necessary for the completion of the polytheistical official establishment; and if, in place of an ideal, they can put up with a real antichrist,--an antichrist of flesh and blood,--they need not go far to look for one. of saul, alias paul, the existence is not fabulous. if, in his time, a being there was, in whom, with the exception of some two or three attendants of his own, every person, that bore the name of christian, beheld, and felt an opponent, and that opponent an indefatigable adversary, it was this same paul: yes, such he was, if, in this particular, one may venture to give credence, to what has been seen so continually testified,--testified, not by any enemy of his, but by his own dependent,--his own historiographer,--his own panegyrist,--his own steady friend. here then, for anybody that wants an antichrist, here is an antichrist, and he an undeniable one. antichrist, as everybody sees, antichrist means neither more nor less than that which is opposed to christ. to christ himself, the bugbear, christened by the english bishops _antichrist_, was not, by its creator, spoken of as opposing itself. to christ himself, paul himself could not, at that time, be an opponent: the jesus, whom he called christ, was no longer in the flesh. but of all that, in the customary figurative sense--of all that, in any intelligible sense, could on this occasion be called _christ_--namely, the real apostles of jesus, and their disciples and followers,--paul, if he himself is to be believed, was an opponent, if ever there was one. paul preached the resurrection of the dead. agreed. but did not all pharisees do so, too? and was not paul a pharisee? and jesus--had he not in all pharisees so many opponents? and the real christians, had they anywhere in his lifetime, any other opponent so acrid or so persevering as this same paul? paul preached the resurrection of the dead. agreed. but _that_ resurrection of the dead which he preached, was it not a resurrection, that was to take place in the lifetime of himself and other persons then living? and--any such resurrection, did it accordingly take place?[ ] footnotes: [ ] "were ye baptized," says he, speaking to his corinthians, cor. ii. . "were ye baptized in the name of paul?--i thank god," continues he, "that i baptized none of you but crispus and gaius,--lest any man should say that i had baptized in mine own name.--and i baptized also the household of stephanas; besides, i know not whether i baptized any other." for an experiment of this kind, it should seem from that epistle, that motives were by no means wanting. for, among these same disciples, in the preaching of his doctrines, he had found himself annoyed by divers names more or less formidable: there was the name, though probably never the person--of _cephas_, the real hebrew name, of which, in the four gospels, written as they are in greek, _peter_ is the translation: there was the name, and not improbably the person--of _apollos_, whom, about three years before, acts : - , two female disciples of paul's, aquila and priscilla, had at ephesus enlisted under his banners: there was, according to him, _the name of christ_, though assuredly, never the person of _jesus_. "for it hath been declared unto me of you, brethren," says he, cor. i. , "that there are contentions among you,--now this i say, that every one of you saith, i am of paul; and i of apollos; and i of cephas; and i of christ." thereupon follows immediately a short flourish of paulian eloquence:--"is christ divided? was paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of paul?" and so forth, as above. "division," says he, "among you:" in this phrase may be seen the style of modern royalty. towards a will so intimately connected with the divine as the royal, no such temper of mind, so intolerable as opposition, is ever to be supposed: were it on all occasions equally known--known to all, and alike interpreted by all, no division could have place: but, some put one interpretation upon it, some another: in some eyes, this course is regarded as best adapted to the giving effect to it; in others, that: hence that division, to which, on every occasion, it is the duty of all to put the speediest end. now then as to paul. this same assumed fatherly affection, under the name of elder-brotherly--this desire of seeing concord among brethren--what was it in plain truth? answer, love of power. would you have proof? take in hand this same epistle of his to his corinthians, or, if at verse the tenth, it will be to this purpose early enough, and read on, till you come to chapter iv. verses , . "now i beseech you, brethren, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.--for it hath been declared unto me," and so forth, as above. read on, and at length you will come to the essence of all this good advice, cor. : . "for, though ye have ten thousand instructors in christ," says he, "yet have ye not many fathers; for, in christ jesus, _i have begotten you_, through the gospel.--wherefore, i beseech you, _be ye followers of me_." at this time, it should seem that, on the occasion of this his courtship of the jews of corinth, not only was the name of peter an object of his declared rivalry, but the name and person of his own sub-disciple apollos, an object of his jealousy. "for, while one saith," cor. iii. , "i am of paul; and another, i am of apollos; are ye not," says he, "carnal?--who then," continues he, "is paul, and who is apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the lord gave to every man?--i have planted, apollos watered; but god gave the increase.--now he that planteth and he that watereth are one; and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour." fifteen verses after comes a flourish, in which apollos is spoken of for the last time. "whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours;-- . and ye are christ's, and christ is god's." at the word _cephas_ ends, it may have been observed, common sense: what follows being dust for the eyes: dust, composed of the flowers of saulo-paulian eloquence. as to apollos, if so it was, that, at one time, in the mind of our spiritual monarch, any such sentiment as jealousy, in regard to this sub-minister had place, it seems to have been afterwards, in some way or other, removed: for, in his epistle to titus, bearing date about seven years after, namely a.d. , the devotion of the subject seems to have been entire. speaking to titus, tit. : , "bring with you," says paul, "zenas the lawyer, and apollos, on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting to them." [ ] paul must have thought that he had the church at corinth under complete control of his hypnotic suggestion or otherwise so much under his control as to assume the exalted office of clairvoyant oracle without question. he says, cor. - , "i must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but i will come to visions and revelations of the lord, i know a man in christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body i know not; or whether out of the body, i know not, god knoweth). such a one caught up even to the third heaven. and i know such a man (whether in the body, or apart from the body, i know not, god knoweth); how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. on behalf of such a one will i glory: but on mine own behalf i will not glory, save in my weakness. for if i should desire to glory, i shall not be foolish; for i shall speak the truth: but i forbear, lest any man should account of me above that which he seeth me to be, or heareth from me. "and by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations--wherefore, that i should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me _a thorn in the flesh_, a messenger of satan to buffet me, that i should not be exalted overmuch. concerning this thing i besought the lord thrice, that it might depart from me. "and he has said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee." it would require a swift, dryden, pope, milton or knowles to stage the above so as make appreciable objective quantities out of the above verbal terms. they might create characters and give them the plumage of angels, nymphs, spirits, heathen gods, etc., and so feast the imagination into paranoia. "thorn in the flesh." this phrase has baffled the ecclesiastics. the earlier commentators interpreted it to mean paul's great disappointment in all his schemes to subordinate the apostles of christ to his personal dominion of which so much has been disparaged by the author. end. index to contents. table i-xxii chapter i. paul's conversion. improbability and discordancy of the accounts of it . list of these accounts, with preliminary observations. table in which they are confronted . vision i. dialogue on the road: paul hears a voice, sees nothing . vision ii. ananias's , . ananias: his visit to paul at damascus , . vision iii. paul's anterior vision, as reported by the lord to ananias. _acts_ ix. . visions, why two or three, instead of one? . commission to paul by jerusalem rulers--commission to bring in bonds damascus christians--paul's contempt put upon it . companions--had paul any upon the road? . in paul's epistle to his galatians,--by his silence, acts accounts of his conversion are virtually contradicted table ii chapter ii. outward conversion--how produced--how planned . motive, temporal advantage--plan . at damascus, no such ananias probably . on damascus journey--companions none . flight from damascus: causes--false--true . arabia visit--mentioned by paul, not _acts_ , . gamaliel--had he part in paul's plan? chapter iii. _paul disbelieved_.--neither his divine commission nor his inward conversion ever credited by the apostles or their jerusalem disciples.--source of proof stated . to paul's conversion vision, sole original witness himself . counter-witnesses, the apostles: by them, the story probably not heard--certainly not credited . in proof, so much of the _acts_ history must here be anticipated . topics under his several jerusalem visits: _viz_. i. reconciliation visit , . topics under visit ii.--money-bringing visit . remarks on visit iii.--deputation visit . topics under visit iv.--invasion visit . self-written biography--its superior value and claim to credence chapter iv. _paul disbelieved_ continued. _first_ of his four visits to jerusalem after his conversion--say _jerusalem visit i_. or _reconciliation visit_.--barnabas introducing him from antioch to the apostles . paul's proceedings between his conversion and this visit.--contradiction. per paul, it was not till after three years spent in arabia; per _acts_, immediately . grounds of paul's prospect of reconciliation on this occasion with the apostles and their disciples . occasion of this visit, as per _paul's_ own account . occasion, as per _acts_ account compared with paul's . cause of the discordance between the two accounts . length of this visit . mode and cause of its termination chapter v. _paul disbelieved_ continued. _jerusalem visit ii._ _money-bringing visit._--barnabas accompanying him from antioch . at antioch, agabus having predicted a dearth, money is collected for the jerusalem saints . barnabas and paul dispatched with the money to jerusalem chapter vi. _paul disbelieved_ continued.--_jerusalem visit iii._ _deputation visit._--_paul_ and _barnabas_ delegated by _antioch_ saints, to confer on the necessity of jewish rites to heathen converts to the religion of jesus . occasion of this visit . the delegates how received.--council of apostles and elders . debates--course carried by _james_ against _peter_ . result, supposed apostolic decree and letter to _antioch_, which, per _acts_, paul circulates chapter vii. _paul disbelieved_ continued. after his third jerusalem visit, contest between him and _peter_ at antioch. _partition treaty_: _paul_ for himself: _peter_, _james_ and _john_ for the apostles . _contest_ and _partition-treaty_, as per _acts_ and _paul's epistles_ . partition-treaty--_probability_, given by the _financial stipulation_, to paul's account of it . _time_ of the partition-treaty, most probably that of _visit i_ chapter viii. _interview the fourth._--_peter_ at _antioch_.--deputies to antioch from jerusalem, _judas_ and _silas_.--paul disagrees with _peter_ and _barnabas_, quits antioch, and on a missionary excursion takes with him _silas_. what concerns the partition treaty, down to this period, reviewed.--peter and the apostles justified . _paul's_ account of this interview quoted.--_acts_ account of what followed upon it . paul disagrees with _peter_ and _barnabas_; quits antioch, taking _silas_ from the apostles . the _partition treaty_, and the proceedings in relation to it, down to this period, _reviewed_ . peter and the apostles justified, as to the _financial stipulation_ in the treaty, and the succeeding missionary labours of _peter_ among the _gentiles_ chapter ix. _paul disbelieved_ continued.--_jerusalem visit iv._ and last _invasion visit_. the purpose concealed: opposition universal; among his own disciples, and among those of the apostles . motives to this visit . the visit _announced_ by paul and _deferred_ . the design indefensible . opposition made to it by his own _attendants_ and other _adherents_ . opposition made to it by the _apostles_ and their disciples . plan of the _apostles_ for _ridding themselves_ of paul chapter x. _paul disbelieved_ continued.--_jerusalem visit iv._ continued. his arrival and reception. accused by all the disciples of the apostles, he commences an _exculpatory oath_ in the temple. dragged out by them--rescued by a roman commander--sent in custody to rome . at jerusalem, paul is received by the _elders_ and _james_; but by _no other apostle_ . low tone assumed by him on this occasion . posterior to all his supposed miracles, his silence proves them unreal . accused by the disciples, he commences, at the recommendation of the apostles, an _exculpatory oath_ in the temple . the design of this recommendation justified . dragged out of the temple by _jews_ or _christians_, he is saved by a roman commander chapter xi. _paul disbelieved_ continued.--paul's _fourth jerusalem visit_ continued. _perjurious_ was the purpose of the exculpatory ceremony commenced in the temple . general proof of the perjury from the acts . proof from the epistles chapter xii. more falsehoods.--resurrection-witnesses multiplied.--world's end predicted.--to save credit, antichrist invented . resurrection-witnesses multiplied . false prophecy, that the world would end in the lifetime of persons then living . disorder and mischief produced by this prediction . paul's remedy for the disorder, and salvo for himself. _antichrist_ must first come chapter xiii. paul's supposable _miracles_ explained . objections, applying to them in the aggregate . supposable miracle i. elymas the sorcerer blinded.--_acts_ xiii. - . supposable miracle ii.--at lystra, cripple cured.--_acts_ xiv. - . supposable miracle iii.--divineress silenced.--_acts_ xvi - . supposable miracle iv.--at philippi, an earthquake: paul and silas freed from prison, a.d. . supposable miracle v.--at corinth, paul comforted by the lord in an _unseen_ vision, a.d. --_acts_ xviii. - . supposable miracle vi.--at ephesus, diseases and devils expelled by foul handkerchiefs.--_acts_ xix. - . supposable miracle vii.--at ephesus, exorcist scevas bedeviled.--_acts_ xix. - . supposable miracle viii.--magical books burnt by the owners.--_acts_ xix. , . supposable miracle ix.--at troas, eutychus found not to be dead.--_acts_ xx. - . supposable miracle x.--on shipboard, paul comforted by an angel.--_acts_ xxvii. - . supposable miracle xi.--at malta, a reptile shaken off by paul without hurt.--_acts_ xxviii. - . supposable miracle xii.--at malta, deputy publius's father cured.--_acts_ xxviii. , . conclusion: the supposable miracles classed and summed up chapter xiv. acts, part false, part true: author not saint luke . by the false parts, the gospel not affected: most parts true . time between resurrection and ascension--acts contradicts luke . as to ascension, acts inconsistent with luke chapter xv. law report.--jews _versus_ paul: trials five, with observations . introduction . trial i. place, jerusalem-temple.--judicatory, the mixed multitude.--_acts_ xxii. - . trial ii. judicatory, jerusalem council-board.--_acts_ xxiii. - . trial iii. place, cæsarea.--_acts_ xxiv. - . trial iv. place, again, cæsarea.--_acts_ xxv. - . trial v. and last.--place, still cæsarea chapter xvi. paul's doctrines anti-apostolic.--was he not antichrist? . paul's doctrine was at variance with that of the apostles . of conformity, use made of the name of jesus no proof . paul, was he not antichrist? * * * * * transcriber's notes: punctuation corrected without comment. original spelling retained with the exception of the following apparent typesetting errors: pg iv "d'unning's" changed to "dunning's"--"dunning's clearness" pg xxiv "stright" changed to "straight"--"street which is called straight," pg "read" changed to "road"--"in the road leading"; "was" changed to "what"--"but what is" pg "superservicable" changed to "superserviceable"--"such a superserviceable witness" pg "proveable" changed to "provable"--"real and provable facts." pg "he" changed to "the"--"uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" pg "casearea" changed to "caesarea"--"down to caesarea" pg "cladius" changed to "claudius"--"in the days of claudius" pg "gentile" changed to "gentiles"--"among the gentiles"; missing word "brethren" added "unto the brethren" pg "the" changed to "they"--"when they were dismissed"; "casearea" changed to "caesarea"--"landed at caesarea" pg "pourtrayed" changed to "portrayed"--"is not ill portrayed" pg "woud" changed to "would"--"ephesus would not"; "coud" changed to "could"--"could not have endured" pg and "galacia" changed to "galatia"--"galatia stands fifth," and "over [all] galatia" pg numbering corrected. original had two 's. pg "narative" changed to "narrative"--"in such case, the narrative" pg "cosideration" changed to "consideration"--"is the consideration, upon" pg "saled" changed to "sailed"--"mark and sailed unto" pg "has" changed to "his"--"had his mind been" pg "unsatifactory" changed to "unsatisfactory"--"not altogether unsatisfactory" pg "probably" changed to "probable"--"so much as probable."; "ligitimate" changed to "legitimate"--"the only legitimate government:" pg "attedant" changed to "attendant"--"of his attendant" pg "distiguished" changed to "distinguished"--"distinguished by the name"; "dissuation" changed to "dissuasion"--"was a dissuasion to the" pg "and" changed to "an"--"an old disciple" pg "irrestible" changed to "irresistible"--"so perfectly irresistible." pg "previoulsy" changed to "previously"--"it was previously requisite" pg "chcarge" changed to "charge"--"took charge of her." pg "be to" changed to "to be"--"not to be forgotten." pg "in" changed to "on"--"on their way" pg "absurb" changed to "absurd"--"too absurd and flagrantly" pg "succussful" changed to "successful"--"instance been successful" pg "epirits" changed to "spirits"--"masters over evil spirits" pg missing word "be" added--"purpose was to be answered"; "their" changed to "theirs"--"conceptions of theirs reported," pg numbering corrected, ii changed to iii; changed to . pg "galations" changed to "galatians"--"in paul's epistle to his galatians" supernatural religion: an inquiry into the reality of divine revelation. in three volumes. vol. iii. complete edition. carefully revised. london: longmans, green, and co., . [the right of translation is reserved.] "credulity is as real, if not so great, a sin as unbelief." archbishop trench. "the abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair." canon lightfoot. pg editor's note: this file has been provided with an image of the original scan for each page which is linked to the page number in the html file. nearly every page in the text has many greek passages which have been indicated where they occur by [���] as have many complex tables; these passages may be viewed in the page images. some of the pages have only a few lines of text and then the rest of the page is taken up with complex footnotes in english, greek and hebrew. the reader may click on the page numbers in the html file to see the entire page with the footnotes. �dw supernatural religion: an inquiry into the reality of divine revelation part iv. the acts of the apostles chapter i. the external evidence before we proceed to examine the evidence for miracles and the reality of divine revelation which is furnished by the last historical book of the new testament, entitled the "acts of the apostles," it is well that we should briefly recall to mind some characteristics of the document, which most materially affect the value of any testimony emanating from it. whilst generally asserting the resurrection of jesus, and his bodily ascension, regarding which indeed it adds fresh details, this work presents to us a new cycle of miracles, and so profusely introduces supernatural agency into the history of the early church that, in comparison with it, the gospels seem almost sober narratives. the apostles are instructed and comforted by visions and revelations, and they, and all who believe, are filled with the holy spirit and speak with other tongues. the apostles are delivered from { } prison and from bonds by angels or by an earthquake. men fall dead or are smitten with blindness at their rebuke. they heal the sick, raise the dead, and handkerchiefs brought from their bodies cure diseases and expel evil spirits. as a general rule, any document so full of miraculous episodes and supernatural occurrences would, without hesitation, be characterized as fabulous and incredible, and would not, by any sober-minded reader, be for a moment accepted as historical. there is no other testimony for these miracles. let the reader endeavour to form some conception of the nature and amount of evidence necessary to establish the truth of statements antecedently so incredible, and compare it with the testimony of this solitary and anonymous document, the character and value of which we shall now proceed more closely to examine. it is generally admitted, and indeed it is undeniable, that no distinct and unequivocal reference to the acts of the apostles, and to luke as their author, occurs in the writings of fathers before one by irenæus( ) about the end of the second century. passages are, however, pointed out in earlier writings as indicating the use and consequent existence of our document, all of which we shall now examine. { } several of these occur in the "epistle to the corinthian s," ascribed to clement of rome. the first, immediately compared with the passage to which it is supposed to be a reference,( ) is as follows:-- [------] the words of the epistle are not a quotation, but merely occur in the course of an address. they do not take the form of an axiom, but are a comment on the conduct of the corinthians, which may have been suggested either by written or oral tradition, or by moral maxims long before current in heathen philosophy. it is unnecessary to enter minutely into this, however, or to indicate the linguistic differences between the two passages, for one point alone settles the question. in the acts: the saying, "it is more blessed to give than to receive," is distinctly introduced as a quotation of { } "words of the lord jesus," and the exhortation "to remember" them, conveys the inference that they were well known. they must either have formed part of gospels now no longer extant, as they are not found in ours, or have been familiar as the unwritten tradition of sayings of the master. in either case, if the passage in the epistle be a reference to these words at all, it cannot reasonably be maintained that it must necessarily have been derived from a work which itself distinctly quotes the words from another source. it would be against every principle of evidence, under such circumstances, to affirm the passage to be an allusion to this special work, of whose previous existence we have no independent evidence.( ) the slight coincidence in the expression, without indication that any particular passage is in the mind of the author, and without any mention of the acts, therefore, is no evidence of the existence of that work. a few critics point to some parts of the following passage as showing acquaintance with acts:--"through jealousy paul also pointed out the way to the prize of patience, having borne chains seven times, having been put to flight, having been stoned; having become a preacher both in the east and in the west, he gained the noble renown due to his faith; having taught the whole world righteousness, and come to the extremity of the west, and having suffered martyrdom by command of the rulers, he was thus removed from the world and went to the holy place, having become a most eminent { } example of patience."( ) the slightest impartial consideration, however, must convince any one that this passage does not indicate the use of the "acts of the apostles." the epistle speaks of seven imprisonments, of some of which the acts make no mention, and this must, therefore, have been derived from another source.( ) the reference to his "coming to the extremity of the west" [------], whatever interpretation be put upon it, and to his death, obviously carries the history further than the acts, and cannot have been derived from that document. the last passage, which, it is affirmed,( ) shows acquaintance with the acts of the apostles is the following: "but what shall we say regarding david who hath obtained a good report [------]? unto whom [------] god said: 'i found a man after mine own heart, david, the son of jesse: in everlasting mercy i anointed him.'"( ) this is said to be derived from acts xiii. : "and when he removed him he raised up to them david for king; to whom also he { } gave testimony [------]: i found david the son of jesse, a man after mine own heart, who will do all my will."( ) the passage, however, is compounded of two quotations loosely made from the septuagint version of the old testament, from which all the quotations in the epistle are taken. ps. lxxxviii. : "i found david my servant; in holy mercy i anointed him."( ) and sam. xiii. : "a man after his own heart."( ) clement of alexandria quotes this passage from the epistle, and for "in everlasting mercy" reads "with holy oil" [------] as in the psalm.( ) although, therefore, our alexandrian ms. of the epistle has the reading which we have given above, even if we suppose that the alexandrian clement may have found a more correct version in his ms., the argument would not be affected. the whole similarity lies in the insertion of "the son of jesse," but this was a most common addition to any mention of david, and by the completion of the passage from the psalm, the omission of "who will do all my will," the peculiar phrase of the acts, as well as the difference of introductory expressions, any connection between the two is severed, and it is apparent that the quotation of the epistle may legitimately be referred to the septuagint,( ) with which it agrees much more closely { } than with the acts. in no case could such slight coincidences prove acquaintance with the acts of the apostles.( ) only one passage of the "epistle of barnabas" is referred to by any one( ) as indicating acquaintance with the acts. it is as follows, c. : "if therefore the son of god, being lord, and about to judge quick and dead [------] suffered," &c. this is compared with acts x. ... "and to testify that it is he who has been appointed by god judge of quick and dead" [------]. lardner, who compares the expression of the epistle with acts, equally compares it with that in tim. iv. ... "and christ jesus who is about to judge the quick and dead" [------], to which it is more commonly referred,( ) and pet. iv. ... "to him who is ready to judge quick and dead" [------]. he adds, however: "it is not possible to say, what text he refers to, though that in timothy has (he same words. but perhaps there is no proof that he refers to any. this was an article known to every common christian; whereas this writer (whoever he be) was able to teach the christian religion, and that without respect to any written gospels or epistles."( ) it is scarcely { } necessary to add anything to this. there is of course no trace of the use of acts in the epistle.( ) it is asserted that there is a "clear allusion"( ) to acts in the pastor of hermas. the passages may be compared as follows:-- [------] the slightest comparison of these passages suffices to show that the one is not dependent on the other. the old testament is full of passages in which the name of the lord is magnified as the only source of safety and salvation. in the pauline epistles likewise there are numerous passages of a similar tenour. for instance, the passage from joel ii. , is quoted rom. x. : "for whosoever shall call on the name of the lord shall be saved" [------]( ) there was in fact no formula more current either amongst the jews or in the early church; and there is no legitimate ground for tracing such an expression to the acts of the apostles.( ) { } the only other passage which is quoted( ) as indicating acquaintance with acts is the following, which we at once contrast with the supposed parallel:-- [------] here again a formula is employed which is common throughout the new testament, and which, applied as it is here to those who were persecuted, we have reason to believe was in general use in the early church. it is almost unnecessary to point out any examples. everywhere "the name" of god or of jesus is the symbol used to represent the concrete idea, and in the heavenly jerusalem of the apocalypse the servants of god and of the lamb are to have "his name" on their foreheads. the one expression, however, which is peculiar in the passage: "counted worthy,"--in the acts [------], and in the pastor [------],--is a perfectly natural and simple one, the use of which cannot be exclusively conceded to the acts of the apostles. it is found frequently in the pauline epistles, as for instance in thes. i. , where, after saying that they give thanks to god for them and glory in the churches of god for the patience and faith with which the thessalonians endure { } persecutions, the writer continues: "which is a token of the righteous judgment of god, that ye may he counted worthy [------] of the kingdom of god, for which ye also suffer [------];" and again, in the same chapter, v. , , "wherefore we also pray always for you that our god may count you worthy [------] of the calling, and fulfil all good pleasure of goodness and work of faith with power; _that the name of our lord jesus may he glorified in you_ [------]" &c. the passage we are examining cannot be traced to the "acts of the apostles."( ) it must be obvious to all that the pastor of hennas does not present any evidence even of the existence of the acts at the time it was written.( ) only two passages in the epistles of pseudo-ignatius are pointed out as indicating acquaintance with the acts, and even these are not advanced by many critics. we have already so fully discussed these epistles that no more need now be said. we must pronounce them spurious in all their recensions and incapable of affording evidence upon any point earlier than towards the end of the second century. those, however, who would still receive as genuine the testimony of the three syriac epistles must declare that they do not present any trace of the existence of the acts, inasmuch as the two passages adduced to show the use of that work do not occur in those letters. they are found in the shorter recension of the epistles to the smyrnæans and philadelphians. we might, therefore, altogether refuse to examine the { } passages, but in order to show the exact nature of the case made out by apologists, we shall briefly refer to them. we at once compare the first with its supposed parallel.( ) [------] there is nothing in this passage which bears any peculiar analogy to the acts, for the statement is a simple reference to a tradition which is also embodied both in the third synoptic( ) and in the fourth gospel;( ) and the mere use of the common words [------] and [------] could not prove anything. the passage occurs in the epistle immediately after a quotation, said by jerome to be taken from the gospel according to the hebrews, relating an appearance of jesus to "those who were with peter," in which jesus is represented as making them handle him in order to convince them that he is not an incorporeal spirit.( ) the quotation bears considerable affinity to the narrative in the third synoptic (xxiv. ), at the close of which jesus is represented as eating with the disciples. it is highly probable that the gospel from which the writer of the epistle quoted contained the same detail, to which this would naturally be a direct { } descriptive reference. in any case it affords no evidence of the existence of the acts of the apostles.( ) the second passage, which is still more rarely advanced,( ) is as follows:-- [------] the only point of coincidence between these two passages is the use of the word "wolves." in the epistle the expression is [------], whilst in acts it is [------]. now the image is substantially found in the sermon on the mount, one form of which is given in the first synoptic, vii. , , and which undeniably must have formed part of many of the gospels which are mentioned by the writer of the third synoptic. we find justin martyr twice quoting another form of the saying: "for many [------] shall arrive in my name, outwardly indeed clothed in sheep's skins, but inwardly being ravening wolves [------]."( ) the use of the term as applied to men was certainly common in the early church. the idea expressed in the epistle is more closely found in timothy iii. ff., in the description of those who are to come in the last days, and who will (v. ) "creep into the houses and make captive [------] silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." { } the passage cannot be traced to the acts,( ) and the ignatian epistles, spurious though they be, do not present any evidence of the existence of that work.( ) only two sentences are pointed out in the "epistle of polycarp" as denoting acquaintance with the acts. the first and only one of these on which much stress is laid is the following:( ) [------] it will be obvious to all that, along with much similarity, there is likewise divergence between these sentences. in the first phrase the use of [------] in the epistle separates it from the supposed parallel, in which the word is [------]. the number of passages in the pauline epistles corresponding with it are legion (e.g. cor. iv. , ephes. i. ). the second member of the sentence, which is of course the more important, is in reality, we contend, a reference to the very psalm quoted in acts immediately after the verse before us, couched in not unusual phraseology. psalm xvi. (sept. xv.), reads: { } "for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" [------].( ) in ps. xviii. (sept. xvii. ) we have, "the pains of hell [------] compassed me about."( ) the difference between the [------] of the epistle and the [------] of the acts is so distinct that, finding a closer parallel in the psalms to which reference is obviously made in both works, it is quite impossible to trace the phrase necessarily to the acts. such a passage cannot prove the use of that work,( ) but, if it could, we might inquire what evidence for the authorship and trustworthiness of the acts could be deduced from the circumstance?( ) the second passage, referred to by a few writers,( ) is as follows:-- [------] it is not necessary to do more than contrast these passages to show how little the "epistle of polycarp" can witness for the "acts of the apostles." we have already examined another supposed reference to this very passage, and the expressions in the epistle, whilst scarcely presenting a single point of linguistic analogy to { } the sentence in the acts, only tend to show how common and natural such language was in the early church in connection with persecution. whilst we constantly meet with the thought expressed by the writer of the epistle throughout the writings of the new testament, we may more particularly point to the first petrine epistle for further instances of this tone of exhortation to those suffering persecution for the cause. for instance, pet. ii. ff, and again iii. ,( ) "but if ye even suffer [------] for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye." in the next chapter the tone is still more closely analogous. speaking of persecutions, the writer says, iv. , ".... but according as ye are partakers of christ's sufferings rejoice," &c. &c. . "if ye are reproached in christ's name [------] blessed are ye, for the spirit of glory and of god resteth upon you." . "for let none of you suffer [------] as a murderer," &c. &c. . "but if as a christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him praise god in this name [------]" &c. &c. nothing but evidential destitution could rely upon the expression in the "epistle of polycarp" to show acquaintance with acts. few apologists point out with confidence any passages from the voluminous writings of justin martyr, as indicating the use of the acts of the apostles. we may, however, quote such expressions as the more undaunted amongst them venture to advance. the first of these is the following:( ) "for the jews having the prophecies and ever expecting the christ to come knew him not [------], and not only so, but they also maltreated him. but { } the gentiles, who had never heard any thing regarding the christ until his apostles, having gone forth from jerusalem, declared the things concerning him, and delivered the prophecies, having been filled with joy and faith, renounced their idols and dedicated themselves to the unbegotten god through the christ"( ) this is compared with acts xiii. , "for they that dwell at jerusalem and their rulers not knowing this (man) [------] nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, fulfilled them by their judgment of him," &c. . "but the gentiles, hearing, rejoiced and glorified the word of the lord," &c.( ) we may at once proceed to give the next passage. in the dialogue with trypho, justin has by quotations from the prophets endeavoured to show that the sufferings of christ, and also the glory of his second advent had been foretold, and trypho replies: "supposing these things to be even as thou sayest, and that it was foretold that christ was to suffer [------], and has been called a stone, and after his first coming, in which it had been announced that he was to suffer, should come in glory, and become judge of all, and eternal king and priest;" &c.,( ) and in another place, "for { } if it had been obscurely declared by the prophets that the christ should suffer [------] and after these things be lord of all," &c.( ) this is compared with acts xxvi. , ".... saying nothing except those things which the prophets and moses said were to come to pass, ( ) whether the christ should suffer [------], whether, the first out of the resurrection from the dead, he is about to proclaim light unto the people and to the gentiles."( ) it is only necessary to quote these passages to show how unreasonable it is to maintain that they show the use of the acts by justin. he simply sets forth from the prophets, direct, the doctrines which formed the great text of the early church. some of the warmest supporters of the canon admit the "uncertainty" of such coincidences, and do not think it worth while to advance them. there are one or two still more distant analogies sometimes pointed out which do not require more particular notice.( ) there is no evidence whatever that justin was acquainted with the acts of the apostles.( ) { } some apologists( ) claim hegesippus as evidence for the existence of the acts, on the strength of the following passages in the fragment of his book preserved by eusebius. he puts into the mouth of james the just, whilst being martyred, the expression: "i beseech (thee) lord god, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." this is compared with the words said to have been uttered by the martyr stephen, acts vii. , "lord, lay not this sin to their charge.,, the passage is more commonly advanced as showing acquaintance with luke xxiii. , and we have already discussed it.( ) lardner apparently desires it to do double duty, but it is scarcely worth while seriously to refer to the claim here. the passage more generally relied upon, though that also is only advanced by a few,( ) is the following, "this man was a faithful witness both to jews and greeks that jesus is the christ,"( ) [------]. this is compared with acts xx. , where paul is represented as saying of himself, ".... testifying fully both to jews and greeks repentance toward god, and faith toward our lord jesus christ" [------]. the two passages are totally different both in sense and language, and that the use of acts is deduced from so distant an analogy only serves to show the slightness of the evidence with which apologists have to be content. { } papias need not long detain us, for it is freely admitted by most divines that he does not afford evidence of any value that he was acquainted with the acts. for the sake of completeness we may however refer to the points which are sometimes mentioned. a fragment of the work of papias is preserved giving an account of the death of judas, which differs materially both from the account in the first synoptic and in acts i. f.( ) judas is represented as having gone about the world a great example of impiety, for his body having swollen so much that he could not pass where a waggon easily passed, he was crushed by the waggon so that his entrails emptied out [------]. apollinaris of laodicæa quotes this passage to show that judas did not die when he hung himself, but subsequently met with another fate, in this way reconciling the statements in the gospel and acts.( ) he does not say that papias used the story for this purpose, and it is fundamentally contradictory to the account in acts i. , . "now this man purchased a field with the reward of the unrighteousness, and falling headlong burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out" [------]. it is scarcely necessary to argue that the passage does not indicate any acquaintance with acts( ) as some few critics are inclined to assert.( ) the { } next analogy pointed out is derived from the statement of eusebius that papias mentions a wonderful story which he had heard from the daughters of philip (whom eusebius calls "the apostle,") regarding a dead man raised to life.( ) in acts xxi. , , it is stated that philip the evangelist had four daughters. it is hardly conceivable that this should be advanced as an indication that papias knew the acts. the last point is that eusebius says: "and again (he narrates) another marvel regarding justus who was surnamed barsabas; how he drank a baneful poison and by the grace of the lord sustained no harm. but that this justus, after the ascension of the saviour, the holy apostles appointed with matthias, and that they prayed (on the occasion) of the filling up of their number by lot instead of the traitor judas, the scripture of the acts thus relates: 'and they appointed two, joseph called barsabas, who was surnamed justus, and matthias. and they prayed and said,' &c."( ) whatever argument can be deduced from this, obviously rests entirely upon the fact that papias is said to have referred to justus who was named barsabas, for of course the last sentence is added by eusebius himself, and has nothing to do with papias. this is fairly admitted by lardner and others. lardner says: "papias does undoubtedly give some confirmation to the history of the acts of the apostles, in what he says of philip; and especially in what he says of justus, called { } barsabas. but i think it cannot be affirmed, that he did particularly mention, or refer to, the book of the acts. for i reckon, it is eusebius himself who adds that quotation out of the acts, upon occasion of what papias had written of the before-mentioned barsabas."( ) there is no evidence worthy of attention that papias was acquainted with the acts.( ) no one seriously pretends that the clementine homilies afford any evidence of the use or existence of the acts; and few, if any, claim the epistle to diognetus as testimony for it.( ) we may, however, quote the only passage which is pointed out. ".... these who hold the view that they present them (offerings) to god as needing them might more rightly esteem it foolishness and not worship of god. for he who made the heaven and the earth, and all things in them, and who supplies to us all whatever we need, can himself be in need of none of those things which he himself presents to those who imagine that they give (to him)."( ) this is { } compared with acts xvii. : "the god that made the world and all things in it, he being lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; ( ) neither is served by men's hand as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life and breath and all things."( ) there is nothing here but a coincidence of sense, though with much variation between the two passages, but the epistle argues from a different context, and this illustration is obvious enough to be common to any moralist. there is not a single reason which points to the acts as the source of the writer's argument. basilides and valentinus are not claimed at all by apologists as witnesses for the existence of the acts of the apostles, nor is marcion, whose canon, however, of which it formed no part, is rather adverse to the work than merely negative. tertullian taunts marcion for receiving paul as an apostle, although his name is not mentioned in the gospel, and yet not receiving the acts of the apostles in which alone his history is narrated;( ) but it does not in the least degree follow from this that marcion knew the work and deliberately rejected it. a passage of tatian's oration to the greeks is pointed out by some( ) as showing his acquaintance with the acts. it is as follows: "i am not willing to worship the creation { } made by him for us. sun and moon are made for us: how, therefore, shall i worship my own servants? how can i declare stocks and stones to be gods?... but neither should the unnameable [------] god be presented with bribes; for he who is without need of anything [------] must not be calumniated by us as needy [------]."(l) this is compared with acts xvii. , , quoted above, and it only serves to show how common such language was. lardner himself says of the passage: "this is much the same thought, and applied to the same purpose, with paul's, acts xvii. , _as though he needeth anything_. but it is a character of the deity so obvious, that i think it cannot determine us to suppose he had an eye to those words of the apostle."( ) the language, indeed, is quite different and shows no acquaintance with the acts.( ) eusebius states that the severians who more fully established tatian's heresy rejected both the epistles of paul and the acts of the apostles.( ) dionysius of corinth is rarely adduced by any one as testimony for the acts. the only ground upon which he is at all referred to is a statement of eusebius in mentioning his epistles. speaking of his epistle to the athenians, eusebius says: "he relates, moreover, that dionysius the areopagite who was converted to the faith by paul the apostle, according to the account given in the { } acts, was appointed the first bishop of the church of the athenians."( ) even apologists admit that it is doubtful how far dionysius referred to the acts,( ) the mention of the book here being most obviously made by eusebius himself. melito of sardis is not appealed to by any writer in connection with our work, nor can claudius apollinaris be pressed into this service. athenagoras is supposed by some to refer to the very same passage in acts xvii. , , which we have discussed when dealing with the work of tatian. athenagoras says: "the creator and father of the universe is not in need of blood, nor of the steam of burnt sacrifices, nor of the fragrance of flowers and of incense, he himself being the perfect fragrance, inwardly and outwardly without need."( ) and further on: "and you kings indeed build palaces for yourselves; but the world is not made as being needed by god."( ) these passages occur in the course of a defence of christians for not offering sacrifices, and both in language and context they are quite independent of the acts of the apostles. in the epistle of the churches of vienne and lyons, giving an account of the persecution against them, it is said that the victims were praying for those from whom they suffered cruelties: "like stephen the perfect martyr: { } 'lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' but if he was supplicating for those who stoned him, how much more for the brethren?"(l) the prayer here quoted agrees with that ascribed to stephen in acts vii. . there is no mention of the acts of the apostles in the epistle, and the source from which the writers obtained their information about stephen is of course not stated. if there really was a martyr of the name of stephen, and if these words were actually spoken by him, the tradition of the fact, and the memory of his noble saying, may well have remained in the church, or have been recorded in writings then current, from one of which, indeed, eminent critics conjecture that the author of acts derived his materials, and in this case the passage obviously does not prove the use of the acts. if, on the other hand, there never was such a martyr by whom these words were spoken, and the whole story must be considered an original invention by the author of acts, then, in that case, and in that case only, the passage does show the use of the acts.( ) supposing that the use of acts be held to be thus indicated, what does this prove? merely that the acts of the apostles were in existence in the year - , when the epistle of { } vienne and lyons was written. no light whatever would thus be thrown upon the question of its authorship; and neither its credibility nor its sufficiency to prove the reality of a cycle of miracles would be in the slightest degree established. ptolemæus and heracleon ueed not detain us, as it is not alleged that they show acquaintance with the acts, nor is celsus claimed as testimony for the book. the canon of muratori contains a very corrupt paragraph regarding the acts of the apostles. we have already discussed the date and character of this fragment,( ) and need not further speak of it here. the sentence in which we are now interested reads in the original as follows: "acta autem omnium apostolorum sub uno libro scribta sunt lucas obtime theofile conprindit quia sub præsentia eius singula gerebantur sicute et semote pas-sionem petri euidenter declarat sed et profectionem pauli ab urbes ad spania proficescentis." it is probable that in addition to its corruption some words may have been lost from the concluding phrase of this passage, but the following may perhaps sufficiently represent its general sense: "but the acts of all the apostles were written in one book. luke included (in his work) to the excellent theophilus only the things which occurred in his own presence, as he evidently shows by omitting the martyrdom of peter and also the setting forth of paul from the city to spain." whilst this passage may prove the existence of the acts about the end of the second century, and that the authorship of the work was ascribed to luke, it has no further value. no weight can be attached to the statement of { } the unknown writer beyond that of merely testifying to the currency of such a tradition, and even the few words quoted show how uncritical he was. nothing could be less appropriate to the work before us than the assertion that it contains the acts of _all_ the apostles, for it must be apparent to all, and we shall hereafter have to refer to the point, that it very singularly omits all record of the acts of most of the apostles, occupies itself chiefly with those of peter and paul, and devotes considerable attention to stephen and to others who were not apostles at all. we shall further have occasion to show that the writer does anything but confine himself to the events of which he was an eye-witness, and we may merely remark, in passing, as a matter. which scarcely concerns us here, that the instances given by the unknown writer of the fragment to support his assertion are not only irrelevant, but singularly devoid themselves of historical attestation. irenæus( ) assigns the acts of the apostles to luke, as do clement of alexandria,( ) tertullian,( ) and origen,( ) although without any statements giving special weight to their mention of him as the author in any way counterbalancing the late date of their testimony. beyond showing that tradition, at the end of the second century and beginning of the third, associated the name of luke with this writing and the third gospel, the evidence of these fathers is of no value to us. we have already incidentally mentioned that some heretics either ignored or rejected the book, and to the marcionites and severians { } we may now add the ebionites( ) and manichæans.( ) chrysostom complains that in his day the acts of the apostles were so neglected that many were ignorant of the existence of the book and of its authors.( ) doubts as to its authorship were expressed in the ninth century, for photius states that some ascribed the work to clement of rome, others to barnabas, and others to luke the evangelist.( ) if we turn to the document itself, we find that it professes to be the second portion of a work written for the information of an unknown person named theophilus, the first part being the gospel, which, in our canonical new testament, bears the name of "gospel according to luke." the narrative is a continuation of the third synoptic, but the actual title of "acts of the apostles," or "acts of apostles" [------],( ) attached to this [------] is a later addition, and formed no part of the original document. the author's name is not given in any of the earlier mss., and the work is entirely anonymous. that in the prologue to the acts the writer clearly assumes to be the author of the gospel does not in any way identify him, inasmuch as the third synoptic itself is equally anonymous. the tradition assigning both works to luke the follower of paul, as we have seen, is first met with { } towards the end of the second century, and very little weight can be attached to it. there are too many instances of early writings, several of which indeed have secured a place in our canon, to which distinguished names have been erroneously ascribed. such tradition is notoriously liable to error. we shall presently return to the question of the authorship of the third synoptic and acts of the apostles, but at present we may so far anticipate as to say that there are good reasons for affirming that they could not have been written by luke.( ) confining ourselves here to the actual evidence before us, we arrive at a clear and unavoidable conclusion regarding the acts of the apostles. after examining all the early christian literature, and taking every passage which is referred to as indicating the use of the book, we see that there is no certain trace even of its existence till towards the end of the second century; and, whilst the writing itself is anonymous, we find no authority but late tradition assigning it to luke or to any other author. we are absolutely without evidence of any value as to its accuracy or trustworthiness, and, as we shall presently see, the epistles of paul, so far from accrediting it, tend to cast the most serious doubt upon its whole character. this evidence we have yet to examine, when considering the contents of the acts, and we base our present remarks solely on the external testimony for the date and authorship of the book. the position, therefore, is simply this: we are asked to believe in the reality of a great number of miraculous and supernatural the reader is referred to an article by the author in the fortnightly rev., , p. ff., in which some indications of date, and particularly those connected with the use of writings of josephus, are discussed. { } occurrences which, obviously, are antecedently incredible, upon the assurance of an anonymous work of whose existence there is no distinct evidence till more than a century after the events narrated, and to which an author's name--against which there are strong objections--is first ascribed by tradition towards the end of the second century. of the writer to whom the work is thus attributed we know nothing beyond the casual mention of his name in some pauline epistles. if it were admitted that this luke did actually write the book, we should not be justified in believing the reality of such stupendous miracles upon his bare statement as the case stands, however, even taking it in its most favourable aspect, the question scarcely demands serious attention, and our discussion might at once be ended by the unhesitating rejection of the acts of the apostles as sufficient, or even plausible, evidence for the miracles which it narrates. chapter ii. evidence regarding the authorship if we proceed further to discuss the document before us, it is from no doubt as to the certainty of the conclusion at which we have now arrived, but from the belief that closer examination of the contents of the acts may enable us to test this result, and more fully to understand the nature of the work and the character of its evidence. not only will it be instructive to consider a little closely the contents of the acts, and to endeavour from the details of the narrative itself to form a judgment regarding its historical value, but we have in addition external testimony of very material importance which we may bring to bear upon it. we happily possess some undoubted epistles which afford us no little information concerning the history, character, and teaching of the apostle paul, and we are thus enabled to compare the statements in the work before us with contemporary evidence of great value. it is unnecessary to say that, wherever the statements of the unknown author of the acts are at variance with these epistles, we must prefer the statements of the apostle. the importance to our inquiry of such further examination as we now propose to undertake consists chiefly in the light which it may throw on the credibility of the work. if it be found that such { } portions as we are able to investigate are inaccurate and untrustworthy, it will become still more apparent that the evidence of such a document for miracles, which are antecedently incredible, cannot even be entertained. it may be well also to discuss more fully the authorship of the acts, and to this we shall first address ourselves. it must, however, be borne in mind that it is quite foreign to our purpose to enter into any exhaustive discussion of the literary problem presented by the acts of the apostles. we shall confine ourselves to such points as seem sufficient or best fitted to test the character of the composition, and we shall not hesitate to pass without attention questions of mere literary interest, and strictly limit our examination to such prominent features as present themselves for our purpose. it is generally admitted, although not altogether without exception,( ) that the author of our third synoptic gospel likewise composed the acts of the apostles. the linguistic and other peculiarities which distinguish the gospel are equally prominent in the acts. this fact, whilst apparently offering greatly increased facilities for identifying the author, and actually affording valuable material for estimating his work, does not, as we have already remarked, really do much towards solving the problem of the authorship, inasmuch as the gospel, like its continuation, is anonymous, and we possess no more precise or direct evidence in connection with the one than in the case of the other. we have already so fully examined the testimony for the third gospel that it is unnecessary for us to recur to it. from about the end of the second century we find the gospel and acts of the { } apostles ascribed by ecclesiastical writers to luke, the companion of the apostle paul. the fallibility of tradition, and the singular phase of literary morality exhibited during the early ages of christianity, render such testimony of little or no value, and in the almost total absence of the critical faculty a rank crop of pseudonymic writings sprang up and flourished during that period.( ) some of the earlier chapters of this work have given abundant illustrations of this fact. it is absolutely certain, with regard to the works we are considering, that irenæus is the earliest writer known who ascribes them to luke, and that even tradition, therefore, cannot be traced beyond the last quarter of the second century. the question is--does internal evidence confirm or contradict this tradition? luke, the traditional author, is not mentioned by name in the acts of the apostles.( ) in the epistle to philemon his name occurs, with those of others, who send greeting, verse , "there salute thee epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in christ jesus; . marcus, aristarchus, demas, luke, my fellow-labourers." in the epistle to the colossians, iv. , mention is also made of him:--"luke, the beloved physician,( ) salutes you, and demas." and again, in the epistle to timothy, iv. :--"for { } demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and departed into thessalouica, crescens to galatia, titus unto dalmatia: . only luke is with me." he is not mentioned elsewhere in the new testament;( ) and his name is not again met with till irenæus ascribes to him the authorship of the gospel and acts. there is nothing in these pauline epistles confirming the statement of the fathers, but it is highly probable that these references to him largely contributed to suggest his name as the author of the acts, the very omission of his name from the work itself protecting him from objections connected with the passages in the first person to which other followers of paul were exposed, upon the traditional view of the composition. irenæus evidently knew nothing about him, except what he learnt from these epistles, and derives from his theory that luke wrote the acts, and speaks as an eye-witness in the passages where the first person is used. from these he argues that luke was inseparable from paul, and was his fellow-worker in the gospel, and he refers, in proof of this, to acts xvi. ff.,( ) ff., xx. ff., and the later chapters, all the details of which he supposes luke to have carefully written down. he then continues: "but that he was not only a follower, but likewise a fellow-worker of the apostles, but particularly of paul, paul himself has also clearly shown in the epistles, saying:..." and he quotes tim. iv. , , ending: "only luke is with me," and then adds, "whence he shows that he was { } always with him and inseparable from him, &c, ac."( ) the reasoning of the zealous father deduces a great deal from very little, it will be observed, and in this elastic way tradition "enlarged its borders" and assumed unsubstantial dimensions. later writers have no more intimate knowledge of luke, although eusebius states that he was born at antioch,( ) a tradition likewise reproduced by jerome.( ) jerome further identifies luke with "the brother, whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches" mentioned in cor. viii. , as accompanying titus to corinth.( ) at a later period, when the church required an early artist for its service, luke the physician was honoured with the additional title of painter.( ) epiphanius,( ) followed later by some other { } writers, represented him to have been one of the seventy-two disciples, whose mission he alone of all new testament writers mentions. the view of the fathers, arising out of the application of their tradition to the features presented by the gospel and acts, was that luke composed his gospel, of the events of which he was not an eye-witness, from information derived from others, and his acts of the apostles from what he himself, at least in the parts in which the first person is employed, had witnessed. it is generally supposed that luke was not born a jew, but was a gentile christian. some writers endeavour to find a confirmation of the tradition, that the gospel and acts were written by luke "the beloved physician," by the supposed use of peculiarly technical medical terms,( ) but very little weight is attached by any one to this feeble evidence which is repudiated by most serious critics, and it need not detain us. as there is no indication, either in the gospel or the acts, of the author's identity proceeding from himself, and tradition does not offer any alternative security, what testimony can be produced in support of the ascription of { } these writings to "luke"? to this question ewald shall reply: "in fact," he says, "we possess only one ground for it, but this is fully sufficient. it lies in the designation of the third gospel as that 'according to luke' which is found in all mss. of the four gospels. for the quotations of this particular gospel under the distinct name of luke, in the extant writings of the fathers, begin so late that they cannot be compared in antiquity with that superscription; and those known to us may probably themselves only go back to this superscription. we thus depend almost alone on this superscription."( ) ewald generally does consider his own arbitrary conjectures "fully sufficient," but it is doubtful, whether in this case, any one who examines this evidence will agree with him. he himself goes on to admit, with all other critics, that the superscriptions to our gospels do not proceed from the authors themselves, but were added by those who collected them, or by later readers to distinguish them.( ) there was no author's name attached to marcion's gospel, as we learn from tertullian.( ) chrysostom very distinctly asserts that the evangelists did not inscribe their names at the head of their works,( ) and he recognizes that, but for the authority of the primitive church which added those names, the superscriptions could not have proved the authorship of the gospels. he conjectures that the sole superscription which may { } have been placed by the author of the first synoptic was simply [------].( ) it might be argued, and indeed has been, that the inscription [------], "according to luke," instead of [------] "gospel of luke," does not actually indicate that "luke" wrote the work any more than the superscription to the gospels "according to the hebrews" [------] "according to the egyptians" [------] has reference to authorship. the epistles, on the contrary, are directly connected with their writers, in the genitive, [------], and so on. this point, however, we merely mention _en passant_. by his own admission, therefore, the superscription is simply tradition in another form, but instead of carrying us further back, the superscription on the most ancient extant mss., as for instance the sinaitic and vatican codices of the gospels, does not on the most sanguine estimate of their age, date earlier than the fourth century.( ) as for the acts of the apostles, the book is not ascribed to luke in a single uncial ms., and it only begins to appear in various forms in later codices. the variation in the titles of the gospels and acts in different mss. alone shows the uncertainty of the superscription. it is clear that the "one ground," upon which ewald admits that the evidence for luke's authorship is based, is nothing but sand, and cannot support his tower. he is on the slightest consideration thrown back upon the quotations of the fathers, which begin too late for the { } purpose, and it must be acknowledged that the ascription of the third gospel and acts to luke rests solely upon late and unsupported tradition. let it be remembered that, with the exception of the three passages in the pauline epistles quoted above, we know absolutely nothing about luke. as we have mentioned, it has even been doubted whether the designation "the beloved physician" in the epistle to the colossians, iv. , does not distinguish a different luke from the person of that name in the epistles to philemon and timothy. if this were the case, our information would be further reduced; but supposing that the same luke is referred to, what does our information amount to? absolutely nothing but the fact that a person named luke was represented by the writer of these letters,( ) whoever he was, to have been with paul in rome, and that he was known to the church of colossæ. there is no evidence whatever that this luke had been a travelling companion of paul, or that he ever wrote a line concerning him or had composed a gospel. he is not mentioned in epistles written during this journey and, indeed, the rarity and meagreness of the references to him would much rather indicate that he had not taken any distinguished part in the proclamation of the gospel. if luke be [------] and be numbered amongst the apostle's [------], tychicus is equally "the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the lord."( ) onesimus the "faithful and beloved brother,"( ) we cannot discuss the authenticity of these epistles in this place, nor is it very important that we should do so. nor can we pause to consider whether they were written in rome, as a majority of critics think, or elsewhere. { } and aristarchus, mark the cousin of barnabas, justus and others are likewise his [------].( ) there is no evidence, in fact, that paul was acquainted with luke earlier than during his imprisonment in rome, and he seems markedly excluded from the apostle's work and company by such passages as cor. i. .( ) the simple theory that luke wrote the acts supplies all the rest of the tradition of the fathers, as we have seen in the case of irenæus, and to this mere tradition we are confined in the total absence of more ancient testimony. the traditional view, which long continued to prevail undisturbed, and has been widely held up to our own day,( ) represents luke as the author of the acts, and, in { } the passages where the first person is employed, considers that he indicates himself as an actor and eye-witness. these passages, where [------] is introduced, present a curious problem which has largely occupied the attention of critics, and it has been the point most firmly disputed in the long controversy regarding, the authorship of the acts. into this literary labyrinth we must not be tempted to enter beyond a very short way; for, however interesting the question may be in itself, we are left so completely to conjecture that no result is possible which can materially affect our inquiry, and we shall only refer to it sufficiently to illustrate the uncertainty which prevails regarding the authorship. we shall, however, supply abundant references for those who care more minutely to pursue the subject. after the narrative of the acts has, through fifteen chapters, proceeded uninterruptedly in the third person, an abrupt change to the first person plural occurs in the sixteenth chapter.( ) paul, and at least timothy, are represented as going through phrygia and galatia, and at length "they came down to troas," where a vision appears to paul beseeching him to come over into macedonia. then, xvi. , proceeds: "and after he saw the vision, immediately we endeavoured [------] to go forth into macedonia, concluding that god had called us [------] to preach the gospel unto them." after verse , the direct form of narrative is as suddenly dropped as it was taken up, and does not reappear until xx. , when, without explanation, it is resumed and continued for ten verses. it is then again abandoned, and recommenced in xxi. - , and xxvii. , xxviii. . it is unnecessary to discuss whether xiv. belongs to the [------] sections or not. { } it is argued by those who adopt the traditional view,( ) that it would be an instance of unparalleled negligence, in so careful a writer as the author of the third synoptic and acts, to have composed these sections from documents lying before him, written by others, leaving them in the form of a narrative in the first person, whilst the rest of his work was written in the third, and that, without doubt, he would have assimilated such portions to the form of the rest. on the other hand, that he himself makes distinct use of the first person in luke i. - and acts i. , and consequently prepares the reader to expect that, where it is desirable, he will resume the direct mode of communication; and in support of this supposition, it is asserted that the very same peculiarities of style and language exist in the [------] passages as in the rest of the work. the adoption of the direct form of narrative in short merely indicates that the author himself was present and an eye-witness of what he relates,( ) and that writing as he did for the information of theophilus, who was well aware of his personal participation in the journeys he records, it was not necessary for him to give any explanation of his occasional use of the first person. is the abrupt and singular introduction of the first person in these particular sections of his work, without a word of explanation, more intelligible and reasonable upon the traditional theory of their being by the author himself as an eye-witness? on the contrary, it is maintained, the phenomenon on that hypothesis becomes much more some writers also consider as one of the reasons why luke, the supposed author, uses the first person, that where he begins to do so he himself becomes associated with paul in his work, and first begins to preach the gospel. thiersch, die kirche im ap. zeit., p. ; baumgarfen, die apostelgeschichte, i. p. . { } inexplicable. on examining the [------] sections it will be observed that they consist almost entirely of an itinerary of journeys, and that while the chronology of the rest of the acts is notably uncertain and indefinite, these passages enter into the minutest details of daily movements (xvi. , ; xx. , , , ; xxi. , , , , , , ; xxvii. ; xxviii. , , ); of the route pursued, and places through which often they merely pass (xvi. , ; xx. , , , ; xxi. - , ; xxvii. ff.; xxviii. - ), and record the most trifling circumstances (xvi. ; xx. ; xxi. , , ; xxviii. , ). the distinguishing feature of these sections in fact is generally asserted to be the stamp which they bear, above all other parts of the acts, of intimate personal knowledge of the circumstances related. is it not, however, exceedingly remarkable that the author of the acts should intrude his own personality merely to record these minute details of voyages and journeys? that his appearance as an eye-witness should be almost wholly limited to the itinerary of paul's journeys and to portions of his history which are of very subordinate interest? the voyage and shipwreck are thus narrated with singular minuteness of detail, but if any one who reads it only consider the matter for a moment, it will become apparent that this elaboration of the narrative is altogether disproportionate to the importance of the voyage in the history of the early church. the traditional view indeed is fatal to the claims of the acts as testimony for the great mass of miracles it contains, for the author is only an eye-witness of what is comparatively unimportant and commonplace. the writer's intimate acquaintance with the history of paul, and his claim to participation in his work, begin and end with his actual { } journeys. with very few exceptions, as soon as the apostle stops anywhere, he ceases to speak as an eyewitness and relapses into vagueness and the third person. at the very time when minuteness of detail would have been most interesting, he ceases to be minute. a very long and important period of paul's life is covered by the narrative between xvi. , where the[------] sections begin, and xxviii. , where they end; but, although the author goes with such extraordinary detail into the journeys to which they are confined, how bare and unsatisfactory is the account of the rest of paul's career during that time!(l) how eventful that career must have been we learn from cor. xi. - . in any case, the author who could be so minute in his record of an itinerary, apparently could not, or would not, be minute in his account of more important matters in his history. in the few verses, ix. - , chiefly occupied by an account of paul's conversion, is comprised all that the author has to tell of three years of the apostle's life, and into xi. --xiv. are compressed the events of fourteen years of his history (cf. gal. ii. l).( ) if the author of those portions be the same writer who is so minute in his daily itinerary in the [------] sections, his sins of omission and commission are of a very startling character. to say nothing more severe here, upon the traditional theory he is an elaborate trifler. does the use of the first person in luke i. - and acts i. in any way justify or prepare( ) the way for the { } sudden and unexplained introduction of the first person in the sixteenth chapter? certainly not. the [------] in these passages is used solely in the personal address to theophilus, is limited to the brief explanation contained in what may be called the dedication or preface, and is at once dropped when the history begins. if the prologue of the gospel be applied to the acts, moreover, the use of earlier documents is at once implied, which would rather justify the supposition that these passages are part of some diary, from which the general editor made extracts.( ) besides, there is no explanation in the acts which in the slightest degree connects the [------] with the [------].( ) to argue that explanation was unnecessary, as theophilus and early readers were well acquainted with the fact that the author was a fellow-traveller with the apostle, and therefore at once understood the meaning of "we,"( ) would destroy the utility of the direct form of communication altogether; for if theophilus knew this, there was obviously no need to introduce the first person at all, in so abrupt and singular a way, more especially to chronicle minute details of journeys which possess comparatively little interest. moreover, writing for theophilus, we might reasonably expect that he should have stated where and when he became associated with paul, and explained the reasons why he again left and rejoined him.( ) ewald suggests that possibly the author intended to have indicated his name more distinctly at the end of his work;( ) but this merely shows that, argue as he will, { } he feels the necessity for such an explanation. the conjecture is negatived, however, by the fact that no name is subsequently added. as in the case of the fourth gospel, of course the "incomparable modesty" theory is suggested as the reason why the author does not mention his own name, and explain the adoption of the first person in the [------] passages;( ) but to base theories such as this upon the modesty or elevated views of a perfectly unknown writer is obviously too arbitrary a proceeding to be permissible.( ) there is, besides, exceedingly little modesty in a writer forcing himself so unnecessarily into notice, for he does not represent himself as taking any active part in the events narrated; and, as the mere chronicler of days of sailing and arriving, he might well have remained impersonal to the end. on the other hand, supposing the general editor of the acts to have made use of written sources of information, and amongst others of the diary of a companion of the apostle paul, it is not so strange that, for one reason or another, he should have allowed the original direct form of communication to stand whilst incorporating parts of it with his work. instances have been pointed out in which a similar retention of the first or third person, in a narrative generally written otherwise, is accepted as the indication of a different written source, as for instance in ezra vii. --ix; nehemiah viii.--x.; in the book of tobit i. - , iii. ff., and other places;s and schwanbeck has { } pointed out many instances of a similar kind amongst the chroniclers of the middle ages.( ) there are various ways in which the retention of the first person in these sections, supposing them to have been derived from some other written source, might be explained. the simple supposition that the author, either through carelessness or oversight, allowed the [------] to stand( ) is not excluded, and indeed some critics, although we think without reason, maintain both the third gospel and the acts to be composed of materials derived from various sources and put together with little care or adjustment.( ) the author might also have inserted these fragments of the diary of a fellow-traveller of paul, and retained the original form of the document to strengthen the apparent credibility of his own narrative; or, as many critics believe, he may have allowed the first person of the original document to remain, in order himself to assume the character of eyewitness, and of companion of the apostle.( ) as we shall see in the course of our examination of the acts, the general procedure of the author is by no means of a character to discredit such an explanation. we shall not enter into any discussion of the sources from which critics maintain that the author compiled his { } work. it is sufficient to say that, whilst some profess to find definite traces of many documents, few if any writers deny that the writer made more or less use of earlier materials. it is quite true that the characteristics of the general author's style are found throughout the whole work. the acts are no mere aggregate of scraps collected and rudely joined together, but the work of one author in the sense that whatever materials he may have used for its composition were carefully assimilated, and subjected to thorough and systematic revision to adapt them to his purpose.( ) but however completely this process was carried out, and his materials interpenetrated by his own peculiarities of style and language, he did not succeed in entirely obliterating the traces of independent written sources. some writers maintain that there is a very apparent difference between the first twelve { } chapters and the remainder of the work, and profess to detect a much more hebraistic character in the language of the earlier portion,( ) although this is not received without demur.( ) as regards the [------] sections, whilst it is admitted that these fragments have in any case been much manipulated by the general editor, and largely contain his general characteristics of language, it is at the same time affirmed that they present distinct foreign peculiarities, which betray a borrowed document.( ) even critics who maintain the [------] sections to be by the same writer who composed the rest of the book point out the peculiarly natural character and minute knowledge displayed in these passages, as distinguishing them from the rest of the acts.( ) this of course they attribute to the fact that the author there relates his personal experiences; but even with this explanation it is apparent that all who maintain the traditional view do recognize peculiarities in these sections, by which they justify the ascription of them to an eye-witness. for the reasons which have been very briefly indicated, therefore, and upon other { } strong grounds, some of which will be presently stated, a very large mass of the ablest critics have concluded that the [------] sections were not composed by the author of the rest of the acts, but that they are part of the diary of some companion of the apostle paul, of which the author of acts made use for his work,( ) and that the general writer of the work, and consequently of the third synoptic, was not luke at all.( ) { } a careful study of the contents of the acts cannot, we think, leave any doubt that the work could not have been written by any companion or intimate friend of the apostle paul.( ) in here briefly indicating some of the reasons for this statement, we shall be under the necessity of anticipating, without much explanation or argument, points which will be more fully discussed farther on, and which now, stated without preparation, may not be sufficiently clear to some readers. they may hereafter seem more conclusive. it is unreasonable to suppose that a friend or companion could have written so unhistorical and defective a history of the apostle's life and teaching. the pauline epistles are nowhere directly referred to, but where we can compare the narrative and representations of acts with the statements of the apostle, they are strikingly contradictory.( ) { } his teaching in the one scarcely presents a trace of the strong and clearly defined doctrines of the other, and the character and conduct of the paul of acts are altogether different from those of paul of the epistles. according to paul himself (gal. i. -- ), after his conversion, he communicated not with flesh and blood, neither went up to jerusalem to those who were apostles before him, but immediately went away into arabia, and returned to damascus, and only after three years he went up to jerusalem to visit kephas, and abode with him fifteen days, during which visit none other of the apostles did he see "save james, the brother of the lord." if assurance of the correctness of these details were required, paul gives it by adding (v. ): "now the things which i am writing to you, behold before god i lie not." according to acts (ix. -- ), however, the facts are quite different. paul immediately begins to preach in damascus, does not visit arabia at all, but, on the contrary, goes to jerusalem, where, under the protection of barnabas (v. , ), he is introduced to the apostles, and "was with them going in and out." according to paul (gal. i. ), his face was after that unknown unto the churches of judaea, whereas, according to acts, not only was he "going in and out" at jerusalem with the apostles, but (ix. ) preached boldly in the name of the lord, and (acts xxvi. ) "in jerusalem and throughout all the region of judaea," he urged to repentance. according to paul (gal. ii. ff.), after fourteen years he went up again to jerusalem with barnabas and titus, { } "according to a revelation," and "privately" communicated his gospel "to those who seemed to be something," as, with some irony, he calls the apostles. in words still breathing irritation and determined independence, paul relates to the galatians the particulars of that visit--how great pressure had been exerted to compel titus, though a greek, to be circumcised, "that they might bring us into bondage," to whom, "not even for an hour did we yield the required subjection." he protests, with proud independence, that the gospel which he preaches was not received from man (gal. i. , ), but revealed to him by god (verses , ); and during this visit (ii. , ) "from those seeming to be something [------], whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me--god accepteth not man's person--for to me those who seemed [------] communicated nothing additional." according to acts, after his conversion, paul is taught by a man named ananias what he must do (ix. , xxii. ); he makes visits to jerusalem (xi. , xii. , &c), which are excluded by paul's own explicit statements; and a widely different report is given (xv. ff.) of the second visit. paul does not go, "according to a revelation," but is deputed by the church of antioch, with barnabas, in consequence of disputes regarding the circumcision of gentiles, to lay the case before the apostles and elders at jerusalem. it is almost impossible in the account here given of proceedings characterised throughout by perfect harmony, forbearance, and unanimity of views, to recognize the visit described by paul. instead of being private, the scene is a general council of the church. the fiery independence of paul is transformed into meekness and submission. there is not a word of the { } endeavour to compel him to have titus circumcised--all is peace and undisturbed good-will. peter pleads the cause of paul, and is more pauline in his sentiments than paul himself, and, in the very presence of paul, claims to have been selected by god to be apostle of the gentiles (xv. -- ). not a syllable is said of the scene at antioch shortly after (gal. ii. ff.), so singularly at variance with the proceedings of the council, when paul withstood cephas to the face. then, who would recognize the paul of the epistles in the paul of acts, who makes such repeated journeys to jerusalem to attend jewish feasts (xviii. , xix. , xx. , xxiv. , , ); who, in his journeys, halts on the days when a jew may not travel (xx. , ); who shaves his head at cenchrea because of a vow (xviii. ); who, at the recommendation of the apostles, performs that astonishing act of nazariteship in the temple (xxi. ), and afterwards follows it up by a defence of such "excellent dissembling" [------]; who circumcises timothy, the son of a greek and of a jewess, with his own hands (xvi. -- , cf. gal. v. ); and who is so little the apostle of the uncircumcision that he only tardily goes to the gentiles when rejected by the jews (cf. xviii. (j). paul is not only robbed of the honour of being the first apostle of the gentiles, which is conferred upon peter, but the writer seems to avoid even calling him an apostle at all,( ) the only occasions upon which he does so being indirect (xiv. , ); and the title equally applied to barnabas, whose claim to it is more than doubted. the { } passages in which this occurs, moreover, are not above suspicion, "the apostles" being omitted in cod. d. (bezae) from xiv. . the former verse in that codex has important variations from other mss. if we cannot believe that the representation actually given of paul in the acts could proceed from a friend or companion of the apostle, it is equally impossible that such a person could have written his history with so many extraordinary imperfections and omissions. we have already pointed out that between chs. ix.--xiv. are compressed the events of seventeen of the most active years of the apostle's life, and also that a long period is comprised within the [------] sections, during which such minute details of the daily itinerary are given. the incidents reported, however, are quite disproportionate to those which are omitted. we have no record, for instance, of his visit to arabia at so interesting a portion of his career (gal. i. ), although the particulars of his conversion are repeated with singular variations no less than three times (ix. xxii. xxvi.); nor of his preaching in illyria (rom. xv. ); nor of the incident referred to in rom. xvi. , . the momentous adventures in the cause of the gospel spoken of in cor. xi. ff. receive scarcely any illustration in acts, nor is any notice taken of his fighting with wild beasts at ephesus ( cor. xv. ), which would have formed an episode full of serious interest. what, again, was "the affliction which happened in asia," which so overburdened even so energetic a nature as that of the apostle that "he despaired even of life?" ( cor. ii. f.) some light upon these points might reasonably have been expected from a companion of paul. then, xvii. -- , xviii. contradict thess. iii. , , in a way scarcely possible in such a { } companion, present with the apostle at athens; and in like manner the representation in xxviii. - is inconsistent with such a person, ignoring as it does the fact that there already was a christian church in rome (ep. to romans). we do not refer to the miraculous elements so thickly spread over the narrative of the acts, and especially in the episode xvi. ff., which is inserted in the first [------] section, as irreconcilable with the character of an eye-witness, because it is precisely the miraculous portion of the book which is on its trial; but we may ask whether it would have been possible for such a friend, acquainted with the apostle's representations in cor. xiv. ff., cf. xii.--xiv., and the phenomena there described, to speak of the gift of "tongues" at pentecost as the power of speaking different languages (ii. -- , cf. x. , xix. ) it will readily be understood that we have here merely rapidly and by way of illustration referred to a few of the points which seem to preclude the admission that the general author of the acts could be an eyewitness,( ) or companion of the apostle paul, and this will become more apparent as we proceed, and more closely examine the contents of the book. who that author was, there are now no means of ascertaining. the majority of critics who have most profoundly examined the problem presented by the acts, however, and who do not admit luke to be the general author, are agreed that the author compiled the [------] sections from a diary kept by some companion of the apostle paul during the journeys and voyages to which they relate, but opinion is very divided as to the person { } to whom that diary must be ascribed. it is of course recognized that the various theories regarding his identity are merely based upon conjecture, but they have long severely exercised critical ingenuity. a considerable party adopt the conclusion that the diary was probably written by luke.( ) this theory has certainly the advantage of whatever support may be derived from tradition; and it has been conjectured, not without probability, that this diary, being either written by, or originally attributed to, luke, may possibly have been the source from which, in course of time, the whole of the acts, and consequently the gospel, came to be ascribed to luke.( ) the selection of a comparatively less known name than that of timothy, titus or silas,( ) for instance, may thus be explained; but, besides, it has the great advantage that, the name of luke never being mentioned in the acts, he is not exposed to criticism, which has found serious objections to the claims of other better known followers of paul. there are, however, many critics who find difficulties in the way of accepting luke as the author of the "we" sections, and who adopt the theory that they were pro- { } probably composed by timothy.( ) it is argued that, if luke had been the writer of this diary, he must have been in very close relations to paul, having been his companion during the apostle's second mission journey, as well as during the later european journey, and finally during the eventful journey of paul as a prisoner from caesarea to rome. under these circumstances, it is natural to expect that paul should mention him in his earlier epistles, written before the roman imprisonment, but this he nowhere does. for instance, no mention whatever is made of luke in either of the letters to the corinthians nor in those to the thessalonians; but on the other hand, timothy's name, together with that of silvanus (or silas), is joined to paul's in the two letters to the thessalonians, besides being mentioned in the body of the first epistle (iii. , ); and he is repeatedly and affectionately spoken of in the earlier letter to the corinthians ( cor. iv. , xvi. ), and his name is likewise combined with the apostle's in the second epistle ( cor. i. ), as well as mentioned in the body of the letter, along with that of silvanus, as a fellow-preacher with paul. in the epistle to the philippians, later, the name of luke does not appear, although, had he been the companion of the apostle from troas, he must have been known to the philippians, but on the other hand, timothy is again associated in the opening greeting of that epistle. timothy is known to have { } been a fellow-worker with the apostle, and to have accompanied him in his missionary journeys, and he is repeatedly mentioned in the acts as the companion of paul, and the first occasion is precisely where the [------] sections commence.( ) in connection with acts xv. , xvi. , , it is considered that luke is quite excluded from the possibility of being the companion who wrote the diary we are discussing, by the apostle's own words in cor. i. :( ) "for the son of god, christ jesus, who was preached among you by us, by me and silvanus and timothy," &c, &c. the eye-witness who wrote the journal from which the [------] sections are taken must have been with the apostle in corinth, and, it is of course always asserted, must have been one of his [------], and preached the gospel.( ) is it possible, on the supposition that this fellow-labourer was luke, that the apostle could in so marked a manner have excluded his name by clearly defining that "us" only meant himself and silvanus and timothy? mayerhoff( ) has gone even further than the critics we have referred to, and maintains timothy to be the author of the third synoptic and of acts. we may briefly add that some writers have conjectured silas to be the author of the [------] sections,( ) and others { } have referred them to titus.( ) it is evident that whether the [------] sections be by the unknown author of the rest of the acts, or be part of a diary by some unknown companion of paul, introduced into the work by the general editor, they do not solve the problem as to the identity of the author, who remains absolutely unknown. we have said enough to enable the reader to understand the nature of the problem regarding the author of the third synoptic and of the acts of the apostles, and whilst for our purpose much less would have sufficed, it is evident that the materials do not exist for identifying him. the stupendous miracles related in these two works, therefore, rest upon the evidence of an unknown writer, who from internal evidence must have composed them very long after the events recorded. externally, there is no proof even of the existence of the acts until towards the end of the second century, when also for the first time we hear of a vague theory as to the name and identity of the supposed author, a theory which declares luke not to have himself been an eye-witness of the occurrences related in the gospel, and which reduces his participation even in the events narrated in the acts to a very small and modest compass, leaving the great mass of the miracles described in the work without even his personal attestation. the theory, however, we have seen to be not only unsupported by evidence, but to be contradicted by many potent circumstances. we propose now, without exhaustively examining the contents of the acts, which would itself require a separate treatise, at least to { } consider some of its main points sufficiently to form a fair judgment of the historical value of the work, although the facts which we have already ascertained are clearly fatal to the document as adequate testimony for miracles, and the reality of divine revelation. chapter iii. design and composition the historical value of the acts of the apostles has very long been the subject of vehement discussion, and the course of the controversy has certainly not been favourable to the position of the work. for a considerable time the traditional view continued to prevail, and little or no doubt of the absolute credibility of the narrative was ever expressed. when the spirit of independent and enlightened criticism was finally aroused, it had to contend with opinions which habit had rendered stereotype, and prejudices which took the form of hereditary belief. a large body of eminent critics, after an exhaustive investigation of the acts, have now declared that the work is not historically accurate, and cannot be accepted as a true account of the acts and teaching of the apostles.( ) { } the author of the acts has been charged with having written the work with a distinct design to which he subordinated historical truth, and in this view many critics have joined, who ultimately do not accuse him absolutely of falsifying history, but merely of making a deliberate selection of his materials with the view of placing events in the light most suitable for his purpose. most of those, however, who make this charge maintain that, in carrying out the original purpose of the acts, the writer so freely manipulated whatever materials he had before him, and so dealt with facts whether by omission, transformation or invention, that the historical value of his narrative has been destroyed or at least seriously affected by it. on the other hand, many apologetic writers altogether deny the existence of any design on the part of the { } author such as is here indicated, which could have led him to suppress or distort facts,( ) and whilst some of them advance very varied and fanciful theories as to the historical plan upon which the writer proceeds, and in accordance with which the peculiarities of his narrative are explained, they generally accept the work as the genuine history of the acts of the apostles so far as the author possessed certain information. the design most generally ascribed to the writer of the acts may, with many minor variations, be said to be apologetic and conciliatory: an attempt to reconcile the two parties in the early church by representing the difference between the views of peter and paul as slight and unimportant, pauline sentiments being freely placed in the mouth of peter, and the apostle of the gentiles being represented as an orthodox adherent of the church of jerusalem, with scarcely such advanced views of christian universality as peter; or else, an effort of gentile christianity to bring itself into closer union with the primitive church, surrendering, in so doing, all its distinctive features and its pauline origin, and representing the universalism by which it exists, as a principle adopted and promulgated from the very first by peter and the twelve. it is not necessary, however, for us to enter upon any minute discussion of this point, nor is it requisite, for the purposes of our inquiry, to determine whether the peculiar character { } of the writing which we are examining is the result of a perfectly definite purpose controlling the whole narrative and modifying every detail, or naturally arises from the fact that it is the work of a pious member of the church writing long after the events related, and imbuing his materials, whether of legend or ecclesiastical tradition, with his own thoroughly orthodox views: history freely composed for christian edification. we shall not endeavour to construct any theory to account for the phenomena before us, nor to discover the secret motives or intentions of the writer, but taking them as they are, we shall simply examine some of the more important portions of the narrative, with a view to determine whether the work can in any serious sense be regarded as credible history. no one can examine the contents of the acts without perceiving that some secret motive or influence did certainly govern the writer's mind, and guide him in the selection of topics, and this is betrayed by many peculiarities in his narrative. quite apart from any attempt to discover precisely what that motive was, it is desirable that we should briefly point out some of these peculiarities. it is evident that every man who writes a history must commence with a distinct plan, and that the choice of subjects to be introduced or omitted must proceed upon a certain principle. this is of course an invariable rule wherever there is order and arrangement. no one has ever questioned that in the acts of the apostles both order and arrangement have been deliberately adopted and the question naturally arises: what was the plan ol the author? and upon what principle did he select, from the mass of facts which might have been related regarding the church in the apostolic ages, precisely those { } which he has inserted, to the exclusion of the rest?( ) what title will adequately represent the contents of the book? for it is admitted by almost all critics that the actual name which the book bears neither was given to it by its author nor properly describes its intention and subject.( ) the extreme difficulty which has been felt in answering these questions, and in constructing any hypothesis which may fairly correspond with the actual contents of the acts, constitutes one of the most striking commentaries on the work, and although we cannot here detail the extremely varied views of critics upon the subject, they are well worthy of study.( ) no one now advances the theory which was anciently current that the author simply narrated that of which he was an eye-witness.( ) its present title [------] would lead us to expect an account of the doings of the apostles in general, but we have nothing like this in the book. peter and paul occupy the principal parts of the narrative, and the other apostles are scarcely mentioned. { } james is introduced as an actor in the famous council, and represented as head of the church in jerusalem, but it is much disputed that he was either an apostle, or one of the twelve. the death of james the brother of john is just mentioned. john is represented on several occasions during the earlier part of the narrative as the companion of peter, without, however, being prominently brought forward; and the rest of the twelve are left in complete obscurity. it is not a history of the labours of peter and paul, for not only is considerable importance given to the episodes of stephen and philip the evangelist, but the account of the two great apostles is singularly fragmentary. after a brief chronicle of the labours of peter, he suddenly disappears from the scene, and we hear of him no more. paul then becomes the prominent figure in the drama; but we have already pointed out how defective is the information given regarding him, and he is also abandoned as soon as he is brought to rome: of his subsequent career and martyrdom, nothing whatever is said. the work is not, as luther suggested, a gloss on the epistles of paul and the inculcation of his doctrine of righteousness through faith, for the narrative of the acts, so far as we can compare it with the epistles, which are nowhere named in it, is generally in contradiction to them, and the doctrine of justification by faith is conspicuous by its absence. it is not a history of the first christian missions, for it ignores entirely the labours of most of the apostles, omits all mention of some of the most interesting missionary journeys, and does not even give a report of the introduction of christianity into rome. it is not in any sense a paulinian history of the church, for if, on the one side, it describes the apostles of the circumcision as { } promulgating the universalism which paul preached, it robs him of his originality, dwarfs his influence upon the development of christianity, and is, on the other hand, too defective to represent church history, whether from a paulinian or any other standpoint. the favourite theory: that the writer designed to relate the story of the spread of christianity from jerusalem to rome, can scarcely be maintained, although it certainly has the advantage of a vagueness of proportions equally suitable to the largest and most limited treatment of history. but, in such a case, we have a drama with the main incident omitted; for the introduction of the gospel into rome is not described at all, and whilst the author could not consider the personal arrival at rome of the apostle paul the climax of his history, he at once closes his account where the final episode ought to have commenced. from all points of view, and upon any hypothesis, the acts of the apostles is so obviously incomplete as a history, so fragmentary and defective as biography, that critics have to the present day failed in framing any theory which could satisfactorily account for its anomalies, and have almost been forced to explain them by supposing a partial, apologetic or conciliatory, design, which removes the work from the region of veritable history. the whole interest of the narrative, of course, centres in the two representative apostles, peter and paul, who alternately fill the scene. it is difficult to say, however, whether the account of the apostle of the circumcision or of paul is the more capriciously partial and incomplete. after his miraculous liberation from the prison into which he had been cast by herod, the doings of peter are left unchronicled, and although he is reintroduced for a moment to plead the cause of the { } gentiles at the council in jerusalem, he then finally retires from the scene, to give place to paul. the omissions from the history of paul are very remarkable, and all the more so from the extreme and unnecessary detail of the itinerary of some of his journeys, and neither the blanks, on the one hand, nor the excessive minuteness, on the other, are to be explained by any theory connected with personal knowledge on the part of theophilus. of the general history of the primitive church and the life and labours of the twelve, we are told little or nothing. according to the author the propagation of the gospel was carried on more by angelic agency than apostolic enthusiasm. there is a liberal infusion of miraculous episodes in the history, but a surprising scarcity of facts. even where the author is best informed, as in the second part of the acts, the narrative of paul's labours and missionary journeys, while presenting striking omissions, is really minute and detailed only in regard to points of no practical interest, leaving both the distinctive teaching of the apostle, and the internal economy of the church almost entirely unrepresented. does this defective narrative of the acts of the apostles proceed from poverty of information, or from the arbitrary selection of materials for a special purpose? as we proceed, it will become increasingly evident that, limited although the writer's materials are, the form into which they have been moulded has undoubtedly been determined either by a dominant theory, or a deliberate design, neither of which is consistent with the composition of sober history. this is particularly apparent in the representation which is given of the two principal personages of the narrative. critics have long clearly recognised that the { } author of the acts has carefully arranged his materials so as to present as close a parallelism as possible between the apostles peter and paul.( ) we shall presently see how closely he assimilates their teaching, ascribing the views of paul to peter, and putting petrine sentiments in the mouth of paul, but here we shall merely refer to points of general history. if peter has a certain pre-eminence as a distinguished member of the original apostolic body, the equal claim of paul to the honours of the apostolate, whilst never directly advanced, is prominently suggested by the narration, no less than three times, of the circumstances of his conversion and direct call to the office by the glorified jesus. the first miracle ascribed to peter is the healing of "a certain man lame from his mother's womb" [------] at the beautiful gate of the temple,( ) and the first wonder performed by paul is also the healing of "a certain man lame from his mother's womb" [------] at lystra;( ) ananias and sapphira are punished through the instrumentality of peter,( ) and elymas is smitten with blindness at the word of paul;( ) the sick are laid in the streets that the shadow of peter may fall upon them, and they are healed, as are also those { } vexed with unclean spirits;(l) handkerchiefs or aprons are taken to the sick from the body of paul, and they are healed, and the evil spirits go out of them;( ) peter withstands simon the sorcerer,( ) as paul does the sorcerer elymas and the exorcists at ephesus;( ) if peter heals the paralytic Æneas at lydda,( ) paul restores to health the fever-stricken father of publius at melita;( ) peter raises from the dead tabitha, a disciple at joppa,( ) and paul restores to life the disciple eutychus at troas;( ) cornelius falls at the feet of peter, and worships him, peter preventing him, and saying: "rise up! i myself also am a man,"( ) and in like manner the people of lystra would have done sacrifice to paul, and he prevents them, crying out: "we also are men of like passions with you;"( ) peter lays his hands on the people of samaria, and they receive, the holy ghost and the gift of tongues,( ) and paul does the same for believers at ephesus;( ) peter is brought before the council,( ) and so is paul;( ) the one is imprisoned and twice released by an angel,( ) and the other is delivered from his bonds by a great earthquake;( ) if peter be scourged by order of the council,( ) paul is beaten with many stripes at the command of the magistrates of philippi.( ) it is maintained that the desire to equalise the sufferings of the two apostles in the cause of the gospel, as he has equalised their miraculous displays, probably led the author to omit all mention of those { } perils and persecutions to which the apostle paul refers in support of his protest, that he had laboured and suffered more than all the rest.( ) if paul was called by a vision to the ministry of the gentiles,( ) so peter is represented as having been equally directed by a vision to baptize the gentile cornelius;( ) the double vision of peter and cornelius has its parallel in the double vision of paul and ananias. it is impossible to deny the measured equality thus preserved between the two apostles, or to ignore the fact that parallelism like this is the result of premeditation, and cannot claim the character of impartial history. the speeches form an important element in the acts of the apostles, and we shall now briefly examine them, reserving, however, for future consideration their dogmatic aspect. few, if any writers, however apologetic, maintain that these discourses can possibly have been spoken exactly as they are recorded in the acts. the utmost that is asserted is that they are substantially historical, and fairly represent the original speeches.( ) they were derived, it is alleged, either from written sources, or oral { } tradition, and many, especially in the second part, are supposed to have been delivered in the presence of the author of the work. this view is held, of course, with a greater or less degree of assurance as to the closeness of the relation which our record bears to the original addresses; but, without here very closely scrutinizing hesitation or reticence, our statement fairly renders the apologetic position. a large body of able critics, however, deny the historical character of these speeches,( ) and consider them mere free compositions by the author of the acts, at the best being on a par with the speeches which many ancient writers place in the mouths of their historical personages, and giving only what the writer supposed that the speaker would say under the circumstances. that the writer may have made use of such materials as were within his reach, or endeavoured to embody the ideas which tradition may broadly have preserved, may possibly be admitted, but that these discourses can seriously be accepted as conveying a correct report of anything actually spoken by the persons in whose mouths they are put is, of course, denied. it is, { } obviously, extremely improbable that any of these speeches could have been written down at the time.( ) taking even the supposed case that the author of the acts was luke, and was present when some of the speeches of paul were delivered, it is difficult to imagine that he immediately recorded his recollection of them, and more than this he could not have done. he must continually have been in the habit of hearing the preaching of paul, and therefore could not have had the inducement of novelty to make him write down what he heard. the idea of recording them for posterity could not have occurred to such a person, with the belief in the approaching end of all things then prevalent. the author of the acts was not the companion of paul, however, and the contents of the speeches, as we shall presently see, are not of a character to make it in the least degree likely that they could have been written down for separate circulation. many of the speeches in the acts, moreover, were delivered under circumstances which render it specially unlikely that they could have { } been reported with any accuracy. at no time an easy task correctly to record a discourse of any length, it is doubly difficult when those speeches, like many in acts, were spoken under circumstances of great danger or excitement. the experience of modern times, before the application of systems of short-hand, may show how imperfectly speeches were taken down, even where there was deliberate preparation and set purpose to do so, and if it be suggested that some celebrated orations of the last century have so been preserved, it is undeniable that what has been handed down to us not only does not represent the original, but is really almost a subsequent composition, preserving little more than some faint echoes of the true utterance. the probability that a correct record of speeches made, under such circumstances, in the middle of the first century could have been kept, seems exceedingly small. even, if it could be shown that the author of the acts took these speeches substantially from earlier documents, it would not materially tend to establish their authenticity; for the question would still remain perfectly open as to the closeness of those documents to the original discourses; but in the absence of all evidence, whether as to the existence or origin of any such sources, the conjecture of their possible existence can have no weight. we have nothing but internal testimony to examine, and that, we shall see, is totally opposed to the claim to historical value made for those discourses. apologists scarcely maintain that we have in the acts a record of the original discourses in their completeness, but in claiming substantial accuracy most of them include the supposition at least of condensation.( ) the longest { } discourse in the acts would not have taken more than six or seven minutes to deliver,( ) and it is impossible to suppose that what is there given can have been the whole speech delivered on many of the occasions described. for instance, is it probable that king agrippa who desires to hear paul, and who comes "with great pomp" with berenice to do so, should only have heard a speech lasting some five minutes. the author himself tells us that paul was not always so brief in his addresses as any one might suppose from the specimens here presented.( ) it is remarkable, however, that not the slightest intimation is given that the speeches are either merely substantially reported or are abridged, and their form and character are evidently designed to convey the impression of complete discourses. if the reader examine any of these discourses, it will be clear that they are concise compositions, betraying no marks of abridgment, and having no fragmentary looseness, but, on the contrary, that they are highly artificial and finished productions, with a continuous argument. they certainly are singularly inadequate, many of them, to produce the impressions described; but at least it is not possible to discover that material omissions have been made, or that their periods were originally expanded by large, or even any, amplification. if these speeches be regarded as complete, and with little or no condensation, another strong element is added to the suspicion as to their authenticity, for such extreme baldness and brevity in the declaration of a new religion, { } requiring both explanation and argument, cannot be conceived, and in the case of paul, with whose system of teaching and doctrine we are well acquainted through his epistles, it is impossible to accept such meagre and onesided addresses, as representations of his manner. the statement that the discourses are abridged, and a mere _résumé_ of those originally delivered, however, rests upon no authority, is a mere conjecture to account for an existing difficulty, and is in contradiction to the actual form of the speeches in acts. regarded as complete, their incongruity is intensified, but considered as abridged, they have lost in the process all representative character and historical fitness. it has been argued, indeed, that the different speeches bear evidence to their genuineness from their suitability to the speakers, and to the circumstances under which they are said to have been spoken; but the existence of anything but the most superficial semblance of idiosyncratic character must be denied. the similarity of form, manner, and matter in all the speeches is most remarkable, as will presently be made more apparent, and the whole of the doctrine enunciated amounts to little more than the repetition, in slightly varying words, of the brief exhortation to repentance and belief in jesus, the christ. that salvation may be obtained,( ) with references to the ancient history of the jews, singularly alike in all discourses. very little artistic skill is necessary to secure a certain suitability of the word to the action, and the action to the word; and certainly evidence is reduced to a very low ebb when such agreement as is presented in the acts is made an argument for authenticity. not only is the consistency of the sentiments uttered by { } the principal speakers, as compared with what is known of their opinions and character, utterly disputed, but it must be evident that the literary skill of the author of the acts was quite equal to so simple a task as preserving" at least such superficial fitness as he displays, and a very much greater amount of verisimilitude might have been attained, as in many works of fiction, without necessarily involving the inference of genuineness. it has been freely admitted by critics of all schools that the author's peculiarities of style and language are apparent in all the speeches of the acts,( ) and this has been so often elaborately demonstrated that it is unnecessary minutely to enter upon it again. it may not be out of place to quote a few lines from the work of one of the ablest and most eminent advocates of the general authority of the acts. speaking of the speeches of paul, lekebusch says:--"the speeches of our book, in fact, are calculated, perhaps more than anything, to excite doubt regarding its purely historical character. but here everything depends upon an unbiassed judgment. we are sufficiently free from prejudice to make the admission to recent criticism that the speeches are not verbally given as they were originally delivered, but are composed by the author of the acts of the { } apostles. schleiermacher, certainly, has confidently asserted their originality. he thinks: 'if the speeches were separately reported they could not but appear just as we find them in the acts of the apostles.' but his remarks, however ingenious and acute they may be, do not stand the test of a thorough examination of the individual speeches. no one who impartially compares these, one with another, and particularly their style with the mode of expression of the author in the other sections, can help agreeing with eichhorn, when, in consonance with his view regarding the uniform character of the acts, on the grounds quoted, page , he ascribes the composition of the speeches to the writer from whom the whole book in all its parts proceeds."( ) to this impartial expression of opinion, lekebusch adds a note:--"in saying this, it is naturally not suggested that our author simply _invented_ the speeches, independently, without any historical intimation whatever as to the substance of the original; the_ form_ only, which certainly is here very closely connected with the substance, is hereby ascribed to him."( ) lekebusch then merely goes on to discuss the nature of the author's design in composing these speeches. the reasons given by eichhorn, which lekebusch quotes at "page ," referred to above, had better be added to complete this testimony. after referring to the result of eichhorn's "very careful examination" of the internal character of the acts, lekebusch says:--"he finds, however, that, 'throughout the whole acts of the apostles there prevails the same style, the same manner, the same method and mode of expression' (ii. ). not { } even the speeches, which one at first might take for inserted documents, seem to him 'from a strange hand, but elaborated by the same from which the whole book, with its three parts, proceeds.' 'various peculiarities existing in the speeches' prove this to him, independent of the similarity of the style, and that, 'although they are put into the mouths of different persons, they nevertheless follow one and the same type, make use of one and the same mode of argument, and have so much that is common to them that they thereby prove themselves to be speeches of one and the same writer' (ii. ). from these circumstances, therefore, it seems to eichhorn 'in the highest degree probable, that luke, throughout the whole acts of the apostles, writes as an independent author, and apart from all extraneous works.' and in this view he is 'strengthened by the resemblance of the style which runs through the whole acts of the apostles, through speeches, letters, and historical sections,' as well as by the fact that, 'through the whole book, in the quotations from the old testament, a similar relation prevails between the greek text of the septuagint and that of luke' (ii. )."( ) we have thought it well to quote these independent opinions from writers who range themselves amongst the defenders of the historical character of the acts, rather than to burden our pages with a mass of dry detail in proof of the assertion that the peculiarities of the author pervade all the speeches indifferently, to a degree which renders it obvious that. they proceed from his pen. without entering into mere linguistic evidence of this, which will be found in the works to which we have { } referred,( ) we may point out a few general peculiarities of this nature which are worthy of attention. the author introduces the speeches of different persons with the same expression:--"he opened his mouth," or something similar. philip "opened his mouth" [------]( ) and addressed the ethiopian (viii. ). peter "opened his mouth (and) said" [------], when he delivered his discourse before the baptism of cornelius (x. ). again, he uses it of paul:--"and when paul was about to open his mouth [------], gallio said," &c. (xviii. ). the words with which the speech of peter at pentecost is introduced deserve more attention:--"peter lifted up his voice and said unto them" [------] (ii. ). the verb [------] occurs again (ii. ) in the account of the descent of the holy spirit and the gift of tongues, and it is put into the mouth of paul (xxvi. ) in his reply to festus, but it occurs nowhere else in the new testament. the favourite formula( ) with which all speeches open is, "men (and) brethren" [------], or [------] coupled with some other term, as "men (and) israelites" [------], or simply[------] without addition. [------], occurs no less than thirteen times. it is used thrice by peter,( ) six times by paul,( ) as well as by { } stephen,( ) james,( ) the believers at pentecost,( ) and the rulers of the synagogue.( ) the angels at the ascension address the disciples as "men (and) galileans" [------].( ) peter makes use of [------] twice,( ) and it is likewise employed by paul,( ) by gamaliel,( ) and by the jews of asia.( ) peter addresses those assembled at pentecost as [------].( ) paul opens his athenian speech with [------],( ) and the town-clerk begins his short appeal to the craftsmen of ephesus: [------].( ) stephen begins his speech to the council with men, brethren and fathers, hear [------], and paul uses the very same words in addressing the multitude from the stairs of the temple.( ) in the speech which peter is represented as making at pentecost, he employs in an altogether peculiar way (ii. -- ) psalm xvi., quoting it in order to prove that the resurrection of jesus the messiah was a necessary occurrence, which had been foretold by david. this is principally based upon the tenth verse of the psalm: "because thou wilt not leave my soul in hades, neither wilt thou give thy holy one [------] to see corruption [------]."( ) peter argues that david both died and was buried, and that his sepulchre is with them to that day, but that, being a prophet, he foresaw and spake here of the resurrection of christ, "that neither was he left in hades nor did his flesh see { } corruption {------}."( ) is it not an extremely singular circumstance that peter, addressing an audience of jews in jerusalem, where he might naturally be expected to make use of the vernacular language, actually quotes the sep-tuagint version of the old testament, and bases his argument upon a mistranslation of the psalm, which, we may add, was in all probability not composed by david at all?( ) the word translated "holy one," should be in the plural: "holy ones,"{ } that is to say: "thy saints," and the word rendered [------]corruption, really signifies "grave" or "pit." the poet, in fact, merely expresses his confidence that he will be preserved alive. the best critics recognize that ps. xvi. is not properly a messianic psalm { } at all,( ) and many of those who, from the use which is made of it in acts, are led to assert that it is so, recognize in the main that it can only be applied to the messiah indirectly, by arguing that the prophecy was not fulfilled in the case of the poet who speaks of himself, but was fulfilled in the resurrection of jesus. this reasoning, however, totally ignores the sense of the original, and is opposed to all legitimate historical interpretation of the psalm. not dwelling upon this point at present, we must go on to point out that, a little further on (xiii. -- ), the apostle paul is represented as making use of the very same argument which peter here employs, and quoting the same passage from ps. xvi. to support it this repetition of very peculiar reasoning, coupled with other similarities which we shall presently point out, leads to the inference that it is merely the author himself who puts this argument into their mouths,( ) and this conclusion is strengthened by the circumstance that, throughout both gospel and acts, he always quotes from the septuagint,( ) and even when that version departs from { } the sense of the original it may be well to give both passages in juxta-position, in order that the closeness of the analogy may be more easily realized. for this purpose we somewhat alter the order of the verses:-- [------] not only is this argument the same in both discourses, but the whole of paul's speech, xiii. ff., is a mere reproduction of the two speeches of peter, ii. ff. and iii. ff., with such alterations as the writer could introduce to vary the fundamental sameness of ideas and expressions. it is worth while to show this in a similar way:-- [------] { } [------] { } [------] { } paul's address likewise hears close analogy with the speech of stephen, vii. ff., commencing with a historical survey of the earlier traditions of the people of israel, and leading up to the same accusation that, as their fathers disregarded the prophets, so they had persecuted and slain the christ. the whole treatment of the subject betrays the work of the same mind in both discourses. bleek, who admits the similarity between these and other speeches in acts, argues that: "it does not absolutely follow from this that these speeches are composed by one and the same person, and are altogether unhistorical;" for it is natural, he thinks, that in the apostolical circle, and in the first christian church, there should have existed a certain uniform type in the application of messianic passages of the old testament, and in quotations generally, to which different teachers might conform without being dependent on each other. he thinks also that, along with the close analogy, there is also much which is characteristic in the different speeches. not only is this typical system of quotation, however, a mere conjecture to explain an actual difficulty, but it is totally inadequate to account for the phenomena. if we suppose, for instance, that paul had adopted the totally unhistorical application of the sixteenth psalm to the messiah, is it not a very extraordinary thing that in all the arguments in his { } epistles, he does not once refer to it? even if this be waived, and it be assumed that he had adopted this interpretation of the psalm, it will scarcely be asserted that paul, whose independence and originality of mind are so undeniable, and whose intercourse with the apostolical circle at any time, and most certainly up to the period when this speech was delivered, was very limited,( ) could so completely have caught the style and copied the manner of peter that, on an important occasion like this, his address should be a mere reproduction of peter's two speeches delivered so long before, and when paul certainly was not present. the similarity of these discourses does not consist in the mere application of the same psalm, but the whole argument, on each occasion, is repeated with merely sufficient transposition of its various parts to give a superficial appearance of variety. words and expressions, rare or unknown elsewhere, are found in both, and the characteristic differences which bleek finds exist only in his own apologetic imagination. let it be remembered that the form of the speeches and the language are generally ascribed to the author of the acts. can any unprejudiced critic deny that the ideas in the speeches we are considering are also substantially the same? is there any appreciable trace of the originality of paul in his discourses? there is no ground whatever, apart from the antecedent belief that the various speeches were actually delivered by the men to whom they are ascribed, for asserting that we have here the independent utterances of peter and paul. it is internal evidence alone, and no avowal on the part of the author, which leads to the conclusion that the form of the speeches is the author's, and there is no internal evidence { } which requires us to stop at the mere form, and not equally ascribe the substance to the same source. the speeches in the acts, generally, have altogether the character of being the composition of one mind endeavouring to impart variety of thought and expression to various speakers, but failing signally either from poverty of invention or from the purpose of instituting a close parallel in views, as well as actions, between the two representative apostles. further to illustrate this, let us take another speech of peter which he delivers on the occasion of the conversion of cornelius, and it will be apparent that it also contains all the elements, so far as it goes, of paul's discourse. [------] { } [------] again, to take an example from another speaker, we find james represented as using an expression which had just before been put into the mouth of paul, and it is not one in the least degree likely to occur independently to each. the two passages are as follows:-- [------] the fundamental similarity between these different speeches cannot possibly be denied;( ) and it cannot be { } reasonably explained in any other way than by the fact that they were composed by the author himself, who had the earlier speeches ascribed to peter still in his memory when he wrote those of paul,( ) and who, in short, had not sufficient dramatic power to create altogether distinct characters, but simply made his different personages use his own vocabulary to express his own somewhat limited range of ideas. setting his special design aside, his inventive faculty only permitted him to represent peter speaking like paul, and paul like peter. it is argued by some, however, that in the speeches of peter, for instance, there are peculiarities of language and expression which show analogy with the first epistle bearing his name in the new testament canon,( ) and, on the other hand, traces of translation in some of them which indicate that these speeches were delivered originally in aramaic, and that we have only a version of them by the author of the acts, or by some one from whom he derived them.( ) as regards the first of these suppositions, a few phrases only have been pointed out, but they are of no force under any circumstances, and the whole theory is quite groundless.( ) we do not con- { } consider it worth while to enter upon the discussion, and those who desire to do so are referred to the works just indicated. there are two potent reasons which render such an argument of no force, even if the supposed analogies were in themselves both numerous and striking, which actually they are not the authenticity of the epistles bearing the name of peter is not only not established, but is by very many eminent critics absolutely denied; and there is no certainty whatever that any of the speeches of peter were delivered in greek, and the probability is that most, if not all, of that apostle's genuine discourses must have been spoken in aramaic. it is in fact asserted by apologists that part or all of the speeches ascribed to him in the acts must have been originally aramaic, although opinion may differ as to the language in which some of them were spoken. whether they were delivered in aramaic, or whether there be uncertainty on the point, any conclusion from linguistic analogies with the epistles is obviously excluded. one thing is quite undeniable: the supposed analogies are few, and the peculiarities distinguishing the author of acts in these speeches are extremely numerous and general. even so thorough an apologist as tholuck candidly acknowledges that the attempt to prove the authenticity of the speeches from linguistic analogies is hopeless. he says: "nevertheless, a comparison of the language of the apostles in their epistles and in these speeches must in many respects be less admissible than that of the character and historical circumstances, for indeed if the language and their peculiarities be compared, it must first be established that all the reported speeches were delivered in the greek language, which is improbable, and of one of which (xxii. , ) the contrary is expressly { } stated willingly admitting that upon this point difference of opinion is allowable, we express as the view which we have hitherto held that, from ch. xx. onwards, the speeches delivered by paul are reported more in the language of luke than in that of paul."( ) this applies with double force to peter,( ) whose speeches there is still greater reason to believe were delivered in aramaic, and there is difference of opinion amongst the critics we have referred to even as to whether these speeches were translated by the author of the acts, or were already before him in a translated form, and were subsequently re-edited by him. we have already shown cause for believing that the whole discussion is groundless, from the fact that the speeches in acts were simply composed by the author himself, and are not in any sense historical, and this we shall hereafter further illustrate. it may be worth while to consider briefly the arguments advanced for the theory that some of the speeches show marks of translation. it is asserted that the speech of peter at pentecost, ii. ff., was delivered in aramaic.( ) of course it will be understood that we might { } be quite prepared to agree to this statement as applied to a speech actually delivered by peter; but the assertion, so far as the speeches in acts are concerned, is based upon what we believe to be the erroneous supposition that they are genuine reports of discourses. on the contrary, we maintain that these speeches are mere compositions by the author of the work. the contention is, however, that the speech attributed to peter is the translation of a speech originally delivered in aramaic. in ii. , peter is represented as saying: "whom god raised up having loosed the pains of death [------], because it is not possible that he should be held [------] by it." it is argued by bleek and others( ) that, as the context proves, the image intended here was evidently the "snares" or "cords" of death, a meaning which is not rendered by the greek word [------]. the confusion is explained, they contend, when it is supposed that, in his aramaic speech, peter made use of a hebrew expression, equally found in aramaic, which means as well "snares" or "cords" as "pains" of death. the greek translator, probably misled by the septuagint,( ) adopted the latter signification of the hebrew word in question, and rendered it [------] "pains," which is absolutely inappropriate, for, they argue, it is very unnatural to say of one who had already suffered death, like christ, that he had been held prisoner by the "pains" of death, and loosed from them by the resurrection. there is, however, very little unanimity { } amongst apologists about this passage. ebrard( ) asserts that [------] "pains" is the correct translation of the hebrew expression, as in ps. xviii. , and that the hebrew word used always expresses pains of birth, the plural of the similar word for "cord" or "snare" being different. ebrard, therefore, contends that the psalm (xviii. ) does not mean bonds or snares of death but literally "birth-pains of death," by which the soul is freed from the natural earthly existence as by a second birth to a glorified spiritual life. we need not enter further into the discussion of the passage, but it is obvious that it is mere assumption to assert, on the one hand, that peter made use of any specific expression, and, on the other, that there was any error of translation on the part of the author of acts. but agreeing that the hebrew is erroneously rendered,( ) the only pertinent question is: by whom was the error in question committed? and the reply beyond any doubt is: by the lxx. who translate the hebrew expression in this very way. it is therefore inadmissible to assert from this phrase the existence of an aramaic original of the speech, for the phrase itself is nothing but a quotation from the sep-tuagint.( ) the expression [------] occurs no less than three times in that version: ps. xvii. (a. v. xviii.), cxiv. (a. v. cxvi.) and sam. xxii. ; and in job { } xxxix. , we have [------]. when it is remembered that the author of acts always quotes the septuagint version, even when it departs from the sense of the hebrew original, and in all probability was only acquainted with the old testament through it, nothing is more natural than the use of this expression taken from that version; but with the error already existing there, to ascribe it afresh and independently to the author of acts, upon no other grounds than the assumption that peter may have spoken in aramaic, and used an expression which the author misunderstood or wrongly rendered, is not permissible. indeed, we have already pointed out that, in this very speech, there are quotations of the old testament according to the lxx. put into the mouth of peter, in which that version does not accurately render the original.( ) the next trace of translation advanced by bleek( ) is found in ii. ,( ) where peter speaks of christ as exalted: "[------]." there can be no doubt, bleek argues, that there is here a reference to psalm ex. , and that the apostle intends to speak of christ's elevation "_to_ the right (hand) of god;" whereas the greek expression rather conveys the interpretation: "_by_ the right (hand) of god." this expression certainly comes, he asserts, from a not altogether suitable translation of the hebrew. to this on the other hand, much may be objected. winer,( ) followed by others, defends the construction, and affirms that the passage may without { } hesitation, be translated "_to_ the right (hand) of god."( ) in which case there is no error at all, and the argument falls to the ground. if it be taken, however, either that the rendering should be or was intended to be "by the right (hand) of god"( ) i.e., by the power of god, that would not involve the necessity of admitting an aramaic original,( ) because there is no error at all, and the argument simply is, that being exalted by the right hand of god, jesus had poured forth the holy spirit; and in the next verse the passage in ps. ex. (sept. cix.) is accurately quoted from the septuagint version: "sit thou on my right (hand)" [------]. in fact, after giving an account of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of jesus, the speaker ascribes his subsequent exaltation to the power of god.( ) we have seen that at least the form of the speeches in acts is undoubtedly due to the author of the book, and that he has not been able to make the speeches of the different personages in his drama differ materially from each other. we shall hereafter have occasion to examine further the contents of some of these speeches, and the circumstances under which it is alleged that they were spoken, and to inquire whether these do not confirm { } the conclusion hitherto arrived at, that they are not historical, but merely the free composition of the author of acts, and never delivered at all. before passing on, however, it may be well to glance for a moment at one of these speeches, to which we may not have another opportunity of referring, in order that we may see whether it presents any traces of inauthenticity and of merely ideal composition. in the first chapter an account is given of a meeting of the brethren in order to elect a successor to the traitor judas. peter addresses the assembly, i. if., and it may be well to quote the opening portion of his speech: . "men (and) brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the holy spirit by the mouth of david spake before concerning judas, who became guide to them that took jesus, . because he was numbered with us and obtained the lot of this ministry. . now [------] this man purchased a field with the wages of the iniquity [------], and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out; . and [------] it became known( ) unto all the dwellers at jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own tongue [------] acheldamach, that is: field of blood. . for [------] it is written in the book of psalms: 'let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein,' and 'his office let another take,'" &c, &c. now let it be remembered that peter is supposed to be addressing an audience of jews in jerusalem, in the hebrew or aramaic language, a few { } weeks after the crucifixion. is it possible, therefore, that he should give such an account as that in vs. , , of the end of judas, which he himself, indeed, says was known to all the dwellers at jerusalem? is it possible that, speaking in aramaic to jews, probably in most part living at and near jerusalem, he could have spoken of the field being so called by the people of jerusalem "in their own tongue?" is it possible that he should, to such an audience, have translated the word acheldamach? the answer of most unprejudiced critics is that peter could not have done so.( ) as de wette remarks: "in the composition of this speech the author has not considered historical decorum."( ) this is felt by most apologists, and many ingenious theories are advanced to explain away the difficulty. some affirm that verses and are inserted as a parenthesis by the author of the acts,( ) whilst a larger number contend that only v. is parenthetic.( ) a very cursory examination of the passage, however, is sufficient to show that the verses cannot be separated. verse is connected with the preceding by the [------], with by [------], and verse refers to , as indeed it also does to and , without which the passage from the psalm, as applied to judas, would be unintelligible. most critics, therefore, { } are agreed that none of the verses can be considered parenthetic.( ) some apologists, however, who feel that neither of the obnoxious verses can be thus explained, endeavour to overcome the difficulty by asserting that the words: "in their own tongue" [------] and: "that is: the field of blood" [------] in verse , are merely explanatory and inserted by the author of acts.( ) it is unnecessary to say that this explanation is purely arbitrary, and that there is no ground, except the difficulty itself, upon which their exclusion from the speech can be based. in the cases to which we have hitherto referred, the impossibility of supposing that peter could have spoken in this way has led writers to lay the responsibility of unacknowledged interpolations in the speech upon the author of acts, thus at once relieving the apostle. there are some apologists, however, who do not adopt this expedient, but attempt to meet the difficulty in other ways, while accepting the whole as a speech of peter. according to one theory, those who object that peter could not have thus related the death of judas to people who must already have been well acquainted with the circumstances have totally overlooked the fact, that a peculiar view of what has occurred is taken in the narrative, and that this peculiar view is the principal point of it according to the statement made, judas met his miserable end in the very field which he had bought with { } the price of blood. it is this circumstance, it appears, which peter brings prominently forward and represents as a manifest and tangible dispensation of divine justice.( ) unfortunately, however, this is clearly an imaginary moral attached to the narrative by the apologist, and is not the object of the supposed speaker, who rather desires to justify the forced application to judas of the quotations in verse , which are directly connected with the preceding by [------]. moreover, no explanation is here offered of the extraordinary expressions in verse addressed to citizens of jerusalem by a jew in their own tongue. another explanation, which includes these points, is still more striking. with regard to the improbability of peter's relating, in such a way, the death of judas, it is argued that, according to the evangelists, the disciples went from jerusalem back to galilee some eight days after the resurrection, and only returned, earlier than usual, before pentecost to await the fulfilment of the promise of jesus. peter and his companions, it is supposed, only after their return became acquainted with the fate of judas, which had taken place during their absence, and the matter was, therefore, quite new to them; besides, it is added, a speaker is often obliged on account of some connection with his subject to relate facts already known.( ) it is true that some of the evangelists represent this return to galilee( ) as having taken place, but the author of the third gospel and the acts not only mt. xxviii. , ; mk. xvi. ; john xxi. . i)r. farrar, somewhat pertinently, asks: "why did they (the disciples) not go to galilee immediately on receiving our lord's message? the circumstance is unexplained... perhaps the entire message of jesus to them is not recorded; perhaps they awaited the end of the feast." life of christ, ii. p. , note . { } does not do so but excludes it.( ) in the third gospel (xxiv. ), jesus commands the disciples to remain in jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high, and then, after blessing them, he is parted from them, and they return from bethany to jerusalem.( ) in acts, the author again takes up the theme, and whilst evidently giving later traditions regarding the appearances after the resurrection, he adheres to his version of the story regarding the command to stay in jerusalem. in i. , he says: "and being assembled together with them he commanded them not to depart from jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father," etc.; and here again, verse , the disciples are represented, just before peter's speech is supposed to have been delivered, as returning from the mount of olives to jerusalem. the author of acts and of the third synoptic, therefore, gives no countenance to this theory. besides, setting all this aside, the apologetic hypothesis we are discussing is quite excluded upon other grounds. if we suppose that the disciples did go into galilee for a time, we find them again in jerusalem at the election of the successor to judas, and there is no reason to believe that they had only just returned. the acts not only allow of no interval at all for the journey to galilee between i. - and ff., but by the simple statement we shall hereafter have to go more fully into this, and shall not discuss it here. the third gospel really represents the ascension as taking place on the day of the resurrection; and acts, whilst giving later tradition, and making the ascension occur forty days after, does not amend, but confirms the previously enunciated view that the disciples had been ordered to stay in jerusalem. { } with which our episode commences, v. : "and in these days" [------], peter conveys anything but the impression of any very recent return to jerusalem. if the apostles had been even a few days there, the incongruity of the speech would remain undiminished; for the brethren who are said to have been present must chiefly have been residents in jerusalem, and cannot be. supposed also to have been absent, and, in any case, events which are represented as so well known to all the dwellers in jerusalem, must certainly have been familiar to the small christian community, whose interest in the matter was so specially great. moreover, according to the first synoptic, as soon as judas sees that jesus is condemned, he brings the money back to the chief priests, casts it down and goes and hangs himself, xxvii. ff. this is related even before the final condemnation of jesus and before his crucifixion, and the reader is led to believe that judas at once put an end to himself, so that the disciples, who are represented as being still in jerusalem for at least eight days after the resurrection, must have been there at the time. with regard to the singular expressions in verse , this theory goes on to suppose that, out of consideration for greek fellow-believers, peter had probably already begun to speak in the greek tongue; and when he designates the language of the dwellers in jerusalem as "their own dialect," he does not thereby mean hebrew in itself, but their own expression, the peculiar confession of the opposite party, which admitted the cruel treachery towards jesus, in that they named the piece of ground hakel damah.( ) here, again, what assumptions! it is generally recognized that peter must have spoken in { } aramaic, and even if he did not, [------]( ) cannot mean anything but the language of "all the-dwellers at jerusalem." in a speech delivered at jerusalem, in any language, to an audience consisting at least in considerable part of inhabitants of the place, and certainly almost entirely of persons whose native tongue was aramaic, to tell them that the inhabitants called a certain field "in their own tongue" acheldamach, giving them at the same time a translation of the word, is inconceivable to most critics, even including apologists. there is another point which indicates not only that this theory is inadequate to solve the difficulty, but that the speech could not have been delivered by peter a few weeks after the occurrences related. it is stated that the circumstances narrated were so well known to the inhabitants of jerusalem, that the field was called in their own tongue acheldamach. the origin of this name is not ascribed to the priests or rulers, but to the people, and it is not to be supposed that a popular name could have become attached to this field, and so generally adopted as the text represents, within the very short time which could have elapsed between the death of judas and the delivery of this speech. be it remembered that from the time of the crucifixion to pentecost the interval was in all only about seven weeks, and that this speech was made some time before pentecost, how long we cannot tell, but in any case, the interval was much too brief to permit of the popular adoption of the name.( ) the whole passage has much more the character of a narrative of { } events which had occurred at a time long past, than of circumstances which had taken place a few days before. the obvious conclusion is that this speech was never spoken by peter, but is a much later composition put into his mouth, and written for greek readers, who required to be told about judas, and for whose benefit the hebrew name of the field, inserted for local colouring, had to be translated. this is confirmed by several circumstances, to which we may refer. we shall not dwell much upon the fact that peter is represented as applying to judas two passages quoted from the septuagint version of ps. lxix. (sept lxviii.) and ps. cix. (sept cviii.) which, historically, cannot for a moment be sustained as referring to him.( ) the first of these psalms is quoted freely, and moreover the denunciations in the original being against a plurality of enemies, it can only be made applicable to judas by altering the plural "their" [------] to "his habitation" [------], a considerable liberty to take with prophecy. the holy spirit is said to have { } spoken this prophecy "concerning judas" "by the mouth of david," but modern research has led critics to hold it as most probable that neither ps. lxix.( ) nor ps. cix.( ) was composed by david at all. as we know nothing of peter's usual system of exegesis, however, very little weight as evidence can be attached to this. on the other hand, it is clear that a considerable time must have elapsed before these two passages from the psalms could have become applied to the death of judas.( ) the account which is given of the fate of judas is contradictory to that given in the first synoptic and cannot be reconciled with it, but follows a different tradition.( ) according to the first synoptic (xxvii. ff.), judas brings back the thirty pieces of silver, casts them down in the temple, and then goes and hangs himself. the chief priests take the money and buy with it the potter's field, which is not said to have had any other connection with judas, as a place for the burial of strangers. in the acts, judas himself buys a field as a private possession, and instead { } of committing suicide by hanging, he is represented as dying from a fall in this field, which is evidently regarded as a special judgment upon him for his crime. the apologetic attempts to reconcile these two narratives,( ) are truly lamentable. beyond calling attention to this amongst other phenomena presented in this speech, however, we have not further to do with the point at present we have already devoted too much space to peter's first address, and we now pass on to more important topics. chapter iv. primitive christianity. we now enter upon a portion of our examination of the acts which is so full of interest in itself that peculiar care will be requisite to restrain ourselves within necessary limits. hitherto our attention has been mainly confined to the internal phenomena presented by the document before us, with comparatively little aid from external testimony, and although the results of such criticism have been of no equivocal character, the historical veracity of the acts has not yet been tested by direct comparison with other sources of information. we now propose to examine, as briefly as may be, some of the historical statements in themselves, and by the light of information derived from contemporary witnesses of unimpeachable authority, and to confront them with well-established facts in the annals of the first two centuries. this leads us to the borders not only of one of the greatest controversies which has for half a century occupied theological criticism, but also of still more important questions regarding the original character and systematic development of christianity itself. the latter we must here resolutely pass almost unnoticed, and into the former we shall only enter so far as is absolutely necessary to the special object of our inquiry. the document before us professes to give a narrative of the progress of the { } primitive church from its first formation in the midst of mosaism, with strong judaistic rules and prejudices, up to that liberal universalism which freely admitted the christian gentile, upon equal terms, into communion with the christian jew. the question with which we are concerned is strictly this: is the account in the acts of the apostles of the successive steps by which christianity emerged from judaism, and, shaking off the restrictions and obligations of the mosaic law, admitted the gentiles to a full participation of its privileges historically true? is the representation which is made of the conduct and teaching of the older apostles on the one hand, and of paul on the other, and of their mutual relations an accurate one? can the acts of the apostles, in short, be considered a sober and veracious history of so important and interesting an epoch of the christian church? this has been vehemently disputed or denied, and the discussion, extending on every side into important collateral issues, forms in itself a literature of voluminous extent and profound interest. our path now lies through this debatable land; but although the controversy as to the connection of paul with the development of christianity and his relation to the apostles of the circumcision cannot be altogether avoided, it only partially concerns us. we are freed from the necessity of advancing any particular theory, and have here no further interest in it than to inquire whether the narrative of the acts is historical or not. if, therefore, avoiding many important but unnecessary questions, and restricting ourselves to a straight course across the great controversy, we seem to deal insufficiently with the general subject, it must be remembered that the argument is merely incidental to our inquiry, and that we not only do not { } pretend to exhaust it, but distinctly endeavour to reduce our share in it to the smallest limits compatible with our immediate object. according to the narrative of the acts of the apostles, the apostolic age presents a most edifying example of concord and moderation. the emancipation of the church from mosaic restrictions was effected without strife or heart-burning, and the freedom of the gospel, if not attained without hesitation, was finally proclaimed with singular largeness of mind and philosophic liberality. the teaching of paul differed in nothing from that of the elder apostles. the christian universalism, which so many suppose to have specially characterized the great apostle of the gentiles, was not only shared, but even anticipated, by the elder apostles. so far from opposing the free admission of the gentiles to the christian community, peter declares himself to have been chosen of god that by his voice they should hear the gospel,( ) proclaims that there is no distinction between jew and gentile,( ) and advocates the abrogation, in their case at least, of the mosaic law.( ) james, whatever his private predilections may be, exhibits almost equal forbearance and desire of conciliation. in fact, whatever anomalies and contradictions may be discoverable, upon close examination, beneath this smooth and brilliant surface, the picture superficially presented is one of singular harmony and peace. on the other hand, instead of that sensitive independence and self-reliance of character which has been ascribed to the apostle paul, we find him represented in the acts as submissive to the authority of the "pillars" of the church, ready to conform to their { } counsels and bow to their decrees, and as seizing every opportunity of visiting jerusalem, and coming in contact with that stronghold of judaism. instead of the apostle of the gentiles, preaching the abrogation of the law, and more than suspected of leading the jews to apostatize from moses,( ) we find a man even scrupulous in his observance of mosaic customs, taking vows upon him, circumcising timothy with his own hand, and declaring at the close of his career, when a prisoner at rome, that he "did nothing against the people or the customs of the fathers."( ) there is no trace of angry controversy, of jealous susceptibility, of dogmatic difference in the circle of the apostles. the intercourse of paul with the leaders of the judaistic party is of the most unbroken pleasantness and amity. of opposition to his ministry, or doubt of his apostleship, whether on the part of the three, or of those who identified themselves with their teaching, we have no hint. we must endeavour to ascertain whether this is a true representation of the early development of the church, and of the momentous history of the apostolic age. in the epistles of paul we have, at least to some extent, the means of testing the accuracy of the statements of the acts with regard to him and the early history of the church. the epistles to the galatians, to the corinthians ( ), and to the romans are generally admitted to be genuine,( ) and can be freely used for this purpose. to these we shall limit our attention, excluding other epistles, whose authenticity is either questioned or denied, but in doing so no material capable of really affecting the result is set aside. for the same reason, we { } must reject any evidence to be derived from the so-called epistles of peter and james, at least so far as they are supposed to represent the opinions of peter and james, but here again it will be found that they do not materially affect the points immediately before us. the veracity of the acts of the apostles being the very point which is in question, it is unnecessary to say that we have to subject the narrative to examination, and by no means to assume the correctness of any statements we find in it. at the same time it must be our endeavour to collect from this document such indications--and they will frequently be valuable--of the true history of the occurrences related, as may be presented between the lines of the text. in the absence of fuller information, it must not be forgotten that human nature in the first century of our era was very much what it is in the nineteenth, and certain facts being clearly established, it will not be difficult to infer many details which cannot now be positively demonstrated. the epistle to the galatians, however, will be our most invaluable guide. dealing, as it does, with some of the principal episodes of the acts, we are enabled by the words of the apostle paul himself, which have all the accent of truth and vehement earnestness, to control the narrative of the unknown writer of that work. and where this source fails, we have the unsuspected testimony of his other epistles, and of later ecclesiastical history to assist our inquiry. the problem then which we have to consider is the manner in which the primitive church emerged from its earliest form, as a jewish institution with mosaic restrictions and israelitish exclusiveness, and finally opened wide its doors to the uncircumcised gentile, and assumed { } the character of a universal religion. in order to understand the nature of the case, and be able to estimate aright the solution which is presented by the narrative in the acts of the apostles, it is necessary that we should obtain a clear view of the actual characteristics of christianity at the period when that history begins. we must endeavour to understand precisely what view the apostles had formed of their position in regard to judaism, and of the duty which devolved upon them of propagating the gospel. it is obvious that we cannot rightly appreciate the amount of persuasion requisite to transform the primitive church from jewish exclusive-ness to christian universality, without ascertaining the probable amount of long rooted conviction and religious prejudice or principle which had to be overcome before that great change could be effected. we shall not here enter upon any argument as to the precise views which the founder of christianity may have held as to his own person and work, nor shall we attempt to sift the traditions of his life and teaching which have been handed down to us, and to separate the genuine spiritual nucleus from the grosser matter by which it has been enveloped and obscured. we have much more to do with the view which others took of the matter, and, looking at the gospels as representations of that which was accepted as the orthodox view regarding the teaching of jesus, they are almost as useful for our present purpose as if they had been more spiritual and less popular expositions of his views. what the master was understood to teach is more important for the history of the first century than what he actually taught without being understood. nothing is more certain than the fact that christianity, originally, was { } developed out of judaism, and that its advent was historically prepared by the course of the mosaic system, to which it was so closely related.( ) in its first stages during the apostolic age, it had no higher ambition than to be, and to be considered, the continuation and the fulfilment of judaism, its final and triumphant phase. the substantial identity of primitive christianity with true judaism was at first never called in question; it was considered a mere internal movement of judaism, its development and completion, but by no means its mutilation. the idea of christianity as a new religion never entered the minds of the twelve or of the first believers, nor, as we shall presently see, was it so regarded by the jews themselves. it was in fact, originally, nothing more than a sect of judaism, holding a particular view of one point in the creed and, for a very long period, it was considered so by others, and was in no way distinguished from the rest of mosaism.( ) even in the acts there are traces of this, paul being called "a ringleader of the sect [------] of the nazarenes,"( ) and the jews of rome being represented as referring to christianity by this term.( ) paul before the council not { } only does not scruple to call himself "a pharisee, the son of a pharisee," but the pharisees take part with him against the more unorthodox and hated sect of the sadducees.( ) for eighteen centuries disputes have fiercely raged over the creed of christendom, and the ingenuity of countless divines has been exhausted in deducing mystic dogmas from the primitive teaching, but if there be one thing more remarkable than another in that teaching, according to the synoptics, it is its perfect simplicity. jesus did not appear with a ready-made theology, and imposed no elaborate system of doctrine upon his disciples. throughout the prophetic period of mosaism, one hope had sustained the people of israel in all their sufferings and reverses: that the fortunes of the nation should finally be retrieved by a scion of the race of david, under whose rule it should be restored to a future of unexampled splendour and prosperity. the expectation of the messiah, under frequently modified aspects, had formed a living part in the national faith of israel. primitive christianity, sharing but recasting this ancient hope, was only distinguished from judaism, with whose worship it continued in all points united, by a single doctrine, which was in itself merely a modification of the national idea: the belief that jesus of nazareth was actually the christ, the promised messiah. this was substantially the whole of its creed.( ) { } the synoptic gospels, and more especially the first,( ) are clearly a history of jesus as the messiah of the house of david, so long announced and expected, and whose life and even his death and resurrection are shown to be the fulfilment of a series of old testament prophecies.( ) when his birth is announced to mary, he is described as the great one, who is to sit on the throne of david his father, and reign over the house of jacob for ever,( ) and the good tidings of great joy to all the people [------], that the messiah is born that day in the city of david, are proclaimed by the angel to the shepherds of the plain.( ) synieon takes the child in his arms and blesses god that the words of the holy spirit are accomplished, that he should not die before he had seen the lord's anointed, the messiah, the consolation of israel.( ) the magi come to his cradle in bethlehem, the birthplace of the messiah indicated by the prophet,( ) to do homage to him who is born king of the jews,( ) and there herod seeks to destroy him,( ) fulfilling another { } prophecy.( ) his flight into egypt and return to nazareth are equally in fulfilment of prophecies.( ) john the baptist, whose own birth as the forerunner of the messiah had been foretold,( ) goes before him preparing the way of the lord, and announcing that the messianic kingdom is at hand. according to the fourth gospel, some of the twelve had been disciples of the baptist, and follow jesus on their master's assurance that he is the messiah. one of these, andrew, induces his brother simon peter also to go after him by the announcement:--"we have found the messiah, which is, being interpreted, the christ" (i. ff. ). and philip tells nathaniel:--"we have found him of whom moses in the law and the prophets did write: jesus, the son of joseph, who is from nazareth" (i. ). when he has commenced his own public ministry, jesus is represented as asking his disciples:--"who do men say that i am?" and setting aside the popular conjectures that he is john the baptist, elijah, jeremiah, or one of the prophets, by the still more direct question:--"and whom do ye say that i am? simon peter answered and said:--thou art the christ, the son of the living god." and in consequence of this recognition of his messiahship, jesus rejoins:--"and i say unto thee that thou art peter, and upon this rock i will build my church."( ) { } it is quite apart from our present object to point out the singular feats of exegesis and perversions of historical s nse by which passages of the old testament are forced to show that every event in the history, and even the startling novelty of a suffering and crucified messiah, which to jews was a stumbling-block and to gentiles folly,( ) had been foretold by the prophets. from first to last the gospels strive to prove that jesus was the messiah, and connect him indissolubly with the old testament. the messianic key-note, which is struck at the outset, regulates the strain to the close. the disciples on the way to emmaus, appalled by the ignominious death of their master, sadly confide to the stranger their vanished hope that jesus of nazareth, whom they now merely call "a prophet mighty in word and deed before god and all the people," was the christ "who was about to redeem israel," and jesus himself replies:--"o foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spake! was it not needful that the christ (messiah) should suffer these things and enter into his glory? and, beginning at moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."( ) then, again, when he appears to the eleven, immediately after, at jerusalem, he says:--"'these are the words that i spake unto you while i was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of moses and the prophets and the psalms concerning me.' then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them:--'thus it is written, that the christ should suffer and rise from the dead the third day.'"( ) { } the crucifixion and death of jesus introduced the first elements of rupture with judaism, to which they formed the great stumbling-block.( ) the conception of a suffering and despised messiah could naturally never have occurred to a jewish mind.( ) the first effort of christianity, therefore, was to repair the apparent breach by proving that the suffering messiah had actually been foretold by the prophets; and to re-establish the messianic character of jesus, by the evidence of his resurrection.( ) but, above all, the momentary deviation from orthodox jewish ideas regarding the messiah was retraced by the representation of a speedy second advent, in glory, of the once rejected messiah to restore the kingdom of israel, by which the ancient hopes of the people became reconciled with the new expectation of christians. even before the ascension, the disciples are represented in the acts as asking the risen jesus:--"lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to israel?"( ) there can be no doubt of the reality and { } universality of the belief, in the apostolic church, in the immediate return of the glorified messiah and speedy "end of all things."( ) the substance of the preaching of the apostles in acts, simply is that jesus is the christ,( ) the expected messiah.( ) their chief aim is to prove that his sufferings and death had been foretold by the prophets,( ) and that his resurrection establishes his claim to the title.( ) the simplicity of the creed is illustrated by the rapidity with which converts are made. after a few words, on one occasion, three thousand( ) and, on another, five thousand( ) are at once converted. no lengthened instruction or preparation was requisite for admission into the church.( ) as soon as a jew acknowledged jesus to be the messiah he thereby became a christian.( ) as soon as the { } three thousand converts at pentecost made this confession of faith they were baptized.( ) the ethiopian is converted whilst passing in his chariot, and is immediately baptized,( ) as are likewise cornelius and his household after a short address from peter.( ) the new faith involved no abandonment of the old. on the contrary, the advent of the messiah was so essential a part of judaic belief, and the messianic claim of jesus was so completely based by the apostles on the fulfilment of prophecy--"showing by the scriptures that jesus is the christ,"--that recognition of the fact rather constituted firmer adhesion to mosaism, and deeper faith in the inviolable truth of the covenant with israel. if there had been no mosaism, so to say, there could have been no messiah. so far from being opposed either to the form or spirit of the religion of israel, the proclamation of the messiah was its necessary complement, and could only be intelligible by confirmation of its truth and maintenance of its validity. christianity--belief in the messiah--in its earlier phases, drew its whole nourishment from roots that sank deeply into mosaism. it was indeed nothing more than mosaism in a developed form. the only difference between the jew and the christian was that the latter believed the messiah to have already appeared in jesus, whilst the former still expected him in the future;( ) though even this difference { } was singularly diminished, in appearance at least, by the christian expectation of the second advent. it is exceedingly important to ascertain, under these circumstances, what was the impression of the apostles as to the relation of believers to judaism and to mosaic observances, although it must be clear to any one who impartially considers the origin and historical antecedents of the christian faith, that very little doubt can have existed in their minds on the subject. the teaching of jesus, as recorded in the synoptic gospels, is by no means of a doubtful character, more especially when the sanctity of the mosaic system in the eyes of a jew is borne in mind. it must be apparent that, in order to remove the obligation of a law and form of worship believed to have been, in the most direct sense, instituted by god himself, the most clear, strong, and reiterated order would have been requisite. no one can reasonably maintain that a few spiritual expressions directed against the bare letter and abuse of the law, which were scarcely understood by the hearers, could have been intended to abolish a system so firmly planted, or to overthrow jewish institutions of such antiquity and national importance, much less that they could be taken in this sense by the disciples. a few passages in the gospels, therefore, which may bear the interpretation of having foreseen the eventual supersession of mosaism by his own more spiritual principles, must not be strained to support the idea that jesus taught disregard of the law. his very distinct and positive lessons, conveyed both by precept and practice, show, on the contrary, that not only he did not intend to attack pure mosaism, but that he was understood both directly and by inference to recognise and confirm it. in the sermon on the mount, jesus { } states to the disciples in the most positive manner:--"think not that i came to destroy the law or the prophets; i came not to destroy but to fulfil. for verily i say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be accomplished."( ) whether the last phrase be interpreted: till all the law be accomplished, or till all things appointed to occur be accomplished, the effect is the same. one clear explicit declaration like this, under the circumstances, would outweigh a host of doubtful expressions. not only does jesus in this passage directly repudiate any idea of attacking the law and the prophets, but, in representing his mission as their fulfilment, he affirms them, and associates his own work in the closest way with theirs. if there were any uncertainty, however, as to the meaning of his words it would be removed by the continuation:--"whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these commandments, even the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."( ) it would be difficult for teaching to be more decisive in favour of the maintenance of the law, and this instruction, according to the first synoptic, was specially directed to the disciples.( ) when jesus goes on to show that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees, and to add to the letter of the law, as interpreted by those of old, his own profound interpretation of its { } spirit, he only intensifies, without limiting, the operation of the law; he merely spiritualises it. he does no more than this in his lessons regarding the observance of the sabbath. he did not in point of fact attack the genuine mosaic institution of the day of rest at all, but merely the intolerable literalism by which its observance had been made a burden instead of "a delight." he justified his variation from the traditional teaching and practice of his time, however, by appeals to scriptural precedent.( ) as a recent writer has said: "....the observance of the sabbath, which had been intended to secure for weary men a rest full of love and peace and mercy, had become a mere national fetish--a barren custom fenced in with the most frivolous and senseless restrictions."( ) jesus restored its original significance. in restricting some of the permissive clauses of the law, on the other hand, he acted precisely in the same spirit. he dealt with the law not with the temper of a revolutionist, but of a reformer, and his reforms, so far from affecting its permanence, are a virtual confirmation of the rest of the code.( ) ritschl, whose views on this point will have some weight with apologists, combats the idea that jesus merely confirmed the mosaic moral law, and abolished the ceremonial law. referring to one particular point of importance, he says:--"he certainly contests the duty of the sabbath rest, the value of purifications and sacrifices, and the validity of divorce; on the other hand, he leaves unattacked the value of circumcision, whose regulation is generally reckoned as part of the { } ceremonial law; and nothing justifies the conclusion that jesus estimated it in the same way as justin martyr, and the other gentile christian church teachers, who place it on the same line as the ceremonies. the only passage in which jesus touches upon circumcision (john vii. ) rather proves that, as an institution of the patriarchs, he attributes to it peculiar sanctity. moreover, when jesus, with unmistakable intention, confines his own personal ministry to the israelitish people (mk. vii. , mt. x. , ), he thereby recognises their prior right of participation in the kingdom of god, and also, indirectly, circumcision as the sign of the preference of this people. the distinction of circumcision from ceremonies, besides, is perfectly intelligible from the old testament. through circumcision, to wit, is the israelite, sprung from the people of the covenant, indicated as sanctified by god; through purification, sacrifice, sabbath-rest must he continually sanctify himself for god. so long, therefore, as the conception of the people of the covenant is maintained, circumcision cannot be abandoned, whilst even the prophets have pointed to the merely relative importance of the mosaic worship."( ) jesus everywhere in the gospels recognises the divine origin of the law,( ) and he quotes the predictions of the prophets as absolute evidence of his own pretensions. to those who ask him the way to eternal life he indicates its commandments,( ) and he even enjoins the observance of its ceremonial rites.( ) jesus did not abrogate the { } mosaic law; but, on the contrary, by his example as well as his precepts, he practically confirmed it.( ) according to the statements of the gospels, jesus himself observed the prescriptions of the mosaic law.( ) from his birth he had been brought up in its worship.( ) he was circumcised on the eighth day.( ) "and when the days of their purification were accomplished, according to the law of moses, they brought him up to jerusalem to present him to the lord, even as it is written in the law of the lord: every male, &c, &c, and to give a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the lord," &c, &c.( ) every year his parents went to jerusalem at the feast of the passover,( ) and this practice he continued till the close of his life. "as his custom was, he went into the synagogue (at nazareth) and stood up to read."( ) according to the fourth gospel, jesus goes up to jerusalem for the various festivals of the jews,( ) and the feast of the passover, according to the synoptics, was the last memorable supper eaten { } with his disciples,( ) the third synoptic representing him as saying: "with desire i desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer; for i say unto you that i shall not any more eat it until it be fulfilled hi the kingdom of god."( ) however exceptional the character of jesus, and however elevated his views, it is undeniable that he lived and died a jew, conforming to the ordinances of the mosaic law in all essential points, and not holding himself aloof from the worship of the temple which he purified. the influence which his adherence to the forms of judaism must have exerted over his followers( ) can scarcely be exaggerated, and the fact must ever be carefully borne in mind in estimating the conduct of the apostles and of the primitive christian community after his death. as befitted the character of the jewish messiah, the sphere of the ministry of jesus and the arrangements for the proclamation of the gospel were strictly and even intensely, judaic. jesus attached to his person twelve disciples, a number clearly typical of the twelve tribes of the people of israel;( ) and this reference is distinctly adopted when jesus is represented, in the synoptics, as promising that, in the messianic kingdom, "when the son { } of man shall sit on the throne of his glory," the twelve also "shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of israel;"( ) a promise which, according to the third synoptist, is actually made during the last supper.( ) in the apocalypse, which, "of all the writings of the new testament is most thoroughly jewish in its language and imagery,"( ) the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb are written upon the twelve foundations of the wall of the heavenly jerusalem, upon the twelve gates of which, through which alone access to the city can be obtained, are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of israel.( ) jesus himself limited his teaching to the jews, and was strictly "a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers."( ) to the prayer of the canaanitish woman: "have mercy on me, o lord, son of david," unlike his gracious demeanour to her of the bloody issue,( ) jesus, at first, it is said, "answered her not a word;" and even when besought by the disciples--not to heal her daughter, but--to "send her away," he makes the emphatic declaration: "i was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of israel."( ) to her continued appeals he lays { } down the principle: "it is not lawful to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." if after these exclusive sentences the boon is finally granted, it is as of the crumbs( ) which fall from the master's table.( ) the modified expression( ) in the second gospel: "let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs;" does not affect the case, for it equally represents exclusion from the privileges of israel, and the messianic idea fully contemplated a certain grace to the heathen when the children were filled. the expression regarding casting, the children's bread "to the dogs" is clearly in reference to the gentiles, who were so called by the jews.( ) a similar, though still stronger use of such expressions, might be pointed out in the sermon on the mount in the first { } gospel (vii. ): "give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine." it is certain that the jews were in the habit of speaking of the heathen both as dogs and swine--unclean animals,--and hilgenfeld,( ) and some other critics, see in this verse a reference to the gentiles. we do not, however, press this application which is, and may be, disputed, but merely mention it and pass on. there can be no doubt, however, of the exclusive references to the gentiles in the same sermon, and other passages, where the disciples are enjoined to practise a higher righteousness than the gentiles. "do not even the publicans... do not even the gentiles or sinners the same things."( ) "take no thought, &c, for after all these things do the gentiles seek; but seek ye, &c, &c."( ) the contrast is precisely that put with some irony by paul, making use of the common jewish expression "sinner" as almost equivalent for "gentile;"( ) in another place the first synoptic represents jesus as teaching his disciples how to deal with a brother who sins against them, and as the final resource, when every effort at reconciliation and justice has failed, he says: "let him be unto thee as the gentile [------] and the publican." (mt. xviii. .) he could not express in a stronger way to a jewish mind the idea of social and religious excommunication. the instructions which jesus gives in sending out the twelve, however, express the exclusiveness of the { } messianic mission, in the first instance at least, to the jews, in a very marked manner. jesus commands his disciples: "go not into a way of the gentiles [------] and into a city of the samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel. and as ye go, preach, saying: the kingdom of heaven is at hand."( ) as if more emphatically to mark the limitation of the mission, the assurance is seriously added: "for verily i say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of israel, till the son of man come."( ) it will be observed that jesus here charges the twelve to go rather "to the lost sheep of the house of israel" in the same words that he employs to the canaanitish woman to describe the exclusive destination of his own ministry.( ) in coupling the samaritans with the gentiles there is merely an expression of the intense antipathy of the jews against them, as a mixed and, we may say, renegade race, excluded from the jewish worship although circumcised, intercourse with whom is to this day almost regarded as pollution.( ) the third gospel, which omits the restrictive instructions of jesus to the twelve given by the first synoptist, introduces another episode of the same description: the appointment and mission of seventy disciples,( ) to which we must very briefly refer. no mention whatever is made of this incident in the other gospels, and these disciples are not referred to in any other part of the new testament.( ) even eusebius remarks that no { } catalogue of them is anywhere given,( ) and, after naming a few persons, who were said by tradition to have been of their number, he points out that more than seventy disciples appear, for instance, according to the testimony of paul.( ) it will be observed that the instructions, at least in considerable part, supposed to be given to the seventy in the third. synoptic are, in the first, the very instructions given to the twelve. there has been much discussion regarding the whole episode, which need not here be minutely referred to. for various reasons the majority of critics impugn its historical character.( ) a large number of these, as well as other writers, consider that the narrative of this appointment of seventy disciples, the number of the nations of the earth according to jewish ideas, was introduced in pauline universalistic interest,( ) or, at least, that the number is { } typical of gentile conversion, in contrast with that of the twelve who represent the more strictly judaic limitation of the messianic mission; and they seem to hold that the preaching of the seventy is represented as not confined to judaea, but as extending to samaria, and that it thus denoted the destination of the gospel also to the gentiles. on the other hand, other critics, many, though by no means all, of whom do not question the authenticity of the passage, are disposed to deny the pauline tendency, and any special connection with a mission to the gentiles, and rather to see in the number seventy a reference to well-known judaistic institutions.( ) it is true that the number of the nations was set down at seventy by jewish tradition,( ) but, on the other hand, it was the number of the elders chosen by moses from amongst the children of israel by god's command to help him, and to whom god gave of his spirit( )s and also of the national { } sanhedrin, which, according to the mischna,( ) still represented the mosaic council. this view receives confirmation from the clementine recognitions in the following passage: "he therefore chose us twelve who first believed in him, whom he named apostles; afterwards seventy-two other disciples of most approved goodness, that even in this way recognising the similitude of moses the multitude might believe that this is the prophet to come whom moses foretold."( ) the passage here referred to is twice quoted in the acts: "moses indeed said: a prophet will the lord our god raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me," &c.( ) on examination, we do not find that there is any ground for the assertion that the seventy disciples were sent to the samaritans or gentiles, or were in any way connected with universalistic ideas. jesus had "stedfastly set his face to go to jerusalem," and sent messengers before him who "went and entered into a village of the samaritans to make ready for him," but they repulsed him, "because his face was as though he would go to jerusalem."( ) there is a decided break, however, before the appointment of the seventy. "after these things [------] the lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was about to come."( ) there is not a single word in the instructions ( } given to them which justifies the conclusion that they were sent to samaria, and only the inference from the number seventy, taken as typical of the nations, suggests it. that inference is not sufficiently attested, and the slightness of the use made of the seventy disciples in the third gospel--this occasion being the only one on which they are mentioned, and no specific intimation of any mission to all people being here given--does not favour the theory of pauline tendency. so far as we are concerned, however, the point is unimportant. those who assert the universalistic character of the episode generally deny its authenticity; most of those who accept it as historical deny its universalism. the order to go and teach all nations, however, by no means carries us beyond strictly messianic limits. whilst the jews expected the messiah to restore the people of israel to their own holy land and crown them with unexampled prosperity and peace, revenging their past sorrows upon their enemies, and granting them supremacy over all the earth, they likewise held that one of the messianic glories was to be the conversion of the gentiles to the worship of jahveh. this is the burden of the prophets, and it requires no proof. the jews, as the people with whom god had entered into covenant, were first to be received into the kingdom. "let the children first be filled,"( ) and then the heathen might partake of the bread. regarding the ultimate conversion of the gentiles, therefore, there was no doubt; the only questions were as to the time and the conditions of admission into the national fellowship. as to the time, there never had been any expectation that the heathen could be turned to jahveh in numbers before the appearance of the { } messiah, but converts to judaism had been made in all ages, and after the dispersion, especially, the influence of the jews upon the professors of the effete and expiring religions of rome, of greece, and of egypt was very great, and numerous proselytes adopted the faith of israel,( ) and were eagerly sought for( ) in spite of the abusive terms in which the talmudists spoke of them.( ) the conditions on the other hand were perfectly definite. the case of converts had been early foreseen and provided for in the mosaic code. without referring to minor points, we may at once say that circumcision was indispensable to admission into the number of the children of israel.( ) participation in the privileges of the covenant could only be secured by accepting the mark of that covenant. very many, however, had adopted judaism to a great extent, who were not willing to undergo the rite requisite to full admission into the nation, and a certain modification had gradually been introduced by which, without it, strangers might be admitted into partial communion with israel. there were, therefore, two classes of proselytes,( ) the first called proselytes of the covenant or of righteousness, who were circumcised, obeyed the whole mosaic law, and { } were fully incorporated with israel, and the other called proselytes of the gate,( ) or worshippers of jahveh, who in the new testament are commonly called [------]. these had not undergone the rite of circumcision, and therefore were not participators in the covenant, but merely worshipped the god of israel,( ) and were only compelled to observe the seven noachian prescriptions. these proselytes of the gate, however, were little more than on sufferance. they were excluded from the temple, and even the acts of the apostles represent it to be pollution for a jew to have intercourse with them: it requires direct divine intervention to induce peter to go to cornelius, and to excuse his doing so in the eyes of the primitive church.( ) nothing short of circumcision and full observance of the mosaic law could secure the privileges of the covenant with israel to a stranger, and in illustration of this we may again point to the acts, where certain who came from judaea, members of the primitive church, teach the christians of antioch: "except ye have been circumcised after the custom of moses ye cannot be saved."( ) we need not discuss the chronology of this class. it is scarcely necessary to speak of the well-known case of lzates, king of adiabene, related by josephus. the jewish merchant ananias, who teaches him to worship god according to the religion of the jews, is willing, evidently from the special emergency of the case and the danger of forcing izates fully to embrace judaism in the face of his people, to let him remain a mere jahveh worshipper, only partially conforming to the law, and remaining uncircumcised'; but another jew from galilee, eleazer, versed in jewish learning, points out to him that, in neglecting circumcision, he breaks the principal point of the law. izates then has himself circumcised. josephus, antiq. xx. , § f. acts x. ff, xi. ft. dr. lightfoot says: "the apostles of the circumcision, even st. peter himself, had failed hitherto to comprehend the wide purpose of god. with their fellow-countrymen they still held it unlawful for a jew to keep company with an alien' (acts x. )." galatians, p. . { } this will be more fully shown as we proceed. the conversion of the gentiles was not, therefore, in the least degree an idea foreign to judaism, but, on the contrary, formed an intimate part of the messianic expectation of the later prophets. the conditions of admission to the privileges and promises of the covenant, however, were full acceptance of the mosaic law, and submission to the initiatory rite.( ) that small and comparatively insignificant people, with an arrogance that would have been ridiculous if, in the influence which they have actually exerted over the world, it had not been almost sublime, not only supposed themselves the sole and privileged recipients of the oracles of god, as his chosen and peculiar people, but they contemplated nothing short of universal submission to the mosaic code, and the supremacy of israel over all the earth. we are now better able to estimate the position of the twelve when the death of their master threw them on their own resources, and left them to propagate his gospel as they themselves understood it. born a jew of the race of david, accepting during his life the character of the promised messiah, and dying with the mocking title "king of the jews" written upon his cross, jesus had left his disciples in close communion with the mosaism which he had spiritualized and ennobled, but had not abolished. he himself had taught them that "it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness," and, from his youth upwards, had set them the example of { } enlightened observance of the mosaic law. his precept had not belied his example, and whilst in strong terms we find him inculcating the permanence of the law, it is certain that he left no order to disregard it. he confined his own preaching to the jews; the first ministers of the messiah represented the twelve tribes of the people of israel;.and the first christians were of that nation, with no distinctive worship, but practising as before the whole mosaic ritual. what neander savs of "many," may, we think, be referred to all: "that jesus faithfully observed the form of the jewish law served to them as evidence that this form should ever preserve its value."( ) as a fact, the apostles and the early christians continued as before assiduously to practise all the observances of the mosaic law, to frequent the temple( ) and adhere to the usual strict forms of judaism.( ) in addition to the influence of the example of jesus and the powerful effect of national habit, there were many strong reasons which obviously must to jews have rendered abandonment of the law as difficult as submission to its full requirements must have been to gentiles. holding as they did the divine origin of the old testament, in which the observance of the law was inculcated on almost every page, { } it would have been impossible, without counter-teaching of the most peremptory and convincing character, to have shaken its supremacy; but beyond this, in that theocratic community mosaism was not only the condition of the covenant, and the key of the temple, but it was also the diploma of citizenship, and the bond of social and political life. to abandon the observance of the law was not only to resign the privilege and the distinctive characteristic of israel, to relinquish the faith of the patriarchs who were the glory of the nation, and to forsake a divinely appointed form of worship, without any recognized or even indicated substitute, but it severed the only link between the individual and the people of israel, and left him in despised isolation, an outcast from the community. they had no idea, however, that any such sacrifice was required of them. they were simply jews believing in the jewish messiah, and they held that all things else were to proceed as before, until the glorious second coining of the christ.( ) the apostles and primitive christians continued to hold the national belief that the way to christianity lay through judaism, and that the observance of the law was obligatory and circumcision necessary to complete communion.( ) paul describes with unappeased { } irritation the efforts made by the community of jerusalem, whose "pillars" were peter, james, and john, to force titus, a gentile christian, to be circumcised,( ) and even the acts represent james and all the elders of the church of jerusalem as requesting paul, long after, to take part with four jewish christians, who had a vow and were about to purify themselves and shave their heads and, after the accomplishment of the days of purification, make the usual offering in the temple, in order to convince the "many thousands there of those who have believed and are all zealous for the law," that it is untrue that he teaches: "all the jews who are among the gentiles apostacy [------] from moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs," and to show, on the contrary, that he himself walks orderly and keeps the law.( ) as true israelites, with opinions fundamentally unchanged by belief that jesus was the messiah, they held that the gospel was specially intended for the people of the covenant, and they confined their teaching to the jews.( ) a gentile whilst still uncircumcised, even although converted, could not, they thought, be received on an gal ii. ff. as we shall more fully discuss this episode hereafter, it is not necessary to do so here. acts xxi. -- ; cf. xv. i. paul is also represented as saying to the jews of rome that he has done nothing" against the customs of their fathers." dr. lightfoot says: "meanwhile at jerusalem some years past away before the barrier of judaism was assailed. the apostles still observed the mosaic ritual; they still confined their preaching to jews by birth, or jews by adoption, the proselytes of the covenant," &c. paul's ep. to gal. p. . paley says: "it was not yet known to the apostles, that they were at liberty to propose the religion to mankind at large. that 'mystery,' as st. paul calls it (eph. iii. - ), and as it then was, was revealed to peter by an especial miracle." a view of the evidence, &c, ed. potts, , p. . { } equality with the jew, but defiled him by contact.( ) the attitude of the christian jew to the merely christian gentile, who had not entered the community by the portal of judaism, was, as before, simply that of the jew to the proselyte of the gate. the apostles could not upon any other terms have then even contemplated the conversion of the gentiles. jesus had limited his own teaching to the jews, and, according to the first gospel, had positively prohibited, at one time at least, their going to the gentiles, or even to the samaritans, and if there had been an order given to preach to all nations it certainly was not accompanied by any removal of the conditions specified in the law.( ) it has been remarked that neither party, in the great discussion in the church regarding the terms upon which gentiles might be admitted to the privileges of christianity, ever appealed in support of their views to specific instructions of jesus on the subject.( ) the reason is intelligible enough. the petrine party, supported as they were by the whole weight of the law and of holy scripture, as well as by the example and tacit approval of the master, could not have felt even that degree of doubt which precedes an appeal to authority. dr. lightfoot says: "the master himself had left no express instructions. he had charged them, it is true, to preach the gospel to all nations, but how this injunction was to be carried out, by what changes a national church must expand into an universal church, they had not been told. he had indeed asserted the sovereignty of the spirit over the letter; he had enunciated the great principle--as wide in its application as the law itself--that' man was not made for the sabbath, but the sabbath for man.' he had pointed to the fulfilment of the law in the gospel. so fer he had discredited the law, but he had not deposed it or abolished it. it was left to the apostles themselves under the guidance of the spirit, moulded by circumstances and moulding them in turn, to work out the great change." st. paul's ep. to gal. . { } the party of paul, on the other hand, had nothing in their favour to which a specific appeal could have been made; but in his constant protest that he had not received his doctrine from man, but had been taught it by direct revelation, the apostle of the gentiles, who was the first to proclaim a substantial difference between christianity and judaism,( ) in reality endeavoured to set aside the authority of the judaistic party by an appeal from the earthly to the spiritualized messiah. even after the visit of paul to jerusalem about the year , the elder apostles still retained the views which we have shown to have been inevitable under the circumstances, and, as we learn from paul himself, they still continued mere "apostles of the circumcision," limiting their mission to the jews.( ) the apostles and the primitive christians, therefore, after the death of their master, whom they believed to be the messiah of the jews, having received his last instructions, and formed their final impressions of his views, remained jews, believing in the continued obligation to observe the law and, consequently, holding the initiatory rite essential to participation in the privileges of the covenant. they held this not only as jews believing in the divine origin of the old testament and of the law, but as christians confirmed by the example and the teaching of their christ, whose very coming was a substantial ratification of the ancient faith of israel. in this position they stood when the { } gospel, without their intervention, and mainly by the exertions of the apostle paul, began to spread amongst the gentiles, and the terms of their admission came into question. it is impossible to deny that the total removal of conditions, advocated by the apostle paul with all the vehemence and warmth of his energetic character, and involving nothing short of the abrogation of the law and surrender of all the privileges of israel, must have been shocking not only to the prejudices but also to the deepest religious convictions of men who, although christians, had not ceased to be jews, and, unlike the apostle of the gentiles, had been directly and daily in contact with jesus, without having been taught such revolutionary principles. from this point we have to proceed with our examination of the account in the acts of the relation of the elder apostles to paul, and the solution of the difficult problem before them. chapter v. stephen the martyr before the apostle of the gentiles himself comes on the scene, and is directly brought in contact with the twelve, we have to study the earlier incidents narrated in the acts, wherein, it is said, the emancipation of the church from jewish exclusiveness had already either commenced or been clearly anticipated. the first of these which demands our attention is the narrative of the martyrdom of stephen. this episode, although highly interesting and important in itself, might, we consider, have been left unnoticed in connection with the special point now engaging our attention, but such significance has been imparted to it by the views which critics have discovered in the speech of stephen, that we cannot pass it without attention. if this detention be, on the one hand, to be regretted, it will on the other be compensated by the light which may be thrown on the composition of the acts. we read(l) that in consequence of murmurs amongst the hellenists against the hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of alms, seven deacons were appointed specially to attend to such ministrations. amongst these, it is said, was stephen,( ) { } "a man full of faith and of the holy spirit." stephen, it appears, by no means limited his attention to the material interests of the members of the church, but being "full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs [------] amongst the people." "but there arose certain of those of the synagogue which is called (the synagogue) of the libertines( ) and cyrenians and alexandrians and of them of cilicia and of asia, disputing with stephen; and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. then they suborned men who said: we have heard him speak blasphemous words against moses and god. and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses who said: this man ceaseth not to speak words against the holy place and the law; for we have heard him say, that jesus, this naza-rene, shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which moses delivered to us." the high-priest asks him: are these things so? and stephen delivers an address, which has since been the subject of much discussion amongst critics and divines. the contents of the speech taken by themselves do not present any difficulty, so far as the sense is concerned, but regarded as a reply to the accusations brought against him by the false witnesses, the defence of stephen has perhaps been interpreted in a greater variety of ways than any other part of the new testament. its shadowy outlines have been used as a setting for the pious thoughts of subsequent { } generations, and every imaginable intention has been ascribed to the proto-martyr, every possible or impossible reference detected in the phrases of his oration. this has mainly arisen from the imperfect nature of the account in the acts, and the absence of many important details which has left criticism to adopt that "divinatorisch-combinatorische" procedure which is so apt to evolve any favourite theory from the inner consciousness. the prevailing view, however, amongst the great majority of critics of all schools is, that stephen is represented in the acts as the forerunner of the apostle paul, anticipating his universalistic principles, and proclaiming with more or less of directness the abrogation of mosaic ordinances and the freedom of the christian church.( ) this view was certainly advanced by augustine, and lies at the base of his famous saying: "si sanctus stephanus sic non oras-set, ecclesia paulum non haberet,"( ) but it was first clearly enunciated by baur, who subjected the speech of stephen to detailed analysis,( ) and his interpretation has to a large extent been adopted even by apologists. it must be clearly understood that adherence to this reading of the aim and meaning of the speech, as it is given in the acts, by no means involves an admission of its authenticity, which, on the contrary, is impugned by baur himself, and by a large number of independent critics. we have the misfortune of differing most materially from the prevalent view regarding the contents of the speech, and we maintain that, as it stands in the acts, there is not a { } word in it which can be legitimately construed into an attack upon the mosaic law, or which anticipates the christian universalism of paul. space, however, forbids our entering here upon a discussion of this subject, but the course which we must adopt with regard to it renders it unnecessary to deal with the interpretation of the speech. we consider that there is no reason for believing that the discourse put into the mouth of stephen was ever actually delivered, but on the contraiy that there is every ground for holding that it is nothing more than a composition by the author of the acts. we shall endeavour clearly to state the reasons for this conclusion. with the exception of the narrative in the acts, there is no evidence whatever that such a person as stephen ever existed. the statements of the apostle paul leave no doubt that persecution against the christians of jerusalem must have broken out previous to his conversion, but no details are given, and it can scarcely be considered otherwise than extraordinary, that paul should not in any of his own writings have referred to the proto-martyr of the christian church, if the account which is given of him be historical. it may be argued that his own share in the martyrdom of stephen made the episode an unpleasant memory, which the apostle would not readily recall. considering the generosity of paul's character on the one hand, however, and the important position assigned to stephen on the other, this cannot be admitted as an explanation, and it is perfectly unaccountable that, if stephen really be a historical personage, no mention of him occurs elsewhere in the new testament. moreover, if stephen was, as asserted, the direct forerunner of paul, and in his hearing enunciated { } sentiments like those ascribed to him, already expressing much more than the germ--indeed the full spirit--of pauline universality, it would be passing strange that paul not only tacitly ignores all that he owes to the proto-martyr, but vehemently protests: "but i make known unto you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not after man. for neither did i receive it from man, nor was taught it, but by revelation of jesus christ."( ) there is no evidence whatever that such a person exercised any such influence on paul.( ) one thing only is certain, that the speech and martyrdom of stephen made so little impression on paul that, according to acts, he continued a bitter persecutor of christianity, "making havoc of the church." the statement, vi. , that "stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people" is not calculated to increase confidence in the narrative as sober history; and as little is the assertion, vi. , that "all who sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." this, we think, is evidently an instance of christian subjective opinion made objective.( ) how, we might ask, could it be known to the writer that all who sat at the council saw this? neander replies that probably it is the evidence of members of the sanhedrin of the impression made on them by the aspect of stephen.( ) the intention of the writer, however, obviously is to describe a supernatural it is further very remarkable, if it be assumed that the vision, acts vii. , actually was seen, that, in giving a list of those who have seen the risen jesus ( cor. xv. -- ), which he evidently intends to be complete, he does not include stephen. { } phenomenon,( ) and this is in his usual manner in this book, where miraculous agency is more freely employed than in any other in the canon. the session of the council commences in a regular manner,( ) but the previous arrest of stephen,( ) and the subsequent interruption of his defence, are described as a tumultuous proceeding, his death being. unsanctioned by any sentence of the council.( ) the sanhed-rin, indeed, could not execute any sentence of death without the ratification of the roman authorities,( ) and nothing is said in the narrative which implies that any regular verdict was pronounced; but, on the contrary, the tumult described in v. f. excludes such a supposition. olshausen( ) considers that, in order to avoid any collision with the roman power, the sanhedrin did not pronounce any formal judgment, but connived at the execution which some fanatics carried out. this explanation, however, is inadmissible, because it is clear that the members of the council themselves, if also the audience, { } attacked and stoned stephen.( ) the actual stoning( ) is carried out with all regard to legal forms;( ) the victim being taken out of the city,( ) and the witnesses casting the first stone,( ) and for this purpose taking off their outer garments. the whole account, with its singular mixture of utter lawlessness and formality, is extremely improbable,( ) and more especially when the speech itself is considered. the proceedings commence in an orderly manner, and the high priest calls upon stephen for his defence. the council and audience listen patiently and quietly to his speech, and no interruption takes place until he has said all that he had to sav, for it must be apparent that when the speaker abandons narrative and argument and breaks into direct invective, there could not have been any intention to prolong the address, as no expectation of calm attention after such denunciations could have been natural. the tumult cuts short the oration precisely where the author had exhausted his { } subject, and by temporary lawlessness overcomes the legal difficulty of a sentence which the sanhedrin, without the ratification of the roman authority, could not have carried out. as soon as the tumult has effected these objects, all becomes orderly and legal again; and, consequently, the witnesses can lay their garments "at a young man's feet whose name was saul." the principal actor in the work is thus dramatically introduced. as the trial commences with a supernatural illumination of the face of stephen, it ends with a supernatural vision, in which stephen sees heaven opened, and the son of man standing at the right hand of god. such a trial and such an execution present features which are undoubtedly not historical. this impression is certainly not lessened when we find how many details of the trial and death of stephen are based on the accounts in the gospels of the trial and death of jesus.( ) the irritated adversaries of stephen stir up the people and the elders and scribes, and come upon him and lead him to the council.( ) they seek false witness against him;( ) and these false witnesses accuse him of speaking against the temple and the law.( ) the false witnesses who are set up against jesus with similar testimony, according to the first two synoptics, are strangely omitted by the third. the reproduction of this trait here has much that is suggestive. the high priest asks: "are these things so?"( ) stephen, at { } the close of his speech, exclaims: "i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of god." jesus says: "henceforth shall the son of man be seated on the right hand of the power of god."( ) whilst he is being stoned, stephen prays, saying: "lord jesus, receive my spirit;" and, similarly, jesus on the cross cries, with a loud voice: "father, into thy hands i commend my spirit; and, having said this, he expired."( ) stephen, as he is about to die, cries, with a loud voice: "lord, lay not this sin to their charge; and when he said this he fell asleep;" and jesus says: "father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."( ) these two sayings of jesus are not given anywhere but in the third synoptic,( ) and their imitation by stephen, in another work of the same evangelist, is a peculiarity which deserves attention. it is argued by apologists( ) that nothing is more natural than that the first martyrs should have the example of the suffering jesus in their minds, and die with his expressions of love and resignation on their lips. on the other hand, taken along with other most suspicious circumstances which we have already pointed out, and with the fact, which we shall presently demonstrate, that the speech of stephen is nothing more { } than a composition by the author of acts, the singular analogies presented by this narrative with the trial and last words of jesus in the gospels seem to us an additional indication of its inauthenticity. as baur( ) and zeller( ) have well argued, the use of two expressions of jesus only found in the third synoptic is a phenomenon which is much more naturally explained by attributing them to the author, who of course knew that gospel well, than to stephen who did not know it at all.( ) the prominence which is given to this episode of the first christian martyrdom is intelligible in itself, and it acquires fresh significance when it is considered as the introduction of the apostle paul, whose perfect silence regarding the proto-martyr, however, confirms the belief which we otherwise acquire, that the whole narrative and speech, whatever unknown tradition may have suggested them, are, as we have them, to be ascribed to the author of the acts. on closer examination, one of the first questions which arises is: how could such a speech have been reported? although neander( ) contends that we are not justified in asserting that all that is narrated regarding stephen in the acts occurred in a single day, we think it cannot be doubted that the intention is to describe the arrest, trial, and execution as rapidly following each other on the same day. "they came upon him, and seized him, and { } brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, who said," &c.( ) there is no ground here for interpolating any imprisonment, and if not, then it follows clearly that stephen, being immediately called upon to answer for himself, is, at the end of his discourse, violently carried away without the city to be stoned. no preparations could have been made even to take notes of his speech, if upon any ground it were reasonable to assume the possibility of an intention to do so; and indeed it could not, under the circumstances, have been foreseen that he should either have been placed in such a position, or have been able to make a speech at all. the rapid progress of all the events described, and the excitement consequent on such tumultuous proceedings, render an ordinary explanation of the manner in which such a speech could have been preserved improbable, and it is difficult to suppose that it could have been accurately remembered, with all its curious details, by one who was present. improbable as it is, however, this is the only suggestion which can possibly be advanced. the majority of apologists suppose that the speech was heard and reported by the apostle paul himself,( ) or at least that it was communicated or written down either by a member of the sanhedrin, or by some one who was present.( ) as there is no information on the point, there is ample scope for imagination, but when we come to consider its linguistic and other peculiarities, it must be borne in { } mind that the extreme difficulty of explaining the preservation of such a speech must be an element in judging whether it is not rather a composition by the author of acts. the language in which it was delivered, again, is the subject of much difference of opinion, many maintaining that it must have originally been spoken in aramaic,( ) whilst others hold that it was delivered in greek.( ) still, a large number of critics and divines of course assert that the speech attributed to stephen is at least substantially authentic. as might naturally be expected in a case where negative criticism is arrayed against a canonical work upheld by the time-honoured authority of the church, those who dispute its authenticity( ) are in the minority. it is maintained by the latter that the language is more or less that of the writer of the rest of the work, and that the speech in fact as it lies before us is a later composition by the author of the acts of the apostles. before examining the linguistic peculiarities of the speech, we may very briefly point out that, in the course of the historical survey, many glaring contradictions of the statements of the old testament occur.( ) stephen says { } (vs. , ) that the order to abraham to leave his country was given to him in mesopotamia before he dwelt in haran; but, according to genesis (xii. ff) the call is given whilst he was living in haran. the speech (v. ) represents abraham leaving haran after the death of his father, but this is in contradiction to genesis, according to which( ) abraham was when he left haran. now, as he was born when his father terah was ,( ) and terah lived years,( ) his father was only at the time indicated, and afterwards lived years. in v. it is stated that abraham had no possession in the promised land, not even so much as to set his foot on; but, according to genesis,( ) he bought the field of ephron in machpelah. it is said (v. ) that jacob went down into egypt with souls, whereas, in the old testament, it is repeatedly said that the number was .( ) in v. , it is stated that jacob was buried in schechem in a sepulchre bought by abraham of the sons of emmor in schechem, whereas in genesis( ) jacob is said to have been buried in machpelah; the sepulchre in schechem, in which { } the bones of joseph were buried, was not bought by abraham, but by jacob.( ) moses is described (v. ) as mighty in words, but in exodus( ) he is said to be the very reverse, and aaron in fact is sent with him to speak words for him. these are some of the principal variations. it used to be argued that such mistakes were mere errors of memory, natural in a speech delivered under such circumstances and without preparation,( ) and that they are additional evidence of its authenticity, inasmuch as it is very improbable that a writer deliberately composing such a speech could have committed them. it is very clear, however, that the majority of these are not errors of memory at all, but either the exegesis prevailing at the time amongst learned jews, or traditions deliberately adopted, of which many traces are elsewhere found.( ) the form of the speech is closely similar to other speeches found in the same work. we have already in passing pointed out the analogy of parts of it to the address of peter in solomon's porch, but the speech of paul at antioch bears a still closer resemblance to it, and has been called "a mere echo of the speeches of peter and stephen."( ) we must refer the reader to our general comparison of the two speeches of peter and paul in question,( ) which sufficiently showed, we think, { } that they were not delivered by independent speakers, but on the contrary that they are nothing more than compositions by the author of the acts. these addresses which are such close copies of each other, are so markedly cast in the same mould as the speech of stephen, that they not only confirm our conclusions as to their own origin, but intensify suspicions of its authenticity. it is impossible, without reference to the speeches themselves, to shew how closely that of paul at antioch is traced on the lines of the speech of stephen, and this resemblance is much greater than can be shown by mere linguistic examination. the thoughts correspond where the words differ. there is a constant recurrence of words, however, even where the sense of the passages is not the same, and the ideas in both bear the stamp of a single mind. we shall not attempt fully to contrast these discourses here, for it would occupy too much space, and we therefore content ourselves with giving a few illustrations, begging the reader to examine the speeches themselves. [------] { } [------] { } [------] it is argued that the speech of stephen bears upon it { } the stamp of an address which was actually delivered.( ) we are not able to discover any special indication of this. such an argument, at the best, is merely the assertion of personal opinion, and cannot have any weight. it is quite conceivable that an oration actually spoken might lose its spontaneous character in a report, and on the other hand that a written composition might acquire oratorical reality from the skill of the writer. it would indeed exhibit great want of literary ability if a writer, composing a speech which he desires to represent as having actually been spoken, altogether failed to convey some impression of this. to have any application to the present case, however, it must not only be affirmed that the speech of stephen has the stamp of an address really spoken, but that it has the character of one delivered under such extraordinary circumstances, without premeditation and in the midst of tumultuous proceedings. it cannot, we think, be reasonably asserted that a speech like this is peculiarly characteristic of a man suddenly arrested by angry and excited opponents, and hurried before a council which, at its close, rushes upon him and joins in stoning him. unless the defence attributed to stephen be particularly characteristic of this, the argument in question falls to the ground. on the contrary, if the speech has one feature more strongly marked than another, it is the deliberate care with which the points referred to in the historical survey are selected and bear upon each other, and the art with which the climax is attained. in showing, as we have already done, that the speech betrays the handy work of the author of the acts, we have to a large extent disposed of any claim { } to peculiar individuality in the defence, and the linguistic analysis which we shall now make will conclusively settle the source of the composition. we must point out here in continuation that, as in the rest of the work, all the quotations in the speech are from the septuagint, and that the author follows that version even when it does not fairly represent the original.( ) we may now proceed to analyse the language of the whole episode from vi. to the end of the seventh chapter, in order to discover what linguistic analogy it bears to the rest of the acts and to the third synoptic, which for the sake of brevity we shall simply designate "luke." with the exception of a very few words in general use, every word employed in the section will be found in the following analysis, based upon bruder's 'concordance,'( ) and which is arranged in the order of the verses, although for greater clearness the whole is divided into categories. we shall commence with a list of the words in this section which are not elsewhere used in the new testament. they are as follows:--[------], vi. ; [------]t vi. ; [------], vii. ;( ) [------], vii. , but [------], occurs several times in acts, see below, vii. ; [------], vii. ; [------], vii. ; [------], vii. , this word, which is common amongst { } greek writers,( ) is used in lxx. chron. xxxi. ; [------], vii. . these nine words are all that can strictly be admitted as [------], but there are others, which, although not found in any other part of the acts or of the gospel, occur in other writings of the new testament, and which must here be noted. [------], vi. , occurring tim. i. , tim. iii. , pet. il , rev. xiii. ; [------], however, is used four times in acts, thrice in luke, and frequently elsewhere, and [------] in luke v. . [------] vi. , used rev. ii. , xxi. ; [------], vi. , rom. i. , ' cor. xv. , , gal. iv. , heb. i. , almost purely a pauline word; [------], vii. , elsewhere fourteen times; [------], vii. , also gal. i. , heb. vii. , xi. twice (lxx. gen. v. ), jude ; [------], vii. , also pet. ii. ; [------], vii. , also john vi. , tim. ii. , james iv. ; [------], vii. , also rom. iii. , heb. v. , pet. iv. ; [------], vii. , also cor. ii. , phil. ii. ; [------], vii. , also rom. xiii. , cf. gal. iii. , but the writer makes use of [------], see vii. , below; [------], vii. , also rom. xiii. , eph. iv. , , col. iii. , heb. xii. , james i. , pet, ii. . if we add these ten words to the preceding, the proportion of [------] is by no means excessive for the verses, especially when the peculiarity of the subject is considered, and it is remembered that the number of words employed in the third gospel, for instance, which are not elsewhere found, greatly exceeds that of the other gospels, and that this linguistic richness is characteristic of the author. there is another class of words which may now be { } dealt with: those which, although not elsewhere found either in the acts or gospel, are derived from the sep-tuagint version of the old testament. the author makes exclusive use of that version, and in the historical survey, of which so large a portion of the speech is composed, his mind very naturally recalls its expressions even where he does not make direct quotations, but merely gives a brief summary of its narratives. in the following list where words are not clearly taken from the septuagint version( ) of the various episodes referred to, the reasons shall be stated:-- { } we shall now, by way of disposing of them, take the words which require little special remark, but are used as well in the rest of the acts and in the gospel as in other writings of the new testament:-- [------] { } [------] { } [------] we shall now give the words which may either be regarded as characteristic of the author of the acts and gospel, or the use of which is peculiar or limited to him:-- [------] { } [------] { } [------] { } [------] to this very remarkable list of words we have still to add a number of expressions which further betray the author of the acts and gospel:-- { } [------] { } [------] { } [------] it is impossible, we think, to examine this analysis, in which we might fairly have included other points which we have passed over, without feeling the certain conviction that the speech of stephen was composed by the author of the rest of the acts of the apostles. it may not be out of place to quote some remarks of lekebusch at the close of an examination of the language of the acts in general, undertaken for the purpose of ascertaining the literary characteristics of the book, which, although originally having no direct reference to this episode in particular, may well serve to illustrate our own results:--"an unprejudiced critic must have acquired the conviction from the foregoing linguistic examination that, throughout the whole of the acts of the apostles, and partly also the { } gospel, the same style of language and expression generally prevails, and therefore that our book is an original work, independent of written sources on the whole, and proceeding from a single pen. for when the same expressions are everywhere found, when a long row of words which only recur in the gospel and acts, or comparatively only very seldom in other works of the new testament, appear equally in all parts, when certain forme of words, peculiarities of word-order, construction and phraseology, indeed even whole sentences, recur in the different sections, a compilation out of documents by different earlier writers can no longer be thought of, and it is 'beyond doubt, that we have to consider our writing as the work of a single author, who has impressed upon it the stamp of a distinct literary style' (zeller, theol. jahrb.. , p. ). the use of written sources is certainly not directly excluded by this, and probably the linguistic peculiarities, of which some of course exist in isolated sections of our work, may be referred to this. but as these peculiarities consist chiefly of [------], which may rather be ascribed to the richness of the author's vocabulary than to his talent for compilation, and in comparison with the great majority of points of agreement almost disappear, we must from the first be prepossessed against the theory that our author made use of written sources, and only allow ourselves to be moved to such a conclusion by further distinct phenomena in the various parts of our book, especially as the prologue of the gospel, so often quoted for the purpose, does not at all support it. but in any case, as has already been remarked, _the_ opinion that, in the acts of the apostles, the several parts are strung together almost without { } alteration, is quite irreconcilable with the result of our linguistic examination. zeller rightly says:--'were the author so dependent a compiler, the traces of such a proceeding must necessarily become apparent in a thorough dissimilarity of language and expression. and this dissimilarity would be all the greater if his sources, as in that case we could scarcely help admitting, belonged to widely separated spheres as regards language and mode of thought. on the other hand, it would be altogether inexplicable that, in all parts of the work, the same favourite expressions, the same turns, the same peculiarities of vocabulary and syntax should meet us. this phenomenon only becomes conceivable when we suppose that the contents of our work were brought into their present form by one and the same person, and that the work as it lies before us was not merely _compiled_ by some one, but was also _composed_ by him.'"( ) should an attempt be made to argue that, even if it be conceded that the language is that of the author of acts, the sentiments may be those actually expressed by stephen, it would at once be obvious that such an explanation is not only purely arbitrary and incapable of proof, but opposed to the facts of the case. it is not the language only which can be traced to the author of the rest of the acts but, as we have shown, the whole plan of the speech is the same as that of others in different parts of the work. stephen speaks exactly as peter does before him and paul at a later period. there is just that amount of variety which a writer of not unlimited resources can introduce to express the views of { } different men under different circumstances, but there is so much which is nevertheless common to them all, that community of authorship cannot be denied. on the other hand, the improbabilities of the narrative, the singular fact that stephen is not mentioned by the apostle paul, and the peculiarities which may be detected in the speech itself receive their very simple explanation when linguistic analysis so clearly demonstrates that, whatever small nucleus of fact may lie at the basis of the episode, the speech actually ascribed to the martyr stephen is nothing more than a later composition put into his mouth by the author of the acts. chapter vi. philip and the eunuch. peter and cornelius. we have been forced to enter at such length into the discussion of the speech and martyrdom of stephen, that we cannot afford space to do more than merely glance at the proceedings of his colleague philip, as we pass on to more important points in the work before us. the author states that a great persecution broke out at the time of stephen's death, and that all [------] the community of jerusalem were scattered abroad "except the apostles" [------]. that the heads of the church, who were well known, should remain unmolested in jerusalem, whilst the whole of the less known members of the community were persecuted and driven to flight, is certainly an extraordinary and suspicious statement.( ) even apologists are obliged to admit that the account of the dispersion of the whole church is hyperbolic;( ) but exaggeration and myth enter so largely and persistently into the composition of the acts of the apostles, that it is difficult, after any attentive scrutiny, seriously to treat the work as in any strict sense historical at all. it has been { } conjectured by some critics, as well in explanation of this statement as in connection with theories regarding the views of stephen, that the persecution in question was limited to the hellenistic community to which stephen belonged, whilst the apostles and others, who were known as faithful observers of the law and of the temple worship,( ) were not regarded as heretics by the orthodox jews.( ) the narrative in the acts does not seem to support the view that the persecution was limited to the hellenists;( ) but beyond the fact vouched for by paul that about this time there was a persecution, we have no data whatever regarding that event. philip, it is said, went down to the city of samaria, and "was preaching the christ"( ) to them. as the statement that "the multitudes with one accord gave heed to the things spoken" to them by philip is ascribed to the miracles which he performed there, we are unable to regard the narrative as historical, and still less so when we consider the supernatural agency by which his further proceedings are directed and aided. we need only remark that the samaritans, although only partly of jewish origin, and rejecting the jewish scriptures with the exception of the pentateuch, worshipped the same god as the jews, were circumcised, and were equally prepared as a nation to accept the messiah. the statement that the apostles peter and john went to samaria, in order, by the imposition of hands, to bestow the gift of the holy spirit to the { } converts baptized by philip, does not add to the general credibility of the history.( ) as bleek( ) has well remarked, nothing is known or said as to whether the conversion of the samaritans effected any change in their relations towards the jewish people and the temple in jerusalem; and the mission of philip to the samaritans, as related in the acts, cannot in any case be considered as having any important bearing on the question before us. we shall not discuss the episode of simon at all, although, in the opinion of eminent critics, it contains much that is suggestive of the true character of the acts of the apostles. an "angel of the lord" [------] speaks to philip, and desires him to go to the desert way from jerusalem to gaza,( ) where the spirit tells him( ) to draw near and join himself to the chariot of a man of ethiopia who had come to worship at jerusalem, and was then returning home. philip runs thither, and hearing him read isaiah, expounds the passage to him, and at his own request the eunuch is at once baptized. "and when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the lord caught away [------] philip, and the eunuch saw him no more; for he went on his way rejoicing; but philip was found at azotus."( ) attempts have of course been made to explain naturally the supernatural features of this narrative.( ) ewald, who is master of the art of rationalistic explanation, says, with regard to the order given by the angel: "he felt impelled as by the power and the clear voice of an angel" to go in that { } direction; and the final miracle is disposed of by a contrast of the disinterestedness of philip with the conduct of gehazi, the servant of elisha: it was the desire to avoid reward, "which led him all the more hurriedly to leave his new convert"; "and it was as though the spirit of the lord himself snatched him from him another way," &c, &c. "from gaza philip repaired rapidly northward to ashdod, &c."(l) the great mass of critics reject such evasions, and recognise that the author relates miraculous occurrences. the introduction of supernatural agency in this way, however, removes the story from the region of history. such statements are antecedently, and, indeed, coming from an unknown writer and without corroboration, are absolutely incredible, and no means exist of ascertaining what original tradition may have assumed this mythical character. zeller supposes that only the personality and nationality of the eunuch are really historical.( ) all that need here be added is, that the great majority of critics agree that the ethiopian was probably at least a proselyte of the gate,( ) as his going to jerusalem to worship seems clearly to indicate.( ) in any { } case, the mythical elements of this story, as well as the insufficiency of the details, deprive the narrative of historical value.( ) the episodes of stephen's speech and martyrdom and the mission of philip are, in one respect especially, unimportant for the inquiry on which we are now more immediately engaged. they are almost completely isolated from the rest of the acts: that is to say, no reference whatever is subsequently made to them as forming any precedent for the guidance of the church in the burning question which soon arose within it. peter, as we shall see, when called upon to visit and baptize cornelius, exhibits no recollection of his own mission to the samaritans, and no knowledge of the conversion of the ethiopian. moreover, as stephen plays so small a part in the history, and philip does not reappear upon the scene after this short episode, no opportunity is afforded of comparing one part of their history with the rest. in passing on to the account of the baptism of cornelius, we have at least the advantage of contrasting the action attributed to peter with his conduct on earlier and later occasions, and a test is thus supplied which is of no small value for ascertaining the truth of the whole representation. to this narrative we must now address ourselves. as an introduction to the important events at cæsarea, the author of the acts relates the particulars of a visit which peter pays to lydda and joppa, during the course of which he performs two very remarkable miracles. at the former town he finds a certain man named Æneas, { } paralysed, who had lain on a bed for eight years. peter said to him: "Æneas, jesus the christ healeth thee; arise and make thy bed." and he arose immediately.( ) as the consequence of this miracle, the writer states that: "all who dwelt at lydda and the sharon saw him, who turned to the lord."( ) the exaggeration of such a statement( ) is too palpable to require argument the effect produced by the supposed miracle is almost as incredible as the miracle itself, and the account altogether has little claim to the character of sober history. this mighty work, however, is altogether eclipsed by a miracle which peter performs about the same time at joppa. a certain woman, a disciple, named tabitha, who was "full of good works," fell sick in those days and died, and when they washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber, and sent to peter at lydda, beseeching him to come to them without delay. when peter arrived they took him into the upper chamber, where all the widows stood weeping, and showed coats and garments which dorcas used to make while she was with them. "but peter put them all out, and kneeled down and prayed; and, turning to the body, said: tabitha, arise. and she opened her eyes, and when she saw peter she sat up. and he gave her his hand, and raised her up, and when he called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive." apparently, the raising of the dead did not produce as much effect as the cure of the paralytic, for the writer only adds here: "and it was known throughout all joppa; and many believed in the lord."( ) we shall hereafter have to speak of the perfect calmness and absence of surprise with which these early writers relate { } the most astonishing miracles. it is evident from the manner in which this story is narrated that the miracle was anticipated.( ) the [------] in which the body is laid cannot have been the room generally used for that purpose, but is probably the single upper chamber of such a house which the author represents as specially adopted in anticipation of peter's arrival.( ) the widows who stand by weeping and showing the garments made by the deceased complete the preparation. as peter is sent for after dorcas had died, it would seem as though the writer intimated that her friends expected him to raise her from the dead. the explanation of this singular phenomenon, however, becomes clear when it is remarked that the account of this great miracle is closely traced from that of the raising of jairus' daughter in the synoptics,( ) and more especially in the second gospel.( ) in that instance jesus is sent for; and, on coming to the house, he finds people "weeping and wailing greatly." he puts them all forth, like peter; and, taking the child by the hand, says to her: "'talitha koum,' which is being interpreted: maiden, i say unto thee, arise. and immediately the maiden arose and walked."( ) baur and others( ) conjecture that even the name "tabitha, which by { } interpretation is called dorcas," was suggested by the words [------], above quoted. the hebrew original of [------] signifies "gazelle," and they contend that it was used, like [------], in the sense generally of: maiden.(l) these two astonishing miracles, reported by an unknown writer, and without any corroboration, are absolutely incredible, and cannot prepossess any reasonable mind with confidence in the narrative to which they form an introduction, and the natural distrust which they awaken is folly confirmed when we find supernatural agency employed at every stage of the following history. we are told( ) that a certain devout centurion, named cornelius, "saw in a vision plainly" [------] an angel of god, who said to him: "thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before god. and now send men to joppa, and call for one simon, who is surnamed peter, whose house is by the sea side." after giving these minute directions, the angel departed, [------] { } and cornelius sent three messengers to joppa. just as they approached the end of their journey on the morrow, peter went up to the housetop to pray about the sixth hour, the usual time of prayer among the jews.( ) he became very hungry, and while his meal was being prepared he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending as it had been a great sheet let down by four corners, in which were all four-footed beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the air. "and there came a voice to him: rise, peter; kill and eat. but peter said: not so lord; for i never ate anything common or unclean. and the voice came unto him again a second time: what god cleansed call not thou common. this was done thrice; and straightway the vessel was taken up into heaven." while peter "was doubting in himself" what the vision which he had seen meant, the men sent by cornelius arrived, and "the spirit said unto him: behold men are seeking thee; but arise and get thee down and go with them doubting nothing, for i have sent them." peter went with them on the morrow, accompanied by some of the brethren, and cornelius was waiting for them with his kinsmen and near friends whom he had called together for the purpose. "and as peter was coming in, cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshipped. but peter took him up, saying: arise; i myself also am a man."( ) going in, he finds many persons assembled, to whom he said: "ye know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a jew to keep company with, or come unto one of another nation; and yet god showed me that i should not call { } any man common or unclean. therefore also i came without gainsaying when sent for. i ask, therefore, for what reason ye sent for me?" cornelius narrates the particulars of his vision and continues: "now, therefore, we are all present before god to hear all the things that have been commanded thee of the lord. then peter opened his mouth and said: of a truth i perceive that god is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to him," and soon. while peter is speaking, "the holy spirit fell on all those who heard the word. and they of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with peter, because that on the gentiles also has been poured out the gift of the holy spirit; for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify god. then answered peter: can any one forbid the water that these should not be baptized, which have received the holy spirit as well as we? and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the lord." we shall not waste time discussing the endeavours of kuinoel, neander, lange, ewald, and others, to explain away as much as possible the supernatural elements of this narrative, for their attempts are repudiated by most apologists, and the miraculous phenomena are too clearly described and too closely connected with the course of the story to be either ignored or eliminated. can such a narrative, heralded by such miracles as the instantaneous cure of the paralytic Æneas, and the raising from the dead of the maiden dorcas, be regarded as sober history? of course many maintain that it can, and comparatively few have declared themselves against this.( ) we have, however, merely the { } narrative of an unknown author to set against unvarying experience, and that cannot much avail. we must now endeavour to discover how far this episode is consistent with the rest of the facts narrated in this book itself, and with such trustworthy evidence as we can elsewhere bring to bear upon it. we have already in an earlier part of our inquiry pointed out that in the process of exhibiting a general parallelism between the apostles peter and paul, a very close _pendant_ to this narrative has been introduced by the author into the history of paul. in the story of the conversion of paul, the apostle has his vision on the way to damascus,( ) and about the same time the lord in a vision desires ananias ("a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of all the jews that dwell" in damascus),( ) "arise, and go to the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of judas for one named saul of tarsus; for behold he prayeth, and saw in a vision a man named ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive sight." on this occasion also the gift of the holy spirit is conferred and saul is baptized.( ) whilst such miraculous agency is so rare elsewhere, it is so common in the acts of the apostles that the employment of visions and of angels, under every circumstance, is one of the characteristics of the author, and may therefore be set down to his own imagination. no one who examines this episode attentively, we { } think, can doubt that the narrative before us is composed in apologetic interest,( ) and is designed to have a special bearing upon the problem as to the relation of the pauline gospel to the preaching of the twelve, baur( ) has acutely pointed out the significance of the very place assigned to it in the general history, and its insertion immediately after the conversion of paul, and before the commencement of his ministry, as a legitimation of his apostleship of the gentiles. one point stands clearly out of the strange medley of jewish prejudice, christian liberalism, and supernatural interference which constitute the elements of the story: the actual conviction of peter regarding the relation of the jew to the gentile, that the gospel is addressed to the former and that the gentile is excluded,( ) which has to be removed by a direct supernatural revelation from heaven. the author recognises that this was the general view of the primitive church, and this is the only particular in which we can perceive historical truth in the narrative. the complicated machinery of visions and angelic messengers is used to justify the abandonment of jewish restrictions, which was preached by paul amidst so much virulent opposition. peter anticipates and justifies paul in his ministry of the uncircumcision, and the overthrow of mosaic barriers has the sanction and seal of a divine command. we have to see whether the history itself { } does not betray its mythical character, not only in its supernatural elements, but in its inconsistency with other known or narrated incidents in the apostolical narrative. there has been much difference of opinion as to whether the centurion cornelius had joined himself in any recognised degree to the jewish religion before this incident, and a majority of critics maintain that he is represented as a proselyte of the gate.( ) the terms in which he is described, [------], certainly seem to indicate this, and probably the point would not have been questioned but for the fact that the writer evidently intends to deal with the subject of gentile conversion, with which the representation that cornelius was already a proselyte would somewhat clash.( ) whether a proselyte or not, the roman centurion is said to be "devout and fearing god with all his house, giving much alms to the people, and praying to god always;"( ) and probably the ambiguity as to whether he had actually become affiliated in any way to mosaism is intentional. when peter, however, with his scruples removed by the supernatural communication with which he had just been favoured, indicates their previous strength by the statement: "ye know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a jew to keep company with or come unto { } one of another nation,"( ) the author evidently oversteps the mark, and betrays the unhistorical nature of the narrative; for such an affirmation not only could not have been made by peter, but could only have been advanced by a writer who was himself a gentile, and writing at a distance from the events described. there is no injunction of the mosaic law declaring such intercourse unlawful,( ) nor indeed is such a rule elsewhere heard of, and even apologists who refer to the point have no show of authority by which to support such a statement( ) not only was there no legal prohibition, but it is impossible to conceive that there was any such exclusiveness practised by traditional injunction.( ) as de wette appropriately remarks, moreover, even if such a prohibition existed as regards idolaters, it would still be inconceivable how it could apply to cornelius: "a righteous man and fearing god, and of good report among all the nation of the jews."( ) it is also inconsistent with the zeal for proselytism displayed by the pharisees,( ) the strictest sect of the jews; and the account given by josephus of the { } conversion of izates of adiabene is totally against it.( ) there is a slight trait which, added to others, tends to complete the demonstration of the unhistorical character of this representation. peter is said to have lived many days in joppa with one simon, a tanner, and it is in his house that the messengers of cornelius find him.( ) now the tanner's trade was considered impure amongst the jews,( ) and it was almost pollution to live in simon's house. it is argued by some commentators that the fact that peter lodged there is mentioned to show that he had already emancipated himself from jewish prejudices.( ) however this may be, it is strangely inconsistent that a jew who has no objection to live with a tanner should, at the same time, consider it unlawful to hold intercourse of any kind with a pious gentile, who, if not actually a proselyte of the gate, had every qualification for becoming one. this indifference to the unclean and polluting trade of the tanner, moreover, is inconsistent with the reply which peter gives to the voice which bids him slay and eat:--"not so, lord, for i never ate anything common or unclean." no doubt the intercourse to which peter refers indicates, or at least includes, eating and drinking with one of another country, and this alone could present any intelligible difficulty, for the mere transaction of business or conversation with strangers must have been daily necessary to the jews. it must be remarked, however, that, when peter makes the statement which we are discussing, nothing whatever is said of eating with the centurion or sitting with him { } at table. this leads to a striking train of reflection upon the whole episode. it is a curious thing that the supernatural vision, which is designed to inform peter and the apostles that the gentiles might be received into the church, should take the form of a mere intimation that the distinction of clean and unclean animals was no longer binding, and that he might indifferently kill and eat one might have thought that, on the supposition that heaven desired to give peter and the church a command to admit the gentiles unconditionally to the benefits of the gospel, this would be simply and clearly stated. this was not done at all, and the intimation by which peter supposes himself justified in considering it lawful to go to cornelius is, in the first place, merely on the subject of animals defined as clean and unclean. doubtless the prohibition as to certain meats might tend to continue the separation between jew and gentile, and the disregard of such distinctions of course promoted general intercourse with strangers; but this by no means explains why the abrogation of this distinction is made the intimation to receive gentiles into the church. when peter returns to jerusalem we are told that "they of the circumcision"--that is to say, the whole church there, since at that period all were "of the circumcision," and this phrase further indicates that the writer has no historical stand-point--contended with him. the subject of the contention we might suppose was the baptism of gentiles; but not so: the charge brought against him was:--"thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them."( ) the subject of paul's dispute with peter at antioch simply was that, "before that certain came from james, he did eat with { } the gentiles; but when they came he withdrew, fearing them of the circumcision."( ) that the whole of these passages should turn merely on the fact of eating with men who were uncircumcised, is very suggestive, and as the church at jerusalem make no allusion to the baptism of uncircumcised gentiles, it would lead to the inference that nothing was known of such an event, and that the circumstance was simply added to some other narrative; and this is rendered all the more probable by the fact that, in the affair at antioch as well as throughout the epistle to the galatians, peter is very far from acting as one who had been the first to receive uncircumcised gentiles freely into the church. it is usually asserted that the vision of peter abrogated the distinction of clean and unclean animals so long existing in the mosaic law,( ) but there is no evidence that any subsequent gradual abandonment of the rule was ascribed to such a command; and it is remarkable that peter himself not only does not, as we shall presently see, refer to this vision as authority for disregarding the distinction of clean and unclean meats, and for otherwise considering nothing common or unclean, but acts as if such a vision had never taken place. the famous decree of the council of jerusalem, moreover, makes no allusion to any modification of the mosaic law in the case of jewish christians, whatever relaxation it may seem to grant to gentile converts, and there is no external evidence of any kind whatever that so important an { } abolition of ancient legal prescriptions was thus introduced into christendom. we have, however, fortunately one test of the historical value of this whole episode, to which we have already briefly referred, but which we must now more closely apply. paul himself, in his epistle to the galatians, narrates the particulars of a scene between himself and peter at antioch, of which no mention is made in the acts of the apostles, and we think that no one can fairly consider that episode without being convinced that it is utterly irreconcilable with the supposition that the vision which we are now examining can ever have appeared to peter, or that he can have played the part attributed to him in the conversion and baptism of uncircumcised gentiles. paul writes: "but when cephas came to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was condemned. for before that certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles, but when they came he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them of the circumcision, and the other jews also joined in his hypocrisy."( ) it will be remembered that, in the case of cornelius, "they of the circumcision" in jerusalem, at the head of whom was james, from whom came those "of the circumcision" of whom peter was afraid at antioch, contended with peter for going in "to men uncircumcised and eating with them,"( ) the very thing which was in question at antioch. in the acts, peter is represented as defending his conduct by relating the divine vision under the guidance of which he acted, and the author states as the result that, "when they heard these things they held their peace and glorified god, saying: then to the gentiles also god gave repentance { } unto life."( ) this is the representation of the author of the vision and of the conversion of cornelius, but very different is peter's conduct as described by the apostle paul, very dissimilar the phenomena presented by a narrative upon which we can rely. the "certain who came from james" can never have heard of the direct communication from heaven which justified peter's conduct, and can never have glorified god in the manner described, or peter could not have had any reason to fear them; for a mere reference to his vision, and to the sanction of the church of jerusalem, must have been sufficient to reconcile them to his freedom. then, is it conceivable that after such a vision, and after being taught by god himself not to call any man or thing common or unclean, peter could have acted as he did for fear of them of the circumcision? his conduct is convincing evidence that he knew as little of any such vision as those who came from james. on the other hand, if we require further proof it is furnished by the apostle paul himself. is it conceivable that, if such an episode had ever really occurred, the apostle paul would not have referred to it upon this occasion? what more appropriate argument could he have used, what more legitimate rebuke could he have administered, than merely to have reminded peter of his own vision? he both rebukes him and argues, but his rebuke and his argument have quite a different complexion; and we confidently affirm that no one can read that portion of the epistle to the galatians without feeling certain that, had the writer been aware of such a divine communication--and we think it must be conceded without question that, if it had taken place, he { } must have been aware of it( )--he would have referred to bo direct and important an authority. neither here nor in the numerous places where such an argument would have been so useful to the apostle does paul betray the slightest knowledge of the episode of cornelius. the historic occurrence at antioch, so completely ignored by the author of the acts, totally excludes the mythical story of cornelius.( ) there are merely one or two other points in connection with the episode to which we must call attention. in his address to cornelius, peter says: "of a truth i perceive that god is no respecter of persons" [------]. now this is not only a thoroughly pauline sentiment, but paul has more than once made use of precisely the same expression. rom. ii. . "for there is no respect of persons with god "[------], and, again, gal. ii. ," god respecteth no man's person," [------].( ) the author of the acts was certainly acquainted with the epistles of paul, and the very manner in which he represents peter as employing this expression betrays the application of a sentiment previously in his mind, "of a truth i perceive," &c. the circumstance confirms what paul had already said.( ) then, in the defence of his conduct at jerusalem, peter is represented as saying: "and i remembered the word of the lord, indeed the reference to this case, supposed to be made by peter himself, in paul's presence, excludes the idea of ignorance, if the acts be treated as historical. compare further x. ff. with rom. ii. iii., &o. the sentiments and even the words are pauline. { } how he said, john indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the holy spirit."(l) now these words are by all the gospels put into the mouth of john the baptist, and not of jesus,( ) but the author of the acts seems to put them into the mouth of jesus at the beginning of the work,( ) and their repetition here is only an additional proof of the fact that the episode of cornelius, as it stands before us, is not historical, but is merely his own composition. the whole of this narrative, with its complicated series of miracles, is evidently composed to legitimate the free reception into the christian church of gentile converts and, to emphasize the importance of the divine ratification of their admission, peter is made to repeat to the church of jerusalem the main incidents which had just been fully narrated. on the one hand, the previous jewish exclusiveness both of peter and of the church is displayed, first, in the resistance of the apostle, which can only be overcome by the vision and the direct order of the holy spirit, and by the manifest outpouring of the spirit upon the centurion and his household; and second, in the contention of them of the circumcision, which is only overcome by an account of the repeated signs of divine purpose and approval. the universality of the gospel could not be more broadly proclaimed than in the address of peter to cornelius. not the jews alone, "but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to him." pauline principles are thus anticipated and, as we have pointed out, are expressed almost in the words of the apostle of the gentiles.( ) the jews who go with { } peter were astonished because that on the gentiles also had been poured out the gift of the holy spirit,( ) and the church of jerusalem, on hearing of these things, glorified god that repentance unto life had been given to the gentiles. it is impossible that the admission of the gentiles to the privileges of the church could be more prominently signified than by this episode, introduced by prodigious miracles and effected by supernatural machinery. where, however, are the consequences of this marvellous recognition of the gentiles? it does not in the slightest degree preclude the necessity for the council, which we shall presently consider; it does not apparently exercise any influence on james and the church of jerusalem; peter, indeed, refers vaguely to it, but as a matter out of date and almost forgotten; paul, in all his disputes with the emissaries of the church of jerusalem, in all his pleas for the freedom of his gentile converts, never makes the slightest allusion to it; it remains elsewhere unknown and, so far as any evidence goes, utterly without influence upon the primitive church.( ) this will presently become more apparent; but already it is clear enough to those who will exercise calm reason that it is impossible to consider this narrative with its tissue of fruitless miracles as a historical account of the development of the church. chapter vii. paul the apostle of the gentiles we have now arrived at the point in our examination of the acts in which we have the inestimable advantage of being able to compare the narrative of the unknown author with the distinct statements of the apostle paul. in doing so, we must remember that the author must have been acquainted with the epistles which are now before us, and supposing it to be his purpose to present a certain view of the transactions in question, whether for apologetic or conciliatory reasons or for any other cause, it is obvious that it would not be reasonable to expect divergencies of so palpable a nature that any reader of the letters must at once too clearly perceive such contradictions. when the acts were written, it is true, the author could not have known that the epistles of paul were to attain the high canonical position which they now occupy, and might, therefore, use his materials more freely; still a certain superficial consistency it would be natural to expect. unfortunately, our means of testing the statements of the author are not so minute as is desirable, although they are often of much value, and seeing the great facility with which, by apparently slight alterations and omissions, a different complexion can be given to circumstances regarding which no very { } full details exist elsewhere, we must be prepared to seize every indication which may enable us to form a just estimate of the nature of the writing which we are examining. in the first two chapters of his epistle to the galatians, the apostle paul relates particulars regarding some important epochs of his life, which likewise enter into the narrative of the acts of the apostles. the apostle gives an account of his own proceedings immediately after his conversion, and of the visit which about that time he paid to jerusalem; and, further, of a second visit to jerusalem fourteen years later, and to these we must now direct our attention. we defer consideration of the narrative of the actual conversion of paul for the present, and merely intend here to discuss the movements and conduct of the apostle immediately subsequent to that event. the acts of the apostles represent paul as making five journeys to jerusalem subsequent to his joining the christian body. the first, ix. ff., takes place immediately after his conversion; the second, xi. , xii. , is upon an occasion when the church at antioch are represented as sending relief to the brethren of judæa by the hands of barnabas and saul, during a time of famine; the third visit to jerusalem, xv. ff., paul likewise pays in company with barnabas, both being sent by the church of antioch to confer with the apostles and elders as to the necessity of circumcision, and the obligation to observe the mosaic law in the case of gentile converts; the fourth, xviii. ff, when he goes to ephesus with priscilla and aquila, "having shaved his head in cenchrea, for he had a vow;" and the fifth and last, xxi. ff, when the disturbance took place in the temple which led to his arrest and journey to rome. { } the circumstances and general character of these visits to jerusalem, and more especially of that on which the momentous conference is described as having taken place, are stated with so much precision, and they present features of such marked difference, that it might have been supposed there could not have been any difficulty in identifying, with certainty, at least the visits to which the apostle refers in his letter, more especially as upon both occasions he mentions important particulars which characterised those visits. it is a remarkable fact, however, that, such are the divergences between the statements of the unknown author and of the apostle, upon no point has there been more discussion amongst critics and divines from the very earliest times, or more decided difference of opinion. upon general grounds, we have already seen, there has been good reason to doubt the historical character of the acts. is it not a singularly suggestive circumstance that, when it is possible to compare the authentic representations of paul with the narrative of the acts, even apologists perceive so much opening for doubt and controversy? the visit described in the ninth chapter of the acts is generally( ) identified with that which is mentioned in the first chapter of the epistle. this unanimity, however, arises mainly from the circumstance that both writers clearly represent that visit as the first which paul paid to jerusalem after his conversion, for the details of the two narratives are anything but in agreement with each other. although, therefore, critics are forced to agree as to the bare identity of the visit, this harmony is immediately disturbed on examining the two accounts, and whilst the one party find the statements in the acts there have, however, been differences of opinion also regarding this. { } reconcilable with those of paul, a large body more or less distinctly declare them to be contradictory, and unhistorical.( ) in order that the question at issue may be fairly laid before the reader, we shall give the two accounts in parallel columns. [------] { } [------] now, it is obvious that the representation in the acts of what paul did after his conversion differs very widely from the account which the apostle himself gives of the matter. in the first place, not a word is said in the former of the journey into arabia; but, on the contrary, it is excluded, and the statement which replaces it directly contradicts that of paul. the apostle says that after his conversion: "immediately(l) [------] i conferred not with flesh and blood," but "went away into arabia," the author of the acts says that he spent "some days" [------] with the disciples in damascus, and "immediately" [------] began to preach in the synagogues. paul's feelings are so completely misrepresented that, instead of that desire for retirement and solitude which his { } words express,( ) he is described as straightway plunging into the vortex of public life in damascus. the general apologetic explanation is, that the author of the acts either was not aware of the journey into arabia, or that, his absence there having been short, he did not consider it necessary to mention it there are no data for estimating the length of time which paul spent in arabia, but the fact that the apostle mentions it with so much emphasis proves not only that he attached considerable weight to the episode, but that the duration of his visit could not have been unimportant. in any case, the author of the acts, whether ignorantly or not, boldly describes the apostle as doing precisely what he did not. to any ordinary reader, moreover, his whole account of paul's preaching at damascus certainly excludes altogether the idea of such a journey, and the argument that it can be. inserted anywhere is purely arbitrary. there are many theories amongst apologists, however, as to the part of the narrative in acts, in which the arabian journey can be placed. by some it is assigned to a period before he commenced his active labours, and therefore before ix. ,( ) from which the.words of the author repulse it with singular clearness; others intercalate it with even less reason between ix. and ;( ) a few discover some indication of it in the [------] of ver. ,( ) an expression, however, which refuses to be forced into such service; a greater number place it in the[------] of ver. ,( ) making that elastic phrase embrace this as well { } as other difficulties till it snaps under the strain. it seems evident to an unprejudiced reader that the [------] are represented as passed in damascus.( ) and, lastly, some critics place it after ix. , regardless of paul's statement that from arabia he returned again to damascus, which, under the circumstances mentioned in acts, he was not likely to do, and indeed it is obvious that he is there supposed to have at once gone from damascus to jerusalem. these attempts at reconciliation are useless. it is of no avail to find time into which a journey to arabia and the stay there might be forcibly thrust. there still remains the fact that so far from the arabian visit being indicated in the acts, the [------] of ix. , compared with the [------] of gal. i. , positively excludes it, and proves that the narrative of the former is not historical.( ) there is another point in the account in acts which further demands attention. the impression conveyed by the narrative is that paul went up to jerusalem not very long after his conversion. the omission of the visit to arabia shortens the interval before he did so, by removing causes of delay, and whilst no expressions are used which imply a protracted stay in damascus, incidents are introduced which indicate that the purpose of the writer was to represent the apostle as losing no time after his conversion before associating himself with the elder we shall not discuss the indication given in cor. xi. of the cause of his leaving damascus, although several contradictory statements seem to be made in it. { } apostles and obtaining their recognition of his ministry; and this view, we shall see, is confirmed by the peculiar account which is given of what took place at jerusalem. the apostle distinctly states, i. , that three years after his conversion he went up to visit peter.( ) in the acts he is represented as spending "some days" [------] with the disciples, and the only other chronological indication given is that, after "many days" [------], the plot occurred which forced him to leave damascus. it is argued that [------] is an indefinite period, which may, according to the usage of the author( ) indicate a considerable space of time, and certainly rather express a long than a short period.( ) the fact is, however, that the instances cited are evidence, in themselves, against the supposition that the author can have had any intention of expressing a period of three years by the words [------]. we suppose that no one has ever suggested that peter staid three years in the house of simon the tanner at joppa (ix. ); or, that when it is said that paul remained "many days" at corinth after the insurrection of the jews, the author intends to speak of some years, when in fact the [------] contrasted with the expression (xviii. ): "he continued there a year and six months," used regarding his stay previous to that disturbance, evidently reduces the "yet many days" subsequently spent there to a very small compass. again, has any one ever suggested that in the "the 'straightway' of ver. leads to this conclusion: 'at first i conferred not with flesh and blood, it was only after the lapse of three years that i went to jerusalem.'" lightfoot, oalatians, p. . "the difference between the vague 'many days' of the acts and the definite 'three years' of the epistle is such as might be expected from the circumstances of the two writers." lightfoot, lb., p. , note . { } account of paul's voyage to rome, where it is said (xxvii. ) that, after leaving myrra "and sailing slowly many days" [------], they had scarcely got so far as cnidus, an interval of months, not to say years, is indicated? it is impossible to suppose that, by such an expression, the writer intended to indicate a period of three years.( ) that the narrative of the acts actually represents paul as going up to jerusalem soon after his conversion, and certainly not merely at the end of three years, is obvious from the statement in ver. , that when paul arrived at jerusalem, and was assaying to join himself to the disciples, all were afraid of him, and would not believe in his conversion. the author could certainly not have stated this, if he had desired to imply that paul had already been a christian, and publicly preached with so much success at damascus, for three years.( ) indeed, the statements in ix. are irreconcilable with the declaration of the apostle, whatever view be taken of the previous narrative of the acts. if it be assumed that the author wishes to describe the visit to jerusalem as taking place three years after his conversion, then the ignorance of that event amongst the brethren there and their distrust of paul are utterly inconsistent and incredible; whilst if, on the other hand, he represents the apostle as going to jerusalem with but little delay in damascus, as we contend he does, then there is no escape from the conclusion that the acts, whilst thus giving a narrative consistent with itself, { } distinctly contradicts the deliberate assertions of the apostle. it is absolutely incredible that the conversion of a well-known persecutor of the church (viii. ff.), effected in a way which is represented as so sudden and supernatural, and accompanied by a supposed vision of the lord, could for three years have remained unknown to the community of jerusalem. so striking a triumph for christianity must have been rapidly circulated throughout the church, and the fact that he who formerly persecuted was now zealously preaching the faith which once he destroyed must long have been generally known in jerusalem, which was in such constant communication with damascus. the author of the acts continues in the same strain, stating that barnabas, under the circumstances just described, took paul and brought him to the apostles [------], and declared to them the particulars of his vision and conversion, and how he had preached boldly at damascus.( ) no doubt is left that this is the first intimation the apostles had received of such extraordinary events. after this, we are told that paul was with them coming in and going out at jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the lord. here again the declaration of paul is explicit, and distinctly contradicts this story both in the letter and the spirit. he makes no mention of barnabas. he states that he went to jerusalem specially with the view of making the acquaintance of peter, with whom he remained fifteen days; but he emphatically says:--"but other of the apostles saw i not, save [------] james, the lord's brother;" and then he adds the solemn declaration { } regarding his account of this visit:--"now the things which i write unto you, behold, before god, i lie not." an asseveration made in this tone excludes the supposition of inaccuracy or careless vagueness, and the specific statements have all the force of sworn evidence. instead of being presented "to the apostles," therefore, and going in and out with them at jerusalem, we have here the emphatic assurance that, in addition to peter, paul saw no one except "james, the lord's brother." there has been much discussion as to the identity of this james, and whether he was an apostle or not, but into this it is unnecessary for us to enter. most writers agree at least that he is the same james, the head of the church at jerusalem, whom we again frequently meet with in the pauline epistles and in the acts, and notably in the account of the apostolic council. the exact interpretation to be put upon the expression [------] has also been the subject of great controversy, the question being whether james is here really called an apostle or not; whether [------] is to be understood as applying solely to the verb, in which case the statement would mean that he saw no other of the apostles, but only james;( ) or to the whole phrase, which would express that he had seen no other of the apostles save james.( ) it is admitted by many of those who think that in this case the latter signification must be adopted that grammatically either interpretation is permissible. even supposing that { } rightly or wrongly james is here referred to as an apostle, the statement of the acts is, in spirit, quite opposed to that of the epistle; for when we are told that paul is brought "to the apostles" [------], the linguistic usage of the writer implies that he means much more than merely peter and james. it seems impossible to reconcile the statement, ix. , with the solemn assurance of paul,( ) and if we accept what the apostle says as truth, and we cannot doubt it, it must be admitted that the account in the acts is unhistorical. we arrive at the very same conclusion on examining the rest of the narrative. in the acts, paul is represented as being with the apostles going in and out, preaching openly in jerusalem, and disputing with the grecian jews.( ) no limit is here put to his visit, and it is difficult to conceive that what is narrated is intended to describe a visit of merely fifteen days. a subsequent statement in the acts, however, explains and settles the point paul is represented as declaring to king agrippa, xxvi. f.: "wherefore, king agrippa, i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but first unto those in damascus, and throughout all the region of judaea, and to the gentiles, i was declaring that they should repent { } and turn to god," &c. however this may be, the statement of paul does not admit the interpretation of such public ministry. his express purpose in going to jerusalem was, not to preach, but to make the acquaintance of peter; and it was a marked characteristic of paul to avoid preaching in ground already occupied by the other apostles before him.( ) not only is the account in acts apparently excluded by such considerations and by the general tenor of the epistle, but it is equally so by the direct words of the apostle (i. ):--"i was unknown by face unto the churches of judaea." it is argued that the term: "churches of judæa" excludes jerusalem.( ) it might possibly be asserted with reason that such an expression as "the churches of jerusalem" might exclude the churches of judæa, but to say that the apostle, writing elsewhere to the galatians of a visit to jerusalem, and of his conduct at that time, intends, when speaking of the "churches of judæa," to exclude the principal city, seems to us arbitrary and unwarrantable. the whole object of the apostle is to show the privacy of his visit and his independence of the elder apostles. he does not use the expression as a contrast to jerusalem. nothing in his account leads one to think of any energetic preaching during the visit, and the necessity of finding some way of excluding jerusalem from the apostle's expression is simply thrust upon apologists by the account in acts. two passages are referred to as supporting the exclusion of jerusalem from "the churches of judaea." in john iii. , we read: "after { } these things came jesus and his disciples into the land of judæa." in the preceding chapter he is described as being at jerusalem. we have already said enough about the geographical notices of the author of the fourth gospel.( ) even those who do not admit that he was not a native of palestine are agreed that he wrote in another country and for foreigners. "the land of judæa," was therefore a natural expression superseding the necessity of giving a more minute local indication which would have been of little use. the second instance appealed to, though more doubtfully,( ) is heb. xiii. : "they from italy salute you." we are at a loss to understand how this is supposed to support the interpretation adopted. it is impossible that if paul went in and out with the apostles, preached boldly in jerusalem, and disputed with the hellenistic jews, not to speak of what is added, acts xxvi. f., he could say that he was unknown by face to the churches of judæa. there is nothing, we may remark, which limits his preaching to the grecian jews. whilst apologists maintain that the two accounts are reconcilable, many of them frankly admit that the account in acts requires correction from that in the epistle;( ) but, on the other hand, a still greater number of critics prouounce the narrative in the acts contradictory to the statements of paul.( ) { } there remains another point upon which a few remarks must be made. in acts ix. f. the cause of paul's hurriedly leaving jerusalem is a plot of the grecian jews to kill him. paul does not in the epistle refer to any such matter, but, in another part of the acts, paul is represented as relating, xxii. f.: "and it came to pass, that, when i returned to jerusalem and was praying in the temple, i was in a trance and saw him saying unto me: make haste, and get thee quickly out of jerusalem, for they will not receive thy witness concerning me," &c, &c. this account differs, therefore, even from the previous narrative in the same book, yet critics are agreed that the visit during which the apostle is said to have seen this vision was that which we are discussing.( ) the writer is so little a historian working from substantial facts that he forgets the details of his own previous statements; and in the account of the conversion of paul, for instance, he thrice repeats the story with emphatic and irreconcilable contradictions. we have already observed his partiality for visions, and such supernatural agency is so ordinary a matter with him that, in the first account of this visit, he altogether omits the vision, although he must have known of it then quite as much as on the second occasion. the apostle, in his authentic and solemn account of this visit, gives no hint of any vision, and leaves no suggestion even of that public preaching which is described in the earlier, and referred to in the later, narrative in the acts.( ) if we { } had no other grounds for rejecting the account as unhistorical this miraculous vision, added as an after-thought, would have warranted our doing so. passing on now to the second chapter of the epistle to the galatians, we find that paul writes:--"then, after fourteen years, again i went up to jerusalem..." [------]. he states the particulars of what took place upon the occasion of this second visit with a degree of minuteness which ought, one might have supposed, to have left no doubt of its identity, when compared with the same visit historically described elsewhere; but such are the discrepancies between the two accounts that, as we have already mentioned, the controversy upon the point has been long and active.( ) the acts, it will be remembered, relate a second visit of paul to jerusalem, after that which we have discussed, upon which occasion it is stated (xi. ) that he was sent with barnabas to convey to the community, during a time of famine, the contributions of the church of antioch. the third visit of the acts is that (xv.) when paul and barnabas are said to have been deputed to confer with the apostles regarding the { } conditions upon which gentile converts should be admitted into the christian brotherhood. the circumstances of this visit, more nearly than any other, correspond with those described by the apostle himself in the epistle (ii. ff.), but there are grave difficulties in the way of identifying them. if this visit be identical with that described acts xv., and if paul, as he states, paid no intermediate visit to jerusalem, what becomes of the visit interpolated in acts xi. ? the first point which we must endeavour to ascertain is exactly what the apostle intends to say regarding the second visit which he mentions. the purpose of paul is to declare his complete independence from those who were apostles before him, and to maintain that his gospel was not of man, but directly revealed to him by jesus christ. in order to prove his independence, therefore, he categorically states exactly what had been the extent of his intercourse with the elder apostles. he protests that, after his conversion, he had neither conferred with flesh and blood nor sought those who had been apostles before him, but, on the contrary, that he had immediately gone away to arabia. it was not until three years had elapsed that he had gone up to jerusalem, and then only to make the acquaintance of peter, with whom he had remained only fifteen days, during which he had not seen other of the apostles save james, the lord's brother. only after the lapse of fourteen years did he again go up to jerusalem. it is argued( ) that when paul says, "he went up again," [------], the word [------] has not the force of [------], and that, so far from excluding any intermediate journey, it merely signifies a { } repetition of what had been done before, and might have been used of any subsequent journey. even if this were so, it is impossible to deny that, read with its context, [------] is used in immediate connection with the former visit which we have just discussed. the sequence is distinctly marked by the [------] "then," and the adoption of the preposition [------]--which may properly be read "after the lapse of,"( )--instead of [------], seems clearly to indicate that no other journey to jerusalem had been made in the interval. this can be maintained linguistically; but the point is still more decidedly settled when the apostle's intention is considered. it is obvious that his purpose would have been totally defeated had he passed over in silence an intermediate visit. even if, as is argued, the. visit referred to in acts xi. had been of very brief duration, or if he had not upon that occasion had any intercourse with the apostles, it is impossible that he could have ignored it under the circumstances, for by so doing he would have left the retort in the power of his enemies that he had, on other occasions than those which he had enumerated, been in jerusalem and in contact with the apostles. the mere fact that a visit had been unmentioned would have exposed him to the charge of having suppressed it, and suspicion is always ready to assign unworthy motives. if paul had paid such a hasty visit as is suggested, he would naturally have mentioned the fact and stated the circumstances, whatever they were. these and other reasons convince the majority of critics that the apostle here enumerates all the visits which he had paid to jerusalem since his conversion.( ) the visit referred to in gal. ii. ff. { } must be considered the second occasion on which the apostle paul went to jerusalem. this being the case, can the visit be identified as the second visit described in acts xi. ? the object of that journey to jerusalem, it is expressly stated, was to carry to the brethren in jerusalem the contributions of the church of antioch during a time of famine; whereas paul explicitly says that he went up to jerusalem, on the occasion we are discussing, in consequence of a revelation, to communicate the gospel which he was preaching among the gentiles. there is not a word about contributions. on the other hand, chronologically it is impossible that the second visit of the epistle can be the second of the acts. there is some difference of opinion as to whether the fourteen years are to be calculated from the date of his conversion,( ) or from the previous journey.( ) the latter seems to be the more reasonable supposition, but in either case it is obvious that the identity is excluded. from various data,--the famine under claudius, and the time of herod agrippa's { } death,--the date of the journey referred to in acts xi. is assigned to about a.d. . if, therefore, we count back fourteen or seventeen years, we have as the date of the conversion, on the first hypothesis, a.d. , and on the second, a.d. , neither of which of course is tenable. in order to overcome this difficulty, critics( ) at one time proposed, against the unanimous evidence of mss., to read instead of [------] in gal. ii. , [------] "after four years;" but this violent remedy is not only generally rejected, but, even if admitted for the sake of argument, it could not establish the identity, inasmuch as the statements in gal. ii. ff. imply a much longer period of missionary activity amongst the gentiles than paul could possibly have had at that time, about which epoch, indeed, barnabas is said to have sought him in tarsus, apparently for the purpose of first commencing such a career;a certainly the account of his active ministry begins in the acts only in ch. xiii. then, it is not possible to suppose that, if such a dispute regarding circumcision and the gospel of the uncircumcision as is sketched in gal. ii. had taken place on a previous occasion, it could so soon be repeated, acts xv., and without any reference to the former transaction. comparatively few critics, therefore, have ventured to maintain that the second visit recorded in the epistle is the same as the second mentioned in the acts (xi. ), and in modern times the theory is almost entirely abandoned. if, therefore, it be admitted that paul mentions all the journeys which he had made to jerusalem up to the time at which he wrote, and that his second visit was not the second visit { } of the acts, but must be placed later, it follows clearly upon the apostle's own assurance that the visit mentioned in acts xi. , xii. , cannot have taken place and is unhistorical, and this is the conclusion of the majority of critics,( ) including many apologists, who, whilst suggesting that, for some reason, barnabas may alone have gone to jerusalem without paul, or otherwise deprecating any imputation of conscious inaccuracy to the author, still substantially confirm the result that paul did not on that occasion go to jerusalem, and consequently that the statement is not historical. on the other hand, it is suggested that the additional visit to jerusalem is inserted by the author with a view to conciliation, by representing that paul was in constant communication with the apostles and community of jerusalem, and that he acted with their approval and sympathy. it is scarcely possible to observe the peculiar variations between the narratives of the acts and of paul without feeling that the author of the former deliberately sacrifices the independence and individuality of the great apostle of the gentiles. the great mass of critics agree in declaring that the { } second visit described in the epistle is identical with the third recorded in the acts (xv.), although a wide difference of opinion exists amongst them as to the historical value of the account contained in the latter. this general agreement renders it unnecessary for us to enter at any length into the arguments which establish the identity, and we shall content ourselves with very concisely stating some of the chief reasons for this conclusion. the date in both cases corresponds, whilst there are insuperable chronological objections to identifying the second journey of the epistle with any earlier or later visit mentioned in acts. we have referred to other reasons against its being placed earlier than the third visit of acts, and there are still stronger objections to its being dated after the third. it is impossible, considering the object of the apostle, that he could have passed over in silence such a visit as that described acts xv., and the only alternative would be to date it later than the composition of the epistle, to which the narrative of the acts as well as all other known facts would be irreconcilably opposed. on the other hand, the date, the actors, the cause of dispute, and probably the place (antioch) in which that dispute originated, so closely correspond, that it is incredible that such a coincidence of circumstances should again have occurred. "without anticipating our comparison of the two accounts of this visit, we must here at least remark that the discrepancies are so great that not only have apologetic critics, as we have indicated, adopted the theory that the second visit of the epistle is not the same as the third of the acts, but is identical with the second (xi. ), of which so few particulars are given, but { } some, and notably wieseler,( ) have maintained it to have been the same as that described in acts xviii. ff., whilst paley and others( ) have been led to the hypothesis that the visit in question does not correspond with any of the visits actually recorded in the acts, but is one which is not referred to at all in that work. these { } theories have found very little favour, however, and we mention them solely to complete our statement of the general controversy. considering the fulness of the report of the visit in acts xv. and the peculiar nature of the facts stated by the apostle himself in his letter to the galatians, the difficulty of identifying the particular visit referred to is a phenomenon which cannot be too much considered. is it possible, if the narrative in the acts were really historically accurate, that any reasonable doubt could ever have existed as to its correspondence with the apostle's statements? we may here at once say that, although many of the critics who finally decide that the visit described in acts xv. is the same as that referred to in the second chapter of the epistle argue that the obvious discrepancies and contradictions between the two accounts may be sufficiently explained and reconciled, this is for very strong reasons disputed, and the narrative in the acts, when tested by the authentic statements of the apostle, pronounced inaccurate and unhistorical. it is only necessary to read the two accounts in order to understand the grounds upon which even apologists like paley and wieseler feel themselves compelled { } to suppose that the apostle is describing transactions which occurred during some visit either unmentioned or not fully related in the acts, rather than identify it with the visit reported in the fifteenth chapter, from which it so essentially differs. a material difference is not denied by any one, and explanations with a view to reconciliation have never been dispensed with. thiersch, who has nothing better than the usual apologetic explanations to offer, does not hesitate to avow the apparent incongruities of the two narratives. "the journey," he says, "is the same, but no human ingenuity can make out that also the conference and the decree resulting from it are the same."( ) of course he supposes that the problem is to be solved by asserting that the apostle speaks of the private, the historian of the public, circumstances of the visit. all who maintain the historical character of the acts must of course more or less thoroughly adopt this argument, but it is obvious that, in doing so, they admit on the one hand the general discrepancy, and on the other, if successful in establishing their position, they could do no more than show that the epistle does not absolutely exclude the account in the acts. both writers profess to describe events which occurred during the same visit; both record matters of the highest interest closely bearing on the same subject; yet the two accounts are so different from each other that they can only be rescued from complete antagonism by complete separation. supposing the author of the acts to be really acquainted with the occurrences of this visit, and to have intended to give a plain unvarnished account of them, the unconscious ingenuity with which he has omitted the important facts mentioned by paul and { } eliminated the whole of the apostle's individuality would indeed be as remarkable as it is unfortunate. but supposing the apostle paul to have been aware of the formal proceedings narrated in the acts, characterized by such unanimity and liberal christian feeling, it would be still more astonishing and unfortunate that he has not only silently passed them over, but has conveyed so singularly different an impression of his visit.( ) as the apostle certainly could not have been acquainted with the acts, his silence regarding the council and its momentous decree, as well as his ignorance of the unbroken harmony which prevailed are perfectly intelligible. he of course only knew and described what actually occurred. the author of the acts, however, might and must have known the epistle to the galatians, and the ingenuity with which the tone and details of the authentic report are avoided or transfigured cannot be ascribed to mere accident, but must largely be attributed to design, although also partly, it may be, to the ignorance and the pious imagination of a later age. is it possible, for instance, that the controversy regarding the circumcision of titus, and the dispute with peter at antioch, which are so prominently related in the epistle, but present a view so different from the narrative of acts, can have been undesignedly omitted? the violent apologetic reconciliation which is effected between the two accounts is based upon the foregone conclusion that the author of the canonical acts, however he may seem to deviate from the apostle, cannot possibly contradict him or be "our difficulty in reading this page of history arises not so much from the absence of light as from the perplexity of cross lights. the narratives of st. luke and st. paul only then cease to conflict, when we take into account the different positions of the writers and the different objects they had in view." lightfoot, st paul's ep. to the gal., p. . { } in error; but the preceding examination has rendered such a position untenable, and here we have not to do with a canonized "st. luke," but with an unknown writer whose work must be judged by the ordinary rules of criticism. according to the acts, a most serious question is raised at antioch. certain men from judaea came thither teaching: "except ye have been circumcised after the manner of moses ye cannot be saved." after much dissension and disputation the church of antioch appoint that paul and barnabas, "and certain others of them" shall go up to jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. the motive of the journey is here most distinctly and definitely described. paul is solemnly deputed by the church to lay before the mother church of jerusalem a difficult question, upon the answer to which turns the whole future of christianity. paul's account, however, gives a very different complexion to the visit:--"then, after fourteen years, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, taking titus also with me. but i went up according to revelation [------] and communicated to them the gospel which i preach among the gentiles," &c. paley might well say:--"this is not very reconcilable."( ) it is argued,( ) that the two { } statements may supplement each other; that the revelation may have been made to the church of antioch and have led to the mission; or that, being made to paul, it may have decided him to undertake it. if however, we admit that the essence of truth consists not in the mere letter but in the spirit of what is stated, it seems impossible to reconcile these accounts. it might be granted that a historian, giving a report of events which had occurred, might omit some secret motive actuating the conduct even of one of the principal persons with whom he has to do; but that the apostle, under the actual circumstances, and while protesting: "now the things which i am writing unto you, behold, before god, i lie not!" should altogether suppress the important official character of his journey to jerusalem, and give it the distinct colour of a visit voluntarily and independently made [------], is inconceivable. as we proceed, it will become apparent that the divergence between the two accounts is systematic and fundamental; but we may here so far anticipate as to point out that the apostle explicitly excludes an official visit not only by stating an "inward motive," and omitting all mention of a public object, but by the expression:--"and communicated to them the gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but privately to those who," &c. to quote paley's words: "if by 'that gospel,' he meant the immunity of the gentile christians from the jewish law (and i know not what else it can mean), it is not easy to conceive how he should communicate that privately, which was the subject of his public message;"( ) and { } we may add, how he should so absolutely alter the whole character of his visit. in the acts, he is an ambassador charged with a most important mission; in the epistle, he is paul the apostle, moved solely by his own reasons again to visit jerusalem. the author of the acts, however, who is supposed to record only the external circumstances, when tested is found to do so very imperfectly, for he omits all mention of titus, who is conjectured to be tacitly included in the "certain others of them," who were appointed by the church to accompany paul, and he is altogether silent regarding the strenuous effort to enforce the rite of circumcision in his case, upon which the apostle lays so much stress. the apostle, who throughout maintains his simply independent attitude, mentions his taking titus with him as a purely voluntary act, and certainly conveys no impression that he also was delegated by the church. we shall presently see how significant the suppression of titus is in connection with the author's transformation of the circumstances of the visit. in affirming that he went up "according to revelation," paul proceeds in the very spirit in which he began to write this epistle. he continues simply to assert his independence, and equality with the elder apostles. in speaking of his first journey he has this object in view, and he states precisely the duration of his visit and whom he saw. if he had suppressed the official character of this second visit and the fact that he submitted for the decision of the apostles and elders the question of the immunity of the gentile converts from circumcision, and thus curtly ascribed his going to a revelation, he would have compromised himself in a very serious manner, and exposed himself to a charge of disingenuousness of which his enemies would not have { } failed to take advantage. but, whether we consider the evidence of the apostle himself in speaking of this visit, the absence of all external allusion to the supposed proceedings when reference to them would have been not only most appropriate but was almost necessary, the practical contradiction of the whole narrative implied in the subsequent conduct of peter at antioch, or the inconsistency of the conduct attributed in it to paul himself, we are forced back to the natural conclusion that the apostle does not suppress anything, and does not give so absurdly partial an account of his visit as would be the case if the narrative in the acts be historical, but that, in a few rapid powerful lines, he completes a suggestive sketch of its chief characteristics. this becomes more apparent at every step we take in our comparison of the two narratives. if we pass on to the next stage of the proceedings, we find an equally striking divergence between the two writers, and it must not escape attention that the variations are not merely incidental but are thorough and consecutive. according to the acts, there was a solemn congress held in jerusalem, on which occasion the apostles and elders and the church being assembled, the question whether it was necessary that the gentiles should be circumcised and bound to keep the law of moses was fully discussed, and a formal resolution finally adopted by the meeting. the proceedings in fact constitute what has always been regarded as the first council of the christian church. the account in the epistle does not seem to betray any knowledge of such a congress.( ) the apostle himself says merely:--"but i { } went according to revelation and communicated to them [------] the gospel which i preach among the gentiles, but privately to them which seemed (to be something) [------]."( ) the usual apologetic explanation, as we have already mentioned, is that whilst more or less distinctly the author of acts indicates private conferences, and paul a public assembly, the former chiefly confines his attention to the general congress and the latter to the more private incidents of his visit.( ) the opinion that the author of acts "alludes in a general way to conferences and discussions preceding the congress,"( ) is based upon the statement xv. , : "and when they came to jerusalem they were received by the church and by the apostles and the elders, and declared all that god did with them. but there rose up certain of the sect of the pharisees, who believed, saying: that it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of moses. and the apostles and the elders came together to see regarding this matter. and when there had been much disputation, peter rose up and said," &c. if it were admitted that more than one meeting is here indicated, it is clear that the words cannot be legitimately strained into a reference to more { } than two conferences. the first of these is a general meeting of the apostles and elders and of the church to receive the delegates from antioch, and the second is an equally general and public conference (verse ): not only are the apostles and elders present but also the general body of christians, as clearly appears from the statement (ver. ) that, after the speech of peter, "all the multitude [------] kept silence."(l) the "much disputation" evidently takes place on the occasion when the apostles and elders are gathered together to consider the matter. if, therefore, two meetings can be maintained from the narrative in acts, both are emphatically public and general, and neither, therefore, the private conference of the epistle. the main fact that the author of the acts describes a general congress of the church as taking place is never called in question. on the other hand, few who appreciate the nature of the discrepancy which we are discussing will feel that the difficulty is solved by suggesting that there is space for the insertion of other incidents in the apostle's narrative. it is rather late now to interpolate a general council of the church into the pauses of the galatian letter. to suppose that the communications of paul to the "pillar" apostles, and the distressing debate regarding the circumcision of titus, may be inferred between the lines of the account in the acts, is a bold effort of imagination; but it is far from being as hopeless as an attempt to reconcile the discrepancy by thrusting the important public congress into some corner of the { } apostle's statement. in so far as any argument is advanced in support of the assertion that paul's expression implies something more than the private conference, it is based upon the reference intended in the words [------]. when paul says he went up to jerusalem and communicated "to them" his gospel, but privately [------], whom does he mean to indicate by the [------]? does he refer to the christian community of jerusalem, or to the apostles themselves? it is pretty generally admitted that either application is permissible; but whilst a majority of apologetic, together with some independent, critics adopt the former,( ) not a few consider, as chrysostom, oecumenius, and calvin did before them, that paul more probably referred to the apostles.( ) in favour of the former there is the fact, it is argued, that the [------] is used immediately after the statement that the apostle went up "to jerusalem," and that it may be more natural to conclude that he speaks of the christians there, more especially as he seems to distinguish between the communication made [------] and [------];( ) and, in support of this, "they" { } in gal. i. , , is, though we think without propriety, referred to. it is, on the other hand, urged that it is very unlikely that the apostle would in such a way communicate his gospel to the whole community, and that in the expressions used he indicates no special transaction, but that the [------] is merely an indefinite statement for which he immediately substitutes the more precise [------]( ) it is quite certain that there is no mention of the christian community of jerusalem to which the [------] can with any real grammatical necessity be referred; but when the whole purport of the first part of the apostle's letter is considered the reference to the apostles in the [------] becomes clearer. paul is protesting the independence of his gospel, and that he did not receive it from man but from jesus christ. he wishes to show that he was not taught by the apostles nor dependent upon them. he states that after his conversion he did not go to those who were apostles before him, but, on the contrary, went away to arabia, and only three years after he went up to jerusalem, and then only for the purpose of making the acquaintance of peter, and on that occasion other of the apostles saw he none save james the lord's brother. after fourteen years, he continues to recount, he again went up to jerusalem, but according to revelation, and communicated to them, i.e. to the apostles, the gospel which he preached among the gentiles. the apostles { } have been in the writer's mind throughout, but in the impetuous flow of his ideas, which in the first two chapters of this epistle outrun the pen, the sentences become involved. it must be admitted, finally, that the reference intended is a matter of opinion and cannot be authoritatively settled. if we suppose it to refer to the community of jerusalem, taking thus the more favourable construction, how would this affect the question? can it be maintained that in this casual and indefinite "to them" we have any confirmation of the general congress of the acts, with its debates, its solemn settlement of that momentous proposition regarding the gentile christians, and its important decree? it is impossible to credit that, in saying that he "communicated to them" the gospel which he preached amongst the gentiles, the apostle referred to a council like that described in the acts, to which, as a delegate from the church of antioch, he submitted the question of the conditions upon which the gentiles were to be admitted into the church, and tacitly accepted their decision.( ) even if it be assumed that the apostle makes this slight passing allusion to some meeting different from his conference with the pillar apostles, it could not have been a general congress assembled for the purpose stated in the acts and characterised by such proceedings. the discrepancy between the two narratives is not lessened by any supposed indication either in the epistle or in the acts of other incidents than those actually described. the suggestion that the dispute about titus involved some { } publicity does not avail, for the greater the publicity and importance of the episode the greater the difficulty of explaining the total silence regarding it of the author of acts. the more closely the two statements are compared the more apparent does it become that the author describes proceedings which are totally different in general character, in details, and in spirit, from those so vividly sketched by the apostle paul. we shall have more to say presently regarding the irreconcilable contradiction in spirit between the whole account which is given in the acts of this council and the writings of paul; but it may be more convenient, if less effective, if we for the present take the chief points in the narrative as they arise and consider how far they are supported or discredited by other data. we shall refer later to the manner in which the question which leads to the council is represented as arising and at once proceed to the speech of peter. after there had been much disputation as to whether the gentile christians must necessarily be circumcised and required to observe the mosaic law, it is stated that peter rose up and said: xv. . "men (and) brethren, ye know that a good while ago god made choice among you that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. . and god which knoweth the hearts bare them witness, giving them the holy spirit even as unto us; . and put no distinction between us and them, having purified their hearts by the faith. . now, therefore, why tempt ye god, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? . but by the grace of our lord jesus we believe we are saved even as also they."( ) { } the liberality of the sentiments thus put into the mouth of peter requires no demonstration, and there is here an explicit expression of convictions, which we must, from his own words, consider to be the permanent and mature views of the apostle, dating as they do "from ancient days" [------] and originating in so striking and supernatural a manner. we may, therefore, expect that whenever we meet with an authentic record of peter's opinions and conduct elsewhere, they should exhibit the impress of such advanced and divinely imparted views. the statement which peter makes: that god had a good while before selected him that the gentiles by his voice should hear the gospel, is of course a reference to the case of cornelius, and this unites the fortunes of the speech and proceedings of the council with that episode. we have seen how little ground there is for considering that narrative, with its elaborate tissue of miracles, historical. the speech which adopts it is thus discredited, and all other circumstances confirm the conclusion that the speech is not authentic.( ) if the name of peter were erased and that of paul substituted, the sentiments expressed would be singularly appropriate. we should have the { } divinely appointed apostle of the gentiles advocating complete immunity from the mosaic law, and enunciating pauline principles in peculiarly pauline terms. when peter declares that "god put no distinction between us (jews) and them (gentiles), purifying their hearts by faith,( ) but by the grace [------] of our lord jesus christ we believe we are saved even as also they," do we not hear paul's sentiments, so elaborately expressed in the epistle to the romans and elsewhere? "for there is no difference between jew and greek; for the same lord of all is rich unto all that call upon him. for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved"( ).... "justified freely by his grace [------] through the redemption that is in christ jesus."( ) and when peter exclaims: "why tempt ye god to put a yoke [------] upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" have we not rather a paraphrase of the words in the epistle to the galatians? "with liberty christ made us free; stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke [------] of bondage. behold, i paul say unto you that if ye be circumcised christ will profit you nothing. but i testify again to every man who is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law.( )... for as many as are of works of law are under a curse," &c( ) these are only a few sentences of which the speech in acts is an echo, but no attentive reader can fail to perceive that it contains in germ the whole of pauline universalism. { } from the pauline author of the acts this might fairly be expected, and if we linguistically examine the speech, we have additional evidence that it is simply, like others which we have considered, a composition from his own pen. we shall, as briefly as possible, refer to every word which is not of too common occurrence to require notice, and point out where they are elsewhere used. the opening [------] occurs elsewhere in the acts times, as we have already pointed out, being the favourite phrase placed in the mouth of all speakers; [------], x. , xviii. , xix. , , xx. , xxii. , xxiv. , xxvi. , , and elsewhere only times. the phrase [------] at the beginning of a sentence has been pointed out, in connection with a similar way of expressing the personal pronoun in x. , [------], and [------], as consequently characteristic of peter, and considered "important as showing that these reports are not only according to the _sense_ of what was said, but the words spoken, _verbatim_."( ) this is to overlook the fact that the very same words are put into the mouth of paul. peter commences his speech, xv. : [------] paul begins his speech at miletus, xx. : [------]; and at ephesus, demetrius the silversmith commences his address, xix. : [------] cf. xxiii. . [------], xv. , xxi. ; luke ix. , ; elsewhere times; the expression [------] does not elsewhere occur in the new testament, but [------] is common in the septuagint. cf. ps. xliii. , lxxvi. , cxlii. , isaiah xxxvii. , lament, i. , ii. , &c, &c. [------], i. , , vi. , xiii. , xv. , ; luke { } times, elsewhere times, and of these the following with inf., act* i. f., xv. , , ephes. l . with the phrase [------]( ) may be compared that of paul, xiii. ,[------], and cor. i. , in which [------] occurs twice, as well as again in the next verse, . [------] i. , in. , ; iv. ; luke i. ; and the whole phrase [------], may be compared with the words put into paul's mouth, xxii. : [------] xx. , in paul's epistles ( ) times, and elsewhere times. verse . [------] only occurs here and in i. , [------] where it forms part of the prayer at the election of the successor to judas. we have fully examined the speech of peter, i. ffi, and shown its unhistorical character, and that it is a free composition by the author of the acts; the prayer of the assembly is not ascribed to peter in the work itself, though apologists, grasping at the [------], assert that it must have been delivered by that apostle; but, with the preceding speech, the prayer also must be attributed to the pen of the author; and if it be maintained that peter spoke in the aramaic tongue( ) it is useless to discuss the word at all, which of course in that case must be allowed to belong to the author. [------], acts - times, luke , rest frequently; with the phrase [------] may be compared paul's words in xiii. , [------]. verse , [------], x. , xi. , , paul times, &c { } [------], xii. , xiii. ; luke xi. , xvi. ; rest times. [------], acts times, luke , paul , rest times; re... [------]acts times, luke , paul , rest times--[------] is clearly characteristic of the author, [------], acts , luke times, rest very frequently. [------], x. , xi. ; luke , and elsewhere times, [------], x. , xvi. , xxiii. ; an expression not found elsewhere in the new testament, and which is also indicative of the author's composition. verse , [------], v. , xvi. , xxiv. ; luke iv. , xi. , xx. , rest frequently; the question of jesus in luke and the parallel passages, [------]; will occur to every one. [------], acts , luke times, the rest frequently. [------] does not occur elsewhere, either in the acts or third gospel, but it is used precisely in the same sense by paul, gal. v. , in a passage to which we have called attention a few pages back( ) in connection with this speech. [------], xx. , luke xv. , xvii. ; romans xvi. , matth. xviii. , mark ix. ; [------] occurs times, [------], vi. , xix. , , xxv. , xxvii. ; luke times and elsewhere times. [------], iii. , ix. , xxi. ; luke , paul , rest times. verse , [------] acts ? times, luke , paul times, rest frequently. [------], acts , luke times, rest frequently. [------], acts , luke times, rest frequently, [------], is also put into the mouth of paul, xxvii. , and is not elsewhere found in the new testament; [------], i. , vii. ; luke xiii. ; matth. xxiii. , tim. iii. . [------], v. , xviii. ; luke xi. , , xx. , xxii. and elsewhere in the new testament times. it cannot be doubted that the language of this speech is that of the author of the acts, and no serious attempt has ever { } been made to show that it is the language of peter. if it be asserted that, in the form before us, it is a translation, there is not the slightest evidence to support the assertion; and it has to contend with the unfortunate circumstance that, in the supposed process, the words of peter have not only become the words of the author, but his thoughts the thoughts of paul. we may now inquire whether we find in authentic records of the apostle peter's conduct and views any confirmation of the liberality which is attributed to him in the acts. he is here represented as proposing the emancipation of gentile converts from the mosaic law: does this accord with the statements of the apostle paul and with such information as we can elsewhere gather regarding peter? very much the contrary. peter in this speech claims that, long before, god had selected him to make known the gospel to the gentiles, but paul emphatically distinguishes him as the apostle of the circumcision; and although, accepting facts which had actually taken place and could not be prevented, peter with james and john gave paul right hands of fellowship, he remained, as he had been before, apostle of the circumcision( ) and, as we shall see. did not practise the liberality which he is said to have preached. very shortly after the council described in the acts, there occurred the celebrated dispute between him and paul which the latter proceeds to describe immediately after the visit to jerusalem: "but when cephas came to antioch," he writes, "i withstood him to the face, for he was condemned. for before certain came from james, he did eat with the gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, { } fearing those of the circumcision. and the other jews also joined in his hypocrisy, insomuch that even barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. but when i saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, i said unto cephas before all: if thou being a jew livest [------] after the manner of gentiles and not after the manner of jews, how compellest [------] thou the gentiles to adopt the customs of the jews? [------]"( ) it is necessary to say a few words as to the significance of peter's conduct and of paul's rebuke, regarding which there is some difference of opinion.( ) are we to understand from this that peter, as a general rule, at antioch and elsewhere, with enlightened emancipation from jewish prejudices, lived as a gentile and in full communion with gentile christians?( ) meyer( ) and others argue that by the use of the present [------], the apostle indicates a continuous practice based upon principle, and that the [------] is not the mere moral life, but includes the external social observances of christian community: the object, in fact, being to show that upon principle peter held the advanced liberal views of paul, and that the fault which he committed in withdrawing from free intercourse with the gentile christians was momentary, and merely the result of "occasional timidity and weakness." this theory cannot bear the test of examination. the account of paul is clearly this: _when cephas came to antioch_, the { } stronghold of gentile christianity, _before certain men came from james_, he ate with the gentiles, but as soon as these emissaries arrived he withdrew, "fearing those of the circumcision." had his normal custom been to live like the gentiles, how is it possible that he could, on this occasion only, have feared those of the circumcision? his practice must have been notorious; and had he, moreover, actually expressed such opinions in the congress of jerusalem, his confession of faith having been so publicly made, and so unanimously approved by the church, there could not have been any conceivable cause for such timidity. the fact evidently is, on the contrary, that peter, under the influence of paul, was induced for the time to hold free communion with the gentile christians; but as soon as the emissaries of james appeared on the scene, he became alarmed at this departure from his principles, and fell back again into his normal practice. if the present [------] be taken to indicate continuous habit of life, the present [------] very much more than neutralizes it. paul with his usual uncompromising frankness rebukes the vacillation of peter: by adopting even for a time fellowship with the gentiles, peter has practically recognised its validity, has been guilty of hypocrisy in withdrawing from his concession on the arrival of the followers of james, and is condemned; but after such a concession he cannot legitimately demand that gentile converts should "judaize." it is obvious that whilst peter lived as a gentile, he could not have been compelling the gentiles to adopt judaism. paul, therefore, in saying: "why compellest thou [------] the gentiles to adopt the customs of the jews? [------]," very distinctly intimates that the normal practice of peter was to compel { } gentile christians to adopt judaism. there is no escaping this conclusion for, after all specious reasoning to the contrary is exhausted, there remains the simple fact that peter, when placed in a dilemma on the arrival of the emissaries of james, and forced to decide whether he will continue to live as a gentile or as a jew, adopts the latter alternative, and as paul tells us "compels" (in the present) the gentiles to judaize. a stronger indication of his views could scarcely have been given. not a word is said which implies that peter yielded to the vehement protests of paul, but on the contrary we must undoubtedly conclude that he did not; for it is impossible to suppose that paul would not have stated a fact so pertinent to his argument, had the elder apostle been induced by his remonstrance to walk uprightly according to the truth of the gospel which paul preached, and both to teach and practice christian universalism. we shall have abundant reason, apart from this, to conclude that peter did not yield, and it is no false indication of this, that, a century after, we find the clementine homilies expressing the bitterness of the petrine party against the apostle of the gentiles for this very rebuke, and representing peter as following his course from city to city for the purpose of refuting paul's unorthodox teaching. it is contended that peter's conduct at antioch is in harmony with his denial of his master related in the gospels, and, therefore, that such momentary and characteristic weakness might well have been displayed even after his adoption of liberal principles. those who argue in this way, however, forget that the denial of jesus, as described in the gospels, proceeded from the fear of death, and that such a reply to a merely compromising question { } which did not directly involve principles, is a very different thing from conduct like that at antioch where, under one influence, a line of action was temporarily adopted which ratified views upon which the opinion of the church was divided, and then abandoned merely from fear of the disapproval of those of the circumcision. the author of the acts passes over this altercation in complete silence. no one has ever called in question the authenticity of the account which paul gives of it. if peter had the courage to make such a speech at the council in the very capital of judaic christianity, and in the presence of james and the whole church, how could he possibly, from fear of a few men from jerusalem, have shown such pusillanimity in antioch, where paul and the mass of christians supported him? if the unanimous decision of the council had really been a fact, how easily he might have silenced any objections by an appeal to that which had "seemed good to the holy spirit" and to the church! but there is not the slightest knowledge of the council and its decree betrayed either by those who came from james, or by peter, or paul. the episode at antioch is inconsistent with the conduct and words ascribed to peter in the acts, and contradicts the narrative in the fifteenth chapter which we are examining.( ) the author of the acts states that after peter had spoken, "all the multitude kept silence and were hearing { } barnabas and paul declaring what signs and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them."( ) we shall not at present pause to consider this statement, nor the _rôle_ which paul is made to play in the whole transaction, beyond pointing out that, on an occasion when such a subject as the circumcision of the gentiles and their subjection to the mosaic law was being discussed, nothing could be more opposed to nature than to suppose that a man like the author of the epistle to the galatians could have assumed so passive, and subordinate an attitude.( ) after barnabas and paul had spoken, james is represented as saying: "men (and) brethren, hear me. simeon declared how god at first did visit the gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. and with this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written: 'after this i will return, and will build again the tabernacle of david which has fallen down; and i will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up: that the residue of men may seek after the lord, and all the gentiles, upon whom my name has been called, saith the lord who doeth these things, known from the beginning.' wherefore, i judge that we trouble not those from among the gentiles who are turning to god; but that we write unto them that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. for moses from generations of old hath in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath."( ) there are many reasons for which this { } speech also must be pronounced inauthentic.( ) it may be observed, in passing, that james completely disregards the statement which barnabas and paul are supposed to make as to what god had wrought by them among the gentiles; and, ignoring their intervention, he directly refers to the preceding speech of peter claiming to have first been selected to convert the gentiles. we shall reserve discussion of the conditions which james proposes to impose upon gentile christians till we come to the apostolic decree which embodies them. the precise signification of the sentence with which (ver. ) he concludes has been much debated, but need not detain us long. whatever may be said of the liberal part of the speech it is obvious that the author has been more true to the spirit of the time in conceiving this and other portions of it, than in composing the speech of peter. the continued observance of the mosaic ritual, and the identity of the synagogue with the christian church are correctly indicated; and when james is again represented (xxi. ff.) as advising paul to join those who had avow, in order to prove that he himself walked orderly and was an observer of the law, and did not teach the jews to apostatize from moses and abandon the rite of circumcision, he is consistent in his portrait it is nevertheless clear that, however we may read the restrictions which { } james proposes to impose upon gentile christians, the author of acts intends them to be considered as a most liberal and almost complete concession of immunity. "i judge," he makes james say, "that we trouble not those from among the gentiles who are turning to god;" and again, on the second occasion of which we have just been speaking, in referring to the decree, a contrast is drawn between the christian jews, from whom observance of the law is demanded, and the gentiles, who are only expected to follow the prescriptions of the decree. james is represented as supporting the statement of peter how god visited the gentiles by "the words of the prophets," quoting a passage from amos. ix. , . it is difficult to see how the words, even as quoted, apply to the case at all, but this is immaterial. loose reasoning can certainly not be taken as a mark of inauthenticity. it is much more to the point that james, addressing an assembly of apostles and elders in jerusalem, quotes the prophet amos freely from the septuagint version,( ) which differs widely in the latter and more important part from the hebrew text.( ) the passage in the hebrew reads: ix. . "in that day will i raise up the tabernacle of david that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and i will raise up his ruins, and i will build it as in the days of old, . that they may possess the remnant of { } edom, and of all the heathen upon whom my name is called, saith the lord that doeth this." the authors of the septuagint version altered the twelfth verse into: "that the residue of men may seek after the lord and all the gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the lord who doeth these things."( ) it is perfectly clear that the prophet does not, in the original, say what james is here represented as stating, and that his own words refer to the national triumph of israel, and not to the conversion of the gentiles. amos in fact prophesies that the lord will restore the former power and glory of israel, and that the remnant of edom and the other nations of the theocracy shall be re-united, as they were under david. no one questions the fact that the original prophecy is altered, and those who desire to see the singular explanations of apologists may refer to some of the works indicated.( ) the question as to whether james or the author of the acts is responsible for the adoption of the septuagint version is felt to be a serious problem. some critics affirm that in all probability james must have spoken in aramaic;( ) whilst others maintain that he delivered this { } address in greek.( ) in the one case, it is supposed that he quoted the original hebrew and that the author of the acts or the document from which he derived his report may have used the septuagint; and in the other, it is suggested that the lxx. may have had another and more correct reading before them, for it is supposed impossible that james himself could have quoted a version which was actually different from the original hebrew. these and many other similar explanations, into which we need not go, do little to remove the difficulty presented by the fact itself. to suppose that our hebrew texts are erroneous in order to justify the speech is a proceeding which does not require remark. it will be remembered that, in the acts, the septuagint is always employed in quotations from the old testament, and that this is by no means the only place in which that version is used when it departs from the original. it is difficult to conceive that any intelligent jew could have quoted the hebrew of this passage to support a proposal to free gentile christians from the necessity of circumcision and the observance of the mosaic law. it is equally difficult to suppose that james, a bigoted leader of the judaistic party and the head of the church of jerusalem, could have quoted the septuagint version of the holy scriptures, differing from the hebrew, to such an assembly. it is useless to examine here the attempts to make the passage quoted a correct interpretation of the prophet's meaning, or seriously to consider the proposition that this alteration of a prophetic utterance is adopted as better { } expressing "the mind of the spirit." if the original prophecy did not express that mind, it is rather late to amend the utterances of the prophets in the acts of the apostles. we may now briefly examine the speech linguistically. verse : the opening as usual is [------], but the whole phrase [------] is put into the mouth of paul in xxii. , [------], and with but little variation again in xiii. . cf. ii. . the use of the hebrew form [------] in speaking of peter, has been pointed out by bleek( ) and others, after lightfoot,( ) as a characteristic peculiarity showing the authenticity of the speech. the same form occurs in pet. i. , but its use in that spurious epistle is scarcely calculated to give weight to its use here. if it be characteristic of anyone, however, its use is characteristic of the author of the third gospel and the acts, and in no case is it peculiarly associated with james. in addition to the instance referred to above, and apoc. vii. , where the tribe of simeon is thus named, the jewish form [------] of the name simon occurs four times only in the new testament, and they are conflned to our author: acts xiii. ; luke ii. , , iii. . being acquainted with the jewish form of the name, he made use of it in this speech probably for the effect of local colouring. [------], xv. , xxi. ; luke xxiv. , and nowhere else except john i. --it is peculiar to the author, [------], acts , luke times, and elsewhere frequently, [------], iii. , vii. , xi. , xiii. , xxvi. ; luke times; jam. iii. ; paul times, rest frequently. [------], vi. , vii. , xv. ; luke i. , { } , vii. ; matth. xxv. , , hebr. ii. , jam. i. , that is to say times used by the author and only times in the rest of the new testament; compare especially luke i. , and vii. . [------] opposed to [------], xxvi. , . the expression [------] occurs ii. , iv. , , v. , ; luke ix. , , xxi. , xxiv. , and only times in the rest of the new testament. verse : [------], v. ; luke v. , and matth. xviii. , xx. , only. verse : in this quotation from amos, for the i[------] of the septuagint, the author substitutes [------], which phrase occurs elsewhere in acts vii. , xiii. , xviii. ; luke v. , x. , xii. , xvii. , xviii. . [------], v. and times elsewhere. verse : [------], i. , ii. , iv. , , ix. , xiii. , xix. , xxviii. , = times in acts; luke i. , xxiii. ; elsewhere only in rom. i. , john xviii. , ,--a characteristic word. so likewise is the expression [------], iii. , luke i. ; [------] occurs in ephes. iii. , col. i. . these words are added to the passage quoted from the septuagint. verse : [------] is used times in acts; luke i. , vii. ; by paul times, ep. jam. twice, and elsewhere times. [------], times in acts; luke times, paul times, ep. jam. , and elsewhere times, [------] is not found elsewhere in the new testament. [------], acts , luke , jam. v. , , rest times; the phrase [------] is a favourite and characteristic expression of the author, who uses it ix. , xi. , xiv. , xxvi. , and luke i. , and it does not occur elsewhere in the new testament except in pet. ii. . verse : [------], xxi. , and hebr. xiii. only. [------] xv. , luke vi. , vii. , xv. , xxiv. , thess. iv. , v. , tim. iv. , pet. ii. , and { } elsewhere times; in both passages of the ep. to the thess. it is used with [------] as here. [------] is not elsewhere found. [------], vii. ; times by paul, and elsewhere : it occurs very frequently in the septuagint. [------], xv. , xxi. ; paul , elsewhere times. [------], xv. , xxi. , a technical word. [------], acts , luke times, rest frequently, [------], ii. , viii. , xiii. , xiv. ; luke times, matth. , mk. , rest times. [------], xv. , xxi. ; luke ix. , , elsewhere times. [------], xv. , xx. , xxiv. ; luke viii. , , xiii. , and elsewhere only in tit. i. . [------], viii. , ix. , x. , , xix. , xx. , xxviii. ; luke , paul , elsewhere times. [------], acts , luke , rest times, the whole phrase [------] occurs again in the acts, being put into the mouth of paul xiii. , and [------] being used by the writer in xviii. . [------], acts ; luke , rest times, [------], viii. , twice, , xiii. , xv. , xxiii. ; luke , and elsewhere times. this analysis confirms the conclusion that the speech of james at the council proceeds likewise from the pen of the general author, and the incomprehensible liberality of the sentiments expressed, as well as the peculiarity of the quotation from amos according to the septuagint, thus receive at once their simple explanation. if we now compare the account of james's share in granting liberal conditions to gentile christians with the statements of paul, we arrive at the same result. it is in consequence of the arrival of "certain men from james" [------] that peter through fear of them withdrew from communion with the { } gentiles. it will be remembered that the whole discussion is said to have arisen in antioch originally from the judaistic teaching of certain men who came "from judæa," who are disowned in the apostolic letter.( ) it is unfortunate, however, to say the least of it, that so many of those who systematically opposed the work of the apostle paul claimed to represent the views of james and the mother church.( ) the contradiction of the author of the acts, with his object of conciliation, has but small weight before the statements of paul and the whole voice of tradition. at any rate, almost immediately after the so-called apostolic council, with its decree adopted mainly at the instigation of james, his emissaries caused the defection of peter in antioch and the rupture with paul. it is generally admitted, in the face of the clear affirmation of paul, that the men in question must in all probability have been actually sent by james. it is obvious that, to justify the fear of so leading an apostle as peter, not only must they have been thus deputed, but must have been influential men, "of the judaizers who are denounced in st. paul's epistles this much is certain, that they exalted the authority of the apostles of the circumcision; and that, in some instances at least, as members of the mother church, they had direct relations with james, the lord's brother. but when we attempt to define those relations, we are lost in a maze of conjecture." lightfoot, ep. to the gal., p. . { } representing authoritative and prevalent judaistic opinions. we shall not attempt to divine the object of their mission, but we may say that it is impossible to separate them from the judaistic teachers who urged circumcision upon the galatian christians and opposed the authority of the apostle paul. not pursuing this further at present, however, it is obvious that the effect produced by these emissaries is quite incompatible with the narrative that, so short a time before, james and the church of jerusalem had unanimously promulgated conditions, under which the gentile christians were freely admitted into communion, and which fully justified peter in eating with them. the incident at antioch, as connected with james as well as with peter, excludes the supposition that the account of the council contained in the acts can be considered historical. the apostolic letter embodying the decree of the council now demands our attention. it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church to choose two leading men among the brethren, and to send them to antioch with paul and barnabas, and they wrote by them (xv. ):--"the apostles and brethren which are elders unto the brethren which are of the gentiles in antioch and syria and cilicia, greeting. . forasmuch as we heard that certain which went out from us troubled you with words, subverting your souls, to whom we gave no commandment, . it seemed good unto us, having become of one mind, to choose out and send men unto you with our beloved barnabas and paul, . men that have given up their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. . we have, therefore, sent judas and silas, who shall also tell you the same things by word of mouth. . for it seemed good to the holy spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary { } things: . that ye abstain from meats offered to idols and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves ye shall do well. fare ye well." l it is argued that the simplicity of this composition, its brevity and the absence of hierarchical tendency, prove the authenticity and originality of the epistle. nothing, however, could be more arbitrary than to assert that the author of the acts, composing a letter supposed to be written under the circumstances, would have written one different from this. we shall, on the contrary, see good reason for affirming that he actually did compose it, and that it bears the obvious impress of his style. besides, zeller( ) has pointed out that, in a document affirmed to be so removed from all calculation or object, verse could hardly have found a place. the reference to "our beloved" barnabas and paul, as "men that have given up their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ," is scarcely consistent with the primitive brevity and simplicity which are made the basis of such an argument. in the absence of better evidence, apologists grasp at extremely slight indications of authenticity, and of this nature seems to us the mark of genuineness which bleek and others( ) consider that they find in the fact, { } that the name of barnabas is placed before that of paul in this document. it is maintained that, from the th chapter, the author commences to give the precedence to paul, but that, in reverting to the former order, the synodal letter gives evidence both of its antiquity and genuineness. if any weight could be attached to such an indication, it is unfortunate for this argument that the facts are not as stated, for the order "barnabas and paul" occurs at xiv. and , and even in the very account of the council at xv. . the two names are mentioned together in the acts sixteen times, barnabas being named first eight times (xi. , xii. , xiii. , , , xiv. , , xv. ), and paul as frequently (xiii. , , , xv. twice, , , ). apologists like lekebusch( ) and oertel( ) reject bleek's argument. the greeting [------] with which the letter opens, and which, amongst the epistles of the new testament, is only found in that bearing the name of james (i. ), is said to be an indication that the letter of the council was written by james himself.( ) before such an argument could avail, it would be necessary, though difficult, to prove the authenticity of the epistle of james, but we need not enter upon such a question. [------] is the ordinary greek form of greeting in all epistles,( ) and the author of acts, who writes purer greek than any { } other writer in our canon, naturally adopts it. not only does he do so here, however, but he makes use of the same [------] in the letter of the chief captain lysias (xxiii. ),( ) which also evidently proceeds from his hand. moreover, the word is used as a greeting in luke i. , and not unfrequently elsewhere in the new testament, as mattli. xxvi. , xxvii. , xxviii. , mark xv. , john xix. , john , . lekebusch,( ) meyer,( ) and oertel( ) reject the argument, and we may add that if [------] prove anything, it proves that the author of acts, who uses the word in the letter of lysias, also wrote the synodal letter. in what language must we suppose that the epistle was originally written? oertel maintains an aramaic original,( ) but the greater number of writers consider that the original language was greek.( ) it cannot be denied that the composition, as it stands, contains many of the peculiarities of style of the author of acts;( ) and these are, indeed, so marked that even apologists like lekebusch and oertel, whilst maintaining the substantial authenticity of the epistle, admit that at least its actual form must be ascribed to the general author. the originality of the form being abandoned, it is difficult to perceive any ground for asserting the originality and genuineness of { } the substance. that assertion rests solely upon a vague traditional confidence in the author of acts, which is shown to be without any solid foundation. the form of this epistle clearly professes to be as genuine as the substance, and if the original language was greek, there is absolutely no reason why the original letter should have been altered. the similarity of the construction to that of the prologue to the third gospel, in which the personal style of the writer may be supposed to have beeu most unreservedly shown, has long been admitted:-- [------] a more detailed linguistic examination of the epistle, however, confirms the conclusion already stated. verse : [------], ii. , v. , vii. , xi. , xiv. , xix. , , and elsewhere the expression is only met with in mark vi. ; the phrase [------] finds a parallel in xi. , [------], k. t. x. the characteristic expression [------], is repeated, xi. , xvi. , xxvii. , , . verse : [------], xiii. , xiv. , luke vii. , xi. , cf. i. ; paul , rest only times. [------], xvii. , , luke i. , xxiv. , elsewhere thirteen times. [------] is not found elsewhere, but the preference of our writer for compounds of [------], and [------] is marked, and of these consists a large proportion of his [------], acts , luke times, and frequently elsewhere; the phrase [------], may be compared with xiv. , [------], cf. xiv. . [------] { } not elsewhere found in acts, but it occurs matth. xvi. , mark v. , vii. twice, viii. , ix. , and heb. xii. . verse : [------], acts , luke , paul times, elsewhere frequently. [------], i. , ii. , , iv. , v. , xii. , viii. , xii. , xviii. , xix. ; so that this word, not in very common use even in general greek literature, occurs times elsewhere in the acts, but, except in rom. xv. , is not employed by any other new testament writer. [------], i. , , vi. , xiii. , xv. , , luke vi. , x. , xiv. , and elsewhere times, [------], acts , luke times, elsewhere common, [------] is not elsewhere used in acts, but is found in luke iii. , ix. , xx. , paul times, and is common elsewhere. verse : [------], acts , luke times, and common elsewhere, [------], xxi. , v. , ix. , rom. i. , john . verse : [------], acts , luke times, elsewhere very frequently. [------], xv. . [------], acts , luke , rest times, [------], luke vi. , ; [------], acts i. , ii. , , iii. , iv. , xiv. ; luke vi. , xvii. . verse : [------], acts , luke , paul , elsewhere times; the same expression, [------]... is also found in luke iii. . [------], acts , luke , elsewhere times. [------] is not elsewhere met with in acts, but occurs matt. xx. , cor. iv. , gal. vi. , thes. il , apoc. ii. . [------], viii. , xx. , xxvii. , luke , elsewhere times. [------] is not elsewhere found in the new testament. verse : [------], xv. , luke vi. , vii. , xv. , xxiv. , elsewhere times. [------], xxi. , cor. viii. , , , , x. , , apoc. ii. , . [------] occurs only in luke ii. . [------], acts , luke , paul , elsewhere times only, [------], this { } usual greek formula for the ending of a letter, [------], is nowhere else used in the new testament, except at the close of the letter of lysias, xxiii. . turning now from the letter to the spirit of this decree, we must endeavour to form some idea of its purport and bearing. the first point which should be made clear is, that the question raised before the council solely affected the gentile converts, and that the conditions contained in the decree were imposed upon that branch of the church alone. no change whatever in the position of jewish christians was contemplated; they were left as before, subject to the mosaic law.( ) this is very apparent in the reference which is made long after to the decree, ch. xxi. ff., , when the desire is expressed to paul by james, who proposed the decree, and the elders of jerusalem, that he should prove to the many thousands of believing jews all zealous of the law, that he did not teach the jews who were among the gentiles apostasy from moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. paul, who is likewise represented, in the acts, as circumcising with his own hand, after the decision of the council had been adopted, timothy the son of a greek, whose mother was a jewess, consents to give the jews of jerusalem the required proof. we have already shown at the commencement of this section, that { } nothing was further from the minds of the jewish christians than the supposition that the obligation to observe the mosaic law was weakened by the adoption of christianity; and the representation in the acts is certainly so far correct, that it does not pretend that jewish christians either desired or sanctioned any relaxation of mosaic observances on the part of believing jews. this cannot be too distinctly remembered in considering the history of primitive christianity. the initiatory rite was essential to full participation in the covenant. it was left for paul to preach the abrogation of the law and the abandonment of circumcision. if the speech of peter seems to suggest the abrogation of the law even for jews, it is only in a way which shows that the author had no clear historical fact to relate, and merely desired to ascribe, vaguely and indefinitely, pauline sentiments to the apostle of the circumcision. no remark whatever is made upon these strangely liberal expressions of peter, and neither the proposition of james nor the speech in which he makes it takes the slightest notice of them. the conduct of peter at antioch and the influence exercised by james through his emissaries restore us to historical ground. whether the author intended to represent that the object of the conditions of the decree was to admit the gentile christians to full communion with the jewish, or merely to the subordinate position of proselytes of the gate, is uncertain, but it is not necessary to discuss the point. there is not the slightest external evidence that such a decree ever existed, and the more closely the details are examined the more evident does it become that it has no historical consistency. how, and upon what principle, were these singular conditions selected? their heterogeneous character is at once apparent, but not so the { } reason for a combination which is neither limited to jewish customs nor sufficiently representative of moral duties. it has been argued, on the one hand, that the prohibitions of the apostolic decree are simply those, reduced to a necessary minimum, which were enforced in the case of heathen converts to judaism who did not join themselves fully to the people of the covenant by submitting to circumcision, but were admitted to imperfect communion as proselytes of the gate.( ) the conditions named, however, do not fully represent the rules framed for such cases, and many critics consider that the conditions imposed, although they may have been influenced by the noachiaii prescriptions, were rather moral duties which it was, from special circumstances, thought expedient to specify.( ) "we shall presently refer to some of these conditions, but bearing in mind the views which were dominant amongst primitive christians, and more especially, as is obvious, amongst the christians of jerusalem where this decree is supposed to have been unanimously adopted, bearing in mind the teaching which is said to have led to the council, the episode at antioch, and the systematic judaistic opposition which retarded the work of paul and subsequently affected his reputation, it may be instructive { } to point out not only the vagueness which exists as to the position which it was intended that the gentiles should acquire, as the effect of this decree, but also its singular and total inefficiency. an apologetic writer, having of course in his mind the fact that there is no trace of the operation of the decree, speaks of its conditions as follows: "the miscellaneous character of these prohibitions showed that, taken as a whole, they had no binding force independently of the circumstances which dictated them. they were a temporary expedient framed to meet a temporary emergency. their object was the avoidance of offence in mixed communities of jew and gentile converts. beyond this recognised aim and general understanding implied therein, the limits of their application were not defined." in fact the immunity granted to the gentiles was thus practically almost unconditional. it is obvious, however, that every consideration which represents the decree as more completely emancipating gentile christians from mosaic obligations, and admitting them into free communion with believers amongst the jews, places it in more emphatic contradiction to historical facts and the statements of the apostle paul. the unanimous adoption of such a measure in jerusalem, on the one hand, and, on the other, the episode at antioch, the fear of peter, the silence of paul, and the attitude of james become perfectly inconceivable. if on the contrary the conditions were seriously imposed and really meant anything, a number of difficulties spring up of which we shall presently speak. that the prohibitions, in the opinion of the author of the acts, constituted a positive and binding obligation can scarcely be doubted by anyone who considers the terms in which they are laid down. if { } they are represented as a concession they are nevertheless recognised as a "burden," and they are distinctly stated to be the obligations which "it seemed good to the holy spirit" as well as to the council to impose. the qualification, that the restrictive clauses had no binding force "independently of the circumstances which dictated them," in so far as it has any meaning beyond the unnecessary declaration that the decree was only applicable to the class for whom it was framed, seems to be inadmissible. the circumstance which dictated the decree was the counter-teaching of jewish christians, that it was necessary that the gentile converts should be circumcised and keep the law of moses. the restrictive clauses are simply represented as those which it was deemed right to impose; and, as they are stated without qualification, it is holding the decision of the "holy spirit" and of the church somewhat cheap to treat them as mere local and temporary expedients. this is evidently not the view of the author of the acts. would it have been the view of anyone else if it were not that, so far as any external trace of the decree is concerned, it is an absolute myth? the prevalence of practices to which the four prohibitions point is quite sufficiently attested to show that, little as there is any ground for considering that such a decree was framed in such a manner, the restrictive clauses are put forth as necessary and permanently binding. the very doubt which exists as to whether the prohibitions were not intended to represent the conditions imposed on proselytes of the gate shows their close analogy to them, and it cannot be reasonably asserted that the early christians regarded those conditions either as obsolete or indifferent. the decree is clearly intended to set forth the terms upon which gentile christians were { } to be admitted into communion, and undoubtedly is to be taken as applicable not merely to a few districts, but to the gentiles in general. the account which paul gives of his visit not only ignores any such decree, but excludes it. in the first place, taking into account the apostle's character and the spirit of his epistle, it is impossible to suppose that paul had any intention of submitting, as to higher authority, the gospel which he preached, for the judgment of the elder apostles and of the church of jerusalem.( ) nothing short of this is involved in the account in the acts, and in the form of the decree which promulgates, in an authoritative manner, restrictive clauses which "seemed good to the holy spirit" and to the council. the temper of the man is well shown in paul's indignant letter to the galatians. he receives his gospel, not from men, but by direct revelation from jesus christ and, so far is he from submission of the kind implied, that he says: "but even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. as we have said before, so say i now again: if any man preach any gospel to you other than that ye received, let him be accursed."( ) that the apostle here refers to his own peculiar teaching, and does so in contradistinction to the gospel preached by the judaizers, is evident from the preceding words: "i marvel that ye are so soon removing from him that called you in the grace of christ unto a different gospel; which is not another, only there are { } some that trouble you, and desire to pervert the gospel of christ."( ) passing from this, however, to the restrictive clauses in general, how is it possible that paul could state, as the result of his visit, that the "pillar" apostles "communicated nothing" after hearing his gospel, if the four conditions of this decree had thus been authoritatively "communicated"? on the contrary, paul distinctly adds that, in acknowledging his mission, but one condition had been attached: "only that we should remember the poor; which very thing i also was forward to do."( ) as one condition is here mentioned, why not the others, had any been actually imposed? it is argued that the remembrance of the poor of jerusalem which is thus inculcated was a recommendation personally made to paul and barnabas, but it is clear that the apostle's words refer to the result of his communication of his gospel, and to the understanding under which his mission to the gentiles was tolerated. we have already pointed out how extraordinary it is that such a decision of the council should not have been referred to in describing his visit, and the more we go into details the more striking and inexplicable, except in one way, is such silence. in relating the struggle regarding the circumcision of titus, for instance, and stating that he did not yield, no, not for an hour, to the demands made on the subject, is it conceivable that, if the exemption of all gentile christians from the initiatory rite had { } been unanimously conceded, paul would not have added to his statement about titus, that not only he himself had not been compelled to give way in this instance, but that his representations had even convinced those who had been apostles before him, and secured the unanimous adoption of his own views on the point? the whole of this epistle is a vehement and intensely earnest denunciation of those judaizers who were pressing the necessity of the initiatory rite upon the galatian converts.( ) is it possible that the apostle could have left totally unmentioned the fact that the apostles and the very church of jerusalem had actually declared circumcision to be unnecessary? it would not have accorded with paul's character, it is said, to have appealed to the authority of the elder apostles or of the church in a matter in which his own apostolic authority and teaching were in question. in that case, bow can it be supposed that he ever went at all up to jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question? if he was not too proud to lay aside his apostolic dignity and, representing the christians of antioch, to submit the case to the council at jerusalem, and subsequently to deliver its decree to various communities, is it consistent with reason or common sense to assert that he was too proud to recall the decision of that council to the christians of galatia? it must, we think, be obvious that, if such an explanation of paul's total silence as to the decree be at all valid, it is absolutely fatal to the account of paul's visit in the acts. this reasoning is not confined to the epistle to the galatians but, as paley "turning from antioch to galatia, we meet with judaic teachers who urged circumcision on the gentile converts, and, as the best means of weakening the authority of st. paul, asserted for the apostles of the circumcision the exclusive right of dictating to the church." lightfoot, ep. to the gal. p. . { } points out, applies to the other epistles of paul, in all of which the same silence is preserved. moreover, the apologetic explanation altogether fails upon other grounds. without appealing to the decree as an authority, we must feel sure that the apostle would at least have made use of it as a logical refutation of his adversaries. the man who did not hesitate to attack peter openly for inconsistency, and charge him with hypocrisy, would not have hesitated to cite the decree as evidence, and still less to fling it in the faces of those judaizers who, so short a time after that decree is supposed to have been promulgated, preached the necessity of circumcision and mosaic observances in direct opposition to its terms, whilst claiming to represent the views of the very apostles and church which had framed it. paul, who never denies the validity of their claim, would most certainly have taunted them with gross inconsistency and retorted that the church of jerusalem, the apostles, and the judaizers who now troubled him and preached circumcision and the mosaic law had, four or five years previously, declared as the deliberate decision of the holy spirit and the council, that they were no longer binding on the gentile converts. by such a reference "the discussion would have been foreclosed." none of the reasons which are suggested to explain the undeniable fact that there is no mention of the decree can really bear examination, and that fact remains supported by a great many powerful considerations, leading to the very simple explanation which reconciles all difficulties, that the narrative of the acts is not authentic. we arrive at the very same results when we examine the apostle's references to the practices which the conditions of the decree were intended to control. instead of recognising the authority of the decree, or enforcing its { } prescriptions, he does not even allow us to infer its existence, and he teaches disregard at least of some of its restrictions. the decree enjoins the gentile christians to abstain from meats offered to idols. paul tells the corinthians to eat whatever meat is sold in the shambles without asking questions for conscience sake, for an idol is nothing in the world, "neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we eat not are we the worse."( ) it is not conceivable that the apostle could so completely have ignored the prohibition of the decree if he had actually submitted the question to the apostles, and himself so distinctly acquiesced in their decision as to distribute the document amongst the various communities whom he subsequently visited. to argue that the decree was only intended to have force in antioch, and syria, and cilicia, to which, as the locality in which the difficulty had arisen which had originally led to the council, the decree was, in the first instance, addressed, is highly arbitrary; but, when proceeding further, apologists( ) draw a distinction between those churches "which had already been founded, and which had felt the pressure of jewish prejudice (acts xvi. )," and "brotherhoods afterwards formed and lying beyond the reach of such influences," as a reason why no notice of the decree is taken in the case of the corinthians and romans, the special pleading ignores very palpable facts. "jewish prejudices" are represented in the acts of the apostles themselves as being more than usually strong in corinth. there was a jewish synagogue there, augmented probably by the jews expelled from rome under claudius,( ) and their violence against { } paul finally obliged him to leave the place.( ) living in the midst of an idolatrous city, and much exposed to the temptations of sacrificial feasts, we might naturally expect excessive rigour against participation, on the one hand, and perhaps too great indifference, on the other; and this we actually find to have been the case. it is in consequence of questions respecting meats offered to idols that paul writes to the corinthians, and whilst treating the matter in itself as one of perfect indifference, merely inculcates consideration for weak consciences.( ) it is clear that there was a decided feeling against the practice; it is clear that strong jewish prejudices existed in the jewish colony at corinth, and wherever there were jews the eating of meats offered to idols was an abomination. the sin of israel at baalpeor( ) lived in the memory of the people, and abstinence from such pollution( ) was considered a duty. if the existence of such "jewish prejudices" was a reason for publishing the decree, we have, in fact, more definite evidence of them in corinth than we have in antioch, for, apart from this specific mention of the subject of eating sacrificial meats, the two apostolic letters abundantly show the existence and activity of judaistic parties there, which opposed the work of paul, and desired to force mosaic observances upon his converts. it is impossible to admit that, supposing such a decree to have been promulgated as the mind of the holy spirit, there could be any reason why it should have been unknown at corinth so short a time after it was adopted. when, therefore, we find the apostle not only ignoring it, but actually declaring that to be a matter of indifference, abstinence from which it had just seemed { } good to the holy spirit to enjoin, the only reasonable conclusion is that paul himself was totally ignorant of the existence of any decree containing such a prohibition. there is much difference of opinion as to the nature of the [------] referred to in the decree, and we need not discuss it; but in all the apostle's homilies upon the subject there is the same total absence of all allusion to the decision of the council. nowhere can any practical result from the operation of the decree be pointed out, nor any trace even of its existence. the assertions and conjectures, by which those who maintain the authenticity of the narrative in the acts seek to explain the extraordinary absence of all external evidence of the decree, labour under the disadvantage of all attempts to account for the total failure of effects from a supposed cause, the existence of which is in reality only assumed. it is customary to reply to the objection that there is no mention of the decree in the epistles of paul or in any other contemporary writing, that this is a mere argument _a silentio_. is it not, however, difficult to imagine any other argument, from contemporary sources, regarding what is affirmed to have had no existence, than that from silence do apologists absolutely demand that, with prophetic anticipation of future controversies, the apostle paul should obligingly have left on record that there actually was no council such as a writer would subsequently describe, and that the decree which he { } would put forward as the result of that council must not he accepted as genuine? it is natural to expect that, when writing of the very visit in question, and dealing with subjects and discussions in which, whether in the shape of historical allusion, appeal to authority, taunt for inconsistency, or assertion of his own influence, some allusion to the decree would have been highly appropriate, if not necessary, the apostle paul should at least have given some hint of its existence. his not doing so constitutes strong presumptive evidence against the authenticity of the decree, and all the more so as no more positive evidence than silence could possibly be forthcoming of the non-existence of that which never existed. the supposed decree of the council of jerusalem cannot on any ground be accepted as a historical fact.( ) we may now return to such further consideration of the statements of the epistle as may seem necessary for the object of our inquiry. no mention is made by the apostle of any official mission on the subject of circumcision, and the discussion of that question arises in a merely incidental manner from the presence of titus, an uncircumcised gentile christian. there has been much discussion as to whether titus actually was circumcised or not, and there { } can be little doubt that the omission of the negative [------] from gal. ii. , has been in some cases influenced by the desire to bring the apostle's conduct upon this occasion into harmony with the account, in acts xvi. , of his circumcising timothy.( ) we shall not require to enter into any controversy on the point, for the great majority of critics are agreed that the apostle intended to say that titus was not circumcised, although the contrary is affirmed by a few writers.( ) it is obvious from the whole of the apostle's narrative that great pressure was exerted to induce titus to submit, and that paul, if he did not yield even for an hour the required subjection, had a long and severe struggle to maintain his position. even when relating the circumstances in his letter to the galatians, the recollection of his contest profoundly stirs the apostle's indignation; his utterance becomes vehement, but cannot keep pace with his impetuous thoughts, and the result is a narrative in broken and abrupt sentences whose very incompleteness is eloquent, and betrays the irritation which has not even yet entirely subsided. how does this accord with the whole tone of the account in the acts? it is customary with apologists to insert so much between the lines of that narrative, partly from imagination and partly from the statements of the epistle, that they almost convince themselves and others that such additions are actually suggested by the author of the acts himself. if we take the account of the acts, however, without such transmutations, it is certain that not only is there not the slightest indication of any struggle regarding the { } circumcision of titus, "in which st. paul maintained at one time almost single-handed the cause of gentile freedom,"( ) but no suggestion that there had ever been any hesitation on the part of the leading apostles and the mass of the church regarding the point at issue. the impression given by the author of the acts is undeniably one of unbroken and undisturbed harmony: of a council in which the elder apostles were of one mind with paul, and warmly agreed with him that the gentiles should be delivered from the yoke of the mosaic law and from the necessity of undergoing the initiatory rite. what is there in such an account to justify in any degree the irritation displayed by paul at the mere recollection of this visit, or to merit the ironical terms with which he speaks of the "pillar" apostles? we may, however, now consider the part which the apostles must have taken in the dispute regarding the circumcision of titus. is it possible to suppose that, if the circumcision of paul's follower had only been demanded by certain of the sect of the pharisees who believed, unsupported by the rest, there could ever have been any considerable struggle on the point? is it possible, further, to suppose that, if paul had received the cordial support of james and the leading apostles in his refusal to concede the circumcision of titus, such a contest could have been more than momentary and trifling? is it possible that the apostle paul could have spoken of "certain of the sect of the pharisees who believed" in such terms as: "to whom we yielded by the submission [------] no not for an hour?"( ) or that he could have used this expression if those who pressed the demand upon him had not been in a position { } of authority, which naturally suggested a subjection which paul upon this occasion persistently refused? it is not possible. of course many writers who seek to reconcile the two narratives, and some of whom substitute for the plain statements of the acts and of the apostle, an account which is not consistent with either, suppose that the demand for the circumcision of titus proceeded solely from the "false brethren,"( ) although some of them suppose that at least these false brethren may have thought they had reason to hope for the support of the elder apostles.( ) it is almost too clear for dispute, however, that the desire that titus should be circumcised was shared or pressed by the elder apostles.( ) according to the showing of the acts, nothing could be more natural than the fact that james and the elders of jerusalem who, so long after (xxi. if.), advised paul to prove his continued observance of the law and that he did not teach the jews to abandon circumcision, should on this occasion have pressed him to circumcise titus. the conduct of peter at antioch, and the constant opposition which paul met with from emissaries { } of james and of the apostles of the circumcision upon the very point of gentile circumcision, all support the inevitable conclusion, that the pressure upon paul in the matter of titus was not only not resisted by the apostles, but proceeded in no small degree from them. this is further shown by the remainder of paul's account of his visit and by the tone of his remarks regarding the principal apostles, as well as by the historical data which we possess of his subsequent career. we need not repeat that the representation in the acts both of the council and of the whole intercourse between paul and the apostles is one of "unbroken unity."( ) the struggle about titus and the quarrel with peter at antioch are altogether omitted, and the apostolic letter speaks merely of "our beloved barnabas and paul, men that have given up their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ"( ) the language of paul is not so pacific and complimentary. immediately after his statement that he had "yielded by the submission, no, not for an hour," paul continues: "but from those who seem to be something [------]--whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me: god accepteth not man's person;--for to me those who seem [------] (to be something) communicated nothing, but, on the contrary, &c. &c., and when they knew the grace that was given to me, james and cephas and john, who seem to be pillars [------], gave to me and barnabas right hands of fellowship that we (should go) unto the gentiles," &c. &c.( ) the tone and language of this passage are certainly { } depreciatory of the elder apostles,( ) and, indeed, it is difficult to understand how any one could fail to perceive and admit the fact. it is argued by some who recognise the irony of the term [------] applied to the apostles, that the disparagement which is so transparent in the form [------], "those who seem to be something," is softened again in the new turn which is given to it in ver. , [------], "those who seem to be pillars," in which, it is said, "the apostle expresses the real greatness and high authority of the twelve in their separate field of labour."( ) it seems to us that this interpretation cannot be sustained. paul is ringing the changes on [------], and contrasting with the position they assumed and the estimation in which they were held, his own experience of them, and their inability to add anything to him. "those who seem to be something," he commences, but immediately interrupts himself, after having thus indicated the persons whom he meant, with the more direct protest of irritated independence:--"whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me: god accepteth not man's person." these [------] communicated nothing to him, but, on the contrary, when they knew the grace given to him, "those who seem to be pillars" gave him hands of fellowship, but nothing more, and they went their different ways, he to the gentiles and they to the circumcision. if the { } expression: [------] be true, as well as ironically used, it cannot be construed into a declaration of respect, but forms part of a passage whose tone throughout is proudly depreciatory. this is followed by such words as "hypocrisy" [------] and "condemned" [------] applied to the conduct of peter at antioch, as well as the mention of the emissaries of james as the cause of that dispute, which add meaning to the irony. this is not, however, the only occasion on which paul betrays a certain bitterness against the elder apostles. in his second letter to the corinthians, xi. , he says, "for i reckon that i am not a whit behind the over much apostles" [------], and again, xii. , "for in nothing was i behind the over much apostles" [------]; and the whole of the vehement passage in which these references are set shows the intensity of the feeling which called them forth. to say that the expressions in the galatian epistle and here are "depreciatory, not indeed of the twelve themselves, but of the extravagant and exclusive claims set up for them by the judaizers,"( ) is an extremely arbitrary distinction. they are directly applied to the apostles, and [------] cannot be taken as irony against those who over-estimated them, but against the [------] themselves. paul's blows generally go straight to their mark. meyer argues that the designation of the apostles as [------] is purely historical, and cannot be taken as ironical, inasmuch as it would be inconsistent to suppose that paul could adopt a depreciatory tone when he is relating his recognition as a colleague by the elder apostles;( ) and others consider that { } ver. , , contain evidence of mutual respect and recognition between paul and the twelve. even if this were so, it could not do away with the actual irony of the expressions; but do the facts support such a statement? we have seen that, in spite of the picture of unbroken unity drawn by the author of the acts, and the liberal sentiments regarding the gentiles which he puts into the mouth of peter and of james, paul had a severe and protracted struggle to undergo in order to avoid circumcising titus. we have already stated the grounds upon which it seems certain that the pressure upon that occasion came as well from the elder apostles as the "false brethren," and critics who do not go so far as to make this positive affirmation, at least recognise the passive, and therefore to a large extent compliant, attitude which the apostles must have held. it is after narrating some of the particulars of this struggle that paul uses the terms of depreciation which we have been discussing; and having added, "for to me those who seem (to be something) communicated nothing," he says, "_but, on the contrary_, when they saw that i have been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as peter with that of the circumcision (for he that wrought for peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision, wrought also for me unto the gentiles); and when they knew the grace that was given unto me, james and cephas and john, who seem to be pillars, gave to me and barnabas right hands of fellowship, that we (should go) unto the gentiles, and they unto the circumcision: only that we should remember the poor; which very thing i also was forward to do." it will be observed that, after saying they "communicated nothing" to him, the apostle adds, in opposition, "but, on the { } contrary" [------]. in what does this opposition consist? apparently in this, that, instead of strengthening the hands of paul, they left him to labour alone. they said: "take your own course; preach the gospel of the uncircumcision to gentiles, and we will preach the gospel of the circumcision to jews."( ) in fact, when paul returned to jerusalem for the second time after fourteen years, he found the elder apostles not one whit advanced towards his own uni-versalism; they retained their former jewish prejudices, and remained as before apostles of the circumcision.( ) notwithstanding the strong pauline sentiments put into peter's mouth by the author of the acts, and his claim to have been so long before selected by god that by his mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe, paul singles out peter as specially entrusted with the gospel of the circumcision; and, in the end, after paul has exerted all his influence, peter and the rest remain unmoved, and allow paul to go to the gentiles, while they confine their ministry as before to the jews. the success of paul's work amongst the heathen was too palpable a fact to be ignored, but there is no reason to believe that the conversion of the gentiles, upon his terms, was more than tolerated at that time, or the gentile christians admitted to more than such imperfect communion with the jewish christians as that of proselytes of the gate in relation to judaism. this is shown by the conduct of peter at antioch after the supposed council, and of the jews with him, and even of barnabas, { } through fear of the emissaries of james, whose arrival certainly could not have produced a separation between jewish and gentile christians had the latter been recognised as in full communion. the "hands of fellowship" clearly was a mere passive permission of paul's mission to the gentiles, but no positive and hearty approval of it testified by active support.( ) it must, we think, be evident to any one who attentively considers the passage we are examining, that there is no question whatever in it of a recognition of the apostolate of paul.( ) the elder apostles consent to his mission to the gentiles, whilst they themselves go to the circumcision; but there is not a syllable which indicates that paul's claim to the title of apostle was ever either acknowledged or discussed. it is not probable that paul would have submitted such a point to their consideration. it is difficult to see how the elder apostles could well have done less than they did, and the extent of their fellowship seems to have simply amounted to toleration of what they could not prevent. the pressure for the circumcision of the gentile converts was an attempt to coerce, and to suppress the peculiar principle of the gospel of uncircumcision; and though that effort failed through the determined resistance of paul, { } it is clear, from the final resolve to limit their preaching to the circumcision, that the elder apostles in no way abandoned their view of the necessity of the initiatory rite. the episode at antioch is a practical illustration of this statement. hilgenfeld ably remarks:--"when we consider that peter was afraid of the circumcised christians, there can be no doubt _that james, at the head of the primitive community, made the attempt to force heathen christians to adopt the substance of jewish legitimacy, by breaking off ecclesiastical community with them_."( ) the gentile christians were virtually excommunicated on the arrival of the emissaries of james, or at least treated as mere proselytes of the gate; and the pressure upon the galatian converts of the necessity of circumcision by similar judaizing emissaries, which called forth the vehement and invaluable epistle before us, is quite in accordance with the circumstances of this visit. the separation agreed upon between paul and the elder apostles was not in any sense geographical, but purely ethnological.( ) it was no mere division of labour,( ) no suitable apportionment of work. the elder apostles determined, like their master before them, to confine their ministry to jews, whilst paul, if he pleased, might go to the gentiles; and the mere fact that peter subsequently goes to antioch, as well as many other { } circumstances, shows that no mere separation of localities, but a selection of race was intended. if there had not been this absolute difference of purpose, any separation would have been unnecessary, and all the apostles would have preached one gospel indifferently to all who had ears to hear it; such strange inequality in the partition of the work could never have existed: that paul should go unaided to the gigantic task of converting the heathen, while the twelve reserved themselves for the small but privileged people. all that we have said at the beginning of this section of the nature of primitive christianity, and of the views prevalent amongst the disciples at the death of their master, is verified by this attitude of the three during the famous visit of the apostle of the gentiles to jerusalem, and paul's account is precisely in accordance with all that historical probability and reason, unwarped by the ideal representations of the acts, prepare us to expect. the more deeply we go into the statements of paul the more is this apparent, and the more palpable does the inauthenticity of the narrative of the council appear. the words of paul in describing the final understanding are very remarkable and require further consideration. the decision that they should go to the circumcision and paul to the gentiles is based upon the recognition of a different gospel entrusted to him, the gospel of the uncircumcision, as the gospel of the circumcision is entrusted to peter. it will be remembered that paul states that, on going up to jerusalem upon this occasion, he communicated to them the gospel which he preached among the gentiles, and it is probable that he made the journey more especially for this purpose. it appears from the account that this gospel was not only new to them, but was { } distinctly diflferent from that of the elder apostles. if paul preached the same gospel as the rest, what necessity could there have been for communicating it at all? what doubt that by any means he might be running, or had run, in vain? he knew perfectly well that he preached a diflferent gospel from the apostles of the circumcision, and his anxiety probably was to secure an amicable recognition of the gentile converts whom he had taught to consider circumcision unnecessary and the obligation of the law removed. of course there was much that was fundamentally the same in the two gospels, starting as they both did with the recognition of jesus as the messiah; but their points of divergence were very marked and striking, and more especially in directions where the prejudices of the apostles of the circumcision were the strongest avoiding all debatable ground, it is clear that the gospel of the uncircumcision, which proclaimed the abrogation of the law and the inutility of the initiatory rite, must have been profoundly repugnant to jews, who still preached the obligation of circumcision and the observance of the law. "christ redeemed us from the curse of the law"( ) said the gospel of the uncircumcision. "behold, i, paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, christ will profit you nothing.... for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love."( ) "for neither circumcision is anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."( ) the teaching which was specially designated the gospel of the circumcision, in contradistinction to this gospel of the uncircumcision, held very diflferent language. there is no gainsaying the { } main fact--and that fact, certified by paul himself and substantiated by a host of collateral circumstances, is more conclusive than all conciliatory apologetic reasoning--that, at the date of this visit to jerusalem (c. a.d. - ), the three, after hearing all that paul had to say, allowed him to go alone to the gentiles, but themselves would have no part in the mission, and turned as before to the circumcision. there is another point to which we must very briefly refer. the statements of paul show that, antecedent to this visit to jerusalem, paul had been the active apostle of the gentiles, preaching his gospel of the uncircumcision, and that subsequently he returned to the same field of labour. if we examine the narrative of the acts, we do not find him represented in any special manner as the apostle of the gentiles, but, on the contrary, whilst peter claims the honour of having been selected that by his voice the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe, paul is everywhere described as going to the jews, and only when his teaching is rejected by them does he turn to the gentiles. it is true that ananias is represented as being told by the lord that paul is a chosen vessel "to bear my name both before gentiles and kings, and the sons of israel;"( ) and paul subsequently recounts how the lord had said to himself, "go, for i will send thee far hence unto gentiles."( ) the author of the acts, however, everywhere conveys the impression that paul very reluctantly fulfils this mission, and that if he had but been successful amongst the jews he never would have gone to the gentiles at all. immediately after his conversion, he preaches in the synagogues at damascus and confounds the jews,( ) as he { } again does during his visit to jerusalem.( ) when the holy spirit desires the church at antioch to separate barnabas and saul for the work whereunto he has called them, they continue to announce the word of god "in the synagogues of the jews,"( ) and in narrating the conversion of the roman proconsul at paphos, it is said that it is sergius paulus himself who calls for barnabas and saul, and seeks to hear the word of god.( ) when they came to antioch in pisidia, they go into the synagogue of the jews( ) as usual, and it is only after the jews reject them that paul and barnabas are described as saying:--"it was necessary that the word of god should first be spoken to you: seeing that ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the gentiles."( ) in iconium, to which they next proceed, however, they go into the synagogue of the jews,( ) and later, it is stated that paul, on arriving at thessalonica, "as his custom was," went into the synagogue of the jews, and for three sabbaths discoursed to them.( ) at corinth, it was only when the jews opposed him and blasphemed, that paul is represented as saying: "your blood be upon your own head; i will henceforth, with a pure conscience, go unto the gentiles." it is impossible to distinguish from this narrative any difference between the ministry of paul and that of the other apostles. they all address themselves mainly and primarily to the jews, although if gentiles desire to eat of "the crumbs which fall from the children's bread" they are not rejected. even the pharisees stirred heaven and earth to make proselytes. in no sense can { } the paul of the acts be considered specially an apostle of the gentiles, and the statement of the epistle to the galatians( ) has no significance, if interpreted by the historical work. apologists usually reply to this objection, that the practice of paul in the acts is in accordance with his own words in the epistle to the romans, i. , in which, it is asserted, he recognizes the right of the jews to precedence. in the authorised version this passage is rendered as follows:--"for i am not ashamed of the gospel of christ: for it is the power of god unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the jew first and also to the greek."( ) [------] as a matter of fact we may here at once state that the word [------] "first," is not found in codices b and g, and that it is omitted from the latin rendering of the verse quoted by tertullian.( ) that the word upon which the controversy turns should not be found in so important a ms. as the vatican codex or in so ancient a version as tertullian's is very significant, but proceeding at once to the sense of the sentence, we must briefly state the reasons which seem to us conclusively to show that the usual reading is erroneous. the passage is an emphatic statement of the principles of paul. he declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel, and he immediately states the reason: "for it is a power of god unto salvation to everyone that believeth."( ) he is not ashamed of the gospel because he recognizes its universality; for, in { } opposition to the exclusiveness of judaism, he maintains that all are "sons of god through faith in christ jesus... there is neither jew nor greek... for ye are all one man in christ jesus. and if ye be christ's then are ye abraham's seed, heirs according to promise."( ) "for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love."( ) the reason which he gives is that which lies at the basis of the whole of his special teaching; but we are asked to believe that, after so clear and comprehensive a declaration, he at once adds the extraordinary qualification: [------], rendered "to the jew first and also to the greek." what is the meaning of such a limitation? if the gospel be a power of god unto salvation "to every one that believeth" [------], in what manner can it possibly be so "to the jew first"? can it be maintained that there are comparative degrees in salvation? "salvation" is obviously an absolute term. if saved at all, the jew cannot be more saved than the greek. if, on the other hand, the expression be interpreted as an assertion that the jew has a right of precedence either in the offer or the attainment of salvation before the greek, the manner of its realization is almost equally inconceivable, and a host of difficulties, especially in view of the specific pauline teaching, immediately present themselves. there can be no doubt that the judaistic view distinctly was that israel must first be saved, before the heathen could obtain any part in the messianic kingdom, and we have shown that this idea dominated primitive christianity; and inseparable from this was the belief that the only way to a participation in its benefits lay through judaism. the { } heathen could only obtain admission into the family of israel, and become partakers in the covenant, by submitting to the initiatory rite. it was palpably under the influence of this view, and with a conviction that the messianic kingdom was primarily destined for the children of israel, that the elder apostles, even after the date of paul's second visit to jerusalem, continued to confine their ministry "to the circumcision." paul's view was very different. he recognized and maintained the universality of the gospel and, in resolving to go to the heathen, he practically repudiated the very theory of jewish preference which he is here supposed to advance. if the gospel, instead of being a power of god to salvation to every man who believed, was for the jew first, the apostolate of the gentiles was a mere delusion and a snare. what could be the advantage of so urgently offering salvation to the greek, if the gift, instead of being "for every one that believeth," was a mere prospective benefit, inoperative until the jew had first been saved? "salvation to the jew first and also to the greek," if it have any significance whatever of the kind argued,--involving either a prior claim to the offer of salvation, or precedence in its distribution,--so completely destroys all the present interest in it of the gentile, that the gospel must to him have lost all power. to suppose that such an expression simply means, that the gospel must first be preached to the jews in any town to which the apostle might come before it could legitimately be proclaimed to the gentiles of that town, is childish. we have no reason to suppose that paul held the deputy sergius paulus, who desired to hear the word of god and believed, in suspense until the jews of paphos had { } rejected it. the cases of the ethiopian eunuch and cornelius throw no light upon any claim of the jew to priority in salvation. indeed, not to waste time in showing the utter incongruity of the ordinary interpretation, we venture to affirm that there is not a single explanation, which maintains a priority assigned to the jew in any way justifying the reference to this text, which is capable of supporting the slightest investigation. if we linguistically examine the expression [------], we arrive at the same conclusion, that [------] is an interpolation, for we must maintain that [------] with [------] and [------] must be applied equally both to "jew" and "greek," and cannot rightly be appropriated to the jew only, as implying a preference over the greek.( ) the sense, therefore, can only be properly and intelligibly given by disregarding [------] and simply translating the words: "both to jew and greek."( ) this was the rendering of the ancient latin version quoted by tertullian in his work against marcion: "itaque et hie, cum dicit: non enim me pudet evangelii, virtus enim dei est in salutem omni credenti, judæo et græco, quia justitia dei in eo revelatur ex fide in fidem.,,( ) we are not left without further examples of the very same expression, and an examination of the context will amply demonstrate that paul used it in no other sense. in the { } very next chapter the apostle twice uses the same words. after condemning the hasty and unrighteous judgment of man, he says: "for we know that the judgment of god is according to truth.... who will render to every one according to his works; to them who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that act out of factious spirit and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, anger, and wrath: affliction and distress upon every soul of man that worketh evil, both of jew and of greek [------], a. v. "of the jew first, and also of the gentile"; but glory and honour and peace to every one that worketh good, both to jew and to greek [------], a. v. "to the jew first, and also to the gentile"). for there is no respect of persons with god."( ) how is it possible that, if the apostle had intended to assert a priority of any kind accorded to the jew before the gentile, he could at the same time have added: "for there is no respect of persons with god "? if salvation be "to the jew first," there is very distinctly respect of persons with god. the very opposite, however, is repeatedly and emphatically asserted by paul in this very epistle. "for there is no difference between jew and greek" [------], he says, "for the same lord of all is rich unto all them that call upon him. for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved."( ) here, we have the phrase without [------]. nothing could be more clear and explicit. the precedence of the jew is directly excluded. at the end of the second chapter, moreover, he explains his idea of a jew: { } "for he is not a jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outwardly in flesh, but he is a jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit not letter."( ) if anything further were required to prove that the apostle does not by the expression: [------], intend to indicate any priority accorded to the jew, it is supplied by the commencement of the third chapter. "what then is the advantage of the jew? or what the profit of circumcision?" it is obvious that if the apostle had just said that the gospel was the power of god unto salvation, "to jew first and also to greek," he had stated a very marked advantage to the jew, and that such an inquiry as the above would have been wholly unnecessary. the answer which he gives to his own question, however, completes our certainty. "much every way," he replies; but in explaining what the "much" advantage was, we hear no more of "to jew first:" "much every way: for first indeed they were entrusted with the oracles of god."( ) and, after a few words, he proceeds: "what then? are we better? not at all; for we before brought the charge that both jews and greeks [------] are all under sin."( ) here, again, there is no [------]. there can be no doubt in the mind of any one who understands what paul's teaching was, and what he means by claiming the special title of "apostle to the gentiles," that in going "to the heathen" after his visit to jerusalem, as before it, there was no purpose in his mind to preach to the jews first and only on being rejected by them to turn to the gentiles, as the acts would have us suppose; but that the principle which regulated his proclamation of the gospel was that which we have { } already quoted: "for there is no difference between jew and greek; for the same lord of all is rich unto all them that call upon him. for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved."( ) still more incongruous is the statement of the acts that paul took timothy and circumcised him because of the jews. according to this narrative, shortly after the supposed council of jerusalem at which it was decided that circumcision of gentile converts was unnecessary; immediately after paul had in spite of great pressure refused to allow titus to be circumcised; and after it had been agreed between the apostle of the gentiles and james and cephas and john that while they should go to the circumcision, he, on the contrary, should go to the heathen, paul actually took and circumcised timothy. apologists, whilst generally admitting the apparent contradiction, do not consider that this act involves any real inconsistency, and find reasons which, they affirm, sufficiently justify it. some of these we shall presently examine, but we may at once say that no apologetic arguments seem to us capable of resisting the conclusion arrived at by many independent critics, that the statement of the acts with regard to timothy is opposed to all that we know of paul's views, and that for unassailable reasons it must be pronounced unhistorical.( ) the author of the acts says: "and he (paul) came to derbe and lystra. and behold a certain disciple was there, named timothy, son of a { } believing jewish woman, but of a greek father; who was well reported of by the brethren in lystra and iconium. him would paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the jews which were in those places [------]; for they all knew that his father was a greek [------]."( ) the principal arguments of those who maintain the truth and consistency of this narrative briefly are: paul resisted the circumcision of titus because he was a greek, and because the subject then actually under consideration was the immunity from the jewish rite of gentile christians, which would have been prejudiced had he yielded the point. on the other hand, timothy was the son of a jewish mother, and whilst there was no principle here in question, paul circumcised the companion whom he had chosen to accompany him in his missionary journey, both as a recognition of his jewish origin and to avoid offence to the jews whom they should encounter in the course of their ministry, as well as to secure for him access to the synagogues which they must visit: paul in this instance, according to all apologists putting in practice his own declaration ( cor. ix. - ): "for being free from all men, i made myself servant unto all that i might gain the more; and unto the jews i became as a jew, that i might gain jews." it must be borne in mind that the author who chronicles the supposed circumcision of timothy makes no allusion to the refusal of paul to permit titus to be circumcised; an omission which is not only singular in itself, but significant when we find him, immediately after, narrating so singular a concession of which the { } apostle makes no mention. of course it is clear that paul could not have consented to the circumcision of titus, and we have only to consider in what manner the case of timothy differed so as to support the views of those who hold that paul, who would not yield to the pressure brought to bear upon him in the case of titus, might, quite consistently, so short a time after, circumcise timothy with his own hand. it is true that the necessity of circumcision for gentile christians came prominently into question, during paul's visit to jerusalem, from the presence of his uncircumcised follower titus, and no doubt the abrogation of the rite must have formed a striking part of the exposition of his gospel, which paul tells us he made upon this occasion; but it is equally certain that the necessity of circumcision long continued to be pressed by the judaistic party in the church. it cannot fairly be argued that, at any time, paul could afford to relax his determined and consistent attitude as the advocate for the universality of christianity and the abrogation of a rite, insistence upon which, he had been the first to recognise, would have been fatal to the spread of christianity. to maintain that he could safely make such a concession of his principles and himself circumcise timothy, simply because at that precise moment there was no active debate upon the point, is inadmissible; for his epistles abundantly prove that the topic, if it ever momentarily subsided into stubborn silence, was continually being revived with renewed bitterness. pauline views could never have prevailed if he had been willing to sacrifice them for the sake of conciliation, whenever they were not actively attacked. the difference of the occasion cannot be admitted { } as a valid reason; let us, therefore, see whether any difference in the persons and circumstances removes the contradiction. it is argued that such a difference exists in the fact that, whilst titus was altogether a gentile, timothy, on the side of his mother at least, was a jew; and thiersch, following a passage quoted by wetstein, states that, according to talmudic prescriptions, the validity of mixed marriages between a jewess and a gentile was only recognized upon the condition that the children should be brought up in the religion of the mother. in this case, he argues, paul merely carried out the requirement of the jewish law by circumcising timothy, which others had omitted to do, and thus secured his admission to the jewish synagogues to which much of his ministry was directed, but from which he would have been excluded had the rite not been performed.( ) even meyer, however, in reference to this point, replies that paul could scarcely be influenced by the talmudic canon, because timothy was already a christian and beyond judaism.( ) besides, in point of fact, by such a marriage the jewess had forfeited jewish privileges. timothy, in the eyes of the mosaic law, was not a jew, and held, in reality, no better position than the greek titus. he had evidently been brought up as a heathen, and the only question which could arise in regard to him was whether he must first become a jew before he could be fully recognized as a christian. the supposition that the circumcision of timothy, the son of a greek, after he had actually become a christian without having passed through judaism, { } could secure for him free access to the synagogues of the jews, may show how exceedingly slight at that time was the difference between the jew and the christian, but it also suggests the serious doubt whether the object of the concession, in the mind of the author of the acts, was not rather to conciliate the judaic christians, than to represent the act as one of policy towards the unbelieving jews. the statement of the acts is that paul circumcised timothy "because of the jews which were in those places; for they knew all that his father was a greek." if the reason which we are discussing were correct, the expression would more probably have been: "for they knew that his mother was a jewess." the greek father might, and probably did, object to the circumcision of his son, but that was no special reason why paul should circumcise him. on the other hand, the fact that the jews knew that his father was a greek made the action attributed to paul a concession which the author of the acts thus represented in its most conciliatory light. the circumcision of timothy was clearly declared unnecessary by the apostolic decree, for the attempt to show that he was legitimately regarded as a jew utterly fails. it is obvious that, according to pauline doctrine, there could be no obligation for anyone who adopted christianity to undergo this initiatory rite. it is impossible reasonably to maintain that any case has been made out to explain why timothy, who had grown into manhood without being circumcised, and had become a christian whilst uncircumcised, should at that late period be circumcised. beyond the reference to a talmudic prescription, in fact, with which there is not the slightest evidence that paul was acquainted, and which, even if he did know of it, could not possibly have been recognised by him as { } authoritative, there has not been a serious attempt made to show that the case of timothy presents exceptional features which reconcile the contradiction otherwise admitted as apparent. the whole apologetic argument in fact sinks into one of mere expediency: timothy, the son of a jewess and of a greek, and thus having a certain affinity both to jews and gentiles, would become a much more efficient assistant to paul if he were circumcised and thus had access to the jewish synagogues; therefore paul, who himself became as a jew that he might win the jews, demanded the same sacrifice from his follower. but can this argument bear any scrutiny by the light of paul's own writings? it cannot. paul openly claims to be the apostle of the gentiles, and just before the period at which he is supposed to circumcise timothy, he parts from the elder apostles with the understanding that he is to go to the gentiles who are freed from circumcision. it is a singular commencement of his mission, to circumcise the son of a greek father after he had become a christian. such supposed considerations about access to synagogues and conciliation of the jews would seem more suitable to a missionary to the circumcision, than to the apostle of the gentiles. it must be apparent to all that in going more specially to the gentiles, as he avowedly was, the alleged expediency of circumcising timothy falls to the ground, and on the contrary that such an act would have compromised his whole gospel. paul's characteristic teaching was the inutility of circumcision, and upon this point he sustained the incessant attacks of the emissaries of james and the judaistic party without yielding or compromise. what could have been more ill-advised under { } such circumstances than the circumcision with his own hands of a convert who, if the son of a jewess, was likewise the son of a greek, and had remained uncircumcised until he had actually embraced that faith which, paul taught, superseded circumcision? the apostle who declared: "behold, i paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, christ will profit you nothing,"( ) could not have circumcised the christian timothy; and if any utterance of paul more distinctly and explicitly applicable to the present case be required, it is aptly supplied by the following: "was any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. hath any man been called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.... let each abide in the same calling wherein he was called."( ) apologists quote very glibly the saying of paul: "unto the jews i became as a jew, that i might gain jews," as sufficiently justifying the act which we are considering; but it is neither applicable to the case, nor is the passage susceptible of such interpretation. the special object of paul at that time, according to his own showing,( ) was not to gain jews but to gain gentiles; and the circumcision of timothy would certainly not have tended to gain gentiles. if we quote the whole passage from which the above is extracted, the sense at once becomes clear and different from that assigned to it: "for being free from all men, i made myself servant unto all, that i might gain the more; and unto the jews i became as a jew that i might gain jews; to them under law, as under law, not being myself under law, that i might gain them under law; to them without law, as without law,--not being without law to god, but under law to christ,-- { } that i might gain them without law; to the weak i became weak that i might gain the weak: i am become all things to all men, that i may by all means save some. and all things i do for the gospel's sake, that i may become a partaker thereof with them."(l) it is clear that a man who could become "all things to all men," in the sense of yielding any point of principle, must be considered without principle at all, and no one could maintain that paul was apt to concede principles. judged by his own statements, indeed, his character was the very reverse of this. there is no shade of conciliation when he declares: "but though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach any gospel unto you other than that we preached unto you, let him be accursed.... for am i now making men my friends, or god? or am i seeking to please men? if i were still pleasing men, i should not be a servant of christ."( ) the gospel of which he speaks, and which he protests "is not after men," but received "through a revelation of jesus christ,"( ) is that gospel which paul preached among the gentiles, and which proclaimed the abrogation of the law and of circumcision. paul might in one sense say that "circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of god;"( ) but such a statement, simply intended to express that there was neither merit in the one nor in the other, clearly does not apply to the case before us, and no way lessens the force of the words we have quoted above: "if ye be circumcised, christ will profit you nothing." in paul such a concession would have been in the highest degree a sacrifice of principle, and one which he not only refused to make in the case of titus, "that the truth of the { } gospel might abide," but equally maintained in the face of the pillar apostles, when he left them and returned to the gentiles whilst they went back to the circumcision. paul's idea of being "all things to all men" is illustrated by his rebuke to peter,--once more to refer to the scene at antioch. peter apparently practised a little of that conciliation, which apologists, defending the unknown author of the acts at the expense of paul, consider to be the sense of the apostle's words. paul repudiated such an inference, by withstanding peter to the face as condemned, and guilty of hypocrisy. paul became all things to all men by considering their feelings, and exhibiting charity and forbearance, in matters indifferent he was careful not to make his liberty a stumbling block to the weak. "if food maketh my brother to offend, i will eat no flesh for ever lest i make my brother to offend."( ) self-abnegation in the use of enlightened liberty, however, is a very different thing from the concession of a rite, which it was the purpose of his whole gospel to discredit, and the labour of his life to resist. once more we repeat that the narrative of the acts regarding the circumcision of timothy is contradictory to the character and teaching of paul as ascertained from his epistles, and like so many other portions of that work which we have already examined must, as it stands, be rejected as unhistorical. we have already tested the narrative of the author of the acts by the statements of paul in the first two chapters of the galatians at such length that, although the subject is far from exhausted, we must not proceed further. we think that there can be no doubt that the role assigned to the apostle paul in acts xv. is unhistorical,( ) { } and it is unnecessary for us to point out the reasons which led the writer to present him in such subdued colours. we must, however, before finally leaving the subject, very briefly point out a few circumstances which throw a singular light upon the relations which actually existed between paul and the elder apostles, and tend to show their real, if covert, antagonism to the gospel of the uncircumcision. we may at the outset remark, in reference to an objection frequently made that paul does not distinctly refer to the apostles as opposing his teaching and does not personally attack them, that such a course would have been suicidal in the apostle of the gentiles, whilst on the other hand it could not but have hindered the acceptance of his gospel, for which he was ever ready to endure so much. the man who wrote: "if it be possible, as much as dependeth on you, be at peace with all men,"( ) could well be silent in such a cause. paul, in venturing to preach the gospel of the uncircumcision, laboured under the singular disadvantage of not having, like the twelve, been an immediate disciple of the master. he had been "as the one born out of due time,"( ) and although he claimed that his gospel had not been taught to him by man but had been received by direct revelation from jesus, there can be no doubt that his apostolic position was constantly assailed. the countenance of the elder apostles, even if merely tacit, was of great { } importance to the success of his work; and he felt this so much that, as he himself states, he went up to jerusalem to communicate to them the gospel which he preached among the gentiles: "lest by any means i might be running or did run in vain."( ) any open breach between them would have frustrated his labours. had paul been in recognized enmity with the twelve who had been selected as his special disciples by the master, and been repudiated and denounced by them, it is obvious that his position would have been a precarious one. he had no desire for schism. his gospel, besides, was merely a development of that of the elder apostles; and, however much they might resent his doctrine of the abrogation of the law and of the inutility of circumcision, they could still regard his gentile converts as at least in some sort proselytes of the gate. with every inducement to preserve peace if by any means possible, and to suppress every expression of disagreement with the twelve, it is not surprising that we find so little direct reference to the elder apostles in his epistles. during his visit to jerusalem he did not succeed in converting them to his views. they still limited their ministry to the circumcision, and he had to be content with a tacit consent to his work amongst the heathen. but although we have no open utterance of his irritation, the suppressed impatience of his spirit, even at the recollection of the incidents of his visit, betrays itself in abrupt sentences, unfinished expressions, and grammar which breaks down in the struggle of repressed emotion. we have already said enough regarding his ironical references to those "who seem to be something," to the "overmuch apostles," and we need not again point { } to the altercation between paul and cephas at antioch, and the strong language used by the former. nothing is more certain than the fact that, during his whole career, the apostle paul had to contend with systematic opposition from the judaic christian party;( ) and the only point regarding which there is any difference of opinion is the share in this taken by the twelve. as we cannot reasonably expect to find any plain statement of this in the writings of the apostle, we are forced to take advantage of such indications as can be discovered. upon one point we are not left in doubt. the withdrawal of peter and the others at antioch from communion with the gentile christians, and consequently from the side of paul, was owing to the arrival of certain men from james, for the apostle expressly states so. no surprise is expressed, however, at the effect produced by these [------], and the clear inference is that they represented the views of a naturally antagonistic party, an inference which is in accordance with all that we elsewhere read of james. it is difficult to separate the [------] from the [------] of the preceding chapter (i. ) who "trouble" the galatians, and "desire to pervert the gospel of christ," asserting the necessity of circumcision, against whom the epistle is directed. again we meet with the same vague and cautious designation of judaistic opponents in his second epistle to the corinthians (iii. ), where { } "some" [------] bearers of "letters of commendation" [------] from persons unnamed, were attacking the apostle and endeavouring to discredit his teaching. by whom were these letters written? we cannot of course give an authoritative reply, but we may ask: by whom could letters of commendation possessing an authority which could have weight against that of paul be written, except by the elder apostles?' we have certain evidence in the first epistle to the corinthians that parties had arisen in the church of corinth in opposition to paul. these parties were distinguished, as the apostle himself states, by the cries: "i am of paul, and i of apollos, and i of cephas, and i of christ."( ) [------]. whatever differences of opinion there may be as to the precise nature of these parties, there can be no doubt that both the party "of cephas" and the party "of christ" held strong judaistic views and assailed the teaching of paul, and his apostolic authority. it is very evident that the persons to whom the apostle refers in connection with "letters of commendation" were of these parties. apologists argue that: "in claiming cephas as the head of their party they had probably neither more nor { } less ground than their rivals who sheltered themselves under the names of apollos and of paul."( ) it is obvious, however, that, in a church founded by paul, there could have been no party created with the necessity to take his name as their watchword, except as a reply to another party which, having intruded itself, attacked him, and forced those who maintained the views of their own apostle to raise such a counter-cry. the parties "of cephas" and "of christ" were manifestly aggressive, intruding themselves, as the apostle complains, into "other men's labours,"( ) and this in some manner seems to point to that convention between the apostle and the three, that he should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcision which, barely more than passive neutrality at the beginning, soon became covertly antagonistic. the fact that the party "of paul" was not an organized body, so to say, directed by the apostle as a party leader, in no way renders it probable that the party of cephas, which carried on active and offensive measures, had not much more ground in claiming cephas as their head. one point is indisputable, that no party ever claims any man as its leader who is not clearly associated with the views it maintains. the party "of cephas," representing judaistic views, opposing the teaching of paul, and joining in denying his apostolic claims, certainly would not have taken peter's name as their watch-cry if he had been known to hold and express such pauline sentiments as are put into his mouth in the acts, or had not, on the contrary, been intimately identified with judaistic principles. to illustrate the case by a modern instance: is it possible to suppose that, in any considerable city in this country, { } a party holding ritualistic opinions could possibly claim the present archbishop of canterbury as its leader, or one professing "broad-church" views could think of sheltering itself under the name of the archbishop of york? religious parties may very probably mistake the delicate details of a leader's teaching, but they can scarcely be wrong in regard to his general principles. if peter had been so unfortunate as to be flagrantly misunderstood by his followers and, whilst this party preached in his name judaistic doctrines and anti-pauline opinions, the apostle himself advocated the abrogation of the law, as a burden which the jews themselves were not able to bear, and actively shared pauline convictions, is it possible to suppose that paul would not have pointed out the absurdity of such a party claiming such a leader? the fact is, however, that paul never denies the claim of those who shelter themselves under the names of peter and james, never questions their veracity, and never adopts the simple and natural course of stating that, in advancing these names, they are imposters or mistaken. on the contrary, upon all occasions he evidently admits, by his silence, the validity of the claim.( ) we are not left to mere inference that the adopted head of the party actually shared the views of the party. paul himself distinguishes peter as the head of the party of the circumcision in a passage in his letter to the galatians already frequently referred to,( ) and the episode at antioch confirms the description, and leaves no doubt that peter's permanent practice was to force the gentiles to judaize. for reasons which we have already stated, paul could not but have desired to preserve peace, or even the { } semblance of it, with the elder apostles, for the gospel's sake; and he, therefore, wisely leaves them as much as possible out of the question and deals with their disciples. it is obvious that policy must have dictated such a course. by ignoring the leaders and attacking their followers, he suppressed the chief strength of his opponents and kept out of sight the most formidable argument against himself: the concurrence with them of the elder apostles. on the one hand, the epistles of paul bear no evidence to any active sympathy and co-operation with his views and work on the part of the elder apostles. on the other, paul is everywhere assailed by judaistic adversaries who oppose his gospel and deny his apostle-ship, and who claim as their leaders the elder apostles. if, even without pressing expressions to their extreme and probable point, we take the contrast drawn between his own gospel and that of the circumcision, the reality of the antagonism must be apparent. "for we are not as the many [------]( ) which adulterate the word of god; but as of sincerity, but as of god, before god, speak we in christ."( ) later on in the letter, after referring to the intrusion of the opposite party into the circle of his labours, paul declares that his impatience and anxiety proceed from godly jealousy at the possible effect of the judaistic intruders upon the corinthians. "but i fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled eve through his subtlety, your thoughts should { } be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is in christ. for if he that cometh preacheth another jesus whom we did not preach, or if ye receive another spirit which ye received not, or another gospel which ye did not accept, ye bear well with him. for i think i am not a whit behind the overmuch apostles [------]."( ) this reference to the elder apostles gives point to much of the epistle which is ambiguous, and more especially when the judaistic nature of the opposition is so clearly indicated a few verses further on: "are they hebrews? so am i. are they israelites? so am i. are they abraham's seed? so am i. are they ministers of christ? (i speak as a fool), i am more; in labours more abundantly, in prisons exceedingly, in deaths often," &c, &c.( ) it is argued that the twelve had not sufficient authority over their followers to prevent such interference with paul, and that the relation of the apostle to the twelve was: "separation, not opposition, antagonism of the followers rather than of the leaders, personal antipathy of the judaizers to st. paul, rather than of st. paul to the twelve."( ) it is not difficult to believe that the antipathy of paul to the judaizers was less than that felt by them towards him. the superiority of the man must have rendered him somewhat callous to such dislike.( ) but the mitigated form of difference between paul and the twelve here assumed, although still very different from the representations of the acts, { } cannot be established, but on the contrary must be much widened before it can justly be taken as that existing between paul and the elder apostles. we do not go so far as to say that there was open enmity between them, or active antagonism of any distinct character on the part of the twelve to the apostle of the gentiles, but there is every reason to believe that they not only disliked his teaching, but endeavoured to counteract it by their own ministry of the circumcision. they not only did not restrain the opposition of their followers, but they abetted them in their counter-assertion of judaistic views. had the twelve felt any cordial friendship for paul, and exhibited any active desire for the success of his ministry of the uncircumcision, it is quite impossible that his work could have been so continuously and vexatiously impeded by the persecution of the jewish christian party. the apostles may not have possessed sufficient influence or authority entirely to control the action of adherents, but it would be folly to suppose that, if unanimity of views had prevailed between them and paul, and a firm and consistent support had been extended to him, such systematic resistance as he everywhere encountered from the party professing to be led by the "pillar" apostles could have been seriously maintained, or that he could have been left alone and unaided to struggle against it. if the relations between paul and the twelve had been such as are intimated in the acts of the apostles, his epistles must have presented undoubted evidence of the fact both negatively and positively they testify the absence of all support, and the existence of antagonistic influence on the part of the elder apostles, and external evidence fully confirms the impression which the epistles produce.( ) { } from any point of view which may be taken, the apocalypse is an important document in connection with this point. if it be accepted as a work of the apostle john--the preponderance of evidence and critical opinion assigns it to him--this book, of course, possesses the greatest value as an indication of his views. if it be merely regarded as a contemporary writing, it still is most interesting as an illustration of the religious feeling of the period. the question is: does the apocalypse contain any reference to the apostle paul, or throw light upon the relations between him and the elder apostles? if it does so, and be the work of one of the [------], nothing obviously could be more { } instructive. in the messages to the seven churches, there are references and denunciations which, in the opinion of many able critics, are directed against the apostle of the gentiles and his characteristic teaching.( ) who but paul and his followers can be referred to in the epistle to the church of ephesus: "i know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and that thou canst not bear wicked persons: and didst try them which say they are apostles and are not, and didst find them liars"?( ) paul himself informs us not only of his sojourn in ephesus, where he believed that "a great and effectual door" was opened to him, but adds, "there are many adversaries" [------].( ) the foremost charge brought against the churches is that they have those that hold the teaching of balaam, who taught balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of israel, "to eat things offered unto idols."( ) the teaching of paul upon this point is { } well known, cor. viii. ff., x. ff., rom. xiv. ff., and the reference here cannot be mistaken; and when in the epistle to the church of thyatira, after denouncing the teaching "to eat things offered unto idols," the apocalyptist goes on to encourage those who have not this teaching, "who knew not the depths of satan, [------],( ) as they say" the expression of paul himself is taken to denounce his doctrine; for the apostle, defending himself against the attacks of those parties "of cephas" and "of christ" in corinth, writes: "but god revealed (them) to us through his spirit; for the spirit searcheth all things, even the depths of god" [------]--"the depths of satan" rather, retorts the judaistic author of the apocalypse. [------] does not occur elsewhere in the new testament again, in the address to the churches of smyrna and philadelphia, when the writer denounces those "who say that they are jews, and are not, but a synagogue of satan,"( ) whom has he in view but those christians whom paul had taught to consider circumcision unnecessary and the law abrogated? we find paul in the epistle to the corinthians, so often quoted, obliged to defend himself against these judaising parties upon this very point: "are they hebrews? so am i. are they israelites? so am i. are they abraham's seed? so am i."( ) it is manifest that his adversaries had vaunted their own jewish origin as a title of superiority over the apostle of the gentiles. we { } have, however, further evidence of the same attack upon paul regarding this point. epiphanius points out that the ebionites denied that paul was a jew, and asserted that he was born of a gentile father and mother, but that, having gone up to jerusalem, he became a proselyte and submitted to circumcision in the hope of marrying a daughter of the high priest. but afterwards, according to them, enraged at not securing the maiden for his wife, paul wrote against circumcision and the sabbath and the law.( ) the apostle paul, whose constant labour it was to destroy the particularism of the jew, and raise the gentile to full, free, and equal participation with him in the benefits of the new covenant, could not but incur the bitter displeasure of the apocalyptist, for whom the gentiles were, as such, the type of all that was common and unclean. in the utterances of the seer of patmos we seem to hear the expression of all that judaistic hatred and opposition which pursued the apostle who laid the axe to the root of mosaism and, in his efforts to free christianity from trammels which, more than any other, retarded its triumphant development, aroused against himself all the virulence of jewish illiberality and prejudice. the results at which we have arrived might be singularly confirmed by an examination of the writings of the first two centuries, and by observing the attitude { } assumed towards the apostle of the gentiles by such men as justin martyr, papias, hegesippus, and the author of the clementines; but we have already devoted too much space to this subject, and here we must reluctantly leave it. the steps by which christianity was gradually freed from the trammels of judaism and became a religion of unlimited range and universal fitness were clearly not those stated in the acts of the apostles. its emancipation from mosaism was not effected by any liberal action or enlightened guidance on the part of the elder apostles. at the death of their master, the twelve remained closely united to judaism, and evidently were left without any understanding that christianity was a new religion which must displace mosaic institutions, and replace the unbearable yoke of the law by the divine liberty of the gospel. to the last moment regarding which we have any trustworthy information, the twelve, as might have been expected, retained all their early religious customs and all their jewish prejudices. they were simply jews believing that jesus was the messiah; and if the influence of paul enlarged their views upon some minor points, we have no reason to believe that they ever abandoned their belief in the continued obligation of the law, and the necessity of circumcision for full participation in the benefits of the covenant. the author of the acts would have us believe that they required no persuasion, but anticipated paul in the gospel of uncircumcision. it is not within the scope of this work to inquire how paul originally formed his views of christian universalism. once formed, it is easy to understand how rapidly they must have been developed and confirmed by experience amongst { } the gentiles. whilst the twelve still remained in the narrow circle of judaism and could not be moved beyond the ministry of the circumcision, paul, in the larger and freer field of the world, must daily have felt more convinced that the abrogation of the law and the abandonment of circumcision were essential to the extension of christianity amongst the gentiles. he had no easy task, however, to convince others of this, and he never succeeded in bringing his elder colleagues over to his views. to the end of his life, paul had to contend with bigoted and narrow-minded opposition within the christian body, and if his views ultimately triumphed, and the seed which he sowed eventually yielded a rich harvest, he himself did not live to see the day, and the end was attained only by slow and natural changes. the new religion gradually extended beyond the limits of judaism. gentile christians soon outnumbered jewish believers. the twelve whose names were the strength of the judaistic opposition one by one passed away; but, above all, the fall of jerusalem and the dispersion of the christian community secured the success of pauline principles and the universalism of christianity. the church of jerusalem could not bear transplanting. in the uncongenial soil of pella it gradually dwindled away, losing first its influence and soon after its nationality. the divided members of the jewish party, scattered amongst the gentiles, and deprived of their influential leaders, could not long retard the progress of the liberalism which they still continued to oppose and to misrepresent. in a word, the emancipation of christianity was not effected by the twelve, was no work of councils, and no result of dreams; but, receiving its first great impulse from the genius and the energy of paul, its ultimate { } achievement was the result of time and natural development. we have now patiently considered the "acts of the apostles," and although it has in no way been our design exhaustively to examine its contents, we have more than sufficiently done so to enable the reader to understand the true character of the document. the author is unknown, and it is no longer possible to identify him. if he were actually the luke whom the church indicates, our results would not be materially affected; but the mere fact that the writer is unknown is obviously fatal to the acts as a guarantee of miracles. a cycle of supernatural occurrences could scarcely, in the estimation of any rational mind, be established by the statement of an anonymous author, and more especially one who not only does not pretend to have been an eye-witness of most of the miracles, but whose narrative is either uncorroborated by other testimony or inconsistent with itself, and contradicted on many points by contemporary documents. the phenomena presented by the acts of the apostles become perfectly intelligible when we recognize that it is the work of a writer living long after the occurrences related, whose pious imagination furnished the apostolic age with an elaborate system of supernatural agency, far beyond the conception of any other new testament writer, by which, according to his view, the proceedings of the apostles were furthered and directed, and the infant church miraculously fostered. on examining other portions of his narrative, we find that they present the features which the miraculous elements rendered antecedently probable. the speeches attributed to { } different speakers are all cast in the same mould, and betray the composition of one and the same writer. the sentiments expressed are inconsistent with what we know of the various speakers. and when we test the circumstances related by previous or subsequent incidents and by trustworthy documents, it becomes apparent that the narrative is not an impartial statement of facts, but a reproduction of legends or a development of tradition, shaped and coloured according to the purpose or the pious views of the writer. the acts of the apostles, therefore, is not only an anonymous work, but upon due examination its claims to be considered sober and veracious history must be emphatically rejected. it cannot strengthen the foundations of supernatural religion, but, on the contrary, by its profuse and indiscriminate use of the miraculous it discredits miracles, and affords a clearer insight into their origin and fictitious character. part v. the direct evidence for miracles chapter i. the epistles and the apocalypse turning from the acts of the apostles to the other works of the new testament, we shall be able very briefly to dispose of the catholic epistles, the epistle to the hebrews and the apocalypse. the so-called epistles of james, jude, and john, do not contain any evidence which, even supposing them to be authentic, really bears upon our inquiry into the reality of miracles and divine revelation; and the testimony of the apocalypse affects it quite as little. we have already, in examining the fourth gospel, had occasion to say a good deal regarding both the so-called epistles of john and the apocalypse. it is unnecessary to enter upon a more minute discussion of them here. "seven books of the new testament," writes dr. westcott, "as is well known, have been received into the canon on evidence less complete than that by which the others are supported."( ) these are "the epistles of james, jude, peter, and john, to the hebrews, and the apocalypse." we have already furnished the means of judging of the nature of the { } evidence upon which some of the other books have been received into the canon, and the evidence for most of these being avowedly "less complete," its nature may be conceived. works which for a long period were classed amongst the antilegomena, or disputed books, and which only slowly acquired authority as, in the lapse of time, it became more difficult to examine their claims, could not do much to establish the reality of miracles. with regard to the epistle to the hebrews, we may remark that we are freed from any need to deal at length with it, not only by the absence of any specific evidence in its contents, but by the following consideration. if the epistle be not by paul,--and it not only is not his, but does not even pretend to be so,--the author is unknown, and therefore the document has no weight as testimony. on the other hand, if assigned to paul, we shall have sufficient ground in his genuine epistles for considering the evidence of the apostle, and it could not add anything even if the epistle to the hebrews were included in the number. the first epistle of peter might have required more detailed treatment, but we think that little could be gained by demonstrating that the document is not authentic, or showing that, in any case, the evidence which it could furnish is not of any value. on the other hand, we are averse to protract the argument by any elaboration of mere details which can be avoided. if it could be absolutely proved that the apostle peter wrote the epistle circulating under his name, the evidence for miracles would only be strengthened by the fact that, incidentally, the doctrine of the resurrection of jesus is maintained. no historical details are given, and no explanation of the reasons for which the writer believed in it. { } nothing more would be proved than the point that peter himself believed in the resurrection. it would certainly be a matter of very deep interest if we possessed a narrative written by the apostle himself, giving minute and accurate details of the phenomena in consequence of which he believed in so miraculous an event; but since this epistle does nothing more than allow us to infer the personal belief of the writer, unaccompanied by corroborative evidence, we should not gain anything by accepting it as genuine. we are quite willing to assume, without further examination, that the apostle peter in some way believed in the resurrection of his master. for the argument regarding the reality of that stupendous miracle, upon which we are about to enter, this is tantamount to assuming the authenticity of the epistle. coming to the epistles of paul, it will not be necessary to go into the evidence for the various letters in our new testament which are ascribed to him, nor shall we require to state the grounds upon which the authenticity of many of them is denied. accepting the epistles to the galatians, corinthians and romans in the main as genuine compositions of the apostle, the question as to the origin of the rest, so far as our inquiry is concerned, has little or no interest. from these four letters we obtain the whole evidence of paul regarding miracles, and this we now propose carefully to examine. one point in particular demands our fullest attention. it is undeniable that paul preached the doctrine of the resurrection and ascension of jesus, and believed in those events. whilst, therefore, we shall not pass over his supposed testimony for the possession of miraculous powers, we shall chiefly devote our attention to his evidence for the central dogmas of supernatural religion, the resurection and ascension of { } jesus. we shall not, however, limit our examination to the testimony of paul, but, as the climax of the historical argument for miracles, endeavour to ascertain the exact nature of the evidence upon which belief is claimed for the actual occurrence of those stupendous events. for this, our inquiry into the authorship and credibility of the historical books of the new testament has at length prepared us, and it will be admitted that, in subjecting these asserted miracles to calm and fearless scrutiny--untinged by irreverence or disrespect, if personal earnestness and sincere sympathy with those who believe are any safeguards,--the whole theory of christian miracles will be put to its final test. chapter ii. the evidence of paul it is better, before proceeding to examine the testimony of paul for the resurrection, to clear the way by considering his evidence for miracles in general, apart from that specific instance. in an earlier portion of this work( ) the following remark was made: "throughout the new testament, patristic literature, and the records of ecclesiastical miracles, although we have narratives of countless wonderful works performed by others than the writer, and abundant assertion of the possession of miraculous power by the church, there is no instance whatever, that we can remember, in which a writer claims to have himself performed a miracle."( ) it is asserted that this statement is erroneous, and that paul does advance this claim.( ) it may be well to quote the moderate { } words in which a recent able writer states the case, although not with immediate reference to the particular passage which we have quoted. "... in these undoubted writings st. paul certainly shows by incidental allusions, the good faith of which cannot be questioned, that he believed himself to be endowed with the power of working miracles, and that miracles, or what were thought to be such, were actually wrought both by him and by his contemporaries. he reminds the corinthians that 'the signs of an apostle were wrought among them... in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds' [------]--the usual words for the higher forms of miracle-- cor. xii. ). he tells the romans that 'he will not dare to speak of any of those things which christ hath not wrought by( ) him to make the gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of god' [------]. he asks the { } galatians whether 'he that ministereth to them the spirit, and worketh miracles [------] among them, doeth it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?' (gal. iii. .) in the first epistle to the corinthians, he goes somewhat elaborately into the exact place in the christian economy that is to be assigned to the working of miracles and gifts of healing ( cor. xii. , , )."( ) we shall presently examine these passages, but we must first briefly deal with the question whether, taken in any sense, they furnish an instance "in which a writer claims to have himself performed _a miracle_." it must be obvious to any impartial reader, that the remark made in the course of our earlier argument precisely distinguished the general "assertion of the possession of miraculous power by the church," from the explicit claim to have personally performed "a miracle" in the singular. if, therefore, it were even admitted "that st. paul treats the fact of his working miracles as a matter of course, _to which a passing reference is sufficient_," such "incidental allusions" would not in the least degree contradict the statement made, but, being the only instances producible, would in fact completely justify it. general and vague references of this kind have by no means the force of a definite claim to have performed some particular miracle. they partake too much of that indiscriminate impression of the possession and common exercise of miraculous powers which characterized the "age of miracles" to have any force. the desired instance, which is not forthcoming, and to which alone reference was made, was a case in which, instead of vague expressions, a writer, stating with precision the particulars, related that he himself had, { } for instance, actually raised some person from the dead. as we then added, even if apostles had chronicled their miracles, the argument for their reality would not have been much advanced; but it is a curious phenomenon not undeserving of a moment's attention that apologists can only refer to such general passages, and cannot quote an instance in which a specific miracle is related in detail by the person who is supposed to have performed it. passing references on a large scale to the exercise of miraculous power, whilst betraying a suspicious familiarity with phenomena of an exceptional nature, offer too much latitude for inaccuracy and imagination to have the weight of an affirmation in which the mind has been sobered by concentration to details. "signs and wonders," indefinitely alluded to, may seem much more imposing and astonishing than they really are, and it may probably be admitted by everyone that, if we knew the particulars of the occurrences which are thus vaguely indicated and which may have been considered miraculous in a superstitious age, they might to us possibly appear no miracles at all. general expressions are liable to an exaggeration from which specific allegations arc more frequently free. if it be conceded that the apostle paul fully believed in the possession by himself and the church of divine charismata, the indefinite expression of that belief, in any form, must not be made equivalent to an explicit claim to have performed a certain miracle, the particulars of which are categorically stated. passing from this, however, to the more general question, the force of some of these objections will be better understood when we consider the passages in the epistles which are quoted as expressing paul's belief in miracles, and endeavour to ascertain his real views: what it is he { } actually says regarding miracles; and what are the phenomena which are by him considered to be miraculous. we shall not waste time in considering how, partly through the influence of the septuagint, the words [------], and [------] came to be used in a peculiar manner by new testament writers to indicate miracles. it may, however, be worth while to pause for a moment to ascertain the sense in which paul, who wrote before there was a "new testament" at all, usually employed these words. in the four epistles of paul the word [------] occurs six times. in rom. iv. abraham is said to have received the "sign [------] of circumcision," in which there is nothing miraculous. in cor. i. it is said: "since both jews require signs [------]( ) and greeks seek after wisdom;" and again, cor. xiv. : "wherefore the tongues are for a sign [------] not to the believing but to the unbelieving," &c. we shall have more to say regarding these passages presently, but just now we merely quote them to show the use of the word. the only other places in which it occurs( ) are those pointed out, and which are the subject of our discussion. in rom. xv. the word is used in the plural and combined with [------]: "in the power of signs and wonders" [------]; and in the second passage, cor. xii. , it is employed twice, "the signs [------] of the apostle "and the second time again in combination with [------] and [------], "both in signs" [------], &c. the word [------] is only twice met with in paul's writings; that is to say, in rom. xv. and cor. xii. ; and on both occasions, as we { } have just mentioned, it is combined with [------].( ) on the other hand, paul uses [------] no less than times( ) and, leaving for the present out of the question the passages cited, upon every occasion, except one, perhaps, the word has the simple signification of "power." the one exception is rom. viii. , where it occurs in the plural: [------] "powers," the apostle expressing his persuasion that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of god, "nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers [------], nor height, nor depth," &c., &c. in cor. xiv. , where the authorized version renders the original: "therefore, if i know not the meaning [------] of the voice," it has still the same sense. before discussing the passages before us we must point out that there is so much doubt, at least, regarding the authenticity of the last two chapters of the epistle to the romans that the passage, rom. xv. , , can scarcely be presented as evidence on such a point as the reality of miracles. we do not intend to debate the matter closely, but shall merely state a few of the facts of the case and pass on, for it would not materially affect our argument if the passage were altogether beyond suspicion. the epistle, in our authorized text, ends with a long and somewhat involved doxology, xvi. - ; and we may point out here that it had already seemed to be brought to a close not only at the end of chapter xv. ( ) but also at xvi. . the doxology, xvi. - , which { } more particularly demands our attention, is stated by origen( ) to be placed in some mss at the end of ch. xiv.; and a similar statement is made by cyril, chrysostom, theodoret, theophylact and others. we find these verses actually so placed in l, and in upwards of out of cursive mss. of byzantine origin, in an account of ancient mss. in cod. , in most of the greek lection-aries, in the slavonic and later syriac versions as also in the gothic, arabic, (in the polyglot and triglot text) and some mss. of the armenian. they are inserted both at the end of xiv. and at the end of the epistle by the alexandrian codex,( ) one of the most ancient manuscripts extant, and by some other mss.( ) now, how came this doxology to be placed at all at the end of chapter xiv.? the natural inference is that it was so placed because that was the end of the epistle. subsequently, chapters xv. and xvi. being added, it is supposed that the closing doxology was removed from the former position and placed at the end of the appended matter. this inference is supported by the important fact that, as we learn from origen,( ) the last two { } chapters of the epistle to the romans, including the doxology (xvi. - ) did not exist in marcion's text, the most ancient form of it of which we have any knowledge. tertullian, who makes no reference to these two chapters, speaks of the passage, rom. xiv. , as at the close (in clausula) of the epistle,( ) and he does not call any attention to their absence from marcion's epistle. is it not reasonable to suppose that they did not form part of his copy? in like manner irenæus, who very frequently quotes from the rest of the epistle, nowhere shows acquaintance with these chapters. the first writer who distinctly makes use of any part of them is clement of alexandria. it has been argued both that marcion omitted the two chapters because they contain what was opposed to his views, and because they had no dogmatic matter to induce him to retain them; but, whilst the two explanations destroy each other, neither of them is more than a supposition to account for the absence of what, it may with equal propriety be conjectured, never formed part of his text. the external testimony, however, does not stand alone, but is supported by very strong internal evidence. we shall only indicate one or two points, leaving those who desire to go more deeply into the discussion to refer to works more particularly concerned with it, which we shall sufficiently indicate. it is a very singular thing that all, who, when he wrote this epistle had never been in rome, should be intimately acquainted with so many persons there. the fact that there was much intercourse { } between rome and other countries by no means accounts for the simultaneous presence there of so many of the apostle's personal friends. aquila and priscilla, who are saluted (xvi. ), were a short time before ( cor. xvi. ) in ephesus.( ) it may, moreover, be remarked as a suggestive fact that when, according to the acts (xxviii. ff.), paul very soon afterwards arrived in rome, most of these friends seem to have disappeared,( ) and the chief men of the jews called together by paul do not seem to be aware of the existence of a christian body at rome.( ) another point is connected with the very passage which has led to this discussion, xv. , read: . "for i will not dare to speak of any of those things which christ hath not wrought by me, in order to [------] the obedience of the gentiles, by word and deed, . in the power of signs and wonders [------] in the power of the spirit [------]; so that from jerusalem and round about unto illyricum, i have fully preached the gospel of christ;" &c. the statement that "from jerusalem" he had "fully preached" the gospel is scarcely in agreement with the statement in the epistle to the galatians i. - , ii. ff moreover, there is no confirmation anywhere of the apostle's having preached as far as illyricum, which was then almost beyond the limits of civilization. baur suggests that in making his ministry commence at jerusalem, there is too evident a concession made to the jewish christians, according to whom every preacher of the gospel must naturally commence his career at the holy city. it would detain us much too long to enter upon an analysis of these two { } chapters, and to show the repetition in them of what has already been said in the earlier part of the epistle; the singular analogies presented with the epistles to the corinthians, not of the nature of uniformity of style, but of imitation; the peculiarity of the mention of a journey to spain as the justification of a passing visit to rome, and perhaps a further apology for even writing a letter to the church there which another had founded; the suspicious character of the names which are mentioned in the various clauses of salutation; and to state many other still more important objections which various critics have advanced, but which would require more elaborate explanation than can possibly be given here. it will suffice for us to mention that the phenomena presented by the two chapters are so marked and curious that for a century they have largely occupied the attention of writers of all shades of opinion, and called forth very elaborate theories to account for them; the apparent necessity for which in itself shows the insecure position of the passage. semler,( ) without denying the pauline authorship of the two chapters, considered they did not properly belong to the epistle to the romans. he supposed xvi. - to have been merely for the messenger who carried the epistle, as a list of the persons to whom salutations were to be given, and to these, ch. xv. was to be specially delivered and considered ch. xv. to be a separate letter, addressed to the leaders of the roman church, as an epistle to the community in general, being sealed up and ready for any opportunity of transmission, but none presenting itself before { } his arrival in corinth, the apostle there, upon an additional sheet, wrote xvi. and entrusted it with the letter to phoebe. eichhorn( ) supposed that the parchment upon which the epistle was written was finished at xiv. ; and, as paul and his scribe had only a small sheet at hand, the doxology only, xvi. - , was written upon the one side of it, and on the other the greetings and the apostolic benediction, xvi. - , and thus the letter was completed; but, as it could not immediately be forwarded, the apostle added a fly-leaf with ch. xv. bertholdt( ) guericke( ) and others adopted similar views more or less modified, representing the close of the epistle to have been formed by successive postscripts. more recently, renan( ) has affirmed the epistle to be a circular letter addressed to churches in rome, ephesus, and other places, to each of which only certain portions were transmitted with appropriate salutations and endings, which have all been collected into the one epistle in the form in which we have it. david schulz conjectured that xvi. - was an epistle written from rome to the church at ephesus; and this theory was substantially adopted by ewald,--who held that xvi. - was part of a lost epistle to ephesus,--and by many other critics.( ) of course the virtual authenticity of the xv.-xvi. chapters, nearly or exactly as they are, is affirmed by many writers. baur, however, after careful investigation, pronounced the two chapters inauthentic, and in this he is followed by able critics.( ) under all these circumstances it is obvious { } that we need not occupy ourselves much with the passage in rom. xv. , , but our argument will equally apply to it. in order to complete this view of the materials we may simply mention, as we pass on, that the authenticity of cor. xii. has likewise been impugned by a few critics, and the verse, or at least the words [------], as well as rom. xv. , declared an interpolation.( ) this cannot, however, so far as existing evidence goes, be demonstrated; and, beyond the mere record of the fact, this conjecture does not here require further notice. it may be well, before proceeding to the epistles to the corinthians, which furnish the real matter for discussion, first to deal with the passage cited from gal iii. , which is as follows:--"he then that supplieth to you the spirit and worketh powers [------] within you [------], (doeth he it) from works of law or from hearing of faith?"( ) the authorised version reads: "and worketh miracles among you;" but this cannot be maintained, and [------] must be rendered "within you," the [------] certainly retaining its natural signification when used with [------], the primary meaning of which is itself to in-work. the vast majority of critics of all schools agree in this view.( ) there is an evident reference to iii , { } and to the reception of the spirit, here further characterised as producing such effects within the minds of those who receive it,( ) the worker who gives the spirit being god. the opinion most commonly held is that reference is here made to the "gifts" [------], regarding which the apostle elsewhere speaks,( ) and which we shall presently discuss, but this is by no means certain and cannot be determined. it is equally probable that he may refer to the spiritual effect produced upon the souls of the galatians by the gospel which he so frequently represents as a "power" of god. in any case, it is clear that there is no external miracle referred to here, and even if allusion to charismata be understood we have yet to ascertain precisely what these were. we shall endeavour to discover whether there was anything in the least degree miraculous in these "gifts," but there is no affirmation in this passage which demands special attention, and whatever general significance it { } may have will be met when considering the others which are indicated. the first passage in the epistles to the corinthians, which is pointed out as containing the testimony of paul both to the reality of miracles in general and to the fact that he himself performed them, is the following, cor. xii. : "truly the signs [------] of the apostle were wrought in you [------] in all patience, both in signs and wonders and powers [------]"( ) we have to justify two departures in this rendering from that generally received. the first of these is the adoption of "wrought in you," instead of "wrought among you" and the second the simple use of "powers" for [------], instead of "mighty works." we shall take the second first we have referred to every passage except cor. xii. , , , in which paul makes use of the word [------], and fortunately they are sufficiently numerous to afford us a good insight into his practice. it need not be said that the natural sense of [------] is in no case "mighty works" or miracles, and that such an application of the greek word is peculiar to the new testament and, subsequently, to patristic literature. there is, however, no ground for attributing this use of the word to paul. it is not so used in the septuagint, and it is quite evident that the apostle does not employ it to express external effects or works, but spiritual phenomena or potentiality. in the passage, gal. iii. , which we have just discussed, where the word occurs in the plural, as here, it is understood to express "powers." we may quote the rendering of that passage by the bishop of gloucester: { } "he then, _i say_, that ministereth to you the spirit and worketh _mighty_ powers within you, _doeth he it_ by the works of the law or by the report of faith?"( ) why "mighty" should be inserted it is difficult to understand, but the word is rightly printed in italics to show that it is not actually expressed in the greek. "what was the exact nature of these 'powers'... it is impossible to determine," observes another scholar quoted above,( ) on the same passage. in cor. xii. , , , where the plural [------] again occurs, the intention to express "powers"( ) and not external results--miracles--is perfectly clear, the word being in the last two verses used alone to represent the "gifts." in all of these passages the word is the representative of the "powers" and not of the "effects."( ) this interpretation is rendered more clear by, and at the same time confirms, the preceding phrase, "were wrought in you "[------]. 'powers' [------], as in gal. iii. , are worked "within you," and the rendering of that passage being so settled, it becomes authoritative for this. if, however, direct confirmation of paul's meaning be required we have it in rom. vii. , where we find the same verb used with [------] in this sense: "but sin.... wrought in me [------] all manner of coveting," &c.; and with this may also be compared cor. vii. .... "what earnestness it wrought in you" [------]( ) { } [------]. it was thus paul's habit to speak of spiritual effects wrought "within," and as he referred to the "powers" [------] worked "within" the souls of the galatians, so he speaks of them here as "wrought in" the corinthians. it will become clear as we proceed that the addition to [------] of "signs and wonders" does not in the least affect this interpretation. in cor. xiv. , the apostle speaks of the gift of "tongues" as "a sign" [------]. upon the supposition that paul was affirming the actual performance of miracles by himself, how extraordinary becomes the statement that they "were wrought in all patience," for it is manifest that "in all patience" [------] does not form part of the signs, as some have argued, but must be joined to the verb [------].( ) it may be instructive to quote a few words of olshausen upon the point:--"the [------] is not altogether easy. it certainly cannot be doubtful that it is to be joined to [------] and not to what follows; but for what reason does paul here make it directly prominent that he wrought his signs in all patience? it seems to me probable that in this there may be a reproof to the corinthians, who, in spite of such signs, still showed themselves wavering regarding the authority of the apostle. in such a position, paul would say, he had, patiently waiting, allowed his light to shine amongst them, certain of ultimate triumph."( ) this will hardly be accepted by any one as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty, which is a real one if it be assumed that paul, claiming to have performed { } miracles, wrought them "in all patience." besides the matter is complicated, and the claim to have himself performed a miracle still more completely vanishes, when we consider the fact that the passive construction of the sentence does not actually represent paul as the active agent by whom the signs were wrought. "truly the signs of the apostle were wrought," but how wrought? clearly he means by the spirit, as he distinctly states to the gala- tians. to them "jesus christ (the messiah) was fully set forth crucified," and he asks them: was it from works of the law or from hearing in faith the gospel thus preached to them that they "received the spirit"? and that he who supplies the spirit "and worketh powers" in them does so? from faith, of course.( ) the meaning of paul, therefore, was this: his gospel was preached among them "in all patience," which being received by the hearing of faith, the spirit was given to them, and the signs of the apostle were thus wrought among them. the representation is made throughout the acts that the apostles lay their hands on those who believe, and they receive the holy spirit and speak with tongues. if any special "sign of the apostle" can be indicated at all, it is this; and in illustration we may point to one statement made in the acts. philip, the evangelist, who was not an apostle, is represented as going into samaria and preaching the messiah to the samaritans, who give heed to the things spoken by him, and multitudes are baptized (viii. , , ), but there was not the outpouring of the holy spirit which usually accompanied the apostolic baptism. "and the apostles in jerusalem, having heard that samaria had received the word of god, sent unto them peter and john; who { } when they came down prayed for them that they might receive the holy spirit--for as yet he had fallen upon none of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the lord jesus. then laid they (the apostles) their hands on them and they received the holy spirit."( ) we may further refer to the episode at ephesus (acts xix. iff.) where paul finds certain disciples who, having only been baptized into john's baptism, had not received the holy spirit, nor even heard whether there was a holy spirit, (xix. .) "and paul having laid his hands upon them, the holy spirit came on them, and they were speaking with tongues and prophesying." when we examine paul's epistles to the corinthians we find ample assurance that the interpretation here given of this passage is correct, and that he does not refer, as apologists have maintained, to miracles wrought by himself, but to the charismata, which were supposed to have been bestowed upon the corinthians who believed, and which thus were the signs of his apostleship. the very next verse to that which is before us shows this: "truly the signs of the apostle were wrought in you in all patience.... . for [------] what is there wherein ye were inferior to the other churches, except it be that i myself was not burdensome to you?" the mere performance of signs and wonders did not constitute their equality; but in the possession of the charismata,--regarding which so much is said in the first epistle, and which were the result of his preaching,--they were not inferior to the other churches, and only inferior, paul says with his fine irony, in not having, like the other churches with their apostles, been called upon to acquire the merit of { } bearing his charges. what could be more distinct than the apostle's opening address in the first epistle: "i thank my god always, on your behalf, for the grace of god which was given you in christ jesus; that in everything ye were enriched by him (at the time of their conversion( ), in all utterance and in all knowledge: even as the testimony of christ was confirmed in you: _so that ye come behind in no gift_ [------]," &c. for this reason they were not inferior to the other churches, and those were the signs of the apostle which were wrought in them. paul very distinctly declares the nature of his ministry amongst the corinthians and the absence of other "signs": cor. i. f. "since both jews demand signs [------] and greeks seek after wisdom, but we [------] preach christ crucified, unto jews a stumbling-block and unto gentiles foolishness, but unto those who are called, both jews and greeks, christ the power [------] of god and the wisdom of god." the contrast is here clearly drawn between the requirement of jews (signs) and of greeks (wisdom) and paul's actual ministry: no signs, but a scandal [------] to the jew, and no wisdom, but foolishness to the greek, but this word of the cross [------] "to us who are being saved is the power [------] of god" (i. ).( ) the apostle tells us what he considers the "sign of the apostle," when, more directly defending himself against the opponents who evidently denied his apostolic claims, he says vehemently: cor. ix. flf. "am i not free? am i not an apostle? have i not seen jesus our lord? _are not ye my work in the lord?_ if i be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless i am to you: _for the seal { } [------] of my apostleship are ye in the lord_."( ) it cannot, we think, be doubted, when the passage cor. xii. is attentively considered, that paul does not refer to external miracles performed by him, but to the charismata which he supposed to be conferred upon the corinthian christians on their acceptance of the gospel which the apostle preached. these charismata, however, are advanced as miraculous, and the passages cor. xii. , , are quoted in support of the statement we are discussing, and these now demand our attention. it may be well at once to give the verses which are referred to, and in which it is said that paul "goes somewhat elaborately into the exact place in the christian economy that is to be assigned to the working of miracles and gifts of healing" ( cor. xii. , , ). it is necessary for the full comprehension of the case that we should quote the context: xii. . "now there are diversities of gifts [------], but the same spirit; . and there are diversities of ministries [------], and the same lord; . and there are diversities of workings [------], but it is the same god who worketh the all in all [------]: . but to each is given the manifestation of the spirit [------] for profit; . for to one is given by the spirit a word of wisdom [------]; to another a word of knowledge [------] according to the same spirit; . to another faith [------] in the same spirit, to another gifts of healings [------] in the one spirit; . to another (inward) workings of powers [------] { } [------]; to another prophecy [------]; to another discerning of spirits [------]; to another kinds of tongues [------]; to another interpretation of tongues [------]; . but all these worketh [------] the one and the same spirit, dividing to each severally as he wills." after illustrating this by showing the mutual dependence of the different members and senses of the body, the apostle proceeds: v. . "and god set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, after that powers [------], after that gifts of healings [------], helpings [------], governings [------], kinds of tongues [------]. . are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all powers [------]? . have all gifts of healings [------]? do all speak with tongues [------]? do all interpret [------]?" before we commence an examination of this interesting and important passage, it is essential that we should endeavour to disabuse our minds of preconceived ideas. commentators are too prone to apply to the apostle's remarks a system of interpretation based upon statements made by later and less informed writers, and warped by belief in the reality of a miraculous element pervading all apostolic times, which have been derived mainly from post-apostolic narratives. what do we really know of the phenomena supposed to have characterized the apostolic age, and which were later, and are now, described as miraculous? with the exception of what we glean from the writings of paul, we know absolutely nothing from any contemporary writer and eye-witness. in the gospels and in the acts of the apostles, we have detailed accounts of many miracles said { } to have been performed by the apostles and others; but these narratives were all written at a much later period, and by persons who are unknown, and most of whom are not even affirmed to have been eye-witnesses.( ) in the acts of the apostles, we have an account of some of the very charismata referred to by paul in the passage above quoted, and we shall thus have the advantage of presently comparing the two accounts. we must, however, altogether resist any attempt to insert between the lines of the apostle's writing ideas and explanations derived from the author of the acts and from patristic literature, and endeavour to understand what it is he himself says and intends to say. it must not be supposed that we in the slightest degree question the fact that the apostle paul believed in the reality of supernatural intervention in mundane affairs, or that he asserted the actual occurrence of certain miracles. our desire is as far as possible to ascertain what paul himself has to say upon specific phenomena, now generally explained as miraculous, and thus, descending from vague generalities to more distinct statements, to ascertain the value of his opinion regarding the character of such phenomena. it cannot fail to be instructive to determine something of the nature of charismata from an eye-witness who believed them to have been supernatural. his account, as we have seen, is the most precious evidence of the church to the reality of the miraculous. the first point which must be observed in connection with the charismata referred to by paul in the passage before us is that, whilst there are diversities amongst them, all the phenomena described are ascribed to it is suggestive that the curious passage mk. xvi. -- is not even by the author of the second gospel, but a later addition. { } "one and the same spirit dividing to each severally as he wills;" and, consequently, that, although there may be differences in their form and value, a supernatural origin is equally assigned to all the "gifts" enumerated. what then are these charismata? "a word of wisdom," "a word of knowledge," and "faith" are the first three mentioned. what the precise difference was, in paul's meaning, between the utterance of wisdom [------] and of knowledge [------] it is impossible now with certainty to say, nor is it very essential for us to inquire. the two words are combined in rom. xi. : "o the depths of the riches and wisdom [------] and knowledge [------] of god!" and in this very epistle some varying use is made of both words. paul tells the corinthians ( , i. ) that christ did not send him "in wisdom of word "[------] or utterance: and (ii. ) "not with excellency of word or wisdom" [------], cf. ii. ); and further on he says (i. ) that christ jesus "was made unto us wisdom [------] from god." the most suggestive expressions,( ) however, are the following, we think: cor. ii. . "but we speak wisdom [------] among the perfect, yet not the wisdom [------] of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, that come to nought, . but we speak god's wisdom [------] in mystery, the hidden wisdom, which god ordained before the ages unto our glory, . which none of the rulers of this age has known, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the lord of glory. . but as it is written, 'what eye saw not/ &c. &c. . but unto us god revealed them through the spirit....... .... { } even so also the things of god knoweth no one but the spirit of god. . but we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from god, that we might know the things that are freely given us by god; . which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the spirit, interpreting spiritual things to the spiritual"( ) [------]. it is quite clear from all the antecedent context that paul's preaching was specially the messiah crucified, "christ the power of god and the wisdom [------] of god," and we may conclude reasonably that the [------] of our passage was simply the eloquent utterance of this doctrine. in like manner, we may get some insight into the meaning which paul attached to the word "knowledge" [------]. it will be remembered that at the very opening of the first epistle to the corinthians paul expresses his thankfulness that in everything they were enriched in christ jesus: i. . "in all utterance [------] and in all knowledge [------], . even as the testimony of the christ was confirmed in you;" that is to say, according to commentators, by these very charismata. later, speaking of "tongues," he says ( cor. xiv. ): "... what shall i profit you, except i shall speak to you either in revelation or in knowledge [------], or in prophecy, or in teaching?" we obtain a clearer insight into his meaning in the second epistle, in the passage cor. ii. - , and still more in iv. - and x. , where he describes metaphorically his weapons as not carnal, but strong through god, "casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of god, and bringing into { } _captivity_ every thought to the obedience of the christ;" and if we ventured to offer an opinion, it would be that paul means by [------] simply christian theology. we merely offer this as a passing suggestion. little need be said with regard to the gift of "faith" (marts), which is perfectly intelligible. apologists argue that by these three gifts" some supernatural form of wisdom, knowledge, and faith is expressed, and we shall have something more to say on the point presently; but here we merely point out that there is no ground whatever for such an assertion except the fact that the apostle ascribes to them a supernatural origin, or, in fact, believes in the inspiration of such qualities. all that can be maintained is that paul accounts for the possession of characteristics which we now know to be natural, by asserting that they are the direct gift of the holy spirit. there is not the faintest evidence to show that these natural capabilities did not antecedently exist in the corinthians, and were not merely stimulated into action in christian channels by the religious enthusiasm and zeal accompanying their conversion; but, on the contrary, every reason to believe this to be the case, as we shall further see.( ) in fact, according to the apostolic church, every quality was a supernatural gift, and all ability or excellence in practical life directly emanated from the action of the holy spirit. we may now proceed to "gifts of healings" [------]( ) which it will be noted are doubly in the plural, { } indicating, as is supposed, a variety of special gifts, each having reference probably to special diseases. what is there to show that there was anything more miraculous in "gifts of healings" than in the possession of an utterance of wisdom, an utterance of knowledge, or faith? nothing whatever. on the contrary, everything, from the unvarying experience of the world, to the inferences which we shall be able to draw from the whole of this information regarding the charismata, shows that there was no miraculous power of healing either possessed or exercised. reference is frequently made to the passage in the so-called epistle of james as an illustration of this, v. : "is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil in the name of the lord: . and the prayer of faith shall save the afflicted, and the lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him." the context, however, not only shows that in this there is no allusion to any gift of healing or miraculous power, but seems to ignore the existence of any such gift. the epistle continues: v. . "confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray for one another that ye may be healed. the supplication of a righteous man availeth much when it is working." and then the successful instance of the prayer of elijah that it might not rain and again that it might rain is given. the passage is merely an assertion of the efficacy of prayer, and if, as is not unfrequently done, it be argued that the gifts of healings were probably applied by means of earnest prayer for the sick, it may be said that this is the only "gift" which is supposed to have descended to our times. it does not require much argument, however, to show that the reality of a miraculous gift cannot be demonstrated { } by appealing to the objective efficacy of prayer. we may, in passing, refer apologists who hold the authenticity of the epistles to the philippians and to timothy to indications which do not quite confirm the supposition that a power of miraculous healing actually existed in the apostolic church. in the epistle to the philippians, ii. ff., paul is represented as sending epaphroditus to them (v. ) "since he was longing after you all and was distressed because ye heard that he was sick. . for, indeed, he was sick nigh unto death; but god had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that i might not have sorrow upon sorrow. i sent him, therefore, the more anxiously, that, when ye see him, ye may rejoice again, and that i may be the less sorrowful." the anxiety felt by the philippians, and the whole language of the writer, in this passage, are rather inconsistent with the knowledge that miraculous power of healing was possessed by the church, and of course by paul, which would naturally have been exerted for one in whom so many were keenly interested. then, in tim. iv. , the writer says: "trophimus i left at miletus sick." if miraculous powers of healing existed, why were they not exerted in this case? if they were exerted and failed for special reasons, why are these not mentioned? it is unfortunate that there is so little evidence of the application of these gifts. on the other hand, we may suggest that medical art scarcely existed at that period in such communities, and that the remedies practised admirably lent themselves to the theory of "gifts" of healings, rather than to any recognition of the fact that the accurate diagnosis of disease and successful treatment of it can only be the result of special study and experience. the next gift mentioned is (v. ) "workings of powers" { } [------] very unwarrantably rendered in our "authorized" version "the working of miracles." we have already said enough regarding paul's use of [------]. the phrase before us would be even better rendered in-or inward-workings of powers( ) and the use made of [------] by paul throughout his epistles would confirm this. it may be pointed out that as the gifts just referred to are for "healings" it is difficult to imagine any class of "miracles" which could well be classed under a separate head as the special "working of miracles" contemplated by apologists. infinitely the greater number of miracles related in the gospels and acts are "healings" of disease. is it possible to suppose that paul really indicated by this expression a distinct order of "miracles" properly so called? certainly not neither the words themselves used by paul, properly understood, nor the context permit us to suppose that he referred to the working of miracles at all. we have no intention of conjecturing what these "powers" were supposed to be; it is sufficient that we show they cannot rightly be exaggerated into an assertion of the power of working miracles. it is much more probable that, in the expression, no external working by the gifted person is implied at all, and that the gift referred to "in-workings of powers" within his own mind, producing the ecstatic state, with its usual manifestations, or those visions and supposed revelations to which paul himself was subject. demonaics, or persons supposed to be possessed of evil spirits, were called [------] and it is easy to conceive how anyone under strong religious { } impressions, at that epoch of most intense religious emotion, might, when convulsed by nervous or mental excitement, be supposed the subject of inward workings of powers supernaturally imparted. every period of religious zeal has been marked by such phenomena.( ) these conclusions are further corroborated by the next gifts enumerated. the first of these is "prophecy" [------], by which is not intended the mere foretelling of events, but speaking "unto men edification and exhortation and comfort," as the apostle himself says (xiv. ); and an illustration of this may be pointed out in acts iv. where the name barnabas = "son of prophecy," being interpreted is said to be "son of exhortation" [------]. to this follows the "discerning (or judging) of spirits" [------], a gift which, if we are to judge by paul's expressions elsewhere, was simply the exercise of natural intelligence and discernment. in an earlier part of the first epistle, rebuking the corinthians for carrying their disputes before legal tribunals, he says, vi. : "is it so that there is not even one wise man among you who shall be able to discern [------] between his brethren?" again, in xi. , "but if we discerned [------] we should not be judged [------]" (cf vv. , ), and in xiv. , "let prophets speak two or three, and let the others discern" [------]. we reserve the "kinds of tongues" and "interpretation of tongues" for separate treatment, and proceed to vv. ff. in which, after illustrating his meaning by the analogy of the body, the apostle resumes his { } observations upon the charismata, and it is instructive to consider the rank he ascribes to the various gifts. he classes them: "first, apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, after that powers, after that gifts of healings, helpings, governings, kinds of tongues." these so-called miraculous gifts are here placed in a lower class than those of exhortation and teaching, which is suggestive; for it is difficult to suppose that even a man like paul could have regarded the possession of such palpable and stupendous power as the instantaneous and miraculous healing of disease, or the performance of other miracles, below the gift of teaching or exhortation. it is perfectly intelligible that the practice of medicine as it was then understood, and the skill which might have been attained in particular branches of disease by individuals, not to speak of those who may have been supposed to be performing miracles when they dealt with cases of hysteria or mental excitement, might appear to the apostle much inferior to a gift for imparting spiritual instruction and admonition; but the actual possession of supernatural power, the actual exercise of what was believed to be the personal attribute of god, must have been considered a distinction more awful and elevated than any gift of teaching. it will be noticed also that other charismata are here introduced, whilst "discerning of spirits" is omitted. the new gifts, "helpings" and "governings," have as little a miraculous character about them as any that have preceded them. is it not obvious that all special ability, all official capacity, is simply represented as a divine gift, and regarded as a "manifestation of the spirit?" it is important in the highest degree to remember that the supposed miraculous charismata are not merely conferred upon a few persons, but are bestowed upon all { } the members of the apostolic church.( ) "the extraordinary charismata which the apostles conferred through their imposition of hands," writes dr. von dollinger, "were so diffused and distributed, that nearly every one, or at any rate many, temporarily at least, had a share in one gift or another. this was a solitary case in history, which has never since repeated itself, and which, in default of experience, we can only approximately picture to ourselves. one might say: the metal of the church was still glowing, molten, formless, and presented altogether another aspect than, since then, in the condition of the cold and hardened casting."( ) the apologetic representation of the case is certainly unique in history and, therefore, in its departure from all experience might, one might have thought, have excited suspicion. difficult as it is to picture such a state, it is worth while to endeavour to do so to a small extent. let us imagine communities of christians, often of considerable importance, in all the larger cities as well as in smaller towns, all or most of the members of which were endowed with supernatural { } gifts, and, amongst others, with power to heal diseases and to perform miracles; all the intellectual and religious qualities requisite for the guidance, edification, and government of the communities supplied abundantly and specially by the holy spirit; the ordinary dependence of society on the natural capacity and power of its leaders dispensed with, and every possible branch of moral culture and physical comfort provided with inspired and miraculously-gifted ministries; the utterance of wisdom and knowledge, exhortation and teaching, workings of healings, discernment of spirits, helpings, governings, kinds of tongues supernaturally diffused throughout the community by god himself. as a general rule, communities have to do as well as they can without such help, and eloquent instructors and able administrators do not generally fail them. the question, therefore, intrudes itself: why were ordinary and natural means so completely set aside, and the qualifications which are generally found adequate for the conduct and regulation of life supplanted by divine charismata? at least, we may suppose that communities endowed with such supernatural advantages, and guided by the direct inspiration of the holy spirit, must have been distinguished in every way from the rest of humanity, and must have presented a spectacle of the noblest life, free from the weakness and inconsistency of the world, and betraying none of the moral and intellectual frailties of ordinary society. at the very least, and without exaggeration, communities in every member of which there existed some supernatural manifestation of the holy spirit might be expected to show very marked superiority and nobility of character. when we examine the epistles of paul and other ancient documents, we find anything but supernatural { } qualities in the churches supposed to be endowed with such miraculous gifts. on the contrary, it is scarcely possible to exaggerate the intensely human character of the conduct of such communities, their fickleness, the weakness of their fidelity to the gospel of paul, their wavering faith, and the ease and rapidity with which they are led astray, their petty strifes and discords; their party spirit, their almost indecent abuse of some of their supposed gifts, such as "tongues," for which paul rebukes them so severely. the very epistles, in fact, in which we read of the supernatural endowments and organization of the church are full of evidence that there was nothing supernatural in them. the primary cause, apparently, for which the first letter was written to the corinthians was the occurrence of divisions and contentions amongst them (i. ff.), parties of paul, of apollos, of cephas, of christ, which make the apostle give thanks (i. ) that he had baptized but few of them, that no one might say that they were baptized into his name. paul had not been able to speak to them as spiritual but as carnal, mere babes in christ (iii. f.); he fed them with milk, not meat, for they were not yet able, "nor even now are ye able," he says, "for ye are yet carnal. for whereas there is among you envying and strife; are ye not carnal?" he continues in the same strain throughout the letter, admonishing them in no flattering terms. speaking of his sending timothy to them, he says (iv. f.): "but some of you were puffed up, as though i were not coming to you; but i will come to you shortly, if it be the lord's will, and will know, not the speech of them who are puffed up, but the power." there is serious sin amongst them, which they show no readiness to purge { } away. moreover these corinthians have lawsuits with each other (vi. ff.), and, instead of taking advantage of those supernatural charismata, they actually take their causes for decision before the uninspired tribunals of the heathen rather than submit them to the judgment of the saints. their own members, who have gifts of wisdom and of knowledge, discerning of spirits and governings, have apparently so little light to throw upon the regulation of social life, that the apostle has to enter into minute details for their admonition and guidance. he has even to lay down rules regarding the head-dresses of women in the churches (xi. ff.). even in their very church assemblies there are divisions of a serious character amongst them (xi. ff.). they misconduct themselves in the celebration of the lord's supper, for they make it, as it were, their own supper, "and one is hungry and another is drunken." "what!" he indignantly exclaims, "have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of god?" to the galatians paul writes, marvelling that they are so soon removing from him that called them in the grace of christ unto a different gospel (i. ). "o foolish galatians," he says (iii. ), "who bewitched you?" in that community also, opposition to paul and denial of his authority had become powerful. if we turn to other ancient documents, the epistles to the seven churches do not present us with a picture of supernatural perfection in those communities, though doubtless, like the rest, they had received these gifts. the other epistles of the new testament depict a state of things which by no means denotes any extraordinary or abnormal condition of the members. we may quote a short passage to show that we do not strain { } this representation unduly. "but certainly," says dr. von dollinger, "in spite of a rich outpouring of spiritual gifts vouchsafed to it, a community could fall into wanton error. paul had in corinth, contemporaneously with his description of the charismatic state of the church there, to denounce sad abuses. in the galatian community, judaistic seduction, and the darkening of christian doctrine through the delusion as to the necessity of the observance of the law, had so much increased that the apostle called them fools and senseless, but at the same time he appealed to the proof which was presented by the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers, in which they had participated not through the observance of the law, but through faith in christ (gal. iii. , ). now at that time the charismata of teaching and knowledge must already have been weakened or extinguished in these communities, otherwise so strong an aberration would not be explicable. nowhere, however, in this epistle is there any trace of an established ministry; on the contrary, at the close, the 'spiritual' among them are instructed to administer the office of commination. but, generally, from that time forward, the charismatic state in the church more and more disappeared, though single charismata, and individuals endowed with the same, remained. in the first epistle to the believers in thessalonica, paul had made it specially prominent that his gospel had worked there, not as mere word, but with demonstration of the power of the holy spirit (i. ). in the epistles to the philippians and colossians, there is no longer the slightest intimation of, or reference to, the charismata, although in both communities the occasion for such an allusion was very appropriate--in philippi through the jewish opponents, { } and in colossæ on account of the heretical dangers and the threatening gnostic asceticism. on the other hand, in the epistle to the philippians, bishops and deacons are already mentioned as ministers of the community. then, in the pastoral epistles, not only is there no mention of the charismata, but a state of the community is set forth which is wholly different from the charismatic. the communities in asia minor, the ephesian first of all, are partly threatened, partly unsettled by gnostic heresies, strifes of words, foolish controversies, empty babbling about matters of faith, of doctrines of demons, of an advancing godlessness corroding like a gangrene ( tim. iv. - , vi. ff. , tim. ii. ff.). all the counsels which are here given to timothy, the conduct in regard to these evils which is recommended to him, all is of a nature as though charismata no longer existed to any extent, as though, in lieu of the first spiritual soaring and of the fulness of extraordinary powers manifesting itself in the community, the bare prose of the life of the church had already set in."( ) regarding this it is not necessary for us to say more than that the representation which is everywhere made, in the acts and elsewhere, and which seems to be confirmed by paul, is that all the members of these christian communities received the holy spirit, and the divine charismata, but that nowhere have we evidence of any supernatural results produced by them. if, however, the view above expressed be accepted, the difficulty is increased; for, except in the allusions of the apostle to charismata, it is impossible to discover any difference between communities which had received miraculous spiritual "gifts" and those which had not done so. on the contrary, it { } might possibly be shown that a church which had not been so endowed, perhaps on the whole exhibited higher spiritual qualities than another which was supposed to possess the charismata. in none are we able to perceive any supernatural characteristics, or more than the very ordinary marks of a new religious life. it seems scarcely necessary to depart from the natural order of nature, and introduce the supernatural working of a holy spirit to produce such common-place results. we venture to say that there is nothing whatever to justify the assertion of supernatural agency here, and that the special divine charismata existed only in the pious imagination of the apostle, who referred every good quality in man to divine grace. we have reserved the gift of "tongues" for special discussion, because paul enters into it with a fulness with which he does not treat any of the other charismata, and a valuable opportunity is thus afforded us of ascertaining something definite with regard to the nature of the gift; and also because we have a narrative in the acts of the apostles of the first descent of the holy spirit, manifesting itself in "tongues," with which it may be instructive to compare the apostle's remarks. we may mention that, in the opinion of many, the cause which induced the apostle to say so much regarding charismata in his first letter to the corinthians was the circumstance, that many maintained the gift of tongues to be the only form of "the manifestation of the spirit." this view is certainly favoured by the narrative in the acts, in which not only at the first famous day of pentecost, but on almost every occasion of the imposition of the apostle's hands, this is the only gift mentioned as accompanying the reception of the holy { } spirit. in any case, it is apparent from the whole of the apostle's homily on the subject, that the gift of tongues was especially valued in the church of corinth.( ) it is difficult to conceive, on the supposition that amongst the charismata there were comprised miraculous gifts of healings, and further power of working miracles, that these could have been held so cheap in comparison with the gift of tongues; but in any case, a better comprehension of what this "gift" really was cannot fail to assist us in understanding the true nature of the whole of the charismata. it is evident that the apostle paul himself does not rank the gift of tongues very highly, and indeed, that he seems to value prophecy more than all the other charismata (xiv. ff.); but the simple yet truly noble eloquence with which (xiii. ff.) he elevates above all these gifts the possession of spiritual love is a subtle indication of their real character. probably paul would have termed christian charity a gift of the spirit as much as { } he does "gifts of healings" or "workings of powers;" but, however rare may be the virtue, it is not now recognized as miraculous, although it is here shown to be more desirable and precious than all the miraculous gifts. even apostolic conceptions of the supernatural cannot soar above the range of natural morality. the real nature of the "gift of tongues" has given rise to an almost interminable controversy, and innumerable treatises have been written upon the subject. it would have been impossible for us to have exhaustively entered upon such a discussion in this work, for which it only possesses an incidental and passing interest; but fortunately such a course is rendered unnecessary by the fact that, so far as we are concerned, the miraculous nature of the "gift" alone comes into question, and may be disposed of without any elaborate analysis of past controversy or minute reference to disputed points. those who desire to follow the course of the voluminous discussion will find ample materials in the treatises which we shall at least indicate in the course of our remarks, and we shall adhere as closely as possible to our own point of view. in cor. xii. , the apostle mentions, amongst the other charismata, "kinds of tongues" [------] and "interpretation of tongues" [------], as two distinct gifts. in v. he again uses the expression [------], and in a following verse he inquires: "do all speak with tongues" [------]( ) "do all interpret" [------]? he says shortly after, xiii. : "if i speak with the tongues of men and of angels [------] and have not love," &c. in the following chapter the expressions used in discussing the gift vary. { } in xiv. he says: "he that speaketh with a tongue"( ) [------]( ) using the singular; and again (v. ), of "the tongues" [------], being a sign; and in v. , each "hath a tongue" [------]. the word [------] or [------] has several significations in greek. the first and primary meaning "the tongue": as a mere member of the body, the organ of speech; next, a tongue, or language; and further, an obsolete or foreign word not in ordinary use. if we inquire into the use of [------] in the new testament, we find that, setting aside the passages in acts, mark, and cor. xii.-xiv., in which the phenomenon we are discussing is referred to, the word is invariably used in the first sense, "the tongue,"( ) except in the apocalypse, where the word as "language" typifies different nations.( ) any one who attentively considers all the passages in which the charisma is discussed will observe that no uniform application of any one signification throughout is possible. we may briefly say that all the attempts which have been made philologically to determine the true nature of the phenomenon which the apostle discusses have failed to produce any really satisfactory result, or to secure the general adhesion of critics. it is we think obvious that paul does not apply the word, either in the plural or in the singular, in its ordinary senses, but makes use of [------] to describe phenomena connected with speech, without intending strictly to apply it either to the tongue or to a definite language. we { } merely refer to this in passing, for it is certain that no philological discussion of the word can materially affect the case; and the argument is of no interest for our inquiry. each meaning has been adopted by critics and been made the basis for a different explanation of the phenomenon. philology is incapable of finally solving such a problem. from the time of irenæus,( ) or at least of origen, the favourite theory of the fathers, based chiefly upon the narrative in acts of the descent of the holy spirit on the day of pentecost, was that the disciples suddenly became super-naturally endowed with power to speak other languages which they had not previously learned, and that this gift was more especially conferred to facilitate the promulgation of the gospel throughout the world. augustine went so far as to believe that each of the apostles was thus enabled to speak all languages.( ) the opinion that the "gift of tongues" consisted of the power, miraculously conferred by the holy ghost, to speak in a language or languages previously unknown to the speaker long continued to prevail, and it is still the popular, as well as the orthodox, view of the subject.( ) as soon as { } the attention of critics was seriously directed to the question, however, this interpretation became rapidly modified, or was altogether abandoned. it is unnecessary for us to refer in detail to the numerous explanations which have been given of the phenomenon, or to enumerate the extraordinary views which have been expressed regarding it; it will be sufficient if, without reference to minor differences of opinion respecting the exact form in which it exhibited itself, we broadly state that a great majority of critics, rejecting the theory that [------] means to speak languages previously unknown to the speakers, pronounce it to be the speech of persons in a state of ecstatic excitement, chiefly of the nature of prayer or praise, and unintelligible to ordinary hearers.( ) whether { } this speech consisted of mere inarticulate tones, of excited ejaculations, of obsolete or uncommon expressions and provincialisms, of highly poetical rhapsodies, of prayer in slow scarcely audible accents, or of chaunted mysterious phrases, fragmentary and full of rapturous intensity, as these critics variously suppose, we shall not pause to inquire. it is clear that, whatever may have been the form of the speech, if instead of being speech in unlearnt languages supernaturally communicated, [------] was only the expression of religious excitement, however that may be supposed to have originated, the pretentions of the gift to a miraculous character shrink at once into exceedingly small proportions. every unprejudiced mind must admit that the representation that the gift of "tongues," of which the apostle speaks in his epistle to the corinthians, conferred upon the recipient the power to speak foreign languages before unknown to him, may in great part be traced to the narrative in acts of the descent of the holy spirit on the day of pentecost. although a few apologists advance the plea that there may have been differences in the manifestation, it is generally recognized on both sides that, however differently described by the two writers, the [------] of paul and of the acts is, in reality, one and the same phenomenon. the impression conveyed by the narrative has been applied to the didactic remarks of paul, and a meaning forced upon them which they cannot possibly bear. it is not too much to say that, but for the mythical account in the acts, no one would ever have supposed that the [------] of paul was the gift of speaking foreign languages without previous study or practice. in the interminable controversy regarding the phenomenon, moreover, it seems to us to have been a { } fundamental error, on both sides too often, to have considered it necessary to the acceptance of any explanation that it should equally suit both the remarks of paul and the account in acts.( ) the only right course is to test the narrative by the distinct and authoritative statements of the apostle; but to adopt the contrary course is much the same procedure as altering the natural interpretation of an original historical document in order to make it agree with the romance of some unknown writer of a later day. the apostle paul writes as a contemporary and eye-witness of phenomena which affected himself, and regarding which he gives the most valuable direct and indirect information. the unknown author of the acts was not an eye-witness of the scene which he describes, and his narrative bears upon its very surface the clearest marks of traditional and legendary treatment. the ablest apologists freely declare that the evidence of paul is of infinitely greater value than that of the unknown and later writer, and must be preferred before it. the majority of those who profess to regard the narrative as historical explain away its clearest statements with startling ingenuity, or conceal them beneath a cloud of words. the references to the phenomenon in later portions of the acts are in themselves quite inconsistent with the earlier narrative in ch. ii. the detailed criticism of paul is the only contemporary, and it is certainly the only trustworthy, account we possess regarding the gift of "tongues."( ) we must, therefore, dismiss from our minds, if possible, the bias which the narrative in the acts has unfortunately { } created, and attend solely to the words of the apostle. if his report of the phenomenon discredit that of the unknown and later writer, so much the worse for the latter. in any case it is the testimony of paul which is referred to and which we are called upon to consider, and later writers must not be allowed to invest it with impossible meanings. even if we had not such undeniable reasons for preferring the statements of paul to the later and untrustworthy narrative of an unknown writer, the very contents of the latter, contrasted with the more sober remarks of the apostle, would consign it to a very subordinate place. discussing the miracle of pentecost in acts, which he, of course, regards as the instantaneous communication of ability to speak in foreign languages, zeller makes the following remarks: "the supposition of such a miracle is opposed to a right view of divine agency, and of the relation of god to the world, and, in this case in particular, to a right view of the constitution of the human mind. the composition and the properties of a body may be altered through external influence, but mental acquirements are attained only through personal activity, through practice; and it is just in this that spirit distinguishes itself from matter: that it is free, that there is nothing in it which it has not itself spontaneously introduced. the external and instantaneous in-pouring of a mental acquirement is a representation which refutes itself." in reply to those who object to this reasoning he retorts: "the assertion that such a miracle actually occurred contradicts the analogy of all attested experience, that it is invented by an individual or by tradition corresponds with it; when, therefore, the historical writer has only the choice between these two { } alternatives, he must according to the laws of historical probability, under all the circumstances, unconditionally decide for the second. he must do this even if an eyewitness of the pretended miracle stood before him; he must all the more do so if he has to do with a statement which, beyond doubt not proceeding from an eye-witness, is more possibly separated by some generations from the event in question."( ) these objections are not confined to rationalistic critics and do not merely represent the arguments of scepticism. neander expresses similar sentiments,( ) and after careful examination pronounces the narrative in acts untrustworthy, and, adhering to the representations of paul, rejects the theory that [------] was speech in foreign languages supernaturally imparted. meyer, who arrives at much the same result as neander, speaks still more emphatically. he says: "_this_ supposed gift of tongues (all languages), however, was in the apostolic age, partly _unnecessary_ for the preaching of the gospel, as the preachers thereof only required to be able to speak hebrew and greek; partly _too general_, as amongst the assembly there were certainly many who were not called to be teachers. and, on the other hand, again, it would also have been _premature_, as, before all, paul the apostle of the gentiles would have required it, in whom nevertheless there is as little trace of any _subsequent_ reception of it as that he preached otherwise than in hebrew and greek. _but now, how is the event to be historically judged?_ regarding this the following is to be observed: as the instantaneous bestowal of facility in a foreign language is neither logically possible nor psychologically { } and morally conceivable, and as not the slightest intimation of such a thing in the apostles is perceptible in their epistles and elsewhere (on the contrary, comp. xiv. ); as, further, if it was only momentary, the impossibility increases, and as peter himself in his speech does not once make the slightest reference to the foreign languages: therefore,--whether, without any intimation in the text, one consider that pentecost assembly as a representation of all future christianity, or not--the occurrence, as luke relates it, cannot be transmitted in its actual historical circumstance."( ) let us a little examine the particulars of the narrative in acts ii. all the brethren were assembled in one place, a house [------], on the morning of the day of pentecost. in the preceding chapter (i. ) we learn that the number of disciples was then about , and the crowd which came together when the miraculous occurrence took place must have been great, seeing that it is stated that , souls were baptized and added to the church upon the occasion (ii. ). passing over the statement as to the numbers of the disciples, which might well surprise us after the information given by the gospels, we may ask in what house in jerusalem could such a multitude have assembled? apologists have exhausted their ingenuity in replying to the question, but whether placing the scene in one of the halls or courts of the temple, or in an imaginary house in one of the streets leading to the temple, the explanation is equally vague and unsatisfactory. how did the multitude so rapidly know of what was passing in a private house? we shall say nothing at present of the sound of the { } "rushing mighty wind" which filled all the house, nor of the descent of the "tongues as of fire," nor of the various interpretations of these phenomena by apologetic writers. these incidents do not add to the historical character of the narrative, nor can it be pronounced either clear or consistent. the brethren assembled "were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues [------], as the spirit gave them utterance."( ) apologists, in order somewhat to save the historical credit of the account and reconcile it with the statements of paul, have variously argued that there is no affirmation made in the narrative that speech in foreign languages previously unknown was imparted. the members of the fifteen nations who hear the galilaeans speaking "in our own language wherein we were born" [------] are disposed of with painful ingenuity; but, passing over all this, it is recognized by unprejudiced critics on both sides that at least the author of acts, in writing this account, intended to represent the brethren as instantaneously speaking those previously unknown foreign languages. a few writers represent the miracle to have been one of hearing rather than of speaking, the brethren merely praising god in their own tongue, the aramaic, but the spectators understanding in their various languages.( ) this only shifts the difficulty from the speakers to the hearers, and the explanation is generally repudiated. it is, however, freely granted by all that history does not exhibit a single instance of such a gift of tongues having ever been made useful for the purpose of { } preaching the gospel.( ) paul, who claimed the possession of the gift of tongues in a superlative degree ( cor. xiv. ), does not appear to have spoken more languages than aramaic and greek. he writes to the romans in the latter tongue and not in latin, and to the galatians in the same language instead of their own. peter, who appears to have addressed the assembled nations in greek on this very occasion, does not in his speech either refer to foreign languages or claim the gift himself, for in v. he speaks only of others: "for _these_ [------] are not drunken." every one remembers the ancient tradition recorded by papias, and generally believed by the fathers, that mark accompanied peter as his "interpreter" [------].( ) the first epistle bearing the name of peter, and addressed to some of the very nations mentioned in acts, to sojourners "in pontus, galatia, cappadocia, asia, and bithynia," is written in greek; and so is the "epistle to the hebrews" and the other works of the new testament. few will be inclined to deny that, to take only one language for instance, the greek of the writings of the new testament leaves something to be desired, and that, if the writers possessed such a supernatural gift, they evidently did not speak even so important and current a language with absolute purity. "le style des ecrivains sacred," writes a modern { } apologist, "montre clairement qu'ils ont appris la langue grecque et qu'ils ne la possedent pas de droit divin et par inspiration, car ils l'ecrivent sans correction, en la surchargeant de locutions hebraiques."( ) in fact, as most critics point out, there never was a period at which a gift of foreign tongues was less necessary for intercourse with the civilized world, greek being almost everywhere current. as regards the fifteen nations who are supposed to have been represented on this great occasion, neander says: "it is certain that amongst the inhabitants of towns in cappadocia, in pontus, in asia minor, phrygia, pamphylia, cyrene, and in the parts of libya and egypt peopled by greek and jewish colonies, the greek language was in great part more current than the old national tongue. there remain, out of the whole catalogue of languages, at most the persian, syriac, arabic, greek, and latin. the more rhetorical than historical stamp of the narrative is evident."( ) this rhetorical character, as contradistinguished from sober history, is indeed painfully apparent throughout. the presence in jerusalem of jews, devout men "from every nation under heaven" is dramatically opportune, and thus representatives of the fifteen nations are prepared to appear in the house and hear their own languages in which they were born spoken in so supernatural, though useless, a manner by the brethren. they are all said to have been "confounded" at the phenomenon, and the writer adds, ii. f: "and they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, behold, are not all these which speak galilaeans? and how hear we every man in our own { } language wherein we were born?" &c. did all the multitude say this? or is not this the writer ascribing, according to his view, probable sentiments to them? how again did they know that the hundred and twenty or more brethren were galilaean? further on, the writer adds more of the same kind, v. , : "and they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another: what may this mean? but others mocking said, they are full of sweet wine." is it not a strange manner of accounting for such a phenomenon as (v. ) hearing people speaking in their own tongues the great works of god to suppose that they are drunken? people speaking with tongues, in paul's sense ( cor. xiv. , , ), and creating an unintelligible tumult, might well lead strangers to say that they were either mad or drunken, but the praise of god in foreign language, understood by so many, could not convey such an impression. peter does not, in explanation, simply state that they are speaking foreign languages which have just been supernaturally imparted to them, but argues (v. ) that "these are not drunken, as ye suppose, for it is the third hour of the day,"--too early to be "full of sweet wine," and proceeds to assert that the phenomenon is, on the contrary, a fulfilment of a prophecy of joel in which, although the pouring out of god's spirit upon all flesh is promised "in the last days," and as a result that: "your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams," not a single word is said of any gift of "tongues," foreign or otherwise. the miraculous phenomenon in question is not mentioned in the prophecy of which it is supposed to be the accomplishment. it does not much help matters to argue that the miracle, although not for future use, was intended as a { } sign. we shall see what paul says regarding [------] as a sign, but we may here merely point out that the effect produced in the corinthian church is rather an impression of madness, whilst here it leads to a mocking accusation of drunkenness. the conversion of the , is by no means referred to the speaking with tongues, but simply to the speech of peter (ii. £ ). from every point of view, there is no cohesion between the different parts of the narrative; it is devoid of verisimilitude. it is not surprising that so many critics of all shades of opinion recognize unhistorical elements in the narrative in acts,( ) not to use a stronger term. to allow such an account to influence our interpretation of paul's statements regarding the gift of tongues is quite out of the question; and no one who appreciates the nature of the case and who carefully examines the narrative of the unknown writer can, we think, hesitate to reject his theory of a supernatural bestowal of power to speak foreign languages, before unknown. it is not difficult to trace the origin of the account in acts and, although we cannot here pause to do so with any minuteness, we may at least indicate the lines upon which the narrative is based. there is no doubt that then, as now, the jews commemorated at the feast of pentecost the giving of the law on sinai.( ) it seemed { } good to the author of acts that the prophet like unto moses,( ) who was to abrogate that law and replace it by a dispensation of grace, should inaugurate the new law of love and liberty( ) with signs equally significant and miraculous. it is related in exodus xix. that the lord descended upon sinai "in fire," and that the whole mount quaked greatly. the voice of god pronounced the decalogue and, as the septuagint version renders our ex. xx. : "all the people saw the voice, and the lightnings and the voice of the trumpet and the mountain smoking."( ) according to rabbinical tradition, however, when god came down to give the law to the israelites, he appeared not to israel alone, but to all the other nations, and the voice in which the law was given went to the ends of the earth and was heard of ail peoples.( ) it will be remembered that the number of the nations was supposed to be seventy, each speaking a different language, and the law was given in the one sacred hebrew tongue. the rabbins explained, however: "the voice from sinai was divided into voices and languages, so that all nations of the earth heard (the law), and each heard it actually in its own language."( ) and again: "although the ten commandments were promulgated with one single tone, yet it is said (exod. xx. ), 'all people heard the voices' (in the plural and not the voice in the singular); "the reason is: as the voice went forth it was divided into seven voices, { } and then into seventy tongues, and every people heard the law in its own mother-tongue."( ) the same explanation is given of ps. lxviii. , and the separation of the voice into seven voices and seventy tongues is likened to the sparks beaten by a hammer from molten metal on the anvil.( ) philo expresses the same ideas in several places. we can only extract one passage in which, speaking of the giving of the law on sinai, and discussing the manner in which god proclaimed the decalogue, he says: "for god is not like a man in need of a voice and of a tongue... but it seems to me that at that time he performed a most holy and beseeming wonder, commanding an invisible voice to be created in air, more wonderful than all instruments,.... not lifeless, but neither a form of living creature composed of body and soul, but a reasonable soul full of clearness and distinctness, which formed and excited the air and transformed it into flaming fire, and sounded forth such an articulated voice, like breath through a trumpet, that it seemed to be equally heard by those who were near and those furthest off."( ) a little further on he says: "but from the midst of the fire streaming from heaven, a most awful voice sounded forth, the flame being articulated to language familiar to the hearers, which made that which was said so vividly clear, as to seem rather seeing than { } hearing it."( ) it requires no elaborate explanation to show how this grew into the miracle at pentecost at the inauguration of the christian dispensation, when suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind which filled all the house where the disciples were, and there appeared to them tongues as of fire parting asunder which sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues, even as the spirit gave them utterance, so that devout men from every nation under heaven heard them speaking, everyone in his own language wherein he was born, the great works of god.( ) when we turn to the other passages in the acts where the gift of tongues is mentioned, we find that the interpretation of foreign languages supernaturally imparted is quite out of place. when peter is sent to cornelius, as he is addressing the centurion and his household, and even before they are baptized (x. ), "the holy spirit fell on all them who hear the word;" and the sign of it is (v. ) that they are heard "speaking with tongues and magnifying god" [------], precisely like the disciples at pentecost (cf ii. , xi. f.). now as this gift fell on all who heard the word (x. ), it could not be a sign to unbelievers; and the idea that cornelius and his house immediately began to speak in foreign languages, which, as in the case { } of the corinthians, probably no one understood, instead of simply "magnifying god" in their own tongue, which everyone understood, is almost ludicrous, if without offence we may venture to say so. the same remarks apply to xix. . we must again allow an eminent apologist, who will not be accused of irreverence, to characterise such a representation. "now in such positions and such company, speech in foreign tongues would be something altogether without object and without meaning. where the consciousness of the grace of salvation, and of a heavenly life springing from it, is first aroused in man, his own mother tongue verily, not a foreign language, will be the natural expression of his feelings. or we must imagine a magical power which, taking possession of men, like instruments without volition, forces them to utter strange tones--a thing contradicting all analogy in the operations of christianity."( ) the good sense of the critic revolts against the natural submission of the apologist. we have diverged so far in order prominently to bring before the reader the nature and source of the hypothesis that the gift of "tongues" signifies instantaneous power to speak unlearnt foreign languages. such an interpretation is derived almost entirely from the mythical narrative in the acts of the apostles. we shall now proceed to consider the statements of the apostle paul, and endeavour to ascertain what the supposed miraculous charisma really is. that it is something very different from what the unknown writer represents it in the episode of pentecost cannot be doubted. "whoever has, even once, read with attention what paul writes of the speaking with tongues in the corinthian community," writes thiersch, "knows that the difference between that gift of tongues { } and this (of acts ii.) could scarcely be greater. there, a speech which no mortal can understand without interpretation, and also no philologist, but the holy spirit alone can interpret; here, a speech which requires no interpretation. that gift serves only for the edification of the speaker, this clearly also for that of the hearer. the one is of no avail for the instruction of the ignorant; the other, clearly, is imparted wholly for that purpose."( ) it may be well that we should state a few reasons which show that paul, in his first letter to the corinthians, does not intend, in speaking of [------], to represent speech in foreign languages. in the very outset of his dissertation on the subject (xiv. ), paul very distinctly declares as the principal reason for preferring prophecy to the gift of tongues: "for he that speaketh with a tongue [------] speaketh not unto men but unto god: for no one understandeth( ) [------]." how could this be said if [------] meant merely speaking a foreign language? the presence of a single person versed in the language spoken would in such a case vitiate the whole of paul's argument. the statement made is general, it will be observed, and not limited, to one community, but applied to a place like corinth, one of the greatest commercial cities, in which merchants, seamen, and visitors of all countries were to be found, it would have been unreasonable to have characterized a foreign tongue as absolutely unintelligible. in xiv. , paul says: "so likewise ye, unless ye utter by the tongue [------] words { } easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye will be speaking into air." how could paul use the expression "by the tongue" if he meant a foreign language in v. and elsewhere? he is comparing [------] in the preceding verses with the sounds of musical instruments, and the point reached in v. clearly brings home the application of his argument: the [------] is unintelligible, like the pipe or harp, and unless the tongue utter words which have an understood meaning, it is mere speaking into air. is it possible that paul would call speech in a language, foreign to him, perhaps, but which nevertheless was the mother tongue of some nation, "speaking into air"? in such a case, he must have qualified his statement by obvious explanations, of which not a word appears throughout his remarks. that he does not speak of foreign languages is made still more clear by the next two verses, v. : in which, continuing his argument from analogy, he actually compares [------] with speech in foreign languages, and ends, v. : "if, therefore, i know not the meaning of the voice, i shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian (foreigner) and he that speaketh a barbarian (foreigner) in my judgment."' paul's logic is certainly not always beyond reproach, but he cannot be accused of perpetrating such an antithesis as contrasting a thing with itself. he, therefore, explicitly distinguishes (v. ) [------] "kinds of languages"( ) from (xii. , , &c.) [------] "kinds of tongues." in xiv. , paul says: "if i come unto you speaking with tongues [------] what shall i profit you, unless i shall { } speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophecy, or in teaching?" [------]; and then he goes on to compare such unintelligible speech with musical instruments. now it is obvious that revelation, knowledge, prophecy and teaching might equally be expressed in foreign languages, and, therefore, in "speaking with tongues" it is no mere difficulty of expression which makes it unprofitable, but that general unintelligibility which is the ground of the whole of paul's objections. paul exclaims (v. ): "i thank god i speak with a tongue [------]( ) more than ye all, ( ) but in a church i would rather speak five words with my understanding, that i may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue [------]."( ) we have already pointed out that there is no evidence whatever that paul could speak many languages. so far as we have any information, he only made use of greek and aramaic, and never even preached where those languages were not current. he always employed the former in his epistles, whether addressed to corinth, galatia, or rome, and his knowledge even of that language was certainly not perfect. speaking "with a tongue" cannot, for reasons previously given, mean a foreign language; and this is still more obvious from what he says in v. , just quoted, in which he distinguishes speaking with a tongue from speaking with his understanding. five words so spoken are better than ten thousand in a tongue, because he speaks { } with the understanding in the one case and without it in the second. it is clear that a man speaks with his understanding as much in one language as another, but it is the main characteristic of the speech we are discussing that it is throughout opposed to understanding: cf. vv. , . it would be inconceivable that, if this gift really signified power to speak foreign languages, paul could on the one hand use the expressions in this letter with regard to it, and on the other that he could have failed to add remarks consistent with such an interpretation. for instance is it possible that the apostle in repressing the exercise of the charisma, as he does, could have neglected to point out some other use for it than mere personal edification? could he have omitted to tell some of these speakers with tongues that, instead of wasting their languages in a church where no one understood them, it would be well for them to employ them in the instruction of the nations whose tongues had been supernaturally imparted to them? as it is, paul checks the use of a gift bestowed by the holy spirit, and reduces its operation to the smallest limits, without once indicating so obvious a sphere of usefulness for the miraculous power. we need not, however, proceed to further arguments upon this branch of the subject; although, in treating other points, additional evidence will constantly present itself. for the reasons we have stated, and many others, the great majority of critics are agreed that the gift of tongues, according to paul, was not the power of speaking foreign languages previously unknown.( ) but for the narrative in acts ii. no one would ever have thought of such an interpretation. { } coming now to consider the two charismata, "kinds of tongues" and "the interpretation of tongues," more immediately in connection with our inquiry, as so-called miraculous gifts of the holy spirit, we shall first endeavour to ascertain some of their principal characteristics. the theory of foreign languages supernaturally imparted without previous study may be definitively laid aside. the interpretation of tongues may go with it, but requires a few observations. it is clear from paul's words throughout this dissertation that the interpretation of tongues not only was not invariably attached to the gift of tongues( ) ( cor. xiv. , , ), but was at least often a separate gift possessed without the kinds of tongues (cf. xii. , , xiv. , ). nothing can be more specific than xii. "... to another kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues;" and again, v. : "do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" this is indeed presaged by the "diversities of gifts," &c, of xii. ff. upon the hypothesis of foreign languages, this would presuppose that some spoke languages which they could not interpret, and consequently could not understand, and that others understood languages which they could not speak. the latter point is common enough in ordinary life; but, in this instance, the miracle of supernaturally receiving a perfect knowledge of { } languages, instantaneously and without previous study, is as great as to receive the power to speak them. the anomaly in the miracle, merely to point out a suggestive discrepancy where all is anomalous, is that the gift of tongues should ever have been separated from the gift of interpretation. if a man understand the foreign language he speaks he can interpret it; if he cannot interpret it, he cannot understand it; and if he cannot understand it, can he possibly speak it? certainly not, without his having been made a perfectly mechanical instrument through which, apart from the understanding and the will, sounds are involuntarily produced, which is not to be entertained. still pursuing the same hypothesis,--the one gift is to speak languages which no one understands, the other to understand languages which no one speaks. paul never even assumes the probability that the "tongue" spoken is understood by any one except the interpreter. the interpretation of such obscure tongues must have been a gift very little used,--never, indeed, except as the complement to the gift of tongues. the natural and useful facility in languages is apparently divided into two supernatural and useless halves. the idea is irresistibly suggested, as apparently it was to the apostle himself, whether it would not have been more for the good of mankind and for the honour of christianity, if, instead of these two miraculously incomplete gifts, a little natural good sense, five words even, to be spoken in the vernacular tongue and requiring no interpretation had been imparted. if, instead of foreign languages, we substitute the utterance of ecstatic religious excitement, the anomaly of speaking a language without understanding it or being understood becomes intelligible; and equally so the interpretation, { } unaccompanied by the power of speaking. it is obvious in both cases that, as no one understands the tongue, no one can determine whether the interpretation of it be accurate or not. but it is easily conceivable that a sympathetic nervous listener might suppose that he understood the broken and incoherent speech of ecstasy and might interpret it according to his own stimulated imagination. the mysterious and unknown are suggestive texts, and there is nothing more infectious than religious excitement. in all this, however, is there anything miraculous? we need not further demonstrate that the chief and general characteristic of "kinds of tongues" was that they were unintelligible (cf. cor. xiv. , - , - ). speaking with the spirit [------] is opposed to speaking with the understanding [------] (cf. vv. - , &c). they were not only unintelligible to others, but the speaker himself did not understand what he uttered: v. . "for if i pray with a tongue [------] my spirit [------] prayeth, but my understanding [------] is unfruitful" (cf. f. ). we have already pointed out that paul speaks of these charismata in general, and not as affecting the corinthians only; and we must now add that he obviously does not even insinuate that the "kinds of tongues" possessed by that community was a spurious charisma, or that any attempt had been made to simulate the gift; for nothing could have been more simple than for the apostle to denounce such phenomena as false, and to distinguish the genuine from the imitated speech with tongues. the most convincing proof that his remarks refer to the genuine charisma is that the apostle applies to himself the very same restrictions in the use of "tongues" as he enforces upon the corinthians { } (vv. - , , &c), and characterises his own gift precisely as he does theirs (vv. , , , , ). now what was the actual operation of this singular miraculous gift, and its utility whether as regards the community or the gifted individual? paul restricts the speaking of "tongues" in church because, being unintelligible, it is not for edification (xiv. ff. f. , , ). he himself does not make use of his gift for the assemblies of believers (vv. , ). another ground upon which he objects to the use of "kinds of tongues" in public is that all the gifted apparently speak at once (vv. , f. ). it will be remembered that all the charismata and their operations are described as due to the direct agency of the holy spirit (xii. ff.); and immediately following their enumeration, ending with "kinds of tongues" and "interpretation of tongues," the apostle resumes: v. . "but all these worketh the one and the same spirit, dividing to each severally as he wills;" and in acts ii. the brethren are represented as speaking with tongues "as the spirit gave them utterance." now the first thought which presents itself is: how can a gift which is due to the direct working of the holy spirit possibly be abused? we must remember clearly that the speech is not expressive of the understanding of the speaker. the [------] spoke under the inspiration of the supernatural agent, what neither they nor others understood. is it permissible to suppose that the holy spirit could inspire speech with tongues at an unfitting time? can we imagine that this spirit can actually have prompted many people to speak at one and the same time to the utter disturbance of order? is not such a gift of tongues more like the confusion of tongues in babel( ) { } than a christian charisma? "and the lord said:...go to, let us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."( ) in spite of his abstract belief in the divine origin of the charisma, paul's language unconsciously betrays practical doubt as to its character. does not such sarcasm as the following seem extremely indecorous when criticising a result produced directly by the holy spirit? (xiv. ) "if, therefore, the whole church be come into one place and all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned and unbelieving persons will they not say that ye are mad?" at pentecost such an assembly was supposed to be drunken.( ) the whole of the counsel of the apostle upon this occasion really amounts to an injunction to quench the spirit. it is quite what might be expected in the case of the excitement of ecstatic religion, that the strong emotion should principally find vent in the form of prayer and praise (vv. ff.), equally so that it should be unintelligible and that no one should know when to say "amen" (v. ), and that all should speak at once, and still more so that the practical result should be tumult (vv. , ). all this, it might appear, could be produced without the intervention of the holy spirit. so far, is there and utility in the miracle? but we are told that it is "for a sign." paul argues upon this point in a highly eccentric manner. he quotes (v. ) isaiah xxviii. , , in a form neither agreeing with the septuagint nor with the hebrew, a passage which has merely a superficial and verbal analogy with the gift of tongues, but whose real { } historical meaning has no reference to it whatever: "in the law it is written, that with men of other tongues and with the lips of others will i speak unto this people; and yet for all that they will not hear me, saith the lord." the apostle continues with singular logic: "so that [------] the tongues are for a sign [------] not to those who believe but to the unbelieving; but prophecy is not for the unbelieving but for those who believe. if, therefore, the whole church be come into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned or unbelieving persons, will they not say that ye are mad? but if all prophesy and there come in an unbeliever... he is convicted by all... and so falling on his face he will worship god, reporting that god is indeed in you." the apostle himself shows that the tongues cannot be considered a sign by unbelievers, upon whom, apparently, they produce no other impression than that the speakers are mad or drunken. under any circumstances, the "kinds of tongues" described by the apostle are a very sorry specimen of the "signs and wonders and powers" of which we have heard so much. it is not surprising that the apostle prefers exhortation in a familiar tongue. in an ecstatic state, men are incapable of edifying others: we shall presently see how far they can edify themselves. paul utters the pith of the whole matter at the very outset of his homily, when he prefers exhortation to kinds of tongues: v. . "for he that speaketh with a tongue speaketh not unto men but unto god: for no one under-standeth, but in spirit he speaketh mysteries" [------]. it is not possible to read his words without the impression that the apostle treats the whole subject with suppressed impatience. his mind was too prone to believe in spiritual mysteries, and his nervous { } nature too susceptible to religious emotion and enthusiasm to permit him clearly to recognize the true character of the gift of "tongues;" but his good sense asserted itself and, after protesting that he would rather speak five words with his understanding than ten thousand words in a tongue, he breaks off with the characteristic exclamation (v. ): "brethren, become not children in your minds" [------]. the advice is not yet out of place. what was the private utility or advantage of the supernatural gift? how did he who spoke with a tongue edify himself? (v. .) paul clearly states that he does not edify the church (vv. ff.). in the passage just quoted the apostle, however, says that the speaker "with a tongue" "speaketh to god"; and further on (vv. , ) he implies that, although he himself does not use the gift in public, he does so in private. he admonishes (v. ) any one gifted with tongues, if there be no interpreter present, to "keep silence in a church, but let him speak to himself and to god." but in what does the personal edification of the individual consist? in employing language, which he does not comprehend, in private prayer and praise? in addressing god in some unintelligible jargon, in the utterance of which his understanding has no part? many strange purposes and proceedings have been attributed to the supreme being, but probably none has been imagined more incongruous than a gift of tongues unsuitable for the edification of others, and not intelligible to the recipient, but considered an edifying substitute in private devotion for his own language. this was certainly not the form of prayer which jesus taught his disciples.( ) and this gift was valued { } more highly in the corinthian church than all the rest! do we not get an instructive insight into the nature of the other charismata from this suggestive fact? the reality of miracles does not seem to be demonstrated by these chapters.( ) we have already stated that the vast majority of critics explain [------] as speech in an ecstatic condition;( ) and all the phenomena described by paul closely correspond with the utterance of persons in a state of extreme religious enthusiasm, and excitement, of which many illustrations might be given from other religions before and since the commencement of our era, as well as in the history of christianity in early and recent times. every one knows of the proceedings of the heathen oracles, the wild writhings and cries of the pythoness and the mystic utterances of the sibyl. in the old testament there is allusion to the ecstatic emotion of the prophets in the account of saul, sara. xix. ; cf. isaiah viii. , xxix. . the montanists exhibited similar phenomena, and tertullian has recorded several instances of such religious excitement, to which we have elsewhere referred. chrysostora had to repress paroxysms of pious excitement closely resembling these in the fourth century;( ) and even down to our own times instances have never been wanting of this form of hysterical religion. into none of this can we enter here. enough, we trust, has been said to show the true character of the supposed supernatural charismata of paul from his own account of them, and the information contained in his epistles. { } although we have been forced to examine in considerable detail the passages in the writings of paul cited by apologists in support of miracles, the study is one of great value to our inquiry. these are the only passages which we possess in which a contemporary and eye-witness describes what he considers supernatural phenomena, and conveys to us his impression of miraculous agency. instead of traditional reports of miracles narrated by writers who are unknown, and who did not witness the occurrences in question, we have here a trustworthy witness dealing with matters in which he was personally interested, and writing a didactic homily upon the nature and operation of charismata, which he believed to be miraculous and conferred upon the church by the immediate agency of the holy spirit. the nineteenth century here comes into direct contact with the age of miracles, but at the touch the miracles vanish, and that which, seen through the golden mist of pious tradition, seems to possess unearthly power and beauty, on closer examination dwindles into the prose of every day life. the more minutely reported miracles are scanned, the more unreal they are recognized to be. the point to which we now desire to call attention, however, is the belief and the mental constitution of paul. we have seen something of the nature and operation of the gift of tongues. that the phenomena described proceeded from an ecstatic state, into which persons of highly excitable nervous organization are very liable to fall under the operation of strong religious impressions, can scarcely be doubted. eminent apologists( ) have gravely illustrated the phenomena by the analogy of mesmerism, { } somnambulism and the effects of magnetism. paul asserts that he was subject to the influence, whatever it was, more than anyone, and there is nothing which is more credible than the statement, or more characteristic of the apostle. we desire to speak of him with the profoundest respect and admiration. we know more, from his epistles, of the intimate life and feelings of the great apostle of the gentiles than of any other man of the apostolic age, and it is impossible not to feel warm sympathy with his noble and generous character. the history of christianity, after the death of its founder, would sink almost into common-place if the grand figure of paul were blotted from its pages. but it is no detraction to recognize that his nervous temperament rendered him peculiarly susceptible of those religious impressions which result in conditions of ecstatic trance, to which, as we actually learn from himself, he was exceptionally subject. the effects of this temperament probably first made him a christian; and to his enthusiastic imagination we owe most of the supernatural dogmas of the religion which he adopted and transformed. one of these trances the apostle himself recounts,( ) always with the cautious reserve: "whether in the body or out of the body i know not, god knoweth," how he was caught up to the third heaven, and in paradise heard unutterable words which it is not lawful for a man to speak; in immediate connection with which he continues: "and lest i should be exalted above measure by the excess of the revelations, there was given to me a stake [------] in the flesh, an angel of satan to buffet me"( ) this was one of { } the "visions [------] and revelations [------] of the lord" of which he speaks, and of which he had such an excess to boast. can any one doubt that this was nearly akin to the state of ecstatic trance in which he spoke with tongues more than all the corinthians? does any one suppose that paul, "whether in the body or out of the body," was ever actually caught up into "the third heaven," wherever that may be? or doubt that this was simply one of the pious hallucinations which visit those who are in such a state? if we are seriously to discuss the point,--it is clear that evidence of such a thing is out of the question; that paul himself admits that he cannot definitely describe what happened; that we have no other ground for considering the matter than the apostle's own mysterious utterance; that it is impossible for a person subject to such visions and hallucinations to distinguish between reality and seeming; that this narrative has not only all the character of hallucination, but no feature of sober fact; and finally that, whilst it accords with all experiences of visionary hallucination, it contradicts all experience of practical life. we have seen that paul believes in the genuineness and supernatural origin of the divine charismata, and he in like manner believes in the reality of his visions and revelations. he has equal reason, or want of reason, in both cases. what, however, was the nature of the "stake in the flesh" which, upon the theory of the diabolical origin of disease, he calls "an angel of satan to buffet me"? there have been many conjectures offered, but one explanation which has been advanced by able critics has special force and probability. it is suggested that this "stake in the flesh," which almost all now at { } least recognise to have been some physical malady, and very many suppose to have been headache or some other similar periodical and painful affection, was in reality a form of epilepsy.( ) it has been ably argued that the representation of the malady as "an angel of satan" to buffet him, directly connects it with nervous disorders like epilepsy, which the jews especially ascribed to diabolical influence; and the mention of this [------] in immediate continuation of his remarks on "visions" and "revelations," which a tendency to this very malady would so materially assist in producing, further confirms the conjecture.( ) no one can deny, and medical and psychological annals prove, that many men have been subject to visions and hallucinations which have never been seriously attributed to supernatural causes. there is not one single valid reason removing the ecstatic visions and trances of the apostle paul from this class. we do not yet discuss the supposed vision in which he saw the risen jesus, though it is no exception to the rest, but reserve it for the next chapter. at present, it suffices that we point out the bearing of our examination of paul's general testimony to miracles upon our future consideration of his evidence for the resurrection. if it be admitted that his judgment as to the miraculous character of the charismata is fallacious, and that what he considered miraculous were simply natural phenomena, the theory of the reality of miracles { } becomes less tenable than ever. and if, further, it be recognized, as we think it necessarily must be, that paul was subject to natural ecstatic trances, with all their accompanying forms of nervous excitement: "kinds of tongues," visions, and religious hallucinations, a strong and clear light will fall upon his further testimony for miraculous occurrences which we shall shortly have before us. part vi. the resurrection and ascension chapter i. the relation of evidence to subject when the evidence of the gospels regarding the great central dogmas of ecclesiastical christianity is shown to be untrustworthy and insufficient, apologists appeal with confidence to the testimony of the apostle paul. we presume that it is not necessary to show that, in fact, the main weight of the case rests upon his epistles, as undoubted documents of the apostolic age, written some thirty or forty years after the death of the master. the retort has frequently been made to the earlier portion of this work that, so long as the evidence of paul remains unshaken, the apologetic position is secure. we may quote a few lines from an able work, part of a passage discussed in the preceding chapter, as a statement of the case: "in the first place, merely as a matter of historical attestation, the gospels are not the strongest evidence for the christian miracles. only one of the four, in its present shape, is claimed as the work of an apostle, and of that the genuineness is disputed. the acts of the apostles stand upon very much the { } same footing with the synoptic gospels, and of this book, we are promised a further examination. but we possess at least some undoubted writings of one who was himself a chief actor in the events which followed immediately upon those recorded in the gospels; and in these undoubted writings st. paul certainly shows by incidental allusions, the good faith of which cannot be questioned, that he believed himself to be endowed with the power of working miracles, and that miracles, or what were thought to be such, were actually wrought by him and by his contemporaries..... besides these allusions, st. paul repeatedly refers to the cardinal miracles of the resurrection and ascension; he refers to them as notorious and unquestionable facts at a time when such an assertion might have been easily refuted. on one occasion he gives a very circumstantial account of the testimony on which the belief in the resurrection rested ( cor. xv. - ). and not only does he assert the resurrection as a fact, but he builds upon it a whole scheme of doctrine: 'if christ be not risen,' he says, 'then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.' we do not stay now to consider the exact philosophical weight of this evidence. it will be time enough to do this when it has received the critical discussion that may be presumed to be in store for it but as external evidence, in the legal sense, it is probably the best that can be produced, and it has been entirely untouched so far."( ) we have already disposed of the "allusions" above referred to. we shall in due time deal with the rest of the statements in this passage, but at present it is sufficient to agree at { } least with the remark that, "as external evidence," the testimony of paul "is probably the best that can be produced." we know at least who the witness really is, which is an advantage denied us in the case of the gospels. it would be premature to express surprise, however, that we find the case of miracles, and more especially of such stupendous miracles as the resurrection and ascension, practically resting upon the testimony of a single witness. this thought will intrude itself, but cannot at present be pursued. the allegation which we have to examine is that the founder of christianity, after being dead and buried, rose from the dead and did not again die, but after remaining sometime with his disciples ascended with his body into heaven.( ) it is unnecessary to complicate the question by adding the other doctrines regarding the miraculous birth and divine origin and personality of jesus. in the problem before us, certain objective facts are asserted which admit of being judicially tested. we have nothing to do here with the vague modern representation of these events, by means of which the objective facts vanish, and are replaced by subjective impressions and tricks of consciousness or symbols of spiritual life. those who adopt such views have, of course, abandoned all that is real and supernatural in the supposed events. the resurrection and ascension which we have to deal with are events precisely as objective and real as the in the articles of the church of england this is expressed as follows: art. ii. ".....who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, &c., &c." art. iii. "as christ died for us, and was buried; so also it is to be believed that he went down into hell." art iv. "christ did truly rise again from death, and took again hie body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all men at the last day." { } death and burial,--no ideal process figured by the imagination or embodiments of christian hope, but tangible realities, historical occurrences in the sense of ordinary life. if jesus, after being crucified, dead and buried, did not physically rise again from the dead, and in the flesh,( ) without again dying, "ascend into heaven," the whole case falls to the ground. these incidents, although stupendous miracles, must have been actual occurrences. if they did not really take place, our task is at an end. if it be asserted that they really did take place their occurrence must be attested by adequate evidence. apologists, whilst protesting that the occurrences in question are believed upon ordinary historical evidence, and that christianity requires no indulgence, but submits itself to the same tests as any other affirmation, do not practically act upon this principle; but, as soon as it is enunciated, introduce a variety of special pleas which remove the case from the domain of history into that of theology, and proceed upon one assumption after another until the fundamental facts become enveloped and, so to say, protected from judicial criticism by a cloud of religious dogmas and hypotheses.( ) by confining our attention to the simple facts which form the basis of the whole superstructure of ecclesiastical christianity, we may avoid much confusion of ideas, and the disappearance of the body from the sepulchre, a point much insisted upon, could have had no significance or reality if the body did not rise and afterwards ascend. a work of this kind may be mentioned in illustration: dr. west-cott's "gospel of the resurrection." the argument of this work is of unquestionable ability, but it is chiefly remarkable, we think, for the manner in which the direct evidence is hurried over, and a mass of assertions and assumptions, the greater part of which is utterly untenable and inadmissible, is woven into specious and eloquent pleading, and does duty for substantial testimony. { } restrict the field of inquiry to reasonable limits. we propose, therefore, to limit our investigation to the evidence for the reality of the resurrection and ascension. what evidence could be regarded as sufficient to establish the reality of such supposed occurrences? the question is one which demands the serious attention and consideration of every thoughtful man. it is obvious that the amount of evidence requisite to satisfy our minds as to the truth of any statement should be measured by the nature of the statement made and, we may as well add, by its practical importance to ourselves. the news that a man was married or a child born last week is received without doubt, because men are married and children are born every day; and although such pieces of gossip are frequently untrue, nothing appears more natural or in accordance with our experience. if we take more distant and less familiar events we have no doubt that a certain monarch was crowned, and that he subsequently died some centuries ago. if we ask for the evidence for the statement, nothing may be forthcoming of a very minute or indubitable nature. no absolute eye-witness of the coronation may have left a clear and detailed narrative of the ceremony; and possibly there may no longer be extant a sufficiently attested document proving with certainty the death of the monarch. there are several considerations, however, which make us perfectly satisfied with the evidence, incomplete as it may be. monarchs are generally crowned and invariably die; and the statement that any one particular monarch was crowned and died is so completely in conformity with experience, that we have no hesitation in believing it in the specific case. we are satisfied to believe such { } ordinary statements upon very slight evidence, both because our experience prepares us to believe that they are true, and because we do not much care whether they are true or not. if life, or even succession to an estate, depended upon either event, the demand for evidence, even in such simple matters, would be immensely intensified. the converse of the statement, however, would not meet with the same reception. would anyone believe the affirmation that alfred the great, for instance, did not die at all? what amount of evidence would be required before such a statement could be pronounced sufficiently attested? universal experience would be so uniformly opposed to the assertion that such a phenomenon had taken place, that probably no evidence which could readily be conceived could ensure the belief of more than a credulous few. the assertion that a man actually died and was buried, and yet afterwards rose from the dead, is still more at variance with human experience. the prolongation of life to long periods is comparatively consistent with experience; and if a life extending to several centuries be incredible it is only so in degree, and is not absolutely contrary to the order of nature, which certainly under present conditions does not favour the supposition of such lengthened existence, but still does not fix hard and fast limits to the life of man. the resurrection of a man who has once been absolutely dead, however, is contrary to all human experience, and to all that we know of the order of nature. if to this we add the assertion that the person so raised from the dead never again died, but after continuing some time longer on earth, ascended bodily to some invisible and inconceivable place called heaven, there to "sit at the right hand of god," the shock to reason and common { } sense becomes so extreme, that it is difficult even to realize the nature of the affirmation. it would be hopeless to endeavour to define the evidence which could establish the reality of the alleged occurrences. as the central doctrines of a religion upon which the salvation of the human race is said to depend, we are too deeply interested to be satisfied with slight evidence or no evidence at all. it has not unfrequently been made a reproach that forensic evidence is required of the reality of divine revelation. such a course is regarded as perfectly preposterous, whether the test be applied to the primary assertion that a revelation has been made at all, or to its contents. what kind of evidence then are we permitted decorously to require upon so momentous a subject? apparently, just so much as apologists can conveniently set before us, and no more. the evidence deemed necessary for the settlement of a scotch peerage case, or a disputed will, is, we do not hesitate to say, infinitely more complete than that which it is thought either pious or right to expect in the case of religion. the actual occurrence of the resurrection and ascension, however, is certainly a matter of evidence and, to retort, it is scarcely decent that any man should be required to believe what is so opposed to human experience, upon more imperfect evidence than is required for the transfer of land or the right to a title, simply because ecclesiastical dogmas are founded upon them, and it is represented that unless they be true "our hope is vain." the testimony requisite to establish the reality of such stupendous miracles can scarcely be realized. proportionately, it should be as unparalleled in its force as those events are in fact. one point, moreover, must never be forgotten. human testimony is exceedingly fallible at its { } best it is liable to error from innumerable causes, and most of all, probably, when religious excitement is present, and disturbing elements of sorrow, fear, doubt, or enthusiasm interfere with the calmness of judgment. when any assertion is made which contradicts unvarying experience, upon evidence which experience knows to be universally liable to error, there cannot be much hesitation in disbelieving the assertion and preferring belief in the order of nature. and when evidence proceeds from an age not only highly exposed to error, from ignorance of natural laws, superstition, and religious excitement, but prolific in fabulous reports and untenable theories, it cannot be received without the gravest suspicion. we make these brief remarks, in anticipation, as nothing is more essential in the discussion upon which we are about to enter than a proper appreciation of the allegations which are to be tested, and of the nature of the testimony required for their belief. we shall not limit our inquiry to the testimony of paul, but shall review the whole of the evidence adduced for the resurrection and ascension. hitherto, our examination of the historical books of the new testament has been mainly for the purpose of ascertaining their character, and the value of their evidence for miracles and the reality of divine revelation. it is unnecessary for us here minutely to recapitulate the results. the acts of the apostles, we have shown, cannot be received as testimony of the slightest weight upon any of the points before us. written by an unknown author, who was not an eye-witness of the miracles related; who describes events not as they occurred, but as his pious imagination supposed they ought to have occurred; who seldom touches history without transforming it by legend until the { } original elements can scarcely be distinguished; who puts his own words and sentiments into the mouths of the apostles and other persons of his narrative; and who represents almost every phase of the church in the apostolic age as influenced, or directly produced, by means of supernatural agency; such a work is of no value as evidence for occurrences which are in contradiction to all human experience. briefly to state the case of the gospels in other words than our own, we repeat the honest statement of the able writer quoted at the beginning of this chapter: "in the first place, merely as a matter of historical attestation, the gospels are not the strongest evidence for the christian miracles. only one of the four, in its present shape, is claimed as the work of an apostle, and of that the genuineness is disputed."(l) we may add that the third synoptic does not, in the estimation of any one who has examined the acts of the apostles, gain additional credibility by being composed by the same author as the latter work. the writers of the four gospels are absolutely unknown to us, and in the case of three of them, it is not even affirmed that they were eyewitnesses of the resurrection and ascension and other miracles narrated. the undeniably doubtful authorship of the fourth gospel, not to make a more positive statement here, renders this work, which was not written until upwards of half a century, at the very least, after the death of jesus, incapable of proving anything in regard to the resurrection and ascension. a much stronger statement might be made, but we refer readers to our former volumes, and we shall learn something more of the character of the gospel narratives as we proceed. although we cannot attach any value to the gospels { } as evidence, we propose, before taking the testimony of paul, to survey the various statements made by them regarding the astounding miracles we are discussing. enough has been said to show that we cannot accept any statement as true simply because it is made by a gospel or gospels. when it is related in the first synoptic, for instance, that pilate took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "i am innocent of this man's blood: see ye to it,"( )--an incident to which no reference, be it said in passing, is made by the other evangelists, although it is sufficiently remarkable to have deserved notice,--we cannot of course assume that pilate actually said or did anything of the kind. a comparison of the various accounts of the resurrection and ascension, however, and careful examination of their details, will be of very great use, by enabling us to appreciate the position of the case apart from the evidence of paul. the indefinite impression fostered by apologists, that the evidence of the gospels supplements and completes the evidence of the apostle, and forms an aggregate body of testimony of remarkable force and volume, must be examined, and a clear conception formed of the whole case. one point may at once be mentioned before we enter upon our examination of the gospels. the evangelists narrate such astonishing occurrences as the resurrection and ascension with perfect composure and absence of surprise. this characteristic is even made an argument for the truth of their narrative. the impression made upon our minds, however, is the very reverse of that which apologists desire us to receive. the writers do not in the least degree seem to have realised the { } exceptional character of the occurrences they relate, and betray the assurance of persons writing in an ignorant and superstitious age, whose minds have become too familiar with the supernatural to be at all surprised either by a resurrection from the dead or a bodily ascension. miracles in their eyes have lost their strangeness and seem quite common-place. it will be seen as we examine the narratives that a stupendous miracle, or a convulsion of nature, is thrown in by one or omitted by another as a mere matter of detail. an earthquake and the resurrection of many bodies of saints are mere trifles which can be inserted without wonder or omitted without regret the casual and momentary expression of hesitation to believe, which is introduced, is evidently nothing more than a rhetorical device to heighten the reality of the scene. it would have been infinitely more satisfactory had we been able to perceive that these witnesses, instead of being genuine denizens of the age of miracles, had really understood the astounding nature of the occurrences they report, and did not consider a miracle the most natural thing in the world. chapter ii. the evidence of the gospels in order more fully to appreciate the nature of the narratives which the four evangelists give of the last hours of the life of jesus, we may take them up at the point where, mocked and buffeted by the roman soldiers, he is finally led away to be crucified. let no one suppose that, in freely criticising the gospels, we regard without emotion the actual incidents which lie at the bottom of these narratives. no one can form to himself any adequate conception of the terrible sufferings of the master, maltreated and insulted by a base and brutal multitude, too degraded to understand his noble character, and too ignorant to appreciate his elevated teaching, without pain; and to follow his course from the tribunal which sacrificed him to jewish popular clamour to the spot where he ended a brief but self-sacrificing life by the shameful death of a slave may well make sympathy take the place of criticism. profound veneration for the great teacher, however, and earnest interest in all that concerns his history rather command serious and unhesitating examination of the statements made with regard to him, than discourage an attempt to ascertain the truth; and it would be anything but respect for his memory to accept without question the gospel accounts of his life { } simply because they were composed with the desire to glorify him. according to the synoptics, when jesus is led away to be crucified, the roman guard entrusted with the duty of executing the cruel sentence find a man of cyrene, simon by name, and compel him to carry the cross.( ) it was customary for those condemned to crucifixion to carry the cross, or at least the main portion of it, themselves to the place of execution, and no explanation is given by the synoptists for the deviation from this practice which they relate. the fourth gospel, however, does not appear to know anything of this incident or of simon of cyrene, but distinctly states that jesus bore his own cross.( ) on the way to golgotha, according to the third gospel, jesus is followed by a great multitude of the people, and of women who were bewailing and lamenting him, and he addresses to them a few prophetic sentences.( ) we might be surprised at the singular fact that there is no reference to this incident in any other gospel, and that words of jesus, so weighty in themselves and spoken at so supreme a moment, should not elsewhere have been recorded, but for the fact that, from internal evidence, the address must be assigned to a period subsequent to the destruction of jerusalem. the other evangelists may, therefore, well ignore it. { } it was the custom to give those about to be crucified a draught of wine containing some strong opiate, which in some degree alleviated the intense suffering of that mode of death. mark( ) probably refers to this (xv. ) when he states that, on reaching the place of execution, "they gave him wine [------] mingled with myrrh." the fourth gospel has nothing of this. matthew says (xxvii. ): "they gave him vinegar [------] to drink mingled with gall"( ) [------]. even if, instead of [------] with the alexandrian and a majority of mss., we read [------], "wine," with the sinaitic, vatican, and some other ancient codices, this is a curious statement, and is well worthy of a moment's notice as suggestive of the way in which these narratives were written. the conception of a suffering messiah, it is well known, was more particularly supported, by new testament writers, by attributing a messianic character to ps. xxii., lxix., and isaiah liii., and throughout the narrative of the passion we are perpetually referred to these and other scriptures as finding their fulfilment in the sufferings of jesus. the first synoptist found in ps. lxix. (sept. lxviii. ): "they gave me also gall [------] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar [------] to drink;" and apparently in order to make the supposed fulfilment correspond as closely as possible, he combined the "gall" of the food with the vinegar or wine in strangely literal fashion,( ) very characteristic, however, of we shall, for the sake of brevity, call the gospels by the names assigned to them in the canon. there have been many attempts to explain away [------], and to make it mean either a species of vermuth or any bitter substance (olahausen, leidensgeech., ); but the great mass of critics rightly retain its meaning, "gall." so ewald, meyer, bleek, strauss, weisse, schenkel, yolk-mar, alford, wordsworth, &c, &c. { } the whole of the evangelists. luke, who seems not to have understood the custom known perhaps to mark, represents (xxiii. ) the soldiers as mocking jesus by "offering him vinegar "(l) [------]; he omits the gall, but probably refers to the same psalm without being so falsely literal as matthew. we need not enter into the discussion as to the chronology of the passion week, regarding which there is so much discrepancy in the accounts of the fourth gospel and of the synoptics, nor shall we pause minutely to deal with the irreconcilable difference which, it is admitted,( ) exists in their statement of the hours at which the events of the last fatal day occurred. the fourth gospel (xix. ) represents pilate as bringing jesus forth to the jews "about the sixth hour" (noon). mark (xv. ), in obvious agreement with the other synoptics as further statements prove, distinctly says: "and it was the third hour ( o'clock a.m.), and they crucified him." at the sixth hour (noon), according to the three synoptists, there was darkness over the earth till about the ninth hour ( o'clock p.m.), shortly after which time luke omits the subsequent offer of "vinegar" (probably the pasco of the roman soldiers) mentioned by the other evangelists. we presume the reference in xxiii. to be the same as the act described in mt xxvii. and mk. xv. . { } jesus expired.( ) as, according to the fourth gospel, the sentence was not even passed before midday, and some time must be allowed for preparation and going to the place of execution, it is clear that there is a very wide discrepancy between the hours at which jesus was crucified and died, unless, as regards the latter point, we take agreement in all as to the hour of death. in this case, commencing at the hour of the fourth gospel and ending with that of the synoptics, jesus must have expired after being less than three hours on the cross. according to the synoptics, and also, if we assign a later hour for the death, according to the fourth gospel, he cannot have been more than six hours on the cross. we shall presently see that this remarkably rapid death has an important bearing upon the history and the views formed regarding it. it is known that crucifixion, besides being the most shameful mode of death, and indeed chiefly reserved for slaves and the lowest criminals, was one of the most lingering and atrociously cruel punishments ever invented by the malignity of man. persons crucified, it is stated and admitted,( ) generally lived for at least twelve hours, and sometimes even survived the excruciating tortures of the cross for three days. we shall not further anticipate remarks which must hereafter be made regarding this. we need not do more than again point out that no two of the gospels agree upon so simple, yet important, a point as the inscription on the cross.( ) it is argued that "a close { } examination of the narratives furnishes no sufficient reason for supposing that all proposed to give the same or the entire inscription," and, after some curious reasoning, it is concluded that "there is at least no possibility of showing any inconsistency on the strictly literal interpretation of the words of the evangelist."( ) on the contrary, we had ventured to suppose that, in giving a form of words said to have been affixed to the cross, the evangelists intended to give the form actually used, and consequently "the same" and "entire inscription," which must have been short; and we consider it quite inconceivable that such was not their deliberate intention, however imperfectly fulfilled. we pass on merely to notice a curious point in connection with an incident related by all the gospels. it is stated that the roman soldiers who crucified jesus divided his garments amongst them, casting lots to determine what part each should take. the clothing of criminals executed was the perquisite of the soldiers who performed the duty, and there is nothing improbable in the story that the four soldiers decided by lot the partition of the garments--indeed there is every reason to suppose that such was the practice. the incident is mentioned as the direct fulfilment of the. ps. xxii. , which is quoted literally from the septuagint version (xxi. ) by the author of the fourth gospel. he did not, however, understand the passage, or disregarded its true meaning,( ) and in order to make the incident accord { } better, as he supposed, with the prophetic psalm, he represents that the soldiers amicably parted the rest of his garments amongst them without lot, but cast lots for the coat, which was without seam: xix. . "they said, therefore, among themselves: let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled: they parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. these things, therefore, the soldiers did." the evangelist does not perceive that the two parts of the sentence in the psalm really refer to the same action, but exhibits the partition of the garments and the lots for the vesture as separately fulfilled. the synoptists apparently divide the whole by lot.( ) they do not expressly refer to the psalm, however, except in the received text of matth. xxvii. , into which and some other mss. the quotation has been interpolated.( ) that the narrative of the gospels, instead of being independent and genuine history, is constructed upon the lines of supposed messianic psalms and passages of the old testament will become increasingly evident as we proceed. it is stated by all the gospels that two malefactors--the first and second calling them "robbers"--were crucified with jesus, the one on the right hand and the other on the left. the statement in mark xv. , that this fulfilled isaiah liii. , which is found in our received text, is omitted by all the oldest codices, and is an interpolation,( ) but we shall hereafter have to speak of this point in connection with another matter, and we now "certainly an interpolation." wettcott, int. to study of gospels, p. , n. . "certainly an interpolation." westcott, lb. p. , n. . { } merely point out that, though the verse was thus inserted here, it is placed in the mouth of jesus himself by the third synoptist (xxii. ), and the whole passage from which it was taken has evidently largely influenced the composition of the narrative before us. according to the first and second gospels,( ) the robbers joined with the chief priests and the scribes and elders and those who passed by in mocking and reviling jesus. this is directly contradicted by the third synoptist, who states that only one of the malefactors did so (xxiii. flf.): "but the other answering rebuked him and said: dost thou not even fear god seeing thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man did nothing amiss. and he said: jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. and he said unto him: verily, i say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." it requires very little examination to detect that this story is legendary,( ) and cannot be maintained as historical. those who dwell upon its symbolical character( ) do nothing to establish its veracity. this exemplary robber speaks like an apostle, and in praying jesus as the messiah to remember him when he came into his kingdom, he shows much more than apostolic appreciation of the claims and character of jesus. the { } reply of jesus, moreover, contains a statement not only wholly contradictory of jewish belief as to the place of departed spirits, but of all christian doctrine at the time as to the descent of jesus into hades. into this, however, it is needless for us to go.( ) not only do the other gospels show no knowledge of so interesting an episode, but, as we have pointed out, the first and second synoptics positively exclude it. we shall see, moreover, that there is a serious difficulty in understanding how this conversation on the cross, which is so exclusively the property of the third synoptist, could have been reported to him. the synoptics represent the passers by and the chief priests, scribes, and elders, as mocking jesus as he hung on the cross. the fourth gospel preserves total silence as to all this. it is curious, also, that the mocking is based upon that described in the psalm xxii., to which we have already several times had to refer. in v. f. we have: "all they that see me laughed me to scorn: they shot out the lip; they shook the head (saying), . he trusted on the lord, let him deliver him, let him save him (seeing) that he delighteth in him."( ) compare with this mt. xxvii. ff., mk. xv. ff., luke xxiii . is it possible to suppose that the chief priests and elders and scribes could actually have quoted the words of this psalm, there put into the mouth of the psalmist's enemies, as the first synoptist represents (xxvii )?( ) it is obvious that the speeches ascribed { } to the chief priests and elders can be nothing more than the expressions which the writers considered suitable to them, and the fact that they seek their inspiration in a psalm which they suppose to be messianic is suggestive. we have already mentioned that the fourth gospel says nothing of any mocking speeches. the author, however, narrates an episode (xix. - ) in which the dying jesus is represented as confiding his mother to the care of "the disciple whom he loved," of which in their turn the synoptists seem to be perfectly ignorant. we have already elsewhere remarked that there is no evidence whatever that there was any disciple whom jesus specially loved, except the repeated statement in this gospel. no other work of the new testament contains a hint of such an individual, and much less that he was the apostle john. nor is there any evidence that any one of the disciples took the mother of jesus to his own home. there is, therefore, no external confirmation of this episode; but there is, on the contrary, much which leads to the conclusion that it is not historical.( ) there has been much discussion as to whether four women are mentioned (xix. ), or whether "his mother's sister" is represented as "mary, the wife of clopas," or was a different person. there are, we think, reasons for concluding that there were four, but in the doubt we shall not base any argument on the point. the synoptics( ) distinctly state that "the women that followed him from galilee," among which were "mary magdalene and mary { } the mother of james and joseph and the mother of zebedee's sons,"(l) and, as the third synoptic says, "all his acquaintance"( ) were standing "afar off" [------]. they are unanimous in saying this, and there is every reason for supposing that they are correct.( ) this is consequently a contradiction of the account in the fourth gospel that john and the women were standing "by the cross of jesus." olshausen, lucke and others suggest that they subsequently came from a distance up to the cross, but the statement of the synoptists is made at the close, and after this scene is supposed to have taken place. the opposite conjecture, that from standing close to the cross they removed to a distance has little to recommend it. both explanations are equally arbitrary and unsupported by evidence. it may be well, in connection with this, to refer to the various sayings and cries ascribed by the different evangelists to jesus on the cross. we have already mentioned the conversation with the "penitent thief," which is peculiar to the third gospel, and now that with the "beloved disciple," which is only in the fourth. the third synoptic( ) states that, on being crucified, jesus said, "father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," a saying which is in the spirit of jesus and worthy of him, but of which the other gospels do not take any notice.( ) the fourth gospel again has a cry (xix. ): "after this, jesus knowing that all things are now fulfilled, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith: { } i thirst."( ) the majority of critics( ) understand by this that "i thirst" is said in order "that the scripture might be fulfilled" by the offer of the vinegar, related in the following verse. the scripture referred to is of course ps. lxix. : "they gave me also gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar [------] to drink;" which we have already quoted in connection with matth. xxvii. . the third synoptic (xxiii. ) represents the vinegar as being offered in mockery at a much earlier period, and matthew and mark( ) connect the offer of the vinegar with quite a different cry from that in the fourth gospel. nothing could be more natural than that, after protracted agony, the patient sufferer should cry: "i thirst," but the dogmatic purpose, which dictates the whole narrative in the fourth gospel, is rendered obvious by the reference of such a cry to a supposed messianic prophecy. this is further displayed by the statement (v. ) that the sponge with vinegar was put "upon hyssop" [------],--the two synoptics have "on a reed" [------],--which the author probably uses in association with the paschal lamb,( ) an idea present to his mind throughout the { } passion. the first and second synoptics( ) represent the last cry of jesus to have been a quotation from ps. xxii. : "eli (or mk., eloi), eli, lema sabacthani? that is to say: my god, my god, why didst thou forsake me?" this, according to them, evidently, was the last articulate utterance of the expiring master, for they merely add that "when he cried again with a loud voice," jesus yielded up his spirit.( ) neither of the other gospels has any mention of this cry. the third gospel substitutes: "and when jesus cried with a loud voice, he said: father, into thy hands i commend my spirit, and having said this he expired."( ) this is an almost literal quotation from the septuagint version of ps. xxxi. . the fourth gospel has a totally different cry (xix. ), for, on receiving the vinegar, which accomplished the scripture, he represents jesus as saying: "it is finished" [------], and immediately expiring. it will be observed that seven sayings are attributed to jesus on the cross, of which the first two gospels have only one, the third synoptic three, and the fourth gospel three. we do not intend to express any opinion here in favour of any of these, but we merely point out the remarkable fact that, with the exception of the one cry in the first two synoptics, each gospel has ascribed different sayings to the dying master, and not only no two of them agree, but in some important instances the statement of the one evangelist seems absolutely to exclude the accounts of the others. every one knows the hackneyed explanation of apologists, but in works which repeat each other so much elsewhere, it certainly is a curious phenomenon that there is so little { } agreement here. if all the master's disciples "forsook him and fled,"( ) and his few friends and acquaintances stood "afar off" regarding his sufferings, it is readily conceivable that pious tradition had unlimited play. we must, however, return to the cry recorded in matthew and mark,( ) the only one about which two witnesses agree. both of them give this quotation from ps. xxii. in aramaic: eli (mark: eloi), eli,( ) lema sabacthani. the purpose is clearly to enable the reader to understand what follows, which we quote from the first gospel: "and some of them that stood there, when they heard it said: this man calleth for elijah.... the rest said, let be, let us see whether elijah cometh to save him."( ) it is impossible to confuse "eli" or "eloi" with "elijahu"( ) and the explanations suggested by apologists are not sufficient to remove a difficulty which seems to betray the legendary character of the statement. the mistake of supposing that jesus called for elijah could not possibly have been made by those who spoke aramaic; that strangers not perfectly understanding aramaic should be here intended cannot be maintained, for the suggestion is represented as adopted by "the rest." the roman soldiers had probably never heard of elijah; and there is nothing whatever to support the allegation of mockery( ) as accounting for the singular { } episode. the verse of the psalm was too well known to the jews to admit of any suggested play upon words. the three synoptics state that, from the sixth hour (mid-day) to the ninth ( o'clock), "there was darkness over all the earth" [------].( ) the third gospel adds: "the sun having failed" [------]( ) by the term "all the earth" some critics( ) maintain that the evangelist merely meant the holy land,( ) whilst others hold that he uses the expression in its literal sense.( ) the fourth gospel takes no notice of this darkness. such a phenomenon is not a trifle to be ignored in any account of the crucifixion, if it actually occurred. the omission of all mention of it either amounts to a denial of its occurrence or betrays most suspicious familiarity with supernatural interference. there have been many efforts made to explain this darkness naturally, or at least to find some allusion to it in contemporary history, all of which have signally failed. as the moon was at the full, it is admitted that the darkness could not have been an eclipse.( ) the fathers { } appealed to phlegon the chronicler, who mentions( ) an eclipse of the sun about this period accompanied by an earthquake, and also to a similar occurrence referred to by eusebius,( ) probably quoted from the historian thallus, but, of course, modern knowledge has dispelled the illusion that these phenomena have any connection with the darkness we are discussing, and the theory that the evangelists are confirmed in their account by this evidence is now generally abandoned.( ) it is apart from our object to show how common it was amongst classical and other writers to represent nature as sympathising with national or social disasters;( ) and as a poetical touch this remarkable darkness of the synoptists, of which no one else knows anything, is quite intelligible. the statement, however, is as seriously and deliberately made as any other in their narrative, and does not add to its credibility. it is palpable that the account is mythical,( ) and it bears a strange likeness to passages in the old testament, from the imagery of which the representation in all probability was derived.( ) the first and second gospels state that when jesus { } cried with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."( ) the third synoptic associates this occurrence with the eclipse of the sun, and narrates it before the final cry and death of the master.( ) the fourth gospel takes no notice of so extraordinary a phenomenon. the question might be asked: how could the chief priests, who do not appear to have been at all convinced by such a miracle, but still continued their invincible animosity against the christian sect, reveal the occurrence of such a wonder, of which there is no mention elsewhere? here again the account is legendary and symbolical,( ) and in the spirit of the age of miracles.( ) the first synoptist, however, has further marvels to relate. he states in continuation of the passage quoted above: "and the earth was shaken [------] and the rocks were rent and the sepulchres were opened, and many bodies of the saints who slept were raised; and they came out of the sepulchres after his resurrection, and entered into the holy city and appeared unto many."( ) how great must be the amazement of anyone who may have been inclined to suppose the gospels soberly historical works, on finding that the other three evangelists do not even mention these { } astounding occurrences related by the first synoptist! an earthquake [------]( ) and the still more astounding resurrection of many saints who appeared unto "many," and, therefore, an event by no means secret and unknown to all but the writer, and yet three other writers, who give accounts of the crucifixion and death of jesus, and who enter throughout into very minute details, do not even condescend to mention them! nor does any other new testament writer chronicle them. it is unnecessary to say that the passage has been a very serious difficulty for apologists; and one of the latest writers of this school, reproducing the theories of earlier critics, deals with it in a life of christ, which "is avowedly and unconditionally the work of a believer,"( ) as follows: "an earthquake shook the earth and split the rocks, and as it rolled away from their places the great stones which closed and covered the cavern sepulchres of the jews, so it seemed to the imaginations of many to have disimprisoned the spirits of the dead, and to have filled the air with ghostly visitants, who after christ had risen appeared to linger in the holy city." in a note he adds "only in some such way as this can i account for the singular and wholly isolated allusion of matt. xxvii. , ."( ) it is worthy of note, and we may hereafter { } refer to the point, that learned divines thus do not scruple to adopt the "vision hypothesis" of the resurrection. even if the resurrection of the saints so seriously related by the evangelist be thus disposed of, and it be assumed that the other gospels, likewise adopting the "vision" explanation, consequently declined to give an objective place in their narrative to what they believed to be a purely subjective and unreal phenomenon, there still remains the earthquake, to which supernatural incident of the crucifixion none of the other evangelists think it worth while to refer. need we argue that the earthquake( ) is as mythical as the resurrection of the saints?( ) in some apocryphal writings even the names of some of these risen saints are given.( ) as the case actually stands, with these marvellous incidents related solely by the first synoptist and ignored by the other evangelists, it would seem superfluous to enter upon more detailed criticism of the passage, and to point out the incongruity of the { } fact that these saints are said to be raised from the dead just as the messiah expires, or the strange circumstance that, although the sepulchres are said to have been opened at that moment and the resurrection to have then taken place, it is stated that they only came out of their graves after the resurrection of jesus. the allegation, moreover, that they were raised from the dead at that time, and before the resurrection of jesus, virtually contradicts the saying of the apocalypse (i. ) that jesus was the "first begotten of the dead," and of paul ( cor. xv. ) that he was "the first fruits of them who have fallen asleep."( ) paul's whole argument is opposed to such a story; for he does not base the resurrection of the dead upon the death of jesus, but, in contradistinction, upon his resurrection only. the synoptist evidently desires to associate the resurrection of the saints with the death of jesus to render that event more impressive, but delays the completion of it in order to give a kind of precedence to the resurrection of the master. the attempt leads to nothing but confusion. what could be the object of such a resurrection? it could not be represented as any effect produced by the death of jesus, nor even by his alleged resurrection, for what dogmatic connection could there be between that event and the fact that a few saints only were raised from their graves, whilst it was not pretended that the dead "saints" generally participated in this resurrection? no intimation is given that their appearance to many was for any special purpose, and certainly no practical result has ever been traced to it. finally we might ask: what became of these saints raised from the dead? did they die again? or did they also "ascend into heaven?"( ) can the author of the apocalypse, or paul, ever have heard of the raising of lazarus? { } a little reflection will show that these questions are pertinent. it is almost inconceivable that any serious mind could maintain the actual truth of such a story, upon such evidence. its objective truth not being maintainable, however, the character of the work which advances such an unhesitating statement is determined, and at least the value of its testimony can without difficulty be settled. the continuation of this episode in the first synoptic is quite in keeping with its commencement. it is stated: "but when the centurion and they that were with him watching jesus saw the earthquake [------] and the things that were done [------] they feared greatly, saying, truly this was a son of god" [------].( ) in mark the statement is very curiously varied: "and when the centurion who stood over against him saw that he so expired, he said: truly this man was a son of god."( ) it is argued on the one hand that the centurion's wonder here was caused by jesus dying with so loud a cry, and the reading of many mss. would clearly support this;( ) and on the other that the cause of his exclamation was the unexpectedly rapid death of jesus. whichever view be taken, the centurion's deduction, it must be admitted, rests upon { } singularly inconclusive reasoning. we venture to think that it is impossible that a roman soldier could either have been led to form such an opinion upon such grounds, or to express it in such terms. in luke, we have a third reading: "but when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified god, saying: certainly this man was righteous"( ) [------]. there is nothing here about the "son of god;" but when the writer represents the roman soldier as glorifying god, the narrative does not seem much more probable than that of the other synoptists. the fourth evangelist of course does not refer to any such episode, but, as usual, he introduces a very remarkable incident of his own, of which the synoptists, who record such peculiar details of what passed, seem very strangely to know nothing. the fourth evangelist states: "the jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath-day was a high day), besought pilate that their legs might be broken and they might be taken away. so the soldiers came and brake the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him, but when they came to jesus, as they saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs; but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and water. and he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and that man knoweth that he saith what is true, that ye also may believe. for these things came to pass that the scripture might be fulfilled: a bone of him shall not be broken. and again another scripture saith: they shall look on him whom they pierced."( ) it is inconceivable that, if this { } actually occurred, and occurred more especially that the "scripture might be fulfilled," the other three evangelists could thus totally ignore it all.( ) the second synoptist does more: he not only ignores but excludes it, for (xv. f.) he represents joseph as begging the body of jesus from pilate "when evening was now come." "and pilate marvelled if he were already dead; and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been long dead. and when he knew it of the centurion he gave the corpse to joseph."( ) now, although there could be no doubt on the point, the fourth gospel clearly states (xix. , [------] that joseph made his request for the body after the order had been given by pilate to break the legs of the crucified, and after it had been executed as above described. if pilate had already given the order to break the legs, how is it possible he could have marvelled, or acted as he is described in mark to have done? it is well known that the crurifragium, which is here applied, was not usually an accompaniment of crucifixion, though it may have been sometimes employed along with it,( ) but that it was a distinct punishment. it consisted in breaking, with hammers or clubs, the bones of the condemned from the hips to the feet. we shall not discuss whether in the present case this measure really was adopted or not. the representation is that the jews requested pilate to break the legs of the crucified that the bodies might be removed before the sabbath, and { } that the order was given and executed. the first point to be noted is the very singular manner in which the leg-breaking was performed. the soldiers are said to have broken the legs of the first and then of the other who was crucified with jesus, thus passing over jesus in the first instance; and then the evangelist says: "_but when they came to jesus_, as they saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side." this order of procedure is singular; but the whole conduct of the guard is so extraordinary that such details become comparatively insignificant. an order having been given to the roman soldiers, in accordance with the request of the jews, to break the legs of the crucified, we are asked to believe that they did not execute it in the case of jesus! it is not reasonable to suppose, however, that roman soldiers either were in the habit of disregarding their orders, or could have any motive for doing so in this case, and subjecting themselves to the severe punishment for disobedience inflicted by roman military law. it is argued that they saw that jesus was already dead, and therefore that it was not necessary to break his legs; but soldiers are not in the habit of thinking in this way: they are disciplined to obey. the fact is, however, that the certainty that jesus was dead already did not actually exist in their minds, and could scarcely have existed seeing that the death was so singularly rapid, for in that case why should the soldier have pierced his side with a spear? the only conceivable motive for doing so was to make sure that jesus really was dead;( ) but is it possible to suppose that a roman soldier, being in the slightest doubt, actually chose to assure himself in { } this way when he might still more effectually have done so by simply obeying the order of his superior and breaking the legs? the whole episode is manifestly un-historical.( ) it is clear that to fulfil in a marked way the prophecies which the writer had in his mind, and wished specially to apply to jesus, it was necessary that, in the first place, there should have been a distinct danger of the bones being broken, and at the same time of the side not being pierced. the order to break the legs of the crucified is therefore given, but an extraordinary exception is made in favour of jesus, and a thrust with the lance substituted, so that both passages of the scripture are supposed to be fulfilled.( ) what scriptures, however, are fulfilled? the first: "a bone of him shall not be broken," is merely the prescription with regard to the paschal lamb, ex. xii. ,( ) and the dogmatic view of the fourth evangelist leads him throughout to represent jesus as the true paschal lamb. the second is zech. xii. ,( ) and any one who reads the passage, even without the assistance of learned exegesis, may perceive that it has no such application as our evangelist gives it. we shall pass over, as not absolutely necessary for our immediate purpose, very many important details of the episode; but regarding this part of the subject we may say that we consider it evident that, if an order was given to break the legs of the crucified upon this occasion, that { } order must have been executed upon jesus equally with any others who may have been crucified with him. there has been much discussion as to the intention of the author in stating that, from the wound made by the lance, there forthwith came out "blood and water" [------]; and likewise as to whether the special testimony here referred to in the third person is to attest more immediately the flow of blood and water, or the whole episode.( ) in regard to the latter point, we need not pause to discuss the question.( ) as to the "blood and water," some see in the statement made an intention to show the reality of the death of jesus,( ) whilst others more rightly regard the phenomenon described as a representation of a supernatural and symbolical incident,( ) closely connected with the whole dogmatic view of the gospel. it is impossible not to see in this the same idea as that expressed in john v. : "this is he that came by water and blood, jesus christ; not in the water only, but in the water and the blood."( ) as a natural incident it cannot be entertained, for in no sense but mere quibbling could it be said that "blood and water" could flow from such a wound, and as a supernatural { } phenomenon it must be rejected. as a proof of the reality of the death of jesus, it could only have been thought of at a time when gross ignorance prevailed upon all medical subjects. we shall not here discuss the reality of the death of jesus, but we may merely point out that the almost unprecedentedly rapid decease of jesus was explained by origen( ) and some of the fathers as miraculous. it has been argued that the thrust of the lance may have been intended to silence those objectors who might have denied the actual death on the ground that the legs of jesus were not broken like those of the two malefactors,( ) and it certainly is generally quoted as having assured the fact of death. the statement that blood flowed from the wound, however, by no means supports the allegation and, although we may make little use of the argument, it is right to say that there is no evidence of any serious kind advanced of the reality of the death of jesus, here or in the other gospels.( ) the author of the fourth gospel himself seems to betray that this episode is a mere interpolation of his own into a narrative to which it does not properly belong.( ) according to his own account (xix. ), the jews besought pilate that the legs might be broken and that the bodies "might be taken away" [------], the order to do this was obviously given, it has likewise been thought that the representation in mark xv. , that pilate marvelled at the rapid death of jesus, and sent for the centurion to ascertain the fact, was made to meet similar doubts, or at least to give assurance of the reality of the death. { } for the legs are forthwith broken and of coarse, immediately after, the bodies in pursuance of the same order would have been taken away. as soon as the evangelist has secured his purpose of showing how the scriptures were fulfilled by means of this episode, he takes up the story as though it had not been interrupted, and proceeds v. : "after these things" [------], that is to say after the legs of the malefactors had been broken and the side of jesus pierced, joseph besought pilate that he might take away the body of jesus, and pilate gave leave. but, if v. f. be historical, the body must already have been taken away. all the synoptics agree with the fourth gospel in stating that joseph of arimathaea begged for and obtained the body of jesus from pilate.( ) the second and third synoptics describe him as belonging to the council, but the first gospel merely calls him "a rich man," whilst the fourth omits both of these descriptions. they all call him a disciple of jesus--secretly for fear of the jews, the fourth gospel characteristically adds--although the term that he was "waiting for the kingdom of god," used by the second and third gospels, is somewhat vague. the fourth gospel, however, introduces a second personage in the shape of nicodemus, "who at the first came to him by night,"( ) and who, it will be remembered, had previously been described as "a ruler of the jews."( ) the synoptics do not once mention such a person, either in the narrative of the passion or in the earlier chapters, and there are more than doubts as to his historical character.( ) the accounts of the entombment given by the three according to luke xxiii. , joseph actually "took down" the body. { } synoptists, or at least by the second and third, distinctly exclude the narrative of the fourth gospel, both as regards nicodemus and the part he is represented as taking. the contradictions which commence here between the account of the fourth gospel and the synoptics, in fact, are of the most glaring and important nature, and demand marked attention. the fourth gospel states that, having obtained permission from pilate, joseph came and took the body of jesus away. "and there came also nicodemus,... bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. they took, therefore, the body of jesus, and wound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the jews is to bury. now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre wherein was never man yet laid. there, therefore, on account of the preparation of the jews [------], they laid jesus, for the sepulchre was at hand" [------].( ) according to the first synoptic, when joseph took the body, he simply wrapped it "in clean linen" [------] and "laid it in his own new sepulchre, which he hewed in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed."( ) there is no mention of spices or any anointing of the body,( ) and the statement that the women provide for this is not made in this gospel. according to the writer, the burial is complete, and the sepulchre finally closed. mary magdalene and the other mary come merely "to behold the sepulchre" at the end of the { } sabbath.( ) the fourth evangelist apparently does not know anything of the sepulchre being joseph's own tomb, and the body is, according to him, although folly embalmed, only laid in the sepulchre in the garden on account of the sabbath and because it was at hand. we shall refer to this point, which must be noted, further on. there are very striking differences between these two accounts, but the narratives of the second and third synoptists are still more emphatically contradictory of both. in mark,( ) we are told that joseph "bought linen, and took him down and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which had been hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the sepulchre." there is no mention here of any embalming performed by joseph or nicodemus, nor are any particulars given as to the ownership of the sepulchre, or the reasons for its selection. we are, however, told:( ) "and when the sabbath was past, mary magdalene and mary the mother of james, and salome, bought spices that they might come and anoint him." it is distinctly stated in connection with the entombment, moreover, in agreement with the first synoptic:( ) "and mary magdalene and mary the mother of joses beheld where he was laid."( ) according to this account and that of the first gospel, the women, having remained to the last and seen the body deposited in the sepulchre, knew so little of its having been embalmed by joseph and nicodemus, that they actually purchase the spices and come to perform that office themselves. in luke, the statement is still more specific, in { } agreement with mark, and in contradiction to the fourth gospel. joseph took down the body "and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.... and women who had come with him out of galilee followed after, and beheld the sepulchre _and how his body was laid_. and they returned and prepared spices and ointments." upon the first day of the week, the author adds: "they came unto the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared."( ) which of these accounts are we to believe? according to the first gospel, there is no embalmment at all; according to the second and third gospels, the embalmment is undertaken by the women, and not by joseph and nicodemus, but is never carried out; according to the fourth gospel, the embalmment is completed on friday evening by joseph and nicodemus, and not by the women. according to the first gospel, the burial is completed on friday evening; according to the second and third, it is only provisional; and according to the fourth, the embalmment is final, but it is doubtful whether the entombment is final or temporary; several critics consider it to have been only provisional.( ) in mark, the women buy the spices "when the sabbath was past" [------];( ) in luke before it has begun;( ) and in matthew and john they do not buy them at all. in the first and fourth gospels, the women come after the sabbath merely to behold the sepulchre,( ) and in the second and third, they bring the spices to complete the burial. { } amid these conflicting statements we may suggest one consideration. it is not probable, in a hot climate, that a wounded body, hastily laid in a sepulchre on friday evening before six o'clock, would be disturbed again on sunday morning for the purpose of being anointed and embalmed. corruption would, under the circumstances, already have commenced. besides, as keim(l) has pointed out, the last duties to the dead were not forbidden amongst the jews on the sabbath, and there is really no reason why any care for the body of the master which reverence or affection might have dictated should not at once have been bestowed. the enormous amount of myrrh and aloes--"about a hundred pound weight" [------]--brought by nicodemus has excited much discussion, and adds to the extreme improbability of the story related by the fourth evangelist.( ) to whatever weight the [------] may be reduced, the quantity specified is very great; and it is a question whether the body thus enveloped "as the manner of the jews is to bury" could have entered the sepulchre. the practice of embalming the dead, although well known amongst the jews, and invariable in the case of kings and noble or very wealthy persons, was by no means generally prevalent in the burial of gamaliel the elder, chief of the party of the pharisees, it is stated that over pounds of balsam were burnt in his honour by the proselyte onkelos;( ) but this quantity, which was considered very { } remarkable, is totally eclipsed by the provision of nicodemus. the key to the whole of this history of the burial of jesus, however, is to be found in the celebrated chapt. liii. of "isaiah." we have already, in passing, pointed out that, in the third gospel (xxii. ), jesus is represented as saying: "for i say unto you, that this which is written must be accomplished in me: and he was reckoned among transgressors." the same quotation from is. liii. is likewise interpolated in mk. xv. . now the whole representation of the burial and embalmment of jesus is evidently based upon the same chapter, and more especially upon v. , which is wrongly rendered both in the authorized version and in the septuagint, in the latter of which the passage reads: "i will give the wicked for his grave and the rich for his death."( ) the evangelists taking this to be the sense of the passage, which they suppose to be a messianic prophecy, have represented the death of jesus as being with the wicked, crucified as he is between two robbers; and through joseph of arimathaea, significantly called "a rich man" [------] by the first synoptist, especially according to the fourth evangelist by his addition of the counsellor nicodemus and his hundred pounds weight of mingled myrrh and aloes, as being "with the rich in his death." unfortunately, the passage in the "prophecy" does not mean what the evangelists have been led to understand, and the ablest hebrew scholars and critics are now agreed that both phrases quoted refer, in true hebrew manner, to one representation, and that the word above { } translated "rich" is not used in a favourable sense, but that the passage must be rendered: "and they made his grave with the wicked and his sepulchre with the evil-doers," or words to that effect.( ) without going minutely into the details of opinion on the subject of the "servant of jehovah" in this writing of the old testament, we may add that upon one point at least the great majority of critics are of one accord: that is. liii. and other passages of "isaiah" describing the sufferings of the "servant of jehovah" have no reference to the messiah.( ) as we have { } touched upon this subject it may not be out of place to add that psalms xxii.( ) and lxix.,( ) which are so frequently quoted in connection with the passion, and represented by new testament and other early writers as messianic, are determined by sounder principles of criticism applied to them in modern times not to refer to the messiah at all. we have elsewhere spoken of other supposed messianic psalms quoted in the new testament.( ) "we now come to a remarkable episode which is peculiar to the first synoptic and strangely ignored by all the other gospels. it is stated that the next day--that is to say, on the sabbath--the chief priests and the pharisees came together to pilate, saying: "sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive: after three { } days i am raised [------]. command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him away and say unto the people: he is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. pilate said unto them: ye have a guard [------]: go, make it as sure as ye can. so they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, with the guard."(l) not only do the other evangelists pass over this strange proceeding in total silence, but their narratives exclude it, at least those of the second and third synoptists do so. the women came with their spices to embalm the body, in total ignorance of there being any guard to interfere with their performance of that last sad office for the master. we are asked to believe that the chief priests and the pharisees actually desecrated the sabbath by sealing the stone, and visited the house of the heathen pilate on so holy a day, for the purpose of asking for the guard.( ) these priests are said to have remembered and understood a prophecy of jesus regarding his resurrection, of which his disciples are represented to be in ignorance.( ) the remark about "the last error," moreover, is very suspicious. the ready acquiescence of pilate is quite incredible.( ) that he should employ roman soldiers to watch the sepulchre of a man who had been crucified cannot be entertained; and his friendly: "go, make it as sure as ye { } can," is not in the spirit of pilate. it is conceivable that to satisfy their clamour he may, without much difficulty, have consented to crucify a jew, more especially as his crime was of a political character represented as in some degree affecting the roman power; but, once crucified, it is not in the slightest degree likely that pilate would care what became of his body, and still less that he would employ roman soldiers to mount guard over it. it may be as well to dispose finally of this episode, so we at once proceed to its conclusion. when the resurrection takes place, it is stated that some of the guard went into the city, and, instead of making their report to pilate, as might have been expected, told the chief priests all that had occurred. a council is held, and the soldiers are largely bribed, and instructed: "say that his disciples came by night and stole him while we slept. and if this come to the governor's ears we will persuade him and make you free from care. so they took the money and did as they were taught."( ) nothing could be more simple than the construction of the story, which follows the usual broad lines of legend. the idea of roman soldiers confessing that they slept whilst on watch, and allowed that to occur which they were there to prevent! and this to oblige the chief priests and elders, at the risk of their lives! then are we to suppose that the chief priests and council believed this story of the earthquake and angel, and yet acted in this way? and if they did not believe it, would not the very story itself have led to the punishment of the men, and to the confirmation of the report they desired to spread, that the disciples had stolen the body? the large bribe seems to have been very ineffectual, however, since the christian historian is able to report precisely what the { } chief priests and elders instruct them to say.( ) is it not palpable that the whole story is legendary?( ) if it be so, and we think it cannot be doubted, a conclusion which the total silence of the other gospels seems to confirm, very suggestive consequences may be deduced from it. the first synoptist, referring to the false report which the sanhedrin instruct the soldiers to make, says: "and this saying was spread among the jews unto this day."( ) the probable origin of the legend, therefore, may have been an objection to the christian affirmation of the resurrection to the above effect; but it is instructive to find that christian tradition was equal to the occasion, and invented a story to refute it. it is the tendency to this very system of defence and confirmation, everywhere apparent, which renders early christian tradition so mythical and untrustworthy. we now enter upon the narrative of the resurrection itself. the first synoptist relates that mary magdalene and the other mary came to behold the sepulchre "at the close of the sabbath, as it began to dawn into the first day of the week" [------],( ) that is to say, shortly after six o'clock on the evening of saturday, the end of the sabbath, the dawn of the next day being marked by the { } glimmer of more than one star in the heavens.( ) the second synoptic represents that, "when the sabbath was past," mary magdalene, and mary the mother of james, and salome bought spices, and that they came to the sepulchre "very early on the first day of the week after the rising of the sun" [------].( ) the third synoptist states that the women who came with jesus from galilee came to the sepulchre, but he subsequently more definitely names them: "mary magdalene, and joanna, and mary the mother of james, and the other women with them,"( )--a larger number of women,--and they came "upon the first day of the week at early dawn" [------]. the fourth evangelist represents that mary magdalene only( ) came to the sepulchre, on the first day of the week, "early, while it was yet dark" [------].( ) the first evangelist indubitably makes the hour at which the women come to the sepulchre different and much earlier than the others, and at the same time he represents them as witnessing the actual removal of the stone, which, in the other three gospels, the women already find rolled away from the mouth of the sepulchre.( ) it will, therefore, be interesting to follow the first synoptic. it is here stated: . "and behold there was a great earthquake [------]: for an angel of the lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. . his appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as { } snow. . and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. . and the angel answered and said unto the women: fear ye not, for i know that ye seek jesus, who hath been crucified. . he is not here: for he was raised [------] as he said: come, see the place where he lay. . and go quickly, and tell his disciples that he was raised [------] from the dead, and behold he goeth before you into galilee: there shall ye see him: behold, i have told you. . and they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and ran to tell his disciples."( ) we have here in the first place another earthquake and apparently, on the theory of the course of cosmical phenomena held during the "age of miracles," produced by the angel who descended to roll away the stone from the sepulchre. this earthquake, like the others recorded in the first synoptic, appears to be quite unknown to the other evangelists, and no trace of it has been pointed out in other writings. with the appearance of the angel we obviously arrive upon thoroughly unhistorical ground. can we believe, because this unknown writer tells us so, that "an angel,"( ) causing an earthquake, actually descended and took such a part in this transaction? upon the very commonest compare his description with dan. x. . it is worthy of consideration also that when daniel is cast into the den of lions a stone is rolled upon the mouth of the den, and sealed with the signet of the king and his lords, vi. . { } principles of evidence, the reply must be an emphatic negative. every fact of science, every lesson of experience excludes such an assumption, and we may add that the character of the author, with which we are now better acquainted, as well as the course of the narrative itself, confirms the justice of such a conclusion.( ) if the introduction of the angel be legendary, must not also his words be so? proceeding, however, to examine the narrative as it stands, we must point out a circumstance which may appropriately be mentioned here, and which is well worthy of attention. the women and the guard are present when the stone is rolled away from the sepulchre, but they do not witness the actual resurrection. it is natural to suppose that, when the stone was removed, jesus, who, it is asserted, rises with his body from the dead, would have come forth from the sepulchre: but not so; the angel only says, v. : "he is not here: for he was raised [------];" and he merely invites the women to see the place where he lay. the actual resurrection is spoken of as a thing which had taken place before, and in any case it was not witnessed by any one. in the other gospels, the resurrection has already occurred before any one arrives at the sepulchre; and the remarkable fact is, therefore, absolutely undeniable, that there was not, and that it is not even pretended that there was, a single eye-witness of the actual resurrection. the empty grave, coupled with the supposed subsequent appearances of jesus, is the only evidence of the resurrection. we shall not, however, pursue this further at present. the removal of the stone is not followed by any visible result. the inmate of the sepulchre is not { } observed to issue from it, and yet he is not there. may we not ask what was the use, in this narrative, of the removal of the stone at all? as no one apparently came forth, the only purpose seems to have been to permit those from without to enter and see that the sepulchre was empty. another remarkable point is that the angel desires the women to go quickly and inform the disciples: "he goeth before you into galilee: there shall ye see him." one is tempted to inquire why, as he rose from the dead in jerusalem and, in spite of previous statements, the disciples are represented as being there also,( ) jesus did not appear to them in the holy city, instead of sending them some three days' journey off to galilee. at the same time, jesus is represented by the first two synoptics as saying at the last supper, when warning the disciples that they will all be offended at him that night and be scattered: "but after i shall have been raised, i will go before you into galilee."( ) at present we have only to call attention to the fact that the angel gives the order. with how much surprise, therefore, do we not immediately after read that, as the women departed quickly to tell the disciples in obedience to the angel's message, v. : "behold jesus met them, saying, hail. and they came up to him and laid hold of his feet, and worshipped him. . then saith jesus unto them: be not afraid: go, tell my brethren that they depart into galilee, and there they shall see me."( ) what was the use of the angel's message since jesus himself immediately after appears and delivers the very same instructions in person? this sudden and apparently unnecessary appearance has all the character of an afterthought. one point, { } however, is very clear: that the order to go into galilee and the statement that there first jesus is to appear to the disciples are unmistakable, repeated and peremptory. we must now turn to the second gospel. the women going to the sepulchre with spices that they might anoint the body of jesus--which, according to the fourth gospel, had already been fully embalmed and, in any case, had lain in the sepulchre since the friday evening--are represented as saying amongst themselves: "who will roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?"( ) this is a curious dramatic speculation, but very suspicious. these women are apparently not sufficiently acquainted with joseph of arimathaea to be aware that, as the fourth gospel asserts, the body had already been embalmed, and yet they actually contemplate rolling the stone away from the mouth of a sepulchre which was his property.( ) keim has pointed out that it was a general rule( ) that, after a sepulchre had been closed in the way described, it should not again be opened. generally, the stone was not placed against the opening of the sepulchre till the third day, when corruption had already commenced; but here the sepulchre is stated by all the gospels to have been closed on the first day, and the unhesitating intention of the women to remove the stone is not a happy touch on the part of the second synoptist. they find the stone already rolled away.( ) ver. : "and entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were mk. xvi. . the continuation: "for it was very great" [-- ----], is peculiar, but of course intended to represent the difficulty of its removal. { } affrighted. . and he saith unto them: be not affrighted: ye seek jesus of nazareth, the crucified: he was raised [------]; he is not here; behold the place where they laid him. . but go, tell his disciples and peter that he goeth before you into galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. . and they went out and fled from the sepulchre: for trembling and astonishment seized them, and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid."( ) in matthew, the angel rolls away the stone from the sepulchre and sits upon it, and the women only enter to see where jesus lay, upon his invitation. here, they go in at once, and see the angel ("a young man") sitting at the right side, and are affrighted. he re assures them and, as in the other narrative, says: "he was raised." he gives them the same message to his disciples and to peter, who is specially named, and the second synoptic thus fully confirms the first in representing galilee as the place where jesus is to be seen by them. it is curious that the women should say nothing to anyone about this wonderful event, and in this the statements of the other gospels are certainly not borne out. there is one remarkable point to be noticed, however, that, according to the second synoptist also, not only is there no eye-witness of the resurrection, but the only evidence of that marvellous occurrence which it contains is the information of the "young man," which is clearly no evidence at all. there is no appearance of jesus to any one narrated, and it would seem as though the appearance described in { } matt, xxviii. f. is excluded. it is well known that mark xvi. - did not form part of the original gospel and is inauthentic. it is unnecessary to argue a point so generally admitted. the verses now appended to the gospel are by a different author and are of no value as evidence. we, therefore, exclude them from consideration. in luke, as in the second synoptic, the women find the stone removed, and here it is distinctly stated that "on entering in they found not the body of the lord jesus. . and it came to pass as they were perplexed thereabout, behold two men stood by them in shining garments; . and as they were afraid, and bowed their faces to the earth, they said unto them: why seek ye the living among the dead? . he is not here, but was raised [------]; remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in galilee, . saying, that the son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified and the third day rise again. . and they remembered his words, . and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest.... . and these words appeared to them as an idle tale, and they believed them not."( ) the author of the third gospel is not content with one angel, like the first two synoptists, but introduces "two men in shining garments," who seem suddenly to stand beside the women, and instead of re-assuring them, as in the former narratives, rather adopt a tone of reproof (v. ). they inform the women that "jesus was raised;" and here again not only has no one been an eye-witness of the resurrection, but the women only hear of it from the angels. there is one striking peculiarity in the above { } account. there is no mention whatever of jesus going before his disciples into galilee to be seen of them, nor indeed of his being seen at all; but "galilee" is introduced by way of a reminiscence. instead of the future, the third synoptist substitutes the past and, as might be expected, he gives no hint of any appearances of jesus to the disciples beyond the neighbourhood of jerusalem. when the women tell the disciples what they have seen and heard, they do not believe them. the thief on the cross, according to the writer, was more advanced in his faith and knowledge than the apostles. setting aside mat. xxviii. , , we have hitherto no other affirmation of the resurrection than the statement that the sepulchre was found empty, and the angels announced that jesus was raised from the dead. the account of the fourth evangelist, however, differs completely from the narratives of all the synoptists. according to him, mary magdalene alone comes to the sepulchre and sees the stone taken away. she therefore runs and comes to simon peter and to "the other disciple whom jesus loved," saying: "they took [------] the lord out of the sepulchre and we know not [------]( ) where they laid [------] him. . peter, therefore, went forth and the other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. . and the two ran together; and the other disciple outran peter and came first to the sepulchre; . and stooping down, looking in, he seeth the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. c. then cometh simon peter following him and went into the from the use of this plural, as we have already pointed out, it is argued that there were others with mary who are not named. this by no means follows, but if it were the case the peculiarity of the narrative becomes all the more apparent. { } sepulchre and beholdeth the linen clothes lying, . and the napkin that was on his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped in one place by itself. . then went in, therefore, the other disciple also, who came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed. . for as yet they knew not the scriptures, that he must rise again from the dead. . so the disciples went away to their own homes."( ) critics have long ago pointed out the careful way in which the actions of "the beloved disciple" and peter are balanced in this narrative. if the "other disciple" outstrips peter, and first looks into the sepulchre, peter first actually enters; and if peter first sees the careful arrangement of the linen clothes, the other sees and believes. the evident care with which the writer metes out a share to each disciple in this visit to the sepulchre, of which the synoptics seem totally ignorant, is very suggestive of artistic arrangement, and the careful details regarding the folding and position of the linen clothes, which has furnished so much matter for apologetic reasoning, seems to us to savour more of studied composition than natural observation. so very much is passed over in complete silence which is of the very highest importance, that minute details like these, which might well be composed in the study, do not produce so much effect as some critics think they should do. there is some ambiguity as to what the disciple "believed," according to v. , when he went into the sepulchre; and some understand that he simply believed what mary magdalene had told them (v. ), whilst others hold that he believed in the resurrection, which, taken in connection with the following verse, seems undoubtedly to be the author's meaning. if the former were the reading it would be too trifling a point to be so { } prominently mentioned, and it would not accord with the contented return home of the disciples. accepting the latter sense, it is instructive to observe the very small amount of evidence with which "the beloved disciple" is content. he simply finds the sepulchre empty and the linen clothes lying, and although no one even speaks of the resurrection, no one professes to have been an eye-witness of it, and "as yet they know not the scriptures, that he must rise again from the dead," he is nevertheless said to see and believe. it will have been observed that as yet, although the two disciples have both entered the sepulchre, there has been no mention whatever of angels: they certainly did not see any. in immediate continuation of the narrative, however, we learn that when they have gone home, mary magdalene, who was standing without at the tomb weeping, stooped down and, looking into the sepulchre,--where just before the disciples had seen no one,--she beheld "two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of jesus lay. . they say unto her: woman, why weepest thou? she saith unto them: because they took away [------] my lord, and i know not where they laid him."( ) this again is a very different representation and conversation from that reported in the other gospels. do we acquire any additional assurance as to the reality of the angels and the historical truth of their intervention from this narrative? we think not. mary magdalene repeats to the angels almost the very words she had said to the disciples, v. . are we to suppose that "the beloved disciple," who saw and believed, did not communicate his conviction to the others, and that mary was left { } precisely in the same doubt and perplexity as before, without an idea that anything had happened except that the body had been taken away and she knew not where it had been laid? she appears to have seen and spoken to the angels with singular composure. their sudden appearance does not even seem to have surprised her. we must, however, continue the narrative, and it is well to remark the maintenance, at first, of the tone of affected ignorance, as well as the dramatic construction of the whole scene: v. . "having said this, she turned herself back and beholdeth jesus standing, and knew not that it was jesus. . jesus saith unto her: woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? she, supposing that it was the gardener, saith unto him: sir, if thou didst bear him hence, tell me where thou didst lay him, and i will take him away. . jesus saith unto her: mary. she turned herself, and saith unto him in hebrew:( ) rabboni, which is to say, master. . jesus saith unto her: touch me not [------]; for i have not yet ascended to the father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them: i ascend unto my father and your father, and my god and your god. . mary magdalene cometh announcing to the disciples that she has seen the lord, and he spake these things unto her."( ) to those who attach weight to these narratives and consider them historical, it must appear astonishing that mary, who up to the very last had been closely associated with jesus, does not recognise him when he thus appears to her, but supposes him at first to be the gardener. as part of the evidence of the gospel, however, this is the reading of the vatican and sinaitic codices, besides d and many other important mss. { } such a trait is of much importance, and must hereafter be alluded to. after a couple of days not know jesus whom she had daily seen for so long! the interpretation of the reply of jesus, v. : "touch me not," &c, has long been a bone of contention among critics, but it does not sufficiently affect the inquiry upon which we are engaged to require discussion here.( ) only one point may be mentioned in passing, that if, as has been supposed in connection with mt. xxviii. , jesus be understood to repel, as premature, the worship of mary, that very passage of the first gospel, in which there is certainly no discouragement of worship, refutes the theory. we shall not say more about the construction of this dialogue, but we may point out that, as so many unimportant details are given throughout the narrative, it is somewhat remarkable that the scene terminates so abruptly, and leaves so much untold that it would have been of the utmost consequence for us to know. what became of jesus, for instance? did he vanish suddenly? or did he bid mary farewell, and leave her like one in the flesh? did she not inquire why he did not join the brethren? whither he was going? it is scarcely possible to tell us less than the writer has done; and as it cannot be denied that such minor points as where the linen clothes { } lay, or whether mary "turned herself back" (v. ) or "turned herself" (v. ) merely, cannot be compared in interest and importance to the supposed movements and conduct of jesus under such circumstances, the omission to relate the end of the interview, or more particular details of it, whilst those graphic touches are inserted, is singularly instructive. it is much more important to notice that here again there is no mention of galilee, nor, indeed, of any intention to show himself to the disciples anywhere, but simply the intimation sent to them: "i ascend unto my father and your father," &c, a declaration which seems emphatically to exclude further "appearances," and to limit the vision of the risen jesus to mary magdalene. certainly this message implies in the clearest way that the ascension was then to take place, and the only explanation of the abrupt termination of the scene immediately after this is said is, that, as he spoke, jesus then ascended. the subsequent appearances related in this gospel must, consequently, either be regarded as an after-thought, or as visions of jesus after he had ascended. this demands serious attention. we shall see that after sending this message to his disciples he is represented as appearing to them on the evening of the very same day. according to the third synoptic, the first appearance of jesus to any one after the resurrection was not to the women, and not to mary magdalene, but to two brethren,( ) who were not apostles at all, the name of one of whom, we are told, was cleopas.( ) the story of the walk to emmaus is very dramatic and interesting, but it is clearly legendary.( ) none of the other evangelists { } seem to know anything of it. it is difficult to suppose that jesus should after his resurrection appear first of all to two unknown christians in such a manner, and accompany them in such a journey. the particulars of the story are to the last degree improbable, and in its main features incredible, and it is indeed impossible to consider them carefully without perceiving the transparent inauthenticity of the narrative. the two disciples were going to a village called emmaus threescore furlongs distant from jerusalem, and while they are conversing jesus joins them, "but their eyes were holden that they should not know him." he asks the subject of their discourse, and pretends ignorance, which surprises them. hearing the expression of their perplexity and depression, he says to them: . "o foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spake. . was it not necessary that the christ should suffer these things, and enter into his glory? . and beginning at moses and at all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." when they reach the village, he pretends to be going further (v. ), but they constrain him to stay. . "and it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them he took the bread and blessed and brake, and gave to them; . and their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight." now why all this mystery? why were their eyes holden that they should not know him? why pretend ignorance? why make "as though he would go further?" considering the nature and number of the alleged appearances of jesus, this episode seems most disproportionate and { } inexplicable. the final incident completes our conviction of the unreality of the whole episode: after the sacramental blessing and breaking of bread, jesus vanishes in a manner which removes the story from the domain of history. on their return to jerusalem, the synoptist adds that they find the eleven, and are informed that "the lord was raised and was seen by simon." of this appearance we are not told anything more. whilst the two disciples from emmaus were relating these things to the eleven, the third synoptist states that jesus himself stood in the midst of them: v. . "but they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they saw a spirit." the apparent intention is to represent a miraculous sudden entry of jesus into the midst of them, just as he had vanished at emmaus; but, in order to re-assure them, jesus is represented as saying: v. . "behold my hands and my feet, that it is i myself; handle me and behold, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me having. . and while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them: have ye here any food? . and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.( ) . and he took it and did eat before them," the care with which the writer demonstrates that jesus rose again with his own body is remarkable, for not only does he show his hands and feet, we may suppose for the purpose of exhibiting the wounds made by the nails by which he was affixed to the cross, but he eats, and thereby proves himself to be still possessed of his human organism. it is apparent, however, that there is direct contradiction between this and the representation of his vanishing at emmaus, { } and standing in the midst of them now. the synoptist who is so lavish in his use of miraculous agency naturally sees no incongruity here. one or other alternative must be adopted:--if jesus possessed his own body after his resurrection and could eat and be handled, he could not vanish; if he vanished, he could not have been thus corporeal. the aid of a miracle has to be invoked in order to reconcile the representations. we need not here criticise the address which he is supposed to make to the disciples,( ) but we must call attention to the one point that jesus (v. ) commands the disciples to tarry in jerusalem until they be "clothed with power from on high." this completes the exclusion of all appearances in galilee, for the narrative proceeds to say, that jesus led them out towards bethany and lifted up his hands and blessed them: v. . "and it came to pass, while blessing them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven;" whilst they returned to jerusalem, where they "were continually in the temple" praising god. we shall return to the ascension presently, but, in the meantime, it is well that we should refer to the accounts of the other two gospels. according to the fourth gospel, on the first day of the week, after sending to his disciples the message regarding his ascension, which we have discussed, when it was evening: xx. . "and the doors having been shut where the disciples were, for fear of the jews, jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them: peace be unto you. . and having said this, he the statement in xxiv. , however, is suggestive as showing how the fulfilment of the prophets and psalms is in the mind of the writer. we have seen how much this idea influenced the account of the passion in the gospels. { } showed unto them both his hands and his side. the disciples, therefore, rejoiced when they saw the lord. . so then he said to them again: peace be unto you: as the father hath sent me, i also send you. . and when he said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the holy spirit: . whosesoever sins ye forgive they are forgiven unto them; whosesoever ye retain they are retained." this appearance of jesus to the eleven bears so far analogy to that in the third gospel, which we have just examined, that it occurs upon the same day and to the same persons. is it probable that jesus appeared twice upon the same evening to the eleven disciples? the account in the fourth gospel itself confirms the only reasonable reply: that he did not do so; but the narrative in the third synoptic renders the matter certain. that appearance was the first to the eleven (xxiv. f.), and he then conducted them towards bethany, and ascended into heaven (v. f.). how then, we may inquire, could two accounts of the same event differ so fundamentally? it is absolutely certain that both cannot be true. is it possible to suppose that the third synoptist could forget to record the extraordinary powers supposed to have been on this occasion bestowed upon the ten apostles to forgive sins and to retain them? is it conceivable that he would not relate the circumstance that jesus breathed upon them, and endowed them with the holy ghost? indeed, as regards the latter point, he seems to exclude it, v. , and in the acts (ii.) certainly represents the descent of the holy spirit as taking place at pentecost. on the other hand, can we suppose that the fourth evangelist would have ignored the walk to bethany and the solemn parting there? or the injunction to remain in jerusalem? { } not to mention other topics. the two episodes cannot be reconciled. in the fourth gospel, instead of showing his hands and feet, jesus is represented as exhibiting "his hands and his side," and that this is not accidental is most clearly demonstrated by the fact that thomas, who is not present, refuses to believe (v. ) unless he see and put his finger into the print of the nails in his hands and put his hand into his side; and jesus, when he appears again, allows him (v. ) to put his finger into his hands and his hand into his side. in the synoptic, the wound made by that mythical lance is ignored and, in the fourth gospel, the wounds in the feet. the omission of the whole episode of the leg-breaking and lance-thrust by the three synoptics thus gains fresh significance. on the other hand, it may be a question whether, in the opinion of the fourth evangelist, the feet of jesus were nailed to the cross at all, or whether, indeed, they were so in fact. it was at least as common, not to say more, that the hands alone of those who were crucified were nailed to the cross, the legs being simply bound to it by cords. opinion is divided as to whether jesus was so bound or whether the feet were likewise nailed, but the point is not important to our examination and need not be discussed, although it has considerable interest in connection with the theory that death did not actually ensue on the cross, but that, having fainted through weakness, jesus, being taken down after so unusually short a time on the cross, subsequently recovered. there is no final evidence upon the point. none of the explanations offered by apologists remove the contradiction between the statement that jesus bestowed the holy spirit upon this occasion and that of the { } third synoptic and acts. there is, however, a curious point to notice in connection with this: thomas is said to have been absent upon this occasion, and the representation, therefore, is that the holy spirit was only bestowed upon ten of the apostles. was thomas excluded? was he thus punished for his unbelief? are we to suppose that an opportunity to bestow the holy spirit was selected when one of the apostles was not present?(l) we have, however, somewhat anticipated the narrative (xx. if.), which relates that upon the occasion above discussed thomas, one of the twelve, was not present, and hearing from the rest that they have seen the lord, he declares that he will not believe without palpable proof by touching his wounds. the evangelist continues: v. . "and after eight days again his disciples were within, and thomas was with them. jesus cometh, the doors having been shut [------], and stood in the midst and said: peace be unto you. . then saith he to thomas: reach hither thy finger and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand and put it into my side, and be not unbelieving but believing. . thomas answered and said unto him: my lord and my god. . jesus saith unto him: because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed." the third synoptic gives evidence that the risen jesus is not incorporeal by stating that he not only permitted himself to be handled, but actually ate food in their presence. the fourth evangelist attains the same result in a more artistic manner through the doubts of thomas, but in allowing him actually to put his finger into the prints of the nails in his hands, and his hand into the { } wound in his side, he asserts that jesus rose with the same body as that which had hung on the cross. he, too, however, whilst doing this, actually endows him with the attribute of incorporeality; for, upon both of the occasions which we are discussing, the statement is markedly made that, when jesus came and stood in the midst, the doors were shut where the disciples were. it can scarcely be doubted that the intention of the writer is to represent a miraculous entry.( ) we are asked, however, to believe that when thomas had convinced himself that it was indeed jesus in the flesh who stood before him, he went to the opposite extreme of belief and said to jesus: [------] "my lord and my god!" in representing that jesus, even before the ascension, was addressed as "god" by one of the twelve, the evangelist commits one of those anachronisms with which we are familiar, in another shape, in the works of great painters, who depict pious bishops of their own time as actors in the scenes of the passion. these touches, however, betray the hand of the artist, and remove the account from the domain of sober history. in the message sent by jesus to his disciples he spoke of ascending "to your god and my god," but the evangelist at the close of his gospel strikes the same note as that upon which he commenced his philosophical prelude. we shall only add one further remark regarding this episode, and it is the repetition of one already made. it is much to be regretted that the writer does not inform us how these interviews of jesus with his disciples terminated. we are told of his entry, but not { } of his mode of departure. did he vanish suddenly? did he depart like other men? then, it would be important to know where jesus abode during the interval of eight days. did he ascend to heaven after each appearance? or did he remain on earth? why did he not consort as before with his disciples? these are not jeering questions, but serious indications of the scantiness of the information given by the evangelists, which is not compensated by some trifling detail of no value occasionally inserted to heighten the reality of a narrative. this is the last appearance of jesus related in the fourth gospel; for the character of ch. xxi. is too doubtful to permit it to rank with the gospel. the appearance of jesus therein related is in fact more palpably legendary than the others. it will be observed that in this gospel, as in the third synoptic, the appearances of jesus are confined to jerusalem and exclude galilee. these two gospels are, therefore, clearly in contradiction with the statement of the first two synoptics.( ) it only remains for us to refer to one more appearance of jesus: that related in the first synoptic, xxviii. ff. in obedience to the command of jesus, the disciples are represented as having gone away into galilee, "unto the mountain where jesus had appointed them." we have not previously heard anything of this specific appointment. the synoptist continues: v. . "and when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted. . and jesus came and spake unto them, saying: all authority was given to me [------] in heaven and on earth. . go ye and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit; . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i commanded you; and lo, i am with { } you all the days, unto the end of the world." this appearance not only is not mentioned in the other gospels, but it excludes the appearances in judaea, of which the writer seems to be altogether ignorant. if he knew of them, he practically denies them. there has been some discussion as to what the doubt mentioned in v. refers, some critics maintaining that "some doubted" as to the propriety of worshipping jesus, whilst others more correctly consider that they doubted as to his identity,( ) but we need not mention the curious apologetic explanations offered.( ) are we to regard the mention of these doubts as an "inestimable proof of the candour of the evangelists"? if so, then we may find fault with the omission to tell us whether, and how, those doubts were set at rest. as the narrative stands, the doubts were not resolved. was it possible to doubt without good reason of the identity of one with whom, until a few days previously, the disciples had been in daily and hourly contact at least for a year, if not longer? doubt in such a case is infinitely more decisive than belief. we can regard the expression, however, in no other light than as a mere rhetorical device in a legendary narrative. the rest of the account ueed have little further discussion here. the extraordinary statement in v. ( ) seems as clearly the expression of later theology as the baptismal formula { } in v. , where the doctrine of the trinity is so definitely expressed. some critics suppose that the eleven were not alone upon this occasion, but that either all the disciples of jesus were present, or at least the brethren l to whom paul refers, cor. xv. g. this mainly rests on the statement that "some doubted," for it is argued that, after the two previous appearances to the disciples in jerusalem mentioned by the other evangelists, it is impossible that the eleven could have felt doubt, and consequently that others must have been present who had not previously been convinced. it is scarcely necessary to point out the utter weakness of such an argument. it is not permissible, however, to patch on to this gospel scraps cut out of the others. it must be clear to every unprejudiced student that the appearances of jesus narrated by the four gospels in galilee and judæa cannot be harmonised,( ) and we have shown that they actually exclude each other.( ) the first synoptist records (v. ) the order for the disciples to go into galilee, and with no further interruption than the { } mention of the return of the discomfited guard from the sepulchre to the chief priest, he (v. ) states that they went into galilee, where they saw jesus in the manner just described. no amount of ingenuity can insert the appearances in jerusalem here without the grossest violation of all common sense. this is the only appearance to the eleven recorded in matthew. we must here again point out the singular omission to relate the manner in which this interview was ended. the episode and the gospel, indeed, are brought to a very artistic close by the expression, "lo, i am with you all the days unto the end of the world," but we must insist that it is a very suggestive fact that it does not occur to these writers to state what became of jesus. no point could have been more full of interest than the manner in which jesus here finally leaves the disciples, and is dismissed from the history. that such an important part of the narrative is omitted is in the highest degree remarkable and significant. had a formal termination to the interview been recounted, it would have been subject to criticism, and by no means necessarily evidence of truth; but it seems to us that the circumstance that it never occurred to these writers to relate the departure of jesus is a very strong indication of the unreality and shadowy nature of the whole tradition. we are thus brought to consider the account of the ascension, which is at least given by one evangelist. in the appendix to the second gospel, as if the later writer felt the omission and desired to complete the narrative, it is vaguely stated: xvi. . "so then after the lord spake unto them he was taken up into heaven and sat on the right hand of god."( ) the { } writer, however, omits to state how he was taken up into heaven; and sitting "at the right hand of god" is an act and position which those who assert the "personality of god" may possibly understand, but which we venture to think betrays that the account is a mere theological figment. the third synoptist, however, as we have incidentally shown, gives an account of the ascension. jesus having, according to the narrative in xxiv. ff., led the disciples out to bethany, lifted up his hands and blessed them: v. . "and it came to pass while blessing them he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven."( ) the whole of the appearances narrated in the third synoptic, therefore, and the ascension are thus said to occur on the same day as the resurrection.( ) in matthew, there is a different representation made, for the time consumed in the journey of the disciples to galilee obviously throws back the ascension to a later date. in mark, there is no appearance at all recorded, but the command to the disciples to go into galilee confirms the first synoptic. in the fourth gospel, jesus revisits the eleven a second time after eight days; and, therefore, the ascension is here { } necessarily later still. in neither of these gospels, however, is there any account of an ascension at all. we may here point out that there is no mention of the ascension in any of the genuine writings of paul, and it would appear that the theory of a bodily ascension, in any shape, did not form part of the oldest christian tradition.( ) the growth of the legend of the ascension is apparent in the circumstance that the author of the third gospel follows a second tradition regarding that event, when composing acts.( ) whether he thought a fuller and more detailed account desirable, or it seemed necessary to prolong the period during which jesus remained on earth after his resurrection and to multiply his appearances, it is impossible to say, but the fact is that he does so. he states in his second work: that to the apostles jesus "presented himself alive after he suffered by many proofs, being seen [------] by them during forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of god." it is scarcely possible to doubt that the period of forty days is suggested by the old testament( ) and the hebrew use of that number, of which indeed we already find examples in the new testament in the forty days temptation of jesus in the wilderness,( ) and his fasting forty days and forty nights.( ) why { } jesus remained on earth this typical period we are not told,( ) but the representation evidently is of much more prolonged and continuous intercourse with his disciples than any statements in the gospels have led us to suppose, or than the declaration of paul renders in the least degree probable. if indeed the account in acts were true, the numbered appearances recited by paul show singular ignorance of the phenomena of the resurrection. we need not discuss the particulars of the last interview with the apostles, (i. if.) although they are singular enough, and are indeed elsewhere referred to, but at once proceed to the final occurrences: v. . "and when he had spoken these things, while they are looking he was lifted up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. . and as they were gazing stedfastly into the heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; . which also said: men of galilee [------], why stand ye looking into the heaven? this jesus, who was taken up from you into the heaven, shall come in like manner as ye saw him going into the heaven. . then returned they into jerusalem," &c. a definite statement is here made of the mode in which jesus finally ascended into heaven, and it presents some of the incongruities which might have beeu expected. the bodily ascension up the sky in a cloud, apart from the miraculous nature of such an occurrence, seems singularly to localise "heaven," and to present views of cosmical and celestial phenomena suitable certainly to the age of the writer, but which are not endorsed by modern science. the testimony of the epistle of barnabas (c. xv.) does not agree with this. { } the sudden appearance of the "two men in white apparel," the usual description of angels, is altogether in the style of the author of acts, but does it increase the credibility of the story? it is curious that the angels open their address to the apostles in the same form as almost every other speaker in this book. one might ask, indeed, why such an angelic interposition should have taken place? for its utility is not apparent, and in the short sentence recorded nothing which is new is embodied. no surprise is expressed at the appearance of the angels, and nothing is said of their disappearance. they are introduced, like the chorus of a greek play, and are left unceremoniously, with an indifference which betrays complete familiarity with supernatural agency. can there be any doubt that the whole episode is legendary?( ) it may not seem inappropriate to mention here that the idea of a bodily ascension does not originate with the author of the third synoptic and acts, nor is it peculiar to christianity. the translation of enoch( ) had long been chronicled in the sacred books; and the ascent of elijah( ) in his whirlwind and chariot of fire before the eyes of elisha was another well-known instance. the vision of daniel (vii. ), of one like the "son of man" coming with the clouds of heaven, might well have suggested the manner of his departure, but another mode has been suggested.( ) the author of acts was, we maintain, well acquainted with the works of josephus.( ) { } we know that the prophet like unto moses was a favourite representation in acts of the christ. now, in the account which josephus gives of the end of moses, he states that, although he wrote in the holy books that he died lest they should say that he went to god, this was not really his end. after reaching the mountain abarim he dismissed the senate; and as he was about to embrace eleazar, the high priest, and joshua, "a cloud suddenly having stood over him he disappeared in a certain valley."( ) this, however, we merely mention in passing. our earlier examination of the evidence for the origin and authorship of the historical books of the new testament very clearly demonstrated that the testimony of these works for miracles and the reality of divine revelation, whatever that testimony might seem to be, could not be considered of any real value. we have now examined the accounts which the four evangelists actually give of the passion, resurrection, and ascension, and there can be no hesitation in stating as the result that, as might have been expected from works of such uncertain character, these narratives must be pronounced mere legends, embodying vague and wholly unattested tradition. as { } evidence for such stupendous miracles, they are absolutely of no value. no reliance can be placed on a single detail of their story. the aim of the writers has obviously been to make their narrative of the various appearances of jesus as convincing as possible,( ) and they have freely inserted any details which seemed to them calculated to give them impressiveness, force, and verisimilitude. a recent apologetic writer has said: "any one who will attentively read side by side the narratives of these appearances on the first day of the resurrection, will see that they have only been preserved for us in general, interblended and scattered notices (see matt, xxviii. ; luke xxiv. ; acts i. ), which, in strict exactness, render it impossible, without many arbitrary suppositions, to produce from them a _certain_ narrative of the order of events. the lacuna, the compressions, the variations, the actual differences, _the subjectivity of the narrators as affected by spiritual revelations_, render all harmonies at the best uncertain."( ) passing over without comment, the strange phrase in this passage which we have italicised, and which seems to claim divine inspiration for the writers, it must be obvious to any one who has carefully read the preceding pages that this is an exceedingly moderate description of the wild statements and irreconcilable contradictions of the different narratives we have examined. but such as it is, with all the glaring inconsistencies and impossibilities of the accounts even thus subdued, is it possible for any one who has formed even a faint idea of the extraordinary nature of the allegations which have to be attested, to { } consider such documents really evidence for the resurrection and bodily ascension? the usual pleas which are advanced in mitigation of judgment against the gospels for these characteristics are of no avail. it may be easy to excuse the writers for their mutual contradictions, but the pleas themselves are an admission of the shortcomings which render their evidence valueless. "the differences of purpose in the narrative of the four evangelists,"( ) may be fancifully set forth, or ingeniously imagined, but no "purpose" can transform discordant and untrustworthy narratives into evidence for miracles. unless the prologue to the third gospel be considered a condemnation of any of the other synoptics which may have existed before it, none of the evangelists makes the smallest reference to any of his brethren or their works. each gospel tacitly professes to be a perfectly independent work, giving the history of jesus, or at { } least of the active part of his life, and of his death and resurrection. the apologetic theory, derived from the fathers, that the evangelists designed to complete and supplement each other, is totally untenable. each work was evidently intended to be complete in itself; but when we consider that much the greater part of the contents of each of the synoptics is common to the three, frequently with almost literal agreement, and generally without sufficient alteration to conceal community of source or use of each other, the poverty of christian tradition becomes painfully evident. we have already pointed out the fundamental difference between the fourth gospel and the synoptics. in no part of the history does greater contradiction and disagreement between the three synoptics themselves and likewise between them and the fourth gospel exist, than in the account of the passion, resurrection and ascension. it is impossible to examine the four narratives carefully without feeling that here tradition, for natural reasons, has been more than usually wavering and insecure. each writer differs essentially from the rest, and the various narratives not only disagree but exclude each other. the third synoptist, in the course of some years, even contradicts himself. the phenomena which are related, in fact, were too subjective and unsubstantial for sober and consistent narrative, and free play was allowed for pious imagination to frame details by the aid of supposed messianic utterances of the prophets and psalmists of israel. such a miracle as the resurrection, startling as it is in our estimation, was common-place enough in the view of these writers. we need not go hack to discuss the story of the widow's son restored to { } life by elijah,( ) nor that of the dead man who revived on touching the bones of elisha.( ) the raising from the dead of the son of the widow of nain( ) did not apparently produce much effect at the time, and only one of the evangelists seems to have thought it worth while to preserve the narrative. the case of jairus' daughter,( ) whatever it was, is regarded as a resurrection of the dead and is related by two of the synoptists; but the raising of lazarus is only recorded by the fourth evangelist. the familiarity of the age with the idea of the resurrection of the dead, however, according to the synoptists, is illustrated by the representation which they give of the effect produced by the fame of jesus upon herod and others. we are told by the first synoptist that herod said unto his servants: "this is john the baptist; he was raised from the dead; and therefore the powers work in him."( ) the second synoptist repeats the same statement, but adds: "but others said that it is elijah; and others said that it is a prophet like one of the prophets."( ) the statement of the third synoptist is somewhat different. he says: "now herod the tetrarch heard all that was occurring: and he was perplexed because it was said by some that john was raised from the dead, and by some that elijah appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets rose up. and herod { } said: john i beheaded, but who is this of whom i hear such things, and he sought to see him."() the three synoptists substantially report the same thing; the close verbal agreement of the first two being an example of the community of matter of which we have just spoken. the variations are instructive as showing the process by which each writer made the original form his own. are we to assume that these things were really said? or must we conclude that the sayings are simply the creation of later tradition? in the latter case, we see how unreal and legendary are the gospels. in the former case, we learn how common was the belief in a bodily resurrection. how could it seem so strange to the apostles that jesus should rise again, when the idea that john the baptist or one of the old prophets had risen from the dead was so readily accepted by herod and others? how could they so totally misunderstand all that the chief priests, according to the first synoptic, so well understood of the teaching of jesus on the subject of his resurrection, since the world had already become so familiar with the idea and the fact? then, the episode of the transfiguration must have occurred to every one, when jesus took with him peter and james and john into a high mountain apart, "and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as the light. and behold, there was seen [------] by them moses and elijah { } talking with him;" and then "a bright cloud overshadowed them" and "a voice came out of the cloud: this is my beloved son," &c. "and when the disciples heard they fell on their face and were sore afraid."( ) the third synoptist even knows the subject of their conversation: "they were speaking of his decease which he was about to fulfil in jerusalem."( ) this is related by all as an objective occurrence.( ) are we to accept it as such? then how is it possible that the disciples could be so obtuse and incredulous as they subsequently showed themselves to be regarding the person of jesus, and his resurrection? how could the announcement of that event by the angels to the women seem to them as an idle tale, which they did not believe?( ) here were moses and elijah before them, and in jesus, we are told, they recognized one greater than moses and elijah. the miracle of the resurrection was here again anticipated and made palpable to them. are we to regard the transfiguration as a subjective vision? then why not equally so the appearances of jesus after his passion? we can regard the transfiguration, however, as nothing more than an allegory without either objective or subjective reality. into this at present we cannot further go. it is sufficient to repeat that our examination has shown the gospels to possess no value as evidence for the resurrection and ascension. chapter iii. the evidence of paul we may now proceed to examine the evidence of paul. "on one occasion," it is affirmed in a passage already quoted, "he gives a very circumstantial account of the testimony upon which the belief in the resurrection rested ( cor. xv. -- )."( ) this account is as follows: cor. xv. . "for i delivered unto you first of all that which i also received, that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, . and that he was buried, and that he has been raised [------] the third day according to the scriptures, . and that he was seen by cephas, then by the twelve. . after that, he was seen by above five hundred brethren at once [------], of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. . after that, he was seen by james; then by all the apostles. . and last of all he was seen by me also as the one born out of due time."( ) can this be considered a "very circumstantial account"? it may be exceedingly unreasonable, but we must at once acknowledge that we are not satisfied. the testimony { } upon which the belief in the resurrection rests comprised in a dozen lines! for we may so far anticipate as to say that this can scarcely be regarded as a _resume_ of evidence which we can find elsewhere. we shall presently point out a few circumstances which it might be useful to know. the apostle states, in this passage, that the doctrines which he had delivered to the corinthians he had himself "received." he does not pretend to teach them from his own knowledge, and the question naturally arises: from whom did he "receive" them? formerly, divines generally taught that paul received these doctrines by revelation, and up to recent times apologists have continued to hold this view, even when admitting the subsidiary use of tradition.( ) if this claim were seriously made, the statements of the apostle, so far as our inquiry is concerned, would certainly not gain in value, for it is obvious that revelation could not be admitted to prove revelation. it is quite true that paul himself professed to have received his gospel not from men, but from god by direct revelation, and we shall hereafter have to consider this point and the inferences to be drawn from such pretensions. at present, the argument need not be complicated by any such supposition, for certainly paul does not here advance any such claim himself, and apologetic and other critics agree in declaring the source of his statements to be natural historical tradition.( ) the points which he { } delivered and which he had also received are three in number: ( ) that christ died for our sins; ( ) that he was buried; and ( ) that he has been raised the third day. in strictness the [------] might oblige us to include, "and that he appeared to cephas, then to the twelve," after which the construction of the sentence is changed. it is not necessary to press this, however, and it is better for the present to separate the dogmatic statements from those which are more properly evidential. it will be observed that, although the death, burial, and resurrection are here taught as "received," evidence only of one point is offered: that jesus "was seen by" certain persons. we have already pointed out that the gospels do not pretend that any one was an eye-witness of the resurrection itself, and it is important to notice that paul, the earliest and most trustworthy witness produced, entirely passes over the event itself, and relies solely on the fact that jesus was supposed to have been seen by certain persons to prove that he died, was buried, and had actually risen the third day. the only inference which we here wish to draw from this is, that the alleged appearances are thus obviously separated from the death and burial by a distinct gulf. a dead body, it is stated, or one believed to be dead, is laid in a sepulchre: after a certain time, it is alleged that the dead person has been seen alive. supposing the first statement to be correct, the second, being in itself, according to all our experience, utterly incredible, leaves further a serious gap in the continuity of evidence. what occurred in the interval between the burial and the supposed apparition? if it be asserted--as in the gospels it is--that, before the { } apparition, the sepulchre was found empty and the body gone, not only may it be replied that this very circumstance may have assisted in producing a subjective vision, but that, in so far as the disappearance of the body is connected with the appearance of the person apparently alive, the fact has no evidential value. the person supposed to be dead, for instance, may actually not have been so, but have revived; for, although we have no intention ourselves of adopting this explanation of the resurrection, it is, as an alternative, certainly preferable to belief in the miracle. or, in the interval, the body may have been removed from a temporary to a permanent resting place unknown to those who are surprised to find the body gone;--and in the gospels the conflicting accounts of the embalming and hasty burial, as we have seen, would fully permit of such an argument if we relied at all on those narratives. many other means of accounting for the absence of the body might be advanced, any one of which, in the actual default of testimony to the contrary, would be irrefutable. the mere surprise of finding a grave empty which was supposed to contain a body betrays a blank in the knowledge of the persons, which can only be naturally filled up. this gap, at least, would not have existed had the supposed resurrection occurred in the presence of those by whom it is asserted jesus "was seen." as it is, no evidence whatever is offered that jesus really died; no evidence that the sepulchre was even found empty; no evidence that the dead body actually arose and became alive again; but skipping over the intermediate steps, the only evidence produced is the statement that, being supposed to be dead, he is said to have been seen by certain persons.( ) { } there is a peculiarity in the statement to which we must now refer. the words, "according to the scriptures" [------] are twice introduced into the brief recapitulation of the teaching which paul had received and delivered: ( ) "that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures," and ( ) "that he has been raised the third day according to the scriptures." it is evident that mere historical tradition has only to do with the fact "that christ died," and that the object: "for our sins," is a dogmatic addition. the scriptures supply the dogma. in the second point, the appeal to scripture is curious, and so far important as indicating that the resurrection on the third day was supposed to be a fulfilment of prophecy; and we have thus an indication, regarding which we must hereafter speak, of the manner in which the belief probably originated. the double reference to the scriptures is peculiarly marked, and we have already more than once had occasion to point out that the narratives of the gospels betray the very strong and constant influence of parts of the old testament supposed to relate to the messiah. it cannot, we think, be doubted by any independent critic, that the details of these narratives were to a large extent traced from those prophecies. it is in the highest degree natural to suppose that the early christians, once accepting the idea of a suffering messiah, should, in the absence of positive or minute knowledge, assume that prophecies which they believed to have reference to him should actually have been fulfilled, and that in fact the occurrences corresponded minutely with the prophecies. too little is known of what really took place, and it is { } probable that christian tradition generally was moulded from foregone conclusions. what were the "scriptures," according to which "christ died for our sins," and "has been raised the third day?" the passages which are generally referred to, and which paul most probably had in view, are well known: as regards the death for our sins,--isaiah liii., ps. xxii. and lxix,; and for the resurrection,--ps. xvi. , and hosea vi. . we have already pointed out that historical criticism has shown that the first four passages just indicated are not messianic prophecies at all,( ) and we may repeat that the idea of a suffering messiah was wholly foreign to the jewish prophets and people. the messiah "crucified," as paul himself bears witness, was "to jews a stumbling block,"( ) and modern criticism has clearly established that the parts of scripture by which the early christians endeavoured to show that such a messiah had been foretold can only be applied by a perversion of the original signification. in the case of the passages supposed to foretell the resurrection, the misapplication is particularly flagrant. we have already discussed the use of ps. xvi. , which in acts( ) is put into the mouth of the apostles peter and paul, and shown that the proof passage rests upon a mistranslation of the original in the septuagint.( ) any reader who will refer to hosea vi. will see that the passage in no way applies to the messiah,( ) although undoubtedly it has influenced the formation of the doctrine { } of the resurrection. the "sign of the prophet jonah," which in mt. xii. is put into the mouth of jesus is another passage used with equal incorrectness, and a glimpse of the manner in which christian tradition took shape, and the gospels were composed, may be obtained by comparing with the passage in the first synoptic the parallel in the third (xi. -- ).( ) we shall have more to say presently regarding the resurrection" on the third day." we may now proceed to examine the so-called "very circumstantial account of the testimony on which the belief in the resurrection rested." "and that he was seen by cephas, then by the twelve. after that he was seen by above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. after that he was seen by james, then by all the apostles, and last of all he was seen by me also."( ) there can be no doubt, we think, from the terms in which this statement is made, that paul intended to give the appearances in chronological order.( ) it would likewise be a fair inference that he intended to mention all the appearances of which he was aware. so far, the account may possibly merit the epithet "circumstantial," but in all other respects it is scarcely possible to conceive any statement less circumstantial. as to where the risen jesus was seen by these persons, in what manner, and under what circumstances, and at what time, we are not vouchsafed a single particular. moreover, the apostle was not { } present on any of these occasions, excepting of course his own vision, and consequently merely reports appearances of which he has been informed by others, but he omits to mention the authority upon which he makes these statements, or what steps he took to ascertain their accuracy and reality. for instance, when jesus is said to have been seen by five hundred brethren at once, it would have been of the highest importance for us to know the exact details of the scene, the proportion of inference to fact, the character of the apostle's informant, the extent of the investigation into the various impressions made upon the individuals composing the five hundred, as opposed to the collective affirmation. we confess that we do not attach much value to such appeals to the experience of persons at once. it is difficult to find out what the actual experience of the individuals was, and each individual is so apt to catch the infection of his neighbour, and join in excitement, believing that, though he does not himself see or feel anything, his neighbour does, that probably, when inquiry is pressed home, the aggregate affirmation of a large number may resolve itself into the actual experience of very few. the fact is, however, that in this "very circumstantial account" we have nothing whatever except a mere catalogue by paul of certain appearances which he did not himself see--always excepting his own vision, which we reserve--but merely had "received" from others, without a detail or information of any kind. if we compare these appearances with the instances recorded in the gospels, the result is by no means satisfactory. the first appearance is said to be to cephas. it is argued that paul passes in silence over the appearances to women, both because the testimony of women was { } not received in jewish courts, and because his own opinions regarding the active participation of women in matters connected with the church were of a somewhat exclusive character.( ) the appearance to cephas is generally identified with that mentioned, luke xxiv. .( ) nothing could be more cursory than the manner in which this appearance is related in the synoptic. the disciples from emmaus, returning at once to jerusalem, found the eleven and those who were with them saying: "the lord was raised indeed, and was seen by simon." not another syllable is said regarding an appearance which, according to paul, was the first which had occurred. the other gospels say still less, for they ignore the incident altogether. it is difficult to find room for such an appearance in the gospel narratives. if we take the report of paul to be true, that jesus was first seen by cephas, the silence of three evangelists and their contradictory representations, on the one hand, and the remarkable way in which the third gospel avoids all but the mere indirect reference to the occurrence, on the other, are phenomena which we leave apologists to explain.( ) he is next seen "by the twelve." this vision is identified with that narrated in john xx. flf. and luke xxiv. ff,,( ) to which, as thomas was absent on the first occasion, some critics understand the episode in john xx. c if. to be added. on reference to our discussion of { } these accounts, it will be seen that they have few or no elements of credibility. if the appearance to the twelve mentioned by paul be identified with these episodes, and their details be declared authentic, the second item in paul's list becomes discredited. the appearance to brethren at once is not mentioned in any of the gospels, but critics, and especially apologetic critics, assert with more or less of certainty the identity of the occasion with the scene described in matth. xxviii. ff.( ) we remarked whilst discussing the passage that this is based chiefly on the statement that "some doubted," which would have been inconsistent, it is thought, had jesus already appeared to the eleven.( ) the identity is, however, denied by others. the narrative in the first synoptic would scarcely add force to the report in the epistle. is it possible to suppose, however, that, had there been so large a number of persons collected upon that occasion, the evangelist would not have mentioned the fact? on the other hand, does it not somewhat discredit the statement that jesus was seen by so large a number at once, that no record of such a remarkable occurrence exists elsewhere?( ) how could the tradition of such an event, witnessed by so many, have so completely perished that neither in the gospels nor acts, { } nor in any other writing, is there any reference to it, and our only knowledge of it is this bare statement, without a single detail? there is only one explanation: that the assembly could not have recognized in the phenomenon, whatever it was, the risen jesus,( ) or that subsequently an explanation was given which dispelled some temporary illusion. in any case, we must insist that the total absence of all confirmation of an appearance to persons at once alone renders such an occurrence more than suspicious. the statement that the greater number were still living when paul wrote does not materially affect the question. paul doubtless believed the report that such an appearance had taken place, and that the majority of witnesses still survived, but does it necessarily follow that the report was true? the survivors were certainly not within reach of the corinthians, and could not easily be questioned. the whole of the argument of paul which we are considering, as well as that which follows, was drawn from him by the fact that, in corinth, christians actually denied a resurrection, and it is far from clear that this denial did not extend to denying the resurection of jesus himself.( ) that they did deny this we think certain, from the care with which paul gives what he considers evidence for the fact. another point may be mentioned. where could so many as disciples have been collected at one time? the author of acts states (i. ) the number of the christian community gathered together to elect a successor to judas as "about ." apologists, therefore, either suppose the appearance to to have taken place in jerusalem, when numbers of pilgrims { } from galilee and other parts were in the holy city, or that it occurred in galilee itself, where they suppose believers to have been more numerous.( ) this is the merest conjecture; and there is not even ground for asserting that there were so many as brethren in any one place, by whom jesus could have been seen. the appearance to james is not mentioned in any of our gospels. jerome preserves a legend from the gospel of the hebrews, which states that james, after having drunk the cup of the lord, swore that he would not eat bread until he should see him risen from the dead. when jesus rose, therefore, he appeared to james; and, ordering a table and bread to be brought, blessed and broke the bread, and gave it to james.( ) beyond this legendary story there is no other record of the report given by paul. the occasion on which he was seen by "all the apostles" is indefinite, and cannot be identified with any account in the gospels. it is asserted, however, that, although paul does not state from whom he "received" the report of these appearances of the risen jesus, he must have heard them from the apostles themselves. at any rate, it is added, paul professes that his preaching on the death, burial, and resurrection is the same as that of the other apostles.( ) that the other apostles preached the resurrection of jesus may be a fact, but we have no information as to the precise statements they made. we shall presently discuss the doctrine from this point of view, but here we must confine ourselves to paul. it is undeniable that paul { } neither enters into details nor cites authority for the particular appearances which he mentions. as for the inference that, associating with the apostles, he must have been informed by them of the appearances of jesus, we may say that this by no means follows so clearly as is supposed. paul was singularly independent, and in his writings he directly disclaims all indebtedness to the elder apostles. he claims that his gospel is not after man, nor was it taught to him by man, but through revelation of jesus christ( ) now paul himself informs us of his action after it pleased god to reveal his son in him that he might preach him among the gentiles. it might, indeed, have been reasonably expected that paul should then have sought out those who could have informed him of all the extraordinary occurrences supposed to have taken place after the death of jesus. paul does nothing of the kind. he is apparently quite satisfied with his own convictions. "immediately," he says, in his wondrously human and characteristic letter to the galatians, "i communicated not with flesh and blood; neither went i away to jerusalem to them who were apostles before me, but i went away to arabia, and returned again unto damascus. then after three years i went up to jerusalem to visit cephas, and abode with him fifteen days; but other of the apostles saw i none, save james the brother of the lord. now the things which i write, behold before god i lie not.... then after fourteen years i went up again to jerusalem,"( )--upon which occasion, we know, his business was not of a nature to allow us to suppose he obtained much information regarding the resurrection. we may ask: is there that thirst for information { } regarding the facts and doctrines of christianity displayed here, which entitles us to suppose that paul eagerly and minutely investigated the evidence for them? we think not. paul made up his own mind in his own way and, having waited three years without asking a question, it is not probable that the questions which he then asked were of any searching nature. the protest that he saw none of the other apostles may prove his independence, but it certainly does not prove his anxiety for information. when paul went up to make the acquaintance of cephas his object clearly was not to be taught by him, but to place himself in communication with the man whom he believed to be the chief of the apostles and, we may assume, largely with a view to establish a friendly feeling, and secure his recognition of his future ministry. we should not, of course, be justified in affirming that the conversation between the two great apostles never turned upon the subject of the resurrection, but we think that it is obvious that paul's visit was not in the least one of investigation. he believed; he believed that certain events had occurred "according to the scriptures;" and the legitimate inference from paul's own statements must be that, in this visit after three years, his purpose was in no way connected with a search for evidential information. the author of acts, it will be remembered, represents him as, before any visit to jerusalem, publicly and boldly preaching in damascus that jesus is the son of god, and "confounding the jews.... proving that this is the christ."( ) this representation, it will be admitted, shows an advanced condition of belief little supporting the idea of subsequent investigation. when all conjectures are exhausted, however, we have the one distinct fact { } remaining, that paul gives no authority for his report that jesus was seen by the various persons mentioned, nor does he furnish any means by which we can judge of the nature and reality of the alleged phenomena. we continue here to speak of the appearances to others, reserving the appearance to himself, as standing upon a different basis, for separate examination. what is the value of this evidence? the fact to be proved is that, after a man had been crucified, dead, and buried, he actually rose from the dead, and appeared alive to many persons. the evidence is that paul, writing some twenty years after the supposed miraculous occurrences, states, without detailed information of any kind, and without pretending to have himself been an eyewitness of the phenomena, that he has been told that jesus was, after his death and burial, seen alive on the occasions mentioned! as to the apostle paul himself, let it be said in the strongest and most emphatic manner possible that we do not suggest the most distant suspicion of the sincerity of any historical statement he makes. we implicitly accept the historical statements, as distinguished from inferences, which proceed from his pen. it cannot be doubted that paul was told that such appearances had taken place. we do not question the fact that he believed them to have taken place; and we shall hereafter discuss the weight to be attached to this circumstance. does this, however, guarantee the truth of the reports or inferences of those who informed the apostle? does the mere passage of any story or tradition through paul necessarily transmute error into truth--self-deception or hallucination into objective fact? are we--without any information as to what was really stated to paul, as to the personality and character of his { } informants, as to the details of what was believed, to have occurred, as to the means taken or which it might have been possible to take to test the reality of the alleged phenomena, without an opportunity of judging for ourselves on a single point--to believe in the reality of these appearances simply because paul states that he has been informed that they occurred, and himself believes the report? so far as the belief of paul is concerned, we may here remark that his views as to the miraculous charismata in the church do not prepare us to feel any confidence in the sobriety of his judgment in connection with alleged supernatural occurrences. we have no reliance upon his instinctive mistrust of such statements, or his imperative requirement of evidence, but every reason to doubt them. on the other hand, without in any way imputing wilful incorrectness or untruth to the reporters of such phenomena, let it be remembered how important a part inference has to play in the narrative of every incident, and how easy it is to draw erroneous inferences from bare facts.( ) in proportion as persons are ignorant, on the one hand, and have their minds disturbed, on the other, by religious depression or excitement, hope, fear, or any other powerful emotion, they are liable to confound facts and inferences, and both to see and analyse wrongly. in the case of a supposed appearance we may merely in passing refer to the case of mary magdalene in the fourth gospel. she sees a figure standing beside her, and infers that it is the gardener:--presently something else occurs which leads her to infer that she was mistaken in her first inference, and to infer next, that it is jesus. it is a narrative upon which no serious argument can be based, but had she at first turned away, her first inference would have remained, and, according to the narrative, have been erroneous. we might also argue that, if further examination had taken place, her second inference might have proved as erroneous as the first is declared to have been. { } alive of a person believed to be dead, it will scarcely be disputed, there are many disturbing elements, especially when that person has just died by a cruel and shameful death, and is believed to be the messiah. the occurrence which we at any time see is, strictly speaking, merely a series of appearances, and the actual nature of the thing seen is determined in our minds by inferences. how often are these inferences correct? we venture to say that the greater part of the proverbial incorrectness and inaccuracy which prevails arises from the circumstance that inferences are not distinguished from facts, and are constantly erroneous. now in that age, under such circumstances, and with oriental temperaments, it is absolutely certain that there was exceptional liability to error; and the fact that paul repeats the statements of unknown persons, dependent so materially upon inference, cannot possibly warrant us in believing them when they contradict known laws which express the results of universal experience. it is infinitely more probable that these persons were mistaken, than that a dead man returned to life again, and appeared to them. we shall presently consider how much importance is to be attached to the mere belief in the occurrence of such phenomena, but with regard to the appearances referred to by paul, except in so far as they attest the fact that certain persons may have believed that jesus appeared to them, such evidence has not the slightest value, and is indeed almost ludicrously insufficient to establish the reality of so stupendous a miracle as the resurrection. it will have been observed that of the ascension there is not a word--obviously, for paul the resurrection and ascension were one act. having so far discussed paul's report that jesus rose { } from the dead and was seen by others, we turn to his statement that, last of all, he was seen also by himself. in the former cases, we have had to complain of the total absence of detailed information as to the circumstances under which he was supposed to have been seen; but it may be expected that, at least in his own case, we shall have full and minute particulars of so interesting and extraordinary a phenomenon. here again we are disappointed. paul does not give us a single detail. he neither tells us when, where, nor how he saw jesus. it was all the more important that he should have entered into the particulars of this apparition, because there is one peculiarity in his case which requires notice. whereas it may be supposed that in the other instances jesus is represented as being seen immediately after the resurrection and before his ascension, the appearance to paul must be placed years after that occurrence is alleged to have taken place. the question, therefore, arises: was the appearance to paul of the same character as the former? paul evidently considers that it was. he uses the very same word when he says "he was seen [------] by me," that he employs in stating that "he was seen [------] by cephas" and the rest, and he classes all the appearances together in precisely the same way. if, therefore, paul knew anything of the nature of the appearances to the others, and yet considers them to have been of the same nature as his own, an accurate account of his own vision might have enabled us in some degree to estimate that of the others. even without this account, it is something to know that paul believed that there was no difference between the earlier and later appearances. and yet, if we reflect that in the appearances immediately after the resurrection the representation is that jesus possessed the very same body that had { } hung on the cross and been laid in the sepulchre, and that, according to the gospels, he exhibited his wounds, allowed them to be touched, assured the disciples of his corporeality by permitting himself to be handled, and even by eating food in their presence, and that in the case of paul the appearance took place years after jesus is said to have ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of god, the identity of the apparitions becomes a suggestive feature. the testimony of paul must at least override that of the gospels, and whatever may have been the vision of paul, we may fairly assume that the vision of peter and the rest was like it. beyond this inference, however, paul gives us no light with regard to the appearance of jesus to himself. he merely affirms that jesus did appear to him. "have i not seen jesus our lord?" he says in one place.( ) elsewhere he relates: "but when he was pleased, who set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles; immediately, i communicated not with flesh and blood.... but i went away into arabia and returned again unto damascus."( ) various opinions have been expressed regarding the rendering of [------]. the great majority of critics agree that the direct and natural sense must be adopted: "to reveal his son in me," that is to say, "within me," "in my spirit."( ) others maintain that [------] must be { } rendered "through me,"( ) giving [------] the sense of [------]; but in that case the following context would be quite unnecessary. hilgenfeld( ) thinks that the meaning is "in his person;" and ruckert( ) and a few others read "to me." the liberties taken by interpreters of the new testament with the preposition [------], too frequently from preconceived dogmatic reasons, are remarkable. the importance of this passage chiefly lies in the question whether the revelation here referred to is the same as the appearance to him of jesus of the corinthian letter. some critics incline to the view that it is so,( ) whilst others consider that paul does not thus speak of his vision, but rather of the doctrine concerning jesus which formed his gospel, and which paul claimed to have received, not from man, but by revelation from god.( ) upon this point we have only a few remarks to make. if it be understood that paul refers to the appearance to him of jesus, it is clear that he represents it in these words as a subjective vision, within his own consciousness. if, on the other hand, he do not refer to the appearance, then the passage loses all distinct reference to that occurrence. we do not intend to lay any further stress upon the expression than this, and it is fair to add that we do not think there is any special reference to the apparition of jesus in the { } passage, but simply an allusion to his conversion to christianity, which the apostle considered a revelation in his mind of the true character and work of the christ which had previously been so completely misunderstood by him. we may as well say at once that we desire to take the argument in its broadest form, without wasting time by showing that paul himself uses language which seems to indicate that he recognised the appearance of jesus to have been merely subjective. the only other passage which we need now mention is the account which paul gives, cor. xii. ff, of his being caught up to the third heaven. a few critics consider that this may be the occasion on which jesus appeared to him, to which he refers in the passage of the former letter which we are considering,( ) but the great majority are opposed to the supposition. in any case there is no evidence that the occasions are identical, and we therefore are not entitled to assume that they are so. it will have been observed that we have hitherto confined our attention wholly to the undoubted writings of paul. were there no other reason than the simple fact that we are examining the evidence of paul himself, and have, therefore, to do with that evidence alone, we should be thoroughly justified in this course. it is difficult to clear the mind of statements regarding paul and his conversion which are made in the acts of the apostles, but it is absolutely essential that we should understand clearly what paul himself tells us and what he does not, for the present totally excluding acts. what then does paul himself tell us of the circumstances under which he saw jesus? { } absolutely nothing. the whole of his evidence for the resurrection consists in the bare statement that he did see jesus. now can the fact that any man merely affirms, without even stating the circumstances, that a person once dead and buried has risen from the dead and been seen by him, be seriously considered satisfactory evidence for so astounding a miracle? is it possible for any one of sober mind, acquainted with the nature of the proposition, on the one hand, and with the innumerable possibilities of error, on the other, to regard such an affirmation even as evidence of much importance in such a matter? we venture to say that, in such a case, an affirmation of this nature, even made by a man of high character and ability, would possess little weight. if the person making it, although of the highest honour, were known to suppose himself the subject of constant revelations and visions, and if, perhaps, he had a constitutional tendency to nervous excitement and ecstatic trance, his evidence would have no weight at all. we shall presently have to speak of this more in detail in connection with paul. such an allegation even supported by the fullest information and most circumstantial statement could not establish the reality of the miracle; without them, it has no claim to belief. what is the value of a person's testimony who simply makes an affirmation of some important matter, unaccompanied by particulars, and the truth of which cannot be subjected to the test of even the slightest cross-examination? it is worth nothing. it would not be received at all in a court of justice. if we knew the whole of the circumstances of the apparition to paul, from which he inferred that he had seen the risen jesus, the natural explanation of the supposed miracle might be { } easy. there were no other witnesses of it. this is clear; for, had there been, paul must have mentioned them as he mentioned the five hundred. we have only the report of a man who states that he had seen.jesus, unconfirmed by any witnesses. under no circumstances could isolated evidence like this be ol much value. facts and inferences are alike uncorroborated, but on the other hand are contradicted by universal experience. when we analyse the evidence, it is reduced to this: paul believed that he had seen jesus. this belief constitutes the whole evidence of paul himself for the resurrection. it is usual to argue that the powerful effect which this belief produced upon paul's life and teaching renders this belief of extraordinary force as evidence. this we are not prepared to admit. if the assertion that jesus appeared to him had not been believed by paul, it would not have secured a moment's attention. that this belief affected his life was the inevitable consequence of such belief. paul eminently combined works with faith in his own life. when he believed jesus to be an impostor, he did not content himself with sneering at human credulity, but vigorously persecuted his followers. when he came to believe jesus to be the messiah, he was not more inactive, but became the irrepressible apostle of the gentiles. he acted upon his convictions in both cases; but his mere persecution of christianity no more proved jesus to be an impostor than his mere preaching of christianity proved jesus to be the messiah. it only proved that he believed so. he was as earnest in the one case as in the other. we repeat, therefore, that the evidence of paul for the resurrection amounts to { } nothing more than the unfeigned belief that jesus had been seen by him. we shall presently further examine the value of this belief as evidence for so astounding a miracle. we must not form exaggerated conceptions of the effect upon paul of the appearance to him of jesus. that his convictions and views of christianity were based upon the reality of the resurrection is undeniable, and that they received powerful confirmation and impulse through his vision of jesus is also not to be doubted, but let us clear our minds of representations derived from other sources and clearly understand what paul himself does and does not say of this vision, and for this purpose we must confine ourselves to the undoubted writings of the apostle. does paul himself ascribe his conversion to christianity to the fact of his having seen jesus? most certainly not. that is a notion derived solely from the statements in acts. the sudden and miraculous conversion of paul is a product of the same pen which produced the story of the sudden conversion of the thief on the cross, an episode equally unknown to other writers. paul neither savs when nor where he saw jesus. the revelation of god's son in him not being an allusion to this vision of jesus, but merely a reference to the light which dawned upon paul's mind as to the character and mission of jesus, there is no ground whatever, from the writings of the apostle himself, to connect the appearance of jesus with the conversion of paul. the statement in the epistle to the galatians simply amounts to this: when it pleased him who elected him from his mother's womb, and called him by his grace, to reveal to his mind the truth concerning his son, that he might preach { } him among the gentiles, he communicated not with flesh and blood, neither did he go up to jerusalem to those who were apostles before him, but immediately went away to arabia, and after that returned again to damascus. it can scarcely be doubted that paul here refers to his change of views--to his conversion--but as little can it be doubted that he does not ascribe that conversion to the appearance to him of jesus spoken of in the corinthian letter. let any reader who honestly desires to ascertain the exact position of the case ask himself the simple question whether, supposing the acts of the apostles never to have existed, it is possible to deduce from this, or any other statement of paul, that he actually ascribes his conversion to the fact that jesus appeared to him in a supernatural manner. he may possibly in some degree base his apostolic claims upon that appearance, although it may be doubted how far he does even this; if he did so, it would only prove the reality of his belief, but not the reality of the vision; but there is no evidence whatever in the writings of paul that he connected his conversion with the appearance of jesus. all that we can legitimately infer seems to be that, before his adoption of christianity, he had persecuted the church;( ) and further it may be gathered from the passage in the galatian letter, that at the time when this change occurred he. was at damascus. at least he says that from arabia he "returned again to damascus," which seems to imply that he first went from that city to arabia. when we consider the expressions in the two letters, it becomes apparent that paul does not set forth any instantaneous conversion of the { } character related elsewhere. to the galatians he describes his election from his mother's womb and call by the grace of god as antecedent to the revelation of his son in him: "when he who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles," &c. and if the reading "through me" be adopted, the sense we are pointing out becomes still more apparent. in the corinthian letter again, the expressions should be remarked: v. . "and last of all he was seen by me also, as the one born out of due time. . for i am the least of the apostles, that am not fit to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of god: . but by the grace of god i am what i am: and his grace which was (bestowed) upon me was not in vain, but i laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not i, but the grace of god with me. . whether, therefore, it were i or they, so we preach, and so ye believed."( ) peter sees jesus first, paul sees him last; and as the thought uppermost in his mind in writing this epistle was the parties in the corinthian church, and the opposition to himself and denial even of his apostleship, the mention of his having seen jesus immediately leads him to speak of his apostolic claims. "am i not an apostle? have i not seen jesus our lord?" he had just before exclaimed, and proceeded to defend himself against his opponents: here again he reverts to the same }{ subject, with proud humility calling himself, on the one hand, "the least of the apostles," but, on the other, asserting that he had "laboured more than they all." he is led to contrast his past life with his present; the time when he persecuted the church with that in which he built it up. there is, however, no allusion to any miraculous conversion when he says: "by the grace of god i am what i am." he may consider his having seen the lord and become a witness of his resurrection one part of his qualification for the apostolate, but assuredly he does not represent this as the means of his conversion. we shall not pause to discuss at length how far being a witness for the resurrection really was made a necessary qualification for the apostolic office. the passages, luke xxiv. , acts i. , ii. , upon which the theory mainly rests, are not evidence of the fact which can for a moment be accepted. it is obvious that the twelve were apostles from having been chosen disciples of the master from the commencement of his active career, and not from any fortuitous circumstance at its close. if paul says: "am i not an apostle? have i not seen jesus our lord?" he continues: "are ye not my work in the lord? if i am not an apostle unto others, yet i am at least to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the lord. my defence to them that examine me is this."( ) there can be no doubt that the claims of paul to the apostolate were, during his life, constantly denied, and his authority rejected. as we have elsewhere pointed out, there is no evidence that his apostleship was ever recognised by the elder apostles, nor that his claim was ever submitted to them. even in the { } second century, the clementine homilies deny him the honour, and make light of his visions and revelations. all the evidence we possess shows that paul's vision of jesus did not secure for him much consideration in his own time, a circumstance which certainly does not tend to establish its reality. what weight can we, then, attach to the representation in the acts of the apostles of the conversion of paul? our examination of that work has sufficiently shown that none of its statements can be received as historical. where we have been able to compare them with the epistles of paul, they have not been in agreement. nothing could be more obvious than the contradiction between the narrative of paul's conduct after his conversion, according to acts, and the account which paul gives in the galatian letter. we need not repeat the demonstration here. where we possess the means of comparison, we discover the inaccuracy of acts. why should we suppose that which we cannot compare more accurate? so far as our argument is concerned, it matters very little whether we exclude the narrative of the conversion of acts or not. we point out, however, that there is no confirmation whatever in the writings of paul of the representation of his conversion by means of a vision of jesus, which, upon all considerations, may much more reasonably be assigned to a somewhat later period. if we ventured to conjecture, we should say that the author of acts has expanded the scattered sayings of paul into this narrative, making the miraculous conversion by a personal interposition of jesus, which he therefore relates no less than three times, counterbalance the disadvantage of his not having followed jesus in the { } flesh.( ) it is curious that he has introduced the bare statement into the third synoptic, that jesus "was seen by simon" [------],( ) which none of the other evangelists mentions, but which he may have found, without farther particulars, [------], in the epistle whence he derived, perhaps, materials for the other story. in no case can the narrative in acts be received as evidence of the slightest value; but in order not to pass over even such statements in silence, we shall very briefly examine it. the narrative is repeated thrice: in the first instance (ix. ff.) as a historical account of the transaction; next (xxii. if.) introduced into a speech supposed to be delivered by paul to the jews when taken prisoner in consequence of their uproar on finding him in the temple purifying himself with the four men who had a vow,--a position which cannot historically be reconciled with the character and views of paul; and, thirdly, again put into the mouth of the apostle (xxvi. ff.) when he pleads his cause before king agrippa. paul is represented in the headlong career of persecuting the church, and going with letters from the high priest empowering him to bring christian men and women bound unto jerusalem. "and as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh to damascus, and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of the heaven, and he fell upon the earth and heard a voice saying unto him: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? and he said, who art thou, lord? and he said, i am jesus whom thou persecutest. but rise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."( ) in the second account, there is so far { } no very wide discrepancy, but there, as in the third, the time is said to be about noon. there is a very considerable difference in the third account, however, more especially in the report of what is said by the voice: xxvi. . "at midday, o king, i saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those journeying with me; . and when we all fell to the earth, i heard a voice saying unto me in the hebrew tongue: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against pricks. . and i said: who art thou, lord? and the lord said: i am jesus whom thou persecutest. . but rise and stand upon thy feet; for i was seen by thee for this purpose, to choose thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou sawest, and of the things in which i will appear unto thee; . delivering thee from the people and from the gentiles, unto whom i send thee; . to open their eyes, that they may turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."( ) { } it will be admitted that this address is widely different from that reported in the two earlier accounts. apologists argue that, in this third narrative, paul has simply transferred from ananias to jesus the message delivered to him by the former, according to the second account. let us first see what ananias is there represented as saying. acts xxii. : "and he said: the god of our fathers chose thee, to know his will and to see the righteous one'( ) . for thou shalt be a witness to him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." ( ) now paul clearly professes in the speech which he is represented as delivering before agrippa to state what the voice said to him: "and he said," "and i said," "and he said," distinctly convey the meaning that the report is to be what actually was said. if the sense of what ananias said to him is embodied in part of the address ascribed to the voice, it is strangely altered and put into the first person; but, beyond this, there is much added which neither appears in the speech of ananias nor anywhere else in any of the narratives. if we further compare the instructions given to ananias in the vision of the first narrative with his words in the second and those ascribed to the voice in the third, we shall see that these again differ very materially. acts ix. . "but the lord said unto him: go; for this man is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before gentiles and kings, and the sons of israel: . for i will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake."( ) it will be remembered that this epithet occurs in acts iii. , vii. , and nowhere else in the new testament. { } what must we think of a writer who deals so freely with his materials, and takes such liberties even with so serious a matter as this heavenly vision and the words of the glorified jesus? in the third account, jesus is represented as saying: "it is hard for thee to kick against pricks."( ) this is a well-known proverbial saying, frequently used by classical greek and latin authors,( ) and not altogether strange to hebrew. it is a singularly anthropomorphic representation to put such a saying into the mouth of the divine apparition, and it assists in betraying the mundane origin of the whole scene. another point deserving consideration is, that paul is not told what he is to do by the voice of jesus, but is desired to go into the city to be there instructed by ananias. this is clearly opposed to paul's own repeated asseverations. "for neither did i receive it from man nor was taught it, but through a revelation of jesus christ,"( ) is his statement. the details of the incident itself, moreover, are differently stated in the various accounts and cannot be reconciled. according to the first account, the companions of paul "stood speechless" (ix. ); in the third, they "all fell to the earth" (xxvi. ). the explanation, that they first fell to the ground and then rose up, fails { } satisfactorily to harmonise the two statements; as does likewise the suggestion that the first expression is simply an idiomatic mole of saying that they were speechless, independent of position. then again, in the first account, it is said that the men stood speechless, "hearing the voice [------] but seeing no one."' in the second we are told: "and they that were with me saw indeed the light; but they heard not the voice [------] of him speaking to me."( ) no two statements could be more contradictory. the attempt to reconcile them by explaining the verb [------] in the one place "to hear" and in the other "to understand" is inadmissible, because wholly arbitrary. it is quite obvious that the word is used in the same sense in both passages, the difference being merely the negative. in the third account, the voice is described as speaking "in the hebrew tongue,"( ) which was probably the native tongue of the companions of paul from jerusalem. if they heard the voice speaking hebrew, they must have understood it the effort to make the vision clearly objective, and, at the same time, to confine it to paul, leads to these complications. the voice is heard, though the speaker is not seen, by the men, in the one story, whilst the light is seen, and the voice not heard, in the other, and yet it speaks in hebrew according to the third, and even makes use of classical proverbs, and uses language wondrously similar to that of the author of acts. we may remark here that paul's gospel was certainly not revealed to him upon this occasion; and, therefore, the expressions in his epistles upon this subject must be referred to other revelations. there is, however, { } another curious point to be observed. paul is not described as having actually seen jesus in the vision. according to the first two accounts, a light shines round about him and he falls to the ground and hears a voice; when he rises he is blind.( ) if in the third account, he sees the light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining round about him and his companions,( ) they equally see it, according to the second account.( ) the blindness, therefore, is miraculous and symbolic, for the men are not blinded by the light.( ) it is singular that paul nowhere refers to this blindness in his letters. it cannot be doubted that the writer's purpose is to symbolise the very change from darkness to light, in the case of paul, which, after old testament prophecies, is referred to in the words ascribed, in the third account,( ) to the voice. paul, thus, only sees the light which surrounds the glorified jesus, but not his own person, and the identification proceeds only from the statement: "i am jesus whom thou persecutest." it is true that the expression is strangely put into the mouth of jesus, in the third account: "for i was seen by thee [------] for this purpose," &c,( ) but the narrative excludes the actual sight of the speaker, and it is scarcely possible to read the words just quoted, and their context, without being struck by their incongruity. we need not indicate the sources of this representation of light shrouding the heavenly vision, so common in the old testament. before proceeding to the rest of the account, we may point out in passing the similarity of the details of this scene to the vision of daniel x. - . { } returning, however, to the first narrative, we are told that, about the same time as this miracle was occurring to paul, a supernatural communication was being made to ananias in damascus: ix. . "and to him said the lord in a vision: ananias. and he said, behold i am here, lord. . and the lord said unto him: rise and go to the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of judas for one called saul, of tarsus; for, behold he prayeth; . and he saw a man named ananias who came in and put his hand on him that he might receive sight. . but ananias answered, lord, i heard from many concerning this man, how much evil he did to thy saints in jerusalem: . and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. . but the lord said, go, &c. (quoted above). . and ananias went away, and entered into the house; and having put his hands on him said: brother saul, the lord hath sent me, even jesus that appeared unto thee in the way by which thou earnest, that thou mightest receive sight and be filled with the holy spirit. . and immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales; and he received sight, rose up, and was baptized, and having taken food was strengthened." we have already had occasion to point out, in connection with the parallelism kept up in acts between the apostle of the gentiles and the apostle of the circumcision, that a similar double vision is narrated by the author as occurring to peter and cornelius. some further vision is referred to in v. ; for in no form of the narrative of paul's vision on the way to damascus is he represented as seeing a man named ananias coming to him for the purpose described. many questions are { } suggested by the story just quoted. how did ananias know that paul had authority from the chief priests to arrest any one? how could he argue in such a way with the lord? did he not then know that jesus had appeared to paul on the way? how did he get that information? is it not an extraordinary thing that paul never mentions ananias in any of his letters, nor in any way refers to these miracles? we have already referred to the symbolic nature of the blindness, and recovery of sight on receiving the holy spirit and being baptized, and this is rendered still more apparent by the statement: v. . "and he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." we may further point out that in immediate connection with this episode paul is represented, in the second account, as stating that, on going to jerusalem, he has another vision of jesus:xxii. . "and it came to pass that, when i returned to jerusalem and was praying in the temple, i was in a trance, . and saw him saying unto me: make haste, and get thee quickly out of jerusalem; for they will not receive thy witness concerning me. . and i said: lord, they themselves know that i was wont to imprison and beat in every synagogue them that believe on thee. . and when the blood of stephen, thy witness, was shed, i also was standing by and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. . and he said unto me: go, for i will send thee far hence unto the gentiles." it seems impossible, considering the utter silence of paul, that the apparition to which he refers can have spoken to him at length as described upon these occasions.( ) we have elsewhere remarked { } that there is not the slightest evidence in his own or other writings connecting stephen with paul, and it may be appropriate to add here that, supposing him to have been present when the martyr exclaimed: "lo, i behold the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of god,"( ) it is singular that he does not name him as one of those by whom jesus "was seen." to resume this discussion, however: we have already shown that the statements of the acts regarding paul's conduct after this alleged vision are distinctly in contradiction with the statements of paul. the explanation here given of the cause of paul's leaving jerusalem, moreover, is not in agreement with acts ix. f., and much less with gal. i. ff. the three narratives themselves are full of irreconcilable differences and incongruities, which destroy all reasonable confidence in any substantial basis for the story. it is evident that the three narratives are from the same pen, and betray the composition of the author of acts.( ) they cannot be regarded as true history.( ) the hand of the composer is very apparent in the lavish use of the miraculous, so characteristic of the whole work. { } it is worth while to catalogue the supernatural incidents of this episode. the vision; companions hearing the voice but seeing no man, or not hearing the voice but seeing the light; paul's blindness; vision of ananias; restoration of sight to paul; trance of paul in jerusalem. such a narrative cannot be received in evidence. the whole of the testimony before us, then, simply amounts to this: paul believed that he had seen jesus some years after his death: there is no evidence that he ever saw him during his life.( ) he states that he had "received" that he was seen by various other persons, but he does not give the slightest information as to who told him, or what reasons he had for believing the statements to be correct. and still less does he narrate the particulars of the alleged appearances or even of his own vision. although we have no detailed statements of these extraordinary phenomena, we may assume that, as paul himself believed that he had seen jesus, certain other people of the circle of his disciples likewise believed that they had seen the risen master. the whole of the evidence for the resurrection reduces itself to an undefined belief on the part of a few persons, in a notoriously superstitious age, that after jesus had died and been buried they had seen him alive. these visions, it is admitted, occurred at a time of the most intense religious excitement, and under circumstances of wholly exceptional mental agitation and distress. the wildest alternations of fear, doubt, hope and { } indefinite expectation added their effects to oriental imaginations already excited by indignation at the fate of their master, and sorrow or despair at such a dissipation of their messianic dreams. there was present every element of intellectual and moral disturbance. now must we seriously ask again whether this bare and wholly unjustified belief can be accepted as satisfactory evidence for so astounding a miracle as the resurrection? can the belief of such men, in such an age, establish the reality of a phenomenon which contradicts universal experience? it comes to us in the form of bare belief from the age of miracles, unsupported by facts, uncorroborated by evidence, unaccompanied by proof of investigation, and unprovided with material for examination. what is such belief worth? we have no.hesitation in saying that it is absolutely worth nothing. we might here well bring our inquiry to a close, for we have no further evidence to deal with. the problem, however, is so full of interest that we cannot yet lay it down, and although we must restrain our argument within certain rigid limits, and wholly refrain from entering into regions of mere speculation, we may further discuss the origin and nature of the belief in the resurrection. recognizing the fact that, although its nature and extent are very indefinite, there existed an undoubted belief that, after his death, jesus was seen alive; the argument is advanced that there must have been a real basis for this belief. { } "the existence of a christian society," says an apologetic writer, "is the first and (if rightly viewed) the final proof of the historic truth of the miracle on which it was founded. it may indeed be said that the church was founded upon the belief in the resurrection, and not upon the resurrection itself: and that the testimony must therefore be limited to the attestation of the belief, and cannot reach to the attestation of the fact. but belief expressed in action is for the most part the strongest evidence which we can have of any historic event. unless, therefore, it can be shown that the origin of the apostolic belief in the resurrection, with due regard to the fulness of its characteristic form, and the breadth and rapidity of its propagation can be satisfactorily explained on other grounds, the belief itself is a sufficient proof of the fact."( ) this is obviously paley's argument of the twelve men( ) in a condensed form. belief in action may be the strongest evidence which we can have of any historic event; but when the historic event happens to be an event in religious history, and an astounding miracle like the resurrection, such bare evidence, emanating from such an age, is not very strong evidence, after all. the breadth and rapidity of its propagation absolutely prove nothing but belief in the report of those who believed; although it is very far from evident that people embraced christianity from a rational belief in the resurrection. no one pretends that the gentiles who believed made a preliminary examination of the truth of the resurrection. if breadth { } and rapidity of propagation be taken as sufficient proof of the truth of facts, we might consider buddhism and mahomedanism as satisfactorily attested creeds. there could not be a greater fallacy than the supposition that the origin of a belief must be explained upon other grounds, or that belief itself accepted as a sufficient proof of the fact asserted. the truth or falsehood of any allegation is determined by a balance of evidence, and the critic is no more bound to account for the formation of erroneous belief than he is bound to believe because he may not, after a great lapse of time, be able so clearly to demonstrate the particular manner in which that erroneous belief originated, that any other mode is definitely excluded. the belief that a dead man rose from the dead and appeared to several persons alive is at once disposed of upon abstract grounds. the alleged occurrence is contrary to universal experience; but on the other hand the prevalence of defective observation, mistaken inference, self-deception and credulity, any of which might lead to such belief, are only too well known to it. is it necessary to define which peculiar form of error is present in every false belief, before, with this immense preponderance of evidence against it, we finally reject it? we think not. any explanation consistent with universal experience must be adopted, rather than a belief which is contradictory to it. there are two theories which have been advanced to explain the origin of the apostolic belief in the resurrection, to which we may now briefly refer; but it must be clearly understood that the suggestion of an explanation is quite apart from our examination of the actual evidence for the resurrection. fifty { } explanations might be offered and be considered unsatisfactory without in the least degree altering the fact, that the testimony for the final miracle of christianity is totally insufficient, and that the allegation that it actually occurred cannot be maintained. the first explanation, adopted by some able critics, is that jesus did not really die on the cross, but being taken down alive, and his body being delivered to friends, he subsequently revived. in support of this theory, it is argued that jesus is represented by the gospels as expiring after having been but three to six hours upon the cross, which would have been an un-precedentedly rapid death. it is affirmed that only the hands and not the feet were nailed to the cross. the crurifragium, not usually accompanying crucifixion, is dismissed as unknown to the three synoptists, and only inserted by the fourth evangelist for dogmatic reasons, and of course the lance-thrust disappears with the leg-breaking. thus the apparent death was that profound faintness which might well fall upon such an organization after some hours of physical and mental agony on the cross, following the continued strain and fatigue of the previous night. as soon as he had sufficiently recovered, it is supposed that jesus visited his disciples a few times to re-assure them, but with precaution on account of the jews, and was by them believed to have risen from the dead, as indeed he himself may likewise have supposed, reviving as he had done from the faintness of death.( ) { } seeing, however, that his death had set the crown upon his work, the master withdrew into impenetrable obscurity and was heard of no more. we have given but the baldest outline of this theory; for it would occupy too much space to represent it adequately and show the ingenuity with which it is worked out, and the very considerable support which it receives from statements in the gospels, and from inferences deducible from them. we do not ourselves adopt this explanation, although it must be clearly repeated that, were the only alternative to do so, or to fall back upon the hypothesis of a miracle, we should consider it preferable. a serious objection brought against the theory seems to be, that it is not natural to suppose that, after such intense and protracted fatigue and anxiety followed by the most cruel agony on the cross, agony both of soul and body,( ) ending in unconsciousness only short of death, jesus could within a short period have presented himself to his disciples with such an aspect as could have conveyed to them the impression of { } victory over death by the prince of life. he must still, it is urged, have presented the fresh traces of suffering and weakness little calculated to inspire them with the idea of divine power and glory. this is partly, but not altogether, true. there is no evidence, as we shall presently show, that the appearances of jesus occurred so soon as is generally represented; and, in their astonishment at again seeing the master whom they supposed to be dead, the disciples could not have been in a state minutely to remark the signs of suffering,( ) then probably, with the power of a mind like that of jesus over physical weakness, little apparent. time and imagination would doubtless soon have effaced from their minds any such impressions, and left only the belief that he had risen from the dead to develop and form the christian doctrine. a more powerful objection seems to us the disappearance of jesus. we cannot easily persuade ourselves that such a teacher could have renounced his work and left no subsequent trace of his existence. still, it must be admitted that many explanations might be offered on this head, the most obvious being that death, whether as the result of the terrible crisis through which he had passed, or from some other cause, may soon after have ensued. we repeat, however, that we neither advance this explanation nor think it worth while to discuss it seriously, not because we think it untenable, although we do not adopt it, but because we consider that there is another explanation of the origin of belief in the resurrection which the repeated statement in the gospels that the women and his disciples did not at first recognize the risen jesus, are quoted in connection with this point. { } is better, and which is in our opinion the true one. we mean that which is usually called the "vision-hypothesis." the phenomenon which has to be accounted for is the apostolic belief that, after he had been dead and buried, jesus "was seen" [------] by certain persons. the explanation which we offer, and which has long been adopted in various forms by able critics, is, that doubtless jesus was seen, but the vision was not real ^and objective, but illusory and subjective; that is to say: jesus was not himself seen, but only a representation of jesus within the minds of the beholders. this explanation not only does not impeach the veracity of those who affirmed that they had seen jesus, but, accepting to a certain extent a subjective truth as the basis of the belief, explains upon well-known and natural principles the erroneous inference deduced from the subjective vision. it seems to us that the points to be determined are simple and obvious: is it possible for a man to mistake subjective impressions for objective occurrences? is it possible that any considerable number of persons can at the same time receive similar subjective impressions and mistake them for objective facts? if these questions can be answered affirmatively, { } and it can be shown that the circumstances, the characters, the constitution of those who believed in the first instance, favoured the reception of such subjective impressions, and the deduction of erroneous inferences, it must be admitted that a satisfactory explanation can thus be given of the apostolic belief, on other grounds than the reality of a miracle opposed to universal experience. no sooner is the first question formulated than it becomes obvious to every one who is acquainted with psychological and physiological researches, or who has even the most elementary knowledge of the influence of the mind upon the body, that it must at once be answered in the affirmative. indeed the affirmation that subjective impressions, in connection with every sense, can be mistaken for, and believed to be, actual objective effects, is so trite that it seems almost superfluous to make it. every reader must be well acquainted with illustrations of the fact. the only difficulty is to deal authoritatively with such a point within moderate compass. we must limit ourselves to the sense of sight "there are abundant proofs," says sir benjamin brodie, "that impressions may be made in the brain by other causes simulating those which are made on it by external objects through the medium of the organs of sense, thus producing false perceptions, which may, in the first instance, and before we have had time to reflect on the subject, be mistaken for realities."( ) the limitation here introduced: "before we have had time to reflect on the subject," is of course valid in the case of those whose reason is capable of rejecting the false perceptions, whether on the ground of natural { } law or of probability; but, in anyone ignorant of natural law, familiar with the idea of supernatural agency and the occurrence of miraculous events, it is obvious, reflection, if reflection of a sceptical kind can even be assumed, would have little chance of arriving at any true discrimination of phenomena. speaking of the nervous system and its functions, and more immediately of the relation of the cerebrum to the sensorium and the production of spectral illusions, dr. carpenter says, in his work on the "principles of mental physiology," which is well worth the study of those interested in the question we are discussing: "still stronger evidence of the same associated action of the cerebrum and sensorium, is furnished by the study of the phenomena designated as spectral illusions. these are clearly sensorial states not excited by external objects; and it is also clear that they frequently originate in cerebral changes, since they represent creations of the mind, and are not mere reproductions of past sensations." dr. carpenter refers in illustration to a curious illusion to which sir john herschel was subject, "in the shape of the involuntary occurrence of visual impressions, into which geometrical regularity of form enters as the leading character. these were not of the nature of those ocular spectra which may be attributed with probability to retinal changes."( ) dr. carpenter then continues: "we have here not a reproduction of sensorial impressions formerly received; but a construction of new forms, by a process which, if it had been carried on consciously, we should have called imagination. and it is difficult to see { } how it is to be accounted for in any other way, than by an unconscious action of the cerebrum; the products of which impress themselves on the sensorial consciousness, just as, in other cases, they express themselves through the motor apparatus."( ) the illusions described by sir john herschel who, as he himself says, was "as little visionary as most people" should be referred to. of the production of sensations by ideas there can be no possible doubt( ) and, consequently, as little of the realisation by the person in whom they are produced of subjective impressions exactly as though they were objective. with regard to false perceptions, dr. carpenter says: "it has been shown that the action of ideational states upon the sensorium can modify or even produce sensations. but the action of pre-existing states of mind is still more frequently shown in modifying the interpretation which we put upon our sense-impressions. for since almost every such interpretation is an act of judgment based upon experience, that judgment will vary according to our mental condition at the time it is delivered; and will be greatly affected by any dominant idea or feeling, so as even to occasion a complete mis-interpretation of the objective source of the sense-impression, as often occurs in what is termed 'absence of mind.' the following case, mentioned by dr. tuke( ) as occurring within his own knowledge, affords a good example of this fallacy:--'a lady was walking one day from penryn to falmouth, and her mind being at that time, or recently, occupied by the subject of drinking-fountains, thought she saw { } in the road a newly-erected fountain, and even distinguished an inscription upon it, namely--"_if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink_." some time afterwards, she mentioned the fact with pleasure to the daughters of a gentleman who was supposed to have erected it. they expressed their surprise at her statement, and assured her that she must be quite mistaken. perplexed with the contradiction between the testimony of her senses and of those who would have been aware of the fact had it been true, and feeling that she could not have been deceived (" for seeing is believing "), she repaired to the spot, and found to her astonishment that no drinking-fountain was in existence--only a few scattered stones, which had formed the foundation upon which the suggestion of an expectant imagination had built the superstructure. the subject having previously occupied her attention, these sufficed to form, not only a definite erection, but one inscribed by an appropriate motto corresponding to the leading idea.'"( ) we may give as another illustration an illusion which presented itself to sir walter scott( ) he had been reading, shortly after the death of lord byron, an account in a publication professing to detail the habits and opinions of the poet. as scott had been intimate with lord byron he was deeply interested in the publication, which contained some particulars relative to himself and other friends. "their sitting-room opened into an entrance hall, rather fantastically fitted up with articles of armour, skins of wild animals, and the like. it was when laying down his book, { } and passing into this hall, through which the moon was beginning to shine, that the individual of whom i speak saw, right before him, and in a standing posture, the exact representation of his departed friend whose recollection had been so strongly brought to his imagination. he stopped for a single moment, so as to notice the wonderful accuracy with which fancy had impressed upon the bodily eye the peculiarities of dress and posture of the illustrious poet. sensible, however, of the delusion, he felt no sentiment save that of wonder at the extraordinary accuracy of the resemblance, and stepped onward towards the figure, which resolved itself, as he approached, into the various materials of which it was composed. these were merely a screen, occupied by great-coats, shawls, plaids and such other articles as usually are found in a country entrance-hall. the spectator returned to the spot from which he had seen the illusion, and endeavoured, with all his power, to recall the image which had been so singularly vivid. but this was beyond his capacity," &c. although sir walter scott might be sensible of the delusion, it may be more than doubted whether, in the first century of our era, such an apparition proceeding from or connected with religious agitation of mind would have been considered so. dr. abercrombie( ) mentions many instances of spectral illusions, "some of the most authentic facts" relating to which he classes under the head of "intense mental conceptions so strongly impressed upon the mind as, for the moment, to be believed to have a real existence." { } we cannot, however, venture to quote illustrations.( ) dr. hibbert, in whose work on apparitions many interesting instances are to be found, thus concludes his consideration of the conditions which lead to such illusions: "i have at length concluded my observations on what may be considered as the leading mental laws which are connected with the origin of spectral impressions. the general inference to be drawn from them is,--that _apparitions are nothing more than morbid symptoms, which are indicative of an intense excitement of the renovated feelings of the mind_."( ) subjective visions, believed to have had objective reality, abound in the history of the world. they are familiar to all who have read the lives of the saints, and they have accompanied the progress of christianity in various forms from the trances of montanism to the vision of the "immaculate conception" in the grotto of lourdes. if we turn to the inquiry whether a similar subjective impression can be received by many persons at one time and be mistaken by them for an objective reality, an equally certain reply in the affirmative must unhesitatingly be given. the contagiousness of emotion is well known,( ) and the rapidity with which panic, for instance, spreads from a single individual to the mass is remarked every day. the most trifling incident, unseen by more than a few and, therefore, more pliant in the imagination every one remembers the case of luther and his visions of the devil. { } of the many, has instantaneously convinced multitudes of the most erroneous inferences. we need not refer, moreover, to the numerous religious and other mental epidemics which have swept over the face of the world, infecting society with the wildest delusions. from montanism to camp meetings and revivals in our own day, it has been demonstrated that religious excitement and dominant ideas have spread with astonishing rapidity and power amongst the circles in which they have arisen. in certain states of nervous expectation, false impressions are instantaneously transmitted from one to another in a religious assembly. dr. carpenter says: "moreover, if not only a single individual, but several persons should be 'possessed' by one and the same idea or feeling, the same misinterpretation may be made by all of them; and in such a case the concurrence of their testimony does not add the least strength to it.--of this we have a good example in the following occurrence cited by dr. tuke, as showing the influence of a 'dominant idea' in falsifying the perceptions of a number of persons at once:--'during the conflagration at the crystal palace in the winter of - , when the animals were destroyed by the fire, it was supposed that the chimpanzee had succeeded in escaping from his cage. attracted to the roof, with this expectation in full force, men saw the unhappy animal holding on to it, and writhing in agony to get astride one of the iron ribs. it need not be said that its struggles were watched by those below with breathless suspense, and as the newspapers informed us 'with sickening dread.' but there was no animal whatever there; and all this feeling was thrown away upon a tattered piece of blind, so torn as to resemble to the eye of fancy, the body, arms, and legs of an ape!' (op. cit., p. .) another { } example of a like influence affecting several individuals simultaneously in a similar manner is mentioned by dr. hibbert in his well-known treatise on apparitions:--'a whole ship's company was thrown into the utmost consternation by the apparition of a cook who had died a few days before. he was distinctly seen walking a-head of the ship, with a peculiar gait by which he was distinguished when alive, through having one of his legs shorter than the other. on steering the ship towards the object, it was found to be a piece of floating wreck.' many similar cases might be referred to, in which the imagination has worked up into 'apparitions' some common-place objects, which it has invested with attributes derived from the previous mental state of the observer; and the belief in such an apparition as a reality, which usually exists in such cases, unless antagonized by an effort of the reason, constitutes a _delusion_."( ) we must maintain indeed that a number of persons assembled under the influence of strong similar ideas, and excited by the same active religious emotion are more likely to be affected by similar subjective impressions to the extent of believing them to be objective than one or two would be. the excitement of each acts upon the whole body, and is itself increased by reaction from the aggregate emotion. each receives impressions from the other, which are vividly felt even without being verified by personal experience. the most nervous temperament in the assembly gives the final impetus to the excited imagination of the rest. in moments of supreme expectation and doubt, enthusiasm overcomes reason. if one man see, if one man hear, the mental impression is credited with an objective cause, even when unfelt by others, and then a { } similar impression is soon carried from the brain to the sensorium of all. this does not involve the supposition of a diseased mind in ordinary cases, and in the instances which we have in view the false perceptions were, obviously, determined and encouraged by foregone conclusions of a nature rarely possible and, when existing, rarely resisted. "there are many persons," adds dr. carpenter, "quite sane upon ordinary matters, and even (it may be) distinguished by some special form of ability, who are yet affected with what the writer once heard mr. carlyle term a 'diluted insanity;' allowing their minds to become so completely 'possessed' by 'dominant ideas,' that their testimony as to what they declare themselves to have witnessed--even when several individuals concur in giving exactly the same account of it--must be regarded as utterly untrustworthy."( ) that subjective impressions can, in the opinion of eminent apologists, be recorded by an evangelist as objective reality, we have already pointed out in connection with the statement of the first synoptist, that "many bodies of the saints were raised; and they came out of the sepulchres after his resurrection and appeared unto many." (xxvii. f.) dean milman and canon farrar explain this by the supposition that the earthquake "seemed to have filled the air with ghostly visitants, who after christ had risen appeared to linger in the holy city."( ) it follows as a logical consequence that, as this subjective impression felt by many at once is described in the gospel as objective, these writers not only admit the possibility of such a mistake on the part { } of the observers, but that the gospel, in adopting that mistake, may be suspected of a similar course in recording the appearances of jesus. we have thus replied to the question whether the "vision hypothesis" could explain the belief of five hundred, or even of eleven persons who supposed they had seen jesus at once, and we do not think that any one who seriously considers the age, and the circumstances under which the phenomenon is alleged to have occurred, can doubt that such belief could very easily have resulted from merely subjective impressions. before going further into the discussion of the matter, however, we must again, with a little more minuteness, call attention to the date of the actual statements upon which the whole argument turns. the apostle paul writes about a quarter of a century after the time when it is said that jesus "was seen" by those whom he names. whatever opinion may be formed as to the amount of information obtained by paul during the visit he paid to jerusalem for the purpose of making the acquaintance of peter, it is undeniable that some years had elapsed between the time when jesus is supposed to have been seen and the time when paul could have received information regarding these appearances from any of the apostles. if we date the death of jesus in the year , almost the latest date assigned to it by any eminent critic, and the conversion of paul about a.d. - ,( ) it will be remembered that the { } apostle himself states that he did not go to jerusalem till three years after, which brings us to a.d. - as the earliest time when paul first came in personal contact with peter and james. he did not go up to jerusalem again for fourteen years after that, and we have no reason for believing that he met any of the apostles in the interval, but the contrary, from his own account of that second visit, gal. ii. . he could not, therefore, have heard anything of the appearances of jesus even from peter and james till some eight to ten years after they had taken place. from the other apostles, in all probability, he cannot have heard anything till nearly twenty years had elapsed since they supposed they, had seen jesus. where did he get his information regarding the brethren at once? from whom did he get it? if the supposed appearance took place, as so many suppose, in galilee, the date of his information is still more uncertain. if, on the other hand, it occurred in jerusalem, whilst so many of the numbers were visitors only, it is obvious that the greater part must subsequently have left the holy city and become scattered to their respective homes. the difficulty of obtaining information from more than a few of the becomes obvious. in any case, from no authority which we are entitled to assume could paul have been minutely informed of these appearances less than eight to ten years after they occurred, and then of the vision of the eleven, only from one of the number to whom the first vision occurred. now, no one who considers the operation of memory, even in persons of more than usual sobriety of imagination, dealing with circumstances not likely to be exaggerated or distorted by feeling in the course of time, can doubt that, in ten years, { } all the circumstances of such occasions, amidst which much excitement certainly prevailed, must have assumed a very different aspect from what they originally bore. we may be permitted to quote a few words on this subject: "though we are accustomed to speak of memory as if it consisted in an exact reproduction of past states of consciousness, yet experience is continually showing us that this reproduction is very often inexact, through the modification which the 'trace' has undergone in the interval. sometimes the trace has been partially obliterated; and what remains may serve to give a very erroneous (because imperfect) view of the occurrence..... and where it is one in which our own feelings are interested, we are extremely apt to lose sight of what goes against them, so that the representation given by memory is altogether one-sided. this is continually demonstrated by the entire dissimilarity of the accounts of the same occurrence or conversation, which shall be given by two or more parties concerned in it, even when the matter is fresh in their minds, and they are honestly desirous of telling the truth. and this diversity will usually become still more pronounced with the lapse of time: the trace becoming gradually but unconsciously modified by the habitual course of thought and feeling; so that when it is so acted on after a lengthened interval as to bring up a reminiscence of the original occurrence, that reminiscence really represents, not the actual occurrence, but the modified trace of it."( ) this is specially likely to occur where, as in our case, there were old testament prophecies supposed to describe minutely the sufferings, death, and resurrection of the messiah, to furnish lines which the transformation of memory must { } insensibly follow. unconsciously, we may be certain, the misty outlines of the original transaction would acquire consistency and take form according to the tenor of so infallible an index. it would require a memory of iron and of more than stubborn doggedness to resist the unobtrusive influence of supposed prophecies. be it clearly understood that we speak of an unconscious process, which is perfectly consistent with complete belief that the transformed trace exactly represents what originally took place. but adhering more closely to the point before us, can we suppose that the account which paul received of these appearances, after that lapse of time, was a perfectly sober and unwarped description of what actually took place? we think not. is it possible that the vision of the , for instance, had escaped the maturing influence of time? or that of the eleven? we believe that it is not possible. however, paul does not give a single detail, and consequently this argument mainly affects the abstract value of all such evidence whether at first or second hand, but it likewise makes more vague the original transaction, so indefinitely sketched for us, which we have to explain. what was it the really saw? "jesus," says the report matured by time; and modern divines taking the statement in its most objective sense, demand an explanation of the unknown phenomenon which led to believe that they actually saw the risen. master. did the originally think anything of the kind? what impression did the individuals receive? did any two receive precisely the same impressions? there is not the slightest evidence that they did. although paul gives the most meagre report of these appearances that could well be conceived, it must be remembered that the { } impression made upon his own mind was not by the events themselves, but by the narrative of the events recounted at least eight or ten years afterwards. there can be po doubt that, earlier, paul the persecutor must also frequently have heard of the resurrection, and of alleged occasions when jesus had been seen after his death and burial, from persecuted members of the christian community, but beyond the undefined certainty of this we are not entitled to go. that what he heard must have received warmth of colouring from the fire of persecution is most probable. of this, however, we shall speak presently. it is not necessary further to enlarge upon the superstition of the age of which we write. we have elsewhere quoted the opinion of an orthodox divine and hebrew scholar on the character of the jewish people about that period. "not to be more tedious, therefore, in this matter," he says, "let two things only be observed: i. that the nation under the second temple, was given to magical arts beyond measure; and ii. that it was given to an easiness of believing all manner of delusions beyond measure."( ) and again: "it is a disputable case whether the jewish nation were more mad with superstition in matters of religion, or with superstition in curious arts."( ) even supposing the twelve to have been men of superior intelligence to most of their fellow countrymen of the period, it cannot reasonably be questioned that they were "men of like passions" and failings with the rest, and that, as were the most eminent men of all countries for centuries after, they were ignorant of the true order of nature, full of superstitious ideas regarding cosmical phenomena, and ready at all times to { } believe in miracles and supernatural interference with the affairs of life. as jews, moreover, they had inherited belief in angelic agency, and divine apparitions. the old testament is full of narratives in which jehovah appears to the patriarchs and lawgivers of israel. celestial visions had been familiar to every jew from his infancy, and the constant personal communications of the almighty with his peculiar people were still the most sacred traditions of the nation. nursed in the prevalent superstition of the time, educated by the law and the prophets to familiarity with the supernatural, and prepared by the fervid imagination of their race to recognize wonders in heaven and earth,( ) the disciples were naturally prepared for the great christian miracle. the special circumstances in which they were placed at the death of jesus conduced in the highest degree to excite that expectant attention which, in their state of profound agitation, rendered them readily susceptible of extraordinary impressions. the disciples had for a long period followed jesus and felt the influence of his elevated character. it may be doubted how far they had entered into the spirit of his sublime teaching, or understood the spiritual wisdom which lay beneath the noble simplicity of his language, but it cannot be doubted that his personal greatness must have produced a profound effect upon their minds. when they came at last to understand, if in a material and imperfect way, his views as to his messianic character, they can have had little difficulty in believing, in spite of the mysterious lowliness and humility of his aspect, although probably in a sense widely different from his own, that { } the hope of israel had at last come, and that the hour of her redemption was at hand. it is probable that, as the enmity of the priests and rulers increased, and the danger of his position became more apparent, whilst he disdained unworthily to shrink from his public work, he must have felt all the peril before him, and observed the anxiety of his followers. it may be conceived that, under such circumstances, his teachings may have assumed even a higher spirituality than before and, rising above the clouds of the present, soared out into that calmer future when the religion he founded would be accepted by men, and become a light to the gentiles and the glory of his people israel. it is probable that he may have spoken of his death in spiritual terms as a sacrifice for them and for the world, which would secure the triumph of his work and regenerate mankind. comforting those who had left all and followed him, but from whom he might so soon be parted, and knowing their doubts and fears, he must have re-assured their minds by inspiriting views of the inseparable nature of his union with those who loved him and did his commandments; his spirit dwelling within them and leading them safely through the world, in the peace and security of souls raised by the truth beyond the reach of its corruption and its wrong. that they must have felt the strongest conviction of his messianic character, we think cannot be doubted, however confused may have been their ideas of the exact nature of his office and of the manner in which his coming was to secure the triumph of israel the shock to their expectations and the utter dissipation of their hopes which must have been felt in the first moment of his arrest, hurried trial, and cruel { } condemnation can well be imagined. it is probable that in that first moment of terror and bewilderment the disciples indeed all forsook him and fled. no one who had consorted with the great teacher, however, and felt the influence of his mind, could long have resisted the reaction to nobler thoughts of him. in all the bitterness of sorrow for the loss of their master and friend, in horror at his agonizing and shameful death, and in doubt, consternation, and almost despair, they must have gathered together again and spoken of these strange events. believing jesus to have been the messiah, how could they interpret his death on the cross? if he was the messiah could he thus die?( ) if enoch and elijah, if moses, precursors of the messiah, had not seen death, how could that prophet like unto moses whom jehovah had raised up end his career by a shameful death on the cross? throughout that time of fiery trial and supreme mental agitation, they must have perpetually sought in their own minds some explanation of the terrible events then occurring and seeming to blast all their hopes, and doubtless mystic utterances of jesus must have assumed new meanings, meanings probably different from his own. in the accounts of the coming messiah in the prophets, they must have searched for some light by which to solve the inexplicable problem. is it not conceivable that, in that last time of danger and darkness, when he saw the persecution against him become more vehement, and felt that the path which he had chosen led him through danger and distress perhaps to death, jesus may, in the bitter contemplation of that fanatical opposition of bigotry and { } superstition have applied to himself the description of the suffering servant of jehovah, suffering--as all noble souls have done who are in advance of their age, and preach great truths which condemn either directly or by implication the vices and follies of their time,--"the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely," and, worse still, the ignoble insults of popular ignorance and fickleness? here might seem to them the solution of the enigma; and returning from that first flight of terror and bewilderment, feeling all the intense reaction of affection and grief and faith in the master quickened by shame at their abandonment of him in his moment of supreme danger and affliction, still believing that he must be the messiah, and in mute longing and expectation of the next events which were to confirm or confound their hopes, the disciples must have been in the climax of nervous agitation and excitement, and ready to receive any impression which might be suggested in their embarrassment.( ) according to paul it was peter who first saw the risen jesus. according to the first and fourth gospels, the first appearance was to the women, and notably, in the latter, to mary magdalene out of whom had been cast "seven devils," and whose temperament probably rendered her unusually susceptible of all such impressions. did paul intentionally omit all mention of the appearances to the women, or did he not know of them? in the latter case, we have an instructive light thrown on the gospel tradition; in the former, the first suggestion ewald points out that, according to the belief of the period, the souls of the dead hovered for a time between heaven and earth, and he considers that the belief undeniably played an important part in this sphere of visions of the christ gesch. d. v. isr., vi. p. a. { } of the resurrection becomes even more clearly intelligible. it will be observed that in all this explanation we are left chiefly to conjecture, for the statements in the gospels cannot, upon any point, be used with the slightest confidence. on the other hand, all that is demanded is that a probable or possible explanation of the origin of the belief in the resurrection should be given; and in the total absence of historical data we are entitled to draw inferences as to the course of events at the time. it may well be that a mistake as to the sepulchre, rendered not improbable if any hint of the truth be conveyed in the conflicting traditions of the gospel, or one of many other suggestions which might be advanced, might lead the women or peter to believe that the sepulchre was empty. or some other even trifling circumstance, which we no longer can indicate with precision, might convey to the women or to peter, in their state of nervous excitement, the last impulse wanting to cause that rapid revulsion from extreme depression, which is so suitable to the state which we may perhaps be allowed to call creative subjectivity. if we are to accept the indications scattered about the new testament, the impetuous ardent temperament of peter was eminently one to bound into sudden ecstatic enthusiasm, and in all probability some commonplace or trifling incident may have been the spark which kindled into flame the materials already at glowing heat. the strong subjective impression that jesus had risen would create a vision of him which, at once confirming previous conclusions, resolving perplexing doubts and satisfying feverish expectations, would be accepted by each mind with little or no question as an objective reality. if peter, or even the { } women, brought to the disciples the assurance that they had seen the lord, we cannot doubt that, in the unparalleled position in which they were then placed, under all the circumstances of intense feeling and religious excitement at the moment, such emotions would be suddenly called into action as would give to these men the impression that they had seen the master whom they had lost. these subjective impressions would be strengthened daily and unconsciously into ever more objective consistency, and being confirmed by supposed prophecy would be affirmed with a confidence insensibly inspired by dogmatic considerations. that the news would fly from believer to believer, meeting everywhere excited attention and satisfying eager expectancy, is certain; and that these devout souls, swayed by every emotion of glad and exultant enthusiasm, would constantly mistake the suggestions of their own thoughts for objective realities is probable. jesus died, was buried, and rose again "according to the scriptures." this would harden every timid supposition into assurance; and as time went on, what was doubtful would become certain, what was mysterious, clear; and those who had seen nothing would take up and strengthen the tradition of those who had seen the lord. it is argued that there was not time for the preparation of the disciples to believe in the resurrection of jesus between his crucifixion and "the third day," when that event is alleged to have occurred, and, consequently, no probability of subjective impressions of so unexpected a nature being received. to those { } apologists who adopt this argument we might point to many passages in the gospels, which affirm that the resurrection on the third day was predicted. these, however, we assign of course to a later date. the argument assumes that there was no preparation in the teaching of jesus, which, as we have endeavoured to suggest, is not the case. if there had been no other, the mere assurance that he was the messiah must have led to reflections, which demanded some other sequel to his career than the death of a slave. the mere suggestion of such a problem as must have proposed itself to the minds of the disciples: if all is to end here, jesus was not the messiah: if he was the messiah, what will now happen?--must have led to expectant attention. but there was much more than this. in such moments as those of the passion, thought works feverishly and fast. it is not to be supposed that peter and the rest did not foresee the end, when jesus was led away prisoner in the hands of his enemies. it is still less to be imagined that their minds were not ceaselessly revolving that problem, on the solution of which depended their fondest hopes and highest aspirations. it is most probable, indeed, that no time could have found the disciples in a state so ripe for strong impressions as that immediately succeeding the death of their master. there are, however, other aspects in which this point may be placed. what evidence is there that jesus was seen, or supposed to have been seen, on the third day? absolutely none worthy of the name. paul does not say that he was, and as for the gospels their { } statement is of no value, and the tradition which they record may be set down as a foregone dogmatic con-elusion. paul very distinctly shows this. he says: "for i delivered unto you first of all that which i also received, that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he has been raised the third day, according to the scriptures."( ) the repetition of the phrase "according to the scriptures" is very marked, and points to the fact that the purpose for which jesus died--"for our sins"--and the date of his resurrection--"the third day"--are statements directly based upon scripture. we have mentioned that the scriptures supposed to indicate the third day, do not really apply to the messiah at all, but this does not affect the question before us. now believing this epoch to be defined in prophecy, this is precisely one of those points upon which memory would, in the lapse of time, be most likely to adjust itself to the prophecy. we will assume that jesus was not "seen" before the third day. it is obvious that if he was seen forty days after, it might be affirmed that he had been actually raised long before, on the third day. the vision occurring on the third day itself, even, could not prove that he had not "risen" before. there is, in fact, no way that we can see of fixing the third day except the statement ol "scripture," and, the moment we accept that, we must recognize the force of dogmatic influence.( ) the fact that the third day has from early we do not go into any argument based on the order given in the first two synoptics to go into galilee--a three days' journey at least--where the disciples were to see jesus. nor need we touch upon other similar points which arise out of the narratives of the gospels. { } times been set apart as the christian sabbath, does not prove anything. if the third day was believed to be the day indicated by "scripture" for the resurrection, of course that day would be selected as the time at which it must have occurred, and on which it should be commemorated. so far as the vision hypothesis is concerned, the day is of no consequence whatever, and the objection upon this point has no force. there is another consideration which we must mention, which is not only important in connection with an estimate of the evidence for the resurrection, but the inferences from which clearly support the explanation we are proposing. before stating it we may, in passing, again refer to the fact that it is nowhere affirmed that anyone was an eye-witness of the actual resurrection. it is supposed to be proved by the circumstance that jesus was subsequently "seen." observe, however, that the part of this miracle which could not well have been ascribed to subjective impressions--the actual resurrection--is, naturally enough, not seen by anyone, but that which comes precisely within the scope of such subjective action is said to have been seen by many. to come at once to our point, however, neither paul, nor the gospels, nor christian tradition in any form, pretends that jesus was seen by any one but his disciples and those who believed in him. in fact, jesus only appeared to those who were prepared by faith and expectant attention to see him in the manner we assert. we are at present merely speaking of the earlier appearances, and reserving paul for separate discussion. why, we may inquire, did jesus not appear to his { } enemies as well as to his friends?( ) nothing of course could have been more intelligible than his desire to comfort and reassure those who believed in and mourned for him, but to do this by no means excluded a wider manifestation of himself, supposing him to have actually risen from the dead. on the hypothesis that he only rose again and was seen through the yearning and enthusiastic faith of his followers, the reason why he was not seen by others is not hard to find. yet it might be thought that the object of at once establishing beyond doubt his supernatural mission, and convincing his enemies of their crime, and the jews of their blindness and folly, was important enough. had he shown himself to the chief priests and elders, and confounded the pharisees with the vision of him whom they had so cruelly nailed to the accursed tree, how might not the future of his followers have been smoothed, and the faith of many made strong! or if he had stood again in the courts of the roman procurator, no longer a prisoner buffeted and spat upon, but the glorious messiah, beyond the reach of jewish malignity or roman injustice. but no, he was seen by none but those devoted to him. we shall of course be told by apologists that this also was "for the trial of our faith;" though to anyone who earnestly reflects, it must seem childish to ask men to believe what is beyond their reason, yet conceal the evidence by which reason is supposed to be guided. the reply, however, is clear: for the trial of our faith or for any other reason, it is nevertheless certain that this evidence does not exist. { } when the argument which we are now discussing was first advanced long ago by celsus, origen had no better refutation than, after admitting the fact that jesus was not after his resurrection seen as before publicly and by all men, to take refuge in the belief that the passage of paul regarding his appearances contains wonderful mysteries which, if understood, would explain why jesus did not show himself after that event as he had done before it.( ) we must now proceed to show that the vision of paul is satisfactorily explained by the same hypothesis.( ) we have already proved that there is no evidence of any value that paul's conversion was due to his having seen jesus in a manner which he believed to be objective and supernatural. to represent the arch persecutor paul transformed in a moment, by a miraculous vision of jesus, into the apostle of the gentiles was highly characteristic of the author of contra cels., ii. . it is curious that, in an earlier chapter, origen, discussing the question of celsus,--whether any one who had been actually dead had ever risen with a real body, says that if celsus had been a jew who believed that elijah and elisha had raised little children he could not have advanced this objection. origen adds that he thinks the reason why jesus appeared to no other nation but the jews was, that they had become accustomed to miracles, and could, by comparing the works of jesus and what was told of him with what had been done before, recognize that he was greater than all who had preceded him. ii. . { } acts, who further represents paul as immediately preaching publicly in damascus and confounding the jews. widely different is the statement of paul. he distinctly affirms that he did not communicate with flesh and blood, nor went he up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before him, but that he immediately went away into arabia. the fathers delighted in representing this journey to arabia as an instance of paul's fervour and eagerness to preach the gospel in lands over which its sound had not yet gone forth. there can be no doubt, however, we think, that paul's journey to arabia and his sojourn there were for the purpose of reflection.( ) it is only in legends that instantaneous spiritual revolutions take place. in sober history the process is more slow and progressive. we repeat that there is no evidence which can at all be accepted that paul's conversion was effected by a vision, and that it is infinitely more probable that it was, so to say, merely completed and crowned by seeing jesus; but, at the same time, even if the view be held that this vision was the decisive circumstance which induced paul at once to resign his course of persecution and embrace christianity, our argument is not materially affected. in any case, much silent, deep, and almost unconscious preparation for the change must long before have proceeded in the mind of paul, which was finally matured in the arabian waste. upon no view that is taken can this be excluded; upon every ground of common sense, experience, and necessary inference, it must be admitted. { } indifference is the only great gulf which separates opinions. there was no stolid barrier of apathy between saul of tarsus and belief in the messiah-ship of jesus. in persecuting christianity, paul proved two things: the earnestness and energy of his convictions, and the fact that his attention was keenly directed to the new sect. both points contributed to the result we are discussing. paul's judaism was no mere formalism. it was the adoption, heart and soul, of the religion of his people; which was to him no dead principle, but a living faith stimulating that eager impetuous character to defend its integrity with "fire and sword." he did not, like so many of his countrymen, turn away with scorn from the followers of the despised nazarene and leave them to their delusion; but turned to them, on the contrary, with the fierce attraction of the zealot whose own belief is outraged by the misbelief of others. the earnest jew came into sharp collision with the earnest christian. the earnestness of each was an element of mutual respect. the endurance and firmness of the one might not melt the bigoted resolution of the other, but it arrested his attention and commanded his unconscious sympathy. just so would the persecutor have endured and resisted persecution; so, subsequently, he actually did meet it. and what was the main difference between the persecutor and the persecuted? it consisted in that which constituted the burden of the apostolic preaching: the belief that "this was the christ." the creed of the new sect at least was not complicated. it was little more at that time than a question of identity, until paul himself developed it into an elaborate system of theology. { } in this question of identity, however, there was comprised a vast change of national ideas. to the devout jew,--looking for the hope of israel, yearning and praying for the advent of that son of david who was to sit upon the throne of his fathers, restore the fortunes of the people, drive out the heathen and subdue the nations again to the yoke of israel, establishing the worship of jehovah in its purity and turning the gentiles to the service of the god of gods,--it was an abhorrent thought that the lowly peasant who had died a shameful death on golgotha should be represented as the messiah, the promised king of the jews. still there was something sufficiently startling in the idea to excite reflection. a political aspirant, who pretended to play the part, and after some feeble attempt at armed insurrection had been crushed by the heel of the roman, could not have attracted attention. in that, there would have been no originality to astonish, and no singularity to require explanation. this man, on the contrary, who was said to be the messiah, assumed no earthly dignity; claimed no kingdom in this world; had not even a place to lay his head; but ended a short and unambitious career as the teacher of a simple but profound system of morality by death on a cross. there was no vulgar imitation here. this was the reverse of the messiah of the jews. in spite of so much dissimilarity, however, there was in the two parties a fundamental agreement of belief. the jew expected the messiah; the christian believed he had now come. the messiah expected by the jew was certainly a very different saviour from the despised and rejected jesus of nazareth, but at the root of the { } christian faith lay belief in a messiah. it was a thoroughly jewish belief, springing out of the covenant with the fathers, and based upon the law and the prophets. the difference was not one of principle but one of details. their interpretation of the promises was strangely dissimilar, but the trust of both was in the god of israel. to pass from one to the other did not involve the adoption of a new religion, but merely a modification of the views of the old. once convinced that the messiah was not a political ruler but a spiritual guide, not a victorious leader, but a suffering servant of jehovah, the transition from judaic hopes to recognition of jesus was almost accomplished. it is clear that paul in his capacity of persecutor must have become well acquainted with the views of the christians, and probably must have heard them repeatedly expounded by his captives before the jewish sanhedrin. he must have heard the victims of his blind religious zeal affirming their faith with all that ecstatic assurance which springs out of persecution. the vision of peter contributed to the vision of paul. there can be no doubt that paul must have become aware of the application to jesus of old testament prophecies, and of the new conception thence derived of a suffering messiah. the political horizon was certainly not suggestive of the coming of the lord's anointed. never had the fortunes of israel been at a lower ebb. the hope of a prince of the house of david to restore dominion to the fallen race was hard to entertain. the suggestion of an alternative theory based upon a new interpretation of the prophets, if startling, was not untimely, when the old confidence { } was becoming faint in many minds, and the hope of his coming seemed so distant and unsure. if we do not misjudge the character of paul, however shocked he may have been at first by the substitution of a crucified nazarene for the triumphant messiah of his earlier visions, there must have been something profoundly pleasing to his mind in the conception of a spiritual messiah. as he became familiar with the idea, it is probable that flashes of doubt must have crossed his mind as to the correctness of his more material views. if the belief were true, which christians professed, that this jesus, despised and rejected of men, was actually the suffering servant of jehovah, and this servant of jehovah the messiah! if the claim of this jesus who had been esteemed smitten of god and afflicted, had been verified by his rising again from the dead and ascending to the right hand of god! this aspect of the messianic idea had a mystery and significance congenial to the soul of paul. the supernatural elements could have presented no difficulties to him. belief in the resurrection was part of his creed as a pharisee. that the risen messiah should have been seen by many, the fundamental idea once admitted, could not surprise the visionary jew. we can well imagine the conflict which went on in the ardent mind of paul when doubts first entered it; his resistance and struggle for the faith of his youth; the pursuance as duty of the course he had begun, whilst the former conviction no longer strengthened the feverish energy; the excitement of religious zeal in the mad course of persecution, not to be arrested in a moment, but become, by growing doubt, bitterness and pain to him; the suffering { } inflicted sending its pang into his own flesh. there was ample preparation in such a situation for the vision of paul. the constitution and temperament of the apostle were eminently calculated to receive impressions of the strongest description.( ) we have mentioned the conjecture of many able men that his "stake in the flesh" was a form of epilepsy. it is, of course, but a conjecture, though one which has great probability,( ) and we must not treat it otherwise; but, if it could be proved correct, much light would be thrown upon paul's visions. we have discussed the apostle's statements regarding the supernatural charismata in the church, and have seen his extreme readiness to believe in the lavish bestowal of miraculous gifts where others could recognise but ordinary qualities. that paul should be able to claim the power of speaking with tongues more than all the corinthians, whose exercise of that spiritual gift he so unceremoniously restrains, is in perfect keeping with all that we elsewhere learn about him. everywhere we find the keenly impressionable nature so apt to fall into the ecstatic state when brought under the influence of active religious emotion. "i must glory," he exclaims with irresistible impulse on coming to a theme so congenial to him, "i must glory; it is not indeed expedient, but i will come to visions and revelations of the lord."( ) even when he speaks of the stake in his flesh, which he does in such suggestive connection with his visions, he describes it as sent lest he should "be exalted above measure by the { } excess of the revelations."( ) we have so repeatedly had to refer to paul's claim to have received his gospel by special revelation that we need not again speak of it here. if we could quote acts as a genuine representation of christian tradition regarding paul, we might point out the visions and revelations therein so freely ascribed to him, but his own writings are amply sufficient for our purpose. even his second journey to jerusalem is attributed to the direction of revelation.( ) the only vision regarding which the apostle gives any particulars is that referred to, cor. xii. : "i know a man in christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body i know not, whether out of the body i know not, god knoweth), such an one caught up even unto the third heaven. . and i know such a man (whether in the body or out of the body i know not, god knoweth), . that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. . for such an one will i boast," etc.( ) it has been argued from this passage and the repetition of the expression "whether in the body or out of the body i know not," that paul himself could clearly distinguish objective facts from subjective impressions.( ) no interpretation could well be more erroneous. it is evident that paul has no doubt whatever of his having been in the third heaven and in paradise, and as little of { } his having heard the unspeakable words. that is quite objectively real to him. his only doubt is whether the body was caught up with his soul upon this occasion.( ) no one who has carefully considered such phenomena and examined the statements here made can have any doubt as to the nature of this vision. the conception of being caught up into "the third heaven," "into paradise," and there hearing these "unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter," betrays in no doubtful manner the source of the subjective impressions. of course, divines who are prepared to see in this passage the account of an actual objective event will not consider it evidence that paul had subjective visions which he believed to have been objective facts; but to those who, more rightly and reasonably, we think, recognize the subjective character of the vision, it must at once definitely settle the point that paul could mistake subjective impressions for objective realities, and consequently the argument for the similar subjectivity of the vision of jesus becomes complete. the possibility of such a mistake is precisely what apologists question. here is an instance in which the mistake has clearly been made by paul. the apostle's own statements show him to have been superlatively visionary and impressionable, with restless nervous energy it is true, but, at the same time, with keen physical and mental susceptibility. liable to be uplifted by "the excess of revelations," glorying in "visions and revelations of the lord," possessing ecstatic { } powers more than all others, subjecting his very movements, his visits to jerusalem, to the direction of impulses which he supposed to be revelations: there has never been a case in which both temperament and religious belief more thoroughly combined to ascribe, with perfect conviction, objective reality to subjective impressions connected with divine things then occupying his mind. paul moreover lived in a time when the messianic longing of the jews led them to be profoundly interested students of the later apocalyptic writings, which certainly made a deep impression upon the apostle, and in which he must have been struck by the image of the promised messiah, like the son of man, coming on the clouds of heaven (dan. vii. , cf. cor. xv. ).( ) at no time was such a vision more likely to present itself to him, than when his mind was fixed upon the messianic idea with all the intensity of one who had been persecuting those who asserted that the messiah had already come. here was reason for all that concentration of thought upon the subject which produces such visions: and when doubt and hesitation entered into that eager intense spirit, the conflict must have been sharp and the nerves highly strung. the jesus whom he saw with his mind's eye was the climax of conviction in such a nature; and the vision vividly brought to him his own self-reproachful thoughts for cruelly mistaken zeal, and the remorse of noble souls which bounds to reparation. he devoted himself as eagerly to christianity, as he had previously done to judaism. he changed the contents but not the form of his mind.( ) paul the { } christian was the same man as paul the jew; and in abandoning the conception of a messiah "according to the flesh," and placing his whole faith in one "according to the spirit," he displayed the same characteristics as before. the revolution in his mind, of which so much is said, was merely one affecting the messianic idea. he did not at a bound become the complete apostle of the gentiles, but accepting at first nothing more than belief in a messiah according to the spirit, his comprehensive and peculiar system of theology was, "of course, only the result of subsequent reflection. that his conviction should have been completed by a subjective vision is no more strange than that he should believe in supernatural charismata, miraculous speaking with tongues, and being actually caught up into the third heaven, into paradise, and hearing there unutterable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. paul evidently never questioned the source of his visions. they were simply accepted as divine revelations, and they excited all the less of misgiving in his soul from the fact that, without doubt, they expressed the expected solution of problems which intensely occupied his mind, and reflected conclusions already practically formed by his own thoughts.( ) there remain two points to be briefly considered. { } the first of these is the assertion, constantly made in various shapes, that the cardinal miracles of the resurrection and ascension were proclaimed as unquestionable facts, without contradiction, at a time when such an assertion might have been easily refuted. the production of the body, the still occupied sepulchre, it is said, would have set such pretensions at rest it is unnecessary to say that the proclamation of the resurrection and ascension as facts proved nothing beyond the belief, perhaps, of those who asserted them. so far as paul is concerned, we may seek in vain for any assertion of a bodily ascension. but there is not the slightest evidence to show when the resurrection and ascension were first publicly proclaimed as unquestionable facts. even the gospels do not state that they were mentioned beyond the circle of disciples. the second synoptist, who does not state that jesus himself was seen by any one, makes the curious affirmation at the close of his gospel as we have it, that the women, on receiving the announcement of the resurrection from the angels, and the command for the disciples and peter to go into galilee, "went out and fled from the sepulchre; for trembling and astonishment seized them, and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid."( ) in the fourth gospel, although the "beloved disciple" went into the sepulchre, "and he saw and believed," it is related of him and peter: "so the disciples went away again unto their own home."( ) the eleven, in fact, who all forsook their master and fled--who are represented as meeting with closed doors "for fear of the jews"--with closed doors after eight days, it is again said, although, a week before, ten of them are said to have seen jesus--were not likely to expose { } themselves to the fate of jesus by rushing into the highways and asserting the resurrection. beyond the statement of the gospels, the value of which we have seen, and a statement accompanied by so many confused circumstances, there is no evidence whatever that the sepulchre was found empty. there is no evidence that the sepulchre was really known to the disciples, none of whom, probably, was present at the crucifixion; and it might well be inferred that the women, who are represented as ignorant that the body had already been embalmed, yet who are the chief supposed witnesses for the empty sepulchre and the informants of the disciples, were equally ignorant of the sepulchre in which the body was laid. we might ask whether the brethren who are said to have seen jesus at the same time came from galilee, or wherever they were, and examined the state of the sepulchre? we have already said, however, that if the sepulchre had been shown to be empty, the very last thing which could be proved by that circumstance would be the correctness of the assertion that it had become so in consequence of a stupendous miracle. on the other hand, if it had been shown that it was occupied by a body, it is exceedingly doubtful whether the fact would have convinced any one not previously sure that jesus could not have risen from the dead, and he would not have required such evidence. when the resurrection was publicly proclaimed as a fact, the body could no longer have been recognizable, and the idea that any of those in authority could have thought such demonstration necessary to refute a story whispered about amongst an obscure sect in jerusalem, or even more courageously asserted, is a product of later times. when jesus of nazareth, the head of the nascent sect, was suppressed { } by a shameful death, his humble and timid followers were obviously for a time despised; and there is little reason to suppose that the chief priests and rulers of the jews would have condescended to any public contradiction of their affirmations, if they had even felt indifference to the defilement of exposing for such a purpose a decaying body to the gaze of jerusalem. this kind of refutation is possible only in the imagination of divines. besides, what evidence is there that even a single indifferent person found the sepulchre empty? there is not an iota of proof. on the contrary, there is the very strongest evidence that when the assertion of the resurrection and ascension as "unquestionable facts" was made, it was contradicted in the only practical and practicable way conceivable: ( .) by all but universal disbelief in jerusalem; ( .) by actual persecution of those who asserted it. it is a perfectly undeniable fact that the great mass of the jews totally denied the truth of the statement by disbelieving it, and that the converts to christianity who soon swelled the numbers of the church and spread its influence amongst the nations were not the citizens of jerusalem, who were capable of refuting such assertions, but strangers and gentiles. the number of the community of jerusalem after the forty days seems to be stated by the author of acts as "about ," and although the numbers added to the church, according to this document, are evidently fabulous, the converts at pentecost are apparently chiefly from amongst the devout men of every nation upon earth congregated at jerusalem. to this hour the jews have retained as their inheritance the denial by their forefathers of the asserted facts. the assertion, secondly, was emphatically denied by the persecution, as soon as it { } became worth any one's while to persecute, of those who made it. it was in this way denied by paul himself, at a time when verification was infinitely more possible than when he came to join in the assertion. are we to suppose that the apostle took no trouble to convince himself of the facts before he began to persecute? he was in the confidence of the high priests it seems, can he ever have heard the slightest doubt from them on the subject? is it not palpable that paul and his party, by their very pursuit of those who maintained such allegations, stigmatized them as falsehoods, and perhaps as imposture? if it be said that paul became convinced of his mistake, it is perfectly obvious that his conversion was not due to local and circumstantial evidence, but to dogmatic considerations and his supposed vision of jesus. he disbelieved when the alleged occurrences were recent and, as it is said, capable of refutation; he believed when the time for such refutation had passed. the second point to which we have referred is the vague and final objection of apologists that, if the vision of jesus was merely subjective, the fabric of the church and even of christianity is based upon unreality and self-deception. is this possible? they ask. is it possible that for eighteen centuries the resurrection and ascension have been proclaimed and believed by millions, with no other original foundation than self-delusion? the vagueness and apparent vastness of this objection, perhaps, make it a formidable _argumentum ad hominem_, but it vanishes into very small proportions as we approach it. must we then understand that the dogmas of all religions which have been established must have been objective truths? and that this is a necessary inference from their wide adoption? if so, then all { } historical religions before christianity, and after it, must take rank as substantially true. in that case the religion of the veda, of buddha, of zoroaster, of mahomet, for instance, can as little be based on unreality and self-deception as christianity. they have secured wide acceptance from mankind. millions have for centuries devoutly held their tenets, and to this day the followers of sakya muni are as numerous as the believers in the religion of paul. if not, the objection at once falls to the ground as an argument, and the problem becomes a simple matter of evidence, which has been fully discussed and disposed of. when we analyse the fact, it becomes apparent that, ultimately, belief in the resurrection and ascension resolves itself into the belief of a few or of one. it requires very little reflection to perceive that the christian church is founded much more upon belief in the resurrection than on the fact itself.( ) nothing is more undeniable than the circumstance that not more than a very small number of men are even alleged to have seen the risen jesus. the mass of those who have believed in the resurrection have done so because of the assurance of these few men, and perhaps because they may have been led to think that the event was predicted in scripture. up to this day, converts to the dogma are made, if made at all, upon the assurance of paul and the gospels. the vast question at last dwindles down to the inquiry: can a few men, can one man, draw erroneous inferences and be honestly deceived by something supposed to have been seen? we presume that there can be no hesitation in giving an affirmative reply. the rest follows as a matter of { } course. others simply believe the report of those who have believed before them. in course of time, so many believe that it is considered almost outrageous to disbelieve or demand evidence. the number of those who have believed is viewed at last as an overwhelming proof of the truth of the creed. it is a most striking and extraordinary fact that the life and teaching of jesus have scarcely a place in the system of paul. had we been dependent upon him we should have had no idea of the great master who preached the sermon on the mount, and embodied pure truths in parables of such luminous simplicity. his noble morality would have remained unknown, and his lessons of rare spiritual excellence have been lost to the world. paul sees no significance in that life, but concentrates all interest in the death and resurrection of his messiah. in the sepulchre hewn out of the rock are deposited the teaching and example of jesus, and from it there rises a mystic christ lost in a halo of theology. the ecclesiastical christianity which was mainly paul's work has almost effaced the true work of jesus. too little can now be traced of that teaching, and few are the genuine records of his work which have survived the pious enthusiasm evoked by his character. theology has done its worst with the life; and that death, which will ever be the darkest blot upon history, has been represented as the climax of divine beneficence. the resurrection and ascension have deified jesus of nazareth; but they have done so at the expense of all that was most truly sublime in his work. { } the world will gain when it recognises the real character and source of such dogmas, and resigns this inheritance from the age of miracles. for, although we lose a faith which has long been our guide in the past, we need not now fear to walk boldly with truth in the future, and turning away from fancied benefits to be derived from the virtue of his death, we may find real help and guidance from more earnest contemplation of the life and teaching of jesus. { } conclusions. we have seen that divine revelation could only be necessary or conceivable for the purpose of communicating to us something which we could not otherwise discover, and that the truth of communications which are essentially beyond and undiscoverable by reason cannot be attested in any other way than by miraculous signs distinguishing them as divine. it is admitted that no other testimony could justify our believing the specific revelation which we are considering, the very substance of which is supernatural and beyond the criticism of reason, and that its doctrines, if not proved to be miraculous truths, must inevitably be pronounced "the wildest delusions." "by no rational being could a just and benevolent life be accepted as proof of such astonishing announcements." on examining the alleged miraculous evidence for christianity as divine revelation, however, we find that even if the actual occurrence of the supposed miracles could be substantiated, their value as evidence would be destroyed by the necessary admission that miracles are not limited to one source and are not exclusively associated with truth, but are performed by various spiritual beings, satanic as well as divine, and are not always evidential, but are sometimes to be regarded as delusive and for the trial of faith. as the doctrines supposed to be revealed { } are beyond reason, and cannot in any sense be intelligently approved by the human intellect, no evidence which is of so doubtful and inconclusive a nature could sufficiently attest them. this alone would disqualify the christian miracles for the duty which miracles alone are capable of performing. the supposed miraculous evidence for the divine revelation, moreover, is not only without any special divine character, being avowedly common also to satanic agency, but it is not original either in conception or details. similar miracles are reported long antecedently to the first promulgation of christianity, and continued to be performed for centuries after it. a stream of miraculous pretension, in fact, has flowed through all human history, deep and broad as it has passed through the darker ages, but dwindling down to a thread as it has entered days of enlightenment. the evidence was too hackneyed and commonplace to make any impression upon those before whom the christian miracles are said to have been performed, and it altogether failed to convince the people to whom the revelation was primarily addressed. the selection of such evidence for such a purpose is much more characteristic of human weakness than of divine power. the true character of miracles is at once betrayed by the fact that their supposed occurrence has thus been confined to ages of ignorance and superstition, and that they are absolutely unknown in any time or place where science has provided witnesses fitted to appreciate and ascertain the nature of such exhibitions of supernatural power. there is not the slightest evidence that any attempt was made to investigate the supposed miraculous occurrences, or to justify the inferences so freely drawn from them, nor is there any reason to { } believe that the witnesses possessed, in any considerable degree, the fulness of knowledge and sobriety of judgment requisite for the purpose. no miracle has yet established its claim to the rank even of apparent reality, and all such phenomena must remain in the dim region of imagination. the test applied to the largest class of miracles, connected with demoniacal possession, discloses the falsity of all miraculous pretension. there is no uncertainty as to the origin of belief in supernatural interference with nature. the assertion that spurious miracles have sprung up round a few instances of genuine miraculous power has not a single valid argument to support it. history clearly demonstrates that, wherever ignorance and superstition have prevailed, every obscure occurrence has been attributed to supernatural agency, and it is freely acknowledged that, under their influence, inexplicable and miraculous are convertible terms. on the other hand, in proportion as knowledge of natural laws has increased, the theory of supernatural interference with the order of nature has been dispelled, and miracles have ceased. the effect of science, however, is not limited to the present and future, but its action is equally retrospective, and phenomena which were once ignorantly isolated from the sequence of natural cause and effect, are now restored to their place in the unbroken order. ignorance and superstition created miracles; knowledge has for ever annihilated them. to justify miracles, two assumptions are made: first, an infinite personal god; and second, a divine design of revelation, the execution of which necessarily involves supernatural action. miracles, it is argued, are not contrary to nature, or effects produced without adequate { } causes, but on the contrary are caused by the intervention of this infinite personal god for the purpose of attesting and carrying out the divine design. neither of the assumptions, however, can be reasonably maintained. the assumption of an infinite personal god: a being at once limited and unlimited, is a use of language to which no mode of human thought can possibly attach itself. moreover, the assumption of a god working miracles is emphatically excluded by universal experience of the order of nature. the allegation of a specific divine cause of miracles is further inadequate from the fact that the power of working miracles is avowedly not limited to a personal god, but is also ascribed to other spiritual beings, and it must, consequently, always be impossible to prove that the supposed miraculous phenomena originate with one and not with another. on the other hand, the assumption of a divine design of revelation is not suggested by antecedent probability, but is derived from the very revelation which it is intended to justify, as is likewise the assumption of a personal god, and both are equally vicious as arguments. the circumstances which are supposed to require this divine design, and the details of the scheme, are absolutely incredible, and opposed to all the results of science. nature does not countenance any theory of the original perfection and subsequent degradation of the human race, and the supposition of a frustrated original plan of creation, and of later impotent endeavours to correct it, is as inconsistent with divine omnipotence and wisdom as the proposed punishment of the human race and the mode devised to save some of them are opposed to justice and morality. such assumptions are essentially inadmissible, and totally fail to explain and justify miracles. { } whatever definition be given of miracles, such exceptional phenomena must at least be antecedently incredible. in the absence of absolute knowledge, human belief must be guided by the balance of evidence, and it is obvious that the evidence for the uniformity of the order of nature, which is derived from universal experience, must be enormously greater than can be the testimony for my alleged exception to it. on the other hand, universal experience prepares us to consider mistakes of the senses, imperfect observation and erroneous inference as not only possible, but eminently probable on the part of the witnesses of phenomena, even when they are perfectly honest and truthful, and more especially so when such disturbing causes as religious excitement and superstition are present. when the report of the original witnesses only reaches us indirectly and through the medium of tradition, the probability of error is further increased. thus the allegation of miracles is discredited, both positively by the invariability of the order of nature, and negatively by the fallibility of human observation and testimony. the history of miraculous pretension in the world, and the circumstances attending the special exhibition of it which we are examining, suggest natural explanations of the reported facts which wholly remove them from the region of the supernatural. when we proceed to examine the direct witnesses for the christian miracles, we do not discover any exceptional circumstances neutralizing the preceding considerations. on the contrary, we find that the case turns not upon miracles substantially before us, but upon the mere narratives of miracles said to have occurred over eighteen hundred years ago. it is obvious that, for such narratives to possess any real force and validity, it is essential that { } their character and authorship should be placed beyond all doubt. they must proceed from eye-witnesses capable of estimating aright the nature of the phenomena. our four gospels, however, are strictly anonymous works. the superscriptions which now distinguish them are undeniably of later origin than the works themselves, and do not proceed from the composers of the gospels. of the writers to whom these narratives are traditionally ascribed only two are even said to have been apostles, the alleged authors of the second and third synoptics neither having been personal followers of jesus, nor eyewitnesses of the events they describe. under these circumstances, we are wholly dependent upon external evidence for information regarding the authorship and trustworthiness of the four canonical gospels. in examining this evidence, we proceeded upon clear and definite principles. without forming or adopting any theory whatever as to the date or origin of our gospels, we simply searched the writings of the fathers, during a century and a half after the events in question, for information regarding the composition and character of these works, and even for any certain traces of their use, although, if discovered, these could prove little beyond the mere existence of the gospels used at the date of the writer. in the latter and minor investigation, we were guided by canons of criticism previously laid down, and which are based upon the simplest laws of evidence. we found that the writings of the fathers, during a century and a half after the death of jesus, are a complete blank so far as any evidence regarding the composition and character of our gospels is concerned, unless we except the tradition preserved by papias, after the middle of the second century, the details of which fully justify { } the conclusion that our first and second synoptics, in their present form, cannot be the works said to have been composed by matthew and mark. there is thus no evidence whatever directly connecting any of the canonical gospels with the writers to whom they are popularly attributed, and later tradition, of little or no value in itself, is separated by a long interval of profound silence from the epoch at which they are supposed to have been composed. with one exception, moreover, we found that, during the same century and a half, there is no certain and unmistakable trace even of the anonymous use of any of our gospels in the early church. this fact, of course, does not justify the conclusion that none of these gospels was actually in existence during any part of that time, nor have we anywhere suggested such an inference, but strict examination of the evidence shows that there is no positive proof that they were. the exception to which we refer is marcion's gospel, which was, we think, based upon our third synoptic, and consequently must be accepted as evidence of the existence of that work. marcion, however, does not give the slightest information as to the authorship of the gospel, and his charges against it of adulteration cannot be considered very favourable testimony as to its infallible character. the canonical gospels continue to the end anonymous documents of no evidential value for miracles. they do not themselves pretend to be inspired histories, and they cannot escape from the ordinary rules of criticism. internal evidence does not modify the inferences from external testimony. apart from continual minor contradictions throughout the first three gospels, it is impossible to reconcile the representations of the synoptics with those of the fourth gospel. they mutually destroy each other as evidence. they must { } be pronounced mere narratives compiled long after the events recorded, by unknown persons who were neither eye-witnesses of the alleged miraculous occurrences, nor hearers of the statements they profess to report. they cannot be accepted as adequate testimony for miracles and the reality of divine revelation. applying similar tests to the acts of the apostles, we arrived at similar results. acknowledged to be composed by the same author who produced the third synoptic, that author's identity is not thereby made more clear. there is no evidence of the slightest value regarding its character, but, on the other hand, the work itself teems to such an extent with miraculous incidents and supernatural agency, that the credibility of the narrative requires an extraordinary amount of attestation to secure for it any serious consideration. when the statements of the author are compared with the emphatic declarations of the apostle paul, and with authentic accounts of the development of the early christian church, it becomes evident that the acts of the apostles, as might have been supposed, is a legendary composition of a later day, which cannot be regarded as sober and credible history, and rather discredits than tends to establish the reality of the miracles with which its pages so suspiciously abound. the remaining books of the new testament canon required no separate examination, because, even if genuine, they contain no additional testimony to the reality of divine revelation, beyond the implied belief in such doctrines as the incarnation and resurrection. it is unquestionable, we suppose, that in some form or other the apostles believed in these miracles, and the assumption that they did so, supersedes the necessity for { } examining the authenticity of the catholic epistles and apocalypse. in like manner, the recognition as genuine of four epistles of paul, which contain his testimony to miracles, renders it superfluous to discuss the authenticity of the other letters attributed to him. the general belief in miraculous power and its possession by the church is brought to a practical test in the case of the apostle paul. after elaborate consideration of his letters, we came to the unhesitating conclusion that, instead of establishing the reality of miracles, the unconscious testimony of paul clearly demonstrates the facility with which erroneous inferences convert the most natural phenomena into supernatural occurrences. as a final test, we carefully examined the whole of the evidence for the cardinal dogmas of christianity, the resurrection and ascension of jesus. first taking the four gospels, we found that their accounts of these events are not only full of legendary matter, but that they even contradict and exclude each other, and so far from establishing the reality of such stupendous miracles, they show that no reliance is to be placed on the statements of the unknown authors. taking next the testimony of paul, which is more important as at least authentic and proceeding from an apostle of whom we know more than of any other of the early missionaries of christianity, we saw that it was indefinite and utterly insufficient. his so-called "circumstantial account of the testimony upon which the belief in the resurrection rested" consists merely of vague and undetailed hearsay, differing, so far as it can be compared, from the statements in the gospels, and without other attestation than the bare fact that it is repeated by paul, who doubtless believed it, although he had not himself been a witness { } of any of the supposed appearances of the risen jesus which he so briefly catalogues. paul's own personal testimony to the resurrection is limited to a vision of jesus, of which we have no authentic details, seen many years after the alleged miracle. considering the peculiar and highly nervous temperament of paul, of which he himself supplies abundant evidence, there can be no hesitation in deciding that this vision was purely subjective, as were likewise, in all probability, the appearances to the excited disciples of jesus. the testimony of paul himself, before his imagination was stimulated to ecstatic fervour by the beauty of a spiritualized religion, was an earnest denial of the great christian dogma emphasized by the active persecution of those who affirmed it, and a vision, especially in the case of one so constituted, supposed to be seen many years after the fact of the resurrection had ceased to be capable of verification, is not an argument of convincing force. we were compelled to pronounce the evidence for the resurrection and ascension absolutely and hopelessly inadequate to prove the reality of such stupendous miracles, which must consequently be unhesitatingly rejected. there is no reason given, or even conceivable, why allegations such as these, and dogmas affecting the religion and even the salvation of the human race, should be accepted upon evidence which would be declared totally insufficient in the case of any common question of property or title before a legal tribunal on the contrary, the more momentous the point to be established, the more complete must be the proof required. if we test the results at which we have arrived by general considerations, we find them everywhere confirmed and established. there is nothing original in the { } claim of christianity to be regarded as divine revelation, and nothing new either in the doctrines said to have been revealed, or in the miracles by which it is alleged to have been distinguished. there has not been a single historical religion largely held amongst men which has not pretended to be divinely revealed, and the written books of which have not been represented as directly inspired. there is not a doctrine, sacrament or rite of christianity which has not substantially formed part of earlier religions; and not a single phase of the supernatural history of the christ, from his miraculous conception, birth and incarnation to his death, resurrection and ascension, which has not had its counterpart in earlier mythologies. heaven and hell, with characteristic variation of details, have held an important place in the eschatology of many creeds and races. the same may be said even of the moral teaching of christianity, the elevated precepts of which, although in a less perfect and connected form, had already suggested themselves to many noble minds and been promulgated by ancient sages and philosophers. that this inquiry into the reality of divine revelation has been limited to the claim of christianity has arisen solely from a desire to condense it within reasonable bounds, and confine it to the only religion in connection with which it could practically interest us now. there is nothing in the history and achievements of christianity which can be considered characteristic of a religion divinely revealed for the salvation of mankind. originally said to have been communicated to a single nation, specially selected as the peculiar people of god, and for whom distinguished privileges were said to be reserved, it was almost unanimously rejected by that { } nation at the time, and it has continued to be repudiated by its descendants with singular unanimity to the present day. after more than eighteen centuries, this divine scheme of salvation has not obtained even the nominal adhesion of more than a third of the human race,( ) and if, in a census of christendom, distinction could now be made of those who no longer seriously believe in it as supernatural religion, christianity would take a much lower numerical position. sakya muni, a teacher only second in nobility of character to jesus, and who, like him, proclaimed a system of elevated morality, has even now almost twice the number of followers, although his missionaries never sought converts in the west. considered as a scheme divinely devised as the best, if not only, mode of redeeming the human race, and saving them from eternal damnation, promulgated by god himself incarnate in human form, and completed by his own actual death upon the cross for the sins of the world, such results as these can only be regarded as practical { } failure, although they may not be disproportionate for a system of elevated morality. we shall probably never be able to determine how far the great teacher may through his own speculations or misunderstood spiritual utterances have suggested the supernatural doctrines subsequently attributed to him, and by which his whole history and system soon became transformed; but no one who attentively studies the subject can fail to be struck by the absence of such dogmas from the earlier records of his teaching. it is to the excited veneration of the followers of jesus, however, that we owe most of the supernatural elements so characteristic of the age and people. we may look in vain even in the synoptic gospels for the doctrines elaborated in the pauline epistles and the gospel of ephesus. the great transformation of christianity was effected by men who had never seen jesus, and who were only acquainted with his teaching after it had become transmuted by tradition. the fervid imagination of the east constructed christian theology. it is not difficult to follow the development of the creeds of the church, and it is certainly most instructive to observe the progressive boldness with which its dogmas were expanded by pious enthusiasm. the new testament alone represents several stages of dogmatic evolution. before his first followers had passed away the process of transformation had commenced. the disciples, who had so often misunderstood the teaching of jesus during his life, piously distorted it after his death. his simple lessons of meekness and humility were soon forgotten. with lamentable rapidity, the elaborate structure of ecclesiastical christianity, following stereotyped lines of human superstition, and deeply coloured by alexandrian { } philosophy, displaced the sublime morality of jesus. doctrinal controversy, which commenced amongst the very apostles, has ever since divided the unity of the christian body. the perverted ingenuity of successive generations of churchmen has filled the world with theological quibbles, which have naturally enough culminated of late in doctrines of immaculate conception, and papal infallibility. it is sometimes affirmed, however, that those who proclaim such conclusions not only wantonly destroy the dearest hopes of humanity, but remove the only solid basis of morality; and it is alleged that, before existing belief is disturbed, the iconoclast is bound to provide a substitute for the shattered idol. to this we may reply that speech or silence does not alter the reality of things. the recognition of truth cannot be made dependent on consequences, or be trammelled by considerations of spurious expediency. its declaration in a serious and suitable manner to those who are capable of judging can never be premature. its suppression cannot be effectual, and is only a humiliating compromise with conscious imposture. in so far as morality is concerned, belief in a system of future rewards and punishments, although of an intensely degraded character, may, to a certain extent, have promoted observance of the letter of the law in darker ages and even in our own, but it may, we think, be shown that education and civilization have done infinitely more to enforce its spirit. how far christianity has promoted education and civilization, we shall not here venture adequately to discuss. we may emphatically assert, however, that whatever beneficial effect christianity has produced has been due, not to its supernatural dogmas, but to its simple morality. dogmatic theology, { } on the contrary, has retarded education and impeded science. wherever it has been dominant civilization has stood still. science has been judged and suppressed by the light of a text or a chapter of genesis. almost every great advance which has been made towards enlightenment has been achieved in spite of the protest or the anathema of the church. submissive ignorance, absolute or comparative, has been tacitly fostered as the most desirable condition of the popular mind. "except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," has been the favourite text of doctors of divinity with a stock of incredible dogmas difficult of assimilation by the virile mind. even now, the fiction of theological resistance is a constant waste of intellectual power. the early enunciation of so pure a system of morality, and one so intelligible to the simple as well as profound to the wise, was of great value to the world, but experience being once systematized and codified, if higher principles do not constrain us, society may safely be left to see morals sufficiently observed. it is true that, notwithstanding its fluctuating rules, morality has hitherto assumed the character of a divine institution, but its sway has not, in consequence, been more real than it must be as the simple result of human wisdom, and the outcome of social experience. the choice of a noble life is no longer a theological question, and ecclesiastical patents of truth and uprightness have finally expired. morality, which has ever changed its complexion and modified its injunctions according to social requirements, will necessarily be enforced as part of human evolution, and is not dependent on religious terrorism or superstitious persuasion. if we are disposed to say: { } _cui bono?_ and only practise morality, or be ruled by right principles, to gain a heaven or escape a hell, there is nothing lost, for such grudging and calculated morality is merely a spurious imitation which can as well be produced by social compulsion. but if we have ever been really penetrated by the pure spirit of morality, if we have in any degree attained that elevation of mind which instinctively turns to the true and noble and shrinks from the baser level of thought and action, we shall feel no need of the stimulus of a system of rewards and punishments in a future state which has for so long been represented as essential to christianity. as to the other reproach, let us ask what has actually been destroyed by such an inquiry pressed to its logical conclusion. can truth by any means be made less true? can reality be melted into thin air? the revelation not being a reality, that which has been destroyed is only an illusion, and that which is left is the truth. losing belief in it and its contents, we have lost absolutely nothing but that which the traveller loses when the mirage, which has displayed cool waters and green shades before him, melts swiftly away. there were no cool fountains really there to allay his thirst, no flowery meadows for his wearied limbs; his pleasure was delusion, and the wilderness is blank. rather the mirage with its pleasant illusion, is the human cry, than the desert with its barrenness. not so, is the friendly warning; seek not vainly in the desert that which is not there, but turn rather to other horizons, and to surer hopes. do not waste life clinging to ecclesiastical dogmas which represent no eternal verities, but search elsewhere for truth which may haply be found. what should we think of the man who persistently repulsed { } the persuasion that two and two make four from the ardent desire to believe that two and two make five? whose fault is it that two and two do make four and not five? whose folly is it that it should be more agreeable to think that two and two make five than to know that they only make four? this folly is theirs who represent the value of life as dependent on the reality of special illusions, which they have religiously adopted. to discover that a former belief is unfounded is to change nothing of the realities of existence. the sun will descend as it passes the meridian whether we believe it to be noon or not. it is idle and foolish, if human, to repine because the truth is not precisely what we thought it, and at least we shall not change reality by childishly clinging to a dream. the argument so often employed by theologians that divine revelation is necessary for man, and that certain views contained in that revelation are required by our moral consciousness, is purely imaginary and derived from the revelation which it seeks to maintain. the only thing absolutely necessary for man is truth; and to that, and that alone, must our moral consciousness adapt itself. reason and experience forbid the expectation that we can acquire any knowledge otherwise than through natural channels. we might as well expect to be supernaturally nourished as supernaturally informed. to complain that we do not know all that we desire to know is foolish and unreasonable. it is tantamount to complaining that the mind of man is not differently constituted. to attain the full altitude of the knowable, whatever that may be, should be our earnest aim, and more than this is not for humanity. we may be certain that information which is beyond the ultimate { } reach of reason is as unnecessary as it is inaccessible. man may know all that man requires to know. we gain more than we lose by awaking to find that our theology is human invention and our eschatology an unhealthy dream. we are freed from the incubus of base hebrew mythology, and from doctrines of divine government which outrage morality and set cruelty and injustice in the place of holiness. if we have to abandon cherished anthropomorphic visions of future blessedness, the details of which are either of unseizable dimness or of questionable joy, we are at least delivered from quibbling discussions of the meaning of [------], and our eternal hope is unclouded by the doubt whether mankind is to be tortured in hell for ever and a day, or for a day without the ever. at the end of life there may be no definite vista of a heaven glowing with the light of apocalyptic imagination, but neither will there be the unutterable horror of a purgatory or a hell lurid with flames for the helpless victims of an unjust but omnipotent creator. to entertain such libellous representations at all as part of the contents of "divine revelation," it was necessary to assert that man was incompetent to judge of the ways of the god of revelation, and must not suppose him endowed with the perfection of human conceptions of justice and mercy, but submit to call wrong right and right wrong at the foot of an almighty despot. but now the reproach of such reasoning is shaken from our shoulders, and returns to the jewish superstition from which it sprang. as myths lose their might and their influence when discovered to be baseless, the power of supernatural christianity will doubtless pass away, but the effect of the revolution must not be exaggerated, although it { } cannot here be fully discussed. if the pictures which have filled for so long the horizon of the future must vanish, no hideous blank can rightly be maintained in their place. we should clearly distinguish between what we know and know not, but as carefully abstain from characterising that which we know not as if it were really known to us. that mysterious unknown or unknowable is no cruel darkness, but simply an impenetrable distance into which we are impotent to glance, but which excludes no legitimate speculation and forbids no reasonable hope. the christ myth by arthur drews, ph.d. professor of philosophy in the techn. hochschule, karlsruhe translated from the third edition (revised and enlarged) by c. delisle burns, m.a. t. fisher unwin london: adelphi terrace leipzic: inselstrasse to my friend wilhelm von schnehen preface to the first and second editions since david frederick strauss, in his "life of jesus," attempted for the first time to trace the gospel stories and accounts of miracles back to myths and pious fictions, doubts regarding the existence of an historical jesus have never been lulled to rest. bruno bauer also in his "kritik der evangelischen geschichte und der synoptiker" ( - , nd ed. ), [ ] disputed the historical existence of jesus; later, in his "christ und die cäsaren, der ursprung des christentums aus dem römischen griechentum" ( ), he attempted to show that the life of jesus was a pure invention of the first evangelist, mark, and to account for the whole christian religion from the stoic and alexandrine culture of the second century, ascribing to seneca especially a material influence upon the development of the christian point of view. but it was reserved for the present day, encouraged by the essentially negative results of the so-called critical theology, to take up the subject energetically, and thereby to attain to results even bolder and more startling. in england john m. robertson, in "christianity and mythology" ( ), in "a short history of christianity" ( ), as well as in his work "pagan christs: studies in comparative hierology" ( ), has traced the picture of christ in the gospels to a mixture of mythological elements in heathenism and judaism. in france, as early as the end of the eighteenth century, dupuis ("l'origine de tous les cultes," ) and voltaire ("les ruines," ) traced back the essential points of the history of the christian redemption to astral myths, while Émile burnouf ("la science des religions," th ed., ) and hochart ("Études d'histoire religieuse," ) collected important material for the clearing up of the origin of christianity, and by their results cast considerable doubt upon the existence of an historical christ. in italy milesbo (emilio bossi) has attempted to prove the non-historicity of jesus in his book "gesù christo non è mai esistito" ( ). in holland the leyden professor of philosophy, bolland, handled the same matter in a series of works ("het lijden en sterven van jezus christus," ; "de achtergrond der evangeliën. eene bijdrage tot de kennis van de wording des christendoms," ; "de evangelische jozua. eene poging tot aanwijzing van den oorsprong des christendoms," ). in poland the mythical character of the story of jesus has been shown by andrzej niemojewski in his book "bóg jezus" ( ), which rests on the astral-mythological theories of dupuis and the school of winckler. in germany the bremen pastor kalthoff, in his work, "das christusproblem, grundlinien zu einer sozialtheologie" ( ), thought that the appearance of the christian religion could be accounted for without the help of an historical jesus, simply from a social movement of the lower classes under the empire, subsequently attempting to remove the one-sidedness of this view by his work "die entstehung des christentums. neue beiträge zum christusproblem" ( ). (cf. also his work "was wissen wir von jesus? eine abrechnung mit professor d. bousset," .) a supplement to the works of kalthoff in question is furnished by fr. steudel in "das christusproblem und die zukunft des protestantismus" (deutsche wiedergeburt, ). finally, the american, william benjamin smith, in his work, "the pre-christian jesus" ( ), has thrown so clear a light upon a number of important points in the rise of christianity, and elucidated so many topics which give us a deeper insight into the actual correlation of events, that we gradually commence to see clearly in this connection. "the time is passed," says jülicher, "when among the learned the question could be put whether an 'historical' jesus existed at all." [ ] the literature cited does not appear to justify this assertion. on the contrary, that time seems only commencing. indeed, an unprejudiced judge might find that even jülicher's own essay, in which he treated of the so-called founder of the christian religion in the "kultur der gegenwart," and in which he declared it "tasteless" to look upon the contents of the gospels as a myth, speaks rather against than for the historical reality of jesus. for the rest, official learning in germany, and especially theology, has, up to the present, remained, we may almost say, wholly unmoved by all the above-mentioned publications. to my mind it has not yet taken up a serious position regarding robertson. its sparing citations of his "pagan christs" do not give the impression that there can be any talk of its having a real knowledge of his expositions. [ ] it has, moreover, passed kalthoff over with the mien of a better informed superiority or preferably with silent scorn, and up to the present it has avoided with care any thoroughgoing examination of smith. [ ] and yet such a distinguished theologian as professor paul schmiedel, of zürich, who furnished a foreword to smith's work, laid such an examination upon his colleagues as a "duty of all theologians making any claim to a scientific temper," and strongly warned them against any under-estimation of smith's highly scientific work! "how can one then confidently stand by his former views," schmiedel cries to his theological colleagues, "unless he investigates whether they have not in whole or in part been undermined by these new opinions? or is it a question of some secondary matter merely, and not rather of exactly what for the majority forms the fundamental part of their christian conviction? but if these new opinions are so completely futile, then it must be an easy matter, indeed a mere nothing, to show this." in the meantime there are many voices which speak out against the existence of an historical jesus. in wide circles the doubt grows as to the historical character of the picture of christ given in the gospels. popular works written with a purpose, such as the investigations of the frenchman jacolliot, worked up by plange into "jesus ein inder" ( ), have to serve to alleviate this thirst for knowledge and confuse views more than they clear them. in a short work, "die entstehung des christentums" ( ), promus has afforded a brief résumé of the most important matter bearing on the point, without any working up of it on its own account, and attacked the existence of an historical jesus. lately karl voller, the prematurely deceased jena orientalist, in his valuable work, "die weltreligionen in ihrem geschichtlichen zusammenhange" ( ), voiced the opinion "that weighty reasons favour this radical myth interpretation, and that no absolutely decisive arguments for the historicity of the person of jesus can be brought forward" (op. cit. i. ). another orientalist, p. jensen, in his work "das gilgamesch-epos in der weltliteratur" ( ), even thinks that he can show that both the main lines of the old testament story and the whole narrative of the life of jesus given in the gospels are simply variations of the babylonian gilgamesh epic (about b.c.), and consequently a pure myth. [ ] while criticism of the gospel documents is advancing more boldly and always leaving in existence less of an historical jesus, the number of works in popular religious literature intended to glorify jesus the man grows enormously. these endeavour to make up for the deficiency in certain historical material by sentimental phrases and the deep tone of conviction; indeed, the rhetoric which is disseminated with this design [ ] seems to find more sympathy in proportion as it works with less historical restraint. and yet learning as such has long come to the point when the historical jesus threatens to disappear from under its hands. the latest results in the province of oriental mythology and religion, the advances in the comparative history of religion, that are associated in england with the names of frazer and robertson especially, and in germany with those of winckler, jeremias, gunkel, jensen, &c., have so much increased our knowledge of the religious position of nearer asia in the last century before christ, that we are no longer obliged to rely exclusively upon the gospels and the other books of the new testament for the rise of christianity. [ ] the critical and historical theology of protestantism has itself thrown so deep a light upon the origins of the christian religion that the question as to the historical existence of jesus loses all paradox which hitherto may have attached to it in the eyes of many. so, too, protestant theology no longer has any grounds for becoming excited if the question is answered in a sense opposed to its own answer. the author of the present work had hoped until lately that one of the historians of christianity would himself arise and extract the present results of the criticisms of the gospel, which to-day are clear. these hopes have not been fulfilled. on the contrary, in theological circles religious views continue to be quietly drawn from the "fact" of an historical jesus, and he is considered as the impassable height in the religious development of the individual, as though nothing has occurred and the existence of such a jesus was only the more clearly established by the investigations of critical theology in this connection. the author has accordingly thought that he should no longer keep back his own views, which he long since arrived at out of the works of specialists, and has taken upon himself the thankless task of bringing together the grounds which tell against the theory of an historical jesus. whoever, though not a specialist, invades the province of any science, and ventures to express an opinion opposed to its official representatives, must be prepared to be rejected by them with anger, to be accused of a lack of scholarship, "dilettantism," or "want of method," and to be treated as a complete ignoramus. this has been the experience of all up to now who, while not theologians, have expressed themselves on the subject of an historical jesus. the like experience was not spared the author of the present work after the appearance of its first edition. he has been accused of "lack of historical training," "bias," "incapacity for any real historical way of thinking," &c., and it has been held up against him that in his investigations their result was settled beforehand--as if this was not precisely the case with theologians, who write on the subject of a historical jesus, since it is just the task of theology to defend and establish the truth of the new testament writings. whoever has looked about him in the turmoil of science knows that generally each fellow-worker is accustomed to regard as "method" that only which he himself uses as such, and that the famous conception of "scientific method" is very often ruled by points of view purely casual and personal. [ ] thus, for example, we see the theologian clemen, in his investigation into the method of explaining the new testament on religious-historical lines, seriously put the question to himself whether one "could not dispense himself from refuting such books as finally arrive at the unauthenticity of all the pauline epistles and the non-historicity of the whole, or at least of almost the whole, tradition concerning jesus; for example, not only that of bauer, but also those of jensen and smith." this same clemen advances the famous methodological axiom: "an explanation on religious-historical lines is impossible if it of necessity leads to untenable consequences or sets out from such hypotheses," [ ] obviously thinking here of the denial of an historical christ. for the rest, the "method" of "critical theology" consists, as is well known, in applying an already settled picture of jesus to the gospels and undertaking the critical sifting of their contents according to this measure. this picture makes the founder of the christian religion merely a pious preacher of morality in the sense of present-day liberalism, the "representative of the noblest individuality," the incarnation of the modern ideal of personality, or of some other fashionable theological view. theologians commence with the conviction that the historical jesus was a kind of "anticipation of modern religious consciousness." they think that they discern the real historical import of the gospels in their "moral-religious kernel" so far as this is good for all time, and they arrive in this manner at its "strictly scientific conception" of jesus by casting out all such features as do not fit this picture, thus recognising only the "everlasting human" and the "modern" as historical. [ ] if one keeps this before his eyes he will not be particularly moved by the talk about "method" and "lack of scientific system." one could then at most wonder that it should be forbidden to philosophers particularly to have a say in theological matters. as though the peace at present reigning between philosophy and theology and their mutual efforts at a rapprochement did not clearly indicate that upon one of the two sides, or upon both, something cannot be in order, and that consequently it was high time, if no one else undertakes it, for a philosopher to notice theology in order to terminate the make-believe peace which is for both so fateful. for what does lessing say? "with orthodoxy god be thanked one had arrived at a tolerable understanding. between it and philosophy a partition had been raised behind which each could continue its way without hindering the other. but what is now being done? the partition is again being demolished, and under the pretext of making us reasonable christians we are being made unreasonable philosophers." the author of this book has been reproached with following in it tendencies merely destructive. indeed, one guardian of zion, particularly inflamed with rage, has even expressed himself to this effect, that the author's researches do not originate in a serious desire for knowledge, but only in a wish to deny. one who, as i have done, has in all his previous work emphasised the positive nature of the ethical and religious life against the denying and destroying spirit of the age, who has in his work "die religion als selbst-bewusstsein gottes" ( ) sought to build up anew from within the shattered religious outlook upon the world, who in the last chapter of the present work has left no doubt remaining that he regards the present falling away of religious consciousness as one of the most important phenomena of our spiritual life and as a misfortune for our whole civilisation, should be protected against such reproaches. in reality, "the christ myth" has been written pre-eminently in the interests of religion, from the conviction that its previous forms no longer suffice for men of to-day, that above all the "jesuanism" of historical theology is in its deepest nature irreligious, and that this itself forms the greatest hindrance to all real religious progress. i agree with e. v. hartmann and w. v. schnehen in the opinion that this so-called christianity of the liberal pastors is in every direction full of internal contradiction, that it is false through and through (in so saying naturally no individual representative of this movement is accused of subjective untruthfulness). i agree that by its moving rhetoric and its bold appearance of being scientific it is systematically undermining the simple intellectual truthfulness of our people; and that on this account this romantic cult of jesus must be combated at all costs, but that this cannot be done more effectually than by taking its basis in the theory of the historical jesus [ ] from beneath its feet. this work seeks to prove that more or less all the features of the picture of the historical jesus, at any rate all those of any important religious significance, bear a purely mythical character, and no opening exists for seeking an historical figure behind the christ myth. it is not the imagined historical jesus but, if any one, paul who is that "great personality" that called christianity into life as a new religion, and by the speculative range of his intellect and the depth of his moral experience gave it the strength for its journey, the strength which bestowed upon it victory over the other competing religions. without jesus the rise of christianity can be quite well understood, without paul not so. if in spite of this any one thinks that besides the latter a jesus also cannot be dispensed with, this can naturally not be opposed; but we know nothing of this jesus. even in the representations of historical theology he is scarcely more than the shadow of a shadow. consequently it is self-deceit to make the figure of this "unique" and "mighty" personality, to which a man may believe he must on historical grounds hold fast, the central point of religious consciousness. jesus christ may be great and worthy of reverence as a religious idea, as the symbolical personification of the unity of nature in god and man, on the belief in which the possibility of the "redemption" depends. as a purely historical individual, as liberal theology views him, he sinks back to the level of other great historical personalities, and from the religious point of view is exactly as unessential as they, indeed, more capable of being dispensed with than they, for in spite of all rhetoric he is in the light of historical theology of to-day, even at best only "a figure swimming obscurely in the mists of tradition." [ ] professor dr. arthur drews. karlsruhe, january, . preface to the third edition the time since the appearance of the second edition was too short for any material alterations to be undertaken in the third edition now appearing. however, the phraseology here and there has been improved and many things put more strongly. above all, the famous passage in tacitus and the passage cor. ii. et seq. has been so handled that its lack of significance as regards the existence of an historical jesus should now appear more clearly than hitherto. that paul in reality is not a witness for an historical jesus and is wrongly considered as the "foundation" of the faith in such a figure, should be already established for every unprejudiced person as the result of the discussion so far on the "christ myth." the protestantenblatt finds itself now compelled to the admission that the historical image of the person of jesus as a matter of fact "can no longer be clearly recognised" (no. , ). how then does it fare with the new "bases" of schmiedel? to no refutation of the assertions which i represent has greater significance been hitherto ascribed on the theological side than to those supposed supports of a "really scientific life of jesus" (in the discussions of "the christ myth" this has again received the strongest expression). and yet these bases were advanced by their originator obviously with a view to a conception quite different from mine, and, as i have now shown, do not affect, generally speaking, the view represented by me regarding the rise of the supposed historical picture of jesus. when, above all, the "historical references to jesus" are supposed to be contained in them, and these, according to the protestantenblatt, lie "like blocks of granite" in my path--then this is a pure illusion of the theologians. as can be conceived, my assertion that a pre-christian cult of jesus existed has found the most decisive rejection. this, however, is for the most part only due to the fact that the researches in this connection of the american, smith, and the englishman, robertson, were not known, and, moreover, the opinion was held that one need not trouble about these "foreigners," who further were not "specialists." and yet gunkel, in his work "zum religionsgeschichtlichen verständnis des neuen testaments," had already sufficiently prepared that view, as one might have thought, when, among other things, he declares "that even before jesus there existed in jewish syncretistic circles a belief in the death and resurrection of christ." [ ] again, it can only be rejected without more ado by such as seek the traces of the pre-christian cult of jesus in well-worn places and will only allow that to be "proved" which they have established by direct original documentary evidence before their eyes. in this connection it is forgotten that we are dealing with a secret cult, the existence of which we can decide upon only by indirect means. it is forgotten also that the hypothesis of a pre-christian cult of jesus, if urged upon us from another quarter, cannot be forthwith rejected because it does not suit the current views, and because it may be that it is impossible for the time being to place it beyond all doubt. where everything is so hypothetical, uncertain, and covered with darkness, as is the case with the origins of christianity, every hypothesis should be welcomed and tested which appears to be in some way or the other suitable for opening up a new point of view and clearing away the darkness. for as dunkmann says in his sympathetic and genuine discussion of "the christ myth": "irregularities and even violences of combination must be borne in science for the simple reason that our sources are too scanty and full of contradictions. our hypotheses will in all such cases have something rash, bold, and surprising in them; if even they are in the main correct, i.e., if they are irrefutable according to the method of investigation" ("der historische jesus, der mythologische jesus, und jesus der christ," , ). but if that very hypothesis is not established, yet this makes no difference in the fact that there existed a pre-christian jesus christ, at least as a complex myth, and this quite suffices for the explanation of the pauline christology and the so-called "original community" of jerusalem. i can, accordingly, only regard it as a misleading of the public when the other side, after rejecting the hypothesis of a pre-christian cult of jesus, bear themselves as though they had thereby taken away the foundations for the whole body of my views regarding an historical jesus. meanwhile the storm which has been raised against my book in theological circles and in the press, and has even led to mass meetings of protest in the busch circus and in the dom at berlin, shows me that i have "hit the bull's-eye" with my performance and have in truth touched the sore point of christianity. the way in which the battle is being waged, the means by which my opponents attempt to disparage the author of "the christ myth," or to make me ridiculous in the eyes of the public by personal slanders, their habit of trying to injure me by throwing doubt on my intellectual capabilities, and to undermine my scientific honour and official position (bornemann, beth)--all this can only make me more determined to continue the work of illumination that i have begun, and only proves to me that my "christ myth" cannot be so absolutely "unscientific" and so completely a quantité négligeable as its opponents are disposed to represent it. the means by which the "christ myth" is opposed to-day are exactly the same as those which were employed against strauss's "leben jesu," without, however, the least result being attained. i accordingly await the further attacks of the enemy with complete coolness of mind, confident in the fact that what is true in my book will make its way of itself, and that a work which, like mine, has arisen from serious motives, and has been carried through with a disregard of personal advantages, cannot be lost but will be serviceable to the spiritual progress of mankind. the attacks which have so far come to my notice in pamphlets (bornemann, v. soden, delbrück, beth) and in the press have not had the effect of making any weaker my fundamental convictions. on the contrary, they have only served to reveal to me still further the weakness of the opposing position, which is much greater than i myself had hitherto imagined. i am, however, at all times ready and pleased--and i have shown this too by the corrections undertaken since the first edition of this work--to give attention to real objections and to put right possible errors. all that matters to me is simply the fact as such. the question before us in "the christ myth," as it is not unnecessary to point out here once again, is a purely scientific one. for possible suggestions and advice in this direction i will accordingly at all times be grateful. on the contrary, i am left perfectly cold by personal slanders, anonymous threats, and pious corrections, meetings of protest in which the minister of public worship takes part with obbligato trombone choirs and professions of faith, as well as by the uproar of the multitude roused to fanaticism in this manner by the "guardian of their souls." they are everything except refutations. professor dr. arthur drews. karlsruhe, march, . contents page preface to the first and second editions preface to the third edition the pre-christian jesus i. the influence of parseeism on the belief in a messiah ii. the hellenistic idea of a mediator (philo) iii. jesus as cult-god in the creed of jewish sects iv. the sufferings of the messiah v. the birth of the messiah. the baptism vi. the self-offering of the messiah. the supper vii. symbols of the messiah. the lamb and the cross the christian jesus i. the pauline jesus ii. the jesus of the gospels a. the synoptic jesus jesus in secular literature b. the objections against a denial of the historicity of the synoptic jesus c. the true character of the synoptic jesus d. gnosticism and the johannine jesus the religious problem of the present the christ myth the pre-christian jesus "if you see a man undaunted by dangers, undisturbed by passions, happy when fortune frowns, calm in the midst of storms, will you not be filled with reverence for him? will you not say that here is something too great and grand to be regarded as of the same nature as the trivial body in which it dwells? a divine force has descended here--a heavenly power moves a soul so wonderful, so calm, one which passes through all life as though it were of small account, and smiles at all our hopes and fears. nothing so great can exist without the help of god, and therefore in the main it belongs to that from which it came down. just as the rays of the sun touch the earth, but belong to that from which they are sent, so a great and holy spirit, sent here that we may have a more intimate knowledge of deity, lives indeed in our midst, but remains in contact with its source. on that it depends, thither its eyes are turned, thither its life tends: among men it dwells as a noble guest. what then is this soul? one which relies upon no goodness but its own. what is proper to man is his soul and the perfect reason in the soul: for man is a rational animal: therefore his highest good is reached when he is filled with that of which he is born." with these words the roman philosopher seneca ( b.c.- a.d.) portrays the ideally great and good man that we may be moved to imitate him. [ ] "we must choose some good man," he says, "and always have him before our eyes; and we must live and act as if he were watching us. a great number of sins would remain uncommitted were there a witness present to those about to sin. our heart must have someone whom it honours, and by whose example its inner life can be inspired. happy is he whose reverence for another enables him to fashion his life after the picture living in his memory. we need some one upon whose life we may model our own: without the rule you cannot correct what is amiss" (ep. ). "rely on the mind of a great man and detach yourself from the opinions of the mob. hold fast to the image of the most beautiful and exalted virtue, which must be worshipped not with crowns but with sweat and blood" (ep. ). "could we but gaze upon the soul of a good man, what a beautiful picture should we see, how worthy of our reverence in its loftiness and peace. there would justice shine forth and courage and prudence and wisdom: and humanity, that rare virtue, would pour its light over all. every one would declare him worthy of honour and of love. if any one saw that face, more lofty and splendid than any usually found among men, would he not stand in dumb wonder as before a god, and silently pray that it might be for his good to have seen it? then, overcome by the inviting grace of the vision, he would kneel in prayer, and after long meditation, filled with wondering awe, he would break forth into virgil's words: 'hail to thee, whoe'er thou art! o lighten thou our cares!' there is no one, i repeat, who would not be inflamed with love were it given him to gaze upon such an ideal. now indeed much obscures our vision: but if we would only make our eyes pure and remove the veil that covers them, we should be able to behold virtue even though covered by the body, and clouded by poverty, lowliness and shame. we should see its loveliness even through the most sordid veils" (ep. ). the attitude expressed in these words was widespread in the whole of the civilised world at the beginning of the christian era. a feeling of the uncertainty of all things human weighed like a ghastly dream upon most minds. the general distress of the time, the collapse of the nation states under the rough hand of the roman conquerors, the loss of independence, the uncertainty of political and social conditions, the incessant warfare and the heavy death-roll it involved--all this forced men back upon their own inner life, and compelled them to seek there for some support against the loss of outer happiness in a philosophy which raised and invigorated the soul. but the ancient philosophy had spent itself. the naïve interplay of nature and spirit, that ingenuous trust in external reality which had been the expression of a youthful vigour in the mediterranean peoples, from which indeed the ancient civilisation was derived, now was shattered. to the eyes of men at that time nature and spirit stood opposed as hostile and irreconcilable facts. all efforts to restore the shattered unity were frustrated by the impossibility of regaining the primitive attitude. a fruitless scepticism which satisfied no one, but out of which no way was known, paralysed all joy in outward or inner activities, and prevented men from having any pleasure in life. therefore all eyes were turned towards a supernatural support, a direct divine enlightenment, a revelation; and the desire arose of finding once again the lost certainty in the ordering of life by dependence upon an ideal and superhuman being. many saw in the exalted person of the emperor the incarnation of such a divine being. it was not then always pure flattery, but often enough the expression of real gratitude towards individual imperial benefactors, combined with a longing for direct proximity with and visible presence of a god, which gave to the worship of the emperor its great significance throughout the whole roman empire. an augustus who had put an end to the horrors of the civil war must, in spite of everything, have appeared as a prince of peace and a saviour in the uttermost extremity, who had come to renew the world and to bring back the fair days of the golden age. he had again given to mankind an aim in life and to existence some meaning. as the head of the roman state religion, a person through whose hands the threads of the policy of the whole world passed, as the ruler of an empire such as the world had never before seen, he might well appear to men as a god, as jupiter himself come down to earth, to dwell among men. "now at length the time is passed," runs an inscription, apparently of the ninth year before christ, found at priene not long ago, "when man had to lament that he had been born. that providence, which directs all life, has sent this man as a saviour to us and the generations to come. he will put an end to all feuds, and dispose all things nobly. in his appearance are the hopes of the past fulfilled. all earlier benefactors of mankind he has surpassed. it is impossible that a greater should come. the birthday of the god has brought for the world the messages of salvation (gospels) which attend him. from his birth a new epoch must begin." [ ] it was not only the longing of mankind for a new structure of society, for peace, justice, and happiness upon earth, which lay at the root of the cult of the emperors. deeper minds sought not only an improvement in political and social circumstances, but felt disturbed by thoughts of death and the fate of the soul after its parting from its bodily shell. they trembled at the expectation of the early occurrence of a world-wide catastrophe, which would put a terrible end to all existence. the apocalyptic frame of mind was so widespread at the commencement of the christian era that even a seneca could not keep his thoughts from the early arrival of the end of the world. finally, there also grew up a superstitious fear of evil spirits and dæmons, which we can scarcely exaggerate. and here no philosophic musings could offer a support to anxious minds, but religion alone. seldom in the history of mankind has the need for religion been so strongly felt as in the last century before and the first century after christ. but it was not from the old hereditary national religions that deliverance was expected. it was from the unrestrained commingling and unification of all existing religions, a religious syncretism, which was specially furthered by acquaintance with the strange, but on that account all the more attractive, religions of the east. already rome had become a pantheon of almost all religions which one could believe, while in the far east, in nearer asia, that breeding-place of ancient gods and cults, there were continually appearing new, more daring and secret forms of religious activity. these, too, in a short while obtained their place in the consciousness of western humanity. where the public worship of the recognised gods did not suffice, men sought a deeper satisfaction in the numberless mystic associations of that time, or formed themselves with others of like mind into private religious bodies or pious brotherhoods, in order to nourish in the quiet of private ritualistic observance an individual religious life apart from the official state religion. i the influence of parseeism on the belief in a messiah among no people was the longing for redemption so lively and the expectation of a speedy end of the world so strong as among the jews. since the babylonian captivity ( - b.c.) the former jewish outlook upon the world had undergone a great change. fifty years had been spent by the israelites in the land of the stranger. for two hundred years after their return to their own land they were under persian overlordship. as a consequence of this they were in close connection politically and economically with the achæmenidean empire, and this did not cease when alexander overthrew the persian power and brought the whole eastern world under greek influence. during this lengthy period persian modes of thinking and persian religious views had influenced in many ways the old jewish opinions, and had introduced a large number of new ideas. first of all the extreme dualism of the persians had impressed a distinctly dual character upon jewish monotheism. god and the world, which in the old ideas had often mingled with one another, were separated and made to stand in opposition to each other. following the same train of thought, the old national god jahwe, in imitation of the persian ahuramazda (ormuzd), had developed from a god of fire, light, and sky into a god of supernatural purity and holiness. surrounded by light and enthroned in the beyond, like ahuramazda, the source of all life, the living god held intercourse with his creatures upon the earth only through the instrumentality of a court of angels. these messengers of god or intermediate beings in countless numbers moved between heaven and earth upon his service. and just as angromainyu (ahriman), the evil, was opposed to ahuramazda, the good, and the struggle between darkness and light, truth and falsehood, life and death, was, according to persian ideas, reproduced in the course of earthly events, so the jews too ascribed to satan the rôle of an adversary of god, a corrupter of the divine creation, and made him, as prince of this world and leader of the forces of hell, measure his strength with the king of heaven. [ ] in the struggle of the two opposing worlds, according to persian ideas, mithras stood in the foreground, the spirit of light, truth, and justice, the divine "friend" of men, the "mediator," "deliverer," and "saviour" of the world. he shared his office with honover, ahuramazda's word of creation and revelation; and indeed in most things their attributes were mingled. an incarnation of fire or the sun, above all of the struggling, suffering, triumphant light, which presses victoriously through night and darkness, mithras was also connected with death and immortality, and passed as guide of souls and judge in the under-world. he was the "divine son," of whom it was said that ahuramazda had fashioned him as great and worthy of reverence as his own self. indeed, he was in essence ahuramazda himself, proceeding from his supernatural light, and given a concrete individuality. as companion in creation and "protector" of the world he kept the universe standing in its struggle against its enemies. at the head of the heavenly host he fought for god, and with his sword of flame he drove the dæmons of darkness in terror back into the shadows. to take part in this combat on the side of god, to build up the future kingdom of god by the work of a life-giving civilisation, by the rendering fruitful of sterile wastes, the extinction of noxious animals, and by moral self-education, seemed the proper end of human existence. but when the time should have been fulfilled and the present epoch come to an end, according to persian belief, ahuramazda was then to raise up from the seed of zarathustra, the founder of this religion, the "virgin's son," saoshyant (sraosha, sosiosch, which signifies the saviour), or, as it ran according to another rendering, mithras himself should descend upon the earth and in a last fierce struggle overwhelm angromainyu and his hosts, and cast them down into the nether world. he would then raise the dead in bodily shape, and after a general judgment of the whole world, in which the wicked should be condemned to the punishments of hell and the good raised to heavenly glory, establish the "millennial kingdom of peace." hell itself was not to last for ever, for a great reconciliation was to be finally held out even to the damned. then angromainyu also would make peace with ahuramazda, and upon a new earth beneath a new heaven all were to be united to one another in everlasting blessedness. these ideas entered the circle of jewish thought and there brought about a complete transformation of the former belief in a messiah. messiah--that is, the anointed (in greek, christos)--originally signified the king as representative of jahwe before the people and of the people before jahwe. according to sam. vii. sq., he was placed in the same relation of an obedient "son" to his "father," in which the whole people was conscious of standing. [ ] then the opposition between the holy dignity of the "anointed" of god and the humanly imperfect personality of the jewish kings led to the ideal of the messiah being transferred to the future and the complete realisation of the rule of jahwe over his people being expected only then. in this sense the ancient prophets had already celebrated the messiah as an ideal king of the future, who would experience in the fullest sense the high assurances of jahwe's favour, of which david had been deemed worthy, since he would be completely worthy of them. they had described him as the hero, who would be more than moses and joshua, who would establish the promised glory of israel, dispose the people anew, and bring jahwe's religion even to the heathen. [ ] they had glorified him in that he would span the heavens afresh, establish a new earth, and make israel lord over all nations. [ ] in this they had at first understood the messiah only as a human being, as a new david or of his seed--theocratic king, divinely favoured prince of peace and just ruler over his people, just as the persian saoshyant was to be a man of the seed of zarathustra. in this sense a cyrus, the deliverer of the people from the babylonian captivity, the rescuer and overlord of israel, had been acclaimed messiah. [ ] but just as saoshyant had been undesignedly transfigured in the imagination of the people into a divine being and made one with the figure of mithras, [ ] so also among the prophets the messiah was more and more assigned the part of a divine king. he was called "divine hero," "father of eternity," and the prophet isaiah indulged in a description of his kingdom of peace, in which the wolf would lie down by the lamb, men would no longer die before their time, and would enjoy the fruit of their fields without tithe, while right and justice would reign upon earth under this king of a golden age as it had never done before. [ ] secret and supernatural, as was his nature, so should the birth of the messiah be. though a divine child, he was to be born in lowly state. [ ] the personality of the messiah mingled with that of jahwe himself, as though it were god himself of whose ascending the throne and journey heavenwards the psalmists sing. [ ] these alternations of the messiah between a human and a divine nature appear still more clearly in the jewish apocalyptics of the last century before and the first century after christ. thus the apocalypse of daniel (about b.c.) speaks of one who as son of man will descend upon the clouds of heaven and will be brought before the "ancient of days." the whole tone of the passage leaves no doubt that the son of man (barnasa) is a superhuman being representing the deity. to him the majesty and kingdom of god have been entrusted in order that, at the end of the existing epoch, he should descend upon the clouds of heaven, surrounded by a troop of angels, and establish an everlasting power, a kingdom of heaven. in the picture-language of enoch (in the last decade before christ) the messiah, the "chosen one," the "son of man," appears as a supernatural pre-existing being, who was hidden in god before the world was created, whose glory continues from eternity to eternity and his might from generation to generation, in whom the spirit of wisdom and power dwells, who judges hidden things, punishes the wicked, but will save the holy and just. [ ] indeed, the apocalypse of esdras (the so-called fourth book of esdras) expressly combats the opinion that the judgment of the world will come through another than god, and likewise describes the messiah as a kind of "second god," as the "son of god," as the human incarnation of the godhead. [ ] in all of this the influence of persian beliefs is unmistakable, whether these arose in iran itself directly, or whether the idea of a god-appointed king and deliverer of the world was borrowed by the persians from the circle of babylonian ideas. here this conception had taken deep root and was applied at different times now to this king, now to that. [ ] just as in the persian religion the image of saoshyant, so also in the jewish view the picture of the messiah wavered between a human king of the race of david and a supernatural being of divine nature descended from heaven. and just as in the persian representation of the coming of saoshyant and the final victory of the kingdom of light there would be a preceding period during which threatening signs would appear in the heavens, the whole of nature would find itself in upheaval and mankind would be scourged with fearful plagues, so also the jewish apocalypse speaks of the "woes" of the messiah and describes a period of terror which would precede the coming of the messiah. the coming of the power of god was looked upon as a miraculous catastrophe suddenly breaking in from on high, as a conflagration of the world followed by a new creation. the jewish agreed with the persian view in this also, that it made a heavenly kingdom of undisturbed bliss "in the light of the everlasting life and in likeness of the angels" follow the earthly world-wide empire of the messiah. this they imagined on exactly the same lines as the persian paradise. there would the holy drink of the "water of life" and nourish themselves on the fruit which hang upon the "tree of life." the wicked, on the other hand, would be cast into hell and suffer in fearful torments the just punishment of their sins. [ ] the conception of a resurrection of the dead and a last judgment had hitherto been strange to the jews. in pre-exilic days they allowed the body to die and the soul after death to go down as a shadow without feeling into hades (sheol), without disturbing themselves further about its fate. now, however, with the doctrine of the destruction of the world by fire and the general judgment, the idea of personal immortality entered the world of jewish thought. thus it is said by daniel that on the day of judgment the dead will rise again, some waking to everlasting life, others to everlasting perdition. "but the teachers will shine as the brightness of heaven, and those who led the multitude to justice as the stars for ever and ever." [ ] with the acceptance of personal immortality the whole tone of religious thought was deepened and enriched in the direction of thought for the individual. former jewish morality had been essentially of a collective kind. it was not so much the individual as the people viewed collectively that was looked upon as the object of divine solicitude. at this point the position, the road to which had been already prepared by the prophets, was definitely established, that the individual hoped for a personal religious salvation and as a consequence felt in direct personal relationship with jahwe. god indeed remained, as the persians had taught them to understand him, the superhuman lord of heaven enthroned in pure light, the source of all life, the living god. his metaphysical qualities, however, his dazzling glory and unconquerable might were ever more and more overshadowed by his moral attributes: goodness, grace, and mercy appeared as the most prominent features in the character of jahwe. god seemed a loving father who leads his children through life with kindly care, and without whose consent not a hair of one of his creatures could be touched. the strong tendency within judaism, represented by the upper currents of pharisaic rabbinism, continually drew the national boundaries closer, and was ever more anxiously occupied with a painfully strict observance of the letter of the law and a conscientious observance of ritualistic ordinances. ethics threatened to be extinguished under a system of conventional rules of an essentially juristic nature. yet all the while a more human and natural morality was arising, an inward piety, warm-hearted, popular, and sound, which broke through the narrow limits of jewish nationalism, and sent a fresh current into the heavy atmosphere of official legality. it was then that the groundwork of later christian ethics was laid in the purified morality of the psalms, aphorisms, and other edificatory writings of a job, baruch, jesus son of sirach, &c. it was then that the jewish monotheism set itself to extend its sway beyond the boundaries of its own land and to enter into competition with the other religions of antiquity, from which it was to draw back vanquished only before a matured christianity. ii the hellenistic idea of a mediator (philo) with alexander's conquest of the persian empire palestine also was drawn within the circle of hellenistic culture. it was at first a vassal state of the egyptian ptolemies, and consequently at the commencement of the second century before christ came under the overlordship of the syrian seleucids. the customs and intellectual life of greece forced their way into the quiet isolation of the priest-ruled jewish state and could not be expelled again, despite the national reaction under the maccabees against foreign influences. above all, however, the dispersal of the jews contributed to bring about a settlement of opposing views. since the exile the jews had spread over all the countries of the east mediterranean. some had remained in babylon, others were permanently settled especially in the ports as tradesmen, bankers, and merchants. they controlled the entire money market and trade of the east through their assiduous industry, mercantile sharpness, their lack of scruples, and the tenacity with which they held together, supported therein by their worship in common in the synagogue. in the atmosphere of greek philosophy and morality a still further transformation and purification of jahwe took place. all common human and material lineaments were dropped, and he developed into a spiritual being of perfect goodness, such as plato had described the godhead. here the jews found themselves face to face with the same problem that had long occupied the greek philosophers. this was the reconciliation of the supernatural loftiness and aloofness from the world of their god with the demands of the religious consciousness that required the immediate presence of godhead. among the ideas which were borrowed by judaism from the persian religion belonged those connected with the mediatory "word." as the creative power of the godhead, the bearer of revelation and representative of god upon earth, the expression "the word" had already appeared in aphoristic literature. under græco-egyptian influence the term "wisdom" (sophia) had become the naturalised expression for it. "wisdom" served to describe the activities in regard to man of the god who held aloof from the world. in this connection it may be noted that according to persian ideas "wisdom" under the name of spenta armaiti was considered as one of the six or seven amesha spentas (amshaspands), those spirits that stood as a bodyguard closest to the throne of god and corresponded to the jewish archangels. she was considered by the persians as the daughter or spouse of ahuramazda. already, in the so-called "wisdom of solomon," written by an alexandrian jew in the last century before christ, she was declared to be a separately existing spirit in close relation to god. under the guise of a half-personal, half-material being--a power controlling the whole of nature--she was described as the principle of the revelation of god in the creation, maintenance, and ruling of the world, as the common principle of life from on high and as the intermediary organ of religious salvation. just as plato had sought to overcome the dualism of the ideal and the material world by the conception of a "world-soul," so "wisdom" was intended to serve as an intermediary between the opposites, the god of the jews and his creation. these efforts were continued by the alexandrian jew philo ( b.c. to a.d.), who tried to bring the perso-jewish conception of the "word" or "wisdom" into closer accord with the ideas of greek philosophy than the author of the "book of wisdom" had already done. philo, too, commenced with the opposition between an unknowable, unnameable god, absolutely raised above the world, and material created existence. he imagined this opposition bridged over by means of "powers" which, as relatively self-existing individuals, messengers, servants, and representatives of god, at one time more closely resembled persian angels or greek dæmons, at another time the platonic "ideas," the originals and patterns of god in creating. essentially, however, they bore the character of the so-called "fructifying powers," those creative forces which infused a soul and design into formless matter and by means of which the stoic philosophers sought to explain existence. as the first of these intermediate forces, or, indeed, as the essence of them all, philo considered the "logos," efficacious reason or the creative word of god. he called him the "first-born son of god" or the "second god," the representative, interpreter, ambassador, archangel of god, or prince of angels. he considered him as the high priest, who made intercession with god for the world, the affairs of which he represented before him as the paraclete, the advocate and consoler of the world, who was the channel to it of the divine promises; as the tool with which god had fashioned the world, the original and ideal of it to which god had given effect in its creation--that which operated in all things; in a word, as the soul or spirit of the world, which the stoics had identified with their god, but which philo distinguished from the other-world divinity and looked upon as his revelation and manifestation. in essence only an expression for the sum total of all divine forces and activities, the logos of philo also was sometimes an impersonal metaphysical principle, simply the efficacy of the godhead, and sometimes an independent personality distinct from god. just as the stoics had personified their world-reason in hermes, the messenger of the gods, so the egyptians had raised amun ra's magic word of creation to a self-existing personal mediatory being in thoth the guide of souls; the babylonians, the word of fate of the great god marduk in the shape of nabu; the persians, the word of ahuramazda in vohu mano as well as in the spenta armaiti, the good thought of the creative god. and just as according to persian ideas it was at one time the divine "son" and mediator "mithras," the collectivity of all divine forces, at another the ideal man saoshyant who appeared as saviour and deliverer of the world, and just as both mingled in one form, so philo also at one time described the word as the collectivity of all creative ideas, at another only as the unembodied idea of man, the ideal man, the direct divine image and immaterial pattern of the material exemplars of humanity, that is effective therein as the subject of all religious redemption. indeed, he occasionally identified him with the tree of life in paradise, since both were everlasting and "stood in the middle." according to philo, man is unable of his own strength to free himself from the bonds of earthly existence. all deliverance depends upon the emancipation of the soul from the body and its sensuous desires. in conformity with his true spiritual and godlike nature, to become as perfect as god, is the highest virtue and at the same time true happiness. this is attained by an insight into the divine reality of things, by whole-hearted trust in god, by grateful recognition of the goodness and love bestowed by him, showing itself in piety towards god as well as in charity and justice towards other men. but in addition the logos itself must be in us and cause for us the insight into our divine nature. the logos must guide us, come to the aid of our human weakness with his supernatural strength in the struggles against the world and sin and raise us up to god. thus the apotheosis of man is the goal aimed at in all religious activity. the logos, however, is the only means to this end, in so far as we are raised through union with him in faith and love to our true origin and life's source, "the vision of god," and thereby have participation in his life. iii jesus as cult-god in the creed of jewish sects all religious spirits of the time longed to secure this happy vision and communion with god, and to obtain even here on earth a foretaste of the heavenly life. the jews sought to attain this end by a painfully exact observance of the ordinances of their law, but in so doing they became entangled in a mesh of such minute and tiresome regulations that the more they applied themselves to the service of the law the more difficult it appeared. it seemed to be no longer possible to reconcile the demands of everyday life with one's religious duties. some therefore withdrew from the life of the world and in retirement and quiet endeavoured to devote themselves exclusively to the "inner life." in egypt the therapeutes or physicians, a religious association composed of jews and their proselytes, with their headquarters in the neighbourhood of alexandria, sought in this manner, as philo informs us in his work "on the contemplative life," to give effect to the claims of religion as expressed by philo himself. [ ] their religious observances resembled those of the orphic-pythagorean sects, as in abstinence from flesh and wine, admiration for virginity, voluntary poverty, religious feasts and community singing, and the use of white garments. they made a deep study of the mystical writings of revelation that had been handed down, and these they used as a guide in the allegorical explanation of the mosaic law. they united a contemplative piety with a common religious observance, and thus sought to strengthen themselves mutually in the certainty of religious salvation. beyond the jordan the jewish sect of the essenes (from the syrian word chase, plural chasen or chasaja) had their chief settlement. these called themselves, as is expressed by their name, the "pious" or "godfearing." in their esteem of temperance, celibacy, and poverty, their reprobation of slavery, private property, the taking of oaths, and blood-sacrifice, in the honour they paid the sun as a visible manifestation of the divine light, they agreed with the therapeutes. they differed from them, however, in their monastic organisation and the regular manner in which the life of the community was divided among different classes, their strict subordination to superiors, their maintenance of a novitiate of several years, the secrecy of the traditions of the sect, and their cultivation of the healing art and magic. the therapeutes passed their lives in leisurely contemplation and spiritual exercises; the essenes, on the other hand, engaged in the rearing of stock, farming, and bee-culture, or they pursued a handicraft, and in the country places or towns of judæa, where they often dwelt together in houses of the order, they lived as dwellers in a desert the life of purity and sanctity. both sects, again, were alike in expecting an early end of the world and in seeking to prepare themselves for the reception of the promises of god by the cultivation of brotherly dispositions amongst themselves, by justice, good works, and benevolence towards their fellow-men, finding therein the special occupation of their lives. [ ] of what nature were the secret traditions upon which these sects rested? we know from the jewish historian josephus that the essenes clung to an extreme dualism of soul and body, in which, indeed, they agreed with the other religious associations of antiquity. like all mystical sects, they regarded the body as the grave and prison-house of the immortal soul, to which it had been banished from an earlier life in light and blessedness. they also grounded their longing for deliverance from the world of sense and their strivings towards the glory of a better life of the soul beyond the grave upon pessimism in regard to human existence. they even regarded the performance of secret rites as a necessary condition of redemption. but in the opinion of the essenes it was essential above all to know the names of the angels and dæmons who opened the passage to the different heavens, disposed one above another. this knowledge was to be revealed to men by one of the higher gods, a god-redeemer. a conception allied to that lay at the root of the book of wisdom, as well as of philo's work--the belief in the magic power of the redemptive word of god, mingled by the essenes with many strange egyptian, persian, and babylonian ingredients and removed from the sphere of philosophic thought to the region of a rankly luxuriant superstition. thus the closely related jewish apocalypse had expressly supported the revelation of a secret divine wisdom. [ ] indeed, we now know that this whole world of thought belonged to an exceedingly manifold syncretic religious system, composed of babylonian, persian, jewish, and greek ingredients, which ruled the whole of western asia in the last centuries before christ. its followers called themselves adonæi, after the name of its supposed founder, ado (? adonis). it is, however, generally described as the mandaic religion, according to another name for its followers, the so-called mandæi (gnostics). [ ] of the numberless sects into which this religion split only a few names have come down to us, of which some played a part in the history of the heresies of early christianity; for example, the ophites or nassenes, the ebionites, perates, sethianes, heliognostics, sampsæes, &c. [ ] we are thus much better acquainted with their fundamental ideas, which were very fantastic and complicated. they all subscribed to the belief in the redemption of the soul of man from its grave of darkness by a mediatory being, originally hidden in god and then expressly awakened or appointed by him for this purpose. in original mandaism he bore the name of mandâ de hajjê--that is, gnosis, or "word" of life. in the form of hibil-ziwâ, the babylonian marduk or nabu, he was to descend from heaven with the keys thereof, and by means of his magic obtain the dominion of the world. he was to conquer those dæmons that had fallen away from god, introduce the end of the world, and lead back the souls of light to the highest godhead. as the apocalyptics show, this view had numerous adherents among the jews of palestine also. all those who found no satisfaction in the literalness of the pharasaic beliefs and the business-like superficiality of the official jewish religion, found edification in ideas of this sort, which excited the imagination. they dealt with them as "mysteries," and sought, as may well be from fear of conflicts with traditional religion, to keep them secret from the public. [ ] hence it is that we have such an incomplete knowledge of this side of the religious life of the jews. at any rate they clothed their expected messiah with the attributes of the mandaic god of mediation, and they appear, as is clear from the apocalypse of daniel and that of john, to have taken particular pleasure in the description of the scene where god calls ("awakes") the redeemer to his mediatory office and installs him as deliverer, ruler of the world, and judge of the living and the dead. we are accustomed to look upon the jewish religion as strictly monotheistic. in truth, it never was, even in the mosaic times, until after the return from exile. and this is clear, in spite of the trouble which the composers of the so-called historic books of the old testament have taken to work up the traditions in a monotheistic sense and to obliterate the traces of the early jewish polytheism, by transforming the ancient gods into patriarchs, heroes, angels, and servants of jahwe. it was not entirely babylonian, persian, and greek opinions which influenced judaism in a polytheistic direction; from the beginning, besides the theory of one god, emphasised by the priesthood and official world, there existed a belief in other gods. this constantly received fresh nourishment from foreign influences, and it appears to have been chiefly cultivated in the secret societies. on the descent of the israelites into canaan each tribe brought with it its special god, under whose specific guidance it believed its deeds were accomplished. by the reforms of the prophets these gods were suppressed; but the higher grew the regard for jahwe (apparently the god of the tribe of judah), and the further he was in consequence withdrawn from the world to an unapproachable distance, the more strongly the remembrance of the ancient gods again arose and assumed the form of the recognition of divine intermediate beings, the so-called "sons of god." in these the longing for the direct presence and visible representation of god sought expression. such appears to have been the "presence," or "angel of god," with whom jacob wrestled in the desert, [ ] who led the israelites out of egypt and went before them as a pillar of flame, [ ] who fought against their enemies, drove the canaanites from their homes, [ ] held intercourse with the prophets elijah and ezekiel, [ ] and stood by the people of jahwe in every difficulty. [ ] he is also called the "king" (melech), or "son" of jahwe, [ ] and thus exactly resembles the babylonian marduk, the persian mithras, the phoenician hercules or moloch, "the first-born son" of god (protogonos), who also appeared among the orphics under the name of phanes (i.e., countenance), who wrestles with zeus at olympia as jacob with jahwe, and, like him, dislocates his hip in the struggle with hippokoon. in the rabbinic theology he is compared with the mystic metatron, a being related to the logos, "the prince of the presence," "leader of angels," "lord of lords," "king of kings," "commencement of the way of god." he was also called the "protector," "sentinel," and "advocate" of israel, who lays petitions before god, and "in whom is the name of the lord." [ ] thus he is identical with that angel promised in the second book of moses, in whom also is the name of jahwe, who was to lead israel to victory over the amorites, hittites, perizzites, canaanites, hivites, and jebusites. [ ] but he, again, is no other than joshua, who was said to have overthrown these nations with jahwe's aid. [ ] but joshua himself is apparently an ancient ephraimitic god of the sun and fruitfulness, who stood in close relation to the feast of the pasch and to the custom of circumcision. [ ] now, many signs speak in favour of the fact that joshua or jesus was the name under which the expected messiah was honoured in certain jewish sects. in zech. iii. joshua, who, according to ezra iii. , led back the jews into their old homes after the babylonian captivity, just as the older joshua brought back the israelites into canaan, the promised land of their fathers, was invested as high priest by the "angel of the lord," and promised the continuance of his priesthood so long as he walked in the ways of the lord. in zech. vi. - the high priest joshua is crowned as messiah and brought into connection with the "branch" under which the glory of god's kingdom will come to pass. it is true that in this passage under the title of messiah zerubbabel, the leader of the jews of the race of david, was originally understood. in him the prophet thought he could discern that "branch" by which, in accordance with isaiah xi. , the house of david was again to obtain the rule. since, however, the great hopes set upon zerubbabel as messiah were not fulfilled, a correction was made (and this before the bible was translated into greek) in the text of the prophet, as follows: the name of zerubbabel was struck out, the plural changed into the singular, so that joshua alone was represented as having been crowned, the promises regarding the messiah accordingly also passing over to him (stade, "gesch. des volkes israel," , ii. , note. hühn, "die messianischen weissagungen des israel. volkes," , et sq.). jesus was a name given, as will be still more clearly shown, not only to the high priest of zechariah and to the successor of moses, both of whom were said to have led israel back into its ancient home, both having a decidedly messianic character. the name in ancient times also belonged to the healthbringer and patron of the physician--namely, jasios or jason, the pupil of chiron skilled in healing [ ]--who in general shows a remarkable resemblance to the christian redeemer. consider also the significant fact that three times at decisive turning-points in the history of the israelites a joshua appears who leads his people into their promised home, into canaan and jerusalem, into the kingdom of god--the "new jerusalem." now, as epiphanius remarks in his "history of the heretics," jesus bears in the hebrew language the same meaning as curator, therapeutes--that is, physician and curer. but the therapeutes and essenes regarded themselves as physicians, and, above all, physicians of the soul. it is accordingly by no means improbable that they too honoured the god of their sect under this name. [ ] we, moreover, read in a parisian magic-papyrus recently found and published by wessely (line et sq.): "i exort thee by jesus the god of the hebrews." the words are found in an ostensibly "hebrew logos" of that papyrus, the tone of which is quite ancient, moreover shows no trace of christian influence, and is ascribed by the transcriber to "the pure," under which name, according to dieterich, the essenes or therapeutes are to be understood. [ ] the jessaes or jessenes (jessaioi) named themselves after jesus, or after "the branch from the root of jesse." [ ] they were closely connected on one side with the essenes and on the other side with the jewish sect of the nazarenes or nazoraes (nazoraiori), if they were not absolutely identical. these were, as epiphanius shows, in existence long before christ, and had no knowledge of him. [ ] they were, however, called nazoraes (nazarenes (nazarenos) is only a linguistic variation of it, cf. essaes and essenes) because they honoured the mediator god, the divine "son," as a protector and guardian (syrian, nasaryá; hebrew, ha-nôsrî) (cf. "the protector of israel," also the fact that mithras was honoured as "protector of the world"). according to acts xxiv. the first followers of jesus were also called nazoraes or nazarenes. the expressions "jesus" and "nazorean" were therefore originally of almost like meaning, and by the addition of "the nazorean" or "nazarene" jesus is not characterised as the man of nazareth, as the evangelists represent it, but as the healer and deliverer. whether there was a place called nazareth in pre-christian days must be considered as at least very doubtful. such a place is not mentioned either in the old testament or in the talmud, which, however, mentions more than sixty galilean towns; nor, again, by the jewish historian josephus, nor in the apocrypha. cheyne believes himself justified by this in the conclusion that nazareth in the new testament is a pure geographical fiction. [ ] it is only in the later phases of the tradition that the name appears in the new testament as a place-name. in the earlier ones the nazorean (nazarene) only signifies the follower of a particular sect, or is a surname of jesus which characterises the significance attached to him in the thoughts of his followers. "the nazorean" appears here only as an integral part of the whole name of jesus, as zeus xenios, hermes psychopompos, apollo pythios, &c., &c. it is applied to jesus only as guardian of the world, protector and deliverer of men from the power of sin and dæmons, but without any reference to a quite obscure and entirely unknown village named nazareth, which is mentioned in documents beyond any dispute, only from the fourth century on (see eusebius, jerome, and epiphanius). or where else is a sect named after the birthplace of its founder? [ ] moreover, even in the gospels it is not nazareth but capernaum which is described as his city; while nazareth does not play any part at all in the life of jesus. for the passages matt. xiii. - and mark vi. - , according to which he had no success with his miracles in his "patris" on account of the unbelief of the people, leave the question open whether under the name of "patris" one is to understand his father-city nazareth or somewhere else. the corresponding passage, luke iv. - , mentions nazareth, it is true, in connection with this incident; but it is in discrepancy with the older versions of matthew and mark, and it appears otherwise recognisable as a later redaction of the passages in the other gospels. [ ] now the expression nazar or netzer in the sense of twig (sprout) is found not only in the well-known passage isaiah xi. , where the messiah is described as the "rod from the tree of jesse" or "the twig from its root." in fine, was not the twig looked upon as a symbol of the redeemer in his character of a god of vegetation and life, as was the case in the worship of mithras, of men, a god of asia minor, of attis, apollo, [ ] &c., and did not this idea also make itself felt in the name of the nazareans? "he shall be called a nazarene," [ ] accordingly, does not signify that he was to be born in the small village of nazareth, which probably did not exist in the time of jesus, but that he is the promised netzer or zemah, who makes all new, and restores the time when "one loads the other beneath vine and fig-tree," [ ] and wonderful increase will appear. [ ] again, the possibility is not excluded of the name of the nazareans having been confused with that of the nasiraes (nazirites), those "holy" or "dedicated" ones, who were a survival in judea from the times when the israelite tribes were nomads. these sought to express their opposition to the higher civilisation of the conquered land by patriarchal simplicity and purity of life, abstinence from the use of oil, wine, and the shears, &c. [ ] according to this, jesus (joshua) was originally a divinity, a mediator, and god of healing of those pre-christian jewish sectaries, with reference to whom we are obliged to describe the judaism of the time--as regards certain of its tendencies, that is--as a syncretic religion. [ ] "the revelation of john" also appears to be a christian redaction of an original jewish work which in all likelihood belonged to a pre-christian cult of jesus. the god jesus which appears in it has nothing to do with the christian jesus. moreover, its whole range of ideas is so foreign even to ancient judaism that it can be explained only by the influence of heathen religions upon the jewish. [ ] it is exactly the same with the so-called "doctrine of the twelve apostles." this too displays a jewish foundation, and speaks of a jesus in the context of the words of the supper, who is in no wise the same as the christian redeemer. [ ] it is comprehensible that the later christians did all they could in order to draw the veil of forgetfulness over these things. nevertheless smith has succeeded in his book, "the pre-christian jesus," in showing clear evidences even in the new testament of a cult of an old god jesus. among other things the phrase "ta peri tou iesou" ("the things concerning jesus") [ ] which according to all appearance has no reference to the history of jesus, but only means the doctrines concerning him, and in any case could originally only have had this meaning, involves a pre-christian form of belief in a jesus. but this point is above all supported by the circumstance that even at the earliest commencement of the christian propaganda we meet with the name of jesus used in such a manner as to point to a long history of that name. for it is employed from the beginning in the driving out of evil spirits, a fact that would be quite incomprehensible if its bearer had been merely a man. now we know from the gospels and acts of the apostles that it was not only the disciples of the jesus of the gospels, but also others even in his lifetime (i.e., even in the first commencement of the christian propaganda), healed diseases, and drove out evil spirits in the name of jesus. from this it is to be concluded that the magic of names was associated from of old with the conception of a divine healer and protector, and that jesus, like marduk, was a name for this god of healing. [ ] judging by this the persian, but above all the babylonian, religion must have influenced the views of the above-named sects. for the superstition regarding names, the belief in the magic power attributed to the name of a divine being, as well as the belief in star gods and astral mythology, which is a characteristic of mandaism, all have babylon as their home. the essenes also appear to have exercised the magical and healing art of which they boasted in the form of wonder-working and the driving out of evil spirits by a solemn invocation of the name of their god of healing. [ ] iv the sufferings of the messiah in the most different religions the belief in a divine saviour and redeemer is found bound up with the conception of a suffering and dying god, and this idea of a suffering and dying messiah was by no means unknown to the jews. it may be of no importance that in the apocalypse of esdras [ ] the death of christ is spoken of, since in the opinion of many this work only appeared in the first century after christ; but deutero-isaiah too, during the exile, describes the chosen one and messenger of god as the "suffering servant of god," as one who had already appeared, although he had remained unknown and despised, had died shamefully and been buried, but as one also who would rise up again in order to fulfil the splendour of the divine promise. [ ] this brings to mind the suffering, death, and resurrection of the gods of babylon and of the whole of nearer asia; for example, tammuz, mithras, attis, melkart, and adonis, dionysus, the cretan zeus, and the egyptian osiris. the prophet zechariah, moreover, speaks of the secret murder of a god over which the inhabitants of jerusalem would raise their lament, "as in the case of hadad-rimmon (rammân) in the valley of megiddon," that is, as at the death of adonis, one of the chief figures among the gods believed in by the syrians. [ ] ezekiel also describes the women of jerusalem, sitting before the north gate of the city and weeping over tammuz. [ ] the ancient israelites, too, were already well acquainted with the suffering and dying gods of the neighbouring peoples. now, indeed, it is customary for isaiah's "servant of god" to be held to refer to the present sufferings and future glory of the jewish people, and there is no doubt that the prophet understood the image in that sense. at the same time gunkel rightly maintains that in the passage of isaiah referred to, the figure of a god who dies and rises again stands in the background, and the reference to israel signifies nothing more than a new symbolical explanation of the actual fate of a god. [ ] every year the forces of nature die away to reawaken to a new life only after a long period. the minds of all peoples used to be deeply moved by this occurrence--the death whether of nature as a whole beneath the influence of the cold of winter, or of vegetable growth under the parching rays of the summer sun. men looked upon it as the fate of a fair young god whose death they deeply lamented and whose rebirth or resurrection they greeted with unrestrained rejoicing. on this account from earliest antiquity there was bound up with the celebration of this god an imitative mystery under the form of a ritualistic representation of his death and resurrection. in the primitive stages of worship, when the boundaries between spirit and nature remained almost entirely indistinct, and man still felt himself inwardly in a sympathetic correspondence with surrounding nature, it was believed that one could even exercise an influence upon nature or help it in its interchange between life and death, and turn the course of events to one's own interest. for this purpose man was obliged to imitate it. "nowhere," says frazer, to whom we are indebted for a searching inquiry into all ideas and ritualistic customs in this connection, "were these efforts more strictly and systematically carried out than in western asia. as far as names go they differed in different places, in essence they were everywhere alike. a man, whom the unrestrained phantasy of his adorers clothed with the garments and attributes of a god, used to give his life for the life of the world. after he had poured from his own body into the stagnating veins of nature a fresh stream of vital energy, he was himself delivered over to death before his own sinking strength should have brought about a general ruin of the forces of nature, and his place was then taken by another, who, like all his forerunners, played the ever-recurring drama of the divine resurrection and death." [ ] even in historic times this was frequently carried out with living persons. these had formerly been the kings of the country or the priests of the god in question, but their place was now taken by criminals. in other cases the sacrifice of the deified man took place only symbolically, as with the egyptian osiris, the persian mithras, the phrygian attis, the syrian adonis, and the tarsic (cilician) sandan (sandes). in these cases a picture of the god, an effigy, or a sacred tree-trunk took the place of the "god man." sufficient signs, however, still show that in such cases it was only a question of a substitute under milder forms of ritual for the former human victim. thus, for example, the name of the high priest of attis, being also attis, that is, "father," the sacrificial self-inflicted wound on the occasion of the great feast of the god (march nd to th), and the sprinkling with his blood of the picture of the god that then took place, makes us recognise still more plainly a later softening of an earlier custom of self-immolation. [ ] with the idea of revivifying dying nature by the sacrifice of a man was associated that of the "scapegoat." the victim did not only represent to the people their god, but at the same time stood for the people before god and had to expiate by his death the misdeeds committed by them during the year. [ ] as regards the manner of death, however, this varied in different places between death by his own sword or that of the priest, by the pyre or the gibbet (gallows). in this way we understand the rd chapter of isaiah: "surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of god, and afflicted. but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. he was oppressed, yet he humbled himself, and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth. he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. and they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand. he shall see of the travail of his soul [? sufferings], and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities. therefore will i divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." here we obviously have to do with a man who dies as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of his people, and by his death benefiting the lives of the others is on that account raised to be a god. indeed, the picture of the just man suffering, all innocent as he is, itself varies between a human and a divine being. and now let us enter into the condition of the soul of such an unhappy one, who as "god man" suffers death upon the gibbet, and we understand the words of the nd psalm: "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? o my god, i cry in the day time, but thou answereth not; and in the night season, and am not silent. but thou art holy, o thou that inhabitest the praises of israel. our fathers trusted in thee; they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. they cried unto thee, and were delivered; they trusted in thee, and were not ashamed. but i am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. all they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the lip, saying, commit thyself unto the lord, let him deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him.... many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of bashan have beset me round. they gape upon me with their mouth, as a ravening and a roaring lion. i am poured out like water. and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax: it is melted in the midst of my bowels.... they pierced my hands and my feet. i may tell all my bones. they look and stare upon me: they part my garments among them, and upon my vesture do they cast lots. but be not thou far off, o lord: o thou, my succour, haste thee to help me.... save me from the lion's mouth, yea, from the horns of the wild oxen...." when the poet of the psalms wished to describe helplessness in its direst extremity, before his eyes there came the picture of a man, who, hanging upon the gibbet, calls upon god's aid, while round about him the people gloat over his sufferings, which are to save them; and the attendants who had taken part in the sacrifice divide among themselves the costly garments with which the god-king had been adorned. the employment of such a picture presupposes that the occurrence depicted was not unknown to the poet and his public, whether it came before their eyes from acquaintance with the religious ideas of their neighbours or because they were accustomed to see it in their own native usages. as a matter of fact in ancient israel human sacrifices were by no means unusual. this appears from numberless passages of the old testament, and has been already exhaustively set forth by ghillany in his book "die menschenopfer der alten hebräer" ( ), and by daumer in his "der feuer- und molochdienst der alten hebräer." thus we read in sam. xxi. - of the seven sons of the house of saul, who were delivered over by david to the gibeonites, who hung them on the mountain before the lord. thus was god appeased towards the land. [ ] in numb. xxv. jahwe bade moses hang the chiefs of the people "to the lord before the sun, in order that the bitter wrath of the lord might be turned from israel." and according to the book of joshua this latter dedicated the inhabitants of the city of ain to the lord, and after the capture of the city hung their king upon a tree, [ ] while in the tenth chapter ( - ) he even hangs five kings at one time. indeed, it appears that human sacrifice formed a regular part of the jewish religion in the period before the exile; which indeed was but to be expected, considering the relationship between jahwe and the phoenician baal. jahwe himself was, moreover, originally only another form of the old semitic fire- and sun-god; the god-king (moloch or melech), who was honoured under the image of a bull, was represented at this time as a "smoking furnace" [ ] and was gratified and propitiated by human sacrifices. [ ] even during the babylonian captivity, despite the voices raised against it by some prophets in the last years of the jewish state, sacrifices of this kind were offered by the jews; until they were suppressed under the rule of the persians, and in the new jewish state were expressly forbidden. but even then they continued in secret and could easily be revived at any time, so soon as the excitement of the popular mind in some time of great need seemed to demand an extraordinary victim. [ ] now the putting to death of a man in the rôle of a divine ruler was in ancient times very often connected with the celebration of the new year. this is brought to our mind even at the present day by the german and slav custom of the "bearing out" of death at the beginning of spring, when a man or an image of straw symbolising the old year or winter, is taken round amidst lively jesting and is finally thrown into the water or ceremonially burnt, while the "lord of may," crowned with flowers, makes his entrance. again, the roman saturnalia, celebrated in december, during which a mock king wielded his sceptre over a world of joy and licence and unbounded folly, and all relationships were topsy-turvy, the masters playing the part of slaves and vice-versâ, in the most ancient times used to be held in march as a festival of spring. and in this case, too, the king of the festival had to pay for his short reign with his life. in fact, the acts of st. dasius, published by cumont, show that the bloody custom was still observed by the roman soldiers on the frontiers of the empire in the year a.d. [ ] in babylon the feast of the sakæes corresponded to the roman saturnalia. it was ostensibly a memorial of the inroad of the scythian sakes into nearer asia, and according to frazer was identical with the very ancient new year's festival of the babylonians, the zakmuk. this too was associated with a reversal of all usual relationships. a mock king, a criminal condemned to death, was here also the central figure--an unhappy being, to whom for a few days was accorded absolute freedom and every kind of pleasure, even to the using of the royal harem, until on the last day he was divested of his borrowed dignity, stripped naked, scourged, and then burnt. [ ] the jews gained a knowledge of this feast during the babylonian captivity, borrowed it from their oppressors, and celebrated it shortly before their pasch under the name of the feast of purim, ostensibly, as the book of esther is at pains to point out, as a memorial of a great danger from which in persia during the reign of ahasuerus (xerxes) they were saved by the craft of esther and her uncle mordecai. jensen, however, has pointed out in the vienna zeitschrift für die kunde des morgenlandes [ ] that the basis of the narrative of esther is an opposition between the chief gods of babylon and those of hostile elam. according to his view under the names of esther and mordecai are hidden the names of istar, the babylonian goddess of fertility, and marduk, her "son" and "beloved." at babylon during the feast of the sakæes, under the names of the elamite gods vashti and haman (humman), they were put out of the way as representatives of the old or wintry part of the year in order that they might rise up again under their real names and bring into the new year or the summer half of the year. [ ] thus the babylonian king of the sakæes also played the part of a god and suffered death as such upon the pyre. now we have grounds for assuming that the later jewish custom at the feast of purim of hanging upon a gibbet and burning a picture or effigy representing the evil haman, originally consisted, as at babylon, in the putting to death of a real man, some criminal condemned to death. here, too, then was seen not only a representative of haman, but one also of mordecai, a representative of the old as well as of the new year, who in essence was one and the same being. while the former was put to death at the purim feast, the latter, a criminal chosen by lot, was given his freedom on this occasion, clothed with the royal insignia of the dead man and honoured as the representative of mordecai rewarded by ahasuerus for his services. "mordecai," it is said in the book of esther, "went out from the king in royal attire, gold and white, with a great crown of gold, and covered with a robe of linen and purple. and the town of susa rejoiced and was merry." [ ] frazer has discovered that in this description we have before us the picture of an old babylonian king of the sakæes, who represented marduk, as he entered the chief town of the country side, and thus introduced the new year. at the same time it appears that in reality the procession of the mock king was less serious and impressive than the author of the book of esther would out of national vanity make us believe. thus lagarde has drawn attention to an old persian custom which used to be observed every year at the beginning of spring in the early days of march, which is known as "the ride of the beardless one." [ ] on this occasion a beardless and, when possible, one-eyed yokel, naked, and accompanied by a royal body-guard and a troop of outriders, was conducted in solemn pomp through the city seated upon an ass, amidst the acclamations of the crowd, who bore branches of palm and cheered the mock king. he had the right to collect contributions from the rich people and shopkeepers along the route which he followed. part of these went into the coffers of the king, part were assigned to the collector, and he could without more ado appropriate the property of another in case the latter refused his demands. he had, however, to finish his progress and disappear within a strictly limited time, for in default of this he exposed himself to the danger of being seized by the crowd and mercilessly cudgelled to death. people hoped that from this procession of "the beardless one" an early end of winter and a good year would result. from this it appears that here too we have to do with one of those innumerable and multiform spring customs, which at all times and among the most diverse nations served to hasten the approach of the better season. the persian "beardless one" corresponded with the babylonian king of the sakæes, and appears to have represented the departing winter. frazer concludes from this that the criminal also who played the part of the jewish "mordecai" with similar pomp rode through the city like "the beardless one," and had to purchase his freedom with the amusement which he afforded the people. in this connection he recalls a statement of philo according to which, on the occasion of the entry of the jewish king agrippa into alexandria, a half-crazy street sweeper was solemnly chosen by the rabble to be king. after the manner of "the beardless one," covered with a robe and bearing a crown of paper upon his head and a stick in his hand for a sceptre, he was treated by a troop of merry-makers as a real king. [ ] philo calls the poor wretch karabas. this is probably only a corruption of the hebrew name barabbas, which means "son of the father." it was accordingly not the name of an individual, but the regular appellation of whoever had at the purim feast to play the part of mordecai, the babylonian marduk, that is, the new year. this is in accordance with the original divine character of the jewish mock king. for as "sons" of the divine father all the gods of vegetation and fertility of nearer asia suffered death, and the human representatives of these gods had to give their lives for the welfare of their people and the renewed growth of nature. [ ] it thus appears that a kind of commingling of the babylonian feast of the sakæes and the persian feast of "the beardless one" took place among the jews, owing to their sojourn in babylon under persian overlordship. the released criminal made his procession as marduk (mordecai) the representative of the new life rising from the dead, but it was made in the ridiculous rôle of the persian "beardless one"--that is, the representative of the old year--while this latter was likewise represented by another criminal, who, as haman, had to suffer death upon the gallows. in their account of the last events of the life of the messiah, jesus, the custom at the jewish purim feast, already referred to, passed through the minds of the evangelists. they described jesus as the haman, barabbas as the mordecai of the year, and in so doing, on account of the symbol of the lamb of sacrifice, they merged the purim feast in the feast of easter, celebrated a little later. they, however, transferred the festive entry into jerusalem of "the beardless one," his hostile measures against the shopkeepers and money-changers, and his being crowned in mockery as "king of the jews," from mordecai-barabbas to haman-jesus, thus anticipating symbolically the occurrences which should only have been completed on the resurrection of the marduk of the new year. [ ] according to an old reading of math. xxvii. et seq., which, however, has disappeared from our texts since origen, barabbas, the criminal set against the saviour, is called "jesus barabbas"--that is, "jesus, the son of the father." [ ] may an indication of the true state of the facts not lie herein, and may the figure of jesus barabbas, the god of the year, corresponding to both halves of the year, that of the sun's course upwards and downwards, not have separated into two distinct personalities on the occasion of the new year's feast? the jewish pasch was a feast of spring and the new year, on the occasion of which the firstfruits of the harvest and the first-born of men and beasts were offered to the god of sun and sky. originally this was also associated with human sacrifices. here too such a sacrifice passed, as was universal in antiquity, for a means of expiation, atoning for the sins of the past year and ensuring the favour of jahwe for the new year. [ ] "as representing all the souls of the first-born are given to god; they are the means of union between jahwe and his people; the latter can only remain for ever jahwe's own provided a new generation always offers its first-born in sacrifice to god. this was the chief dogma of ancient judaism; all the hopes of the people were fixed thereon; the most far-reaching promises were grounded upon the readiness to sacrifice the first-born." [ ] the more valuable such a victim was, the higher the rank which he bore in life, so much the more pleasing was his death to god. on this account they were "kings" who, according to the books of joshua and samuel, were "consecrated" to the lord. indeed, in the case of the seven sons of the house of saul whom david caused to be hung, the connection between their death and the pasch is perfectly clear, when it is said that they died "before the lord" at the time of the barley harvest (i.e., of the feast of the pasch). [ ] thus there could be no more efficacious sacrifice than when a king or ruler offered his first-born. it was on this account that, as justin informs us, [ ] the banished carthaginian general maleus caused his son cartalo, decked out as a king and priest, to be hung in sight of carthage while it was being besieged by him, thereby casting down the besiegers so much that he captured the city after a few days. it was on this account that the carthaginian hamilcar at the siege of agrigentum ( b.c.) sacrificed his own son, and that the israelites relinquished the conquest of moab, when the king of this country offered his first-born to the gods. [ ] here, too, the human victim seems to have been only the representative of a divine one, as when, for example, the phoenicians in tyre until the time of the siege of that city by alexander sacrificed each year, according to pliny, a boy to kronos, i.e., melkart or moloch (king). [ ] this tyrian melkart, however, is the same as he to whom, as porphyry states, a criminal was annually sacrificed at rhodes. according to philo of byblos the god was called "israel" among the phoenicians, and on the occasion of a great pestilence, in order to check the mortality, he is said to have sacrificed his first-born son jehud (judah), i.e., "the only one," having first decked him out in regal attire. [ ] thus abraham also sacrificed his first-born to jahwe. abraham (the "great father") is, however, only another name for israel, "the mighty god." this was the earliest designation of the god of the hebrews, until it was displaced by the name jahwe, being only employed henceforth as the name of the people belonging to him. the name of his son isaac (jishâk) marks the latter out as "the smiling one." this however, does not refer, as goldzither [ ] thinks, to the smiling day or the morning light, but to the facial contortions of the victim called forth by the pains he endured from the flames in the embrace of the glowing oven. these contortions were anciently called "sardonic laughter," on account of the sacrifices to moloch in crete and sardinia. [ ] when, as civilisation increased, human sacrifices were done away with in israel, and with the development of monotheism the ancient gods were transformed into men, the story of genesis xxii. came into existence with the object of justifying "historically" the change from human to animal victims. the ancient custom according to which amongst many peoples of antiquity, kings, the sons of kings, and priests were not allowed to die a natural death, but, after the expiration of a certain time usually fixed by an oracle, had to suffer death as a sacrificial victim for the good of their people, must accordingly have been in force originally in israel also. thus did moses and aaron also offer themselves for their people in their capacity of leader and high priest. [ ] but since both, and especially moses, passed as types of the messiah, the opinion grew up quite naturally that the expected great and mighty leader and high priest of israel, in whom moses should live again, [ ] had to suffer the holy death of moses and aaron as sacrificial victims. [ ] the view that the idea of a suffering and dying messiah was unknown to the jews cannot accordingly be maintained. indeed, in daniel ix. mention is made of a dying christ. we saw above that among the jews of the post-exilic period the thought of the messiah was associated with the personality of cyrus. now of cyrus the story goes that this mighty persian king suffered death upon the gibbet by the order of the scythian queen tomyris. [ ] but in justin the jew trypho asserts that the messiah will suffer and die a death of violence. [ ] indeed, what is more, the talmud looks upon the death of the messiah (with reference to isaiah liii.) as an expiatory death for the sins of his people. from this it appears "that in the second century after christ, people were, at any rate in certain circles of judaism, familiar with the idea of a suffering messiah, suffering too as an expiation for human sins." [ ] the rabbinists separate more accurately two conceptions of the messiah. according to one, in the character of a descendant of david and a great and divine hero he was to release the jews from servitude, found the promised world-wide empire, and sit in judgment over men. this is the jewish conception of the messiah, of which king david was the ideal. [ ] according to the other he was to assemble the ten tribes in galilee and lead them against jerusalem, only to be overthrown, however, in the battle against gog and magog under the leadership of armillus on account of jeroboam's sin--that is, on account of the secession of the israelites from the jews. the talmud describes the last-mentioned messiah, in distinction from the first, as the son of joseph or ephraim. this is done with reference to the fact that the kingdom of israel included above all the tribes of ephraim and manasseh, and that these traced back their origin to the mythical joseph. he is thus the messiah of the israelites who had separated from the jews, and especially, as it appears, of the samaritans. this messiah, "the son of joseph," it is said, "will offer himself in sacrifice and pour forth his soul in death, and his blood will atone for the people of god." he himself will go to heaven. then, however, the other messiah, "the son of david," the messiah of the jews in a narrower sense, will come and fulfil the promises made to them, in which connection zech. xii. sq. and xiv. sq. seem to have influenced this whole doctrine. [ ] according to dalman, [ ] the figure of the messiah ben joseph first appeared in the second or third century after christ. bousset too appears to consider it a "later" tradition, although he cannot deny that the jewish apocalypses of the end of the first thousand years after christ, which are the first to make extensive mention of the matter, may have contained "very ancient" traditions. according to persian beliefs, too, mithras was the suffering redeemer and mediator between god and the world, while saoshyant, on the other hand, was the judge of the world who would appear at the end of all time and obtain the victory over ariman (armillus). in the same way the greek myth distinguished from the older dionysus, zagreus, the son of persephone, who died a cruel death at the hands of the titans, a younger god of the same name, son of zeus and semele, who was to deliver the world from the shackles of darkness. precisely the same relationship exists between prometheus, the suffering, and heracles, the triumphant deliverer of the world. we thus obviously have to do here with a very old and wide-spread myth, and it is scarcely necessary to point out how closely the two figures of the samaritan and jewish messiahs correspond to the haman and mardachai of the jewish purim feast, in order to prove the extreme antiquity of this whole conception. the gospel united into one the two figures of the messiah, which had been originally separate. from the messiah ben joseph it made the human messiah, born in galilee, and setting out from there with his followers for jerusalem, there to succumb to his adversaries. on the other hand, from the messiah ben david it made the messiah of return and resurrection. at the same time it elevated and deepened the whole idea of the messiah in the highest degree by commingling the conception of the self-sacrificing messiah with that of the paschal victim, and this again with that of the god who offers his own son in sacrifice. along with the jews it looked upon jesus as the "son" of king david, at the same time, however, preserving a remembrance of the israelite messiah in that it also gave him joseph as father; and while it said with respect to the first idea that he was born at bethlehem, the city of david, it assigned him in connection with the latter nazareth of galilee as his birthplace, and invented the abstruse story of the journey of his parents to bethlehem in order to be perfectly impartial towards both views. and now, who is this joseph, as son of whom the messiah was to be a suffering and dying creature like any ordinary man? winckler has pointed out in his "geschichte israels" that under the figure of the joseph of the old testament, just as under that of joshua, an ancient ephraimitic tribal god is concealed. joseph is, as winckler expresses it, "the heroic offspring of baal of garizim, an offshoot of the sun-god, to whom at the same time characteristics of tammuz, the god of the spring sun, are transferred." [ ] just as tammuz had to descend into the under-world, so was joseph cast into the well, in which, according to the "testament of the twelve patriarchs," [ ] he spent three months and five days. this betokens the winter months and five additional days during which the sun remains in the under-world. and again he is cast into prison; and just as tammuz, after his return from the under-world, brings a new spring to the earth, so does joseph, after his release from confinement, introduce a season of peace and happiness for egypt. [ ] on this account he was called in egypt psontomphanech, that is, deliverer of the world, in view of his divine nature, and later passed among the jews also as a prototype of the messiah. indeed, it appears that the evangelists themselves regarded him in such a light, for the story of the two fellow-prisoners of joseph, the baker and cupbearer of pharaoh, one of whom, as joseph foretold, was hanged, [ ] while the other was again received into favour by the king, was transformed by them into the story of the two robbers who were executed at the same time as jesus, one of whom mocked the saviour while the other besought him to remember him when he entered into his heavenly kingdom. [ ] but the ephraimitic joshua too must have been a kind of tammuz or adonis. his name (joshua, syrian, jeshu) characterises him as saviour and deliverer. as such he also appears in the old testament, finally leading the people of israel into the promised land after long privations and sufferings. according to the jewish calendar the commencement of his activity was upon the tenth of nisan, on which the paschal lamb was chosen, and it ended with the feast of the pasch. moses introduced the custom of circumcision and the redemption of the first-born male, and joshua was supposed to have revived it. [ ] at the same time he is said to have replaced the child victims, which it had been customary to offer to jahwe in early days, by the offering of the foreskin of the male and thereby to have established a more humane form of sacrificial worship. this brings to our mind the substitution of an animal victim for a human one in the story of isaac (jishâks). it also brings to mind jesus who offered his own body in sacrifice at the pasch as a substitute for the numberless bloody sacrifices of expiation of prior generations. again, according to an ancient arabian tradition, the mother of joshua was called mirzam (mariám, maria), as the mother of jesus was, while the mother of adonis bore the similar sounding name of myrrha, which also expressed the mourning of the women at the lament for adonis [ ] and characterised the mother of the redeemer god as "the mother of sorrow." [ ] but what is above all decisive is that the son of the "ploughman" jephunneh, caleb (i.e., the dog), stands by joshua's side as a hero of equal rank. his name points in the same way to the time of the summer solstice, when in the mouth of the "lion" the dog-star (sirius) rises, while his descent from nun, the fish or aquarius, indicates joshua as representing the winter solstice. [ ] just as joshua belonged to the tribe of ephraim, to which according to the blessing of jacob the fishes of the the zodiac refer, [ ] so caleb belonged to the tribe of judah, which jacob's blessing likened to a lion; [ ] and while the latter as calub (chelub) has shuhah for brother, that is, the sun descending into the kingdom of shadows (the southern hemisphere), [ ] in like manner joshua represents the spring sun rising out of the night of winter. they are thus both related to one another in the same way as the annual rise and decline of the sun, and as, according to babylonian ideas, are tammuz and nergal, who similarly typify the two halves of the year. when joshua dies at timnath-heres, the place of the eclipse of the sun (i.e., at the time of the summer solstice, at which the death of the sun-god was celebrated [ ]), he appears again as a kind of tammuz, while the "lamentation" of the people at his death [ ] alludes possibly to the lamentation at the death of the sun-god. [ ] it cannot be denied after all this that the conception of a suffering and dying messiah was of extreme antiquity amongst the israelites and was connected with the earliest nature-worship, although later it may indeed have become restricted and peculiar to certain exclusive circles. [ ] the jewish representative of haman suffered death at the feast of purim on account of a crime, as a deserved punishment which had been awarded him. the messiah jesus, on the other hand, according to the words of isaiah, took the punishment upon himself, being "just." he was capable of being an expiatory victim for the sins of the whole people, precisely because he least of all deserved such a fate. plato had already in his "republic" sketched the picture of a "just man" passing his life unknown and unhonoured amidst suffering and persecution. his righteousness is put to the proof and he reaches the highest degree of virtue, not allowing himself to be shaken in his conduct. "the just man is scourged, racked, thrown into prison, blinded in both eyes, and finally, when he has endured all ills, he is executed, and he recognises that one should be determined not to be just but to appear so." in pharisaic circles he passed as a just man who by his own undeserved sufferings made recompense for the sins of the others and made matters right for them before god, as, for example, in the fourth book of the maccabees the blood of the martyrs is represented as the expiatory offering on account of which god delivered israel. the hatred of the unjust and godless towards the just, the reward of the just and the punishment of the unjust, were favourite themes for aphoristic literature, and they were fully dealt with in the book of wisdom, the alexandrian author of which was presumably not unacquainted with the platonic picture of the just man. he makes the godless appear conversing and weaving plots against the just. "let us then," he makes them say, "lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not to our liking and he is clean contrary to our doings; he upbraideth us with our offending the law and reproacheth us with our sins against our training. he professeth to have the knowledge of god; and he calleth himself the child of the lord. he proved to be to us for the reproof of our designs. he is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, his ways are of another fashion. we are esteemed of him as counterfeits; he abstaineth from our ways as from filth; he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed and maketh his boast that god is his father. let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what will happen in the end of him. for if the just man be the son of god, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies. let us examine him with despitefulness and torture that we may know his meekness and prove his patience. let us condemn him with a shameful death: thus will he be known by his words." [ ] "but the souls of the just," continues the author of the book of wisdom, "are in the hands of god, and there shall no torment touch them. in the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us for utter destruction: but they are in peace. for though they be punished in the sight of men yet is their hopes full of immortality. and having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for god proved them and found them worthy for himself. as gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. and in the time of their visitation they shall shine and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. they shall judge the nations and have dominion over the people and their lord will rule for ever." [ ] it could easily be imagined that these words, which were understood by the author of the book of wisdom of the just man in general, referred to the just man par excellence, the messiah, the "son" of god in the highest sense of the word, who gave his life for the sins of his people. a reason was found at the same time for the shameful death of the messiah. he died the object of the hatred of the unjust; he accepted contempt and scorn as did the haman and barabbas of the feast of purim, but only in order that by this deep debasement he might be raised up by god, as is said of the just man in the book of wisdom: "that is he whom we had sometimes in derision and a proverb of reproach: we fools accounted his life madness and his end to be without honour: now is he numbered among the children of god, and his lot is among the saints." [ ] now we understand how the picture of the messiah varied among the jews between that of a divine and that of a human being; how he was "accounted just among the evil-doers"; how the idea became associated with a human being that he was a "son of god" and at the same time "king of the jews"; and how the idea could arise that in his shameful and undeserved death god had offered himself for mankind. now too we can understand that he who died had after a short while to rise again from the dead, and this in order to ascend into heaven in splendour and glory and to unite himself with god the father above. these were ideas which long before the jesus of the gospels were spread among the jewish people, and indeed throughout the whole of western asia. in certain sects they were cherished as secret doctrines, and were the principal cause that precisely in this portion of the ancient world christianity spread so early and with such unusual rapidity. v the birth of the messiah. the baptism it is not only the idea of the just man suffering, of the messiah dying upon the gibbet, as "king of the jews" and a criminal, and his rising again, which belongs to the centuries before christ. the stories which relate to the miraculous birth of jesus and to his early fortunes also date back to this time. thus in the revelation of john [ ] we meet with the obviously very ancient mythical idea of the birth of a divine child, who is scarcely brought into the world before he is threatened by the dragon of darkness, but is withdrawn in time into heaven from his pursuer; whereupon the archangel michael renders the monster harmless. gunkel thinks that this conception must be traced back to a very ancient babylonian myth. [ ] others, as dupuis [ ] and dieterich, have drawn attention to its resemblance to the greek myth of leto, [ ] who, before the birth of the light god apollo, being pursued by the earth dragon pytho, was carried by the wind god boreas to poseidon, and was brought safely by the latter to the island of ortygia, where she was able to bring forth her son unmolested by the hostile monster. others again, like bousset, have compared the egyptian myth of hathor, according to which hathor or isis sent her young son, the light god horus, fleeing out of egypt upon an ass before the pursuit of his uncle seth or typhon. pompeian frescoes represent this incident in such a manner as to recall feature for feature the christian representations of the flight of mary with the child jesus into egypt; and coins with the picture of the fleeing leto prove how diffused over the whole of nearer asia this myth must have been. the assyrian prince sargon also, being pursued by his uncle, is said to have been abandoned on the euphrates in a basket made of reeds, to have been found by a water-carrier, and to have been brought up by him--a story which the jews have interwoven into the account of the life of their fabulous moses. [ ] and very similar stories are related both in east and west, in ancient and in later times, of other gods, distinguished heroes and kings, sons of the gods, of zeus, attis, dionysus, oedipus, perseus, romulus and remus, augustus, and others. as is well known, the indian god-man krishna, an incarnation of vishnu, is supposed to have been sought for immediately after his birth by his uncle, king kansa, who had all the male children of the same age in his country put to death, the child being only saved from a like fate by taking refuge with a poor herdsman. [ ] this recalls herodotus's story of cyrus, [ ] according to which astyages, the grandfather of cyrus, being warned by a dream, ordered his grandson to be exposed, the latter being saved from death, however, through being found by a poor herdsmen and being brought up in his house. now in persian the word for son is cyrus (khoro, [ ] greek kyros), and kyris or kiris is the name of adonis in cyprus. [ ] thus it appears that the story of the birth of cyrus came into existence through the transfer to king cyrus of one of the myths concerning the sun-god, the god in this way being confused with a human individual. now since cyrus, as has been said, was in the eyes of the jews a kind of messiah and was glorified by them as such, we can understand how the danger through which the messianic child is supposed to have passed found a place in the gospels. again, a similar story of a king, who, having been warned by a dream or oracle, orders the death of the children born within a specified time, is found in the "antiquities" of josephus [ ] in connection with the story of the childhood of moses. moses, however, passed like cyrus for a kind of forerunner and anticipator of christ; and christ was regarded as a moses reappearing. [ ] again joab, david's general, is said to have slaughtered every male in edom; the young prince hadad, however, escaped the massacre by fleeing into egypt. here he grew up and married the sister of the king, and after the death of his enemy king david he returned to his home. [ ] but hadad is, like cyrus, (kyrus) a name of the syrian adonis. another name of adonis or tammuz is dôd, dodo, daud, or david. this signifies "the beloved" and indicates "the beloved son" of the heavenly father, who offers himself for mankind, or "the beloved" of the queen of heaven (atargatis, mylitta, istar). [ ] as is well known, king david was also called "the man after the heart of god," and there is no doubt that characteristics of the divine redeemer and saviour of the same name have been intermingled in the story of david in the same way as in that of cyrus. [ ] according to jeremiah xxx. and ezekiel xxxiv. sqq. and xxxvii. , it was david himself who would appear as the messiah and re-establish israel in its ancient glory. indeed, this even appears to have been the original conception of the messiah. the messiah david seems to have been changed into a descendant of david only with the progress of the monotheistic conception of god, under the influence of the persian doctrine concerning saoshyant, the man "of the seed of zarathustra." now david was supposed to have been born at bethlehem. but in bethlehem there was, as jerome informs us, [ ] an ancient grove and sanctuary of the syrian adonis, and as jerome himself complains the very place where the saviour first saw the light resounded with the lamentations over tammuz. [ ] at bethlehem, the former ephrata (i.e., place of ashes), rachel is said to have brought forth the youngest of the twelve month-sons of jacob. she herself had christened him benoni, son of the woeful lament. he was, however, usually called benjamin, the lord or possessor of light. in the blessing of moses he is also called "a darling of the lord," and his father jacob loved him especially. [ ] he is the god of the new year born of the ashes of the past, at whose appearance lament and rejoicings are commingled one with another; and thus he is only a form of tammuz (hadad) bringing to mind the christian redeemer in that he presided over the month of the ram. [ ] now we understand the prophecy of the prophet micah: "thou bethlehem ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in israel, whose going forth is from of old, from everlasting." [ ] now, too, the story of the slaughter of the children at bethlehem has its background in religious history. it is said in matt. ii. , with reference to jer. xxxi. , "a voice was heard in ramah, weeping and great mourning, rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are not." it is the lamentation of the women over the murdered adonis which was raised each year at bethlehem. this was transformed by the evangelists into the lament over the murder of the children which took place at the birth of hadad who was honoured at bethlehem. [ ] hadad-adonis is a god of vegetation, a god of the rising sap of life and of fruitfulness: but, as was the case with all gods of a similar nature, the thought of the fate of the sun, dying in winter and being born anew in the spring, played its part in the conception of this season god of nearer asia. something of this kind may well have passed before the mind of isaiah, when he foretold the future glory of the people of god under the image of a new birth of the sun from out of the blackness of night, with these "prophetic" words: "arise, shine, for thy light has come and the glory of the lord is risen upon thee. for behold darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the peoples: but the lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. and nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.... the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. the multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of midian and ephah. they all shall come from sheba: they shall bring gold and frankincence, and shall proclaim the praises of the lord." [ ] as is well known, later generations were continually setting out this idea in a still more exuberant form. the imagination of the enslaved and impoverished jews feasted upon the thought that the nations and their princes would do homage to the messiah with gifts, while uncounted treasures poured into the temple at jerusalem: "princes shall come out of egypt, ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto god. sing unto god ye kingdoms of the earth." [ ] this is the foundation of the gospel story of the "magi," who lay their treasures at the feet of the new-born christ and his "virgin mother." but that we have here in reality to do with the new birth of the sun at the time of the winter solstice appears from the connection between the magi, or kings, and the stars. for these magi are nothing else than the three stars in the sword-belt of orion, which at the winter solstice are opposed in the west to the constellation of the virgin in the east; stars which according to persian ideas at this time seek the son of the queen of heaven--that is, the lately rejuvenated sun, mithras. [ ] now, as it has been said, hadad also is a name of the sun-god, and the hadad of the old testament returns to his original home out of egypt, whither he had fled from david. thus we can understand how hosea xi. , "i called my son out of egypt," could be referred to the messiah and how the story that jesus passed his early youth in egypt was derived from it. [ ] it may be fairly asked how it was that the sun came to be thus honoured by the people of western asia, with lament at its death and rejoicing at its new birth. for winter, the time of the sun's "death," in these southern countries offered scarcely any grounds at all for lament. it was precisely the best part of the year. the night, too, having regard to its coolness after the heat of the day, gave no occasion for desiring the new birth of the sun in the morning. we are compelled to suppose that in the case of all the gods of this nature the idea of the dying away of vegetation during the heat of the year and its revival had become intertwined and commingled with that of the declining and reviving strength of the sun. thus, from this mingling of two distinct lines of thought, we have to explain the variations of the double-natured character of the sun-gods and vegetation-gods of western asia. [ ] it is obvious, however, that the sun can only be regarded from such a tragic standpoint in a land where, and in the myths of a people for whom, it possesses in reality such a decisive significance that there are grounds for lamenting its absence or lack of strength during winter and for an anxious expectation of its return and revival. [ ] but it is chiefly in the highlands of iran and the mountainous hinterland of asia minor that this is the case to such an extent as to make this idea one of the central points of religious belief. even here it points back to a past time when the people concerned still had their dwelling-place along with the kindred aryan tribes in a much more northerly locality. [ ] thus mithras, the "sol invictus" of the romans, struggling victoriously through night and darkness, is a sun hero, who must have found his way into persia from the north. this is shown, amongst other things, by his birthday being celebrated on the th of december, the day of the winter solstice. again, the birth of the infant dionysus, who was so closely related to the season gods of nearer asia, used to be celebrated as the feast of the new birth of the sun at about the same time, the god being then honoured as liknites, as "the infant in the cradle" (the winnowing-fan). the egyptians celebrated the birth of osiris on the th of january, on which occasion the priests produced the figure of an infant from the sanctuary, and showed it to the people as a picture of the new-born god. [ ] that the phrygian attis came thither with the aryans who made their way from thrace into asia minor, and must have had his home originally in northern europe, appears at once from the striking resemblance of the myth concerning him with that of the northern myth of balder. there can be no doubt that the story in herodotus of atys, son of croesus, who while out boar hunting accidently met his death from the spear of his friend, only gives another version of the attis myth. this story, however, so closely resembles that of the death of balder, given in the edda, that the theory of a connection between them is inevitably forced upon one's mind. in the edda the wife of balder is called nanna. but nanna (i.e., "mother") was according to arnobius [ ] the name of the mother of the phrygian attis. now the sun and summer god balder is only a form of odin, the father of heaven, with summer attributes, and he too is said, like attis, adonis and osiris, to have met his death through a wild boar. just as anemones sprang from the blood of the slain adonis and violets from that of attis, so also the blood of the murdered odin (hackelbernd) is said to have been changed into spring flowers. [ ] at the great feast of attis in march a post or pine-tree trunk decked with violets, on which the picture of the god was hung, used to form the central point of the rite. this was a reminder of the way in which in ancient times the human representative of the god passed from life to death, in order by sacrifice to revive exhausted nature. according to the verses of the eddic havamal, odin says of himself:-- "i know that i hang on the wind-rocked tree throughout nine nights, wounded by the spear, dedicated to odin, i myself to myself." [ ] by this self-sacrifice and the agonies which he endured, the northern god, too, obtained new strength and life. for on this occasion he not only discovered the runes of magic power, the knowledge of which made him lord over nature, but he obtained possession at the same time of the poetic mead which gave him immortality and raised the nature god to be a god of spiritual creative power and of civilisation. this is obviously the same idea as is again found in the cult of attis and in the belief in the death of the god. the relationship of all these different views seems still more probable in that a sacrificial rite lay at the root of the balder myth also. this myth is only, so to speak, the text of a religious drama which was performed every year for the benefit of dying nature--a drama in which a man representing the god was delivered over to death. [ ] as all this refers to the fate of a sun god, who dies in winter to rise again in the spring, the same idea must have been associated originally with the worship of the nearer asiatic gods of vegetation and fruitfulness, and this idea was only altered under changed climatic conditions into that of the death and resurrection of the plant world, without, however, losing in its new form its original connection with the sun and winter. at the same time the myth of the sun god does not take us to the very basis and the real kernel of the stories of the divine child's birth. the persian religion was not so much a religion of light and sun as of fire, the most important and remarkable manifestation of which was of course the sun. dionysus too, like all gods of the life-warmth, of the rising plant sap and of fruitfulness, was in his deepest nature a fire god. in the fire religion, however, the birth of the god forms the centre of all religious ideas; and its form was more exactly fixed through the peculiar acts by means of which the priest rekindled the holy fire. for the manner in which this occurred we have the oldest authentic testimony in the religious records of the indian aryans. here agni, as indeed his name (ignis, fire) betokens, passed for the divine representative of the fire element. his mystic birth was sung in numberless passages in the hymns of the rigveda. at dawn, as soon as the brightening morning star in the east announced that the sun was rising, the priest called his assistants together and kindled the fire upon a mound of earth by rubbing together two sticks (aranî) in which the god was supposed to be hidden. as soon as the spark shone in the "maternal bosom," the soft underpart of the wood, it was treated as an "infant child." it was carefully placed upon a little heap of straw, which at once took fire from it. on one side lay the mystic "cow"--that is, the milk-pail and a vessel full of butter, as types of all animal nourishment--upon the other the holy soma draught, representing the sap of plants, the symbol of life. a priest fanned it with a small fan shaped like a banner, thereby stirring up the fire. the "child" was then raised upon the altar. the priests turned up the fire with long-handled spoons, pouring upon the flames melted butter (ghrita) together with the soma cup. from this time "agni" was called "the anointed" (akta). the fire flickered high. the god was unfolding his majesty. with his flames he scared away the dæmons of darkness, and lighted up the surrounding shadows. all creatures were invited to come and gaze upon the wonderful spectacle. then with presents the gods (kings) hastened from heaven and the herdsmen from the fields, cast themselves down in deep reverence before the new-born, praying to it and singing hymns in its praise. it grew visibly before their eyes. the new-born agni already had become "the teacher" of all living creatures, "the wisest of the wise," opening to mankind the secrets of existence. then, while everything around him grew bright and the sun rose over the horizon, the god, wreathed in a cloud of smoke, with the noise of darting flames, ascended to heaven, and was united there with the heavenly light. [ ] thus in ancient india the holy fire was kindled anew each morning, and honoured with ritualistic observances (agnihotra). this took place, however, with special ceremony at the time of the winter solstice, when the days began again to increase (agnistoma). they then celebrated the end of the time "of darkness," the pitryana, or time of the manes, during which the worship of the gods had been at a standstill. then the angiras, the priestly singers, summoned the gods to be present, greeting with loud song the beginning of the "holy" season, the devayana, with which the new light arose. agni and the other gods again returned to men, and the priests announced to the people the "joyful tidings" (evangelium) that the light god had been born again. as hillebrand has shown, this festival also indicates the memory of an earlier home in the north whence the aryan tribes had migrated, since in india, where the shortest and longest days only differ by about four hours, no reason exists for celebrating the "return" of the light. [ ] indeed, it appears that we have to do here with a rite which reaches back into the very origins of all human civilisation, and preserves the memory of the discovery of fire in the midst of the horrors of the stone age. there is no doubt that we have before us in the vedic agni cult the original source of all the stories of the birth of the fire-gods and sun-gods. these gods usually enter life in darkness and concealment. thus the cretan zeus was born in a cavern, mithras, dionysus, and hermes in a gloomy grotto, horus in the "stable" (temple) of the holy cow (isis)--jesus, too, was born at dead of night in a lowly "stable" [ ] at bethlehem. the original ground for this consists in the fact that agni, in the form of a spark, comes into existence in the dark hollow of the hole bored in the stick. the hymns of the rigveda often speak of this "secret birth" and of the "concealment" of agni. they describe the gods as they set out in order to seek the infant. they make the angiras discover it "lying in concealment," and it grows up in hiding. [ ] but the idea of the fire-god being born in a "stable" is also foreshadowed in the rigveda. for not only are the vessels of milk and butter ready for the anointing compared with cows, but ushas, too, the goddess of dawn, who is present at the birth, is called a red milch-cow, and of men it is said that they flocked "like cows to a warm stable" to see agni, whom his mother held lovingly upon her lap. [ ] it is a common fundamental feature of all nature religions that they distinguish between the particular and the general, between earthly and heavenly events, between human acts and natural occurrences as little as they do between the spiritual and natural. the agni cult shows, as does the vedic religion in general, this interplay of the earthly and heavenly world, of the microcosmic individual and the macrocosm. the kindling of the fire upon the earth at the same time betokened the rising of the great light of the skies, the sun. the fire upon the altar did not merely represent but actually was the sun, the earthly and the heavenly agni were one. thus it was that the nations of antiquity were able to think of transferring earthly events into heaven, and conversely were able to read earthly events in heavenly occurrences such as the relations of the stars to one another. it was on this that astrology rested. even the ancient fire worship appears in very early times to have been transformed into astrology, and what was in the beginning a simple act of worship was generalised by the priests in a macrocosmic sense and was transferred to the starry heavens as a forecast. thus the altar or place of sacrifice upon which the sacred fire was kindled was enlarged into the vault of the spheres or grotto of the planets. through this the sun completed its annual journey among the twelve signs of the zodiac, and in so doing assumed successively the form and fulfilled the functions of that constellation with which it entered into astronomical relations. the metaphorical name of "stable" for the place of sacrifice attains a new significance from the fact that the sun during a certain epoch of the world (something between and b.c.) at the beginning of spring passed through the constellation of the bull, and at the time of the winter solstice commenced its course between the ox (bull) and the great bear, which anciently was also called the ass. [ ] the birth of the god is said to have been in secret because it took place at night. his mother is a "virgin" since at midnight of the winter solstice the constellation of the virgin is on the eastern horizon. [ ] shortly afterwards draco, the dragon (the snake pytho), rises up over libra, the balance, and seems to pursue the virgin. from this comes the story of the winter dragon threatening leto, or apollo; or, as it is also found in the myth of osiris and the apocalypse of john, the story of the pursuit of the child of light by a hostile principle (astyages, herod, &c.). [ ] unknown and in concealment the child grows up. this refers to the course of the sun as it yet stands low in the heavens. or like sargon, dionysus, or moses it is cast in a basket upon the waters of some great stream or of the sea, since the sun in its wanderings through the zodiac has next to pass through the so-called watery region, the signs of the water-carrier and the fishes, the rainy season of winter. thus can the fate of the new-born be read in the sky. the priests (magi) cast his horoscope like that of any other child. they greet his birth with loud rejoicings, bring him myrrh, incense and costly presents, while prophesying for him a glorious future. the earthly agni is completely absorbed in the heavenly one; and in the study of the great events which are portrayed in the sky, the simple act of sacrificial worship, which had originally furnished the opportunity for this whole range of ideas, gradually fell into oblivion. [ ] it has been often maintained that indian influences have worked upon the development of the story of the childhood of jesus, and in this connection we are accustomed to think of buddhism. now, as a matter of fact, the resemblances between the christian and buddhist legends are so close that we can scarcely imagine it to be a mere coincidence. jesus and buddha are both said to have been born of a "pure virgin," honoured by heavenly spirits at their birth, prayed to by kings and loaded with presents. "happy is the whole world," sing the gods under the form of young brahmins at the birth of the child--as we are told in the lalita vistara, the legendary biography of buddha, dating from before christ, "for he is indeed born who brings salvation and will establish the world in blessedness. he is born who will darken sun and moon by the splendour of his merits and will put all darkness to flight. the blind see, the deaf hear, the demented are restored to reason. no natural crimes afflict us any longer, for upon the earth men have become righteous. gods and men can in future approach each other without hostility, since he will be the guide of their pilgrimage." [ ] just as the significance of jesus was announced beforehand by simeon, in the same way according to the buddhist legend, the seer asita foresees in his own mind the greatness of the child and bursts into tears since he will not see him in the splendour of his maturity and will have no part in his work of redemption. again, just as jesus [ ] even in his early youth astonished the learned by his wisdom, so prince siddharta (buddha) put all his teachers at school to shame by his superior knowledge, and so on. the buddhist legend itself, however, goes back to a still older form, which is the vedic agni cult. all its various features are here preserved in their simplest form and in their original relation to the sacrificial worship of the fire-god. this was the natural source of the indian and christian legends, and it was the original of those myths which the evangelist worked up for his own purposes, which according to pfleiderer belonged "to the common tribal property of the national sagas of nearer asia." [ ] again, it could the more easily reappear in the evangelists' version of the story of the childhood of jesus, since the sacrificial act had been re-interpreted mythologically, and the corresponding myths transformed into astrology, and, as it were, written with starry letters upon the sky, where they could be read without trouble by the most distant peoples of antiquity. the myth of krishna offers a characteristic example of the manner in which in india a sacrificial cult is changed into a myth. like astyages and herod, in order to ward off the danger arising from his sister's son, of which he had been warned by an oracle, king kansa caused his sister and her husband vasudewa to be cast into prison. here, in the darkness of a dungeon, krishna comes into the world as jesus did in the stable at bethlehem. the nearer the hour of birth approaches the more beautiful the mother becomes. soon the whole dungeon is filled with light. rejoicing choirs sound in the air, the waters of the rivers and brooks make sweet music. the gods come down from heaven and blessed spirits dance and sing for joy. at midnight his mother dewaki (i.e., the divine) brings the child into the world, at the commencement of a new epoch. the parents themselves fall down before him and pray, but a voice from heaven admonishes them to convey him from the machinations of the tyrant to gokala, the land of the cow, and to exchange him for the daughter of the herdsman nanda. immediately the chains fall from the father's hands, the dungeon doors are opened, and he passes out into freedom. another christopher, he bears the child upon his shoulders through the river yamuna, the waters of which recede in reverence before the son of god, and he exchanges krishna for the new-born daughter of nanda. he then returns to the dungeon, where the chains again immediately fasten of their own accord upon his limbs. kansa now makes his way into the dungeon. in vain dewaki entreats her brother to leave her the child. he is on the point of tearing it forcibly from her hands when it disappears before his eyes, and kansa gives the order that all newly-born children in his country under the age of two years shall be killed. at mathura in gokala krishna grew up unknown among poor herdsmen. while yet in his cradle he had betrayed his divine origin by strangling, like hercules, a dreadful snake which crawled upon him. he causes astonishment to every one by his precosity and lofty wisdom. as he grows up he becomes the darling of the herdsmen and playmate of gopias, the milkmaid; he performs the most astonishing miracles. when, however, the time had come he arose and slew kansa. he then fought the frightful "time snake" kaliyanaga, of the thousand heads (the hydra in the myth of hercules, the python in that of apollo), which poisoned the surrounding air with its pestilential breath; and he busied himself in word and deed as a protector of the poor and proclaimer of the most perfect teaching. his greatest act, however, was his descent into the underworld. here he overpowered yama, the dark god of death, obtained from him a recognition of his divine power, and led back the dead with him to a new life. thus he was a benefactor of mankind by his heroic strength and miraculous power, leading the purest life, healing the sick, bringing the dead back to life, disclosing the secrets of the world, and withal humbly condescending to wash the feet of the brahmins. krishna finally died of an arrow wound which he sustained accidentally and in an unforeseen manner on his heel--the only vulnerable part of his body (cf. achilles, balder, adonis, and osiris). while dying he delivered the prophecy that thirty-six years after his death the fourth epoch of the world, caliyuga, the iron age, would begin, in which men would be both unhappy and wicked. but according to brahmin teaching krishna will return at the end of all time, when bodily and moral need will have reached its highest pitch upon the earth. in the clouds of heaven he will appear upon his white steed. with a comet in his right hand as a sword of flame he will destroy the old earth by fire, founding a new earth and a new heaven, and establishing a golden age of purity and perfection in which there will be nothing but pure joy and blessedness. this reminds us strongly of the persian eschatology, of mithras and saoshyant, and of the jewish apocalyptics. but following the ancient sacred poem, the barta chastram, the former conception as well as the doctrine of a messiah rest upon a prophecy according to which vishnu jesudu (!) was to be born a brahmin in the city of skambelam. he was to hold intercourse with men as a god, to purify the earth from sin, making it the abode of justice and truth, and to offer a sacrifice (self-sacrifice?). but still more striking are the resemblances of the krishna myth with the gospels. does any connection between the two exist? the question is hard to answer because, owing to the uncertainty in all indian citation of dates, the age of the story of krishna cannot be settled. in the oldest indian literature, the vedas, krishna appears to be the name of a dæmon. in the mahâbbhârata, the great indian heroic epic, he plays indeed a prominent part, and is here on the point of assuming the place of the god indra. the age of the poem, however, is debatable, although it is probably of pre-buddhist origin. the chief source of the krishna myth is the puranas, especially the bhagavat purana and vishnu parana. but since the antiquity of these also is uncertain, and their most modern portions presumably belong only to the eighth or ninth century of the christian era, a decision as to the date of the appearance of the krishna myth can only be arrived at from internal evidence. now the pantanjalis mahâbhashya, i.e., "great commentary," of the second century before christ, shows that the story of kansa's death at the hands of krishna was at that time well known in india, and was even the subject of a religious drama. thus the story of the birth at least of krishna, who had already been raised to be a cult god of the hindoos, cannot have been unknown. the other portions of the myth, however, belong as a whole to the general circle of indian ideas, and are in part only transferred from other gods to krishna. thus, for example, the miraculous birth of the divine child in the darkness, his precosity, his upbringing among the herdsmen, and his friendship with gopias, remind us of agni, the god of fire and herdsmen, who also is described in the rigveda as a "friend and lover of the maidens" (of the cloud women?). his combat with the time snake, on the other hand, is copied from the fight of indra with the wicked dragon vritra or ahi. again, in his capacity as purifier and deliverer of the world from evil and dæmons the god bears such a striking resemblance to hercules, that megasthenes, the ambassador of seleucus at the court of the king at pataliputra, in the third century before christ, simply identified him with the latter. no impartial critic of the matter can now doubt that the krishna myth was in existence and was popularised long before christianity appeared in the world. the great importance, however, which the god possesses in present-day india may have been attained only during the christian era, and the puranas may have been composed only after the appearance of the gospels; for their being written down later proves nothing against the antiquity of the matter they contain. it appears that even buddhism did not obtain its corresponding legends direct from the vedas, but through the channel of the krishna myth. since, however, buddhism is certainly at least four hundred years older than christianity, it must be assumed that it was the former which introduced the krishna myth to christianity, and not vice versâ, if we are not to consider the babylonian-mandaic religion as the intermediary between krishna and christ. [ ] for the rest the supposition of indian influences in the gospel story is not by any means an improbable one. it is pure theological prejudice, resting upon a complete ignorance of the conditions of national intercourse in ancient times, when it is denied, as, for example, by clemen in his "religionsgeschichtlichen erklärung des neuen testaments" ( ), that the gospels were influenced by indian ideas, or when only a dependence the other way about is allowed; [ ] and this although buddha left to his disciples, as one of the highest precepts, the practice of missionary activity, and although as early as b.c. mention is made in indian sources of buddhist missionaries in bactria. two hundred years later we read of buddhist monasteries in persia. indeed, in the last century before the christian era the buddhist mission in persia had made such progress that alexander polyhistor actually speaks of a period during which buddhism flourished in that country, and bears witness to the spread of the mendicant orders in the western parts of persia. buddhism also reached syria and egypt at that time with the trade caravans; as we have to suppose a frequent exchange of wares and ideas between india and the countries of the eastern mediterranean, especially after the campaigns of alexander. communication took place, not only overland by way of persia, but by sea as well. indian thought made advances in the near east, where alexandria, the london and antwerp of antiquity, and a headquarters of jewish syncretism, favoured the exchange of ideas. with the rediscovery of the south-west monsoon at the beginning of the first century after christ the intercourse by sea between india and the western world assumed still greater dimensions. thus pliny speaks of great trading fleets setting out annually for india and of numerous indian merchants who had their fixed abode in alexandria. indian embassies came to rome as early as the reign of augustus. the renown of indian piety caused the author of the peregrinus proteus to choose the indian calanus as an example of holiness. indeed, so lively was the western world's interest in the intellectual life of india, that the library at alexandria, as early as the time of the geographer eratosthenes under ptolemy euergetes ( b.c.), was administered with special regard to indian studies. the monastic organisation of the essenes in palestine also very probably points to buddhist influence. again, although the rigveda, which contains the groundwork of all indian religions, may have been unknown in nearer asia, yet the fire worship of the mazda religion at any rate reaches back to the time before the division between the indian and persian aryans. certain fundamental ideas, therefore, of the fire religion may through persian influences on nearer asia have been known to the surrounding peoples. [ ] as a matter of fact, the mandaic religion contains much that is indian. this is the less strange considering that the headquarters and centre of mandaism was in southern babylonia; and the ancient settlements of the mandæi, close to the persian gulf, were easily reached by sea from india. moreover, from ancient times babylonian trade went down to india and ceylon. [ ] consequently it is by no means improbable that the many remarkable resemblances between the babylonian and indian religions rest upon mutual influences. indeed, in one case the borrowing of a mandaic idea from india can be looked upon as quite certain. the lalita vistara begins with a description of buddha's ante-natal life in heaven. he teaches the gods the "law," the eternal truth of salvation, and announces to them his intention of descending into the bosom of an earthly woman in order to bring redemption to mankind. in vain the gods endeavour to hold him back and cling weeping to his feet: "noble man, if thou remainest here no longer, this abode of heaven will be bright no more." he leaves them, however, a successor, and consecrates him solemnly to be the possessor of the future dignity of buddha: "noble man, thou art he who will be endowed after me with the perfect intelligence of a buddha." [ ] "man" (purusha) is thus here the usual name for the divine nature of buddha destined for individual incarnations. it is also called the "great man" (mahapurusha) or the "victorious lord" (cakravartin). here we have the original of the mandaic "son of man," whom we meet with in the jewish apocalyptics (daniel, enoch, ezra), a figure which plays so great a part in the primitive gospel records of christianity, and has called forth so many explanations. and the elcesaitic gnostics teach a like doctrine when they imagine the "son of man," or christ, as a heavenly spirit and king of the world to come who became incarnate first in adam, then in enoch, noah, abraham, isaac, jacob and so on, in order finally to appear by a supernatural virgin-birth in the person of jesus, and to illumine the dark earth by his true message of salvation. [ ] of all the gods of the rigveda agni bears the closest relationship to the perso-jewish messiah, and it is he also who stands closest to man's soul. he is rightly called king of the universe, as god of gods, who created the world and called into life all beings that are upon it. he is the lord of the heavenly hosts, the guardian of the cosmic order and judge of the world, who is present as an invisible witness of all human acts, who as a "knower of nature" works in every living thing, and as a party to all earthly secrets illuminates the unknown. sent down by his father, the sky-god or sun-god, he appears as the "light of the world." he releases this world from the powers of darkness and returns to his father with the "banner of smoke" in his hand as a token of victory. agni blazes forth in the lightning flash from out of the watercloud, the "sea of the sky," in order to annihilate the dæmons of darkness and to release oppressed humanity from the fear of its tormentors. thus, according to isaiah xi., , the messiah too will burn his enemies with the fiery breath of his mouth; and in this he is clearly a fire-god. again, in the apocalypse of esdras (chap. xiii.) the seer beholds the "son of man" (purusha) rise up from out of the sea, fly upon the clouds of heaven, destroy the hostile forces by the stream of fire which proceeded from his mouth, free the scattered israelites from their captivity and lead them back into their country. [ ] but this "first-born" son of the sun-god and the sky-god is at the same time the father and ancestor of men, the first man (purusha), the head of the community of mankind, the guardian of the house and of the domestic flock, who keeps from the threshold the evil spirits and the enemies who lurk in the darkness. agni enters the dwellings of men as guest, friend (mitra), companion, brother and consoler of those who honour him. he is the messenger between this world and the beyond, communicating the wishes of men to the gods above, and announcing to men the will of the gods. he is a mediator between god and men who makes a report to the gods of everything of which he becomes aware among mankind. although indeed he takes revenge for the men's faults yet he is a gracious god, disposed to forgive, in his capacity of an expiatory, propitiatory and redeeming power, atoning for their sins and bringing them the divine grace. finally, he is also the guide of souls--he conducts the gods down to the sacrifices offered by man and makes ready for men the path upon which he leads them up to god. and when their time has come he, as the purifying fire, consumes their bodies and carries that which is immortal to heaven. [ ] agni's father is, as has been said, the sky, or rather the light, the sun, the source of all warmth and life upon the earth. he bears the name of savitar, which means "creator" or "mover," is called "the lord of creation," "the father of all life," "the living one," or "the heavenly father" simply. [ ] at the same time tvashtar also passes as the father of agni. his name characterises him simply as modeller (world-modeller) or work-master, divine artist, skilful smith, or "carpenter," in which capacity he sharpens brihaspati's axe, and, indeed, is himself represented with a hatchet in his hand. [ ] he appears to have attained this rôle as being the discoverer of the artificial kindling of fire, by means of which any fashioning (welding), any art in the higher sense of the word became possible, as being the preparer of the apparatus for obtaining fire by friction or rotation--"the fire cradle"--which consisted of carefully chosen wood of a specified form and kind. finally, the production of fire is ascribed to matariçvan also, the god of the wind identical with vayu, because fire cannot burn without air, and it is the motion of the breeze which fans the glimmering spark. [ ] all of these different figures are identical with one another, and can mutually take the place one of another, for they are all only different manifestations of warmth. it is this which reveals itself as well in the lightning of the sky and motion of the air, as in the glimmering of the fire, and not only as the principle of life, but also as that of thought and of knowledge or the "word" (vâc, veda), appearing on the one side as the productive, life-giving, and fructifying power of nature, on the other as the creative, inspiring spirit. this is the reason why, among the ancients, the god of life and fertility was in his essential nature a fire-god, and why the three figures of the divine "father," "son," and "spirit," in spite of the differences of their functions, could be looked upon without inconsistency as one and the same being. as is well known, jesus, too, had three fathers, namely, his heavenly father, jahwe, the holy spirit, and also his earthly father, joseph. the latter is also a work-master, artizan, or "carpenter," as the word "tekton" indicates. similarly, kinyras, the father of adonis, is said to have been some kind of artizan, a smith or carpenter. that is to say, he is supposed to have invented the hammer and the lever and roofing as well as mining. in homer he appears as the maker of the ingenious coat of mail which agamemnon received from him as a guest-friend. [ ] the father of hermes also is an artizan. now hermes closely resembles agni as well as jesus. he is the "good messenger," the euangelos; that is, the proclaimer of the joyful message of the redemption of souls from the power of death. he is the god of sacrifices, and as such "mediator" between heaven and earth. he is the "guide of souls" (psychopompos) and "bridegroom of souls" (beloved of psyche). he is also a god of fertility, a guardian of the flocks, who is represented in art as the "good shepherd," the bearer of the ram, a guide upon the roads of earth, a god of the door-hinge (strophaios) and guardian of the door, [ ] a god of healing as well as of speech, the model of all human reason, in which capacity he was identified by the stoics with the logos that dwelt within the world. [ ] just as in the rigveda tvashtar stands with savitar, the divine father of agni, and joseph the "carpenter" with jahwe, as father of the divine mediator, so the divine artificer, hephaistos, whose connection with tvashtar is obvious, is looked upon together with zeus, the father of heaven, as the begetter of hermes. [ ] now if joseph, as we have already seen, was originally a god, mary, the mother of jesus, was a goddess. under the name of maya she is the mother of agni, i.e., the principle of motherhood and creation simply, as which she is in the rigveda at one time represented by the fire-producing wood, the soft pith, in which the fire-stick was whirled; at another as the earth, with which the sky has mated. she appears under the same name as the mother of buddha as well as of the greek hermes. she is identical with maira (maera) as, according to pausanias, viii. , , the pleiad maia, wife of hephaistos, was called. she appears among the persians as the "virgin" mother of mithras. as myrrha she is the mother of the syrian adonis; as semiramis, mother of the babylonian ninus (marduk). in the arabic legend she appears under the name of mirzam as mother of the mythical saviour joshua, while the old testament gives this name to the virgin sister of that joshua who was so closely related to moses; and, according to eusebius, [ ] merris was the name of the egyptian princess who found moses in a basket and became his foster-mother. after all this it seems rather naïve to believe that the parents of the "historical" jesus were called joseph and mary, and that his father was a carpenter. in reality the whole of the family and home life of the messiah, jesus, took place in heaven among the gods. it was only reduced to that of a human being in lowly circumstances by the fact that paul described the descent of the messiah upon the earth as an assumption of poverty and a relinquishment of his heavenly splendour. [ ] hence, when the myth was transformed into history, christ was turned into a "poor" man in the economic sense of the word, while joseph, the divine artificer and father of the sun, became an ordinary carpenter. now it is a feature which recurs in all the religions of nearer asia that the "son" of the divine "virgin" mother is at the same time the "beloved" of this goddess in the sexual sense of the word. this is the case not only with semiramis and ninus, istar and tammuz, atargatis (aphrodite) and adonis, cybele and attis, but also with aphrodite (maia) and hermes, [ ] maia and iasios, one of the cabiri, identical with hermes or cadmus, who was slain by his father, zeus, with a lightning stroke, but was raised again and placed in the sky as a constellation. [ ] we may conclude from the connection between iasios and joshua that a similar relationship existed between the latter and his mother mirzam. indeed, a glimmer of this possibly appears even in the gospels in the relationship of the various maries to jesus, although, of course, in accordance with the character of these writings, they are transferred into quite a different sphere and given other emotional connections. [ ] now in hebrew the word "spirit" (ruach) is of feminine gender. as a consequence of this the holy ghost was looked upon by the nassenes and the earliest christians as the "mother" of jesus. indeed, it appears that in their view the birth of the divine son was only consummated by the baptism and the descent of the spirit. according to the gospels which we possess, on the occasion of the baptism in the jordan a voice from above uttered these words: "thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased." [ ] on the other hand, in an older reading of the passage in question in luke, which was in use as late as the middle of the fourth century, it runs, in agreement with psalm ii. : "thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee." in this case the spirit who speaks these words is regarded as a female being. this is shown by the dove which descends from heaven, for this was the holy bird, the symbol of the mother goddess of nearer asia. [ ] but it was not the nassenes alone (ophites) who called the holy spirit "the first word" and "the mother of all living things:" [ ] other gnostic sects, such as the valentinians, regarded the spirit which descended in the shape of a dove as the "word of the mother from above, of wisdom." [ ] viewed in this sense, baptism also passed in the mysteries as a new birth. indeed, its greek name, photisma or photismós (i.e., illumination), clearly indicates its origin in fire-worship. thus, when justin [ ] too speaks of a flame appearing at the baptism of jesus, he alludes thereby to the connection between that solemn act and the birth of a fire-god. [ ] ephrem, the syrian composer of hymns, makes the baptist say to jesus: "a tongue of fire in the air awaits thee beyond the jordan. if thou followest it and wilt be baptized, then undertake to purify thyself, for who can seize a burning fire with his hands? thou who art all fire have mercy upon me." [ ] in luke iii. and matt. iii. it is said in the same sense: "i indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than i.... he shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire." and in luke xii. sq. we read the words: "i came to cast fire upon the earth: and what will i, if it is already kindled? but i have a baptism to be baptized with." here is a reference to fire falling upon the eyes and being made to blaze up by "baptism," that is, the pouring on of a nourishing liquid, as we have seen in the worship of agni. [ ] just as john, who was closely related to the essenes, baptized the penitents in the jordan in the open air, so also the mandæi, whose connection with the essenes is extremely probable, used to perform baptisms in flowing water only, on which account they were also called "the christians of john" in later times. this custom among them was obviously connected with the fact that hibil ziwâ, who was venerated by them as a redeemer, was a form of marduk, and the latter was a son of the great water-god, ea; he thus incorporated the healing and cleansing powers of water in himself. on the other hand, as has been already said, the "anointing" of the god in the agni cult with milk, melted butter, and the fluid soma, served to strengthen the vital powers of the divine child and to bring the sparks slumbering in the fire-wood to a blaze. there is no doubt that this idea was also present in the baptism as it was usually practised in the mystic cults. by baptism the newly admitted member was inwardly "enlightened." often enough, too, for example, in the mysteries of mithras, with the ceremony there was also associated the actual flashing forth of a light, the production of the cult god himself manifested in light. [ ] by this means the faithful were "born again," in the same way as agni was "baptized" at his birth, and thereby enabled to shine forth brightly and to reveal the disorder of the world hidden in the darkness. "the world was swallowed up, veiled in darkness, light appeared, when agni was born." [ ] "shining brightly, agni flashes forth far and wide, he makes everything plain in splendour." [ ] a complete understanding of the baptism in the jordan can only be attained if here, too, we take into consideration the translation of the baptism into astrological terms. in other words, it appears that john the baptist, as we meet him in the gospels, was not an historical personage. apart from the gospels he is mentioned by josephus only, [ ] and this passage, although it was known to origen [ ] in early days, is exposed to a strong suspicion of being a forgery by some christian hand. [ ] again, the account in the gospels of the relations between john and jesus is full of obscurities and contradictions, as has been pointed out by strauss. these, however, disappear as soon as we recognise that under the name john, which in hebrew means "pleasing to god," is concealed the babylonian water-god, oannes (ea). baptism is connected with his worship, and the baptism of jesus in the jordan represents the reflection upon earth of what originally took place among the stars. that is to say, the sun begins its yearly course with a baptism, entering as it does, immediately after its birth, the constellations of the water-carrier and the fishes. but this celestial water kingdom, in which each year the day-star is purified and born again, is the eridanus, the heavenly jordan or year-stream (egyptian, iaro or iero, the river), wherein the original baptism of the divine saviour of the world takes place. [ ] on this account it is said in the hymn of ephrem on the epiphany of the divine son: "john stepped forward and adored the son, whose form was enveloped in a strange light," and "when jesus had received the baptism he immediately ascended, and his light shone over the world." [ ] in the syrian baptismal liturgy, preserved to us under the name of severus, we read the words: "i, he said, baptize with water, but he who comes, with fire and spirit, that spirit, namely, which descended from on high upon his head in the shape of a dove, who has been baptized and has arisen from the midst of the waters, whose light has gone up over the earth." according to the fourth gospel, john was not himself the light; but he gave testimony of the light, "that true light which lighteth every man coming into the world," by whom the world was made and of whose fulness we have all received grace. [ ] in this the reference to the sun is unmistakable, while the story of john's birth [ ] is copied from that of the sun-gods isaac [ ] and samson. [ ] in john, the baptist himself is called by jesus "a burning and shining lamp," [ ] and he himself remarks, when he hears of the numerous following of jesus, "he must increase but i must decrease," [ ] a speech which probably at first referred to the summer solstice, when the sun, having reached the highest point in its course, enters the winter hemisphere and loses strength day by day. john is said to have been born six months before jesus. [ ] this, too, points to the fact that both are essentially identical, that they are only the different halves of the year, representing the sun as rising and setting, these two phases being related to one another as caleb and joshua, nergal and tammuz, &c. john the baptist is represented as wearing a cloak of camel-hair, with a leathern girdle about his loins. [ ] this brings to mind the garb of the prophet elijah, [ ] to whom jesus himself likened him. [ ] but elijah, who passed among the jews for a forerunner of the messiah, is a form of sun-god transferred to history. in other words, he is the same as the greek helios, the german heljas, and ossetic ilia, with whom he coincides in most important points, or at any rate characteristics of this god have been transferred to the figure of the prophet. [ ] according to babylonian ideas corresponding to the "baptism of water" at the commencement of the efficacious power of the sun, was the "baptism of fire," when it was at the height of its annual course, at the time of the summer solstice, and its passage was again inclined downwards. [ ] this idea, too, is found in the gospels, in the story of the transfiguration of jesus upon the mountain. [ ] it takes precisely the same place in the context of his life-year, as depicted by the evangelists, as the sun's "baptism of fire" in the babylonian world system, since it too marks the highest and turning-point in the life of the christian saviour. on this occasion moses and elijah appeared with the saviour, who shone like a pillar of fire, "and his garments became glistening, exceeding white, like unto snow, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them." and there came a cloud which overshadowed the three disciples whom jesus had taken with him on to the mountain. and a voice came from the cloud, saying, "this is my beloved son, hear ye him." as at the baptism, so here, too, was jesus proclaimed by a heavenly voice as the son or beloved of god, or rather of the holy spirit. as the latter is in hebrew of the feminine gender, it consequently appears that in this passage we have before us a parallel to the baptism of jesus in the jordan. the incident is generally looked upon as though by it was emphasised the higher significance of jesus in comparison with the two chief representatives of the old order, and as though jesus was extolled before moses and elijah by the transfiguration. here too, however, the sun-god, helios, is obviously concealed beneath the form of the israelite elijah. on this account christianity changed the old places of worship of zeus and helios upon eminences into chapels of elijah; and moses is no other than the moon-god, the men of asia minor. and he has been introduced into the story because the divine lawgivers in almost all mythologies are the same as the moon, the measurer of time and regulator of all that happens (cf. manu among the indians, minos among the greeks, men (min) among the egyptians). [ ] according to justin, [ ] david is supposed to have made the prophecy that christ would be born "before the sun and the moon." the sun and moon often appear upon the pictures of the nearer asiatic redeemer, god (e.g., mithras), paling before the splendour of the young light-god, as we have seen in the case of buddha, [ ] and as, according to the narrative of the rigveda, also happened at the birth of the child agni. accordingly we have before us in the story of the transfiguration in the gospels only another view of the story of the birth of the light-god or fire-god, such as lies at the root of the story of the baptism of the christian saviour. [ ] and with the thought of the new birth of the saviour is associated that of the baptism of jesus, and particularly that of the fire-baptism, of which the sun partakes at the height of its power. [ ] vi the self-offering of the messiah. the supper like baptism, the sacrament of the "supper," the partaking of the sacred host and wine (in place of which among certain sects water is also found), has its precedent in the most ancient fire-worship. when the sacred fire had been kindled upon the altar, the faithful were accustomed, as the rigveda shows, to sit down in order to partake of the sacred cake prepared from meal and butter, the symbol of all solid food, and of the soma cup, the symbol of all liquid nourishment. it was thought that agni dwelt invisible within these substances: in the meal as though in the concentrated heat of the sun, in the soma, since the drink in its fiery nature and invigorating power disclosed the nature of the god of fire and life. participation therein opened to the faithful communion with agni. thereby they were incorporated with the god. they felt themselves transformed into him, raised above the actuality of every day, and as members of a common body, as though of one heart and one soul, inflamed by the same feeling of interdependence and brotherhood. then some such hymn as follows would mount towards heaven from their breasts overflowing with thankfulness:-- "oh great agni, true-minded thou dost indeed unite all. enkindled on the place of worship bring us all that is good. unitedly come, unitedly speak, and let your hearts be one, just as the old gods for their part are of one mind. like are their designs, like their assembly, like their disposition, united their thoughts. so pray i also to you with like prayer, and sacrifice unto you with like sacrifice. the like design you have indeed, and your hearts are united. let your thoughts be in unison, that you may be happily joined together." [ ] while the faithful by partaking of the sacred cake and the fiery soma cup united themselves with the god and were filled with his "spirit," the sacrificial gifts which had been brought to him burnt upon the altars. these consisted likewise of soma and sacred cake, and caused the sacred banquet to be of such a kind that it was partaken of by agni and men together. the god was at and present in the banquet dedicated to him. he consumed the gifts, transformed them into flame, and in sweet-smelling smoke bore them with him up to heaven. here they were partaken of by the other divine beings and finally by the father of heaven himself. thus agni became not merely an agent at the sacrifice, a mystic sacrificial priest, but, since the sacrificial gifts simply contained him in material form, a sacrificer, who offered his own body in sacrifice. [ ] while man sacrificed god, god at the same time sacrificed himself. indeed, this sacrifice was one in which god was not only the subject but also the object, both sacrificer and sacrificed. "it was a common mode of thinking among the indians," says max müller, "to look upon the fire on the altar as at the same time subject and object of the sacrifice. the fire burnt the offering and was accordingly the priest as it were. the fire bore the offering to the gods and was accordingly a mediator between god and men. but the fire also represented something divine. it was a god, and if honour was paid to this god, the fire was at once subject and object of the sacrifice. out of this arose the first idea, that agni sacrificed to himself, that is, that he brought his own offering to himself, then, that he brought himself as a victim--out of which the later legends grew." [ ] the sacrifice of the god is a sacrificing of the god. the genitive in this sentence is in one case to be understood in an objective, in the other in a subjective sense. in other words, the sacrifice which man offers to the god is a sacrifice which the god brings, and this sacrifice of the god is at the same time one in which the god offers himself as victim. in the rigveda agni, as god of priests and sacrifices, also bears the name of viçvakarman, i.e., "consummator of all." hymn x., also describes him as the creator of the world, who called the world into existence, and in so doing gave his own body in sacrifice. hence, then, the world, according to x. , represents nothing existing exterior to him, but the very manifestation of viçvakarman, in which at the creation he as it were appeared. on the other hand, purusha, the first man, is represented as he out of whose body the world was formed. [ ] but purusha is, as we have seen, the prototype of the mandaic and apocalyptic "son of man." herein lies the confirmation of the fact that the "son of man" is none other than agni, the most human of the vedic gods. in the mazda religion the first mortals were called meshia and meshiane, the ancestors of fallen mankind, who expect their redemption at the hands of another meshia. this meaning of the word messiah was not strange to the jews too, when they placed the latter as the "new adam" in the middle of the ages. adam, however, also means man. [ ] the messiah accordingly, as the new adam, was for them too only a renewal of the first man in a loftier and better form. this idea, that mankind needed to be renewed by another typical representative of itself, goes back in the last resort to india, where, after the dismemberment of purusha, a man arose in the person of manu or manus. he was to be the just king, the first lawgiver and establisher of civilisation, descending after his death to rule as judge in the under-world (cf. the cretan minos). but manu, whose name again meant no more than man or human being (manusha), passed as son of agni. indeed, he was even completely identified with him, since life, spirit, and fire to the mind of primitive man are interchangeable ideas, although it is spirit and intelligence which are expressed under the name of manu (man = to measure, to examine). [ ] we thus also obtain a new reason for the fact that the divine redeemer is a human being. we also understand not only why the "first-born son of god" was, according to the ideas of the whole of nearer asiatic syncretism, the principle of the creation of the world, but also why the redemption which he brought man could be for this reason looked upon as a divine self-sacrifice. [ ] the sacrifice of the god on the part of mankind is a sacrifice of the god himself--it is only by this means that the community between god and man was completed. the god offers sacrifice for man, while man offers sacrifice for god. indeed, more than this, he offers himself for mankind, he gives his own body that man may reap the fruit of his sacrifice. the divine "son" offers himself as a victim. sent down by the "father" upon the earth in the form of light and warmth, he enters men as the "quickening and life-giving spirit" under the appearance of bread and wine. he consumes himself in the fire and unites man with the father above, in that by his disposal of his own personality he removes the separation and difference between them. thus agni extinguishes the hostility between god and man, thus he consumes their sins in the glow of his fiery nature, spiritualising and illuminating them inwardly. through the invigorating power of the "fire-water" he raises men above the actuality of every day to the source of their existence and by his own sacrifice obtains for them a life of blessedness in heaven. in the sacrifice, too, god and man are identified. therein god descends to man and man is raised to god. that is the common thought which had already found expression in the rigveda, which later formed the special "mystery" of the secret cults and religious unions of nearer asia, which lay at the root of the sacrament of "the supper," which guaranteed to man the certainty of a blessed life in the beyond, and reconciled him to the thought of bodily death. [ ] agni is accordingly nothing else than the bodily warmth in individuals, and as such the subject of their motions and thoughts, the principle of life, their soul. when the body grows cold in death the warmth of life leaves it, the eyes of the dead go up to the sun, his breath into the wind; his soul, however, ascends towards heaven where the "fathers" dwell, into the kingdom of everlasting light and life. [ ] indeed, so great is the power of agni, the divine physician and saviour of the soul, [ ] that he, as the god of all creative power, can, by merely laying on his hands, even call the dead back to life. [ ] even in the old testament we meet with the idea of a sacramental meal. this is pointed to in genesis xiv. sqq., when melchisedek, the prince of peace ("king of salem"), the priest of "god most high," prepares for abraham a meal of bread and wine, and at it imparts to him the blessing of the lord god. for melchisedek, the ruler of salem, the city of peace, "the king of justice," as he is called in the epistle to the hebrews, is even in this book plainly described as an ancient god: "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the son of god, he abideth a priest continually." [ ] so also the prophet jeremiah speaks of holy feasts, consisting of cake and wine, of nightly sacrifices of burnt-offerings and liquids, which were offered to the queen of heaven (i.e., the moon) and other divinities. [ ] isaiah, too, is indignant against those who prepare a drinking-feast for god and make liquid offerings to meni. [ ] now meni is none other than men, the moon-god of asia minor, and as such is identical with selene-mene, the goddess of the moon in the orphic hymns. like her he is a being of a dual sex, at once queen and king of heaven. consequently a liquid sacrifice appears to have been offered by all the people of nearer asia in honour of the moon. as moon-god (deus lunus) and as related to meni, in whose worship a sacramental meal also plays the chief part, agni appears in the vedas under the name of manu, manus, or soma. he too is a being of dual sex. of this we are again reminded when philo, the rabbinic speculation of the kabbala, as well as the gnostics ascribe to the first man (adam kadmon) two faces and the form of a man and woman, until god separated the two sexes from one another. [ ] according to this we should probably look upon the fire-worship in asia minor also as the foundation of the sacramental meal. obviously we have to do with a meal of this kind in the bringing in of the so-called shew-bread. every sabbath twelve cakes were laid by the priests "upon the pure table before the lord," "and it shall be for aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the lord, by a perpetual statute." [ ] it appears, then, that this meal, presided over by the high priest as representative of aaron, was partaken of by twelve other priests, and robertson rightly sees herein the jewish prototype of the christian supper and of the number of apostles--the twelve--present at it. but the high priest aaron is a personification of the jewish ark of the covenant, that is, of the visible expression of the covenant between god and man, one of the chief prototypes of the messiah. and if the self-offering of the messiah, as we have seen above (p. ), has its precedent in the self-offering of aaron, so also the great solemnity of the aaronic sacrificial meal would not be wanting in the story of the christian redeemer. as is well known, joshua too, the jesus of the old testament, whom we have learnt to recognise as an ancient ephraimitic god of the sun and fruitfulness, was accompanied in his passage of the jordan by twelve assistants, one from each tribe. and he is said after circumcising the people to have celebrated the paschal feast on the other bank. [ ] hence, taking into account what has been said above concerning joshua, we are probably justified in drawing the conclusion that his name was permanently connected with the partaking of the easter lamb. [ ] in any case the so-called "supper" of christianity did not only later take its place as the central point of religious activity, but from the beginning it held this central position in the cults of those sects out of which christianity was developed. it was the point of crystallisation, the highest point, of the other ritualistic acts, in a way the germ cell out of which in association with the idea of the death and resurrection of the god redeemer the christian outlook upon the world has grown. just as in the vedic agni cult the sacrifice offered by men to their god was a self-sacrifice of this god as well in a subjective as in an objective sense; just as the participating in common of the sacrificial gifts served the purpose of rendering the sacrifice in an inward sense their very own, and thereby making them immediate participators in its efficacy, so, too, the christian partakes in the bread of the body of his god and in the wine drinks his blood in order to become as it were himself god. the evangelists make the supper coincide with the feast of the pasch, because originally a man was immolated on this occasion; and he, as the first-born and most valuable of sacrificial gifts, took the place of the god who offered himself in sacrifice. [ ] the celebration of sacramental feasts was very widespread throughout the whole of antiquity. they were among the most important acts of worship in the mystic religions, above all in connection with the idea of the saviour (soter) and god of sacrifices, who gave his life for the world. thus mithras, the persian agni, is said to have celebrated in a last meal with helios and the other companions of his toils the end of their common struggle. those initiated into the mysteries of mithras also celebrated this occurrence by common feasts in which they strove to unite themselves in a mystic manner with the god. saos (saon or samon), the son of zeus or hermes, the god of healing, and a nymph, reminds us of the name of mithras, rejuvenated and risen again, of saoshyant or sosiosh. he is said to have founded the mysteries in samothrace, and appears to be identical with the mythical sabus, who is supposed to have given his name to the sabines, to have founded italian civilization, and to have invented wine. [ ] his name characterises him as the "sacrificer" (scr., savana, sacrifice); and he appears to be a western form of agni, the god of sacrifices and preparer of the soma, since dionysus also bore the surname of saos or saotes and, as distributor of the wine, is supposed to have shed his blood for the salvation of the world, to have died and to have risen again, and thus has a prototype in the vedic agni. with saos are connected iasios (jasion), the son and beloved of demeter or aphrodite (maia), and of zeus or the divine "artificer" hephaistos (tvashtar). just as saos established the worship of the cabiri, iasios is said to have established the worship of demeter in samothrace. in this connection he is identified with hermes-cadmus, the divine sacrificial priest (kadmilos, i.e., servant of god) of the samothracian religion (cf. adam-kadmon of the kabbala and the gnostics, who is connected both with agni-manu and jesus). according to usener his name is connected with the greek "iasthein," to cure, and consequently characterises its bearer as "saviour." but this is also the real meaning of the name jason, whose bearer, a form of the patron of physicians, asclepios (helios), wanders about as a physician, exorciser of demons and founder of holy rites, and was venerated as god of healing in the whole of nearer asia and greece. [ ] the myth also connects him with the establishment of the worship of the twelve gods. [ ] now, iasios (jason) is only a greek form of the name joshua (jesus). just as joshua crossed the jordan with twelve assistants and celebrated the pasch (lamb) on the further bank, just as jesus in his capacity of divine physician and wonder-worker wanders through galilee (the district of galil!) with twelve disciples, and goes to jerusalem at the pasch in order to eat the easter lamb there with the twelve, so does jason set out with twelve companions in order to fetch the golden fleece of the lamb from colchis. [ ] and just as jason, after overcoming innumerable dangers, successfully leads his companions to their goal and back again to the homes they so longed for, so does joshua lead the people of israel into the promised land "where milk and honey flow," and so jesus shows his followers the way to their true home, the kingdom of heaven, the land of their "fathers," whence the soul originally came and whither after the completion of its journey through life it returns. it can scarcely be doubted that in all of these cases we have to do with one and the same myth--the myth of the saving sun and rejoicer of the peoples, as it was spread among all the peoples of antiquity, but especially in nearer asia. we can scarcely doubt that the stories in question originally referred to the annual journey of the sun through the twelve signs of the zodiac. even the names (iasios, jason, joshua, jesus; cf. also vishnu jesudu, see above) agree, and their common root is contained also in the name jao (jahwe), from which joshua is derived. jao or jehu, however, was a mystical name of dionysus among the greeks, and he, like vishnu jesudu (krishna), joshua, and jesus, roamed about in his capacity of travelling physician and redeemer of the world. [ ] of all of these wandering healers, physicians, and deliverers it is true that they were honoured in the mysteries by sacramental meals and offered the faithful both the chalice of corporal and spiritual healing and the "bread of life." vii symbols of the messiah: the lamb and the cross of a great number of modes of expression and images in the new testament we know that they originated from the common treasury of the languages of the secret sects of the orient, having their source above all in mandaism and the mithraic religion. thus "the rock," "the water," "the bread," "the book," or "the light of life," [ ] "the second death," "the vine," "the good shepherd," &c., are simply expressions which in part are known also by the rigveda and there belong to the ideas grouped about agni, the god of fire, life, and shepherds. of the latter, too, as of jesus, it is said that he loses not a single one of the flock entrusted to his care, [ ] for pushan, to whom the hymn in this connection is addressed, is only a form of agni. in its symbols also the earliest christianity coincides with indian thought in such a striking manner that it can scarcely be explained as chance. thus the horse, [ ] the hare, and the peacock, which play so great a part in symbolic pictures of the catacombs, point to an ultimately vedic origin, where they all stand in connection with the nature of agni. again, the fish was already to be found in the indian fire worship and appears to have here originally represented agni swimming in the water of the clouds, the ocean of heaven. [ ] in the hymn of the rigveda itself agni is often invoked as "the bull." this was probably originally a simple nature symbol, the bull as image of the strength of the god; then the fire-god and sun-god, in his capacity of preparer of the soma cup, was identified with the moon (manu), whose crescents were taken as the horns of a bull. later, however, the image of the bull was driven out by that of the ram. as early as in the rigveda there is frequent mention of the god's "banner of smoke." thus he was accustomed to be represented leading a ram with a banner in his hand or simply with a banner in his hand with the picture of a ram upon it, just as christ is portrayed under the shape of a ram or lamb bearing a banner like a cross. about the year b.c. the sun, the heavenly agni, which had hitherto been at the commencement of spring in the constellation of the bull, entered (as a consequence of the advance of equality between day and night) that of the ram. thus it became, according to astrological modes of thought, itself a ram. [ ] while it had formerly, in the shape of a bull, opened the spring and released the world from the power of winter--an image which was still retained in the mithras cult--these functions were now transferred to the ram, and this became a symbol of the god and the beast offered in expiatory sacrifices. now the constellation of the ram was described by the persians in a word which could also mean lamb. in other cases also the lamb often took the place of the ram in the sacrificial worship of nearer asia; for example, among the jews, who were accustomed to consume the paschal lamb at the beginning of the year in spring. this is the explanation of the mystical lamb in the revelation of john (which is scarcely an original christian work, but shows signs of a pre-christian cult of jesus [ ]), being depicted by seven horns or rays in a way which rather implies the idea of a ram. the fifth chapter of revelation describes the lamb in its quality of heavenly victim of expiation. no one can open the book with the seven seals, which god holds in his right hand, in which the fate of the world appears to be written, but the lamb alone succeeds in so doing--"in the midst of the four-and-twenty elders who, clad in white garments and with crowns on their heads, sit around the divine throne, and in the midst of the four beasts who sit around it, the lamb, suddenly and without anything happening, stands as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of god, sent forth into all the earth. and when he had taken the book the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. and they sing a new song saying, worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and didst purchase unto god with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to be unto our god a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth." [ ] the scene recalls to mind the self-offering of agni in the midst of the gods, priests, and victims, and the ascension of the god which then took place. just as the sacrifice of the lamb in revelation refers to the entrance of the sun into the constellation of the ram, and the victory of light over wintry darkness and the beginning of a new life which it heralds, so were mystic sacrifices of bulls and rams in the other sun cults of nearer asia, especially in those of attis and mithras, very customary for purposes of expiation or new birth. on these occasions the beast was immolated while standing, and the blood which poured in streams from the victim was looked upon as a means of cleansing and of life-giving. in any case, throughout revelation the lamb plays the part of the heavenly fire revealing god's illuminatory nature, unfolding his wisdom and enlightening the world. as it is said of the heavenly jerusalem: "and the city needed no sun and no moon to shine upon her, for the glory of god illumined her, and her light is the lamb." [ ] again, in the church of the first century, at easter, a lamb was solemnly slaughtered upon an altar and its blood collected in a chalice. [ ] accordingly in the early days of christianity the comparison of christ with the light and the lamb was a very favourite one. above all the gospel of john makes the widest use of it. as had already been done in the vedic cult of agni, here too were identified with christ the creative word of god that had existed before the world--the life, the light, and the lamb. and he was also called "the light of the world" that came to light up the darkness ruling upon the earth, as well as "the lamb of god, who bore the sins of the world." [ ] and indeed the latin expression for lamb (agnus) also expresses its relation to the ancient fire-god and its sanctity as a sacrificial animal. for its root is connected with ignis (scr. agni, the purifying fire, and yagna, victim), and also, according to festus pompeius, with the greek "hagnos," pure, consecrated, and "hagnistes," the expiator. [ ] in this sense "agnus dei," the lamb of god, as christ is very frequently called, is in fact nothing else than "agni deus," since agnus stands in a certain measure as the latin translation for agni. [ ] but in india at the so-called hulfeast, at the spring equinox, a ram (lamb) used to be solemnly burnt as an expiatory victim representing agni. the "crucifixion" of jesus, as will likewise appear, is in a certain sense only the symbol of the burning of the divine lamb, which by its death redeems man from sin. in both cases the lamb refers to the lamb of the zodiac, the constellation of the ram, into which the sun enters at the time of the spring equinox, and with which consequently, in accordance with the astrological way of looking at things, it is blended, and which is as though burnt up by it. thus were completed the victory of the sun fire (agni) over the night of winter and the resurrection of nature to a new life, this cosmic process finding its reflection in the sacrifice upon earth of a lamb (agnus). during the first century after christ the lamb in association with light and fire was among the most popular images in ecclesiastical language and symbolism. the heathen romans used to hang "bullæ" round the necks of their children as amulets. the christians used consecrated waxen lambs, which were manufactured out of the remains of the easter candles of the preceding year and distributed during easter week. the belief then attached itself to these "agnus dei's," that if they were preserved in a house they gave protection against lightning and fire. above all the lamps offered a convenient opportunity for symbolising christ as a light, and thus making use of the image of the lamb. [ ] the motif of the lamb with the cross is also found very frequently in old christian art upon glass bowls, sarcophagi, and articles of use of all kinds. and indeed in such cases the cross is sometimes found upon the head or shoulder, sometimes at the side of the lamb or even behind him, while a nimbus in the shape of a disc of sunlight surrounds his head and points to the "light" nature of the lamb. the nimbus, too, is an old indian symbol, and thus indicates that the whole conception was borrowed from the circle of indian ideas. later the lamb is also found upon the cross itself, and indeed at the point of intersection of the two arms surrounded by the disc of sunlight. this seems to point to the saviour's death upon the cross, the cross here appearing to be understood as the gibbet. but is it really certain that the cross in the world of christian thought possessed this significance from the beginning as the instrument by means of which jesus was put to death? in the whole of christendom it passes as a settled matter that jesus "died upon the cross"; but this has the shape, as it is usually represented among painters, of the so-called latin cross, in which the horizontal crosspiece is shorter than the vertical beam. on what then does the opinion rest that the cross is the gibbet? the evangelists themselves give us no information on this point. the jews described the instrument which they made use of in executions by the expression "wood" or "tree." under this description it often occurs in the greek translation of the old testament, in which the gibbet is rendered by xúlon, the same expression being also found in the gospels. usually, however, the gibbet is described as staurós (i.e., stake), so much so that staurós and xúlon pass for synonyms. the latin translation of both these words is crux. by this the romans understood any apparatus for the execution of men generally, without thinking, however, as a rule of anything else than a stake or gallows (patibulum, stipes) upon which, as livy tells us, the delinquent was bound with chains or ropes and so delivered over to death. [ ] that the method of execution in palestine differed in any way from this is not in any way shown. among the jews also the condemned used to be hanged upon a simple stake or beam, and exposed to a lingering death from heat, hunger, and thirst, as well as from the natural tension of his muscles. "to fasten to the cross" (stauroun, afigere cruci) accordingly does not mean either in east or west to crucify in our sense, but at first simply "to torture" or "martyr," and later "to hang upon a stake or gallows." and in this connection it appears that the piercing of hands and feet with nails, at least at the time at which the execution of jesus is supposed to have occurred, was something quite unusual, if it was ever employed at all. the expressions prospassaleuein and proséloun, moreover, usually signify only to "fasten," "to hang upon a nail," but not at all "to nail to" in the special sense required. [ ] there is not then the least occasion for assuming that according to original christian views an exception to this mode of proceeding was made at the execution of jesus. the only place in the gospels where there is any mention of the "marks of the nails" (viz., john xx. ) belongs, as does the whole gospel, to a relatively later time, and appears, as does so much in john, as a mere strengthening and exaggeration of the original story. for example, luke xxiv. , upon which john is based, does not speak at all of nail-marks, but merely of the marks of the wounds which the condemned must naturally have received as a consequence of being fastened to the stake. accordingly the idea that christ was "nailed" to the cross was in the earliest christianity by no means the ruling one. ambrose, for example, only speaks of the "cords" of the "cross" and the "ligatures of the passion" ("usque ad crucis laqueos ac retia passionis"), [ ] and consequently knew nothing of nails having been used in this case. [ ] if we consider that the "crucifixion" of jesus corresponds to the hanging of attis, osiris, and so forth, and that the idea of the gibbeted gods of nearer asia called forth and fixed the christian view; if we remember that haman, the prototype of jesus at the purim feast, was also hanged upon a gallows, [ ] then it becomes doubly improbable that our present ideas on the matter correspond to the views of the early christians. for although we have no direct picture of the hanging of those gods, yet we possess representations of the execution of marsyas by apollo, in which the god has his rival hauled up on to a tree by ropes round his wrists, which have been bound together. [ ] but marsyas, the inventor of the flute, the friend and guide of cybele in the search for the lost attis, is no other than the latter himself, or at any rate a personality very near akin to attis. [ ] it is not difficult to conclude that attis too, or the man who represented him in the rites, was hung in the same manner to the stake or tree-trunk and thus put to death. thus it seems that originally the manner of death of the jewish messiah was imagined in the same way, and so the heathens too called the new god in scorn "the hanged one." how, then, did the idea come into existence that jesus did not die upon a simple gallows, but rather upon wood having the well-known form of the cross? it arose out of a misunderstanding, from considering as the same and mingling two ideas which were originally distinct but described by the same word wood, tree, xúlon, lignum, arbor. this word signifies, as we have already said, on the one hand indeed the stake or gallows (staurós, crux) upon which the criminal was executed; but the same word, corresponding to the hebrew text of the old testament, also referred to the "wood," "the tree of life," which was supposed to stand in paradise. according to the revelation of john it was to serve as food for the holy in the new paradise to come, [ ] and it was honoured by the christians as the "seal" and guarantee of their salvation under the form of the mystic cross or tau. in all private religious associations and secret cults of later antiquity the members made use of a secret sign of recognition or union. this they carried about in the form, in some cases, of wooden, bronze, or silver amulets hung round the neck or concealed beneath the clothes, in others woven in their garments, or tattooed upon the forehead, neck, breast, hands, &c. among these signs was the cross, and it was usually described under the name "tau," after the letter of the old phoenician alphabet. such an application of the cross to mystic or religious ends reaches back into grey antiquity. from of old the cross was in use in the cult of the egyptian gods, especially of isis and horus. it was also found among the assyrians and persians, serving, as the pictures show, in part as the mark and ornament of distinguished persons, such as priests and kings, in part also as a religious attribute in the hands of the gods and their worshippers. according to some it was the sign which jahwe ordered the israelites to paint upon their doors with the blood of the lamb when he sent the angel of death to destroy the first-born of their egyptian oppressors. it played a similar part also in isaiah [ ] and ezekiel, [ ] when it was a question of separating the god-fearing israelites from the crowd of other men whom jahwe purposed to destroy. when the israelites were pressed in battle by the amalekites moses is said to have been helped by aaron and hur to stretch out his arms in the shape of that magic sign, and thus to have rendered possible a victory for his people over their enemies. [ ] among the other nations of antiquity also--the greeks, thracians, the gaulish druids, and so on--the tau was applied in a similar manner to ritualistic and mystic ends. it appears as an ornament on the images of the most different divinities and heroes--e.g., apollo, dionysus, demeter, diana (the phoenician astarte). it is also found upon innumerable greek, roman, egyptian, and phoenician coins, upon vases, pictures, jewellery, &c. in alexandria the christians found it chiselled upon the stone when the temple of serapis was destroyed, in . in this temple serapis himself was represented of superhuman size, with arms outstretched in the form of a cross, as though embracing the universe. in rome the vestal virgins wore the cross upon a ribbon round the neck. indeed, it even served as an ornament upon the weapons of the roman legions and upon the standards of the cavalry long before constantine, by his well-known "vision," gave occasion for its being expressly introduced under the form of the so-called "monogram of christ" into the army as a military sign. [ ] but in the north also we find the cross, not only in the shape of the hooked-cross and the three-armed cross (triskele), but also in the form of thor's hammer, upon runic, stones, weapons, utensils, ornaments, amulets, &c. and when the heathens of the north, as snorre informs us, marked themselves in the hour of death with a spear, they scratched upon their bodies one of the sacred signs that has been mentioned, in doing which they dedicated themselves to god. [ ] that here we have to do with a sun symbol is easily recognised wherever the simple, equally-armed cross appears duplicated with an oblique cross having the same point of intersection with it, [eight ray star symbol], or where it has the shape of a perpendicular which is cut symmetrically by two other lines crossing one another, [six ray star symbol]. and as a matter of fact this symbol of a sun shedding its rays is found upon numberless coins and illustrations, in which it is obvious that a reference to the sun is intended--e.g., upon the coins of the egyptian ptolemies, of the city gods of rome, of augustus and the flavian cæsars. here the sun sign appears to have been adopted as a consequence of the fusing of the sun cult of later antiquity with the cult of the emperor. much more frequent, however, is the simple tau, sometimes, indeed, in a shape with equal limbs (greek cross), +, sometimes with the upright below lengthened (latin cross), sometimes upright, sometimes oblique (st. andrew's cross), ×, sometimes, again, like the greek letter tau, t, sometimes in the shape of the so-called mirror of venus, [venus symbol], in which the ring plainly refers to the sun, sometimes in that of the svastika, or hooked cross, [swastika], sometimes with, sometimes without a circle, and so on. a form made up of the oblique and the ring cross of the egyptians (so-called key of the nile) is the cross known under the description of the "monogram of christ." according to the legend it was first employed by constantine on account of his "vision"; and ecclesiastical writers, especially on the catholic side, try even to-day to support this view, in spite of all facts. for this form of the cross also is clearly of pre-christian origin, and had its prototype in the ancient bactrian labarum cross, as is found, for example, upon the coins of the bactrian king hippostratos (about b.c.), of the egyptian ptolemies, of mithridates, upon attic tetradrachma, &c. [ ] after the careful investigations on this subject which have been undertaken by french savants especially, there can be no doubt that we have before us in this so-called "seal" of the gods and religious personalities a symbol of the creative force of nature, of the resurrection and the new life, a pledge of divine protection in this world and of everlasting blessedness after. as such it appears upon heathen sarcophagi and tombstones; and on this account in some cases their christian character is too quickly assumed. moreover, the cross has been preserved in present-day musical notation as the sign of the raising of a note, [ ] while its use in the mysteries and private cult associations is authority for the statement that precisely in these the thought of a new-birth and resurrection in company with the hero of the association or god of the union stood as a central point of faith. one understands the painful feeling of the christians at the fact that the private sign used by them and their special sacraments were in use among all the secret cults of antiquity. they could explain this to themselves only as the work of spiteful dæmons and an evil imitation of christian usages on the heathens' part. [ ] in reality the symbol of the cross is much older than christianity; and, indeed, the sign of the cross is found associated in a special manner with the cult of divinities of nature or life with its alternations of birth, blossoming, and decay, representatives of the fertility and creative force of nature, the light-gods and sun-gods subjected to death and triumphing victoriously over it. it is only as such, as gods who died and rose again, that they were divinities of the soul and so of the mysteries and pious fraternities. the idea of the soul, however, is found everywhere in nature religion considered as being connected with the warmth of life and with fire, just as the sun was honoured as the highest divinity and, so to speak, as the visible manifestation of the world-soul solely on account of its fiery nature. should not, then, the symbol of life, which in its developed form plainly refers to the sun, in its simplest and original shape point to the fire, this "earliest phenomenon" of all religious worship? naturally, indeed, different views can be held as to what the various forms of the cross betoken. thus, for example, according to burnouf, schliemann, and others, the svastika represents the "fire's cradle," i.e., the pith of the wood, from which in oldest times in the point of intersection of the two arms the fire was produced by whirling round an inserted stick. [ ] on the other hand, according to the view most widespread at the present day, it simply symbolises the twirling movement when making the fire, and on this, too, rests its application as symbol of the sun's course. [ ] hochart considers the cross in the shape of the greek tau as the inserted stick (pramantha) of the vedic priests. [ ] very likely, however, this form arose simply through the identity of sound between the greek and phoenician letter, the greeks having interchanged the like-sounding foreign letter with their own tau. that the cross generally speaking, however, is connected with the fire cult, and that both parts of the sign originally contained a reference to the pieces of wood (aranî) of which in most ancient times use was made to produce fire, has been placed beyond doubt by the investigations into the matter. this is confirmed inter alia by the use of the symbol in the worship of the vestals, the roman fire-priestesses. this is the explanation of the wide extent of the symbol of the cross. not only among the peoples of antiquity and in europe, but also in asia among the indians and chinese, it is in use from ancient times. in america, too, among the mexicans and incas, it played a part in worship long before the arrival of europeans. in the same way is explained the close association of that symbol with the priestly office and kingly dignity, which was itself often connected with that office; similarly the intimate relations between the sign of the cross and the gods of fertility, vegetation, and seasons. for all of these were, as representatives of the warmth of life and the soul's breath, in their deepest nature, fire-gods special aspects, closer characterisations and connections of that one divinity, of whom the oldest form known to us is in the vedic agni, and in whose service the priests of all peoples and times grew to their overwhelming strength. [ ] julius firmicus maternus was thus quite right when he declared that mithras, whose followers bore the sign of the cross upon their foreheads and at their communion-meal had the cross, imprinted upon the holy loaf, before their eyes, was an ancient fire-god. [ ] but if the cross is the symbol of fire and also of the mediator god, who brings earth and heaven into connection, then the reason can be found why plato in the "timæus" makes the world soul in the form of a chi, i.e., an oblique cross, stretched between heaven and earth. [ ] then, indeed, it is not strange that the christians of the first century regarded as an inspiration of the devil plato's doctrine of the mediatory office of the "double-natured" world soul, which, according to that philosopher, was formed from a mixture of ideal and sensible matter. it is not strange that a justin, "the most foolish of the christian fathers" (robertson), could actually assert that plato borrowed the idea, as well as that of a world-conflagration, from--moses. [ ] in the old testament also, as was shown above, we meet the cross. here it served as a mark of recognition and distinction of the god-fearing israelites from the heathen, and as a magic sign. with a similar significance we meet it again in the new testament. in the revelation of john it appears as "the seal (sphragís) of the living god." by it here, too, are the chosen ones of israel marked off from the rest of mankind whom judgment has overtaken. at the same time, it is said that this sign is imprinted upon the foreheads of the inhabitants of the true jerusalem. [ ] in the epistles to the galatians and ephesians it is said of the believers in christ that they were "sealed" before god by the mystic sign upon their foreheads, hands, or feet. the sign thus serves them as a pledge of redemption. [ ] again, in the epistle of barnabas ix. , the cross contained in the letter t is expressly interpreted as (charis) "grace." under the form of the greek tau the cross appears during the first century of the christian era, especially among the christians in egypt, and according to many was a symbol of adonis or tammuz. [ ] now since the expressions xúlon and staurós, lignum and crux, were of double significance and denoted both the "seal" of religious salvation and the gibbet, it is possible that the two different significations became of themselves identical in the minds of the faithful. [ ] this was possible so much the more easily since the biblical account placed by the side of the "tree of life" in paradise a "tree of death," the fateful "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," which was supposed to have been accountable for the death of adam and so of the whole of mankind, and as such made the comparison possible with the wood upon which jesus died. we meet again with a special form of the cross in the old assyrian or babylonian so-called "mystical tree of mystery," which was also a symbol of life. among the persians it appears to have had some reference to the holy haoma tree; and here, too, as well as in india, where it was connected with the bodhi tree, under which sakyamuni by his devout humility rose to be a buddha, it was represented in the artificial shape of a many-armed cross. [ ] one and the same word, then (xúlon, crux), betokens both the gibbet and the pledge of life. christ himself appears as the true "tree of life," as the original of that miraculous tree the sight of which gave life to the first man in paradise, which will be the food of the blessed in the world to come, and is represented symbolically by the mystical cross. it was easy to unite the ideas connected with those expressions, to look upon the "seal" of christ (to semeion tou staurou, signum crucis) as the cross upon which he suffered, and vice-versâ, and to ascribe to the "wood" upon which jesus is supposed to have died, the shape of the mystic sign, the tau, or cross. the heathens had been accustomed to regard the stake upon which their gods were hanged both as the representative of the god in question and the symbol of life and fruitfulness. for example, the stake furnished with four oblique sticks (like a telegraph post), which went by the name of the tatu, tat, dad, or ded and was planted at the feast of osiris in egypt, often had a rough picture of the god painted upon it, as also the pine-tree trunk of attis, in which connection the idea that the seed contained in the cones of the rock-pine from of old had served men as food, while the sap found in them was prepared into an intoxicating drink (soma), played its part. [ ] we are reminded also of the germanic custom of the planting of the may-tree. this was not only a symbol of the spring god, but also represented the life bestowed by him. in the same way the cross did not appear to the christians originally as the form of the gibbet upon which god died, but as "the tree of life," the symbol of the new birth and redemption. since, however, the word for the mystical sign was identical with the expression for the gibbet, the double meaning led to the gibbet of jesus being looked upon as the symbol of life and redemption, and the idea of the gibbet was mingled with that of the cross, the shape of the latter being imagined for the former. as justin in his conversation with the jew trypho informs us, the jews used to run a spit lengthwise through the whole body of the paschal lamb and another cross-wise through its breast, upon which the forefeet were fastened, so that the two spits made the shape of a cross. this was to them obviously not a symbol of execution but rather the sign of reconcilement with jahwe and of the new life thereon depending. for the christians, however, who compared their saviour with the paschal lamb, this may have been an additional cause for the above-mentioned commingling of ideas, and this may have strengthened them in the conception that their god died upon the "cross." the phrygians, moreover, according to firmicus maternus, at the spring feast of attis, used to fasten a ram or lamb at the foot of the fig-tree trunk on which the image of their god was hung. [ ] in agreement with this view is the fact that the earliest representations of christ in connection with the cross had for their subject not the suffering and crucified, but the miraculous saviour triumphing over sickness and death. he appeared as a youthful god with the book of the law, the gospel, in his hand, the lamb at his feet, the cross upon his head or in his right hand, just as the heathen gods, a jupiter, or some crowned ruler, used to be depicted with a cross-shaped sceptre. or jesus' head was placed before the cross, and this in the orb of the sun--and exactly at the point of intersection of the arms of the cross, thus at the place where one otherwise finds the lamb. even the church, probably with a right feeling of the identity of agnus and agni, and in order to remove the connection of ideas therein contained, in the year , by the quinisext synod (in trullo), forbade the pictures of the lamb and required the representation to be of the saviour's human shape. in spite of this even then they did not represent "the crucified" in the present-day sense of the word, but portrayed christ in the form of one standing before the cross praying with outstretched arms. or he was shown risen from the grave, or standing upon the gospels at the foot of the cross, out of this arising later the support for the feet in the pictures of him crucified. here he was represented with open eyes, with his head encircled by the sun's orb. in all of these different representations accordingly the cross only brought again before the eyes in symbolical form what was at the same time expressed by the figure of christ standing at the cross, just as at the feasts of osiris or attis the god was doubly represented, both in his true shape (as image or puppet) and in the symbolical form of the jatu or pine-tree trunk. this mode of depicting christ lasted a long while, even though as early as the fifth or sixth century mention is made of crucifixion, and in arbitrary interpretation of psa. xxii. he was depicted with the marks of the nails. for, as has been said, "crux" betokens both the gibbet and the mystical sign, and the marks of the nails served to symbolise the saviour's triumph over pain and death. an ivory plate in the british museum in london, mentioned and copied by kraus, [ ] is considered the oldest representation of a crucifixion in our present sense. it is said to be of fifth-century origin. this assignment of date is, however, just as uncertain as the other, according to which the miniature from the syrian gospel manuscript of the monk rabula of the monastery of zagba in mesopotamia, which also has the crucifixion for subject and is to be found in the bibliotheca laurenziana at florence, is assigned to the year . in any case, as a general rule until the eleventh century it was not the dead but the living christ who was depicted before or on the cross. consequently an illustration in the bibliotheca laurenziana of about the date is considered as the first certain example of a dead crucified christ. [ ] the conception of christ being put to death upon the cross is, comparatively speaking, a late one. the connection of christ with the cross was originally not a reproduction of the manner of his death. it rather symbolises, as in the ancient mysteries, precisely the reverse--the victory of the christian cult-god over death--the idea of resurrection and life. hence it is obvious that the above-mentioned juxtaposition of the cross and lamb must have expressed the same idea. here, too, the cross was originally only the symbol of fire and life. the lamb encircled by the sun's orb refers to the ceremonial burning of the lamb at the spring equinox as an expiatory sacrifice and as a pledge of a new life. it appears the more plainly to be a figure of agni (agnus), since it is usually placed exactly at the point of intersection of the two arms--that is, at the place whence the divine spark first issued at the kindling of the fire with the two aranî. [ ] the christian jesus i the pauline jesus the faith in a jesus had been for a long time in existence among innumerable mandaic sects in asia minor, which differed in many ways from each other, before this faith obtained a definite shape in the religion of jesus, and its adherents became conscious of their religious peculiarities and their divergence from the official jewish religion. the first evidence of such a consciousness, and also the first brilliant outline of a new religion developed with jesus as its central idea, lies in the epistles of the tent-maker of tarsus, the pilgrim-apostle paul. of the epistles in his name which have been handed down to us, that to the hebrews is quite certainly not paul's. but also the two epistles to the thessalonians, that to the ephesians, as well as the so-called pastoral epistles (to timothy, titus, and philemon), are considered by the overwhelming majority of theologians to be forgeries; and also the authenticity of the epistles to the colossians and philippians is negatived by considerations of great weight. but with all the more certainty modern critical theologians believe that paul was the writer of the four great didactic epistles--one to the galatians, two to the corinthians, and one to the romans; and they are wont to set aside all suspicion of these epistles as a "grave error" of historical hypercriticism. in opposition to this view the authenticity of even these epistles is contested, apart from bruno bauer, especially by dutch theologians, by pierson, loman, von mauen, meyboom, matthes, and others; and, in addition, recently the bern theologian r. steck, and b. w. smith, professor of mathematics in the tulane university of new orleans, with whom the late pastor albert kalthoff of bremen was associated, have contested the traditional view with objections that deserve consideration. they have attempted to prove the pauline epistles, as a literary product, to be the work of a whole school of second-century theologians, authors who either simultaneously or successively wrote for the growing church. this much is certain--a conclusive proof that paul was really the author of the epistles current in his name cannot be given. with regard to this it must always remain a ground for doubt that luke, who accompanied paul on his missionary travels, was completely silent as to such literary activity of the apostle; and this, although he devoted the greatest portion of his account in the acts to paul's activities. [ ] also the proof given by smith, that the pauline epistles were as yet completely unknown in the first century a.d., that in particular the existence of the epistle to the romans is not testified to before the middle of the second century, must speak seriously against paul's authorship, and is evidence that those epistles cannot be accepted as the primary source of the pauline doctrines. for this reason it can in no way be asserted that the critical theology of last century has "scientifically and beyond question established" [ ] the authenticity of the pauline writings. it is well known that the ancient world was not as yet in possession of the idea of literary individuality in our sense of the word. at that time innumerable works were circulated bearing famous names, whose authors had neither at the time nor probably at any time anything to do with the men who bore those names. many such productions were circulated among the members of sects of antiquity, which passed, for example, under the names of orpheus, of pythagoras, of zoroaster, &c., and thereby sought to procure the canonical acceptance of their contents! of the works of the old testament neither the psalms, nor the proverbs, nor the so-called preacher, nor the book of wisdom, can be connected with the historical kings david and solomon, whose names they bear; and the prophet daniel is just such a fictitious personality as the enoch and the ezra of the apocalypses known under their names. even the so-called five books of moses are the literary product of an age much later than the one in which moses is supposed to have lived, while joshua is the name of an old israelite god after whom the book in question is called. [ ] there has never anywhere been such a moses as the one described in the old testament. the possibility of the so-called pauline epistles having been the work of later theologians, and of having been christened in the name of paul, the apostle of the gentiles, only to increase their authority in the community, is therefore by no means excluded; especially when we consider how exuberantly literary falsifications and "pious frauds" flourished in the first century, and at other times also, in the interests of the christian church. indeed, at that time they even dared, as is shown by christian documents of the second century, to alter the very text of the old testament, and thereby, as they used to say, to "elucidate" it. already in the middle of the second century marcion, the gnostic, reproached the church with possessing the pauline epistles only in a garbled form, and who can say whether it was a false accusation? he himself undertook to restore the correct text by excisions and completions. [ ] but let us leave completely on one side the question of the authenticity of the pauline epistles, a question absolute agreement on which will probably never be attained, for the simple reason that we lack any certain basis for its decision. instead of this let us turn rather to what we learn from these epistles concerning the historical jesus. there we meet in the first place with the fact, testified to by paul himself, that the saviour revealed himself in person to him, and at the same time caused him to enter his service (gal. i. ). it was, as is stated in the acts, on the way to damascus that suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven, while a voice summoned him to cease his former persecution of the community of the messiah, and revealed itself to him as jesus. [ ] there is no need to doubt the fact itself; but to see in it a proof of the historical jesus is reserved for those theologians who have discovered the splendid conception of an "objective vision," basing the objective reality of the vision in question on paul's life in the desert. it was obviously only an "inner vision," which the "visionary" and "epileptic" paul attributed to jesus; and for this reason it proves nothing as to the existence of an historical jesus when he asks, cor. ix. , "have i not seen our lord jesus?" and remarks, cor. xv. , "last of all he appeared to me also." it only proves the dilemma of theologians on the whole question that they have recently asserted that paul, notwithstanding his own protestations (gal. i.), must have had a personal knowledge of the historical jesus, as otherwise on the occasion at damascus he could not have recognised the features and voice of the transfigured jesus, not being already acquainted with them from some other quarter! with equal justice we might assert that the heathens also, who had visions of their gods, must previously have known them personally, as otherwise they could not have known that zeus or athene or any other definite god had appeared to them. in the acts we read only of an apparition of light which paul saw, and of a voice which called to him, "saul, why persecutest thou me?" is the supposition referred to necessary to account for the fact that paul, the persecutor of jesus, referred the voice and the vision to jesus? the case is similar with paul's testimony as to those who, like him, saw the saviour after his death. [ ] it is possible that the people concerned saw something, that they saw a jesus "risen up" in heavenly transfiguration; but that this was the jesus of the so-called historical theology, whose existence is hereby established, even its supporters would not in all probability insist upon; for in their view the historical jesus had in no way risen from the dead: but here also there would only be question of a purely subjective vision of the ecstatically excited disciples. moreover, the passage of the epistle to the corinthians in question ( - ) seems clearly to be one at least very much interpolated, if it is not entirely an after-insertion. thus, the risen jesus is said to have been seen by "more than five hundred brethren at once." but of this the four gospels know nothing; and also, according to xv. , that "the twelve" had the vision, would lead us to suspect that it was first inserted in the text at a much later date. [ ] paul himself never disguised the fact that he had seen jesus, not with mortal eyes, but only with those of the spirit, as an inner revelation. "it has pleased god," he says (gal. i. ), "to reveal his son within me." [ ] he confesses that the gospel preached by him was not "of men," that he neither received nor learnt it from any man, but that he had obtained it directly from the heavenly christ and was inspired by the holy ghost. [ ] he seems also to have had no interest at all in giving accurate information as to the personality of jesus, as to his fortunes and teachings. when three years after his conversion he first returns to jerusalem, he visits only peter and makes the acquaintance of james during the fourteen days of his stay there, troubling himself about none of the other apostles. [ ] but when, fourteen years after, he meets with the "first apostles" in the so-called council of the apostles in jerusalem, he does not set about learning from them, but teaching them and procuring from them recognition of his own missionary activity; and he himself declares that he spoke with them only on the method of proclaiming the gospel, but not on its religious content or on the personality of the historic jesus. [ ] certainly that james whose acquaintance paul made in jerusalem is designated by him as the "brother of the lord"; [ ] and from this it seems to follow that jesus must have been an historical person. the expression "brother," however, is possibly in this case, as so often in the gospels, [ ] only a general expression to designate a follower of jesus, as the members of a religious society in antiquity frequently called each other "brother" and "sister" among themselves. cor. ix. runs: "have we [i.e., paul and barnabas] not also right to take about with us a wife that is a sister, even as the other apostles and brothers of the lord and cephas?" there it is evident that the expression by no means necessarily refers to bodily relationship, but that "brother" serves only to designate the followers of the religion of jesus. [ ] accordingly jerome seems to have hit the truth exactly when, commenting on gal. i. , he writes: "james was called the brother of the lord on account of his great character [though the pauline epistles certainly show the opposite of this], of his incomparable faith and extraordinary wisdom. the other apostles were as a matter of fact also called brothers, but he was specially so called, because the lord at his death had confided to him the sons of his mother" (i.e., the members of the community at jerusalem). [ ] and how then should paul have met with a physical brother of that very jesus whom, as will be shown, he could only treat as a myth in other respects? the thing is, considered now purely psychologically, so improbable that no conclusion can in any case be drawn from the expression concerning james as the brother of the lord as to the historical existence of jesus; especially in view of the fact that theologians from the second century to the present day have been unable to come to an agreement as to the true blood-relationship between james and jesus. [ ] moreover, if we consider how the glorification of james came into fashion in anti-pauline circles of the second century, and how customary it was to connect the chief of the jewish christians at jerusalem as closely as possible with jesus himself (e.g., hegesippus, in the so-called epistles of clement, in the gospel of the nazarenes, &c.), the suspicion forces itself on us that the pauline mention of james as "the brother of the lord" is perhaps only an after-insertion in the epistle to the galatians in order thereby to have the bodily relationship between james and jesus confirmed by paul himself. [ ] jesus' parents are not historical personalities (see above, ff.); and it is probably the same with his brothers and sisters. also paul never refers to the testimony of the brothers or of the disciples of jesus concerning their master; though this would have been most reasonable had they really known any more of jesus than he himself did. "he bases," as kalthoff justly objects, "not a single one of his most incisive polemical arguments against the adherents of the law on the ground that he had the historical jesus on his side; but he gives his own detailed theological ideas without mentioning an historical jesus, he gives a gospel of christ, not the gospel which he had heard at first, second, or third hand concerning a human individual jesus." [ ] from paul, therefore, there is nothing of a detailed nature to be learnt about the historical jesus. the apostle does indeed occasionally refer to the words and opinions of the "lord," as with regard to the prohibition of divorce, [ ] or to the right of the apostles to be fed by the community. [ ] but as the exact words are not given there is no express reference to an historical individual of the name of jesus; and so we are persuaded that we here have to do with mere rules of a community such as were current and had canonical significance everywhere in the religious unions as "words of the master," i.e., of the patrons and celebrities of the community (cf. the "autos epha: he himself, viz., the master, has said it" of the pythagoreans). only once, cor. xi. sq., where paul quotes the words at the last supper, does the apostle apparently refer to an experience of the "historical" jesus: "the lord jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread," &c. [ ] unfortunately here we have to do with what is clearly a later insertion. the passage is obscure throughout (vers. - ), and through its violent and confusing interruption of the pauline line of thought may be recognised as an after-insertion in the original text, as is even acknowledged by many on the theological side. [ ] paul says that he had obtained these things from the "lord" himself. does this mean that they were directly "revealed" to him by the transfigured jesus? it seems much more reasonable to believe that he took them from a religion already existing. this could indeed refer at most only to the words of the last supper in themselves. on the other hand, the words "in the night in which he was betrayed" are certainly an addition. they will do neither in the connection of a "revelation" nor of an existing religion, but stand there completely by themselves as a reference to a real event in the life of jesus; and so, for this alone, they form much too small a basis for testimony as to its historical truth. [ ] all expressions concerning jesus which are found in paul are accordingly of no consequence for the hypothesis of an historical person of that name. the so-called "words of the lord" quoted by him refer to quite unimportant points in the teachings of jesus. and, on the other hand, paul is just as silent on those points in which modern critical theology finds the particular greatness and importance of this teaching; as, e.g., on jesus' confidence in the divine goodness of the father, his command of the love of our neighbours as the fulfilment of the law, his sermon about humility and charity, his warning against the over-esteem of worldly goods, &c., as on jesus' personality, his trust in god, and his activity among his people. [ ] paul did not give himself the least trouble to bring the saviour as a man nearer to his readers. he seems to know nothing of any miraculous power in jesus. he says nothing of his sympathy with the poor and oppressed, though surely just this would have been specially adapted to turn the hearts of men towards his jesus and to make an impression on the multitude that sought for miracles. all the moral-religious precepts and exhortations of jesus are neither employed by paul as a means of proselytising for him, nor in any way used to place his individuality in opposition to his prophetic precursors in a right light, as is the case in the christian literature of the present day. "thus, just those thoughts, which protestant theologians claim as the particular domain of their historical jesus, appear in the epistles independently of this jesus, as individual moral effusions of the apostolic consciousness; while christian social rules, which the same theologians consider additions to the story, are introduced directly as rules of the lord. for this reason the christ of the pauline epistles may rather be cited as a case against critical theologians than serve as a proof for the historical jesus in their sense." [ ] even so zealous a champion of this theology as wernle must admit: "we learn from paul least of all concerning the person and life of jesus. were all his epistles lost we should know not much less of jesus than at present." immediately after this, however, this very author consoles himself with the consideration that in a certain sense paul gave us even more than the most exact and the most copious records could give. "we learn from him that a man (?) jesus, in spite of his death on the cross, was able to develop such a power after his death, that paul knew himself to be mastered, redeemed, and blessed by him; and this in so marked a way that he separated his own life and the whole world into two parts: without jesus, with jesus. this is a fact which, explain it as we may, purely as a fact excites our wonder (!) and compels us to think highly of jesus." [ ] what does excite our wonder is this style of historical "demonstration." and then how peculiar it is to read, from the silence of an author like paul concerning the historical jesus, an argument in its favour! as if it does not rather prove the unimportance of such a personality for the genesis of christianity! as if the fact that paul erected a religious-metaphysical thought construction of undoubted magnificence must necessarily be based on the "overwhelming impression of the person of jesus," of the same jesus of whom paul had no personal knowledge at all! the disciples--who are supposed to have been in touch with jesus for many years--paul strenuously avoided, and of the existence of this jesus no other signs are to be found in his epistles but such as may have quite a different meaning. or did paul, as historical theology says, reveal more of jesus in his sermons than he did in the epistles? surely that could only be maintained after it was first established that in his account paul had in view any historical jesus at all. this seems to be completely problematic. the "humanity" of jesus stands as the central point of the pauline idea. and yet the jesus painted by paul is not a man, but a purely divine personality, a heavenly spirit without flesh and blood, an unindividual superhuman phantom. he is the "son of god" made manifest in paul; the messiah foretold by the jewish apocalyptics; the pre-existing "son of man" of daniel and his followers; the spiritual "ideal man" as he appeared in the minds of the jews influenced by platonic ideas; whom also philo knew as the metaphysical prototype of ordinary sensual humanity and thought he had found typified to in gen. i. . he is the "great man" of the indian legends, who was supposed to have appeared also in buddha and in other redeemer figures--the purusha of the vedic brahmans, the mandâ de hajjê and hibil ziwâ of the mandaic religion influenced by indian ideas, the tribe-god of syncretised judaism. the knowledge which paul has of this being is for this reason not an ordinary acquaintance from teachings, but a gnosis, an immediate consciousness, a "knowledge inspired"; and all the statements which he makes concerning it fall within the sphere of theosophy, of religious speculation or metaphysics, but not of history. as we have stated, the belief in such a jesus had been for a long time the property of jewish sects, when paul succeeded, on the ground of his astounding personal experiences, in drawing it into the light from the privacy of religious arcana, and setting it up as the central point of a new religion distinct from judaism. "there was already in their minds a faith in a divine revealer, a divine-human activity, in salvation to be obtained through sacraments." [ ] among the neighbouring heathen peoples for a very long time, and in jewish circles at least since the days of the prophets, there had existed a belief in a divine mediator, a "son of god," a "first-born of all creation," in whom was made all that exists, who came down upon earth, humbled himself in taking on a human form, suffered for mankind a shameful death, but rose again victorious, and in his elevation and transfiguration simultaneously renewed and spiritualised the whole earth. [ ] then paul appeared--in an age which was permeated as no other with a longing for redemption; which, overwhelmed by the gloom of its external relations, was possessed with the fear of evil powers; which, penetrated with terror of the imminent end of the world, was anxiously awaiting this event and had lost faith in the saving power of the old religion--then he gave such an expression to that belief as made it appear the only means of escape from the confusion of present existence. can the assumption of an historical jesus in the sense of the traditional conception really be necessary, in order to account for the fact that men fled impetuously to this new religion of paul's? is it even probable that the intelligent populations of the sea-ports of asia minor and greece, among whom in particular paul preached the gospel of jesus, would have turned towards christianity for the reason that at some time or other, ten or twenty years before, an itinerant preacher of the name of jesus had made an "overpowering" impression on ignorant fisher-folk and workmen in galilee or jerusalem by his personal bearing and his teachings, and had been believed by them to be the expected messiah, the renowned divine mediator and redeemer of the world? paul did not preach the man jesus, but the heavenly spiritual being, christ. [ ] the public to which paul turned consisted for the most part of gentiles; and to these the conception of a spiritual being presented no difficulties. it could have no strengthening, no guarantee, of its truth, through proof of the manhood of jesus. if the christians of the beginning of our own historical epoch had only been able to gain faith in the god christ through the man jesus, paul would have turned his attention from that which, to him, particularly mattered; he would have obscured the individual meaning of his gospel and brought his whole religious speculation into a false position, by substituting a man jesus for the god-man jesus as he understood him. [ ] paul is said to have been born in the greek city of tarsus in cilicia, the son of jewish parents. at that time tarsus was, like alexandria, an important seat of greek learning. here flourished the school of the younger stoics, with its mixture of old stoic, orphic, and platonic ideas. here the ethical principles of that school were preached in a popular form, in street and market-place, by orators of the people. it was not at all necessary for paul, brought up in the austerity of the jewish religion of the law, to visit the lecture-rooms of the stoic teachers in order to gain a knowledge of stoic views, for in tarsus it was as though the air was filled with that doctrine. paul was certainly acquainted with it. it sank so deeply into his mind, perhaps unknown to himself, that his epistles are full of the expressions and ideas of the stoic philosopher seneca, and to this are due the efforts which have been made to make seneca a pupil of paul's, or the reverse, to make paul a pupil of seneca's. a correspondence exists, which is admittedly a forgery, pretending to have passed between the two. tarsus, in spite of its eastern character, was a city saturated with greek learning and ways of thought, but not these alone. the religious ideas and motives of the time found also a fruitful soil there. in tarsus the hittite sandan (sardanapal) was worshipped, a human being upon whom dionysus had bestowed the godhead of life and fecundity, who was identified by the greeks either with zeus, or with heracles, the divine "son" of the "father" zeus. he passed as the founder of the city, and was represented as a bearded man with bunches of grapes and ears of corn, with a double-headed axe in his right hand, standing on a lion or a funeral pyre; and every year it was the custom for a human representative of the god, or in later times his effigy, to be ceremoniously burnt on a pyre. [ ] but tarsus was also at the same time a centre for the mystery-religions of the east. the worship of mithras, in particular, flourished there, with its doctrine of the mystic death and re-birth of those received into the communion, who were thereby purified from the guilt of their past life and won a new immortal life in the "spirit"; with its sacred feast, at which the believers entered into a communion of life with mithra by partaking of the consecrated bread and chalice; with its conception of the magic effect of the victim's blood, which washed away all sins; and with its ardent desire for redemption, purification, and sanctification of the soul. [ ] paul was not unaffected by these and similar ideas. his conception of the mystic significance of christ's death shows that; in which conception the whole of this type of religious thought is expressed, although in a new setting. indeed, the expression (gal. iii. ), in which the baptized are said to have "put on" christ, seems to be borrowed directly from the mithraic mysteries. for in these, according to a primitive animistic custom, the initiated of different degrees used to be present in the masks of beasts, representing god's existence under diverse attributes; that is, they used to "put on" the lord in order to place themselves in innermost communion with him. again, the pauline expression, that the consecrated chalice and bread at the lord's supper are the "communion of the blood and body of christ," [ ] reminds us too forcibly of the method of expression in the mysteries for this agreement to be purely a coincidence. [ ] if in such circumstances paul, the citizen of tarsus, heard of a jewish god of the name of jesus, the ideas which were connected with him were in no way quite new and unaccustomed. nearer asia was, indeed, as we have seen, filled with the idea of a young and beautiful god, who reanimated nature by his death; with popular legends connected with his violent end and glorious resurrection: and not merely in tarsus, but also in cyprus and in countless other places of the western asiatic civilised world, there was the yearly celebration in most impressive fashion of the feast of this god, who was called tammuz, adonis, attis, dionysus, osiris, &c. nowhere, perhaps, was the celebration more magnificent than at antioch, the syrian capital. but at antioch, if we may believe the acts [ ] on this point, the gospel of jesus had been preached even before paul. men of cyprus and cyrene are said to have spoken there the word of the dead and risen christ, not only to the jews but also to the greeks, and they are said to have converted many of the heathens to the new "lord." the acts tells us this after it has recounted the persecution of the community of the messiah at jerusalem; representing the spreading of the gospel as a consequence of the dispersion of the community that followed the persecution. it seems, however, that cyprus--where adonis was particularly worshipped, at paphos--and cyrene were very early centres from which missionaries carried abroad the faith in christ. [ ] consequently the gospel was in origin nothing but a judaised and spiritualised adonis cult. [ ] those earliest missionaries of whom we hear would not have attacked the faith of the syrian heathens: they would have declared that christ, the messiah, the god of the jewish religions, was adonis: christ is the "lord"! they would only have attempted to draw the old native religion of adonis into the jewish sphere of thought, and by this means to carry on the jewish propaganda which they could find everywhere at work, and which developed an efficacy about the beginning of our epoch such as it had never before possessed. they would carry on the propaganda, not in the sense of the strict standpoint of the law, but of the jewish apocalypses and their religious teachings. [ ] such a man as paul, who had been educated in the school of gamaliel as a teacher of the law of the strict pharisaical sort, could not indeed calmly look on while the heathen belief in adonis, which he must surely, even in his native city of tarsus, have despised as a blasphemous superstition, was uniting itself, in the new religious sects, with the jewish conceptions. "cursed is he who is hung upon the tree," so it stood written in the law; [ ] and the ceremony of the purification--at which one criminal was hung, amid the insults of the people, as the scapegoat of the old year, while another was set free as mordecai, and driven with regal honours through the city, being revered as representative of the new year--must have been in his eyes only another proof of the disgrace of the tree, and of the blasphemous character of a belief that honoured in the hanged man the divine saviour of the world, the messiah expected by the jews. then on a sudden there came over him as it were enlightenment. what if the festivals of the syrian adonis, of the phrygian attis, and so on, really treated of the self-sacrifice of a god who laid down his life for the world? the guiltless martyrdom of an upright man as expiatory means to the justification of his people was also not unknown to the adherents of the law since the days of the maccabean martyrs. the "suffering servant of god," as isaiah had portrayed him, suggests as quite probable the idea that, just as among the heathen peoples, in israel also an individual might renew the life of all others by his voluntary sacrifice. might it not be true, as the adherents of the jesus-religions maintained, that the messiah was really a "servant of god," and had already accomplished the work of redemption by his own voluntary death? according to the heathen view, the people were atoned for by the vicarious sacrifice of their god, and that "justification" of all in the sight of the godhead took place which the pious pharisee expected from the strict fulfilment of the jewish law. and yet, when paul compared the "righteousness" actually achieved by himself and others with the ideal of righteousness for which they strove, as it was required in the law, then terror at the greatness of the contrast between the ideal and the reality must have seized him; and at the same time he might well have despaired of the divine righteousness, which required of the people the fulfilment of the law, which weighed the people down with the thought of the imminent end of the world, and which, through the very nature of its commands, excluded the possibility of the messiah meeting on his arrival, as he should have done, with a "righteous" people. were those who expected the sanctification of humanity not from the fulfilment of the law, but immediately, through an infusion of god himself, really so much in the wrong? it was not unusual among the heathen peoples for a man to be sacrificed, in the place of the deity, as a symbolical representative; although already at the time of paul it was the custom to represent the self-sacrificing god only by an effigy, instead of a real man. the important point, however, was not this, but the idea which lay at the foundation of this divine self-sacrifice. and this was not affected by the victim's being a criminal, who was killed in the rôle of the guiltless and upright man, and by the voluntariness of his death being completely fictitious. might it not also be, as the believers in jesus asserted, that the messiah was not still to be expected, and that only on the ground of human righteousness; but that rather he had already appeared, and had already accomplished the righteousness unattainable by the individual through his shameful death and his glorious resurrection? the moment in which this idea flashed through paul's mind was the moment of the birth of christianity as paul's religion. the form in which he grasped that conception was that of an incarnation of god; and at the same time this form was such that he introduced with it quite a new impulse into the former mode of thought. according to the heathen conception a god did indeed sacrifice himself for his people, without thereby ceasing to be god; and here the man sacrificed in the place of god was considered merely as a chance representative of the self-sacrificing god. according to the old view of the jewish faith it was really the "son of man," a being of human nature, who was to come down from heaven and effect the work of redemption, without, however, being a real man and without suffering and dying in human form. with paul, on the contrary, the stress lay just on this, that the redeemer should be himself really a man, and that the man sacrificed in god's place should be equally the god appearing in human form: the man was not merely a representation of god's as a celestial and supernatural being, but god himself appearing in human form. god himself becomes man, and thereby a man is exalted to the deity, and, as expiatory representative for his people, can unite mankind with god. [ ] the man who is sacrificed for his people represents on the one hand his people in the eyes of god, but on the other hand the god sacrificing himself for mankind in the eyes of this people. and thereby, in the idea of the representative expiatory victim, the separation between god and man is blotted out, and both fuse directly in the conception of the "god-man." god becomes man, and by this means mankind is enabled to become god. the man is sacrificed as well in the place of god as in that of mankind, and so unites both contradictories in a unity within himself. it is evident that in reality it was merely a new setting to the old conception of the representative self-sacrifice of god--in which the genitive is to be taken both in its subjective and objective sense. no historical personality, who should, so to say, have lived as an example of the god-man, was in any way necessary to produce that pauline development of the religion of jesus. for the chance personalities of the men representing the god came under consideration just as little for paul as for the heathens; and when he also, with the other jews, designated the messiah jesus as the bodily descendant of david "according to the flesh," [ ] i.e., as a man; when he treated him as "born of woman," he thought not at all of any concrete individuality, which had at a certain time embodied the divinity within itself, but purely of the idea of a messiah in the flesh; just as the suffering servant of god of isaiah, even in spite of the connection of this idea with an actually accomplished human sacrifice, had possessed only an ideal imaginary or typical significance. the objection is always being raised that paul must have conceived of jesus as an historical individual because he designates him as the bodily descendant of david, and makes him "born of woman" (gal. iv. ). but how else could he have been born? (cf. job xiv. .) the bringing into prominence the birth from woman, as well as the general emphasis laid by the apostle on the humanity of jesus, is directed against the gnostics in the corinthian community, but proves nothing whatsoever as to the historical jesus. and the descent from david was part of the traditional characteristics of the messiah; so that paul could say it of jesus without referring to a real descendant of david. but even less is proved by paul's, in gal. iii. , reproaching the galatians with having seen the crucified christ "set forth openly"; we would then have to declare also that there was an actual devil and a hell, because these are set forth to the faithful by the "caretakers of their souls" when preaching. here then lies the explanation for the fact that the "man" jesus remained an intangible phantom to paul, and that he can speak of christ as a man, without thinking of an historical personality in the sense of the liberal theology of the present day. the ideal man, as paul represented jesus to himself--the essence of all human existence--the human race considered as a person, who represented humanity to god, just as the man sacrificed in his rôle had represented the deity to the people--the "man" on whom alone redemption depended--is and remains a metaphysical being--just as the idea of plato or the logos of philo are none the less metaphysical existences because of their descent into the world of the senses and of their assuming in it a definite individual corporality. and what paul teaches concerning the "man" jesus is only a detailed development and deepening of what the mandæi believed of their mandä de hajjê or hibil ziwâ, and of what the jewish religions under the influence of the apocalypses involved in their mysterious doctrines of the messiah. for paul the descent, death, and resurrection of jesus represented an eternal but not an actual story in time; and so to search paul for the signs of an historical jesus is to misunderstand the chief point in his religious view of the world. god, the "father" of our "lord" jesus christ, "awakened" his son and sent him down upon the earth for the redemption of mankind. although originally one with god, and for that reason himself a divine being, christ nevertheless renounced his original supernatural existence. in contradiction to his real being he changed his spiritual nature for "the likeness of sinful flesh," gave up his heavenly kingdom for the poverty and misery of human existence, and came to mankind in the form of a servant, "being found in fashion as a man," in order to bring redemption. [ ] for man is unable to obtain religious salvation through himself alone. in him the spirit is bound to the flesh, his divine supersensible being is bound down to the material of sensible actuality, and for that reason he is subject "by nature" to misfortune and sin. all flesh is necessarily "sinful flesh." man is compelled to sin just in so far as he is a being of the flesh. adam, moreover, is the originator of all human sin only for the reason that he was "in the flesh"--that is, a finite being imprisoned in corporality. probably god gave the law unto mankind, in order to show them the right path in their obscurity; and thereby opened the possibility of being declared righteous or "justified" before his court, through the fulfilment of his commands; but it is impossible to keep the commandments in their full severity. and yet only the ceaseless fulfilment of the whole law can save mankind from justice. we are all sinners. [ ] so the law indeed awakened the knowledge of guilt, and brought sin to light through its violation; but it has at the same time increased the guilt. [ ] it has shown itself to be a strict teacher and taskmaster in righteousness, without, however, itself leading to righteousness. so little has it proved to be the desired means of salvation, that it may equally be said of it that it was given by god not for the purpose of saving mankind, but only to make it still more miserable. consequently paul would rather attribute the mediation of the law of moses not to god himself but to his angels, in order to relieve god of the guilt of the law. [ ] this circumstance is of so much the more consequence for mankind, because the sin aroused by the law unresistingly drew death in its train; and that deprived them also of the last possibility of becoming equal to their higher spiritual nature. so is man placed midway between light and darkness--a pitiable being. his spirit, that is kin with god, draws him upwards; and the evil spirit and dæmons drag him downwards, the evil spirits who rule this world and who lure him into sin--and who are at bottom nothing but mythical personifications of man's sinful and fleshly desires. christ now enters this world of darkness and of sin. as a man among men, he enters the sphere over which the flesh and sin have power, and must die as other men. but for the incarnate god death is not what it is in the ordinary sense. for him it is only the liberation from the incongruous condition of the flesh. when christ dies, he merely strips off the fetters of the flesh and leaves the prison of the body, leaves the sphere over which sin, death, and evil spirits hold their sway. he, the god-man, dies to the sin, which was once unknown to him, once and for all. by prevailing over the power of death in his resurrection, the son regains, by means of death, his original individual existence, perpetual life in and with the father. [ ] thus also does he attain mastery over the law, for this rules only in so far as there are fleshly men of earth, and ceases to hold good for him at the moment when christ raises himself above the flesh and returns to his pure spiritual nature. were there the possibility for mankind of similarly dying to their flesh, then would they be redeemed, as christ was, from sin, death, and the law. there is, in fact, such a possibility. it lies in this: even christ himself is nothing but the idea of the human race conceived as a personality, the platonic idea of humanity personified, the ideal man as a metaphysical essence; and so in his fate the fate of all mankind is fulfilled. in this sense the saying holds, "if one has died for all, then have they all died." [ ] in order to become partakers of the fruit of this jesus' death, it is certainly necessary that the individual man become really one with christ; that he enter into an inner unity with the representative, with the divine type of the human race, not merely subjectively, but objectively and actually; and this takes place, according to paul, by means of "faith." faith, as paul understands it, is not a purely external belief in the actuality of jesus' death as a victim and of his resurrection, but the turning of the whole man to jesus, the spiritual unification with him and the divine disposition produced thereby, from which the corresponding moral action proceeds of itself. it is only in this sense that paul sets faith above works as demanded by the law. an action that does not proceed from faith, from the deepest conviction of the divine, has no religious value, be it ever so conformable to the letter of the law. that is a view which paul completely shared with the stoic philosophy of his age, and which was at that time being brought more and more to the front in the more advanced circles of the old civilisation. man is justified not through the law, not through works, but through faith; faith, even without works, is reckoned as righteousness. [ ] it is only another expression for the same thought when paul says that god justifies man, not according to his merit and actions, but "gratuitously," "of his grace." in the conception of the jewish religion of the law the idea of justification has a purely juridical significance. reward here answers exactly to merit. justification is nothing but an "obligation" according to an irrevocable standard. in paul's new conception it is, on the contrary, a natural product of god's mercy. but mercy consists finally in this, that god of his own accord sacrificed his son, so that mankind may share in the effects of his work of redemption by "faith" in him, and by the unity with him thus brought about. but faith is only one way of becoming one with christ; and real unity with him must also be externally effected. baptism and the lord's supper must be added to faith. there paul directly follows the mysteries and their sacramental conception of man's unification with the deity; and shows the connection of his own doctrines with those of the heathen religions. by his baptism, his immersion and disappearance in the depths of the water, man is "buried in death" with christ. in that he rises once more from the water, the resurrection with christ to a new life is fulfilled, not merely in a symbolic but also in a magical mystic fashion. [ ] and christ is as it were "put on" [ ] through baptism, so that henceforth the baptized is, no longer potentially but actually, one with christ; christ is in him, and he is in christ. the lord's supper is indeed on one hand a feast of fraternal love and recollection, in memory of the saviour; just as the adherents of mithras used to hold their love-feasts (agape) in memory of their god's parting feast with his own people. [ ] but on the other hand it is a mystic communion of the blood and body of christ, through the drinking of the sacramental chalice and the eating of the sacramental bread--a mystic communion in no other sense than that in which the heathens thought they entered into inner connection with their gods through sacrificial feasts, and in which savages generally even to-day believe that through the eating of another's flesh, be it beast's or man's, and through the drinking of his blood, they become partakers of the power residing in him. [ ] even for paul baptism and the lord's supper are to such an extent purely natural processes or magic practices, that he does not object to the heathen custom of baptizing, by proxy, living christians for dead ones; and in his opinion unworthy eating and drinking of the lord's supper produce sickness and death. [ ] in this respect, consequently, there can be no talk of a "transcending of the naturalism of the heathen mysteries" in paul; and to attribute to him a much higher or more spiritual conception of the sacrament than the heathens had seems difficult to reconcile with his express statements. [ ] now christ, as already stated, is for paul only a comprehensive expression for the ideal totality of men, which is therein represented as an individual personal being. it is clearly the platonic idea of humanity, and nothing else; just as philo personified the divine intelligence and made this coalesce with the "ideal man," with the idea of humanity. [ ] as in the platonic view the union of man with the ideal takes place through love, through immediate intellectual perception on the basis of ideal knowledge, and the contradiction between the world of sense and the world of ideas is overcome by the same means; as also thereby man is raised to membership in the cosmos of ideas; in just such a manner, according to paul, christians unite together by means of faith and the sacraments into constitutive moments of the ideal humanity. thus they realise the idea of humanity, and enter into a mystic communion with jesus, who himself, as we have already said, represents this idea in its united compass. the consequence of this is, that all that is fulfilled in christ is equally experienced along with him, in mysterious fashion, by those men who are united with him. consequently they can now be termed "members of the one body of christ," who is its "head" or "soul"; and this indeed in the same sense as with plato the different ideas form but members and moments of the one world of ideas, and their plurality is destroyed in the unity of the comprehensive and determining idea of the one or the good. just what an elevation of the spirit to the world of ideas is for plato, the union of mankind with christ is for paul. what the man actually in possession of knowledge, the "wise man," is for the former, "christ" is for the latter. what is there called eros--the mediator of the unity between the world of ideas and the sense-world, of being and conscious being, of objective and subjective thought, and at the same time the very essence of all objective thought--is here called christ. eros is called by plato the son of riches and poverty, who bears the "nature and signs" of both: "he is quite poor, runs around barefoot and homeless, and must sleep on the naked earth without a roof, in the open air, at the doors and on the streets, in conformity with his mother's nature." "as, however, he is neither mortal nor immortal, at one moment he is flourishing and full of life, at another he is weary and dies away, and all that often on the self-same day; but ever he rises up again in life in conformity with his father's nature." [ ] so also the pauline christ contains all the fulness of the godhead [ ] and is himself the "son of god"; yet nevertheless christ debases himself, takes on the form of a servant, becomes man, and dies, thereby placing himself in direct opposition to his real nature, but only to rise again continually in each individual man and allow mankind to participate in his own life. and as christ (in tim. ii. ) is the "mediator" between god and men, so also the platonic eros "is midway between the immortal and the mortal." "eros, o socrates, is a daimon, a great daimon, and everything of this nature is intermediate between god and man. the daimon transfers to the gods what comes from man, and to man what comes from the gods; from the one prayer and sacrifice, from the other the orders and rewards for the sacrifice. midway, he fills the gap between the immortal and the mortal, and everything is through him bound into one whole. by his mediation is disseminated every prophecy and the religious skill which has reference to sacrifice, sanctification, sacred maxims, and each prediction and magic spell. god himself does not mix with mankind, but all intercourse and all speech between god and man, as well in waking as in sleep, takes place in the way mentioned. whoever has experienced this, in him is the daimon." in this connection we recall to our minds that eros appears in the "timæus" under the name of the "world-soul," and this is supposed by plato to have the form of an oblique cross. [ ] the platonic eros is the mythical personification of the conception that the contemplation of being (obj. gen.) as such is at the same time a contemplation of being's (sub. gen.); or that in the contemplation of the ideas the subjective thought of the philosopher and the objective ideal reality as it were meet each other from two sides and fuse directly into a unity. [ ] it is thus only the scientific and theoretical formulation of the fundamental idea of the old aryan fire cult. according to this the sacrifice of agni--that is, the victim which man offers to god--is as such equally agni's sacrifice, the victim which god offers, and in which he sacrifices himself for humanity. it is in agreement with this that according to paul the death and resurrection of christ, as they take place in the consciousness of the believer, represent a death and resurrection of christ as a divine personality: man dies and lives again with christ, and god and man are completely fused together in the believer. as mankind by this means becomes a "member" of the "body of christ," so in the vedic conception the partaker of the fire-god's sacrifice, by the tasting of the blood and the eating of the sacred bread, is associated with a mystic body, and is infused with the one spirit of god, which destroys his sins in its sacred fire, and flows through him with new life-power. in india, from the cult of the fire-god and the complete unity of god and man thereby attained, brahmanism was developed, and gained an influence over all the indian peoples. in plato intellectual contemplation formed the basis of cognition. he placed the wise man at the head of the social organism, and regarded the philosopher as the only man fitted for the government of the world. and the future development of the church as a "communion of saints" appears already in the pauline conception of the faithful as the "body of christ," in which the idea of the human race (christ) is realised, as the kingdom of god upon earth, as the true humanity, as the material appearance of the divine ideal man, to belong to which is mankind's duty, and without which it is impossible for man to live in his real ideal nature. ancient philosophy had attempted until now in vain to overcome the contradiction between the sense-world and the world of ideas, and to destroy the uncertainty of human thought and life which results from this contradiction. from the time of plato it had worked at the problem of uniting, without contradiction, nature and spirit, whose contradictory nature had first been brought to notice by the founder of metaphysical idealism. religion, particularly in the mystery cults, had tried to solve in a practical way the problem that seemed insoluble by abstract means, and had sought to secure for man a new basis and resting-place by means of devotion and "revelation"--a mystic sinking into the depths of god. but paul's christianity first gave a form to all this obscure desire, a form which united the thrills and joy of mystic ecstasy with the certainty of a comprehensive religious view of the world, and enlightened men as to the deepest meaning of their emotional impulse towards certainty: man obtains unity with god and certainty as to the true reality, not by an abstract dialectic, as plato supposed; not by logical insight into the cosmos in the sense of an abstract knowledge attainable only by the few, but through faith, through the divine act of redemption. to adopt this internally, thereby to live with it directly--this alone can give man the possibility of emerging from the uncertainty and darkness of corporeal existence into the clear light of the spiritual. all certainty of the true or essential being is consequently a certainty of faith, and there is no higher certainty than that which is given to men in faith and piety. as christ died and was thereby freed from the bonds of the body and of the world, so also must man die in the spirit. he must lay aside the burden of this body, the real cause of all his ethical and intellectual shortcomings. he must inwardly rise with christ and be born again, thereby taking part in his spiritual certitude and gaining together with the "life in the spirit" salvation from all his present shortcomings. it is true that outwardly the body still exists, even after the inner act of redemption has taken place. even when the man who died with christ has arisen and has become a new man, he is nevertheless still subject to corporeal limitations. the redeemed man is still in the world and must fight with its influences. but what man gains in the union with the body of christ is the "spirit" of christ, which holds the members of the body together, shows itself to be active in everything which belongs to the body, and acts in man as a supernatural power. this spirit, as it dwells henceforth in the redeemed man, works and directs and drives him on to every action; lifts man in idea far above all the limitations of his fleshly nature; strengthens him in his weakness; shows him existence in a new light, so that henceforth he feels himself no longer bound; gives him the victory over the powers of earth, and enables him to anticipate, even in this life, the blessedness of his real and final redemption in a life to come. [ ] but the spirit of christ as such is equally the divine spirit. so that the redeemed, as they receive the spirit of christ, are the "sons" of god himself, and this is expressed by saying that with the spirit they "inherit the glorious freedom of the children of god." [ ] for, as paul says, "the lord is the spirit; but where the spirit is, there is freedom." [ ] so that when the christian feels himself transformed into a "new creature," equipped with power of knowledge and of virtue, blest in the consciousness of his victorious strength over carnal desires, and wins his peace in faith, this is only the consequence of a superhuman spirit working in him. hence the christian virtues of brotherly love, humility, obedience, &c., are necessary consequences of the possession of the spirit: "if we live by the spirit, by the spirit let us also walk." [ ] and if the faithful suddenly develop a fulness of new and wonderful powers, which exceed man's ordinary nature--such as facility in "tongues," in prophecy, and in the healing of the sick--this is, in the superstitious view of the age, only to be explained by the indwelling activity of a supernatural spirit-being that has entered man from the outside. certainly it does not seem clear, in the pauline conception of the redemption, how this heavenly spirit can at the same time be the spirit of man--how it can be active in man without removing the particular and original spirit of man, and without reducing the individual to a passive tool, to a lifeless puppet without self-determination and responsibility; how the man "possessed" by such a spirit can nevertheless feel himself free and redeemed by the spirit. for it is in truth an alien spirit, one that does not in essence belong to him, which enters man through the union with christ. yet it is supposed to be the spirit, not merely of the individual man, but also christ's personal spirit. one and the same spirit putting on a celestial body of light must be enthroned on the right hand of the father in heaven, and must also be on earth the spirit of those who believe in it, setting itself to work in them as the source of gnosis, of full mystic knowledge; and, as the power of god, as the spirit of salvation, must produce in them supernatural effects. [ ] it must be on the one hand an objective and actual spirit-being which in christ becomes man, dies, and rises again; and on the other hand an inner subjective power, which produces in each individual man the extinction of the flesh and a new birth which is to be shared by the faithful as the fruit of their individual redemption. that is perhaps comprehensible in the mode of thought of an age for which the idea of personality had as yet no definite meaning, and which consequently saw no contradiction in this, that a personal christ-spirit should at the same time inhabit a number of individual spirits; and which did not differentiate between the one, or rather the continual, act of redemption by god and its continual temporal repetition in the individual. we can understand this only if the pauline christ is a purely metaphysical being. it is, on the contrary, quite incomprehensible if paul is supposed to have gained his idea of the mediator of salvation from any experience of an historical jesus and his actual death. only because in his doctrine of the saving power of the christ-spirit paul had thought of no particular human personality could he imagine the immanence of the divine in the world to be mediated by that spirit. only because he connected no other idea with the personality of jesus than the book of wisdom or philo did with their particular immanence principles, does he declare that christ brings about salvation. so that christ, as the principle of redemption, is for paul only an allegorical or symbolical personality and not a real one. he is a personality such as were the heathen deities, who passed as general cosmic powers without prejudice to their appearing in human form. personality is for paul only another mode of expressing the supernatural spirituality and directed activity of the principle of redemption, in distinction from the blindly working powers and material realities of religious naturalism. it serves merely to suggest spirituality to an age which could only represent spirit as a material fluid. it corresponds simply to the popular conception of the principle of redemption, which treated this as bound up with the idea of a human being. but it in no way referred to a real historical individual, showing, in fact, just by the uncertainty and fluctuation of the idea, how far the christ of the pauline doctrine of redemption was from being connected with a definite historical reality. not because he so highly esteemed and revered jesus as an historical personality did paul make christ the bearer and mediator of redemption, but because he knew nothing at all of an historical jesus, of a human individual of this name, to whom he would have been able to transfer the work of redemption. "faithful disciples," wrede considers, "could not so easily believe that the man who had sat with them at table in capernaum, or had journeyed over the sea of galilee with them, was the creator of the world. for paul this obstacle was absent." [ ] but paul is nevertheless supposed to have met james, the "brother of the lord," and to have had dealings with him which would certainly have modified his view of jesus, if here there were really question of a corporeal brotherhood. what a wonderful idea our theologians must have of a man like paul if they think that it could ever have occurred to him to connect such tremendous conceptions with a human individual jesus as he does with his christ! it is true that there is a type of religious ecstasy in which the difference between man and god is completely lost sight of; and, especially at the beginning of our era, in the period of cæsar-worship and of the deepest religious superstition, it was not in itself unusual to deify, after his death, a man who was highly esteemed. a great lack of reason, a great mental confusion, an immense flight of imagination, would be necessary to transform a man not long dead, who was still clearly remembered by his relatives and contemporaries, not merely into a divine hero or demi-god, but into the world-forming spiritual principle, into the metaphysical mediator of redemption and the "second god." and if, as even wrede acknowledges in the above-quoted words, personal knowledge of jesus was really an "obstacle" to his apotheosis, how is it to be explained that the "first apostles" at jerusalem took no exception to that representation of paul's? they surely knew who jesus had been; they knew the master through many years' continual wandering with him. and however highly they may always have thought of the risen jesus, however intimately they may have joined in their minds the memory of the man jesus with the prevailing idea of the messiah, according to the prevalent theological opinion, even they are supposed to have risen in no way to such a boundless deification of their lord and master as paul undertook a comparatively short while after jesus' death. "paul already believed in such a heavenly being, in a divine christ, before he believed in jesus." [ ] the truth is that he never believed at all in the jesus of liberal theology. the "man" jesus already belonged to his faith in christ, so far as christ's act of redemption was supposed to consist in his humbling himself and becoming man--and no historical jesus was necessary for that. for paul also, just as for the whole heathen world, the man actually sacrificed in god's place was at best merely a chance symbol of the god presenting himself as victim. hence it cannot be said that the man jesus was but "the bearer of all the great attributes," which as such had been long since determined; [ ] or, as gunkel puts it, that the enthusiastic disciples had transferred to him all that the former judaism had been wont to ascribe to the messiah; and that consequently the christology of the new testament, in spite of its unhistorical nature, was nevertheless "a mighty hymn which history sings to jesus"(!). [ ] if we once agree as to the existence of a pre-christian jesus--and even gunkel, apart from robertson and smith, has worked for the recognition of this fact--then this can in the first place produce nothing but a strong suspicion against the historical jesus; and it seems a despairing subterfuge of the "critical" theology to seek to find capital, from the existence of a pre-christian jesus, for the "unique" significance of their "historical" jesus. christ's life and death are for paul neither the moral achievement of a man nor in any way historical facts, but something super-historical, events in the supersensible world. [ ] further, the "man" jesus comes in question for paul, just as did the suffering servant of god for isaiah, exclusively as an idea, and his death is, like his resurrection, but the purely ideal condition whereby redemption is brought about. "if christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain." [ ] on this declaration has till now been founded the chief proof that an historical jesus was to paul the pre-supposition of his doctrine. but really that declaration in paul's mouth points to nothing but the faith of his contemporaries, who expected natural and religious salvation from the resurrection of their god, whether he were called adonis, attis, dionysus, osiris, or anything else. the fact is therefore settled, that paul knew nothing of an historical jesus; and that even if he had known anything of him, this jesus in any case plays no part for him, and exercised no influence over the development of his religious view of the world. let us consider the importance of this: the very man from whom we derive the first written testimony as to christianity, who was the first in any way to establish it as a new religion differing from judaism, on whose teachings alone the whole further development of christian thought has depended--this paul knew absolutely nothing of jesus as an historical personality. in fact, with perfect justice from his point of view he was even compelled to excuse himself, when others wished to enlighten him as to such a personality! at the present day it will be acknowledged by all sensible people that, as ed. von hartmann declared more than thirty years ago, without paul the christian movement would have disappeared in the sand, just as the many other jewish religions have done--at best to afford interest to investigators as an historical curiosity--and paul had no knowledge of jesus! the formation and development of the christian religion began long before the jesus of the gospels appeared, and was completed independently of the historical jesus of theology. theology has no justification for treating christianity merely as the "christianity of christ," as it now is sufficiently evident; nor should it present a view of the life and doctrines of an ideal man jesus as the christian religion. [ ] the question raised at the beginning, as to what we learn from paul about the historical jesus, has found its answer--nothing. there is little value, then, in the objection to the disbelievers in such a jesus which is raised on the theological side in triumphant tones: that the historical existence of jesus is "most certainly established" by paul. this objection comes, in fact, even from such people as regard the new testament, in other respects, with most evidently sceptical views. the truth is that the pauline epistles contain nothing which would force us to the belief in an historical jesus; and probably no one would find such a person in them if that belief was not previously established in him. it must be considered that, if the pauline epistles stood in the edition of the new testament where they really belong--that is, before the gospels--hardly any one would think that jesus, as he there meets him, was a real man and had wandered on the earth in flesh and blood; but he would in all probability only find therein a detailed development of the "suffering servant of god," and would conclude that it was an irruption of heathen religious ideas into jewish thought. our theologians are, however, so strongly convinced of it a priori--that the pauline representation of christ actually arose from the figure of jesus wandering on earth--that even m. brückner confesses, in the preface to his work, that he had been "himself astonished" (!) at the result of his inquiry--the independence of the pauline representation of christ from the historical personality, jesus. [ ] christianity is a syncretic religion. it belongs to those multiform religious movements which at the commencement of our era were struggling with one another for the mastery. setting out from the apocalyptic idea and the expectation of the messiah among the jewish sects, it was borne on the tide of a mighty social agitation, which found its centre and its point of departure in the religious sects and mystery communities. its adherents conceived the messiah not merely as the saviour of souls, but as deliverer from slavery, from the lot of the poor and the oppressed, and as the bearer of a new justice. [ ] it borrowed the chief part of its doctrine, the specific point in which it differed from ordinary judaism, the central idea of the god sacrificing himself for mankind, from the neighbouring peoples, who had brought down this belief into asia, in connection with fire-worship, from its earlier home in the north. only in so far as that faith points in the end to an aryan origin can it be said that jesus was "an aryan"; any further statements on this point, such as, for example, chamberlain makes in his "grundlagen des neunzehnten jahrhunderts," are pure fancies, and rest on a complete misunderstanding of the true state of affairs. christianity, as the religion of christ, of the "lord," who secularised the jewish law by his voluntary death of expiation, did not "arise" in jerusalem, but, if anywhere, in the syrian capital antioch, one of the principal places of the worship of adonis. for it was at antioch where, according to the acts, [ ] the name "christians" was first used for the adherents of the new religion, who had till then been usually called nazarenes. [ ] that certainly is in sharpest contradiction to tradition, according to which christianity is supposed to have arisen in jerusalem and to have been thence spread abroad among the heathen. but luke's testimony as to the arising of the community of the messiah at jerusalem and the spreading of the gospel from that place can lay no claim to historical significance. even the account of the disciples' experience at easter and of the first appearances after the resurrection, from their contradictory and confused character appear to be legendary inventions. [ ] unhistorical, and in contradiction to the information on this point given by matthew and mark, is the statement that the disciples stayed in jerusalem after jesus' death, which is even referred by luke to an express command of the dead master. [ ] unhistorical is the assemblage at pentecost and the wonderful "miracle" of the outpouring of the holy ghost, which, as even clemen agrees, probably originated from the jewish legends, according to which the giving of the law on sinai was made in seventy different languages, in order that it might be understood by all peoples. [ ] but also stephen's execution and the consequent persecution of the community at jerusalem are legendary inventions. [ ] the great trouble which luke takes to represent jerusalem as the point whence the christian movement set out, clearly betrays the tendency of the author of the acts to misrepresent the activity of the christian propaganda, which really emanated from many centres, as a bursting out of the gospel from one focus. it is meant to produce the impression that the new religion spread from jerusalem over the whole world like an explosion; and thus its almost simultaneous appearance in the whole of nearer asia is explained. for this reason "devout jews of all nations" were assembled in jerusalem at pentecost, and could understand each other in spite of their different languages. for this reason stephen was stoned, and the motive given for that persecution which in one moment scattered the faithful in all directions. [ ] now it is certainly probable that there was in jerusalem, just as in many other places, a community of the messiah which believed in jesus as the god sacrificing himself for humanity. but the question is whether this belief, in the community at jerusalem, rested on a real man jesus; and whether it is correct to regard this community, some of whose members were personally acquainted with jesus, and who were the faithful companions of his wanderings, as the "original community" in the sense of the first germ and point of departure of the christian movement. we may believe, with fraser, that a jewish prophet and itinerant preacher, who by chance was named jesus, was seized by his opponents, the orthodox jews, on account of his revolutionary agitation, and was beheaded as the haman of the current year, thereby giving occasion for the foundation of the community at jerusalem. [ ] against this it may be said that our informants as to the beginning of the christian propaganda certainly vary, now making one assertion, now another, without caring whether these are contradictory; and they all strive to make up for the lack of any certain knowledge by unmistakable inventions. if the doctrine of jesus was, as smith declares, pre-christian, "a religion which was spread among the jews and especially the greeks within the limits of the century [ b.c. to a.d.], more or less secretly, and wrapped up in 'mysteries,'" then we can understand both the sudden appearance of christianity over so wide a sphere as almost the whole of nearer asia, and also the fact that even the earliest informants as to the beginning of the christian movement had nothing certain to tell. this, however, seems quite irreconcilable with the view of a certain, definite, local, and personal point of departure for the new doctrine. [ ] the objection will be raised: what about the gospels? they, at least, clearly tell the story of a human individual, and are inexplicable, apart from the belief in an historical jesus. the question consequently arises as to the source from which the gospels derived a knowledge of this jesus; for on this alone the belief in an historical jesus can rest. ii the jesus of the gospels however widely views may differ even now in the sphere of gospel criticism, all really competent investigators agree on one point with rare unanimity: the gospels are not historical documents in the ordinary sense of the word, but creeds, religious books, literary documents revealing the mind of the christian community. their purpose is consequently not to give information as to the life and teachings of jesus which would correspond to reality, but to awaken belief in jesus as the messiah sent from god for the redemption of his people, to strengthen and defend that belief against attacks. and as creeds they confine themselves naturally to recounting such words and events as have any significance for the faith; and they have the greatest interest in so arranging and representing the facts as to make them accord with the content of that faith. (a) the synoptic jesus. of the numerous gospels which were still current in the first half of the second century, as is well known, only four have come down to us. the others were not embodied by the church in the canon of the new testament writings, and consequently fell into oblivion. of these at most a few names and isolated and insignificant fragments remain to us. thus we know of a gospel of matthew, of thomas, of bartholomew, peter, the twelve apostles, &c. of our four gospels, two bear the names of apostles and two the names of companions and pupils of apostles, viz., mark and luke. in this, of course, it is in no way meant that they were really written by these persons. according to chrysostom these names were first assigned to them towards the end of the second century. and the titles do not run: gospel of matthew, of mark, and so on, but "according to" matthew, "according to" mark, luke, and john; so that they indicate at most only the persons or schools whose particular conception of the gospel they represent. of these gospels, again, that of john ranks as the latest. it presupposes the others, and shows such a dogmatic tendency, that it cannot be considered the source of the story. of the remaining gospels, which on account of their similarity as to form and matter have been termed "synoptic" (i.e., such as must be dealt with in connection with each other and thus only give a real idea of the saviour's personality), that of mark is generally regarded as the oldest. matthew and luke rely on mark, and all three, according to the prevailing view, are indebted to a common aramaic source, wherein jesus' didactic sermons are supposed to have been contained. tradition points to john mark, the nephew of barnabas, pupil of peter, and paul's companion on his first missionary journey and later a sharer in the captivity at rome, as the author of the gospel of mark. it is believed that this was written shortly after the destruction of jerusalem ( )--i.e., at least forty years after jesus' death (!). this tradition depends upon a note of the church historian eusebius (d. about a.d.), according to which papias, bishop of hierapolis in asia minor, learnt from the "elder john" that mark had set forth what he had heard from peter, and what this latter had in turn heard from the "lord." on account of its indirect nature and of eusebius' notorious unreliability this note is not a very trustworthy one, [ ] and belief in it should disappear in view of the fact that the author of the gospel of mark had no idea of the spot where jesus is supposed to have lived. and yet mark is supposed to have been born in jerusalem and to have been a missionary! as wernle shows in his work, "die quellen des lebens jesu," mark stands quite far from the life of jesus both in time and place(!); indeed, he has no clear idea of jesus' doings and course of life. [ ] and wrede confirms this in his work, "das messias-geheimnis" ( ), probably the clearest and deepest inquiry into the fundamental problem of the gospel of mark which we possess. jesus is for mark at once the messiah and the son of god. "faith in this dogma must be aroused, it must be established and defended. the whole gospel is a defence. mark wishes to lead all his readers, among whom he counts the heathens and gentile christians, to the recognition of what the heathen centurion said, 'truly this man was the son of god!' [ ] the whole account is directed to this end." [ ] mark's main proof for this purpose is that of miracles. jesus' doctrines are with mark of so much less importance than his miracles, that we never learn exactly what jesus preached. "consequently the historical portrait is very obscure: jesus' person is distorted into the grotesque and the fantastic"(!) [ ] not only does mark often introduce his own thought into the tradition about jesus, and so prove perfectly wrong, and indeed absurd, the view held, for instance, by wernle, that jesus had intentionally made use of an obscure manner of speech and had spoken in parables and riddles so as not to be understood by the people; [ ] but also the connection which he has established between the accounts, which had first gone from mouth to mouth for a long time in isolation, is a perfectly disconnected and external one. at first the stories reported by mark were totally disconnected with one another. there is no evidence at all of their having followed each other in the present order(!). [ ] so that only the matter, not what mark made of it, is of historical value. [ ] single stories, discourses, and phrases are bound into a whole by mark; and often enough it may be seen that we have here a tradition which was first built up in the earliest christianity long after jesus' death. experiences were at first gradually fashioned into a story--and the miracle-stories may especially be regarded in this way. in spite of all these trimmings and alterations, and in spite of the fact that neither in the words of jesus nor in the stories is it for the most part any longer possible to separate the actual from the traditional, which for forty years was not put into writing--in spite of all this, the historical value of the traditions given us by mark is "very highly" estimated. for not only is "the general impression of power, originality, and creation" "valuable," which is given in this account of mark's, but also there are so many individual phrases "corresponding to reality." numerous accounts, momentary pictures and remarks, "speak for themselves." the modesty and ingenuousness(!), the freshness and joy(!) with which mark recounts all this, show distinctly that he is here the reporter of a valid tradition, and that he writes nothing but what eye-witnesses have told him(!). "and so finally, in spite of all, this gospel remains an extraordinarily valuable work, a collection of old and genuine material, which is loosely arranged and placed under a few leading conceptions; produced perhaps by that mark whom the new testament knows, and of whom papias heard from the mouth of the elder john." [ ] one does not trust one's eyes with this style of attempting to set up mark as an even half-credible "historical source." this attempt will remind us only too forcibly of wrede's ironical remarks when he is making fun of the "decisions as you like it" that flourish in the study of jesus' life. "this study," says wrede, "suffers from psychological suggestion, and this is one style of historical solution." [ ] one believes that he can secure this, another that, as the historical nucleus of the gospel; but neither has objective proofs for his assertions. [ ] if we wish to work with an historical nucleus, we must really make certain of a nucleus. the whole point is, that in an anecdote or phrase something is proved, which makes any other explanation of the matter under consideration improbable, or at least doubtful. [ ] it seems very questionable, after his radical criticism of the historical credibility of mark's gospel, that wrede saw in it such a "historical kernel"--though this is supposed by wernle to "speak for itself." moreover, wrede's opinion of the "historian" mark is not essentially different from wernle's. in his opinion, for example, jesus' disciples, as the gospel portrays them, with their want of intelligence bordering on idiocy, their folly, and their ambiguous conduct as regards their master, are "not real figures." [ ] he also concedes, as we have stated, that mark had no real idea of the historical life of jesus, [ ] even if "pallid fragments"(!) of such an idea entered into his superhistorical faith-conception. "the gospel of mark," he says, "has in this sense a place among the histories of dogma." [ ] the belief that in it the development of jesus' public life is still perceptible appears to be decaying. [ ] "it would indeed be in the highest degree desirable that such a gospel were not the oldest." [ ] thus, then, does mark stand as an historical source. after this we could hardly hope to be much strengthened in our belief in jesus' historical reality by the other two synoptics. of these, luke's gospel must have been written, in the early part of the second century, by an unknown gentile christian; and matthew's is not the work of a single author, but was produced--and unmistakably in the interests of the church--by various hands in the first half of the second century. [ ] but now both, as we have said, are based on mark. and even if in their representations they have attained a certain "peculiar value" which is wanting in mark--e.g., a greater number of jesus' parables and words--even if they have embellished the story of his life by the addition of legendary passages (e.g., of the history of the time preceding the saviour, of many additions to the account of the passion and resurrection, &c.), this cannot quite establish the existence of an historical jesus. it is true that wernle takes the view that in this respect "old traditions" have been preserved "with wonderful fidelity" by both the evangelists; but, on the other hand, he concedes as to certain of luke's accounts that even if he had used old traditions they need not have been as yet written, and certainly they need not have been "historically reliable." it seems rather peculiar when, leaving completely on one side the historical value of the tradition, he emphatically declares that even such a strong interest, as in his opinion the evangelists had in the shaping and formation of their account, could not in any way set aside "the worth of its rich treasure of parables and stories, through which jesus himself [!] speaks to us with freshness and originality" (!). he also strangely sums up at the end, "that the peculiar value of both gospels, in spite of their very mixed nature, has claim enough on our gratitude"(!). [ ] this surely is simply to make use of the gospels' literary or other value in the interest of the belief in their historical credibility. but there is still the collection of sayings, that "great authority on the matter," from which all the synoptics, and especially luke and matthew, are supposed to have derived the material for their declarations about jesus. unfortunately this is to us a completely unknown quantity, as we know neither what this "great" authority treats of, nor the arrangement of the matter in it, nor its text. we can only say that this collection was written in the aramaic tongue, and the arrangement of its matter was not apparently chronological, but according to the similarity of its contents. again, it is doubtful whether the collection was a single work, produced by one individual; or whether it had had a history before it came to luke and matthew. all the same, "the collection contains such a valuable number of the lord's words, that in all probability an eye-witness was its author" (!). [ ] as for the speeches of jesus constructed from it, they were never really made as speeches by jesus, but owe the juxtaposition of their contents entirely to the hand of the compiler. thus the much admired sermon on the mount is constructed by placing together individual phrases of jesus, which belong to all periods of his life, perhaps made in the course of a year. the ideas running through it and connecting the parts are not those of jesus, but rather those of the original community; "nevertheless, the historical value of these speeches is, on the whole, very great indeed. together with the 'lord's words' of mark they give us the truest insight into the spirit of the gospel"(!). [ ] such are the authorities for the belief in an historical jesus! if we survey all that remains of the gospels, this does indeed appear quite "scanty," or, speaking plainly, pitiable. wernle consoles himself with, "if only it is certain and reliable." yes, if! "and if only it was able to give us an answer to the chief question: who was jesus?" [ ] this much is certain: a "life of jesus" cannot be written on the basis of the testimony before us. probably all present-day theologians are agreed on this point; which, however, does not prevent them producing new essays on it, at any rate for the "people," thus making up for the lack of historical reliability by edifying effusions and rhetorical phrases. "there is no lack of valuable historical matter, of stones for the construction of jesus' life; they lie before us plentifully. but the plan for the construction is lost and completely irretrievable, because the oldest disciples had no occasion for such an historical connection, but rather claimed obedience to the isolated words and acts, so far as they aroused faith." but would they have been less faith-arousing if they had been arranged connectedly, would the credibility of the accounts of jesus have been diminished and not much rather increased, if the evangelists had taken the trouble to give us some more information as to jesus' real life? as things stand at present, hardly two events are recounted in the same manner in the gospels, or even in the same connection. indeed, the differences and contradictions--and this not only as to unimportant things, such as names, times and places, &c.--are so great that these literary documents of christianity can hardly be surpassed in confusion. [ ] but even this is, according to wernle, "not so great a pity, if only we can discover with sufficient clearness, what jesus' actions and wishes were on important points." [ ] unfortunately we are not in a position to do even this. for the ultimate source of our information, which we arrive at in our examination of the authorities is completely unknown to us--the aramaic collection of sayings, and those very old traditions from which mark is supposed to have derived his production, gleanings of which have been preserved for us by luke and matthew. but even if we knew these also, we would almost certainly not have "come to jesus himself." "they contain the possibility of dispute and misrepresentation. they recount in the first place the faith of the oldest christians, a faith which arose in the course of four hundred years, and moreover changed much in that time." [ ] so that at most we know only the faith of the earliest community. we see how this community sought to make clear to itself through jesus its belief in the resurrection, how it sought to "prove" to itself and to others the divine nature of jesus by the recital of tales of miracles and the like. what jesus himself thought, what he did, what he taught, what his life was, and--might we say it?--whether he ever lived at all--that is not to be learnt from the gospels, and, according to all the preceding discussion, cannot be settled from them with lasting certainty. of course the liberal theologian, for whom everything is compatible with an historical jesus, has many resources. he explains that all the former discussion has not touched the main point, and that this point is--what was jesus' attitude to god, to the world, and to mankind? what answer did he give to the questions: what matters in the eyes of god? and what is religion? this should indicate that the solution of the problem is contained in what has preceded, and that this solution is unknown to us. but such is not the case. wernle knows it, and examines it "in the clear light of day." "from his numerous parables and sermons and from countless momentary recollections it comes to us as clearly and distinctly as if jesus were our contemporary [!]. no man on earth can say that it is either uncertain or obscure how jesus thought on this point, which is to us [viz., to the liberal theologians] even at the present day the chief point." "and if christianity has forgotten for a thousand years what its master desired first and before all, to-day [i.e., after the clear solutions of critical theology] it shines on us once more from the gospels as clearly and wonderfully, as if the sun were newly risen, driving before its conquering rays all the phantoms and shadows of night." [ ] and so wernle himself, to whom we owe this consoling assurance, has written a work, "die anfänge unserer religion" ( ), which is highly esteemed in theological circles, and in which he has given a detailed account, in a tone of overwhelming assurance, of the innermost thoughts, views, words, and teachings of jesus and of his followers, just as if he had been actually present. we must be careful of our language. these are indeed the views of a man who must be taken seriously, with whom we have been dealing above, a "shining light" of his science! the often cited work on "die quellen des lebens jesu" belongs to the series of "popular books on the history of religion," which contains the quintessence of present-day theological study, and which is intended for the widest circles interested and instructed in religion. we may suppose, probably with justice, that that work expresses what the liberal theology of our day wishes the members of the community subject to it to know and to believe. or is it only that the popular books on the history of religion place the intellectual standard of their readers so low that they think they can strengthen the educated in their belief in an historical jesus by productions such as wernle's? we consider the more "scientifically" elaborated works of other important theologians on the same subject. we think of beyschlag, harnack, bernard weiss, of pfleiderer, jülicher, and holtzmann. we consult bousset, who defended against kalthoff, with such great determination and warmth, the existence of an historical jesus. everywhere there is the same half-comic, half-pathetic drama: on the one hand the evangelical authorities are depreciated and the information is criticised away to such an extent that hardly anything positive remains from it; on the other hand there is a pathetic enthusiasm for the so-called "historical kernel." then comes praise for the so-called critical theology and its "courageous truthfulness," which, however, ultimately consists only in declaring evident myths and legends to be such. this was known for a long time previously among the unprejudiced. there usually follows a hymn to jesus with ecstatic raising of the eyes, as if all the statements concerning him in the gospels still had validity. what then does hausrath say?--"to conceal the miraculous parts of the [evangelical] accounts and then to give out the rest as historical, has not hitherto passed as criticism." [ ] can we object to catholic theology because it looks with open pity on the whole of protestant "criticism," and reproaches it with the inconsistency, incompleteness, and lack of results, which is the mark of all its efforts to discover the beginnings of christianity. [ ] is it not right in rejoicing at the blow which protestantism has sustained and from which it must necessarily suffer through all such attempts at accepting the gospels as basis for a belief in an historical jesus? certainly what catholic theologians bring forward in favour of the historical jesus is so completely devoid of any criticism or even of any genuine desire to elucidate the facts, that it would be doing them too much honour to make any more detailed examination of their works on this point. for them the whole problem has a very simple solution in this: the existence of the historical jesus forms the unavoidable presupposition of the church, even though every historical fact should register its veto against it; and as one of its writers has put it, that is at bottom the long-established and unanimous view of all our inquiries into the subject under discussion: "the historical testimony for the authenticity of the gospels is as old, as extensive, and as well established as it is for very few other books of ancient literature [!]. if we do not wish to be inconsistent we cannot question their authenticity. their credibility is beyond question; for their authors were eye-witnesses of the events [!] related, or they gained their information from such; they were as competent judges [!] as men loving the truth can well be; they could, and in fact were obliged to speak the truth." [ ] how distinguished, as compared with this kind of theologian, kalthoff seems! it is true that we are obliged to allow for the one-sidedness and insufficiency of his positive working out of the origin of christianity, of his attempt to explain it, on the basis of mark's handling of the story, purely on the lines of social motives, and to represent christ as the mere reflection of the christian community and of its experiences. quite certainly he is wrong in identifying the biblical pilate with pliny, the governor of bithynia under trajan, and in the proof based on this; and this because in all probability pliny's letter to the emperor is a later christian forgery. [ ] but kalthoff is quite right in what he says about modern critical theology and its historical jesus. the critical theologians may think themselves justified in treating this embarrassing opponent as "incompetent," or in ignoring him on account of the mistaken basis of argument; but all the efforts made with such great perseverance and penetration by historical theologians to derive from the authorities before us proof of the existence of a man jesus in the traditional sense have led, as kalthoff very justly says, to a purely negative conclusion. "the numerous passages in the gospels which this theology, in maintaining its historical jesus, is obliged to place on one side and pass over, stand from a literary point of view exactly on the same footing as those passages from which it constructs its historical jesus; and consequently they claim historical value equal to these latter. the synoptic christ, in whom modern theology thinks it finds the characteristics of the historical jesus, stands not a hair's breadth nearer to a human interpretation of christianity than the christ of the fourth gospel. what the epigones of liberal theology think they can distil from this synoptic christ as historical essence has historical value only as a monument of masterly sophistry, which has produced its finest examples in the name of theological science." [ ] historical research should not have so long set apart from all other history that of early christianity as the special domain of theology and handed it over to churchmen, as if for the decision of the questions on this point quite special talent was necessary--a talent far beyond the ordinary sphere of science and one which was only possessed by the church theologian. the world would then long since have done with the whole literature of the "life of jesus." the sources which give information of the origin of christianity are of such a kind that, considering the present standard of historical research, no historian would care to undertake an attempt to produce the biography of an historical christ. [ ] they are, we can add, of such a nature that a real historian, who meets them without a previous conviction or expectation that he will find an historical jesus in it, cannot for a moment doubt that he has here to do with religious fiction, [ ] with myth in an historical form, which does not essentially differ from other myths and legends--such as perhaps the legend of tell. supplement: jesus in secular literature. there seems to be but little hope of considerably adding to the weight of the reasons in favour of the historical existence of jesus by citing documents of secular literature. as is well known, only two passages of the jewish historian josephus, and one in each of the roman historians, tacitus and suetonius, must be considered in this connection. as for the testimony of josephus in his "antiquities," which was written a.d., the first passage (viz., xviii. , ) is so evidently an after-insertion of a later age, that even roman catholic theologians do not venture to declare it authentic, though they always attempt, with pitiful naïveté, to support the credibility of pre-christian documents of this type. [ ] but the other passage, too (xx. , ), which states that james was executed under the authority of the priest ananos (a.d. ), and refers to him as "the brother of jesus, the so-called christ," in the opinion of eminent theologians such as credner, [ ] schürer, [ ] &c., must be regarded as a forgery; [ ] but even if its authenticity were established it would still prove nothing in favour of the historical jesus. for, first, it leaves it undecided whether a bodily relationship is indicated by the word "brother," or whether, as is much more likely, the reference is merely to a religious brotherhood (see above, sq.). secondly, the passage only asserts that there was a man of the name of jesus who was called christ, and this is in no way extraordinary in view of the fact that at the time of josephus, and far into the second century, many gave themselves out as the expected messiah. [ ] the roman historians' testimony is in no better case than that of josephus. it is true that tacitus writes in his "annals" (xv. ), in connection with the persecution of the christians under nero ( ), that "the founder of this sect, christ, was executed in tiberius' reign by the procurator pontius pilate"; and suetonius states in his biography of the emperor claudius, chap. xxv., that he "drove out of rome the jews, who had caused great disturbances at the instigation of chrestus." what does this prove? are we so certain that the passage cited from tacitus as to the persecution of the christians under nero is not after all a later insertion and falsification of the original text? this is indeed the case, judging from hochart's splendid and exhaustive inquiry. in fact, everything points to the idea that the "first persecution of the christians," which is previously mentioned by no writers, either jewish or heathen, is nothing but the product of a christian's imagination in the fifth century. [ ] but let us admit the authenticity of tacitus' assertion; let us suppose also that by suetonius' chrestus is really meant christ and not a popular jewish rioter of that name; let us suppose that the unrest of the jews was not connected with the expectation of the messiah, or that the roman historian, in his ignorance of the jewish dreams of the future, did not imagine a leader of the name of chrestus. [ ] can writers of the first quarter of the second century after christ, at which time the tradition was already formed and christianity had made its appearance in history as a power, be regarded as independent authorities for facts which are supposed to have taken place long before the birth of the tradition? tacitus can at most have heard that the christians were followers of a christ who was supposed to have been executed under pontius pilate. that was probably even at that time in the gospels--and need not, therefore, be a real fact of history. and if it has been proved, according to mommsen, that tacitus took his material from the protocols of the senate and imperial archives, there has equally been, on the other hand, a most definite counter-assertion that he never consulted these authorities. [ ] lately, tacitus proving to be slightly inconsistent, it has been usual to refer to pliny's letter to the emperor trajan, asserting that the historical jesus is certified to in this. the letter hinges on the question of what pliny's attitude as governor of bithynia must be to the christians; so that naturally the christians are much spoken of, and once even there is mention of christ, whose followers sing alternate hymns to him "as to a god" (quasi deo). but jesus as an historical person is not once mentioned in the whole letter; and christ was even for paul a "quasi-god," a being fluctuating between man and god. what then is proved by the letter of pliny as to the historical nature of jesus? it only proves the liberal theologians' dilemma over the whole question, that they think they can cite these witnesses again and again for strengthening the belief in an historical jesus, as, e.g. melhorn does in his work "wahrheit und dichtung im leben jesu" (in "aus natur und geisteswelt," ), trying to make it appear that these witnesses are in any way worthy of consideration. joh. weiss also--according to the newspaper account--in his lecture on christ in the berlin vacation-course of march, , confessed that "statements from secular literature as to the historical nature of jesus which are absolutely free of objection are very far from having been authenticated." even an orthodox theologian like kropatscheck writes in the "kreuzzeitung" (april , ): "it is well known that the non-christian writers in a very striking way ignore the appearing of christ. the few small notices in tacitus, suetonius, &c., are easily enumerated. though we date our chronology from him, his advent made no impression at all on the great historians of his age. the talmud gives a hostile caricature of his advent which has no historical value. the jewish historian, flavius josephus, from whom we might have expected information of the first rank, is absolutely silent. we are referred to our gospels, as paul also says little of the life of jesus; and we can understand how it is that attempts are always being made to remove him, as an historical person, from the past." the objection to this, that the secular writers, even though they give no positive testimony for jesus' historical existence, have never brought it in question, is of very little strength. for the writings considered in it, viz., justin's conversation with the jew trypho, as well as the polemical work of celsus against christianity, both belong to the latter half of the second century, while the passages in the talmud referred to are probably of a later date, and all these passages are merely based on the tradition. so that this "proof from silence" is in reality no proof. it is, rather, necessary to explain why the whole of the first century, apart from the gospels, seems to know nothing of jesus as an historical personality. the frenchman hochart ridicules the theological attitude: "it seems that the most distinguished men lose a part of their brilliant character in the study of martyrology. let us leave it to german theologians to study history in their way. we frenchmen wish throughout our inquiries to preserve our clearness of mind and healthy common-sense. let us not invent new legends about nero: there are really too many already." [ ] (b) the objections against a denial of the historicity of the synoptic jesus. there the matter ends: we know nothing of jesus, of an historical personality of that name to whom the events and speeches recorded in the gospels refer. "in default of any historical certainty the name of jesus has become for protestant theology an empty vessel, into which that theology pours the content of its own meditations." [ ] and if there is any excuse for this, it is that that name has never at any time been anything but such an empty vessel: jesus, the christ, the deliverer, saviour, physician of oppressed souls, has been from first to last a figure borrowed from myth, to whom the desire for redemption and the naïve faith of the western asiatic peoples have transferred all their conceptions of the soul's welfare. the "history" of this jesus in its general characteristics had been determined even before the evangelical jesus. even weinel, one of the most zealous and enthusiastic adherents of the modern jesus-worship, confesses that "christology was almost completed before jesus came on earth." [ ] it was not, however, merely the general frame and outlines of the "history" of jesus which had been determined in the messiah-faith, in the idea of a divine spirit sent from god, of the "son of man" of daniel and the jewish apocalyptics, &c., not merely that this vague idea was filled out with new content through the redeemer-worship of the neighbouring heathen peoples. besides this, many of the individual traits of the jesus-figure were present, some in heathen mythology, some in the old testament; and they were taken thence and worked into the evangelical representation. there is, for instance, the story of the twelve-year old jesus in the temple. "who would have invented this story?" asks jeremias. "nevertheless," he thinks it "probable" that in this luke was thinking of philo's description of the life of moses; he calls to mind that plutarch gives us a quite similar statement concerning alexander, whose life was consciously decorated with all the traits of the oriental king-redeemer. [ ] perhaps, however, the account comes from a buddhist origin. the account of the temptation of jesus also sounds very much like the temptation of buddha, so far as it is not derived from the temptation of zarathustra by ahriman [ ] or the temptation of moses by the devil, of which the rabbis told, [ ] while jesus is said to have entered upon his ministry in his thirtieth year, [ ] because at that age the levite was fitted for his sacred office. [ ] till then (i.e., till his baptism) we learn nothing of jesus' life. similarly isa. liii. , jumps from the early youth of the servant of god ("he grew up as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness, is despised and rejected of men") straight to his passion and death; while the gospels attempt to fill in the interval from jesus' baptism up to his passion by painting in further so-called messianic passages from the old testament and words of jesus. we know how the early christians liked to rediscover their faith in the scriptures and see it predicted, and with what zeal they consequently studied the old testament and altered the "history" of their jesus to make it agree with those predictions, thus rendering it valuable as corroboration of their own notions. in this connection it has been shown above how the "ride of the beardless one" influenced the collection of the tribute and his direct attack on the shopkeepers and money-changers in the evangelical account of jesus' advent to the temple at jerusalem. [ ] but the more detailed development of this scene is determined by zech. ix. , mal. iii. - , and isa. i. sqq., and the words placed in jesus' mouth on this occasion are taken from isa. lvi. and jer. vii. sqq., so that this "most important" event in jesus' life can lay no claim to historical actuality. [ ] and again the account of the betrayal, of the thirty pieces of silver, and of judas' death, have their source in the old testament, viz., in the betrayal and death of ahitophel. [ ] to what extent in particular the figures of moses, with reference to deut. xviii. and xxxiv. , of joshua, of elijah and elisha, influenced the portrayal of the evangelical jesus has also been traced even by the theological party. [ ] jesus has to begin his activities through baptism in the jordan, because moses had begun his leadership of israel with the passage through the red sea and joshua at the time of the passover led the people through the jordan, and this passage (of the sun through the watery regions of the sky) was regarded as baptism. [ ] he has to walk on the water, even as moses, joshua, and elias walked dryshod through the water. he has to awaken the dead, like elijah; [ ] to surround himself with twelve or seventy disciples and apostles, just as moses had surrounded himself with twelve chiefs of the people and seventy elders, and as joshua had chosen twelve assistants at the passage of the jordan; [ ] he has to be transfigured, [ ] and to ascend into heaven like moses [ ] and elijah. [ ] elijah (eli-scha) and jeho-schua (joshua, jesus) agree even in their names, so that on this ground alone it would not have been strange if the prophet of the old testament had served as prototype of his evangelical namesake. [ ] now jesus places himself in many ways above the mosaic law, especially above the commands as to food, [ ] and in this at least one might find a trait answering to reality. but in the rabbinical writings we find: "it is written, [ ] the lord sets loose that which is bound; for every creature that passes as unclean in this world, the lord will pronounce clean in the next." [ ] so that similarly the disposition of the law belongs to the general characteristics of the messiah, and cannot be historical of jesus, because if it were the attitude of the jewish christians to paul on account of his disposition of the law would be incomprehensible. [ ] the contrary attitude, which is likewise represented by jesus, [ ] was already foreseen in the messianic expectation. for while some hoped for a lightening and amendment of the law by the messiah, others thought of its aggravation and completion. in micah iv. the messiah was to exert his activity, not merely among the jews, but also among the gentiles, and the welfare of the kingdom of the messiah was to extend also to the latter. according to isaiah lx. and zechariah xiv., on the contrary, the gentiles were to be subjected and brought to nothing, and only the jews were worthy of participation in the kingdom of god. for that reason jesus had to declare himself with like determination for both conceptions, [ ] without any attempt being made to reconcile the contradiction contained in this. [ ] that the parents of jesus were called joseph and mary, and that his father was a "carpenter," were determined by tradition, just as the name of his birthplace, nazareth, was occasioned by the name of a sect (nazaraios = protector), or by the fact that one sect honoured the messiah as a "branch of the root of jesse" (nazar isai). [ ] it was a messianic tradition that he began his activity in galilee and wandered about as physician, saviour, redeemer, and prophet, as mediator of the union of israel, and as one who brought light to the gentiles, not as an impetuous oppressor full of inconsiderate strength, but as one who assumed a loving tenderness for the weak and despairing. [ ] he heals the sick, comforts the afflicted, and proclaims to the poor the gospel of the nearness of the kingdom of god. that is connected with the wandering of the sun through the twelve signs of the zodiac (galil = circle), and is based on isa. xxxv. sqq., xlii. - , xlix. sqq., as well as on isa. lxi. , a passage which jesus himself, according to luke iv. sqq., began his teaching in nazareth by explaining. [ ] he had to meet with opposition in his work of salvation, and nevertheless endure patiently, because of isa. . . naturally jesus, behind whose human nature was concealed a god, and to whom the pilgrim "saviour" jason corresponded, [ ] was obliged to reveal his true nature by miraculous healing, and could not take a subordinate place in this regard among the cognate heathen god-redeemers. at most we may wonder that even in this the old testament had to stand [ ] as a model, and that jesus' doings never surpass those which the heathens praise in their gods and heroes, e.g., asclepius. indeed, according to tacitus [ ] even the emperor vespasian accomplished such miracles at alexandria, where, on being persistently pressed by the people, he healed both a lame man and a blind, and this almost in the same way as jesus did, by moistening their eyes and cheeks with spittle; which information is corroborated also by suetonius [ ] and dio cassius. [ ] but the most marvellous thing is that the miracles of jesus have been found worth mentioning by the critical theology, and that there is an earnest search for an "historical nucleus," which might probably "underlie them." all the individual characteristics cited above are, however, unimportant in comparison with the account of the last supper, of the passion, death (on the cross), and resurrection of jesus. and yet what is given us on these points is quite certainly unhistorical; these parts of the gospels owe their origin, as we have stated, merely to cult-symbolism and to the myth of the dying and rising divine saviour of the western asiatic religions. no "genius" was necessary for their invention, as everything was given: the derision, [ ] the flagellation, both the thieves, the crying out on the cross, the sponge with vinegar (psa. lxix. ), the piercing with a lance, [ ] the soldiers casting dice for the dead man's garments, also the women at the place of execution and at the grave, the grave in a rock, are found in just the same form in the worship of adonis, attis, mithras, and osiris. even the saviour carrying his cross is copied from hercules (simon of cyrene), [ ] bearing the pillars crosswise, as well as from the story of isaac, who carried his own wood to the altar on which he was to be sacrificed. [ ] but where the authors of the gospels have really found something new, e.g., in the account of jesus' trial, of the roman and jewish procedure, they have worked it out in such an ignorant way, and to one who knows something about it betray so significantly the purely fictitious nature of their account, that here really there is nothing to wonder at except perhaps the naïveté of those who still consider that account historical, and pique themselves a little on their "historical exactness" and "scientific method." [ ] is not robertson perhaps right after all in considering the whole statement of the last fate of jesus to be the rewriting of a dramatic mystery-play, which among the gentile christians of the larger cities followed the sacramental meal on easter day? we know what a great rôle was played by dramatic representations in numerous cults of antiquity, and how they came into especial use in connection with the veneration of the suffering and rising god-redeemers. thus in egypt the passion, death, and resurrection of osiris and the birth of horus; at eleusis the searching and lamentation of demeter for her lost persephone and the birth of iacchus; at lernæ in argolis and many other places the fate of dionysus (zagreus); in sicyon the suffering of adrastos, who threw himself on to the funeral pyre of his father hercules; at amyclæ the passing away of nature and its new life in the fate of hyacinth: these were celebrated in festal pageants and scenic representations, to say nothing of the feasts of the death and resurrection of mithras, attis, and adonis. certainly matthew's account, xx.-xxviii. (with the exception of verses - in the last chapter), with its connected sequence of events, which could not possibly have actually followed each other like this--supper, gethsemane, betrayal, passion, peter's denial, the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection--throughout gives one the impression of a chain of isolated dramatic scenes. and the close of the gospel agrees very well with this conception, for the parting words and exhortations of jesus to his people are a very suitable ending to a drama. [ ] if we allow this, an explanation is given of the "clearness" which is so generally praised in the style of the gospels by the theologians and their following, and which many think sufficient by itself to prove the historical nature of the synoptic representation of jesus. of course, wrede has already warned us "not too hastily to consider clearness a sign of historical truth. a writing may have a very secondary, even apocryphal character, and yet show much clearness. the question always is how this was obtained." [ ] wernle and wrede quite agree that at least in mark's production the clearness is of no account at all, while clearness in the other gospels is found just in those parts which admittedly belong to the sphere of legend. and how clearly and concretely do not our authors of the various "lives of jesus," not to mention renan, or our ministers in the pulpits describe the events of the gospels, with how many small and attractive traits do they not decorate these events, in order that they should have a greater effect on their listeners! this kind of clearness and personal stamp is really nothing but a matter of the literary skill and imagination of the authors in question. the writings of the old testament, and not merely the historical writings, are also full of a most clear ability for narration and of most individual characteristics, which prove how much the rabbinical writers in palestine knew of this side of literary activity. or is anything wanting to the clearness and individual characterisation, to which kalthoff also has alluded, of the touching story of ruth; of the picture of the prophet jonah, of judith, esther, job, &c? and then the stories of the patriarchs--the pious abraham, the good-natured, narrow-minded esau, the cunning jacob, and their respective wives--or, to take one case, how clear is not the meeting of abraham's servant with rebecca at the well! [ ] or let us consider moses, elijah, samson--great figures who in their most essential traits demonstrably belong to myth and religious fable! if in preaching our ministers can go so vividly into the details of the story of the saviour that fountains of poetry are opened and there stream forth from their lips clear accounts of jesus' goodness of heart, of his heroic greatness, and of his readiness for the sacrifice, how much more would this have been so at first in the christian community, when the new religion was still in its youth, when the faith in the messiah was as yet unweakened by sceptical doubts, and when the heart of man was still filled with the desire for immediate and final redemption? and even if we are confronted with a host of minor traits, which cannot so easily be accounted for by religious motives and poetic imagination, must these all refer to the same real personality? may they not be based on events which are very far from being necessarily experiences of the liberal theology's historical jesus? even edward v. hartmann, who is generally content to adhere to the historical jesus, suggests the possibility "that several historical personages, who lived at quite different times, have contributed concrete individual characteristics to the picture of jesus." [ ] there is a great deal of talk about the "uninventable" in the evangelical representation. von soden even goes so far as to base his chief proof for the historical existence of jesus on this individuality that cannot be invented. [ ] as if there was any such thing as what cannot be invented for men with imagination! and as if all the significant details of jesus' life were not invented on the lines of the so-called messianic passages in the old testament, in heathen mythology, and in the imported conceptions of the messiah! the part that is professedly "uninventable" shrinks continuously the more assiduously criticism busies itself with the gospels; and the word can at present apply only to side-issues and matters of no importance. we are indeed faced with the strange fact, that all the essential part of the gospels, everything which is of importance for religious faith, such as especially the passion, death, and resurrection of jesus, is demonstrably invented and mythical; but such parts as can at best only be historical because of their supposed "uninventable" nature are of no importance for the character of the gospel representation! now, it has been shown that the gospel picture of jesus is not without deficiencies. we may see a proof [ ] of the historical nature of the events referred to in small traits, as, for example, in jesus' temporary inability to perform miracles, [ ] the circumstance that he is not represented as omniscient, [ ] the attitude of his relatives to him. [ ] so the theologian schmiedel set up first five and then nine passages as "clearly credible," and pronounced these to be the basis of a really scientific knowledge of jesus. the passages are mark x. sqq. (why callest thou me good?), matt. xii. sqq. (the sin against the holy ghost shall not be forgiven), mark iii. (he is beside himself), mark xiii. (but the day and the hour is known to no man), mark xv. (my god, why has thou forsaken me?), mark vi. (and he could there do no mighty work), mark viii. (there shall no sign be given unto this generation), mark viii. - (reproaching the disciples on the occasion of the lack of bread), matt. xi. (the blind see, the lame walk). all these "bases" evidently have a firm support only on the supposition that the gospels are meant to paint a stainless ideal, a god, that they are at most but a conception, such, perhaps, as has been set up by bruno bauer. but they are useless from the point of view intended, as portraying a man. if, however, the evangelists' intention was to paint the celestial christ of the apostle paul, the god-man, the abstract spirit-being, as a completely real man for the eyes of the faithful, to place him on the ground of historical reality, and so to treat seriously paul's "idea" of humanity, they were obliged to give him also human characteristics. and these could be either invented afresh or taken from the actual life of honoured teachers, in which the fact is acknowledged that, even for the noblest and best of men, there are hours of despair and grief, that the prophet is worth nothing in his own fatherland, or is even unknown to his nearest relatives. even the prophet elijah, the old testament precursor of the messiah, who has in many ways determined the picture of jesus, is said to have had moments of despair in which he wanted to die, till god strengthened him anew to the fulfilment of his vocation. [ ] moreover, mark x. was a commonplace in all ancient philosophy from the time of plato, and gained that form by an alteration of the original text (a. pott, "der text des neuen testaments nach seiner gesch. entwicklung" in "aus natur und geisteswelt," , p. , sq.); mark xiv. is taken from the nd psalm, which has also in other respects determined the details of the account of the crucifixion. mark iii. is, as schleiermacher showed and strauss corroborated, a pure invention of the evangelist, the words of the pharisees being put into their mouths, as their opinion, in order to explain jesus' answer by the assertion of his kinship (strauss, "leben jesu," i. ; cf. also psa. lix. : "i am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children"). matt. xi. is based on isaiah xxxv. , xlii. , xlix. , lxi. , which runs in the septuagint: "the spirit of the lord is upon me; because the lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the poor; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to the blind the opening of their eyes; to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord, and the day of vengeance of our god; to comfort all that mourn." [ ] schmiedel's nine "bases" consequently are at most testimony to a "lost glory"; but the construction of a "really scientific" life of jesus cannot possibly arise from them. [ ] clearness of exposition, then, can never afford a proof of the historical nature of the matter concerned. and how easily is not this clearness imported by us into the evangelical information! we are brought up in the atmosphere of these tales, and carry about with us, under the influence of the surrounding christianity, an imaginary picture of them, which we unwittingly introduce into our reading of the gospels. and how subjective and dependent on the reader's "taste" the impression of clearness given by the gospel picture of jesus is, to what a great extent personal predilections come in, is evidenced by this fact, that a vollers could not discover in the gospels any real man of flesh and blood, but only a "shadowy image," which he analysed into a thaumaturgical (the miracle-worker) and a soteriological (the saviour) part. [ ] in opposition to the efforts of the historical theology to give jesus a "unique" position above that of all other founders of religions, vollers justly remarks how difficult it must be for the purely historical treatment to recognise these and similar assertions. "the improbability, not to say impossibility, of the soteriological picture is too obvious. at bottom this picture of critical theology is nothing but the contemporary transformation of schleiermacher's ideal man; what must have a hundred years ago appeared comprehensible as the product of a refined moravianism, in the atmosphere of fichte, schelling, and hegel, is nowadays a mere avoidance of an open and honourable analysis from the point of view that prevails outside of theology, and is principally known in the spheres of nature and of history. who would deny that the tone of the catechism and of the pulpit, that full-sounding words of many meanings, even the concealment and glossing over of unpleasant admissions, play a part in this sphere such as they could never have in in any other science?" we are then reduced to the individual maxims and sermons of jesus. these must be proved to be intelligible only as the personal experiences and thoughts of one supreme individual. unfortunately just this, as has already been proved, seems peculiarly doubtful. as for jesus' sermons, we have already understood from wernle that they were in any case not received from jesus in the form in which they have been handed down to us, but were subsequently compiled by the evangelists from isolated and occasional maxims of his. [ ] these single phrases and occasional utterances of jesus are supposed to have been taken in the last resort partly from oral tradition, partly from the aramaic collection--that "great source" of wernle's--which was translated into greek by the gospels. the existence of this source has been established only very indirectly, and we know absolutely nothing more of it. but it is self-evident that even in the translation from one language into another much of the originality of those "words of the lord" must have been lost; and, as may be shown, the different evangelists have "translated" the same words quite differently. whether it will be possible to reconstruct the original work, as critical theology is striving to do, from the material before us, seems very questionable. and we are given no guarantee that we have to do with actual "words of the lord" as they were contained in the aramaic collection. even if the evangelist is supposed to have expressed the original meaning, what is to assure us that this phrase was spoken by jesus just in this way, and not in other connections, if even the phrases were taken down as soon as uttered? but this is admittedly supposed not to have occurred till after jesus' death, after his messianic significance was clearly recognised, and after people were making efforts to go back in memory to the master's figure and preserve of his sayings any that were serviceable. bousset, indeed, in his work, "was wissen wir von jesus?"--which was directed against kalthoff--has referred to the "good oriental memory of the disciples." all who know the east from personal experience are in tolerable agreement on one point, viz., how little an oriental is able to repeat what he has heard or experienced in a true and objective fashion. consequently there are in the east no historical traditions in our sense of the word, but all important events are decorated like a novel, and are changed according to the necessities of the moment. such maxims, indeed, as "love your enemies," "to give is more blessed than to receive," "no one but god is good," "blessed are the poor," "you are the light of the world," "give to cæsar that which is cæsar's," &c., once heard may be "not easily forgotten," as the theological phrase runs. but also they are not of such a kind that the jesus of liberal theology was necessary for their invention. we need not here take into consideration how many of jesus' expressions may have been imported into the gospels from the mystery drama, with whose existence we must nevertheless reckon, and from which phrases may have been changed into sayings of the "historical" jesus. such obscure and high-flown passages as, e.g., matt. x. sq.; xi. - , xxvi. , and xxviii. , give one the impression of coming from the mouth of god's representative on the stage; and this probability is further increased when we meet quite similar expressions, such as of the "light burden" and the "easy yoke," in the mysteries of mithras or of isis. [ ] bousset admits that all the individual words which have been handed down to us as expressions of jesus are "mediated by the tradition of a community, and have passed through many hands." [ ] they are, as strauss has observed, like pebbles which the waves of tradition have rolled and polished, setting them down here and there and uniting them to this and that mass. "we are," steck remarks, "absolutely certain of no single word of the gospels--that it was spoken by jesus just in this way and in no other." [ ] "it would be very difficult," thinks vollers, "to refer even one expression, one parable, one act of this ideal man to jesus of nazareth with historical certainty, let us say with the same certainty with which we attribute the epistle to the galatians to the apostle paul, or explain the johannine logos as the product of greek philosophy." [ ] even one of the leaders of protestant orthodoxy, professor kähler, of halle, admitted, as was stated in the "kirchliche monatsblatt für rheinland und westfalen," in a theological conference held in dortmund, that we possess "no single authentic word" of jesus. any attempt, such as chamberlain has made, to gather from the tradition a certain nucleus of "words of jesus," is consequently mistaken; and if nothing is to be a criterion but one's personal feelings, it would be better to confess at once that here there can be no talk of any kind of decision. it is, then, settled that we cannot with certainty trace back to an historical jesus any single one of the expressions of the "lord" that have come down to us. even the oldest authority, the aramaic collection, may have contained merely the tradition of a community. can we then think that the supporters of an "historical" jesus are right in treating it as nothing more than a "crude sin against all historical methods," as something most monstrous and unscientific, if one draws the only possible inference from the result of the criticism of the gospels, and disputes the existence at any time of an historical jesus? there may after all have been such a collection of "words of the lord" in the oldest christian communities; but must we understand by this words of a definite human individual? may they not rather have been words which had an authoritative and canonical acceptation in the community, being either specially important or congenial to it, and which were for this reason attributed to the "lord"--that is, to the hero of the association or cult, jesus? it has been generally agreed that this was the case, for example, with the directions as to action in the case of quarrels among the members of the community [ ] and with regard to divorce. [ ] let us also recall to our minds the "words of the lord" in the other cult-associations of antiquity, the autos epha of the pythagoreans. and how many particularly popular, impressive, and favourite sayings were current in antiquity bearing the names of one of the "seven wise men," without any one dreaming of ascribing to them an historical signification! how then can it be anything but hasty and uncritical to give out the "words of the lord" in the collection, which are the basis of jesus' sermons in the gospels, as sayings of one definite rabbi--that is, of the "historical" jesus? one may have as high an opinion of jesus' words as one likes: the question is whether jesus, even the jesus of liberal theology, is their spiritual father, or whether they are not after all in the same position as the psalms or sayings of the old testament which are current in the names of david and solomon, and of which we know quite positively that their authors were neither the one nor the other. but perhaps those sayings and sermons of jesus are of such a nature that they could only arise from the "historical jesus"? of a great number both of isolated sayings and parables of jesus--and among these indeed the most beautiful and the most admired, for example, the parable of the good samaritan, whose moral content coincides with deut. xxix. - , of the prodigal son, [ ] of the man that sowed--we know that they were borrowed [ ] partly from jewish philosophy, partly from oral tradition of the talmud, and partly from other sources. in any case they have no claim to originality. [ ] this holds good even of the sermon on the mount, which is, as has been shown by jewish scholars in particular, and as robertson has once more proved, a mere patchwork taken from ancient jewish literature, and, together with the lord's prayer, contains not a single thought which has not its prototype in the old testament and in the ancient philosophical maxims of the jewish people. [ ] moreover, the remaining portions, whose genesis from any other quarter is at least as yet unproved, is not at all of such a nature that it could only have arisen in the mind of such a personality as the theological jesus of nazareth. at bottom, indeed, he neither said nor taught anything beyond the purer morality of contemporary judaism--to say nothing at all of the stoics and of the other ethical teachers of antiquity, in particular those of the indians. the gravest suspicion of their novelty and originality is awakened at the gospels' emphasising the novelty and significance of jesus' sayings by "the ancients said"--"but i say unto you"; attempting thereby to make an artificial contradiction with the former spiritual and moral standpoint of judaism, even in places where only a look at the old testament is necessary to convince us that such a contradiction does not exist, as, for example, in the case of the love of god and of one's neighbor. [ ] moreover, our cultivated reverence for jesus and the overwhelming glorification of everything connected with him has surrounded a great many of the "words of the lord" with a glitter of importance which stands in no relation to their real value, and which they would never have obtained had they been handed down to us in another connection or under some other name. let us only think how much that is in itself quite trivial and insignificant has been raised to quite an unjustifiable importance merely through the use of the pulpit and the consecration of divine service. even though our theologians are not already tired of extolling the "uniqueness," incomparability, and majesty of jesus' words and parables, they might nevertheless just for once consider how much that is of little worth, how much that is mistaken, spiritually insignificant and morally insufficient, even absolutely doubtful, there is in what jesus preached. [ ] in this connection it has always been the custom to extenuate the tradition by referring to the inexactitude or to fly in the face of any genuine historical method by tortuous elucidations of the passages in question, by unmeaning references to the temporal and educational limitations even of the "superman," and by suppression of the disagreeable parts. how much trouble have not our theologians taken, and do they not even now take, to show even one single point in jesus' doctrines which may justify their declaring with a good conscience his "uniqueness" in the sense understood by them, and may justify their raising their purely human jesus as high as possible above his own age! not one of all the passages quoted to this end has been allowed to remain. the synoptic jesus taught neither a new and loftier morality, nor a "new meekness," nor a deepened consciousness of god; neither the "indestructible value of the individual souls of men" in the present-day individualistic sense, nor even freedom as against the jewish law, nor the immanence of the kingdom of god, nor anything else, that surpassed the capabilities of another intellectually distinguished man of his age. even the love, the general love, of one's neighbour, the preaching of which is with the greater portion of the laity the chief claim to veneration possessed by the historical jesus, in the synoptics plays no very important part in jesus' moral conception of life; governing no wider sphere than had already been allowed it in the old testament. [ ] and if the pulpit eloquence of nineteen hundred years has nevertheless attempted to lay stress on this point, it is because it counts on the faithful not having in mind the difference between the gospels, and on their peacefully permitting the gospel of john, the one and only "gospel of love," which, however, is not supposed to be "historical," to be substituted for the synoptic gospels. and so we actually see the glorification of jesus' doctrines which, a short time ago, flourished so luxuriantly, appearing recently in more and more moderate terms. [ ] thus it was for a time customary in theology, under the influence of holtzmann and harnack, to consider the ethical deepening and return of god's "fatherly love" as the essentially new and significant point in jesus' "glad tidings," and to write about it in unctuous phrases. recently, even this seems to have been abandoned, as, for example, wrede openly confesses, with respect to the "filiation to god," that this conception existed in judaism very long before christ; also that jesus did not especially preach god as the loving "father" of each individual, that indeed he did not once place in the foreground the name of god as the father. [ ] but so much the more decidedly is reference made to the "enormous effects" which attended jesus' appearance, and the attempt is made to prove from them his surpassing greatness, "uniqueness," and historical reality. as if zarathustra, buddha, and mohammed had achieved less, as if the effects which proceed from a person must stand in a certain relation to his human significance, and as if those effects were to be ascribed to the "historical" and not rather to the mythical jesus--that is, to the idea of the god sacrificing himself for humanity! as a matter of fact, his faith in the immediate proximity of the messianic kingdom of god, and the demand for a change of life based on this, which is really "unique" in the traditional jesus, is without any religious and ethical significance for us, and is at most only of interest for the history of civilisation. on the other hand, such part of his teaching as is still of importance to us is not "unique," and only has the reputation of being so because we are accustomed by a theological education to treat it in the light of the christian dogmatic metaphysics of redemption. plato, seneca, epictetus, laotse, or buddha in their ethical views are not behind jesus with his egoistical pseudo-morals, his basing moral action on the expectation of reward and punishment in the future, his narrow-minded nationalism, which theologians in vain attempt to debate away and to conceal; and his obscure mysticism, which strives to attain a special importance for its maxims by mysterious references to his "heavenly father." [ ] and as for the "great impression" which jesus is supposed to have made on his own people and on the following age, and without which the history of christianity is supposed to be inexplicable, kalthoff has shown with justice that the gospels do not in any way reflect the impression which a person produced, but only such as the accounts of jesus' personality would have made on the members of the christian community. "even the strongest impression proves nothing as to the historical truth of these accounts. even an account of a fictitious personage may produce the deepest impression on a community if it is given in historical terms. what an impression goethe's "werther" produced, though the whole world knew that it was only a romance! yet it stirred up countless disciples and imitators." [ ] in this we have at the same time a refutation of the popular objection that to deny the historical existence of jesus is to misunderstand "the significance of personality in the historical life of peoples and religions." certainly, as mehlhorn says, active devotion above all is enkindled to persons in whom this personality strikes us in an evident, elevating, and animating way. [ ] but in order to enkindle devotion and faith in jesus christ the elevating personality of a paul sufficed, whether or not he was the author of the epistles current in his name; the missionary activity of apostles, working, like him, in the service of the jesus-creed, was enough, since they moved from place to place, and, often undergoing great personal sacrifice and privation, with danger to their own lives demanded adoration of the new god. those in need of redemption could never find any real religious support outside of the faith in a divine redeemer, they could never find satisfaction and deliverance but in the idea of the god sacrificing himself for mankind--the god whose redeeming power and whose distinct superiority to the other mystery-deities the apostles could portray in such a lively and striking fashion. that an idea can only be effective and fruitful by means of a great personality is a barren formula. [ ] in thinking they can with this argument support their faith in an historical jesus liberal theologians avail themselves of an irrelevant bit of modern street-philosophy without noticing that in their case it proves nothing at all. where, then, is the "great personality" which gave to mithraism such an efficacy that in the first century of our era it was able to conquer from the east almost the whole of the west and to make it doubtful for a time whether the world was to be mithraic or christian? in such influential religions as those of dionysus and osiris, or indeed in brahmanism, we cannot speak of great personalities as their "founders"; and as for zarathustra, the pretended founder of the persian, and moses, the founder of the israelite religion, they are not historical persons; while the views of different investigators differ as to the historical existence of the reputed founder of buddhism. of course, even in the above-mentioned religions the particular ideas would have been brought forward by brilliant individuals, and the movements depending on them would have been first organised and rendered effective by men of energy and purpose. but the question is whether persons of this type are necessarily "great," even "unique," in the sense of liberal theology, in order to be successful. so that to set aside paul, whose inspiring personality gifted with a genius for organisation we know from his epistles,--to set him aside in favour of an imaginary jesus, to base the importance of the christian religion on the "uniqueness" of its supposed founder, and to base this uniqueness in turn on the importance of the religious movement which resulted from it, is to abandon the critical standpoint and to turn about in circles. "it is an empty assertion," says lützelberger, "without any real foundation, that the invention of such a person as the gospels give us in their jesus would have been quite impossible, as we find in him such a peculiar and sharply defined character that imagination would never have been able to invent and adhere to it. for the personality which meets us in the gospels is by no means one that is sharply drawn and true to itself; but the story shows us rather a man who from quite different mental tendencies spoke now one way and now another, and is perfectly different in the first and fourth gospels. only with the greatest trouble can a homogeneous and coherent whole be formed from the descriptions in the gospels. so that we are absolutely wrong in concluding from the originality of the person of christ in the gospels to their historical credibility." the conclusion is much more justifiable that if such a person with such a life-history and such speech had stood at the beginning of the christian church, the history of its development must have been quite a different one, just as the history of judaism would have been different if a moses with his law had stood at its head. [ ] and now if we compare the praises of buddha in the lalita vistara with the description of jesus' personality given in the new testament, we will be convinced how similarly--even if we exclude the hypothesis of a direct influence--and under what like conditions the kindred religion took shape: "in the world of creatures, which was long afflicted by the evils of natural corruption, thou didst appear, o king of physicians, who redeemest us from all evil. at thy approach, o guide, unrest disappears, and gods and men are filled with health. thou art the protector, the firm foundation, the chief, the leader of the world, with thy gentle and benevolent disposition. thou art the best of physicians, who bringest the perfect means of salvation and healest suffering. distinguished by thy compassion and sympathy, thou governest the things of the world. distinguished by thy strength of mind and good works, completely pure, thou hast attained to perfection, and, thyself redeemed, thou wilt, as the prophet of the four truths, redeem other creatures also. the power of the evil one has been overcome by wisdom, courage, and humility. thou hast brought it about,--the highest and immortal glory. we greet thee as the conqueror of the army of the deceiver. thou whose word is without fault, who freest from error and passion, hast trod the path of eternal life; thou dost deserve in heaven and on earth honour and homage unparalleled. thou quickenest gods and men with thy clear words. by the beams which go forth from thee thou art the conqueror of this universe, the master of gods and men. thou didst appear, light of the law, destroyer of misery and ignorance, completely filled with humility and majesty. sun, moon, and fires no longer shine before thee and thy fulness of imperishable glory. thou who teachest us to know truth from falsehood, ghostly leader with the sweetest voice, whose spirit is calm, whose passions are controlled, whose heart is perfectly at rest, who teachest what should be taught, who bringest about the union of gods and men: i greet thee, sakhyamuni, as the greatest of men, as the wonder of the three thousand worlds, who deservest honour and homage in heaven and on earth, from gods and men!" where, then, is the "uniqueness" of jesus, into which the future divinity of the world-redeemer has disappeared for modern critical theology, and into which it has striven to import all the sentimental considerations which once belonged to the "god-man" in the sense of the church dogma? "nothing is more negative than the result of the inquiry into the life of jesus. the jesus of nazareth, who appeared as the messiah, who proclaimed the morals of the kingdom of god, who founded the kingdom of heaven upon earth, and died to give consecration to his acts, never existed. he is a figure which was invented by rationalism, restored by liberalism, and painted over with historical science by modern theologians." with these words of the theologian schweitzer [ ] the present inquiry may be said to agree. in fact, in the gospels we have nothing but the expression of the consciousness of a community. in this respect the view supported by kalthoff is completely right. the life of jesus, as portrayed by the synoptics, merely brings to an expression in historical garb the metaphysical ideas, religious hopes, the outer and inner experiences of the community which had jesus for its cult-god. his opinions, statements, and parables only reflect the religious-moral conceptions, the temporary sentiments, the casting down and the joy of victory, the hate and the love, the judgments and prejudices of the members of the community, and the differences and contradictions in the gospels prove to be the developing material of the conception of the messiah in different communities and at different times. christ takes just the same position in the religious-social brotherhoods which are named after him as attis has in the phrygian, adonis in the syrian, osiris in the egyptian, dionysus, hercules, hermes, asclepius, &c., in the greek cult-associations. he is but another form of these club-gods or patrons of communities, and the cult devoted to him shows in essentials the same forms as those devoted to the divinities above named. the place of the bloody expiatory sacrifice of the believers in attis, wherein they underwent "baptism of blood" in their yearly march festival, and wherein they obtained the forgiveness of their sins and were "born again" to a new life, was in rome the hill of the vatican. in fact, the very spot on which in christian times the church of peter grew above the so-called grave of the apostle. it was at bottom merely an alteration of the name, not of the matter, when the high priest of attis blended his rôle with that of the high priest of christ, and the christ-cult spread itself from this new point far over the other parts of the roman empire. (c) the true character of the synoptic jesus. the synoptic gospels leave open the question whether they treat of a man made god or of a god made man. the foregoing account has shown that the jesus of the gospels is to be understood only as a god made man. the story of his life, as presented in the gospels, is the rendering into history of a primitive religious myth. most of the great heroes of the legend, which passes as historical, are similar incarnate gods--such as jason, hercules, achilles, theseus, perseus, siegfried, &c.; in these we have nothing but the old aryan sun--champion in the struggle against the powers of darkness and of death. that primitive gods in the view of a later age should become men, without, however, ceasing to be clothed with the glamour of the deity, is to such an extent the ordinary process, that the reverse, the elevation of men to gods, is as a rule only found in the earliest stages of human civilisation, or in periods of moral and social decay, when fawning servility and worthless flattery fashion a prominent man, either during his life or after his death, into a divine being. even the so-called "bible story" contains numerous examples of such god made men: the patriarchs, joseph, joshua, samson, esther, mordecai, haman, simon magus, the magician elymas, &c., were originally pure gods, and in the description of their lives old semitic star-myths and sun-myths obtained a historical garb. if we cannot doubt that moses, the founder of the old covenant, was a fictitious figure, and that his "history" was invented by the priests at jerusalem only for the purpose of sanctioning and basing on his authority the law of the priests named after him; if for this end the whole history of israel was falsified, and the final event in the religious development of israel, i.e., the giving of the law, was placed at the beginning--why cannot what was possible with moses have been repeated in the case of jesus? why may not also the founder of the new covenant as an historical person belong entirely to pious legend? according to herodotus, [ ] the greeks also changed an old phoenician god, hercules, for national reasons, into a native hero, the son of amphitryon, and incorporated him in their own sphere of ideas. let us consider how strong the impulse was, especially among orientals, to make history of purely internal experiences and ideas. to carry historical matter into the sphere of myth, and to conceive myth as history, is, as is shown by the investigations of winckler, schrader, jensen, &c., for the orientals such a matter of course, that, as regards the accounts in the old testament, it is hardly possible to distinguish their genuinely "historical nucleus" from its quasi-historical covering. and it is more especially the semitic thought of antiquity which proves to be completely unable to distinguish mythical phantasy from real event! it is, indeed, too often said that the semite produced and possessed no mythology of his own, as renan asserted; and no doubt at all is possible that they could not preserve as such and deal with the mythical figures and events whencesoever they derived them, but always tended to translate them into human form and to associate them with definite places and times. "the god of the semites is associated with place and object, he is a genius loci," says winckler. [ ] but if ever a myth required to be clothed in the garment of place and the metaphysical ideas contained in it to be separated into a series of historical events, it was certainly the myth of the god sacrificing himself for humanity, who sojourned among men in human form, suffered with the rest of men and died, returning, after victoriously overcoming the dark powers of death, to the divine seat whence he set out. we understand how the god jesus, consequent on his symbolical unification with the man sacrificed in his stead, could come to be made human, and how on this basis the faith in the resurrection of god in the form of an historical person could arise. but how the reverse process could take place, how the man jesus could be elevated into a god, or could ever fuse with an already existing god of like name into the divine-human redeemer--indeed, the deity--that is and remains, as we have already said, a psychological puzzle. the only way to solve it is to refer to the "inscrutable secrets of the divine will." in what other way can we explain how "that simple child of man, as he has been described," could so very soon after his death be elevated into that "mystical being of imagination," into that "celestial christ," as he meets us in the epistles of paul? there can only have been at most seven, probably three, years, according to a recent estimate hardly one year, between the death of jesus and the commencement of paul's activity. [ ] and this short time is supposed to have sufficed to transform the man jesus into the pauline christ! and not only paul is supposed to have been able to do this; even jesus' immediate disciples, who sat with him at the same table, ate and drank with him, knowing then who jesus was, are supposed to have declared themselves in agreement with this, and to have prayed to him whom they had always seen praying to the "father"! certainly in antiquity the deification of a man was nothing extraordinary: plato and aristotle were, after their death, honoured by their pupils as god-like beings; demetrius poliorcetes, alexander, the ptolemies, &c., had divine honours rendered to them even during their lives. but this style of deification is completely different from that which is supposed to have been allotted to jesus. it is merely an expression of personal gratitude and attachment, of overflowing sentiment and characterless flattery, and never obtained any detailed theological formulation. it was the basis for no new religion. schopenhauer has very justly pointed out the contradiction between paul's apotheosis of jesus and usual historical experience, and remarked that from this consideration could be drawn an argument against the authenticity of the pauline epistles. [ ] in fact, holtzmann considers, with reference to this assertion of the philosopher's, the question "whether the figure of jesus attaining such colossal dimensions in paul's sight may not be taken to establish the distance between the two as that of only a few years, if there was not immediate temporal contact," as the question "most worthy of discussion, which the critics of the dutch school have propounded for consideration." [ ] according to the prevalent view of critical theologians, as presented even by pfleiderer, the apparitions of the "lord," which after jesus' death were seen by the disciples who had fled from jerusalem, the "ecstatic visionary experiences, in which they thought they saw their crucified master living and raised up to heavenly glory," were the occasion of their faith in the resurrection, and consequently of their faith in jesus' divine rôle as redeemer. [ ] pathological states of over-excited men and hysterical women are then supposed to form the "historical foundation" for the genesis of the christian religion! and with such opinions they think themselves justified in looking down on the rationalist of the eighteenth-century enlightenment with supreme contempt, and in boasting of the depth to which their religious-historical insight reaches! but if we really admit, with historical theology, this more than doubtful explanation, which degrades christianity into the merely chance product of mental excitement, at once the further question arises as to how the new religion of the small community of the messiah at jerusalem was able to spread itself abroad with such astounding rapidity that, even so soon as at most two decades after jesus' death, we meet with christian communities not only over the whole of western asia, but also in the islands of the mediterranean, in the coast-towns of greece, even in italy, at puteoli, and in rome; and this at a time when as yet not a line had been written about the jewish rabbi. [ ] even the theologian schweitzer is obliged to confess of historical theology that "until it has in some way explained how it was that, under the influence of the jewish sect of the messiah, greek and roman popular christianity appeared at all points simultaneously, it must admit a formal right of existence to all hypotheses, even the most extravagant, which seek to attack and solve this problem." [ ] if in all this it is shown to be possible, or even probable, that in the jesus of the gospels we have not a deified man, but rather a humanised god, there remains but to find an answer to the question as to what external reasons led to the transplanting of the god jesus into the soil of historical actuality and the reduction of the eternal or super-historical fact of his redeeming death and of his resurrection into a series of temporal events. this question is answered at once if we turn our attention to the motives present in the earliest christian communities known to us, which motives appear in the acts and in the pauline epistles. from these sources we know at what an early stage an opposition arose between paul's gentile christianity and the jewish christianity, the chief seat of which was at jerusalem, and which for this reason, as we can understand, claimed for itself a special authority. as long as the former persecutor of the christian community, over whose conversion they could not at first rejoice too much, [ ] did not obstruct others and seemed to justify his apostolic activity by his success among the gentiles, they left him to go his way. but when paul showed his independence by his reserve before the "brothers" at jerusalem, and began to attract the feelings of those at jerusalem by his abrogation of the mosaic law, then they commenced to treat him with suspicion, to place every obstacle in the way of his missionary activity, and to attempt, led by the zealous james, to bring the pauline communities under their own government. then, seeking a title for the practice of the apostolic vocation, they found it in this--that every one who wished to testify to christ must himself have seen him after his resurrection. but paul could very justly object that to him also the transfigured jesus had appeared. [ ] then they made the justification for the apostolic vocation consist in this, that an apostle must not only have seen christ risen up, but must also have eaten and drunk with him. [ ] this indeed was not applicable in the case of judas, who in the acts i. is nevertheless counted among the apostles; and it was also never asserted of matthias, who was chosen in the former's stead, that he had been a witness of jesus' resurrection. much less even does he seem to have fulfilled the condition to which advance was made in the development of the original idea, i.e., that an apostle of jesus should have been personally acquainted with the living jesus, that he should have belonged to the "first apostles" and have been present as eye-witness and hearer of jesus' words from the time of john's baptism up to the resurrection and ascension. [ ] now seufert has shown that the passage of the acts referred to is merely a construction, a transference of later conditions to an earlier epoch; and that the whole point of it is to paralyse paul's mission to the gentiles and to establish the title of the jew-christians at jerusalem as higher than that of his followers. if with this purpose, as seufert showed, the organisation of the apostleship of twelve arose--an organisation which has no satisfactory basis or foundation in the gospels or in the pauline epistles--then it is from this purpose also that we can find cause for the god jesus to become a human founder of the apostleship. "an apostle was to be only such an one as had seen and heard jesus himself, or had learnt from those who had been his immediate disciples. a literature of judaism arose which had at quite an early stage the closest interest in the historical determination of jesus' life; and this formed the lowest stratum on which our canonical gospels are based." [ ] judaism in general, and the form of it at jerusalem in particular, needed a legal title on which to base its commanding position as contrasted with the gentile christianity of paul; and so its founders were obliged to have been companions of jesus in person, and to have been selected for their vocation by him. for this reason jesus could not remain a mere god, but had to be drawn down into historical actuality. seufert thinks that the tracing of the apostleship of twelve back to an "historical" jesus, and the setting up of the demand for an apostle of jesus to have been a companion of his journeying, took place in paul's lifetime in the sixth, or perhaps even in the fifth decade. [ ] in this he presupposes the existence of an historical jesus, while the pauline epistles themselves contain nothing to lead one to believe that the transformation of the jesus-faith into history took place in paul's lifetime. in early christianity exactly the same incident took place here, on the soil of palestine and at jerusalem, as took place later in "eternal" rome, when the bishop of this city, in order to establish his right of supremacy in the church, proclaimed himself to be the direct successor of the apostle peter, and caused the "possession of the keys" to have been given to this latter by jesus himself. [ ] so that there were very mundane and very practical reasons which after all gave the impulse for the god jesus to be transformed into an historical individual, and for the central point of his action, the crisis in his life, his death and his resurrection, which alone affected religious considerations, to be placed in the capital of the jewish state, the "city of god," the holy city of david, of the "ancestors" of the messiah, with which now the jews connected religious salvation. but how could this fiction succeed and maintain its ground, so that it was able to become an absolutely vital question for the new religion, an indestructible dogma, a self-evident "fact," so that its very calling in question seems to the critical theologians of our time a perfect absurdity? before we can answer this question we must turn our attention to the gnostic movement and its relations to the growing church. (d) gnosticism and the johannine jesus. christianity was originally developed from gnosticism (mandaism). the pauline religion was only one form of the many syncretising efforts to satisfy contemporary humanity's need of redemption by a fusion of religious conceptions derived from different sources. so much the greater was the danger which threatened to spring up on this side of the youthful church. gnosticism agreed with christianity in its pessimistic valuation of the world, in its belief in the inability of man to obtain religious salvation by himself, in the necessity for a divine mediation of "life." like christianity, it expected the deliverance of the oppressed souls of men by a supernatural redeemer. he came down from heaven upon earth and assumed a human form, establishing, through a mystic union with himself, the connection between the spheres of heaven and earth. he thereby guarantees to mankind an eternal life in a bliss to come. gnosticism also involves a completely dualistic philosophy in its opposition of god and world, of spirit and matter, of soul and body, &c.; but all its efforts are directed to overcoming these contradictions by supernatural mediation and magical contrivances. it treats the "gnosis," the knowledge, the proper insight into the coherence of things, as the necessary condition of redemption. the individual must know that his soul comes from god, that it is only temporarily confined in this prison of the body, and that it is intended for something higher than to be lost here in the obscurity of ignorance, of evil and of sin; so that he is already freed from the trammels of the flesh, and finds a new life for himself. the god-redeemer descended upon earth to impart this knowledge to mankind; and gnosticism pledges itself, on the basis of the "revelation" received directly from god, to open to those who strive for the highest knowledge all the heights and depths of heaven and of earth. this gnosticism of the first century after christ was a wonderfully opalescent and intricate structure--half religious speculation, half religion, a mixture of theosophy, uncritical mythological superstition, and deep religious mysticism. in it babylonian beliefs as to gods and stars, parsee mythology, and indian doctrines of metempsychosis and karma were combined with jewish theology and mystery-rites of western asia; and through the whole blew a breath of hellenic philosophy, which chiefly strove to fix the fantastic creatures of speculation in a comprehensible form, and to work up the confusion of oriental licence and extravagance of thought into the form of a philosophical view of the world. the gnostics also called their mediating deity, as we have already seen of the mandaic sect of the nassenes, "jesus," and indulged in a picture rendering of his pre-worldly existence and supernatural divine majesty. they agreed with the christians that jesus had been "human." the extravagant metaphysical conception which they had of jesus at the same time prevented them from dealing seriously with the idea of his manhood. so that they either maintained that the celestial christ had attached himself to the man jesus in a purely external way, and indeed, first on the occasion of the baptism in the jordan, and only temporarily, i.e., up to the passion--it being only the "man" jesus who suffered death (basilides, cerinthus); or they thought of jesus as having assumed merely a ghostly body--and consequently thought that all his human actions took place merely as pure appearance (saturninus, valentinus, marcion). but how little they managed to penetrate into the centre of the christian doctrine of redemption and to value the fundamental significance of the christ-figure, is shown by the fact that they thought of christ merely as one mediator among countless others. it is shown also by the romantic and florid description of the spirits or "æons," who are supposed to travel backwards and forwards between heaven and earth, leading their lives apart. these played a great part in the gnostic systems. it was a matter of course that the christian faith had to take exception to such a fantastic and external treatment of the idea of the god-man. the pauline christianity was distinct from gnosticism, with which it was most closely connected, just in this, that it was in earnest with the "manhood" of jesus. it was still more serious that the gnostics combined with their extreme dualism an outspokenly anti-jewish character. for this in the close relationship between gnosticism and christianity would necessarily frighten the jews from the gospel, and incite only too many against the young religion. but the jews formed the factor with which early christianity had first of all to reckon. in addition to this the gnostics, from the standpoint of their spiritualistic conception of god, turned to contempt of the world and asceticism. they commended sexual continence, rejected marriage, and wished to know nothing either of christ's or of man's bodily resurrection. but in the west no propaganda of an ascetic religion could succeed. and yet even with the gnostics, as is so often the case, asceticism only too frequently degenerated into unbridled voluptuousness and libertinage, and the spiritual pride of those chosen by god to knowledge, who were raised above the mosaic law, threatened completely to tear apart the connection with judaism by its radical criticism of the old testament. in this gnosticism not only undermined the moral life of the communities, but also brought the gospel into discredit in other parts of the world. as an independent religion, which expressly opposed all other worships, and the adherents of which withdrew from the religious practices of the state, even from any political activity whatsoever, christianity brought on itself the suspicion of the authorities and the hate of the people, and incurred the prohibition of new religions and secret sects (lex julia majestatis). [ ] so that gnosticism, by taking it from its jewish native soil, drove christianity into a conflict with the roman civil laws. all these dangers, which threatened christianity from the gnostic movement, were set aside in one stroke by the recognition of the true "manhood" of jesus, the assertion of the "historical" jesus. this preserved the connection, so important for the unhindered spread of christianity in the roman empire, with judaism and its "revealed" legality--the heteronomous and ritualistic character of which had indeed been shown by paul, and the moral content of which was nevertheless adhered to by the christians even later. it was made possible, in default of any previous written documents of revelation, even yet to regard the old testament in essentials as the authoritative book of the new faith, and as a preparatory testimony to the final revelation which appeared in jesus. and most of all, it put a check on gnostic phantasy, in drawing together the perplexing plurality of the gnostic æons into the one figure of the world-redeemer and saviour christ, in making the chief dogma the redeeming sacrificial death of the messiah, and in concentrating the religious man's attention on this chief turning-point of all the historical events. this was the reason why the apologists and "fathers" of christianity, ignatius, polycarp, justin, irenæus, &c., spoke with such decision in favour of the actuality and true manhood of jesus. it was not perhaps a better historical knowledge which caused them to do this, but the life-instinct of the church, which knew only too well that its own position and the prosecution of its religious task, in contrast with the excitements of gnosticism and its seductive attempts to explain the world, was dependent on the belief in an historical redeemer. so the historical jesus was from the beginning a dogma, a fiction, caused by the religious and practical social needs, of the growing and struggling christian church. this jesus has, indeed, led it to victory; not, however, as an historical reality, but as an idea; or, in other words, not an historical jesus, in the proper sense of the word, a really human individual, but the pure idea of such a person, is the patron-saint, the genius of ecclesiastical christianity, the man who enabled it to overcome gnosticism, mithraism, and the other religions of the redeemer-gods of western asia. the importance of the fourth gospel rests in having brought to a final close these efforts of the church to make history of the redeemer-figure christ. begun under the visible influence of the gnostic conception of the process of redemption, it meets gnosticism later as another gospel; indeed, it seems saturated through and through with the gnostic attitude and outlook. to a certain degree it shares with gnosticism its anti-jewish character. but at the same time it adheres, with the synoptics, to jesus' historical activity, and seeks to establish a kind of mediation between the essentially metaphysical conception of the gnostics and the essentially human conception of the synoptic gospels. the author who wrote the gospel in the name of john, the "favourite disciple of jesus," probably about a.d., agrees with gnosticism in its dualistic conception of the universe. on one side is the world, the kingdom of darkness, deceit, and evil, in deadly enmity to the divine kingdom of light, the kingdom of truth and life. at the head of the divine kingdom is god, who is himself light, truth, life, and spirit--following parsee thought. at the head of the kingdom of earth is satan (angromainyu). in the middle, between them, is placed man. but mankind is also divided, as all the rest of existence, into two essentially different kinds. the souls of the one part of mankind are derived from god, those of the other from satan. the "children of god" are by nature destined for the good and are fit for redemption. the "children of satan"--among whom john, in agreement with the gnostics, counts the jews before all--are not susceptible of anything divine and are assigned to eternal damnation. in order to accomplish redemption, god, from pure "love" for the world, selected monogenes, his only-begotten son, that is, the only being which, as the child of god, was produced not by other beings, but by god himself. the author of the gospel fuses monogenes with the philonic logos, who in the gnostic conception was only one of countless other æons, and was a son of monogenes, the divine reason, and so only a grandson of god. at the same time, he transfers the whole "pleroma"--the plurality of the æons into which, in the gnostic conception, the divine reality was divided--to the single principle of the logos, defines the logos as the unique bearer of the whole fulness of divine glory, as the pre-existent creator of the world; and calls him also, since he is in essence identical with god his "father," the source of life, the light, the truth, and the spirit of the universe. and how then does the logos bring about redemption? he becomes flesh, that is, he assumes the form of the "man" jesus, without, however, ceasing to be the supernatural logos, and as such brings to men the "life" which he himself is, by revealing wisdom and love. as revealer of wisdom he is the "light of the world"; he opens to men the secret of their filial relation to god; he teaches them, by knowing god, to understand themselves and the world; he collects about himself the children of god, who are scattered through the world, in a united and brotherly society; and gives them, in imitating his own personality, the "light of life"--that is, he inwardly enlightens and elevates them. as revealer of love he not only assumes the human form and the renunciation of his divine bliss connected with it, but as a "good shepherd" he lays down his life for his flock; he saves them from the power of satan, from the terrors of darkness, and sacrifices himself for his people, in order through this highest testimony of his love for men, through the complete surrender of his life, to regain the life which he really is, and to return to his celestial glory. this is the meaning of christ's work of redemption, that men by faith and love become inwardly united with him and so with god; whereby they gain the "life" in the higher spirit. for though christ himself may return to god, his spirit still lives on earth. as the "second paraclete" or agent, the spirit proceeds with the saviour's work of redemption, arouses and strengthens the faith in christ and the love for him and for the brotherhood, thereby mediating for them the "life," and leading them after their death into the eternal bliss. in all this the influence of gnosticism and of the philonic doctrine of the logos is unmistakable, and it is very probable that the author of the fourth gospel was influenced by the recollection, still living at ephesus, of the ephesian heraclitus' logos, in his attachment to philo and to the latter's more detailed exposition of the hellenic logos-philosophy. but he fundamentally differs from philo and gnosticism in his assertion that the logos "was made flesh," sojourned on earth in the figure of jesus of nazareth, and suffered death. it is true, however, that the evangelist is more persistent in this assertion than successful in delineating a real man, notwithstanding his use of the synoptic accounts of the personal fate of jesus. the idea of the divine nature of the saviour is the one that prevails in his writings. the "historical picture" which came down to him was forcibly rectified, and the personality of jesus was worked up into something so wonderful, extraordinary, and supernatural that, if we were in possession of the fourth gospel alone, in all probability the idea would hardly have occurred to any one that it was a treatment of the life-story of an historical individual. and yet in this the difference between the johannine and the synoptic gospels is only a slight one. for the synoptic jesus also is not really a man, but a "superman," the original christian community's god-man, cult-hero, and mediator of salvation. and if it is settled that the quarrel between the church teachers and the gnostic heretics hinged, not on the divinity of christ, in which they agreed, but rather on the kind and degree of his humanity, then this "paradoxical fact" is by itself sufficient to corroborate the assertion that the divinity of the mediator of redemption was the only originally determined and self-evident presupposition of the whole christian faith; and that, on the contrary, his humanity was doubtful even in the earliest times, and for this reason alone could become a subject of the bitterest strife. indeed, even the author of the fourth gospel did not bring about a real fusion between the human person jesus and the mythological person, the gnostic son of god, who with philo wavered, also in the form of the logos, between impersonal being and allegorical personality. all the efforts to render comprehensible "the interfusion of the divine and the human in the unity of the personal, its basis (essence) being divine, its appearance a human life of jesus," are frustrated even with the so-called john by one fact. this fact is that a logos considered as a person can never be at once a human personality and yet have as its basis and essence a divine personality, but can only be demoniacally possessed by this latter, and can never be this latter itself. and so, as pfleiderer says, the johannine christ wavers throughout "between a sublime truth and a ghostly monstrosity; the former, in so far as he represents the ideal of the son of god, and so the religion of mankind, separated from all the accidents and limits of individuality and nationality, of space and time--and the latter so far as he is the mythical covering of a god sojourning on earth in human form." [ ] it is true that this fusion of the gnostic son of god and the philonic logos with the synoptic jesus first fixed the hazy uncertainty of mythological speculation and abstract thought in the clear form and living individuality of the personal mediator of redemption. it brought this personality nearer to the hearts of the faithful than any other figure of religious belief, and thereby procured for the christian cult-god jesus, in his pure humanity, his overflowing goodness and benevolence, such a predominance over his divine competitors, mithras, attis, and others, that by the side of jesus these faded away into empty shadows. the gnostic ideal man, that is, the platonic idea, and the moral ideal of man merged in him directly into a unity. the miracle of the union of god and man, over which the ancient world had so hotly and so fruitlessly disputed, seemed to have found its realisation in christ. christ was the "wise man" of the stoic philosophy, in whom was united for them all that is most honourable in man; more than this, he was the god-man, as he had been preached and demanded by seneca for the moral elevation of mankind. [ ] the world was consequently so ready to receive and so well prepared for his fundamental ideas that we easily see why the church christianity took its stand on the human personality of its redeeming principle with almost more decision than on the divine character of jesus. nevertheless, in spite of the majesty and sublimity, in spite of the immeasurable significance which the accentuation of the true humanity of jesus has had for the development of christianity, it remains true that on the other hand it is just this which is the source of all the insoluble contradictions, of all the insurmountable difficulties from which the christian view of the world suffers. this is the reason why that great idea, which christianity brought to the consciousness of the men of the west, and through which it conquered judaism--the idea of the god-man--was utterly destroyed, and the true content of this religion was obscured, hidden, and misrepresented in such disastrous fashion, that to-day it is no longer possible to assent to its doctrine of redemption without the sacrifice of the intellect. the religious problem of the present in the opinion of liberal theologians, not the god but rather the man jesus forms the valuable religious essence of christianity. [ ] in saying this it says nothing less than that the whole of christendom up to the present day--that is, till the appearance of a harnack, bousset, wernle, and others of like mind--was in error about itself, and did not recognise its own essence. for christianity, as the present account shows, from the very first conceived the god jesus, or rather the god-man, the incarnate, the god-redeemer, suffering with man and sacrificing himself for humanity, as the central point of its doctrine. the declaration of the real manhood of jesus appears, on the other hand, but as an after-concession of this religion to outer circumstances, wrung from it only later by its opponents, and so expressly championed by it only because of its forming the unavoidable condition of its permanence in history and of its practical success. only the god, therefore, not the man jesus, can be termed the "founder" of the christian religion. it is in fact the fundamental error of the liberal theology to think that the development of the christian church took its rise from an historical individual, from the man jesus. the view is becoming more common that the original christian movement under the name of jesus would have remained an insignificant and transient movement within judaism but for paul, who first gave it a religious view of the world by his metaphysics of redemption, and who by his break with the jewish law really founded the new religion. it will not be long before the further concession is found necessary, that an historical jesus, as the gospels portray him, and as he lives in the minds of the liberal theologians of to-day, never existed at all; so that he never founded the insignificant and diminutive community of the messiah at jerusalem. it will be necessary to concede that the christ-faith arose quite independently of any historical personality known to us; that indeed jesus was in this sense a product of the religious "social soul" and was made by paul, with the required amount of reinterpretation and reconstruction, the chief interest of those communities founded by him. the "historical" jesus is not earlier but later than paul; and as such he has always existed merely as an idea, as a pious fiction in the minds of members of the community. the new testament with its four gospels is not previous to the church, but the latter is antecedent to them; and the gospels are the derivatives, consequently forming a support for the propaganda of the church, and being without any claim to historical significance. nothing at all, as kalthoff shows, is to be gained for the understanding of christianity from the completely modern view that religion is an entirely personal life and experience. religion is such personal life only in an age which is differentiated into personalities; it is such only in so far as this differentiation has been accomplished. from the very beginning religion makes its appearance as a phenomenon of social life; it is a group-religion, a folk-religion, a state religion; and this social character is naturally transferred to the free associations which are formed within the limits of tribe and the state. the talk about personality as the centre of all religious life is with regard to the origin of christianity absurd and unhistorical, for the reason that christianity grew up in religious associations, in communities. from this social religion our personal religion has only been developed in a history lasting centuries. only after great struggles has personal religion been able to succeed against an essentially older form. what devout people of to-day call christianity, a religion of the individual, a principle of personal salvation, would have been an offence and an absurdity to the whole of ancient christendom. it would have been to it the sin against the holy ghost which was never to be forgiven; for the holy ghost was the spirit of the church's unity, the connection of the religious community, the spirit of the subordination of the flock to the shepherd. for this reason individual religion existed in old christendom only through the medium of the association of the community of the church. a private setting up of one's own religion was heresy, separation from the body of christ. [ ] we cannot refuse to concede to the "catholic" church, both roman and greek, that in this respect it has most faithfully preserved the spirit of the earliest christendom. this alone is to-day what christianity in essence once was--the religion of an association in the sense to which we have referred. thus catholicism justly refers to "tradition" for the truth of its religious view of the world and for the correctness of its hierarchical claims. but catholicism itself beyond doubt first established this "tradition" in its own interests. it teaches also an "historical" jesus, but clearly one that is historical merely by tradition, and of whose actual historical existence not the least indication has yet been established. protestantism, on the other hand, is completely unhistoric in passing off the gospels as the sources, as the "revealed" basis of the faith in christ, as if they had arisen independently of the church and represented the true beginnings of christianity. consequently one cannot base one's religious faith on the gospel and wish nevertheless to stand outside of that community, since the writings of the new testament can only pass as the expression of the community's life. one cannot therefore be christian in the sense of the original community without obliterating one's own personality and uniting oneself as a member with the "body of christ"--that is, with the church. the spirit of obedience and humility, which christ demanded of his followers, is nothing but the spirit of subordination to the system of rules of conduct observed by the society of worship passing under his name. christianity in the original sense is nothing but--"catholic" christianity; and this is the faith of the church in the work of redemption accomplished by the god-man christ in his church and by means of the organisation infused with his "spirit." on purely religious grounds the wrongly so-called "catholicism" could very probably dispense with the fiction of an historical jesus, and go back to paul's standpoint before the origin of the gospels, if it could have faith to-day in its mythological conception, of the god sacrificing himself for mankind, without that fiction. in its present form, however, it stands or falls as a church with the belief in the historical truth of the god-redeemer; because all the church's hierarchical claims and authority are based on this authority having been entrusted to her by an historical jesus through the apostles. catholicism relies for this, as it has been said, on "tradition." but catholicism itself called this tradition into life, just as the priests at jerusalem worked up the tradition of an historical moses in order to trace back to him their claim to authority. it is the "irony of world-history" that that very tradition soon afterwards forced the church, with regard to the historical christ, to conceal its real nature from the crowd, and to forbid the laity to read the gospels, on account of the contradiction between the power of the church and the traditional christ it had produced. but the position of protestantism is even more contradictory and more desperate than that of the catholic church, in view of our insight into the fictitious character of the gospels. for protestantism has no means but history for the foundation of its religious metaphysics; and history, viewed impartially, leads away from those roots of christianity to which protestantism strives, instead of towards them. if this is true of protestant orthodoxy it is even more true of that form of protestantism which thinks it can maintain christianity apart from its metaphysical doctrine of redemption because this doctrine is "no longer suitable to the age." liberal protestantism is and wishes to be nothing but a mere faith in the historical personality of a man who is supposed to have been born , years ago in palestine, and through his exemplary life to have become the founder of a new religion; being crucified and dying in conflict with the authorities at jerusalem, being raised up then as a god in the minds of his enthusiastic disciples. it is a faith in the "loving god the father," because jesus is supposed to have believed in him; in the personal immortality of man, because this is supposed to have been the presupposition of jesus' appearance and doctrines; in the "incomparable" value of moral instructions, because they stand in a book which is supposed to have been produced under the immediate influence of the prophet of nazareth. liberal protestantism supports morality on this, that jesus was such a good man, and that for this reason it is necessary for each individual man to follow the call of jesus. but it bases the faith in jesus once and for all on the historical significance of the gospels; though it cannot conceal from itself, after careful consideration, that the belief in their historical value rests on extremely weak grounds, and that we know nothing of that jesus, not even that he ever lived. in any case we know nothing which could be of influential religious significance, and which could not be put together just as well or better from other less doubtful sources. [ ] it is pierced to the heart by the denial of the historical personality of jesus, not, like catholicism, merely as a church, but in its very essence, as a religion. and as to its real religious kernel it consists in a few fine-sounding phrases and some scattered references to a metaphysics which was once living, but which is now degraded into a mere ornament for modest minds. and after disposing of its would-be historical value there is left only a dimly smouldering spark of "homeless sentiments," which would suit any style of religious faith. liberal protestantism proclaims itself as the really "modern" christianity. confronted by the philosophic spirit of our day, it lays stress upon having no philosophy. it sets aside all religious speculation as "myth," if possible with reference to kant, as this is "modern," without noticing that it is itself most deeply imbedded in mythology with its "historical" jesus. it believes that, in its exclusive reverence for the man jesus, it has brought christianity to the "height of present culture." as to this stendel justly says: "of the whole apologetic art with which the modern jesus-theology undertakes to save christianity for our time, it can be said that there is no historical religion which could not just as well be brought into accord with the modern mind as that of the new testament." [ ] we have no occasion to weep for the complete collapse of such a "religion." this form of christianity has already been proved by hartmann to be worthless from the religious point of view; [ ] and it is only a proof of the fascinating power of phrases, of the laxity in our creeds, and the thoughtlessness of the mob in religious matters, that it is even yet alive. for such reasons it is even allowed, under the lead of the so-called critical theology, to proclaim itself as the pure christianity, now known for the first time. thus it finds sympathy. this unsystematic collection of thoughts, arbitrarily selected from the view of the world and of life given by the gospels, which even so requires to be rhetorically puffed out and artistically modified before it is made acceptable to the present age,--this unspeculative doctrine of redemption, which at bottom is uncertain of itself,--this sentimental, æsthetic, jesus-worship of a harnack, bousset, and the rest on whom w. v. schnehen so pitilessly broke his lance; [ ] this whole so-called christianity of cultured pastors and a laity in need of redemption, would have long since come to grief through its poverty of ideas, its sickening sweetness, if it were not considered necessary to maintain christianity at all costs, were it even that of the complete deprivation of its spiritual content. the recognition of the fact that the "historical" jesus has no religious interest at all, but at most concerns historians and philologists, is indeed at present commencing to make its way into wider circles. [ ] if one only knew a way out of the difficulty! if one were only not afraid of following a clear lead just because one might then possibly be forced beyond the existing religion in the course of his ideas--as the example of kalthoff showed! if only one had not such a fearful respect for the past and such a tender "historic unconsciousness" and such immense respect for the "historical basis" of existing religion! the reference to history and the so-called "historical continuity of the religious development" is indeed on the face of it merely a way out of a difficulty, and another way of putting the fact that one is not desired to draw the consequences of his presuppositions. as if there can still be talk of a "historical basis" where there is no history, but pure myth! as if the "preservation of historical continuity" could consist in maintaining as history what are mythical fictions, just because they have hitherto passed for historic truth, though we have seen through their purely fictitious and unreal character! as if the difficulty of the redemption of present-day civilisation from the chaos of superstition, social deceit, cowardice, and intellectual servitude which are connected with the name of christianity, lay in a purely spiritual sphere and not rather in the sentiment, in the slovenly piety, in the heavy weight of ancient tradition, above all in the economic, social, and practical relations which unite our churches with the past! faith in the future of christianity is still built not so much on the persuasive inner truth of its doctrine, but much more on the inborn religious feeling of the members of the community, on the religious education in school and home, and the consequent increasing store of metaphysical and ethical ideas, on protection by the state and--on the law of inertia in the spiritual life of the mob. for the rest, in pulpit, in parish papers, and in public life, a method of expression is used which is not essentially different from that of orthodoxy, but is so adapted as to allow every man to think what he deems best for himself. we are enthusiastically told that thus we are able to keep the rudderless ship of protestantism still a while above water, and that we have "reconciled" faith with modern culture in "the further development of christianity." thus nineteen hundred years of religious development were completely in error. is no other course open to us but a complete break with the christian doctrine of redemption? this doctrine, however--such was the result of our previous examination--is independent of the belief in an historical jesus. its centre of gravity lies in the conception of the "incarnation" of god, who suffers in the world but is finally victorious over this suffering; and through union with whom mankind also "prevails over the world" and gains a new life in a higher sphere of existence. that the form of this divine redeemer of the world coalesced, in the minds of the christian community, with that of a man jesus; that, consequent on this, the act of redemption was fixed as to time and place, is only the consequence of the conditions under which the new religion appeared. for this reason it can only claim, in and for itself, a transient practical significance, and not a special religious value; while on the other hand it has become the doom of christianity that just this making into history of the principle of redemption makes it impossible for us still to acknowledge this religion. but then the preservation of historical continuity or the "further development" of christianity in its proper sense probably does not consist in separating this chance historical side of the christian doctrine of redemption from its connection with the whole christian view of the world and setting it up by itself, but only in going back to the essential and fundamental idea of the christian religion, and stating its metaphysical doctrine of redemption in a manner more nearly answering to the ideas of the day. from the conception of a personal god-redeemer arose the possibility of sacrificing a man in god's place, and of seeing the divine and ideal man, that is, the idea of man, in an actual man. from the growing church's desire for authority, from its opposition to gnostic phantasy with its intellectual volatilising of the religious-moral kernel of the pauline doctrine of redemption, and from the wish not to give up the historical connection with judaism on opportunist grounds, arose the necessity of portraying the divine-human expiatory sacrifice as the sacrifice of an historical person who had arisen in judaism. all these different reasons, which led to the formation of the belief in an "historical" jesus, have no force with us, particularly after it has been shown that the personality of the principle of redemption, this fundamental presupposition of the evangelical "history," is in the end to blame for all the contradictions and shortcomings of that religion. to lead back to its real essence the christian doctrine of redemption can consequently mean nothing but placing the idea of the god-man, as it lies at the basis of that doctrine, in the central point of the religious view of the world, through the stripping off of the mythical personality of the logos. god must become man, so that man can become god and be redeemed from the bounds of the finite. the idea of man which is realised in the world must itself be a divine idea, an idea of the deity, and so god must be the common root and essence of all individual men and things; only then may man attain his existence in god and freedom from the world, through this consciousness of his supernatural divine essence. man's consciousness of himself and of his true essence must itself be a divine consciousness. man, and indeed every man, must be a purely finite phenomenon, an individual limitation, the clothing of the deity with a human form. in possibility he is a god-man, to be born again an actual god-man through his moral activity, and consequently to become really one with god. in this conception all the contradictions of christian dogmatism are solved, and the kernel of its doctrine of redemption is preserved without being divested of its true significance by the introduction of mythical phantasy or of historical coincidences, as is the case in christianity. if we are still to use the language of the past, and to call the divine essence of mankind the immanent godhead, "christ," then any advance of religion can only consist in the development and working out of this "inner christ," that is, of the spiritual-moral tendencies dwelling in mankind, in the carrying of it back to its absolute and divine basis, but not in the historical personification of this inner human nature. any reality of the god-man consequently consists in "christ's" activity in man, in the proving of his "true self," of his personal, spiritual essence, in the raising of one's self to personality on the ground of man's divine nature, but not in the magical efficacy of an external divine personality. this, indeed, is nothing but the religious ideal of mankind, which men have projected on to an historical figure, in order to assure themselves of the "reality" of the ideal. it is not true that it is "essential" to the religious consciousness to consider its ideal in human form, and that for this reason the historical jesus is indispensable for the religious life. were this true, religion would not be, in principle, in a position to raise itself above the mythical and primitive stage of god's externality and appearance to the senses, and to conquer these gods, working them more and more into the forms of an inner nature. this, however, is the essence of religious development. religion would otherwise be confined to a lower province in the human life of the spirit; and it would be overthrown whenever the fiction of that projection and separation of god from one's own self was seen through. it is only to orthodox christianity that it is necessary to represent the god in man as a god outside of man, as the "unique" personality of a historical god-man; and that because it still remains with one foot in religious naturalism and mythology, and the historical circumstances of another age occasioned the choice of that representation and falsification of the idea of the god-man. to think of the world's activity as god's activity; of mankind's development, filled with struggles and sufferings, as the story of a divine struggle and passion; of the world-process as the process of a god, who in each individual creature fights, suffers, conquers and dies, so that he may overcome the limitations of the finite in the religious consciousness of man and anticipate his future triumph over all the suffering of the world--that is the real christian doctrine of redemption. to revive in this sense the fundamental conception from which christianity sprang--and which is independent of any historical reference--is, indeed, to return to this religious starting-point. protestantism, on the contrary, which repudiates paul's religion and sets up the gospels as the foundation of its belief, nevertheless does not go behind christianity's development into the church, back to the origin of christianity, but remains always within this development, and deceives itself if it thinks that it can prevail over the church from the point of view of the gospel. [ ] in such an interpretation and development of the christian conception of redemption "historical continuity" is preserved just as decidedly as it is in the one-sided making into history of that thought on the side of liberal protestantism. what is in opposition to it is, on the one hand, completely unhistorical belief in an historical jesus; on the other hand, the prejudice against the "immanent god," or against pantheism. but this prejudice is based entirely on that fiction of an historical "mediator" and the hypothesis contained therein of a dualistic separation of world and god. the representatives of the monistic conception--who began to organise themselves a short time ago--should be clearer as to the significance of that conception than they are for the most part even at the present day. they must perceive that the true doctrine of unity can only be the doctrine of the all in one. there must be an idealistic monism in opposition to the naturalistic monism of haeckel, which is prevalent even to-day. this monism must not exclude but include god's existence; and its present unfruitful negation of all religion must deepen into a positive and religiously valuable view of the world. then, and not till then, will it be able to effect a genuine separation from the church, and the monistic movement, still in its childhood, may lead to an inner improvement and renovation of our spiritual life in general. it requires much short-sightedness on the part of the exponents of a purely historical christianity to suppose that the soulless and poor faith in the personal, or as it is considered better expressed to-day, in the "living" god, in freedom and immortality, supported by the authority of the "unique" personality of a man jesus who died two thousand years ago, will be in a position permanently to satisfy religious needs, even when the metaphysic of redemption, still connected with it at all points, and the pious attitude based upon this are completely stripped off from it. the earlier the orthodox christians, by giving up their superstition in an historical jesus, and the monists, by sacrificing their equally fatal superstition in the sole reality of matter and in the redeeming truths of physical science which alone can give happiness, come to a mutual reconciliation, the better it will be for both. the more surely we shall avoid the total obliteration of the religious consciousness; and the civilised nations of europe will be saved from the loss of their spiritual ballast--towards which loss there seems at the present day to be a continuous movement on all sides. at present there are only two possibilities--either to look on quietly while the tidal wave of naturalism, getting ever more powerful from day to day, sweeps away the last vestige of religious thought, or to transfer the sinking fire of religion to the ground of pantheism, in a religion independent of any ecclesiastical guardianship. the time of dualistic theism has gone by. at present all the advancing spirits, in spheres most widely different, concur in striving towards monism. this striving is so deeply grounded and so well warranted, that the church will not be able to suppress it for ever. [ ] the chief obstacle to a monistic religion and attitude is the belief, irreconcilable with reason or history, in the historical reality of a "unique," ideal, and unsurpassable redeemer. notes [ ] cf. also his "kritik der evangelien," vols. ( - ). [ ] "kultur d. gegenwart: gesch. d. christl. religion," nd ed., , . [ ] the same is true of clemen, who, judging by his "religionsgeschichtl. erklärung d. n.t." ( ), appears to be acquainted with robertson's masterpiece, "christianity and mythology," only from a would-be witty notice of réville, and furthermore only cites the author when he thinks he can demolish him with ease. [ ] a. hausrath, in his work "jesus u. die neutestamentlichen schriftsteller," vol. i. ( ), offers a striking example of how light a matter our theologians make it to overthrow the attacks of the opponents of an historical jesus. in scarcely three pages at the commencement of his compendious work he rejects the myth theory of bruno bauer with the favourite appeal to a few individual and historical features of the gospel tradition which are intrinsically of no significance, finishing up this "refutation" with a reckless citation from weinel which proves nothing for the historical character of jesus. [ ] cf. also his work "moses, jesus, paulus. drei sagen varianten des babylonischen gottmenschen gilgamesch," nd ed., . [ ] cf., for example, "jesus vier vorträge, geh. in frankf." . [ ] in other respects the "progress" in the province of religious history is not so great as i formerly believed i could assume. that is to say, in essentials modern learning in this connection has only brought facts to light and given a new focus to points of view which were already possessed (cf. dupuis and volney) by the eighteenth century. in the twenties and forties of the nineteenth century investigations, unprejudiced and independent of theology, had already reached in the case of some of their representatives, such as gfrörer, lützelberger, ghillany, nork, and others, the point which is to-day again represented by the most advanced learning. the revolution of and the reaction consequent on it in ecclesiastical matters then again shook, on account of their radical tendency, those views which had been already arrived at. the liberal protestantism, too, that rose as a recoil against orthodoxy in its effort to work out the "historical" jesus as the kernel of christianity on its part had no interest in again bringing up the old results. indeed, it actually makes it a reproach to a person of the present day if he quotes the works of those earlier investigators, and reminds him that religious learning did not begin only with the modern coryphaei, with holtzmann, harnack, &c. whoever looks upon things from this point of view can most probably agree in the melancholy reflection of a reviewer of the first edition of "the christ myth," when he says with reference to the "latest investigations": "apparently the whole learning of the nineteenth century so far as relates to investigations into the moving forces of civilisation and national upheavals will be considered by future research as an arsenal of errors" (o. hauser in the neue freie presse, august , ). [ ] it has also been reckoned as a want of "method" in this work that i have often made use of a cautious and restrained mode of expression, that i have spoken of mere "suppositions" and employed locutions such as "it appears," &c., when it has been for the time being impossible for science or myself to give complete certainty to an assertion. this reproach sounds strange in the mouths of such as plume themselves upon "scientific method." for i should think that it was indeed more scientific in the given cases to express oneself in the manner chosen by me, than by an unmeasured certainty in assertions to puff out pure suppositions into undoubted facts. i must leave such a mode of proceeding to the historical theologians. they work purely with hypotheses. all their endeavours to obtain an historical kernel from the gospels rest upon conjectures simply. above everything, their explanation of the origin of christianity simply from an historical jesus is, in spite of the certainty and self-confidence with which it comes out, a pure hypothesis, and that of very doubtful value. for that in reality the new religion should have been called into life by the "all-subduing influence of the personality of jesus" and its accompaniments, the visions and hallucinations of the disciples worked up into ecstasies, is so improbable, and the whole view is psychologically so assailable, and, moreover, so futile, that even a liberal theologian like gunkel declares it entirely insufficient ("zum religionsgesichtl. verständnis d. n.t.," sq.). with this explanation, however, stands or falls the whole modern jesus-religion. for if they cannot show how the pauline and johannine christology could develop from the mere existence of an historical jesus, if this now forms "the problem of problems of new testament research" (gunkel, op. cit.), then their whole conception of the rise of christianity disappears into air, and they have no right to hold up against others who seek a better explanation the partially hypothetical character of the views advanced by them. [ ] op. cit., sq. [ ] cf. k. dunkmann, "der historische jesus, der mythologische christus, und jesus der christ" ( ). cf. also pfleiderer, "das christusbild des urchristlichen glaubens in religionsgeschichtlicher beleuchtung" ( ), sq. here, too, it is pointed out that modern scientific theology in its description of the figure of christ proceeds in anything but an unprejudiced manner. out of the belief in christ as contained in the new testament it "only draws forth what is acceptable to present modes of thinking--passing over everything else and reading in much that is its own--in order to construct an ideal christ according to modern taste." pfleiderer declares it a "great illusion" to believe that the pictures of christ in works such as harnack's "wesen des christentums," each differently drawn according to the peculiarities of their composers, but all more or less in the modern style, are the result of scientific historical research, and are related to the old conceptions of christ like truth to error. "one should," he says, "be reasonable and honourable enough to confess that both the modern and the antique conceptions of christ are alike creations of the common religious spirit of their times and sprung from the natural need of faith to fix its special principle in a typical figure and to illustrate it. the differences between the two correspond to the differences of the times, the former a simple mythical epic, the latter a sentimental and conscious romance." in the same sense alb. schweitzer also characterises the famous "method" of historical theology as "a continual experimentation according to settled hypotheses in which the leading thought rests in the last resort upon an intuition" ("von reimarus bis wrede," ). indeed, weinel himself, who cannot hold up against the author with sufficient scorn his lack of method and his dilettantism has to confess that the same blemishes which in his opinion characterise dilettantism are to be found even in the most prominent representatives of historical theology, in a wrede or a wellhausen. he reproaches both of these with the fact that in their researches "serious faults of a general nature and in method" are present ( ). he advises the greatest prudence in respect to wellhausen's gospel commentaries "on account of their serious general blemishes" ( ). he objects to wrede that to be consistent he must himself go over to radical dilettantism ( ). he charges schweitzer actually with dilettantism and blind bias which cause every literary consideration to be lacking ( sq.). indeed, he finds himself, in face of the "dilettante endeavours" to deny the historical jesus, compelled even to admit that liberal theology for the future "must learn to express itself with more caution and to exhibit more surely the method of religious historical comparison" ( ). he blames gunkel for imprudence in declaring christianity to be a syncretic religion, and demands that the historical works of liberal theology "should be clearer in their results and more convincing in their methods" ( ). he says that the method which they employ is at present not sure and clear enough since "it has been spoken of generally in very loose if not misleading terms," and he confesses: "we have apparently not made the measure, according to which we decide upon what is authentic and what not so in the tradition, so plain that it can always be recognised with security" ( ). now, if matters are in such a position, we non-theologians need not take too tragically the reproach of dilettantism and lack of scientific method, since it appears very much as though historical theology, with the exception at most of herr weinel, has no sure method. [ ] cf. w. v. schnehen, "der moderne jesuskultus," nd ed., , p. , a work with which even a pfleiderer has agreed in the main points; also the same author's "fr. naumann vor dem bankrott des christentums," . [ ] the excursus on "the legend of peter" which was contained in the first edition of this work, and there appears to have been rather misunderstood, has recently ( ) appeared more closely worked out and reasoned in an independent form in the neuer frankfurter verlag under the title "die petrus legende. ein beitrag zur mythologie des christentums." [ ] op cit., . [ ] ep. ad luc. . [ ] e. v. mommsen and wilamowitz in the transactions of the german archæological institute, xxiii. part iii.; "christl. welt," , no. . compare as a specially characteristic expression of that period's longing for redemption the famous fourth eclogue of virgil. also jeremias, "babylonisches im neuen testament," , pp. sqq. lietzmann, "der weltheiland," . [ ] it is certain that the old israelite jahwe only attained that spiritualised character for which he is nowadays extolled under the influence of the persians' imageless worship of god. all efforts to construct, in spite of this admission, a "qualitative" difference between jahwe and ahuramazda, as, for example, stave does in his work ("der einfluss des parsismus auf das judentum," , sq.) are unavailing. according to stave, the conception of good and evil is not grasped in mazdeism in all its purity and truth, but "has been confused with the natural." but is that distinction "grasped in all its purity" in judaism with its ritualistic legality? indeed, has it come to a really pure realisation even in christianity, in which piety and attachment to the church so often pass as identical ideas? let us give to each religion its due, and cease to be subtle in drawing such artificial distinctions in favour of our own--distinctions which fall into nothingness before every unprejudiced consideration. [ ] exod. iv. ; deut. xxxii. ; hosea xi. . [ ] isa. xlix. , . [ ] id. li. . [ ] isa. xliv. , xlv. sq. [ ] cumont, "textes et monuments figurés relatifs aux mystères de mithra," , vol. i. . [ ] isa. xi. , sqq. [ ] isa. ix. ; micah v. . [ ] psa. xlvii. , , lvii. . [ ] ch. xlv.-li. [ ] ch. vi. sqq. [ ] cf. gunkel, "zum religionsgesch. verständnis des neuen testaments," , p. , note . [ ] revelation xxii.; cf. pfleiderer, "das urchristentum. seine schriften und seine lehren," nd edit., , vol. ii. sqq. [ ] dan. xii. . [ ] the assertion advanced by grätz and lucius that the work mentioned is a forgery of a fourth-century christian foisted upon philo with the object of recommending the christian "ascesis," and that a sect of therapeutes never existed, can now be considered disposed of, since its refutation by massebiau and conybeare. cf. pfleiderer, "urchristentum," ii. sq. [ ] cf. as regards the essenes, schürer, "geschichte des jüdischen volkes im zeitalter jesu christi," , ii. - . [ ] regarding the connection between the essenes and the apocalypse, cf. hilgenfeld, "die jüdische apokalyptik," , p. sqq. [ ] on this point, cf. brandt, "die mandäische religion," ; "realenzyklop, f.d. protest. theologie u. kirche," xii. sqq.; gunkel, op. cit., sqq. [ ] cf. hilgenfeld, "ketzergeschichte des urchristentums," . [ ] gunkel, op. cit., . [ ] gen. xxxii. . [ ] numb. xx. ; exod. xiii. . [ ] exod. xxxiii. ; sam. v. . [ ] kings i. ; ezek. xliii. . [ ] isa. lxiii. sqq. [ ] psa. ii. [ ] cf. ghillany, "die menschenopfer der alten hebräer," , - ; eisenmenger, "entdecktes judentum," , i. , sqq. also movers, "die phönizier," ; i. sq. [ ] exod. xxiii. sqq. [ ] jos. xxiv. . [ ] jos. v. - . the unhistorical nature of joshua is admitted also by stade. stade counts him an ephraimitic myth, recalling to mind in so doing that the samaritans possessed an apocryphal book of the same name in place of our book of joshua ("gesch. d. volkes israel," , i. sqq., ). the samaritan book of joshua (chronicum samaritanum, published ) was written in arabic during the thirteenth century in egypt, and is based upon an old work composed in the third century b.c. containing stories which in part do not appear in our book of joshua. [ ] that the hypothesis of smith here mentioned is quite admissible from the linguistic point of view has lately been maintained by schmiedel in opposition to weinel (protestantenbl., , no. , ). [ ] epiph., "hæresiol." xxix. [ ] smith, op. cit., sq., . [ ] isa. ii. . cf. epiphanius, op. cit. [ ] id. xxix. . [ ] "enc. bibl.," art. "nazareth." [ ] "since ha-nosrîm was a very usual term for guardians or protectors, it follows that when the term or its greek equivalent hoi nazoraioi was used the adoption of its well-known meaning was unavoidable. even if the name was really derived from the village of nazareth, no one would have thought of it. every one would have unavoidably struck at once upon the current meaning. if a class of persons was called protectors, every one would understand that as meaning that they protected something. no one would hit upon it to derive their name from an otherwise unknown village named protection" (smith, op. cit., ). [ ] cf. in this connection smith, op. cit., sq., sqq. [ ] cf. cumont, op. cit., sq. [ ] matt. ii. . [ ] zech. iii. . [ ] jeremias, op. cit., ; cf. also and , notes. [ ] robertson, "a short history of christianity," , sqq. [ ] gunkel, op. cit., . [ ] id., op. cit., - ; cf. also robertson, "pagan christs," , seq. [ ] cf. robertson, op. cit., . [ ] mark v. ; luke xxiv. ; acts xviii. , xxviii. . [ ] luke ix. , x. ; acts iii. ; james v. sq. for more details regarding name magic, see w. heitmüller, "im namen jesu," . [ ] cf. on whole subject robertson, op. cit., - . [ ] ch. vii. . [ ] isa. iii. [ ] ch. xii. sqq.; cf. movers, op. cit., i. . [ ] ch. viii. . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] frazer, "the golden bough," , ii. sq. [ ] frazer, "adonis, attis, osiris," , sqq. [ ] "the golden bough," i., iii. sq. [ ] verse . [ ] op. cit., viii. - . [ ] gen. xv. . [ ] ghillany, op. cit., , , , , sqq. cf. especially the chapter "der alte hebräische nationalgott jahve," sqq. [ ] j. m. robertson, "pagan christs," - . it cannot be sufficiently insisted upon that it was only under persian influence that jahwe was separated from the gods of the other semitic races, from baal, melkart, moloch, chemosh, &c., with whom hitherto he had been almost completely identified; also that it was only through being worked upon by hellenistic civilisation that he became that "unique" god, of whom we usually think on hearing the name. the idea of a special religious position of the jewish people, the expression of which was jahwe, above all belongs to those myths of religious history which one repeats to another without thought, but which science should finally put out of the way. [ ] "golden bough," iii. - . [ ] movers, op. cit., sqq. [ ] vi. sqq., sqq. [ ] cf. gunkel, "schöpfung und chaos in urzeit und endzeit," . sq. e. schrader, "die keilinschriften und das alte testament," , - . [ ] ch. viii. . cf. also vi. , . [ ] "abhandlungen d. kgl. ges. d. wissenschaften zu göttingen," xxxiv. [ ] cf. also p. wendland, "ztschr. hermes," xxxiii., , sqq., and robertson, op. cit., , note . [ ] in the same way the phrygian attis, whose name characterises him as himself the "father," was also honoured as the "son," beloved and spouse of cybele, the mother goddess. he thus varied between a father god, the high king of heaven, and the divine son of that god. [ ] frazer, op. cit., iii. - . cf. also robertson, "pagan christs," - . [ ] keim, "geschichte jesu," , note. [ ] ghillany, op. cit., sqq. [ ] id. . [ ] sam. xxi. ; cf. lev. xxiii. - . [ ] "hist.," xviii. . [ ] kings iii. . [ ] "hist. nat.," xxxiv. , § . [ ] mentioned in eusebius, "praeparatio evangelica," i. . cf. movers, op. cit., sq. [ ] "der mythus bei den hebräern," , - . [ ] cf. ghillany, op. cit., sqq.; daumer, op. cit., sqq., . [ ] numb. xx. sqq., xxvii. sqq., xxxiii. sqq., deut. xxxii. sqq. cf. ghillany, op. cit., - . [ ] deut. xviii. . [ ] cf. heb. v. [ ] diodorus siculus, ii. . [ ] justin, "dial. cum tryphone," cap. xc. [ ] schürer, op. cit., ii. . cf. also wünsche, "die leiden des messias," . [ ] see above, page sqq. [ ] cf. eisenmenger, op. cit., ii. sqq.; gfrörer, "das jahrhundert des heils," , ii. sqq.; lützelberger, "die kirchl. tradition über den apostel johannes u. s. schriften," , - ; dalman, "der leidende und der sterbende messias der synagoge im ersten nachchristlichen jahrtausend," ; bousset, "die religion des judentums, im neutestamentlichen zeitalter," , sq.; jeremias, op. cit., sq. [ ] op. cit., . [ ] op. cit., sq. [ ] kautzsch, "pseudoepigraphen," . [ ] winckler, op. cit., - . cf. also jeremias, op. cit., , and his "das alte testament im lichte des alten orients," , sq. [ ] gen. xl. [ ] luke xxiii. - ; cf. also isa. lxxx. . [ ] jos. v. sqq. [ ] amos viii. ; cf. movers, op. cit., . [ ] cf. robertson, "pagan christs," . [ ] numb. xiv. [ ] id. xiii. ; gen. xlviii. . [ ] id. xiii. ; gen. xlix. . [ ] chron. iv. . [ ] judges ii. . [ ] id. iv. [ ] cf. nork, "realwörterbuch," - , ii. sq. [ ] cf. on whole subject martin brückner, "der sterbende und auferstehende gottheiland in den orientalischen religionen und ihr verhältnis zum christentum. religionsgesch. volksbücher," . [ ] ch. ii. - . [ ] ch. iii. - . [ ] ch. v. - . [ ] ch. xii. [ ] "zum religionsgesch. verst. d. n.t.," . [ ] "l'origine de tous les cultes," , v. . [ ] "abraxas," . [ ] cf. regarding the mythical nature of moses, who is to be looked upon as an offshoot of jahwe and tammuz, winckler, op. cit., - . [ ] cf. also o. pfleiderer, "das christusbild des urchristlichen glaubens in religionsgesch. beleuchtung," , . also jeremias, "das a.t. im lichte des alten orients," . [ ] i. . [ ] cf. plutarch, "artaxerxes," ch. i. [ ] movers, op. cit., . [ ] ii. , . [ ] bousset, "das judentum," . [ ] kings xi. sq. [ ] schrader, "die keilinschriften u. d. a.t.," . [ ] winckler, op. cit., sqq., jeremias, "das a.t. im lichte d. a. o.," nd. ed., sqq.; cf. also baentsch, "david und sein zeitalter. wissenschaft u. bildung," . [ ] ep. viii. . [ ] id. xlii. . [ ] ch. v. . [ ] gen. xxxv. - ; deut. xxxiii. ; gen. xliv. . [ ] cf. nork, "realwörterbuch," i. sq. [ ] the other famous "prophecy" supposed to refer to the birth of the messiah, viz., isaiah vii. , is at present no longer regarded as such by many. the passage obviously does not refer to the messiah. this is shown by a glance at the text, and it would hardly have been considered so long as bearing that meaning, if any one had taken the trouble to read it in its context. consider the situation. queen rezin of syria and pekah of israel march against the jewish king ahaz, who is therefore much troubled. at the command of jahwe the prophet goes to the king in order to exhort him to courage, and urges him to pray for a sign of the happy outcome of the fight. he, however, refuses to tempt god. thereupon isaiah himself gives him a sign. "behold," he says, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel, god be with us. before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken." and undisturbed by the fact that this prophecy for the moment can give but little encouragement to the king, isaiah goes with the help of two witnesses(!) to a prophetess and gets her with child in order to make his words true(!). the text does not say in what relationship the woman stood to isaiah. the hebrew word almah may mean "young woman" as well as "virgin." the septuagint, however, thoughtlessly making the passage refer to the messiah, and having before its eyes very possibly the stories of the miraculous birth of the heathen redeemer gods, translates the word straightway by "virgin," without thinking what possible light it thereby threw upon isaiah. [ ] ch. lx. sqq. [ ] psa. lxviii. sq. [ ] dupuis, op. cit., . [ ] matt. i. sq. [ ] the feasts of the gods in question also correspond to this in character. they fell upon the solstice (the birthday or day of death of the sun), so far as their connection with the sun was emphasized. on the contrary, upon the equinoxes, so far as their connection with vegetation was concerned, sowing and harvest were brought into prominence. usually, however, death and reappearance were joined in one single feast, and this was celebrated at the time in spring when day and night were of equal length, when vegetation was at its highest, and in the east the harvest was begun. cf. jeremias, "babylonisches im n.t.," sq. [ ] one should compare the description given by hommel of the climate of babylonia (op. cit., ) with the picture of the natural occurrences which, according to gunkel, gave occasion for the myth of the birth of marduk, and the threatening of the child by the "winter dragon," tiâmat. "before spring descends to the earth from heaven, winter has had its grim (!) rule upon the earth. men pine away (in the country of the two rivers!) beneath its sway, and look up to heaven wondering if deliverance will not come. the myth consoles them with the story that the god of spring who will overthrow winter has already been born. the god of winter who knows for what he is destined is his enemy, and would be very pleased if he could devour him. and winter at present ruling is much stronger than the weak child. but his endeavour to get rid of his enemy comes to nought. do you then want to know why he is so grim? he knows that he has only a short time. his might is already broken although we may be yet unaware of it. the year has already changed to spring. the child grows up in heaven; the days become longer, the light of the sun stronger. as soon as he is grown up he descends and overthrows his old enemy. 'only trust in god without despair, spring must come'" ("schöpfung und chaos," sq.). [ ] dupuis has already pointed this out, op. cit., . [ ] macrobius, "saturnal.," i. , i. - . [ ] "adversus nationes," v. and . [ ] cf. simrock, "handbuch der deutschen mythologie," th ed., , and . [ ] op. cit., . the transfixing of the victim with the holy lance, as we meet it in john xix. , appears to be a very old sacrificial custom, which is found among the most different races. for example, both among the scythian tribes in albania in the worship of astarte (strabo) and in salamis, on the island of cyprus, in that of moloch (eusebius, "praep. evang.," iv. ). "the lance thrust," says ghillany, with reference to the saviour's death, "was not given with the object of testing whether the sufferer was still alive, but was in order to correspond with the old method of sacrificing. the legs were not broken because the victim could not be mutilated. in the evening the corpse had to be taken down, just as joshua only allowed the kings sacrificed to the sun to remain until evening upon the cross" (op. cit., ). [ ] frazer, op. cit., sq. f. kauffmann, "balder mythus u. sage nach ihren dichterischen u. religiösen elementen untersucht," , sq. [ ] rigv. v. , v. , iii. , vii. , i. , &c. [ ] hillebrand, "vedische mythologie," - , ii. sq. [ ] according to early christian writers, such as justin and origen, jesus also came into the world in a cave, and jerome complains (epist. lviii.) that in his time the heathens celebrated the feast of the birth of tammuz at bethlehem in the same cave in which jesus was born. [ ] i. , ; v. , ; v. , ; iii. , ; i. , ; x. , . [ ] iii. , ; iii. , ; v. , ; v. , , and ; iii. , ; x. , , and . [ ] cf. volney, "die ruinen," (reclam), note to chap. xiii. this is the reason why the infant christ was represented in early christian pictures lying in his mother's lap or in a cradle between an ox and an ass. [ ] jeremias, "babylonisches im neuen testament," , note . cf. dupuis, op. cit., sqq. [ ] dupuis, op. cit., sq. [ ] cf. also winckler, "die babylonische geisteskultur wissenschaft u. bildung," . jeremias, "babylonisches im n.t.," sqq. the astral references of the christ myth are very beautifully shown in the "thomakapelle" at karlsruhe, where the master has depicted in costly profusion and unconscious insight the chief points of the gospel "history" in connection with the signs of the zodiac and the stars--the riddle of the christ story and its solution! as is well known, the theological faculty in heidelburg conferred an "honorary doctorate of theology" upon the master. [ ] "le lalita vistara, traduit du sanscrit en français," i. sqq. [ ] further in r. seydel, "die buddhalegende u. das leben jesu," nd ed., , and in his "das evangelium von jesus in seinem verhältnis zur buddhasage u. buddhalegende," . also van den bergh van eysinga, "indische einflüsse auf evang. erzählungen," nd ed., . cf. also o. pfleiderer, "das christusbild," sqq. [ ] "urchristentum," i. sq. [ ] robertson, "christianity and mythology," , - . [ ] op. cit., sqq., - ; cf., on the other hand, paul w. schmidt, "die geschichte jesu erläutert," , . [ ] cf. also seydel, "evangelium von jesus," sqq.; "buddha-legende," sqq. also Émile burnouf, "la science des religions," th ed., , . [ ] r. kessler, "realenz. f. prot. theol. u. kirche," xii. . [ ] foucaux, "le lalita vistara," i. . [ ] hippolytus, op. cit., , ; epiphanius, op. cit., , . [ ] cf. pfleiderer, "christusbild," sq. [ ] cf. also max müller, "natural religion"; bergaigne, "la religion védique d'après les hymnes du rigveda," - ; holtzmann, "agni nach den vorstellungen des mahâbhârata," . [ ] rgv. iii. , , . [ ] id. ii. ; i. ; xcv. , ; x. , ; viii. , . [ ] id. iii. , ; i. , . cf. also adalb. kuhn, "die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertrankes," nd ed., - . in mazdeism also the light is indissolubly connected with the air, passing as this does as its bearer. cf. f. cumont, "textes et monuments," i. , ii. sq., and his "mystères de mithra." [ ] il., xi. ; cf. movers, op. cit., sq. [ ] cf. john x. , , . [ ] o. gruppe, "griech. mythologie," , ii. , note . [ ] id., op. cit., . according to the arabian legend father abraham, also, who here plays the part of a saviour and redeemer, was under the name of thare, a skilful master workman, understanding how to cut arrows from any wood, and being specially occupied with the preparation of idols (sepp, "das heidentum und dessen bedeutung für das christentum," , iii. ). [ ] "praep. evang.," ix. . [ ] cor. viii. . [ ] gruppe, op. cit., , . [ ] preller, "griech. mythol.," , sq., . [ ] robertson, "christianity and mythology," . [ ] matt. iii. ; mark i. ; luke iii. . [ ] phereda or pheredet, the dove, is the chaldaic root of the name aphrodite, as the goddess in the car drawn by two doves was called among the greeks. in the whole of nearer asia the cult of doves was connected with that of the mother goddess. as is well known, the dove as a symbol of innocence or purity is also the bird of the virgin mary, who is often compared to one. indeed, in the protevangelium of james she is actually called a dove which nested in the temple, a plain reference to the dove cult of the syrian aphrodite or atargatis (astarte, astaroth). [ ] irenæus, i. . [ ] hippolytus iv. . this brings to mind that, according to persian ideas also, besides the trinity of heaven (ahuramazda), sun, fire (mithras), and air (spirit, "word," honover, spenta armaiti), the earth stood as a fourth principle (anahita, anaitis, tanit). this stood in the same relation to mithras as istar to tammuz, cybele to attis, atargatis to adonis, maya to agni, aphrodite to hermes, mary to jesus, &c., becoming identical, however, usually with the "word" of god, the holy spirit (cumont, op. cit., ii. sq.). [ ] "dialog.," . [ ] one cannot therefore say, as is usual, that mark, in whom the story of the birth given in matthew and luke is not found, knew nothing of a supernatural birth of christ. for the narrative of the baptism is the history of his birth, while the corresponding narrative of the other evangelists only came into existence later, when the original sense of the story of the baptism in mark was no longer understood. [ ] quoted in usener, "religionsgesch. untersuchungen," , i. . [ ] thus mithras also was said to have been born on the bank of a river, just as jesus received baptism in or near the jordan. on this account "the rock-born" was usually represented with a torch in his left and a sword or knife in his right hand (cumont, "myst. d. mithra," ). this recalls to mind the words of jesus in matt. x. : "i came not to send peace, but a sword." [ ] cf. wobbermin, "religionsgesch. studien zur frage der beeinflussung des urchristentums durch das antike mysterienwesen," , sqq. the christian church also surrounded the act of baptism with an unusual splendour of lights and candles. not only was the house of god lit up on this occasion in a festive manner, but each individual to be baptized had to carry a burning candle. the sermons which have come down to us delivered on the feast of the epiphany, the feast of the birth and baptism of the saviour which in earlier days fell together(!), excel in the description of the splendour of the lights; indeed, the day of the feast itself was actually called "the day of lights" or "the lights" (phota). [ ] rgv. x. , . [ ] id. v. , . [ ] "antiq.," xviii. , . [ ] "contra celsum," i. . [ ] graetz calls it "a shameless interpolation" ("gesch. d. juden," , iii. ). cf. j. chr. k. v. hofmann, "die heiligen schriften des n.t.," vii. tl. , , ; schürer, "gesch. den jüdischen volkes im zeitalter jesu," i. , note. [ ] cf. sepp., op. cit., i. sqq. [ ] cf. usener, op. cit., . [ ] i. , , , ; cf. matt. iv. . [ ] luke i. sqq. [ ] gen. xvii. sqq. [ ] judges, xiii. sqq. [ ] john v. . [ ] id. iii. . [ ] luke i. . [ ] matt. iii. . [ ] kings i. . [ ] matt. xi. . [ ] cf. nork, "realwörterbuch," i. sqq. the baptist john in the gospels also appears as the "forerunner," announcer, herald, and preparer of the way for jesus, and it appears that the position of aaron in regard to moses, he being given the latter as a mouthpiece or herald, has helped in the invention of the baptist's figure. a similar position is taken in the old testament by the "angel of the countenance," the messenger, mediator, ambassador, and "beginning of the way of god," the rabbinic metatron, whom we saw earlier was identical with joshua (see above, p. sq.). in the syro-phoenician and the greek mysteries cadmus, kadmilos, or kadmiel, a form of the divine messenger and mediator hermes, also called iasios (joshua), corresponded to him, his name literally meaning "he who goes before god" or prophesies of him, the announcer, herald, or forerunner of the coming god (cf. schelling, "die gottheiten von samothrake ww.," i. , , sqq.). ezra ii. , , and nehem. vii. , call kadmiel a levite, he being always named together with the high priest joshua. it is probably only another name of the latter himself, and characterises him as servant and herald of god. now kadmiel is the discoverer of writing and the establisher of civilisation, and in so far identical with oannes, the babylonian "water-man" and baptism-god (movers, op. cit., sqq.). can oannes (johannes) the baptist in this way have become kadmiel, the "forerunner" and preparer of the way of jesus, who announced his near arrival, and the god jesus, in consequence of this, have divided into two different figures, that of joshua-kadmiel (johannes) and the messiah jesus? in this regard it is certainly not without significance that the figure of the high priest joshua in zechariah wavers between the messiah (zemah) and a mere forerunner of the latter. john's question to jesus, "art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?" (matt. xi. ) is exactly the question which strikes the reader in reading the corresponding passage of zechariah. possibly the presence of the dove at the baptism in the jordan obtains in this way a still closer explanation, for semiramis, the dove goddess, is the spouse of oannes (ninus); john and the dove accordingly are the parents, who are present at the "birth" of the divine son. but the violent death of john at herod's command and the head of the prophet upon the dish have prototypes in the myth of cadmus. for the head of the latter is supposed to have been cut off by his brother and to have been buried upon a brazen shield, a cult story which plays a part especially in the mysteries of the cabiri gods, to whom cadmus belongs (cf. creuzer, "symbolik und mythologie der alten völker," , ii. ). according to josephus (op. cit.) john was put to death because herod feared political disorders from his appearance, while matthew makes him fall a victim to herod's revenge, the latter having been censured by john for his criminal marriage with the wife of his brother. moreover, the prophet elijah, who accuses ahab of having yielded to his wife jezebel and of having murdered naboth ( kings xxi.), as well as the prophet nathan, who reproaches david for having killed uriah and having married his wife ( sam. xii., cf. also esther v. , ), are also prototypes. according to this a religious movement or sect must, in the minds of posterity, have been condensed into the figure of john the baptist. its followers, who closely resembled the essenes, in view of the imminent nearness of the kingdom of heaven, exhorted men to a conversion of mind, looked upon the messiah in the sense of daniel essentially as the god appointed ("awakened") judge over the living and the dead, and sought by baptism to apply to the penitents the magic effects which should flow from the name of their cult god johannes (oannes), the babylonian-mandaic baptism and water-god. the stern and gloomy character of this sect may have been reflected in the character sketch of the john in the gospels, and between it and the sect of jesus many collisions, disagreements, and conversions appear to have taken place (matt. xi. sq.; luke vii. sqq.; john i. ). possibly the sect of jesus was originally only an excrescence from, and a development of, the conception which the disciples of john had of the messiah, as is indicated by the supposed blood relationship between jesus and john. at any rate, the adherents of the former in their belief in the sufferings, death, and resurrection of the messiah felt that their point of view was higher and more perfect as compared with that of john's disciples, who do not appear to have risen essentially above the general ideas of the jewish apocalyptics. according to matthew iii. jesus came out of galilee, the "galilee of the heathens," to the baptism of john. herein the original heathenish origin of the faith of jesus was pointed to. "the people which sat in darkness have seen a great light. to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, to them did light spring up" (matt. iv. ; cf. smith, op. cit., ). the opposition of the two different sects was, at any rate, so great that john's disciples needed a further instruction and a new baptism "in the name of the lord jesus" to receive the holy ghost, in order to be received into the christian community. for example, the twelve at ephesus, who had simply received the baptism of john, as well as the eloquent and literary alexandrian, apollo, who none the less proclaimed the message of salvation (ta peri tou iesou) (acts xviii. sqq., xix. - ). [ ] cf., sepp, "heidentum," i. sq., sq.; winckler, "die babylonische geisteskultur," , sq. by this reference of the gospel story to the sun's course it appears that the activity of jesus from his baptism in the jordan to his death, according to the account of the synoptics, only covered a year. it is the mythological year of the sun's course through the watery region in january and february until the complete exhaustion of its strength in december. [ ] mark ix. - . [ ] the horns (crescent) which he also shares with jahwe, as the syrian hadah shows (winckler, "gesch. israels," ii. ), recalls to mind the moon nature of moses. moses is, as regards his name, the "water-drawer." the moon is, however, according to antique views, merely the water-star, the dispenser of the dew and rain, and the root ma (mo), which, in the name of moses, refers to water, is also contained in the various expressions for the moon. [ ] "contra tryph.," xlvi. [ ] cf. above, . [ ] burnouf, op. cit., sq. [ ] that in the closer description of this occurrence old testament ideas have had their part has already been advanced by others. thus in the transfiguration of jesus the transfiguration of moses upon sinai without doubt passed before the mind of the narrator. and just as jesus took with him his three chief disciples on to the mount of transfiguration, so moses took his three trusted followers, aaron, nadab, and abihu, to partake in the vision of jahwe (strauss, "leben jesu," ii. sqq.). [ ] rgv. x. ; cf. i. , . [ ] id. iii. , vi. . [ ] max müller, "einleitung in die vergl. religionswissenschaft," note to p. . [ ] rigv. x. . [ ] the rigveda describes purusha as a gigantic being (cf. the eddic ymir) who covers the earth upon all sides and stretches ten fingers beyond. the talmud, too (chagiga, xii. ), ascribes to the first man adam a gigantic size, reaching as he did with his head to heaven and with his feet to the end of the world. indeed, according to epiphanius ("haeres." xix. ), the essenes made the size of christ too, the "second adam," stretch an immeasurable distance. [ ] in hebrew messiah means "the anointed." but agni too as god of sacrifices bears the name of the anointed, akta (above, p. ). indeed, it appears as though the greek christ, as a translation of messiah, stands in relation to agni. for the god over whom at his birth was poured milk or the holy soma cup and sacrificial butter, bore the surname of hari among the members of the cult. the word signified originally the brightness produced by anointing with fat and oil. it appears in the greek charis, an epithet of aphrodite, and is contained in the verb chrio, to anoint, of which christos is the participial form (cf. cox, "mythology of the aryan nations," , , ). [ ] the bhagavadgîta shows that the idea of a self-sacrifice was associated with krishna also, whom we have already learnt to recognise as a form of agni, and that his becoming man was regarded as such a sacrifice. it (ii. ) runs: "i am the act of sacrifice, the sacrifice of god and of man. i am the sap of the plant, the words, the sacrificial butter and fire, and at the same time the victim." and in viii. krishna says of himself: "my presence in nature is my transitory being, my presence in the gods is purusha (i.e., my existence as purusha), my presence in the sacrifices is myself incorporated in this body." but mithras too offers himself for mankind. for the bull whose death at the hands of the god takes the central position in all the representations of mithras was originally none other than the god himself--the sun in the constellation of the bull, at the spring equinox--the sacrifice of the bull accordingly being also a symbol of the god who gives his own life, in order by his death to bring a new, richer and better life. mithras, too, performs this self-sacrifice, although his heart struggles against it, at the command of the god of heaven, which is brought to him by a raven, the messenger of the god of gods. (cf. cumont, op. cit., sqq.). and just as according to vedic ideas purusha was torn in pieces by the gods and dæmons and the world made out of his parts, so too according to persian views the world bull abudad or the bull man gayomart at the beginning of creation is supposed to have shed his blood for the world, to live again as mithras (sepp., op. cit., i. , ii. sq.). [ ] cumont, "myst. de mithra," . [ ] rgv. x. . [ ] id. x. , . [ ] id. lx.; cf. also burnouf, op. cit., sqq. [ ] op. cit., vii. . he is jahwe, the king of jeru-salem itself (josephus, "ant.," x. ), and corresponds to the phoenician moloch (melech) sidyk, who offered his only born son, jehud, to the people as an expiation. cf. supra, p. . [ ] op. cit., xix. , xxxii. , xliv. , xvi. . [ ] op. cit., lxv. . [ ] as is well known, the germanic first man, mannus, according to tacitus, was a son of the hermaphrodite thuisto. [ ] lev. xxiv. - . [ ] jos. iv. sqq.; ch. v. [ ] thus helios also, the greek sun-god, the heavenly physician and saviour, annually prepared the "sun's table" in nature, causing the fruit to ripen, the healing herbs to grow, and inviting mortals to the life-giving feast. "this table of the sun was always spread in the land of the happy and long-living ethiopians; even the twelve gods journeyed thither each year with zeus for twelve days, i.e., in the last octave of the old and new year, as though to the feast of agape" (sepp., op. cit., i. ). for the rest the number twelve had throughout the whole of antiquity in connection with such ceremonial feasts a typical signification. for example, among the athenians, whose common religious feasts were celebrated annually on the occasion of the spring sacrifices; also among the jews at least twelve persons had to be assembled round the table of the easter lamb (sepp., op. cit., ii. sqq.). [ ] ghillany, op. cit., sqq. [ ] preller, "griech. mythol.," , , and his "röm. mythol.," . [ ] strabo, xi. ; justin, xlii. . [ ] preller, "griech. mytholog.," . [ ] it is worth while to observe that the high priest joshua returned to jerusalem at the head of twelve elders (ezra ii. ; nehem. vii. . cf. stade, "gesch. d. v. israel," ii. ). [ ] cf. movers, op. cit., sqq.; sepp., "heidentum," , . [ ] cf. jeremias, "babyl. im n.t.," - . [ ] rgv. vi. . [ ] cf. "the hymns to dadhikra," iv. - . [ ] cf. burnouf, op. cit., . the connection between the fire-god and water is of extreme antiquity. as is well known, in the edda loki seeks to escape the pursuit of the gods in the shape of a salmon; hephaistos, too, after being cast forth from heaven remains concealed in the sea until dionysus brings him out; in rome on the nd of august fish from the tiber used to be sacrificed to vulcan, being cast living into the fire in representation of the souls of men (preller, "röm. mythol.," ii. ). it is uncertain whether or to what degree the relations of the sun to the constellation of the fishes have influenced these images. as regards babylon, where astrology underwent the most accurate development, this can indeed be looked upon as certain. here ea (oannes), the god of water and of life, the father of the redeemer god marduk, was represented under the form of a fish. again, it was not only to the philistinian dagon that fish as well as doves were sacred (above, p. ), but also to the syrian atargatis, the latter having borne, as was said, the "ichthus," or fish, and the worship of fish being connected with devotion to her (robertson smith, "religion of the semites," sqq.). in egypt horus was the "divine fish," being represented with a fish-tail and holding a cross in the hand. but the joshua of the old testament, in whom we believe we see the israelite original of the christian saviour, was also called a "son of the fish" (nun, ninus, a form of marduk, whose spouse or beloved, semiramis, is also a fish divinity and is the same as derketo (atargatis), the syrian mother goddess.) the rabbinists called the messiah son of joseph (see above, p. sq.), dag (dagon) the fish, and made him to be born of a fish; that is, they expected his birth under the constellation of the fishes, on which account the jews were long accustomed to immolate a fish on expiatory feasts. finally, the fish is also vishnu's symbol, in whose worship baptism of water takes an important place. again, the god is said in the form of a fish to have come to the rescue of the pious manu, the only just man of his time, the indian noah, and to have steered the ark through the flood, thus ensuring to mankind its continuation. it is not difficult to suppose that this idea as well influenced the symbols of christianity through mandaic (gnostic) channels. at any rate, it cannot be admitted at all that the symbol of the fish first arose out of a mere play on letters so far as the formula "jesous christos theou huios soter" represents in five words the expression of the quintessence of the christian faith (cf. van den bergh van eysinga, "ztschr. d. deutchen morgenländ. gesellschaft b.," ix., , sqq.). [ ] cf. iamblichus, "de symbol. aegyptiorum," ii. . [ ] gunkel, op. cit., . sq.; robertson, "pagan christs," sq. [ ] op. cit., v. sq. [ ] rev. xxi. . [ ] hatch, "the influence of greek ideas and usages upon the christian church," hibbert lectures, , . [ ] john i. , ; ix. ; xii. , . [ ] sepp., i. . [ ] burnouf, op. cit., sq. [ ] cf., for example, f. x. kraus, "geschichte d. christl. kunst," i. . [ ] "hist. rom.," i. . [ ] cf. zöckler, "das kreuz christi," , sqq.; hochart, "Études d'histoire religieuse," , chap, x., "la crucifix." [ ] aringhi, "roma subterranea," vi. ch. , "de cervo." [ ] cf. on the other hand justin, "apol.," i. . [ ] esther v. , vii. . [ ] cf. the picture of marsyas hanging upon a tree-trunk in the collection of antiquities at karlsruhe; also the illustrations in p. schmidt, "die geschichte jesu, erläutert," . [ ] movers, op. cit., ; nork, "reallexikon," ii. sq.; frazer, "adonis, attis, osiris," sq. [ ] rev. ii. , xxii. . [ ] lxvi. . [ ] ix. , . [ ] exod. xvii. sqq. [ ] for particulars see zöckler, op. cit., sqq.; also hochart, op. cit., chap, viii., "le symbole de la croix"; g. de mortillet, "le signe de la croix avant le christianisme," ; mourant brock, "la croix payenne et chrétienne," ; goblet d'alviella, "la migration des symboles," . [ ] henry petersen, "Über den gottesdienst u. den götterglauben des nordens während der heidenzeit," , sqq. sqq. [ ] zöckler, op. cit., sqq. [ ] winckler, "die babyl. geisteskultur," . [ ] tertullian, "contra haereses," . [ ] burnouf, op. cit., . [ ] goblet d'alviella, op. cit., . sqq. cf. also ludw. müller, "det saakaldte hagekors anvendelse og betydning i oldtiden," . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] one feels the words of revelation quoted above brought to his mind: "and madest them to be unto our god a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth!" [ ] "de errore profanae religionis," i. . [ ] op. cit., § . [ ] "apolog.," i. ch. . [ ] iii. , vii. sqq., ix. , xiv. , xx. , xxii. . [ ] gal. vi. ; ephes. i. sq. [ ] mourant brock, op. cit., sqq., sqq. [ ] so also in tertullian when, with reference to the passage of ezekiel above quoted (ix. ), he describes the greek letter tau as "our [the christians'] kind of cross" (nostra species crucis), not because it had the shape of the gibbet upon which jesus is supposed to have died, but because it represented the seal or sign upon the inhabitants of the new jerusalem ("contra marcionem," iii. ). and when in the same work (iii. ) he explains the horns of the "unicorn" (ox?) mentioned in the blessing of moses (deut. xxxiii. ) as the two arms of the cross, this happens only for the reason that the sign of union and uplifting and the gibbet became commingled in his fancy into the one and the same form (cf. also "adv. judaeos," , and justin, "dial.," ; also hochart, op. cit., - ). [ ] zöckler, op. cit., sq. [ ] frazer, "adonis, attis, osiris," sq., sqq. [ ] cf. on the whole subject hochart, op. cit., sqq.; p. schmidt, "gesch. jesu," - . in spite of all his efforts zöckler has not succeeded in proving that jesus was nailed to a piece of wood having the form of a four-armed cross. the assertion that this form of gibbet was borrowed by the romans from the carthaginians, and was the usual one in late pre-christian days, is simply a figment of the imagination. all passages usually brought forward in support of this traditional view either prove nothing, as the appeal to luke xxiv. , john xx. and , or they refer to the symbol, not to the gibbet of the cross, and consequently cannot serve to support the usual view of the matter (zöckler, op. cit., especially ; sqq.). [ ] "geschichte der christlichen kunst," . [ ] cf. detzel, "christl. ikonographie," , sqq.; hochart, op. cit., sqq. [ ] moreover, the so-called flabellum, the fan, which in the early christian pictures of the birth of christ a servant holds before the child, shows the connection of the christ cult and that of agni. this fan, which was in use in divine service of the western church as late as the fourteenth century, cannot be for the driving away of insects or for cooling purposes, as is usually considered, for this would obviously be in contradiction to the "winter" birth of the saviour. it refers to the fanning of the divine spark in the ancient indian fire-worship. in this sense it has been retained until the present day in the greek and armenian rites, in which during the mass the fan is waved to and fro over the altar. a synopsis of all the facts and illustrations bearing on the matter are to be found in a. malvert's "wissenschaft und religion," . [ ] of course the "acts of the apostles" is, and remains in spite of all modern attempts at vindication (harnack), a very untrustworthy historical document, and the information it gives as to paul's life is for the most part mere fiction. we need not go so far as jensen, who disputes the existence at any time of an historical paul ("moses, jesus, paulus. drei sagenvarianten des babylonischen gottmenschen gilgamesch," aufl., ), but will nevertheless not be able to avoid the view that the description of paul, as bruno bauer has already shown, represents an original, in any case very much worked over, and in the opinion of many only a copy of the original, which preceded it in the portrayal of the "chief of the apostles," peter (cf., on the historical value of the acts, also e. zeller, "die apg. nach ihrem inhalt und ursprung kritisch untersucht," ). [ ] cf. h. jordan, "jesus und die modernen jesusbilder. bibl. zeit- u. streitfragen," , . [ ] "to create authors who have never written a letter, to forge whole series of books, to date the most recent production back into grey antiquity, to cause the well-known philosophers to utter opinions diametrically opposed to their real views, these and similar things were quite common during the last century before and the first after christ. people cared little at that time about the author of a work, if only its contents were in harmony with the taste and needs of the age" (e. zeller, "vorträge u. abhdlg.," , sq.). "it was at that time a favourite practice to write letters for famous men. a collection of not less than letters was attributed to the tyrant phalaris, who ruled agrigentum in the sixth century b.c. beyschlag has proved that they were ascribed to him in the time of antoninus. similarly the letters attributed to plato, to euripides and others, are spurious. it would have been indeed strange if this custom of the age had not gained an influence over the growing christian literature, for such forgery would be produced most easily in the religious sphere, since it was here not a question of producing particular thoughts, but of being an organ of the common religious spirit working in the individual" (steck, op. cit., sq.; cf. also holtzmann, "einl. in das n.t.," aufl., sqq.). [ ] e. vischer, "die paulusbriefe, rel. volksb.," , sq. [ ] op. cit., ix. sqq. [ ] cor. xv. sqq. [ ] cf. w. seufert, "der ursprung und die bedeutung des apostolates in der christlichen kirche der ersten jahrhunderte," , , . [ ] an attempt is now being made to prove the contrary, citing cor. v. , which runs: "wherefore we henceforth know no man after the flesh: even though we have known christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more." the passage has been most differently explained. according to baur the "christ after the flesh" refers to the jewish messiah, the expected king and earthly saviour of the jews from political and social distress, in whom even paul believed at an earlier date; and the meaning of the passage quoted is that this sensuous and earthly conception of the messiah had given place in him to the spiritual conception ("die christuspartei in der kor. gemeinde tüb. ztschr.," , heft, ). according to heinrici the "even though we have known" is not a positive assertion of a point of view which had once determined his judgment of christ, but a hypothetical instance, which excludes a false point of view without asserting anything as to its actuality ("komment," ). according to beyschlag the passage is to be understood as asserting that paul had seen jesus at jerusalem during his life on earth. but with paul there is no talk of a mere seeing, but rather of a knowing. lütgert disproves all these different hypotheses with the argument that the words "after the flesh" refer not to christ but to the verb. "the apostle no longer knows any one 'after the flesh,' and so he no longer knows jesus thus. at an earlier stage his knowledge of christ was 'after the flesh.' at that time he did not have the spirit of god which made him able to see in jesus the son of god. paul then is not protecting himself from the jews, who denied him a personal knowledge of jesus, but from the pneumatics, who denied him a pneumatic knowledge of jesus" ("freiheitspredigt und schwarmgeister in korinth," , - ). [ ] gal. i. , ; cor. ii. ; cor. iv. . [ ] gal. i. - . [ ] gal. ii. sqq. [ ] id. i. . [ ] matt. xxviii. ; mark xiii. sqq.; john xx. . [ ] in the opinion of the dutch school of theologians, whom schläger follows in his essay, "das wort kürios (herr) in seiner bezichung auf gott oder jesus christus" ("theol. tijdschrift," , , part i.), this mention of the "brother of the lord" does not come from paul; as according to schläger, all the passages in cor., which speak of jesus under the title "kurios," are interpolated. "missionary travels of brothers of jesus are unknown to us from any other quarter, and are also in themselves improbable" (op. cit., ; cf. also steck, op. cit., sq.). [ ] similarly origen, "contra celsum," i. ; cf. smith, op. cit., sq. [ ] cf. as to this sieffert in "realenzyklop. f. prot. theol. und kirche" under "james." in ezr. ii. and there is also mention of "brothers" of the high priest joshua, by which only the priests subordinate to him seem to be meant; and in justin ("dial c. tryph.," ) the apostles are collectively spoken of as "brothers of jesus." similarly in rev. xii. , those "who keep the word of god and bear testimony to jesus christ" are spoken of as children of the heavenly woman and also as brothers and sisters of the divine redeemer, whom the dragon attempts to swallow up together with his mother. as revelation owes its origin to a pre-christian jesus-cult, the designation of pious brothers of a community as physical brothers of jesus seems also to have been customary in that cult, antecedent to the pauline epistles and the gospels. [ ] this is actually the view of the dutch school of theologians. [ ] a. kalthoff, "was wissen wir von jesus? eine abrechnung mit prof. d. bousset," , . [ ] cor. vii. . [ ] id. ix. . [ ] cor. xi. . [ ] cf. brandt, "die evangel. geschichte u. d. ursprung d. christentums," , . schläger also agrees with the dutch school, and produces telling arguments in favour of the view that cor. xi. - is an interpolation. "in our opinion," he says, "the opening words, 'for i received of the lord,' betray the same attempt as can be seen in vii. and ix. --and probably the attempt of one and the same interpolator--to trace back church institutions and regulations to the authority of the lord, of the kurios. in the three cases in which the latter is mentioned he is called 'the lord,' which is a fact well worthy of consideration in view of the usual designation." schläger also shows that verse is a very appropriate conclusion to verse ; while as they stand now the logical connection is broken in a forcible manner by the interpolation of the account of the last supper. another proof of the interpolation of - is to be found, schläger thinks, in the fact that in verse as in verse the corinthians are addressed in the second person, while in verses and the first person plural is used (op. cit., sq.). in view of these notorious facts we can hardly understand how german theologians can with such decision adhere to the authenticity of the passage, reproaching those who contest it with "faults in method." as against this view of theirs schläger justly objects that "references to words and events from the life of jesus are so isolated in the pauline writings that we are entitled to and forced to raise the question as to each such reference, whether it is not the reflection of a later age, of an age which already placed confidence in the gospel literature, that brought jesus' authority into the text" (schläger, op. cit., ). and the critical theologians are convinced that the writings of the new testament are worked over to a great extent, rectified to accord with the church, and in many places interpolated. but when some one else brings this to publicity, and dares to doubt the authenticity of a passage, they immediately raise a great outcry, and accuse him of wilfully misrepresenting the text; as if there were even one single such passage on which the views of critics are not divergent! [ ] m. brückner's opinion also is "that the pauline account of the scene at the last supper is in all probability not a purely historical one, but is a dogmatic representation of the festival." and he adds: "in any case just on account of its religious importance this scene cannot be cited to prove paul's acquaintance with the details of jesus' life" ("die entstehung der paulinischen christologie," , ). cf. also robertson, "christianity and mythology," sq. [ ] holtzmann has, as a matter of fact, in an essay in the "christliche welt" (no. , ) recently attempted to prove the contrary, citing from paul a number of moral exhortations, &c., which are in accord with jesus' words in the gospels. but in this argument there is a presupposition, which should surely be previously proved, that the gospels received their corresponding content from jesus and not, on the contrary, from paul's epistles. it is admitted that they were in many other respects influenced by pauline ideas. moreover, all the moral maxims cited have their parallels in contemporary rabbinical literature, so that they need not necessarily be referred back to an historical jesus; also, such is their nature, that they might be advanced by any one, i.e., they are mere ethical commonplaces without any individual colouring. thus we find the rabbis in agreement with rom. xiii. sq. and gal. v. , which holtzmann traces back to matt. vii. : "bring not on thy neighbour that which displeases thee; this is our whole doctrine." rom. xiii. has its parallel not only in matt. xxii. , but also in the talmud, which runs: "every one is bound to fulfil his obligations to god with the like exactness as those to men. give to god his due; for all that thou hast is from him." rom. xii. runs in the sanhedrin: "it is better to be persecuted than to persecute, better to be calumniated by another than to slander." so that the remark need not necessarily be based on matt. v. ; in fact, the last-named passage is not found at all in the standard mss., in the codex sinaiticus and vaticanus. the phrase, "to remove mountains" ( cor. xiii. ). is a general rabbinical one for extolling the power of a teacher's diction, and so could easily be transferred to the power of faith. so also the phrase, mark ix. , "have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another"--which rom. xii. is supposed to resemble--is a well-known rabbinical expression. matt. v. sq., which is supposed to accord with cor. vi. , runs in the talmud: "if any one desires thy donkey, give him also the saddle." matt. vii. - , on which rom. ii. and xiv. are supposed to be based, equally recalls the talmud: "who thinks favourably of his neighbour brings it about that fair judgments are also made of him." "let your judgment of your neighbour be completely good." "even as one measures, with the same measure shall it also be measured unto him." rom. xiv. and cor. viii. - need not necessarily be an allusion to jesus' tender consideration for those who are ruined by scandal, as we find in the talmud: "it would have been better that the evil-minded had been born blind, so that they would not have brought evil into the world" (cf. also nork, "rabbinische quellen und parallelen zu neutestamentlichen schriftstellen," ). and does paul's usual phrase of greeting, "from god our father and the lord jesus christ," really contain the avowal of the "father-god" preached by christ? for the connection of the divine son and bearer of salvation with the "father-god" is a general mythological formula which occurs in all the different religions--witness the relation between marduk and ea, heracles and zeus, mithras and ormuzd, balder and odin. what then does it mean when paul speaks of the "meekness and humility of christ," who lived not for his own pleasure, who made no fame for himself, but was "submissive," assumed the form of a servant, and was "obedient" to the will of his "father," even to the death of the cross? all these traits are reproduced directly from the description of the suffering servant of god in isaiah, which we know had a great part in shaping the personality of jesus. meekness, humility, charitableness, and obedience are the specific virtues of the pious of paul's time. it was a matter of course for christ also, the ideal prototype of good and pious men, to be endowed with these characteristics. abraham was obedient when he sacrificed his son isaac; and so was the latter to his father, being also submissive in himself bringing the wood to the altar and giving himself up willingly to the sacrificial knife. and we know what a significant rôle the story of isaac's sacrifice has always played in the religious ideas of the jews. moreover, the heathen redeemer deities--marduk, of the mandaic hibil ziwâ, mithras and heracles--were also obedient in coming down upon earth at the bidding of their heavenly father, burst the gates of death, and gave themselves up, in the case of mithras, even to be sacrificed; and heracles served mankind in the position of a servant, fought with the monsters and horrors of hell, and assumed the hardest tasks at the will of others. [ ] kalthoff, "die entstehung d. christentums," , . [ ] p. wernle, "die quellen des lebens jesu, religionsgesch. volksbücher," aufl., . [ ] gunkel, op. cit., . [ ] gunkel also takes the view "that before jesus there was a belief in christ's death and resurrection current in jewish syncretic circles (op. cit., ). now we have already seen (p. ) that the term "christ" is of very similar significance to "jesus." so that it is not at all necessary to believe, as gunkel asserted in the darmstadt discussion, that paul in speaking of "jesus" testifies to an historical figure, because jesus is the name of a person. "jesus christ" is simply a double expression for one and the same idea--that is, for the idea of the messiah, saviour, physician, and redeemer; and it is not at all improbable, as smith supposes, that the contradictions in the conception of the messiah in two different sects or spheres of thought found their settlement in the juxtaposition of the two names. [ ] "not the teacher, not the miracle-worker, not the friend of the publicans and sinners, not the opponent of the pharisees, is of importance for paul. it is the crucified and risen son of god alone" (wernle, op. cit., ). [ ] "indeed, the historical jesus in the sense of the ritschlian school would have been for paul an absurdity. the pauline theology has to do rather with the experiences of a heavenly being, which have, and will yet have, extraordinary significance for humanity" (m. brückner, "die entstehung der paulinischen christologie," , ). brückner also considers it settled "that jesus' life on earth had no interest at all for paul" (op. cit., ). "paul did not trouble himself about jesus' life on earth, and what he may here and there have learnt concerning it, with few exceptions, remained indifferent to him" ( ). brückner also shows that the passages which are cited to contradict this prove nothing as to paul's more detailed acquaintance with jesus' life on earth ( sqq.). he claims "to have given the historical demonstration" in his work "that the christian religion is at bottom independent of 'uncertain historical truths'" (preface). and in spite of this he cannot as a theologian free himself from the conception of an historical jesus even with regard to paul, though he is, nevertheless, not in a position to show where and to what extent the historical jesus had a really decided influence over paul. [ ] movers, op. cit., sqq.; fraser, "adonis, attis, osiris," , , , , sq. [ ] cumont, "textes et monuments," &c., i. ; pfleiderer, "urchristentum," i. sqq. [ ] cor. x. . [ ] pfleiderer, op. cit., . [ ] xi. sqq. [ ] smith, op. cit., sq. [ ] cf. zimmern, "zum streit um die christusmythe," . [ ] "i am the a and the o, the beginning and the end," the revelation of john makes the messiah say (i. .). is there not at the same time in this a concealed reference to adonis? the alpha and the omega, the first and last letters of the greek alphabet, form together the name of adonis--ao (aoos) as the old dorians called the god, whence cilicia is also called aoa. a son of adonis and aphrodite (maia) is said ("schol. theocr.," , ) to have been called golgos. his name is connected with the phallic cones (greek, golgoi), as they were erected on heights in honour of the mother divinities of western asia, who were themselves, probably on this account, called golgoi and golgon anássa (queens of the golgoi), and is the same as the hebraic plural golgotha (sepp, "heidentum," i. sq.). finally, was the "place of skulls" an old jebusite place of worship of adonis under the name of golgos, and was the cone of rock, on which statue of venus was erected in the time of hadrian, selected for the place of execution of the christian saviour because it was connected with the remembrance of the real sacrifice of a man in the rôle of adonis (tammuz)? [ ] deut. xxi. . [ ] we notice that already in these distinctions the germs of those endless and absurd disputes concerning the "nature" of the god-man lie concealed, which later, in the first century a.d., tore christendom into countless sects and "heresies," and which gave the occasion for the rise of the christian dogma. [ ] rom. i. . [ ] rom. viii. ; cor. viii. ; phil. ii. sq. [ ] gal. iii. sqq.; rom. iii. . [ ] rom. iii. , iv. , v. , vii., sqq. [ ] gal. iii. sqq. [ ] rom. vi. sq. [ ] id. v. . [ ] rom. iv. sqq. [ ] rom. vi. sqq. [ ] gal. iii. . [ ] cf. above, p. . [ ] cor. x. sqq., xi. - . [ ] cor. x. sqq., - . [ ] cf., e.g., pfleiderer, op. cit., . [ ] cf. above, p. sqq. [ ] plato, "symposium," c. . [ ] col. ii. . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] cf. my work, "plotin und der untergang der antiken weltanschauung," . [ ] gal. ii. ; rom. viii. , . [ ] id. viii. sqq. [ ] cor. iii. . [ ] gal. v. . [ ] cor. ii. , ; rom. xii. . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] wrede, id. [ ] id. [ ] op. cit., . [ ] wrede, op. cit., . [ ] cor. xv. . [ ] cf. as to the whole question my essay on "paulus u. jesus" ("das freie wort" of december, ). [ ] it is true that other theologians think differently on this point, as, e.g., feine in his book, "jesus christus und paulus" ( ), declares that paul had "interested himself very much in gaining a distinct and comprehensive picture of jesus' activity and personality" (!) ( ). [ ] kalthoff has in his writings laid especial stress on this social significance of christianity. cf. also steudel, "das christentum und die zukunft des protestantismus" ("deutsche wiedergeburt," iv., , sq.), and kautsky, "der ursprung des christentums," . [ ] xl. . [ ] in the same way vollers also, in his work on "die weltreligionen" ( ), seeks to explain the faith of the original christian sects in jesus' death and resurrection as a blend of the adonis (attis) and christ faiths. he regards this as the essence of that faith, that the existing views of the messiah and the resurrection were transferred to one and the same person; and shows from this of what great importance it must be that this faith met a well-prepared ground, in north syria, anatolia, and egypt, where it naturally spread. but he treats the jewish diaspora of these lands as the natural mediator of the new preaching or "message of salvation" (gospel), and finds a proof of his view in this, "that the sphere of the greatest density of the diaspora almost completely coincides with those lands where the growing and rising youthful god was honoured, and that these same districts are also the places in which we meet, only a generation after jesus' death, the most numerous, flourishing, and fruitful communities of the new form of belief." it is the eastern mediterranean or levantine horse-shoe shaped line which stretches from ephesus and bithynia through anatolia to tarsus and antioch, thence through syria and palestine by way of the cult-centres bubastes and sais to alexandria. almost directly in the middle of these lands lies aphaka, where was the chief sanctuary of the "lord" adonis, and a little south of this spot lies the country where the saviour of the gospels was born (op. cit., ). [ ] cf. o. pfleiderer, "die entstehung des christentums," , sqq. [ ] luke xxiv. , xlix. ; acts i. , , sqq. [ ] "religionsgesch. erklärung d. n.t.," . cf. also joel iii. and isa. xxviii. , and the buddhist account of the first sermon of buddha: "gods and men streamed up to him, and all listened breathlessly to the words of the teacher. each of the countless listeners believed that the wise man looked at him and spoke to him in his own language; though it was the dialect of magadha which he spoke." seydel, "evangelium von jesus," ; "buddha-legende," sq. [ ] stephen's so-called "martyrdom," whose feast falls on december th, the day after the birth of christ, owes its existence to astrology, and rests on the constellation of corona (gr., stephanos), which becomes visible at this time on the eastern horizon (dupuis, op. cit., ). hence the well-known phrase "to inherit the martyr's crown." even the theologian baur has found it strange that the jewish sanhedrin, which could not carry into effect any death sentence without the assent of the roman governor, should completely set aside this formality in the case of stephen; and he has clearly shown how the whole account of stephen's martyrdom is paralleled with christ's death (baur, "paulus," sqq.). [ ] smith, op. cit., - . [ ] frazer, "golden bough," iii. . [ ] smith, op. cit., sq. [ ] as to the small value of papias' statement, cf. gfrörer, "die heilige sage," , i. - ; also lützelberger, "die kirchl. tradition über den apostel johannes," - . the whole story, according to which mark received the essential content of the gospel named after him from peter, is based on peter v. , and merely serves the purpose of increasing the historical value of the gospel of mark. "as the first gospel was believed to be the work of the apostle matthew, and the second (luke) the work of an assistant of paul, it was very easy to ascribe to the third (mark) at least a similar origin as the second, i.e., to trace it back in an analogous way to peter; as it would have seemed natural for the chief of the apostles, longest dead, to have had his own gospel, one dedicated to him, as well as paul. the passage peter v. , "my son mark saluteth you," gave a suitable opportunity for bestowing a name on the book," (gfrörer, op. cit., ; cf. also brandt, "die evangelische geschichte u. d. ursprung des christentums," , sq.) [ ] op. cit., . [ ] xv. . [ ] . [ ] id. [ ] the proper explanation for this should lie in the fact that the jesus-faith was set up as a sect-faith and not for "outsiders." [ ] sqq. [ ] . [ ] . [ ] . [ ] it strikes the reader, who stands apart from the controversy, as comical to find the matter characterised in the theological works on the subject as "undoubtedly historical," "distinct historical fact," "true account of history," and so forth; and to consider that what holds for one as "historically certain" is set aside by another as "quite certainly unhistorical." where is the famous "method" of which the "critical" theologians are so proud in opposition to the "laity," who allow themselves to form judgments as to the historical worth or worthlessness of the gospels? [ ] wrede, op. cit., . [ ] . [ ] . [ ] . [ ] . [ ] . [ ] cf. pfleiderer, "entstehung des christentums," , . all estimates as to the time at which the gospels were produced rest entirely on suppositions, in which points of view quite different from that of purely historical interest generally predominate. thus it has been the custom on the catholic side to pronounce, not mark or luke, but matthew, to be the oldest source. "proofs" for this are also given--naturally, as it is indeed the "church" gospel: it contains the famous passage (xvi. , ) about peter's possession of the keys; how, then, should this not be the oldest? and lately harnack ("beiträge zur einl. in das n.t.," iii., "die apostelgeschichte," ) has tried to prove that the acts, with the gospel of luke, had been already produced in the early part of the year a.d. but he does not dare to come to a real decision; and his reasons are opposed by just as weighty ones which are against that "possibility" suggested by him (op. cit., sqq.). such is, first, the fact that all the other early christian writings which belong to the first century, as the epistle of barnabas and the shepherd of hermas, evidently know nothing of them. in the epistle of barnabas, written about a.d., we read that jesus chose as his own apostles, as men who were to proclaim his gospel, "of all men the most evil, to show that he had come to call, not the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (iv.). as to this lützelberger very justly remarks, "that is more even than our gospels say. for these are content to prove that jesus did not come for the righteous by saying that he ate with publicans and was anointed by women of evil life; while in this epistle even the apostles must be most wicked sinners, so that grace may shine forth to them. this passage was quite certainly written neither by an apostle nor by a pupil of an apostle; and also it was not written after our gospels, but at a time when the learned masters of the church had still a free hand to show their spirit and ingenuity in giving form to the evangelical story" ("die hist. tradition," sq.). but also the so-called epistle of clement, which must have been written at about the same time, is completely silent as to the gospels, while the "doctrine of the twelve apostles," which perhaps also belongs to the end of the first century, cites christ's words, such as stand in the gospels, but not as sayings of jesus. moreover, according to harnack, the "doctrine of the twelve apostles" is the christian elaboration of an early jewish document; whence we may conclude that its words of christ have a similar origin in jewish thought to that from which the gospels obtained them. (cf. lützelberger, op. cit., - .) [ ] . [ ] . [ ] sq. [ ] id. [ ] the laity has, as is well known, but a slight suspicion of this. so s. e. verus' "vergleichende Übersicht der vier evangelien" ( ), with the commentary, is to be recommended. [ ] . [ ] . [ ] sq. [ ] "jesus u. d. neutestamentl. schriftsteller," ii. . let us take the final paragraph in e. petersen's "die wunderbare geburt des heilandes," which reaches the zenith in proving the mythical nature of the evangelical account of the saviour's birth: "if, not because we wish it, but because we are forced to do so by the necessity of history, we remove the sentence, 'conceived of the holy ghost, born of the virgin mary'--jesus nevertheless remains the 'son of god.' he remains such because he experienced god as his father, and because he stands at god's side for us. also, in spite of our setting aside the miraculous birth as unhistorical, we are quite justified in declaring 'thou art christ, the son of the living god.'" m. brückner speaks similarly at the close of his otherwise excellent work. "der sterbende und auferstehende gottheiland." for the person to whom such phraseology is not--futile, there is no help. [ ] cf. "jesus christus," a course of lectures delivered at the university of freiburg i. b., . [ ] schäfer, "die evangelien und die evangelienkritik," , . the story of the church's development in the first century is a story of shameless literary falsifications, of rough violence in matters of faith, of unlimited trial of the credence of the masses. so that for those who know history the iteration of the "credibility" of the christian writers of the age raises at most but an ironical smile. cf. robertson, "history of christianity," . [ ] cf. hochart, "Études au sujet de la persécution des chrétiens sous néron," , cp. . [ ] a. kalthoff, "das christusproblem, grundzüge zu einer sozialtheologie," , sq. [ ] kalthoff, "die entstehung des christentums: neue beiträge zum christusproblem," , . [ ] if v. soden ("hat jesus gelebt?" vii. ) has proved wrong the comparison with the tell-legend, and thinks i have "probably once more" forgotten that schiller first transformed a very meagre legend, which was bound up in a single incident, from grey antiquity into a living picture, he can know neither tschudi nor j. v. müller. cf. hertslet, "der treppenwitz der weltgeschichte," aufl., , sqq. [ ] the passage runs: "at this time lived jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a man, for he accomplished miracles and was a teacher of men who joyously embrace the truth, and he found a great following among jews and greeks. this one was the christ. although at the accusation of the leading men of our people pilate sentenced him to the cross, those who had first loved him remained still faithful. for he appeared again to them on the third day, risen again to a new life, as the prophets of god had foretold of him, with a thousand other prophecies. after him are called the christians, whose sect has not come to an end." [ ] "einl. ins n.t.," , . [ ] "gesch. d. jüd. volkes," i. . [ ] origen, though he collected all josephus' assertions which could serve as support to the christian religion, does not know the passage, but probably another, in which the destruction of jerusalem was represented as a punishment for james' execution, which is certainly a forgery. [ ] cf. kalthoff, "entstehung d. chr.," sq. as to the whole matter, schürer, op. cit., - . [ ] v. soden proves the contrary in his work, "hat jesus gelebt?" ( ), "in order to show the reliability of drew's assertions," from clement's letter of a.d., from dionysius of corinth (about ) from tertullion and eusebius (early fourth century, not third, as v. soden writes); and wishes to persuade his readers that the persecution under nero is testified to. the authenticity of the letter of clement is, however, quite uncertain, and has been most actively combated, from its first publication in till the present day, by investigators of repute, such as semler, baur, schwegler, volkmar, keim, &c. but as for the above-cited authors, the unimportance of their assertions on the point is so strikingly exhibited by hochart that we have no right to call them up as witnesses for the authenticity of the passage of tacitus. [ ] cf. hochart, op. cit., sqq.; h. schiller, "gesch. d. röm. kaiserzeit," , note. [ ] "consulting the archives has been but little customary among ancient historians; and tacitus has bestowed but little consideration on the acta diurna and the protocols of the senate" ("handb. d. klass. altertumsw.," viii., abt., aft. , under "tacitus"). moreover, the difficulties of the passage from tacitus have been fully realised by german historians (h. schiller, op. cit., ; "de. gesch. d. röm. kaiserreiches unter der regierung des nero," , sqq., sq.), even if they do not generally go as far as to say that the passage is completely unauthentic, as volney did at the end of the eighteenth century ("ruinen," reclam, ). cf. also arnold, "die neronische christenverfolgung. eine historiche untersuchung zur geschichte d. ältesten kirche," . the author does indeed adhere to the authenticity of the passage in tacitus, but as a matter of fact he presupposes it rather than attempts to prove it; while in many isolated reflections he gives an opinion against the correctness of the account given by tacitus, and busies himself principally in disproving false inferences connected with that passage, such as the connection of the neronic persecution with the book of revelation. the conceivable possibility that the persecution actually took place, but that at all events the sentence of tacitus may be a christian interpolation, arnold seems never to have considered. [ ] op. cit., . [ ] kalthoff, "christusproblem," . [ ] weinel, "jesus im jahrhundert," , . [ ] "babylonisches im neuen testament," sq. [ ] "zerduscht nameh," ch. xxvi. [ ] gfrörer, "jahrhundert des heils," part ii., sqq. [ ] luke iii. . [ ] numb. iv. . [ ] matt. xxi. sqq. [ ] zech. xiv. runs in the targum translation: "every vessel in jerusalem will be consecrated to the lord, &c., and at that time there will no longer be shopkeepers in the house of the lord." in this there may have been a further inducement for the evangelists to state that jesus chases the tradesmen from the temple. [ ] sam. xvii. ; cf. also zech. xi. sq.; psa. xli. . [ ] gfrörer, "jahr. d. heils," ii. sqq. [ ] cf. cor. x. sq. [ ] kings iv. sqq. [ ] numb. i. ; jos. iii. ; iv. sqq. cf. "petrus-legende," sq. [ ] cf. p. , note. [ ] josephus, "antiq.," iv. , ; philo, "vita mos.," iii. [ ] kings ii. . [ ] e.g. also the account of the arrest of jesus (matt. xxvi. sqq.) cf. kings vi. - . [ ] matt. ix. sq., xii. sq., xv. sqq., and , xxviii. . [ ] psa. cxlvi. . [ ] bereshith rabba zu gen. xli. . [ ] cf. esp. acts xi. sqq. [ ] matt. v. sqq. [ ] id. viii. sqq., x. , xxiii. sqq., xxviii. sqq. [ ] cf. lützelberger, "jesus, was er war und wollte," , sqq. [ ] cf. above, sqq. [ ] it is given as a reason for his appearing first in galilee that the galileans were first led into exile, and so should first be comforted, as all divine action conforms to the law of requital (gfrörer, "jahr. d. heils," sq. cf. also isa. viii. ). [ ] cf. above, sq. [ ] see above, . [ ] exod. xvi. sqq.; numb. xxi. sqq.; exod. vii. sqq. kings xvii. sqq. [ ] "hist.," iv. . [ ] "vespasian," vii. [ ] lxvi. . [ ] isa. . sq. [ ] zech. xii . [ ] cf. "petruslegende," . [ ] gen. xxvi. ; cf. also tertullian, "adv. jud.," . [ ] cf. for this brandt, "die evangelische geschichte," esp. sqq. even such a cautious investigator as gfrörer confesses that, after his searching examination of the historical content of the synoptics, he is obliged to close "with the sad admission" that their testimony does not give sufficient assurance to enable us to pronounce anything they contain to be true, so far as they are concerned, with a good historical conscience. "in this it is by no means asserted that many may not think their views correct, but only that we cannot rely on them sufficiently to rest a technically correct proof on them alone. they tell us too many things which are purely legendary, and too many others which are at least suspicious, for a prudent historian to feel justified in a construction based on their word alone. this admission may be disagreeable--it is also unpleasant to me--but it is genuine, and it is demanded by the rules which hold everywhere before a good tribunal, and in the sphere of history" ("die hl. sage," , ii. ). [ ] this is the case with the corresponding account in mark, while in luke the dramatic presentation seems to be more worked away, and the coherence, through the introduction of descriptions and episodes (disciples at emmaus) bears more the character of a simple narrative. cf. robertson, "pagan christs," sqq.; "a short history," sqq. the fact that in almost all representations of this kind both the scene at gethsemane and the words spoken by jesus usually serve as signs of his personality (e.g. also bousset's "jesus"--rel. volksb., , ), shows what we must think of the historical value of the accounts of the life of jesus; especially when we consider that certainly no listeners were there, and jesus cannot himself have told his experience to his disciples, as the arrest is supposed to have taken place on the spot. [ ] "messiasgeheimnis," . [ ] gen. xxiv. [ ] e. v. hartmann, "das christentum des neuen testaments," , . [ ] op. cit. [ ] cf. h. jordan, "jesus und die modernen jesusbilder, bibl. zeit- u. streitfragen," , . [ ] mark vi. sq. [ ] mark xiii. . [ ] mark iii. . [ ] kings xix.; cf. also isa. xlii. . [ ] cf. brandt, op. cit., sq. [ ] hertlein treats of these bases of schmiedel in the "prot. monatsheften," , sq.; cf. also schmiedel's reply. [ ] op. cit., . [ ] bousset agrees with this in his work "was wissen wir von jesus?" ( ). "jesus' speeches are for the most part creations of the communities, placed together by the community from isolated words of jesus." "in this, apart from all the rest, there was a powerful and decided alteration of the speeches" ( sqq.). [ ] cf. robertson, "christianity and mythology," sqq., . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] "protest. monatshefte," , märzheft. [ ] op. cit., sq. [ ] matt. xviii. sqq. [ ] id. xxix. sqq. [ ] cf. pfleiderer, "urchristentum," i. sq.; van den bergh van eysinga, op. cit., sqq. [ ] smith, op. cit., sqq. [ ] cf. nork, "rabbinische quellen und parallelen zu neutestamentlichen schriftstellen," . [ ] cf. robertson, "christianity and mythology," - . [ ] cf. v. hartmann, op. cit., - . it will always be a telling argument against the historical nature of the sayings of jesus that paul seems to know nothing of them, that he never refers to them exactly; and that even up to the beginning of the second century, with the exception of a few remarks in clement and polycarp, the apostles and fathers in all their admonitions, consolations, and reprimands, never make use of jesus' sayings to give greater force to their own words. [ ] v. hartmann, op. cit., sq. [ ] let us hear what clemen says against this: "in its reduction of the law to the commandment of love, though this was already prominent in the old testament [!] and even earlier had here and there [!] been characterised as the chief commandment, christianity is completely original [!]. and for jesus the subordination of religious duties to moral was consequent on this, though in this respect he would have been equally influenced by the prophets of the old testament" (op. cit., sq.). [ ] "we must (as regards the moral ideals of jesus) pay just as much attention to what he does not treat of, to what he set aside, as to what he clung to, indeed, setting it in opposition to all the rest. at least this wonderfully sure selection is jesus' own. we may produce analogies for each individual thing, but the whole is unique and cannot be invented" (v. soden, op. cit., sq.). this method, practised by liberal theology, of extolling their jesus as against all other mortals, and of raising him up to a "uniqueness" in the absolute sense, can make indeed but a small impression on the impartial. [ ] wrede, "paulus," . [ ] we admit that besides the eschatological grounding of his moral demands, jesus also makes use occasionally of expressions that pass beyond the idea of reward. but they are quite isolated--as, e.g., matt. v. , "be ye perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect," a phrase which is, moreover, in accord with lev. xi. and xix. --and without any fundamental significance. in general, and in particular even in the sermon on the mount, that "diamond in the crown of jesus' ethics," the idea of reward and punishment is prevalent (matt. v. and ; vi. , , , , ; v. ; vi. ; vii. , &c.). views may still differ widely as to whether it is historically correct to estimate, as weinel would like to, jesus' ethics in this connection really by the few sayings which go beyond that idea. (cf. v. hartmann, op. cit., - .) the favourite declaration, however, is quite unhistorical, that jesus was the first who introduced into the world the principle of active love; and that the stoics, as weinel represents, only taught the doing away with all our passions, even that of love; or indeed that jesus, who wished salvation only to benefit the jews, who forbade his people to walk in the ways of the gentiles, and who hesitated to comply with the canaanite woman's prayer, "raised to the highest degree of sincerity" the "altruistic ideal," and that in principle he broke down the boundaries between peoples and creeds with his "love thy enemy," (weinel, op. cit., , ). as against this cf. the following passage from seneca: "everything which we must do and avoid may be reduced to this short formula of human obligation: we are members of a mighty body. nature has made us kindred, having produced us from the same stuff and for the same ends. she has implanted in us a mutual love, and has arranged it socially. she has founded right and equity. because of her commands to do evil is worse than to suffer evil. hands ready to aid are raised at her call. let that verse be in our mouths and our hearts: i am a man, nothing human do i despise! human life consists in well-doing and striving. it will be cemented into a society of general aid not by fear but by mutual love. what is the rightly constituted, good and high-minded soul, but a god living as a guest in a human body? such a soul may appear just as well in a knight as in a freedman or in a slave. we can soar upwards to heaven from any corner. make this your rule, to treat the lower classes even as you would wish the higher to treat you. even if we are slaves, we may yet be free in spirit. the slaves are men, inferior relatives, friends; indeed, our fellow-slaves in a like submission to the tyranny of fate. a friendship based on virtue exists between the good man and god, yes, more than a friendship, a kinship and likeness; for the good man is really his pupil, imitator, and scion, differing from god only because of the continuance of time. him the majestic father brings up, a little severely, as is the strict father's wont. god cherishes a fatherly affection towards the good man, and loves him dearly. if you wish to imitate the gods, give also to the ungrateful; for the sun rises even on the ungodly and the seas lie open even to the pirate, the wind blows not only in favour of the good, and the rain falls even on the fields of the unjust. if you wish to have the gods well-disposed towards you, be good: he has enough, who honours and who imitates them." cf. also epictetus: "dare, raising your eyes to god, to say, henceforth make use of me to what end thou wilt! i assent, i am thine, i draw back from nothing which thy will intends. lead me whithersoever thou wilt! for i hold god's will to be better than mine." (cf. also matt. xxvi. .) [ ] kautsky, "ursprung des christentums," . [ ] op. cit., . [ ] "how is it conceivable," even pfleiderer asks, "that the new community should have fashioned itself from the chaos of material without some definite fact, some foundation-giving event which could form the nucleus for the genesis of the new ideas? everywhere in the case of a new historical development the powers and impulses which are present in the crowd are first directed to a definite end and fastened into an organism that can survive by the purpose-giving action of heroic personalities. and so the impulse for the formation of the christian community must have come from some definite point, which, from the testimony of the apostle paul and of the earliest gospels, we can only find in the life and death of jesus" ("entstehung des chr.," ). but that the "testimony" for an historical jesus is not testimony, and that the "definite fact," the "foundation-giving event," is to be looked for, if anywhere, in paul himself and nowhere else--such is the central point of all this analysis. [ ] op. cit., sq. [ ] "von reimarus bis wrede," . [ ] ii. . [ ] "gesch. israels," ii. sqq. [ ] holtzmann, "zum thema 'jesus und paulus'" ("prot. monatsheft," iv., , ). [ ] parerga, ii. . [ ] neutest. theol. ii. . cf. r. h. grützmacher: "ist das liberale christusbild modern? bibl. zeit- und streitfragen," sq. [ ] pfleiderer, "entstehung d. chr.," sqq. [ ] cf. stendel, op. cit., . [ ] "von reimarus bis wrede," . [ ] gal. i. . [ ] cor. ii. ; cor. xix. . [ ] acts i. , x. . [ ] acts i. sq. [ ] seufert, "der ursprung und die bedeutung des apostolates in der christlichen kirche der ersten jahrhunderte," , . cf. also my "petruslegende," in which the unhistorical nature of the disciples and apostles is shown, sqq. [ ] op. cit., . [ ] cf. my work "die petruslegende." [ ] cf. hausrath, "jesus und die neutestamentl. schriftsteller," ii. sqq. [ ] "entstehung d. chr.," . [ ] cf. above, p. . sqq. [ ] cf. arnold meyer, "was uns jesus heute ist. rel. volksb.," --a very impressive presentation of the liberal protestant point of view; also weinel, "jesus im ten jahrhundert." [ ] "entstehung d. chr.," sq. [ ] weinel, indeed, resolutely denies that this is a real characteristic of liberal protestantism, and asserts that he has looked for it in vain in any liberal theologian's book. but he need only look in a. meyer's work, which is cited by me, to find my idea confirmed. there it is said of jesus inter alia: "not only should we move and live in his love, but we are as he was, of the faith that this love will overcome the world, that it is the meaning, end, and true content of the world; that the power which uniformly and omnipotently fills and guides the world, is nothing but the god in whom he believed [was jesus then a pantheist?], and whom he calls his heavenly father. as he believed, so let us also, that whoever trusts in this god and lives in his love has found the meaning of life and the power which preserves him in time and in eternity. jesus was the founder of our religion, of our faith, and of our inner life" ( ). according to meyer, jesus attracts us by his manner, his being, his love and his faith, we feel ourselves bound to him, become kin with him and so live by his strength; he is called "the voice of god to us," "our redeemer," and so forth. those are simply expressions which applied to god have at least a valid meaning, but applied to the historical man jesus are nothing but phrases, and are to be explained purely psychologically from the fact that liberalism in honouring the "unique" man jesus does nevertheless unwittingly allow the belief in his divinity to come into play. in this atmosphere, obscured with phrases, the so-called "theology" of liberal protestantism moves. moreover, weinel himself quotes a sentence of herrmann with approval, which also gives expression to the idea that jesus is for protestant liberalism a kind of "demonstration of god" ( ), and he adds himself: "it may indeed be that our conception of the significance of jesus has often been expressed unskilfully enough. it may be that in discourses, lectures, or other popular ways of speaking something is at times said which may be so clumsily put as to give occasion for such things to be said." indeed, he himself maintains regarding jesus: "whoever places the ideal of his life in him, he experiences god in him" ( ). he also finds that the desire for god of the jews, greeks, semites, and germans "could be stilled in him." taking into account these expressions and the whole tone which it pleases herr weinel to adopt towards the opponents of his standpoint, it appears time to remind him once again of e. v. hartmann's "die selbstzersetzung des christentums" (it is obvious he has only a third-hand acquaintance with the author whose point of view he calls neo-buddhism, counting him among the supporters of the morality of pity!) and especially of the chapter on "die irreligiosität des liberalen protestantismus." here, in connection with the lack of metaphysics displayed by liberal protestantism (and admitted even by weinel) and the latter's principle of love, he says: "if we transform the whole of religion into ethics and soften down the whole of ethics into love, we thereby renounce everything that is in religion besides love, and everything which makes love religious. we thereby confess that the impulse of love is raised into religion since religion properly so called has been lost. it is true religion is not a shark, as the inquisitors thought, but at the same time it is not a sea-nettle. a shark can at least be terrifying, a sea-nettle is always feeble." liberal protestantism, as hartmann sums it up, consists "of a shapeless, poor, shallow metaphysic, which is concealed as far as possible from critical eyes; of a worship successfully freed from all mystery, but one that has become thereby by no means incapable of being objected to; of an ethics forcibly separated from metaphysics and on that account irreligious. it rests upon a view of the world which by its worldliness and optimistic contentment with the world is by no means in a position to give birth to a religion, and which sooner or later will allow the remnants of religious feeling which it brought with it to be smothered in worldly ease." [ ] op. cit., . [ ] cf. e. v. hartmann, "die selbstzersetzung des christentums und die religion der zukunft," nd ed., , especially chaps. vi. and vii. [ ] cf. w. v. schnehen, "der moderne jesuskultus," nd ed., ; also "naumann vor dem bankerott des christentums," . [ ] cf. my work, "die religion als selbstbewusstsein gottes," , sq. [ ] cf. my work, "die religion als selbstbewusstsein gottes," in which the attempt has been made to form a general religious view of the world in the sense mentioned. [ ] cf. "der monismus, dargestellt in beiträgen seiner vertreter," vols., . the making of the new testament the home university library of modern knowledge editors of the home university library of modern knowledge rt. hon. h. a. l. fisher, m.a., f.b.a. prof. gilbert murray, litt.d., ll.d., f.b.a. prof. j. arthur thomson, m.a., ll.d. _for list of volumes in the library see end of book._ the making of the new testament _by_ benjamin w. bacon d.d. professor of new criticism and exegesis in yale university [illustration] thornton butterworth limited bedford street, london, w.c. _first impression september - all rights reserved_ made and printed in great britain contents part i canonization and criticism chap. page i inspiration and canonization ii the reaction to criticism part ii the literature of the apostle iii paul as missionary and defender of the gospel of grace iv paul as prisoner and church father v pseudo-apostolic epistles part iii the literature of catechist and prophet vi the matthÆan tradition of the precepts of jesus vii the petrine tradition. evangelic story viii the johannine tradition. prophecy part iv the literature of the theologian ix the spiritual gospel and epistles x epilogues and conclusions bibliography index the making of the new testament part i canonization and criticism chapter i inspiration and canonization the new testament presents the paradox of a literature born of protest against the tyranny of a canon, yet ultimately canonized itself through an increasing demand for external authority. this paradox is full of significance. we must examine it more closely. the work of jesus was a consistent effort to set religion free from the deadening system of the scribes. he was conscious of a direct, divine authority. the broken lights of former inspiration are lost in the full dawn of god's presence to his soul. so with paul. the key to paul's thought is his revolt against legalism. it had been part of his servitude to persecute the sect which claimed to know another way besides the "way"[ ] of the scribes. these christians signalized their faith by the rite of baptism, and gloried in the sense of endowment with "the spirit." saul was profoundly conscious of the yoke; only he had not drammed that his own deliverance could come from such a quarter. but contact with victims of the type of stephen, men "filled with the spirit," conscious of the very "power from god" for lack of which his soul was fainting, could not but have some effect. it came suddenly, overwhelmingly. the real issue, as saul saw it, both before and after his conversion, was law _versus_ grace. in seeking "justification" by favour of jesus these christians were opening a new and living way to acceptance with god. traitorous and apostate as the attempt must seem while the way of the law still gave promise of success, to souls sinking like saul's deeper and deeper into the despairing consciousness of "the weakness of the flesh" forgiveness in the name of jesus might prove to be light and life from god. the despised sect of 'sinners' whom he had been persecuting expressed the essence of their faith in the doctrine that the gift of the spirit of jesus had made them sons and heirs of god. if the converted paul in turn is uplifted--"energized," as he terms it--even beyond his fellow-christians, by the sense of present inspiration, it is no more than we should expect. footnote : _tarik_, i. e. "way," is still the arabic term for a sect, and the rabbinic term for legal requirement is _halacha_, i. e. "walk." paul's conversion to the new faith--or at least his persistent satisfaction in it--will be inexplicable unless we appreciate the logic of his recognition in it of an inherent opposition to the growing demands of legalism. jesus had, in truth, led a revolt against mere book-religion. his chief opponents were the scribes, the devotees and exponents of a sacred scripture, the law. "law" and "prophets," the one prescribing the conditions of the expected transcendental kingdom, the other illustrating their application and guaranteeing their promise, constituted the canon of the synagogue. judaism had become a religion of written authority. jesus set over against this a direct relation to the living father in heaven, ever presently revealed to the filial spirit. the sermon on the mount makes the doing of this father's will something quite other than servitude to written precepts interpreted by official authority and imposed under penalty. it is to be self-discipline in the father's spirit of disinterested goodness, as revealed in everyday experience. even the reward of this self-discipline, the kingdom, jesus did not conceive quite as the scribes. to them obedience in this world procured a "share in the world to come." to him the reward was more a matter of being than of getting. the kingdom was an heir-apparency; and, therefore, present as well as future. it was "within" and "among" men as well as before them. they should seek to "be sons and daughters of the highest," taking for granted that all other good things would be "added." so jesus made religion live again. it became spiritual, inward, personal, actual. after john the baptist's ministry to what we should call the 'unchurched' masses, jesus took up their cause. he became the "friend" and champion of the "little ones," the "publicans and sinners," the mixed 'people of the land' in populous, half-heathen, galilee. the burdens imposed by the scribes in the name of 'scripture' were accepted with alacrity by the typical pharisee unaffected by pauline misgivings of 'moral inability.' to "fulfil all righteousness" was to the pharisee untainted by hellenism a pride and delight. to the "lost sheep of israel" whom jesus addressed, remote from temple and synagogue, this "righteousness" had proved (equally as to paul, though on very different grounds) "a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." jesus "had compassion on the multitude." to them he "spoke with authority"; and yet "not as the scribes" but as "a prophet." when challenged by the scribes for his authority he referred to "the baptism of john," and asked whether john's commission was "from heaven, or of men." they admitted that john was "a prophet." those who give utterance after this manner to the simple, sincere conviction of the soul, voicing its instinctive aspiration toward "the things that be of god," are conscious that they speak not of themselves. jesus, it is true, was no iconoclast. he took pains to make clear that if he superseded what they of old time had taught as righteousness, it was in the interest of a higher, a "righteousness of god." if he disregarded fasts and sabbaths, it was to put substance for form, end for means. "judgment, mercy, and good faith" should count more than tithes from "mint and anise and cummin." he echoed what john the baptist had taught of repentance and forgiveness. hope should no longer be based on birth, or prerogative, or ritual form, but on the mercy of a god who demands that we forgive if we would be forgiven. such had been, however, the message not of john only, but of all the prophets before him: "i will have mercy, and not sacrifice." jesus taught this higher, inward, righteousness; but not merely as john had done. john had said: repent, for the wrath of god is at hand. jesus said: repent, for the forgiveness of god is open. the father's heart yearns over the wayward sons. jesus preached the nearness of the kingdom as "glad tidings to the poor"; and among these "poor" were included even aliens who put "faith" in the god of abraham. the new way started from the same scripture as that of the scribes, but it tended in an opposite direction. theirs had been gradually developing in definiteness and authority since the time of ezra; yes, since josiah had made formal covenant, after the discovery of "the book of the law" in the temple, pledging himself and his people to obedience. as with many ancient peoples, the codification of the ancient law had been followed by its canonization, and as the national life had waned the religious significance of the law had increased. it was now declared to express the complete will of god, for an ideal people of god, in a renovated universe, whose centre was to be a new and glorified jerusalem. the exile interrupted for a time the process of formal development; but in the ecclesiastical reconstruction which followed in ezra's time "the book of the law" had become all the more supreme; the scribe took the place of the civil officer, the synagogue became local sanctuary and court-house in one, the nation became a church, israel became 'the people of the book.' legal requirement calls for the incentive of reward. we need not wonder, then, that the canon of the law was soon supplemented by that of the writings of the prophets, historical and hortatory. the former were considered to interpret the law by showing its application in practice, the latter were valued for their predictive element. law and prophets were supplemented by psalms, and elements from the later literature having application to the religious system. the most influential were the "apocalypses," or "revelations" of the transcendental kingdom and of the conditions and mode of its coming. scripture had thus become an embodiment of israel's religion. it set forth the national law, civil, criminal, or religious; and the national hope, the kingdom of god. its custodian and interpreter was the 'scribe,' lawyer and cleric in one. the scribe held "the key of knowledge"; to him it was given to 'bind and loose,' 'open and shut.' any preacher who presumed to prescribe a righteousness apart from 'the yoke of the law,' or to promise forgiveness of sins on other authority, must reckon with the scribes. he would be regarded as seeking to 'take the kingdom by violence.' jesus' martyrdom was effected through the priests, the temple authorities; but at the instigation of the scribes and pharisees. his adherents were soon after driven out from orthodox judaism and subjected to persecution. this persecution, however, soon found its natural leadership, not among the sadducean temple-priesthood, but among the devotees of the law. it was "in the synagogues." from having been quasi-political it became distinctly religious. this persecution by the pharisees is on the whole less surprising than the fact that so many of the jewish believers should have continued to regard themselves as consistent pharisees, and even been so regarded by their fellow-jews. in reality jewish christians as a rule could see no incompatibility between average synagogue religion and their acceptance of jesus as the man supernaturally attested in the resurrection as destined to return bringing the glory of the kingdom. jesus' idea of 'righteousness' did not seem to them irreconcilable with the legalism of the scribes; still less had they felt the subtle difference between his promise "ye shall be sons and daughters of the highest" and the apocalyptic dreams which they shared with their fellow-jews. saul the persecutor and paul the apostle were more logical. in gal. ii. - we have paul's own statement of the essential issue as it still appeared to his clear mind. average synagogue religion still left room for a more fatherly relation of god to the individual, in spite of the gradual encroachment of the legalistic system of the scribes. men not sensitive to inconsistency could find room within the synagogue for the 'paternal theism' of jesus, even if this must more and more be placed under the head of 'uncovenanted mercies.' to paul, however, the dilemma is absolute. one must trust either to "law" or "grace." partial reliance on the one is to just that extent negation of faith in the other. the system of written precept permits no exception, tolerates no divided allegiance. if the canon of written law be the god-given condition of the messianic promise, then no man can aspire to share in the hope of israel who does not submit unreservedly to its yoke. conversely, faith is not faith if one seek to supplement it by the merit of "works of law." from this point of view the jew who seeks forgiveness of sins by baptism "into the name of jesus" must be considered an apostate from the law. he acknowledges thereby that he is following another way, a way of "grace," a short-cut, as it were, to a share in israel's messianic inheritance by the "favour" of a pretended messiah. the same paul who after his conversion maintains (gal. ii. ) that to seek "justification" through the law makes the grace of god of none effect, must conversely have held before conversion that to seek it by "grace" of jesus made the law of none effect. even at the time of writing the axiom still held: no resistance to the yoke of the law, no persecution (gal. v. ). it is true, then, that the legalistic system of prescription and reward had developed--could develop--only at the expense of the less mechanical, more fatherly, religion of a hosea or an isaiah. even scribes had admitted that the law of love was "much more than all whole burnt-offering and sacrifice." and the movement of the baptist and of jesus had really been of the nature of a reaction toward this older, simpler faith. the sudden revolt in paul's own mind against the scribal system might not have occurred in the mind of a pharisee unfamiliar with greek ideas. but to some extent paul's experience of the conflict of flesh and spirit, a 'moral inability' to meet the law's demands _was_ a typical christian experience, as paul felt it to be. to him it became the basis of an independent gospel. to him the cross and the spirit imparted from the risen messiah were tokens from god that the dispensation of law is ended and a dispensation of grace and son ship begun. without this pauline gospel _about_ jesus christianity could never have become more than a sect of reformed judaism. the teaching and martyrdom of jesus had thus served to bring out a deep and real antithesis. only, men who had not passed like paul from the extreme of trust in legalism to a corresponding extremity of despair might be pardoned for some insensibility to this inconsistency. we can appreciate that james and peter might honestly hold themselves still under obligation of the written law, even while we admit paul's logic that any man who had once "sought to be justified in christ" could not turn back in any degree to legal observance without being "self-condemned." christianity may be said to have attained self-consciousness as a new religion in the great argument directed by paul along the lines of his own gospel against peter and the older apostles. its victory as a universal religion of 'grace' over the limitations of judaism was due to the common doctrine of 'the spirit.' this was the one point of agreement, the one hope of ultimate concord among the contending parties. all were agreed that endowment with 'the spirit' marks the christian. it was in truth the great inheritance from jesus shared by all in common. and peter and james admitted that to deny that uncircumcized gentiles had received the spirit was to "contend against god." after paul's death ecclesiastical development took mostly the road of the synagogue. the sense of the presence and authority of 'the spirit' grew weaker, the authority of the letter stronger. from the outset even the pauline churches, in ritual, order, observance, had followed instinctively this pattern. all continued, as a matter of course, to use the synagogue's sacred writings. paul himself, spite of his protest against "the letter," could make no headway against his opponents, save by argument from 'scripture.' he had found in it anticipations and predictions of his own christian faith; but by an exegesis often only little less forced and fantastic than that of the rabbinic schools in which he had been trained. this was a necessity of the times. the reasoning, fallacious as it seems to-day, had appealed to and strengthened paul's own faith, and was probably effective with others, even if the faith really rested on other grounds than the reasoning by which it was defended. the results of this biblicism were not all salutary. the claims of written authority were loosened rather than broken. paul himself had found room enough within these defences for the religion of the spirit; but a generation was coming with less of the sense of present inspiration. dependence on past authority would be increased in this new generation in direct proportion to its sense of the superior 'inspiration' of the generation which had gone before. paul is unhampered by even "the scriptures of the prophets" because in his view these take all their authority and meaning from "the lord, the spirit." hence "where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty." only the remembered "word of the lord" has authority for paul beyond his own, even when he thinks that he also has the spirit. with that exception past revelation is for paul subordinate to present. but paul's immediate disciple, the author of hebrews, is already on a lower plane. this writer looks back to a threefold source of authority: god had spoken in former ages "by the prophets" and to the present "by a son," but he looks also to an apostolic authority higher than his own: the word "was confirmed unto us by them that heard, god also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the holy ghost." similarly the author of the pastoral epistles ( - ?) holds the "pattern of sound words" heard from paul as a "sacred deposit," which is "guarded," rather than revealed, "by the holy spirit." the "sound words" in question are defined to be "the words of our lord jesus christ." these, taken together with "the doctrine which is according to godliness," fix the standard of orthodoxy. to "jude" ( - ?) the faith is something "once for all delivered to the saints." his message is: "remember, beloved, the words spoken before by the apostles of our lord jesus christ." authority increases, the sense of the revealing spirit decreases. it is long before the sense of present inspiration, both in word and work is lost; still longer before the recorded precepts of jesus, the exhortations and directions of apostles, the visions of "prophets," come to take their place alongside the bible of the synagogue as "writings of the new covenant." melito of sardis (_c._ ) is the first to use this expression, and even in his case it does not bear the sense of a canon with definite limits. tertullian ( - ) is the first to place a definite "new testament" over against the old. we must glance at some of the intermediate steps to appreciate this gradual process of canonization. at first there is no other 'scripture' than the synagogue's. clement of rome ( ) still uses only the law and the prophets (including certain apocrypha now lost) as his bible. he refers to the precepts of jesus (quoted as in acts xx. from oral tradition), with the same sense as paul of their paramount authority, and bids the corinthians whom he addresses give heed to what the blessed apostle paul had written to them "in the beginning of the gospel service," to warn them against factiousness. nor has clement yet lost the sense of direct inspiration; for he attaches to his own epistle, written in behalf of the church at rome, the same superhuman authority claimed in acts xv. for the letter sent by the church at jerusalem. if the corinthians disregard the "words spoken by god through us" they will "incur no slight transgression and danger," for these warnings of a sister church are uttered in the name and by inspiration of the holy ghost. still, clement does not dream of comparing his authority, even when he writes as agent of the church, with that of "the oracles of the teaching of god," the "sacred scriptures," the "scriptures which are true, which were given through the holy ghost, wherein is written nothing unrighteous or counterfeit." he does not even rank his own authority with that of "the good apostles, peter and paul." ignatius, bishop of antioch, transported to rome for martyrdom in - , employs a brief stay among the churches of asia to exhort them to resist the encroachments of heresy by consolidation of church organization, discipline, strict obedience to the bishop. ignatius, too, still feels the afflatus. his message, he declares with emphasis, was revealed to him, together with the occasion for it, directly from heaven. it was "the voice of god and not only of a man" when he cried out among the philadelphians: "give heed to the bishop, and the presbytery and deacons." yet ignatius cannot enjoin the romans as peter and paul did. they were "apostles." he is "a convict." his inspiration, however undoubted, is of a lower order. hermas, a 'prophet' of the same roman church as clement, though a generation later, is still so conscious of the superhuman character of his "visions," "parables," and "mandates" that he gives them out for circulation as inspired messages of the spirit; and this not for rome alone. clement, then apparently still living, and "the one to whom this duty is committed," is to send them "to foreign cities." in point of fact the _shepherd_ of hermas long held a place for many churches as part of the new testament canon. yet less than a generation after hermas, the claim to exercise the gift of prophecy in the church was looked upon as dangerous if not heretical. in the nature of the case it was really impossible that the original sense of endowment with "the spirit" should survive. not only did the rapidly growing reverence for the apostles and the lord open a chasm separating "the word of wisdom and the word of power" given to that age, from the slighter contemporary claims of miracle and revelation; the very growth and wide dissemination of the gospel message made standardization imperative. before the middle of the second century gnostic schism had swept nearly half the church into the vortex of speculative heresy. marcion at rome (_c._ ) carried pauline anti-legalism to the extreme of an entire rejection of the old testament. judaism and all its works and ways were to be repudiated. the very god of abraham, isaac, and jacob was declared other than, and ignorant of, the "heavenly father" of jesus. against such vagaries there must be some historic standard. even marcion himself looked to the past, however recent, as the source of light, and since some written standard must be found, it was he, the heretic, who gave to christianity its first canon of christian writings. the marcionite churches did away with the public reading of the law and the prophets, and could only put in their place "gospel" and "apostle." not that epistles, gospels, and even 'revelations' were not also in use among the orthodox; but they are not yet referred to as 'scripture.' even gospels are treated merely as aids to the memory in transmitting the teaching of the lord. this teaching itself is but the authoritative interpretation of law and prophets, and is in turn interpreted by the writings of the apostles. marcion's 'gospel' consisted of our luke, expurgated according to his own ideas. his 'apostle' contained the epistles of paul minus the pastoral epistles and a series of passages cancelled out from the rest as jewish interpolations. this was the first christian bible distinct from 'the scriptures' of the synagogue. indirectly the growth of gnostic heresy contributed still more to the increasing authority of apostolic and quasi-apostolic writings. one of its earliest and most obnoxious forms was called 'doketism,' from its exaggeration of paulinism into a complete repudiation of the historic jesus, whose earthly career was stigmatized as mere 'phantasm' (_dokesis_). doketism is known to us not only through description by orthodox opponents, but by a few writings of its own. it is the type of heresy antagonized in the johannine epistles (_c._ ) and in those of ignatius ( - ). now ignatius, as we have seen, relied mainly on church organization and discipline. the pastoral epistles ( - ), while they emphasize also "the form of healthful words, even the words of our lord jesus" take, on the whole, a similar direction. but st john, which relies far less than the pastoral epistles or ignatius on mere church organization, is also driven back upon the life and teaching of jesus as the historic standard. it _does_, therefore, make formal appeal to the sacred tradition in both its elements, but with a difference characteristic of the pauline spirit. the redeeming life and death of jesus are viewed as a manifestation of "the life, even the eternal life (of the logos) which was with the father and was manifested unto us" (the historic body of believers). again jesus' one "new commandment," the law of love, is the epitome of all righteousness. in his doctrine of scripture as in many other respects the johannine writer shows a breadth and catholicity of mind which almost anticipates the development of later ages. his task was in fact the adjustment of the developed pauline gospel to a type of christianity more nearly akin to synagogue tradition. this type had grown up under the name of peter. on the question of the standard of written authority 'john'[ ] leaves room for the freedom of the spirit so splendidly set forth in the teaching and example of jesus and paul, while he resists the erratic licence of "those that would lead you astray." the result is a doctrine of historic authority in general, and of that of the scriptures in particular, sharply differentiated from the jewish, and deserving in every respect to be treated as the basis of the christian. in a great chapter of his gospel (john v.), wherein jesus debates with the scribes the question of his own authority, the dialogue closes with a denunciation of them because they search the scriptures with the idea that in them they have eternal life, that is, they treat them as a code of precepts, obedience to which will be thus rewarded. on the contrary, says jesus, the scriptures only "bear witness" to the life that is present in himself as the incarnate, eternal, word; "but ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." footnote : in using traditional names and titles such as "luke," "john," "matthew," "james," no assumption is made as to authenticity. the designation is employed for convenience irrespective of its critical accuracy or inaccuracy. in seeking the life behind the literature as the real revelation, the johannine writer makes the essential distinction between jewish and christian doctrine. he stands between paul, whose peculiar view was based on an exceptional personal experience, and the modern investigator, who can but treat all literary monuments and records of religious movements objectively, as data for the history and psychology of religion. if the student be devoutly minded the scriptures will be to him, too, however conditioned by the idiosyncrasies of temporal environment and individual character, manifestations of "the life, even the eternal life, which was with the father and was manifested unto us." but the johannine writer was far deeper and more 'spiritual'[ ] than the trend of his age. ignatius' friend and contemporary, polycarp, "the father of the christians" of asia, in his epistle to the philippians ( - ) urges avoidance of the false teachers who "pervert the sayings of the lord to their own lusts, denying the (bodily) resurrection and judgment." but he has no better remedy than to "turn (probably in a somewhat mechanical way) to the tradition handed down from the beginning" and to study "the epistles of paul." the former process is in full application in polycarp's later colleague, papias of hierapolis (_c._ ?), who publishes a little volume entitled _interpretation of the sayings of the lord_. it is based on carefully authenticated traditions of the 'apostles and elders,' especially a certain contemporary "elder john" who speaks for the jerusalem succession. according to papias our two greek gospels of matthew and mark represent two apostolic sources, the one an aramaic compilation of the precepts of jesus by matthew, the other anecdotes of his "sayings and doings" collated from the preaching of peter. footnote : the fourth gospel is thus characterized by clement of alexandria, meaning that it had a deep symbolic sense. grateful as we must be for papias' efforts to authenticate evangelic tradition, since they are corroborated in their main results by all other ancient tradition as well as by critical study of the documents, it is noticeable how they stand in line with the tendencies of the age. eusebius ( ) characterizes the reign of trajan ( - ) as a period when many undertook to disseminate in writing "the divine gospels." one of our own evangelists, whose work must probably be referred to the beginning of this period, but is not mentioned by 'the elder,' alludes to the same phenomenon. the apostles were gone. hence to luke[ ] the question of "order" was a perplexity, as the elder observes that it had already been to mark. soon after luke and papias comes basilides with his _exegetics_, probably based on luke ( ?), and marcion ( ), both engaged from their own point of view with the current questions of jesus' teaching and ministry. footnote : see footnote above. thus, at the beginning of the second century, the elements necessary to the formation of a new testament canon were all at hand. they included the tradition of the teaching and work of jesus, the letters of apostles and church leaders revered as given by authority of the spirit and the visions and revelations of 'prophets.' not only the elements were present, the irresistible pressure of the times was certain to force them into crystallization. the wonder is not that the canon should have been formed, but that it should have been delayed so long. for there were also resistant factors. phrygia, the scene of paul's first great missionary conquests, the immemorial home of religious enthusiasm, became the seat, about the middle of the second century, of a movement of protest against the church policy of consolidation and standardization. montanus arose to maintain the persistence in the church of the gift of prophecy, tracing the succession in both the male and female line back to silas the companion of paul and the prophesying daughters of philip the evangelist. the 'phrygians,' as they were called, naturally made much of the writings current in asia minor, especially the book of 'prophecy' attributed to 'john.' theoretically indeed the church was unwilling to acknowledge the disappearance of this gift. to hermas ( - ) and the _teaching of the twelve_ ( - ) it is still a "sin against the spirit" to interrupt or oppose a prophet during his ecstatic utterance. on the other hand, the _teaching_ reiterates the apostolic warnings to "try the spirits," with prohibitions of specific excesses of the order. moreover by the time of montanus and the 'phrygians' theoretical recognition of revelation through the prophets was rapidly giving way before the practical dangers inseparable from 'revelations' of this enthusiastic character, of which any member of the church, man or woman, ignorant or learned, lay or cleric, might be the recipient. the strict regulative control imposed by both paul and john[ ] upon this type of spiritual gift ( st thess. v. f.; st cor. xii. ; xv. f. ; _cf._ st john iv. ) was found to be doubly necessary in face of the disintegrating tendencies of the post-apostolic age, and after long debate and much protest the movement of montanus was at last decreed heretical at rome, though irenæus ( ) interceded for it, and tertullian ( ) became a convert. footnote : see footnote above. the history of this movement in the formative period of the new testament canon explains why the "revelations of the prophets" obtained but scant recognition as compared with the "word of the lord" and the "commandment of the apostles." last of the three, in order of rank ( st cor. xii. ; eph. iv. ), last also to be codified in written form, we need not be surprised that our present new testament retains but a single one of the once current books of 'prophecy.' for a time the _shepherd_ of hermas and the _apocalypse of peter_ rivalled the claims to canonicity of our own revelation of john, but were soon dropped. our own apocalypse has suffered more opposition than any other new testament writing, being still excluded from the canon in some branches of the church. its precarious place at the end of the canon which we moderns have inherited from athanasius (_ob._ ) was due, in fact, far less to its author's vigorous assertions of authority as an inspired "prophet" (i. - ; xxii. - , f.) than to the claims to apostolicity put forward in the preface and appendix. for until the third century no one drammed of understanding the "john" of rev. i. , and xxii. otherwise than as the apostle. eusebius accordingly ( ) is uncertain only as to whether the book should be classed in his first group of "accepted" writings, along with the gospels and pauline epistles, or in the third as "spurious." if written by "some other john than the apostle" he would not even honour it with a place in his second group of "disputed" books, along with hebrews, james, jude, and nd peter. thus at the end of the second century, while there was still much dispute (destined indeed to continue for centuries) as to the _limits_ of the new testament canon, there had in fact come to be a real canonical new testament set over against the old, as of equal, or even greater authority. the "word of the lord," the "commandment of the apostles," and at last even the "revelations of the prophets," had successively ceased as living realities, and become crystallized into written form. they had been codified and canonized. the church had travelled the beaten track of the synagogue, and all the more rapidly from the example set before it. none of the early canons (_i. e._ lists of writings permitted to be read in the churches) coincides exactly, it is true, with the new testament current among ourselves. the list of athanasius is the first to give just our books. the roman list of the muratorian fragment ( - ) omits hebrews, james and nd peter, and gives at least a partial sanction to the _apocalypse of peter_. the lists of origen (_ob._ ) and eusebius ( ) vary as respects both inclusion and exclusion. all early authorities express a doubtful judgment regarding the outer fringe of minor writings such as james, jude, nd peter, nd and rd john. even those of larger content, such as hebrews and revelation, if their apostolicity was questioned, remained subjects of dispute. but already by a.d. the time had long since passed when any of the thirteen epistles bearing the name of paul could be deemed open to question. marcion's exclusion of the three pastorals had been forgotten. dispute of the four-gospel canon could still be tolerated; but not for long. irenæus ( ) has no patience with "those wretched men" who cannot see that in the nature of the case there should be neither more nor less than this number. but he explicitly refers to those who disputed "that aspect of the gospel which is called john's." there were, in fact, opponents of montanism at rome, who under the lead of gaius had denied the authenticity of all the writings attributed to john, including the gospel itself. but even those of the orthodox who were willing enough to reject revelation, with its now unfashionable eschatology, agreed that gaius' attack upon the fourth gospel was too radical. the small body who continued for a few generations to resist the inclusion of any of the johannine writings in the canon remained without influence, and were ultimately forgotten. the 'catholic'[ ] church had repudiated heresy, standardized the faith, and confined its recognized historic expression to a 'canon' of new testament scripture. footnote : catholic is here used in its etymological sense of "general" or universal. we shall have occasion to apply the term in a more limited sense hereafter. chapter ii the reaction to criticism the consolidated 'catholic' church of the third century might seem, so far as its doctrine of scripture was concerned, to have retraced its steps to a standpoint corresponding completely to that of the synagogue. only, the paradox still held that the very writings canonized were those supremely adapted to evoke a spirit of resistance to the despotism of either priest or scribe. the protestant reformation was a revolt against the former, and it is noticeable how large a part was played by the new testament doctrine of the 'spirit' in this struggle of spiritual democracy against hierocratic tyranny. paul's epistle to the galatians became luther's palladium. but the post-reformation dogmatists took fright at their own freedom. the prediction of the romanists that repudiation of traditional authority in its ecclesiastical embodiment would result in internecine schism and conflict seemed on the point of being realized. the theological system-makers, like their predecessors of the post-apostolic age, could see no way out but to throw all their weight on a past inspiration assumed to be without error. the canonical books were declared to furnish an infallible rule of faith and practice. it was in the sincere desire to meet the requirements of this theory that the science of criticism grew up. in the earlier days it did not venture for the most part beyond what is known as 'textual' criticism. for a doctrine of inerrancy is manifestly unserviceable until errors of transmission have been eliminated. textual criticism set itself to this task, asking the question: as between the various readings found in different new testament manuscripts, which is original? unfortunately, to meet the logical requirement the critic, if not backed like those of rome by a papal guarantee, must himself be infallible. the inevitable result of this attempt, begun in the sincerest spirit of apologetics, was to prove that an infallible text is hopelessly unattainable. textual criticism is indispensable; but as the servant of apologetics it is foredoomed to failure. the variation of the manuscripts was not the only obstacle to biblical infallibility. to say nothing of differences of interpretation there was the question of the canon. either the decision of the 'catholic' church must be accepted as infallible, or scholarship must undertake a 'criticism of the canon' to defend the current list of "inspired" books. a 'higher' criticism became necessary if only to vindicate the church's choice on historical grounds. roman catholics like simon, whose _critical history_ of the biblical books appeared in - , could reopen the question with impunity. those who based their authority on the infallibility of scripture alone could not meet the challenge otherwise than as michælis did in his _introduction to the divine writings of the new testament_ ( - ). michælis undertook a historical inquiry into the circumstances of origin of each of the canonical books, with the object of proving each to be in reality what tradition declared. the twenty-seven commonly accepted were supposed to have been either written by apostles, or at least so super-intended and guaranteed by them, as to cover all with the ægis of an infallibility not conceded to the post-apostolic age. scholarship in the harness of apologetics again found its task impracticable. michælis himself confessed it "difficult" to prove authenticity in cases like that of the epistle of jude. conceive the task as the scientific vindication of a verdict rendered centuries before on unknown grounds, but now deprived of official authority, and it becomes inevitably hopeless. can it be expected that doctors will not disagree on the authenticity or pseudonymity of nd peter, who always have disagreed on this and similar questions, and have just admitted failure to agree in the matter of text? for half a century criticism seemed lost in the slough of mere controversy over the (assumed) infallible text, and the (assumed) infallible canon. apologists fought merely on the defensive, endeavouring to prove that men whose fallibility was admitted had nevertheless pronounced an infallible verdict on the most difficult subjects of literary and historical inquiry. critics had an easy task in showing that the church's theory of inspiration and canonicity was incorrect; but made no progress toward a constructive explanation of the religious, or even the historical, significance of the literature. real progress was made only when criticism left off the attempt either to establish or disestablish a 'received' text, or an 'authorized' canon, and became simply an instrument in the hand of the historian, as he seeks to trace to their origins the ideas the church enshrined in her literature because she found them effective in her growth. for the great awakening in which new testament criticism 'found itself' as a genuine and indispensable branch of the history of religion, we are largely indebted to the eminent church historian, ferdinand christian baur (_ob._ ). baur gathered up the fragmentary results of a generation of mere negation, a war of independence against the tyranny of dogmatic tradition, and sought to place the new testament writings in their true setting of primitive church history. his particular views have been superseded. subsequent study has disproved many of his inferences, and brought from friend and foe far-reaching modifications to his general theory. but, consciously or not, baur, in making criticism the hand-maid of history, was working in the interest of that constructive, christian, doctrine of inspired scripture which an ancient and nameless teacher of the church had described as "witness" to the life, "even the eternal life, which was with the father," and is in man, and has been manifested in the origin and historical development of our religion. the reformation had been a revolt against the despotism of the priest; this was a revolt against the despotism of the scribe. baur gave scant--too scant--consideration to early tradition, making his results unduly negative. none of the new testament books are dated; few besides the pauline epistles embody even an author's name; and these few, st and nd peter, james, jude and revelation, were ( st peter alone excepted) just those which even the canon-makers had classified as doubtful, or spurious. not even a calvin would support the authenticity of nd peter, a luther had denied the value of james and revelation. it had been an easy task for 'criticism of the canon' to show that those who determined its content had not been actuated by considerations of pure science. those books secured admission which were most widely current as ancient and trustworthy, and whose orthodoxy met the standards of the time. those were disputed, or rejected, which were less widely current, or unorthodox, or could establish no direct relation to an apostle. it was proper for the critic, once his aim had become not apologetic but historical, to drop once for all the question whether the canon-makers' selection--made not for scientific, but for religious purposes--is good, bad or indifferent. the time had come for him to apply the available evidence to his own scientific question: what relation do these several writings bear to the development of christianity? it remained to be seen whether he could offer constructive evidence more convincing than tradition. the latest date to which an undated, or disputed, writing can be assigned is that when the marks of its employment by others, or influence upon them, become undeniable. this is termed the 'external' evidence. the earliest date, conversely, is that to which we are brought down by references in the book itself to antecedent and current events, and writings, or by undeniable marks of their influence. this is termed the 'internal' evidence. counting tradition as part of the external evidence, modern scientific criticism is able to fix within a few decades the origin of all the new testament writings, without incurring opposition even from the apologist. no scholar now dreams of adopting any other method of proof, whatever his doctrinal proclivities. the overwhelming majority are agreed that the period covered, from the earliest pauline epistles to the latest brief fulminations against gnostic doketism and denial of 'resurrection and judgment,' is included in the century from a.d. to . baur's conception of the course of events in this momentous century has been described as a theory of historical progress by fusion of opposites in a higher unity. the hegelian scheme of thesis, antithesis and synthesis had in fact some justification in the recognized phenomena of the development of christianity. it had sprung from judaism, overcoming the particularism of that still nationalistic faith by the sense of its mission to the world at large. the conflict acknowledged in all the sources and most vividly reflected in the great epistles of paul to the galatians, corinthians and romans, a conflict between those who conceived christianity as a universal religion, and those who looked upon it as only a reformed, spiritualized and perfected judaism, was the characteristic phenomenon of the first or apostolic age. it was the struggle of the infant faith against its swaddling bands. the critical historian is compelled to estimate all later, anonymous, accounts of this development in the light of the confessedly earlier, and indubitably authentic records, the four great epistles of paul; for these simply reflect the actual conditions, and are not affected by the later disposition to idealize the story. thesis and antithesis were therefore really in evidence at the beginnings. equal unanimity prevailed as to the close of the period in question. in a.d. to , christianity was solidifying into the 'catholic' church, rejecting extremes of doctrine on both sides, formulating its 'rule of faith,' determining its canon, centralizing administrative control. it had thrown off as heretical upon the extreme left marcion and the gnostics, who either repudiated the jewish scriptures altogether, or interpreted them with more than pauline freedom. on the extreme right it had renounced the unprogressive ebionites of palestine, still unreconciled to paul, and insistent on submission to the law for jew and gentile, as the condition of a 'share in the world to come.' what could be imagined as to the course of events in the intervening century of obscurity? must it not have witnessed a progressive divergence of the extremes of paulinists and judaizers, coincidently with a rapprochement of the moderates from the side of peter and that of paul respectively? baur's outline seemed thus to describe adequately the main course of events. he relied upon internal evidence to determine the dates of the disputed writings and their relation to it. but 'criticism of the canon' in baur's own, and in the preceding generation, had come to include among the writings of doubtful date and authenticity not only those disputed in antiquity, and the anonymous narrative books, but also st peter and the minor epistles of paul. nothing strictly apostolic was left save the four great epistles of paul. the theory of baur and the tübingen school (for so his followers came to be designated) was broadly conceived and ably advocated. in two vital respects it has had permanent influence. ( ) criticism, as already noted, has ceased to be mere debate about text and canon, and concerns itself to-day primarily with the history of christian ideas as embodied in its primitive literature. its problem is to relate the new testament writings, together with all other cognate material, to the history of the developing religion from its earliest traceable form in the greater pauline epistles to where it emerges into the full light of day toward the close of the second century. ( ) again, baur's outline of the process through which the nascent faith attained to full self-consciousness as a world-religion required correction rather than disproof. it was a grievous mistake to identify peter, james, and john with those whom paul bitterly denounces as judaizing "false brethren," "super extra apostles," "ministers of satan." it was a perversion of internal evidence to reject as post-pauline the epistles of the later period such as philippians and colossians, on the ground that paul himself did not live to participate in the second crisis, the defence of his doctrine against perversion on the side of mystical, hellenistic theosophy. the great epistles written under the name of paul from the period of his captivity are innocent of reference to the developed gnostic systems of the second century. they antagonize only an incipient tendency in this direction. but while the transition of a.d. - was both deeper and more complex than baur conceived, the transfer of the gospel during that century from jewish to gentile soil is really the great outstanding fact, against which as a background the literature must be read; and the initial stage of the process is marked by the controversy of paul with the galilean apostles. what we must call, in distinction from paulinism, 'apostolic' christianity is well represented in the book of acts. paul's writings show that he felt himself and his churches to represent an independent type of christianity in all respects equal to the 'apostolic,' the problem being unification of the two. now it is axiomatic that the investigator must proceed from the relatively known and determinable to the unknown and disputable. accordingly it is in reality from the epistolary literature of the church, in particular the greater pauline epistles, that he must take his start. as a source for our understanding of the development of the life of the church the literature of the apostle, directly participant in the conflicts and issues of the times, even if in its later elements of doubtful or pseudonymous authorship, takes precedence as a whole over the literature of the catechist, with its later and more or less idealized narration, exemplified in the book of acts. modern criticism acknowledges, then, its indebtedness to the tübingen school for a clearer definition of both its task and method, by concentrating attention upon the contrast between the petrine and the pauline conception of 'the gospel.' still it must be admitted that most of the inferences first drawn have since been overthrown. in their chronological scheme of the new testament writings the tübingen critics under-estimated the force of the external evidences (including early tradition) and misinterpreted the internal. new discovery and more careful study of literary relations have inverted baur's views as to dates of the johannine writings. four of these (the gospel and three epistles) are anonymous. baur's date for these has been forced back by no less than half a century. the fifth (revelation) bears the name of john, but was hotly disputed as pseudonymous in the second century, and even by its supporters was dated so late as "the end of the reign of domitian" ( ). the tübingen school placed revelation thirty years earlier, and attributed it to the apostle. modern criticism emphatically reverts to the ancient date, and regards the book as pseudonymous, or as written by "some other john." again the relative dates of the synoptic writings (matthew, mark, luke-acts) were inverted by the tübingen critics, primarily through wrong application of their theory of doctrinal development; secondarily, and as a consequence, through misinterpretation of the intricate literary relationships. present-day criticism considers it established that mark is the oldest of the three, taken up by each of the other two. there is almost equal unanimity in regarding the discourse material common to matthew and luke and variously combined by each with mark, as independently drawn by them from the book of the "precepts of the lord," reported by papias to have been compiled by matthew "in the hebrew (_i. e._ aramaic) tongue." tübingen gospel criticism is thus almost entirely set aside, in favour of the so-called 'two-document' theory. so with the pauline epistles of the second period. doubt still clings to ephesians. it had been treated by some as pseudo-pauline even before the time of baur; but baur's own followers soon receded from his extreme application of his theory to the internal evidence of philippians, colossians and philemon. it became evident that paul's "gospel" included something more than the mere antithesis of law and grace. he had other opponents than the judaizers, and had to defend his doctrine against perversion by grecizing mystics as well as against opposition by pharisaic legalists. two generations of research and controversy have greatly advanced the cause of constructive criticism. hand in hand with a more accurate dating of the literature, secured through more impartial judgment of both the external and internal evidence, there has gone a reconstruction of our conception of the course of events. the tendencies in the early church were not two only, but four; corresponding, perhaps, to those rebuked by paul at corinth, which called themselves by the names respectively of peter, of paul, of apollos and of christ. it seems probable from the bitterness with which in nd cor. x. paul denounces the man who says, "i am of christ," that this party-cry was employed in the sense of following the example of jesus as respects obedience to the law (for even paul acknowledged that christ had been "made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god"). if so, the corinthian "christ-party" may be identified with those "ministers of the circumcision" who denied both the apostleship and the gospel of paul. at all events those "of cephas" were relatively harmless. they may be identified with the so-called 'weak' of romans, for whose scruples on the score of 'pollutions of idols' paul demands such consideration both at corinth and at rome. his own adherents both at corinth (those 'of paul') and at rome (the 'strong') are to follow his example not merely in recognizing that: "no idol is anything in the world," that "there is nothing unclean of itself," and that "all things are lawful." it is to be followed also in recognizing the limitations of this liberty. limits are imposed among other things by the scruples of others, so that paul himself becomes "as under the law" when among jews, though "as without the law" among the gentiles. the "weak" are to be resisted only when the admission of themselves or their claims would lead to "doubtful disputations," or to a rebuilding of walls of separation that had been torn down through faith in christ. galatians sounds the battle-cry of endangered liberty. corinthians (and romans in still higher degree) shows the magnanimity of the victor. whether it be possible to identify those "of apollos" at corinth with the beginnings of that hellenistic perversion of the pauline gospel into a mystical theosophy which afterwards passed into gnosticism may be left an open question. at least we have come to see that the conditions of the church's growth were far more complex than baur imagined. in particular it is necessary to distinguish four different attitudes on the single question of the obligation of the law. there were ( ) judaizers who insisted on complete submission to the law as the condition of salvation, for both jews and gentiles; ( ) imitators of cephas, who considered believers of jewish birth to be "under the law," but asked of gentiles only such consideration for it as the special conditions seemed to require; ( ) paulinists, who held that neither jews nor gentiles are under the law, yet felt that consideration should be shown for the scrupulous when asked not as of right, but as of charity; ( ) radicals, who recognized no limits to their freedom save the one new commandment. but while conflict first broke out over the mere concrete question of gentile liberty, the real distinction of paul's gospel from that of the older apostles was far deeper. the question as tübingen critics conceived it concerned primarily the _extent_ of the gospel message,--to how large a circle was it offered? modern criticism has come to see that the difference was in higher degree a difference of _quality_. paul's whole message of redemption through the cross and resurrection started from other premises than those of the galilean apostles, and was conceived in other terms. for this reason it leads over to a new christology. in short, the transition of christianity from its jewish to its gentile form is not a mere enlargement of its field by the abolition of particularistic barriers. the background we must study for the understanding of it is not so much mere contemporary history as the contemporary history _of religion_. the development from the petrine gospel broadly characteristic of the synoptic writings, through the pauline epistles to that of the johannine writings, is a transition from hebrew to hellenistic conceptions of what redemption is, and how it is effected. modern criticism expresses the contrast in its distinction of the gospel _of_ jesus from the gospel _about_ jesus. in the case of both paul and his predecessors in the faith there is a common starting-point. it was the doctrine that god had raised jesus from the dead and exalted him as christ and lord to the throne of glory. its proofs were the ecstatic phenomena of the spirit, those strange manifestations of 'prophecy,' 'tongues,' and the like in the christian assembly. the inference from this resurrection faith for an apostle of the galilean group was that he must "teach all men everywhere to observe all things whatsoever jesus had commanded." jesus had been raised up in israel as the prophet like unto moses; his apostle must repeat the remembered word of commandment and the word of promise. he will have an authority derived from the manifestations of signs and wonders. these had accompanied jesus' own career, and now, by grace of his endowment of his disciples with the spirit, they will be repeated by their hands. the 'apostolic' gospel is thus primarily historical. the pauline gospel centres at the other pole of religious conviction. it is primarily psychological. for paul the immediate effect of the revelation of god's son "in" him is an irresistible impulse to relate his own soul's experience. the gospel he preaches is not so much what jesus did or said while on earth, as what god has done, and is still doing, through the "life-giving spirit" which emanates from the risen lord. signs and wonders are tokens of the spirit, but are of less value, and must vanish before the "abiding" ethical gifts. both the pauline and the petrine gospel start from the common confession of "jesus as lord"; but the christology of the synoptic literature is an apotheosis doctrine, falling back on the historical jesus. that of the epistles is a doctrine of incarnation, appealing to the eternal manifestation of god in man. for the former, jesus was "a prophet mighty in deed and word," raised up by god in accordance with the promise of deut. xviii. , to turn israel to repentance. having fulfilled this mission in rejection and martyrdom jesus had been exalted to god's "right hand" and "made both lord and christ." he there awaits the subjection of all his enemies. in the pauline gospel the story of jesus is a drama of the supernal regions, wherein his earthly career as prophet, leader, teacher, sinks to the level of the merest episode. as pre-existent spirit, jesus had been from the beginning of the creation "in the form of god." as the period of its consummation drew near he took upon him human form, descended through suffering and death to the lowest depths of the underworld, and by divine power had reascended above all the heavens with their ranks of angelic hierarchies. whether paul himself so conceived it or not, the gentile world had no other moulds of thought wherein to formulate such a christology than the current myths of redeemer-gods. the value of the individual _soul_ had at last been discovered, and men resorted to the ancient personifications of the forces of nature as deliverers of this new-found _soul_ from its weakness and mortality. the influential religions of the time were those of personal redemption by mystic union with a dying and resurrected "saviour-god," an osiris, an adonis, an attis, a mithra. religions of this type were everywhere displacing the old national faiths. the gentile could not think of "the christ" primarily as a son of david who restores the kingdom to israel, shatters the gentiles like a potter's vessel and rules them with a rod of iron. if he employed this old testament language at all, it had for him a purely symbolical sense. the whole conception was spiritualized. the "enemies" overcome were the spiritual foes of humanity, sin and death; "redemption" was not the deliverance of israel out of the hand of all their enemies, that (together with all afar off that call upon the name of this merciful god) they may "serve him in holiness and righteousness all their days." it was the rescue of the sons of adam out of the bondage to evil powers incurred through inheritance of adam's sinful flesh. this had been the tendency already of jewish apocalypse. the starting-point of paul's own conceptions was not israel's bondage in egypt, but a conception already tinged, like the late book of jewish philosophy called the wisdom of solomon, with the stoic conception of 'flesh' as prison-house of 'spirit,' already inflamed, like the contemporary jewish apocalypses of esdras and baruch, with lurid visions of a universe rescued by superhuman power from a thraldom of demonic rule. paul's preaching was made real by his own experience. for if ever there was an evangelist whose message was his own experience, paul was such. and paul's experience was not so much that of a palestinian jew, as that of a hellenist, one whose whole idea of 'redemption' has been unconsciously universalized, individualized, and spiritualized, by contact with greek and hellenistic thought. paul and the galilean apostles were not far apart in their expectations of the future. both stood gazing up into heaven. but for his authority paul inevitably looked inwards, the galilean apostles looked backwards. it is hopeless at the present stage of acquaintance with the history of religion, particularly the spread of the various 'mysteries' and religions of personal redemption in the early empire, to deny this contrast between the gospel of paul and the gospel of "the apostles and elders at jerusalem." it is shortsighted to overlook its significance in the transition of the faith. whereas the jewish-christian had as its principal background the national history, more or less transcendentalized in the forms of apocalypse, paul's had as its principal background the speculative mythology of the hellenistic world, more or less adapted to the forms of judaism. only ignorance of the function of mythology, especially as then employed to express the aspiration of the soul for purity, life and fellowship with god, can make these mythologically framed religious ideas seem an inappropriate vehicle to convey paul's sense of the significance of jesus' message and life of "son ship." they were at least the best expression those times and that environment could afford of the greater kingdom god had proclaimed in the resurrection of the christ, and was bringing to pass through the outpouring of his spirit. modern criticism must therefore recognize that the beginnings of our religion were not a mere enlargement of judaism by abolition of the barriers of the law, but a fusion of the two great streams of religious thought distinctive of the jewish and the hellenistic world in a higher unity. alexander's hoped-for "marriage of europe and asia" was consummated at last in the field of religion itself. denationalized judaism contributed the social ideal: the messianic hope of a world-wide kingdom of god. it is the worthy contribution of a highly ethical national religion. hellenism contributed the individual ideal: personal redemption in mystic union with the life of god. it is a concept derived from the greek's newly-awakened consciousness of a personality agonizing for deliverance out of the bondage of the material and transitory, alien and degrading to its proper life. the critic who has become a historian of ideas will find his study of the literature of the apostolic and post-apostolic age here widening out into a prospect of unsuspected largeness and significance. he will see as the two great divisions of his subject, ( ) the gospel _of_ jesus, represented, as we are told, in the first beginnings of literary development by an aramaic compilation of the precepts of the lord by the apostle matthew, circulating possibly even before the great pauline epistles among the palestinian churches; ( ) the gospel _about_ jesus, represented in the pauline epistles, and these based on their author's personal experience. it is a gospel of god's action "in christ, reconciling the world." it interprets the personality of jesus and his experience of the cross and resurrection as manifestations of the divine idea. the interpretation employs hellenistically coloured forms of thought, and is forced to vindicate itself first against subjection to legalism, afterwards against perversion into an unethical, superstitious theosophy. but surely the doctrine _about_ jesus, interpreting the significance of his person and work as the culmination of redemption through the indwelling of god in men and among men belongs as much to the essence of christianity as the gospel of love and faith proclaimed _by_ jesus. besides these two principal types of gospel and their subordinate combinations the critical historian may see ultimately emerging a type of 'spiritual' gospel, growing upon gentile soil, in fact, receiving its first literary expression in the early years of the second century at the very headquarters of the pauline mission-field. this third type aims to be comprehensive of the other two. it is essentially a gospel about jesus, though it takes the form for its main literary expression of a gospel preached by jesus. the fourth evangelist is the true successor of paul, though the conditions of the age compel him to go beyond the literary form of the epistle and to construct a gospel wherein both factors of the sacred tradition shall appear, the words and works, the precepts and the saving ministry of jesus. but it is in no mechanical or slavish sense that the fourth evangelist appeals to this supreme authority. he lifts the whole message above the level of mere baptized legalism, even while he guards it against the unbridled licence of gnostic theosophy, applying to this purpose his doctrine of the incarnate logos. his basis is psychology as well as history. it is the life which is the light of men, that life whose source is god, and which permeates and redeems his creation; even "the eternal life which was with the father and was manifested to us." in the critical grouping of our new testament writings the gospel and epistles of john can occupy, then, no lesser place than that of the keystone of the arch. to sum up: the literature of the apostle owed its early development and long continuance among the pauline churches of asia minor and greece, to the impetus and example of paul's apostolic authority. the literature of the teacher and prophet, growing up around jerusalem and its daughter churches at antioch and rome, came slowly to surpass in influence the "commandment of the apostles," as the church became more and more exclusively dependent upon it for the "teaching of the lord." it was the function of the great "theologian" of ephesus (as he came early to be called), linking the authority of both, to furnish the fundamental basis for the catholic faith. part ii the literature of the apostle chapter iii paul as missionary and defender of the gospel of grace most vital of all passages for historical appreciation of the great period of paul's missionary activity and its literature is the retrospect over his career as apostle to the gentiles and defender of a gospel "without the yoke of the law" in gal. i.-ii. especially must the contrast be observed between this and the very different account in acts ix.-xvi. galatians aims to counteract the encroachments of certain judaizing interlopers upon paul's field, and seems to have been written from corinth, shortly after his arrival there (_c._ ) on the second missionary journey (acts xv. --xviii. ). we take "the churches of galatia" to be those founded by paul in company with barnabas on the first missionary journey (acts xiii.-xiv.), and revisited with silas after a division of the recently evangelized territory whereby cyprus had been left to barnabas and mark (acts xv. --xvi. ; _cf._ gal. iv. ). the retrospect is in two parts: ( ) a proof of the divine origin of paul's apostleship and gospel by the independence of his conversion and missionary career; ( ) an account of his defence of his "gospel of uncircumcision" on the two occasions when it had been threatened. visiting jerusalem for the second time some fifteen years[ ] after his conversion, he secured from its "pillars," james, peter, and john, an unqualified, though "private," endorsement. at antioch subsequently he overcame renewed opposition by public exposure of the inconsistency of peter, who had been won over by the reactionaries. footnote : or perhaps thirteen. gal. ii. may reckon from the conversion ( - ). in both periods (gal. i. , and ii. ) both termini are counted. acts reverses paul's point of view, making his career in the period of unobstructed evangelization one of labour for jews alone, in complete dependence on the twelve. it practically excludes the period of opposition by a determination of the gentile status in an 'apostolic council.' paul is represented as simply acquiescing in this decision. as described by paul, the whole earlier period of fifteen years had been occupied by missionary effort for _gentiles_, first at damascus, afterwards "in the regions of syria and cilicia." it was interrupted only by a journey "to arabia," and later, three years after his conversion, by a two-weeks' private visit to peter in jerusalem. in this period must fall most of the journeys and adventures of nd cor. xi. - . it was practically without contact with judæa. his "gospel" was what god alone had taught him through an inward manifestation of the risen jesus. as described by luke[ ] the whole period was spent in the evangelization of greek-speaking _jews_, principally at jerusalem. this was paul's chosen field, worked under direction of "the apostles." only against his will[ ] was he driven for refuge to tarsus, whence barnabas, who had first introduced him to the apostles, brought him to antioch. there was no gentile mission until barnabas and he were by that church made its 'apostles.' this mission was on express direction of "the spirit" (acts ix. - ; xi. f.; xiii. - ; _cf._ xxii. - ). paul's apostleship to the gentiles begins, then, according to luke, with the first missionary journey, when in company with (and at first in subordination to) barnabas he evangelizes cyprus and southern galatia. the two are agents of antioch, with "letters of commendation" from "the apostles and elders in jerusalem" (acts xv. - ). paul is not an apostle of christ in the same sense as the twelve (_cf._ acts i. f.). he is a providential "vessel of the spirit," ordained "by men and through men." his gospel is peter's unaltered (_cf._ acts xxvi. - ). footnote : we apply the name to the writer of luke-acts without prejudice to the question of authorship. footnote : acts xxii. - is not quite consistent with xxvi. - ; but the general sense is clear. there is even wider disparity regarding the period of opposition. luke slightly postpones its beginning and very greatly antedates its suppression. moreover, he makes paul accept a solution which his letters emphatically repudiate. according to acts there was no opposition before the first missionary journey, for the excellent reason that there had been no gentile propaganda.[ ] there was no opposition after the council called to consider it (acts xv.), for the conclusive reason that "the apostles and elders" left nothing to dispute about. as soon as the objections were raised the church in antioch laid the question before these authorities, sending paul and barnabas to testify. on their witness to the grace of god among the gentiles, peter (explicitly claiming for himself (!) this special apostleship, acts xv. ) proposes unconditional acknowledgment of gentile liberty, referring to the precedent of cornelius. in this there was general acquiescence. in fact the matter had really been decided before (acts xi. - ). the only wholly new point was that raised by james in behalf of "the jews among the gentiles" (acts xv. ; _cf._ xxi. ). for their sake it is held "necessary" to limit gentile freedom on four points. they must abstain from three prohibited meats, and from fornication, for these convey the "pollution of idols." the "necessity" lies in the fact that _liberty from the law is not conceded to jews_. they will be (involuntarily) defiled if they eat with their gentile brethren unprotected. "fornication" is added because (in the words of an ancient jewish christian) it "differs from all other sins in that it defiles not only the sinner, but those also _who eat or associate with him_." paul and barnabas, according to luke, gladly accepted these "decrees," and paul distributed them "for to keep" among his converts in galatia (!). _peter_ is the apostle to the gentiles. antioch and jerusalem decide the question of their status. the terms of fellowship are those of _james_ and peter. footnote : cornelius' case (acts x.-xi. ) is exceptional, and no propaganda follows. the reading "greeks" in acts xi. , though required by the sense and therefore adopted by the english translators, is not supported by the textual evidence. luke has here corrected his source to suit his theory, just as in x. --xi. he passes by the true significance of the story, which really deals with the question of _eating_ with gentiles (xi. , f.). paul has no mention of either council or 'decrees.' his terms of fellowship positively exclude both. he falls back upon the private conference, and lays bare a story of agonizing struggle to make effective its recognition of the equality and independence of gentile christianity. the struggle is a result of his resistance to emissaries "from james" at antioch, who had brought over all the jewish element in that mixed church, including peter and "even barnabas" to terms of fellowship acceptable to the pillars. after the collision at antioch paul leaves the "regions of syria and cilicia," and transfers the scene of his missionary efforts to the greek world between the taurus range and the adriatic. for the next ten years we see him on the one side conducting an independent mission, proclaiming the doctrine of the cross as inaugurating a new era, wherein law has been done away, and jew and gentile have "access in one spirit unto the father." on the other he is defending this gospel of 'grace' against unscrupulous jewish-christian traducers, and labouring to reconcile differences between his own followers and those of 'the circumcision' who are not actively hostile, but only have taken 'offence.' throughout the period, until the arrest in jerusalem which ends his career as an evangelist, paul stands alone as champion of unrestricted gentile liberty and equality. he cannot admit terms of fellowship which imply a continuance of the legal dispensation. jewish christians may keep circumcision and the customs if they wish; but may not hold or recommend them as conferring the slightest advantage in god's sight. he will not admit the doctrine of salvation by faith _with_ works of law. jew as well as gentile must have "died to the law." there is no "justification" except "by faith _apart_ from works of law."[ ] footnote : the assertion has recently been made in very high quarters on the basis of st cor. vii. that paul also took the "apostolic" view that the christian of jewish birth remains under obligation to keep the law. one would think paul had not added verse ! unless we distinctly apprehend the deep difference, almost casually brought out by this question of the (converted) jew among gentiles and his obligation to eat with his gentile brother, a difference between 'apostolic' christianity as luke gives it, and the 'gospel' of paul, we can have no adequate appreciation of the great epistles produced during this period of conflict. the basis of luke's pleasing picture of peace and concord is a fundamentally different conception of the relation of law and grace. paul and luke both hold that the mosaic commandments are not binding on _gentiles_. the point of difference--and paul's own account of his conference with the pillars goes to show that luke's idea is also theirs; else why need there be a division of 'spheres of influence'?--is paul's doctrine that the believing jew _as well as the gentile_ is "dead to the law." and this doctrine was never accepted south of the taurus range. agreement and union were sure to come, if only by the rapid disappearance from the church after a.d. of the element of the circumcised, and the progressive realization in 'syria and cilicia' of the impracticability of the jerusalem-antioch plan of requiring gentiles to make their tables innocuous to the legalist. if only the participation of paul and barnabas be excluded from the story of acts xv. (or better, restored to its proper sequence after acts xi. ) we have every reason to accept luke's account of an apostolic council held at jerusalem not long after "peter came to antioch" to settle between the churches of northern and southern syria the knotty question of the christian jew's eating or not eating with gentiles. it is almost certain that syria did adopt this modus vivendi for "the brethren which are of the gentiles _in antioch, syria and cilicia_" (acts xv. ); for we can trace its gradual obsolescence there. in revelation (a book of palestinian origin republished at ephesus _c._ ; _cf._ rev. ii. , , ) in the _teaching of the twelve_ ( ), and in the 'western' text of acts xv. ( ?) there is a progressive scaling down of the 'burden.' gentiles are at last asked to do almost nothing more than paul had demanded on moral grounds without recognition of the validity of "distinctions of meats." in a.d. the 'burden' is: "concerning meats, keep what thou art able; however, abstain at all events from things offered to idols, for it is the food of dead gods." but to take luke's account of how peace was restored, with its implication that the pauline gospel as developed in greek christendom between the taurus range and the adriatic was nothing more than a branch from the parent stock of the 'apostolic' church in "syria and cilicia," would be like viewing the history of the united states from the standpoint of a british imperialist of a period of anglo-saxon reunion in a.d. , who should omit entirely the american war of independence, holding that washington and franklin after bearing testimony before parliament accepted for the colonies a plan of settlement prepared by a liberal government which reduced to a minimum the obnoxious requirements of the tories. the history of this period of the development of the independent 'gospel' of paul and of his independent churches is so vital, and so confused by generations of well-meaning 'harmonizers,' that we must take time to contrast once more luke's theory of the process of reunion with paul's. _in acts paul takes precisely the view of peter and james._ he is himself 'under the law.' he does _not_ disregard it even among gentiles. on the contrary, he sets an example of scrupulous legality to the jews among the gentiles, himself 'walking orderly, keeping the law.' the statement that he "teaches them to forsake moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, nor to obey the customs" is a calumny (!) which he takes public occasion to disprove (acts xxi. - ). before the sanhedrin he emphatically declares himself a consistent pharisee (acts xxiii. , ); before felix and festus, blameless by the standard of law and prophets (xxiv. - ; xxv. ); before agrippa, a strict pharisee in his conduct hitherto (xxvi. , f.). titus, whose circumcision paul strenuously resisted, is never mentioned in acts. conversely timothy (a jew only on his mother's side) paul "took and circumcised" immediately after the jerusalem council "because of the jews that were in those parts" (galatia!). his visit with barnabas to jerusalem is not occasioned by opposition to gentile missions, though it falls between barnabas' mission from jerusalem to investigate the alarming reports of gentile conversions at antioch, and the first missionary journey on which the two take with them mark, who had accompanied them from jerusalem. no; according to luke gentile missions did not yet exist[ ](!). this visit (that of the conference, gal. ii. - ) was merely to convey a gift from the antioch church to that of jerusalem because of the famine "about that time" (it occurred in - ). conversely the great 'offering of the gentiles' made at the risk of paul's life in company with delegates from each province of his field, as a proffer of peace, the enterprise which occupies so large a place in his effort and his letters of this period ( st cor. xvi. - ; nd cor. - ; rom. xv. , , - ), has in acts no relation to the controversy--for the demonstration of paul's exemplary legalism in the temple is merely incidental. the gift paul brought was "alms to my nation" (!) (acts xxiv. ). the reader asks in vain what necessitates this dangerous journey. the only motives assigned are a nazarite vow assumed in cenchreæ (xviii. ; xxi. ), and regard for the jewish feasts (xx. ). footnote : on the reading "greeks" in acts xi. see footnote above., p. . the background of history against which the modern reader must place the great letters of paul of the first period, is manifestly something quite different from the mere unsifted story of acts. their real origin is in a profound difference in paul's idea of 'the gospel' and the necessity of defending the independence of it and of the gentile churches founded on it. the difference originates in paul's own religious experience. it found its first expression in his antithesis of law and grace, his doctrine that the cross marks the abolition of the economy of law. both in galatians and everywhere else paul treats on equal terms with the representatives of the "apostleship of the circumcision." he denounces peter and "the rest of the jews," including "even barnabas," at antioch, after they have withdrawn from gentile fellowship in order to preserve their legal 'cleanness,' and the point of the denunciation is that this is inconsistent with _their_ (implied) abandonment of the law as a means of salvation when they "sought to be justified by faith in christ." this makes their conduct not only inconsistent but cowardly and "hypocritical." here is something far deeper than a mere question of policy. paul's attitude shows that from the beginning he has really been preaching "a different gospel." a gospel _about_ christ in which the central fact is the cross as the token of the abolition of a dispensation of law wherein jew and gentile alike were in a servile relation to god, under angelic (or demonic) "stewards and governors," and the inauguration of a dispensation of grace, wherein all who have 'faith' and receive in baptism the gift of 'the spirit,' are thereby adopted to be god's sons. beside this cosmic drama of the cross and resurrection wherein god reveals his redemptive purpose for the world, the mere inculcation of the easy yoke of jesus as a new law, simplifying and supplementing the old by restoring the doctrine of forgiveness for the repentant believer (_cf._ matt. xxviii. ; acts x. f.; xiii. ; xxvi. f.) seems only half a gospel. paul can never surrender the independence of his god-given message, nor the liberty wherewith christ has made all believers free in abolishing the economy of law and making them "sons" by the spirit. and yet he is even more determined to achieve peace and reunion than the apostles 'of the circumcision'; only he has a different plan. paul and his churches fall back upon the jerusalem conference, not upon the 'apostolic council.' the conference is their magna carta. its recognition of paul's independent gospel and apostleship as no less divine than peter's is their guarantee of liberty and equality; its request for brotherly aid is their promise of fraternity. approaches were made on both sides. it is true the ill-advised attempt of the judaizers to secure unity by a renewal of their propaganda of the law, seducing the greek churches from their loyalty to paul and his gospel, provoked from him only such thunderbolts as galatians, with its defence of "the liberty wherewith christ hath made us free," or nd cor. x. to xiii. , with its denunciation of the "ministers of satan." peace through surrender was not to paul's mind. but the sincere attempt of the followers of peter to find a _modus vivendi_, even if they did not venture to claim liberty from the law for themselves, found paul prepared to go more than half-way. his epistles are not more remarkable for their strenuous defence of the liberty of son ship, than for their insistence on the obligation of brotherly love. his churches must be not only morally pure for their own sakes, but must avoid offences to the more scrupulous. even that which christian liberty allows must be sacrificed to the scruples of the 'weak,' if only it be not "unto doubtful disputations," or demanded as of right. from st thessalonians (corinth, a.d. ), where, in the absence of all judaizing opposition paul merely exhibits his simple gospel of the resurrection and judgment to come, unaffected by questions of law and grace, on through galatians with its sublime polemic for the liberty of sons, to the corinthian correspondence, with its insistence on the duty of consideration and forbearance, its stronger note of love, its revelation of the widespread, strenuous exertions of paul to promote his great 'offering,' down to romans, where the 'offering of the gentiles' is ready to be made (rom. xv. - ), and paul is sedulously preparing to enter a great new field already partially occupied, by presenting a full and superlatively conciliatory statement of his entire 'gospel' (i. - ), there is steady progress toward the "peace" and "acceptance" which he hopes to find in jerusalem. the later epistles, with their different phase of conflict, the very attitude of 'apostolic' christianity toward paul, as exhibited in acts, make it incredible that substantial unity was not in fact secured.[ ] we cannot, indeed, accept luke's representation of paul as performing the nazarite ceremonial in the temple in order to prove _that he does not teach that the law is not binding on jews_. but it does not follow that paul may not have done even this to prove that his principle of accommodation to the weak ( st cor. ix. - ) left ample room for fellowship with the jewish christian--except when (as with peter and barnabas at antioch) the needless scruples of the legalist were made a pretext for "compelling the gentiles to live as do the jews." footnote : the actual outcome is seen in the reduction of the 'burden' to the two items of abstinence from "fornication and from things offered to idols." paul's nicer distinctions under the latter head ( st cor. viii. - , x. - ) as well as his distinction between the ceremonial and the moral grounds for abstinence, were disregarded. had unity been attained through the simple process imagined by luke, obedient acquiescence of paul and the gentiles in the divinely inspired verdict of "the apostles and elders in jerusalem," christianity would have been an immeasurably poorer thing than it became. indeed, it is questionable whether a gospel of mere simplification, extension and supplementation of the law would ever have made permanent conquest of the gentile world. it is because paul stood out on this question of 'meats' for the equal right of his independent gospel, refusing submission until his great ten-years' work of evangelization by tongue and pen had made gentile christianity a factor of at least equal importance with jewish, that our religion was enriched by its hellenistic strain. the deeper insight into the real significance of jesus' work and fate born of paul's peculiar experience and his hellenistic apprehension of the gospel found embodiment in the beginnings of a new testament literature. the writings of this period must accordingly be viewed against the background of a critical history. luke's account, written in the interest of "apostolic" authority, must receive such modifications as the contemporary documents require. taking up the story at the point of divergence we see paul and barnabas returning to antioch after the conference with the pillars, glad at heart, and expecting now to resume the work for gentiles without impediment. besides titus, john mark of jerusalem, a nephew of barnabas, accompanied them. the missionary journey to cyprus and (southern) galatia follows, mark returning, however, to jerusalem after leaving cyprus. it was probably during the absence of the missionaries that "peter came to antioch" and, at first, followed the pauline practice of disregarding 'distinctions of meats.' later, on arrival of certain "from james" he "drew back and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision." while matters were at this stage paul and barnabas reappeared on the scene. paul thought it necessary to rebuke peter "openly, before them all." barnabas, former head of the antioch church, took sides with peter and "the rest of the jews," doubtless determining the attitude of the church; for paul says nothing of prevailing upon them by his argument, but merely turns it at once upon the galatians themselves. moreover, barnabas now takes cyprus as his mission field, with mark as his helper, while paul with a new companion, silvanus (in acts "silas," a bearer of the 'decrees' from jerusalem), takes the northern half of the newly evangelized territory, and through much difficulty and opposition makes his way to the coasts of the Ægean. this second visit to the churches of galatia (acts xvi. - ) was signalized by warnings against the (possible) preaching of "another gospel" (gal. i. ); for paul had reason to anticipate trouble from the "false brethren." if acts may be believed, it was also marked by an extraordinary evidence of paul's readiness to "become all things to all men" in the interest of conciliation. he is said to have circumcised a galatian half-jew named timothy. if so, it was certainly not to prove his respect for the legal requirement, but rather its indifference. "circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision nothing; only faith working through love." but these generous 'accommodations' of paul produced more of misrepresentation than of conciliation. he had cause to regret his liberality later (gal. i. ; v. f.; _cf._ st cor. vii. ). some unexplained obstacle (acts xvi. ) prevented paul's entrance into the province of asia at this time. ephesus, his probable objective, had perhaps already been occupied (xviii. - ). he turned north through phrygia-galatia, hoping to find a field in bithynia, but was again disappointed. at troas, the very extremity of asia, came the turning-point in the fortunes of the missionaries. encouraged by a vision they crossed into macedonia and found fields white for the harvest. the epistles to thessalonica address one of these macedonian churches from corinth, whither the missionaries have been driven. timothy had been sent back from athens when paul's own repeated attempts to return had been frustrated, and has just arrived with good news of the church's perseverance in spite of a persecution stirred up by the jews. it is against these, apparently, not against jewish-christian detractors, that paul defends his character and message ( st thess. ii. - ). there is also an urgent warning against fornication (iv. - ) and exhortation to abound in love (iv. - ), with correction of the natural greek tendency to misapprehend the jewish eschatology and resurrection-doctrine (iv. --v. - ; _cf._ st cor. xv.). the closing admonitions relate to the direction of church meetings and discipline. nd thessalonians corrects and supplements the eschatology of st thessalonians by adding a doctrine of antichrist, which is at all events thoroughly jewish and earlier than , when the temple was destroyed in which it expects the manifestation of "the man of sin." it is the only one of the epistles of this period whose authenticity is seriously questioned by critical scholarship. how little this affects the question of paul's 'gospel' may be seen by the fact that the entire contents cover less than per cent. of the earlier epistles, while the subject is a mere detail. far more significant is it to observe the close correspondence between the missionary preaching of paul as here described by himself ( st thess. i. f.) and the general apostolic message (_kerygma_) as described by luke (acts x. f.; xiv. - ; xvii. - ). where there are no judaizers there is no reference to the dispensations of law and grace and the abolition of the former in the cross. the doctrine is the common gospel of the resurrection, wherein jesus has been manifested as the messiah. faith in him secures forgiveness to the repentant; all others are doomed to perish in the judgment shown by his 'manifestation' to be at hand (_cf._ st cor. xv. ; rom. i. - ). galatians was written but slightly before (or after?) the letters to thessalonica. its single theme (after the retrospect) is the adoption to son ship through the spirit. against the judaizer's plea that to share in the inheritance one must be adopted (preferably by circumcision) into the family of abraham, or at all events pay respect to the mosaic law, paul asserts the single fact of the adoption of the spirit. "it is because ye are sons that god sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts crying (in the ecstatic utterances of 'tongues') abba, that is, father" (gal. iv. ). to go back to legal observances is to revert from redemption to bondage. all christians are indeed sons of abraham, but only as sharers of his trust in god. abraham was made "heir of the world" (rom. iv. ) for his faith. circumcision and the law came afterwards. they were not superimposed stipulations and conditions of the promise. on the contrary they were temporary pedagogic measures intended to produce the consciousness of sin and (moral) death, so that when the heir should come men should be ready to cast themselves on the mercy of god displayed in his vicarious death.[ ] thus the messianic redemption is a redemption from a system issuing in sin and death. on the cross even the sinless christ incurred the curse in order that believers thus redeemed might have the blessing of the abrahamic promise (gal. iii. --iv. ). footnote : romans enlarges the conception of the economy of law by making it include the gentile law of 'conscience' (rom. i. --ii. ). in galatians this point is covered only by classing the "angels" through whom the mosaic law was given, with the "elements" honoured in gentile religion. both are codes of "stewards and governors." but this transfer from bondage to liberty, from the legal to the filial relation, does not "make christ a minister of sin." on the contrary, if the delivering spirit of son ship has been received at all, it controls the life for purity and love. one cannot be a son and be unfilial or unbrotherly. the unity of the redeemed world in christ is the unity of loving service, not of subjection to a bygone system of rules (iv. --vi. ). thus does galatians meet the insidious plea of the judaizers, and their charges against pauline liberty. the church founded by paul in corinth (acts xviii. - ) was grounded from the beginning in this doctrine of the cross. paul purposely restricted himself to it ( st cor. i. - ; ii. - ). he had indeed a world-view, of which we learn more in the epistles of the captivity, a philosophy revealed by the spirit as a "mystery of god." those who afterwards in corinth came to call themselves followers "of apollos" had nothing to teach him on this score. but consideration of this grecizing tendency, too often issuing in a mere "philosophy and vain deceit after the elements of the world and not after christ" (col. ii. ), must be deferred, in favour of questions which became more immediately pressing. for after paul had left corinth to make a brief visit via ephesus to cæsarea and antioch, and had returned through the now pacified galatian churches to make ephesus his permanent headquarters (acts xviii. - ), he received disturbing news of conditions in corinth. under apollos (now at ephesus with paul) an alexandrian convert thoroughly indoctrinated with paul's gospel (acts xviii. - ) the church had flourished, but discussions had subsequently arisen, resulting in a letter to paul asking his advice on disputed points. besides this there were moral blemishes. first the factious strife itself, of which paul has learnt from newcomers from corinth; secondly a case of unpunished incest. a previous letter from paul (now lost, or but partially preserved in nd cor. vi. --vii. ) had required the church "to have no company with fornicators." the church, making the application general, had pleaded the impracticability of "going out of the world." paul now explains: "if any man _that is named a brother_ be a fornicator ... with such a one no, not to eat." after further rebuke for litigiousness, and a lack of moral tone, especially in the matter of "fornication" (ch. vi.), paul takes up seriatim "the things whereof ye wrote." we are chiefly interested in the long section (viii. --xi. ) on "things offered to idols" wherein paul instructs those who would be imitators of his freedom, but who forget that he has always refused to assert his rights when thereby the 'weak' were stumbled. moreover fornication is never among the permissible things, nor even the eating of meats offered to idols _at the heathen banquet itself_. such food is unobjectionable only when it has been sold in the market, and can be eaten without 'offence.' the other questions related to church meetings for the "lord's supper" and the exercise of "spiritual gifts." they give opportunity for the development of paul's noble doctrine of unity through loving service (xi. --xiv. ). the doctrinal section of st corinthians concludes with a full statement of paul's doctrine of the resurrection body (called forth by greek objections to the jewish). from the items of business at the close we learn that "the collection for the saints" has been under way some time already "in galatia," and that paul hopes, after passing through macedonia, to join the delegation which is to carry the money to jerusalem (xvi. - ). as it turned out paul actually followed the itinerary outlined in st cor. xvi. - , but not until after distressing experiences. timothy, sent (by way of macedonia, acts xix. ) as paul's representative (iv. ; xvi. f.), was unable to restore order. the opposition to paul's apostolic authority, treated almost contemptuously in ix. - , grew to alarming proportions. paul received so direct and personal an affront (either on a hasty visit undertaken in person from ephesus, or in the person of timothy) that he despatched a peremptory ultimatum, whose effect he is anxiously waiting to hear when nd corinthians opens with paul driven out from ephesus, a refugee in macedonia (_c._ ). it is highly probable that the disconnected section appended between nd cor. ix. and the farewell, is taken from this "grievous" letter written "out of much affliction and anguish of heart with many tears" ( nd cor. ii. - ; vii. - ); for it was not only a peremptory demand for punishment of the offender, but also a letter of forced self-commendation. paul cannot have written in self-commendation on more than one occasion, and he promises not to repeat this in iii. ff. we may take nd cor. x.-xiii., then, as representing the "grievous" letter. the opposition emanates from judaizers who say they are "of christ," and may therefore be identical with those of st cor. i. . but it has grown to proportions which for a time made paul despair of the church's loyalty. titus' arrival in macedonia with news of their restored obedience had been an inexpressible relief (ii. - ; vii. - ). it remains only to set his 'ministry of the new covenant' once more in contrast with the mosaic 'ministry of condemnation and death,' including further elucidation of the doctrine of the resurrection body (iii. --vi. ) and to urge generosity in the matter of the collection (chh. viii.-ix.). the somewhat disordered, but unmistakably genuine material of nd corinthians was probably given out as a kind of residuum of pauline material long after our st corinthians had been put in circulation, perhaps when renewed strife had caused the church in rome to intervene through clement ( ), who quotes st corinthians, but shows no knowledge of nd corinthians. the correspondence is not only invaluable to the church for its pæan of love as the invincible, abiding gift of the spirit ( st cor. xiii.) and its sublime eulogy of the "ministry of the new covenant," but instructive in the highest degree to the historian. almost every aspect of paul's work as missionary, defender of his own independent apostleship and gospel, guide and instructor of developing gentile-christian thought, and ardent commissioner for peace with the apostolic community in syria, is here set forth. the best exposition of the history is the documentary material itself, and conversely. romans was written during the peaceful winter at corinth ( - ) which followed these weeks of tormenting anxiety in macedonia (acts xx. - ). paul feels that he has carried the gospel to the very shores of the adriatic (xv. ). he is on the point of going to jerusalem with his great 'offering of the gentiles,' and has already fixed his eye on rome and "spain"! just as before the first missionary journey he forestalled opposition by frankly laying his gospel before the pillars, so now he lays it before the church in rome, but most delicately and tactfully, not as though assuming to admonish christians already "filled with all knowledge and able to admonish one another" (xv. ), but "that i with you may be comforted in you, each of us by the other's faith" (i. ). thus the epistle is an eirenicon. for rome was even more than ephesus had been, a preoccupied territory, though a metropolis of paul's mission-field. most of the church are paul's sympathizers, but there are many of the 'weak,' who may easily be 'offended.' the letter repeats and enlarges the argument of galatians for the gospel of grace, carrying back the promise to abraham to its antecedent in the fall of adam, whereby all mankind had passed under the domination of sin and death. the function of the law is again made clear as bringing men to consciousness of this bondage, till it is done away by (mystical) death and resurrection with christ. in the adoption wrought by the spirit the whole creation even, groaning since adam's time under 'vanity,' is liberated in the manifestation of the sons of god. jesus, glorified at the right hand of god, is the firstfruits of the cosmic redemption (rom. i.-viii.). such is paul's theory of 'evolution.' it is followed by a vindication of god in history. rom. ix.-xi. exhibits the relation of jew and gentile in the process of the redemption. israel has for the time being been hardened that the gentiles may be brought in. ultimately their very jealousy at this result will bring them also to repentant faith. paul's sublime exposition of his view of cosmic and historic redemption is followed (as in all the epistles) by a practical exhortation (chh. xii.-xiv.), the keynote of which is unity through mutual forbearance and loving service. it repeats the corinthian figure of the members in the body, and the galatian definition of the 'law of christ.' special application is made to the case of the scrupulous who make distinctions of days and of meats. here, however (xiv. --xv. ), there is no longer need to resist a threatened yoke. only tenderness and consideration are urged for the over-scrupulous "brother in christ." it was in this spirit that paul and his great company of delegates from the churches of the gentiles went up to jerusalem (acts xx. --xxi. ). chapter iv paul as prisoner and church father the second period of paul's literary career begins after an interval of several years. this interval is covered indeed, so far as the great events of the apostle's personal story are concerned, by the last nine chapters of acts, but exceedingly obscure as respects the fortunes of his mission-field and the occasion for the group of epistles which come to us after its close. it is barely possible that a fragment or two from the so-called pastoral epistles ( st timothy, nd timothy, titus), which seem to be compiled long after paul's death on the basis of some remnants of his correspondence, may have been written shortly after the arrest in jerusalem and "first defence." in nd tim. iv. - a journey is referred to from troas by way of ephesus which coincides in many respects with that of acts xx. if the fragment could be taken out from its present setting it might be possible to identify the two; for it is clear from the forecast of acts xx. , that paul never did revisit this region. the grip of rome upon her troublesome prisoner was not relaxed until his martyrdom, probably some considerable time before the "great multitude" whom nero condemned after the conflagration of . however, until analysis can dissect out with greater definiteness the genuine elements of the pastoral epistles, they cannot be used to throw light upon the later period of paul's career. a historical background has indeed been created to meet their requirements--a release of paul, resumption of missionary activities on the coasts of the Ægean, renewed imprisonment in rome and ultimate martyrdom. but this has absolutely no warrant outside the pastorals themselves, and is both inconsistent with acts and open to criticism intrinsically. the story thus created of a release, _second_ visitation of the greek churches, and _second_ imprisonment must, therefore, be regarded as fictitious, and the pastoral epistles in their present form as products of the post-pauline age. it is our task to trace the development among the greek churches of christianity conceived as a "revelation of god in christ," alongside of its development in the 'apostolic' church, until the period of 'catholic' unity and the completed canon. upon this development the story of paul's personal fortunes in acts throws but little light. we merely see that his great peace-making visit to jerusalem was suddenly interrupted by his arrest in the temple, while engaged in an act of worship undoubtedly intended by him to demonstrate his willingness in the interest of unity to "become as under the law to them that are under the law." after this his great delegation from the gentile churches must have scattered to their homes. paul remained a prisoner for two years in cæsarea, and after an adventurous journey covering the ensuing autumn and winter ( - ), spent two more years in less rigid confinement at rome. we need no hint from his request in nd tim. iv. for "books and parchments" to infer that the years of forced seclusion in cæsarea were marked by study and meditation; but narrative and inference together convey but little of what we mainly desire to know: the course of religious development in the pauline churches, as a background for the literature. on the other hand recent research into religious conditions in the early empire has removed the principal objections to the authenticity of philippians, philemon, colossians, and even ephesians. we are far from being compelled to come down to the time of the great gnostic systems of the second century to find a historical situation appropriate to this group of letters purporting to be written by paul from his captivity. indeed they exhibit on any theory of their origin a characteristic and legitimate development of the pauline gospel of son ship by the spirit of adoption abolishing the dispensation of law. it is a development almost inevitable in a conception of 'the gospel' formed on greek ideas of redemption, if we place in opposition to it a certain baser type of superstitious, mongrel judaism, revealed in the epistles themselves, repeatedly referred to in acts, and now known to us by a mass of extraneous documentary material. the new disturbers of the churches' peace revealed in the epistles of the captivity are still of jewish origin and tendency; but at least in the region of colossæ (in the lycus valley, adjacent to southern galatia) the issue is no longer that between law and grace, but concerns the nature and extent of the redemption. the trouble still comes from a superstitious exaltation of the mosaic revelation; but those whom paul here opposes do not "use the law lawfully," frankly insisting on its permanent obligation as the will of god for all sons, unaffected by the cross. it is now admitted to be an "ordinance of angels"; but the observance of it is inculcated because man's redemption can only come through conciliation of these higher beings. mystical union with superhuman powers is to be promoted by its observances. this superstition is neither purely jewish, nor purely greek. it is composite--hellenistic. judaism is imitated in the superstitious reverence for the law; but the conception of redemption leaves behind every thought of national particularism and is openly individualistic. the redemption sought is that of the individual soul from the limitations of humanity, and doubtless the name of jesus played an important rôle in the emancipation, as in the exorcisms of the sons of sceva (acts xix. f.); only it was not "above every name." but even jewish apocalypses such as _enoch_ and _baruch_ with all their superstitious angelology and demonology manage somehow to cling to the ancient jewish faith in the primacy of man, and paul in like manner upholds against the theosophists the doctrine of the believer's son ship and joint-heirship with christ. in fact the adoption, redemption and inheritance accorded in the gift of the spirit are to his mind gifts so great and exalted as to make it a "gratuitous self-humiliation" to pay homage, in mosaic or other ceremonial, to "angels," "principalities," or "powers." in christ we already have a foothold in the heavenly regions. we were foreordained in his person to be "heirs" "before the foundation of the world." his resurrection and ascension "to the right hand of god" participated in by us through "the spirit" was a "triumph" over the 'elements' and 'rulers.' they should be beneath the christian's feet in feeling, as they soon will be in reality. this exalted doctrine of christ's son ship as compared with the mere temporary authority of "angels and principalities and powers," secures to the epistles of the captivity their well-deserved title of "christological"; for they lay the foundation for all later doctrines of the logos or word. it is well to realize, however, that the doctrine is in origin and meaning simply a vindication of the divine dignity of manhood. an idea of outward conditions at the time of writing may be gained from the two epistles of the group most universally admitted to be genuine, philemon and philippians. both are written from captivity, almost certainly in rome, because the writer is expecting, if released, to revisit the Ægean coasts, which was not paul's expectation in cæsarea. but there is a wide difference between the two as respects the circumstances presupposed. the tone of philemon is hopeful, sprightly, even jocose. paul is in company with a group of "fellow-workers" which significantly includes "mark," as well as two companions of the voyage to rome, "aristarchus" of thessalonica, and "luke" (acts xxvii. ). epaphras, his "fellow-prisoner," appears in colossians as the founder of that church and a teacher in the adjacent towns of hierapolis and laodicea. he has brought to paul either of his own knowledge or by report from others, disturbing news of the inroads of the heresy. onesimus, whose case occasions the letter to philemon, is an escaped slave of this friend and convert of paul. the apostle is sending back the slave with the request that he be forgiven and manumitted. the interrelation of the persons mentioned in philemon and colossians shows that the occasion is the same. tychicus (_cf._ acts xx. ) the bearer of colossians (col. iv. ) accompanies onesimus. ephesians (if authentic) belongs to the same group, being also carried by tychicus (eph. vi. ). it was certainly _not_ intended for ephesus, but for some church or churches not directly known to paul (i. ; iii. ). it bears much the same relation to colossians as romans to galatians. in spite of copious evidences of its use reaching back even to clement of rome ( ) the genuineness of ephesians is more seriously questioned than that of any other pauline letter save the pastorals. in the present writer's judgment this suspicion is unfounded, but the question of pauline, semi-pauline or deutero-pauline is immaterial to the general development. philippians is of later date than philemon and its companions. paul has been in circumstances of dire physical distress, and is comforting his correspondents in view of an immediately impending decision of his case (ii. ). the issue will be life or death, and paul has no earthly (but only super-earthly) reasons for hoping the verdict may not be adverse. he is still expecting, if released, to revisit the Ægean coast (ii. ); but it is only smiling through his tears when he tells the philippians that their need of him is so great that he is confident he will be spared to them (phil. . - ). knowing that this journey was never made, we can but infer that the fate so near at hand in phil. ii. came actually to pass. paul's blood was "poured out a libation," as tradition of extreme antiquity credibly reports, and it can hardly have been after a release, return to greece and second arrest. the passage in nd tim iv. - which repeats the figure of the libation (phil. ii. ), treating it no longer as doubtful, but a tragic certainty, will have been penned (if authentic) but a few weeks at most after philippians, and immediately before the end. if philemon-colossians-ephesians be dated in , philippians, with the possible fragments in nd timothy, may be dated a few months later. conditions at philippi appear only in a favourable light from this latest authentic epistle. paul can thank god upon every remembrance of these loyal and liberal macedonian friends. in rome, however, he is still affected by judaizing opposition, though his attitude toward it (in rome at least) shows the significant difference from galatians that he can now be thankful that christ is preached even thus (phil. i. - ). moreover there is a difference in the type of legalism represented; for while in his warning to the philippians of the possible coming of the heretics paul is moved to recall his own renunciation of legalistic righteousness, the terms of opprobrium applied to the disturbers imply an immorality and assimilation to heathenism (phil. iii. ; _cf._ rom. xvi. - ) which could not justly be said to characterize the legalism of the synagogue. the doctrinal elements of philippians consist of two passages: ( ) the denunciation of the "concision" (a term applied to the heathenized renegade jew) ending with a reminder of the high enthronement of our spiritual redeemer (iii. - ); ( ) the definition of the "mind," or "disposition," of christ exhibited in his self-abnegating incarnation, obedient suffering, and supreme exaltation (ii. - ). both passages are characteristic of paul's gospel in general, which is always, as against that of the judaizers, the gospel of a drama, or spectacle, witnessed; not a gospel of teachings heard. it is a gospel _about_ jesus, not of precepts inculcated _by_ jesus, a drama of redemption for all mankind out of servitude into son ship, wherein the cross is central. both passages are also characteristic, as we shall see, of the later period of paul's literary activity; for even in philippians, the dominant doctrinal motive is the redemption to which paul is looking forward, and this is now conceived even more strongly than in the earlier letters in terms of personal religion. he anticipates "departing to be with christ" (i. ) rather than awaiting him on earth ( st thess. iv. ). the "goal" toward which the christian "presses on" is personal immortality through mystic union with christ in the life of god (iii. - ). this too is a real doctrine of the kingdom of god; but its starting-point is humanity's triumph over its enemies 'sin' and 'death,' not israel's triumph over its oppressors. still more in the colossian group does it become apparent how the 'far-off, divine event' is a unity of mankind through the spirit corresponding to the stoic figure of the members and the body rather than the 'kingdom of david.' again the opponents in phil. iii. , f. are not mere pharisaic legalists, unable to see that law and grace are mutually exclusive systems, and nullifying the significance of the cross by perpetuating the system it was intended to abolish. if we may explain the difference by colossians, they are jews of heathenish tendencies, pretended adherents of the gospel, who nullify its significance by perpetuating regard for the law; only the servility deplored is not servility toward god, but toward "angels" (col. ii. ). to appreciate the enlargement which has come to christianity beyond its merely 'apostolic' form through the independent development of the greek churches in this second period we must realize that paul's 'gospel of the uncircumcision' differed in respect to promise as well as law. the coming kingdom which he preached was something more than "the kingdom of our father david" extended from jerusalem. what it really was becomes fully apparent only in the 'christological epistles.' but we must study the opposition to appreciate how differently the idea of redemption had developed on greek soil. that aspect of judaism which was most conspicuous to the outsider in paul's day was not the legalism of the scribes and the palestinian synagogue, perpetually embalmed in the talmud and orthodox rabbinism of to-day. it was the superstition and magic which excite the contempt of satirists like horace, juvenal, and martial, and call forth descriptions like that of the letter of hadrian to servianus, characterizing the samaritans, jews _and christians_ dwelling in egypt as "all astrologers, haruspices, and quacksalvers." it is this type of jew who is most widely known in the contemporary hellenistic world; whose spells and incantations, framed in old testament language, are perpetuated in the leaden incantation rolls and magic papyri of the berlin collection; whose portrait is painted in the simon magus of acts viii. - , the elymas the sorcerer of acts xiii. - , the "strolling jews, exorcists," and the "seven sons of sceva" of acts xix. - . a christian writer early in the second century is so impressed with this characteristic of contemporary judaism that he even distinguishes as the third type of religion, besides idolatry and christianity, "the jews, who fancy that they alone know god, but do not, worshipping angels and archangels, the moon and the month," and seeks to prove his case by citing the old testament festal system. indeed this idea of judaism is the predominant one among the second-century apologists. jewish "superstition" is a notorious fact of the time. the transcendentalizing of jewish theology after the persian period had led inevitably to an elaborate angelology and demonology. when as part of this process a more and more supernatural character was attributed to the law it could but have a two-fold effect. the learned and orthodox would treat it soberly as a revelation of the divine will. this is the legalistic development we see in the talmud and the palestinian synagogue. the ignorant and superstitious, especially in the greek-speaking world, would use it as a book of magic. this is what we see among many jewish sects, particularly in samaria, egypt and among the greek-speaking jews. the tendency was marked even in galilee. jesus himself stigmatizes the morbid craving of his countrymen for miracles as the mark of an "adulterous" generation, because the power invoked was not divine, but always angelic, or even demonic. paul alludes to the same trait ( st cor. i. ). but while there is a singular absence both from the pauline and the johannine writings of any reference to exorcism, the typical miracle of synoptic story, it has been justly remarked that no element of paul's thought has been so little affected by that of jesus as his angelology and demonology. paul's world-view, like that of the apocalypses of his time, is a perfect phantasmagoria of angels and demons, "gods many and lords many." his conception of the redemption conflict is not a wrestling against flesh and blood, but against "world-rulers of this (lower region of) darkness," against "archangels," "elements," "principalities," "powers." the one thing which takes away all harmful influence from this credulity (if we must apply an unfairly modern judgment to an ancient writer) is his doctrine of the son ship and lordship of jesus, with whom the redeemed are "joint-heirs" of the entire creation and thus superior to angels. in this respect paul has imbibed the mind of christ. jesus' remedy for superstition is not scientific but religious. it does not deny the popularly assumed relation to "spirits" good or evil, but affirms a direct relation to the infinite spirit, which reduces all angels and demons to insignificance save as "ministers." paul's world-view starts with the creation of man to be lord and heir of the world (gal. iv. ; st cor. iii. ; _cf._ gen. i. ). the "purpose of god, which he purposed in christ jesus, before the creation, unto a dispensation of the fulness of the ages" is "to our glory." it would be frustrated if the "second adam" did not become the heir, in whom the redeemed creation would find the goal of its long expectancy. paul has a cosmology as well as "enoch." he could not be a worthy follower of jesus--he could not even be a loyal "son of the law" without holding to the accepted doctrine of the inheritance intended for messiah and his obedient people. it did not make him less firm in this conviction when as a christian he thought of jesus as the messiah, and of jew and gentile united in his kingdom; only the starting-point is not the subjection of the sons of abraham under gentiles, but the subjection of the sons of adam under "world-rulers of this darkness." when he combines ps. viii. and ps. cx. in his depiction of the reign of christ in st cor. xv. - , it is a sure indication of its scope as paul understood it. he included in the lordship over creation, and the subjection of all "enemies" which the exalted christ is awaiting "at the right hand of god," the subjection of "angels, and principalities, and powers and every name that is named, whether of beings in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth." paul pursues, then, the method of the apocalyptic writers in making his doctrine of redemption and the kingdom transcendental. by making it cosmic he undermines its jewish particularism. he avoids the superstition by holding firmly to jesus' doctrine of son ship by _moral_ affinity with god. in the christological epistles accordingly it is apparent that the pauline churches are learning to think of the coming kingdom in a widely different way from the 'apostolic.' the greek doctrine of mystic union, not the rabbinic of a "share in the world to come," is the basis. in due time we shall see how difficult the process of reconciliation became between greek and semitic thought in this field also. for the present we can only note how in the great theme of the unity of the spirit in eph. iv. --vi. it is not the 'apostolic' ideal of a restoration of the kingdom to israel according to the oath sworn to abraham (luke i. - ; _cf._ acts i. ) that dominates, but an enlargement of the figure of the body and members, a figure commonly employed by stoic writers, to apply to the unity of the church in corinthians and romans. in the epistles of the captivity the doctrine of the kingdom is a social organism permeated and vitalized by christ's spirit of service. personal immortality is union with the life of god. in view of the notoriety of ephesus as the very centre of the trade in magic (so much so that spells and incantations were technically known as "ephesian letters") and of what acts tells us of the enormous destruction there of "books of magic" effected by paul's preaching, it is not surprising that asia and phrygia should appear a few years after paul's departure as the hot-bed of a "philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the 'elements' of the world, and not after christ." acts xx. makes paul predict the heresy. such was especially the case at colossæ, a little town long after notorious for its superstition, where epaphras, now paul's fellow-prisoner, had founded the church. epaphras himself at the time of paul's writing was in great anxiety both for this church and for the adjoining churches at hierapolis and laodicea. colossians is written to meet this danger, and was sent by the same bearers as the note to philemon. it was to be exchanged, after being read at colossæ, for another epistle sent simultaneously to laodicea. whether our ephesians is this companion letter or only a deutero-pauline production framed on the basis of some genuine letter written on this occasion, is a disputed point among critics. in marcion's canon our ephesians was called "laodiceans," and in our own oldest textual authorities it has no address. we may assume that ephesians is really the companion letter, whose original address was for some reason cancelled;[ ] or that it is but partially from paul's own hand. neither view will materially alter our conception of his teaching, or the special application of it to the circumstances of the churches of the lycus valley. the important thing to observe is that whereas the application in colossians is specific, in ephesians it is systematic and general. colossians wages a direct polemic against those who are making believers the spoil of mere 'elements' by introducing distinctions of "meats _and drinks_" (a step beyond mosaism), with observance of "feast days, new moons and sabbaths." in ephesians we have, either altogether at first hand, or to a greater or less extent at second, a general, affirmative presentation of paul's doctrine of lordship in christ. it has only incidental allusion to being "deceived with empty words" (v. ), and a warning not to be "children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men in craftiness, after the wiles of error" (iv. ). footnote : harnack very ingeniously suggests as a reason the ill repute later incurred by laodicea (_cf._ rev. iii. f.); comparing the chiselling out from inscriptions of the names of unpopular kings. colossians and ephesians develop, accordingly, that (cosmological) wisdom of god conveyed to paul by the spirit of christ in a "mystery," at which he had only hinted in st cor. ii. - . paul's _gnosis_, or insight, concerns the purpose of god in creation, hidden even from the (angelic) "world-rulers," who are coming to nought. the spirit of christ, who as the divine wisdom had been the agent of creation, is given to christian apostles and prophets. it affords them in the revelation of this "mystery" a philosophy both of creation and redemption which puts to shame mere speculative reasoning. the inheritance--the things god prepared for those that love him--consists (as an apocalyptic writer had said) of "things which eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor had entered into the heart of man to conceive." paul had purposely refrained from unfolding this revealed cosmology and philosophy of history to the corinthians, in order to avoid just the evils which the teaching of apollos had apparently precipitated at the time when st corinthians was written. still, we can gain from this very epistle ( st cor. viii. ; xv. - ) a partial conception of his doctrine of christ as the beginning and end of the creation, the wisdom of god by whom and for whom as heir, all things were created. from romans i.-viii. and ix.-xi. we can easily see that as second adam the messiah was to paul the key to the world's development and to human history; for since the triumph of satan in eden the whole creation had waited, groaning, for the advent of the sons. galatians makes it no less clear that he thought of the cross as the epoch-making event, which marks the transition from the period of the control of the world by secondary agencies, to the rule of the son. this "mystery" is simply brought out and developed now in the epistles of the captivity. the effort and prayer is that the readers may "have the eyes of their heart enlightened," obtain something of paul's own insight into the riches of the inheritance they are to share with christ, something of paul's experience of the power of god in raising christ from the dead and setting him on the throne of glory. if they but realize what son ship and heirship with christ implies--if they but take in the fact that by the resurrection spirit within them they have already in a sense shared in this deliverance and this exaltation, they will be forearmed against all the vain deceits of theosophy. it is in fact this resurrection spirit which brings about the unity of the world as a single organism. it extends from the uppermost height to the nethermost abyss. and because it is the spirit of jesus, it fills all it touches with the disposition to loving service. it affords a new ethics and a new politics whose keynote is the law of love in imitation of god and christ. all social relations are recreated by it, beginning with family and church. hence we must think of our redemption as like israel's from the bondage and darkness of egypt. the principalities and powers of this world, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the super-terrestrial regions, are vainly endeavouring to hold back the people of god, in "this darkness." we have only to wait like israel at the passover "with our loins girt, and our feet shod." the deliverer will soon appear from heaven, clad in armour of salvation, as in the ancient passover songs, cleaving the darkness with his sword of light, and leading forth the captives. in these themes, variously interwoven in ephesians and colossians, it is difficult to say whether it is the note of unity or the note of freedom which predominates. certainly we can recognize the same great apostle of liberty who in the epistles of the earlier period had proved the power and value of his religious insight by seizing upon the doctrine of son ship as the essential heart of the gospel. it is the same genius consciously taught of god who had demanded and obtained recognition on equal terms for his gospel of grace and son ship, a gospel given by revelation of god's son "in" him, who now demands that the gift of the spirit to jew and gentile be recognized as calling for reconstruction of the doctrine of the coming kingdom. "he that ascended is the same also that descended to the lowest depths that he might fill all things." and he poured out the "gifts" in order that they might make one organism of the new social order, a new creation animated and vitalized by jesus' spirit of loving service. for just as in all the great earlier epistles the note of longing for peace and unity in love rings ever stronger and clearer above the strife, so in the later epistles, the note of triumph in liberty has a deep under-chord of thanksgiving for reconciliation achieved. the great pæan of reverent adoration for the glory of god's grace in eph. i. - , is a thanksgiving for the union of jew and gentile in one common redemption. the retrospect of the work of god in ii. - is the proclamation of "peace to him that was far off and peace to him that was nigh." it is described as the building of jew and gentile into one living temple, upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, christ jesus himself being the chief corner-stone. the exhortation to the unity of the spirit in iv. --vi. rests upon an exultant application of the figure of the "one new man" in whose body all are members, that would be inconceivable if at the time of writing the church which had received the gifts from the ascended lord was not indeed one body, but two bodies standing apart in mutual distrust and jealousy. in fact we may say not of ephesians only, but of colossians likewise, and indeed of all the group: their keynote is not so much the conquest of all things by christ as "the reconciliation of all things in christ, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens" (col. i. ). it is not unreasonable to infer from such undertones as these that the prayer was answered in which paul when he set out from corinth had besought the roman church by our lord jesus christ and by the love of the spirit to strive together with him, that his ministration which he had for jerusalem might be acceptable to the saints, that so his coming to them in rome through the will of god might be in joy, and that together with them he might find rest. chapter v pseudo-apostolic epistles we cannot wonder that an epoch of the church's history which followed upon the martyrdom in rapid succession of all its remaining great leaders, should at first be poor in literary products. james the lord's brother was stoned to death by a mob in jerusalem in the year - . his namesake, brother of john, had been beheaded early in by herod agrippa i. among the "others" who, as josephus informs us, perished along with james in , we may, perhaps, reckon john, who stands beside him in paul's list of the pillars. this john, son of zebedee, brother of the other james, is reckoned a martyr in the same sense as his brother in the earliest gospels. the brothers are assured that they shall drink the same cup of suffering as the lord, though they may not claim in return pre-eminent seats in glory (mark x. f.). john did not suffer with his brother james in , because he is present at the conference in - (gal. ii. ); but one of the traditions of the jerusalem elders reported by papias declared that he was "killed by the jews" in fulfilment of the lord's prediction, and this early tradition must be accepted in spite of its conflict with one which gradually superseded it after john came to be regarded as author of revelation and the fourth gospel. the statement that he was killed "together with james his brother" may be due merely to the (not infrequent) confusion of the two jameses. paul's decapitation in rome occurred not more than a year or two later, and was followed there in , according to very ancient and trustworthy tradition, by the martyrdom of peter. the death of all the principal leaders explains why the jerusalem church when it reassembled after the overthrow of city and temple in the year , put forward no more prominent candidates for the leadership than a certain symeon, son of clopas, one of the group of 'relatives of the lord' who are traceable "until the time of trajan," and a certain unknown thebuthis. symeon, according to eusebius, who takes his account from hegesippus ( ), was the representative of "those of the apostles and disciples of the lord that were still living, together with the lord's relatives." thebuthis is said to have sprung from one of the heretical jewish sects and to have organized a schism in consequence of his disappointment. all we can be sure of is that jerusalem 'down to the time of trajan' continued to regard itself as the seat of apostolic authority and arbiter of orthodoxy, on account of its succession of disciples and relatives of the lord. among the latter the leading, if not the only, representatives of the seed of david, when "search was made" in the persecution under domitian ( - ), were two _grandsons_ of jude, the lord's brother. jude himself, then, was no longer living. luke (_c._ ), papias ( ), and hegesippus ( ) successively exhibit the growing authority of the "tradition handed down," especially that of "the apostles and elders in jerusalem." but what papias records of the traditions of these "elders" does not rise above the level of jewish midrash, and the epistles which bear the names of james and jude have little intrinsic value, and enjoyed from the beginning only the most meagre acceptance. at rome tradition attaches to the name of peter, but besides the bare fact of his martyrdom "at the same time with paul" ( - ) it has little of value to relate. we cannot safely go beyond the tradition reported by porphyry that peter fed the lambs (at rome) for a few months before his martyrdom, and that reported by papias that mark, who had been peter's assistant, compiled there the gospel which bears his name, basing it upon his recollections of peter's preaching. of this vitally important work (_c._ a.d. ) we must speak in another connection. we are concerned at present with writings which directly reflect the development of christian life and doctrine in this sub-apostolic period, especially that in the pauline mission-field. except for the appearance of the gospel of mark at rome (_c._ ) there remains nothing to break the silence and darkness of twenty years after the deaths of james and peter and paul. the writings which finally did appear were almost inevitably anonymous or pseudepigraphic, because apostolic authority stood so high that no other could secure circulation. hebrews (_c._ ) has an epistolary attachment at the close of its "exhortation," but either never had an address or superscription, or else has been deprived of it. all the synoptic writings are anonymous, though luke-acts (_c._ ) is dedicated to a literary patron. revelation (_c._ ) is boldly asserted to be the work of the apostle john in the prefatory chapters and the epilogue (i. , , ; xxii. ). but the body of the work, though of palestinian origin, has a totally different standpoint, and claims the authority of a prophet, not that of an apostle. similarly the fourth gospel when finally published received an appendix (ch. xxi.) which cautiously suggests the apostle john as its author; but the three epistles by the same writer are anonymous. the homily called james ( - ) has a superscription which superficially connects it with the chief authority in jerusalem, and the epistle of jude prefixes to itself the name which stood next in the same class. but even in antiquity they had a precarious standing, and neither is a real letter. finally there are the epistles to timothy and titus, purporting to be written by paul, and a whole series of every kind, epistles, gospel, acts, and apocalypse, written in the name of peter, of which only two secured final adoption into the canon. of all these only st peter and the so-called pastoral epistles ( st and nd timothy and titus) have some claim to be considered genuine; for st peter is certainly of early origin (_c._ ), and was undisputed in antiquity; while the pastorals, though rejected by marcion, and as a whole of late date ( - ), are made up on the basis of some authentic pauline material. the post-apostolic epistles may be grouped into two classes, according as they are predominantly occasioned (_a_) by internal dangers of heresy and moral laxity; or (_b_) by the external peril of persecution. to the former (_a_) must be reckoned ( ) the so-called pastoral epistles; ( ) jude; ( ) nd peter. all these concern themselves outspokenly with a type of false doctrine which has certain more or less definite traits, and is tending toward the gnostic heresies of the second century, if not yet clearly identifiable with them. but the inspired genius of paul is wanting. the age is not creative, but conservative. its writers are ecclesiastics and church teachers, not apostles and prophets. their distinctive note is appeal to apostolic authority. whether the name by which they cover their own insignificance be that of "paul," or "jude the brother (son?) of james," or "peter," they have little or no independent message. they hark back to the "pattern of sound words" the "deposit," "the faith once for all delivered to the saints," "the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the lord and saviour through your apostles," in particular the "wisdom of our beloved brother paul" who (in the pastoral epistles) had predicted the heresy, and "in all his epistles" had spoken of the resurrection and judgment. second peter, which refers in the passage just quoted ( nd pet. iii. , f.) to the pauline epistles alongside "the other scriptures" belongs to a very late period (_c._ ). in fact this epistle, now almost universally recognized to be pseudonymous, merely reëdits the epistle of jude, supplying a prefix (ch. i.) and an appendix (ch. iii.) to make special application of its denunciations to the case of the false teachers who were "denying the (bodily) resurrection and the judgment." neither plagiarism nor pseudonymity were recognized offences at the time; so that we bring no indictment against the author of nd peter, were he the apostle or not. still our conception of the galilean fisherman will be higher without this example of pulpit rhetoric than with it. of the nature of the heresies controverted in this series of writings we must speak later. as to the region whence they originate something can be made out already. not indeed from nd peter, which is of too late date to be of service. true the readers addressed are assumed to be the same as in the first epistle, in other words the pauline mission-field of asia minor ( st pet. i. ), and there is reason to think "asia" was the region first affected. "ephesus" and "asia" are in fact the regions affected in st and nd timothy ( st tim. i. f.; nd tim. i. ). moreover it is in this same region that we find polycarp ( - ) adverting to those who "pervert the sayings of the lord to their own lusts, and deny the resurrection and judgment." to the same region and the same period belong the letters of "the spirit" in rev. i.-iii. (_c._ ) with their denunciation of the balaamite and nicolaitan heretics, and still further st- rd john and the epistles of ignatius, which are also polemics against a gnostic heresy (doketism) tending to moral laxity. it is doubtful, however, in view of the general address ( nd pet. i. ), whether the author of nd peter really has a definite circle in mind, and does not rather in iii. mistakenly treat st peter as a general epistle. denial of the resurrection and judgment was not limited to one locality or period. hegesippus regards it as a pre-christian heresy combated already by james. equally precarious would be the assumption that jude, with its similar general address, was necessarily intended for asia minor. the false teachers resemble those we know of there, and the denunciation is incorporated by nd peter, but 'cainites' and 'balaamites' were not confined to the regions of st john and revelation, and jude might have almost any date between and . the most that can be said is that before the death of paul the last view we obtain of his mission-field shows it exposed, especially in the region of ephesus, to a rising flood of superstition and false doctrine, while documents that can be dated with some definiteness in - , such as revelation, the johannine and ignatian epistles, and the letter of polycarp, show a great advance of heretical teaching in the same region. the later heresy corresponds in several respects to that combated in the pastorals, jude and nd peter, but becomes at last more distinctly definable as doketism, whose most obnoxious form comes to be denial of the (bodily) resurrection and judgment. the three pastoral epistles, jude and nd peter may, therefore, be taken as probably reflecting the growing internal danger confronted by the churches of asia (if not by all the churches) in the sub-apostolic age. unfortunately, literary relations sometimes interfere with historical classification, and we are, therefore, compelled to defer treatment of st- rd john and the epistles of "the spirit" to the churches (rev. i. ), which really belong to our present group (_a_) of writings against the heresies of (proconsular) asia. their relation to the special canon of ephesus, whose writings are all ascribed to john, makes it convenient to consider them in another connection. the reader should bear in mind, however, that the group extends continuously down to the epistles of ignatius and centres upon ephesus, where, according to acts xx. f., the "grievous wolves" were to enter in after paul's departing. similar considerations affect the grouping of the epistle of james, which almost demands a class by itself. it might be called anti-heretical, except that its nature is the reverse of controversial, and its author seems to have no direct contact with the false teachers. in a remote and general way he deplores the vain talk and disputation which go hand in hand with a relaxation of the practical christian virtues. on the whole it seems more correct to class james with st peter and hebrews, particularly as it displays direct literary dependence on the former, if not on both. our second group (_b_) consists of writings not primarily concerned with heresy. its first and best example speaks in the name of peter as representative of "apostolic" christianity at rome. but the doctrine, and even the phraseology and illustrations of st peter are largely borrowed from the greater epistles of paul, particularly romans and ephesians. nothing even remotely suggests an author who had enjoyed personal relations with jesus, or could relate his wonderful words and deeds. on the contrary the doctrine is paul's gospel minus the sting of the abolition of the law. in view of the known internal conditions of the churches to which st peter is addressed in pontus, galatia, cappadocia, _asia_ and bithynia it is remarkable how completely the subject of heresy or false doctrine is ignored. their adversary the devil is not at present taking the form of a seducing serpent ( nd cor. xi. ), but of a "roaring lion" openly destroying and devouring ( st pet. v. f.), and the same sufferings the asiatics are called upon to endure are being inflicted upon their brethren throughout the world. a systematic, universal "fiery persecution" is going on, which has come almost as a surprise (iv. ) and may compel any believer, after having made "defence" before the magistrate of "the hope that is in him," to "suffer as a christian" and to "glorify god in this name." the author exhorts to irreproachable conduct as citizens, and kindness and good order in the brotherhood. if such blamelessness of living be combined with patient endurance of the unjust punishment, christians who still must sanctify in their hearts christ (and not the emperor) as lord, will ultimately be left unharmed. superior as is this noble exhortation to patient endurance of suffering in the meekness of christ to the controversial rhetoric of nd peter, immeasurably better as is its attestation in ancient and modern times, even the most conservative modern critics are compelled to regard it as at least semi-pseudonymous. it might be just possible to carry back the conditions of persecution presupposed to the time of nero. but if it be peter writing from rome after the recent martyrdoms of james and paul, why is there no allusion to either? again, we might possibly prolong the life of peter (against all probability) down to the beginning of the reign of domitian ( - ). in that case the absence of any allusion to the great events of recent occurrence in palestine would be almost equally hard to explain. moreover, with any dating the real author remains a literary man, a paulinist, a grecian jew, and the share attributable to peter personally becomes most shadowy. the simpler, and (as the present writer has come to believe) the more probable view is that st peter, like the later writings which assumed the name, is wholly pseudonymous. if, however, it appeared (as we are persuaded) some twenty years after the apostle's death, among those perfectly aware of the fact, assuming no other disguise, but frankly dealing with the existing situation, this is a kind of pseudonymity which should be classed with literary fictions and conventions which are harmless because (at the time) perfectly transparent. letters written under fictitious names were in fact a very common literary device of the age. at all events the apostle appears as an old man (v. ) writing from "babylon"--rightly taken by the fathers to be a cryptogram for rome. salutations are conveyed from mark, his "son" (_cf._ philem. i. ). the bearer (writer?) is represented to be silvanus (like mark a companion of paul with relations to jerusalem as well), and silvanus is commended as a "trustworthy" disciple. the author states it as his object to "exhort and testify that this is the true grace of god wherein ye stand." ignorant as we are of its author's name it is fortunate for our study of the times that the date of st peter is fairly determinable by the convergence of external and internal evidence. echoes from it appear already in clement of rome ( ) as well as in james and hermas. we must think of it, then, as a hand of cordial encouragement extended by a representative of the petro-pauline church at rome, soon after the outbreak of the persecution of domitian (_c._ ), to the still independent but suffering churches of asia minor. if we remember that it undertakes to endorse the doctrine of one third of contemporary christendom, and (in substance) offers a 'letter of commendation' to silvanus, it will be obvious that no name of less authority than that of peter could have served. as zahn has well remarked: "the significant thing ... is that it is peter, the most distinguished apostle of the circumcision (gal. ii. ) who bears witness to the genuineness of their state of grace." we must place alongside of st peter one other epistle in which the motive of exhortation to endurance of persecution without relaxation of the moral standard is prominent, though not exclusive, and a second, wherein it appears only in a faint echo of "trials," which turn out, however, as the reader proceeds, to be only "temptations," while the real occasion of writing is plain--moral relaxation without either heresy or persecution to excuse it. the two writings in question are the anonymous "exhortation" handed down under the title "to the hebrews," and the so-called epistle (in reality a homily) of james. hebrews begins as an exposition of the two psalms paul had quoted in his reference in st cor. xv. - to the exaltation of jesus (pss. viii. and cx.) proving him to be the son, who, after temporary subordination to the angels, has been exalted above them to the place of supreme dominion. christ has thus effected a greater redemption than moses and joshua. he is also a "high-priest after the order of melchizedek" according to ps. cx.; so that the aaronic priesthood and ceremonial are surpassed as well as the mosaic legislation, by the sacrifice of calvary and intercession of the risen redeemer. it is no wonder that in the period of debate against judaism the canon-makers gave to this anonymous sermon a title which ranks it first in the class of subsequent controversial pamphlets "against the jews." controversy, however, is subordinate in the writer's purpose to edification. he is not unconscious of the dangers of that superstitious 'worship of the angels,' against which paul's asian epistles had been directed, but his demonstration of the superiority of the institutions and aims of christianity to those of judaism has the practical object of reinforcing the courage and "faith" of his readers under pressure of persecution. his argument culminates in an inspiring list of scriptural heroes and martyrs, leading up as a climax to "jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." as jesus endured, looking beyond the shame and suffering of the cross to the joy of his reward, so should the readers "endure their chastening." apostacy will meet a fearful doom in the judgment of fire. to this homily (heb. i.-xii.) is appended a concluding chapter (probably by the author himself) which transforms it into a letter. the author is a church-teacher of the second generation, as he frankly confesses himself (ii. ); a disciple of paul, to judge by his use of paul's doctrine and some of his epistles, especially romans. to judge by his rhetorical style and his alexandrian ideas and mode of thought, he is the sort of teacher apollos will have been. just at present he is separated from his flock (xiii. ). where they are we can only infer from xiii. , which conveys salutations from those in the writer's neighbourhood who are "from italy." he himself is probably among the pauline churches, for he sends news of timothy (xiii. ) and hopes to come soon in company with him. ephesus, where apollos was at last accounts, may possibly be the place of writing. hebrews would seem then to be written to rome, long after the first "great fight of afflictions" (the neronian outbreak of ) and when the danger of "fainting under the chastening" of a second persecution (that of domitian _c._ ) was imminent. such slight indications as we have of a literary relation between hebrews and st peter suggest the priority of hebrews, but the date and occasion must be nearly the same. "james" is also a homily exhorting to patient endurance, but there is nothing to suggest its having ever been sent anywhere as a letter, save the brief superscription written in imitation of st pet. i. . "james ... to the twelve tribes of the dispersion." imagine the mode of delivery! nor is it called forth by any special emergency. there is an allusion to false doctrine. it is the heresy (!) of "justification by faith apart from works." but the writer is no more conscious of contradicting paul than is luke in describing paul's apostleship and gospel. he merely impersonates the 'bishop of bishops' addressing christendom at large, deprecating the loquacity of the "many teachers," and commending the 'wisdom' of a "good life" instead. there is protest against oppression. but it is only the oppression of the poor by the rich in the christian brotherhood. he returns to this subject con amore. evidently the church of his age is characterized by worldliness both of thought and conduct, among clergy and laity. but all colour of region or period is wanting. take st peter, substitute the head of the jerusalem succession for the head of the roman, remove the pauline doctrine, the traces of jesus and his gospel of son ship, remove the special references to local conditions and particular emergencies, leaving only moral generalities, and the result will be not unlike the epistle of james. the author has heard something of paulinism, has read hebrews (jas. ii. - ; v. ), and imitated st peter (jas. i. , , ; iv. f.; v. ). strong arguments have even been advanced to prove that he was not a christian at all. he probably was, if only from his literary connection with the above-named earlier writings, and the influence exerted by his own on hermas (rome, - ), and perhaps clement (rome, ). but as for connection with the historic jesus--"elijah" is his example of the man of prayer (v. - ), and "job" and "the prophets" his "example of suffering and patience" (v. f.). hebrews can show more of the influence of jesus than this (heb. v. f., xii. - ). like hermas (who, however, does not even mention the name of jesus) 'james' thinks of him simply as "the lord of glory," without raising the question how he came to be such. apart from the superscription, whose object is only to clothe the homily with the authority of a name revered throughout the 'catholic' church, there is nothing to connect james with syria rather than any other region outside paul's mission-field. even palestine might be its place of origin if the date were late enough to account for the greek style. at all events it comes first to our knowledge at rome. there is some reason to think that clement of rome (a.d. ), whose moralizing is of a similar type, has been directly influenced by james. if so we have in james, clement and hermas a series illustrative of the decline at rome of the pauline gospel of conscious revelation and inspiration toward the hum-drum levels of mere 'catholic' catechetics. with every allowance for differences among critics as to date and origin of the non-controversial epistles of the sub-apostolic age, it is easy to see that the resistless march of events is taking up and accomplishing paul's effort and prayer for the unity of the two branches of the church. one great event of this period, which for us stands out with startling vividness upon the pages of history, is curiously without trace or reflection in this literature. we search the new testament in vain for the slightest allusion (outside the writings directly or indirectly derived from palestine itself) to the fall of jerusalem in a.d. , and the consequent cessation of jewish national life and temple ceremonial. the remoteness of the writers with whom we are dealing both in time and national interest from the affairs of jerusalem is not the only cause. the fate of the temple had no effect to weaken the types of judaism with which the church of the sub-apostolic age had to contend. the pharisaic legalism of the synagogue became only the stronger when the hollow sadducean priesthood collapsed, and temple ceremonial became simply a ceremonial on paper, the affair no longer of priest and levite, but of scribe and pharisee. so also with the denationalized judaism of the dispersion, a more insidious danger for early converts from heathenism than the stricter, legalistic type. the crushing of the nationalistic rebellion, the temporary suppression of the war-party, the zealots, only strengthened and promoted pharisaism, and the dispersion was scarcely affected by the losses of the war. when jerusalem and the temple fell, temple and city had become entirely superfluous factors to both parties in the great strife of church versus synagogue. hebrews knows of a type of judaism which is formidable by reason of the appeal of its ordinances of angels and its sacerdotal system written in a book of acknowledged divine authority. but the characteristic point is that in hebrews, as truly as in barnabas and justin martyr, it is only the prescription and not the practice which is in question. but for the fact that the "new testament" of heb. ix. is still unwritten, its controversy might properly be described as a battle of books. on the other hand the pressure of persecution without, combined with the disappearance of creative leadership within, is visibly forcing the independent provinces of christendom toward organic unity under the principle of apostolic authority. first peter is the first and greatest evidence of this tendency to union promoted by external pressure. hebrews and james follow as illustrative of the need felt for maintaining the standards both of doctrine and of morals at their full height. christianity must not be thought of as on a level with judaism, it is the final and universal revelation. it must not be practised half-heartedly, with "double-mindedness," nor in vain philosophizing and professions belied by deeds. it must be obeyed as a new and royal law, the mirror of divine perfection. if, then, we turn from these evidences of general conditions in church and empire to the inward dangers revealed by the writings against heresy, we shall see how this disruptive influence, already distinctly apprehended in paul's later writings, makes itself more and more strongly felt, and in more and more definite form, with ephesus and the churches of asia as its chief breeding-place. the pastoral epistles in their present form cannot be dated much before the time when they begin to be used by ignatius and polycarp ( - ). indeed some phrases (perhaps editorial additions) seem to imply a still later date, as when in st tim. vi. , timothy is warned against the "antitheses of miscalled gnosis," as if with direct reference to marcion's system of this title. their avowed purpose is to counteract the inroads of heresy, and the remedy applied is ecclesiastical authority and discipline. far more of paul's inspired gospel of son ship and liberty, far more of his conception of the redemption in christ as a triumph over the spiritual world-rulers of this darkness, is found in st peter and hebrews than here. nothing appears of paul's broad horizon, his spirit of missionary conquest, his devotion to the unity of jew and gentile in their common access to the father in one spirit. there is no trace of the great pauline doctrines of the conflict of flesh and spirit, the superseding of the dispensation of law by the dispensation of grace, the adoption, the redemption, the inheritance. the attention is turned wholly to local conditions, maintenance of the transmitted doctrine and order, resistance to the advance of "vain talk," "jewish fables," "foolish questionings, genealogies and strifes about the law," which go hand in hand with moral laxity. in short the outlook and temper are those of the epistle of james, while the remedy is that of acts and the epistles of ignatius. the paul who here speaks is not the missionary and mystic, but the shrewd ecclesiastic. there is only too much evidence to show that in the pauline mission-field the remedy resorted to against the licence in thought and action which threatened decadence and dissolution after apostolic inspiration had died out, was the religion of authority, doctrinal and disciplinary, not the religion of the spirit. ecclesiastical appointees take the place as teachers and defenders of the faith of those who had been the inspired apostles and prophets of its extension. and on the other side are the false teachers. they are of jewish character in their doctrine, aspiring to be "teachers of the law" though really ignorant of its meaning. the worst of them are actual jews (tit. i. ), which implies that some were not. moreover the type of doctrine is still less like the pharisaism of the synagogue than the "philosophy and vain deceit" rebuked by paul at colossæ. there is similar distinction of meats (treated in nd tim. iv. - as a doctrine of "seducing spirits and demons"), and a prohibition of wine and marriage. there is side by side with this ascetic tendency one equally marked toward libertinism and love of money ( nd tim. iii. - ). both phases remind us of the "concision" of paul's later letters. but besides the larger development new features appear of hellenistic rather than jewish type. the new doctrine of the resurrection as something "past already" is more closely connected with the pauline mysticism, the present union of the believer with the life of christ "hid in god," than with the jewish idea of return to earth in resuscitated flesh. the paulinist of the pastorals is already foreshadowing the great conflict of ignatius, justin and irenæus against those who "denied the resurrection," perverting (as the fathers allege) the meaning of paul's saying, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god" (_cf._ nd pet. iii. ). and the pastorals tend toward the un-pauline doctrine soon to be formulated in the 'catholic' church: "i believe in the resurrection of the _flesh_." again the false doctrine now distinctly avows itself a form of gnosis. "they profess that they know god, but by their works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." and our paulinist's remedy is the traditional doctrine, the "pattern of sound words," the "deposit" of the church teacher, more especially the whole-some words, "even the words of our lord jesus christ, and the doctrine which is according to godliness." thus even the rich, if they do good, and become "rich in good works" will "lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come." we have only to place these pseudo-pauline writings side by side with the epistles of john and ignatius to recognize the advance of the heresy which soon declared itself as gnostic doketism, with the jew cerinthus at ephesus as its principal exponent. moreover this steadily increasing inward danger of the pauline mission-field, a danger not merely sporadic like the outbursts of persecution, but constant and increasing, is forcing the two great branches of the christian brotherhood together on the basis of 'catholicity' and the 'apostolic' tradition. between the churches of the Ægean and that of rome, where both parties stand on neutral ground, there are exchanged generous and sympathetic assurances of essential unity of doctrine in the great outbreak of persecution in - . among the pauline churches themselves there is an irresistible reaction against the vagaries and moral laxity of heretical teaching toward 'apostolic' tradition and ecclesiastical authority. it appears with almost startling vividness in the pastoral epistles, and meets its answer from without, perhaps from rome, perhaps from syria, in the homily dressed as an encyclical called the epistle of james. it is not hard to foresee what sort of christian unity is destined to come about. nevertheless the creative spirit and genius of paul was to find expression in one more splendid product of ephesus before the roman unity was to be achieved.--but before we take up the writings of the great 'theologian' of ephesus we must trace the growth in syria and at rome of the literature of the church teacher and prophet. part iii the literature of catechist and prophet chapter vi the matthÆan tradition of the precepts of jesus as we have seen in our study of the later literature addressed to, or emanating from, the pauline mission-field, the church teacher and ecclesiastic who there took up the pen after the death of paul had scarcely any alternative but to follow the literary model of the great founder of gentile christianity. inevitably the typical literary product of this region became the apostolic letter, framed on the model of paul's, borrowing his phraseology and ideas, when not actually embodying fragments from his pen and covering itself with his name. homilies are made over into "epistles." even 'prophecy,' to obtain literary circulation, must have prefixed epistles of "the spirit" to the churches; and when at last a gospel is produced, this too is accompanied, as we shall see, by three successive layers of enclosing 'epistles.' at the seat of 'apostolic' christianity it was equally inevitable that the literary products should follow a different model. here, from the beginning, the standard of authority had been the commandment of jesus. apostleship had meant ability to transmit his teaching, not endowment with insight into the mystery of the divine purpose revealed in his cross and resurrection. "the gospel" was the gospel _of_ jesus. the letters of paul, if they circulated at all in syria and cilicia at this early time, have had comparatively small effect on writers like luke and james. at rome the case was somewhat different. here pauline influence had been effectually superimposed upon an originally jewish-christian stock. the roman gospel of mark, accordingly, has just the characteristics we should expect from this petro-pauline community. antioch, too, though at the disruption over the question of table-fellowship it took the side of james, peter, and barnabas against paul, had always had a strong gentile element. but jerusalem, the church of the apostles and elders, with its caliphate in the family of jesus, and its zeal for jewish institutions and the law, was the pre-eminent seat of traditional authority. no other gospel, oral or written, could for a moment compare in its eyes with its own cherished treasury of the precepts of jesus. its own estimate of itself as conservator of orthodoxy, and custodian of the sacred deposit, vividly reflected from the pages of hegesippus, was increasingly accepted by the other churches. 'james' and 'jude' were probably not the real names of the writers of these 'general' or 'catholic' epistles; but they show in what direction men looked when there was need to counteract a widespread tendency to moral relaxation and vain disputations, or to demoralizing heresy. we have also seen how inevitable was the reaction after paul's death, even among his own churches, toward a historic standard of authority. even more marked than the disposition to draw together in fraternal sympathy under persecution, is the reliance shown by the pastoral epistles on "health-giving words, even the words of our lord jesus christ" ( st tim. vi. ), and on a consolidated apostolic succession as a bulwark against the disintegrating advance of heresy. in (proconsular) asia early in the second century there is an unmistakable and sweeping disposition to "turn to the word handed down to us from the beginning" (_ep. of polyc._, vii.) against those who were "perverting the sayings of the lord to their own lusts." the ancient "word of prophecy" and the former revelations granted to apostolic seers were also turned to account by men like papias and the author of nd peter against those who "denied the resurrection and judgment." this papias of hierapolis, the friend and colleague of polycarp, had undertaken in opposition to "the false teachers, and those who have so very much to say," to write (probably after the utter destruction of the community of 'apostles, elders, and witnesses' at jerusalem in ), _an exposition of the sayings of the lord_. he based the work on authentic tradition of the jerusalem witnesses, two of whom (aristion, and john 'the elder') were still living at the time of his inquiries. in fact, this much debated "john the elder," clearly distinguished by papias from john the "disciple of the lord," may be identified, in our judgment, with the john mentioned by eusebius and epiphanius midway in the succession of 'elders' of the jerusalem church between a.d. and . epiphanius dates his death in . papias gives us practically all the information we have regarding the beginnings of gospel literature. he may have known all four of our gospels. he certainly knew revelation and "vouched for its trustworthiness," doubtless against the deniers of the resurrection and judgment. he "used testimonies" from st john, and probably the saying of jesus of john xiv. ; but he seems to have based his _exposition_ on two gospels only, giving what he had been able to learn of their history from travellers who reported to him testimonies of 'the elders.' papias' two gospels were our matthew and our mark, whose differences he reconciled by what the jerusalem elders had reported as to their origin. matthew, according to these authorities (?), represented in its greek form a collection of the precepts of the lord which had formerly been current in the original aramaic, so that its circulation had of course been limited to palestine. the original compiler had been the apostle matthew. various greek equivalents of this compilation had taken its place where aramaic was not current. thus papias, in explicit dependence on "the elder" so far as mark is concerned, but without special designation of his authority for the statement regarding matthew. it is even possible that his representation that the primitive matthew was "in the hebrew tongue" may be due to rumours whose real starting-point was nothing more than the _gospel of the nazarenes_, a product of _c._ - which misled many later fathers, particularly jerome. we cannot afford, however, to slight the general bearing of testimony borne by one such as papias regarding the origins of gospel composition, and particularly the two branches into which the tradition was divided. for papias had made diligent inquiry. moreover his witness does not stand alone, but has the support of still more ancient reference (_e. g._ st tim. vi. , acts i. ) and the internal evidence of the synoptic gospels themselves. the motive for his statement is apologetic. differences between the two gospels had been pointed out on the score both of words and events. papias shows that gospel tradition is not to be held responsible for verbal agreement between the two parallel reports of the lord's words. the differences are attributable to translation. so, too, regarding events. exact correspondence of mark with matthew (or other gospels) is not to be looked for, especially as regards the order; because mark had not himself been a disciple, and could not get the true order from peter, whose anecdotes he reproduced; for when mark wrote peter was no longer living. mark has reproduced faithfully and accurately his recollection of "things either said or done," as related by peter. but peter had had no such intention as matthew of making a systematic compilation (_syntagma_) of the sayings of the lord, and had only related his anecdotes "as occasion required." if the tradition regarding matthew, as well as that regarding mark, was derived from the elder, he, too, as well as papias, knew the greek matthew; regarding it as a "translation" of the apostolic _logia_, he naturally makes matthew the standard and accounts as above for the wide divergence of mark as to order. the jerusalem elder who thus differentiates the two great branches of gospel tradition into matthæan precepts and petrine sayings and doings, is probably "the elder john"; for this elder's "traditions" were so copiously cited by papias as to lead irenæus, and after him eusebius, to the unwarranted inference of personal contact. irenæus even identified the elder john with the apostle, thus transporting not only him, but the entire body of "elders and disciples" from jerusalem to asia, a pregnant misapprehension to which we must return later. in the meantime we must note that this fundamental distinction between _syntagmas_ of the precepts, and narratives of the sayings and doings, carries us back as far as it is possible to penetrate into the history of gospel composition. the primitive work of the apostle matthew, was probably done in and for jerusalem and vicinity--certainly so if written in aramaic. the date, if early tradition may be believed, was "when peter and paul were preaching and founding the church at rome." oral tradition must have begun the process even earlier.[ ] mark's work was done at rome, according to internal evidence no less than by the unanimous voice of early tradition. it dates from "after the death of peter" ( - ) according to ancient tradition. according to the internal evidence it was written certainly not long before, and probably some few years after, the overthrow of jerusalem and the temple ( ). at the time of papias' writing, then (_c._ ), all four gospels were probably known, though only matthew and mark were taken as authoritative because (indirectly) apostolic. at the time of prosecution of his inquiries the voice of (palestinian) tradition was still "living and abiding." if, as tenses and phraseology seem to imply, this means aristion and the elder john (_ob._ ?) it is reasonable to regard it as extending back over a full generation. the original matthew was even then (_c._ ), and in palestine itself, a superseded book. it had three successors, if not more, two greek and one aramaic, all still retaining their claim to the name and authority of matthew[ ]; but all had been re-cast in a narrative frame, which at least in the case of our canonical first gospel was borrowed from the roman work of mark. so far as the remaining fragments of its rivals enable us to judge, the same is true in their case also, though to a less extent. it is quite unmistakably true of luke, the gospel of antioch, that its narrative represents the same "memorabilia of peter"; for so mark's gospel came to be called. thus the petrine story appears almost from the start to have gained undisputed supremacy. but side by side with this remarkable fact as to gospel _narrative_ is the equally notable confirmation of the other statements of 'the elders' regarding the precepts. for all modern criticism admits, that besides the material of mark, which both matthew and luke freely incorporate, omitting very little, our first and third evangelists have embodied, in (usually) the same greek translation but in greatly varied order, large sections from one or more early compilations of the sayings of jesus. footnote : some authorities of the first rank think there is evidence of literary dependence in st cor. i. - on the saying (matt. xi. - = lk. x. f.). footnote : the orthodox aramaic _gospel of the nazarenes_ borrows from luke as well as matthew, but speaks in the name of "matthew." this apostle was also regarded as author of the _gospel according to the hebrews_, a heretical product of _c._ , current in greek among the jewish christians of palestine (ebionites). it is indispensable to a historical appreciation of the environment out of which any gospel has arisen that we realize that no community ever produced and permanently adopted as its "gospel" a _partial_ presentation of the message of salvation. to its mind the writing must have embodied, for the time at least, the message, the whole message, and nothing but the message. change of mind as to the essential contents of the message would involve supplementation or alteration of the written gospel employed. no writing of the kind would be produced with tacit reference to some other for another aspect of the truth. it was not, then, the mere limitation of its language which caused the ancient matthæan sayings (the so-called _logia_) to be superseded and disappear; nor is mere "translation" the word to describe that which took its place. the growth of christianity in the greek-speaking world not only called upon jerusalem to pour out its treasure of evangelic tradition in the language of the empire, but stimulated a sense of its own increasing need. that which could once be supplied by eye-witnesses, the testimony of jesus' mighty works, his death and resurrection, was now fast disappearing. and simultaneously the appreciation of its importance was growing. it was impossible to be blind to the conquests made by the gospel _about_ jesus. enclosed in it, as part of its substance the gospel _of_ jesus found its final resting-place, much as the mother church itself was later taken up and incorporated in a catholic christendom. so it is that in the elder's time the church of the 'apostles, elders and witnesses' have done more than merely supersede their aramaic(?) _syntagma_ of the precepts by "translations." they had adopted alongside of it from rome mark's "memorabilia of peter" as to "things either said or done by the lord." we can see indeed from the apologetic way in which 'the elder' speaks of mark's limitations (peter is not to be held responsible for the lack of order) that mark's authority is still held quite secondary to matthew's; but the very fact that his work is given authoritative standing at all, still more the fact that it has become the framework into which the old-time _syntagma_ has been set, marks a great and fundamental change of view as to what constitutes "the gospel." no mere _syntagma_ of the precepts of jesus has ever come down to us, though the papyrus leaves of "sayings of jesus" discovered in at behneseh in egypt by grenfell and hunt had something of this character.[ ] it was impossible that any community outside the most primitive one, where personal "witnesses of the lord" still survived "until the times of trajan," could be satisfied with a "gospel" which gave only the precepts of jesus without so much as an account of his crucifixion and resurrection. and, strange as it may seem, the evidence of q (_i. e._ the coincident material in matthew and luke not derived from mark), as judged by nearly all critics, is that no narrative of the kind was given in the early compilation of discourses from which this element was mainly derived. after the "witnesses," apostolic and other, had begun to disappear, a mere _syntagma_ of jesus' sayings could not suffice. it became inevitable that the precepts should be embodied in the story. and yet we have at least two significant facts to corroborate the intimations of ancient tradition that this combination was long postponed. ( ) when it is at last effected, and certainly in the regions of southern syria,[ ] there is even there practically nothing left of authentic _narrative_ material but the petrine tradition as compiled by mark at rome. our matthew, a palestinian jew, the only writer of the new testament who consistently uses the hebrew bible, makes a theoretical reconstruction of the order of events in the galilean ministry, but otherwise he just incorporates mark substantially as it was. what he adds in the way of narrative is so meagre in amount, and so manifestly inferior and apocryphal in character, as to prove the extreme poverty of his resources of oral tradition of this type. luke has somewhat larger, and (as _literary_ products) better, narrative additions than matthew's; but the amount is still extremely meagre, and often _historically_ of slight value. some of it reappears in the surviving fragments of the _preaching of peter_. to sum up, there is outside of mark _no_ considerable amount of historical material, canonical or uncanonical, for the story of jesus. this fact would be hard to account for if in the regions where witnesses survived, the first generation really took an interest in perpetuating narrative tradition. ( ) the _order_ of even such events as secured perpetuation was already hopelessly lost at a time more remote than the writing of our earliest gospel. this is true not only for mark, as 'the elder' frankly confesses, but for matthew, luke and every one else. unchronological as mark's order often is (and the tradition as to the 'casual anecdotes' agrees with the critical phenomena of the text), it is vastly more historical than matthew's reconstruction. on the other hand luke, while expressly undertaking to improve in this special respect upon his predecessors, almost never ventures to depart from the order of mark, and when he does has never the support of matthew, and usually not that of real probability. in short, incorrect as they knew the order of mark to be, it was the best that could be had in the days when evangelists began to go beyond the mere _syntagmas_, and to write "gospels" as we understand them, or, in their own language, "the things which jesus began _both_ to do _and_ to teach" (acts i. ). from these two great outstanding phenomena of gospel criticism alone it would be apparent that the distinction dimly perceived in the tradition of the jerusalem elders reported by papias, and indeed by many later writers, is no illusion, but an important and vital fact. footnote : it was superscribed "these are the ... words (_logoi_ as in the pastoral epistles, not _logia_ as in papias and polycarp) which jesus the living lord spoke to the disciples and thomas." footnote : the possibility should be left open that the greek matthew was written in egypt (cf. matt. ii. ), as some critics hold. from the point of view of the church historian, however, egypt must really be classed as in "the regions of southern syria." its relations with jerusalem were close and constant. a third big, unexpected fact looms up as we round the capes of critical analysis, subtracting from matthew and luke first the elements peculiar to each, then that derived by each from mark. it is a fact susceptible, however, of various interpretation. to some it only proves either the futility of criticism, or the worthlessness of ancient tradition. to us it proves simply that the process of transition in palestine, the home of evangelic tradition, from the primitive _syntagma_ of precepts, framed on the plan of the talmudic treatise known as _pirke aboth_, or "sayings of the fathers," to the greek type of narrative gospel, was a longer and more complex one than has commonly been imagined. a cursory statement of the results of critical efforts to reproduce the so-called "second source" of matthew and luke (mark being considered the first), will serve to bring out the fact to which we refer, and at the same time, we hope, to throw light upon the history of gospel development. the mere process of subtraction above described to obtain the element q offers no serious difficulties, and for those who attach value to the tradition of 'the elders' it is natural to anticipate that the remainder will show traits corresponding to the description of an apostolic _syntagma_ of sayings of the lord translated from the aramaic, in short the much-desired _logia_ of matthew. the actual result is disappointing to such an expectation. the widely, though perhaps somewhat thoughtlessly accepted equivalence q = the _logia_ is simply false. q is _not_ the _logia_. it is not a _syntagma_, nor even a consistent whole, and as it lay before our first and third evangelists it was not (for a considerable part at least) in aramaic. true, q does consist _almost_ exclusively of discourse material, a large part of which has only topical order, and is wholly, or mainly, destitute of narrative connection. also we find traces here and there of translation at some period from the aramaic, though not more in the q element than in mark. but to those who looked for immediate confirmation of the tradition the result has been on the whole disappointing. some, more particularly among english critics, have considered it to justify a falling back upon the vaguer generalities of the once prevalent theory of oral tradition. in reality we are simply called upon to renew the process of discrimination. most of the q material has the saying-character and is strung together with that lack of all save topical order which we look for in a _syntagma_. but parts of it, such as the healing of the centurion's servant (matt. viii. - , = luke vii. - ), or the preaching of the baptist and temptation story (matt. iii. - , ; iv. - = luke iii. - , ; iv. - ), obstinately refuse to be brought under this category. moreover, the latter section has the unmistakable motive of presenting jesus _in his character and ministry_ as "the son of god," precisely as in mark. it begins by introducing jesus on the stage at the baptism of john, after the ancient narrative outline (acts i. ; x. f.), and cannot be imagined as forming part of anything else but a _narrative_ having the conclusion characteristic of our own type of gospel. other considerable sections of q, such as the question of john's disciples and discourse of jesus on those that were 'stumbled' in him (matt. xi. - , - ; luke vii. - ; x. - ), share with the baptism and temptation section not only the doctrinal motive of commending jesus in his person and ministry as the longed-for son of god, but in a number of characteristics which set them quite apart from the general mass of precepts and parables in q. we can here mention only the following: ( ) the coincidence in language between matthew and luke is much greater in these sections of q, often even greater than in the sections borrowed from mark, showing clearly the existence of a common document written not in aramaic, but in the greek language. ( ) this material, unlike most of q, has served as a source and model in many portions of mark. ( ) it is for the most part not included in the five great blocks into which matthew has divided the precepts by means of a special concluding formula (vii. ; xi. ; xiii. ; xix. , and xxvi. ) but appears outside, in the form of supplements to the markan narrative (iii. --iv. ; viii. - , - , xi. - ; xii. - , etc.). finally ( ) the q material of this type seems to be given more copiously by luke than by matthew, and with something more than mere conjecture of his own as to its historical occasion. in fact, since it appears that at least this element of q was known to mark, there is nothing to justify exclusion from it of such material as the transfiguration story, though in this case it would be needful to prove that mark was not the source. similarly it would be reasonable to think of luke's wide divergence from mark in his story of the passion as occasioned by his preference for material derived from this source. only, since matthew has preferred to follow mark, we have no means of determining whence luke did derive his new and here often valuable material. the existence, then, of an element of q which quite fails to correspond to what we take the matthæan _syntagma_ to have been by no means proves either the futility of criticism or the worthlessness of the ancient tradition. it only shows that our synoptic evangelists were not the first to attempt the combination of discourse with narrative, but that luke at least had a predecessor in the field, to whom all are more or less indebted. criticism and tradition together show that there are two great streams from which all historically trustworthy material has been derived. the one is evangelic story, and is mainly derived from mark's outline of the ministry based on the anecdotes of peter, though some elements come from another source, principally preserved by luke, which we must discuss in a later chapter devoted to the growth of petrine story at rome and antioch. the other stream, "words of the lord," comes from jerusalem, and is always associated in all its forms with the name of matthew. we have every reason for accepting the statement that as early as the founding of the church in rome ( - ) the apostle matthew had begun the work of compiling the precepts of jesus, in a form serviceable to the object of "teaching men to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded." our present gospel of matthew, however, is neither this work nor a translation of it; for the only three things told us about the apostle's work are all irreconcilable with the characteristics of our matthew. the compilation of "words of the lord" was ( ) a _syntagma_ and not, like mark, an outline of the ministry. it was ( ) written in aramaic; whereas our matthew is an original greek composition. it was ( ) by an apostle who had personal acquaintance with jesus; whereas our first evangelist is to the last degree dependent upon the confessedly defective story of mark. still if we take our matthew as the last link in the long chain of development, covering perhaps half a century, and including such by-products as the _gospel according to the hebrews_ and the _gospel of the nazarenes_, we may obtain a welcome light upon the environment out of which has come down the work which an able scholar justly declared, "the most important book ever written, the gospel according to matthew." the language in which it was written was alone sufficient to place the greek matthew beyond all possible competition in the larger world from aramaic rivals. but its comprehensiveness and catholicity still further helped it to the position which it soon attained as the most widely used of all the gospels. matthew is not only in its whole structure a composite gospel, but shows in high degree the catholicizing tendency of the times. just as it frankly adopts the roman-petrine narrative of mark with slightest possible modification, so also it places in peter's hand with equal frankness the primacy in apostolic succession. almost the only additions it makes to mark's account of the public ministry are the story of peter's walking on the sea (xiv. - ), and his payment of the temple tribute for christ and himself with the coin from the fish's mouth (xvii. - ). the latter story introduces the chapter on the exercise of rulership in "the church" (ch. xviii.), beginning with the disciples' question: "who _then_ is greatest in the kingdom?" peter is again in it the one salient figure (xviii. ). an equally important addition, connected with xviii. f. is the famous committal to peter of the power of the keys, with the declaration making him for his confession the 'rock' foundation of "the church." this addition to mark's story of the rebuke of peter at cæsarea philippi, is one which decidedly alters its bearing, and seems even to borrow the very language of gal. i. f. in order to exalt the apostleship of peter. in fact, the roman gospel and the palestinian almost reverse the rôles we should expect peter to play in each. matthew alone makes peter "the first" (x. ), while mark seems to take special pains to record rebukes of the twelve and the brethren of the lord, and especially the rebukes called down upon themselves by peter, or peter and john. in respect to the primacy of peter we can observe a certain difference even among the palestinian gospels which succeeded to the primitive _syntagma_ of matthew. little, indeed, is known of the orthodox _gospel of the nazarenes_, beyond its relatively late and composite character; for it borrowed from matthew, mark and luke in turn. its list of apostles, however, begins with "john and james the sons of zebedee," _then_ "simon and andrew," and winds up: "thee also, matthew, did i call, as thou wert sitting at the seat of custom, and thou followedst me." the anti-pauline _gospel according to the hebrews_ shows its conception of the seat of apostolic authority by giving to "james the just" the place of peter as recipient of that first manifestation of the risen lord, which laid the foundation of the faith. why then does the greek palestinian gospel, in contrast with its rivals, lay such special stress on the primacy of peter? from the cautious and (as it were) deprecatory tone of the appendix to john (john xxi.) in seeking to commend the "other disciple whom jesus loved" as worthy to be accepted as a "true witness" without detriment to the acknowledged authority of peter as chief under-shepherd of the flock, we may infer that not at rome alone, but wherever there was question of 'apostolic' tradition, the authority of peter was coming rapidly to the fore. the tendency at antioch is even more marked than at rome, as is manifest from acts. if, then, it seems stronger still in a region where we should expect the authority of james to be put forward, this need not be taken as a specifically roman trait. we must realize the sharp antagonism which existed in palestine from the time of the apostolic council down, between ( ) the consistent legalists, who maintained down to the period of justin ( ) and the _clementine homilies and recognitions_ ( - ), their bitter hostility to paul and his gospel of gentile freedom from the law; and ( ) the 'catholic,' or liberal, jewish-christians, who took the standpoint of the pillars. it is but one of many indications of its 'catholic' tendency that our matthew increases the emphasis on the apostolic authority of peter to the point of an actual primacy. the phenomenon must be judged in the light of the disappearance or suppression of all evangelic story save what came under the name of peter, and the tendency in acts to bring under his name even the entire apostleship to the gentiles. peter is not yet in these early writings the representative of rome, but of _catholicity_. the issue in matthew is not as between rome and some other dominant see, but (as the reflection of the language of gal. i. f. in matt. xvi. shows) as between 'catholic' apostolic authority and the unsafe tendencies of pauline independence. nevertheless, for all his leanings to catholicity the greek matthew has not wholly succeeded in excluding materials which still reflect jewish-christian hostility to paul, or at least to the tendencies of pauline christianity. over and over again special additions are made in matthew to emphasize a warning against the workers of "lawlessness." the exhortation of jesus in luke vi. - to effect (self-)reformation not on the surface, nor in word, but by change of the inward root of disposition fructifying in deeds, is altered in matt. vii. - into a warning against the "false prophets" who work "lawlessness," and who must be judged by their fruits. they make the confession of lordship (_cf._ rom. x. ) but are not obedient to jesus' commandment, and lack good works. in particular the test of mark ix. - is directly reversed. the principle "whosoever is not against us is for us" is not to be trusted. a teacher may exercise the 'spiritual gifts' of prophecy, exorcism, and miracles wrought in the name of jesus, and still be a reprobate. a similar (and most incongruous) addition is made to mark's parable of the patient husbandman (mark iv. - ), in matt. xiii. - , and reiterated in a specially appended "interpretation" (xiii. - ). this addition likens the "workers of lawlessness" to tares sown alongside the good seed of the word by "an enemy." a similar incongruous attachment is made to the parable of the marriage feast (matt. xxii. - ; _cf._ luke xiv. - ) to warn against the lack of the 'garment of good works.' finally, matthew closes his whole series of the discourses of jesus with a group of three parables developed with great elaboration and rhetorical effect, out of relatively slight suggestions as found elsewhere. the sole theme of the series is the indispensableness of good works in the judgment (matt. ; _cf._ luke xii. - ; xix. - , and mark ix. , ). a similar interest appears in matthew's insistence on the permanent obligation of the law (v. ( ) - ; xix. - --in contrast with mark x. - ), on respect for the temple (xvii. - ) and on the davidic descent of jesus, with fulfilment of messianic promise in him (chh. i.-ii.; ix. ). he limits the activity of jesus to the holy land (xv. ; contrast mark vii. f.), makes him in sending forth the twelve (x. f.) specifically forbid mission work among samaritans or gentiles, and while the prohibition is finally removed in xxviii. - , the apostolic seat cannot be removed, but remains as in x. , among "the cities of israel" to the end of the world. there is probably no more of intentional opposition to paul or to his gospel in all this than in james or luke. we cannot for example regard it as more than accidental coincidence that in the phrase "an enemy hath done this," in the parable of the tares, we have the same epithet which the ebionite literature applies to paul. but enough remains to indicate how strongly jewish-christian prejudices and limitations still affected our evangelist. with respect to date, the atmosphere is in all respects such as characterizes the period of the nineties. it does not belong to our present purpose to analyze this gospel into its constituent elements. the process can be followed in many treatises on gospel criticism, and the results will be found summarized in _introductions_ to the new testament such as the recent scholarly work of moffatt. we have here but to note the general character and structure of the book as revealing the main outlines of its history and the conditions which gave it birth. matthew and luke are alike in that both represent comparatively late attempts to combine the ancient matthæan _syntagma_ with the 'memorabilia of peter' compiled by mark. but there is a great difference. luke contemplates his work with some of the motives of the historian. he adopts the method of narrative, and therefore subordinates his discourse material to a conception (often confused enough) of sequence in space and time. matthew, as the structure of his gospel, no less than his own avowal shows, had an aim more nearly corresponding to the ancient palestinian type. the demand for the narrative form had become irresistible. it controlled even his later greek and aramaic rivals. but matthew has subordinated the historical to the ethical motive. he aims at, and has rendered, just the service which his age demanded and for which it could look to no other region than jerusalem, a full compilation of the commandments and precepts of jesus. the narrative framework is adopted from mark without serious alteration, because this work had already proved its effectiveness in convincing men everywhere that jesus was "the christ, the son of god." like luke, matthew prefixes an account of jesus' miraculous birth and childhood, because in his time (_c._ ) the ancient "beginning of the gospel" with the baptism by john had given opportunity to the heresy of the adoptionists, represented by cerinthus, who maintained that jesus _became_ the son of god at his baptism, a merely temporary "receptacle" of the spirit. the prefixed chapters have no incarnation doctrine, and no doctrine of pre-existence. they do not intend in their story of the miraculous birth to relate the incoming of a superhuman or non-human being into the world, else they could not take up the pedigree of joseph as exhibiting jesus' title to the throne of david. miracle attends and signalizes the birth of that "son of david" who is destined to become the son of god. apart from the mere question of attendant prodigy the aim of matthew's story of the infancy is such as should command the respect and sympathy of every rational thinker. against all doketic dualism it maintains that the son of god is such from birth to death. the presence of god's spirit with him is not a mere counterpart to demonic "possession," but is part of his nature as true man from the beginning. but the doctrinal interest of matthew scarcely goes beyond the point of proving that jesus is the christ foretold by the prophets. doctrine as well as history is subordinate to the one great aim of teaching men to "observe all things whatsoever jesus commanded." chapter vii the petrine tradition. evangelic story of the extent to which the early church could do without narrative of jesus' earthly ministry we have extraordinary evidences in the literature of pauline christianity on the one side and of jewish christianity on the other. for paul himself, as we know, the real story of jesus was a transcendental drama of the incarnation, redemption, and exaltation. it is probable that when at last "three years" after his conversion he went up to jerusalem "to get acquainted with peter," the story he was interested to hear had even then more to do with that common apostolic witness of the resurrection appearances reproduced in st cor. xv. - , than with the sayings and doings of the ministry. as to this paul preserves, as we have seen, an almost unbroken silence. and that which did not interest paul, naturally did not interest his churches. on the other hand those who could have perpetuated a full and authentic account of the ministry were almost incredibly slow to undertake the task; partly, no doubt, because of their vivid expectation of the immediate end of the world, but largely also because to their mind the data most in need of preservation were the 'life-giving words.' the impression of jesus' character, his person and authority was not, as they regarded it, a thing to be gained from the historical outline of his career. it was established by the fact of the resurrection, by the predictions of the prophets, which found fulfilment in the circumstances of jesus' birth, particular incidents here and there in his career and fate, but most of all in his resurrection and the gifts of the spirit which argued his present session at the right hand of god. once this authority of jesus was established the believer had only to observe his commandments as handed down by the apostles, elders and witnesses. on all sides there was an indifference to such historical inquiry as the modern man would think natural and inevitable, an indifference that must remain altogether inexplicable to us unless we realize that until at least the time of the fourth evangelist the main proofs of messiahship were not looked for in jesus' earthly career. his christhood was thought of as something in the future, not yet realized. even his resurrection and manifestation in glory "at the right hand of god," which is to both paul (rom. i. ) and his predecessors (acts ii. - ) the assurance that "god hath made him both lord and christ," is not yet the beginning of his specific messianic programme. potentially this has begun, because jesus has already been seated on the 'throne of glory,' "from henceforth expecting until his enemies be made the footstool of his feet." practically it is not yet. the christ is still a christ that is to be. his messianic rule is delayed until the subjugation of the "enemies"; and this subjugation in turn is delayed by "the long suffering of god, who willeth not that any should perish, but that all men should come to repentance." meantime a special "outpouring of the spirit" is given in 'tongues,' 'prophecies,' 'miracle working,' and the like, in fulfilment of scriptural promise, as a kind of coronation largess to all loyal subjects. this outpouring of the spirit, then, is the great proof and assurance that the heir has really ascended the 'throne of glory' in spite of the continuance of "all things as they were from the foundation of the world." these 'gifts' are "firstfruits of the spirit," pledges of the ultimate inheritance, proofs both to believers and unbelievers of the complete inheritance soon to be received. but the gifts have also a practical aspect. they are all endowments for _service_. the great repentance in israel and among the gentiles is not to be brought about without the co-operation of believers. the question which at once arises when the manifestation of the risen christ is granted, "lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to israel?" is therefore answered by the assurance that the time is in god's hand alone, but that the 'gifts of the spirit,' soon to be imparted, are intended to enable believers to do their part, at home and abroad, toward effecting the great repentance (acts i. - ).[ ] footnote : the parallel in mark xvi. - is very instructive, but needs the recently discovered connection between verses and to complete the sense: "and they excused themselves (for their unbelief) saying, this age of lawlessness and unbelief is under the dominion of satan, who by means of the unclean spirits prevents the truth and power of god from being apprehended. on this account reveal thy righteousness (_i. e._ justice, in the sense of isa. lvi, _b_) even now. and christ replied to them, the limit of years of satan's power is (already) fulfilled, but other terrible things are at hand; moreover i was delivered up to death on behalf of sinners in order that they might return unto the truth and sin no more, that they might inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory which is in heaven." then follows the mission into all the world and endowment with the gifts. for a church which felt itself endowed with living and present evidences of the messianic power of jesus it was naturally only a second thought (and not a very early one at that) to look back for proof to occurrences in jesus' life in galilee, however notable his career as "a prophet mighty in deed and word before god and all the people." the _present_ gifts of his power would be (at least in demonstrative effect) "greater works than these." with those who had the resurrection testimony of st cor. xv. - , and even the recurrent experience of "visions and revelations of the lord," anticipatory revelations of his messiahship, utterances, like that to peter at cæsarea philippi, wherein jesus only predicted the great work to be divinely accomplished through him, whether by life or death, in going up to jerusalem, intimations which had been disregarded or disbelieved at the time, could not rank with present knowledge, experience and insight. they would be recalled merely as confirmatory foregleams of "the true light that now shineth," as the two who had received the manifestation at emmaus exclaim, "did not our heart burn within us while he talked to us in the way?" we could not indeed psychologically account for the development of the resurrection faith after the crucifixion, if before it jesus' life and utterances had not been such as to make his manifestation in glory seem to the disciples just what they _ought_ to have expected. but, conversely, nothing is more certain than the fact that they _did not_ expect it; and that when the belief had become established by other means, the attitude toward the "sayings and doings" maintained by those who had them to relate--as we know, the most successful missionary of all felt it no handicap to be entirely without them--was one of looking back into an obscure past for things whose pregnant significance became appreciable only in the light of present knowledge. "these things understood not his disciples at the first, but when jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things had been written of him, and that they had done these things unto him." we are fortunate in having even one example of the "consecutive narratives" (_diegeses_) referred to in luke i. . our mark is a gospel written purely and simply from this point of view, aiming only to show how the earthly career of jesus gave evidence that this was the son of god, predestined to exaltation to the right hand of power, with little attempt, if any, to bring in the precepts of the new law. we should realize, however, that this is already a beginning in the process soon to become controlling, a process of carrying back into the earthly life of jesus in galilee of first this trait, then that, then all the attributes of the glorified lord. ancient and reliable tradition informs us that this first endeavour to tell the story of "jesus christ the son of god" was composed at rome by john mark, a former companion of both peter and paul, from data drawn from the anecdotes casually employed by peter in his preaching. there is much to confirm this in the structure, the style, and the doctrinal object and standpoint of the gospel. to begin with, the date of composition cannot be far from . mark is not only presupposed by both matthew and luke, but in their time had already acquired an extraordinary predominance. to judge by what remains to us of similar products, mark in its own field might almost be said to reign supreme and reign alone. such almost exclusive supremacy could not have been attained, even by a writing commonly understood to represent the preaching of peter, short of a decade or more of years. on the other hand we have the reluctant testimony of antiquity, anxious to claim as much as possible of apostolic authority for the record, but unwilling to commit peter to apparent contradictions of matthew, that it was written after peter's death ( - ).[ ] internal evidence would in fact bring down the date of the work in its present form a full decade thereafter. it is true that there are many structural evidences of more than one form of the narrative, and that the apocalyptic chapter (ch. xiii.), which furnishes most of the evidence of date, may well belong among the later supplements. but in the judgment of most critics this 'eschatological discourse' (almost the only connected discourse of the gospel) is clearly framed in real retrospect upon the overthrow of jerusalem and the temple, and the attendant tribulation on "those that are in judæa." the writer applies a general saying of jesus known to us from other sources about destroying and rebuilding the temple specifically to the demolition effected by titus ( ). he warns his readers in the same connection that "the end" is not to follow immediately upon the great judæan war, but only when the powers of evil in the heavenly places, powers inhabiting sun, moon and stars, are shaken (xiii. - ). the pauline doctrine of nd thess. ii. - is adopted, but with careful avoidance of the prediction that the "man of sin" is to appear "in the temple of god." paul's "man of sin" is now identified with daniel's "abomination that maketh desolate" (dan. xii. ), which therefore is spoken of as "he" (masculine). "his" appearance will prelude the great judæan tribulation; but his standing place is ill-defined. it is only "where he ought not." matthew (following his usual practice) returns more nearly to the language of daniel. with him the "abomination" is again an object standing "in _a_ holy place." but matthew is already applying the prophecy to another tribulation still to come. he does not see that mark refers to the sack of jerusalem on which he himself looks back in his addition to the parable of the supper (matt. xxii. f.; _cf._ luke xiv. - ), but takes mark xiii. - as jesus' prediction of a great final tribulation _still to come_. footnote : so irenæus ( ) and (by implication) papias. clement of alexandria ( ) meets the difficulty by alleging that peter was still alive, but gave no aid to the writer. mark's crudities of language and style, his frequent latinisms, his explanation to his readers (almost contemptuously exaggerated) of jewish purifications and distinctions of meats (vii. f.), presupposition of the roman form of divorce (x. ), explanation in roman money of the value of the (greek and oriental) "mite" (_lepton_), are well-known confirmations of the tradition of the writing's place of origin. but these are superficial characteristics. more important for us to note is the fundamental conception of what constitutes "the gospel," and the writer's attitude on questions of the relation of jew and gentile and the authority of the apostles and kindred of the lord. the most striking characteristic of mark is that it aims to present the gospel _about_ jesus, and is relatively indifferent to the gospel _of_ jesus. had the writer conceived his task after the manner of a matthew there is little doubt that he could have compiled catechetic discourses of jesus like the sermon on the mount or the discourse on prayer of luke xi. - . the fact that he disregards such records of jesus' ethical and religious instruction does not mean that he (tacitly) refers his readers to the matthæan precepts, or similar compilations, to supplement his own deficiencies. it means a different, more pauline, conception of what "the gospel" is. mark conceives its primary element to be attachment to the _person_ of jesus, and has already gone far toward obliterating the primitive distinction between a jesus whose earthly career had been "in great humility," and the glorified son of god. the earthly jesus is still, it is true, only a man endowed with the spirit of adoption. but he is so completely "in" the spirit, and so fully endowed with it, as almost to assume the greek figure of a demi-god treading the earth incognito. no wonder this gospel became the favourite of the adoptionists and doketists. mark does not leave his reader in the dark as to what a man must do to inherit eternal life. the requirement does not appear until after jesus has taken up with the twelve the road to calvary, because it is distinctly _not_ a keeping of commandments, new or old. it is an adoption of "the mind that was in christ, who humbled himself and became obedient unto death." in matthew's 'improved' version of jesus' answer to the rich applicant for eternal life, the suppliant is told he may obtain it by obeying the commandments, with supererogatory merit ("if thou wouldest be perfect"), if he follows jesus' example of self-abnegating service. in the form and context from which matthew borrows (mark x. - ) there is no trace of this legalism, and the whole idea of supererogatory merit, or higher reward, is strenuously, almost indignantly, repudiated. no man can receive the kingdom at all who does not receive it "as a little child." every man must be prepared to make every sacrifice, even if he has kept all the commandments from his youth up. peter and the disciples who have "left all and followed" are in respect to reward on the same level as others. peter's plea for the twelve is answered, "there is no man that hath left" earthly possessions for christ's sake that is not amply compensated even here. he must expect persecution now, but will receive eternal life hereafter. only "many that are first shall be last, and last first." even the martyr-apostles james and john will have no superior rights in the kingdom. such passages as the above not only reveal why mark's gospel shows comparative disregard of the precepts, but also displays an attitude toward the growing claims of apostolic authority and neo-legalism which in contrast with matthew and luke is altogether refreshing. the kindred of the lord appear but twice (iii. f., - and vi. - ), both times in a wholly unfavourable light. john appears but once, and that to receive a rebuke for intolerance. james and john appear only to be rebuked for selfish ambition. peter seldom otherwise than for rebuke. all the disciples show constantly the blindness and "hardness of heart" which is explicitly said to characterize their nation (vi. ; vii. ; viii. , - ). their self-seeking and unfaithfulness is the foil to jesus' self-denial and faithfulness (viii. ; ix. , f., ; x. , , , , ; xiv. - , - , , - ). that which in matthew (xvi. - ) has become a special divine revelation to peter of the messiahship, marking the foundation of the church, is in the earlier markan form (mark viii. - ) not a revelation of the messiahship at all. peter's answer, "thou are the christ," is common knowledge. the twelve are not supposed to be more ignorant than the demons! there is, however, a caustic rebuke of peter for his carnal, jewish idea of the implications of christhood. a revelation of its significance almost doketic in character is indeed granted just after to "peter, james and john"; but they remain without appreciation or understanding of the 'vision,' though it exhibits jesus in his heavenly glory in company with the translated heroes of the old testament. the revelation still remains, therefore, a sealed book until "after the resurrection." this exaggeration of the disciples' obtuseness is partly due, no doubt, to apologetic motives. the evangelist has to meet the objection, if jesus was really the extraordinary, superhuman being represented, and was openly proclaimed such by the evil spirits, why was nothing heard of his claims until after the crucifixion and alleged resurrection? his carrying back into the galilean ministry of the glorified being of paul's redemption doctrine compels him to represent the twelve as sharing the dullness of the people who "having eyes see not, and having ears hear not." but with all allowance for this, the roman gospel shows small consideration for the apostles and kindred of the lord. it shows quite as little for jewish prerogative and jewish law. jesus speaks in parables because to those "without" his preaching is to be intentionally a 'veiled' gospel (iv. - ). the inheritance will be taken away from them and given to others (xii. - ). priests and people together were guilty of the rejection and murder of jesus (xv. - , - ). forgiveness of sins is offered by jesus on his own authority in defiance of the scribes. their exclusion of the publicans and sinners he disregards, proclaims abolition of their fasts, and holds their sabbath-keeping up to scorn (ii. --iii. ). on the question of distinctions of meats his position is the most radical possible. the jewish ceremonial is a "vain worship," mere "commandments of men." defilement cannot be contracted by what "goes into a man." jesus' saying about inward purity was not aimed at the mere 'hedge of the law' (matt. xv. ), nor the mere matter of ablutions (matt. xv. ), but was intended to "make all meats clean" (vii. - ). moses' law in some of its enactments does not represent the real divine will, but a human accommodation to human weakness (x. - ). obedience to its highest code does not ensure eternal life (x. - ). the single law of love is "much more than all whole burnt offering and sacrifices" (xii. - ). when _all_ the references to judaism, its law, its institutions, and its prerogative, are of this character, when jesus _always_ appears in radical opposition to the law and its exponents (xii. - ; xiii. f.), _never_ as their supporter in any degree, the evangelist comes near to making it too hard for us to believe that he really was of jewish birth. on the other hand we cannot doubt the statement that he derives his anecdotes, however indirectly, from the preaching of peter. the prologue (i. - ), indeed, makes no pretence of reporting the testimony of any witness, but acquaints the reader with the true nature of jesus as "the christ, the son of god" by means of a mystical account of his baptism and endowment with the spirit of adoption, probably resting upon that document of q, which we have distinguished from the precepts. but the ensuing story of the ministry opens at the home of peter in capernaum, and continues more or less connected therewith in spite of interjected groups of anecdotes whose connection is not chronological but topical, such as ii. --iii. ; iii. - ; iv. - . it reaches its climax where jesus at cæsarea philippi takes peter into his confidence. here again the mystical revelation or transfiguration vision (ix. - ) interrupts the connection, and shows its foreign derivation by the transcendental sense in which it interprets the person of jesus. certain features suggest its having been taken from the same source as the prologue (i. - ). the story issues in the tragedy at jerusalem, where, as before, peter's figure, however unfavourable the contrast in which it is set to that of jesus, is still the salient one. the outline in general is identical with that so briefly sketched in acts x. - --_except_ that the absolutely essential point, the one thing which no gospel narrative can possibly have lacked, the resurrection manifestation to the disciples, and the commission to preach the gospel, is absolutely lacking! that mark's gospel once contained such a conclusion is almost a certainty. imagine a gospel narrative without a report of the manifestation of the risen lord to his disciples! imagine a church--and that the church at _rome_--giving out as the first, the authentic, original, and (in intention) the only account of the origin of the christian faith (mark i. ), a narrative which _ended_ with the apostles scattered in cowardly desertion, and peter the most conspicuous, most remorseful renegade of them all! he who writes in peter's name from rome but shortly after, affectionately naming mark "my son," must have had indeed a forgiving spirit. but traces of the real sequel have not all disappeared. many outside allusions still remain to the turning again of peter and stablishing of his brethren in the resurrection faith. the earliest is paul's ( st cor. xv. ). the present mark itself implies that it once had such an ending; for jesus promises to rally his flock in galilee after he is raised up (xiv. ), and the women at the sepulchre are bidden to remind the disciples of the promise, though they fail to deliver their message. indeed the whole gospel looks forward to it. to this end "the mystery of the kingdom" is given to the chosen twelve (iii. f., - ; iv. - ); for this they are forewarned (though vainly) of the catastrophe (viii. --ix. , - ; x. - ; xiv. - ). in fact the promise of a baptism of the spirit (i. ) probably implies that the original sequel related not only the appearance to peter and (later) to the rest with the charge to preach, but also their endowment with the gifts, perhaps as in john xx. - . what we now have is only a substitute for this original sequel, a substitute so ill-fitting as to have provoked repeated attempts at improvement. from xvi. onwards, as is well known, the oldest textual authorities have simply a blank. later authorities give a shorter or longer substitute for the missing manifestation and charge to the twelve. the shorter follows matthew, the longer follows luke, with traces of acquaintance with john. fanciful theories to explain these textual phenomena, such as accidental mutilation of the only copy, are improbable, and do not explain. if conjecture be permissible it is more likely that the original work was in two parts, after the manner of luke-acts, the 'former treatise' ending with the centurion's testimony, "truly this man was a son of god" (xv. ). the second part continued the narrative in the form of a preaching of peter, perhaps ending with his coming to rome; for the ancient literature of the church had several narratives of this type. its disappearance will have been due to the superseding (perhaps the embodiment) of it by the work of luke. when the primitive markan 'former treatise' was adapted for separate use as a gospel it was quite natural that it should be supplemented (we can hardly say "completed") by the addition of the story of the empty sepulchre (xv. --xvi. ), though this narrative is quite unknown to the primitive resurrection preaching (_cf._ st cor. xv. - ), and one in which every character save pilate is a complete stranger to the body of the work. the subsequent further additions of the so-called "longer" and "shorter" endings belong to the history of transcription after a.d. . it will be apparent from the above that the gospel of mark is no exception to the rule that church-writings of this type inevitably undergo recasting and supplementation until the advancing process of canonization at last fixes their text with unalterable rigidity. whether we recognize "sources," or earlier "forms," or only earlier "editions" of mark, it is certain that appendices could still be attached long after the appearance of luke, and probable that in the early period of its purely local currency at rome the fund of petrine anecdote had received more than one adaptation of form before it was carried to syria and embodied substantially as we now have it in the composite gospels of matthew and luke. the omission by luke of mark vi. --viii. is intentional,[ ] and cannot be used to prove the existence of a shorter form; and the same is probably true of the omission of mark ix. - by matthew. mark xii. - , however, is probably an addition later than matthew's time. neither matthew nor luke had a text extending beyond xvi. . but signs of acquaintance with the original sequel appear in the appendix to john (john xxi.) and in the late and composite _gospel of peter_ (_c._ ). according to the latter the twelve remained in jerusalem scattered and in hiding for the remaining six days of the feast. at its close they departed, mourning and grieving, each man to his own home. peter and a few others, including "levi the son of alpheus," resumed their fishing "on the sea." ... the fragment breaks off at this point. the story may be conjecturally completed from st cor. xv. - , with comparison of john xxi. - ; luke v. - ; xxii. f.; xxiv. , - . footnote : see below. as we look back upon the undertaking of this humble author, named only by tradition, one among the catechists of the great church of paul and peter, writing but a few years after their death, but a few years before st peter and hebrews, one is struck by the grandeur of his aim. it is true he was not wholly without predecessors in the field. the work which afforded him at least the substance of his prologue, and in all probability other considerable sections of his book, had already aimed in a more mystical way to connect the pauline doctrine of christ as the wisdom of god with the mighty works and teachings of jesus. duplication of a considerable part of mark's story (vii. --viii. repeats with some variation vi. --vii. ) shows that his work was one of combination as well as creation. but outline, proportion and onward march of the story show not only skill and care, but large-minded and consistent adherence to the fundamental plan to tell the origin of the christian faith (mark i. ). confirmation of the belief and practice of the church--it is for this that mark reports all he can learn of the years of obscurity in galilee followed by the tragedy in jerusalem. not only belief in jesus as the son of god will be justified by the story, but the founding, institutions, and ritual of the existing church. he manifestly adapts it to show not only the superhuman powers and attributes of the chosen son of god, but the germ and type of all the church's institutions. its baptism of repentance and accompanying gift of the spirit of adoption only repeats the experience of jesus at the baptism of john. endowment with the word of wisdom and the word of power is but the counterpart of jesus' divine equipment with "the power of the spirit" when he taught and healed in galilee. the sending of the twelve sets the standard for the church's evangelists and missionaries, just as the breaking of the bread in galilee gives the model for its fraternal banquet. so for the judæan ministry as well. the path of martyrdom is that which all must follow, its passover supper of the lord and vigil in gethsemane are models for the church's annual observance, its passover of the lord, its vigil, its resurrection feast. the grouping of the anecdotes is not all of mark's doing, for we can still see in many cases how they have grown up around the church observances, to explain and justify the rites, rather than to form part of an outlined career. but taking the work as a whole, and considering how far beyond that of any other church was the opportunity at rome, where paul had transmitted the lofty conception of the son of god, and peter the concrete tradition of his earthly life, we cannot wonder that mark's outline so soon became the standard account of jesus' earthly ministry, and ultimately the only one. but little space remains in which to trace the developments of gospel story in other fields. southern syria and egypt soon found it needful, as we have seen, to adopt the work of mark, but independently and as a framework for the matthæan precepts. it cannot have been long after that antioch and northern syria followed suit. for luke, though acquainted with the work of 'many' predecessors gives no sure evidence of acquaintance with matthew. when we find such unsoftened contradictions as those displayed between these two greek gospels in their opening and closing chapters, and observe, moreover, that while both indulge in hundreds of corrections and improvements upon mark, these are rarely coincident and never make the assumption of interdependence necessary, it is hard to resist the conclusion that neither evangelist was directly acquainted with the other's work. now no other gospel compares with matthew in the rapidity and extent of its circulation, while luke declares himself a diligent inquirer. he could not ignore the claims of apostolic authority to which this early and wide acceptance of matthew were mainly due. the inference is reasonable that luke's date was but little later than that of matthew. if the probability of his employment of the _antiquities_ of josephus could be raised to a certainty this would suffice to date the gospel and book of acts not earlier than . internal and external evidence, as judged by most scholars, converge on a date approximating . the north-syrian derivation of luke-acts is less firmly established in tradition than the roman origin of mark and the south-syrian of matthew. ancient tradition can point to nothing weightier than the statement of eusebius, drawn we know not whence, but independently made in the argumenta (prefixed descriptions) of several vulgate manuscripts that luke was of antiochian birth. however, internal evidence supplies corroboration in rather unusual degree. if the reading of some texts in acts xi. , "and as we were assembled," could be accepted, this alone would be almost conclusive corroboration. but dubious as it is, it furnishes support. for if an alteration of the original, it is at any rate extremely early (_c._ ?) and aimed to support the belief in question.[ ] moreover the whole attitude of luke-acts in respect to apostolic authority, settlement of the great question of the terms of fellowship between jew and gentile, and description of the founding of the pauline churches, is such as to make its origin anywhere between the taurus range and the adriatic most improbable; while if we place it in rome we shall have an insoluble problem in the relation of its extreme emphasis on apostolic authority, and quasi-deification of peter, to the stalwart independence of mark. conversely there are many individual traits which suggest antioch as the place of origin. next to jerusalem, the never-to-be-forgotten church of "the apostles and elders," antioch is the mother church of christendom. there the name "christian" had its origin. there the work of converting the gentiles was begun. the greek churches of cyprus and asia minor are regarded as dependencies of antioch. even those of the greek peninsula are linked as well as may be to antioch and jerusalem, with suppression of the story of the schism. antioch, not the pauline greek churches, is the benefactress of "the poor saints in jerusalem," and at the instance of antioch, by appeal to "the apostles and elders," the "decrees" are obtained which permanently settle the troublesome question of the obligation of maintaining ceremonial cleanness which still rests upon "the jews which are among the gentiles." as we have seen, the settlement is as far from that of mark and the pauline churches on the one side, as from the thoroughgoing legalism of jerusalem on the other. as late as the pastoral epistles abstinence from "meats which god created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth" is to the pauline churches a "doctrine of devils and seducing spirits" taught "through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies." distinctions of meats belong to jewish superstition, because "every creature of god is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving" ( st tim. iv. - ). mark, as we have seen, takes precisely this standpoint. he is equally radical in condemning distinctions of meats as essentially "vain worship," and a "commandment of men" (mark vii. - ). in truth if we distinguish one of luke's _sources_ from luke himself we shall find exactly this doctrine taught to peter himself by special divine revelation in acts x. - ; xi. - . only, as we have already seen (p. , note), this is not the application made by the book of acts, as it now stands, of the material. to 'luke' nothing could be more repugnant than the idea of an apostle forsaking the religion of his fathers, of which circumcision and "the customs" are an essential part. his cancellation, in the story of peter's revelation and the apostle's subsequent defence of it before the church in jerusalem, of one of its essential factors, viz. the right to _eat_ with gentiles, regardless of man-made distinctions of meats ("what _god_ hath cleansed make not _thou_ common") is quite as significant as his restriction of even paul's activity to greek-speaking _jews_, until "the spirit" has expressly directed the church in antioch, immediately after the persecution of agrippa i, to proceed with the propaganda. both alterations of the earlier form of the story are in line with a multitude of minor indications, and furnish us, in combination with them, the real keynote of the narrative. in luke-acts more clearly than in any of the gospels the writer assumes the distinctive function of the _historian_. he, too, would relate, like mark, the origin of the christian faith, and that "from the very first." he even deduces the pedigree of jesus from "adam, which was the son of god." but the object is far more to prove the pedigree of the faith than the pedigree of jesus. christianity is to be defended against the charge of being a _nova superstitio_, a _religio illicita_. on the contrary it is the one true and revealed religion, the perfect flower and consummation of judaism. yet it is not, like judaism, particularistic and national, but universal; for while god at first made that nation the special repository of his truth, it was his "determinate foreknowledge and counsel" that they should reject and crucify their messiah, making it possible to "proclaim this salvation unto the gentiles." the one thing luke is so anxiously concerned to prove that he wearies the reader with constant reiteration of it, proclaims it, argues it, in season and out of season, with his sources, against his sources, with the facts, against the facts, is that this faith was never, never, offered to the gentiles except by express direction of god and after the jews had demonstrated to the last extremity of stiff-necked opposition that they would have none of it. christianity, then, and not judaism, is the true primitive and revealed religion, the heir of all the divine promises. footnote : note, also, how in acts vi. the list of deacon-evangelists concludes "and nicholas _a proselyte of antioch_." we can see now why luke finds it impossible to adopt mark's story of a missionary journey of jesus in "the coasts of tyre and sidon" and will not even mention the name of cæsarea philippi. his method in omitting mark vi. --viii. is more radical than matthew's, but his motive is similar. the central theme of this portion of mark appears in the chapter (ch. vii.) recording jesus' repudiation of the jewish distinctions of clean and unclean as "precepts of men," and departing to heal and preach in phoenecia and decapolis. this is the theme of luke's second treatise; and, as we have seen, his solution of the problem is radically different. if he cannot admit that even paul disregarded "the customs" or peter preached to gentiles until after express and reiterated direction of "the spirit," we surely ought not to expect him to admit the statement that jesus repudiated the distinctions of mosaism, declared "all meats clean," and departing into the coasts of tyre and sidon first healed the daughter of "a gentile" and afterward continued his journey "through sidon" and "the regions of decapolis," repeating the symbolic miracles of opening deaf ears and blind eyes, and feeding with loaves and fishes. even if this supposed ministry of jesus among the gentiles stood on a much stronger foundation of historical probability than is unfortunately the case (_cf._ rom. xv. ), it could not logically be admitted to the work of luke without an abandonment of one of his firmest convictions and a rewriting of both his treatises. luke was probably not the first to divide his work into a "former treatise" covering "both" the sayings and doings of jesus "until the time that he was taken up," and a second devoted to the work of the apostles after they had received the charge to proclaim the gospel "to the uttermost parts of the earth." "many," as he tells us, had already undertaken to "draw up narratives" (_diegeses_) of this kind, of which the one luke himself has chiefly employed, had originally, as we concluded, a sequel like his own book of acts. there are even features of the petrine source of acts which particularly connect it with roman doctrine (_e. g._ acts x. - ; _cf._ rom. xiv. and mark vii. f.) and even with the person of mark (acts xii. ). its balance between peter and paul and its close with the establishment of christianity at rome, are also suggestive that the greater part of luke's second treatise came _ultimately_ from the same source as his first. but the division of the work into two parts: ( ) the gospel among the jews; ( ) the gospel among the gentiles, would have followed, independently of any such precedent, from the whole purpose and structure of the work. christianity is to be proved in the light of its origin, and in spite of the hostility of the jews among whom it arose, and whose sacred writings it adopts, to be the original, true, revealed religion. to prove this it must be shown that the rejection and crucifixion of jesus by his own people as a result of his earthly ministry was due not to his own failure to meet the ideal of the scriptures in question, but to _their_ perversity and wilful blindness. if it is important to prove in the former treatise that the opposition of the controlling authorities among the jews was due to this perversity and jealousy, it is at least equally so to show that the lowly and devout received him gladly. hence the peculiar hospitality of luke toward material showing jesus' acceptance of and by the humbler and the outcast classes, the poor and lowly, women, samaritans, publicans and sinners. the idyllic scenes of his birth and childhood are cast among men and women of this type of old testament piety, quietly "waiting for the kingdom of god." during his career it is these who receive and hang upon him. even on calvary _one_ of the thieves must join with this throng of devout and penitent believers. jesus' preaching begins with his rejection by his own fellow-townsmen only because "no prophet is accepted in his own country"; though before their attempt to slay him he proves from scripture how elijah and elisha had been sent unto the gentiles. his ministry ends with his demonstration to the disciples after his resurrection from "moses and all the prophets" how that "it was needful that the christ should suffer before entering his glory," and that after his rejection by israel "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at jerusalem." the second treatise shows how this purpose of god to secure the dissemination of the true faith by the disobedience and hardening of its first custodians was accomplished, chief stress being always laid upon the fact that it was only when the jews "contradicted and blasphemed" that the apostles said, "it was necessary that the word of god should first be spoken to you, but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the gentiles." there is no interest taken in the subsequent fortunes of jerusalem and jewish christianity, nor even in the fate of peter and james, after this transition has been effected to gentile soil. there is no interest taken in the spread of christianity as such, in egypt, ethiopia, cyrenaica, cyprus, mesopotamia; but only where the conflict rages over the respective claim of jew and gentile to be the true heir of the promises, _i. e._ the mission-field of paul. at the individual centres the story goes just far enough to relate how the gospel was offered to the jews and rejected, compelling withdrawal from the synagogue, and thereafter it is told over again with slight variations at the next centre. the book concludes with a repetition of the stereotyped scene at rome itself, in spite of the representation of the very source employed, that an important church had long existed there before paul's coming, ending with a quotation of the classic passage from isa. vi. f. to prove god's original purpose to harden the heart of israel, so that his "salvation might be sent unto the gentiles." the very fate of paul himself has so little interest for luke in comparison with this demonstration of christianity as the one original, revealed religion, enclosed in judaism as seeds are confined in the hardening seed-pod until disseminated by its bursting, that he leaves it unmentioned, like that of all other leaders of the church whose death was not directly contributory to the process. many, and vitally important to the development of gospel story as we know it, as were the sources of luke, both by his own statement (luke i. ) and the internal evidences of his work, he has made analysis extremely difficult by the skilful and elaborate stylistic embroidery with which he has overlaid the gaps and seams. nor is this a proper occasion for entering the field of the higher critic. luke-acts represents the completed development, not the naïve beginnings of this type of the literature of the church teacher. we have seen reason to think we may have traces of the earlier "narratives" (_diegeses_) to which luke refers, not only in the great roman work of mark, but in a part of the q material itself. if antioch were the place of origin of this early source, if here too were found those archives of missionary activity whence came the famous diary employed in acts xvi.-xxviii., the contribution of this church to gospel story was such as to make antioch the appropriate centre for the great "historical" school of interpretation of the fourth and fifth centuries. when we consider the dominant motive of luke and his extraordinary exaltation of 'apostolic' authority we seem to be breathing the very atmosphere of ignatius the great apostle of ecclesiasticism and apostolic order, discipline and succession. ignatius' hatred of doketism, too, is not without a certain anticipation in the opening and closing chapters of luke's gospel, and perhaps in the fact that the great exsection from mark begins with the story of the walking on the sea (mark vi. - ). chapter viii the johannine tradition. prophecy in paul's enumeration of the "gifts" by which the spirit qualifies various classes of men to build in various ways upon the structure of the church, the class of "prophets" takes the place next after that of "apostles," a rank even superior (as more manifestly 'spiritual') to that of "pastors and teachers." the book of acts shows us as its most conspicuous centre of "prophecy" the house of philip the evangelist at cæsarea. this man had four unmarried daughters who prophesied, and in his house paul received a 'prophetic' warning of his fate from a certain agabus who had come down from judæa. there were also prophets in antioch (acts xiii. ), though the only ones mentioned by name are this same agabus[ ] and silas, or silvanus, who is also from judæa. in the _teaching of the twelve_ the 'prophet' still appears among the regular functionaries of the church, for the most part a traveller from place to place, and open to more or less suspicion, as is the case at rome, where hermas combines reverence for the "angel" that speaks through the true prophet, with warnings against the self-seeker. in st john the "false prophets" are a serious danger, propagating doketic heresy wherever they go. in fact, this heresy was, as we know, the great peril in asia. however, asia, if plagued by wandering false prophets, had also become by this time a notable seat of true and authentic prophecy; for the same papias who shows such sympathy with polycarp against those who were "perverting the sayings of the lord to their own lusts," and had turned, as polycarp advised, "to the tradition handed down from the beginning," had similar means for counteracting those who "denied the resurrection and judgment." among those upon whom he principally relied as exponents of the apostolic doctrine were two of those same prophesying daughters of philip the evangelist, who with their father had migrated from cæsarea palestina to hierapolis, leaving, however, one, who had married, a resident till her death at ephesus. as late as the time of montanus ( - ), the "phrygians" traced their succession of prophets and prophetesses back to silvanus and the daughters of philip. footnote : the mention of agabus, however, in xi. f. is hardly consistent with xiii. and xxi. - . it seems to be due to the editorial recasting of xi. - . we cannot be sure that the traditions papias reported from these prophetesses were derived at first hand, though it is not impossible that papias himself may have seen them. however it is certain that many of his traditions of 'the elders' had to do with eschatology, and aimed to prove the material and concrete character of the rewards of the kingdom; for we have several examples of these traditions, attributing to jesus apocryphal descriptions of the marvellous fertility of palestine in the coming reign of messiah, and particularizing about the abodes of the blessed. moreover eusebius blames papias for the crude ideas of irenæus and other second century fathers who held the views called "chiliastic" (_i. e._ based on the "thousand" year reign of christ in rev. xx. f.). we also know that papias defended the "trustworthiness" of revelation, a book which served as the great authority of the "chiliasts" for the next fifty years in their fight against the deniers of the resurrection. he quoted from it, in fact, the passage above referred to; so that if reason must be sought for his placing "john and matthew" together at the end of his list of seven apostles instead of in their usual place, it is probably because they were his ultimate apostolic authorities for the "word of prophecy" and for the "commandment of the lord" respectively. justin martyr, papias' contemporary at rome, though converted in ephesus, and unquestionably determined in his mould of thought by asiatic paulinism, has, like papias, but two _authorities_ for his gospel teaching: ( ) the commandment of the lord represented in the petrine and matthæan tradition; ( ) prophecy, represented in the christian continuation of the old testament gift. this second authority, however, is not appealed to without the support of apostolicity. revelation is quoted as among "our writings," like "the memorabilia of the apostles called gospels," but not without the additional assurance that the seer was "john, one of the _apostles_ of christ." for 'prophecy,' however acclimated elsewhere, was in its origin distinctively a palestinian product. its stock in trade was jewish eschatology as developed in the long succession of writers of 'apocalypse' since daniel ( b.c.). of the nature of this curious and fantastic type of literature we have seen some examples in nd thessalonians and the synoptic eschatology (mark xiii.=matt. xxiv.=luke xxi.). more can be learnt by comparing the contemporary jewish writings of this type known as nd esdras and the apocalypse of baruch. older examples are found in the prophecies and visions purporting to come from enoch. for apocalypse became the successor of true prophecy in proportion as the loss of israel's separate national existence and the enlargement of its horizon compelled it to make its messianic hopes transcendental, and its notion of the kingdom cosmic. hence comes all the phantasmagoria of allegorical monsters, spirits and demons, the great conflict no longer against assyria and babylon, but a war of the powers of light and darkness, heaven and hell. yet all centres still upon jerusalem as the ultimate metropolis of the world, whose empires, now given over to the leadership of satan, will soon lie prostrate beneath her feet. some such eschatology of divine judgment and reward is an almost necessary complement to the legalistic type of religion. if christianity be conceived as a system of commandments imposed by supernatural authority it must have as a motive for obedience a system of supernatural rewards and punishments. not merely, then, because for centuries the legalism of the scribes had actually had its corresponding development of apocalypse, with visions of the great judgment and day of yahweh, but because of an inherent and necessary affinity between the two, "judæa" continued to be the home of 'prophecy' in new testament times also. however, the one great example of this type of literature that has been (somewhat reluctantly) permitted to retain a place in the new testament canon appears at first blush to be clearly and distinctively a product of ephesus. of no book has early tradition so clear and definite a pronouncement to make as of revelation. since the time of paul the jewish ideas of resurrection provoked opposition in the greek mind. the greek readily accepted immortality, but the crudity of jewish millenarianism, with its return of the dead from the grave for a visible, concrete rule of messiah in palestine repelled him. the representation of acts xvii. is fully borne out by the constant effort of paul in his greek epistles to remove the stumbling-blocks of this doctrine. it is no surprise, then, to find the 'prophecy' of revelation, and more particularly its doctrine of the thousand-year reign of messiah in jerusalem, a subject of dispute at least since melito of sardis ( ), and probably since papias ( ). fortunately controversy brought out with unusual definiteness, and from the earliest times, positive statements regarding the origin of the book. irenæus ( ) declared it a work of the apostle john given him in vision "in the end of the reign of domitian." the same date ( ), may be deduced from statements of epiphanius regarding the history of the church in thyatira. justin martyr ( ), as we have seen, vouches for the crucial passage (rev. xx. f.) as from "one of ourselves, john, an apostle of the lord." papias ( ) vouched for its orthodoxy at least, if not its authenticity. there can be no reasonable doubt that it came to be accepted in asia early in the second century, in spite of opposition, as representing the authority of the apostle john, and as having appeared there c. . in fact, there is no book of the entire new testament whose external attestation can compare with that of revelation, in nearness, clearness, definiteness, and positiveness of statement. john is as distinctively the father of 'prophecy' in second century tradition as matthew of 'dominical precepts' and peter of 'narratives.' moreover the book itself purports to be written from patmos, an island off the coast of asia. it speaks in the name of "john" as of some very high and exceptional authority, well known to all the seven important churches addressed, the first of which is "ephesus." by its references to local names and conditions it even proves, in the judgment of all the most eminent modern scholars, that it really did see the light for the first time (at least for the first time in its present form) in ephesus not far from a.d. . one would think the case for apostolic authenticity could hardly be stronger. and yet no book of the new testament has had such difficulty as this, whether in ancient or modern times, to maintain its place in the canon. it must also be said that no book gives stronger internal evidence of having passed through at least two highly diverse stages in process of development to its present form. the theory of "another john" is indeed comparatively modern. nobody drammed of such a solution until dionysius of alexandria hesitatingly advanced the conjecture in his controversy with nepos the chiliast. even then (_c._ ) dionysius (though he must have known the little work of papias) could think of no other john at ephesus than the apostle, unless it were perhaps john mark! it is eusebius who joyfully helps him out with the discovery in papias of "john the elder." but eusebius himself is candid enough to admit that papias only quoted "traditions of john" and "mentioned him frequently in his writings." when we read papias' own words, though they are cited by eusebius for the express purpose of proving the debatable point, it is obvious that they prove nothing of the kind, but rather imply the contrary, viz. that john the elder, though a contemporary of papias, was not accessible, but known to him only at second hand, by report of travellers who "came his way." in short, as we have seen, "aristion and john the elder" were the surviving members of a group of 'apostles, elders and witnesses of the lord' in jerusalem. if, then, one chose to attribute the 'prophecies' of rev. iv.-xxi. to this elder there could be no serious objections on the score of doctrine, for the "traditions of john" reported by papias were not lacking in millenarian colour. only, it is not the 'prophecies' of rev. iv.-xxi. which contain the references to "john," but the enclosing prologue and epilogue; and these concern themselves with the churches of asia as exclusively as the 'prophecies' with the quarrel of jerusalem with rome. the second century is, as we have seen, unanimous in excluding from consideration any other john in asia save the apostle, and if the writer of rev. i. and xxii. produced this impression in all contemporary minds without exception, including even such as opposed the book and its doctrine, it is superlatively probable that such was his intention. the deniers of the resurrection and judgment did not point out to polycarp, papias, justin, melito and caius, that they were confusing two johns, attributing the work of a mere elder to the apostle. they plumply declared the attribution to john fictitious; and since the internal evidence from the condition of the churches and growth of heresy in chh. i.-iii. and the imperial succession down to domitian in chh. xiii. and xvii. strongly corroborate the date assigned in antiquity (_c._ ), we have no alternative, if we admit that the apostle john had long before been "killed by the jews,"[ ] but to suppose that this book, like nearly all the books of 'prophecy,' is, indeed, pseudonymous. it does not follow that he who assumes the name of "john" in prologue and epilogue (i. f., , ; xxii. ) to tell the reader definitely who the prophet is, was guilty of intentional misrepresentation. if anything can be made clear by criticism it is clear that the prophecies were not his own. they were taken from some nameless source. the "pseudonymity" consists simply in clothing a conjecture with the appearance of indubitable fact. footnote : see above, p. . but why should a writer who wished to clothe with apostolic authority the 'prophecies' he was promulgating, not assume boldly the title of "apostle," as the author of nd peter has done in adapting similarly the epistle of jude? why, if he assumes the name of the martyred apostle john at all, does he refrain from saying, "i john, an _apostle_, or _disciple of the lord_," and content himself with the humbler designation and authority of 'prophet'? this question brings us face to face with the most remarkable structural phenomena of the book, and cannot be understandingly answered until we have considered them. the outstanding characteristic of revelation is its adaptation of literary material dealing with, and applicable to, one historical and geographical situation, to another situation almost completely different. the opening chapters, devoted to "john's" vision on patmos and the conditions and dangers of the seven churches of asia, employ indeed some of the expressions of the substance of the book. the promises of the spirit to the churches recall the glories of the new jerusalem of the concluding vision of the seer. there is some reference to local persecution at smyrna incited by the jews ("a synagogue of satan") and which is to last "ten days," and there is an isolated reference to a martyrdom of days long gone by in the message to the church in pergamum (ii. ) recalling remotely the blood and suffering of which the body of the work is full. this we should of course expect from an adapter of existing 'prophecies.' but the converse, _i. e._ consideration for the historical conditions of ephesus and its sister churches, on the part of the body of the work, is absolutely wanting. on the one side is the situation of the pauline churches on the east coast of the Ægean in a.d. - . the prologue and epilogue (rev. i.-iii. and xxii. - ) are concerned with these churches of asia, and their development in the faith, particularly their growth in good works, purity from defilements of the world, and resistance to the inroads of heretical teaching. the message of the spirit, conveyed through "john," is meant to encourage the members of these churches to pure living in the face of temptations to worldliness and impurity. the epistles to the churches, in a word, belong in the same class with the pastorals, jude, and nd peter, as regards their object and the situation confronted; though they are written to enclose apocalyptic visions which deal with a totally different situation. the visions, on the contrary, take not the smallest notice of (proconsular) asia and its problems. their scene is palestine, their subject the outcome of jerusalem's agonizing struggle against rome. from the moment the threshold of iv. is crossed there is no consciousness of the existence of such places as ephesus, smyrna and thyatira. the scenes are palestinian. the great battle-field is har-magedon (_i. e._ city of megiddo, on the plain of esdraelon, the scene of josiah's overthrow, nd kings xxiii. f.). "the city," "the great city," "the holy city" is jerusalem; though "spiritually (in allegory) it is called sodom and egypt" (_i. e._ a place from which the saints escape to avoid its doom). when the saints flee from the oppression of the dragon it is to "the wilderness." when the invading hordes rush in it is from beyond "the euphrates." when the redeemed appear in company with the christ it is on mount zion; they constitute an army of , , twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes. two antagonistic powers are opposed. on the one side is jerusalem and its temple, now given over to the gentiles to be trodden under foot forty and two months, on the other is rome, no longer, as with paul, a beneficent and protecting power, but the city of the beast, babylon the great harlot, at whose impending judgment the gentiles will mourn, but all the servants of god rejoice. jerusalem rebuilt, glorified, the metropolis of the world, seat and residence of god and his christ, will take the place of rome, the seat of the beast and the false prophet. the gates of this new jerusalem will stand open to receive tribute from all the gentile nations, and will have on them the names of the twelve tribes of israel. the foundations of the city wall will have on them "the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." all this is cumulative proof that the horizon of the seer of rev. iv.-xx. is that of palestine. its expansion in the introductory letters of the spirit to the churches to include the seven churches of (proconsular) asia, is as limited in its way as the original. the later writer merely adds the special province where he wishes the 'prophecy' to circulate, with its special interests; there is no real interrelation of the two parts. it is a problem of great complexity to disentangle the various strands of this strange and fantastic work, certain as it is that we have here a conglomerate whose materials come from various periods. some elements, such as ch. xi. on the fate of jerusalem, seem to date in part from before ; others, such as ch. xviii. on the fate of rome, show that while originally composed for the circumstances of the reign of vespasian or titus, the time has been extended to take in at least the beginning of that of domitian.[ ] the author rests mainly upon the hebrew apocalyptic prophets, such as ezekiel, daniel and enoch, but he has not been altogether inhospitable to such originally gentile mythology as the doctrine of the seven spirits of god, and the conflict of michael and his angels with the dragon. he intimates himself that his prophesying had not been confined to one period or one people (x. ). when he translates the "hebrew" name of the angel of the abyss, "abaddon," into its greek equivalent (ix. ), or uses hebrew numerical equivalents for the letters of the name of a man (xiii. ), it is not difficult to guess that this prophecy had at least its origin in palestine. in fact, there is no other country where the geographical references hold true, and no other period save that shortly after the overthrow of jerusalem by titus, that affords the historical situation here presupposed, when worshipping "the beast and his image" is demanded of the saints by the earthly ruler (domitian), and the overthrow of the seven-hilled city by one of its own rulers in league with lesser powers is looked forward to as about to avenge the sufferings inflicted on the jews. as regards this hope of the overthrow of rome, we know that the legend of nero's prospective return at the head of hosts of parthian enemies to recapture his empire gained currency in asia minor in domitian's reign, and this legend is certainly developed in rev. xiii. and xvii. on the other hand, the author, if he ever came to asia, did not cease to be a palestinian jew. he operates exclusively (after iv. ) with the materials and interests of jewish and jewish-christian apocalypse. he has no interest whatever in the churches of asia. he does not betray by one syllable a knowledge even of their existence, to say nothing of their dangers, their heresies, their temptations. he does make it abundantly clear that he is a christian prophet (x. - ), and (to us) almost equally clear that he is _not_ one of the twelve apostles whose names he sees written on the foundation-stones of the new jerusalem (xxi. ). but since his prophecy, with all its heterogeneous elements had to do with the final triumph of messiah, and the establishment of his kingdom, after the overthrow of the power of satan--since it depicted "the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints and to them that fear thy name," it could not fail to be welcomed by orthodox christians in (proconsular) asia. for the churches of asia were engaged at this time in a vigorous struggle against the heretical deniers of the resurrection and judgment. only, a mere anonymous prophecy from palestine could not obtain any authoritative currency in asia. to be accepted, even among the orthodox, some name of apostolic weight must be attached to it, as we see in the case of the two epistles of peter and those of james and jude. the epistles of the spirit to the churches are, then, as truly "letters of commendation" as though they introduced a living prophet and not merely a written prophecy. the john whom they present is not called an apostle for the very simple reason that the visions themselves everywhere refer to their recipient as a 'prophet.' the author of the prologue and epilogue does not disregard the language of his material. as we have seen, he carefully weaves its phraseology into the 'letters.' so with his insertion of the name "john." it occurs nowhere but in i. f., , and xxii. f. all these passages, but especially xxii. f., are based upon xix. _b_, , adding nothing to the representation but the name "john" and the location "patmos." in fact, xxii. - reproduces xix. f., for the most part verbatim, although it is clearly insupposable that the seer of the former passage should represent himself as offering a _second_ time to worship the angel, and as receiving _again_ exactly the same rebuke he had received so shortly before. he who calls himself "john" in xxii. is, therefore, _not_ the prophet of xix. . the epilogue itself has apparently received successive supplements, and the prologue its prefix; but he who inserts the name john has done so with caution. he may not have intended to leave open the ambiguity found by dionysius and eusebius between the apostle and the elder, as a refuge in case of accusation, but he has at least been careful not to transgress the limits of the text he reproduces. the seer spoke of himself as a "_prophet_" writing from the midst of great _tribulation_, about the _kingdom_ to follow to those that _endured_. he had said that he received "true _words of god_" from an _angel_ who declared "i am a fellow _servant_ with thee and with thy _brethren_ that hold _the testimony of jesus_" (_i. e._ the confession of martyrdom). the prologue, accordingly, describes "john" as a _servant_ of jesus, who received from an _angel_ the _word of god_ and _the testimony of jesus_ (i. f.). he is a _brother_ and partaker in the _tribulation_ and _kingdom_ and _endurance_ which are in jesus. when he comes to asia it is "for the _word of god_ and _the testimony of jesus_." the spot whence he issues his prophetic message is not located in ephesus, or in any city where the residents could say, "but the apostle john was never among us." he resides temporarily (as a prisoner in the quarries?) in the unfrequented island of patmos. thence he could be supposed to see "in the spirit" the condition of affairs in the churches of asia without inconvenient questions as to when, and how, and why. footnote : note the addition of an "eighth" emperor in ver. . we may think, then, of this book of 'prophecy' as brought forth in the vicinity of ephesus near "the end of the reign of domitian" ( ). but only the enclosing letters to the churches, and the epilogue guaranteeing the contents, originate here at this time. the 'prophecies,' occupied as they are exclusively with the rivalry of jerusalem and rome, and the judgment to be executed for the former upon her ruthless adversary, bear unmistakable marks of their palestinian origin, not only in the historical and geographic situations presupposed, but in the "defiant" hebraisms of the language, and the avowed translations from "the hebrew." they are an importation from palestine like "the sound words, even the words of the lord jesus" referred to in the pastorals. the churches of asia are feeling the need of apostolic authority against the deniers of the resurrection and the judgment, as much as against the perverters of the lord's words. such centres as the homes of the prophesying daughters of philip at ephesus and hierapolis were even more abundantly competent to supply this demand than the other. agabus will not have been the only judæan prophet who visited them, especially after the "great tribulation" which befell "those in judæa." there is nothing foreign to the habit of the times, even in christian circles, if nameless 'prophecies' from such a source are translated, edited, and given out under cover of commendatory epistles written in the name of "john" at a time when john had indeed partaken both of the tribulation and of the kingdom of jesus. they would hardly have obtained currency had they not been attributed to an apostle; for a denial of the apostolicity of this book has always deprived it of authority. on the other hand, the actual (palestinian) prophet has no such exalted opinion of himself as of those whose names he sees written on the foundation of the walls of the new jerusalem (xxi. ). he is not an apostle and does not claim to be. he shows not the faintest trace of any association with the earthly jesus, and indeed displays a vindictiveness toward the enemies of israel that has more of the spirit of the imprecatory psalms than the spirit of jesus. he thinks of jesus as a king and judge bestowing heavenly rewards upon the martyrs in a manner quite inconsistent with his rebuke of james and john (mark x. ). it is a far cry indeed from this to apostleship and personal intimacy with jesus. the chief value of revelation to the student of christian origins is that by means of its clearly determinable date (ephesus, - ) he can place himself at a point of vantage whence to look not only around him at the conditions of the pauline churches as depicted in the letters, vexed with growing gnostic heresy and moral laxity, but also both backward and forward. the backward glance shows palestine emerging from the horrors of the jewish war, filled with bitterness against rome, held down under hateful tyranny and longing for vengeance upon the despot with his "names of blasphemy" and his demands of worship for "the image of the beast" (emperor-worship). here jewish apocalyptic (as in nd esdras) and christian 'prophecy' are closely in accord. indeed a considerable part of the material of rev. iv.-xxi., especially in chh. xi.-xii. is ultimately of jewish rather than christian origin. what the development of christian 'prophecy' was in palestine from apostolic times until the scattering of the church of "the apostles and elders" after the war of bar cocheba ( ), we can only infer from the kindred jewish apocalypses and the chiliastic "traditions of the elders" quoted by irenæus from papias. a forward look from our vantage point in ephesus _c._ a.d. , shows the effects of the palestinian importation extending down from generation to generation, first in the long chiliastic controversy against the doketic gnostics, including montanist 'prophecy'; secondly, in the growth of a claim to apostolic succession from john. ( ) in the chiliastic controversy for a century the chief bones of contention are the (non-pauline) doctrine of the resurrection of the _flesh_ (so the apostles' creed and the second-century fathers), and that of a visible reign of christ for a thousand years in jerusalem. the new form of resurrection-gospel which at about this time begins to take the place of the apostolic of st cor. xv. - , centering upon the emptiness of the sepulchre and the tangibility and food-consuming functions of jesus' resurrection body, instead of the "manifestations" to the apostles, is characteristic of this struggle against the greek disposition to spiritualize. luke and ignatius represent the attitude of the orthodox, ignatius' opponents that of those who denied that jesus was "in the flesh after his resurrection." revelation, like the "traditions of the elders," champions the visible kingdom of messiah in jerusalem. ( ) in the effort for apostolic authority the writings which came ultimately to represent asian orthodoxy have all been brought under the name and authority of the apostle john, although for many decades after the appearance of revelation, paul, and not john, remains the apostolic authority to which appeal is made, and although the writings themselves were originally anonymous. there was, indeed, a contributory cause for the growth of this tradition in the accidental circumstance that a palestinian elder from whom papias derived indirect, and polycarp in all probability direct, traditions, bore also the name of john, and survived until a.d. . still, the main reason why this particular apostolic name was ultimately placed over the gospel and epistles of ephesian christendom, can only have been its previous adoption to cover the compilation of palestinian 'prophecies' of a.d. . part iv the literature of the theologian chapter ix the spiritual gospel and epistles asia, as we have come to know it through a succession of writings dating from colossians-ephesians (_c._ ) down to papias ( ), had come to be the chief scene of mutual reaction between 'apostolic' and pauline christianity at the close of the first century. here at ephesus had been the great headquarters of paul's missionary activity. here he had reasoned daily in the school of one tyrannus, a philosopher, and had found "many adversaries." here he had encountered the "strolling jews, exorcists," and had secured the destruction of an immense mass of books of magic. here, according to acts, he predicted the inroads of heresy after his "departure," and here the succeeding literature abundantly witnesses the fulfilment of the prediction. ephesians and colossians begin the series, the pastoral epistles (_c._ ) continue it. then follow the 'letters to the churches' of revelation ( ) and the ignatian epistles ( - ), not to mention those whose origin is uncertain, such as jude and nd peter. the pastorals already make it apparent that even the pauline churches are not exempt from the inevitable tendency of the age to fall back upon authority. the very sublimity of paul's consciousness of apostolic inspiration made it the harder for the next generation to assert any for itself. moreover heresy was growing apace. if even the outward pressure of persecution tended to drive the churches together in brotherly sympathy, still more indispensable would appear the need of traditional standards to maintain the "type of sound doctrine," "the faith once for all delivered to the saints." without such it would be impossible to check the individualism of errorists who took paul's sense of personal inspiration and mystical insight as their model, _without_ paul's sobriety of critical control under the standard of "the law of christ." it is no surprise, then, to find even at the headquarters of paulinism early in the second century a sweeping tendency to react toward the 'apostolic' standards. in particular, as gnostic exaggeration of the pauline mysticism led continually further toward disregard of the dictates of common morality, and a wider divergence from the jewish conceptions of the world to come, it was natural that men like polycarp and papias should turn to the matthæan and petrine tradition of the lord's oracles, and to the johannine 'prophecies' regarding the resurrection and judgment. had nothing intervened between gnostics and reactionaries the most vital elements of paul's gospel might well have disappeared, even at this great headquarters of paulinism. the doketists, with their exaggerated hellenistic mysticism, were certainly not the true successors of paul. they showed an almost contemptuous disregard for the historic jesus, a one-sided aim at personal redemption, by mystic union of the individual soul with the christ-spirit, to the disregard of "the law of christ," even in some cases of common morality. paul was characterized by a splendid loyalty to personal purity, to the social ideal of the kingdom, and to the unity of the brotherhood in the spirit of reciprocal service. on the other hand men like the author of the pastoral epistles, ignatius and polycarp, with their almost panic-stricken resort to the authority of the past, were not perpetuating the true spirit of the great apostle. their reliance was on ecclesiastical discipline, concrete and massive miracle in the story of jesus, particularly on the point of the bodily--or, as they would have said, the "fleshly"--resurrection. their conception of his recorded "words," made of them a fixed, superhuman standard and rule, a "new law." teachers of this type, much as they desired and believed themselves to be perpetuating the "sacred deposit" of paul, were in reality conserving its form and missing its spirit. such men would gladly "turn to the tradition handed down," of the matthæan sayings, and the petrine story. but in the former they would not find reflections of the sense of son ship. they would find only a supplementary law, a new and higher set of rules. in the story they would not discover the pauline view of the pre-existent divine wisdom tabernacling in man, producing a second adam, as elder brother of a new race, the children and heirs of god. they would take the mysticism of paul and bring it down to the level of the man in the street. jesus would be to them either a completely superhuman man, approximating the heathen demi-god, a divinity incognito; or else a man so endowed with "the whole fountain of the spirit" as to exercise perpetually and uninterruptedly all its miraculous functions. the story of the cross would be hidden behind the prodigies. least of all could the importation of apocalyptic prophecy do justice to the pauline doctrine of the 'last things.' true, paul is himself a 'prophet,' thoroughly imbued with the fantastic palestinian doctrines. he, too, believes in a world-conflict, a triumph of the messiah over antichrist. more particularly in one of his very earliest epistles ( nd thessalonians) we get a glimpse into these jewish peculiarities. but these are always counterbalanced in paul by a wider and soberer view, which tends more and more to get the upper hand. his doctrine of spiritual union with christ, present apprehension of "the life that is hid with christ in god," a doctrine of greek rather than hebrew parentage, prevails over the imagery of jewish apocalypse. in the later epistles he expects rather to "depart and be with christ" than to be "caught up into the air" with those that are alive and remain at the 'coming.' so even if paul did have occasion again and again to defend his jewish resurrection-doctrine against the greek disposition to refine it away into a mere doctrine of immortality, his remedy is not a mere falling back into the crudities of jewish millenarianism. least of all could he have sympathized with the nationalistic, and even vindictive spirit of rev. iv.-xxi., with its great battle of jerusalem helped by messiah and the angels, against rome helped by satan and the beast. paul's doctrine of the resurrection of the "body" by "clothing" of the spirit with a "tabernacle" derived "from heaven," his hope of a messianic kingdom which is the triumph of humanity under a "second adam," has its apocalyptic traits. it is a victory over demonic enemies, "spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"; but it has the reserve of an educated pharisee against the cruder forms of jewish prophecy. it shows the mind of the cosmopolitan roman citizen and philosophic thinker, not merely that of the jewish zealot. how salutary if paul himself could have lived to control the divergent elements among his churches, to check the subjective individualism of the gnostics on the one hand, and the reactionary tendencies of the orthodox on the other. his parting words to his beloved philippians are sadly appreciative of how needful it was for their sake that he should "abide in the flesh" (phil. i. ). yet there was one thing still more expedient--that he should abide with them in the spirit. and that is just what we find evidenced in the great 'spiritual' gospel and its accompanying epistles from ephesus. debate still rages over a mere name, attached by tradition to these writings that themselves bear no name. the titles prefixed by early transcribers attribute them to "john." but they are never employed before - in a way to even remotely suggest that they were then regarded as written by john, or even as apostolic in any sense. and when we trace the tradition back to its earliest form, in the epilogue attached to the gospel (john xxi.) it seems to be no more than a dubious attempt to identify that mysterious figure, the "disciple whom jesus loved." if, however, we postpone this question raised by the epilogue, the writings can at least be assigned to a definite locality (ephesus) and a fairly definite date (_c._ - ), with the general consent both of ancient tradition and of modern criticism. this is for us the important thing, since it enables us to understand their purpose and bearing; whereas even those who contend that they were written by the apostle john can make little use of the alleged fact. for ( ) the little that is known of john from other sources is completely opposed to the characteristics of these writings. they are characterized by a broad universalism, and reproduce the mysticism of paul. to attribute them to the pillar of gal. ii. , or the galilean fisherman of mark i. and ix. , it becomes necessary to suppose that john after migrating to ephesus underwent a transformation so complete as to make him in reality another man. ( ) the meagre possibility that the basis of revelation might represent the apostle john becomes more remote than ever. now it is a curious fact that critics who hold to the much-disputed tradition that the apostle john wrote the gospel and epistles, although these writings make no such claim, and have no affinity with the known character, show as a rule remarkable alacrity to dismiss the claims of revelation, which positively declares john to have been its author, and has far stronger evidence, both internal and external, in support of the claim, than have either the gospel or the epistles. we may prefer the style and doctrine of the gospel and epistles, but this playing fast and loose with the evidence can only discredit criticism of this type. ( ) the value of the demonstration of johannine authorship would lie in the fact that we should then have a first-hand witness to the actual life and teaching of jesus, immeasurably superior to the remote and indirect tradition of the present synoptic sources. but as a matter of real fact those who maintain the johannine authorship do not venture to assert any such historical superiority. on the contrary they consider the synoptic tradition not only historically superior to "john," as respects both sayings and course of events, but they are apt to attribute to this galilean apostle an extreme of philonic abstraction, so that he even prefers deliberate "fiction" to fact. thus the reasoning employed to defend the tradition destroys the only factor which could give it value. on the other hand it is possible to disregard these secondary disputes, which aim only to increase or diminish the authority of the writings by asserting or denying that they were written by the apostle john, and to approach the interpretation of them on the basis only of what is really known, accredited both by ancient tradition and by modern criticism. on this basis we can safely affirm that they originated in ephesus early in the second century, 'spiritualizing' what we have designated 'apostolic' teaching, while at the same time strongly reacting against doketic and antinomian heresy. by such a procedure we shall be employing modern critical methods to the highest practical advantage in the interest of genuinely historical interpretation. even those who find minute distinctions in style and point of view between the epistles and gospel of john will admit that all four documents emanate from the same period, situation, and circumstances, and represent the same school of thought. we shall make no serious mistake, then, if we treat them as written by the same individual, and even as intended to accompany one another. we shall have the example of so high an authority as lightfoot, who considered st john an epilogue composed to accompany the gospel in place of the present epilogue (john xxi.). moreover the distinctions in the ancient treatment of st john and the two smaller epistles are all subsequent to the attribution of the gospel and first epistle to the apostle, and a consequence of it. for st john and the gospel had always been inseparable, and having no name attached could easily be treated as the apostle's. but nd and rd john distinctly declare themselves written by an "elder"; and in the days when men still appreciated the distinction between an elder and an apostle it was felt to be so serious a difficulty that nd and rd john were put in the class of "disputed" writings. in reality st john and the gospel are just as certainly the work of an "elder" as nd john and rd john, though no declaration to that effect is made. moreover st john and the gospel may safely be treated as from the same author; for such minute differences as exist in style and point of view can be fully accounted for by the processes of revision the gospel has demonstrably undergone. this is more reasonable than to imagine two authors so extraordinarily similar to one another and extraordinarily different from everybody else. "the elder" does not give his name, and it is hopeless for us to try to guess it, though it was of course well known to his "beloved" friend "gaius," to whom the third letter (the outside envelope) was addressed. we have simply three epistles, one ( rd john) personal, to the aforesaid gaius, who is to serve as the writer's intermediary with "the church," because diotrephes, its bishop, violently opposes him. another ( nd john) is addressed to a particular church ("the elect lady and her children"), in all probability the church of diotrephes and gaius. it may be the letter referred to in rd john . the third ( st john) is entirely general, not even so much modified from the type of the homily toward that of the epistle as hebrews or james; for it has neither superscription nor epistolary close. and yet it is, and speaks of itself (i. ; ii. , , , - , etc.) as a literary product. it is not impossible that this group of 'epistles,' one individual, one to a particular church, one general, was composed after the plan of the similar group addressed by paul to churches of this same region, philemon, colossians, and the more general epistle known to us as ephesians. they may have been intended to accompany and introduce the gospel written by the same author, just as the prophecies of rev. iv.-xxi. are introduced by the 'epistles' of rev. i.-iii., or as luke-acts is sent under enclosure to theophilus for publication under his patronage. at all events, be the connection with the gospel closer or more remote, to learn anything really reliable about the writer and his purpose and environment we must begin with his own references to them, first in the letter to gaius, then in that to "the elect lady and her children," then in his 'word of exhortation' to young and old, of st john. thus we shall gain a historical approach finally to that treatise on the manifestation of god in christ which has won him the title since antiquity of the 'theologian.' third john shows the author to be a man of eminence in the (larger?) church whence he writes, old enough to speak of gaius with commendation as one of his "children," though gaius himself is certainly no mere youth, and eminent enough to call diotrephes to answer for his misconduct. he has sent out evangelistic workers, some of whom have recently returned and borne witness "before the church" to their hospitable reception by gaius. for this he thanks gaius, and urges him to continue the good work. the main object of the letter, however, is to commend demetrius, who is doubtless the bearer of this letter as well as another written "to the church" ( nd john?). this letter, the author fears, will never reach its destination if diotrephes has his way. there is very little to indicate whence the opposition of diotrephes arises, but what little there is (ver. ) points to those who make claims to "seeing" god and being "of" him, without adequate foundation in a life of purity and beneficence. the letter "to the church" is more explicit. second john is perfectly definite in its purpose. after congratulating the "elect lady" on those of her children (members) whom the writer has found leading consistent christian lives, he entreats the church to remember the "new commandment" of jesus, which yet is not new but the foundation of all, the commandment of ministering love. the reason for this urgency is that "many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that jesus christ cometh in the flesh" (ver. ). and here we come upon a very novel and distinctive application of an ancient datum of 'prophecy,' clearly differentiating this writer from the author of revelation. the doketic heresy is explicitly identified with "the deceiver and the antichrist." that must have been a new and surprising turn for men accustomed to connect the antichrist idea with the persecuting power of rome. satan, as we know, had been repeatedly conceived as operating through the coercion of outward force brought against the messiah and his people through the beast and the false prophet (rev. xiii.). there was good authority, too, for a mystical "man of sin" setting himself forth as god in the temple ( nd thess. ii. ), or for connecting daniel's "abomination that maketh desolate" with the sufferings of the jewish war and the later attempts of false prophets to deceive the elect with lying wonders ( nd thess. ii. ; mark xiii. ; rev. xiii. ). but this was a new application of the prophecy. to declare that the heretical teachers were themselves antichrists was to call the attention of the church back from outward opposition to inward disloyalty as the greater peril. and the identification is not enunciated in this general warning alone, but fully developed and defended in two elaborate paragraphs of the 'word of exhortation' ( st john ii. - ; iv. - ). when, therefore, we find polycarp in his letter ( - ) quietly adopting the idea, almost as an understood thing, declaring "for every one who shall not confess that jesus christ is come in the flesh, is antichrist" (vii. ), it becomes almost a certainty that he had read st john.[ ] footnote : not nd john; for it is only in st john ii. that the elder speaks of "many antichrists," identifying each separate doketist with the apocalyptic figure. in nd john vii. it is the heresy itself as a phenomenon which constitutes _the_ antichrist. our elder's warning "to the church" (perhaps more particularly its governing body) is to beware of these deceivers; not to receive them, nor even to greet them, because they "go onward" (are 'progressives') and do not "abide in the teaching of christ." to abide in this "teaching" is the church's only safeguard. if next we turn to the more general epistle known as st john the lack of any superscription is more than counterbalanced by the writer's full and explicit declarations regarding motive and occasion. the epistle was certainly intended to be read before entire congregations. of part of it at least the author himself says that it was "written concerning them that would lead you astray" (ii. ). comparison of the full denunciation with what we know of doketism from its own writings, such as the so-called _acts of john_ (_c._ ), shows very plainly what type of heresy is meant. moreover we have the epistles of ignatius, written to these same churches but a few years later, and the detailed descriptions of the doketist cerinthus and his doctrines given by irenæus, together with the explicit statement that the writings of john were directed against this same cerinthus. yet st john is far more than a mere polemic. the author writes to those "that believe on the name of the son of god, that they may know that they have eternal life" (v. ). this certainly is the result of the conscious indwelling of the spirit of jesus. it is not evidenced, however, by boastful words as to illumination, insight and knowledge, but by practical obedience to the one new commandment; for "god is love, and he that _loveth_ (not he that hath _gnosis_) is begotten of god and knoweth god." this inward witness of the spirit is a gift, or (to use our author's term) an "anointing" (_i. e._ a 'christ'-ening), whose essence is as much beyond the greek's ideal of wisdom, on the one side, as it is beyond the jew's ideal of miraculous powers on the other. it is a spirit of ministering love corresponding to and emanating from the nature of god himself. this is "the teaching of christ" in which alone it is safe to "abide." but again as respects the historic tradition of the church our author is not less emphatic. he values the record of an actual, real, and tangible experience of this manifested life of god in man. the "progressives" may repudiate the mere jesus of "the flesh," in favour of one who comes by water only (_i. e._ in the outpouring of the spirit in baptism), and not by the blood of the cross. for the doctrine of the cross was a special stumbling-block to doketists, who rejected the sacrament of the bread and wine.[ ] the actual sending of god's only-begotten son into the world, the real "propitiation" for our sins (so lightly denied by the illuminati), is a vital point to the writer. the sins "of the whole world" were atoned for in jesus' blood actually shed on calvary. the church possesses, then, in this story a record of fact of infinite significance to the world. the doketists are playing fast and loose with this record of the historic jesus. they deny any value to the "flesh" in which the æon christ had merely tabernacled as its "receptacle" between the period of the baptism and the ascension--an event which they date _before_ the death on the cross.[ ] they are met here with a peremptory challenge and declaration. the experience of contact with the earthly jesus which the church cherishes as its most inestimable treasure is the assurance, and the only assurance that we have, of real fellowship with the father; for "the life, the eternal life" of god in man, the logos--to borrow frankly the stoic expression--is known not by mere mystical dreams, but by the historic record of those who personally knew the real jesus. the manifestation of god, in short, is objective and historical, and not merely inward and self-conscious; and that outward and objective manifestation may be summed up in what we of the christian brotherhood have seen and known of jesus. footnote : in the _acts of john_ the christ spirit which had been resident in jesus comes to john after he has fled to a cave on the mount of olives from the posse that arrested the lord. the sweet voice of the invisible christ informs him there that the blinded multitude below had tortured a mere bodily shape which they took to be christ, "while i stood by and laughed." in the _gospel of peter_ jesus hung upon the cross "as one who feels no pain" and was "taken up" before the end. footnote : see note preceding. it is when we approach the fourth gospel by way of its own author's adaptation of his message to the conditions around him that we begin to appreciate it historically, and in its true worth. the spirit of polemic is still prominent in st john, but the gospel shows the effect of opposition only in the more careful statement of the evangelist's exact meaning. it is a theological treatise, an interpretation of the doctrine of the person of christ, written that the readers "may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing they may have life in his name" (xx. ). in an age so eagerly bent on ascertaining the historic facts regarding jesus' life, and the true sequence of events (luke i. - ), it is insupposable that an author so strenuous to uphold the concrete reality of the church's historic tradition should not give real history so far as he was able. he could not afford to depreciate it in the face of doketic myth and fancy and contempt for a "christ in the flesh." the idea that such a writer could deliberately prefer fiction to fact is most improbable; ten times more so if he was the only surviving representative of the twelve, a galilean disciple even more intimate than peter with jesus from the outset. but real history was no longer attainable. the author of the fourth gospel reports no event which he does not take in good faith to be fact. yet it must be apparent from his own statement of his purpose as well as from the very structure of the book that he does not aim to be a historian, but an interpreter of doctrine. he aims to give not _fact_ but _truth_. and his handling of (supposed) fact has the freedom we should expect in a church teacher of that age, and of the school of paul the mystic. the seven progressive "signs" that he narrates, culminating in the raising of lazarus, are avowedly (xx. ) illustrative selections from a multitude of current tales of miracle, aiming to produce that faith in jesus as the son of god which will result in "life," _i. e._ the eternal life which consists in his indwelling ( st john v. ). they are not described as acts of pity, drawn from one with whom the power of god was found present to heal. jesus does not yield as in the synoptics when compassion for trusting need overcomes reluctance to increase the importunity that interfered with his higher mission. their prime purpose is to "manifest the glory" of the incarnate logos, and jesus performs them only when, and as, he chooses. pity and natural affection are almost trampled upon that this "manifestation of his glory" may be made more effective (ii. ; iv. ; ix. ; xi. - , ). as in paul, there is no exorcism. this most typical and characteristic miracle of petrine story (mark iii. ; acts x. ) has disappeared. or rather (as in paul) the casting out of satan from his dominion over the entire world has transcended and superseded it (john xii. - ; _cf._ col. ii. ). in john, requests for miracle, whether in faith or unbelief, always incur rebuke (ii. ; iv. ; vi. - ; vii. - ; xi. - ). jesus offers and works them when "his hour" comes, whether applied for or not (v. - ; vi. ; ix. - ). his reserve is not due to a limitation of almighty power; for the power is declared explicitly to be his, _in his own right_ (v. ; xi. , , ). he restrains it only that faith may rest upon conviction of the truth rather than mere wonder (ii. - ; iii. f.; iv. - , ; vi. - ; xiv. ). he is, in short, an omniscient (i. - ; ii. ), omnipotent being, temporarily sojourning on the earth (iii. ; xvi. ). the dialogue interwoven with these seven signs is closely related in subject to them. it does not aim to repeat remembered sayings, but follows that literary form which since plato had been the classic model for presenting the themes of philosophy. the subject-matter is no longer, as in the synoptics, the righteousness required by god, the nature and coming of the kingdom, duty to god and man. it is the person and function of the speaker himself. instead of the parables we have allegories: "seven 'i am's'" of jesus, in debate with "the jews" about the doctrine of his own person as son of god. this uniformity of topic corresponds with a complete absence of any attempt to differentiate in style between utterances of jesus, or the baptist, or the evangelist himself, in gospel or epistles. had the writer desired, it is certain that he could have collected sayings of jesus, and given them a form similar to those of matthew and luke. he does not try. the only device he employs to suggest a distinction is an oracular ambiguity at first misunderstood, and so requiring progressive unfolding. the main theme is often introduced by a peculiar and solemn "verily, verily." as with the 'signs' the lingering synoptic sense of progress and proportion has disappeared. at the very outset john the baptist proclaims to his followers that his own baptism has no value in itself. it is not "for repentance unto remission of sins." it is _only_ to make the christ "manifest" (i. - ). christ's atonement alone will take away the sin (i. ), christ's baptism alone will convey real help (i. ). jesus, too, proclaims himself from the outset the christ, in the full pauline sense of the word (i. - ; iv. , etc.). he chooses judas with the express purpose of the betrayal, and forces on the reluctant agents of his fate (vi. f.; xiii. f.; xviii. - ; xix. - ). all this, and much more which we need not cite, makes hardly the pretence of being history. it is frankly theology, or rather apologetics. we have as a framework the general outline of mark, a galilean and a judæan ministry (chh. i.-xii.; xiii.-xx.), with traces of a perean journey (vii. ff.). this scheme, however, is broken through by another based on the mosaic festal system, jesus showing in each case as he visits jerusalem, the higher symbolism of the ceremonial (ii. ff. passover; v. ff. pentecost; vii. ff. tabernacles; x. ff. dedication; xii. ff. passover). there is in chh. i.-iv. a 'teaching of baptisms' and of endowment with the spirit corresponding roughly to mark i. - . there is in ch. v. a teaching of the authority of jesus against moses and the law, corresponding to mark ii. --iii. . there is a teaching of the 'breaking of bread' corresponding to mark vi. --viii. in john vi., though this last has been related not merely to the brotherhood banquet ('love-feast') as in mark, but anticipates and takes the place of the teaching as to the eucharist (_cf._ john vi. - with john xiii.). there is a commission of the twelve like matt. x. - , though placed (with luke xxii. - ) as a second sending on the night of betrayal (xiii. --xviii. ). there is dependence on petrine story, and to some extent on matthæan sayings. in particular john xii. - combines the data of mark xiv. - with those of luke vii. - ; x. - in a curious compound, making it certain that the evangelist employed these two--and matthew as well, if xii. be genuine (it is not found in the ancient syriac). yet our synoptic gospels are not the only sources, and the material borrowed is handled with sovereign superiority. in short, as even the church fathers recognized, this gospel is of a new type. it does aim to "supplement" the others, as they recognized; but not as one narrative may piece out and complete another. rather as the unseen and spiritual supplements the external and visible. this gospel uses the established forms of miracle-story and saying; but it transforms the one into symbol, the other into dialogue and allegory. then by use of this material (supplemented from unknown, perhaps oral, sources) it constructs a series of interpretations of the person and work of the god-man. of one peculiarly distinctive feature we have still to speak. where the reader has special need of an interpreter to attest and interpret a specially vital fact, such as the scenes of the night of the betrayal, or the reality of jesus' propitiatory death (denied by the doketists), or the beginning of the resurrection faith, peter's testimony is supplemented and transcended by that of a hitherto unknown figure, who anticipates all that peter only slowly attains. this is the mysterious, unnamed "disciple whom jesus loved" (xiii. ff.; xviii. f.; xix. - ; xx. - ; _cf._ gal. xx. ), a paul present in the spirit, to see things with the eye of spiritual insight. there is no transfiguration-scene and no prayer of gethsemane in this gospel--transfiguration is needless where the glory shines uninterrupted through the whole career. prayer itself is impossible where oneness with the god-head makes difference of thought or purpose inconceivable. hence the prayers of jesus are often only "for the sake of those that stand by" (xi. f.). the same is true of the voice from heaven at the scene which takes the place of transfiguration and gethsemane in one (xii. - ). jesus will not ask for deliverance from that hour, because he had sought it from the beginning. his prayer is "father, glorify thy name." the voice, which some take to be an angel speaking to him (_cf._ luke ix. ; xxii. ) is for the sake of the bystanders. the voice at his baptism likewise is not addressed to him (the incarnate logos does not need a revelation of his own identity) but to the baptist. so again and again synoptic scenes are retouched and new scenes are added in a way to present a consistent picture of the "tabernacling" of the pre-existent son of god in human flesh. as we review the whole, and ask ourselves, what is the occasion of this strange new presentation of the evangelic message? we begin to realize how indispensable is the key which the evangelist has himself hung before the door. many and complex are the problems which confront us as we move through this heaped-up tangle of anecdote, dialogue, and allegory. there is room for the keenest scrutiny of criticism to determine, if possible, when, and how, and from what sources these meditations were put together. but nothing that critical insight, analysis, and comparison can furnish avails so much to throw real light upon the work as what the evangelist himself has done, by setting forth in a prologue (i. - ) the fundamental principles of his conception. in a word evangelic tradition as it had hitherto found currency still lacked the fundamental thing in the christology of paul--the incarnation doctrine. paul conceived the story of jesus as a supernal drama, beginning and ending in heaven at god's right hand. even matthew and luke, carrying back the adoption to son ship from the baptism to the birth of jesus, had not essentially changed the pre-pauline point of view. still there was no pre-existence. jesus was not yet shown as the wisdom of god, through whom all things were created, the "heavenly man," the second adam, taking upon him the form of a servant, humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death, rich, and for our sakes becoming poor. he was still, even in mark, just the prophet mighty in deed and word, raised up by god from among his brethren, and for his obedience exalted to the messianic throne of glory. how _could_ this satisfy churches trained in the doctrine of paul? we should almost rather marvel that the synoptic narratives ever found lodgment at all, where paul had preached from the beginning a doctrine of the eternal christ. and the transformation is not one whit more radical than we ought to anticipate. the transfiguration story had been a halting attempt to embody pauline doctrine in petrine story. but apart from the obvious hold afforded to mere doketism, how inadequate to paul's conception of the "man from heaven"! the fourth evangelist depicts the person of jesus consistently and throughout, despite his meagre and refractory material, along the lines of pauline christology. there is no concession to doketism, for in spite of all, and designedly (iv. ; xix. , ), jesus is still no phantasm, but true man among men. there is no hesitation to override, where needful, on vital points the great and growing authority of 'apostolic' tradition. tacitly, but uncompromisingly, petrine tradition is set aside. the "disciple whom jesus loved" sees the matter otherwise. in particular, apocalyptic eschatology is firmly repressed in favour of a doctrine of eternal life in the spirit. the second coming is not to be a manifestation "to the world." it will be an inward indwelling of god and christ in the heart of the believer (xiv. f.).[ ] the place of future reward is not a glorified palestine and transfigured, rebuilt jerusalem. the disciple, like paul, will "depart to be with christ." the father's house is wider than the holy land. it has "many mansions," and the servant must be content to know that his master will receive him where he dwells himself (xiv. - ; xvii. ). footnote : some few passages inconsistent with this are found in the body of the gospel. like that of the appendix (xxi. ) they are later modifications of a doctrine too hellenic for the majority. to realize what it meant to produce the 'spiritual' gospel that comes to us from ephesus shortly after the close of the first century we must place ourselves side by side with men who had learnt the gospel of paul _about_ jesus, the drama of the eternal, pre-existent, "heavenly man," incarnate, triumphant through the cross over the prince of this world and powers of darkness. we must realize how they found it needful to impregnate the 'apostolic' material of petrine and matthæan tradition with this deeper significance, preserving the concrete, historic fact, and the real manhood, and yet supplementing the disproportionately external story with a wealth of transcendental meaning. the spirit of paul was, indeed, not dead. neither gnostic heresy could dissipate it, nor reactionary christianized legalism absorb it. it had been reborn in splendid authority and power. in due time it would prove itself the very mould of 'catholic' doctrine. the fourth gospel, as its prologue forewarns, is an application to the story of jesus as tradition reported it of the pauline incarnation doctrine formulated under the stoic logos theory. it represents a study in the psychology of religion applied to the person of christ. poor as paul himself in knowledge of the outward jesus, unfamiliar with really historical words and deeds, its doctrine _about_ jesus became, nevertheless, like that of the great apostle to the gentiles, the truest exposition of 'the heart of christ.' chapter x epilogues and conclusions few of the great writings cherished and transmitted by the early church have escaped the natural tendency to attachments at beginning and end. in the later period such attachments took the form of prefixed _argumenta_, _i. e._ prefatory descriptions of author and contents, and affixed _subscriptions_, devoted to a similar purpose. these, like the titles, were clearly distinguished from the text itself, and in modern editions are usually not printed, though examples of 'subscriptions' may be seen in the king james version after the pauline epistles. before the time when canonization had made such a process seem sacrilege they were attached to the text itself, with greater or less attempt to weld the parts together. we need not add to what has been already said as to certain superscriptions of the later epistolary literature, such as james and jude, where the relation to the text impresses us as closer than is sometimes admitted; nor need we delay with the preamble to revelation (rev. i. - ). that which has been added at the close, in cases where real evidence exists of such later supplementation, is of special significance to our study, inasmuch as it tends to throw light where light is most required. for that is an obscure period, early in the second century, when not only the churches themselves were drawing together toward catholic unity under the double pressure of inward and outward peril, but were bringing with them their treasured writings, sometimes a collection of epistles, sometimes a gospel, or a book of prophecy, sometimes, as in the groups of writings attributed to john and peter, a full canon of gospel, epistles and apocalypse, followed but little later by 'acts' as well. the most ancient list of books authorized to be publicly read that we possess is that of the church of rome _c._ , called after its discoverer the canon of muratori. from this fragment, mutilated at beginning and end, we learn that paul's letters to the churches were arranged in a group of seven[ ] of which romans stood last. it is probably due to its position at the end that romans has been supplemented by the addition of pauline fragments, which did not appear in some early editions of the text. the letter proper ends with ch. xv. though xvi. - probably followed, perhaps concluding with ver. , which some texts insert after ver. . ver. - is another fragment omitted in some texts. footnote : the personal letters formed a separate group. two letters to the same church ( st cor., nd cor.) were counted as one. marcion ( ) counted ten in all, and had a different order. we have seen above (p. ) how revelation has received conclusion after conclusion, so that the relation of personalities has become almost unintelligible. we have very meagre textual material for revelation, and can scarcely judge whether any of the process represented in rev. xxii. - belongs to the period of transmission, after the publication of the book in its present form. until the discovery of new textual evidence the phenomena in revelation must be treated by principles of the higher criticism, as pertaining to its history before publication. at all events we know that the attribution to "john" (ver. f.) was current as early as justin's _apology_ ( ). the longer and shorter supplements to mark belong again to the field of textual criticism. the manuscripts and early translations carry us back to a time when neither ending was known; though only to leave us wondering how the necessity arose for composing them--a question of the higher criticism. mark xvi. - shows acquaintance with luke, and probably with john xx. it is noteworthy, however, in view of the author's attempt to cover the resurrection appearances of these two gospels, that he betrays no sign of acquaintance with john. xxi. in this case of the roman gospel, however, textual evidence enables us to trace something of the history of supplementation. the so-called 'shorter' ending provides a close for the incomplete story, resembling matthew, while the 'longer' is drawn from luke and john. i.-xx. subsequent employments show that the 'longer' ending had been attached (perhaps at rome) not later than _c._ . it is the first evidence we have of combination of the fourth gospel with the synoptics; for even justin, though _affected_ by john, does not _use_ it as he uses matthew, mark and luke. parity among the four is not traceable earlier than tatian (_c._ ), the father of gospel 'harmonies.' the 'shorter' ending, if not the longer as well, would seem to have been added in egypt. the supplements to mark have this at least of singular interest, that they show the progress of a process whose beginnings we traced back to palestine itself in the church of the 'apostles, elders and witnesses of the lord,' where "the elder" in the tradition reported by papias is already offering explanations of the disagreements of matthew and mark with a view to their concurrent circulation. after the addition of mark to matthew it was comparatively easy to take in luke-acts as a third, and to form composites out of the three such as the _gospel of peter_ (north syria _c._ ) and the _gospel of the nazarenes_ (coele-syria _c._ ). justin at rome (_c._ ) is still such a three-gospel man, though affected by the fourth; whereas his predecessor hermas ( - ) seems to rest on mark alone, though perhaps acquainted with matthew. the step was a harder one which aimed to take in the fourth gospel. tatian at rome (_c._ ) and theophilus at antioch ( ) are the agents of its accomplishment; and, as we have seen, it was not effected without a determined opposition, led at rome by the presbyter gaius, and answered by irenæus (_c._ ) and hippolytus (_c._ ). such opposition from the side of advocates of petrine apostolicity is anticipated in the most significant and important of all the epilogues, the so-called appendix or epilogue to the fourth gospel (john xxi.). just when, or where, this supplement was added is one of the most difficult problems of the higher criticism. on the side of external evidence we have the fact that it shows no effect in mark xvi. - , where john xx. is employed, and that there is a great change about a.d. in the treatment of this gospel and its related epistles, those who use them before this time showing no disposition to treat them as having high apostolic authority. on the side of internal evidence there are such data as the use of the second-century name for the sea of galilee ("sea of tiberias," xxi. ), and references to the martyrdom of peter at rome (xxi. f.) and to legends of john as the 'witness' who should survive until the coming (xxi. ). whether these data suggest an origin at ephesus, or at rome, and at just what date, are problems for technical research. that which is of chief interest for us is the motive and function of this supplement to the ephesian gospel, and the light it throws upon conditions in the church at large. it is quite apparent that john xxi. forms a subsequent attachment after the formal conclusion of the gospel proper in xx. f. for, apart from differences in style and doctrinal standpoint, it makes a complete new departure along the lines of mark's story of galilean resurrection manifestations; whereas the gospel follows the lukan type, and brings everything to a close without removal from jerusalem. the message to the disciples by the women at the sepulchre is here given by jesus in person as in matt. xxviii. , and is actually delivered as in luke xxiv. f. it is followed by the promised manifestation to the disciples with the overcoming of their incredulity, and by the great commission, accompanied by the gift of the spirit. the story has thus been brought to a formal conclusion, the invariable and necessary conclusion of all evangelic narratives. the author's recapitulation of the nature and contents of his book and assurance in direct address to the reader of his purpose in writing ("that _ye_ may believe") follows appropriately as a winding up of the whole. it is not conceivable that the same writer should resume immediately after this, at an earlier point in the narrative, where the disciples are still scattered in galilee, unconscious of their vocation and commission. for in spite of the endeavour of the supplementer in ver. to make this out "the third[ ] time that jesus was manifested" they have manifestly returned to their original means of livelihood unawakened to the resurrection faith. moreover the story culminates with a restoration of peter to favour, with unmistakable reference to his humiliating failure to live up to the promise (xiii. - ), "lord, why cannot i follow thee even now? i will lay down my life for thee" (_cf._ xxi. - ). if it had been the evangelist's intention to tell this he would have told it before the commission in xx. - . in short, we have here two widely variant forms of the tradition of the rallying of the disciples from their unbelief by the risen christ and commissioning of them to their task. the two commissions, one a general commission of all "the twelve," like matt. xviii. , the other a special commission of peter like matt. xvi. , are attached one after the other, with the curious infelicity that the restoration of peter from his defection, together with his installation as chief under-shepherd of the flock, comes _after_ the commission in which he has already appeared with the rest, restored to full faith and favour, and gifted with the inspiration and authority of the spirit. footnote : a miscount for "fourth," unless we disregard xx. - , or else (with wellhausen) consider xx. - an insertion later than the epilogue. it is true that the function of "tending the flock of god" (_cf._ st pet. v. ) committed to peter in xxi. - is a more special one than the apostolate conferred on all in xx. - ; but the epilogue has previously (xxi. - ) given to peter a special and commanding part in the apostolate (extension of the gospel to the world). no one will question that in such a writer as the fourth evangelist (and if anything still more the writer of the epilogue) narratives of miracle are intended to have a symbolical sense. nor will it be denied that the miraculous draft of fishes, which in luke v. - attends the original vocation of "simon,"[ ] is here applied to the work the twelve are to accomplish in the now opening future as "fishers of men." the particularization of the number of the fishes, and the statement that the peril of the rending of the net (_cf._ luke v. ) was happily avoided, are, of course, also intended to convey a symbolical sense, which jerome makes still easier to grasp by informing us that was taken by naturalists of the time to be the full number of all species of fish. john xxi. - is therefore a primitive story of the appearance of jesus after his resurrection "to peter and them that were with him," in galilee (not in jerusalem as in john i.-xx. and luke), having a relation to luke v. - , and probably also to matt. xiv. - (_cf._ john xxi. ). it is also nearly akin to the fragment at the end of the _gospel of peter_. it symbolizes the work of the apostolic mission under the figure of the fishing of men (_cf._ mark i. ; matt. xiii. - ), and gives to peter the leading part. in fact peter not only comes to the lord in advance of all the rest, and alone maintains with him something like the intimate relations of the past, but performs after his private interview with jesus the gigantic feat of bringing unaided to land the entire miraculous catch. the great and various multitude, which all working in common had enclosed in the net, but had not been able to lift into the boat, peter, at jesus' word, brought safely home. the writer who so employs the already conventionalized symbols of ecclesiastical imagery, surely had no mean idea of the apostleship of peter. in at least as high degree as the author of acts he conceives of peter as commissioned in a special sense to be the great director and leader of all missionary activity, to gentiles as well as jews (acts xv. ), and to have been the saviour of the unity of the church in the hour of its threatened disruption. when in addition he is invested by jesus with the insignia and office of chief under-shepherd of the flock of god, the stain of his threefold denial wiped out by a threefold opportunity to prove his special love by special service, and the ignominy of his previous failure to "follow" (xiii. - ) atoned for by the promise that in old age he shall have opportunity to follow jesus in martyrdom (xxi. f.), there remains nothing that the most exacting friend of 'catholic' apostolicity could demand in the way of tribute to its great representative. footnote : the addition in ver. _a_ and the plural "they" in ver. , are mere editorial adaptations of the story to mark i. - . and yet the main object of the epilogue has not yet been touched. it was not written, we may be sure, merely to glorify peter; though it is, of course, insupposable that the gospel in its primitive form simply left peter in the attitude of a renegade after xviii. , to reappear quite as if nothing had happened in xx. ff.[ ] it pays its tribute to peter as chief witness to the resurrection, chief apostle, chief saviour of the unity of the church, chief under-shepherd of the flock of god, in the interest of that catholic apostolic unity which all churchmen were so earnestly labouring to achieve in the writer's time, and for which the name of peter was increasingly significant. but the chief object of the epilogue is something else. it was written primarily to commend and find room for another authority, the authority of the gospel to which it is appended, and which repeatedly sets over against peter a mysterious unnamed figure, who always sees when peter is blind, believes when peter is unbelieving, is faithful when peter and all the rest have fled in cowardly desertion. the object of the epilogue is to find room alongside the growing and salutary authority of peter for the authority and message of "the disciple whom jesus loved." its purpose appears in its conclusion, "this (the disciple whom jesus loved) is the disciple which beareth witness of these things, and wrote these things, and we (the church which cherishes and gives forth this 'spiritual' gospel) know that his witness is true." footnote : we must conclude that _both_ these data from synoptic tradition, the denial (xiii. - ; xviii. - , - ) _and_ the restoration (ch. xxi.) are supplements to the original form of the gospel. the writer does not explicitly say that he means the apostle john (reputed in ephesus the author of revelation); for such direct identification might well endanger his own object. but he makes it clear in two ways that john is really intended, as, indeed, subsequent writers immediately infer.[ ] ( ) "the sons of zebedee" are introduced for the first time in the entire work in xxi. , among the group who are present with peter. an easy process of elimination,[ ] then, leaves open to identification as "the disciple whom jesus loved" (ver. ) only john, or else one of the two unnamed "other disciples," who could hardly be reckoned among jesus' closest intimates. footnote : the _muratorianum_ bases its legendary account of the writing of the fourth gospel by "john" with the endorsement of "his fellow-disciples and bishops" on john xxi. . footnote : the early death of james the son of zebedee (acts xii. ) excludes him from consideration. ( ) the scene of the prediction of peter's martyrdom (xxi. f.) is followed immediately (ver. - ) by a reference to traditions which we know to have been current before the close of the first century regarding the martyrdom of the two sons of zebedee, in particular regarding john. peter in xxi. raises the question as to the _fate_ of "the disciple whom jesus loved" (literally, "and as to this man, what?"). the pregnant command of jesus to peter, "follow me," is clearly intended to have reference to martyrdom (_cf._ xiii. f.), and it is obeyed by "the disciple whom jesus loved" as well as peter. peter's inquiry and the lord's reply had given rise "among the brethren" to the belief that this disciple would "tarry" till the coming. now it is of john, son of zebedee, and only of him, that we have a curious vacillation of ancient tradition between belief in his martyrdom in the same sense as his brother james (mark x. ), and a belief (probably based on mark ix. ) that he would tarry as an abiding witness until the coming ('white martyrdom'). the writer of the epilogue has manifestly these traditions about the fate of john in mind. he would have his readers understand that the enigmatic prophecy of jesus neither promised the permanent survival of john, nor his violent death, but was at least capable of an interpretation which set john alongside of peter, not as a rival of his leadership, or directive control, but simply as a witness ('martyr') to the truth. peter is willingly granted the office of 'ruling elder' in the church, if only "the disciple whom jesus loved" may have the function of the prophet and teacher 'in the spirit,' the man of faith and insight, whose function it is to interpret 'the mind of christ.' few things could be more significant of the conditions of christian life and thought in the earlier years of the second century than this epilogue, appended to the 'spiritual' gospel to commend it to general acceptance in the church. it is not vitally important whether the cautiously suggested identification of the beloved disciple with john, the son of zebedee, be correct or not. it is important to a historical appreciation of the great literary contribution of the churches of paul to the 'catholic' christianity of the second century, that we realize what petrine catholicity had then come to mean, and how the pauline spiritual gospel came half-way to meet it. on this point a study of the epilogues is rewarding, but especially of the great epilogue to the gospel of john. we have reached the period for our own concluding words. the process of combination and canonization of the new testament writings, which followed upon the consolidation of the churches in the second century falls outside our province. we have sought only to give some insight into the origins, considering the making of the new testament to apply rather to the creations of the formative period, when conscious inspiration was still in its full glow, than to the period of collection into an official canon. as we look back over the two leading types of christian thought, pauline and 'apostolic,' the greek-christian gospel _about_ jesus, and the jewish-christian gospel _of_ jesus, the gospel of the spirit and the gospel of authority, we cannot fail to realize how deep and broad and ancient are the two great currents of religious thought and life that here are mingling, contending, coming to new expression and clearer definition. each has its various subdivisions and modifications, pauline christianity in the greek world has its problems of resistance to hellenistic perversion on the one side, to reaction toward jewish external authority on the other. apostolic christianity whether in its more conservative form at jerusalem, or in broader assimilation to pauline doctrine at antioch and rome, has also its divergent streams, its more primitive and its more developed stages. the literature, as we slowly come to appreciate it against the background of the times, more and more reveals itself as an index to the life. not to the mere idiosyncrasies of individuals, but to the great gulf-stream of the human instinct for social righteousness and for individual redemption, as it sweeps onward in its mighty tide. the literature of the new testament must be understood historically if understood at all. it must be understood as the product, we might almost say the precipitate, of the greatest period in the history of religion. it represents the meeting and mutual adjustment of two fundamental and complementary conceptions of religion. the antithesis is not merely that between the particularism of the jew and the universalism of the gentile. it is an antithesis of the social ideal of law and prophets against the individual ideal of personal redemption through union with the divine spirit, which lay at the heart of all vital hellenistic religious thought in this period of the empire. christianity as we know it, the religion of humanity as it has come to be, the ultimate world-religion as we believe it destined to become, is a resultant of these two factors, semitic and aryan, the social and the individual ideal. its canonized literature represents the combination. on the one side the social ideal is predominant. it perpetuates the gospel _of_ jesus in the form of matthæan and petrine tradition, supplemented by apocalypse, which tradition attaches conjecturally to the name of john. the goal it seeks is the kingdom of god, righteousness and peace on earth as in heaven. on the other side the individual ideal predominates. it perpetuates the gospel _about_ jesus in the form of the pauline and johannine doctrine of his person, regarded as the norm and type of spiritual life. the goal it seeks is personal immortality by moral fellowship with god. its faith is son ship, by participation in the divine nature, without limitation in time, without loss of individual identity. both types of gospel are justified in claiming to emanate from jesus of nazareth; but neither without the other can claim to fully represent the significance of his spirit and life. the unity of the new testament is a unity in diversity. just because it presents so widely divergent conceptions of what the gospel is, it gives promise of perennial fecundity. studied not after the manner of the scribes, who think that in their book of precept and prophecy they have a passport to rewards in a magical world to come, but studied as a "manifestation of the life, even the eternal life" of the spirit of god in man, it will continue to reproduce the spirit and mind of christ. studied as a reflection at various times and in divers manners of that redemptive wisdom of god, which "in every generation entering into holy souls makes men to be prophets and friends of god" (sap. vii. ), and which the greeks, considering it, unfortunately, in its intellectual rather than its moral aspect, call the logos of god, it will prove, as in so many generations past it has proved, an "incorruptible seed," a "word of good tidings preached unto" the world, a "word of the lord that abideth for ever." bibliography . general introductions to n.t. literature. moffatt, jas. _"internat. theol. library" series._ scribner's, . standard, comprehensive, progressive. best compendium of the subject in english. a book for experts. pp., vo. jÜlicher, a. engl. transl, by d. a. ward, from th german ed. london, smith, elder & co., . the most serviceable of modern german introductions, based on the standard work of the "liberal" school, by h. j. holtzmann. pp., large vo. zahn, theo. engl. transl. from rd german ed., by m. w. jacobus. scribner's, . standard "conservative" work. immense scholarship in the harness of apologetics. total, pp., in vols., large vo. bacon, b. w. _"new test. handbook" series._ macmillan . similar to moffatt's in standpoint, but without the survey of the literature. for readers less technically advanced. pp., small vo. peake, a. s. n.y., scribner's, . pp., mo. an excellent primer of the subject, generally conservative. . critical treatments of pauline literature. shaw, r. d. _the pauline epistles, introductory and expository studies_, nd ed. t. & t. clarke, . pp., large vo. sober and cautious. for general readers. ramsay, w. m. _pauline and other studies in early christian history._ hodder & stoughton, . pp., large vo. _the cities of st. paul_ ( , pp.) is by the same author, an eminent geographer and archaeologist ardently enlisted against german criticism. interesting but diffuse. pfleiderer, o. _paulinism._ engl. transl. by e. peters. nd ed. . williams & norgate. vols. vo. total, pp., vo. still a standard exposition of paul's system of thought. a book for experts. baur, f. c. _paul the apostle of jesus christ, his life and work, epistles and doctrine._ engl. transl. of zeller's ( nd), german ed., by a. menzies. williams & norgate, . two vols. vo ( + pp.). an epoch-making book, the starting-point of modern criticism. schweitzer, a. this able, though one-sided, critic has issued already ( ) the conclusion to his study of modern lives of christ (see below, _the quest of the historical jesus_) under the title _geschichte der paulinischen forschung_. it may be expected that this comprehensive survey and searching criticism of the literature of pauline study will soon be made accessible to the english reader. wrede, w. _paul._ engl. transl. by e. lummis. p. green, london, . pp., mo. a brief, brilliant, popular sketch, radical, suggestive. needs the balance of more cautious criticism. weiss, j. _paul and jesus._ engl. transl. by h. j. chaytor. london and new york, harper & bros., . pp., mo. an effective answer to wrede's view of paul as the real creator of christianity, by a progressive and able critic. lives of paul by cone, clemen (german) and others are abundant in recent years. see the _encyclopaedias_ and _dictionaries of the bible_, s.v. "paul." . critical treatments of the synoptic gospels and acts. stanton, v. h. _the gospels as historical documents_, parts i and ii. cambridge university press, - . + pp., vo. a standard survey of gospel criticism from a conservative standpoint, the work of a scholar for scholars. cone, o. _gospel criticism and historical christianity._ putnam's, n.y., . pp., small vo. liberal, semi-popular. burkitt, f. c. _the earliest sources for the life of jesus._ houghton & mifflin, boston and new york, . pp., mo. simple and popular. burkitt is a leading progressive scholar. . the johannine writings. drummond, jas. _character and authorship of the fourth gospel._ scribner's, n.y., . pp., vo. the ablest recent defence of the traditional authorship. scholarly discussion of the literary history. bacon, b. w. _the fourth gospel in research and debate._ moffat, yard & co., n.y., . pp., vo. a similar discussion of the evidences reaching the reverse conclusion. scott, e. f. _the fourth gospel, its purpose and theology._ t. & t. clarke, edinburgh, . pp., vo. admirable in temper, lucid in style, semi-popular. schmiedel, p. w. _the johannine writings._ engl. transl., by m. a. canney. london, a. & c. black, . pp., mo. brief, popular, radical, by one of the ablest of n.t. critics. general. reuss, e. _history of the n.t._ engl. transl. from th german ed., by e. l. houghton. boston, houghton, mifflin & co., . pp. vols. large vo. a standard treasury of scholarly information. wernle, p. _the beginnings of christianity._ engl. transl., by g. a. bienemann. london, williams & norgate, . + pp., vo. vols. able, scholarly, advanced. pfleiderer, o. _christian origins._ engl. transl., by d. huebsch. new york, b. w. huebsch, . pp., mo. popular lectures showing something of the views of the modern school of critics known as _religionsgeschichtlich_. pfleiderer's critical opinions are fully expressed in his _primitive christianity_ (engl. transl., by w. montgomery, in four vols., vo. putnams, ). muzzey, d. s. _the rise of the n.t._ new york, macmillan, . pp., mo. an excellent primer for beginners. wrede, w. _the origin of the n.t._ engl. transl. by j. s. hill. harper & bros., london & new york, . pp., mo. an admirable primer by a brilliant leader of advanced criticism. von soden. _the history of early christian literature. writings of the n.t._ engl. transl., by j. r. wilkinson. williams & norgate, . pp., mo. a book for beginners by a great n.t. scholar of liberal views. a closely connected field is covered by various _histories of the apostolic age_, of which the most recent and important are those of weizsäcker (engl. transl., ) and mcgiffert ( ). less technical and more orthodox are those of vernon-bartlett ( ) and j. h. ropes ( ). _critical lives of christ_ present the results of critical study of the gospels. a survey of this field of research, keenly analytical and severely critical, is given by a. schweitzer in _the quest of the historical jesus_ (engl. transl. by w. montgomery. a. & c. black, . pp., vo). schweitzer writes with great scholarship and power, but decided polemic interest as a "consistent eschatologist." index abomination, , acts, ff., ff., ff. agabus, , allegory (in john), angelology and demonology, antichrist, f. anti-legalism (of mark), antinomian heresy, , antioch, , ff., f. apocalypses, , , , , apostolic christianity, , , , apostolic commission, f. apostolic council, , , apotheosis doctrine, appendix to john, , , , ff. asia, churches of, ff. athanasius, f. babylon (= rome), , baptist (in john), bar cocheba, _baruch, apocalypse of_ baur, f. c., ff. beloved disciple, the, , ff. cæsarea, calvin, canonization of the law, cerinthus, chiliasts, christological epistles, christ-party, clement of rome, f., , , clement of alexandria, _clementine homilies and recognitions_, colossians, corinthian epistles, ff. decrees of jerusalem, diary of acts, dionysius of alexandria, disputed books, doketism, , , , , , , , , , elder (of nd and rd john), elements, , ephesians, ephesus, , , f., , , epiphanius, epistles (major), epistles of the captivity, , , eschatological discourse, esdras (apocalypse of), external evidence, false brethren, feasts (in john), fornication, , gaius ( rd john), f. gaius of rome, , galatians, , gentile liberty, ff. gnosticism, , , f. _gospel according to the hebrews_, , _gospel of the nazarenes_, , ff., harnack, hebrews, , ff. hebrews, apostolic authority in, hebrews, canonical standing of, hegesippus, f., hellenistic religion, hermas, , , f., ignatius, f., , , , , incarnation doctrine, , , , infancy of jesus (in matthew and luke), internal evidence, irenæus, , , james, ff., , f., jerusalem conference, , jerusalem succession, f., john, the apostle, a martyr, , , john, gospel of, , , , , ff. john, revelation of, , , , , , , ff., john, epistles of, , , , ff. john, _acts of_, f. john, the elder, , , , josephus (used by luke), judaism _v._ hellenism, f. judaizers, jude, , , , justin martyr, , , f. kindred of the lord, f. laodiceans, law _v._ grace, , , , , , _logia_, , logos-doctrine, , , lordship (of christ), luke, , , f. luke, his omissions from mark, f. luke, his purpose in writing, f. luther, magic, ff. marcion, ff., mark, , , ff. mark, duplication in, mark, endings of, ff., f. matthew, ff., melito of sardis, , michælis, missionary journey, first, f. missionary journey, second, moffatt, jas., montanus, f. muratorian fragment, , nepos, the chiliast, offering for the poor, palestine, origin of revelations, ff. papias, , f., f., f., , parables (in matthew), f. passover, , pastoral epistles, , , , , , patmos, , f. paul, original apostle of asia, paul, his religious experience, paul, martyrdom, pauline _v._ petrine gospel, paulinism of mark, persecution, , peter (the apostle), , , , , peter, _apocalypse of_, f. peter, commission of, f. peter, epistles of, , f., ff. peter, _gospel of_, , , peter, _preaching of_, pharisaic judaism, philemon, philip, daughters of, f. philippians, ff. phrygian heresy, _pirke aboth_, polycarp, , , , , porphyry, post-reformation dogma, f. precepts (of jesus), prologue (of john), prophecy, f., q-material, ff. reconciliation with god, redeemer-gods, redemption doctrines, , reformation, repentance (the great), f. resurrection-doctrine, , , , , , , revelation (_see_ john, revelation of) romans, , ff. rome, , satan, dominion of, scripture, use in paul, scripture, use in john, second coming, sermon on mount, signs in fourth gospel, simon, richard, spirit, doctrine of the, , , , subscriptions, superstitious judaism, f. symeon, son of clopas, synoptic writings, , synoptic writings in john, syria and cilicia, , _teaching of the twelve_, , , tertullian, , thessalonian epistles, timothy (_see_ pastoral epistles), titus (_see_ pastoral epistles) transfiguration, , , , tübingen school, ff. unity of the church, , , unity of the n.t., way (= sect), weak (party of the), wisdom of god, , , wisdom of solomon (sap.), words of jesus, , f., f. zahn, _richard clay & sons, limited, london and bungay._ supernatural religion: an inquiry the reality of divine revelation by walter richard cassels in three volumes: vol. i. complete edition. carefully revised. london: longmans, green, and co., . pg editor's note: this file has been provided with an image of the original scan for each page which is linked to the page number in the html file. nearly every page in the text has many greek passages which have been indicated where they occur by [���] as have many complex tables; these passages may be viewed in the page images. some of the pages have only a few lines of text and then the rest of the page is taken up with complex footnotes in english, greek and hebrew. the reader may click on the page numbers in the html file to see the entire page with the footnotes. �dw preface to the complete edition in preparing a complete edition of this work, i have revised it throughout. i have not hesitated to make any alterations, omissions or additions which seemed to me likely to improve it. i have endeavoured as much as possible to avoid presenting openings for side issues, and, with this object, i have softened statements which, however sustainable in themselves, might give rise to discussions apart from the direct purpose of the inquiry. wherever my argument has appeared to me either involved or insufficiently expressed i have as freely recast it as my limits permitted, and i have in several parts introduced new data discovered or elaborated since the work was first written, or which i may then have overlooked. in one instance only has any alteration been requisite which demands special mention here. since the sixth edition was published, i have been convinced that marcion's gospel was based upon our third synoptic, and i have accordingly so far modified my results. it may not be unnecessary, however, plainly to repeat that, with this exception, which is not of material consequence, my convictions not only remain fundamentally unchanged, but have been confirmed and strengthened both by thorough reconsideration of my own argument, and by careful attention to the replies made by able official apologists. as regards the philosophical and other objections to miracles, their cogency is so fully recognized that bampton lecturers and eminent churchmen practically abandon miracles as evidence, and press upon their brethren the necessity of reconstructing the christian argument the necessity of reconstruction is indeed apparent, but the materials have not yet been made manifest. meanwhile, such apologists have been forced virtually to repudiate the great christian representatives who have hitherto defended the faith. the case may fairly be considered desperate when the crew throw their officers overboard by way of lightening the ship. the historical argument is not in a better position. the learned professors and critics who have undertaken to deal with it do not even pretend, except perhaps in the case of papias, to do more than assert the anonymous use of the gospels by some of the fathers, and their consequent existence; but, if this were established, what support could that give to the record of miracles? as for papias, with his hebrew matthew and fragmentary indirect mark, even if secured as a solitary witness to the composition of two gospels, he would prove but a fatal friend to the apologetic cause. the "conclusions" have been almost entirely rewritten. this was essential to the finished work; but it was further necessary in order more adequately to convey my own views, and to withdraw expressions regarding the unknowable, hitherto used from consideration for prevalent ideas and feelings, which i now recognize to have been too definite and calculated to mislead. preface to the sixth edition. this work has scarcely yet been twelve months before the public, but both in this country, and in america and elsewhere, it has been subjected to such wide and searching criticism by writers of all shades of opinion, that i may perhaps be permitted to make a few remarks, and to review some of my reviewers. i must first, however, beg leave to express my gratitude to that large majority of my critics who have bestowed generous commendation upon the work, and liberally encouraged its completion. i have to thank others, who, differing totally from my conclusions, have nevertheless temperately argued against them, for the courtesy with which they have treated an opponent whose views must necessarily have offended them, and i can only say that, whilst such a course has commanded my unfeigned respect, it has certainly not diminished the attention with which i have followed their arguments. there are two serious misapprehensions of the purpose and line of argument of this work which i desire to correct. some critics have objected that, if i had succeeded in establishing the proposition advanced in the first part, the second and third parts need not have been written: in fact, that the historical argument against miracles is only necessary in consequence of the failure of the philosophical. now i contend that the historical is the necessary complement of the philosophical argument, and that both are equally requisite to completeness in dealing with the subject. the preliminary affirmation is not that miracles are impossible, but that they are antecedently incredible. the counter allegation is that, although miracles may be antecedently incredible, they nevertheless actually took place. it is, therefore, necessary, not only to establish the antecedent incredibility, but to examine the validity of the allegation that certain miracles occurred, and this involves the historical inquiry into the evidence for the gospels which occupies the second and third parts. indeed, many will not acknowledge the case to be complete until other witnesses are questioned in a succeeding volume. the view i have taken is clearly supported by mr. mill. in his recently published "essays on religion," he directly replies to the question whether any evidence can suffice to prove a divine revelation, and defines what the nature and amount of that evidence must be. he shows that internal evidences, that is to say, the indications which the revelation itself is thought to furnish of its divine origin, can only be negative. the bad moral character of the doctrines of an alleged revelation, he considers, may be good reason for rejecting it, "but the excellence of their morality can never entitle us to ascribe to them a supernatural origin: for we cannot have conclusive reason for believing that the human faculties were incompetent to find out moral doctrines of which the human faculties can perceive and recognise the excellence. a revelation, therefore," he decides, "cannot be proved divine unless by external evidence; that is, by the exhibition of supernatural facts."( ) he maintains that it is possible to prove the reality of a supernatural fact if it actually occurred; and after showing the great preponderance of evidence against miracles, or their antecedent incredibility, he proceeds: "against this weight of negative evidence we have to set such positive evidence as is produced in attestation of exceptions; in other words, the positive evidences of miracles"( ) this is precisely what i have done. in order to show that mr. mill's estimate of the nature of this positive evidence for miracles does not essentially differ from the results of this work, the following lines may be quoted:� "but the evidence of miracles, at least to protestant christians, is not, in our day, of this cogent description. it is not the evidence of our senses, but of witnesses, and even this not at first hand, but resting on the attestation of books and traditions. and even in the case of the original eye-witnesses, the supernatural facts asserted on their alleged testimony, are not of the transcendent character supposed in our example, about the nature of which, or the impossibility of their having had a natural origin, there could be little room for doubt. on the contrary, the recorded miracles are, in the first place, generally such as it would have been extremely difficult to verify as matters of fact, and in the next place, are hardly ever beyond the possibility of having been brought about by human means or by the spontaneous agencies of nature." the second point to which i desire to refer is a statement which has frequently been made that, in the second and third parts, i endeavour to prove that the four canonical gospels were not written until the end of the second century. this error is of course closely connected with that which has just been discussed, but it is difficult to understand how any one who had taken the slightest trouble to ascertain the nature of the argument, and to state it fairly, could have fallen into it. the fact is that no attempt is made to prove anything with regard to the gospels. the evidence for them is merely examined, and it is found that, so far from their affording {viii} sufficient testimony to warrant belief in the actual occurrence of miracles declared to be antecedently incredible, there is not a certain trace even of the existence of the gospels for a century and a half after those miracles are alleged to have occurred, and nothing whatever to attest their authenticity and truth. this is a very different thing from an endeavour to establish some special theory of my own, and it is because this line of argument has not been understood, that some critics have expressed surprise at the decisive rejection of mere conjectures and possibilities as evidence. in a case of such importance, no testimony which is not clear and indubitable could be of any value, but the evidence producible for the canonical gospels falls very far short even of ordinary requirements, and in relation to miracles it is scarcely deserving of serious consideration. it has been argued that, even if there be no evidence for our special gospels, i admit that gospels very similar must early have been in existence, and that these equally represent the same prevailing belief as the canonical gospels: consequently that i merely change, without shaking, the witnesses. those who advance this argument, however, totally overlook the fact that it is not the reality of the superstitious belief which is in question, but the reality of the miracles, and the sufficiency of the witnesses to establish them. what such objectors urge practically amounts to this: that we should believe in the actual occurrence of certain miracles contradictory to all experience, out of a mass of false miracles which are reported but never really took place, because some unknown persons in an ignorant and superstitious age, who give no evidence of personal knowledge, or of careful investigation, have written an account of them, and other {ix} persons, equally ignorant and superstitious, have believed them. i venture to say that no one who advances the argument to which i am referring can have realized the nature of the question at issue, and the relation of miracles to the order of nature. the last of these general objections to which i need now refer is the statement, that the difficulty with regard to the gospels commences precisely where my examination ends, and that i am bound to explain how, if no trace of their existence is previously discoverable, the four gospels are suddenly found in general circulation at the end of the second century, and quoted as authoritative documents by such writers as irenæus. my reply is that it is totally unnecessary for me to account for this. no one acquainted with the history of pseudonymic literature in the second century, and with the rapid circulation and ready acceptance of spurious works tending to edification, could for a moment regard the canonical position of any gospel at the end of that century either as evidence of its authenticity or early origin. that which concerns us chiefly is not evidence regarding the end of the second but the beginning of the first century. even if we took the statements of irenæus, and later fathers like the alexandrian clement, tertullian, and origen, about the gospels, they are absolutely without value except as personal opinion at a late date, for which no sufficient grounds are shown. of the earlier history of those gospels there is not a distinct trace, except of a nature which altogether discredits them as witnesses for miracles. after having carefully weighed the arguments which have been advanced against this work, i venture to express strengthened conviction of the truth of its conclusions. {x} the best and most powerful reasons which able divines and apologists have been able to bring forward against its main argument have, i submit, not only failed to shake it, but have, by inference, shown it to be unassailable. very many of those who have professedly advanced against the citadel itself have practically attacked nothing but some outlying fort, which was scarcely worth defence, whilst others, who have seriously attempted an assault, have shown that the church has no artillery capable of making a practicable breach in the rationalistic stronghold. i say this solely in reference to the argument which i have taken upon myself to represent, and in no sense of my own individual share in its maintenance. i must now address myself more particularly to two of my critics who, with great ability and learning, have subjected this work to the most elaborate and microscopic criticism of which personal earnestness and official zeal are capable. i am sincerely obliged to professor lightfoot and dr. westcott for the minute attention they have bestowed upon my book. i had myself directly attacked the views of dr. westcott, and of course could only expect him to do his best or his worst against me in reply; and i am not surprised at the vigour with which dr. lightfoot has assailed a work so opposed to principles which he himself holds sacred, although i may be permitted to express my regret that he has not done so in a spirit more worthy of the cause which he defends. in spite of hostile criticism of very unusual minuteness and ability, no flaw or error has been pointed out which in the slightest degree affects my main argument, and i consider that every point yet objected to by dr. lightfoot, or indicated by dr. {xi} westcott, might be withdrawn without at all weakening my position. these objections, i may say, refer solely to details, and only follow side issues, but the attack, if impotent against the main position, has in many cases been insidiously directed against notes and passing references, and a plentiful sprinkling of such words as "misstatements" and "misrepresentations" along the line may have given it a formidable appearance, and malicious effect, which render it worth while once for all to meet it in detail. the first point ( ) to which i shall refer is an elaborate argument by dr. lightfoot regarding the "silence of eusebius." ( ) i had called attention to the importance of considering the silence of the fathers, under certain conditions;( ) and i might, omitting his curious limitation, adopt dr. lightfoot's opening comment upon this as singularly descriptive of the state of the case: "in one province more especially, relating to the external evidences for the gospels, silence occupies a prominent place." dr. lightfoot proposes to interrogate this "mysterious oracle," and he considers that "the response elicited will not be at all ambiguous." i might again agree with him, but that unambiguous response can scarcely be pronounced very satisfactory for the gospels. such silence may be very eloquent, but after all it is only the eloquence of--silence. i have not yet met with the argument anywhere that, because none of the early fathers quote our canonical gospels, or say anything with regard to them, the fact is unambiguous {xii} evidence that they were well acquainted with them, and considered them apostolic and authoritative. dr. lightfoot's argument from silence is, for the present at least, limited to eusebius. the point on which the argument turns is this: after examining the whole of the extant writings of the early fathers, and finding them a complete blank as regards the canonical gospels, if, by their use of apocryphal works and other indications they are not evidence against them, i supplement this, in the case of hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, by the inference that, as eusebius does not state that their lost works contained any evidence for the gospels, they actually did not contain any. but before proceeding to discuss the point, it is necessary that a proper estimate should be formed of its importance to the main argument of my work. the evident labour which professor lightfoot has expended upon the preparation of his attack, the space devoted to it, and his own express words, would naturally lead most readers to suppose that it has almost a vital bearing upon my conclusions. dr. lightfoot says, after quoting the passages in which i appeal to the silence of eusebius: "this indeed is the fundamental assumption which lies at the basis of his reasoning; and the reader will not need to be reminded how much of the argument falls to pieces, if this basis should prove to be unsound. a wise master-builder would therefore have looked to his foundations first, and assured himself of their strength, before he piled up his fabric to this height. this our author has altogether neglected to do." ( ) towards the close of his article, after triumphantly expressing his belief that his "main conclusions are irrefragable," he further says: {xiii} "if they are, then the reader will not fail to see how large a part of the argument in 'supernatural religion' has crumbled to pieces." ( ) i do not doubt that dr. lightfoot sincerely believes this, but he must allow me to say that he is thoroughly mistaken in his estimate of the importance of the point, and that, as regards this work, the representations made in the above passages are a very strange exaggeration. i am unfortunately too familiar, in connection with criticism on this book, with instances of vast expenditure of time and strength in attacking points to which i attach no importance whatever, and which in themselves have scarcely any value. when writers, after an amount of demonstration which must have conveyed the impression that vital interests were at stake, have, at least in their own opinion, proved that i have omitted to dot an "i," cross a "t," or insert an inverted comma, they have really left the question precisely where it was. now, in the present instance, the whole extent of the argument which is based upon the silence of eusebius is an inference regarding some lost works of three writers only, which might altogether be withdrawn without affecting the case. the object of my investigation is to discover what evidence actually exists in the works of early writers regarding our gospels. in the fragments which remain of the works of three writers, hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, i do not find any evidence of acquaintance with these gospels,--the works mentioned by papias being, i contend, different from the existing gospels attributed to matthew and mark. whether i am right or not in this does not affect the present discussion. it is an unquestioned fact that eusebius does not mention that the lost works of these {xiv} writers contained any reference to, or information about, the gospels, nor have we any statement from any other author to that effect. the objection of dr. lightfoot is limited to a denial that the silence of eusebius warrants the inference that, because he does not state that these writers made quotations from or references to undisputed canonical books, the lost works did not contain any; it does not, however, extend to interesting information regarding those books, which he admits it was the purpose of eusebius to record. to give dr. lightfoot's statements, which i am examining, the fullest possible support, however, suppose that i abandon eusebius altogether, and do not draw any inference of any kind from him beyond his positive statements, how would my case stand? simply as complete as it well could be: hegesippus, papias, and dionysius do not furnish any evidence in favour of the gospels. the reader, therefore, will not fail to see how serious a misstatement dr. lightfoot has made, and how little the argument of "supernatural religion" would be affected even if he established much more than he has attempted to do. we may now proceed to consider dr. lightfoot's argument itself. he carefully and distinctly defines what he understands to be the declared intention of eusebius in composing his history, as regards the mention or use of the disputed and undisputed canonical books in the writings of the fathers, and in order to do him full justice i will quote his words, merely taking the liberty, for facility of reference, of dividing his statement into three paragraphs. he says: "eusebius therefore proposes to treat these two classes of writings in two different ways. this is the cardinal point of the passage. {xv} ( ) of the antilegomena he pledges himself to record when any ancient writer employs any book belonging to their class [--greek--]; ( ) but as regards the undisputed canonical books he only professes to mention them, when such a writer has something to tell about them [--greek--]. any anecdote of interest respecting them, as also respecting the others [--greek--], will be recorded. ( ) but in their case he nowhere leads us to expect that he will allude to mere quotations however numerous and however precise."( ) in order to dispose of the only one of these points upon which we can differ, i will first refer to the third. did eusebius intend to point out mere quotations of the books which he considered undisputed"? as a matter of fact, he actually did point such out in the case of the st epistle of peter and st epistle of john, which he repeatedly and in the most emphatic manner declared to be undisputed.( ) this is admitted by dr. lightfoot. that he omitted to mention a reference to the epistle to the corinthians in the epistle of clement of rome, or the reference by theophilus to the gospel of john, and other supposed quotations, might be set down as much to oversight as intention. on the other hand, that he did mention disputed books is evidence only that he not only pledged himself to do so, but actually fulfilled his promise. although much might be said upon this point, therefore, i consider it of so little importance that i do not intend to waste time in minutely discussing it. if my assertions with regard to the silence of eusebius likewise include the supposition that he proposed to mention mere quotations of the "undisputed" books, they are so far from limited to this very subsidiary testimony that i i regret very much that some ambiguity in my language (s. r., i. p. ) should have misled, and given dr. lightfoot much trouble. i used the word "quotation" in the sense of a use of the epistle of peter, and not in reference to any one sentence in polycarp. i trust that in this edition i have made my meaning clear. {xvi} should have no reluctance in waiving it altogether. even if the most distinct quotations of this kind had occurred in the lost works of the three writers in question, they could have proved nothing beyond the mere existence of the book quoted, at the time that work was written, but would have done nothing to establish its authenticity and trustworthiness. in the evidential destitution of the gospels, apologists would thankfully have received even such vague indications, indeed there is scarcely any other evidence, but something much more definite is required to establish the reality of miracles and divine revelation. if this point be, for the sake of argument, set aside, what is the position? we are not entitled to infer that there were no quotations from the gospels in the works of hegesippus, papias, and dionysius of corinth, because eusebius does not record them; but, on the other hand, we are still less entitled to infer that there were any. the only inference which i care to draw from the silence of eusebius is precisely that which dr. lightfoot admits that, both from his promise and practice, i am entitled to deduce: when any ancient writer "has something to _tell about_" the gospels, "any _anecdote_ of interest respecting them," eusebius will record it. this is the only information of the slightest value to this work which could be looked for in these writers. so far, therefore, from producing the destructive effect upon some of the arguments of "supernatural religion," upon which he somewhat prematurely congratulates himself, dr. lightfoot's elaborate and learned article on the silence of eusebius supports them in the most conclusive manner. {xvii} before proceeding to speak more directly of the three writers under discussion, it may be well to glance a little at the procedure of eusebius, and note, for those who care to go more closely into the matter, how he fulfils his promise to record what the fathers have to tell about the gospels. i may mention, in the first place, that eusebius states what he himself knows of the composition of the gospels and other canonical works.( ) upon two occasions he quotes the account which clement of alexandria gives of the composition of mark's gospel, and also cites his statements regarding the other gospels.( ) in like manner he records the information, such as it is, which irenæus has to impart about the four gospels and other works,( ) and what origen has to say concerning them.( ) interrogating extant works, we find in fact that eusebius does not neglect to quote anything useful or interesting regarding these books from early writers. dr. lightfoot says that eusebius "restricts himself to the narrowest limits which justice to his subject will allow," and he illustrates this by the case of irenæus. he says: "though he (eusebius) gives the principal passage in this author relating to the four gospels (irenæus, ady. iler. iii. , ) he omits to mention others which contain interesting statements directly or indirectly affecting the question, e.g. that st. john wrote his gospel to counteract the errors of cerinthus and the nicolaitans (irenæus, adv. hær. iii. , )." i must explain, however, that the "interesting statement" omitted, which is not in the context of the part quoted, is not advanced as information derived from any authority, but only in the course of argument, and there is nothing to distinguish it from mere personal opinion, so that on this ground eusebius may well have passed it over. dr. lightfoot farther says: "thus too when he quotes a few lines alluding to the unanimous tradition of the asiatic elders who were acquainted with st. john,( ) he omits the context, from which we find that this tradition had an important bearing on the authenticity of the fourth gospel, for it declared that christ's ministry extended much beyond a single year, thus confirming the obvious chronology of the fourth gospel against the apparent chronology of the synoptists."( ) nothing, however, could be further from the desire or intention of eusebius than to represent any discordance between the gospels, or to support the one at the expense of the others. on the contrary, he enters into an elaborate explanation in order to show that there is no discrepancy between them, affirming, and supporting his view by singular quotations, that it was evidently the intention of the three synoptists only to write the doings of the lord for one year after {xviii} the imprisonment of john the baptist, and that john, having the other gospels before him, wrote an account of the period not embraced by the other evangelists.( ) moreover, the extraordinary assertions of irenæus not only contradict the synoptics, but also the fourth gospel, and eusebius certainly could not have felt much inclination to quote such opinions, even although irenæus seemed to base them upon traditions handed down by the presbyters who were acquainted with john. it being then admitted that eusebius not only pledges himself to record when any ancient writer has something to "tell about" the undisputed canonical books, but that, judged by the test of extant writings which we can examine, he actually does so, let us sec the conclusions which we are entitled to draw in the case of the only three writers with regard to whom i have inferred anything from the "silence of eusebius." i need scarcely repeat that eusebius held hegesippus in very high estimation. he refers to him very frequently, and he clearly shows that he not only valued, but was intimately acquainted with, his writings. eusebius quotes from the work of hegesippus a very long account of the martyrdom of james;( ) he refers to hegesippus as his authority for the statement that simeon was a cousin [--greek--] of jesus, cleophas his father being, according to that author, the brother of joseph;( ) he confirms a passage in the epistle of clement by reference to hegesippus;( ) he quotes from hegesippus a story regarding some members of the family of jesus, of the race of david, who were brought before domitian;( ) he cites his narrative of the martyrdom of simeon, together with other matters concerning the early church;( ) in another place he gives a laudatory account of hegesippus and his writings;( ) shortly after, he refers to the {xix} statement of hegesippus that he was in rome until the episcopate of eleutherus,( ) and further speaks in praise of his work, mentions his observation on the epistle of clement, and quotes his remarks about the church in corinth, the succession of roman bishops, the general state of the church, the rise of heresies, and other matters.( ) i mention these numerous references to hegesippus as i have noticed them in turning over the pages of eusebius, but others may very probably have escaped me. eusebius fulfils his pledge, and states what disputed works were used by hegesippus and what he said about them, and one of these was the gospel according to the hebrews. he does not, however, record a single remark of any kind regarding our gospels, and the legitimate inference, and it is the only one i care to draw, is, that hegesippus did not say anything about them. i may simply add that, as eusebius quotes the account of matthew and mark from papias, a man of whom he expresses something like contempt, and again refers to him in confirmation of the statement of the alexandrian clement regarding the composition of mark's gospel,( ) it would be against all reason, as well as opposed to his pledge and general practice, to suppose that eusebius would have omitted to record any information given by hegesippus, a writer with whom he was so well acquainted, and of whom he speaks with so much respect. i have said that eusebius would more particularly have quoted anything with regard to the fourth gospel, and for those who care to go more closely into the point my reasons may be briefly given. no one can read eusebius attentively without noting the peculiar care with which he speaks of john and his writings, and the substantially apologetic tone which he adopts in regard to them. apart from any doubts expressed {xx} regarding the gospel itself, the controversy as to the authenticity of the apocalypse and second and third epistles called by his name, with which eusebius was so well acquainted, and the critical dilemma as to the impossibility of the same john having written both the gospel and apocalypse, regarding which he so fully quotes the argument of dionysius of alexandria,( ) evidently made him peculiarly interested in the subject, and his attention to the fourth gospel was certainly not diminished by his recognition of the essential difference between that work and the three synoptics. the first occasion on which he speaks of john, he records the tradition that he was banished to patmos during the persecution under domitian, and refers to the apocalypse. he quotes irenæus in support of this tradition, and the composition of the work at the close of domitian's reign.( ) he goes on to speak of the persecution under domitian, and quotes hegesippus as to a command given by that emperor to slay all the posterity of david,( ) as also tertullian's account,( ) winding up his extracts from the historians of the time by the statement that, after nerva succeeded domitian, and the senate had revoked the cruel decrees of the latter, the apostle john returned from exile in patmos and, according to ecclesiastical tradition, settled at ephesus.( ) he states that john, the beloved disciple, apostle and evangelist, governed the churches of asia after the death of domitian and his return from patmos, and that he was still living when trajan succeeded nerva, and for the truth of this he quotes passages from iremeus and clement of alexandria.( ) he then gives an account of the writings of john, and whilst asserting that the gospel must be universally acknowledged as genuine, he says that it is rightly put last in order amongst the four, of the composition of which he gives an elaborate description. it is not necessary to quote his account of the fourth gospel and of the occasion of its composition, which he states to have been john's receiving the other three gospels, and, whilst admitting their truth, perceiving that they did not contain a narrative of the earlier history of christ. for this reason, being entreated to do so, he wrote an account of the doings of jesus before the baptist was cast into prison. after some very extraordinary reasoning, eusebius says that no one who carefully considers the points he mentions can think that the gospels are at variance with each other, and he conjectures that john probably omitted the genealogies because matthew and luke had given them.( ) without further anticipating what i have to say when speaking of papias, it is clear, i think, that eusebius, being aware of, and interested in, the peculiar difficulties connected with the writings attributed to john, not to put a still stronger case, and quoting traditions from later and consequently less weighty authorities, would certainly have recorded with more special readiness any information on the subject given by hegesippus, whom he so frequently lays under contribution, had his writings contained any. {xxi} in regard to papias the case is still clearer. we find that eusebius quotes his account of the composition of gospels by matthew and mark,( ) although he had already given a closely similar narrative regarding mark from clement of alexandria, and appealed to papias in confirmation of it. is it either possible or permissible to suppose that, had papias known anything of the other two gospels, he would not have inquired about them from the presbyters and recorded their information? and is it either possible or permissible to suppose that if papias had recorded any similar information regarding the composition of the third and fourth gospels, eusebius would have omitted to quote it? certainly not; and dr. lightfoot's article proves it. eusebius had not only pledged himself to give such information, and does so in every case which we can test, but he fulfils it by actually quoting what papias had to say about the gospels. even if he had been careless, his very reference to the first two gospels must have reminded him of the claims of the rest. there are, however, special reasons which render it still more certain that had papias had anything to tell about the fourth gospel,--and if there was a fourth gospel in his knowledge he must have had something to tell about it,--eusebius would have recorded it. the first quotation which he makes from papias is the passage in which the bishop of hierapolis states the interest with which he had inquired about the words of the presbyters, "what john or matthew or what any other of the disciples of the lord said, and what aristion and the presbyter john, disciples of the lord, i am much obliged to dr. lightfoot for calling my attention to the accidental insertion of the words "and the apocalypse" (s. e. i. p. ). this was a mere slip of the pen, of which no use is made, and the error is effectually corrected by my own distinct statements. vol. i. {xxii} say."(l) eusebius observes, and particularly points out, that the name of john is twice mentioned in the passage, the former, mentioned with peter, james, and matthew, and other apostles, evidently being, he thinks, the evangelist, and the latter being clearly distinguished by the designation of presbyter. eusebius states that this proves the truth of the assertion that there were two men of the name of john in asia, and that two tombs were still shown at ephesus bearing the name of john. eusebius then proceeds to argue that probably the second of the two johns, if not the first, was the man who saw the revelation. what an occasion for quoting any information bearing at all on the subject from papias, who had questioned those who had been acquainted with both! his attention is so pointedly turned to john at the very moment when he makes his quotations regarding matthew and mark, that i am fully warranted, both by the conclusions of dr. lightfoot and the peculiar circumstances of the case, in affirming that the silence of eusebius proves that papias said nothing about either the third or fourth gospels. i need not go on to discuss dionysius of corinth, for the same reasoning equally applies to his case. i have, therefore, only a very few more words to say on the subject of eusebius. not content with what he intended to be destructive criticism, dr. lightfoot valiantly proceeds to the constructive and, "as a sober deduction from facts," makes the following statement, which he prints in italics: _"the silence of eusebius_ respecting early witnesses to the fourth gospel is an evidence in its favour."( ) now, interpreted even by the rules laid down (xxiii) by dr. lightfoot himself, what does this silence really mean? it means, not that the early writers about whom he is supposed to be silent are witnesses about anything connected with the fourth gospel, but simply that if eusebius noticed and did not record the mere use of that gospel by any one, he thereby indicates that he himself, in the fourth century, classed it amongst the undisputed books, the mere use of which he does not undertake to mention. the value of his opinion at so late a date is very small. professor lightfoot next makes a vehement attack upon me in connection with "the ignatian epistles,"( ) which is equally abortive and limited to details. i do not intend to complain of the spirit in which the article is written, nor of its unfairness. on the whole i think that readers may safely be left to judge of the tone in which a controversy is carried on. unfortunately, however, the perpetual accusation of mis-statement brought against me in this article, and based upon minute criticism into which few care to follow, is apt to leave the impression that it is well-founded, for there is the very natural feeling in most right minds that no one would recklessly scatter such insinuations. it is this which alone makes such an attack dangerous. now in a work like this, dealing with so many details, it must be obvious that it is not possible altogether to escape errors. a critic or opponent is of course entitled to point these out, although, if he be high-minded or even alive to his own interests, i scarcely think that he will do so in a spirit of unfair detraction. but in doing this a writer is bound to be accurate, for if he be liberal of such accusations {xxiv} and it can be shown that his charges are unfounded, they recoil with double force upon himself. i propose, therefore, as it is impossible for me to reply to all such attacks, to follow professor lightfoot and dr. westcott with some minuteness in their discussion of my treatment of the ignatian epistles, and once for all to show the grave mis-statements to which they commit themselves. dr. lightfoot does not ignore the character of the discussion upon which he enters, but it will be seen that his appreciation of its difficulty by no means inspires him with charitable emotions. he says: "the ignatian question is the most perplexing which confronts the student of earlier christian history. the literature is voluminous; the considerations involved are very wide, very varied, and very intricate. a writer, therefore, may well be pardoned if he betrays a want of familiarity with this subject but in this case the reader naturally expects that the opinions at which he has arrived will be stated with some diffidence."( ) my critic objects that i express my opinions with decision. i shall hereafter justify this decision, but i would here point out that the very reasons which render it difficult for dr. lightfoot to form a final and decisive judgment on the question make it easy for me. it requires but little logical perception to recognize that epistles, the authenticity of which it is so difficult to establish, cannot have much influence as testimony for the gospels. the statement just quoted, however, is made the base of the attack, and war is declared in the following terms:-- {xxv} "the reader is naturally led to think that a writer would not use such very decided language unless he had obtained a thorough mastery of his subject; and when he finds the notes thronged with references to the most recondite sources of information, he at once credits the author with an 'exhaustive' knowledge of the literature bearing upon it. it becomes important therefore to inquire whether the writer shows that accurate acquaintance with the subject, which justifies us in attaching weight to his dicta as distinguished from his arguments."(l) this sentence shows the scope of the discussion. my dicta, however, play a very subordinate part throughout, and even if no weight be attached to them, and i have never desired that any should be, my argument would not be in the least degree affected. the first point attacked, like most of those subsequently assailed, is one of mere critical history. i wrote: "the strongest internal, as well as other evidence, into which space forbids our going in detail, has led ( ) the majority of critics to recognize the syriac version as the most genuine form of the letters of ignatius extant, and ( ) this is admitted by most of those who nevertheless deny the authenticity of any of the epistles."( ) upon this dr. lightfoot remarks:-- "no statement could be more erroneous as a summary of the results of the ignatian controversy since the publication of the syriac epistles than this."( ) it will be admitted that this is pretty "decided language" for one who is preaching "diffidence." when we come to details, however, dr. lightfoot admits: "those who maintain the genuineness of the ignatian epistles in one or other of the two forms, may be said to be almost evenly divided on this question of priority." he seems to consider that he sufficiently shows this when he mentions five or six critics on either side; but even {xxvi} on this modified interpretation of my statement its correctness may be literally maintained. to the five names quoted as recognizing the priority of the syriac epistles may be added those of milman, böhringer, de pressensé, and dr. tregelles, which immediately occur to me. but i must ask upon what ground he limits my remark to those who absolutely admit the genuineness? i certainly do not so limit it, but affirm that a majority prefer the three curetonian epistles, and that this majority is made up partly of those who, denying the authenticity of any of the letters, still consider the syriac the purest and least adulterated form of the epistles. this will be evident to any one who reads the context. with regard to the latter ( ) part of the sentence, i will at once say that "most" is a slip of the pen for "many," which i correct in this edition. many of those who deny or do not admit the authenticity prefer the curetonian version. the tubingen school are not unanimous on the point, and there are critics who do not belong to it. bleek, for instance, who does not commit himself to belief, considers the priority of the curetonian "im höchsten grade wahrscheinlich.,, volkmar, lipsius, and rumpf prefer them. dr. light-foot says:-- "the case of lipsius is especially instructive, as illustrating this point. having at one time maintained the priority and genuineness of the curetonian letters, he has lately, if i rightly understand him, retracted his former opinion on both questions alike."( ) dr. lightfoot, however, has not rightly understood him. lipsius has only withdrawn his opinion that the syriac letters are authentic, but whilst now asserting that in all their forms the ignatian epistles are spurious, he still {xxvii} maintains the priority of the curetonian version. he first announced this change of view emphatically in , when he added: "an dem relativ grossern alter der syrischen textgestalt gegenuber der kürzeren griechischen halte ich ubrigens nach wie vor fest"( ) in the very paper to which dr. lightfoot refers lipsius also again says quite distinctly: "ich bin noch jetzt überzeugt, dass der syrer in zahlreichen fallen den relativ ursprünglichsten text bewahrt hat (vgl. meine nachweise in niedner's zeitschr. s. fl)."( ) with regard to the whole of this ( ) point, it must be remembered that the only matter in question is simply a shade of opinion amongst critics who deny the authenticity of the ignatian epistles in all forms. dr. lightfoot, however, goes on "to throw some light on this point" by analysing my "general statement of the course of opinion on this subject given in an earlier passage."( ) the "light" which he throws seems to pass through so peculiar a medium, that i should be much rather tempted to call it darkness. i beg the reader to favour me with his attention to this matter, for here commences a serious attack upon the accuracy of my notes and statements, which is singularly full of error and misrepresentation. the general statement referred to and quoted is as follows:-- "those three syriac epistles hive been subjected to the severest scrutiny, and many of the ablest critics have pronounced them to be the only authentic epistles of ignatius, whilst others, who do not admit that even these are genuine letters emanating from ignatius, still prefer them to the version of seven greek epistles, and consider them the most ancient form of the letters which we possess.( ) as early as the sixteenth century, however, the strongest doubts were expressed regarding the authenticity {xxviii} of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius. the magdeburg centuriators first attacked them, and calvin declared (p. ) them to be spurious,( ) an opinion fully shared by chemnitz, dallseus, and others, and similar doubts, more or less definite, were expressed throughout the seventeenth century,( ) and onward to comparatively recent times,( ) although the means of forming a judgment were not then so complete as now. that the epistles were interpolated there was no doubt. fuller examination and more comprehensive knowledge of the subject have confirmed earlier doubts, and a large mass of critics recognize that the authenticity of none of these epistles can be established, and that they can only be considered later and spurious compositions.( )"( ) in the first note ( ) on p. i referred to bunsen, bleek, böhringer, cureton, ewald, lipsius, milman, ritschl, and weiss, and dr. lightfoot proceeds to analyze my statements as follows: and i at once put his explanation and my text in parallel columns, italicising parts of both to call more immediate attention to the point:-- the text. many of the ablest critics have pronounced them to be the only authentic epistles of ignatius, whilst others who do not admit that even these are genuine letters emanating from ignatius, still prefer them to the version of seven greek epistles, and consider them the most ancient form of the letters which we possess.( ) dr. lightfoot's statement. "these references, it will be observed, are given to illustrate more immediately, though perhaps not solely, the statement that writers 'who do not admit that even these (the curetonian epistles) are genuine letters emanating from ignatius, still prefer them to the version of seven greek epistles, and consider them the most ancient form of the letters which we possess.'"( ) it must be evident to any one who reads the context( ) that in this sentence i am stating opinions expressed in favour of the curetonian epistles, and that the note, which is naturally put at the end of that sentence, must be intended to represent this favourable opinion, whether of those who absolutely maintain the authenticity or {xxix} merely the relative priority. dr. lightfoot quietly suppresses, in his comments, the main statement of the text which the note illustrates, and then "throws light" upon the point by the following remarks:-- dr. lightfoot's statement: "the reader, therefore, will hardly be prepared to hear that not one of these nine writers condemns the ignatian letters as spurious. bleek alone leaves the matter in some uncertainty while inclining to bunsen's view; the other eight distinctly maintain the genuineness of the curetonian letters."' the truth: cureton, bunsen, böhringer, ewald, milman, ritschl, and weiss maintain both the priority and genuineness of the syriac epistles. bleek will not commit himself to a distinct recognition of the letters in any form. of the vossian epistles, he says: "aber auch die echtheit dieser recension ist keineswegs sicher." he considers the priority of the curetonian "in the highest degree probable." lipsius rejects all the epistles, as i have already said, but maintains the priority of the syriac. dr. lightfoot's statement, therefore, is a total misrepresentation of the facts, and of that mischievous kind which does most subtle injury. not one reader in twenty would take the trouble to investigate, but would receive from such positive assertions an impression that my note was totally wrong, when in fact it is literally correct. continuing his analysis, dr. lightfoot fights almost every inch of the ground in the very same style. he cannot contradict my statement that so early as the sixteenth century the strongest doubts were expressed regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed "contemporary beview," february, , p. . in a note dr. lightfoot states that my references to lipsius are to his earlier works, where he still maintains the priority and genuineness of the curetonian epistles. certainly they are so, but in the right place, two pages farther on, i refer to the writings in which he rejects the authenticity, whilst still maintaining his previous view of the priority of these letters {xxx} to ignatius, and that the magdeburg centuriators attacked them, and calvin declared them to be spurious,( ) but dr. lightfoot says: "the criticisms of calvin more especially refer to those passages which were found in the long recension alone."( ) of course only the long recension was at that time known. rivet replies to campianus that calvin's objections were not against ignatius but the jesuits who had corrupted him.( ) this is the usual retort theological, but as i have quoted the words of calvin the reader may judge for himself. dr. lightfoot then says: "the clause which follows contains a direct misstatement. chemnitz did not folly share the opinion that they were spurious; on the contrary, he quotes them several times as authoritative; but he says that they 'seem to have been altered in many places to strengthen the position of the papal power, do.' "( ) pearson's statement here quoted must be received with reserve, for chemnitz rather speaks sarcastically of those who quote these epistles as evidence. in treating them as ancient documents or speaking of parts of them with respect, chemnitz does nothing more than the magdeburg centuriators, but this is a very different thing from directly ascribing them to ignatius himself. the epistles in the "long recension" were before chemnitz both in the latin and greek forms. he says of them: ".... et multas habent non contemnendas sententias, presertim sicut graece leguntur. admixta vero sunt et alia non pauca, quae profecto non referunt gravitatem apostolicam. calvin's expressions are: nihil moniis illis, quro sub ignatii nomine editae sunt, putidius. quo minus tolerabilis est eorum impudentia, qui talibus larvis ad fallendum se instruunt. inst. chr. bel. i. , p . {xxxi} adulteratas enim jam esse illas epistolas, vel inde colligitur." he then shows that quotations in ancient writers purporting to be taken from the epistles of ignatius are not found in these extant epistles at all, and says: "de epistolis igitur illis ignatii, quae nunc ejus titulo feruntur, merito dubitamus: transformatse enim videntur in multis locis, ad stabiliendum statum regni pontificii."(l) even when he speaks in favour of them he "damns them with faint praise." the whole of the discussion turns upon the word "fully", and is an instance of the minute criticism of my critic, who evidently is not directly acquainted with chemnitz. a shade more or less of doubt or certainty in conveying the impression received from the words of a writer is scarcely worth much indignation. dr. lightfoot makes a very detailed attack upon my next two notes, and here again i must closely follow him. my note ( ) p. reads as follows:-- " by bochartus, aubertin, blondel, basnage, casaubon, cocus, humfrey, rivetus, salmasius, socinus (faustus), parker, petau, &c; &c.; cf. jacobson, patr. apost., i. p. jolt.; cureton vindiciæ ignatianæ, , appendix." upon this dr. lightfoot makes the following preliminary remarks: "but the most important point of all is the purpose for which they are quoted. 'similar doubts' could only, i think, be interpreted from the context as doubts 'regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius.'"( ) as dr. lightfoot, in the first sentence just quoted, recognizes what is "the most important point of all," it is a pity that, throughout the whole of the subsequent analysis of the references in question, he persistently ignores my {xxxii} very careful definition of "the purpose for which they are quoted." it is difficult, without entering into minute classifications, accurately to represent in a few words the opinions of a great number of writers, and briefly convey a fair idea of the course of critical judgment. desirous, therefore, of embracing a large class,--for both this note and the next, with mere difference of epoch, illustrate the same statement in the text,--and not to overstate the case on my own side, i used what seemed to me a very moderate phrase, decreasing the force of the opinion of those who positively rejected the epistles, and not unfairly representing the hesitation of those who did not fully accept them. i said, then, in guarded terms,--and i italicise the part which dr. lightfoot chooses to suppress,--that "similar _doubts, more or less definite_," were expressed by the writers referred to. dr. lightfoot admits that bochart directly condemns one epistle, and would probably have condemned the rest also; that aubertin, blondel, basnage, r. parker, and saumaise actually rejected all; and that cook pronounces them "either supposititious or shamefully corrupted." so far, therefore, there can be no dispute. i will now take the rest in succession. dr. lightfoot says that humfrey "considers that they have been interpolated and mutilated, but he believes them genuine in the main." dr. google has so completely warped the statement in the text, that he seems to demand nothing short of a total condemnation of the epistles in the note, but had i intended to say that humfrey and all of these writers definitely rejected the whole of the epistles i should not have limited myself to merely saying that they expressed "doubts more or less definite," which humfrey does. dr. lightfoot says that socinus "denounces corruptions and {xxxiii} anachronisms, but so far as i can see does not question a nucleus of genuine matter." his very denunciations, however, are certainly the expression of "doubts, more or less definite." "casaubon, so far from rejecting them altogether," dr. lightfoot says, "promises to defend the antiquity of some of the epistles with new arguments." but i have never affirmed that he "rejected them altogether." casaubon died before he fulfilled the promise referred to, so that we cannot determine what arguments he might have used. i must point out, however, that the antiquity does not necessarily involve the authenticity of a document. with regard to rivet the case is different i had overlooked the fact that in a subsequent edition of the work referred to, after receiving archbishop ushers edition of the short recension, he had given his adhesion to "that form of the epistles."( ) this fact is also mentioned by pearson, and i ought to have observed it.( ) petau, the last of the writers referred to, says: "equidem haud abnuerim epistolas illius varie interpolatas et quibusdam additis mutatas, ac depravatas fuisse: turn aliquas esse supposititias: verum nullas omnino ab ignatio epistolas esse scriptas, id vero nimium temere affirmari sentio." he then goes on to mention the recent publication of the vossian epistles and the version of usher, and the learned jesuit father has no more decided opinion to express than: "ut haec prudens, ac justa suspicio sit, illas esse genuinas ignatii epistolas, quas antiquorum consensus illustribus testimoniis commendatas ac approbatas reliquit"( ) the next note ( ), p. , was only separated from the {xxxiv} preceding for convenience of reference, and dr. lightfoot quotes and comments upon it as follows: "the next note, p. , is as follows:--(see scanned page. ed.) the brackets are not the author's, but my own. this is doubtless one of those exhibitions of learning which have made such a deep impression on the reviewers. certainly, as it stands, this note suggests a thorough acquaintance with all the by-paths of the ignatian literature, and seems to represent the gleanings of many years' reading. it is important to observe, however, that every one of these references, except those which i have included in brackets, is given in the appendix to cureton's _vindicia ignatianæ_, where the passages are quoted in full. thus two-thirds of this elaborate note might have been compiled in ten minutes. our author has here and there transposed the order of the quotations, and confused it by so doing, for it is chronological in cureton. but what purpose was served by thus importing into his notes a mass of borrowed and unsorted references? and, if he thought fit to do so, why was the key-reference to cureton buried among the rest, so that it stands in immediate connection with some additional references on which it has no bearing?"( ) i do not see any special virtue in the amount of time which might suffice, under some circumstances, to compile a note, although it is here advanced as an important {xxxv} point to observe, but i call attention to the unfair spirit in which dr. lightfoot's criticisms are made. i ask every just-minded reader to consider what right any critic has to insinuate, if not directly to say, that, because some of the references in a note are also given by cureton, i simply took them from him, and thus "imported into my notes a mass of borrowed and unsorted references," and further to insinuate that i "here and there transposed the order" apparently to conceal the source? this is a kind of criticism which i very gladly relinquish entirely to my high-minded and reverend opponent. now, as full quotations are given in cureton's appendix, i should have been perfectly entitled to take references from it, had i pleased, and for the convenience of many readers i distinctly indicate cureton's work, in the note, as a source to be compared. the fact is, however, that i did not take the references from cureton, but in every case derived them from the works themselves, and if the note "seems to represent the gleanings of many years' reading," it certainly does not misrepresent the fact, for i took the trouble to make myself acquainted with the "by-paths of ignatian literature." now in analysing the references in this note it must be borne in mind that they illustrate the statement that "_doubts, more or less definite_" continued to be expressed regarding the ignatian epistles. i am much obliged to dr. lightfoot for drawing my attention to wotton. his name is the first in the note, and it unfortunately was the last in a list on another point in my note-book, immediately preceding this one, and was by mistake included in it. i also frankly give up weismann, whose doubts i find i had exaggerated, and proceed to examine dr. lightfoot's further statements. he says that thiersch {xxxvi} uses the curetonian as genuine, and that his only doubt is whether he ought not to accept the vossian. thiersch, however, admits that he cannot quote either the seven or the three epistles as genuine. he says distinctly: "these three syriac epistles lie under the suspicion that they are not an older text, but merely an epitome of the seven, for the other notes found in the same ms. seem to be excerpts. but on the other hand, the doubts regarding the genuineness of the seven epistles, in the form in which they are known since usher's time, are not yet entirely removed. for no ms. has yet been found which contains _only_ the seven epistles attested by eusebius, a ms. such as lay before eusebius."( ) thiersch, therefore, does express "doubts, more or less definite." dr. light-foot then continues: "of the rest a considerable number, as, for instance, lardner, beausobre, schroeckh, griesbach, kestner, neander, and baumgarten-crusius, _with different degrees of certainty or uncertainty_, pronounce themselves in favour of a genuine nucleus."( ) the words which i have italicised are a mere paraphrase of my words descriptive of the doubts entertained. i must point out that a leaning towards belief in a genuine "nucleus" on the part of some of these writers, by no means excludes the expression of "_doubts, more or less definite_," which is all i quote them for. i will take each name in order. _lardner_ says: "but whether the smaller (vossian epistles) themselves are the genuine writings of ignatius, bishop of antioch, is a question that has been much disputed, and has employed the pens of the ablest critics. and whatever positiveness some may have {xxxvii} shown on either side, i must own i have found it a very difficult question." the opinion which he expresses finally is merely: "it appears to me _probable_, that they are _for the main_ the genuine epistles of ignatius." _beausobre_ says: "je ne veux, ni defendre, ni combattre l'authenticite' des _lettres de st. ignace_. si elles ne sont pas veritables, elles ne laissent pas d'etre fort anciennes; et l'opinion, qui me paroit la plus raisonnable, est que les plus pures ont été inter-poises." _schroeckh_ says that along with the favourable considerations for the shorter (vossian) epistles "many doubts arise which make them suspicious." he proceeds to point out many grave difficulties, and anachronisms which cast doubt both on individual epistles and upon the whole, and he remarks that a very common way of evading these and other difficulties is to affirm that all the passages which cannot be reconciled with the mode of thought of ignatius are interpolations of a later time. he concludes with the pertinent observation: "however probable this is, it nevertheless remains as difficult to prove which are the interpolated passages." in fact it would be difficult to point out any writer who more thoroughly doubts, without definitely rejecting, all the epistles. _grtesbach_ and _kestner_ both express "doubts more or less definite," but to make sufficient extracts to illustrate this would occupy too much space. _neander_.--dr. lightfoot has been misled by the short extract from the english translation of the first {xxxviii} edition of neander's history given by cureton in his appendix, has not attended to the brief german quotation from the second edition, and has not examined the original at all, or he would have seen that, so far from pronouncing "in favour of a genuine nucleus," neander might well have been classed by me amongst those who distinctly reject the ignatian epistles, instead of being moderately quoted amongst those who merely express doubt. neander says: "as the account of the martyrdom of ignatius is very suspicious, so also the epistles which suppose the correctness of this suspicious legend, do not bear throughout the impress of a distinct individuality, and of a man of that time who is addressing his last words to the communities. a hierarchical purpose is not to be mistaken." in an earlier part of the work he still more emphatically says that, "in the so-called ignatian epistles," he recognizes a decided "design" (absichtlichkeit) and then he continues: "as the tradition regarding the journey of ignatius to rome, there to be cast to the wild beasts, seems to me for the above-mentioned reasons very suspicious, his epistles, which pre-suppose the truth of this tradition, can no longer inspire me with faith in their authenticity." he goes on to state additional grounds for disbelief. _baumgarten-crusius_ stated in one place, in regard to the seven epistles, that it is no longer possible to ascertain how much of the extant may have formed part of the original epistles, and in a note he excepts only the passages quoted by the fathers. {xxxix} he seems to agree with semler and others that the two recensions are probably the result of manipulations of the original, the shorter form being more in ecclesiastical, the longer in dogmatic interest. some years later he remarked that inquiries into the epistles, although not yet concluded, had rather tended towards the earlier view that the shorter recension was more original than the long, but that even the shorter may have suffered, if not from manipulations (ueberarbeitungen) from interpolations. this very cautious statement, it will be observed, is wholly relative, and does not in the least modify the previous conclusion that the original material of the letters cannot be ascertained. dr. lightfoot's objections regarding these seven writers are thoroughly unfounded, and in most cases glaringly erroneous. dr. lightfoot doubts, and a large mass of critics recognize _that the authenticity of none_ of these epistles _can be established_ and that they can only be considered later and spurious compositions." he proceeds to the next "note ( )" with the same unhesitating vigour, and characterizes it as "equally unfortunate." wherever it has been possible, dr. light-foot has succeeded in misrepresenting the "purpose" of my notes, although he has recognized how important it is to ascertain this correctly, and in this instance he has done so again. i will put my text and his explanation, upon the basis of which he analyses the note, in juxtaposition, italicising part of my own statement which he altogether disregards:-- "further examination and more references to twenty authorities comprehensive knowledge of the are then given, as belonging to the subject have confirmed earlier a large mass of critics who recognize {xl} that the ignatian epistles, 'can only be considered later and spurious compositions.'"( ) there are here, in order to embrace a number of references, two approximate states of opinion represented: the first, which leaves the epistles in permanent doubt, as sufficient evidence is not forthcoming to establish their authenticity; and the second, which positively pronounces them to be spurious. out of the twenty authorities referred to, dr. lightfoot objects to six as contradictory or not confirming what he states to be the purpose of the note. he seems to consider that a reservation for the possibility of a genuine substratum which cannot be defined invalidates my reference. i maintain, however, that it does not. it is quite possible to consider that the authenticity of the extant, letters cannot be established without denying that there may have been some original nucleus upon which these actual documents may have been based. i will analyse the six references. bleek.--dr. lightfoot says: "of these bleek (already cited in a previous note) expresses no definite opinion." dr. lightfoot omits to mention that i do not refer to bleek directly, but by "cf." merely request consideration of his opinions. i have already partly stated bleek's view. after pointing out some difficulties, he says generally: "it comes to this, that the origin of the ignatian epistles themselves is still very doubtful." he refuses {xli} to make use of a passage because it is only found in the long recension, and another which occurs in the shorter recension he does not consider evidence, because, first, he says, "the authenticity of this recension also is by no means certain," and, next, the cureton epistles discredit the others. "whether this recension (the curetonian) is more original than the shorter greek is certainly not altogether certain, but.... in the highest degree probable." in another place he refuses to make use of reminiscences in the "ignatian epistles," "because it is still very doubtful how the case stands as regards the authenticity and integrity of these ignatian epistles themselves, in the different recensions in which we possess them."( ) in fact he did not consider that their authenticity could be established. i do not, however, include him here at all. _gfrörer_.--dr. lightfoot, again, omits to state that i do not cite this writer like the others, but by a "cf." merely suggest a reference to his remarks. _harless_, according to dr. lightfoot, "avows that he must 'decidedly reject with the most considerable critics of older and more recent times' the opinion maintained by certain persons that the epistles are 'altogether spurious,' and proceeds to treat a passage as genuine because it stands in the vossian letters as well as in the long recension." this is a mistake. harless quotes a passage in connection with paul's epistle to the ephesians with the distinct remark: "in this case the disadvantage of the uncertainty regarding the recensions is in {xlii} part removed through the circumstance that both recensions have the passage." he recognizes that the completeness of the proof that ecclesiastical tradition goes back beyond the time of marcion is somewhat wanting from the uncertainty regarding the text of ignatius. he did not in fact venture to consider the ignatian epistles evidence even for the first half of the second century. _schliemann_, dr. lightfoot states, "says that 'the external testimonies oblige him to recognize a genuine substratum,' though he is not satisfied with either existing recension." now what schliemann says is this: "certainly neither the shorter and still less the longer recension in which we possess these epistles can lay claim to authenticity. only if we must, nevertheless, without doubt suppose a genuine substratum," &c. in a note he adds: "the external testimonies oblige me to recognize a genuine substratum--poly-carp already speaks of the same in ch. xiii. of his epistle. but that in their present form they do not proceed from ignatius the contents sufficiently show." _hase_, according to dr. lightfoot, "commits himself to no opinion." if he does not deliberately and directly do so, he indicates what that opinion is with sufficient clearness. the long recension, he says, bears the marks of later manipulation, and excites suspicion of an invention in favour of episcopacy, and the shorter text is not fully attested either. the curetonian epistles with the shortest and least hierarchical text give the impression of being an epitome. "but {xliii} even if no authentic kernel lay at the basis of these epistles, yet they would be a significant document at latest out of the middle of the second century." these last words are a clear admission of his opinion that the authenticity cannot be established. _lechler_ candidly confesses that he commenced with a prejudice in favour of the authenticity of the epistles in the shorter recension, but on reading them through, he says that an impression unfavourable to their authenticity was produced upon him which he had not been able to shake off. he proceeds to point out their internal improbability, and other difficulties connected with the supposed journey, which make it "still more improbable that ignatius himself can really have written these epistles in this situation." lechler does not consider that the curetonian epistles strengthen the case; and although he admits that he cannot congratulate himself on the possession of "certainty and cheerfulness of conviction" of the inauthenticity of the ignatian epistles, he at least very clearly justifies the affirmation that the authenticity cannot be established. now what has been the result of this minute and prejudiced attack upon my notes? out of nearly seventy critics and writers in connection with what is admitted to be one of the most intricate questions of christian literature, it appears that--much to my regret--i have inserted one name totally by accident, overlooked that the doubts of another had been removed by the subsequent publication of the short recension and consequently {xliv} erroneously classed him, and i withdraw a third whose doubts i consider that i have overrated. mistakes to this extent in dealing with such a mass of references, or a difference of a shade more or less in the representation of critical opinions, not always clearly expressed, may, i hope, be excusable, and i can only say that i am only too glad to correct such errors. on the other hand, a critic who attacks such references, in such a tone, and with such wholesale accusations of "misstatement" and "misrepresentation," was bound to be accurate, and i have shown that dr. lightfoot is not only inaccurate in matters of fact, but unfair in his statements of my purpose. i am happy, however, to be able to make use of his own words and say: "i may perhaps have fallen into some errors of detail, though i have endeavoured to avoid them, but the main conclusions are, i believe, irrefragable."(l) there are further misstatements made by dr. lightfoot to which i must briefly refer before turning to other matters. he says, with unhesitating boldness:-- one highly important omission is significant. there is no mention, from first to last, of the armenian version. now it happens that this version (so far as regards the documentary evidence) _has been felt to be the key to the position, and around it the battle has raged fiercely since its publication_. one who (like our author) maintains the priority of the curetonian letters, was especially bound to give it some consideration, for it furnishes the most formidable argument to his opponents. this version was given to the world by petermann in , the same year in which cureton's later work, the _corpus ignatianum_, appeared, and therefore was unknown to him. its _bearing occupies a more or less prominent place in all, or nearly all, the writers who have specially discussed the ignatian question during the last quarter of a century. this is true of lipsius and weiss and hilgenfeld and uhlhom, whom he cites, not less than of merx and denzinger and zahn, whom he neglects to cite_. now first as regards the facts. i do not maintain the "contemporary review," february, , p. . {xlv} priority of the curetonian epistles in this book myself, indeed i express no personal opinion whatever regarding them which is not contained in that general declaration of belief, the decision of which excites the wrath of my diffident critic, that the epistles in no form have "any value as evidence for an earlier period than the end of the second or beginning of the third century, even if they have any value at all." i merely represent the opinion of others regarding those epistles. dr. lightfoot very greatly exaggerates the importance attached to the armenian version, and i call special attention to the passages in the above quotation which i have taken the liberty of italicising. i venture to say emphatically that, so far from being considered the "key of the position," this version has, with some exceptions, played a most subordinate and insignificant part in the controversy, and as dr. lightfoot has expressly mentioned certain writers, i will state how the case stands with regard to them. weiss, lipsius, uhlhorn, merx, and zahn certainly "more or less prominently" deal with them. denzinger, however, only refers to petermann's publication, which appeared while his own _brochure_ was passing through the press, in a short note at the end, and in again writing on the ignatian question, two years after,( ) he does not even allude to the armenian version. beyond the barest historical reference to petermann's work, hilgenfeld does not discuss the armenian version at all so much for the writers actually mentioned by dr. lightfoot. as for "the writers who have specially discussed the ignatian question during the last quarter of a century": cureton apparently did not think it worth while to add anything regarding the armenian version of petermann {xlvi} after its appearance; bunsen refutes petermann's arguments in a few pages of his "hippolytus";( ) baur, who wrote against bunsen and the curetonian letters, and, according to dr. lightfoot's representation, should have found this "the most formidable argument" against them, does not anywhere, subsequent to their publication, even allude to the armenian epistles; ewald, in a note of a couple of lines,( ) refers to petermann's epistles as identical with a post-eusebian manipulated form of the epistles which he mentions in a sentence in his text; dressel devotes a few unfavourable lines to them;( ) hefele( ) supports them at somewhat greater length; but bleek, volkmar, tischendorf, bohringer, scholten, and others have not thought them worthy of special notice, at any rate none of these nor any other writers of any weight have, so far as i am aware, introduced them into the controversy at all. the argument itself did not seem to me of sufficient importance to introduce into a discussion already too long and complicated, and i refer the reader to bunsen's reply to it, from which, however, i may quote the following lines: "but it appears to me scarcely serious to say: there are the seven letters in armenian, and i maintain, they prove that coreton's text is an incomplete extract, because, i think, i have found some syriac idioms in the armenian text! well, if that is not a joke, it simply proves, according to ordinary logic, that the seven letters must have once been translated into syriac. but how can it prove that the greek original of {xlvii} this supposed syriac version is the genuine text, and not an interpolated and partially forged one?" (l) dr. lightfoot blames me for omitting to introduce this argument, on the ground that "a discussion which, while assuming the priority of the curetonian letters, ignores this version altogether, has omitted a vital problem of which it was bound to give an account" now all this is sheer misrepresentation. i do not assume the priority of the curetonian epistles, and i examine all the passages contained in the seven greek epistles which have any bearing upon our gospels. passing on to another point, i say: "seven epistles have been selected out of fifteen extant, all equally purporting to be by ignatius, simply because only that number were mentioned by eusebius."( ) another passage is also quoted by dr. lightfoot, which will be found a little further on, where it is taken for facility of reference. upon this he writes as follows: this attempt to confound the seven epistles mentioned by eusebius with the other confessedly spurious epistles, as if they presented themselves to us with the same credentials, ignores all the important facts bearing on the question. ( ). theodoret, a century after eusebius, betrays no knowledge of any other epistles, and there is no distinct trace of the use of the confessedly spurious epistles till late in the sixth century at the earliest. ( ). the confessedly spurious epistles differ widely in style from the seven epistles, and betray the same hand which interpolated the seven epistles. in other words, they clearly formed part of the long recension in the first instance. ( ). they abound in anachronisms which point to an age later than eusebius, as the date of their composition.( ) although i do not really say in the above that no other pleas are advanced in favour of the seven epistles, {xlviii} i contend that, reduced to its simplest form, the argument for that special number rests mainly, if not altogether, upon their mention by eusebius. the very first reason ( ) advanced by dr. lightfoot to refute me is a practical admission of the correctness of my statement, for the eight epistles are put out of court because even theodoret, a century after eusebius, does not betray any knowledge of them, but the "silence of eusebius," the earlier witness, is infinitely more important, and it merely receives some increase of significance from the silence of theodoret. suppose, however, that eusebius had referred to any of them, how changed their position would have been! the epistles referred to would have attained the exceptional distinction which his mention has conferred upon the rest the fact is, moreover, that, throughout the controversy, the two divisions of epistles are commonly designated the "prae-" and "post-eusebian," making him the turning-point of the controversy. indeed, further on, dr. lightfoot himself admits: "the testimony of eusebius first differentiates them."( ) the argument ( and ) that the eight rejected epistles betray anachronisms and interpolations, is no refutation of my statement, for the same accusation is brought by the majority of critics against the vossian epistles. the fourth and last argument seems more directly addressed to a second paragraph quoted by dr. lightfoot, to which i refer above, and which i have reserved till now as it requires more detailed notice. it is this: "it is a total mistake to suppose that the seven epistles mentioned by eusebius have been transmitted to us in any special way. these epistles are mixed up in the medicean and corresponding ancient latin mss. with the other eight epistles, universally pronounced to be spurious, without distinction of any kind, and all have equal honour."( ) {xlix} i will at once give dr. lightfoot's comment on this, in contrast with the statement of a writer equally distinguished for learning and orthodoxy--dr. tregelles: dr. lightfoot. ( ). "it is not strictly true that the seven epistles are mixed up with the confessedly spurious epistles. in the greek and latin mss., as also in the armenian version, the spurious epistles come after the others; and this circumstance, combined with the facts already mentioned, plainly shows that they were a later addition, borrowed from the long recension to complete the body of ignatian letters."( ) dr. tregelles. "it is a mistake to speak of seven ignatian epistles in greek having been transmitted to us, for no such seven exist, except through their having been selected by editors from the medicean ms. which contains so much that is confessedly spurious;--a fact which some who imagine a diplomatic transmission of seven have overlooked."( ) i will further quote the words of cureton, for as dr. lightfoot advances nothing but assertions, it is well to meet him with the testimony of others rather than the mere reiteration of my own statement cureton says: "again, there is another circumstance which will naturally lead us to look with some suspicion upon the recension of the epistles of st. ignatius, as exhibited in the medicean ms., and in the ancient latin version corresponding with it, which is, that the epistles presumed to be the genuine production of that holy martyr are mixed up with others, which are almost universally allowed to be spurious. both in the greek and latin mss. all these are placed upon the same footing, and no distinction is drawn between them; and the only ground which has hitherto been a note to "home's int. to the holy scriptures," th ed., , iv. p. , note . the italics are in the original. "contemporary beview," february, , p. . dr. lightfoot makes the following important admission in a note: "the roman epistle indeed has been separated from its companions, and is embedded in the martyrology which stands at the end of this collection in the latin version, where doubtless it stood also in the greek, before the ms. of this latter was mutilated. otherwise the vossian epistles come together, and are followed by the confessedly spurious epistles in the greek and latin mss. in the armenian all the vossian epistles are together, and the confessedly spurious epistles follow. see zahn, ignatius von antiochien, p. ." {l} assumed for their separation has been the specification of some of them by eusebius and his omission of any mention of the others."' "the external evidence from the testimony of manuscripts in favour of the rejected greek epistles, with the exception of that to the philip-pians, is certainly greater than that in favour of those which have been received.' they are found in all the manuscripts, both greek and latin, in the same form; while the others exhibit two distinct and very different recensions, if we except the epistle to polycarp, in which the variations are very few. of these two recensions the shorter has been most generally received: the circumstance of its being shorter seems much to have influenced its reception; and the text of the medicean codex and of the two copies of the corresponding latin version belonging to cains college, cambridge, and corpus christi college, oxford, has been adopted.... in all these there is no distinction whatever drawn between the former and latter epistles: all are placed upon the same basis; and there is no ground whatever to conclude either that the arranger of the greek recension or the translator of the latin version esteemed one to be better or more genuine than another. nor can any prejudice result to the epistles to the tarsians, to the antiochians, and to hero, from the circumstance of their being placed after the others in the collection; for they are evidently arranged in chronological order, and rank after the rest as having been written from philippi, at which place ignatius is said to have arrived after he had despatched the previous letters. so far, therefore, as the evidence of all the existing copies, latin as well as greek, of both the recensions is to be considered, it is certainly in favour of the rejected epistles, rather than of those which have been retained." ( ) proceeding from counter-statements to actual facts, i will very briefly show the order in which these epistles have been found in some of the principal mss. one of the earliest published was the ancient latin version of eleven epistles edited by j. faber stapulensis in , which was at least quoted in the ninth century, and which in the subjoined table i shall mark a,( ) and which also exhibits the order of cod. vat , assigned to the eleventh century.( ) the next (b) is a greek ms. edited by valentinus pacæus in ,( ) and the order at {li} the same time represents that of the cod. pal. .( ) the third (c) is the ancient latin translation, referred to above, published by archbishop usher.( ) the fourth (d) is the celebrated medicean ms. assigned to the eleventh century, and published by vossiusin .( ) this also represents the order of the cod. casanatensis g. v. .( ) i italicise the rejected epistles: (see scanned page in the html file, ed.) i have given the order in mss. containing the "long recension" as well as the vossian, because, however much some may desire to exclude them, the variety of arrangement is notable, and presents features which have an undeniable bearing upon this question. taking the vossian ms., it is obvious that, without any distinction whatever between the genuine and the spurious, it contains {lii} three of the false epistles, and _does not contain the so-called genuine epistle to the romans at all_. the epistle to the romans, in fact, is, to use dr. lightfoot's own expression, "embedded in the martyrology," which is as spurious as any of the epistles. this circumstance alone would justify the assertion which dr. lightfoot contradicts. i must now, in order finally to dispose of this matter of notes, turn for a short time to consider objections raised by dr. westcott. whilst i have to thank him for greater courtesy, i regret that i must point out serious errors into which he has fallen in his statements regarding my references which, as matters of fact, admit of practical test. before proceeding to them i may make one or two general observations. dr. westcott says: "i may perhaps express my surprise that a writer who is quite capable of thinking for himself should have considered it worth his while to burden his pages with lists of names and writings, arranged, for the most part, alphabetically, which have in very many cases no value whatever for a scholar, while they can only oppress the general reader with a vague feeling that all 'profound' critics are on one side. the questions to be discussed must be decided by evidence and by argument and not by authority."( ) now the fact is that hitherto, in england, argument and evidence have almost been ignored in connection with the great question discussed in this work, and it has practically been decided by the authority of the church, rendered doubly potent by force of habit and transmitted reverence. the orthodox works usually written on the subject have, to a very great extent, suppressed the objections raised by a mass of learned and independent critics, or treated them as insignificant, and worthy of little more than a passing word of pious indignation. at the same time, therefore, that i endeavour, to {liii} the best of my ability, to decide these questions by evidence and argument, in opposition to mere ecclesiastical authority, i refer readers desirous of further pursuing the subject to works where they may find them dis-. cussed. i must be permitted to add, that i do not consider i uselessly burden my pages by references to critics who confirm the views in the text or discuss them, for it is right that earnest thinkers should be told the state of opinion, and recognize that belief is not so easy and matter of course a thing as they have been led to suppose, or the unanimity quite so complete as english divines have often seemed to represent it dr. westcott, however, omits to state that i as persistently refer to writers who oppose, as to those who favour, my own conclusions. dr. westcott proceeds to make the accusation which i now desire to investigate. he says: "writers are quoted as holding on independent grounds an opinion which is involved in their characteristic assumptions. and more than this, the references are not unfrequently actually misleading. one example will show that i do not speak too strongly."(l) dr. westcott has scrutinized this work with great minuteness, and, as i shall presently explain, he has selected his example with evident care. the idea of illustrating the vast mass of references in these volumes by a single instance is somewhat startling, but to insinuate that a supposed contradiction pointed out in one note runs through the whole work, as he does, if i rightly understand his subsequent expressions, is scarcely worthy of dr. westcott, although i am sure he does not mean to be unfair. the example selected is as follows: "it has been demonstrated that ignatius was not sent to rome at all, but suffered martyrdom in antioch itself on the ()th december, a.d. {liv} when he was condemned to be cast to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, in consequence of the fanatical excitement produced by the earthquake which took place on the th of that month. "' the references in support of these statements are the following: baur, urspr. d. epiec.tub. zeitschr. f.theol. , h. , p. anm.; bretschneider, probabilia, &c, p. ; bleek, einl.n. t., p. ; guericke, h*bucht kt #., i p. ; hagenbach, k. g., i. p. f.; davidson, introd. n. t.,i. p. ; mayerhoff, eitll. petr. schr., p. ; scholten, die sit. zeugnisse, p. , p. f.; volkmar, der ursprung, p. ; r'buch einl. apocr., i. p. f., p. . volkmar, wuch einl. apocr., i. p. ff., f.; der ursprung, p. ff.; baur, ursp. d. episc. tub. zeitschr. f. th. , h. , p. f.; gesch. chr. kirehe, , i. p. , anm. .; davidson, introd. n. t., lp. ; scholten, die hit. zeugnisse, p. f.; cf. francke, zur gesch. trojans, u. s. w. , p. f.; hilgenfeld, die ap. vster, p. . upon this dr. westcott remarks: "such an array of authorities, drawn from different schools, cannot but appear overwhelming; and the fact that about half of them are quoted twice over emphasizes the implied precision of their testimony as to the two points affirmed." dr. westcott, however, has either overlooked or omitted to state the fact that, although some of the writers are quoted twice, the two notes differ in almost every particular, many of the names in note being absent from note , other names being inserted in the latter which do not appear in the former, an alteration being in most cases made in the place referred to, and the order in which the authorities are placed being significantly varied. for instance, in note the reference to volkmar is the last, but it is the first in note ; whilst a similar transposition of order takes place in his works, and alterations in the pages. the references in note , in fact, are given for the date occurring in the course of the sentence, whilst those in note , placed at the end, are intended to support the whole statement which is {lv} made. i must, however, explain an omission, which is pretty obvious, but which i regret may have misled dr. westcott in regard to note , although it does not affect note . headers are probably aware that there has been, amongst other points, a difference of opinion not only as to the place, but also the date of the martyrdom of ignatius. i have in every other case carefully stated the question of date, and my omission in this instance is, i think, the only exception in the book. the fact is, that i had originally in the text the words which i now add to the note: "the martyrdom has been variously dated about a.d. , or a.d. - , but whether assigning the event to home or to antioch a majority of critics of all shades of opinion have adopted the later date." thinking it unnecessary, under the circumstances, to burden the text with this, i removed it with the design of putting the statement at the head of note , with reference to "a.d. " in the text, but unfortunately an interruption at the time prevented the completion of this intention, as well.as the addition of some fuller references to the writers quoted, which had been omitted, and the point, to my infinite regret, was overlooked. the whole of the authorities in note , therefore, do not support the apparent statement of martyrdom in antioch, although they all confirm the date, for which i really referred to them. with this explanation, and marking the omitted references( ) by placing them within brackets, i proceed to analyze the two notes in contrast with dr. westcott's statements. these consist only of an additional page of baur's work first quoted, and a reference to another of his works quoted in the second note, but accidentally left out of the note . {lvi} see page scan, ed. {lvii} see page scan, ed. {lviii} see page scan, ed. {lix} it will thus be seen that the whole of these authorities confirm the later date assigned to the martyrdom, and that baur, in the note in which dr. westcott finds "nothing in any way bearing upon the history except a passing supposition," really advances a weighty argument for it and against the earlier date, and as dr. westcott considers, rightly, that argument should decide everything, i am surprised that he has not perceived the propriety of my referring to arguments as well as statements of evidence. to sum up the opinions expressed, i may state that whilst all the nine writers support the later date, for which purpose they were quoted, three of them (bleek, guericke, and mayerhoff) ascribe the martyrdom to rome, one (brctschneider) mentions no place, one (hagenbach) is doubtful, but leans to antioch, and the other four declare for the martyrdom in antioch. nothing, however, could show more conclusively the purpose of note , which i have explained, than this very contradiction, and the fact that i claim for the general statement in the text, regarding the martyrdom in antioch itself in opposition to the legend of the journey to and death in rome, only the authorities in note , which i shall now proceed to analyse in contrast with dr. westcott's statements, and here beg the favour of the readers attention. (see page scans, lix to lxii ed.) {lxiii} at the close of this analysis dr. westcott sums up the result as follows: "in this case, therefore, again, volkmar alone offers any arguments in support of the statement in the text; and the final result of the references is, that the alleged 'demonstration' is, at the most, what scholten calls 'a not groundless conjecture.'"( ) on the canon, preface th ed. p. xxiv. dr. westcott adds, in a note, "it may be worth while to add that in spite of the profuse display of learning in connexion with ignatius, i do not see even in the second edition any reference to the full and elaborate work of zahn." i might reply to this that my ms. had left my hands before zahn's work had reached england, but, moreover, the work contains nothing new to which reference was necessary. {lxiv} it is scarcely possible to imagine a more complete misrepresentation of the fact than the statement that "volkmar alone offers any arguments in support of the statement in the text," and it is incomprehensible upon any ordinary theory. my mere sketch cannot possibly convey an adequate idea of the elaborate arguments of volkmar, baur, and hilgenfeld, but i hope to state their main features, a few pages on. with regard to dr. westcott's remark on the "alleged 'demonstration,'" it must be evident that when a writer states anything to be "demonstrated" he expresses his own belief. it is impossible to secure absolute unanimity of opinion, and the only question in such a case is whether i refer to writers, in connection with the circumstances which i affirm to be demonstrated, who advance arguments and evidence bearing upon it. a critic is quite at liberty to say that the arguments are insufficient, but he is not at liberty to deny that there are any arguments at all when the elaborate reasoning of men like volkmar, baur and hilgenfeld is referred to. therefore, when he goes on to say: "it seems quite needless to multiply comments on these results. any one who will candidly consider this analysis will, i believe, agree with me in thinking that such a style of annotation, which runs through the whole work, is justly characterized as frivolous and misleading."( ) dr. westcott must excuse my retorting that, not my annotation, but his own criticism of it, endorsed by professor lightfoot, is "frivolous and misleading," and i venture to hope that this analysis, tedious as it has been, may once for all establish the propriety and substantial accuracy of my references. as dr. westcott does not advance any further arguments {lxv} of his own in regard to the ignatian controversy, i may now return to dr. lightfoot, and complete my reply to his objections; but i must do so with extreme brevity, as i have already devoted too much space to this subject, and must now come to a close. to the argument that it is impossible to suppose that soldiers such as the "ten leopards" described in the epistles would allow a prisoner, condemned to wild beasts for professing christianity, deliberately to write long epistles at every stage of his journey, promulgating the very doctrines for which he was condemned, as well as to hold the freest intercourse with deputations from the various churches, dr. lightfoot advances arguments, derived from zahn, regarding the roman procedure in cases that are said to be "known." these cases, however, are neither analogous, nor have they the force which is assumed. that christians imprisoned for their religious belief should receive their nourishment, while in prison, from friends, is anything but extraordinary, and that bribes should secure access to them in many cases, and some mitigation of suffering, is possible. the case of ignatius, however, is very different. if the meaning of [--greek--] be that, although receiving bribes, the "ten leopards" only became more cruel, the very reverse of the leniency and mild treatment ascribed to the roman procedure is described by the writer himself as actually taking place, and certainly nothing approaching a parallel to the correspondence of pseudo-ignatius can be pointed out in any known instance. the case of saturus and perpetua, even if true, is no confirmation, the circumstances being very different; (l) but in {lxvi} fact there is no evidence whatever that the extant history was written by either of them,( ) but on the contrary, i maintain, every reason to believe that it was not. dr. lightfoot advances the instance of paul as a case in point of a christian prisoner treated with great consideration, and who "writes letters freely, receives visits from his friends, communicates with churches and individuals as he desires."( ) it is scarcely possible to imagine two cases more dissimilar than those of pseudo-ignatius and paul, as narrated in the "acts of the apostles," although doubtless the story of the former has been framed upon some of the lines of the latter. whilst ignatius is condemned to be cast to the wild beasts as a christian, paul is not condemned at all, but stands in the position of a roman citizen, rescued from infuriated jews (xxiii. ), repeatedly declared by his judges to have done nothing worthy of death or of bonds (xxv. , xxvi. ), and who might have been set at liberty but that he had appealed to cæsar (xxv. f., xxvi. ). his position was one which secured the sympathy of the roman soldiers. ignatius 'fights with beasts from syria even unto rome,' and is cruelly treated by his "ten leopards," but paul is represented as receiving very different treatment. felix commands that his own people should be allowed to come and minister to him (xxiv. ), and when the voyage is commenced it is said that julius, who had charge of paul, treated him courteously, and gave him liberty to go to see his friends at sidon (xxvii. ). at rome he was allowed to live by himself with a single soldier to guard him (xxviii. ), and he continued for two years in his own hired house. {lxvii} these circumstances are totally different from those under which the epistles of ignatius are said to have been written. "but the most powerful testimony," dr. lightfoot goes on to say, "is derived from the representations of a heathen writer."( ) the case of peregrinus, to which he refers, seems to me even more unfortunate than that of paul. of peregrinus himself, historically, we really know little or nothing, for the account of lucian is scarcely received as serious by any one. lucian narrates that this peregrinus proteus, a cynic philosopher, having been guilty of parricide and other crimes, found it convenient to leave his own country. in the course of his travels he fell in with christians and learnt their doctrines, and, according to lucian, the christians soon were mere children in his hands, so that he became in his own person "prophet, high-priest, and ruler of a synagogue," and further "they spoke of him as a god, used him as a law-giver, and elected him their chief man."( ) after a time he was put in prison for his new faith, which lucian says was a real service to him afterwards in his impostures. during the time he was in prison, he is said to have received those services from christians which dr. lightfoot quotes. peregrinus was afterwards set at liberty by the governor of syria, who loved philosophy,( ) and travelled about living in great comfort at the expense of the christians, until at last they quarrelled in consequence, lucian thinks, of his eating some forbidden food. finally, peregrinus ended his career by throwing himself into the flames of a funeral pile during the olympian games. an earthquake is said to have taken {lxviii} place at the time; a vulture flew out from the pile crying out with a human voice; and shortly after peregrinus rose again and appeared clothed in white raiment unhurt by the fire. now this writing, of which i have given the barest sketch, is a direct satire upon christians, or even, as baur affirms, "a parody of the history of jesus."( ) there are no means of ascertaining that any of the events of the christian career of peregrinus were true, but it is obvious that, lucian's policy was to exaggerate the facility of access to prisoners, as well as the assiduity and attention of the christians to peregrinus, the ease with which they were duped being the chief point of the satire. there is another circumstance which must be mentioned. lucian's account of peregrinus is claimed by supporters of the ignatian epistles as evidence for them.( ) "the singular correspondence in this narrative with the account of ignatius, combined with some striking coincidences of expression," they argue, show "that lucian was acquainted with the ignatian history, if not with the ignatian letters." these are the words of dr. lightfoot, although he guards himself, in referring to this argument, by the words: "if it be true," and does not express his own opinion; but he goes on to say: "at all events it is conclusive for the matter in hand, as showing that christian prisoners were treated in the very way described in these epistles."( ) on the contrary, it is in no case conclusive of anything. if it were true that lucian employed, as the basis of his satire, the ignatian epistles and martyrology, {lxix} it is clear that his narrative cannot be used as independent testimony for the truth of the statements regarding the treatment of christian prisoners. on the other hand, as this cannot be shown, his story remains a mere satire with very little historical value. apart from all this, however, the case of peregrinus, a man confined in prison for a short time, under a favourable governor, and not pursued with any severity, is no parallel to that of ignatius condemned _ad bestias_ and, according to his own express statement, cruelly treated by the "ten leopards"; and further the liberty of pseudo-ignatius must greatly have exceeded all that is said of peregrinus, if he was able to write such epistles, and hold such free intercourse as they represent. i will now, in the briefest manner possible, indicate the arguments of the writers referred to in the note(l) attacked by dr. westcott, in which he cannot find any relevancy, but which, in my opinion, demonstrate that ignatius was not sent to rome at all, but suffered martyrdom in antioch itself. the reader who wishes to go minutely into the matter must be good enough to consult the writers there cited, and i will only sketch the case here, without specifically indicating the source of each argument. where i add any particulars i will, when necessary, give my authorities. the ignatian epistles and martyrologies set forth that, during a general persecution of christians, in syria at least, ignatius was condemned by trajan, when he wintered in antioch during the parthian war, to be taken to rome and cast to wild beasts in the amphitheatre. instead of being sent to rome by the short sea voyage, he is represented as taken thither by the long and incomparably more difficult land route. the ten soldiers who {lxx} guard him are described by himself as only rendered more cruel by the presents made to them to secure kind treatment for him, so that not in the amphitheatre only, but all the way from syria to rome, by night and day, by sea and land, he "fights with beasts." notwithstanding this severity, the martyr freely receives deputations from the various churches, who, far from being molested, are able to have constant intercourse with him, and even to accompany him in his journey. he not only converses with these freely, but he is represented as writing long epistles to the various churches which, instead of containing the last exhortations and farewell words which might be considered natural from the expectant martyr, are filled with advanced views of church government, and the dignity of the episcopate. these circumstances, at the outset, excite grave suspicions of the truth of the documents, and of the story which they set forth. when we inquire whether the alleged facts of the case are supported by historical data, the reply is emphatically adverse. all that is known of the treatment of christians during the reign of trajan, as well as of the character of the emperor, is opposed to the supposition that ignatius could have been condemned by trajan himself, or even by a provincial governor, to be taken to rome and there cast to the beasts. it is well known that under trajan there was no general persecution of christians, although there may have been instances in which prominent members of the body were either punished or fell victims to popular fury and superstition.( ) dean milman says: "trajan, indeed, is absolved, at least by the almost general voice of antiquity, from the crime of persecuting the christians." in a note, he adds: "excepting of ignatius, probably of simeon of jerusalem, there is no authentic martyrdom in the reign of trajan."--hist, of christianity, , ii. p. . {lxxi} an instance of this kind was the martyrdom of simeon, bishop of jerusalem, reported by hegesippus. he was not condemned _ad bestias_, however, and much less deported to rome for the purpose. why should ignatius have been so exceptionally treated? in fact, even during the persecutions under marcus aurelius, although christians in syria were frequently enough cast to the beasts, there is no instance recorded in which any one condemned to this fate was sent to rome. such a sentence is quite at variance with the clement character of trajan and his principles of government. neander, in a passage quoted by baur, says: "as he (trajan), like pliny, considered christianity mere fanaticism, he also probably thought that if severity were combined with clemency, if too much noise were not made about it, the open demonstration not left unpunished but also minds not stirred up by persecution, the fanatical enthusiasm would most easily cool down, and the matter by degrees come to an end."( ) this was certainly the policy which mainly characterized his reign. now not only would such a severe sentence have been contrary to such principles, but the agitation excited would have been enormously increased by sending the martyr a long journey by land through asia, and allowing him to pass through some of the principal cities, hold constant intercourse with the various christian communities, and address long epistles to them. with the fervid desire for martyrdom then prevalent, such a journey would have been a triumphal progress, spreading everywhere excitement and enthusiasm. it may not be out of place, as an indication of the results of impartial examination, to {lxxii} point out that neander's inability to accept the ignatian epistles largely rests on his disbelief of the whole tradition of this sentence and martyr-journey. "we do not recognize the emperor trajan in this narrative," (the martyrology) he says, "therefore cannot but doubt every thing which is related by this document, as well as that, during this reign, christians can have been cast to the wild beasts."( ) if, for a moment, we suppose that, instead of being condemned by trajan himself, ignatius received his sentence from a provincial governor, the story does not gain greater probability. it is not credible that such an official would have ventured to act so much in opposition to the spirit of the emperor's government besides, if such a governor did pronounce so severe a sentence, why did he not execute it in antioch? why send the prisoner to rome? by doing so he made all the more conspicuous a severity which was not likely to be pleasing to the clement trajan. the cruelty which dictated a condemnation _ad bestias_ would have been more gratified by execution on the spot, and there is besides no instance known, even during the following general persecution, of christians being sent for execution in rome. the transport to rome is in no case credible, and the utmost that can be admitted is, that ignatius, like simeon of jerusalem, may have been condemned to death during this reign, more especially if the event be associated with some sudden outbreak of superstitious fury against the christians, to which the martyr may at once have fallen a victim. we are not without indications of such a cause operating in the case of ignatius. {lxxiii} it is generally admitted that the date of trajan's visit to antioch is a.d. , when he wintered there during the parthian war. an earthquake occurred on the th december of that year, which was well calculated to excite popular superstition. it may not be out of place to quote here the account of the earthquake given by dean milmau, who, although he mentions a different date, and adheres to the martyrdom in rome, still associates the condemnation of ignatius with the earthquake. he says: "nevertheless, at that time there were circumstances which account with singular likelihood for that sudden outburst of persecution in antioch.... at this very time an earthquake, more than usually terrible and destructive, shook the cities of the east. antioch suffered its most appalling ravages--antioch, crowded with the legionaries prepared for the emperor's invasion of the east, with ambassadors and tributary kings from all parts of the east. the city shook through all its streets; houses, palaces, theatres, temples fell crashing down. many were killed: the consul pedo died of his hurts. the emperor himself hardly escaped through a window, and took refuge in the circus, where he passed some days in the open air. whence this terrible blow but from the wrath of the gods, who must be appeased by unusual sacrifices? this was towards the end of january; early in february the christian bishop, ignatius, was arrested. we know how, during this century, at every period of public calamity, whatever that calamity might be, the cry of the panic-stricken heathens was, 'the christians to the lions!' it may be that, in trajan's humanity, in order to prevent a general massacre by the infuriated populace, or to give greater solemnity to the sacrifice, the execution was ordered to {lxxiv} take place, not in antioch, but in rome."( ) i contend that these reasons, on the contrary, render execution in antioch infinitely more probable. to continue, however: the earthquake occurred on the th, and the martyrdom of ignatius took place on the th december, just a week after the earthquake. his remains, as we know from chrysostom and others, were, as an actual fact, interred at antioch. the natural inference is that the martyrdom, the only part of the ignatian story which is credible, occurred not in rome but in antioch itself, in consequence of the superstitious fury against the [--greek--] aroused by the earthquake. i will now go more into the details of the brief statements i have just made, and here we come for the first time to john malalas. in the first place he mentions the occurrence of the earthquake on the th december. i will quote dr. lightfoot's own rendering of his further important statement. he says: "the words of john malalas are: 'the same king trajan was residing in the same city (antioch) when the visitation of god (i.e. the earthquake) occurred. and at that time the holy ignatius, the bishop of the city of antioch, was martyred (or bore testimony), [--greek--] before him [--greek--]; for he was exasperated against him, because he reviled him.'"( ) dr. lightfoot endeavours in every way to discredit this statement. he argues that malalas tells foolish stories about other matters, and, therefore, is not to be believed here; but so simple a piece of information may well be correctly conveyed by a writer who elsewhere may record stupid traditions.( ) if the narrative of foolish stories and fabulous traditions is to exclude belief in everything else stated by those who relate them, the {lxxv} whole of the fathers are disposed of at one fell swoop, for they all do so. dr. lightfoot also asserts that the theory of the cause of the martyrdom advanced by volkmar "receives no countenance from the story of malalas, who gives a wholly different reason--the irritating language used to the emperor."(l) on the other hand, it in no way contradicts it, for ignatius can only have "reviled" trajan when brought before him, and his being taken before him may well have been caused by the fury excited by the earthquake, even if the language of the bishop influenced his condemnation; the whole statement of malalas is in perfect harmony with the theory in its details, and in the main, of course, directly supports it. then dr. lightfoot actually makes use of the following extraordinary argument: "but it may be worth while adding that the error of malalas is capable of easy explanation. he has probably misinterpreted some earlier authority, whose language lent itself to misinterpretation. the words [--greek--], which were afterwards used especially of martyrdom, had in the earlier ages a wider sense, including other modes of witnessing to the faith: the expression [--greek--] again is ambiguous and might denote either 'during the reign of trajan,' or 'in the presence of trajan.' a blundering writer like malalas might have stumbled over either expression."( ) this is a favourite device. in case his abuse of poor malalas should not sufficiently discredit him, dr. lightfoot attempts to explain away his language. it would be difficult indeed to show that the words [--greek--], already used in that sense in the new testament, were not, at the date at which any record of the martyrdom of ignatius which malalas could have had before him was written, employed to express martyrdom, when applied to such a case, as dr. lightfoot indeed has in the {lxxvi} first instance rendered the phrase. even zahn, whom dr. lightfoot so implicitly follows, emphatically decides against him on both points. "the [--greek--] together with [--greek--] can only signify 'coram trajano' ('in the presence of trajan'), and [--greek--] only the execution."( ) let any one simply read over dr. lightfoot's own rendering, which i have quoted above, and he will see that such quibbles are excluded, and that, on the contrary, malalas seems excellently well and directly to have interpreted his earlier authority. that the statement of malalas does not agree with the reports of the fathers is no real objection, for we have good reason to believe that none of them had information from any other source than the ignatian epistles themselves, or tradition. eusebius evidently had not. irenæus, origen, and some later fathers tell us nothing about him. jerome and chrysostom clearly take their accounts from these sources. malalas is the first who, by his variation, proves that he had another and different authority before him, and in abandoning the martyr-journey to rome, his account has infinitely greater apparent probability. malalas lived at antioch, which adds some weight to his statement. it is objected that so also did chrysostom, and at an earlier period, and yet he repeats the roman story. this, however, is no valid argument against malalas. chrysostom was too good a churchman to doubt the story of epistles so much tending to edification, which were in wide circulation, and had been quoted by earlier fathers. it is in no way surprising that, some two centuries and a half after the martyrdom, he should quietly have accepted the representations of the epistles purporting to have been {lxxvii} written by the martyr himself, and that their story should have shaped the prevailing tradition. the remains of ignatius, as we are informed by chrysostom and jerome, long remained interred in the cemetery of antioch, but finally,--in the time of theodosius, it is said,--were translated with great pomp and ceremony to a building which,--such is the irony of events,--had previously been a temple of fortune. the story told, of course, is that the relics of the martyr had been carefully collected in the coliseum and carried from rome to antioch. after reposing there for some centuries, the relics, which are said to have been transported from rome to antioch, were, about the seventh century, carried back from antioch to rome.( ) the natural and more simple conclusion is that, instead of this double translation, the bones of ignatius had always remained in antioch, where he had suffered martyrdom, and the tradition that they had been brought back from rome was merely the explanation which reconciled the fact of their actually being in antioch with the legend of the ignatian epistles. the th of december is the date assigned to the death of ignatius in the martyrology,( ) and zahn admits that this interpretation is undeniable.( ) moreover, the anniversary of his death was celebrated on that day in the greek churches and throughout the east. in the latin church it is kept on the st of february. there can be little doubt that this was the day of the translation of the relics to rome, and this was evidently the i need not refer to the statement of nicephorus that these relics were first brought from rome to constantinople and afterwards translated to antioch. {lxxviii} view of ruinart, who, although he could not positively contradict the views of his own church, says: "ignatii festum graeci vigesima die mensis decembris celebrant, quo ipsum passum fuisse acta testantur; latini vero die prima februarii, an ob aliquam sacrarum ejus reli-quiarum translationem? plures enim fuisse constat."( ) zahn( ) states that the feast of the translation in later calendars was celebrated on the th january, and he points out the evident ignorance which prevailed in the west regarding ignatius.( ) on the one hand, therefore, all the historical data which we possess regarding the reign and character of trajan discredit the story that ignatius was sent to rme to be exposed to beasts in the coliseum; and all the positive evidence which exists, independent of the epistles themselves, tends to establish the fact that he suffered martyrdom in antioch itself. on the other hand, all the evidence which is offered for the statement that ignatius was sent to rme is more or less directly based upon the representations of the letters, the authenticity of which is in discussion, and it is surrounded with improbabilities of every kind. and what is the value of any evidence emanating from the ignatian epistles and martyrologies? there are three martyrologies which, as ewald says, are "the one more fabulous than the other." there are fifteen epistles all equally purporting to be by {xxix} ignatius, and most of them handed down together in mss., without any distinction. three of these, in latin only, are universally rejected, as are also other five epistles, of which there are greek, latin, and other versions. of the remaining seven there are two forms, one called the long recension and another shorter, known as the vossian epistles. the former is almost unanimously rejected as shamefully interpolated and falsified; and a majority of critics assert that the text of the vossian epistles is likewise very impure. besides these there is a still shorter version of three epistles only, the cure-tonian, which many able critics declare to be the only genuine letters of ignatius, whilst a still greater number, both from internal and external reasons, deny the authenticity of the epistles in any form. the second and third centuries teem with pseudonymic literature, but i venture to say that pious fraud has never been more busy and conspicuous than in dealing with the martyr of antioch. the mere statement of the simple and acknowledged facts regarding the ignatian epistles is ample justification of the assertion, which so mightily offends dr. lightfoot, that "the whole of the ignatian literature is a mass of falsification and fraud." even my indignant critic himself has not ventured to use as genuine more than the three short syriac letters( ) out of this mass of forgery which he rebukes me for holding so cheap. documents which lie under such grave and permanent suspicion cannot prove anything. as i have shown, however, the vossian epistles, whatever the value of their testimony, so far from supporting the claims advanced in favour of our gospels, rather discredit them. {lxxx} i have now minutely followed professor lightfoot and dr. westcott in their attacks upon me in connection with eusebius and the ignatian epistles, and i trust that i have shown once for all that the charges of "misrepresentation" and "misstatement" so lightly and liberally advanced, far from being well-founded, recoil upon themselves. it is impossible in a work like this, dealing with such voluminous materials, to escape errors of detail, as both of these gentlemen bear witness, but i have at least conscientiously endeavoured to be fair, and i venture to think that few writers have ever more fully laid before readers the actual means of judging of the accuracy of every statement which has been made. before closing, i must say a few words regarding another of my critics, who is, however, of a very different order. my system of criticism is naturally uncongenial to mr. matthew arnold, but while he says so with characteristic vigour, he likewise speaks of this work with equally characteristic generosity, and i cordially thank him. i could only be classed by mistake amongst the "objectors" to "literature and dogma," and however different may be the procedure in "supernatural religion," there is fundamental agreement between the two works, and the one may be considered the complement of the other. some one must do the "pounding," if religion is to be a matter of belief and not of mere shifty opinion. we really address two distinct classes of readers. the reader who "has read _and accepted_" mr. matthew arnold's "half dozen lines about the composition of the gospels," and his "half dozen pages about miracles," may in one sense be "just in the same position as when he has read "the whole of this work,( ) but {lxxxi} i have written for those who do not accept them, and who,--as i think rightly,--distrust the conclusions merely forced upon them by ordinary "reflection and experience," and in such important matters demand evidence of a much more tangible kind. i would put it to mr. arnold whether, in seeming to depreciate any attempt to systematize and carry to logical conclusions the whole argument regarding the reality of miracles and divine revelation, he does not do himself injustice, and enunciate a dangerous doctrine. no doubt his own clear insight and wide culture have enabled him to discern truth more surely, and with less apparent effort, than most of those whom he addresses, but in encouraging, as he thus practically does, the adoption by others of religious views with very little trouble or thought, which have certainly cost himself years of training and study, he both cheapens his own intellectual labour, and advocates a superficiality which already has too many attractions. whether he address readers whose belief is already established, or those who are ready to accept it second hand from himself, it seems to me that no work should be unwelcome which supplies evidence of the results, which it has suited his own immediate purpose merely to assume. mr. matthew arnold objects that my book leaves the reader "with the feeling that the bible stands before him like a fair tree all stripped, torn and defaced, not at all like a tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations,"( ) but if this be the case, i submit that it is a necessary process through which the bible must go, before it can be successfully transplanted into that healthy soil, in which alone its leaves can truly be for the contemporary boviow," october, , p. . {lxxxii} healing of any one. under such circumstances, destructive must precede constructive criticism. it is only when we clearly recognize that the bible is not the "word of god" that we can worthily honour and "enjoy" it as the word of man. mr. matthew arnold finely says, with regard to what jesus said and did, that: "his reporters were incapable of rendering it, he was so much above them"; and he rightly considers that the governing idea of our criticism of the four evangelists should be "to make out what in their report of jesus, is jesus, and what is the reporters." i hold, however, that it is only after such an examination as i have endeavoured to carry out, and which for the time must seem hard and wanting in sympathetic appreciation, that most persons educated in christendom can rightly put any such governing idea into practice. it is only when we are entitled to reject the theory of miraculous divine revelation that the bible attains its full beauty, losing the blots and anomalies which it presented in its former character, and acquiring wondrous significance as the expression of the hopes and aspirations of humanity, from which every man may learn wisdom and derive inspiration. the value of such a book seems to me indestructible. i heartily sympathise with mr. arnold's desire to secure due appreciation for the venerable volume, of the beauty of which he has so fine and delicate a perception. a truer insight into its meaning may certainly be imparted by such eloquent and appreciating criticism, and no one is a better judge than mr. matthew arnold of the necessity to plead for the book, with those who are inclined thoughtlessly to reject it along with the errors which have grown with and been based upon it. but, in the end, every man who {lxxxiii} has a mind and a heart must love and honour the bible, and he who has neither is beyond the reach of persuasion. this work has been revised throughout.( ) it was, as i stated at the time, originally carried through the press under very great difficulties, and the revision of details, upon which i had counted, was not only prevented, but, beyond a careful revision of the first part for the second edition, circumstances have until now even prevented my seriously reading through the work since it has been in print. to those who have been good enough to call my attention to errors, or to suggest improvements, i return very sincere thanks. in making this revision i have endeavoured to modify unimportant points, in some of which i have been misunderstood, so as to avoid as far as possible raising difficulties, or inviting discussion without real bearing upon the main argument. as i know the alacrity with which some critics seize upon such points as serious concessions, i beg leave to say that i have not altered anything from change of opinion. i trust that greater clearness and accuracy may have been secured. march th, . it is right to mention that, whilst i have examined a great many of the references, i have not had time to verify them all. preface to the first edition. the present work is the result of many years of earnest and serious investigation, undertaken in the first instance for the regulation of personal belief, and now published as a contribution towards the establishment of truth in the minds of others who are seeking for it. the author's main object has been conscientiously and fully to state the facts of the case, to make no assertions the grounds for which are not clearly given, and as far as possible to place before the reader the materials from which a judgment may be intelligently formed regarding the important subject discussed. the great teacher is reported to have said: "be ye approved money-changers," wisely discerning the gold of truth, and no man need hesitate honestly to test its reality, and unflinchingly to reject base counterfeits. it is obvious that the most indispensable requisite in regard to religion is that it should be true. no specious hopes or flattering promises can have the slightest value unless they be genuine and based upon substantial realities. fear of the results of investigation, therefore, should deter no man, for the issue in any case is gain: emancipation from delusion, or increase of assurance. it is poor honour to sequester a creed from healthy handling, or to shrink from the serious examination of its doctrines. that which is true in religion cannot be shaken; that which is false no one can desire to preserve. {lxxxvi} preface to the second edition. the author has taken advantage of the issue of a second edition to revise this work. he has re-written portions of the first part, and otherwise re-arranged it. he hopes that the argument has thus been made more clear and consecutive. introduction. theoretically, the duty of adequate inquiry into the truth of any statement of serious importance before believing it is universally admitted. practically, no duty is more universally neglected. this is more especially the case in regard to religion, in which our concern is so great, yet the credentials of which so few personally examine. the difficulty of such an investigation and the inability of most men to pursue it, whether from want of opportunity or want of knowledge, are no doubt the chief reasons for this neglect; but another, and scarcely less potent, obstacle has probably been the odium which has been attached to any doubt regarding the dominant religion, as well as the serious, though covert, discouragement of the church to all critical examination of the title-deeds of christianity. the spirit of doubt, if not of intelligent inquiry, has, however, of late years become too strong for repression, and, at the present day, the pertinency of the question of a german writer: "are we still christians?" receives unconscious {xcii} illustration from many a popular pulpit, and many a social discussion. the prevalent characteristic of popular theology in england, at this time, may be said to be a tendency to eliminate from christianity, with thoughtless dexterity, every supernatural element which does not quite accord with current opinion, and yet to ignore the fact that, in so doing, ecclesiastical christianity has practically been altogether abandoned. this tendency is fostered with profoundly illogical zeal by many distinguished men within the church itself, who endeavour to arrest for a moment the pursuing wolves of doubt and unbelief which press upon it, by practically throwing to them, scrap by scrap, the very doctrines which constitute the claims of christianity to be regarded as a divine revelation at all. the moral christianity which they hope to preserve, noble though it be, has not one feature left to distinguish it as a miraculously communicated religion. christianity itself distinctly pretends to be a direct divine revelation of truths beyond the natural attainment of the human intellect. to submit the doctrines thus revealed, therefore, to criticism, and to clip and prune them down to the standard of human reason, whilst at the same time their supernatural character is maintained, is an obvious absurdity. christianity must either be recognized to be a divine revelation beyond man's criticism, and in that case its doctrines must be received even though reason cannot be satisfied, or the claims of christianity to be such a divine revelation must be disallowed, in which case it becomes the legitimate subject of criticism like every other human system. one or other of these alternatives must be adopted, but to {xciii} assert that christianity is divine, and yet to deal with it as human, is illogical and wrong. when we consider the vast importance of the interests involved, therefore, it must be apparent that there can be no more urgent problem for humanity to solve than the question: is christianity a supernatural divine revelation or not? to this we may demand a clear and decisive answer. the evidence must be of no uncertain character which can warrant our abandoning the guidance of reason, and blindly accepting doctrines which, if not supernatural truths, must be rejected by the human intellect as monstrous delusions. we propose in this work to seek a conclusive answer to this momentous question. it appears to us that at no time has such an investigation been more requisite. the results of scientific inquiry and of biblical criticism have created wide-spread doubt regarding the most material part of christianity considered as a divine revelation. the mass of intelligent men in england are halting between two opinions, and standing in what seems to us the most unsatisfactory position conceivable: they abandon, before a kind of vague and indefinite, if irresistible, conviction, some of the most central supernatural doctrines of christianity; they try to spiritualize or dilute the rest into a form which does not shock their reason; and yet they cling to the delusion, that they still retain the consolation and the hope of truths which, if not divinely revealed, are mere human speculation regarding matters beyond reason. they have, in fact, as little warrant to abandon the one part as they have to retain the other. they build their house upon the sand, and the waves which have already carried away so much may any day engulf the rest. at the same time, amid this general eclipse of faith, many {xciv} an earnest mind, eagerly seeking for truth, endures much bitter pain,--unable to believe--unable freely to reject--and yet without the means of securing any clear and intelligent reply to the inquiry: "what is truth?" any distinct assurance, whatever its nature, based upon solid grounds, would be preferable to such a state of doubt and hesitation. once persuaded that we have attained truth, there can be no permanent regret for vanished illusions. we must, however, by careful and impartial investigation, acquire the right to our belief, whatever it may be, and not float like a mere waif into the nearest haven. flippant unbelief is much worse than earnest credulity. the time is ripe for arriving at a definite conviction as to the character of christianity. there is no lack of materials for a final decision, although hitherto they have been beyond the reach of most english readers, and a careful and honest examination of the subject, even if it be not final, cannot fail to contribute towards a result more satisfactory than the generally vague and illogical religious opinion of the present day. even true conclusions which are arrived at either accidentally or by wrong methods are dangerous. the current which by good fortune led to-day to truth may to-morrow waft us to falsehood. that such an investigation cannot, even at the present time, be carried on in england without incurring much enmity and opposition need scarcely be remarked, however loudly the duty and liberty of inquiry be theoretically proclaimed, and the reason is obvious. if we look at the singular diversity of views entertained, not only with regard to the doctrines, but also to the evidences, of christianity, we cannot but be struck by the helpless position in which divine revelation is now placed. {xcv} orthodox christians at the present day may be divided into two broad classes, one of which professes to base the church upon the bible, and the other the bible upon the church. the one party assert that the bible is fully and absolutely inspired, that it contains god's revelation to man, and that it is the only and sufficient ground for all religious belief; and they maintain that its authenticity is proved by the most ample and irrefragable external as well as internal evidence. what then must be the feeling of any ordinary mind on hearing, on the other hand, that men of undoubted piety and learning, as well as unquestioned orthodoxy, within the church of england, admit that the bible is totally without literary or historical evidence, and cannot for a moment be upheld upon any such grounds as the revealed word of god; that none of the great doctrines of ecclesiastical christianity can be deduced from the bible alone;( ) and that, "if it be impossible to accept the literary method of dealing with holy scripture, the usual mode of arguing the truth of revelation, _ab extra_, merely from what are called 'evidences'--whether of miracles done or prophecies uttered thousands of years ago,--must also be insufficient."?( ) it cannot be much comfort to be assured by them that, notwithstanding this absence of external and internal evidence, this revelation stands upon the sure basis of the inspiration of a church, which has so little ground in history for any claim to infallibility. the unsupported testimony of a church which in every age has vehemently maintained errors and denounced truths which are now universally recognized is no {xcvi} sufficient guarantee of divine revelation. obviously, there is no ground for accepting from a fallible church and fallacious tradition doctrines which, avowedly, are beyond the criterion of reason, and therefore require miraculous evidence. with belief based upon such uncertain grounds, and with such vital difference of views regarding evidence, it is not surprising that ecclesiastical christianity has felt its own weakness, and entrenched itself against the assaults of investigation. it is not strange that intellectual vigour in any direction should, almost unconsciously, have been regarded as dangerous to the repose and authority of the church, and that, instead of being welcomed as a virtue, religious inquiry has almost been repelled as a crime. such inquiry, however, cannot be suppressed. mere scientific questions may be regarded with apathy by those who do not feel their personal bearing. it may possibly seem to some a matter of little practical importance to them to determine whether the earth revolves round the sun, or the sun round the earth; but no earnest mind can fail to perceive the immense personal importance of truth in regard to religion--the necessity of investigating, before accepting, dogmas, the right interpretation of which is represented as necessary to salvation,--and the clear duty, before abandoning reason for faith, to exercise reason, in order that faith may not be mere credulity. as bacon remarked, the injunction: "hold fast that which is good," must always be preceded by the maxim: "prove all things." even archbishop trench has said: "credulity is as real, if not so great, a sin as unbelief," applying the observation to the duty of demanding a "sign" from any one professing to be the utterer of a revelation: "else might he lightly {xcvii} be persuaded to receive that as from god, which, indeed, was only the word of man."( ) the acceptance of any revelation or dogma, however apparently true in itself, without "sign"--without evidence satisfying the reason, is absolute credulity. even the most thorough advocate of faith must recognise that reason must be its basis, and that faith can only legitimately commence where reason fails. the appeal is first to reason if afterwards to faith, and no man pretending to intellectual conscience can overlook the primary claim of reason. if it is to be more than a mere question of priority of presentation whether we are to accept buddhism, christianity, or mahometanism, we must strictly and fearlessly examine the evidence upon which they profess to stand. the neglect of examination can never advance truth, as the severest scrutiny can never retard it, but belief without discrimination can only foster ignorance and superstition. it was in this conviction that the following inquiry into the reality of divine revelation was originally undertaken, and that others should enter upon it. an able writer, who will not be suspected of exaggeration on this subject, has said: "the majority of mankind, perhaps, owe their belief rather to the outward influence of custom and education, than to any strong principle of faith within; and it is to be feared that many if they came to perceive how wonderful what they believed was, would not find their belief so easy, and so matter-of-course a thing as they appear to find it."( ) to no earnest mind can such inquiry be otherwise than a serious and often a {xcviii} painful task, but, dismissing preconceived ideas and preferences derived from habit and education, and seeking only the truth, holding it, whatever it may be, to be the only object worthy of desire, or capable of satisfying a rational mind, the quest cannot but end in peace and satisfaction. in such an investigation, however, to quote words of archbishop whately: "it makes all the difference in the world whether we place truth in the first place or in the second place."--for if truth acquired do not compensate for every pet illusion dispelled, the path is thorny indeed, although it must still be faithfully trodden. an inquiry into the reality of divine revelation. part i. chapter i. miracles in relation to christianity at the very outset of inquiry into the origin and true character of christianity we are brought face to face with the supernatural. christianity professes to be a divine revelation of truths which the human intellect could not otherwise have discovered. it is not a form of religion developed by the wisdom of man and appealing to his reason, but a system miraculously communicated to the human race, the central doctrines of which are either superhuman or untenable. if the truths said to be revealed were either of an ordinary character or naturally attainable they would at once discredit the claim to a divine origin. no one could maintain that a system discoverable by reason would be supernaturally communicated. the whole argument for christianity turns upon the necessity of such a revelation and the consequent probability that it would be made. { } there is nothing singular, it may be remarked, in the claim of christianity to be a direct revelation from god. with the exception of the religions of greece and rome, which, however, also had their subsidiary supposition of divine inspiration, there has scarcely been any system of religion which has not been proclaimed to the world as a direct divine communication. long before christianity claimed this character, the religions of india had anticipated the idea. to quote the words of an accomplished scholar:--"according to the orthodox views of indian theologians, not a single line of the veda was the work of human authors. the whole veda is in some way or other the work of the deity; and even those who received it were not supposed to be ordinary mortals, but beings raised above the level of common humanity, and less liable, therefore, to error in the reception of revealed truth."( ) the same origin is claimed for the religion of zoroaster, whose doctrines, beyond doubt, exercised great influence at least upon later jewish theology, and whose magian followers are appropriately introduced beside the cradle of jesus, as the first to do honour to the birth of christianity. in the same way mahomet announced his religion as directly communicated from heaven. christianity, however, as a religion professing to be divinely revealed, is not only supernatural in origin and doctrine, but its claim to acceptance is necessarily based upon supernatural evidence; for it is obvious that truths which require to be miraculously communicated do not come within the range of our intellect, and cannot, therefore, be intelligently received upon internal testimony. "and, certainly," says a recent able bampton lecturer, "if it was the will of god to give a revelation, there are { } plain and obvious reasons for asserting that miracles are necessary as the guarantee and voucher for that revelation. a revelation is, properly speaking, such only by virtue of telling us something which we could not know without it. but how do we know that that communication of what is undiscoverable by human reason is true? our reason cannot prove the truth of it, for it is by the very supposition beyond our reason. there must be, then, some note or sign to certify to it and distinguish it as a true communication from god, which note can be nothing else than a miracle."( ) in another place the same lecturer stigmatizes the belief of the mahometan "as in its very principle irrational," because he accepts the account which mahomet gave of himself, without supernatural evidence.( ) the belief of the christian is contrasted with it as rational, "because the christian believes in a supernatural dispensation upon the proper evidence of such a dispensation, viz., the miraculous."( ) mahomet is reproached with having "an utterly barbarous idea of evidence, and a total miscalculation of the claims of reason," because he did not consider miraculous evidence necessary to attest a supernatural dispensation;" whereas the gospel is adapted to perpetuity for this cause especially, with others, that it was founded upon a true calculation, and a foresight of the permanent need of evidence; our lord admitting the inadequacy of his own mere word, and the necessity of a rational guarantee to his revelation of his own nature and commission."( ) { } the spontaneous offer of miraculous evidence, indeed, has always been advanced as a special characteristic of christianity, logically entitling it to acceptance in contradistinction to all other religions. "it is an acknowledged historical fact," says bishop butler, "that christianity offered itself to the world, and demanded to be received, upon the allegation, i. e,, as unbelievers would speak, upon the pretence, of miracles, publicly wrought to attest the truth of it in such an age;... and christianity, including the dispensation of the old testament, seems distinguished by this from all other religions."( ) most of the great english divines have clearly recognized and asserted the necessity of supernatural evidence to establish the reality of a supernatural revelation. bishop butler affirms miracles and the completion of prophecy to be the "direct and fundamental proofs" of christianity.( ) elsewhere he says: "the notion of a miracle, considered as a proof of a divine mission, has been stated with great exactness by divines, and is, i think, sufficiently understood by every one. there are also invisible miracles, the incarnation of christ, for instance, which, being secret, cannot be alleged as a proof of such a mission; but require themselves to be proved by visible miracles. revelation itself, too, is miraculous; and miracles are the proof of it."( ) paley states the case with equal clearness: "in what way can a revelation be made but by miracles? in none which we are able to conceive."( ) his argument in fact is founded upon the principle that: "nothing but miracles { } could decide the authority" of christianity.( ) in another work he asserts that no man can prove a future retribution, but the teacher "who testifies by miracles that his doctrine comes from god."( ) bishop atterbury, again, referring to the principal doctrines of ecclesiastical christianity, says: "it is this kind of truth that god is properly said to reveal; truths, of which, unless revealed, we should have always continued ignorant; and 'tis in order only to prove these truths to have been really revealed, that we affirm miracles to be necessary."( ) dr. heurtley, the margaret professor of divinity in the university of oxford, after pointing out that the doctrines taught as the christian revelation are such as could not by any possibility have been attained by the unassisted human reason, and that, consequently, it is reasonable that they should be attested by miracles, continues: "indeed, it seems inconceivable how without miracles--including prophecy in the notion of a miracle--it could sufficiently have commended itself to men's belief? who would believe, or would be justified in believing, the great facts which constitute its substance on the _ipse dixit_ of an unaccredited teacher? and how, except by miracles, could the first teacher be accredited? paley, then, was fully warranted in the assertion.... that 'we cannot conceive a revelation'--such a revelation of course as christianity professes to be, a revelation of truths which transcend man's ability to discover,--' to be { } substantiated without miracles.' other credentials, it is true, might be exhibited _in addition_ to miracles,--and such it would be natural to look for,--but it seems impossible that miracles could be dispensed with."( ) dr. mansel, the late dean of st. paul's, bears similar testimony: "a teacher who proclaims himself to be specially sent by god, and whose teaching is to be received on the authority of that mission, must, from the nature of the case, establish his claim by proofs of another kind than those which merely evince his human wisdom or goodness. a superhuman authority needs to be substantiated by superhuman evidence; and what is superhuman is miraculous."( ) dr. j. h. newman, in discussing the idea and scope of miracles, says: "a revelation, that is, a direct message from god to man, itself bears in some degree a miraculous character;... and as a revelation itself, so again the evidences of a revelation may all more or less be considered miraculous.... it might even be said that, strictly speaking, no evidence of a revelation is conceivable which does not partake of the character of a miracle; since nothing but a display of power over the existing system of things can attest the immediate presence of him by whom it was originally established."( ) dr. mozley has stated in still stronger terms the necessity that christianity should be authenticated by the evidence of miracles. he supposes the case that a person of evident integrity and loftiness of character had appeared, eighteen centuries ago, announcing himself as pre-existent from all eternity, the son of god, maker { } of the world, who had come down from heaven and assumed the form and nature of man in order to be the lamb of god that taketh away the sins of the world, and so on, enumerating other doctrines of christianity. dr. mozley then asks: "what would be the inevitable conclusion of sober reason respecting that person? the necessary conclusion of sober reason respecting that person would be that he was disordered in his understanding... by no rational being could a just and benevolent life be accepted as proof of such astonishing announcements. miracles are the necessary complement, then, of the truth of such announcements, which, without them, are purposeless and abortive, the unfinished fragments of a design which is nothing unless it is the whole. they are necessary to the justification of such announcements, which indeed, unless they are supernatural truths, are the wildest delusions."( ) he, therefore, concludes that: "christianity cannot be maintained as a revelation undiscoverable by human reason, a revelation of a supernatural scheme for man's salvation, without the evidence of miracles."( ) in all points, christianity is emphatically a supernatural religion claiming to be divine in its origin, superhuman in its essence and miraculous in its evidence. it cannot be accepted without an absolute belief in miracles, and those who profess to hold the religion whilst they discredit its supernatural elements--and they are many at the present day--have widely seceded from ecclesiastical christianity. miracles, it is true, are external to christianity in so far as they are evidential, but inasmuch as it is admitted that miracles alone can attest the reality of divine revelation they are still inseparable { } from it; and as the contents of the revelation are so to say more miraculous than its attesting miracles, the supernatural enters into the very substance of christianity and cannot be eliminated. it is obvious, therefore, that the reality of miracles is the vital point in the investigation which we have undertaken. if the reality of miracles cannot be established, christianity loses the only evidence by which its truth can be sufficiently attested. if miracles be incredible the supernatural revelation and its miraculous evidence must together be rejected. this fact is thoroughly recognized by the ablest christian divines. dean mansel, speaking of the position of miracles in regard to christianity, says: "the question, however, assumes a very different character when it relates, not to the comparative importance of miracles as evidences, but to their reality as facts, and as facts of a supernatural kind. for if this is denied, the denial does not merely remove one of the supports of a faith which may yet rest securely on other grounds. on the contrary, the whole system of christian belief with its evidences... all christianity in short, so far as it has any title to that name, so far as it has any special relation to the person or the teaching of christ, is overthrown at the same time."( ) a little further on he says: "if there be one fact recorded in scripture which is entitled, in the fullest sense of the word, to the name of a miracle, the resurrection of christ is that fact. here, at least, is an instance in which the entire christian faith must stand or fall with our belief in the supernatural."( ) he, therefore, properly repudiates the view, "which represents the question of the possibility { } of miracles as one which merely affects the _external accessories_ of christianity, leaving the _essential doctrines_ untouched."( ) dr. mozley in a similar manner argues the inseparable union of miracles with the christian faith. "indeed not only are miracles _conjoined_ with doctrine in christianity, but miracles are inserted _in_ the doctrine and are part of its contents. a man cannot state his belief as a christian in the terms of the apostles' creed without asserting them. can the doctrine of our lord's incarnation be disjoined from one physical miracle? can the doctrine of his justification of us and intercession for us, be disjoined from another?... if a miracle is incorporated as an article in a creed, that article of the creed, the miracle, and the proof of it by a miracle, are all one thing. the great miracles, therefore, upon the evidence of which the christian scheme rested, being thus inserted in the christian creed, the belief in the creed was of itself the belief in the miraculous evidence of it.... thus miracles and the supernatural contents of christianity must stand or fall together."( ) dr. heurtley, referring to the discussion of the reality of miracles, exclaims: "it is not too much to say, therefore, that the question is vital as regards christianity."( ) canon westcott not less emphatically makes the same statement. "it is evident," he says, "that if the claim to be a miraculous religion is essentially incredible apostolic christianity is simply false.... the essence of christianity lies in a miracle; and if it can be shown that a miracle is either impossible or incredible, all further inquiry into the details of its history is superfluous { } in a religious point of view."( ) similarly, a recent hulsean lecturer, dr. farrar, has said: "however skilfully the modern ingenuity of semi-belief may have tampered with supernatural interpositions, it is clear to every honest and unsophisticated mind that, if miracles be incredible, christianity is false. if christ wrought no miracles, then the gospels are untrustworthy;... if the resurrection be merely a spiritual idea, or a mythicized hallucination, then our religion has been founded on an error...." ( ) it has been necessary clearly to point out this indissoluble connection between ecclesiastical christianity and the supernatural, in order that the paramount importance of the question as to the credibility of miracles should be duly appreciated. our inquiry into the reality of divine revelation, then, whether we consider its contents or its evidence, practically reduces itself to the very simple issue: are miracles antecedently credible? did they ever really take place? we do not intend to confine ourselves merely to a discussion of the abstract question, but shall also endeavour to form a correct estimate of the value of the specific allegations which are advanced. . having then ascertained that miracles are absolutely necessary to attest the reality of divine revelation we may proceed to examine them more closely, and for the present we shall confine ourselves to the representations of these phenomena which are given in the bible. throughout the old testament the doctrine is inculcated { } that supernatural communications must have supernatural attestation. god is described as arming his servants with power to perform wonders, in order that they may thus be accredited as his special messengers. the patriarchs and the people of israel generally are represented as demanding "a sign" of the reality of communications said to come from god, without which, we are led to suppose, they not only would not have believed, but would have been justified in disbelieving, that the message actually came from him. thus gideon( ) asks for a sign that the lord talked with him, and hezekiah( ) demands proof of the truth of isaiah's prophecy that he should be restored to health. it is, however, unnecessary to refer to instances, for it may be affirmed that upon all occasions miraculous evidence of an alleged divine mission is stated to have been required and accorded. the startling information is at the same time given, however, that miracles may be wrought to attest what is false as well as to accredit what is true. in one place,( ) it is declared that if a prophet actually gives a sign or wonder and it comes to pass, but teaches the people, on the strength of it, to follow other gods, they are not to hearken to him, and the prophet is to be put to death. the false miracle is, here,( ) attributed to god himself: "for the lord your god proveth you, to know whether ye love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul." in the book of the prophet ezekiel, the case is stated in a still stronger way, and god is represented as directly deceiving the prophet: "and if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, i the lord have deceived that prophet, and i will { } stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people israel."( ) god, in fact, is represented as exerting his almighty power to deceive a man and then as destroying him for being deceived. in the same spirit is the passage( ) in which micaiah describes the lord as putting a lying spirit into the mouths of the prophets who incited ahab to go to ramoth-gilead. elsewhere,( ) and notably in the new testament, we find an ascription of real signs and wonders to another power than god. jesus himself is represented as warning his disciples against false prophets, who work signs and wonders: "many will say to me in that day, lord, lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" of whom he should say: "i never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."( ) and again in another place: "for false prophets shall arise, and shall work signs and wonders [--greek--] to seduce, if it were possible, the elect."( ) also, when the pharisees accuse him of casting out devils by beelzebub the prince of the devils, jesus asks: "by whom do your children cast them out?"( ) a reply which would lose all its point if they were not admitted to be able to cast out devils. in another passage john is described as saying: "master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbad him."( ) without multiplying instances, however, there can be no doubt of the fact { } that the reality of false miracles and lying wonders is admitted in the bible. the obvious deduction from this representation of miracles is that the source and purpose of such supernatural phenomena must always be exceedingly uncertain.( ) their evidential value is, therefore, profoundly affected, "it being," as dr. newman has said of ambiguous miracles, "antecedently improbable that the almighty should rest the credit of his revelation upon events which but obscurely implied his immediate presence."( ) as it is affirmed that other supernatural beings exist, as well as an assumed personal god, by whose agency miracles are performed, it is impossible to argue with reason that such phenomena are at any time specially due to the intervention of the deity. dr. newman recognizes this, but passes over the difficulty with masterly lightness of touch. after advancing the singular argument that our knowledge of spirits is only derived from scripture, and that their existence cannot be deduced from nature, whilst he asserts that the being of a god--a personal god be it remembered--can be so discovered, and that, therefore, miracles can only properly be attributed to him, he proceeds: "still it may be necessary to show that on our own principles we are not open to inconsistency. that is, it has been questioned whether, in admitting the existence and power of spirits on the authority of revelation, we are not in danger of { } invalidating the evidence upon which that authority rests. for the cogency of the argument for miracles depends on the assumption, that interruptions in the course of nature must ultimately proceed from god; which is not true, if they may be effected by other beings without his sanction. and it must be conceded, that, explicit as scripture is in considering miracles as signs of divine agency, it still does seem to give created spirits some power of working them; and even, in its most literal sense, intimates the possibility of their working them in opposition to the true doctrine. (deut. xiii. - ; matt. xxiv. ; thess. ii. -ll.)"( ) dr. newman repudiates the attempts of various writers to overcome this difficulty by making a distinction between great miracles and small, many miracles and few, or by referring to the nature of the doctrine attested in order to determine the author of the miracle, or by denying the power of spirits altogether, and explaining away scripture statements of demoniacal possession and the narrative of the lord's temptation. "without having recourse to any of these dangerous modes of answering the objection," he says, "it may be sufficient to reply, that, since, agreeably to the antecedent sentiment of reason, god has adopted miracles as the seal of a divine message, we believe he will never suffer them to be so counterfeited as to deceive the humble inquirer."( ) this is the only reply which even so powerful a reasoner as dr. newman can give to an objection based on distinct statements of scripture itself. he cannot deny the validity of the objection, he can only hope or believe in spite of it personal belief independent of evidence is the most common and the weakest of arguments; at the { } best it is prejudice masked in the garb of reason. it is perfectly clear that miracles being thus acknowledged to be common both to god and to other spirits they cannot be considered a distinctive attestation of divine intervention; and, as spinoza finely argued, not even the mere existence of god can be inferred from them; for as a miracle is a limited act, and never expresses more than a certain and limited power, it is certain that we cannot from such an effect, conclude even the existence of a cause whose power is infinite.( ) this dual character obviously leads to many difficulties in defining the evidential function and force of miracles, and we may best appreciate the dilemma which is involved by continuing to follow the statements and arguments of divines themselves. to the question whether miracles are absolutely to command the obedience of those in whose sight they are performed, and whether, upon their attestation, the doer and his doctrine are to be accepted as of god, archbishop trench unhesitatingly replies: "it cannot be so, for side by side with the miracles which serve for the furthering of the kingdom of god runs another line of wonders, the counter-workings of him who is ever the ape of the most high."( ) the deduction is absolutely logical and cannot be denied. "this fact," he says, "that the kingdom of lies has its wonders no less than the kingdom of truth, is itself sufficient evidence that miracles cannot be appealed { } to absolutely and finally, in proof of the doctrine which the worker of them proclaims." this being the case, it is important to discover how miracles perform their function as the indispensable evidence for a divine revelation, for with this disability they do not seem to possess much potentiality. archbishop trench, then, offers the following definition of the function of miracles: "a miracle does not prove the truth of a doctrine, or the divine mission of him that brings it to pass. that which alone it claims for him at the first is a right to be listened to: it puts him in the alternative of being from heaven or from hell. the doctrine must first commend itself to the conscience as being _good_, and only then can the miracle seal it as _divine_. but the first appeal is from the doctrine to the conscience, to the moral nature of man."( ) under certain circumstances, he maintains, their evidence is utterly to be rejected. "but the purpose of the miracle," he says, "being, as we have seen, to confirm that which is good, so, upon the other hand, where the mind and conscience witness against the doctrine, not all the miracles in the world have a right to demand submission to the word which they seal. on the contrary, the great act of faith { } is to believe, against, and in despite of them all, in what god has revealed to, and implanted in the soul of the holy and the true; not to believe another gospel, though an angel from heaven, or one transformed into such, should bring it (deut. xiii. ; gal. i. ); and instead of compelling assent, miracles are then rather warnings to us that we keep aloof, for they tell us that not merely lies are here, for to that the conscience bore witness already, but that he who utters them is more than a common deceiver, is eminently 'a liar and an anti-christ,' a false prophet, --standing in more immediate connection than other deceived and evil men to the kingdom of darkness, so that satan has given him his power (rev. xiii. ), is using him to be an especial organ of his, and to do a special work for him."( ) and he lays down the distinct principle that: "the miracle must witness for itself, and the doctrine must witness for itself, and then, and then only, the first is capable of witnessing for the second."( ) these opinions are not peculiar to the archbishop of dublin, but are generally held by divines, although dr. trench expresses them with unusual absence of reserve. dr. mozley emphatically affirms the same doctrine when he says: "a miracle cannot oblige us to accept any doctrine which is contrary to our moral nature, or to a fundamental principle of religion."( ) dr. mansel speaks to the same effect: "if a teacher claiming to work miracles proclaims doctrines contradictory to previously established truths, whether to the conclusions of natural religion or to the teaching of a former revelation, such a contradiction is allowed even by the most zealous defenders of the evidential value of miracles, to { } invalidate the authority of the teacher. but the right conclusion from this admission is not that true miracles are invalid as evidences, but that the supposed miracles in this case are not true miracles at all; i. e., are not the effects of divine power, but of human deception or of some other agency."( ) a passage from a letter written by dr. arnold which is quoted by dr. trench in support of his views, both illustrates the doctrine and the necessity which has led to its adoption: "you complain," says dr. arnold, writing to dr. hawkins, "of those persons who judge of a revelation not by its evidence, but by its substance. it has always seemed to me that its substance is a most essential part of its evidence; and that miracles wrought in favour of what was foolish or wicked would only prove manicheism. we are so perfectly ignorant of the unseen world, that the character of any supernatural power can only be judged by the moral character of the statements which it sanctions. thus only can we tell whether it be a revelation from god or from the devil."( ) in another place dr. arnold declares: "miracles must not be allowed to overrule the gospel; for it is only through our belief in the gospel that we accord our belief to them."( ) { } it is obvious that the mutual dependence which is thus established between miracles and the doctrines in connection with which they are wrought destroys the evidential force of miracles, and that the first and the final appeal is made to reason. the doctrine in fact proves the miracle instead of the miracle attesting the doctrine. divines of course attempt to deny this, but no other deduction from their own statements is logically possible. miracles, according to scripture itself, are producible by various supernatural beings and may be satanic as well as divine; man, on the other hand, is so ignorant of the unseen world that avowedly he cannot, from the miracle itself, determine the agent by whom it was performed;(l) the miracle, therefore, has no intrinsic evidential value. how, then, according to divines, does it attain any potentiality? only through a favourable decision on the part of reason or the "moral nature in man" regarding the { } character of the doctrine. the result of the appeal to reason respecting the morality and credibility of the doctrine determines the evidential status of the miracle. the doctrine, therefore, is the real criterion of the miracle which, without it, is necessarily an object of doubt and suspicion. we have already casually referred to dr. newman's view of such a relation between miracle and doctrine, but may here more fully quote his suggestive remarks. "others by referring to the nature of the doctrine attested," he says, "in order to determine the author of the miracle, have exposed themselves to the plausible charge of adducing, first the miracle to attest the divinity of the doctrine, and then the doctrine to prove the divinity of the miracle."( ) this argument he characterizes as one of the "dangerous modes" of removing a difficulty, although he does not himself point out a safer, and, in a note, he adds: "there is an appearance of doing honour to the christian doctrines in representing them as _intrinsically_ credible, which leads many into supporting opinions which, carried to their full extent, supersede the need of miracles altogether. it must be recollected, too, that they who are allowed to praise have the privilege of finding fault, and may reject, according to their _á priori_ notions, as well as receive. doubtless the divinity of a clearly immoral doctrine could not be evidenced by miracles; for our belief in the moral attributes of god is much stronger than our conviction of the negative proposition, that none but he can interfere with the system of nature.( ) but there is always { } the danger of extending this admission beyond its proper limits, of supposing ourselves adequate judges of the _tendency_ of doctrines; and, because unassisted reason informs us what is moral and immoral in our own case, of attempting to decide on the abstract morality of actions;... these remarks are in nowise inconsistent with using (as was done in a former section) our actual knowledge of god's attributes, obtained from a survey of nature and human affairs, in determining the probability of certain professed miracles having proceeded from him. it is one thing to infer from the experience of life, another to imagine the character of god from the gratuitous conceptions of our own minds."( ) although dr. newman apparently fails to perceive that he himself thus makes reason the criterion of miracles and therefore incurs the condemnation with which our quotation opens, the very indecision of his argument illustrates the dilemma in which divines are placed. dr. mozley, however, still more directly condemns the principle which we are discussing--that the doctrine must be the criterion of the miracle--although he also, as we have purposes for which it never was intended, and is unfitted. to rationalise in matters of revelation is to make our reason the standard and measure of the doctrines revealed; to stipulate that those doctrines should be such as to carry with them their own justification; to reject them, if they come in collision with our existing opinions or habits of thought, or are with difficulty harmonised with our existing stock of knowledge" (essays, crit. and hist., , vol. i. p. ); and a little further on: "a like desire of judging for one's self is discernible in the original fall of man. eve did not believe the tempter any more than god's word, till she perceived «the fruit was good for food '" ( ., p. ). dr. newman, of course, wishes to limit his principle precisely to suit his own convenience, but in permitting the rejection of a supposed revelation in spite of miracles, on the ground of our disapproval of its morality, it is obvious that the doctrine is substantially made the final criterion of the miracle. { } seen, elsewhere substantially affirms it. he says: "the position that the revelation proves the miracles, and not the miracles the revelation, admits of a good qualified meaning; but taken literally, it is a double offence against the rule, that things are properly proved by the proper proof of them; for a supernatural fact _is_ the proper proof of a supernatural doctrine; while a supernatural doctrine, on the other hand, is certainly _not_ the proper proof of a supernatural fact"( ) this statement is obviously true, but it is equally undeniable that, their origin being uncertain, miracles have no distinctive evidential force. how far, then, we may inquire in order thoroughly to understand the position, can doctrines prove the reality of miracles or determine the agency by which they are performed? in the case of moral truths within the limits of reason, it is evident that doctrines which are in accordance with our ideas of what is good and right do not require miraculous evidence at all. they can secure acceptance by their own merits alone. at the same time it is universally admitted that the truth or goodness of a doctrine is in itself no proof that it emanates directly from god, and consequently the most obvious wisdom and beauty in the doctrine could not attest the divine origin of a miracle. such truths, however, have no proper connection with revelation at all. "_these_ truths," to quote the words of bishop atterbury, "were of themselves sufficiently obvious and plain, and needed not a divine testimony to make them plainer. but the truths which are necessary in this manner to be attested, are those which are of positive institution; those, which if god had not pleased to reveal them, human reason could not { } have discovered; and those, which, even now they are revealed, human reason cannot fully account for, and perfectly comprehend."( ) how is it possible then that reason or "the moral nature in man" can approve as good, or appreciate the fitness of, doctrines which in their very nature are beyond the criterion of reason?( ) what reply, for instance, can reason give to any appeal to it regarding the doctrine of the trinity or of the incarnation? if doctrines the truth and goodness of which are apparent do not afford any evidence of divine revelation, how can doctrines which reason can neither discover nor comprehend attest the divine origin of miracles? dr. mozley clearly recognizes that they cannot do so. "the proof of a revelation," he says, and we may add, "the proof of a miracle--itself a species of revelation--which is contained in the substance of a revelation has this inherent check or limit in it: viz. that it cannot reach to what is undiscoverable by reason. internal evidence is itself an appeal to reason, because at every step the test is our own appreciation of such and such an idea or doctrine, our own perception of its fitness; but human reason cannot in the nature of the case prove that which, by the very hypothesis, lies beyond human reason."( ) it naturally follows that no doctrine which lies beyond reason, and therefore requires the attestation of miracles, can possibly afford that indication of the source and reality of miracles which is necessary to endow them with evidential value, and the supernatural doctrine must, therefore, be rejected in the absence of miraculous evidence of a decisive character. { } canon mozley labours earnestly, but unsuccessfully, to restore to miracles as evidence some part of that potentiality of which these unfortunate limitations have deprived them. whilst on the one hand he says: "we must admit, indeed, an inherent modification in the function of a miracle as an instrument of proof,"( ) he argues that this is only a limitation, and no disproof of it, and he contends that: "the evidence of miracles is not negatived because it has conditions."( ) his reasoning, however, is purely apologetic, and attempts by the unreal analogy of supposed limitations of natural principles and evidence to excuse the disqualifying limitation of the supernatural. he is quite conscious of the serious difficulty of the position: "the question," he says, "may at first sight create a dilemma--if a miracle is nugatory on the side of one doctrine, what cogency has it on the side of another? is it legitimate to accept its evidence when we please, and reject it when we please?" the only reply he seems able to give to these very pertinent questions is the remark which immediately follows them: "but in truth a miracle is never without an argumentative force, although that force may be counterbalanced."( ) in other words a miracle is always an argument although it is often a bad one. it is scarcely necessary to go to the supernatural for bad arguments. it might naturally be expected that the miraculous evidence selected to accredit a divine revelation should possess certain unique and marked characteristics. it must, at least, be clearly distinctive of divine power, and exclusively associated with divine truth. it is inconceivable that the deity, deigning thus to attest { } the reality of a communication from himself of truths beyond the criterion of reason, should not make the evidence simple and complete, because, the doctrines proper to such a revelation not being appreciable from internal evidence, it is obvious that the external testimony for them--if it is to be of any use--must be unmistakable and decisive. the evidence which is actually produced, however, so far from satisfying these legitimate anticipations, lacks every one of the qualifications which reason antecedently declares to be necessary. miracles are not distinctive of divine power but are common to satan, and they are admitted to be performed in support of falsehood as well as in the service of truth. they bear, indeed, so little upon them the impress of their origin and true character, that they arc dependent for their recognition upon our judgment of the very doctrines to attest which they are said to have been designed. even taking the representation of miracles, therefore, which divines themselves give, they are utterly incompetent to perform their contemplated functions. if they are superhuman they are not super-satanic, and there is no sense in which they can be considered miraculously evidential of anything. to argue, as theologians do, that the ambiguity of their testimony is deliberately intended as a trial of our faith is absurd, for reason being unable to judge of the nature either of supernatural fact or supernatural doctrine, it would be mere folly and injustice to subject to such a test beings avowedly incapable of sustaining it. whilst it is absolutely necessary, then, that a divine revelation should be attested by miraculous evidence to justify our believing it the testimony so called seems in all respects { } unworthy of the name, and presents anomalies much more suggestive of human invention than divine originality. we are, in fact, prepared even by the scriptural account of miracles to expect that further examination will supply an explanation of such phenomena which will wholly remove them from the region of the supernatural. { } chapter ii. miracles in relation to the order of nature without at present touching the question as to their reality, it may be well to ascertain what miracles are considered to be, and how far, and in what sense it is asserted that they are supernatural we have, hitherto, almost entirely confined our attention to the arguments of english divines, and we must for the present continue chiefly to deal with them, for it may broadly be said, that they alone, at the present day, maintain the reality and supernatural character of such phenomena. no thoughtful mind can fail to see that, considering the function of miracles, this is the only logical and consistent course.( ) the insuperable difficulties in the way of admitting the reality of miracles, however, have driven the great majority of continental, as well as very many english, theologians who still pretend to a certain orthodoxy, either to explain the miracles of the gospel naturally, or to suppress them altogether. since schleiermacher denounced the idea of divine interruptions of the order of nature, and explained away the supernatural character { } of miracles, by defining them as merely relative: miracles to us, but in reality mere anticipations of human knowledge and power, his example has been more or less followed throughout germany, and almost every expedient has been adopted, by would-be orthodox writers, to reduce or altogether eliminate the miraculous elements. the attempts which have been made to do this, and yet to maintain the semblance of unshaken belief in the main points of ecclesiastical christianity, have lamentably failed, from the hopeless nature of the task and the fundamental error of the conception. the endeavour of paulus and his school to get rid of the supernatural by a bold naturalistic interpretation of the language of the gospel narratives, whilst the credibility of the record was represented as intact, was too glaring an outrage upon common sense to be successful, but it was scarcely more illogical than subsequent efforts to suppress the miraculous, yet retain the creed. the great majority of modern german critics, however, reject the miraculous altogether, and consider the question as no longer worthy of discussion, and most of those who have not distinctly expressed this view either resort to every linguistic device to evade the difficulty, or betray, by their hesitation, the feebleness of their belief.( ) in dealing with the { } question of miracles, therefore, it is not to germany we must turn, but to england, where their reality is still maintained. archbishop trench rejects with disdain the attempts of schleiermacher and others to get rid of the miraculous elements of miracles, by making them relative, which he rightly considers to be merely "a decently veiled denial of the miracle altogether;"( ) and he will not accept any reconciliation which sacrifices the miracle, "which," he logically affirms, "is, in fact, no miracle, if it lay in nature already, if it was only the evoking of forces latent therein, not a new thing, not the bringing in of the novel powers of a higher world; if the mysterious processes and powers by which those works were brought about had been only undiscovered hitherto, and not undiscoverable, by the efforts of human inquiry."( ) when dr. trench tries to define what he considers the real character of miracles, however, he becomes, as might be expected, { } voluminous and obscure. he says: "an extraordinary divine casualty, and not that ordinary which we acknowledge everywhere, and in everything, belongs, then, to the essence of the miracle; powers of god other than those which have always been working; such, indeed, as most seldom or never have been working before. the unresting activity of god, which at other times hides and conceals itself behind the veil of what we term natural laws, does in the miracle unveil itself; it steps out from its concealment, and the hand which works is laid bare. beside and beyond the ordinary operation of nature, higher powers (higher, not as coming from a higher source, but as bearing upon higher ends) intrude and make themselves felt even at the very springs and sources of her power."( ) "not, as we shall see the greatest theologians have always earnestly contended, _contra_ naturam, but _præter_ naturam, and _supra_ naturam."( ) further on he adds: "_beyond_ nature, _beyond_ and _above_ the nature which we know, they are, but not _contrary_ to it."( ) dr. newman, in a similar strain, though with greater directness, says: "the miracles of scripture are undeniably beyond nature;" and he explains them as "wrought by persons consciously exercising, under divine guidance, a power committed to them for definite ends, professing to be immediate messengers from heaven, and to be evidencing their mission by their miracles."( ) miracles are here described as "beside," and "beyond," and "above" nature, but a moment's consideration must { } show that, in so far as these terms have any meaning at all, they are simply evasions, not solutions, of a difficulty. dr. trench is quite sensible of the danger in which the definition of miracles places them, and how fatal to his argument is would be to admit that they are contrary to the order of nature. "the miracle," he protests, "is not thus _unnatural_; nor could it be such, since the unnatural, the contrary to order, is of itself the ungodly, and can in no way, therefore, be affirmed of a divine work, such as that with which we have to do."( ) the archbishop in this; however, is clearly arguing from nature to miracles, and not from miracles to nature. he does not, of course, know what miracles really are, but as he recognizes that the order of nature must be maintained, he is forced to assert that miracles are not contrary to nature. he repudiates the idea of their being natural phenomena; and yet attempts to deny that they are unnatural. they must either be the one or the other. the archbishop, besides; forgets that he ascribes miracles to satan as well as to god. indeed, that his distinction is purely imaginary, and inconsistent with the alleged facts of scriptural miracles, is apparent from dr. trench's own illustrations; the whole argument is a mere quibble of words to evade a palpable dilemma. dr. newman does not fall into this error, and more boldly faces the difficulty. he admits that the scripture miracles "innovate upon the impressions which are made upon us by the order and the laws of the natural world;"( ) and that "walking on the sea, or the resurrection of the dead, is a plain reversal of its laws."( ) { } take, for instance, the multiplication of loaves and fishes. five thousand people are fed upon five barley loaves and two small fishes: "and they took up of the fragments which remained twelve baskets full."( ) dr. trench is forced to renounce all help in explaining this miracle from natural analogies, and he admits: "we must simply behold in the multiplying of the bread" (and fishes?)" an act of divine omnipotence on his part who was the word of god,--not, indeed, now as at the first, of absolute creation out of nothing, since there was a substratum to work on in the original loaves and fishes, but an act of creative accretion."( ) it will scarcely be argued by any one that such an "act of divine omnipotence" and "creative accretion" as this multiplication of five baked loaves and two small fishes is not contrary to the order of nature.( ) for dr. trench has himself pointed out that there must be interposition of man's art here, and that "a grain of wheat could never by itself, and according to the laws of natural development, issue in a loaf of bread.( ) undaunted by, or rather unconscious of, such contradictions, the archbishop proceeds with his argument, and with new definitions of the miraculous. so far from being disorder of nature, he continues with audacious precision: "the true miracle is a higher and a purer { } nature coming down out of the world of untroubled harmonies into this world of ours, which so many discords have jarred and disturbed, and bringing this back again, though it be but for one mysterious prophetic moment, into harmony with that higher."( ) in that "higher and purer nature" can a grain of wheat issue in a loaf of bread? we have only to apply this theory to the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes to perceive how completely it is the creation of dr. trench's poetical fancy. these passages fairly illustrate the purely imaginary and arbitrary nature of the definitions which those who maintain the reality and supernatural character of miracles give of them. that explanation is generally adopted which seems most convenient at the moment, and none ever passes, or, indeed, ever can pass, beyond the limits of assumption. the favourite hypothesis is that which ascribes miracles to the action of unknown law. archbishop trench naturally adopts it: "we should see in the miracle," he says, "not the infraction of a law, but the neutralizing of a lower law, the suspension of it for a time by a higher;" and he asks with indignation, whence we dare conclude that, because we know of no powers sufficient to produce miracles, none exist. "they exceed the laws of _our_ nature; but it does not therefore follow that they exceed the laws of _all_ nature."( ) it is not easy { } to follow the distinction here between "_our_ nature" and "_all nature_," since the order of nature, by which miracles are judged, is, so far as knowledge goes, universal, and we have no grounds for assuming that there is any other. the same hypothesis is elaborated by dr. mozley. assuming the facts of miracles, he proceeds to discuss the question of their "referribleness to unknown law," in which expression he includes both "_unknown law_, or unknown connexion with _known_ law."( ) taking first the supposition of (unknown) connection with known law, dr. mozley argues that, as a law of nature, in the scientific sense, cannot possibly produce single or isolated facts, it follows that no isolated or exceptional event can come under a law of nature _by direct observation_, but, if it comes under it at all, it can only do so by some _explanation_, which takes it out of its isolation and joins it to a class of facts, whose recurrence indeed constitutes the law. now dr. mozley admits that no explanation can be given by which miracles can have an unknown connexion with known law. taking the largest class of miracles, bodily cures, the correspondence between a simple command or prophetic notification and the cure is the chief characteristic of miracles, and distinguishes them from mere marvels. { } no violation of any law of nature takes place in either the cure or the prophetic announcement taken separately, but the two, taken together, are the proof of superhuman agency. dr. mozley concludes that no physical hypothesis can be framed accounting for the superhuman knowledge and power involved in this class of miracles, supposing the miracles to stand as they are recorded in scripture.( ) dr. mozley then shifts the inquiry to the other and different question, whether miracles may not be instances of laws which are as yet wholly unknown.( ) this is generally called a question of "higher law," --that is to say, a law which comprehends under itself two or more lower or less wide laws. and the principle would be applicable to miracles by supposing the existence of an unknown law, hereafter to be discovered, under which miracles would come, and then considering whether this new law of miracles, and the old law of common facts, might not both be reducible to a still more general law which comprehended them both. now a law of nature, in the scientific sense, cannot exist without a class of facts which comes under it, and in reality constitutes the law; but dr. mozley of course recognizes that the discovery of such a law of miracles would necessarily involve the discovery of fresh miracles, for to talk of a law of miracles without miracles would be an absurdity.( ) the supposition of the discovery of such a law of miracles, however, would be tantamount to the supposition of a future new order of nature, from which it immediately follows that the whole supposition is irrelevant and futile as regards the present question.( ) { } for no new order of things could make the present order different, and a miracle, could we suppose it becoming the ordinary fact of another different order of nature, would not be less a violation of the laws of nature in the present one.( ) dr. mozley also rejects this explanation. we pause here to remark that, throughout the whole inquiry into the question of miracles, we meet with nothing from theologians but mere assumptions, against which the invariability of the known order of nature steadily opposes itself. the facts of the narrative of the miracle are first assumed, and so are the theories by which it is explained. now, with regard to every theory which seeks to explain miracles by assumption, we may quote words applied by one of the ablest defenders of miracles to some conclusion of straw, which he placed in the mouth of an imaginary antagonist in order that he might refute it: "but the question is," said the late dean of st. paul's, "not whether such a conclusion has been asserted, as many other absurdities have been asserted, by the advocates of a theory, but whether it has been established on such scientific grounds as to be entitled to the assent of all duly cultivated minds, whatever their own consciences may say to the contrary."( ) divines are very strict in demanding absolute demonstrations from men of science and others, but we do not find them at all ready to furnish conclusions of similar accuracy regarding dogmatic theology. immediately after his indignant demand for scientific accuracy of demonstration, dr. mansel proceeds to argue as follows: in the will of man we have the solitary instance of an efficient cause, in the highest sense of the { } term, acting among the physical causes of the material world, and producing results which could not have been brought about by any mere sequence of physical causes. if a man of his own will throw a stone into the air, its motion, as soon as it has left his hand, is determined by a combination of purely material laws; but by what _law_ came it to be thrown at all? the law of gravitation, no doubt, remains constant and unbroken, whether the stone is lying on the ground, or moving through the air, but all the laws of matter could not have brought about the particular result without the interposition of the free will of the man who throws the stone. substitute the will of god for the will of man, and the argument becomes applicable to the whole extent of creation and to all the phenomena which it embraces.( ) it is evident that dr. mansel's argument merely tends to prove that every effect must have a cause, a proposition too obvious to require any argument at all. if a man had not thrown the stone, the stone would have remained lying on the ground. no one doubts this. we have here, however, this "solitary instance of an efficient cause acting among the physical causes of the material world," producing results which are wholly determined by material laws,( ) and incapable of producing any opposed to them. if, therefore, we substitute, as dr. mansel desires, "the will of god" for "the will of man," we arrive at no results which are not in harmony { } with the order of nature. we have no ground whatever for assuming any efficient cause acting in any other way than in accordance with the laws of nature. it is, how-fever, one of the gross fallacies of this argument, as applied to miracles, to pass from the efficient cause producing results which are strictly in accordance with natural laws, and determined by them, to an assumed efficient cause producing effects which are opposed to natural law. the restoration to life of a decomposed human body and the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes are opposed to natural laws, and no assumed efficient cause conceivable to which they may be referred can harmonize them. dr. mozley continues his argument in a similar way. he inquires: "is the suspension of physical and material laws by a spiritual being inconceivable? we reply that, however inconceivable this kind of suspension of physical law is, it is a fact. physical laws are suspended any time an animate being moves any part of its body; the laws of matter are suspended by the laws of life."(l) he goes on to maintain that, although it is true that his spirit is united with the matter in which it moves in a way in which the great spirit who acts on matter in the miracle is not, yet the action of god's spirit in the miracle of walking on the water is no more inconceivable than the action of his own spirit in holding up his own hand. "antecedently, one step on the ground and an ascent to heaven are alike incredible. but this appearance of incredibility is answered in one case literally _ambulando_. how can i place any reliance upon it in the other?"( ) from this illustration, { } dr. mozley, with a haste very unlike his previous careful procedure, jumps at the following conclusions: "the constitution of nature, then, disproved the incredibility of the divine suspension of physical law; but more than this, it creates a presumption for it."(l) the laws of life of which we have experience, he argues, are themselves in an ascending scale. first come the laws which regulate unorganized matter; next the laws of vegetation; then the laws of animal life, with its voluntary motion; and above these again, the laws of moral being. a supposed intelligent being whose experience was limited to one or more classes in this ascending scale of laws would be totally incapable of conceiving the action of the higher classes. the progressive succession of laws is perfectly conceivable backward, but an absolute mystery forward. "analogy," therefore, when in this ascending series we arrive at man, leads us to expect that there is a higher sphere of law as much above _him_ as he is above the lower natures in the scale, and "supplies a presumption in favour of such a belief."( ) and so we arrive at the question whether there is or is not a god, a personal head in nature, whose free will penetrates the universal frame invisibly to us, and is an omnipresent agent. if there be, dr. mozley concludes, then, every miracle in scripture is as natural an event in the universe as any chemical experiment in the physical world.( ) this is precisely the argument of dr. mansel, regarding the "efficient cause," somewhat elaborated, but, however ingeniously devised, it is equally based upon assumption and defective in analogy. the "classes of { } law" to which the bampton lecturer refers work harmoniously side by side, regulating the matter to which they apply. unorganized matter, vegetation, and animal life, may each have special conditions modifying phenomena, but they are all equally subject to the same general laws. man is as much under the influence of gravitation as a stone is. the special operation of physical laws is less a modification of law than that law acting under different conditions. the law of gravitation suffers no alteration, whether it cause the fall of an apple or shape the orbit of a planet. the reproduction of the plant and of the animal is regulated by the same fundamental principle acting through different organisms. the harmonious action of physical laws, and their adaptability to an infinite variety of forms, constitute the perfection of that code which produces the order of nature.( ) the mere superiority of man over lower forms of organic and inorganic matter does not lift him above physical laws, and the analogy of every grade in nature forbids the presumption that higher forms may exist which are exempt from their control. if in animated beings, as is affirmed, we had the solitary instance of an "efficient cause" acting among the forces of nature, and possessing the power of initiation, this "efficient cause" produces no disturbance of physical law. its existence is as much a recognized part of the infinite variety of form within the order of nature as the existence of a crystal or a plant; and although the character of the force exercised by it may not be clearly understood, its effects are regulated by the same laws as { } govern all other forces in nature. if "the laws of matter are suspended by the laws of life" each time an animated being moves any part of its body, one physical law is counteracted in precisely the same manner, and to an equivalent degree, each time another physical law is called into action. the law of gravitation, for instance, is equally neutralized by the law of magnetism each time a magnet suspends a weight in the air. in each case, a law is successfully resisted precisely to the extent of the force employed. the arm that is raised by the animated being falls again, in obedience to law, as soon as the force which raised it is exhausted, quite as certainly as the weight descends when the magnetic current fails. this, however, is not the suspension of law in the sense of a miracle, but, on the contrary, is simply the natural operation upon each other of co-existent laws. it is a recognized part of the order of nature,( ) and instead of { } rendering credible any supernatural suspension of laws, the analogy of animated beings distinctly excludes it. the introduction of life in no way changes the relation between cause and effect, which constitutes the order of nature, and is the essence of its law. life favours no presumption for the suspension of law, but, on the contrary, whilst acting in nature, universally exhibits the prevalence and invariability of law. the "laws of life" may be subtle, but they are an integral portion of the great order of nature, working harmoniously with the laws of matter, and not one whit more independent of them than any one natural law is of another. the supposed "efficient cause," is wholly circumscribed by law. it is brought into existence by the operation of immutable physical laws, and from the cradle to the grave it is subject to those laws. so inseparably is it connected with matter, and consequently with the laws which regulate matter, that it cannot even become conscious of its own existence without the intervention of matter. the whole process of life is dependent on obedience to natural laws, and so powerless is this efficient cause to resist their jurisdiction, that, in spite of its highest efforts, it pines or ceases to exist in consequence of the mere natural operation of law upon the matter with which it is united, and without { } which it is impotent. it cannot receive an impression from without that is not conveyed in accordance with law, and perceived by an exquisitely ordered organism, in every part of which law reigns supreme; nor can it communicate from within except through channels equally ordered by law. a slight injury may derange the delicate mechanical contrivances of eye, ear, and vocal chords, and may further destroy the reason and paralyze the body, reducing the animated being, by the derangement of those channels to which physical law limits its action, to a mere smouldering spark of life, without consciousness and without expression. the "laws of life" act amongst the laws of matter, but are not independent of them, and the action of both classes of law is regulated by precisely the same principles. dr. mozley's affirmation, that _antecedently_ one step on the ground and an ascent to heaven are alike incredible, does not help him. in that sense it follows that there is nothing that is not antecedently incredible, nothing credible until it has happened. this argument, however, while it limits us to actual experience, prohibits presumptions with regard to that which is beyond experience. to argue that, because a step on the ground and an ascent to heaven are antecedently alike incredible, yet as we subsequently make that step, therefore the ascent to heaven, which we cannot make, from incredible becomes credible, is a contradiction in terms. if the ascent be antecedently incredible, it cannot at the same time be antecedently credible. that which is incredible cannot become credible because something else quite different becomes credible. it is apparent that such an argument is vicious. experience comes { } with its sober wisdom to check such reasoning. we believe in our power to walk because we habitually exercise it: we disbelieve in bodily ascensions because all experience excludes them. the step is part of the recognised order of nature, and has none of the elements in it of the miraculous. but if we leap into the air on the brink of a precipice, belief in an ascent to heaven is shattered to pieces at the bottom to which the law of gravitation infallibly drags us. there is absolutely nothing in the constitution of nature, we may say, reversing dr. mozley's assertion, which does not prove the incredibility of a divine suspension of physical laws, and does not create a presumption against it. there is no instance producible, or even logically conceivable, of any power whose effects are opposed to the ultimate ruling of the laws of nature. the occurrence of anything opposed to those laws is incredible. dr. mozley has himself shown that miracles cannot be explained either by unknown connection with known law, or by reference to unknown law; and he renounces the explanation of "higher law." his distinction between the laws of nature and the "laws of the universe,"( ) by which he nevertheless endeavours to make a miracle credible, is one which is purely imaginary, and cannot affect us in our present position within the order of nature. we know of no laws of the universe differing from the laws of nature. so far as human observation can range, these laws alone prevail. for all practical purposes, therefore, such a distinction is futile, and belief is necessarily limited to the actual operation of natural laws. the occasional intervention of an unknown "efficient cause," producing the effects { } called "miracles"--effects which are not referrible to any known law--is totally opposed to experience, and such a hypothesis to explain alleged occurrences of a miraculous character cannot find a legitimate place within the order of nature. . the proposition with which dr. mozley commences these bampton lectures, and for which he contends to their close, is this: "that miracles, or visible suspensions of the order of nature for a providential purpose, are not in contradiction to reason."( ) he shows that, the purpose of miracles is to attest a supernatural revelation, which, without them, we could not be justified in believing. "christianity," he distinctly states, "cannot be maintained as a revelation undiscoverable by human reason--a revelation of a supernatural scheme for man's salvation without the evidence of miracles."( ) out of this very admission he attempts to construct an argument in support of miracles: "hence it follows," he continues, "that upon the supposition of the divine design of a revelation, a miracle is not an anomaly or irregularity, but part of the system of the universe; because, though an irregularity and an anomaly in relation to either part, it has a complete adaptation to the whole. there being two worlds, a visible and invisible, and a communication between the two being wanted, a miracle is the instrument of that communication."( ) here, again, the argument is based upon mere assumption. { } the supposition of the divine design of a revelation is the result of a foregone conclusion in its favour, and is not suggested by antecedent probability. it is, in fact, derived solely from the contents of the revelation itself. divines assume that a communication of this nature is in accordance with reason, and was necessary for the salvation of the human race, simply because they believe that it took place. no attempt is seriously made independently to prove the reality of the supposed "divine design of a revelation." a revelation having, it is supposed, been made, that revelation is consequently supposed to have been contemplated, and to have necessitated and justified suspensions of the order of nature to effect it. the proposition for which the evidence of miracles is demanded is viciously employed as evidence for miracles. the circumstances upon which the assumption of the necessity and reasonableness of a revelation is based, however, are incredible, and contrary to reason. we are asked to believe that god made man in his own image, pure and sinless, and intended him to continue so, but that scarcely had this, his noblest work, left the hands of the creator, than man was tempted into sin by satan, an all-powerful and persistent enemy of god, whose existence and antagonism to a being in whose eyes sin is abomination are not accounted for and are incredible.( ) adam's fall brought a curse upon the earth, and incurred the penalty of death for himself and for the whole of his posterity. the human race, although created perfect and without sin, { } thus disappointed the expectations of the creator, and became daily more wicked, the evil spirit having succeeded in frustrating the designs of the almighty, so that god repented that he had made man, and at length destroyed by a deluge all the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of eight persons who feared him. this sweeping purification, however, was as futile as the original design, and the race of men soon became more wicked than ever. the final and only adequate remedy devised by god for the salvation of his creatures, become so desperately and hopelessly evil, was the incarnation of himself in the person of "the son," the second person in a mysterious trinity of which the godhead is said to be composed, (who was conceived by the holy ghost, and born of the virgin mary,) and his death upon the cross as a vicarious expiation of the sins of the world, without which supposed satisfaction of the justice of god his mercy could not possibly have been extended to the frail and sinful work of his own hands. the crucifixion of the incarnate god was the crowning guilt of a nation whom god himself had selected as his own peculiar people, and whom he had condescended to guide by constant direct revelations of his will, but who, from the first, had displayed the most persistent and remarkable proclivity to sin against him, and, in spite of the wonderful miracles wrought on their behalf, to forsake his service for the worship of other gods. we are asked to believe, therefore, in the frustration of the divine design of creation, and in the fall of man into a state of wickedness hateful to god, requiring and justifying the divine design of a revelation, and such a revelation as this, as a preliminary to the further proposition that, on the supposition of such a design, miracles would not be contrary to reason. { } antecedently, nothing could be more absolutely incredible or contrary to reason than these statements, or the supposition of such a design. dr. mozley himself admits that, as human announcements, the doctrines of christianity would be the "wildest delusions," which we could not be justified in believing, and that such a scheme could not be maintained without miraculous evidence. the supposition of the divine design of the revelation is solely derived from the doctrines supposed to have been revealed, and, indeed, that design forms part of them. until they are proved to be divine truths, these statements must obviously be considered human announcements, and consequently they are antecedently incredible, and the "wildest delusions." as dr. mozley does not pretend that there is anything antecedently credible upon which he can base an assertion that there was actually { } any "divine design of a revelation," or that any "communication between the two worlds" was requisite, it is therefore clear that his argument consists merely of assumptions admitted to be antecedently incredible. it advances a supposition of that which is contrary to reason to justify supposed visible suspensions of the order of nature, which are also contrary to reason. incredible assumptions cannot give probability to incredible evidence- tertullian's audacious paradox: "credo quia impossible," of which such reasoning is illustrative, is but the cry of enthusiastic credulity. the whole theory of this abortive design of creation, with such impotent efforts to amend it, is emphatically contradicted by the glorious perfection and invariability of the order of nature. it is difficult to say whether the details of the scheme, or the circumstances which are supposed to have led to its adoption, are more shocking to reason or to moral sense. the imperfection ascribed to the divine work is scarcely more derogatory to the power and wisdom of the creator, than the supposed satisfaction of his justice in the death of himself incarnate, the innocent for the guilty, is degrading to the idea of his moral perfection. the supposed necessity for repeated interference to correct the imperfection of the original creation, the nature of the means employed, and the triumphant opposition of satan, are anthropomorphic conceptions totally incompatible with the idea of an infinitely wise and almighty being. the constitution of nature, so far from favouring any hypothesis of original perfection and subsequent deterioration, bears everywhere the record of systematic upward progression. not only is the assumption, that any revelation of the nature of ecclesiastical christianity was necessary, excluded upon { } philosophical grounds, but it is contradicted by the whole operation of natural laws, which contain in themselves inexorable penalties against natural retrogression, or even unprogressiveness, and furnish the only requisite stimulus to improvement.( ) the survival only of the fittest is the we venture to add a passage from mr. herbert spencer's "social statics," which we have met with for the first time since this work was published, in illustration of this assertion. mr. spencer affirms "the evanescence of evil" and the perfectibility of man, upon the ground that: "all evil results from the non-adaptation of constitution to conditions." after an elaborate demonstration of this, he resumes as follows: "if there be any conclusiveness in the foregoing arguments, such a faith is well founded. as commonly supported by evidence drawn from history, it cannot be considered indisputable. the inference that as adyancement has been hitherto the rule, it will be the rule henceforth, may be called a plausible speculation. but when it is shown that this adyancement is due to the working of a universal law; and that in virtue of that law it must continue until the state we call perfection is reached, then the advent of such a state is removed out of the region of probability into that of certainty. if any one demurs to this let him point out the error. here are the several steps of the argument. all imperfection is unfitness to the conditions of existence. this unfitness must consist either in having a faculty or faculties in excess; or in having a faculty or faculties deficient; or in both. a faculty in excess is one which the conditions of existence do not afford full exercise to; and a faculty that is deficient is one from which the conditions of existence demand more than it can perform. but it is an essential principle of life that a faculty to which circumstances do not allow full exercise diminishes; and that a faculty on which circumstances make excessive demands increases. and so long as this excess and this deficiency continue, there must continue decrease on the one hand, and growth on the other. finally all excess and all deficiency must disappear, that is, all unfitness must disappear; that is, all imperfection must disappear. thus the ultimate development of the ideal man is logically certain� as certain as any conclusion in which we place the most implicit faith; for instance, that all men will die. for why do we infer that all men will die p simply because, in an immense number of past experiences, death has uniformly occurred. similarly then as the experiences of all people in all times�experiences that are embodied in maxims, proverbs, and moral precepts, and that are illustrated in biographies and histories, go to prove that organs, faculties, powers, capacities, or whatever else we call them grow by use and diminish from disuse, it is inferred that they will continue to do so. and if this inference is unquestionable, then is the one above deduced from it--that humanity must in the end become completely adapted to its conditions-- unquestionable also. progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity. instead of civilization being artificial, it is a part of nature; all of a piece with the development of the embryo or the unfolding of a flower. the modifications mankind have undergone, and are still undergoing, result from a law underlying the whole organic creation; and provided the human race continues, and the constitution of things remains the same, those modifications must end in completeness. as surely as the tree becomes bulky when it stands alone, and slender if one of a group; as surely as the same creature assumes the different forms of cart-horse and racehorse, according as its habits demand strength or speed; as surely as a blacksmith's arm grows large, and the skin of a labourer's hand thick; as surely as the eye tends to become long-sighted in the sailor, and shortsighted in the student; as surely as the blind attain a more delicate sense of touch; as surely as a clerk acquires rapidity in writing and calculation; as surely as the musician learns to detect an error of a semitone amidst what seems to others a very babel of sounds; as surely as a passion grows by indulgence and diminishes when restrained; as surely as a disregarded conscience becomes inert, and one that is obeyed active; as surely as there is any efficacy in educational culture, or any meaning in such terms as habit, custom, practice; so surely must the human faculties be moulded into complete fitness for the social state; so surely must the things we call evil and immorality disappear; so surely must man become perfect." social statics, stereotyped ed. , p. f. { } stern decree of nature. the invariable action of law of itself eliminates the unfit progress is necessary to existence; extinction is the doom of retrogression. the highest effect contemplated by the supposed revelation is to bring man into perfect harmony with law, and this is ensured by law itself acting upon intelligence. only in obedience to law is there life and safety. knowledge of law is imperatively demanded by nature. ignorance of it is a capital offence. if we ignore the law of gravitation we are dashed to pieces at the foot of a precipice, or are crushed by a falling rock; if we neglect sanatory law, we are destroyed by a pestilence; if we disregard chemical laws, we are poisoned by a vapour. there is not, in reality, a gradation of breach of law that is not followed by an equivalent gradation of punishment. civilization is nothing but the knowledge and observance of natural laws. the savage must learn them or be extinguished; the cultivated must observe them or die. the balance of moral and physical development cannot be deranged with impunity. in the spiritual as well as the physical sense only the fittest eventually can survive in the struggle for existence. there is, in fact, an absolute upward impulse to the whole human race supplied by the invariable operation of the laws of nature acting upon the common instinct of self-preservation. as, on the one hand, the highest human conception of infinite wisdom and power is derived from the universality and invariability of law, so that universality and invariability, on the other hand, exclude the idea of interruption or occasional suspension of law for any purpose whatever, and more especially for the correction of supposed original errors of design which cannot have existed, or for the attainment of objects already provided for in the order of nature. { } upon the first groundless assumption of a divine design of such a revelation follows the hypothetical inference that, for the purpose of making the communication from the unseen world, a miracle or visible suspension of the order or nature is no irregularity, but part of the system of the universe. this, however, is a mere assertion, and no argument an avowed assumption which is contrary to reason is followed by another which is contrary to experience. it is simply absurd to speak of a visible suspension of the order of nature being part of the system of the universe. such a statement has no meaning whatever within the range of human conception. moreover, it must be remembered that miracles--or "visible suspensions of the order of nature"--are ascribed indifferently to divine and to satanic agency. if miracles are not an anomaly or irregularity on the supposition of the divine design of a revelation, upon what supposition do satanic miracles cease to be irregularities? is the order of nature, which it is asserted is under the personal control of god, at the same time at the mercy of the devil? archbishop trench has, as usual, a singular way of overcoming the difficulty. he says:--"so long as we abide in the region of nature, miraculous and improbable, miraculous and incredible may be admitted as convertible terms. but once lift up the whole discussion into a higher region, once acknowledge something higher than nature, a kingdom of god, and men the intended denizens of it, and the whole argument loses its strength and the force of its conclusions.... he who already counts it likely that god will interfere for the higher welfare of men, who believes that there is a { } nobler world-order than that in which we live and move, and that it would be the blessing of blessings for that nobler to intrude into and to make itself felt in the region of this lower, who has found that here in this world we are bound by heavy laws of nature, of sin, of death, which no powers that we now possess can break, yet which must be broken if we are truly to live,--he will not find it hard to believe the great miracle, the coming of the son of god in the flesh, &c... and as he believes that greatest miracle, so will he believe all other miracles, &c."( ) in other words, if we already believe the premises we shall not find it difficult to adopt the conclusions--if we already believe the greatest miracle we shall not hesitate to believe the less--if we already believe the dogmas we shall not find it hard to believe the evidence by which they are supposed to be authenticated. as we necessarily do abide in the { } region of nature, in which dr. trench admits that miraculous and incredible are convertible terms, it would seem rather difficult to lift the discussion into the higher region here described without having already abandoned it altogether. { } chapter iii. reason in relation to the order of nature the argument of those who assert the possibility and reality of miracles generally takes the shape of an attack, more or less direct, upon our knowledge of the order of nature. to establish an exception they contest the rule. dr. mozley, however, is not content with the ordinary objections advanced by apologists but, boldly entering into the mazes of a delicate philosophical problem, he adopts sceptical arguments and seeks to turn the flank of the enemy upon his own ground. he conducts his attack with unusual force and ability. "whatever difficulty there is in believing in miracles in general," he says, "arises from the circumstance that they are in contradiction to or unlike the order of nature. to estimate the force of this difficulty, then, we must first understand what kind of belief it is which we have in the order of nature; for the weight of the objection to the miraculous must depend on the nature of the belief to which the miraculous is opposed."( ) dr. mozley defines the meaning of the phrase, "order of nature" as the _connection_ of that part of the order of nature of which we are ignorant with that part of it which we know, the former being expected to be such and such, _because_ the latter is. but how do we justify this expectation of { } _likeness?_ we cannot do so, and all our arguments are mere statements of the belief itself, he affirms, and not reasons to account for it. it may be said, e.g., that when a fact of nature has gone on repeating itself a certain time, such repetition shows that there is a permanent cause at work, and that a permanent cause produces permanently recurring effects. but what is there to show the existence of a permanent cause? nothing. the effects which have taken place show a cause at work to the extent of these effects, but not further. that this cause is of a more permanent nature we have no evidence. why then do we expect the further continuance of these effects.( ) we can only say: because we believe the future will be like the past. after a physical phenomenon has even occurred every day for years we have nothing but the past repetition to justify our certain expectation of its future repetition.( ) do we think it giving a reason for our confidence in the future to say that, though no man has had experience of what is future, every man has had experience of what was future? it is true that what is future becomes at every step of our advance what was future, but that which is now still future is not the least altered by that circumstance; it is as invisible, as unknown, and as unexplored as if it were the very beginning and the very starting-point of nature. at this starting-point of nature what would a man know of its future course? nothing. at this moment he knows no more.( ) what ground of reason, then, can we assign for our expectation that any part of the course of nature will the next moment be like what it has been up to this moment, i.e., for our belief { } in the uniformity of nature? none. it is without a reason. it rests upon no rational ground, and can be traced to no rational principle.( ) the belief in the order of nature being thus an "unintelligent impulse" of which we cannot give any rational account, dr. mozley concludes, the ground is gone upon which it could be maintained that miracles, as opposed to the order of nature, were opposed to reason. a miracle in being opposed to our experience is not only not opposed to necessary reasoning, but to any reasoning.( ) we need not further follow the bampton lecturer, as with clearness and ability he applies this reasoning to the argument of "experience," until he pauses triumphantly to exclaim: "thus step by step has philosophy loosened the connection of the order of nature with the ground of reason, befriending, in exact proportion as it has done this, the principle of miracles."( ) we need not here enter upon any abstract argument regarding the permanence or otherwise of cause: it will be sufficient to deal with these objections in a simpler and more direct way. dr. mozley, of course, acknowledges that the principle of the argument from experience is that "which makes human life practicable; which utilizes all our knowledge; which makes the past anything more than an irrelevant picture to us; for of what use is the experience of the past to us unless we believe the future will be like it?'( ) our knowledge in all things is relative, and there are sharp and narrow limits to human thought. it is therefore evident that, in the absence of absolute knowledge, our belief must be accorded to that of which we have { } more full cognizance rather than to that which is contradicted by all that we do know. it may be "irrational" to feel entire confidence that the sun will "rise" tomorrow, or that the moon will continue to wax and wane as in the past, but we shall without doubt retain this belief, and reject any assertion, however positive, that the earth will stand still to-morrow, or that it did so some thousands of years ago. evidence must take its relative place in the finite scale of knowledge and thought, and if we do not absolutely know anything whatever, so long as one thing is more fully established than another, we must hold to that which rests upon the more certain basis. our belief in the invariability of the order of nature, therefore, being based upon more certain grounds than any other human opinion, we must of necessity refuse credence to a statement supported by infinitely less complete testimony, and contradicted by universal experience, that phenomena subversive of that order occurred many years ago, or we must cease to believe anything at all. if belief based upon unvarying experience be irrational, how much more irrational must belief be which is opposed to that experience. according to dr. mozley, it is quite irrational to believe that a stone dropped from the hand, for instance, will fall to the ground. it is true that all the stones we ourselves have ever dropped, or seen dropped, have so fallen, and equally true that all stones so dropped as far back as historic records, and those still more authentic and ancient records of earth's crust itself go, have done the same, but that does not justify our belief, upon any grounds of reason, that the next stone we drop will do so. if we be told, however, that upon one occasion a stone so dropped, instead of falling to the ground, rose { } up into the air and continued there, we have only two courses open to us: either to disbelieve the fact, and attribute the statement to error of observation, or to reduce the past to a mere irrelevant picture, and the mind to a blank page equally devoid of all belief and of all intelligent reasoning. dr. mozley's argument, however, is fatal to his own cause. it is admitted that miracles, "or visible suspensions of the order of nature,"( ) cannot have any evidential force unless they be supernatural, and out of the natural sequence of ordinary phenomena. now, unless there be an actual order of nature, how can there be any exception to it? if our belief in it be not based upon any ground of reason,--as dr. mozley maintains, in order to assert that miracles or visible suspensions of that order are not contrary to reason,--how can it be asserted that miracles are supernatural? if we have no rational ground for believing that the future will be like the past, what rational ground can we have for thinking that anything which happens is exceptional, and out of the common course of nature? because it has not happened before? that is no reason whatever; because the fact that a thing has happened ten millions of times is no rational justification of our expectation that it will happen again. if the reverse of that which had happened previously took place on the ten million and first time we should have no rational ground for surprise, and no reason for affirming that it did not occur in the most natural manner. because we cannot explain its cause? we cannot explain the cause of anything. our belief that there is any permanent cause is a mere unintelligent impulse. we can only say that there is a cause { } sufficient to produce an isolated effect, but we do not know the nature of that cause, and it is a mere irrational instinct to suppose that any cause produces continuous effects, or is more than momentary. a miracle, consequently, becomes a mere isolated effect from an unknown cause, in the midst of other merely isolated phenomena from unknown causes, and it is as irrational to wonder at the occurrence of what is new, as to expect the recurrence of what is old. in fact, an order of nature is at once necessary, and fatal, to miracles. if there be no order of nature, miracles cannot be considered supernatural occurrences, and have no evidential value; if there be an order of nature, the evidence for its immutability must consequently exceed the evidence for these isolated deviations from it. if we are unable rationally to form expectations of the future from unvarying experience in the past, it is still more irrational to call that supernatural which is merely different from our past experience. take, for instance, the case of supposed exemption from the action of the law of gravitation, which archbishop trench calls "a lost prerogative of our race:"( ) we cannot rationally affirm that next week we may not be able to walk on the sea, or ascend bodily into the air. to deny this because we have not hitherto been able to do so is unreasonable; for, as dr. mozley maintains, it is a mere irrational impulse which expects that which has hitherto happened, when we have made such attempts, to happen again next week. if we cannot rationally deny the possibility, however, that we may be able at some future time to walk on the sea or ascend into the air, the statement that these phenomena have already occurred loses all its force, and such occurrences { } cease to be in any way supernatural. if, on the other hand, it would be irrational to affirm that we may next week become exempt from the operation of the law of gravitation, it can only be so by the admission that unvarying experience forbids the entertainment of such a hypothesis, and in that case it equally forbids belief in the statement that such acts ever actually took place. if we deny the future possibility on any ground of reason, we admit that we have grounds of reason for expecting the future to be like the past, and therefore contradict dr. mozley's conclusion; and if we cannot deny it upon any ground of reason, we extinguish the claim of such occurrences in the past to any supernatural character. any argument which could destroy faith in the order of nature would be equally destructive to miracles. if we have no right to believe in a rule, there can be no right to speak of exceptions. the result in any case is this, that whether the principle of the order of nature be established or refuted, the supernatural pretensions of miracles are disallowed. more than this, however, must inevitably be deduced from dr. mozley's reasoning. in denying, as he does, the doctrine of a permanent cause, dr. mozley must equally renounce, as without foundation in reason, the assumption of a permanent agent working miracles. not only do the supposed miracles, in the complete isolation of all effects, cease to be supernatural or even exceptional, but as it cannot be affirmed that there is any cause of a nature more permanent than its existing or known effects, it is obvious that miracles cannot be traced to an eternal being of permanent omnipotence. if dr. mozley, therefore, be understood to adopt this reasoning as his own, he has involved himself, in the { } necessary abandonment both of miracles as supernatural occurrences, and of a permanent and unlimited cause of miracles. if, on the other hand, he has merely snatched the sword of an adversary to turn it against him, he has unfortunately impaled himself upon the borrowed weapon. . throughout the whole of his argument against the rationality of belief in the order of nature, the rigorous precision which dr. mozley unrelentingly demands from his antagonists is remarkable. they are not permitted to deviate by a hair's breadth from the line of strict logic, and the most absolute exactness of demonstration is required. anything like an assumption or argument from analogy is excluded; induction is allowed to add no reason to bare and isolated facts; and the belief that the sun will rise to-morrow morning is, with pitiless severity, written down as mere unintelligent impulse. belief in the return of day, based upon the unvarying experience of all past time, is declared to be without any ground of reason. we find anything but fault with strictness of argument; but it is fair that equal precision should be observed by those who assert miracles, and that assumption and inaccuracy should be excluded. hitherto, as we have frequently pointed out, we have met with very little or nothing but assumption in support of miracles; but, encouraged by the inflexible spirit of dr. mozley's attack upon the argument from experience, we may look for similar precision from himself. { } proceeding, however, from his argument against the rationality of belief in the order of nature to his more direct argument for miracles, we are astonished to find a total abandonment of the rigorous exactness imposed upon his antagonists, and a complete relapse into assumptions. dr. mozley does not conceal the fact. "the peculiarity of the argument of miracles," he frankly admits, "is, that it begins and ends with an assumption; i mean relatively to that argument."( ) such an argument is no argument at all; it is a mere _petitio principii_, incapable of proving anything. the nature of the assumptions obviously does not in the slightest degree affect this conclusion. it is true that the statement of the particular assumptions may constitute an appeal to belief otherwise derived, and evolve feelings which may render the calm exercise of judgment more difficult, but the fact remains absolute, that an argument which "begins and ends with an assumption" is totally impotent. it remains an assumption, and is not an argument at all. { } notwithstanding this unfortunate and disqualifying "peculiarity" we may examine the argument. it is as follows: "we assume the existence of a personal deity prior to the proof of miracles in the religious sense; but with this assumption the question of miracles is at an end; because such a being has necessarily the power to suspend those laws of nature which he has himself enacted."( ) the "question of miracles," which dr. mozley here asserts to be at an end on the assumption of a "personal deity," is of course merely that of the _possibility_ of miracles; but it is obvious that, even with the precise definition of deity which is assumed, instead of the real "question" being at an end, it only commences. the power to suspend the laws of nature being assumed, the will to suspend them has to be demonstrated, and the actual occurrence of any such suspension, which, it has already been shown, is contrary to reason. the subject is, moreover, complicated by the occurrence of satanic as well as divine suspensions of the order of nature, and by the necessity of assuming a personal devil as well as a personal deity, and his power to usurp that control over the laws of nature, which is assumed as the prerogative of the deity, and to suspend them in direct opposition to god. the express ascription of miracles to the special intervention of a personal god is also, as we have seen, excluded by the scriptural admission that there are other supernatural beings capable of performing them. even dr. newman has recognized this, and, in a passage already quoted, he says: "for the cogency of the argument from miracles depends on the assumption, that interruptions in the course of nature must ultimately proceed from god; which is not true, if they may be { } effected by other beings without his sanction."( ) the first assumption, in fact, leads to nothing but assumptions connected with the unseen, unknown and supernatural, which are beyond the limits of reason. dr. mozley is well aware that his assumption of a "personal" deity is not susceptible of proof;( ) indeed, this is admitted in the statement that the definition is an "assumption." he quotes the obvious reply which may be made regarding this assumption:--"everybody must collect from the harmony of the physical universe the existence of a god, but in acknowledging a god, we do not thereby acknowledge this peculiar doctrinal conception of a god. we see in the structure of nature a mind--a universal mind--but still a mind which only operates and expresses itself by law. nature only does and only can inform us of mind _in_ nature, the partner and correlative of organized matter. nature, therefore, can speak to the existence of a god in this sense, and can speak to the omnipotence of god in a sense coinciding with the actual facts of nature; but in no other sense does nature witness to the existence of an omnipotent supreme being. of a universal mind out of nature, nature says nothing, and of an omnipotence which does not possess an inherent limit in nature, she says nothing either. and, therefore, that conception of a supreme being which represents him as a spirit { } independent of the physical universe, and able from a standing-place external to nature to interrupt its order, is a conception of god for which we must go elsewhere. that conception is obtained from revelation which is asserted to be proved by miracles. but that being the case, this doctrine of theism rests itself upon miracles, and, therefore, miracles cannot rest upon this doctrine of theism."( ) with his usual fairness, dr. mozley, while questioning the correctness of the premiss of this argument, admits that, if established, the consequence stated would follow, "and more, for miracles being thrown back upon the same ground on which theism is, the whole evidence of revelation becomes a vicious circle, and the fabric is left suspended in space, revelation resting on miracles and miracles resting on revelation."( ) he not only recognizes, however, that the conception of a person al" deity cannot be proved, but he distinctly confesses that it was obtained from revelation,( ) and from nowhere else, and these necessary admissions obviously establish the correctness of the premiss, and involve the consequence pointed out, that the evidence of revelation is a mere vicious circle. dr. mozley attempts to argue that, although the idea was first obtained through this channel, "the truth once possessed is seen to rest upon grounds of natural reason."( ) why, then, does he call it an assumption? the argument by which he seeks to show that the conception is seen to rest upon grounds of natural reason is: "we naturally attribute to the design of a personal being a contrivance which is directed to the existence of a personal being.... from personality { } at one end i infer personality at the other." dr. mozley's own sense of the weakness of his argument, however, and his natural honesty of mind oblige him continually to confess the absence of evidence. a few paragraphs further on he admits:--"not, however, that the existence of a god is so clearly seen by reason as to dispense with faith;"( ) but he endeavours to convince us that faith is reason, only reason acting under peculiar circumstances: when reason draws conclusions which are not backed by experience, reason is then called faith.( ) the issue of the argument, he contends, is so amazing, that if we do not tremble for its safety it must be on account of a practical principle, which makes us confide and trust in reasons, and that principle is faith. we are not aware that conviction can be arrived at regarding any matter otherwise than by confidence in the correctness of the reasons, and what dr. mozley really means by faith, here, is confidence and trust in a conclusion for which there are no reasons. it is almost incredible that the same person who had just been denying grounds of reason to conclusions from unvarying experience, and excluding from them the results of inductive reasoning--who had denounced as unintelligent impulse and irrational instinct the faith that the sun, which has risen without fail every morning since time began, will rise again to-morrow, could thus argue. in fact, from the very commencement of the direct plea for miracles, calm logical reasoning is abandoned, and the argument becomes entirely _ad hominem_. mere feeling is substituted for thought, and in the inability to be precise and logical, the lecturer appeals { } to the generally prevailing inaccuracy of thought.( ) "faith, then," he concludes, "is _unverified_ reason; reason which has not yet received the verification of the final test, but is still expectant." in science this, at the best, would be called mere "hypothesis," but accuracy can scarcely be expected where the argument continues: "indeed, does not our heart bear witness to the fact that to believe in a god"--i. e., a personal god --"is an exercise of faith?" &c.( ) it does not help dr. mozley that butler, paley, and all other divines have equally been obliged to commence with the same assumption; and, indeed, as we have already remarked, dr. mozley honestly admits the difficulty of the case, and while naturally making the most of his own views, he does not disguise the insecurity of the position. he deprecates that school which maintains that any average man, taken out of a crowd, who has sufficient common sense to manage his own affairs, is a fit judge, and such a judge as was originally contemplated, of the christian evidences;( ) and he says: "it is not, indeed, consistent with truth, nor would it conduce to the real defence of christianity, to underrate the difficulties of the christian evidence; or to disguise this characteristic of it, that the very facts which constitute the evidence of revelation have to be accepted by an act of faith themselves, before they can operate as a proof of that further truth."( ) such evidence is manifestly worthless. after all his assumptions, dr. mozley is reduced to the necessity of pleading: "a probable fact is a probable evidence. i may, therefore, use a miracle as evidence of a revelation, though { } i have only probable evidence for the miracle."( ) the probability of the miracle, however, is precisely what is denied, as opposed to reason and experience, and incompatible with the order of nature. a cause is, indeed, weak when so able an advocate is reduced to such reasoning. the deduction which is drawn from the assumption of a "personal" deity is, as we have seen, merely the possibility of miracles. "paley's criticism," said the late dean of st. paul's, "is, after all, the true one--'once believe that there is a god, and miracles are not incredible.'"( ) the assumption, therefore, although of vital importance in the event of its rejection, does not very materially advance the cause of miracles if established. we have already seen that the assumption is avowedly incapable of proof, but it may be well to examine it a little more closely in connection with the inferences supposed to be derivable from it. we must, however, in doing so carefully avoid being led into a metaphysical argument, which would be foreign to the purpose of this inquiry. in his bampton lectures on "the limit of religious thought," delivered in , dr. mansel, the very able editor and disciple of sir william hamilton, discussed this subject with great minuteness, and although we cannot pretend here to follow him through the whole of his singular argument--a theological application of sir william hamilton's philosophy--we must sufficiently represent it. dr. mansel argues: we are absolutely incapable of conceiving or proving the existence of god as he is; and so far is human reason from being able to { } construct a theology independent of revelation that it cannot even read the alphabet out of which that theology must be formed.( ) we are compelled, by the constitution of our minds, to believe in the existence of an absolute and infinite being; but the instant we attempt to analyse, we are involved in inextricable confusion.( ) our moral consciousness demands that we should conceive him as a personality, but personality, as we conceive it, is essentially a limitation; to speak of an absolute and infinite person is simply to use language to which no mode of human thought can possibly attach itself.( ) this amounts simply to an admission that our knowledge of god does not satisfy the conditions of speculative philosophy, and is incapable of reduction to an ultimate and absolute truth.( ) it is, therefore, reasonable that we should expect to find that the revealed manifestation of the divine nature and attributes should likewise carry the marks of subordination to some higher truth, of which it indicates the existence, but does not make known the substance; and that our apprehension of the revealed deity should involve mysteries inscrutable, and { } doubts insoluble by our present faculties, while at the same time it inculcates the true spirit in which doubt should be dealt with by warning us that our knowledge of god, though revealed by himself, is revealed in relation to human faculties, and subject to the limitations and imperfections inseparable from the constitution of the human mind.( ) we need not, of course, point out that the reality of revelation is here assumed. elsewhere, dr. mansel maintains that philosophy, by its own incongruities, has no claim to be accepted as a competent witness; and, on the other hand, human personality cannot be assumed as an exact copy of the divine, but only as that which is most nearly analogous to it among finite things.( ) as we are, therefore, incapable on the one hand of a clear conception of the divine being, and have only analogy to guide us in conceiving his attributes, we have no criterion of religious truth or falsehood, enabling us to judge of the ways of god, represented by revelation,( ) and have no right to judge of his justice, or mercy, or goodness, by the standard of human morality. it is impossible to conceive an argument more vicious, or more obviously warped to favour already accepted { } conclusions of revelation:--as finite beings we are not only incapable of proving the existence of god, but even of conceiving him as he is; therefore we may conceive him as he is not. to attribute personality to him is a limitation totally incompatible with the idea of an absolute and infinite being, in which "we are compelled by the constitution of our minds to believe;" and to speak of him as a personality is "to use language to which no mode of human thought can possibly attach itself;" but, nevertheless, to satisfy supposed demands of our moral consciousness, we are to conceive him as a personality. although we must define the supreme being as a personality to satisfy our moral consciousness, we must not, we are told, make the same moral consciousness the criterion of the attributes of that personality. we must not suppose him to be endowed, for instance, with the perfection of morality according to our ideas of it; but, on the contrary, we must hold that his moral perfections are at best only analogous, and often contradictory, to our standard of morality. as soon as we conceive a personal deity to satisfy our moral consciousness, we have to abandon the personality which satisfies that consciousness, in order to accept the characteristics of a supposed revelation, to reconcile certain statements of which we must admit that we have no criterion of truth or falsehood enabling us to judge of the ways of god. now, in reference to the assumption of a personal deity as a preliminary to the proof of miracles, it must be clearly remembered that the contents of the revelation which miracles are to authenticate cannot { } have any weight. antecedently, then, it is admitted that personality is a limitation which is absolutely excluded by the ideas of the deity, which, it is asserted, the constitution of our minds compete us to form. it cannot, therefore, be rationally assumed. to admit that such a conception is false, and then to base conclusions upon it, as though it were true, is absurd. it is child's play to satisfy our feeling and imagination by the conscious sacrifice of our reason. moreover, dr. mansel admits that the conception of a personal deity is really derived from the revelation, which has to be rendered credible by miracles; therefore the consequence already pointed out ensues, that the assumption cannot be used to prove miracles. "it must be allowed that it is not through reasoning that men obtain the first intimation of their relation to the deity; and that, had they been left to the guidance of their intellectual faculties alone, it is possible that no such intimation might have taken place; or at best, that it would have been but as one guess, out of many equally plausible and equally natural."( ) the vicious circle of the argument is here again apparent, and the singular reasoning by which the late dean of st. paul's seeks to drive us into an acceptance of revelation is really the strongest argument against it. the impossibility of conceiving god as he is,( ) which is insisted upon, instead of being a { } reason for assuming his personality, or for accepting jewish conceptions of him, totally excludes such an assumption. this "great religious assumption"( ) is not suggested by any antecedent considerations, but is required to account for miracles, and is derived from the very revelation which miracles are to attest. "in nature and from nature," to quote words of professor baden powell, "by science and by reason, we neither have nor can possibly have any evidence of a _deity working_ miracles;--for that we must go out of nature and beyond science. if we could have any such evidence _from nature_, it could only prove extraordinary _natural_ effects, which would not be _miracles_ in the old theological sense, as isolated, unrelated, and uncaused; whereas no _physical_ fact can be conceived as unique, or without analogy and relation to others, and to the whole system of natural causes."( ) being, therefore, limited to reason for any feeble conception of a divine being of which we may be capable, and reason being totally opposed to the idea of an order of nature so imperfect as to require or permit repeated interference, and rejecting the supposition of arbitrary { } suspensions of law, such a conception of a deity as is proposed by theologians must be pronounced irrational and derogatory. it is impossible for us to conceive a supreme being acting otherwise than we actually see in nature, and if we recognize in the universe the operation of infinite wisdom and power, it is in the immutable order and regularity of all phenomena, and in the eternal prevalence of law, that we see their highest manifestation. this is no conception based merely upon observation of law and order in the material world, as dr. mansel insinuates,( ) but it is likewise the result of the highest exercise of mind. dr. mansel "does not hesitate to affirm with sir william hamilton "that the class of phenomena which requires that kind of cause we denominate a deity is exclusively given in the phenomena of mind; that the phenomena of matter, taken by themselves, do not warrant any inference to the existence of a god."( ) after declaring a supreme being, from every point of view, inconceivable by our finite minds, it is singular to find him thrusting upon us, in consequence, a conception of that being which almost makes us exclaim with bacon: "it were better to have no opinion of god at all than such an opinion as is unworthy of him; for the one is unbelief, the other is contumely."( ) dr. mansel asks: "is matter or mind the truer image of god?"( ) but both matter and mind unite in repudiating so unworthy a conception of a god, and in rejecting the idea of suspensions of law. in the words of spinoza: "from miracles { } we can neither infer the nature, the existence, nor the providence of god, but, on the contrary, these may be much better comprehended from the fixed and immutable order of nature;"( ) indeed, as he adds, miracles, as contrary to the order of nature, would rather lead us to doubt the existence of god.( ) six centuries before our era, a noble thinker, xenophanes of colophon, whose pure mind soared far above the base anthropomorphic mythologies of homer and hesiod, and anticipated some of the highest results of the platonic philosophy, finely said:-- "there is one god supreme over all gods, diviner than mortals, whose form is not like unto man's, and as unlike his nature; but vain mortals imagine that gods like themselves are begotten, with human sensations, and voice, and corporeal members;' so if oxen or lions had hands and could work iu man's fashion, and trace out with chisel or brush their conception of godhead, then would horses depict gods like horses, and oxen like oxen, each kind the divine with its own form and nature endowing."( ) he illustrates this profound observation by pointing out that the ethiopians represent their deities as black with flat noses, while the thracians make them blue-eyed with ruddy complexions, and, similarly, the medes and the persians and egyptians portray their gods like { } themselves.( ) the jewish idea of god was equally anthropomorphic; but their highest conception was certainly that which the least resembled themselves, and which described the almighty as "without variableness or shadow of turning," and as giving a law to the universe which shall not be broken.( ) . none of the arguments with which we have yet met have succeeded in making miracles in the least degree antecedently credible. on the contrary they have been based upon mere assumptions incapable of proof and devoid of probability. on the other hand there are the strongest reasons for affirming that such phenomena are antecedently incredible. dr. mozley's attack which we discussed in the first part of this chapter, and which of course was chiefly based upon hume's celebrated argument, { } never seriously grappled the doctrine at all. the principle which opposes itself to belief in miracles is very simple. whatever is contradictory to universal and invariable experience is antecedently incredible, and as that sequence of phenomena which is called the order of nature is established by and in accordance with universal experience, miracles or alleged violations of that order, by whatever name they may be called, or whatever definition may be given of their characteristics or object, are antecedently incredible. the preponderance of evidence for the invariability of the order of nature, in fact, is so enormous that it is impossible to credit the reality of such variations from it, and reason and experience concur in attributing the ascription of a miraculous character to any actual occurrences which may have been witnessed to imperfect observation, mistaken inference or some other of the numerous sources of error. any allegation of the interference of a new and supernatural agent, upon such an occasion, to account for results, in contradiction of the known sequence of cause and effect, is excluded by the very same principle, for invariable experience being as opposed to the assertion that such interference ever takes place as it is to the occurrence of miraculous phenomena, the allegation is necessarily disbelieved. apologists find it much more convenient to evade the simple but effective arguments of hume than to answer them, and where it is possible they dismiss them with a sneer, and hasten on to less dangerous ground. for instance, a recent hulsean lecturer, arguing the antecedent credibility of the miraculous, makes the following remarks: "now, as regards the inadequacy of testimony to establish a miracle, modern scepticism has not advanced { } one single step beyond the blank assertion. and it is astonishing that this assertion should still be considered cogent, when its logical consistency has been shattered to pieces by a host of writers as well sceptical as christian (mill's _logic_, ii., -- ). for, as the greatest of our living logicians has remarked, the supposed recondite and dangerous formula of hume--that it is more probable that testimony should be mistaken than that miracles should be true--reduces itself to the very harmless proposition that anything is incredible which is contrary to a complete induction. it is in fact a _flagrant petitio principii_, used to support a wholly unphilosophical assertion."( ) it is much more astonishing that so able a man as dr. farrar could so misunderstand hume's argument and so misinterpret and mis-state mr. mill's remarks upon it. so far from shattering to pieces the logical consistency of hume's reasoning, mr. mill substantially confirms it, and pertinently remarks that "it speaks ill for the state of philosophical speculation on such subjects" that so simple and evident a doctrine should have been accounted a dangerous heresy. it is, in fact, the statement of a truth which should have been universally recognized, and would have been so, but for its unwelcome and destructive bearing upon popular theology. mr. mill states the evident principle, that--"if an alleged fact be in contradiction, not to any number of approximate generalizations, but to a completed generalization grounded on a rigorous induction, it is said to be impossible, and is to be disbelieved totally." mr. mill continues.: "this last principle, simple and evident as it { } appears, is the doctrine which, on the occasion of an attempt to apply it to the question of the credibility of miracles, excited so violent a controversy. hume's celebrated doctrine, that nothing is credible which is contradictory to experience or at variance with laws of nature, is merely this very plain and harmless proposition, that whatever is contradictory to a complete induction is incredible."( ) he then proceeds to meet possible objections: "but does not (it may be asked) the very statement of the proposition imply a contradiction? an alleged fact according to this theory is not to be believed if it contradict a complete induction. but it is essential to the completeness of an induction that it should not contradict any known fact. is it not, then, a _petitio principii_ to say, that the fact ought to be disbelieved because the induction to it is complete? how can we have a right to declare the induction complete, while facts, supported by credible evidence, present themselves in opposition to it? i answer, we have that right whenever the scientific canons of induction give it to us; that is, whenever the induction can be complete. we have it, for example, in a case of causation in which there has been an _experimentum cruris_." it will be remarked that dr. farrar adopts mr. mill's phraseology in one of the above questions to affirm the reverse of his opinion. mr. mill decides that the proposition is not a _petitio principii_; dr. farrar says, as in continuation of his reference to mr. mill, that it is a flagrant _petitio principii_. mr. mill proceeds to prove his statement, and he naturally argues that, if observations or experiments have been repeated so often, and by so many persons, as to exclude all supposition of { } error in the observer, a law of nature is established; and so long as this law is received as such, the assertion that on any particular occasion the cause a took place and yet the effect b did not follow, _without any counteracting cause_, must be disbelieved. in fact, as he winds up this part of the argument by saying: "we cannot admit a proposition as a law of nature, and yet believe a fact in real contradiction to it. we must disbelieve the alleged fact, or believe that we were mistaken in admitting the supposed law."( ) mr. mill points out, however, that, in order that any alleged fact should be contradictory to a law of causation, the allegation must be not simply that the cause existed without being followed by the effect, but that this happened in the absence of any adequate counteracting cause. "now, in the case of an alleged miracle, the assertion is the exact opposite of this. it is, that the effect was defeated, not in the absence, but in consequence of a counteracting cause, namely, a direct interposition of an act of the will of some being who has power over nature; and in particular of a being, whose will being assumed to have endowed all the causes with the powers by which they produce their effects, may well be supposed able to counteract them."( ) a miracle, then, is no contradiction to the law of cause and effect; it is merely a new effect supposed to be introduced by the introduction of a new cause; "of the adequacy of that cause _if present,_( ) there can be no doubt; and the only antecedent improbability which can be ascribed to the miracle is the improbability that any such cause existed." mr. mill then continues, resuming his criticism on hume's argument: { } "all, therefore, which hume has made out, and this he must be considered to have made out, is that (at least in the imperfect state of our knowledge of natural agencies, which leaves it always possible that some of the physical antecedents may have been hidden from us,) no evidence can prove a miracle to any one who did not previously believe the existence of a being or beings with supernatural power; or who believes himself to have full proof that the character of the being whom he recognizes is inconsistent with his having seen fit to interfere on the occasion in question." mr. mill proceeds to enlarge on this conclusion. "if we do not already believe in supernatural agencies, no miracle can prove to us their existence. the miracle itself, considered merely as an extraordinary fact, may be satisfactorily certified by our senses or by testimony; but nothing can ever prove that it is a miracle: there is still another possible hypothesis, that of its being the result of some unknown natural cause: and this possibility cannot be so completely shut out as to leave no alternative but that of admitting the existence and intervention of a being superior to nature. those, however, who already believe in such a being have two hypotheses to choose from, a supernatural, and an unknown natural agency; and they have to judge which of the two is the most probable in the particular case. in forming this judgment, an important element of the question will be the conformity of the result to the laws of the supposed agent; that is, to the character of the deity as they conceive it. but, with the knowledge which we now possess of the general uniformity of the course of nature, religion, following in the wake of science, has been compelled to acknowledge the government of the universe as { } being on the whole carried on by general laws, and not by special interpositions. to whoever holds this belief, there is a general presumption against any supposition of divine agency not operating through general laws, or, in other words, there is an antecedent improbability in every miracle, which, in order to outweigh it, requires an extraordinary strength of antecedent probability derived from the special circumstances of the case."( ) mr. mill rightly considers that it is not more difficult to estimate this than in the case of other probabilities. "we are seldom, therefore, without the means (when the circumstances of the case are at all known to us) of judging how far it is likely that such a cause should have existed at that time and place without manifesting its presence by some other marks, and (in the case of an unknown cause) without having hitherto manifested its existence in any other instance. according as this circumstance, or the falsity of the testimony, appears more improbable, that is, conflicts with an approximate generalization of a higher order, we believe the testimony, or disbelieve it; with a stronger or weaker degree of conviction, according to the preponderance: at least until we have sifted the matter further."( ) this is precisely hume's argument weakened by the introduction of reservations which have no cogency. "we have wished to avoid interrupting mr. mill's train of reasoning by any remarks of our own, and have, therefore, deferred till now the following observations regarding his criticism on hume's argument. in reducing hume's celebrated doctrine to the very plain proposition that whatever is contradictory to a complete induction is incredible, mr. mill in no way { } diminishes its potency against miracles; and he does not call that proposition "harmless" in reference to its bearing on miracles, as dr. farrar evidently supposes, but merely in opposition to the character of a recondite and "dangerous heresy" assigned by dismayed theologians to so obvious and simple a principle. the proposition, however, whilst it reduces hume's doctrine in the abstract to more technical terms, does not altogether represent his argument. without asserting that experience is an absolutely infallible guide, hume maintains that--" a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. in such conclusions as are founded on an infallible experience, he expects the event with the last degree of assurance, and regards his past experience as a full proof of the future existence of that event. in other cases he proceeds with more caution, he weighs the opposite experiments: he considers which side is supported by the greater number of experiments: to that side he inclines with doubt and hesitation; and when at last he fixes his judgment, the evidence exceeds not what we properly call _probability_. all probability, then, supposes an opposition of experiments and observations, where the one side is found to overbalance the other, and to produce a degree of evidence proportioned to the superiority. "(l) after elaborating this proposition, hume continues: "a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined. why is it more than probable that all men must die; that lead { } cannot, of itself, remain suspended in the air; that fire consumes wood, and is extinguished by water; unless it be that these events are found agreeable to the laws of nature, and there is required a violation of these laws, or, in other words, a miracle, to prevent them? nothing is esteemed a miracle if it ever happen in the common course of nature. it is no miracle that a man seemingly in good health should die on a sudden; because such a kind of death, though more unusual than any other, has yet been frequently observed to happen. but it is a miracle that a dead man should come to life; because that has never been observed in any age or country. there must, therefore, be an uniform experience against every miraculous event, otherwise the event would not merit that appellation. and as an uniform experience amounts to a proof, there is here a direct and full _proof_, from the nature of the fact, against the existence of any miracle; nor can such a proof be destroyed, or the miracle rendered credible, but by an opposite proof which is superior. the plain consequence is, (and it is a general maxim worthy of our attention), 'that no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavours to establish: and even in that case there is a mutual destruction of arguments, and the superior only gives us an assurance suitable to that degree of force which remains after deducting the inferior.' when any one tells me that he saw a dead man restored to life, i immediately consider with myself whether it be more probable that this person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact which he relates should really have happened. i weigh the one miracle against the { } other; and according to the superiority which discover, i pronounce my decision, and always reject the greater miracle. if the falsehood of his testimony would be more miraculous than the event which he relates, then, and not till then, can he pretend to command my belief or opinion."( ) the ground upon which mr. mill admits that a miracle may not be contradictory to complete induction is that it is not an assertion that a certain cause was not followed by a certain effect, but an allegation of the interference of an adequate counteracting cause. this does not, however, by his own showing, remove a miracle from the action of hume's principle, but simply modifies the nature of the antecedent improbability. mr. mill qualifies his admission regarding the effect of the alleged counteracting cause, by the all-important words "if present;" for, in order to be valid, the reality of the alleged counteracting cause must be established, which is impossible, therefore the allegations fall to the ground. no one knows better than mr. mill that the assertion of a personal deity working miracles, upon which a miracle is allowed for a moment to come into court, cannot be proved, and, therefore, that it cannot stand in opposition to complete induction which hume takes as his standard. in admitting that hume has made out, that no evidence can prove a miracle to any one who does not previously believe in a being of supernatural power willing to work miracles, mr. mill concedes everything to hume, for his only limitation is based upon a supposition of mere personal belief in something which is not capable of proof, and which belief, therefore, is not { } more valid than any other purely imaginary hypothesis. the belief may seem substantial to the individual entertaining it, but, not being capable of proof, it cannot have weight with others, or in any way affect the value of evidence in the abstract. that mere individual belief, apart from proof, should thus be advanced in limitation of a logical principle, seems to us most unwarranted, and at the most it can only be received as a statement of what practically takes place amongst illogical reason ers. the assumption of a personal deity working miracles is, in fact, excluded by hume's argument, and, although mr. mill apparently overlooks the fact, hume has not only anticipated but refuted the reasoning which is based upon it. in the succeeding chapter on a particular providence and a future state, he directly disposes of such an assumption, but he does so with equal effect also in the essay which we are discussing. taking an imaginary miracle as an illustration, he argues: "though the being to whom the miracle is ascribed be in this case almighty, it does not, upon that account, become a whit more probable; since it is impossible for us to know the attributes or actions of such a being, otherwise than from the experience which we have of his productions in the usual course of nature. this still reduces us to past observation, and obliges us to compare the instances of the violation of truth in the testimony of men, with those of the violation of the laws of nature by miracles, in order to judge which of them is most likely and probable. as the violations of truth are more common in the testimony concerning religious miracles than in that concerning any other matter of fact, this must diminish very much the authority of the former testimony, and { } make us form a general resolution never to lend any attention to it, with whatever specious pretence it may be covered."( ) a person who believes anything contradictory to a complete induction merely on the strength of an assumption which is incapable of proof is simply credulous, but such an assumption cannot affect the real evidence for that thing. the argument of paley against hume is an illustration of the reasoning suggested by mr. mill. paley alleges the interposition of a personal deity in explanation of miracles, but he protests that he does not assume the attributes of the deity or the existence of a future state in order to _prove_ their reality. "that reality," he admits, "always must be proved by evidence. we assert only that in miracles adduced in support of revelation there is not such antecedent improbability as no testimony can surmount." his argument culminates in the short statement: "in a word, once believe that there is a god" (i.e., a personal god working miracles), "and miracles are not incredible."( ) we have already quoted hume's refutation of this reasoning, and we may at once proceed to the final argument by which paley endeavours to overthrow hume's doctrine, and upon which he mainly rests his case. "but the short consideration," he says, "which, independently of every other, convinces me that there is no solid foundation in mr. hume's conclusion, is the following: when a theorem is proposed to a mathematician, the first thing he does with it is to try it upon a simple case, and if it produces a false result, he is sure that there { } must be some mistake in the demonstration. now, to proceed in this way with what may be called mr. hume's theorem. if twelve men, whose probity and good sense i had long known, should seriously and circumstantially relate to me an account of a miracle wrought before their eyes, and in which it was impossible that they should be deceived; if the governor of the country, hearing a rumour of this account, should call these men into his presence, and offer them a short proposal, either to confess the imposture or submit to be tied up to a gibbet; if they should refuse with one voice to acknowledge that there existed any falsehood or imposture in the case; if this threat was communicated to them separately, yet with no different effect; if it was at last executed; if i myself saw them, one after another, consenting to be racked, burned, or strangled, rather than give up the truth of their account,--still, if mr. hume's rule be my guide, i am not to believe them. now i undertake to say that there exists not a sceptic in the world who would not believe them, or who would defend such incredulity."( ) it is obvious that this reasoning, besides being purely hypothetical, is utterly without cogency against hume's doctrine. in the first place, it is clear that no assertion of any twelve men would be sufficient to overthrow a law of nature, which is the result of a complete induction, and in order to establish the reality of a miracle or the occurrence on one occasion of an unprecedented effect, from any cause, not in accordance with natural law, no smaller amount of evidence would suffice than would serve to refute the complete induction. the allegation of such an intervening cause as a personal { } deity working miracles is excluded as opposed to a complete induction. so long as we maintain the law, we are necessarily compelled to reject any evidence which contradicts it. we cannot at the same time believe the contradictory evidence, and yet assert the truth of the law. the specific allegation, moreover, is completely prohibited by the scriptural admission that miracles are also performed by other supernatural beings in opposition to the deity. the evidence of the twelve men, however, simply amounts to a statement that they saw, or fancied that they saw, a certain occurrence in contradiction to the law, but that which they actually saw was only an external phenomenon, the real nature of which is a mere inference, and an inference which, from the necessarily isolated position of the miraculous phenomenon, is neither supported by other instances capable of forming a complete counter induction, nor by analogies within the order of nature. the bare inference from an occurrence supposed to have been witnessed by twelve men is all that is opposed to the law of nature, which is based upon a complete induction, and it is, therefore, incredible. if we proceed to examine paley's "simple case" a little more closely, however, we find that not only is it utterly inadmissible as a hypothesis, but that as an illustration of the case of gospel miracles it is completely devoid of relevancy and argumentative force. the only point which gives a momentary value to the supposed instance is the condition attached to the account of the miracle related by the twelve men, that not only was it wrought before their eyes, but that it was one "in which it was impossible that they should be deceived." now { } this qualification of infallibility on the part of the twelve witnesses is as incredible as the miracle which they are supposed to attest. the existence of twelve men incapable of error or mistake is as opposed to experience as the hypothesis of a miracle in which it is impossible for the twelve men to be deceived is contradictory to reason. the exclusion of all error in the observation of the actual occurrence and its antecedents and consequences, whose united sum constitutes the miracle, is an assumption which deprives the argument of all potency. it cannot be entertained. on the other hand, the moment the possibility of error is admitted, the reasoning breaks down, for the probability of error on the part of the observers, either as regards the external phenomena, or the inferences drawn from them, being so infinitely greater than the probability of mistake in the complete induction, we must unquestionably hold by the law and reject the testimony of the twelve men. it need scarcely be said that the assertion of liability to error on the part of the observers by no means involves any insinuation of wilful "falsehood or imposture in the case." it is quite intelligible that twelve men might witness an occurrence which might seem to them and others miraculous,--but which was susceptible of a perfectly natural explanation,--and truthfully relate what they believed to have seen, and that they might, therefore, refuse "with one voice to acknowledge that there existed any falsehood or imposture in the case," even although the alternative might be death on a gibbet. this, however, would in no way affect the character of the actual occurrence. it would not convert a natural, though by them inexplicable, phenomenon into a miracle. their constancy in adhering to the account they had { } given would merely bear upon the truth of their own statements, and the fact of seeing them "one after another consenting to be racked, burned, or strangled, rather than give up the truth of their account," would not in the least justify our believing in a miracle. even martyrdom cannot transform imaginations into facts. the truth of a narrative is no guarantee for the correctness of an inference. it seems almost incredible that arguments like these should for so many years have been tolerated in the text-book of a university. as regards the applicability of paleys illustration to the gospel miracles, the failure of his analogy is complete. we shall presently see the condition of the people amongst whom these miracles are supposed to have occurred, and that, so far from the nature of the phenomena, and the character of the witnesses, supporting the inference that it was impossible that the observers could have been deceived, there is every reason for concluding with certainty that their ignorance of natural laws, their proneness to superstition, their love of the marvellous, and their extreme religious excitement, rendered them peculiarly liable to incorrectness in the observation of the phenomena, and to error in the inferences drawn from them. we shall likewise see that we have no serious and circumstantial accounts of those miracles from eye-witnesses of whose probity and good sense we have any knowledge, but that, on the contrary, the narratives of them which we possess were composed by unknown persons, who were not eyewitnesses at all, but wrote very long after the events related, and in that mythic period "in which reality melted into fable, and invention unconsciously trespassed on the province of history." the proposition: "that { } there is satisfactory evidence that many, professing to be original witnesses of the christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of these accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct," is made by paley the argument of the first nine chapters of his work, as the converse of the proposition, that similar attestation of other miracles cannot be produced, is of the following two. this shows the importance which he attaches to the point; but, notwithstanding, even if he could substantiate this statement, the cause of miracles would not be one whit advanced. we have freely quoted these arguments in order to illustrate the real position of miracles; and no one who has seriously considered the matter can doubt the necessity for very extraordinary evidence, even to render the report of such phenomena worthy of a moment's attention. the argument for miracles, however, has hitherto proceeded upon the merest assumption, and, as we shall further see, the utmost that they can do who support miracles, under the fatal disadvantage of being contradictory to uniform experience, is to refer to the alleged contemporaneous nature of the evidence for their occurrence, and to the character of the supposed witnesses. mr. mill has ably shown the serious misapprehension of so many writers against hume's "essay on miracles," which has led them to what he calls "the extraordinary conclusion, that nothing supported by credible testimony ought ever to be disbelieved."( ) in regard to historical facts, not contradictory to all { } experience, simple and impartial testimony may be sufficient to warrant belief, but even such qualities as these can go but a very small way towards establishing the reality of an occurrence which is opposed to complete induction.( ) it is admitted that the evidence requisite to establish the reality of a supernatural divine revelation of doctrines beyond human reason, and comprising in its very essence such stupendous miracles as the incarnation, resurrection, and ascension, must be miraculous. the evidence for the miraculous evidence, which is scarcely less astounding than the contents of the revelation itself, must, logically, be miraculous also, for it is not a whit more easy to prove the reality of an evidential miracle than of a dogmatic miracle. it is evident that the resurrection of lazarus, for instance, is as contradictory to complete induction as the resurrection of jesus. both the supernatural religion, therefore, and its supernatural evidence labour under the fatal disability of being antecedently incredible. { } chapter iv. the age of miracles let us now, however, proceed to examine the evidence for the reality of miracles, and to inquire whether they are supported by such an amount of testimony as can in any degree outweigh the reasons which, antecedently, seem to render them incredible. it is undeniable that belief in the miraculous has gradually been dispelled, and that, as a general rule, the only miracles which are now maintained are limited to brief and distant periods of time. faith in their reality, once so comprehensive, does not, except amongst a certain class, extend beyond the miracles of the new testament and a few of those of the old,( ) and the countless myriads of ecclesiastical { } and other miracles, for centuries devoutly and implicitly believed, are now commonly repudiated, and have sunk into discredit and contempt. the question is inevitably suggested how so much can be abandoned and the remnant still be upheld. as an essential part of our inquiry into the value of the evidence for miracles, we must endeavour to ascertain whether those who are said to have witnessed the supposed miraculous occurrences were either competent to appreciate them aright, or likely to report them without exaggeration. for this purpose, we must consider what was known of the order of nature in the age in which miracles are said to have taken place, and what was the intellectual character of the people amongst whom they are reported to have been performed. nothing is more rare, even amongst intelligent and cultivated men, than accuracy of observation and correctness of report, even in matters of sufficient importance to attract vivid attention, and in which there is no special interest unconsciously to bias the observer. it will scarcely be denied, however, that in persons of fervid imagination, and with a strong natural love of the marvellous, whose minds are not only unrestrained by specific knowledge, but predisposed by superstition towards false conclusions, the probability of inaccuracy and exaggeration is enormously { } increased. if we add to this such a disturbing element as religious excitement, inaccuracy, exaggeration, and extravagance are certain to occur. the effect of even one of these influences, religious feeling, in warping the judgment, is admitted by one of the most uncompromising supporters of miracles. "it is doubtless the tendency of religious minds," says dr. newman, "to imagine mysteries and wonders where there are none; and much more, where causes of awe really exist, will they unintentionally mis-state, exaggerate, and embellish, when they set themselves to relate what they have witnessed or have heard;" and he adds: "and further, the imagination, as is well known, is a fruitful cause of apparent miracles."( ) we need not offer any evidence that the miracles which we have to examine were witnessed and reported by persons exposed to the effects of the strongest possible religious feeling and excitement, and our attention may, therefore, be more freely directed to the inquiry how far this influence was modified by other circumstances. did the jews at the time of jesus possess such calmness of judgment and sobriety of imagination as to inspire us with any confidence in accounts of marvellous occurrences, unwitnessed except by them, and limited to their time, which contradict all knowledge and all experience? were their minds sufficiently enlightened and free from superstition to warrant our attaching weight to their report of events of such an astounding nature? and were they themselves sufficiently impressed with the exceptional character of { } any apparent supernatural and miraculous interference with the order of nature? let an english historian and divine, who will be acknowledged as no prejudiced witness, bear testimony upon some of these points. "nor is it less important," says the late dean milman, "throughout the early history of christianity, to seize the spirit of the times. events which appear to us so extraordinary, that we can scarcely conceive that they should either fail in exciting a powerful sensation, or ever be obliterated from the popular remembrance, in their own day might pass off as of little more than ordinary occurrence. during the whole life of christ, and the early propagation of the religion, it must be borne in mind that they took place in an age, and among a people, which superstition had made so familiar with what were supposed to be preternatural events, that wonders awakened no emotion, or were speedily superseded by some new demand on the ever-ready belief. the jews of that period not only believed that the supreme being had the power of controlling the course of nature, but that the same influence was possessed by multitudes of subordinate spirits, both good and evil. where the pious christian of the present day would behold the direct agency of the almighty, the jews would invariably have interposed an angel as the author or ministerial agent in the wonderful transaction. where the christian moralist would condemn the fierce passion, the ungovernable lust, or the inhuman temper, the jew discerned the workings of diabolical possession. scarcely a malady was endured, or crime committed, but it was traced to the operation of one of these myriad daemons, who watched every opportunity { } of exercising their malice in the sufferings and the sins of men."( ) another english divine, of certainly not less orthodoxy, but of much greater knowledge of hebrew literature, bears similar testimony regarding the jewish nation at the same period. "not to be more tedious, therefore, in this matter," (regarding the bath kol, a jewish superstition,)" let two things only be observed: i. that the nation, under the second temple, was given to magical arts beyond measure; and, ii. that it was given to an easiness of believing all manner of delusions beyond measure."( ) and in another place: "it is a disputable case, whether the jewish nation were more mad with superstition in matters of religion, or with superstition in curious arts:--i. there was not a people upon earth that studied or attributed more to dreams than they. ii. there was hardly any people in the whole world that more used, or were more fond of, amulets, charms, mutterings, exorcisms, and all kinds of enchantments. we might here produce innumerable instances."( ) we shall presently see that these statements are far from being exaggerated. no reader of the old testament can fail to have been struck by the singularly credulous fickleness of the jewish mind. although claiming the title of the specially selected people of jehovah, the israelites exhibited a constant and inveterate tendency to forsake his service for the worship of other gods. the mighty "signs and wonders" which god is represented as incessantly working { } on their behalf, and in their sight, had apparently no effect upon them. the miraculous even then had, as it would seem, already lost all novelty, and ceased, according to the records, to excite more than mere passing astonishment. the leaders and prophets of israel had a perpetual struggle to restrain the people from "following after" heathen deities, and whilst the burden of the prophets is one grand denunciation of the idolatry into which the nation was incessantly falling, the verdict of the historical books upon the several kings and rulers of israel proves how common it was, and how rare even the nominal service of jehovah. at the best the mind of the jewish nation only after long and slow progression, attained the idea of a perfect monotheism, but added to the belief in jehovah the recognition of a host of other gods, over whom it merely gave him supremacy.( ) this is apparent even in the first commandment: "thou shalt have no other gods before me;" and the necessity for such a law received its illustration from a people who are represented as actually worshipping the golden calf, made for them by the complaisant aaron, during the very time that the great decalogue was being written on the mount by his colleague moses.( ) it is not, therefore, to be wondered at that, at a later period, and throughout patristic days, the gods of the greeks and other heathen nations were so far gently treated, that, although repudiated as deities, { } they were recognized as demons. in the septuagint version of the old testament, where "idols" are spoken of in the hebrew, the word is sometimes translated "demons;" as, for instance, psalm xcvi. is rendered: "for all the gods of the nations are demons."(l) the national superstition betrays itself in this and many other passages of this version, which so well represented the views of the first ages of the church that the fathers regarded it as miraculous. irenæus relates how ptolemy, the son of lagus, brought seventy of the elders of the jews together to alexandria in order to translate the hebrew scriptures into greek, but fearing that they might agree amongst themselves to conceal the real meaning of the hebrew, he separated them, and commanded each to make a translation. when the seventy translations of the bible were completed and compared, it was found that, by the inspiration of god, the very same words and the very same names from beginning to end had been used by them all.( ) the same superstition is quite as clearly expressed in the new testament. the apostle paul, for instance, speaking of things sacrificed to idols, says: "but (i say) that the things which the gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to god; and i would not that ye should be partakers with { } demons. ye cannot drink the cup of the lord, and the cup of demons; ye cannot partake of the lord's table, and of the table of demons."(l) the apocryphal book of tobit affords some illustration of the opinions of the more enlightened jews during the last century before the commencement of the christian era.( ) the angel raphael prescribes, as an infallible means of driving a demon out of man or woman so effectually that it should never more come back, fumigation with the heart and liver of a fish.( ) by this exorcism the demon asmodeus, who from love of sara, the daughter of raguel, has strangled seven husbands who attempted to marry her,( ) is overcome, and flies into "the uttermost parts of egypt," where the angel binds him.( ) the belief in demons, and in the necessity of exorcism, is so complete that the author sees no incongruity in describing the angel raphael, who has been sent, in answer to prayer, specially to help him, as instructing tobias to adopt such means of subjecting demons. raphael is described in this book as the angel of healing,( ) the office generally assigned to him by the fathers. he is also represented as saying of himself that he is one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints to god.( ) { } there are many curious particulars regarding angels and demons in the book of enoch.( ) this work, which is quoted by the author of the epistle of jude,( ) and by some of the fathers, as inspired scripture,( ) was supposed by tertullian to have survived the universal deluge, or to have been afterwards transmitted by means of noah, the great-grandson of the author enoch.( ) it may be assigned to about a century before christ, but additions were made to the text, and more especially to its angelology, extending probably to after the commencement of our era.( ) it undoubtedly represents views popularly prevailing about the epoch in which we are interested. the author not only relates the fall of the angels through love for the daughters of men, but gives the names of twenty-one of them and of their leaders; of whom jequn was he who seduced the holy angels, and ashbeêl it was who gave them evil counsel and corrupted them.( ) a third, gadreel,( ) was he who seduced eve. he also taught to the children of men the use and manufacture of all murderous weapons, of coats of mail, shields, { } swords, and of all the implements of death. another evil angel, named pênêmuê, taught them many mysteries of wisdom. he instructed men in the art of writing with paper [--greek--] and ink, by means of which, the author remarks, many fall into sin even to the present day. kaodejâ, another evil angel, taught the human race all the wicked practices of spirits and demons,( ) and also magic and exorcism.( ) the offspring of the fallen angels and of the daughters of men were giants, whose height was ells;( ) of these are the demons working evil upon earth.( ) azazel taught men various arts: the making of bracelets and ornaments; the use of cosmetics, the way to beautify the eyebrows; precious stones, and all dye-stuffs and metals; whilst other wicked angels instructed them in all kinds of pernicious knowledge.( ) the elements and all the phenomena of nature are controlled and produced by the agency of angels. uriel is the angel of thunder and earthquakes; raphael, of the spirits of men; raguel is the angel who executes vengeance on the world and the stars; michael is set over the best of mankind, i.e., over the people of israel;( ) saraqâel, over the souls of the children of men, who are misled by the spirits of sin; and gabriel is over serpents and over paradise, and over the cherubim.( ) enoch is shown the mystery of all the operations of nature, and the action of the elements, and he describes the spirits which guide them, and control the thunder and lightning and the winds; the spirit of the seas, who curbs them with his might, or tosses them forth and scatters them through the mountains of the earth; the { } spirit of hoar frost, and the spirit of hail, and the spirit of snow. there are, in fact, special spirits set over every phenomenon of nature--frost, thaw, mist, rain, light, and so on.( ) the heavens and the earth are filled with spirits. raphael is the angel set over all the diseases and wounds of mankind, gabriel over all powers, and fanuel over the penitence and the hope of those who inherit eternal life.( ) the decree for the destruction of the human race goes forth from the presence of the lord, because men know all the mysteries of the angels, all the evil works of satan, and all the secret might and power of those who practise the art of magic, and the power of conjuring, and such arts.( ) the stars are represented as animated beings.( ) enoch sees seven stars bound together in space like great mountains, and flaming as with fire; and he inquires of the angel who leads him, on account of what sin they are so bound? uriel informs him that they are stars which have transgressed the commands of the highest god, and they are thus bound until ten thousand worlds, the number of the days of their transgression, shall be accomplished.( ) the belief that sun, moon, and stars were living entities possessed of souls was generally held by the jews at the beginning of our era, along with greek philosophers, and we shall presently see it expressed by the fathers. philo judaeus considers the stars spiritual beings full of virtue and perfection,( ) and that to them is granted lordship over other heavenly bodies, not absolute, but as viceroys under the supreme { } being.( ) we find a similar view regarding the nature of the stars expressed in the apocalypse,( ) and it constantly appears in the talmud and targums.( ) an angel of the sun and moon is described in the ascensio isaiae.( ) we are able to obtain a full and minute conception of the belief regarding angels and demons and their influence over cosmical phenomena, as well as of other superstitions current amongst the jews at the time of jesus,( ) from the talmud, targums, and other rabbinical sources. we cannot, however, do more, here, than merely glance at these voluminous materials. the angels are perfectly pure spirits, without sin, and not visible to mortal eyes. when they come down to earth on any mission, they are clad in light and veiled in air. if, however, they remain longer than seven days on earth, they become so clogged with the earthly matter in which they have been immersed that they cannot again ascend to the upper heavens.( ) their multitude is innumerable,( ) and new angels are every day created, who in succession praise { } god and make way for others.( ) the expression, "host of heaven," is a common one in the old testament, and the idea was developed into a heavenly army. the first gospel represents jesus as speaking of "more than twelve legions of angels."( ) every angel has one particular duty to perform, and no more; thus of the three angels who appeared to abraham, one was sent to announce that sarah should have a son, the second to rescue lot, and the third to destroy sodom and gomorrah.( ) the angels serve god in the administration of the universe, and to special angels are assigned the different parts of nature. "there is not a thing in the world, not even a little herb, over which there is not an angel set, and everything happens according to the command of these appointed angels."( ) it will be remembered that the agency of angels is frequently introduced in the old testament, and still more so in the septuagint version, by alterations of the text. one notable case of such agency may be referred to, where the pestilence which is sent to punish david for numbering the people is said to be caused by an angel, whom david even sees. the lord is represented as repenting of the evil, when the angel was stretching forth his hand against jerusalem, and bidding him stay his hand after the angel had destroyed seventy thousand men by the pestilence.( ) this theory of disease has prevailed until comparatively recent times. the names of many of the superintending angels are given, as, for instance: jehuel { } is set over fire, michael over water, jechiel over wild beasts, and anpiel over birds. over cattle hariel is appointed, and samniel over created things moving in the waters, and over the face of the earth; messannahel over reptiles, deliel over fish. ruchiel is set over the winds, gabriel over thunder and also over fire, and over the ripening of fruit, xuriel over hail, makturiel over rocks, alpiel over fruit-bearing trees, saroel over those which do not bear fruit, and sandalfon over the human race; and under each of these there are subordinate angels.( ) it was believed that there were two angels of death, one for those who died out of the land of israel, who was an evil angel, called samaël (and at other times satan, asmodeus, &c), and the other, who presided over the dead of the land of israel, the holy angel gabriel; and under these there was a host of evil spirits and angels.( ) the jews were unanimous in asserting that angels superintend the various operations of nature, although there is some difference in the names assigned to these angels.( ) the sohar on numbers states that "michael, gabriel, nuriel, raphael are set over the four elements, water, fire, air, earth."( ) we shall presently sec how general this belief regarding angels was amongst the fathers, but it is also expressed in the new testament. in the apocalypse there appears an angel { } who has power over fire,( ) and in another place four angels have power to hurt the earth and the sea.( ) the angels were likewise the instructors of men, and communicated knowledge to the patriarchs. the angel gabriel taught joseph the seventy languages of the earth.( ) it appears, however, that there was one language--the syriac--which the angels do not understand, and for this reason men were not permitted to pray for things needful, in that tongue.( ) angels are appointed as princes over the seventy nations of the world; but the jews consider the angels set over gentile nations merely demons.( ) the septuagint translation of deuteronomy xxxii. introduces the statement into the old testament. instead of the most high, when he divided to the nations their inheritance, setting the bounds of the people "according to the number of the children of israel," the passage becomes, "according to the number of the angels of god" [--greek--]. the number of the nations was fixed at seventy, the number of the souls who went down into egypt.( ) the jerusalem targum on genesis xi. , , reads as follows: "god spake to the seventy angels which stand before him: come, let us go down and confound their language that they may not understand each other. and the word of the lord appeared there (at babel), with the seventy angels, according to the seventy nations, and { } each had the language of the people which was allotted to him, and the record of the writing in his hand, and scattered the nations from thence over the whole earth, in seventy languages, so that the one did not understand what the other said."(l) michael was the angel of the people of israel,( ) and he is always set in the highest place amongst the angels, and often called the high priest of heaven.( ) it was believed that the angels of the nations fought in heaven when their allotted peoples made war on earth. we see an allusion to this in the book of daniel,( ) and in the apocalypse there is "war in heaven; michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought, and his angels."( ) the jews of the time of jesus not only held that there were angels set over the nations, but also that each individual had a guardian angel.( ) this belief appears in several places in the new testament. for instance, jesus is represented as saying of the children: "for i say unto you that their angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven."( ) again, in the acts of the apostles, when peter is delivered from prison by an angel, and comes to the house of his friend, they will not believe the maid who had opened the gate and seen him, but say: "it is his angel" [--greek--]. the passage in the epistle to the hebrews will likewise be remembered, where it is said of the angels: "are they not all ministering spirits sent forth for ministry on { } account of them who shall be heirs of salvation."( ) there was at the same time a singular belief that when any person went into the private closet, the guardian angel remained at the door till he came out again, and in the talmud a prayer is given for strength and help under the circumstances, and that the guardian angel may wait while the person is there. the reason why the angel does not enter is that such places are haunted by demons.( ) the belief in demons at the time of jesus was equally emphatic and comprehensive, and we need scarcely mention that the new testament is full of references to them.( ) they are in the air, on earth, in the bodies of men and animals, and even at the bottom of the sea.( ) they are the offspring of the fallen angels who loved the daughters of men.( ) they have wings like the angels, and can fly from one end of heaven to another; they obtain a knowledge of the future, like the angels, by listening behind the veil of the temple of god in heaven.( ) their number is infinite. the earth is so full of them that if man had power to see he could not exist, on account of them; there are more demons than men, and they are about as close as the earth thrown up out of a newly-made grave.( ) it is stated that each man has , demons at his right hand, and , on his left, and the passage continues: "the crush on the sabbath in the synagogue arises from them, also the dresses of the rabbins become so soon old and torn through their rubbing; in like manner they cause the tottering of the feet. he who wishes to discover these spirits must take sifted ashes and strew them about his bed, and in the morning he will perceive their footprints upon them like a cock's tread. if any one wish to see them, he must take the afterbirth of a black cat, which has been littered by a first-born black cat, whose mother was also a first-birth, burn and reduce it to powder, and put some of it in his eyes, and he will see them."(l) sometimes demons assume the form of a goat. evil spirits fly chiefly during the darkness, for they are children of night.( ) for this reason the talmud states that men are forbidden to greet any one by night, lest it might be a devil,( ) or to go out alone even by day, but much more by night, into solitary places.( ) it was likewise forbidden for any man to sleep alone in a house, because any one so doing would be seized by the she-devil lilith, and die.( ) further, no man should drink water by night on account of the demon schafriri, the angel of blindness.( ) { } an evil spirit descended on any one going into a cemetery by night.( ) a necromancer is defined as one who fasts and lodges at night amongst tombs in order that the evil spirit may come upon him.( ) demons, however, take more especial delight in foul and offensive places, and an evil spirit inhabits every private closet in the world.( ) demons haunt deserted places, ruins, graves, and certain kinds of trees.( ) we find indications of these superstitions throughout the gospels. the possessed are represented as dwelling among the tombs, and being driven by the unclean spirits into the wilderness, and the demons can find no rest in clean places.( ) demons also frequented springs and fountains.( ) the episode of the angel who was said to descend at certain seasons and trouble the water of the pool of bethesda, so that he who first stepped in was cured of whatever disease he had, may be mentioned here in passing, although the passage is not found in some of the older mss. of the fourth gospel,( ) and it is argued by some that it is a later interpolation. there were demons who hurt those who did not wash their hands before meat. "shibta is an evil spirit which sits upon men's hands in the night; and if any touch his food with unwashen hands, that spirit sits upon that food, and there is danger from it."( ) { } the demon asmodeus is frequently called the king of the devils,( ) and it was believed that he tempted people to apostatize; he it was who enticed noah into his drunkenness, and led solomon into sin.( ) he is represented as alternately ascending to study in the school of the heavenly jerusalem, and descending to study in the school of the earth.( ) the injury of the human race in every possible way was believed to be the chief delight of evil spirits. the talmud and other rabbinical writings are full of references to demoniacal possession, but we need not enter into details upon this point, as the new testament itself presents sufficient evidence regarding it. not only one evil spirit could enter into a body, but many took possession of the same individual. there are many instances mentioned in the gospels, such as mary magdalene, "out of whom went seven demons" [--greek--], and the man whose name was legion, because "many demons" [--greek--] were entered into him.( ) demons likewise entered into the bodies of animals, and in the narrative to which we have just referred, the demons, on being expelled from the man, request that they may be allowed to enter into the herd of swine, which being permitted, "the demons went out of { } the man into the swine, and the herd ran violently down the cliff into the lake, and were drowned,"( ) the evil spirits, as usual, taking pleasure only in the destruction and injury of man and beast. besides "possession," all the diseases of men and animals were ascribed to the action of the devil and of demons.( ) in the gospels, for instance, the woman with a spirit of infirmity, who was bowed together and could not lift herself up, is described as "bound by satan," although the case was not one of demoniacal possession.( ) as might be expected from the universality of the belief in demons and their influence over the human race, the jews at the time of jesus occupied themselves much with the means of conjuring them. "there was hardly any people in the whole world," we have already heard from a great hebrew scholar, "that more used, or were more fond of, amulets, charms, mutterings, exorcisms, and all kinds of enchantments."( ) schoettgen bears similar testimony: "cæterum judoeos magicis artibus admodum deditos esse, notissimum est."( ) all competent scholars are agreed upon this point, and the talmud and rabbinical writings are full of it. the exceeding prevalence of such arts alone proves the existence of the grossest ignorance and superstition. { } there are elaborate rules in the talmud with regard to dreams, both as to how they are to be obtained and how interpreted.( ) fasts were enjoined in order to secure good dreams, and these fasts were not only observed by the ignorant, but also by the principal rabbins, and they were permitted even on the sabbath, which was unlawful in other cases.( ) indeed, the interpretation of dreams became a public profession.( ) it would be impossible within our limits to convey an adequate idea of the general superstition prevalent amongst the jews regarding things and actions lucky and unlucky, or the minute particulars in regard to every common act prescribed for safety against demons and evil influences of all kinds. nothing was considered indifferent or too trifling, and the danger from the most trivial movements or omissions to which men were supposed to be exposed from the malignity of evil spirits was believed to be great.( ) amulets, consisting of roots, or pieces of paper with charms written upon them, were hung round the neck of the sick, and considered efficacious for their cure. charms, mutterings, and spells were commonly said over wounds, against unlucky meetings, to make people sleep, to heal diseases, and to avert enchantments.( ) the talmud gives forms of enchantments against mad dogs, for instance, against the demon of blindness, and the like, as well as formulae for averting the evil eye, and { } mutterings over diseases.( ) so common was the practice of sorcery and magic that the talmud enjoins "that the senior who is chosen into the council ought to be skilled in the arts of astrologers, jugglers, diviners, sorcerers, &c, that he may be able to judge of those who are guilty of the same."( ) numerous cases are recorded of persons destroyed by means of sorcery.( ) the jewish women were particularly addicted to sorcery, and indeed the talmud declares that they had generally fallen into it.( ) the new testament bears abundant testimony to the prevalence of magic and exorcism at the time at which its books were written. in the gospels, jesus is represented as arguing with the pharisees, who accuse him of casting out devils by beelzebub, the prince of the devils. "if i by beelzebub cast out the demons [--greek--] by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore let them be your judges."( ) the thoroughness and universality of the jewish popular belief in demons and evil spirits and in the power of magic is exhibited in the ascription to solomon, the monarch in whom the greatness and glory of the nation attained its culminating point, of the character of a powerful magician. the most effectual forms of invocation and exorcism, and the most potent spells of magic, were said to have been composed by him, and thus the grossest superstition of the nation acquired the sanction of their wisest king. rabbinical writings are { } never weary of enlarging upon the magical power and knowledge of solomon. he was represented as not only king of the whole earth, but also as reigning over devils and evil spirits, and having the power of expelling them from the bodies of men and animals, and also of delivering people to them.( ) it was indeed believed that the two demons asa and asael taught solomon all wisdom and all arts.( ) the talmud relates many instances of his power over evil spirits, and amongst others how he made them assist in building the temple. solomon desired to have the help of the worm schamir in preparing the stones for the sacred building, and he conjured up a devil and a she-devil to inform him where schamir was to be found. they referred him to asmodeus, whom the king craftily captured, and by whom he was informed that schamir is under the jurisdiction of the prince of the seas, and asmodeus further told him how he might be secured. by his means the temple was built, but, from the moment it was destroyed, schamir for ever disappeared.( ) it was likewise believed that one of the chambers of the second temple was built by a magician called parvah, by means of magic.( ) the talmud narrates many stories of miracles performed by various rabbins.( ) the jewish historian, josephus, informs us that, amongst { } other gifts, god bestowed upon king solomon knowledge of the way to expel demons, an art which is useful and salutary for mankind. he composed incantations by which diseases are cured, and he left behind him forms of exorcism by which demons may be so effectually expelled that they never return, a method of cure, josephus adds, which is of great efficacy to his own day. he himself had seen a countryman of his own, named eliezer, release people possessed of devils in the presence of the emperor vespasian and his sons, and of his army. he put a ring containing one of the roots prescribed by solomon to the nose of the demoniac, and drew the demon out by his nostrils, and, in the name of solomon, and reciting one of his incantations, he adjured it to return no more. in order to demonstrate to the spectators that he had the power to cast out devils, eliezer was accustomed to set a vessel full of water a little way off, and he commanded the demon as he left the body of the man to overturn it, by which means, says josephus, the skill and wisdom of solomon were made very manifest.( ) jewish rabbins generally were known as powerful exorcisers, practising the art according to the formulae of their great monarch. justin martyr reproaches his jewish opponent, tryphon, with the fact that his countrymen use the same art as the gentiles, and exorcise with fumigations and charms [--greek--], and he shows the common belief in demoniacal influence "when he asserts that, while jewish exorcists cannot overcome demons by such means, or even by exorcising them in the name of their kings, prophets, or patriarchs, though he admits that they might do so if they adjured them in the name of the god of abraham, isaac, and { } jacob, yet christians at once subdued demons by exorcising them in the name of the son of god.( ) the jew and the christian were quite agreed that demons were to be exorcised, and merely differed as to the formula of exorcism. josephus gives an account of a root potent against evil spirits. it is called baaras, and is flame-coloured, and in the evening sends out flashes like lightning. it is certain death to touch it, except under peculiar conditions. one mode of securing it is to dig down till the smaller part of the root is exposed, and then to attach the root to a dog's tail. when the dog tries to follow its master from the place, and pulls violently, the root is plucked up, and may then be safely handled, but the dog instantly dies, as the man would have done had he plucked it up himself. when the root is brought to sick people, it at once expels demons.( ) according to josephus, demons are the spirits of the wicked dead; they enter into the bodies of the living, who die, unless succour be speedily obtained.( ) this theory, however, was not general, demons being commonly considered the offspring of the fallen angels and of the daughters of men. the jewish historian gives a serious account of the preternatural portents which warned the jews of the approaching fall of jerusalem, and he laments the infatuation of the people, who disregarded these divine denunciations. a star in the shape of a sword, and also a comet, stood over the doomed city for the space of a whole year. then, at the feast of unleavened bread, before the rebellion of the jews which preceded the war, at the ninth hour of the night a { } great light shone round the altar and the temple, so that for half an hour it seemed as though it were brilliant daylight. at the same festival other supernatural warnings were given. a heifer, as she was led by the high-priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the temple; moreover, the eastern gate of the inner court of the temple, which was of brass, and so ponderous that twenty men had much difficulty in closing it, and which was fastened by heavy bolts descending deep into the solid stone floor, was seen to open of its own accord, about the sixth hour of the night. the ignorant considered some of these events good omens, but the priests interpreted them as portents of evil. another prodigious phenomenon occurred, which josephus supposes would be considered incredible were it not reported by those who saw it, and were the subsequent events not of sufficient importance to merit such portents: before sunset, chariots and troops of soldieis in armour were seen among the clouds, moving about, and surrounding cities. and further, at the feast of pentecost, as the priests were entering the inner court of the temple to perform their sacred duties, they felt an earthquake, and heard a great noise, and then the sound as of a great multitude saying: "let us remove hence."(l) there is not a shadow of doubt in the mind of josephus as to the reality of any of these wonders. if we turn to patristic literature, we find, everywhere, the same superstitions and the same theories of angelic agency and demoniacal interference in cosmical phenomena. according to justin martyr, after god had made the world and duly regulated the elements and the rotation of the seasons, he committed man and all { } things under heaven to the care of angels. some of these angels, however, proved unworthy of this charge, and, led away by love of the daughters of men, begat children, who are the demons who have corrupted the human race, partly by magical writings [--greek--] and partly by fears and punishments, and who have introduced wars, murders, and other evils amongst them, which are ignorantly ascribed by poets to god himself.( ) he considers that demoniacs are possessed and tortured by the souls of the wicked dead,( ) and he represents evil spirits as watching to seize the soul at death.( ) the food of the angels is manna.( ) the angels, says clement of alexandria, serve god in the administration of earthly affairs.( ) the host of angels and of gods [--greek--] is placed under subjection to the logos.( ) presiding angels are distributed over nations and cities, and perhaps are also deputed to individuals,( ) and it is by their agency, either visible or invisible, that god gives all good things.( ) he accuses the greeks of plagiarizing their miracles from the bible, and he argues that if certain powers do move the winds and distribute showers, they are agents subject to god.( ) clement affirms that the son gave philosophy to the greeks by means of the inferior angels,( ) and argues that it is absurd to attribute it to the devil.( ) theophilus of antioch, on the other hand, says that the greek poets were inspired by demons.( ) athenagoras states, as one of the principal { } points of belief among christians, that a multitude of angels and ministers are distributed and appointed by the logos to occupy themselves about the elements, and the heavens, and the universe and the things in it, and the regulating of the whole.( ) for it is the duty of the angels to exercise providence over all that god has created; so that god may have the universal care of the whole, but the several parts be ministered to by the angels appointed over them. there is freedom of will amongst the angels as among human beings, and some of the angels abused their trust, and fell through love of the daughters of men, of whom were begotten those who are called giants.( ) these angels who have fallen from heaven busy themselves about the air and the earth; and the souls of the giants,( ) which are the demons that roam about the world, work evil according to their respective natures.( ) there are powers which exercise dominion over matter, and by means of it, and more especially one, who is opposed to god. this prince of matter exerts authority and control in opposition to the good designed by god.( ) demons are greedy for sacrificial odours and the blood of the victims, which they lick; and they influence the multitude to idolatry by inspiring thoughts and visions which seem to come from idols and statues.( ) according to tatian, god made everything which is good, but the wickedness of demons perverts { } the productions of nature for bad purposes, and the evil in these is due to demons and not to god.( ) none of the demons have bodies; they are spiritual, like fire or air, and can only be seen by those in whom the spirit of god dwells. they attack men by means of lower forms of matter, and come to them whenever they are diseased, and sometimes they cause disorders of the body, but when they are struck by the power of the word of god, they flee in terror, and the sick person is healed.( ) various kinds of roots, and the relations of bones and sinews, are the material elements through which demons work.( ) some of those who are called gods by the greeks, but are in reality demons, possess the bodies of certain men, and then by publicly leaving them they destroy the disease they themselves had created, and the sick are restored to health.( ) demons, says cyprian of carthage, lurk under consecrated statues, and inspire false oracles, and control the lots and omens.( ) they enter into human bodies and feign various maladies in order to induce men to offer sacrifices for their recovery that they may gorge themselves with the fumes, and then they heal them. they are really the authors of the miracles attributed to heathen deities.( ) tertullian enters into minute details regarding angels and demons. demons are the offspring of the fallen angels, and their work is the destruction of the human race. they inflict diseases and other painful calamities upon our bodies, and lead astray our souls. from their { } wonderful subtleness and tenuity they find their way into both parts of our composition. their spirituality enables them to do much harm to men, for being invisible and impalpable they appear rather in their effects than in their action. they blight the apples and the grain while in the flower, as by some mysterious poison in the breeze, and kill them in the bud, or nip them before they are ripe, as though in some inexpressible way the tainted air poured forth its pestilential breath. in the same way demons and angels breathe into the soul and excite its corruptions, and especially mislead men by inducing them to sacrifice to false deities in order that they may thus obtain their peculiar food of fumes of flesh and blood. every spirit, whether angel or demon, has wings; therefore they are everywhere in a moment. the whole world is but one place to them, and all that takes place anywhere they can know and report with equal facility. their swiftness is believed to be divine because their substance is unknown, and thus they seek to be considered the authors of effects which they merely report, as, indeed, they sometimes are of the evil, but never of the good. they gather intimations of the future from hearing the prophets read aloud, and set themselves up as rivals of the true god by stealing his divinations. from inhabiting the air, and from their proximity to the stars and commerce with the clouds, they know the preparation of celestial phenomena, and promise beforehand the rains which they already feel coming. they are very kind in reference to the cure of diseases, tertullian ironically says, for they first make people ill, and then, by way of performing a miracle, they prescribe remedies either novel or contrary to common experience, and then, removing the cause, they are { } believed to have healed the sick.( ) if any one possessed by a demon be brought before a tribunal, tertullian affirms that the evil spirit, when ordered by a christian, will at once confess that he is a demon.( ) the fallen angels were the discoverers of astrology and magic.( ) unclean spirits hover over waters in imitation of the brooding (gestatio) of the holy spirit in the beginning, as, for instance, over dark fountains and solitary streams, and cisterns in baths and dwelling-houses, and similar places, which are said to carry one off (rapere), that is to say, by the force of the evil spirit.( ) the fallen angels disclosed to the world unknown material substances, and various arts, such as metallurgy, the properties of herbs, incantations, and interpretation of the stars; and to women specially they revealed all the secrets of personal adornment.( ) there is scarcely any man who is not attended by a demon; and it is well known that untimely and violent deaths, which are attributed to accidents, are really caused by demons.( ) those who go to theatres may become specially accessible to demons. there is the instance, the lord is witness (domino teste), of the woman who went to a theatre and came back possessed by a demon; and, on being cast out, the evil spirit replied that he had a right to act as he did, having found her within his limits. there was another case, also well known, of a woman who, at night, after having been to a theatre, had a vision of a { } winding sheet (linteum), and heard the name of the tragedian whom she had seen mentioned with reprobation and, five days after, the woman was dead.( ) origen attributes augury and divination through animals to demons. in his opinion certain demons, offspring of the titans or giants, who haunt the grosser parts of bodies and the unclean places of the earth, and who, from not having earthly bodies, have some power of divining the future, occupy themselves with this. they secretly enter the bodies of the more brutal and savage animals, and force them to make flights or indications of divination to lead men away from god. they have a special leaning to birds and serpents, and even to foxes and wolves, because the demons act better through these in consequence of an apparent analogy in wickedness between them.( ) it is for this reason that moses, who had either been taught by god what was similar in the nature of animals and their kindred demons, or had discovered it himself, prohibited as unclean the particular birds and animals most used for divination. therefore each kind of demon seems to have an affinity with a certain kind of animal. they are so wicked that demons even assume the bodies of weasels to foretell the future.( ) they feed on the blood and odour of the victims sacrificed in idol temples.( ) the spirits of the wicked dead wander about sepulchres and sometimes for ages haunt particular houses, and other places.( ) the prayers of christians drive demons out of men, and from places where they have { } taken up their abode, and even sometimes from the bodies of animals, which are frequently injured by them.( ) in reply to a statement of celsus that we cannot eat bread or fruit, or drink wine or even water without eating and drinking with demons, and that the very air we breathe is received from demons, and that, consequently, we cannot inhale without receiving air from the demons who are set over the air,( ) origen maintains, on the contrary, that the angels of god, and not demons, have the superintendence of such natural phenomena, and have been appointed to communicate all these blessings. not demons, but angels, have been set over the fruits of the earth, and over the birth of animals, and over all things necessary for our race.( ) scripture forbids the eating of things strangled because the blood is still in them, and blood, and more especially the fumes of it, is said to be the food of demons. if we ate strangled animals, we might have demons feeding with us,( ) but in origen's opinion a man only eats and drinks with demons when he eats the flesh of idol sacrifices, and drinks the wine poured out in honour of demons.( ) jerome states the common belief that the air is filled with demons.( ) chrysostom says that angels are everywhere in the atmosphere.( ) not content, however, with peopling earth and air with angels and demons, the fathers also shared the opinion common to jews( ) and heathen philosophers, that the heavenly bodies were animated beings. after fully discussing the question, with much reference to scripture, { } origen determines that sun, moon, and stars are living and rational beings, illuminated with the light of knowledge by the wisdom which is the reflection [--greek--] of eternal light. they have free will, and as it would appear from a passage in job (xxv. ) they are not only liable to sin, but actually not pure from the uncleanness of it. origen is careful to explain that this has not reference merely to their physical part, but to the spiritual; and he proceeds to discuss whether their souls came into existence at the same time with their bodies or existed previously, and whether, at the end of the world, they will be released from their bodies or will cease from giving light to the world. he argues that they are rational beings because their motions could not take place without a soul. "as the stars move with so much order and method," he says, "that under no circumstances whatever does their course seem to be disturbed, is it not the extreme of absurdity to suppose that so much order, so much observance of discipline and method could be demanded from or fulfilled by irrational beings?"( ) they possess life and reason, he decides, and he proves from scripture that their souls were given to them not at the creation of their bodily substance, but like those of men implanted strictly from without, after they were made.( ) they are "subject to vanity" with the rest of the creatures, and "wait for the manifestation of the sons of god."( ) origen is persuaded { } that sun, moon, and stars pray to the supreme being through his only begotten son.( ) to return to angels, however, origen states that the angels are not only of various orders of rank, but have apportioned to them specific offices and duties. to raphael, for instance, is assigned the task of curing and healing; to gabriel the management of wars; to michael the duty of receiving the prayers and the supplications of men. angels are set over the different churches, and have charge even of the least of their members. these offices were assigned to the angels by god agreeably to the qualities displayed by each.( ) elsewhere, origen explains that it is necessary for this world that there should be angels set over beasts and over terrestrial operations, and also angels presiding over the birth of animals, and over the propagation and growth of shrubs, and, again, angels over holy works, who eternally teach men the perception of the hidden ways of god, and knowledge of divine things; and he warns us not to bring upon ourselves those angels who are set over beasts, by leading an animal life, nor those which preside over terrestrial works, by taking delight in fleshly and mundane things, but rather to study how we may approximate to the companionship of the archangel michael, to whose duty of presenting the prayers of the saints to god he here adds the office of presiding over medicine.( ) it is through the ministry of angels that the water-springs in fountains and running streams refresh the earth, and that the air we breathe is { } kept pure.( ) in the "pastor" of hermas, a work quoted by the fathers as inspired scripture, which was publicly read in the churches, which almost secured a permanent place in the new testament canon, and which appears after the canonical books in the codex sinaiticus, the oldest extant ms. of the new testament, mention is made of an angel who has rule over beasts, and whose name is hegrin.( ) jerome also quotes an apocryphal work in which an angel of similar name is said to be set over reptiles, and in which fishes, trees, and beasts are assigned to the care of particular angels.( ) clement of alexandria mentions without dissent the prevailing belief that hail-storms, tempests, and similar phenomena do not occur merely from material disturbance, but also are caused by the anger of demons and evil angels.( ) origen states that while angels superintend all the phenomena of nature, and control what is appointed for our good, famine, the blighting of vines and fruit trees, and the destruction of beasts and of men, are, on the other hand, the personal works( ) of demons, they, as public executioners, receiving at certain times authority to carry into effect divine decrees.( ) "we have already quoted similar views expressed by tertullian,( ) and the universality and permanence of such opinions may be illustrated by the fact that, after the lapse of many centuries, we find st. thomas aquinas as solemnly affirming that disease and tempests are the direct work of the devil;( ) indeed, this belief prevailed { } throughout the middle ages until very recent times. the apostle peter, in the recognitions of clement, informs clement that when god made the world he appointed chiefs over the various creatures, even over the trees and the mountains and springs and rivers, and over everything in the universe. an angel was set over the angels, a spirit over spirits, a star over the stars, a demon over the demons, and so on.( ) he provided different offices for all his creatures, whether good or bad,( ) but certain angels having left the course of their proper order, led men into sin and taught them that demons could, by magical invocations, be made to obey man.( ) ham was the discoverer of the art of magic.( ) astrologers suppose that evils happen in consequence of the motions of the heavenly bodies, and represent certain climacteric periods as dangerous, not knowing that it is not the course of the stars, but the action of demons that regulates these things.( ) god has committed the superintendence of the seventy-two nations into which he has divided the earth to as many angels.( ) demons insinuate themselves into the bodies of men, and force them to fulfil their desires;( ) they sometimes appear visibly to men, and by threats or promises endeavour to lead them into error; they can transform themselves into whatever forms they please.( ) the distinction between what is spoken by the true god through the prophets or by visions, and that which is delivered by demons, is this: that what proceeds from the former is always true, whereas that which is foretold by demons is not always true.( ) lactantius says that when the { } number of men began to increase, fearing that the devil should corrupt or destroy them, god sent angels to protect and instruct the human race, but the angels themselves fell beneath his wiles, and from being angels they became the satellites and ministers of satan. the offspring of these fallen angels are unclean spirits, authors of all the evils which are done, and the devil is their chief. they are acquainted with the future, but nob completely. the art of the magi is altogether supported by these demons, and at their invocation they deceive men with lying tricks, making men think they see things which do not exist. these contaminated spirits wander over all the earth, and console themselves by the destruction of men. they fill every place with frauds and deceits, for they adhere to individuals, and occupy whole houses, and assume the name of genii, as demons are called in the latin language, and make men worship them. on account of their tenuity and impalpability they insinuate themselves into the bodies of men, and through their _viscera_ injure their health, excite diseases, terrify their souls with dreams, agitate their minds with phrensies, so that they may by these evils drive men to seek their aid.( ) being adjured in the name of god, however, they leave the bodies of the possessed, uttering the greatest howling, and crying out that they are beaten, or are on fire.( ) these demons are the inventors of astrology, divination, oracles, necromancy, and the art of magic.( ) the universe is governed by god through the medium of angels. the demons have a fore-knowledge of the purposes of god, from having been his { } ministers, and interposing in what is being done, they ascribe the credit to themselves.( ) the sign of the cross is a terror to demons, and at the sight of it they flee from the bodies of men. when sacrifices are being offered to the gods, if one be present who bears on his forehead the sign of the cross, the sacred rites are not propitious (_sacra nullo modo litant_), and the oracle gives no reply.( ) eusebius, like all the fathers, represents the gods of the greeks and other heathen nations as merely wicked demons. demons, he says, whether they circulate in the dark and heavy atmosphere which encircles our sphere, or inhabit the cavernous dwellings which exist within it, find charms only in tombs and in the sepulchres of the dead, and in impure and unclean places. they delight in the blood of animals, and in the putrid exhalations which rise from their bodies, as well as in earthly vapours. their leaders, whether as inhabitants of the upper regions of the atmosphere, or plunged in the abyss of hell, having discovered that the human race had deified and offered sacrifices to men who were dead, promoted the delusion in order to savour the blood which flowed.and the fumes of the burning flesh. they deceived men by the motions conveyed to idols and statues, by the oracles they delivered, and by healing diseases, with which, by the power inherent in their nature, they had before invisibly smitten bodies, and which they removed by ceasing to torture them. these demons first introduced magic amongst men.( ) we may here refer to the account of a miracle which eusebius seriously quotes, as exemplifying another occasional { } function of the angels. the heretical bishop natalius having in vain been admonished by god in dreams, was at last lashed through the whole of a night by holy angels, till he was brought to repentance, and, clad in sackcloth and covered with ashes, he at length threw himself at the feet of zephyrinus, then bishop of rome, pointing to the marks of the scourges which he had received from the angels, and implored to be again received into communion with the church.( ) augustine says that demons inhabit the atmosphere as in a prison, and deceive men, persuading them by their wonderful and false signs, or doings, or predictions, that they are gods.( ) he considers the origin of their name in the sacred scriptures worthy of notice: they are called [--greek--] in greek on account of their knowledge.( ) by their experience of certain signs which are hidden from us, they can read much more of the future, and sometimes even announce beforehand what they intend to do. speaking of his own time, and with strong expressions of assurance, augustine says that not only scripture testifies that angels have appeared to men with bodies which could not only be seen but felt, but what is more, it is a general report, and many have personal experience of it, or have learned it from those who have knowledge of the fact, and of whose truth there is no doubt, that satyrs and fauns, generally called "incubi," have frequently perpetrated their peculiar wickedness;( ) and also that certain demons called by the gauls _dusii_ every day attempt and effect the same uncleanness, as { } witnesses equally numerous and trustworthy assert, so that it would be impertinence to deny it.( ) lactantius, again, ridicules the idea that there can be antipodes, and he can scarcely credit that there can be any one so silly as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or that grain and trees grow downwards, and rain, snow, and hail fall upwards to the earth. after jesting at those who hold such ridiculous views, he points out that their blunders arise from supposing that the heaven is round, and the world, consequently, round like a ball, and enclosed within it. but if that were the case, it must present the same appearance to all parts of heaven, with mountains, plains, and seas, and consequently there would be no part of the earth uninhabited by men and animals. lactantius does not know what to say to those who, having fallen into such an error, persevere in their folly (_stultitia_), and defend one vain thing by another, but sometimes he supposes that they philosophize in jest, or knowingly defend falsehoods to display their ingenuity. space alone prevents his proving that it is impossible for heaven to be below the earth.( ) st. augustine, with equal boldness, declares that the stories told about the antipodes, that is to say, that there are men whose feet are against our footsteps, and upon whom the sun rises when it sets to us, are not to be believed. such an assertion is not supported by any historical evidence, { } but rests upon mere conjecture based on the rotundity of the earth. but those who maintain such a theory do not consider that even if the earth be round, it does not follow that the opposite side is not covered with water. besides, if it be not, why should it be inhabited, seeing that on the one hand it is in no way possible that the scriptures can lie, and on the other, it is too absurd (_nimisque absurdum est_) to affirm that any men can have traversed such an immensity of ocean to establish the human race there from that one first man adam.( ) clement of rome had no doubt of the truth of the story of the phoenix,( ) that wonderful bird of arabia and the adjoining countries, which lives years; at the end of which time, its dissolution being at hand, it builds a nest of spices, in which it dies. from the decaying flesh, however, a worm is generated, which being strengthened by the juices of the bird, produces feathers and is transformed into a phoenix. clement adds that it then flies away with the nest containing the bones of its defunct parent to the city of heliopolis in egypt, and in full daylight, and in the sight of all men, it lays them on the altar of the sun. on examining their registers, the priests find that the bird has returned precisely at the completion of the years. this bird, clement considers, is an emblem of the resurrection.( ) so does tertullian, who repeats the story with equal confidence.( ) it is likewise referred to in the apostolic constitutions.( ) celsus quotes the narrative in his work against christianity as an instance of the piety of irrational creatures, and although origen, in reply, while admitting that the story is indeed recorded, puts in a cautious "if it be true," he proceeds to account for the phenomenon on the ground that god may have made this isolated creature, in order that men might admire, not the bird, but its creator.( ) cyril of jerusalem, likewise, quotes the story from clement.( ) the author of the almost canonical epistle of barnabas, explaining the typical meaning of the code of moses regarding clean and unclean animals which were or were not to be eaten, states as a fact that the hare annually increases the number of its _foramina_, for it has as many as the years it lives.( ) he also mentions that the hyena changes its sex every year, being alternately male and female.( ) tertullian also points out as a recognized fact the annual change of sex of the hyena, and he adds: "i do not mention the stag, since itself is the witness of its own age; feeding on the serpent it languishes into youth from the working of the poison."( ) the geocentric { } theory of the church, which elevated man into the supreme place in the universe, and considered creation in general to be solely for his use, naturally led to the misinterpretation of all cosmical phenomena. such spectacles as eclipses and comets were universally regarded as awful portents of impending evil, signs of god's anger, and forerunners of national calamities.( ) we have already referred to the account given by josephus of the portents which were supposed to announce the coming destruction of the holy city, amongst which were a star shaped like a sword, a comet, and other celestial phenomena. volcanoes were considered openings into hell, and not only does ter-tullian hold them to be so, but he asks who will not deem these punishments sometimes inflicted upon mountains as examples of the judgments which menace the wicked.( ) chapter v. the permanent stream of miraculous pretension we have given a most imperfect sketch of some of the opinions and superstitions prevalent at the time of jesus, and when the books of the new testament were written. these, as we have seen, continued with little or no modification throughout the first centuries of our era. it must, however, be remembered that the few details we have given, omitting most of the grosser particulars, are the views deliberately expressed by the most educated and intelligent part of the community, and that it would have required infinitely darker colours adequately to have portrayed the dense ignorance and superstition of the mass of the jews. it is impossible to receive the report of supposed marvellous occurrences from an age and people like this without the gravest suspicion. even so thorough a defender of miracles as dr. newman admits that: "witnesses must be not only honest, but competent also; that is, such as have ascertained the facts which they attest, or who report after examination;"l and although the necessities of his case oblige him to assert that "the testimony of men of science and general knowledge" must not be required, he admits, under the head of "deficiency of examination," that--"enthusiasm, ignorance, and habitual credulity { } are defects which no number of witnesses removes."( ) we have shown how rank were these "defects" at the commencement of the christian era, and among the chief witnesses for christianity. miracles which spring from such a hot-bed of superstition are too natural in such a soil to be objects of surprise and, in losing their exceptional character, their claims upon attention are proportionately weakened if not altogether destroyed. preternatural interference with the affairs of life and the phenomena of nature was the rule in those days, not the exception, and miracles, in fact, had lost all novelty, and through familiarity had become degraded into mere commonplace. the gospel miracles were not original in their character, but were substantially mere repetitions of similar wonders well known amongst the jews, or commonly supposed to be of daily occurrence even at that time. in fact, the idea of such miracles, in such an age and performed amongst such a people, as the attestation of a supernatural revelation, may with singular propriety be ascribed to the mind of that period, but can scarcely be said to bear any traces of the divine. indeed, anticipating for a moment a part of our subject regarding which we shall have more to say hereafter, we may remark that, so far from being original either in its evidence or form, almost every religion which has been taught in the world has claimed the same divine character as christianity, and has surrounded the person and origin of its central figure with the same supernatural mystery. even the great heroes of history, long before our era, had their immaculate conception and miraculous birth. there can be no doubt that the writers of the new testament shared the popular superstitions of the jews. { } we have already given more than one instance of this, and now we have only to refer for a moment to one class of these superstitions, the belief in demoniacal possession and origin of disease, involving clearly both the existence of demons and their power over the human race. it would be an insult to the understanding of those who are considering this question to pause here to prove that the historical books of the new testament speak in the clearest and most unmistakable terms of actual demoniacal possession. now, what has become of this theory of disease? the archbishop of dublin is probably the only one who asserts the reality of demoniacal possession formerly and at the present day,( ) and in this we must say that he is consistent. dean milman, on the other hand, who spoke with the enlightenment of the th century, "has no scruple in avowing _his_ opinion on the subject of demoniacs to be that of joseph mede, lardner, dr. mead, paley, and all the learned modern writers. it was a kind of insanity.... and nothing was more probable than that lunacy should take the turn and speak the language of the prevailing superstition of the times."( ) the dean, as well as "all the learned modern writers" to whom he refers, felt the difficulty, but in seeking to evade it they sacrifice the gospels. they overlook the fact that the writers of these narratives not only themselves adopt "the prevailing superstition of the times," but represent jesus as doing so with equal completeness. there is no possibility, for instance, of evading such statements as those in the miracle of the country of the gadarenes, where the objectivity of the demons is so fully recognized that, { } on being cast out of the man, they are represented as requesting to be allowed to go into the herd of swine, and being permitted by jesus to do so, the entry of the demons into the swine is at once signalized by the herd running violently down the cliff into the lake, and being drowned.( ) archbishop trench adopts no such ineffectual evasion, but rightly objects: "our lord himself uses language which is not reconcilable with any such explanation. he everywhere speaks of demoniacs not as persons of disordered intellects, but as subjects and thralls of an alien spiritual might; he addresses the evil spirit as distinct from the man: 'hold thy peace and come out of him;'" and he concludes that "our idea of christ's absolute veracity, apart from the value of the truth which he communicated, forbids us to suppose that he could have spoken as he did, being perfectly aware all the while that there was no corresponding reality to justify the language which he used."( ) the dean, on the other hand, finds "a very strong reason," which he does not remember to have seen urged with sufficient force, "which may have contributed to induce our lord to adopt the current language on the point. the disbelief in these spiritual influences was one of the characteristics of the unpopular sect of the sadducees. a departure from the common language, or the endeavour to correct this inveterate error, would have raised an immediate outcry against him from his watchful and malignant adversaries as an unbelieving sadducec."( ) such ascription of politic { } deception for the sake of popularity might be intelligible in an ordinary case, but when referred to the central personage of a divine revelation, who is said to be god incarnate, it is perfectly astounding. the archbishop, however, rightly deems that if jesus knew that the jewish belief in demoniacal possession was baseless, and that satan did not exercise such power over the bodies or spirits of men, there would be in such language "that absence of agreement between thoughts and words in which the essence of a lie consists."( ) it is difficult to say whether the dilemma of the dean or of the archbishop is the greater,--the one obliged to sacrifice the moral character of jesus, in order to escape the admission for christianity of untenable superstition, the other obliged to adopt the superstition in order to support the veracity of the language. at least the course of the archbishop is consistent and worthy of respect. the attempt to eliminate the superstitious diagnosis of the disease, and yet to preserve intact the miraculous cure, is quite ineffectual. dr. trench anticipates the natural question, why there are no demoniacs now, if there were so many in those days,( ) and he is logically compelled to maintain that there may still be persons possessed. "it may well be a question, moreover," he says, "if an apostle or one with apostolic discernment of spirits were to enter into a mad-house now, how many of the sufferers there he might not recognize as possessed?"( ) there can scarcely be a question upon the point at all, for such a person issuing direct { } from that period, without subsequent scientific enlightenment, would most certainly pronounce them all, "possessed." it did not, however, require an apostle, nor even one with apostolic discernment of spirits, to recognize the possessed at that time. all those who are represented as being brought to jesus to be healed are described by their friends as having a devil or being possessed, and there was no form of disease more general or more commonly recognized by the jews. for what reason has the recognition of, and belief in, demoniacal possession passed away with the ignorance and superstition which were then prevalent? it is important to remember that the theory of demoniacal possession, and its supposed cure by means of exorcism and invocations, was most common among the jews long before the commencement of the christian era. as casting out devils was the most common type of christian miracles, so it was the commonest belief and practice of the jewish nation. christianity merely shared the national superstition, and changed nothing but the form of exorcism. christianity did not through a "clearer perception of spirits," therefore, originate the belief in demoniacal possession, nor first recognize its victims; nor did such superior enlightenment accompany the superior morality of christianity as to detect the ignorant fallacy. in the old testament we find the most serious evidence of the belief in demonology and witchcraft. the laws against them set the example of that unrelenting severity with which sorcery was treated for so many centuries. we read in exodus xxii. : "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." levit. xix. : "regard not them which have familiar spirits, neither { } seek after wizards, to be defiled by them." levit. xx. : "and the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards to go a-whoring after them, i will even set my face against that soul, and cut him off from among his people;" and verse : "a man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them." deut. xviii. : "there shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or an enchanter, or a witch; . or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer; . for all that do these things are an abomination unto the lord," &c. the passages which assert the reality of demonology and witchcraft, however, are much too numerous to permit their citation here. but not only did christianity thus inherit the long-prevalent superstition, but it transmitted it intact to succeeding ages; and there can be no doubt that this demonology, with its consequent and inevitable belief in witchcraft, sorcery, and magic, continued so long to prevail throughout christendom, as much through the authority of the sacred writings and the teaching of the church as through the superstitious ignorance of europe. it would be impossible to select for illustration any type of the gospel miracles, whose fundamental principle,--belief in the reality, malignant action, and power of demons, and in the power of man to control them,--has received fuller or more permanent living acceptance from posterity, down to very recent times, than the cure of disease ascribed to demoniacal influence. the writings of the fathers are full of the belief; the social { } history of europe teems with it. the more pious the people, the more firm was their conviction of its reality. from times antecedent to christianity, until medical science slowly came into existence and displaced miracle cures by the relics of saints, every form of disease was ascribed to demons. madness, idiotcy, epilepsy, and every shape of hysteria were the commonest forms of their malignity; and the blind, the dumb, and the deformed were regarded as unquestionable victims of their malice. every domestic calamity, from the convulsions of a child to the death of a cow, was unhesitatingly attributed to their agency. the more ignorant the community, the greater the number of its possessed. belief in the power of sorcery, witchcraft, and magic was inherent in the superstition, and the universal prevalence shows how catholic was the belief in demoniacal influence. the practice of these arts is solemnly denounced as sin in the new testament and throughout patristic literature, and the church has in all ages fulminated against it. no accusation was more common than that of practising sorcery, and no class escaped from the fatal suspicion. popes were charged with the crime, and bishops were found guilty of it. st. cyprian was said to have been a magician before he became a christian and a father of the church.( ) athanasius was accused of sorcery before the synod of tyre.( ) not only the illiterate but even the learned, in the estimation of their age, believed in it. no heresy was ever persecuted with more unrelenting hatred. popes have issued bulls vehemently anathematising witches and sorcerers, councils have proscribed them, ecclesiastical { } courts have consigned tens of thousands of persons suspected of being such to the stake, monarchs have written treatises against them and invented tortures for their conviction, and every nation in europe and almost every generation have passed the most stringent laws against them. upon no point has there ever been greater unanimity of belief. church and state have vied with each other for the suppression of the abominable crime. every phenomenon of nature, every unwelcome occurrence of social life, as well as every natural disease, has been ascribed to magic and demons. the historical records of europe are filled with the deliberate trial and conviction, upon what was deemed evidence, of thousands of sorcerers and witches. hundreds have been found guilty of exercising demoniacal influence over the elements, from sopater the philosopher, executed under constantino for preventing, by adverse winds, the arrival of corn ships at constantinople, to dr. fian and other witches horribly tortured and burnt for causing a stormy passage on the return of james i. from denmark.( ) thousands of men and tens of thousands of women have been done to death by every conceivable torment for causing sickness or calamity by sorcery, or for flying through the air to attend the witches' sabbath. when scepticism as to the reality of the demoniacal powers of sorcery tardily began to arise, it was fiercely reprobated by the church as infidelity. even so late as the th century, a man like sir thomas browne not only did not include the belief amongst the vulgar errors which he endeavoured to expose, but on the contrary wrote: "for my part, i have ever believed, and do now know that there are pitcairn's criminal trials of scotland, i. pp. , . { } witches. they that doubt of them, do not only deny them, but spirits; and are obliquely, and upon consequence, a sort not of infidels, but atheists."( ) in sir thomas hale, in passing sentence of death against two women convicted of being witches, declared that the reality of witchcraft was undeniable, because "first, the scriptures had affirmed so much; and secondly, the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against such persons, which is an argument of their confidence of such a crime."( ) even the th century was stained with the blood of persons tortured and executed for sorcery. notwithstanding all this persistent and unanimous confirmation, we ask again: what has now become of the belief in demoniacal possession and sorcery? it has utterly disappeared. "joseph mede, lardner, dr. mead, paley, and all the learned modern writers" with dean milinan, as we have seen, explain it away, and such a theory of disease and elemental disturbance is universally recognized to have been a groundless superstition. the countless number of persons tormented and put to death for the supposed crime of witchcraft and sorcery were mere innocent victims to ignorance and credulity. mr. buckle has collected a mass of evidence to show that "there is in every part of the world an intimate relation between ignorance respecting the nature and proper treating of a disease, and { } the belief that such disease is caused by supernatural power, and is to be cured by it."( ) at the commencement of our era every disease was ascribed to the agency of demons simply because the nature of disease was not understood, and the writers of the gospels were not, in this respect, one whit more enlightened than the jews. the progress of science, however, has not only dispelled the superstitious theory as regards disease in our time; its effects are retrospective. science not only declares the ascription of disease to demoniacal possession or malignity to be an idle superstition now, but it equally repudiates the assumption of such a cause at any time. the diseases referred by the gospels, and by the jews of that time, to the action of devils, exist now, but they are known to proceed from purely physical causes. the same superstition and medical ignorance would enunciate the same diagnosis at the present day. the superstition and ignorance, however, have passed away, and with them the demoniacal theory. in that day the theory was as baseless as in this. this is the logical conclusion of every educated man. it is obvious that, with the necessary abandonment of the theory of "possession" and demoniacal origin of disease, the largest class of miracles recorded in the gospels is at once exploded. the asserted cause of the diseases of this class, said to have been miraculously healed, must be recognized to be a mere vulgar superstition, and the narratives of such miracles, ascribing as they do in perfect simplicity distinct objectivity to the supposed "possessing" demons, and reporting their very words and actions, at once assume the character of mere imaginative and fabulous writings based upon superstitious { } tradition, and cannot be accepted as the sober and intelligent report of eye-witnesses. we shall presently see how far this.inference is supported by the literary evidence regarding the date and composition of the gospels. the deduction, however, does not end here. it is clear that, this large class of gospel miracles being due to the superstition of an ignorant and credulous age, the insufficiency of the evidence for any of the other supposed miraculous occurrences narrated in the same documents becomes at once apparent. nothing but the most irrefragable testimony could possibly warrant belief in statements of supernatural events which contradict all experience, and are opposed to all science. when these statements, however, are not only rendered, _à priori_, suspicious by their proceeding from a period of the grossest superstition and credulity, but it becomes evident that a considerable part of them is due solely to that superstition and credulity, by which, moreover, the rest may likewise be most naturally explained, it is obvious that they cannot stand against the opposing conviction of invariable experience. the force of the testimony is gone. we are far from using this language in an offensive sense concerning the gospel narratives, which, by the simple faith of the writers, present the most noble aspect of the occurrences of which superstition is capable. indeed, viewed as compositions gradually rising out of pious tradition, and representing the best spirit of their times, the gospels, even in ascribing such miracles to jesus, are a touching illustration of the veneration excited by his elevated character. devout enthusiasm surrounded his memory with the tradition of the highest exhibitions of power within the range of jewish imagination, { } and that these conceptions represent merely an idealized form of prevalent superstition was not only natural but inevitable. we shall hereafter fully examine the character of the gospels, but it will be sufficient here to point out that none of these writings lays claim to any special inspiration, or in the slightest degree pretends to be more than a human composition,( ) and subject to the errors of human history. . we have seen how incompetent those who lived at the time when the gospel miracles are supposed to have taken place were to furnish reliable testimony regarding such phenomena; and the gross mistake committed in regard to the largest class of these miracles, connected with demoniacal possession, seems altogether to destroy the value of the evidence for the rest, and to connect the whole, as might have been expected, with the general superstition and ignorance of the period. it may be well to inquire further, whether there is any valid reason for excepting any of the miracles of scripture from the fate of the rest, and whether, in fact, there was any special "age of miracles" at all, round which a privileged line can be drawn on any reasonable ground. we have already pointed out that the kind of evidence which is supposed to attest the divine revelation of christianity, so far from being invented for the purpose, was so hackneyed, so to speak, as scarcely to attract the { } notice of the nation to which the revelation was, in the first instance, addressed. not only did the old testament contain accounts of miracles of every one of the types related in the new, but most of them were believed to be commonly performed both before and after the commencement of the christian era. that demons were successfully exorcised, and diseases cured, by means of spells and incantations, was never doubted by the jewish nation. satanic miracles, moreover, are not only recognized throughout the old and new testaments, but formed a leading feature of the patristic creed. the early christians were not more ready than the heathen to ascribe every inexplicable occurrence to supernatural agency, and the only difference between them was as to the nature of that agency. the jews and their heathen neighbours were too accustomed to supposed preternatural occurrences to feel much surprise or incredulity at the account of christian miracles; and it is characteristic of the universal superstition of the period that the fathers did not dream of denying the reality of pagan miracles, but merely attributed them to demons, whilst they asserted the divine origin of their own. the reality of the powers of sorcery was never questioned. every marvel and every narrative of supernatural interference with human affairs seemed matter of course to the superstitious credulity of the age. however much miracles are exceptions to the order of nature, they have always been the rule in the history of ignorance. in fact, the excess of belief in them throughout many centuries of darkness is fatal to their claims to credence now. the christian miracles are rendered almost as suspicious from their place in a long sequence of similar occurrences, as they are by being exceptions { } to the sequence of natural phenomena. it would indeed be extraordinary if whole cycles of miracles occurring before and since those of the gospels, and in connection with every religion, could be repudiated as fables, and those alone maintained as genuine. no attempt is made to deny the fact that miracles are common to all times and to all religious creeds. dr. newman states amongst the conclusions of his essay on the miracles of early ecclesiastical history: "that there was no age of miracles, after which miracles ceased; that there have been at all times true miracles and false miracles, true accounts and false accounts; that no authoritative guide is supplied to us for drawing the line between the two."( ) dr. mozley also admits that morbid love of the marvellous in the human race "has produced a constant stream of miraculous pretension in the world, which accompanies man wherever he is found, and is a part of his mental and physical history."( ) ignorance and its invariable attendant, superstition, have done more than mere love of the marvellous to produce and perpetuate belief in miracles, and there cannot be any doubt that the removal of ignorance always leads to the cessation of miracles.( ) the bampton lecturer proceeds: 'heathenism had its running stream of supernatural pretensions in the shape of prophecy, exorcism, and the miraculous cures of diseases, which the temples of esculapius recorded with pompous display."( ) so far from the gospel miracles being original, and a presentation, for the first time, of phenomena until then unknown { } and unlikely to suggest themselves to the mind, "jewish supernaturalism was indeed going on side by side with our lord's miracles."( ) dr. mozley, however, rebuts the inference which has been drawn from this: "that his miracles could not, in the very nature of the case, be evidences of his distinctive teaching and mission, inasmuch as miracles were common to himself and his opponents," by the assertion that a very marked distinction exists between the gospel miracles and all others.( ) he perfectly recognizes the consequence if such a distinction cannot be clearly demonstrated. "the criticism, therefore, which _evidential_ miracles, or miracles which serve as evidence of a revelation, must come up to, if they are to accomplish the object for which they are designed, involves at the outset this condition,--that the evidence of such miracles must be distinguishable from the evidences of this permanent stream of miraculous pretension in the world; that such miracles must be separated by an interval not only from the facts of the order of nature, but also from the common running miraculous, which is the simple offshoot of human nature. can evidential miracles be inserted in this promiscuous mass, so as not to be confounded with it, but to assert their own truth and distinctive source? if they cannot there is an end to the proof of a revelation by miracles: if they can, it remains to see whether the christian miracles are thus distinguishable, and whether their nature, their object, and their evidence vindicate their claim to this distinctive truth and divine source."( ) now, regarding this distinction between gospel and { } other miracles, it must be observed that the religious feeling which influenced the composition of the scripture narratives of miracles naturally led to the exclusion of all that was puerile or ignoble in the traditions preserved regarding the great master. the elevated character of jesus afforded no basis for what was petty, and the devotion with which he was regarded when the gospels were written insured the noblest treatment of his history within certain limits. we must, therefore, consider the bare facts composing the miracles rather than the narrative of the manner in which they are said to have been produced, in order rightly to judge of the comparative features of different miracles. if we take the case of a person raised from the dead, literary skill may invest the account with more or less of dramatic interest and dignity, but whether the main fact be surrounded with pathetic and picturesque details,.as in the account of the raising of lazarus in the fourth gospel, or the person be simply restored to life without them, it is the fact of the resurrection which constitutes the miracle, and it is in the facts alone that we must seek distinction, disregarding and distrusting the accessories. in the one case the effect may be much more impressive, but in the other the bare raising of the dead is not a whit less miraculous. "we have been accustomed to read the gospel narratives of miracles with so much special veneration, that it is now difficult to recognize how much of the distinction of these miracles is due to the composition, and to their place in the history of jesus. no other miracles, or account of miracles, ever had such collateral advantages. as works attributed to our sublimest teacher, described with simple eloquence and, especially in the case of those in { } the fourth gospel, with artistic perfection, and read generally with reverential wonder untempered by a thought of criticism, these miracles have seemed to be surrounded by a mystic halo certainly not emanating from themselves. it must not be forgotten, therefore, that the miracle lies in the bare act, and not in its dramatic arrangement. the restoration of life to a dead man is the very same miracle whether it be effected by the relics of a saint or by the word of an apostle. a miracle is not antecedently more credible because of the outstretched arm and word of command, than it is in the silence of the shrine. being supernatural, the real agency is not seen in either case, although the human mind is more satisfied by the presentation of an apparent cause in the one case, which seems to be absent in the other. in preferring the former type, we are not only influenced by a more dramatic narrative, but we select for belief the miracle from which we can unconsciously eliminate more of the miraculous elements, by tracing it to a visible natural cause which cannot be seen in the latter. the antecedent incredibility of miracles, however, is not affected by literary skill, and is independent of scenic effect. the archbishop of dublin says: "few points present greater difficulties than the attempt to fix accurately the moment when these miraculous powers were withdrawn from the church;" and he argues that they were withdrawn when it entered into what he calls its permanent state, and no longer required "these props and strengthenings of the infant plant."( ) that their retrocession was gradual, he considers natural, and he imagines the fulness of divine power as gradually waning as it was { } subdivided, first among the apostles, and then amongst the ever-multiplying members of the church, until by sub-division it became virtually extinct, leaving as a substitute "the standing wonder of a church."( ) this, of course, is not argument, but merely the archbishop's fanciful explanation of a serious difficulty. the fact is, however, that the gospel miracles were preceded and accompanied by others of the same type, and we may here merely mention exorcism of demons, and the miraculous cure of disease, as popular instances; they were also followed by a long succession of others, quite as well authenticated, whose occurrence only became less frequent in proportion as the diffusion of knowledge dispelled popular credulity. even at the present day a stray miracle is from time to time reported in outlying districts, where the ignorance and superstition which formerly produced so abundant a growth of them are not yet entirely dispelled. papias of hierapolis narrates a wonderful story, according to eusebius, which he had heard from the daughters of the apostle philip, who lived at the same time in hierapolis: "for he relates that a dead man was restored to life in his day."( ) justin martyr, speaking of his own time, frequently asserts that christians still receive the gift of healing, of foreknowledge, and of prophecy,( ) and he points out to the roman senate as a fact happening under their own observation, that many demoniacs throughout all the world [--greek--] and in their own city have { } been healed and are healed, many of the christian' men among is [--greek--] exorcising them in the name of jesus christ, subduing and expelling the possessing demons out of the man, although all the other exorcists with incantations and spells had failed to do so.( ) theophilus of antioch likewise states that to his day demons are exorcised.( ) irenæus in the clearest manner claims for the church of his time the continued possession of the divine [--greek--] he contrasts the miracles of the followers of simon and carpocrates, which he ascribes to magical illusions, with those of christians. "for they can neither give sight to the blind," he continues, "nor to the deaf hearing, nor cast out all demons, but only those introduced by themselves, if they can even do that; nor heal the sick, the lame, the paralytic, nor those afflicted in other parts of the body, as has been often done in regard to bodily infirmity.... but so far are they from raising the dead,--as the lord raised them and the apostles by prayer, and as frequently in the brotherhood, when the whole church in a place made supplication with much fasting and prayer, the spirit of the dead was constrained to return, and the man was freely restored in answer to the prayers of the saints--that they do not believe this can possibly be done."( ) canon { } mozley, who desires for the purpose of his argument to weaken the evidence of patristic belief in the continuance of miracles, says regarding this last passage on raising the dead:--"but the reference is so vague that it possesses but little weight as testimony."( ) we should be sorry to think that the vice, which seems at present to characterize the church to which dr. mozley belongs, of making simple language mean anything or nothing just as any one happens to wish, should be introduced into critical or historical studies. the language of irenæus is vague only in so far as specific detailed instances are not given of the miracles referred to; but no language could be more definite or explicit to express the meaning of irenæus, namely, the assertion that the prayers of christian communities had frequently restored the dead to life. eusebius, who quotes the passage, and who has preserved to us the original greek, clearly recognized this. he says, when making the quotations: "in the second book of the same work he (irenæus) testifies that up to his time tokens of divine and miraculous power remained in some churches,"( ) in the next chapter irenæus further says:--"on which account, also, his true disciples receiving grace from him, work (miracles) in his name for the benefit of the rest of mankind, according to the gift received from him by each of them. for some do certainly and truly [--greek--] cast out demons, so that frequently those very men who have thus been cleansed from the evil spirits both { } believe and are now in the church. and some have foreknowledge of future occurrences, and visions, and prophetic utterances. others heal the sick by the imposition of hands and make them whole. indeed, as we have already stated, even the dead have been raised up, and have remained with us for many years. and what more shall i say? it is not possible to state the number of the gifts which the church throughout the world has received from god in the name of jesus christ, crucified under pontius pilate, and which she each day employs for the benefit of the heathen," &c.( ) tertullian speaks with the most perfect assurance of miracles occurring in his day, and of the power of healing and of casting out devils still possessed by christians. in one place, for iustance, after asserting the power which they have generally over demons, so that if a person possessed by a devil be brought before one of the roman tribunals, a follower of christ can at once compel the wicked spirit within him to confess that he is a demon, even if he had before asserted himself to be a god, he proceeds to say: "so at our touch and breathing, violently affected by the contemplation and representation of those fires (of hell) they (demons) also depart at our command out of bodies, reluctant and complaining, and put to shame { } in your presence."( ) he declares that although dreams are chiefly inflicted upon us by demons, yet they are also sent by god, and indeed "almost the greater part of mankind derive their knowledge concerning god from visions."( ) he, elsewhere, states that he himself knows that a brother was severely castigated by a vision the same night on which his slaves had, without his knowledge, done something reprehensible.( ) he narrates as an instance of the continued possession of spiritual _charismata_ by christians: "there is at this day among us a sister who has the gift of revelations, which she receives in church amidst the solemnities of the lord's day by ecstasy in the spirit: she converses with angels, and sometimes also with the lord, and she both hears and sees mysteries (_sacramenta_), and she reads the hearts of some men, and prescribes medicines to those who are in need."( ) tertullian goes on to say that, after the people were dismissed from the church, this sister was in the regular habit of reporting what she had seen, and that most diligent inquiries were made in order to test the truth of her communications;( ) and after narrating a vision of a disembodied soul vouchsafed to her, he states: "this is the vision, god being witness, and { } the apostle( ) having foretold that such spiritual gifts should be in the church."( ) further on tertullian relates another story within his own knowledge: "i know the case of a woman, born within the fold of the church, who was in the prime of life and beauty. after being but once, and only a short time, married, having fallen asleep in peace, in the interval before interment (sp.) when the presbyter began to pray as she was being made ready for burial, at the first breath of prayer she removed her hands from her sides, folded them in the attitude of supplication, and again, when the last rites were over, restored them to their former position."( ) he then mentions another story known amongst them: that a dead body in a cemetery moved itself in order to make room beside it for another body;( ) and then he remarks: "if similar cases are also reported amongst the heathen, we conclude that god displays signs of his power for the consolation of his own people, and as a testimony to others."( ) again, he mentions cases where christians had cured persons of demoniacal possession, and adds: "and how many men of position (for we do not speak of the vulgar) have been delivered either from devils or from diseases."( ) tertullian { } in the same place refers to the miracle of the "thundering legion,"( ) and he exclaims: "when indeed have not droughts been removed by our prayers and fastings."( ) minucius felix speaks of the casting out of devils from sick persons by christians in his own day, as a matter of public notoriety even among pagans.( ) st. cyprian echoes the same assertions.( ) he likewise mentions cases of miraculous punishment inflicted upon persons who had lapsed from the christian faith. one of these, who ascended the capitol to make denial of christ, suddenly became dumb after he had spoken the words.( ) another, a woman, was seized by an unclean spirit even at the baths, and bit with her own teeth the impious tongue which had eaten the idolatrous food, or spoken the words, and she shortly expired in great agony.( ) he likewise maintains that christians are admonished by god in dreams and by visions, of which he mentions instances.( ) origen claims for christians the power still to expel demons, and to heal diseases in the name of jesus,( ) and he states that he had seen many persons so cured of madness and countless other evils, which could not be otherwise cured by men or devils.( ) lactantius repeatedly asserts the power of christians over demons; they make them flee from bodies when they adjure them in the name of god.( ) passing over the numerous apocryphal writings of the early centuries of our era, in which many miracles are { } recorded, we find in the pages of eusebius narratives of many miraculous occurrences. many miracles are ascribed to narcissus, bishop of jerusalem, of which eusebius relates several. whilst the vigils of the great watch of the passover were being kept, the oil failed, whereupon narcissus commanded that water from the neighbouring well should be poured into the lamps. having prayed over the water, it was changed into oil, of which a specimen had been preserved until that time.( ) on another occasion, three men having spread some vile slanders against narcissus, which they confirmed by an oath, and with imprecations upon themselves of death by a miserable disease, of death by fire, and of blindness, respectively, if their statements were not true, omnipotent justice in each case inflicted upon the wretches the curse which each had invoked.( ) the election of fabianus to the episcopal chair of rome was marked by the descent of a dove from on high, which rested upon his head, as the holy ghost had descended upon our saviour.( ) at cæsarea philippi there is a statue of jesus christ which eusebius states that he himself had seen, said to have been erected by the woman healed of the bloody issue, and on the pedestal grows a strange plant as high as the hem of the brazen garment, which is an antidote to all diseases.( ) great miracles are recorded as taking place during the persecutions in cæsarea.( ) gregory of nyssa gives an account of many wonderful works performed by his namesake gregory of neo-cæsarea, who was called _thaumaturgus_ from the miraculous power which he possessed and very freely { } exercised. the virgin mary and the apostle john appeared to him, on one occasion, when he was in doubt as to the doctrine which he ought to preach, and, at the request of mary, the apostle gave him all needful instructions.( ) if his faith did not move mountains, it moved a huge rock to convert a pagan priest.( ) he drove a demon out of a heathen temple in which he had taken refuge, and the evil spirit could not re-enter until he gave permission.( ) nyssen relates how st. gregory averted an armed contest of two brothers who quarrelled about the possession of a lake on their father's property. the saint passed the night in prayer beside the lake, and in the morning it was found dried up.( ) on another occasion he rescued the country from the devastation of a mountain stream, which periodically burst the dykes by which it was restrained and inundated the plain. he went on foot to the place, and invoking the name of christ, fixed his staff in the earth at the place where the torrent had broken through. the staff took root and became a tree, and the stream never again burst its bounds. the inhabitants of the district were converted to christianity by this miracle. the tree was still living in nyssen's time, and he had seen the bed of the lake covered with trees, pastures, and cottages.( ) two vagabond jews once attempted to deceive him. one of them lay down and pretended to be dead, while the other begged money from the saint wherewith to buy him a shroud. st. gregory quietly took off his cloak and laid it on the man, and { } walked away. his companion found that he was really dead.( ) st. gregory expelled demons from persons possessed, healed the sick and performed many other miracles;( ) and his signs and wonders are not only attested by gregory of nyssa, but by st. basil,( ) whose grandmother, st. macrina, was brought up at neo-cæsarea by the immediate followers of the saint. athanasius, in his memoir of st. anthony, who began to lead the life of a recluse about a.d. , gives particulars of many miracles performed by the saint. although he possessed great power over demons, and delivered many persons possessed by them, satan tormented him sadly, and he was constantly beset by legions of devils. one night satan with a troop of evil spirits so belaboured the saint that he lay on the ground speechless and almost dead from their blows.( ) we have already referred to the case of natalius, who was scourged by angels during a whole night, till he was brought to repentance.( ) upon one occasion when st. anthony had retired to his cell resolved to pass a time in perfect solitude, a certain soldier came to his door and remained long there knocking and supplicating the saint to come and deliver his daughter, who was tormented by a demon. at length st. anthony addressed the man and told him to go, and if he believed in jesus christ and prayed to god, his prayer should { } be fulfilled. the man believed, invoked jesus christ, and his daughter was delivered from the demon.( ) as anthony was once travelling across the desert to visit another monastery, the water of the caravan failed them, and his companions in despair threw themselves on the ground. st. anthony, however, retired a little apart, and in answer to his prayer a spring of water issued at the place where he was kneeling.( ) a man named fronto, who was afflicted with leprosy, begged his prayers, and was ordered by the saint to go into egypt, where he should be healed. fronto at first refused, but being told that he could not be healed if he remained, the sick man went believing, and as soon as he came in sight of egypt he was made whole.( ) another miracle was performed by anthony at alexandria in the presence of st. athanasius. as they were leaving the city a woman cried after him, "man of god, stay; my daughter is cruelly troubled by a demon;" and she entreated him to stop lest she herself should die in running after him. at the request of athanasius and the rest, the saint paused, and as the woman came up her daughter fell on the ground convulsed. st. anthony prayed in the name of jesus christ, and immediately the girl rose perfectly restored to health, and delivered from the evil spirit.( ) he astonished a number of pagan philosophers, who had come to dispute with him, by delivering several demoniacs, making the sign of the cross over them three times, and invoking the name of jesus christ.( ) it is unnecessary, however, to multiply instances of his miraculous power to drive out demons and heal diseases,( ) and to perform other { } wonderful works. st. athanasius, who was himself for a long time a personal follower of st. anthony, protests in his preface to the biography his general accuracy, he having everywhere been mindful of the truth.( ) hilarion, again, a disciple of st. anthony, performed many miracles, an account of some of which is given by st. jerome. he restored sight to a woman who had been blind for no less than ten years; he cast out devils, and miraculously cured many diseases. rain fell in answer to his prayers; and he further exhibited his power over the elements by calming a stormy sea. when he was buried, ten months after his death, not only was his body as perfect as though he had been alive, but it emitted a delightful perfume. he was so favoured of god that, long after, diseases were healed and demons expelled at his tomb.( ) st. macarius, the egyptian, is said to have restored a dead man to life in order to convince an unbeliever of the truth of the resurrection.( ) st. martin, of tours, restored to life a certain catechumen who had died of a fever, and sulpicius, his disciple, states that the man, who lived for many years after, was known to himself, although not until after the miracle. he also restored to life a servant who had hung himself.( ) he performed a multitude of other miracles, to which we need not here more minutely refer. the relics of the two martyrs protavius and gervasius, whose bones, with much fresh blood, the miraculous evidence of their martyrdom and identity, were discovered by st. ambrose, worked a { } number of miracles. a man suffering from demoniacal possession indicated the proximity of the relics by his convulsions. st. augustine states that he himself was in milan when a blind man, who merely touched the cloth which covered the two bodies as they were being moved to a neighbouring church, regained his sight.( ) paulinus relates many miracles performed by his master, st. ambrose, himself. he not only cast out many demons and healed the sick,( ) but he also raised the dead. whilst the saint was staying in the house of a distinguished christian friend, his child, who, a few days before, had been delivered from an unclean spirit, suddenly expired. the mother, an exceedingly religious woman, full of faith and the fear of god, carried the dead boy down and laid him on the saint's bed during his absence. when st. ambrose returned, filled with compassion for the mother and struck by her faith, he stretched himself, like elisha, on the body of the child, praying, and restored him living to his mother. paulinus relates this miracle with minute particulars of name and address.( ) st. augustine asserts that miracles are still performed in his day in the name of jesus christ, either by means of his sacraments or by the prayers or relics of his saints, although they are not so well-known as those of old, and he gives an account of many miracles which had recently taken place.( ) after referring to the miracle performed by the relics of the two martyrs upon the blind man in milan, which occurred when he was there, he goes on to narrate the miraculous cure of a friend of { } his own, named innocent, formerly advocate of the prefecture, in carthage, where augustine was, and beheld it with his own eyes (_ubi nos interfuimus et oculis aspeximus nostris_). a lady of rank in the same city was miraculously healed of an incurable cancer, and st. augustine is indignant at the apathy of her friends, which allowed so great a miracle to be so little known.( ) an inhabitant of the neighbouring town of curubis was cured of paralysis and other ills by being baptized. when augustine heard of this, although it was reported on very good authority, the man himself was brought to carthage by order of the holy bishop aurelius, in order that the truth might be ascertained. augustine states that, on one occasion during his absence, a tribunitian man amongst them named hesperius, who had a farm close by, called zubedi, in the fussalian district, begged one of the christian presbyters to go and drive away some evil spirits whose malice sorely afflicted his servants and cattle. one of the presbyters accordingly went, and offered the sacrifice of the body of christ with earnest prayer, and by the mercy of god, the evil was removed. now hesperius happened to have received from one of his friends a piece of the sacred earth of jerusalem, where jesus christ was buried and rose again the third day, and he had hung it up in his room to protect himself from the evil spirits. when his house had been freed from them, however, he begged st. augustine and his colleague maximinus, who happened to be in that neighbourhood, to come to him, and after telling them all that had happened, he prayed them to bury the piece of earth in some place where christians could assemble for the worship of god. they consented, and did as he desired. a young peasant of the neighbourhood, who was paralytic, hearing of this, begged that he might be carried without delay to the holy spot, where he offered up prayer, and rose up and went away on his feet perfectly cured. about thirty miles from hippo, at a farm called victoriana, there was a memorial to the two martyrs protavius and gervasius. to this, augustine relates, was brought a young man who, having gone one summer day at noon to water his horse in the river, was possessed by a demon. the lady to whom the place belonged came according to her custom in the evening, with her servants and some holy women to sing hymns and pray. on hearing them the demoniac started up and seized the altar with a terrible shudder, without daring to move, and as if bound to it, and the demon praying with a loud voice for mercy confessed where and when he had entered into the young man. at last the demon named all the members of his body, with threats to cut them off as he made his exit, and, saying these words, came out of him. in doing so, however, the eye of the youth fell from its socket on to his cheek, retained only by a small vein as by a root, whilst the pupil became altogether white. well pleased, however, that the young man had been freed from the evil spirit, they returned the eye to its place as well as they could, and bound it up with a handkerchief, praying fervently, and one of his relatives said: "god who drove out the demon at the prayer of his saints can also restore the sight." on removing the bandage seven days after, the eye was found perfectly whole. st. augustine knew a girl of { } hippo who was delivered from a demon by the application of oil with which had mingled the tears of the presbyter who was praying for her. he also knew a bishop who prayed for a youth possessed by a demon, although he had not even seen him, and the young man was at once cured. augustine further gives particulars of many miracles performed by the relics of the most glorious martyr stephen.( ) by their virtue the blind receive their sight, the sick are healed, the impenitent converted, and the dead are restored to life. "andurus is the name of an estate," augustine says, "where there is a church and in it a shrine dedicated to the martyr stephen. a certain little boy was playing in the court, when unruly bullocks drawing a waggon crushed him with the wheel, and immediately he lay in the agonies of death. then his mother raised him up, and placed him at the shrine, and he not only came to life again, but had manifestly received no injury.( ) a certain religious woman, who lived in a neighbouring property called caspalianus, being dangerously ill and her life despaired of, her tunic was carried to the same shrine, but before it was brought back she had expired. nevertheless, her relatives covered the body with this tunic, and she received back the spirit and was made whole.( ) at hippo, a certain man named { } bassus, a syrian, was praying at the shrine of the same martyr for his daughter who was sick and in great peril, and he had brought her dress with him; when lo! some of his household came running to announce to him that she was dead. but as he was engaged in prayer they were stopped by his friends, who prevented their telling him, lest he should give way to his grief in public. when he returned to his house, which already resounded with the wailing of his household, he cast over the body of his daughter her mantle which he had with him, and immediately she was restored to life.( ) again, in the same city, the son of a certain man among us named irenæus, a collector of taxes, became sick and died. as the dead body lay, and they were preparing with wailing and lamentation to bury it, one of his friends consoling him suggested that the body should be anointed with oil from the same martyr. this was done, and the child came to life again.( ) in the same way a man amongst us named eleusinus, formerly a tribune, laid the body of his child, who had died from sickness, on a memorial of the martyr which is in his villa in the suburbs, and after he had prayed, with many tears, he took up the child living."( ) { } we shall meet with more of these miracles in considering the arguments of dr. mozley. in a note he says: "augustine again, long after, alludes in his list of miracles (de civ. dei, xxii. ,) to some cases in which persons had been raised to life again by prayer and the intercession of martyrs, whose relics were applied. but though augustine relates with great particularity and length of detail some cases of recoveries from complaints in answer to prayer, his notices of the cases in which persons had been raised to life again, are so short, bare, and summary, that they evidently represent no more than mere report, and report of a very vague kind. indeed, with the preface which he prefixes to his list, he cannot be said even to profess to guarantee the truth or accuracy of the different instances contained in it. 'hæc autem, ubicunque fiunt, ibi sciuntur vix a tota ipsa civitate vel quocumque commanentium loco. nam plerumque etiam ibi paucissimi sciunt, ignorantibus eseteris, maxime si magna sit civitas; et quando alibi aliisque narrantur, non tantum ea commendat auctoritas, ut sine difficultate vel dubitatione credantur, quamvis christianis fidelibus a fidelibus indicentur.' he puts down the cases as he received them, then, without pledging himself to their authenticity. 'eucharius presbyter... mortuus sic jacebat ut ei jam pol-lices ligarentur: opitulatione memorati martyris, cum de memoria ejus reportata fuisset et supra jacentis corpus missa ipsius presbyteri tunica, suscitatus est... andurus nomen est &c.",( ) and then dr. mozley gives the passage already quoted by us. before continuing, { } we must remark with regard to the passages just quoted, that, in the miracle of eucharius, dr. mozley, without explanation, omits details. the whole passage is as follows: "eucharius, a presbyter from spain, resided at calama, who had for a long time suffered from stone. by the relics of the same martyr, which the bishop possidius brought to him, he was made whole. the same presbyter, afterwards succumbing to another disease, lay dead, so that they were already binding his hands. succour came from the relics of the martyr, for the tunic of the presbyter being brought back from the relics and placed upon his body he revived."( ) a writer who complains of the bareness of narratives, should certainly not curtail their statements. dr. mozley continues: "there are three other cases of the same kind, in which there is nothing to verify the death from which the return to life is said to take place, as being more than mere suspension of the vital powers; but the writer does not go into particulars of description or proof, but simply inserts them in his list as they have been reported to him."( ) dr. mozley is anxious to detract from the miracles described by augustine, and we regret to be obliged to maintain that in order to do so he misrepresents, no doubt unintentionally, augustine's statements, and, as we think, also unduly depreciates the comparative value of the evidence. we shall briefly refer to the two points in question. i. that "his notices of the cases in which persons had been raised to life again are so short, { } bare, and summary that they evidently represent no more than mere report, and report of a very vague kind." ii. "that with the preface which augustine prefixes to his list, he cannot be said even to profess to guarantee the truth or accuracy of the different instances contained in it." it is true that in several cases augustine gives the account of miraculous cures at greater length than those of restoration to life. it seems to us that this is almost inevitable at all times, and that the reason is obvious. where the miracle consists merely of the cure of disease, details are naturally given to show the nature and intensity of the sickness, and they are necessary not only for the comprehension of the cure but to show its importance. in the case of restoration to life, the mere statement of the death and assertion of the subsequent resurrection exclude all need of details. the pithy _reddita est vitæ_, or _factum est et revixit_ is more striking than any more prolix narrative. in fact, the greater the miracle the more natural is conciseness and simplicity; and practically, we find that augustine gives a more lengthy and verbose report of trifling cures, whilst he relates the more important with greater brevity and force. he narrates many of his cases of miraculous cure, however, as briefly as those in which the dead are raised. we have quoted the latter, and the reader must judge whether they are unduly curt. one thing may be affirmed, that nothing of importance is omitted, and in regard to essential details they are as explicit as the mass of other cases reported. in every instance names and addresses are stated, and it will have been observed that all these miracles occurred in, or close to, hippo, and in his own diocese. it is very certain that in { } every case the fact of the miracle is asserted in the most direct and positive terms. there can be no mistake either as to the meaning or intention of the narrative, and there is no symptom whatever of a thought on the part of augustine to avoid the responsibility of his statements, or to give them as mere vague report. if wo compare these accounts with those of the gospels, we do not find them deficient in any essential detail common to the latter. there is in the synoptic gospels only one case in which jesus is said to have raised the dead. the raising of jairus' daughter( ) has long been abandoned, as a case of restoration to life, by all critics and theologians, except the few who still persist in ignoring the distinct and positive declaration of jesus, "the damsel is not dead but sleepeth." the only case, therefore, in the synoptics is the account in the third gospel of the raising of the widow's son,( ) of which, strange to say, the other gospels know nothing. now, although, as might have been expected, this narrative is much more highly coloured and picturesque, the difference is chiefly literary, and, indeed, there are really fewer important details given than in the account by augustine, for instance, of the restoration to life of the daughter of bassus the syrian, which took place at hippo, of which he was bishop, and where he actually resided. augustine's object in giving his list of miracles did not require him to write picturesque narratives. he merely desired to state bare facts, whilst the authors of the gospels composed the life of their master, in which interesting details were everything. for many reasons we refrain here from alluding to the artistic narrative of the raising { } of lazarus, the greatest miracle ascribed to jesus, yet so singularly unknown to the other three evangelists, who, so readily repeating the accounts of trifling cures, would most certainly not have neglected this had they ever heard of it. dr. mozley complains of the absence of verification and proof of actual death in these cases, or that they were more than mere suspension of the vital powers. we cordially agree with him in the desire for such evidence, not only in these, but in all miracles. we would ask, however, what verification of the death have we in the case of the widow's son which we have not here? if we apply such a test to the miracles of the gospels, we must reject them as certainly as those of st. augustine. in neither case have we more than a mere statement that the subjects of these miracles were dead or diseased. so far are we from having any competent medical evidence of the reality of the death, or of the disease, or of the permanence of the supposed cures in the gospels, that we have little more than the barest reports of these miracles by writers who, even if their identity were established, were not, and do not pretend to have been, eye-witnesses of the occurrences which they relate. take, for instance, this very raising of the widow's son in the third gospel, which is unknown to the other evangelists, and the narrative of which is given only in a gospel which is not attributed to a personal follower of jesus. now we turn to the second statement of dr. mozley, "that with the preface which augustine prefixes to his list, he cannot be said even to profess to guarantee the truth or accuracy of the different instances contained in it." this extraordinary assertion is supported by a quotation { } given above, which dr. mozley has separated from what precedes and follows it, so that its real meaning is scarcely apparent. we shall as briefly as possible state what is actually the "preface" of st. augustine to his list of miracles, and his avowed object for giving it. in the preceding chapter, augustine has been arguing that the world believed in christ by virtue of divine influence and not by human persuasion. he contends that it is ridiculous to speak of the false divinity of romulus when christians speak of christ. if, in the time of romulus, some years before cicero, people were so enlightened that they refused to believe anything of which they had not experience, how much more, in the still more enlightened days of cicero himself, and notably in the reigns of augustus and tiberius, would they have rejected belief in the resurrection and ascension of christ, if divine truth and the testimony of miracles had not proved not only that such things could take place, but that they had actually done so. when the evidence of prophecy joined with that of miracles, and showed that the new doctrines were only contrary to experience and not contrary to reason, the world embraced the faith.( ) "why, then, say they, do these miracles which you declare to have taken place formerly, not occur now-a-days?" augustine, in replying, adopts a common rhetorical device: "i might, indeed, answer," he says, "that miracles were necessary before the world believed, in order that the world might believe. any one who now requires miracles in order that he may believe, is himself a great miracle in not believing what all the world believes. but, really, they say this in order that even those miracles should not be believed either." { } and he reduces what he considers to be the position of the world in regard to miracles and to the supernatural dogmas of christianity to the following dilemma: "either things incredible which nevertheless occurred, and were seen, led to belief in something else incredible, which was not seen; or that thing was in itself so credible that no miracles were required to establish it, and so much more is the unbelief of those who deny confuted. this might i say to these most frivolous objectors." he then proceeds to affirm that it cannot be denied that many miracles attest the great miracle of the ascension in the flesh of the risen christ, and he points out that the actual occurrence of all these things is not only recorded in the most truthful books, but the reasons also given why they took place. these things have become known that they might create belief; these things by the belief they have created have become much more clearly known. they are read to the people, indeed, that they may believe; yet, nevertheless, they would not be read to the people if they had not been believed. after thus stating the answer which he might give, augustine now returns to answer the question directly:--"but, furthermore," he continues, "miracles are performed now in his name, either by means of his sacraments, or by the prayers or relics of his saints, but they are not brought under the same strong light as caused the former to be noised abroad with so much glory; inasmuch as the canon of sacred scriptures, which must be definite, causes those miracles to be everywhere publicly read, and become firmly fixed in the memory of all peoples;"(l) and then follows dr. mozley's { } quotation: "but these are scarcely known to the whole of a city itself in which they are performed, or to its neighbourhood. indeed, for the most part, even there very few know of them, and the rest are ignorant, more especially if the city be large; and when they are related elsewhere and to others, the authority does not so commend them as to make them be believed without difficulty or doubt, albeit they are reported by faithful christians to the faithful." he illustrates this by pointing out in immediate continuation, that the miracle in milan by the bodies of the two martyrs, which took place when he himself was there, might reach the knowledge of many, because the city is large, and the emperor and an immense crowd of people witnessed it, but who knows of the miracle performed at carthage upon his friend innocent, when he was there also, and saw it with his own eyes? who knows of the miraculous cure of cancer, he continues, in a lady of rank in the same city? at the silence regarding which he is so indignant. who knows of the next case he mentions in his list? the cure of a medical man of the same town, to which he adds: "we, nevertheless, do know it, and a few brethren to whose knowledge it may have come."( ) who out of curubus, besides the very few who may have heard of it, knows of the miraculous cure of the paralytic man, whose case augustine personally investigated? and so on. observe that there is merely a question of the comparative notoriety of the gospel { } miracles and those of his own time, not a doubt as to the reality of the latter. again, towards the end of his long list, immediately after the narrative of the restoration to life of the child of eleusinus, which we have quoted, augustine says:--"what can i do? the promise of the completion of this work is pressing, so that i cannot here recount all (the miracles) that i know; and without doubt many of our brethren when they read this work will be grieved that i have omitted so very much, which they know as well as i do. this i even now beg that they will pardon, and consider how long would be the task of doing that which, for the completion of the work, it is thought necessary not to do. for if i desired to record merely the miracles of healing, without speaking of others, which have been performed by this martyr, that is to say, the most glorious stephen, in the district of calama, and in ours of hippo, many volumes must be composed, yet will it not be possible to make a complete collection of them, but only of such as have been published for public reading. for that was our object, since we saw repeated in our time signs of divine power similar to those of old, deeming that they ought not to be lost to the knowledge of the multitude. now this relic has not yet been two years at hippo-regius, and accounts of many of the miracles performed by it have not been written, as is most certainly known to us, yet the number of those which have been published, up to the time this is written, amounts ta about seventy. at calama, however, where these relics have been longer, and more of the miracles were recorded, they incomparably exceed this number."( ) augustine goes on to say that, to his knowledge, many very remarkable miracles were performed by the relics of the same martyr also at uzali, a district near to utica, and of one of these, which had recently taken place when he himself was there, he gives an account. then, before closing his list with the narrative of a miracle which took place at hippo, in his own church, in his own presence, and in the sight of the whole congregation, he resumes his reply to the opening question:--"many miracles, therefore," he says, "are also performed now, the same god who worked those of which we read, performing these by whom he wills and as he wills; but these miracles neither become similarly known, nor, that they may not slip out of mind, are they stamped, as it were like gravel, into memory, by frequent reading. for even in places where care is taken, as is now the case amongst us, that accounts of those who receive benefit should be publicly read, those who are present hear them only once, and many are not present at all, so that those who were present do not, after a few days, remember { } what they heard, and scarcely a single person is met with who repeats what he has heard to one whom he may have known to have been absent"( ) so far from casting doubt upon the miracles which he narrates, the "preface" of augustine is clearly intended to establish them. these "signs of divine power similar to those of old," are not less real and important, but merely less known, because the eyes of the world are not directed to them, and they have not the advantage of being everywhere published abroad by means of canonical scriptures constantly read to the people and acknowledged as authoritative. dr. mozleys statement is quite unwarranted, and it seems to us gratuitously injurious to st. augustine. this father of the church and bishop must have had as little good faith as good sense, if he did what such a statement implies. in order to demonstate the truth of his assertion that miracles were still performed in his day, dr. mozley represents augustine as deliberately producing a long list of instances of which "he cannot even be said to guarantee the truth," and the more important cases in which "evidently represent no more than mere report, and report of a very vague kind." we have furnished the reader with the materials for forming an opinion on these points. the judgment of dr. mozley may with equal justice be applied to { } the authors of the synoptic gospels. they certainly do not guarantee the truth of the miracles they relate in any more precise way than augustine. like him, they merely narrate them as facts, and he as evidently believes what he states as they do. indeed, as regards comparative fulness of testimony, the advantage is altogether on the side of the miracles reported by st. augustine. these miracles occurred within two years of the time at which he wrote, and were at once recorded with the names of the subjects and of the places at which they occurred; most of them were performed in his own diocese, and several of them in his own presence; some, of which he apparently did not feel sure, he personally investigated; he states his knowledge of others, and he narrates the whole of them with the most direct and simple affirmation of the facts, without a single word indicating hesitation, or directly or indirectly attributing the narrative to mere report. moreover, he not only advances these miracles deliberately and in writing, in support of his positive assertion that miracles were still performed, but these accounts of them had in the first instance been written that they might be publicly read in his own church for the edification of christians, almost on the very spot where they are stated to have occurred. we need scarcely say that we do not advance these reasons in order to argue the reality of the miracles themselves, but simply to maintain that, so far from his giving the account of them as mere report, or not even professing to vouch for their truth, st. augustine both believed them himself, and asked others to believe them as facts, and that they are as unhesitatingly affirmed as any related in the gospels. { } we shall not attempt any further detailed reference to the myriads of miracles with which the annals of the church teem up to very recent times. the fact is too well known to require evidence. the saints in the calendar are legion. it has been computed that the number of those whose lives are given in the bollandist collection( ) amounts to upwards of , , although, the saints being arranged according to the calendar, the unfinished work only reaches the twenty-fourth of october. when it is considered that all those upon whom the honour of canonization is conferred have worked miracles, many of them, indeed, almost daily performing such wonders, some idea may be formed of the number of miracles which have occurred in unbroken succession from apostolic days, and have been believed and recognized by the church. vast numbers of these miracles are in all respects similar to those narrated in the gospels, and they comprise hundreds of cases of restoration of the dead to life. if it be necessary to point out instances in comparatively recent times, we may mention the miracles of this kind liberally ascribed to st francis of assisi, in the th century, and to his namesake st. francis xavier, in the th, as pretty well known to all, although we might refer to much more recent miracles authenticated by the church. at the present day such phenomena have almost disappeared, and, indeed, with the exception of an occasional winking picture, periodical liquefaction of blood, or apparition of the virgin, confined to the still ignorant and benighted corners of the earth, miracles are extinct. { } chapter vi. miracles in relation to ignorance and superstition we have maintained that the miracles which are reported after apostolic days, instead of presenting the enormous distinction which dr. mozley asserts, are precisely of the same types in all material points as the earlier miracles. setting aside miracles of a trivial and unworthy character, there remains a countless number cast in the same mould as those of the gospels,--miraculous cure of diseases, expulsion of demons, transformation of elements, supernatural nourishment, resurrection of dead--of many of which we have quoted instances. dr. mozley anticipates an objection and says: "it will be urged, perhaps, that a large portion even of the gospel miracles are of the class here mentioned as ambiguous; cures, visions, expulsions of evil spirits; but this observation does not affect the character of the gospel miracles as a body, because we judge of the body or whole from its highest specimen, not from its lowest." he takes his stand upon, "e.g. our lord's resurrection and ascension."( ) now, without discussing the principle laid down here, it is evident that the great distinction between the gospel and other miracles is thus narrowed to a very small compass. it is admitted that the mass of the gospel miracles are of a class characterized as ambiguous, because "the current { } miracles of human history" are also chiefly of the same type, and the distinctive character is derived avowedly only from a few high specimens, such as the resurrection. we have already referred to the fact that in the synoptic gospels there is only one case, reported by the third gospel alone, in which jesus is said to have raised the dead. st. augustine alone, however, chronicles several cases in which life was restored to the dead. post-apostolic miracles, therefore, are far from lacking this ennobling type. observe that dr. mozley is here not so much discussing the reality of the subsequent miracles of the church, as contrasting them and other reputed miracles with those of the gospel, and from this point of view it is impossible to maintain that the gospels have a monopoly of the highest class of miracles. such miracles are met with long before the dawn of christianity, and continued to occur long after apostolic times. much stress is laid upon the form of the gospel miracles; but as we have already shown, it is the actual resurrection of the dead, for instance, which is the miracle, and this is not affected by the more or less dramatic manner in which it is said to have been effected, or in which the narrative of the event is composed. literary skill, and the judicious management of details, may make or mar the form of any miracle. the narrative of the restoration of the dead child to life by elisha might have been more impressive, had the writer omitted the circumstance that the child sneezed seven times before opening his eyes, and dr. mozley would probably have considered the miracle greater had the prophet merely said to the child, "arise!" instead of stretching himself on the body; but setting aside human cravings { } for the picturesque and artistic, the essence of the miracle would have remained the same. there is one point, however, regarding which it may be well to make a few remarks. whilst a vast number of miracles are ascribed to direct personal action of saints, many more are attributed to their relics. now this is no exclusive characteristic of later miracles, but christianity itself shares it with still earlier times. the case in which a dead body which touched the bones of elisha was restored to life will occur to every one. "and it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of moabites; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet."( ) the mantle of elijah smiting asunder the waters before elisha may be cited as another instance.( ) the woman who touches the hem of the garment of jesus in the crowd is made whole,( ) and all the sick and "possessed" of the country are represented as being healed by touching jesus, or even the mere hem of his garment.( ) it was supposed that the shadow of peter falling on the sick as he passed had a curative effect,( ) and it is very positively stated: "and god wrought miracles of no common kind by the hands of paul; so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." ( ) the argument which assumes an enormous distinction { } between gospel and other miracles betrays the prevalent scepticism, even in the church, of all miracles except those which it is considered an article of faith to maintain. if we inquire how those think who are more logical and thorough in their belief in the supernatural, we find the distinction denied. "the question," says dr. newman, "has hitherto been argued on the admission, that a distinct line can be drawn in point of character and circumstances, between the miracles of scripture and those of church history; but this is by no means the case. it is true, indeed, that the miracles of scripture, viewed as a whole, recommend themselves to our reason, and claim our veneration beyond all others, by a peculiar dignity and beauty; but still it is only as a whole that they make this impression upon us. some of them, on the contrary, fall short of the attributes which attach to them in general; nay, are inferior in these respects to certain ecclesiastical miracles, and are received only on the credit of the system of which they form part. again, specimens are not wanting in the history of the church, of miracles as awful in their character, and as momentous in their effects, as those which are recorded in scripture."( ) now here is one able and thorough supporter of miracles denying the enormous distinction between those of the gospel and those of human history, which another admits to be essential to the former as evidence of a revelation. dr. mozley, however, meets such a difficulty by asserting that there would be no disadvantage to the gospel miracles, and no doubt regarding them involved, if for some later miracles there was evidence as strong as for those of the gospel. "all the result would be," he says, { } "that we should admit these miracles over and above the gospel ones."( ) he denies the equality of the evidence, however, in any case. "between the evidence, then, upon which the gospel miracles stand, and that for later miracles we see a broad distinction arising, not to mention again the nature and type of the gospel miracles themselves--from the contemporaneous date of the testimony to them, the character of the witnesses, the probation of the testimony; especially when we contrast with these points the false doctrine and audacious fraud which rose up in later ages, and in connection with which so large a portion of the later miracles of christianity made their appearance."( ) we consider the point touching the type of the gospel miracles disposed of, and we may, therefore, confine ourselves to the rest of this argument. if we look for any external evidence of the miracles of jesus in any marked effect produced by them at the time they are said to have occurred, we find anything but confirmation of the statements of the gospels. it is a notorious fact that, in spite of these miracles, very few of the jews amongst whom they were performed believed in jesus, and that christianity made its chief converts not where the supposed miracles took place, but where an account of them was alone given by enthusiastic missionaries. such astounding exhibitions of power as raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, walking on the sea, changing water into wine, and indefinitely multiplying a few loaves and fishes, not only did not make any impression on the jews themselves, but were never heard of out of palestine until long after the events are said to have occurred, when the narrative of them was slowly disseminated by christian teachers and writers. { } dr. mozley refers to the contemporary testimony "for certain great and cardinal gospel miracles which, if granted, clear away all antecedent objection to the reception of the rest," and he says: "that the first promulgators of christianity asserted, as a fact which had come under the cognizance of their senses, the resurrection of our lord from the dead, is as certain as anything in history."( ) what they really did assert, so far from being so certain as dr. mozley states, must, as we shall hereafter see, be considered matter of the greatest doubt. but if the general statement be taken that the resurrection, for instance, was promulgated as a fact which the early preachers of christianity themselves believed to have taken place, the evidence does not in that case present the broad distinction he asserts. the miracles recounted by st athanasius and st. augustine, for example, were likewise proclaimed with equal clearness, and even greater promptitude and publicity at the very spot where many of them were said to have been performed, and the details were much more immediately reduced to writing. the mere assertion in neither case goes for much as evidence, but the fact is that we have absolutely no contemporaneous testimony at all as to what the first promulgators of christianity actually asserted, or as to the real grounds upon which they made such assertions. we shall presently enter upon a thorough examination of the testimony for the gospel narratives, their authorship and authenticity, but we may here be permitted, so far to anticipate, as to remark that, applied to documentary evidence, dr. mozley's reasoning from the contemporaneous date of the testimony, and the character of { } the witnesses, is contradicted by the whole history of new testament literature. whilst the most uncritically zealous assertors of the antiquity of the gospels never venture to date the earliest of them within a quarter of a century from the death of jesus, every tyro is aware that there is not a particle of evidence of the existence of our gospels until very long after that interval,--hereafter we shall show how long;--that two of our synoptic gospels at least were not, in any case, composed in their present form by the writers to whom they are attributed; that there is, indeed, nothing worthy of the name of evidence that any one of these gospels was written at all by the person whose name it bears; that the second gospel is attributed to one who was not an eye-witness, and of whose identity there is the greatest doubt even amongst those who assert the authorship of mark; that the third gospel is an avowed later compilation,( ) and likewise ascribed to one who was not a follower of jesus himself; and that the authorship of the fourth gospel and its historical character are amongst the most unsettled questions of criticism, not to use here any more definite terms. this being the state of the case it is absurd to lay such emphasis on the contemporaneous date of the testimony, and on the character of the witnesses, since it has not even been determined who those witnesses are, and two even of the supposed evangelists were not personal eye-witnesses at all.( ) surely the testimony of athanasius regarding the miracles of st. anthony, and that of augustine regarding luke i. -- . we need scarcely point out that paul, to whom so many of the writings of the new testament are ascribed, and who practically is the author of ecclesiastical christianity, not only was not an eye-witness of the gospel miracles but never even saw jesus. { } his list of miracles occurring in or close to his own diocese, within two years of the time at which he writes, or, to refer to more recent times, the evidence of pascal for the port-royal miracles, must be admitted, not only not to present the broad distinction of evidence of which dr. mozley speaks, but on the contrary to be even more unassailable than that of the gospel miracles. the church, which is the authority for those miracles, is also the authority for the long succession of such works wrought by the saints. the identity of the writers we have instanced has never been doubted; their trustworthiness, in so far as stating what they believe to be true is concerned, has never been impugned; the same could be affirmed of writers in every age who record such miracles. the broad distinction of evidence for which dr. mozley contends, does not exist; it does not lie within the scope of his lectures either to define or prove it, and he does not of course commit the error of assuming the inspiration of the records. the fact is that theologians demand evidence for later miracles, which they have not for those of the gospels, and which transmitted reverence forbids their requiring. they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. dr. mozley points to the life of sacrifice and suffering of the apostles as a remarkable and peculiar testimony to the truth of the gospel miracles, and notably of the resurrection and ascension.( ) without examining, here, how much we really know of those lives and sufferings, one thing is perfectly evident: that sacrifice, suffering, and martyrdom itself are evidence of nothing except of the personal belief of the person enduring them; they do not prove the truth of the doctrines believed. no { } one doubts the high religious enthusiasm of the early christians, or the earnest and fanatical zeal with which they courted martyrdom, but this is no exclusive characteristic of christianity. every religion has had its martyrs, every error its devoted victims. does the marvellous endurance of the hindoo, whose limbs wither after years of painful persistence in vows to his deity, prove the truth of brahmanism? or do the fanatical believers who cast themselves under the wheels of the car of jagganath establish the soundness of their creed? do the jews, who for centuries bore the fiercest contumelies of the world, and were persecuted, hunted, and done to death by every conceivable torture for persisting in their denial of the truth of the incarnation, resurrection, and ascension, and in their rejection of jesus christ, do they thus furnish a convincing argument for the truth of their belief and the falsity of christianity? or have the thousands who have been consigned to the stake by the christian church herself for persisting in asserting what she has denounced as damnable heresy, proved the correctness of their views by their sufferings and death? history is full of the records of men who have honestly believed every kind of error and heresy, and have been stedfast to the death, through persecution and torture, in their mistaken belief. there is nothing so inflexible as superstitious fanaticism, and persecution, instead of extinguishing it, has invariably been the most certain means of its propagation. the sufferings of the apostles, therefore, cannot prove anything beyond their own belief, and the question what it was they really did believe and suffered for is by no means so simple as it appears. now the long succession of ecclesiastical and other { } miracles has an important bearing upon those of the new testament, whether we believe or deny their reality. if we regard the miracles of church history to be in the main real, the whole force of the gospel miracles, as exceptional supernatural evidence of a divine revelation, is annihilated. the "miraculous credentials of christianity" assume a very different aspect when they are considered from such a point of view. admitted to be scarcely recognizable from miracles wrought by satanic agency, they are seen to be a continuation of wonders recorded in the old testament, to be preceded and accompanied by pretension to similar power on the part of the jews and other nations, and to be succeeded by cycles of miracles, in all essential respects the same, performed subsequently for upwards of fifteen hundred years. supernatural evidence of so common and prodigal a nature certainly betrays a great want of force and divine speciality. how could that be considered as express evidence for a new divine revelation which was already so well known to the world, and which is scattered broad-cast over so many centuries, as well as successfully simulated by satan? if, on the other hand, we dismiss the miracles of later ages as false, and as merely the creations of superstition or pious imagination, how can the miracles of the gospel, which are precisely the same in type, and not better established as facts, remain unshaken? the apostles and evangelists were men of like passions, and also of like superstitions with others of their time, and must be measured by the same standard. dr. mozley will not admit that, even in such a case, the difficulty of distinguishing the true miracles amongst the mass of { } spurious justifies the rejection of all, and he demands a judicial process in each case, and settlement according to the evidence in that case.( ) we might reply that if the great mass of asserted miracles be determined to be spurious, there is no reason shown for entering upon a more minute consideration of pretensions, which knowledge and experience force us _à priori_ to regard as incredible, and which examination, in so many cases, has proved to be delusion. even if the plea, that "the evidence of the gospel miracles is a special case which must be decided on its own grounds," be admitted, it must be apparent that the rejection of the mass of other miracles is serious presumptive evidence also against them. . the argument for the reality of miracles receives very little strength from the character of either the early or the later ages of christianity. "it is but too plain," says dr. mozley, "in discussing ecclesiastical miracles, that in later ages, as the church advanced in worldly power and position, besides the mistakes of imagination and impression, a temper of deliberate and audacious fraud set itself in action for the spread of certain doctrines, as well as for the great object of the concentration of church power in one absolute monarchy."( ) we have already quoted words of dean milman regarding the frame of mind of the early church, and it may not be out of place to add a few lines from the same writer. speaking of the writings of the first ages of christianity, he says: "that some of the christian legends were deliberate forgeries can scarcely be questioned; the principle of pious fraud { } appeared to justify this mode of working on the popular mind; it was admitted and avowed. to deceive into christianity was so valuable a service as to hallow deceit itself. but the largest portion was probably the natural birth of that imaginative excitement which quickens its day-dreams and nightly visions into reality. the christian lived in a supernatural world; the notion of the divine power, the perpetual interference of the deity, the agency of the countless invisible beings which hovered over mankind, was so strongly impressed upon the belief, that every extraordinary, and almost every ordinary incident became a miracle, every inward emotion a suggestion either of a good or an evil spirit. a mythic period was thus gradually formed, in which reality melted into fable, and invention unconsciously trespassed on the province of history."( ) whether we look upon this picture or on that, the result is equally unfavourable to miracles, and a ready explanation both of the earlier and later instances is suggested. we must, however, again recall the fact that, setting aside for the present the effect of pious fraud, this vivid and superstitious imagination, which so freely created for itself the miraculous, was not merely developed by christianity, but was equally rampant before it, and was a marked characteristic of the jews. the same writer, in a passage already quoted, says: "during the whole life of christ, and the early propagation of the religion, it must be borne in mind that they took place in an age, and among a people which superstition had made so familiar with what were supposed to be preternatural events, that wonders awakened no emotion, or were speedily superseded by some new demand on the ever { } ready belief. the jews of that period not only believed that the supreme being had the power of controlling the course of nature, but that the same influence was possessed by multitudes of subordinate spirits, both good and evil."( ) between the "superstition," "imaginative excitement," and "pious fraud" of the early church, and the "deliberate and audacious fraud" of the later, we have abundant material for the natural explanation of all supposed miracles, without going to such an extreme hypothesis as exceptions to the order of nature, or supposing that a few miracles can be accepted as supernatural facts, whilst all the rest must be discarded as human fables. it is certain that throughout the whole period during which miracles are said to have been performed, gross ignorance and superstition prevailed, and nowhere more so than amongst the jews where those miracles occurred. almost every operation of nature was inexplicable, and everything which was inexplicable was considered supernatural. miracles seemed as credible to the mind of that age as deviations from the order of nature seem incredible in ours. it is a suggestive fact that miracles are limited to periods when almost every common incident was readily ascribed to supernatural agency. there is, however, one remarkable circumstance which casts some light upon the origin of narratives of miracles. throughout the new testament, patristic literature, and the records of ecclesiastical miracles, although we have narratives of countless wonderful works performed by others than the writers, and abundant assertion of the possession of miraculous power by the church, there is no instance whatever, that we can remember, in which { } a writer claims to have himself performed a miracle.( ) wherever there has existed even the comparatively accurate means of information which a person who himself performed a miracle might possess, the miraculous entirely fails, and it is found only where faith or credulity usurps the place of knowledge. pious men were perfectly ready to believe the supposed miracles of others, and to report them as facts, who were too veracious to imagine any of their own. even if apostles and saints had chronicled their own miraculous deeds, the argument for their reality would not have been much advanced; but the uniform absence of such personal pretension enables us more clearly to trace such narratives to pious credulity or superstition. if we consider the particular part which miracles have played in human history, we find precisely the phenomena which might have been expected if miracles, instead of being considered as real occurrences, were recognized as the mistakes or creations of ignorance and superstition during that period in which "reality melted into fable, and invention unconsciously trespassed on the province of history." their occurrence is limited to ages which were totally ignorant of physical laws, and they have been numerous or rare precisely in proportion to the degree of imagination and love of the marvellous characterizing the people amongst whom they are said to have occurred. instead of a few evidential miracles taking place at one epoch of history, and filling the world with surprise at such novel and exceptional phenomena, we find miracles represented as taking place in all ages and in all countries. the gospel miracles are set in the midst of a series of similar wonders, which commenced this is fully discussed in the third volume. { } many centuries before the dawn of christianity and continued, without interruption, for fifteen hundred years after it. they did not in the most remote degree originate the belief in miracles, or give the first suggestion of spurious imitation. it may, on the contrary, be much more truly said that the already existing belief created these miracles. no divine originality characterized the evidence selected to accredit the divine revelation. the miracles with which the history of the world is full occurred in ages of darkness and superstition, and they gradually ceased when enlightenment became more generally diffused. at the very time when knowledge of the laws of nature began to render men capable of judging of the reality of miracles, these wonders entirely failed. this extraordinary cessation of miracles, precisely at the time when their evidence might have acquired value by an appeal to persons capable of appreciating them, is perfectly unintelligible if they be viewed as the supernatural credentials of a divine revelation. if, on the other hand, they be regarded as the mistakes of imaginative excitement and ignorance, nothing is more natural than their extinction at the time when the superstition which created them gave place to knowledge. as a historical fact, there is nothing more certain than that miracles, and the belief in them, disappeared exactly when education and knowledge of the operation of natural laws became diffused throughout europe, and that the last traces of belief in supernatural interference with the order of nature are only to be found in localities where ignorance and superstition still prevail, and render delusion or pious fraud of that description possible. miracles are now denied to places more enlightened { } than naples or la salette. the inevitable inference from this fact is fatal to the mass of miracles, and it is not possible to protect them from it. miracle cures by the relics of saints, upheld for fifteen centuries by all the power of the church, utterly failed when medical science, increasing in spite of persecution, demonstrated the natural action of physiological laws. the theory of the demoniacal origin of disease has been entirely and for ever dispelled, and the host of miracles in connection with it retrospectively exploded by the progress of science. witchcraft and sorcery, the belief in which reigned supreme for so many centuries, are known to have been nothing but the delusions of ignorant superstition. "a l'époque où les faits merveilleux qui s'y (dans les légendes) trouvent consignés étaient rapportés," asks an able french writer, "possé dait-on les lumieres suffisantes pour exercer une critique véritable et sérieuse sur des témoignages que venaient affirmer des faits en contradiction avec nos connaissances? or, on peut assurer hardiment que non. au moyen-age, l'intime conviction que la nature voit tres fréquemment ses lois interverties par la volonté divine régnait dans les esprits, en sorte que pour peu qu'un fait se présentat avec des apparences extraordinaires, on se hatait de le regarder comme un miracle, comme loeuvre directe de la divinité. aujourd'hui on cherche au contraire à tout rapporter à la loi commune; on est tellement sobre de faits miraculeux, que ceux qui paraissent tels sont ^cartes comme des fables ou tonus pour des faits ordinaires mal expliques. la foi aux miracles a disparu. en outre, au moyen-age le cercle des connaissances qu'on possédait sur la nature était fort restreint, et tout ce qui n'y rentrait pas était regardé comme surnatural. { } actuellement ce cercle s'agrandit sans cesse; et loin d'en avoir arreté définitivement la limite, on le déclare infini." in a note the writer adds: "on voit par la que le nombre des miracles doit etre en raison inverse du nombre des lois connues de la nature, et, qu'a mesure que celles-ci nous sont révélées, les faits merveilleux ou miraculeux s'évanouissent."( ) these remarks are equally applicable to the commencement of the christian era. on the one hand, we have no other testimony for the reality of miracles than that of ages in which not only the grossest superstition and credulity prevailed, but in which there was such total ignorance of natural laws that men were incapable of judging of that reality, even if they desired impartially to investigate such occurrences, which they did not; on the other hand, we have the sober testimony of science declaring such phenomena violations of the invariable laws of nature, and experience teaching us a perfectly simple and natural interpretation of the legends regarding them. are we to believe ignorance and superstition or science and unvarying experience? science has already demonstrated the delusion involved in the largest class of miracles, and has so far established the superiority of her testimony. in an early part of his discussion dr. mozley argues: "christianity is the religion of the civilized world, and l. f. alfred maury. essai sur los legendes pieuses du moyen-age, , p. f., and p. , note ( ). the same arguments are employed by the late mr. buckle. "hence it is that, supposing other things equal, the superstition of a nation must always bear an exact proportion to the extent of its physical knowledge. this may be in some degree verified by the ordinary experience of mankind. for if we compare the different classes of society, we shall find that they are superstitious in proportion as the phenomena with which they are brought in contact have or have not been explained by natural laws." hist, of civilization, , i. p. . { } it is believed upon its miraculous evidence. now, for a set of miracles to be accepted in a rude age, and to retain their authority throughout a succession of such ages, and over the ignorant and superstitious part of mankind, may be no such great result for the miracle to accomplish, because it is easy to satisfy those who do not inquire. but this is not the state of the case which we have to meet on the subject of the christian miracles. the christian being the most intelligent, the civilized portion of the world, these miracles are accepted by the christian body as a whole, by the thinking and educated as well as the uneducated part of it, and the gospel is believed upon that evidence."( ) the picture of christendom here suggested is purely imaginary. we are asked to believe that succeeding generations of thinking and educated as well as uneducated men, since the commencement of the period in which the adequate inquiry into the reality of miracles became possible, have made that adequate inquiry, and have intelligently and individually accepted miracles and believed the gospel in consequence of their attestation. the fact, however, is that christianity became the religion of europe before men either possessed the knowledge requisite to appreciate the difficulties involved in the acceptance of miracles, or minds sufficiently freed from ignorant superstition to question the reality of the supposed supernatural interference with the order of nature, and belief had become so much a matter of habit that, in this nineteenth century, the great majority of men have professed belief for no better reason than that their fathers believed before them. belief is now little more than a transmitted quality or hereditary custom. few men, even { } now, have either the knowledge or the leisure requisite to enable them to enter upon such an examination of miracles as can entitle dr. mozley to affirm that they intelligently accept miracles for themselves. we have shown, moreover, that so loose are the ideas even of the clergy upon the subject, that dignitaries of the church fail to see either the evidential purpose of miracles or the need for evidence at all, and the first intelligent step towards inquiry--doubt--has generally been stigmatized almost as a crime. so far from dr. mozley's statement being correct, it is notorious that the great mass of those who are competent to examine, and who have done so, altogether reject miracles. instead of the "thinking and educated" men of science accepting miracles, they, as a body, distinctly deny them, and hence the antagonism between science and ecclesiastical christianity, and dr. mozley surely does not require to be told how many of the profoundest critics and scholars of germany, and of all other countries in europe, who have turned their attention to biblical subjects, have long ago rejected the miraculous elements of the christian religion. such being the case we necessarily revert to the first part of dr. mozley's representation, and find with him, that it is no great result for miracles to accomplish, merely to be accepted by, and retain authority over, a succession of ignorant and superstitious ages, "because it is easy to satisfy those who do not inquire." it is necessary that we should now refer to the circumstance that all the arguments which we have hitherto considered in support of miracles, whether to explain or account for them, have proceeded upon an assumption of the reality of the alleged phenomena. { } had it been first requisite to establish the truth of facts of such an astounding nature, the necessity of accounting for them might never have arisen. it is clear, therefore, that an assumption which permits the argument to attain any such position begs almost the whole question. facts, however astounding, which, it is admitted, did actually occur, claim a latitude of explanation, which a mere narrative of those alleged facts, written by an unknown person some eighteen centuries ago, could not obtain. if, for instance, it be once established as an absolute fact that a man actually dead, and some days buried, upon whose body decomposition had already made some progress,( ) had been restored to life, the fact of his death and of his subsequent resuscitation being so absolutely proved that the possibility of deception or of mistake on the part of the witnesses was totally excluded--if such conclusive evidence be supposed possible in such a case--it is clear that an argument, as to whether such an occurrence were to be ascribed to known or unknown laws, would assume a very different character indeed from that which it would have borne if the argument merely sought to account for so astounding a phenomenon of whose actual occurrence there was no sufficient evidence. it must not be forgotten, therefore, that, as the late professor baden powell pointed out: "at the present day it is not _a miracle_, but the _narrative of a miracle_, to which any argument can refer, or to which faith is accorded."( ) the discussion of miracles, then, is not one regarding miracles actually performed within our own knowledge, but merely regarding miracles said to have been performed eighteen hundred years ago, the reality of { } which was not verified at the time by any scientific examination, and whose occurrence is merely reported in the gospels. now, although dr. mozley rightly and logically maintains that christianity requires, and should be believed only upon, its miraculous evidence, the fact is that popular christianity is not believed because of miracles, but miracles are accepted because they are related in the gospels which are supposed to contain the doctrines of christianity. the gospels have for many generations been given to the child as inspired records, and doubt of miracles has, therefore, either never arisen or has been instantly suppressed, simply because miracles are recorded in the sacred volume. it could scarcely be otherwise, for in point of fact the gospel miracles stand upon no other testimony. we are therefore in this position: we are asked to believe astounding announcements beyond the limits of human reason, which, as br. mozley admits, we could only be justified in believing upon miraculous evidence, upon the testimony of miracles which are only reported by the records which also alone convey the announcements which those miracles were intended to accredit. there is no other contemporary evidence whatever. the importance of the gospels, therefore, as the almost solitary testimony to the occurrence of miracles can scarcely be exaggerated.( ) we have already dr. farrar, winding up the antecedent discussion, says: ".... we arrive at this point--that the credibility of miracles is in each instance simply and solely a question of evidence, and consequently that our belief or rejection of the christian miracles must mainly depend on the character of the gospels in which they are recorded." the witness of history to christ, , p. . it is somewhat singular that after such a declaration he considers it unnecessary to enter into the question of the genuineness and authenticity of the gospels, deeming it sufficient for his purpose, that strauss and renan admit that some portion of these documents existed at the beginning of the second century, or earlier, in the country where the events narrated took place. { } made an anticipatory remark regarding the nature of these documents, to which we may add that they are not the work of perfectly independent historians, but of men who were engaged in disseminating the new doctrines, and in saying this we have no intention of accusing the writers of conscious deception; it is, however, necessary to state the fact in order that the value of the testimony may be fairly estimated. the narratives of miracles were written by ardent partizans, with minds inflamed by religious zeal and enthusiasm, in an age of ignorance and superstition, a considerable time after the supposed miraculous occurrences had taken place. all history shows how rapidly pious memory exaggerates and idealizes the traditions of the past, and simple actions might readily be transformed into miracles, as the narratives circulated, in a period so prone to superstition and so characterized by love of the marvellous. religious excitement and reverence for the noblest of teachers could not, under such circumstances and in such an age, have escaped this exaggeration. how few men in more enlightened times have been able soberly to appreciate, and accurately to record exciting experiences, where feeling and religious emotion have been concerned. prosaic accuracy of observation and of language, at all times rare, are the last qualities we could expect to find in the early ages of christianity. in the certain fact that disputes arose among the apostles themselves so shortly after the death of their great master, we have one proof that even amongst them there was no accurate appreciation of the teaching of jesus,( ) and the frequent instances of their misunderstanding of very simple matters, and of their want of enlightenment, which occur throughout the { } gospels are certainly not calculated to inspire much confidence in their intelligence and accuracy of observation. now it is apparent that the evidence for miracles requires to embrace two distinct points: the reality of the alleged facts, and the accuracy of the inference that the phenomena were produced by supernatural agency. the task would even then remain of demonstrating the particular supernatural being by whom the miracles were performed, which is admitted to be impossible. we have hitherto chiefly confined ourselves to a consideration of the antecedent credibility of such events, and of the fitness of those who are supposed to have witnessed them to draw accurate inferences from the alleged phenomena. those who have formed any adequate conception of the amount of testimony which would be requisite in order to establish the reality of occurrences in violation of an order of nature, which is based upon universal and invariable experience, must recognize that, even if the earliest asserted origin of our four gospels could be established upon the most irrefragable grounds, the testimony of the writers--men of like ignorance with their contemporaries, men of like passions with ourselves--would be utterly incompetentto prove the reality of miracles. we have already sufficiently discussed this point, more especially in connection with hume's argument, and need not here resume it every consideration, historical and philosophical, has hitherto discredited the whole theory of miracles, and further inquiry might be abandoned as unnecessary. in order, however, to render our conclusion complete, it remains for us to see whether, as affirmed, there be any special evidence regarding the alleged facts entitling the gospel miracles to exceptional attention. if, instead of being { } clear, direct, the undoubted testimony of known eyewitnesses free from superstition, and capable, through adequate knowledge, rightly to estimate the alleged phenomena, we find that the actual accounts have none of these qualifications, the final decision with regard to miracles and the reality of divine revelation will be easy and conclusive. { } part ii. the synoptic gospels introduction. before commencing our examination of the evidence as to the date, authorship, and character of the gospels, it may be well to make a few preliminary remarks, and clearly state certain canons of criticism. we shall make no attempt to establish any theory as to the date at which any of the gospels was actually written, but simply examine all the testimony which is extant with the view of ascertaining what is known of these works and their authors, certainly and distinctly, as distinguished from what is merely conjectured or inferred. modern opinion, in an inquiry like ours, must not be mistaken for ancient evidence. we propose, therefore, as exhaustively as possible to search all the writings of the early church for information regarding the gospels, and to examine even the alleged indications of their use. it is very important, however, that the silence of early writers should receive as much attention as any supposed allusions to the gospels. when such writers, quoting largely from the old testament and other sources, deal { } with subjects which would naturally be assisted by reference to our gospels, and still more so by quoting such works as authoritative,--and yet we find that not only they do not show any knowledge of those gospels, but actually quote passages from unknown sources, or sayings of jesus derived from tradition,--the inference must be that our gospels were either unknown, or not recognized as works of authority at the time. it is still more important that we should constantly bear in mind, that a great number of gospels existed in the early church which are no longer extant, and of most of which even the names are lost. we need not here do more than refer, in corroboration of this fact, to the preliminary statement of the author of the third gospel: "forasmuch as many [--greek--] took in hand to set forth in order a declaration of the things which have been accomplished among us," &c.( ) it is therefore evident that before our third synoptic was written many similar works were already in circulation. looking at the close similarity of large portions of the three synoptics, it is almost certain that many of the writings here mentioned bore a close analogy to each other and to our gospels, and this is known to have been the case, for instance, amongst the various forms of the "gospel according to the hebrews." when, therefore, in early writings, we meet with quotations closely resembling, or we may add, even identical with passages which are found in our gospels, the source of which, however, is not mentioned, nor is any author's name indicated, the similarity or even identity cannot by any means be admitted as proof that the quotation is necessarily from our gospels, and not from some other similar work { } now no longer extant,( ) and more especially not when, in the same writings, there are other quotations from sources different from our gospels. whether regarded as historical records or as writings embodying the mere tradition of the early christians, our gospels cannot be recognized as the exclusive depositaries of the genuine sayings and doings of jesus. so far from the common possession by many works, in early times, of sayings of jesus in closely similar form being either strange or improbable, the really remarkable phenomenon is that such material variation in the report of the more important historical teaching should exist amongst them. but whilst similarity to our gospels in passages quoted by early writers from unnamed sources cannot prove the use of our gospels, variation from them would suggest or prove a different origin, and at least it is obvious that anonymous quotations which do not agree with our gospels cannot in any case necessarily indicate their existence. we shall in the course of the following pages more fully illustrate this, but such a statement is requisite at the very outset from the too general practice of referring every quotation of historical sayings of jesus exclusively to our gospels, as though they were the only sources of such matter which had ever existed. it is unnecessary to add that, in proportion as we remove from apostolic times without positive evidence of the existence and authenticity of our gospels, so does the value of their testimony dwindle away. indeed, requiring as we do clear, direct, and irrefragable evidence of the integrity, authenticity, and historical character of these gospels, doubt or obscurity on these points must inevitably be fatal to them as sufficient testimony,--if { } they could, under any circumstances be considered sufficient testimony,--for miracles and a direct divine revelation like ecclesiastical christianity. we propose to examine first, the evidence for the three synoptics and, then, separately, the testimony regarding the fourth gospel. { } chapter i. clement of rome--the epistle of barnabas--the pastor of hermas. the first work which presents itself for examination is the so-called first epistle of clement to the corinthians, which, together with a second epistle to the same community, likewise attributed to clement, is preserved to us in the codex alexandrinus,( ) a ms. assigned by the most competent judges to the second half of the fifth, or beginning of the sixth century, in which these epistles follow the books of the new testament. the second epistle, which is evidently not epistolary, but the fragment of a homily,( ) although it thus shares with the first the honour of a canonical position in one of the most ancient codices of the new testament, is not mentioned at all by the earlier fathers who refer to the first;( ) { } and eusebius,( ) who is the first writer who mentions it, expresses doubt regarding it, while jerome( ) and photius( ) state that it was rejected by the ancients. it is now universally regarded as spurious,( ) and dated about the end of the second century,( ) or later.( ) we shall hereafter see that many other pseudographs were circulated in the name of clement, to which, however, we need not further allude at present. there has been much controversy as to the identity of the clement to whom the first epistle is attributed. in early days he was supposed to be the clement { } mentioned in the epistle to the philippians (iv. )( ), but this is now generally doubted or abandoned,( ) and the authenticity of the epistle has, indeed, been called in question both by earlier and later critics.( ) it is unnecessary to detail the various traditions regarding the supposed writer, but we must point out that the epistle itself makes no mention of the author's name. it merely purports to be addressed by "the church of god which sojourns at rome to the church of god sojourning at corinth;" but in the codex alexandrinus, the title of "the first epistle of clement to the corinthians," is added at the end. clement of alexandria calls the supposed writer the "apostle clement:"( ) origen reports that many also ascribed to him the authorship of the epistle to the hebrews;( ) and photius mentions that he was likewise said to be the writer of the acts of the apostles.( ) we know that until a comparatively late date this epistle was quoted as holy scripture,( ) and was publicly read in the churches at the sunday meetings of christians.( ) it has, as we have seen, a place amongst { } the canonical books of the new testament in the codex alexandrinus, but it did not long retain that position in the canon, for although in the "apostolic canons"( ) of the sixth or seventh century both epistles appear, yet in the stichometry of nicephorus, a work of the ninth century, derived, however, as credner( ) has demonstrated, from a syrian catalogue of the fifth century, both epistles are classed among the apocrypha.( ) great uncertainty prevails as to the date at which the epistle was written. reference is supposed to be made to it by the so-called epistle of polycarp,( ) but, owing to the probable inauthenticity of that work itself, no weight can be attached to this circumstance. the first certain reference to it is by hegesippus, in the second half of the second century, mentioned by eusebius.( ) dionysius of corinth, in a letter ascribed to him addressed to soter, bishop of rome, is the first who distinctly mentions the name of clement as the author of the epistle.( ) there is some difference of opinion as to the order of his succession to the bishopric of rome. irenæus( ) and eusebius( ) say that he followed anacletus, and the latter adds the date of the twelfth year of the reign of domitian (a.d. - ), and that he died nine years after, in the third year of trajan's reign (a.d. ).( ) internal evidence( ) shows that the epistle was written after some persecution { } of the roman church, and the selection lies between the persecution under nero, which would suggest the date a.d. - , or that under domitian, which would assign the letter to the end of the first century, or to the beginning of the second. those who adhere to the view that the clement mentioned in the epistle to the philippians is the author, maintain that the epistle was written under nero.( ) one of their principal arguments for this conclusion is a remark occurring in chapter xli.: "not everywhere, brethren, are the daily sacrifices offered up, or the votive offerings, or the sin-offerings and the trespass-offerings, but only in jerusalem. but even there they are not offered in every place, but only at the altar before the sanctuary, examination of the sacrifice offered being first made by the high priest and the ministers already mentioned."( ) from this it is concluded that the epistle was written before the destruction of the temple. it has, however, been shown that josephus,( ) the author of the "epistle to diognetus" (c. ), and others, long after the jewish worship of the temple was at an end, continually speak in the present tense of the temple worship in jerusalem; and it is evident, as cotelier long ago remarked, that this may be done with propriety even in the present { } day. the argument is therefore recognized to be without value.(l) tischendorf, who systematically adopts the earliest possible or impossible dates for all the writings of the first two centuries, decides, without stating his reasons, that the grounds for the earlier date, about a.d. , as well as for the episcopate of clement from a.d. - ( ) are conclusive; but he betrays his more correct impression by classing clement, in his index, along with ignatius and polycarp, as representatives of the period: "first and second quarters of the second century:"( ) and in the prolegomena to his new testament he dates the episcopate of clement "ab anno usque ."( ) the earlier episcopate assigned to him by hefele upon most insufficient grounds is contradicted by the direct statements of irenæus, eusebius, jerome, and others who give the earliest lists of roman bishops,( ) as wrell as by the internal evidence of the epistle itself. in chapter xliv. the writer speaks of those appointed by the apostles to the oversight of the church, "or afterwards by other notable men, the whole church consenting.... who have for a long time been commended by all, &c.,"( ) which indicates successions of bishops since apostolic days. in another { } place (chap, xlvii.) he refers the corinthians to the epistle addressed to them by paul "in the beginning of the gospel" [--greek--], and speaks of "the most stedfast and ancient church of the corinthians" [--greek--], which would be absurd in an epistle written about a.d. . moreover, an advanced episcopal form of church government is indicated throughout the letter, which is quite inconsistent with such a date. the great mass of critics, therefore, have decided against the earlier date of the episcopate of clement, and assign the composition of the epistle to the end of the first century (a.d. - ).( ) others, however, date it still later. there is no doubt that the great number of epistles and { } other writings falsely circulated in the name of clement may well excite suspicion as to the authenticity of this epistle also, which is far from unsupported by internal proofs. of these, however, we shall only mention one. we have already incidentally remarked that the writer mentions the epistle of paul to the corinthians, the only instance in which any new testament writing is referred to by name; but along with the epistle of the "blessed paul" [--greek--] the author also speaks of the "blessed judith" [--greek--],( ) and this leads to the inquiry: when was the book of judith written? hitzig, volkmar, and others contend that it must be dated a.d. - ,( ) and if this be admitted, it follows of course that an epistle which already shows acquaintance with the book of judith cannot have been written before a.d. - at the earliest, which many, for this and other reasons, affirm to be the case with the epistle of pseudo-clement.( ) whatever date be assigned to it, however, it is probable that the epistle is interpolated, although it must be added that this is not the view of the majority of critics. it is important to ascertain whether or not this ancient christian epistle affords any evidence of the existence of { } our synoptic gospels at the time when it was written. tischendorf, who is ever ready to claim the slightest resemblance in language as a reference to new testament writings, states that although this epistle is rich in quotations from the old testament, and that clement here and there also makes use of passages from pauline epistles, he nowhere refers to the gospels.( ) this is perfectly true, but several passages occur in this epistle which are either quotations from evangelical works different from ours, or derived from tradition,( ) and in either case they have a very important bearing upon our inquiry. the first of these passages occurs in ch. xiii., and for greater facility of comparison, we shall at once place it both in the greek and in translation, in juxta-position with the nearest parallel readings in our synoptic gospels; and, as far as may be, we shall in the english version indicate differences existing in the original texts. the passage is introduced thus: "especially remembering the words of the lord jesus, which he spake teaching gentleness and long-suffering. for thus he said:"( )-- { } of course it is understood that, although for convenience { } of comparison we have broken up this quotation into these phrases, it is quite continuous in the epistle. it must be evident to any one who carefully examines the parallel passages, that "the words of the lord jesus" in the epistle cannot have been derived from our gospels. not only is there no similar consecutive discourse in them, but the scattered phrases which are pointed out as presenting superficial similarity with the quotation are markedly different both in thought and language. in it, as in the "beatitudes" of the "sermon on the mount" in the first gospel, the construction is peculiar and continuous: "do this.... in order that [--greek--]"; or, "as [--greek--]... so [--greek--]" the theor of a combination of passages from memory, which is usually advanced to explain such quotations, cannot serve here, for thoughts and expressions occur in the passage in the epistle which have no parallel at all in our gospels, and such dismembered phrases as can be collected from our first and third synoptics, for comparison with it, follow the course of the quotation in the ensuing order: matt. v. , vi. , part of vii. , phrase without parallel, first part of vii. , phrase without parallel, last part of vii. ; or, luke vi. , last phrase of vi. , vi. , first phrase of vi. , first phrase of vi. , phrase without parallel, last phrase of vi. . the only question with regard to this passage, therefore, is whether the writer quotes from an unknown written source or from tradition. he certainly merely professes to repeat "words of the lord jesus," and does not definitely indicate a written record, but it is much more probable, from the context, that he quotes from a gospel now no longer extant than that he derives this teaching from oral tradition. he introduces the quotation { } not only with a remark implying a well-known record: "remembering the words of the lord jesus which he spake, teaching, &c." but he reiterates: "for thus he said," in a way suggesting careful and precise quotation of the very words; and he adds at the end: "by this injunction and by these instructions let us establish ourselves, that we may walk in obedience to his holy words, thinking humbly of ourselves."( ) seems improbable that the writer would so markedly have indicated a precise quotation of words of jesus, and would so emphatically have commended them as the rule of life to the corinthians, had these precepts been mere floating tradition, until then unstamped with written permanence. the phrase: "as ye show kindness [--greek--] which is nowhere found in our gospels, recalls an expression quoted by justin martyr apparently from a gospel different from ours, and frequently repeated by him in the same form: "be ye kind and merciful [--greek--] father also is kind [--greek--] and merciful."( ) in the very next chapter of the epistle a similar reference again occurs: "let us be kind to each other [--greek--] according to the mercy and benignity of our creator."( ) without, however, going more minutely into this question, it is certain from its essential variations in language, thought and order, that the passage in the epistle cannot be claimed as a compilation from our gospels; and we shall presently see that some of the expressions in it which are foreign to our gospels are elsewhere quoted by other fathers, and there is reason to believe that these "words of the lord jesus" were not derived from tradition but { } from a written source different from our gospels.( ) when the great difference which exists between the parallel passages in the first and third synoptics, and still more between these and the second, is considered, it is easy to understand that other gospels may have contained a version differing as much from them as they do from each other. we likewise subjoin the next passage to which we must refer, with the nearest parallels in our synoptics. we may explain that the writer of the epistle is rebuking the corinthians for strifes and divisions amongst them, and for forgetting that they "are members one of another," and he continues: "remember the words of our lord jesus; for he said:"( ) { } this quotation is clearly not from our gospels, but must be assigned to a different written source. the writer would scarcely refer the corinthians to such words of jesus if they were merely traditional. it is neither a combination of texts, nor a quotation from memory. the language throughout is markedly different from any passage in the synoptics, and to present even a superficial parallel, it is necessary to take a fragment of the discourse of jesus at the last supper regarding the traitor who should deliver him up (matth. xxvi. ), and join it to a fragment of his remarks in connection with the little child whom he set in the midst (xviii. ). the parallel passage in luke has not { } the opening words of the passage in the epistle at all, and the portion which it contains (xvii. ), is separated from the context in which it stands in the first gospel, and which explains its meaning. if we contrast the parallel passages in the three synoptics, their differences of context are very suggestive, and without referring to their numerous and important variations in detail, the confusion amongst them is evidence of very varying tradition.( ) this alone would make the existence of another form like that quoted in the epistle before us more than probable. tischendorf, in a note to his statement that clement nowhere refers to the gospels, quotes the passage we are now considering, the only one to which he alludes, and says: "these words are expressly cited as 'words of jesus our lord;' but they denote much more oral apostolic tradition than a use of the parallel passages in matthew (xxvi. , xviii. ) and luke (xvii. )."( ) it is now, of course, impossible to determine finally whether the passage was actually derived from tradition or from a written source different from our gospels, but in either case the fact is, that the epistle not only does not afford the slightest evidence for the existence of any of our gospels, but from only making use of tradition or an apocryphal work as the source of information regarding words of jesus, it is decidedly opposed to the pretensions made on behalf of the synoptics. { } before passing on, we may, in the briefest way possible, refer to one or two other passages, with the view of further illustrating the character of the quotations in this epistle. there are many passages cited which are not found in the old testament, and others which have no parallels in the new. at the beginning of the very chapter in which the words which we have just been considering occur, there is the following quotation: "it-is written: cleave to the holy, for they who cleave to them shall be made holy,"( ) the source of which is unknown. in a previous chapter the writer says: "and our apostles knew, through our lord jesus christ, that there will be contention regarding the name, [--greek--], office, dignity?) of the episcopate."( ) what was the writers authority for this statement? we find justin martyr quoting, as an express prediction of jesus: "there shall be schisms and heresies,"( ) which is not contained in our gospels, but evidently derived from an uncanonical source,( ) a fact rendered more apparent by the occurrence of a similar passage in the clementine homilies, still more closely bearing upon our epistle: "for there shall be, as the lord said, false apostles, false prophets, heresies, desires for supremacy."( ) hegesippus also speaks in a similar way: "from these came the { } false christs, false prophets, false apostles who divided the unity of the church."(l) as hegesippus, and in all probability justin martyr, and the author of the clementines made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, or to peter, it is most probable that these gospels contained passages to which the words of the epistle may refer.( ) it may be well to point out that the author also cites a passage from the fourth book of ezra, ii. :( ) "and i shall remember the good day, and i shall raise you from your tombs."( ) ezra reads: "et resuscitabo mor-tuos de locis suis et de monumentis educam illos," &c. the first part of the quotation in the epistle, of which we have only given the latter clause above, is taken from isaiah xxvi. , but there can be no doubt that the above is from this apocryphal book,( ) which, as we shall see, was much used in the early church. . we now turn to the so-called "epistle of barnabas," another interesting relic of the early church, many points in whose history have considerable analogy with that of the epistle of pseudo-clement. the letter itself bears no author's name, is not dated from any place, and is not addressed to any special community. towards the { } end of the second century, however, tradition began to ascribe it to barnabas the companion of paul.( ) the first writer who mentions it is clement of alexandria, who calls its author several times the "apostle barnabas;"( ) and eusebius says that he gave an account of it in one of his works now no longer extant.( ) origen also refers to it, calling it a "catholic epistle," and quoting it as scripture.( ) we have already seen in the case of the epistles ascribed to clement of rome, and, as we proceed, we shall become only too familiar with the fact, the singular facility with which, in the total absence of critical discrimination, spurious writings were ascribed by the fathers to apostles and their followers. in many cases such writings were deliberately inscribed with names well known in the church, but both in the case of the two epistles to the corinthians, and the letter we are now considering, no such pious fraud was attempted, nor was it necessary. credulous piety, which attributed writings to every apostle, and even to jesus himself, soon found authors for each anonymous work of an edifying character. to barnabas, the friend of paul, not only this epistle was referred, but he was also reported by tertullian and others to be the author of the epistle to the hebrews;( ) and an apocryphal "gospel according to barnabas," said to have had close affinity with our { } first synoptic, is condemned along with many others in the decretal of gelasius.( ) eusebius, however, classes the so-called "epistle of barnabas" amongst the spurious books [--greek--],( ) and elsewhere also speaks of it as uncanonical.( ) jerome mentions it as read amongst apocryphal writings.( ) had the epistle been seriously regarded as a work of the "apostle" barnabas, it could scarcely have failed to attain canonical rank. that it was highly valued by the early church is shown by the fact that it stands, along with the pastor of hermas, after the canonical books of the new testament in the codex sinaiticus, which is probably the most ancient ms. of them now known. in the earlier days of criticism, some writers, without much question, adopted the traditional view as to the authorship of the epistle,( ) but the great mass of critics are now agreed in asserting that the composition, which itself is perfectly anonymous, cannot be attributed to barnabas the friend and fellow-worker of paul.( ) those who maintain the former opinion date { } the epistle about a.d. -- , or even earlier, but this is scarcely the view of any living critic. there are many indications in the epistle which render such a date impossible, but we do not propose to go into the argument minutely, for it is generally admitted that, whilst there is a clear limit further back than which the epistle cannot be set,( ) there is little or no certainty how far into the second century its composition may not reasonably be advanced. critics are divided upon the point; a few are disposed to date the epistle about the end of the first or beginning of the second century ( } while a still greater number assign it to the reign of hadrian (a.d. { } -- );( ) and others, not without reason, consider that it exhibits marks of a still later period.( ) it is probable that it is more or less interpolated.( ) until the discovery of the sinaitic ms., a portion of the "epistle of barnabas" was only known through an ancient latin version, the first four and a half chapters of the greek having been lost. the greek text, however, is now complete, although often very corrupt. the author quotes largely from the old testament, and also from apocryphal works.( ) he nowhere mentions any book or writer of the new testament, and with one asserted exception, which we shall presently examine, he quotes no passage agreeing with our gospels. we shall refer to these, commencing at once with the most important. in the ancient latin translation of the epistle, the only form, as we have just said, in which until the discovery { } of the codex sinaiticus the first four and a half chapters were extant, the following passage occurs: "adtendamus ergo, ne forte, sicut scriptum est, multi vocati pauci electi inveniamur."(l) "let us, therefore, beware lest we should be found, as it is written: many are called, few are chosen." these words are found in our first gospel (xxii. ), and as the formula by which they are here introduced--"it is written," is generally understood to indicate a quotation from holy scripture, it was and is argued by some that here we have a passage from one of our gospels quoted in a manner which shows that, at the time the epistle of barnabas was written, the "gospel according to matthew was already considered holy scripture."( ) whilst this portion of the text existed only in the latin version, it was argued that the "sicut scriptum est," at least, must be an interpolation, and in any case that it could not be deliberately applied, at that date, to a passage in any writings of the new testament. on the discovery of the sinaitic ms., however, the words were found in the greek text in that codex: [--greek--]. the question, therefore, is so far modified that, however much we may suspect the greek text of interpolation, it must be accepted as the basis of discussion that this passage, whatever its value, exists in the oldest, and indeed only (and this point must not be forgotten) complete ms. of the greek epistle. now with regard to the value of the expression "it is written," it may be remarked that in no case could its use in the epistle of barnabas indicate more than individual opinion, and it could not, for reasons to be presently given, be considered to represent the decision of the church. in the very same chapter in which the formula is used in connection with the passage we are considering, it is also employed to introduce a quotation from the book of enoch,( ) [--greek--], and elsewhere (c. xii.) he quotes from another apocryphal book( ) as one of the prophets.( )" again, he refers to the cross of christ in another prophet saying: 'and when shall these things come to pass? and the lord saith: when, &c. ... [--greek--], .......[--greek--]." he also quotes (ch. vi.) the apocryphal "book of wisdom" as holy scripture, and in like manner several other unknown works. when it is remembered that the epistle of clement to the corinthians, the pastor of hennas, the epistle of barnabas itself, and many other apocryphal works have been quoted by the fathers as holy scripture, the distinctive value of such an expression may be understood. with this passing remark, however, we proceed to say that this supposed quotation from matthew as holy scripture, by proving too much, destroys its own value as evidence. the generality of competent and { } impartial critics are agreed, that it is impossible to entertain the idea that one of our gospels could have held the rank of holy scripture at the date of this epistle, seeing that, for more than half a century after, the sharpest line was drawn between the writings of the old testament and of the new, and the former alone quoted as, or accorded the consideration of, holy scripture. if this were actually a quotation from our first gospel, already in the position of holy scripture, it would indeed be astonishing that the epistle, putting out of the question other christian writings for half a century after it, teeming as it does with extracts from the old testament, and from known, and unknown, apocryphal works, should thus limit its use of the gospel to a few words, totally neglecting the rich store which it contains, and quoting, on the other hand, sayings of jesus not recorded at all in any of our synoptics. it is most improbable that, if the author of the "epistle of barnabas" was acquainted with any one of our gospels, and considered it an inspired and canonical work, he could have neglected it in such a manner. the peculiarity of the quotation which he is supposed to make, which we shall presently point out, renders such limitation to it doubly singular upon any such hypothesis. the unreasonable nature of the assertion, however, will become more apparent as we proceed with our examination, and perceive that none of the early writers quote our gospels, { } if they knew them at all, but, on the other hand, make use of other works, and that the inference that matthew was considered holy scripture, therefore, rests solely upon this quotation of half a dozen words. the application of such a formula to a supposed quotation from one of our gospels, in so isolated an instance, led to the belief that, even if the passage were taken from our first synoptic, the author of the epistle in quoting it laboured under the impression that it was derived from some prophetical book.( ) we daily see how difficult it is to trace the source even of the most familiar quotations. instances of such confusion of memory are frequent in the writings of the fathers, and many can be pointed out in the new testament itself. for instance, in matt, xxvii. f. the passage from zechariah xi. - is attributed to jeremiah; in mark i. , a quotation from malachi iii. is ascribed to isaiah. in corinthians ii. , a passage is quoted as holy scripture which is not found in the old testament at all, but which is taken, as origen and jerome state, from an apocryphal work, "the revelation of elias,"( ) and the passage is similarly quoted by the so-called epistle of clement to the corinthians (xxxiv). then in what prophet did the author of the first gospel find the words (xiil ): "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,( ) saying: i will open my mouth in parables; i { } will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world "? orelli,( ) afterwards followed by many others,( ) suggested that the quotation was probably intended for one in iv ezra viii. : "nam multi creati sunt, pauci autem salvabuntur."( ) "for many are created, but few shall be saved." bretsclineider proposed as an emendation of the passage in ezra the substitution of "_vocati_" for "_creati_" but, however plausible, his argument did not meet with much favour.( ) along with this passage was also suggested a similar expression in iv ezra ix. : "plures sunt qui pereunt, quam qui salvabuntur." "there are more who perish than who shall be saved."( ) the greek of the three passages may read as follows:-- [--greek--] [--greek--] [--greek--] there can be no doubt that the sense of the reading in iv ezra is exactly that of the epistle, but the language is somewhat different. we must not forget, however, that the original greek of iv ezra( ) is lost, and that we are wholly dependent on the versions and mss. extant, regarding whose numerous variations and great { } corruption there are no differences of opinion. orelli's theory, moreover, is supported by the fact that the epistle, elsewhere, (c. xii) quotes from iv ezra (iv. , v. ). on examining the passage as it occurs in our first synoptic, we are at the very outset struck by the singular fact, that this short saying appears twice in that gospel with a different context, and in each case without any propriety of application to what precedes it, whilst it is not found at all in either of the other two synoptics. the first time we meet with it is at the close of the parable of the labourers in the vineyard.( ) the householder engages the labourers at different hours of the day, and pays those who had worked but one hour the same wages as those who had borne the burden and heat of the day, and the reflection at the close is, xx. : "thus the last shall be first and the first last; for many are called but few chosen." it is perfectly evident that neither of these sayings, but especially not that with which we are concerned, has any connection with the parable at all. there is no question of many or few, or of selection or rejection; all the labourers are engaged and paid alike. if there be a moral at all to the parable, it is the justification of the master: "is it not lawful for me to do what i will with mine own?" it is impossible to imagine a saying more irrelevant to its context than "many are called but few chosen," in such a place. the passage occurs again (xxii. ) in connection with the parable of the king who made a marriage for his son. the guests who are at first invited refuse to come, and are destroyed by the king's armies; but the wedding is nevertheless "furnished { } with guests" by gathering together as many as are found in the highways. a new episode commences when the king comes in to see the guests (v. ). he observes a man there who has not on a wedding garment, and he desires the servants to (v. ) "bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness without," where "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth;"( ) and then comes our passage (v. ): "for many are called but few chosen." now, whether applied to the first or to the latter part of the parable, the saying is irrelevant. the guests first called were in fact chosen as much as the last, but themselves refused to come, and of all those who, being "called" from the highways and byways, ultimately furnished the wedding with guests in their stead, only one was rejected. it is clear that the facts here distinctly contradict the moral that "few are chosen." in both places the saying is, as it were, "dragged in by the hair." on examination, however, we find that the oldest mss. of the new testament omit the sentence from matthew xx. . it is neither found in the sinaitic nor vatican codices, and whilst it has not the support of the codex alexandrinus, which is defective at the part, nor of the dublin rescript (z), which omits it, many other mss. are also without it. the total irrelevancy of the saying to its context, its omission by the oldest authorities from matth. xx. , where it appears in later mss., and its total absence from both of the other gospels, must at once strike every one as peculiar, and as very unfortunate, to say this is not the place to criticize the expectation of finding a wedding garment on a guest hurried in from highways and byways, or the punishment inflicted for such an offence, as questions affecting the character of the parable. { } the least of it, for those who make extreme assertions with regard to its supposed quotation by the epistle of barnabas. weizsacker, with great probability, suggests that in this passage we have merely a well-known proverb,( ) which the author of the first gospel has introduced into his work from some uncanonical or other source, and placed in the mouth of jesus.( ) certainly under the circumstances it can scarcely be maintained in its present context as a historical saying of jesus. ewald, who naturally omits it from matthew xx. , ascribes the parable xx. -- as well as that xxii. -- , in which it stands, originally to the spruchsammlung( ) or collection of discourses, out of which, with intermediate works, he considers that our first gospel was composed.( ) however this may be, there is, it seems to us, good reason for believing that it was not originally a part of these parables, and that it is not in that sense historical; and there is, therefore, no ground for asserting that it may not have been derived by the author of the gospel from some older work, from which also it may have come into the "epistle of barnabas."( ) { } there is, however, another passage which deserves to be mentioned. the epistle has the following quotation: "again, i will show thee how, in regard to us, the lord saith, he made a new creation in the last times. the lord saith: behold i make the first as the last."(l) even tischendorf does not pretend that this is a quotation of matth. xx. ,( ) "thus the last shall be first and the first last," [--greek--] the sense of which is quite different. the application of the saying in this place in the first, and indeed in the other, synoptic gospels is evidently quite false, and depends merely on the ring of words and not of ideas. in xix. it is quoted a second time, quite irrelevantly, with some variation: "but many first shall be last and last first" [--greek--]. now it will be remembered that at xx. it occurs in several mss. in connection with "many are called but few are chosen," although the oldest codices omit the latter passage, and most critics consider it interpolated. the separate quotation of these two passages by the author of the epistle, with so marked a variation in the second, renders it most probable that he found both in the source from which he quotes. we have, however, more than sufficiently discussed this passage. the author of the epistle does not indicate any source from which he makes his quotation; and the mere existence in the first synoptic of a proverbial saying { } like this does not in the least involve the conclusion that it is necessarily the writing from which the quotation was derived, more especially as apocryphal works are repeatedly cited in the epistle. if it be maintained that the saying is really historical, it is obvious that the prescriptive right of our synoptic is at once excluded, and it may have been the common property of a score of evangelical works. there can be no doubt that many scriptural texts have crept into early christian writings which originally had no place there; and where attendant circumstances are suspicious, it is always well to remember the fact. an instance of the interpolation of which we speak is found in the "epistle of barnabas." in one place the phrase: "give to every one that asketh of thee" [--greek--]( ) occurs, not as a quotation, but merely woven into the greek text as it existed before the discovery of the sinaitic ms. this phrase is the same as the precept in luke vi. , although it was argued by some that, as no other trace of the third gospel existed in the epistle, it was more probably an alteration of the text of matth. v. . omitting the phrase from the passage in the epistle, the text read as follows: "thou shalt not hesitate to give, neither shalt thou murmur when thou givest... so shalt thou know who is the good recompenser of the reward." the supposed quotation, inserted where we have left a blank, really interrupted the sense and repeated the previous injunction. the oldest ms., the "codex sinaiticus," omits the quotation, and so ends the question, but it is afterwards inserted by another hand. some pious scribe, in fact, seeing the relation of the passage to the gospel, had added the { } words in the margin as a gloss, and they afterwards found their way into the text in this manner very many similar glosses have crept into texts which they were originally intended to illustrate. tischendorf, who does not allude to this, lays much stress upon the following passage: "but when he selected his own apostles, who should preach his gospel, who were sinners above all sin, in order that he might show that he came not to call the righteous but sinners, then he manifested himself to be the son of god."( ) we may remark that, in the common greek text, the words "to repentance" were inserted after "sinners," but they are not found in the sinaitic ms. in like manner many codices insert them in matth, ix. and mark ii. , but they are not found in some of the oldest mss., and are generally rejected. tischendorf considers them a later addition both to the text of the gospel and of the epistle.( ) but this very fact is suggestive. it is clear that a supposed quotation has been deliberately adjusted to what was considered to be the text of the gospel. why should the whole phrase not be equally an interpolation? we shall presently see that there is reason to think that it is so. alhough there is no quotation in the passage, who, asks tischendorf,( ) could mistake the words as they stand in matthew, ix. , "for i came not to call the righteous but sinners"? now this passage is referred to by origen in his work against celsus, in a way which indicates that the supposed quotation did not exist in his copy; origen says: "and as celsus has called { } the apostles of jesus infamous men, saying that they were tax-gatherers and worthless sailors, we have to remark on this, that, &c.... now in the catholic epistle of barnabas from which, perhaps, celsus derived the statement that the apostles were infamous and wicked men, it is written that 'jesus selected his own apostles who were sinners above all sin,"( )--and then he goes on to quote the expression of peter to jesus (luke v. ), and then i timothy, l , but he nowhere refers to the supposed quotation in the epistle. now, if we read the passage without the quotation, we have: "but when he selected his own apostles who should preach his gospel, who were sinners above all sin.... then he manifested himself to be the son of god." here a pious scribe very probably added in the margin the gloss: "in order that he might show that he came not to call the righteous but sinners," to explain the passage, and as in the case of the phrase: "give to every one that asketh of thee," the gloss became subsequently incorporated with the text. the epistle, however, goes on to give the only explanation which the author intended, and which clashes with that of the scribe. "for if he had not come in the flesh, how could men have been saved by beholding him? seeing that looking on the sun that shall cease to be, the work of his hands, they have not even power to endure his rays. accordingly, the son of man came in the flesh for this, that he might bring to a head the number of their sins who had persecuted to death his prophets."( ) the argument of origen bears out this view, for he does not at all take the explanation of { } the gloss as to why jesus chose his disciples from such a class, but he reasons: "what is there strange, therefore, that jesus being minded to manifest to the race of men his power to heal souls, should have selected infamous and wicked men, and should have elevated them so far, that they became a pattern of the purest virtue to those who were brought by their persuasion to the gospel of christ."( ) the argument, both of the author of the epistle and of origen, is different from that suggested by the phrase under examination, and we consider it a mere gloss introduced into the text; which, as the [--greek--] shows, has, in the estimation of tischendorf himself, been deliberately altered. even if it originally formed part of the text, however, it would be wrong to affirm that it affords proof of the use or existence of the first gospel. the words of jesus in matt. ix. -- , evidently belong to the oldest tradition of the gospel, and, in fact, ewald ascribes them, apart from the remainder of the chapter, originally to the spruchsammlung, from which, with two intermediate books, he considers that our present matthew was composed.( } nothing can be more certain than that such sayings, if they be admitted to be historical at all, must have existed in many other works, and the mere fact of their happening to be also in one of the gospels which has survived, cannot prove its use, or even { } its existence at the time the epistle of barnabas was written, more especially as the phrase does not occur as a quotation, and there is no indication of the source from which it was derived. teschendorf, however, finds a further analogy between the epistle and the gospel of matthew, in ch. xii. "since, therefore, in the future, they were to say that christ is the son of david, fearing and perceiving clearly the error of the wicked, david himself prophesies--"the lord said unto my lord, sit at my right hand until i make thine enemies thy footstool."( ) teschendorf upon this inquires: "could barnabas so write without the supposition, that his readers had matthew, xxii. . ff, before them, and does not such a supposition likewise infer the actual authority of matthew's gospel?"( ) such rapid argument and extreme conclusions are startling indeed, but, in his haste, our critic has forgotten to state the whole case. the author of the epistle has been elaborately showing that the cross of christ is repeatedly typified in the old testament, and at the commencement of the chapter, after quoting the passage from iv ezra, iv. , v. , he points to the case of moses, to whose heart "the spirit speaks that he should make a form of the cross," by stretching forth his arms in supplication, and so long as he did so israel prevailed over their enemies; and again he typified the cross, when he set up the brazen serpent upon which the people might look and be healed. then that which moses, as a prophet, said to joshua (jesus) the son of nave, when he gave him that { } name, was solely for the purpose that all the people might hear that the father would reveal all things regarding his son to the son of nave. this name being given to him when he was sent to spy out the land, moses said: "take a book in thy hands, and write what the lord saith, that the son of god will in the last days cut off by the roots all the house of amalek." this, of course, is a falsification of the passage, exodus, xvii. , for the purpose of making it declare jesus to be the "son of god." then proceeding in the same strain, he says: "behold again jesus is not the son of man, but the son of god, manifested in the type and in the flesh. since, therefore, in the future, they were to say that christ is the son of david," (and here follows the passage we are discussing) "fearing and perceiving clearly the error of the wicked, david himself prophesied: 'the lord said unto my lord, sit at my right hand until i make thine enemies thy footstool.' and again, thus speaks isaiah: 'the lord said to christ my lord, whose right hand i have held, that the nations may obey him, and i will break in pieces the strength of kings.' behold how david calleth him lord, and the son of god." and here ends the chapter and the subject. now it is quite clear that the passage occurs, not as a reference to any such dilemma as that in matthew, xxii. ff., but simply as one of many passages which, at the commencement of our era, were considered prophetic declarations of the divinity of christ, in opposition to the expectation of the jews that the messiah was to be the son of david,( ) and, as we have seen, in order to prove his point the author alters the text. to argue that such a passage of a psalm, quoted in such a manner in this { } epistle, proves the use of our first synoptic, is in the highest degree arbitrary. we have already pointed out that the author quotes apocryphal works as holy scripture; and we may now add that he likewise cites words of jesus which are nowhere found in our gospels. for instance, in ch. vii. we meet with the folio wing expressions directly attributed to jesus. "thus he say': 'those who desire to behold me, and to attain my kingdom, must through tribulation and suffering receive me.'"( ) hilgenfeld( ) compares this with another passage, similar in sense, in iv ezra, vii. ; but in any case it is not a quotation from our gospels; ( ) and with so many passages in them suitable to his purpose, it would be amazing, if he knew and held matthew in the consideration which tischendorf asserts, that he should neglect their stores, and go elsewhere for such quotations. there is nothing in this epistle worthy of the name of evidence even of the existence of our gospels. . the pastor of hennas is another work which very nearly secured permanent canonical rank with the writings of the new testament. it was quoted as holy scripture by the fathers and held to be divinely inspired, and it was publicly read in the churches.( ) it has a { } place, with the "epistle of barnabas," in the sinaitic codex, after the canonical books. in early times it was attributed to the hermas who is mentioned in the epistle to the romans, xiv. , in consequence of a mere conjecture to that effect by origen;(l) but the canon of muratori( ) confidently ascribes it to a brother of pius, bishop of rome, and at least there does not seem any ground for the statement of origen.( ) it may have been written about the middle of the second century or a little earlier.( ) { } tischendorf dismisses this important memorial of the early christian church with a note of two lines, for it has no quotations either from the old or new testament.( ) he does not even suggest that it contains any indications of acquaintance with our gospels. the only direct quotation in the "pastor" is from an apocryphal work which is cited as holy scripture: "the lord is nigh unto them who return to him, as it is written in eldad and modat, who prophesied to the people in the wilderness."( ) this work, which appears in the stichometry of nicephorus amongst the apocrypha of the old testament, is no longer extant.( ) chapter ii. the epistles of ignatius--the epistle of polycarp although, in reality, appertaining to a very much later period, we shall here refer to the so-called "epistles of ignatius," and examine any testimony which they afford regarding the date and authenticity of our gospels. there are in all fifteen epistles bearing the name of ignatius. three of these, addressed to the virgin mary and the apostle john , exist only in a latin version, and these, together with five others directed to mary of cassobolita, to the tarsians, to the antiochans, to hero of antioch, and to the philippians, of which there are versions both in greek and latin, are universally admitted to be spurious, and may, so far as their contents are concerned, be at once dismissed from all consideration.( ) they are not mentioned by eusebius, nor does any early writer refer to them. of the remaining seven epistles, addressed to the ephesians, magnesians, trallians, romans, philadelphians, smyrnæans, and to polycarp, there are two distinct versions extant, one long version, of which there are both greek and latin texts, and another much shorter, and presenting considerable variations, of which there are also both greek and latin texts. after a couple of centuries of discussion, critics { } almost without exception have finally agreed that the longer version is nothing more than an interpolated version of the shorter and more ancient form of the epistles. the question regarding the authenticity of the ignatian epistles, however, was re-opened and complicated by the publication, in , by dr. cureton, of a syriac version of three epistles only--to polycarp, to the ephesians, and to the romans--in a still shorter form, discovered amongst a large number of mss. purchased by dr. tattam from the monks of the desert of nitria. these three syriac epistles have been subjected to the severest scrutiny, and many of the ablest critics have pronounced them to be the only authentic epistles of ignatius, whilst others, who do not admit that even these are genuine letters emanating from ignatius, still prefer them to the version of seven greek epistles, and consider them the most ancient form of the letters which we possess.( ) as early as the sixteenth century, however, the strongest doubts were expressed regarding the authenticity of any of the epistles ascribed to ignatius. the magdeburg { } centuriators first attacked them, and calvin declared them to be spurious,( ) an opinion fully shared by dallaeus, and others; chemnitz regarded them with suspicion; and similar doubts, more or lass definite, were expressed throughout the seventeenth century,( ) and onward to comparatively recent times,( ) although the means of forming a judgment were not then so complete as now. that the epistles were interpolated there was no doubt. fuller examination and more comprehensive knowledge of the subject have confirmed earlier doubts, and a large mass of critics either recognize that the authenticity of none of these epistles can be established, or that they { } can only be considered later and spurious compositions.( ) omitting for the present the so-called epistle of polycarp to the philippians, the earliest reference to any of these epistles, or to ignatius himself, is made by irenæus, who quotes a passage which is found in the epistle to the romans (ch. iv.), without, however, any mention of name,' introduced by the following words: "as a certain man of ours said, being condemned to the wild beasts on account of his testimony to god: 'i am the wheat of god, and by the teeth of beasts i am ground, that i may be found pure { } bread."( ) origen likewise quotes two brief sentences which he refers to ignatius. the first is merely: "but my love is crucified,"( ) which is likewise found in the epistle to the romans (ch. vii.); and the other quoted as "out of one of the epistles" of the martyr ignatius: "from the prince of this world was concealed the virginity of mary,"( ) which is found in the epistle to the ephesians (ch. xix). eusebius mentions seven epistles,( ) and quotes one passage from the epistle to the romans (ch. v.), and a few words from an apocryphal gospel contained in the epistle to the smyrnæans (ch. iii.), the source of which he says that he does not know, and he cites from irenæus the brief quotation given above, and refers to the mention of the epistles in the letter of polycarp which we reserve. elsewhere,( ) he further quotes a short sentence found in the epistle to the ephesians (ch. xix.), part of which had previously been cited by origen. it will be observed that all these quotations, with the exception of that from irenæus, are taken from the three epistles which exist in the syriac translation, and they are found in that version; and the first occasion on which any passage attributed to ignatius is quoted which is not in the syriac version of the three epistles occurs in the second half of the fourth century, when athanasius, in his epistle regarding the synods of ariminum and selucia,( ) quotes a few words from the epistle to the ephesians (ch. vii.); but although foreign to the syriac text, it is to be noted that the words are { } at least from a form of one of the three epistles which exist in that version.( ) it is a fact, therefore, that up to the second half of the fourth century no quotation ascribed to ignatius, except one by eusebius, exists, which is not found in the three short syriac letters. as we have already remarked, the syriac version of the three epistles is very much shorter than the shorter greek version, the epistle to the ephesians, for instance, being only about one-third of the length of the greek text. those who still maintain the superior authenticity of the greek shorter version argue that the syriac is an epitome of the greek. this does not, however, seem tenable when the matter is carefully examined. although so much is absent from the syriac version, not only is there no interruption of the sense and no obscurity or undue curtness in the style, but the epistles read more consecutively, without faults of construction or grammar, and passages which in the greek text were confused and almost unintelligible have become quite clear in the syriac. the interpolations of the text, in fact, had been so clumsily made, that they had obscured the meaning, and their mere omission, without any other alteration of grammatical construction, has restored the epistles to clear and simple order.( ) it is, moreover, a remarkable fact that the passages which, long before the discovery of the syriac epistles, were pointed out as chiefly determining that the epistles were spurious, are not found in the syriac version at all. archbishop usher, who only admitted the authenticity of six epistles, showed that much interpolation of these letters took place in the { } sixth century,( ) but this very fact increases the probability of much earlier interpolation also, at which the various existing versions most clearly point. the interpolations can be explained upon the most palpable dogmatic grounds, but not so the omissions upon the hypothesis that the syriac version is an abridgment made upon any distinct dogmatic principle, for that which is allowed to remain renders the omissions ineffectual for dogmatic reasons. there is no ground of interest upon which the portions omitted and retained by the syriac version can be intelligently explained.( ) finally, here, we may mention that the mss. of the three syriac epistles are more ancient by some centuries than those of any of the greek versions of the seven epistles.( ) the strongest internal, as well as other evidence, into which space forbids our going in detail, has led the majority of critics to recognize the syriac version as the most ancient form of the letters of ignatius extant, and this is admitted by many of those who nevertheless deny the authenticity of any of the epistles.( ) seven epistles have been selected out of fifteen extant, all equally purporting to be by ignatius, simply because only that number was mentioned by eusebius, from whom for the first time, in the fourth century,--except the general reference in the so-called epistle of poly-carp, to which we shall presently refer,--we hear of them. now neither the silence of eusebius regarding the eight epistles, nor his mention of the seven, can have much weight in deciding the question of their authenticity. the only point which is settled by the reference { } of eusebius is that, at the date at which he wrote, seven epistles were known to him which were ascribed to ignatius. he evidently knew little or nothing regarding the man or the epistles, beyond what he had learnt from themselves,( ) and he mentions the martyr-journey to rome as a mere report: "it is said that he was conducted from syria to rome to be cast to wild beasts on account of his testimony to christ."( ) it would be unreasonable to argue that no other epistles existed simply because eusebius did not mention them; and on the other hand it would be still more unreasonable to affirm that the seven epistles are authentic merely because eusebius, in the fourth century,--that is to say, some two centuries after they are supposed to have been written,--had met with them. does any one believe the letter of jesus to abgarus prince of edessa to be genuine, because eusebius inserts it in his history( ) as an authentic document out of the public records of the city of edessa \ there is, in fact, no evidence that the brief quotations of irenæus and origen are taken from either of the extant greek versions of the epistles; for, as we have mentioned, they exist in the syriac epistles, and there is nothing to show the original state of the letters from which they were derived. nothing is more certain than the fact that, if any writer wished to circulate letters in the name of ignatius, he would insert such passages as were said to have been quoted from genuine epistles of ignatius, and supposing those quotations to be real, all that could be said on finding such passages would be that at least so much might be genuine.( ) it is a total { } mistake to suppose that the seven epistles mentioned by eusebius have been transmitted to us in any special way. these epistles are mixed up in the medicean and corresponding ancient latin mss. with the other eight epistles, universally pronounced to be spurious, without distinction of any kind, and all have equal honour.( ) the recognition of the number seven may, therefore, be ascribed simply to the reference to them by eusebius, and his silence regarding the rest. what, then, is the position of the so-called ignatian epistles? towards the end of the second century, irenæus makes a very short quotation from a source unnamed, which eusebius, in the fourth century, finds in an epistle attributed to ignatius. origen, in the third century, quotes a very few words which he ascribes to ignatius, although without definite reference to any particular epistle; and, in the fourth century eusebius mentions seven epistles ascribed to ignatius. there is no other evidence. there are, however, fifteen epistles extant, all of which are attributed to ignatius, of all of which, with the exception of three which are only known in a latin version, we possess both greek and latin versions. of seven of these epistles--and they are those mentioned by eusebius--we have two greek versions, one of which is very much shorter than the other; and finally we now possess a syriac version of three epistles only( ) in a form still shorter than the shorter greek version, in which are found all the quotations of the fathers, without exception, up to the fourth century. eight of the fifteen it is worthy of remark that at the end of the syriac version the subscription is: "here end the three epistles of ignatius, bishop and martyr;" cf. cureton, the ancient syriac version, &c, p. . { } epistles are universally rejected as spurious. the longer greek version of the remaining seven epistles is almost unanimously condemned as grossly interpolated; and the great majority of critics recognize that the shorter greek version is also much interpolated; whilst the syriac version, which so far as mss. are concerned is by far the most ancient text of any of the letters which we posses, reduces their number to three, and their contents to a very small compass indeed. it is not surprising that the vast majority of critics have expressed doubt more or less strong regarding the authenticity of all of these epistles, and that so large a number have repudiated them altogether. one thing is quite evident,--that amidst such a mass of falsification, interpolation, and fraud, the ignatian epistles cannot in any form be considered evidence on any important point.( ) we have not, however, finished. all of these epistles, including the three of the syriac recension, profess to have been written by ignatius during his journey from antioch to rome, in the custody of roman soldiers, in order to be exposed to wild beasts, the form of martyrdom to which he had been condemned. the writer describes the circumstances of his journey as follows: "from syria even unto rome i fight with wild beasts, by sea and by land, by night and day; being bound amongst ten leopards, which are the band of soldiers: who even receiving benefits become worse."( ) now if this account be in the least degree true, how is it possible to suppose that the martyr could have found means to write { } so many long epistles, entering minutely into dogmatic teaching, and expressing the most deliberate and advanced views regarding ecclesiastical government? indeed it may be asked why ignatius should have considered it necessary in such a journey, even if the possibility be for a moment conceded, to address such epistles to communities and individuals to whom, by the showing of the letters themselves, he had just had opportunities of addressing his counsels in person.( ) the epistles themselves bear none of the marks of composition under such circumstances, and it is impossible to suppose that soldiers such as the quotation above describes would allow a prisoner, condemned to wild beasts for professing christianity, deliberately to write long epistles at every stage of his journey, promulgating the very doctrines for which he was condemned. and not only this, but on his way to martyrdom, he has, according to the epistles,( ) perfect freedom to see his friends. he receives the bishops, deacons, and members of various christian communities, who come with greetings to him, and devoted followers accompany him on his journey. all this without hindrance from the "ten leopards," of whose cruelty he complains, and without persecution or harm to those who so openly declare themselves his friends and fellow believers. the whole story is absolutely incredible.( ) this conclusion, irresistible in itself, is, however, confirmed by facte arrived at from a totally different point of view. { } it has been demonstrated that, most probably, ignatius was not sent to rome at all, but suffered martyrdom in antioch itself(l) on the th december, a.d. ,( ) when he was condemned to be cast to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, in consequence of the fanatical excitement produced by the earthquake which took place on the th of that month.( ) there are no less than three martyrologies of ignatius,( ) giving an account of the martyr's journey from antioch to rome, but they are all recognised to be mere idle legends, of whose existence we do not hear till a very late period.( ) in fact the whole of the ignatian literature is a mass of falsification and fraud. we might well spare our readers the trouble of examining further the contents of the epistles of pseudo-ignatius, for it is manifest that they cannot afford testimony { } of any value on the subject of our inquiry. we shall, however, briefly point out all the passages contained in the seven greek epistles which have any bearing upon our synoptic gospels, in order that their exact position may be more fully appreciated. teschendorf( ) refers to a passage in the epistle to the romans, c. vi., as a verbal quotation of matthew xvi. , but he neither gives the context nor states the facts of the case. the passage reads as follows: "the pleasures of the world shall profit me nothing, nor the kingdoms of this time; it is better for me to die for jesus christ, than to reign over the ends of the earth. for what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, but lose his soul."( ) now this quotation not only is not found in the syriac version of the epistle, but it is also omitted from the ancient latin version, and is absent from the passage in the work of timotheus of alexandria against the council of chalcedon, and from other authorities. it is evidently a later addition, and is recognized as such by most critics.( ) it was probably a gloss, which subsequently was inserted in the text. of these facts, however, tischendorf does not say a word.( ) the next passage to which he refers is in the epistle to the smyrnæans, c. i., where the writer says of jesus: "he was baptized by john in order that all righteousness { } might be fulfilled by him,"( )--which teschendorf considers a reminiscence of matthew iii. , "for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."( ) the phrase, besides being no quotation, has again all the appearance of being an addition; and when in ch. iii. of the same epistle we find a palpable quotation from an apocryphal gospel, which jerome states to be the "gospel according to the hebrews," to which we shall presently refer, a gospel which we know to have contained the baptism of jesus by john, it is not possible, even if the epistle were genuine, which it is not, to base any such conclusion upon these words. there is not only the alternative of tradition, but the use of the same apocryphal gospel, elsewhere quoted in the epistle, as the source of the reminiscence. tischendorf does not point out any more supposed references to our synoptic gospels, but we proceed to notice all the other passages which have been indicated by others. in the epistle to polycarp, c. ii., the following sentence occurs: "be thou wise as a serpent in everything, and harmless as the dove." this is, of course, compared with matth. x. , "be ye, therefore, wise as serpents and innocent as doves." the greek of both reads as follows: [--greek--] in the syriac version, the passage reads: "be thou wise as the serpent in everything, and harmless as to those things which are requisite as the dove."( ) it is unnecessary { } to add that no source is indicated for the reminiscence. ewald assigns this part of our first gospel originally to the spruchsammlung,( ) and even apart from the variations presented in the epistle there is nothing to warrant exclusive selection of our first gospel as the source of the saying. the remaining passages we subjoin in parallel columns. none of these passages are quotations, and they generally present such marked linguistic variations from the parallel { } passages in our first gospel, that there is not the slightest ground for specially referring them to it. the last words cited are introduced without any appropriate context. in no case are the expressions indicated as quotations from, or references to, any particular source. they may either be traditional, or reminiscences of some of the numerous gospels current in the early church, such as the gospel according to the hebrews. that the writer made use of one of these cannot be doubted. in the epistle to the smyrnaeans, c. iii., there occurs a quotation from an apocryphal gospel to which we have already, in passing, referred: "for i know that also after his resurrection he was in the flesh, and i believe he is so now. and when he came to those who were with peter, he said to them: lay hold, handle me, and see that i am not an incorporeal spirit, [--greek--]. and immediately they touched him and believed, being convinced by his flesh and spirit." eusebius, who quotes this passage, says that he does not know whence it is taken.( ) origen, however, quotes it from a work well known in the early church, called "the doctrine of peter," [--greek--];( ) and jerome found it in the "gospel according to the hebrews," in use among the nazarenes,( ) which he translated, as we shall hereafter sec. it was, no doubt, in both of those works. the narrative, luke xxiv. f., being neglected, and an apocryphal gospel used here, the inevitable inference is clear and very suggestive. as it is certain that this quotation was taken from a source { } different from our gospels, there is reason to suppose that the other passages which we have cited are reminiscences of the same work. the passage on the three mysteries in the epistle to the ephesians, c. xix., is evidently another quotation from an uncanonical source.( ) we must, however, again point out that, with the single exception of the short passage in the epistle to polycarp, c. ii., which is not a quotation, differs from the reading in matthew, and may well be from any other source, none of these supposed reminiscences of our synoptic gospels are found in the syriac version of the three epistles. the evidential value of the seven greek epistles is clearly stated by an english historian and divine: "my conclusion is, that i should be unwilling to claim historical authority for any passage not contained in dr. cureton's syriac reprint."( ) we must, however, go much further, and assert that none of the epistles have any value as evidence for an earlier period than the end of the second or beginning of the third century, if indeed they possess any value at all. the whole of the literature ascribed to ignatius is, in fact, such a tissue of fraud and imposture, and the successive versions exhibit such undeniable marks of the grossest interpolation, that even if any small original element exist referrible to ignatius, it is impossible to define it, or to distinguish with the slightest degree of accuracy between what is authentic and what is spurious. the epistles do not, however, in any case afford evidence even of the existence of our synoptic gospels. { } . we have hitherto deferred all consideration of the so-called epistle of polycarp to the philippians, from the fact that, instead of proving the existence of the epistles of ignatius, with which it is intimately associated, it is itself discredited in proportion as they are shown to be in authentic. we have just seen that the martyr-journey of ignatius to rome is, for cogent reasons, declared to be wholly fabulous, and the epistles purporting to be written during that journey must be held to be spurious. the epistle of polycarp, however, not only refers to the martyr-journey (c. ix.), but to the ignatian epistles which are inauthentic (c. xiii.), and the manifest inference is that it also is spurious. polycarp, who is said by irenæus( ) to have been in his youth a disciple of the apostle john, became bishop of smyrna, and suffered martyrdom at a very advanced age.( ) on the authority of eusebius and jerome, it has hitherto been generally believed that his death took place in a.d. - . in the account of his martyrdom, which we possess in the shape of a letter from the church of smyrna, purporting to have been written by eye-witnesses, which must be pronounced spurious, polycarp is said to have died under the proconsul statius quadratus.( ) if this statement be correct, the date hitherto received can no longer be maintained, for recent investigations have determined that statius quadratus was proconsul in a.d. - or - .( ) some critics, { } who affirm the authenticity of the epistle attributed to polycarp, date the epistle before a.d. ,( ) but the preponderance of opinion assigns it to a much later period.( ) doubts of its authenticity, and of the integrity of the text, were very early expressed,( ) and the close scrutiny to which later and more competent criticism has subjected it, has led very many to the conclusion that the epistle is either largely interpolated,( ) or altogether spurious.( ) the principal argument in favour { } of its authenticity is the fact that the epistle is mentioned by irenæus,( ) who in his extreme youth was acquainted with polycarp.( ) we have no very precise information regarding the age of irenæus, but jerome states that he flourished under commodus ( - ), and we may, as a favourable conjecture, suppose that he was then about - . in that case his birth must be dated about a.d. . there is reason to believe that he fell a victim to persecution under septimius severus, and it is only doubtful whether he suffered during the first outbreak in a.d. , or later. according to this calculation, the martyrdom of polycarp, in a.d. - , took place when he was ten or eleven years of age. even if a further concession be made in regard to his age, it is evident that the intercourse of irenæus with the bishop of smyrna must have been confined to his very earliest years,( ) a fact which is confirmed by the almost total absence of any record in his writings of the communications of polycarp. this certainly does not entitle irenæus to speak more authoritatively of an epistle ascribed to polycarp, than any one else of his day.( ) in the epistle itself, there are several anachronisms. in ch. ix. the blessed ignatius" is referred to as already dead, and he is held up with zosimus and rufus, and also with paul and the rest of the apostles, as examples of patience: men who have not run in vain, but are with the lord; but in ch. xiii. he is spoken of as living, and information is requested regarding him, { } "and those who are with him."( ) yet, although thus spoken of as alive, the writer already knows of his epistles, and refers, in the plural, to those written by him "to us, and all the rest which we have by us."( ) the reference here, it will be observed, is not only to the epistles to the smyrnæans, and to polycarp himself, but to other spurious epistles which are not included in the syriac version. dallseus( ) pointed out long ago, that ch. xiii. abruptly interrupts the conclusion of the epistle, and most critics, including those who assert the authenticity of the rest of the epistle, reject it at least, although many of these likewise repudiate ch. ix. as interpolated.( ) others, however, consider that the latter chapter is quite consistent with the later date, which, according to internal evidence, must be assigned to the epistle. the writer vehemently denounces,( ) as already widely spread, the gnostic heresy and other forms of false doctrine which did not exist until the time of marcion, to whom and to whose followers he refers in unmistakable terms. an expression is used in ch. vii. in speaking of these heretics, which polycarp is reported by irenseus to have actually applied to marcion in person, during his visit to home. he is said to have called marcion the "first-born of satan," [--greek--]( ) and the same term { } is employed in this epistle with regard to every one who holds such false doctrines. the development of these heresies, therefore, implies a date for the composition of the epistle, at earliest, after the middle of the second century, a date which is further confirmed by other circumstances.( ) the writer of such a letter must have held a position in the church, to which polycarp could only have attained in the latter part of his life, when he was deputed to rome for the paschal discussion, and the epistle depicts the developed ecclesiastical organization of a later time.( ) the earlier date which has now been adopted for the martyrdom of polycarp, by limiting the period during which it is possible that he himself could have written any portion of it, only renders the inauthenticity of the epistle more apparent. hilgenfeld has pointed out, as another indication of the same date, the injunction "pray for the kings" (orate pro regibus), which, in peter ii. , is "honour the king" [--greek--], which, he argues, accords with the period after antoninus pius had elevated marcus aurelius { } to joint sovereignty (a.d. ), or better still, with that in which marcus aurelius appointed lucius verus his colleague, a.d. , for to rulers outside of the roman empire there can be no reference. if authentic, however, the epistle must have been written, at latest, shortly after the martyrdom of ignatius in a.d. , but, as we have seen, there are strong internal characteristics excluding such a supposition. the reference to the martyr-journey of ignatius and to the epistles falsely ascribed to him, is alone sufficient to betray the spurious nature of the composition, and to class the epistle with the rest of the pseudo-ignatian literature. we shall now examine all the passages in this epistle which are pointed out as indicating any acquaintance with our synoptic gospels.( ) the first occurs in ch. ii., and we subjoin it in contrast with the nearest parallel passages of the gospels, but although we break it up into paragraphs, it will, of course, be understood that the quotation is continuous in the epistle. [---greek---] { } it will be remembered that an almost similar direct quotation of words of jesus occurs in the so-called epistle of clement to the corinthians, c. xiii., which we have already examined.( ) there, the passage is introduced by the same words, and in the midst of brief phrases which have parallels in our gospel there occurs in both epistles the same expression, "be pitiful that ye may be pitied," which is not found in any of our gospels. in order to find any parallels for the quotation, upon the hypothesis of a combination of texts, we have to add together portions of the following verses in the following order: matthew vii. , vi. (although, with complete linguistic variations, the sense of luke vi. is much closer), v. , vii. , v. , v. . such fragmentary compilation is in itself scarcely conceivable in an epistle of this kind, but when in the midst we find a passage foreign to our gospels, but which occurs in another work in connection with so similar a quotation, it is reasonable to conclude that the whole is derived from tradition or from a gospel different from ours.( ) in no case can such { } a passage be considered material evidence of the existence of any one of our gospels. another expression which is pointed out occurs in ch. vii., "beseeching in our prayers the all-searching god not to lead us into temptation, as the lord said: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."( ) this is compared with the phrase in "the lord's prayer" (matthew vi. ), or the passage (xxvi. ): "watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."( ) the second gospel, however, equally has the phrase (xiv. ), and shows how unreasonable it is to limit these historical sayings to a single gospel. the next passage is of a similar nature (c. vi.): "if, therefore, we pray the lord that he may forgive us, we ought also ourselves to forgive."( ) the thought but not the language of this passage corresponds with matthew vi. -- , but equally so with luke xi. . now we must repeat that all such sayings of jesus were the common property of the early christians--were no doubt orally current amongst them, and still more certainly were recorded by many of the numerous gospels then in circulation, as they are by several of our own. in no case is there any written source indicated from which these passages are derived; they are simply quoted as words of jesus, and being all connected either with the "sermon on the mount" or the "lord's prayer," the two portions of the teaching of jesus which were most { } popular, widely known, and characteristic, there can be no doubt that they were familiar throughout the whole of the early church, and must have formed a part of most or all of the many collections of the words of the master. to limit them to our actual gospels, which alone survive, would be quite unwarrantable, and no reference to them, without specification of the source, can be received as evidence even of the existence of our synoptics. we may here briefly illustrate the point from the synoptics themselves. assuming the parable of the sower to be a genuine example of the teaching of jesus, as there is every reason to believe, it may with certainty be asserted that it must have been included in many of the records circulating among early christians, to which reference is made in the prologue to the third gospel. it would not be permissible to affirm that no part of that parable could be referred to by an early writer without that reference being an indication of acquaintance with our synoptic gospels. the parable is reported in closely similar words in each of those three gospels,( ) and it may have been, and probably was, recorded similarly in a dozen more. confining ourselves, however, for a moment to the three synoptics: what could a general allusion to the parable of the sower prove regarding their existence and use, no mention of a particular source being made? would it prove that all the three were extant, and that the writer knew them all, for each of them containing the parable would possess an equal claim to the reference? could it with any reason be affirmed that he was acquainted with matthew and not with mark? or with mark and not with matthew and luke? or with the third gospel and { } not with either of the other two? the case is the very same if we extend the illustration, and along with the synoptics include the numerous other records of the early church. the anonymous quotation of historical expressions of jesus cannot prove the existence of one special document among many to which we may choose to trace it. this is more especially to be insisted on from the fact, that hitherto we have not met with any mention of any one of our gospels, and have no right even to assume their existence from any evidence which has been furnished. chapter iii. justin martyr we shall now consider the evidence furnished by the works of justin martyr, regarding the existence of our synoptic gospels at the middle of the second century, and we may remark, in anticipation, that whatever differences of opinion may finally exist regarding the solution of the problem which we have to examine, at least it is clear that the testimony of justin martyr is not of a nature to establish the date, authenticity, and character of gospels professing to communicate such momentous and astounding doctrines. the determination of the source from which justin derived his facts of christian history has for a century attracted more attention, and excited more controversy, than almost any other similar question in connection with patristic literature, and upon none have more divergent opinions been expressed. justin, who suffered martyrdom about a.d. -- ,( ) under marcus aurelius, probably at the instigation of the cynical philosopher, crescens, was born in the greek-roman colony, flavia neapolis,( ) established during the { } reign of vespasian, near the ancient sichem in samaria. by descent he was a greek, and during the earlier part of his life a heathen, but after long and disappointed study of greek philosophy, he became a convert to christianity(l) strongly tinged with judaism. it is not necessary to enter into any discussion as to the authenticity of the writings which have come down to us bearing justin's name, many of which are undoubtedly spurious, for the two apologies and the dialogue with trypho, with which we have almost exclusively to do, are generally admitted to be genuine. it is true that there has been a singular controversy regarding the precise relation to each other of the two apologies now extant, the following contradictory views having been maintained: that they are the two apologies mentioned by eusebius, and in their original order; that they are justin's two apologies, but that eusebius was wrong in affirming that the second was addressed to marcus aurelius; that our second apology was the preface or appendix to the first, and that the original second is lost. the shorter apology contains nothing of interest connected with our inquiry. there has been much controversy as to the date of the two apologies, and much difference of opinion still exists on the point. many critics assign the larger to about a.d. -- , and the shorter to a.d. -- .( ) a passage, however, occurs in the longer apology, which { } indicates that it must have been written about a century and a half after the commencement of the christian era, or, according to accurate reckoning, about a.d. . justin speaks, in one part of it, of perverted deductions being drawn from his teaching "that christ was born years ago under cyrenius."(l) those who contend for the earlier date have no stronger argument against this statement than the unsupported assertion, that in this passage justin merely speaks "in round numbers," but many important circumstances confirm the date which justin thus gives us. in the superscription of the apology, antoninus is called "pius," a title which was first bestowed upon him in the year . moreover, justin directly refers to marcion, as a man "now living and teaching his disciples.... and who has by the aid of demons caused many of all nations to utter blasphemies," &c.( ) now the fact has been established that marcion did not come to rome, where justin himself was, until a.d. -- ,( ) when his prominent public career commenced, and it is apparent that the words of justin indicate a period when his doctrines had already { } become widely diffused. for these and many other strong reasons, which need not here be detailed, the majority of competent critics agree in more correctly assigning the first apology to about a.d. .( ) the dialogue with trypho, as internal evidence shows,( ) was written after the longer apology, and it is therefore generally dated some time within the first decade of the second half of the second century.( ) in these writings justin quotes very copiously from the old testament, and he also very frequently refers to facts of christian history and to sayings of jesus. of these references, for instance, some fifty occur in the first apology, and upwards of seventy in the dialogue with trypho, a goodly number, it will be admitted, by means of which to identify the source from which he quotes. justin himself frequently and distinctly says that his information and quotations are derived from the "memoirs of the apostles" [--greek--], but except upon one occasion, which we shall hereafter consider, when he indicates peter, he never mentions an author's name. upon examination it is found that, with only one or two brief exceptions, the { } numerous quotations from these memoirs differ more or less widely from parallel passages in our synoptic gospels, and in many cases differ in the same respects as similar quotations found in other writings of the second century, the writers of which are known to have made use of uncanonical gospels, and further, that these passages are quoted several times, at intervals, by justin with the same variations. moreover, sayings of jesus are quoted from these memoirs which are not found in our gospels at all, and facts in the life of jesus and circumstances of christian history derived from the same source, not only are not found in our gospels, but are in contradiction with them. these peculiarities have, as might have been expected, created much diversity of opinion regarding the nature of the "memoirs of the apostles." in the earlier days of new testament criticism more especially, many of course at once identified the memoirs with our gospels exclusively, and the variations were explained by conveniently elastic theories of free quotation from memory, imperfect and varying mss., combination, condensation and transposition of passages, with slight additions from tradition, or even from some other written source, and so on.( ) others endeavoured to explain { } away difficulties by the supposition that they were a simple harmony of our gospels,( ) or a harmony of the gospels, with passages added from some apocryphal work.( ) a much greater number of critics, however, adopt the conclusion that, along with our gospels, justin made use of one or more apocryphal gospels, and more especially of the gospel according to the hebrews, or according to peter, and also perhaps of tradition.( ) others assert that he made use of a special unknown gospel, or of the gospel according to the hebrews or according to peter, with a subsidiary use of a version of one or two of our gospels to which, however, he did not attach much importance, preferring the apocryphal work;( ) whilst { } others have concluded that justin did not make use of our gospels at all, and that his quotations are either from the gospel according to the hebrews, or according to peter, or from some other special apocryphal gospel now no longer extant.( ) evidence permitting of such wide diversity of results to serious and laborious investigation of the identity of justin's memoirs of the apostles, cannot be of much value towards establishing the authenticity of our gospels, and in the absence of any specific mention of our synoptics any very elaborate examination of the memoirs might be considered unnecessary, more especially as it is admitted almost universally by competent critics, that justin did not himself consider the memoirs of the apostles inspired, or of any dogmatic authority, and had no idea of attributing canonical rank to them.( ) in pursuance of the system which we desire invariably to adopt of { } enabling every reader to form his own opinion, we shall as briefly as possible state the facts of the case, and furnish materials for a full comprehension of the subject. justin himself, as we have already stated, frequently and distinctly states that his information regarding christian history and his quotations are derived from the memoirs of the apostles [--greek--], to adopt the usual translation, although the word might more correctly be rendered "recollections," or "memorabilia." it has frequently been surmised that this name was suggested by the [--greek--] of xenophon, but, as credner has pointed out, the similarity is purely accidental, and to constitute a parallel the title should have been "memoirs of jesus."( ) the word [--greek--] is here evidently used merely in the sense of records written from memory, and it is so employed by papias in the passage preserved by eusebius regarding mark, who, although he had not himself followed the lord, yet recorded his words from what he heard from peter, and who, having done so without order, is still defended for "thus writing some things as he remembered them" [--greek--].( ) in the same way irenseus refers to the "memoirs of a certain presbyter of apostolic times" [--greek--]( ) whose name he does not mention; and origen still more closely approximates to justin's use of the word when, expressing his theory regarding, the epistle to the hebrews, he says that the thoughts are the apostle's, but the phraseology and the composition are of one recording from memory { } what the apostle said [--greek--], and as of one writing at leisure the dictation of his master.( ) justin himself speaks of the authors of the memoirs as [--greek--],( ) and the expression was then and afterwards constantly in use amongst ecclesiastical and other writers.( ) this title, "memoirs of the apostles," however, although most appropriate to mere recollections of the life and teaching of jesus, evidently could not be applied to works ranking as canonical gospels, but in fact excludes such an idea; and the whole of justin's views regarding holy scripture, prove that he saw in the memoirs merely records from memory to assist memory.( ) he does not call them [--greek--], but adheres always to the familiar name of [--greek--], and whilst his constant appeals to a written source show very clearly his abandonment of oral tradition, there is nothing in the name of his records which can identify them with our gospels. justin designates the source of his quotations ten times, the "memoirs of the apostles,"( ) and five times he calls it simply the "memoirs."( ) he says, upon one occasion, that these memoirs were composed "by his apostles and their followers,"( ) but except in one place, { } to which we have already referred, and which we shall hereafter fully examine, he never mentions the author's name, nor does he ever give any more precise information regarding their composition. it has been argued that, in saying that these memoirs were recorded by the apostles and their followers, justin intentionally and literally described the four canonical gospels, the first and fourth of which are ascribed to apostles, and the other two to mark and luke, the followers of apostles;( ) but such an inference is equally forced and unfounded. the language itself forbids this explanation, for justin does not speak indefinitely of memoirs of apostles and their followers, but of memoirs of the apostles, invariably using the article, which refers the memoirs to the collective body of the apostles.( ) moreover, the incorrectness of such an inference is manifest from the fact that circumstances are stated by justin as derived from these memoirs, which do not exist in our gospels at all, and which, indeed, are contradictory to them. vast numbers of spurious writings, moreover, bearing the names of apostles and their followers, and claiming more or less direct apostolic authority, were in circulation in the early church: gospels according to peter,( ) to thomas,( ) to james,( ) to judas,( ) according to the { } apostles, or according to the twelve,( ) to barnabas,( ) to matthias,( ) to nicodemus,( ) &c., and ecclesiastical writers bear abundant testimony to the early and rapid growth of apocryphal literature.( ) the very names of most of such apocryphal gospels are lost, whilst of others we possess considerable information; but nothing is more certain than the fact, that there existed many works bearing names which render the attempt to interpret the title of justin's gospel as a description of the four in our canon quite unwarrantable. the words of justin evidently imply simply that the source of his quotations is the collective recollections of the apostles, and those who followed them, regarding the life and teaching of jesus. the title: "memoirs of the apostles" by no means indicates a plurality of gospels.( ) a single passage has been pointed out, in which the memoirs are said to have been called [--greek--] in the plural: "for the apostles in the memoirs composed by them, which are called { } gospels,"( ) &c. the last expression, a [--greek--], as many scholars have declared, is probably an interpolation. it is, in all likelihood, a gloss on the margin of some old ms. which some copyist afterwards inserted in the text.( ) if justin really stated that the memoirs were called gospels, it seems incomprehensible that he should never call them so himself. in no other place in his writings does he apply the plural to them, but, on the contrary, we find trypho referring to the "so-called gospel," which he states that he has carefully read,( ) and which, of course, can only be justin's "memoirs;" and again, in another part of the same dialogue, justin quotes passages which are written "in the gospel"( ) [--greek--]. the term "gospel" is nowhere else used by justin in reference to a written record.( ) in no case, however, considering the numerous gospels then in circulation, and the fact that many of these, different from the canonical gospels, are known to have been exclusively used by distinguished contemporaries of justin, and by various communities of christians in that day, could such an expression be taken as a special indication of the canonical gospels.( ) { } describing the religious practices amongst christians, in another place, justin states that, at their assemblies on sundays, "the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits."( ( this, however, by no means identifies the memoirs with the canonical gospels, for it is well known that many writings which have been excluded from the canon were publicly read in the churches, until very long after justin's day.( ) we have already met with several instances of this. eusebius mentions that the epistle of the roman clement was publicly read in churches in his time,( ) and he quotes an epistle of dionysius of corinth to soter, the bishop of rome, which states that fact for the purpose of "showing that it was the custom to read it in the churches, even from the earliest times."( ) dionysius likewise mentions the public reading of the epistle of soter to the corinthians. epiphanius refers to the reading in the churches of the epistle of clement,( ) and it continued to be so read in jerome's day.( ) in like manner, the "pastor" of hermas,( ) the "apocalypse of peter,"( ) and other works excluded from the canon were publicly read in the church in early days.( ) it is certain that gospels which { } did not permanently secure a place in the canon, such as the gospel according to the hebrews, the gospel according to peter, the gospel of the ebionites, and many kindred gospels, which in early times were exclusively used by various communities,( ) must have been read at their public assemblies. the public reading of justin's memoirs, therefore, does not prove anything, for this practice was by no means limited to the works now in our canon. the idea of attributing inspiration to the memoirs, or to any other work of the apostles, with the single exception, as we shall presently see, of the apocalypse of john,( ) which, as prophecy, entered within his limits, was quite foreign to justin, who recognized the old testament alone as the inspired word of god.( ) indeed, as we { } have already said, the very name "memoirs" in itself excludes the thought of inspiration,( ) which justin attributed only to prophetic writings; and he could not in any way regard as inspired the written tradition of the apostles and their followers, or a mere record of the words of jesus. on the contrary, he held the accounts of the apostles to be credible solely from their being authenticated by the old testament, and he clearly states that he believes the facts recorded in the memoirs because the spirit of prophecy had already foretold them.( ) according to justin, the old testament contained all that was necessary for salvation, and its prophecies are the sole criterion of truth, the memoirs, and even christ himself, being merely its interpreters.( ) he says that christ commanded us not to put faith in human doctrines, but in those proclaimed by the holy prophets, and taught by himself.( ) prophecy and the words of christ himself are alone of dogmatic value, all else is human teaching.( ) indeed, from a passage quoted with approval by irenæus, justin, in his lost work against marcion, said: "i would not have believed the lord himself, if he had proclaimed any other god than the creator;" that is to say, the god of the old testament.( ) { } that justin does not mention the name of the author of the memoirs would in any case render any argument as to their identity with our canonical gospels inconclusive; but the total omission to do so is the more remarkable from the circumstance that the names of old testament writers constantly occur in his writings. semisch counts quotations of the old testament, in which justin refers to the author by name, or to the book, and only in which he omits to do so,( ) and the latter number might be reduced by considering the nature of the passages cited, and the inutility of repeating the reference.( ) when it is considered, therefore, that notwithstanding the extremely numerous quotations, and references to facts of christian history, all purporting to be derived from the "memoirs," he absolutely never, except in the one instance referred to, mentions an author's name, or specifies more clearly the nature of the source, the inference must not only be that he attached small importance to the memoirs, but also that he was actually ignorant of the author's name, and that his gospel had no more definite superscription. upon the theory that the memoirs of the apostles were simply our { } four canonical gospels, the singularity of the omission is increased by the diversity of contents and of authors, and the consequently greater necessity and probability that he should, upon certain occasions, distinguish between them. the fact is that the only writing of the new testament to which justin refers by name is, as we have already mentioned, the apocalypse, which he attributes to "a certain man whose name was john, one of the apostles of christ, who prophesied by a revelation made to him," &c.( ) the manner in which john is here mentioned, after the memoirs had been so constantly indefinitely referred to, clearly shows that justin did not possess any gospel also attributed to john. that he does name john, however, as author of the apocalypse and so frequently refers to old testament writers by name, yet never identifies the author of the memoirs, is quite irreconcilable with the idea that they were the canonical gospels.( ) it is perfectly clear, however, and this is a point of very great importance upon which critics of otherwise widely diverging views are agreed, that justin quotes from a _written_ source, and that oral tradition is excluded from his system.( ) he not only does not, like papias, attach value to tradition, but, on the contrary, he affirms that in the memoirs is recorded "everything that concerns our "saviour jesus christ.,,( ) he constantly refers to them { } directly, as the source of his information regarding the history of jesus, and distinctly states that he has derived his quotations from them. there is no reasonable ground whatever for affirming that justin supplemented or modified the contents of the memoirs by oral tradition. it must, therefore, be remembered, in considering the nature of these memoirs, that the facts of christian history and the sayings of jesus are derived from a determinate written source, and are quoted as justin found them there.( ) those who attempt to explain the divergences of justin's quotations from the canonical gospels, which they still maintain to have been his memoirs, on the plea of oral tradition, defend the identity at the expense of the authority of the gospels. for nothing could more forcibly show justin's disregard and disrespect for the gospels, than would the fact that, possessing them, he not only never names their authors, but considers himself at liberty continually to contradict, modify, and revise their statements. as we have already remarked, when we examine the contents of the memoirs of the apostles, through justin's numerous quotations, we find that many parts of the gospel narratives are apparently quite unknown, whilst, on the other hand, we meet with facts of evangelical history, which are foreign to the canonical gospels, and others which are contradictory of gospel statements. justin's quotations, almost without exception, vary more or less from the parallels in the canonical text, and often these variations are consistently repeated by himself, and are found in other works about his time. moreover, justin quotes expressions of jesus, which are not found in our gospels at all. the omissions, though often very { } singular, supposing the canonical gospels before him, and almost inexplicable when it is considered how important they would often have been to his argument, need not, as merely negative evidence, be dwelt on here, but we shall briefly illustrate the other peculiarities of justin's quotations. the only genealogy of jesus which is recognized by justin is traced through the virgin mary. she it is who is descended from abraham, isaac, and jacob, and from the house of david, and joseph is completely set aside.( ) jesus "was born of a virgin of the lineage of abraham and tribe of judah and of david, christ the son of god."( ) "jesus christ the son of god has been born without sin of a virgin sprung from the lineage of abraham."( ) "for of the virgin of the seed of jacob, who was the father of judah, who, as we have shown, was the father of the jews, by the power of god was he conceived; and jesse was his forefather according to the prophecy, and he (jesus) was the son of jacob and judah according to successive descent."( ) the genealogy of jesus in the canonical gospels, on the contrary, is traced solely through joseph, who alone is stated to be of the lineage of david.( ) the genealogies of matthew and luke, though differing in several important points, at least agree in excluding mary. that of the third gospel commences with joseph, { } and that of the first ends with him: "and jacob begat joseph, the husband of mary, of whom was born jesus, who is called christ."( ) the angel who warns joseph not to put away his wife, addresses him as "joseph, thou son of david,"( ) and the angel gabriel, who, according to the third gospel, announces to mary the supernatural conception, is sent "to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david."( ) so persistent, however, is justin in ignoring this davidic descent through joseph, that not only does he at least eleven times trace it through mary, but his gospel materially differs from the canonical, where the descent of joseph from david is mentioned by the latter. in the third gospel, joseph goes to judaea "unto the city of david, which is called bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of david."( ) justin, however, simply states that he went "to bethlehem... for his descent was from the tribe of judah, which inhabited that region."( ) there can be no doubt that justin not only did not derive his genealogies from the canonical gospels, but that on the contrary the memoirs, from which he did learn the davidic descent through mary only, differed persistently and materially from them.( ) many traces still exist to show that the view of justin's memoirs of the apostles of the davidic descent of jesus through mary instead of through joseph, as the canonical gospels represent it, was anciently held in the church. apocryphal gospels of early date, based without doubt upon more ancient evangelical works, are still extant, in which the genealogy of jesus is traced, as in { } justin's memoirs, through mary. one of these is the gospel of james, commonly called the _protevangelium_, a work referred to by ecclesiastical writers of the third and fourth centuries,( ) and which tischendorf even ascribes to the first three decades of the second century,( ) in which mary is stated to be of the lineage of david.( ) she is also described as of the royal race and family of david in the gospel of the nativity of mary,( ) and in the gospel of pseudo-matthew her davidic descent is prominently mentioned.( ) there can be no doubt that all of these works are based upon earlier originals,( ) and there is no reason why they may not have been drawn from the same source from which justin derived his version of the genealogy in contradiction to the synoptics.( ) in the narrative of the events which preceded the { } birth of jesus, the first gospel describes the angel as appearing only to joseph and explaining the supernatural conception,( ) and the author seems to know nothing of any announcement to mary.( ) the third gospel, on the contrary, does not mention any such angelic appearance to joseph, but represents the angel as announcing the conception to mary herself alone.( ) justin's memoirs know of the appearances both to joseph and to mary, but the words spoken by the angel on each occasion differ materially from those of both gospels.( ) in this place, only one point, however, can be noticed. justin describes the angel as saying to mary: "'behold, thou shalt conceive of the holy ghost, and shalt bear a son, and he shall be called the son of the highest, and thou shalt call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins,' as they taught who recorded everything that concerns our saviour jesus christ."( ) now this is a clear and direct quotation, but besides distinctly differing in form from our gospels, it presents the important peculiarity that the words, "for he shall save his people from { } their sins," are not, in luke, addressed to mary at all, but that they occur in the first gospel in the address of the angel to joseph.( ) these words, however, are not accidentally inserted in this place, for we find that they are joined in the same manner to the address of the angel to mary in the protevangelium of james: "for the power of the lord will overshadow thee; wherefore also that holy thing which is born of thee shall be called the son of the highest, and thou shalt call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."( ) tischendorf states his own opinion that this passage is a recollection of the protevangelium unconsciously added by justin to the account in luke,( ) but the arbitrary nature of the limitation "unconsciously" (ohne dass er sich dessen bewusst war) here is evident. there is a point in connection with this which merits a moment's attention. in the text of the protevangelium, edited by tischendorf, the angel commences his address to mary by saying: "fear not, mary, for thou hast found favour before the lord, and thou shalt conceive of his word" [--greek--].( ) now justin, after quoting the passage above, continues to argue that the spirit and the power of god must not be misunderstood to mean anything else than the word, who is also the first born of god as the prophet moses declared; and it was this which, when it came upon the virgin and overshadowed her, caused { } her to conceive.( ) the occurrence of the singular expression in the protovangelium and the similar explanation of justin immediately accompanying a variation from our gospels, which is equally shared by the apocryphal work, strengthens the suspicion of a similarity of origin. justin's divergences from the protevangelium prevent our supposing that, in its present state, it could have been the actual source of his quotations, but the wide differences which exist between the extant mss. of the protevangelium show that even the most ancient does not present it in its original form. it is much more probable that justin had before him a still older work, to which both the protevangelium and the third gospel were indebted.( ) justin's account of the removal of joseph to bethlehem is peculiar, and evidently is derived from a distinct un-canonical source. it may be well to present his account and that of luke side by side: { } attention has already been drawn to the systematic manner in which the davidic descent of jesus is traced by justin through mary, and to the suppression in this passage of all that might seem to indicate a claim of descent through joseph. as the continuation of a peculiar representation of the history of the infancy of jesus, differing materially from that of the synoptics, it is impossible to regard this, with its remarkable variations, as an arbitrary correction by justin of the canonical text, and we must hold it to be derived from a different source, perhaps, indeed, one of those from which luke's gospel itself first drew the elements of the narrative, and this persuasion increases as further variations in the earlier history, presently to be considered, are taken into account. it is not necessary to enter into the question of the correctness of the date of this census, but it is evident that justin's memoirs clearly and deliberately modify the canonical narrative. the limitation of the census to judæa, instead of extending it to the whole roman empire; the designation of cyrenius as [--greek--] of judaea instead of [--greek--] of syria; and the careful suppression of the davidic element in connection with joseph indicate a peculiar written source different from the synoptics.( ) had justin departed from the account in luke with the view of correcting inaccurate statements, the matter might have seemed more consistent with the use of the third gospel, although at the same time it might have evinced but little reverence for it as a canonical { } work. on the contrary, however, the statements of justin are still more inconsistent with history than those in luke, inasmuch as, so far from being the first procurator of judsea, as justin's narrative states in opposition to the third gospel, cyrenius never held that office, but was really, later, the imperial proconsul over syria, and as such, when judaea became a roman province after the banishment of archelaus, had the power to enrol the inhabitants, and instituted coponius as first procurator of judaea. justin's statement involves the position that at one and the same time herod was the king, and cyrenius the roman procurator of judsea.( ) in the same spirit, and departing from the usual narrative of the synoptics, which couples the birth of jesus with "the days of herod the king," justin in another place states that christ was born "under cyrenius."( ) justin evidently adopts without criticism a narrative which he found in his memoirs, and does not merely correct and remodel a passage of the third gospel, but, on the contrary, seems altogether ignorant of it.( ) the genealogies of jesus in the first and third gospels differ irreconcileably from each other. justin differs from both. in this passage another discrepancy arises. while luke seems to represent nazareth as the dwelling-place of joseph and mary, and bethlehem as the city to which they went solely on account of the census,( ) { } matthew, who seems to know nothing of the census, makes bethlehem, on the contrary, the place of residence of joseph,( ) and on coming back from egypt, with the evident intention of returning to bethlehem, joseph is warned by a dream to turn aside into galilee, and he goes and dwells, apparently for the first time, "in a city called nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets: he shall be called a nazarene."( ) justin, however, goes still further than the third gospel in his departure from the data of matthew, and where luke merely infers, justin distinctly asserts nazareth to have been the dwelling-place of joseph [--greek--], and bethlehem, in contradistinction, the place from which he derived his origin [--greek--]. the same view is to be found in several apocryphal gospels still extant. in the protevangelium of james again, we find joseph journeying to bethlehem with mary before the birth of jesus.( ) the census here is ordered by augustus, who commands: "that all who were in bethlehem _of judeæ_, should be enrolled."( ) a limitation worthy of notice in comparison with that of justin. in like manner the gospel of the nativity. this gospel represents the parents of mary as living in nazareth, in { } which place she was born,( ) and it is here that the angel gabriel announces to her the supernatural conception.( ) joseph goes to bethlehem to set his house in order and prepare what is necessary for the marriage, but then returns to nazareth, where he remains with mary until her time was nearly accomplished,( ) "when joseph having taken his wife with whatever else was necessary went to the city of bethlehem, whence he was."( ) the phrase "_unde ipse erat_" recalls the [--greek--] of justin.( ) as we continue the narrative of the birth and infancy of jesus, we meet with further variations from the account in the canonical gospels for which the preceding have prepared us, and which indicate that justin's memorials certainly differed from them: { } at least it is clear that these particulars of the birth of jesus,--not taking place in bethlehem itself but in a cave [--greek--] near the village, because joseph could not find a lodging there,--are not derived from our gospels, and here even scmisch( ) is forced to abandon his theory that justin's variations arise merely from imperfectly quoting from memory, and to conjecture that he must have adopted tradition. it has, however, been shown that justin himself distinctly excludes tradition, and in this case, moreover, there are many special reasons for believing that he quotes from a written source. ewald rightly points out that here, and in other passages where, in common with ancient ecclesiastical writers, justin departs from our gospels, the variation can in no way be referred to oral tradition;( ) and, moreover, that when justin proves( ) from isaiah xxxiii. , that christ _must_ be born in a cave, he thereby shows how certainly he found the fact of the cave in his written gospel.( ) the whole argument of justin excludes the idea that he could avail himself of mere tradition. he maintains that everything which the prophets had foretold of christ had actually been fulfilled, and he perpetually refers to the memoirs and other written documents for the verification of his assertions. he either refers to the prophets for the confirmation of the memoirs, or shows in the { } memoirs the narrative of facts which are the accomplishment of prophecies, but in both cases it is manifest that there must have been a record of the facts which he mentions. there can be no doubt that the circumstances we have just quoted, and which are not found in the canonical gospels, must have been narrated in justin's memoirs. we find, again, the same variations as in justin in several extant apocryphal gospels. the protevangelium of james represents the birth of jesus as taking place in a cave;( ) so also the arabic gospel of the infancy,( ) and several others.( ) this uncanonical detail is also mentioned by several of the fathers, origen and eusebius both stating that the cave and the manger were still shown in their day.( ) teschendorf does not hesitate to affirm that justin derived this circumstance from the protevangelium.( ) justin, however, does not distinguish such a source; and the mere fact that we have a form of that gospel, in which it occurs, still extant, by no means justifies such a specific conclusion, when so many other works, now lost, may equally have contained { } it. if the fact be derived from the protevangelium, that work, or whatever other apocryphal gospel may have supplied it, must be admitted to have at least formed part of the memoirs of the apostles, and with that necessary admission ends all special identification of the memoirs with our canonical gospels. much more probably, however, justin quotes from the more ancient source from which the protevangelium and, perhaps, luke drew their narrative.( ) there can be very little doubt that the gospel according to the hebrews contained an account of the birth in bethlehem, and as it is, at least, certain that justin quotes other particulars known to have been in it, there is fair reason to suppose that he likewise found this fact in that work.( ) in any case it is indisputable that he derived it from a source different from our canonical gospels.( ) justin does not apparently know anything of the episode of the shepherds of the plain, and the angelic appearance to them, narrated in the third gospel.( ) to the cave in which the infant jesus is born came the magi, but instead of employing the phrase used by the first gospel, "magi from the east,"( ) [--greek--] justin always describes them as "magi from arabia," [--greek--]. justin is so punctilious that he { } never speaks of these magi without adding "from arabia," except twice, where, however, he immediately mentions arabia as the point of the argument for which they are introduced; and in the same chapter in which this occurs he four times calls them directly magi from arabia.( ) he uses this expression not less than nine times.( ) that he had no objection to the term "the east," and that with a different context it was common to his vocabulary, is proved by his use of it elsewhere.( ) it is impossible to resist the conviction that justin's memoirs contained the phrase "magi from arabia," which is foreign to our gospels.( ) again, according to justin, the magi see the star "in heaven" [--greek--],( ) and not "in the east" [--greek--] as the first gospel has it:( ) "when a star rose in heaven [--greek--] at the time of his birth as is recorded in the memoirs of the apostle."( ) he apparently knows nothing of the star guiding them to the place where the young child was.( ) herod, moreover, questions the elders [--greek--]( ) as to the place where the christ should be born, and not the "chief priests and scribes of the people" [--greek--].( ) these divergences, taken in connection with those which are interwoven with the whole narrative of the birth, can only proceed from the fact that justin quotes from a source different from ours.( ) justin relates that when jesus came to jordan he was { } believed to be the son of joseph the carpenter, and he appeared without comeliness, as the scriptures announced; "and being considered a carpenter,--for, when he was amongst men, he made carpenter's works, ploughs and yokes [--greek--]; by these both teaching the symbols of righteousness and an active life."( ) these details are foreign to the canonical gospels. mark has the expression: "is not this the carpenter, the son of mary? "( ) but luke omits it altogether.( ) the idea that the son of god should do carpenter's work on earth was very displeasing to many christians, and attempts to get rid of the obnoxious phrase are evident in mark. apparently the copy which origen used had omitted even the modified phrase, for he declares that jesus himself is nowhere called a carpenter in the gospels current in the church.( ) a few mss. still extant are without it, although it is found in all the more ancient codices. traces of these details are found in several apocryphal works, especially in the gospel of thomas, where it is said: "now his father was a carpenter and made at that time ploughs and yokes" [--greek--]( ), an account which, from the similarity of language, was in all { } probability derived from the same source as that of justin. the explanation which justin adds: "by which he taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life," seems to indicate that he refers to a written narrative containing the detail, already, perhaps, falling into sufficient disfavour to require the aid of symbolical interpretation. in the narrative of the baptism there are many peculiarities which prove that justin did not derive it from our gospels. thrice he speaks of john sitting by the river jordan: "he cried as he sat by the river jordan;"( ( "while he still sat by the river jordan;"( ) and "for when john sat by the jordan."( ) this peculiar expression so frequently repeated must have been derived from a written gospel.( ) then justin, in proving that jesus predicted his second coming and the re-appearance of elijah, states: "and therefore our lord in his teaching announced that this should take place, saying elias also should come" [--greek--]. a little lower down he again expressly quotes the words of jesus: "for which reason our christ declared on earth to those who asserted that elias must come before christ: elias, indeed, shall come," &c. [--greek--].( ) matthew, however, reads: "elias indeed cometh," [--greek--].( ) now there is no version in which [--greek--] is substituted for [--greek--] as justin does, but, as credner has pointed out,( ) the whole weight of justin's argument lies in the use of the future tense. as there are so many other variations { } in justin's context, this likewise appears to be derived from a source different from our gospels.( ) when jesus goes to be baptized by john many-striking peculiarities occur in justin's narrative: "as jesus went down to the water, a fire also was kindled in the jordan; and when he came up from the water, the holy spirit like a dove fell upon him, as the apostles of this very christ of ours wrote... and at the same time a voice came from the heavens... thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee."( ) the incident of the fire in jordan is of course quite foreign to our gospels, and further the words spoken by the heavenly voice differ from those reported by them, for instead of the passage from psalm ii. , the gospels have: "thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased."( ) justin repeats his version a second time in the same chapter, and again elsewhere he says regarding the temptation: "for this devil also at the time when he (jesus) went up from the river jordan, when the voice declared to him: 'thou art my son; this day have i begotten thee,' it is written in the memoirs of the apostles, came to him and tempted him," &c.( ) in both of these passages, it will be perceived that justin directly refers to the memoirs of the apostles as the source of his statements. some have argued that { } justin only appeals to them for the fact of the descent of the holy ghost, and not for the rest of the narrative.( ) it has of course been felt that, if it can be shown that justin quotes from the memoirs words and circumstances which are not to be found in our canonical gospels, the identity of the two can no longer be maintained. it is, however, in the highest degree arbitrary to affirm that justin intends to limit his appeal to the testimony of the apostles to one-half of his sentence. to quote authority for one assertion and to leave another in the same sentence, closely connected with it and part indeed of the very same narrative, not only unsupported, but indeed weakened by direct exclusion, would indeed be singular, for justin affirms with equal directness and confidence the fact of the fire in jordan, the descent of the holy ghost, and the words spoken by the heavenly voice. if in the strictest grammatical accuracy there may be no absolute necessity to include in that which the apostles wrote more than the phrase immediately preceding, there is not, on the other hand, anything which requires or warrants the exclusion of the former part of the sentence. the matter must therefore be decided according to fair inference and reasonable probability, and not to suit any foregone conclusion, and these as well as all the evidence concerning justin's use of the memoirs irresistibly point to the conclusion that the whole passage is derived from one source. in the second extract given above, it is perfectly clear that the words spoken by the heavenly voice, which justin again quotes, and which are not in our gospels, were recorded in the memoirs, for justin could { } not have referred to them for an account of the temptation at the time when jesus went up from jordan and the voice said to him: "thou art my son; this day have i begotten thee," if these facts and words were not recorded in them at all.( ) it is impossible to doubt, after impartial consideration, that the incident of the fire in jordan, the words spoken by the voice from heaven, and the temptation were taken from the same source: they must collectively be referred to the memoirs.( ) of one thing we may be sure: had justin known the form of words used by the voice from heaven according to our gospels, he would certainly have made use of it in preference to that which he actually found in his memoirs. he is arguing that christ is preexisting god, become incarnate by god's will through the virgin mary, and trypho demands how he can be demonstrated to have been pre-existent, who is said to be filled with the power of the holy ghost, as though he had required this, justin replies that these powers of the spirit have come upon him not because he had need of them, but because they would accomplish scripture, which declared that after him there should be no prophet.( ) the proof of this, he continues, is that, as soon as the child was born, the magi from arabia came to worship him, because even at his birth he was in possession of his power,( ) and after he had grown up like other men by the use of suitable means, he came to { } the river jordan where john was baptizing, and as he went into the water a fire was kindled in the jordan, and the holy ghost descended like a dove. he did not go to the river because he had any need of baptism or of the descent of the spirit, but because of the human race which had fallen under the power of death. now if, instead of the passage actually cited, justin could have quoted the words addressed to jesus by the voice from heaven according to the gospels: "thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased," his argument would have been greatly strengthened by such direct recognition of an already existing, and, as he affirmed, pre-existent divinity in jesus. not having these words in his memoirs of the apostles, however, he was obliged to be content with those which he found there: "thou art my son; this day have i begotten thee;"--words which, in fact, in themselves destroyed the argument for pre-existence, and dated the divine begetting of jesus as the son of god that very day. the passage, indeed, supported those who actually asserted that the holy ghost first entered into jesus at his baptism. these considerations, and the repeated quotation of the same words in the same form, make it clear that justin quotes from a source different from our gospel.( ) in the scanty fragments of the "gospel according to the hebrews" which have been preserved, we find both the incident of the fire kindled in jordan and the words { } of the heavenly voice as quoted by justin. "and as he went up from the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the holy spirit of god in the form of a dove which came down and entered into him. and a voice came from heaven saying: 'thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased;' and again: 'this day have i begotten thee.' and immediately a great light shone round about the place."( ) epiphanius extracts this passage from the version in use amongst the ebionites, but it is well known that there were many other varying forms of the same gospel; and hilgenfeld,( ) with all probability, conjectures that the version known to epiphanius was no longer in the same purity as that used by justin, but represents the transition stage to the canonical gospels,--adopting the words of the voice which they give without yet discarding the older form. jerome gives another form of the words from the version in use amongst the nazarenes: "factum est autem cum ascendisset dominus de aqua, descendit fons omnis spiritus sancti et requievit super eum, et dixit illi: fili mi, in omnibus prophetis expectabam te ut venires et requiescerem in te, tu es enim requies mea, tu es filius meus primo-genitus qui regnas in sempiternum."( ) this supports justin's reading. regarding the gospel according to the hebrews more must be said hereafter, but when it is remembered that justin, a native of samaria, probably first knew christianity through believers in syria to whose jewish view of christianity he all his { } life adhered, and that these christians almost exclusively used this gospel( ) under various forms and names, it is reasonable to suppose that he also like them knew and made use of it, a supposition increased almost to certainty when it is found that justin quotes words and facts foreign to the canonical gospels which are known to have been contained in it. the argument of justin that jesus did not need baptism may also be compared to another passage of the gospel according to the hebrews preserved by jerome, and which preceded the circumstances narrated above, in which the mother and brethren of jesus say to him that john the baptist is baptizing for the remission of sins, and propose that they should go to be baptized by him. jesus replies, "in what way have i sinned that i should go and be baptized by him?"( ) the most competent critics agree that justin derived the incidents of the fire in jordan and the words spoken by the heavenly voice from the gospel according to the hebrews or some kindred work,( ) and there is every probability that the numerous other quotations in his works differing from our gospels are taken from the same source. the incident of the fire in jordan likewise occurs in the ancient work "prædicatio pauli,"( ) coupled with a { } context which forcibly recalls the passage of the gospel according to the hebrews, which has just been quoted, and apparent allusions to it are found in the sibylline books and early christian literature.( ) credner has pointed out that the marked use which was made of fire or lights at baptism by the church, during early times, probably rose out of this tradition regarding the fire which appeared in jordan at the baptism of jesus.( ) the peculiar form of words used by the heavenly voice according to justin and to the gospel according to the hebrews was also known to several of the fathers.( ) augustine mentions that some mss. in his time contained that reading in luke iii. , although without the confirmation of more ancient greek codices.( ) it is still extant in the codex bezæ (d). the itala version adds to matthew iii. : "and when he was baptized a great light shone round from the water, so that all who had come were afraid" (et cum baptizaretur, lumen ingens circumfulsit de aqua, ita ut timerent omnes qui advenerant); and again at luke iii. it gives the words of the voice in a form agreeing at least in sense with those which justin found in his memoirs of the apostles. { } these circumstances point with certainty to an earlier original corresponding with justin, in all probability the gospel according to the hebrews, and to the subsequent gradual elimination of the passage from the gospels finally adopted by the church for dogmatic reasons, as various sects based on the words doctrines which were at variance with the ever-enlarging belief of the majority.( ) then justin states that the men of his time asserted that the miracles of jesus were performed by magical art [--greek--], "for they ventured to call him a magician and deceiver of the people."( ) this cannot be accepted as a mere version of the charge that jesus cast out demons by beelzebub, but must have been found by justin in his memoirs.( ) in the gospel of nicodemus or acta pilati, the jews accuse jesus before pilate of being a magician,( ) coupled with the assertion that he casts out demons through beelzebub the prince of the demons; and again they simply say: "did we not tell thee that he is a magician?"( ) we shall presently see that justin actually refers to certain acts of pontius pilate in justification of other assertions regarding the trial of jesus.( ) in the clementine recognitions, moreover, the same charge is made by one of the scribes, who says that jesus did not perform his miracles as a prophet, but as a magician.( ) { } oelsus makes a similar charge,( ) and lactantius refers to such an opinion as prevalent among the jews at the time of jesus,( ) which we find confirmed by many passages in talmudic literature.( ) there was indeed a book called "magia jesu christi," of which jesus himself, it was pretended, was the author.( ) in speaking of the trial of jesus, justin says: "for also as the prophet saith, they reviled him and set him on the judgment seat and said: judge for us,"( ) a peculiarity which is not found in the canonical gospels. justin had just quoted the words of isaiah (lxv. , lviii. )... "they now ask of me judgment and dare to draw nigh to god," and then he cites psalm xxii. , : "they pierced my hands and my feet, and upon my vesture they cast lots." he says that this did not happen to david, but was fulfilled in christ, and the expression regarding the piercing the hands and feet referred to the nails of the cross which were driven through his hands and feet. and after he was crucified they cast lots upon his vesture. "and that these things occurred," he continues, "you may learn from the acts drawn up under pontius pilate."( ) he likewise upon another occasion refers to the same acta for confirmation of statements.( ) the gospel of nicodemus or gesta { } pilati, now extant, does not contain the circumstance to which we are now referring, but in contradiction to the statement in the fourth gospel (xviii. , ) the jews in this apocryphal work freely go into the very judgment seat of pilate.( ) teschendorf maintains that the first part of the gospel of nicodemus, or acta pilati, still extant, is the work, with more or less of interpolation, which, existing in the second century, is referred to by justin.( ) a few reasons may here be given against such a conclusion. the fact of jesus being set upon the judgment seat is not contained in the extant acta pilati at all, and therefore this work does not correspond with justin's statement. it seems most unreasonable to suppose that justin should seriously refer roman emperors to a work of this description, so manifestly composed by a christian, and the acta to which he directs them must have been a presumed official document, to which they had access, as of course no other evidence could be of any weight with them.( ) the extant work neither pretends to be, nor has in the slightest degree the form of, an official report. moreover, the prologue attached to it distinctly states that ananias, a provincial warden in the reign of flavius theodosius (towards the middle of the fifth century), found these acts written in hebrew by nicodemus, and that he translated them into greek.( ) the work itself, therefore, only pretends to be a private composition in hebrew, and does not claim any relation to pontius pilate. the greek is very corrupt and { } degraded, and considerations of style alone would assign it to the fifth century, as would still more imperatively the anachronisms with which it abounds. tischendorf considers that tertullian refers to the same work as justin, but it is evident that he infers an official report, for he says distinctly, after narrating the circumstances of the crucifixion and resurrection: "all these facts regarding christ, pilate.... reported to the reigning emperor tiberius."( ) it is extremely probable that in saying this tertullian merely extended the statement of justin. he nowhere states that he himself had seen this report, nor does justin, and as is the case with the latter, some of the facts which tertullian supposes to be reported by pilate are not contained in the apocryphal work.( ) there are still extant some apocryphal writings in the form of official reports made by pilate of the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of jesus,( ) but none are of very ancient date. it is certain that, on the supposition that pilate may have made an official report of events so important in their estimation, christian writers; with greater zeal than conscience, composed fictitious reports in his name, in the supposed interest of their religion, and there was in that day little or no critical sense to detect and discredit such forgeries. there is absolutely no evidence to show that justin was acquainted with any official report of pilate to the roman emperor, nor indeed is it easy to understand how he could possibly have been, even if such a document existed, and it is most probable, as { } scholten conjectures, that justin merely referred to documents which tradition supposed to have been written, but of which he himself had no personal knowledge.( ) be this as it may, as he considered the incident of the judgment seat a fulfilment of prophecy, there can be little or no doubt that it was narrated in the memoirs which contained "everything relating to jesus christ," and finding it there he all the more naturally assumed that it must have been mentioned in any official report. in narrating the agony in the garden, there are further variations. justin says: "and the passage: 'all my bones are poured out and dispersed like water; my heart has become like wax melting in the midst of my belly,' was a prediction of that which occurred to him that night when they came out against him to the mount of olives to seize him. for in the memoirs composed, i say, by his apostles and their followers, it is recorded that his sweat fell down like drops while he prayed, saying: 'if possible, let this cup pass.'"( ) it will be observed that this is a direct quotation from the memoirs, but there is a material difference from our gospels. luke is the only gospel which mentions the bloody sweat, and there the account reads (xxii. ), "as it were drops of blood falling down to the ground." [--greek--] [--greek--] in addition to the other linguistic differences justin omits the emphatic [--greek--] which gives the whole point to luke's account, and which evidently could not have been in the text of the memoirs. semisch argues that [--greek--] alone, especially in medical phraseology, meant { } "drops of blood," without the addition of [--greek--];(l) but the author of the third gospel did not think so, and undeniably makes use of both, and justin does not. moreover, luke introduces the expression [--greek--] to show the intensity of the agony, whereas justin evidently did not mean to express "drops of blood" at all, his intention in referring to the sweat being to show that the prophecy: "all my bones are poured out, &c, like water," had been fulfilled, with which the reading in his memoirs more closely corresponded. the prayer also so directly quoted decidedly varies from luke xxii. , which reads: "father, if thou be willing to remove this cup from me ": [--greek--] [--greek--] in matthew xxvi. this part of the prayer is more like the reading of justin: "father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me "--[--greek--] but that gospel has nothing of the sweat of agony, which excludes it from consideration. in another place justin also quotes the prayer in the garden as follows: "he prayed, saying: 'father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;' and besides this, praying, he said: 'not as i wish, but as thou willest.'"( ) the first phrase in this place, apart from some transposition of words, agrees with matthew; but even if this reading be preferred of the two, the absence of the incident of the sweat of agony from the first gospel renders it impossible to regard it as the source; and, further, the second part of the prayer which is here { } given differs materially both from the first and third gospels. [--greek--] the two parts of this prayer, moreover, seem to have been separate in the memoirs, for not only does justin not quote the latter portion at all in dial. , but here he markedly divides it from the former. justin knows nothing of the episode of the angel who strengthens jesus, which is related in luke xxii. . there is, however, a still more important point to mention: that although verses , with the incidents of the angel and the bloody sweat are certainly in a great number of mss., they are omitted by some of the oldest codices, as for instance by the alexandrian and vatican mss.( ) it is evident that in this part justin's memoirs differed from our first and third gospels much in the same way that they do from each other. in the same chapter justin states that when the jews went out to the mount of olives to take jesus, "there was not even a single man to run to his help as a guiltless person."( ) this is in direct contradiction to all the gospels,( ) and justin not only completely ignores the episode of the ear of malchus, but in this passage in the sinaitic codex they are marked for omission by a later hand. lachmann brackets, and drs. westcott and hort double-bracket them. the ms. evidence may bo found in detail in scrivener's int. to crit. n. t. nd ed. p. , stated in the way which is most favourable for the authenticity. { } excludes it, and his gospel could not have contained it.( ) luke is specially marked in generalizing the resistance of those about jesus to his capture: "when they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him: lord, shall we smite with the sword? and a certain one of them smote the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear."( ) as this episode follows immediately after the incident of the bloody sweat and prayer in the garden, and the statement of justin occurs in the very same chapter in which he refers to them, this contradiction further tends to confirm the conclusion that justin employed a different gospel. it is quite in harmony with the same peculiar account that justin states that, "after he (jesus) was crucified, all his friends (the apostles) stood aloof from him, having denied him( ).... (who, after he rose from the dead, and after they were convinced by himself that before his passion he had told them that he must suffer these things, and that they were foretold by the prophets, repented of their flight from him when he was crucified), and while remaining among them he sang praises to god, as is made evident in the memoirs of the apostles."( ) justin, therefore, repeatedly asserts that _after_ the crucifixion all the apostles forsook him, and he extends the denial of peter { } to the whole of the twelve. it is impossible to consider this distinct and reiterated affirmation a mere extension of the passage: "they all forsook him and fled "[--greek--],( ) when jesus was arrested, which proceeded mainly from momentary fear.( ) justin seems to indicate that the disciples withdrew from and denied jesus when they saw him crucified, from doubts which consequently arose as to his messianic character. now, on the contrary, the canonical gospels represent the disciples as being together after the crucifixion.( ) justin does not exhibit any knowledge of the explanation given by the angels at the sepulchre as to christ's having foretold all that had happened,( ) but makes this proceed from jesus himself. indeed, he makes no mention of these angels at all. there are some traces elsewhere of the view that the disciples were offended after the crucifixion.( ) hilgenfeld points out the appearance of special petrine tendency in this passage, in the fact that it is not peter alone, but all the apostles, who are said to deny their master; and he suggests that an indication of the source from which justin quoted may be obtained from the kindred quotation in the epistle to the smyrnæans (iii.) by pseudo-ignatius: "for i know that also after his resurrection he was in the flesh, and i believe that he is so now. and when he came to those that were with peter, he said to them: lay hold, handle me, and see that i am { } not an incorporeal spirit. and immediately they touched him and believed, being convinced by his flesh and spirit." jerome, it will be remembered, found this in the gospel according to the hebrews used by the nazarenes, which he translated,( ) from which we have seen that justin in all probability derived other particulars differing from the canonical gospels, and with which we shall constantly meet, in a similar way, in examining justin's quotations. origen also found it in a work called the "doctrine of peter" [--greek--],( ) which must have been akin to the "preaching of peter" [--greek--].( ) hilgenfeld suggests that, in the absence of more certain information, there is no more probable source from which justin may have derived his statement than the gospel according to peter, or the gospel according to the hebrews, which is known to have contained so much in the same spirit.( ) it may well be expected that, at least in touching such serious matters as the crucifixion and last words of jesus, justin must adhere with care to authentic records, and not fall into the faults of loose quotation from memory, free handling of texts, and careless omissions and additions, by which those who maintain the identity of the memoirs with the canonical gospels seek to explain the systematic variations of justin's quotations from the text of the latter. it will, however, be found that here also marked discrepancies occur. justin says, after referring to numerous prophecies regarding the treatment of christ: "and again, when he says: 'they spake with their lips, they wagged the head, saying: let him { } deliver himself.' that all these things happened to the christ from the jews, you can ascertain. for when he was being crucified they shot out the lips, and wagged their heads, saying: 'let him who raised the dead deliver himself.'"( ) and in another place, referring to the same psalm (xxii.) as a prediction of what was to happen to jesus, justin says: "for they who saw him crucified also wagged their heads, each one of them, and distorted [--greek--] their lips, and sneeringly and in scornful irony repeated among themselves those words which are also written in the memoirs of his apostles: he declared himself the son of god; (let him) come down, let him walk about; let god save him."( ) in both of these passages justin directly appeals to written authority. the [--greek--] may leave the source of the first uncertain,( ) but the second is distinctly stated to contain the actual words "written in the memoirs of his apostles," and it seems reasonable to suppose that the former passage is also derived from them. it is scarcely necessary to add that both differ very materially from the canonical gospels.( ) the taunt canon westcott admits that in the latter passage justin does profess to give the exact words which were recorded in the memoirs, and that they are not to be found in our gospels; "but," he apologetically adds, "we do find these others so closely connected with them that few readers would feel the difference"! this is a specimen of apologetic criticism. dr. westcott goes on to say that as no ms. or father known to him has preserved any reading more closely resembling justin's, "if it appear not to be deducible from our gospels, due allowance being made for the object which he had in view, its source) must remain concealed." on the canon, p. f. cf. matt, xxvii. -- ; mark xv. -- ; luke xxiii. -- . { } contained in the first of these passages is altogether peculiar to justin: "let him who raised the dead deliver himself" [--greek--];( ) and even if justin did not himself indicate a written source, it would not be reasonable to suppose that he should himself for the first time record words to which he refers as the fulfilment of prophecy.( ) it would be still more ineffectual to endeavour to remove the difficulty presented by such a variation by attributing the words to tradition, at the same time that it is asserted that justin's memoirs were actually identical with the gospels. no aberration of memory could account for such a variation, and it is impossible that justin should prefer tradition regarding a form of words, so liable to error and alteration, with written gospels within his reach. besides, to argue that justin affirmed that the truth of his statement could be ascertained [--greek--], whilst the words which he states to have been spoken were not actually recorded, would be against all reason. the second of the mocking speeches ( ) of the lookers-on is referred distinctly to the memoirs of the apostles, but is also, with the accompanying description, foreign the nearest parallel in our gospels is in luke xxiii. . "he saved others, let him save himself if this man be the christ of god, his chosen." [--greek--] semisch argues that both forms are quotations of the same sentence, and that there is consequently a contradiction in the very quotations themselves; but there can be no doubt whatever that the two phrases are distinct parts of the mockery, and the very same separation and variation occur in each of the canonical gospels. die ap. denkw. mart. just., p. ; cf. hilgenfeld, die ew. justin's, p. . { } to our gospels. the nearest approach to it occurs in our first gospel, and we subjoin both passages for comparison: [--greek--] it is evident that justin's version is quite distinct from this, and cannot have been taken from our gospels,( ) although professedly derived from the memoirs of the apostles. justin likewise mentions the cry of jesus on the cross, "o god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" [--greek--];( ) as a fulfilment of the words of the psalm, which he quotes here, and elsewhere,( ) with the peculiar addition of the septuagint version, "attend to me" [--greek--], which, however, he omits when giving the cry of jesus, thereby showing that he follows a written source which did not contain it, for the quotation of the psalm, and of { } the cry which is cited to show that it refers to christ, immediately follow each other. he apparently knows nothing whatever of the chaldaic cry, "eli, eli, lama sabacthani" of the gospels.( ) the first and second gospels give the words of the cry from the chaldaic differently from justin, from the version of the lxx., and from each other. matthew xxvii. , [--greek--] the third gospel makes no mention at all of this cry, but instead has one altogether foreign to the other gospels: "and jesus cried with a loud voice, and said: father, into thy hands i commend my spirit: and having said this, he expired."( ) justin has this cry also, and in the same form as the third gospel. he says: "for when he (jesus) was giving up his spirit on the cross, he said: 'father, into thy hands i commend my spirit,' as i have also learned from the memoirs."( ) justin's gospel, therefore, contained both cries, and as even the first two synoptics mention a second cry of jesus( ) without, however, giving the words, it is not surprising that other gospels should have existed which included both. even if we had no trace of this cry in any other ancient work, there would be no ground for asserting that justin must have derived it from the third gospel, for if there be any historical truth in the statement that these words were actually spoken by jesus, it follows of course that they may have been, and probably were, reported in a dozen christian writings now { } no longer extent, and in all probability they existed in some of the many works referred to in the prologue to the third gospel. both cries, however, are given in the gospel of nieodemus, or gesta pilati, to which reference has already so frequently been made. in the greek versions edited by teschendorf we find only the form contained in luke. in the codex a, the passage reads: "and crying with a loud voice, jesus said: father, baddach ephkid rouchi, that is, interpreted: 'into thy hands i commend my spirit;' and having said this he gave up the ghost."(l) in the codex b, the text is: "then jesus having called out with a loud voice: 'father, into thy hands will i commend my spirit,' expired."( ) in the ancient latin version, however, both cries are given: "and about the ninth hour jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, hely, hely, lama zabacthani, which interpreted is: 'my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me.' and after this, jesus said: 'father, into thy hands i commend my spirit': and saying this, he gave up the ghost."( ) one of the codices of the same apocryphal work likewise gives the taunting speeches of the jews in a form more nearly approaching that of justin's memoirs { } than any found in our gospels. "and the jews that stood and looked ridiculed him, and said: if thou saidst truly that thou art the son of god, come down from the cross, and at once, that we may believe in thee. others ridiculing, said: he saved others, he healed others, and restored the sick, the paralytic, lepers, demoniacs, the blind, the lame, the dead, and himself he cannot heal."( ) the fact that justin actually refers to certain acta pilati in connection with the crucifixion renders this coincidence all the more important. other texts of this gospel read: "and the chief priests, and the rulers with them, derided him, saying: he saved others, let him save himself; if he is the son of god, let him come down from the cross."( ) it is clear from the whole of justin's treatment of the narrative, that he followed a gospel adhering more closely than the canonical to the psalm xxii., but yet with peculiar variations from it. our gospels differ very much from each other; justin's memoirs of the apostles in like manner differed from them. it had its characteristic features clearly and sharply defined. in this way his systematic variations are natural and perfectly intelligible, but they become totally inexplicable if it be supposed that, having our gospels for his source, he thus ev. niood., pars. i. a. x.; tischendorf ev. apocr., p. ; cf. thilo. cod. apocr. n. t., p. ; fabricius, cod. apocr. n. t., i. p. ; tiachendorf ib., p. . there are differences between all these texts--indeed there are scarcely two mss. which agree--clearly indicating that wo have now nothing but corrupt versions of a more ancient text. { } persistently and in so arbitrary a way ignored, modified, or contradicted their statements. upon two occasions justin distinctly states that the jews sent persons throughout the world to spread calumnies against christians. "when you knew that he had risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, as the prophets had foretold, not only did you (the jews) not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but at that time you selected and sent forth from jerusalem throughout the land chosen men, saying that the atheistic heresy of the christians had arisen/' &c.( ).... "from a certain jesus, a galilrean impostor, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole him by night from the tomb where he had been laid when he was unloosed from the cross, and they now deceive men, saying that he has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven."( ) this circumstance is not mentioned by our gospels, but, reiterated twice by justin in almost the same words, it was in all probability contained in the memoirs. eusebius quotes the passage from justin, without comment, evidently on account of the information which it conveyed. these instances, which, although far from complete, have already occupied too much of our space, show that justin quotes from the memoirs of the apostles many statements and facts of gospel history which are not only foreign to our gospels, but in some cases contradictory to them, whilst the narrative of the most solemn events in the life of jesus presents distinct and systematic variations from parallel passages in the synoptic records. { } it will now be necessary to compare his general quotations from the same memoirs with the canonical gospels, and here a very wide field opens before us. as we have already stated, justin's works teem with these quotations, and to take them all in detail would be impossible within the limits of this work. such a course, moreover, is unnecessary. it may be broadly stated that even those who maintain the use of the canonical gospels can only point out two or three passages out of this vast array which verbally agree with them.( ) this extraordinary anomaly--on the supposition that justin's memoirs were in fact our gospels--is, as we have mentioned, explained by the convenient hypothesis that justin quotes imperfectly from memory, interweaves and modifies texts, and in short freely manipulates these gospels according to his argument. even strained to the uttermost, however, could this be accepted as a reasonable explanation of such systematic variation, that only twice or thrice out of the vast number of his quotations does he literally agree with passages in them? in order to illustrate the case with absolute impartiality we shall first take the instances brought forward as showing agreement with our synoptic gospels. teschendorf only cites two passages in support of his affirmation that justin makes use of our first gospel.( ) it might be supposed that, in selecting these, at least two might have been produced literally agreeing, but this is { } not the case, and this may be taken as an illustration of the almost universal variation of justin's quotations. the first of teschendorf s examples is the supposed use of matthew viii. , : "many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down," &c. [--greek--]. now this passage is repeated by justin no less than three times in three very distinct parts of his dialogue with trypho,( ) with a uniform variation from the text of matthew--_they_ shall come from the _west_ and from the east," &c. &c. [--greek--]( ) that a historical saying of jesus should be reproduced in many gospels, and that no particular work can have any prescriptive right to it, must be admitted, so that even if the passage in justin agreed literally with our first synoptic, it would not afford any proof of the actual use of that gospel; but when on the contrary justin upon three several occasions, and at distinct intervals of time, repeats the passage with the same persistent variation from the reading in matthew, not only can it not be ascribed to that gospel, but there is reason to conclude that justin derived it from another source. it may be added that [--greek--] is anything but a word uncommon in the vocabulary of justin, and that elsewhere, for instance, he twice quotes a passage similar to one in matthew, in which, amongst other variations, he reads "_many_ shall come [--greek--]," instead of the phrase found in that gospel.( ) the second example adduced by tischendorf is the supposed quotation of matthew xii. ; but in order fully { } to comprehend the nature of the affirmation, we quote the context of the gospel and of justin in parallel columns:-- [--greek--] now it is clear that justin here directly professes to quote from the memoirs, and consequently that accuracy may be expected; but passing over the preliminary substitution of "some of your nation," for "certain of the scribes and pharisees," although it recalls the "some of them," and "others," by which the parallel passage, otherwise so different, is introduced in luke xi. , , ff.,( ) the question of the jews, which should be literal, is quite different from that of the first gospel, whilst there are variations in the reply of jesus, which, if not so important, are still undeniable. we cannot compare with the first gospel the parallel passages in the second and third gospels without recognizing that other works may have narrated the { } same episode with similar variations, and whilst the distinct differences which exist totally exclude the affirmation that justin quotes from matthew, everything points to the conclusion that he makes use of another source. this is confirmed by another important circumstance. after enlarging during the remainder of the chapter upon the example of the people of nineveh, justin commences the next by returning to the answer of jesus, and making the following statement: "and though all of your nation were acquainted with these things which occurred to jonah, and christ proclaimed among you, that he would give you the sign of jonah, exhorting you at least after his resurrection from the dead to repent of your evil deeds, and like the ninevites to supplicate god, that your nation and city might not be captured and destroyed as it has been destroyed; yet not only have you not repented on learning his resurrection from the dead, but as i have already said,( ) you sent chosen( ) and select men throughout all the world, proclaiming that an atheistic and impious heresy had arisen from a certain jesus, a galilaean impostor," &c. &c.( ) now not only do our gospels not mention this mission, as we have already pointed out, but they do not contain the exhortation to repent at least after the resurrection of jesus here referred to, and which evidently must have formed part of the episode in the memoirs. tischendorf does not produce any other instances of supposed quotations of justin from matthew, but rests his case upon these. as these are the best examples apparently which he can point out, we may judge of the { } weakness of his argument. do wette divides the quotations of justin which may be compared with our first and third gospels into several categories. regarding the first class, he says: "some agree quite literally, which, however, is seldom: "( ) and under this head he can only collect three passages of matthew and refer to one of luke. of the three from matthew the first is that, viii. , ,( ) also brought forward by teschendorf, of which we have already disposed. the second is matt. v. : "for i say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." a parallel passage to this exists in dial. , a chapter in which there are several quotations not found in our gospels at all, with the exception that the first words, "for i say unto you that," are not in justin. we shall speak of this passage presently. de wette's third passage is matt. vii. : "every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire," which, with the exception of one word, "but," at the commencement of the sentence in justin, also agrees with his quotation.( ) in these two short passages there are no peculiarities specially pointing to the first gospel as their source, and it cannot be too often repeated that the mere coincidence of short historical sayings in two works by no means warrants the conclusion that the one is dependent on the other. in order, however, to enable the reader to form a correct estimate of the value of the similarity of the two passages above noted, and also at the same time to examine a considerable body of evidence, selected with { } evident impartiality, we propose to take all justin's readings of the sermon on the mount, from which the above passages are taken, and compare them with our gospels. this should furnish a fair test of the composition of the memoirs of the apostles. taking first, for the sake of continuity, the first apology, we find that chapters xv., xvi., xvii., are composed almost entirely of examples of what jesus himself taught, introduced by the remark with which chapter xiv. closes, that: "brief and concise sentences were uttered by him, for he was not a sophist, but his word was the power of god."( ) it may broadly be affirmed that, with the exception of the few words quoted above by de wette, not a single quotation of the words of jesus in these three chapters agrees with the canonical gospels. we shall however confine ourselves at present to the sermon on the mount. we must mention that justin's text is quite continuous, except where we have inserted asterisks. we subjoin justin's quotations, together with' the parallel passages in our gospels, side by side, for greater facility of comparison.( ) [--greek--] how completely this description contradicts the representation of the fourth gospel of the discourses of jesus. it seems clearly to indicate that justin had no knowledge of that gospel. it need not be said that the variations between the quotations of justin and the text of our gospels must be looked for only in the greek. for the sake of the reader unacquainted with greok, however, we shall endeavour as far as possible to indicate in translation where differences exist, although this cannot of course be fully done, nor often, without being more literal than is desirable. whore it is not necessary to amend the authorized version of the new testament for the sake of more closely following the text, and marking differences from justin, wo shall adopt it. we divide the quotations where desirable by initial letters, in order to assist reference at the end of our quotations from the sermon on the mount. { } [---greek---] matt. v. , , it will be remembered, are repeated with some variation and also reversed in order, and with a totally different context, matt, xviii. , . the latter verse, the greek of the concluding part of which we give above, approximates more nearly in form to justin's, but is still widely different. "and if thine eye ('right' omitted) offend thee pluck it out and cast it from theo; it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." the sequence of matt. v. , , points specially to it. the double occurrence of this passage, however, with a different context, and with the order reversed in matthew, renders it almost certain that the two passages a. and b. were separate in the memoirs. the reading of mark ix. , is equally distinct from justin's: and if thine eye offend thee cast it out [--greek--]; it is good for thee [--greek--] to enter into the kingdom of god [--greek--] with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell, [--greek--] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] in the first gospel the subject breaks off at the end of v. . v. may be compared with justin's continuation, but it is fundamentally different. the parallel passages in luke vi. , , present still greater variations. we have given vi. above, as nearer justin than matt. v. . it will be remarked that to find a parallel for justin's continuation, without break, of the subject, we must jump from matt. v. , , to vi. , . { } [---greek---] this phrase, it will bo observed, is also introduced higher up in the passage, and its repetition in such a manner, with the same variations, emphatically demonstrates the unity of the whole quotation. there is no parallel to this in the first gospel. matt. v. , is too remote in sense as well as language. the first part of v. is quite different from the context in justin: "that ye may be sons of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh," &c, &c. { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] { } [---greek---] we have taken the whole of justin's quotations from the sermon on the mount not only because, adopting so large a test, there can be no suspicion that we select passages for any special purpose, but also because, on the contrary, amongst these quotations are more of the passages claimed as showing the use of our gospels than any series which could have been selected. it will have been observed that most of the passages follow each other in unbroken sequence in justin, for with the exception of a short break between y and the whole extract down to the end of is continuous, as indeed, after another brief interruption at the end of i, it is again to the close of the very long and remarkable passage k. with two exceptions, therefore, the whole of these quotations from the sermon on the mount occur consecutively in two succeeding chapters of justin's first apology, and one passage follows in the next chapter. only a single passage comes from a distant part of the dialogue with trypho. these passages are bound together by clear unity of idea and context, and as, where there is a separation of sentences in his gospel, justin clearly marks it by [--greek--], there is every reason to decide that those quotations which are continuous in form and in argument were likewise consecutive in the memoirs. now the hypothesis that these quotations are from the { } canonical gospels requires the assumption of the fact that justin, with singular care, collected from distant and scattered portions of those gospels a series of passages in close sequence to each other, forming a whole unknown to them but complete in itself, and yet, although this is carefully performed, he at the same time with the most systematic carelessness misquoted and materially altered almost every precept he professes to cite. the order of the canonical gospels is as entirely set at naught as their language is disregarded. as hilgenfeld has pointed out, throughout the whole of this portion of his quotations the undeniable endeavour after accuracy, on the one hand, is in the most glaring contradiction with the monstrous carelessness on the other, if it be supposed that our gospels are the source from which justin quotes. nothing is more improbable than the conjecture that he made use of the canonical gospels, and we must accept the conclusion that justin quotes with substantial correctness the expressions in the order in which he found them in his peculiar gospel.( ) it is a most arbitrary proceeding to dissect a passage, quoted by justin as a consecutive and harmonious whole, and finding parallels more or less approximate to its various phrases scattered up and down distant parts of our gospels, scarcely one of which is not materially different from the reading of justin, to assert that he is quoting these gospels freely from memory, altering, excising, combining, and interweaving texts, and introverting their order, but nevertheless making use of them and not of others. it is perfectly obvious that such an assertion is nothing but the merest assumption. our synoptic gospels themselves condemn { } it utterly, for precisely similar differences of order and language exist in them and distinguish between them. not only the language but the order of a quotation must have its due weight, and we have no right to dismember a passage and, discovering fragmentary parallels in various parts of the gospels, to assert that it is compiled from them and not derived, as it stands, from another source.( ) as an illustration from our gospels, let us for a moment suppose the "gospel according to luke" to have been lost, like the "gospel according to the hebrews" and so many others. in the works of one of the fathers, we discover the following quotation from an unnamed evangelical work: "and he said unto them [--greek--]: the harvest truly is great but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. go your ways: [--greek--] behold i send you forth as lambs [--greek--] in the midst of wolves." following the system adopted in regard to justin, apologetic critics would of course maintain that this was a compilation from memory of passages quoted freely from our first gospel, that is to say matt. ix. . "then saith he unto his disciples [--greek--] the harvest," &c, and matt. x. , "behold i [--greek--] send you forth as sheep [--greek--] in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore," &c, which, with the differences which we have indicated, agree. it would probably be in vain for the arguments of apologetic criticism, the reader may be referred to canon westcott's work on the canon, p. -- . dr. westcott does not, of course, deny the fact that justin's quotations are different from the text of our gospels, but he accounts for his variations ou grounds which seem to us purely imaginary. it is evident that, so long as there are such variations to be explained away, at least no proof of identity is possible. { } to argue that the quotation indicated a continuous order, and the variations combined to confirm the probability of a different source, and still more so to point out that, although parts of the quotation separated from their context might to a certain extent correspond with scattered verses in the first gospel, such a circumstance was no proof that the quotation was taken from that and from no other gospel. the passage, however, is a literal quotation from luke x. , , which, as we have assumed, had been lost. again, still supposing the third gospel no longer extant, we might find the following quotation in a work of the fathers: "take heed to yourselves [--greek--] of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy [--greek--]. for there is nothing covered up [--greek--] which shall not be revealed, and hid which shall not be known." it would of course be affirmed that this was evidently a combination of two verses of our first gospel quoted almost literally, with merely a few very immaterial slips of memory in the parts we note, and the explanatory words "which is hypocrisy" introduced by the father, and not a part of the quotation at all. the two verses are matt. xvi. : "beware and [--greek--] take heed of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees" [--greek--] and matt. x. .... "for [--greek--] there is nothing covered [--greek--] that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known." the sentence would in fact be divided as in the case of justin, and each part would have its parallel pointed out in separate portions of the gospel. how wrong such a system is--and it is precisely that which is adopted with regard to justin--is clearly established by the fact that the quotation, { } instead of being such a combination, is simply taken from the gospel according to luke xii. , , as it stands. to give one more example, and such might easily be multiplied, if our second gospel had been lost, and the following passage were met with in one of the fathers without its source being indicated, what would be the argument of those who insist that justin's quotations, though differing from our gospels, were yet taken from them? "if any one have [--greek--] ears to hear let him hear. and he said unto them: take heed what [--greek--] ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you: and more shall be given unto you. for he [--greek--] that hath to him shall be given, and he [--greek--] that hath not from him shall be taken even that which he hath." upon the principle on which justin's quotations are treated, it would certainly be affirmed positively that this passage was a quotation from our first and third gospels combined and made from memory. the exigencies of the occasion might probably cause the assertion to be made that the words: "and he said to them," really indicated a separation of the latter part of the quotation from the preceding, and that the father thus showed that the passage was not consecutive; and as to the phrase: "and more shall be given unto you," that it was evidently an addition of the father. the passage would be dissected, and its different members compared with scattered sentences, and declared almost literal quotations from the canonical gospels: matt. xiii. . he that hath [--greek--] ears to hear let him hear."(l) luke viii. , "take heed therefore how [--greek--] ye hear." matt. vii. ... "with what measure ye { } mete it shall be measured to you."( ) matt. xiii. : "for whosoever [--greek--] hath, to him shall be given (and he shall have abundance); but whosoever [--greek--] hath not from him shall be taken even that which he hath." a in spite of these ingenious assertions, however, the quotation in reality is literally and consecutively taken from mark iv. -- . these examples may suffice to show that any argument which commences by the assumption that the order of a passage quoted may be entirely disregarded, and that it is sufficient to find parallels scattered irregularly up and down the gospels to warrant the conclusion that the passage is compiled from them, and is not a consecutive quotation from some other source, is utterly unfounded and untenable. the supposition of a lost gospel which has just been made to illustrate this argument is, however, not a mere supposition as applied to justin but a fact, for we no longer have the gospel according to peter nor that according to the hebrews, not to mention the numerous other works in use in the early church. the instances we have given show the importance of the order as well as the language of justin's quotations, and while they prove the impossibility of demonstrating that a consecutive passage which differs not only in language but in order from the parallels in our gospels must be derived from them, they likewise prove the probability that such passages are actually quoted from a different source. if we examine further, however, in the same way, quotations which differ merely in language, we arrive at the very same conclusion. supposing the third gospel to be lost, what would be the source assigned to the { } following quotation from an unnamed gospel in the work of one of the fathers? "no servant [--greek--] can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. ye cannot serve god and mammon." of course the passage would be claimed as a quotation from memory of matt. vi. , with which it perfectly corresponds with the exception of the addition of the second word [--greek--], which, it would no doubt be argued, is an evident and very natural amplification of the simple [--greek--] of the first gospel. yet this passage, only differing by the single word from matthew, is a literal quotation from the gospel according to luke xvi. . or, to take another instance, supposing the third gospel to be lost, and the following passage quoted, from an unnamed source, by one of the fathers: "beware [--greek--] of the scribes which desire to walk in long robes, and love [--greek--] greetings in the markets, and chief seats in the synagogues and uppermost places at feasts; which devour widows( ) houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation." this would without hesitation be declared a quotation from memory of mark xii.. - ".... beware [--greek--] of the scribes which desire to walk in long robes and greetings in the markets, and chief seats in the synagogues and uppermost places at feasts: which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive," &c. it is however a literal quotation of luke xx. , ; yet probably it would be in vain to submit to apologetic critics that possibly, not to say probably, the passage was not derived from mark but from a lost gospel. to quote one more instance, let us { } suppose the "gospel according to mark" no longer extant, and that in some early work there existed the following quotation: "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye [--greek--] of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god." this would of course be claimed as a quotation from memory of matt. xix. ,( ) with which it agrees with the exception of the substitution of [--greek--] for the [--greek--]. it would not the less have been an exact quotation from mark x. .( ) we have repeatedly pointed out that the actual agreement of any saying of jesus, quoted by one of the early fathers from an unnamed source, with a passage in our gospels is by no means conclusive evidence that the quotation was actually derived from that gospel. it must be apparent that literal agreement in reporting short and important sayings is not in itself so surprising as to constitute proof that, occurring in two histories, the one must have copied from the other. the only thing which is surprising is that such frequent inaccuracy should occur. when we add, however, the fact that most of the larger early evangelical works, including our synoptic gospels, must have been compiled out of the same original sources, and have been largely indebted to each other, the common possession of such sayings becomes { } a matter of natural occurrence. moreover, it must be admitted even by apologetic critics that, in a case of such vast importance as the report of sayings of jesus, upon the verbal accuracy of which the most essential doctrines of christianity depend, it cannot be considered strange if various gospels report the same saying in the same words. practically, the synoptic gospels differ in their reports a great deal more than is right or desirable; but we may take them as an illustration of the fact, that identity of passages, where the source is unnamed, by no means proves that such passages in a work of the early fathers were derived from one gospel, and not from any other. let us suppose our first gospel to have been lost, and the following quotation from an unnamed source to be found in an early work: "every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." this being in literal agreement with luke iii. , would certainly be declared by modern apologists conclusive proof that the father was acquainted with that gospel, and although the context in the work of the father might for instance be: "ye shall know them from their works, and every tree," &c, &c, and yet in the third gospel, the context is: "and now also, the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: and every tree," &c, that would by no means give them pause. the explanation of combination of texts, and quotation from memory, is sufficiently elastic for every emergency. now the words in question might in reality be a quotation from the lost gospel according to matthew, in which they twice occur, so that here is a passage which is literally repeated three times, matthew iii. , vii. , and luke iii . in matthew iii. , and in the third gospel, the words are part of a saying of john the { } baptist; whilst in matthew vii. , they are given as part of the sermon on the mount, with a different context, this passage is actually quoted by justin (k ), with the context: "ye shall know them from their works," which is different from that in any of the three places in which the words occur in our synoptics and, on the grounds we have clearly established, it cannot be considered in any case as necessarily a quotation from our gospels, but, on the contrary, there are good reasons for the very opposite conclusion. another illustration of this may be given, by supposing the gospel of luke to be no longer extant, and the following sentence in one of the fathers: "and ye shall be hated by all men, for my name's sake." these very words occur both in matthew x. , and mark xiii. , in both of which places there follow the words: "but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." there might here have been a doubt, as to whether the father derived the words from the first or second gospel, but they would have been ascribed either to the one or to the other, whilst in reality they were taken from a different work altogether, luke xxi. . here again, we have the same words in three gospels. in how many more may not the same passage have been found? one more instance to conclude. the following passage might be quoted from an unnamed source by one of the fathers: "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." if the gospel according to mark were no longer extant, this would be claimed as a quotation either from matthew xxiv. , or luke xxi. , in both of which it occurs, but, notwithstanding, the father might not have been acquainted with either of them, and simply have quoted from mark { } xiii. . and here again, the three gospels contain the same passage without variation. now in all these cases, not only is the selection of the gospel from which the quotation was actually taken completely an open question, since they all have it, but still more is the point uncertain, when it is considered that many other works may also have contained it, historical sayings being naturally common property. does the agreement of the quotation with a passage which is equally found in the three gospels prove the existence of all of them? and if not, how is the gospel from which it was actually taken to be distinguished? if it be difficult to do so, how much more when the possibility and probability, demonstrated by the agreement of the three extant, that it might have formed part of a dozen other works is taken into account in the case of justin, it is simply absurd and unreasonable, in the face of his persistent variation from our gospels, to assert positively that his quotations are derived from them. it must have been apparent to all that, throughout his quotation from the "sermon on the mount," justin follows an order which is quite different from that in our synoptic gospels, and as might have been expected, the inference of a different source, which is naturally suggested by this variation in order, is more than confirmed by persistent and continuous variation in language. if it be true, that examples of confusion of quotation are to be found in the works of clement of alexandria, origen, and other fathers, it must at the same time be remembered, that these are quite exceptional, and we are { } scarcely in a position to judge how far confusion of memory may not have arisen from reminiscences of other forms of evangelical expressions occurring in apocryphal works, with which we know the fathers to have been well acquainted. the most vehement asserter of the identity of the memoirs with our gospels, however, must absolutely admit as a fact, explain it as he may, that variation from our gospel readings is the general rule in justin's quotations, and agreement with them the very rare exception. now, such a phenomenon is elsewhere unparalleled in those times, when memory was more cultivated than with us in these days of cheap printed books, and it is unreasonable to charge justin with such universal want of memory and carelessness about matters which he held so sacred, merely to support a foregone conclusion, when the recognition of a difference of source, indicated in every direction, is so much more simple, natural, and justifiable. it is argued that justin's quotations from the old testament likewise present constant variation from the text. this is true to a considerable extent, but they are not so persistently inaccurate as the quotations we are examining, supposing them to be derived from our gospels. this pica, however, is of no avail, for it is obvious that the employment of the old testament is not established merely by inaccurate citations; and it is quite undeniable that the use of certain historical documents out of many of closely similar, and in many parts probably identical, character cannot be proved by anonymous quotations differing from anything actually in these documents. there are very many of the quotations of justin which bear unmistakable marks of exactness and verbal { } accuracy, but which yet differ materially from our gospels, and most of his quotations from the sermon on the mount are of this kind. for instance, justin introduces the passages which we have marked a, b, c, with the words: "he (jesus) spoke thus of chastity,"(l) and after giving the quotations, a, b, and c, the first two of which, although finding a parallel in two consecutive verses, matthew v. , , are divided by the separating [--greek--], and therefore do not appear to have been united in his gospel, justin continues: "just as even those who with the sanction of human law contract a second marriage are sinners in the eye of our master, so also are those who look upon a woman to lust after her. for not only he who actually commits adultery is rejected by him, but also he who desires to commit adultery, since not our acts alone are open before god, but also our thoughts."( ) now it is perfectly clear that justin here professes to give the actual words of jesus, and then moralizes upon them; and both the quotation and his own subsequent paraphrase of it lose all their significance, if we suppose that justin did not correctly quote in the first instance, but actually commences by altering the text.( ) these passages a, b, and c, however, have all marked and characteristic variations from the gospel text, but as we have already shown, there is no reason for asserting that they are not accurate verbal quotations from another gospel. { } the passage is likewise a professed quotation,( ) but not only does it differ in language, but it presents deliberate transpositions in order which clearly indicate that justin's source was not our gospels. the nearest parallels in our gospels are found in matthew v. , followed by . the same remarks apply to the next passage �, which is introduced as a distinct quotation,( ) but which, like the rest, differs materially, linguistically and in order, from the canonical gospels. the whole of the passage is consecutive, and excludes the explanation of a mere patchwork of passages loosely put together, and very imperfectly quoted from memory. justin states that jesus taught that we should communicate to those who need, and do nothing for vain glory, and he then gives the very words of jesus in an unbroken and clearly continuous discourse. christians are to give to all who ask, and not merely to those from whom they hope to receive again, which would be no new thing--even the publicans do that; but christians must do more. they are not to lay up riches on earth, but in heaven, for it would not profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul; therefore, the teacher a second time repeats the injunction that christians should lay up treasures in heaven. if the unity of thought which binds this passage so closely together were not sufficient to prove that it stood in justin's gospel in the form and order in which he quotes it, the requisite evidence would be supplied by the repetition at its close of the injunction: "lay up, therefore, in the heavens," &c. it is impossible that justin should, through defect of memory, quote a second time in so short a passage the same injunction, if the passage were not thus appropriately terminated in { } his gospel. the common sense of the reader must at once perceive that it is impossible that justin, professedly quoting words of jesus, should thus deliberately fabricate a discourse rounded off by the repetition of one of its opening admonitions, with the addition of an argumentative "therefore." he must have found it so in the gospel from which he quotes. nothing indeed but the difficulty of explaining the marked variations presented by this passage, on the supposition that justin must quote from our gospels, could lead apologists to insinuate such a process of compilation, or question the consecutive character of this passage. the nearest parallels to the dismembered parts of this quotation, presenting everywhere serious variations, however, can only be found in the following passages in the order in which we cite them, matthew v. , luke vi. , matthew vi. , , xvi. , and a repetition of part of vi. , with variations. moreover, the expression: "what new thing do ye?" is quite peculiar to justin. we have already met with it in the preceding section . "if ye love them which love you, what _new_ thing do ye? for even," &c. here, in the same verse, we have: "if ye lend to them from whom ye hope to receive, what _new_ thing do ye? for even," &c. it is evident, both from its repetition and its distinct dogmatic view of christianity as a new teaching in contrast to the old, that this variation cannot have been the result of defective memory, but must have been the reading of the memoirs, and, in all probability, it was the original form of the teaching. such antithetical treatment is clearly indicated in many parts of the sermon on the mount: for instance, matthew v. , "ye have heard that it hath been said _by them of old_.... but _i_ say unto you,' &c, cf. v. , , . it is certain that { } the whole of the quotation e differs very materially from our gospels, and there is every reason to believe that not only was the passage not derived from them, but that it was contained in the memoirs of the apostles substantially in the form and order in which justin quotes it.( ) the next passage (f)( ) is separated from the preceding merely by the usual [--greek--] and it moves on to its close with the same continuity of thought and the same peculiarities of construction which characterize that which we have just considered. christians are to be kind and merciful [--greek--] to all as their father is, who makes his sun to shine alike on the good and evil, and they need not be anxious about their own temporal necessities: what they shall eat and what put on; are they not better than the birds and beasts whom god feedeth? therefore, they are not to be careful about what they are to eat and what put on, for their heavenly father knows they have need of these things; but they are to seek the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added: for where the treasure is--the thing he seeks and is careful about--there will also be the mind of the man. in fact, the passage is a suitable continuation of c, inculcating, like it, abstraction from worldly cares and thoughts in reliance on the heavenly father, and the mere fact that a separation is made where it is between the two passages c and £ shows further that each of those passages was complete in itself. there is absolutely no reason for the separating /cat, if these passages were a mere combination of scattered verses. this quotation, however, which is so consecutive in justin, can only find distant parallels in passages widely divided throughout the synoptic { } gospels, which have to be arranged in the following order: luke vi. , matt. v. , vi. , , , , , vi. , the whole of which present striking differences from justin's quotation. the repetition of the injunction "be not careful" again with the illative "therefore" is quite in the spirit of e. this admonition: "therefore, be not careful," &c, is reiterated no less than three times in the first gospel (vi , , ), and confirms the characteristic repetition of justin's gospel, which seems to have held a middle course between matthew and luke, the latter of which does not repeat the phrase, although the injunction is made a second time in more direct terms. the repetition of the passage: "be ye kind and merciful," &c, in dial. , with the same context and peculiarities, is a remarkable confirmation of the natural conclusion that justin quotes the passage from a gospel different from ours. the expression [--greek--] thrice repeated by justin himself, and supported by a similar duplication in the clementine homilies (iii. )( ) cannot possibly be an accidental departure from our gospels.( ) for the rest it is undeniable that the whole passage £ differs materially both in order and language from our gospels, from which it cannot without unwarrantable assumption be maintained to have been taken either collectively or in detail, and strong internal reasons lead us to conclude that it is quoted substantially as it stands from justin's { } gospel, which must have been different from our synoptics.( ) in again, we have an express quotation introduced by the words: "and regarding our being patient under injuries and ready to help all, and free from anger, this is what he said;" and then he proceeds to give the actual words.( ) at the close of the quotation he continues: "for we ought not to strive, neither would he have us be imitators of the wicked, but he has exhorted us by patience and gentleness to lead men from shame and the love of evil," &c., &c.( ) it is evident that these observations, which are a mere paraphrase of the text, indicate that the quotation itself is deliberate and precise. justin professes first to quote the actual teaching of jesus, and then makes his own comments; but if it be assumed that he began by concocting out of stray texts, altered to suit his purpose, a continuous discourse, the subsequent observations seem singularly useless and out of place. although the passage forms a consecutive and harmonious discourse, the nearest parallels in our gospels can only be found by uniting parts of the following scattered verses: matthew v. , , , , . the christian who is struck on one cheek is to turn the other, and not to resist those who would take away his cloak or coat; but if, on the contrary, he be angry, he is in danger of fire; if, then, he be compelled to go one mile, let him show his gentleness by going two, and thus let his good works shine before men that, seeing them, they may adore his father which is in heaven. it is evident that the last two sentences, which find their parallels in matt by putting v. after , the former verse having { } quite a different context in the gospel, must have so followed each other in justin's text. his purpose is to quote the teaching of jesus, "regarding our being patient under injuries, and ready to help all and free from anger," but his quotation of "let your good works shine before men," &c, has no direct reference to his subject, and it cannot reasonably be supposed that justin would have selected it from a separate part of the gospel. coming as it no doubt did in his memoirs in the order in which he quotes it, it is quite appropriate to his purpose. it is difficult, for instance, to imagine why justin further omitted the injunction in the parallel passage, matthew v. , "that ye resist not evil," when supposed to quote the rest of the verse, since his express object is to show that "we ought not to strive," &c. the whole quotation presents the same characteristics as those which we have already examined, and in its continuity of thought and wide variation from the parallels in our gospels, both in order and language, we must recognize a different and peculiar source.( ) the passage i, again, is professedly a literal quotation, for justin prefaces it with the words: "and regarding our not swearing at all, but ever speaking the truth, he taught thus;" and having in these words actually stated what jesus did teach, he proceeds to quote his very words.( ) in the quotation there is a clear departure from our gospel, arising, not from accidental failure-of memory, but from difference of source. the parallel passages in our gospels, so far as they exist at all, can only be found by taking part of matthew v. and joining it to v. , omitting the intermediate verses. the quotation in the { } epistle of james v. , which is evidently derived from a source different from matthew, supports the reading of justin. this, with the passage twice repeated in the clementine homilies in agreement with justin, and, it may be added, the peculiar version found in early ecclesiastical writings,( ) all tend to confirm the belief that there existed a more ancient form of the injunction which justin no doubt found in his memoirs.( ) the precept, terse, simple, and direct, as it is here, is much more in accordance with justin's own description of the teaching of jesus, as he evidently found it in his gospel, than the diffused version contained in the first gospel, v. -- . another remarkable and characteristic illustration of the peculiarity of justin's memoirs is presented by the long passage k, which is also throughout consecutive and bound together by clear unity of thought.( ) it is presented with the context: "for not those who merely make professions but those who do the works, as he (jesus) said, shall be saved. for he spake thus." it does not, therefore, seem possible to indicate more clearly the deliberate intention to quote the exact expressions of jesus, and yet not only do we find material difference from the language in the parallel passages in our gospels, but those parallels, such as they are, can only be made by patching together the following verses in the order in { } which we give them: matt. vii. , luke x. , matt. vii. , , xiii. , , vii. , part of , . it will be remarked that the passage (k ) luke x. , is thrust in between two consecutive verses in matthew, and taken from a totally different context as the nearest parallel to k of justin, although it is widely different from it, omitting altogether the most important words: "and doeth what i say." the repetition of the same phrase: "he that heareth me heareth him that sent me," in apol. i, ,( ) makes it certain that justin accurately quotes his gospel, whilst the omission of the words in that place: "and doeth what i say," evidently proceeds from the fact that they are an interruption of the phrase for which justin makes the quotation, namely, to prove that jesus is sent forth to reveal the father.( ) it may be well to compare justin's passage, k -- , with one occurring in the so-called second epistle of clement to the corinthians, iv. "let us not, therefore, only call him lord, for that will not save us. for he saith: 'not every one that saith to me, lord, lord, shall be saved, but he that worketh righteousness.'... the lord said: 'if ye be with me gathered together in my bosom, and do not my commandments, i will cast you off and say to you: depart from me; i know you not, whence you are, workers of iniquity.'"( ) the expression [--greek--] here strongly recalls the reading of justin.( ) this passage, which is foreign to { } our gospels, at least shows the existence of others containing parallel discourses with distinct variations. some of the quotations in this spurious epistle are stated to be taken from the "gospel according to the egyptians,"( ) which was in all probability a version of the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) the variations which occur in justin's repetition, in dial , of his quotation k are not important, because the more weighty departure from the gospel in the words "did we not eat and drink in thy name," [--greek--] is deliberately repeated,( ) and if, therefore, there be freedom of quotation it is free quotation not from the canonical, but from a different gospel.( ) origen's quotation( ) does not affect this conclusion, for the repetition of the phrase [--greek--] has the form of the gospel, and besides, which is much more important, we know that origen was well acquainted with the gospel according to the hebrews and other apocryphal works from which this may have been a reminiscence.( ) we must add, moreover, that the passage in dial appears in connection with others widely differing from our gospels. the passage k not only materially varies from the parallel in matt. xiii. , in language but in connection of ideas.( ) here also, upon examination, we must conclude that justin quotes from a source different from our { } gospels, and moreover, that his gospel gives with greater correctness the original form of the passage.( ) the weeping and gnashing of teeth are distinctly represented as the consequence when the wicked see the bliss of the righteous while they are sent into everlasting fire, and not as the mere characteristics of hell. it will be observed that the preceding passages k and , find parallels to a certain extent in matt. vii. , , although luke xiii. , , is in some respects closer to the reading of justin k , however, finds no continuation of parallel in matt, vii., from which the context comes, but we have to seek it in xiii. , . k , however, does find its continuing parallel in the next verse in luke xiii. , where we have "there shall be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of teeth when ye shall see abraham," &c there is here, it is evident, the connection of ideas which is totally lacking in matt. xiii. , , where the verses in question occur as the conclusion to the exposition of the parable of the tares. now, although it is manifest that luke xiii. , cannot possibly have been the source from which justin quotes, still the opening words and the sequence of ideas demonstrate the great probability that other gospels must have given, after k , a continuation which is wanting after matt. vii. , but which is indicated in the parallel luke xiii. ( , ) , and is somewhat closely followed in matt. xiii. , . when such a sequence is found in an avowed quotation from justin's gospel, it is certain that he must have found it there substantially as he quotes it. the passage k ,( ) "for many shall arrive," &c, is a very important one, and it departs { } emphatically from the parallel in our first gospel. instead of being, like the latter, a warning against false prophets, it is merely the announcement that many deceivers shall come. this passage is rendered more weighty by the fact that justin repeats it with little variation in dial. , and immediately after quotes a saying of jesus of only five words which is not found in our gospels, and then he repeats a quotation to the same effect in the shape of a warning: "beware of false prophets," &c, like that in matt. vii. , but still distinctly differing from it.( ) it is perfectly clear that justin quotes two separate passages.( ) it is impossible that he could intend to repeat the same quotation at an interval of only five words; it is equally impossible that, having quoted it in the one form, he could so immediately quote it in the other through error of memory.( ) the simple and very natural conclusion is that he found both passages in his gospel. the object for which he quotes would more than justify the quotation of both passages, the one referring to the many false christians and the other to the false prophets of whom he is speaking. that two passages so closely related should be found in the same gospel is not in the least singular. there are numerous instances of the same in our synoptics.( ) the actual facts of the case then are these: justin quotes in the dialogue, with the same marked deviations from the { } parallel in the gospel, a passage quoted by him m the apology, and after an interval of only five words he quotes a second passage to the same effect, though with very palpable difference in its character, which likewise differs from the gospel, in company with other texts which still less find any parallels in the canonical gospels. the two passages, by their differences, distinguish each other as separate, whilst, by their agreement in common variations from the parallel in matthew, they declare their common origin from a special gospel, a result still further made manifest by the agreement between the first passage in the dialogue and the quotations in the apology. in k ,( ) justin's gospel substitutes [--greek--] for [--greek--], and is quite in the spirit of the passage o, "ye shall know them from their _works_" is the natural reading. the gospel version clearly introduces "fruit" prematurely, and weakens the force of the contrast which follows. it will be observed, moreover, that in order to find a parallel to justin's passage k , , only the first part of matt. vii. , is taken, and the thread is only caught again at vii. , k being one of the two passages indicated by de wette which we are considering, and it agrees with matt. vii. , with the exception of the single word [--greek--]. we must again point out, however, that this passage in matt. vii. , is repeated no less than three times in our gospels, a second time in matt iii. , and once in luke iii. . upon two occasions it is placed in the mouth of john the baptist, and forms the second portion of a sentence the whole of which is found in literal agreement both in matt. iii. , and luke iii. , "but now the axe is laid unto the root of the trees, therefore every tree," &c, &c. { } the passage pointed out by de wette as the parallel to justin's anonymous quotation, matt. vii. --a selection which is of course obligatory from the context--is itself a mere quotation by jesus of part of the saying of the baptist, presenting, therefore, double probability of being well known; and as we have three instances of its literal reproduction in the synoptics, it would indeed be arbitrary to affirm that it was not likewise given literally in other gospels. the passage x( ) is very emphatically given as a literal quotation of the words of jesus, for justin cites it directly to authenticate his own statements of christian belief he says: "but if you disregard us both when we entreat, and when we set all things openly before you, we shall not suffer loss, believing, or rather being fully persuaded, that every one will be punished by eternal fire according to the desert of his deeds, and in proportion to the faculties which he received from god will his account be required, as christ declared when he said: to whom god gave more, of him shall more also be demanded again." this quotation has no parallel in the first gospel, but we add it here as part of the sermon on the mount. the passage in luke xii. , it will be perceived, presents distinct variation from it, and that gospel cannot for a moment be maintained as the source of justin's quotation. the last passage, ft, is one of those advanced by de wette which led to this examination.( ) it is likewise clearly a quotation, but as we have already shown, its agreement with matt v. , is no evidence that it was actually derived from that gospel. occurring as it does as one of numerous quotations from the sermon on the mount, whose general variation both in order and { } language from the parallels in our gospel points to the inevitable conclusion that justin derived them from a different source, there is no reason for supposing that this sentence also did not come from the same gospel. no one who has attentively considered the whole of these passages from the sermon on the mount, and still less those who are aware of the general rule of variation in his mass of quotations as compared with parallels in our gospels, can fail to be struck by the systematic departure from the order and language of the synoptics. the hypothesis that they are quotations from our gospels involves the accusation against justin of an amount of carelessness and negligence which is quite unparalleled in literature. justin's character and training, however, by. no means warrant any such aspersion,( ) and there are no grounds for it. indeed, but for the attempt arbitrarily to establish the identity of the "memoirs of the apostles" with our gospels, such a charge would never have been thought of. it is unreasonable to suppose that avowed and deliberate quotations of sayings of jesus, made for the express purpose of furnishing authentic written proof of justin's statements regarding christianity, can as an almost invariable rule be so singularly incorrect, more especially when it is considered that these quotations occur in an elaborate apology for christianity addressed to the roman emperors, and in a careful and studied controversy with a jew in defence of the new faith. the simple and natural conclusion, supported by many strong reasons, is that justin derived his quotations from a gospel which was different from ours, although naturally by subject and design it must have been related to them. his { } gospel, in fact, differs from our synoptics as they differ from each other. we now return to tischendorf's statements with regard to justin's acquaintance with our gospels. having examined the supposed references to the first gospel, we find that tischendorf speaks much less positively with regard to his knowledge of the other two synoptics. he says: "there is the greatest probability that in several passages he also follows mark and luke."( ) first taking mark, we find that the only example which tischendorf gives is the following. he says: "twice (dial. and ) he quotes as an expression of the lord: 'the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the scribes and pharisees (ch. by the 'pharisees and scribes'), and be crucified and the third day rise again.'( ) this agrees better with mark viii. and luke ix. than with matt. xvi. , only in justin the 'pharisees' are put instead of the 'elders and chief priests' (so matthew, mark, and luke), likewise 'be crucified' instead of 'be killed."'( ) this is the only instance of similarity with mark that tischendorf can produce, and we have given his own remarks to show how thoroughly weak his case is. the passage in mark viii. , reads: "and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests [--greek--], and the scribes and be killed [--greek--], and after three days [--greek--] { } rise again." and the following is the reading of luke ix. : "saying that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests [--greek--] and scribes and be killed [--greek--], and the third day rise again." it will be perceived that, different as it also is, the passage in luke is nearer than that of mark, which cannot in any case have been the source of justin's quotation. tischendorf, however, does not point out that justin, elsewhere, a third time refers to this very passage in the very same terms. he says: "and christ.... having come.... and himself also preached, saying.... that he must suffer many things from the scribes and pharisees and be crucified, and the third day rise again."(l) although this omits the words "and be rejected," it gives the whole of the passage literally as before. and thus there is the very remarkable testimony of a quotation three times repeated, with the same marked variations from our gospels, to show that justin found those very words in his memoirs.( ) the persistent variation clearly indicates a different source from our synoptics. we may, in reference to this reading, compare luke xxiv. : "he is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in galilee (v. ), saying that the son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, _and be crucified_, and the third day rise again." this reference to words of jesus, in which the words [--greek--]. occurred, as in justin, indicates that although our gospels do not contain it some others may well have { } done so. in one place justin introduces the saying with the following words: "for he exclaimed before the crucifixion, the son of man," &c.,( ) both indicating a time for the discourse, and also quoting a distinct and definite saying in contradistinction to this report of the matter of his teaching, which is the form in which the parallel passage occurs in the gospels. in justin's memoirs it no doubt existed as an actual discourse of jesus, which he verbally and accurately quoted. with regard to the third gospel, tischendorf says: "it is in reference to luke (xxii. ) that justin recalls in the dialogue ( ) the falling drops of the sweat of agony on the mount of olives, and certainly with an express appeal to the 'memoirs composed by his apostles and their followers,'"( ) now we have already seen( ) that justin, in the passage referred to, does not make use of the peculiar expression which gives the whole of its character to the account in luke, and that there is no ground for affirming that justin derived his information from that gospel. the only other reference to passages proving the "probability" of justin's use of luke or mark is that which we have just discussed--"the son of man must," &c. from this the character of tischendorf's assumptions may be inferred. de wette does not advance any instances of verbal agreement either with mark or luke.( ) he says, moreover: "the historical references are much freer still (than quotations), and combine in part { } the accounts of matthew and luke; some of the kind, however, are not found at all in our canonical gospels."( ) this we have already sufficiently demonstrated. we might now well terminate the examination of justin's quotations, which has already taken up too much of our space, but before doing so it may be well very briefly to refer to another point. in his work "on the canon," dr. westcott adopts a somewhat singular course. he evidently feels the very great difficulty in which anyone who asserts the identity of the source of justin's quotations with our gospels is placed by the fact that, as a rule, these quotations differ from parallel passages in our gospels; and whilst on the one hand maintaining that the quotations generally are from the canonical gospels, he on the other endeavours to reduce the number of those which profess to be quotations at all. he says: "to examine in detail the whole of justin's quotations would be tedious and unnecessary. it will be enough to examine ( ) those which are alleged by him as quotations, and ( ) those also which, though anonymous, are yet found repeated with the same variations either in justin's own writings, or ( ) in heretical works. it is evidently on these quotations that the decision hangs."( ) now under the first category dr. westcott finds very few. he says: "in seven passages only, as far as i can discover, does justin profess to give the exact words recorded in the memoirs; and in these, if there be no reason to the contrary, it is natural to expect that he will preserve the exact language of the gospels which he used, just as in anonymous quotations we may conclude that he is trusting to memory."( ) { } before proceeding further, we may point out the straits to which an apologist is reduced who starts with a foregone conclusion. we have already seen a number of justin's professed quotations; but here, after reducing the number to seven only, our critic prepares a way of escape even out of these. it is difficult to understand what "reason to the contrary" can possibly justify a man "who professes to give the exact words recorded in the memoirs" for not doing what he professes; and further, it passes our comprehension to understand why, in anonymous quotations, "we may conclude that he is trusting to memory." the cautious exception is as untenable as the gratuitous assumption. dr. westcott continues as follows the passage which we have just interrupted:--"the result of a first view of the passages is striking. of the seven, five agree verbally with the text of st. matthew or st. luke, _exhibiting indeed three slight various readings not elsewhere found, but such as are easily explicable_; the sixth is a _compound summary_ of words related by st. matthew; the seventh alone _presents an important variation in the text of a verse_, which is, however, otherwise very uncertain."( ) the italics of course are ours. the "first view" of the passages and of the above statement is indeed striking. it is remarkable how easily difficulties are overcome under such an apologetic system. the striking result, to summarize canon westcott's own words, is this: out of seven professed quotations from the memoirs, in which he admits we may expect to find the exact language preserved, five present three variations; one is a compressed summary, and does not agree verbally at all; and the seventh presents an important variation. dr. { } westcott, on the same easy system, continues: "our inquiry is thus confined to the two last instances; and it must be seen whether their disagreement from the synoptic gospel is such as to outweigh the agreement of the remaining five."(l) before proceeding to consider these seven passages admitted by dr. westcott, we must point out that, in a note to the statement of the number, he mentions that he excludes other two passages as "not merely quotations of words, but concise narratives."( ) but surely this is a most extraordinary reason for omitting them, and one the validity of which cannot be admitted. as justin introduces them deliberately as quotations, why should they be excluded simply because they are combined with a historical statement? we shall produce them. the first is in apol. i. : "for the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called gospels,( ) handed down that it was thus enjoined on them, that jesus, having taken bread and given thanks, said: 'this do in remembrance of me. this is my body.' and similarly, having taken the cup and given thanks, he said: 'this is my blood,' and delivered it to them alone."( ) this passage, it will be remembered, occurs in an elaborate apology for christianity addressed to the roman emperors, and justin is giving an account of the most solemn sacrament of his religion. here, if ever, we might reasonably expect accuracy and care, and justin, in fact, carefully { } indicates the source of the quotation he is going to make. it is difficult to understand any ground upon which so direct a quotation from the "memoirs of the apostles" could be set aside by canon westcott. justin distinctly states that the apostles in these memoirs have "thus" [--greek--] transmitted what was enjoined on us by jesus, and then gives the precise quotation. had the quotation agreed with our gospels, would it not have been claimed as a professedly accurate quotation from them? surely no one can reasonably pretend, for instance, that when justin, after this preamble, states that having taken bread, &c., _jesus said_: "this do in remembrance of me: this is my body;" or having taken the cup, &c, _he said_: "this is my blood"--justin does not deliberately mean to quote what jesus actually did say? now the account of the episode in luke is as follows (xxii. ): "and he took a cup, gave thanks, and said: take this, and divide it among yourselves. . for i say unto you, i will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of god shall come. . and he took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and gave it unto them, saying: this is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. . and in like manner the cup after supper, saying: this is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you."(l) dr. westcott of course only compares this passage of justin with luke, to which { } and the parallel in cor. xi. , wide as the difference is, it is closer than to the accounts in the other two gospels. that justin professedly quoted literally from the memoirs is evident, and is rendered still more clear by the serious context by which the quotation is introduced, the quotation in fact being made to authenticate by actual written testimony the explanations of justin. his dogmatic views, moreover, are distinctly drawn from a gospel, which, in a more direct way than our synoptics do, gave the expressions: "this is my body," and "this is my blood," and it must have been observed that luke, with which justin's reading alone is compared, not only has not: [--greek--], at all, but instead makes use of a totally different expression: "this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you." the second quotation from the memoirs which dr. westcott passes over is that in dial. , compared with luke xxii. , , on the agony in the garden, which we have already examined,( ) and found at variance with our gospel, and without the peculiar and distinctive expressions of the latter. we now come to the seven passages which canon westcott admits to be professed quotations from the memoirs, and in which "it is natural to expect that he will preserve the exact words of the gospels which he used." the first of these is a passage in the dialogue, part of which has already been discussed in connection with the fire in jordan and the voice at the baptism, and found to be from a source different from our synoptics.( ) justin says: "for even he, the devil, at the time when he also (jesus) went up from the river jordan when the voice { } said to him: 'thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee,' is recorded in the memoirs of the apostles to have come to him and tempted him even so far as saying to him: 'worship me;' and christ answered him [---greek---], 'get thee behind me, satan' [---greek---], 'thou shalt worship the lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve.'"( ) this passage is compared with the account of the temptation in matt iv. , : "and he said unto him, all these things will i give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. . then saith jesus unto him [---greek---], get thee hence, satan [--greek--]: it is written, thou shalt worship," &c all the oldest codices, it should be stated, omit the [--greek--], as we have done, but cod. d. (bezæ) and a few others of infirm authority, insert these two words. canon westcott, however, justly admits them to be "probably only a very early interpolation."( ) we have no reason whatever for supposing that they existed in matthew during justin's time. the oldest codices omit the whole phrase from the parallel passage, luke iv. , but cod. a. is an exception, and reads: [--greek--]. the best modern editions, however, reject this as a mere recent addition to luke. a comparison of the first and third gospels with justin clearly shows that the gospel which he used followed the former more closely than luke. matthew makes the climax of the temptation { } the view of all the kingdoms of the world, and the offer to give them to jesus if he will fall down and worship satan. luke, on the contrary, makes the final temptation the suggestion to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. justin's gospel, as the words, "so far as saying to him" [--greek--], &c., clearly indicate, had the same climax as matthew. now the following points must be observed. justin makes the words of satan, "worship me" [--greek--], a distinct quotation; the gospel makes satan offer all that he has shown "if thou wilt fall down and worship me" [--greek--]. then justin's quotation proceeds: "and christ answered him" [--greek--]; whilst matthew has, "then jesus saith to him" [---greek---], which is a marked variation.( ) the[--greek--] of justin, as we have already said, is not found in any of the older codices of matthew. then the words: "it is written," which form part of the reply of jesus in our gospels, are omitted in justin's; but we must add that, in dial , in again referring to the temptation, he adds, "it is written." still, in that passage he also omits the whole phrase, "get thee behind me, satan," and commences: "for he answered him: it is written, thou shalt worship," &c. we must, however, again point out the most important fact, that this account of the temptation is directly connected with another which is foreign to our gospels. the devil is said to come at the time jesus went up out of the jordan and the voice said to him: "thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee"--words which do not occur at all in our gospels, and which are again bound up with the incident of the fire in jordan. it is altogether { } unreasonable to assert that justin could have referred the fact which he proceeds to quote from the memoirs, to the time those words were uttered, if they were not to be found in the same memoirs. the one incident was most certainly not derived from our gospels, inasmuch as they do not contain it, and there are the very strongest reasons for asserting that justin derived the account of the temptation from a source which contained the other. under these circumstances, every variation is an indication, and those which we have pointed out are not accidental, but clearly exclude the assertion that the quotation is from our gospels. the second of the seven passages of canon westcott is one of those from the sermon on the mount, dial. , compared with matt v. , adduced by de wette, which we have already considered.( ) with the exception of the opening words, [--greek--], the two sentences agree, but this is no proof that justin derived the passage from matthew; while on the contrary, the persistent variation of the rest of his quotations from the sermon on the mount, both in order and language, forces upon us the conviction that he derived the whole from a source different from our gospels. the third passage of dr. westcott is that regarding the sign of jonas the prophet, matt, xii. , compared with dial. , which was the second instance adduced by tischendorf we have already examined it,( ) and found that it presents distinct variations from our first synoptic, both linguistically and otherwise, and that many reasons lead to the conclusion that it was quoted from a gospel different from ours. the fourth of canon westcott's quotations is the { } following, to part of which we have already had occasion to refer:(l) "for which reason our christ declared on earth to those who asserted that elias must come before christ: elias indeed shall come [--greek--] and shall restore all things: but i say unto you that elias is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him [--greek--] whatsoever they listed. and it is written that then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist."( ) the express quotation" in this passage, which is compared with matt. xvii. -- , is limited by canon "westcott to the last short sentence( ) corresponding with matt xvii. , and he points out that credner admits that it must have been taken from matthew. it is quite true that credner considers that if any passage of justin's quotations proves a necessary connection between justin's gospels and the gospel according to matthew, it is this sentence: "and it is written that then the disciples, &c." he explains his reason for this opinion as follows: "these words can only be derived from our matthew, with which they literally agree; for it is thoroughly improbable that a remark of so special a description could have been made by two different and independent individuals so completely alike."( ) we totally differ from this argument, { } which is singularly opposed to credner's usual clear and thoughtful mode of reasoning.( ) no doubt if such gospels could be considered to be absolutely distinct and independent works, deriving all their matter from individual and separate observation of the occurrences narrated by their authors and personal report of the discourses given, there might be greater force in the argument, although even in that case it would have been far from conclusive here, inasmuch as the observation we are considering is the mere simple statement of a fact necessary to complete the episode, and it might well have been made in the same terms by separate reporters. the fact is, however, that the numerous gospels current in the early church cannot have been, and our synoptic gospels most certainly are not, independent works, but are based upon earlier evangelical writings no longer extant, and have borrowed from each other. the gospels did not originate full fledged as we now have them, but are the result of many revisions of previously existing materials. critics may differ as to the relative ages and order of the synoptics, but almost all are agreed that in one order or another they are dependent on each other, and on older forms of the gospel. now such an expression as matt. xvii. in some early record of the discourse might have been transferred to a dozen of other christian writings. ewald assigns the passage to the oldest gospel, matthew in its present form being fifth in descent.( ) our three canonical gospels are filled with instances in which expressions still more individual are repeated, and these show that such phrases cannot be limited to { } one gospel, but, if confined in the first instance to one original source, may have been transferred to many subsequent evangelical works. take, for instance, a passage in matt. vii. , : ".... the multitudes were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority, and not as their scribes."( ) mark i. has the very same passage,( ) with the mere omission of "the multitudes" [--greek--], which does not in the least affect the argument; and luke iv. : "and they were astonished at his teaching: for his word was power."( ) although the author of the third gospel somewhat alters the language, it is clear that he follows the same original, and retains it in the same context as the second gospel. now the occurrence of such a passage as this in one of the fathers, if either the first or second gospels were lost, would, on credner's grounds, be attributed undoubtedly to the survivor, although in reality derived from the gospel no longer extant, which likewise contained it. another example may be pointed out in matt. xiii. : "all these things spake jesus unto the multitudes in parables; and _without a parable spake he not unto them_," compared with mark iv. , , "and with many such parables spake he the word unto them.... and without a parable spake he not unto them." the part of this very individual remark which we have italicised is literally the same in both gospels, as a personal comment at the end of the parable of the grain of mustard seed. then, for instance, in the account { } of the sleep of the three disciples during the agony in the garden (matt. xxvi. , mark xiv. ), the expression "and he found them asleep, _for their eyes were heavy_," which is equally individual, is literally the same in the first two gospels. another special remark of a similar kind regarding the rich young man: "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions," is found both in matt. xix. and mark x. . such examples( ) might be multiplied, and they show that the occurrence of passages of the most individual character cannot, in justin's time, be limited to any single gospel. now the verse we are discussing, matt xvii. , in all probability, as ewald supposes, occurred in one or more of the older forms of the gospel from which our synoptics and many other similar works derived their matter, and nothing is more likely than that the gospel according to the hebrews, which in many respects was nearly related to matthew, may have contained it. at any rate we have shown that such sayings cannot, however apparently individual, be considered evidence of the use of a particular gospel simply because it happens to be the only one now extant which contains it. credner, however, whilst expressing the opinion which we have quoted likewise adds his belief that by the expression [--greek--], justin seems expressly to indicate that this sentence is taken from a different work from what precedes it, and he has proved that the preceding part of the quotation was not derived from our gospels.( ) we cannot, however, coincide with this opinion either. it seems to us that the expression "and { } it is written" simply was made use of by justin to show that the identification of elias with john the baptist is not his, but was the impression conveyed at the time by jesus to his disciples. now the whole narrative of the baptism of john in justin bears characteristic marks of being from a gospel different from ours,( ) and in the first part of this very quotation we find distinct variation. justin first affirms that jesus in his teaching had proclaimed that elias should also come [--greek--], and then further on he gives the actual words of jesus: [--greek--], which we have before us, whilst in matthew the words are: [--greek--] and there is no ms. which reads [--greek--] for [--greek--], and yet, as credner remarks, the whole force of the quotation rests upon the word, and justin is persistent in his variation from the text of our first synoptic. it is unreasonable to say that justin quotes loosely the important part of his passage, and then about a few words at the close pretends to be so particularly careful. considering all the facts of the case, we must conclude that this quotation also is from a source different from our gospels.( ) another point, however, must be noted. dr. westcott claims this passage as an express quotation from the memoirs, apparently for no other reason than that the few words happen to agree with matt. xvii. , and that he wishes to identify the memoirs with our gospels. justin, however, does not once mention the memoirs in this chapter; it follows, therefore, that canon westcott who is so exceedingly strict in his limitation of express quotations, assumes that all quotations of christian history and words of jesus in justin are to be considered { } as derived from the memoirs whether they be mentioned by name or not. we have already seen that amongst these there are not only quotations differing from the gospels, and contradicting them, but others which have no parallels at all in them. the fifth of dr. westcott's express quotations occurs in dial. , where justin says: "for when he (jesus) was giving up his spirit on the cross he said: 'father, into thy hands i commend my spirit,' as i have also learned from the memoirs." this short sentence agrees with luke xxiii. , it is true, but as we have already shown, justin's whole account of the crucifixion differs so materially from that in our gospels that it cannot have been derived from them. we see this forcibly in examining the sixth of canon westcott's quotations, which is likewise connected with the crucifixion. "for they who saw him crucified also wagged their heads each one of them, and distorted their lips, and sneeringly and in scornful irony repeated among themselves those words which are also written in the memoirs of his apostles: he declared himself the son of god: (let him) come down, let him walk about: let god save him."( ) we have ourselves already quoted and discussed this passage,( ) and need not further examine it here. canon westcott has nothing better to say regarding this quotation, in an examination of the accuracy of parallel passages, than this: "these exact words do not occur in our gospels, but we do find there others so closely connected with them that few readers would feel the difference "!( ) when criticism descends to language like this, the case is indeed desperate. it is clear that, as canon westcott admits, the words are expressly declared to be a { } quotation from the memoirs of the apostles, but they do not exist in our gospels, and consequently our gospels are not identical with the memoirs. canon westcott refers to the taunts in matthew, and then with commendable candour he concludes his examination of the quotation with the following words: "no manuscript or father (so far as we know) has preserved any reading of the passage more closely resembling justin's quotation; and if it appear not to be deducible from our gospels, due allowance being made for the object which he had in view, its source must remain concealed."( ) we need only add that it is futile to talk of making "due allowance" for the object which justin had in view. his immediate object was accurate quotation, and no allowance can account for such variation in language and thought as is presented in this passage. that this passage, though a professed quotation from the memoirs, is not taken from our gospels is certain both from its own variations and the differences in other parts of justin's account of the crucifixion, an event whose solemnity and importance might well be expected to secure reverential accuracy. it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that justin's memoirs of the apostles were not identical with our gospels, and the systematic variation of his quotations thus receives its natural and reasonable explanation. the seventh and last of dr. westcott's express quotations is, as he states, "more remarkable." we subjoin the passage in contrast with the parallel texts of the first and third gospels. { } [--greek--] it is apparent that justin's quotation differs very materially from our gospels in language, in construction, and in meaning. these variations, however, acquire very remarkable confirmation and significance from the fact that justin in two other places( ) quotes the latter and larger part of the passage from [--greek--] in precisely the same way, with the sole exception that, in both of these quotations, he uses the aorist [--greek--] instead of [--greek--]. this threefold repetition in the same peculiar form clearly stamps the passage as being a literal { } quotation from his gospel, and the one exception to the verbal agreement of the three passages, in the substitution of the present for the aorist in the dialogue, does not in the least remove or lessen the fundamental variation of the passage from our gospel. as the [--greek--] is twice repeated it was probably the reading of his text. now it is well known that the peculiar form of the quotation in justin occurred in what came to be considered heretical gospels, and constituted the basis of important gnostic doctrines.( ) canon westcott speaks of the use of this passage by the fathers in agreement with justin in a manner which, unintentionally we have no doubt, absolutely misrepresents important facts. he says: "the transposition of the words still remains; and how little weight can be attached to that will appear upon an examination of the various forms in which the text is quoted by fathers like origen, irenæus and epiphanius, who admitted our gospels exclusively. it occurs in them as will be seen from the table of readings[--greek--] with almost every possible variation. irenæus in the course of one chapter quotes the verse first as it stands in the canonical text; then in the same order, but with the last clause like justin's; and once again altogether as he has given it. epiphanius likewise quotes the text seven times in the same order as justin, and four times as it stands in the gospels."[--greek--] now in the chapter to which reference is made in this sentence irenæus commences by stating that the lord had declared: "nemo cognoscit filium nisi pater; neque { } patrem quis cognoscit nisi films, et cui voluerit filius revelare,"( ) as he says, "thus matthew has set it down and luke similarly, and mark the very same."( ) he goes on to state, however, that those who would be wiser than the apostles write this verse as follows: "nemo cognovit patrem nisi filius; nee filium nisi pater, et cui voluerit filius revelare." and he explains: "they interpret it as though the true god was known to no man before the coming of our lord; and that god who was announced by the prophets they affirm not to be the father of christ."( ) now in this passage we have the [--greek--] of justin in the 'cognovit,' in contradistinction to the 'cognoscit' of the gospel, and his transposition of order as not by any possibility an accidental thing, but as the distinct basis of doctrines. irenæus goes on to argue that no one can know the father unless through the word of god, that is through the son, and this is why he said: "'nemo cognoscit patrem nisi filius; neque filium nisi pater, et quibuscunque filius reve-laverit.' thus teaching that he himself also is the father, as indeed he is, in order that we may not receive any other father except him who is revealed by the son."( ) in this third quotation irenseus alters the [--greek--] into [--greek--], but retains the form, for the rest, of the gnostics and of justin, and his aim apparently is to show that adopting his present tense instead of the aorist the transposition { } of words is of no importance. a fourth time, however, in the same chapter, which in fact is wholly dedicated to this passage and to the doctrines based upon it, irenæus quotes the saying: "nemo cognoscit filium nisi pater; neque patrem nisi filius, et quibuscunque filius reve-laverit."( ) here the language and order of the gospel are followed with the exception that 'cui voluerit revelare' is altered to the 'quibuscunque revelaverit' of justin; and that this is intentional is made clear by the continuation: "for _revelaverit_ was said not with reference to the future alone,"( ( &c. now in this chapter we learn very clearly that, although the canonical gospels by the express declaration of irenæus had their present reading of the passage before us, other gospels of considerable authority even in his time had the form of justin, for again in a fifth passage he quotes the opening words: "he who was known, therefore, was not different from him who declared: 'no one knoweth the father,' but one and the same."( ) with the usual alteration of the verb to the present tense, irenæus in this and in one of the other quotations of this passage just cited gives some authority to the transposition of the words "father" and "son," although the reading was opposed to the gospels, but he invariably adheres to [--greek--] and condemns [--greek--], the reading maintained by those who in the estimation of irenæus "would be wiser than the apostles." elsewhere, descanting on { } the passages of scripture by which heretics attempt to prove that the father was unknown before the advent of christ, irenseus, after accusing them of garbling passages of scripture,( ) goes on to say of the marcosians and others: "besides these, they adduce a countless number of apocryphal and spurious works which they themselves have forged to the bewilderment of the foolish, and of those who are not versed in the scriptures of truth."( ) he also points out passages occurring in our gospels to which they give a peculiar interpretation and, amongst these, that quoted by justin. he says: "but they adduce as the highest testimony, and as it were the crown of their system, the following passage.... 'all things were delivered to me by my father, and no one knew [--greek--] the father but the son, and the son but the father, and he to whomsoever [--greek--] the son shall reveal [--greek--].'( ) in these words they assert that he clearly demonstrated that the father of truth whom they have invented was known to no one before his coming; and they desire to interpret the words as though the maker and creator had been known to all, and the lord spoke these words regarding the father unknown to all, whom they proclaim."( ) here we have the exact quotation twice made by justin, with the [--greek--] and the same order, set { } forth as the reading of the gospels of the marcosians and other sects, and the highest testimony to their system. it is almost impossible that justin could have altered the passage by an error of memory to this precise form, and it must be regarded as the reading of his memoirs.( ) the evidence of irenæus is clear: the gospels had the reading which we now find in them, but apocryphal gospels on the other hand had that which we find twice quoted by justin, and the passage was as it were the text upon which a large sect of the early church based its most fundamental doctrine. the [--greek--] is invariably repudiated, but the transposition of the words "father" and "son" was apparently admitted to a certain extent, although the authority for this was not derived from the gospels recognized by the church which contained the contrary order. we must briefly refer to the use of this passage by clement of alexandria. he quotes portions of the text eight times, and although with some variation of terms he invariably follows the order of the gospels. six times he makes use of the aorist [--greek--],( ) once of [--greek--],( ) and once of [--greek--].( ) he only once quotes the whole passage,( ) but on this occasion, as well as six others in which he only quotes the latter part of the sentence,( ) he omits [--greek--], and reads "and he to whom the son shall reveal," thus supporting the [--greek--] { } of justin. twice he has "god" instead of "father,"( ) and once he substitutes [--greek--] for [--greek--].( ) it is evident from the loose and fragmentary way in which clement interweaves the passage with his text, that he is more concerned with the sense than the verbal accuracy of the quotation, but the result of his evidence is that he never departs from the gospel order of "father" and "son," although he frequently makes use of [--greek--] and also employs [--greek--] in agreement with justin and, therefore, he shows the prevalence of forms approximating to, though always presenting material difference from, the reading of justin. epiphanius refers to this passage no less than ten times,( ) but he only quotes it fully five times, and upon each of these occasions with variations. of the five times to which we refer, he thrice follows the order of the gospels,( ) as he does likewise in another place where he does not complete the sentence.( ) on the remaining two occasions he adopts the same order as justin, with variations from his reading, however, to which we shall presently refer;( ) and where he only partially quotes he follows the same order on other three occasions,( ) and in one other place the quotation is too fragmentary to allow us to distinguish the order.( ) now in all of these ten quotations, with one exception, epiphanius substitutes [--greek--] for [--greek--] at the commencement of the { } passage in matthew, and only thrice does he repeat the verb in the second clause as in that gospel, and on these occasions he twice makes use of [--greek--]( ) and once of [--greek--].( ) he once uses [--greek--] with the same order as justin, but does not complete the sentence.( ) each time he completes the quotation, he uses [--greek--] with the gospel, and [--greek--] with justin,( ) but only once out of the five complete quotations does he insert [--greek--] in the concluding phrase. it is evident from this examination, which we must not carry further, that epiphanius never verbally agrees with the gospel in his quotation of this passage and never verbally with justin, but mainly follows a version different from both. it must be remembered, however, that he is writing against various heresies, and it does not seem to us improbable that he reproduces forms of the passage current amongst those sects. in his work against marcion, tertullian says: "with regard to the father, however, that he was never seen, the gospel which is common to us will testify, as it was said by christ: nemo cognovit patrem nisi filius,"( ) but elsewhere he translates "nemo scit,"( ) evidently not fully appreciating the difference of [--greek--].( ) the passage in mar-cion's gospel reads like justin's: [--greek--].( ) the use of [--greek--] as applied to the father and [--greek--] as regards the son in this passage is suggestive. origen { } almost invariably uses [--greek--], sometimes adopting the order of the gospels and sometimes that of justin, and always employing [--greek--].( ) the clementine homilies always read [--greek--], and always follow the same order as justin, presenting other and persistent variations from the form in the gospels. [--greek--] this reading occurs four times. the clementine recognitions have the aorist with the order of the gospels.( ) there only remain a few more lines to add to those already quoted to complete the whole of dr. westcott's argument regarding this passage. he continues and concludes thus: "if, indeed, justin's quotations were made from memory, no transposition could be more natural; and if we suppose that he copied the passage directly from a manuscript, there is no difficulty in believing that he found it so written in a manuscript of the canonical st. matthew, since the variation is excluded by no internal improbability, while it is found elsewhere, and its origin is easily explicable."( ) it will be observed that canon westcott does not attempt any argument, but simply confines himself to suppositions. if such explanations were only valid, there could be no difficulty in believing anything, and every embarrassing circumstance would indeed be easily explicable. the facts of the case may be briefly summed up as follows: justin deliberately and expressly quotes from his gospel, himself calling it "gospel," be it observed, a { } passage whose nearest parallel in our gospels is matt. xi. . this quotation presents material variations from our canonical gospel both in form and language. the larger part of the passage he quotes twice in a different work, written years before, in precisely the same words as the third quotation, with the sole exception that he uses the aorist instead of the present tense of the verb. no ms. of our gospel extant approximates to the reading in justin, and we are expressly told by irenæus that the present reading of our matthew was that existing in his day. on the other hand, irenæus states with equal distinctness that gospels used by gnostic sects had the reading of justin, and that the passage was "the crown of their system," and one upon whose testimony they based their leading doctrines. here, then, is the clear statement that justin's quotation disagrees with the form in the gospels, and agrees with that of other gospels. the variations occurring in the numerous quotations of the same passage by the fathers, which we have analysed, show that they handled it very loosely, but also indicate that there must have been various readings of considerable authority then current. it has been conjectured with much probability that the form in which justin quotes the passage twice in his apology may have been the reading of older gospels, and that it was gradually altered by the church to the form in which we now have it, for dogmatic reasons, when gnostic sects began to base doctrines upon it inconsistent with the prevailing interpretation.( ) be this as it may, justin's gospel clearly had a reading different from ours, but in unison with { } that known to exist in other gospels, and this express quotation only adds additional proof to the mass of evidence already adduced that the memoirs of the apostles were not our canonical gospels.( ) we have already occupied so much space even with this cursory examination of justin's quotations, that we must pass over in silence passages which he quotes from the memoirs with variations from the parallels in our gospels which are also found in the clementine homilies and other works emanating from circles in which other gospels than ours were used. we shall now only briefly refer to a few sayings of jesus expressly quoted by justin, which are altogether unknown to our gospels. justin says: "for the things which he foretold would take place in his name, these we see actually coming to pass in our sight. for he said: 'many shall come,' &c., &c.,( ) and 'there shall be schisms and heresies,'( ) and 'beware of false prophets,'( ) &c, and 'many false christs and false apostles shall arise and shall deceive many of the faithful.'"( ) neither of the two prophecies here quoted are to be found anywhere in our gospels, and to the second of them justin repeatedly refers. he says in one place that jesus "foretold that in the interval of his coming, as i previously said,( ) heresies and false prophets would arise in his name."( ) it is admitted that these { } prophecies are foreign to our gospels.( ) it is very probable that the apostle paul refers to the prophecy, "there shall be schisms and heresies" in cor. xi. - , where it is said, ".... i hear that schisms exist amongst you; and i partly believe it. for there must also be heresies amongst you," &c. [--greek--].( ) we find also, elsewhere, traces both of this saying and that which accompanies it. in the clementine homilies, peter is represented as stating, "for there shall be, as the lord said, _false apostles_, false prophets, _heresies_, desires for supremacy," &c. [--greek--]. we are likewise reminded of the passage in the epistle attributed to the roman clement, xliv.: "our apostles knew through our lord jesus christ that there would be contention regarding the dignity of the episcopate."( ) in our gospel there is no reference anywhere to schisms and heresies, nor are false apostles once mentioned, the reference being solely to "false christs" and "false prophets." the recurrence here and elsewhere of the peculiar expression "false apostles" is very striking,( ) and the evidence for the passage as a saying of jesus is important. hegesippus, after enumerating a vast number of heretical sects and teachers, continues: "from these sprang the false christs, false prophets, _false apostles_, who divided the { } union of the church by corrupting doctrines concerning god and concerning his christ."( ) it will be remembered that hegesippus made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, and the clementine literature points to the same source. in the apostolic constitutions we read: "for these are false christs and false prophets, _and false apostles_, deceivers, and corrupters," &c.,( ) and in the clementine recognitions the apostle peter is represented as saying that the devil, after the temptation, terrified by the final answer of jesus, "hastened immediately to send forth into this world false prophets, and _false apostles_, and false teachers, who should speak in the name of christ indeed, but should perform the will of the demon."( ) justin's whole system forbids our recognizing in these two passages mere tradition, and we must hold that we have here quotations from a gospel different from ours. elsewhere, justin says: "out of which (affliction and fiery trial of the devil) again jesus, the son of god, promised to deliver us, and to put on us prepared garments, if we do his commandments, and he is proclaimed as having provided an eternal kingdom for us."( ) this promise is nowhere found in our gospel.( ) immediately following the passage (k and ) which we have discussed( ) as repeated in the dialogue: "many { } shall say to me, &c, &c, and i will say to them, depart from me," justin continues: "and in other words by which he will condemn those who are unworthy to be saved, he said that he will say: begone into the darkness without, which the father hath prepared for satan and his angels."( ) the nearest parallel to this is in matt. xxv. : "then shall he say also unto them on the left hand: depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels." [--greek--] it is apparent that justin's quotation differs very widely from the reading of our gospel. the same reading, with the exception of a single word, is found in the clementine homilies (xix. ), that is to say, that "devil" is substituted for "satan," and this variation is not important. the agreement of the rest, on the other hand, seems to establish the conclusion that the quotation is from a written gospel different from ours,( ) and here we have further strong indications of justin's use of the ebionite gospel. another of the sayings of jesus which are foreign to our gospels is one in reference to the man who falls away from righteousness into sin, of whom justin says: "wherefore also our lord jesus christ said: in whatsoever things i may find you, in these i shall also judge you."( ) [--greek--] { } "[--greek--]") a similar expression is used by some of the fathers, and in some cases is ascribed to the prophets.( ) clement of alexandria has quoted a phrase closely resembling this without indicating the source. [--greek--].( ) grabe was of opinion that justin derived the passage from the gospel according to the hebrews,( ) an opinion shared by the greater number of modern critics, and which we are prepared to accept from many previous instances of agreement. even the warmest asserters of the theory that the memoirs are identical with our gospels are obliged to admit that this saying of jesus is not contained in them, and that it must have been derived from an extra-canonical source.( ) other passages of a similar kind might have been pointed out, but we have already devoted too much space to justin's quotations, and must hasten to a conclusion. there is one point, however, to which we must refer. we have more than once alluded to the fact that, unless in one place, justin never mentions an author's name in connection with the memoirs of the apostles. the exception to which we referred is the following. justin says: "the statement also that he (jesus) changed the name of peter, one of the apostles, and that this is also written in _his_ memoirs as having been done, { } together with the fact that he also changed the name of other two brothers, who were sons of zebedee, to boanerges, that is, sons of thunder," &c.( ) according to the usual language of justin, and upon strictly critical grounds, the [--greek--] in this passage must be referred to peter; and justin, therefore, seems to ascribe the memoirs to that apostle, and to speak of a gospel of peter. some critics maintain that the [--greek--] does not refer to peter, but to jesus, or, more probably still, that it should be amended to [--greek--], and apply to the apostles.( ) the great majority, however, are forced to admit the reference of the memoirs to peter, although they explain it, as we shall see, in different ways. it is argued by some that this expression is used when justin is alluding to the change of name not only of peter but of the sons of zebedee, the narrative of which is only found in the gospel according to mark. now mark was held by many of the fathers to have been the mere mouthpiece of peter, and to have written at his dictation;( ) so that, in fact, in calling the second gospel by the name of the apostle peter, they argue, justin merely adopted the tradition current in the early church, and referred to the { } gospel now known as the gospel according to mark.( ) it must be evident, however, that after admitting that justin speaks of the memoirs of peter," it is indeed hasty in the extreme to conclude from the fact that the mention of the sons of zebedee being surnamed boanerges is only recorded in mark iii. , and not in the other canonical gospels, that therefore the "memoirs of peter" and our gospel according to mark are one and the same. we shall, hereafter, in examining the testimony of papias, see that the gospel according to mark, of which the bishop of hierapolis speaks, was not our canonical mark at all. it would be very singular indeed on this hypothesis that justin should not have quoted a single passage from the only gospel whose author he names, and the number of times he seems to quote from a petrine gospel, which was quite different from mark, confirms the inference that he cannot possibly here refer to our second gospel. it is maintained, therefore, by numerous other critics that justin refers to a gospel according to peter, or according to the hebrews, and not to mark.( ) we learn from eusebius that serapion, who became bishop of antioch about a.d. , composed a book on { } the "gospel according to peter" [--greek--], which he found in circulation in his diocese. at first serapion had permitted the use of this gospel, as it evidently was much prized, but he subsequently condemned it as a work favouring docetic views, and containing many things superadded to the doctrine of the saviour.( ) origen likewise makes mention of the gospel according to peter [--greek--] as agreeing with the tradition of the hebrews.( ) but its relationship to the gospel according to the hebrews becomes more clear when theodoret states that the nazarenes made use of the gospel according to peter,( ) for we know by the testimony of the fathers generally that the nazarene gospel was that commonly called the gospel according to the hebrews [--greek--]. the same gospel was in use amongst the ebionites, and in fact, as almost all critics are agreed, the gospel according to the hebrews, under various names, such as the gospel according to peter, according to the apostles, the nazarenes, ebionites, egyptians, &c, with modifications certainly, but substantially the same work, was circulated very widely throughout the early church.( ) a quotation occurs in the { } so-called epistle of ignatius to the smyrnaeans, to which we have already referred, which is said by origen to be in the work called the doctrine of peter(l) [--greek--], but jerome states that it is taken from the hebrew gospel of the nazarenes.( ) delitzsch finds traces of the gospel according to the hebrews before a.d. in the talmud.( ) eusebius( ) informs us that papias narrated a story regarding a woman accused before the lord of many sins which was contained in the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) the same writer likewise states that hegesippus, who came to rome and commenced his public career under anicetus, quoted from the same gospel.( ) the evidence of this "ancient and apostolic man is very important, for although he evidently attaches great value to tradition, does not seem to know of any canonical scriptures of the new testament { } and, like justin, apparently rejected the apostle paul,( ) he still regarded the gospel according to the hebrews with respect, and probably made exclusive use of it. the best critics consider that this gospel was the evangelical work used by the author of the clementine homilies.( ) cerinthus and carpocrates made use of a form of it,( ) and there is good reason to suppose that tatian, like his master justin, used the same gospel: indeed his "diatessaron," we are told, was by some called the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) clement of alexandria quotes it as an authority, with quite the same respect as the other gospels. he says: "so also in the gospel according to the hebrews: 'he who wonders shall reign,' it is written, 'and he who reigns shall rest.'"( ) a form of this gospel, "according to the egyptians," is quoted in the second epistle of pseudo-clement of rome, as we are informed by the alexandrian { } clement, who likewise quotes the same passage.( ) origen frequently made use of the gospel according to the hebrews,( ) and that it long enjoyed great consideration in the church is proved by the fact that theodoret found it in circulation not only among heretics, but also amongst orthodox christian communities;( ) and even in the fourth century eusebius records doubts as to the rank of this gospel amongst christian books, speaking of it under the second class in which some reckoned the apocalypse of john.( ) later still jerome translated it;( ) whilst nicephorus inserts it, in his stichometry, not amongst the apocrypha, but amongst the antilegomena, or merely doubtful books of the new testament, along with the apocalypse of john.( ) eusebius bears testimony to the value attached to it by the jewish christians,( ) and indeed he says of the ebionites that, "making use only of the gospel according to the hebrews, they took little account of the rest."( ) in such repute was this gospel amongst the earliest christian communities, that it was generally believed to be the original of the greek gospel of matthew. irenæus states that the ebionites used solely the gospel according to matthew and reject the apostle paul, asserting that he was an apostate from the law.( ) we know from statements { } regarding the ebionites( ) that this gospel could not have been our gospel according to matthew, and besides, both clement( ) of alexandria and origen( ) call it the gospel according to the hebrews. eusebius, however, still more clearly identifies it, as we have seen above. repeating the statements of irenæus, he says: "these indeed (the ebionites) thought that all the epistles of the apostle (paul) should be rejected, calling him an apostate from the law; making use only of the gospel according to the hebrews, they took little account of the rest."( ) epiphanius calls both the single gospel of the ebionites and of the nazarenes the "gospel according to the hebrews," and also the gospel according to matthew,( ) as does also theodoret( ) jerome translated the gospel according to the hebrews both into greek and latin,( ) and it is clear that his belief was that this gospel, a copy of which he found in the library collected at cæsarea by the martyr pamphilus (f ), was the hebrew original of matthew; and in support of this view he points out that it did not follow the version of the lxx. in its quotations from the old testament, but quoted directly from the hebrew.( ) an attempt has been made to argue { } that, later, jerome became doubtful of this view, but it seems to us that this is not the case, and certainly jerome in his subsequent writings states that it was generally held to be the original of matthew.( ) that this gospel was not identical with the greek matthew is evident both from the quotations of jerome and others, and also from the fact that jerome considered it worth while to translate it twice. if the greek gospel had been an accurate translation of it, of course there could not have been inducement to make another.( ) as we shall hereafter see, the belief was universal in the early church that matthew wrote his gospel in hebrew. attempts have been made to argue that the gospel according to the hebrews was first written in greek and then translated into hebrew,( ) but the reasons advanced seem quite insufficient and arbitrary,( ) and it is contradicted by the whole tradition of the fathers. { } it is not necessary for our purpose to enter fully here into the question of the exact relation of our canonical gospel according to matthew to the gospel according to the hebrews. it is sufficient for us to point out that we meet with the latter before matthew's gospel, and that the general opinion of the early church was that it was the original of the canonical gospel this opinion, as schwegler( ) remarks, is supported by the fact that tradition assigns the origin of both gospels to palestine, and that both were intended for jewish christians and exclusively used by them. that the two works, however originally related, had by subsequent manipulation become distinct, although still amidst much variation preserving some substantial affinity, cannot be doubted, and in addition to evidence already cited we may point out that in the stichometry of nicephorus, the gospel according to matthew is said to have [--greek--], whilst that according to the hebrews has only .( ) whether this gospel formed one of the writings of the [--greek--] of luke it is not our purpose to inquire, but enough has been said to prove that it was one of the most ancient( ) { } and most valued evangelical works, and to show the probability that justin martyr, a jewish christian living amongst those who are known to have made exclusive use of this gospel, may well, like his contemporary hegesippus, have used the gospel according to the hebrews; and this probability is, as we have seen, greatly strengthened by the fact that many of his quotations agree with passages which we know to have been contained in it; whilst, on the other hand, almost all differ from our gospels, presenting generally, however, a greater affinity to the gospel according to matthew, as we might expect, than to the other two. it is clear that the title "gospel according to the hebrews" cannot have been its actual superscription, but merely was a name descriptive of the readers for whom it was prepared or amongst whom it chiefly circulated, and it is most probable that it originally bore no other title than "the gospel" [--greek--], to which were added the different designations under which we find it known amongst different communities.( ) we have already seen that justin speaks of "the gospel" and seems to refer to the "memoirs of peter," both distinguishing appellations of this gospel, but there is another of the names borne by the "gospel according to the hebrews," which singularly recalls the "memoirs of the apostles," by which justin prefers to call his evangelical work. it was called the "gospel according to the apostles"( ) { } [--greek--], and, in short, comparing justin's memoirs with this gospel, we find at once similarity of contents and even of name.( ) it is not necessary, however, for) the purposes of this examination to dwell more fully upon the question as to what specific gospel now no longer extant justin employed. we have shown that there is no evidence that he made use of any of our gospels, and he cannot, therefore, be cited even to prove their existence, and much less to attest the authenticity and character of records whose authors he does not once name. on the other hand it has been made evident that there were other gospels, now lost but which then enjoyed the highest consideration, from which his quotations might have been, and probably were, taken. we have seen that justin's memoirs of the apostles contained facts of gospel history unknown to our gospels, which were contained in apocryphal works and notably in the gospel according to the hebrews; that they further contained matter contradictory to our gospels, and sayings of jesus not contained in them; and that his quotations, although so numerous, systematically vary from similar passages in our gospels. no theory of quotation from memory can satisfactorily account for these phenomena, and the reasonable conclusion is that justin did not make use of our gospels, but quoted from another source. in no case can the testimony of justin afford the requisite support to the gospels as records of miracles and of a divine revelation. { } chapter iv. hegesippus--papias of hierapolis. we now turn to hegesippus, one of the contemporaries of justin, and, like him, a palestinian jewish christian. most of our information regarding him is derived from eusebius, who fortunately gives rather copious extracts from his writings. hegesippus was born in palestine, of jewish parents,(l) and in all probability belonged to the primitive community of jerusalem.( ) in order to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the state of the church, he travelled widely and came to rome when anicetus was bishop. subsequently he wrote a work of historical memoirs, [--greek--], in five books, and thus became the first ecclesiastical historian of christianity. this work is lost, but portions have been preserved to us by eusebius, and one other fragment is also extant. it must have been, in part at least, written after the succession of eleutherus to the roman bishopric (a.d. - ), as that event is mentioned in the book itself, and his testimony is allowed by all critics to date from an advanced period of the second half of the second century.( ) { } the testimony of hegesippus is of great value, not only as that of a man born near the primitive christian tradition, but also as that of an intelligent traveller amongst many christian communities. eusebius evidently held him in high estimation as recording the unerring tradition of the apostolic preaching in the most simple style of composition,( ) and as a writer of authority who was "contemporary with the first successors of the apostles"( ) [--greek--]. any indications, therefore, which we may derive from information regarding him, and from the fragments of his writings which survive, must be of peculiar importance for our inquiry. as might have been expected from a convert from judaism( ) [--greek--], we find in hegesippus manifest evidences of general tendency to the jewish side of christianity. for him, "james, the brother of the lord," was the chief of the apostles, and he states that he had received the government of the church after the death of jesus.( ) the account which he gives of him is remarkable. "he was holy from his mothers womb. he drank neither wine nor strong drink, nor ate he any living thing. a razor never went upon his head, he anointed not himself with { } oil, and did not use a bath. he alone was allowed to enter into the holies. for he did not wear woollen garments, but linen. and he alone entered into the sanctuary and was wont to be found upon his knees seeking forgiveness on behalf of the people; so that his knees became hard like a camel's, through his constant kneeling in supplication to god, and asking for forgiveness for the people. in consequence of his exceeding great righteousness he was called righteous and 'oblias,' that is, protector of the people and righteousness, as the prophets declare concerning him,"( ) and so on. throughout the whole of his account of james, hegesippus describes him as a mere jew, and as frequenting the temple, and even entering the holy of holies as a jewish high priest. whether the account be apocryphal or not is of little consequence here; it is clear that hegesippus sees no incongruity in it, and that the difference between the jew and the christian was extremely small. the head of the christian community could assume all the duties of the jewish high-priest,( ) and his christian doctrines did not offend more than a small party amongst the jews.( ) we are not, therefore, surprised to find that his rule [--greek--] of orthodoxy in the christian communities { } which he visited, was "the law, the prophets, and the lord." speaking of the result of his observations during his travels, and of the succession of bishops in rome, he says: "the corinthian church has continued in the true faith until primus, now bishop of corinth. i conversed with him on my voyage to rome, and stayed many days with the corinthians, during which time we were refreshed together with true doctrine. arrived in rome i composed the succession until anicetus, whose deacon was eleutherus. after anicetus succeeded soter, and afterwards eleutherus. but with every succession, and in every city, that prevails which the law, and the prophets, and the lord enjoin."( ) the test of true doctrine [--greek--] with hegesippus as with justin, therefore, is no new testament canon, which does not yet exist for him, but the old testament, the only holy scriptures which he acknowledges, and the words of the lord himself,( ) which, as in the case of jewish christians like justin, were held to be established by, and in direct conformity with, the old testament. he carefully transmits the unerring tradition of apostolic preaching [--greek--], but he apparently knows nothing of any canonical series even of apostolic epistles. the care with which eusebius searches for information regarding the books of the new testament in early writers, and his anxiety to produce any evidence concerning their composition and authenticity, render his silence upon the subject almost as important as his distinct { } utterance when speaking of such a man as hegesippus.( ) now, while eusebius does not mention that hegesippus refers to any of our canonical gospels or epistles, he very distinctly states that he made use in his writings of the "gospel according to the hebrews" [--greek--]. it may be well, however, to give his remarks in a consecutive form. "he sets forth some matters from the gospel according to the hebrews and the syriac, and particularly from the hebrew language, showing that he was a convert from among the hebrews, and other things he records as from unwritten jewish tradition. and not only he, but also irenæus, and the whole body of the ancients, called the proverbs of solomon: all-virtuous wisdom. and regarding the so-called apocrypha, he states that some of them had been forged in his own time by certain heretics."( ) it is certain that eusebius, who quotes with so much care the testimony of papias, a man of whom he speaks disparagingly, regarding the composition of the first two gospels, would not have neglected to have availed himself of the evidence of hegesippus, for whom he has so much respect, had that writer furnished him with any opportunity, and there can be no doubt that he found no facts concerning the origin and authorship of our gospels in his writings. it is, on the other hand, reasonable to infer that hegesippus exclusively made use of the { } gospel according to the hebrews, together with unwritten tradition.( ) in the passage regarding the gospel according to the hebrews, as even lardner( ) conjectures, the text of eusebius is in all probability confused, and he doubtless said what jerome later found to be the fact, that "the gospel according to the hebrews is written in the chaldaic and syriac (or syro-chaldaic) language, but with hebrew characters."( ) it is in this sense that rufinus translates it. it may not be inappropriate to point out that fragments of the gospel according to the hebrews, which have been preserved, show the same tendency to give some pre-eminence to james amongst the apostles which we observe in hegesippus.( ) it has been argued by a few that the words, "and regarding the so-called apocrypha, he states that some of them had been forged in his own times by certain heretics," are contradictory to his attributing authority to the gospel according to the hebrews, or at least that they indicate some distinction amongst christians between recognized and apocryphal works. the apocryphal works referred to, however, are clearly old testament apocrypha.( ) the words are introduced by the statement that hegesippus records matters "as from unwritten jewish tradition," and then proceeds, "and { } not only he, but also irenæus and the whole body of the ancients, called the proverbs of solomon: all-virtuous wisdom." then follow the words, "and with regard to the _so-called_ apocrypha," &c, &c, evidently passing from the work just mentioned to the old testament apocrypha, several of which stand also in the name of solomon, and it is not improbable that amongst these were included the _ascensio esaiæ_ and the _apocalypsis eliæ_, to which is referred a passage which hegesippus, in a fragment preserved by photius,( ) strongly repudiates. as hegesippus does not, so far as we know, mention any canonical work of the new testament, but takes as his rule of faith the law, the prophets, and the words of the lord, probably as he finds them in the gospel according to the hebrews, quotes also jewish tradition and discusses the proverbs of solomon, the only possible conclusion at which we can reasonably arrive is that he spoke of old testament apocrypha. there cannot be a doubt that eusebius would have recorded his repudiation of new testament "apocrypha," regarding which he so carefully collects information, and his consequent recognition of new testament canonical works implied in such a distinction. we must now see how far in the fragments of the works of hegesippus which have been preserved to us there are references to assist our inquiry. in his account of certain surviving members of the family of jesus, who were brought before domitian, hegesippus says: "for domitian feared the appearing of the christ as much as herod."( ) it has been argued that this { } may be an allusion to the massacre of the children by herod related in matt ii., more especially as it is doubtful that the parallel account to that contained in the first two chapters of the first gospel existed in the oldest forms of the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) but the tradition which has been preserved in our first synoptic may have formed part of many other evangelical works, in one shape or another, and certainly cannot be claimed with reason exclusively for that gospel. this argument, therefore, has no weight whatever, and it obviously rests upon the vaguest conjecture. the principal passages which apologists( ) adduce as references to our gospels occur in the account which hegesippus gives of the martyrdom of james the just. the first of these is the reply which james is said to have given to the scribes and pharisees: "why do ye ask me concerning jesus the son of man? he sits in heaven on the right hand of great power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven."( ) this is compared with matt. xxvi. : "from this time ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven."( ) it is not necessary to point out the variations between these two passages, which are obvious. if we had not the direct intimation that hegesippus made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, which no doubt contained this passage, it would be apparent that a man who valued tradition { } so highly might well have derived this and other passages from that source. this is precisely one of those sayings which were most current in the early church, whose hope and courage were sustained amid persecution and suffering by such chiliastic expectations, with which according to the apostolic injunction they comforted each other.( ) in any case the words do not agree with the passage in the first gospel, and as we have already established, even perfect agreement would not under the circumstances be sufficient evidence that the quotation is from that gospel, and not from another; but with such discrepancy, without any evidence whatever that hegesippus knew anything of our gospels, but, on the contrary, with the knowledge that he made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, we must decide that any such passages must rather be derived from it than from our gospels. it is scarcely necessary to say anything regarding the phrase: "for we and all the people testify to thee that thou art just and that thou respectest not persons."( ) canon westcott points out that [--greek--] only occurs in luke xx. , and galatians ii. ;( ) but the similarity of this single phrase, which is not given as a quotation, but in a historical form put into the mouth of those who are addressing james, cannot for a moment be accepted as evidence of a knowledge of luke. the episode of the tribute money is generally ascribed to the oldest form of the gospel history, and although the other two synoptics( ) read [--greek--] for [--greek--], there is { } no ground for asserting that some of the [--greek--] who preceded luke did not use the latter form, and as little for asserting that it did not so stand, for instance, in the gospel according to the hebrews. the employment of the same expression in the epistle, moreover, at once deprives the gospel of any individuality in its use. hegesippus represents the dying james as kneeling down and praying for those who were stoning him: "i beseech (thee), lord god father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" [--greek--].( ) this is compared with the prayer which luke( ) puts into the mouth of jesus on the cross: "father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" [--greek--], and it is assumed from this partial coincidence that hegesippus was acquainted with the third of our canonical gospels. we are surprised to see an able and accomplished critic like hilgenfeld adopting such a conclusion without either examination or argument of any kind.( ) such a deduction is totally unwarranted by the facts of the case, and if the partial agreement of a passage in such a father with a historical expression in a gospel which, alone out of many previously existent, has come down to us can be considered evidence of the acquaintance of the father with that particular gospel, the function of criticism is at an end. it may here be observed that the above passage of luke xxiii. is omitted altogether from the vatican ms. and codex d (bezse), and in the codex sinaiticus { } its position is of a very doubtful character.( ) the codex alexandrinus which contains it omits the word [--greek--].( ) luke's gospel was avowedly composed after many other similar works were already in existence, and we know from our synoptics how closely such writings often followed each other, and drew from the same sources.( ) if any historical character is conceded to this prayer of jesus it is natural to suppose that it must have been given in at least some of these numerous gospels which have unfortunately perished. no one could reasonably assert that our third gospel is the only one which ever contained the passage. it would be preposterous to affirm, for instance, that it did not exist in the gospel according to the hebrews, which hegesippus employed. on the supposition that the passage is historical, which apologists at least will not dispute, what could be more natural or probable than that such a prayer, "emanating from the innermost soul of jesus,"( ) should have been adopted under similar circumstances by james his brother and successor, who certainly could not have derived it from luke. the tradition of such words, expressing so much of the original spirit of christianity, setting aside for the moment written { } gospels, could scarcely fail to have remained fresh in the mind of the early church, and more especially in the primitive community amongst whom they were uttered, and of which hegesippus was himself a later member; and they would certainly have been treasured by one who was so careful a collector and transmitter of "the unerring tradition of the apostolic preaching." no saying is more likely to have been preserved by tradition, both from its own character, brevity, and origin, and from the circumstances under which it was uttered, and there can be no reason for limiting it amongst written records to luke's gospel. the omission of the prayer from very important codices of luke further weakens the claim of that gospel to the passage. beyond these general considerations, however, there is the important and undoubted fact that the prayer which hegesippus represents james as uttering does not actually agree with the prayer of jesus in the third gospel. so far from proving the use of luke, therefore, this merely fragmentary and partial agreement, on the contrary, rather proves that he did not know that gospel, for on the supposition of his making use of the third synoptic at all for such a purpose, and not simply giving the prayer which james may in reality have uttered, why did he not quote the prayer as he actually found it in luke? we have still to consider a fragment of hegesippus preserved to us by stephanus gobarus, a learned monophysite of the sixth century, which reads as follows: "that the good things prepared for the righteous neither eye saw, nor ear heard, nor entered they into the heart of man. hegesippus, however, an ancient and apostolic man, how moved i know not, says in the fifth book of his memoirs that these words are vainly { } spoken, and that those who say these things give the lie to the divine writings and to the lord saying: 'blessed are your eyes that see, and your cars that hear,'" &c. [--greek--].( ) we believe that we have here an expression of the strong prejudice against the apostle paul and his teaching which continued for so long to prevail amongst jewish christians, and which is apparent in many writings of that period.( ) the quotation of paul, corinthians ii. , differs materially from the septuagint version of the passage in isaiah lxiv. , and, as we have seen, the same passage quoted by "clement of rome,"( ) differs both from the version of the lxx'. and from the epistle, although closer to the former. jerome however found the passage in the apocryphal work called "ascensio isaiæ,"( ) and origen, jerome, and others likewise ascribe it to the "apocalypsis eliæ."( ) this, however, does not concern us here, and we have merely to examine the "saying of the lord," which hegesippus opposes to the passage: "blessed are your eyes that see and your ears that hear." this is compared with matt. xiii. , "but blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear" [--greek--], and also with luke x. , "blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see," &c. we need not point out that the saying referred to by hegesippus, whilst conveying the { } same sense as that in the two gospels, differs as materially from them both as they do from each other, and as we might expect a quotation taken from a different though kindred source, like the gospel according to the hebrews, to do. the whole of the passages which we have examined, indeed, exhibit the same natural variation. we have already referred to the expressions of hegesippus regarding the heresies in the early church: "from these sprang the false christs, and false prophets, and _false apostles_ who divided the unity of the church by corrupting doctrines concerning god and his christ."( ) we have shown how this recalls quotations in justin of sayings of jesus foreign to our gospels, in common with similar expressions in the clementine homilies,( ) apostolic constitutions,( ) and clementine recognitions,( ) and we need not discuss the matter further. this community of reference, in a circle known to have made use of the gospel according to the hebrews, to matters foreign to our synoptics, furnishes collateral illustration of the influence of that gospel. tischendorf, who so eagerly searches for every trace, real or imaginary, of the use of our gospels and of the existence of a new testament canon, passes over in silence, with the exception of a short note( ) devoted to the denial that hegesippus was opposed to paul, this first writer of christian church history, whose evidence, could it have been adduced, would have been so valuable. he does not pretend that hegesippus made use of the canonical gospels, or knew of any other holy scriptures { } than those of the old testament, but, on the other hand, he does not mention that he possessed, and quoted from, the gospel according to the hebrews. there is no reason for supposing that hegesippus found a new testament canon in any of the christian communities which he visited, and such a rule of faith certainly did not yet exist in rome in a.d. - .( ) there is no evidence whatever to show that hegesippus recognized any other evangelical work than the gospel according to the hebrews, as the written source of his knowledge of the words of the lord.( ) . the testimony of papias is of great interest and importance in connection with our inquiry, inasmuch as he is the first ecclesiastical writer who mentions the tradition that matthew and mark composed written records of the life and teaching of jesus; but no question has been more continuously contested than that of the identity of the works to which he refers with our actual canonical gospels. papias was bishop of hierapolis, in phrygia,( ) in the first half of the second century, and is said to have suffered martyrdom under marcus aurelius about a.d. - .( ) about the middle of the second century( ) he wrote a work in five books, entitled { } "exposition of the lord's oracles "(l) [--greek--], which, with the exception of a few fragments preserved to us chiefly by eusebius and irenæus, is unfortunately, no longer extant. in the preface to his book he stated: "but i shall not hesitate also to set beside my interpretations all that i rightly learnt from the presbyters, and rightly remembered, earnestly testifying to their truth. for i was not, like the multitude, taking pleasure in those who speak much, but in those who teach the truth, nor in those who relate alien commandments, but in those who record those delivered by the lord to the faith, and which come from the truth itself. if it happened that any one came who had followed the presbyters, i inquired minutely after the words of the presbyters, what andrew or what peter said, or what philip or what thomas or james, or what john or matthew, or what any other of the disciples of the lord, and what aristion and the presbyter john, the disciples of the lord, say, for i held that what was to be derived from books did not so profit me as that from the living and abiding voice"( ). [--greek--] it is clear from this that papias preferred tradition to any written works with which he was acquainted, that he attached little or { } no value to any gospels with which he had met,( ) and that he knew absolutely nothing of canonical scriptures of the new testament.( ) his work was evidently intended to furnish a collection of the discourses of jesus completed from oral tradition, with his own expositions, and this is plainly indicated both by his own words, and by the statements of eusebius who, amongst other things, mentions that papias sets forth strange parables of the saviour and teachings of his from unwritten tradition [--greek--].( ) it is not, however, necessary to discuss more closely the nature of the work, for there is no doubt that written collections of discourses of jesus existed before it was composed of which it is probable he made use. the most interesting part of the work of papias which is preserved to us is that relating to matthew and with reference to the last sentence of papias, teschendorf asks: "what books does he refer to here, perhaps our gospels ? according to the expression this is not impossible, but from the whole character of the book in the highest degree improbable." (wann wurden, u. s. w.t p. .) we know little or nothing of the "whole character" of the book, and what we do know is contradictory to our gospels. the natural and only reasonable course is to believe the express declaration of papias, more especially as it is made, in this instance, as a prefatory statement of his belief. { } mark. after stating that papias had inserted in his book accounts of jesus given by aristion, of whom nothing is known, and by the presbyter john, eusebius proceeds to extract a tradition regarding mark communicated by the latter. there has been much controversy as to the identity of the presbyter john, some affirming him to have been the apostle,( ) but the great majority of critics deciding that he was a totally different person.( ) irenseus, who, sharing the chiliastic opinions of papias, held him in high respect, boldly calls him "the hearer of john" (meaning the apostle) "and a companion of polycarp" [--greek--]( ) but this is expressly contradicted by eusebius, who points out that, in the preface to his book, papias by no means asserts that he was himself a hearer of the apostles, but merely that he received their doctrines from those who had personally known them;( ) and after making the quotation from papias which we have given { } above, he goes on to point out that the name of john is twice mentioned, once together with peter, james, and matthew, and the other apostles, "evidently the evangelist," and the other john he mentions separately, ranking him amongst those who are not apostles, and placing aristion before him, distinguishing him clearly by the name of presbyter.( ) he further refers to the statement of the great bishop of alexandria, dionysius,( ) that at ephesus there were two tombs, each bearing the name of john, thereby leading to the inference that there were two men of the name.( ) there can be no doubt that papias himself in the passage quoted mentions two persons of the name of john, distinguishing the one from the other, and classing the one amongst the apostles and the other after aristion, an unknown "disciple of the lord," and, but for the phrase of irenæus, so characteristically uncritical and assumptive, there probably never would have been any doubt raised as to the meaning of the passage. the question is not of importance to us, and we may leave it, with the remark that a writer who suffered martyrdom under marcus aurelius, c. a.d. , can scarcely have been a hearer of the apostles.( ) the account which the presbyter john is said to have { } given of mark's gospel is as follows: "'this also the presbyter said: mark having become the interpreter of peter, wrote accurately whatever he remembered, though he did not arrange in order the things which were either said or done by christ. for he neither heard the lord, nor followed him; but afterwards, as i said,( ) accompanied peter, who adapted his teaching to the occasion, and not as making a consecutive record of the lord's oracles. mark, therefore, committed no error in thus writing down some things as he remembered them. for of one point he was careful, to omit none of the things which he heard, and not to narrate any of them falsely.' these facts papias relates concerning mark."( ) the question to decide is, whether the work here described is our canonical gospel or not. the first point in this account is the statement that mark was the interpreter of peter [--greek--]. was he merely the secretary of the apostle writing in a manner from his dictation, or does the passage mean that he translated the aramaic narrative of peter into dr. lightfoot (contemp. bev., , p. ), in the course of a highly fanciful argument says, in reference to this "as i said": "it is quite clear that papias had already said something of the relations existing between st. peter and st mark previously to the extract which gives an account of the second gospel, for he there refers back to a preceding notice." it is quite clear that he refers back, but only to the preceding sentence in which he "had already said something of the relations" in stating the fact that: "mark, having become the interpreter of peter, wrote, &c." { } greek?( ) the former is the more probable supposition and that which is most generally adopted, but the question is not material here. the connection of peter with the gospel according to mark was generally affirmed in the early church, as was also that of paul with the third gospel,{ } with the evident purpose of claiming apostolic origin for all the canonical gospels.( ) irenæus says: "after their decease (peter and paul), mark the disciple and interpreter of peter delivered to, us in writing that which had been preached by peter."( ) eusebius quotes a similar tradition from clement of alexandria, embellished however with further particulars. he says: "... the cause for which the gospel according to mark was written was this: when peter had publicly preached the word at rome, and proclaimed the gospel by the spirit, those who were present being many, requested mark, as he had followed him from afar and remembered what he had said, to write down what he had spoken; and when he had composed the gospel, he gave it to those who had asked it of him; which when peter knew he neither absolutely hindered nor encouraged it*"( ) tertullian repeats the same tradition. he says: { } "and the gospel which mark published may be affirmed to be peter's, whose interpreter mark was.... for it may rightly appear that works which disciples publish are of their masters."(l) we have it again from origen: "the second (gospel) is according to mark, written as peter directed him."( ) eusebius gives a more detailed and advanced version of the same tradition. "so much, however, did the effulgence of piety illuminate the minds of those (romans) who heard peter, that it did not content them to hear but once, nor to receive only the unwritten doctrine of the divine teaching, but with reiterated entreaties they besought mark, to whom the gospel is ascribed, as the companion of peter, that he should leave them a written record of the doctrine thus orally conveyed. nor did they cease their entreaties until they had persuaded the man, and thus became the cause of the writing of the gospel called according to mark. they say, moreover, that the apostle (peter) having become aware, through revelation to him of the spirit, of what had been done, was delighted with the ardour of the men, and ratified the work in order that it might be read in the churches. this narrative is given by clement in the sixth book of his institutions, whose testimony is supported by that of papias, the bishop of hierapolis."( ) { } the account given by clement, however, by no means contained these details, as we have seen. in his "demonstration of the gospel" eusebius, referring to the same tradition, affirms that it was the modesty of peter which prevented his writing a gospel himself.( ) jerome almost repeats the preceding account of eusebius: "mark, the disciple and interpreter of peter, being entreated by the brethren of rome, wrote a short gospel according to what he had received from peter, which when peter heard, he approved, and gave his authority for its being read in the churches, as clement writes in the sixth book of his institutions,"( ) &c. jerome moreover says that peter had mark for an interpreter, "whose gospel was composed: peter narrating and he writing" (cujus evangelium petro narrante et illo scribente compositum est).( ) it is evident that all these writers merely repeat with variations the tradition regarding the first two gospels which papias originated. irenæus dates the writing of mark after the death of peter and paul in rome. clement describes mark as writing during peter's life, the apostle preserving absolute neutrality. by the time of eusebius, however, the tradition has acquired new and miraculous elements and a more decided character--peter is made aware of the undertaking of mark through a revelation of the spirit, and instead of being neutral is delighted and lends the work the weight of his authority. eusebius refers to clement and papias as giving the same account, which they do { } not, however, and jerome merely repeats the story of eusebius without naming him, and the tradition which he had embellished thus becomes endorsed and perpetuated. such is the growth of tradition;(l) it is impossible to overlook the mythical character of the information we possess as to the origin of the second canonical gospel.( ) in a gospel so completely inspired by peter as the tradition of papias and of the early church indicates, we may reasonably expect to find unmistakable traces of petrine influence, but on examination it will be seen that these are totally wanting.( ) some of the early church did not fail to remark this singular discrepancy between the gospel and the tradition of its dependence on peter, and in reply eusebius adopts an apologetic tone.( ) for instance, in the brief account of the calling of simon in a similar discrepancy of tradition is to be observed as to the place in which the gospel was written, irenæus and others dating it from rome, and others (as chrysostom, in matth. homil., i.), assigning it to egypt. indeed some mss. of the second gospel have the words [--greek--] in accordance with this tradition as to its origin. cf. scholz, einl. n. t., i. p. . various critics have argued for its composition at rome, alexandria, and antioch. we do not go into the discussion as to whether peter ever was in rome. { } mark, the distinguishing addition: "called peter," of the first gospel is omitted,( ) and still more notably the whole narrative of the miraculous draught of fishes, which gives the event such prominence in the third gospel.( ) in matthew, jesus goes into the house of "peter" to cure his wife's mother of a fever, whilst in mark it is "into the house of simon and andrew," the less honourable name being still continued.( ) matthew commences the catalogue of the twelve by the pointed indication: "the first, simon, who is called peter,"( ) thus giving him precedence, whilst mark merely says: "and simon he surnamed peter."( ) the important episode of peter's walking on the sea, of the first gospel,( ) is altogether ignored by mark. the enthusiastic declaration of peter: "thou art the christ,"( ) is only followed by the chilling injunction to tell no one, in the second gospel,( ) whilst matthew not only gives greater prominence to the declaration of peter, but gives the reply of jesus: "blessed art thou, simon bar-jona," &c,--of which mark apparently knows nothing,--and then proceeds to the most important episode in the history of the apostle, the celebrated words by which the surname of peter was conferred upon him: "and i say unto thee, that thou art peter, and upon this rock will i build my church," &c.( ) the gospel supposed to be inspired by peter, however, totally omits this most important passage; as it also does the miracle of the finding the tribute money in the fish's mouth, narrated by the first gospel.( ) luke states that "peter { } and john "are sent to prepare the passover, whilst mark has only "two disciples;"( ) and in the account of the last supper, luke gives the address of jesus to peter: "simon, simon, behold satan hath desired to have you (all) that he may sift you as wheat; but i have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."( ) of this mark does not say a word. again, after the denial, luke reads: "and the lord turned and looked upon peter, and peter remembered the word of the lord, &c, and peter went out and wept bitterly;"( ) whereas mark omits the reproachful look of jesus, and makes the penitence of peter depend merely on the second crowing of the cock, and further modifies the penitence by the omission of "bitterl"--" and when he thought thereon he wept."( ) there are other instances to which we need not refer. not only are some of the most important episodes in which peter is represented by the other gospels as a principal actor altogether omitted, but throughout the gospel there is the total absence of anything which is specially characteristic of petrine influence and teaching. the argument that these omissions are due to the modesty of peter is quite untenable, for not only does irenæus, the most ancient authority on the point, state that this gospel was only written after the death of peter,( ) but also there is no modesty in omitting passages of importance in the history of jesus, simply because peter himself was in some way concerned in them, or, for instance, in decreasing his penitence for such a denial { } of his master, which could not but have filled a sad place in the apostle's memory. on the other hand, there is no adequate record of special matter, which the intimate knowledge of the doings and sayings of jesus possessed by peter might have supplied, to counterbalance the singular omissions. there is infinitely more of the spirit of peter in the first gospel than there is in the second. the whole internal evidence, therefore, shows that this part of the tradition of the presbyter john transmitted by papias does not apply to our gospel. the discrepancy, however, is still more marked when we compare with our actual second gospel the account of the work of mark which papias received from the presbyter. mark wrote down from memory some parts [--greek--] of the teaching of peter regarding the life of jesus, but as peter adapted his instructions to the actual circumstances [--greek--], and did not give a consecutive report [--greek--] of the sayings or doings of jesus, mark was only careful to be accurate, and did not trouble himself to arrange in historical order [--greek--] his narrative of the things which were said and done by jesus, but merely wrote down facts as he remembered them. this description would lead us to expect a work composed of fragmentary reminiscences of the teaching of peter, without regular sequence or connection. the absence of orderly arrangement is the most prominent feature in the description, and forms the burden of the whole. mark writes "what he remembered;" "he did not arrange in order the things that were either said or done by christ;" and then follow the apologetic expressions of explanation--he was not himself a hearer or follower of the lord, but derived his { } information from the occasional preaching of peter, who did not attempt to give a consecutive narrative. now it is impossible in the work of mark here described to recognize our present second gospel, which does not depart in any important degree from the order of the other two synoptics, and which, throughout, has the most evident character of orderly arrangement each of the synoptics compared with the other two would present a similar degree of variation, but none of them could justly be described as not arranged in order or as not being consecutive. the second gospel opens formally, and after presenting john the baptist as the messenger sent to prepare the way of the lord, proceeds to the baptism of jesus, his temptation, his entry upon public life, and his calling of the disciples. then, after a consecutive narrative of his teaching and works, the history ends with a full and consecutive account of the last events in the life of jesus, his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, there is in the gospel every characteristic of artistic and orderly arrangement, from the striking introduction by the prophetic voice crying in the wilderness to the solemn close of the marvellous history.( ) the great majority of critics, therefore, are agreed in concluding that the account of the presbyter john recorded by papias does not apply to our second canonical gospel at all.( ) many { } of those who affirm that the description of papias may apply to our second gospel( ) do so with hesitation, and few maintain that we now possess the original work without considerable subsequent alteration. some of these critics, however, feeling the difficulty of identifying our second gospel with the work here described, endeavour { } to reconcile the discrepancy by a fanciful interpretation of the account of papias. they suggest that the first part, in which the want of chronological order is pointed out, refers to the rough notes which mark made during the actual preaching and lifetime of peter, and that the latter part applies to our present gospel, which he later remodelled into its present shape.( ) this most unreasonable and arbitrary application of the words of papias is denounced even by apologists.( ) it has been well argued that the work here described as produced by mark in the character of [--greek--] is much more one of the same family as the clementine homilies than of our gospels.( ) the work was no systematic narrative of the history of jesus, nor report of his teaching, but the dogmatic preaching of the apostle, illustrated and interspersed with passages from the discourses of jesus or facts from his life.( ) of this character seems actually to have been that ancient work "the preaching of peter" [--greek--], which was used by heracleon,( ) and by clement( ) of alexandria as an authentic canonical work,( ) denounced by origen( ) { } on account of the consideration in which it was held by-many, but still quoted with respect by gregory of nazianzum.( ) there can be no doubt that the [--greek--] although it failed to obtain a permanent place in the canon, was one of the most ancient works of the christian church, dating probably from the first century, from which indeed the clementine homilies themselves were in all likelihood produced,( ) and, like the work described by papias, it also was held to have been composed in rome in connection with the preaching there of peter and paul. it must be noted, moreover, that papias does not call the work ascribed to mark a gospel, but merely a record of the preaching of peter. it is not necessary for us to account for the manner in which the work referred to by the presbyter john disappeared, and the present gospel according to mark became substituted for it. the merely negative evidence that our actual gospel is not the work described by papias is sufficient for our purpose. any one acquainted with the thoroughly uncritical character of the fathers, and with the literary history of the early christian church, will readily conceive the facility with which this can have been accomplished. the great mass of intelligent critics are agreed that our synoptic gospels have assumed their present form only after repeated modifications by various editors of earlier evangelical works. these changes have not been effected without traces { } being left by which the various materials may be separated and distinguished, but the more primitive gospels have entirely disappeared, naturally supplanted by the later and amplified versions. the critic, however, who distinguishes between the earlier and later matter is not bound to perform the now impossible feat of producing the originals, or accounting in any but a general way for the disappearance of the primitive gospel. teschendorf asks: "how then has neither eusebius nor any other theologian of christian antiquity thought that the expressions of papias were in contradiction with the two gospels (mt. and mk.)?"( ) the absolute credulity with which those theologians accepted any fiction, however childish, which had a pious tendency, and the frivolous character of the only criticism in which they indulged, render their unquestioning application of the tradition of papias to our gospels anything but singular, and it is only surprising to find their silent acquiescence elevated into an argument. we have already in the course of these pages seen something of the singularly credulous and uncritical character of the fathers, and we cannot afford space to give instances of the absurdities with which their writings abound. no fable could be too gross, no invention too transparent, for their unsuspicious acceptance, if it assumed a pious form or tended to edification. no period in the history of the world ever produced so many spurious works as the first two or three centuries of our era. the name of every apostle, or christian teacher, not excepting that of the great master himself, was freely attached to every description of religious forgery. false gospels, epistles, acts, martyrologies, were unscrupulously { } circulated, and such pious falsification was not even intended or regarded as a crime, but perpetrated for the sake of edification. it was only slowly and after some centuries that many of these works, once, as we have seen, regarded with pious veneration, were excluded from the canon; and that genuine works shared this fate, whilst spurious ones usurped their places, is one of the surest results of criticism. the fathers omitted to inquire critically when such investigation might have been of value, and mere tradition credulously accepted and transmitted is of no critical value.( ) in an age-when the multiplication of copies of any work was a slow process, and their dissemination a matter of difficulty and even danger, it is easy to understand with what facility the more complete and artistic gospel could take the place of the original notes as the work of mark. the account given by papias of the work ascribed to matthew is as follows: "matthew composed the oracles in the hebrew dialect, and every one interpreted them as he was able."( ) critics are divided in opinion as to whether this tradition was, like that regarding mark, derived from the presbyter john,( ) or is given merely on canon westcott himself admits that "the proof of the canon is rendered more difficult by the uncritical character of the first two centuries." he says: "the spirit of the ancient world was essentially uncritical." on the canon, p. f. { } the authority of papias himself.( ) eusebius joins the account of mark to that given by matthew merely by the following words: "these facts papias relates concerning mark; but regarding matthew he has said as follows:"( ) eusebius distinctly states that the account regarding mark is derived from the presbyter, and the only reason for ascribing to him also that concerning matthew is that it is not excluded by the phraseology of eusebius, and the two passages being given by him consecutively--however they may have stood in the work of papias--it is reasonable enough to suppose that the information was derived from the same source. the point is not of much importance, but it is clear that there is no absolute right to trace this statement to the presbyter john, as there is in the case of the tradition about mark. this passage has excited even more controversy than that regarding mark, and its interpretation and application are still keenly debated. the intricacy and difficulty of the questions which it raises are freely admitted by some of the most earnest defenders of the canonical gospels, but the problem, so far as our examination is concerned, can be solved without much trouble. the dilemma in which apologists find themselves when they attempt closely to apply the description of this work given by papias to our canonical gospel is the great difficulty which complicates the matter and prevents a { } clear and distinct solution of the question. we shall avoid minute discussion of details, contenting ourselves with the broader features of the argument, and seeking only to arrive at a just conclusion as to the bearing of the evidence of papias upon the claim to authenticity of our canonical gospel. the first point which we have to consider is the nature of the work which is here described. matthew is said to have composed the [--greek--] or oracles, and there can be little doubt from the title of his own book: "exposition of the lord's oracles" [--greek--], that these oracles referred to by papias were the discourses of jesus. does the word xoyta, however, mean strictly oracles or discourses alone, or does it include within its fair signification also historical narrative? "were the "xoyta" here referred to a simple collection of the discourses of jesus, or a complete gospel like that in our canon bearing the name of matthew? that the natural interpretation of the word is merely "oracles" is indirectly admitted, even by the most thorough apologists, when they confess the obscurity of the expression--obscurity, however, which simply appears to exist from the difficulty of straining the word to make it apply to the gospel. "in these sentences," says tischendorf, referring to the passage about matthew, "there is much obscurity; for instance, it is doubtful whether we have rightly translated 'discourses of the lord,'" and he can only extend the meaning to include historical narrative by leaving the real meaning of the word and interpreting it by supposed analogy. there can be no doubt that the direct meaning of the word xoyta anciently and at the time of papias was { } simply: words or oracles of a sacred character, and however much the signification became afterwards extended, that it was not then at all applied to doings as well as sayings. there are many instances of this original and limited signification in the new testament;( ) and there is no linguistic precedent for straining the expression, used at that period, to mean anything beyond a collection of sayings of jesus which were estimated as oracular or divine, nor is there any reason for thinking that [--greek--] was here used in any other sense.( ) it is argued { } on the other hand, that in the preceding passage upon mark, a more extended meaning of the word is indicated. the presbyter john says that mark, as the interpreter of peter, wrote without order "the things which were either said or done by christ" ([--greek--]), and then, apologizing for him, he goes on to say that peter, whom he followed, adapted his teaching to the occasion, "and not as making a consecutive record of the oracles [--greek--] of the lord." here, it is said, the word [--greek--] is used in reference both to sayings and doings, and therefore in the passage on matthew [--greek--] must not be understood to mean only [--greek--], but also includes, as in the former case, the [--greek--]. for these and similar reasons,--in very many cases largely influenced by the desire to see in these xoyta our actual gospel according to matthew--many critics have maintained that [--greek--] in this place may be understood to include historical narrative as well as discourses.( ) the arguments by which they arrive at this { } conclusion, however, seem to us to be based upon thorough misconception of the direct meaning of the passage. few or none of these critics would deny that the simple interpretation of [--greek--], at that period, was oracular sayings.( ) papias shows his preference for discourses in the very title of his lost book, "exposition of the [--greek--] of the lord," and in the account which he gives of the works attributed to mark and matthew, the discourses evidently attracted his chief interest. now, in the passage regarding mark, instead of [--greek--] being made the equivalent of [--greek--] and [--greek--], the very reverse is the fact. the presbyter says mark wrote what he remembered of the things which were said or done by christ, although not in order, and he apologizes for his doing this on the ground that he had not himself been a _hearer_ of the lord, but merely reported what he had heard from peter, who adapted his teaching to the occasion, and did _not_ attempt to give a consecutive record of the oracles [--greek--] of the lord. mark, therefore, could not do so either. matthew, on the contrary, he states, did compose the oracles [--greek--]. there is an evident contrast made: mark { } wrote [--greek--] because he had not the means of writing the oracles, but matthew composed the [--greek--].( ) papias clearly distinguishes the work of mark, who had written reminiscences of what jesus had said and done, from that of matthew, who had made a collection of his discourses.( ) it is impossible upon any but arbitrary grounds, and from a foregone conclusion, to maintain that a work commencing with a detailed history of the birth and infancy of jesus, his genealogy, and the preaching of john the baptist, and concluding with an equally minute history of his betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, and which relates all the miracles and has for its evident aim throughout the demonstration that messianic prophecy was fulfilled in jesus, could be entitled [--greek--]: the oracles or discourses of the lord.( ) partly for these, but also for other important reasons, some of which shall presently be referred to, the great majority of critics deny that the work described by papias can be the same as the gospel in our canon bearing the name of matthew.( ) whilst of those who { } suppose that the (aramaic) original of which papias speaks may have been substantially similar to it in construction, very few affirm that the work did not receive much subsequent manipulation, addition, and alteration, necessarily including translation, before it assumed the form in which the gospel now lies before us, and many of them altogether deny its actual apostolic origin.( ) the next most important and obvious point is that the work described in this passage was written by matthew { } in the hebrew or aramaic dialect, and each one who did not understand that dialect was obliged to translate as best he could. our gospel according to matthew, however, is in greek. tischendorf, who is obliged to acknowledge the greek originality of our actual gospel, and that it is not a translation from another language, recognizes the inevitable dilemma in which this fact places apologists, and has, with a few other critics, no better argument with which to meet it than the simple suggestion that papias must have been mistaken in saying that matthew wrote in hebrew.( ) just as much of the testimony as is convenient or favourable is eagerly claimed by such apologists, and the rest, which destroys its applicability to our gospel, is set aside as a mistake. tischendorf perceives the difficulty, but not having arguments to meet it, he takes refuge in feeling. "in this," he says, "there lies before us one of the most complicated questions, whose detailed treatment would here not be in place. for our part, we are fully at rest concerning it, in the conviction that the assumption by papias of a hebrew original text of matthew, which already in his time cannot have been limited to himself and was soon repeated by other men, arises only from a misunderstanding."( ) it is difficult to comprehend why it should be considered out of place in a work specially written to establish the authenticity of the gospels to discuss fully so vital a point, and its deliberate evasion in such a manner alone can be deemed out of place on such an occasion.( ) { } we may here briefly remark that teschendorf and others( ) repeat with approval the disparaging expressions against papias which eusebius, for dogmatic reasons, did not scruple to use, and in this way they seek somewhat to depreciate his testimony, or at least indirectly to warrant their free handling of it. it is true that eusebius says that papias was a man of very limited comprehension( ) [--greek--], but this is acknowledged to be on account of his millenarian opinions,( ) to which eusebius was vehemently opposed. it must be borne in mind, however, that the chiliastic passage from papias quoted by irenæus, and in which he certainly saw nothing foolish, is given on the authority of the presbyter john, to whom, and not to papias, any criticism upon it must be referred. if the passage be not of a very elevated character, it is quite in the spirit of that age. the main point, however, is that in regard to the testimony of papias we have little to { } do with his general ability, for all that was requisite was the power to see, hear, and accurately state very simple facts. he repeats what is told him by the presbyter, and in such matters we presume that the bishop of hierapolis must be admitted to have been competent.( ) there is no point, however, on which the testimony of the fathers is more invariable and complete than that the work of matthew was written in hebrew or aramaic. the first mention of any work ascribed to matthew occurs in the account communicated by papias, in which, as we have seen, it is distinctly said that matthew wrote "in the hebrew dialect." irenæus, the next writer who refers to the point, says: "matthew also produced a written gospel amongst the hebrews in their own dialect," and that he did not derive his information solely from papias may be inferred from his going on to state the epoch of matthew's writings: "when peter and paul were preaching and founding the church in rome."( ) the evidence furnished by pantænus is certainly independent of papias. eusebius states with regard to him: "of these pantænus is said to have been one, and to have penetrated as far as india (southern arabia), where it is reported that he found the gospel according to matthew, which had been delivered before his arrival to some who had the knowledge of christ, to whom bartholomew, one of the apostles, as it is said, had preached, and left them that writing of matthew in hebrew letters" [--greek--] { } [--greek--].( ) jerome gives a still more circumstantial account of this. "pantaenus found that bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, had there (in india) preached the advent of our lord jesus christ according to the gospel of matthew, which was written in hebrew letters (quod hebraicis uteris scriptum), and which on returning to alexandria he brought with him."( ) it is quite clear that this was no version specially made by bartholomew, for had he translated the gospel according to matthew from the greek, for the use of persons in arabia, he certainly would not have done so into hebrew.( ) origen, according to eusebius, "following the ecclesiastical canon," states what he has understood from tradition [--greek--] of the gospels, and says: "the first written was that according to matthew, once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of jesus christ, who delivered it to the jewish believers, composed in the hebrew language."( ) eusebius in another place makes a similar statement in his own name: "matthew having first preached to the hebrews when he was about to go also to others, delivered to them his gospel written in their native language, and thus compensated those from whom he was departing for the want of his presence by the writing."( ) cyril of jerusalem says: "matthew, who wrote the gospel, wrote it in the hebrew language."( ) epiphanius, referring to the fact that the nazarenes called the only gospel which they { } recognized the "gospel according to the hebrews," continues: "as in very truth we can affirm that matthew alone in the new testament set forth and proclaimed the gospel in the hebrew language and in hebrew characters;"( ) and elsewhere he states that "matthew wrote the gospel in hebrew."( ) the same tradition is repeated by chrysostom,( ) augustine,( ) and others. whilst the testimony of the fathers was thus unanimous as to the fact that the gospel ascribed to matthew was originally written in hebrew, no question ever seems to have arisen in their minds as to the character of the greek version; much less was any examination made with the view of testing the accuracy of the translation. "such inquiries were not in the spirit of christian learned men generally of that time,"( ) as tischendorf remarks in connection with the belief current in the early church, and afterwards shared by jerome, that the gospel according to the hebrews was the original of the greek gospel according to matthew. the first who directly refers to the point, frankly confessing the total ignorance which generally prevailed, was jerome. he states: "matthew, who was also called levi, who from a publican became an apostle, was the first who wrote a gospel of christ in judæa in hebrew language and letters, on account of those from amongst the circumcision who had believed; but who afterwards translated it into greek is not { } sufficiently certain."( ) it was only at a much later period, when doubt began to arise, that the translation was wildly ascribed to the apostles john, james, and others.( ) the expression in papias that "everyone interpreted them (the [--greek--]) as he was able" [--greek--] has been variously interpreted by different critics, like the rest of the account. schleier-macher explained the [--greek--] as translation by enlargement: matthew merely collected the xoyta ([--greek--]), and everyone added the explanatory circumstances of time and occasion as best he could.( ) this view, however, has not been largely adopted. others consider that the expression refers to the interpretation which was given on reading it at the public meetings of christians for worship,( ) but there can be no doubt that, coming after the statement that the work was written in the hebrew dialect, [--greek--] can only mean simple translation.( ) some maintain that the passage infers the existence of many written translations, amongst which very probably was ours;( ) whilst others affirm that the phrase merely signifies that as there was no recognized { } translation, each one who had but an imperfect knowledge of the language, yet wished to read the work, translated the hebrew for himself orally as best he could.( ) some consider that papias or the presbyter use the verb in the past tense, [--greek--], as contrasting the time when it was necessary for each to interpret as best he could with the period when, from the existence of a recognized translation, it was no longer necessary for them to do so;( ) whilst others deny that any written translation of an authentic character was known to papias at all.( ) now the words in papias are merely: "matthew composed the xoyta in the hebrew dialect,( ) and everyone interpreted them as he was able." the statement is perfectly simple and direct, and it is at least quite clear that it conveys the fact that when the work was composed, translation was requisite, and as each one translated "as he was able," that no recognized translation existed to which all might have recourse. there is no contrast either necessarily or, we think, probably implied in the use of the past tense. the composition of the xoyta being of course referred to in the in connection with this it may be of interest to remember that, in the account of his conversion and the vision which he saw on his way to damascus which paul gives to king agrippa in the acts of the apostles, he states that jesus spoke to him "in the hebrew dialect" [--greek--], acts xxvi. . { } past tense, the same tense is simply continued in completing the sentence. the purpose is obviously to convey the fact that the work was composed in the hebrew language. but even if it be taken that papias intentionally uses the past tense in reference to the time when translations did not exist, nothing is gained, papias may have known of many translations, but there is absolutely not a syllable which warrants the conclusion that papias was acquainted with an authentic greek version, although it is possible that he may have known of the existence of some greek translations of no authority. the words used, however, imply that, if he did, he had no respect for any of them. thus the account of papias, supported by the perfectly unanimous testimony of the fathers, declares that the work composed by matthew was written in the hebrew or aramaic dialect. the only evidence which asserts that matthew wrote any work at all, distinctly asserts that he wrote it in hebrew. it is quite impossible to separate the statement of the authorship from the language. the two points are so indissolubly united that they stand or fall together. if it be denied that matthew wrote in hebrew, it cannot be asserted that he wrote at all. it is therefore perfectly certain from this testimony that matthew cannot be declared the direct author of the greek canonical gospel bearing his name.( ) at the very best it can only be a translation, by an unknown hand, of a work the original of which was early lost. none of the earlier fathers ever ventured a conjecture as to how, when, or by whom the translation was effected. jerome explicitly states that the translator of the work was unknown. the { } deduction is clear: our greek gospel, in so far as it is associated with matthew at all, cannot at the utmost be more than a translation, but as the work of an unknown translator, there cannot, in the absence of the original, or of satisfactory testimony of its accuracy, bo any assurance that the translation faithfully renders the work of matthew, or accurately conveys the sense of the original. all its apostolical authority is gone. even michaelis long ago recognized this: "if the original text of matthew be lost, and we have nothing but a greek translation: then, frankly, we cannot ascribe any divine inspiration to the words: yea, it is possible that in various places the true meaning of the apostle has been missed by the translator."( ) this was felt and argued by the manicheans in the fourth century,( ) and by the anabaptists at the time of the reformation.( ) a wide argument might be opened out as to the dependence of the other two gospels on this unauthenticated work. the dilemma, however, is not yet complete. it was early remarked that our first canonical gospel bore no real marks of being a translation at all, but is evidently an original independent greek work. even men like erasmus, calvin, cajctan, and oecolampadius, began to deny the statement that our gospels showed any traces of hebrew origin, and the researches of later scholars have so fully confirmed their doubts that few now maintain the primitive belief in a translation. we do not propose here to enter fully into this argument. it is sufficient to say that the great majority of competent critics declare that our first canonical gospel is no translation, but an { } original greek text;( ) whilst of those who consider that they find traces of translation and of hebrew origin, { } some barely deny the independent originality of the greek gospel, and few assert more than substantial agreement with the original, with more or less variation and addition often of a very decided character.( ) the case, therefore, stands thus: the whole of the evidence which warrants our believing that matthew wrote any { } work at all, distinctly, invariably, and emphatically asserts that he wrote that work in hebrew or aramaic; a greek gospel, therefore, as connected with matthew, can only be a translation by an unknown hand, whose accuracy we have not, and never have had, the means of verifying. our greek gospel, however, being an independent original greek text, there is no ground whatever for ascribing it even indirectly to matthew at all, the whole evidence of antiquity being emphatically opposed, and the gospel itself laying no claim, to such authorship. one or other of these alternatives must be adopted for our first gospel, and either is absolutely fatal to its direct apostolic origin. neither as a translation from the hebrew nor as an original greek text can it claim apostolic authority. this has been so well recognized, if not admitted, that some writers, with greater zeal than discretion, have devised fanciful theories to obviate the difficulty. these maintain that matthew himself wrote both in hebrew and in greek,( ) or at least that the translation was made during his own lifetime and under his own eye,( ) and so on. there is not, however, a particle of evidence for any of these assertions, which { } are merely the arbitrary and groundless conjectures of embarrassed apologists. it is manifest that upon this evidence both those who assert the hebrew original of matthew's work and those who maintain that our gospel is not a translation but an original greek composition, should logically deny its apostolicity. we need not say that this is not done, and that for dogmatic and other foregone conclusions many profess belief in the apostolic authorship of the gospel, although in doing so they wilfully ignore the facts, and in many cases merely claim a substantial but not absolute apostolic origin for the work.( ) a much greater number of the most able and learned critics, however, both from external and internal evidence deny the apostolic origin of our first canonical gospel.( ) { } there is another fact to which we may briefly refer, which from another side shows that the work of matthew { } with which papias was acquainted was different from our gospel. in a fragment from the fourth book of his lost work which is preserved to us by oecumenius and theophylact, papias relates the circumstances of the death of judas iscariot in a manner which is in contradiction to the account in the first gospel. in matthew xxvii. , the death of the traitor is thus related: "and he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself."( ) the narrative in papias is as follows: "judas walked about in this world a great example of impiety; for his body having swollen so that, on an occasion, when a waggon was moving on its way, he could not pass it, he was crushed by the waggon and his bowels gushed out."( ) theophylact, in connection with this passage, adds other details also apparently taken from the work of papias, as for instance that, from his excessive corpulency, the eyes of judas were so swollen that they could not see, and so sunk in his head that they could not be perceived even by the aid of the optical instruments of physicians; and that the rest of his body was covered with running sores and maggots, and so on in the manner of the early christian ages, whose imagination conjured up the wildest "special { } providences" to punish the enemies of the faith.( ) as papias expressly states that he eagerly inquired what the apostles, and amongst them what matthew, said, we may conclude that he would not have deliberately contradicted the account given by that apostle had he been acquainted with any work attributed to him which contained it.( ) it has been argued, from some very remote and imaginary resemblance between the passage from the preface to the work of papias quoted by eusebius with the prologue to luke, that papias was acquainted with that gospel;( ) but nothing could be more groundless than such a conclusion based upon such evidence, and there is not a word in our fragments of papias which warrants such an assertion.( ) eusebius, who never fails to state what the fathers say about the works of the new testament, does not mention that papias knew either the third or fourth gospels. is it possible to suppose that if papias had been acquainted with those gospels he would not have asked for information about them from the presbyters, or that eusebius would not have recorded it as he did that regarding the works ascribed to matthew and mark? eusebius states, however, that papias "made use of testimonies from the first epistle of john and, likewise, from that of peter."( ) as eusebius, { } however, does not quote the passages from papias, we must remain in doubt whether he did not, as elsewhere, assume from some similarity of wording that the passages were quotations from these epistles, whilst in reality they might not be. andrew, a cappadocian bishop of the fifth century, mentions that papias, amongst others of the fathers, considered the apocalypse inspired.( ) no reference is made to this by eusebius, but although from his millenarian tendencies it is very probable that papias regarded the apocalypse with peculiar veneration as a prophetic book, this evidence is too vague and isolated to be of much value. we find, however, that papias, like hegesippus and others of the fathers, was acquainted with the gospel according to the hebrews.( ) eusebius says: "he (papias) has likewise related another history of a woman accused of many sins before the lord, which is contained in the gospel according to the hebrews."( ) this is generally believed to be the episode inserted in the later mss. of the fourth gospel, viii. -- . whatever books papias knew, however, it is certain, from his own express declaration, that he ascribed little importance to them, and preferred tradition as a more beneficial source of information regarding evangelical history. "for i held that what was to be derived from { } books," he says, "did not so profit me as that from the living and abiding voice."( ) if, therefore, it could even have been shown that papias was acquainted with any of our canonical gospels, it must at the same time have been admitted that he did not recognize them as authoritative documents. it is manifest from the evidence adduced, however, that papias did not know our gospels. it is not possible that he could have found it better to inquire "what john or matthew, or what any other of the disciples of the lord... say" if he had known of gospels such as ours, and believed them to have been actually written by those apostles, deliberately telling him what they had to say. the work of matthew which he mentions being, however, a mere collection of discourses of jesus, he might naturally inquire what the apostle( ) himself said of the history and teaching of the master. the evidence of papias is in every respect most important. he is the first writer who mentions that matthew and mark were believed to have written any works at all; but whilst he shows that he does not accord any canonical authority even to the works attributed to them, his description of those works and his general testimony comes with crushing force against the pretensions made on behalf of our gospels to apostolic origin and authenticity. we may merely remark that papias does not call the matthew who wrote the[--greek--] an apostle. in this passage he speaks of the apostle, but he does not distinctly identify him with the matthew of the other passage. end of vol. i. weymouth new testament in modern speech preface and introductions third edition public domain--copy freely these files were produced by keying for use in the online bible. proofreading was performed by earl melton. the printed edition used in creating this etext was the kregal reprint of the ernest hampden-cook ( ) third edition, of the edition first published in by j. clarke, london. kregal edition isbn - - - . due to the plans to add the weymouth footnotes, the footnote markers have been left in the text and page break indicators. other special markings are words surrounded with "*" to indicate emphasis, and phrases surrounded with "<>" to indicate bold ot quotes. see weymouth.int in wntint.zip for the introduction to the text, and information on weymouth's techniques. the most current corrected files can be found on: bible foundation bbs - - ( . kbs) if any errors are found, please notify me at the above bbs, or at: mark fuller e. loyola dr. tempe, az. ( ) - ----------- corrections to the printed page --------------------- introduction says personal pronouns referring to jesus, when spoken by other than the author/narrator, are capitalized only when they recognize his deity. the following oversights in the third edition were corrected in subsequent editions. therefore we feel justified in correcting them in this computer version. mt : capitalized 'him'. same person speaking as in v. . mt : capitalized 'he'. joh : capitalized 'his' heb : capitalized last 'he' (referring to god). ==== changes made to printed page. lu : added closing quote at end of verse as later editions do. lu : come > came (changed in later editions) ro : it > if (an obvious typesetting error corrected in later editions) co : out > cut (an obvious typesetting error corrected in later editions) php : the word 'book' in 'book of life' was not capitalized in various printings of the third edition, but it was in later editions. so we have capitalized it here. ti : deserts > desserts (misspelling perpetuated in later editions) ==== no change made: eph : did not capitalize 'word' as in word of god. preface to the first edition the translation of the new testament here offered to english-speaking christians is a bona fide translation made directly from the greek, and is in no sense a revision. the plan adopted has been the following. . an earnest endeavour has been made (based upon more than sixty years' study of both the greek and english languages, besides much further familiarity gained by continual teaching) to ascertain the exact meaning of every passage not only by the light that classical greek throws on the langruage used, but also by that which the septuagint and the hebrew scriptures afford; aid being sought too from versions and commentators ancient and modern, and from the ample _et cetera_ of _apparatus grammaticus_ and theological and classical reviews and magazines--or rather, by means of occasional excursions into this vast prairie. . the sense thus seeming to have been ascertained, the next step has been to consider how it could be most accurately and naturally exhibited in the english of the present day; in other words, how we can with some approach to probability suppose that the inspired writer himself would have expressed his thoughts, had he been writing in our age and country. / . lastly it has been evidently desirable to compare the results thus attained with the renderings of other scholars, especially of course witll the authorized and revised versions. but alas, the great majority of even "new translations," so called, are, in reality, only tyndale's immortal work a little--often very litlle--modernized! . but in the endeavour to find in twentieth century english a precise equivalent for a greek word, phrase, or sentence there are two dangers to be guarded against. there are a scylla and a charybdis. on the one hand there is the english of society, on the other hand that of the utterly uneducated, each of these _patois_ having also its own special, though expressive, borderland which we name 'slang.' but all these salient angles (as a professor of fortification might say) of our language are forbidden ground to the reverent translator of holy scripture. . but again, a _modern_ translation--does this imply that no words or phrases in any degree antiquated are to be admitted? not so, for great numbers of such words and phrases are still in constant use. to be antiquated is not the same thing as to be obsolete or even obsolescent, and without at least a tinge of antiquity it is scarcely possible that there should be that dignity of style that befits the sacred themes with which the evangelists and apostles deal. . it is plain that this attempt to bring out the sense of the sacred writings naturally as well as accurately in present-day english does not permit, except to a limited extent, the method of literal rendering--the _verbo verbum reddere_ at which horace shrugs his shoulders. dr. welldon, recently bishop of calcutta, in the preface (p. vii) to his masterly translation of the _nicomachean ethics_ of aristotle, writes, "i have deliberately rejected the principle of trying to translate the same greek word by the same word in english, and where circumstances seemed to call for it i have sometimes used two english words to represent one word of the greek;"--and he is perfectly right. with a slavish literality delicate shades of meaning cannot be reproduced, nor allowance be made for the influence of interwoven thought, or of the writer's ever shifting--not to say changing--point of view. an utterly ignorant or utterly lazy man, if possessed of a little ingenuity, can with the help of a dictionary and grammar give a word-for-word rendering, whether intelligible or not, and print 'translation' on his title-page. on the other hand it is a melancholy spectacle to see men of high ability and undoubted scholarship toil and struggle at translation under a needless restriction to literality, as in intellectual handcuffs and fetters, when they might with advantage snap the bonds and fling them away, as dr. welldon has done: more melancholy still, if they are at the same time racking their brains to exhibit the result of their labours---a splendid but idle philological _tour de force_ --in what was english nearly years before. . obviously any literal translation cannot but carry idioms of the earlier language into the later, where they will very probably not be understood; / and more serious still is the evil when, as in the jewish greek of the n t, the earlier language of the two is itself composite and abounds in forms of speech that belong to one earlier still. for the n.t. greek, even in the writings of luke, contains a large number of hebrew idioms; and a literal rendering into english cannot but partially veil, and in some degree distort, the true sense, even if it does not totally obscure it (and that too where _perfect_ clearness should be attained, if possible), by this admixture of hebrew as well as greek forms of expression. . it follows that the reader who is bent upon getting a literal rendering, such as he can commonly find in the r.v. or (often a better one) in darby's _new testament_, should always be on his guard against its strong tendency to mislead. . one point however can hardly be too emphatically stated. it is not the present translator's ambition to supplant the versions already in general use, to which their intrinsic merit or long familiarity or both have caused all christian minds so lovingly to cling. his desire has rather been to furnish a succinct and compressed running commentary (not doctrinal) to be used sidc by side with its elder compeers. and yet there has been something of a remoter hope. it can scarcely be doubted that some day the attempt will be renewed to produce a satisfactory english bible--one in some respects perhaps (but assuredly with great and important deviations) on the lines of the revision of , or even altogether to supersede both the a.v. and the r.v.; and it may be that the translation here offered will contribute some materials that may be built into that far grander edifice. . the greek text here followed is that given in the translator's _resultant greek testament_. . of the various readings only those are here given which seem the most important, and which affect the rendering into english. they are in the footnotes, with v.l. (_varia lectio_) prefixed. as to the chief modern critical editions full details will be found in the _resultant greek testament_, while for the original authorities--mss., versions, patristic quotations--the reader must of necessity consult the great works of lachmann, tregelles, tischendorf, and others, or the numerous monographs on separate books. / in the margin of the r.v. a distinction is made between readings supported by "a few ancient authorities," "some ancient authorities," "many ancient authorities," and so on. such valuation is not attempted in this work. . considerable pains have been bestowed on the exact rendering of the tenses of the greek verb; for by inexactness in this detail the true sense cannot but be missed. that the greek tenses do not coincide, and cannot be expected to coincide with those of the english verb; that--except in narrative--the aorist as a rule is _more_ exactly represented in english by our perfect with "have" than by our simple past tense; and that in this particular the a.v. is in scores of instances more correct than the r.v.; the present translator has contended (with arguments which some of the best scholars in britain and in america hold to be "unanswerable" and "indisputable") in a pamphlet _on the rendering into english of the greek aorist and perfect_. even an outline of the argument cannot be given in a preface such as this. . but he who would make a truly _english_ translation of a foreign book must not only select the right nouns, adjectives, and verbs, insert the suitable prepositions and auxiliaries, and triumph (if he can) over the seductions and blandishments of idioms with which he has been familiar from his infancy, but which, though forcible or beautiful with other surroundings, are for all that part and parcel of that other language rather than of english: he has also to beware of _connecting his sentences_ in an un-english fashion. now a careful examination of a number of authors (including scottish, irish, and american) yields some interesting results. taking at haphazard a passage from each of fifty-six authors, and counting on after some full stop till fifty finite verbs--i. e. verbs in the indicative, imperative, or subjunctive mood--have been reached (each finite verb, as every schoolboy knows, being the nucleus of one sentence or clause), it has been found that the connecting links of the fifty-six times fifty sentences are about one-third conjunctions, about one-third adverbs or relative and interrogative pronouns, while in the case of the remaining third there is what the grammarians call an _asyndeton_--no formal grammatical connexion at all. but in the writers of the n.t. nearly _two_-thirds of the connecting links are conjunctions. it follows that in order to make the style of a translation true idiomatic english many of these conjunctions must be omitted, and for others adverbs, &c., must be substituted. the two conjunctions _for_ and _therefore_ are discussed at some length in two appendices to the above-mentioned pamphlet on the _aorist_, to which the reader is referred. . the notes, with but few exceptions, are not of the nature of a general commentary. some, as already intimated, refer to the readings here followed, but the great majority are in vindication or explanation of the renderings given. since the completion of this new version nearly two years ago, ill-health has incapacitated the translator from undertaking even the lightest work. he has therefore been obliged to entrust to other hands the labour of critically examining and revising the manuscript and of seeing it through the press. this arduous task has been undertaken by rev. ernest hampden-cook, m.a., st. john's college, cambridge, of sandhach, cheshire, with some co-operation from one of the translator's sons; and the translator is under deep obligations to these two gentlemen for their kindness in the matter. he has also most cordially to thank mr. hampden-cook for making the existence of the work known to various members of the old millhilians' club and other former pupils of the translator, who in a truly substantial manner have manifested a generous determination to enable the volume to see the light. very grateful does the translator feel to them for this signal mark of their friendship. mr. hampden-cook is responsible for the headings of the paragraphs, and at my express desire has inserted some additional notes. i have further to express my gratitude to rev. frank baliard, m.a., b.sc., lond., at present of sharrow, sheffield, for some very valuable assistance which he has most kindly given in connexion with the introductions to the several books. i have also the pleasure of acknowledging the numerous valuable and suggestive criticisms with which i have been favoured on some parts of the work, by an old friend, rev. sydney thelwall, b.a., of leamington, a clergyman of the church of england, whom i have known for many years as a painstaking and accurate scholar, a well-read theologian. and a thoughtful and devout student of scripture. i am very thankful to mr. h. l. gethin. mr. s. hales, mr. j. a. latham, and rev. t. a. seed, for the care with which they have read the proof sheets. and now this translation is humbly and prayerfully commended to god's gracious blessing. r.f.w. / . i am aware of what proffessor blackie has written on this subject (_aeschylus_, pref. p. viii) but the problem endeavoured to be solved in this translation is as above stated. / . a flagrant instance is the "having in a readiness" of cor. . , a.v. althoglgh in tyndale we find "and are redy to take vengeaunce," and even wiclif writes "and we han redi to venge." / such as mcclellan's four gospels; westcott on john's gospel, john's epistles, and _hebrews_; hackett on _acts_, lightfoot, and also ellicott, on various epistles: mayor on _james_; edwards on _i corinthians_ and _hebrews_; sanday and headlam on _romans_. add to these scrivener's very valuable _introduction to the criticism of the n.t._ preface to the third edition for the purposes of this edition the whole volume has been re-set in new type, and, in the hope of increasing the interest and attractiveness of the translation, all conversations have been spaced out in accordance with modern custom. a freer use than before has been made of capital letters, and by means of small, raised figures, prefixed to words in the text, an indication has been griven whenever there is a footnote. "capernaum" and "philadelphia" have been substituted for the less familiar but more literal "capharnahum" and "philadelpheia." many errata have been corrected, and a very considerable number of what seemed to be infelicities or slight inaccuracies in the english have been removed. a few additional footnotes have been inserted, and, for the most part, those for which the editor is responsible have now the letters ed. added to them. sincere thanks are tendered to the many kind friends who have expressed their appreciation of this translation, or have helped to make it better known, and to the many correspondents who have sent criticisms of the previous editions, and made useful suggestions for the improvement of the volume. e.h.c. abbreviations used in the notes aorist. dr. weymouth's pamphlet on the rendering of the greek aorist and perfect tenses into english. a.v. authorised english version, . cp. compare. ed. notes for which the editor is responsible, wholly or in part. i.e. that is. lit. literally. lxx. the septuagint (greek) version of the old testament. n. note. nn. notes. n.t. new testament. o.t. old testament. r.v. revised english version, - . s.h. sanday and headlam's commentary on 'romans.' v.l. varia lectio. an alternative reading found in some manuscripts of the new testament. v.v. verses. in accordance with modern english custom, _italics_ are used to indicate emphasis. [in the etext, surounded by **] old testament quotations are printed in small capitals. [in the etext, surrounded by <>] during christ's earthly ministry even his disciples did not always recognize his super-human nature and dignity. accordingly, in the gospels of this translation, it is only when the evangelists themselves use of him the words "he," "him," "his," that these are spelt with capital initial letters. the spelling of "me" and "my" with small initial letters, when used by christ himself in the gospels, is explained by the fact that, before his resurrection, he did not always emphasize his own super-human nature and dignity. the good news as recorded by matthew there are ample reasons for accepting the uniform tradition which from earliest times has ascribed this gospel to levi the son of alphaeus, who seems to have changed his name to 'matthew' on becoming a disciple of jesus. our information as to his subsequent life is very scanty. after the feast which he made for his old friends (lu : ) his name only appears in the new testament in the list of the twelve apostles. early christian writers add little to our knowledge of him, but his life seems to have been quiet and somewhat ascetic. he is also generally represented as having died a natural death. where his gospel was written, or where he himself laboured, we cannot say. not a little controversy has arisen as to the form in which this gospel first appeared, that is, as to whether we have in the greek mss. an original document or a translation from an earlier aramaic writing. modern scholarship inclines to the view that the book is not a translation, but was probably written in greek by matthew himself, upon the basis of a previously issued collection of "logia" or discourses, to the existence of which papias, irenaeus, pantaenus, origen, eusebius and jerome all testify. the date of the gospel, as we know it, is somewhat uncertain, but the best critical estimates are included between and , a.d. perhaps, with harnack, we may adopt , a.d. the book was evidently intended for jewish converts, and exhibits jesus as the god-appointed messiah and king, the fulfiller of the law and of the highest expectations of the jewish nation. this speciality of aim rather enhances than diminishes its general value. renan found reason for pronouncing it "the most important book of christendom-- the most important book which has ever been written." its aim is manifestly didactic rather than chronological. the good news as recorded by mark this gospel is at once the briefest and earliest of the four. modern research confirms the ancient tradition that the author was barnabas's cousin, "john, whose other name was mark," who during paul's first missionary tour "departed from them" at pamphylia, "and returned to jerusalem" (see ac : , ; : , ; co : o; ti : ; phm : ; pe : ). his defection appeared to paul sufficiently serious to warrant an emphatic refusal to take him with him on a second tour, but in after years the breach was healed and we find mark with paul again when he writes to colossae, and he is also mentioned approvingly in the second letter to timothy. scholars are now almost unanimous in fixing the date of this gospel between and , a. d. there is no valid reason for questioning the usual view that it was written in rome. clement, eusebius, jerome and epiphanius, all assert that this was so. that the book was mainly intended for gentiles, and especially romans, seems probable from internal evidence. latin forms not occurring in other gospels, together with explanations of jewish terms and customs, and the omission of all reference to the jewish law, point in this direction. its vividness of narration and pictorial minuteness of observation bespeak the testimony of an eye-witness, and the assertion of papias, quoted by eusebius, that mark was "the interpreter of peter" is borne out by the gospel itself no less than by what we otherwise know of mark and peter. in a real though not mechanical sense, this is "the gospel of peter," and its admitted priority to the gospels of matthew and luke affords substantial reason for the assumption that it is to some extent the source whence they derive their narratives, although papias distinctly affirms that mark made no attempt at giving a carefully arranged history such as that at which luke confessedly aimed. in spite of the witness of most uncial mss. and the valiant pleading of dean burgon and others, modern scholars are well nigh unanimous in asserting that the last twelve verses of this gospel are an appendix. yet less cannot honestly be said than that they "must have been of very early date," and that they embody "a true apostolic tradition which may have been written by some companion or successor of the original author." in one armenian ms. they are attributed to aristion. the good news as recorded by luke modern research has abundantly confirmed the ancient tradition that the anonymous author of the third gospel is none other than "luke the beloved physician" and the narrator of the "acts of the apostles" (see. col : ; ti : ; phm : ). even renan acknowledges this, and the objections of a few extremists appear to have been sufficiently answered. the date is not easy to settle. the main problem is whether the book was written before or after the destruction of jerusalem in , a.d. not a few scholars whose views merit great respect still think that it preceded that event, but the majority of critics believe otherwise. three principal dates have been suggested, , a.d., , a.d., , a.d. if we accept , a. d., we shall be in substantial accord with harnack, mcgiffert, and plummer, who fairly represent the best consensus of scholarly opinion. there is no evidence as to where this gospel was composed, although its general style suggests the influence of some hellenic centre. its special characteristics are plain. it is written in purer greek than the other gospels, and is manifestly the most historic and artistic. it has also the widest outlook, having obviously been compiled for gentiles, and, especially, for greeks. the author was evidently an educated man and probably a physician, and was also a close observer. eighteen of the parables and six of the miracles found here are not recorded elsewhere. those "portions of the gospel narrative which luke alone has preserved for us, are among the most beautiful treasures which we possess, and we owe them in a great measure to his desire to make his collection as full as possible." luke's object was rather to write history than construct an "apology" and for this reason his order is generally chronological. this gospel is often termed, and not without reason, "the gospel of paul." luke's close association with the great apostle--an association to which the record in the acts and also the pauline letters bear testimony--at once warrants and explains the ancient assumption that we have here a writing as truly coloured by the influence of paul as that of mark was by peter. this is especially the gospel of gratuitous and universal salvation. its integrity has recently been placed beyond dispute. marcion's edition of it in , a.d., was a mutilation of the original! the good news as recorded by john in spite of its rejection by marcion and the alogi, the fourth gospel was accepted by most christians at the end of the second century as having been written by the apostle john. in the present day the preponderating tendency among scholars favours the traditional authorship. on the other hand the most recent scrutiny asserts: "although many critics see no adequate reason for accepting the tradition which assigns the book to the apostle john, and there are several cogent reasons to the contrary, they would hardly deny that nevertheless the volume is johannine--in the sense that any historical element throughout its pages may be traced back directly or indirectly to that apostle and his school." as regards the date, no more definite period can be indicated than that suggested by harnack--between , a.d., and , a.d. but that it was written in ephesus is practically certain, and there is evidence that it was composed at the request of elders and believers belonging to the churches of roman asia. the special characteristics which render the book unique in literature are unmistakable, but scarcely admit of brief expression. it is manifestly supplementary to the other gospels and assumes that they are known and are true. the differences between the fourth gospel and the other three may be easily exaggerated, but it must be acknowledged that they exist. they relate, ( ) to the ministry of christ, and ( ) to his person. as to the former it is impossible to correlate all the references to distinct events, for whilst the synoptics appear to contemplate little more than the life and work of a single year, from john's standpoint there can scarcely have been less than three years concerned. as to the person of christ, it must be owned that although the fourth gospel makes no assertion which contradicts the character of teacher and reformer attributed to him by the synoptics, it presents to us a personage so enwrapped in mystery and dignity as altogether to transcend ordinary human nature. this transcendent personality is indeed the avowed centre of the whole record, and his portrayal is its avowed purpose. yet whilst the writer never clearly reveals to us who he himself is, it is equally manifest that his own convictions constitute the matrix in which the discourses and events are imbedded, and that there is nothing in this matrix to render that which it contains unreal or untrustworthy. the acts of the apostles the authorship of this book has been much discussed, but it may now be affirmed with certainty that the writer of our third gospel is also the author of "the acts," and that he speaks from the standpoint of an eye-witness in the four we sections ( : - ; : - ; : - ; : -- : ), and is known in paul's letters as "luke the beloved physician" (col : ; ti : ; phm : ). the date necessarily depends upon that of the third gospel. if the latter was written before the destruction of jerusalem, then luke's second work may well have been issued between and , a.d. but the tendency, in the present day, is to date the gospel somewhere between and , a.d., after the destruction of the city. in that case "the acts" may be assigned to any period between and , a.d. the latter conclusion, though by no means certain, is perhaps the more probable. the familiar title of the book is somewhat unfortunate, for it is manifestly not the intention of the writer to describe the doings of the apostles generally, but rather just so much of the labours of peter and paul--and especially the latter--as will serve to illustrate the growth of the early church, and at the same time exhibit the emancipation of christianity from its primitive judaic origin and environment. it is plain that the writer was contemporary with the events he describes, and although his perfect ingenuousness ceaselessly connects his narrative with history, in no case has he been proved to be in error. the intricacy of the connexions between this record and the pauline letters will be best estimated from a study of paley's _horae paulinae_. we know nothing definite as to the place where the acts was written, nor the sources whence the information for the earlier portion of the narrative was obtained. but it may be truthfully affirmed that from the modern critical ordeal the work emerges as a definite whole, and rather confirmed than weakened in regard to its general authenticity. paul's letter to the romans the four books of the new testament known as the letters to the romans, corinthians, and galatians, are allowed by practically all critics, including some of the most "destructive," to be genuine productions of the apostle paul. opinions vary as to the order of their composition. the latest research tends to put 'galatians' first, and 'romans' last, in the period between and a. d. the date generally assigned to the roman letter is a.d., but recently harnack, mcgiffert, clemen and others have shown cause for putting it some four years earlier. the chronology of the period is necessarily very complicated. it must suffice, therefore, to regard this letter as having been written, at either of these dates, from corinth, where paul was staying in the course of his third missionary tour. he was hoping to go to rome, by way of jerusalem, and then proceed to spain ( : ; ac : ). the object of this letter was to prepare the christians in rome for his visit, and make a clear statement of the new doctrines which he taught. it is probable that the crisis in galatia, to which the letter sent thither bears witness, had driven the apostle's thoughts in the direction of the subject of justification, and he was apparently much troubled by the persistence of jewish unbelief. hence the present letter has been well termed "the gospel according to paul." we know really nothing about the christians then in rome beyond what we find here. it is, however, fairly certain that reports concerning the saviour would be taken to that city by proselytes, both before and after the events described in acts , and we know that there was a large jewish population there amongst whom the seed would be sown. some critics have thought "that a note addressed to ephesus lies embedded in the th chapter," because, they say, it is "inconceivable that paul could have intimately known so many individuals in a church like that in rome to which he was personally a stranger." but this is by no means demonstrated, nor is there evidence that the church there was founded by any other apostle. paul's first letter to the corinthians the genuineness of the two letters to the corinthians has never been seriously disputed. the first was written by the apostle paul, probably in the early spring of a.d., just before he left ephesus for troas in the course of his third missionary tour (ac ). the church in corinth had been founded by him during his previous tour (ac ). after some hesitation he had been induced to preach in corinth, and in spite of the opposition of the jews such great success attended his efforts that he remained there for more than eighteen months. the furious attack upon him which was frustrated by gallio gave impetus to the new cause, so that when the apostle left, there was a comparatively strong church there, consisting mostly of greeks, but including not a few jews also. the dangers, however, arising out of the temperament and circumstances of the corinthians soon manifested themselves. the city was the capital of roman greece, a wealthy commercial centre, and the home of a restless, superficial intellectualism. exuberant verbosity, selfish display, excesses at the lord's table, unseemly behaviour of women at meetings for worship, and also abuse of spiritual gifts, were complicated by heathen influences and the corrupting customs of idolatry. hence the apostle's pleas, rebukes, and exhortations. most noteworthy of all is his forceful treatment of the subject of the resurrection of christ; and this only a quarter of a century after the event. of the letter mentioned in : we know nothing. paul's second letter to the corinthians the second letter to the corinthians was probably written in the autumn of a.d., the first letter to them having been sent in the spring of that year. but there are other letters of which we have no clear account. one, lost to us, evidently preceded the first letter ( co : ). in our "second" letter we find mention ( : , ) of a severe communication which could not but give pain. can this have been our "first" to the corinthians? some think not, in which case there must have been an "intermediate" letter. this some students find in co - : o. if so, there must have been four letters. some have thought that in co : - : , and , , yet another is embedded, making possibly five in all. the reader must form his own conclusions, inasmuch as the evidence is almost entirely internal. on the whole it would seem that our first letter, conveyed by titus, had produced a good effect in the corinthian church, but that this wore off, and that titus returned to the apostle in ephesus with such disquieting news that a visit of paul just then to corinth would have been very embarrassing, alike for the church and the apostle. hence, instead of going, he writes a "painful" letter and sends it by the same messenger, proceeding himself to troas and thence to macedonia, where, in great tension of spirit, he awaits the return of titus. at last there comes a reassuring account, the relief derived from which is so great that our second letter is written, with the double purpose of comforting those who had been so sharply rebuked and of preventing the recurrence of the evils which had called forth the remonstrance. in this way both the tenderness and the severity of the present letter may be explained. paul's letter to the galatians there is no question as to the genuineness of this pauline letter, but unlike most other writings of the apostle it was addressed to "churches" rather than to a single community. formerly it was not easy to decide the precise meaning of the term "galatia." opinions differed on the subject. the "north galatian theory," contended for by some german scholars, maintained that the letter was addressed to the churches of ancyra, tavium, pessinus and possibly to those in other cities. the "south galatian theory," which now holds the field in english-speaking countries, is to the effect that the congregations intended were those of pisidian antioch, iconium, derbe and lystra; and this is strongly supported by the unique resemblance between this letter and paul's sermon in pisidian antioch (ac : - ). in any case the population was very mixed, consisting of phrygians, greeks, romans, gauls and jews. the date of the letter cannot be exactly fixed. the periods assigned by recent scholarship vary from a.d. to a.d., but the medium estimate of a.d., adopted by harnack and ramsay, satisfies all the requirements of the case. the apostle certainly visited galatia during his second missionary tour, perhaps about a. d., and, although suffering from illness, was received with enthusiasm. after a short stay he departed cherishing a joyful confidence as to his converts there. but when, less than three years afterwards, he came again, he found that the leaven of judaism had produced a definite apostasy, insomuch that both the freedom of individual believers and his own apostolic authority were in danger. even his personal presence (ac : ) did not end the difficulty. hence, possibly during his journey between macedonia and achaia, he sent this letter. its rugged and incoherent style shows that it was dictated under great stress of feeling, and the doctrine of justification by faith is stated more emphatically than in any other of his writings. but his earnest insistence upon the "fruit borne by the spirit" proves that his ideal of practical holiness was rather strengthened than impaired by his plea for faith as the mainspring of christian life. paul's letter to the ephesians this appears to have been a kind of circular letter to the churches in roman asia, and was not addressed exclusively to the church in ephesus. ephesus was a well-known seaport and the principal city in roman asia. it was famous alike for its wonderful temple, containing the shrine of artemis, and for its vast theatre, which was capable of accommodating , persons. paul was forbidden at first to preach in roman asia (ac : ), but he afterwards visited ephesus in company with priscilla and aquila (ac : ). about three years later (ac : ) he came again and remained for some time--probably from to a. d.--preaching and arguing in the school of tyrannus, until driven away through the tumult raised by demetrius. he then went to jerusalem, by way of miletus, but was arrested in the uproar created by the jews and was taken first to caesarea (ac : ), and thence to rome (ac : ). this was probably in the spring of a.d. late in or early in a.d., this letter was written, together with the companion letters to the colossians and philemon. paul's letter to the philippians this letter was written shortly before that to the ephesians, probably late in or early in a.d. epaphroditus had been sent to rome to assure the apostle, in his imprisonment, of the tender and practical sympathy of the philippian disciples (php : ; : , ). the messenger, however, fell ill upon his arrival, and only on his recovery could paul, as in this letter, express his appreciation of the thoughtful love of the philippians. the apostle appears to have visited the city three times. in a.d. it was the place of his first preaching in europe (ac : ); but he came again in and in a.d. (ac : , ), on the last occasion spending the passover season there. two special traits in the macedonian character are recognized by the apostle in this letter; the position and influence of women, and the financial liberality of the philippians. it is remarkable that a church displaying such characteristics, and existing in a roman "colonia," should have lived, as this one did, "without a history, and have perished without a memorial." paul's letter to the colossians this letter belongs to the same group as those to the ephesians and philemon, and was probably written from rome about a. d. colossae was a town in phrygia (roman asia), on the river lycus, and was destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh year of nero's reign. the church there was not founded by paul himself (col : ), but by epaphras (col : ; : ), and this letter arose out of a visit which epaphras paid to the apostle, for the purpose of discussing with him the development, at colossae, of certain strange doctrines which may possibly have been a kind of early gnosticism. paul here writes to support the authority and confirm the teaching of epaphras. paul's first letter to the thessalonians during his second missionary tour (ac ), paul came to thessalonica and preached the good news there with no little success. the city--which had had its name given it by cassander, after his wife, the sister of alexander the great--was the most populous in macedonia, besides being a "free city" and the seat of the roman pro-consular administration. its modern name is saloniki. very soon the unbelieving jews stirred up the mob against paul and silas, and dragged jason before the magistrates. hence the brethren sent the missionaries away by night to beroea, being alarmed for their safety. as the apostle was naturally anxious about the persecuted flock which he had been obliged to leave behind, he made two attempts to return to them, but these being frustrated ( th : ), he then sent timothy, from athens, to inquire after their welfare and encourage them. the report brought back was on the whole satisfactory, but left occasion for the self-defence, the warnings and the exhortations of this letter, which was then sent from corinth, probably in a.d. paul's second letter to the thessalonians this letter was written from corinth not long after the preceding one, and probably in the year a.d. its occasion was the reception of tidings from thessalonica which showed that there had been a measure of misapprehension of the apostle's teaching in regard to the return of the lord jesus, and also that there was a definitely disorderly section in the church there, capable of doing great harm. hence paul writes to correct the error into which his converts had fallen, and at the same time he uses strong language as to the treatment to be dealt out to those members of the church who were given to idleness and insubordination. paul's first letter to timothy there has never been any real doubt among christian people as to the authorship of the three "pastoral" letters. but definite objections to their genuineness have been made in recent times upon the ground of such internal evidence as their style, the indications they present of advanced organization, their historic standpoint and their references to developed heresy. says one scholar, "while there is probably nothing in them to which the apostle would have objected, they must be regarded on account of their style as the product of one who had been taught by paul and now desired to convey certain teachings under cover of his name. the date need not be later than a.d." yet a thorough examination of the matter does not support such objections. it is certain that the three letters stand or fall together, and there is no sufficient reason for dismissing the ancient conclusion that they are all the genuine work of paul, and belong to the last years of his life, - a.d. this first letter was probably written from macedonia. paul's second letter to timothy the marks of genuineness in this letter are very pronounced. for instance, the thanksgiving, the long list of proper names--twenty-three in number--the personal details and the manifest tone of sincerity and earnestness. hence it is accepted as paul's even by some who reject the former letter and that addressed to titus. but it is inseparable from the others, and was probably written from rome during the apostle's second imprisonment. it is his last letter known to us, and its apparent date is a.d. paul's letter to titus this letter was probably written from ephesus in a.d. titus, who was a greek by birth, is mentioned in eleven other places in the pauline letters and always with marked approval ( co : ; : , , ; : , , ; : ; ga : , ; ti : ). he was often a trusted messenger to the churches, his last errand being to dalmatia. tradition confirms the inference commonly drawn from this letter that he was long the bishop of the church in crete, and regards candia as having been his birthplace. paul's letter to philemon this letter ( a.d.) was written as the result of paul's deep interest in onesimus, a slave who had fled from colossae to rome to get free from philemon his master (col : ). "a phrygian slave was one of the lowest known types to be found in the roman world, displaying all the worst features of character which the servile condition developed. onesimus had proved no exception. he ran away from his master, and, as paul thought probable (verses , ), not without helping himself to a share of his master's possessions. by the help of what he had stolen, and by the cleverness which afterwards made him so helpful to paul, he made his way to rome, naturally drawn to the great centre, and prompted both by a desire to hide himself and by a youthful yearning to see the utmost the world could show of glory and of vice. "but whether feeling his loneliness, or wearied with a life of vice, or impoverished and reduced to want, or seized with a fear of detection, he made his way to paul, or unbosomed himself to some asiatic he saw on the street. and as he stepped out of the coarse debauchery and profanity of the crowded resorts of the metropolis into the room hallowed by the presence of paul, he saw the foulness of the one life and the beauty of the other, and was persuaded to accept the gospel he had so often heard in his master's house. "how long he remained with paul does not appear, but it was long enough to impress on the apostle's mind that this slave was no common man. paul had devoted and active friends by him, but this slave, trained to watch his master's wants and to execute promptly all that was entrusted to him, became almost indispensable to the apostle. but to retain him, he feels, would be to steal him, or at any rate to deprive philemon of the pleasure of voluntarily sending him to minister to him (verse ). he therefore sends him back with this letter, so exquisitely worded that it cannot but have secured the forgiveness and cordial reception of onesimus" (marcus dods, d.d., _new testament introduction_). the letter to the hebrews as regards the date of this letter, the only sure conclusion appears to be that it was before a.d. the book itself claims to have been written at the end of the jewish age ( : ; : ), whilst the earthly temple was still in existence ( : ), and it is inconceivable that such an overwhelming comment upon the writer's whole position as that afforded by the destruction of jerusalem would have been overlooked, had it been available. hence - a.d. may with probability be alleged as the time of composition. the only fact clear as to the author is that he was not the apostle paul. the early fathers did not attribute the book to paul, nor was it until the seventh century that the tendency to do this, derived from jerome, swelled into an ecclesiastical practice. from the book itself we see that the author must have been a jew and a hellenist, familiar with philo as well as with the old testament, a friend of timothy and well-known to many of those whom he addressed, and not an apostle but decidedly acquainted with apostolic thoughts; and that he not only wrote before the destruction of jerusalem but apparently himself was never in palestine. the name of barnabas, and also that of priscilla, has been suggested, but in reality all these distinctive marks appear to be found only in apollos. so that with luther, and not a few modern scholars, we must either attribute it to him or give up the quest. there has never been any question as to the canonicity of this letter, nor can there be any doubt as to its perennial value to the church of christ. where it was written cannot be decided. "the brethren from italy" ( : ) proves nothing. nor is it possible to decide to whom it was sent. "the hebrews," to whom it was addressed, may have been resident in jerusalem, alexandria, ephesus, or rome. the most remarkable feature of the letter is manifestly its references to the old covenant. here there is a mingling of reverence and iconoclasm. the unquestionably divine origin of the jewish dispensation is made use of for laying emphasis upon the infinitely superior glory of the christian order. thus an _a fortiori_ argument pervades the whole --if the shadow was divine, how much more must the substance be! "the language of the epistle, both in vocabulary and style, is purer and more vigorous than that of any other book of the new testament" (westcott). james's letter four persons bearing the name of 'james' are mentioned in the new testament. ( ) the apostle, the son of zabdi. ( ) the apostle, the son of alphaeus. ( ) the son of mary the wife of clopas. ( ) the lord's brother, mentioned as such along with joses, simon and judah, and prominent in the acts ( : ; : ; : ). the last-named was also known as 'james the just' and is represented by tradition as having led an ascetic life, which ended in martyrdom. he was undoubtedly bishop, or president, of the church in jerusalem and in all probability this letter was written by him from that city. there has been some difference of opinion as to the date of the book. the majority of scholars insist that both the internal and external evidence point to its having been written between and a. d., before the earliest of paul's letters. but, on the other hand, the solemn emphasis which the author lays upon the immediateness of the lord's return ( : , , ) may be regarded as a moral proof of a date very much nearer the winding up of the mosaic dispensation in a. d. the letter may have been a jewish one, addressed to the christian converts from judaism who were scattered abroad, within or beyond the limits of the roman empire. luther deemed it "an epistle of straw," by reason of its insistence upon the vital importance of 'works.' but its practical ideal assumes the same basis of christian faith as is found in the letters of paul. the opening references to severe trial seem to show that the persecution begun by herod agrippa had already been repeated elsewhere. if the later date of the book be admitted, the persecution must then, of course, have been that under nero. peter's first letter the state of things described in this letter answers to what we find in the first letter to timothy, and points to the same period. the "fiery trial" referred to is probably the persecution which, begun by nero, in a.d., in order to divert attention from himself, was continued throughout the roman empire. the letter seems to be primarily addressed to those who regarded peter as the apostle to the jews, although it is manifest that he did not think of these alone. the fact that it is "full of pauline thought and pauline language," is accounted for by the well-grounded supposition that peter arrived in rome shortly before paul was released. so that this letter, probably written about - a.d., was definitely intended to set before the churches of roman asia "the inspiring vision of the two apostles working and planning together in the capital." this would be at once the clearest lesson the churches could have concerning their unity, and a great encouragement to those then undergoing tribulation and persecution on behalf of christ. peter's second letter it is impossible to speak with any certainty as to either the date or the authorship of this letter. from the beginning there have been doubts as to its genuineness and canonicity, and these are represented to-day in the differing judgements of critics equally able and sincere. it has, however, unquestionably had a place in the canon of the new testament since the council of laodicea in a.d., and there is certainly no such decisive evidence against it as to warrant our omitting it from the new testament. it would appear that the writer, whoever he was, had seen the letter from jude, and bore it in mind in this his plea for such character and conduct on the part of believers as were worthy of their faith and would prepare them for the coming of the lord. the whole letter constitutes an earnest appeal for practical holiness. john's first letter that this letter was the actual work of the apostle john, the son of zabdi, has been abundantly testified from the very earliest times. some modern critics have doubted it, on the ground of internal evidence. but a calm survey of the whole case does not bear out their objections. dr. salmon well says that no explanation of the origin of the epistle fits the facts so well as the one which has always prevailed. it seems to have been addressed to the church at large, with perhaps special reference to the churches in roman asia. the connexion between this letter and the fourth gospel is "intimate and organic. the gospel is objective and the epistle subjective. the gospel suggests principles of conduct which the epistle lays down explicitly. the epistle implies facts which the gospel states as historically true." this letter appears to have been written from ephesus, and critics have usually assigned a. d., or some other year equally late in the apostolic age, as the probable date of its composition. on the other hand the internal evidence points to a date immediately preceding the destruction of jerusalem in a.d. see : (last clause); : ; : ; and note the expectation of a speedy coming of christ ( : ; : )--an expectation which seems almost to have ceased in the early church after that date. john's second letter although we are unable to fix the exact date of this letter or the place at which it was written, there is sufficient evidence, both external and internal, to warrant our acceptance of it as a genuine work of the apostle john. some have thought that the "lady" addressed stands for an unknown church, but upon careful consideration it appears more reasonable and natural to regard the letter as having been a private one. it is impossible to discover the name of the individual to whom it was sent, but both this and the following letter may be taken as "precious specimens of the private correspondence of the beloved apostle." john's third letter there can be no doubt that this letter was addressed to an individual person. we cannot affix to it a definite date, or place, but the most natural supposition--which there is nothing to contradict--is that it came from the apostle in ephesus, about the same time as the preceding letter. the special mention of diotrephes and his behaviour points indeed to a somewhat advanced development in the church to which galus belonged, but such characters are all too possible at any juncture to afford in this instance any guarantee of a later date. in this, as in the preceding letters, the writer's great concern is that transcendental truth should be embodied in practical holiness. jude's letter of the time and place of the composition of this letter we know nothing beyond what may be inferred from its contents. these seem to show that it was written in palestine, and the absence of any reference to so striking an event as the destruction of jerusalem points to a date earlier than a. d. it has, however, been thought that such a rebuke of error and licentiousness as that which this letter contains can only apply to the forms of gnosticism known to have existed in the first quarter of the second century. but there is no reason to doubt that the author was the man he asserts he was, the brother of james, the head of the church in jerusalem. he was, therefore, not an apostle but one of the lord's brothers. the abiding value of the letter consists in its severe condemnation of merely professional christianity, and its remarkably beautiful doxology. the revelation of john the apocalypse was written either in , or in , a.d. an oft-quoted statement of irenaeus that it, or its author-- there is no word inserted to indicate which of the two he meant--"was seen" about the end of the reign of domitian, is regarded by many as a conclusive proof of the later date. on the other hand, the "internal evidence"--the evidence, that is, furnished by the contents of the book itself--appears to point even more unmistakably to the earlier date. e.g-., in : , , , the holy city and the earthly temple are spoken of as being still in existence, and as about to be trodden under foot by the gentiles. the language of the book has also a bearing upon the problem of its date. although other explanations have been suggested, the many hebrew idioms that it contains as compared with the much purer greek of the fourth gospel-- which was probably by the same author--seem to indicate that it was written long before that gospel, at a time when the apostle had as yet only an imperfect acquaintance with the greek language. dr. stuart russell, in his work _the parousia_, has contended for the belief that the fall of jerusalem and judaism in a.d. marked a stupendous epoch in the unseen world, a personal--although unrecorded--return of the saviour to the earth then taking place (cp. ac : ; : ; co : ), accompanied by a spiritual judgement of bygone generations, a resurrection from hades to heaven of the faithful of past ages, and an ingathering of saints then on earth into the father's house of many mansions (mt : ; joh : ; th : ; th : ). if this belief ever obtains general acceptance the earlier date of the apocalypse will also be regarded as fully established. for it will then be seen that the book describes beforehand events which took place in a.d. and the years immediately preceding, partly on earth and partly in the spiritual world, and is mainly concerned with the downfall of the earthly jerusalem and the setting up of christ's heavenly kingdom--the new jerusalem. and its many mysterious symbols will be seen to have been a cipher of which the first christians held the key, but which hid its meaning from their enemies. many scholars, however, regard the book as a document of nero's time carefully incorporated in one written about a.d.: "a jewish apocalypse in a christian framework;" both perhaps being by the same author.--editor. the holy bible translated from the latin vulgate diligently compared with the hebrew, greek, and other editions in divers languages the old testament first published by the english college at douay a.d. & and the new testament first published by the english college at rheims a.d. with annotations the whole revised and diligently compared with the latin vulgate by bishop richard challoner a.d. - volume iii: the new testament of our lord and saviour jesus christ credits without the assistance of many individuals and groups, this text of the douay-rheims version of the holy bible would not be available for the project gutenberg collection. our most grateful and sincere thanks goes to those at 'catholic software' who have provided the electronic plain texts of the books of the bible. 'catholic software' also produces a douay bible program on cd-rom that features a fully searchable douay- rheims bible, footnotes, latin text and dictionary, topical index, maps, biblical art gallery, and other features. for more information of this and many other products contact: catholic software box murray, ky ( ) - http://www.catholicity.com/market/csoftware/ waubrey@aol.com additional production assistance has been provided by volunteers from the atlanta council of the knights of columbus. tad book compiled and reformatted the texts to project gutenberg standards. dennis mccarthy assisted mr. book and transcribed selections from the first editions included as appendices. history this three volume e-text set comes from multiple editions of challoner's revised douay-rheims version of the holy bible. the division of the old testaments into two parts follows the two tome format of the / printing of the old testament. in english exiles, many from oxford, established the english college of douay (douai/doway), flanders, under william (later cardinal) allen. in october, , gregory martin began the work of preparing an english translation of the bible for catholic readers, the first such translation into modern english. assisting were william allen, richard bristow, thomas worthington, and william reynolds who revised, criticized, and corrected dr. martin's work. the college published the new testament at rheims (reims/rhemes), france, in through john fogny with a preface and explanatory notes, authored chiefly by bristol, allen, and worthington. later the old testament was published at douay in two parts ( and ) by laurence kellam through the efforts of dr. worthington, then superior of the seminary. the translation had been prepared before the appearance of the new testament, but the publication was delayed due to financial difficulties. the religious and scholarly adherence to the latin vulgate text led to the less elegant and idiomatic words and phrases often found in the translation. in some instances where no english word conveyed the full meaning of the latin, a latin word was anglicized and its meaning defined in a glossary. although ridiculed by critics, many of these words later found common usage in the english language. spellings of proper names and the numbering of the psalms are adopted from the latin vulgate. in dr. richard challoner began a major revision of the douay and rheims texts, the spellings and phrasing of which had become increasingly archaic in the almost two centuries since the translations were first produced. he modernized the diction and introduced a more fluid style, while faithfully maintaining the accuracy of dr. martin's texts. this revision became the 'de facto' standard text for english speaking catholics until the twentieth century. it is still highly regarded by many for its style, although it is now rarely used for liturgical purposes. the notes included in this electronic edition are generally attributed to bishop challoner. the printing of the second tome of the old testament includes an appendix containing the non-canonical books 'prayer of manasses,' 'third booke of esdras,' and 'fourth booke of esdras.' while not part of challoner's revision, the texts are placed in the appendices of vol. ii of this e-text set. also included are the original texts of two short books, 'the prophecie of abdias' (vol. ii) and 'the catholike epistle of iude the apostle' (vol. iii), to give the reader a sense of the language of the first editions in comparison to the challoner revision. further background on the douay-rheims version may be found in a selection from the preface to the edition and the original glossary included in the appendices of vol. iii. contents the new testament gospel according to st. matthew gospel according to st. mark gospel according to st. luke gospel according to st. john acts of the apostles epistle of st. paul to the romans first epistle of st. paul to the corinthians second epistle of st. paul to the corinthians epistle of st. paul to the galatians epistle of st. paul to the ephesians epistle of st. paul to the philippians epistle of st. paul to the colossians first epistle of st. paul to the thessalonians second epistle of st. paul to the thessalonians first epistle of st. paul to timothy second epistle of st. paul to timothy epistle of st. paul to titus epistle of st. paul to philemon epistle of st. paul to the hebrews catholic epistle of st. james the apostle first epistle of st. peter the apostle second epistle of st. peter the apostle first epistle of st. john the apostle second epistle of st. john the apostle third epistle of st. john the apostle catholic epistle of st. jude the apostle apocalypse of st. john the apostle appendices the catholike epistle of iude the apostle the preface to the reader hard vvordes explicated the holy gospel of jesus christ according to saint matthew saint matthew, one of the twelve apostles, who from being a publican, that is, a taxgatherer, was called by our saviour to the apostleship: in that profession his name is levi. (luke . , and mark . .) he was the first of the evangelists that wrote the gospel, and that in hebrew or syro-chaldaic which the jews in palestine spoke at that time. the original is not now extant; but it was translated in the time of the apostles into greek, that version was of equal authority. he wrote about six years after the lord's ascension. matthew chapter the genealogy of christ: he is conceived and born of a virgin. : . the book of the generation of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham: : . abraham begot isaac. and isaac begot jacob. and jacob begot judas and his brethren. : . and judas begot phares and zara of thamar. and phares begot esron. and esron begot aram. : . and aram begot aminadab. and aminadab begot naasson. and naasson begot salmon. : . and salmon begot booz of rahab. and booz begot obed of ruth. and obed begot jesse. : . and jesse begot david the king. and david the king begot solomon, of her that had been the wife of urias. : . and solomon begot roboam. and roboam begot abia. and abia begot asa. : . and asa begot josaphat. and josaphat begot joram. and joram begot ozias. : . and ozias begot joatham. and joatham begot achaz. and achaz begot ezechias. : . and ezechias begot manasses. and manasses begot amon. and amon begot josias. : . and josias begot jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of babylon. : . and after the transmigration of babylon, jechonias begot salathiel. and salathiel begot zorobabel. : . and zorobabel begot abiud. and abiud begot eliacim. and eliacim begot azor. : . and azor begot sadoc. and sadoc begot achim. and achim begot eliud. : . and eliud begot eleazar. and eleazar begot mathan. and mathan begot jacob. : . and jacob begot joseph the husband of mary, of whom was born jesus, who is called christ. the husband of mary. . .the evangelist gives us rather the pedigree of st. joseph, than that of the blessed virgin, to conform to the custom of the hebrews, who in their genealogies took no notice of women; but as they were near akin, the pedigree of the one sheweth that of the other. : . so all the generations from abraham to david, are fourteen generations. and from david to the transmigration of babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of babylon to christ are fourteen generations. : . now the generation of christ was in this wise. when as his mother mary was espoused to joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the holy ghost. : . whereupon joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. : . but while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: joseph, son of david, fear not to take unto thee mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the holy ghost. : . and she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name jesus. for he shall save his people from their sins. : . now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the lord spoke by the prophet, saying: : . behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name emmanuel, which being interpreted is, god with us. : . and joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife. : . and he knew her not till she brought forth her first born son: and he called his name jesus. till she brought forth her firstborn son. . .from these words helvidius and other heretics most impiously inferred that the blessed virgin mary had other children besides christ; but st. jerome shews, by divers examples, that this expression of the evangelist was a manner of speaking usual among the hebrews, to denote by the word until, only what is done, without any regard to the future. thus it is said, genesis . and , that noe sent forth a raven, which went forth, and did not return till the waters were dried up on the earth. that is, did not return any more. also isaias . , god says: i am till you grow old. who dare infer that god should then cease to be: also in the first book of machabees . , and they went up to mount sion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of them was slain till they had returned in peace. that is, not one was slain before or after they had returned. god saith to his divine son: sit on my right hand till i make thy enemies thy footstool. shall he sit no longer after his enemies are subdued? yea and for all eternity. st. jerome also proves by scripture examples, that an only begotten son, was also called firstborn, or first begotten: because according to the law, the firstborn males were to be consecrated to god; sanctify unto me, saith the lord, every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of israel, etc. ex. . . matthew chapter the offerings of the wise men: the flight into egypt: the massacre of the innocents. : . when jesus therefore was born in bethlehem of juda, in the days of king herod, behold, there came wise men from the east to jerusalem, : . saying: where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him. : . and king herod hearing this, was troubled, and all jerusalem with him. : . and assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where christ should be born. : . but they said to him: in bethlehem of juda. for so it is written by the prophet: : . and thou bethlehem the land of juda art not the least among the princes of juda: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule my people israel. : . then herod, privately calling the wise men learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them; : . and sending them into bethlehem, said: go and diligently inquire after the child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that i also may come and adore him. : . who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. : . and seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. : . and entering into the house, they found the child with mary his mother, and falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. : . and having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to herod, they went back another way into their country. : . and after they were departed, behold an angel of the lord appeared in sleep to joseph, saying: arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into egypt: and be there until i shall tell thee. for it will come to pass that herod will seek the child to destroy him. : . who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into egypt: and he was there until the death of herod: : . that it might be fulfilled which the lord spoke by the prophet, saying: out of egypt have i called my son. : . then herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry: and sending killed all the menchildren that were in bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. : . then was fulfilled that which was spoken by jeremias the prophet, saying: : . a voice in rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. : . but when herod was dead, behold an angel of the lord appeared in sleep to joseph in egypt, : . saying: arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of israel. for they are dead that sought the life of the child. : . who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of israel. : . but hearing that archclaus reigned in judea in the room of herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of galilee. : . and coming he dwelt in a city called nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophets: that he shall be called a nazarene. matthew chapter the preaching of john: christ is baptized. : . and in those days cometh john the baptist preaching in the desert of judea. : . and saying: do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. do penance. . .paenitentiam agite. which word, according to the use of the scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting, and such like penitential exercises. : . for this is he that was spoken of by isaias the prophet, saying: a voice of one crying in the desert, prepare ye the way of the lord, make straight his paths. : . and the same john had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey. : . then went out to him jerusalem and all judea, and all the country about jordan: : . and were baptized by him in the jordan, confessing their sins. : . and seeing many of the pharisees and sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? pharisees and sadducees. . .these were two sects among the jews: of which the former were for the most part notorious hypocrites; the latter, a kind of freethinkers in matters of religion. : . bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance. : . and think not to say within yourselves, we have abraham for our father. for i tell you that god is able of these stones to raise up children to abraham. : . for now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire. : . i indeed baptize you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than i, whose shoes i am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the holy ghost and fire. : . whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. : . then cometh jesus from galilee to the jordan, unto john, to be baptized by him. : . but john stayed him, saying: i ought to be baptized by thee, and comest thou to me? : . and jesus answering, said to him: suffer it to be so now. for so it becometh us to fulfil all justice. then he suffered him. : . and jesus being baptized, forthwith came out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened to him: and he saw the spirit of god descending as a dove, and coming upon him. : . and behold a voice from heaven saying: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. matthew chapter christ's fast of forty days: he is tempted. he begins to preach, to call disciples to him, and to work miracles. : . then jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. : . and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. : . and the tempter coming said to him: if thou be the son of god, command that these stones be made bread. : . who answered and said: it is written, not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of god. : . then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, : . and said to him: if thou be the son of god, cast thyself down, for it is written: that he hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. : . jesus said to him: it is written again: thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god. : . again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, shewed him, etc. . .that is, pointed out to him where each kingdom lay; and set forth in words what was most glorious and admirable in each of them. or also set before his eyes, as it were in a large map, a lively representation of all those kingdoms. : . and said to him: all these will i give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me. : . then jesus saith to him: begone, satan: for it is written: the lord thy god shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve. : . then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him. : . and when jesus had heard that john was delivered up, he retired into galilee: : . and leaving the city nazareth, he came and dwelt in capharnaum on the sea coast, in the borders of zabulon and of nephthalim; : . that it might be fulfilled which was said by isaias the prophet: : . land of zabulon and land of nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond the jordan, galilee of the gentiles: : . the people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up. : . from that time jesus began to preach, and to say: do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. : . and jesus walking by the sea of galilee, saw two brethren, simon who is called peter, and andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers). : . and he saith to them: come ye after me, and i will make you to be fishers of men. : . and they immediately leaving their nets, followed him. : . and going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, in a ship with zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. : . and they forthwith left their nets and father, and followed him. : . and jesus went about all galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom: and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people. : . and his fame went throughout all syria, and they presented to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and such as were possessed by devils, and lunatics, and those that had the palsy, and he cured them: : . and much people followed him from galilee, and from decapolis, and from jerusalem, and from judea, and from beyond the jordan. matthew chapter christ's sermon upon the mount. the eight beatitudes. : . and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. : . and opening his mouth he taught them, saying: : . blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. the poor in spirit. . .that is, the humble; and they whose spirit is not set upon riches. : . blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. : . blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. : . blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. : . blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. : . blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see god. : . blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of god. : . blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. : . blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: : . be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. : . you are the salt of the earth. but if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. : . you are the light of the world. a city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. : . neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. : . so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. : . do not think that i am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. i am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. to fulfil. . .by accomplishing all the figures and prophecies; and perfecting all that was imperfect. : . for amen i say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. amen. . .that is, assuredly of a truth. . .this hebrew word, amen, is here retained by the example and authority of all the four evangelists. it is used by our lord as a strong asseveration, and affirmation of the truth. : . he therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. but he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. : . for i tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. the scribes and pharisees. . .the scribes were the doctors of the law of moses: the pharisees were a precise set of men, making profession of a more exact observance of the law: and upon that account greatly esteemed among the people. : . you have heard that it was said to them of old: thou shalt not kill. and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. shall be in danger of the judgment. . .that is, shall deserve to be punished by that lesser tribunal among the jews, called the judgment, which took cognizance of such crimes. : . but i say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment. and whosoever shall say to his brother, raca, shall be in danger of the council. and whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. raca. . .a word expressing great indignation or contempt. shall be in danger of the council. . .that is, shall deserve to be punished by the highest court of judicature, called the council, or sanhedrim, consisting of seventy-two persons, where the highest causes were tried and judged, which was at jerusalem. thou fool. . .this was then looked upon as a heinous injury, when uttered with contempt, spite, or malice: and therefore is here so severely condemned. shall be in danger of hell fire. . .literally, according to the greek, shall deserve to be cast into the gehenna of fire. which words our saviour made use of to express the fire and punishments of hell. : . if therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee; : . leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift. : . be at agreement with thy adversary betimes, whilst thou art in the way with him: lest perhaps the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. : . amen i say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing. : . you have heard that it was said to them of old: thou shalt not commit adultery. : . but i say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. : . and if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell. scandalize thee. . .that is, if it be a stumblingblock, or occasion of sin to thee. by which we are taught to fly the immediate occasions of sin, though they be as dear to us, or as necessary as a hand or an eye. : . and if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body go into hell. : . and it hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce. : . but i say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery. : . again you have heard that it was said to them of old, thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the lord. : . but i say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven for it is the throne of god: not to swear at all. . .it is not forbid to swear in truth, justice and judgment; to the honour of god, or our own or neighbour's just defence: but only to swear rashly, or profanely, in common discourse, and without necessity. : . nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king: : . neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. : . but let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil. : . you have heard that it hath been said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. : . but i say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other: not to resist evil, etc. . .what is here commanded, is a christian patience under injuries and affronts, and to be willing even to suffer still more, rather than to indulge the desire of revenge: but what is further added does not strictly oblige according to the letter, for neither did christ nor st. paul turn the other cheek. st. john ., and acts . : . and if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him. : . and whosoever will force thee one mile, go with him other two. : . give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away. : . you have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy. : . but i say to you, love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: : . that you may be the children of your father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. : . for if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? the publicans. . .these were the gatherers of the public taxes: a set of men, odious and infamous among the jews, for their extortions and injustice. : . and if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this? : . be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly father is perfect. matthew chapter a continuation of the sermon on the mount. : . take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your father who is in heaven. your justice. . .that is, works of justice; viz., fasting, prayer, and almsdeeds; which ought to be performed not out of ostentation, or a view to please men, but solely to please god. : . therefore when thou dost an alms-deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. amen i say to you, they have received their reward. : . but when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. : . that thy alms may be in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret will repay thee. : . and when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: amen i say to you, they have received their reward. : . but thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy father in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret will repay thee. : . and when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. for they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. : . be not you therefore like to them for your father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. : . thus therefore shall you pray: our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. : . thy kingdom come. thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. : . give us this day our supersubstantial bread. supersubstantial bread. . .in st. luke the same word is rendered daily bread. it is understood of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament. : . and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. : . and lead us not into temptation. but deliver us from evil. amen. lead us not into temptation. . .that is, suffer us not to be overcome by temptation. : . for if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly father will forgive you also your offences. : . but if you will not forgive men, neither will your father forgive you your offences. : . and when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. amen i say to you, they have received their reward. : . but thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face; : . that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy father who is in secret: and thy father who seeth in secret, will repay thee. : . lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through, and steal. : . but lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. : . for where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. : . the light of thy body is thy eye. if thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. : . but if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. if then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be! : . no man can serve two masters. for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. you cannot serve god and mammon. mammon. . .that is, riches, worldly interest. : . therefore i say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? : . behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly father feedeth them. are not you of much more value than they? : . and which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? : . and for raiment why are you solicitous? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. : . but i say to you, that not even solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. : . and if the grass of the field, which is to day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, god doth so clothe: how much more you, o ye of little faith? : . be not solicitous therefore, saying: what shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? : . for after all these things do the heathens seek. for your father knoweth that you have need of all these things. : . seek ye therefore first the kingdom of god, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. : . be not therefore solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. matthew chapter the third part of the sermon on the mount. : . judge not, that you may not be judged. : . for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. : . and why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? : . or how sayest thou to thy brother: let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? : . thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. : . give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you. : . ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. : . for every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. : . or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? : . or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent? : . if you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? : . all things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. for this is the law and the prophets. : . enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. : . how narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! : . beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. : . by their fruits you shall know them. do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? : . even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. : . a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. : . every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. : . wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. : . not every one that saith to me, lord, lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. : . many will say to me in that day: lord, lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? : . and then will i profess unto them, i never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. : . every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, : . and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. : . and every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, : . and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof. : . and it came to pass when jesus had fully ended these words, the people were in admiration at his doctrine. : . for he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes and pharisees. matthew chapter christ cleanses the leper, heals the centurion's servant, peter's mother-in-law, and many others: he stills the storm at sea, drives the devils out of two men possessed, and suffers them to go into the swine. : . and when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him: : . and behold a leper came and adored him, saying: lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. : . and jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: i will, be thou made clean. and forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. : . and jesus saith to him: see thou tell no man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. : . and when he had entered into capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him, : . and saying, lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. : . and jesus saith to him: i will come and heal him. : . and the centurion, making answer, said: lord, i am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. : . for i also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and i say to this, go, and he goeth, and to another come, and he cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. : . and jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him. amen i say to you, i have not found so great faith in israel. : . and i say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with abraham, and isaac and jacob in the kingdom of heaven: : . but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. : . and jesus said to the centurion: go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. and the servant was healed at the same hour. : . and when jesus was come into peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying, and sick of a fever; : . and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them. : . and when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word: and all that were sick he healed: : . that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet isaias, saying: he took our infirmities, and bore our diseases. : . and jesus seeing great multitudes about him, gave orders to pass over the water. : . and a certain scribe came and said to him: master, i will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go. : . and jesus saith to him: the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. : . and another of his disciples said to him: lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. : . but jesus said to him: follow me, and let the dead bury their dead. : . and when he entered into the boat, his disciples followed him: : . and behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but he was asleep. : . and they came to him, and awaked him, saying: lord, save us, we perish. : . and jesus saith to them: why are you fearful, o ye of little faith? then rising up, he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm. : . but the men wondered, saying: what manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey him? : . and when he was come on the other side of the water, into the country of the gerasens, there met him two that were possessed with devils, coming out of the sepulchres, exceeding fierce, so that none could pass by that way. : . and behold they cried out, saying: what have we to do with thee, jesus son of god? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? : . and there was, not far from them, a herd of many swine feeding. : . and the devils besought him, saying: if thou cast us out hence, send us into the herd of swine. : . and he said to them: go. but they going out went into the swine, and behold the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea: and they perished in the waters. : . and they that kept them fled: and coming into the city, told every thing, and concerning them that had been possessed by the devils. : . and behold the whole city went out to meet jesus, and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart from their coast. matthew chapter christ heals one sick of palsy: calls matthew: cures the issue of blood: raises to life the daughter of jairus: gives sight to two blind men: and heals a dumb man possessed by the devil. : . and entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city. : . and behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. and jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee. : . and behold some of the scribes said within themselves: he blasphemeth. : . and jesus seeing their thoughts, said: why do you think evil in your hearts? : . whether is easier, to say, thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, arise, and walk? : . but that you may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. : . and he arose, and went into his house. : . and the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified god that gave such power to men. : . and when jesus passed on from thence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named matthew; and he saith to him: follow me. and he arose up and followed him. : . and it came to pass as he was sitting at meat in the house, behold many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with jesus and his disciples. : . and the pharisees seeing it, said to his disciples: why doth your master eat with publicans and sinners? : . but jesus hearing it, said: they that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill. : . go then and learn what this meaneth, i will have mercy and not sacrifice. for i am not come to call the just, but sinners. : . then came to him the disciples of john, saying: why do we and the pharisees, fast often, but thy disciples do not fast? : . and jesus said to them: can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast. can the children of the bridegroom. . .this, by a hebraism, signifies the friends or companions of the bridegroom. : . and nobody putteth a piece of raw cloth unto an old garment. for it taketh away the fulness thereof from the garment, and there is made a greater rent. : . neither do they put new wine into old bottles. otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish. but new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved. : . as he was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. : . and jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples. : . and behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. : . for she said within herself: if i shall touch only his garment, i shall be healed. : . but jesus turning and seeing her, said: be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. and the woman was made whole from that hour. : . and when jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, : . he said: give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. and they laughed him to scorn. : . and when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. and the maid arose. : . and the fame hereof went abroad into all that country. : . and as jesus passed from thence, there followed him two blind men crying out and saying, have mercy on us, o son of david. : . and when he was come to the house, the blind men came to him. and jesus saith to them, do you believe, that i can do this unto you? they say to him, yea, lord. : . then he touched their eyes, saying, according to your faith, be it done unto you. : . and their eyes were opened, and jesus strictly charged them, saying, see that no man know this. : . but they going out, spread his fame abroad in all that country. : . and when they were gone out, behold they brought him a dumb man, possessed with a devil. : . and after the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke, and the multitudes wondered, saying, never was the like seen in israel. : . but the pharisees said, by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. : . and jesus went about all the cities and towns, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease, and every infirmity. : . and seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them: because they were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd. : . then he saith to his disciples, the harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. : . pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest. matthew chapter christ sends out his twelve apostles, with the power of miracles. the lessons he gives them. : . and having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities. : . and the names of the twelve apostles are these: the first, simon who is called peter, and andrew his brother, : . james the son of zebedee, and john his brother, philip and bartholomew, thomas and matthew the publican, and james the son of alpheus, and thaddeus, : . simon the cananean, and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. : . these twelve jesus sent: commanding them, saying: go ye not into the way of the gentiles, and into the city of the samaritans enter ye not. : . but go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel. : . and going, preach, saying: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. : . heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely have you received, freely give. : . do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses: : . nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat. : . and into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence. : . and when you come into the house, salute it, saying: peace be to this house. : . and if that house be worthy, your peace shall come upon it; but if it be not worthy, your peace shall return to you. : . and whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that house or city shake off the dust from your feet. : . amen i say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom and gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. : . behold i send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves. simple. . .that is, harmless, plain, sincere, and without guile. : . but beware of men. for they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. : . and you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the gentiles: : . but when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak: : . for it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your father that speaketh in you. : . the brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. : . and you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. : . and when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. amen i say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of israel, till the son of man come. : . the disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord. : . it is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. if they have called the good man of the house beelzebub, how much more them of his household? : . therefore fear them not. for nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known. : . that which i tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops. : . and fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. : . are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your father. : . but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. : . fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows. : . every one therefore that shall confess me before men, i will also confess him before my father who is in heaven. : . but he that shall deny me before men, i will also deny him before my father who is in heaven. : . do not think that i came to send peace upon earth: i came not to send peace, but the sword. : . for i came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. i came to set a man at variance, etc. . .not that this was the end or design of the coming of our saviour; but that his coming and his doctrine would have this effect, by reason of the obstinate resistance that many would make, and of their persecuting all such as should adhere to him. : . and a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. : . he that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. : . and he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. : . he that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. : . he that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. : . he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man. : . and whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen i say to you he shall not lose his reward. matthew chapter john sends his disciples to christ, who upbraids the jews for their incredulity, and calls to him such as are sensible of their burdens. : . and it came to pass, when jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he passed from thence, to teach and to preach in their cities. : . now when john had heard in prison the works of christ: sending two of his disciples he said to him: : . art thou he that art to come, or look we for another? : . and jesus making answer said to them: go and relate to john what you have heard and seen. : . the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them. : . and blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me. scandalized in me. . .that is, who shall not take occasion of scandal or offence from my humility, and the disgraceful death of the cross which i shall endure. : . and when they went their way, jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning john: what went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? : . but what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings. : . but what went you out to see? a prophet? yea i tell you, and more than a prophet. : . for this is he of whom it is written: behold i send my angel before my face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. : . amen i say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than john the baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. : . and from the days of john the baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away. suffereth violence, etc. . .it is not to be obtained but by main force, by using violence upon ourselves, by mortification and penance, and resisting our perverse inclinations. : . for all the prophets and the law prophesied until john: : . and if you will receive it, he is elias that is to come. he is elias, etc. . .not in person, but in spirit. st. luke . . : . he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. : . but whereunto shall i esteem this generation to be like? it is like to children sitting in the market place. : . who crying to their companions say: we have piped to you, and you have not danced: we have lamented, and you have not mourned. : . for john came neither eating nor drinking; and they say: he hath a devil. : . the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say: behold a man that is a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. and wisdom is justified by her children. : . then began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for that they had not done penance. : . woe thee, corozain, woe to thee, bethsaida: for if in tyre and sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. : . but i say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. : . and thou capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? thou shalt go down even unto hell. for if in sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day. : . but i say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. : . at that time jesus answered and said: i confess to thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. : . yea, father: for so hath it seemed good in thy sight. : . all things are delivered to me by my father. and no one knoweth the son but the father: neither doth any one know the father, but the son, and he to whom it shall please the son to reveal him. : . come to me all you that labor and are burdened, and i will refresh you. : . take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because i am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. : . for my yoke is sweet and my burden light. matthew chapter christ reproves the blindness of the pharisees, and confutes their attributing his miracles to satan. : . at that time jesus went through the corn on the sabbath: and his disciples being hungry, began to pluck the ears, and to eat. : . and the pharisees seeing them, said to him: behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days. : . but he said to them: have you not read what david did when he was hungry, and they that were with him: : . how he entered into the house of god, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only? the loaves of proposition. . .so were called the twelve loaves which were placed before the sanctuary in the temple of god. : . or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and are without blame? : . but i tell you that there is here a greater than the temple. : . and if you knew what this meaneth: i will have mercy, and not sacrifice: you would never have condemned the innocent. : . for the son of man is lord even of the sabbath. : . and when he had passed from thence, he came into their synagogues. : . and behold there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying: is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. : . but he said to them: what man shall there be among you, that hath one sheep: and if the same fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not take hold on it and lift it up? : . how much better is a man than a sheep? therefore it is lawful to do a good deed on the sabbath days. : . then he saith to the man: stretch forth thy hand; and he stretched it forth, and it was restored to health even as the other. : . and the pharisees going out made a consultation against him, how they might destroy him. : . but jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all. : . and he charged them that they should not make him known. : . that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by isaias the prophet, saying: : . behold my servant whom i have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased. i will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the gentiles. : . he shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. : . the bruised reed he shall not break: and smoking flax he shall not extinguish: till he send forth judgment unto victory. : . and in his name the gentiles shall hope. : . then was offered to him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him, so that he spoke and saw. : . and all the multitudes were amazed, and said: is not this the son of david? : . but the pharisees hearing it, said: this man casteth not out devils but by beelzebub the prince of the devils. : . and jesus knowing their thoughts, said to them: every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. : . and if satan cast out satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand? : . and if i by beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. : . but if i by the spirit of god cast out devils, then is the kingdom of god come upon you. : . or how can any one enter into the house of the strong, and rifle his goods, unless he first bind the strong? and then he will rifle his house. : . he that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth. : . therefore i say to you: every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the spirit shall not be forgiven. the blasphemy of the spirit. . .the sin here spoken of is that blasphemy, by which the pharisees attributed the miracles of christ, wrought by the spirit of god, to beelzebub the prince of devils. now this kind of sin is usually accompanied with so much obstinacy, and such wilful opposing the spirit of god, and the known truth, that men who are guilty of it, are seldom or never converted: and therefore are never forgiven, because they will not repent. otherwise there is no sin, which god cannot or will not forgive to such as sincerely repent, and have recourse to the keys of the church. : . and whosoever shall speak a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world, nor in the world to come. nor in the world to come. . .from these words st. augustine (de civ. dei, lib. , c. ) and st. gregory (dialog., , c. ) gather, that some sins may be remitted in the world to come; and, consequently, that there is a purgatory or a middle place. : . either make the tree good and its fruit good: or make the tree evil, and its fruit evil. for by the fruit the tree is known. : . o generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. : . a good man out of a good treasure bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of an evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. : . but i say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment. every idle word. . .this shews there must be a place of temporal punishment hereafter where these slighter faults shall be punished. : . for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. : . then some of the scribes and pharisees answered him, saying: master, we would see a sign from thee. a sign. . .that is, a miracle from heaven. st. luke . . : . who answering said to them: an evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of jonas the prophet. : . for as jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall the son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. three days, etc. . .not complete days and nights; but part of three days, and three nights taken according to the way that the hebrews counted their days and nights, viz., from evening to evening. : . the men of ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the preaching of jonas. and behold a greater than jonas here. : . the queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon, and behold a greater than solomon here. : . and when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and findeth none. : . then he saith: i will return into my house from whence i came out. and coming he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. : . then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is made worse than the first. so shall it be also to this wicked generation. : . as he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. : . and one said unto him: behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee. : . but he answering him that told him, said: who is my mother, and who are my brethren? who is my mother?. . .this was not spoken by way of slighting his mother, but to shew that we are never to suffer ourselves to be taken from the service of god, by any inordinate affection to our earthly parents: and that which our lord chiefly regarded in his mother, was her doing the will of his father in heaven. it may also further allude to the reprobation of the jews, his carnal kindred, and the election of the gentiles. : . and stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: behold my mother and my brethren. : . for whosoever shall do the will of my father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. matthew chapter the parables of the sower and the cockle: of the mustardseed, etc. : . the same day jesus going out of the house, sat by the sea side. : . and great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a boat and sat: and all the multitude stood on the shore. : . and he spoke to them many things in parables, saying: behold the sower went forth to sow. : . and whilst he soweth some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate them up. : . and other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth. : . and when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away. : . and others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them. : . and others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty fold, and some thirty fold. : . he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. : . and his disciples came and said to him: why speakest thou to them in parables? : . who answered and said to them: because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given. : . for he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath. : . therefore do i speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. : . and the prophecy of isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: by hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. : . for the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and i should heal them. : . but blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. : . for, amen, i say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them: and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them. : . hear you therefore the parable of the sower. : . when any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, there cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart: this is he that received the seed by the way side. : . and he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy. : . yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there ariseth tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized. : . and he that received the seed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choketh up the word, and he becometh fruitless. : . but he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that heareth the word, and understandeth, and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty. : . another parable he proposed to them, saying: the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. : . but while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. : . and when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. : . and the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him. sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle? : . and he said to them: an enemy hath done this. and the servants said to him: wilt thou that we go and gather it up? : . and he said: no, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. : . suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest i will say to the reapers: gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn. : . another parable he proposed unto them, saying: the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. : . which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof. : . another parable he spoke to them: the kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. : . all these things jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them. : . that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: i will open my mouth in parables, i will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. : . then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying: expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field. : . who made answer and said to them: he that soweth the good seed is the son of man. : . and the field is the world. and the good seed are the children of the kingdom. and the cockle are the children of the wicked one. : . and the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. but the harvest is the end of the world. and the reapers are the angels. : . even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world. : . the son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity. : . and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. : . then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their father. he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. : . the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. : . again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. : . who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it. : . again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kinds of fishes. : . which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth. : . so shall it be at the end of the world. the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. : . and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. : . have ye understood all these things? they say to him: yes. : . he said unto them: therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old. : . and it came to pass: when jesus had finished these parables, he passed from thence. : . and coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: how came this man by this wisdom and miracles? : . is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called mary, and his brethren james, and joseph, and simon, and jude: his brethren. . .these were the children of mary the wife of cleophas, sister to our blessed lady, (st. matt. . ; st. john . ,) and therefore, according to the usual style of the scripture, they were called brethren, that is, near relations to our saviour. : . and his sisters, are they not all with us? whence therefore hath he all these things? : . and they were scandalized in his regard. but jesus said to them: a prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. : . and he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief. matthew chapter herod puts john to death. christ feeds five thousand in the desert. he walks upon the sea, and heals all the diseased with the touch of his garment. : . at that time herod the tetrarch heard the fame of jesus. tetrarch. . .this word, derived from the greek, signifies one that rules over the fourth part of a kingdom: as herod then ruled over galilee, which was but the fourth part of the kingdom of his father. : . and he said to his servants: this is john the baptist: he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him. : . for herod had apprehended john and bound him, and put him into prison, because of herodias, his brother's wife. : . for john said to him: it is not lawful for thee to have her. : . and having a mind to put him to death, he feared the people: because they esteemed him as a prophet. : . but on herod's birthday, the daughter of herodias danced before them: and pleased herod. : . whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him. : . but she being instructed before by her mother, said: give me here in a dish the head of john the baptist. : . and the king was struck sad: yet because of his oath, and for them that sat with him at table, he commanded it to be given. : . and he sent, and beheaded john in the prison. : . and his head was brought in a dish: and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. : . and his disciples came and took the body, and buried it, and came and told jesus. : . which when jesus had heard, he retired from thence by a boat, into a desert place apart, and the multitudes having heard of it, followed him on foot out of the cities. : . and he coming forth saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick. : . and when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying: this is a desert place, and the hour is now passed: send away the multitudes, that going into the towns, they may buy themselves victuals. : . but jesus said to them, they have no need to go: give you them to eat. : . they answered him: we have not here, but five loaves, and two fishes. : . who said to them: bring them hither to me. : . and when he had commanded the multitude to sit down upon the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. : . and they did all eat, and were filled. and they took up what remained, twelve full baskets of fragments. : . and the number of them that did eat, was five thousand men, besides women and children. : . and forthwith jesus obliged his disciples to go up into the boat, and to go before him over the water, till he dismissed the people. : . and having dismissed the multitude, he went into a mountain alone to pray. and when it was evening, he was there alone. : . but the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. : . and in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea. : . and they seeing him walking upon the sea, were troubled, saying: it is an apparition. and they cried out for fear. : . and immediately jesus spoke to them, saying: be of good heart: it is i, fear ye not. : . and peter making answer, said: lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters. : . and he said: come. and peter going down out of the boat walked upon the water to come to jesus. : . but seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: lord, save me. : . and immediately jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: o thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? : . and when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. : . and they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: indeed thou art the son of god. : . and having passed the water, they came into the country of genesar. : . and when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent into all that country, and brought to him all that were diseased. : . and they besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment. and as many as touched, were made whole. matthew chapter christ reproves the scribes. he cures the daughter of the woman of canaan: and many others: and feeds four thousand with seven loaves. : . then came to him from jerusalem scribes and pharisees, saying: : . why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. : . but he answering, said to them: why do you also transgress the commandment of god for your tradition? for god said: : . honour thy father and mother: and: he that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death. : . but you say: whosoever shall say to father or mother, the gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee. the gift, etc. . .that is, the offering that i shall make to god, shall be instead of that which should be expended for thy profit. this tradition of the pharisees was calculated to enrich themselves; by exempting children from giving any further assistance to their parents, if they once offered to the temple and the priests, that which should have been the support of their parents. but this was a violation of the law of god, and of nature, which our saviour here condemns. : . and he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of god for your tradition. : . hypocrites, well hath isaias prophesied of you, saying: : . this people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. : . and in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men. commandments of men. . .the doctrines and commandments here reprehended are such as are either contrary to the law of god, (as that of neglecting parents, under pretence of giving to god,) or at least are frivolous, unprofitable, and no ways conducing to true piety, as that of often washing hands, etc., without regard to the purity of the heart. but as to the rules and ordinances of the holy church, touching fasts, festivals, etc., these are no ways repugnant to, but highly agreeable to god's holy word, and all christian piety: neither are they to be counted among the doctrines and commandments of men; because they proceed not from mere human authority; but from that which christ has established in his church; whose pastors he has commanded us to hear and obey, even as himself. st. luke . ; st. matt. . . : . and having called together the multitudes unto him, he said to them: hear ye and understand. : . not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. not that which goeth into, etc. . .no uncleanness in meat, nor any dirt contracted by eating it with unwashed hands, can defile the soul: but sin alone; or a disobedience of the heart to the ordinance and will of god. and thus when adam took the forbidden fruit, it was not the apple, which entered into the mouth, but the disobedience to the law of god which defiled him. the same is to be said if a jew, in the time of the old law, had eaten swine's flesh; or a christian convert, in the days of the apostles, contrary to their ordinance, had eaten blood; or if any of the faithful at present should transgress the ordinance of god's church, by breaking the fasts: for in all these cases the soul would be defiled; not indeed by that which goeth into the mouth; but by the disobedience of the heart, in wilfully transgressing the ordinance of god, or of those who have their authority from him. : . then came his disciples, and said to him: dost thou know that the pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized? : . but he answering, said: every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. : . let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. and if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit. : . and peter answering, said to him: expound to us this parable. : . but he said: are you also yet without understanding? : . do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy? : . but the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man. : . for from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. : . these are the things that defile a man. but to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man. : . and jesus went from thence, and retired into the coast of tyre and sidon. : . and behold a woman of canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to him: have mercy on me, o lord, thou son of david: my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil. : . who answered her not a word. and his disciples came and besought him, saying: send her away, for she crieth after us: : . and he answering, said: i was not sent but to the sheep, that are lost of the house of israel. : . but she came and adored him, saying: lord, help me. : . who answering, said: it is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs. : . but she said: yea, lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. : . then jesus answering, said to her: o woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt: and her daughter was cured from that hour. : . and when jesus had passed away from thence, he came nigh the sea of galilee: and going up into a mountain, he sat there. : . and there came to him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others: and they cast them down at his feet, and he healed them: : . so that the multitudes marvelled seeing the dumb speak, the lame walk, the blind see: and they glorified the god of israel. : . and jesus called together his disciples, and said: i have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have not what to eat, and i will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. : . and the disciples say unto him: whence then should we have so many loaves in the desert, as to fill so great a multitude? : . and jesus said to them: how many loaves have you? but they said: seven, and a few little fishes. : . and he commanded the multitude to sit down upon the ground. : . and taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples gave to the people. : . and they did all eat, and had their fill. and they took up seven baskets full, of what remained of the fragments. : . and they that did eat, were four thousand men, beside children and women. : . and having dismissed the multitude, he went up into a boat, and came into the coasts of magedan. matthew chapter christ refuses to shew the pharisees a sign from heaven. peter's confession is rewarded. he is rebuked for opposing christ's passion. all his followers must deny themselves. : . and there came to him the pharisees and sadducees tempting: and they asked him to shew them a sign from heaven. : . but he answered and said to them: when it is evening, you say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. : . and in the morning: to day there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering. you know then how to discern the face of the sky: and can you not know the signs of the times? : . a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of jonas the prophet. and he left them, and went away. : . and when his disciples were come over the water, they had forgotten to take bread. : . who said to them: take heed and beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees. : . but they thought within themselves, saying: because we have taken no bread. : . and jesus knowing it, said: why do you think within yourselves, o ye of little faith, for that you have no bread? : . do you not yet understand, neither do you remember the five loaves among five thousand men, and how many baskets you took up? : . nor the seven loaves, among four thousand men, and how many baskets you took up? : . why do you not understand that it was not concerning bread i said to you: beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees? : . then they understood that he said not that they should beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the pharisees and sadducees. : . and jesus came into the quarters of cesarea philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: whom do men say that the son of man is? : . but they said: some john the baptist, and other some elias, and others jeremias, or one of the prophets. : . jesus saith to them: but whom do you say that i am? : . simon peter answered and said: thou art christ, the son of the living god. : . and jesus answering said to him: blessed art thou, simon bar-jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my father who is in heaven. : . and i say to thee: that thou art peter; and upon this rock i will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. thou art peter, etc. . .as st. peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of peter, signifying a rock, st. john . , should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven. upon this rock, etc. . .the words of christ to peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the jews which our lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in english, thou art a rock, and upon this rock i will build my church. so that, by the plain course of the words, peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. where also note, that christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, st. matt. . , . the gates of hell, etc. . .that is, the powers of darkness, and whatever satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. for as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of christ. by this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of christ. : . and i will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. loose on earth. . .the loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted. : . then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was jesus the christ. : . from that time jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. : . and peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. and peter taking him. . .that is, taking him aside, out of a tender love, respect and zeal for his lord and master's honour, began to expostulate with him, as it were to rebuke him, saying, lord, far be it from thee to suffer death; but the lord said to peter, ver. , go behind me, satan. these words may signify, begone from me; but the holy fathers expound them otherwise, that is, come after me, or follow me; and by these words the lord would have peter to follow him in his suffering, and not to oppose the divine will by contradiction; for the word satan means in hebrew an adversary, or one that opposes. : . who turning, said to peter: go behind me, satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of god, but the things that are of men. : . then jesus said to his disciples: if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. : . for he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. : . for what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul? or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? : . for the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. : . amen i say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. matthew chapter the transfiguration of christ: he cures the lunatic child: foretells his passion; and pays the didrachma. : . and after six days jesus taketh unto him peter and james, and john his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: : . and he was transfigured before them. and his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. : . and behold there appeared to them moses and elias talking with him. : . and peter answering, said to jesus: lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias. : . and as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. and lo a voice out of the cloud, saying: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased: hear ye him. : . and the disciples hearing fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. : . and jesus came and touched them: and said to them: arise, and fear not. : . and they lifting up their eyes, saw no one, but only jesus. : . and as they came down from the mountain, jesus charged them, saying: tell the vision to no man, till the son of man be risen from the dead. : . and his disciples asked him, saying: why then do the scribes say that elias must come first? : . but he answering, said to them: elias indeed shall come, and restore all things. : . but i say to you, that elias is already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they had a mind. so also the son of man shall suffer from them. : . then the disciples understood, that he had spoken to them of john the baptist. : . and when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him saying: lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water. : . and i brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. : . then jesus answered and said: o unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i suffer you? bring him hither to me. : . and jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. : . then came the disciples to jesus secretly, and said: why could not we cast him out? : . jesus said to them: because of your unbelief. for, amen i say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: remove from hence hither, and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible to you. as a grain of mustard seed. . .that is, a perfect faith; which in its properties, and its fruits, resembles the grain of mustard seed, in the parable, chap. . . : . but this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. : . and when they abode together in galilee, jesus said to them: the son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: : . and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again. and they were troubled exceedingly. : . and when they were come to capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to peter, and said to him: doth not your master pay the didrachma? the didrachmas. . .a didrachma was half a sicle, or half a stater; that is, about d. english: which was a tax laid upon every head for the service of the temple. : . he said: yes. and when he was come into the house, jesus prevented him, saying: what is thy opinion, simon? the kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom, of their own children, or of strangers? : . and he said: of strangers. jesus said to him: then the children are free. : . but that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened it's mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee. matthew chapter christ teaches humility, to beware of scandal, and to flee the occasions of sin: to denounce to the church incorrigible sinners, and to look upon such as refuse to hear the church as heathens. he promises to his disciples the power of binding and loosing: and that he will be in the midst of their assemblies. no forgiveness for them that will not forgive. : . at that hour the disciples came to jesus, saying: who, thinkest thou, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? : . and jesus, calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them. : . and said: amen i say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. : . whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. : . and he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me. : . but he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. shall scandalize. . .that is, shall put a stumblingblock in their way, and cause them to fall into sin. : . woe to the world because of scandals. for it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh. it must needs be, etc. . .viz., considering the wickedness and corruption of the world. : . and if thy hand, or thy foot, scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. it is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. scandalize thee. . .that is, cause thee to offend. : . and if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. it is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. : . see that you despise not one of these little ones: for i say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father who is in heaven. : . for the son of man is come to save that which was lost. : . what think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and goeth to seek that which is gone astray? : . and if it so be that he find it: amen i say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray. : . even so it is not the will of your father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. : . but if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. if he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. : . and if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. : . and if he will not hear them: tell the church. and if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. : . amen i say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. : . again i say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my father who is in heaven. : . for where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them. there am i in the midst of them. . .this is understood of such assemblies only as are gathered in the name and authority of christ; and in unity of the church of christ. st. cyprian, de unitate ecclesiae. : . then came peter unto him and said: lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and i forgive him? till seven times? : . jesus saith to him: i say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times. : . therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. : . and when he had begun to take the account, one as brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. talents. . .a talent was seven hundred and fifty ounces of silver, which at the rate of five shillings to the ounce is a hundred and eighty-seven pounds ten shillings sterling. : . and as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. : . but that servant falling down, besought him, saying: have patience with me, and i will pay thee all. : . and the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. : . but when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: pay what thou owest. pence. . .the roman penny was the eighth part of an ounce, that is, about sevenpence half-penny english. : . and his fellow-servant falling down, besought him, saying: have patience with me, and i will pay thee all. : . and he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. : . now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came, and told their lord all that was done. : . then his lord called him: and said to him: thou wicked servant, i forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: : . shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as i had compassion on thee? : . and his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. : . so also shall my heavenly father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. matthew chapter christ declares matrimony to be indissoluble: he recommends the making one's self an eunuch for the kingdom of heaven; and parting with all things for him. he shews the danger of riches, and the reward of leaving all to follow him. : . and it came to pass when jesus had ended these words, he departed from galilee and came into the coasts of judea, beyond jordan. : . and great multitudes followed him: and he healed them there. : . and there came to him the pharisees tempting him, saying: is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? : . who answering, said to them: have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, made them male and female? and he said: : . for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. : . therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. what therefore god hath joined together, let no man put asunder. : . they say to him: why then did moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away? : . he saith to them: because moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. : . and i say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery. except it be, etc. . .in the case of fornication, that is, of adultery, the wife may be put away: but even then the husband cannot marry another as long as the wife is living. : . his disciples say unto him: if the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry. : . who said to them: all men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. all men take not this word. . .that is, all receive not the gift of living singly and chastely, unless they pray for the grace of god to enable them to live so, and for some it may be necessary to that end to fast as well as pray: and to those it is given from above. : . for there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. he that can take, let him take it. there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs, for the kingdom of heaven. . .this text is not to be taken in the literal sense; but means, that there are such, who have taken a firm and commendable resolution of leading a single and chaste life, in order to serve god in a more perfect state than those who marry: as st. paul clearly shews. cor. . , . : . then were little children presented to him, that he should impose hands upon them and pray. and the disciples rebuked them. : . but jesus said to them: suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such. : . and when he had imposed hands upon them, he departed from thence. : . and behold one came and said to him: good master, what good shall i do that i may have life everlasting? : . who said to him: why askest thou me concerning good? one is good, god. but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. : . he said to him: which? and jesus said: thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness. : . honour thy father and thy mother: and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. : . the young man saith to him: all these have i kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me? : . jesus saith to him: if thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. : . and when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. : . then jesus said to his disciples: amen, i say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. : . and again i say to you: it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. : . and when they had heard this, the disciples wondered much, saying: who then can be saved? : . and jesus beholding, said to them: with men this is impossible: but with god all things are possible. : . then peter answering, said to him: behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? : . and jesus said to them: amen i say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of israel. : . and every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. : . and many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first. matthew chapter the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. the ambition of the two sons of zebedee. christ gives sight to two blind men. : . the kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. : . and having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. : . and going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle. : . and he said to them: go you also into my vineyard, and i will give you what shall be just. : . and they went their way. and again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner. : . but about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: why stand you here all the day idle? : . they say to him: because no man hath hired us. he saith to them: go ye also into my vineyard. : . and when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first. : . when therefore they were come that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. : . but when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny. : . and receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, : . saying: these last have worked but one hour. and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats. : . but he answering said to one of them: friend, i do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? : . take what is thine, and go thy way: i will also give to this last even as to thee. : . or, is it not lawful for me to do what i will? is thy eye evil, because i am good? what i will. . .viz., with my own, and in matters that depend on my own bounty. : . so shall the last be first and the first last. for many are called but few chosen. : . and jesus going up to jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart and said to them: : . behold we go up to jerusalem, and the son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes: and they shall condemn him to death. : . and shall deliver him to the gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified: and the third day he shall rise again. : . then came to him the mother of the sons of zebedee with her sons, adoring and asking something of him. : . who said to her: what wilt thou? she saith to him: say that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom. : . and jesus answering, said: you know not what you ask. can you drink the chalice that i shall drink? they say to him: we can. : . he saith to them: my chalice indeed you shall drink; but to sit on my right or left hand is not mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is prepared by my father. : . and the ten, hearing it, were moved with indignation against the two brethren. : . but jesus called them to him and said: you know that the princes of the gentiles lord it over them; and that they that are the greater, exercise power upon them. : . it shall not be so among you: but whosoever is the greater among you, let him be your minister. : . and he that will be first among you shall be your servant. : . even as the son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a redemption for many. : . and when they went out from jericho, a great multitude followed him. : . and behold two blind men sitting by the way side heard that jesus passed by. and they cried out, saying: o lord, thou son of david, have mercy on us. : . and the multitude rebuked them that they should hold their peace. but they cried out the more, saying: o lord, thou son of david, have mercy on us. : . and jesus stood and called them and said: what will ye that i do to you? : . they say to him: lord, that our eyes be opened. : . and jesus having compassion on them, touched their eyes. and immediately they saw and followed him. matthew chapter christ rides into jerusalem upon an ass. he casts the buyers and sellers out of the temple, curses the fig tree and puts to silence the priests and scribes. : . and when they drew nigh to jerusalem and were come to bethphage, unto mount olivet, then jesus sent two disciples, : . saying to them: go ye into the village that is over against you: and immediately you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. loose them and bring them to me. : . and if any man shall say anything to you, say ye that the lord hath need of them. and forthwith he will let them go. : . now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: : . tell ye the daughter of sion: behold thy king cometh to thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of her that is used to the yoke. : . and the disciples going, did as jesus commanded them. : . and they brought the ass and the colt and laid their garments upon them and made him sit thereon. : . and a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees and strewed them in the way. : . and the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying: hosanna to the son of david: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord: hosanna in the highest. : . and when he was come into jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: who is this? : . and the people said: this is jesus, the prophet from nazareth of galilee. : . and jesus went into the temple of god and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the chairs of them that sold doves. : . and he saith to them: it is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves. : . and there came to him the blind and the lame in the temple: and he healed them. : . and the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things that he did and the children crying in the temple and saying: hosanna to the son of david, were moved with indignation, : . and said to him: hearest thou what these say? and jesus said to them: yea, have you never read: out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise? : . and leaving them, he went out of the city into bethania and remained here. : . and in the morning, returning into the city, he was hungry. : . and seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only. and he saith to it: may no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. and immediately the fig tree withered away. : . and the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: how is it presently withered away? : . and jesus answering, said to them: amen, i say to you, if you shall have faith and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done. : . and all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive. : . and when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: by what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority? : . jesus answering, said to them: i also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, i will also tell you by what authority i do these things. : . the baptism of john, whence was it? from heaven or from men? but they thought within themselves, saying: : . if we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: why then did you not believe him? but if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held john as a prophet. : . and answering jesus, they said: we know not. he also said to them: neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. : . but what think you? a certain man had two sons: and coming to the first, he said: son, go work to day in my vineyard. : . and he answering, said: i will not. but afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went. : . and coming to the other, he said in like manner. and he answering said: i go, sir. and he went not. : . which of the two did the father's will? they say to him: the first. jesus saith to them: amen i say to you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of god before you. : . for john came to you in the way of justice: and you did not believe him. but the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him. : . hear ye another parable. there was a man, an householder, who planted a vineyard and made a hedge round about it and dug in it a press and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a strange country. : . and when the time of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits thereof. : . and the husbandmen laying hands on his servants, beat one and killed another and stoned another. : . again he sent other servants, more than the former; and they did to them in like manner. : . and last of all he sent to them his son, saying: they will reverence my son. : . but the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: this is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance. : . and taking him, they cast him forth out of the vineyard and killed him. : . when therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen? : . they say to him: he will bring those evil men to an evil end and let out his vineyard to other husbandmen that shall render him the fruit in due season. : . jesus saith to them: have you never read in the scriptures: the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? by the lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes. : . therefore i say to you that the kingdom of god shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. : . and whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. : . and when the chief priests and pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them. : . and seeking to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him as a prophet. matthew chapter the parable of the marriage feast. christ orders tribute to be paid to caesar. he confutes the sadducees, shews which is the first commandment in the law and puzzles the pharisees. : . and jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying: : . the kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son. : . and he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage: and they would not come. : . again he sent other servants, saying: tell them that were invited, behold, i have prepared my dinner: my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. come ye to the marriage. : . but they neglected and went their ways, one to his farm and another to his merchandise. : . and the rest laid hands on his servants and, having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. : . but when the king had heard of it, he was angry: and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers and burnt their city. : . then he saith to his servants: the marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy. : . go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage. : . and his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. : . and the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. : . and he saith to him: friend, how camest thou in hither not having on a wedding garment? but he was silent. : . then the king said to the waiters: bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness. there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. : . for many are called, but few are chosen. : . then the pharisees going, consulted among themselves how to insnare him in his speech. : . and they sent to him their disciples with the herodians, saying: master, we know that thou art a true speaker and teachest the way of god in truth. neither carest thou for any man: for thou dost not regard the person of men. the herodians. . .that is, some that belonged to herod, and that joined with him in standing up for the necessity of paying tribute to caesar, that is, to the roman emperor. some are of opinion that there was a sect among the jews called herodians, from their maintaining that herod was the messias. : . tell us therefore what dost thou think? is it lawful to give tribute to caesar, or not? : . but jesus knowing their wickedness, said: why do you tempt me, ye hypocrites? : . shew me the coin of the tribute. and they offered him a penny. : . and jesus saith to them: whose image and inscription is this? : . they say to him: caesar's. then he saith to them: render therefore to caesar the things that are caesar's; and to god, the things that are god's. : . and hearing this, they wondered and, leaving him, went their ways. : . that day there came to him the sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and asked him, : . saying: master, moses said: if a man die having no son, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up issue to his brother. : . now there were with us seven brethren: and the first having married a wife, died; and not having issue, left his wife to his brother. : . in like manner the second and the third and so on, to the seventh. : . and last of all the woman died also. : . at the resurrection therefore, whose wife of the seven shall she be? for they all had her. : . and jesus answering, said to them: you err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of god. : . for in the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married, but shall be as the angels of god in heaven. : . and concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken by god, saying to you: : . i am the god of abraham and the god of isaac and the god of jacob? he is not the god of the dead but of the living. : . and the multitudes hearing it were in admiration at his doctrine. : . but the pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the sadducees, came together. : . and one of them, a doctor of the law, asked him, tempting him: : . master, which is the great commandment in the law? : . jesus said to him: thou shalt love the lord thy god with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. : . this is the greatest and the first commandment. : . and the second is like to this: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. : . on these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets. : . and the pharisees being gathered together, jesus asked them, : . saying: what think you of christ? whose son is he? they say to him: david's. : . he saith to them: how then doth david in spirit call him lord, saying: : . the lord said to my lord: sit on my right hand, until i make thy enemies thy footstool? : . if david then call him lord, how is he his son? : . and no man was able to answer him a word: neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. matthew chapter christ admonishes the people to follow the good doctrine, not the bad example of the scribes and pharisees. he warns his disciples not to imitate their ambition and denounces divers woes against them for their hypocrisy and blindness. : . then jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, : . saying: the scribes and the pharisees have sitten on the chair of moses. : . all things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not. for they say, and do not. : . for they bind heavy and insupportable burdens and lay them on men's shoulders: but with a finger of their own they will not move them. : . and all their works they do for to be seen of men. for they make their phylacteries broad and enlarge their fringes. phylacteries. . .that is, parchments, on which they wrote the ten commandments, and carried them on their foreheads before their eyes: which the pharisees affected to wear broader than other men; so to seem more zealous for the law. : . and they love the first places at feasts and the first chairs in the synagogues, : . and salutations in the market place, and to be called by men, rabbi. : . but be not you called rabbi. for one is your master: and all you are brethren. : . and call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven. call none your father--neither be ye called masters, etc. . .the meaning is that our father in heaven is incomparably more to be regarded, than any father upon earth: and no master to be followed, who would lead us away from christ. but this does not hinder but that we are by the law of god to have a due respect both for our parents and spiritual fathers, ( cor. . : ,) and for our masters and teachers. : . neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, christ. : . he that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. : . and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. : . but woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for you yourselves do not enter in and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter. : . woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. for this you shall receive the greater judgment. : . woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte. and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves. : . woe to you, blind guides, that say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple is a debtor. : . ye foolish and blind: for whether is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? : . and whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. : . ye foolish and blind: for whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? : . he therefore that sweareth by the altar sweareth by it and by all things that are upon it. : . and whosoever shall swear by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth in it. : . and he that sweareth by heaven sweareth by the throne of god and by him that sitteth thereon. : . woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites; because you tithe mint and anise and cummin and have left the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and faith. these things you ought to have done and not to leave those undone. : . blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. : . woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness. : . thou blind pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may become clean. : . woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful but within are full of dead men's bones and of all filthiness. : . so you also outwardly indeed appear to men just: but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. : . woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, that build the sepulchres of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just, build the sepulchres, etc. . .this is not blamed, as if it were in itself evil to build or adorn the monuments of the prophets: but the hypocrisy of the pharisees is here taxed; who, whilst they pretended to honour the memory of the prophets, were persecuting even unto death the lord of the prophets. : . and say: if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. : . wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of them that killed the prophets. : . fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. : . you serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell? : . therefore behold i send to you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify: and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. : . that upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of abel the just, even unto the blood of zacharias the son of barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. that upon you may come, etc. . .not that they should suffer more than their own sins justly deserved; but that the justice of god should now fall upon them with such a final vengeance, once for all, as might comprise all the different kinds of judgments and punishments, that had at any time before been inflicted for the shedding of just blood. : . amen i say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. : . jerusalem, jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would i have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not? : . behold, your house shall be left to you, desolate. : . for i say to you, you shall not see me henceforth till you say: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord. matthew chapter christ foretells the destruction of the temple, with the signs that shall come before it and before the last judgment. we must always watch. : . and jesus being come out of the temple, went away. and his disciples came to shew him the buildings of the temple. : . and he answering, said to them: do you see all these things? amen i say to you, there shall not be left here a stone upon a stone that shall not be destroyed. : . and when he was sitting on mount olivet, the disciples came to him privately, saying: tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the consummation of the world? : . and jesus answering, said to them: take heed that no man seduce you. : . for many will come in my name saying, i am christ. and they will seduce many. : . and you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. see that ye be not troubled. for these things must come to pass: but the end is not yet. : . for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in places. : . now all these are the beginnings of sorrows. : . then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake. : . and then shall many be scandalized and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. : . and many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many. : . and because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. : . but he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved. : . and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations: and then shall the consummation come. : . when therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand. : . then they that are in judea, let them flee to the mountains: : . and he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house: : . and he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat. : . and woe to them that are with child and that give suck in those days. : . but pray that your flight be not in the winter or on the sabbath. : . for there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. : . and unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. : . then if any man shall say to you, lo here is christ, or there: do not believe him. : . for there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. : . behold i have told it to you, beforehand. : . if therefore they shall say to you, behold he is in the desert: go ye not out. behold he is in the closets: believe it not. : . for as lightning cometh out of the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the cowling of the son of man be. : . wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together. wheresoever, etc. . .the coming of christ shall be sudden, and manifest to all the world, like lightning: and wheresoever he shall come, thither shall all mankind be gathered to him, as eagles are gathered about a dead body. : . and immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved. the stars. . .or flaming meteors resembling stars. : . and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven. and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. the sign, etc. . .the cross of christ. : . and he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them. : . and from the fig tree learn a parable: when the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. : . so you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors. : . amen i say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. : . heaven and earth shall pass: but my words shall not pass. shall pass. . .because they shall be changed at the end of the world into a new heaven and new earth. : . but of that day and hour no one knoweth: no, not the angels of heaven, but the father alone. : . and as in the days of noe, so shall also the coming of the son of man be. : . for, as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which noe entered into the ark: : . and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away: so also shall the coming of the son of man be. : . then two shall be in the field. one shall be taken and one shall be left. : . two women shall be grinding at the mill. one shall be taken and one shall be left. : . watch ye therefore, because you know not what hour your lord will come. : . but this know ye, that, if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch and would not suffer his house to be broken open. : . wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the son of man will come. : . who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season? : . blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. : . amen i say to you: he shall place him over all his goods. : . but if that evil servant shall say in his heart: my lord is long a coming: : . and shall begin to strike his fellow servants and shall eat and drink with drunkards: : . the lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not and at an hour that he knoweth not: : . and shall separate him and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. matthew chapter the parable of the ten virgins and of the talents. the description of the last judgment. : . then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. : . and five of them were foolish and five wise. : . but the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them. : . but the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. : . and the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. : . and at midnight there was a cry made: behold the bridegroom cometh. go ye forth to meet him. : . then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. : . and the foolish said to the wise: give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. : . the wise answered, saying: lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. : . now whilst they went to buy the bridegroom came: and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. and the door was shut. : . but at last came also the other virgins, saying: lord, lord, open to us. : . but he answering said: amen i say to you, i know you not. : . watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour. : . for even as a man going into a far country called his servants and delivered to them his goods; : . and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. : . and he that had received the five talents went his way and traded with the same and gained other five. : . and in like manner he that had received the two gained other two. : . but he that had received the one, going his way, digged into the earth and hid his lord's money. : . but after a long time the lord of those servants came and reckoned with them. : . and he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents. behold i have gained other five over and above. : . his lord said to him: well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will place thee over many things. enter thou into the joy of thy lord. : . and he also that had received the two talents came and said: lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me. behold i have gained other two. : . his lord said to him: well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will place thee over many things. enter thou into the joy of thy lord. : . but he that had received the one talent, came and said: lord, i know that thou art a hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown and gatherest where thou hast not strewed. : . and being afraid, i went and hid thy talent in the earth. behold here thou hast that which is thine. : . and his lord answering, said to him: wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that i reap where i sow not and gather where i have not strewed. : . thou oughtest therefore to have committed my money to the bankers: and at my coming i should have received my own with usury. : . take ye away therefore the talent from him and give it him that hath ten talents. : . for to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away. : . and the unprofitable servant, cast ye out into the exterior darkness. there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. : . and when the son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. : . and all nations shall be gathered together before him: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: : . and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. : . then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: come, ye blessed of my father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. : . for i was hungry, and you gave me to eat: i was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: i was a stranger, and you took me in: : . naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: i was in prison, and you came to me. : . then shall the just answer him, saying: lord, when did we see thee hungry and fed thee: thirsty and gave thee drink? : . or when did we see thee a stranger and took thee in? or naked and covered thee? : . or when did we see thee sick or in prison and came to thee? : . and the king answering shall say to them: amen i say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. : . then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. : . for i was hungry and you gave me not to eat: i was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. : . i was a stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me. : . then they also shall answer him, saying: lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to thee? : . then he shall answer them, saying: amen: i say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me. : . and these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting. matthew chapter the jews conspire against christ. he is anointed by mary. the treason of judas. the last supper. the prayer in the garden. the apprehension of our lord. his treatment in the house of caiphas. : . and it came to pass, when jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples: : . you know that after two days shall be the pasch: and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified. : . then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people, into the court of the high priest, who was called caiphas: : . and they consulted together that by subtilty they might apprehend jesus and put him to death. : . but they said: not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people. : . and when jesus was in bethania, in the house of simon the leper, : . there came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment and poured it on his head as he was at table. : . and the disciples seeing it had indignation, saying: to what purpose is this waste? : . for this might have been sold for much and given to the poor. : . and jesus knowing it, said to them: why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. : . for the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always. me you have not always. . .viz., in a visible manner, as when conversant here on earth; and as we have the poor, whom we may daily assist and relieve. : . for she in pouring this ointment on my body hath done it for my burial. : . amen i say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memory of her. : . then went one of the twelve, who was called judas iscariot, to the chief priests. : . and said to them: what will you give me, and i will deliver him unto you? but they appointed him thirty pieces of silver. : . and from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him. : . and on the first day of the azymes, the disciples came to jesus, saying: where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pasch? azymes. . .feast of the unleavened bread. pasch. . .the paschal lamb. : . but jesus said: go ye into the city to a certain man and say to him: the master saith, my time is near at hand. with thee i make the pasch with my disciples. : . and the disciples did as jesus appointed to them: and they prepared the pasch. : . but when it was evening, he sat down with his twelve disciples. : . and whilst they were eating, he said: amen i say to you that one of you is about to betray me. : . and they being very much troubled began every one to say: is it i, lord? : . but he answering said: he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me. : . the son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him. but woe to that man by whom the son of man shall be betrayed. it were better for him, if that man had not been born. : . and judas that betrayed him answering, said: is it i, rabbi? he saith to him: thou hast said it. : . and whilst they were at supper, jesus took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his disciples and said: take ye and eat. this is my body. this is my body. . .he does not say, this is the figure of my body--but this is my body. ( council of nice, act. .) neither does he say in this, or with this is my body; but absolutely, this is my body: which plainly implies transubstantiation. : . and taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: drink ye all of this. drink ye all of this. . .this was spoken to the twelve apostles; who were the all then present; and they all drank of it, says st. mark . . but it no ways follows from these words spoken to the apostles, that all the faithful are here commanded to drink of the chalice; any more than that all the faithful are commanded to consecrate, offer and administer this sacrament; because christ upon this same occasion, and at the same time, bid the apostles do so; in these words, st. luke . , do this for a commemoration of me. : . for this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. blood of the new testament. . .as the old testament was dedicated with the blood of victims, by moses, in these words: this is the blood of the testament, etc., heb. . ; so here is the dedication and institution of the new testament, in the blood of christ, here mystically shed by these words: this is the blood of the new testament, etc. : . and i say to you, i will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when i shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my father. fruit of the vine. . .these words, by the account of st. luke : . , were not spoken of the sacramental cup, but of the wine that was drunk with the paschal lamb. though the sacramental cup might also be called the fruit of the vine, because it was consecrated from wine, and retains the likeness, and all the accidents or qualities of wine. : . and a hymn being said, they went out unto mount olivet. : . then jesus saith to them: all you shall be scandalized in me this night. for it is written: i will strike the shepherd: and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. scandalized in me, etc. . .forasmuch as my being apprehended shall make you all run away and forsake me. : . but after i shall be risen again, i will go before you into galilee. : . and peter answering, said to him: although all shall be scandalized in thee, i will never be scandalized. : . jesus said to him: amen i say to thee that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. : . peter saith to him: yea, though i should die with thee, i will not deny thee. and in like manner said all the disciples. : . then jesus came with them into a country place which is called gethsemani. and he said to his disciples: sit you here, till i go yonder and pray. : . and taking with him peter and the two sons of zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. : . then he saith to them: my soul is sorrowful even unto death. stay you here and watch with me. : . and going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying and saying: my father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. nevertheless, not as i will but as thou wilt. : . and he cometh to his disciples and findeth them asleep. and he saith to peter: what? could you not watch one hour with me? : . watch ye: and pray that ye enter not into temptation. the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. : . again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: my father, if this chalice may not pass away, but i must drink it, thy will be done. : . and he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy. : . and leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. : . then he cometh to his disciples and said to them: sleep ye now and take your rest. behold the hour is at hand: and the son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. : . rise: let us go. behold he is at hand that will betray me. : . as he yet spoke, behold judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the ancients of the people. : . and he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying: whomsoever i shall kiss, that is he. hold him fast. : . and forthwith coming to jesus, he said: hail, rabbi. and he kissed him. : . and jesus said to him: friend, whereto art thou come? then they came up and laid hands on jesus and held him. : . and behold one of them that were with jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword: and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. : . then jesus saith to him: put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. : . thinkest thou that i cannot ask my father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? : . how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done? : . in that same hour, jesus said to the multitudes: you are come out, as it were to a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me. i sat daily with you, teaching in the temple: and you laid not hands on me. : . now all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. then the disciples, all leaving him, fled. : . but they holding jesus led him to caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and the ancients were assembled. : . and peter followed him afar off, even to the court of the high priest, and going in, he sat with the servants, that he might see the end. : . and the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against jesus, that they might put him to death. : . and they found not, whereas many false witnesses had come in. and last of all there came two false witnesses: : . and they said: this man said, i am able to destroy the temple of god and after three days to rebuild it. : . and the high priest rising up, said to him: answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee? : . but jesus held his peace. and the high priest said to him: i adjure thee by the living god, that thou tell us if thou be the christ the son of god. : . jesus saith to him: thou hast said it. nevertheless i say to you, hereafter you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of god and coming in the clouds of heaven. : . then the high priest rent his garments, saying: he hath blasphemed: what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. : . what think you? but they answering, said: he is guilty of death. : . then did they spit in his face and buffeted him. and others struck his face with the palms of their hands, : . saying: prophesy unto us, o christ. who is he that struck thee? : . but peter sat without in the court. and there came to him a servant maid, saying: thou also wast with jesus the galilean. : . but he denied before them all, saying: i know not what thou sayest. : . and as he went out of the gate, another maid saw him; and she saith to them that were there: this man also was with jesus of nazareth. : . and again he denied with an oath: i know not the man. : . and after a little while, they came that stood by and said to peter: surely thou also art one of them. for even thy speech doth discover thee. : . then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man. and immediately the cock crew. : . and peter remembered the word of jesus which he had said: before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. and going forth, he wept bitterly. matthew chapter the continuation of the history of the passion of christ. his death and burial. : . and when morning was come, all the chief priests and ancients of the people took counsel against jesus, that they might put him to death. : . and they brought him bound and delivered him to pontius pilate the governor. : . then judas, who betrayed him, seeing that he was condemned, repenting himself, brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and ancients, : . saying: i have sinned in betraying innocent blood. but they said: what is that to us? look thou to it. : . and casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed and went and hanged himself with an halter. : . but the chief priests having taken the pieces of silver, said: it is not lawful to put them into the corbona, because it is the price of blood. corbona. . .a place in the temple where the people put in their gifts or offerings. : . and after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, to be a burying place for strangers. : . for this cause that field was called haceldama, that is, the field of blood, even to this day. : . then was fulfilled that which was spoken by jeremias the prophet, saying: and they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was prized, whom they prized of the children of israel. : . and they gave them unto the potter's field, as the lord appointed to me. : . and jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying: art thou the king of the jews? jesus saith to him: thou sayest it. : . and when he was accused by the chief priests and ancients, he answered nothing. : . then pilate saith to him: dost not thou hear how great testimonies they allege against thee? : . and he answered him to never a word, so that the governor wondered exceedingly. : . now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would. : . and he had then a notorious prisoner that was called barabbas. : . they therefore being gathered together, pilate said: whom will you that i release to you: barabbas, or jesus that is called christ? : . for he knew that for envy they had delivered him. : . and as he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: have thou nothing to do with that just man; for i have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. : . but the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people that they should ask barabbas and make jesus away. : . and the governor answering, said to them: whether will you of the two to be released unto you? but they said: barabbas. : . pilate saith to them: what shall i do then with jesus that is called christ? they say all: let him be crucified. : . the governor said to them: why, what evil hath he done? but they cried out the more, saying: let him be crucified. : . and pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: i am innocent of the blood of this just man. look you to it. : . and the whole people answering, said: his blood be upon us and upon our children. : . then he released to them barabbas: and having scourged jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified. : . then the soldiers of the governor, taking jesus into the hall, gathered together unto him the whole band. : . and stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak about him. : . and platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand. and bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: hail, king of the jews. : . and spitting upon him, they took the reed and struck his head. : . and after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him and put on him his own garments and led him away to crucify him. : . and going out, they found a man of cyrene, named simon: him they forced to take up his cross. : . and they came to the place that is called golgotha, which is the place of calvary. : . and they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall. and when he had tasted, he would not drink. : . and after they had crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: they divided my garments among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. : . and they sat and watched him. : . and they put over his head his cause written: this is jesus the king of the jews. : . then were crucified with him two thieves: one on the right hand and one on the left. : . and they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, : . and saying: vah, thou that destroyest the temple of god and in three days dost rebuild it: save thy own self. if thou be the son of god, come down from the cross. : . in like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking said: : . he saved others: himself he cannot save. if he be the king of israel, let him now come down from the cross: and we will believe him. : . he trusted in god: let him now deliver him if he will have him. for he said: i am the son of god. : . and the selfsame thing the thieves also that were crucified with him reproached him with. : . now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole earth, until the ninth hour. : . and about the ninth hour, jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: eli, eli, lamma sabacthani? that is, my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? : . and some that stood there and heard said: this man calleth elias. : . and immediately one of them running took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. : . and the others said: let be. let us see whether elias will come to deliver him. : . and jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. : . and behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent. : . and the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, : . and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city and appeared to many. : . now the centurion and they that were with him watching jesus, having seen the earthquake and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: indeed this was the son of god. : . and there were there many women afar off, who had followed jesus from galilee, ministering unto him: : . among whom was mary magdalen and mary the mother of james and joseph and the mother of the sons of zebedee. : . and when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of arimathea, named joseph, who also himself was a disciple of jesus. : . he went to pilate and asked the body of jesus. then pilate commanded that the body should be delivered. : . and joseph taking the body wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth: : . and laid it in his own new monument, which he had hewed out in a rock. and he rolled a great stone to the door of the monument and went his way. : . and there was there mary magdalen and the other mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. : . and the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and the pharisees came together to pilate, the day of preparation. . .the eve of the sabbath; so called, because on that day they prepared all things necessary; not being allowed so much as to dress their meat on the sabbath day. : . saying: sir, we have remembered, that that seducer said, while he was yet alive: after three days i will rise again. : . command therefore the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day: lest perhaps his disciples come and steal him away and say to the people: he is risen from the dead. and the last error shall be worse than the first. : . pilate saith to them: you have a guard. go, guard it as you know. : . and they departing, made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting guards. matthew chapter the resurrection of christ. his commission to his disciples. : . and in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came mary magdalen and the other mary, to see the sepulchre. : . and behold there was a great earthquake. for an angel of the lord descended from heaven and coming rolled back the stone and sat upon it. : . and his countenance was as lightning and his raiment as snow. : . and for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror and became as dead men. : . and the angel answering, said to the women: fear not you: for i know that you seek jesus who was crucified. : . he is not here. for he is risen, as he said. come, and see the place where the lord was laid. : . and going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen. and behold he will go before you into galilee. there you shall see him. lo, i have foretold it to you. : . and they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples. : . and behold, jesus met them, saying: all hail. but they came up and took hold of his feet and adored him. : . then jesus said to them: fear not. go, tell my brethren that they go into galilee. there they shall see me. : . who when they were departed, behold, some of the guards came into the city and told the chief priests all things that had been done. : . and they being assembled together with the ancients, taking counsel, gave a great sum of money to the soldiers, : . saying: say you, his disciples came by night and stole him away when we were asleep. : . and if the governor shall hear of this, we will persuade him and secure you. : . so they taking the money, did as they were taught: and this word was spread abroad among the jews even unto this day. : . and the eleven disciples went into galilee, unto the mountain where jesus had appointed them. : . and seeing him they adored: but some doubted. : . and jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: all power is given to me in heaven and in earth. all power, etc. . .see here the warrant and commission of the apostles and their successors, the bishops and pastors of christ's church. he received from his father all power in heaven and in earth: and in virtue of this power, he sends them (even as his father sent him, st. john . ) to teach and disciple, not one, but all nations; and instruct them in all truths: and that he may assist them effectually in the execution of this commission, he promises to be with them, not for three or four hundred years only, but all days, even to the consummation of the world. how then could the catholic church ever go astray; having always with her pastors, as is here promised, christ himself, who is the way, the truth, and the life. st. john . : . going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost. : . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you. and behold i am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. the holy gospel of jesus christ according to st. mark st. mark, the disciple and interpreter of st. peter (saith st. jerome), according to what he heard from peter himself, wrote at rome a brief gospel at the request of the brethren, about ten years after our lord's ascension; which when peter had heard, he approved of it and with his authority published it to the church to be read. baronius and others say that the original was written in latin: but the more general opinion is that the evangelist wrote it in greek. mark chapter the preaching of john the baptist. christ is baptized by him. he calls his disciples and works many miracles. : . the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ, the son of god. : . as it is written in isaias the prophet: behold i send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. : . a voice of one crying in the desert: prepare ye the way of the lord; make straight his paths. : . john was in the desert, baptizing and preaching the baptism of penance, unto remission of sins. : . and there went out to him all the country of judea and all they of jerusalem and were baptized by him in the river of jordan, confessing their sins. : . and john was clothed camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and he ate locusts and wild honey. : . and he preached, saying: there cometh after me one mightier than i, the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to stoop down and loose. : . i have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the holy ghost. : . and it came to pass, in those days, jesus came from nazareth of galilee and was baptized by john in jordan. : . and forthwith coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the spirit as a dove descending and remaining on him. : . and there came a voice from heaven: thou art my beloved son; in thee i am well pleased. : . and immediately the spirit drove him out into the desert. : . and he was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by satan. and he was with beasts: and the angels ministered to him. : . and after that john was delivered up, jesus came in galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of god, : . and saying: the time is accomplished and the kingdom of god is at hand. repent and believe the gospel: : . and passing by the sea of galilee, he saw simon and andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea for they were fishermen. : . and jesus said to them: come after me; and i will make you to become fishers of men. : . and immediately leaving their nets, they followed him. : . and going on from thence a little farther, he saw james the son of zebedee and john his brother, who also were mending their nets in the ship: : . and forthwith he called them. and leaving their father zebedee in the ship with his hired men, they followed him. : . and they entered into capharnaum: and forthwith upon the sabbath days going into the synagogue, he taught them. : . and they were astonished at his doctrine. for he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes. : . and there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, : . saying: what have we to do with thee, jesus of nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? i know who thou art, the holy one of god. : . and jesus threatened him, saying: speak no more, and go out of the man. : . and the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying out with a loud voice, went out of him. : . and they were all amazed insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying: what thing is this? what is this new doctrine? for with power he commandeth even the unclean spirits: and they obey him. : . and the fame of him was spread forthwith into all the country of galilee. : . and immediately going out of the synagogue they came into the house of simon and andrew, with james and john. : . and simon's wife's mother lay in a fit of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her. : . and coming to her, he lifted her up, taking her by the hand; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. : . and when it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all that were ill and that were possessed with devils. : . and all the city was gathered together at the door. : . and he healed many that were troubled with divers diseases. and he cast out many devils: and he suffered them not to speak, because they knew him. : . and rising very early, going out, he went into a desert place: and there he prayed. : . and simon and they that were with him followed after him. : . and when they had found him, they said to him: all seek for thee. : . and he saith to them: let us go into the neighbouring towns and cities, that i may preach there also; for to this purpose am i come. : . and he was preaching in their synagogues and in all galilee and casting out devils. : . and there came a leper to him, beseeching him and kneeling down, said to him: if thou wilt thou canst make me clean. : . and jesus, having compassion on him, stretched forth his hand and touching him saith to him: i will. be thou made clean. : . and when he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him: and he was made clean. : . and he strictly charged him and forthwith sent him away. : . and he saith to him: see thou tell no one; but go, shew thyself to the high priest and offer for thy cleansing the things that moses commanded, for a testimony to them. : . but he being gone out, began to publish and to blaze abroad the word: so that he could not openly go into the city. but was without in desert places. and they flocked to him from all sides. mark chapter christ heals the sick of the palsy. he calls matthew and excuses his disciples. : . and again he entered into capharnaum after some days. : . and it was heard that he was in the house. and many came together, so that there was no room: no, not even at the door. and he spoke to them the word. : . and they came to him, bringing one sick of the palsy, who was carried by four. : . and when they could not offer him unto him for the multitude, they uncovered the roof where he was: and opening it, they let down the bed wherein the man sick of the palsy lay. : . and when jesus had seen their faith, he saith to the sick of the palsy: son, thy sins are forgiven thee. : . and there were some of the scribes sitting there and thinking in their hearts: : . why doth this man speak thus? he blasphemeth. who can forgive sins, but god only? : . which jesus presently knowing in his spirit that they so thought within themselves, saith to them: why think you these things in your hearts? : . which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy: thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say: arise, take up thy bed and walk? : . but that you may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy): : . i say to thee: arise. take up thy bed and go into thy house. : . and immediately he arose and, taking up his bed, went his way in the sight of all: so that all wondered and glorified god, saying: we never saw the like. : . and he went forth again to the sea side: and all the multitude came to him. and he taught them. : . and when he was passing by, he saw levi, the son of alpheus, sitting at the receipt of custom; and he saith to him: follow me. and rising up, he followed him. : . and it came to pass as he sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat down together with jesus and his disciples. for they, with jesus who also followed him. for they were many, who also followed him. : . and the scribes and the pharisees, seeing that he ate with publicans and sinners, said to his disciples: why doth your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners? : . jesus hearing this, saith to them: they that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. for i came not to call the just, but sinners. : . and the disciples of john and the pharisees used to fast. and they come and say to him: why do the disciples of john and of the pharisees fast; but thy disciples do not fast? : . and jesus saith to them: can the children of the marriage fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. : . but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them: and then they shall fast in those days. : . no man seweth a piece of raw cloth to an old garment: otherwise the new piecing taketh away from the old, and there is made a greater rent. : . and no man putteth new wine into old bottles: otherwise the wine will burst the bottles, and both the wine will be spilled and the bottles will be lost. but new wine must be put into new bottles. : . and it came to pass again, as the lord walked through the corn fields on the sabbath, that his disciples began to go forward and to pluck the ears of corn. : . and the pharisees said to him: behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? : . and he said to them: have you never read what david did when he had need and was hungry, himself and they that were with him? : . how he went into the house of god, under abiathar the high priest, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which was not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave to them who were with him? : . and he said to them: the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. : . therefore the son of man is lord of the sabbath also. mark chapter christ heals the withered hand. he chooses the twelve. he confutes the blasphemy of the pharisees. : . and he entered again into the synagogue: and there was a man there who had a withered hand. : . and they watched him whether he would heal on the sabbath days, that they might accuse him. : . and he said to the man who had the withered hand: stand up in the midst. : . and he saith to them: is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy? but they held their peace. : . and looking round about on them with anger, being grieved for the blindness of their hearts, he saith to the man: stretch forth thy hand. and he stretched it forth: and his hand was restored unto him. : . and the pharisees going out, immediately made a consultation with the herodians against him, how they might destroy him. : . but jesus retired with his disciples to the sea; and a great multitude followed him from galilee and judea, : . and from jerusalem, and from idumea and from beyond the jordan. and they about tyre and sidon, a great multitude, hearing the things which he did, came to him. : . and he spoke to his disciples that a small ship should wait on him, because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. : . for he healed many, so that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had evils. : . and the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him: and they cried, saying: : . thou art the son of god. and he strictly charged them that they should not make him known. : . and going up into a mountain, he called unto him whom he would himself: and they came to him. : . and he made that twelve should be with him, and that he might send them to preach. : . and he gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. : . and to simon he gave the name peter: : . and james the son of zebedee, and john the brother of james; and he named them boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder. : . and andrew and philip, and bartholomew and matthew, and thomas and james of alpheus, and thaddeus and simon the cananean: : . and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. : . and they come to a house, and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. : . and when his friends had heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him. for they said: he is become mad. : . and the scribes who were come down from jerusalem, said: he hath beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. : . and after he had called them together, he said to them in parables: how can satan cast out satan? : . and if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. : . and if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. : . and if satan be risen up against himself, he is divided, and cannot stand, but hath an end. : . no man can enter into the house of a strong man and rob him of his goods, unless he first bind the strong man, and then shall he plunder his house. : . amen i say to you that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme: : . but he that shall blaspheme against the holy ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin. : . because they said: he hath an unclean spirit. : . and his mother and his brethren came; and standing without, sent unto him, calling him. : . and the multitude sat about him; and they say to him: behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. : . and answering them, he said: who is my mother and my brethren? : . and looking round about on them who sat about him, he saith: behold my mother and my brethren. : . for whosoever shall do the will of god, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother. mark chapter the parable of the sower. christ stills the tempest at sea. : . and again he began to teach by the sea side; and a great multitude was gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a ship and sat in the sea: and all the multitude was upon the land by the sea side. : . and he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his doctrine: : . hear ye: behold, the sower went out to sow. : . and whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up. : . and other some fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth; and it shot up immediately, because it had no depth of earth. : . and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. : . and some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. : . and some fell upon good ground; and brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased and yielded, one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred. : . and he said: he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. : . and when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him the parable. : . and he said to them: to you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables: : . that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. that seeing they may see, etc. . .in punishment of their wilfully shutting their eyes, (st. matt. . ,) god justly withdrew those lights and graces, which otherwise he would have given them, for their effectual conversion. : . and he saith to them: are you ignorant of this, parable? and how shall you know all parables? : . he that soweth, soweth the word. : . and these are they by the way side, where the word is sown, and as soon as they have heard, immediately satan cometh and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. : . and these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. : . and they have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution ariseth for the word they are presently scandalized. : . and others there are who are sown among thorns: these are they that hear the word, : . and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word, and it is made fruitless. : . and these are they who are sown upon the good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and yield fruit, the one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred. : . and he said to them: doth a candle come in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? : . for there is nothing hid, which shall not be made manifest: neither was it made secret, but that it may come abroad. : . if any man have ears to hear, let him hear. : . and he said to them: take heed what you hear. in what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be given to you. : . for he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, that also which he hath shall be taken away from him. : . and he said: so is the kingdom of god, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, : . and should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not. : . for the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear. : . and when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. : . and he said: to what shall we liken the kingdom of god? or to what parable shall we compare it? : . it is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth: : . and when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof. : . and with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear. : . and without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples. : . and he saith to them that day, when evening was come: let us pass over to the other side. : . and sending away the multitude, they take him even as he was in the ship: and there were other ships with him. : . and there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was filled. : . and he was in the hinder part of the ship, sleeping upon a pillow; and they awake him, and say to him: master, doth, it not concern thee that we perish? : . and rising up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: peace, be still. and the wind ceased: and there was made a great calm. : . and he said to them: why are you fearful? have you not faith yet? and they feared exceedingly: and they said one to another: who is this (thinkest thou) that both wind and sea obey him? mark chapter christ casts out a legion of devils: he heals the issue of blood, and raises the daughter of jairus to life. : . and they came over the strait of the sea, into the country of the gerasens. : . and as he went out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the monuments a man with an unclean spirit, : . who had his dwelling in the tombs, and no man now could bind him, not even with chains. : . for having been often bound with fetters and chains, he had burst the chains, and broken the fetters in pieces, and no one could tame him. : . and he was always day and night in the monuments and in the mountains, crying and cutting himself with stones. : . and seeing jesus afar off, he ran and adored him. : . and crying with a loud voice, he said: what have i to do with thee, jesus the son of the most high god? i adjure thee by god that thou torment me not. : . for he said unto him: go out of the man, thou unclean spirit. : . and he asked him: what is thy name? and he saith to him: my name is legion, for we are many. : . and he besought him much, that he would not drive him away out of the country. : . and there was there near the mountain a great herd of swine, feeding. : . and the spirits besought him, saying: send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. : . and jesus immediately gave them leave. and the unclean spirits going out, entered into the swine: and the herd with great violence was carried headlong into the sea, being about two thousand, were stifled in the sea. : . and they that fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the fields. and they went out to see what was done: : . and they came to jesus, and they see him that was troubled with the devil, sitting, clothed, and well in his wits, and they were afraid. : . and they that had seen it, told them, in what manner he had been dealt with who had the devil; and concerning the swine. : . and they began to pray him that he would depart from their coasts. : . and when he went up into the ship, he that had been troubled with the devil, began to beseech him that he might be with him. : . and he admitted him not, but saith him: go into thy house to thy friends, and tell them how great things the lord hath done for thee, and hath had mercy thee. : . and he went his way, and began to publish in decapolis how great things jesus had done for him: and all men wondered. : . and when jesus had passed again in the ship over the strait, a great multitude assembled together unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. : . and there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue named jairus: and seeing him, falleth down at his feet. : . and he besought him much, saying: my daughter is at the point of death, come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live. : . and he went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him. : . and a woman who was under an issue of blood twelve years, : . and had suffered many things from many physicians; and had spent all that she had, and was nothing the better, but rather worse, : . when she had heard of jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched his garment. : . for she said: if i shall touch but his garment, i shall be whole. : . and forthwith the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil. : . and immediately jesus knowing in himself the virtue that had proceeded from him, turning to the multitude, said: who hath touched my garments? : . and his disciples said to him: thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who hath touched me? : . and he looked about to see her who had done this. : . but the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. : . and he said to her: daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease. : . while he was yet speaking, some come from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the master any further? : . but jesus having heard the word that was spoken, saith to the ruler of the synagogue: fear not, only believe. : . and he admitted not any man to follow him, but peter, and james, and john the brother of james. : . and they cone to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he seeth a tumult, and people weeping and wailing much. : . and going in, he saith to them why make you this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. : . and they laughed him to scorn. but he having put them all out, taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. : . and taking the damsel by the hand, he saith to her: talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted: damsel (i say to thee) arise. : . and immediately the damsel rose up, and walked: and she was twelve years old: and they were astonished with a great astonishment. : . and he charged them strictly that no man should know it: and commanded that something should be given her to eat. mark chapter christ teaches at nazareth: he sends forth the twelve apostles: he feeds five thousand with five loaves; and walks upon the sea. : . and going out from thence, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him. : . and when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were in admiration at his doctrine, saying: how came this man by all these things? and what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands? : . is not this the carpenter, the son of mary, the brother of james, and joseph, and jude, and simon? are not also his sisters here with us? and they were scandalized in regard of him. : . and jesus said to them: a prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred. : . and he could not do any miracles there, only that he cured a few that were sick, laying his hands upon them. he could not. . .not for want of power, but because he would not work miracles in favour of obstinate and incredulous people, who were unworthy of such favours. : . and he wondered because of their unbelief, and he went through the villages round about teaching. : . and he called the twelve; and began to send them two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. : . and he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, but a staff only; no scrip, no bread, nor money in their purse, : . but to be shod with sandals, and that they should not put on two coats. : . and he said to them: wheresoever you shall enter into an house, there abide till you depart from that place. : . and whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you; going forth from thence, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony to them. : . and going forth they preached men should do penance: : . and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. : . and king herod heard, (for his name was made manifest,) and he said: john the baptist is risen again from dead, and therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him. : . and others said: it is elias. but others said: it is a prophet, as one of the prophets. : . which herod hearing, said: john whom i beheaded, he is risen again from the dead. : . for herod himself had sent and apprehended john, and bound him prison for the sake of herodias the wife of philip his brother, because he had married her. : . for john said to herod: it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. : . now herodias laid snares for him: and was desirous to put him to death and could not. : . for herod feared john, knowing him to be a just and holy man: and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things: and he heard him willingly. and kept him. . .that is, from the designs of herodias; and for fear of the people, would not put him to death, though she sought it; and through her daughter she effected her wish. : . and when a convenient day was come, herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of galilee. : . and when the daughter of the same herodias had come in, and had danced, and pleased herod, and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: ask of me what thou wilt, and i will give it thee. : . and he swore to her: whatsoever thou shalt ask i will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. : . who when she was gone out, said to her mother, what shall i ask? but her mother said: the head of john the baptist. : . and when she was come in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying: i will that forthwith thou give me in a dish, the head of john the baptist. : . and the king was struck sad. yet because of his oath, and because of them that were with him at table, he would not displease her: : . but sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. : . and he beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a dish: and gave to the damsel, and the damsel gave it her mother. : . which his disciples hearing came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. : . and the apostles coming together unto jesus, related to him all things that they had done and taught. : . and he said to them: come apart into a desert place, and rest a little. for there were many coming and going: and they had not so much as time to eat. : . and going up into a ship, they went into a desert place apart. : . and they saw them going away, and many knew: and they ran flocking thither foot from all the cities, and were there before them. : . and jesus going out saw a great multitude: and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. : . and when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him, saying: this is a desert place, and the hour is now past: : . send them away, that going into the next villages and towns, they may buy themselves meat to eat. : . and he answering said to them: give you them to eat. and they said to him: let us go and buy bread for two hundred pence, and we will give them to eat. : . and he saith to them: how many loaves have you? go and see. and when they knew, they say: five, and two fishes. : . and he commanded them that they should make them all sit down by companies upon the green grass. : . and they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. : . and when he had taken the five loaves, and the two fishes: looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave to his disciples to set before them: and the two fishes he divided among them all. : . and they all did eat, and had their fill. : . and they took up the leavings, twelve full baskets of fragments, and of the fishes. : . and they that did eat, were five thousand men. : . and immediately he obliged his disciples to go up into the ship, that they might go before him over the water to bethsaida, whilst he dismissed the people. : . and when he had dismissed them, he went up to the mountain to pray, : . and when it was late, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and himself alone on the land. : . and seeing them labouring in rowing, (for the wind was against them,) and about the fourth watch of the night, he cometh to them walking upon the sea, and he would have passed by them. : . but they seeing him walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition, and they cried out. : . for they all saw him, and were troubled bled. and immediately he spoke with them, and said to them: have a good heart, it is i, fear ye not. : . and he went up to them into the ship, and the wind ceased: and they were far more astonished within themselves: : . for they understood not concerning the loaves; for their heart was blinded. : . and when they had passed over, they came into the land of genezareth, and set to the shore. : . and when they were gone out of the ship, immediately they knew him: : . and running through that whole country, they began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. : . and whithersoever he entered, into towns or into villages or cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole. mark chapter christ rebukes the pharisees. he heals the daughter of the woman of chanaan; and the man that was deaf and dumb. : . and there assembled together unto him the pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from jerusalem. : . and when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. : . for the pharisees and all the jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients. : . and when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots and of brazen vessels and of beds. : . and the pharisees and scribes asked him: why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? : . but he answering, said to them: well did isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. : . and in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men. doctrines and precepts of men. . .see the annotations, matt. . , . : . for leaving the commandment of god, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these. : . and he said to them: well do you make void the commandment of god, that you may keep your own tradition. : . for moses said: honour thy father and thy mother. and he that shall curse father or mother, dying let him die. : . but you say: if a man shall say to his father or mother, corban (which is a gift) whatsoever is from me shall profit thee. : . and further you suffer him not to do any thing for his father or mother, : . making void the word of god by your own tradition, which you have given forth. and many other such like things you do. : . and calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: hear ye me all and understand. : . there is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. but the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man. : . if any man have ears to hear, let him hear. : . and when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. : . and he saith to them: so are you also without knowledge? understand you not that every thing from without entering into a man cannot defile him: : . because it entereth not into his heart but goeth into his belly and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats? : . but he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man. : . for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, : . thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. : . all these evil things come from within and defile a man. : . and rising from thence he went into the coasts of tyre and sidon: and entering into a house, he would that no man should know it. and he could not be hid. : . for a woman as soon as she heard of him, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, came in and fell down at his feet. : . for the woman was a gentile, a syrophenician born. and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. : . who said to her: suffer first the children to be filled: for it is not good to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs. : . but she answered and said to him: yea, lord; for the whelps also eat under the table of the crumbs of the children. : . and he said to her: for this saying, go thy way. the devil is gone out of thy daughter. : . and when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed and that the devil was gone out. : . and again going out of the coasts of tyre, he came by sidon to the sea of galilee, through the midst the of the coasts of decapolis. : . and they bring to him one deaf and dumb: and they besought him that he would lay his hand upon him. : . and taking him from the multitude apart, he put his fingers into his ears: and spitting, he touched his tongue. : . and looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him: ephpheta, which is, be thou opened. : . and immediately his ears were opened and the string of his tongue was loosed and he spoke right. : . and he charged them that they should tell no man. but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. : . and so much the more did they wonder, saying: he hath done all things well. he hath made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. mark chapter christ feeds four thousand. he gives sight to a blind man. he foretells his passion. : . in those days again, when there was great multitude and they had nothing to eat; calling his disciples together, he saith to them: : . i have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat. : . and if i shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way: for some of them came from afar off. : . and his disciples answered him: from whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilderness? : . and he asked them: how many loaves have ye? who said: seven. : . and he commanded the people to sit down on the ground. and taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke and gave to his disciples for to set before them. and they set them before the people. : . and they had a few little fishes: and he blessed them and commanded them to be set before them. : . and they did eat and were filled: and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. : . and they that had eaten were about four thousand. and he sent them away. : . and immediately going up into a ship with his disciples, he came into the parts of dalmanutha. : . and the pharisees came forth and began to question with him, asking him a sign from heaven, tempting him. : . and sighing deeply in spirit, he saith: why doth this generation seek a sign? amen, i say to you, a sign shall not be given to this generation. : . and leaving them, he went up again into the ship and passed to the other side of the water. : . and they forgot to take bread: and they had but one loaf with them in the ship. : . and he charged them saying: take heed and beware of the leaven of the pharisees and of the leaven of herod. : . and they reasoned among themselves, saying: because we have no bread. : . which jesus knowing, saith to them: why do you reason, because you have no bread? do you not yet know nor understand? have you still your heart blinded? : . having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? neither do you remember? : . when i broke the five loves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? they say to him: twelve. : . when also the seven loaves among four thousand, how many baskets of fragments took you up? and they say to him: seven. : . and he said to them: how do you not yet understand? : . and they came to bethsaida: and they bring to him a blind man. and they besought him that he would touch him. : . and taking the blind man by the hand, he led him out of the town. and spitting upon his eyes, laying his hands on him, he asked him if he saw any thing. : . and looking up, he said: i see men, as it were trees, walking. : . after that again he laid his hands upon his eyes: and he began to see and was restored, so that he saw all things clearly. : . and he sent him into his house, saying: go into thy house, and if thou enter into the town, tell nobody. : . and jesus went out, and his disciples into the towns of caesarea philippi. and in the way, he asked his disciples, saying to them: whom do men say that i am? : . who answered him, saying: john the baptist; but some elias, and others as one of the prophets. : . then he saith to them: but whom do you say that i am? peter answering said to him: thou art the christ. : . and he strictly charged them that they should not tell any man of him. : . and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests and the scribes: and be killed and after three days rise again. : . and he spoke the word openly. and peter taking him began to rebuke him. : . who turning about and seeing his disciples, threatened peter, saying: go behind me, satan, because thou savourest not the things that are of god but that are of men. : . and calling the multitude together with his disciples, he said to them: if any man will follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. : . for whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel shall save it. : . for what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? : . or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul: : . for he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation: the son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the glory of his father with the holy angels. : . and he said to them: amen f say to you that there are some of them that stand here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of god coming in power. mark chapter christ is transfigured. he casts out the dumb spirit. he teaches humility and to avoid scandal. : . and after six days, jesus taketh with him peter and james and john, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. : . and his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. : . and there appeared to them elias with moses: and they were talking with jesus. : . and peter answering, said to jesus: rabbi, it is good for us to be here. and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for moses, and one for elias. : . for he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear. : . and there was a cloud overshadowing them. and a voice came out of the cloud, saying: this is my most beloved son. hear ye him. : . and immediately looking about, they saw no man any more, but jesus only with them. : . and as they came down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell any man what things they had seen, till the son of man shall be risen again from the dead. : . and they kept the word to themselves; questioning together what that should mean, when he shall be risen from the dead. : . and they asked him, saying: why then do the pharisees and scribes say that elias must come first? : . who answering, said to then: elias, when he shall come first, shall restore all things; and as it is written of the son of man that he must suffer many things and be despised. : . but i say to you that elias also is come (and they have done to him whatsoever they would), as it is written of him. : . and coming to his disciples he saw a great multitude about them and the scribes disputing with them. : . and presently all the people, seeing jesus, were astonished and struck with fear: and running to him, they saluted him. : . and he asked them: what do you question about among you? : . and one of the multitude, answering, said: master, i have brought my son to thee, having a dumb spirit. : . who, wheresoever he taketh him, dasheth him: and he foameth and gnasheth with the teeth and pineth away. and i spoke to thy disciples to cast him out: and they could not. : . who answering them, said: o incredulous generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i suffer you? bring him unto me. : . and they brought him. and when he had seen him, immediately the spirit troubled him and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming. : . and he asked his father: how long time is it since this hath happened unto him? but he sad: from his infancy. : . and oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. but if thou canst do any thing, help us, having compassion on us. : . and jesus saith to him: if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. : . and immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: i do believe, lord. help my unbelief. : . and when jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him: deaf and dumb spirit, i command thee, go out of him and enter not any more into him. : . and crying out and greatly tearing him, he went our of him. and he became as dead, so that many said: he is dead. : . but jesus taking him by the hand, lifted him up. and he arose. : . and when he was come into the house, his disciples secretly asked him: why could not we cast him out? : . and he said to them: this kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. : . and departing from thence, they passed through galilee: and he would not that any man should know it. : . and he taught his disciples and said to them: the son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise again the third day. : . but they understood not the word: and they were afraid to ask him. : . and they came to capharnaum. and when they were in the house, he asked them: what did you treat of in the way? : . but they held their peace, for in the way they had disputed among themselves, which of them should be the greatest. : . and sitting down, he called the twelve and saith to them: if any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all and be minister of all. : . and taking a child, he set him in the midst of them. whom when he had embraced, he saith to them: : . whosoever shall receive one such child as this in my name receiveth me. and whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me but him that sent me. : . john answered him, saying: master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us: and we forbade him. : . but jesus said: do not forbid him. for there is no man that doth a miracle in my name and can soon speak ill of me. : . for he that is not against you is for you. : . for whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to christ: amen i say to you, he shall not lose his reward. : . and whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me: it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea. : . and if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: : . where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. : . and if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting than having two feet to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire: : . where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. : . and if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of god than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire: : . where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. : . for every one shall be salted with fire: and every victim shall be salted with salt. : . salt is good. but if the salt become unsavoury, wherewith will you season it? have salt in you: and have peace among you. mark chapter marriage is not to be dissolved. the danger of riches. the ambition of the sons of zebedee. a blind man is restored to his sight. : . and rising up from thence, he cometh into the coast of judea beyond the jordan: and the multitude flocked to him again. and as he was accustomed, he taught them again. : . and the pharisees coming to him asked him, tempting him: is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? : . but he answering, saith to them: what did moses command you? : . who said: moses permitted to write a bill of divorce and to put her away. : . to whom jesus answering, said: because of the hardness of your heart, he wrote you that precept. : . but from the beginning of the creation, god made them male and female. : . for this cause, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife. : . and they two shall be in one flesh. therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. : . what therefore god hath joined together, let no man put asunder. : . and in the house again his disciples asked him concerning the same thing. : . and he saith to them: whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committeth adultery against her. : . and if the wife shall put away her husband and be married to another, she committeth adultery. : . and they brought to him young children, that he might touch them. and the disciples rebuked them that brought them. : . whom when jesus saw, he was much displeased and saith to them: suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of god. : . amen i say to you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child shall not enter into it. : . and embracing them and laying his hands upon them, he blessed them. : . and when he was gone forth into the way, a certain man, running up and kneeling before him, asked him: good master, what shall i do that i may receive life everlasting? : . and jesus said to him: why callest thou me good? none is good but one, that is god. none is good. . .of himself entirely and essentially, but god alone; men may be good also, but only by participation of god's goodness. : . thou knowest the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, bear not false witness, do no fraud, honour thy father and mother. : . but he answering, said to him: master, all these things i have observed from my youth. : . and jesus, looking on him, loved him and said to him: one thing is wanting unto thee. go, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor: and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. and come, follow me. : . who being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. : . and jesus looking round about, saith to his disciples: how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of god! : . and the disciples were astonished at his words. but jesus again answering, saith to them: children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of god? : . it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. : . who wondered the more, saying among themselves: who then can be saved? : . and jesus looking on them, saith with men it is impossible; but not with god. for all things are possible with god. : . and peter began to say unto him: behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. : . jesus answering said: amen i say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, : . who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting. : . but many that are first shall be last: and the last, first. : . and they were in the way going up to jerusalem: and jesus went before them. and they were astonished and following were afraid. and taking again the twelve, he began to tell them the things that should befall him. : . saying: behold we go up to jerusalem, and the son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes and ancients. and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the gentiles. : . and they shall mock him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. : . and james and john, the sons of zebedee, come to him, saying: master, we desire that whatsoever we shall ask, thou wouldst do it for us. : . but he said to them: what would you that i should do for you? : . and they said: grant to us that we may sit, one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. : . and jesus said to them: you know not what you ask. can you drink of the chalice that i drink of or be baptized with the baptism wherewith i am baptized? : . but they said to him: we can. and jesus saith to them: you shall indeed drink of the chalice that i drink of; and with the baptism wherewith i am baptized you shall be baptized. : . but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is prepared. : . and the ten, hearing it, began to be much displeased at james and john. : . but jesus calling them, saith to them: you know that they who seem to rule over the gentiles lord it over them: and their princes have power over them. : . but it is not so among you: but whosoever will be greater shall be your minister. : . and whosoever will be first among you shall be the servant of all. : . for the son of man also is not come to be ministered unto: but to minister and to give his life a redemption for many. : . and they came to jericho. and as he went out of jericho with his disciples and a very great multitude, bartimeus the blind man, the son of timeus, sat by the way side begging. : . who when he had heard that it was jesus of nazareth, began to cry out and to say: jesus, son of david, have mercy on me. : . and many rebuked him, that he might hold his peace; but he cried a great deal the more: son of david, have mercy on me. : . and jesus, standing still, commanded him to be called. and they call the blind man, saying to him: be of better comfort. arise, he calleth thee. : . who casting off his garment leaped up and came to him. : . and jesus answering, said to him: what wilt thou that i should do to thee? and the blind man said to him: rabboni. that i may see. : . and jesus saith to him: go thy way. thy faith hath made thee whole. and immediately he saw and followed him in the way. mark chapter christ enters into jerusalem upon an ass. he curses the barren fig tree and drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple. : . and when they were drawing near to jerusalem and to bethania, at the mount of olives, he sendeth two of his disciples, : . and saith to them: go into the village that is over against you, and immediately at your coming in thither, you shall find a colt tied, upon which no man yet hath sat. loose him and bring him. : . and if any man shall say to you: what are you doing? say ye that the lord hath need of him. and immediately he will let him come hither. : . and going their way, they found the colt tied before the gate without, in the meeting of two ways. and they loose him. : . and some of them that stood there said to them: what do you loosing the colt? : . who said to them as jesus had commanded them. and they let him go with them. : . and they brought the colt to jesus. and they lay their garments on him: and he sat upon him. : . and many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down boughs from the trees and strewed them in the way. : . and they that went before and they that followed cried, saying: hosanna: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord. : . blessed be the kingdom of our father david that cometh: hosanna in the highest. : . and he entered into jerusalem, into the temple: and having viewed all things round about, when now the eventide was come, he went out to bethania with the twelve. : . and the next day when they came out from bethania, he was hungry. : . and when he had seen afar off a fig tree having leaves, he came, if perhaps he might find any thing on it. and when he was come to it, he found nothing but leaves. for it was not the time for figs. : . and answering he said to it: may no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any more for ever! and his disciples heard it. : . and they came to jerusalem. and when he was entered into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple: and over threw the tables of the moneychangers and the chairs of them that sold doves. : . and he suffered not that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. : . and he taught, saying to them: is it not written: my house shall be called the house of prayer to all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves. : . which when the chief priests and the scribes had heard, they sought how they might destroy him. for they feared him, because the whole multitude was in admiration at his doctrine. : . and when evening was come, he went forth out of the city. : . and when they passed by in the morning they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. : . and peter remembering, said to him: rabbi, behold the fig tree which thou didst curse is withered away. : . and jesus answering, saith to them: have the faith of god. : . amen i say to you that whosoever shall say to this mountain, be thou removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not stagger in his heart, but be believe that whatsoever he saith shall be done; it shall be done unto him. : . therefore i say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive: and they shall come unto you. : . and when you shall stand to pray, forgive, if you have aught against any man: that your father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins. : . but if you will not forgive, neither will your father that is in heaven forgive you your sins. : . and they come again to jerusalem. and when he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests and the scribes and the ancients. : . and they say to him: by what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority that thou shouldst do these things? : . and jesus answering, said to them: i will also ask you one word. and answer you me: and i will tell you by what authority i do these things. : . the baptism of john, was it from heaven or from men? answer me. : . but they thought with themselves, saying: if we say, from heaven; he will say, why then did you not believe him? : . if we say, from men, we fear the people. for all men counted john that he was a prophet indeed. : . and they answering, say to jesus: we know not. and jesus answering, saith to them: neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. mark chapter the parable of the vineyard and husbandmen. caesar's right to tribute. the sadducees are confuted. the first commandment. the widow's mite. : . and he began to speak to them in parables: a certain man planted a vineyard and made a hedge about it and dug a place for the winefat and built a tower and let it to husbandmen: and went into a far country. : . and at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant to receive of the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. : . who, having laid hands on him, beat and sent him away empty. : . and again he sent to them another servant: and him they wounded in the head and used him reproachfully. : . and again he sent another, and him they killed: and many others, of whom some they beat, and others they killed. : . therefore, having yet one son, most dear to him, he also sent him unto them last of all, saying: they will reverence my son. : . but the husbandmen said one to another: this is the heir. come let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours. : . and laying hold on him, they killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. : . what therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy those husbandmen and will give the vineyard to others. : . and have you not read this scripture, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner: : . by the lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes. : . and they sought to lay hands on him: but they feared the people. for they knew that he spoke this parable to them. and leaving him, they went their way. : . and they sent to him some of the pharisees and of the herodians: that they should catch him in his words. : . who coming, say to him: master, we know that thou art a true speaker and carest not for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of god in truth. is it lawful to give tribute to caesar? or shall we not give it? : . who knowing their wiliness, saith to them: why tempt you me? bring me a penny that i may see it. : . and they brought it him. and he saith to them: whose is this image and inscription? they say to him, caesar's. : . and jesus answering, said to them: render therefore to caesar the things that are caesar's and to god the things that are god's. and they marvelled at him. : . and there came to him the sadducees, who say there is no resurrection. and they asked him, saying: : . master, moses wrote unto us that if any man's brother die and leave his wife behind him and leave no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up seed to his brother. : . now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife and died leaving no issue. : . and the second took her and died: and neither did he leave any issue. and the third in like manner. : . and the seven all took her in like manner and did not leave issue. last of all the woman also died. : . in the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. : . and jesus answering, saith to them: do ye not therefore err, because you know not the scriptures nor the power of god? : . for when they shall rise again from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be married, but are as the angels in heaven. : . and as concerning the dead that they rise again have you not read in the book of moses, how in the bush god spoke to him, saying: i am the god of abraham and the god of isaac and the god of jacob? : . he is not the god of the dead, but of the living. you therefore do greatly err. : . and there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. : . and jesus answered him: the first commandment of all is, hear, o israel: the lord thy god is one god. : . and thou shalt love the lord thy god with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind and with thy whole strength. this is the first commandment. : . and the second is like to it: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. there is no other commandment greater than these. : . and the scribe said to him: well, master, thou hast said in truth that there is one god and there is no other besides him. : . and that he should be loved with the whole heart and with the whole understanding and with the whole soul and with the whole strength. and to love one's neighbour as one's self is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. : . and jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: thou art not far from the kingdom of god. and no man after that durst ask him any question. : . and jesus answering, said, teaching in the temple: how do the scribes say that christ is the son of david? : . for david himself saith by the holy ghost: the lord said to my lord: sit on my right hand, until i make thy enemies thy footstool. : . david therefore himself calleth him lord. and whence is he then his son? and a great multitude heard him gladly. : . and he said to them in his doctrine: beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and to be saluted in the marketplace, : . and to sit in the first chairs in the synagogues and to have the highest places at suppers: : . who devour the houses of widows under the pretence of long prayer. these shall receive greater judgment. : . and jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. and many that were rich cast in much. : . and there came a certain poor widow: and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. : . and calling his disciples together, he saith to them: amen i say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. : . for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living. mark chapter christ foretells the destruction of the temple and the signs that shall forerun the day of judgment. : . and as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him: master, behold what manner of stones and what buildings are here. : . and jesus answering, said to him: seest thou all these great buildings? there shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down. : . and as he sat on the mount of olivet over against the temple, peter and james and john and andrew asked him apart: : . tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign when all these things shall begin to be fulfilled? : . and jesus answering, began to say to them: take heed lest any man deceive you. : . for many shall come in my name saying, i am he: and they shall deceive many. : . and when you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, fear ye not. for such things must needs be: but the end is not yet. : . for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places and famines. these things are the beginning of sorrows. : . but look to yourselves. for they shall deliver you up to councils: and in the synagogues you shall be beaten: and you shall stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony unto them. : . and unto all nations the gospel must first be preached. : . and when they shall lead you and deliver you up, be not thoughtful beforehand what you shall speak: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye. for it is not you that speak, but the holy ghost. : . and the brother shall betray his brother unto death, and the father his son; and children shall rise up against their parents and shall work their death. : . and you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake. but he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved. : . and when you shall see the abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not (he that readeth let him understand): then let them that are in judea flee unto the mountains. : . and let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house nor enter therein to take any thing out of the house. : . and let him that shall be in the field not turn back to take up his garment. : . and woe to them that are with child and that give suck in those days. : . but pray ye that these things happen not in winter. : . for in those days shall be such tribulations as were not from the beginning of the creation which god created until now: neither shall be. : . and unless the lord had shortened the days, no flesh should be saved: but, for the sake of the elect which he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. : . and then if any man shall say to you: lo, here is christ. lo, he is here: do not believe. : . for there will rise up false christs and false prophets: and they shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce (if it were possible) even the elect. : . take you heed therefore: behold, i have foretold you all things. : . but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light. : . and the stars of heaven shall be falling down and the powers that are in heaven shall be moved. : . and then shall they see the son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory. : . and then shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. : . now of the fig tree learn ye a parable. when the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves are come forth, you know that summer is very near. : . so you also when you shall see these things come to pass, know ye that it is very nigh, even at the doors. : . amen, i say to you that this generation shall not pass until all these things be done. : . heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away. : . but of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the son, but the father. nor the son. . .not that the son of god is absolutely ignorant of the day of judgment, but that he knoweth it not, as our teacher; that is, he knoweth it not so as to teach it to us, as not being expedient. : . take ye heed, watch and pray. for ye know not when the time is. : . even as a man who, going into a far country, left his house and gave authority to his servants over every work and commanded the porter to watch. : . watch ye therefore (for you know not when the lord of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning): : . lest coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping. : . and what i say to you, i say to all: watch. mark chapter the first part of the history of the passion of christ. : . now the feast of the pasch and of the azymes was after two days: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might by some wile lay hold on him and kill him. azymes. . .that is, the feast of the unleavened bread. : . but they said: not on the festival day, lest there should be a tumult among the people. : . and when he was in bethania, in the house of simon the leper, and was at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard. and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it out upon his head. : . now there were some that had indignation within themselves and said: why was this waste of the ointment made? : . for this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred pence and given to the poor. and they murmured against her. : . but jesus said: let her alone. why do you molest her? she hath wrought a good work upon me. : . for the poor you have always with you: and whensoever you will, you may do them good: but me you have not always. : . she hath done what she could: she is come beforehand to anoint my body for the burial. : . amen, i say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memorial of her. : . and judas iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to betray him to them. : . who hearing it were glad: and they promised him they would give him money. and he sought how he might conveniently betray him. : . now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: whither wilt thou that we go and prepare for thee to eat the pasch? : . and he sendeth two of his disciples and saith to them: go ye into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water. follow him. : . and whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, the master saith, where is my refectory, where i may eat the pasch with my disciples? : . and he will shew you a large dining room furnished. and there prepare ye for us. : . and his disciples went their way and came into the city. and they found as he had told them: and they prepared the pasch. : . and when evening was come, he cometh with the twelve. : . and when they were at table and eating, jesus saith: amen i say to you, one of you that eateth with me shall betray me. : . but they began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one by one: is it i? : . who saith to them: one of the twelve, who dippeth with me his hand in the dish. : . and the son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the son of man shall be betrayed. it were better for him, if that man had not been born. : . and whilst they were eating, jesus took bread; and blessing, broke and gave to them and said: take ye. this is my body. : . and having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. and they all drank of it. : . and he said to them: this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many. : . amen i say to you that i will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when i shall drink it new in the kingdom of god. : . and when they had sung an hymn, they went forth to the mount of olives. : . and jesus saith to them: you will all be scandalized in my regard this night. for it is written: i will strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be dispersed. : . but after i shall be risen again, i will go before you into galilee. : . but peter saith to him: although all shall be scandalized in thee, yet not i. : . and jesus saith to him: amen i say to thee, to-day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. crow twice. . .the cocks crow at two different times of the night; viz., about midnight for the first time; and then about the time commonly called the cock crowing; and this was the cock crowing our saviour spoke of; and therefore the other evangelists take no notice of the first crowing. : . but he spoke the more vehemently: although i should die together with thee, i will not deny thee. and in like manner also said they all. : . and they came to a farm called gethsemani. and he saith to his disciples: sit you here, while i pray. : . and he taketh peter and james and john with him: and he began to fear and to be heavy. : . and he saith to them: my soul is sorrowful even unto death. stay you here and watch. : . and when he was gone forward a little, he fell flat on the ground: and he prayed that, if it might be, the hour might pass from him. : . and he saith: abba, father, all things are possible to thee: remove this chalice from me; but not what i will, but what thou wilt. : . and he cometh and findeth them sleeping. and he saith to peter: simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch one hour? : . watch ye: and pray that you enter not into temptation. the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. : . and going away again, he prayed, saying the same words. : . and when he returned, he found them again asleep (for their eyes were heavy): and they knew not what to answer him. : . and he cometh the third time and saith to them: sleep ye now and take your rest. it is enough. the hour is come: behold the son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. : . rise up: let us go. behold, he that will betray me is at hand. : . and while he was yet speaking, cometh judas iscariot, one of the twelve: and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the ancients. : . and he that betrayed him had given them a sign, saying: whomsoever i shall kiss, that is he. lay hold on him: and lead him away carefully. : . and when he was come, immediately going up to him he saith: hail, rabbi! and he kissed him. : . but they laid hands on him and held him. : . and one of them that stood by, drawing a sword, struck a servant of the chief priest and cut off his ear. : . and jesus answering, said to them: are you come out as to a robber, with swords and staves to apprehend me? : . i was daily with you in the temple teaching: and you did not lay hands on me. but that the scriptures may be fulfilled. : . then his disciples, leaving him, all fled away. : . and a certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. and they laid hold on him. : . but he, casting off the linen cloth, fled from them naked. : . and they brought jesus to the high priest. and all the priests and the scribes and the ancients assembled together. : . and peter followed him afar off, even into the court of the high priest. and he sat with the servants at the fire and warmed himself. : . and the chief priests and all the council sought for evidence against jesus, that they might put him to death: and found none. : . for many bore false witness against him: and their evidences were not agreeing. : . and some rising up, bore false witness against him, saying: : . we heard him say, i will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days i will build another not made with hands. : . and their witness did not agree. : . and the high priest rising up in the midst, asked jesus, saying: answerest thou nothing to the things that are laid to thy charge by these men? : . but he held his peace and answered nothing. again the high priest asked him and said to him: art thou the christ, the son of the blessed god? : . and jesus said to him: i am. and you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of god and coming with the clouds of heaven. : . then the high priest rending his garments, saith: what need we any further witnesses? : . you have heard the blasphemy. what think you? who all condemned him to be guilty of death. : . and some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him and to say unto him: prophesy. and the servants struck him with the palms their hands. : . now when peter was in the court below, there cometh one of the maidservants of the high priest. : . and when she had seen peter warming himself looking on him, she saith: thou also wast with jesus of nazareth. : . but he denied, saying: i neither know nor understand what thou sayest. and he went forth before the court; and the cock crew. : . and again a maidservant seeing him, began to say to the standers by: this is one of them. : . but he denied again. and after a, while they that stood by said again to peter: surely thou art one of them; for thou art also a galilean. : . but he began o curse and to swear, saying: i know not this man of whom you speak. : . and immediately the cock crew again. and peter remembered the word that jesus had said unto him: before the cock crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny me. and he began to weep, mark chapter the continuation of the history of the passion. : . and straightway in the morning, the chief priests holding a consultation with the ancients and the scribes and the whole council, binding jesus, led him away and delivered him to pilate. : . and pilate asked him: art thou the king of the jews? but he answering, saith to him: thou sayest it. : . and the chief priests accused him in many things. : . and pilate again asked him, saying: answerest thou nothing? behold in how many things they accuse thee. : . but jesus still answered nothing: so that pilate wondered. : . now on the festival day he was wont to release unto them one of the prisoners, whomsoever they demanded. : . and there was one called barabbas, who was put in prison with some seditious men, who in the sedition had committed murder. : . and when the multitude was come up, they began to desire that he would do as he had ever done unto them. : . and pilate answered them and said: will you that i release to you the king of the jews? : . for he knew that the chief priests had delivered him up out of envy. : . but the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release barabbas to them. : . and pilate again answering, saith to them: what will you then that i do to the king of the jews? : . but they again cried out: crucify him. : . and pilate saith to them: why, what evil hath he done? but they cried out the more: crucify him. : . and so pilate being willing to satisfy the people, released to them barabbas: and delivered up jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. : . and the soldiers led him away into the court of the palace: and they called together the whole band. : . and they clothed him with purple: and, platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon him. : . and they began to salute him: hail, king of the jews. : . and they struck his head with a reed: and they did spit on him. and bowing their knees, they adored him. : . and after they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him and put his own garments on him: and they led him out to crucify him. : . and they forced one simon a cyrenian, who passed by coming out of the country, the father of alexander and of rufus, to take up his cross. : . and they bring him into the place called golgotha, which being interpreted is, the place of calvary. : . and they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh. but he took it not. : . and crucifying him, they divided his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. : . and it was the third hour: and they crucified him. the third hour. . .the ancient account divided the day into four parts, which were named from the hour from which they began; the first, third, sixth, and ninth hour. our lord was crucified a little before noon; before the third hour had quite expired; but when the sixth hour was near at hand. : . and the inscription of his cause was written over: the king of the jews. : . and with him they crucify two thieves: the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. : . and the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: and with the wicked he was reputed. : . and they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying: vah, thou that destroyest the temple of god and in three days buildest it up again: : . save thyself, coming down from the cross. : . in like manner also the chief priests, mocking, said with the scribes one to another: he saved others; himself he cannot save. : . let christ the king of israel come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. and they that were crucified with him, reviled him. : . and when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour. : . and at the ninth hour, jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: eloi, eloi, lamma sabacthani? which is, being interpreted: my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? : . and some of the standers by hearing, said: behold he calleth elias. : . and one running and filling a sponge with vinegar and putting it upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: stay, let us see if elias come to take him down. : . and jesus, having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost. : . and the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. : . and the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost. said: indeed this man was the son of god. : . and there were also women looking on afar off: among whom was mary magdalen and mary the mother of james the less and of joseph and salome, : . who also when he was in galilee followed him and ministered to him, and many other women that came up with him to jerusalem. : . and when evening was now come (because it was the parasceve, that is, the day before the sabbath), : . joseph of arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of god, came and went in boldly to pilate and begged the body of jesus. : . but pilate wondered that he should be already dead. and sending for the centurion, he asked him if he were already dead. : . and when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to joseph. : . and joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock. and he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. : . and mary magdalen and mary the mother of joseph, beheld where he was laid. mark chapter christ's resurrection and ascension. : . and when the sabbath was past, mary magdalen and mary the mother of james and salome bought sweet spices, that coming, they might anoint jesus. : . and very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they come to the sepulchre, the sun being now risen. the sun being now risen. . .they set out before it was light, to go to the sepulchre; but the sun was risen when they arrived there. or, figuratively, the sun here spoken of is the sun of justice, christ jesus our lord, who was risen before their coming. : . and they said one to another: who shall roll us back the stone from the door of the sepulchre? : . and looking, they saw the stone rolled back. for it was very great. : . and entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe: and they were astonished. : . who saith to them: be not affrighted. you seek jesus of nazareth, who was crucified. he is risen: he is not here. behold the place where they laid him. : . but go, tell his disciples and peter that he goeth before you into galilee. there you shall see him, as he told you. : . but they going out, fled from the sepulchre: for a trembling and fear had seized them. and they said nothing to any man: for they were afraid. : . but he rising early the first day of the week, appeared first to mary magdalen; out of whom he had cast seven devils. : . she went and told them that had been with him, who were mourning and weeping. : . and they hearing that he was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe. : . and after that he appeared in another shape to two of them walking, as they were going into the country. : . and they going told it to the rest: neither did they believe them. : . at length he appeared to the eleven as they were at table: and he upbraided them with their incredulity and hardness of heart, because they did not believe them who had seen him after he was risen again. : . and he said to them: go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. : . he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall he condemned. : . and these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall cast out devils. they shall speak with new tongues. : . they shall take up serpents: and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. they shall lay their hand upon the sick: and they shall recover. : . and the lord jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of god. : . but they going forth preached every where: the lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed. the holy gospel of jesus christ according to st. luke st. luke was a native of antioch, the capital of syria. he was by profession a physician; and some ancient writers say, that he was very skillful in painting. he was converted by st. paul and became his disciple and companion in his travels, and fellow-labourer in the ministry of the gospel. he wrote in greek, about twenty-four years after our lord's ascension. luke chapter the conception of john the baptist, and of christ. the visitation and canticle of the blessed virgin. the birth of the baptist and the canticle of zachary. : . forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a narration of the things that have been accomplished among us, : . according as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word: : . it seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee in order, most excellent theophilus, : . that thou mayest know the verity of those words in which thou hast been instructed. : . there was in the days of herod, the king of judea, a certain priest named zachary, of the course of abia: and his wife was of the daughters of aaron, and her name elizabeth. of the course of abia. . .that is, of the rank of abia, which word in the greek is commonly put for the employment of one day: but here for the functions of a whole week. for, by the appointment of david, par. ., the descendants from aaron were divided into twenty-four families, of which the eighth was abia, from whom descended this zachary, who at this time was in the week of his priestly functions. : . and they were both just before god, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the lord without blame. : . and they had no son, for that elizabeth was barren: and they both were well advanced in years. : . and it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before god, : . according to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the lord. : . and all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense. : . and there appeared to him an angel of the lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. : . and zachary seeing him, was troubled: and fear fell upon him. : . but the angel said to him: fear not, zachary, for thy prayer is heard: and thy wife elizabeth shall bear thee a son. and thou shalt call his name john. : . and thou shalt have joy and gladness: and many shall rejoice in his nativity. : . for he shall be great before the lord and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the holy ghost, even from his mother's womb. : . and he shall convert many of the children of israel to the lord their god. : . and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of elias: that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the lord a perfect people. : . and zachary said to the angel: whereby shall i know this? for i am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. : . and the angel answering, said to him: i am gabriel, who stand before god and am sent to speak to thee and to bring thee these good tidings. : . and behold, thou shalt be dumb and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass: because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time. : . and the people were waiting for zachary: and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple. : . and when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. and he made signs to them and remained dumb. : . and it came to pass, after the days of his office were accomplished, he departed to his own house. : . and after those days, elizabeth his wife conceived and hid herself five months, saying: : . thus hath the lord dealt with me in the days wherein he hath had regard to take away my reproach among men. : . and in the sixth month, the angel gabriel was sent from god into a city of galilee, called nazareth, : . to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david: and the virgin's name was mary. : . and the angel being come in, said unto her: hail, full of grace, the lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. : . who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. : . and the angel said to her: fear not, mary, for thou hast found grace with god. : . behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name jesus. : . he shall be great and shall be called the son of the most high. and the lord god shall give unto him the throne of david his father: and he shall reign in the house of jacob for ever. : . and of his kingdom there shall be no end. : . and mary said to the angel: how shall this be done, because i know not man? : . and the angel answering, said to her: the holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee. and therefore also the holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of god. : . and behold thy cousin elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. : . because no word shall be impossible with god. : . and mary said: behold the handmaid of the lord: be it done to me according to thy word. and the angel departed from her. : . and mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of juda. : . and she entered into the house of zachary and saluted elizabeth. : . and it came to pass that when elizabeth heard the salutation of mary, the infant leaped in her womb. and elizabeth was filled with the holy ghost. : . and she cried out with a loud voice and said: blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. : . and whence is this to me that the mother of my lord should come to me? : . for behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. : . and blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the lord. : . and mary said: my soul doth magnify the lord. : . and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my saviour. : . because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. shall call me blessed. . .these words are a prediction of that honour which the church in all ages should pay to the blessed virgin. let protestants examine whether they are any way concerned in this prophecy. : . because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. : . and his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. : . he hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. : . he hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. : . he hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. : . he hath received israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. : . as he spoke to our fathers: to abraham and to his seed for ever. : . and mary abode with her about three months. and she returned to her own house. : . now elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come: and she brought forth a son. : . and her neighbors and kinsfolks heard that the lord had shewed his great mercy towards her: and they congratulated with her. : . and it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child: and they called him by his father's name zachary. : . and his mother answering, said: not so. but he shall be called john. : . and they said to her: there is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. : . and they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. : . and demanding a writing table, he wrote, saying: john is his name. and they all wondered. : . and immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed: and he spoke, blessing god. : . and fear came upon all their neighbours: and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill country of judea. : . and all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying: what an one, think ye, shall this child be? for the hand of the lord was with him. : . and zachary his father was filled with the holy ghost. and he prophesied, saying: : . blessed be the lord god of israel: because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people. : . and hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of david his servant. horn of salvation. . .that is, a powerful salvation, as dr. witham translates it. for in the scripture, by horn is generally understood strength and power. : . as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning. : . salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. : . to perform mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy testament. : . the oath, which he swore to abraham our father, that he would grant to us. : . that being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear: : . in holiness and justice before him, all our days. : . and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest: for thou shalt, go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways: : . to give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins. : . through the bowels of the mercy of our god, in which the orient from on high hath visited us: the orient. . .it is one of the titles of the messias, the true light of the world, and the sun of justice. : . to enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace. : . and the child grew and was strengthened in spirit: and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to israel. luke chapter the birth of christ. his presentation in the temple. simeon's prophecy. christ at twelve years of age, is found amongst the doctors. : . and it came to pass that in those days there went out a decree from caesar augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. : . this enrolling was first made by cyrinus, the governor of syria. : . and all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. : . and joseph also went up from galilee, out of the city of nazareth, into judea, to the city of david, which is called bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of david. : . to be enrolled with mary his espoused wife, who was with child. : . and it came to pass that when they were there, her days were accomplished that she should be delivered. : . and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger: because there was no room for them in the inn. her firstborn. . .the meaning is, not that she had afterward any other child; but it is a way of speech among the hebrews, to call them also the firstborn, who are the only children. see annotation matt. . . : . and there were in the same country shepherds watching and keeping the night watches over their flock. : . and behold an angel of the lord stood by them and the brightness of god shone round about them: and they feared with a great fear. : . and the angel said to them: fear not; for, behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people: : . for, this day is born to you a saviour, who is christ the lord, in the city of david. : . and this shall be a sign unto you. you shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. : . and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising god and saying: : . glory to god in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will. : . and it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: let us go over to bethlehem and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the lord hath shewed to us. : . and they came with haste: and they found mary and joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. : . and seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. : . and all that heard wondered: and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. : . but mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. : . and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising god for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. : . and after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called jesus, which was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. : . and after the days of her purification, according to the law of moses, were accomplished, they carried him to jerusalem, to present him to the lord: : . as it is written in the law of the lord: every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the lord: : . and to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons: : . and behold there was a man in jerusalem named simeon: and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of israel. and the holy ghost was in him. : . and he had received an answer from the holy ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the christ of the lord. : . and he came by the spirit into the temple. and when his parents brought in the child jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, : . he also took him into his arms and blessed god and said : . now thou dost dismiss thy servant, o lord, according to thy word in peace: : . because my eyes have seen thy salvation, : . which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: : . a light to the revelation of the gentiles and the glory of thy people israel. : . and his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him. : . and simeon blessed them and said to mary his mother: behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in israel and for a sign which shall be contradicted. for the fall, etc. . .christ came for the salvation of all men; but here simeon prophesies what would come to pass, that many through their own wilful blindness and obstinacy would not believe in christ, nor receive his doctrine, which therefore would be ruin to them: but to others a resurrection, by their believing in him, and obeying his commandments. : . and thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed. : . and there was one anna, a prophetess, the daughter of phanuel, of the tribe of aser. she was far advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. : . and she was a widow until fourscore and four years: who departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day. : . now she, at the same hour, coming in, confessed to the lord: and spoke of him to all that looked for the redemption of israel. : . and after they had performed all things according to the law of the lord, they returned into galilee, to their city nazareth. : . and the child grew and waxed strong, full of wisdom: and the grace of god was in him. : . and his parents went every year to jerusalem, at the solemn day of the pasch. : . and when he was twelve years old, they going up into jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast, : . and having fulfilled the days, when they returned, the child jesus remained in jerusalem. and his parents knew it not. : . and thinking that he was in the company, they came a day's journey and sought him among their kinsfolks and acquaintance. : . and not finding him, they returned into jerusalem, seeking him. : . and it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. : . and all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers. : . and seeing him, they wondered. and his mother said to him: son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and i have sought thee sorrowing. : . and he said to them: how is it that you sought me? did you not know that i must be about my father's business? : . and they understood not the word that he spoke unto them. : . and he went down with them and came to nazareth and was subject to them. and his mother kept all these words in her heart. : . and jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace with god and men. luke chapter john's mission and preaching. christ is baptized by him. : . now in the fifteenth year of the reign of tiberius caesar, pontius pilate being governor of judea, and herod being tetrarch of galilee, and philip his brother tetrarch of iturea and the country of trachonitis, and lysanias tetrarch of abilina: : . under the high priests anna and caiphas: the word of the lord was made unto john, the son of zachary, in the desert. : . and he came into all the country about the jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins. : . as it was written in the book of the sayings of isaias the prophet: a voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the lord, make straight his paths. : . every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain. : . and all flesh shall see the salvation of god. : . he said therefore to the multitudes that went forth to be baptized by him: ye offspring of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? : . bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance: and do not begin to say, we have abraham for our father. for i say unto you that god is able of these stones, to raise up children to abraham. : . for now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire. : . and the people asked him, saying: what then shall we do? : . and he answering, said to them: he that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner. : . and the publicans also came to be baptized and said to him: master, what shall we do? : . but he said to them: do nothing more than that which is appointed you. : . and the soldiers also asked him, saying: and what shall we do? and he said to them: do violence to no man, neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay. : . and as the people were of opinion, and all were thinking in their hearts of john, that perhaps he might be the christ: : . john answered, saying unto all: i indeed baptize you with water: but there shall come one mightier than i, the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to loose. he shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire; : . whose fan is in his hand: and he will purge his floor and will gather the wheat into his barn: but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. : . and many other things exhorting did he preach to the people. : . but herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by him for herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evils which herod had done: : . he added this also above all and shut up john in prison. : . now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that jesus also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened. : . and the holy ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove, upon him. and a voice came from heaven: thou art my beloved son. in thee i am well pleased. : . and jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty years: being (as it was supposed) the son of joseph, who was of heli, who was of mathat, who was of heli. . .st. joseph, who by nature was the son of jacob, (st. matt. . ,) in the account of the law, was son of heli. for heli and jacob were brothers, by the same mother; and heli, who was the elder, dying without issue, jacob, as the law directed, married his widow: in consequence of such marriage, his son joseph was reputed in the law the son of heli. : . who was of levi, who was of melchi. who was of janne, who was of joseph, : . who was of mathathias, who was of amos, who was of nahum, who was of hesli, who was of nagge, : . who was of mahath, who was of mathathias, who was of semei, who was of joseph, who was of juda, : . who was of joanna, who was of reza, who was of zorobabel, who was of salathiel, who was of neri, : . who was of melchi, who was of addi, who was of cosan, who was of helmadan, who was of her, : . who was of jesus, who was of eliezer, who was of jorim, who was of mathat, who was of levi, : . who was of simeon, who was of judas, who was of joseph, who was of jona, who was of eliakim, : . who was of melea, who was of menna, who was of mathatha, who was of nathan, who was of david, : . who was of jesse, who was of obed, who was of booz, who was of salmon, who was of naasson, : . who was of aminadab, who was of aram, who was of esron, who was of phares, who was of judas, : . who was of jacob, who was of isaac, who was of abraham, who was of thare, who was of nachor, : . who was of sarug, who was of ragau, who was of phaleg, who was of heber, who was of sale, : . who was of cainan, who was of arphaxad, who was of sem, who was of noe, who was of lamech, : . who was of mathusale, who was of henoch, who was of jared, who was of malaleel, who was of cainan, : . who was of henos, who was of seth, who was of adam, who was of god. luke chapter christ's fasting and temptation. he is persecuted in nazareth. his miracles in capharnaum. : . and jesus being full of the holy ghost, returned from the jordan and was led the by the spirit into the desert, : . for the space of forty days, and was tempted by the devil. and he ate nothing in those days. and when they were ended, he was hungry. : . and the devil said to him: if thou be the son of god, say to this stone that it be made bread. : . and jesus answered him: is written that man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of god. : . and the devil led him into a high mountain and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. : . and he said to him: to thee will i give all this power and the glory of them. for to me they are delivered: and to whom i will, i give them. : . if thou therefore wilt adore before me, all shall be thine. : . and jesus answering said to him. it is written: thou shalt adore the lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve. : . and he brought him to jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to him: if thou be the son of god, cast thyself from hence. : . for it is written that he hath given his angels charge over thee that they keep thee. : . and that in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. : . and jesus answering, said to him: it is said: thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god. : . and all the temptation being ended, the devil departed from him for a time. : . and jesus returned in the power of the spirit, into galilee: and the fame of him went out through the whole country. : . and he taught in their synagogues and was magnified by all. : . and he came to nazareth, where he was brought up: and he went into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the sabbath day: and he rose up to read. : . and the book of isaias the prophet was delivered unto him. and as he unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written: : . the spirit of the lord is upon me. wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart, : . to preach deliverance to the captives and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the lord and the day of reward. : . and when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister and sat down. and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. : . and he began to say to them: this day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears. : . and all gave testimony to him. and they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth. and they said: is not this the son of joseph? : . and he said to them: doubtless you will say to me this similitude: physician, heal thyself. as great things as we have heard done in capharnaum, do also here in thy own country. : . and he said: amen i say to you that no prophet is accepted in his own country. : . in truth i say to you, there were many widows in the days of elias in israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth. : . and to none of them was elias sent, but to sarepta of sidon, to a widow woman. : . and there were many lepers in israel in the time of eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but naaman the syrian. : . and all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger. : . and they rose up and thrust him out of the city: and they brought him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. : . but he passing through the midst of them, went his way. : . and he went down into capharnaum, a city of galilee: and there he taught them on the sabbath days. : . and they were astonished at his doctrine: for his speech was with power. : . and in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean devil: and he cried out with a loud voice, : . saying: let us alone. what have we to do with thee, jesus of nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? i know thee who thou art, the holy one of god. : . and jesus rebuked him, saying: hold thy peace and go out of him. and when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him and hurt him not at all. : . and there came fear upon all; and they talked among themselves, saying: what word is this, for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out? : . and the fame of him was published into every place of the country. : . and jesus rising up out of the synagogue, went into simon's house. and simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever: and they besought him for her. : . and standing over her, he commanded the fever: and it left her. and immediately rising, she ministered to them. : . and when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them to him. but he, laying his hands on every one of them, healed them. : . and devils went out from many, crying out and saying: thou art the son of god. and rebuking them he suffered them not to speak; for they knew that he was christ. : . and when it was day, going out he went into a desert place: and the multitudes sought him, and came unto him. and they stayed him that should not depart from them. : . to whom he said: to other cities also i must preach the kingdom of god: for therefore am i sent. : . and he was preaching in the synagogues of galilee. luke chapter the miraculous draught of fishes. the cure of the leper and of the paralytic. the call of matthew. : . and it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of god, he stood by the lake of genesareth, : . and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets. : . and going into one of the ships that was simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. and sitting, he taught the multitudes out of the ship. : . now when he had ceased to speak, he said to simon: launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught. : . and simon answering said to him: master, we have laboured all the night and have taken nothing: but at thy word i will let down the net. : . and when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes: and their net broke. : . and they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. and they came and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. : . which when simon peter saw, he fell down at jesus' knees, saying: depart from me, for i am a sinful man, o lord. : . for he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. : . and so were also james and john, the sons of zebedee, who were simon's partners. and jesus saith to simon: fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men. : . and having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him. : . and it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy who, seeing jesus and falling on his face, besought him saying: lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. : . and stretching forth his hand, he touched him, saying: i will. be thou cleansed. and immediately the leprosy departed from him. : . and he charged him that he should tell no man, but: go, shew thyself to the priest and offer for thy cleansing according as moses commanded, for a testimony to them. : . but the fame of him went abroad the more: and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. : . and he retired into the desert; and prayed. : . and it came to pass on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of galilee and judea and jerusalem: and the power of the lord was to heal them. : . and behold, men brought in a bed a man who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him. : . and when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before jesus. : . whose faith when he saw, he said: man, thy sins are forgiven thee. : . and the scribes and pharisees began to think, saying: who is this who speaketh blasphemies? who can forgive sins, but god alone? : . and when jesus knew their thoughts, answering he said to them: what is it you think in your hearts? : . which is easier to say: thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say: arise and walk? : . but that you may know that the son of man hath the power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), i say to thee to: arise, take up thy bed and go into thy house. : . and immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay: and he went away to his own house, glorifying god. : . and all were astonished: and they glorified god. and they were filled with fear, saying: we have seen wonderful things to-day. : . and after these things, he went forth and saw a publican named levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said to him: follow me. : . and leaving all things, he rose up and followed him. : . and levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that were at table with them. : . but the pharisees and scribes murmured, saying to his disciples: why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? : . and jesus answering, said to them: they that are whole need not the physician: but they that are sick. : . i came not to call the just, but sinners to penance. : . and they said to him: why do the disciples of john fast often and make prayers, and the disciples of the pharisees in like manner; but thine eat and drink? : . to whom he said: can you make the children of the bridegroom fast whilst the bridegroom is with them? : . but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them: then shall they fast in those days. : . and he spoke also a similitude to them: that no man putteth a piece from a new garment upon an old garment: otherwise he both rendeth the new, and the piece taken from the new agreeth not with the old. : . and no man putteth new wine into old bottles: otherwise the new wine will break the bottles; and it will be spilled and the bottles will be lost. : . but new wine must be put into new bottles: and both are preserved. : . and no man drinking old hath presently a mind to new: for he saith: the old is better. luke chapter christ excuses his disciples. he cures upon the sabbath day, chooses the twelve and makes a sermon to them. : . and it came to pass on the second first sabbath that, as he went through the corn fields, his disciples plucked the ears and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. the second first sabbath. . .some understand this of the sabbath of pentecost, which was the second in course among the great feasts: others, of a sabbath day that immediately followed any solemn feast. : . and some of the pharisees said to them: why do you that which is not lawful on the sabbath days? : . and jesus answering them, said: have you not read so much as this, what david did, when himself was hungry and they that were with him: : . how he went into the house of god and took and ate the bread of proposition and gave to them that were with him, which is not lawful to eat but only for the priests? : . and he said to them: the son of man is lord also of the sabbath. : . and it came to pass also, on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught. and there was a man whose right hand was withered. : . and the scribes and pharisees watched if he would heal on the sabbath: that they might find an accusation against him. : . but he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand: arise and stand forth in the midst. and rising he stood forth. : . then jesus said to them: i ask you, if it be lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil? to save life or to destroy? : . and looking round about on them all, he said to the man: stretch forth thy hand. and he stretched it forth. and his hand was restored. : . and they were filled with madness: and they talked one with another, what they might do to jesus. : . and it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray: and he passed the whole night in the prayer of god. : . and when day was come, he called unto him his disciples: and he chose twelve of them (whom also he named apostles): : . simon, whom he surnamed peter, and andrew his brother, james and john, philip and bartholomew, : . matthew and thomas, james the son of alpheus, and simon who is called zelotes, : . and jude the brother of james, and judas iscariot, who was the traitor. : . and coming down with them, he stood in a plain place: and the company of his disciples and a very great multitude of people from all judea and jerusalem and the sea coast, both of tyre and sidon, : . who were come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. : . and all the multitude sought to touch him: for virtue went out from him and healed all. : . and he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said: blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of god. : . blessed are ye that hunger now: for you shall be filled. blessed are ye that weep now: for you shall laugh. : . blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the son of man's sake. : . be glad in that day and rejoice: for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for according to these things did their fathers to the prophets. : . but woe to you that are rich: for you have your consolation. : . woe to you that are filled: for you shall hunger. woe to you that now laugh: for you shall mourn and weep. : . woe to you when men shall bless you: for according to these things did their fathers to the false prophets. : . but i say to you that hear: love your enemies. do good to them that hate you. : . bless them that curse you and pray for them that calumniate you. : . and to him that striketh thee on the one cheek, offer also the other. and him that taketh away from thee thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. : . give to every one that asketh thee: and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. : . and as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner. : . and if you love them that love you, what thanks are to you? for sinners also love those that love them. : . and if you do good to them who do good to you, what thanks are to you? for sinners also do this. : . and if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thanks are to you? for sinners also lend to sinners, for to receive as much. : . but love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the highest. for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. : . be ye therefore merciful, as your father also is merciful. : . judge not: and you shall not be judged. condemn not: and you shall not be condemned. forgive: and you shall be forgiven. : . give: and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. for with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. : . and he spoke also to them a similitude: can the blind lead the blind? do they not both fall into the ditch? : . the disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect, if he be as his master. : . and why seest thou the mote in thy brother's eye: but the beam that is in thy own eye thou considerest not? : . or how canst thou say to thy brother: brother, let me pull the mote out of thy eye, when thou thyself seest not the beam in thy own eye? hypocrite, cast first the beam out of thy own eye: and then shalt thou see clearly to take out the mote from thy brother's eye. : . for there is no good tree that bringeth forth evil fruit: nor an evil tree that bringeth forth good fruit. : . for every tree is known by its fruit. for men do not gather figs from thorns: nor from a bramble bush do they gather the grape. : . a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil. for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. : . and why call you me, lord, lord; and do not the things which i say? : . every one that cometh to me and heareth my words and doth them, i will shew you to whom he is like. : . he is like to a man building a house, who digged deep and laid the foundation upon a rock. and when a flood came, the stream beat vehemently upon that house: and it could not shake it: for it was founded on a rock. : . but he that heareth and doth not is like to a man building his house upon the earth without a foundation: against which the stream beat vehemently. and immediately it fell: and the ruin of that house was great. luke chapter christ heals the centurion's servant. he raises the widow's son to life, answers the messengers sent by john and absolves the penitent sinner. : . and when he had finished all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered into capharnaum. : . and the servant of a certain centurion who was dear to him, being sick, was ready to die. : . and when he had heard of jesus, he sent unto him the ancients of the jews, desiring him to come and heal his servant. : . and when they came to jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying to him: he is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him. : . for he loveth our nation: and he hath built us a synagogue. : . and jesus went with them. and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent his friends to him, saying: lord, trouble not thyself; for i am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. : . for which cause neither did i think myself worthy to come to thee: but say the word, and my servant shall be healed. : . for i also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers: and i say to one, go, and he goeth: and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doth it. : . which jesus hearing, marvelled: and turning about to the multitude that followed him, he said: amen i say to you, i have not found so great faith, not even in israel. : . and they who were sent, being returned to the house, found the servant whole who had been sick. : . and it came to pass afterwards that he went into a city that is called naim: and there went with him his disciples and a great multitude. : . and when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother: and she was a widow. and a great multitude of the city was with her. : . whom when the lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: weep not. : . and he came near and touched the bier. and they that carried it stood still. and he said: young man, i say to thee, arise. : . and he that was dead sat up and begun to speak. and he gave him to his mother. : . and there came a fear upon them all: and they glorified god saying: a great prophet is risen up among us: and, god hath visited his people. : . and this rumour of him went forth throughout all judea and throughout all the country round about. : . and john's disciples told him of all these things. : . and john called to him two of his disciples and sent them to jesus, saying: art thou he that art to come? or look we for another? : . and when the men were come unto him, they said: john the baptist hath sent us to thee, saying: art thou he that art to come? or look we for another? : . (and in that same hour, he cured many of their diseases and hurts and evil spirits: and to many that were blind he gave sight.) : . and answering, he said to them: go and relate to john what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached. : . and blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me. : . and when the messengers of john were departed, he began to speak to the multitudes concerning john. what went ye out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? : . but what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately are in the houses of kings. : . but what went you out to see? a prophet? yea, i say to you, and more than a prophet. : . this is he of whom it is written: behold i send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. : . for i say to you: amongst those that are born of men, there is not a greater prophet than john the baptist. but he that is the lesser in the kingdom of god is greater than he. : . and all the people hearing, and the publicans, justified god, being baptized with john's baptism. justified god. . .that is, praised the justice of god, feared and worshipped god, as just and merciful. : . but the pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of god against themselves, being not baptized by him. : . and the lord said: whereunto then shall i liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? : . they are like to children sitting in the marketplace and speaking one to another and saying: we have piped to you, and you have not danced: we have mourned, and you have not wept. : . for john the baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. and you say: he hath a devil. : . the son of man is come eating and drinking. and you say: behold a man that is a glutton and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. : . and wisdom is justified by all her children. : . and one of the pharisees desired him to eat with him. and he went into the house of the pharisee and sat down to meat. one of the pharisees: that is, simon. : . and behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that he sat at meat in the pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment. : . and standing behind at his feet. she began to wash his feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. : . and the pharisee, who had invited him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: this man, if he were if a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner. : . and jesus answering, said to him: simon, i have somewhat to say to thee. but he said: master, say it. : . a certain creditor had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. : . and whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. which therefore of the two loveth him most? : . simon answering, said: i suppose that he to whom he forgave most. and he said to him: thou hast judged rightly. : . and turning to the woman, he said unto simon: dost thou see this woman? i entered into thy house: thou gavest me no water for my feet. but she with tears hath washed my feet; and with her hairs hath wiped them. : . thou gavest me no kiss. but she, since she cane in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. : . my head with oil thou didst not anoint. but she with ointment hath anointed my feet. : . wherefore, i say to thee: many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. but to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. . .in the scripture an effect sometimes seems attributed to one only cause, when there are divers other concurring dispositions; for the sins of this woman, in this verse, are said to be forgiven, because she loved much: but (ver. ) christ tells her, thy faith hath made thee safe. hence in a true conversion are joined faith, hope, love, sorrow for sin, and other pious dispositions. : . and he said to her: thy sins are forgiven thee. : . and they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves: who is this that forgiveth sins also? : . and he said to the woman: thy faith hath made thee safe. go in peace. luke chapter the parable of the seed. christ stills the storm at sea, casts out the legion, heals the issue of blood and raises the daughter of jairus to life. : . and it came to pass afterwards he travelled through the cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of god: and the twelve with him: : . and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: mary who is called magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth, : . and joanna the wife of chusa, herod's steward, and susanna and many others who ministered unto him of their substance. : . and when a very great multitude was gathered together and hastened out of the cities, unto him, he spoke by a similitude. : . the sower went out to sow his seed. and as he sowed, some fell by the way side. and it was trodden down: and the fowls of the air devoured it. : . and other some fell upon a rock. and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. : . and other some fell among thorns. and the thorns growing up with it, choked it. : . and other some fell upon good ground and, being sprung up, yielded fruit a hundredfold. saying these things, he cried out: he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. : . and his disciples asked him what this parable might be. : . to whom he said: to you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god; but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see and hearing may not understand. seeing they may not see. . .see the annotation, mark . . : . now the parable is this: the seed is the word of god. : . and they by the way side are they that hear: then the devil cometh and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. : . now they upon the rock are they who when they hear receive the word with joy: and these have no roots: for they believe for a while and in time of temptation they fall away. : . and that which fell among thorns are they who have heard and, going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and yield no fruit. : . but that on the good ground are they who in a good and perfect heart, hearing the word, keep it and bring forth fruit in patience. : . now no man lighting a candle covereth it with a vessel or putteth it under a bed: but setteth it upon a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light. : . for there is not any thing secret that shall not be made manifest, nor hidden that shall not be known and come abroad. : . take heed therefore how you hear. for whosoever hath, to him shall be given: and whosoever hath not, that also which he thinketh he hath shall be taken away from him. : . and his mother and brethren came unto him: and they could not come at him for the crowd. : . and it was told him: thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. : . who answering, said to them: my mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of god and do it. : . and it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a little ship with his disciples. and he said to them: let us go over to the other side of the lake. and they launched forth. : . and when they were sailing, he slept. and there came down a storm of wind upon the lake: and they were filled and were in danger. : . and they came and awaked him, saying: master, we perish. but he arising, rebuked the wind and the rage of the water. and it ceased: and there was a calm. : . and he said to them: where is your faith? who being afraid, wondered, saying one to another: who is this (think you), that he commandeth both the winds and the sea: and they obey him? : . and they sailed to the country of the gerasens, which is over against galilee. : . and when he was come forth to the land, there met him a certain man who had a devil now a very long time. and he wore no clothes: neither did he abide in a house, but in the sepulchres. : . and when he saw jesus, he fell down before him. and crying out with a loud voice, he said: what have i to do with thee, jesus, son of the most high god? i beseech thee, do not torment me. : . for he commanded the unclean spirit to go out of the man. for many times it seized him: and he was bound with chains and kept in fetters: and breaking the bonds, he was driven by the devil into the deserts. : . and jesus asked him, saying: what is thy name? but he said: legion. because many devils were entered into him. : . and they besought him that he would not command them to go into the abyss. : . and there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. and he suffered them. : . the devils therefore went out of the man and entered into the swine. and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were stifled. : . which when they that fed them saw done, they fled away and told it in the city and in the villages. : . and they went out to see what was done. and they came to jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at his feet, clothed and in his right mind. and they were afraid. : . and they also that had seen told them how he had been healed from the legion. : . and all the multitude of the country of the gerasens besought him to depart from them: for they were taken with great fear. and he, going up into the ship, returned back again. : . now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him. but jesus sent him away, saying: : . return to thy house and tell how great things god hath done to thee. and he went through the whole city, publishing how great things jesus had done to him. : . and it came to pass that when jesus was returned, the multitude received him: for they were all waiting for him. : . and behold there came a man whose name was jairus: and he was a ruler of the synagogue. and he fell down at the feet of jesus, beseeching him that he would come into his house: : . for he had an only daughter, almost twelve years old, and she was dying. and it happened as he went that he was thronged by the multitudes. : . and there was a certain woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had bestowed all her substance on physicians and could not be healed by any. : . she came behind him and touched the hem of his garment: and immediately the issue of her blood stopped. : . and jesus said: who is it that touched me? and all denying, peter and they that were with him said: master, the multitudes throng and press thee; and dost thou say, who touched me? : . and jesus said: somebody hath touched me; for i know that virtue is gone out from me. : . and the woman seeing that she was not hid, came trembling and fell down before his feet and declared before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was immediately healed. : . but he said to her: daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. go thy way in peace. : . as he was yet speaking, there cometh one to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him: thy daughter is dead: trouble him not. : . and jesus hearing this word, answered the father of the maid: fear not. believe only: and she shall be safe. : . and when he was come to the house, he suffered not any man to go in with him, but peter and james and john, and the father and mother of the maiden. : . and all wept and mourned for her. but he said: weep not. the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. : . and they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. : . but he taking her by the hand, cried out, saying: maid, arise. : . and her spirit returned: and she arose immediately. and he bid them give her to eat. : . and her parents were astonished, whom he charged to tell no man what was done. luke chapter christ sends forth his apostles, feeds five thousand with five loaves, is transfigured and casts out a devil. : . then calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. : . and he sent them to preach the kingdom of god and to heal the sick. : . and he said to them: take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats. : . and whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there and depart not from thence. : . and whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet, for a testimony against them. : . and going out, they went about through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing every where. : . now herod, the tetrarch, heard of all things that were done by him. and he was in a doubt, because it was said : . by some that john was risen from the dead: but by other some, that elias had appeared: and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. : . and herod said: john i have beheaded. but who is this of whom i hear such things? and he sought to see him. : . and the apostles, when they were returned, told him all they had done. and taking them, he went aside into a desert place, apart, which belongeth to bethsaida. : . which when the people knew, they followed him: and he received them and spoke to them of the kingdom of god and healed them who had need of healing. : . now the day began to decline. and the twelve came and said to him: send away the multitude, that, going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place. : . but he said to them: give you them to eat. and they said: we have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless perhaps, we should go and buy food for all this multitude. : . now there were about five thousand men. and he said to his disciples: make them sit down by fifties in a company. : . and they did so and made them all sit down. : . and taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed them: and he broke and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude. : . and they did all eat and were filled. and there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets. : . and it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples also were with him: and he asked them, saying: whom do the people say that i am? : . but they answered and said: john the baptist; but some say elias: and others say that one of the former prophets is risen again. : . and he said to them: but whom do you say that i am? simon peter answering, said: the christ of god. : . but he strictly charging them, commanded they should tell this to no man. : . saying: the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the ancients and chief priests and scribes and be killed and the third day rise again. : . and he said to all: if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. : . for whosoever will save his life shall lose it: for he that shall lose his life for my sake shall save it. : . for what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world and lose himself and cast away himself? : . for he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty and that of his father and of the holy angels. : . but i tell you of a truth: there are some standing here that shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of god. : . and it came to pass, about eight days after these words, that he took peter and james and john and went up into a mountain to pray. : . and whilst he prayed, the shape of his countenance was altered and his raiment became white and glittering. : . and behold two men were talking with him. and they were moses and elias, : . appearing in majesty. and they spoke of his decease that he should accomplish in jerusalem. : . but peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. and waking, they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. : . and it came to pass that, as they were departing from him, peter saith to jesus: master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for moses; and one for elias: not knowing what he said. : . and as he spoke these things, there came a cloud and overshadowed them. and they were afraid when they entered into the cloud. : . and a voice came out of the cloud; saying: this is my beloved son. hear him. : . and whilst the voice was uttered jesus was found alone. and they held their peace and told no man in those days any of these things which they had seen. : . and it came to pass the day following, when they came down from the mountain, there met him a great multitude. : . and behold a man among the crowd cried out, saying: master, i beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only one. : . and lo, a spirit seizeth him, and he suddenly crieth out, and he throweth him down and teareth him, so that he foameth; and bruising him, he hardly departeth from him. : . and i desired thy disciples to cast him out: and they could not. : . and jesus, answering:, said: o faithless and perverse generation, how long shall i be with you and suffer you? bring hither thy son. : . and as he was coming to him, the devil threw him down and tore him. : . and jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and cured the boy and restored him to his father. : . and all were astonished at the mighty power of god. but while all wondered at all the things he did, he said to his disciples: lay you up in your hearts these words, for it shall come to pass that the son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. : . but they understood not this word: and it was hid from them, so that they perceived it not. and they were afraid to ask him concerning this word. : . and there entered a thought into them, which of them should be greater. : . but jesus seeing the thoughts of their hearts, took a child and set him by him, : . and said to them: whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. for he that is the lesser among you all, he is the greater. : . and john, answering, said: master, we saw a certain man casting out devils in thy name: and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. : . and jesus said to him: forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you. : . and it came to pass, when the days of his assumption were accomplishing, that he steadfastly set his face to go to jerusalem. : . and he sent messengers before his face: and going, they entered into a city of the samaritans, to prepare for him. : . and they received him not, because his face was of one going to jerusalem. : . and when his disciples, james and john, had seen this, they said: lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? : . and turning, he rebuked them, saying: you know not of what spirit you are. : . the son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save. and they went into another town. : . and it came to pass, as they walked in the way, that a certain man said to him: i will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. : . jesus said to him: the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. : . but he said to another: follow me. and he said: lord, suffer me first to go and to bury my father. : . and jesus said to him: let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of god. : . and another said: i will follow thee, lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house. : . jesus said to him: no man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of god. luke chapter christ sends forth and instructs his seventy-two disciples. the good samaritan. : . and after these things, the lord appointed also other seventy-two. and he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come. : . and he said to them: the harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest that he send labourers into his harvest. : . go: behold i send you as lambs among wolves. : . carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. : . into whatever house you enter, first say: peace be to this house. : . and if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him: but if not, it shall return to you. : . and in the same house, remain, eating and drinking such things as they have: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. remove not from house to house. : . and into what city soever you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. : . and heal the sick that are therein and say to them: the kingdom of god is come nigh unto you. : . but into whatsoever city you enter, and they receive you not, going forth into the streets thereof, say: : . even the very dust of your city that cleaveth to us, we wipe off against you. yet know this, that the kingdom of god is at hand. : . i say to you, it shall be more tolerable at that day for sodom than for that city. : . woe to thee, corozain! woe to thee, bethsaida! for if in tyre and sidon had been wrought the mighty works that have been wrought in you, they would have done penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. : . but it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon at the judgment than for you. : . and thou, capharnaum, which art exalted unto heaven, thou shalt be thrust down to hell. : . he that heareth you heareth me: and he that despiseth you despiseth me: and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. : . and the seventy-two returned with joy, saying: lord, the devils also are subject to us in thy name. : . and he said to them: i saw satan like lightning falling from heaven. : . behold, i have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall hurt you. : . but yet rejoice not in this, that spirits are subject unto you: but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven. : . in that same hour, he rejoiced in the holy ghost and said: i confess to thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to little ones. yea, father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight. he rejoiced in the holy ghost. . .that is, according to his humanity he rejoiced in the holy ghost, and gave thanks to his eternal father. : . all things are delivered to me by my father. and no one knoweth who the son is, but the father: and who the father is, but the son and to whom the son will reveal him. : . and turning to his disciples, he said: blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. : . for i say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them. : . and behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him and saying, master, what must i do to possess eternal life? : . but he said to him: what is written in the law? how readest thou? : . he answering, said: thou shalt love the lord thy god with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself. : . and he said to him: thou hast answered right. this do: and thou shalt live. : . but he willing to justify himself, said to jesus: and who is my neighbour? : . and jesus answering, said: a certain man went down from jerusalem to jericho and fell among robbers, who also stripped him and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead. : . and it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. : . in like manner also a levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. : . but a certain samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion: : . and going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him. : . and the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host and said: take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, i, at my return, will repay thee. : . which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among the robbers? : . but he said: he that shewed mercy to him. and jesus said to him: go, and do thou in like manner. : . now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named martha received him into her house. : . and she had a sister called mary. who, sitting also at the lord's feet, heard his word. : . but martha was busy about much serving. who stood and said: lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? speak to her therefore, that she help me. : . and the lord answering, said to her: martha, martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things: : . but one thing is necessary. mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her. luke chapter christ teaches his disciples to pray. he casts out a dumb devil, confutes the pharisees, and pronounces woes against them for their hypocrisy. : . and it came to pass that as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him: lord, teach us to pray, as john also taught his disciples. : . and he said to them: when you pray, say: father, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come. : . give us this day our daily bread. : . and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. and lead us not into temptation. : . and he said to them: which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him at midnight and shall say to him: friend, lend me three loaves, : . because a friend of mine is come off his journey to me and i have not what to set before him. : . and he from within should answer and say: trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. i cannot rise and give thee. : . yet if he shall continue knocking, i say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. : . and i say to you: ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. : . for every one that asketh receiveth: and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened: : . and which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? : . or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? : . if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father from heaven give the good spirit to them that ask him? : . and he was casting out a devil: and the same was dumb. and when he had cast out the devil, the dumb spoke: and the multitudes, were in admiration at it. : . but some of them said: he casteth out devils by beelzebub, the prince of devils. : . and others tempting, asked of him a sign from heaven. : . but he seeing their thoughts, said to them: every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation; and house upon house shall fall. : . and if satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say that through beelzebub i cast out devils. : . now if i cast out devils by beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore, they shall be your judges. : . but if i by the finger of god cast out devils, doubtless the kingdom of god is come upon you. : . when a strong man armed keepeth his court, those things are in peace which he possesseth. : . but if a stronger than he come upon him and overcome him, he will take away all his armour wherein he trusted and will distribute his spoils. : . he that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. : . when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water, seeking rest: and not finding, he saith: i will return into my house whence i came out. : . and when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished. : . then he goeth and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself: and entering in they dwell there. and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. : . and it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: blessed is the womb that bore thee and the paps that gave thee suck. : . but he said: yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of god and keep it. : . and the multitudes running together, he began to say: this generation is a wicked generation. it asketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of jonas the prophet. : . for as jonas was a sign to the ninivites; so shall the son of man also be to this generation. : . the queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall condemn them: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon. and behold more than solomon here. : . the men of ninive shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; because they did penance at the preaching of jonas. and behold more than jonas here. : . no man lighteth a candle and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel: but upon a candlestick, that they that come in may see the light. : . the light of thy body is thy eye. if thy eye be single, thy whole body will be lightsome: but if it be evil, thy body also will be darksome. : . take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. : . if then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness: the whole shall be lightsome and, as a bright lamp, shall enlighten thee. : . and as he was speaking, a certain pharisee prayed him that he would dine with him. and he going in, sat down to eat. : . and the pharisee began to say, thinking within himself, why he was not washed before dinner. : . and the lord said to him: now you, pharisees, make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter: but your inside is full of rapine and iniquity. : . ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make also that which is within? : . but yet that which remaineth, give alms: and behold, all things are clean unto you. : . but woe to you, pharisees, because you tithe mint and rue and every herb and pass over judgment and the charity of god. now these things you ought to have done, and not to leave the other undone. : . woe to you, pharisees, because you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and salutations in the marketplace. : . woe to you, because you are as sepulchres that appear not: and men that walk over are not aware. : . and one of the lawyers answering, saith to him: master, in saying these things, thou reproachest us also. : . but he said: woe to you lawyers also, because you load men with burdens which they cannot bear and you yourselves touch not the packs with one of your fingers. woe to you lawyers. . .he speaks of the doctors of the law of moses, commonly called the scribes. : . woe to you who build the monuments of the prophets: and your fathers killed them. woe to you who build, etc. . .not that the building of the monuments of the prophets was in itself blameworthy, but only the intention of these unhappy men, who made use of this outward shew of religion and piety, as a means to carry on their wicked designs against the prince of prophets. : . truly you bear witness that you consent to the doings of your fathers. for they indeed killed them: and you build their sepulchres. : . for this cause also the wisdom of god said: i will send to them prophets and apostles: and some of them they will kill and persecute. : . that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, : . from the blood of abel unto the blood of zacharias, who was slain between the altar and the temple. yea i say to you: it shall be required of this generation. : . woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. you yourselves have not entered in: and those that were entering in, you have hindered. : . and as he was saying these things to them, the pharisees and the lawyers began violently to urge him and to oppress his mouth about many things, : . lying in wait for him and seeking to catch something from his mouth, that they might accuse him. luke chapter christ warns us against hypocrisy, the fear of the world and covetousness. he admonishes all to watch. : . and when great multitudes stood about him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples: beware ye of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy. : . for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed: nor hidden that shall not be known. : . for whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear in the chambers shall be preached on the housetops. : . and i say to you, my friends: be not afraid of them who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. : . but i will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. yea, i say to you: fear him. : . are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before god? : . yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows. : . and i say to you: whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of god. : . but he that shall deny me before men shall be denied before the angels of god. : . and whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven. : . and when they shall bring you into the synagogues and to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say. : . for the holy ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you must say. : . and one of the multitude said to him: master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me. : . but he said to him: man, who hath appointed me judge or divider over you? : . and he said to them: take heed and beware of all covetousness: for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth. : . and he spoke a similitude to them, saying: the land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. : . and he thought within himself, saying: what shall i do, because i have no room where to bestow my fruits? : . and he said: this will i do: i will pull down my barns and will build greater: and into them will i gather all things that are grown to me and my goods. : . and i will say to my soul: soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. take thy rest: eat, drink, make good cheer. : . but god said to him: thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee. and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? : . so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards god. : . and he said to his disciples: therefore i say to you: be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. : . the life is more than the meat: and the body is more than the raiment. : . consider the ravens, for they sow not, neither do they reap, neither have they storehouse nor barn, and god feedeth them. how much are you more valuable than they? : . and which of you by taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? : . if then ye be not able to do so much as the least thing, why are you solicitous for the rest? : . consider the lilies, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. but i say to you, not even solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. : . now, if god clothe in this manner the grass that is to-day in the field and to-morrow is cast into the oven: how much more you, o ye of little faith? : . and seek not what you shall eat or what you shall drink: and be not lifted up on high. : . for all these things do the nations of the world seek. but your father knoweth that you have need of these things. : . but seek ye first the kingdom of god and his justice: and all these things shall be added unto you. : . fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your father to give you a kingdom. : . sell what you possess and give alms. make to yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not: where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth. : . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. : . let your loins be girt and lamps burning in your hands. : . and you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. : . blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. amen i say to you that he will gird himself and make them sit down to meat and passing will minister unto them. : . and if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants. : . but this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch and would not suffer his house to be broken open. : . be you then also ready: for at what hour you think not the son of man will come. : . and peter said to him: lord, dost thou speak this parable to us, or likewise to all? : . and the lord said: who thinkest thou is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord setteth over his family, to give them their measure of wheat in due season? : . blessed is that servant whom, when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing. : . verily i say to you, he will set him over all that he possesseth. : . but if that servant shall say in his heart: my lord is long a coming; and shall begin to strike the men-servants and maid-servants, and to eat and to drink and be drunk: : . the lord of that servant will come in the day that he hopeth not, and at the hour that he knoweth not: and shall separate him and shall appoint him his portion with unbelievers. : . and that servant, who knew the will of his lord and prepared not himself and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. : . but he that knew not and did things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. and unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more. : . i am come to cast fire on the earth. and what will i, but that it be kindled? : . and i have a baptism wherewith i am to be baptized. and how am i straitened until it be accomplished? : . think ye, that i am come to give peace on earth? i tell you, no; but separation. : . for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. : . the father shall be divided against the son and the son against his father: the mother against the daughter and the daughter against her mother: the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. : . and he said also to the multitudes: when you see a cloud rising from the west, presently you say: a shower is coming. and so it happeneth. : . and when ye see the south wind blow, you say: there will heat. and it cometh to pass. : . you hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the heaven and of the earth: but how is it that you do not discern this time? : . and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge that which is just? : . and when thou goest with thy adversary to the prince, whilst thou art in the way, endeavour to be delivered from him: lest perhaps he draw thee to he judge, and the judge deliver thee to the exacter, and the exacter cast thee into prison. : . i say to thee, thou shalt not go out thence until thou pay the very last mite. luke chapter the necessity of penance. the barren fig tree. the cure of the infirm woman. the journey to jerusalem. : . and there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the galileans, whose blood pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. : . and he answering, said to them: think you that these galileans were sinners above all the men of galilee, because they suffered such things? : . no, i say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish. : . or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in siloe and slew them: think you that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in jerusalem? : . no, i say to you: but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. : . he spoke also this parable: a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard: and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. : . and he said to the dresser of the vineyard: behold, for these three years i come seeking fruit on this fig tree and i find none. cut it down therefore. why cumbereth it the ground? : . but he answering, said to him: lord, let it alone this year also, until i dig about it and dung it. : . and if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. : . and he was teaching in their synagogue on their sabbath. : . and behold there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. and she was bowed together: neither could she look upwards at all. : . whom when jesus saw, he called her unto him and said to her: woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity. : . and he laid his hands upon her: and immediately she was made straight and glorified god. : . and the ruler of the synagogue being angry that jesus had healed on the sabbath answering, said to the multitude: six days there are wherein you ought to work. in them therefore come and be healed: and not on the sabbath day. : . and the lord answering him, said: ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the sabbath day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger and lead them to water? : . and ought not this daughter of abraham, whom satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? : . and when he said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by him. : . he said therefore: to what is the kingdom of god like, and whereunto shall i resemble it? : . it is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden: and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the air lodged in the branches thereof. : . and again he said: whereunto shall i esteem the kingdom of god to be like? : . it is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. : . and he went through the cities and towns teaching and making his journey to jerusalem. : . and a certain man said to him: lord, are they few that are saved? but he said to them: : . strive to enter by the narrow gate: for many, i say to you, shall seek to enter and shall not be able. shall seek, etc. . .shall desire to be saved; but for want of taking sufficient pains, and being thoroughly in earnest, shall not attain to it. : . but when the master of the house shall be gone in and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without; and knock at the door, saying: lord, open to us. and he answering, shall say to you: i know you not, whence you are. : . then you shall begin to say: we have eaten and drunk in thy presence: and thou hast taught in our streets. : . and he shall say to you: i know you not, whence you are. depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. : . there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; when you shall see abraham and isaac and jacob and all the prophets, in the kingdom of god: and you yourselves thrust out. : . and there shall come from the east and the west and the north and the south: and shall sit down in the kingdom of god. : . and behold, they are last that shall be first: and they are first that shall be last. : . the same day, there came some of the pharisees, saying to him: depart, and get thee hence, for herod hath a mind to kill thee. : . and he said to them: go and tell that fox: behold, i cast out devils and do cures, to-day and to-morrow, and the third day i am consummated. : . nevertheless, i must walk to-day and to-morrow and the day following, because it cannot be that a prophet perish, out of jerusalem. : . jerusalem, jerusalem, that killest the prophets; and stonest them that are sent to thee, how often would i have gathered thy children as the bird doth her brood under her wings, and thou wouldest not? : . behold your house shall be left to you desolate. and i say to you that you shall not see me till the time come when you shall say: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord. luke chapter christ heals the dropsical man. the parable of the supper. the necessity of renouncing all to follow christ. : . and it came to pass, when jesus went into the house of one of the pharisees, on the sabbath day, that they watched him. : . and behold, there was a certain man before him that had the dropsy. : . and jesus answering, spoke to the lawyers and pharisees, saying: is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? : . but they held their peace. but he taking him, healed him and sent him away. : . and answering them, he said: which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit and will not immediately draw him out, on the sabbath day? : . and they could not answer him to these things. : . and he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: : . when thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honourable than thou be invited by him: : . and he that invited thee and him, come and say to thee: give this man place. and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. : . but when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee cometh, he may say to thee: friend, go up higher. then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee. : . because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. : . and he said to him also that had invited him: when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren nor thy kinsmen nor thy neighbours who are rich; lest perhaps they also invite thee again, and a recompense be made to thee. : . but when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind. : . and thou shalt be blessed, because they have not wherewith to make thee recompense: for recompense shall be made thee at the resurrection of the just. : . when one of them that sat at table with him had heard these things, he said to him: blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of god. : . but he said to him: a certain man made a great supper and invited many. : . and he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come: for now all things are ready. : . and they began all at once to make excuse. the first said to him: i have bought a farm and i must needs go out and see it. i pray thee, hold me excused. : . and another said: i have bought five yoke of oxen and i go to try them. i pray thee, hold me excused. : . and another said: i have married a wife; and therefore i cannot come. : . and the servant returning, told these things to his lord. then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city; and bring in hither the poor and the feeble and the blind and the lame. : . and the servant said: lord, it is done as thou hast commanded; and yet there is room. : . and the lord said to the servant: go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. : . but i say unto you that none of those men that were invited shall taste of my supper. : . and there went great multitudes with him. and turning, he said to them: : . if any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. hate not, etc. . .the law of christ does not allow us to hate even our enemies, much less our parents: but the meaning of the text is, that we must be in that disposition of soul, as to be willing to renounce, and part with every thing, how near or dear soever it may be to us, that would keep us from following christ. : . and whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. : . for which of you, having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it: : . lest, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock him, : . saying: this man began to build and was not able to finish. : . or, what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him? : . or else, while the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace. : . so likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple. : . salt is good. but if the salt shall lose its savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? : . it is neither profitable for the land nor for the dunghill: but shall be cast out. he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. luke chapter the parables of the lost sheep and of the prodigal son. : . now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. : . and the pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. : . and he spoke to them this parable, saying: : . what man of you that hath an hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after that which was lost, until he find it? : . and when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing? : . and coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: rejoice with me, because i have found my sheep that was lost? : . i say to you that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. : . or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it? : . and when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: rejoice with me, because i have found the groat which i had lost. : . so i say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of god upon one sinner doing penance. before the angels. . .by this it is plain that the spirits in heaven have a concern for us below, and a joy at our repentance and consequently a knowledge of it. : . and he said: a certain man had two sons. : . and the younger of them said to his father: father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. and he divided unto them his substance. : . and not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously. : . and after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country: and he began to be in want. : . and he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. and he sent him into his farm to feed swine. : . and he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. : . and returning to himself, he said: how many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and i here perish with hunger! : . i will arise and will go to my father and say to him: father, i have sinned against heaven and before thee. : . i am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. : . and rising up, he came to his father. and when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion and running to him fell upon his neck and kissed him. : . and the son said to him: father: i have sinned against heaven and before thee i am not now worthy to be called thy son. : . and the father said to his servants: bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on him: and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. : . and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: and let us eat and make merry: : . because this my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found. and they began to be merry. : . now his elder son was in the field and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. : . and he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. : . and he said to him: thy brother is come and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe. : . and he was angry and would not go in. his father therefore coming out began to entreat him. : . and he answering, said to his father: behold, for so many years do i serve thee and i have never transgressed thy commandment: and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends. : . but as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. : . but he said to him: son, thou art always with me; and all i have is thine. : . but it was fit that we should make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found. luke chapter the parable of the unjust steward and of the rich man and lazarus. : . and he said also to his disciples: there was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods. : . and he called him and said to him: how is it that i hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer. : . and the steward said within himself: what shall i do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? to dig i am not able; to beg i am ashamed. : . i know what i will do, that when i shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. : . therefore, calling together every one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first: how much dost thou owe my lord? : . but he said: an hundred barrels of oil. and he said to him: take thy bill and sit down quickly and write fifty. : . then he said to another: and how much dost thou owe? who said: an hundred quarters of wheat. he said to him: take thy bill and write eighty. : . and the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. : . and i say to you: make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity: that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. mammon of iniquity. . .mammon signifies riches. they are here called the mammon of iniquity, because oftentimes ill gotten, ill bestowed, or an occasion of evil; and at the best are but worldly, and false; and not the true riches of a christian. they may receive. . .by this we see, that the poor servants of god, whom we have relieved by our alms, may hereafter, by their intercession, bring our souls to heaven. : . he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in that which is greater. : . if then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon, who will trust you with that which is the true? : . and if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? : . no servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other: or he will hold to the one and despise the other. you cannot serve god and mammon. : . now the pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. : . and he said to them: you are they who justify yourselves before men, but god knoweth your hearts. for that which is high to men is an abomination before god. : . the law and the prophets were until john. from that time the kingdom of god is preached: and every one useth violence towards it. : . and it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fall. : . every one that putteth away his wife and marrieth another committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. : . there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day. : . and there was a certain beggar, named lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, : . desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. and no one did give him: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. : . and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into abraham's bosom. and the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. abraham's bosom. . .the place of rest, where the souls of the saints resided, till christ had opened heaven by his death. : . and lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw abraham afar off and lazarus in his bosom: : . and he cried and said: father abraham, have mercy on me and send lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue: for i am tormented in this flame. : . and abraham said to him: son, remember that thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, and likewise lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. : . and besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor from thence come hither. : . and he said: then, father, i beseech thee that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for i have five brethren, : . that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments. : . and abraham said to him: they have moses and the prophets. let them hear them. : . but he said: no, father abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance. : . and he said to him: if they hear not moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead. luke chapter lessons of avoiding scandal and of the efficacy of faith. the ten lepers. the manner of the coming of christ. : . and he said to his disciples: it is impossible that scandals should not come. but woe to him through whom they come! : . it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones. : . take heed to yourselves. if thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. : . and if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying: i repent: forgive him. : . and the apostles said to the lord: increase our faith. : . and the lord said: if you had faith like to a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry tree: be thou rooted up and be thou transplanted into the sea. and it would obey you. : . but which of you, having a servant ploughing or feeding cattle, will say to him, when he is come from the field: immediately go. sit down to meat. : . and will not rather say to him: make ready my supper and gird thyself and serve me, whilst i eat and drink; and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink? : . doth he thank that servant for doing the things which he commanded him? : . i think not. so you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do. unprofitable servants. . .because our service is of no profit to our master; and he justly claims it as our bounden duty. but though we are unprofitable to him, our serving him is not unprofitable to us; for he is pleased to give by his grace a value to our good works, which, in consequence of his promise, entitles them to an eternal reward. : . and it came to pass, as he was going to jerusalem, he passed through the midst of samaria and galilee. : . and as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off. : . and lifted up their voice, saying: jesus, master, have mercy on us. : . whom when he saw, he said: go, shew yourselves to the priests. and it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. : . and one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying god. : . and he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks. and this was a samaritan. : . and jesus answering, said: were not ten made clean? and where are the nine? : . there is no one found to return and give glory to god, but this stranger. : . and he said to him: arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole. : . and being asked by the pharisees when the kingdom of god should come, he answering them and said: the kingdom of god cometh not with observation. : . neither shall they say: behold here, or behold there. for lo, the kingdom of god is within you. : . and he said to his disciples: the days will come when you shall desire to see one day of the son of man. and you shall not see it. : . and they will say to you: see here, and see there. go ye not after, nor follow them. : . for as the lightning that lighteneth from under heaven shineth unto the parts that are under heaven, so shall the son of man be in his day. : . but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. : . and as it came to pass in the days of noe, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. : . they did eat and drink, they married wives and were given in marriage, until the day that noe entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. : . likewise as it came to pass in the days of lot. they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. : . and in the day that lot went out of sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. : . even thus shall it be in the day when the son of man shall be revealed. : . in that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back. : . remember lot's wife. : . whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it shall preserve it. : . i say to you: in that night there shall be two men in one bed. the one shall be taken and the other shall be left. : . two women shall be grinding together. the one shall be taken and the other shall be left. two men shall be in the field. the one shall be taken and the other shall be left. : . they answering, say to him: where, lord? : . who said to them: wheresoever the body shall be, thither will the eagles also be gathered together. luke chapter we must pray always. the pharisee and the publican. the danger of riches. the blind man is restored to sight. : . and he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray and not to faint, : . saying: there was a judge in a certain city, who feared not god nor regarded man. : . and there was a certain widow in that city; and she came to him, saying: avenge me of my adversary. avenge. . .that is, do me justice. it is a hebraism. : . and he would not for a long time. but afterwards he said within himself: although i fear not god nor regard man, : . yet because this widow is troublesome to me, i will avenge her, lest continually coming she weary me. : . and the lord said: hear what the unjust judge saith. : . and will not god revenge his elect who cry to him day and night? and will he have patience in their regard? : . i say to you that he will quickly revenge them. but yet the son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth? : . and to some who trusted in themselves as just and despised others, he spoke also this parable: : . two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a pharisee and the other a publican. : . the pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: o god, i give thee thanks that i am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. : . i fast twice in a week: i give tithes of all that i possess. : . and the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: o god, be merciful to me a sinner. : . i say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. : . and they brought unto him also infants, that he might touch them. which when the disciples saw, they rebuked them. : . but jesus, calling them together, said: suffer children to come to me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of god. : . amen, i say to you: whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a child shall not enter into it. : . and a certain ruler asked him, saying: good master, what shall i do to possess everlasting life? : . and jesus said to him: why dost thou call me good? none is good but god alone. : . thou knowest the commandments: thou shalt not kill. thou shalt not commit adultery: thou shalt not steal: thou shalt not bear false witness: honour thy father and mother. : . who said: all these things have i kept from my youth. : . which when jesus had heard, he said to him: yet one thing is wanting to thee. sell all whatever thou hast and give to the poor: and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. and come, follow me. : . he having heard these things, became sorrowful: for he was very rich. : . and jesus seeing him become sorrowful, said: how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of god : . for it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. : . and they that heard it said: who then can be saved? : . he said to them: the things that are impossible with men are possible with god. : . then peter said: behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. : . who said to them: amen, i say to you, there is no man that hath left home or parents or brethren or wife or children, for the kingdom of god's sake, : . who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. : . then jesus took unto him the twelve and said to them: behold, we go up to jerusalem; and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the son of man. : . for he shall be delivered to the gentiles and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon. : . and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death. and the third day he shall rise again. : . and they understood none of these things, and this word was hid from them: and they understood not the things that were said. : . now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way side, begging. : . and when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. : . and they told him that jesus of nazareth was passing by. : . and he cried out, saying: jesus, son of david, have mercy on me. : . and they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out much more: son of david, have mercy on me. : . and jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. and when he was come near, he asked him, : . saying; what wilt thou that i do to thee? but he said: lord, that i may see. : . and jesus said to him: receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. : . and immediately he saw and followed him, glorifying god. and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to god. luke chapter zacheus entertains christ. the parable of the pounds. christ rides upon an ass and weeps over jerusalem. : . and entering he walked through jericho. : . and behold, there was a man named zacheus, who was the chief of the publicans: and he was rich. : . and he sought to see jesus who he was: and he could not for the crowd, because he was low of stature. : . and running before, he climbed up into a sycamore tree, that he might see him: for he was to pass that way. : . and when jesus was come to the place, looking up, he saw him and said to him: zacheus, make haste and come down: for this day i must abide in thy house. : . and he made haste and came down and received him with joy. : . and when all saw it, they murmured, saying, that he was gone to be a guest with a man that was a sinner. : . but zacheus standing, said to the lord: behold, lord, the half of my goods i give to the poor; and if i have wronged any man of any thing, i restore him fourfold. : . jesus said to him: this day is salvation come to this house, because he also is a son of abraham. : . for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. : . as they were hearing these things, he added and spoke a parable, because he was nigh to jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of god should immediately be manifested. : . he said therefore: a certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. : . and calling his ten servants, he gave them ten pounds and said to them: trade till i come. he gave them ten pounds. . .in the original, what is here translated a pound, is in latin, mina, in value of our coin, three pounds two shillings and sixpence. : . but his citizens hated him and they sent an embassage after him, saying: we will not have this man to reign over us. : . and it came to pass that he returned, having received the kingdom: and he commanded his servants to be called, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading, : . and the first came saying: lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. : . and he said to him: well done, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a little, thou shalt have power over ten cities. : . and the second came, saying: lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. : . and he said to him: be thou also over five cities. : . and another came, saying: lord, behold here is thy pound, which i have kept laid up in a napkin. : . for i feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up what thou didst not lay down: and thou reapest that which thou didst not sow. : . he saith to him: out of thy own mouth i judge thee, thou wicked servant. thou knewest that i was an austere man, taking up what i laid not down and reaping that which i did not sow. : . and why then didst thou not give my money into the bank, that at my coming i might have exacted it with usury? : . and he said to them that stood by: take the pound away from him and give it to him that hath ten pounds. : . and they said to him: lord, he hath ten pounds. : . but i say to you that to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him. : . but as for those my enemies, who would not have me reign over them, bring them hither and kill them before me. : . and having said these things, he went before, going up to jerusalem. : . and it came to pass, when he was come nigh to bethphage and bethania, unto the mount called olivet, he sent two of his disciples, : . saying: go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied, on which no man ever hath sitten: loose him and bring him hither. : . and if any man shall ask you: why do you loose him? you shall say thus unto him: because the lord hath need of his service. : . and they that were sent went their way and found the colt standing, as he said unto them. : . and as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said to them: why loose you the colt? : . but they said: because the lord hath need of him. : . and they brought him to jesus. and casting their garments on the colt, they set jesus thereon. : . and as he went, they spread their clothes underneath in the way. : . and when he was now coming near the descent of mount olivet, the whole multitude of his disciples began with joy to praise god with a loud voice, for all the mighty works they had seen, : . saying: blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the lord! peace in heaven and glory on high! : . and some of the pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: master, rebuke thy disciples. : . to whom he said: i say to you that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out. : . and when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: : . if thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy eyes. : . for the days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round and straiten thee on every side, : . and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee. and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. : . and entering into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold therein and them that bought. : . saying to them: it is written: my house is the house of prayer. but you have made it a den of thieves. : . and he was teaching daily in the temple. and the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people sought to destroy him. : . and they found not what to do to him: for all the people were very attentive to hear him. luke chapter the parable of the husbandmen. of paying tribute to caesar and of the resurrection of the dead. : . and it came to pass that on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes, with the ancients, met together, : . and spoke to him, saying: tell us, by what authority dost thou these things? or, who is he that hath given thee this authority? : . and jesus answering, said to them: i will also ask you one thing. answer me: : . the baptism of john, was it from heaven, or of men? : . but they thought within themselves, saying: if we shall say, from heaven: he will say: why then did you not believe in him? : . but if we say, of men: the whole people will stone us. for they are persuaded that john was a prophet. : . and they answered that they knew not whence it was. : . and jesus said to them: neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. : . and he began to speak to the people this parable: a certain man planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen: and he was abroad for a long time. : . and at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard. who, beating him, sent him away empty. : . and again he sent another servant. but they beat him also and, treating him reproachfully, sent him away empty. : . and again he sent the third: and they wounded him also and cast him out. : . then the lord of the vineyard said: what shall i do? i will send my beloved son. it may be, when they see him, they will reverence him. : . whom, when the husbandmen saw, they thought within themselves, saying: this is the heir. let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. : . so casting him out of the vineyard, they killed him. what therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? : . he will come and will destroy these husbandmen and will give the vineyard to others. which they hearing, said to him: god forbid. : . but he looking on them, said: what is this then that is written, the stone, which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? : . whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be bruised: and upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. : . and the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him the same hour: but they feared the people, for they knew that he spoke this parable to them. : . and being upon the watch, they sent spies, who should feign themselves just, that they might take hold of him in his words, that they might deliver him up to the authority and power of the governor. : . and they asked him, saying: master, we know that thou speakest and teachest rightly: and thou dost not respect any person, but teachest the way of god in truth. : . is it lawful for us to give tribute to caesar, or no? : . but he, considering their guile, said to them: why tempt you me? : . shew me a penny. whose image and inscription hath it? they answering, said to him: caesar's. : . and he said to them: render therefore to caesar the things, that are caesar's: and to god the things that are god's. : . and they could not reprehend his word before the people: and wondering at his answer, they held their peace. : . and there came to him some of the sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection: and they asked him, : . saying: master, moses wrote unto us: if any man's brother die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife and raise up seed unto his brother. : . there were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife and died without children. : . and the next took her to wife: and he also died childless. : . and the third took her. and in like manner, all the seven: and they left no children and died. : . last of all the woman died also. : . in the resurrection therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? for all the seven had her to wife. : . and jesus said to them: the children of this world marry and are given in marriage: : . but they that shall be accounted worthy of that world and of the resurrection from the dead shall neither be married nor take wives. : . neither can they die any more for they are equal to the angels and are the children of god, being the children of the resurrection. : . now that the dead rise again, moses also shewed at the bush, when he called the lord: the god of abraham and the god of isaac and the god of jacob. : . for he is not the god of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him. : . and some of the scribes answering, said to him: master, thou hast said well. : . and after that they durst not ask him any more questions. : . but he said to them: how say they that christ is the son of david? : . and david himself saith in the book of psalms: the lord said to my lord, sit thou on my right hand, : . till i make thy enemies thy footstool. : . david then calleth him lord. and how is he his son? : . and in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples: : . beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes and love salutations in the market place and the first chairs in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts: : . who devour the houses of widows, feigning long prayer. these shall receive greater damnation. luke chapter the widow's mites. the signs that should forerun the destruction of jerusalem and the end of the world. : . and looking on, he saw the rich men cast their gifts into the treasury. : . and he saw also a certain poor widow casting in two brass mites. : . and he said: verily, i say to you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. : . for all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings of god: but she of her want hath cast in all the living that she had. : . and some saying of the temple that it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said: : . these things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down. : . and they asked him, saying: master, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when they shall begin to come to pass? : . who said: take heed you be not seduced: for many will come in my name, saying: i am he and the time is at hand. go ye not therefore after them. : . and when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified. these things must first come to pass: but the end is not yet presently. : . then he said to them: nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. : . and there shall be great earthquakes in divers places and pestilences and famines and terrors from heaven: and there shall be great signs. : . but before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for my name's sake. : . and it shall happen unto you for a testimony. : . lay it up therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before how you shall answer: : . for i will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay. : . and you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren and kinsmen and friends: and some of you they will put to death. : . and you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake. : . but a hair of your head shall not perish. : . in your patience you shall possess your souls. : . and when you shall see jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is at hand. : . then let those who are in judea flee to the mountains: and those who are in the midst thereof depart out: and those who are in the countries not enter into it. : . for these are the days of vengeance, that all things may be fulfilled, that are written. : . but woe to them that are with child and give suck in those days: for there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. : . and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captives into all nations: and jerusalem shall be trodden down by the gentiles till the times of the nations be fulfilled. : . and there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea, and of the waves: : . men withering away for fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. for the powers of heaven shall be moved. : . and then they shall see the son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. : . but when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. : . and he spoke to them a similitude. see the fig tree and all the trees: : . when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; : . so you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of god is at hand. : . amen, i say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. : . heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. : . and take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life: and that day come upon you suddenly. : . for as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth. : . watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come and to stand before the son of man. : . and in the daytime, he was teaching in the temple: but at night going out, he abode in the mount that is called olivet. : . and all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, to hear him. luke chapter the treason of judas. the last supper. the first part of the history of the passion. : . now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the pasch, was at hand. : . and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put jesus to death: but they feared the people. : . and satan entered into judas, who was surnamed iscariot, one of the twelve. : . and he went and discoursed with the chief priests and the magistrates, how he might betray him to them. : . and they were glad and covenanted to give him money. : . and he promised. and he sought opportunity to betray him in the absence of the multitude. : . and the day of the unleavened bread came, on which it was necessary that the pasch should be killed. : . and he sent peter and john, saying: go, and prepare for us the pasch, that we may eat. : . but they said: where wilt thou that we prepare? : . and he said to them: behold, as you go into the city, there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water: follow him into the house where he entereth in. : . and you shall say to the goodman of the house: the master saith to thee: where is the guest chamber, where i may eat the pasch with my disciples? : . and he will shew you a large dining room, furnished. and there prepare. : . and they going, found as he had said to them and made ready the pasch. : . and when the hour was come, he sat down: and the twelve apostles with him. : . and he said to them: with desire i have desired to eat this pasch with you, before i suffer. : . for i say to you that from this time i will not eat it, till it be fulfilled in the kingdom of god. : . and having taken the chalice, he gave thanks and said: take and divide it among you. : . for i say to you that i will not drink of the fruit of the vine, till the kingdom of god come. : . and taking bread, he gave thanks and brake and gave to them, saying: this is my body, which is given for you. do this for a commemoration of me. do this for a commemoration of me. . .this sacrifice and sacrament is to be continued in the church, to the end of the world, to shew forth the death of christ, until he cometh. but this commemoration, or remembrance, is by no means inconsistent with the real presence of his body and blood, under these sacramental veils, which represent his death; on the contrary, it is the manner that he himself hath commanded, of commemorating and celebrating his death, by offering in sacrifice, and receiving in the sacrament, that body and blood by which we were redeemed. : . in like manner, the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: this is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you. : . but yet behold: the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. : . and the son of man indeed goeth, according to that which is determined: but yet, woe to that man by whom he shall be betrayed. : . and they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. : . and there was also a strife amongst them, which of them should seem to be the greater. : . and he said to them: the kings of the gentiles lord it over them; and they that have power over them are called beneficent. : . but you not so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger: and he that is the leader, as he that serveth. : . for which is greater, he that sitteth at table or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at table? but i am in the midst of you, as he that serveth. : . and you are they who have continued with me in my temptations: : . and i dispose to you, as my father hath disposed to me, a kingdom; : . that you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. : . and the lord said: simon, simon, behold satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. : . but i have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren. : . who said to him: lord, i am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. : . and he said: i say to thee, peter, the cock shall not crow this day, till thou thrice deniest that thou knowest me. and he said to them: : . when i sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, did you want anything? : . but they said: nothing. then said he unto them: but now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip: and he that hath not, let him sell his coat and buy a sword. : . for i say to you that this that is written must yet be fulfilled in me. and with the wicked was he reckoned. for the things concerning me have an end. : . but they said: lord, behold, here are two swords. and he said to them: it is enough. : . and going out, he went, according to his custom, to the mount of olives. and his disciples also followed him. : . and when he was come to the place, he said to them: pray, lest ye enter into temptation. : . and he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast. and kneeling down, he prayed. : . saying: father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done. : . and there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. and being in an agony, he prayed the longer. : . and his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. : . and when he rose up from prayer and was come to the disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. : . and he said to them: why sleep you? arise: pray: lest you enter into temptation. : . as he was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he that was called judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to jesus, for to kiss him. : . and jesus said to him: judas, dost thou betray the son of man with a kiss? : . and they that were about him, seeing what would follow, said to him: lord, shall we strike with the sword? : . and one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. : . but jesus answering, said: suffer ye thus far. and when he had touched his ear, he healed him. : . and jesus said to the chief priests and magistrates of the temple and the ancients, that were come unto him: are ye come out, as it were against a thief, with swords and clubs? : . when i was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against me: but this is your hour and the power of darkness. : . and apprehending him, they led him to the high priest's house. but peter followed afar off. : . and when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were sitting about it, peter was in the midst of them. : . whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light and had earnestly beheld him, she said: this man also was with him. : . but he denied him, saying: woman, i know him not. : . and after a little while, another seeing him, said: thou also art one of them. but peter said: o man, i am not. another, etc. . .observe here, in order to reconcile the four evangelists, that divers persons concurred in charging peter with being christ's disciple; till at length they brought him to deny him thrice. . the porteress that let him in, and afterwards seeing him at the fire, first put the question to him; and then positively affirmed that he was with christ. . another maid accused him to the standers by; and gave occasion to the man here mentioned to renew the charge against him, which caused the second denial. . others of the company took notice of his being a galilean; and were seconded by the kinsman of malchus, who affirmed he had seen him in the garden. and this drew on the third denial. : . and after the space, as it were of one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: of a truth, this man was also with him: for he is also a galilean. : . and peter said: man, i know not what thou sayest. and immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. : . and the lord turning looked on peter. and peter remembered the word of the lord, as he had said: before the cock crow, thou shalt deny thrice. : . and peter going out, wept bitterly. : . and the men that held him mocked him and struck him. : . and they blindfolded him and smote his face. and they asked him saying: prophesy: who is it that struck thee? : . and blaspheming, many other things they said against him. : . and as soon as it was day, the ancients of the people and the chief priests and scribes came together. and they brought him into their council saying: if thou be the christ, tell us. : . and he saith to them: if i shall tell you, you will not believe me. : . and if i shall also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. : . but hereafter the son of man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power of god. : . then said they all: art thou then the son of god? who said: you say that i am. : . and they said: what need we any further testimony? for we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth. luke chapter the continuation of the history of the passion. : . and the whole multitude of them, rising up, led him to pilate. : . and they began to accuse him, saying: we have found this man perverting our nation and forbidding to give tribute to caesar and saying that he is christ the king. : . and pilate asked him, saying: art thou the king of the jews? but he answering, said: thou sayest it. : . and pilate said to the chief priests and to the multitudes: i find no cause in this man. : . but they were more earnest, saying: he stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all judea, beginning from galilee to this place. : . but pilate hearing galilee, asked if the man were of galilee? : . and when he understood that he was of herod's jurisdiction, he sent him away to herod, who was also himself at jerusalem in those days. : . and herod seeing jesus, was very glad: for he was desirous of a long time to see him, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to see some sign wrought by him. : . and he questioned him in many words. but he answered him nothing. : . and the chief priests and the scribes stood by, earnestly accusing him. : . and herod with his army set him at nought and mocked him, putting on him a white garment: and sent him back to pilate. : . and herod and pilate were made friends, that same day: for before they were enemies one to another. : . and pilate, calling together the chief priests and the magistrates and the people, : . said to them: you have presented unto me this man as one that perverteth the people. and behold i, having examined him before you, find no cause in this man, in those things wherein you accuse him. : . no, nor herod neither. for, i sent you to him: and behold, nothing worthy of death is done to him. : . i will chastise him therefore and release him. : . now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast day. : . but the whole multitude together cried out, saying: away with this man, and release unto us barabbas: : . who, for a certain sedition made in the city and for a murder, was cast into prison. : . and pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release jesus. : . but they cried again, saying: crucify him, crucify him. : . and he said to them the third time: why, what evil hath this man done? i find no cause of death in him. i will chastise him therefore and let him go. : . but they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. and their voices prevailed. : . and pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. : . and he released unto them him who for murder and sedition had been cast into prison, whom they had desired. but jesus he delivered up to their will. : . and as they led him away, they laid hold of one simon of cyrene, coming from the country; and they laid the cross on him to carry after jesus. : . and there followed him a great multitude of people and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. : . but jesus turning to them, said: daughters of jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves and for your children. : . for behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: blessed are the barren and the wombs that have not borne and the paps that have not given suck. : . then shall they begin to say to the mountains: fall upon us. and to the hills: cover us. : . for if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? : . and there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. : . and when they were come to the place which is called calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. : . and jesus said: father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. but they, dividing his garments, cast lots. : . and the people stood beholding. and the rulers with them derided him, saying: he saved others: let him save himself, if he be christ, the elect of god. : . and the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, : . and saying: if thou be the king of the jews, save thyself. : . and there was also a superscription written over him in letters of greek and latin and hebrew this is the king of the jews. : . and one of those robbers who were hanged blasphemed him, saying: if thou be christ, save thyself and us. : . but the other answering, rebuked him, saying: neither dost thou fear god, seeing; thou art under the same condemnation? : . and we indeed justly: for we receive the due reward of our deeds. but this man hath done no evil. : . and he said to jesus: lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. : . and jesus said to him: amen i say to thee: this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. in paradise. . .that is, in the happy state of rest, joy, and peace everlasting. christ was pleased, by a special privilege, to reward the faith and confession of the penitent thief, with a full discharge of all his sins, both as to the guilt and punishment; and to introduce him immediately after death into the happy society of the saints, whose limbo, that is, the place of their confinement, was now made a paradise by our lord's going thither. : . and it was almost the sixth hour: and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. : . and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. : . and jesus crying with a loud voice, said: father, into thy hands i commend my spirit. and saying this, he gave up the ghost. : . now, the centurion, seeing what was done, glorified god, saying: indeed this was a just man. : . and all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight and saw the things that were done returned, striking their breasts. : . and all his acquaintance and the women that had followed him from galilee stood afar off, beholding these things. : . and behold there was a man named joseph who was a counsellor, a good and a just man, : . (the same had not consented to their counsel and doings) of arimathea, a city of judea: who also himself looked for the kingdom of god. : . this man went to pilate and begged the body of jesus. : . and taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid. : . and it was the day of the parasceve: and the sabbath drew on. parasceve. . .that is, the eve, or day of preparation for the sabbath. : . and the women that were come with him from galilee, following after, saw the sepulchre and how his body was laid. : . and returning, they prepared spices and ointments: and on the sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment. luke chapter christ's resurrection and manifestation of himself to his disciples. : . and on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared. : . and they found the stone rolled back from the sepulchre. : . and going in, they found not the body of the lord jesus. : . and it came to pass, as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold, two men stood by them, in shining apparel. : . and as they were afraid and bowed down their countenance towards the ground, they said unto them: why seek you the living with the dead? : . he is not here, but is risen. remember how he spoke unto you, when he was yet in galilee, : . saying: the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. : . and they remembered his words. : . and going back from the sepulchre, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. : . and it was mary magdalen and joanna and mary of james and the other women that were with them, who told these things to the apostles. : . and these words seemed to them as idle tales: and they did not believe them. : . but peter rising up, ran to the sepulchre and, stooping down, he saw the linen cloths laid by themselves: and went away wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. : . and behold, two of them went, the same day, to a town which was sixty furlongs from jerusalem, named emmaus. : . and they talked together of all these things which had happened. : . and it came to pass that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, jesus himself also, drawing near, went with them. : . but their eyes were held, that they should not know him. : . and he said to them: what are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk and are sad? : . and the one of them, whose name was cleophas, answering, said to him: art thou only a stranger in jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days? : . to whom he said: what things? and they said: concerning jesus of nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before god and all the people. : . and how our chief priests and princes delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. : . but we hoped that it was he that should have redeemed israel. and now besides all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. : . yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us who, before it was light, were at the sepulchre, : . and not finding his body, came, saying that they had all seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive. : . and some of our people went to the sepulchre and found it so as the women had said: but him they found not. : . then he said to them: o foolish and slow of heart to believe in all things, which the prophets have spoken. : . ought not christ to have suffered these things and so, to enter into his glory? : . and beginning at moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things that were concerning him. : . and they drew nigh to the town whither they were going: and he made as though he would go farther. : . but they constrained him, saying: stay with us, because it is towards evening and the day is now far spent. and he went in with them. : . and it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread and blessed and brake and gave to them. : . and their eyes were opened: and they knew him. and he vanished out of their sight. : . and they said one to the other: was not our heart burning within us, whilst he spoke in the way and opened to us the scriptures? : . and rising up, the same hour, they went back to jerusalem: and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were with them, : . saying: the lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to simon. : . and they told what things were done in the way: and how they knew him in the breaking of bread. : . now, whilst they were speaking these things, jesus stood in the midst of them and saith to them: peace be to you. it is i: fear not. : . but they being troubled and frightened, supposed that they saw a spirit. : . and he said to them: why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? : . see my hands and feet, that it is i myself. handle, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. : . and when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and feet. : . but while they yet believed not and wondered for joy, he said: have you here any thing to eat? : . and they offered him a piece of a broiled fish and a honeycomb. : . and when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them. : . and he said to them: these are the words which i spoke to you while i was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled which are written in the law of moses and in the prophets and in the psalms, concerning me. : . then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. : . and he said to them: thus it is written, and thus it behoved christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead, the third day: : . and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at jerusalem. : . and you are witnesses of these things. : . and i send the promise of my father upon you: but stay you in the city till you be endued with power from on high. the promise of my father. . .that is, the holy ghost, whom christ had promised that his father and he would send, john . , and . . : . and he led them out as far as bethania: and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. : . and it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them and was carried up to heaven. : . and they adoring went back into jerusalem with great joy. : . and they were always in the temple, praising and blessing god. amen. the holy gospel of jesus christ according to st. john st. john the apostle and evangelist was the son of zebedee and salome, brother to james the greater. he was called the beloved disciple of christ and stood by at his crucifixion. he wrote the gospel after the other evangelists, about sixty-three years after our lord's ascension. many things that they had omitted were supplied by him. the original was written in greek; and by the greeks he is titled: the divine. st. jerome relates that, when he was earnestly requested by the brethren to write the gospel, he answered he would do it, if by ordering a common fast, they would all put up their prayers together to the almighty god; which being ended replenished with the clearest and fullest revelation coming from heaven, he burst forth into that preface: in the beginning was the word. john chapter the divinity and incarnation of christ. john bears witness of him. he begins to call his disciples. : . in the beginning was the word: and the word was with god: and the word was god. : . the same was in the beginning with god. : . all things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. : . in him was life: and the life was the light of men. : . and the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness did not comprehend it. : . there was a man sent from god, whose name was john. : . this man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. : . he was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. : . that was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. : . he was in the world: and the world was made by him: and the world knew him not. : . he came unto his own: and his own received him not. : . but as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of god, to them that believe in his name. : . who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god. : . and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the father), full of grace and truth. : . john beareth witness of him and crieth out, saying: this was he of whom i spoke: he that shall come after me is preferred before me: because he was before me. : . and of his fulness we all have received: and grace for grace. : . for the law was given by moses: grace and truth came by jesus christ. : . no man hath seen god at any time: the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father, he hath declared him. : . and this is the testimony of john, when the jews sent from jerusalem priests and levites to him, to ask him: who art thou? : . and he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: i am not the christ. : . and they asked him: what then? art thou elias? and he said: i am not. art thou the prophet? and he answered: no. : . they said therefore unto him: who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? what sayest thou of thyself? : . he said: i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the lord, as said the prophet isaias. : . and they that were sent were of the pharisees. : . and they asked him and said to him: why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not christ, nor elias, nor the prophet? : . john answered them, saying: i baptize with water: but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. : . the same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe i am not worthy to loose. : . these things were done in bethania, beyond the jordan, where john was baptizing. : . the next day, john saw jesus coming to him; and he saith: behold the lamb of god. behold him who taketh away the sin of the world. : . this is he of whom i said: after me there cometh a man, who is preferred before me: because he was before me. : . and i knew him not: but that he may be made manifest in israel, therefore am i come baptizing with water. : . and john gave testimony, saying: i saw the spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven; and he remained upon him. : . and i knew him not: but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me: he upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the holy ghost. : . and i saw: and i gave testimony that this is the son of god. : . the next day again john stood and two of his disciples. : . and beholding jesus walking, he saith: behold the lamb of god. : . and the two disciples heard him speak: and they followed jesus. : . and jesus turning and seeing them following him, saith to them: what seek you? who said to him: rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, master), where dwellest thou? : . he saith to them: come and see. they came and saw where he abode: and they stayed with him that day. now it was about the tenth hour. : . and andrew, the brother of simon peter, was one of the two who had heard of john and followed him. : . he findeth first his brother simon and saith to him: we have found the messias, which is, being interpreted, the christ. : . and he brought him to jesus. and jesus looking upon him, said: thou art simon the son of jona. thou shalt be called cephas, which is interpreted peter. : . on the following day, he would go forth into galilee: and he findeth philip, and jesus saith to him: follow me. : . now philip was of bethsaida, the city of andrew and peter. : . philip findeth nathanael and saith to him: we have found him of whom moses, in the law and the prophets did write, jesus the son of joseph of nazareth. : . and nathanael said to him: can any thing of good come from nazareth? philip saith to him: come and see. : . jesus saw nathanael coming to him and he saith of him: behold an israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. : . nathanael saith to him: whence knowest thou me? jesus answered and said to him: before that philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, i saw thee. : . nathanael answered him and said: rabbi: thou art the son of god. thou art the king of israel. : . jesus answered and said to him: because i said unto thee, i saw thee under the fig tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see. : . and he saith to him: amen, amen, i say to you, you shall see the heaven opened and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man. john chapter christ changes water into wine. he casts the sellers out of the temple. : . and the third day, there was a marriage in cana of galilee: and the mother of jesus was there. : . and jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. : . and the wine failing, the mother of jesus saith to him: they have no wine. : . and jesus saith to her: woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. what is that to me, etc. . .these words of our saviour, spoken to his mother, have been understood by some commentators as harsh, they not considering the next following verse: whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye, which plainly shows that his mother knew of the miracle that he was to perform, and that it was at her request he wrought it; besides the manner of speaking the words as to the tone, and the countenance shown at the same time, which could only be known to those who were present, or from what had followed: for words indicating anger in one tone of voice, would be understood quite the reverse in another. : . his mother saith to the waiters: whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. : . now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the jews, containing two or three measures apiece. : . jesus saith to them: fill the waterpots with water. and they filled them up to the brim. : . and jesus saith to them: draw out now and carry to the chief steward of the feast. and they carried it. : . and when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water: the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, : . and saith to him: every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. but thou hast kept the good wine until now. : . this beginning of miracles did jesus in cana of galilee and manifested his glory. and his disciples believed in him. : . after this, he went down to capharnaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples: and they remained there not many days. : . and the pasch of the jews was at hand: and jesus went up to jerusalem. : . and he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. : . and when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen: and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew. : . and to them that sold doves he said: take these things hence, and make not the house of my father a house of traffic. : . and his disciples remembered, that it was written: the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. : . the jews, therefore, answered, and said to him: what sign dost thou shew unto us, seeing thou dost these things? : . jesus answered and said to them: destroy this temple; and in three days i will raise it up. : . the jews then said: six and forty years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days? : . but he spoke of the temple of his body. : . when therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this: and they believed the scripture and the word that jesus had said. : . now when he was at jerusalem, at the pasch, upon the festival day, many believed in his name, seeing his signs which he did. : . but jesus did not trust himself unto them: for that he knew all men, : . and because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man. john chapter christ's discourse with nicodemus. john's testimony. : . and there was a man of the pharisees, named nicodemus, a ruler of the jews. : . this man came to jesus by night and said to him: rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from god; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless god be with him. : . jesus answered and said to him: amen, amen, i say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god. : . nicodemus saith to him: how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again? : . jesus answered: amen, amen, i say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the holy ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god. unless a man be born again, etc. . .by these words our saviour hath declared the necessity of baptism; and by the word water it is evident that the application of it is necessary with the words. matt. . . : . that which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. : . wonder not that i said to thee: you must be born again. : . the spirit breatheth where he will and thou hearest his voice: but thou knowest not whence he cometh and whither he goeth. so is every one that is born of the spirit. : . nicodemus answered and said to him: how can these things be done? : . jesus answered and said to him: art thou a master in israel, and knowest not these things? : . amen, amen, i say to thee that we speak what we know and we testify what we have seen: and you receive not our testimony. : . if i have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not: how will you believe, if i shall speak to you heavenly things? : . and no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the son of man who is in heaven. : . and as moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the son of man be lifted up: : . that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. : . for god so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. : . for god sent not his son into the world, to judge the world: but that the world may be saved by him. : . he that believeth in him is not judged. but he that doth not believe is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten son of god. is not judged. . .he that believeth, viz., by a faith working through charity, is not judged, that is, is not condemned; but the obstinate unbeliever is judged, that is, condemned already, by retrenching himself from the society of christ and his church. : . and this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil. the judgment. . .that is, the cause of his comdemnation. : . for every one that doth evil hateth the light and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved. : . but he that doth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest: because they are done in god. he that doth truth. . .that is, he that acteth according to truth, which here signifies the law of god. thy law is truth. psa. . . : . after these things, jesus and his disciples came into the land of judea: and there he abode with them and baptized. : . and john also was baptizing in ennon near salim: because there was much water there. and they came and were baptized. : . for john was not yet cast into prison. : . and there arose a question between some of john's disciples and the jews, concerning purification. : . and they came to john and said to him: rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony: behold, he baptizeth and all men come to him. : . john answered and said: a man cannot receive any thing, unless it be given him from heaven. : . you yourselves do bear me witness that i said that i am not christ, but that i am sent before him. : . he that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. this my joy therefore is fulfilled. : . he must increase: but i must decrease. : . he that cometh from above is above all. he that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh. he that cometh from heaven is above all. : . and what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth: and no man receiveth his testimony. : . he that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that god is true. : . for he whom god hath sent speaketh the words of god: for god doth not give the spirit by measure. : . the father loveth the son: and he hath given all things into his hand. : . he that believeth in the son hath life everlasting: but he that believeth not the son shall not see life: but the wrath of god abideth on him. john chapter christ talks with the samaritan woman. he heals the ruler's son. : . when jesus therefore understood the pharisees had heard that jesus maketh more disciples and baptizeth more than john : . (though jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples), : . he left judea and went again into galilee. : . and he was of necessity to pass through samaria. : . he cometh therefore to a city of samaria, which is called sichar, near the land which jacob gave to his son joseph. : . now jacob's well was there. jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. it was about the sixth hour. : . there cometh a woman of samaria, to draw water. jesus saith to her: give me to drink. : . for his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. : . then that samaritan woman saith to him: how dost thou, being a jew; ask of me to drink, who am a samaritan woman? for the jews do not communicate with the samaritans. : . jesus answered and said to her: if thou didst know the gift of god and who he is that saith to thee: give me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. : . the woman saith to him: sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep. from whence then hast thou living water? : . art thou greater than our father jacob, who gave us the well and drank thereof, himself and his children and his cattle? : . jesus answered and said to her: whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but he that shall drink of the water that i will give him shall not thirst for ever. : . but the water that i will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting. : . the woman said to him: sir, give me this water, that i may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. : . jesus saith to her: go, call thy husband, and come hither. : . the woman answered and said: i have no husband. jesus said to her: thou hast said well: i have no husband. : . for thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. this, thou hast said truly. : . the woman saith to him: sir, i perceive that thou art a prophet. : . our fathers adored on this mountain: and you say that at jerusalem is the place where men must adore. this mountain. . .garizim, where the samaritans had their schismatical temple. : . jesus saith to her: woman, believe me that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in jerusalem, adore the father. : . you adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know. for salvation is of the jews. : . but the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the father in spirit and in truth. for the father also seeketh such to adore him. : . god is a spirit: and they that adore him must adore him in spirit and in truth. : . the woman saith to him: i know that the messias cometh (who is called christ): therefore, when he is come, he will tell us all things. : . jesus saith to her: i am he, who am speaking with thee. : . and immediately his disciples came. and they wondered that he talked with the woman. yet no man said: what seekest thou? or: why talkest thou with her? : . the woman therefore left her waterpot and went her way into the city and saith to the men there: : . come, and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever i have done. is not he the christ? : . they went therefore out of the city and came unto him. : . in the mean time, the disciples prayed him, saying: rabbi, eat. : . but he said to them: i have meat to eat which you know not. : . the disciples therefore said one to another: hath any man brought him to eat? : . jesus saith to them: my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that i may perfect his work. : . do not you say: there are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh? behold, i say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries. for they are white already to harvest. : . and he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. : . for in this is the saying true: that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth. : . i have sent you to reap that in which you did not labour. others have laboured: and you have entered into their labours. : . now of that city many of the samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: he told me all things whatsoever i have done. : . so when the samaritans were come to him, they desired that he would tarry there. and he abode there two days. : . and many more believed in him, because of his own word. : . and they said to the woman: we now believe, not for thy saying: for we ourselves have heard him and know that this is indeed the saviour of the world. : . now after two days, he departed thence and went into galilee. : . for jesus himself gave testimony that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. : . and when he was come into galilee, the galileans received him, having seen all the things he had done at jerusalem on the festival day: for they also went to the festival day. : . he came again therefore into cana of galilee, where he made the water wine. and there was a certain ruler, whose son was sick at capharnaum. : . he having heard that jesus was come from judea into galilee, sent to him and prayed him to come down and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. : . jesus therefore said to him: unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not. : . the ruler saith to him: lord, come down before that my son die. : . jesus saith to him: go thy way. thy son liveth. the man believed the word which jesus said to him and went his way. : . and as he was going down, his servants met him: and they brought word, saying, that his son lived. : . he asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew better. and they said to him: yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him. : . the father therefore knew that it was at the same hour that jesus said to him: thy son liveth. and himself believed, and his whole house. : . this is again the second miracle that jesus did, when he was come out of judea. into galilee. john chapter christ heals on the sabbath the man languishing thirty-eight years. his discourse upon this occasion. : . after these things was a festival day of the jews: and jesus went up to jerusalem. : . now there is at jerusalem a pond, called probatica, which in hebrew is named bethsaida, having five porches. probatica. . .that is, the sheep pond; either so called, because the sheep were washed therein, that were to be offered up in sacrifice in the temple, or because it was near the sheep gate. that this was a pond where miracles were wrought is evident from the sacred text; and also that the water had no natural virtue to heal, as one only of those put in after the motion of the water was restored to health; for if the water had the healing quality, the others would have the like benefit, being put into it about the same time. : . in these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered: waiting for the moving of the water. : . and an angel of the lord descended at certain times into the pond and the water was moved. and he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. : . and there was a certain man there that had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity. : . him when jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been now a long time, he saith to him: wilt thou be made whole? : . the infirm man answered him: sir, i have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pond. for whilst i am coming, another goeth down before me. : . jesus saith to him: arise, take up thy bed and walk. : . and immediately the man was made whole: and he took up his bed and walked. and it was the sabbath that day. : . the jews therefore said to him that was healed: it is the sabbath. it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed. : . he answered them: he that made me whole, he said to me: take up thy bed and walk. : . they asked him therefore: who is that man who said to thee: take up thy bed and walk? : . but he who was healed knew not who it was: for jesus went aside from the multitude standing in the place. : . afterwards, jesus findeth him in the temple and saith to him: behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee. : . the man went his way and told the jews that it was jesus who had made him whole. : . therefore did the jews persecute jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. : . but jesus answered them: my father worketh until now; and i work. : . hereupon therefore the jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the sabbath but also said god was his father, making himself equal to god. : . then jesus answered and said to them: amen, amen, i say unto you, the son cannot do any thing of himself, but what he seeth the father doing: for what things soever he doth, these the son also doth in like manner. : . for the father loveth the son and sheweth him all things which himself doth: and greater works than these will he shew him, that you may wonder. : . for as the father raiseth up the dead and giveth life: so the son also giveth life to whom he will. : . for neither does the father judge any man: but hath given all judgment to the son. : . that all men may honour the son, as they honour the father. he who honoureth not the son honoureth not the father who hath sent him. : . amen, amen, i say unto you that he who heareth my word and believeth him that sent me hath life everlasting: and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life. : . amen, amen, i say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god: and they that hear shall live. : . for as the father hath life in himself, so he hath given to the son also to have life in himself. : . and he hath given him power to do judgment, because he is the son of man. : . wonder not at this: for the hour cometh wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the son of god. : . and they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life: but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. unto the resurrection of judgment. . .that is, condemnation. : . i cannot of myself do any thing. as i hear, so i judge. and my judgment is just: because i seek not my own will. but the will of him that sent me. : . if i bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. : . there is another that beareth witness of me: and i know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. : . you sent to john: and he gave testimony to the truth. : . but i receive not testimony from man: but i say these things, that you may be saved. : . he was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. : . but i have a greater testimony than that of john: for the works which the father hath given me to perfect, the works themselves which i do, give testimony of me, that the father hath sent me. : . and the father himself who hath sent me hath given testimony of me: neither have you heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. : . and you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him you believe not. : . search the scriptures: for you think in them to have life everlasting. and the same are they that give testimony of me. or. . .you search the scriptures. scrutamini. . .it is not a command for all to read the scriptures; but a reproach to the pharisees, that reading the scriptures as they did, and thinking to find everlasting life in them, they would not receive him to whom all those scriptures gave testimony, and through whom alone they could have that true life. : . and you will not come to me that you may have life. : . i receive not glory from men. : . but i know you, that you have not the love of god in you. : . i am come in the name of my father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. : . how can you believe, who receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from god alone, you do not seek? : . think not that i will accuse you to the father. there is one that accuseth you, moses, in whom you trust. : . for if you did believe moses, you would perhaps believe me also: for he wrote of me. : . but if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? john chapter christ feeds five thousand with five loaves. he walks upon the sea and discourses of the bread of life. : . after these things jesus went over the sea of galilee, which is that of tiberias. : . and a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. : . jesus therefore went up into a mountain: and there he sat with his disciples. : . now the pasch, the festival day of the jews, was near at hand. : . when jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes and seen that a very great multitude cometh to him, he said to philip: whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? : . and this he said to try him: for he himself knew what he would do. : . philip answered him: two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one may take a little. : . one of his disciples, andrew, the brother of simon peter, saith to him: : . there is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes. but what are these among so many? : . then jesus said: make the men sit down. now, there was much grass in the place. the men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. : . and jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. in like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. : . and when they were filled, he said to his disciples: gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost. : . they gathered up therefore and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above to them that had eaten. : . now those men, when they had seen what a miracle jesus had done, said: this is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world. : . jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force and make him king, fled again into the mountains, himself alone. : . and when evening was come, his disciples went down to the sea. : . and when they had gone up into a ship, they went over the sea to capharnaum. and it was now dark: and jesus was not come unto them. : . and the sea arose, by reason of a great wind that blew. : . when they had rowed therefore about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see jesus walking upon the sea and drawing nigh to the ship. and they were afraid. : . but he saith to them: it is i. be not afraid. : . they were willing therefore to take him into the ship. and presently the ship was at the land to which they were going. : . the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other ship there but one: and that jesus had not entered into the ship with his disciples, but that his disciples were gone away alone. : . but other ships came in from tiberias, nigh unto the place where they had eaten the bread, the lord giving thanks. : . when therefore the multitude saw that jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they took shipping and came to capharnaum, seeking for jesus. : . and when they had found him on that other side of the sea, they said to him: rabbi, when camest thou hither? : . jesus answered them and said: amen, amen, i say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. : . labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the son of man will give you. for him hath god, the father, sealed. : . they said therefore unto him: what shall we do, that we may work the works of god? : . jesus answered and said to them: this is the work of god, that you believe in him whom he hath sent. : . they said therefore to him: what sign therefore dost thou shew that we may see and may believe thee? what dost thou work? : . our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: he gave them bread from heaven to eat. : . then jesus said to them: amen, amen, i say to you; moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven. : . for the bread of god is that which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world. : . they said therefore unto him: lord, give us always this bread. : . and jesus said to them: i am the bread of life. he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. : . but i said unto you that you also have seen me, and you believe not. : . all that the father giveth to me shall come to me: and him that cometh to me, i will not cast out. : . because i came down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me. : . now this is the will of the father who sent me: that of all that he hath given me, i should lose nothing; but should raise it up again in the last day. : . and this is the will of my father that sent me: that every one who seeth the son and believeth in him may have life everlasting. and i will raise him up in the last day. : . the jews therefore murmured at him, because he had said: i am the living bread which came down from heaven. : . and they said: is not this jesus, the son of joseph, whose father and mother we know? how then saith he: i came down from heaven? : . jesus therefore answered and said to them: murmur not among yourselves. : . no man can come to me, except the father, who hath sent me, draw him. and i will raise him up in the last day. draw him. . .not by compulsion, nor by laying the free will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace. : . it is written in the prophets: and they shall all be taught of god. every one that hath heard of the father and hath learned cometh forth me. : . not that any man hath seen the father: but he who is of god, he hath seen the father. : . amen, amen, i say unto you: he that believeth in me hath everlasting life. : . i am the bread of life. : . your fathers did eat manna in the desert: and are dead. : . this is the bread which cometh down from heaven: that if any man eat of it, he may not die. : . i am the living bread which came down from heaven. : . if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that i will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. : . the jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: how can this man give us his flesh to eat? : . then jesus said to them: amen, amen, i say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. except you eat--and drink, etc. . .to receive the body and blood of christ, is a divine precept, insinuated in this text; which the faithful fulfil, though they receive but in one kind; because in one kind they receive both body and blood, which cannot be separated from each other. hence, life eternal is here promised to the worthy receiving, though but in one kind. ver. . if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that i will give, is my flesh for the life of the world. ver. . he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. ver. . he that eateth this bread, shall liver for ever. : . he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life: and i will raise him up in the last day. : . for my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. : . he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me: and i in him. : . as the living father hath sent me and i live by the father: so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. : . this is the bread that came down from heaven. not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. he that eateth this bread shall live for ever. : . these things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in capharnaum. : . many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: this saying is hard; and who can hear it? : . but jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: doth this scandalize you? : . if then you shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before? if then you shall see, etc. . .christ by mentioning his ascension, by this instance of his power and divinity, would confirm the truth of what he had before asserted; and at the same time correct their gross apprehension of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, in a vulgar and carnal manner, by letting them know he should take his whole body living with him to heaven; and consequently not suffer it to be as they supposed, divided, mangled, and consumed upon earth. : . it is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. the words that i have spoken to you are spirit and life. the flesh profiteth nothing. . .dead flesh separated from the spirit, in the gross manner they supposed they were to eat his flesh, would profit nothing. neither doth man's flesh, that is to say, man's natural and carnal apprehension, (which refuses to be subject to the spirit, and words of christ,) profit any thing. but it would be the height of blasphemy, to say the living flesh of christ (which we receive in the blessed sacarament, with his spirit, that is, with his soul and divinity) profiteth nothing. for if christ's flesh had profitedus nothing, he would never have taken flesh for us, nor died in us nothing, he would never have taken flesh for us, nor died in the flesh for us. are spirit and life. . .by proposing to you a heavenly sacrament, in which you shall receive, in a wonderful manner, spirit, grace, and life, in its very fountain. : . but there are some of you that believe not. for jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe and who he was that would betray him. : . and he said: therefore did i say to you that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my father. : . after this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. : . then jesus said to the twelve: will you also go away? : . and simon peter answered him: lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. : . and we have believed and have known that thou art the christ, the son of god. : . jesus answered them: have not i chosen you twelve? and one of you is a devil. : . now he meant judas iscariot, the son of simon: for this same was about to betray him, whereas he was one of the twelve. john chapter christ goes up to the feast of the tabernacles. he teaches in the temple. : . after these things, jesus walked in galilee: for he would not walk in judea, because the jews sought to kill him. : . now the jews feast of tabernacles was at hand. : . and his brethren said to, him: pass from hence and go into judea, that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou dost. : . for there is no man that doth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. if thou do these things, manifest thyself to the world. : . for neither did his brethren believe in him. : . then jesus said to them: my time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. : . the world cannot hate you: but me it hateth, because i give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil, : . go you up to this festival day: but i go not up to this festival day, because my time is not accomplished. : . when he had said these things, he himself stayed in galilee. : . but after his brethren were gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but, as it were, in secret. : . the jews therefore sought him on the festival day and said: where is he? : . and there was much murmuring among the multitude concerning him. for some said: he is a good man. and others said: no, but he seduceth the people. : . yet no man spoke openly of him, for fear of the jews. : . now, about the midst of the feast, jesus went up into the temple and taught. : . and the jews wondered, saying: how doth this man know letters, having never learned? : . jesus answered them and said: my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. : . if any man will do the will of him, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of god, or whether i speak of myself. : . he that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true and there is no injustice in him. : . did not moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? : . why seek you to kill me? the multitude answered and said: thou hast a devil. who seeketh to kill thee? : . jesus answered and said to them: one work i have done: and you all wonder. : . therefore, moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of moses, but of the fathers): and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man. : . if a man receive circumcision on the sabbath day, that the law of moses may not be broken: are you angry at me, because i have healed the whole man on the sabbath day? : . judge not according to the appearance: but judge just judgment. : . some therefore of jerusalem said: is not this he whom they seek to kill? : . and behold, he speaketh openly: and they say nothing to him. have the rulers known for a truth that this is the christ? : . but we know this man, whence he is: but when the christ cometh, no man knoweth, whence he is. : . jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: you both know me, and you know whence i am. and i am not come of myself: but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. : . i know him, because i am from him: and he hath sent me. : . they sought therefore to apprehend him: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. : . but of the people many believed in him and said: when the christ cometh, shall he do more miracles than this man doth? : . the pharisees heard the people murmuring these things concerning him: and the rulers and pharisees sent ministers to apprehend him. : . jesus therefore said to them: yet a little while i am with you: and then i go to him that sent me. : . you shall seek me and shall not find me: and where i am, thither you cannot come. : . the jews therefore said among themselves: whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the gentiles and teach the gentiles? : . what is this saying that he hath said: you shall seek me and shall not find me? and: where i am, you cannot come? : . and on the last, and great day of the festivity, jesus stood and cried, saying: if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. : . he that believeth in me, as the scripture saith: out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. : . now this he said of the spirit which they should receive who believed in him: for as yet the spirit was not given, because jesus was not yet glorified. : . of that multitude therefore, when they had heard these words of his, some said: this is the prophet indeed. : . others said: this is the christ. but some said: doth the christ come out of galilee? : . doth not the scripture say: that christ cometh of the seed of david and from bethlehem the town where david was? : . so there arose a dissension among the people because of him. : . and some of them would have apprehended him: but no man laid hands upon him. : . the ministers therefore came to the chief priests and the pharisees. and they said to them: why have you not brought him? : . the ministers answered: never did man speak like this man. : . the pharisees therefore answered them: are you also seduced? : . hath any one of the rulers believed in him, or of the pharisees? : . but this multitude, that knoweth not the law, are accursed. : . nicodemus said to them (he that came to him by night, who was one of them): : . doth our law judge any man, unless it first hear him and know what he doth? : . they answered and said to him: art thou also a galilean? search the scriptures, and see that out of galilee a prophet riseth not. : . and every man returned to his own house. john chapter the woman taken in adultery. christ justifies his doctrine. : . and jesus went unto mount olivet. : . and early in the morning he came again into the temple: and all the people came to him. and sitting down he taught them. : . and the scribes and pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, : . and said to him: master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. : . now moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. but what sayest thou? : . and this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. but jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground. : . when therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said to them: he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. : . and again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. : . but they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. and jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. : . then jesus lifting up himself, said to her: woman, where are they that accused thee? hath no man condemned thee? : . who said: no man, lord. and jesus said: neither will i condemn thee. go, and now sin no more. : . again therefore, jesus spoke to: them, saying: i am the light of the world. he that followeth me walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. : . the pharisees therefore said to him: thou givest testimony of thyself. thy testimony is not true. : . jesus answered and said to them: although i give testimony of myself, my testimony is true: for i know whence i came and whither i go. : . you judge according to the flesh: i judge not any man. : . and if i do judge, my judgment is true: because i am not alone, but i and the father that sent me. : . and in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. : . i am one that give testimony of myself: and the father that sent me giveth testimony of me. : . they said therefore to him: where is thy father? jesus answered: neither me do you know, nor my father. if you did know me, perhaps you would know my father also. : . these words jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. : . again therefore jesus said to them: i go: and you shall seek me. and you shall die in your sin. whither i go, you cannot come. : . the jews therefore said: will he kill himself, because he said: whither i go you cannot come? : . and he said to them: you are from beneath: i am from above. you are of this world: i am not of this world. : . therefore i said to you that you shall die in your sins. for if you believe not that i am he, you shall die in your sin. : . they said therefore to him: who art thou? jesus said to them: the beginning, who also speak unto you. : . many things i have to speak and to judge of you. but he that sent me, is true: and the things i have heard of him, these same i speak in the world. : . and they understood not that he called god his father. : . jesus therefore said to them: when you shall have lifted up, the son of man, then shall you know that i am he and that i do nothing of myself. but as the father hath taught me, these things i speak. : . and he that sent me is with me: and he hath not left me alone. for i do always the things that please him. : . when he spoke these things, many believed in him. : . then jesus said to those jews who believed him: if you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. : . and you shall know the truth: and the truth shall make you free. : . they answered him: we are the seed of abraham: and we have never been slaves to any man. how sayest thou: you shall be free? : . jesus answered them: amen, amen, i say unto you that whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. : . now the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the son abideth for ever. : . if therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. : . i know that you are the children of abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. : . i speak that which i have seen with my father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father. : . they answered and said to him: abraham is our father. jesus saith them: if you be the children of abraham, do the works of abraham. : . but now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which i have heard of god. this abraham did not. : . you do the works of your father. they said therefore to him: we are not born of fornication: we have one father, even god. : . jesus therefore said to them: if god were your father, you would indeed love me. for from god i proceeded and came. for i came not of myself: but he sent me. : . why do you not know my speech? because you cannot hear my word. : . you are of your father the devil: and the desires of your father you will do. he was a murderer from the beginning: and he stood not in the truth, because truth is not in him. when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. : . but if i say the truth, you believe me not. : . which of you shall convince me of sin? if i say the truth to you, why do you not believe me: : . he that is of god heareth the words of god. therefore you hear them not, because you are not of god. : . the jews therefore answered and said to him: do not we say well that thou art a samaritan and hast a devil? : . jesus answered: i have not a devil: but i honour my father. and you have dishonoured me. : . but i seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. : . amen, amen, i say to you: if any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever. : . the jews therefore said: now we know that thou hast a devil. abraham is dead, and the prophets: and thou sayest: if any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. : . art thou greater than our father abraham who is dead? and the prophets are dead. whom dost thou make thyself? : . jesus answered: if i glorify myself, my glory is nothing. it is my father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your god. : . and you have not known him: but i know him. and if i shall say that i know him not, i shall be like to you, a liar. but i do know him and do keep his word. : . abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and was glad. : . the jews therefore said to him: thou art not yet fifty years old. and hast thou seen abraham? : . jesus said to them: amen, amen, i say to you, before abraham was made, i am. : . they took up stones therefore to cast at him. but jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. john chapter he gives sight to the man born blind. : . and jesus passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth. : . and his disciples asked him: rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? : . jesus answered: neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of god should be made manifest in him. : . i must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. : . as long as i am in the world, i am the light of the world. : . when he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and spread the clay upon his eyes, : . and said to him: go, wash in the pool of siloe, which is interpreted, sent. he went therefore and washed: and he came seeing. : . the neighbours, therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said: is not this he that sat and begged? some said: this is he. : . but others said: no, but he is like him. but he said: i am he. : . they said therefore to him: how were thy eyes opened? : . he answered: that man that is called jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me: go to the pool of siloe and wash. and i went: i washed: and i see. : . and they said to him: where is he? he saith: i know not. : . they bring him that had been blind to the pharisees. : . now it was the sabbath, when jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. : . again therefore the pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. but he said to them: he put clay upon my eyes: and i washed: and i see. : . some therefore of the pharisees said: this man is not of god, who keepeth not the sabbath. but others said: how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? and there was a division among them. : . they say therefore to the blind man again: what sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes? and he said: he is a prophet. : . the jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight, : . and asked them, saying: is this your son, who you say was born blind? how then doth he now see? : . his parents answered them and said: we know that this is our son and that he was born blind: : . but how he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. ask himself: he is of age: let him speak for himself. : . these things his parents said, because they feared the jews: for the jews had already agreed among themselves that if any man should confess him to be christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. : . therefore did his parents say: he is of age. ask himself. : . they therefore called the man again that had been blind and said to him: give glory to god. we know that this man is a sinner. : . he said therefore to them: if he be a sinner, i know not. one thing i know, that whereas i was blind. now i see. : . they said then to him: what did he to thee? how did he open thy eyes? : . he answered them: i have told you already, and you have heard. why would you hear it again? will you also become his disciples? : . they reviled him therefore and said: be thou his disciple; but we are the disciples of moses. : . we know that god spoke to moses: but as to this man, we know not from whence he is. : . the man answered and said to them: why, herein is a wonderful thing, that you know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes. : . now we know that god doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of god and doth his, will, him he heareth. : . from the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. : . unless this man were of god, he could not do anything. : . they answered and said to him: thou wast wholly born in sins; and dost thou teach us? and they cast him out. : . jesus heard that they had cast him out. and when he had found him, he said to him: dost thou believe in the son of god? : . he answered, and said: who is he, lord, that i may believe in him? : . and jesus said to him: thou hast both seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee. : . and he said: i believe, lord. and falling down, he adored him. : . and jesus said: for judgment i am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind. i am come, etc. . .not that christ came for that end, that any one should be made blind: but that the jews, by the abuse of his coming, and by their not receiving him, brought upon themselves this judgment of blindness. : . and some of the pharisees, who were with him, heard: and they said unto him: are we also blind? : . jesus said to them: if you were blind, you should not have sin: but now you say: we see. your sin remaineth. if you were blind, etc. . .if you were invincibly ignorant, and had neither read the scriptures, nor seen my miracles, you would not be guilty of the sin of infidelity: but now, as you boast of your knowledge of the scriptures, you are inexcusable. john chapter christ is the door and the good shepherd. he and his father are one. : . amen, amen, i say to you: he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber. : . but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. : . to him the porter openeth: and the sheep hear his voice. and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. : . and when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. : . but a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers. : . this proverb jesus spoke to them. but they understood not what he spoke. : . jesus therefore said to them again: amen, amen, i say to you, i am the door of the sheep. : . all others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not. : . i am the door. by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in and go out, and shall find pastures. : . the thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. i am come that they may have life and may have it more abundantly. : . i am the good shepherd. the good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. : . but the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf casteth and scattereth the sheep, : . and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. : . i am the good shepherd: and i know mine, and mine know me. : . as the father knoweth me, and i know the father: and i lay down my life for my sheep. : . and other sheep i have that are not of this fold: them also i must bring. and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. : . therefore doth the father love me: because i lay down my life, that i may take it again. : . no man taketh it away from me: but i lay it down of myself. and i have power to lay it down: and i have power to take it up again. this commandment have i received of my father. : . a dissension rose again among the jews for these words. : . and many of them said: he hath a devil and is mad. why hear you him? : . others said: these are not the words of one that hath a devil. can a devil open the eyes of the blind? : . and it was the feast of the dedication at jerusalem: and it was winter. : . and jesus walked in the temple, in solomon's porch. : . the jews therefore came round about him and said to him: how long dost thou hold our souls in suspense? if thou be the christ, tell us plainly. : . jesus answered them: i speak to you, and you believe not: the works that i do in the name of my father, they give testimony of me. : . but you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. : . my sheep hear my voice. and i know them: and they follow me. : . and i give them life everlasting: and they shall not perish for ever. and no man shall pluck them out of my hand. : . that which my father hath given me is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my father. : . i and the father are one. i and the father are one. . .that is, one divine nature, but two distinct persons. : . the jews then took up stones to stone him. : . jesus answered them: many good works i have shewed you from my father. for which of those works do you stone me? : . the jews answered him: for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy: and because that thou. being a, man, makest thyself god. : . jesus answered them: is it not written in your law: i said, you are gods? : . if he called them gods to whom the word of god was spoken; and the scripture cannot be broken: : . do you say of him whom the father hath sanctified and sent into the world: thou blasphemest; because i said: i am the son of god? : . if i do not the works of my father, believe me not. : . but if i do, though you will not believe me, believe the works: that you may know and believe that the father is in me and i in the father. : . they sought therefore to take him: and he escaped out of their hands. : . and he went again beyond the jordan, into that place where john was baptizing first. and there he abode. : . and many resorted to him: and they said: john indeed did no sign. : . but all things whatsoever john said of this man were true. and many believed n him. john chapter christ raises lazarus to life. the rulers resolve to put him to death. : . now there was a certain man sick, named lazarus, of bethania, of the town of mary and of martha her sister. : . (and mary was she that anointed the lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother lazarus was sick.) : . his sisters therefore sent to him, saying: lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. : . and jesus hearing it, said to them: this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of god: that the son of god may be glorified by it. : . now jesus loved martha and her sister mary and lazarus. : . when he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days. : . then after that, he said to his disciples: let us go into judea again. : . the disciples say to him: rabbi, the jews but now sought to stone thee. and goest thou thither again? : . jesus answered: are there not twelve hours of the day? if a man walk in the day he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world: : . but if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him. : . these things he said; and after that he said to them: lazarus our friend sleepeth: but i go that i may awake him out of sleep. : . his disciples therefore said: lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. : . but jesus spoke of his death: and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep. : . then therefore jesus said to them plainly: lazarus is dead. : . and i am glad, for your sakes; that i was not there, that you may believe. but, let us go to him. : . thomas therefore, who is called didymus, said to his fellow disciples: let us also go, that we may die with him. : . jesus therefore came: and found that he had been four days already in the grave. : . (now bethania was near jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.) : . and many of the jews were come to martha and mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. : . martha therefore, as soon as she heard that jesus was come, went to meet him: but mary sat at home. : . martha therefore said to jesus: lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. : . but now also i know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of god, god will give it thee. : . jesus saith to her: thy brother shall rise again. : . martha saith to him: i know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day. : . jesus said to her: i am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: : . and every one that liveth and believeth in me shall not die for ever. believest thou this? : . she saith to him: yea, lord, i have believed that thou art christ, the son of the living god, who art come into this world. : . and when she had said these things, she went and called her sister mary secretly, saying: the master is come and calleth for thee. : . she, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly and cometh to him. : . for jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where martha had met him. : . the jews therefore, who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw mary, that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: she goeth to the grave to weep there. : . when mary therefore was come where jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet and saith to him. lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. : . jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the jews that were come with her weeping, groaned in the spirit and troubled himself, : . and said: where have you laid him? they say to him: lord, come and see. : . and jesus wept. : . the jews therefore said: behold how he loved him. : . but some of them said: could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind have caused that this man should not die? : . jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre. now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it. : . jesus saith: take away the stone. martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days. : . jesus saith to her: did not i say to thee that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of god? : . they took therefore the stone away. and jesus lifting up his eyes, said: father, i give thee thanks that thou hast heard me. : . and i knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people who stand about have i said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. : . when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: lazarus, come forth. : . and presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands. and his face was bound about with a napkin. jesus said to them: loose him and let him go. : . many therefore of the jews, who were come to mary and martha and had seen the things that jesus did, believed in him. : . but some of them went to the pharisees and told them the things that jesus had done. : . the chief priests, therefore, and the pharisees gathered a council and said: what do we, for this man doth many miracles? : . if we let him alone so, all will believe in him; and the romans will come, and take away our place and nation. : . but one of them, named caiphas, being the high priest that year, said to them: you know nothing. : . neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not. : . and this he spoke not of himself: but being the high priest of that year, he prophesied that jesus should die for the nation. : . and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of god that were dispersed. : . from that day therefore they devised to put him to death. : . wherefore jesus walked no more openly among the jews: but he went into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called ephrem. and there he abode with his disciples. : . and the pasch of the jews was at hand: and many from the country went up to jerusalem, before the pasch, to purify themselves. : . they sought therefore for jesus; and they discoursed one with another, standing in the temple: what think you that he is not come to the festival day? and the chief priests and pharisees had given a commandment that, if any man knew where he was, he should tell, that they might apprehend him. john chapter the anointing of christ's feet. his riding into jerusalem upon an ass. a voice from heaven. : . jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to bethania, where lazarus had been dead, whom jesus raised to life. : . and they made him a supper there: and martha served. but lazarus was one of them that were at table with him. : . mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. : . then one of his disciples, judas iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: : . why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor? : . now he said this not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief and, having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. : . jesus therefore said: let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial. : . for the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always. see the annotation of st. matt. . . : . a great multitude therefore of the jews knew that he was there; and they came, not for jesus' sake only, but that they might see lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. : . but the chief priests thought to kill lazarus also: : . because many of the jews, by reason of him, went away and believed in jesus. : . and on the next day, a great multitude that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that jesus was coming to jerusalem, : . took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him and cried hosanna. blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord, the king of israel. : . and jesus found a young ass and sat upon it, as it is written: : . fear not, daughter of sion: behold thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. : . these things his disciples did not know at the first: but when jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him and that they had done these things to him. : . the multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him, when he called lazarus out of the grave and raised him from the dead. : . for which reason also the people came to meet him, because they heard that he had done this miracle. : . the pharisees therefore said among themselves: do you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after him. : . now there were certain gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day. : . these therefore came to philip, who was of bethsaida of galilee, and desired him, saying: sir, we would see jesus. : . philip cometh and telleth andrew. again andrew and philip told jesus. : . but jesus answered them, saying: the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified. : . amen, amen, i say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, : . itself remaineth alone. but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. he that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal. : . if any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where i am, there also shall my minister be. if any man minister to me, him will my father honour. : . now is my soul troubled. and what shall i say? father, save me from this hour. but for this cause i came unto this hour. : . father, glorify thy name. a voice therefore came from heaven: i have both glorified it and will glorify it again. : . the multitude therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered. others said: an angel spoke to him. : . jesus answered and said: this voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. : . now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. : . and i, if i be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. : . (now this he said, signifying what death he should die.) : . the multitude answered him: we have heard out of the law that christ abideth for ever. and how sayest thou: the son of man must be lifted up? who is this son of man? : . jesus therefore said to them: yet a little while, the light is among you. walk whilst you have the light, and the darkness overtake you not. and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither be goeth. : . whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. these things jesus spoke: and he went away and hid himself from them. : . and whereas he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in him: : . that the saying of isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said: lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the lord been revealed? : . therefore they could not believe, because isaias said again: they could not believe. . .because they would not, saith st. augustine, tract. , in joan. see the annotation, st. mark . . : . he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart and be converted: and i should heal them. : . these things said isaias, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him. : . however, many of the chief men also believed in him: but because of the pharisees they did not confess him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue. : . for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of god. : . but jesus cried and said: he that believeth in me doth not believe in me, but in him that sent me. : . and he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me. : . i am come, a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me may not remain in darkness. : . and if any man hear my words and keep them not, i do not judge him for i came not to judge the world, but to save the world. : . he that despiseth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him. the word that i have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. : . for i have not spoken of myself: but the father who sent me, he gave me commandment what i should say and what i should speak. : . and i know that his commandment is life everlasting. the things therefore that i speak, even as the father said unto me, so do i speak. john chapter christ washes his disciples' feet. the treason of judas. the new commandment of love. : . before the festival day of the pasch, jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. before the festival day of the pasch. . .this was the fourth and last pasch of the ministry of christ, and according to the common computation, was in the thirty-third year of our lord: and in the year of the world . some chronologers are of opinion that our saviour suffered in the thirty-seventh year of his age: but these different opinions on this subject are of no consequence. : . and when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of judas iscariot, the son of simon, to betray him), : . knowing that the father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from god and goeth to god, : . he riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. : . after that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. : . he cometh therefore to simon peter. and peter saith to him: lord, dost thou wash my feet? : . jesus answered and said to him: what i do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. : . peter saith to him: thou shalt never wash my feet, jesus answered him: if i wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me. : . simon peter saith to him: lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. : . jesus saith to him: he that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. and you are clean, but not all. : . for he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: you are not all clean. : . then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: know you what i have done to you? : . you call me master and lord. and you say well: for so i am. : . if then i being your lord and master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. : . for i have given you an example, that as i have done to you, so you do also. : . amen, amen, i say to you: the servant is not greater than his lord: neither is the apostle greater than he that sent him. : . if you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them. : . i speak not of you all: i know whom i have chosen. but that the scripture may be fulfilled: he that eateth bread with me shall lift up his heel against me, : . at present i tell you, before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe that i am he. : . amen, amen, i say to you, he that receiveth whomsoever i send receiveth me: and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. : . when jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit; and he testified, and said: amen, amen, i say to you, one of you shall betray me. : . the disciples therefore looked one upon another, doubting of whom he spoke. : . now there was leaning on jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom jesus loved. : . simon peter therefore beckoned to him and said to him: who is it of whom he speaketh? : . he therefore, leaning on the breast of jesus, saith to him: lord, who is it? : . jesus answered: he it is to whom i shall reach bread dipped. and when he had dipped the bread, he gave it to judas iscariot, the son of simon. : . and after the morsel, satan entered into him. and jesus said to him: that which thou dost, do quickly. that which thou dost, do quickly. . .it is not a license, much less a command, to go about his treason: but a signification to him that christ would not hinder or resist what he was about, do it as soon as he pleased: but was both ready and desirous to suffer for our redemption. : . now no man at the table knew to what purpose he said this unto him. : . for some thought, because judas had the purse, that jesus had said to him: buy those things which we have need of for the festival day: or that he should give something to the poor. : . he therefore, having received the morsel, went out immediately. and it was night. : . when he therefore was gone out, jesus said: now is the son of man glorified; and god is glorified in him. : . if god be glorified in him, god also will glorify him in himself: and immediately will he glorify him. : . little children, yet a little while i am with you. you shall seek me. and as i said to the jews: whither i go you cannot come; so i say to you now. : . a new commandment i give unto you: that you love one another, as i have loved you, that you also love one another. : . by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. : . simon peter saith to him: lord, whither goest thou? jesus answered: whither i go, thou canst not follow me now: but thou shalt follow hereafter. : . peter saith to him: why cannot i follow thee now? i will lay down my life for thee. : . jesus answered him: wilt thou lay down thy life for me? amen, amen, i say to thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou deny me thrice. john chapter christ's discourse after his last supper. : . let not your heart be troubled. you believe in god: believe also in me. : . in my father's house there are many mansions. if not, i would have told you: because i go to prepare a place for you. : . and if i shall go and prepare a place for you, i will come again and will take you to myself: that where i am, you also may be. : . and whither i go you know: and the way you know. : . thomas saith to him: lord, we know not whither thou goest. and how can we know the way? : . jesus saith to him: i am the way, and the truth, and the life. no man cometh to the father, but by me. : . if you had known me, you would without doubt have known my father also: and from henceforth you shall know him. and you have seen him. : . philip saith to him: lord, shew us the father; and it is enough for us. : . jesus saith to him: have i been so long a time with you and have you not known me? philip, he that seeth me seeth the father also. how sayest thou: shew us the father? : . do you not believe that i am in the father and the father in me? the words that i speak to you, i speak not of myself. but the father who abideth in me, he doth the works. : . believe you not that i am in the father and the father in me? : . otherwise believe for the very works' sake. amen, amen, i say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that i do, he also shall do: and greater than these shall he do. : . because i go to the father: and whatsoever you shall ask the father in my name, that will i do: that the father may be glorified in the son. : . if you shall ask me any thing in my name, that i will do. : . if you love me, keep my commandments. : . and i will ask the father: and he shall give you another paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever: paraclete. . .that is, a comforter: or also an advocate; inasmuch as by inspiring prayer, he prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us. for ever. . .hence it is evident that this spirit of truth was not only promised to the persons of the apostles, but also to their successors through all generations. : . the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him. but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you and shall be in you. : . i will not leave you orphans: i will come to you. : . yet a little while and the world seeth me no more. but you see me: because i live, and you shall live. : . in that day you shall know that i am in my father: and you in me, and i in you. : . he that hath my commandments and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father: and i will love him and will manifest myself to him. : . judas saith to him, not the iscariot: lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? : . jesus answered and said to him: if any one love me, he will keep my word. and my father will love him and we will come to him and will make our abode with him. : . he that loveth me not keepeth not my words. and the word which you have heard is not mine; but the father's who sent me. : . these things have i spoken to you, abiding with you. : . but the paraclete, the holy ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever i shall have said to you. teach you all things. . .here the holy ghost is promised to the apostles and their successors, particularly, in order to teach them all truth, and to preserve them from error. : . peace i leave with you: my peace i give unto you: not as the world giveth, do i give unto you. let not your heart be troubled: nor let it be afraid. : . you have heard that i said to you: i go away, and i come unto you. if you loved me you would indeed be glad, because i go to the father: for the father is greater than i. for the father is greater than i. . .it is evident, that christ our lord speaks here of himself as he is made man: for as god he is equal to the father. (see phil. .) any difficulty of understanding the meaning of these words will vanish, when the relative circumstances of the text here are considered: for christ being at this time shortly to suffer death, signified to his apostles his human nature by these very words: for as god he could not die. and therefore as he was both god and man, it must follow that according to his humanity he was to die, which the apostles were soon to see and believe, as he expresses, ver. . and now i have told you before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe. : . and now i have told you before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe. : . i will not now speak many things with you. for the prince of this world: cometh: and in me he hath not any thing. : . but that the world may know that i love the father: and as the father hath given me commandments, so do i. arise, let us go hence. john chapter a continuation of christ's discourse to his disciples. : . i am the true vine: and my father is the husbandman. : . every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, he will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. : . now you are clean, by reason of the word which i have spoken to you. : . abide in me: and i in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. : . i am the vine: you the branches. he that abideth in me, and i in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. : . if any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither: and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire: and he burneth. : . if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will: and it shall be done unto you. : . in this is my father glorified: that you bring forth very much fruit and become my disciples. : . as the father hath loved me, i also have loved you. abide in my love. : . if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love: as i also have kept my father's commandments and do abide in his love. : . these things i have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled. : . this is my commandment, that you love one another, as i have loved you. : . greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. : . you are my friends, if you do the things that i command you. : . i will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. but i have called you friends. because all things, whatsoever i have heard of my father, i have made known to you. : . you have not chosen me: but i have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it you. : . these things i command you, that you love one another. : . if the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. : . if you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but i have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. : . remember my word that i said to you: the servant is not greater than his master. if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also. : . but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake: because they know not him that sent me. : . if i had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin. : . he that hateth me hateth my father also. : . if i had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin: but now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. : . but that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law: they hated me without cause. : . but when the paraclete cometh, whom i will send you from the father, the spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the father, he shall give testimony of me. whom i will send. . .this proves, against the modern greeks, that the holy ghost proceedeth from the son, as well as from the father: otherwise he could not be sent by the son. : . and you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning. john chapter the conclusion of christ's last discourse to his disciples. : . these things have i spoken to you things have i spoken to you that you may not be scandalized. : . they will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to god. : . and these things will they do to you; because they have not known the father nor me. : . but these things i have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that i told you of them. : . but i told you not these things from the beginning, because i was with you. and now i go to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me: whither goest thou? : . but because i have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart. : . but i tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that i go. for if i go not, the paraclete will not come to you: but if i go, i will send him to you. : . and when he is come, he will convince the world of sin and of justice and of judgment. he will convince the world of sin, etc. . .the holy ghost, by his coming brought over many thousands, first, to a sense of their sin in not believing in christ. secondly, to a conviction of the justice of christ, now sitting at the right hand of his father. and thirdly, to a right apprehension of the judgment prepared for them that choose to follow satan, who is already judged and condemned. : . of sin: because they believed not in me. : . and of justice: because i go to the father: and you shall see me no longer. : . and of judgment: because the prince of this world is already judged. : . i have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. : . but when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. for he shall not speak of himself: but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak. and the things that are to come, he shall shew you. will teach you all truth. . .see the annotation on chap. . ver. . : . he shall glorify me: because he shall receive of mine and shall shew it to you. : . all things whatsoever the father hath are mine. therefore i said that he shall receive of me and shew it to you. : . a little while, and now you shall not see me: and again a little while, and you shall see me: because i go to the father. : . then some of his disciples said one to another: what is this that he saith to us: a little while, and you shall not see me: and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because i go to the father? : . they said therefore: what is this that he saith, a little while? we know not what he speaketh. : . and jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him. and he said to them: of this do you inquire among yourselves, because i said: a little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me? : . amen, amen, i say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. : . a woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. : . so also you now indeed have sorrow: but i will see you again and your heart shall rejoice. and your joy no man shall take from you. : . and in that day you shall not ask me any thing. amen, amen, i say to you: if you ask the father any thing in my name, he will give it you. : . hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full. : . these things i have spoken to you in proverbs. the hour cometh when i will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the father. : . in that day, you shall ask in my name: and i say not to you that i will ask the father for you. : . for the father himself loveth you, because you have loved me and have believed that i came out from god. : . i came forth from the father and am come into the world: again i leave the world and i go to the father. : . his disciples say to him: behold, now thou speakest plainly and speakest no proverb. : . now we know that thou knowest all things and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. by this we believe that thou camest forth from god. : . jesus answered them: do you now believe? : . behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me alone. and yet i am not alone, because the father is with me. : . these things i have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. in the world you shall have distress. but have confidence. i have overcome the world. john chapter christ's prayer for his disciples. : . these things jesus spoke: and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said: the hour is come. glorify thy son, that thy son may glorify thee. : . as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he may give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. : . now this is eternal life: that they may know thee, the only true god, and jesus christ, whom thou hast sent. : . i have glorified thee on the earth; i have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. : . and now glorify thou me, o father, with thyself, with the glory which i had, before the world was, with thee. : . i have manifested thy name to the men whom thou hast given me out of the world. thine they were: and to me thou gavest them. and they have kept thy word. : . now they have known that all things which thou hast given me are from thee: : . because the words which thou gavest me, i have given to them. and they have received them and have known in very deed that i came out from thee: and they have believed that thou didst send me. : . i pray for them. i pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me: because they are thine. : . and all my things are thine, and thine are mine: and i am glorified in them. : . and now i am not in the world, and these are in the world, and i come to thee. holy father, keep them in thy name whom thou hast given me: that they may be one, as we also are. : . while i was with them, i kept them in thy name. those whom thou gavest me have i kept: and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition: that the scripture may be fulfilled. : . and now i come to thee: and these things i speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves. : . i have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them: because they are not of the world, as i also am not of the world. : . i pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil. : . they are not of the world, as i also am not of the world. : . sanctify them in truth. thy word is truth. : . as thou hast sent me into the world, i also have sent them into the world. : . and for them do i sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. : . and not for them only do i pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me. : . that they all may be one, as thou, father, in me, and i in thee; that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. : . and the glory which thou hast given me, i have given to them: that, they may be one, as we also are one. : . i in them, and thou in me: that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me. : . father, i will that where i am, they also whom thou hast given me may be with me: that they may see my glory which thou hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the creation of the world. : . just father, the world hath not known thee: but i have known thee. and these have known that thou hast sent me. : . and i have made known thy name to them and will make it known: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and i in them. john chapter the history of the passion of christ. : . when jesus had said these things, he went forth with his disciples over the brook cedron, where there was a garden, into which he entered with his disciples. : . and judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: because jesus had often resorted thither together with his disciples. : . judas therefore having received a band of soldiers and servants from the chief priests and the pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. : . jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said to them: whom seek ye? : . they answered him: jesus of nazareth. jesus saith to them: i am he. and judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. : . as soon therefore as he had said to them: i am he; they went backward and fell to the ground. : . again therefore he asked them: whom seek ye? and they said: jesus of nazareth. : . jesus answered: i have told you that i am he. if therefore you seek me, let these go their way, : . that the word might be fulfilled which he said: of them whom thou hast given me, i have not lost any one. : . then simon peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. and the name of thee servant was malchus. : . jesus therefore said to peter: put up thy sword into the scabbard. the chalice which my father hath given me, shall i not drink it? : . then the band and the tribune and the servants of the jews took jesus and bound him. : . and they led him away to annas first, for he was father-in-law to caiphas, who was the high priest of that year. : . now caiphas was he who had given the counsel to the jews: that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. : . and simon peter followed jesus: and so did another disciple. and that disciple was known to the high priest and went in with jesus into the court of the high priest. : . but peter stood at the door without. the other disciple therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the portress and brought in peter. : . the maid therefore that was portress saith to peter: art not thou also one of this man's disciple? he saith i am not. : . now the servants and ministers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold, and warmed themselves. and with them was peter also, standing and warming himself. : . the high priest therefore asked jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine. : . jesus answered him: i have spoken openly to the world. i have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither all the jews resort: and in secret i have spoken nothing. : . why askest thou me? ask them who have heard what i have spoken unto them. behold they know what things i have said. : . and when he had said these things, one of the servants standing by gave jesus a blow, saying: answerest thou the high priest so? : . jesus answered him: if i have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why strikest thou me? : . and annas sent him bound to caiphas the high priest. : . and simon peter was standing and warming himself. they said therefore to him: art not thou also one of his disciples? he denied it and said: i am not. : . one of the servants of the high priest (a kinsman to him whose ear peter cut off) saith to him: did not i see thee in the garden with him? : . again therefore peter denied: and immediately the cock crew. : . then they led jesus from caiphas to the governor's hall. and it was morning: and they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the pasch. : . pilate therefore went out to them, and said: what accusation bring you against this man? : . they answered and said to him: if he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. : . pilate therefore said to them: take him you, and judge him according to your law. the jews therefore said to him: it is not lawful for us to put any man to death. : . that the word of jesus might be fulfilled, which he said, signifying what death he should die. : . pilate therefore went into the hall again and called jesus and said to him: art thou the king of the jews? : . jesus answered: sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me? : . pilate answered: am i a jew? thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee up to me. what hast thou done? : . jesus answered: my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that i should not be delivered to the jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. : . pilate therefore said to him: art thou a king then? jesus answered: thou sayest that i am a king. for this was i born, and for this came i into the world; that i should give testimony to the truth. every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. : . pilate saith to him: what is truth? and when he said this, he went out again to the jews and saith to them: i find no cause in him. : . but you have a custom that i should release one unto you at the pasch. will you, therefore, that i release unto you the king of the jews? : . then cried they all again, saying: not this man, but barabbas. now barabbas was a robber. john chapter the continuation of the history of the passion of christ. : . then therefore pilate took jesus and scourged him. : . and the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head: and they put on him a purple garment. : . and they came to him and said: hail, king of the jews. and they gave him blows. : . pilate therefore went forth again and saith to them: behold, i bring him forth unto you, that you may know that i find no cause in him. : . (jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) and he saith to them: behold the man. : . when the chief priests, therefore, and the servants had seen him, they cried out, saying: crucify him, crucify him. pilate saith to them: take him you, and crucify him: for i find no cause in him. : . the jews answered him: we have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the son of god. : . when pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more. : . and he entered into the hall again; and he said to jesus: whence art thou? but jesus gave him no answer. : . pilate therefore saith to him: speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that i have power to crucify thee, and i have power to release thee? : . jesus answered: thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. therefore, he that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater sin. : . and from henceforth pilate sought to release him. but the jews cried out, saying: if thou release this man, thou art not caesar's friend. for whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against caesar. : . now when pilate had heard these words, he brought jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat, in the place that is called lithostrotos, and in hebrew gabbatha. : . and it was the parasceve of the pasch, about the sixth hour: and he saith to the jews: behold your king. the parasceve of the pasch. . .that is, the day before the paschal sabbath. the eve of every sabbath was called the parasceve, or day of preparation. but this was the eve of a high sabbath, viz., that which fell in the paschal week. : . but they cried out: away with him: away with him: crucify him. pilate saith to them: shall i crucify your king? the chief priests answered: we have no king but caesar. : . then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. and they took jesus and led him forth. : . and bearing his own cross, he went forth to the place which is called calvary, but in hebrew golgotha. : . where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and jesus in the midst. : . and pilate wrote a title also: and he put it upon the cross. and the writing was: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. : . this title therefore many of the jews did read: because the place where jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. and it was written in hebrew, in greek, and in latin. : . then the chief priests of the jews said to pilate: write not: the king of the jews. but that he said: i am the king of the jews. : . pilate answered: what i have written, i have written. : . the soldiers therefore, when they had crucified him, took his garments, (and they made four parts, to every soldier a part) and also his coat. now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. : . they said then one to another: let us not cut it but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, saying: they have parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they have cast lots. and the soldiers indeed did these things. : . now there stood by the cross of jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, mary of cleophas, and mary magdalen. : . when jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: woman, behold thy son. : . after that, he saith to the disciple: behold thy mother. and from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. : . afterwards, jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: i thirst. : . now there was a vessel set there, full of vinegar. and they, putting a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, put it to his mouth. : . jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: it is consummated. and bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. : . then the jews (because it was the parasceve), that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (for that was a great sabbath day), besought pilate that their legs might be broken: and that they might be taken away. : . the soldiers therefore came: and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. : . but after they were come to jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. : . but one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side: and immediately there came out blood and water. : . and he that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true. and he knoweth that he saith true: that you also may believe. : . for these things were done that the scripture might be fulfilled: you shall not break a bone of him. : . and again another scripture saith: they shall look on him whom they pierced. : . and after these things, joseph of arimathea (because he was a disciple of jesus, but secretly for fear of the jews), besought pilate that he might take away the body of jesus. and pilate gave leave. he came therefore and took away the body of jesus. : . and nicodemus also came (he who at the first came to jesus by night), bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. : . they took therefore the body of jesus and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as the manner of the jews is to bury. : . now there was in the place where he was crucified a garden: and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man yet had been laid. : . there, therefore, because of the parasceve of the jews, they laid jesus: because the sepulchre was nigh at hand. john chapter christ's resurrection and manifestation to his disciples. : . and on the first day of the week, mary magdalen cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. : . she ran therefore and cometh to simon peter and to the other disciple whom jesus loved and saith to them: they have taken away the lord out of the sepulchre: and we know not where they have laid him. : . peter therefore went out, and the other disciple: and they came to the sepulchre. : . and they both ran together: and that other disciple did outrun peter and came first to the sepulchre. : . and when he stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying: but yet he went not in. : . then cometh simon peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre: and saw the linen cloths lying, : . and the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place. : . then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre: and he saw and believed. : . for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. : . the disciples therefore departed again to their home. : . but mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. now as she was weeping, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, : . and she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of jesus had been laid. : . they say to her: woman, why weepest thou? she saith to them: because they have taken away my lord: and i know not where they have laid him. : . when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw jesus standing: and she knew not that it was jesus. : . jesus saith to her: woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? she, thinking that it was the gardener, saith to him: sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him: and i will take him away. : . jesus saith to her: mary. she turning, saith to him: rabboni (which is to say, master). : . jesus saith to her: do not touch me: for i am not yet ascended to my father. but go to my brethren and say to them: i ascend to my father and to your father, to my god and to your god. : . mary magdalen cometh and telleth the disciples: i have seen the lord; and these things he said to me. : . now when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the jews, jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: peace be to you. the doors were shut. . .the same power which could bring christ's whole body, entire in all its dimensions, through the doors, can without the least question make the same body really present in the sacrament; though both the one and the other be above our comprehension. : . and when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. the disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the lord. : . he said therefore to them again: peace be to you. as the father hath sent me, i also send you. : . when he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: receive ye the holy ghost. : . whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. whose sins, etc. . .see here the commission, stamped by the broad seal of heaven, by virtue of which the pastors of christ's church absolve repenting sinners upon their confession. : . now thomas, one of the twelve, who is called didymus, was not with them when jesus came. : . the other disciples therefore said to him: we have seen the lord. but he said to them: except i shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, i will not believe. : . and after eight days, again his disciples were within, and thomas with them. jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said: peace be to you. : . then he said to thomas: put in thy finger hither and see my hands. and bring hither the hand and put it into my side. and be not faithless, but believing. : . thomas answered and said to him: my lord and my god. : . jesus saith to him: because thou hast seen me, thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed. : . many other signs also did jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. : . but these are written, that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god: and that believing, you may have life in his name. john chapter christ manifests himself to his disciples by the sea side and gives peter the charge of his sheep. : . after this, jesus shewed himself to the disciples at the sea of tiberias. and he shewed himself after this manner. : . there were together: simon peter and thomas, who is called didymus, and nathanael, who was of cana of galilee, and the sons of zebedee and two others of his disciples. : . simon peter saith to them: i go a fishing. they say to him: we also come with thee. and they went forth and entered into the ship: and that night they caught nothing. : . but when the morning was come, jesus stood on the shore: yet the disciples knew not that it was jesus. : . jesus therefore said to them: children, have you any meat? they answered him: no. : . he saith to them: cast the net on the right side of the ship; and you shall find. they cast therefore: and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes. : . that disciple therefore whom jesus loved said to peter: it is the lord. simon peter, when he heard that it was the lord, girt his coat about him (for he was naked) and cast himself into the sea. : . but the other disciples came in the ship (for they were not far from the land, but as it were two hundred cubits) dragging the net with fishes. : . as soon then as they came to land they saw hot coals lying, and a fish laid thereon, and bread. : . jesus saith to them: bring hither of the fishes which you have now caught. : . simon peter went up and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, one hundred and fifty-three. and although there were so many, the net was not broken. : . jesus saith to them: come and dine. and none of them who were at meat, durst ask him: who art thou? knowing that it was the lord. : . and jesus cometh and taketh bread and giveth them: and fish in like manner. : . this is now the third time that jesus was manifested to his disciples, after he was risen from the dead. : . when therefore they had dined, jesus saith to simon peter: simon, son of john, lovest thou me more than these? he saith to him: yea, lord, thou knowest that i love thee. he saith to him: feed my lambs. : . he saith to him again: simon, son of john, lovest thou me? he saith to him: yea, lord, thou knowest that i love thee. he saith to him: feed my lambs. : . he said to him the third time: simon, son of john, lovest thou me? peter was grieved because he had said to him the third time: lovest thou me? and he said to him: lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that i love thee. he said to him: feed my sheep. feed my sheep. . .our lord had promised the spiritual supremacy to st. peter; st. matt. . ; and here he fulfils that promise, by charging him with the superintendency of all his sheep, without exception; and consequently of his whole flock, that is, of his own church. : . amen, amen, i say to thee, when thou wast younger, thou didst gird thyself and didst walk where thou wouldst. but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. : . and this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify god. and when he had said this, he saith to him: follow me. : . peter turning about, saw that disciple whom jesus loved following, who also leaned on his breast at supper and said: lord, who is he that shall betray thee? : . him therefore when peter had seen, he saith to jesus: lord, and what shall this man do? : . jesus saith to him: so i will have him to remain till i come, what is it to thee? follow thou me. : . this saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. and jesus did not say to him: he should not die; but: so i will have him to remain till i come, what is it to thee? : . this is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things and hath written these things: and we know that his testimony is true. : . but there are also many other things which jesus did which, if they were written every one, the world itself. i think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written. the acts of the apostles this book, which, from the first ages, hath been called, the acts of the apostles, is not to be considered as a history of what was done by all the apostles, who were dispersed into different nations; but only a short view of the first establishment of the christian church. a part of the preaching and action of st. peter are related in the first twelve chapters; and a particular account of st. paul's apostolical labours in the subsequent chapters. it was written by st. luke the evangelist, and the original in greek. its history commences from the ascension of christ our lord and ends in the year sixty-three, being a brief account of the church for the space of about thirty years. acts chapter the ascension of christ. matthias is chosen in place of judas. : . the former treatise i made, o theophilus, of all things which jesus began to do and to teach, : . until the day on which, giving commandments by the holy ghost to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up. : . to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of god. : . and eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth. : . for john indeed baptized with water: but you shall be baptized with the holy ghost, not many days hence. : . they therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of israel? : . but he said to them: it is not for you to know the time or moments, which the father hath put in his own power: : . but you shall receive the power of the holy ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in jerusalem, and in all judea, and samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. : . and when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. : . and while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. : . who also said: ye men of galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? this jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven. : . then they returned to jerusalem from the mount that is called olivet, which is nigh jerusalem, within a sabbath day's journey. : . and when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode peter and john, james and andrew, philip and thomas, bartholomew and matthew, james of alpheus and simon zelotes and jude the brother of james. : . all these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and mary the mother of jesus, and with his brethren. : . in those days peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty): : . men, brethren, the scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the holy ghost spoke before by the mouth of david concerning judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended jesus: : . who was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. : . and he indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged, burst asunder in the midst: and all his bowels gushed out. : . and it became known to all the inhabitants of jerusalem: so that the same field was called in their tongue, haceldama, that is to say, the field of blood. : . for it is written in the book of psalms: let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. and his bishopric let another take. : . wherefore of these men who have companied with us, all the time that the lord jesus came in and went out among us, : . beginning from the baptism of john, until the day wherein he was taken up from us, one of these must be made a witness with us of his resurrection. : . and they appointed two, joseph, called barsabas, who was surnamed justus, and matthias. : . and praying, they said: thou, lord, who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, : . to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place. : . and they gave them lot, and the lot fell upon matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. acts chapter the disciples receive the holy ghost. peter's sermon to the people. the piety of the first converts. : . and when the days of the pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: : . and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. : . and there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire: and it sat upon every one of them. : . and they were all filled with the holy ghost: and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the holy ghost gave them to speak. : . now there were dwelling at jerusalem, jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. : . and when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue. : . and they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: behold, are not all these that speak galilean? : . and how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born? : . parthians and medes and elamites and inhabitants of mesopotamia, judea, and cappadocia, pontus and asia, : . phrygia and pamphylia, egypt and the parts of libya about cyrene, and strangers of rome, : . jews also, and proselytes, cretes, and arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of god. : . and they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: what meaneth this? : . but others mocking, said: these men are full of new wine. : . but peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: ye men of judea, and all you that dwell in jerusalem, be this known to you and with your ears receive my words. : . for these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day: : . but this is that which was spoken of by the prophet joel: : . and it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the lord), i will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. : . and upon my servants indeed and upon my handmaids will i pour out in those days of my spirit: and they shall prophesy. : . and i will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke. : . the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the lord to come. : . and it shalt come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved. : . ye men of israel, hear these words: jesus of nazareth, a man approved of god among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which god did by him, in the midst of you, as you also know: : . this same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of god, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain. by the determinate, etc. . .god delivered up his son; and his son delivered up himself, for the love of us, and for the sake of our salvation; and so christ's being delivered up was holy, and was god's own determination. but they who betrayed and crucified him, did wickedly, following therein their own malice and the instigation of the devil; not the will and determination of god, who was by no means the author of their wickedness; though he permitted it; because he could, and did draw out of it so great a good, viz., the salvation of man. : . whom god hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it. having loosed the sorrow, etc. . .having overcome the grievous pains of death and all the power of hell. : . for david saith concerning him: i foresaw the lord before my face: because he is at my right hand, that i may not be moved. : . for this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. : . because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: nor suffer thy holy one to see corruption. : . thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. : . ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch david: that he died and was buried; and his sepulchre is with us to this present say. : . whereas therefore he was a prophet and knew that god hath sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit upon his throne. : . foreseeing this, he spoke of the resurrection of christ. for neither was he left in hell: neither did his flesh see corruption. : . this jesus hath god raised again, whereof all we are witnesses. : . being exalted therefore by the right hand of god and having received of the father the promise of the holy ghost, he hath poured forth this which you see and hear. : . for david ascended not into heaven; but he himself said: the lord said to my lord: sit thou on my right hand, : . until i make thy enemies thy footstool. : . therefore let all the house of israel know most certainly that god hath made both lord and christ, this same jesus, whom you have crucified. : . now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart and said to peter and to the rest of the apostles: what shall we do, men and brethren? : . but peter said to them: do penance: and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ, for the remission of your sins. and you shall receive the gift of the holy ghost. : . for the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the lord our god shall call. : . and with very many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying: save yourselves from this perverse generation. : . they therefore that received his word were baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls. : . and they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles and in the communication of the breaking of bread and in prayers. : . and fear came upon every soul. many wonders also and signs were done by the apostles in jerusalem: and there was great fervor in all. : . and all they that believed were together and had all things common. : . their possessions and goods they sold and divided them to all, according as every one had need. : . and continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart: : . praising god and having favour with all the people. and the lord increased daily together such as should be saved. acts chapter the miracle upon the lame man, followed by the conversion of many. : . now peter and john went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. : . and a certain man who was lame from his mother's womb was carried: whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, that he might ask alms of them that went into the temple. : . he, when he had seen peter and john, about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms. : . but peter with john, fastening his eyes upon him, said: look upon us. : . but he looked earnestly upon them, hoping that he should receive something of them. : . but peter said: silver and gold i have none; but what i have, i give thee. in the name of jesus christ of nazareth, arise and walk. : . and taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up: and forthwith his feet and soles received strength. : . and he leaping up, stood and walked and went in with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising god. : . and all the people saw him walking and praising god. : . and they knew him, that it was he who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him. : . and as he held peter and john, all the people ran to them, to the porch which is called solomon's, greatly wondering. : . but peter seeing, made answer to the people: ye men of israel, why wonder you at this? or why look you upon us, as if by our strength or power we had made this man to walk? : . the god of abraham and the god of isaac and the god of jacob, the god of our fathers, hath glorified his son jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and denied before the face of pilate, when he judged he should be released. : . but you denied the holy one and the just: and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. : . but the author of life you killed, whom god hath raised from the dead: of which we are witnesses. : . and in the faith of his name, this man, whom you have seen and known, hath his name strengthened. and the faith which is by him hath given this perfect soundness in the sight of you all. : . and now, brethren, i know that you did it through ignorance: as did also your rulers. : . but those things which god before had shewed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. : . be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. : . that when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the lord, and he shall send him who hath been preached unto you, jesus christ. : . whom heaven indeed must receive, until the times of the restitution of all things, which god hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the beginning of the world. : . for moses said: a prophet shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: him you shall hear according to all things whatsoever he shall speak to you. : . and it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. : . and all the prophets, from samuel and afterwards, who have spoken, have told of these days. : . you are the children of the prophets and of the testament which god made to our fathers, saying to abraham: and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. : . to you first, god, raising up his son, hath sent him to bless you: that every one may convert himself from his wickedness. acts chapter peter and john are apprehended. their constancy. the church is increased. : . and as they were speaking to the people the priests and the officer of the temple and the sadducees came upon them, : . being grieved that they taught the people and preached in jesus the resurrection from the dead: : . and they laid hands upon them and put them in hold till the next day: for it was now evening. : . but many of them who had heard the word believed: and the number of the men was made five thousand. : . and it came to pass on the morrow, that their princes and ancients and scribes were gathered together in jerusalem. : . and annas the high priest and caiphas and john and alexander: and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. : . and setting them in the midst, they asked: by what power or by what name, have you done this? : . then peter, filled with the holy ghost, said to them: ye princes of the people and ancients, hear. : . if we this day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man, by what means he hath been made whole: : . be it known to you all and to all the people of israel, that by the name of our lord jesus christ of nazareth, whom you crucified, whom god hath raised from the dead, even by him, this man standeth here before you, whole. : . this is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. : . neither is there salvation in any other. for there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. : . now seeing the constancy of peter and of john, understanding that they were illiterate and ignorant men, they wondered: and they knew them that they had been with jesus. : . seeing the man also who had been healed, standing with them, they could say nothing against it. : . but they commanded them to go aside out of the council: and they conferred among themselves, : . saying: what shall we do to these men? for indeed a miracle hath been done by them, known to all the inhabitants of jerusalem. it is manifest: and we cannot deny it. : . but that it may be no farther spread among the people, let us threaten them that they speak no more in this name to any man. : . and calling them, they charged them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of jesus. : . but peter and john answering, said to them: if it be just, in the sight of god, to hear you rather than god, judge ye. : . for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. : . but they, threatening, sent them away, not finding how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified what had been done, in that which had come to pass. : . for the man was above forty years old, in whom that miraculous cure had been wrought. : . and being let go, they came to their own company and related all that the chief priests and ancients had said to them. : . who having heard it, with one accord lifted up their voice to god and said: lord, thou art he that didst make heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them. : . who, by the holy ghost, by the mouth of our father david, thy servant, hast said: why did the gentiles rage: and the people meditate vain things? : . the kings of the earth stood up: and the princes assembled together against the lord and his christ. : . for of a truth there assembled together in this city against thy holy child jesus, whom thou hast anointed, herod, and pontius pilate, with the gentiles and the people of israel, : . to do what thy hand and thy counsel decreed to be done. : . and now, lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants that with all confidence they may speak thy word, : . by stretching forth thy hand to cures and signs and wonders, to be done by the name of thy holy son, jesus. : . and when they had prayed, the place was moved wherein they were assembled: and they were all filled with the holy ghost: and they spoke the word of god with confidence. : . and the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul. neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed was his own: but all things were common unto them. : . and with great power did the apostles give testimony of the resurrection of jesus christ our lord: and great grace was in them all. : . for neither was there any one needy among them. for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the price of the things they sold, : . and laid it down before the feet of the apostles. and distribution was made to every one, according as he had need. : . and joseph, who, by the apostles, was surnamed barnabas (which is, by interpretation, the son of consolation), a levite, a cyprian born, : . having land, sold it and brought the price and laid it at the feet of the apostles. acts chapter the judgment of god upon ananias and saphira. the apostles are cast into prison. : . but a certain man named ananias, with saphira his wife, sold a piece of land, : . and by fraud kept back part of the price of the land, his wife being privy thereunto: and bringing a certain part of it, laid it at the feet of the apostles. : . but peter said: ananias, why hath satan tempted thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the holy ghost and by fraud keep part of the price of the land? : . whilst it remained, did it not remain to thee? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied to men, but to god. : . and ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost. and there came great fear upon all that heard it. : . and the young men rising up, removed him, and carrying him out, buried him. : . and it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. : . and peter said to her: tell me, woman, whether you sold the land for so much? and she said: yea, for so much. : . and peter said unto her: why have you agreed together to tempt the spirit of the lord? behold the feet of them who have buried thy husband are at the door: and they shall carry thee out, : . immediately, she fell down before his feet and gave up the ghost. and the young men coming in found her dead: and carried her out and buried her by her husband. : . and there came great fear upon the whole church and upon all that heard these things. : . and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. and they were all with one accord in solomon's porch. : . but of the rest no man durst join himself unto them: but the people magnified them. : . and the multitude of men and women who believed in the lord was more increased: : . insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that, when peter came, his shadow at the least might overshadow any of them and they might be delivered from their infirmities. : . and there came also together to jerusalem a multitude out of the neighbouring cities, bringing sick persons and such as were troubled with unclean spirits: who were all healed. : . then the high priest rising up, and all they that were with him (which is the heresy of the sadducees) were filled with envy. : . and they laid hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. : . but an angel of the lord by night, opening the doors of the prison and leading them out, said: : . go, and standing speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. : . who having heard this, early in the morning, entered into the temple and taught. and the high priest coming, and they that were with him, called together the council and all the ancients of the children of israel: and they sent to the prison to have them brought. : . but when the ministers came and opening the prison found them not there, they returned and told, : . saying: the prison indeed we found shut with all diligence, and the keepers standing before the door: but opening it, we found no man within. : . now when the officer of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were in doubt concerning them, what would come to pass. : . but one came and told them: behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people. : . then went the officer with the ministers and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. : . and when they had brought them, they set them before the council. and the high priest asked them, : . saying: commanding, we commanded you that you should not teach in this name. and behold, you have filled jerusalem with your doctrine: and you have a mind to bring the blood of this man upon us. : . but peter and the apostles answering, said: we ought to obey god rather than men. : . the god of our fathers hath raised up jesus, whom you put to death, hanging him upon a tree. : . him hath god exalted with his right hand, to be prince and saviour. to give repentance to israel and remission of sins. : . and we are witnesses of these things: and the holy ghost, whom god hath given to all that obey him. : . when they had heard these things, they were cut to the heart: and they thought to put them to death. : . but one in the council rising up, a pharisee, named gamaliel, a doctor of the law, respected by all the people, commanded the men to be put forth a little while. : . and he said to them: ye men of israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do, as touching these men. : . for before these days rose up theodas, affirming himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. who was slain: and all that believed him were scattered and brought to nothing. : . after this man, rose up judas of galilee, in the days of the enrolling, and drew away the people after him. he also perished: and all, even as many as consented to him, were dispersed. : . and now, therefore, i say to you: refrain from these men and let them alone. for if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought: : . but if it be of god, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against god. and they consented to him. : . and calling in the apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of jesus. and they dismissed them. : . and they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of jesus. : . and every day they ceased not, in the temple and from house to house, to teach and preach christ jesus. acts chapter the ordination of the seven deacons. the zeal of stephen. : . and in those days, the number of the disciples increasing, there arose a murmuring of the greeks against the hebrews, for that their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. greeks. . .so they called the jews that were born and brought up in greece. : . then the twelve, calling together the multitude of the disciples, said: it is not reason that we should leave the word of god and serve tables. : . wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good reputation, full of the holy ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. : . but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. : . and the saying was liked by all the multitude. and they chose stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy ghost, and philip and prochorus and nicanor, and timon and parmenas and nicolas, a proselyte of antioch. : . these they set before the apostles: and they praying, imposed hands upon them. : . and the word of the lord increased: and the number of the disciples was multiplied in jerusalem exceedingly. a great multitude also of the priests obeyed the faith. : . and stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people. : . now there arose some, of that which is called the synagogue of the libertines and of the cyrenians and of the alexandrians and of them that were of cilicia and asia, disputing with stephen. : . and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke. : . then they suborned men to say they had heard him speak words of blasphemy against moses and against god. : . and they stirred up the people and the ancients and the scribes. and running together, they took him and brought him to the council. : . and they set up false witnesses, who said: this man ceaseth not to speak words against the holy place and the law. : . for we have heard him say that this jesus of nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the traditions which moses delivered unto us. : . and all that sat in the council, looking on him, saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel. acts chapter stephen's speech before the council. his martyrdom. : . then the high priest said: are these things so? : . who said: ye men, brethren and fathers, hear. the god of glory appeared to our father abraham, when he was in mesopotamia, before he dwelt in charan. : . and said to him: go forth out of thy country and from thy kindred: and come into the land which i shall shew thee. : . then he went out of the land of the chaldeans and dwelt in charan. and from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein you now dwell. : . and he gave him no inheritance in it: no, not the pace of a foot. but he promised to give it him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. : . and god said to him: that his seed should sojourn in a strange country, and that they should bring them under bondage and treat them evil four hundred years. : . and the nation which they shall serve will i judge (said the lord): and after these things they shall go out and shall serve me in this place. : . and he gave him the covenant of circumcision. and so he begot isaac and circumcised him the eighth day: and isaac begot jacob: and jacob, the twelve patriarchs. : . and the patriarchs, through envy, sold joseph into egypt. and god was with him, : . and delivered him out of all his tribulations: and he gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of pharao, the king of egypt. and he appointed him governor over egypt and over all his house. : . now there came a famine upon all egypt and chanaan, and great tribulation: and our fathers found no food. : . but when jacob had heard that there was corn in egypt, he sent our fathers first. : . and at the second time, joseph was known by his brethren: and his kindred was made known to pharao. : . and joseph sending, called thither jacob, his father, and all his kindred, seventy-five souls. : . so jacob went down into egypt. and he died, and our fathers. : . and they were translated into sichem and were laid in the sepulchre that abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of hemor, the son of sichem. : . and when the time of the promise drew near, which god had promised to abraham, the people increased and were multiplied in egypt. : . till another king arose in egypt, who knew not joseph. : . this same, dealing craftily with our race, afflicted our fathers, that they should expose their children, to the end they might not be kept alive. : . at the same time was moses born: and he was acceptable to god. who was nourished three months in his father's house. : . and when he was exposed, pharao's daughter took him up and nourished him for her own son. : . and moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the egyptians: and he was mighty in his words and in his deeds. : . and when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of israel. : . and when he had seen one of them suffer wrong, he defended him: and striking the egyptian, he avenged him who suffered the injury. : . and he thought that his brethren understood that god by his hand would save them. but they understood it not. : . and the day following, he shewed himself to them when they were at strife and would have reconciled them in peace, saying: men, ye are brethren. why hurt you one another? : . but he that did the injury to his neighbour thrust him away, saying: who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us: : . what! wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the egyptian? : . and moses fled upon this word: and was a stranger in the land of madian, where he begot two sons. : . and when forty years were expired, there appeared to him, in the desert of mount sina, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush. : . and moses seeing it wondered at the sight. and as he drew near to view it, the voice of the lord came unto him, saying: : . i am the god of thy fathers: the god of abraham, the god of isaac and the god of jacob. and moses being terrified durst not behold. : . and the lord said to him: loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place wherein thou standest is holy ground. : . seeing, i have seen the affliction of my people which is in egypt: and i have heard their groaning and am come down to deliver them. and now come: and i will send thee into egypt. : . this moses, whom they refused, saying: who hath appointed thee prince and judge? him god sent to be prince and redeemer, by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush. : . he brought them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of egypt and in the red sea and in the desert, forty years. : . this is that moses who said to the children of israel: a prophet shall god raise up to you of your own brethren, as myself. him shall you hear. : . this is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on mount sina and with our fathers. who received the words of life to give unto us. : . whom our fathers would not obey: but thrust him away and in their hearts turned back into egypt, : . saying to aaron: make us gods to go before us. for as for this moses, who brought us out of the land of egypt, we know not what is become of him. : . and they made a calf in those days and offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. : . and god turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the books of the prophets: did you offer victims and sacrifices to me for forty years, in the desert, o house of israel? : . and you took unto you the tabernacle of moloch and the star of your god rempham, figures which you made to adore them. and i will carry you away beyond babylon. : . the tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the desert, as god ordained for them, speaking to moses, that he should make it according to the form which he had seen. : . which also our fathers receiving, brought in with jesus, into the possession of the gentiles: whom god drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of david, jesus. . .that is josue, so called in greek. : . who found grace before god and desired to find a tabernacle for the god of jacob. : . but solomon built him a house, : . yet the most high dwelleth not in houses made by hands, as the prophet saith: dwelleth not in houses, etc. . .that is, so as to stand in need of earthly dwellings, or to be contained, or circumscribed by them. though, otherwise by his immense divinity, he is in our houses; and every where else; and christ in his humanity dwelt in houses; and is now on our altars. : . heaven is my throne and the earth my footstool. what house will you build me (saith the lord)? or what is the place of my resting? : . hath not my hand made all these things? : . you stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the holy ghost. as your fathers did, so do you also. : . which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them who foretold of the coming of the just one: of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers. : . who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it. : . now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart: and they gnashed with their teeth at him. : . but he, being full of the holy ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of god and jesus standing on the right hand of god. and he said: behold, i see the heavens opened and the son of man standing on the right hand of god. : . and they, crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears and with one accord ran violently upon him. : . and casting him forth without the city. they stoned him. and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name was saul. : . and they stoned stephen, invoking and saying: lord jesus, receive my spirit. : . and falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: lord, lay not his sin to their charge: and when he had said this, he fell asleep in the lord. and saul was consenting to his death. acts chapter philip converts the samaritans and baptizes the eunuch. : . and at that time, there was raised a great persecution against the church which was at jerusalem. and they were all dispersed through the countries of judea, and samaria, except the apostles. : . and devout men took order for stephen's funeral and made great mourning over him. : . but saul made havock of the church, entering in from house to house: and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison. : . they therefore that were dispersed went about preaching the word of god. : . and philip, going down to the city of samaria, preached christ unto them. : . and the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did. : . for many of them who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out. : . and many, taken with the palsy, and that were lame, were healed. : . there was therefore great joy in that city. now there was a certain man named simon who before had been a magician in that city, seducing the people of samaria, giving out that he was some great one: : . to whom they all gave ear, from the least to the greatest, saying: this man is the power of god, which is called great. : . and they were attentive to him, because, for a long time, he had bewitched them with his magical practices. : . but when they had believed philip preaching of the kingdom of god, in the name of jesus christ, they were baptized, both men and women. : . then simon himself believed also and, being baptized, he adhered to philip. and being astonished, wondered to see the signs and exceeding great miracles which were done. : . now, when the apostles, who were in jerusalem, had heard that samaria had received the word of god, they sent unto them peter and john. : . who, when they were come, prayed for them that they might receive the holy ghost. : . for he was not as yet come upon any of them: but they were only baptized in the name of the lord jesus. : . then they laid their hands upon them: and they received the holy ghost. they laid their hands upon them, etc. . .the apostles administered the sacrament of confirmation, by imposition of hands, and prayer; and the faithful thereby received the holy ghost. not but they had received the grace of the holy ghost at their baptism: yet not that plenitude of grace and those spiritual gifts which they afterwards received from bishops in the sacrament of confirmation, which strengthened them to profess their faith publicly. : . and when simon saw that, by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, the holy ghost was given, he offered them money, : . saying: give me also this power, that on whomsoever i shall lay my hands, he may receive the holy ghost. but peter said to him: : . keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee: because thou hast thought that the gift of god may be purchased with money. : . thou hast no part nor lot in this matter. for thy heart is not right in the sight of god. : . do penance therefore for this thy wickedness: and pray to god, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. : . for i see thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity. : . then simon answering, said: pray you for me to the lord that none of these things which you have spoken may come upon me. : . and they indeed, having testified and preached the word of the lord, returned to jerusalem: and preached the gospel to many countries of the samaritans. : . now an angel of the lord spoke to philip, saying: arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from jerusalem into gaza: this is desert. : . and rising up, he went. and behold, a man of ethiopia, an eunuch, of great authority under candace the queen of the ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to jerusalem to adore. : . and he was returning, sitting in his chariot and reading isaias the prophet. : . and the spirit said to philip: go near and join thyself to this chariot. : . and philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet isaias. and he said: thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? : . who said: and how can i, unless some man shew me? and he desired philip that he would come up and sit with him. : . and the place of the scripture which he was reading was this: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter: and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so openeth he not his mouth. : . in humility his judgment was taken away. his generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth? : . and the eunuch answering philip, said: i beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man? : . then philip, opening his mouth and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him jesus. : . and as they went on their way, they came to a certain water. and the eunuch said: see, here is water: what doth hinder me from being baptized? : . and philip said: if thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. and he answering, said: i believe that jesus christ is the son of god. if thou believest with all thy heart. . .the scripture many times mentions only one disposition, as here belief, when others equally necessary are not expressed, viz., a sorrow for sins, a firm hope, and the love of god. moreover, believing with the whole heart signifies a belief of every thing necessary for salvation. : . and he commanded the chariot to stand still. and they went down into the water, both philip and the eunuch. and he baptized him. : . and when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the lord took away philip: and the eunuch saw him no more. and he went on his way rejoicing. : . but philip was found in azotus: and passing through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to caesarea. acts chapter paul's conversion and zeal. peter heals eneas and raises up tabitha to life. : . and saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, went to the high priest : . and asked of him letters to damascus, to the synagogues: that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to jerusalem. : . and as he went on his journey, it came to pass that he drew nigh to damascus. and suddenly a light from heaven shined round about him. : . and falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? : . who said: who art thou, lord? and he: i am jesus whom thou persecutest. it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. : . and he, trembling and astonished, said: lord, what wilt thou have me to do? : . and the lord said to him: arise and go into the city; and there it shall be told thee what thou must do. now the men who went in company with him stood amazed, hearing indeed a voice but seeing no man. : . and saul arose from the ground: and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. but they, leading him by the hands, brought him to damascus. : . and he was there three days without sight: and he did neither eat nor drink. : . now there was a certain disciple at damascus, named ananias. and the lord said to him in a vision: ananias, and he said: behold i am here, lord. : . and the lord said to him: arise and go into the street that is called strait and seek in the house of judas, one named saul of tarsus. for behold he prayeth. : . (and he saw a man named ananias coming in and putting his hands upon him, that he might receive his sight.) : . but ananias answered: lord, i have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints in jerusalem. : . and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that invoke thy name. : . and the lord said to him: go thy way: for this man is to me a vessel of election, to carry my name before the gentiles and kings and the children of israel. : . for i will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. : . and ananias went his way and entered into the house. and laying his hands upon him, he said: brother saul, the lord jesus hath sent me, he that appeared to thee in the way as thou camest, that thou mayest receive thy sight and be filled with the holy ghost. : . and immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales: and he received his sight. and rising up, he was baptized. : . and when he had taken meat, he was strengthened. and he was with the disciples that were at damascus, for some days. : . and immediately he preached jesus in the synagogues, that he is the son of god. : . and all that heard him were astonished and said: is not this he who persecuted in jerusalem those that called upon this name and came hither for that intent, that he might carry them bound to the chief priests? : . but saul increased much more in strength and confounded the jews who dwelt at damascus, affirming that this is the christ. : . and when many days were passed, the jews consulted together to kill him. : . but their lying in wait was made known to saul. and they watched the gates also day and night, that they might kill him. : . but the disciples, taking him in the night, conveyed him away by the wall, letting him down in a basket. : . and when he was come into jerusalem, he essayed to join himself to the disciples: and they all were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. : . but barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and told them how he had seen the lord, and that he had spoken to him: and how in damascus he had dealt confidently in the name of jesus. : . and he was with them, coming in and going out in jerusalem and dealing confidently in the name of the lord. : . he spoke also to the gentiles and disputed with the greeks. but they sought to kill him. : . which when the brethren had known, they brought him down to caesarea and sent him away to tarsus. : . now, the church had peace throughout all judea and galilee and samaria: and was edified, walking in the fear of the lord: and was filled with the consolation of the holy ghost. : . and it came to pass that peter, as he passed through, visiting all, came to the saints who dwelt at lydda. : . and he found there a certain man named eneas, who had kept his bed for eight years, who was ill of the palsy. : . and peter said to him: eneas, the lord jesus christ healeth thee. arise and make thy bed. and immediately he arose. : . and all that dwelt at lydda and saron saw him: who were converted to the lord. : . and in joppe there was a certain disciple named tabitha, which by interpretation is called dorcas. this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. : . and it came to pass in those days that she was sick and died. whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. : . and forasmuch as lydda was nigh to joppe, the disciples, hearing that peter was there, sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not be slack to come unto them. : . and peter rising up went with them. and when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber. and all the widows stood about him, weeping and shewing him the coats and garments which dorcas made them. : . and they all being put forth, peter, kneeling down, prayed. and turning to the body, he said: tabitha, arise. and she opened her eyes and, seeing peter, sat up. : . and giving her his hand, he lifted her up. and when he had called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. : . and it was made known throughout all joppe. and many believed in the lord. : . and it cane to pass that he abode many days in joppe, with one simon a tanner. acts chapter cornelius is received into the church. peter's vision. : . and there was a certain man in caesarea, named cornelius, a centurion of that which is called the italian band: : . a religious man, and fearing god with all his house, giving much alms to the people and always praying to god. : . this man saw in a vision manifestly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of god coming in unto him and saying to him: cornelius. : . and he, beholding him. being seized with fear, said: what is it, lord? and he said to him: thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of god. : . and now send men to joppe: and call hither one simon, who is surnamed peter. : . he lodgeth with one simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side. he will tell thee what thou must do. : . and when the angel who spoke to him was departed, he called two of his household servants and a soldier who feared the lord, of them that were under him. : . to whom when he had related all, he sent them to joppe. : . and on the next day, whilst they were going on their journey and drawing nigh to the city, peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour. : . and being hungry, he was desirous to taste somewhat. and as they were preparing, there came upon him an ecstasy of mind. : . and he saw the heaven opened and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great linen sheet let down by the four corners from heaven to the earth: : . wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts and creeping things of the earth and fowls of the air. : . and there came a voice to him: arise, peter. kill and eat. : . but peter said: far be it from me. for i never did eat any thing that is common and unclean. : . and the voice spoke to him again the second time: that which god hath cleansed, do not thou call common. : . and this was done thrice. and presently the vessel was taken up into heaven. : . now, whilst peter was doubting within himself what the vision that he had seen should mean, behold the men who were sent from cornelius, inquiring for simon's house, stood at the gate. : . and when they had called, they asked if simon, who is surnamed peter, were lodged there. : . and as peter was thinking of the vision, the spirit said to him: behold three men seek thee. : . arise, therefore: get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing: for i have sent them. : . then peter, going down to the men, said: behold, i am he whom you seek. what is the cause for which you are come? : . who said: cornelius, a centurion, a just man and one that feareth god, and having good testimony from all the nation of the jews, received an answer of an holy angel, to send for thee into his house and to hear words of thee. : . then bringing them in, he lodged them. and the day following, he arose and went with them: and some of the brethren from joppe accompanied him. : . and the morrow after, he entered into caesarea. and cornelius waited for them, having called together his kinsmen and special friends. : . and it came to pass that when peter was come in, cornelius came to meet him and falling at his feet adored. : . but peter lifted him up, saying: arise: i myself also am a man. : . and talking with him, he went in and found many that were come together. : . and he said to them: you know how abominable it is for a man that is a jew to keep company or to come unto one of another nation: but god hath shewed to me, to call no man common or unclean. : . for which cause, making no doubt, i came when i was sent for. i ask, therefore, for what cause you have sent for me? : . and cornelius said: four days ago, unto this hour, i was praying in my house, at the ninth hour and behold a man stood before me in white apparel and said: : . cornelius, thy prayer is heard and thy alms are had in remembrance in the sight of god. : . send therefore to joppe: and call hither simon, who is surnamed peter. he lodgeth in the house of simon a tanner, by the sea side. : . immediately therefore i sent to thee: and thou hast done well in coming. now, therefore, all we are present in thy sight to hear all things whatsoever are commanded thee by the lord. : . and peter opening his mouth, said: in very deed i perceive that god is not a respecter of persons. : . but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh justice is acceptable to him. in every nation, etc. . .that is to say, not only jews, but gentiles also, of what nation soever, are acceptable to god, if they fear him and work justice. but then true faith is always to be presupposed, without which (saith st. paul, heb. . ) it is impossible to please god. beware then of the error of those, who would infer from this passage, that men of all religions may be pleasing to god. for since none but the true religion can be from god, all other religions must be from the father of lies, and therefore highly displeasing to the god of truth. : . god sent the word to the children of israel, preaching peace by jesus christ (he is lord of all). : . you know the word which hath been published through all judea: for it began from galilee, after the baptism which john preached. : . jesus of nazareth: how god anointed him with the holy ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for god was with him. : . and we are witnesses of all things that he did in the land of the jews and in jerusalem: whom they killed, hanging him upon a tree. : . him god raised up the third day and gave him to be made manifest, : . not to all the people, but to witnesses preordained by god, even to us, who did eat and drink with him, after he arose again from the dead. : . and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was appointed by god to be judge of the living and of the dead. : . to him all the prophets give testimony, that by his name all receive remission of sins, who believe in him. : . while peter was yet speaking these words, the holy ghost fell on all them that heard the word. : . and the faithful of the circumcision, who came with peter, were astonished for that the grace of the holy ghost was poured out upon the gentiles also. : . for they heard them speaking with tongues and magnifying god. : . then peter answered: can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the holy ghost, as well as we? : . and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ. then they desired him to tarry with them some days. acts chapter peter defends his having received the gentiles into the church. : . and the apostles and brethren, who were in judea, heard that the gentiles also had received the word of god. : . and when peter was come up to jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, : . saying: why didst thou go in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them? : . but peter began and declared to them the matter in order, saying: : . i was in the city of joppe praying: and i saw in an ecstasy of mind a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. and it came even unto me. : . into which looking, i considered and saw fourfooted creatures of the earth and beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air. : . and i heard also a voice saying to me: arise, peter. kill and eat. : . and i said: not so, lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth. : . and the voice answered again from heaven: what god hath made clean, do not thou call common. : . and this was done three times. and all were taken up again into heaven. : . and behold, immediately there were three men come to the house wherein i was, sent to me from caesarea. : . and the spirit said to me that i should go with them, nothing doubting. and these six brethren went with me also: and we entered into the man's house. : . and he told us how he had seen an angel in his house, standing and saying to him: send to joppe and call hither simon, who is surnamed peter, : . who shall speak to thee words whereby thou shalt be saved, and all thy house. : . and when i had begun to speak, the holy ghost fell upon them, as upon us also in the beginning. : . and i remembered the word of the lord, how that he said: john indeed baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the holy ghost. : . if then god gave them the same grace as to us also who believed in the lord jesus christ: who was i, that could withstand god? : . having heard these things, they held their peace and glorified god, saying: god then hath also to the gentiles given repentance, unto life. : . now they who had been dispersed by the persecution that arose on occasion of stephen went about as far as phenice and cyprus and antioch, speaking the word to none, but to the jews only. : . but some of them were men of cyprus and cyrene, who, when they were entered into antioch, spoke also to the greeks, preaching the lord jesus. : . and the hand of he lord was with them: and a great number believing, were converted to the lord. : . and the tidings came to the ears of the church that was at jerusalem, touching these things: and they sent barnabas as far as antioch. : . who, when he was come and had seen the grace of god, rejoiced. and he exhorted them all with purpose of heart to continue in the lord. : . for he was a good man and full of the holy ghost and of faith. and a great multitude was added to the lord. : . and barnabas went to tarsus to seek saul: whom, when he had found, he brought to antioch. : . and they conversed there in the church a whole year: and they taught a great multitude, so that at antioch the disciples were first named christians. : . and in these days there came prophets from jerusalem to antioch. : . and one of them named agabus, rising up, signified by the spirit that there should be a great famine over the whole world, which came to pass under claudius. : . and the disciples, every man according to his ability, purposed to send relief to the brethren who dwelt in judea. : . which also they did, sending it to the ancients, by the hands of barnabas and saul. acts chapter herod's persecution. peter's deliverance by an angel. herod's punishment. : . and at the same time, herod the king stretched forth his hands, to afflict some of the church. : . and he killed james, the brother of john, with the sword. : . and seeing that it pleased the jews, he proceeded to take up peter also. now it was in the days of the azymes. azymes. . .the festival of the unleavened bread, or the pasch, which answers to our easter. : . and when he had apprehended him, he cast him into prison, delivering him to four files of soldiers, to be kept, intending, after the pasch, to bring him forth to the people. : . peter therefore was kept in prison. but prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto god for him. : . and when herod would have brought him forth, the same night, peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. : . and behold an angel of the lord stood by him and a light shined in the room. and he, striking peter on the side, raised him up, saying: arise quickly. and the chains fell off from his hands. : . and the angel said to him: gird thyself and put on thy sandals. and he did so. and he said to him: cast thy garment about thee and follow me, : . and going out, he followed him. and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel: but thought he saw a vision. : . and passing through the first and the second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city which of itself opened to them. and going out, they passed on through one street. and immediately the angel departed from him. : . and peter coming to himself, said: now i know in very deed that the lord hath sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of herod and from all the expectation of the people of the jews. : . and considering, he came to the house of mary the mother of john, who was surnamed mark, where many were gathered together and praying. : . and when he knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken. whose name was rhode. : . and as soon as she knew peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy: but running in she told that peter stood before the gate. : . but they said to her: thou art mad. but she affirmed that it was so. then said they: it is his angel. : . but peter continued knocking. and when they had opened, they saw him and were astonished. : . but he, beckoning to them with his hand to hold their peace, told how the lord had brought him out of prison. and he said: tell these things to james and to the brethren. and going out, he went into another place. : . now when day was come, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of peter. : . and when herod had sought for him and found him not, having examined the keepers, he commanded they should be put to death. and going down from judea to caesarea, he abode there. : . and he was angry with the tyrians and the sidonians. but they with one accord came to him: and, having gained blastus who was the king's chamberlain, they desired peace, because their countries were nourished by him. : . and upon a day appointed, herod being arrayed in kingly apparel, sat in the judgment seat and made an oration to them. : . and the people made acclamation, saying: it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. : . and forthwith an angel of the lord struck him, because he had not given the honour to god: and, being eaten up by worms, he gave up the ghost. : . but the word of the lord increased and multiplied. : . and barnabas and saul, returned from jerusalem, having fulfilled their ministry, taking with them john who was surnamed mark. acts chapter saul and barnabas are sent forth by the holy ghost. they preach in cyprus and in antioch of pisidia. : . now there were in the church which was at antioch prophets and doctors, among whom was barnabas and simon who was called niger, and lucius of cyrene and manahen who was the foster brother of herod the tetrarch, and saul. : . and as they were ministering to the lord and fasting, the holy ghost said to them: separate me saul and barnabas, for the work whereunto i have taken them. : . then they fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, sent them away. : . so they, being sent by the holy ghost, went to seleucia: and from thence they sailed to cyprus. : . and when they were come to salamina, they preached the word of god in the synagogues of the jews. and they had john also in the ministry. : . and when they had gone through the whole island, as far as paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a jew, whose name was bar-jesu: : . who was with the proconsul sergius paulus, a prudent man. he, sending for barnabas and saul, desired to hear the word of god. : . but elymas the magician (for so his name is interpreted) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. : . then saul, otherwise paul, filled with the holy ghost, looking upon him, : . said: o full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the lord. : . and now behold, the hand of the lord is upon thee: and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. and immediately there fell a mist and darkness upon him: and going about, he sought some one to lead him by the hand. : . then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, admiring at the doctrine of the lord. : . now when paul and they that were with him had sailed from paphos, they came to perge in pamphylia. and john departing from them, returned to jerusalem. : . but they, passing through perge, came to antioch in pisidia: and, entering into the synagogue on the sabbath day, they sat down. : . and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: ye men, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation to make to the people, speak. : . then paul rising up and with his hand bespeaking silence, said: ye men of israel and you that fear god, give ear. : . the god of the people of israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they were sojourners in the land of egypt: and with an high arm brought them out from thence: : . and for the space of forty years endured their manners in the desert: : . and, destroying seven nations in the land of chaanan, divided their land among them by lot. : . as it were, after four hundred and fifty years. and after these things, he gave unto them judges, until samuel the prophet. : . and after that they desired a king: and god gave them saul the son of cis, a man of the tribe of benjamin, forty years. : . and when he had removed him, he raised them up david to be king: to whom giving testimony, he said: i have found david, the son of jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills. : . of this man's seed, god, according to his promise, hath raised up to israel a saviour jesus: : . john first preaching, before his coming, the baptism of penance to all the people of israel. : . and when john was fulfilling his course, he said: i am not he whom you think me to be. but behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet i am not worthy to loose. : . men, brethren, children of the stock of abraham, and whosoever among you fear god: to you the word of this salvation is sent. : . for they that inhabited jerusalem and the rulers thereof, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, judging him, have fulfilled them. : . and finding no cause of death in him, they desired of pilate that they might kill him. : . and when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, taking him down from the tree, they laid him in a sepulchre. : . but god raised him up from the dead the third day. : . who was seen for many days by them who came up with him from galilee to jerusalem, who to this present are his witnesses to the people. : . and we declare unto you that the promise which was made to our fathers, : . this same god hath fulfilled to our children, raising up jesus, as in the second psalm also is written: thou art my son: this day have i begotten thee. : . and to shew that he raised him up from the dead, not to return now any more to corruption, he said thus: i will give you the holy things of david, faithful. i will give you the holy, etc. . .these are the words of the prophet isaias, . . according to the septuagint, the sense is: i will faithfully fulfil the promises i made to david. : . and therefore, in another place also, he saith: thou shalt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption. : . for david, when he had served in his generation, according to the will of god, slept: and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. : . but he whom god hath raised from the dead saw no corruption. : . be it known therefore to you, men, brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins is preached to you: and from all the things from which you could not be justified by the law of moses. : . in him every one that believeth is justified. : . beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets: : . behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish: for i work a work in your days, a work which you will not believe, if any man shall tell it you. : . and as they went out, they desired them that on the next sabbath they would speak unto them these words. : . and when the synagogue was broken up, many of the jews and of the strangers who served god followed paul and barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of god. : . but the next sabbath day, the whole city almost came together, to hear the word of god. : . and the jews, seeing the multitudes, were filled with envy and contradicted those things which were said by paul, blaspheming. : . then paul and barnabas said boldly: to you it behoved us first to speak the word of god: but because you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the gentiles. : . for so the lord hath commanded us: i have set thee to be the light of the gentiles: that thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth. : . and the gentiles hearing it were glad and glorified the word of the lord: and as many as were ordained to life everlasting believed. : . and the word of the lord was published throughout the whole country. : . but the jews stirred up religious and honourable women and the chief men of the city: and raised persecution against paul and barnabas: and cast them out of their coasts. : . but they, shaking off the dust of their feet against them, came to iconium. : . and the disciples were filled with joy and with the holy ghost. acts chapter paul and barnabas preach in iconium and lystra. paul heals a cripple. they are taken for gods. paul is stoned. they preach in derbe and perge. : . and it came to pass in iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the jews and so spoke that a very great multitude both of the jews and of the greeks did believe. : . but the unbelieving jews stirred up and incensed the minds of the gentiles against the brethren. : . a long time therefore they abode there, dealing confidently in the lord, who gave testimony to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. : . and the multitude of the city was divided. and some of them indeed held with the jews, but some with the apostles. : . and when there was an assault made by the gentiles and the jews with their rulers, to use them contumeliously and to stone them: : . they, understanding it, fled to lystra and derbe, cities of lycaonia, and to the whole country round about: and were there preaching the gospel. : . and there sat a certain man at lystra, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. : . this same heard paul speaking. who looking upon him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, : . said with a loud voice: stand upright on thy feet. and he leaped up and walked. : . and when the multitudes had seen what paul had done, they lifted up their voice in the lycaonian tongue, saying: the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. : . and they called barnabas, jupiter: but paul, mercury: because he was chief speaker. : . the priest also of jupiter that was before the city, bringing oxen and garlands before the gate, would have offered sacrifice with the people. : . which, when the apostles barnabas and paul had heard, rending their clothes, they leaped out among the people, crying, : . and saying: ye men, why do ye these things? we also are mortals, men like unto you, preaching to you to be converted from these vain things to the living god, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are in them: : . who in times past, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. : . nevertheless he left not himself without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. : . and speaking these things, they scarce restrained the people from sacrificing to them. : . now there came thither certain jews from antioch and iconium: and, persuading the multitude and stoning paul, drew him out of the city, thinking him to be dead. : . but as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and entered into the city: and the next day he departed with barnabas to derbe. : . and when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to lystra and to iconium and to antioch: : . confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith: and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of god. : . and when they had ordained to them priests in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the lord, in whom they believed. : . and passing through pisidia, they came into pamphylia. : . and having spoken the word of the lord in perge, they went down into attalia. : . and thence they sailed to antioch, from whence they had been delivered to the grace of god, unto the work which they accomplished. : . and when they were come and had assembled the church, they related what great things god had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the gentiles. : . and they abode no small time with the disciples. acts chapter a dissension about circumcision. the decision and letter of the council of jerusalem. : . and some, coming down from judea, taught the brethren: that, except you be circumcised after the manner of moses, you cannot be saved. : . and when paul and barnabas had no small contest with them, they determined that paul and barnabas and certain others of the other side should go up to the apostles and priests to jerusalem, about this question. : . they therefore, being brought on their way by the church, passed through phenice and samaria, relating the conversion of the gentiles. and they caused great joy to all the brethren. : . and when they were come to jerusalem, they were received by the church and by the apostles and ancients, declaring how great things god had done with them. : . but there arose of the sect of the pharisees some that believed, saying: they must be circumcised and be commanded to observe the law of moses. : . and the apostles and ancients assembled to consider of this matter. : . and when there had been much disputing, peter, rising up, said to them: men, brethren, you know that in former days god made choice among us, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. : . and god, who knoweth the hearts, gave testimony, giving unto them the holy ghost, as well as to us: : . and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. : . now therefore, why tempt you god to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? : . but by the grace of the lord jesus christ, we believe to be saved, in like manner as they also. : . and all the multitude held their peace: and they heard barnabas and paul telling what great signs and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles by them. : . and after they had held their peace, james answered, saying: men, brethren, hear me. : . simon hath related how god first visited to take to the gentiles, a people to his name. : . and to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written: : . after these things i will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of david, which is fallen down: and the ruins thereof i will rebuild. and i will set it up: : . that the residue of men may seek after the lord, and all nations upon whom my name is invoked, saith the lord, who doth these things. : . to the lord was his own work known from the beginning of the world. : . for which cause, judge that they who from among the gentiles are converted to god are not to be disquieted: : . but that we write unto them, that they refrain themselves from the pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. : . for moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him in the synagogues, where he is read every sabbath. : . then it pleased the apostles and ancients, with the whole church, to choose men of their own company and to send to antioch with paul and barnabas, namely, judas, who was surnamed barsabas, and silas, chief men among the brethren. : . writing by their hands: the apostles and ancients, brethren, to the brethren of the gentiles that are at antioch and in syria and cilicia, greeting. : . forasmuch as we have heard that some going out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, to whom we gave no commandment: : . it hath seemed good to us, being assembled together, to choose out men and to send them unto you, with our well beloved barnabas and paul: : . men that have given their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. : . we have sent therefore judas and silas, who themselves also will, by word of mouth, tell you the same things. : . for it hath seemed good to the holy ghost and to us to lay no further burden upon you than these necessary things: : . that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication: from which things keeping yourselves, you shall do well. fare ye well. from blood, and from things strangled. . .the use of these things, though of their own nature indifferent, was here prohibited, to bring the jews more easily to admit of the society of the gentiles; and to exercise the latter in obedience. but this prohibition was but temporary, and has long since ceased to oblige; more especially in the western churches. : . they therefore, being dismissed, went down to antioch and, gathering together the multitude, delivered the epistle. : . which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. : . but judas and silas, being prophets also themselves, with many words comforted the brethren and confirmed them. : . and after they had spent some time there, they were let go with peace by the brethren unto them that had sent them. : . but it seemed good unto silas to remain there: and judas alone departed to jerusalem. : . and paul and barnabas continued at antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others, the word of the lord. : . and after some days, paul said to barnabas: let us return and visit our brethren in all the cities wherein we have preached the word of the lord, to see how they do. : . and barnabas would have taken with them john also, that was surnamed mark. : . but paul desired that he (as having departed from them out of pamphylia and not gone with them to the work) might not be received. : . and there arose a dissension so that they departed one from another. and barnabas indeed, taking mark, sailed to cyprus. : . but paul, choosing silas, departed, being delivered by the brethren to the grace of god. : . and he went through syria and cilicia, confirming the churches, commanding them to keep the precepts of the apostles and the ancients. acts chapter paul visits the churches. he is called to preach in macedonia. he is scourged at philippi. : . and he came to derbe and lystra. and behold, there was a certain disciple there named timothy, the son of a jewish woman that believed: but his father was a gentile. : . to this man the brethren that were in lystra and iconium gave a good testimony. : . him paul would have to go along with him: and taking him, he circumcised him, because of the jews who were in those places. for they all knew that his father was a gentile. : . and as they passed through the cities, they delivered unto them the decrees for to keep, that were decreed by the apostles and ancients who were at jerusalem. : . and the churches were confirmed in faith and increased in number daily. : . and when they had passed through phrygia and the country of galatia, they were forbidden by the holy ghost to preach the word in asia. : . and when they were come into mysia, they attempted to go into bithynia: and the spirit of jesus suffered them not. : . and when they had passed through mysia, they went down to troas. : . and a vision was shewed to paul in the night, which was a man of macedonia standing and beseeching him and saying: pass over into macedonia and help us. : . and as soon as he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into macedonia: being assured that god had called us to preach the gospel to them. : . and sailing from troas, we came with a straight course to samothracia, and the day following to neapolis. : . and from thence to philippi, which is the chief city of part of macedonia, a colony. and we were in this city some days conferring together. : . and upon the sabbath day, we went forth without the gate by a river side, where it seemed that there was prayer: and sitting down, we spoke to the women that were assembled. : . and a certain woman named lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of thyatira, one that worshipped god, did hear: whose heart the lord opened to attend to those things which were said by paul. : . and when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying: if you have judged me to be faithful to the lord, come into my house and abide there. and she constrained us. : . and it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain girl having a pythonical spirit met us, who brought to her masters much gain by divining. a pythonical spirit. . .that is, a spirit pretending to divine, and tell fortunes. : . this same following paul and us, cried out, saying: these men are the servants of the most high god, who preach unto you the way of salvation. : . and this she did many days. but paul being grieved, turned and said to the spirit: i command thee, in the name of jesus christ, to go from her. and he went out the same hour. : . but her masters, seeing that the hope of their gain was gone, apprehending paul and silas, brought them into the market place to the rulers. : . and presenting them to the magistrates, they said: these men disturb our city, being jews: : . and preach a fashion which it is not lawful for us to receive nor observe, being romans. : . and the people ran together against them: and the magistrates, rending off their clothes, commanded them to be beaten with rods. : . and when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the gaoler to keep them diligently. : . who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. : . and at midnight, paul and silas, praying, praised god. and they that were in prison heard them. : . and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. and immediately all the doors were opened and the bands of all were loosed. : . and the keeper of the prison, awakening out of his sleep and seeing the doors of the prison open, drawing his sword, would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. : . but paul cried with a loud voice, saying: do thyself no harm, for we all are here. : . then calling for a light, he went in: and trembling, fell down at the feet of paul and silas. : . and bringing them out, he said: masters, what must i do, that i may be saved? : . but they said: believe in the lord jesus: and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. : . and they preached the word of the lord to him and to all that were in his house. : . and he, taking them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes: and himself was baptized, and all his house immediately. : . and when he had brought them into his own house, he laid the table for them: and rejoiced with all his house, believing god. : . and when the day was come, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying: let those men go. : . and the keeper of the prison told these words to paul: the magistrates have sent to let you go. now therefore depart. and go in peace. : . but paul said to them: they have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are romans, and have cast us into prison. and now do they thrust us out privately? not so: but let them come. : . and let us out themselves. and the serjeants told these words to the magistrates. and they were afraid: hearing that they were romans. : . and coming, they besought them: and bringing them out, they desired them to depart out of the city. : . and they went out of the prison and entered into the house of lydia: and having seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed. acts chapter paul preaches to the thessalonians and bereans. his discourse to the athenians. : . and when they had passed through amphipolis and apollonia, they came to thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the jews. : . and paul, according to his custom, went in unto them. and for three sabbath days he reasoned with them out of the scriptures: : . declaring and insinuating that the christ was to suffer and to rise again from the dead; and that this is jesus christ, whom i preach to you. : . and some of them believed and were associated to paul and silas: and of those that served god and of the gentiles a great multitude: and of noble women not a few. : . but the jews, moved with envy and taking unto them some wicked men of the vulgar sort and making a tumult, set the city in an uproar: and besetting jason's house, sought to bring them out unto the people. : . and not finding them, they drew jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying: they that set the city in an uproar are come hither also: city. urbem. . .in the greek, the world. : . whom jason hath received. and these all do contrary to the decrees of caesar, saying that there is another king, jesus. : . and they stirred up the people: and the rulers of the city, hearing these things, : . and having taken satisfaction of jason and of the rest, they let them go. : . but the brethren immediately sent away paul and silas by night unto berea. who, when they were come thither, went into the synagogue of the jews. : . now these were more noble than those in thessalonica, who received the word with all eagerness, daily searching the scriptures, whether these things were so. more noble. . .the jews of berea are justly commended, for their eagerly embracing the truth, and searching the scriptures, to find out the texts alleged by the apostle: which was a far more generous proceeding than that of their countrymen at thessalonica, who persecuted the preachers of the gospel, without examining the grounds they alleged for what they taught. : . and many indeed of them believed: and of honourable women that were gentiles and of men, not a few. : . and when the jews of thessalonica had knowledge that the word of god was also preached by paul at berea, they came thither also, stirring up and troubling the multitude. : . and then immediately the brethren sent away paul, to go unto the sea: but silas and timothy remained there. : . and they that conducted paul brought him as far as athens: and receiving a commandment from him to silas and timothy, that they should come to him with all speed, they departed. : . now whilst paul waited for them at athens, his spirit was stirred within him, seeing the city wholly given to idolatry. : . he disputed, therefore, in the synagogue with the jews and with them that served god: and in the market place, every day, with them that were there. : . and certain philosophers of the epicureans and of the stoics disputed with him. and some said: what is it that this word sower would say? but others: he seemeth to be a setter forth of new gods. because he preached to them jesus and the resurrection. : . and taking him, they brought him to the areopagus, saying: may we know what this new doctrine is, which thou speakest of? : . for thou bringest in certain new things to our ears. we would know therefore what these things mean. : . (now all the athenians and strangers that were there employed themselves in nothing else, but either in telling or in hearing some new thing.) : . but paul, standing in the midst of the areopagus, said: ye men of athens, i perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. : . for passing by and seeing your idols, i found an altar also, on which was written: to the unknown god. what therefore you worship without knowing it, that i preach to you: : . god, who made the world and all things therein, he being lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. dwelleth not in temples. . .god is not contained in temples; so as to need them for his dwelling, or any other uses, as the heathens imagined. yet by his omnipresence, he is both there and everywhere. : . neither is he served with men's hands, as though he needed any thing: seeing it is he who giveth to all life and breath and all things: : . and hath made of one, all mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, determining appointed times and the limits of their habitation. : . that they should seek god, if haply they may feel after him or find him, although he be not far from every one of us. : . for in him we live and move and are: as some also of your own poets said: for we are also his offspring. : . being therefore the offspring of god, we must not suppose the divinity to be like unto gold or silver or stone, the graving of art and device of man. : . and god indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men that all should every where do penance. : . because he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in equity, by the man whom he hath appointed: giving faith to all, by raising him up from the dead. : . and when they had heard of the resurrection of the dead, some indeed mocked. but others said: we will hear thee again concerning this matter. : . so paul went out from among them. : . but certain men, adhering to him, did believe: among whom was also dionysius the areopagite and a woman named damaris and others with them. acts chapter paul founds the church of corinth and preaches at ephesus and in other places. apollo goes to corinth. : . after these things, departing from athens, he came to corinth. : . and finding a certain jew, named aquila, born in pontus, lately come from italy, with priscilla his wife (because that claudius had commanded all jews to depart from rome), he came to them. : . and because he was of the same trade, he remained with them and wrought. (now they were tentmakers by trade.) : . and he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, bringing in the name of the lord jesus. and he persuaded the jews and the greeks. : . and when silas and timothy were come from macedonia, paul was earnest in preaching, testifying to the jews that jesus is the christ. : . but they gainsaying and blaspheming, he shook his garments and said to them: your blood be upon your own heads: i am clean. from henceforth i will go unto the gentiles. : . and departing thence, he entered into the house of a certain man, named titus justus, one that worshipped god, whose house was adjoining to the synagogue. : . and crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the lord, with all his house. and many of the corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized. : . and the lord said to paul in the night, by a vision: do not fear, but speak. and hold not thy peace, : . because i am with thee and no man shall set upon thee, to hurt thee. for i have much people in this city. : . and he stayed there a year and six months, teaching among them the word of god. : . but when gallio was proconsul of achaia, the jews with one accord rose up against paul and brought him to the judgment seat, : . saying: this man persuadeth men to worship god contrary to the law. : . and when paul was beginning to open his mouth, gallio said to the jews: if it were some matter of injustice or an heinous deed, o jews, i should with reason bear with you. : . but if they be questions of word and names and of your law, look you to it. i will not be judge of such things. : . and he drove them from the judgment seat. : . and all laying hold on sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, beat him before the judgment seat. and gallio cared for none of those things. : . but paul, when he had stayed yet many days, taking his leave of the brethren, sailed thence into syria (and with him priscilla and aquila), having shorn his head in cenchrae. for he had a vow. : . and he came to ephesus and left them there. but he himself, entering into the synagogue, disputed with the jews. : . and when they desired him that he would tarry a longer time, he consented not: : . but taking his leave and saying: i will return to you again, god willing, he departed from ephesus. : . and going down to caesarea, he went up to jerusalem and saluted the church: and so came down to antioch. : . and after he had spent some time there, he departed and went through the country of galatia and phrygia, in order, confirming all the disciples. : . now a certain jew, named apollo, born at alexandria, an eloquent man, came to ephesus, one mighty in the scriptures. : . this man was instructed in the way of the lord: and being fervent in spirit, spoke and taught diligently the things that are of jesus, knowing only the baptism of john. : . this man therefore began to speak boldly in the synagogue. whom when priscilla and aquila had heard, they took him to them and expounded to him the way of the lord more diligently. : . and whereas he was desirous to go to achaia, the brethren exhorting wrote to the disciples to receive him. who, when he was come, helped them much who had believed. : . for with much vigour he convinced the jews openly, shewing by the scriptures that jesus is the christ. acts chapter paul establishes the church at ephesus. the tumult of the silversmiths. : . and it came to pass, while apollo was at corinth, that paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to ephesus and found certain disciples. : . and he said to them: have you received the holy ghost since ye believed? but they said to him: we have not so much as heard whether there be a holy ghost. : . and he said: in what then were you baptized? who said: in john's baptism. : . then paul said: john baptized the people with the baptism of penance saying: that they should believe in him, who was to come after him, that is to say, in jesus. : . having heard these things, they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus. : . and when paul had imposed his hands on them, the holy ghost came upon them: and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. : . and all the men were about twelve. : . and entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and exhorting concerning the kingdom of god. : . but when some were hardened and believed not, speaking evil of the way of the lord before the multitude, departing from them, he separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one tyrannus. : . and this continued for the space of two years, so that all who dwelt in asia heard the word of the lord, both jews and gentiles. : . and god wrought by the hand of paul more than common miracles. : . so that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons: and the diseases departed from them: and the wicked spirits went out of them. : . now some also of the jewish exorcists, who went about, attempted to invoke over them that had evil spirits the name of the lord jesus, saying: i conjure you by jesus, whom paul preacheth. : . and there were certain men, seven sons of sceva, a jew, a chief priest, that did this. : . but the wicked spirit, answering, said to them: jesus i know: and paul i know. but who are you? : . and the man in whom the wicked spirit was, leaping upon them and mastering them both, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. : . and this became known to all the jews and the gentiles that dwelt a ephesus. and fear fell on them all: and the name of the lord jesus was magnified. : . and many of them that believed came, confessing and declaring their deeds : . and many of them who had followed curious arts brought together their books and burnt them before all. and, counting the price of them, they found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. : . so mightily grew the word of god and was confirmed. : . and when these things were ended, paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying: after i have been there, i must see rome also. : . and sending into macedonia two of them that ministered to him, timothy and erastus, he himself remained for a time in asia. : . now at that time there arose no small disturbance about the way of the lord. : . for a certain man named demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver temples for diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen. : . whom he calling together with the workmen of like occupation, said: sirs, you know that our gain is by this trade. : . and you see and hear that this paul, by persuasion hath drawn away a great multitude, not only of ephesus, but almost of all asia, saying: they are not gods which are made by hands. : . so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also the temple of great diana shall be reputed for nothing! yea, and her majesty shall begin to be destroyed, whom all asia and the world worshippeth. : . having heard these things, they were full of anger and cried out, saying: great is diana of the ephesians! : . and the whole city was filled with confusion. and having caught gaius and aristarchus, men of macedonia, paul's companions, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. : . and when paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. : . and some also of the rulers of asia, who were his friends, sent unto him, desiring that he would not venture himself into the theatre. : . now some cried one thing, some another. for the assembly was confused: and the greater part knew not for what cause they were come together. : . and they drew forth alexander out of the multitude, the jews thrusting him forward. and alexander, beckoning with his hand for silence, would have given the people satisfaction, : . but as soon as they perceived him to be a jew, all with one voice, for the space of about two, hours, cried out: great is diana of the ephesians! : . and when the town clerk had appeased the multitudes, he said: ye men of ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the ephesians is a worshipper of the great diana and of jupiter's offspring? : . for as much therefore as these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly. : . for you have brought hither these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege nor of blasphemy against your goddess. : . but if demetrius and the craftsmen that are with him have a matter against any man, the courts of justice are open: and there are proconsuls. let them accuse one another. : . and if you inquire after any other matter, it may be decided in a lawful assembly. : . for we are even in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no man guilty (of whom we may give account) of this concourse. and when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. acts chapter paul passes through macedonia and greece. he raises a dead man to life at troas. his discourse to the clergy of ephesus. : . and after the tumult was ceased, paul calling to him the disciples and exhorting them, took his leave and set forward to go into macedonia. : . and when he had gone over those parts and had exhorted them with many words, he came into greece: : . where, when he had spent three months, the jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into syria. so he took a resolution to return through macedonia. : . and there accompanied him sopater, the son of pyrrhus, of berea: and of the thessalonians, aristarchus and secundus: and gaius of derbe and timothy: and of asia, tychicus and trophimus. : . these, going before, stayed for us at troas. : . but we sailed from philippi after the days of the azymes and came to them to troas in five days, where we abode seven days. : . and on the first day of the week, when we were assembled to break bread, paul discoursed with them, being to depart on the morrow. and he continued his speech until midnight. and on the first day of the week. . .here st. chrysostom and many other interpreters of the scripture explain, that the christians even at this time, must have changed the sabbath into the first day of the week, (the lord's day,) as all christians now keep it. this change was undoubtedly made by the authority of the church; hence the exercise of the power, which christ had given to her: for he is lord of the sabbath. : . and there were a great number of lamps in the upper chamber where we were assembled. : . and a certain young man named eutychus, sitting on the window, being oppressed with a deep sleep (as paul was long preaching), by occasion of his sleep fell from the third loft down and was taken up dead. : . to whom, when paul had gone down, he laid himself upon him and, embracing him, said: be not troubled, for his soul is in him. : . then going up and breaking bread and tasting and having talked a long time to them, until daylight, so he departed. : . and they brought the youth alive and were not a little comforted. : . but we going aboard the ship, sailed to assos, being there to take in paul. for so he had appointed, himself purposing to travel by land. : . and when he had met with us at assos, we took him in and came to mitylene. : . and sailing thence, the day following we came over against chios: and the next day we arrived at samos: and the day following we came to miletus. : . for paul had determined to sail by ephesus, lest he should be stayed any time in asia. for he hasted. if it were possible for him, to keep the day of pentecost at jerusalem. : . and sending from miletus to ephesus, he called the ancients of the church. : . and when they were come to him and were together, he said to them: you know from the first day that i came into asia, in what manner i have been with you, for all the time. : . serving the lord with all humility and with tears and temptations which befell me by the conspiracies of the jews: : . how i have kept back nothing that was profitable to you, but have preached it to you, and taught you publicly, and from house to house, : . testifying both to jews and gentiles penance towards god and faith in our lord jesus christ. : . and now, behold, being bound in the spirit, i go to jerusalem: not knowing the things which shall befall me there: : . save that the holy ghost in every city witnesseth to me, saying: that bands and afflictions wait for me at jerusalem. : . but i fear none of these things, neither do i count my life more precious than myself, so that i may consummate my course and the ministry of the word which i received from the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god. : . and now behold, i know that all you, among whom i have gone preaching the kingdom of god, shall see my face no more. : . wherefore i take you to witness this day that i am clear from the blood of all men. : . for i have not spread to declare unto you all, the counsel of god. : . take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein the holy ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of god which he hath purchased with his own blood. : . i know that after my departure ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. : . and of your own selves shall arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. : . therefore watch, keeping in memory that for three years i ceased not with tears to admonish every one of you, night and day. : . and now i commend you to god and to the word of his grace, who is able to build up and to give an inheritance among all the sanctified. : . i have not coveted any man's silver, gold or apparel, as : . you yourselves know. for such things as were needful for me and them that are with me, these hands have furnished. : . i have shewed you all things, how that so labouring you ought to support the weak and to remember the word of the lord jesus, how he said: it is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive. : . and when he had said these things, kneeling down, he prayed with them all. : . and there was much weeping among them all. and falling on the neck of paul, they kissed him, : . being grieved most of all for the word which he had said, that they should see his face no more. and they brought him on his way to the ship. acts chapter paul goes up to jerusalem. he is apprehended by the jews in the temple. : . and when it came to pass that, being parted from them, we set sail, we came with a straight course to coos, and the day following to rhodes: and from thence to patara. : . and when we had found a ship sailing over to phenice, we went aboard and set forth. : . and when we had discovered cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed into syria, and came to tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. : . and finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to paul, through the spirit, that he should not go up to jerusalem. : . and the days being expired, departing we went forward, they all bringing us on our way, with their wives and children, till we were out of the city. and we kneeled down on the shore: and we prayed. : . and when we had bid one another farewell, we took ship. and they returned home. : . but we, having finished the voyage by sea, from tyre came down to ptolemais: and saluting the brethren, we abode one day with them. : . and the next day departing, we came to caesarea. and entering into the house of philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. the evangelist. . .that is, the preacher of the gospel; the same that before converted the samaritans, and baptized the eunuch, chap. ., being one of the first seven deacons. : . and he had four daughters, virgins, who did prophesy. : . and as we tarried there for some days, there came from judea a certain prophet, named agabus. : . who, when he was come to us, took paul's girdle: and binding his own feet and hands, he said: thus saith the holy ghost: the man whose girdle this is, the jews shall bind in this manner in jerusalem and shall deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. : . which when we had heard, both we and they that were of that place desired him that he would not go up to jerusalem. : . then paul answered and said: what do you mean, weeping and afflicting my heart? for i am ready not only to be bound, but to die also in jerusalem, for the name of the lord jesus. : . and when we could not persuade him, we ceased, saying: the will of the lord be done. : . and after those days, being prepared, we went up to jerusalem. : . and there went also with us some of the disciples from caesarea, bringing with them one mnason a cyprian, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. : . and when we were come to jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. : . and the day following, paul went in with us unto james: and all the ancients were assembled. : . whom when he had saluted, he related particularly what things god had wrought among the gentiles by his ministry. : . but they hearing it, glorified god and said to him: thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the jews that have believed: and they are all zealous for the law. : . now they have heard of thee that thou teachest those jews, who are among the gentiles to depart from moses: saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor walk according to the custom. : . what is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. : . do therefore this that we say to thee. we have four men, who have a vow on them. : . take these and sanctify thyself with them: and bestow on them, that they may shave their heads. and all will know that the things which they have heard of these are false: but that thou thyself also walkest keeping the law. keeping the law. . .the law, though now no longer obligatory, was for a time observed by the christian jews: to bury, as it were, the synagogue with honour. : . but, as touching the gentiles that believe, we have written, decreeing that they should only refrain themselves from that which has been offered to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. : . then paul took the men and, the next day being purified with them, entered into the temple, giving notice of the accomplishment of the days of purification, until an oblation should be offered for every one of them. : . but when the seven days were drawing to an end, those jews that were of asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands upon him, crying out: : . men of israel, help: this is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people and the law and this place; and moreover hath brought in gentiles into the temple and hath violated this holy place. : . (for they had seen trophimus the ephesian in the city with him. whom they supposed that paul had brought into the temple.) : . and he whole city was in an uproar: and the people ran together. and taking paul, they drew him out of the temple: and immediately the doors were shut. : . and as they went about to kill him, it was told the tribune of the band that all jerusalem was in confusion. : . who, forthwith taking with him soldiers and centurions, ran down to them. and when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they left off beating paul. : . then the tribune, coming near, took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains: and demanded who he was and what he had done. : . and some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude. and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. : . and when he was come to the stairs, it fell out that he was carried by the soldiers, because of the violence of the people. : . for the multitude of the people followed after, crying: away with him! : . and as paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith to the tribune: may i speak something to thee? who said: canst thou speak greek? : . art not thou that egyptian who before these days didst raise a tumult and didst lead forth into the desert four thousand men that were murderers? : . but paul said to him: i am a jew of tarsus in cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. and i beseech thee, suffer me to speak to the people. : . and when he had given him leave, paul standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. and a great silence being made, he spoke unto them in the hebrew tongue, saying: acts chapter paul declares to the people the history of his conversion. he escapes scourging by claiming the privilege of a roman citizen. : . men, brethren and fathers, hear ye the account which i now give unto you. : . (and when they heard that he spoke to them in the hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence.) : . and he saith: i am a jew, born at tarsus in cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, as also all you are this day: : . who persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, : . as the high priest doth bear me witness and all the ancients. from whom also receiving letters to the brethren, i went to damascus, that i might bring them bound from thence to jerusalem to be punished. : . and it came to pass, as i was going and drawing nigh to damascus, at mid-day, that suddenly from heaven there shone round about me a great light: : . and falling on the ground, i heard a voice saying to me: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? : . and i answered: who art thou, lord? and he said to me: i am jesus of nazareth, whom thou persecutest. : . and they that were with me saw indeed the light: but they heard not the voice of him that spoke with me. heard not the voice. . .that is, they distinguished not the words; though they heard the voice. acts . . : . and i said: what shall i do, lord? and the lord said to me: arise and go to damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things that thou must do. : . and whereas i did not see for the brightness of that light, being led by the hand by my companions, i came to damascus, : . and one ananias, a man according to the law, having testimony of all the jews who dwelt there, : . coming to me and standing by me, said to me: brother saul, look up. and i, the same hour, looked upon him. : . but he said: the god of our fathers hath preordained thee that thou shouldst know his will and see the just one and shouldst hear the voice from his mouth. just one. . .our saviour, who appeared to st. paul, acts . . : . for thou shalt be his witness to all men of those things which thou hast seen and heard. : . and now why tarriest thou? rise up and be baptized and wash away thy sins, invoking his name. : . and it came to pass, when i was come again to jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that i was in a trance, : . and saw him saying unto me: make haste and get thee quickly out of jerusalem: because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. : . and i said: lord, they know that i cast into prison and beat in every synagogue them that believed in thee. : . and when the blood of stephen thy witness was shed, i stood by and consented: and kept the garments of them that killed him. : . and he said to me: go, for unto the gentiles afar off will i send thee. : . and they heard him until this word and then lifted up their voice, saying: away with such an one from the earth. for it is not fit that he should live. : . and as they cried out and threw off their garments and cast dust into the air, : . the tribune commanded him to be brought into the castle, and that he should be scourged and tortured: to know for what cause they did so cry out against him. : . and when they had bound him with thongs, paul saith to the centurion that stood by him: is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a roman and uncondemned? : . which the centurion hearing, went to the tribune and told him, saying: what art thou about to do? for this man is a roman citizen. : . and the tribune coming, said to him: tell me. art thou a roman? but he said: yea. : . and the tribune answered: i obtained the being free of this city with a great sum. and paul said: but i was born so. : . immediately therefore they departed from him that were about to torture him. the tribune also was afraid after he understood that he was a roman citizen and because he had bound him. : . but on the next day, meaning to know more diligently for what cause he was accused by the jews, he loosed him and commanded the priests to come together and all the council: and, bringing forth paul, he set him before them. acts chapter paul stands before the council. the jews conspire his death. he is sent away to cesarea. : . and paul, looking upon the council, said: men, brethren, i have conversed with all good conscience before god until this present day. : . and the high priest, ananias, commanded them that stood by him to strike him on the mouth. : . then paul said to him: god shall strike thee, thou whited wall. for, sittest thou to judge me according to the law and, contrary to the law, commandest me to be struck? : . and they that stood by said: dost thou revile the high priest of god? : . and paul said: i knew not, brethren, that he is the high priest. for it is written: thou shalt not speak evil of the prince of thy people. : . and paul, knowing that the one part were sadducees and the other pharisees, cried out in the council: men, brethren, i am a pharisee, the son of pharisees: concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead i am called in question. : . and when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the pharisees and the sadducees. and the multitude was divided. : . for the sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the pharisees confess both. : . and there arose a great cry. and some of the pharisees rising up, strove, saying: we find no evil in this man. what if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel? : . and when there arose a great dissension, the tribune, fearing lest paul should be pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and to bring him into the castle. : . and the night following, the lord standing by him, said: be constant: for as thou hast testified of me in jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at rome. : . and when day was come, some of the jews gathered together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they killed paul. : . and they were more than forty men that had made this conspiracy. : . who came to the chief priests and the ancients and said: we have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will eat nothing till we have slain paul. : . now therefore do you with the council signify to the tribune, that he bring him forth to you, as if you meant to know something more certain touching him. and we, before he come near, are ready to kill him. : . which when paul's sister's son had heard, of their lying in wait, he came and entered into the castle and told paul. : . and paul, calling to him one of the centurions, said: bring this young man to the tribune: for he hath some thing to tell him. : . and he, taking him, brought him to the tribune and said: paul, the prisoner, desired me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath some thing to say to thee. : . and the tribune, taking him by the hand, went aside with him privately and asked him: what is it that thou hast to tell me? : . and he said: the jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldst bring forth paul to-morrow into the council, as if they meant to inquire some thing more certain touching him. : . but do not thou give credit to them: for there lie in wait for him more than forty men of them, who have bound themselves by oath neither to eat nor to drink, till they have killed him. and they are now ready, looking for a promise from thee. : . the tribune therefore dismissed the young man, charging him that he should tell no man that he had made known these things unto him. : . then having called two centurions, he said to them: make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as caesarea: and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, for the third hour of the night. : . and provide beasts, that they may set paul on and bring him safe to felix the governor. : . (for he feared lest perhaps the jews might take him away by force and kill him: and he should afterwards be slandered, as if he was to take money.) and he wrote a letter after this manner: : . claudius lysias to the most excellent governor, felix, greeting: : . this man, being taken by the jews and ready to be killed by them, i rescued, coming in with an army, understanding that he is a roman. : . and meaning to know the cause which they objected unto him, i brought him forth into their council. : . whom i found to be accused concerning questions of their law; but having nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bands. : . and when i was told of ambushes that they had prepared for him, i sent him to thee, signifying also to his accusers to plead before thee. farewell. : . then the soldiers, according as it was commanded them, taking paul, brought him by night to antipatris. : . and the next day, leaving the horsemen to go with him, they returned to the castle. : . who, when they were come to caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, did also present paul before him. : . and when he had read it and had asked of what province he was and understood that he was of cilicia: : . i will hear thee, said he, when thy accusers come. and he commanded him to be kept in herod's judgment hall. acts chapter paul defends his innocence before felix the governor. he preaches the faith to him. : . and after five days, the high priest, ananias, came down with some ancients and one tertullus, an orator, who went to the governor against paul. : . and paul being called for, tertullus began to accuse him, saying: whereas, through thee we live in much peace and many things are rectified by thy providence, : . we accept it always and in all places, most excellent felix, with all thanksgiving. : . but that i be no further tedious to thee, i desire thee of thy clemency to hear us in a few words. : . we have found this to be a pestilent man and raising seditions among all the jews throughout the world: and author of the sedition of the sect of the nazarenes. : . who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom, we having apprehended, would also have judged according to our law. : . but lysias the tribune, coming upon us with great violence, took him away out of our hands; : . commanding his accusers to come to thee. of whom thou mayest thyself, by examination, have knowledge of all these things whereof we accuse him. : . and the jews also added and said that these things were so. : . then paul answered (the governor making a sign to him to speak): knowing that for many years thou hast been judge over this nation, i will with good courage answer for myself. : . for thou mayest understand that there are yet but twelve days since i went up to adore in jerusalem: : . and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any man or causing any concourse of the people: neither in the synagogues, nor in the city. : . neither can they prove unto thee the things whereof they now accuse me. : . but this i confess to thee that according to the way which they call a heresy, so do i serve the father and my god, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets: : . having hope in god, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection of the just and unjust. : . and herein do i endeavour to have always a conscience without offence, towards god and towards men. : . now after many years, i came to bring alms to my nation and offerings and vows. : . in which i was found purified in the temple: neither with multitude nor with tumult. : . but certain jews of asia, who ought to be present before thee and to accuse, if they had anything against me: : . or let these men themselves say if they found in me any iniquity, when standing before the council, : . except it be for this one voice only that i cried, standing among them: concerning the resurrection of the dead am i judged this day by you. : . and felix put them off, having most certain knowledge of this way, saying: when lysias the tribune shall come down, i will hear you. : . and he commanded a centurion to keep him: and that he should be easy and that he should not prohibit any of his friends to minister unto him. : . and after some days, felix, coming with drusilla his wife, who was a jew, sent for paul and heard of him the faith that is in christ jesus. : . and as he treated of justice and chastity and of the judgment to come, felix, being terrified, answered: for this time, go thy way: but when i have a convenient time, i will send for thee. : . hoping also withal that money should be given him by paul: for which cause also oftentimes sending for him, he spoke with him. : . but when two years were ended, felix had for successor portius festus. and felix being willing to shew the jews a pleasure, left paul bound. acts chapter paul appeals to caesar. king agrippa desires to hear him. : . now when festus was come into the province, after three days, he went up to jerusalem from cesarea. : . and the chief priests and principal men of the jews went unto him against paul: and they besought him, : . requesting favour against him, that he would command him to be brought to jerusalem, laying wait to kill him in the way. : . but festus answered: that paul was kept in caesarea: and that he himself would very shortly depart thither. : . let them, therefore, saith he, among you that are able, go down with me and accuse him, if there be any crime in the man. : . and having tarried among them no more than eight or ten days, he went down to caesarea. and the next day, he sat in the judgment seat and commanded paul to be brought. : . who being brought, the jews stood about him, who were come down from jerusalem, objecting many and grievious causes, which they could not prove: : . paul making answer for himself: neither against the law of the jews, nor against the temple, nor against caesar, have i offended in any thing. : . but festus, willing to shew the jews a pleasure, answering paul, said: wilt thou go up to jerusalem and there be judged of these things before me? : . then paul said: i stand at caesar's judgment seat, where i ought to be judged. to the jews i have done no injury, as thou very well knowest. : . for if i have injured them or have committed any thing worthy of death, i refuse not to die. but if there be none of these things whereof they accuse me, no man may deliver me to them. i appeal to caesar. : . then festus, having conferred with the council, answered: hast thou appealed to caesar? to caesar shalt thou go. : . and after some days, king agrippa and bernice came down to caesarea, to salute festus. : . and as they tarried there many days, festus told the king of paul, saying: a certain man was left prisoner by felix. : . about whom, when i was at jerusalem, the chief priests and the ancients of the jews came unto me, desiring condemnation against him. : . to whom i answered: it is not the custom of the romans to condemn any man, before that he who is accused have his accusers present and have liberty to make his answer, to clear himself of the things laid to his charge. : . when therefore they were come hither, without any delay, on the day following, sitting in the judgment seat, i commanded the man to be brought. : . against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of this which i thought ill of: : . but had certain questions of their own superstition against him, and of one jesus deceased, whom paul affirmed to be alive. : . i therefore being in a doubt of this manner of question, asked him whether he would go to jerusalem and there be judged of these things. : . but paul, appealing to be reserved unto the hearing of augustus, i commanded him to be kept, till i might send him to caesar. : . and agrippa said to festus: i would also hear the man, myself. to-morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. : . and on the next day, when agrippa and bernice were come with great pomp and had entered into the hall of audience with the tribunes and principal men of the city, at festus' commandment, paul was brought forth. : . and festus saith: king agrippa and all ye men who are here present with us, you see this man, about whom all the multitude of the jews dealt with me at jerusalem, requesting and crying out that he ought not to live any longer. : . yet have i found nothing that he hath committed worthy of death. but forasmuch as he himself hath appealed to augustus, i have determined to send him. : . of whom i have nothing certain to write to my lord. for which cause, i have brought him forth before you, and especially before thee, o king agrippa, that, examination being made, i may have what to write. : . for it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to signify the things laid to his charge. acts chapter paul gives an account to agrippa of his life, conversion and calling. : . then agrippa said to paul: thou art permitted to speak for thyself. then paul, stretching forth his hand, began to make his answer. : . i think myself happy, o king agrippa, that i am to answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things whereof i am accused by the jews. : . especially as thou knowest all, both customs and questions, that are among the jews. wherefore i beseech thee to hear me patiently. : . and my life indeed from my youth, which was from the beginning among my own nation in jerusalem, all the jews do know: : . having known me from the beginning (if they will give testimony) that according to the most sure sect of our religion i lived, a pharisee. : . and now for the hope of the promise that was made by god to the fathers, do i stand subject to judgment: : . unto which, our twelve tribes, serving night and day, hope to come. for which hope, o king, i am accused by the jews. : . why should it be thought a thing incredible that god should raise the dead? : . and i indeed did formerly think that i ought to do many things contrary to the name of jesus of nazareth. : . which also i did at jerusalem: and many of the saints did i shut up in prison, having received authority of the chief priests. and when they were put to death, i brought the sentence. : . and oftentimes punishing them, in every synagogue, i compelled them to blaspheme: and being yet more mad against them, i persecuted them even unto foreign cities. : . whereupon, when i was going to damascus with authority and permission of the chief priest, : . at midday, o king, i saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that were in company with me. : . and when we were all fallen down on the ground, i heard a voice speaking to me in the hebrew tongue: saul, saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the good. : . and i said: who art thou, lord? and the lord answered: i am jesus whom thou persecutest. : . but rise up and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have i appeared to thee, that i may make thee a minister and a witness of those things which thou hast seen and of those things wherein i will appear to thee, : . delivering thee from the people and from the nations unto which now i send thee: : . to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light and from the power of satan to god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a lot among the saints, by the faith that is in me. : . whereupon, o king agrippa, i was not incredulous to the heavenly vision. : . but to them first that are at damascus and at jerusalem, and unto all the country of judea, and to the gentiles did i preach, that they should do penance and turn to god, doing works worthy of penance. : . for this cause, the jews, when i was in the temple, having apprehended me, went about to kill me. : . but being aided by the help of god, i stand unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other thing than those which the prophets and moses did say should come to pass: : . that christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should shew light to the people and to the gentiles. : . as he spoke these things and made his answer, festus said with a loud voice: paul, thou art beside thyself: much learning doth make thee mad. : . and paul said: i am not mad, most excellent festus, but i speak words of truth and soberness. : . for the king knoweth of these things, to whom also i speak with confidence. for i am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him. for neither was any of these things done in a corner. : . believest thou the prophets, o king agrippa? i know that thou believest. : . and agrippa said to paul: in a little thou persuadest me to become a christian. : . and paul said: i would to god that both in a little and in much, not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, should become such as i also am, except these bands. : . and the king rose up, and the governor and bernice and they that sat with them. : . and when they were gone aside, they spoke among themselves, saying: this man hath done nothing worthy of death or of bands. : . and agrippa said to festus: this man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed to caesar. acts chapter paul is shipped for rome. his voyage and shipwreck. : . and when it was determined that he should sail into italy and that paul, with the other prisoners, should be delivered to a centurion, named julius, of the band augusta, : . going on board a ship of adrumetum, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of asia, aristarchus, the macedonian of thessalonica, continuing with us. : . and the day following, we came to sidon. and julius, treating paul courteously, permitted him to go to his friends and to take care of himself. : . and when we had launched from thence, we sailed under cyprus, because the winds were contrary. : . and sailing over the sea of cilicia and pamphylia, we came to lystra, which is in lycia. : . and there, the centurion, finding a ship of alexandria sailing into italy, removed us into it. : . and when for many days we had sailed slowly and were scarce come over against gnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed near crete by salmone. : . and with much ado sailing by it, we came into a certain place, which is called good-havens, nigh to which was the city of thalassa. : . and when much time was spent and when sailing now was dangerous, because the fast was now past, paul comforted them, : . saying to them: ye men, i see that the voyage beginneth to be with injury and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. : . but the centurion believed the pilot and the master of the ship, more than those things which were said by paul. : . and whereas it was not a commodious haven to winter in, the greatest part gave counsel to sail thence, if by any means they might reach phenice, to winter there, which is a haven of crete, looking towards the southwest and northwest. : . and the south wind gently blowing, thinking that they had obtained their purpose, when they had loosed from asson, they sailed close by crete. : . but not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called euroaquilo. : . and when the ship was caught and could not bear up against the wind, giving up the ship to the winds, we were driven. : . and running under a certain island that is called cauda, we had much work to come by the boat. : . which being taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship: and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they let down the sail yard and so were driven. : . and we, being mightily tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. : . and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tacking of the ship. : . and when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small storms lay on us, all hope of our being saved was now taken away. : . and after they had fasted a long time, paul standing forth in the midst of them, said: you should indeed, o ye men, have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from crete and have gained this harm and loss. : . and now i exhort you to be of good cheer. for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but only of the ship. : . for an angel of god, whose i am and whom i serve, stood by me this night, : . saying: fear not, paul, thou must be brought before caesar; and behold, god hath given thee all them that sail with thee. : . wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for i believe god, that it shall so be, as it hath been told me. : . and we must come unto a certain island. : . but after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country. : . who also sounding, found twenty fathoms: and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms. : . then fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern: and wished for the day. : . but as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under colour, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship, : . paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers: except these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. : . then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. : . and when it began to be light, paul besought them all to take meat, saying: this day is the fourteenth day that you have waited and continued fasting, taking nothing. : . wherefore, i pray you to take some meat for your health's sake: for there shall not an hair of the head of any of you perish. : . and when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to god in the sight of them all. and when he had broken it, he began to eat. : . then were they all of better cheer: and they also took some meat. : . and we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. : . and when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea. : . and when it was day, they knew not the land. but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship. : . and when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands. and hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore. : . and when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground. and the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea. : . and the soldiers' counsel was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them, swimming out should escape. : . but the centurion, willing to save paul, forbade it to be done. and he commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and save themselves and get to land. : . and the rest, some they carried on boards and some on those things that belonged to the ship. and so it came to pass that every soul got safe to land. acts chapter paul, after three months' stay in melita, continues his voyage and arrives at rome. his conference there with the jews. : . and when we had escaped, then we knew that the island was called melita. but the barbarians shewed us no small courtesy. : . for kindling a fire, they refreshed us all, because of the present rain and of the cold. : . and when paul had gathered together a bundle of sticks and had laid them on the fire, a viper, coming out of the heat, fastened on his hand. : . and when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on his hand, they said one to another: undoubtedly this man is a murderer, who, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance doth not suffer him to live. : . and he indeed, shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered no harm. : . but they supposed that he would begin to swell up and that he would suddenly fall down and die. but expecting long and seeing that there came no harm to him, changing their minds, they said that he was a god. : . now in these places were possessions of the chief man of the island, named publius: who, receiving us for three days, entertained us courteously. : . and it happened that the father of publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux. to whom paul entered in. and when he had prayed and laid his hands on him, he healed him. : . which being done, all that had diseases in the island came and were healed. : . who also honoured us with many honours: and when we were to set sail, they laded us with such things as were necessary. : . and after three months, we sailed in a ship of alexandria, that had wintered in the island, whose sign was the castors. : . and when we were come to syracusa, we tarried there three days. : . from thence, compassing by the shore, we came to rhegium: and after one day, the south wind blowing, we came the second day to puteoli: : . where, finding brethren, we were desired to tarry with them seven days. and so we went to rome. : . and from thence, when the brethren had heard of us, they came to meet us as far as appii forum and the three taverns. whom when paul saw, he gave thanks to god and took courage. : . and when we were come to rome, paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him. : . and after the third day, he called together the chief of the jews. and when they were assembled, he said to them: men, brethren, i, having done nothing against the people or the custom of our fathers, was delivered prisoner from jerusalem into the hands of the romans. : . who, when they had examined me, would have released me, for that there was no cause of death in me. : . but the jews contradicting it, i was constrained to appeal unto caesar: not that i had anything to accuse my nation of. : . for this cause therefore i desired to see you and to speak to you. because that for the hope of israel, i am bound with this chain. : . but they said to him: we neither received letters concerning thee from judea: neither did any of the brethren that came hither relate or speak any evil of thee. : . but we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that it is every where contradicted. : . and when they had appointed him a day, there came very many to him unto his lodgings. to whom he expounded, testifying the kingdom of god and persuading them concerning jesus, out of the law of moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. : . and some believed the things that were said: but some believed not. : . and when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, paul speaking this one word: well did the holy ghost speak to our fathers by isaias the prophet, : . saying: go to this people and say to them: with the ear you shall hear and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see and shall not perceive. : . for the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears have they heard heavily and their eyes they have shut, lest perhaps they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and should be converted: and i should heal them. : . be it known therefore to you that this salvation of god is sent to the gentiles: and they will hear it. : . and when he had said these things, the jews went out from him, having much reasoning among themselves. : . and he remained two whole years in his own hired lodging: and he received all that came in to him, : . preaching the kingdom of god and teaching the things which concern the lord jesus christ, with all confidence, without prohibition. the epistle of st. paul the apostle to the romans st. paul wrote this epistle at corinth, when he was preparing to go to jerusalem with the charitable contributions collected in achaia and macedonia for the relief of the christians in judea; which was about twenty-four years after our lord's ascension. it was written in greek; but at the same time translated into latin, for the benefit of those who did not understand that language. and though it is not the first of his epistles in the order of time, yet it is first placed on account of sublimity of the matter contained in it, of the preeminence of the place to which it was sent, and in veneration of the church. romans chapter he commends the faith of the romans, whom he longs to see. the philosophy of the heathens, being void of faith and humility, betrayed them into shameful sins. : . paul, a servant of jesus christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of god. : . which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures, : . concerning his son, who was made to him of the seed of david, according to the flesh, : . who was predestinated the son of god in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our lord jesus christ from the dead: predestinated, etc. . .christ as man, was predestinated to be the son of god: and declared to be so (as the apostle here signifies) first, by power, that is, by his working stupendous miracles; secondly, by the spirit of sanctification, that is, by his infinite sanctity; thirdly, by his ressurection, or raising himself from the dead. : . by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name: : . among whom are you also the called of jesus christ: : . to all that are at rome, the beloved of god, called to be saints. grace to you and peace, from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . first, i give thanks to my god, through jesus christ, for you all: because your faith is spoken of in the whole world. : . for god is my witness, whom i serve in my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing i make a commemoration of you: : . always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length i may have a prosperous journey, by the will of god, to come unto you. : . for i long to see you that i may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you: : . that is to say, that i may be comforted together in you by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine. : . and i would not have you ignorant, brethren, that i have often purposed to come unto you (and have been hindered hitherto) that i might have some fruit among you also, even as among other gentiles. : . to the greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, i am a debtor. : . so (as much as is in me) i am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at rome. : . for i am not ashamed of the gospel. for it is the power of god unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the jew first and to the greek. : . for the justice of god is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: the just man liveth by faith. : . for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of god in injustice: : . because that which is known of god is manifest in them. for god hath manifested it unto them. : . for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. his eternal power also and divinity: so that they are inexcusable. : . because that, when they knew god, they have not glorified him as god or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. and their foolish heart was darkened. : . for, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. : . and they changed the glory of the incorruptible god into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things. : . wherefore, god gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness: to dishonour their own bodies among themselves. : . who changed the truth of god into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed for ever. amen. : . for this cause, god delivered them up to shameful affections. for their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature. god delivered them up. . .not by being author of their sins, but by withdrawing his grace, and so permitting them, in punishment of their pride, to fall into those shameful sins. : . and, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts, one towards another: men with men, working that which is filthy and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error. : . and as they liked not to have god in their knowledge, god delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient. : . being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity: whisperers, : . detractors, hateful to god, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, : . foolish, dissolute: without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. : . who, having known the justice of god, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death: and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them. romans chapter the jews are censured, who make their boast of the law and keep it not. he declares who are the true jews. : . wherefore thou art inexcusable, o man, whosoever thou art that judgest. for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. for thou dost the same things which thou judgest. : . for we know that the judgment of god is, according to truth, against them that do such things. : . and thinkest thou this, o man, that judgest them who do such things and dost the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of god? : . or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and patience and longsuffering? knowest thou not that the benignity of god leadeth thee to penance? : . but according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of god: : . who will render to every man according to his works. : . to them indeed who, according to patience in good work, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life: : . but to them that are contentious and who obey not the truth but give credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation. : . tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil: of the jew first, and also of the greek. : . but glory and honour and peace to every one that worketh good: to the jew first, and also to the greek. : . for there is no respect of persons with god. : . for whosoever have sinned without the law shall perish without the law: and whosoever have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. : . for not the hearers of the law are just before god: but the doers of the law shall be justified. : . for when the gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these, having not the law, are a law to themselves. : . who shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them: and their thoughts between themselves accusing or also defending one another, : . in the day when god shall judge the secrets of men by jesus christ, according to my gospel. : . but if thou art called a jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of god, : . and knowest his will and approvest the more profitable things, being instructed by the law: : . art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, : . an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. : . thou therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself: thou, that preachest that men should not steal, stealest. : . thou, that sayest men should not commit adultery, committest adultery: thou, that abhorrest idols, committest sacrilege: : . thou, that makest thy boast of the law, by transgression of the law dishonourest god. : . (for the name of god through you is blasphemed among the gentiles, as it is written.) : . circumcision profiteth indeed, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. : . if then, the uncircumcised keep the justices of the law, shall not this uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? : . and shall not that which by nature is uncircumcision, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law? : . for it is not he is a jew, who is so outwardly: nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh. : . but he is a jew that is one inwardly and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter: whose praise is not of men, but of god. romans chapter the advantages of the jews. all men are sinners and none can be justified by the works of the law, but only by the grace of christ. : . what advantage then hath the jew: or what is the profit of circumcision? : . much every way. first indeed, because the words of god were committed to them. : . for what if some of them have not believed? shall their unbelief make the faith of god without effect? god forbid! : . but god is true and every man a liar, as it is written: that thou mayest be justified in thy words and mayest overcome when thou art judged. god only is essentially true. all men in their own capacity are liable to lies and errors: nevertheless god, who is the truth, will make good his promise of keeping his church in all truth. see st. john . . : . but if our injustice commend the justice of god, what shall we say? is god unjust, who executeth wrath? : . (i speak according to man.) god forbid! otherwise how shall god judge this world? : . for if the truth of god hath more abounded through my lie, unto his glory, why am i also yet judged as a sinner? : . and not rather (as we are slandered and as some affirm that we say) let us do evil that there may come good? whose damnation is just. : . what then? do we excel them? no, not so. for we have charged both jews and greeks, that they are all under sin. : . as it is written: there is not any man just. there is not any man just, viz. . .by virtue either of the law of nature, or of the law of moses; but only by faith and grace. : . there is none that understandeth: there is none that seeketh after god. : . all have turned out of the way: they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, there is not so much as one. : . their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully. the venom of asps is under their lips. : . whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: : . their feet swift to shed blood: : . destruction and misery in their ways: : . and the way of peace they have not known. : . there is no fear of god before their eyes. : . now we know that what things soever the law speaketh, it speaketh to them that are in the law: that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be made subject to god. : . because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. for by the law is the knowledge of sin. : . but now, without the law, the justice of god is made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. : . even the justice of god, by faith of jesus christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe in him: for there is no distinction. : . for all have sinned and do need the glory of god. : . being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in christ jesus, : . whom god hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins, : . through the forbearance of god, for the shewing of his justice in this time: that he himself may be just and the justifier of him who is of the faith of jesus christ : . where is then thy boasting? it is excluded. by what law? of works? no, but by the law of faith. : . for we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law. by faith, etc. . .the faith, to which the apostle here attributes man's justification, is not a presumptuous assurance of our being justified; but a firm and lively belief of all that god has revealed or promised. heb. . a faith working through charity in jesus christ. gal. . . in short, a faith which takes in hope, love, repentance, and the use of the sacraments. and the works which he here excludes, are only the works of the law: that is, such as are done by the law of nature, or that of moses, antecedent to the faith of christ: but by no means, such as follow faith, and proceed from it. : . is he the god of the jews only? is he not also of the gentiles? yes, of the gentiles also. : . for it is one god that justifieth circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith. : . do we then, destroy the law through faith? god forbid! but we establish the law. romans chapter abraham was not justified by works done, as of himself, but by grace and by faith. and that before he was circumcised. gentiles, by faith, are his children. : . what shall we say then that abraham hath found, who is our father according to the flesh? : . for if abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before god. by works. . .done by his own strength, without the grace of god, and faith in him. not before god. . .whatever glory or applause such works might procure from men, they would be of no value in the sight of god. : . for what saith the scripture? abraham believed god: and it was reputed to him unto justice. reputed, etc. . .by god, who reputeth nothing otherwise than it is. however, we may gather from this word, that when we are justified, our justification proceedeth from god's free grace and bounty; and not from any efficacy which any act of ours could have of its own nature, abstracting from god's grace. : . now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt. to him that worketh. . .vis., as of his own fund, or by his own strength. such a man, says the apostle, challenges his reward as a debt due to his own performances; whereas he who worketh not, that is, who presumeth not upon any works done by his own strength, but seeketh justice through faith and grace, is freely justified by god's grace. : . but to him that worketh not, yet believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to justice, according to the purpose of the grace of god. : . as david also termeth the blessedness of a man to whom god reputeth justice without works: : . blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven: and whose sins are covered. blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. . .that is, blessed are those who, by doing penance, have obtained pardon and remission of their sins, and also are covered; that is, newly clothed with the habit of grace, and vested with the stole of charity. : . blessed is the man to whom the lord hath not imputed sin. blessed is the man to whom the lord hath not imputed sin. . .that is, blessed is the man who hath retained his baptismal innocence, that no grievous sin can be imputed to him. and, likewise, blessed is the man, who after fall into sin, hath done penance and leads a virtuous life, by frequenting the sacraments necessary for obtaining the grace to prevent a relapse, that sin is no more imputed to him. : . this blessedness then, doth it remain in the circumcision only or in the uncircumcision also? for we say that unto abraham faith was reputed to justice. in the circumcision, etc. . .that is, is it only for the jews that are circumcised? no, says the apostle, but also for the uncircumcised gentiles: who, by faith and grace, may come to justice; as abraham did before he was circumcised. : . how then was it reputed? when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. : . and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the justice of the faith which he had, being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, being uncircumcised: that unto them also it may be reputed to justice: : . and he might be the father of circumcision; not to them only that are of the circumcision, but to them also that follow the steps of the faith that is in the uncircumcision of our father abraham. : . for not through the law was the promise to abraham or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world: but through the justice of faith. : . for if they who are of the law be heirs, faith is made void: the promise is made of no effect. be heirs. . .that is, if they alone, who follow the ceremonies of the law, be heirs of the blessings promised to abraham; then that faith which was so much praised in him, will be found to be of little value. and the very promise will be made void, by which he was promised to be the father, not of the jews only, but of all nations of believers. : . for the law worketh wrath. for where there is no law, neither is there transgression. the law worketh wrath. . .the law, abstracting from faith and grace, worketh wrath occasionally, by being an occasion of many transgressions, which provoke god's wrath. : . therefore is it of faith, that according to grace the promise might be firm to all the seed: not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of abraham, who is the father of us all, : . (as it is written: i have made thee a father of many nations), before god, whom he believed: who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things that are not, as those that are. : . who against hope believed in hope; that he might be made the father of many nations, according to that which was said to him: so shall thy seed be. : . and he was not weak in faith. neither did he consider his own body, now dead (whereas he was almost an hundred years old), nor the dead womb of sara. : . in the promise also of god he staggered not by distrust: but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to god: : . most fully knowing that whatsoever he has promised, he is able also to perform. : . and therefore it was reputed to him unto justice. : . now it is not written only for him. that it was reputed to him unto justice, : . but also for us, to whom it shall be reputed, if we believe in him that raised up jesus christ, our lord, from the dead, : . who was delivered up for our sins and rose again for our justification. romans chapter the grounds we have for hope in christ. sin and death came by adam, grace and life by christ. : . being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with god, through our lord jesus christ: : . by whom also we have access through faith into this grace wherein we stand: and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of god. : . and not only so: but we glory also in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; : . and patience trial; and trial hope; : . and hope confoundeth not: because the charity of god is poured forth in our hearts, by the holy ghost who is given to us. : . for why did christ, when as yet we were weak, according to the time, die for the ungodly? : . for scarce for a just man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man some one would dare to die. : . but god commendeth his charity towards us: because when as yet we were sinners according to the time. : . christ died for us. much more therefore, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. : . for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to god by the death of his son: much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. : . and not only so: but also we glory in god, through our lord jesus christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation. : . wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world and by sin death: and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. by one man. . .adam, from whom we all contracted original sin. : . for until the law sin was in the world: but sin was not imputed, when the law was not. not imputed. . .that is, men knew not, or made no account of sin, neither was it imputed to them, in the manner it was afterwards, when they transgressed the known written law of god. : . but death reigned from adam unto moses, even over them also who have not sinned, after the similitude of the transgression of adam, who is a figure of him who was to come. : . but not as the offence, so also the gift. for if by the offence of one, many died: much more the grace of god and the gift, by the grace of one man, jesus christ, hath abounded unto many. : . and not as it was by one sin, so also is the gift. for judgment indeed was by one unto condemnation: but grace is of many offences unto justification. : . for if by one man's offence death reigned through one; much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift and of justice shall reign in life through one, jesus christ. : . therefore, as by the offence of one, unto all men to condemnation: so also by the justice of one, unto all men to justification of life. : . for as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners: so also by the obedience of one, many shall be made just. : . now the law entered in that sin might abound. and where sin abounded, grace did more abound. that sin might abound. . .not as if the law were given on purpose for sin to abound: but that it so happened through man's perversity, taking occasion of sinning more, from the prohibition of sin. : . that as sin hath reigned to death: so also grace might reign by justice unto life everlasting, through jesus christ our lord. romans chapter the christian must die to sin and live to god. : . what shall we say, then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? : . god forbid! for we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? : . know you not that all we who are baptized in christ jesus are baptized in his death? : . for we are buried together with him by baptism into death: that, as christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the father, so we also may walk in newness of life. : . for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. : . knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer. old man--body of sin. . .our corrupt state, subject to sin and concupiscence, coming to us from adam, is called our old man, as our state, reformed in and by christ, is called the new man. and the vices and sins, which then ruled in us are named the body of sin. : . for he that is dead is justified from sin. : . now, if we be dead with christ, we believe that we shall live also together with christ. : . knowing that christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more. death shall no more have dominion over him. : . for in that he died to sin, he died once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto god. : . so do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, but alive unto god, in christ jesus our lord. : . let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof. : . neither yield ye your members as instruments of iniquity unto sin: but present yourselves to god, as those that are alive from the dead; and your members as instruments of justice unto god. : . for sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. : . what then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? god forbid! : . know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey, whether it be of sin unto death or of obedience unto justice. : . but thanks be to god, that you were the servants of sin but have obeyed from the heart unto that form of doctrine into which you have been delivered. : . being then freed from sin, we have been made servants of justice. : . i speak an human thing, because of the infirmity of your flesh. for as you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity, unto iniquity: so now yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification. : . for when you were the servants of sin, you were free men to justice. : . what fruit therefore had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed? for the end of them is death. : . but now being made free from sin and become servants to god, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life everlasting. : . for the wages of sin is death. but the grace of god, life everlasting in christ jesus our lord. romans chapter we are released by christ from the law and from the guilt of sin, though the inclination to it still tempts us. : . know you not, brethren (for i speak to them that know the law) that the law hath dominion over a man as long as it liveth? as long as it liveth;. . .or, as long as he liveth. : . for the woman that hath an husband, whilst her husband liveth is bound to the law. but if her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. : . therefore, whilst her husband liveth, she shall be called an adulteress, if she be with another man: but if her husband be dead, she is delivered from the law of her husband: so that she is not an adulteress, if she be with another man. : . therefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law, by the body of christ: that you may belong to another, who is risen again from the dead that we may bring forth fruit to god. : . for when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death. : . but now we are loosed from the law of death wherein we were detained; so that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. : . what shall we say, then? is the law sin? god forbid! but i do not know sin, but by the law. for i had not known concupiscence, if the law did not say: thou shalt not covet. : . but sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. for without the law sin was dead. sin taking occasion. . .sin, or concupiscence, which is called sin, because it is from sin, and leads to sin, which was asleep before, was weakened by the prohibition: the law not being the cause thereof, nor properly giving occasion to it: but occasion being taken by our corrupt nature to resist the commandment laid upon us. : . and i lived some time without the law. but when the commandment came, sin revived, : . and i died. and the commandment that was ordained to life, the same was found to be unto death to me. : . for sin, taking occasion by the commandment, seduced me: and by it killed me. : . wherefore the law indeed is holy: and the commandment holy and just and good. : . was that then which is good made death unto me? god forbid! but sin, that it may appear sin, by that which is good, wrought death in me: that sin, by the commandment, might become sinful above measure. that it may appear sin, or that sin may appear, viz. . .to be the monster it is, which is even capable to take occasion from that which is good, to work death. : . for we know that the law is spiritual. but i am carnal, sold under sin. : . for that which i work, i understand not. for i do not that good which i will: but the evil which i hate, that i do. i do not that good which i will, etc. . .the apostle here describes the disorderly motions of passion and concupiscence; which oftentimes in us get the start of reason: and by means of which even good men suffer in the inferior appetite what their will abhors: and are much hindered in the accomplishment of the desires of their spirit and mind. but these evil motions, (though they are called the law of sin, because they come from original sin, and violently tempt and incline to sin,) as long as the will does not consent to them, are not sins, because they are not voluntary. : . if then i do that which i will not, i consent to the law, that it is good. : . now then it is no more i that do it: but sin that dwelleth in me. : . for i know that there dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good. for to will is present with me: but to accomplish that which is good, i find not. : . for the good which i will, i do not: but the evil which i will not, that i do. : . now if i do that which i will not, it is no more i that do it: but sin that dwelleth in me. : . i find then a law, that when i have a will to do good, evil is present with me. : . for i am delighted with the law of god, according to the inward man: : . but i see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my members. : . unhappy man that i am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? : . the grace of god, by jesus christ our lord. therefore, i myself, with the mind serve the law of god: but with the flesh, the law of sin. romans chapter there is no condemnation to them that, being justified by christ, walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. their strong hope and love of god. : . there is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in christ jesus, who walk not according to the flesh. : . for the law of the spirit of life, in christ jesus, hath delivered me from the law of sin and of death. : . for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, god, sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and of sin, hath condemned sin in the flesh. : . that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. : . for they that are according to the flesh mind the things that are of the flesh: but they that are according to the spirit mind the things that are of the spirit. : . for the wisdom of the flesh is death: but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace. : . because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to god. for it is not subject to the law of god: neither can it be. : . and they who are in the flesh cannot please god. : . but you are not in the flesh, but the spirit, if so be that the spirit of god dwell in you. now if any man have not the spirit of christ, he is none of his. : . and if christ be in you, the body indeed is dead, because of sin: but the spirit liveth, because of justification. : . and if the spirit of him that raised up jesus from the dead dwell in you; he that raised up jesus christ, from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his spirit that dwelleth in you. : . therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. : . for if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. : . for whosoever are led by the spirit of god, they are the sons of god. : . for you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: abba (father). : . for the spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit that we are the sons of god. the spirit himself, etc. . .by the inward motions of divine love, and the peace of conscience, which the children of god experience, they have a kind of testimony of god's favour; by which they are much strengthened in their hope of their justification and salvation; but yet not so as to pretend to an absolute assurance: which is not usually granted in this mortal life: during which we are taught to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. phil. . . and that he that thinketh himself to stand, must take heed lest he fall. cor. . . see also, rom. . , , . : . and if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of god and joint heirs with christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. : . for i reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us. : . for the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of god. the expectation of the creature, etc. . .he speaks of the corporeal creation, made for the use and service of man; and, by occasion of his sin, made subject to vanity, that is, to a perpetual instability, tending to corruption and other defects; so that by a figure of speech it is here said to groan and be in labour, and to long for its deliverance, which is then to come, when sin shall reign no more; and god shall raise the bodies and unite them to their souls never more to separate, and to be in everlasting happiness in heaven. : . for the creature was made subject to vanity: not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope. : . because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of god. : . for we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now. : . and not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the spirit: even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of god, the redemption of our body. : . for we are saved by hope. but hope that is seen is not hope. for what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? : . but if we hope for that which we see not, we wait for it with patience. : . likewise, the spirit also helpeth our infirmity. for, we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings, asketh for us. . .the spirit is said to ask, and desire for the saints, and to pray in us; inasmuch as he inspireth prayer, and teacheth us to pray. : . and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the spirit desireth: because he asketh for the saints according to god. : . and we know that to them that love god all things work together unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints. : . for whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his son: that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren. he also predestinated, etc. . .that is, god hath preordained that all his elect should be conformable to the image of his son. we must not here offer to pry into the secrets of god's eternal election; only firmly believe that all our good, in time and eternity, flows originally from god's free goodness; and all our evil from man's free will. : . and whom he predestinated, them he also called. and whom he called, them he also justified. and whom he justified, them he also glorified. : . what shall we then say to these things? if god be for us, who is against us? : . he that spared not even his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things? : . who shall accuse against the elect of god? god is he that justifieth: : . who is he that shall condemn? christ jesus that died: yea that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of god, who also maketh intercession for us. : . who then shall separate us from the love of christ? shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword? : . (as it is written: for thy sake, we are put to death all the day long. we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) : . but in all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. : . for i am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, i am sure. . .that is, i am persuaded; as it is in the greek, pepeismai. : . nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord. romans chapter the apostle's concern for the jews. god's election is free and not confined to their nation. : . i speak the truth in christ: i lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the holy ghost: : . that i have great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart. : . for i wished myself to be an anathema from christ, for my brethren: who are my kinsmen according to the flesh: anathema;. . .a curse. the apostle's concern and love for his countrymen the jews was so great, that he was willing to suffer even an anathema, or curse, for their sake; or any evil that could come upon him, without his offending god. : . who are israelites: to whom belongeth the adoption as of children and the glory and the testament and the giving of the law and the service of god and the promises: : . whose are the fathers and of whom is christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, god blessed for ever. amen. : . not as though the word of god hath miscarried. for all are not israelites that are of israel. all are not israelites, etc. . .not all, who are the carnal seed of israel, are true israelites in god's account: who, as by his free grace, he heretofore preferred isaac before ismael, and jacob before esau, so he could, and did by the like free grace, election and mercy, raise up spiritual children by faith to abraham and israel, from among the gentiles, and prefer them before the carnal jews. : . neither are all they that are the seed of abraham, children: but in isaac shall thy seed be called. : . that is to say, not they that are the children of the flesh are the children of god: but they that are the children of the promise are accounted for the seed. : . for this is the word of promise: according to this time will i come. and sara shall have a son. : . and not only she. but when rebecca also had conceived at once of isaac our father. : . for when the children were not yet born, nor had done any good or evil (that the purpose of god according to election might stand): not yet born, etc. . .by this example of these twins, and the preference of the younger to the elder, the drift of the apostle is, to shew that god, in his election, mercy and grace, is not tied to any particular nation, as the jews imagined; nor to any prerogative of birth, or any forgoing merits. for as, antecedently to his grace, he sees no merits in any, but finds all involved in sin, in the common mass of condemnation; and all children of wrath: there is no one whom he might not justly leave in that mass; so that whomsoever he delivers from it, he delivers in his mercy: and whomsoever he leaves in it, he leaves in his justice. as when, of two equally criminal, the king is pleased out of pure mercy to pardon one, whilst he suffers justice to take place in the execution of the other. : . not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. : . as it is written: jacob i have loved: but esau i have hated. : . what shall we say then? is there injustice with god? god forbid! : . for he saith to moses: i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy. and i will shew mercy to whom i will shew mercy. : . so then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of god that sheweth mercy. not of him that willeth, etc. . .that is, by any power or strength of his own, abstracting from the grace of god. : . for the scripture saith to pharao: to this purpose have i raised thee, that i may shew my power in thee and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. to this purpose, etc. . .not that god made him on purpose that he should sin, and so be damned; but foreseeing his obstinacy in sin, and the abuse of his own free will, he raised him up to be a mighty king, to make a more remarkable example of him: and that his power might be better known, and his justice in punishing him, published throughout the earth. : . therefore he hath mercy on whom he will. and whom he will, he hardeneth. he hardeneth. . .not by being the cause or author of his sin, but by withholding his grace, and so leaving him in his sin, in punishment of his past demerits. : . thou wilt say therefore to me: why doth he then find fault? for who resisteth his will? : . o man, who art thou that repliest against god? shall the thing formed say to him that formed it: why hast thou made me thus? : . or hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour? the potter. . .this similitude is used only to shew that we are not to dispute with our maker, nor to reason with him why he does not give as much grace to one as to another; for since the whole lump of our clay is vitiated by sin, it is owing to his goodness and mercy, that he makes out of it so many vessels of honor; and it is no more than just, that others, in punishment of their unrepented sins, should be given up to be vessels of dishonor. : . what if god, willing to shew his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction, : . that he might shew the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared unto glory? : . even us, whom also he hath called, not only of the jews but also of the gentiles. : . as in osee he saith: i will call that which was not my people, my people; and her that was not beloved, beloved; and her that had not obtained mercy; one that hath obtained mercy. : . and it shalt be in the place where it was said unto them: you are not my people; there they shall be called the sons of the living god. : . and isaias cried out concerning israel: if the number of the children of israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. a remnant. . .that is, a small number only of the children of israel shall be converted and saved. how perversely is this text quoted for the salvation of men of all religions, when it speaks only of the converts of the children of israel! : . for he shall finish his word and cut it short in justice: because a short word shall the lord make upon the earth. : . and isaias foretold: unless the lord of sabbath had left us a seed, we had been made as sodom and we had been like unto gomorrha. : . what then shall we say? that the gentiles who followed not after justice have attained to justice, even the justice that is of faith. : . but israel, by following after the law of justice, is not come unto the law of justice. : . why so? because they sought it not by faith, but as it were of works. for they stumbled at the stumblingstone. : . as it is written: behold i lay in sion a stumbling-stone and a rock of scandal. and whosoever believeth in him shall not be confounded. romans chapter the end of the law is faith in christ. which the jews refusing to submit to, cannot be justified. : . brethren, the will of my heart, indeed and my prayer to god is for them unto salvation. : . for i bear them witness that they have a zeal of god, but not according to knowledge. : . for they, not knowing the justice of god and seeking to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the justice of god. the justice of god. . .that is, the justice which god giveth us through christ; as on the other hand, the jews' own justice is, that which they pretended to by their own strength, or by the observance of the law, without faith in christ. : . for the end of the law is christ: unto justice to everyone that believeth. : . for moses wrote that the justice which is of the law: the man that shall do it shall live by it. : . but the justice which is of faith, speaketh thus: say not in thy heart: who shall ascend into heaven? that is to bring christ down; : . or who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up christ again from the dead. : . but what saith the scripture? the word is nigh thee; even in thy mouth and in thy heart. this is the word of faith, which we preach. : . for if thou confess with thy mouth the lord jesus and believe in thy heart that god hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved. thou shalt be saved. . .to confess the lord jesus, and to call upon the name of the lord (ver. ) is not barely the professing a belief in the person of christ; but moreover, implies a belief of his whole doctrine, and an obedience to his law; without which, the calling him lord will save no man. st. matt. . . : . for, with the heart, we believe unto justice: but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. : . for the scripture saith: whosoever believeth in him shall not be confounded. : . for there is no distinction of the jew and the greek: for the same is lord over all, rich unto all that call upon him. : . for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved. : . how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? : . and how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things? unless they be sent. . .here is an evident proof against all new teachers, who have all usurped to themselves the ministry without any lawful mission, derived by succession from the apostles, to whom christ said, john . , as my father hath sent me, i also send you. : . but all do not obey the gospel. for isaias saith: lord, who hath believed our report? : . faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of christ. : . but i say: have they not heard? yes, verily: their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the whole world. : . but i say: hath not israel known? first, moses saith: i will provoke you to jealousy by that which is not a nation: by a foolish nation i will anger you. : . but isaias is bold, and saith: i was found by them that did not seek me. i appeared openly to them that asked not after me. : . but to israel he saith: all the day long have i spread my hands to a people that believeth not and contradicteth me. romans chapter god hath not cast off all israel. the gentiles must not be proud but stand in faith and fear. : . i say then: hath god cast away his people? god forbid! for i also am an israelite of the seed of abraham, of the tribe of benjamin. : . god hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. know you not what the scripture saith of elias, how he calleth on god against israel? : . lord, they have slain thy prophets, they have dug down thy altars. and i am left alone: and they seek my life. : . but what saith the divine answer to him? i have left me seven thousand men that have not bowed their knees to baal. seven thousand, etc. . .this is very ill alleged by some, against the perpetual visibility of the church of christ; the more, because however the number of the faithful might be abridged by the persecution of jezabel in the kingdom of the ten tribes, the church was at the same time in a most flourishing condition (under asa and josaphat) in the kingdom of judah. : . even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace. : . and if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace. it is not now by works, etc. . .if salvation were to come by works, done by nature, without faith and grace, salvation would not be a grace or favour, but a debt; but such dead works are indeed of no value in the sight of god towards salvation. it is not the same with regard to works done with, and by, god's grace; for to such works as these, he has promised eternal salvation. : . what then? that which israel sought, he hath not obtained: but the election hath obtained it. and the rest have been blinded. : . as it is written: god hath given them the spirit of insensibility; eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, until this present day. god hath given them, etc. . .not by his working or acting in them; but by his permission, and by withdrawing his grace in punishment of their obstinacy. : . and david saith: let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. : . let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see: and bow down their back always. : . i say then: have they so stumbled, that they should fall? god forbid! but by their offence salvation is come to the gentiles, that they may be emulous of them. that they should fall. . .the nation of the jews is not absolutely and without remedy cast off for ever; but in part only, (many thousands of them having been at first converted,) and for a time; which fall of theirs, god has been pleased to turn to the good of the gentiles. : . now if the offence of them be the riches of the world and the diminution of them the riches of the gentiles: how much more the fulness of them? : . for i say to you, gentiles: as long indeed as i am the apostle of the gentiles, i will honour my ministry, : . if, by any means, i may provoke to emulation them who are my flesh and may save some of them. : . for if the loss of them be the reconciliation of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? : . for if the firstfruit be holy, so is the lump also: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. : . and if some of the branches be broken and thou, being a wild olive, art ingrafted in them and art made partaker of the root and of the fatness of the olive tree: : . boast not against the branches. but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root: but the root thee. : . thou wilt say then: the branches were broken off that i might be grafted in. : . well: because of unbelief they were broken off. but thou standest by faith. be not highminded, but fear. thou standest by faith: be not highminded, but fear. . .we see here that he who standeth by faith may fall from it; and therefore must live in fear, and not in the vain presumption and security of modern sectaries. : . for if god hath not spared the natural branches, fear lest perhaps also he spare not thee. : . see then the goodness and the severity of god: towards them indeed that are fallen, the severity; but towards thee, the goodness of god, if thou abide in goodness. otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. . .the gentiles are here admonished not to be proud, nor to glory against the jews: but to take occasion rather from their fall to fear and to be humble, lest they be cast off. not that the whole church of christ can ever fall from him; having been secured by so many divine promises in holy writ; but that each one in particular may fall; and therefore all in general are to be admonished to beware of that, which may happen to any one in particular. : . and they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for god is able to graft them in again. : . for if thou were cut out of the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee; and, contrary to nature, wert grafted into the good olive tree: how much more shall they that are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? : . for i would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery (lest you should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part has happened in israel, until the fulness of the gentiles should come in. : . and so all israel should be saved, as it is written: there shall come out of sion, he that shall deliver and shall turn away ungodliness from jacob. : . and this is to them my covenant: when i shall take away their sins. : . as concerning the gospel, indeed, they are enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they are most dear for the sake of the fathers. : . for the gifts and the calling of god are without repentance. for the gifts and the calling of god are without. . .his repenting himself of them; for the promises of god are unchangeable, nor can he repent of conferring his gifts. : . for as you also in times past did not believe god, but now have obtained mercy, through their unbelief: : . so these also now have not believed, for your mercy, that they also may obtain mercy. : . for god hath concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all. concluded all in unbelief. . .he hath found all nations, both jews and gentiles, in unbelief and sin; not by his causing, but by the abuse of their own free will; so that their calling and election is purely owing to his mercy. : . o the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of god! how incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! : . for who hath known the mind of the lord? or who hath been his counsellor? : . or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? : . for of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory for ever. amen. romans chapter lessons of christian virtues. : . i beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of god, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto god, your reasonable service. : . and be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of god. : . for i say, by the grace that is given me, to all that are among you, not to be more wise than it behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety and according as god hath divided to every one the measure of faith. : . for as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office: : . so we, being many, are one body in christ; and every one members one of another: : . and having different gifts, according to the grace that is given us, either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith; : . or ministry, in ministering; or he that teacheth, in doctrine; : . he that exhorteth, in exhorting; he that giveth, with simplicity; he that ruleth, with carefulness; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. : . let love be without dissimulation. hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good, : . loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honour preventing one another. : . in carefulness not slothful. in spirit fervent. serving the lord. : . rejoicing in hope. patient in tribulation. instant in prayer. : . communicating to the necessities of the saints. pursuing hospitality. : . bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not. : . rejoice with them that rejoice: weep with them that weep. : . being of one mind one towards another. not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. be not wise in your own conceits. : . to no man rendering evil for evil. providing good things, not only in the sight of god but also in the sight of all men. : . if it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men. : . revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: revenge is mine, i will repay, saith the lord. : . but if the enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. for, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. : . be not overcome by evil: but overcome evil by good. romans chapter lessons of obedience to superiors and mutual charity. : . let every soul be subject to higher powers. for there is no power but from god: and those that are ordained of god. : . therefore, he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of god. and they that resist purchase to themselves damnation. : . for princes are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good: and thou shalt have praise from the same. : . for he is god's minister to thee, for good. but if thou do that which is evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword in vain. for he is god's minister: an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. : . wherefore be subject of necessity: not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. : . for therefore also you pay tribute. for they are the ministers of god, serving unto this purpose. : . render therefore to all men their dues. tribute, to whom tribute is due: custom, to whom custom: fear, to whom fear: honour, to whom honour. : . owe no man any thing, but to love one another. for he that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law. : . for: thou shalt not commit adultery: thou shalt not kill: thou shalt not steal: thou shalt not bear false witness: thou shalt not covet. and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. : . the love of our neighbour worketh no evil. love therefore is the fulfilling of the law. : . and that, knowing the season, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. : . the night is passed and the day is at hand. let us, therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. : . let us walk honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy. : . but put ye on the lord jesus christ: and make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences. romans chapter the strong must bear with the weak. cautions against judging and giving scandal. : . now him that is weak in faith, take unto you: not in disputes about thoughts. : . for one believeth that he may eat all things: but he that is weak, let him eat herbs. eat all things. . .viz., without observing the distinction of clean and unclean meats, prescribed by the law of moses: which was now no longer obligatory. some weak christians, converted from among the jews, as we here gather from the apostle, made a scruple of eating such meats as were deemed unclean by the law; such as swine's flesh, etc., which the stronger sort of christians did eat without scruple. now the apostle, to reconcile them together, exhorts the former not to judge or condemn the latter, using their christian liberty; and the latter, to take care not to despise or scandalize their weaker brethren, either by bringing them to eat what in their conscience they think they should not, or by giving them such offence, as to endanger the driving them thereby from the christian religion. : . let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not: and he that eateth not, let him not judge him that eateth. for god hath taken him to him. : . who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own lord he standeth or falleth. and he shall stand: for god is able to make him stand. : . for one judgeth between day and day: and another judgeth every day. let every man abound in his own sense. between day, etc. . .still observing the sabbaths and festivals of the law. : . he that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the lord. and he that eateth eateth to the lord: for he giveth thanks to god. and he that eateth not, to the lord he eateth not and giveth thanks to god. : . for none of us liveth to himself: and no man dieth to himself. : . for whether we live, we live unto the lord: or whether we die, we die unto the lord. therefore, whether we live or whether we die, we are the lord's. : . for to this end christ died and rose again: that he might be lord both of the dead and of the living. : . but thou, why judgest thou thy brother? or thou, why dost thou despise thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of christ. : . for it is written: as i live, saith the lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to god. : . therefore every one of us shall render account to god for himself. : . let us not therefore judge one another any more. but judge this rather, that you put not a stumblingblock or a scandal in your brother's way. : . i know, and am confident in the lord jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. : . for if, because of thy meat, thy brother be grieved, thou walkest not now according to charity. destroy not him with thy meat, for whom christ died. : . let not then our good be evil spoken of. : . for the kingdom of god is not meat and drink: but justice and peace and joy in the holy ghost. : . for he that in this serveth christ pleaseth god and is approved of men. : . therefore, let us follow after the things that are of peace and keep the things that are of edification, one towards another. : . destroy not the work of god for meat. all things indeed are clean: but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. : . it is good not to eat flesh and not to drink wine: nor any thing whereby thy brother is offended or scandalized or made weak. : . hast thou faith? have it to thyself before god. blessed is he that condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth. : . but he that discerneth, if he eat, is condemned; because not of faith. for all that is not of faith is sin. discerneth. . .that is, distinguisheth between meats, and eateth against his conscience, what he deems unclean. of faith. . .by faith is here understood judgment and conscience: to act against which is always a sin. romans chapter he exhorts them to be all of one mind and promises to come and see them. : . now, we that are stronger ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. : . let every one of you please his neighbour unto good, to edification. : . for christ did not please himself: but, as it is written: the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me. : . for what things soever were written were written for our learning: that, through patience and the comfort of the scriptures, we might have hope. : . now the god of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind, one towards another, according to jesus christ: : . that with one mind and with one mouth you may glorify god and the father of our lord jesus christ. : . wherefore, receive one another, as christ also hath received you, unto the honour of god. : . for i say that christ jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: minister of the circumcision. . .that is, executed his office and ministry towards the jews, the people of the circumcision. : . but that the gentiles are to glorify god for his mercy, as it is written: therefore will i confess to thee, o lord, among the gentiles and will sing to thy name. : . and again he saith: rejoice ye gentiles, with his people. : . and again: praise the lord, all ye gentiles: and magnify him, all ye people. : . and again, isaias saith: there shall be a root of jesse; and he that shall rise up to rule the gentiles, in him the gentiles shall hope. : . now the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing: that you may abound in hope and in the power of the holy ghost. : . and i myself also, my brethren, am assured of you that you also are full of love, replenished with all knowledge, so that you are able to admonish one another. : . but i have written to you, brethren, more boldly in some sort, as it were putting you in mind, because of the grace which is given me from god, : . that i should be the minister of christ jesus among the gentiles: sanctifying the gospel of god, that the oblation of the gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the holy ghost. : . i have therefore glory in christ jesus towards god. : . for i dare not to speak of any of those things which christ worketh not by me, for the obedience of the gentiles, by word and deed, : . by the virtue of signs and wonders, in the power of the holy ghost, so that from jerusalem round about, as far as unto illyricum, i have replenished the gospel of christ. : . and i have so preached this gospel, not where christ was named, lest i should build upon another man a foundation. : . but as it is written: they to whom he was not spoken of shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. : . for which cause also, i was hindered very much from coming to you and have been kept away till now. : . but now, having no more place in these countries and having a great desire these many years past to come unto you, : . when i shall begin to take my journey into spain, i hope that, as i pass, i shall see you and be brought on my way thither by you: if first, in part, i shall have enjoyed you. : . but now i shall go to jerusalem, to minister unto the saints. : . for it hath pleased them of macedonia and achaia to make a contribution for the poor of the saints that are in jerusalem. : . for it hath pleased them: and they are their debtors. for, if the gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they ought also in carnal things to minister to them. : . when therefore i shall have accomplished this and consigned to them this fruit, i will come by you into spain. : . and i know that when i come to you i shall come in the abundance of the blessing of the gospel of christ. : . i beseech you therefore, brethren, through our lord jesus christ and by the charity of the holy ghost, that you help me in your prayers for me to god, : . that i may be delivered from the unbelievers that are in judea and that the oblation of my service may be acceptable in jerusalem to the saints. : . that i may come to you with joy, by the will of god, and may be refreshed with you. : . now the god of peace be with, you all. amen. romans chapter he concludes with salutations, bidding them beware of all that should oppose the doctrine they had learned. : . and i commend to you phebe, our sister, who is in the ministry of the church, that is in cenchrae: : . that you receive her in the lord as becometh saints and that you assist her in whatsoever business she shall have need of you. for she also hath assisted many, and myself also. : . salute prisca and aquila, my helpers, in christ jesus : . (who have for my life laid down their own necks: to whom not i only give thanks, but also all the churches of the gentiles), : . and the church which is in their house. salute epenetus, my beloved: who is the firstfruits of asia in christ. : . salute mary, who hath laboured much among you. : . salute andronicus and junias, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners: who are of note among the apostles, who also were in christ before me. : . salute ampliatus, most beloved to me in the lord. : . salute urbanus, our helper in christ jesus and stachys, my beloved. : . salute apellas, approved in christ. : . salute them that are of aristobulus' household. salute herodian, my kinsman. salute them that are of narcissus' household, who are in the lord. : . salute tryphaena and tryphosa, who labour in the lord. salute persis, the dearly beloved, who hath much laboured in the lord. : . salute rufus, elect in the lord, and his mother and mine. : . salute asyncritus, phlegon, hermas, patrobas, hermes: and the brethren that are with them. : . salute philologus and julia, nereus and his sister, and olympias: and all the saints that are with them. : . salute one another with an holy kiss. all the churches of christ salute you. : . now i beseech you, brethren, to mark them who make dissensions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them. : . for they that are such serve not christ our lord but their own belly: and by pleasing speeches and good words seduce the hearts of the innocent. : . for your obedience is published in every place. i rejoice therefore in you. but i would have you to be wise in good and simple in evil. : . and the god of peace crush satan under your feet speedily. the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. : . timothy, my fellow labourer, saluteth you: and lucius and jason and sosipater, my kinsmen. : . i, tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the lord. : . caius, my host, and the whole church saluteth you. erastus, the treasurer of the city, saluteth you: and quartus, a brother. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. : . now to him that is able to establish you, according to my gospel and the preaching of jesus christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret from eternity; : . (which now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the precept of the eternal god, for the obedience of faith) known among all nations: : . to god, the only wise, through jesus christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. amen. the first epistle of st. paul to the corinthians st. paul, having planted the faithful in corinth, where he had preached a year and a half and converted a great many, went to ephesus. after being there three years, he wrote this first epistle to the corinthians and sent it by the same persons, stephanus, fortunatus and achaicus, who had brought their letter to him. it was written about twenty-four years after our lord's ascension and contains several matters appertaining to faith and morals and also to ecclesiastical discipline. corinthians chapter he reproveth their dissensions about their teachers. the world was to be saved by preaching of the cross, and not by human wisdom or eloquence. : . paul, called to be an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and sosthenes a brother, : . to the church of god that is at corinth, to them that are sanctified in christ jesus, called to be saints, with all that invoke the name of our lord jesus christ in every place of theirs and ours. : . grace to you and peace, from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . i give thanks to my god always for you, for the grace of god that is given you in christ jesus: : . that in all things you are made rich in him, in all utterance and in all knowledge; : . as the testimony of christ was confirmed in you, : . so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace, waiting for the manifestation of our lord jesus christ. : . who also will confirm you unto the end without crime, in the days of the coming of our lord jesus christ. : . god is faithful: by whom you are called unto the fellowship of his son, jesus christ our lord. : . now i beseech you, brethren, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms among you: but that you be perfect in the same mind and in the same judgment. : . for it hath been signified unto me, my brethren, of you, by them that are of the house of chloe, that there are contentions among you. : . now this i say, that every one of you saith: i indeed am of paul; and i am of apollo; and i of cephas; and i of christ. : . is christ divided? was paul then crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of paul? : . i give god thanks, that i baptized none of you but crispus and caius: : . lest any should say that you were baptized in my name. : . and i baptized also the household of stephanus. besides, i know not whether i baptized any other. : . for christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of christ should be made void. : . for the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness: but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of god. : . for it is written: i will destroy the wisdom of the wise: and the prudence of the prudent i will reject. : . where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not god made foolish the wisdom of this world? : . for, seeing that in the wisdom of god, the world, by wisdom, knew not god, it pleased god, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe. : . for both the jews require signs: and the greeks seek after wisdom. : . but we preach christ crucified: unto the jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the gentiles foolishness: : . but unto them that are called, both jews and greeks, christ, the power of god and the wisdom of god. : . for the foolishness of god is wiser than men: and the weakness of god is stronger than men. the foolishness, etc. . .that is to say, what appears foolish to the world in the ways of god, is indeed most wise; and what appears weak is indeed above all the strength and comprehension of man. : . for see your vocation, brethren, that there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. : . but the foolish things of the world hath god chosen, that he may confound the wise: and the weak things of the world hath god chosen, that he may confound the strong. : . and the base things of the world and the things that are contemptible, hath god chosen: and things that are not, that he might bring to nought things that are: : . that no flesh should glory in his sight. : . but of him are you in christ jesus, who of god is made unto us wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption: : . that, as it is written: he that glorieth may glory in the lord. corinthians chapter his preaching was not in loftiness of words, but in spirit and power. and the wisdom he taught was not to be understood by the worldly wise or sensual man, but only by the spiritual man. : . and i, brethren, when i came to you, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of christ. : . for i judged not myself to know anything among you, but jesus christ: and him crucified. : . and i was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. : . and my speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom. but in shewing of the spirit and power: : . that your faith might not stand on the wisdom of men, but on the power of god. : . howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, neither of the princes of this world that come to nought. : . but we speak the wisdom of god in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which god ordained before the world, unto our glory: : . which none of the princes of this world knew. for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the lord of glory. : . but, as it is written: that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard: neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things god hath prepared for them that love him. : . but to us god hath revealed them by his spirit. for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of god. : . for what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? so the things also that are of god, no man knoweth, but the spirit of god. : . now, we have received not the spirit of this world, but the spirit that is of god: that we may know the things that are given us from god. : . which things also we speak: not in the learned words of human wisdom, but in the doctrine of the spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. : . but the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the spirit of god. for it is foolishness to him: and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. the sensual man--the spiritual man. . .the sensual man is either he who is taken up with sensual pleasures, with carnal and worldly affections; or he who measureth divine mysteries by natural reason, sense, and human wisdom only. now such a man has little or no notion of the things of god. whereas the spiritual man is he who, in the mysteries of religion, takes not human sense for his guide: but submits his judgment to the decisions of the church, which he is commanded to hear and obey. for christ hath promised to remain to the end of the world with his church, and to direct her in all things by the spirit of truth. : . but the spiritual man judgeth all things: and he himself is judged of no man. : . for who hath known the mind of the lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of christ. corinthians chapter they must not contend about their teachers, who are but god's ministers and accountable to him. their works shall be tried by fire. : . and i, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. as unto little ones in christ. : . i gave you milk to drink, not meat: for you were not able as yet. but neither indeed are you now able: for you are yet carnal. : . for, whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal and walk you not according to man? : . for while one saith: i indeed am of paul: and another: i am of apollo: are you not men? what then is apollo and what is paul? : . the ministers of him whom you have believed: and to every one as the lord hath given. : . i have planted, apollo watered: but god gave the increase. : . therefore, neither he that planteth is any thing, nor he that watereth: but god that giveth the increase. : . now he that planteth and he that watereth, are one. and every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour. : . for we are god's coadjutors. you are god's husbandry: you are god's building. : . according to the grace of god that is given to me, as a wise architect, i have laid the foundation: and another buildeth thereon. but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. : . for other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid: which is christ jesus. : . now, if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: upon this foundation. . .the foundation is christ and his doctrine: or the true faith in him, working through charity. the building upon this foundation gold, silver, and precious stones, signifies the more perfect preaching and practice of the gospel; the wood, hay, and stubble, such preaching as that of the corinthian teachers (who affected the pomp of words and human eloquence) and such practice as is mixed with much imperfection, and many lesser sins. now the day of the lord, and his fiery trial, (in the particular judgment immediately after death,) shall make manifest of what sort every man's work has been: of which, during this life, it is hard to make a judgment. for then the fire of god's judgment shall try every man's work. and they, whose works, like wood, hay, and stubble, cannot abide the fire, shall suffer loss; these works being found to be of no value; yet they themselves, having built upon the right foundation, (by living and dying in the true faith and in the state of grace, though with some imperfection,) shall be saved yet so as by fire; being liable to this punishment, by reason of the wood, hay, and stubble, which was mixed with their building. : . every man's work shall be manifest. for the day of the lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire. and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. : . if any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. : . if any mans work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. : . know you not that you are the temple of god and that the spirit of god dwelleth in you? : . but if any man violate the temple of god, him shall god destroy. for the temple of god is holy, which you are. : . let no man deceive himself. if any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. : . for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with god. for it is written: i will catch the wise in their own craftiness. : . and again: the lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. : . let no man therefore glory in men. : . for all things are yours, whether it be paul or apollo or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. for all are yours. : . and you are christ's. and christ is god's. corinthians chapter god's ministers are not to be judged. he reprehends their boasting of their preachers and describes the treatment the apostles every where met with. : . let a man so account of us as of the ministers of christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of god. : . here now it is required among the dispensers that a man be found faithful. : . but to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you or by man's day. but neither do i judge my own self. : . for i am not conscious to myself of anything. yet am i not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the lord. : . therefore, judge not before the time: until the lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. and then shall every man have praise from god. : . but these things, brethren, i have in a figure transferred to myself and to apollo, for your sakes: that in us you may learn that one be not puffed up against the other for another, above that which is written. : . for who distinguisheth thee? or what hast thou that thou hast not received, and if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? : . you are now full: you are now become rich: you reign without us; and i would to god you did reign, that we also might reign with you. : . for i think that god hath set forth us apostles, the last, as it were men appointed to death. we are made a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. : . we are fools for christs sake, but you are wise in christ: we are weak, but you are strong: you are honourable, but we without honour. : . even unto this hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no fixed abode. : . and we labour, working with our own hands. we are reviled: and we bless. we are persecuted: and we suffer it. : . we are blasphemed: and we entreat. we are made as the refuse of this world, the offscouring of all, even until now. : . i write not these things to confound you: but i admonish you as my dearest children. : . for if you have ten thousand instructors in christ, yet not many fathers. for in christ jesus, by the gospel, i have begotten you. : . wherefore, i beseech you, be ye followers of me as i also am of christ. : . for this cause have i sent to you timothy, who is my dearest son and faithful in the lord. who will put you in mind of my ways, which are in christ jesus: as i teach every where in every church. : . as if i would not come to you, so some are puffed up. : . but i will come to you shortly, if the lord will: and will know, not the speech of them that are puffed up, but the power. : . for the kingdom of god is not in speech, but in power. : . what will you? shall i come to you with a rod? or in charity and in the spirit of meekness? corinthians chapter he excommunicates the incestuous adulterer and admonishes them to purge out the old leaven. : . it is absolutely heard that there is fornication among you and such fornication as the like is not among the heathens: that one should have his father's wife. : . and you are puffed up and have not rather mourned: that he might be taken away from among you that hath done this thing. : . i indeed, absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though i were present, him that hath so done, : . in the name of our lord jesus christ, you being gathered together and my spirit, with the power of our lord jesus: : . to deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our lord jesus christ. : . your glorying is not good. know you not that a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump? : . purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened. for christ our pasch is sacrificed. : . therefore, let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. . i wrote to you in an epistle not to keep company with fornicators. : . i mean not with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or the extortioners or the servers of idols: otherwise you must needs go out of this world. : . but now i have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator or covetous or a server of idols or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat. : . for what have i to do to judge them that are without? do not you judge them that are within? : . for them that are without, god will judge. put away the evil one from among yourselves. corinthians chapter he blames them for going to law before unbelievers. of sins that exclude from the kingdom of heaven. the evil of fornication. : . dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to be judged before the unjust: and not before the saints? : . know you not that the saints shall judge this world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? : . know you not that we shall judge angels? how much more things of this world? : . if therefore you have judgments of things pertaining to this world, set them to judge who are the most despised in the church. : . i speak to your shame. is it so that there is not among you any one wise man that is able to judge between his brethren? : . but brother goeth to law with brother: and that before unbelievers. : . already indeed there is plainly a fault among you, that you have law suits one with another. why do you not rather take wrong? why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? a fault. . .lawsuits can hardly ever be without a fault, on the one side or the other; and oftentimes on both sides. : . but you do wrong and defraud: and that to your brethren. : . know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of god? do not err: neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers: : . nor the effeminate nor liers with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor railers nor extortioners shall possess the kingdom of god. : . and such some of you were. but you are washed: but you are sanctified: but you are justified: in the name of our lord jesus christ and the spirit of our god. : . all things are lawful to me: but all things are not expedient. all things are lawful to me: but i will not be brought under the power of any. all things are lawful, etc. . .that is, all indifferent things are indeed lawful, inasmuch as they are not prohibited; but oftentimes they are not expedient; as in the case of lawsuits, etc. and much less would it be expedient to be enslaved by an irregular affection to any thing, how indifferent soever. : . meat for the belly and the belly for the meats: but god shall destroy both it and them. but the body is not for fornication, but for the lord: and the lord for the body. : . now god hath raised up the lord and will raise us up also by his power. : . know you not that your bodies are the members of christ? shall i then take the members of christ and make them the members of an harlot? god forbid! : . or know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is made one body? for they shall be, saith he, two in one flesh. : . but he who is joined to the lord is one spirit. : . fly fornication. every sin that a man doth is without the body: but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. : . or know you not that your members are the temple of the holy ghost, who is in you, whom you have from god: and you are not your own? : . for you are bought with a great price. glorify and bear god in your body. corinthians chapter lessons relating to marriage and celibacy. virginity is preferable to a married state. : . now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman. : . but for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife: and let every woman have her own husband. have his own wife. . .that is, keep to his wife, which he hath. his meaning is not to exhort the unmarried to marry: on the contrary, he would have them rather continue as they are. (ver. : .) but he speaks here to them that are already married; who must not depart from one another, but live together as they ought to do in the marriage state. : . let the husband render the debt to his wife: and the wife also in like manner to the husband. : . the wife hath not power of her own body: but the husband. and in like manner the husband also hath not power of his own body: but the wife. : . defraud not one another, except, perhaps, by consent, for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer: and return together again, lest satan tempt you for your incontinency. : . but i speak this by indulgence, not by commandment. by indulgence. . .that is, by a condescension to your weakness. : . for i would that all men were even as myself. but every one hath his proper gift from god: one after this manner, and another after that. : . but i say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they so continue, even as i. : . but if they do not contain themselves, let them marry. for it is better to marry than to be burnt. if they do not contain, etc. . .this is spoken of such as are free, and not of such as, by vow, have given their first faith to god; to whom if they will use proper means to obtain it, god will never refuse the gift of continency. some translators have corrupted this text, by rendering it, if they cannot contain. : . but to them that are married, not i, but the lord, commandeth that the wife depart not from her husband. : . and if she depart, that she remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. and let not the husband put away his wife. : . for to the rest i speak, not the lord. if any brother hath a wife that believeth not and she consent to dwell with him: let him not put her away. i speak, not the lord. . .viz., by any express commandment, or ordinance. : . and if any woman hath a husband that believeth not and he consent to dwell with her: let her not put away her husband. : . for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife: and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband. otherwise your children should be unclean: but now they are holy. is sanctified. . .the meaning is not, that the faith of the husband or the wife is of itself sufficient to put the unbelieving party, or their children, in the state of grace and salvation; but that it is very often an occasion of their sanctification, by bringing them to the true faith. : . but if the unbeliever depart, let him depart. for a brother or sister is not under servitude in such cases. but god hath called us in peace. : . for how knowest thou, o wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, o man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? : . but as the lord hath distributed to every one, as god hath called every one: so let him walk. and so in all churches i teach. : . is any man called, being circumcised? let him not procure uncircumcision. is any man called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. : . circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing: but the observance of the commandments of god. : . let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called. : . wast thou called, being a bondman? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. : . for he that is called in the lord, being a bondman, is the freeman of the lord. likewise he that is called, being free, is the bondman of christ. : . you are bought with a price: be not made the bondslaves of men. : . brethren, let every man, wherein he was called, therein abide with god. : . now, concerning virgins, i have no commandment of the lord: but i give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the lord, to be faithful. : . i think therefore that this is good for the present necessity: that it is good for a man so to be. : . art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. : . but if thou take a wife, thou hast not sinned. and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned: nevertheless, such shall have tribulation of the flesh. but i spare you. : . this therefore i say, brethren: the time is short. it remaineth, that they also who have wives be as if they had none: : . and they that weep, as though they wept not: and they that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not: and they that buy as if they possessed not: : . and they that use this world, as if they used it not. for the fashion of this world passeth away. : . but i would have you to be without solicitude. he that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the lord: how he may please god. : . but he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world: how he may please his wife. and he is divided. : . and the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the lord: that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. but she that is married thinketh on the things of the world: how she may please her husband. : . and this i speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to attend upon the lord, without impediment. : . but if any man think that he seemeth dishonoured with regard to his virgin, for that she is above the age, and it must so be: let him do what he will. he sinneth not if she marry. let him do what he will; he sinneth not, etc. . .the meaning is not, as libertines would have it, that persons may do what they will and not sin, provided they afterwards marry; but that the father, with regard to the giving his virgin in marriage, may do as he pleaseth; and that it will be no sin to him if she marry. : . for he that hath determined, being steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but having power of his own will: and hath judged this in his heart, to keep his virgin, doth well. : . therefore both he that giveth his virgin in marriage doth well: and he that giveth her not doth better. : . a woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth: but if her husband die, she is at liberty. let her marry to whom she will: only in the lord. : . but more blessed shall she be, if she so remain, according to my counsel. and i think that i also have the spirit of god. corinthians chapter though an idol be nothing, yet things offered up to idols are not to be eaten, for fear of scandal. : . now concerning those things that are sacrificed to idols: we know we all have knowledge. knowledge puffeth up: but charity edifieth. knowledge puffeth up, etc. . .knowledge, without charity and humility, serveth only to puff persons up. : . and if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he hath not yet known as he ought to know. : . but if any man love god, the same is known by him. : . but as for the meats that are sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no god but one. : . for although there be that are called gods, either in heaven or on earth (for there be gods many and lords many): gods many, etc. . .reputed for such among the heathens. : . yet to us there is but one god, the father, of whom are all things, and we unto him: and one lord jesus christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. : . but there is not knowledge in every one. for some until this present, with conscience of the idol, eat as a thing sacrificed to an idol: and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. : . but meat doth not commend us to god. for neither, if we eat, shall we have the more: nor, if we eat not, shall we have the less. : . but take heed lest perhaps this your liberty become a stumblingblock to the weak. : . for if a man see him that hath knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not his conscience, being weak, be emboldened to eat those things which are sacrificed to idols? : . and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom christ hath died? : . now when you sin thus against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against christ. : . wherefore, if meat scandalize my brother, i will never eat flesh, lest i should scandalize my brother. if meat scandalize. . .that is, if my eating cause my brother to sin. corinthians chapter the apostle did not make use of his power of being maintained at the charges of those to whom he preached, that he might give no hindrance to the gospel. of running in the race and striving for the mastery. : . am i not i free? am not i an apostle? have not i seen christ jesus our lord? are not you my work in the lord? : . and if unto others i be not an apostle, but yet to you i am. for you are the seal of my apostleship in the lord. : . my defence with them that do examine me is this. : . have not we power to eat and to drink? : . have we not power to carry about a woman, a sister as well as the rest of the apostles and the brethren of the lord and cephas? a woman, a sister. . .some erroneous translators have corrupted this text by rendering it, a sister, a wife: whereas, it is certain, st. paul had no wife (chap. ver. , ) and that he only speaks of such devout women, as, according to the custom of the jewish nation, waited upon the preachers of the gospel, and supplied them with necessaries. : . or i only and barnabas, have not we power to do this? : . who serveth as a soldier, at any time, at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof? who feedeth the flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock? : . speak i these things according to man? or doth not the law also say; these things? : . for it is written in the law of moses: thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. doth god take care for oxen? : . or doth he say this indeed for our sakes? for these things are written for our sakes: that he that plougheth, should plough in hope and he that thrasheth, in hope to receive fruit. : . if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things? : . if others be partakers of this power over you, why not we rather? nevertheless, we have not used this power: but we bear all things, lest we should give any hindrance to the gospel of christ. : . know you not that they who work in the holy place eat the things that are of the holy place; and they that serve the altar partake with the altar? : . so also the lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. : . but i have used none of these things. neither have i written these things, that they should be so done unto me: for it is good for me to die rather than that any man should make my glory void. : . for if i preach the gospel, it is no glory to me: for a necessity lieth upon me. for woe is unto me if i preach not the gospel. it is no glory. . .that is, i have nothing to glory of. : . for if i do this thing willingly, i have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation is committed to me. : . what is my reward then? that preaching the gospel, i may deliver the gospel without charge, that i abuse not my power in the gospel. : . for whereas i was free as to all, i made myself the servant of all, that i might gain the more. : . and i became to the jews a jew, that i might gain the jews: : . to the weak i became weak, that i might gain the weak. i became all things to all men, that i might save all. : . and i do all things for the gospel's sake, that i may be made partaker thereof. : . know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize. so run that you may obtain. : . and every one that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things. and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible one. : . i therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: i so fight, not as one beating the air. : . but i chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when i have preached to others, i myself should become a castaway. i chastise, etc. . .here st. paul shews the necessity of self-denial and mortification, to subdue the flesh, and its inordinate desires. corinthians chapter by the example of the israelites, he shews that we are not to build too much upon favours received but to avoid their sins and fly from the service of idols and from things offered to idols. : . for i would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud: and all passed through the sea. : . and all in moses were baptized, in the cloud and in the sea: in moses. . .under the conduct of moses, they received baptism in figure, by passing under the cloud, and through the sea; and they partook of the body and blood of christ in figure, by eating of the manna, (called here a spiritual food because it was a figure of the true bread which comes down from heaven,) and drinking the water, miraculously brought out of the rock, called here a spiritual rock, because it was also a figure of christ. : . and did all eat the same spiritual food: : . and all drank the same spiritual drink: (and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was christ.) : . but with most of them god was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert. : . now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things, as they also coveted. : . neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. : . neither let us commit fornication, as some of them that committed fornication: and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. : . neither let us tempt christ, as some of them tempted and perished by the serpent. : . neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer. : . now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. the ends of the world. . .that is, the last ages. : . wherefore, he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. : . let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. and god is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. or. . .no temptation hath taken hold of you. . .or come upon you as yet, but what is human, or incident to man. issue. . .or a way to escape. : . wherefore, my dearly beloved, fly from the service of idols. : . i speak as to wise men: judge ye yourselves what i say. : . the chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of christ? and the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the lord? which we bless. . .here the apostle puts them in mind of their partaking of the body and blood of christ in the sacred mysteries, and becoming thereby one mystical body with christ. from whence he infers, ver. , that they who are made partakers with christ, by the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, must not be made partakers with devils by eating of the meats sacrificed to them. : . for we, being many, are one bread, one body: all that partake of one bread. one bread. . .or, as it may be rendered, agreeably both to the latin and greek, because the bread is one, all we, being many, are one body, who partake of that one bread. for it is by our communicating with christ, and with one another, in this blessed sacrament, that we are formed into one mystical body; and made, as it were, one bread, compounded of many grains of corn, closely united together. : . behold israel according to the flesh. are not they that eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? : . what then? do i say that what is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? or that the idol is any thing? : . but the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to god. and i would not that you should be made partakers with devils. : . you cannot drink the chalice of the lord and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the lord and of the table of devils. : . do we provoke the lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? all things are lawful for me: but all things are not expedient. : . all things are lawful for me: but all things do not edify. : . let no man seek his own, but that which is another's. : . whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat: asking no question for conscience' sake. : . the earth is the lord's and the fulness thereof. : . if any of them that believe not, invite you, and you be willing to go: eat of any thing that is set before you, asking no question for conscience' sake. : . but if any man say: this has been sacrificed to idols: do not eat of it, for his sake that told it and for conscience' sake. : . conscience i say, not thy own, but the other's. for why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience? : . if i partake with thanksgiving, why am i evil spoken of for that for which i give thanks? : . therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of god. : . be without offence to the jew, and to the gentiles and to the church of god: : . as i also in all things please all men, not seeking that which is profitable to myself but to many: that they may be saved. corinthians chapter women must have a covering over their heads. he blameth the abuses of their love feasts and upon that occasion treats of the blessed sacrament. : . be ye followers of me, as i also am of christ. : . now i praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as i have delivered them to you. : . but i would have you know that the head of every man is christ: and the head of the woman is the man: and the head of christ is god. : . every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraceth his head. : . but every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered disgraceth her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. : . for if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. but if it be a shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head. : . the man indeed ought not to cover his head: because he is the image and glory of god. but the woman is the glory of the man. : . for the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. : . for the man was not created for the woman: but the woman for the man. : . therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head, because of the angels. a power. . .that is, a veil or covering, as a sign that she is under the power of her husband: and this, the apostle adds, because of the angels, who are present in the assemblies of the faithful. : . but yet neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the lord. : . for as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman: but all things of god. : . you yourselves judge. doth it become a woman to pray unto god uncovered? : . doth not even nature itself teach you that a man indeed, if he nourish his hair, it is a shame unto him? : . but if a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. : . but if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the church of god. : . now this i ordain: not praising you, that you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. : . for first of all i hear that when you come together in the church, there are schisms among you. and in part i believe it. : . for there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved may be made manifest among you. there must be also heresies. . .by reason of the pride and perversity of man's heart; not by god's will or appointment; who nevertheless draws good out of this evil, manifesting, by that occasion, who are the good and firm christians, and making their faith more remarkable. : . when you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the lord's supper. the lord's supper. . .so the apostle here calls the charity feasts observed by the primitive christians; and reprehends the abuses of the corinthians, on these occasions; which were the more criminal, because these feasts were accompanied with the celebrating of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament. : . for every one taketh before his own supper to eat. and one indeed is hungry and another is drunk. : . what, have you no houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of god and put them to shame that have not? what shall i say to you? do i praise you? in this i praise you not. : . for i have received of the lord that which also i delivered unto you, that the lord jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, : . and giving thanks, broke and said: take ye and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you. this do for the commemoration of me. : . in like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: this chalice is the new testament in my blood. this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. : . for as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the lord, until he come. : . therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the lord. or drink. . .here erroneous translators corrupted the text, by putting and drink (contrary to the original) instead of or drink. guilty of the body, etc., not discerning the body, etc. . .this demonstrates the real presence of the body and blood of christ, even to the unworthy communicant; who otherwise could not be guilty of the body and blood of christ, or justly condemned for not discerning the lord's body. : . but let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. drink of the chalice. . .this is not said by way of command, but by way of allowance, viz., where and when it is agreeable to the practice and discipline of the church. : . for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the lord. : . therefore are there many infirm and weak among you: and many sleep. : . but if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. : . but whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the lord, that we be not condemned with this world. : . wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. : . if any man be hungry, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto judgment. and the rest i will set in order, when i come. corinthians chapter of the diversity of spiritual gifts. the members of the mystical body, like those of the natural body, must mutually cherish one another. : . now concerning spiritual things, my brethren, i would not have you ignorant. : . you know that when you were heathens, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led. : . wherefore, i give you to understand that no man, speaking by the spirit of god, saith anathema to jesus. and no man can say the lord jesus, but by the holy ghost. : . now there are diversities of graces, but the same spirit. : . and there are diversities of ministries. but the same lord. : . and there are diversities of operations, but the same god, who worketh all in all. : . and the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man unto profit. : . to one indeed, by the spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same spirit: : . to another, faith in the same spirit: to another, the grace of healing in one spirit: : . to another the working of miracles: to another, prophecy: to another, the discerning of spirits: to another, diverse kinds of tongues: to another, interpretation of speeches. : . but all these things, one and the same spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will. : . for as the body is one and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body: so also is christ. : . for in one spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether jews or gentiles, whether bond or free: and in one spirit we have all been made to drink. : . for the body also is not one member, but many. : . if the foot should say: because i am not the hand, i am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body? : . and if the ear should say: because i am not the eye, i am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body? : . if the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? : . but now god hath set the members, every one of them, in the body as it hath pleased him. : . and if they all were one member, where would be the body? : . but now there are many members indeed, yet one body. : . and the eye cannot say to the hand: i need not thy help. nor again the head to the feet: i have no need of you. : . yea, much, more those that seem to be the more feeble members of the body are more necessary : . and such as we think to be the less honourable members of the body, about these we put more abundant honour: and those that are our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. : . but our comely parts have no need: but god hath tempered the body together, giving to that which wanted the more abundant honour. : . that there might be no schism in the body: but the members might be mutually careful one for another. : . and if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it: or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it. : . now you are the body of christ and members of member. : . and god indeed hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors: after that miracles: then the graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of speeches. : . are all apostles? are all prophets? are all doctors? : . are all workers of miracles? have all the grace of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? : . but be zealous for the better gifts. and i shew unto you yet a more excellent way. corinthians chapter charity is to be preferred before all gifts. : . if i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, i am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. : . and if i should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if i should have all faith, so that i could remove mountains, and have not charity, i am nothing. : . and if i should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if i should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. : . charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, : . is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil: : . rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth: : . beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. : . charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void or tongues shall cease or knowledge shall be destroyed. : . for we know in part: and we prophesy in part. : . but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. : . when i was a child, i spoke as a child, i understood as a child, i thought as a child. but, when i became a man, i put away the things of a child. : . we see now through a glass in a dark manner: but then face to face. now i know in part: but then i shall know even as i am known. : . and now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity. corinthians chapter the gift of prophesying is to be preferred before that of speaking strange tongues. : . follow after charity, be zealous for spiritual gifts; but rather that you may prophesy. prophesy. . .that is, declare or expound the mysteries of faith. : . for he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto god: for no man heareth. yet by the spirit he speaketh mysteries. not unto men. . .viz., so as to be heard, that is, so as to be understood by them. : . but he that prophesieth speaketh to men unto edification and exhortation and comfort. : . he that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself: but he that prophesieth, edifieth the church. : . and i would have you all to speak with tongues, but rather to prophesy. for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues: unless perhaps he interpret, that the church may receive edification. : . but now, brethren, if i come to you speaking with tongues, what shall i profit you, unless i speak to you either in revelation or in knowledge or in prophecy or in doctrine? : . even things without life that give sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction of sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? : . for if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? : . so likewise you, except you utter by the tongue plain speech, how shall it be known what is said? for you shall be speaking into the air. : . there are, for example, so many kinds of tongues in this world: and none is without voice. : . if then i know not the power of the voice, i shall be to him to whom i speak a barbarian: and he that speaketh a barbarian to me. : . so you also, forasmuch as you are zealous of spirits, seek to abound unto the edifying of the church. of spirits. . .of spiritual gifts. : . and therefore he that speaketh by a tongue, let him pray that he may interpret. : . for if i pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth: but my understanding is without fruit. : . what is it then? i will pray with the spirit, i will pray also with the understanding, i will sing with the spirit, i will sing also with the understanding. : . else, if thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that holdeth the place of the unlearned say, amen, to thy blessing? because he knoweth not what thou sayest. amen. . .the unlearned, not knowing that you are then blessing, will not be qualified to join with you by saying amen to your blessing. the use or abuse of strange tongues, of which the apostle here speaks, does not regard the public liturgy of the church, (in which strange tongues were never used,) but certain conferences of the faithful, ver. , etc., in which, meeting together, they discovered to one another their various miraculous gifts of the spirit, common in those primitive times; amongst which the apostle prefers that of prophesying before that of speaking strange tongues, because it was more to the public edification. where also not, that the latin, used in our liturgy, is so far from being a strange or unknown tongue, that it is perhaps the best known tongue in the world. : . for thou indeed givest thanks well: but the other is not edified. : . i thank my god i speak with all your tongues. : . but in the church i had rather speak five words with my understanding, that i may instruct others also: than ten thousand words in a tongue. : . brethren, do not become children in sense. but in malice be children: and in sense be perfect. : . in the law it is written: in other tongues and other lips i will speak to this people: and neither so will they hear me, saith the lord. : . wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to believers but to unbelievers: but prophecies, not to unbelievers but to believers. : . if therefore the whole church come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned persons or infidels, will they not say that you are mad? : . but if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not or an unlearned person, he is convinced of all: he is judged of all. : . the secrets of his heart are made manifest. and so, falling down on his face, he will adore god, affirming that god is among you indeed. : . how is it then, brethren? when you come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation: let all things be done to edification. : . if any speak with a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and in course: and let one interpret. : . but if there be no interpreter, let him hold his peace in the church and speak to himself and to god. : . and let the prophets speak, two or three: and let the rest judge. : . but if any thing be revealed to another sitting, let the first hold his peace. : . for you may all prophesy, one by one, that all may learn and all may be exhorted. : . and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. : . for god is not the god of dissension, but of peace: as also i teach in all the churches of the saints. : . let women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted them to speak but to be subject, as also the law saith. : . but if they would learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church. : . or did the word of god come out from you? or came it only unto you? : . if any seem to be a prophet or spiritual, let him know the things that i write to you, that they are the commandments of the lord. : . but if any man know not, he shall not be known. : . wherefore, brethren, be zealous to prophesy: and forbid not to speak with tongues. : . but let all things be done decently and according to order. corinthians chapter christ's resurrection and ours. the manner of our resurrection. : . now i make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which i preached to you, which also you have received and wherein you stand. : . by which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner i preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. : . for i delivered unto you first of all, which i also received: how that christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: : . and that he was buried: and that he rose again according to the scriptures: : . and that he was seen by cephas, and after that by the eleven. : . then was he seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep. : . after that, he was seen by james: then by all the apostles. : . and last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due tine. : . for i am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of god. : . but by the grace of god, i am what i am. and his grace in me hath not been void: but i have laboured more abundantly than all they. yet not i, but the grace of god with me: : . for whether i or they, so we preach: and so you have believed. : . now if christ be preached, that he arose again from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? : . but if there be no resurrection of the dead, then christ is not risen again. : . and if christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain: and your faith is also vain. : . yea, and we are found false witnesses of god: because we have given testimony against god, that he hath raised up christ, whom he hath not raised up, if the dead rise not again. : . for if the dead rise not again, neither is christ risen again. : . and if christ be not risen again, your faith is vain: for you are yet in your sins. : . then they also that are fallen asleep in christ are perished. : . if in this life only we have hope in christ, we are of all men most miserable. : . but now christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep: : . for by a man came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead. : . and as in adam all die, so also in christ all shall be made alive. : . but every one in his own order: the firstfruits, christ: then they that are of christ, who have believed in his coming. : . afterwards the end: when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to god and the father: when he shall have brought to nought all principality and power and virtue. : . for he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. : . and the enemy, death, shall be destroyed last: for he hath put all things under his feet. and whereas he saith: : . all things are put under him; undoubtedly, he is excepted, who put all things under him. : . and when all things shall be subdued unto him, then the son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him, that god may be all in all. the son also himself shall be subject unto him. . .that is, the son will be subject to the father, according to his human nature, even after the general resurrection; and also the whole mystical body of christ will be entirely subject to god, obeying him in every thing. : . otherwise, what shall they do that are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not again at all? why are they then baptized for them? that are baptized for the dead. . .some think the apostle here alludes to a ceremony then in use; but others, more probably, to the prayers and penitential labours, performed by the primitive christians for the souls of the faithful departed; or to the baptism of afflictions and sufferings undergone for sinners spiritually dead. : . why also are we in danger every hour? : . i die daily, i protest by your glory, brethren, which i have in christ jesus our lord. : . if (according to man) i fought with beasts at ephesus, what doth it profit me, if the dead rise not again? let us eat and drink, for to morrow we shall die. let us eat and drink, etc. . .that is, if we did not believe that we were to rise again from the dead, we might live like the impious and wicked, who have no belief in the resurrection. : . be not seduced: evil communications corrupt good manners. : . awake, ye just, and sin not. for some have not the knowledge of god. i speak it to your shame. : . but some man will say: how do the dead rise again? or with what manner of body shall they come? : . senseless man, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die first. : . and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be: but bare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest. : . but god giveth it a body as he will: and to every seed its proper body. : . all flesh is not the same flesh: but one is the flesh of men, another of beasts, other of birds, another of fishes. : . and there are bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial: but, one is the glory of the celestial, and another of the terrestrial. : . one is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. for star differeth from star in glory. : . so also is the resurrection of the dead. it is sown in corruption: it shall rise in incorruption. : . it is sown in dishonour: it shall rise in glory. it is sown in weakness: it shall rise in power. : . it is sown a natural body: it shall rise a spiritual body. if there be a natural body, there is also a spiritual body, as it is written: : . the first man adam was made into a living soul; the last adam into a quickening spirit. : . yet that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural: afterwards that which is spiritual. : . the first man was of the earth, earthly: the second man, from heaven, heavenly. : . such as is the earthly, such also are the earthly: and such as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. : . therefore, as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. : . now this i say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of god: neither shall corruption possess incorruption. : . behold, i tell you a mystery. we shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. : . in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall rise again incorruptible. and we shall be changed. : . for this corruptible must put on incorruption: and this mortal must put on immortality. : . and when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: death is swallowed up in victory. : . o death, where is thy victory? o death, where is thy sting? : . now the sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law. : . but thanks be to god, who hath given us the victory through our lord jesus christ. : . therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast and unmoveable: always abounding in the work of the lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the lord. corinthians chapter of collection of alms. admonitions and salutations. : . now concerning the collections that are made for the saints: as i have given order to the churches of galatia, so do ye also. : . on the first day of the week, let every one of you put apart with himself, laying up what it shall well please him: that when i come, the collections be not then to be made. : . and when i shall be with you, whomsoever you shall approve by letters, them will i send to carry your grace to jerusalem. : . and if it be meet that i also go, they shall go with me. : . now i will come to you, when i shall have passed through macedonia. for i shall pass through macedonia. : . and with you perhaps i shall abide, or even spend the winter: that you may bring me on my way whithersoever i shall go. : . for i will not see you now by the way: for i trust that i shall abide with you some time, if the lord permit. : . but i will tarry at ephesus, until pentecost. : . for a great door and evident is opened unto me: and many adversaries. : . now if timothy come, see that he be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the lord, as i also do. : . let no man therefore despise him: but conduct ye him on his way in peace, that he may come to me. for i look for him with the brethren. : . and touching our brother apollo, i give you to understand that i much entreated him to come unto you with the brethren: and indeed it was not his will at all to come at this time. but he will come when he shall have leisure. : . watch ye: stand fast in the faith: do manfully and be strengthened. : . let all your things be done in charity. : . and i beseech you, brethren, you know the house of stephanus, and of fortunatus, and of achaicus, that they are the firstfruits of achaia, and have dedicated themselves to the ministry of the saints: : . that you also be subject to such and to every one that worketh with us and laboureth. : . and i rejoice in the presence of stephanus and fortunatus and achaicus: because that which was wanting on your part, they have supplied. : . for they have refreshed both my spirit and yours. know them, therefore, that are such. : . the churches of asia salute you. aquila and priscilla salute you much in the lord, with the church that is in their house, with whom i also lodge. : . all the brethren salute you. salute one another with a holy kiss. : . the salutation of me paul, with my own hand. : . if any man love not our lord jesus christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. let him be anathema, maranatha. . .anathema signifies here a thing accursed. maran-atha, which, according to st. jerome and st. chrysostom, signify, 'the lord is come' already, and therefore is to be taken as an admonition to those who doubted of the resurrection, and to put them in mind that christ, the judge of the living and the dead, is come already. others explain maran-atha: 'may our lord come', that is, to judge and punish those with exemplary judgments and punishments, that do not love the lord jesus christ. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. : . my charity be with you all in christ jesus. amen. the second epistle of st. paul to the corinthians in this epistle st. paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. hence he treats of true penance and of the dignity of the ministers of the new testament. he cautions the faithful against false teachers and the society of infidels. he gives an account of his sufferings and also of the favours and graces which god hath bestowed on him. this second epistle was written in the same year with the first and sent by titus from some place in macedonia. corinthians chapter he speaks of his troubles in asia. his not coming to them was not out of levity. the constancy and sincerity of his doctrine. : . paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy our brother: to the church of god that is at corinth, with all the saints that are in all achaia: : . grace unto you and peace from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies and the god of all comfort: : . who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we also may be able to comfort them who are in all distress, by the exhortation wherewith we also are exhorted by god. : . for as the sufferings of christ abound in us: so also by christ doth our comfort abound. : . now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation: or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which worketh the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. : . that our hope for you may be steadfast: knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation. : . for we would not have you ignorant, brethren, of our tribulation which came to us in asia: that we were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of life. : . but we had in ourselves the answer of death, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in god who raiseth the dead. : . who hath delivered and doth deliver us out of so great dangers: in whom we trust that he will yet also deliver us, : . you helping withal in prayer for us. that for this gift obtained for us, by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many in our behalf. : . for our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity of heart and sincerity of god, and not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of god, we have conversed in this world: and more abundantly towards you. : . for we write no other things to you than what you have read and known. and i hope that you shall know unto the end. : . as also you have known us in part, that we are your glory: as you also are ours, in the day of our lord jesus christ. : . and in this confidence i had a mind to come to you before, that you might have a second grace: : . and to pass by you into macedonia: and again from macedonia to come to you, and by you to be brought on my way towards judea. : . whereas then i was thus minded, did i use lightness? or, the things that i purpose, do i purpose according to the flesh, that there should be with me, it is, and it is not? : . but god is faithful: for our preaching which was to you, was not, it is, and it is not. : . for the son of god, jesus christ, who was preached among you by us, by me and sylvanus and timothy, was not: it is and it is not. but, it is, was in him. it is, was in him. . .there was no inconstancy in the doctrine of the apostles, sometimes, like modern sectaries, saying, it is, and at other times saying, it is not. but their doctrine was ever the same, one uniform yea, in jesus christ, one amen, that is, one truth in him. : . for all the promises of god are in him, it is. therefore also by him, amen to god, unto our glory. : . now he that confirmeth us with you in christ and that hath anointed us, is god: : . who also hath sealed us and given the pledge of the spirit in our hearts. : . but i call god to witness upon my soul that to spare you, i came not any more to corinth: not because we exercise dominion over your faith: but we are helpers of your joy. for in faith you stand. corinthians chapter he grants a pardon to the incestuous man upon his doing penance. : . but i determined this with myself, to come to you again in sorrow. : . for if i make you sorrowful, who is he then that can make me glad, but the same who is made sorrowful by me? : . and i wrote this same to you: that i may not, when i come, have sorrow upon sorrow from them of whom i ought to rejoice: having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. : . for out of much affliction and anguish of heart, i wrote to you with many tears: not that you should be made sorrowful: but that you might know the charity i have more abundantly towards you. : . and if any one have caused grief, he hath not grieved me: but in part, that i may not burden you all. : . to him who is such a one, this rebuke is sufficient, which is given by many. : . so that on the contrary, you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. : . wherefore, i beseech you that you would confirm your charity towards him. : . for to this end also did i write, that i may know the experiment of you, whether you be obedient in all things. : . and to whom you have pardoned any thing, i also. for, what i have pardoned, if i have pardoned any thing, for your sakes have i done it in the person of christ: i also. . .the apostle here granted an indulgence, or pardon, in the person and by the authority of christ, to the incestuous corinthian, whom before he had put under penance, which pardon consisted in a releasing of part of the temporal punishment due to his sin. : . that we be not overreached by satan. for we are not ignorant of his devices. : . and when i was come to troas for the gospel of christ and a door was opened unto me in the lord, : . i had no rest in my spirit, because i found not titus my brother: but bidding them farewell, i went into macedonia. : . now thanks be to god, who always maketh us to triumph in christ jesus and manifesteth the odour of his knowledge by us in every place. : . for we are the good odour of christ unto god, in them that are saved and in them that perish. : . to the one indeed the odour of death unto death: but to the others the odour of life unto life. and for these things who is so sufficient? the odour of death, etc. . .the preaching of the apostle, which by its fragrant odour, brought many to life, was to others, through their own fault, the occasion of death; by their wilfully opposing and resisting that divine call. : . for we are not as many, adulterating the word of god: but with sincerity: but as from god, before god, in christ we speak. corinthians chapter he needs no commendatory letters. the glory of the ministry of the new testament. : . do we begin again to commend ourselves? or do we need (as some do) epistles of commendation to you, or from you? : . you are our epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men: : . being manifested, that you are the epistle of christ, ministered by us, and written: not with ink but with the spirit of the living god: not in tables of stone but in the fleshly tables of the heart. : . and such confidence we have, through christ, towards god. : . not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from god. : . who also hath made us fit ministers of the new testament, not in the letter but in the spirit. for the letter killeth: but the spirit quickeneth. the letter. . .not rightly understood, and taken without the spirit. : . now if the ministration of death, engraven with letters upon stones, was glorious (so that the children of israel could not steadfastly behold the face of moses, for the glory of his countenance), which is made void: : . how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather in glory? : . for if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more the ministration of justice aboundeth in glory. : . for even that which was glorious in this part was not glorified by reason of the glory that excelleth. : . for if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is in glory. : . having therefore such hope, we use much confidence. : . and not as moses put a veil upon his face, that the children of israel might not steadfastly look on the face of that which is made void. : . but their senses were made dull. for, until this present day, the selfsame veil, in the reading of the old testament, remaineth not taken away (because in christ it is made void). : . but even until this day, when moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. : . but when they shall be converted to the lord, the veil shall be taken away. : . now the lord is a spirit. and where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty. : . but we all, beholding the glory of the lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the lord. corinthians chapter the sincerity of his preaching. his comfort in his afflictions. : . therefore seeing we have this ministration, according as we have obtained mercy, we faint not. : . but we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor adulterating the word of god: but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of god. : . and if our gospel be also hid, it is hid to them that are lost, : . in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of christ, who is the image of god, should not shine unto them. : . for we preach not ourselves, but jesus christ our lord: and ourselves your servants through jesus. : . for god, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god, in the face of christ jesus. : . but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of the power of god and not of us. : . in all things we suffer tribulation: but are not distressed. we are straitened: but are not destitute. : . we suffer persecution: but are not forsaken. we are cast down: but we perish not. : . always bearing about in our body the mortification of jesus, that the life also of jesus may be made manifest in our bodies. : . for we who live are always delivered unto death for jesus' sake: that the life also of jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. : . so then death worketh in us: but life in you. : . but having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: i believed, for which cause i have spoken; we also believe. for which cause we speak also: : . knowing that he who raised up jesus will raise us up also with jesus and place us with you. : . for all things are for your sakes: that the grace, abounding through many, may abound in thanksgiving unto the glory of god. : . for which cause we faint not: but though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. : . for that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us above measure, exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. : . while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen, are eternal. corinthians chapter he is willing to leave his earthly mansion to be with the lord. his charity to the corinthians. : . for we know, if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of god, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. : . for in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven. : . yet so that we be found clothed, not naked. : . for we also, who are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life. : . now he that maketh us for this very thing is god, who hath given us the pledge of the spirit, : . therefore having always confidence, knowing that while we are in the body we are absent from the lord. : . (for we walk by faith and not by sight.) : . but we are confident and have a good will to be absent rather from the body and to be present with the lord. : . and therefore we labour, whether absent or present, to please him. : . for we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil. the proper things of the body. . .in the particular judgment, immediately after death, the soul is rewarded or punished according to what it has done in the body. : . knowing therefore the fear of the lord, we use persuasion to men: but to god we are manifest. and i trust also that in your consciences we are manifest. : . we commend not ourselves again to you, but give you occasion to glory in our behalf: that you may have somewhat to answer them who glory in face, and not in heart. : . for whether we be transported in mind, it is to god: or whether we be sober, it is for you. : . for the charity of christ presseth us: judging this, that if one died for all, then all were dead. : . and christ died for all: that they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again. : . wherefore henceforth, we know no man according to the flesh. and if we have known christ according to the flesh: but now we know him so no longer. we know no man according to the flesh. . .that is, we consider not any man with regard to his nation, family, kindred, or other natural qualities or advantages; but only with relation to christ, and according to the order of divine charity, in god, and for god. the apostle adds, that even with respect to christ himself, he now no longer considers him according to the flesh, by taking a satisfaction in his being his countryman; his affection being now purified from all such earthly considerations. : . if then any be in christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. behold all things are made new. : . but all things are of god, who hath reconciled us to himself by christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. : . for god indeed was in christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their sins. and he hath placed in us the word of reconciliation. : . for christ therefore we are ambassadors, god as it were exhorting by us, for christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to god. : . him, who knew no sin, he hath made sin for us: that we might be made the justice of god in him. sin for us. . .that is, to be a sin offering, a victim for sin. corinthians chapter he exhorts them to a correspondence with god's grace and not to associate with unbelievers. : . and we helping do exhort you that you receive not the grace of god in vain. : . for he saith: in an accepted time have i heard thee and in the day of salvation have i helped thee. behold, now is the acceptable time: behold, now is the day of salvation. : . giving no offence to any man, that our ministry be not blamed. : . but in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of god, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, : . in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labours, in watchings, in fastings, : . in chastity, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in sweetness, in the holy ghost, in charity unfeigned, : . in the word of truth, in the power of god: by the armour of justice on the right hand and on the left: : . by honour and dishonour: by evil report and good report: as deceivers and yet true: as unknown and yet known: : . as dying and behold we live: as chastised and not killed: : . as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing: as needy, yet enriching many: as having nothing and possessing all things. : . our mouth is open to you, o ye corinthians: our heart is enlarged. : . you are not straitened in us: but in your own bowels you are straitened. : . but having the same recompense (i speak as to my children): be you also enlarged. : . bear not the yoke with unbelievers. for what participation hath justice with injustice? or what fellowship hath light with darkness? : . and what concord hath christ with belial? or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? : . and what agreement hath the temple of god with idols? for you are the temple of the living god: as god saith: i will dwell in them and walk among them. and i will be their god: and they shall be my people. : . wherefore: go out from among them and be ye separate, saith the lord, and touch not the unclean thing: : . and i will receive you. and will be a father to you: and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the lord almighty. corinthians chapter the apostle's affection for the corinthians. his comfort and joy on their account. : . having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of god. : . receive us. we have injured no man: we have corrupted no man: we have overreached no man. : . i speak not this to your condemnation. for we have said before that you are in our hearts: to die together and to live together. : . great is my confidence for you: great is my glorying for you. i am filled with comfort: i exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation. : . for also, when we were come into macedonia, our flesh had no rest: but we suffered all tribulation. combats without: fears within. : . but god, who comforteth the humble, comforted us by the coming of titus. : . and not by his coming only, but also by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, relating to us your desire, your mourning, your zeal for me: so that i rejoiced the more. : . for although i made you sorrowful by my epistle, i do not repent. and if i did repent, seeing that the same epistle (although but for a time) did make you sorrowful, : . now i am glad: not because you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sorrowful unto penance. for you were made sorrowful according to god, that you might suffer damage by us in nothing. : . for the sorrow that is according to god worketh penance, steadfast unto salvation: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. : . for behold this selfsame thing, that you were made sorrowful according to god, how great carefulness it worketh in you: yea defence, yea indignation, yea fear, yea desire, yea zeal, yea revenge. in all things you have shewed yourselves to be undefiled in the matter. : . wherefore although i wrote to you, it was not for his sake that did the wrong, nor for him that suffered it: but to manifest our carefulness that we have for you : . before god: therefore we were comforted. but in our consolation we did the more abundantly rejoice for the joy of titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. : . and if i have boasted any thing to him of you, i have not been put to shame: but as we have spoken all things to you in truth, so also our boasting that was made to titus is found a truth. : . and his bowels are more abundantly towards you: remembering the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. : . i rejoice that in all things i have confidence in you. corinthians chapter he exhorts them to contribute bountifully to relieve the poor of jerusalem. : . now we make known unto you, brethren, the grace of god that hath been given in the churches of macedonia. : . that in much experience of tribulation, they have had abundance of joy and their very deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their simplicity. simplicity. . .that is, sincere bounty and charity. : . for according to their power (i bear them witness) and beyond their power, they were willing: : . with much entreaty begging of us the grace and communication of the ministry that is done toward the saints. : . and not as we hoped: but they gave their own selves, first to the lord, then to us by the will of god; : . insomuch, that we desired titus, that, as he had begun, so also he would finish among you this same grace. : . that as in all things you abound in faith and word and knowledge and all carefulness, moreover also in your charity towards us: so in this grace also you may abound. : . i speak not as commanding: but by the carefulness of others, approving also the good disposition of your charity. : . for you know the grace of our lord jesus christ, that being rich he became poor for your sakes: that through his poverty you might be rich. : . and herein i give my advice: for this is profitable for you who have begun not only to do but also to be willing, a year ago. : . now therefore perform ye it also in deed: that as your mind is forward to be willing, so it may be also to perform, out of that which you have. : . for if the will be forward, it is accepted according to that which a man hath: not according to that which he hath not. : . for i mean not that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality. : . in this present time let your abundance supply their want, that their abundance also may supply your want: that there may be an equality, : . as it is written: he that had much had nothing over; and he that had little had no want. : . and thanks be to god, who hath given the same carefulness for you in the heart of titus. : . for indeed he accepted the exhortation: but, being more careful, of his own will he went unto you. : . we have sent also with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches. : . and not that only: but he was also ordained by the churches companion of our travels, for this grace, which is administered by us, to the glory of the lord and our determined will: : . avoiding this, lest any man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us. : . for we forecast what may be good, not only before god but also before men. : . and we have sent with them our brother also, whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent: with much confidence in you, : . either for titus, who is my companion and fellow labourer towards you, or our brethren, the apostles of the churches, the glory of christ. : . wherefore shew ye to them, in the sight of the churches, the evidence of your charity and of our boasting on your behalf. corinthians chapter a further exhortation to almsgiving. the fruits of it. : . for concerning the ministry that is done towards the saints, it is superfluous for me to write unto you. : . for i know your forward mind: for which i boast of you to the macedonians, that achaia also is ready from the year past. and your emulation hath provoked very many. : . now i have sent the brethren, that the thing which we boast of concerning you be not made void in this behalf, that (as i have said) you may be ready: : . lest, when the macedonians shall come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to say ye) should be ashamed in this matter. : . therefore i thought it necessary to desire the brethren that they would go to you before and prepare this blessing before promised, to be ready, so as a blessing, not as covetousness. : . now this i say: he who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings shall also reap blessings. : . every one as he hath determined in his heart, not with sadness or of necessity: for god loveth a cheerful giver. : . and god is able to make all grace abound in you: that ye always, having all sufficiently in all things, may abound to every good work, : . as it is written: he hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever. : . and he that ministereth seed to the sower will both give you bread to eat and will multiply your seed and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice: : . that being enriched in all things, you may abound unto all simplicity which worketh through us thanksgiving to god. : . because the administration of this office doth not only supply the want of the saints, but aboundeth also by many thanksgivings in the lord. : . by the proof of this ministry, glorifying god for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of christ and for the simplicity of your communicating unto them and unto all. : . and in their praying for you, being desirous of you, because of the excellent grace of god in you. : . thanks be to god for his unspeakable gift. corinthians chapter to stop the calumny and boasting of false apostles, he set forth the power of his apostleship. : . now i paul, myself beseech you, by the mildness and modesty of christ: who in presence indeed am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. : . but i beseech you, that i may not be bold when i am present with that confidence wherewith i am thought to be bold, against some who reckon us as if we walked according to the flesh. : . for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. : . for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to god, unto the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels, : . and every height that exalteth itself against the knowledge of god: and bringing into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of christ: : . and having in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be fulfilled. : . see the things that are according to outward appearance. if any man trust to himself, that he is christ's let him think this again with himself, that as he is christ's, so are we also. : . for if also i should boast somewhat more of our power, which the lord hath given us unto edification and not for your destruction, i should not be ashamed. : . but that i may not be thought as it were to terrify you by epistles, : . (for his epistles indeed, say they, are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible): : . let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by epistles when absent, such also we will be indeed when present. : . for we dare not match or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but we measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves with ourselves. : . but we will not glory beyond our measure: but according to the measure of the rule which god hath measured to us, a measure to reach even unto you. : . for we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as if we reached not unto you. for we are come as far as to you in the gospel of christ. : . not glorying beyond measure in other men's labours: but having hope of your increasing faith, to be magnified in you according to our rule abundantly. : . yea, unto those places that are beyond you to preach the gospel: not to glory in another man's rule, in those things that are made ready to our hand. : . but he that glorieth, let him glory in the lord. : . for not he who commendeth himself is approved: but he, whom god commendeth. corinthians chapter he is forced to commend himself and his labours, lest the corinthians should be imposed upon by the false apostles. : . would to god you could bear with some little of my folly! but do bear with me. my folly. . .so he calls his reciting his own praises, which, commonly speaking is looked upon as a piece of folly and vanity; though the apostle was constrained to do it, for the good of the souls committed to his charge. : . for i am jealous of you with the jealousy of god. for i have espoused you to one husband, that i may present you as a chaste virgin to christ. : . but i fear lest, as the serpent seduced eve by his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted and fall from the simplicity that is in christ. : . for if he that cometh preacheth another christ, whom we have not preached; or if you receive another spirit, whom you have not received; or another gospel, which you have not received: you might well bear with him. : . for i suppose that i have done nothing less than the great apostles. : . for although i be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge: but in all things we have been made manifest to you. : . or did i commit a fault, humbling myself that you might be exalted, because i preached unto you the gospel of god freely? : . i have taken from other churches, receiving wages of them for your ministry. : . and, when i was present with you and wanted, i was chargeable to no man: for that which was wanting to me, the brethren supplied who came from macedonia. and in all things i have kept myself from being burthensome to you: and so i will keep myself. : . the truth of christ is in me, that this glorying shall not be broken off in me in the regions of achaia. : . wherefore? because i love you not? god knoweth it. : . but what i do, that i will do: that i may cut off the occasion from them that desire occasion: that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. : . for such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of christ. : . and no wonder: for satan himself transformeth himself into an angel of light. : . therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works. : . i say again (let no man think me to be foolish: otherwise take me as one foolish, that i also may glory a little): : . that which i speak, i speak not according to god: but as it were in foolishness, in this matter of glorying. : . seeing that many glory according to the flesh, i will glory also. : . for you gladly suffer the foolish: whereas yourselves are wise. : . for you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take from you, if a man be lifted up, if a man strike you on the face. : . i seek according to dishonour, as if we had been weak in this part. wherein if any man dare (i speak foolishly), i dare also. : . they are hebrews: so am i. they are israelites: so am i. they are the seed of abraham: so am i. : . they are the ministers of christ (i speak as one less wise): i am more; in many more labours, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. : . of the jews five times did i receive forty stripes save one. : . thrice was i beaten with rods: once i was stoned: thrice i suffered shipwreck: a night and a day i was in the depth of the sea. : . in journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren: : . in labour and painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness: : . besides those things which are without: my daily instance, the solicitude for all the churches. my daily instance. . .the labours that come in, and press upon me every day. : . who is weak, and i am not weak? who is scandalized, and i am not on fire? : . if i must needs glory, i will glory of the things that concern my infirmity. : . the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who is blessed for ever, knoweth that i lie not. : . at damascus, the governor of the nation under aretas the king, guarded the city of the damascenes, to apprehend me. : . and through a window in a basket was i let down by the wall: and so escaped his hands. corinthians chapter his raptures and revelations, his being buffeted by satan. his fear for the corinthians. : . if i must glory (it is not expedient indeed) but i will come to visions and revelations of the lord. : . i know a man in christ: above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, i know not, or out of the body, i know not: god knoweth), such a one caught up to the third heaven. : . and i know such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, i know not: god knoweth): : . that he was caught up into paradise and heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter. : . for such an one i will glory: but for myself i will glory nothing but in my infirmities. : . for though i should have a mind to glory, i shall not be foolish: for i will say the truth. but i forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth in me, or any thing he heareth from me. : . and lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of satan, to buffet me. : . for which thing, thrice i besought the lord that it might depart from me. : . and he said to me: my grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity. gladly therefore will i glory in my infirmities, that the power of christ may dwell in me. power is made perfect. . .the strength and power of god more perfectly shines forth in our weakness and infirmity; as the more weak we are of ourselves, the more illustrious is his grace in supporting us, and giving us the victory under all trials and conflicts. : . for which cause i please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for christ. for when i am weak, then am i powerful. : . i am become foolish. you have compelled me: for i ought to have been commended by you. for i have no way come short of them that are above measure apostles, although i be nothing. : . yet the signs of my apostleship have been wrought on you, in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. : . for what is there that you have had less than the other churches but that i myself was not burthensome to you? pardon me this injury. : . behold now the third time i am ready to come to you and i will not be burthensome unto you. for i seek not the things that are yours, but you. for neither ought the children to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. : . but i most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls: although loving you more, i be loved less. : . but be it so: i did not burthen you: but being crafty, i caught you by guile. : . did i overreach you by any of them whom i sent to you? : . i desired titus: and i sent with him a brother. did titus overreach you? did we not walk with the same spirit? did we not in the same steps? : . of old, think you that we excuse ourselves to you? we speak before god in christ: but all things, my dearly beloved, for your edification. : . for i fear lest perhaps, when i come, i shall not find you such as i would, and that i shall be found by you such as you would not. lest perhaps contentions, envyings, animosities, dissensions, detractions, whisperings, swellings, seditions, be among you. : . lest again, when i come, god humble me among you: and i mourn many of them that sinned before and have not done penance for the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness that they have committed. corinthians chapter he threatens the impenitent, to provoke them to penance. : . behold, this is the third time i am coming to you: in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand. : . i have told before and foretell, as present and now absent, to them that sinned before and to all the rest, that if i come again, i will not spare. : . do you seek a proof of christ that speaketh in me, who towards you is not weak, but is mighty in you? : . for although he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of god. for we also are weak in him: but we shall live with him by the power of god towards you. : . try your own selves if you be in the faith: prove ye yourselves. know you not your own selves, that christ jesus is in you, unless perhaps you be reprobates? : . but i trust that you shall know that we are not reprobates. : . now we pray god that you may do no evil, not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is good and that we may be as reprobates. reprobates. . .that is, without proof, by having no occasion of shewing our power in punishing you. : . for we can do nothing against the truth: but for the truth. : . for we rejoice that we are weak and you are strong. this also we pray for, your perfection. : . therefore i write these things, being absent, that, being present, i may not deal more severely, according to the power which the lord hath given me unto edification and not unto destruction. : . for the rest, brethren, rejoice, be perfect, take exhortation, be of one mind, have peace. and the god of grace and of love shall be with you. : . salute one another with a holy kiss. all the saints salute you. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ and the charity of god and the communication of the holy ghost be with you all. amen. the epistle of st. paul to the galatians the galatians, soon after st. paul had preached the gospel to them, were seduced by some false teachers, who had been jews and who were for obliging all christians, even those who had been gentiles, to observe circumcision and the other ceremonies of the mosaical law. in this epistle, he refutes the pernicious doctrine of those teachers and also their calumny against his mission and apostleship. the subject matter of this epistle is much the same as that to the romans. it was written at ephesus, about twenty-three years after our lord's ascension. galatians chapter he blames the galatians for suffering themselves to be imposed upon by new teachers. the apostle's calling. : . paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by jesus christ and god the father, who raised him from the dead: : . and all the brethren who are with me: to the churches of galatia. : . grace be to you, and peace from god the father and from our lord jesus christ, : . who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present wicked world, according to the will of god and our father: : . to whom is glory for ever and ever. amen. : . i wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of christ, unto another gospel. : . which is not another: only there are some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of christ. : . but though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. : . as we said before, so now i say again: if any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema. : . for do i now persuade men, or god? or do i seek to please men? if i yet pleased men, i should not be the servant of christ. : . for i give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. : . for neither did i receive it of man: nor did i learn it but by the revelation of jesus christ. : . for you have heard of my conversation in time past in the jews' religion: how that, beyond measure, i persecuted the church of god and wasted it. : . and i made progress in the jew's religion above many of my equals in my own nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. : . but when it pleased him who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, : . to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles: immediately i condescended not to flesh and blood. : . neither went i to jerusalem, to the apostles who were before me: but i went into arabia, and again i returned to damascus. : . then, after three years, i went to jerusalem to see peter: and i tarried with him fifteen days. : . but other of the apostles i saw none, saving james the brother of the lord. : . now the things which i write to you, behold, before god, i lie not. : . afterwards, i came into the regions of syria and cilicia. : . and i was unknown by face to the churches of judea, which were in christ: : . but they had heard only: he, who persecuted us in times past doth now preach the faith which once he impugned. : . and they glorified god in me. galatians chapter the apostle's preaching was approved of by the other apostles. the gentiles were not to be constrained to the observance of the law. : . then, after fourteen years, i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, taking titus also with me. : . and i went up according to revelation and communicated to them the gospel which i preach among the gentiles: but apart to them who seemed to be some thing: lest perhaps i should run or had run in vain. : . but neither titus, who was with me, being a gentile, was compelled to be circumcised. : . but because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privately to spy our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into servitude. : . to whom we yielded not by subjection: no, not for an hour: that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. : . but of them who seemed to be some thing, (what they were some time it is nothing to me, god accepteth not the person of man): for to me they that seemed to be some thing added nothing. : . but contrariwise, when they had seen that to me was committed the gospel of the uncircumcision, as to peter was that of the circumcision. the gospel of the uncircumcision. . .the preaching of the gospel to the uncircumcised, that is, to the gentiles. st. paul was called in an extraordinary manner to be the apostle of the gentiles; st. peter, besides his general commission over the whole flock, (john . , etc.,) had a peculiar charge of the people of the circumcision, that is, of the jews. : . (for he who wrought in peter to the apostleship of the circumcision wrought in me also among the gentiles.) : . and when they had known the grace that was given to me, james and cephas and john, who seemed to be pillars, gave to me and barnabas the right hands of fellowship: that we should go unto the gentiles, and they unto the circumcision: : . only that we should be mindful of the poor: which same thing also i was careful to do. : . but when cephas was come to antioch, i withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. i withstood, etc. . .the fault that is here noted in the conduct of st. peter, was only a certain imprudence, in withdrawing himself from the table of the gentiles, for fear of giving offence to the jewish converts; but this, in such circumstances, when his so doing might be of ill consequence to the gentiles, who might be induced thereby to think themselves obliged to conform to the jewish way of living, to the prejudice of their christian liberty. neither was st. paul's reprehending him any argument against his supremacy; for in such cases an inferior may, and sometimes ought, with respect, to admonish his superior. : . for before that some came from james, he did eat with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them who were of the circumcision. : . and to his dissimulation the rest of the jews consented: so that barnabas also was led by them into that dissimulation. : . but when i saw that they walked not uprightly unto the truth of the gospel, i said to cephas before them all: if thou, being a jew, livest after the manner of the gentiles and not as the jews do, how dost thou compel the gentiles to live as do the jews? : . we by nature are jews: and not of the gentiles, sinners. : . but knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of jesus christ, we also believe in christ jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of christ and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. : . but if, while we seek to be justified in christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is christ then the minister of sin? god forbid! : . for if i build up again the things which i have destroyed, i make myself a prevaricator. : . for i, through the law, am dead to the law, that i may live to god; with christ i am nailed to the cross. : . and i live, now not i: but christ liveth in me. and that i live now in the flesh: i live in the faith of the son of god, who loved me and delivered himself for me. : . i cast not away the grace of god. for if justice be by the law, then christ died in vain. galatians chapter the spirit, and the blessing promised to abraham cometh not by the law, but by faith. : . o senseless galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth: before whose eyes jesus christ hath been set forth, crucified among you? : . this only would i learn of you: did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? : . are you so foolish that, whereas you began in the spirit, you would now be made perfect by the flesh? : . have you suffered so great things in vain? if it be yet in vain. : . he therefore who giveth to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you: doth he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of the faith? : . as it is written: abraham believed god: and it was reputed to him unto justice. : . know ye, therefore, that they who are of faith, the same are the children of abraham. : . and the scripture, foreseeing that god justifieth the gentiles by faith, told unto abraham before: in thee shall all nations be blessed. : . therefore, they that are of faith shall be blessed with faithful abraham. : . for as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. for it is written: cursed is every one that abideth, not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. : . but that in the law no man is justified with god, it is manifest: because the just man liveth by faith. : . but the law is not of faith: but he that doth those things shall live in them. : . christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written: cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree). : . that the blessing of abraham might come on the gentiles through christ jesus: that we may receive the promise of the spirit by faith. : . brethren (i speak after the manner of man), yet a man's testament, if it be confirmed, no man despiseth nor addeth to it. : . to abraham were the promises made and to his seed. he saith not: and to his seeds as of many. but as of one: and to thy seed, which is christ. : . now this i say: that the testament which was confirmed by god, the law which was made after four hundred and thirty years doth not disannul, to make the promise of no effect. : . for if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise. but god gave it to abraham by promise. : . why then was the law? it was set because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom he made the promise, being ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. because of transgressions. . .to restrain them from sin, by fear and threats. ordained by angels. . .the law was delivered by angels, speaking in the name and person of god to moses, who was the mediator, on this occasion, between god and the people. : . now a mediator is not of one: but god is one. : . was the law then against the promises of god: god forbid! for if there had been a law given which could give life, verily justice should have been by the law. : . but the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise, by the faith of jesus christ, might be given to them that believe. hath concluded all under sin. . .that is, hath declared all to be under sin, from which they could not be delivered but by faith in jesus christ, the promised seed. : . but before the faith came, we were kept under the law shut up, unto that faith which was to be revealed. : . wherefore the law was our pedagogue in christ: that we might be justified by faith. pedagogue. . .that is, schoolmaster, conductor, or instructor. : . but after the faith is come, we are no longer under a pedagogue. : . for you are all the children of god, by faith in christ jesus. : . for as many of you as have been baptized in christ have put on christ. : . there is neither jew nor greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. for you are all one in christ jesus. neither jew, etc. . .that is, no distinction of jew, etc. : . and if you be christ's, then are you the seed of abraham, heirs according to the promise. galatians chapter christ has freed us from the servitude of the law. we are the freeborn sons of abraham. : . as long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, : . but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father. : . so we also, when we were children, were serving under the elements of the world. under the elements, etc. . .that is, under the first rudiments of religion, in which the carnal jews were trained up; or under those corporeal creatures, used in their manifold rites, sacrifices, and sacraments. : . but when the fulness of the time was come, god sent his son, made of a woman, made under the law: : . that he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons. : . and because you are sons, god hath sent the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying: abba, father. : . therefore, now he is not a servant, but a son. and if a son, an heir also through god. : . but then indeed, not knowing god, you served them who, by nature, are not gods. : . but now, after that you have known god, or rather are known by god: how turn you again to the weak and needy elements which you desire to serve again? : . you observe days and months and times, and years. you observe days, etc. . .he speaks not of the observation of the lord's day, or other christian festivals; but either of the superstitious observation of days lucky and unlucky; or else of the jewish festivals, to the observance of which, certain jewish teachers sought to induce the galatians. : . i am afraid of you, lest perhaps i have laboured in vain among you. : . be ye as i, because i also am as you brethren, i beseech you. you have not injured me at all. : . and you know how, through infirmity of the flesh, i preached the gospel to you heretofore: and your temptation in my flesh : . you despised not, nor rejected: but received me as an angel of god, even as christ jesus. : . where is then your blessedness? for i bear you witness that, if it could be done, you would have plucked out your own eyes and would have given them to me. : . am i then become your enemy, because i tell you the truth? : . they are zealous in your regard not well: but they would exclude you, that you might be zealous for them. : . but be zealous for that which is good in a good thing always: and not only when i am present with you. : . my little children, of whom i am in labour again, until christ be formed in you. : . and i would willingly be present with you now and change my voice: because i am ashamed for you. : . tell me, you that desire to be under the law, have you not read the law? : . for it is written that abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman. : . but he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh: but he of the free woman was by promise. : . which things are said by an allegory. for these are the two testaments. the one from mount sina, engendering unto bondage, which is agar. : . for sina is a mountain in arabia, which hath affinity to that jerusalem which now is: and is in bondage with her children. : . but that jerusalem which is above is free: which is our mother. : . for it is written: rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not: break forth and cry thou that travailest not: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband. : . now we, brethren, as isaac was, are the children of promise. : . but as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit: so also it is now. : . but what saith the scripture? cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. : . so then, brethren, we are not the children of the bondwoman but of the free: by the freedom wherewith christ has made us free. galatians chapter he exhorts them to stand to their christian liberty. of the fruits of the flesh and of the spirit. : . stand fast and be not held again under the yoke of bondage. : . behold, i paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, christ shall profit you nothing. : . and i testify again to every man circumcising himself that he is a debtor to do the whole law. : . you are made void of christ, you who are justified in the law: you are fallen from grace. : . for we in spirit, by faith, wait for the hope of justice. : . for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision: but faith that worketh by charity. : . you did run well. what hath hindered you, that you should not obey the truth? : . this persuasion is not from him that calleth you. : . a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump. : . i have confidence in you in the lord that you will not be of another mind: but he that troubleth you shall bear the judgment, whosoever he be. : . and i, brethren, if i yet preach circumcision, why do i yet suffer persecution? then is the scandal of the cross made void. : . i would they were even cut off, who trouble you. : . for you, brethren, have been called unto liberty. only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh: but by charity of the spirit serve one another. : . for all the law is fulfilled in one word: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. : . but if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be not consumed one of another. : . i say then: walk in the spirit: and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. : . for the flesh lusteth against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. : . but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. : . now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, : . idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, : . envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. of the which i foretell you, as i have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of god. : . but the fruit of the spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, : . mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. against such there is no law. : . and they that are christ's have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences. : . if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. : . let us not be made desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. galatians chapter he exhorts to charity, humility and all virtue. he glories in nothing but in the cross of christ. : . brethren, and if a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. : . bear ye one another's burdens: and so you shall fulfil the law of christ. : . for if any man think himself to be some thing, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. : . but let every one prove his own work: and so he shall have glory in himself only and not in another. : . for every one shall bear his own burden. : . and let him that is instructed in the word communicate to him that instructeth him, in all good things. : . be not deceived: god is not mocked. : . for what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. for he that soweth in his flesh of the flesh also shall reap corruption. but he that soweth in the spirit of the spirit shall reap life everlasting. : . and in doing good, let us not fail. for in due time we shall reap, not failing. : . therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith. : . see what a letter i have written to you with my own hand. : . for as many as desire to please in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of christ. : . for neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law: but they will have you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. : . but god forbid that i should glory, save in the cross of our lord jesus christ: by whom the world is crucified to me, and i to the world. : . for in christ jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision: but a new creature. : . and whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them and mercy: and upon the israel of god. : . from henceforth let no man be troublesome to me: for i bear the marks of the lord jesus in my body. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit, brethren. amen. the epistle of st. paul to the ephesians ephesus was the capital of lesser asia, and celebrated for the temple of diana, to which the most part of the people of the east went frequently to worship. but st. paul having preached the gospel there, for two years the first time and afterwards for about a year, converted many. he wrote this epistle to them when he was a prisoner in rome; and sent it by tychicus. he admonishes them to hold firmly the faith which they had received and warns them, and also those of the neighbouring cities, against the sophistry of philosophers and doctrine of false teachers who were come among them. the matters of faith contained in this epistle are exceedingly sublime, and consequently very difficult to be understood. it was written about twenty-nine years after our lord's ascension. ephesians chapter the great blessings we have received through christ. he is the head of all the church. : . paul, an apostle of jesus christ, by the will of god, to all the saints who are at ephesus and to the faithful in christ jesus. : . grace be to you and peace, from god the father and from the lord jesus christ. : . blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in christ: in heavenly places. . .or, in heavenly things. in coelestibus. : . as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity. : . who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through jesus christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will: : . unto the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he hath graced us, in his beloved son. : . in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his, grace, : . which hath superabounded in us, in all wisdom and prudence, : . that he might make known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in him, : . in the dispensation of the fulness of times, to re-establish all things in christ, that are in heaven and on earth, in him. : . in whom we also are called by lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. : . that we may be unto the praise of his glory: we who before hoped in christ: : . in whom you also, after you had heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation), in whom also believing, you were signed with the holy spirit of promise. : . who is the pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of acquisition, unto the praise of his glory. acquisition. . .that is, a purchased possession. : . wherefore, i also, hearing of your faith that is in the lord jesus and of your love towards all the saints, : . cease not to give thanks for you, making commemoration of you in my prayers, : . that the god of our lord jesus christ, the father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of him: : . the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what the hope is of his calling and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. : . and what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us, who believe according to the operation of the might of his power, : . which he wrought in christ, raising him up from the dead and setting him on his right hand in the heavenly places. : . above all principality and power and virtue and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. : . and he hath subjected all things under his feet and hath made him head over all the church, : . which is his body and the fulness of him who is filled all in all. ephesians chapter all our good comes through christ. he is our peace. : . and you, when you were dead in your offences and sins, : . wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief: : . in which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: : . but god (who is rich in mercy) for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us : . even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in christ (by whose grace you are saved) : . and hath raised us up together and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through christ jesus. : . that he might shew in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us in christ jesus. : . for by grace you are saved through faith: and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of god. : . not of works, that no man may glory. not of works. . .as of our own growth, or from ourselves; but as from the grace of god. : . for we are his workmanship, created in christ jesus in good works, which god hath prepared that we should walk in them. : . for which cause be mindful that you, being heretofore gentiles is the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands: : . that you were at that time without christ, being aliens from the conversation of israel and strangers to the testament, having no hope of the promise and without god in this world. : . but now in christ jesus, you, who some time were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of christ. : . for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his flesh: : . making void the law of commandments contained in decrees: that he might make the two in himself into one new man, making peace : . and might reconcile both to god in one body by the cross, killing the enmities in himself. : . and coming, he preached peace to you that were afar off: and peace to them that were nigh. : . for by him we have access both in one spirit to the father. : . now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners: but you are fellow citizens with the saints and the domestics of god, : . built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, jesus christ himself being the chief corner stone: : . in whom all the building, being framed together, groweth up into an holy temple in the lord. : . in whom you also are built together into an habitation of god in the spirit. ephesians chapter the mystery hidden from former ages was discovered to the apostle, to be imparted to the gentiles. he prays that they may be strengthened in god. : . for this cause, i paul, the prisoner of jesus christ, for you gentiles: : . if yet you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of god which is given me towards you: : . how that, according to revelation, the mystery has been made known to me, as i have written above in a few words: : . as you reading, may understand my knowledge in the mystery of christ, : . which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit: : . that the gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body: and copartners of his promise in christ jesus, by the gospel : . of which i am made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of god, which is given to me according to the operation of his power. : . to me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of christ: : . and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in god who created all things: : . that the manifold wisdom of god may be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the church, : . according to the eternal purpose which he made in christ jesus our lord: : . in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. : . wherefore i pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. : . for this cause i bow my knees to the father of our lord jesus christ, : . of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named: all paternity. . .or, the whole family. god is the father, both of angels and men; whosoever besides is named father, is so named with subordination to him. : . that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his spirit with might unto the inward man: : . that christ may dwell by faith in your hearts: that, being rooted and founded in charity, : . you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, : . to know also the charity of christ, which surpasseth all knowledge: that you may be filled unto all the fulness of god. : . now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us: : . to him be glory in the church and in christ jesus, unto all generations, world without end. amen. ephesians chapter he exhorts them to unity, to put on the new man, and to fly sin. : . i therefore, a prisoner in the lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called: : . with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. : . careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. : . one body and one spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling. : . one lord, one faith, one baptism. : . one god and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. : . but to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of christ. : . wherefore he saith: ascending on high, he led captivity captive: he gave gifts to men. : . now that he ascended, what is it, but because he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? : . he that descended is the same also that ascended above all the heavens: that he might fill all things. : . and he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors: gave some apostles--until we all meet, etc. . .here it is plainly expressed, that christ has left in his church a perpetual succession of orthodox pastors and teachers, to preserve the faithful in unity and truth. : . for the perfecting of the saints, for the word of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of christ: : . until we all meet into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the son of god, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of christ: : . that henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive. : . but doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even christ: : . from whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity. : . this then i say and testify in the lord: that henceforward you walk not as also the gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind: : . having their understanding darkened: being alienated from the life of god through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. : . who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness. : . but you have not so learned christ: : . if so be that you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in jesus: : . to put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error. : . and be renewed in spirit of your mind: : . and put on the new man, who according to god is created in justice and holiness of truth. : . wherefore, putting away lying, speak ye the truth, every man with his neighbour. for we are members one of another. : . be angry: and sin not. let not the sun go down upon your anger. : . give not place to the devil. : . he that stole, let him now steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have something to give to him that suffereth need. : . let no evil speech proceed from your mouth: but that which is good, to the edification of faith: that it may administer grace to the hearers. : . and grieve not the holy spirit of god: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. : . let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamour and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. : . and be ye kind one to another: merciful, forgiving one another, even as god hath forgiven you in christ. ephesians chapter exhortations to a virtuous life. the mutual duties of man and wife, by the example of christ and of the church. : . be ye therefore followers of god, as most dear children: : . and walk in love, as christ also hath loved us and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to god for an odour of sweetness. : . but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints: : . or obscenity or foolish talking or scurrility, which is to no purpose: but rather giving of thanks. : . for know you this and understand: that no fornicator or unclean or covetous person (which is a serving of idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god. : . let no man deceive you with vain words. for because of these things cometh the anger of god upon the children of unbelief. : . be ye not therefore partakers with them. : . for you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the lord. walk then as children of the light. : . for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth: : . proving what is well pleasing to god. : . and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness: but rather reprove them. : . for the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of. : . but all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for all that is made manifest is light. : . wherefore he saith: rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and christ shall enlighten thee. : . see therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly: not as unwise, : . but as wise: redeeming the time, because the days are evil. : . wherefore, become not unwise: but understanding what is the will of god. : . and be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be ye filled with the holy spirit, : . speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the lord: : . giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our lord jesus christ, to god and the father: : . being subject one to another, in the fear of christ. : . let women be subject to their husbands, as to the lord: : . because the husband is the head of the wife, as christ is the head of the church. he is the saviour of his body. : . therefore as the church is subject to christ: so also let the wives be to their husbands in all things. as the church is subject to christ. . .the church then, according to st. paul, is ever obedient to christ, and can never fall from him, but remain faithful to him, unspotted and unchanged to the end of the world. : . husbands, love your wives, as christ also loved the church and delivered himself up for it: : . that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: : . that he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. : . so also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. he that loveth his wife loveth himself. : . for no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also christ doth the church: : . because we are members of him, body, of his flesh and of his bones. : . for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall cleave to his wife. and they shall be two in one flesh. : . this is a great sacrament: but i speak in christ and in the church. : . nevertheless, let every one of you in particular love for his wife as himself: and let the wife fear her husband. ephesians chapter duties of children and servants. the christian's armour. : . children, obey your parents in the lord: for this is just. : . honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise: : . that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest be long lived upon earth. : . and you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger: but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the lord. : . servants, be obedient to them that are your lords according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to christ. : . not serving to the eye, as it were pleasing men: but, as the servants of christ, doing the will of god from the heart. : . with a good will serving, as to the lord, and not to men. : . knowing that whatsoever good thing any man shall do, the same shall he receive from the lord, whether he be bond or free. : . and you, masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatenings: knowing that the lord both of them and you is in heaven. and there is no respect of persons with him. : . finally, brethren, be strengthened in the lord and in the might of his power. : . put you on the armour of god, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. : . for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. high places, or heavenly places. . .that is to say, in the air, the lowest of the celestial regions; in which god permits these wicked spirits or fallen angels to wander. : . therefore, take unto you the armour of god, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and to stand in all things perfect. : . stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of justice: : . and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. : . in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. : . and take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit (which is the word of god). : . by all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit: and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints: : . and for me, that speech may be given me, that i may open my mouth with confidence, to make known the mystery of the gospel, : . for which i am an ambassador in a chain: so that therein i may be bold to speak according as i ought. : . but that you also may know the things that concern me and what i am doing, tychicus, my dearest brother and faithful minister in the lord, will make known to you all things: : . whom i have sent to you for this same purpose: that you may know the things concerning us, and that he may comfort your hearts. : . peace be to the brethren and charity with faith, from god the father and the lord jesus christ. : . grace be with all them that love our lord jesus christ in incorruption. amen. in incorruption. . .that is, with a pure and perfect love. the epistle of st. paul to the philippians the philippians were the first among the macedonians converted to the faith. they had a great veneration for st. paul and supplied his wants when he was a prisoner in rome, sending to him by epaphroditus, by whom he sent this epistle; in which he recommends charity, unity and humility and warns them against false teachers, whom he calls dogs and enemies of the cross of christ. he also returns thanks for their benefactions. it was written about twenty-nine years after our lord's ascension. philippians chapter the apostle's affection for the philippians. : . paul and timothy, the servants of jesus christ: to all the saints in christ jesus who are at philippi, with the bishops and deacons. : . grace be unto you and peace, from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . i give thanks to my god in every remembrance of you: : . always in all my prayers making supplication for you all with joy: : . for your communication in the gospel of christ, from the first day unto now. : . being confident of this very thing: that he who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of christ jesus. : . as it is meet for me to think this for you all, for that i have you in my heart; and that, in my bands and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of my joy. : . for god is my witness how i long after you all in the bowels of jesus christ. : . and this i pray: that your charity may more and more abound in knowledge and in all understanding: : . that you may approve the better things: that you may be sincere and without offence unto the day of christ: : . filled with the fruit of justice, through jesus christ, unto the glory and praise of god. : . now, brethren, i desire you should know that the things which have happened to me have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel: : . so that my bands are made manifest in christ, in all the court and in all other places. : . and many of the brethren in the lord, growing confident by my bands, are much more bold to speak the word of god without fear. : . some indeed, even out of envy and contention: but some also for good will preach christ. : . some out of charity, knowing that i am set for the defence of the gospel. : . and some out of contention preach christ not sincerely: supposing that they raise affliction to my bands. : . but what then? so that by all means, whether by occasion or by truth, christ be preached: in this also i rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. : . for i know that this shall fall out to me unto salvation, through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of jesus christ, : . according to my expectation and hope; that in nothing i shall be confounded: but with all confidence, as always, so now also, shall christ be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. : . for to me, to live is christ: and to die is gain. : . and if to live in the flesh: this is to me the fruit of labour. and what i shall choose i know not. this is to me, etc. . .his meaning is, that although his dying immediately for christ would be his gain, by putting him presently in possession of heaven; yet he is doubtful what he should choose, because by staying longer in the flesh, he should be more beneficial to the souls of his neighbours. : . but i am straitened between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with christ, a thing by far the better. : . but to abide still in the flesh is needful for you. : . and having this confidence, i know that i shall abide and continue with you all, for your furtherance and joy of faith: : . that your rejoicing may abound in christ jesus for me, by my coming to you again. : . only let your conversation be worthy of the gospel of christ: that, whether i come and see you, or, being absent, may hear of you, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind labouring together for the faith of the gospel. : . and in nothing be ye terrified by the adversaries: which to them is a cause of perdition, but to you of salvation, and this from god. : . for unto you it is given for christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him: : . having the same conflict as that which you have seen in me and now have heard of me. philippians chapter he recommends them to unity and humility, and to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. : . if there be therefore any consolation in christ, if any comfort of charity, if any society of the spirit, if any bowels of commiseration: : . fulfil ye my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment. : . let nothing be done through contention: neither by vain glory. but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves: : . each one not considering the things that are his own, but those that are other men's. : . for let this mind be in you, which was also in christ jesus: : . who being in the form of god, thought it not robbery to be equal with god: : . but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. emptied himself, exinanivit. . .made himself as of no account. : . he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. : . for which cause, god also hath exalted him and hath given him a name which is above all names: : . that in the name of jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: : . and that every tongue should confess that the lord jesus christ is in the glory of god the father. : . wherefore, my dearly beloved, (as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but much more now in my absence) with fear and trembling work out your salvation. with fear, etc. . .this is against the false faith, and presumptuous security of modern sectaries. : . for it is god who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will. : . and do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations: : . that you may be blameless and sincere children of god, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: among whom you shine as lights in the world. : . holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of christ: because i have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain. : . yea, and if i be made a victim upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, i rejoice and congratulate with you all. : . and for the selfsame thing, do you also rejoice and congratulate with me. : . and i hope in the lord jesus to send timothy unto you shortly, that i also may be of good comfort, when i know the things concerning you. : . for i have no man so of the same mind, who with sincere affection is solicitous for you. : . for all seek the things that are their own not the things that are jesus christ's. : . now know ye the proof of him: that as a son with the father, so hath he served with me in the gospel. : . him therefore i hope to send unto you immediately: so soon as i shall see how it will go with me. : . and i trust in the lord that i myself also shall come to you shortly. : . but i have thought it necessary to send to you epaphroditus, my brother and fellow labourer and fellow soldier, but your apostle: and he that hath ministered to my wants. : . for indeed he longed after you all: and was sad, for that you had heard that he was sick. : . for indeed he was sick, nigh unto death: but god had mercy on him. and not only on him, but on me also, lest i should have sorrow upon sorrow. : . therefore, i sent him the more speedily: that seeing him again, you may rejoice, and i may be without sorrow. : . receive him therefore with all joy in the lord: and treat with honour such as he is. : . because for the work of christ he came to the point of death: delivering his life, that he might fulfil that which on your part was wanting towards my service. philippians chapter he warneth them against false teachers. he counts all other things loss, that he may gain christ. : . as to the rest, my brethren, rejoice in the lord. to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not wearisome, but to you is necessary. : . beware of dogs: beware of evil workers: beware of the concision. : . for we are the circumcision, who in spirit serve god and glory in christ jesus, not having confidence in the flesh. : . though i might also have confidence in the flesh. if any other thinketh he may have confidence in the flesh, i more: : . being circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of israel, of the tribe of benjamin, an hebrew of the hebrews. according to the law, a pharisee: : . according to zeal, persecuting the church of god: according to the justice that is in the law, conversing without blame. : . but the things that were gain to me, the same i have counted loss for christ. : . furthermore, i count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of jesus christ, my lord: for whom i have suffered the loss of all things and count them but as dung, that i may gain christ. : . and may be found in him, not having my justice, which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of christ jesus, which is of god: justice in faith. : . that i may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings: being made conformable to his death, : . if by any means i may attain to the resurrection which is from the dead. : . not as though i had already attained, or were already perfect: but i follow after, if i may by any means apprehend, wherein i am also apprehended by christ jesus. : . brethren, i do not count myself to have apprehended. but one thing i do: forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth myself to those that are before, : . i press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of god in christ jesus. : . let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing you be otherwise minded, this also god will reveal to you, : . nevertheless, whereunto we are come, that we be of the same mind, let us also continue in the same rule. : . be ye followers of me, brethren: and observe them who walk so as you have our model. : . for many walk, of whom i have told you often (and now tell you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of christ: : . whose end is destruction: whose god is their belly: and whose glory is in their shame: who mind earthly things. : . but our conversation is in heaven: from whence also we look for the saviour, our lord jesus christ, : . who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself. philippians chapter he exhorts them to perseverance in all good and acknowledges their charitable contributions to him. : . therefore my dearly beloved brethren and most desired, my joy and my crown: so stand fast in the lord, my dearly beloved. : . i beg of evodia and i beseech syntyche to be of one mind in the lord. : . and i entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have laboured with me in the gospel, with clement and the rest of my fellow labourers, whose names are in the book of life. : . rejoice in the lord always: again, i say, rejoice. : . let your modesty be known to all men. the lord is nigh. : . be nothing solicitous: but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to god. : . and the peace of god, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in christ jesus. : . for the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline: think on these things. for the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, etc. . .here the apostle enumerates general precepts of morality, which they ought to practise. whatsoever things are true. . .in words, in promises, in lawful oaths, etc., he commands rectitude of mind, and sincerity of heart. whatsoever modest. . .by these words he prescribes gravity in manners, modesty in dress, and decency in conversation. whatsoever just. . .that is, in dealing with others, in buying or selling, in trade or business, to be fair and honest. whatsoever holy. . .by these words may be understood, that those who are in a religious state professed, or in holy orders, should lead a life of sanctity and chastity, according to the vows they make; but these words being also applied to those in the world, indicate the virtuous life they are bound by the divine commandments to follow. whatsoever lovely. . .that is, to practise those good offices in society, that procure us the esteem and good will of our neighbours. whatsoever of good fame. . .that is, that by our conduct and behaviour we should edify our neighbours, and give them good example by our actions. if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline. . .that those in error, by seeing the morality and good discipline of the true religion, may be converted. and finally, the apostle commands, not only the philippians, but all christians, to think on these things. . .that is, to make it their study and concern that the peace of god might be with them. : . the things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, these do ye: and the god of peace shall be with you. : . now i rejoice in the lord exceedingly that now at length your thought for me hath flourished again, as you did also think; but you were busied. : . i speak not as it were for want. for i have learned, in whatsoever state i am, to be content therewith. : . i know both how to be brought low, and i know how to abound (every where and in all things i am instructed): both to be full and to be hungry: both to abound and to suffer need. : . i can do all things in him who strengtheneth me. : . nevertheless, you have done well in communicating to my tribulation. : . and you also know, o philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when i departed from macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only. : . for unto thessalonica also you sent once and again for my use. : . not that i seek the gift: but i seek the fruit that may abound to your account. : . but i have all and abound: i am filled, having received from epaphroditus the things you sent, an odour of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to god. : . and may my god supply all your want, according to his riches in glory in christ jesus. : . now to god and our father be glory, world without end. amen. : . salute ye every saint in christ jesus. : . the brethren who are with me salute you. all the saints salute you: especially they that are of caesar's household. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit. amen. the epistle of st. paul to the colossians colossa was a city of phrygia, near laodicea. it does not appear that st. paul had preached there himself, but that the colossians were converted by epaphras, a disciple of the apostles. however, as st. paul was the great apostle of the gentiles, he wrote this epistle to the colossians when he was in prison, and about the same time that he wrote to the ephesians and philippians. the exhortations and doctrine it contains are similar to that which is set forth in his epistle to the ephesians. colossians chapter he gives thanks for the grace bestowed upon the colossians and prays for them. christ is the head of the church and the peacemaker through his blood. paul is his minister. : . paul, an apostle of jesus christ, by the will of god, and timothy, a brother: : . to the saints and faithful brethren in christ jesus who are at colossa. : . grace be to you and peace, from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. we give thanks to god and the father of our lord jesus christ, praying always for you. : . hearing your faith in christ jesus and the love which you have towards all the saints. : . for the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard in the word of the truth of the gospel, : . which is come unto you, as also it is in the whole world and bringeth forth fruit and groweth, even as it doth in you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of god in truth. : . as you learned of epaphras, our most beloved fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of christ jesus; : . who also hath manifested your love in the spirit. : . therefore we also, from the day that we heard it, cease not to pray for you and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: : . that you may walk worthy of god, in all things pleasing; being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god: : . strengthened with all might according to the power of his glory, in all patience and longsuffering with joy, : . giving thanks to god the father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light: : . who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the son of his love, : . in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins: : . who is the image of the invisible god, the firstborn of every creature: the firstborn. . .that is, first begotten; as the evangelist declares, the only begotten of his father: hence, st. chrisostom explains firstborn, not first created, as he was not created at all, but born of his father before all ages; that is, coeval with the father and with the holy ghost. : . for in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers. all things were created by him and in him. : . and he is before all: and by him all things consist. : . and he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may hold the primacy: : . because in him, it hath well pleased the father that all fulness should dwell: : . and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven. : . and you, whereas you were some time alienated and enemies in mind in evil works: : . yet now he hath reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unspotted and blameless before him: : . if so ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and immoveable from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which is preached in all the creation that is under heaven: whereof i paul am made a minister. : . who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church: wanting. . .there is no want in the sufferings of christ in himself as head: but many sufferings are still wanting, or are still to come, in his body the church, and his members the faithful. : . whereof i am made a minister according to the dispensation of god, which is given me towards you, that i may fulfil the word of god: : . the mystery which hath been hidden from ages and generations, but now is manifested to his saints, : . to whom god would make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is christ, in you the hope of glory. : . whom we preach, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in christ jesus. : . wherein also i labour, striving according to his working which he worketh in me in power. colossians chapter he warns them against the impostures of the philosophers and the jewish teachers, that would withdraw them from christ. : . for i would have you know what manner of care i have for you and for them that are at laodicea and whosoever have not seen my face in the flesh: : . that their hearts may be comforted, being instructed in charity and unto all riches of fulness of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of god the father and of christ jesus: : . in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. : . now this i say, that no man may deceive you by loftiness of words. : . for though i be absent in body, yet in spirit i am with you, rejoicing, and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith which is in christ. : . as therefore you have received jesus christ the lord, walk ye in him: : . rooted and built up in him and confirmed in the faith, as also you have learned: abounding in him in thanksgiving. : . beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy and vain deceit: according to the tradition of men according to the elements of the world and not according to christ. : . for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead corporeally. : . and you are filled in him, who is the head of all principality and power. : . in whom also you are circumcised with circumcision not made by hand in despoiling of the body of the flesh: but in the circumcision of christ. : . buried with him in baptism: in whom also you are risen again by the faith of the operation of god who hath raised him up from the dead. : . and you, when you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he hath quickened together with him, forgiving you all offences: : . blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us. and he hath taken the same out of the way, fastening it to the cross. : . and despoiling the principalities and powers, he hath exposed them confidently in open shew, triumphing over them in himself. : . let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a festival day or of the new moon or of the sabbaths, in meat, etc. . .he means with regard to the jewish observations of the distinction of clean and unclean meats; and of their festivals, new moons, and sabbaths, as being no longer obligatory. : . which are a shadow of things to come: but the body is of christ. : . let no man seduce you, willing in humility and religion of angels, walking in the things which he hath not seen, in vain puffed up by the sense of his flesh: willing, etc. . .that is, by a self willed, self invented, superstitious worship, falsely pretending humility, but really proceeding from pride. such was the worship, that many of the philosophers (against whom st. paul speaks, ver. ) paid to angels or demons, by sacrificing to them, as carriers of intelligence betwixt god and men; pretending humility in so doing, as if god was too great to be addressed by men; and setting aside the mediatorship of jesus christ, who is the head both of angels and men. such also was the worship paid by the ancient heretics, disciples of simon and menander, to the angels, whom they believed to be makers and lords of this lower world. this is certain, that they whom the apostle here condemns, did not hold the head, (ver. ,) that is, jesus christ, and his mediatorship; and therefore what he writes here no way touches the catholic doctrine and practice, of desiring our good angels to pray to god for us, through jesus christ. st. jerome [epist. ad algas.] understands by the religion or service of angels, the jewish teachers, who sought to subject the new christians to the observance of the mosaic law. : . and not holding the head, from which the whole body, by joints and bands, being supplied with nourishment and compacted, groweth into the increase of god. : . if then you be dead with christ from the elements of this world, why do you yet decree as though living in the world? : . touch not: taste not: handle not. touch not, etc. . .the meaning is, that christians should not subject themselves, either to the ordinances of the old law, forbidding touching or tasting things unclean; or to the superstitious invention of heretics, imposing such restraints, under pretence of wisdom, humility, or mortification. : . which all are unto destruction by the very use, according to the precepts and doctrines of men. : . which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in superstition and humility, and not sparing the body; not in any honour to the filling of the flesh. colossians chapter he exhorts them to put off the old man, and to put on the new. the duties of wives and husbands, children and servants. : . therefore if you be risen with christ, seek the things that are above, where christ is sitting at the right hand of god. : . mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. : . for you are dead: and your life is hid with christ in god. : . when christ shall appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory. : . mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence and covetousness, which is the service of idols. : . for which things the wrath of god cometh upon the children of unbelief. : . in which you also walked some time, when you lived in them. : . but now put you also all away: anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech out of your mouth. : . lie not one to another: stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, : . and putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him. : . where there is neither gentile nor jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian nor scythian, bond nor free. but christ is all and in all. : . put ye on therefore, as the elect of god, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: : . bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another. even as the lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. : . but above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. : . and let the peace of christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be ye thankful. : . let the word of christ dwell in you abundantly: in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to god. : . all whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the lord jesus christ, giving thanks to god and the father by him. : . wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the lord. : . husbands, love your wives and be not bitter towards them. : . children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the lord. : . fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged. : . servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not serving to the eye, as pleasing men: but in simplicity of heart, fearing god. : . whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the lord, and not to men: : . knowing that you shall receive of the lord the reward of inheritance. serve ye the lord christ. : . for he that doth wrong shall receive for that which he hath done wrongfully. and there is no respect of persons with god. colossians chapter he recommends constant prayer and wisdom. various salutations. : . masters, do to your servants that which is just and equal: knowing that you also have a master in heaven. : . be instant in prayer: watching in it with thanksgiving. : . praying withal for us also, that god may open unto us a door of speech to speak the mystery of christ (for which also i am bound): : . that i may make it manifest as i ought to speak. : . walk with wisdom towards them that are without, redeeming the time. : . let your speech be always in grace seasoned with salt: that you may know how you ought to answer every man. : . all the things that concern me, tychicus, our dearest brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the lord, will make known to you. : . what i have sent to you for this same purpose, that he may know the things that concern you and comfort your hearts: : . with onesimus, a most beloved and faithful brother, who is one of you. all things that are done here, they shall make known to you. : . aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluteth you: and mark, the cousin german of barnabas, touching whom you have received commandments. if he come unto you, receive him. : . and jesus that is called justus: who are of the circumcision. these only are my helpers, in the kingdom of god: who have been a comfort to me. : . epaphras saluteth you, who is one of you, a servant of christ jesus, who is always solicitous for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and full in all the will of god. : . for i bear him testimony that he hath much labour for you and for them that are at laodicea and them at hierapolis. : . luke, the most dear physician, saluteth you: and demas. : . salute the brethren who are at laodicea: and nymphas and the church that is in his house. : . and when this epistle shall have been read with you, cause that it be read also in the church of the laodiceans: and that you read that which is of the laodiceans. and that you read that which is of the laodiceans. . .what this epistle was is uncertain, and annotators have given different opinions concerning it. some expound these words of an epistle which st. paul wrote to the laodiceans, and is since lost, for that now extant is no more than a collection of sentences out of the other epistles of st. paul; therefore it cannot be considered even as a part of that epistle. others explain that the text means a letter sent to st. paul by the laodiceans, which he sends to the colossians to be read by them. however, this opinion does not seem well founded. hence it is more probable that st. paul wrote an epistle from rome to the laodiceans, about the same time that he wrote to the colossians, as he had them both equally at heart, and that he ordered that epistle to be read by the colossians for their instructions; and being neighbouring cities, they might communicate to each other what they had received from him; as one epistle might contain some matters not related in the other, and would be equally useful for their concern; and more particularly as they were equally disturbed by intruders and false teachers, against which the apostle was anxious to warn them, lest they should be infected by their pernicious doctrine. : . and say to archippus: take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the lord, that thou fulfil it. : . the salutation of paul with my own hand. be mindful of my bands. grace be with you. amen. the first epistle of st. paul to the thessalonians thessalonica was the capital of macedonia, in which st. paul, having preached the gospel, converted some jews and a great number of the gentiles: but the unbelieving jews, envying his success, raised such a commotion against him that he, and his companion, sylvanus were obliged to quit the city. afterwards he went to athens, where he heard that the converts in thessalonica were under a severe persecution, ever since his departure; and lest they should lose their fortitude, he sent timothy to strengthen and comfort them in their sufferings. in the meantime st. paul came to corinth, where he wrote this first epistle, and also the second to the thessalonians, both in the same year, being the nineteenth after our lord's ascension. these are the first of his epistles in the order of time. thessalonians chapter he gives thanks for the grace bestowed on the thessalonians. : . paul and sylvanus and timothy to the church of the thessalonians: in god the father and in the lord jesus christ. : . grace be to you and peace. we give thanks to god always for you all: making a remembrance of you in our prayers without ceasing, : . being mindful of the work of your faith and labour and charity: and of the enduring of the hope of our lord jesus christ before god and our father. : . knowing, brethren, beloved of god, your election: : . for our gospel hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also: and in the holy ghost and in much fulness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes. : . and you became followers of us and of the lord: receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the holy ghost: : . so that you were made a pattern to all that believe in macedonia and in achaia. : . for from you was spread abroad the word of the lord not only in macedonia and in achaia but also in every place: your faith which is towards god, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing. : . for they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you: and how you turned to god from idols to serve the living and true god. : . and to wait for his son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead), jesus, who hath delivered us from the wrath to come. thessalonians chapter the sincerity of the apostle's preaching the gospel to them and of their receiving it. : . for yourselves know, brethren, our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: : . but having suffered many things before and been shamefully treated, (as you know) at philippi, we had confidence in our god, to speak unto you the gospel of god in much carefulness. : . for our exhortation was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deceit. : . but as we were approved by god that the gospel should be committed to us: even so we speak, not as pleasing men but god, who proveth our hearts. : . for neither have we used at any time the speech of flattery, as you know: nor taken an occasion of covetousness (god is witness): : . nor sought we glory of men, neither of you, nor of others. : . whereas we might have been burdensome to you, as the apostles of christ: but we became little ones in the midst of you, as if a nurse should cherish her children: : . so desirous of you, we would gladly impart unto you not only the gospel of god but also our own souls: because you were become most dear unto us. : . for you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: working night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you, we preached among you the gospel of god. : . you are witnesses, and god also, how holily and justly and without blame we have been to you that have believed: : . as you know in what manner, entreating and comforting you (as a father doth his children), : . we testified to every one of you that you would walk worthy of god, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. : . for you, brethren, are become followers of the churches of god which are in judea, in christ jesus: for you also have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they have from the jews: : . who both killed the lord jesus, and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not god, and are adversaries to all men; : . prohibiting us to speak to the gentiles, that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath of god is come upon them to the end. to fill up their sins. . .that is, to fill up the measure of their sins, after which god's justice would punish them. for the wrath of god is come upon them to the end. . .that is, to continue on them to the end. : . but we, brethren, being taken away from you for a short time, in sight, not in heart, have hastened the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. : . for we would have come unto you, i paul indeed, once and again: but satan hath hindered us. : . for what is our hope or joy or crown of glory? are not you, in the presence of our lord jesus christ at his coming? : . for you are our glory and joy. thessalonians chapter the apostle's concern and love for the thessalonians. : . for which cause, forbearing no longer, we thought it good to remain at athens alone. : . and we sent timothy, our brother and the minister of god in the gospel of christ, to confirm you and exhort you concerning your faith: : . that no man should be moved in these tribulations: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. : . for even when we were with you, we foretold you that we should suffer tribulations: as also it is come to pass, and you know. : . for this cause also, i, forbearing no longer, sent to know your faith: lest perhaps he that tempteth should have tempted you: and our labour should be made vain. : . but now when timothy came to us from you and related to us your faith and charity, and that you have a good remembrance of us always, desiring to see us as we also to see you: : . therefore we were comforted, brethren, in you, in all our necessity and tribulation, by your faith. : . because now we live, if you stand in the lord. : . for what thanks can we return to god for you, in all the joy wherewith we rejoice for you before our god, : . night and day more abundantly praying that we may see your face and may accomplish those things that are wanting to your faith? : . now god himself and our father and our lord jesus christ, direct our way unto you. : . and may the lord multiply you and make you abound in charity towards one another and towards all men: as we do also towards you, : . to confirm your hearts without blame, in holiness, before god and our father, at the coming of our lord jesus christ, with all his saints. amen. thessalonians chapter he exhorts them to purity and mutual charity. he treats of the resurrection of the dead. : . for the rest therefore, brethren, pray and beseech you in the lord jesus that, as you have received from us, how you ought to walk and to please god, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more. : . for you know what precepts i have given to you by the lord jesus. : . for this is the will of god, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication: : . that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, : . not in the passion of lust, like the gentiles that know not god: : . and that no man overreach nor circumvent his brother in business: because the lord is the avenger of all these things, as we have told you before and have testified. : . for god hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification. : . therefore, he that despiseth these things, despiseth not man, but god, who also hath given his holy spirit in us. : . but as touching the charity of brotherhood, we have no need to write to you: for yourselves have learned of god to love one another. : . for indeed you do it towards all the brethren in all macedonia. but we entreat you, brethren, that you abound more: : . and that you use your endeavour to be quiet: and that you do your own business and work with your own hands, as we commanded you: and that you walk honestly towards them that are without: and that you want nothing of any man's. : . and we will not have you ignorant brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. : . for if we believe that jesus died and rose again: even so them who have slept through jesus, will god bring with him. : . for this we say unto you in the word of the lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. : . for the lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of god: and the dead who are in christ shall rise first. : . then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet christ, into the air: and so shall we be always with the lord. : . wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words. thessalonians chapter the day of the lord shall come when least expected. exhortations to several duties. : . but of the times and moments, brethren, you need not, that we should write to you: : . for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord shall so come as a thief in the night. : . for when they shall say: peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. : . but you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. : . for all you are the children of light and children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness. : . therefore, let us not sleep, as others do: but let us watch, and be sober. : . for they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk, are drunk in the night. : . but let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breast plate of faith and charity and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation. : . for god hath not appointed us unto wrath: but unto the purchasing of salvation by our lord jesus christ, : . who died for us: that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with him. : . for which cause comfort one another and edify one another, as you also do. : . and we beseech you, brethren, to know them who labour among you and are over you in the lord and admonish you; : . that you esteem them more abundantly in charity, for their work's sake. have peace with them. : . and we beseech you, brethren, rebuke the unquiet: comfort the feeble minded: support the weak: be patient towards all men. the unquiet. . .that is, such as are irregular and disorderly. : . see that none render evil for evil to any man: but ever follow that which is good towards each other and towards all men. : . always rejoice. : . pray without ceasing. : . in all things give thanks for this is the will of god in christ jesus concerning you all. : . extinguish not the spirit. : . despise not prophecies. : . but prove all things: hold fast that which is good. : . from all appearance of evil refrain yourselves. : . and may the god of peace himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our lord jesus christ. : . he is faithful who hath called you, who also will do it. : . brethren, pray for us. : . salute all the brethren with a holy kiss. : . i charge you by the lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. amen. the second epistle of st. paul to the thessalonians in this epistle st. paul admonishes the thessalonians to be constant in the faith of christ and not to be terrified by the insinuations of false teachers telling them that the day of judgment was near at hand, as there must come many signs and wonders before it. he bids them to hold firm the traditions received from him, whether by word, or by epistle, and shews them how they may be certain of his letters by the manner he writes. thessalonians chapter he gives thanks to god for their faith and constancy and prays for their advancement in all good. : . paul and sylvanus and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians. in god our father and the lord jesus christ, : . grace unto you: and peace from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . we are bound to give thanks always to god for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith groweth exceedingly and the charity of every one of you towards each other aboundeth. : . so that we ourselves also glory in you in the churches of god, for your patience and faith, and in all your persecutions and tribulations: which you endure : . for an example of the just judgment of god, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of god, for which also you suffer. : . seeing it is a just thing with god to repay tribulation to them that trouble you: : . and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the lord jesus shall be revealed from heaven with the angels of his power: : . in a flame of fire, giving vengeance to them who know not god and who obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ. : . who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the lord and from the glory of his power: : . when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be made wonderful in all them who have believed; because our testimony was believed upon you in that day. : . wherefore also we pray always for you: that our god would make you worthy of his vocation and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith in power: : . that the name of our lord jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our god and of the lord jesus christ. thessalonians chapter the day of the lord is not to come till the man of sin be revealed. the apostle's traditions are to be observed. : . and we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our lord jesus christ and of our gathering together unto him: : . that you be not easily moved from your sense nor be terrified, neither by spirit nor by word nor by epistle. as sent from us, as if the day of the lord were at hand. : . let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition a revolt. . .this revolt, or falling off, is generally understood, by the ancient fathers, of a revolt from the roman empire, which was first to be destroyed, before the coming of antichrist. it may, perhaps, be understood also of a revolt of many nations from the catholic church; which has, in part, happened already, by means of mahomet, luther, &c., and it may be supposed, will be more general in the days of the antichrist. the man of sin. . .here must be meant some particular man, as is evident from the frequent repetition of the greek article: o`, 'the' man of sin, 'the' son of perdition, 'the' adversary or opposer. it agrees to the wicked and great antichrist, who will come before the end of the world. : . who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called god or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of god, shewing himself as if he were god. in the temple. . .either that of jerusalem which some think he will rebuild; or in some christian church, which he will pervert to his own worship: as mahomet has done by the churches of the east. : . remember you not that, when i was yet with you, i told you these things? : . and now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. : . for the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way. : . and then that wicked one shall be revealed: whom the lord jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: him : . whose coming is according to the working of satan, in all power and signs and lying wonders: : . and in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish: because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. therefore god shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying: god shall send. . .that is god shall suffer them to be deceived by lying wonders, and false miracles, in punishment of their not entertaining the love of truth. : . that all may be judged who have not believed the truth but have consented to iniquity. : . but we ought to give thanks to god always for you, brethren, beloved of god, for that god hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth: : . whereunto also he hath called you by our gospel, unto the purchasing of the glory of our lord jesus christ. : . therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle. traditions. . .see here that the unwritten traditions are no less to be received than their epistles. : . now our lord jesus christ himself, and god and our father, who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope in grace, : . exhort your hearts and confirm you in every good work and word. thessalonians chapter he begs their prayers and warns them against idleness. : . for the rest, brethren, pray for us that the word of god may run and may be glorified, even as among you: may run. . .that is, may spread itself, and have free course. : . and that we may be delivered from importunate and evil men: for all men have not faith. : . but god is faithful, who will strengthen and keep you from evil. : . and we have confidence concerning you in the lord that the things which we command, you both do and will do. : . and the lord direct your hearts, in the charity of god and the patience of christ. : . and we charge you, brethren, in the name of our lord jesus christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they have received of us. : . for yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. for we were not disorderly among you. : . neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing: but in labour and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you. : . not as if we had not power: but that we might give ourselves a pattern unto you, to imitate us. : . for also, when we were with you, this we declared to you: that, if any man will not work, neither let him eat. : . for we have heard there are some among you who walk disorderly: working not at all, but curiously meddling. : . now we charge them that are such and beseech them by the lord jesus christ that, working with silence, they would eat their own bread. : . but you, brethren, be not weary in well doing. : . and if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. : . yet do not esteem him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother. : . now the lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. the lord be with you all. : . the salutation of paul with my own hand: which is the sign in every epistle. so i write. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. the first epistle of st. paul to timothy st. paul write this epistle to his beloved timothy, being then bishop of ephesus, to instruct him in the duties of a bishop, both in respect to himself and to his charge; and that he ought to be well informed of the good morals of those on whom he was to impose hands: impose not hands lightly upon any man. he tells him also how he should behave towards his clergy. the epistle was written about years after our lord's ascension; but where it was written is uncertain: the more general opinion is, that it was in macedonia. timothy chapter he puts timothy in mind of his charge and blesses god for the mercy he himself had received. : . paul, an apostle of jesus christ, according to the commandment of god our saviour and christ jesus our hope: : . to timothy, his beloved son in faith. grace, mercy and peace, from god the father and from christ jesus our lord. : . as i desired thee to remain at ephesus when i went into macedonia, that thou mightest charge some not to teach otherwise: : . not to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which furnish questions rather than the edification of god which is in faith. : . now the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith. : . from which things some, going astray, are turned aside unto vain babbling: : . desiring to be teachers of the law: understanding neither the things they say, nor whereof they affirm. : . but we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully. : . knowing this: that the law is not made for the just man but for the unjust and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the wicked and defiled, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, the law is not. . .he means, that the just man doth good, and avoideth evil, not as compelled by the law, and merely for fear of the punishment appointed for transgressors; but voluntarily, and out of the love of god and virtue; and would do so, though there were no law. : . for fornicators, for them who defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and whatever other thing is contrary to sound doctrine: : . which is according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed god which hath been committed to my trust. : . i give him thanks who hath strengthened me, even to christ jesus our lord, for that he hath counted me faithful, putting me in the ministry: : . who before was a blasphemer and a persecutor and contumelious. but i obtained the mercy of god, because i did it ignorantly in unbelief. : . now the grace of our lord hath abounded exceedingly with faith and love, which is in christ jesus. : . a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom i am the chief. : . but for this cause have i obtained mercy: that in me first christ jesus might shew forth all patience, for the information of them that shall believe in him unto life everlasting. : . now to the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only god, be honour and glory for ever and ever. amen. : . this precept, i commend to thee, o son timothy: according to the prophecies going before on thee, that thou war in them a good warfare, : . having faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith. : . of whom is hymeneus and alexander, whom i have delivered up to satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. timothy chapter prayers are to be said for all men, because god wills the salvation of all. women are not to teach. : . i desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men: : . for kings and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. : . for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our saviour, : . who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. : . for there is one god: and one mediator of god and men, the man christ jesus: one mediator. . .christ is the one and only mediator of redemption, who gave himself, as the apostle writes in the following verse. : . who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times. a redemption for all. . . he is also the only mediator, who stands in need of no other to recommend his petitions to the father. but this is not against our seeking the prayers and intercession, as well of the faithful upon earth, as of the saints and angels in heaven, for obtaining mercy, grace, and salvation, through jesus christ. as st. paul himself often desired the help of the prayers of the faithful, without any injury to the mediatorship of jesus christ. : . whereunto i am appointed a preacher and an apostle (i say the truth, i lie not), a doctor of the gentiles in faith and truth. : . i will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and contention. : . in like manner, women also in decent apparel: adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly attire: : . but, as it becometh women professing godliness, with good works. : . let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. : . but i suffer not a woman to teach, nor to use authority over the man: but to be in silence. : .for adam was first formed; then eve. : . and adam was not seduced; but the woman, being seduced, was in the transgression. : . yet she shall be saved through child bearing; if she continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety. timothy chapter what sort of men are to be admitted into the clergy. the church is the pillar of truth. : . a faithful saying: if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth good work. : . it behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher, of one wife. . . the meaning is not that every bishop should have a wife (for st. paul himself had none), but that no one should be admitted to the holy orders of bishop, priest, or deacon, who had been married more than once. : . not given to wine, no striker, but modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but : . one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all chastity. : . but if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of god? : . not a neophyte: lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil. a neophyte. . . that is, one lately baptized, a young convert. : . moreover, he must have a good testimony of them who are without: lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. : . deacons in like manner: chaste, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre: : . holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience. : . and let these also first be proved: and so let them minister, having no crime. : . the women in like manner: chaste, not slanderers, but sober, faithful in all things. : . let deacons be the husbands of one wife: who rule well their children and their own houses. : . for they that have ministered well shall purchase to themselves a good degree and much confidence in the faith which is in christ jesus. : . these things i write to thee, hoping that i shall come to thee shortly. : . but if i tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of god, which is the church of the living god, the pillar and ground of the truth. the pillar and ground of the truth. . . therefore the church of the living god can never uphold error, nor bring in corruptions, superstition, or idolatry. : . and evidently great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels, hath been preached unto the gentiles, is believed in the world, is taken up in glory. timothy chapter he warns him against heretics, and exhorts him to the exercise of piety. : . now the spirit manifestly saith that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, : . speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared, : . forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which god hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful and by them that have known the truth. forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats. . . he speaks of the gnostics, the marcionites, the eneratites, the manicheans, and other ancient heretics, who absolutely condemned marriage, and the use of all kind of meat; because they pretended that all flesh was from an evil principle. whereas the church of god, so far from condemning marriage, holds it a holy sacrament; and forbids it to none but such as by vow have chosen the better part: and prohibits not the use of any meats whatsoever in proper times and seasons; though she does not judge all kind of diet proper for days of fasting and penance. : . for every creature of god is good, and nothing to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving: : . for it is sanctified by the word of god and prayer. : . these things proposing to the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of christ jesus, nourished up in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which thou hast attained unto. : . but avoid foolish and old wives fables: and exercise thyself unto godliness. : . for bodily exercise is profitable to little: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. : . a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. : . for therefore we labour and are reviled, because we hope in the living god, who is the saviour of all men, especially of the faithful. : . these things command and teach: : . let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the faithful, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity. : . till i come, attend unto reading, to exhortation and to doctrine. : . neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood. : . meditate upon these things, be wholly in these things: that thy profiting may be manifest to all. : . take heed to thyself and to doctrine: be earnest in them. for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. timothy chapter he gives him lessons concerning widows, and how he is to behave to his clergy. : . an ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father: young men, as brethren: : . old women, as mothers: young women, as sisters, in all chastity. : . honour widows that are widows indeed. : . but if any widow have children or grandchildren, let her learn first to govern her own house and to make a return of duty to her parents; for this is acceptable before god. : . but she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, let her trust in god and continue in supplications and prayers night and day. : . for she that liveth in pleasures is dead while she is living. : . and this give in charge, that they may be blameless. : . but if any man have not care of his own and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. : . let a widow be chosen of no less than threescore years of age, who hath been the wife of one husband. : . having testimony for her good works, if she have brought up children, if she have received to harbour, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have ministered to them that suffer tribulation, if she have diligently followed every good work. : . but the younger widows avoid. for when they have grown wanton in christ, they will marry: : . having damnation, because they have made void their first faith. their first faith. . . their vow, by which they had engaged themselves to christ. : . and withal being idle they learn to go about from house to house: and are not only idle, but tattlers also and busy bodies, speaking things which they ought not. : . i will, therefore, that the younger should marry, bear children, be mistresses of families, give no occasion to the adversary to speak evil. : . for some are already turned aside after satan. : . if any of the faithful have widows, let him minister to them, and let not the church be charged: that there may be sufficient for them that are widows indeed. : . let the priests that rule well be esteemed worthy of double honour: especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. : . for the scripture saith: thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn: and, the labourer is worthy of his reward. : . against a priest receive not an accusation, but under two or three witnesses. : . them that sin reprove before all that the rest also may have fear. : . i charge thee, before god and christ jesus and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by declining to either side. : . impose not hands lightly upon any man, neither be partaker of other men's sins. keep thyself chaste. : . do not still drink water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thy frequent infirmities. : . some men's sins are manifest, going before to judgment: and some men they follow after. : . in like manner also good deeds are manifest: and they that are otherwise cannot be hid. timothy chapter duties of servants. the danger of covetousness. lessons for the rich. : . whosoever are servants under the yoke, let them count their masters worthy of all honour; lest the name of the lord and his doctrine be blasphemed. : . but they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but serve them the rather, because they are faithful and beloved, who are partakers of the benefit. these things teach and exhort. : . if any man teach otherwise and consent not to the sound words of our lord jesus christ and to that doctrine which is according to godliness, : . he is proud, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and strifes of words; from which arise envies, contentions, blasphemies, evil suspicions, : . conflicts of men corrupted in mind and who are destitute of the truth, supposing gain to be godliness. : . but godliness with contentment is great gain. : . for we brought nothing into this world: and certainly we can carry nothing out. : . but having food and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content. : . for they that will become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. : . for the desire of money is the root of all evils; which some coveting have erred from the faith and have entangled themselves in many sorrows. : . but thou, o man of god, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. : . fight the good fight of faith. lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called and be it confessed a good confession before many witnesses. : . i charge thee before god who quickeneth all things, and before christ jesus who gave testimony under pontius pilate, a good confession: : . that thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our lord jesus christ, : . which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only mighty, the king of kings and lord of lords: : . who only hath immortality and inhabiteth light inaccessible: whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. amen. : . charge the rich of this world not to be highminded nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living god (who giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy) : . to do good, to be rich in good work, to give easily, to communicate to others, : . to lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the true life. : . o timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called. : . which some promising, have erred concerning the faith. grace be with thee. amen. the second epistle of st. paul to timothy in this epistle, the apostle again instructs and admonishes timothy in what belonged to his office, as in the former; and also warns him to shun the conversation of those who had erred from the truth, describing at the same time their character, he tells him of his approaching death and desires him to come speedily to him. it appears from this circumstance that he wrote this second epistle in the time of his last imprisonment at rome and not long before his martyrdom. timothy chapter he admonishes him to stir up the grace he received by his ordination and not to be discouraged at his sufferings, but to hold firm the sound doctrine of the gospel. : . paul, an apostle of jesus christ, by the will of god, according to the promise of life which is in christ jesus: : . to timothy, my dearly beloved son. grace, mercy and peace, from god the father and from christ jesus our lord. : . i give thanks to god, whom i serve from my forefathers, with a pure conscience, that without ceasing i have a remembrance of thee in my prayers, night and day. : . desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that i may be filled with joy: : . calling to mind that faith which is in thee unfeigned, which also dwelt first in thy grandmother lois and in thy mother eunice, and i am certain that in thee also. : . for which cause i admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of god which is in thee by the imposition of my hands. : . for god hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power and of love and of sobriety. : . be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our lord, nor of me his prisoner: but labour with the gospel, according to the power of god. : . who hath delivered us and called us by his holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in christ jesus before the times of the world: : . but is now made manifest by the illumination of our saviour jesus christ, who hath destroyed death and hath brought to light life and incorruption by the gospel. by the illumination. . .that is, by the bright coming and appearing of our saviour. : . wherein i am appointed a preacher and an apostle and teacher of the gentiles. : . for which cause, i also suffer these things: but i am not ashamed. for i know whom i have believed and i am certain that he is able to keep that which i have committed unto him, against that day. : . hold the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me: in faith and in the love which is in christ jesus. : . keep the good thing committed to thy trust by the holy ghost who dwelleth in us. : . thou knowest this, that all they who are in asia are turned away from me: of whom are phigellus and hermogenes. : . the lord give mercy to the house of onesiphorus: because he hath often refreshed me and hath not been ashamed of my chain: : . but when he was come to rome, he carefully sought me and found me. : . the lord grant unto him to find mercy of the lord in that day. and in how many things he ministered unto me at ephesus, thou very well knowest. timothy chapter he exhorts him to diligence in his office and patience in suffering. the danger of the delusions of heretics. : . thou therefore, my son, be strong in christ jesus: : . and the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men who shall be fit to teach others also. : . labour as a good soldier of christ jesus. : . no man, being a soldier to god, entangleth himself with secular businesses: that he may please him to whom he hath engaged himself. : . for he also that striveth for the mastery is not crowned, except he strive lawfully. : . the husbandman that laboureth must first partake of the fruits. : . understand what i say: for the lord will give thee in all things understanding. : . be mindful that the lord jesus christ is risen again from the dead, of the seed of david, according to my gospel: : . wherein i labour even unto bands, as an evildoer. but the word of god is not bound. : . therefore i endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in christ jesus, with heavenly glory. : . a faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him. : . if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. if we deny him, he will also deny us. : . if we believe not, he continueth faithful, he cannot deny himself. : . of these things put them in mind, charging them before the lord. contend not in words: for it is to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. : . carefully study to present thyself approved unto god, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. : . but shun profane and vain babblings: for they grow much towards ungodliness. : . and their speech spreadeth like a canker: of whom are hymeneus and philetus: : . who have erred from the truth, saying that the resurrection is past already, and have subverted the faith of some. : . but the sure foundation of god standeth firm, having this seal: the lord knoweth who are his; and let every one depart from iniquity who nameth the name of the lord. : . but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth: and some indeed unto honour, but some unto dishonour. : . if any man therefore shall cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and profitable to the lord, prepared unto every good work. : . but flee thou youthful desires, and pursue justice, faith, charity and peace with them that call on the lord out of a pure heart. : . and avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they beget strifes. : . but the servant of the lord must not wrangle: but be mild toward all men, apt to teach, patient, : . with modesty admonishing them that resist the truth: if peradventure god may give them repentance to know the truth; : . and they may recover themselves from the snares of the devil by whom they are held captive at his will. timothy chapter the character of heretics of latter days. he exhorts timothy to constancy. of the great profit of the knowledge of the scriptures. : . know also this, that in the last days shall come dangerous times. : . men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, : . without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, : . traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasure more than of god: : . having an appearance indeed of godliness but denying the power thereof. now these avoid. : . for of these sort are they who creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, who are led away with divers desires: : . ever learning, and never attaining to the knowledge of the truth. : . now as jannes and mambres resisted moses, so these also resist the truth, men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. jannes and mambres. . .the magicians of king pharao. : . but they shall proceed no farther: for their folly shall be manifest to all men, as theirs also was. : . but thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, : . persecutions, afflictions: such as came upon me at antioch, at iconium and at lystra: what persecutions i endured, and out of them all the lord delivered me. : . and all that will live godly in christ jesus shall suffer persecution. : . but evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse: erring, and driving into error, : . but continue thou in those things which thou hast learned and which have been committed to thee. knowing of whom thou hast learned them: : . and because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures which can instruct thee to salvation by the faith which is in christ jesus. : . all scripture, inspired of god, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice: all scripture,. . .every part of divine scripture is certainly profitable for all these ends. but, if we would have the whole rule of christian faith and practice, we must not be content with those scriptures, which timothy knew from his infancy, that is, with the old testament alone: nor yet with the new testament, without taking along with it the traditions of the apostles, and the interpretation of the church, to which the apostles delivered both the book, and the true meaning of it. : . that the man of god may be perfect, furnished to every good work. timothy chapter his charge to timothy. he tells him of his approaching death and desires him to come to him. : . i charge thee, before god and jesus christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming and his kingdom: : . preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. : . for there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears: : . and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. : . but be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. be sober. an evangelist. . .a diligent preacher of the gospel. : . for i am even now ready to be sacrificed: and the time of my dissolution is at hand. : . i have fought a good fight: i have finished my course: i have kept the faith. : . as to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the lord the just judge will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love his coming. make haste to come to me quickly. : . for demas hath left me, loving this world, and is gone to thessalonica: : . crescens into galatia, titus into dalmatia. : . only luke is with me. take mark and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. : . but tychicus i have sent to ephesus. : . the cloak that i left at troas, with carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee: and the books, especially the parchments. : . alexander the coppersmith hath done me much evil: the lord will reward him according to his works: : . whom do thou also avoid: for he hath greatly withstood our words. : . at my first answer, no man stood with me: but all forsook me. may it not be laid to their charge! : . but the lord stood by me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching may be accomplished and that all the gentiles may hear. and i was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. : . the lord hath delivered me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom. to whom be glory for ever and ever. amen. : . salute prisca, and aquila and the household of onesiphorus. : . erastus remained at corinth. and trophimus i left sick at miletus. : . make haste to come before winter. eubulus and pudens and linus and claudia and all the brethren, salute thee. : . the lord jesus christ be with thy spirit. grace be with you. amen. the epistle of st. paul to titus st. paul, having preached the faith in the island of crete, he ordained his beloved disciple and companion, titus, bishop, and left him there to finish the work which he had begun. afterwards the apostle, on a journey to nicopolis, a city of macedonia, wrote this epistle to titus, in which he directs him to ordain bishops and priests for the different cities, shewing him the principal qualities necessary for a bishop. he also gives him particular advice for his own conduct to his flock, exhorting him to hold to strictness of discipline, but seasoned with lenity. it was written about thirty-three years after our lord's ascension. titus chapter what kind of men he is to ordain priests. some men are to be sharply rebuked. : . paul, a servant of god and an apostle of jesus christ, according to the faith of the elect of god and the acknowledging of the truth, which is according to godliness: : . unto the hope of life everlasting, which god, who lieth not, hath promised before the times of the world: : . but hath in due times manifested his word in preaching, which is committed to me according to the commandment of god our saviour: : . to titus, my beloved son according to the common faith, grace and peace, from god the father and from christ jesus our saviour. : . for this cause i left thee in crete: that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as i also appointed thee: : . if any be without crime, the husband of one wife. having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly. : . for a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of god: not proud, not subject to anger, nor given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre: : . but given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent: : . embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to convince the gainsayers. : . for there are also many disobedient, vain talkers and seducers: especially they who are of the circumcision. : . who must be reproved, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. : . one of them a prophet of their own, said: the cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies. : . this testimony is true. wherefore, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith: : . not giving heed to jewish fables and commandments of men who turn themselves away from the truth. : . all things are clean to the clean: but to them that are defiled and to unbelievers, nothing is clean: but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. : . they profess that they know god: but in their works they deny him: being abominable and incredulous and to every good work reprobate. titus chapter how he is to instruct both old and young. the duty of servants. the christian's rule of life. : . but speak thou the things that become sound doctrine: : . that the aged men be sober, chaste, prudent, sound in faith, in love, in patience. : . the aged women, in like manner, in holy attire, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teaching well: : . that they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children. : . to be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their husbands: that the word of god be not blasphemed. : . young men, in like manner, exhort that they be sober. : . in all things shew thyself an example of good works, in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity, : . the sound word that can not be blamed: that he who is on the contrary part may be afraid, having no evil to say of us. : . exhort servants to be obedient to their masters: in all things pleasing, not gainsaying: : . not defrauding, but in all things shewing good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of god our saviour in all things. : . for the grace of god our saviour hath appeared to all men: : . instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly and godly in this world, : . looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great god and our saviour jesus christ. : . who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and might cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. : . these things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. let no man despise thee. titus chapter other instructions and directions for life and doctrine. : . admonish them to be subject to princes and powers, to obey at a word, to be ready to every good work. : . to speak evil of no man, not to be litigious but gentle: shewing all mildness towards all men. : . for we ourselves also were some time unwise, incredulous, erring, slaves to divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. : . but when the goodness and kindness of god our saviour appeared: : . not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the holy ghost. : . whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly, through jesus christ our saviour: : . that, being justified by his grace, we may be heirs according to hope of life everlasting. : . it is a faithful saying. and these things i will have thee affirm constantly, that they who believe in god may be careful to excel in good works. these things are good and profitable unto men. : . but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law. for they are unprofitable and vain. : . a man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid: : . knowing that he that is such an one is subverted and sinneth, being condemned by his own judgment. by his own judgment. . .other offenders are judged, and cast out of the church, by the sentence of the pastors of the same church. heretics, more unhappy, run out of the church of their own accord, and by doing so, give judgment and sentence against their own souls. : . when i shall send to thee artemas or tychicus, make haste to come unto me to nicopolis. for there i have determined to winter. : . send forward zenas the lawyer and apollo, with care that nothing be wanting to them. : . and let our men also learn to excel in good works for necessary uses: that they be not unfruitful. : . all that are with me salute thee. salute them that love us in the faith. the grace of god be with you all. amen. the epistle of st. paul to philemon philemon, a noble citizen of colossa, had a servant named onesimus, who robbed him and fled to rome, where he met st. paul, who was then a prisoner there the first time. the apostle took compassion on him and received him with tenderness and converted him to the faith; for he was a gentile before. st. paul sends him back to his master with this epistle in his favour: and though he beseeches philemon to pardon him, yet the apostle writes with becoming dignity and authority. it contains divers profitable instructions and points out the charity and humanity that masters should have for their servants. philemon chapter he commends the faith and charity of philemon; and sends back to him his fugitive servant, whom he had converted in prison. : . paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and timothy, a brother: to philemon, our beloved and fellow labourer, : . and to appia, our dearest sister, and to archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church which is in thy house. : . grace to you and peace, from god our father and from the lord jesus christ. : . i give thanks to my god, always making a remembrance of thee in my prayers. : . hearing of thy charity and faith, which thou hast in the lord jesus and towards all the saints: : . that the communication of thy faith may be made evident in the acknowledgment of every good work that is in you in christ jesus. : . for i have had great joy and consolation in thy charity, because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother. : . wherefore, though i have much confidence in christ jesus to command thee that which is to the purpose: : . for charity sake i rather beseech, whereas thou art such a one, as paul, an old man and now a prisoner also of jesus christ. : . i beseech thee for my son, whom i have begotten in my bands, onesimus, : . who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee but now is profitable both to me and thee: : . whom i have sent back to thee. and do thou receive him as my own bowels. : . whom i would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered to me in the bands of the gospel. : . but without thy counsel i would do nothing: that thy good deed might not be as it were of necessity, but voluntary. : . for perhaps he therefore departed for a season from thee that thou mightest receive him again for ever: : . not now as a servant, but instead of a servant, a most dear brother, especially to me. but how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the lord? : . if therefore thou count me a partner, receive him as myself. : . and if he hath wronged thee in any thing or is in thy debt, put that to my account. : . i paul have written it with my own hand: i will repay it: not to say to thee that thou owest me thy own self also. : . yea, brother. may i enjoy thee in the lord! refresh my bowels in the lord. : . trusting in thy obedience, i have written to thee: knowing that thou wilt also do more than i say. : . but withal prepare me also a lodging. for i hope that through your prayers i shall be given unto you. : . there salute thee epaphras, my fellow prisoner in christ jesus: : . mark, aristarchus, demas and luke, my fellow labourers. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit. amen. the epistle of st. paul to the hebrews st. paul wrote this epistle to the christians in palestine, the most part of whom being jews before their conversion, they were called hebrews. he exhorts them to be thoroughly converted and confirmed in the faith of christ, clearly shewing them the preeminence of christ's priesthood above the levitical, and also the excellence of the new law above the old. he commends faith by the example of the ancient fathers: and exhorts them to patience and perseverance and to remain in fraternal charity. it appears from chap. that this epistle was written in italy, and probably at rome, about twenty-nine years after our lord's ascension. hebrews chapter god spoke of old by the prophets, but now by his son, who is incomparably greater than the angels. : . god, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, : . in these days, hath spoken to us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. : . who being the brightness of his glory and the figure of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high: the figure. . .that is, the express image, and most perfect resemblance. making purgation. . .that is, having purged away our sins by his passion. : . being made so much better than the angels as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. : . for to which of the angels hath he said at any time: thou art my son, to-day have i begotten thee? and again: i will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son? : . and again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith: and let all the angels of god adore him. : . and to the angels indeed he saith: he that maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. : . but to the son: thy throne, o god, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of thy kingdom. : . thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore god, thy god, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. : . and: thou in the beginning, o lord, didst found the earth: and the works of thy hands are the heavens. : . they shall perish: but thou shalt continue: and they shall all grow old as a garment. : . and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shalt be changed. but thou art the selfsame: and thy years shall not fail. : . but to which of the angels said he at any time: sit on my right hand, until i make thy enemies thy footstool? : . are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? hebrews chapter the transgression of the precepts of the son of god is far more condemnable than of those of the old testament given by angels. : . therefore ought we more diligently to observe the things which we have heard lest perhaps we should let them slip. : . for if the word spoken by angels became steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward: : . how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? which, having begun to be declared by the lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. : . god also bearing them witness by signs and wonders and divers miracles and distributions of the holy ghost, according to his own will. : . for god hath not subjected unto angels the world to come, whereof we speak. : . but one in a certain place hath testified, saying: what is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? : . thou hast made him a little lower than the angels: thou hast crowned him with glory and honour and hast set him over the works of thy hands. : . thou hast subjected all things under his feet. for in that he hath subjected all things to him he left nothing not subject to him. but now we see not as yet all things subject to him. : . but we see jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour: that, through the grace of god he might taste death for all. : . for it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, who had brought many children into glory, to perfect the author of their salvation, by his passion. perfect by his passion. . .by suffering, christ was to enter into his glory, luke . , which the apostle here calls being made perfect. : . for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: : . i will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will i praise thee. : . and again: i will put my trust in him. and again: behold i and my children, whom god hath given me. : . therefore because the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner hath been partaker of the same: that, through death, he might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil: : . and might deliver them, who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to servitude. : . for nowhere doth he take hold of the angels: but of the seed of abraham he taketh hold. no where doth he, etc. . .that is, he never took upon him the nature of angels, but that of the seed of abraham. : . wherefore, it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before god, that he might be a propitiation for the sins of the people. : . for in that wherein he himself hath suffered and been tempted he is able to succour them also that are tempted. hebrews chapter christ is more excellent than moses. wherefore we must adhere to him by faith and obedience. : . wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly vocation consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, jesus: : . who is faithful to him that made him, as was also moses in all his house. : . for this man was counted worthy of greater glory than moses, by so much as he that hath built the house hath greater honour than the house. : . for every house is built by some man: but he that created all things is god. : . and moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be said: : . but christ, as the son in his own house: which house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and glory of hope unto the end. : . wherefore, as the holy ghost saith: to-day if you shall hear his voice, : . harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the desert, : . where your fathers tempted me, proved and saw my works, : . forty years: for which cause i was offended with this generation, and i said: they always err in heart. and they have not known my ways. : . as i have sworn in my wrath: if they shall enter into my rest. : . take heed, brethren, lest perhaps there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, to depart from the living god. : . but exhort one another every day, whilst it is called to day, that none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. : . for we are made partakers of christ: yet so, if we hold the beginning of his substance firm unto the end. : . while it is said: to day, if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in that provocation. : . for some who heard did provoke: but not all that came out of egypt by moses. : . and with whom was he offended forty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose carcasses were overthrown in the desert? : . and to whom did he swear, that they should not enter into his rest: but to them that were incredulous? : . and we see that they could not enter in, because of unbelief. hebrews chapter the christian's rest. we are to enter into it through jesus christ. : . let us fear therefore lest, the promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should be thought to be wanting. : . for unto us also it hath been declared in like manner as unto them. but the word of hearing did not profit them, not being mixed with faith of those things they heard. : . for we, who have believed, shall enter into rest; as he said: as i have sworn in my wrath: if they shall enter into my rest; and this indeed when the works from the foundation of the world were finished. : . for in a certain place he spoke of the seventh day thus: and god rested the seventh day from all his works. : . and in this place again: if they shall enter into my rest. : . seeing then it remaineth that some are to enter into it, and they to whom it was first preached did not enter because of unbelief: : . again he limiteth a certain day, saying in david; to day, after so long a time as it is above said: to day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts. : . for if jesus had given them rest he would never have afterwards spoken of another day. jesus. . .josue, who in greek is called jesus. : . there remaineth therefore a day of rest for the people of god. : . for he that is entered into his rest, the same also hath rested from his works, as god did from his. : . let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest: lest any man fall into the same example of unbelief. : . for the word of god is living and effectual and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow: and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. : . neither is there any creature invisible in his sight: but all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is. : . having therefore a great high priest that hath passed into the heavens, jesus the son of god: let us hold fast our confession. : . for we have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities: but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin. : . let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace: that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. hebrews chapter the office of a high priest. christ is our high priest. : . for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to god, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins: : . who can have compassion on them that are ignorant and that err: because he himself also is compassed with infirmity. : . and therefore he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. : . neither doth any man take the honour to himself, but he that is called by god, as aaron was. : . so christ also did not glorify himself, that he might be made a high priest: but he that said unto him: thou art my son: this day have i begotten thee. : . as he saith also in another place: thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of melchisedech. : . who in the days of his flesh, with a strong cry and tears, offering up prayers and supplications to him that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence. : . and whereas indeed he was the son of god, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. : . and being consummated, he became, to all that obey him, the cause of eternal salvation: : . called by god a high priest, according to the order of melchisedech. : . of whom we have much to say and hard to be intelligibly uttered: because you are become weak to hear. : . for whereas for the time you ought to be masters, you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of god: and you are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. : . for every one that is a partaker of milk is unskilful in the word of justice: for he is a little child. : . but strong meat is for the perfect: for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil. hebrews chapter he warns them of the danger of falling by apostasy and exhorts them to patience and perseverance. : . wherefore, leaving the word of the beginning of christ, let us go on to things more perfect: not laying again the foundation of penance from dead works and of faith towards god, the word of the beginning. . .the first rudiments of the christian doctrine. : . of the doctrine of baptisms and imposition of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. : . and this will we do, if god permit. : . for it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the holy ghost, it is impossible, etc. . .the meaning is, that it is impossible for such as have fallen after baptism, to be again baptized; and very hard for such as have apostatized from the faith, after having received many graces, to return again to the happy state from which they fell. : . have moreover tasted the good word of god and the powers of the world to come, : . and are fallen away: to be renewed again to penance, crucifying again to themselves the son of god and making him a mockery. : . for the earth, that drinketh in the rain which cometh often upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is tilled, receiveth blessing from god. : . but that which bringeth forth thorns and briers is reprobate and very near unto a curse: whose end is to be burnt. : . but, my dearly beloved, we trust better things of you, and nearer to salvation; though we speak thus. : . for god is not unjust, that he should forget your work and the love which you have shewn in his name, you who have ministered and do minister to the saints. : . and we desire that every one of you shew forth the same carefulness to the accomplishing of hope unto the end: : . that you become not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience shall inherit the promises. : . for god making promises to abraham, because he had no one greater by whom he might swear, swore by himself, : . saying: unless blessing i shall bless thee and multiplying i shall multiply thee. : . and so patiently enduring he obtained the promise. : . for men swear by one greater than themselves: and an oath for confirmation is the end of all their controversy. : . wherein god, meaning more abundantly to shew to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed an oath: : . that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for god to lie, we may have the strongest comfort, we who have fled for refuge to hold fast the hope set before us. : . which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, and which entereth in even within the veil: : . where the forerunner jesus is entered for us, made a high priest for ever according to the order of melchisedech. hebrews chapter the priesthood of christ according to the order of melchisedech excels the levitical priesthood and puts an end both to that and to the law. : . for this melchisedech was king of salem, priest of the most high god, who met abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him: : . to whom also abraham divided the tithes of all: who first indeed by interpretation is king of justice: and then also king of salem, that is, king of peace: : . without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but likened unto the son of god, continueth a priest for ever. without father, etc. . .not that he had no father, etc., but that neither his father, nor his pedigree, nor his birth, nor his death, are set down in scripture. : . now consider how great this man is, to whom also abraham the patriarch gave tithes out of the principal things. : . and indeed they that are of the sons of levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is to say, of their brethren: though they themselves also came out of the loins of abraham. : . but he, whose pedigree is not numbered among them, received tithes of abraham and blessed him that had the promises. : . and without all contradiction, that which is less is blessed by the better. : . and here indeed, men that die receive tithes: but there, he hath witness that he liveth. : . and (as it may be said) even levi who received tithes paid tithes in abraham: : . for he was yet in the loins of his father when melchisedech met him. : . if then perfection was by the levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of melchisedech: and not be called according to the order of aaron? : . for the priesthood being translated, it is necessary that a translation also be made of the law, : . for he of whom these things are spoken is of another tribe, of which no one attended on the altar. : . for it is evident that our lord sprung out of juda: in which tribe moses spoke nothing concerning priests. : . and it is yet far more evident: if according to the similitude of melchisedech there ariseth another priest, : . who is made, not according to the law of a law of a carnal commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life. : . for he testifieth: thou art a priest for ever according to the order of melchisedech. : . there is indeed a setting aside of the former commandment, because of the weakness and unprofitableness thereof: : . for the law brought nothing to perfection: but a bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw nigh to god. : . and inasmuch as it is not without an oath (for the others indeed were made priests without an oath: : . but this with an oath, by him that said unto him: the lord hath sworn and he will not repent: thou art a priest for ever). : . by so much is jesus made a surety of a better testament. : . and the others indeed were made many priests, because by reason of death they were not suffered to continue: many priests, etc. . .the apostle notes this difference between the high priests of the law, and our high priest jesus christ; that they being removed by death, made way for their successors; whereas our lord jesus is a priest for ever, and hath no successor; but liveth and concurreth for ever with his ministers, the priests of the new testament, in all their functions. also, that no one priest of the law, nor all of them together, could offer that absolute sacrifice of everlasting redemption, which our one high priest jesus christ has offered once, and for ever. : . but this, for that he continueth for ever, hath an everlasting priesthood: : . whereby he is able also to save for ever them that come to god by him; always living to make intercession for us. make intercession. . .christ, as man, continually maketh intercession for us, by representing his passion to his father. : . for it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens: : . who needeth not daily (as the other priests) to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, in offering himself. : . for the law maketh men priests, who have infirmity: but the word of the oath (which was since the law) the son who is perfected for evermore. hebrews chapter more of the excellence of the priesthood of christ and of the new testament. : . now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: we have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens, : . a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle, which the lord hath pitched, and not man. the holies. . .that is, the sanctuary. : . for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that he also should have some thing to offer. : . if then he were on earth, he would not be a priest: seeing that there would be others to offer gifts according to the law. if then he were on earth, etc. . .that is, if he were not of a higher condition than the levitical order of earthly priests, and had not another kind of sacrifice to offer, he should be excluded by them from the priesthood, and its functions, which by the law were appropriated to their tribe. : . who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. as it was answered to moses, when he was to finish the tabernacle: see (saith he) that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shewn thee on the mount. who serve unto, etc. . .the priesthood of the law and its functions were a kind of an example and shadow of what is done by christ in his church militant and triumphant, of which the tabernacle was a pattern. : . but now he hath obtained a better ministry, by how much also he is a mediator of a better testament which is established on better promises. : . for if that former had been faultless, there should not indeed a place have been sought for a second. : . for, finding fault with them, he saith: behold the days shall come, saith the lord: and i will perfect, unto the house of israel and unto the house of juda, a new testament: : . not according to the testament which i made to their fathers, on the day when i took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of egypt: because they continued not in my testament: and i regarded them not, saith the lord. : . for this is the testament which i will make to the house of israel after those days, saith the lord: i will give my laws into their mind: and in their heart will i write them. and i will be their god: and they shall be my people. : . and they shall not teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying: know the lord. for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them. they shall not teach, etc. . .so great shall be light and grace of the new testament, that it shall not be necessary to inculcate to the faithful the belief and knowledge of the true god, for they shall all know him. : . because i will be merciful to their iniquities: and their sins i will remember no more. : . now in saying a new, he hath made the former old. and that which decayeth and groweth old is near its end. a new. . .supply 'covenant'. hebrews chapter the sacrifices of the law were far inferior to that of christ. : . the former indeed had also justifications of divine service and a sanctuary. : . for there was a tabernacle made the first, wherein were the candlesticks and the table and the setting forth of loaves, which is called the holy. : . and after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holy of holies: : . having a golden censer and the ark of the testament covered about on every part with gold, in which was a golden pot that had manna and the rod of aaron that had blossomed and the tables of the testament. : . and over it were the cherubims of glory overshadowing the propitiatory: of which it is not needful to speak now particularly. : . now these things being thus ordered, into the first tabernacle, the priests indeed always entered, accomplishing the offices of sacrifices. : . but into the second, the high priest alone, once a year: not without blood, which he offereth for his own and the people's ignorance: : . the holy ghost signifying this: that the way into the holies was not yet made manifest, whilst the former tabernacle was yet standing. : . which is a parable of the time present: according to which gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot, as to the conscience, make him perfect that serveth, only in meats and in drinks, : . and divers washings and justices of the flesh laid on them until the time of correction. of correction. . .viz., when christ should correct and settle all things. : . but christ, being come an high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hand, that is, not of this creation: : . neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. eternal redemption. . .by that one sacrifice of his blood, once offered on the cross, christ our lord paid and exhibited, once for all, the general price and ransom of all mankind: which no other priest could do. : . for if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: : . how much more shall the blood of christ, who by the holy ghost offered himself unspotted unto god, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living god? : . and therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. : . for where there is a testament the death of the testator must of necessity come in. : . for a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is as yet of no strength, whilst the testator liveth. : . whereupon neither was the first indeed dedicated without blood. : . for when every commandment of the law had been read by moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. : . saying: this is the blood of the testament which god hath enjoined unto you. : . the tabernacle also and all the vessels of the ministry, in like manner, he sprinkled with blood. : . and almost all things, according to the law, are cleansed with blood: and without shedding of blood there is no remission. : . it is necessary therefore that the patterns of heavenly things should be cleansed with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. : . for jesus is not entered into the holies made with hands, the patterns of the true: but into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of god for us. : . nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holies every year with the blood of others: offer himself often. . .christ shall never more offer himself in sacrifice, in that violent, painful, and bloody manner, nor can there be any occasion for it: since by that one sacrifice upon the cross, he has furnished the full ransom, redemption, and remedy for all the sins of the world. but this hinders not that he may offer himself daily in the sacred mysteries in an unbloody manner, for the daily application of that one sacrifice of redemption to our souls. : . for then he ought to have suffered often from the beginning of the world. but now once, at the end of ages, he hath appeared for the destruction of sin by the sacrifice of himself. : . and as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment: : . so also christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many. the second time he shall appear without sin to them that expect him unto salvation. to exhaust. . .that is, to empty, or draw out to the very bottom, by a plentiful and perfect redemption. hebrews chapter because of the insufficiency of the sacrifices of the law, christ our high priest shed his own blood for us, offering up once for all the sacrifice of our redemption. he exhorts them to perseverance. : . for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, by the selfsame sacrifices which they offer continually every year, can never make the comers thereunto perfect. : . for then they would have ceased to be offered: because the worshippers once cleansed should have no conscience of sin any longer. they would have ceased. . .if they had been of themselves perfect to all the intents of redemption and remission, as christ's death is there would have been no occasion of so often repeating them: as there is no occasion for christ's dying any more for our sins. : . but in them there is made a commemoration of sins every year: : . for it is impossible that with the blood of oxen and goats sin should be taken away. : . wherefore, when he cometh into the world he saith: sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not: but a body thou hast fitted to me. : . holocausts for sin did not please thee. : . then said i: behold i come: in the head of the book it is written of me: that i should do thy will, o god. : . in saying before, sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for sin thou wouldest not, neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered according to the law. : . then said i: behold, i come to do thy will, o god: he taketh away the first, that he may establish that which followeth. : . in the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of jesus christ once. : . and every priest indeed standeth daily ministering and often offering the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. : . but this man, offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of god, : . from henceforth expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. : . for by one oblation he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. : . and the holy ghost also doth testify this to us. for after that he said: : . and this is the testament which i will make unto them after those days, saith the lord. i will give my laws in their hearts and on their minds will i write them: : . and their sins and iniquities i will remember no more. : . now, where there is a remission of these, there is no more an oblation for sin. there is no more an oblation for sin. . .where there is a full remission of sins, as in baptism, there is no more occasion for a sin offering to be made for such sins already remitted; and as for sins committed afterwards, they can only be remitted in virtue of the one oblation of christ's death. : . having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood of christ: : . a new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh: : . and a high priest over the house of god: : . let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water. : . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that hath promised): : . and let us consider one another, to provoke unto charity and to good works: : . not forsaking our assembly, as some are accustomed: but comforting one anther, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. : . for if we sin wilfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins: if we sin wilfully. . .he speaks of the sin of wilful apostasy from the known truth; after which, as we can not be baptized again, we can not expect to have that abundant remission of sins, which christ purchased by his death, applied to our souls in that ample manner as it is in baptism: but we have rather all manner of reason to look for a dreadful judgment; the more because apostates from the known truth, seldom or never have the grace to return to it. : . but a certain dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of a fire which shall consume the adversaries. : . a man making void the law of moses dieth without any mercy under two or three witnesses: : . how much more, do you think he deserveth worse punishments, who hath trodden under foot the son of god and hath esteemed the blood of the testament unclean, by which he was sanctified, and hath offered an affront to the spirit of grace? : . for we know him that hath said: vengeance belongeth to me, and i will repay. and again: the lord shall judge his people. : . it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. : . but call to mind the former days, wherein, being illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions. : . and on the one hand indeed, by reproaches and tribulations, were made a gazingstock; and on the other, became companions of them that were used in such sort. : . for you both had compassion on them that were in bands and took with joy the being stripped of your own goods, knowing that you have a better and a lasting substance. : . do not therefore lose your confidence which hath a great reward. : . for patience is necessary for you: that, doing the will of god, you may receive the promise. : . for yet a little and a very little while, and he that is to come will come and will not delay. : . but my just man liveth by faith: but if he withdraw himself, he shall not please my soul. : . but we are not the children of withdrawing unto perdition, but of faith to the saving of the soul. hebrews chapter what faith is. its wonderful fruits and efficacy demonstrated in the fathers. : . now, faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not. : . for by this the ancients obtained a testimony. : . by faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of god: that from invisible things visible things might be made. : . by faith abel offered to god a sacrifice exceeding that of cain, by which he obtained a testimony that he was just, god giving testimony to his gifts. and by it he being dead yet speaketh. : . by faith henoch was translated that he should not see death: and he was not found because god had translated him. for before his translation he had testimony that he pleased god. : . but without faith it is impossible to please god. for he that cometh to god must believe that he is: and is a rewarder to them that seek him. : . by faith noe, having received an answer concerning those things which as yet were not seen, moved with fear, framed the ark for the saving of his house: by the which he condemned the world and was instituted heir of the justice which is by faith. : . by faith he that is called abraham obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance. and he went out, not knowing whither he went. he that is called abraham. . .or, abraham being called. : . by faith he abode in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in cottages, with isaac and jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise. : . for he looked for a city that hath foundations: whose builder and maker is god. : . by faith also sara herself, being barren, received strength to conceive seed, even past the time of age: because she believed that he was faithful who had promised, : . for which cause there sprung even from one (and him as good as dead) as the stars of heaven in multitude and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. : . all these died according to faith, not having received the promises but beholding them afar off and saluting them and confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers on the earth. : . for they that say these things do signify that they seek a country. : . and truly, if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they had doubtless, time to return. : . but now they desire a better, that is to say, a heavenly country. therefore, god is not ashamed to be called their god: for he hath prepared for them a city. : . by faith abraham, when he was tried, offered isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, : . (to whom it was said: in isaac shalt thy seed be called:) : . accounting that god is able to raise up even from the dead. whereupon also he received him for a parable. for a parable. . .that is, as a figure of christ, slain and coming to life again. : . by faith also of things to come isaac blessed jacob and esau. : . by faith jacob, dying, blessed each of the sons of joseph and adored the top of his rod. adored the top of his rod. . .the apostle here follows the ancient greek bible of the seventy interpreters, (which translates in this manner, gen. . .,) and alleges this fact of jacob, in paying a relative honour and veneration to the top of the rod or sceptre of joseph, as to a figure of christ's sceptre and kingdom, as an instance and argument of his faith. but some translators, who are no friends to this relative honour, have corrupted the text, by translating it, he worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff; as if this circumstance of leaning upon his staff were any argument of jacob's faith, or worthy the being thus particularly taken notice of by the holy ghost. : . by faith joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the going out of the children of israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. : . by faith moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents: because they saw he was a comely babe, and they feared not the king's edict. : . by faith moses, when he was grown up, denied himself to be the son of pharao's daughter: : . rather choosing to be afflicted with the people of god than to have the pleasure of sin for a time: : . esteeming the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasure of the egyptians. for he looked unto the reward. : . by faith he left egypt, not fearing the fierceness of the king: for he endured, as seeing him that is invisible. : . by faith he celebrated the pasch and the shedding of the blood: that he who destroyed the firstborn might not touch them. : . by faith they passed through the red sea, as by dry land: which the egyptians attempting, were swallowed up. : . by faith the walls of jericho fell down, by the going round them seven days. : . by faith rahab the harlot perished not with the unbelievers, receiving the spies with peace. : . and what shall i yet say? for the time would fail me to tell of gedeon, barac, samson, jephthe, david, samuel, and the prophets: : . who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, : . quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners. : . women received their dead raised to life again. but others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection. : . and others had trial of mockeries and stripes: moreover also of bands and prisons. : . they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: : . of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts, in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth. : . and all these, being approved by the testimony of faith, received not the promise: : . god providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected without us. hebrews chapter exhortation to constancy under their crosses. the danger of abusing the graces of the new testament. : . and therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: : . looking on jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who, having joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sitteth on the right hand of the throne of god. : . for think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds. : . for you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. : . and you have forgotten the consolation which speaketh to you, as unto children, saying: my son, neglect not the discipline of the lord: neither be thou wearied whilst thou art rebuked by him. : . for whom the lord loveth he chastiseth: and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. : . persevere under discipline. god dealeth with you as with his sons. for what son is there whom the father doth not correct? : . but if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards and not sons. : . moreover, we have had fathers of our flesh for instructors, and we reverenced them. shall we not much more obey the father of spirits and live? : . and they indeed for a few days, according to their own pleasure, instructed us: but he, for our profit, that we might receive his sanctification. : . now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield to them that are exercised by it the most peaceable fruit of justice. : . wherefore, lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees: : . and make straight steps with your feet: that no one, halting, may go out of the way; but rather be healed. : . follow peace with all men and holiness: without which no man shall see god. : . looking diligently, lest any man be wanting to the grace of god: lest any root of bitterness springing up do hinder and by it many be defiled: : . lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as esau who for one mess sold his first birthright. : . for know ye that afterwards, when he desired to inherit the benediction, he was rejected. for he found no place of repentance, although with tears he had sought it. he found, etc. . .that is, he found no way to bring his father to repent, or change his mind, with relation to his having given the blessing to his younger brother jacob. : . for you are not come to a mountain that might be touched and a burning fire and a whirlwind and darkness and storm, : . and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which they that had excused themselves, that the word might not be spoken to them. : . for they did not endure that which was said: and if so much as a beast shall touch the mount, it shall be stoned. : . and so terrible was that which was seen, moses said: i am frighted, and tremble. : . but you are come to mount sion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, : . and to the church of the firstborn who are written in the heavens, and to god the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, : . and to jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of abel. : . see that you refuse him not that speaketh. for if they escaped not who refused him that spoke upon earth, much more shall not we that turn away from him that speaketh to us from heaven. : . whose voice then moved the earth; but now he promiseth, saying: yet once more: and i will move, not only the earth, but heaven also. : . and in that he saith: yet once more, he signifieth the translation of the moveable things as made, that those things may remain which are immoveable. : . therefore, receiving an immoveable kingdom, we have grace: whereby let us serve, pleasing god, with fear and reverence. : . for our god is a consuming fire. hebrews chapter divers admonitions and exhortations. : . let the charity of the brotherhood abide in you. : . and hospitality do not forget: for by this some, being not aware of it, have entertained angels. : . remember them that are in bands, as if you were bound with them: and them that labour, as being yourselves also in the body. : . marriage honourable in all, and the bed undefiled. for fornicators and adulterers god will judge. or, let marriage be honourable in all. . .that is, in all things belonging to the marriage state. this is a warning to married people, not to abuse the sanctity of their state, by any liberties or irregularities contrary thereunto. now it does not follow from this text that all persons are obliged to marry, even if the word omnibus were rendered, in all persons, instead of in all things: for if it was a precept, st. paul himself would have transgressed it, as he never married. moreover, those who have already made a vow to god to lead a single life, should they attempt to marry, they would incur their own damnation. tim. . . : . let your manners be without covetousness, contented with such things as you have. for he hath said: i will not leave thee: neither will i forsake thee. : . so that we may confidently say: the lord is my helper: i will not fear what man shall do to me. : . remember your prelates who have spoken the word of god to you: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, : . jesus christ, yesterday, and today: and the same for ever. : . be not led away with various and strange doctrines. for it is best that the heart be established with grace, not with meats: which have not profited those that walk in them. : . we have an altar whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle. : . for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holies by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. : . wherefore jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate. : . let us go forth therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. let us go forth therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. . .that is, bearing his cross. it is an exhortation to them to be willing to suffer with christ, reproaches, persecutions, and even death, if they desire to partake of the benefit of his suffering for man's redemption. : . for, we have not here a lasting city: but we seek one that is to come. : . by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to god, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name. : . and do not forget to do good and to impart: for by such sacrifices god's favour is obtained. : . obey your prelates and be subject to them. for they watch as being to render an account of your souls: that they may do this with joy and not with grief. for this is not expedient for you. : . pray for us. for we trust we have a good conscience, being willing to behave ourselves well in all things. : . and i beseech you the more to do this, that i may be restored to you the sooner. : . and may the god of peace, who brought again from the dead the great pastor of the sheep, our lord jesus christ, in the blood of the everlasting testament, : . fit you in all goodness, that you may do his will; doing in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through jesus christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. amen. : . and i beseech you, brethren, that you suffer this word of consolation. for i have written to you in a few words. : . know ye that our brother timothy is set at liberty: with whom (if he come shortly) i will see you. : . salute all your prelates and all the saints. the brethren from italy salute you. : . grace be with you all. amen. the catholic epistle of st. james the apostle this epistle is called catholic or universal, as formerly were also the two epistles of st. peter, the first of st. john and that of st. jude, because they were not written to any peculiar people or particular person, but to the faithful in general. it was written by the apostle st. james, called the less, who was also called the brother of our lord, being his kinsman (for cousins german with the hebrews were called brothers). he was the first bishop of jerusalem. in this epistle are set forth many precepts appertaining to faith and morals; particularly, that faith without good works will not save a man and that true wisdom is given only from above. in the fifth chapter he publishes the sacrament of anointing the sick. it was written a short time before his martyrdom, about twenty-eight years after our lord's ascension. james chapter the benefit of tribulations. prayer with faith. god is the author of all good, but not of evil. we must be slow to anger and not hearers only, but doers of the word. of bridling the tongue and of pure religion. : . james, the servant of god and of our lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. : . my brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations: into divers temptations. . .the word temptation, in this epistle, is sometimes taken for trials by afflictions or persecutions, as in this place: at other times, it is to be understood, tempting, enticing, or drawing others into sin. : . knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience : . and patience hath a perfect work: that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing. : . but if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of god who giveth to all men abundantly and upbraideth not. and it shall be given him. : . but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind. : . therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the lord. : . a double minded man is inconstant in all his ways. : . but let the brother of low condition glory in his exaltation: : . and the rich, in his being low: because as the flower of the grass shall he pass away. : . for the sun rose with a burning heat and parched the grass: and the flower thereof fell off, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished. so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. : . blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for, when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life which god hath promised to them that love him. : . let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by god. for god is not a tempter of evils: and he tempteth no man. : . but every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured. : . then, when concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. but sin, when it is completed, begetteth death. : . do not err, therefore, my dearest brethren. : . every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration. : . for of his own will hath he begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creature. some beginning. . .that is, a kind of first fruits of his creatures. : . you know, my dearest brethren. and let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak and slow to anger. : . for the anger of man worketh not the justice of god. : . wherefore, casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls. : . but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. : . for if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. : . for he beheld himself and went his way and presently forgot what manner of man he was. : . but he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed. : . and if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain. : . religion clean and undefiled before god and the father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one's self unspotted from this world. james chapter against respect of persons. the danger of transgressing one point of the law. faith is dead without works. : . my brethren, have not the faith of our lord jesus christ of glory, with respect of persons. with respect of persons. . .the meaning is, that in matters relating to faith, the administering of the sacraments, and other spiritual functions in god's church, there should be no respect of persons; but that the souls of the poor should be as much regarded as those of the rich. see deut. . . : . for if there shall come into your assembly a man having a golden ring, in fine apparel; and there shall come in also a poor man in mean attire: : . and you have respect to him that is clothed with the fine apparel and shall say to him: sit thou here well: but say to the poor man: stand thou there, or: sit under my footstool: : . do you not judge within yourselves, and are become judges of unjust thoughts? : . hearken, my dearest brethren: hath not god chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which god hath promised to them that love him? : . but you have dishonoured the poor man. do not the rich oppress you by might? and do not they draw you before the judgment seats? : . do not they blaspheme the good name that is invoked upon you? : . if then you fulfil the royal law, according to the scriptures: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; you do well. : . but if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, being reproved by the law as transgressors. : . and whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all. guilty of all;. . .that is, he becomes a transgressor of the law in such a manner, that the observing of all other points will not avail him to salvation; for he despises the lawgiver, and breaks through the great and general commandment of charity, even by one mortal sin. for all the precepts of the law are to be considered as one total and entire law, and as it were a chain of precepts, where, by breaking one link of this chain, the whole chain is broken, or the integrity of the law consisting of a collection of precepts. a sinner, therefore, by a grievous offence against any one precept, incurs eternal punishment; yet the punishment in hell shall be greater for those who have been greater sinners, as a greater reward shall be for those in heaven who have lived with greater sanctity and perfection. : . for he that said: thou shalt not commit adultery, said also: thou shalt not kill. now if thou do not commit adultery, but shalt kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. : . so speak ye and so do, as being to be judged by the law of liberty. : . for judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy. and mercy exalteth itself above judgment. : . what shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? shall faith be able to save him? : . and if a brother or sister be naked and want daily food: : . and one of you say to them: go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? : . so faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. : . but some man will say: thou hast faith, and i have works. shew me thy faith without works; and i will shew thee, by works, my faith. : . thou believest that there is one god. thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. : . but wilt thou know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead? : . was not abraham our father justified by works, offering up isaac his son upon the altar? : . seest thou that faith did cooperate with his works and by works faith was made perfect? : . and the scripture was fulfilled, saying: abraham believed god, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of god. : . do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only? : . and in like manner also rahab the harlot, was not she justified by works, receiving the messengers and sending them out another way? : . for even as the body without the spirit is dead: so also faith without works is dead. james chapter of the evils of the tongue. of the difference between the earthly and heavenly wisdom. : . be ye not many masters, my brethren, knowing that you receive the greater judgment. : . for in many things we all offend. if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. he is able also with a bridle to lead about the whole body. : . for if we put bits into the mouths of horses, that they may obey us: and we turn about their whole body. : . behold also ships, whereas they are great and are driven by strong winds, yet are they turned about with a small helm, whithersoever the force of the governor willeth. : . even so the tongue is indeed a little member and boasteth great things. behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. : . and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. the tongue is placed among our members, which defileth the whole body and inflameth the wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by hell. : . for every nature of beasts and of birds and of serpents and of the rest is tamed and hath been tamed, by the nature of man. : . but the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. : . by it we bless god and the father: and by it we curse men who are made after the likeness of god. : . out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. my brethren, these things ought not so to be. : . doth a fountain send forth, out of the same hole, sweet and bitter water? : . can the fig tree, my brethren, bear grapes? or the vine, figs? so neither can the salt water yield sweet. : . who is a wise man and endued with knowledge, among you? let him shew, by a good contestation, his work in the meekness of wisdom. : . but if you have bitter zeal, and there be contention in your hearts: glory not and be not liars against the truth. : . for this is not wisdom, descending from above: but earthly, sensual, devilish. : . for where envying and contention is: there is inconstancy and every evil work. : . but the wisdom that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. : . and the fruit of justice is sown in peace, to them that make peace. james chapter the evils that flow from yielding to concupiscence and being friends to this world. admonitions against pride, detraction and the like. : . from whence are wars and contentions among you? are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members? : . you covet, and have not: you kill and envy and cannot obtain. you contend and war, and you have not: because you ask not. : . you ask and receive not: because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your concupiscences. : . adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of god? whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world becometh an enemy of god. : . or do you think that the scripture saith in vain: to envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth in you? : . but he giveth greater grace. wherefore he saith: god resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. : . be subject therefore to god. but resist the devil: and he will fly from you. : . draw nigh to god: and he will draw nigh to you. cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded. : . be afflicted and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into sorrow. : . be humbled in the sight of the lord: and he will exalt you. : . detract not one another, my brethren. he that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth the law and judgeth the law. but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. : . there is one lawgiver and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver. : . but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? behold, now you that say: to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year and will traffic and make our gain. : . whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. : . for what is your life? it is a vapour which appeareth for a little while and afterwards shall vanish away. for that you should say: if the lord will, and, if we shall live, we will do this or that. : . but now you rejoice in your arrogancies. all such rejoicing is wicked. : . to him therefore who knoweth to do good and doth it not, to him it is sin. james chapter a woe to the rich that oppress the poor. exhortations to patience and to avoid swearing. of the anointing the sick, confession of sins and fervour in prayer. : . go to now, ye rich men: weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you. : . your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten. : . your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you and shall eat your flesh like fire. you have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. : . behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the lord of sabaoth. : . you have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter. : . you have condemned and put to death the just one: and he resisted you not. : . be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the lord. behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain. : . be you therefore also patient and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the lord is at hand. : . grudge not, brethren, one against another, that you may not be judged. behold the judge standeth before the door. : . take, my brethren, for example of suffering evil, of labour and patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the lord. : . behold, we account them blessed who have endured. you have heard of the patience of job and you have seen the end of the lord, that the lord is merciful and compassionate. : . but above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath. but let your speech be: yea, yea: no, no: that you fall not under judgment. : . is any of you sad? let him pray: is he cheerful in mind? let him sing. : . is any man sick among you? let him bring in the priests of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord. let him bring in, etc. . .see here a plain warrant of scripture for the sacrament of extreme unction, that any controversy against its institution would be against the express words of the sacred text in the plainest terms. : . and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man. and the lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him. : . confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. for the continual prayer of a just man availeth much. confess your sins one to another. . .that is, to the priests of the church, whom (ver. ) he had ordered to be called for, and brought in to the sick; moreover, to confess to persons who had no power to forgive sins, would be useless. hence the precept here means, that we must confess to men whom god hath appointed, and who, by their ordination and jurisdiction, have received the power of remitting sins in his name. : . elias was a man passible like unto us: and with prayer he prayed that it might not rain upon the earth. and it rained not for three years and six months. : . and he prayed again. and the heaven gave rain: and the earth brought forth her fruit. : . my brethren, if any of you err from the truth and one convert him: : . he must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins. the first epistle of st. peter the apostle the first epistle of st. peter, though brief, contains much doctrine concerning faith, hope, and charity, with divers instructions to all persons of what state or condition soever. the apostle commands submission to rulers and superiors and exhorts all to the practice of a virtuous life in imitation, of christ. this epistle is written with such apostolical dignity as to manifest the supreme authority with which its writer, the prince of the apostles, had been vested by his lord and master, jesus christ. he wrote it at rome, which figuratively he calls babylon, about fifteen years after our lord's ascension. peter chapter he gives thanks to god for the benefit of our being called to the true faith and to eternal life, into which we are to enter by many tribulations. he exhorts to holiness of life, considering the holiness of god and our redemption by the blood of christ. : . peter, an apostle of jesus christ, to the strangers dispersed through pontus, cappadocia, asia and bithynia, elect, : . according to the foreknowledge of god the father, unto the sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ. grace unto you and peace be multiplied. : . blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who according to his great mercy hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead: : . unto an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled and that cannot fade, reserved in heaven for you, : . who, by the power of god, are kept by faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. : . wherein you shalt greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations: : . that the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of jesus christ. : . whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now though you see him not, you believe and, believing, shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified; : . receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. : . of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you. : . searching what or what manner of time the spirit of christ in them did signify, when it foretold those sufferings that are in christ and the glories that should follow. : . to whom it was revealed that, not to themselves but to you, they ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have preached the gospel to you: the holy ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the angels desire to look. : . wherefore, having the loins of your mind girt up, being sober, trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you in the revelation of jesus christ. : . as children of obedience, not fashioned according to the former desires of your ignorance, : . but according to him that hath called you, who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy: : . because it is written: you shall be holy, for i am holy. : . and if you invoke as father him who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one's work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here. : . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers: : . but with the precious blood of christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled : . foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times for you: : . who through him are faithful in god who raised him up from the dead and hath given him glory, that your faith and hope might be in god. : . purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly: : . being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of god who liveth and remaineth for ever. : . for all flesh is as grass and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. the grass is withered and the flower thereof is fallen away. : . but the word of the lord endureth for ever. and this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you. peter chapter we are to lay aside all guile and go to christ the living stone, and, as being now his people, walk worthily of him, with submission to superiors and patience under sufferings. : . wherefore laying away all malice and all guile and dissimulations and envies and all detractions, : . as newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile, that thereby you may grow unto salvation: : . if so be you have tasted that the lord is sweet. : . unto whom coming, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen and made honourable by god: : . be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to god by jesus christ. : . wherefore it is said in the scripture: behold, i lay in sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious. and he that shall believe in him shall not be confounded. : . to you therefore that believe, he is honour: but to them that believe not, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner: : . and a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal, to them who stumble at the word, neither do believe, whereunto also they are set. : . but you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: : . who in times past were not a people: but are now the people of god. who had not obtained mercy: but now have obtained mercy. : . dearly beloved, i beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul, : . having your conversation good among the gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify god in the day of visitation. : . be ye subject therefore to every human creature for god's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling, : . or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of the good. : . for so is the will of god, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: : . as free and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of god. : . honour all men. love the brotherhood. fear god. honour the king. : . servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward. : . for this is thankworthy: if, for conscience towards god, a man endure sorrows, suffering wrongfully. : . for what glory is it, if, committing sin and being buffeted for it, you endure? but if doing well you suffer patiently: this is thankworthy before god. : . for unto this are you called: because christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. : . who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. : . who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not, but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly. : . who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you were healed. : . for you were as sheep going astray: but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls. peter chapter how wives are to behave to their husbands. what ornaments they are to seek. exhortations to divers virtues. : . in like manner also, let wives be subject to their husbands: that, if any believe not the word, they may be won without the word, by the conversation of the wives, : . considering your chaste conversation with fear. : . whose adorning, let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel: : . but the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit which is rich in the sight of god. : . for after this manner heretofore, the holy women also who trusted in god adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands: : . as sara obeyed abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters you are, doing well and not fearing any disturbance. : . ye husbands, likewise dwelling with them according to knowledge, giving honour to the female as to the weaker vessel and as to the co-heirs of the grace of life: that your prayers be not hindered. : . and in fine, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble: : . not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing. : . for he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. : . let him decline from evil and do good: let him seek after peace and pursue it: : . because the eyes of the lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers but the countenance of the lord upon them that do evil things. : . and who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good? : . but if also you suffer any thing for justice' sake, blessed are ye. and be not afraid of their fear: and be not troubled. : . but sanctify the lord christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you. : . but with modesty and fear, having a good conscience: that whereas they speak evil of you, they may be ashamed who falsely accuse your good conversation in christ. : . for it is better doing well (if such be the will of god) to suffer than doing ill. : . because christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to god, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, : . in which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison: spirits that were in prison. . .see here a proof of a third place, or middle state of souls: for these spirits in prison, to whom christ went to preach, after his death, were not in heaven; nor yet in the hell of the damned: because heaven is no prison: and christ did not go to preach to the damned. : . which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of god in the days of noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. : . whereunto baptism, being of the like form, now saveth you also: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but, the examination of a good conscience towards god by the resurrection of jesus christ. whereunto baptism, etc. . .baptism is said to be of the like form with the water by which noe was saved, because the one was a figure of the other. not the putting away, etc. . .as much as to say, that baptism has not its efficacy, in order to salvation, from its washing away any bodily filth or dirt; but from its purging the conscience from sin, when accompanied with suitable dispositions in the party, to answer the interrogations made at that time, with relation to faith, the renouncing of satan with all his works; and the obedience to god's commandments. : . who is on the right hand of god, swallowing down death that we might be made heirs of life everlasting: being gone into heaven, the angels and powers and virtues being made subject to him. peter chapter exhortations to cease from sin, to mutual charity, to do all for the glory of god, to be willing to suffer for christ. : . christ therefore having suffered in the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sins: : . that now he may live the rest of his time in the flesh, not after the desires of men but according to the will of god. : . for the time past is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the gentiles, for them who have walked in riotousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and unlawful worshipping of idols. : . wherein they think it strange that you run not with them into the same confusion of riotousness: speaking evil of you. : . who shall render account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. : . for, for this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead: that they might be judged indeed according to men, in the flesh: but may live according to god, in the spirit. : . but the end of all is at hand. be prudent therefore and watch in prayers. : . but before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves: for charity covereth a multitude of sins. : . using hospitality one towards another, without murmuring, : . as every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another: as good stewards of the manifold grace of god. : . if any man speak, let him speak, as the words of god. if any minister, let him do it, as of the power which god administereth: that in all things god may be honoured through jesus christ: to whom is glory and empire for ever and ever. amen. : . dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you: as if some new thing happened to you. : . but if you partake of the sufferings of christ, rejoice that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. : . if you be reproached for the name of christ, you shall be blessed: for that which is of the honour, glory and power of god, and that which is his spirit resteth upon you. : . but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or a railer or coveter of other men's things. : . but, if as a christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify god in that name. : . for the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of god. and if at first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel of god? : . and if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? scarcely. . .that is, not without much labour and difficulty; and because of the dangers which constantly surround, the temptations of the world, of the devil, and of our own corrupt nature. : . wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of god commend their souls in good deeds to the faithful creator. peter chapter he exhorts both priests and laity to their respective duties and recommends to all humility and watchfulness. : . the ancients therefore that are among you, i beseech who am myself also an ancient and a witness of the sufferings of christ, as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come: : . feed the flock of god which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint but willingly, according to god: not for filthy lucre's sake but voluntarily: : . neither as lording it over the clergy but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart. : . and when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory. : . in like manner, ye young men, be subject to the ancients. and do you all insinuate humility one to another: for god resisteth the proud, but to the humble he giveth grace. : . be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation: : . casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you. : . be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. : . whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls, your brethren who are in the world. : . but the god of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in christ jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you and confirm you and establish you. : . to him be glory and empire, for ever and ever. amen. : . by sylvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as i think, i have written briefly: beseeching and testifying that this is the true grace of god, wherein you stand. : . the church that is in babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you. and so doth my son, mark. : . salute one another with a holy kiss. grace be to all you who are in christ jesus. amen. the second epistle of st. peter the apostle in this epistle st. peter says (chap. .), behold this second epistle i write to you: and before (chap. . ,) being assured that the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand. this shews, that it was written a very short time before his martyrdom, which was about thirty-five years after our lord's ascension. in this epistle he admonishes the faithful to be mindful of the great gifts they received from god and to join all other virtues with their faith. he warns them against false teachers, by describing their practices and foretelling their punishments. he describes the dissolution of this world by fire and the day of judgment. peter chapter he exhorts them to join all other virtues with their faith, in order to secure their salvation. : . simon peter, servant and apostle of jesus christ: to them that have obtained equal faith with us in the justice of our god and saviour jesus christ. : . grace to you and peace be accomplished in the knowledge of god and of christ jesus our lord. : . as all things of his divine power which appertain to life and godliness are given us through the knowledge of him who hath called us by his own proper glory and virtue. : . by whom he hath given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature: flying the corruption of that concupiscence which is in the world. : . and you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue: and in virtue, knowledge: : . and in knowledge, abstinence: and in abstinence, patience: and in patience, godliness: : . and in godliness, love of brotherhood: and in love of brotherhood, charity. : . for if these things be with you and abound, they will make you to be neither empty nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our lord jesus christ. : . for he that hath not these things with him is blind and groping, having forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. : . wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. for doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. : . for so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the ever-lasting kingdom of our lord and saviour jesus christ. : . for which cause, i will begin to put you always in remembrance of these things: though indeed you know them and are confirmed in the present truth. : . but i think it meet, as long as i am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. : . being assured that the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand, according as our lord jesus christ also hath signified to me. : . and i will endeavour that you frequently have after my decease whereby you may keep a memory of these things. : . for we have not by following artificial fables made known to you the power and presence of our lord jesus christ: but we were eyewitnesses of his greatness. : . for he received from god the father honour and glory, this voice coming down to him from the excellent glory: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. hear ye him. : . and this voice, we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. : . and we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. : . understanding this first: that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. . .this shows plainly that the scriptures are not to be expounded by any one's private judgment or private spirit, because every part of the holy scriptures were written by men inspired by the holy ghost, and declared as such by the church; therefore they are not to be interpreted but by the spirit of god, which he hath left, and promised to remain with his church to guide her in all truth to the end of the world. some may tell us, that many of our divines interpret the scriptures: they may do so, but they do it always with a submission to the judgment of the church, and not otherwise. : . for prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of god spoke, inspired by the holy ghost. peter chapter he warns them against false teachers and foretells their punishment. : . but there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers who shall bring in sects of perdition and deny the lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction. seeds of perdition. . .that is, heresies destructive of salvation. : . and many shall follow their riotousness, through whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. : . and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not: and their perdition slumbereth not. : . for if god spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto judgment: : . and spared not the original world, but preserved noe, the eighth person, the preacher of justice, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. : . and reducing the cities of the sodomites and of the gomorrhites into ashes, condemned them to be overthrown, making them an example to those that should after act wickedly, : . and delivered just lot, oppressed by the injustice and lewd conversation of the wicked: : . for in sight and hearing he was just, dwelling among them who from day to day vexed the just soul with unjust works. : . the lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation, but to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be tormented: : . and especially them who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government: audacious, self willed, they fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming. : . whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, bring not against themselves a railing judgment. bring not a railing judgment, etc. . .that is, they use no railing, nor cursing sentence; not even in their conflicts with the evil angels. see st. jude, ver. . : . but these men, as irrational beasts, naturally tending to the snare and to destruction, blaspheming those things which they know not, shall perish in their corruption: : . receiving the reward of their injustice, counting for a pleasure the delights of a day: stains and spots, sporting themselves to excess, rioting in their feasts with you: the delights of a day: that is, the short delights of this world, in which they place all their happiness. : . having eyes full of adultery and of sin that ceaseth not: alluring unstable souls: having their heart exercised with covetousness: children of malediction. : . leaving the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of balaam of bosor who loved the wages of iniquity, : . but had a check of his madness, the dumb beast used to the yoke, which, speaking with man's voice, forbade the folly of the prophet. : . these are fountains without water and clouds tossed with whirlwinds, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved. : . for, speaking proud words of vanity, they allure by the desires of fleshly riotousness those who for a little while escape, such as converse in error: : . promising them liberty, whereas they themselves are the slaves of corruption. for by whom a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave. : . for if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former. : . for it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them. : . for, that of the true proverb has happened to them: the dog is returned to his vomit; and: the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. peter chapter against scoffers denying the second coming of christ. he declares the sudden dissolution of this world and exhorts to holiness of life. : . behold this second epistle i write to you, my dearly beloved, in which, i stir up by way of admonition your sincere mind: : . that you may be mindful of those words which i told you before from the holy prophet and of your apostles, of the precepts of the lord and saviour. : . knowing this first: that in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, : . saying: where is his promise or his coming? for since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. : . for this they are wilfully ignorant of: that the heavens were before, and the earth out of water and through water, consisting by the word of god: : . whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. : . but the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men. : . but of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. : . the lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance, : . but the day of the lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence and the elements shall be melted with heat and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt up. : . seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, what manner of people ought you to be in holy conversation and godliness? : . looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat? : . but we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promises, in which justice dwelleth. : . wherefore, dearly beloved, waiting for these things, be diligent that you may be found before him unspotted and blameless in peace. : . and account the longsuffering of our lord, salvation: as also our most dear brother paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: : . as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. : . you therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed, lest being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness. : . but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ. to him be glory both now and unto the day of eternity, amen. the first epistle of st. john the apostle the same vein of divine love and charity towards our neighbour, which runs throughout the gospel written by the beloved disciple and evangelist, st. john, is found also in his epistles. he confirms the two principal mysteries of faith: the mystery of the trinity and the mystery of the incarnation of jesus christ the son of god. the sublimity and excellence of the evangelical doctrine he declares: and this commandment we have from god, that he, who loveth god, love also his brother (chap. , ). and again: for this is the charity of god, that we keep his commandments, and: his commandments are not heavy (chap. , ). he shews how to distinguish the children of god from those of the devil: marks out those who should be called antichrists: describes the turpitude and gravity of sin. finally, he shews how the sinner may hope for pardon. it was written, according to baronius' account, sixty-six years after our lord's ascension. john chapter he declares what he has seen and heard of christ who is the life eternal, to the end that we may have fellowship with god and all good through him. yet so if we confess our sins. : . that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the word of life. : . for the life was manifested: and we have seen and do bear witness and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the father and hath appeared to us. : . that which we have seen and have heard, we declare unto you: that you also may have fellowship with us and our fellowship may be with the father and with his son jesus christ. : . and these things we write to you, that you may rejoice and your joy may be full. : . and this is the declaration which we have heard from him and declare unto you: that god is light and in him there is no darkness. : . if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. : . but if we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship one with another: and the blood of jesus christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. : . if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. : . if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. : . if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar: and his word is not in us. john chapter christ is our advocate. we must keep his commandments and love one another. we must not love the world nor give ear to new teachers, but abide by the spirit of god in the church. : . my little children, these things i write to you, that you may not sin. but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the just. : . and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. : . and by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. we have known him, if we keep his commandments. . .he speaks of that practical knowledge by love and affection, which can only be proved by our keeping his commandments; and without which we can not be said to know god as we should do. : . he who saith that he knoweth him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar: and the truth is not in him. : . but he that keepeth his word, in him in very deed the charity of god is perfected. and by this we know that we are in him. : . he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. : . dearly beloved, i write not a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. the old commandment is the word which you have heard. : . again a new commandment i write unto you: which thing is true both in him and in you, because the darkness is passed and the true light now shineth. a new commandment. . .viz., the commandment of love, which was first given in the old law; but was renewed and extended by christ. see john . . : . he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. : . he that loveth his brother abideth in the light: and there is no scandal in him. : . but he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth: because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. : . i write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. : . i write unto you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. i write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. : . i write unto you, babes, because you have known the father. i write unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of god abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. : . love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. if any man love the world, the charity of the father is not in him. : . for all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life, which is not of the father but is of the world. : . and the world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of god abideth for ever. : . little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that antichrist cometh, even now there are become many antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour. it is the last hour. . .that is, it is the last age of the world. many antichrists;. . .that is, many heretics, enemies of christ and his church, and forerunners of the great antichrist. : . they went out from us but they were not of us. for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us: but that they may be manifest, that they are not all of us. they were not of us. . .that is, they were not solid, steadfast, genuine christians: otherwise they would have remained in the church. : . but you have the unction from the holy one and know all things. the unction from the holy one. . .that is, grace and wisdom from the holy ghost. know all things. . .the true children of god's church, remaining in unity, under the guidance of their lawful pastors, partake of the grace of the holy ghost, promised to the church and her pastors; and have in the church all necessary knowledge and instruction; so as to have no need to seek it elsewhere, since it can be only found in that society of which they are members. : . i have not written to you as to them that know not the truth, but as to them that know it: and that no lie is of the truth. : . who is a liar, but he who denieth that jesus is the christ? this is antichrist, who denieth the father and the son. : . whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the father. he that confesseth the son hath the father also. : . as for you, let that which you have heard from the beginning abide in you. if that abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning, you also shall abide in the son and in the father. : . and this is the promise which he hath promised us, life everlasting. : . these things have i written to you concerning them that seduce you. : . and as for you, let the unction, which you have received from him abide in you. and you have no need that any man teach you: but as his unction teacheth you of all things and is truth and is no lie. and as it hath taught you, abide in him. you have no need, etc. . .you want not to be taught by any of these men, who, under pretence of imparting more knowledge to you, seek to seduce you (ver. ), since you are sufficiently taught already, and have all knowledge and grace in the church, with the unction of the holy ghost; which these new teachers have no share in. : . and now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be confounded by him at his coming. : . if you know that he is just, know ye, that every one also who doth justice is born of him. john chapter of the love of god to us. how we may distinguish the children of god and those of the devil. of loving one another and of purity of conscience. : . behold what manner of charity the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of god. therefore the world knoweth not us, because it knew not him. : . dearly beloved, we are now the sons of god: and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. we know that when he shall appear we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is. : . and every one that hath this hope in him sanctifieth himself, as he also is holy. : . whosoever committeth sin committeth also iniquity. and sin is iniquity. iniquity. . .transgression of the law. : . and you know that he appeared to take away our sins: and in him there is no sin. : . whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: and whosoever sinneth hath not seen him nor known him. sinneth not. . .viz., mortally. see chap. . . : . little children, let no man deceive you. he that doth justice is just, even as he is just. : . he that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning. for this purpose the son of god appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil. : . whosoever is born of god committeth not sin: for his seed abideth in him. and he cannot sin, because he is born of god. committeth not sin. . .that is, as long as he keepeth in himself this seed of grace, and this divine generation, by which he is born of god. but then he may fall from this happy state, by the abuse of his free will, as appears from rom. . - ; cor. . ; and . ; phil. . ; apoc. . . : . in this the children of god are manifest, and the children of the devil. whosoever is not just is not of god, or he that loveth not his brother. : . for this is the declaration which you have heard from the beginning, that you should love one another. : . not as cain, who was of the wicked one and killed his brother. and wherefore did he kill him? because his own works were wicked: and his brother's just. : . wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you. : . we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. he that loveth not abideth in death. : . whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself. : . in this we have known the charity of god, because he hath laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. : . he that hath the substance of this world and shall see his brother in need and shall shut up his bowels from him: how doth the charity of god abide in him? : . my little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. : . in this we know that we are of the truth and in his sight shall persuade our hearts. : . for if our heart reprehend us, god is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. : . dearly beloved, if our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards god. : . and whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him: because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing in his sight. : . and this is his commandment: that we should believe in the name of his son jesus christ and love one another, as he hath given commandment unto us. : . and he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. and in this we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us. john chapter what spirits are of god, and what are not. we must love one another, because god has loved us. : . dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of god: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. try the spirits. . .viz., by examining whether their teaching be agreeable to the rule of the catholic faith, and the doctrine of the church. for as he says, (ver. ,) he that knoweth god, heareth us [the pastors of the church]. by this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. : . by this is the spirit of god known. every spirit which confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god: every spirit which confesseth, etc. . .not that the confession of this point of faith alone, is, at all times, and in all cases, sufficient; but that with relation to that time, and for that part of the christian doctrine, which was then particularly to be confessed, taught, and maintained against the heretics of those days, this was the most proper token, by which the true teachers might be distinguished form the false. : . and every spirit that dissolveth jesus is not of god. and this is antichrist, of whom you have heard that he cometh: and he is now already in the world. that dissolveth jesus. . .viz., either by denying his humanity, or his divinity. he is now already in the world. . .not in his person, but in his spirit, and in his precursors. : . you are of god, little children, and have overcome him. because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. : . they are of the world. therefore of the world they speak: and the world heareth them. : . we are of god. he that knoweth god heareth us. he that is not of god heareth us not. by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. : . dearly beloved, let us love one another: for charity is of god. and every one that loveth is born of god and knoweth god. : . he that loveth not knoweth not god: for god is charity. : . by this hath the charity of god appeared towards us, because god hath sent his only begotten son into the world, that we may live by him. : . in this is charity: not as though we had loved god, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his son to be a propitiation for our sins. : . my dearest, if god hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another. : . no man hath seen god at any time. if we love one another, god abideth in us: and his charity is perfected in us. : . in this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit. : . and we have seen and do testify that the father hath sent his son to be the saviour of the world. : . whosoever shall confess that jesus is the son of god, god abideth in him, and he in god. : . and we have known and have believed the charity which god hath to us. god is charity: and he that abideth in charity abideth in god, and god in him. : . in this is the charity of god perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world. : . fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath sin. and he that feareth is not perfected in charity. fear is not in charity, etc. . .perfect charity, or love, banisheth human fear, that is, the fear of men; as also all perplexing fear, which makes men mistrust or despair of god's mercy; and that kind of servile fear, which makes them fear the punishment of sin more than the offence offered to god. but it no way excludes the wholesome fear of god's judgments, so often recomended in holy writ; nor that fear and trembling, with which we are told to work out our salvation. phil. . . : . let us therefore love god: because god first hath loved us. : . if any man say: i love god, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. for he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love god whom he seeth not? : . and this commandment we have from god, that he who loveth god love also his brother. john chapter of them that are born of god, and of true charity. faith overcomes the world. three that bear witness to christ. of faith in his name and of sin that is and is not to death. : . whosoever believeth that jesus is the christ, is born of god. and every one that loveth him who begot, loveth him also who is born of him. is born of god. . .that is, is justified, and become a child of god by baptism: which is also to be understood; provided the belief of this fundamental article of the christian faith be accompanied with all the other conditions, which, by the word of god, and his appointment, are also required to justification; such as a general belief of all that god has revealed and promised: hope, love, repentance, and a sincere disposition to keep god's holy law and commandments. : . in this we know that we love the children of god: when we love god and keep his commandments. : . for this is the charity of god: that we keep his commandments. and his commandments are not heavy. : . for whatsoever is born of god overcometh the world. and this is the victory which overcameth the world: our faith. our faith. . .not a bare, speculative, or dead faith; but a faith that worketh by charity. gal. . : . who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that jesus is the son of god? : . this is he that came by water and blood, jesus christ: not by water only but by water and blood. and it is the spirit which testifieth that christ is the truth. came by water and blood. . .not only to wash away our sins by the water of baptism, but by his own blood. : . and there are three who give testimony in heaven, the father, the word, and the holy ghost. and these three are one. : . and there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit and the water and the blood. and these three are one. the spirit, and the water, and the blood. . .as the father, the word, and the holy ghost, all bear witness to christ's divinity; so the spirit, which he yielded up, crying out with a loud voice upon the cross; and the water and blood that issued from his side, bear witness to his humanity, and are one; that is, all agree in one testimony. : . if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of god is greater. for this is the testimony of god, which is greater, because he hath testified of his son. : . he that believeth in the son of god hath the testimony of god in himself. he that believeth not the son maketh him a liar: because he believeth not in the testimony which god hath testified of his son. he that believeth not the son, etc. . .by refusing to believe the testimonies given by the three divine persons, that jesus was the messias, and the true son of god, by whom eternal life is obtained and promised to all that comply with his doctrine. in him we have also this lively confidence, that we shall obtain whatever we ask, according to his will, when we ask what is for our good, with perseverance, and in the manner we ought. and this we know, and have experience of, by having obtained the petitions that we have made. : . and this is the testimony that god hath given to us eternal life. and this life is in his son. : . he that hath the son hath life. he that hath not the son hath not life. : . these things i write to you that you may know that you have eternal life: you who believe in the name of the son of god. : . and this is the confidence which we have towards him: that, whatsoever we shall ask according to his will, he heareth us. : . and we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask: we know that we have the petitions which we request of him. : . he that knoweth his brother to sin a sin which is not to death, let him ask: and life shall be given to him who sinneth not to death. there is a sin unto death. for that i say not that any man ask. a sin which is not to death, etc. . .it is hard to determine what st. john here calls a sin which is not to death, and a sin which is unto death. the difference can not be the same as betwixt sins that are called venial and mortal: for he says, that if a man pray for his brother, who commits a sin that is not to death, life shall be given him: therefore such a one had before lost the life of grace, and been guilty of what is commonly called a mortal sin. and when he speaks of a sin that is unto death, and adds these words, for that i say not that any man ask, it cannot be supposed that st. john would say this of every mortal sin, but only of some heinous sins, which are very seldom remitted, because such sinners very seldom repent. by a sin therefore which is unto death, interpreters commonly understand a wilfull apostasy from the faith, and from the known truth, when a sinner, hardened by his own ingratitude, becomes deaf to all admonitions, will do nothing for himself, but runs on to a final impenitence. nor yet does st. john say, that such a sin is never remitted, or cannot be remitted, but only has these words, for that i say not that any man ask the remission : that is, though we must pray for all sinners whatsoever, yet men can not pray for such sinners with such a confidence of obtaining always their petitions, as st. john said before, ver. . whatever exposition we follow on this verse, our faith teacheth us from the holy scriptures, that god desires not the death of any sinner, but that he be converted and live, ezech. . . though men's sins be as red as scarlet, they shall become as white as snow, isa. . . it is the will of god that every one come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved. there is no sin so great but which god is willing to forgive, and has left a power in his church to remit the most enormous sins: so that no sinner need despair of pardon, nor will any sinner perish, but by his own fault. a sin unto death. . .some understand this of final impenitence, or of dying in mortal sin; which is the only sin that never can be remitted. but, it is probable, he may also comprise under this name, the sin of apostasy from the faith, and some other such heinous sins as are seldom and hardly remitted: and therefore he gives little encouragement, to such as pray for these sinners, to expect what they ask. : . all iniquity is sin. and there is a sin unto death. : . we know that whosoever is born of god sinneth not: but the generation of god preserveth him and the wicked one toucheth him not. : . we know that we are of god and the whole world is seated in wickedness. and the whole world is seated in wickedness. . .that is, a great part of the world. it may also signify, is under the wicked one, meaning the devil, who is elsewhere called the prince of this world, that is, of all the wicked. john . . : . and we know that the son of god is come. and he hath given us understanding that we may know the true god and may be in his true son. this is the true god and life eternal. and may be in his true son. he is, or this is the true god, and life eternal. . .which words are a clear proof of christ's divinity, and as such made use of by the ancient fathers. : . little children, keep yourselves from idols. amen. keep yourselves from idols. . .an admonition to the newly converted christians, lest conversing with heathens and idolaters, they might fall back into the sin of idolatry, which may be the sin unto death here mentioned by st. john. the second epistle of st. john the apostle the apostle commends electa and her family for their steadfastness in the true faith and exhorts them to persevere, lest they lose the reward of their labours. he exhorts them to love one another. but with heretics to have no society, even not to salute them. although this epistle is written to a particular person, yet its instructions may serve as a lesson to others, especially to those who, from their connections, situation, or condition in life, are in danger of perversion. john chapter he recommends walking in truth, loving one another and to beware of false teachers. : . the ancient to the lady elect and her children, whom i love in the truth: and not i only, but also all they that have known the truth, the ancient. . .that is, the ancient bishop st. john, being the only one of the twelve apostles then living. to the lady elect. . .some conjecture that electa might be the name of a family, or of a particular church; but the general opinion is, that it is the proper name of a lady, so eminent for her piety and great charity, as to merit this epistle from st. john. : . for the sake of the truth which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever. : . grace be with you, mercy and peace from god the father and from christ jesus the son of the father: in truth and charity. : . i was exceeding glad that i found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the father. : . and now i beseech thee, lady, not as writing a new commandment to thee, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. : . and this is charity: that we walk according to his commandments. for this is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same: : . for many seducers are gone out into the world who confess not that jesus christ is come in the flesh. this is a seducer and an antichrist. : . look to yourselves, that you lose not the things which you have wrought: but that you may receive a full reward. : . whosoever revolteth and continueth not in the doctrine of christ hath not god. he that continueth in the doctrine, the same hath both the father and the son. : . if any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him: god speed you. nor say to him, god speed you. . .this admonition is in general, to forewarn the faithful of the dangers which may arise from a familiarity with those who have prevaricated and gone from the true faith, and with such as teach false doctrine. but this is not forbidding a charity for all men, by which we ought to wish and pray for the eternal salvation of every one, even of our enemies. : . for he that saith unto him: god speed you, communicateth with his wicked works. : . having more things to write unto you, i would not by paper and ink: for i hope that i shall be with you and speak face to face, that your joy may be full. : . the children of thy sister elect salute thee. the third epistle of st. john the apostle st. john praises gaius for his walking in truth and for his charity, complains of the bad conduct of diotrephes and gives a good testimony to demetrius. john chapter : . the ancient, to the dearly beloved gaius, whom i love in truth. : . dearly beloved, concerning all things i make it my prayer that thou mayest proceed prosperously and fare well, as thy soul doth prosperously. : . i was exceedingly glad when the brethren came and gave testimony to the truth in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. : . i have no greater grace than this, to hear that my children walk in truth. no greater grace. . .that is nothing that gives me greater joy and satisfaction. : . dearly beloved, thou dost faithfully whatever thou dost for the brethren: and that for strangers, : . who have given testimony to thy charity in the sight of the church. whom thou shalt do well to bring forward on their way in a manner worthy of god: : . because, for his name they went out, taking nothing of the gentiles. taking nothing of the gentiles. . .these ministers of the gospel are commended by st. john, who took nothing from the gentiles, lest they should seem to preach in order to get money by it. : . we therefore ought to receive such: that we may be fellow helpers of the truth. : . i had written perhaps to the church: but diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, doth not receive us. diotrephes who loveth. . .this man seemeth to be in power, but not a friend to the faithful; therefore this part of the letter might be an admonition to him from the apostle. : . dearly beloved, follow not that which is evil: but that which is good. he that doth good is of god: he that doth evil hath not seen god. : . to demetrius, testimony is given by all, and by the truth itself: yea and we also give testimony. and thou knowest that our testimony is true. : . i had many things to write unto thee: but i would not by ink and pen write to thee. : . but i hope speedily to see thee: and we will speak mouth to mouth. peace be to thee. our friends salute thee. salute the friends by name. the catholic epistle of st. jude st. jude, who wrote this epistle, was one of the twelve apostles and brother to st. james the less. the time it was written is uncertain: only it may be inferred from verse that few or none of the apostles were then living, except st. john. he inveighs against the heresies and wicked practices of the simonians, nicolaites, and gnostics, etc., describing them and their leaders by strong epithets and similes, he exhorts the faithful to contend earnestly for the faith first delivered to them and to beware of heretics. jude chapter he exhorts them to stand to the faith first delivered to them and to beware of heretics. : . jude, the servant of jesus christ and brother of james: to them that are beloved in god the father and preserved in jesus christ and called. : . mercy unto you and peace: and charity be fulfilled. : . dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, i was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. : . for certain men are secretly entered in (who were written of long ago unto this judgment), ungodly men, turning the grace of our lord god into riotousness and denying the only sovereign ruler and our lord jesus christ. : . i will therefore admonish you, though ye once knew all things, that jesus, having saved the people out of the land of egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not. : . and the angels who kept not their principality but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day. principality. . .that is, the state in which they were first created, their original dignity. : . as sodom and gomorrha and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. : . in like manner, these men also defile the flesh and despise dominion and blaspheme majesty. blaspheme majesty. . .speak evil of them that are in dignity; and even utter blasphemies against the divine majesty. : . when michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of moses, he durst not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: the lord command thee. contended about the body, etc. . .this contention, which is no where else mentioned in holy writ, was originally known by revelation, and transmitted by tradition. it is thought the occasion of it was, that the devil would have had the body buried in such a place and manner, as to be worshipped by the jews with divine honours. command thee. . .or rebuke thee. : . but these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally know, like dumb beasts, in these they are corrupted. : . woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of cain: and after the error of balaam they have for reward poured out themselves and have perished in the contradiction of core. gone in the way, etc. . .heretics follow the way of cain, by murdering the souls of their brethren; the way of balaam, by putting a scandal before the people of god, for their own private ends; and the way of core or korah, by their opposition to the church governors of divine appointment. : . these are spots in their banquets, feasting together without fear, feeding themselves: clouds without water, which are carried about by winds: trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots: : . raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion: wandering stars, to whom the storm of darkness is reserved for ever. : . now of these enoch also, the seventh from adam, prophesied, saying: behold, the lord cometh with thousands of his saints: prophesied. . .this prophecy was either known by tradition, or from some book that is since lost. : . to execute judgment upon all and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly: and for all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against god. : . these are murmurers, full of complaints, walking according to their own desires: and their mouth speaketh proud things, admiring persons, for gain's sake. : . but you, my dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our lord jesus christ: but you, my dearly beloved, be mindful, etc. . .he now exhorts the faithful to remain steadfast in the belief and practice of what they had heard from the apostles, who had also foretold that in aftertimes (lit. in the last time) there should be false teachers, scoffing and ridiculing all revealed truths, abandoning themselves to their passions and lusts; who separate themselves from the catholic communion by heresies and schisms. sensual men. . .carried away and enslaved by the pleasures of the senses. : . who told you that in the last time there should come mockers, walking according to their own desires in ungodlinesses. : . these are they who separate themselves, sensual men, having not the spirit. : . but you, my beloved, building yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the holy ghost, : . keep yourselves in the love of god, waiting for the mercy of our lord jesus christ, unto life everlasting. building yourselves upon your most holy faith. . .raising by your actions, a spiritual building, founded, st, upon faith; d, on the love of god; d, upon hope, whilst you are waiting for the mercies of god, and the reward of eternal life; th, joined with the great duty of prayer. : . and some indeed reprove, being judged: : . but others save, pulling them out of the fire. and on others have mercy, in fear, hating also the spotted garment which is carnal. and some indeed reprove being judged. . .he gives them another instruction to practice charity in endeavouring to convert their neighbour, where they will meet with three sorts of persons: st, with persons obstinate in their errors and sins; these may be said to be already judged and condemned; they are to be sharply reprehended, reproved, and if possible convinced of their error. d, as to others you must endeavour to save them, by pulling them, as it were, out of the fire, from the ruin they stand in great danger of. d, you must have mercy on others in fear, when you see them through ignorance of frailty, in danger of being drawn into the snares of these heretics; with these you must deal more gently and mildly, with a charitable compassion, hating always, and teaching others to hate the carnal garment which is spotted, their sensual and corrupt manners, that defile both the soul and body. : . now to him who is able to preserve you without sin and to present you spotless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, in the coming of our lord jesus christ: : . to the only god our saviour through jesus christ our lord, be glory and magnificence, empire and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages. amen. now to him, etc. . .st. jude concludes his epistle with this doxology of praising god, and praying to the only god our saviour, which may either signify god the father, or god as equally agreeing to all the three persons, who are equally the cause of christ's incarnation, and man's salvation, through jesus christ our lord, who, being god from eternity, took upon him our human nature, that he might become our redeemer. the apocalypse of st. john the apostle in the first, second, and third chapters of this book are contained instructions and admonitions which st. john was commanded to write to the seven bishops of the churches in asia. and in the following chapters, to the end, are contained prophecies of things that are to come to pass in the church of christ, particularly towards the end of the world, in the time of antichrist. it was written in greek, in the island of patmos, where st. john was in banishment by order of the cruel emperor domitian, about sixty-four years after our lord's ascension. apocalypse chapter st. john is ordered to write to the seven churches in asia. the manner of christ's appearing to him. : . the revelation of jesus christ, which god gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass: and signified, sending by his angel to his servant john, the things which must shortly come;. . .and again it is said, ver. , the time is at hand. . .this can not be meant of all the things prophesied in the apocalypse, where mention is made also of the day of judgment, and of the glory of heaven at the end of the world. that some things were to come to pass shortly, is evident, by what is said to the seven churches, chap. and , or that the persecutions foretold should begin shortly. or that these words signified, that all time is short, and that from the coming of christ, we are now in the last age or last hour. see john . . : . who hath given testimony to the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ, what things soever he hath seen. : . blessed is he that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy: and keepeth those things which are written in it. for the time is at hand. : . john to the seven churches which are in asia. grace be unto you and peace, from him that is and that was and that is to come: and from the seven spirits which are before his throne: : . and from jesus christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth, who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood : . and hath made us a kingdom, and priests to god and his father. to him be glory and empire for ever and ever. amen. : . behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him: and they also that pierced him. and all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him. even so. amen. : . i am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, saith the lord god, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty. i am alpha and omega. . .these are the names of the first and last letters of the greek alphabet, and signify the same as what follows: the beginning and the end: the first cause and last end of all beings: who is, and who was, and who is to come, the almighty. . .these words signify the true god only, and are here applied to our lord and saviour jesus christ, who is to come again to judge the living and the dead. : . i, john, your brother and your partner in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience in christ jesus, was in the island which is called patmos, for the word of god and for the testimony of jesus. : . i was in the spirit on the lord's day and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, : . saying: what thou seest, write in a book and send to the seven churches which are in asia: to ephesus and to smyrna and to pergamus and to thyatira and to sardis and to philadelphia and to laodicea. : . and i turned to see the voice that spoke with me. and being turned, i saw seven golden candlesticks: : . and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. : . and his head and his hairs were white as white wool and as snow. and his eyes were as a flame of fire: : . and his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. and his voice as the sound of many waters. : . and he had in his right hand seven stars. and from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword. and his face was as the sun shineth in his power. : . and when i had seen him, i fell at his feet as dead. and he laid his right hand upon me, saying: fear not. i am the first and the last, : . and alive, and was dead. and behold i am living for ever and ever and have the keys of death and of hell. : . write therefore the things which thou hast seen: and which are: and which must be done hereafter. : . the mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches. apocalypse chapter directions what to write to the angels or bishops of ephesus, smyrna, pergamus and thyatira. : . unto the angel of the church of ephesus write: these things saith he who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: : . i know thy works and thy labour and thy patience and how thou canst not bear them that are evil. and thou hast tried them who say they are apostles and are not: and hast found them liars: : . and thou hast patience and hast endured for my name and hast not fainted. : . but i have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. : . be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance and do the first works. or else i come to thee and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance. : . but this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the nicolaites, which i also hate. : . he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches: to him that overcometh i will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of my god. : . and to the angel of the church of smyrna write: these things saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive: : . i know thy tribulation and thy poverty: but thou art rich. and thou art blasphemed by them that say they are jews and are not, but are the synagogue of satan. : . fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. be thou faithful unto death: and i will give thee the crown of life. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches: he that shall overcome shall not be hurt by the second death. : . and to the angel of the church of pergamus write: these things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: : . i know where thou dwellest, where the seat of satan is. and thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith. even in those days when antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where satan dwelleth. : . but i have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of balaam who taught balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of israel, to eat and to commit fornication. : . so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the nicolaites. : . in like manner do penance. if not, i will come to thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches: to him that overcometh i will give the hidden manna and will give him a white counter: and in the counter, a new name written, which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it. : . and to the angel of the church of thyatira write: these things saith the son of god, who hath his eyes like to a flame of fire and his feet like to fine brass. : . i know thy works and thy faith and thy charity and thy ministry and thy patience and thy last works, which are more than the former. : . but i have against thee a few things: because thou sufferest the woman jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication and to eat of things sacrificed to idols. : . and i gave her a time that she might do penance: and she will not repent of her fornication. : . behold, i will cast her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds, : . and i will kill her children with death: and all the churches shall know that i am he that searcheth the reins and hearts. and i will give to every one of you according to your works. but to you i say : . and to the rest who are at thyatira: whosoever have not this doctrine and who have not known the depths of satan, as they say: i will not put upon you any other burthen. : . yet that which you have, hold fast till i come. : . and he that shall overcome and keep my words unto the end, i will give him power over the nations. power over the nations. . .this shews, that the saints, who are with christ our lord in heaven, receive power from him to preside over nations and provinces, as patrons; and shall come with him at the end of the world to execute his will against those who have not kept his commandments. : . and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken: : . as i also have received of my father. and i will give him the morning star. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. apocalypse chapter directions what to write to sardis, philadelphia and laodicea. : . and to the angel of the church of sardis write: these things saith he that hath the seven spirits of god and the seven stars: i know thy works, and that thou hast the name of being alive. and thou art dead. : . be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die. for i find not thy works full before my god. : . have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe and do penance: if then thou shalt not watch, i will come to thee as a thief: and thou shalt not know at what hour i will come to thee. : . but thou hast a few names in sardis which have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy. : . he that shall overcome shall thus be clothed in white garments: and i will not blot out his name out of the book of life. and i will confess his name before my father and before his angels. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. : . and to the angel of the church of philadelphia write: these things saith the holy one and the true one, he that hath the key of david, he that openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: : . i know thy works. behold, i have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name. : . behold, i will bring of the synagogue of satan, who say they are jews and are not, but do lie. behold, i will make them to come and adore before thy feet. and they shall know that i have loved thee. : . because thou hast kept the word of my patience, i will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. : . behold, i come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. : . he that shall overcome, i will make him a pillar in the temple of my god: and he shall go out no more. and i will write upon him the name of my god and the name of the city of my god, the new jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my god, and my new name. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. : . and to the angel of the church of laodicea write: these things saith the amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of god: the amen,. . .that is, the true one, the truth itself; the word and son of god. the beginning. . .that is, the principle, the source, and the efficient cause of the whole creation. : . i know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. i would thou wert cold or hot. : . but because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, i will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. : . because thou sayest: i am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. : . i counsel thee to buy of me gold, fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich and mayest be clothed in white garments: and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. : . such as i love, i rebuke and chastise. be zealous therefore and do penance. : . behold, i stand at the gate and knock. if any man shall hear my voice and open to me the door, i will come in to him and will sup with him: and he with me. : . to him that shall overcome, i will give to sit with me in my throne: as i also have overcome and am set down with my father in his throne. : . he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. apocalypse chapter the vision of the throne of god, the twenty-four ancients and the four living creatures. : . after these things i looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which i heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: come up hither, and i will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter. : . and immediately i was in the spirit. and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. : . and he that sat was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone. and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. : . and round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments. and on their heads were crowns of gold. : . and from the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders. and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of god. : . and in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind. : . and the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. : . and the four living creatures had each of them six wings: and round about and within they are full of eyes. and they rested not day and night, saying: holy, holy, holy, lord god almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. : . and when those living creatures gave glory and honour and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever: : . the four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne and adored him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: : . thou art worthy, o lord our god, to receive glory and honour and power. because thou hast created all things: and for thy will they were and have been created. apocalypse chapter the book sealed with seven seals is opened by the lamb, who thereupon receives adoration and praise from all. : . and i saw, in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book, written within and without, sealed with seven seals. : . and i saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof? : . and no man was able, neither in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. : . and i wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. : . and one of the ancients said to me: weep not: behold the lion of the tribe of juda, the root of david, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. : . and i saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the ancients, a lamb standing, as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven spirits of god, sent forth into all the earth. : . and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. : . and when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. the prayers of saints. . .here we see that the saints in heaven offer up to christ the prayers of the faithful upon earth. : . and they sung a new canticle, saying: thou art worthy, o lord, to take the book and to open the seals thereof: because thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to god, in thy blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation: : . and hast made us to our god a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. : . and i beheld, and i heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the ancients (and the number of them was thousands of thousands), : . saying with a loud voice: the lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and benediction. : . and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, i heard all saying: to him that sitteth on the throne and to the lamb, benediction and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever. : . and the four living creatures said: amen. and the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces and adored him that liveth for ever and ever. apocalypse chapter what followed upon opening six of the seals. : . and i saw that the lamb had opened one of the seven seals: and i heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, saying: come and see. : . and i saw: and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer. white horse. . .he that sitteth on the white horse is christ, going forth to subdue the world by his gospel. the other horses that follow represent the judgments and punishment that were to fall on the enemies of christ and his church. the red horse signifies war; the black horse, famine; and the pale horse (which has death for its rider), plagues or pestilence. : . and when he had opened the second seal, i heard the second living creature saying: come and see. : . and there went out another horse that was red. and to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth: and that they should kill one another. and a great sword was given to him. : . and when he had opened the third seal, i heard the third living creature saying: come and see. and behold a black horse. and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. : . and i heard, as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny: and see thou hurt not the wine and the oil. : . and when he had opened the fourth seal, i heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying: come and see. : . and behold a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was death. and hell followed him. and power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine and with death and with the beasts of the earth. : . and when he had opened the fifth seal, i saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of god and for the testimony which they held. under the altar. . .christ, as man, is this altar, under which the souls of the martyrs live in heaven, as their bodies are here deposited under our altars. : . and they cried with a loud voice, saying: how long, o lord (holy and true), dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? revenge our blood. . .they ask not this out of hatred to their enemies, but out of zeal for the glory of god, and a desire that the lord would accelerate the general judgment, and the complete beatitude of all his elect. : . and white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them that they should rest for a little time till their fellow servants and their brethren, who are to be slain even as they, should be filled up. : . and i saw, when he had opened the sixth seal: and behold there was a great earthquake. and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the whole moon became as blood. : . and the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind. : . and the heaven departed as a book folded up. and every mountain, and the islands, were moved out of their places. : . and the kings of the earth and the princes and tribunes and the rich and the strong and every bondman and every freeman hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: : . and they say to the mountains and the rocks: fall upon us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. : . for the great day of their wrath is come. and who shall be able to stand? apocalypse chapter the number of them that were marked with the seal of the living god and clothed in white robes. : . after these things, i saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth nor upon the sea nor on any tree. : . and i saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living god. and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, : . saying: hurt not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our god in their foreheads. : . and i heard the number of them that were signed. an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of israel. : . of the tribe of juda, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of ruben, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of gad, twelve thousand signed: : . of the tribe of aser, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of nephthali, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of manasses, twelve thousand signed: : . of the tribe of simeon, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of levi, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of issachar, twelve thousand signed: : . of the tribe of zabulon, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of joseph, twelve thousand signed: of the tribe of benjamin, twelve thousand signed. : . after this, i saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. : . and they cried with a loud voice, saying: salvation to our god, who sitteth upon the throne and to the lamb. : . and all the angels stood round about the throne and the ancients and the four living creatures. and they fell down before the throne upon their faces and adored god, : . saying: amen. benediction and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honour and power and strength, to our god, for ever and ever. amen. : . and one of the ancients answered and said to me: these that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence came they? : . and i said to him: my lord, thou knowest. and he said to me: these are they who are come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the lamb. : . therefore, they are before the throne of god: and they serve him day and night in his temple. and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell over them. : . they shall no more hunger nor thirst: neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. : . for the lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life: and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. apocalypse chapter the seventh seal is opened. the angels with the seven trumpets. : . and when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour. : . and i saw seven angels standing in the presence of god: and there were given to them seven trumpets. : . and another angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer: and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which is before the throne of god. : . and the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before god from the hand of the angel. : . and the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar and cast it on the earth: and there were thunders and voices and lightnings and a great earthquake. : . and the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound the trumpet. : . and the first angel sounded the trumpet: and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood: and it was cast on the earth. and the third part of the earth was burnt up: and the third part of the trees was burnt up: and all green grass was burnt up. : . and the second angel sounded the trumpet: and, as it were, a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea. and the third part of the sea became blood. : . and the third part of those creatures died which had life in the sea: and the third part of the ships was destroyed. : . and the third angel sounded the trumpet: and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch. and it fell on the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters: : . and the name of the star is called wormwood. and the third part of the waters became wormwood. and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. : . and the fourth angel sounded the trumpet: and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened. and the day did not shine for a third part of it: and the night in like manner. : . and i beheld: and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the rest of the voices of the three angels, who are yet to sound the trumpet! apocalypse chapter locusts come forth from the bottomless pit. the vision of the army of horsemen. : . and the fifth angel sounded the trumpet: and i saw a star fall from heaven upon the earth. and there was given to him the key of the bottomless pit. a star full. . .this may mean the fall and apostasy of great and learned men from the true faith. or a whole nation falling into error and separating from the church, not having the sign of god in their foreheads. and there was given to him the key of the bottomless pit. . .that is, to the angel, not to the fallen star. to this angel was given the power, which is here signified by a key, of opening hell. : . and he opened the bottomless pit: and the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a great furnace. and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit. : . and from the smoke of the pit there came out locusts upon the earth. and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. there came out locusts. . .these may be devils in antichrist's time, having the appearance of locusts, but large and monstrous, as here described. or they may be real locusts, but of an extraordinary size and monstrous shape, such as were never before seen on earth, sent to torment those who have not the sign (or seal) of god on their foreheads. some commentators by these locusts understand heretics, and especially those heretics, that sprung from jews, and with them denied the divinity of jesus christ; as theodotus, praxeas, noetus, paul of samosata, sabellius, arius, etc. these were great enemies of the christian religion; they tormented and infected the souls of men, stinging them like scorpions, with the poison of their heresies. others have explained these locusts, and other animals, mentioned in different places throughout this sacred and mystical book, in a most absurd, fanciful, and ridiculous manner; they make abaddon the pope, and the locusts to be friars mendicant, etc. here it is thought proper, not to enter into any controversy upon that subject, as the inventors of these fancies have been already answered, and fully refuted by many controvertists: besides, those who might be inposed on by such chimerical writers, are in these days much better informed. : . and it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree: but only the men who have not the sign of god on their foreheads. : . and it was given unto them that they should not kill them: but that they should torment them five months. and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. : . and in those days, men shall seek death and shall not find it. and they shall desire to die: and death shall fly from them. : . and the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. and on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold: and their faces were as the faces of men. : . and they had hair as the hair of women: and their teeth were as lions. : . and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron: and the noise of their wings was as the noise of chariots and many horses running to battle. : . and they had tails like to scorpions: and there were stings in their tails. and their power was to hurt men, five months. and they had over them : . a king, the angel of the bottomless pit (whose name in hebrew is abaddon and in greek apollyon, in latin exterminans). : . one woe is past: and behold there come yet two woes more hereafter. : . and the sixth angel sounded the trumpet: and i heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before the eyes of god, : . saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet: loose the four angels who are bound in the great river euphrates. : . and the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year: for to kill the third part of men. : . and the number of the army of horsemen was twenty thousand times ten thousand. and i heard the number of them. : . and thus i saw the horses in the vision. and they that sat on them had breastplates of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone. and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions: and from their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and brimstone. : . and by these three plagues was slain the third part of men, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths. : . for the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. for, their tails are like to serpents and have heads: and with them they hurt. : . and the rest of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, did not do penance from the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which neither can see nor hear nor walk: : . neither did they penance from their murders nor from their sorceries nor from their fornication nor from their thefts. apocalypse chapter the cry of a mighty angel. he gives john a book to eat. : . and i saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. and a rainbow was on his head: and his face, as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. : . and he had in his hand a little book, open. and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth. : . and he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth. and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. : . and when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, i was about to write. and i heard a voice from heaven saying to me: seal up the things which the seven thunders have spoken. and write them not. : . and the angel whom i saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven. : . and he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things which are therein, and the earth and the things which are in it, and the sea and the things which are therein: that time shall be no longer. : . but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of god shall be finished, as he hath declared by his servants the prophets. declared. . .literally evangelized, to signify the good tidings, agreeable to the gospel, of the final victory of christ, and of that eternal life, which should be the reward of the temporal sufferings of the martyrs and faithful servants of god. : . and i heard a voice from heaven, again speaking to me and saying: go and take the book that is open, from the hand of the angel who standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. : . and i went to the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the book. and he said to me: take the book and eat it up. and it shall make thy belly bitter: but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. : . and i took the book from the hand of the angel and ate it up: and it was in my mouth, sweet as honey. and when i had eaten it, my belly was bitter. : . and he said to me: thou must prophesy again to many nations and peoples and tongues and kings. apocalypse chapter he is ordered to measure the temple. the two witnesses. : . and there was given me a reed, like unto a rod. and it was said to me: arise, and measure the temple of god and the altar and them that adore therein. : . but the court which is without the temple, cast out and measure it not: because it is given unto the gentiles. and the holy city they shall tread under foot, two and forty months: : . and i will give unto my two witnesses: and they shall prophesy, a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. my two witnesses. . .it is commonly understood of henoch and elias. : . these are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the lord of the earth. : . and if any man will hurt them, fire shall come out of their mouths and shall devour their enemies. and if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain. : . these have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and they have power over waters, to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. : . and when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. : . and their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city which is called spiritually, sodom and egypt: where their lord also was crucified. : . and they of the tribes and peoples and tongues and nations shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres. : . and they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry: and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. : . and after three days and a half, the spirit of life from god entered into them. and they stood upon their feet: and great fear fell upon them that saw them. : . and they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: come up hither. and they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them. : . and at that hour there was made a great earthquake: and the tenth part of the city fell. and there were slain in the earthquake, names of men, seven thousand: and the rest were cast into a fear and gave glory to the god of heaven. : . the second woe is past: and behold the third woe will come quickly. : . and the seventh angel sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: the kingdom of this world is become our lord's and his christ's, and he shall reign for ever and ever. amen. : . and the four and twenty ancients who sit on their seats in the sight of god, fell on their faces and adored god, saying: : . we give thee thanks, o lord god almighty, who art and who wast and who art to come: because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and thou hast reigned. : . and the nations were angry: and thy wrath is come. and the time of the dead, that they should be judged and that thou shouldest render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great: and shouldest destroy them who have corrupted the earth. : . and the temple of god was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple. and there were lightnings and voices and an earthquake and great hail. apocalypse chapter the vision of the woman clothed with the sun and of the great dragon her persecutor. : . and a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. a woman. . .the church of god. it may also, by allusion, be applied to our blessed lady. the church is clothed with the sun, that is, with christ: she hath the moon, that is, the changeable things of the world, under her feet: and the twelve stars with which she is crowned, are the twelve apostles: she is in labour and pain, whilst she brings forth her children, and christ in them, in the midst of afflictions and persecutions. : . and being with child, she cried travailing in birth: and was in pain to be delivered. : . and there was seen another sign in heaven. and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and on his heads seven diadems. : . and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered: that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. : . and she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. and her son was taken up to god and to his throne. : . and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by god, that there they should feed her, a thousand two hundred sixty days. : . and there was a great battle in heaven: michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels. : . and they prevailed not: neither was their place found any more in heaven. : . and that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and satan, who seduceth the whole world. and he was cast unto the earth: and his angels were thrown down with him. : . and i heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our god and the power of his christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our god day and night. : . and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of the testimony: and they loved not their lives unto death. : . therefore, rejoice, o heavens, and you that dwell therein. woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. : . and when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man child. : . and there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert, unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. : . and the serpent cast out of his mouth, after the woman, water, as it were a river: that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. : . and the earth helped the woman: and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. : . and the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of god and have the testimony of jesus christ. : . and he stood upon the sand of the sea. apocalypse chapter of the beast with seven heads and of a second beast. : . and i saw a beast coming up out the sea, having seven heads and ten horns: and upon his horns, ten diadems: and upon his heads, names of blasphemy. a beast. . .this first beast with seven heads and ten horns, is probably the whole company of infidels, enemies and persecutors of the people of god, from the beginning to the end of the world. the seven heads are seven kings, that is, seven principal kingdoms or empires, which have exercised, or shall exercise, tyrannical power over the people of god; of these, five were then fallen, viz.: the egyptian, assyrian, chaldean, persian, and grecian monarchies: one was present, viz., the empire of rome: and the seventh and chiefest was to come, viz., the great antichrist and his empire. the ten horns may be understood of ten lesser persecutors. : . and the beast which i saw was like to a leopard: and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. and the dragon gave him his own strength and great power. : . and i saw one of his heads as it were slain to death: and his death's wound was healed. and all the earth was in admiration after the beast. one of his heads, etc. . .some understand this of the mortal wound, which the idolatry of the roman empire (signified by the sixth head) received from constantine; which was, as it were, healed again by julian the apostate. : . and they adored the dragon which gave power to the beast. and they adored the beast, saying: who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him? : . and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies: and power was given to him to do, two and forty months. : . and he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against god, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. his tabernacle, etc. . .that is, his church and his saints. : . and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. and power was given him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. : . and all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb which was slain from the beginning of the world. slain from the beginning, etc. . .in the foreknowledge of god; and inasmuch as all mercy and grace, from the beginning, was given in view of his death and passion. : . if any man have an ear, let him hear. : . he that shall lead into captivity shall go into captivity: he that shall kill by the sword must be killed by the sword. here is the patience and the faith of the saints. : . and i saw another beast coming up out of the earth: and he had two horns, like a lamb: and he spoke as a dragon. another beast. . .this second beast with two horns, may be understood of the heathenish priests and magicians; the principal promoters both of idolatry and persecution. : . and he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. and he caused the earth and them that dwell therein to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. : . and he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from heaven unto the earth, in the sight of men. : . and he seduced them that dwell on the earth, for the signs which were given him to do in the sight of the beast: saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make the image of the beast which had the wound by the sword and lived. : . and it was given him to give life to the image of the beast: and that the image of the beast should speak: and should cause that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast should be slain. : . and he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: : . and that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. : . here is wisdom. he that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. for it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six. six hundred sixty-six. . .the numeral letters of his name shall make up this number. apocalypse chapter of the lamb and of the virgins that follow him. of the judgments that shall fall upon the wicked. : . and i beheld: and lo a lamb stood upon mount sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. : . and i heard a voice from heaven, as the noise of many waters and as the voice of great thunder. and the voice which i heard was as the voice of harpers, harping on their harps. : . and they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne and before the four living creatures and the ancients: and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand who were purchased from the earth. : . these are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. these follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. these were purchased from among men, the firstfruits to god and to the lamb. : . and in their mouth there was found no lie: for they are without spot before the throne of god. : . and i saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto them that sit upon the earth and over every nation and tribe and tongue and people: : . saying with a loud voice: fear the lord and give him honour, because the hour of his judgment is come. and adore ye him that made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters. : . and another angel followed, saying: that great babylon is fallen, is fallen; which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. babylon. . .by babylon may be very probably signified all the wicked world in general, which god will punish, and destroy after the short time of this mortal life: or it may signify every great city wherein enormous sins and abominations are daily committed; and that when the measure of its iniquities is full, the punishments due to its crimes are poured on it. it may also be some city of the description in the text, that will exist, and be destroyed, as here described, towards the end of the world. : . and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: if any man shall adore the beast and his image and receive his character in his forehead or in his hand, : . he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of god, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath: and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the lamb. : . and the smoke of their torments, shall ascend up for ever and ever: neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image and whoever receiveth the character of his name. : . here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of god and the faith of jesus. : . and i heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: write: blessed are the dead who die in the lord. from henceforth now, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours. for their works follow them. die in the lord. . .it is understood of the martyrs who die for the lord. : . and i saw: and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sitting like to the son of man, having on his head a crown of gold and in his hand a sharp sickle. : . and another angel came out from the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud: thrust in thy sickle and reap, because the hour is come to reap. for the harvest of the earth is ripe. : . and he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle into the earth: and the earth was reaped. : . and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. : . and another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire. and he cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying: thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth, because the grapes thereof are ripe. : . and the angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth and gathered the vineyard of the earth and cast it into the great press of the wrath of god: : . and the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles, for a thousand and six hundred furlongs. apocalypse chapter they that have overcome the beast glorify god. of the seven angels with the seven vials. : . and i saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. for in them is filled up the wrath of god. : . and i saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of god: : . and singing the canticle of moses, the servant of god, and the canticle of the lamb, saying: great and wonderful are thy works, o lord god almighty. just and true are thy ways, o king of ages. : . who shall not fear thee, o lord, and magnify thy name? for thou only art holy. for all nations shall come and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest. : . and after these things, i looked: and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. : . and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed with clean and white linen and girt about the breasts with golden girdles. : . and one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of god, who liveth for ever and ever. : . and the temple was filled with smoke from the majesty of god and from his power. and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. apocalypse chapter the seven vials are poured out. the plagues that ensue. : . and i heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of god upon the earth. : . and the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth. and there fell a sore and grievous wound upon men who had the character of the beast: and upon them that adored the image thereof. : . and the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. and there came blood as it were of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. : . and the third poured out his vial upon the rivers and the fountains of waters. and there was made blood. : . and i heard the angel of the waters saying: thou art just, o lord, who art and who wast, the holy one, because thou hast judged these things. : . for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets: and thou hast given them blood to drink. for they are worthy. : . and i heard another, from the altar, saying: yea, o lord god almighty, true and just are thy judgments. : . and the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun. and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire. : . and men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of god, who hath power over these plagues. neither did they penance to give him glory. : . and the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast. and his kingdom became dark: and they gnawed their tongues for pain. : . and they blasphemed the god of heaven, because of their pains and wounds: and did not penance for their works. : . and the sixth angel poured out his vial upon that great river euphrates and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun. : . and i saw from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. : . for they are the spirits of devils, working signs: and they go forth unto the kings of the whole earth, to gather them to battle against the great day of the almighty god. : . behold, i come as a thief. blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. : . and he shall gather them together into a place which in hebrew is called armagedon. armagedon. . .that is, the hill of robbers. : . and the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the air. and there came a great voice out of the temple from the throne, saying: it is done. : . and there were lightnings and voices and thunders: and there was a great earthquake, such an one as never had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. : . and the great city was divided into three parts: and the cities of the gentiles fell. and great babylon came in remembrance before god, to give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath. : . and every island fled away: and the mountains were not found. : . and great hail, like a talent, came down from heaven upon men: and men blasphemed god, for the plague of the hail: because it was exceeding great. apocalypse chapter the description of the great harlot and of the beast upon which she sits. : . and there came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials and spoke with me, saying: come, i will shew thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters: : . with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. and they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom. : . and he took me away in spirit into the desert. and i saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. : . and the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication. : . and on her forehead a name was written: a mystery: babylon the great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth. a mystery. . .that is, a secret; because what follows of the name and title of the great harlot is to be taken in a mystical sense. babylon. . .either the city of the devil in general; or, if this place be to be understood of any particular city, pagan rome, which then and for three hundred years persecuted the church; and was the principal seat both of empire and idolatry. : . and i saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of jesus. and i wondered, when i had seen her, with great admiration. : . and the angel said to me: why dost thou wonder? i will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. : . the beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit and go into destruction. and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was and is not. the beast which thou sawest. . .this beast which supports babylon, may signify the power of the devil: which was and is not, being much limited by the coming of christ, but shall again exert itself under antichrist. the seven heads of this beast are seven mountains or empires, instruments of his tyranny; of which five were then fallen. (see chap. . , and below, ver. .) the beast itself is said to be the eighth, and is of the seven; because they all act under the devil, and by his instigation, so that his power is in them all, yet so as to make up, as it were, an eighth empire, distinct from them all. : . and here is the understanding that hath wisdom. the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth: and they are seven kings. : . five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he is come, he must remain a short time. : . and the beast which was and is not: the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction. : . and the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom: but shall receive power as kings, one hour after the beast. ten kings. . .ten lesser kingdoms, enemies also of the church of christ: which, nevertheless, shall be made instruments of the justice of god for the punishment of babylon. some understand this of the goths, vandals, huns, and other barbarous nations, that destroyed the empire of rome. : . these have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast. : . these shall fight with the lamb. and the lamb shall overcome them because he is lord of lords and king of kings: and they that are with him are called and elect and faithful. : . and he said to me: the waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples and nations and tongues. : . and the ten horns which thou sawest in the beast: these shall hate the harlot and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and shall burn her with fire. : . for god hath given into their hearts to do that which pleaseth him: that they give their kingdom to the beast, till the words of god be fulfilled. : . and the woman which thou sawest is the great city which hath kingdom over the kings of the earth. apocalypse chapter the fall of babylon. kings and merchants lament over her. : . and after these things, i saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory. : . and he cried out with a strong voice, saying: babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every unclean spirit and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird: : . because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication: and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies. : . and i heard another voice from heaven, saying: go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. : . for her sins have reached unto heaven: and the lord hath remembered her iniquities. : . render to her as she also hath rendered to you: and double unto her double, according to her works. in the cup wherein she hath mingled, mingle ye double unto her. : . as much as she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her. because she saith in her heart: i sit a queen and am no widow: and sorrow i shall not see. : . therefore, shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine. and she shall be burnt with the fire: because god is strong, who shall judge her. : . and the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived in delicacies with her, shall weep and bewail themselves over her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning: : . standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying: alas! alas! that great city, babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgment come. : . and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her: for no man shall buy their merchandise any more. : . merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones: and of pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet: and all thyine wood: and all manner of vessels of ivory: and all manner of vessels of precious stone and of brass and of iron and of marble: : . and cinnamon and odours and ointment and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots: and slaves and souls of men. : . and the fruits of the desire of thy soul are departed from thee: and all fat and goodly things are perished from thee. and they shall find them no more at all. : . the merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her, for fear of her torments, weeping and mourning, : . and saying: alas! alas! that great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet and was gilt with gold and precious stones and pearls. : . for in one hour are so great riches come to nought. and every shipmaster and all that sail into the lake, and mariners, and as many as work in the sea, stood afar off, : . and cried, seeing the place of her burning, saying: what city is like to this great city? : . and they cast dust upon their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, saying: alas! alas! that great city, wherein all were made rich, that had ships at sea, by reason of her prices. for, in one hour she is made desolate. : . rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets. for god hath judged your judgment on her. : . and a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: with such violence as this, shall babylon, that great city, be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. : . and the voice of harpers and of musicians and of them that play on the pipe and on the trumpet shall no more be heard at all in thee: and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee: and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee: : . and the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee: and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. for thy merchants were the great men of the earth: for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments. : . and in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. apocalypse chapter the saints glorify god for his judgments on the great harlot. christ's victory over the beast and the kings of the earth. : . after these things, i heard as it were the voice of much people in heaven, saying: alleluia. salvation and glory and power is to our god. : . for true and just are his judgments, who hath judged the great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication and hath revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. : . and again they said: alleluia. and her smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. : . and the four and twenty ancients and the four living creatures fell down and adored god that sitteth upon the throne, saying: amen. alleluia. : . and a voice came out from the throne, saying: give praise to our god, all ye his servants: and you that fear him, little and great. : . and i heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying: alleluia: for the lord our god, the almighty, hath reigned. : . let us be glad and rejoice and give glory to him. for the marriage of the lamb is come: and his wife hath prepared herself. : . and it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, glittering and white. for the fine linen are the justifications of saints. : . and he said to me: write: blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the lamb. and he saith to me: these words of god are true. : . and i fell down before his feet, to adore him. and he saith to me: see thou do it not. i am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren who have the testimony of jesus. adore god. for the testimony of jesus is the spirit of prophecy. i fell down before, etc. . .st. augustine (lib. , contra faust, c. ) is of opinion, that this angel appeared in so glorious a manner, that st. john took him to be god; and therefore would have given him divine honour had not the angel stopped him, by telling him he was but his fellow servant. st. gregory (hom. , in evang.) rather thinks that the veneration offered by st. john, was not divine honour, or indeed any other than what might lawfully be given; but was nevertheless refused by the angel, in consideration of the dignity to which our human nature had been raised, by the incarnation of the son of god, and the dignity of st. john, an apostle, prophet, and martyr. : . and i saw heaven opened: and behold a white horse. and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true: and with justice doth he judge and fight. : . and his eyes were as a flame of fire: and on his head were many diadems. and he had a name written, which no man knoweth but himself. : . and he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood. and his name is called: the word of god. : . and the armies that are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. : . and out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp two-edged sword, that with it he may strike the nations. and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of god the almighty. : . and he hath on his garment and on his thigh written: king of kings and lord of lords. : . and i saw an angel standing in the sun: and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly through the midst of heaven: come, gather yourselves together to the great supper of god: : . that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of tribunes and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them: and the flesh of all freemen and bondmen and of little and of great. : . and i saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse and with his army. : . and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast and who adored his image. these two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with brimstone. : . and the rest were slain by the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which proceedeth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh. apocalypse chapter satan is bound for a thousand years. the souls of the martyrs reign with christ in the first resurrection. the last attempts of satan against the church. the last judgment. : . and i saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. : . and he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years. bound him, etc. . .the power of satan has been very much limited by the passion of christ: for a thousand years; that is, for the whole time of the new testament; but especially from the time of the destruction of babylon or pagan rome, till the new efforts of gog and magog against the church, towards the end of the world. during which time the souls of the martyrs and saints live and reign with christ in heaven, in the first resurrection, which is that of the soul to the life of glory; as the second resurrection will be that of the body, at the day of the general judgment. : . and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations till the thousand years be finished. and after that, he must be loosed a little time. : . and i saw seats. and they sat upon them: and judgment was given unto them. and the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of jesus and for the word of god and who had not adored the beast nor his image nor received his character on their foreheads or in their hands. and they lived and reigned with christ a thousand years. : . the rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were finished. this is the first resurrection. : . blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. in these the second death hath no power. but they shall be priests of god and of christ: and shall reign with him a thousand years. : . and when the thousand years shall be finished, satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go forth and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, gog and magog: and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. : . and they came upon the breadth of the earth and encompassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city. : . and there came down fire from god out of heaven and devoured them: and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast : . and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. : . and i saw a great white throne and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away: and there was no place found for them : . and i saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne. and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which was the book of life. and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. : . and the sea gave up the dead that were in it: and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them. and they were judged, every one according to their works. : . and hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. this is the second death. : . and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the pool of fire. apocalypse chapter the new jerusalem described. : . i saw a new heaven and a new earth. for the first heaven and the first earth was gone: and the sea is now no more. the first heaven and the first earth was gone. . .being changed, not as to their substance, but in their qualities. : . and i, john, saw the holy city, the new jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. : . and i heard a great voice from the throne, saying: behold the tabernacle of god with men: and he will dwell with them. and they shall be his people: and god himself with them shall be their god. : . and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more. nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. : . and he that sat on the throne, said: behold, i make all things new. and he said to me: write. for these words are most faithful and true. : . and he said to me: it is done. i am alpha and omega: the beginning and the end. to him that thirsteth, i will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. : . he that shall overcome shall possess these things. and i will be his god: and he shall be my son. : . but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. : . and there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: come and i will shew thee the bride, the wife of the lamb. : . and he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, : . having the glory of god, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone even as crystal. : . and it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of israel. : . on the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates. : . and the wall of the city had twelve foundations: and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb, : . and he that spoke with me had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall. : . and the city lieth in a four-square: and the length thereof is as great as the breadth. and he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs: and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal. : . and he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel. the measure of a man, i.e., according to the measure of men, and used by the angel. . .this seems to be the true meaning of these words. : . and the building of the wall thereof was of jasper stone: but the city itself pure gold like to clear glass. : . and the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. the first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third; a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald: : . the fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst. : . and the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were, transparent glass. : . and i saw no temple therein. for the lord god almighty is the temple thereof, and the lamb. : . and the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. for the glory of god hath enlightened it: and the lamb is the lamp thereof. : . and the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it. : . and the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there. : . and they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. : . there shall not enter into it any thing defiled or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie: but they that are written in the book of life of the lamb. apocalypse chapter the water and tree of life. the conclusion. : . and he shewed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of god and of the lamb. : . in the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month: the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations. : . and there shall be no curse any more: but the throne of god and of the lamb shall be in it. and his servants shall serve him. : . and they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads. : . and night shall be no more. and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the lord god shall enlighten then. and they shall reign for ever and ever. : . and he said to me: these words are most faithful and true. and the lord god of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to shew his servant the things which must be done shortly. : . and: behold i come quickly. blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. : . and i, john, who have heard and seen these things. and, after i had heard and seen, i fell down to adore before the feet of the angel who shewed me the things. : . and he said to me: see thou do it not. for i am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. adore god. : . and he saith to me: seal not the words of the prophecy of this book. for the time is at hand. for the time is at hand. . .that is, when compared to eternity, all time and temporal things vanish, and are but of short duration. as to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers and late interpreters. many think that most things set down from the th chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. others are of opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. of these interpretations, see aleazar, in his long commentary; see the learned bossnet, bishop of meaux, in his treatise on this book; and p. alleman, in his notes on the same apocalypse, tom. , who in his preface says, that this, in a great measure, may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. in fine, others think that st. john's design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of god, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general: the eternal happiness and reward, which god had reserved for the pious inhabitants of jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and the tribulations of this mortal life. in the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand: but we have no certainty when we apply these predictions to particular events: for as st. jerome takes notice, the apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. apocalypsis joannis tot habet sacramenta quot verba--parum dixi, in verbis singulis multiplices latent intelligentiae. ep. ad paulin, t. . p. . edit. benedict. : . he that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still. let him hurt still. . .it is not an exhortation, or license to go on in sin; but an intimation, that how far soever the wicked may proceed, their progress shall quickly end, and then they must expect to meet with proportionable punishments. : . behold, i come quickly: and my reward is with me, to render to every, man according to his works. : . i am alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. : . blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter in by the gates into the city. : . without are dogs and sorcerers and unchaste and murderers and servers of idols and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. : . i, jesus, have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. i am the root and stock of david, the bright and morning star. : . and the spirit and the bride say: come. and he that heareth, let him say: come. and he that thirsteth, let him come. and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely. : . for i testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: if any man shall add to these things, god shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. : . and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book. : . he that giveth testimony of these things, saith: surely, i come quickly: amen. come, lord jesus. : . the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. amen. appendices these texts come from the rhemes printing of the new testament (see the 'history' section at the top of the e-text). the primary sources provide a glimpse both into the history of the douay-rheims version and the english language itself. the reader will quickly notice that the letter 'j' does not appear in the texts, rather 'i' functions either as a vowel or a consonant. likewise 'u' is not a distinct letter; it is employed typographically in the lower-case in place of 'v' where not starting a word. the letters 'u' and 'v' both function either as vowels or consonants. the word 'vniuersity' demonstrates this rule. the letter 'w' is sometimes employed, but in most cases the earlier form of a double-v (vv) appears instead. the transcriber has done his best to render the text accurately. note the relaxed spelling standards of the time; many variants appear. while the errata section from the edition observed: "we haue also found some other faultes of lesse importance; and feare there be more. but we trust the reader may easely correct them, as they occurre." only obvious errors have been amended. where the transcriber has doubt between whether an irregular spelling is either an error and a variant, the printed text stands. -bit ascii cannot fully represent the typographical standards of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and many special characters have been replaced with modern equivalents. where verse numbers stand in the margins of the printed texts, they have been transferred to the body. book for comparison the catholike epistle of ivde the apostle. he exhorteth them to stand to their old faith, shevving them by examples, that it is damnable not to continue and be constant: inueighing against the lecherie, blasphemie, apostasie, banketing of the heretikes, and that their damnation vvas long foretold. catholikes therfore to be vnmoueable, to reproue the obstinate, to recouer al not desperate, to confirme the vveake, and to liue them selues vertuously and vvithout mortal sinne, vvhich by gods grace they may doe. ivde the seruant of iesvs christ, and brother of iames: to them that are in god the father beloued, and in iesvs christ preserued, and called. mercie to you, and peace and charitie be accomplished. my deerest, taking al care to vvrite vnto you of your common saluation, i thought it necessarie to vvrite vnto you: beseeching you to contend for the faith once deliuered to the sainctes. for there are certaine men secretely entred in (vvhich vvere long ago prescribed vnto this iudgement) impious, transferring the grace of our god into riotousnes, and denying the onely dominator, and our lord iesvs christ. but i vvil admonish you, that once knovv al things, that iesvs, sauing the people out of the land of aegipt, secondly destroied them vvhich beleeued not. but the angels vvhich kept not their pricipalitie, but forsooke their owne habitation, he hath reserued vnder darkenesse in eternal bondes vnto the iudgement of the great day. as sodom and gomorrhe, and the cities adioyning in like maner hauing fornicated, and going after other flesh, vvere made an example, sustaining the paine of eternal fire. in like maner these also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, & blaspheme maiestie. vvhen micheal the archangel, disputing vvith the diuel, made altercation for the body of moyses: he durst not inferre iudgment of blasphemie, but said, our lord 'commaund' thee. but these, vvhat things so euer certes they are ignorant of, they blaspheme: and vvhat things so euer naturally, as dumme beastes, they knovv, in those they are corrupted. vvo vnto them, 'vvhich' haue gone in the vvay of cain: and vvith the errour of balaam, haue for revvard povvred out them selues, and haue perished in the contradiction of core. these are in their bankets, spottes, feasting together vvithout feare, feeding them selues, cloudes vvithout vvater vvhich are caried about of vvindes, trees of autumne, vnfruitful, tvvise dead, plucked vp by the rootes, raging vvaues of the sea, foming out their ovvne confusions, vvandering starres: to vvhom the storme of darkenesse is reserued for euer. and of these propheceied enoch, the seuenth from adam, saying, behold our lord is come in his holy thousandes, to doe iudgement against al, and to reproue al the impious, of al the vvorkes of their impietie vvherby they haue done impiously, and of al the hard thinges vvhich impious sinners haue spoken against him. these are murmurers, ful of complaintes, vvalking according to their ovvne desires, and their mouth speaketh pride, admiring persons for gaine sake. but you my deerest, be mindeful of the vvordes vvhich haue been spoken before by the apostles of our lord iesvs christ, vvho told you, that in the last time shal come mockers, according to their ovvne desires vvalking in impieties. these are they vvhich segregate them selues, sensual, hauing not the spirit. but you my deerest, building your selues vpon 'our' most holy faith, in the holy ghost, praying, keepe your selues in the loue of god, expecting the mercie of our lord iesvs christ vnto life euerlasting. and these certes reproue being iudged: but them saue, pulling out of the fire. and on other haue mercie in feare: hating also that vvhich is carnal, the spotted cote. and to him that is able to preserue you vvithout sinne, and to sette you immaculate before the sight of his glorie in exultation in the comming of our lord iesvs christ, to the onely god our sauiour by iesvs christ our lord be glorie and magnificence, empire and power before al worldes, and novv and for al vvorldes euermore. amen. supplemental material as recorded in the title, the douay-rheims version is a translation primarily from the latin vulgate. a brief selection from the preface to the edition explains the reasons for this approach. together with the glossary the text shows the translators scholarly motivations, but also provides a glimpse into the charged climate of the period. the transcriber hopes he did a tolerable job in transliterating the greek words in the preface. the glossary contains words newly used in the language of the day. some were later dropped from the challoner revision, others have found common usage today. the preface to the reader treating of the causes vvhy this nevv testament is translated according to the auncient vulgar latin text. the holy bible long since translated by vs into english, and the old testament lying by vs for lacke of good meanes to publish the vvhole in such sort as a vvorke of so great charge and importance requireth: vve haue yet through gods goodnes at length fully finished for thee (most christian reader) all the nevv testament, vvhich is the principal, most profitable & comfortable peece of holy vvrite: and, as vvel for all other institution of life and doctrine, as specially for deciding the doubtes of these daies, more propre and pregnant then the other part not yet printed. novv to give thee also intelligence in particular, most gentle reader, of such thinges as it behoueth thee specially to knovv concerning our translation: vve translate the old vulgar latin text, not the common greeke text, for these causes. . it is so auncient, that it vvas vsed in the church of god aboue yeres agoe, as appeareth by the fathers of those times. . it is that (by the common receiued opinion and by al probabilitie) vvhich s. hierom aftervvard corrected according to the greeke, by the appointment of damasus then pope, as he maketh mention in his preface before the foure euangelistes, vnto the said damasus: and 'in catalogo in fine,' and 'ep. .' . consequently it is the same vvhich s. augustine so commendeth and allovveth in an epistle to s. hierom. . it is that, vvhich for the most part euer since hath been vsed in the churches seruice, expounded in sermons, alleaged and interpreted in the commentaries and vvritings of the auncient fathers of the latin church. . the holy councel of trent, for these and many other important considerations, hath declared and defined this onely of al other latin translations, to be authentical, and so onely to be vsed and taken in publike lessons, disputations, preachings, and expositions, and that no man presume vpon any pretence to reiect or refuse the same. . it is the grauest, sincerest, of greatest maiestie, least partialitie, as being vvithout al respect of controuersies and contentions, specially these of our time, as appeareth by those places vvhich erasmus and others at this day translate much more to the aduantage of the catholike cause. . it is so exact and precise according to the greeke, both the phrase and the word, that delicate heretikes therfore reprehend it of rudenes. and that it follovveth the greeke far more exactly then the protestants translations, beside infinite other places, we appeale to these. tit. , . 'curent bonis operibus praeesse.' 'proissasthai.' engl. bib. , 'to mainteine good vvorks.' and hebr. , . 'viam nobis initiauit,' 'enekainisen.' english bib. 'he prepared.' so in these vvordes, 'iustificationes,' 'traditiones,' 'idola' &c. in al vvhich they come not neere the greeke, but auoid it of purpose. . the aduersaries them selues, namely beza, preferre it before al the rest. (inpraefat. no. test an. .) and againe he saith, that the old interpreter translated very religiously. (annot. in . luc. v. .) . in the rest, there is such diuersitie and dissension, and no end of reprehending one an other, and translating euery man according to his fantasie, that luther said, if the vvorld should stand any long time, vve must receiue againe (which he thought absurd) the decrees of councels, for preseruing the vnitie of faith, because of so diuers interpretations of the scripture. and beza (in the place aboue mentioned) noteth the itching ambition of his fellovv-translators, that had much rather disagree and dissent from the best, then seeme them selues to haue said or vvritten nothing. and bezas translation it self, being so esteemed in our countrie, that the geneua english testaments be translated according to the same, yet sometime goeth so vvide from the greeke, and from the meaning of the holy ghost, that them selues which protest to translate it, dare not folow it. for example, luc. , . they haue put these wordes, 'the sonne of cainan,' which he wittingly and wilfully left out: and (act. , .) they say, 'vvith the vvomen,' agreably to the vulgar latin: where he saith, 'cum vxoribus,' 'vvith their vviues.' . it is not onely better then al other latin translations, but then the greeke text it self, in those places where they disagree. the proofe hereof is euident, because most of the auncient heretikes were grecians, & therfore the scriptures in greeke were more corrupted by them, as the auncient fathers often complaine. tertullian noteth the greeke text which is at this day ( cor. , ) to be an old corruption of marcion the heretike, and the truth to be as in our vulgar latin, 'secundus homo de caelo caelestis,' 'the second man from heauen heauenly.' so reade other auncient fathers, and erasmus thinketh it must needes be so, and caluin him self folovveth in 'instit. li. . c. . parag. .' againe s. hierom noteth that the greeke text ( cor. , ) which is at this day, is not the 'apostolical veritie' or the true text of the apostle: but that which is in the vulgar latin, 'qui cum vxore est, solicitus est quae sunt mundi, quomodo placeat vxori, & diuisus est.' 'he that is vvith a vvife, is careful of vvorldly things, hovv he may please his vvife, and is deuided or distracted.' the ecclesiastical historie called the tripartite, noteth the greeke text that now is ( io. , ) to be an old corruption of the auncient greeke copies, by the nestorian heretikes, & the true reading to be as in our vulgar latin, 'omnis spiritus qui soluit iesvm, ex deo non est.' 'euery spirit that dissolueth iesvs, is not of god:' and beza confesseth that socrates in his ecclesiastical historie readeth so in the greeke. but the proofe is more preganant out of the aduersaires them selues. they forsake the greeke text as corrupted, and translate according to the vulgar latin, namely beza and his scholers the english translatours of the bible, in these places. hebr. chap. . vers. . saying, 'the first couenant,' for that vvhich is in the greeke. 'the first tabernacle.' vvhere they put, 'couenant,' not as of the text, but in an other letter, as to be vnderstood, according to the vulgar latin, vvhich most sincerely leaueth it out altogether, saying, 'habuit quidem & prius iustificationes &c.' 'the former also in deede had iustifications &c.' againe, ro. , vers. . they translate not according to the greek text, 'tempori seruientes,' 'seruing the time,' vvhich beza sayth must needes be a corruption: but according to the vulgar latin, 'domino seruientes,' 'seruing our lord.' againe, apoc. , vers. . they translate not the greeke text, 'atrium quod intra templum est,' 'the court vvhich is vvithin the temple:' but cleane contrarie, according to the vulgar latin, vvhich beza saith is the true reading, 'atrium quod est foris templum,' 'the court vvhich is vvithout the temple.' onely in this last place, one english bible of the yere , folovveth the errour of the greeke. againe, tim. vers. . they adde, 'but,' more then is in the greeke, to make the sense more commodious and easie, according as it is in the vulgar latin. againe, ia. , . they leaue the greeke, and folovv the vulgar latin, saying, 'lest you fall into condemnation.' "i doubt not (saith beza) but this is the true and sincere reading, and i suspect the corruption in the greeke came thus &c." it vvere infinite to set dovvne al such places, vvhere the aduersaries (specially beza) folovv the old vulgar latin and the greeke copie agreable therevnto, condemning the greeke text that novv is, of corruption. hard vvordes explicated the explication of certaine vvordes in this translation, not familiar to the vulgar reader, vvhich might not conueniently be vttered otherwise. a abstracted. dravven avvay. [james : ] acquisition. getting, purchasing. [eph : ] aduent. the comming. [matt : ] adulterating. corrupting. [ cor : ] the greeke vvord signifieth to to make commoditie of the vvord of god, as vulgar vinteners do of their vvine. vvhereby is expressed the peculiar trade of al heretikes, and exceding proper to the protestants, that so corrupt scriptures by mixture of their ovvne phantasies, by false translations, glosses, colorable and pleasant commentaries, to deceiue the tast of the simple, as tauerners and tapsters do, to make their vvines salable by manifold artificial deceites. the apostles contrarievvise, as all catholikes, deliuer the scriptures and vtter the vvord of god sincerely and entirely, in the same sense and sort as the fathers left them to the church, interpreting them by the same spirit by vvhich they vvere vvritten or spoken. agnition. knovvledge or acknovvledging. [philemon : ] allegorie. a mystical speache, more then the bare letter. [gal : ] here vve learne that the holy scriptures haue beside the litteral sense, a deeper spiritual and more principal meaning: which is not only to be taken of the holy vvordes, but of the very factes and persons reported: both the speaches and the actions being significatiue ouer and aboue the letter. amen. what is it vvhen our lord saith, amen, amen? he doth much commend and vrge the thing he so vttereth, doubling it. amen in hebrue signifieth verum, a truth. [john : ] anathema. by vse of scripture is either that vvhich by separation from profane vse, and by dedication to god, is holy, dreadful, and not vulgarly to be touched: or contrarievvise, that which is reiected, seuered or abandoned from god, as cursed and detested, and therfore is to be auoided. [rom : ] archisynagogue. cheefe gouerner of a synagogue. [mark : ] assist. signifieth the angels standing and attending, alvvaies readie to doe their ministerie. [luke : ] assumption. christs departure out of this vvorld by his death and ascension. [luke : ] azymes. vnleauened bread. [matt : ] c calumniate. by this vvord is signified violent oppression by vvord or deede. [luke : ] catechizeth, and, catechized. he catechizeth that teacheth the principles of the christian faith: and they that heare and learne, are catechized, and are therfore called often in the annotations, catechumens. [gal : ] character. a marke or stampe. [apoc : ] commessations. immoderate bankets, and belly cheere, vvith vvanton riotousnes. [gal : ] condigne. comparable. [rom : ] contristate. this vvord signifieth to make heauie and sad. [eph : ] cooperate. signifieth vvorking vvith others, likevvise cooperation, cooperatours. [rom : ] corbana. this corbana was a place about the temple, which receiued the peoples gifts or offerings. [matt : ] d depositum. the vvhole doctrine of our christianity being taught by the apostles, and deliuered to their successors, and comming dovvne from one bishop to an other, is called the depositum, as it vvere a thing laid into their hands, and committed vnto them to keepe. vvhich because it passeth from hand to hand, from age to age, from bishop to bishop vvithout corruption, change, or alteration, is al one vvith tradition, and is the truth giuen vnto the holy bishops to keepe, and not to lay men. [ tim : ] it may signifie also, gods graces giuen vs to keepe. a great comfort to al christians, that euery of their goode deedes and sufferings for christ, and al the vvorldly losses susteined for defense or confession of their faith, be extant vvith god, and kept as depositum, to be repaied or receiued againe in heauen. [ tim : , ] didrachme. these didrachmes were peeces of money which they payed for tribute. [matt : , ] dominical day. sunday. [apoc : ] it is to be marked, that this holy day by the apostles tradition also, vvas named dominicus dies, our lordes day, or the dominike, vvhich is also an old ecclesiastical vvord in our language, for the name sunday is a heathenish calling, as al other of the vveeke daies be in our language. donaries. giftes offered to god for his temple, &c. [luke : ] e euacuated from christ. that is, made voide and hauing no part vvith him. [gal : ] the scandal of the crosse euacuated, that is, made voide, cleane taken avvay. [gal : ] euangelize. signifieth such preaching of good tidinges, as concerneth the gospel. how is it possible to expresse euangelizo, but as vve do, euangelize? for euangelium being the gospel, what is, euangelizo or to euangelize, but to shew the glad tydings of the gospel, of the time of grace, of al christs benefites? al which signification is lost, by translating as the english bibles do, "i bring you good tydings." eunuches. gelded men. euro-aquilo. a north-eastvvinde. [acts : ] exinanited. abased excedingly. [phil : ] g gratis. an vsual vvord to signifie, for nothing, freely, for godamercie, vvithout desert. h holocauste. a kinde of sacrifice vvhere al vvas burnt in the honour of god. [hebr : ] hostes. sacrifices. [ cor : ] i inuocated. called vpon, praied vnto. [acts : ] hereof vve say, inuocation of saincts, and to inuocate. issue. good euent. [ cor : ] iustice. taken in the nevv testament, not as it is contrarie to vvrong or iniurie, but for that qualitie vvhereof a man is iust and iustified. [rom : ] n neophyte. neophytus is he that vvas lately christened or nevvely planted in the mystical body of christ. [ tim : ] p paraclete. by interpretation is either a comforter, or an aduocate: and therfore to translate it by any one of them only, is perhaps to abridge the sense of this place. [john : ] parasceue. the ievves sabboth-eue, good friday. [mark : ] parasceue is as solemne a word for the sabboth eue, as sabboth is for the iewes seuenth day, and now among christians much more solemner, taken for good-friday onely. these wordes then we thought it far better to keepe in the text, and to tel their signification in the margent or in a table for that purpose, then to disgrace bothe the text and them with translating them. pasche. easter, and the paschal lambe. [luke : ] pentecost. vvhitsuntide, &, the space of fiftie daies. prefinition. a determination before. [eph : ] prepuce. the foreskinne not circumcised, & therfore signifieth the gentiles: as circumcision, the ievves and their state. [rom : ] prescience. foreknovvledge. [acts : ] preuaricatour. transgressor: and preuarication, transgression. [rom : ] loaues of proposition. so called, because they vvere proposed and set vpon the table in the temple, before god. [matt : ] r repropitiate the sinnes. that is, make a reconciliation for them. [heb : ] resolution. the separation of the body and the soule, the departing out of this life. [ tim : ] resuscitate the grace. that is, raise, quicken, renew and reviue the grace vvhich othervvise languisheth and decaieth. [ tim : ] s sabbatisme. a time of resting and ceasing from labours. [heb : ] sacrament. for mysterie. [eph : ] sancta sanctorum. the holie of holies, that is, the inmost and holiest place of the ievves temple, as it vvere the chauncel. [heb : ] superedified. builded vpon christ the principal stone. [ pet : ] t tetrarch. gouernour or prince of the part of a countrie. [matt : ] thrones. an higher order of angels. [col : ] v victims. sacrifice. [acts : ] from scans obtained from the digital christian library (www.thedcl.org). the new testament, translated from the original greek, with chronological arrangement of the sacred books, and improved divisions of chapters and verses by leicester ambrose sawyer. boston: john p. jewett and company. cleveland, ohio: henry p. b. jewett. london: sampson low, son and company. . entered according to act of congress in the year , by john p. jewett and company, in the clerk's office of the district court for the district of massachusetts. lithotyped by cowles and company, washington st., boston. press of allen and farnham. preface. this is not a work of compromises, or of conjectural interpretations of the sacred scriptures, neither is it a paraphrase, but a strict literal rendering. it neither adds nor takes away; but aims to express the original with the utmost clearness, and force, and with the utmost precision. it adopts, however, except in the prayers, a thoroughly modern style, and makes freely whatever changes are necessary for this purpose. besides being a contribution to biblical science, it is designed to be a still more important contribution to practical religion, for which the bible in its original languages and in all its translations is chiefly valuable. the translation depends mainly on its superior adaptation to this end, under the blessing of god, for its success and usefulness. if it shall be found on trial to be a superior instrument of piety and virtue, it will doubtless meet with favor and do good. the ascendency of practical religion is not so general or complete, that any additional help for its promotion can be deemed unnecessary. new translations of the scriptures are generally introduced with apologies and received with caution and distrust. in many cases men have resisted them as dangerous innovations, and attempted to exterminate them with fire and sword. this was the case with the translations of wickliffe and of tindal. but truth and the kind providence of god were too mighty for their enemies, and these translations lived to see their persecutors in the dust, and to laugh them to scorn. wickliffe's translation was published in , in a dark age. many good men anticipated from it the greatest calamities, and resisted it with the most intemperate zeal, and every species of denunciation was used against it. it was made from the vulgate, and not from the greek and hebrew, and was imperfect; but it was a great improvement on what existed before, and it proved a great blessing. tindal was contemporary with luther, and undertook to give a new translation of the bible to england, as luther did to germany. he completed his new testament against the greatest opposition, and published it in , and was engaged on the old testament, when he was arrested, imprisoned a year, and then brought to the stake and strangled and burnt, at the age of fifty-nine, a.d. . he was the morning star of the reformation in england, and became by his translation of the new testament and a part of the old, and by the interest he excited in the subject of improved translations in england, one of the great benefactors of his race. he was a man of great gentleness, kindness, simplicity of character, and benevolence, and his life is without a stain. coverdale translated the whole bible, and published it in while tindal was in prison waiting for his crown of martyrdom. several other translations followed, and that of king james last of all, in . king james's translation was made by forty-seven translators, divided into six companies, and laboring on their work three years. the douay bible was first translated and published complete in , almost simultaneously with the bible of king james. it has the disadvantage of having been made from the latin vulgate, and not directly from the original greek and hebrew, but is a valuable version, and like the bible of king james, is one of the great monuments of the times which produced it, as well as of the church which has adhered to it. it is good but not perfect; and it is hoped that its friends will not be unwilling to accept an improvement. from the publication of wickliffe's bible in , to that of tindal's new testament in , was one hundred and forty-six years. from the publication of tindal's new testament in , to that of king james's bible in , was eighty-five years. there was considerable progress made in knowledge, and the english language was considerably changed, in the interval of one hundred and forty-six years between the publication of wickliffe's bible and tindal's new testament. there was also considerable progress in knowledge, and some changes were made in the english language, in the interval of eighty-five years between the publication of tindal's new testament and king james's bible. the period that has elapsed between the publication of king james's bible in and the present time ( ) is two hundred and forty-seven years, sixteen years more than the entire period from the publication of wickliffe's bible in to that of king james's in . besides, this has been a period of unparalleled activity in the investigation of biblical subjects, and the prosecution of biblical studies. two hundred and forty-seven years, reckoning, thirty-three years to a generation, are seven generations and a half; and these seven generations and a half have been engaged in biblical studies with unprecedented diligence and success, making great improvements in the text, detecting numerous interpolations and errors, making great improvements in the rendering, and detecting numerous errors in it; but the almost exclusive bible of common life, of the family, the school, the church, and of private and devotional reading and study, with english protestants, is still the bible of king james, with its errors uncorrected, its interpolations unremoved, and its defects unsupplied. several new translations have been made since king james's time, but none of them have as yet been received with any considerable favor. king james's bible, though extravagantly eulogized, was an excellent version for the times that produced it; yet it made much less improvement on the bishop's bible, the geneva bible, and tindal's, coverdale's, and others which it superseded, than tindal's and coverdale's did on wickliffe's. tindal, in the face of constant persecution, and cut off from many of the advantages and facilities which in more auspicious times he might have enjoyed, did more for the english bible than all king james's translators. so did luther for the bible in germany. it is an unfortunate result of king james's translation of the bible by an imposing council of learned men, that it has tended to discourage individual effort in respect to a labor of this kind, and to create a prejudice against it as necessarily incompetent and untrustworthy. societies and councils have their spheres in which they are useful; yet they often transcend them and intrude on those of individuals. but there are great works which individuals can perform better than multitudes or councils. councils did not make the bible at first. it was made by individuals, each man acting for himself, and giving utterance to the mighty thoughts that god had given him. a council did not make paradise lost, and could not; nor has a council ever produced any immortal work of genius or learning, unless it is the english bible of king james. with this exception, these are all the works of individuals. as individuals, therefore, have generally been the prosecutors of literary enterprises, in the department of bible translation no less than in other departments, and as individuals have been eminently successful and useful in this department of labor heretofore, both in england and other countries, let it be hoped that they may be again. there is a vast accumulation of knowledge to be made available by some one, or in some way, for the production of an improved english bible, that shall bear the same relation to the advanced knowledge of these times, which tindal's, coverdale's, and that of king james did to theirs. more study has been expended on the sacred text and its interpretation, and more progress made in biblical knowledge in the last seven generations, than in all time before. this knowledge is treasured up in critical editions of the original scriptures, critical commentaries on them in latin and other languages, in greek and hebrew lexicons, and in other works in the various departments of biblical learning, embracing commentaries on the english scriptures, several of which are extensive and valuable. no man can gainsay them, no man can disparage them. they are monuments of the most precious and valuable learning of their times. scholars with ample means and ample time for critical research, and those whose tastes and professions and convictions of duty incline them in that direction, may in a long series of years become masters of much of this learning, and receive the benefit of it. a few are masters of it, but how few! but how are the people to obtain it? when are they to find the time to obtain it? where are they to find the means? the clergy are the instructors of the people on sacred subjects. biblical learning is a part of their profession. they study it by day and by night, from youth to old age; but how are the great mass of clergymen even, amidst their parish cares and homiletical labors, and with their limited means and restricted libraries, to obtain much of this knowledge? some of it they may obtain, but much of it they will not, and cannot. the only way in which the vast stores of biblical learning accumulated during the last two hundred and forty-seven years, by the labors of seven and a half generations toiling in succession, each generation beginning where that which preceded it left off, and each adding something to the stock which it received, can become available for the general benefit of the people, is by an improved text and translation of the bible, into which, as far as possible, they shall all be brought, and to the perfection of which they shall contribute. this is the task which has been undertaken in the present work, and with what degree of success, the public will judge. the text which has been followed in this translation, is that of tischendorf, published at leipsic in . it is not only a great improvement on the received text, but on the critical texts that are in general use in this country. tischendorf follows griesbach, lachman and others, and availing himself of their labors, together with his own accurate collations of manuscripts extending to nearly all the most ancient manuscripts in the world, and following in the steps of lachman by editing solely from ancient authority, has brought the text of the new testament to a degree of perfection not anticipated or even hoped for in past ages. it is a high recommendation of this translation, and will command for it an additional respect from all competent judges, that it follows this highly improved text. readers will be able by this to see what is the bible and what is not. it is not claimed for the text of tischendorf that it is perfect; no text can be; but it is claimed for it, that it retains no known interpolation in the sacred books, and omits nothing known to belong to them. future laborers will doubtless make some improvements on the text of tischendorf, as he has done on that of lachman; but they cannot be expected to change it essentially. i have deviated from tischendorf in omitting jesus as the proper name of barabbas in two instances in matt. xxv. , and occasionally in punctuation, and have retained two important interpolations in the text, duly noted as such, mark, xvii. and john, x. . the recent work of trench on the english bible came to hand after considerable progress had been made in stereotyping this volume. the translator was highly gratified to find that nearly all the improvements and corrections suggested by that eminent scholar were already made in this work, together with many others. the arrangement of the books and divisions of the chapters and verses in this translation are believed to be great improvements on those in common use. as such they are commended to the attention of translators and editors in different languages, and it is hoped will be found satisfactory. the chronology of the new testament is involved in great obscurity. the christian era was first proposed by dionysius exiguus, about a.d. , and was gradually adopted in the seventh and eighth centuries. by a mistake of dionysius it was made to commence from four to six years too late. the birth of christ was from to b.c.; his baptism, in the fifteenth year of tiberius, a.d. ; his death, probably, a.d. ; and the events recorded in the first part of acts prior to the death of herod, a.d. , occurred considerably earlier than the dates usually assigned to them. matthew and luke probably wrote their gospels a.d. or ; mark and john, theirs a.d. - . acts was written a.d. . all the books of the new testament were probably written before the destruction of jerusalem, in the interval of seventeen years from a.d. to . the author of revelation bears the same name as one of the evangelists. but this does not prove that he was the same person, neither is the church tradition on the subject entitled to undoubted confidence. the author of revelation does not claim to be an apostle; and by not making that claim in a book so extraordinary, virtually teaches that he is not such. his style also presents points of diversity from that of the evangelist, that seem to be incompatible with the supposition that the same author wrote both works. with these few explanations i commend this volume to the acceptance and blessing of our kind father in heaven, and send it forth, accompanied with many prayers, to call men from sin to holiness, and from death and sorrow to the only true life and joy. boston, mass., october, . contents. the historical books of the new testament. . the gospel of matthew . the gospel of mark . the gospel of luke . the gospel of john . acts of the apostles the epistles of paul. . first epistle to the thessalonians . second epistle to the thessalonians . the epistle to the galatians . first epistle to the corinthians . second epistle to the corinthians . the epistle to the romans . the epistle to philemon . the epistle to the colossians . the epistle to the ephesians [laodiceans] . the epistle to the philippians . the epistle to titus . first epistle to timothy . second epistle to timothy the catholic epistles. . the epistle of james . first epistle of peter . second epistle of peter . the epistle of judas . first epistle of john . second epistle of john . third epistle of john . the epistle to the hebrews . revelation the gospel of matthew. chapter i. the genealogy and birth of christ. [ : ]an account of the birth of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham. [ : ]abraham begat isaac, and isaac begat jacob, and jacob begat judah and his brothers; [ : ]and judah begat pharez and zarah by thamar; and pharez begat hezron, and hezron begat ram, [ : ]and ram begat aminadab, and aminadab begat nashon, and nashon begat salmon, [ : ]and salmon begat boaz by rahab, and boaz begat obed by ruth, and obed begat jesse, [ : ]and jesse begat david the king. and david begat solomon by the wife of uriah, [ : ]and solomon begat rehoboam, and rehoboam begat abijah, and abijah begat asa, [ : ]and asa begat jehoshaphat, and jehoshaphat begat jehoram, and jehoram begat uzziah, [ : ]and uzziah begat jotham, and jotham begat ahaz, and ahaz begat hezekiah, [ : ]and hezekiah begat manassah, and manassah begat amon, and amon begat josiah, [ : ] and josiah begat jechoniah and his brothers at the babylonian exile. [ : ]after the babylonian exile, jechoniah begat shealtiel, and shealtiel begat zerubabel, [ : ]and zerubabel begat abiud, and abiud begat eliakim, and eliakim begat azar, [ : ]and azar begat zadoc, and zadoc begat achim, and achim begat eliud, [ : ]and eliud begat eleazar, and eleazar begat matthan, and matthan begat jacob, [ : ]and jacob begat joseph the husband of mary, of whom was born jesus, called christ. [ : ]all the generations therefore, from abraham to david, are fourteen generations; and from david to the babylonian exile, fourteen generations; and from the babylonian exile to the christ, fourteen generations. [ : ]the birth of christ was thus. his mother mary having been espoused to joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child by the holy spirit. [ : ]but joseph her husband being a righteous man, and not wishing to make her an example, was designing to put her away privately. [ : ]but while he was thinking of these things, behold, an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, joseph, son of david, fear not to take mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is by the holy spirit, [ : ]and she shall bear a son, and you shall call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. [ : ]but all this was done, that the word of the lord might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying; [ : ]behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name emmanuel; which is interpreted, god is with us. [ : ]and when joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the lord had commanded him, and took his wife, [ : ]and knew her not till she bore a son, and he called his name jesus. chapter ii. the infancy of christ. [ : ]and jesus being born in bethlehem in judea, in the days of herod the king, behold magi came from the east to jerusalem, saying, [ : ]where is the king of the jews born? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. [ : ]and herod the king hearing this was troubled, and all jerusalem with him; [ : ]and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the christ is born. [ : ]and they said to him, in bethlehem of judea; for thus it is written by the prophet; [ : ]and you bethlehem, land of judah, are by no means least among the governors of judah, for out of you shall come a governor who shall rule my people israel. [ : ]then herod, calling the magi secretly, asked them the precise time when the star appeared; [ : ]and sending them to bethlehem, said, go and inquire diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, tell me, that i also may come and worship him. [ : ]and hearing the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. [ : ]and seeing the star they rejoiced with great joy; [ : ]and coming into the house they saw the young child with mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they presented him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. [ : ] and being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to herod, they departed to their country another way. [ : ]and when they had departed, behold, an angel of the lord appeared to joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into egypt, and remain there till i tell you; for herod will seek the young child to destroy it. [ : ]and he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and fled into egypt, [ : ]and was there till the death of herod; that the word might be fulfilled, which the lord spoke by the prophet, saying; out of egypt have i called my son. [ : ]then herod seeing that he was despised by the magi, was exceedingly angry, and sent and destroyed all the children in bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the precise time which he had learned of the magi. [ : ]thus was fulfilled the word spoken by jeremiah the prophet, saying; [ : ]a voice was heard in ramah, lamentation and great mourning; rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they were not. [ : ]and when herod had died, behold, an angel of the lord appeared to joseph in a dream, in egypt, saying, [ : ]arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of israel; for they are dead that sought the young child's life. [ : ]and he arose and took the young child and his mother, and went into the land of israel. [ : ]but hearing that archelaus reigned over judea in the place of herod his father, he was afraid to go there; but being divinely instructed in a dream, he departed into the parts of galilee, [ : ] and went and lived in a city called nazareth, that the word spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, he shall be called a nazoraean. chapter iii. christ's baptism and temptation. [ : ]and in those days came john the baptist preaching in the wilderness of judea, saying, [ : ]change your minds, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [ : ]for this is he that was spoken of by isaiah the prophet, saying; a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make his paths straight. [ : ]and this john had his clothes of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. [ : ]then went out to him jerusalem, and all judea, and all the region about the jordan, [ : ] and were baptized by him in the river jordan, confessing their sins. [ : ]and seeing many of the pharisees and sadducees come for the baptism, he said to them; offspring of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [ : ]bear fruit, therefore, worthy of a change of mind; [ : ]and think not to say within yourselves, we have abraham for a father; for i tell you that god is able of these stones to raise up children to abraham; [ : ]and already the axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree, therefore, which bears not good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. [ : ]i indeed baptize you with water to a change of mind; but he that comes after me is mightier than i, whose shoes i am not fit to bear; he shall baptize you with the holy spirit, and fire; [ : ]whose winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the storehouse; but the chaff he will burn with an inextinguishable fire. [ : ]then came jesus from galilee to the jordan to john, to be baptized by him. [ : ]but, he refused him, saying, i have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? [ : ]but jesus answered and said to him, suffer me now; for thus, it becomes us to complete all righteousness. then he suffered him; [ : ] and jesus being baptized went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the spirit of god descend like a dove and come upon him. [ : ]and behold, a voice from the heavens, saying, this is my beloved son, with whom i am well pleased. [ : ]then jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. [ : ]and having fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry. [ : ]and the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of god, command these stones to become bread. [ : ]and he answered and said; it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of god. [ : ]then the devil took him into the holy city, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, [ : ]and said to him, if you are the son of god, cast yourself down; for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning you, and they shall take you up on their hands, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. [ : ]jesus said to him, again it is written, you shall not try the lord your god. [ : ]again the devil took him away on a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory, [ : ]and said to him, all these things will i give you, if you will fall down and worship me. [ : ]then jesus said to him, get behind me satan; for it is written, you shall worship the lord your god, and him only shall you serve. [ : ]then the devil left him; and behold angels came and waited on him. chapter iv. christ commencing his public ministry. [ : ]and when he heard that john was delivered up, he departed to galilee; [ : ]and leaving nazareth he came and lived at capernaum on the lake, in the bounds of zebulon and naphtali, [ : ]that the word might be fulfilled, spoken by isaiah the prophet, saying; [ : ]land of zebulon and naphtali, by the way of the lake, beyond the jordan, galilee of the nations, [ : ]the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shade of death has light arisen. [ : ]from that time jesus began to preach, and to say, change your minds; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [ : ]and walking by the lake of galilee he saw two brothers, simon, called peter, and andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [ : ]and he said to them, come after me, and i will make you fishermen of men. [ : ]and they left their nets, immediately, and followed him. [ : ]and going forward thence, he saw two other brothers, james the son of zebedee and john his brother, in the ship with zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. [ : ]and they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. [ : ]and he went about in all galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. [ : ]and his fame went out into all syria; and they brought him all that were ill, afflicted with various diseases and torments, and demoniacs, and lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them; [ : ] and great multitudes followed him from galilee, and decapolis, and jerusalem, and judea, and beyond the jordan. chapter v. christ's sermon on the mount. [ : ]and seeing the multitudes, he went on the mountain and sat down; and his disciples came to him. [ : ]and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying; [ : ]blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [ : ] blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. [ : ]blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted. [ : ]blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. [ : ]blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. [ : ]blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see god. [ : ]blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called children of god. [ : ]blessed are the persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [ : ]blessed are you when they shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say every evil against you, falsely, for my sake. [ : ] rejoice and exult, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you. [ : ]you are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its strength, with what shall it be seasoned? it is good for nothing more, except being cast out to be trodden upon by men. [ : ]you are the light of the world. a city situated on a mountain cannot be hid. [ : ]neither do men light a candle, and put it under a modius [ . gallon measure], but on a candlestick, and it shines to all in the house. [ : ]let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven. [ : ]think not that i have come to destroy the law or the prophets; i have not come to destroy but to complete. [ : ]for i tell you truly, that till heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one point shall by no means pass away from the law till all things are accomplished. [ : ]whoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [ : ]for i tell you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. [ : ]you have heard that it was said by the ancients, you shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be subject to the judgment. [ : ]but i tell you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be subject to the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, worthless fellow, shall be subject to the sanhedrim; and whoever says, you fool, shall be subject to the hell of fire. [ : ]if, therefore, you offer your gift on the altar, and there remember that your brother has any thing against you, [ : ]leave there your gift before the altar, and go and first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [ : ]agree with your accuser quickly, while you are with him in the way, lest the accuser deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. [ : ]i tell you truly, you shall not go out thence till you have paid the last quadrans [ mills]. [ : ]you have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery; [ : ] but i tell you, that every one who looks on a woman to desire her inordinately, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [ : ]but if your right eye offends you, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell. [ : ]and if your right hand offends you, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should go into hell. [ : ]and it was said, whoever would put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorcement. [ : ] but i tell you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for adultery, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries her that is put away, commits adultery. [ : ]again, you have heard that it was said by the ancients, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the lord your oaths. [ : ]but i tell you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is god's throne; [ : ]nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king; [ : ]nor swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. [ : ]but let your speech be, yes, yes, and no, no; for any thing more than this is evil. [ : ]you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. [ : ]but i tell you not to resist the evil man; but whoever shall strike you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; [ : ]and if a man wishes to have a law suit with you, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also; [ : ]and whoever shall compel you to go one mile, go two miles with him. [ : ]give to him that asks, and from him that would borrow of you turn not away. [ : ]you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. [ : ]but i tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those that persecute you; [ : ]that you may be children of your father in heaven; for he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and rains on the just and unjust. [ : ]for if you love those that love you, what reward have you? do not the publicans the same? [ : ]and if you salute your brothers only, what do you do more than [others]? do not the gentiles also do the same? [ : ]be therefore perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. [ : ]but take heed not to perform your righteousness before men, to be seen by them; otherwise indeed, you have no reward from your father in heaven. [ : ] when, therefore, you give in charity, sound not a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. i tell you truly, they have their reward. [ : ]but when you give in charity let not your left hand know what your right hand does, [ : ]that your charity may be in secret; and your father who sees in secret shall reward you. [ : ]and when you pray, be not like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. i tell you truly, they have their reward. [ : ]but when you pray enter into your private room, and having shut your door pray to your father who is in secret; and your father who sees in secret shall reward you. [ : ]and when you pray use not vain repetitions, as the gentiles do; for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking. [ : ]be not, therefore, like them; for your father knows what you need before you ask him. [ : ]pray, therefore, thus; our father in heaven, hallowed be thy name; [ : ]thy kingdom come; thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth; [ : ]give us to-day our essential bread, [ : ]and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; [ : ]and bring us not into trial, but deliver us from evil. [ : ]for if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly father will forgive you; [ : ]but if you forgive not men, neither will your father forgive your offenses. [ : ]and when you fast, be not like the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to fast. i tell you truly, they have their reward. [ : ]but when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, [ : ]that you may not appear to men to fast, but to your father in secret; and your father who sees in secret shall reward you. [ : ]lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where a moth and corrosion destroy, and where thieves dig through and steal. [ : ]but lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither a moth nor corrosion destroys, and where thieves dig not through nor steal; [ : ]for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [ : ]the light of the body is the eye. if, therefore, your eye is sound, your whole body will be light; [ : ]but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. if, therefore, the light which is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [ : ]no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the first, and love the other, or he will adhere to the first, and despise the other. you cannot serve god and riches. [ : ]on this account i tell you, be not anxious for your soul, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on, is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothing? [ : ]look at the birds of heaven; they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into store-houses; but your heavenly father feeds them. are you not much better than they? [ : ]which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? [ : ]and why are you anxious concerning clothing? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they perform no hard labor, neither do they spin; [ : ]but i tell you that solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [ : ]and if god so clothes the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, men of little faith? [ : ]be not anxious, therefore, saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or with what shall we be clothed? [ : ]for after all these things the gentiles seek; and your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. [ : ]but seek first righteousness and his kingdom, and all these things shall be added to you. [ : ]be not anxious, therefore, for to-morrow, for to-morrow will be anxious for its; sufficient for the day is its evil. [ : ]judge not, that you be not judged; [ : ]for with what judgment you judge you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure it shall be measured to you. [ : ]and why do you see a speck in your brother's eye, and not consider a beam in your own eye? [ : ]or how will you say to your brother, let me cast out the speck from your eye, and behold a beam in your own eye? [ : ] hypocrite, cast out first the beam from your eye, and then will you see clearly to cast out the speck from your brother's eye. [ : ]give not a holy thing to dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they tread them down with their feet, and turn and rend you. [ : ]ask, and it shall be given you. seek, and you shall find. knock, and it shall be opened to you. [ : ]for every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. [ : ]or is there any man of you, who, if his son asks bread of him, will give him a stone? [ : ]or if he asks a fish, will give him a serpent? [ : ]if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to them that ask him. [ : ]all things, therefore, which you wish men to do to you, do also thus to them; for this is the law and the prophets. [ : ]enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate; and spacious the way which leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in by it; [ : ]for narrow is the gate, and compressed the way which leads to life, and few are those who find it. [ : ]but beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but within they are rapacious wolves. [ : ]you shall know them by their fruits. do men gather grapes from thorns? or figs from thistles? [ : ]so every good tree bears good fruits, but a bad tree bears bad fruits; [ : ]a good tree cannot bear bad fruits, nor a bad tree good fruits. [ : ] every tree which bears not good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. [ : ] by their fruits, therefore, you shall know them. [ : ]not every one that says to me, lord, lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my father in heaven. [ : ]many will say to me in that day, lord, lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name performed many mighty works? [ : ]and then will i confess to them, i never knew you; depart from me you that commit wickedness. [ : ]every one, therefore, that hears these words of mine and performs them, i will liken to a wise man who built his house on the rock; [ : ]and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on the rock. [ : ]and every one who hears these words of mine and performs them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand; [ : ]and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell; and its fall was great. [ : ]and when jesus had finished these words the multitudes were astonished at his teaching; [ : ]for he taught them as having authority, and not as their scribes. chapter vi. christ's miracles, previous to the appointment of his twelve apostles. [ : ]and when he went down from the mountain great multitudes followed him; [ : ]and behold, a leper came and worshipped him, saying, lord, if you will, you can cleanse me. [ : ]and stretching out his hand, he touched him, saying, i will; be cleansed; and his leprosy was immediately cleansed. [ : ]and jesus said to him, see that you tell no man, but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift which moses commanded for a testimony to them. [ : ]and when he entered into capernaum a centurion came to him, beseeching him, [ : ]and saying; lord, my servant lies sick in my house with paralysis, exceedingly distressed. [ : ]he said to him, i will come and cure him. [ : ] and the centurion answered and said, lord, i am not fit that you should come under my roof; but only say the word and my servant will be cured. [ : ]for i also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and i say to this man, go, and he goes; and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it. [ : ]jesus hearing wondered and said to those that followed him, i tell you truly, i have not found so great a faith with any one in israel; [ : ]and i tell you that many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall recline with abraham, and isaac, and jacob in the kingdom of heaven, [ : ]but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the darkness outside; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ : ]and jesus said to the centurion, go; as you have believed be it to you; and the servant was cured at that hour. [ : ]and jesus coming into the house of peter, saw his wife's mother lying and sick with a fever. [ : ]and he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and waited on them. [ : ]and when it was evening they brought him many demoniacs, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all that were sick, [ : ]that the word might be fulfilled spoken by isaiah the prophet, saying; he took our infirmities and bore our diseases. [ : ]and jesus seeing great multitudes around him commanded them to go away to the other side. [ : ]and a certain scribe came and said to him, teacher, i will follow you wherever you go. [ : ]and jesus said to him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have places of shelter, but the son of man has not where to lay his head. [ : ]another of the disciples said to him, lord, permit me first to go away and bury my father. [ : ]but jesus said to him, follow me, and let the dead bury their dead. [ : ]and he entered into a ship, and his disciples followed him. [ : ]and behold there was a great tempest on the lake, so that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. [ : ] and they came and awoke him, saying, lord, save us; we perish. [ : ]and he said to them, why are you afraid, men of little faith? then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm. [ : ]and the men wondered, saying, what kind of a man is this, that the winds and the lake obey him? [ : ]and when he had come to the other side, into the country of the gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man could pass that way. [ : ]and behold they cried, saying, what have you to do with us, son of god? have you come hither before the time to torment us? [ : ]and there was far off from them a herd of many swine feeding. [ : ]and, the demons besought him, saying, if you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine. [ : ]and he said to them, go. and going out, they went away into the herd of swine, and, behold, the whole herd rushed down a precipice into the lake, and died in the waters; [ : ]and those who fed them fled, and going away into the city reported all things, and the events relating to the demoniacs. [ : ]and behold all the city came out to meet jesus; and when they saw him they besought him to depart from their bounds. [ : ]and entering a ship, he crossed over, and came to his own city; [ : ] and behold they brought him a paralytic, lying on a bed. and jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, son, be of good courage; your sins are forgiven. [ : ]and behold some of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes. [ : ]and jesus observing their thoughts, said, why do you think evil in your hearts? [ : ]for in what respect is it easier to say, your sins are forgiven, than to say, arise and walk? [ : ]but that you may know that the son of man has power on the earth to forgive sins, then he said to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. [ : ]and he arose and departed to his house. [ : ]and when the multitudes saw it they were afraid, and glorified god who had given such power to men. [ : ]and jesus departing thence saw a man sitting at the custom-house, called matthew; and he said to him, follow me. and he arose and followed him. [ : ] and he was reclining in the house, and behold, many publicans and sinners came and reclined with jesus and his disciples. [ : ]and when the pharisees saw them they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with publicans and sinners? [ : ]and hearing it he said, the well need not a physician, but the sick. [ : ]go and learn what this means: i wish for mercy and not a sacrifice; for i came not to call the righteous, but sinners. [ : ]then came to him the disciples of john, saying, why do we and the pharisees fast much, but your disciples fast not? [ : ]and jesus said to them, can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they shalt fast. [ : ]but no one puts a piece of unfilled cloth on an old garment; for it takes away its fullness from the garment, and the rent is made worse. [ : ]neither do they put new wine into old bottles; otherwise the bottles break, and the wine is poured out and the bottles destroyed; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. [ : ]while he was saying these words to them, behold a ruler came and worshipped him, saying, my daughter is now dead, but come and put your hand on her and she shall live. [ : ]and jesus arose and followed him, and his disciples. [ : ]and behold a woman having a hemorrhage of twelve years approached him from behind, and touched the fringe of his garment; [ : ]for she said within herself, if i can only touch his garment i shall be cured. [ : ]and jesus turning around and seeing her, said, daughter, be of good courage, your faith has cured you. and the woman was cured from that hour. [ : ]and jesus coming into the house of the ruler, and seeing the musicians and the multitude making a tumultuous noise, [ : ]said, go away; for the girl is not dead, but asleep. and they derided him. [ : ]but when the multitude were removed he went in and took her hand, and the girl arose. [ : ]and the report went out into all that land. [ : ]and as jesus was departing thence two blind men followed him, crying and saying, have mercy on us, son of david! [ : ]and when he had gone into the house the blind men came to him, and jesus said to them, do you believe that i am able to do this? they said to him, yes, lord. [ : ]then he touched their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it to you; [ : ]and their eyes were opened. and jesus charged them strictly, saying, see that no one knows it. [ : ]but they went out and made him known in all that land. [ : ]and when they had gone away, behold, the people brought to him a man, a dumb demoniac. [ : ]and the demon being cast out, the dumb spoke; and the multitudes wondered, saying, it was never so seen in israel. [ : ]but the pharisees said, he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons. [ : ]and jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease, and every infirmity. [ : ]and seeing the multitudes he had compassion on them because they were faint and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. [ : ]then he said to his disciples, the harvest indeed is great, but the laborers few. [ : ]pray, therefore, the lord of the harvest to thrust laborers into his harvest. chapter vii. the appointment of the twelve apostles. [ : ]and calling his twelve disciples, he gave them power over impure spirits to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every infirmity. [ : ] and the names of the twelve apostles are these; first, simon, who is called peter, and andrew his brother; james, the son of zebedee, and john his brother; [ : ]philip and bartholomew; thomas, and matthew the publican; james, the son of alpheus, and lebbeus, called thaddeus; [ : ]simon, the zealot, and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. [ : ]these twelve jesus sent out and charged them, saying; go not into a way of gentiles, and enter not into a city of samaritans, [ : ]but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel; [ : ]and as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [ : ] cure the sick, cleanse lepers, cast out demons; you have received gratuitously, gratuitously give. [ : ]take not gold, nor silver, nor copper for your purses, [ : ]nor a provision sack for the way, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor staves; for the laborer is worthy of his support; [ : ]and into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there remain till you leave. [ : ]and when you go into a house, salute it; [ : ]and if the house is worthy, your blessing shall come upon it; but if the house is not worthy, your blessing shall return to you. [ : ]and if any one does not receive you, nor hear your words, when you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. [ : ]i tell you truly, it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom and gomorrah in a day of judgment, than for that city. [ : ]behold, i send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. [ : ]but beware of men; for they will deliver you to sanhedrims, and scourge you in their synagogues, [ : ]and you shall be brought before governors, and kings, for my sake, for a testimony to them and the nations. [ : ]but when they have delivered you up be not anxious how you shall speak, or what you shall say, for it shall be given you in that hour what to say; [ : ]for it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your father that speaks in you. [ : ]and a brother shall deliver a brother to death, and a father a son; and children shall rise up against their parents and put them to death; [ : ]and you shall be hated by all men for my sake. but he that endures to the end shall be saved. [ : ]and when they persecute you in one city, flee to another. for i tell you truly, that you will not finish the cities of israel till the son of man shall come. [ : ]a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. [ : ]it is sufficient for the disciple to be as his teacher, and the servant as his master. if they have called the master of the house beelzebul, how much more will they call the members of his family by that name. [ : ]fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing concealed that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known. [ : ]what i tell you in darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the house-tops. [ : ]and fear not those who kill the body and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. [ : ]are not two sparrows sold for an assarion [ . mills]? and one of them cannot fall to the ground without your father. [ : ]even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [ : ]fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. [ : ]every one, therefore, who shall confess me before men, him will i also confess before my father in heaven; [ : ]and whoever denies me before men, him will i also deny before my father in heaven. [ : ]think not that i have come to send peace on the earth. i have not come to send peace, but a sword. [ : ]i have come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law; [ : ]and a man's enemies shall be those of his own house. [ : ]he that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; [ : ]and he that does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [ : ]he that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. [ : ]he that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me. [ : ]he that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. [ : ]and whoever shall give one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, i tell you truly, he shall by no means lose his reward. [ : ]and when jesus had finished his charge to his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. chapter viii. john the baptist questioning christ's messiahship. [ : ]and john hearing in the prison of the works of christ, sending by his disciples, [ : ]said to him, are you he that was coming, or look we for another? [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, go and tell john what you see and hear; [ : ]the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them; [ : ]and blessed is he that is not offended with me. [ : ]and when they had gone, jesus began to say to the multitudes, concerning john, what went you out to the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind? [ : ]but what went you out to see? a man wearing fine clothes? behold, they that wear fine clothes are in the houses of kings. [ : ]but what went you out to see? a prophet? yes, i tell you, and more than a prophet. [ : ]for this is he of whom it is written; behold, i send my messenger before your face, to prepare your way before you. [ : ]i tell you truly, there has not arisen among those born of woman a greater than john the baptist; but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [ : ]and from the days of john the baptist till now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. [ : ]for all the prophets and the law prophesied till john. [ : ]and if you will receive it, this is elijah, who was to come. [ : ]he that has ears, let him hear. [ : ]to what shall i liken this generation? it is like little children sitting in the markets, who call to their companions, [ : ]and say, we have played on pipes for you, and you have not danced; we have mourned, and you have not lamented. [ : ]for john came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he has a demon; [ : ]the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold a glutton, and a wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. but wisdom is justified by her children. [ : ]then he began to rebuke those cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they changed not their minds. [ : ]woe to you, chorazin! woe to you, bethsaida! for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in tyre and sidon, they would have changed their minds long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [ : ]but i tell you, it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in a day of judgment than for you. [ : ]and you, capernaum, which are exalted even to heaven, shall go down even to hades; for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in sodom, it would have remained to this day. [ : ]but i tell you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of sodom in a day of judgment, than for you. [ : ]at that time jesus answering said, i thank thee, father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and intelligent, and hast revealed them to babes. [ : ]yes, father, for so it has seemed good in thy sight. [ : ]all things are given me by my father; and no one knows the son but the father; and no one knows the father but the son, and he to whom the son will reveal him. [ : ]come to me all you that labor hard and are heavy laden, and i will give you rest. [ : ]take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for i am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls; [ : ]for my yoke is easy, and my burden light. chapter ix. christ's doctrine of the sabbath. [ : ]at that time jesus went through the grain fields on the sabbath; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pick the heads and eat. [ : ]and the pharisees seeing it, said to him, behold, your disciples do what it is not lawful to do on the sabbath. [ : ]but he said to them, have you not read what david did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him? [ : ]how he entered into the house of god and eat the show bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the priests? [ : ]or have you not read in the law, that the priests profane the sabbath in the temple, and are blameless? [ : ]but i tell you that here is an object greater than the temple. [ : ]but if you had known what, i wish for mercy and not a sacrifice, means, you would not have condemned the innocent; [ : ]for the son of man is lord of the sabbath. [ : ]and departing thence he went into their synagogue, [ : ]and behold a man having a withered hand [was there]. and they asked him, saying, is it lawful to cure on the sabbath? that they might accuse him. [ : ]and he said to them, what man is there of you having one sheep, who if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? [ : ]how much then is a man better than a sheep! so that it is lawful to do good on the sabbath. [ : ] then he said to the man, stretch out your hand; and he stretched it out, and it was restored as sound as the other; [ : ]and the pharisees went out and took counsel against him to destroy him. [ : ]but jesus knowing it departed thence, and great multitudes followed him; and he cured them all, [ : ]and charged them not to make him known; [ : ]that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by isaiah the prophet, saying; [ : ]behold my servant, whom i have chosen; my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased; i will put my spirit on him, and he shall declare judgment to the nations. [ : ]he shall not strive nor cry aloud, nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets. [ : ]a bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not extinguish, till he sends forth judgment to victory. [ : ]and in his name shall nations hope. chapter x. christ's miracles attributed to demons. his relations. [ : ]then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he cured him, so that the blind and dumb spoke and saw. [ : ]and all the multitudes wondered and said, is this the son of david? [ : ]but the pharisees hearing it, said, this man does not cast out demons, except by beelzebul, a ruler of the demons. [ : ]but knowing their thoughts, he said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed; and no city or house divided against itself can stand. [ : ]if satan casts out satan he is divided against himself. how then can his kingdom stand? [ : ]and if i by beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. [ : ] but if i by the spirit of god cast out demons, then the kingdom of god has come upon you. [ : ]or how can one enter into the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. [ : ]he that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters. [ : ]therefore, i tell you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the spirit shall not be forgiven men. [ : ] and if one speaks a word against the son of man it shall be forgiven him; but if one speaks against the holy spirit it shall not be forgiven him either in this life or in that to come. [ : ]either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. [ : ]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. [ : ]the good man, out of his good treasury, casts forth good things; and the evil man, out of his evil treasury, casts forth evil things. [ : ]but i tell you, that for every idle word which men speak they shall render an account in a day of judgment; [ : ] for by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. [ : ]then answered some of the scribes and pharisees, saying, teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. [ : ]but he answered and said to them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of the prophet jonah. [ : ]for as jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [ : ]the men of nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they changed their minds at the preaching of jonah; and behold a greater than jonah is here. [ : ]the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon; and behold a greater than solomon is here. [ : ]but when the impure spirit has gone out of a man, it goes through dry places seeking a rest, and finds none. [ : ]then it says, i will return to my house from which i went out; and coming, it finds it empty, swept, and adorned. [ : ]then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits worse than itself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. so shall it be also with this evil generation. [ : ]and while he was speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brothers stood without, desiring to speak to him. [ : ]and some one said to him, behold your mother and your brothers stand without, desiring to speak to you. [ : ]and he answered and said to him that told him, who is my mother? and who are my brothers? [ : ]and stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, behold my mother, and my brothers! [ : ]for whoever does the will of my father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. chapter xi. christ's parables on the lake of galilee. [ : ]and on that day jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. [ : ] and great multitudes came together to him; and he went into the ship and sat down; and all the multitude stood on the shore. [ : ]and he spoke to them many things in parables, saying; behold, a sower went out to sow; [ : ]and as he sowed, some fell by the way, and the birds came and devoured it. [ : ]and some fell on rocky places, where it had not much earth, and it came up immediately, because it had no depth of earth; [ : ]and when the sun arose it was scorched, and because it had no root it was dried up. [ : ]and some fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. [ : ]but some fell on good ground, and bore fruit; some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty-fold. [ : ]he that has ears let him hear. [ : ]and his disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? [ : ]and he answered and said to them, because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given; [ : ]for whoever has, to him shall be also given, and he shall abound; but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even what he has. [ : ]for this reason i speak to them in parables; because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand. [ : ]and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of isaiah, which says; hearing you shall hear and not understand, and seeing you shall see and not perceive; [ : ]for the hearts of this people have become hard, and they hear imperfectly with their ears, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and i should heal them. [ : ]but blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. [ : ]for i tell you truly, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it. [ : ]hear, therefore, the parable of the sower. [ : ]when any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away the seed sown in his heart. this is he that received seed by the way. [ : ]he that received seed on the rocky places is he that hears the word and immediately receives it with joy [ : ]but has no root in himself, but is only a temporary [disciple]; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he is immediately offended. [ : ]and he that received seed among thorns is he that hears the word, and the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. [ : ]but he that received the seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it, who also bears fruit, and produces some one hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty-fold. [ : ]and he delivered them another parable, saying; the kingdom of heaven is like a man sowing good seed in his field; [ : ]and while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed poisonous darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away. [ : ]but when the stalk grew up and bore fruit, then the poisonous darnel appeared. [ : ]and the servants of the householder came and said to him, sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? whence then has it poisonous darnel? [ : ]and he said to them, an enemy has done this. and they said to him, do you wish us to go and take them out? [ : ]and he said, no; lest in taking out the poisonous darnel, you pull up the wheat with it; [ : ]let both grow together till the harvest, and at the time of the harvest, i will say to the reapers, collect first the poisonous darnel, and bind it in bundles to be burnt; but collect the wheat in my storehouse. [ : ]he delivered them another parable, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, [ : ]which is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown is the greatest of plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and lodge on its branches. [ : ]he spoke another parable to them; the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three sata [ quarts] of flour, till the whole was leavened. [ : ]all these things spoke jesus to the multitudes in parables; and without a parable spoke he not to them; [ : ]that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, i will open my mouth in parables; i will declare things which have been concealed from the foundation of the world. [ : ]then leaving the multitudes; he went into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying, explain to us the parable of the poisonous darnel of the field. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, he that sows the good seed is the son of man; [ : ]the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the poisonous darnel are the children of the wicked one; [ : ] the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the consummation of the world; and the reapers are angels. [ : ]as, therefore, poisonous darnel is collected and burned with fire, so shall it be at the consummation of the world. [ : ]the son of man will send his angels, and they shall collect out of his kingdom all offenses, and all that commit wickedness, [ : ]and cast them into a furnace of fire; and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ : ] then the righteous shall shine out like the sun, in the kingdom of their father. he that has ears, let him hear. [ : ]the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which a man found, and concealed, and went away with joy, and sold all that he had and bought that field. [ : ]again; the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, [ : ]who, finding one very costly, went and sold all that he had and bought it. [ : ]again; the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, and collecting [fish] of every kind, [ : ]which, when it was full, men drew to the shore, and sifting down put up the good in vessels and cast the bad away. [ : ]so shall it be at the consummation of the world. the angels shall come forth and separate the evil from the midst of the good, [ : ]and cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ : ]have you understood all these thing? they said to him, yes, lord. [ : ]and he said to them, every scribe therefore that is instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder who casts out of his treasury things new and old. [ : ]and when jesus had finished these parables he departed thence, [ : ] and coming to his native country he taught them in their synagogues, so that they were astonished and said, whence has this man this wisdom and these mighty works? [ : ]is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called mary? and are not his brothers james, and joseph, and simon, and judas? [ : ]and are not his sisters all with us? whence then has this man all these things? [ : ]and they were offended with him. but jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor, except in his native country, and in his own house; [ : ] and he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. chapter xii. the death of john the baptist.--christ feeding five thousand, and walking on the lake. [ : ]at that time herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of jesus, [ : ]and said to his servants, this is john the baptist; he is raised from the dead; and on that account the mighty works are performed by him. [ : ]for herod having seized john, had bound him, and put him in prison, on account of herodias, his brother philip's wife. [ : ]for john had said to him, it is not lawful for you to have her. [ : ]and he wished to kill him; but feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet. [ : ]and herod's birthday being kept, the daughter of herodias danced before them and pleased herod, [ : ]on account of which he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask; [ : ]and she, having been put forward by her mother, said, give me here on a plate the head of john the baptist. [ : ]and the king was sorry; but on account of the oath, and those reclining with him, he commanded it to be given. [ : ]and he sent and beheaded john in the prison; [ : ]and his head was brought on a plate and given to the girl, and she carried it to her mother. [ : ]and his disciples went and took up the body and buried it, and came and told jesus. [ : ]and when jesus heard of it he departed thence in a ship to a solitary place by himself. and the multitudes hearing of it followed him on foot from the cities. [ : ]and going out he saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and cured their sick. [ : ]and when it was evening his disciples came to him, saying, the place is solitary, and the hour is already past; dismiss the multitudes that they may go to the villages and buy themselves food. [ : ]but jesus said to them, they need not go away; give them food to eat. [ : ]and they said to him, we have here only five loaves and two fishes. [ : ]and he said, bring them here to me. [ : ]and commanding the multitudes to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and, looking up to heaven, blessed them, and having broken them gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. [ : ]and they all eat and were filled; and they took up the fragments which remained over, twelve travelling-baskets full; [ : ]and those that eat were about five thousand men, besides women and children. [ : ]and he immediately constrained the disciples to go into a ship and go before him to the other side, till he should dismiss the multitudes. [ : ]and having dismissed the multitudes, he went on a mountain by himself to pray. and when it was evening he was there alone. [ : ]but the ship was now in the midst of the lake tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. [ : ]and in the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the lake. [ : ]and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were troubled and said, it is an apparition; and they cried out for fear. [ : ]but jesus immediately spoke to them, saying, be of good courage; it is i; be not afraid. [ : ]and peter answered and said to him, lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters. [ : ]and he said, come. and peter going down from the ship walked on the waters to go to jesus. [ : ]but seeing the wind strong he was afraid; and beginning to sink, cried, saying, lord save me! [ : ]and jesus immediately stretching out his hand, took hold of him and said, man of little faith, why did you doubt? [ : ]and when they entered into the ship, the wind ceased; [ : ]and those in the ship came and worshipped him; saying, truly you are the son of god. [ : ]and having crossed over, they came to gennesaret. [ : ]and when the men of that place knew him, they sent to all the country around, and brought to him all that were sick, [ : ]and requested of him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were entirely cured. chapter xiii. christ's doctrine of jewish traditions, etc. [ : ]then came the scribes and pharisees from jerusalem, saying, [ : ]why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat bread? [ : ]and he answered and said to them, why do you transgress the command of god by your tradition? [ : ]for god said, honor your father and mother; and he that reviles father or mother, let him surely die. [ : ]but you say, whoever says to his father or mother what you might be profited with by me is a gift, [ : ]then he shall not honor his father or his mother; and you have made the law of god of no effect by your tradition. [ : ] hypocrites, well did isaiah prophecy of you, saying; [ : ]this people honors me with the lips, but their heart is far from me. [ : ]but in vain do they worship me, teaching teachings and commandments of men. [ : ]and having called the multitude, he said, hear and understand. [ : ] not that which enters into the mouth, defiles the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth that defiles the man. [ : ]then the disciples came to him, and said to him, do you know that the pharisees were offended when they heard this word? [ : ]and he answered and said, every plant which my heavenly father has not planted, shall be rooted up. [ : ]let them go; they are blind guides of the blind. but if the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into the pit. [ : ]and peter answered and said to him, explain the parable to us. [ : ]and he said, are you so entirely without understanding? [ : ]do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is cast out on the earth? [ : ]but the things which proceed from the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the man. [ : ]for from the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies: [ : ]these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man. [ : ]and jesus going out thence departed to the regions of tyre and sidon. [ : ]and behold, a woman of canaan from those regions came out and cried, saying, have mercy on me, lord, son of david; my daughter is badly affected with a demon. [ : ]but he answered her not a word. and his disciples came and asked him, saying, dismiss her, for she cries after us. [ : ]but he answered and said, i am not sent, except to the lost sheep of the house of israel. [ : ]and she came and worshipped him, saying, lord, help me! [ : ]but he answered and said, it is not right to take the children's bread and cast to the dogs. [ : ]but she said, yes, lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the table of their masters. [ : ]then jesus answered and said to her, o woman, great is your faith! be it to you as you wish; and her daughter was cured from that hour. [ : ]and returning thence jesus came to the lake of galilee, and going up on the mountain sat down there. [ : ]and great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the crippled, and many others; and they cast them at jesus' feet, and he cured them; [ : ]so that the multitude wondered, seeing the dumb talk, the crippled sound, the lame walk, and the blind see; and they glorified the god of israel. [ : ]and jesus calling his disciples, said, i pity the multitude, for it is now three days that they have continued with me, and they have nothing to eat; i will not dismiss them fasting lest they faint by the way. [ : ]but his disciples said to him, whence shall we obtain so much bread in the wilderness as to fill so great a multitude? [ : ]and jesus said to them, how many loaves have you? and they said, seven, and a few small fishes. [ : ]and he commanded the people to sit down on the ground, [ : ]and taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, he broke, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. [ : ]and they all eat and were filled; and they took up the fragments that remained, seven store-baskets full. [ : ]and those who eat were four thousand men, besides women and children. [ : ]and dismissing the multitude he went into the ship, and came into the bounds of magadan. chapter xiv. christ replying to the pharisees and sadducees, etc. [ : ]and the pharisees and sadducees coming to jesus to try him desired him to show them a sign from heaven. [ : ]but he answered and said to them, when it is evening you say, it will be fair weather for the sky is red; [ : ]and in the morning, it will rain to-day for the sky is red and lowering. you know how to distinguish the face of the sky, but you cannot distinguish the signs of the times. [ : ]an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign shall be given it except the sign of jonah. and he left them and departed. [ : ]and when his disciples came to the other side they forgot to take bread. [ : ]and jesus said to them, observe and beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees. [ : ]but they reasoned within themselves, saying, it is because we have not taken bread. [ : ]but jesus knowing it, said, why do you reason within yourselves, men of little faith, because you have not taken bread? [ : ]do you not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many travelling-baskets you took up? [ : ]nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many store-baskets you took up? [ : ]why do you not understand that i spoke to you not of bread, to beware of the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees? [ : ]then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the pharisees and sadducees. [ : ]and jesus coming into the parts of cesarea philippi, asked his disciples, saying, who do men say that the son of man is? [ : ]and they said, some, john the baptist; others, elijah; and others, jeremiah, or one of the prophets. [ : ]and he said to them, who say you that i am? [ : ]and simon peter answered and said, you are the christ, the son of the living god. [ : ] and jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, simon, son of jonas, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven. [ : ] and i tell you that you are peter [a rock], and upon this rock will i build my assembly, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. [ : ]and i will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on the earth shall be unbound in heaven. [ : ]then he charged his disciples to tell no man that he was the christ. [ : ]from that time jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and raised on the third day. [ : ]and peter taking hold of him said, rebuking him, far be it from you, lord! this shall not be to you. [ : ]but he turned and said to peter, get behind me, satan! you are an offense to me! for you regard not the things of god, but those of men. [ : ]then jesus said to his disciples, if any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [ : ]for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, shall find it. [ : ]for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his life? or what will a man give as an exchange for his life? [ : ]for the son of man is about to come in the glory of his father, with his angels, and then shall he render to every one according to his doing. [ : ]i tell you truly, that some of those standing here shall not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. chapter xv. christ transfigured.--curing a demoniac, and paying the sacred tribute. [ : ]and after six days jesus took peter, and james, and john, his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. [ : ]and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments were white as the light. [ : ]and behold there appeared to them moses and elijah conversing with him. [ : ]and peter answered and said to jesus, lord, it is good for us to be here; if you please, we will make here three tabernacles, one for you, and one for moses, and one for elijah. [ : ]while he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice from the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son, with whom i am well pleased; hear him. [ : ]and when they heard this the disciples fell on their faces, and were greatly afraid. [ : ]and jesus came and touched them, and said, arise, and be not afraid. [ : ]and lifting up their eyes they saw no man, except jesus alone. [ : ]and when they went down from the mountain jesus charged them, saying, tell no man the vision till the son of man is raised from the dead. [ : ]and the disciples asked him, saying, why then do the scribes say that elijah must first come? [ : ]and he answered and said, elijah indeed comes, and shall restore all things. [ : ]but i tell you elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but did to him what they pleased. in like manner, also, the son of man is about to suffer from them. [ : ]then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist. [ : ]and when they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling to him and saying, [ : ]lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffers greatly. for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. [ : ]and i brought him to your disciples and they could not cure him. [ : ] jesus answered and said, o unbelieving and perverse generation! how long shall i be with you? how long shall i suffer you? bring him here to me. [ : ]and jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. [ : ]then the disciples came to jesus privately, and said, why could we not cast it out? [ : ]and jesus said to them, on account of your unbelief. for i tell you truly, if you have a faith like a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, be removed thence to that place, and it shall be removed; and nothing shall be impossible to you. [ : ]but this kind goes not out, except by prayer and fasting. [ : ]and as they were returning in galilee, jesus said to them, the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, [ : ]and they will kill him, and on the third day he shall be raised; and they were grieved exceedingly. [ : ]and when they came to capernaum, those who received the didrachma [ cents], came to peter, and said, does not your teacher pay the didrachma? [ : ]he said, yes. and when he came into the house, jesus anticipated him, saying, what do you think, simon? from whom do the kings of the earth receive taxes, or a tribute? from their children, or from strangers? [ : ]he said to him, from strangers. jesus said to him; then are the children free; [ : ]but that we may not offend them, go to the lake, and cast in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and opening its mouth you will find a stater [ cents]. take that and give it to them, for me and you. chapter xvi. christ's doctrine of greatness.--offenses and the forgiveness of sins. [ : ]at that time the disciples came to jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? [ : ]and calling a little child, he set it in the midst of them, [ : ]and said, i tell you truly, that if you do not turn and become like little children, you can by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. [ : ]whoever humbles himself like this little child, shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven; [ : ]and whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me; [ : ]but whoever offends one of these little ones that believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone should be hung to his neck, and that he should be plunged into the depths of the sea. [ : ]woe to the world because of offenses! for offenses must necessarily come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! [ : ]if your hand or foot offends you, cut it off and cast it from you. it is better for you to enter into life lame, or crippled, than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. [ : ]and if your eye offends you, pluck it out and cast it from you. it is better for you to enter into life having one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. [ : ]see that you despise not one of these little ones; for i tell you that their angels always behold the face of my father in heaven. [ : ]what think you? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them is lost, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain, and go and seek for the lost one? [ : ]and if he finds it, i tell you truly that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which were not lost. [ : ]so it is not the will of your father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. [ : ]but if your brother sins against you, go and reprove him between you and him alone. if he hears you, you have gained your brother. [ : ]but if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established; [ : ]and if he will not hear them, tell the assembly; and if he will not hear the assembly, let him be to you as a gentile and a publican. [ : ]i tell you truly, that whatever you bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you unbind on the earth shall be unbound in heaven. [ : ]again, i tell you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any thing for which they shall ask, they shall have it from my father in heaven; [ : ]for where two or three are assembled together in my name, there am i in the midst of them. [ : ]then came peter and said to him, lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and i forgive him? till seven times? [ : ]jesus said to him, i say not to you till seven times, but till seventy times seven. [ : ]on this account, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle with his servants. [ : ]and beginning to settle, a debtor of ten thousand talents [$ , , ] was brought to him. [ : ]and he having nothing to pay, the lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. [ : ]then the servant fell down and worshipped him, saying, have patience with me, and i will pay all. [ : ]and the lord of that servant having compassion on him released him, and forgave him the debt. [ : ]but that servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants who owed him one hundred denarii [$ ], and seizing him, he choked him, saying, pay what you owe me. [ : ]then his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, have patience with me and i will pay you. [ : ]but he would not; but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. [ : ]then his fellow-servants seeing what was done, were greatly displeased, and went and related to their lord all things that were done. [ : ]then his lord called him, and said to him, evil servant; i forgave you all that debt because you besought me [to do it]. [ : ]ought you not also to pity your fellow-servant, as i pitied you? [ : ]and his lord was displeased, and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all the debt. [ : ]so also will my heavenly father do to you, if you forgive not each one his brother from your hearts. chapter xvii. christ's doctrine of marriage, divorce, etc. [ : ]and when jesus had finished these words he departed from galilee, and came into the bounds of judea beyond the jordan; [ : ]and great multitudes followed him, and he cured them there. [ : ]and the pharisees came to him to try him, and said, is it lawful [for a man] to put away his wife for every cause? [ : ]and he answered and said, have you not read that the creator at the beginning made them male and female? [ : ]and he said, on this account shall a man leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. [ : ]so that they are no longer two but one flesh. what therefore god has yoked together, let not man separate. [ : ]they said to him, why then did moses command us to give a bill of divorcement, and put her away? [ : ]he said to them, moses, on account of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. [ : ]and i tell you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for adultery, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her that is put away, commits adultery. [ : ]the disciples said to him, if the case of a man is thus with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. [ : ]and he said to them, all do not receive this word, but those to whom it is given. [ : ]for there are eunuchs from birth, who were born so from their mother; and there are eunuchs who are made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. he that is able to receive [this doctrine] let him receive it. [ : ]then little children were brought to him that he should put his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. [ : ]but jesus said, suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. [ : ]and he put his hands on them and departed thence. [ : ]and behold one came and said to him, teacher, what good [work] shall i do that i may have eternal life? [ : ]and he said to him, why do you ask me of the good? one is the good. but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. [ : ]he said to him, what? and jesus said, this; you shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not testify falsely; [ : ]honor your father and mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [ : ]the young man said to him, all these have i kept; what do i lack yet? [ : ]jesus said to him, if you will be perfect, go and sell your property, and give to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in heaven; and come and follow me. [ : ]and when the young man heard [this] he went away sad, for he had great possessions. [ : ]and jesus said to his disciples, i tell you truly, that a rich man will enter into the kingdom of heaven with difficulty. [ : ]and again i tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. [ : ]and the disciples hearing this, were greatly astonished, and said, who then can be saved? [ : ]but jesus looking on them, said, with men this is impossible; but with god all things are possible. [ : ]then peter answered and said, behold we have left all and followed you; what shall we have therefore? [ : ]and jesus said to them, i tell you truly, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, shall yourselves also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel; [ : ]and whoever has left brothers or sisters, or a father or mother, or children, or lands or houses, for my name's sake, shall receive many times as much, and inherit eternal life. [ : ]but many first shall be last; and last, first. [ : ]for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers in his vineyard. [ : ]and agreeing with the laborers for a denarius [ cents] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [ : ] and going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the market; [ : ]and he said to them, go also into the vineyard, and whatever is right i will give you. and they went. [ : ]again going out about the sixth and ninth hours, he did likewise. [ : ]and going out about the eleventh hour he found others standing, and said to them, why stand you all the day idle? [ : ]they said to him, because no man has hired us. he said to them, go also into the vineyard. [ : ]and when it was evening the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, call the laborers, and pay them the wages [stipulated], beginning from the last even to the first. [ : ]and those who came about the eleventh hour, received a denarius [ cents] each. [ : ]and those who came first supposed that they should receive more. and they also received a denarius [ cents] each; [ : ]and when they had received it, they complained of the householder, [ : ]saying, these last have worked but one hour, and you have made them equal with us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. [ : ]but he answered and said to one of them, neighbor, i do you no wrong. did you not agree with me for a denarius [ cents]? [ : ]take what belongs to you, and go, for i will give to the last even as to you. [ : ]is it not right for me to do what i will with my own? is your eye evil because i am good? [ : ]so the last shall be first, and the first last. [ : ]and jesus going up to jerusalem, took his twelve disciples aside privately, and said to them on the way, [ : ]behold we go up to jerusalem, and the son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, [ : ]and deliver him to the gentiles, to mock, and scourge, and crucify him; and on the third day he shall be raised. [ : ]then came to him the mother of zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping, and asking a certain thing of him. [ : ]and he said to her, what do you wish? she said to him, say that these my two sons shall sit, one on your right hand, and the other on your left, in your kingdom. [ : ]but jesus answered and said, you know not what you ask. can you drink of the cup of which i am about to drink? they said to him, we can. [ : ]he said to them; you shall drink indeed of my cup; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared by my father. [ : ]and the ten hearing this were displeased with the two brothers. [ : ]but jesus called them to him, and said, you know that the rulers of the gentiles exercise lordship over them, and the great exercise authority over them; but it shall not be so among you. [ : ]but whoever wishes to be great among you, let him be your minister; [ : ]and whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be your servant, [ : ]as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. chapter xviii. christ curing two blind men.--entering jerusalem in triumph, and cursing the fig tree. [ : ]and as they proceeded from jericho a great multitude followed him. [ : ]and behold two blind men who sat by the way, hearing that jesus was passing by cried, saying, have mercy on us lord, son of david! [ : ]and the multitude charged them to be still; but they cried the more, saying, have mercy on us lord, son of david! [ : ]and jesus stopped, and called them and said, what do you wish me to do for you? [ : ]they said to him, lord, that our eyes may be opened. [ : ]and jesus having compassion on them, touched their eyes; and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. [ : ]and when they approached jerusalem, and came to bethphage, at the mount of olives, then jesus sent two disciples, [ : ]and said to them, go into the village opposite to you, and you will immediately find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them, and lead them to me: [ : ]and if any one asks you why, say that the lord has need of them, and he will immediately send them. [ : ] but all this was done that the words spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, who says; [ : ]tell the daughter of zion, behold, your king comes to you, meek, seated on an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. [ : ]and the disciples went and did as jesus commanded them, [ : ]and brought the ass and the colt, and put garments on them, and he sat on them. [ : ]and a vast multitude spread their garments in the way, and others cut branches from the trees and scattered them in the way; [ : ]and the multitudes that went before, and those that followed, cried saying, hosanna to the son of david! blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord! hosanna in the highest [heavens]! [ : ]and when he entered jerusalem the whole city was moved, saying, who is this? [ : ]and the multitude said, this is jesus, the prophet who is from nazareth of galilee. [ : ]and jesus entered into the temple of god, and cast out all that sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the brokers, and the seats of those that sold doves, [ : ]and said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer; but you make it a den of robbers. [ : ]and the blind and crippled came to him in the temple, and he cured them. [ : ]and when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful works which he performed, and the children crying in the temple and saying, hosanna to the son of david! they were displeased, [ : ]and said to him, do you hear what these say? and jesus said to them, yes. have you never read, that out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants, you have perfected praise? [ : ]and he left them, and went out of the city to bethany, and lodged there. [ : ]and returning into the city in the morning he was hungry; [ : ]and seeing a fig tree by the way he went to it, and found nothing on it, except leaves only, and he said to it, let there be no fruit on you forever. and the fig tree immediately withered, [ : ]and the disciples seeing it, wondered and said, how soon is this fig tree withered! [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, i tell you truly, that if you have faith and doubt not, you shall not only do this of the fig tree, but if you should say to this mountain, be taken up and be cast into the sea, it would be done; [ : ]and all things whatever which you ask in prayer believing, you shall receive. chapter xix. christ questioned by the chief priests and elders. the parable of the vineyard. [ : ]and jesus having gone into the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, by what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority? [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, i also will ask you one question, which, if you tell me, i will tell you by what authority i do these things. [ : ]whence was the baptism of john? from heaven or from men? and they reasoned within themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why did you not believe him? [ : ]but if we say from men, we fear the multitude, for all regard john as a prophet. [ : ] and they answered jesus, and said, we do not know. and he said to them, neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. [ : ]but what do you think? a man had two sons; and he went to the first, and said, son, go and work to-day in the vineyard. [ : ]but he answered and said, i will not; but afterwards he repented, and went. [ : ]and he came to the other, and said the same. and he answered and said, i will go sir, but went not. [ : ]which of the two did the will of the father? they said to him, the first. jesus said to them, i tell you truly, that the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of god before you. [ : ]for john came to you in a way of righteousness, and you believed him not; but the publicans and harlots believed him; and when you saw this, you did not afterwards repent, that you might believe him. [ : ]hear another parable: there was a man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge around it, and dug a wine vat in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. [ : ]and when the time of the fruits approached he sent his servants to the husbandmen to receive his fruits. [ : ]and the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. [ : ]again he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them in the same manner. [ : ]and afterwards he sent them his son, saying, they will reverence my son. [ : ]but when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir; come, let us kill him and take his inheritance. [ : ]and they took him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [ : ]when, therefore, the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? [ : ]they said to him, he will inflict on those men a miserable death, and let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render him the fruits in their seasons. [ : ]jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of a corner? this is from the lord, and is wonderful in our eyes? [ : ]i tell you, therefore, that the kingdom of god shall be taken from you, and given to a nation yielding its fruits. [ : ]and the chief priests and pharisees hearing his parables, knew that he spoke of them; [ : ]and they sought to take him, but feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet. chapter xx. the parable of the wedding, and questions of the pharisees and sadducees. [ : ]and jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables saying, [ : ] the kingdom of heaven is like a man, a king, who made a wedding for his son. [ : ]and he sent his servants to call the invited to the wedding, and they would not come. [ : ]again he sent other servants, saying, tell the invited, behold, i have prepared my supper, my oxen and fatted creatures are killed, and all things are ready; come to the wedding. [ : ]but they neglected it, and went away, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise; [ : ]and the rest took his servants and treated them injuriously, and killed them. [ : ]and the king was angry, and sent his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city. [ : ]then he said to his servants, the wedding indeed is ready, but the invited were not worthy. [ : ]go, therefore, to the crossings of the ways, and invite all you find to the wedding. [ : ]and those servants went out into the highways, and collected all whom they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests. [ : ]and the king coming in to see the guests observed there a man who had not on a wedding garment, [ : ]and said to him, friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? and he was speechless. [ : ]then the king said to the servants, bind his feet and hands, and cast him into the darkness outside. there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ : ]for many are called, but few chosen. [ : ]then the pharisees went and took counsel to ensnare him in his words. [ : ]and they sent to him their disciples, with the herodians, saying, teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of god in truth, and care not for any man; for you regard not the face of men. [ : ]tell us, therefore, what you think; is it right to pay tribute to caesar or not? [ : ]jesus knowing their wickedness, said, why do you hypocrites try me? [ : ]show me the tribute money. and they brought him a denarius [ cents]. [ : ]and he said to them, whose is this image and this inscription? [ : ]they said to him, caesar's. then he said to them, give therefore caesar's dues to caesar, and god's to god. [ : ]and hearing, they wondered, and went away and left him. [ : ]on that day the sadducees came to him, who say there is no resurrection, and asked him, [ : ]saying, teacher, moses said, if any one dies having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother. [ : ]now there were with us seven brothers; and the first married, and died; and having no children he left his wife to his brother; [ : ]in like manner also the second, and third, till the seventh; [ : ] last of all the woman died also. [ : ]in the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? for they all had her. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, you err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of god. [ : ]for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are married, but are as angels in heaven. [ : ]but concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by god, saying, [ : ]i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob? god is not a god of the dead, but of the living. [ : ]and the multitudes who heard were astonished at his teaching. [ : ]and the pharisees hearing that he had silenced the sadducees, were assembled together, [ : ]and one of them, a lawyer, asked him, to try him, [ : ]teacher, what is the great commandment in the law? [ : ]and he said to him, you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. [ : ]this is the great and first commandment. [ : ]and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [ : ]on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. [ : ]and the pharisees being assembled together, jesus asked them, [ : ] saying, what do you think of the christ? whose son is he? they said to him, david's. [ : ]he said to them, how then does david in spirit call him lord, saying, [ : ]the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand till i make your enemies your footstool? [ : ]if then david calls him lord, how is he his son? [ : ]and no one was able to answer him a word, neither dared any one after that day to question him farther. chapter xxi. christ denouncing the scribes and pharisees. [ : ]then jesus spoke to the multitudes and his disciples, [ : ]saying, the scribes and pharisees sit in moses' seat. [ : ]all things therefore which they tell you, do and keep. but do not their works. for they say and do not, [ : ]but bind heavy burdens and put them on the shoulders of men, but will not move them with their finger. [ : ]and they do all their works to be seen by men. for they make broad their prayer fillets, and enlarge the fringes, [ : ] and love the first tables at feasts, and the first seats in the synagogues, [ : ]and salutations in the markets, and to be called by men, rabbi. [ : ] but do not you be called rabbi; for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers. [ : ]and call no man your father on the earth, for one is your heavenly father. [ : ]neither be called leaders, for one is your leader, the christ. [ : ]but the greatest of you shall be your servant, [ : ]and whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. [ : ]but woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven before men; for you enter not into it, neither do you suffer those entering to go in. [ : ]woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte; and when he is gained you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. [ : ]woe to you blind guides, who say, whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound. [ : ]fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? [ : ] if a man swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if he swears by the gift which is on it, he is bound. [ : ]fools and blind! for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? [ : ]he then that swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all things on it; [ : ]and he that swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that inhabits it; [ : ]and he that swears by heaven, swears by the throne of god, and by him that sits on it. [ : ]woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. these you ought to do, and not neglect the others. [ : ] blind guides! who strain out a gnat and swallow down a camel. [ : ]woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of plunder and excess. [ : ]blind pharisee! cleanse first that which is in the cup and platter, that its outside may be clean also. [ : ]woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which appear fair without, but within are full of the bones of the dead and of all impurity. [ : ]so also you on the outside appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. [ : ]woe to you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous, [ : ]and say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. [ : ]so that you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets; [ : ]and you have filled up the measure of your fathers. [ : ]serpents, offspring of vipers! how can you escape the judgment of hell? [ : ]therefore, behold, i send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes. some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city; [ : ]that all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous abel to the blood of zachariah, son of bararchiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar, may come upon you. [ : ]i tell you truly, that all these [crimes] shall come on this generation. [ : ]jerusalem, jerusalem, killing the prophets, and stoning those sent to you, how often would i have gathered your children together, as a bird gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not! [ : ]behold, your house is left to you desolate; [ : ]for i tell you that you shall not see me henceforth, till you say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord! chapter xxii. christ predicting the destruction of jerusalem, and the establishment of his kingdom. [ : ]and jesus went out and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, do you not see all these things? i tell you truly, there shall not be left here stone upon stone that shall not be thrown down. [ : ]and as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us when these things shall be; and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the consummation of the world? [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, see that no man deceives you; [ : ]for many shall come in my name, saying, i am the christ, and shall deceive many. [ : ]and you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you be not terrified, for all things must be accomplished; but the end is not yet. [ : ]for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in different places; [ : ]but all these things are the beginning of sorrows. [ : ]then they shall deliver you to affliction, and kill you, and you shall be hated by all nations on my account; [ : ]and then many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and hate one another; [ : ]and many false prophets shall be raised up and deceive many, [ : ]and because wickedness shall abound the love of the many shall become cold: [ : ]but he that endures to the end shall be saved. [ : ]and this good news of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the end come. [ : ]when, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place--let him that reads understand,-- [ : ]then let those in judea flee to the mountains. [ : ]let not him that is on his house come down to take the things from his house; [ : ]and let not him that is in the field return back to take his clothes; [ : ]and woe to those with child and giving nurse in those days! [ : ]but pray that your flight may not be in the winter, nor on the sabbath; [ : ]for at that time there shall be great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world even till now, nor ever shall be. [ : ]and unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved: but on account of the elect those days shall be shortened. [ : ]then if one says to you, behold, here is the christ, or there! believe it not. [ : ]for false christs and false prophets shall be raised up, and shall show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. [ : ]behold, i have told you before. [ : ]if, therefore, they say to you, behold he is in the wilderness, go not forth; behold he is in private rooms, believe it not. [ : ]for as the lightning comes forth from the east, and shines even to the west, so shall the coming of the son of man be. [ : ] wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. [ : ]and immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. [ : ]and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. [ : ]and he shall send his angels with a loud sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other. [ : ]but learn the parable of the fig tree. when its branch is now green, and puts forth leaves, you know that the summer is nigh. [ : ]so also when you see all these things, know that [the son of man] is nigh, at the doors. [ : ]i tell you truly, that this generation shall not pass away till all these things shall be accomplished. [ : ]heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. [ : ]but of that day and hour no man knows, nor the angels of heaven; but my father only. [ : ]and as the days of noah, so shall the coming of the son of man be. [ : ]for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the day that noah entered the ark, [ : ]and knew not till the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the son of man be. [ : ]then two shall be in the field; one is taken and the other left. [ : ]two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken and the other left. [ : ]watch, therefore, for you know not on what day your lord comes, [ : ]but know this, that if the householder had known in what watch the thief comes, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken into. [ : ]therefore be you also ready, for in such an hour as you think not the son of man comes. [ : ]who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the lord has placed over his family to give them food in due season? [ : ]blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. [ : ]i tell you truly, that he will place him over all his estates. [ : ]but if that evil servant says in his heart, my lord delays his coming, [ : ]and begins to beat his fellow-servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, [ : ]the lord of that servant will come on a day when he looks not for him, and at an hour that he knows not of, [ : ]and will punish him with the utmost severity, and appoint his portion with hypocrites. there shall be weeping and gnashing of the teeth. [ : ]then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their own lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom; [ : ]and five of them were foolish, and five wise. [ : ]the foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them; [ : ]but the wise took oil in the vessels with their lamps. [ : ] and while the bridegroom delayed, all slumbered and slept; [ : ]but at midnight there was a cry, behold the bridegroom; go out to meet him. [ : ]then all those virgins arose and trimmed their own lamps. [ : ]and the foolish said to the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps have gone out. [ : ]but the wise answered, saying, [no]; lest there be not enough for us and you; go rather to those that sell, and buy for yourselves. [ : ]and while they went to buy the bridegroom came; and the ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. [ : ]and afterwards the other virgins came, and said, lord, lord, open to us. [ : ]but he answered and said, i tell you truly i know you not. [ : ]watch, therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour. [ : ]for, as a man going abroad called his servants, and delivered to them his estates; [ : ]to one he gave five talents [$ , ], to another two [$ , ], and to another one [$ , ]; to each according to his ability, and immediately went abroad. [ : ]and he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five; [ : ]in like manner, also, he that received the two gained two others; [ : ]but he that received the one went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord's money. [ : ]and after a long time the lord of those servants came, and had a settlement with them. [ : ] and he that received the five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, lord, you committed to me five talents; behold, i have gained five other talents. [ : ]his lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few [talents], i will place you over many: enter into the joy of your lord. [ : ]and he that received the two talents also came to him and said, lord, you committed to me two talents; behold, i have gained two others. [ : ]his lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few [talents], i will place you over many: enter into the joy of your lord. [ : ]and he that received the one talent also came and said, lord, i knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sowed, and gathering where you have not scattered, [ : ]and being afraid i went away and hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have what is yours. [ : ]and his lord answered and said to him, evil and slothful servant, you knew that i reap where i have not sowed, and gather whence i have not scattered? [ : ]and you ought then to have given my money to the brokers, and at my coming, i should have received my own with interest. [ : ]take his talent, therefore, from him, and give it to him that has ten talents; [ : ]for to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from him that has not, even what he has shall be taken away; [ : ]and cast the unprofitable servant into the darkness outside; there shall be weeping and gnashing of the teeth. [ : ]but when the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory, [ : ]and all the nations shall be assembled before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; [ : ]and he shall place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. [ : ]then shall the king say to those on his right hand, come, blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; [ : ]for i was hungry and you gave me food; i was thirsty and you gave me drink; i was a stranger and you took me in; [ : ]naked and you clothed me; i was sick and you visited me; i was in prison, and you came to me. [ : ]then shall the righteous answer him, saying, lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you? or thirsty, and give you drink? [ : ]when did we see you a stranger, and take you in? or naked, and clothe you? [ : ]when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? [ : ]and the king shall answer and say to them, i tell you truly, that inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me. [ : ]then shall he say to those on his left hand, depart from me accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [ : ]for i was hungry and you gave me no food; i was thirsty and you gave me no drink; [ : ] a stranger, and you took me not in; sick and in prison and you visited me not. [ : ]then shall they also answer and say, lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve you? [ : ]then he shall answer them saying, i tell you truly, that inasmuch as you have not done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have not done it to me. [ : ]and these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. chapter xxiii. christ at bethany, the paschal and lord's supper, etc. [ : ]when jesus had finished all these words he said to his disciples, [ : ]you know that after two days is the passover, and the son of man is delivered up to be crucified. [ : ]then the chief priests and the elders of the people were assembled in the court of the chief priest, who was called caiaphas, [ : ]and they took counsel to seize jesus by stratagem, and kill him. [ : ]but they said, not at the feast, lest there be a tumult among the people. [ : ]and jesus being at bethany, in the house of simon the leper, [ : ]a woman came to him having a vase of very costly ointment, and poured it on his head, as he reclined. [ : ]and his disciples seeing it were displeased, and said, why is this waste? [ : ]this could have been sold for much and given to the poor. [ : ]but jesus knowing it, said to them, why do you trouble the woman? for she has done a good work for me; [ : ]for the poor you always have with you, but me you have not always. [ : ]for in putting this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. [ : ]i tell you truly, that wherever this good news is preached in all the word, what this woman has done shall be told for a memorial of her. [ : ]then went one of the twelve called judas iscariot to the chief priests, [ : ]and said, what will you give me to deliver him to you? and they gave him thirty [shekels] of silver [$ . ]. [ : ]and from that time he sought a good opportunity to deliver him up. [ : ]and on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to jesus, saying, where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the passover? [ : ]and he said, go into the city to such a one, and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand; i will keep the passover with you, together with my disciples. [ : ]and the disciples did as jesus commanded them, and prepared the passover; [ : ]and when it was evening he reclined with the twelve. [ : ]and as they were eating, he said, i tell you truly, that one of you will betray me. [ : ]and being grieved exceedingly, they each one began to say to him, lord, is it i? [ : ]but he answered and said, he that dips his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me. [ : ]the son of man goes indeed, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! it would be good for him if that man had not been born. [ : ]and judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, is it i, rabbi? he said to him, as you say. [ : ]and as they were eating jesus took the bread, and having blessed, broke and gave to the disciples, and said, take, eat; this is my body. [ : ] and taking the cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink you all of it; [ : ]this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. [ : ]and i tell you that i will not drink henceforth of this product of the vine, till that day when i drink it with you new in the kingdom of my father. [ : ]and having sung a hymn they went out to the mount of olives. [ : ]then jesus said to them, you will all be offended with me this night; for it is written, i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered; [ : ]but after i have risen i will go before you into galilee. [ : ]and peter answered and said to him, if all men shall be offended with you, i will not. [ : ]jesus said to him, i tell you truly, that this night, before the cock crows, you will deny me thrice. [ : ]peter said to him, if it should be necessary for me to die with you, i will by no means deny you. and all the disciples said the same. chapter xxiv. christ in gethsemane, and before the sanhedrim. [ : ]then jesus went with them to a place called gethsemane, and said to the disciples, sit here, till i go and pray there. [ : ]and taking peter and the two sons of zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and dejected. [ : ]then he said to them, my soul is sorrowful even to death; remain here and watch with me. [ : ]and going forward a little, he fell on his face, and prayed and said, my father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me; but not as i will, but as thou wilt. [ : ]and he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to peter, are you so unable to watch with me one hour? [ : ]watch and pray that you enter not into trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. [ : ]going away again a second time, he prayed, saying, my father, if this cup cannot pass from me unless i drink it, thy will be done. [ : ]and he came and found them sleeping again, for their eyes were heavy. [ : ]and leaving them, again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. [ : ]then he came to the disciples and said to them, do you sleep still and take your rest? behold the hour is at hand, and the son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners. [ : ]arise, let us go; behold, he that betrays me is at hand. [ : ]and while he was yet speaking, behold, judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. [ : ]and he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, the one that i shall kiss is he; take him. [ : ]and immediately coming forward to jesus, he said, hail, rabbi, and kissed him. [ : ]but jesus said to him, comrade, for what have you come? then they came forward, and laid hands on jesus, and took him. [ : ]and behold, one of those with jesus, stretching out his hand, drew his sword, and striking the servant of the chief priest cut off his ear. [ : ]then jesus said to him, put up your sword in its place; for all who take the sword shall perish by the sword. [ : ]do you think that i could not ask my father, and he would furnish me more than twelve legions of angels? [ : ]how then would the scriptures be accomplished, that it must be so? [ : ]at that time jesus said to the multitudes, have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take me? i sat daily teaching in the temple, and you did not take me; [ : ]but all this was done that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. then the disciples all forsook him and fled. [ : ]and having taken jesus, they led him away to caiaphas, the chief priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. [ : ]but peter followed him at a distance, even to the court of the chief priest, and going in sat with the officers to see the end. [ : ]and the chief priests and all the sanhedrim sought false testimony against jesus to kill him, [ : ]and did not find it, though many false witnesses came forward. but afterwards, two coming forward [ : ]said, this man said, i can destroy the temple of god and build it in three days. [ : ] and the chief priest rising up said to him, do you answer nothing? what do these testify against you? [ : ]but jesus was silent. and the chief priest answering, said to him, i adjure you, by the living god, to tell me if you are the christ, the son of god. [ : ]jesus said to him, as you say; but i tell you that hereafter you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. [ : ]then the chief priest rent his clothes, saying, he has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. [ : ]what do you think? and they answered and said, he is worthy of death. [ : ]then they spit in his face, and struck him with their fists, and some struck him with the palms of their hands, [ : ]saying, prophesy to us, christ, who is it that struck you? [ : ]but peter sat without in the court; and a female servant came to him, saying, you also were with jesus the galilean. [ : ]but he denied it before all, saying, i know not what you say. [ : ]and going out into the porch, another [female servant] saw him, and said to those there, this man was also with jesus the nazoraean. [ : ]and again he denied with an oath, saying, i know not the man. [ : ]but after a little while those standing by came forward, and said to peter, certainly you are also one of them, for your speech makes you manifest. [ : ]then he began to curse and swear, saying, i know not the man. and immediately a cock crew; [ : ]and peter remembered the word of jesus, who said, before a cock crows you will deny me thrice; and he went out and wept bitterly. chapter xxv. christ before pontius pilate. [ : ]and when it was morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against jesus to kill him. [ : ]and having bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to pontius pilate, the procurator. [ : ]then judas, who betrayed him, seeing that he was condemned, repenting, returned the thirty shekels of silver [$ . ] to the chief priests and elders, [ : ] saying, i have sinned, betraying innocent blood. but they said, what is that to us? see you to it. [ : ]and throwing down the silver in the temple he departed; and having gone away strangled himself. [ : ]and the chief priests taking the silver said, it is not lawful to put it into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. [ : ]and taking counsel, they bought with it the potter's field for a burying place for strangers. [ : ]for this reason, the field is called a field of blood to this day. [ : ]then was fulfilled the word spoken by jeremiah the prophet, saying; and they took the thirty shekels of silver, the price of him that was prized, whom [men] from the sons of israel set a price upon, [ : ]and gave them for the potter's field, as the lord commanded me. [ : ]and jesus stood before the procurator; and the procurator asked him, saying, are you the king of the jews? and jesus said to him, as you say. [ : ] and when he was accused by the chief priests and elders he answered nothing. [ : ]then pilate said to him, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? [ : ]and he answered him not a word; so that the procurator wondered greatly. [ : ]and at the feast the procurator was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they chose; [ : ]and he then had a noted prisoner called barabbas. [ : ]when, therefore, they were assembled together, pilate said to them, which do you wish me to release to you? barabbas? or jesus, called christ? [ : ]for he knew that they had delivered him up from envy. [ : ]and as he sat on the tribunal his wife sent to him, saying, have nothing to do with that just man, for i have suffered much to-day on his account, from a dream. [ : ]but the chief priests and elders persuaded the people to ask for barabbas, and to destroy jesus. [ : ]and the procurator answered and said to them, which of the two do you wish me to release to you? and they said, barabbas. [ : ]pilate said to them, what then shall i do to jesus, called christ? they all said, let him be crucified. [ : ]but he said, [no]; for what evil has he done? and they cried more vehemently, saying, let him be crucified. [ : ]and pilate seeing that he accomplished nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, i am innocent of the blood of this man; see you to it. [ : ]and all the people answered and said, his blood be upon us and upon our children. [ : ]then he released barabbas to them, and having scourged jesus delivered him up to be crucified. chapter xxvi. christ's death and burial. [ : ]then the soldiers of the procurator taking jesus to the praetorium assembled about him the whole cohort, [ : ]and stripped him, and put on him a crimson cloak, [ : ]and making a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they knelt before him, and mocked him, saying, hail, king of the jews! [ : ]and they spit on him, and took the reed and beat him on his head. [ : ]and when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off from him, and put on him his own clothes, and led him away to crucify him. [ : ]and going out, they found a cyrenian by the name of simon, whom they compelled to bear his cross. [ : ]and coming to a place called golgotha, which is called a place of a cranium, [ : ]they gave him vinegar to drink mixed with gall; and when he had tasted of it he would not drink. [ : ]and having crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots, [ : ]and sat down and watched him there. [ : ]and they put over his head his accusation, written; this is jesus the king of the jews. [ : ]then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. [ : ]and those who went by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, [ : ]and saying, you that destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. if you are the son of god, come down from the cross. [ : ]and the chief priests in like manner also mocked him, with the scribes and elders, and said, [ : ]he saved others, himself he cannot save. if he is the king of israel let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe on him; [ : ]he trusted in god; let him deliver him if he wishes for him; for he said, i am a son of god. [ : ]the robbers also that were crucified with him did the same, and reproached him. [ : ]and from the sixth hour there was darkness on all the land till the ninth hour; [ : ]and at about the ninth hour jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, eli, eli, lama sabachthani? that is, my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? [ : ]and some of those standing there hearing him, said, he calls for elijah. [ : ]and one of them ran immediately to him, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and putting it on a reed gave it to him to drink. [ : ]but the rest said, let him alone; let us see if elijah will come and save him. [ : ]and jesus crying again with a loud voice, gave up the spirit. [ : ]and behold, the vail of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom, and the earth was shaken, and the rocks rent, [ : ]and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of saints that slept arose, [ : ]and going out of the tombs, after his resurrection entered into the holy city, and appeared to many. [ : ]and the centurion and those with him watching jesus, seeing the earthquake, and the [other] events which occurred, were greatly afraid, and said, certainly, this was a son of god. [ : ]and there were many women there, beholding from afar, who had followed jesus from galilee, to wait upon him; [ : ]among whom were mary the magdalene, and mary the mother of james and joses, and the mother of the sons of zebedee. [ : ]and when it was evening a rich man came from arimathea, by the name of joseph, who himself also was a disciple of jesus; [ : ]this man went to pilate and asked for the body of jesus. then pilate commanded it to be given him; [ : ]and joseph took the body, and wrapped it in clean linen, [ : ] and placed it in a new tomb of his which he had excavated in a rock, and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb he went away; [ : ]and mary the magdalene and the other mary were there, sitting opposite to the tomb. chapter xxvii. christ after his resurrection. [ : ]and on the next day, which is after the preparation, the chief priests and pharisees were assembled together to pilate, [ : ]and said, sir, we remember that this deceiver said when he was yet alive, after three days i will rise. [ : ]command, therefore, the tomb to be made safe till the third day, lest his disciples should come and steal him, and say to the people, he is raised from the dead, and the last error be worse than the first. [ : ]pilate said to them, you have a guard; go and make it as safe as you can. [ : ]and they went and made the tomb safe with a guard, having sealed the stone. [ : ]and after the sabbath, when it began to dawn on the first day of the week, came mary the magdalene, and the other mary, to see the tomb. [ : ]and behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. [ : ]and his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow; [ : ]and from fear of him the keepers shook and became like dead men. [ : ]and the angel answered and said to the women, fear not, for i know that you seek jesus the crucified. [ : ]he is not here, for he is raised, as he said. come and see the place where the lord lay, [ : ]and go immediately and tell his disciples that he is raised from the dead; and behold, he will go before you into galilee; there shall you see him. behold, i have told you. [ : ]and going out immediately from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples. [ : ]and behold, jesus also met them, saying, hail! and they approached him, and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. [ : ]then jesus said to them, fear not; go and tell my brothers to go to galilee, and there they shall see me. [ : ]and as they went, behold, some of the guard came into the city and told the chief priests all the things which had happened. [ : ]and being assembled with the elders, and taking counsel, they gave large sums of money to the soldiers, [ : ]saying, say that his disciples came by night and stole him while we slept; [ : ]and if this is heard of by the procurator we will satisfy him and secure you. [ : ]and they took the silver and did as they were told; and this report is circulated among the jews to this day. [ : ]and the eleven disciples went to galilee on the mountain where jesus had appointed them; [ : ]and they saw and worshipped him; but some doubted. [ : ]and jesus coming near spoke to them, saying, all power is given me in heaven and on the earth; [ : ]go and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit; [ : ]teaching them to keep all things which i have commanded you; and behold, i am with you always till the consummation of the world. the gospel of mark. chapter i. the ministry of john the baptist, the baptism of christ, his temptations, and the commencement of his ministry. [ : ]the beginning of the good news of jesus christ, the son of god, [ : ]as it is written in isaiah the prophet; behold, i send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way. [ : ]a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord! make his paths straight. [ : ]john baptized in the wilderness, preaching the baptism of a change of mind for the forgiveness of sins. [ : ]and all the country of judea and all the people of jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the river jordan, confessing their sins. [ : ]and john was clothed with camel's hairs and a leather girdle about his loins, and he eat locusts and wild honey, [ : ]and preached, saying, after me comes one mightier than i, the strings of whose shoes i am not fit to stoop down and untie; [ : ]i have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the holy spirit. [ : ]in those days came jesus from nazareth of galilee, and was baptized in the jordan by john; [ : ]and going up immediately out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the spirit descend like a dove upon him; [ : ]and there was a voice from heaven, you are my beloved son, with whom i am well pleased. [ : ]and the spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness, [ : ]and he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by satan, and was with the beasts; and the angels waited on him. [ : ]and after john was delivered up jesus came into galilee preaching the good news of god, [ : ]saying, the time is completed, and the kingdom of god is at hand; change your minds and believe in the good news. [ : ]and passing along by the lake of galilee, he saw simon, and andrew, simon's brother, casting [a net] into the lake, for they were fishermen. [ : ]and jesus said to them, come after me, and i will make you fishermen of men. [ : ]and immediately leaving their nets they followed him. [ : ]and proceeding a little further on he saw james the son of zebedee, and john his brother; and they were in the ship mending the nets; [ : ]and he immediately called them. and leaving their father zebedee in the ship with the hired men, they went away after him. [ : ]and they entered into capernaum, and immediately on the sabbath he taught in the synagogues. [ : ]and they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. [ : ]and immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an impure spirit, and he cried out, [ : ]saying, what have you to do with us, jesus nazarene? have you come to destroy us? we know you who you are, the holy [son] of god! [ : ]and jesus rebuked him saying, be still, and come out of him. [ : ]and the impure spirit affecting him with convulsions, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. [ : ]and all were astonished, so that they inquired among themselves, saying, what is this? a new teaching with authority, and does he command the impure spirits and they obey him? [ : ]and his fame went out immediately into all the country about galilee. [ : ]and going immediately out of the synagogue, they came into the house of simon and andrew with james and john; [ : ]and simon's mother-in-law was lying with a fever; and immediately they told him of her. [ : ]and coming, he took her by the hand, and raised her up, and the fever immediately left her, and she waited on them. [ : ]and at evening when the sun went down they brought to him all that were sick, and the demoniacs; [ : ]and the whole city was assembled at the door. [ : ]and he healed many that were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and suffered not the demons to say that they knew him. [ : ]and in the morning while it was quite dark he arose and went out, and departed to a solitary place, and there prayed. [ : ]and simon and those with him followed him, [ : ]and said to him, all men seek you. [ : ]and he said to them, let us go elsewhere to the adjoining villages to preach there; because for this purpose have i come. [ : ]and he preached in their synagogues in all galilee, and cast out demons. [ : ]and a leper came to him beseeching him, saying to him, if you will, you can cleanse me. [ : ]and having compassion on him, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, i will; be cleansed. [ : ]and the leprosy immediately left him, and he was cleansed. [ : ]and giving him a strict charge, he immediately sent him away, [ : ]and said to him, see that you say nothing to any one, but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what moses commanded, for a testimony to them. [ : ]and going out he spread and published abroad the report, to such an extent that he [jesus] could no longer go openly into a city, but was without in solitary places; and they came to him from every quarter. chapter ii. christ forgiving sins, eating with publicans and sinners, and his doctrine of fasting, of the sabbath, etc. [ : ]and entering again into capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was in the house. [ : ]and many came together immediately, so that there was no room, not even in the places about the door; and he spoke to them the word. [ : ]and they came to him bringing a paralytic, borne by four; [ : ]and not being able to approach him on account of the multitude, they uncovered the roof where he was, and having made an opening let down the bed on which the paralytic was laid. [ : ]and jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. [ : ]and some of the scribes were sitting there, and reasoned in their minds, [ : ]why does this man speak so? he blasphemes. who can forgive sins but god alone? [ : ]and jesus immediately knowing in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, why do you reason in your minds? [ : ]in what respect is it easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, than to say, arise, take up your bed and walk? [ : ]but that you may know that the son of man has power to forgive sins on the earth, he said to the paralytic, [ : ]i tell you, arise, take your bed and go to your house. [ : ]and he was raised up and immediately taking his bed he went away before all; so that all were astonished, and glorified god, saying, we never saw the like. [ : ]and he went out again by the lake, and all the multitude came to him, and he taught them. [ : ]and passing by he saw levi, the son of alpheus, sitting at the custom house, and said to him, follow me; and he arose and followed him. [ : ]and he was reclining in his house, and many publicans and sinners also reclined with jesus and his disciples, for many also followed him. [ : ]and the scribes and pharisees seeing him eating with sinners and publicans, said to his disciples, why does he eat and drink with sinners and publicans? [ : ]and jesus hearing it, said to them, the well need not a physician, but the ill; i came not to call the righteous, but sinners. [ : ]and the disciples of john and of the pharisees fasted. and they came and said to him, why do the disciples of john and the disciples of the pharisees fast, and your disciples fast not? [ : ]and jesus said to them, can the sons of the bridechamber fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast, [ : ]but days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they shall fast at that time. [ : ]no one sews a piece of undressed cloth on an old garment; if he does the new piece takes away its fullness from the old, and the rent is made worse. [ : ]and no one puts new wine into old bottles; if he does the wine breaks the bottles, and the wine and the bottles are destroyed. [ : ]and he was passing on the sabbath through the grain fields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking heads of grain. [ : ]and the pharisees said to him, see what they do on the sabbath, which it is not lawful to do. [ : ]and he said to them, have you never read what david did, when he had need, and was hungry? both he and those with him? [ : ]how he entered into the house of god under abiathar the chief priest, and eat the show bread, which it was not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? [ : ]and he said to them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath; [ : ]so that the son of man is lord even of the sabbath. [ : ]and he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there having a withered hand. [ : ]and they watched him [to see] if he would cure him on the sabbath, that they might accuse him. [ : ]and he said to the man having the withered hand, arise in the midst. [ : ]and he said to them, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? and they were silent. [ : ]and looking around on them in anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, stretch out your hand. and he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. [ : ]and the pharisees went out immediately with the herodians, and took counsel against him to kill him. [ : ]and jesus went away with his disciples to the lake; and a great multitude followed him from galilee, [ : ]and from jerusalem, and from judea, and from idumea, and beyond the jordan. and those about tyre and sidon, a great multitude, hearing what he did, came to him. [ : ]and he told his disciples to have a boat constantly attend him on account of the multitude, that they might not throng him. [ : ]for he cured many, so that all who had diseases fell down before him, that they might touch him; [ : ]and the impure spirits when they saw him fell down before him, and cried, saying, you are the son of god. [ : ] and he strictly charged them not to make him known. chapter iii. christ calling the twelve apostles, the character of his miracles, etc., and his love for his disciples. [ : ]and he went up on the mountain, and called whom he would; and they went to him. [ : ]and he appointed twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, [ : ]and have power to cast out demons. [ : ]and he gave to simon the name of peter. [he appointed him], [ : ]and james the son of zebedee, and john the brother of james--and he gave them the names of boanerges, which is, sons of thunder-- [ : ]and andrew, and philip, and bartholomew, and matthew, and thomas, and james the son of alpheus, and thaddeus, and simon the zealot, [ : ]and judas iscariot, who also betrayed him. and they came into a house, [ : ]and again a multitude came together, so that they could not eat bread. [ : ]and those with him hearing of it, went out to take him; for they said, he is beside himself. [ : ]and the scribes coming down from jerusalem said, he has beelzebul, and casts out demons by the ruler of demons. [ : ]and calling them, he said to them in parables, how can satan cast out satan? [ : ]and if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; [ : ]and if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand; [ : ]and if satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. [ : ]but no one can enter into the house of a strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. [ : ]i tell you truly, that all sins and blasphemies with which they blaspheme shall be forgiven the children of men; [ : ]but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit shall never have forgiveness, but is the subject of an eternal mistake; [ : ]because they said, he has an impure spirit. [ : ]then came his brothers and his mother, and standing without, sent to him to call him. [ : ]and a multitude sat around him. and they said to him, behold your mother, and your brothers, and your sisters seek you without. [ : ] and he answered them and said, who is my mother, or my brothers? [ : ]and looking round on those sitting about him, he said, behold my mother, and my brothers! [ : ]whoever shall do the will of god, this is my brother, and sister, and mother. chapter iv. christ's parables by the lake, and his stilling a tempest. [ : ]and again he taught by the lake; and a very great multitude came together to him, so that entering into a ship he sat on the lake, and all the multitude were by the lake on the land. [ : ]and he taught them many things in parables, and said to them, in his teaching, [ : ]hear! behold a sower went out to sow; [ : ]and in sowing, some fell on the way, and the birds came and devoured it. [ : ]and some fell on a rocky place, where it had not much earth, and it came up immediately, because it had no depth of earth; [ : ]and when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root it was dried up. [ : ]and some fell among thorns; and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. [ : ]and some fell on good ground, and produced fruit, growing up and increasing, and bore one thirty, one sixty, and one a hundred. [ : ]and he said, he that has ears, let him hear. [ : ]and when he was alone, those about him, with the twelve, asked him the parable. [ : ]and he said to them, to you is given the mystery of the kingdom of god, but to those without all things are in parables; [ : ]that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand, lest at any time they should turn, and be forgiven. [ : ]and he said to them, do you not know this parable? how then will you know all parables? [ : ]the sower sows the word. [ : ]and these are those where the word is sown by the way; and when they hear, satan comes immediately and takes away the word which was sown upon them. [ : ]and these in like manner are those sown on the rocky places; when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy, [ : ]and have no root in themselves, but are temporary [disciples]. then, when affliction or persecution occurs on account of the word, they are immediately offended. [ : ]and those sown among thorns are different. they are those who hear the word, [ : ]and the cares of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires of other things coming in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. [ : ]and these are those sown in good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and bear fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred. [ : ]and he said to them, does a light come to be put under a modius [ . gallon measure], or under a bed? and not to be put in a candlestick? [ : ]for there is nothing hid that shall not be made manifest, nor any thing concealed that shall not come to light. [ : ]if any one has ears to hear, let him hear. [ : ]and he said to them, consider what you hear. with what measure you measure it shall be measured to you, and more shall be given you. [ : ]for whoever has, to him shall be given; and whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away. [ : ]and he said, so is the kingdom of god as a man casts the seeds into the earth, [ : ]and sleeps and wakes, night and day, and the seed germinates, and grows he knows not how. [ : ]the earth produces spontaneously, first the stalk, then the head, then the full wheat in the head. [ : ]and when the wheat delivers itself, he immediately sends out the sickle, because the harvest has come. [ : ]and he said, to what shall i liken the kingdom of god? or with what parable shall i present it? [ : ]it is like a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth is the least of all seeds on the earth; [ : ]but when sown, it comes up, and becomes the greatest of all plants, and produces great branches, so that the birds of heaven can dwell under its shade. [ : ]and with many such parables spoke he the word to them as they could hear; [ : ]but without a parable spoke he not to them; and, privately, he explained all things to his disciples. [ : ]and on that day, when it was evening, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side. [ : ]and dismissing the multitude, they took him as he was in the ship; and other ships also were with him. [ : ]and there was a great tempest of wind, and the waves beat over the ship, so that the ship was already filled. [ : ]and he was in the stern, on the pillow, asleep. and they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we perish? [ : ]and he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the lake, hush! be still! and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [ : ]and he said to them, why are you so fearful? how have you no faith? [ : ]and they were greatly afraid, and said one to another, what man is this, that even the wind and the lake obey him? chapter v. christ curing a demoniac and the woman with a hemorrhage, and raising a dead child. [ : ]and they came across the lake to the country of the gerasenes. [ : ]and as he went out of the ship, a man with an impure spirit immediately met him from the tombs, [ : ]who lived in the tombs, and none could bind him with a chain; [ : ]for he was often bound with fetters and chains, and his chains were broken by him, and his fetters crushed, and no one could subdue him. [ : ]and he was always night and day in the tombs, and in the mountains, crying, and cutting himself with stones. [ : ]and seeing jesus at a distance, he ran and worshipped him, [ : ]and crying with a loud voice, said, what have you to do with me, jesus, son of the most high god? i adjure you, by god, not to torment me. [ : ] for he said to him, impure spirit, come out of the man. [ : ]and he asked him, what is your name? and he said to him, my name is legion, for we are many. [ : ]and they besought him much that he would not send them out of the country. [ : ]and there was there on the mountain a great herd of swine feeding. [ : ]and they besought him, saying, send us to the swine, that we may go into them. [ : ]and jesus immediately permitted them. and the impure spirits going out entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down a precipice into the lake, about two thousand, and were drowned in the lake. [ : ]and those who fed them fled and told it in the city and in the country; and they came out to see what was done. [ : ]and they came to jesus, and saw the demoniac who had the legion, sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [ : ]and those who saw related to them how it had been with the demoniac, and concerning the swine. [ : ]and they besought him to depart from their bounds. [ : ]and entering into the ship, the man that had been a demoniac besought him that he might go with him; [ : ]and he permitted him not, but said to him, go to your home, to your friends, and relate to them what the lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you. [ : ]and he went away and proclaimed in the decapolis what great things jesus had done for him; and all wondered. [ : ]and jesus having crossed again in the ship to the other side, a great multitude came together to him; and he was by the lake. [ : ]and one of the synagogue rulers came, jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet, [ : ] and besought him much, saying, my little daughter is at the point of death; come and lay hands on her, that she may be restored, and she shall live. [ : ]and he went away with him; and a great multitude followed him, and thronged him. [ : ]and a certain woman having a hemorrhage of twelve years, [ : ]and having taken many things by many physicians, and expended all her property, and not being benefited, but rather growing worse, [ : ]hearing of jesus, came in the crowd behind him and touched his clothes. [ : ]for she said, if i can touch his clothes i shall be cured. [ : ]and immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she knew in herself that she was cured of the plague. [ : ]and jesus immediately knowing in himself that a power had gone out from him, turning round in the crowd said, who touched my clothes? [ : ]and his disciples said to him, you see the multitude throng you, and do you say, who touched me? [ : ]and he looked round to see her that had done this. [ : ]and the woman being afraid, and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. [ : ]and he said to her, daughter, your faith has cured you; go in peace, and be well of your plague. [ : ]and while he was yet speaking persons came from the house of the synagogue ruler, saying, your daughter is dead; why trouble the teacher? [ : ] and jesus hearing the word spoken, said to the synagogue ruler, fear not, only believe. [ : ]and he permitted no man to accompany him except peter, and james, and john the brother of james. [ : ]and they came to the house of the synagogue ruler, and saw the tumult, and the people weeping and lamenting much. [ : ]and he went in and said to them, why do you make a tumult and weep? the little child is not dead, but sleeps. [ : ]and they derided him. and putting them all out, he took the father and mother of the little child, and those with him, and went in where the little child was; [ : ]and taking the hand of the little child, he said to her, talitha cum, which is interpreted, girl, i tell you arise; [ : ]and immediately the girl arose and walked about, for she was twelve years old. and they were astonished with great astonishment. [ : ]and he charged them strictly that no one should know it, and directed that food should be given her. chapter vi. christ at nazareth, sending out his twelve apostles to preach, the death of john the baptist, the report of the apostles, feeding five thousand, and walking on the lake. [ : ]and he departed thence, and came into his own country. and his disciples followed him. [ : ]and when it was the sabbath, he taught in the synagogue; and many heard him and were astonished, and said, whence has this man these things? and what is the wisdom given to him? and [what are] these mighty works done by his hands? [ : ]is not this the carpenter? the son of mary? and a brother of james, and joset, and judas, and simon? and are not his sisters here with us? and they were offended with him. [ : ]and jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and with his relations, and in his own house. [ : ]and he could not do any mighty work there, except that he laid hands on a few sick persons, and cured them. [ : ]and he wondered at their unbelief. and he went about the villages in order, teaching. [ : ]and he called the twelve, and sent them out two and two, and gave them power over impure spirits; [ : ]and charged them to take nothing for the way, except a staff only; not bread, nor a provision sack, nor copper in the girdle, [ : ]but to wear sandals, and not to put on two coats. [ : ]and he said to them, where you enter into a house, there remain till you go out thence. [ : ] and whatever place will not receive you, nor hear you, when you go out thence shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them. [ : ]and going out, they preached that [men] should change their minds, [ : ]and cast out many demons, and anointed many sick persons with oil, and cured them. [ : ]and herod the king, heard [of jesus], for his name was widely known, and said, john the baptist has risen from the dead; and on this account the mighty works are performed by him. [ : ]but others said, he is elijah; and others said, he is a prophet, like one of the prophets. [ : ]but herod hearing of him, said, this is john whom i beheaded; he has been raised up. [ : ]for herod had sent and taken john, and, put him bound in prison on account of herodias, his brother philip's wife, because he had married her. [ : ]for john said to herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. [ : ]and herodias was displeased with him, and wished to kill him, but was not able. [ : ]for herod feared john, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he preserved him, and hearing him, did many things, and heard him gladly. [ : ] and on a convenient day, when herod made a supper in honor of his birthday, for his great men, and the chiliarchs, and the first men of galilee, [ : ]the daughter of this herodias came in and danced, and pleased herod, and those that reclined with him. and the king said to the girl, ask me what you will and i will give it to you; [ : ]and he swore to her, whatever you shall ask of me i will give you, to half of my kingdom. [ : ]and she went out and said to her mother, what shall i ask? and she said, the head of john the baptist. [ : ]and coming in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying, i wish you to give me immediately on a plate the head of john the baptist. [ : ]and the king was extremely sorry, but on account of the oaths, and those reclining with him, he was not willing to refuse her. [ : ]and the king immediately sending an executioner, commanded him to bring his head. and he went out and beheaded him in the prison, [ : ]and brought his head on a plate, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. [ : ]and his disciples hearing of it, came and took up his body, and laid it in a tomb. [ : ]and the apostles came together to jesus and reported to him all things, both what they had done and what instructions they had given. [ : ]and he said to them, come to a solitary place by yourselves, and rest a little; for many were coming and going, and there was no convenient time to eat. [ : ]and they went away to a solitary place in the ship by themselves. [ : ]and many saw them going, and knew them; and they ran together there from all the cities on foot, and went before them. [ : ]and going out he saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, for they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and he taught them much. [ : ]and when much time had already passed, his disciples came to him and said, this is a solitary place, and much time has already passed; [ : ]dismiss them, that they may go to the farms and villages around, and buy them something to eat. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, give them something to eat. and they said to him, shall we go and buy two hundred denarii [$ ] worth of bread, and give them to eat? [ : ]and he said to them, how many loaves have you? go and see. and knowing, they said, five, and two fishes. [ : ]and he commanded them to cause all to recline in companies on the green grass. [ : ]and they sat down in squares, by hundreds and by fifties. [ : ]and taking the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them. and he divided the two fishes to all. [ : ]and they all eat, and were filled; [ : ]and they took up of fragments twelve traveling-baskets full, and of the fishes. [ : ] and they that eat the bread were five thousand men. [ : ]and he immediately constrained his disciples to go into the ship, and to go before him to the other side, to bethsaida, while he dismissed the multitude; [ : ]and having dismissed them, he went away to the mountain to pray. [ : ]and when it was evening, the ship was in the midst of the lake, and he alone on the land. [ : ]and seeing them troubled to proceed, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the lake, and wished to pass by them. [ : ]and seeing him walking on the lake, they thought it was an apparition, and cried out, [ : ]for they all saw and were troubled. and immediately he spoke with them, and said to them, be of good courage; it is i; be not afraid. [ : ]and he went up to them into the ship, and the wind ceased, and they were astonished in themselves above measure, and wondered; [ : ]for they understood not concerning the bread, for their heart was hardened. [ : ]and crossing over they came to the land of gennesaret, and came to anchor. [ : ]and going out of the ship, they immediately knew him, [ : ]and ran about through that whole country, and brought those that were sick on beds where they heard that he was. [ : ]and wherever he went, in villages, or cities, or country places, they placed the sick in the markets, and besought him that they might touch the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched him were cured. chapter vii. christ's doctrine of defilement; curing a gentile demoniac, and a deaf and dumb person. [ : ]and the pharisees and some of the scribes having come from jerusalem came together to him, [ : ]and seeing some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, unwashed hands, [they found fault]. [ : ]for the pharisees and all the jews eat not unless they wash their hands with the fist, holding the tradition of the elders. [ : ]and from a market, unless they baptize they eat not; and there are many other [customs] which they have received to hold; baptisms, of cups and sextuses [ - pint measures], and brass vessels, and beds. [ : ]and the pharisees and scribes asked, why do not your disciples conform to the tradition of the elders; but eat bread with defiled hands? [ : ]and he said to them, well did isaiah prophecy of you, hypocrites, as it is written; this people honors me with the lips, but their heart is far from me; [ : ]but in vain do they worship me, teaching for teachings the commandments of men; [ : ]for leaving the commandment of god, you hold the tradition of men. [ : ]and he said to them, well do you reject the commandment of god, to keep your tradition; [ : ]for moses said, honor your father and your mother, and, he that reviles father or mother, let him surely die. [ : ]but you say, if a man says to his father or mother, it is a corban, which is a gift, by whatever you might be profited by me, [he shall be free]; [ : ]and suffer him no longer to do any thing for his father or his mother; [ : ]making the word of god of no effect by your tradition which you have delivered; and many such things you do. [ : ]and again calling all the people, he said to them, hear me, all of you, and understand. [ : ]nothing which being out of a man entering into him, can defile him; but those things which proceed from the man, these are the things which defile the man. [ : ]and when he had gone from the multitude into the house, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. [ : ]and he said to them, are you also so without understanding? do you not understand that nothing which enters into a man from without can defile him, [ : ]because it enters not into his heart, but into the stomach, and goes out to the earth, purifying all aliments? [ : ] but he said, that which comes out of the man, this defiles him; [ : ]for from within, from the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornications, [ : ] thefts, murders, adulteries, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. [ : ]all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man. [ : ]and he rose up, and departed thence to the regions of tyre. and entering into a house he wished no one to know it; and he could not be hid. [ : ]but immediately, a woman whose little daughter had an impure spirit, hearing of him, came and fell down at his feet; [ : ]and she was a greek, a syrophenician by race; and she asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter. [ : ]and he said to her, suffer the children first to be filled; it is not right to take the children's bread, and cast it to the little dogs. [ : ]and she answered and said to him, yes, lord; for even the little dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. [ : ]and he said to her, for this speech, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter. [ : ]and departing to her house, she found the little child laid on the bed, and the demon gone out. [ : ]and again going out of the bounds of tyre, he came through sidon, to the lake of galilee, in the midst of the bounds of decapolis. [ : ]and they brought him a dumb man that stammered, and besought him to put his hand on him. [ : ]and taking him from the multitude by himself, he put his fingers in his ears, and spit, and touched his tongue, [ : ]and looking up to heaven he groaned, and said to him, ephphatha, which is, be opened. [ : ]and immediately his ears were opened, and the cord of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke correctly. [ : ]and he charged them to tell no one; but as much as he charged them, so much the more they proclaimed [his works]. [ : ]and they were astonished above measure, and said, he has done all things well; he makes both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. chapter viii. christ feeding the four thousand, refusing to give a sign from heaven, warning his disciples against the pharisees, curing a blind man, calling forth peter's confession, and predicting his own death. [ : ]in those days, again a very great multitude being [around him], and not having any thing to eat, calling his disciples, he said to them, [ : ]i have compassion on the multitude, because already they have continued with me three days, and have nothing to eat; [ : ]and if i send them fasting to their homes, they will faint by the way, for some of them are from afar. [ : ]and his disciples answered him, whence will one be able to satisfy these with bread here in a wilderness? [ : ]and he asked them, how many loaves have you? and they said, seven. [ : ]and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, and giving thanks, he broke and gave them to his disciples to set before them, and they set them before the people. [ : ]and they had a few small fishes; and having blessed them, he commanded to present them also. [ : ]and they eat and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that remained over, seven store-baskets; [ : ]and they were about four thousand. and he dismissed them. [ : ]and entering immediately into the ship, with his disciples, he came into the parts of dalmanutha. [ : ]and the pharisees went out and questioned him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, to try him. [ : ]and groaning in his spirit, he said, why does this generation seek a sign? i tell you truly, there shall no sign be given to this generation. [ : ]and leaving them, he entered again into the ship, and went away to the other side. [ : ]and they forgot to take bread, and had but one loaf with them in the ship. [ : ]and he charged them, saying, observe and beware of the leaven of the pharisees, and of the leaven of herod. [ : ]and they reasoned with themselves, because they had no bread. [ : ]and jesus knowing it, said to them, why do you reason because you have no bread? do you not yet perceive nor understand? is your heart hardened? [ : ]having eyes, do you not see? and having ears, do you not hear? and do you not remember? [ : ]when i broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many traveling baskets of fragments took you up? they said to him, twelve. [ : ]and when i broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many store-baskets of fragments took you up? and they said, seven. [ : ]and he said to them, do you not yet understand? [ : ]and they came to bethsaida; and they brought him a blind man, and besought him to touch him. [ : ]and taking the hand of the blind man, he brought him out of the village, and spitting on his eyes, and putting his hands on him, he asked him, do you see any thing? [ : ]and looking up he said, i see men, as trees walking. [ : ]then he put his hands on his eyes again, and he looked, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. [ : ]and he sent him to his house, saying, go not into the village. [ : ]and jesus went away, and his disciples, to the villages of caesarea philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, who do men say that i am? [ : ]and they spoke to him, saying, john the baptist; and others, elijah; and others still, one of the prophets. [ : ]and he asked them, and who say you that i am? peter answered and said to him, you are the christ. [ : ] and he charged them to tell no one of him. [ : ]and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes; and be killed, and after three days be raised again. [ : ]and he spoke this word plainly; and peter taking hold of him, rebuked him. [ : ]but turning round, and looking on his disciples, he rebuked peter, and said, get behind me, satan! for you regard not the things of god, but the things of men. [ : ]and calling the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, whoever wishes to follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. [ : ]for whoever wishes to save his life, shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life for my sake, and that of the good news, shall save it. [ : ]for what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his life? [ : ]for what is the exchange for his life? [ : ]for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his father, with the holy angels. [ : ]and he said to them, i tell you truly, that there are some of those standing here, who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of god having come with power. chapter ix. christ transfigured, curing a demoniac, again predicting his death, the principles of his kingdom. [ : ]and after six days jesus took peter, and james, and john, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves alone, and was transfigured before them; [ : ]and his garments became shining, extremely white, so that no fuller on the earth could whiten them. [ : ]and elijah appeared to them; with moses, and they conversed with jesus. [ : ]and peter answered and said to jesus, rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and we will make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for moses, and one for elijah; [ : ]for he knew not what he answered, for they were afraid. [ : ]and a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came from the cloud, this is my beloved son; hear him. [ : ]and looking round immediately they no longer saw any one but jesus alone with them. [ : ]and coming down from the mountain he charged them to tell no man what they had seen, till the son of man should have risen from the dead. [ : ]and they kept the word, inquiring with themselves what the rising from the dead meant. [ : ]and they asked him, saying, why do the scribes say that elijah must first come? [ : ]and he said to them, elijah comes first, and restores all things; as also it is written of the son of man, that he shall suffer many things, and be set at naught; [ : ]but i tell you, that elijah has come, and they have done to him what they wished, as it was written of him. [ : ]and coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes disputing with them. [ : ]and immediately all the multitude seeing him, were highly pleased, and ran forward and saluted him. [ : ]and he asked, what were you disputing about with them? [ : ]and one of the multitude answered him, teacher, i have brought my son to you, having a dumb spirit; [ : ]and wherever it takes him it convulses him, and he foams and grates his teeth, and becomes emaciated. and i spoke to your disciples to cast it out, and they could not. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, o faithless and perverse generation! how long shall i be with you? how long shall i suffer you? bring him to me. [ : ]and they brought him to him. and seeing him, the spirit immediately affected him with convulsions, and he fell on the ground, and rolled about, foaming. [ : ]and he asked his father, how long a time is it since this came upon him? and he said, from a little child; [ : ]and it often casts him into fire, and into waters, to destroy him; but if you are able, help us, and have mercy on us. [ : ]and jesus said to him, if you are able? all things are possible to him that believes. [ : ]and the father of the little child immediately crying out, said, i believe; help my unbelief. [ : ]and jesus seeing that a multitude ran together, rebuked the impure spirit, saying to him, deaf and dumb spirit, i command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more. [ : ]and crying out and affecting him with many convulsions, he went out. and he was like a dead person, so that many said, he is dead. [ : ]but jesus took him by the hand and raised him up, and he stood up. [ : ]and when he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast it out? [ : ]and he said to them, this kind can go out by nothing but prayer. [ : ]and departing thence, he passed through galilee, and desired that no one should know him, [ : ]for he taught his disciples, and said to them, the son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him. and when he is killed, on the third day he shall rise again. [ : ]and they understood not the word, and were afraid to ask him. [ : ]and he came to capernaum; and when he was in the house, he asked them, what did you dispute about on the way? [ : ]and they were silent; for they had disputed with each other on the way as to who was the greatest. [ : ]and he sat down and called the twelve, and said to them, if any one wishes to be first, he shall be last of all, and a servant of all. [ : ]and taking a little child, he put it in the midst of them, and taking it in his arms, said to them, [ : ] whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me, but him that sent me. [ : ]and john spoke to him, saying, teacher, we saw some one casting out demons in your name, who follows not us, and we forbade him. [ : ]and jesus said, forbid him not; for no one will perform a mighty work in my name, and be able lightly to speak evil of me. [ : ]for whoever is not against us is for us; [ : ]and whoever gives you a cup of water because you are christ's, truly he shall not lose his reward. [ : ]and whoever shall offend one of the little ones having faith, it would be better for him if a millstone was put about his neck and he was cast into the sea. [ : ]and if your hand offends you, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than having two hands to go away into hell, into the inextinguishable fire. [ : ]and if your foot offends you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life lame, than having two feet to be cast into hell. [ : ]and if your eye offends you, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of god with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell, [ : ]where the worm dies not and the fire is not extinguished. [ : ] for every man shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. [ : ]salt is good; but if the salt has become insipid, with what will you season it? have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another. chapter x. christ's doctrine of marriage, children and the way of salvation, his death predicted, and sight restored to bartimeus. [ : ]and he arose and went thence into the bounds of judea, and beyond the jordan; and again multitudes came together to him, and again he taught them as he was accustomed. [ : ]and the pharisees came and asked him, to try him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? [ : ]and he answered and said to them, what did moses command you? [ : ]and they said, moses permitted us to write a bill of divorcement and put her away. [ : ]and jesus said to them, because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this ordinance; [ : ]but from the beginning of creation, he made them male and female. [ : ]for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and the two shall be one flesh; [ : ] so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. [ : ]what god therefore has yoked together, let not man separate. [ : ]and his disciples asked him again, in the house, concerning this. [ : ]and he said to them, whoever puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery with her; [ : ]and if a woman puts away her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. [ : ]and they brought him little children that he should touch them; and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. [ : ]but jesus seeing it, was displeased, and said to them, suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of god. [ : ]i tell you truly, that whoever does not receive the kingdom of god as a little child, shall not enter into it. [ : ]and he took them in his arms, and laid his hands on them, and blessed them. [ : ]and as he was going on the way, one ran before and kneeled down to him, and asked him, good teacher, what shall i do to inherit eternal life? [ : ]and jesus said to him, why do you call me good? none is good but one, god. [ : ]you know the commandments; you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not testify falsely, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. [ : ]and he answered and said to him, teacher, all these have i kept from my youth. [ : ]and jesus looking at him, loved him, and said to him, one thing you lack; go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in heaven; and come and take up your cross and follow me. [ : ]and he was grieved at this saying, and went away sad, for he had great possessions. [ : ]and jesus looking around said to his disciples, with what difficulty shall those having riches enter into the kingdom of god! [ : ]and the disciples were astonished at his words. but jesus answered again and said to them, children, with what difficulty shall those who trust in riches enter into the kingdom of god! [ : ]it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. [ : ]and they were greatly astonished, and said to themselves, who then can be saved? [ : ]jesus looking on them, said, with men it is impossible, but not with god; for with god all things are possible. [ : ]peter said to him, behold we have left all things and followed you. [ : ]jesus said, i tell you truly, there is no one who has left a house, or brothers, or sisters, or a mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the sake of the good news, [ : ]who shall not receive a hundred fold now at this present time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the life to come eternal life. [ : ]but many first shall be last, and the last first. [ : ]and they were on the way going up to jerusalem, and jesus went before them; and they were amazed, and afraid, as they followed him. and again taking the twelve aside, he told them the things that were about to befall him; [ : ] behold, we go up to jerusalem, and the son of man will be delivered up to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the gentiles, [ : ]and they will mock him, and spit on him, and scourge him, and kill him, and after three days he shall rise again. [ : ]and james and john, sons of zebedee, came to him, saying, teacher, we wish you to do for us what we will ask of you. [ : ]and he said to them, what do you wish me to do for you? [ : ]and they said to him, grant us that we may sit one on your right hand, and the other on your left, in your glory. [ : ] and jesus said to them, you know not what you ask. can you drink of the cup of which i drink? or be baptized with the baptism with which i am baptized? [ : ] and they said to him, we can. and jesus said to them, you shall drink of the cup of which i drink, and be baptized with the baptism with which i am baptized; [ : ]but to sit on my right hand, or left, is not mine to give but to those for whom it is prepared. [ : ]and the ten, hearing this, were displeased with james and john. [ : ]and jesus called them and said to them, you know that those who desire to rule the gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great men exercise authority over them; [ : ]but it shall not be so with you. but whoever wishes to be great among you, let him be your minister; [ : ]and whoever wishes to be first of you, let him be a servant of all. [ : ]for the son of man also came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. [ : ]and they came to jericho. and as he went from jericho, and his disciples and a great multitude, the son of timeus, bartimeus, a blind beggar, sat by the way. [ : ]and hearing that jesus was the nazarene, he cried, saying, jesus, son of david, have mercy on me. [ : ]and many charged him to be still. but he cried much more, son of david, have mercy on me. [ : ]and jesus stopping, said, call him. and they called the blind man, saying to him, be of good courage; arise, he calls you. [ : ]and he cast aside his garment, and leaping up went to jesus. [ : ]and jesus answered him and said, what do you wish me to do for you? and the blind man said to him, rabboni, that i may receive my sight. [ : ]and jesus said to him, go; your faith has cured you. and he immediately received sight, and followed him in the way. chapter xi. christ entering jerusalem in triumph, cursing the barren fig tree, purifying the temple, inculcating faith in god, and replying to the pharisees. [ : ]and when they came near to jerusalem, at bethphage and bethany, at the mount of olives, he sent two of his disciples, [ : ]and said to them, go into the village opposite to you, and as you enter it you will immediately find a colt tied, on which no man ever sat; untie him and bring him. [ : ]and if any one says to you, why do you do this? say, the lord has need of him, and he will immediately send him. [ : ]and they went and found a colt tied at the door without, at the crossing of the streets, and they untied him. [ : ]and some of those standing there said to them, why do you untie the colt? [ : ]and they said as jesus directed, and they let them go. [ : ]and they brought the colt to jesus, and put on it their clothes, and he sat on it. [ : ]and many spread their clothes in the way; and others cutting branches from the trees spread them in the way; [ : ]and those who went before, and those who followed, cried, hosanna! blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord! [ : ]blessed is the kingdom of our father david, which is coming! hosanna in the highest [heavens]! [ : ]and jesus went into jerusalem, and into the temple, and looking round on all things when it was now evening he went out to bethany with the twelve. [ : ]and on the next day as they returned from bethany he was hungry; [ : ]and seeing a fig tree at a distance having leaves, he went to see if he could find any thing on it. and having come to it, he found nothing except leaves, for it was not time for figs. [ : ]and he spoke and said to it, let no one eat fruit of you forever! and his disciples heard him. [ : ]and they came to jerusalem, and going into the temple he cast out those that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the brokers, and the seats of those that sold doves, [ : ]and permitted no one to carry a vessel through the temple. [ : ]and he taught them, saying, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations; but you have made it a den of robbers. [ : ]and the scribes and chief priests came and sought how they might destroy him, for they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his teaching. [ : ]and when it was evening he went out of the city. [ : ]and passing along in the morning, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. [ : ]and peter remembering, said to him, rabbi, behold the fig tree which you cursed is dried up. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, have faith in god; [ : ]i tell you truly, that whoever shall say to this mountain, be raised up and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says will be done, whatever he says shall be done for him. [ : ]therefore i tell you, all things whatever which you ask in prayer, believe that you shall receive them, and you shall have them. [ : ] and when you stand praying, forgive if you have any thing against any, that your father in heaven may also forgive your offenses. [ : ]and they came again to jerusalem; and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and scribes, and elders came to him, [ : ]and said to him, by what authority do you do these things? or who gave you this authority to do them? [ : ]and jesus said to them, i will ask you one question; answer me, and i will tell you by what authority i do these things. [ : ]the baptism of john; was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. [ : ]and they reasoned with themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say, why did you not believe him? [ : ]but if we say from men, they feared the people, for all considered john as a prophet indeed. [ : ]and they answered and said to jesus, we do not know. and jesus said to them, neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. [ : ]and he said to them, in parables, a man planted a vineyard and made a hedge about it, and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. [ : ]and he sent a servant to the husbandmen at the time to receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard; [ : ] and they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. [ : ]and again he sent another servant to them, and they wounded him on the head, and treated him shamefully. [ : ]and he sent another, and they killed him; and many others, and they beat some, and killed some. [ : ]having yet one beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, they will reverence my son. [ : ]but those husbandmen said among themselves, this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. [ : ]and seizing him, they killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. [ : ]what will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy those husbandmen, and let the vineyard to others. [ : ]have you not read this scripture, the stone which the builders rejected, has become the head of a corner; [ : ]this is from the lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes? [ : ]and they sought to take him, and feared the multitude, for they knew that he spoke this parable against them. and they left him, and went away. [ : ]and they sent to him some of the pharisees and herodians to ensnare him in his words. [ : ]and they came and said to him, teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no one, for you respect not the face of men, but teach the way of god in truth. is it lawful to pay tribute to caesar or not? [ : ]shall we pay? or shall we not pay? but he knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why do you try me? bring me a denarius [ cents], that i may see it. [ : ]and they brought him one. and he said to them, whose is this figure, and the inscription? and they said to him, caesar's. [ : ]and jesus said, render caesar's dues to caesar, and god's to god. and they wondered at him. [ : ]and the sadducees came to him, who say there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, [ : ]teacher, moses wrote to us, that if one's brother dies and leaves a wife, and leaves no child, his brother shall take his wife and raise up children for his brother. [ : ]there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died, and left no child; [ : ]and the second took her, and died leaving no child; and the third in like manner. [ : ]and the seven left no child. last of all, the woman died also. [ : ]in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife shall she be? for the seven had her as a wife. [ : ]jesus said to them, do you not err on this account, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of god? [ : ]for when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are married, but are like angels in heaven. [ : ]but concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of moses, how god spoke to him at the bush, saying, i am the god of abraham, and the god of isaac, and the god of jacob? [ : ]he is not a god of the dead, but of the living; you greatly err. [ : ]and one of the scribes coming forward hearing them disputing, knowing that he answered them well, asked him, what commandment is first of all? [ : ] jesus answered, first is, hear israel, the lord our god is one lord; [ : ]and you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. [ : ]second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. there is no other commandment greater than these. [ : ]and the scribe said to him, well, teacher, you have said truly; there is one [god], and no other but him; [ : ]and to love him with all the heart, and all the understanding, and all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself, is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. [ : ]and jesus seeing him, that he answered understandingly, said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of god; and no one dared to question him more. [ : ]and jesus answered and said, teaching in the temple, how do the scribes say that the christ is the son of david? [ : ]david himself said, by the holy spirit, the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, till i make your enemies your footstool. [ : ]david himself calls him lord, and whence is he his son? and the great multitude heard him gladly. [ : ]and he said to them in his teaching, beware of the scribes who desire to walk in long robes, and desire salutations in the markets, [ : ]and the first seats in the synagogues, and the first places at feasts; [ : ]who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. they shall receive a greater judgment. [ : ]and sitting opposite to the treasury, he observed how the multitude cast copper into the treasury. and many rich men cast in much; [ : ]and one poor widow came and cast in two lepta, which is a quadrans [ mills]. [ : ] and calling his disciples, he said to them, i tell you truly, that this poor widow has cast in more than all who have cast into the treasury. [ : ]for all [others] have cast in of their abundance; but she of her want has cast in all that she had her entire living. chapter xii. christ predicting the destruction of jerusalem, and of the jewish commonwealth. [ : ]and as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, teacher, see what stones, and what buildings! [ : ]and jesus said to him, do you see these great buildings? there shall not be left a stone upon a stone, which shall not be thrown down. [ : ]and as he sat on the mount of olives, opposite to the temple, peter, and james, and john, and andrew, asked him privately, [ : ]tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? [ : ]and jesus said to them, see that no man deceives you; [ : ]for many shall come in my name, saying, i am [the christ], and shall deceive many. [ : ]and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not afraid, for these things must be; but the end is not yet. [ : ]for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in [different] places, and there shall be famines. these are the beginnings of sorrows. [ : ]but take heed to yourselves; they shall deliver you up to sanhedrims, and you shall be beaten in synagogues, and shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. [ : ]and the good news must first be preached to all nations. [ : ]and when they deliver you to afflictions, be not anxious beforehand what you shall say; but whatever is given you in that hour, this speak; for it is not you that speak, but the holy spirit. [ : ]and brother shall deliver brother to death, and father, son; and children shall rise up against their parents and kill them; [ : ]and you shall be hated by all on my account; but he that endures to the end shall be saved. [ : ]and when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, let him that reads understand, then let those in judea flee to the mountains; [ : ]and let not him that is on the house go down into the house, nor enter to take any thing out of his house; [ : ]and let not him that is in the field turn back to take his garment. [ : ]and woe to those with child, and those giving nurse in those days! [ : ]but pray that it may not be in the winter, [ : ]for those days shall be an affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that god created till now, and shall not be. [ : ]and unless the lord had shortened those days no flesh would be saved; but for the elects' sake, whom he has chosen, he has shortened the days. [ : ]and then if any one says to you, behold the christ is here! behold there! believe it not. [ : ]for false prophets shall arise, and perform miracles and wonders, to deceive, if possible, the elect. [ : ]but beware; i have foretold you all things. [ : ]but in those days, after that affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, [ : ]and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers in the heavens shall be shaken. [ : ]and then shall they see the son of man coming in clouds, with great power and glory. [ : ] and then shall he send his angels and gather together the elect, from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. [ : ]but learn the parable of the fig tree. when its branch is now tender and it puts forth leaves, it is known that the summer is nigh; [ : ]so also when you see all these things occur, know that [the son of man] is nigh, at the doors. [ : ]i tell you truly, that this generation shall not pass away till all these things are accomplished. [ : ]heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. [ : ]but of that day, and hour, knows no man, not an angel in heaven, nor the son; but the father. [ : ]observe, watch, for you know not when the time is. [ : ]as a man leaving his house to go abroad, and giving authority to his servants, and to each one his work, commanded the porter to watch, [ : ] watch, therefore, for you know not when the master of the house comes; at evening, at midnight, at the cock crowing, or in the morning; [ : ]lest, coming suddenly, he should find you sleeping. [ : ]and what i say to you, i say to all, watch. chapter xiii. christ at bethany, the conspiracy of judas, the paschal and lord's supper, etc. [ : ]and after two days was the passover and the unleavened bread. and the chief priests and scribes sought how they might take him by deception, and kill him. [ : ]but they said, not at the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people. [ : ]and when he was at bethany, and was reclining at the house of simon the leper, a woman came, having a vase of ointment of genuine nard, extremely costly, and breaking the vase she poured it out on his head. [ : ]and some were displeased, [and said] to themselves, why was this waste of the ointment? [ : ]for this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii [$ ] and given to the poor; and they blamed her. [ : ] but jesus said, let her alone; why do you trouble her? she has performed a good work on me. [ : ]the poor you have always with you, and you can do them good when you will; but me you have not always. [ : ]she has done what she could. she anticipated anointing my body for the burial. [ : ]i tell you truly, that wherever this good news shall be preached in all the world, this also which she has done shall be told for a memorial of her. [ : ]and judas iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him to them. [ : ]and when they heard him they were glad, and promised to give him money. and he sought how he might betray him at a convenient time. [ : ]and on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said to him, where do you wish us to go and prepare to eat the passover? [ : ]and he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, go into the city, and a man shall meet you bearing an earthen pitcher of water. follow him, [ : ]and where he enters in, say to the master of the house, the teacher says, where is the public room in which i may eat the passover with my disciples? [ : ]and he will show you a large upper room, furnished, ready; and there prepare for us. [ : ]and his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them, and prepared the passover. [ : ]and when it was evening he came, with the twelve, [ : ]and as they reclined, and were eating, jesus said, i tell you truly, that one of you who eats with me will betray me. [ : ]and they were sorry, and said to him, one by one, is it i? and another, is it i? [ : ]and he said to them, it is one of the twelve who dips with me in the dish. [ : ]the son of man goes indeed as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! it would be good for him if that man had not been born. [ : ]and as they eat he took the bread, and having blessed, broke and, gave to them, and said, take, this is my body. [ : ]and he took the cup, and having given thanks gave them, and they all drank of it. [ : ]and he said to them, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. [ : ]i tell you truly, that i will drink of the product of the vine no more till that day when i drink it new in the kingdom of god. [ : ]and having sung a hymn they went out to the mount of olives. chapter xiv. christ at the mount of olives, and in gethsemane. [ : ]and jesus said to them, you will all be offended; for it is written, i will smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered; [ : ]but after i am raised i will go before you into galilee. [ : ]but peter said to him, even if all should be offended, yet i will not. [ : ]and jesus said to him, i tell you truly, that to-day, on this night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me thrice. [ : ]and he said, more strongly, if it should be necessary for me to die with you i will by no means deny you; and they all said the same. [ : ]and they came to a place which was called gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, sit here, till i pray. [ : ]and he took peter, and james, and john with him, and began to be amazed and dejected. [ : ]and he said to them, my soul is extremely sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch. [ : ] and going forward a little he fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it was possible, the hour might pass away from him. [ : ]and he said, abba, father, all things are possible to thee. take away this cup from me; but not what i will but what thou wilt. [ : ]and he came and found them sleeping, and said to peter, simon, do you sleep? could you not watch one hour? [ : ]watch and pray that you enter not into trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but flesh is weak. [ : ]and again going away he prayed, saying the same words. [ : ]and again coming he found them sleeping; for their eyes were heavy; and they knew not what to answer him. [ : ]and he came a third time, and said to them, sleep henceforth, and be refreshed. it is enough; the hour has come. behold, the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners! [ : ]arise, let us go; behold, he that betrays me is at hand! [ : ]and immediately, while he was yet speaking, judas the iscariot, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, and scribes, and elders. [ : ]and the traitor had given them this signal, saying, whom i shall kiss, he is the one; take him, and lead him away safely. [ : ]and coming, he immediately approached him, and said, rabbi! rabbi! and kissed him. [ : ]and they laid hands on him and took him. [ : ]and one of those who stood by drew a sword and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his car. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me? [ : ]i was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not take me. but [it was done] that the scriptures might be fulfilled. [ : ]and all forsook him and fled. [ : ]and one young man followed him with a linen cloth wrapped about his naked body. and the young men caught him; [ : ]and leaving the linen cloth he escaped from them naked. chapter xv. christ before the sanhedrim, and before pilate. [ : ]and they led away jesus to the chief priest; and all the chief priests, and elders, and scribes came together to him. [ : ]and peter followed him at a distance, till he came into the court of the chief priest; and he sat with the officers and warmed himself before the light. [ : ]and the chief priests and all the sanhedrim sought testimony against jesus to kill him, and did not find it. [ : ]for many testified falsely against him, but their testimony did not agree; [ : ]and some arose and testified falsely against him, saying, [ : ]we heard him say, i will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days will build another made without hands. [ : ]and neither in this did their testimony agree. [ : ]and the chief priest standing up in the midst asked jesus, saying, do you not answer any thing to what these testify against you? [ : ]and he was silent, and answered nothing. again the chief priest asked him, and said to him, are you the christ, the son of the blessed? [ : ]and jesus said, i am; and you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. [ : ]and the high priest rent his clothes, and said, what further need have we of witnesses? [ : ]you have heard the blasphemy; what do you think? and they all condemned him to be deserving of death. [ : ]and some spit on him; and they blindfolded him, and beat him with the fist, and said to him, prophesy. and the officers beat him with open hands. [ : ]and peter being in the court below, one of the female servants of the chief priest came, [ : ]and seeing peter warming himself, looked at him, and said, you also were with jesus the nazarene. [ : ]but he denied it, saying, i do not know [him]; neither do i know what you say. and he went out into the porch, and a cock crew. [ : ]and the female servant seeing him said to those standing by, this is one of them. [ : ]but he again denied it. and after a short time those standing by again said to peter, you are certainly one of them, for you are also a galilean. [ : ]and he cursed and swore, i know not this man of whom you speak. [ : ]and a cock crew a second time. and peter was reminded of the word, how jesus said to him, before a cock crows twice, you will deny me thrice. and he wept bitterly. [ : ]and immediately in the morning, the chief priests taking counsel with the elders, and scribes, and all the sanhedrim, bound jesus, and brought and delivered him to pilate. [ : ]and pilate asked him, are you the king of the jews? and jesus answered and said to him, as you say. [ : ]and the chief priests accused him of many things. [ : ]and pilate again asked him saying, do you answer nothing? see how many things they charge against you. [ : ]and jesus answered him not any more; so that pilate wondered. [ : ]and at the feast he released to them a prisoner, whomsoever they chose. [ : ]and there was a man called barabbas, bound with the insurgents, who had committed murder in a sedition. [ : ]and the multitude went up and requested as he had always done to them. [ : ]and pilate answered them, saying, do you wish me to release to you the king of the jews? [ : ]for he knew that the chief priests had delivered him up from envy. [ : ]but the chief priests moved the people that he should rather release barabbas to them. [ : ]and pilate again answered and said to them, what, then, do you wish me to do to him whom you call the king of the jews? [ : ]and they cried again, crucify him! [ : ]and pilate said to them, [why]? for what evil has he done? but they cried more violently, crucify him! [ : ]and pilate wishing to satisfy the multitude released to them barabbas; and having scourged jesus delivered him up to be crucified. chapter xvi. christ crucified, his death, burial and resurrection. [ : ]and the soldiers led him away into the court which is the praetorium, and called together all the cohort. [ : ]and they put on him a purple garment, and plaiting a thorny crown put it on him. [ : ]and they saluted him, hail, king of the jews! [ : ]and they struck his head with a reed, and beat him, and kneeling down worshipped him. [ : ]and when they had mocked him they took off the purple garment, and put on him his own clothes, and they led him away to crucify him, [ : ]and compelled one simon, a cyrenian, who was passing along, coming from the country, the father of alexander and rufus, to bear his cross. [ : ]and they brought him to golgotha, which is interpreted a place of a cranium, [ : ]and gave him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. [ : ]and they crucified him, and divided his clothes, casting lots for them which should take any thing. [ : ]and it was the third hour when they crucified him, [ : ]and the inscription of his accusation was written, the king of the jews. [ : ]and they crucified with him two robbers, one on his right hand and the other on his left. [ : ]and those who passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, aha, you that destroy the temple and build it in three days! [ : ]save yourself, and come down from the cross. [ : ]in like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes, said one to another, he saved others; himself he cannot save; [ : ]let the christ, the king of israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. and those crucified with him reproached him. [ : ]and when it was the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the earth till the ninth hour. [ : ]and at the ninth hour jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, eloi! eloi! lama sabachthani? which is interpreted, my god! my god! why hast thou forsaken me? [ : ]and some of those standing by, hearing him, said, see, he calls elijah. [ : ]and one ran, and filled a sponge with vinegar, and putting it on a reed gave it to him to drink, saying, let him alone; let us see if elijah will come to take him down. [ : ]and jesus crying with a loud voice, expired. [ : ]and the vail of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom; [ : ]and the centurion who stood near, opposite to him, seeing that he so expired, said, truly, this man was a son of god. [ : ]and the women also saw from afar, among whom were mary the magdalene and mary the mother of james the less, and of joset, and salome, [ : ]who also followed him when he was in galilee, and waited on him, and many others who had come up with him to jerusalem. [ : ]and when it was now evening, because it was the preparation, which is before the sabbath, [ : ]joseph came, who was from arimathea, an honorable counsellor, who also himself expected the kingdom of god, and went in boldly to pilate and asked for the body of jesus. [ : ]and pilate wondered that he was already dead; and calling the centurion asked him if he had been dead for some time. [ : ]and knowing [his death,] from the centurion, he gave the body to joseph. [ : ]and having bought linen, he took him down and wrapped him in the linen, and placed him in a tomb which was cut from a rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. [ : ]and mary the magdalene and mary the mother of joset saw where he was laid. [ : ]and when the sabbath was passed, mary the magdalene and mary the mother of james, and salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. [ : ] and very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb at the rising of the sun. [ : ]and they said to themselves, who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?-- [ : ]and looking up they saw that the stone was rolled away--for it was very great. [ : ]and coming to the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe; and they were astonished. [ : ]and he said to them, be not astonished; you seek jesus the nazarene, who was crucified. he is raised; he is not here. see the place where they laid him. [ : ]but go, tell his disciples and peter that he goes before you to galilee; there you shall see him as he said to you. [ : ]and they went out and fled from the tomb; and trembling and amazement seized them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid. chapter xvii. an addition by an unknown writer. [ : ]and having arisen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to mary the magdalene from whom he had cast out seven demons. [ : ]she went and told those who had been with him, who were weeping and lamenting; [ : ] and when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they did not believe it. [ : ]afterwards he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked, going into the country. [ : ]and they went and announced it to the rest; they did not believe it. [ : ]and afterwards he appeared to the eleven, as they reclined, and reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not those who had seen him since he rose from the dead. [ : ]and he said to them, go into all the world, preach the good news to all the creation; [ : ]he that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that disbelieves shall be condemned. [ : ]and these signs shall follow those that believe; in my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues, [ : ]they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly [poison] it shall not hurt them; and they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall be well. [ : ]then the lord, after speaking with them, was taken up to heaven, and sat on the right hand of god. [ : ]and they went abroad and preached everywhere, the lord working with them, and confirming the word by the accompanying miracles. the gospel of luke. chapter i. introduction, and the two annunciations. [ : ]since many have undertaken to arrange a complete digest of the things fully believed among us, [ : ]as they delivered them to us who, from the beginning, were eye witnesses and ministers of the word, [ : ]it seemed good to me also, having traced all things accurately from the first, to write in order to you, most excellent theophilus, [ : ]that you may know the certainty of the words concerning which you have been taught. [ : ]in the days of herod the king of judea, there was a certain priest by the name of zachariah, of the class of abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of aaron, and her name was elizabeth. [ : ]and they were both righteous before god, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless. [ : ] and they had no son, because elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. [ : ]and when he was performing the priest's office in the order of his class before god, it fell to his lot, [ : ]according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the lord to burn incense; [ : ]and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of incense. [ : ]and an angel of the lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense; [ : ]and zachariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. [ : ]and the angel said to him, fear not, zachariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife elizabeth shall bear you a son; and you shall call his name john. [ : ]and he shall be to you a joy and rejoicing; and many shall rejoice at his birth; [ : ]for he shall be great in the sight of the lord, and shall not drink wine and strong drink, but shall be filled with the holy spirit even from his birth; [ : ]and many of the children of israel shall he turn to the lord their god. [ : ]and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the lord. [ : ] and zachariah said to the angel, by what shall i know this? for i am an old man, and my wife advanced in years. [ : ]and the angel answered and said to him, i am gabriel, who stand before god; and i was sent to speak to you, and to tell you this good news. [ : ]and behold you shall be silent, and not able to speak, till the day these things are accomplished; because you have not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time. [ : ]and the people waited for zachariah, and wondered that he staid so long in the temple. [ : ]and when he came out he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. and he made signs to them, and continued dumb. [ : ]and when the days of his service were completed he departed to his house. [ : ]and after these days elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and hid herself five months, saying, [ : ]thus has the lord dealt with me, in the days in which he looked upon me to take away my reproach among men. [ : ]and in the sixth month the angel gabriel was sent by god to a city of galilee, by the name of nazareth, [ : ]to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david; and the name of the virgin was mary. [ : ]and coming in to her, he said, hail, favored one! the lord is with you! [ : ]and she was troubled at his word, and doubted what this salutation meant. [ : ]and the angel said to her, fear not, mary, for you have found favor with god. [ : ]and behold you shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall call his name jesus. [ : ]he shall be great, and shall be called the son of the most high. and the lord god shall give him the throne of david his father, [ : ]and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. [ : ]and mary said to the angel, how shall this be, since i know not a man? [ : ]and the angel answered and said to her, the holy spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the most high shall overshadow you; and on that account the holy child shall be called the son of god. [ : ]and behold elizabeth, your relative, even she is pregnant with a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her called barren; [ : ]for nothing is impossible with god. [ : ] and mary said, behold, i am the servant of the lord! let it be to me according to your word. and the angel departed from her. chapter ii. marys visit to elizabeth, and the birth of john. [ : ]and mary arose in those days and went in haste to the mountainous country, to the city of juda. [ : ]and she went unto the house of zachariah and saluted elizabeth. [ : ]and when elizabeth heard the salutation of mary, the babe leaped in her womb. and elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit, [ : ]and cried with a loud voice, and said, blessed are you among women! and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [ : ]and whence is this to me, that the mother of my lord has come to me? [ : ]for, behold, when the voice of your salutation came to my ears, the babe leaped in my womb with exultation. [ : ] and blessed is she that believed; for there shall be an accomplishment of the words spoken to her by the lord. [ : ]and mary said, my soul magnifies the lord, [ : ]and my spirit exults in god my saviour; [ : ]for he has looked on the low condition of his servant; for, behold, from this time all generations shall call me blessed, [ : ] because the mighty one has done great things for me, and holy is his name; [ : ]and his mercy is to generations and generations of them that fear him. [ : ]he has made strong his arm; he has scattered the proud with the thought of their hearts; [ : ]he has brought down the mighty from thrones, and exalted the humble; [ : ]he has filled the hungry with goods, and sent the rich away empty. [ : ]he has helped israel his servant, and remembered his mercy, [ : ] as he said to our fathers, to abraham and his posterity forever. [ : ]and mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. [ : ]and when elizabeth's time to bear had fully come, she bore a son; [ : ]and her neighbors and relatives heard that the lord had magnified his mercy to her, and congratulated her. [ : ]and they came on the eighth day to circumcise the little child, and called it by the name of its father, zachariah. [ : ]and his mother answered and said, no; but he shall be called john. [ : ] and they said to her, there is no one of your relations who is called by this name; [ : ]and they made signs to his father, what he wished it to be called. [ : ]and asking for a writing-tablet, he wrote, saying, his name is john. and all wondered. [ : ]and his mouth was immediately opened, and his tongue [loosed], and he spoke and blessed god. [ : ]and fear came on all living around them. all these things were talked of in all the mountainous country of judea. [ : ]and all who heard laid them to heart, saying, what then is this child to be? for the hand of the lord was also with him. [ : ]and zachariah his father was filled with the holy spirit, and prophesied, saying, [ : ]blessed is the lord, the god of israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people, [ : ]and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of david his servant; [ : ]as he said by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old; [ : ]a salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, [ : ]to perform his mercy with our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, [ : ]the oath which he swore to abraham our father, [ : ]to grant us without fear, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, to serve him [ : ]in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. [ : ]and you, little child, shall be called a prophet of the most high; for you shall go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways, [ : ]to give a knowledge of salvation to his people, with a forgiveness of sins, [ : ]on account of the compassionate mercies of our god, by which a morning from on high has visited us, [ : ]to illuminate those sitting in darkness and the shade of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace. [ : ]and the child grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to israel. chapter iii. the birth of christ, his infancy and childhood. [ : ]in those days there went out an ordinance from caesar augustus that a census should be taken of all the world. [ : ]this first census was taken when cyrenius was proconsul of syria. [ : ]and all went to be enrolled, each one to his own city. [ : ]and joseph went up from galilee, from the city of nazareth, to judea, to the city of david, which is called bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of david, [ : ]to be enrolled with mary his espoused [wife,] who was with child. [ : ]and while they were there the days for her delivery were completed; [ : ]and she bore her first-born son, and wrapped him in bandages, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the khan. [ : ]and there were shepherds in that country staying in the fields and watching their flock by night. [ : ]and behold, an angel of the lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. [ : ]and the angel said to them, fear not; for, behold, i bring you good news of a great joy, which shall be for all people. [ : ]for to you was born to-day in the city of david, a saviour who is the anointed lord. [ : ]and this shall be a sign to you. you shall find the babe wrapped in bandages, lying in a manger. [ : ]and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising god, and saying, [ : ]glory to god in the highest [heavens], on earth peace, and among men good will! [ : ]and when the angels had departed from them to heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us go now to bethlehem, and see this thing which has occurred, which the lord has made known to us. [ : ]and they came in haste, and found mary and joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. [ : ]and when they saw it they related the word spoken to them concerning this child; [ : ] and all who heard wondered at the things told them by the shepherds. [ : ]but mary kept all these words, revolving them in her mind. [ : ]and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising god for all that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. [ : ]and when eight days were completed, [the time] to circumcise him, his name was called jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [ : ]and when the days of their purification were completed according to the law of moses, they carried him up to jerusalem to present him to the lord, [ : ]as it is written in the law of the lord that every male which is a first born shall be called holy to the lord, [ : ]and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. [ : ]and behold, there was a man at jerusalem whose name was simeon; and this man was just and pious, waiting for the consolation of israel, and the holy spirit was on him. [ : ]and he was informed by the holy spirit that he should not see death till he had seen the lord's anointed. [ : ]and he came by the spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child jesus, to do according to the custom of the law concerning him, [ : ]he also took it in his arms, and blessed god, and said, [ : ]now, master, dismiss thy servant according to thy word, in peace; [ : ]for my eyes have seen thy salvation, [ : ]which thou hast prepared before all people; [ : ]a light for enlightening gentiles, and a glory of thy people israel. [ : ]and his father and mother wondered at the words spoken of him. [ : ]and simeon blessed them, and said to mary his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall and rise of many in israel, and for a sign spoken against, [ : ]and a sword shall pierce your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. [ : ]and there was anna, a prophetess, a daughter of phanuel, of the tribe of asher; she was far advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; [ : ]and she had been a widow eighty-four years, and departed not from the temple, serving god night and day with fastings and prayers. [ : ]and she coming by at that time, praised god, and spoke of him [the child] to all who expected a redemption in jerusalem. [ : ]and when they had finished all things according to the law of the lord, they returned to galilee, to their city nazareth. [ : ]and the little child grew, and became strong, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of god was upon it. [ : ]and his parents went up yearly to jerusalem to the feast of the passover. [ : ]and when he was twelve years old they went up to jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast. [ : ]and having completed the days, on their return, the child jesus remained behind at jerusalem. and his parents knew it not. [ : ]but supposing that he was in the company went a day's journey and sought him among their relations and acquaintances. [ : ]and not finding him they returned to jerusalem to seek him. [ : ]and after three days they found him sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers, both hearing and questioning them. [ : ]and all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers. [ : ]and when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, son, why have you dealt thus with us? behold, your father and i have sought you with sorrow. [ : ]and he said to them, why did you seek me? did you not know that i must be in [the courts] of my father? [ : ]and they understood not the word which he spoke to them. [ : ]and he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject to them. and his mother kept all these things in her heart. [ : ]and jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with god and men. chapter iv. the ministry of john the baptist, christ's baptism and genealogy. [ : ]and in the fifteenth year of the reign of tiberius caesar, pontius pilate being procurator of judea, and herod tetrarch of galilee, and philip his brother tetrarch of ituria and the country of trachonitis, and lysanias being tetrarch of abilene, [ : ]under the chief priest annas, and caiaphas, the word of god came to john the son of zachariah, in the wilderness. [ : ]and he went into all the region about the jordan, preaching the baptism of a change of mind for the forgiveness of sins; [ : ]as it is written in the book of the words of isaiah the prophet; a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the lord, make his paths straight. [ : ]every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; [ : ]and all flesh shall see the salvation of god. [ : ]then john said to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, offspring of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [ : ] bear fruits, therefore, worthy of a change of mind. and say not within yourselves, we have abraham for a father; for i tell you that god is able from these stones to raise up children to abraham. [ : ]and already also the axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree therefore which bears not good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. [ : ]and the multitudes asked him, saying, what then shall we do? [ : ]and he answered and said to them, let him that has two coats give to him that has none; and let him that has food do the same. [ : ]and publicans, also, came to be baptized, and said to him, teacher, what shall we do? [ : ]and he said to them, do nothing more than is appointed for you. [ : ]and the soldiers asked him, saying, and what shall we do? and he said to them, oppress, and falsely accuse, no one; and be contented with your wages. [ : ]and the people being in expectation, and all doubting in their minds concerning john, whether he was the christ, [ : ]john answered all, saying, i indeed baptize you with water, but a mightier than i is coming, the strings of whose shoes i am not fit to untie; he shall baptize you with the holy spirit and fire. [ : ]his winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into his storehouse; but the chaff he will burn with an inextinguishable fire. [ : ]with many other exhortations, also, he preached the good news to the people. [ : ]but herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him on account of herodias his brother's wife and for all the evil deeds which herod had done, [ : ]added also this to all, and shut up john in prison. [ : ]and when all the people were baptized, jesus also being baptized, and praying, heaven was opened, [ : ]and the holy spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove upon him; and there was a voice from heaven, saying, you are my beloved son; with you i am well pleased. [ : ]and jesus was about thirty years old, being, as was supposed, the son of joseph, the son of eli, [ : ]the son of matthat, the son of levi, the son of melchi, the son of jannai, the son of joseph, [ : ]the son of mattathias, the son of amos, the son of nahum, the son of esli, the son of naggai, [ : ] the son of maath, the son of mattathias, the son of shimei, the son of josech, the son of juda, [ : ]the son of joannas, the son of resa, the son of zerubabel, the son of shealtiel, the son of neri, [ : ]the son of melchi, the son of addi, the son of cosam, the son of elmodam, the son of er, [ : ]the son of joshua, the son of eliezer, the son of jorim, the son of matthat, the son of levi, [ : ]the son of simeon, the son of judah, the son of joseph, the son of jonan, the son of eliakim, [ : ]the son of meleas, the son of mennas, the son of mattatha, the son of nathan, the son of david, [ : ]the son of jesse, the son of obed, the son of boaz, the son of salmon, the son of naason, [ : ]the son of aminadab, the son of admein, the son of arni, the son of hezron, the son of pharez, the son of judah, [ : ]the son of jacob, the son of isaac, the son of abraham, the son of terah, the son of nahor, [ : ]the son of serug, the son of reu, the son of peleg, the son of heber, the son of selah, [ : ]the son of cainan, the son of arphaxad, the son of shem, the son of noah, the son of lamech, [ : ]the son of methusaleh, the son of enoch, the son of jared, the son of mahaleel, the son of cainan, [ : ]the son of enos, the son of seth, the son of adam, the son of god. chapter v. christ's fasting, temptation, and the commencement of his ministry. [ : ]and jesus, full of the holy spirit, returned from the jordan, and was led by the spirit in the wilderness, [ : ]being tempted by the devil forty days. and he eat nothing in those days; and when they were completed he was hungry. [ : ]and the devil said to him, if you are the son of god, command this stone to become bread. [ : ]and jesus answered him, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone. [ : ]and taking him up he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [ : ]and the devil said to him, all this power will i give you, and the glory of these; for it is given to me, and i give it to whom i will. [ : ]if you, therefore, will worship me, it all shall be yours. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to him, it is written, you shall worship the lord your god, and him alone shall you serve. [ : ]and he brought him to jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, if you are the son of god, cast yourself down from here; [ : ]for it is written, he will charge his angels concerning you, to guard you, [ : ]and they shall bear you up on their hands, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to him, it is said, you shall not try the lord your god. [ : ]and the devil having finished all the temptation, departed from him for a time. [ : ]and jesus returned with the power of the spirit to galilee; and his fame went out into all the region around. [ : ]and he taught in their synagogues, glorified by all. [ : ]and he came to nazareth, where he was brought up, and entered, according to his custom on the sabbath day, into the synagogue, and stood up to read. [ : ]and the book of isaiah the prophet was given to him. and unrolling the book he found the place where it was written, [ : ]the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim a release to the captives, and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the oppressed away free, [ : ]to proclaim an acceptable year of the lord. [ : ]and folding up the book, he gave it to the minister, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were steadfastly fixed upon him. [ : ]and he said to them, to-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. [ : ]and they all bore him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded from his mouth, and said, is not this the son of joseph? [ : ]and he said to them, you will undoubtedly tell me this proverb; physician, cure yourself; things which we heard were done in capernaum, do also here in your own country. [ : ]and he said, i tell you truly, that no prophet is acceptable in his own country. [ : ]i also tell you of a truth, that there were many widows in israel in the days of elijah, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, so that there was a great famine over all the land; [ : ]and to none of them was elijah sent, but to sarepta, of sidon, to a widow woman. [ : ]and there were many lepers in israel in the time of elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed but naaman the syrian. [ : ]and all in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath; [ : ]and they arose and cast him out of the city, and led him even to the brow of the mountain on which the city was built, to precipitate him down. [ : ]but he passed through the midst of them and went away. chapter vi. christ at capernaum, and his preaching and miracles in galilee. [ : ]and he went down to capernaum, a city of galilee, and taught them on the sabbath; [ : ]and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with power. [ : ]and there was a man in the synagogue having a spirit of an impure demon; and he cried with a loud voice, [ : ]alas! what have you to do with us, jesus nazarene? have you come to destroy us? i know you who you are, the holy [son] of god! [ : ]and jesus rebuked him, saying, hush! and come out of him. and the demon casting him into the midst came out of him, doing him no injury. [ : ]and they were all amazed, and talked with each other, saying, what word is this, that with authority and power he commands the impure spirits, and they come out? [ : ]and a report of him went abroad into every place in the country about. [ : ]and going up from the synagogue he entered into the house of simon. and simon's mother-in-law was sick with a violent fever; and they asked him in her behalf. [ : ]and standing over her he rebuked the fever, and it left her. and she immediately arose and waited on them. [ : ]and when the sun went down, all who had friends sick with various diseases brought them to him; and putting his hands on each one of them he cured them; [ : ]and demons also went out of many, crying and saying, you are the son of god! and he rebuked them, and charged them not to say that they knew him to be the christ. [ : ]and when it was day, coming out he went to a solitary place; and the multitudes sought him, and came to him, and urged him not to depart from them. [ : ]but he said to them, i must preach the good news of the kingdom of god in the other cities also, because for this am i sent; [ : ]and he preached in the synagogues of galilee. [ : ]and as the multitude pressed upon him to hear the word of god, and he was standing by the lake of gennesaret, [ : ]he saw two boats standing by the lake; and the fishermen having gone out of them were washing their nets. [ : ] and entering into one of the ships, which was simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land, and sat down and taught the multitudes from the ship. [ : ]and when he ceased speaking, he said to simon, put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a draught. [ : ]and simon answered and said to him, master, we have labored all night and taken nothing; but at your word i will let down the net. [ : ]and doing this he enclosed a great number of fishes; and their net broke. [ : ]and he made signs to his companions in the other ship to come and help him; and they came, and filled both ships, so that they began to sink. [ : ]and simon peter seeing it fell on his knees to jesus, saying, depart from me, lord, for i am a sinful man. [ : ]for he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of fishes which they had taken. [ : ]so also were james and john, sons of zebedee, who were partners with simon. and jesus said to simon, fear not; from this time you shall take men. [ : ]and bringing the ships to the land they left all and followed him. [ : ]and he was in one of the cities, and behold, a man full of leprosy; and seeing jesus he fell on his face, and asked him, saying, lord, if you will, you can cleanse me. [ : ]and stretching out his hand he touched him, saying, i will; be cleansed. and immediately the leprosy left him. [ : ]and he charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest, and present an offering for your purification, as moses commanded, for a testimony to them. [ : ]and the report concerning him went abroad extensively; and great multitudes came together to hear him, and to be cured of their diseases. [ : ] and he withdrew into solitary places and prayed. chapter vii. christ forgiving sins, calling levi, eating with publicans and sinners, and expounding the laws of fasting and the sabbath. [ : ]and on one of those days he was teaching, and the pharisees and teachers of the law were present, having come from every village of galilee, and of judea, and from jerusalem; and the power of the lord was present to cure them. [ : ]and behold, men bringing on a bed a man who was paralytic; and they sought to bring him in to place him before him. [ : ]and not finding how they could bring him in, on account of the multitude, they went up on the house, and let him down through the tiles, with his little bed, into the midst before jesus. [ : ]and seeing their faith, he said, man, your sins are forgiven you. [ : ]and the scribes and pharisees began to reason, saying, who is this that speaks blasphemies? who can forgive sins, but god alone? [ : ]and jesus knowing their thoughts answered and said to them, why do you reason in your minds? [ : ]in what is it easier to say, your sins are forgiven you, than to say, arise and walk? [ : ]but that you may know that the son of man has power on the earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, i tell you, arise, and take up your little bed, and go to your house. [ : ]and he arose immediately before them, and taking up that on which he had lain departed to his house, glorifying god. [ : ]and all were astonished, and glorified god, and were filled with fear, saying, we have seen strange things to-day. [ : ]and after these things he went out and saw a publican by the name of levi, sitting at the custom house, and said to him, follow me. [ : ]and leaving all he arose and followed him. [ : ]and levi made a great feast for him at his house; and there was a great multitude of publicans and of others who reclined with them. [ : ]and the pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with publicans? [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, the well need not a physician, but the ill. [ : ]i have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to a change of mind. [ : ]and they said to him, the disciples of john fast much and make prayers; and likewise those of the pharisees; but yours eat and drink. [ : ]and he said to them, can you make the children of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? [ : ]but days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them; then shall they fast in those days. [ : ]and he spoke also a parable to them; that no one puts a piece of a new garment on an old garment; if he does, the new both tears the old, and that from the new disagrees with the old. [ : ]and no one puts new wine into old bottles; if he does, the new wine will break the bottles, and itself be poured out, and the bottles be destroyed. [ : ]but new wine must be put into new bottles. [ : ]and no one drinking old wine desires new; for he says the old is good. [ : ]and on the second-first sabbath he went through the grain fields, and his disciples picked the heads and eat, rubbing them in their hands. [ : ]and some of the pharisees said, why do you do what is not lawful on the sabbath? [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, have you not read what david did when he was hungry, he and those with him? [ : ]he entered into the house of god, and took the show bread, and eat, and gave to those with him, which it was not lawful for any to eat, except the priests alone. [ : ]and he said to them, the son of man is lord even of the sabbath. [ : ]and on another sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught. and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. [ : ]and the scribes and pharisees watched him [to see] if he would perform a cure on the sabbath, that they might find [something of which] to accuse him. [ : ]but he knew their thoughts, and said to the man having the withered hand, arise, and stand in the midst. and he arose and stood. [ : ]and jesus said to them, i will ask you whether it is lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do evil? to save a life or to destroy? [ : ]and looking round upon them all he said to him, stretch out your hand. and he did so; and his hand was restored. [ : ]and they were filled with madness, and conferred with each other as to what they should do to jesus. chapter viii. christ calling the twelve apostles. [ : ]and in those days he went out on the mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to god. [ : ]and when it was day he called his disciples; and having chosen twelve of them, whom he named apostles, [ : ] simon, whom he also named peter, and andrew his brother, james and john, philip and bartholomew, [ : ]matthew and thomas, james, the son of alpheus, and simon called zealot, [ : ]judas the brother of james, and judas iscariot, who was the traitor, [ : ]he went down with them and stood on a plain; and a multitude of his disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all judea and jerusalem, and the sea coast of tyre and sidon, who came to hear him, and to be cured of their diseases; [ : ]and those troubled with impure spirits were cured. [ : ]and all the multitude sought to touch him, for a power went out from him and cured all. [ : ]and he lifted up his eyes upon his disciples and said, blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of god. [ : ]blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. [ : ]blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude you from their company, and reproach and cast out your names as evil, on account of the son of man. [ : ]rejoice in that day, and be exceedingly glad; for behold, your reward is great in heaven. for in this manner did their fathers to the prophets. [ : ]but woe to you rich! for you have your consolation. [ : ]woe to you full! for you shall be hungry. woe to you who laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep. [ : ]woe, when all men speak well of you! for in this manner did their fathers of the false prophets. [ : ]but i tell you that hear, love your enemies; do good to those that hate you; [ : ]bless those that curse you; pray for those that injure you; [ : ] to him that strikes you on the cheek, present also the other; and forbid not him who takes away your cloak to take your coat also. [ : ]give to every one that asks; and from him who takes that which is yours, ask it not back. [ : ]and as you wish men to do to you, do you also in like manner to them. [ : ]and if you love those that love you, what thanks have you? for sinners also love those that love them. [ : ]and if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks have you? for sinners do the same. [ : ]and if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? sinners also lend to sinners, to receive back as much again. [ : ]but love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be children of the most high; for he is good to the unthankful and evil. [ : ]be merciful, as your father is merciful; [ : ]and judge not, and you shall not be judged; and condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; release, and you shall be released; [ : ]give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. for with what measure you measure it shall be measured back to you. [ : ]and he spoke also a parable to them; can the blind lead the blind? will not both fall into the pit? [ : ]a disciple is not above his teacher, but every perfect one will be as his teacher. [ : ]and why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, and observe not the beam in your own eye? [ : ]how can you say to your brother, brother, let me cast out the speck in your eye, and you yourself see not the beam in your own eye? hypocrite, cast out first the beam from your eye, and then you will see clearly to cast out the speck from your brother's eye. [ : ]for there is no good tree which bears bad fruit, nor, again, a bad tree which bears good fruit. [ : ]for every tree is known by its own fruit. for they do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from brambles. [ : ]the good man out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil man out of the evil brings forth evil; for out of the abundance of the heart its mouth speaks. [ : ]and why do you call me lord! lord! and do not what i say? [ : ]every one that comes to me, and hears my words and does them, i will show you whom he is like. [ : ]he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid the foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the stream beat against that house and could not shake it, because it was built on a rock. [ : ]but he that hears and does not, is like a man building a house on the earth, without a foundation, against which the stream beat, and it fell immediately; and the ruin of that house was great. chapter ix. christ at capernaum and nain, his reply to john the baptist, etc. [ : ]when he had finished all his discourses in the hearing of the people, he entered into capernaum. [ : ]and a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick, and about to die; [ : ]and he hearing of jesus, sent to him the elders of the jews, asking him to come and cure his servant. [ : ]and having come to jesus they besought him earnestly, saying, he is worthy for whom you should do this; [ : ]for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue. [ : ]and jesus went with them. and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying, lord, trouble not yourself, for i am not fit that you should come under my roof. [ : ]wherefore i did not think myself worthy to come to you; but say the word, and my servant shall be cured; [ : ] for i also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and i say to one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it. [ : ]and jesus hearing these things wondered at him, and turning around said to the multitude following him, i tell you i have not found in israel so great a faith; [ : ]and those sent returning to the house found the sick servant well. [ : ]and on the next day he went to a city called nain, and a considerable number of his disciples and a great multitude went with him. [ : ]and as he approached the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carried out, an only son of his mother, and she was a widow. and a great multitude from the city was with her. [ : ]and seeing her, the lord had compassion on her, and said to her, weep not. [ : ]and approaching he touched the bier, and those who bore it stopped. and he said, young man, i tell you, arise! [ : ]and the dead sat up, and began to speak; and he gave him to his mother. [ : ]and fear seized all; and they glorified god, saying, a great prophet is raised up among us; and, god has visited his people. [ : ]and this report of him went out into all judea, and into all the region around. [ : ]and his disciples told john of all these things. [ : ]and calling two of his disciples, john sent to the lord, saying, are you he that was to come, or look we for another? [ : ]and coming to him the men said, john the baptist has sent us to you to say, are you he that was to come, or look we for another? [ : ]and in that hour he cured many of diseases, and plagues, and of evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to them, go and tell john what you have seen and heard; that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them; [ : ]and blessed is he who shall not be offended with me. [ : ]and when the messengers of john had gone away, he said to the multitudes concerning john, what went you out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with a wind? [ : ]but what went you out to see? a man dressed in fine clothes? behold, those who wear fine clothes, and live in luxury, are in royal palaces. [ : ]but what went you out to see? a prophet? yes, i tell you, and more than a prophet. [ : ]this is he of whom it is written; behold, i send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. [ : ]i tell you, that among those born of women there is no greater prophet than john; but the least in the kingdom of god is greater than he. [ : ]and all the people who heard this, and the publicans, justified god, having received the baptism of john. [ : ]but the pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of god as to themselves, not having been baptized by him. [ : ][and he said], to what then shall i compare the men of this generation? and what are they like? [ : ]they are like little children sitting in the market, and they call to each other, saying, we have played on pipes to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not lamented. [ : ] for john the baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, he has a demon. [ : ]the son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say, behold a glutton and a wine drinker! a friend of publicans and sinners! [ : ] and wisdom is justified by all her children. chapter x. christ anointed by the woman, his travels and attendants, the parable of the sower. [ : ]and one of the pharisees asked him to eat with him; and going into the pharisee's house he reclined. [ : ]and behold, a certain woman in the city, a sinner, knowing that he was reclining in the house of the pharisee, brought a vase of ointment, [ : ]and standing behind, by his feet, weeping, washed his feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head; and she kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. [ : ]and the pharisee who invited him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying, if this was a prophet he would have known who and what kind of a woman this is who touches him; for she is a sinner. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to him, simon, i have something to say to you. and he said, teacher, say it. [ : ]a certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred denarii [$ ], and the other fifty [$ ]. [ : ]and having nothing to pay, he gave [the debt] to both. tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? [ : ]simon answered and said, i suppose the one to whom he gave most. and he said to him, you have judged rightly. [ : ]and turning to the woman, he said to simon, do you see this woman? i came into your house; you gave me no water for my feet; but she has wet my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hairs. [ : ]you gave me no kiss; but she, from the time that i came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. [ : ]you anointed not my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with ointment. [ : ]therefore, i tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she has loved much; but he to whom little is forgiven, loves little. [ : ]and he said to her, your sins are forgiven. [ : ]and those who reclined with him said within themselves, who is this that forgives sins also? [ : ]and he said to the woman, your faith has saved you; go in peace. [ : ]and he travelled in order through the cities and villages, proclaiming and preaching the good news of the kingdom of god; and the twelve were with him, [ : ]and certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, mary called magdalene, from whom went out seven demons, [ : ]and joanna the wife of chusa, herod's steward, and susannah, and many others, who served them with their property. [ : ]and a great multitude having come together, and persons having come to him from every city, he said in a parable, [ : ]a sower went out to sow his seed; and in his sowing, some fell by the way, and was trodden down, and the birds of heaven devoured it; [ : ]and some fell on the rock, and springing up it was dried up, because it had no moisture; [ : ]and some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns springing up choked it; [ : ]and some fell on good ground, and growing up bore fruit a hundred fold. having said these things, he cried, he that has ears to hear, let him hear. [ : ]and his disciples asked him, what does this parable mean? [ : ]and he said, it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of god, but to others in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. [ : ]but the parable signifies this; the seed is the word of god; [ : ]those by the way are those who hear, then comes the devil and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved; [ : ]those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and they have no root; they believe for a time, and in a time of trial fall away; [ : ] and that which fell among thorns signifies those who hear, and going away are choked by cares and riches and the pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. [ : ]but that on the good ground signifies those who, with a noble and good heart, hearing the word retain it, and bear fruit persistently. [ : ]but no one lights a candle and covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it in a candlestick, that those coming in may see the light. [ : ]for there is nothing hid which shall not be manifest, nor concealed which shall not be known and come to light. [ : ]see therefore how you hear; for whoever has, to him shall be given, and whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even what he seems to have. [ : ]and his mother and brothers came to him, and were not able to approach him on account of the multitude. [ : ]and it was told him by some, saying, your mother and your brothers stand without, wishing to see you. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of god and perform it. chapter xi. christ stilling a tempest, curing a demoniac, raising the daughter of jairus. [ : ]and on one of those days both he and his disciples went into the ship; and he said to them, let us cross over to the other side of the lake. and they set sail; [ : ]and as they were sailing he fell asleep. and a tempest of wind came down on the lake, and they were flooded with water, and in peril. [ : ] and they came and awoke him, saying, master! master! we are perishing! and he arose, and rebuked the wind and the waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. [ : ]and he said to them, where is your faith? and they were afraid, and wondered, saying one to another, what man then is this, that he commands the winds and the water and they obey him? [ : ]and they sailed to the country of the gerasenes, which is opposite to galilee. [ : ]and as he went out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had had demons for a long time; and he wore no clothes, and remained not in a house, but in the tombs. [ : ]and seeing jesus, he cried out, and worshipped him, and said with a loud voice, what have you to do with me, jesus, son of the most high god? i beg of you not to torment me; [ : ]for he had commanded the impure spirit to go out of the man; for it had often seized him; and he had been bound with chains, and confined with fetters; and breaking his bonds he had been driven by the demon into solitary places. [ : ]and jesus asked him, saying, what is your name? and he said, legion; because many demons had entered into him. [ : ]and he besought him not to command them to go into the abyss. [ : ]and there was a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and they besought him to permit them to enter into them; and be permitted them. [ : ]and the demons going out of the man entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the precipice into the lake and were drowned. [ : ]and those who fed them, seeing what was done, fled and reported it in the city and in the country places. [ : ]and they went out to see what had happened, and came to jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting, clothed and of a sound mind, at the feet of jesus; and they were afraid. [ : ]and those who had seen related to them how the demoniac had been cured. [ : ]and all the multitude of the region about the gerasenes requested him to depart from them, because they were seized with great fear. and entering into the ship, he returned. [ : ]and the man from whom the demons had gone out desired to be with him; but he sent him away, saying, [ : ]return to your house, and declare how great things god has done for you. and he went away proclaiming in all the city what great things jesus had done for him. [ : ]and when jesus returned the multitude received him; for they were all waiting for him. [ : ]and behold, a man by the name of jairus came; and he was the ruler of a synagogue. and falling at the feet of jesus, he besought him to come to his house, [ : ]for he had an only daughter twelve years old, and she was dying. and when he was going, the multitudes thronged him. [ : ]and a woman having a hemorrhage of twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be cured by any one, [ : ]coming up behind, touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her flow of blood was stopped. [ : ] and jesus said, who touched me? and all denying, peter and those with him said, master, the multitudes press upon and throng you, and do you say, who touched me? [ : ]and jesus said, some one touched me; for i perceived a power going from me. [ : ]and the woman seeing that she was not concealed, came trembling, and falling down related to him in the presence of all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was immediately cured. [ : ]and he said to her, daughter, your faith has cured you; go in peace. [ : ]while he was yet speaking some one came from the synagogue ruler's house and said to him, your daughter has died; trouble not the teacher. [ : ] but jesus hearing it answered him, fear not; only believe, and she shall be cured. [ : ]and when he entered into the house, he permitted no one to go in with him, except peter, and john, and james, and the father and mother of the child. [ : ]and all wept and lamented her. but he said, weep not; she is not dead, but sleeps. [ : ]and they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. [ : ]and taking her hand, he called, saying, child, arise! [ : ]and her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. and he commanded food to be given her. [ : ]and her parents were astonished; and he commanded them to tell no one what was done. chapter xii. christ endowing the twelve apostles with miraculous powers, the perplexity of herod, the feeding of the five thousand, peter's confession, etc. [ : ]and calling together the twelve, he gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases, [ : ]and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of god, and to cure the sick. [ : ]and he said to them, take for the way neither a staff nor a provision sack, nor bread, nor silver, and have not two coats apiece. [ : ]and into whatever house you enter, there remain and thence depart. [ : ]and whoever does not receive you, when you go out of that city shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony to them. [ : ]and they went out and passed through the villages, everywhere proclaiming the good news and performing cures. [ : ]and herod the tetrarch heard all things which were done, and was perplexed, because it was said by some that john was raised from the dead, [ : ] and by some that elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had arisen. [ : ]and herod said, john i beheaded; but who is this, of whom i hear such things? and he sought to see him. [ : ]and the apostles returned and reported to him all things which they had done. and taking them aside, he departed privately to the city called bethsaida. [ : ]and the multitudes knowing it followed him. and having received them, he spoke to them of the kingdom of god, and cured those having need of cure. [ : ] and the day began to decline; and the twelve came and said to him, dismiss the multitude, that they may go to the villages and farms around, and lodge, and find provisions; for we are here in a solitary place. [ : ]and he said to them, give them something to eat. and they said, we have not more than five loaves and two fishes, unless we go and buy provisions for all this multitude; [ : ]for they were about five thousand men. and he said to his disciples, make them recline in companies of fifty each; [ : ]and they did so, and caused them all to recline. [ : ]and taking the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. [ : ]and they eat and were all filled; and there was taken up what remained over to them, twelve traveling-baskets of fragments. [ : ]and when he was praying alone, the disciples came to him, and he asked them, saying, who do the multitudes say that i am? [ : ]and they answered and said, john the baptist; and some elijah, and others that one of the old prophets has arisen. [ : ]and he said to them, who do you say that i am? and peter answered and said, the christ of god. [ : ]and he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one; [ : ]saying, the son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. [ : ]and he said to all, if any one wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [ : ]for whoever wishes to save his life, shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it. [ : ]for what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and destroys himself, or loses his life? [ : ]for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the son of man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and that of the father, and of the holy angels. [ : ]and i tell you of a truth, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of god. chapter xiii. christ transfigured, curing a demoniac, and reproving ambition. [ : ]and about eight days after these words, taking peter, and james, and john, he went up on the mountain to pray. [ : ]and while he was praying, the appearance of his face was changed, and his clothes became white and shining; [ : ]and behold, two men conversed with him, who were moses and elijah, [ : ] who appearing in glory spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish at jerusalem. [ : ]and peter and those with him were oppressed with sleep; and when they awoke they saw his glory, and the two men standing with him. [ : ] and when they were departing from him, peter said to jesus, master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles; one for you, and one for moses, and one for elijah; not knowing what he said. [ : ]and when he had said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid when they entered into the cloud. [ : ]and there was a voice from the cloud, saying, this is my chosen son; hear him. [ : ]and when the voice had passed, jesus was found alone. and they were silent and told no man in those days any thing of what they had seen. [ : ]and on the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. [ : ]and behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, teacher, i desire you to look upon my son, for he is my only child; [ : ]and behold a spirit takes him, and suddenly cries out and convulses him, with foam and crushing him departs from him with difficulty; [ : ]and i desired your disciples to cast it out, and they could not. [ : ]and jesus answered and said, o faithless and perverse generation! how long shall i be with you, and suffer you! bring your son hither. [ : ]and while he was coming, the demon tore him with spasms and convulsed him. and jesus rebuked the impure spirit, and cured the child, and gave him back to his father. [ : ]and they were all astonished at the majesty of god. and while all wondered at all things which he did, he said to his disciples, [ : ]commit these words to your ears; for the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. [ : ]but they understood not this saying; and it was concealed from them, that they might not perceive it; and they feared to ask him concerning this saying. [ : ]and there arose a debate among them, which of them should be the greatest. [ : ]and jesus perceiving the debate in their minds, took a little child and set it by him, [ : ]and said to them, whoever receives this little child in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives him that sent me. for he that is least among you all, he shall be the greatest. [ : ]and john answered and said, master, we saw one casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he follows not with us. [ : ]and jesus said to him, forbid him not; for whoever is not against us is for us. chapter xiv. christ on his last journey from galilee to jerusalem. [ : ]and when the days were completed for his being taken up, he set his face firmly to go to jerusalem. [ : ]and he sent messengers before him; and they went, and entered into a village of the samaritans, to prepare for him. [ : ]and they did not receive him, because he was going to jerusalem. [ : ] and his disciples james and john seeing it, said, lord, do you wish us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them? [ : ]and he turned around and rebuked them; and they went to another village. [ : ]and as they were traveling on the way, one said to him, i will follow you wherever you go. [ : ]and jesus said to him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven places of shelter; but the son of man has not where to lay his head. [ : ]and he said to another, follow me. and he said, lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. [ : ]but he said to him, let the dead bury their dead, but do you go and proclaim abroad the kingdom of god. [ : ]and another also said, lord, i will follow you, but permit me first to bid farewell to those in my house. [ : ]but jesus said, no man putting his hand on the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of god. [ : ]and after these things the lord designated seventy others also, and sent them out, two by two, before his face, into every city and place where he was about to come. [ : ]and he said to them, the harvest indeed is great, but the laborers few; pray, therefore, the lord of the harvest to thrust out laborers into his harvest. [ : ]go; behold i send you as lambs in the midst of wolves. [ : ]carry neither a purse, nor provision sack, nor sandals; and salute no one by the way. [ : ]and into whatever house you enter, first say, peace to this house! [ : ]and if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. [ : ]and in the same house remain, eating and drinking the things with them; for the laborer is worthy of his reward. go not about from house to house. [ : ]and into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; [ : ]and cure the sick in it, and say to them, the kingdom of god has come nigh to you. [ : ] and into whatever city you enter, and they receive you not, going out into its streets, say, [ : ]even the dust of your city which adheres to our feet we wipe off for you; but know this, that the kingdom of god is at hand. [ : ]i tell you, it shall be more tolerable for sodom in that day than for that city. [ : ]woe to you, chorazin! woe to you, bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in tyre and sidon which have been done in you, they would long ago have changed their minds, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [ : ]but it shall be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the judgment, than for you. [ : ]and you, capernaum, even to heaven will you be exalted? even to hades shall you be cast down. [ : ]he that hears you, hears me; and he that rejects you, rejects me; and he that rejects me, rejects him that sent me. [ : ]and the seventy returned with joy, saying, lord, even the demons are subject to us by your name. [ : ]and he said to them, i saw satan fall like lightning from heaven. [ : ]behold, i give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means injure you; [ : ]but in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. [ : ]in the same hour he rejoiced in spirit, and said, i thank thee father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to babes. yes, father, for so it has seemed good in thy sight. [ : ]and turning to his disciples, he said, all things are delivered to me by my father; and no one knows who the son is, but the father; and who the father is but the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. [ : ]and turning around to his disciples he said privately, blessed are the eyes which see what you see! [ : ]for i tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things which you hear, and have not heard them. chapter xv. the way of salvation, mary's choice, and lessons on prayer. [ : ]and behold, a certain lawyer stood up to try him, saying, teacher, what shall i do to inherit eternal life? [ : ]and he said to him, what is written in the law? how do you read? [ : ]and he answered and said, you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. [ : ] and he said to him, you have answered well; do this, and you shall live. [ : ]but he, wishing to justify himself, said to jesus, and who is my neighbor? [ : ]and jesus replied and said, a certain man went down from jerusalem to jericho, and fell among robbers, who both stripped him and inflicted blows upon him, and went away leaving him half dead. [ : ]and, providentially, a certain priest went down that way, and seeing him passed by on the other side. [ : ]and in like manner a levite also, being at the place, came and saw him, and passed by on the other side. [ : ]but a certain samaritan, on a journey, came where he was, and seeing him had compassion on him; [ : ]and he came and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and putting him on his own beast, brought him to a khan, and took care of him. [ : ]and on the next day, putting out two denarii [ cents], he gave them to the khan-keeper, and said, take care of him, and whatever you expend more, when i return i will pay you. [ : ]which of these three think you was a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? [ : ]and he said, he that had mercy on him. then said jesus to him, do you go and do likewise. [ : ]and as they were pursuing their journey he entered into a certain village. and a woman by the name of martha received him into her house. [ : ] and she had a sister called mary, and she sat at the feet of the lord and heard his word. [ : ]but martha was distracted with much serving, and came and said, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? tell her, therefore, to help me. [ : ]and the lord answered and said to her, martha, martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things, [ : ]but of one thing there is need; and mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. [ : ]and as he was in a certain place praying, when he ceased one of his disciples said to him, lord, teach us to pray, as john also taught his disciples. [ : ]and he said to them, when you pray, say, father, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; [ : ]give us daily our essential bread; [ : ]and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive every one who is indebted to us; and bring us not into trial. [ : ]and he said to them, which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight, and say, friend, lend me three loaves, [ : ]for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and i have nothing to set before him; [ : ]and he will answer from within, and say, trouble me not, for the door is already shut, and my little children are with me in bed, i cannot arise and give you; [ : ]i tell you if he will not arise and give him on account of being his friend, yet, on account of his importunity, he will arise and give him as many as he needs. [ : ]and i tell you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; [ : ]for every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. [ : ] and what father is there of you, who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks also for a fish, will for a fish give him a serpent? [ : ]or if he asks also for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [ : ]if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the father from heaven give the holy spirit to them that ask him. chapter xvi. christ defends the divine character of his miracles, and denounces the pharisees. [ : ]and he cast out a demon, and it was dumb. and when the demon had gone out, the dumb spoke; and the multitudes wondered. [ : ]but some of them said, he casts out demons by beelzebul, the ruler of demons; [ : ]and others, trying him, asked of him a sign from heaven. [ : ]but he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is desolated, and house falls upon house. [ : ]and if satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say that i cast out demons by beelzebul. [ : ]but if i by beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? they, therefore, shall be your judges. [ : ]but if by a finger of god i cast out demons, then the kingdom of god has come upon you. [ : ]when a strong man armed keeps his court, his goods are in peace; [ : ]but when a stronger man than he comes upon him, and overcomes him, he takes away all his arms in which he trusted, and distributes his spoils. [ : ]he that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters. [ : ]when an impure spirit has gone out of a man, it passes through places destitute of water, seeking a rest; and not finding one, says, i will return to my house from which i came out. [ : ]and coming, it finds it swept and adorned. [ : ]then it goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself; and they come and dwell there; and the last condition of that man is worse than the first. [ : ]and when he was saying these things, a certain woman from the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, blessed is the mother that bore you, and the breasts which you nursed! [ : ]and he said, yes indeed, blessed are those that hear the word of god and keep it. [ : ]and multitudes being assembled, he said, this generation is an evil generation. it seeks for a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of jonah. [ : ]for as jonah was a sign to the ninevites, so also shall the son of man be to this generation. [ : ]the queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon, and behold, a greater than solomon is here. [ : ]the men of nineveh shall arise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they changed their minds at the preaching of jonah, and behold, a greater than jonah is here. [ : ]no one lights a candle and puts it in a secret place, or under a modius [ . gallon measure], but on a candlestick, that all who go in may see the light. [ : ]the light of the body is the eye; when, therefore, your eye is sound, your whole body is light; but when your eye is evil, your whole body is dark. [ : ]see, therefore, that the light which is in you be not darkness. [ : ]if, therefore, your whole body is light, not having any part dark, the whole will be light, as when a candle lights you clearly. [ : ]and when he was speaking, a certain pharisee asked him to breakfast with him; and he went in and immediately sat down. [ : ]and the pharisee seeing him, wondered that he was not first baptized before breakfast. [ : ] and the lord said to him, now you pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and plate, but your inside is full of plunder and wickedness. [ : ]senseless men! did not he that made the outside make also the inside? [ : ]but give the things within in charity, and behold, all things are pure to you. [ : ]but woe to you, pharisees! for you tithe mint, and rue, and every kind of plant, and omit justice and the love of god. these things you ought to do, and not to omit those. [ : ]woe to you, pharisees! for you love the first seat in the synagogues, and salutations in the markets. [ : ]woe to you! for you are like concealed tombs; and men walk over them and know it not. [ : ]and one of the lawyers answered and said to him, teacher, in saying these things you reproach us also. [ : ]and he said, woe to you, lawyers! for you load men with burdens difficult to be borne, and you yourselves will not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. [ : ]woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them; [ : ]therefore you are witnesses, and approve the deed of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build. [ : ]therefore also the wisdom of god said, i will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall kill and persecute, [ : ] that the blood of all the prophets which has been poured out since the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, [ : ]from the blood of abel to the blood of zachariah, who perished between the altar and the house. yes, i tell you, it shall be required of this generation. [ : ]woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you do not enter in yourselves, and you forbid those entering. [ : ]and when he had gone out thence the scribes and pharisees were extremely angry, and questioned him on many subjects, [ : ]watching him, to catch something from his mouth. chapter xvii. christ's doctrine of hypocrisy, of the providence of god, of worldly cares, and of the times. [ : ]at that time, the multitude being assembled by ten thousands, so that they trod one on another, he said to his disciples, beware, first, of the leaven of the pharisees, which is hypocrisy; [ : ]for there is nothing concealed that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known. [ : ]whatever, therefore, you have said in the darkness, shall be heard in the light; and what you have spoken to the ear in private rooms, shall be proclaimed on the houses. [ : ]and i tell you, my friends, fear not those that kill the body, and after this have [power] to do nothing more. [ : ]but i will show you whom to fear; fear him, who after killing has power to cast into hell; yes, i tell you, fear him. [ : ]are not five sparrows sold for two assarions [ cents], and one of them is not forgotten before god? [ : ]but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. fear not, therefore, for you are of more value than many sparrows. [ : ]and i tell you, that whoever shall confess me before men, him will the son of man confess before the angels of god; [ : ]but he that has denied me before men, shall be denied before the angels of god. [ : ]and every one that speaks a word against the son of man shall have forgiveness; but he that blasphemes against the holy spirit shall not be forgiven. [ : ]and when they bring you to the synagogues, and powers, and authorities, be not anxious how you shall defend yourselves, or what you shall say; [ : ]for the holy spirit shall teach you in that hour what you ought to say. [ : ]and one of the multitude said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the inheritance. [ : ]and he said to him, man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? [ : ]and he said to them, see, and beware of all covetousness; for one's life depends not on the abundance of his property. [ : ]and he told them a parable, saying, the farm of a certain rich man produced abundantly; [ : ]and he reasoned in himself, saying, what shall i do, for i have no place where i shall bring together my fruits? [ : ]and he said, i will do this; i will take down my storehouses and build greater; and there will i bring together all my produce and my goods; [ : ]and i will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years rest, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. [ : ]but god said to him, foolish man, this night they shall require your soul from you; and who then will have the goods which you have provided? [ : ]so is every one that lays up treasures for himself and is not rich in god. [ : ]and he said to his disciples, i tell you, therefore, be not anxious for your soul what you shall eat, nor for the body what you shall put on. [ : ]is not the soul more than the food, and the body than the clothing? [ : ]consider the ravens; for they neither sow nor reap, and they have no private room, no storehouse; and god feeds them. how much are you better than the birds! [ : ]and which of you can add a cubit to his stature? [ : ]and if you cannot do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? [ : ]consider the lilies; how they neither spin nor weave; but i tell you that solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them. [ : ]and if god so clothes the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, men of little faith? [ : ]and seek not what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and be not of a doubtful mind; [ : ]for all these things do the nations of the world seek; and your father knows that you need them. [ : ]but seek his kingdom, and these shall be added to you. [ : ]fear not, little flock, for your father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. [ : ]sell your property and bestow charity; make yourselves purses that become not old, and a treasury that fails not, in heaven, where no thief approaches, nor moth destroys; [ : ]for where your treasury is, there will your heart be also. [ : ]stand with your loins girded, and your candles lighted, [ : ]and be like men waiting for the coming of their lord, when he shall return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. [ : ] blessed are those servants whom their lord when he comes shall find watching. i tell you truly, that he will gird himself, and cause them to recline, and he will come and wait upon them. [ : ]and if he comes in the second watch, and comes in the third watch, and finds them thus, blessed are they. [ : ]but know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief comes, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. [ : ]be you also ready; for in an hour when you think not the son of man comes. [ : ]and peter said to him, lord, do you speak this parable to us, or also to all? [ : ]and the lord said, who then is a faithful, a wise steward, whom the lord shall place over his family, to give them their proper food in due time? [ : ]blessed is that servant whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. [ : ]i tell you truly, that he will set him over all his property. [ : ]but if that servant says in his heart, my lord delays to come, and begins to beat the younger servants, and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, [ : ]the lord of that servant will come in a day that he looks not for him, and at an hour that he knows not of, and will punish him severely, and give him his part with the faithless. [ : ]and that servant who knew his lord's will and prepared not himself, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; [ : ]but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. and from any one to whom much is given, much will be demanded; and of him with whom men have deposited much, they will ask more. [ : ]i have come to send a fire on the earth; and what will i if it is already kindled? [ : ]but i have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am i straitened till it is fully accomplished! [ : ]do you think that i have come to give peace on the earth? i tell you, no; but rather division. [ : ]for from this time there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two shall be divided against three; [ : ]a father against a son, and a son against a father; a mother against the daughter, and a daughter against the mother; a mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law. [ : ]and he also said to the multitudes, when you see a cloud rise in the west you immediately say, there comes a shower; and it is so. [ : ]and when the south wind blows you say, there will be heat; and there is. [ : ] hypocrites! you know how to distinguish the appearance of the earth and sky, and how do you not distinguish this time? [ : ]and why even of yourselves do you not judge what is right? [ : ]for when you go with your adversary to a ruler, on the way labor to be released from him, lest he take you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison; [ : ] i tell you that you shall not go out thence till you have paid even the last lepton [ mill]. chapter xviii. christ commenting on the slaughter of certain galileans, curing a demoniac on the sabbath, the saved, etc. [ : ]and some were present at that time, telling him of the galileans whose blood pilate mingled with their sacrifices. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, do you think those galileans were sinners above all the galileans, because they suffered such things? [ : ]i tell you, no; but unless you change your minds you shall all in like manner be destroyed. [ : ]or those eighteen on whom the tower in the siloam fell, and killed them; do you think they were sinners above all men that live at jerusalem? [ : ]i tell you, no; but unless you change your minds you shall all in like manner be destroyed. [ : ]and he spoke this parable; a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. [ : ]and he said to his vine dresser, behold, i have come three years seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none; cut it down; why should it make the ground unproductive? [ : ] and he answered and said to him, lord, let it alone this year also, till i dig about it, and put on manure; [ : ]and if it bears fruit, well; but if not, at a future time you shall cut it down. [ : ]and he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath, [ : ] and behold, there was a woman who had been subject to a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent down, and was not able to lift herself up at all. [ : ]and jesus seeing her, called to her and said, woman, you are released from your infirmity; [ : ]and he put his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified god. [ : ]and the synagogue ruler answered, being angry because jesus had performed a cure on the sabbath, and said to the multitude, there are six days in which you ought to work; in them, therefore, come and be cured, and not on the sabbath. [ : ]then the lord answered him and said, hypocrites, does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead him away to drink? [ : ]and ought not this woman, being a daughter of abraham, whom satan has bound, behold, eighteen years, to be released from this bond on the sabbath? [ : ]and when he had said these things all his enemies were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced on account of all the glorious works performed by him. [ : ]and he said, what is the kingdom of god like? and to what shall i liken it? [ : ]it is like a mustard seed which a man took and cast into his garden; and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of heaven lodged in its branches. [ : ]again he said, to what shall i liken the kingdom of god? [ : ]it is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three sata [ quarts] of flour, till the whole was leavened. [ : ]and he went through the cities and villages teaching, and making his way towards jerusalem. [ : ]and some one said to him, lord, are there few who are saved? and he said to them, [ : ]strive to enter in by the narrow gate; for many, i tell you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. [ : ] when the householder has risen and shut the door, and you stand without and knock at the door, saying, lord, open to us, and he will answer and say to you, i know you not whence you are, [ : ]then you will say, we eat and drank in your presence, and you have taught in our streets; [ : ]and he will say to you, i know not whence you are; depart from me, all doers of wickedness. [ : ] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see abraham, and isaac, and jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of god, and you cast out. [ : ]and they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall recline in the kingdom of god. [ : ]and behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last. [ : ]on the same day some of the pharisees came to him, saying, go out and depart hence, for herod wishes to kill you. [ : ]and he said to them, go and tell that fox, behold, i cast out demons, and finish [performing] cures to-day and to-morrow, and on the third day i shall finish my course. [ : ]but i must go on to-day and to-morrow, and the day following; for it is not possible for a prophet to be destroyed out of jerusalem. [ : ]jerusalem, jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her, how often would i have gathered your children together, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you would not! [ : ]behold, your house is left to you. and i tell you, that you shall not see me, till [the day] shall come when you shall say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord. chapter xix. christ dining with a ruler on the sabbath, the parable of the great supper, qualifications for discipleship. [ : ]and he came into the house of one of the rulers of the pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath; and they watched him closely. [ : ]and behold, there was a man before him having the dropsy. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to the lawyers and pharisees, is it lawful to cure on the sabbath, or not? [ : ]and they were silent. and he took and cured him, and dismissed him. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, if a son or an ox of any of you shall fall into a pit, will he not immediately take him out on the sabbath day? [ : ]and they could not answer to these things. [ : ]and he spoke a parable to the invited, when he observed how they selected the first places at the table; saying to them, [ : ]when you are invited by any one to a wedding, do not sit down in the first place, lest at some time a more honorable man than you should have been invited by him, [ : ] and he that invited you and him come and say to you, give this man a place; and then with shame you take the last place. [ : ]but when you are invited, go and sit down in the last place, that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher; then you shall have honor in the presence of those that recline with you; [ : ]for every one that exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. [ : ]and he said also to him that had invited him, when you make a breakfast, or a supper, call not your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also at some time invite you in return, and a compensation be made to you. [ : ]but when you make a feast, invite the poor, crippled, lame, blind, [ : ]and you shall be blessed; for they cannot compensate you; for you shall be compensated at the resurrection of the just. [ : ]and one of those reclining with him, hearing these things, said to him, blessed is he that eats bread in the kingdom of god. [ : ]and he said to him, a certain man made a great supper, and invited many. [ : ]and he sent his servant at the time of the supper to say to the invited, come, for all things are now ready. [ : ]and they all with one consent excused themselves. the first said to him, i have bought a field and i must go to see it; i pray you have me excused. [ : ]and another said, i have bought five yokes of oxen and i go to try them; i pray you have me excused. [ : ]and another said, i have married a wife, and on this account i cannot come. [ : ]and the servant came and reported to his lord these things. then the master of the house; being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and maimed, and blind, and lame. [ : ]and the servant said, lord, it is done as you commanded, and yet there is room. [ : ]and the lord said to the servant, go out into the ways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled; [ : ]for i tell you that none of those men that were invited shall taste of my supper. [ : ]and great multitudes were travelling with him; and turning around he said to them, [ : ]if any one comes to me, and hates not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and still more his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. [ : ]and whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. [ : ]for what man of you wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the expense, whether he has the means to finish? [ : ]lest having laid its foundation, and not being able to finish, all who see ridicule him, [ : ]saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. [ : ]or what king going to engage in war with another king, does not first sit down and consult whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand? [ : ]and if not, while he is yet a great way off, sending an embassy he desires conditions of peace. [ : ]so, therefore, no one of you can be my disciple who does not forsake all that he has. [ : ]salt, therefore, is good; but if the salt has lost its strength, with what shall it be seasoned? [ : ] it is not fit for land, nor for manure; they cast it away. he that has ears to hear, let him hear. chapter xx. parables of the lost sheep, the lost money, and the prodigal son. [ : ]and all the publicans and sinners came near him to hear him. [ : ]and both the pharisees and scribes complained, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them. [ : ]and he spoke to them this parable; saying, [ : ]what man of you having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the lost sheep till he finds it. [ : ]and finding it, he puts it on his shoulders rejoicing; [ : ]and coming to the house, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying, congratulate me; for i have found my sheep that was lost. [ : ]so, i tell you, there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that changes his mind, more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need a change of mind. [ : ]or what woman having ten drachmas [ cents], if she loses one drachma [ cents], does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek carefully till she finds it? [ : ]and when she finds it, she calls her female friends and neighbors together, saying, congratulate me, for i have found the drachma which i lost. [ : ]so, i tell you, there is joy before the angels of god over one sinner that changes his mind. [ : ]and he said, a certain man had two sons. [ : ]and the youngest of them said to the father, father, give me the portion of the estate that falls to me; and he divided to them his living. [ : ]and not many days after, the youngest son, collecting all his property, went abroad to a distant country; and there wasted his property, living intemperately. [ : ]and when he had spent all, there was a severe famine in that country; and he began to be in want. [ : ]and he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his field to feed swine. [ : ]and he desired to fill his stomach with the carob pods which the swine eat; and no man gave him. [ : ]and coming to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father abound in bread, but i perish here with hunger! [ : ]i will arise and go to my father, and say to him, father, i have sinned to heaven, and before you; [ : ]i am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants. [ : ]and he arose, and came to his father. but while he was yet far off, his father saw him, and had compassion on him, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him. [ : ]and the son said to him, father, i have sinned to heaven, and before you; i am no longer worthy to be called your son. [ : ] but the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put on him; and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet; [ : ]and bring the fatted calf and kill it; let us eat, and rejoice; [ : ]for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. and they began to rejoice. [ : ]but his older son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house he heard music and the dancers. [ : ]and calling one of the servants he inquired what these things meant. [ : ]and he said to him, your brother has come; and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him back in health. [ : ]and he was angry, and would not go in; but his father came out and entreated him. [ : ]and he answered and said to his father, behold, i have served you so many years, and have never disobeyed your command; and you have never given me a kid, that i might rejoice with my friends; [ : ]but when this your son came who has consumed his living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf. [ : ]but he said to him, son, you are always with me, and all mine is yours. [ : ]we ought also to rejoice and be glad; for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. chapter xxi. the unfaithful steward, and the rich man and lazarus. [ : ]and he also said to the disciples, there was a certain rich man that had a steward; and he was accused to him of wasting his property. [ : ]and calling him, he said to him, what is this which i hear of you? render an account of your stewardship; for you can be no longer a steward. [ : ]and the steward said within himself, what shall i do, because my lord takes the stewardship away from me? i am not strong enough to dig; i am ashamed to beg. [ : ]i know what i will do, that when i am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. [ : ]and calling each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, how much do you owe my lord? [ : ]and he said, a hundred baths [ , gallons] of oil. and he said to him, take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. [ : ]then he said to another, and how much do you owe? and he said, a hundred cors [ , bushels] of wheat. and he said to him, take your bill, and write eighty. [ : ]and the lord praised the unjust steward, because he did wisely; for the children of this life are wiser, for their generation, than the children of light. [ : ]and i tell you, make yourselves friends of the riches procured by injustice, that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. [ : ]he that is faithful in the least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [ : ]if, therefore, you have not been faithful in the riches procured by injustice, who will commit to you the true? [ : ]and if you have not been faithful in another's, who will give you yours? [ : ]no domestic can serve two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the other, or he will adhere to the first and despise the other. you cannot serve god and riches. [ : ]and the pharisees, who are avaricious, heard all these things, and derided him. [ : ]and he said to them, you are they that justify yourselves before men; but god knows your hearts; for that which is high among men is an abomination before god. [ : ]the law and the prophets were till john; since that time the kingdom of god is preached, and every one presses violently into it. [ : ]and it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one point of the law to fail. [ : ]every one that puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery; and he that marries a woman put away from a husband, commits adultery. [ : ]there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. [ : ]and a certain poor man by the name of lazarus was laid at his gate, afflicted with ulcers, [ : ]and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; but the dogs also came and licked his ulcers. [ : ]and the poor man died, and was carried away by the angels to abraham's bosom. and the rich man also died, and was buried; [ : ]and in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw abraham from afar, and lazarus in his bosom. [ : ]and he called and said, father abraham, have mercy on me, and send lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for i am in pain in this flame. [ : ]but abraham said, son, remember that you received your good things in your life, and lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in pain. [ : ]and besides all this, there is a great chasm fixed between us and you, so that those wishing to pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass from thence to us. [ : ]and he said, i beseech you then, father, send him to my father's house, [ : ]for i have five brothers, to testify fully to them, that they may not also come to this place of torment [ : ]but abraham said, they have moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [ : ]but he said, no, father abraham, but if one went to them from the dead they would change their minds. [ : ]but he said to him, if they hear not moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded if one arose from the dead. chapter xxii. christ's doctrine respecting offenses, curing ten lepers, and predicting the coming of his kingdom. [ : ]and he said to his disciples, it is inevitable that offenses should come; but woe to him by whom they come; [ : ]it would be profitable for him if a millstone was placed around his neck, and he was cast into the sea, rather than that he should offend one of these little ones. [ : ]take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, reprove him; and if he changes his mind, forgive him; [ : ]and if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turn seven times, saying, i change my mind, you shall forgive him. [ : ]and the apostles said to the lord, increase our faith. [ : ]and the lord said, if you had a faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this sycamore tree, be taken up by the roots and planted in the sea, and it would obey you. [ : ]but which of you having a servant plowing, or keeping sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, come immediately and sit down? [ : ]but will he not say to him, prepare something that i may take supper, and gird yourself and wait on me till i eat and drink, and after that do you eat and drink? [ : ]does he thank the servant because he did the things commanded him? [ : ]so also you, when you have done all things commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants; what we owed the doing of; we have done. [ : ]and he was going to jerusalem, and he passed through the midst of samaria and galilee. [ : ]and coming to a certain village, ten lepers met him, who stood afar off. [ : ]and they lifted up their voice saying, jesus, master, have mercy on us. [ : ]and seeing them, he said, go and show yourselves to the priests. and as they were going they were cleansed. [ : ] and one of them seeing that he was cured, returned, glorifying god with a loud voice, [ : ]and fell on his face at his feet and thanked him. and he was a samaritan. [ : ]and jesus answered and said to him, were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? [ : ]there are not found returning to give glory to god any but this stranger. [ : ]and he said to him, arise and go; your faith has cured you. [ : ]and being asked by the pharisees when the kingdom of god comes, he answered them and said, the kingdom of god comes not with observation; [ : ] neither shall they say, behold here! or, there! for behold, the kingdom of god is within you. [ : ]and he said to the disciples, the days will come when you shall desire to see one of the days of the son of man, and shall not see it. [ : ]and they shall say to you, behold there! behold here! go not away, nor follow them. [ : ]for as the lightning flashing from one part under heaven shines to another part under heaven, so shall the son of man be in his day. [ : ]but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation. [ : ]and as it was in the days of noah, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man. [ : ]they eat, they drank, they married, they were married, till the day that noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all. [ : ]in like manner also as it was in the days of lot; they eat, drank, bought, sold, planted, built; [ : ]but on the day that lot went out of sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven, and destroyed all; [ : ]so shall it be in the day when the son of man is revealed. [ : ]in that day let not him that shall be on the house, and his furniture in the house, come down to take it away; and in like manner let not him in the field turn back for things which are behind; [ : ]remember lot's wife. [ : ]whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose shall save it. [ : ]i tell you, on that night two shall be on one bed; one shall be taken and the other left; [ : ]two shall be grinding together; one shall be taken and the other left. [ : ]and they answered and said to him, where, lord? and he said to them, where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. chapter xxiii. the parable of the unjust judge, infants, and the way of salvation. [ : ]and he spoke also a parable to them, that men ought to pray at all times, and not to faint; [ : ]saying, there was a certain judge in a certain city, who feared not god and regarded not man. [ : ]and there was a widow in that city, and she came to him, saying, give me judgment against my adversary. [ : ]and he would not for a time; but afterwards he said within himself, though i fear not god and regard not man, [ : ]yet because this widow makes me trouble i will give her judgment, that she may not vex me by her continual coming. [ : ]and the lord said, hear what the unjust judge says. [ : ]and will not god execute the judgment of his elect, who cry day and night to him, even though he waits long on them? [ : ]i tell you, he will execute their judgment speedily. but when the son of man comes will he find faith on the earth? [ : ]and he also spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: [ : ]two men went up to the temple to pray; one a pharisee, and the other a publican. [ : ]the pharisee, standing by himself, offered this prayer; god, i thank thee that i am not as other men, rapacious, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican; [ : ]i fast twice a week; i tithe all i acquire. [ : ]and the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, god, be propitious to me a sinner. [ : ]i tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than that; for every one that exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. [ : ]and they brought him also infants, that he should touch them; and the disciples seeing it reproved them. [ : ]but jesus calling them, said, suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of god. [ : ]i tell you truly, that whoever receives not the kingdom of god as a little child, shall by no means enter into it. [ : ]and a certain ruler asked him, saying, good teacher, what shall i do to inherit eternal life? [ : ]and jesus said to him, why do you call me good? there is none good but one, god. [ : ]you know the commandments; you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not testify falsely, honor your father and your mother. [ : ]and he said, all these have i kept from my youth. [ : ]and jesus hearing it, said to him, one thing you yet want; sell all that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. [ : ]and when he heard these things he was sad; for he was very rich. [ : ]and jesus seeing him, said, with what difficulty do those who have riches enter into the kingdom of god! [ : ]it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god. [ : ]and those hearing him, said, and who can be saved? [ : ]and he said, things impossible with man are possible with god. [ : ]and peter said, behold, we have left our [property] and followed you. [ : ]and he said to them, i tell you truly, that there is no one who has left a house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, on account of the kingdom of god, [ : ]who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the life to come eternal life. chapter xxiv. christ predicting his death, giving sight to a blind man, stopping with zaccheus, and the parable of the nobleman receiving a kingdom. [ : ]and jesus took the twelve aside, and said to them, behold, we go up to jerusalem; and all things written by the prophets concerning the son of man will be finished. [ : ]for he will be delivered to the gentiles, and be mocked, and injuriously treated, and spit upon, [ : ]and they will scourge and kill him, and on the third day he will rise again. [ : ]and they understood nothing of these things; and this word was concealed from them, and they did not perceive what was said. [ : ]and when they came nigh to jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way, begging. [ : ]and hearing the multitude passing by he inquired what it meant. [ : ]and they told him, jesus the nazoraean is passing by. [ : ]and he cried, saying, jesus, son of david, have mercy on me. [ : ]and those going before charged him to be still; but he cried much more, son of david, have mercy on me. [ : ]and jesus stopping, commanded him to be brought to him. and when he came near he asked him, [ : ]saying, what do you wish me to do for you? and he said, lord, that i may receive my sight. [ : ]and jesus said to him, receive your sight; your faith has cured you. [ : ]and he immediately received his sight, and followed him, glorifying god; and all the people seeing it gave praise to god. [ : ]and entering into jericho he passed through it. [ : ]and behold, there was a man called zaccheus, and he was chief publican, and was rich. [ : ] and he sought to see jesus, who he was; and could not on account of the multitude, because he was of small stature. [ : ]and running before, he went up on a sycamore that he might see him; for he was to pass by it. [ : ]and when he came to the place, jesus looking up saw him, and said to him, zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day i must stop at your house; [ : ]and he made haste and came down, and received him rejoicing. [ : ]and seeing it, they all complained, saying, he has gone in to stop with a sinner. [ : ]and zaccheus stood up and said to the lord, behold, half of my property, lord, i give to the poor; and if i have defrauded any one of any thing, i restore fourfold. [ : ]and jesus said to him, to-day has salvation come to this house, because he also is a son of abraham; [ : ]for the son of man has come to seek and save the lost. [ : ]and when they were hearing these things, he added and spoke a parable, because he was nigh jerusalem; and they thought that the kingdom of god was immediately to appear. [ : ]he said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and to return. [ : ]and calling his ten servants, he gave them ten minas [$ . ], and said to them, use them in business till i come. [ : ]and his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying, we wish not this man to reign over us. [ : ]and he returned, having received the kingdom, and ordered those servants to be called to him to whom he had given the money, that he might know what each one had done. [ : ]and the first came, saying, lord, your mina [$ . ] has gained ten minas. [ : ]and he said to him, well, good servant; because you have been faithful in the least, have authority over ten cities. [ : ]and the second came, saying, lord, your mina has made five minas. [ : ]and he said to him, be you over five cities. [ : ]and the other came, saying, lord, behold your mina, which i had laid up in a napkin; [ : ]for i feared you, because you are an austere man; you take up what you laid not down, and reap what you did not sow. [ : ]he said to him, out of your mouth will i judge you, evil servant. you knew that i am an austere man, taking up what i laid not down, and reaping what i did not sow? [ : ]then why did you not put my silver on the [broker's] table, and when i came i should have had the same, with interest? [ : ]and he said to those standing by, take from him the mina, and give it to him that has ten minas,-- [ : ]and they said to him, lord, he has ten minas,-- [ : ]for i tell you, that to every one that has shall be given; but from him that has not, even what he has shall be taken away; [ : ]but those my enemies that wished me not to reign over them, bring hither and kill them before me. chapter xxv. christ entering jerusalem, and purifying the temple. [ : ]and having said these things he went forward going up to jerusalem. [ : ]and when he came near to bethphage and bethany, at the mountain called the mount of olives, he sent two of the disciples, [ : ]saying, go into the village opposite to you, and having entered into it you will find a colt tied, on which no man ever sat; untie and bring him; [ : ]and if any one asks you, why do you untie him? say thus to him; the lord has need of him. [ : ]and those sent, going, found as he said to them. [ : ]and untying the colt, his owners said to them, why do you untie the colt? [ : ]and they said, the lord has need of him. [ : ]and they brought him to jesus; and spreading their clothes on the colt they put jesus on him. [ : ]and as he proceeded they spread their clothes in the way. [ : ]and when he was now approaching, at the descent of the mount of olives, all the multitude of the disciples began to rejoice, and praise god with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they saw, [ : ]saying, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the lord; peace be in heaven, and glory in the highest [heavens]. [ : ]and some of the pharisees, from the multitude, said to him, teacher, rebuke your disciples. [ : ]and he answered and said to them, i tell you that if these should be silent the stones would cry out. [ : ]and when he came near and saw the city he wept over it, [ : ] saying, o, that you had known, even you, and indeed in this your day, the things which are for your peace! but now they are hid from your eyes. [ : ]for days of [trouble] will come upon you, and your enemies shall throw an embankment around you, and shut you in, and press you on every side, [ : ]and destroy you and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone in you; because you knew not the time of your visitation. [ : ]and going into the temple he cast out those that sold, [ : ]saying to them, it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers. chapter xxvi. christ in the temple replying to the pharisees and sadducees. [ : ]and he taught daily in the temple; and the chief priests, and scribes, and the first of the people sought to destroy him. [ : ]and they found nothing that they could do; for all the people were attentive to hear him. [ : ]and on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and scribes, with the elders, came upon him, [ : ]and spoke to him saying, tell us by what authority you do these things? and who gave you this authority? [ : ]and he answered and said to them, i also will ask you a question; and tell me, [ : ]was the baptism of john from heaven, or from men? [ : ]and they reasoned with themselves, saying, if we say, from heaven, he will say, why did you not believe him? [ : ]but if we say, from men, all the people will stone us; for they are persuaded that john is a prophet. [ : ]and they answered, they did not know whence. [ : ]and jesus said to them, neither do i tell you by what authority i do these things. [ : ]and he spoke to the people this parable; a man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long time. [ : ]and at the time he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; and the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. [ : ] and again he sent another servant; and they beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. [ : ]and again he sent a third; and they wounded him, and cast him out. [ : ]and the lord of the vineyard said, what shall i do? i will send my beloved son; doubtless, when they see him they will respect him. [ : ]but seeing him, the husbandmen reasoned with themselves, saying, this is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. [ : ]and they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. what, therefore, will the lord of the vineyard do to them? [ : ]he will come and destroy those husbandmen, and let the vineyard to others. and hearing this, they said, by no means. [ : ]and he looked at them and said, what, then, is this which is written? the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of a corner; [ : ]every one that falls on that stone shall be bruised; but on whomsoever it shall fall it shall crush him to atoms. [ : ]and the scribes and chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that time; and they feared the people; for they knew that he spoke this parable to them. [ : ]and they sent spies to watch him, who pretended to be righteous men, that they might take advantage of his speech, to deliver him to the power and authority of the procurator. [ : ]and they asked him saying, teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and respect no person, but teach the way of god in truth. [ : ]is it lawful for us to pay tribute to caesar, or not? [ : ]and perceiving their craftiness, he said to them, [ : ]show me a denarius [ cents]. whose figure and inscription has it? and they answered and said, caesar's. [ : ]and he said to them, render therefore caesar's dues to caesar, and god's to god. [ : ]and they were not able to take advantage of his word before the people; and they wondered at his answer, and were silent. [ : ]and some of the sadducees came forward, who deny that there is a resurrection, and asked him, [ : ]saying, teacher, moses wrote to us, that if one's brother dies, having a wife, and dies childless, his brother shall take his wife and raise up children for his brother. [ : ]there were, therefore, seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died childless; [ : ]and the second and third took her; [ : ]and in like manner also the seven; [and they] left no children, and died. [ : ]and last, the woman died also. [ : ]in the resurrection, therefore, which of them has her for a wife? for the seven had her for a wife. [ : ]and jesus said to them, the children of this life marry and are married; [ : ]but those who are judged worthy to attain that life, and the resurrection of the dead, neither marry nor are married; [ : ]neither can they die any more; for they are equal to the angels, and are sons of god, being sons of the resurrection. [ : ]but that the dead are raised, even moses showed at the bush, when he called the lord, the god of abraham, and god of isaac, and god of jacob. [ : ]but god is not [a god] of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him. [ : ]and some of the scribes answered and said, teacher, you have spoken well. [ : ]and they dared not question him any more. [ : ]and he said to them, how do they say that the christ is the son of david? [ : ]and david himself says in the book of psalms, the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand, [ : ]till i make your enemies your footstool. [ : ]david, therefore, calls him lord; and how is he his son? [ : ]and in the hearing of all the people he said to them, [ : ]beware of the scribes, who delight to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the markets, and the first seats in the synagogues, and the first places at feasts; [ : ]who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers; they shall receive a greater judgment. [ : ]and looking up he saw the rich casting their gifts into the treasury. [ : ]and he saw also a certain poor widow cast in there two lepta [ mills]. [ : ]and he said, i tell you truly, that this poor widow has cast in more than all; [ : ]for all these have cast among the gifts from their abundance; but she from her want has cast in all the living she had. chapter xxvii. christ predicting the destruction of jerusalem and his own exaltation. [ : ]and some speaking of the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive offerings, he said, [ : ]as to these things which you see, the days will come in which stone shall not be left upon stone that shall not be thrown down. [ : ]and they asked him, saying, teacher, when then shall these things be? and what sign [shall there be], when these things are about to occur? [ : ]and he said, see that you be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, i am [christ], and the time is at hand; go not after them. [ : ] and when you hear of wars and insurrections, be not terrified, for these things must be first; but the end is not immediately. [ : ]then said he to them, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; [ : ]and in places there shall be great earthquakes, and famines, and pestilences; and there shall also be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. [ : ]but before all these things they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, committing you to synagogues and prisons, to be brought before kings and governors on my account; [ : ]and it shall result to you for a testimony. [ : ]settle it in your minds, therefore, not to premeditate what defense you shall make, [ : ]for i will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your enemies shall not be able to resist or dispute. [ : ]and you shall be delivered up by parents, and brothers, and relatives, and friends; and they shall kill some of you; [ : ]and you shall be hated by all on my account; [ : ]and a hair of your heads shall by no means perish; [ : ]by your patience you shall save your souls. [ : ]but when you see jerusalem surrounded with encampments, then know that its desolation is at hand. [ : ]then let those in judea flee to the mountains; and those in the midst of it depart out of it; and let those in country places not enter into it. [ : ]for these are days of judgment, that all things which are written may be fully accomplished. [ : ]but woe to those with child, and having children at the breast in those days; for there shall be great distress on the earth, and wrath against this people. [ : ]and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried away captive to all nations, and jerusalem shall be trodden down by gentiles, till the times of gentiles are fully accomplished. [ : ]and there shall be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity [at] the roaring of the sea and waves, [ : ]men dying with fear and an expectation of evils to come on the world; for the hosts of the heavens shall be shaken. [ : ]and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [ : ]when these things begin to occur, arise and lift up your heads, for your redemption is near. [ : ]and he spoke to them a parable; see the fig tree and all the trees; [ : ]when they now put forth, observing you know of yourselves that summer already is nigh; [ : ]so, also, when you see all these things occur, know that the kingdom of god is nigh. [ : ]i tell you truly, that this generation shall by no means pass away till all these things are accomplished. [ : ] heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. [ : ]take heed to yourselves, that your hearts be not oppressed with revelling and drunkenness, and worldly cares, and that day come upon you suddenly; [ : ]for it shall come like a snare on all who live on the face of the whole earth. [ : ]but watch continually, praying that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which are about to occur, and to stand before the son of man. [ : ]and he taught during the days in the temple, and went out and spent the nights on the mountain called the mount of olives. [ : ]and all the people came early to him in the temple to hear him. chapter xxviii. judas agrees to betray his master, the last supper, ambition discouraged, the disciples warned. [ : ]and the feast of unleavened bread approached, called the passover. [ : ]and the chief priests and scribes sought how they might destroy him, for they feared the people. [ : ]and satan entered into judas, called iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve; [ : ]and he went and conferred with the chief priests and commanders as to how he might deliver him to them. [ : ]and they were glad, and agreed to give him money. [ : ]and he promised, and sought a convenient opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the people. [ : ]and the day of unleavened bread came, in which it was necessary to kill the paschal lamb. [ : ]and he sent peter and john, saying, go, prepare for us the passover, that we may eat. [ : ]and they said to him, where do you wish us to prepare? [ : ]and he said to them, behold, as you enter into the city, a man will meet you, bearing an earthen vessel of water; follow him into the house where he enters, [ : ]and say to the master of the house, the teacher says to you, where is the public room in which i may eat the passover with my disciples? [ : ]and he will show you a large upper room furnished; there prepare. [ : ]and they went and found as he had said to them and prepared the passover. [ : ]and when the hour had come, he sat down, and the apostles with him; [ : ]and he said to them, i have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer; [ : ]for i tell you that i will eat it no more till it is fulfilled in the kingdom of god. [ : ]and taking a cup, he gave thanks, and said, take this and divide it among you; [ : ]for i tell you that i will not drink of the product of the vine, till the kingdom of god has come. [ : ] and taking bread, and giving thanks, he broke and gave them, saying, this is my body given for you; this do in remembrance of me. [ : ]and the cup in like manner, after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant [sealed] with my blood, which is poured out for you. [ : ]but behold, the hand of the traitor is with me on the table; [ : ]for the son of man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. [ : ]and they inquired among themselves which of them it was who was about to do this. [ : ]and there was a contention among them as to which of them should be the greatest. [ : ]and he said to them, the kings of the nations exercise lordship over them; and those having power are called their benefactors. [ : ] but you shall not be so. but let the greater among you be as the younger, and the chief as he that serves. [ : ]for which is greater, he that reclines, or he that serves? is not he that reclines? but i am with you as he that serves. [ : ]and you have continued with me in my trials, [ : ]and i appoint you, as my father has appointed me, a kingdom, [ : ]that you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. [ : ]simon, simon, behold, satan has desired you, to sift like wheat; [ : ]but i have prayed for you, that your faith may not entirely fail; and when you recover yourself, confirm your brothers. [ : ]and he said to him, lord, i am ready to go with you to prison and to death. [ : ]and he said, i tell you, peter, a cock shall not crow today, before you shall deny thrice that you know me. [ : ]and he said to them, when i sent you out without a purse, and provision sack, and sandals, did you want any thing? and they said, nothing. [ : ]then he said to them, but now let him that has a purse take it, and a provision sack likewise; and he that has not a sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one. [ : ]for i tell you, that this which is written must be fully accomplished in me, and he was numbered with transgressors; for also the things concerning me have an end. [ : ]and they said, lord, behold, here are two swords. and he said to them, it is sufficient. chapter xxix. christ in gethsemane and before the sanhedrim. [ : ]and going out, he went, according to his custom to the mount of olives; and the disciples followed him. [ : ]and arriving at the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into trial. [ : ]and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and kneeling down, prayed, [ : ]saying, father, if thou wilt, take this cup away from me; but not my will, but thine be done. [ : ]and an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. [ : ]and being in agony, he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was like large drops of blood falling down to the ground. [ : ]and rising from prayer, and coming to the disciples, he found them sleeping from grief, [ : ]and he said to them, why do you sleep? arise, and pray that you may not enter into trial. [ : ]and while he was yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he that was called judas, one of the twelve, came before them, and he approached jesus to kiss him. [ : ]but jesus said to him, judas, do you betray the son of man with a kiss? [ : ]and those about him seeing what was about to occur, said, lord, shall we strike with the sword? [ : ]and one of them struck the servant of the chief priest, and took off his right ear. [ : ]but jesus answered and said, suffer even this; and touching his ear he healed him. [ : ]and jesus said to the chief priests, and commanders of the temple, and elders who came against him, have you come with swords and clubs, as against a robber? [ : ] when i was daily with you in the temple you stretched not out your hands upon me but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. [ : ]and apprehending him, they led him away, and conducted him to the house of the chief priest; and peter followed at a distance. [ : ]and they having kindled a fire in the midst of the court, and sat down, peter sat in the midst of them. [ : ]and a certain female servant seeing him sitting by the light, and looking steadily at him, said, this man also was with him. [ : ] but he denied him, saying, i do not know him, woman. [ : ]and after a little, another seeing him, said, you also are one of them. but peter said, man, i am not. [ : ]and about an hour intervening, another strongly affirmed, saying, certainly, this man was also with him; for he is also a galilean. [ : ]but peter said, man, i know not what you say. and immediately, while he was yet speaking, a cock crew. [ : ]and the lord turned and looked at peter; and peter was reminded of the lord's word, that he said to him, before a cock crows to-day you shall deny me thrice; [ : ]and going out, peter wept bitterly. [ : ]and the men having him in custody mocked him, beating him; [ : ]and blindfolding him they asked him, saying, prophecy who it is that struck you? [ : ]and they reviled him with many other words. [ : ]and when it was day, the eldership of the people, and the chief priests, and scribes were assembled, and they brought him into their sanhedrim, saying, [ : ]if you are the christ, tell us? and he said to them, if i tell you you will not believe; [ : ]and if i ask you will not answer. [ : ]but from this time the son of man will sit on the right hand of the power of god. [ : ]and they all said, are you the son of god then? and he said to them, i am as you say. [ : ]and they said, what further need have we of testimony? for we ourselves have heard from his mouth. chapter xxx. christ before pilate and herod, his condemnation. [ : ]and all the multitude arose and led him to pilate. [ : ]and they accused him, saying, we have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to pay tribute to caesar, saying that he is an anointed king. [ : ] and pilate asked him, saying, are you the king of the jews? and he answered and said to him, as you say. [ : ]and pilate said to the chief priests, and the multitudes, i find no fault with this man. [ : ]and they were more violent, saying, he excites the people, teaching in all judea, beginning from galilee even to this place. [ : ]and pilate hearing of galilee asked if the man was a galilean. [ : ]and learning that he was of the province of herod, he sent him to herod, who was himself also at jerusalem in those days. [ : ]and when herod saw jesus he was much pleased; for he had wished for a long time to see him, because he had beard about him, and he hoped to see some miracle performed by him. [ : ]and he questioned him with many words; but he answered him nothing. [ : ]and the chief priests and scribes stood up, violently accusing him. [ : ]and herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt, and mocked him, and put on him a splendid garment, and sent him back to pilate. [ : ]and pilate and herod became friends to each other on that day; for they had before been enemies to each other. [ : ]and pilate having called the chief priests, and rulers, and the people, [ : ]said to them, you have brought me this man as one that perverts the people; and behold, having had an examination before you, i have found in this man no cause for the charges which you bring against him, [ : ]but neither has herod, for i sent you to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him; [ : ]having chastised him therefore, i will release him. [ : ]and the whole multitude cried out, saying, take away this man, and release to us barabbas; [ : ]who had been cast into prison for a certain sedition made in the city, and a murder. [ : ]pilate therefore addressed them again, wishing to release jesus; [ : ]but they replied, saying, crucify him, crucify him. [ : ]and he said to them a third time, [why], for what evil has this man done? i have found no cause of death in him; having chastised him therefore, i will release him. [ : ]and they beset him with loud cries, demanding that he should be crucified; and their cries, and those of the chief priests, prevailed; [ : ] and pilate answered, that their demand should be granted. [ : ]and he released him that was cast into prison for sedition and murder, whom they desired, and delivered up jesus to their will. chapter xxxi. christ's crucifixion, death, and burial. [ : ]and when they led him away, they took simon, a certain cyrenian, coming from the country, and put on him the cross to bear after jesus. [ : ] and there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women; and they bewailed and lamented him. [ : ]and turning to them, jesus said, daughters of jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. [ : ]for behold, days come in which they shall say, blessed are the barren, and those who have not borne children, and the breasts which have not nursed them! [ : ]then shall they say to the mountains, fall on us; and to the hills, cover us; [ : ]for if they do these things with the green tree, what shall be done with the dry? [ : ]and two other criminals were led out to be put to death with him. [ : ]and when they arrived at the place called cranium, there they crucified him, and the criminals; one on his right hand, and the other on his left. [ : ]and jesus said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. and distributing his garments they cast lots [for them]. [ : ]and the people stood beholding. and the rulers also scoffed, saying, he saved others; if this is the christ, the elect of god, let him save himself. [ : ]and the soldiers also mocked him, and came and presented him vinegar, [ : ]and said, if you are the king of the jews, save yourself. [ : ]and there was an inscription over him; this is the king of the jews. [ : ]and one of the criminals crucified, reviled him, [saying], are you not the christ? save yourself and us. [ : ]but the other answered and rebuked him, and said, do you not fear god, since you are under the same sentence? [ : ]and we indeed justly, for we receive the desert of our doings; but this man has done nothing amiss. [ : ]and he said, jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. [ : ]and he said to him, i tell you truly, to-day you shall be with me in paradise. [ : ]and it was now about the sixth hour [noon]; and there was a darkness over all the land till the ninth hour [ p.m.]. [ : ]and the sun was obscured; and the vail in the midst of the temple was rent in two. [ : ]and jesus crying with a loud voice, said, father, into thy hands i commit my spirit; and having said this, he expired. [ : ]and the centurion seeing what was done, glorified god, saying, truly this was a righteous man. [ : ]and all the multitudes who had come together to this spectacle, beholding what was done, returned beating their breasts. [ : ]and all his friends stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from galilee, seeing these things. [ : ]and behold, a man by the name of joseph, a counsellor, a good and righteous man, [ : ]this man had not consented to their design and doing, [he was] from arimathea, a city of the jews, and he expected the kingdom of god. [ : ]this man coming to pilate asked for the body of jesus; [ : ]and taking it down, he wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb cut out of a rock, in which no man had yet been laid. [ : ]and the day was the preparation; the sabbath was dawning. chapter xxxii. christ after his resurrection. [ : ]and women following him who had come up with him from galilee saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. [ : ]and they returned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested on the sabbath, according to the commandment. [ : ]and on the first day of the week, early in the morning, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. [ : ]and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb; [ : ]and entering, found not the body. [ : ] and while they were in doubt about this, behold, two men stood by them in shining clothing. [ : ]and [the women] being afraid, and bowing their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you seek the living with the dead? [ : ] he is not here, but is raised. remember how he told you while he was yet in galilee, [ : ]saying, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of wicked men to be crucified, and on the third day rise again. [ : ]and they remembered his words; [ : ]and returning from the tomb related all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. [ : ]and they were the magdalene mary, and joanna, and mary the mother of james, and the others with them, who told these things to the apostles. [ : ]and their words appeared to them like idle talk; and they believed them not. [ : ]and behold, two of them went the same day to a village about sixty stadiums [ miles] from jerusalem, called emmaus; [ : ]and they conversed together of all these things which had happened. [ : ]and as they conversed and reasoned together, jesus also himself approaching walked with them; [ : ] but their eyes were restrained that they did not know him. [ : ]and he said to them, what reports are these which you relate one to the other as you walk and are sad? [ : ]and one of them answered, whose name was cleopas, and said to him, do you live alone at jerusalem and not know the things which have occurred in it in these days? [ : ]and he said to them, what things? and they said to him, the things relating to jesus the nazoraean, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before god and all the people; [ : ]and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to the sentence of death, and crucified him, [ : ]but we hoped that he was the one who was to redeem israel. but indeed, also, in addition to all these things, today is the third day since these things occurred; [ : ]but some of our women also astonished us, who being early at the tomb [ : ]and not finding his body, came, saying that they had seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. [ : ]and some of those with us went to the tomb, and found even as the women had said; and him they saw not. [ : ]and he said to them, o foolish men, and of a mind slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken. [ : ]ought not the christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? [ : ]and from moses, and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. [ : ]and they approached the village to which they were going; and he pretended to be going farther. [ : ]and they urged him, saying, remain with us, for it is near evening, and the day is already past. and he went in to remain with them; [ : ]and when he reclined with them, taking bread, he blessed, and breaking, gave them. [ : ]and their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished from their sight. [ : ]and they said one to the other, did not our hearts burn within us when he spoke to us on the way? when he opened to us the scriptures? [ : ]and rising up the same hour they returned to jerusalem, and found the eleven, and those with them, assembled together, [ : ]saying, the lord has risen indeed and has appeared to simon. [ : ]and they related the things on the way, and how he was known to them by the breaking of bread. [ : ]and as they were saying these things he stood in the midst of them; [ : ]and they being terrified and afraid, thought they saw a spirit. [ : ] and he said to them, why are you troubled? and why do doubts arise in your minds? [ : ]see my hands and my feet, that i am he; feel of me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have. [ : ]and while they yet disbelieved from joy, and wondered, he said to them, have you any food here? [ : ]and they gave him part of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb; [ : ] and taking it, he eat before them. [ : ]and he said to them, these are my words which i spoke to you while i was yet with you, that all things written in the law of moses, and prophets, and psalms, concerning me, must be fully accomplished. [ : ]then he opened their understanding to understand the scriptures, [ : ]and said to them, thus it is written, that the christ should suffer, and rise from the dead on the third day, [ : ]and that a change of mind and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from jerusalem. [ : ]you are witnesses of these things. [ : ]behold, i send the promise of my father upon you; but remain in the city till you are endued with power from on high. [ : ]and he led them out as far as bethany, and lifting up his hands, blessed them; [ : ]and while he was blessing them he departed from them. [ : ]and they returned to jerusalem with great joy, [ : ]and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god. the gospel of john. chapter i. the word. [ : ]in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. [ : ]this [word] was in the beginning with god. [ : ]all things existed through him, and without him not one thing existed, which existed. [ : ] in him was life, and the life was the light of men; [ : ]and the light shone in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. [ : ]there was a man, sent by god, whose name was john. [ : ]this man came for a testimony, to testify of the light, that all might believe through him. [ : ]he was not the light, but to testify of the light. [ : ]the light was the true [light] which lights every man that comes into the world. [ : ]he was in the world, and the world existed through him, and the world knew him not. [ : ] he came to his own, and his own received him not. [ : ]but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of god, to them that believe on his name, [ : ]who are born not of superior blood, nor of a will of the flesh, nor of a will of man, but of god. [ : ]and the word became flesh and tabernacled with us and we beheld his glory, a glory as of an only child with a father, full of grace and truth. [ : ]john testified of him, and cried, saying, this is the one of whom i said, he that comes after me existed before me, for he was before me. [ : ]for we all have received of his fullness, and grace for grace; [ : ]for the law was given by moses, the grace and truth were by jesus christ. [ : ]no one has ever seen god; the only son, who is in the bosom of the father, he declared [him]. chapter ii. christ declared to be the messiah, and commencing his ministry. [ : ]and this is the testimony of john, when the jews from jerusalem sent priests and levites to ask him, who are you? [ : ]and he confessed and denied not, and confessed, i am not the christ. [ : ]and they asked him, what then? are you elijah? and he said, i am not. are you the prophet? and he answered, no. [ : ]then they said to him, who are you? that we may give an answer to them that sent us; what say you of yourself? [ : ]he said, i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the lord, as isaiah the prophet said. [ : ]and those sent were of the pharisees. [ : ]and they asked him, and said to him, why then do you baptize, if you are not the christ, nor elijah, nor the prophet? [ : ]john answered them saying, i baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you know not. [ : ]he is the one coming after me, the strings of whose sandal i am not worthy to untie. [ : ]these things occurred in bethany beyond the jordan, where john was baptizing. [ : ]on the next day he saw jesus coming to him, and said, behold the lamb of god, who takes away the sin of the world. [ : ]this is he of whom i said, after me comes a man who was before me, for he was before me. [ : ]and i knew him not; but that he might be made manifest to israel, for this reason have i come baptizing with water. [ : ]and john testified saying, i saw the spirit descend like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. [ : ]and i knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, he said to me, on whom you see the spirit descend and remain on him, this is he that baptizes with the holy spirit. [ : ]and i have seen and testified that this is the son of god. [ : ]on the next day john was again standing, and two of his disciples, [ : ]and looking at jesus as he walked, he said, behold the lamb of god. [ : ]and his two disciples heard him say this, and followed jesus. [ : ]and jesus turning around, and seeing them following, said to them, what do you seek? and they said to him, rabbi, which interpreted signifies teacher, where do you stay? [ : ]he said to them, come and see. then they went and saw where he staid, and staid with him that day; it was about the tenth hour. [ : ]andrew, the brother of simon peter, was one of the two who heard from john, and followed him; [ : ]he first found his brother simon, and said to him, we have found the messiah; which is interpreted, christ [anointed]. [ : ]he brought him to jesus. jesus looking at him said, you are simon, the son of jonas; you shall be called cephas; which is interpreted, peter [rock]. [ : ]on the next day he wished to go to galilee, and he found philip. and jesus said to him, follow me. [ : ]now philip was from bethsaida, of the city of andrew and peter. [ : ]philip found nathanael, and said to him, we have found him of whom moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, jesus, the son of joseph, from nazareth. [ : ]and nathanael said to him, can any good thing come out of nazareth? philip said to him, come and see. [ : ]jesus saw nathanael coming to him, and said of him, see an israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. [ : ]nathanael said to him, whence do you know me? jesus answered and said to him, before philip called you, when you were under the fig tree i saw you. [ : ]nathanael answered him, rabbi, you are the son of god; you are the king of israel. [ : ]jesus answered and said to him, because i said to you i saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? you shall see greater things than these. [ : ]and he said to him, i tell you most truly, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man. chapter iii. christ changing water into wine, residing at capernaum, and purifying the temple. [ : ]and on the third day there was a wedding at cana in galilee, and the mother of jesus was there; [ : ]and jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the wedding. [ : ]and the wine falling short the mother of jesus said to him, they have no wine. [ : ]jesus said to her, what have you to do with me, woman? my hour has not yet come. [ : ]his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. [ : ]and there were six stone water jars there, placed for the purification of the jews, containing two or three metretes [ . or . gallons] each. [ : ]jesus said to them, fill the water jars with water; and they filled them to the top. [ : ]and he said to them, now draw out and bear to the master of the feast; and they bore it. [ : ]and when the master of the feast tasted of the water made wine, and knew not whence it was,--but the servants knew who had drawn the water,--the master of the feast called the bridegroom [ : ]and said to him, every man first presents the good wine, and when they have drunk freely, the poorer; but you have kept the good wine till now. [ : ]this first miracle did jesus perform at cana in galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him. [ : ]after this he went down to capernaum, he and his mother, and his brothers, and his disciples, and remained there a few days. [ : ]and the passover of the jews was nigh; and jesus went up to jerusalem. [ : ]and he found in the temple those that sold cattle, and sheep, and doves, and the brokers sitting; [ : ]and making a whip of cords he drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and cattle, and poured out the money of the brokers, and overturned the tables, [ : ]and said to those that sold doves, take these things hence; make not my father's house a house of merchandise. [ : ]and his disciples remembered that it was written, the zeal of thy house consumes me. [ : ]then the jews answered and said to him, what sign do you show us, that you do these things? [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days i will raise it. [ : ]then the jews said to him, forty-six years was this temple being built, and will you raise it in three days? [ : ]but he spoke of the temple of his body. [ : ]when, therefore, he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the scripture and the word which jesus spoke. chapter iv. christ's discourse with nicodemus. [ : ]and when he was at jerusalem at the feast of the passover many believed on him, seeing his miracles which he performed; [ : ]but jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men, [ : ]for he had no need that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. [ : ]and there was a man of the pharisees whose name was nicodemus, a ruler of the jews. [ : ]this man came to him by night and said to him, rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from god, for no one can perform these miracles which you perform unless god is with him. [ : ]jesus answered and said to him, i tell you most truly, unless one has been born again he cannot see the kingdom of god. [ : ]nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? can he become an unborn infant of his mother a second time, and be born? [ : ]jesus answered, i tell you most truly, unless a man is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god. [ : ]that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is a spirit. [ : ]wonder not that i said to you, you must be born again. [ : ]the spirit breathes where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you know not whence it comes, nor whither it goes; so is every one that has been born of the spirit. [ : ]nicodemus answered and said to him, how can these things be? [ : ] jesus answered and said to him, are you a teacher of israel and know not these things? [ : ]i tell you most truly, that we speak what we know, and what we have seen we testify; and you receive not our testimony. [ : ]if i have told you earthly things and you believe not, how will you believe if i should tell you heavenly things? [ : ]and no one has ascended into heaven but he that came down from heaven, the son of man who is in heaven. [ : ]and as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up; [ : ]that every one believing in him may have eternal life. [ : ]for god so loved the world that he gave his only son, that every one believing in him may not perish but have eternal life. [ : ]for god sent not his son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved. [ : ]he that believes in him is not judged; but he that believes not has been judged already; because he has not believed in the name of the only son of god. [ : ]and this is the judgment; that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. [ : ]for every one that does evil hates the light, and comes not to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved; [ : ]but he that does good comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, for they are wrought in god. chapter v. christ baptizing, and preaching to the samaritans. [ : ]after these things jesus and his disciples came into the country of judea; and there he staid with them, and baptized. [ : ]and john also was baptizing at aenon, near salim, because there were many waters there; and they came and were baptized, [ : ]for john was not yet cast into prison. [ : ] then there was a controversy of the disciples of john with a jew concerning purification. [ : ]and they came to john and said to him, rabbi, he that was with you beyond the jordan, to whom you testified, behold, this [man] baptizes and all men come to him. [ : ]john answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it is given him from heaven. [ : ]you yourselves bear me witness, that i said, i am not the christ, but am sent before him. [ : ]he that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; this my joy, therefore, is fully attained. [ : ]he must increase, but i must decrease. [ : ]he that comes from above is above all; he that is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth. he that comes from heaven is above all; [ : ] and what he has seen and heard this he testifies; and no one receives his testimony. [ : ]he that receives his testimony has sealed that god is true. [ : ]for he whom god has sent speaks the words of god; for god gives not the spirit by measure. [ : ]the father loves the son, and has given all things into his hand. [ : ]he that believes on the son has eternal life; but he that disbelieves the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god continues on him. [ : ]when, therefore, the lord knew that the pharisees heard that jesus made and baptized more disciples than john, [ : ]though jesus himself indeed baptized not, but his disciples, [ : ]he left judea and departed again to galilee. [ : ]and it was necessary that he should pass through samaria. [ : ] he came, therefore, to a city of samaria called sychar, near the lot which jacob gave his son joseph. [ : ]and jacob's well was there. jesus, therefore, being fatigued with travelling sat thus by the well; it was about the sixth hour [noon]. [ : ]a woman of samaria came to draw water. jesus said to her, give me a drink; [ : ]for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy provisions. [ : ]then the samaritan woman said to him, how do you, being a jew, ask a drink of me, who am a samaritan? for the jews do no business with the samaritans. [ : ]jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of god, and who it is that says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. [ : ]the woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; whence then have you the living water? [ : ]are you greater than our father jacob, who gave us the well, and who drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle? [ : ]jesus answered and said to her, every one that drinks of this water will thirst again; [ : ]but whoever drinks of the water which i will give him shall never thirst; but the water which i will give him shall be in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. [ : ]the woman said to him, sir, give me this water, that i thirst not, nor come here to draw. [ : ]he said to her, go and call your husband, and come here. [ : ]the woman answered and said, i have no husband. jesus said to her, you have said well, i have no husband; [ : ]for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. in this you have spoken truly. [ : ]the woman said to him, sir, i perceive that you are a prophet. [ : ] our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. [ : ]jesus said to her, believe me, woman, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in jerusalem, you shall worship the father. [ : ]you worship what you know not; we worship what we know; for salvation is of the jews. [ : ]but the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and truth; for the father seeks such to worship him. [ : ]god is a spirit, and those that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. [ : ]the woman said to him, i know that the messiah is coming, called christ; when he comes he will tell us all things. [ : ]jesus said to her, i that speak to you am [the messiah]. [ : ]and upon this his disciples came, and wondered that he talked with the woman; but no one said to him, what do you seek? or why do you talk with her? [ : ]then the woman left her bucket, and went to the city, and said to the men, [ : ]come and see a man who has told me all things which i have done; is this the christ? [ : ]they came out from the city and came to him. [ : ]in the meantime the disciples asked him saying, rabbi, eat. [ : ]but he said to them, i have food to eat which you know not of. [ : ]then the disciples said one to another, has any one brought him food to eat? [ : ]jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. [ : ]do you not say, there are yet four months, and the harvest comes? behold, i say to you, lift up your eyes and see the fields; for they are white for a harvest. [ : ]already he that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for life eternal, that he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. [ : ] for in this is the saying true; he that sows is one, and he that reaps is another. [ : ]i have sent you to reap that on which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. [ : ]and many of the samaritans in that city believed on him, on account of the word of the woman, testifying, he told me all things which i have done. [ : ]when, therefore, the samaritans came to him, they desired him to remain with them; and he remained there two days. [ : ]and many more believed on account of his word, [ : ]and said to the woman, we no longer believe on account of your report, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is truly the saviour of the world. chapter vi. christ in galilee, curing a nobleman's son. [ : ]and after two days he departed thence to galilee. [ : ]for jesus himself testified that a prophet is without honor in his native country. [ : ] when, therefore, he came into galilee, the galileans received him, having seen all that he did at jerusalem at the feast; for they also came to the feast. [ : ]then he came again to cana in galilee, where he had made the water wine. and there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at capernaum. [ : ] hearing that jesus had come from judea into galilee, he went to him, and desired him to come down and cure his son, for he was about to die. [ : ]then jesus said to him, unless you see miracles and prodigies you will not believe. [ : ] the nobleman said to him, lord, come down before my child dies. [ : ]jesus said to him, go; your son lives. the man believed the word which jesus said to him, and went. [ : ]and as he was now going down his servants met him, and told, saying, your child lives. [ : ]then he inquired of them the hour in which he became better. then they said to him, the fever left him yesterday, at the seventh hour. [ : ]then the father knew that it was in that hour in which jesus said to him, your son lives; and he believed, and all his house. [ : ] this second miracle did jesus, having come from judea into galilee. chapter vii. christ curing a sick man on the sabbath, at jerusalem. [ : ]after these things there was a feast of the jews, and jesus went up to jerusalem. [ : ]and there is at jerusalem, by the sheep-gate, a pool, called in hebrew, bethesda, having five porches. [ : ]in these lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered. [ : ]and there was a certain man there who had been sick thirty-eight years. [ : ]jesus seeing him lying, and knowing that he had now been sick a long time, said to him, do you wish to become well? [ : ]the sick man answered him, sir, i have no man, when the water is disturbed, to put me into the pool; but while i am coming another goes down before me. [ : ]jesus said to him, arise, take up your bed and walk. [ : ]and the man immediately became well, and took up his bed and walked. that day was the sabbath. [ : ]the jews, therefore, said to him that was cured, it is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry the bed. [ : ]he answered them, he that made me well, he said to me, take up your bed and walk. [ : ]they asked him, who is the man that said to you, take up your bed and walk? [ : ]and the sick man knew not who it was; for jesus had gone away, a multitude being in that place. [ : ]afterwards jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, behold, you have become well; sin no more, lest a worse thing happen to you. [ : ]the man went away and told the jews that it was jesus who had made him well; [ : ]and on this account the jews persecuted jesus, because he had done these things on the sabbath. [ : ]but jesus answered them, my father works even till now, and i work. [ : ]then, for this reason, the jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also said, that god was his father, making himself equal with god. [ : ]then jesus answered and said to them, i tell you most truly, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the father do; for whatever he does, these things also does the son in like manner. [ : ]for the father loves the son, and shows him all things which he does; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may wonder. [ : ]for as the father raises the dead, and makes them alive, so also the son makes alive whom he will. [ : ]for the father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the son, [ : ]that all should honor the son as they honor the father. he that honors not the son honors not the father that sent him. [ : ]i tell you most truly, he that hears my word and believes him that sent me has eternal life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed from death to life. [ : ]i tell you most truly, that the hour comes, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god, and those that hear shall live. [ : ]for as the father has life in himself, so has he also given to the son to have life in himself; [ : ]and has given him authority and judgment to execute, because he is the son of man. [ : ]wonder not at this; for the hour comes in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice [ : ]and shall come forth; those that have done good to a resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to a resurrection of judgment. [ : ]i can do nothing of myself; as i hear, i judge, and my judgment is just, for i seek not my will, but the will of him that sent me. [ : ]if i testify of myself my testimony is not true. [ : ]there is another who testifies of me, and i know that the testimony which he testifies of me is true. [ : ]you sent to john, and he testified to the truth; [ : ]but i receive not testimony from a man; but i say these things that you may be saved. [ : ]he was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. [ : ]but i have greater testimony than john's; for the works which the father has given me to finish, these works which i do, testify of me that the father has sent me; [ : ]and the father who sent me, he has testified of me. you have not heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form; [ : ]and his word you have not continuing in you, for whom he has sent, him you believe not. [ : ]you search the scriptures, because you think by them to have eternal life; and they testify of me; [ : ]and you will not come to me that you may have life. [ : ]i receive not glory from men, [ : ]but i know you, that you have not the love of god in you. [ : ]i have come in my father's name and you receive me not; if another comes in his own name, him will you receive. [ : ]how can you believe, receiving glory one from another, and the glory from god alone you seek not? [ : ]think not that i will accuse you to the father; there is one that accuses you, moses, in whom you trust. [ : ]for if you had believed moses, you would have believed me; for he wrote of me. [ : ]but if you believe not his writings, how will you believe my words? chapter viii. christ feeding five thousand, and walking on the lake. [ : ]after these things jesus went across the lake of galilee, the tiberias. [ : ]and a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he performed on the sick. [ : ]and jesus went up on the mountain and sat there with his disciples. [ : ]and the passover was nigh, the feast of the jews. [ : ]then jesus lining up his eyes, and seeing many people come to him, said to philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? [ : ]but this he said to try him; for he knew what he was about to do. [ : ] philip answered him, two hundred denarii [$ ] worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that each may take a little. [ : ]one of his disciples, andrew, simon peter's brother, said to him, [ : ]there is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fishes; but what are these for so many? [ : ]jesus said, make the men sit down. and there was much grass in the place. the men, therefore, sat down in number about five thousand. [ : ]then jesus took the bread, and having given thanks, distributed it to those reclining; likewise also of the fishes, as much as they wished. [ : ]and when they were filled he said to his disciples, collect the fragments that remain over, that nothing may be lost. [ : ]then they collected, and filled twelve traveling-baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over to those who had eaten. [ : ]then the men, seeing what a miracle jesus had performed, said, this is truly the prophet who was to come into the world. [ : ]and jesus knowing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him a king, went up to the mountain himself alone. [ : ]and when it was evening, his disciples went down to the lake, [ : ] and entering into the ship were crossing the lake to capernaum. and it was now dark, and jesus had not come to them, [ : ]and the lake was made rough by a great wind blowing. [ : ]then having gone about twenty-five or thirty stadiums [ or - miles], they saw jesus walking on the lake and coming near the ship, and they were afraid. [ : ]but he said to them, it is i; be not afraid. [ : ] then they willingly took him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land to which they were going. chapter ix. christ at capernaum proclaiming himself the son of god and the bread of life. [ : ]on the next day, the multitude standing on the other side of the lake seeing that there was no other boat there except one, and that jesus entered not into the ship with his disciples but his disciples had gone away alone,-- [ : ] but other boats came from tiberias near the place where they had eaten bread after the lord gave thanks,-- [ : ]when, therefore, the multitude saw that jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they went into the ships and came to capernaum, seeking jesus. [ : ]and finding him on the other side of the lake they said to him, rabbi, when came you hither? [ : ]jesus answered them and said, i tell you most truly, you seek me not because you saw miracles, but because you eat of the bread and were filled. [ : ]work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you; for him has god the father sealed. [ : ]then they said to him, what shall we do to perform the works of god? [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of god; to believe on him whom he has sent. [ : ]then they said to him, what miracle do you perform, that we may see and believe you? what work do you perform? [ : ]our fathers eat the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. [ : ]then jesus said to them, i tell you most truly, moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven; [ : ]for the bread of god is he that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. [ : ]then they said to him, sir, always give us this bread. [ : ]jesus said to them, i am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst. [ : ]but i said to you, that you have seen me and believe not. [ : ]every thing which the father gives to me shall come to me, and him that comes to me i will by no means cast out; [ : ]for i came down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me. [ : ]and this is the will of him that sent me; that i should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but should raise it up at the last day. [ : ]for this is the will of my father, that every one who sees the son and believes in him should have eternal life; and i will raise him up at the last day. [ : ]then the jews complained of him because he said, i am the bread which came down from heaven. [ : ]and they said, is not this jesus, the son of joseph, whose father and mother we know? how, then, does he say, i came down from heaven? [ : ]then jesus answered and said to them, complain not among yourselves. [ : ]no one can come to me unless the father who sent me shall draw him; and i will raise him up at the last day. [ : ]it is written in the prophets, and all shall be taught of god. every one who has heard and learned of the father comes to me. [ : ]not that any one has seen the father except he that is from god; he has seen the father. [ : ]i tell you most truly, he that believes has eternal life. [ : ]i am the bread of life. [ : ]your fathers eat manna in the wilderness, and died; [ : ]this is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. [ : ]i am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which i will give for the life of the world is my flesh. [ : ]then the jews contended one with another, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? [ : ]then jesus said to them, i tell you most truly, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [ : ]he that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and i will raise him up at the last day. [ : ]for my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. [ : ]he that eats my flesh and drinks my blood continues in me, and i in him. [ : ]as the living father sent me and i live by the father, so he that eats me shall live by me. [ : ]this is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers eat and died, he that eats this bread shall live forever. [ : ]these things he said in a synagogue, teaching in capernaum. [ : ]then many of his disciples hearing him said, this is a hard saying; who can hear him? [ : ]and jesus knowing in himself that his disciples complained of this, said to them, does this offend you? [ : ][what], then if you should see the son of man ascend where he was formerly? [ : ]the spirit is that which makes alive; the flesh profits nothing; the words which i have spoken to you are spirit and life. [ : ]but there are some of you who believe not. for jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who he was that would betray him. [ : ]and on that account he said, i told you that no one can come to me unless it has been given him by my father. [ : ]from this time many of his disciples went away from following him, and walked no more with him. [ : ]then jesus said to the twelve will you also go away? [ : ]simon peter answered him, lord, to whom shall we go? you have words of eternal life, [ : ]and we have believed and know that you are the holy [son] of god. [ : ]he answered them, have i not chosen you twelve? and of you one is a devil. [ : ]but he spoke of judas the son of simon iscariot, for he was about to betray him, being one of the twelve. [ : ]and after these things jesus walked in galilee, for he would not walk in judea because the jews sought to kill him. chapter x. christ at the feast of tabernacles. [ : ]and the feast of the jews was nigh, the feast of tabernacles. [ : ]then his brothers said to him, go down from here, and go into judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do; [ : ]for no one does any thing in secret, and seeks himself to be in public. if you do these things, show yourself to the world. [ : ]for his brothers did not believe on him. [ : ]then jesus said to them, my time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. [ : ]the world cannot hate you, but me it hates, because i testify of it that its works are evil. [ : ]do you go up to the feast; i go not up to this feast, because my time has not yet fully come. [ : ]having said these things he continued in galilee. [ : ]but when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. [ : ]then the jews sought him at the feast, and said, where is he? [ : ]and there was much complaining concerning him among the multitude; some said, he is a good man; others said, no; but he deceives the people. [ : ]nevertheless, no one spoke openly for him from fear of the jews. [ : ]and in the midst of the feast jesus went up into the temple and taught. [ : ]then the jews wondered, saying, how does this man know letters, not having learned? [ : ]then jesus answered them and said, my teaching is not mine but his that sent me. [ : ]if any one will do his will, he shall know of the teaching whether it is from god or whether i speak from myself. [ : ]he that speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he that seeks the glory of him that sent him, this [man] is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. [ : ]did not moses give you the law? and no one of you performs the law. why do you seek to kill me? [ : ]the multitude answered, you have a demon; who seeks to kill you? [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, i performed one work and you all wonder. [ : ]moses gave you circumcision, not that it is of moses but of the fathers, and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. [ : ]if a man receives circumcision on the sabbath, that the law of moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because i made a man entirely sound on the sabbath? [ : ]judge not according to the appearance, but judge a righteous judgment. [ : ]then some of the inhabitants of jerusalem said, is not this he whom they seek to kill? [ : ]and behold, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. have the rulers at length learned that this is the christ? [ : ]but we know this man whence he is; but when the christ comes, no one knows whence he is. [ : ]then jesus cried, teaching in the temple and saying, you both know me and know whence i am; and i have not come of myself; but he that sent me is true, whom you know not; [ : ]i know him, because i am from him, and he sent me. [ : ]then they sought to take him by force; but no man laid a hand on him, for his hour had not yet come. [ : ]and many of the multitude believed on him, and said, when the christ comes will he perform more miracles than this man has performed? [ : ]the pharisees heard the multitude saying these things concerning him, and the chief priests and pharisees sent to take him by force. [ : ]then jesus said, yet a little while am i with you, and i go to him that sent me. [ : ]you shall seek and shall not find, and where i am you cannot come. [ : ]then the jews said one to another, where is this man about to go, that we shall not find him? will he go to the dispersion of the greeks, and teach the greeks? [ : ]what does the word which he said mean; you shall seek and shall not find me, and where i am you cannot come? [ : ]and on the last day, the great day of the feast, jesus stood and cried, saying, if any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [ : ]he that believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of him shall flow rivers of living water. [ : ]but he said this of the spirit which those believing in him were about to receive; for the spirit was not yet [given], because jesus was not yet glorified. [ : ]then some of the multitude hearing these words, said, this is truly the prophet; [ : ]others said, this is the christ; others said, [no]; for does the christ come from galilee? [ : ]has not the scripture said that the christ comes from the offspring of david, and from bethlehem, the village where david was? [ : ]then there was a division among the multitude on his account; [ : ]and some of them wished to take him by force, but no one laid hands on him. [ : ]then came the officers to the chief priests and pharisees, and they said to them, why have you not brought him? [ : ]the officers answered, a man never spoke thus. [ : ]the pharisees answered them, are you also deceived? [ : ]has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the pharisees? [ : ] but this multitude which know not the law are accursed. [ : ]nicodemus, he that came to him, being one of them, said to them, [ : ]does our law judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he does? [ : ]they answered and said to him, are you also from galilee? search and see; for no prophet is raised up from galilee. [ : ][an early interpolation, but probably true]. and every man went to his own house; [ : ]and jesus went to the mount of olives. [ : ]and in the morning he went again to the temple, and all the people came to him, and he sat and taught them. [ : ]and the scribes and pharisees brought him a woman taken in adultery, and placing her in the midst [ : ]said to him, teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. [ : ]in the law, moses commanded us that such should be stoned; what therefore do you say? [ : ]they said this to try him, that they might have something of which to accuse him. but jesus, stooping down, wrote with his finger on the ground. [ : ]and when they continued asking him, rising up, he said to them, let him that has not sinned among you first cast the stone at her. [ : ]and again stooping down he wrote on the ground. [ : ]but they hearing, and being convicted by their consciences, went out, one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last; and jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. [ : ]and jesus rising up and seeing no one but the woman, said to her, woman, where are those your accusers? has no man condemned you? [ : ]and she said, no man, lord. and jesus said to her, neither do i condemn you; go, and sin no more. chapter xi. christ declaring himself the son of god. [ : ]then jesus spoke to them again, saying, i am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. [ : ]then the pharisees said to him, you testify of yourself; your testimony is not true. [ : ]jesus answered and said to them, even if i testify of myself, my testimony is true, for i know whence i came and whither i go; but you know not whence i come or whither i go. [ : ]you judge according to the flesh; i judge no one; [ : ]and even if i judge, my judgment is true, because i am not alone, but i and the father who sent me. [ : ]and it is written also in your law, that the testimony of two men is true; [ : ]i am one, testifying of myself, and the father who sent me testifies of me. [ : ]then they said to him, where is your father? jesus answered, you have neither known me nor my father; if you had known me you would also have known my father. [ : ]these words he said in the treasury, teaching in the temple; and no one took him by force, for his hour had not yet come. [ : ]then jesus said to them again, i go away, and you shall seek me and die in your sin; where i go, you cannot come. [ : ]then the jews said, will he kill himself, that he says, where i go you cannot come? [ : ]and he said to them, you are from below; i am from above; you are from this world; i am not from this world. [ : ]therefore i said to you, you shall die in your sins; for if you believe not that i am [the christ], you shall die in your sins. [ : ] then they said to him, who are you? and jesus said to them, what at the beginning, and what i tell you [now]. [ : ]i have many things to say and judge of you; but he that sent me is true; and what i have heard from him, these things i speak in the world. [ : ]they understood not that he spoke to them of the father. [ : ]then jesus said to them, when you shall lift up the son of man, then shall you know that i am [the christ]; and i do nothing of myself; but i speak these things as the father has taught me; [ : ]and he having sent me is with me, he has not left me alone, for i always do the things which please him. [ : ]when he said these things many believed on him. [ : ]then jesus said to the jews who believed on him, if you continue in my word, you are my disciples indeed; [ : ]and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. [ : ]they answered him, we are children of abraham, and were never in servitude to any one; how say you, you shall become free? [ : ]jesus answered them, i tell you most truly, that every one who commits sin is a servant of the sin. [ : ]but the servant continues not in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. [ : ]if, therefore, the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. [ : ]i know that you are children of abraham; but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. [ : ]what i have seen with my father i speak, and you also do what you have heard from your father. [ : ]they answered and said to him, our father is abraham. jesus said to them, if you were children of abraham, you would have done the works of abraham; [ : ]but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which i have heard from god; abraham did not do this. [ : ]you do the works of your father. they said to him, we were not born by fornication, we have one father, god. [ : ]jesus said to them, if god was your father you would have loved me; for i came forth and come from god; for i came not of myself, but he sent me. [ : ]why do you not understand my speech? because you cannot hear my word. [ : ]you are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. he was a murderer from the beginning and stood not by the truth; for truth is not in him. when he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own; for he is a liar, and the father of him [that lies]. [ : ]but because i tell you the truth you believe me not. [ : ]who of you convicts me of a sin? if i say the truth, why do you not believe me? [ : ]he that is of god hears the words of god; you, therefore, hear not, because you are not of god. [ : ]the jews answered and said to him, say we not well that you are a samaritan, and have a demon? [ : ]jesus answered, i have not a demon; but i honor my father, and you dishonor me. [ : ]but i seek not my glory; there is one that seeks and judges. [ : ]i tell you most truly, if any one shall keep my word he shall never see death. [ : ]the jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, if any one shall keep my word he shall never taste death. [ : ]are you greater than our father abraham, who died? and the prophets died; whom do you make yourself? [ : ] jesus answered, if i glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my father who glorifies me, of whom you say, he is our god; [ : ]and you have not known him, but i have known him; and if i should say i do not know him, i should be a liar like you; but i know him and keep his word. [ : ]abraham your father rejoiced to see my day, and he saw, and was glad. [ : ]then the jews said to him, you have not yet fifty years, and have you seen abraham? [ : ]jesus said to them, i tell you most truly, that before abraham existed, i am. [ : ]then they took up stones to cast at him; but jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. chapter xii. christ curing a man born blind, and his parable of the good shepherd. [ : ]and passing by he saw a man that was blind from birth; [ : ]and his disciples asked him, saying, rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? [ : ]jesus answered, neither did this man sin, nor his parents, but that the works of god might appear in him. [ : ]i must perform the works of him that sent me, while it is day; night comes when no man can work. [ : ]while i am in the world i am the light of the world. [ : ]saying these things he spit on the ground, and made a paste of the spittle, and put the paste on his eyes, [ : ]and said to him, go, and wash in the pool of the siloam; which is interpreted, sent. then he went away and washed, and came seeing. [ : ]then the neighbors and those who had seen him before, because he was a beggar, said, is not this he that sat and begged? [ : ]some said, this is he; others said, no, but he is like him; he said, i am he. [ : ]then they said to him, how then were your eyes opened? [ : ]he answered, a man called jesus made paste and anointed my eyes, and said to me, go to the siloam and wash; then i went and washed, and obtained sight. [ : ]they said to him, where is he? he said, i know not. [ : ]they brought to the pharisees him that was formerly blind; [ : ]and it was on the sabbath when jesus made the paste and opened his eyes. [ : ]then the pharisees also asked him again how he obtained sight. and he said to them, he put a paste on my eyes, and i washed, and see. [ : ]then some of the pharisees said, this man is not of god, for he does not keep the sabbath. others said, how can a sinful man perform such miracles? and there was a division among them. [ : ]they said to the blind man again, what do you say of him, because he opened your eyes? and he said, he is a prophet. [ : ]then the jews did not believe of him that he had been blind and received his sight, till they called the parents of him that had received his sight. [ : ]and they asked them, saying, is this your son, of whom you say that he was born blind? how then does he now see? [ : ]his parents answered and said, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; [ : ]but how he now sees we know not, or who has opened his eyes we know not; ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself. [ : ]his parents said these things because they feared the jews; for already the jews had agreed that if any one confessed him to be christ, he should be put out of the synagogue; [ : ] therefore his parents said, he is of age, ask him. [ : ]then they called the man who had been blind, a second time, and said to him, give glory to god; we know that this man is a sinner. [ : ]then he answered, whether he is a sinner i know not; one thing i know, that having been blind, i now see. [ : ]then they said to him, what did he do to you? how did he open your eyes? [ : ]he answered them, i have told you already, and you did not hear; why do you wish to hear again? do you also wish to be his disciples? [ : ]they reproached him, and said, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of moses. [ : ]we know that god spoke to moses, but we know not whence this man is. [ : ]the man answered and said to them, it is a strange thing, that you know not whence he is, and he has opened my eyes. [ : ]we know that god hears not sinners; but if one is a worshipper of god, and does his will, him he hears. [ : ]since the world began it has not been heard that any one opened the eyes of one born blind; [ : ]unless this man was from god he would have been able to do nothing. [ : ]they answered and said to him, you were born entirely in sins, and do you teach us? and they cast him without. [ : ]jesus heard that they had cast him without, and finding him he said to him, do you believe in the son of god? [ : ]and he answered and said, who is he, sir, that i shall believe on him? [ : ]jesus said to him, you have both seen him, and he that speaks to you is he. [ : ]and he said, lord, i believe, and worshipped him. [ : ]and jesus said, i came into this world for judgment, that those not seeing may see, and those seeing become blind. [ : ]and the pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? [ : ]jesus said to them, if you were blind you would not have had sin; but now you say, we see, your sin remains. [ : ]i tell you most truly, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs in at some other place, he is a thief and robber; [ : ]but he that enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [ : ]to him the gate-keeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his sheep by name, and leads them out. [ : ]when he puts out all his sheep he goes before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. [ : ]but a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. [ : ]this parable spoke jesus to them, but they knew not what the words which he spoke to them meant. [ : ]then said jesus to them again, i tell you most truly, i am the door of the sheep. [ : ]all who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep have not heard them. [ : ]i am the door; by me if any one enters in he shall be saved, and go in and out, and find pasturage. [ : ]the thief comes not, except to steal, and kill, and destroy; i came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. [ : ]i am the good shepherd. the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. [ : ]but the hired servant, and one who is not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf seizes and scatters them; [ : ]for he is a hired servant and cares not for the sheep. [ : ]i am the good shepherd, and i know mine and mine know me, [ : ]as the father knows me and i know the father; and i give my life for the sheep. [ : ]and other sheep i have which are not of this fold; and them i must lead, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd. [ : ]therefore my father loves me, because i lay down my life that i may take it again. [ : ]no one takes it from me, but i lay it down of myself. i have a right to lay it down, and i have a right to take it again; this commandment have i received from my father. [ : ]there was a division again among the jews on account of these words; [ : ]and many of them said, he has a demon, and is mad; why do you hear him? [ : ]others said, these are not the words of a demoniac; can a demon open the eyes of the blind? chapter xiii. christ at the feast of the dedication, and beyond the jordan. [ : ]it was the dedication at jerusalem; it was winter; [ : ]and jesus walked in the temple, in solomon's porch. [ : ]then the jews came around him and said to him, how long do you hold our minds [in doubt]? if you are the christ, tell us plainly. [ : ]jesus answered them, i have told you and you believe not; the works which i perform in my father's name, these testify of me; [ : ]but you believe not, because you are not of my sheep. as i said to you, [ : ]my sheep hear my voice and i know them, and they follow me, [ : ]and i give them eternal life, and they shall never perish nor shall any one pluck them out of my hand. [ : ]my father who gave [them] to me is greater than all, and no one can pluck them out of my father's hand. [ : ]i and the father are one. [ : ]then the jews took up stones again to stone him. [ : ]jesus answered them, many good works have i shown you from the father; for which of these works do you stone me? [ : ]the jews answered him, we do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself god. [ : ]jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, i said you are gods? [ : ]if he called them gods to whom the word of god came, and the scripture cannot be broken, [ : ]do you tell him whom the father has sanctified and sent into the world, you blaspheme, because i said, i am the son of god? [ : ]if i do not my father's works, believe me not; [ : ]but if i do, though you believe not me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the father is in me and i in the father. [ : ]then they sought again to take him by force; and he escaped out of their hand. [ : ]and he went away again beyond the jordan to the place where john first baptized, and continued there. [ : ]and many came to him and said, john performed no miracle, but all things which john said of this man were true. [ : ]and many believed on him there. chapter xiv. christ raising lazarus from the dead. [ : ]a certain man was sick, lazarus of bethany, of the village of mary and martha her sister. [ : ]it was the mary who anointed the lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hairs, whose brother lazarus was sick. [ : ]then the sisters sent to him, saying, lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. [ : ] but jesus hearing it said, this sickness is not to death, but for the glory of god, that the son of god may be glorified by it. [ : ]and jesus loved martha, and her sister, and lazarus. [ : ]when, therefore, he heard that he was sick, he continued in the place where he was two days. [ : ]then after that he said to the disciples, let us go again into judea. [ : ]the disciples said to him, rabbi, the jews lately sought to stone you, and do you go there again? [ : ]jesus answered, are there not twelve hours of the day? and if one walks in the day he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world; [ : ]but if he walks in the night he stumbles, because the light is not in it. [ : ]he said these things, and after this he said to them, our friend lazarus has fallen asleep; but i go that i may awake him. [ : ]then they said to him, lord, if he has fallen asleep he will recover. [ : ]but jesus spoke of his death; but they thought that he spoke of the rest of sleep. [ : ]then jesus, therefore, said to them plainly, lazarus has died; [ : ]and i am glad for your sakes that i was not there, that you may believe; but let us go to him. [ : ]then thomas, who is called the twin, said to the fellow disciples, let us go also, that we may die with him. [ : ]then jesus coming found that he had been four days in the tomb. [ : ]and bethany was near jerusalem, about fifteen stadiums [ - miles] distant. [ : ]and many of the jews came to those with martha and mary, to console them for their brother. [ : ]then when martha heard that jesus had come, she went out to meet him; but mary sat in the house. [ : ]then martha said to jesus, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died; [ : ]but now also i know that whatever you ask of god, god will give you. [ : ]jesus said to her, your brother shall rise again. [ : ]martha said to him, i know that he will rise at the resurrection at the last day. [ : ]jesus said to her, i am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, even if he has died, shall live, [ : ]and no one who lives and believes in me shall ever die; do you believe this? [ : ]she said to him, yes, lord; i believe that you are the christ, the son of god, who comes into the world. [ : ]and having said this she went away and called mary her sister, privately, saying, the teacher has come and calls for you. [ : ]when she heard, she arose quickly and came to him; [ : ]but jesus had not yet entered into the village, but was at the place where martha met him. [ : ]then the jews who were with her in the house and consoling her, seeing mary that she arose and went out quickly, followed her, saying, she goes to the tomb to weep there. [ : ]then mary, when she came where jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying to him, lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. [ : ]then when jesus saw her weeping, and the jews weeping who came with her, he was greatly agitated in spirit and affected, [ : ]and said, where have you laid him? they said to him, lord, come and see. [ : ]jesus wept. [ : ]then the jews said, behold, how he loved him. [ : ]and some of them said, could not this man who opens the eyes of the blind, cause that even he should not have died? [ : ]then jesus again being agitated within himself came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [ : ]jesus said, take away the stone. martha, the sister of the dead, said to him, lord, by this time he smells; for he has been dead four days. [ : ]jesus said to her, did i not tell you that if you will believe you shall see the glory of god? [ : ] then they took away the stone. and jesus lifted his eyes above, and said, father, i thank thee that thou hast heard me; [ : ]and i knew that thou hearest me always; but for the sake of the multitude who stand by i said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. [ : ]and having said these things, he cried with a loud voice, lazarus, come forth. [ : ]and the dead came forth, bound as to his feet and hands with bandages, and his face was bound with a napkin. jesus said to them, unbind him, and let him go. [ : ]then many of the jews who came with mary, and saw what jesus did, believed on him; [ : ]but some of them went away to the pharisees and told them what jesus had done. [ : ]then the chief priests and pharisees convened the sanhedrim, and said, what do we accomplish? for this man performs many miracles. [ : ]if we leave him thus all will believe on him; and the romans will come and take away our place and nation. [ : ]and one of them, caiaphas, being chief priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, [ : ]neither consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that all the nation should perish. [ : ]this he said not of himself, but being chief priest that year he prophesied that jesus was about to die for the nation; [ : ]and not for the nation only, but to bring together into one [body] all the children of god scattered abroad. [ : ]from that day, therefore, they took counsel to kill him. [ : ]then jesus walked no more openly among the jews, but went thence to a region near the wilderness, to a city called ephraim, and there he staid with his disciples. [ : ]and the passover of the jews was nigh, and many went up from the country to jerusalem, before the passover, to purify themselves. [ : ]then they sought jesus, and standing in the temple said one to another, what do you think? that he will not come to the feast? [ : ]and the chief priests and pharisees had given commandment, that if any one knew where he was he should make it known, that they might take him by force. chapter xv. christ at bethany, his triumphant entrance into jerusalem, etc. [ : ]then jesus, six days before the passover, came to bethany, where lazarus was whom jesus had raised from the dead. [ : ]then they made him a supper there, and martha served; but lazarus was one of those that reclined with him. [ : ]then mary taking a pound of genuine nard, very costly, anointed the feet of jesus, and wiped his feet with her hairs. and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. [ : ]but the iscariot, one of his disciples, who was about to betray him, said, [ : ]why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denarii [$ ], and given to the poor? [ : ]but he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the treasure-chest, and carried off the things put in it. [ : ]then jesus said, let her alone, that she may keep this for the day of preparation for my burial; [ : ]the poor you always have with you, but me you have not always. [ : ]a great multitude of the jews, therefore, knew that he was there, and came, not on account of jesus only, but also to see lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. [ : ]and the chief priests took counsel to kill lazarus also, [ : ]because many of the jews withdrew on his account and believed in jesus. [ : ]on the next day a great multitude having come to the feast, having heard that jesus was coming to jerusalem, [ : ]took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried, hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord, the king of israel! [ : ]and jesus finding a young ass sat on it, as it is written; [ : ]fear not, daughter of zion; behold, your king comes sitting on the colt of an ass. [ : ]his disciples did not understand these things at first; but when jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him. [ : ]the multitude, therefore, which was with him, testified that he called lazarus from the tomb, and raised him from the dead. [ : ]on this account also the multitude met him, because they heard that he had performed this miracle. [ : ]the pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, you see that you have gained nothing; behold, the world has gone after him. [ : ]and there were some greeks of those who went up to jerusalem to worship at the feast; [ : ]these, therefore, came to philip, who was from bethsaida of galilee, and asked him, saying, sir, we wish to see jesus. [ : ]philip went and told andrew, and again andrew and philip went and told jesus. [ : ]and jesus answered them, saying, the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified. [ : ]i tell you most truly, that unless the kernel of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it continues alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [ : ]he that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall preserve it to eternal life. [ : ]if any man serves me let him follow me; and where i am there also shall my servant be. if anyone serves me, him will the father honor. [ : ]now is my soul troubled; and what shall i say? father, save me from this hour. but for this cause came i to this hour; [ : ]father, glorify thy name. then came a voice from heaven, i have both glorified and will glorify it again. [ : ]then the multitude standing and hearing, said, it was thunder; others said, an angel spoke to him. [ : ] jesus answered and said, this voice was not on my account, but for you. [ : ] there is now a judgment of this world; the ruler of this world shall now be cast out; [ : ]and if i am raised on high from the earth i will draw all men to me. [ : ]but this he said, signifying by what death he was about to die. [ : ]then the multitude answered him, we have heard from the law that the christ continues forever; and how say you, the son of man must be raised on high? who is this son of man? [ : ]then jesus said to them, yet a little while is the light with you; walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; for he that walks in darkness knows not where he goes. [ : ] while you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be children of light. jesus said these things, and went away and concealed himself from them. [ : ]but though he had performed so many miracles before them they did not believe in him; [ : ]that the word of isaiah the prophet, which he spoke, might be fulfilled; lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed? [ : ]for this reason they could not believe, because, isaiah said again, [ : ]he has blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and i should cure them. [ : ]isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and spoke of him. [ : ]nevertheless, many of the rulers believed on him, but on account of the pharisees did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogues; [ : ]for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of god. [ : ]and jesus cried and said, he that believes on me, believes not on me but on him that sent me; [ : ]and he that beholds me beholds him that sent me. [ : ]i have come a light into the world, that no one who believes in me should continue in darkness. [ : ]and if any one hears my words and keeps them not, i do not judge him; for i came not to judge the world but to save the world. [ : ]he that rejects me and receives not my words, has one that judges him; the word which i have spoken, that shall judge him at the last day. [ : ] for i have not spoken of myself; but the father who sent me gave me commandment what to say and what to speak; [ : ]and i know that his commandment is eternal life. what things i speak, therefore, i so speak as the father has told me. chapter xvi. christ at the last supper, and his sermon to the eleven. [ : ]and before the feast of the passover, jesus knowing that his hour had come to depart from this world to the father, having loved his own in the world he loved them to the end. [ : ]and supper being over, the devil having already put it in the heart that judas iscariot, the son of simon, should betray him, [ : ]he knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from god and was going to god, [ : ]arose from supper, and laid aside his clothes, and taking a towel girded himself: [ : ]then he put water into the wash-basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. [ : ]then he came to simon peter; he said to him, lord, do you wash my feet? [ : ]jesus answered and said to him, what i do you know not now, but you shall know hereafter. [ : ]peter said to him, you shall never by any means wash my feet. he answered him, unless i wash you you have no part with me. [ : ]simon peter said to him, lord, not my feet only, but my hands and my head. [ : ] jesus said to him, he that is washed needs only that his feet should be washed, but is wholly pure; and you are pure, but not all. [ : ]for he knew him that was to betray him; therefore, he said, you are not all pure. [ : ]when, therefore, he had washed their feet, and taken his clothes and sat down again, he said to them, do you know what i have done to you? [ : ] you call me teacher and lord; and you say well, for i am. [ : ]if i then, the lord and the teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. [ : ]for i have given you an example, that you also should do as i have done. [ : ]i tell you most truly, the servant is not greater than his lord, nor the apostle greater than he that sent him. [ : ]if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. [ : ]i speak not of you all; i know whom i have chosen; but that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. [ : ]i tell you from this time, before it occurs, that when it occurs you may believe that i am [the christ]. [ : ]i tell you most truly, he that receives one that i send receives me; and he that receives me receives him that sent me. [ : ]having said these things jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, i tell you most truly, that one of you shall betray me. [ : ]the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spoke. [ : ]one of his disciples, whom jesus loved, was reclining on the bosom of jesus. [ : ]then simon peter made signs to this man, and said to him, ask who it is of whom he speaks. [ : ]he, falling down on the breast of jesus, said to him, lord, who is it? [ : ]then jesus answered, it is he to whom i will dip and give the mouthful. then dipping the mouthful, he took and gave it to judas, the son of simon iscariot. [ : ]and after the mouthful, then satan entered into him. then jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. [ : ]no one of those reclining knew for what purpose he said this to him, [ : ]for some thought, since judas had the treasure-chest, that jesus said to him, buy what we need for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. [ : ]he, therefore, having taken the mouthful, immediately went out; and it was night. [ : ]when he had gone out jesus said, now the son of man has been glorified, and god has been glorified in him. [ : ]if god has been glorified in him, god will also glorify him in himself, and will immediately glorify him. [ : ]my little children, i am with you yet a little while. you shall seek me, and as i said to the jews, where i go you cannot come, i now also say to you. [ : ]i give you a new commandment to love another, as i have loved you that you also should love one another. [ : ]by this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. [ : ]simon peter said to him, lord, where do you go? jesus answered where i go you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow afterwards. [ : ]peter said to him, lord, why can i not follow you now? i will lay down my life for you. [ : ]jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? i tell you most truly, a cock shall not crow till you shall deny me thrice. [ : ]let not your hearts be troubled; believe in god and believe in me. [ : ]in my father's house are many mansions; if there were not i would have told you. [ : ]for i go to prepare a place for you; and if i go and shall prepare a place for you, i will come again and receive you to myself, that where i am you may also be. [ : ]and where i go, you know the way. [ : ]thomas said to him, lord, we know not where you go, and how do we know the way? [ : ] jesus said to him, i am the way, and the truth, and the life. no one comes to the father except by me. [ : ]if you had known me you would have known my father; and from this time you know him and have seen him. [ : ]philip said to him, lord, show us the father, and we shall be satisfied. [ : ]jesus said to him, have i been so long a time with you and have you not known me, philip? he that has seen me has seen the father; and how say you, show us the father? [ : ]do you not believe that i am in the father, and the father in me? the words which i speak to you i speak not of myself, but the father continuing in me, he does the works. [ : ]believe me that i am in the father and the father in me; but if not, believe on account of the works themselves. [ : ]i tell you most truly, he that believes on me, the works that i do shall he do; and greater works than these shall he do, because i go to the father; [ : ]and whatever you ask in my name i will do, that the father may be glorified in the son. [ : ]if you shall ask any thing in my name, i will do it. [ : ]if you love me, keep my commandments; [ : ]and i will pray the father, and he will give you another comforter, to be with you forever, [ : ] the spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it beholds it not nor knows it; but you know it, because it continues with you, and shall be in you. [ : ]i will not leave you orphans; i will come to you. [ : ]yet a little while and the world beholds me no more; but you shall behold me; because i live, you shall live also. [ : ]in that day you shall know that i am in my father, and you in me, and i in you. [ : ]he that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; and he that loves me shall be loved by my father, and i will love him and manifest myself to him. [ : ]judas said to him, not the iscariot, lord, and how is it that you are about to manifest yourself to us, and not to the world? [ : ]jesus answered and said to him, if any one loves me he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our mansion with him. [ : ]he that loves me not, keeps not my words; and the word which you hear is not mine, but the father's that sent me. [ : ]i have said these things to you while yet continuing with you, [ : ]but the comforter, the holy spirit, which the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and remind you of all things which i have told you. [ : ]peace i leave with you; my peace i give you; not as the world gives give i to you. let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [ : ]you heard that i said to you, i will go away and come to you. if you loved me you would rejoice because i go to the father, for the father is greater than i. [ : ]and now i have told you before it occurs, that when it occurs you may believe. [ : ]i will not speak with you much more; for the ruler of this world comes and has nothing in me; [ : ]but [i have said this] that the world may know that i love the father, and that as the father has commanded me, so i do. arise, let us go hence. chapter xvii. christ's sermon after the last supper. [ : ]i am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. [ : ]every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit he trims, that it may bear more fruit. [ : ]you are now pure, by means of the word which i have spoken to you; [ : ]continue in me, and i in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it continues in the vine, so you cannot, unless you continue in me. [ : ]i am the vine, you are the branches. he that continues in me and i in him, this man bears much fruit; for separated from me, you can do nothing. [ : ]if any one continues not in me he is cast without as a branch, and is withered; and they collect them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. [ : ]if you continue in me, and my words continue in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be [given] you. [ : ]by this is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit and be my disciples. [ : ]as the father has loved me, i also have loved you; continue in my love. [ : ]if you keep my commandments you shall continue in my love, as i have kept my father's commandments and continue in his love. [ : ]i have spoken these things to you that my joy may be in you, and your joy be completed. [ : ]this is my commandment, that you love one another as i have loved you. [ : ]no man has greater love than this, that one should give his life for his friends. [ : ]you are my friends if you do what i command you; [ : ]i no longer call you servants, for the servant knows not what his lord does; but i have called you friends: for all things which i have heard from my father i have made known to you. [ : ]you have not chosen me, but i have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should continue, that whatever you ask the father in my name he may give you. [ : ]these things i charge you, that you love one another. [ : ]if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before you. [ : ] if you were of this world, the world would be a friend to its own; but because you are not of the world, but i have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. [ : ]remember the word which i said to you, a servant is not greater than his lord. if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will also keep yours. [ : ]but all these things they will do to you, on my account, because they know not him that sent me. [ : ]if i had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no pretext for their sin. [ : ]he that hates me, hates my father also. [ : ]if i had not done among them the works which no other one has done, they would not have had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. [ : ]but [they do this] that the word written in their law may be fulfilled, they hated me without cause. [ : ]but when the comforter has come, whom i will send you from the father, the spirit of truth which proceeds from the father, he shall testify of me; [ : ]and you shall also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. [ : ]these things i have said to you, that you may not be offended. [ : ] they shall put you out of the synagogues; but the hour is coming when every one that kills you will think he renders god a service. [ : ]and these things they will do, because they have not known the father nor me. [ : ]but these things i have told you, that when the time comes you may remember that i told you of them. but i told you not these things at the beginning, because i was with you. [ : ]but now i go to him that sent me, and no one of you asks me, where do you go? [ : ]but because i have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [ : ]but i tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that i should go away; for if i do not go away, the comforter will not come to you; but if i go i will send him to you. [ : ]and when he has come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [ : ]of sin, because they believe not on me; [ : ]and of righteousness, because i go to my father, and you behold me no more; [ : ]and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. [ : ]i have many things yet to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; [ : ]but when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will lead you in all the truth; for he will not speak of himself, but he will speak whatever he shall hear, and tell you things to come. [ : ]he shall glorify me, because he shall receive from me and tell you. [ : ]all things that the father has, are mine; on this account i said, he shall receive of me and tell you. [ : ]a little while and you shall not see me; and again a little while and you shall see me. [ : ]then some of his disciples said one to another, what is this that he says to us, a little while and you shall not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me? and, because i go to the father? [ : ]they said therefore, what is this that he says, the little while? we do not know what he says. [ : ]jesus knew that they wished to ask him, and said to them, do you inquire among yourselves concerning this that i said, a little while and you shall not see me, and again a little while and you shall see me? [ : ]i tell you most truly, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall become joy. [ : ]for when a woman is in labor she has pain, because her time has come; but when she has borne the child she no longer remembers the distress, because of joy that a man is born into the world. [ : ]and you therefore now indeed have sorrow; but i will see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no one shall take from you. [ : ]and in that day you shall ask me nothing; i tell you most truly, whatever you shall ask the father, he will give you in my name. [ : ] till now you have asked nothing in my name; ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be complete. [ : ]these things have i spoken to you in parables. the time is coming when i will no more speak to you in parables, but i will tell you plainly of the father. [ : ]in that day you shall ask in my name, and i tell you not that i will ask the father for you; [ : ]for the father himself is a friend to you, because you have been friends to me, and believed that i came forth from god. [ : ]i came forth from the father and have come into the world; again i leave the world and go to the father. [ : ]then his disciples said to him, behold, now you speak plainly, and say no parable; [ : ]now we know that you know all things, and have no need that any one should ask you; on this account we believe that you have come forth from god. [ : ]jesus answered them, do you now believe? [ : ]behold, the time is coming, and has come, that you shall be scattered every one to his own, and leave me alone; and i am not alone, for the father is with me. [ : ]these things have i told you, that in me you may have peace. in the world you shall have affliction; but be of good courage, i have overcome the world. chapter xviii. christ's prayer for his disciples. [ : ]jesus spoke these words and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, father, the hour has come; glorify thy son, that the son may glorify thee, [ : ]as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that as to all that thou hast given him he should give them eternal life. [ : ]and this is the eternal life; that they shall know thee, the only true god, and jesus christ whom thou hast sent. [ : ]i have glorified thee on the earth; i have finished the work which thou gayest me to do. [ : ]and now glorify thou me, father, with thyself, with the glory which i had with thee before the world was. [ : ]i have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gayest me out of the world; they were thine, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. [ : ]now they have known that all things which thou hast given me are of thee, [ : ]because the words which thou hast given me i have given them; and they have received and known truly that i came forth from thee, and believed that thou didst send me. [ : ]i pray for them. i pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine, [ : ]and all mine are thine, and thine mine, and i am glorified in them. [ : ]and i am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, and i come to thee. holy father, keep in thy name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we also are. [ : ]when i was with them in the world, i kept them in thy name which thou gayest me, and preserved [them], and no one of them has been lost, except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled; [ : ]but now i come to thee, and i say these things in the world that they may have my joy made complete in them. [ : ]i have given them thy word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, as i am not of the world. [ : ]i ask not that thou wouldst take them out of the world, but that thou wouldst keep them from evil. [ : ]they are not of the world, as i am not of the world. [ : ]sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth. [ : ]as thou hast sent me into the world, i also have sent them into the world: [ : ]and i sanctify myself for them, that they also may be sanctified by truth. [ : ]and i ask not for these only, but for those also who shall believe on me through their word, [ : ]that all may be one, as thou, father, art in me, and i in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. [ : ]and the glory which thou hast given me i have given them, that they may be one as we are one, [ : ]i in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. [ : ]father, what thou hast given me, i will that they should be with me where i am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; because thou didst love me before the foundation of the world; [ : ]and, righteous father, the world has not known thee, but i have known thee, and these have known that thou didst send me. [ : ]and i have declared to them thy name, and will declare it, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, as i also am in them. chapter xix. the apprehension of christ, his examination by the jews, peter's denial of him. [ : ]jesus having said these words went out with his disciples across the brook cedron, where there was a garden, into which he entered and his disciples. [ : ]and judas who betrayed him knew the place, for jesus often retired there with his disciples. [ : ]then judas taking the guard and the officers of the chief priests and pharisees, came there with torches, and lamps, and weapons. [ : ]jesus, therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon him, went out and said to them, whom do you seek? [ : ]they answered him, jesus the nazoraean. jesus said to them, i am he. and judas who betrayed him stood with them. [ : ]when, therefore, he said to them, i am he, they went backwards and fell on the ground. [ : ]then he asked them again, whom do you seek? and they said, jesus, the nazoraean. [ : ]jesus answered, i told you that i am he; if, therefore, you seek me, let these go; [ : ]that the word might be fulfilled which he said, of those whom thou gayest me i have lost none. [ : ]then simon peter having a sword drew it and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his right ear; and the name of the servant was malchus. [ : ]then jesus said to peter, put the sword in the sheath. the cup which the father has given me, shall i not drink it? [ : ]then the guard and the chiliarch and the officers of the jews apprehended jesus, and bound him, [ : ]and led him away to annas first; for he was father-in-law of caiaphas, who was chief priest that year; [ : ]and caiaphas was the one who advised the jews that it was expedient that one man should be destroyed for the people. [ : ]but simon peter followed jesus, and the other disciple; and that disciple was known to the chief priest, and went in with jesus to the chief priest's court; [ : ]but peter stood at the door without. then the other disciple who was known to the chief priest went out and spoke to the door-keeper, and brought in peter. [ : ]then the female servant, the door-keeper, said to peter, are you also one of the disciples of this man? he said, i am not. [ : ]and the servants and officers having made a fire because it was cold, stood and warmed themselves. and peter stood with them and warmed himself. [ : ]then the chief priest asked jesus of his disciples, and his teaching. [ : ]jesus answered him, i have spoken openly to the world; i always taught in a synagogue, and in the temple, where the jews always assemble, and in secret i have said nothing. [ : ]why do you ask me? ask those who have heard me, what i said to them; behold, they know what i said. [ : ]he having said these things, one of the officers who stood by gave jesus a blow, saying, do you answer the chief priest thus? [ : ]jesus answered him, if i spoke wrong, testify of the wrong; but if well, why do you beat me? [ : ]then annas sent him bound to caiaphas the chief priest. [ : ]and simon peter was standing and warming himself. then they said to him, are you also one of his disciples? he denied, and said, i am not. [ : ] one of the servants of the chief priest, being a relation of him whose ear peter cut off, said, did i not see you in the garden with him? [ : ]then peter denied again; and immediately a cock crew. chapter xx. christ's trial and condemnation before pilate. [ : ]then they led him from caiaphas to the praetorium. and it was morning; and they entered not into the praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. [ : ]then pilate went out to them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man? [ : ]they answered and said to him, if he was not a criminal we should not have delivered him up to you. [ : ] then pilate said to them, take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law. the jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put any one to death; [ : ]that the word of jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what death he was about to die. [ : ]then pilate went into the praetorium and called jesus, and said to him, are you the king of the jews? [ : ]jesus answered, do you say this of yourself, or did others tell you of me? [ : ]pilate answered, am i a jew? your nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me; what have you done? [ : ]jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom had been of this world my officers would have fought for me, that i should not be given up to the jews; but now my kingdom is not here. [ : ]then pilate said to him, are you a king then? jesus answered, as you say, i am a king. for this was i born, and for this i came into the world, that i should testify to the truth; every one who is of the truth hears my voice. [ : ]pilate said to him, what is truth? and having said this he went out again to the jews, and said to them, i find no fault in him. [ : ]but you have a custom that i should release one to you at the passover; are you willing, therefore, that i should release to you the king of the jews? [ : ]then all cried again, saying, not this man, but barabbas. but barabbas was a robber. [ : ]then pilate took and scourged jesus. [ : ]and the soldiers having plaited a crown of thorns put it on his head; and they put a purple garment about him, [ : ]and came to him and said, hail, king of the jews! and they struck him with the open hand. [ : ]then pilate came out again and said to them, behold, i bring him out to you, that you may know that i find no fault in him. [ : ]then jesus came out, wearing the thorny crown and the purple garment. and he said to them, behold the man! [ : ]when therefore the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried, saying, crucify him! crucify him! pilate said to them, take him yourselves and crucify him, for i find no fault in him. [ : ]the jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die because he made himself the son of god. [ : ]when therefore pilate heard this charge he was more afraid, [ : ]and entered into the praetorium again, and said to jesus, whence are you? but jesus gave him no answer. [ : ]pilate said to him, do you not speak to me? do you not know that i have power to release you, and i have power to crucify you? [ : ]jesus answered, you would have had no power against me if it had not been given you from above; therefore he that delivered me to you has a greater sin. [ : ]from that time pilate sought to release him; but the jews cried, saying, if you release this man you are not a friend of caesar; every one who makes himself a king speaks against caesar. [ : ]then pilate hearing these words led jesus out, and sat on the tribunal, in a place called the pavement, but in hebrew, gabbatha. [ : ]and it was the preparation of the passover, it was about the sixth hour [noon]; and he said to the jews, behold your king! [ : ]then they cried out, away with him, away with him! crucify him! pilate said to them, shall i crucify your king? the chief priests answered, we have no king but caesar. [ : ]then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. chapter xxi. christ's crucifixion, death, and burial. [ : ]then they took jesus, and putting the cross on him he went out to what is called the place of a cranium, which in hebrew is called golgotha, [ : ] where they crucified him, and two others with him, one on one side and the other on the other, and jesus between. [ : ]and pilate wrote an inscription and put on the cross. and it was written, jesus the nazoraean, the king of the jews. [ : ]many of the jews therefore read this inscription, because the place where jesus was crucified was nigh the city; and it was written in hebrew, latin, and greek. [ : ]then the chief priests of the jews said to pilate, write not, the king of the jews, but that he said, i am king of the jews. [ : ]pilate answered, what i have written i have written. [ : ]then the soldiers, when they crucified jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, a part to each soldier, and his coat. but his coat was without seam, woven from the top through the whole. [ : ]they said, therefore, one to another, let us not divide this, but cast lots for it whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, they parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. the soldiers therefore did indeed these things. [ : ]and there stood by the cross of jesus, his mother, and the sister of his mother, mary the wife of cleopas, and mary the magdalene. [ : ]then jesus seeing his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, said to his mother, woman, behold your son. [ : ]then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. and from that hour the disciple took her to his own [house]. [ : ]after this, jesus knowing that all things were already finished, that the scripture might be fully accomplished, said, i thirst. [ : ]then a vessel was set full of vinegar; and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it on a hyssop stalk, they presented it to his mouth. [ : ]when therefore jesus took the vinegar, he said, it is finished; and inclining his head gave up the spirit. [ : ]then the jews, that the bodies might not continue on the cross on the sabbath, for it was the preparation, for that was a great sabbath, asked pilate that their legs might be broken and they be taken down. [ : ]then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other crucified with him, [ : ]and coming to jesus, when they saw him already dead, they broke not his legs; [ : ]but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. [ : ]he who saw has testified, and his testimony is true, for he knows that he says what is true, that you also may believe. [ : ]for these things were done that the scripture might be fulfilled, not a bone of him shall be broken; [ : ]and again another scripture says, they shall look on him whom they have pierced. [ : ]after these things joseph from arimathea, being a disciple of jesus, but secretly for fear of the jews, asked pilate that he might take down the body of jesus; and pilate permitted him. then he came and took his body. [ : ]and nicodemus, who at first came to jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. [ : ]then they took the body of jesus, and bound it with bandages, with the spices, as the custom of the jews is to prepare for burial. [ : ]and there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one was yet laid. [ : ]in that therefore they laid jesus, on account of the preparation of the jews, because the tomb was near. chapter xxii. christ after the resurrection. [ : ]and on the first day of the week, mary the magdalene came in the morning, while it was yet dark, to the tomb and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. [ : ]then she ran and came to simon peter, and to the other disciple whom jesus loved, and said to them, they have taken away the lord from the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. [ : ]then went peter and the other disciple, and came to the tomb. [ : ]and the two ran together; and the other disciple outran peter and came first to the tomb, [ : ]and stooping down saw the bandages lying, but he went not in. [ : ]then simon peter came following him, and went into the tomb, and beheld the bandages lying, [ : ]and the napkin which was on his head not lying with the bandages but folded up in a place by itself. [ : ]then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and saw and believed; [ : ]for they did not yet know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. [ : ]then the disciples went away by themselves. [ : ]but mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping. then as she wept she stooped down to the tomb, [ : ]and saw two angels in white sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of jesus had lain. [ : ]and they said to her, woman, why do you weep? she said to them, because they have taken my lord and i know not where they have laid him. [ : ]having said these words she turned around and beheld jesus standing, and knew not that it was jesus. [ : ]jesus said to her, woman, why do you weep? whom do you seek? she, supposing that he was the gardener, said to him, sir, if you have borne him away, tell me where you have laid him, and i will take him. [ : ]jesus said to her, mary. she, turning around, said to him in hebrew, rabboni, which is interpreted, teacher. [ : ]jesus said to her, do not touch me; for i have not yet ascended to the father; but go to my brothers and tell them, i ascend to my father and your father, and my god and your god. [ : ]mary the magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the lord, and that he said these things to her. [ : ]then when it was evening, on that first day of the week, and the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the jews, jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, peace be to you. [ : ]and having said this he showed them both his hands and his side; then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the lord. [ : ]then he said to them again, peace be to you; as the father has sent me, i also send you. [ : ]and having said this he breathed on them, and said to them, receive the holy spirit. [ : ]those whose sins you forgive, are forgiven; and whose you retain, are retained. [ : ]but thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when jesus came. [ : ]then the other disciples said to him, we have seen the lord; but he said to them, unless i see in his hands the impression of the nails, and put my finger in the impression of the nails, and put my hand in his side, i will not believe. [ : ]and after eight days his disciples were again within, and thomas with them. jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, peace be to you. [ : ]then he said to thomas, reach here your finger and behold my hands, and reach your hand and put it in my side, and be not faithless but believing. [ : ]thomas answered and said to him, my lord and my god. [ : ]jesus said to him, because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and believed. [ : ]jesus performed also many other miracles in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book; [ : ]but these are recorded that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing you may have life in his name. [ : ]after these things he showed himself again to the disciples at the lake of tiberias; and he showed himself thus. [ : ]simon peter, and thomas called the twin, and nathaniel who was from cana in galilee, and the sons of zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. [ : ]simon peter said to them, i am going a fishing. they said to him, we will also go with you. they went out and entered into the ship; and on that night caught nothing, [ : ]but when it was now morning jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was jesus. [ : ]then jesus said to them, children, have you any thing to eat? they answered him, no. [ : ]and he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the ship and you shall find. then they cast it, and they were not able to draw it from the number of fishes. [ : ]then that disciple whom jesus loved said to peter, it is the lord. then simon peter, hearing that it was the lord, girded on his coat, for he was naked, and cast himself into the lake. [ : ]but the other disciples came with the boat, drawing the net of fishes, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits distant. [ : ]then when they came to land they saw coals placed, and a fish laid upon [them], and bread. [ : ] jesus said to them, bring of the fish that you have now caught. [ : ]simon peter went and drew the net to the land, full of great fishes a hundred and fifty-three; and though there were so many the net was not broken. [ : ]jesus said to them, come and breakfast. no one of the disciples dared to ask him, who are you? for they knew that he was the lord. [ : ]jesus came and took the bread and gave them, and the fish likewise. [ : ]this was now the third time that jesus appeared to his disciples after he had arisen from the dead. [ : ]when therefore they had breakfasted, jesus said to simon peter, simon, son of john, do you love me more than these? he said to him, yes, lord, you know that i am a friend to you. he said to him, feed my lambs. [ : ]again he said to him a second time; simon, son of john, do you love me? he said to him, yes, lord, you know that i am a friend to you. he said to him, feed my sheep. [ : ] he said to him a third time; simon, son of john, are you a friend to me? peter was grieved that he said to him the third time, are you a friend to me? and he said to him, lord you know all things; you know that i am a friend to you. jesus said to him, feed my sheep. [ : ]i tell you most truly, that when you were young you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you become old, you shall stretch out your hands and another shall bind you and carry you where you would not; [ : ]but he said this signifying by what death he should glorify god; and having said this, he said to him, follow me. [ : ]and peter turning around saw the disciple whom jesus loved following, who also reclined at the supper on his breast and said, lord, who is it that is to betray you? [ : ]peter seeing him said to jesus, lord, and what shall this man [do]? [ : ]jesus said to him, if i wish him to continue till i come, what is that to you? follow me. [ : ]the report then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die; but jesus said not to him, he shall not die; but, if i wish him to continue till i come, what is that to you? [ : ]this is the disciple who testifies of these things and has written them; and we know that his testimony is true. [ : ]and there are many other things which jesus did, which, if they should be written particularly, i do not suppose the world itself could contain the books written. acts of the apostles. chapter i. christ's ascension, and the election of an apostle in the place of judas. [ : ]i wrote my first account, o theophilus, of all things which jesus did and taught, [ : ]till the day that having given charge to the apostles whom he chose by the holy spirit he was taken up; [ : ]to whom also he presented himself living after his suffering, by many proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking things relating to the kingdom of god. [ : ]and assembling them, he charged them not to depart from jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which [says he] you have heard from me; [ : ]that john baptized indeed with water, but you shall be baptized with the holy spirit after a few days. [ : ]they therefore having come together asked him, saying, lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of israel? [ : ]and he said to them, it is not your [province] to know the times or seasons which the father has appointed by his own authority; [ : ]but you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you, and shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, and all judea, and samaria, and to the end of the earth. [ : ]and having said these words, as they were looking on he was taken up, and a cloud received him from their sight. [ : ]and as they looked steadily to heaven while he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing; [ : ]and they said, men of galilee, why do you stand looking at heaven? this jesus taken up from you to heaven shall so come in the manner in which you have seen him go to heaven. [ : ]then they returned to jerusalem from the mountain called [the mount] of olives, which is near jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey [distant]. [ : ]and when they came, they went up into the upper room where staid peter and john, and james and andrew, philip and thomas, bartholomew and matthew, james the son of alpheus and simon the zealot, and judas the [brother] of james. [ : ]all these continued with one accord in prayer, with the women, and with mary the mother of jesus, and his brothers. [ : ]and in those days peter standing up in the midst of the brothers, said--the multitude together was about a hundred and twenty-- [ : ]men and brothers, it was necessary that the scripture should be fulfilled which the holy spirit spoke before by the mouth of david, concerning judas who became a guide to them that apprehended jesus; [ : ]for he was numbered with us, and obtained the inheritance of this service. [ : ]this man therefore purchased a field with the price of the wickedness, and falling headlong burst in the middle and all his bowels were poured out; [ : ]and this became known to all who lived at jerusalem, so that that field was called in their language aceldamach, which is field of blood. [ : ]for it is written in the book of psalms, let his dwelling be desolate and let no one dwell in it, and his superintendency let another take. [ : ]it is necessary therefore that one of the men who have gone with us all the time in which the lord jesus went in and out among us, [ : ]beginning from the baptism of john till the day on which he was taken up from us, should be made with us a witness of his resurrection. [ : ]and they proposed two; joseph called barsabbas, who was also called justus, and matthias. [ : ]and praying, they said, do thou, lord, the searcher of all hearts, show which of these two thou hast chosen [ : ]to take the place of this service and apostleship from which judas fell by transgression to go to his place. [ : ]and they cast their lots, and the lot fell to matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. chapter ii. the day of pentecost and its blessings. [ : ]and when the day of pentecost had come, they were all with one mind together. [ : ]and suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind borne along, and it filled all the house where they were sitting; [ : ]and there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and [one] sat on each one of them; [ : ]and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. [ : ]and there were jews living at jerusalem, pious men, of every nation under heaven; [ : ]and when this sound was [heard], the multitude came together and were astonished, for they each one heard them speaking in his own language. [ : ]and they were astonished and wondered, saying, are not all these that speak galileans? [ : ]and how do we hear each one in our own language in which we were born, [ : ]parthians and medes and elamites, and those who live in mesopotamia, judea, and cappadocia, pontus and asia, [ : ]phrygia and pamphylia, egypt and the parts of lybia about cyrene, and the roman strangers, both jews and proselytes, [ : ]cretes and arabs, do we hear them speak in our tongues of the great works of god. [ : ]and they were all astonished and perplexed, saying one to another, what does this mean? [ : ]but others mocking said, they are full of sweet wine. [ : ]but peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice and said to them, men of judea, and all who live at jerusalem, be this known to you, and attend to my words. [ : ]for these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day [ a.m.], [ : ]but this is what was said by the prophet; [ : ]in the last days, says god, i will pour out of my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; [ : ]and upon my male servants and upon my female servants in those days will i pour out of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. [ : ]and i will show prodigies in heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. [ : ]the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and illustrious day of the lord comes. [ : ]and whoever shall call on the name of the lord shall be saved. [ : ]men of israel, hear these words; jesus the nazoraean, a man approved by god to you by mighty works and prodigies and miracles, which god performed by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know, [ : ]this man, delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of god, you have affixed to the cross, and killed by the hand of the wicked, [ : ]him has god raised up, having loosed the pains of death, as it was not possible that he should be held by it. [ : ]for david says of him, i saw the lord always before me, he is on my right hand that i should not be moved; [ : ]therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad, and my flesh, moreover, shall also live in hope; [ : ]for thou wilt not leave my soul in hades, nor suffer thy holy one to see destruction. [ : ]thou hast made me know the ways of life, thou wilt fill me with joy with thy presence. [ : ]men and brothers, let me speak to you freely of the patriarch david, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. [ : ] being therefore a prophet, and knowing that god swore with an oath to him to set a descendant of his on his throne, [ : ]foreseeing he spoke of the resurrection of christ, that he was not left in hades neither did his flesh see destruction. [ : ]this jesus has god raised up, whose witnesses we all are. [ : ]being therefore exalted on the right hand of god, and receiving the promise of the holy spirit from the father, he has poured this out which you both see and hear. [ : ]for david ascended not to heaven, but he says, the lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand [ : ]till i make your enemies your footstool. [ : ]let all the house of israel therefore know certainly, that god has made this jesus whom you crucified both lord and christ. [ : ]and hearing [this] they were distressed in mind, and said to peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brothers, what shall we do? [ : ]and peter said to them, change your minds, and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. [ : ]for the promise is to you and your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the lord our god shall call. [ : ]and with many other words he testified and exhorted, saying, save yourselves from this perverse generation. [ : ]then those that received his word were baptized, and there were added on that day about three thousand souls; [ : ]and they attended constantly to the teaching and companionship of the apostles, the breaking of bread and the prayers. [ : ]and fear was on every soul, and many prodigies and miracles were performed by the apostles. [ : ]and all who believed were together and had all things common; [ : ]and they sold their possessions and estates, and distributed them to all as any one had need; [ : ]and continuing day by day with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of food with gladness and simplicity of mind, [ : ]praising god, and having favor with all the people. and the lord added the saved, day by day, to the assembly [church]. chapter iii. the imprisonment of peter and john. [ : ]and peter and john went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, which is the ninth hour. [ : ]and a certain man lame from his birth was carried and placed daily at the gate of the temple which is called beautiful, to ask charity of those going into the temple; [ : ]who seeing peter and john about to enter into the temple, asked to receive a charity. [ : ]but peter looking steadily at him with john, said, look on us. [ : ]and he gave his attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. [ : ]but peter said, silver and gold have i none; but what i have, this i give you; in the name of jesus christ the nazoraean, walk. [ : ]and taking him by the right hand he raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened, [ : ]and leaping up he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping, praising god. [ : ]and all the people saw him walking and praising god; [ : ] and they knew him, that he was the one who sat for charity at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and astonishment at what had happened to him. [ : ]and as he held peter and john, all the people ran to them in the porch which is called solomon's, greatly wondering. [ : ]and peter seeing it answered the people, men of israel, why do you wonder at this? or why do you look intently at us as if by our power or piety we had made him walk? [ : ]the god of abraham, and isaac, and jacob, the god of our fathers, glorified his servant jesus, whom you delivered up and denied before pilate when he decided to release him; [ : ]but you denied the holy and righteous one, and asked a murderer to be given you, [ : ]but killed the prince of life, whom god has raised from the dead, whose witnesses we are. [ : ]and by the faith of his name, his name has made strong this man whom you behold and know, and the faith which is by him has given him this entire soundness before you all. [ : ]and now, brothers, i know that you did it without knowledge, as did also your rulers; [ : ]but what god had before declared by the mouth of all the prophets that his anointed should suffer, he has so accomplished. [ : ]change your minds, therefore, and turn yourselves, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the lord, [ : ]and he send to you jesus christ before appointed, [ : ]whom heaven must receive till the times of the restoration of all things of which god has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began. [ : ]moses indeed said, a prophet shall the lord your god raise up to you, of your brothers, like me; him shall you hear in all things which he shall speak to you; [ : ]and every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from the people. [ : ]and all the prophets, from samuel and those following him in order, who have spoken, have also announced these days. [ : ]you are the children of the prophets, and of the promise which god promised to our fathers, saying to abraham, and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. [ : ]god having raised up his servant has sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [one of you] from your evil ways. [ : ]and while they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the commander of the temple, and the sadducees came upon them, [ : ]being displeased because they taught the people and declared by jesus the resurrection of the dead; [ : ]and they laid hands on them and put them in prison till the next day; for it was now evening. [ : ]but many of those that heard the word believed, and the number of the men became about five thousand. [ : ]and on the next day the rulers, and elders, and scribes [ : ]assembled at jerusalem, and annas the chief priest, and caiaphas, and john, and alexander, and all that were of the family of the chief priesthood, [ : ]and placing them in the midst, asked, by what power, or by what name, have you done this? [ : ] then peter, full of the holy spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of israel, [ : ]if we are to-day examined concerning the good work done to the sick man, by what means he has been cured, [ : ]be it known to you all, and to all the people of israel, that in the name of jesus christ the nazoraean, whom you crucified, whom god raised from the dead, by him has this man stood before you sound. [ : ]this is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the head of a corner. [ : ]and there is salvation in no other; for there is no other name given under heaven among men, by which we can be saved. [ : ]and seeing the boldness of peter and john, and supposing that they were illiterate and common men, they wondered, and perceived that they had been with jesus; [ : ]and seeing the man standing with them cured, they could not dispute it. [ : ]and commanding them to withdraw from the sanhedrim, they conferred one with another, [ : ]saying, what shall we do to these men? for that a notable miracle has been performed by them is manifest to all that live at jerusalem, and we cannot deny it; [ : ]but that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them severely, [and charge them] to speak no more to any man in this name. [ : ]and calling them, they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of jesus. [ : ]but peter and john answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight of god to obey you rather than god, judge; [ : ]for we cannot but tell what we have seen and heard. [ : ]and threatening them still further, they dismissed them, not being able to punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified god for what was done; [ : ]for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of the cure was performed. [ : ]and being dismissed they came to their friends, and related to them what the chief priests and elders said to them. [ : ]and when they heard it they lifted up their voice with one consent to god, and said, master, thou who hast made heaven, and the earth, the sea, and all things in them, [ : ]who by the mouth of thy servant david hast said, why did the nations rage and the peoples devise vain things? [ : ]the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were assembled together against the lord, and against his anointed. [ : ]for of a truth, in this city, both herod and pontius pilate, with the gentiles and people of israel, were assembled together against thy holy servant jesus whom thou hast anointed, [ : ]to do what thy hand and counsel before appointed to be done. [ : ]and now, lord, look down upon their threatenings, and grant to thy servants with all boldness to speak thy word, [ : ]by stretching out thy hand, that cures and miracles and prodigies may be performed by the name of thy holy servant jesus. [ : ]and when they had prayed the place was shaken in which they were assembled, and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and spoke the word of god with boldness. chapter iv. the liberality of the first christians, ananias and sapphira, further persecution. [ : ]and the multitude that believed had one heart and one soul, and none said that anything of his possessions was his; but they had all things common. [ : ]and the apostles delivered the testimony of the resurrection of the lord jesus with great power, and great favor was towards them all. [ : ]for no one among them was needy; for those who possessed lands or houses sold and brought the prices of the things sold, [ : ]and laid them at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any one had need. [ : ]and joseph, called barnabas by the apostles, which is interpreted, a son of consolation, a levite, a cyprian by birth, [ : ]having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles. [ : ]and one ananias by name, with sapphira his wife, sold a possession, [ : ]and he kept back a part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and bringing a certain part laid it at the apostles' feet. [ : ]but peter said, ananias, why has satan filled your heart that you should lie to the holy spirit, and that you should keep back a part of the price of the land? [ : ]continuing unsold was it not yours, and when it was sold was it not at your disposal? why did you propose this thing in your heart? you have not lied to men but to god. [ : ]and ananias hearing these words fell down and expired; and great fear was upon all who heard. [ : ]and the young men arose and laid him out, and having carried him out buried him. [ : ]and after an interval of about three hours, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. [ : ]and peter answered her, tell me whether you sold the field for so much? and she said, yes; for so much. [ : ]and peter said to her, why have you agreed together to try the spirit of the lord? behold, the feet of those that buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out. [ : ]and she fell down immediately at his feet, and expired; and the young men coming in found her dead, and carried her out, and buried her by her husband. [ : ]and great fear was on all the assembly [church], and on all that heard of these things. [ : ]and many miracles and prodigies were performed among the people by the hands of the apostles; and they were all of one accord in solomon's porch; [ : ]and no one of the rest dared to join them, but the people magnified them; [ : ]and believers were added the more to the lord, multitudes both of men and women; [ : ]so that they brought the sick into the streets and placed them on little beds and couches, that as peter passed along even his shadow might overshadow some of them. [ : ]and the multitude came together from the cities about jerusalem, bringing the sick and those troubled by impure spirits, all of whom were cured. [ : ]and the chief priest arose, and all those with him, being the sect of the sadducees, and were filled with wrath, [ : ]and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in the public prison. [ : ]but an angel of the lord opening the prison doors by night led them out and said, [ : ]go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. [ : ]and hearing this they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught. and the chief priest coming, and those with him, called the sanhedrim together, and all the eldership of the children of israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. [ : ]but the officers going did not find them in the prison; and returning they reported, [ : ]saying, the prison found we shut with all safety, and the guards standing before the doors, but opening we found no one within. [ : ]and when they heard these words, both the priest and the commander of the temple and the chief priests doubted concerning them, what this could mean. [ : ]but some one came and told them, behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. [ : ]then the commander going away with the officers brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned; [ : ]and having brought them they placed them before the sanhedrim. and the chief priest asked them, [ : ]saying, we charged you strictly not to teach in this name, and behold, you have filled jerusalem with your teaching, and wish to bring this man's blood on us. [ : ]and peter answering, and the apostles, said, it is necessary to obey god rather than man. [ : ]the god of our fathers raised up jesus, whom you took and hung on a cross; [ : ]him has god exalted, a prince and saviour at his right hand, to give a change of mind to israel and the forgiveness of sins. [ : ]and we are his witnesses of these things, and also the holy spirit which god has given to those that obey him. [ : ]and when they heard this they were highly offended, and took counsel to kill them. [ : ]but a certain pharisee in the sanhedrim, by the name of gamaliel, a teacher of the law, in honor with all the people, standing up requested them to put the men out a little while; [ : ]and he said to them, men of israel, take heed to yourselves what you are about to do to these men. [ : ]for before these days theudas arose, saying that he was somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, adhered, who was destroyed, and all who obeyed him passed away and came to nothing. [ : ]after him arose judas the galilean, in the days of the census, and drew away people after him; and he was destroyed, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. [ : ]and now i tell you, abstain from these men, and let them alone; because if this design, or this work, is from men, it will be destroyed; [ : ]but if it is from god, you cannot destroy them; lest you be found at some time to be fighting against god. [ : ]and they were persuaded by him, and calling the apostles and scourging them, they charged them not to speak in the name of jesus, and dismissed them. [ : ]they went therefore from the presence of the sanhedrim, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for the name of [christ]; [ : ]and every day in the temple, and from house to house, they ceased not teaching and preaching the good news of christ jesus. chapter v. the appointment of seven deacons, the sermon and martyrdom of stephen, and a general persecution. [ : ]and in those days the disciples being multiplied, there was a complaint of the hellenists against the hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily service. [ : ]and the twelve calling the multitude of the disciples, said, it is not desirable that we should leave the word of god to serve tables. [ : ]look out therefore, brothers, from among you seven men of good repute, full of the holy spirit, and of wisdom, whom we may set over this business; [ : ]but we will attend continually to prayer, and the ministry of the word. [ : ]and the proposition pleased all the multitude, and they elected stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy spirit, and philip and prochorus, and nicanor and timon, and parmenas, and nicolaus a proselyte of antioch, [ : ]and set them before the apostles; and they having prayed imposed hands on them. [ : ]and the word of god increased, and the number of the disciples was greatly multiplied at jerusalem, and a great multitude of the priests obeyed the faith. [ : ]and stephen, full of grace and power, performed prodigies and great miracles among the people. [ : ]but some members of the synagogue called that of the libertines and cyrenians and alexandrians and of those from cilicia and asia, arose and disputed with stephen, [ : ]and were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. [ : ]then they bribed men who said, we heard him speak blasphemous words against moses and god. [ : ]and they stirred up both the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and coming suddenly they seized him and led him to the sanhedrim, [ : ]and brought forward false witnesses who said, this man speaks incessantly against this holy place, and the law; [ : ]for we have heard him say, that jesus this nazoraean will destroy this place and change the customs which moses gave us. [ : ]and all who sat in the sanhedrin looking steadily at him saw his face like the face of an angel. [ : ]and the chief priest said, are these things then so? [ : ]and he said, men, brothers, and fathers, hear. the god of glory appeared to our father abraham when he was in mesopotamia, before he lived in haran, [ : ]and said to him, go out from your country and your kindred, and come to a land which i will show you. [ : ]then going out from the land of the chaldeans, he lived in haran. and thence, after the death of his father, he removed into this land in which you now live. [ : ]and [god] gave him no inheritance in it, not the breadth of a foot, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no son. [ : ]and god said thus; that his posterity should be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall enslave it and treat it injuriously four hundred years; [ : ]and the nation which they shall serve will i judge, said god, and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place. [ : ]and he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and isaac, jacob, and jacob the twelve patriarchs. [ : ]and the patriarchs envying joseph sold him into egypt; and god was with him [ : ]and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of pharaoh king of egypt, and [he] made him governor over egypt and all his house. [ : ]and there came a famine on all the land of egypt and canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no provisions. [ : ]but jacob hearing that there was grain in egypt, sent our fathers the first time; [ : ]and the second time joseph was made known to his brothers, and joseph's family was made known to pharaoh. [ : ]and joseph sent and called for his father jacob, and all the family of seventy-five souls. [ : ]and jacob went down to egypt, and died, he and our fathers; [ : ]and they carried him back to shechem and buried him in the tomb which abraham bought for money of the sons of hamor the father of shechem. [ : ]but when the time of the promise which god made with an oath to abraham was at hand, the people increased and became numerous in egypt, [ : ]till another king arose who knew not joseph. [ : ]this [king] dealt deceitfully with our race, and treated injuriously our fathers, causing their infants to be exposed that they might not be preserved alive. [ : ]at that time moses was born, and was beautiful in the sight of god, and was nourished three months in his father's house; [ : ]but being exposed, the daughter of pharaoh took him up and nourished him as her own son. [ : ]and moses was educated in all the wisdom of the egyptians, and was mighty in his words and works. [ : ]and when he was forty years old, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the children of israel. [ : ]and seeing one injured he defended him, and executed judgment for the oppressed, smiting the egyptian. [ : ]and he thought his brothers would understand that god would give them salvation by his hand; but they understood not. [ : ]on the following day also he showed himself to them as they contended, and urged them to peace, saying, men, you are brothers; why do you injure one another? [ : ]but he that injured his neighbor repelled him, saying, who made you a ruler and a judge over us? [ : ]will you kill me as you did the egyptian, yesterday? [ : ]and moses fled at that saying, and lived a stranger in the land of midian, where he begat two sons. [ : ]and forty years being completed there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount sinai, an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. [ : ]and moses seeing it, wondered at the sight; and coming near to look at it, there was a voice of the lord, [ : ]i am the god of your fathers, the god of abraham, and isaac, and jacob. and moses being afraid dared not look at it. [ : ]and the lord said to him, put off your shoes from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. [ : ]i have seen the affliction of my people in egypt, and have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them; and now come, i will send you to egypt. [ : ]this is the moses whom they denied, saying, who made you a ruler and a judge? him did god send to be a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. [ : ]this man brought them out, having performed prodigies and miracles in egypt, and at the red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. [ : ]this is the moses who said to the children of israel, a prophet shall god raise up for you, of your brothers, like me. [ : ] this is he that was with the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on mount sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give us, [ : ]whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him away and turned back in their hearts to egypt, [ : ]saying to aaron, make us gods to go before us; for this moses who led us up out of egypt, we know not what has happened to him. [ : ]and they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. [ : ]and god turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets; did you offer victims and sacrifices to me forty years in the wilderness, house of israel, [ : ]and take up the tabernacle of moloch, and the star of the god rephan, figures which you made to worship? i will even remove you beyond babylon. [ : ]our fathers in the wilderness received the tabernacle of the testimony, as he that spoke to moses charged him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen; [ : ]which also our fathers receiving it in succession brought with joshua into the possession of the nations, whom god expelled before the face of our fathers till the days of david; [ : ]who found favor with god and desired to find a dwelling for the god of jacob. [ : ]and solomon built him a house. [ : ]but the most high dwells not in [temples] made with hands, as the prophet says; [ : ]heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool; what house will you build me, says the lord, or what is the place of my rest? [ : ]has not my hand made all these things? [ : ]stiff necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always fight against the holy spirit; as your fathers did, you also do. [ : ]which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers, [ : ]who have received the law by orders of angels and have not kept it. [ : ]and when they heard these things they were enraged in their minds and gnashed their teeth upon him. [ : ]but he being full of the holy spirit, looking steadily to heaven saw the glory of god and jesus standing on the right hand of god, [ : ]and said, behold, i see the heavens opened and the son of man standing on the right hand of god. [ : ]and crying with a loud voice they stopped their ears and rushed upon him with one accord, [ : ]and casting him out of the city, stoned him. and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man called saul, [ : ]and they stoned stephen, calling and saying, lord jesus, receive my spirit. [ : ]and kneeling down he cried with a loud voice, lord, lay not this sin to their charge. and having said this he fell asleep. [ : ]and saul consented to his death. and at that time there was a great persecution of the church at jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad through the regions of judea and samaria, except the apostles. [ : ]and pious men buried stephen and made a great lamentation for him. [ : ]but saul persecuted the church, and going from house to house, seizing men and women, committed them to prison. chapter vi. the early ministry of philip the deacon, the conversion of the samaritans, the ethiopian eunuch. [ : ]being scattered abroad, therefore, they went everywhere preaching the good news of the word; [ : ]and philip going down to a city of samaria preached christ to them. [ : ]and the multitudes attended with one accord to the things said by philip, when they heard him and saw the miracles which he performed. [ : ]for impure spirits came out of many who had them, crying with a loud voice; and many paralytics and lame persons were cured; [ : ]and there was great joy in that city. [ : ]and there was a man by the name of simon who formerly practised magic in that city, and astonished the nation of samaria, saying that he was some great person, [ : ]to whom all from the least to the greatest attended, saying, this is the power of god which is called great. [ : ]and they attended to him because for a long time he had astonished them with his magic arts. [ : ]but because they believed philip preaching the good news of the kingdom of god and the name of jesus christ, they were baptized both men and women. [ : ]and simon also himself believed, and being baptized attended constantly on philip; and beholding the mighty works and miracles that were performed, he was astonished. [ : ]and the apostles at jerusalem hearing that samaria had received the word of god, sent to them peter and john, [ : ]who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the holy spirit; [ : ]for it had not yet fallen on any of them, only they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus. [ : ] then they laid hands on them and they received the holy spirit. [ : ]and simon seeing that the holy spirit was given by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, offered them money, [ : ]saying, give me this power, that on whomsoever i lay my hand he may receive the holy spirit. [ : ]but peter said to him, your money go to perdition with you; because you have thought to purchase the gift of god with money. [ : ]you have no part nor inheritance in this work; for your heart is not right before god. [ : ]turn your mind therefore from this your wickedness, and pray the lord if perhaps the thought of your mind may be forgiven you; [ : ]for i see you are in the gall of bitterness and bond of wickedness. [ : ]and simon answered and said, pray to the lord for me, that none of the things which you have said may come upon me. [ : ]they then having fully testified and spoken the word of the lord, returned to jerusalem, and preached the good news to many villages of the samaritans. [ : ]and an angel of the lord spoke to philip, saying, arise and go to the south, by the way that leads from jerusalem to gaza; this is a wilderness. [ : ]and he arose and went. and behold a man, an ethiopian eunuch, an officer of candace queen of the ethiopians, who was over all her treasures, who had come to jerusalem to worship, [ : ]and he was returning and sitting in his chariot reading the prophet isaiah. [ : ]and the spirit said to philip, go forward and join yourself to his chariot. [ : ]and philip running forward heard him reading the prophet isaiah, and he said, do you really understand what you read? [ : ]and he said [no]; for how can i unless some one teaches me? and he invited philip to come up and sit with him. [ : ]and the passage of scripture which he was reading, was this; as a sheep is led to slaughter, and as a lamb before one that shears him is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. [ : ]in his humiliation his judgment was taken away; and who will tell of his generation? for his life was taken from the earth. [ : ]and the eunuch answered and said to philip, of whom i pray you does the prophet say this? of himself or of some other one? [ : ]and philip opening his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached to him the good news of jesus. [ : ]and as they went on the way they came to a certain water, and the eunuch said, behold water; what hinders me from being baptized? [ : ]and he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down to the water, both philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. [ : ]and when they went up from the water the spirit of the lord caught away philip, and the eunuch saw him no more; for he went his way rejoicing. [ : ]but philip was found at azotus, and passing through he preached the good news to all the cities till he came to caesarea. chapter vii. the conversion of saul, peter curing aeneas, and raising dorcas from the dead. [ : ]but saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the lord, went to the chief priest [ : ]and asked of him letters to damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of that way, he might bring them bound, men and women, to jerusalem. [ : ]and he was going and had come nigh to damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven, [ : ]and falling on the earth he heard a voice saying to him, saul, saul, why do you persecute me? [ : ]and he said, who are you, lord? and he said, i am jesus whom you persecute. [ : ]but arise and enter into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do. [ : ]and the men travelling with him stood amazed, hearing indeed the voice, but beholding no one. [ : ]and saul arose from the earth, and his eyes being opened he saw nothing; and leading him by the hand they conducted him to damascus. [ : ]and he was three days without sight, and neither eat nor drank. [ : ]and there was a certain disciple at damascus by the name of ananias, and the lord said to him in a vision, ananias. and he said, behold, i am here, lord. [ : ]and the lord said to him, arise and go to the street called straight, and inquire at the house of judas for [a man] by the name of saul of tarsus; for behold, he prays, [ : ]and has seen a man by the name of ananias coming and putting a hand on him, that he might receive his sight. [ : ]and ananias answered, lord, i have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at jerusalem; [ : ]and here he has power from the chief priests to bind all that call on your name. [ : ]but the lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name both before nations and kings, and the children of israel; [ : ]for i will show him how great things he must suffer for my name. [ : ]and ananias went and entered into the house, and laying hands on him said, brother saul, the lord has sent me, jesus who appeared to you on the way which you came, that you may receive sight and be filled with the holy spirit. [ : ]and immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight, and rising up was baptized, [ : ]and having received food was strengthened. and he was with the disciples at damascus some days; [ : ]and immediately in the synagogues he preached jesus, that this is the son of god. [ : ]and all that heard him were astonished and said, is not this he that destroyed those who called on this name at jerusalem, and has come here for this purpose, that he might lead them bound to the chief priests? [ : ]but saul increased in power and confounded the jews living at damascus, proving that this is the christ. [ : ]and when some days had passed, the jews took counsel to kill him; [ : ]and their design was made known to saul. and they watched the gates day and night to kill him; [ : ]but the disciples took him by night and sent him away by the wall, letting him down in a store-basket. [ : ]and going to jerusalem he endeavored to join the disciples; and they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. [ : ]but barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in damascus in the name of jesus. [ : ]and he was with them, entering in and going out at jerusalem, [ : ]and speaking boldly in the name of the lord; and he spoke and disputed with the hellenists; and they undertook to kill him; [ : ]but the brothers knowing it led him away to caesarea and sent him to tarsus. [ : ]then had the church peace in all judea and galilee and samaria, and being built up, and walking in the fear of the lord, and in the comfort of the holy spirit, they were multiplied. [ : ]and peter passing through all places, went down also to the saints living at lydda. [ : ]and he found there a certain man by the name of aeneas, who had lain on a bed for eight years, and was a paralytic. [ : ]and peter said to him, aeneas, jesus christ cures you; arise and make your bed for yourself. and he immediately arose; [ : ]and all those who lived at lydda and sharon saw him, and turned to the lord. [ : ]and there was at joppa a certain female disciple called tabitha, which being interpreted is called, dorcas; she was full of good works and charities which she bestowed. [ : ]and in those days she was sick and died; and having washed they put her in an upper room. [ : ]but lydda being nigh to joppa, the disciples hearing that peter was there sent two men to him requesting, do not delay to come to us. [ : ]and peter arose and came with them; and when he had come they led him into the upper room, and all the widows stood by weeping and showing the coats and garments which dorcas made while she was with them. [ : ] and peter putting them all out knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body he said, tabitha, arise! and she opened her eyes, and seeing peter sat up. [ : ] and giving her his hand he raised her up, and calling the saints and widows presented her living. [ : ]and this was known in all joppa, and many believed on the lord. [ : ]and peter continued many days at joppa with one simon a tanner. chapter viii. the conversion of cornelius, and other gentiles. [ : ]and a certain man at caesarea, named cornelius, a centurion of the cohort which was called the italian, [ : ]a pious man, and one fearing god with all his house, and bestowing many charities on the people, and praying to god always, [ : ]saw clearly in a vision, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of god coming to him, and saying to him, cornelius. [ : ]and looking steadily at him and being afraid, he said, what is wanted, lord? and he said to him, your prayers and charities have come up as a memorial before god. [ : ] and now send men to joppa and call for a certain simon who is called peter; [ : ]he lodges with one simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea. [ : ]and when the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of the house servants, and a pious soldier of those that attended constantly on him, [ : ] and having related all things to them sent them to joppa. [ : ]and on the next day, as they were pursuing their journey and had come nigh to the city, peter went upon the house to pray, about the sixth hour. [ : ]and he was hungry and wished to eat; and while they were preparing a trance came upon him, [ : ]and he beheld heaven opened, and a certain vessel like a great sheet descending, let down by four corners to the earth, [ : ]in which were all the quadrupeds and reptiles of the earth, and birds of heaven. [ : ]and a voice came to him, arise, peter, kill and eat. [ : ]but peter said, by no means, lord, for i have never eaten any thing common and impure. [ : ]and a voice came to him again, a second time, what god has purified, regard not common. [ : ]and this was done thrice, and immediately the vessel was taken up to heaven. [ : ]and while peter doubted with himself what the vision which he had seen meant, behold, even [then] the men sent by cornelius, having inquired for the house of simon, stood at the gate, [ : ]and calling aloud asked if simon who was called peter lodged there. [ : ]and while peter was considering of the vision, the spirit said to him, behold, men seek you; [ : ]arise and go down and go with them without hesitation, for i have sent them. [ : ]and peter went down to the men and said, behold, i am the man whom you seek; what is the cause for which you have come? [ : ]and they said, cornelius a centurion, a righteous man, and one that fears god, and esteemed by all the nation of the jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to his house and hear words from you. [ : ]then he called them in and entertained them. and the next day he arose and went with them, and some of the brothers from joppa went with him. [ : ]and on the day following they came to caesarea; and cornelius was expecting them, and had called together his relations and particular friends. [ : ]and when peter came in cornelius met him, and falling down at his feet worshipped him. [ : ]but peter raised him up saying, arise, i also am a man. [ : ]and conversing with him he went in, and found many come together; [ : ]and he said to them, you know that it is not lawful for a jew to associate with a man of another nation, or come into his house; and god has taught me not to call any man common or impure; [ : ]wherefore, being sent for i also came without objecting. i ask therefore for what reason you have sent for me? [ : ]and cornelius said, from the fourth hour of the day i fasted till this hour, and at the ninth hour i was praying in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in splendid clothing, [ : ]and said, cornelius, your prayer is heard and your charities are remembered before god. [ : ]send therefore to joppa and call simon who is called peter; he lodges at the house of simon a tanner, by the sea, who when he has come will speak to you. [ : ] immediately therefore i sent to you, and you have done well to come. now therefore we are all present before god to hear all things which god has commanded you. [ : ]and peter opening his mouth said, of a truth i perceive that god is not a respecter of persons, [ : ]but in every nation he that fears him and does righteousness is acceptable to him. [ : ]the word which he sent to the children of israel, preaching the good news of peace by jesus christ,--he is lord of all,-- [ : ]you know; the word which was [preached] through all judea, beginning in galilee after the baptism which john preached, [ : ]jesus from nazareth, how god anointed him with the holy spirit and power, who went about doing good and curing all that were subjugated by the devil, for god was with him; [ : ]and we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of judea, and at jerusalem, whom also they killed, hanging him on a cross. [ : ]this [man] did god raise up on the third day, and permitted him to be made manifest, [ : ]not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by god, to us, who eat and drank with him after he rose from the dead; [ : ]and he commanded us to preach to the people and testify fully that he is appointed by god the judge of living and dead. [ : ]to him all the prophets bear witness, that every one who believes in him has forgiveness of sins through his name. [ : ]while peter was yet speaking these words the holy spirit fell on all who heard the word. [ : ]and those of the circumcision who came with peter were astonished, that on the gentiles also the gift of the holy spirit was poured out; [ : ]for they heard them speaking with tongues and magnifying god. then peter answered, [ : ]can any forbid water that these should be baptized, who have received the holy spirit as we also have? [ : ]and he commanded that they should be baptized in the name of the lord. then they desired him to remain some days. chapter ix. peter called to account for associating with gentiles, and justified; preaching to the gentiles continued. [ : ]and the apostles and brothers who were in judea heard that the gentiles received the word of god. [ : ]and when peter went up to jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, [ : ]saying, you went in to men that were uncircumcised, and eat with them. [ : ]and peter began and related to them in order, saying, [ : ]i was in the city of joppa praying, and i saw a vision in a trance, a vessel like a great sheet descending, let down by the four corners from heaven, and it came to me; [ : ]and looking into it attentively i perceived and saw the quadrupeds of the earth and wild beasts and reptiles and birds of heaven. [ : ]and i heard a voice saying to me, arise, peter, kill and eat. [ : ]and i said, by no means, lord, for nothing common or impure has ever entered into my mouth. [ : ]and a voice answered from heaven a second time, what god has purified do not you regard common. [ : ]and this was done thrice, and again all were taken up to heaven. [ : ]and behold, immediately three men came to the house in which i was, being sent for me from caesarea. [ : ]and the spirit told me to go with them. and these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the house of the man. [ : ]and he told us how he had seen the angel in his house standing and saying to him, send to joppa and call simon who is called peter, [ : ]who will speak words to you by which you shall be saved and all your house. [ : ] and when i began to speak the holy spirit fell on them as also on us in the beginning. [ : ]and i remembered the word of the lord how he said, john indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the holy spirit. [ : ]if therefore god gave the gift equally to them and to us, who believed on the lord jesus christ, who was i that i should be able to forbid god? [ : ] and hearing these things they were silent, and glorified god, saying, then to the gentiles also has god indeed given the change of mind to life. [ : ]and those scattered abroad by the affliction which commenced with stephen, went even to phenicia, and cyprus, and antioch, speaking the word to no one but jews only. [ : ]but some of them, cyprians and cyrenians, who came to antioch, spoke to the greeks preaching the good news of the lord jesus. [ : ] and the hand of the lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the lord. [ : ]and a report concerning them was brought to the ears of the church at jerusalem, and they sent barnabas to go as far as antioch; [ : ]who having come and seen the grace of god rejoiced, and exhorted all to adhere to the lord with the purpose of the heart; [ : ]for he was a good man and full of the holy spirit and of faith. and a great multitude were added to the lord. [ : ]and he went to tarsus to seek for saul, [ : ]and found and brought him to antioch. and he was with them, and they met a whole year with the church and taught a great multitude; and the disciples first took the name of christians at antioch. [ : ]and in those days prophets came down from jerusalem to antioch; [ : ]and one of them, by the name of agabus, standing up signified by the spirit that a great famine was about to come on all the world; which also came under claudius caesar. [ : ]and each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send help to the brethren living in judea; [ : ]which they also did, sending to the elders by the hand of barnabas and saul. chapter x. persecution by herod agrippa, his death.--a.d. . [ : ]and at that time herod the king put forth his hands to injure some of the church. [ : ]and he killed james the brother of john with the sword. [ : ]and seeing that it pleased the jews, he proceeded to apprehend peter also,--and it was during the days of unleavened bread,-- [ : ]and having seized he put him in prison, committing him to four companies of four soldiers each to guard him, wishing after the passover to bring him before the people. [ : ]peter therefore was kept by the guard; but prayer was made incessantly by the church to god for him. [ : ]and when herod was about to bring him forward, on that night peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards kept watch before the door. [ : ]and behold, an angel of the lord came, and a light shone in the building; and striking peter on the side he awoke him saying, arise quickly. and his chains fell off from his hands. [ : ]and the angel said to him, gird yourself, and tie on your sandals. and he did so. and he said to him, put your cloak about you, and follow me. [ : ]and going out he followed him, and knew not that it was real which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. [ : ]and passing through the first guard, and the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to them of itself, and going out they went forward one street, and immediately the angel left him. [ : ]and peter coming to himself said, now i know that the lord has really sent his angel and delivered me from the hand of herod and all the expectation of the jews. [ : ]and considering within himself he came to the house of mary the mother of john called mark, where a great number were assembled together and praying. [ : ]and knocking at the door of the gate, a female servant, called rhoda, came to listen, [ : ]and knowing the voice of peter she did not open the gate from joy, but ran in and told that peter stood before the gate. [ : ]but they said to her, you are mad. but she asserted strongly that it was so. and they said, it is his angel. [ : ]but peter continued knocking; and having opened they saw him, and were astonished. [ : ]and making signs to them with his hand to be silent, he related how the lord had conducted him out of the prison, and said, tell these things to james and the brothers. and going out he departed to another place. [ : ]and when it was day there was no small stir among the soldiers as to what had become of peter. [ : ]and herod seeking and not finding him, examined the guards, and commanded them to be put to death, and going down from judea to caesarea remained [there]. [ : ]and he was displeased with the tyrians and sidonians; but they came with one accord to him, and having persuaded blastus who was over the king's bedchamber, desired peace, because their country was nourished by the king's. [ : ]and on an appointed day herod having put on his royal apparel, and sitting on the tribunal, made a speech to them; [ : ]and the people shouted, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. [ : ]and an angel of the lord instantly smote him because he gave not glory to god, and being eaten with worms he expired. [ : ]and the word of god grew and was increased. chapter xi. the first mission of paul and barnabas to cyprus and asia minor.--a.d. - . [ : ]and barnabas and saul returned from jerusalem, having performed the service, taking with them also john who was called mark. [ : ]and there were prophets and teachers in the church at antioch; barnabas and simeon called niger [the black], and lucius the cyrenian, and manaen the foster brother of herod the tetrarch, and saul. [ : ]and while they served the lord and fasted, the holy spirit said, separate me barnabas and saul for the work to which i have called them. [ : ]then having fasted and prayed and imposed hands on them, they sent them forth. [ : ]they, therefore, being sent forth by the holy spirit went down to seleucia, and thence sailed to cyprus; [ : ]and coming to salamis, they preached the word of god in the synagogues of the jews; and they also had john for a servant. [ : ]and having gone through the whole island to paphos, they found a certain magian, a false prophet, a jew, whose name was barjesus, [ : ]who was with the proconsul sergius paulus, an intelligent man. this man having called for barnabas and saul desired to hear the word of god; [ : ]but elymas the magian, for so his name is interpreted, opposed them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. [ : ]but saul, [called] also paul, filled with the holy spirit, looking steadily at him [ : ]said, o full of all deceit and all craft, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the lord? [ : ]and now, behold, the hand of the lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. and immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and going about he sought guides. [ : ]then the proconsul seeing what was done believed, and was astonished at the teaching of the lord. [ : ]and those with paul, sailing from paphos, went to perga in pamphylia; but john left them and returned to jerusalem. [ : ]and passing on from perga, they went to antioch in pisidia, and going into the synagogue on the sabbath they sat down. [ : ]and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue rulers sent to them, saying, men and brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak. [ : ]and paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, said, men of israel, and you that fear god, hear. [ : ]the god of this people chose our fathers, and raised up the people in the exile in the land of egypt, and brought them out of it with a high arm. [ : ]and when he had borne with their conduct forty years in the wilderness, [ : ]and had destroyed seven nations in the land of canaan, he distributed their land to them by lot. [ : ]and after this he gave judges four hundred and fifty years till samuel the prophet. [ : ]and then they asked for a king, and god gave them saul the son kish, a man of the tribe of benjamin, forty years; [ : ]and removing him, he raised up for them david for a king, of whom also he said and testified, i have found david, the son of jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will. [ : ]of the posterity of this man, according to his promise, has god raised up to israel a saviour, jesus; [ : ]john having preached before his coming the baptism of a change of mind to all the people of israel. [ : ]and when john completed his course, he said, who do you suppose i am? i am not [the christ]; but behold, there comes after me one the sandal of whose feet i am not worthy to untie. [ : ]men and brothers, children of the race of abraham, and you that fear god, the word of this salvation is sent to you. [ : ]for those living at jerusalem, and their rulers, not knowing him and the words of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning [him]; [ : ]and [although] they found no cause of death [in him], they requested of pilate that he might be destroyed; [ : ]and when they had performed all things written of him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. [ : ]but god raised him from the dead, [ : ]and he appeared many days to those who went up with him from galilee to jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. [ : ]and we declare to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, [ : ]that god has fulfilled this to us their children in raising up jesus, as it is written also in the first psalm, you are my son, to-day have i begotten you. [ : ]and that he raised him from the dead never more to return to destruction, he said thus; i will give you the sure promises of david. [ : ] wherefore also in another place he says, thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see destruction. [ : ]for david, having in his generation served the will of god, fell asleep, and was gathered to his fathers and saw destruction; [ : ] but he whom god raised up saw not destruction. [ : ]be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins, [ : ]and every one who believes is justified by him from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of moses. [ : ] see then that what is said by the prophets does not come upon you; [ : ] behold, despisers, and wonder and perish, for i perform a work in your days, a work which you shall by no means believe even if one declares it to you. [ : ]and when they had gone out, [the people] requested that these words might be spoken to them on the next sabbath. [ : ]and the congregation being dismissed, many of the jews and pious proselytes followed paul and barnabas, who gave them additional instructions, and persuaded them to continue in the grace of god. [ : ]and on the following sabbath almost all the city came together to hear the word of the lord. [ : ]and the jews seeing the multitudes were filled with envy, and contradicted the things said by paul, disputing and blaspheming. [ : ]and both paul and barnabas speaking boldly said, it was necessary that the word of god should first be spoken to you; but since you cast it away, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the gentiles. [ : ]for thus has the lord commanded us; i have set you for a light of nations, that you should be a salvation even to the end of the earth. [ : ] and the gentiles hearing this rejoiced and glorified the word of the lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed; [ : ]and the word of the lord was spread through all the country. [ : ]but the jews excited the pious and honorable women, and the first men of the city, and raised a persecution against paul and barnabas, and cast them out from their limits. [ : ]and shaking off the dust of their feet against them, they went to iconium; [ : ] and the disciples were filled with joy and the holy spirit. [ : ]and at iconium they went together into the synagogue of the jews, and so spoke that a great multitude of the jews and greeks believed. [ : ]but the unbelieving jews excited the minds of the gentiles against the brothers, and made them ill-disposed. [ : ]then they spent a long time in speaking boldly for the lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting miracles and prodigies to be performed by their hands. [ : ]and the multitude of the city were divided; some were with the jews, and some with the apostles. [ : ]and when a design was formed by the gentiles and jews with their rulers to treat them injuriously, and stone them, [ : ]knowing it, they fled to the cities of lycaonia, lystra and derbe, and the surrounding country, [ : ]and preached the good news there. [ : ]and there sat a certain man at lystra, infirm in his feet, lame from his birth, who had never walked. [ : ]this man heard paul speaking, who, looking steadily at him and seeing that he had faith to be cured, [ : ]said with a loud voice, stand up erect on your feet. and he leaped, and walked. [ : ]and the multitude seeing what paul did, lifted up their voice in the language of lycaonia, saying, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men; [ : ]and they called barnabas, jupiter, and paul, mercury, because he was a master of eloquence. [ : ]and the priest of the jupiter which was before the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates, and wished to offer sacrifices with the multitudes. [ : ]but the apostles barnabas and paul hearing of it, rending their clothes ran among the multitude, crying [ : ]and saying, men, why do you do these things? we are also men subject to like sufferings with you, preaching that you should turn from these vain [services] to the living god, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things in them, [ : ]who in past generations permitted all nations to walk in their own ways; [ : ]although indeed he left not himself without a witness, doing good, giving rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. [ : ]and saying these things they with difficulty restrained the multitudes from sacrificing to them. [ : ]but jews came from antioch and iconium, and having persuaded the multitudes, and having stoned paul, they dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. [ : ]but while the disciples stood around him, he arose and entered into the city. and on the next day he went away with barnabas to derbe. [ : ]and having preached the good news to that city, and made many disciples, they returned to lystra, and iconium, and antioch, [ : ]confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into the kingdom of god. [ : ]and having appointed them elders in every church, and having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the lord in whom they had believed. [ : ]and passing through pisidia they came to pamphylia, [ : ]and having spoken the word in perga they went down to attalia, [ : ]and thence sailed to antioch, whence they had been commended to the favor of god for the work which they performed. [ : ]and having arrived, and assembled the church, they reported what god had done with them, and that he had opened the door of faith to the gentiles. [ : ]and they remained there not a little time with the disciples. chapter xii. the council at jerusalem on circumcision.--a.d. . [ : ]and certain persons having come down from judea taught the brothers, if you are not circumcised according to the custom of moses you cannot be saved. [ : ]there being therefore no little dissension and disputation of paul and barnabas with them, they determined that paul and barnabas and some others of them should go up to the apostles and elders at jerusalem, concerning this question. [ : ]they, therefore, being sent forward by the church, went to phenicia and samaria, relating the conversion of the gentiles, and caused great joy to all the brothers. [ : ]and when they came to jerusalem they were received by the church, and the apostles, and the elders, and related what things god had done with them. [ : ]but some of those of the sect of the pharisees who had believed, rose and said, that it is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of moses. [ : ]and the apostles and elders were assembled together to see about this matter. [ : ]and after there had been much debate, peter rose and said to them, men and brothers, you know that in former days god chose among you that the gentiles should hear by my mouth the word of the gospel and believe. [ : ] and the heart-searching god testified to them, giving to them the holy spirit even as to us, [ : ]and made no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by the faith. [ : ]now, therefore, why do you try god, to put on the necks of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we could bear? [ : ]but we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the lord jesus in the same manner as they. [ : ]and all the multitude was silent, and heard barnabas and paul relate what miracles and prodigies god performed among the gentiles through them. [ : ]and after they were silent, james answered, saying, men and brothers, hear me. [ : ]simeon has related how god first visited the gentiles to take a people for his name. [ : ]and with this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written, [ : ]after this will i return and build up the tabernacle of david which had fallen down, and rebuild its ruins, and set it up, [ : ]that the rest of men may seek the lord, even all the nations on whom my name has been called, says the lord who does these things, [ : ]known from eternity. [ : ]wherefore i judge that we ought not to trouble those who turned to god from the gentiles, [ : ]but to send to them to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and fornication, and things strangled, and blood. [ : ]for moses from ancient times has those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every sabbath. [ : ]then it seemed good to the apostles and elders, with all the assembly [the church], to send delegates from themselves to antioch with paul and barnabas, judas called barsabbas, and silas, leading men among the brothers, [ : ]writing by their hand, the apostles and elders and brothers, to the brothers in antioch and syria and cilicia, who are of the gentiles, greeting. [ : ]since we heard that some going out from us have troubled you with words subverting your souls, to whom we gave no charge, [ : ]it seemed good to us, being of one opinion, to send delegates to you with our beloved barnabas and paul, [ : ]men who have hazarded their lives for the name of our lord jesus christ. [ : ]we have sent, therefore, judas and silas, and they will tell you the same things by word. [ : ]for it seemed good to the holy spirit, and to us, to put no greater burden upon you except these necessary things; [ : ] that you should abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and blood, and things strangled, and fornication, from which if you keep yourselves you will do well. farewell. [ : ]they, therefore, being dismissed went to antioch, and assembling the multitude delivered the epistle. [ : ]and reading it they rejoiced at the exhortation. [ : ]and judas and silas being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brothers with much argument, and confirmed them. [ : ]and having staid [some] time, they were dismissed in peace by the brothers to those that sent them. [ : ]but paul and barnabas remained at antioch, teaching and preaching with many others the word of the lord. chapter xiii. paul's second mission to asia minor.--a.d. - . [ : ]and after some days paul said to barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city in which we preached the word of the lord, [and see] how they do. [ : ]and barnabas wished to take with them john called mark; [ : ] but paul thought not best to take with them one who deserted them at pamphylia and did not go with them to the work. [ : ]and there was a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; and barnabas taking mark sailed to cyprus. [ : ]but paul choosing silas went out, commended to the favor of the lord by the brothers. [ : ]and he passed through syria and cilicia confirming the churches. [ : ]and he went to derbe and lystra. and behold, there was a certain disciple there by the name of timothy, a son of a jewish woman, a believer, but of a greek father, [ : ]who was commended by the brothers in lystra and iconium. [ : ]him paul wished to have go with him; and he took and circumcised him on account of the jews who were in those places; for all knew that his father was a greek. [ : ]and when he went through the cities he gave them the ordinances to observe which had been determined by the apostles and elders at jerusalem. [ : ]then the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. [ : ]and passing through phrygia and the country of galatia, being forbidden by the holy spirit to speak the word in asia, [ : ]coming by mysia they endeavored to go into bithynia; and the spirit of jesus did not permit them; [ : ]and passing by mysia they went down to troas. [ : ]and a vision appeared by night to paul; a certain man of macedonia standing, asking him, and saying, come over into macedonia and help us. [ : ]and when he saw the vision we immediately sought to go into macedonia, concluding that the lord had called us to preach the good news to them. chapter xiv. paul and his company at philippi on their first mission to europe.--a.d. - . [ : ]and sailing from troas we came in a direct course to samothracia, and on the next day to neapolis, [ : ]and thence to philippi, which is the chief city of that part of macedonia, [and] a colony. and we spent some days in that city. [ : ]and on the sabbath we went out of the gate, by the river, where the proseuche [place of prayer] usually was, and sitting down we spoke to the women who came together. [ : ]and a certain woman by the name of lydia, a dealer in purple, of the city of thyatira, who worshipped god, heard, whose heart the lord opened to attend to the [words] spoken by paul. [ : ]and when she was baptized, and her house, she requested saying, if you have judged me faithful to the lord, come into my house and stay; and she constrained us. [ : ]and when we went to the proseuche, a certain female servant having a spirit, a diviner, met us, who brought her masters much gain by divining. [ : ]she following paul and us, cried, saying, these men are servants of the most high god, who declare to us the way of salvation; [ : ]and this she did for many days. and paul being grieved turned around and said to the spirit, i command you, in the name of jesus christ, to come out of her. and it came out of her in that hour. [ : ]and her masters seeing that the hope of their gain was gone, seizing paul and silas dragged them to the market, to the rulers, [ : ] and bringing them before the prefects said, these men, being jews, greatly trouble the city, [ : ]and preach customs which it is not lawful for us, being romans, to receive or observe. [ : ]and the multitude came together against them, and the prefects tearing off their clothes gave orders to beat them with rods, [ : ]and having inflicted many blows on them cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely; [ : ]who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. [ : ]but at midnight paul and silas prayed and sung praises to god, and the prisoners heard them. [ : ]and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and all the doors were immediately opened, and the bands of all were removed. [ : ]and the jailer awaking from sleep and seeing the doors of the prison opened, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [ : ]but paul cried with a loud voice, saying, do yourself no harm, for we are all here. [ : ]and asking for a light he sprang in, and fell down trembling before paul and silas, [ : ]and bringing them out said, sirs, what must i do to be saved? [ : ] and they said, believe on the lord jesus, and you shall be saved, and your house. [ : ]and they spoke the word of the lord to him and all those in his house. [ : ]and taking them that hour of the night, he washed them from their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, immediately, [ : ]and conducting them up into his house he set a table, and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in god. [ : ]and when it was day the prefects sent the lictors, saying, let those men go. [ : ]and the jailer told these words to paul; the prefects have sent to let you go; now, therefore, go, and depart in peace. [ : ]but paul said to him, they have beaten us publicly uncondemned, being romans, and cast us into prison; and now do they privately cast us out? no, indeed: but let them come themselves and conduct us out. [ : ]and the lictors told these words to the prefects, and they were afraid when they heard that they were romans; [ : ]and they came and besought them, and conducting them out desired them to leave the city. [ : ]and going out of the prison they entered into the house of lydia, and having seen the brothers they exhorted them, and departed. chapter xv. paul and his company at thessalonica, berea, and athens.--a.d. . [ : ]and travelling through amphipolis and apollonia they came to thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the jews. [ : ]and according to his custom paul went in to them, and reasoned with them three sabbaths from the scriptures, [ : ]explaining and asserting that the christ ought to suffer and to rise from the dead; and that this jesus whom i preach to you is the christ. [ : ]and some of them believed and adhered to paul and silas; of the pious greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. [ : ]but the unbelieving jews taking certain base men of those about the markets, and exciting a mob, disturbed the city; and coming to the house of jason sought to bring them out to the people; [ : ]but not finding them, they dragged jason and some brothers to the rulers of the city, crying, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, [ : ]and jason has received them; and they all do things contrary to the ordinances of caesar, saying that there is another king, jesus. [ : ]and they excited the multitude and the rulers of the city hearing these things, [ : ]and taking security of jason and the rest they let them go. [ : ]and the brothers immediately, by night, sent away paul and silas to berea; and when they came they went into the synagogue of the jews; [ : ]but these were more noble than those in thessalonica, for they received the word with all readiness, examining the scriptures daily [to see] if these things were so. [ : ]many of them therefore believed, both of honorable grecian women, and of men not a few. [ : ]and when the jews in thessalonica knew that the word of god was preached by paul at berea, they came there exciting the multitudes. [ : ]then the brothers immediately sent paul away, as if to go by sea; but silas and timothy remained there. [ : ]and those conducting paul brought him to athens, and receiving a charge to silas and timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. [ : ]and while paul waited for them at athens, his spirit was moved within him as he saw the city wholly devoted to idolatry. [ : ]then he reasoned in the synagogue with the jews and those that were pious, and in the market every day with those he met. [ : ]and some of the epicurean and stoic philosophers disputed with him, and some said, what does this trifler mean to say? and others, he seems to be a preacher of strange demons; because he preached to them jesus and the resurrection. [ : ]and laying hold of him they brought him to the areopagus, saying, may we know what this new teaching is which is taught by you? [ : ]for you bring certain strange things to our ears; we wish therefore to know what these things mean. [ : ]and all the athenians and the strangers living there spend their leisure in nothing else but telling or hearing something new. [ : ]and paul standing in the midst of the areopagus said, men of athens, i perceive that in all things you are extremely devoted to the worship of demons. [ : ]for as i passed through, and observed your objects of worship, i found also an altar on which was inscribed, to an unknown god. what therefore you worship as unknown, this i declare to you. [ : ]the god who made the world and all things in it, this [god] being lord of heaven and earth dwells not in temples made with hands, [ : ]neither is he served by the hands of men as needing any thing, since he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; [ : ]and he made of one blood every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, determining their appointed times and the bounds of their habitation, [ : ]that they should seek god, if perhaps they might feel after and find him, and indeed he is not far from every one of us. [ : ]for in him we live, and move, and are; as some also of your own poets have said, for we are his offspring. [ : ]being therefore an offspring of god, we ought not to think the deity to be like gold or silver or stone, a work of art and human device. [ : ]overlooking therefore the times of ignorance, god now commands all men everywhere to change their minds, [ : ]because he has appointed a day in which he is about to judge the world in righteousness, by the man whom he has appointed, giving assurance to all by raising him from the dead. [ : ]but when they heard of a resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, we will hear you again of this. [ : ]so paul went out from the midst of them; [ : ]but certain men adhering to him believed, among whom were dionysius the areopagite, and a woman named damaris, and others with them. chapter xvi. paul and his company at corinth, his visit to syria and asia minor.--a.d. - . [ : ]and after this paul left athens and came to corinth. [ : ]and finding a certain jew by the name of aquila, a native of pontus, who had recently come from italy, and his wife priscilla, because claudius had ordered all the jews to leave rome, he went to them, [ : ]and because he was of the same trade continued and labored with them; for they were tent makers. [ : ]and he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded both jews and greeks. [ : ]and when silas and timothy came from macedonia, paul gave himself wholly to preaching the word, testifying to the jews christ jesus. [ : ]but when they disputed and blasphemed, shaking his garments he said to them, your blood be upon your heads; i, pure, from this time will go to the gentiles. [ : ]and departing thence he came into the house of a man called justus, who worshipped god, and whose house adjoined the synagogue. [ : ]and crispus the synagogue ruler believed in the lord, with all his house; and many of the corinthians who heard believed and were baptized. [ : ]and the lord said to paul, in a vision by night, fear not, but speak and be not silent, [ : ]for i am with you; and no one shall attack you to hurt you, for i have many people in this city. [ : ]and he remained there a year and six months, teaching among them the word of god. [ : ]and when gallio was proconsul of achaia, the jews rose with one consent against paul and brought him to the tribunal, [ : ]saying, this man persuades men to worship god contrary to the law. [ : ]and when paul was about to open his mouth gallio said to the jews, if there was any injustice or evil imposition, o jews, i would bear with you in a reasonable manner; [ : ] but if it is a question of doctrine, and of names, and of your law, look to it yourselves; for i will not be a judge of these things. [ : ]and he drove them from the tribunal. [ : ]and they all took sosthenes the synagogue-ruler and beat him before the tribunal; and gallio cared for none of these things. [ : ]and paul having remained yet many days took leave of the brothers, and sailed to syria; and priscilla was with him, and aquila, having shaved his head at cenchrea; for he had a vow. [ : ]and they came to ephesus, and he left them there, and entering himself into the synagogue reasoned with the jews. [ : ]and they asking him to stay a longer time with them he did not consent, [ : ]but taking leave of them and saying, i will return to you again, if god will, he sailed from, ephesus, [ : ]and coming down to caesarea, and going up and saluting the church, he went down to antioch; [ : ]and having spent some time there he went away, passing in order through the country of galatia and phrygia, confirming all the disciples. chapter xvii. paul at ephesus.--a.d. - . [ : ]and a certain jew by the name of apollos, an alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to ephesus, being powerful in the scriptures. [ : ]this man was instructed in the way of the lord, and being fervent in spirit spoke and taught correctly the doctrines concerning jesus, knowing only the baptism of john; [ : ]and this man began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and priscilla and aquila hearing him took him and taught him more accurately the way. [ : ] and he wishing to go into achaia, the brothers sent him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. and when he came he helped those much who had believed through the grace; [ : ]for he argued powerfully against the jews, publicly showing by the scriptures that jesus is the christ. [ : ]and when apollos was at corinth, paul, passing through the higher portions of the country, came to ephesus, and found certain disciples; [ : ] and he said to them, have you received the holy spirit since you believed? and they said to him, we have not heard that there is a holy spirit. [ : ]and he said to them, with what then were you baptized? and they said, with john's baptism. [ : ]paul said, john indeed baptized [administered] the baptism of a change of mind, telling the people to believe on him that was to come after him, that is, on jesus. [ : ]and hearing this they were baptized in the name of the lord jesus: [ : ]and paul putting his hands on them, the holy spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. [ : ]and all the men were about twelve. [ : ]and going into the synagogue he spoke boldly, for three months, reasoning and persuading in favor of the kingdom of god. [ : ]but when some were hardened and believed not, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he left them and separated the disciples from them, and reasoned day by day in the school of one tyrannus. [ : ]and this was done for two years, so that all who lived in asia heard the word of the lord, both jews and greeks. [ : ]and god performed unusual miracles by the hands of paul, [ : ]so that napkins and aprons were brought from him to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them. [ : ]and some of the travelling jewish exorcists undertook to call over those that had evil spirits the name of the lord jesus, saying, i adjure you by the jesus whom paul preaches. [ : ]and there were some seven sons of sceva, a jew, a chief priest, who did this. [ : ]but the evil spirit answered and said, jesus i know, and paul i know, but who are you? [ : ]and the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them, and overcome them, and prevailed against them, so that they escaped from his house, naked and wounded. [ : ]and this was known both to all the jews and greeks who lived at ephesus, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the lord jesus was magnified; [ : ]and many of those who believed came and confessed, and showed their practices. [ : ]and many of those who practised secret arts brought their books, and burnt them before all; and they computed the price of them, and found it to be fifty thousand [didrachmas] of silver [$ , ]. [ : ]so the word of the lord increased powerfully and prevailed. [ : ]and when these things were accomplished, paul was disposed by the spirit, passing through macedonia and achaia, to go to jerusalem, saying, after i have been there i must see rome. [ : ]and sending two that served him into macedonia, timothy and erastus, he continued a time in asia. [ : ]and there was at that time no small tumult about the way [of the lord]. [ : ]for a certain demetrius by name, a silversmith, who made silver temples of diana, and afforded his artisans no small gain, [ : ]assembling them together and laborers of like employments, said, men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this employment, [ : ]and you see and hear, that not only at ephesus, but in almost all asia, this paul has led away a great multitude by persuasion, saying that things which are made by hands are not gods. [ : ]and not only this work of ours is in danger of coming into contempt, but even the temple of the great goddess diana of being set at nought, and her majesty also which all asia and the world worships, of being destroyed. [ : ]and hearing this they were full of wrath, and cried, saying, great is diana of the ephesians! [ : ]and the whole city was full of confusion; and they rushed with one accord to the theatre, taking gaius and aristarchus, macedonians, fellow travellers of paul. [ : ]and paul wishing to go in to the people, the disciples did not permit him; [ : ]and some of the rulers of asia also, who were friendly to him, sending to him, besought him not to expose himself in the theatre. [ : ]some therefore cried one thing, and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not for what reason they had come together. [ : ]and they advanced alexander from the multitude, the jews putting him forward; and alexander motioning with his hand, wished to defend himself before the people. [ : ]but knowing that he was a jew, there was one voice from all, for about two hours, crying, great is diana of the ephesians. [ : ]and the clerk having stilled the multitude, said, men of ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the ephesians is a worshipper of the great diana, and of the jove descended [image]? [ : ]these things therefore being indisputable, it is best to be quiet, and do nothing rashly. [ : ]for you have brought these men here, who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of your goddess. [ : ]if, therefore, demetrius and the artisans with him have a charge against any, court days are held, and there are pro-consuls; let them accuse one another. [ : ]and if you desire any thing of other matters, let it be determined in a lawful assembly. [ : ]for we are in danger of being called to account for the tumult of to-day, there being no cause by which we can excuse this concourse. [ : ]and having said these words he dismissed the assembly. chapter xviii. paul's visit to greece and macedonia and his return to miletus.--a.d. , . [ : ]after the tumult was allayed, paul calling the disciples and embracing them departed to go into macedonia. [ : ]and going through those parts, and exhorting them with many words, he went into greece; [ : ]and when he had staid there three months, and a conspiracy was formed against him by the jews as he was about to sail to syria, he determined to return through macedonia. [ : ] and there followed him to asia, sopater the son of pyrrhus of berea, and of those of thessalonica, aristarchus and secundus, and gaius of derbe, and timothy, and those of asia, tychicus and trophimus; [ : ]these going before waited for us at troas. [ : ]and we sailed from philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and came to those at troas in five days, where we staid seven days. [ : ]and on the first day of the week, we being assembled to break bread, paul preached to them, being about to depart on the next day, and continued his discourse till midnight; [ : ]and there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled. [ : ]and a young man by the name of eutychus sitting in a window, falling into a deep sleep while paul preached long, and being overcome by sleep, fell from the third story down, and was taken up dead. [ : ]but paul going down fell on him, and embracing him, said, be not troubled, for his life is in him. [ : ]and going up and breaking bread, and tasting it, and conversing a long time till the break of day, he departed. [ : ]and they brought away the child alive, and were not a little comforted. [ : ]and we going before by ship sailed to assos, being about to take in paul at that place; for so had he appointed, being about to go on foot himself. [ : ]and when he met us at assos, we took him in and came to mitylene, [ : ]and sailing thence, on the next day we came opposite to chios, and in another day we touched at samos, and stopping at trogylium, on the day following we came to miletus. [ : ]for paul had determined to sail by ephesus, that it might not be necessary for him to spend a long time in asia; for he hastened, if it was possible for him, to be at jerusalem at the day of pentecost. [ : ]and from miletus sending to ephesus he called for the elders of the church. [ : ]and when they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that i came into asia, how i was with you at all times, [ : ] serving the lord with all humility, and tears and trials that befell me by the conspiracies of the jews, [ : ]how i kept not back from declaring to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house any thing that was profitable, [ : ]testifying both to jews and greeks the change of mind to god, and the faith in our lord jesus. [ : ]and behold now, i go constrained by the spirit to jerusalem, not knowing the things which shall befall me there, [ : ]except that the holy spirit testifies to me in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions await me. [ : ]but life precious to myself, i make of no account that i may finish my course and the service which i received of the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god. [ : ]and now, behold, i know that you all among whom i have gone preaching the kingdom shall see my face no more. [ : ]wherefore i call you to witness this day, that i am pure from the blood of all men; [ : ]for i have not kept back from declaring to you all the counsel of god. [ : ]take heed to yourselves, therefore, and to all the flock in which the holy spirit has made you bishops, to feed the church of the lord which he has purchased with his blood. [ : ]for i know that after my departure grievous wolves will come among you, not sparing the flock, [ : ]and of yourselves men will arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. [ : ]wherefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, i ceased not to admonish every one of you with tears. [ : ]and now i commend you to god, and the word of his grace, who is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance with all the sanctified. [ : ]i have coveted no man's silver or gold or clothing; [ : ]you yourselves know that these hands have served my necessities and those with me. [ : ]i have showed you all things, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the lord jesus, that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. [ : ]and having said these words he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. [ : ]and they all wept much, and fell on paul's neck and kissed him, [ : ] grieving most of all for the word which he said, that they should see his face no more. and they accompanied him to the ship. chapter xix. paul and his company pursuing their journey to caesarea and jerusalem, etc.--a.d. . [ : ]and when we had torn ourselves from them we set sail, and going in a straight course came to cos, and on the next day to rhodes, and thence to patara. [ : ]and finding a ship crossing to phenicia, going on board we set sail. [ : ]and observing cyprus, and leaving it on the left, we sailed to syria, and landed at tyre; for there the ship was to discharge her cargo. [ : ] and finding the disciples we continued there seven days; and they told paul, by the spirit, not to go on to jerusalem. [ : ]and when we had completed the days we went out and proceeded on our journey, they all attending us with their wives and children till without the city, and kneeling down on the shore we prayed, [ : ]and having saluted each other we went to the ship, and they returned to their homes. [ : ]having completed our voyage from tyre we went to ptolemais, and having saluted the brothers continued with them one day. [ : ]and departing on the next day we came to caesarea, and going to the house of philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we staid with him. [ : ]this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. [ : ]and having continued there many days, there came down a certain prophet from judea by the name of agabus, [ : ]and coming to us, and taking paul's girdle, and binding his hands and feet, he said, these things, says the holy spirit; thus will the jews at jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle, and deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. [ : ]and when we heard these things, we and the people of the place besought him not to go up to jerusalem. [ : ]but paul answered, what do you do, to weep and break my heart? for i am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at jerusalem, for the name of the lord jesus. [ : ]and he not being persuaded, we were silent, saying, the will of the lord be done. [ : ]and after these days, having made preparation, we went up to jerusalem; [ : ]and some of the disciples from caesarea went up with us, conducting [us] to mnason a cyprian, an early disciple with whom we lodged. [ : ]and when we arrived at jerusalem the brothers received us gladly. [ : ]and on the following day paul went with us to james, and all the elders were present. [ : ]and having saluted them, he related particularly what god had done among the gentiles by his ministry; [ : ]and having heard, they glorified god, and said to him, you see, brother, how many ten thousands there are of those who have believed, among the jews, and all are zealots of the law; [ : ]and they have been informed of you, that you teach all the jews among the gentiles to apostatize from moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs. [ : ]what then is [to be done]? they will hear everywhere that you have come. [ : ]do this, therefore, which we tell you. we have four men having a vow upon them; [ : ]take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses, that they may shave their heads, and all will know that the information which they have of you is not correct, but that you walk also yourself keeping the law. [ : ]but concerning the gentiles who have believed, we have sent, judging that they should avoid things offered to idols, and blood, and things strangled, and fornication. [ : ]then paul taking the men, on the following day being purified with them went into the temple, announcing the completion of the days of purification till an offering should be offered for each one of them. chapter xx. paul's apprehension by the jews, his rescue by the romans, his address, etc.--a.d. . [ : ]and when the seven days were nearly completed, the jews from asia seeing him in the temple excited all the multitude, and laid hands on him, [ : ]crying, men of israel, help; this is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place, and besides he has brought greeks into the temple, and defiled this holy place. [ : ]for they had before seen trophimus the ephesian in the city with him, and supposed that paul had brought him into the temple. [ : ]and all the city was moved, and there was a concourse of the people, and taking hold of paul they dragged him without the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. [ : ]and while they were seeking to kill him, a report went up to the chiliarch of the cohort that all jerusalem was in commotion; [ : ]who immediately taking soldiers and centurions ran down upon them; and seeing the chiliarch and the soldiers, they ceased beating paul. [ : ]then the chiliarch approaching took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done. [ : ]but some cried one thing, and some another, in the multitude, and not being able to learn the truth, on account of the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the fortress. [ : ] and when he was on the steps, it happened that he was borne by the soldiers, on account of the violence of the multitude; [ : ]for the multitude of the people followed, crying, take him away. [ : ]and being about to be carried into the fortress, paul said to the chiliarch, may i have permission to speak to you? and he said, do you understand greek? [ : ]are you not the egyptian who before these days excited a sedition, and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men who were murderers? [ : ]and paul said, i am a jew, of tarsus of cilicia, a citizen of a not undistinguished city, i beg of you, permit me to speak to the people. [ : ]and he giving him permission, paul stood up on the steps, and motioned with his hand to the people; and when there was great silence, he spoke in the hebrew language, and said, [ : ]men, brothers and fathers, hear my present defense before you. [ : ]and hearing that he spoke to them in the hebrew language, they kept the greater silence. [ : ]and he said, i am a jew, born in tarsus of cilicia, but brought up in this city, instructed at the feet of gamaliel in the accurate interpretation of the law of our fathers, and am a zealous worshipper of god as you all are to-day; [ : ]and i persecuted this way to death, binding and committing to prison both men and women, [ : ]as the chief priest also bears me witness, and all the eldership, from whom also receiving letters to the brothers i went to damascus, to bring those who were there bound to jerusalem to be punished. [ : ]and when i was on the way and had come nigh to damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me, [ : ]and i fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to me, saul, saul, why do you persecute me? [ : ]and i answered, who are you, lord? and he said to me, i am jesus the nazoraean, whom you persecute. [ : ]and those that were with me saw the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me. [ : ]and i said, what shall i do, lord? and the lord said to me, arise, and go to damascus, and there it shall be told you of all things which are appointed for you to do. [ : ]and when i could not see from the brightness of that light, being led by the hand by those with me, i came to damascus. [ : ]and a certain ananias, a man [living] according to the law, approved by all the jews living [there], [ : ]coming and standing by, said to me, brother saul, receive your sight. and in that hour i looked upon him. [ : ]and he said, the god of our fathers chose you to know his will, and to see the righteous one, and hear the voice of his mouth, [ : ]for you shall be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. [ : ]and now, why do you delay? arising, baptize and wash away your sins, calling on his name. [ : ]and when i returned to jerusalem and was praying in the temple, i was in a trance, [ : ]and saw him [christ], saying to me, hasten and depart immediately from jerusalem, for they will not receive your testimony of me. [ : ]and i said, lord, they know that i imprisoned and beat in the synagogues those who believed on you; [ : ]and when the blood of your martyr stephen was poured out, i also stood by and consented, and kept the clothes of those that killed him. [ : ]and he said to me, go, for i will send you to nations far away. [ : ]and they heard him to this word, and lifted up their voice saying, take away such a man from the earth; it is not fit that he should live. [ : ] and as they cried and rent their clothes and cast dust in the air, [ : ]the chiliarch commanded him to be brought into the fortress, ordering that he should be examined with scourges, that he might know for what reason they cried so against him. [ : ]but when they extended him with cords, he said to the centurion standing by, is it lawful for you to scourge a man, a roman, and uncondemned? [ : ]and the centurion hearing this, went and told the chiliarch, saying, what are you about to do? for this man is a roman. [ : ] and the chiliarch came to him and said, tell me, are you a roman? and he said, yes. [ : ]and the chiliarch answered, i acquired this citizenship for a great price. but paul said, i am indeed, and was also born [one]. [ : ]then those about to examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the chiliarch was afraid, knowing that he was a roman, and because he had bound him. chapter xxi. paul before the sanhedrim, and sent to caesarea for safe keeping.--a.d. . [ : ]and on the next day, wishing to know the truth in respect to what he was accused of by the jews, [the chiliarch] released him, and commanded the chief priests and all the sanhedrim to come together; and bringing paul down he set him before them. [ : ]and paul looking steadily at the sanhedrim, said, men and brothers, i have lived before god in all good conscience to this day. [ : ]and the chief priest ananias commanded those standing by to strike him on the mouth. [ : ]then paul said to him, god is about to strike you, whitewashed wall; and do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law? [ : ]and those standing by said, do you revile god's chief priest? [ : ]and paul said, i knew not brothers that he was a chief priest; for it is written, you shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people. [ : ]and paul knowing that one part were sadducees and the other pharisees, cried in the sanhedrim, men and brothers, i am a pharisee and the son of pharisees; for the hope and resurrection of the dead am i under trial. [ : ] and having said this, there was a dissension between the pharisees and sadducees, and the multitude were divided. [ : ]for the sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit, but the pharisees confess both. [ : ]and there was a great cry, and the scribes of the party of the pharisees rising up contended, saying, we find no evil in this man; but [what] if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? [ : ]and there being a great dissension, the chiliarch, fearing that paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the troops to come down and take him by force from the midst of them, and conduct him to the fortress. [ : ]and on the following night the lord stood by him and said, be of good courage, for as you have testified of me at jerusalem, so you must also testify at rome. [ : ]and when it was day, the jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath, saying that they would not eat nor drink till they had killed paul. [ : ]and there were more than forty who took this oath, [ : ] who came to the chief priests and elders and said, we have bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing till we kill paul. [ : ]now, therefore, speak to the chiliarch, with the sanhedrim, to bring him down to you tomorrow, as if you were about to investigate his case more accurately, and we, before he comes nigh, are ready to kill him. [ : ]but a son of paul's sister hearing of this lying in wait, went and entering into the fortress told paul. [ : ]and paul calling one of the centurions, said, lead this young man to the chiliarch, for he has something to tell him. [ : ]he therefore took him and led him to the chiliarch, and said, paul the prisoner called me and asked me to lead this young man to you, who has something to tell you. [ : ]and the chiliarch taking him by the hand and leading him aside, inquired, what is it that you have to tell me? [ : ]and he said, the jews have entered into a compact to ask you to bring down paul to the sanhedrim to-morrow, as if about to learn more accurately of something concerning him. [ : ]but do not therefore be persuaded by them; for more than forty men of them lie in wait, who have taken an oath not to eat nor drink till they have killed him, and now they are ready, awaiting an answer from you. [ : ]then the chiliarch dismissed the young man, charging him, tell no one that you have informed me of these things. [ : ]and calling two of the centurions he said, prepare two hundred soldiers to go to caesarea, and seventy horsemen and two hundred light armed troops, after the third hour of the night. [ : ]and provide animals to put paul on, and take him safely to felix the procurator. [ : ]and he wrote a letter having this form; [ : ]claudius lysias to the most excellent procurator felix, greeting. [ : ]i went with the soldiery and rescued this man, when he was seized by the jews, and about to be killed by them, having learned that he is a roman; [ : ]and wishing to know the cause for which they accuse him, i took him down to their sanhedrim, [ : ]and found him criminated in respect to questions of their law, but charged with nothing worthy of death or bonds. [ : ]being informed that a conspiracy was about to be formed against the man, i immediately sent to you, commanding also his accusers to speak before you. [ : ]the soldiers therefore took paul as they were commanded and brought him by night to antipatris, [ : ]and the next day leaving the horsemen to go with him, they returned to the fortress. [ : ]and when they came to caesarea, and had delivered the letter to the procurator, they also presented paul to him. [ : ]and having read, he asked of what province he was; and learning that he was of cilicia, [ : ]i will hear you, he said, when your accusers have come; and he commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of herod. chapter xxii. paul's trial before felix the procurator.--a.d. , . [ : ]and after five days the chief priest ananias, with the elders, and a certain orator, tertullus, went down and gave information to the procurator against paul. [ : ]and he being called, tertullus began to accuse him, saying, having obtained great peace by you, and things being happily arranged for this nation by your oversight in all things and in all places [ : ]we accept [it] most excellent felix, with all thankfulness. [ : ]but that i may not further weary you, i beg you to hear us briefly, with your clemency. [ : ]for finding this man a pestilence and a mover of sedition among all the jews throughout the world, and a chief of the sect of the nazoraeans, [ : ]who also endeavored to profane the temple, whom we also took, [ : ]from whom you will be able to learn by examination of all these things of which we accuse him. [ : ]and the jews also assented, saying, these things are so. [ : ]and the procurator making a sign to him to speak, paul answered, knowing that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, i shall defend myself cheerfully, [ : ]you being able to know that it is not more than twelve days since i went up to worship at jerusalem. [ : ]and they did not find me in the temple disputing with any one, or making a disturbance of the multitude, neither in the synagogues nor in the city; [ : ]neither can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. [ : ]but this i confess to you, that in the way which they call a heresy, so worship i the god of my fathers; believing all things written in the law and the prophets, [ : ]having a hope in god which they also hold, that there will be a resurrection both of the righteous and wicked. [ : ]and in this also i endeavor always to have a conscience without offense towards god and man. [ : ]but after many years i came to bring charities and offerings to my nation, [ : ]in which certain jews from asia found me purified in the temple, not with a multitude, nor with a tumult, [ : ]who ought to be present and accuse me before you, if they have any thing against me. [ : ]or let them say whether they found any unrighteousness in me when i stood before the sanhedrim, [ : ]except in this one statement which i made, as i stood among them, that i am under trial by you to-day concerning the resurrection of the dead. [ : ]but felix put them off, saying, having learned more accurately of this way, when lysias the chiliarch comes down i will decide concerning your matters, [ : ]and he commanded the centurion that paul should be kept, and be freed from bonds, and that he should forbid none of his friends to serve him. [ : ]and after some days felix coming with drusilla his wife, who was a jewess, sent for paul, and heard him concerning the faith in christ. [ : ]and as he discoursed of righteousness, and temperance, and the judgment about to come, felix being terrified answered, go for the present; but when i have time i will call you. [ : ]at the same time also he hoped that money would be given him by paul; and on this account sent for him the oftener, and conversed with him. [ : ]but after two years had passed, felix was succeeded by porcius festus; and wishing to gratify the jews, felix left paul bound. chapter xxiii. paul's trial before festus, his appeal to caesar, and his subsequent defense before agrippa.--a.d. . [ : ]festus therefore coming into the province, after three days went up from caesarea to jerusalem. [ : ]and the chief priests and the first men of the jews informed him against paul, and besought him, [ : ]asking favor against him, that he would send for him to jerusalem, having provided an ambuscade to kill him on the way. [ : ]then festus answered that paul should be kept at caesarea, and that he would go down there shortly; [ : ]and then, he said, the principal men among you may go down with me; if there is any thing against this man they may prosecute him. [ : ]and staying with them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to caesarea, and on the next day, sitting on the tribunal, commanded paul to be brought. [ : ]and when he had come, the jews who had come down from jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and weighty accusations which they could not prove, [ : ]while paul maintained in his defense, neither against the law of the jews, nor against the temple, nor against caesar, have i done any wrong. [ : ]but festus wishing to gratify the jews, answered paul and said, are you willing to go up to jerusalem, and there be tried by me for these things? [ : ]and paul said, i stand at the tribunal of caesar, where i ought to be tried. i have not injured the jews, as you also know very well. [ : ]if indeed i have done wrong or committed any thing worthy of death, i refuse not to die; but if those things of which they accuse me are nothing, no man may give me up to them; i appeal to caesar. [ : ]then festus having conferred with the council answered, you have appealed to caesar; to caesar you shall go. [ : ]but after some days king agrippa and bernice came down to caesarea to salute festus. [ : ]and when they had staid there many days, festus proposed the case of paul to the king, saying, there is a certain man left a prisoner by felix, [ : ]concerning whom when i was at jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the jews gave me information, asking judgment against him; [ : ]to whom i answered, it is not the custom of the romans to give up any man before the accused has the accusers face to face, and is allowed an opportunity to defend himself against the accusation. [ : ]when therefore, they came here, making no delay, the next day i sat on the tribunal, and ordered the man to be brought; [ : ]concerning whom his accusers standing up brought no charge of such things as i supposed, [ : ]but had certain questions with him concerning their religion, and concerning one jesus that was dead, who paul said was alive. [ : ]being in doubt on the question concerning these things, i asked if he was willing to go to jerusalem and be tried by me there on these charges. [ : ]but paul appealing, to be kept for the hearing of augustus, i commanded him to be kept till i could send him to caesar. [ : ]and agrippa [said] to festus, i should like to hear the man also myself. and he said, to-morrow you shall hear him. [ : ]on the next day, therefore, agrippa and bernice coming with great pomp, and entering into the place of hearing with chiliarchs and men of distinction in the city, at the command of festus paul was brought. [ : ]and festus said, king agrippa, and all the men present with us, you see this man, of whom all the multitude of the jews besought me, both at jerusalem and here, crying out that he ought no longer to live. [ : ]but finding that he had done nothing deserving death, and he having appealed to augustus, i have determined to send him. [ : ]but i have nothing certain to write to the sovereign concerning him, wherefore i have brought him before you, and especially before you, king agrippa, that on examination i may have something to write; [ : ] for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not to signify the charges against him. [ : ]and agrippa said to paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. then paul stretched out his hand and made his defense. [ : ]i think myself happy, king agrippa, in being allowed to make my defense before you to-day in respect to all things of which i am accused by the jews, [ : ]especially as you are acquainted with all the customs and questions of the jews; wherefore, i beg you to hear me patiently. [ : ]my mode of life from my childhood, the early part of it being with my nation at jerusalem, know all the jews, [ : ]who knew me from the first, if they would testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion i lived a pharisee. [ : ]and now i stand on trial for the hope of the promise made by god to our fathers, [ : ]which our twelve tribes, serving god continually, day and night, hope to attain; of this hope, king agrippa, i am accused by the jews. [ : ]why is it judged by you incredible that god raises the dead? [ : ]i indeed thought with myself that i ought to do many things contrary to the name of jesus the nazoraean, [ : ]which i also did at jerusalem, and many of the saints i shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were killed i gave my vote against them. [ : ]and punishing them often in all the synagogues, i compelled them to blaspheme, and being exceedingly mad against them, i pursued them even to cities abroad. [ : ]in which [persecutions] also, going to damascus with authority, and a commission from the chief priests, [ : ]at midday i saw in the way o king, a light from heaven shining around me and those going with me, exceeding the brightness of the sun; [ : ]and when we had all fallen on the earth, i heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the hebrew language, saul, saul, why do you persecute me? it is hard for you to kick against the goads. [ : ]and i said, who are you, lord? and the lord said, i am jesus whom you persecute. [ : ]but rise and stand on your feet; for i have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and witness both of what you have seen and [of visions ] in which i will appear to you, [ : ]delivering you from the people, and the gentiles, to whom i send you [ : ]to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among the sanctified by faith in me. [ : ]whence, king agrippa, i was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, [ : ]but preached first to those at damascus and jerusalem, and in all the country of judea, and to the gentiles, that they should change their minds and turn to god, performing works worthy of a change of mind. [ : ]on this account the jews seized me in the temple and endeavored to kill me. [ : ]having obtained therefore help from god, i have continued to this day, testifying to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and moses said should take place; [ : ]that the christ should suffer, and that he first from the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and the nations. [ : ]and when paul had said these words, festus said with a loud voice, you are mad, paul; much learning has driven you to madness. [ : ]but he said, i am not mad, most excellent festus, but utter words of truth and sobriety. [ : ]for the king knows of these things, before whom i speak freely; for i am persuaded that none of these things have escaped his notice; for this was not done in a corner. [ : ]king agrippa, believe you the prophets? i know that you believe. [ : ]and agrippa said to paul, you almost persuade me to be a christian. [ : ]and paul said, i would to god that not only you but also all who hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as i am, except these bonds. [ : ]and the king arose, and the procurator, and bernice, and those who sat with them, [ : ]and departing they conversed with each other, saying, this man has done nothing deserving death or bonds. [ : ]and agrippa said to festus, if he had not appealed to caesar, this man might be released. chapter xxiv. paul's voyage to rome.--a.d. , . [ : ]and when it was determined that we should sail to italy, they delivered paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion by the name of julius, of the cohort of augustus. [ : ]and going on board of a ship of adramyttium, which was about to sail to places in asia, we set sail, aristarchus a macedonian of thessalonica being with us; [ : ]and on the next day we came to sidon, and julius treating paul with humanity allowed him to go to his friends, and receive attention. [ : ]proceeding thence we sailed under cyprus, because the winds were contrary, [ : ]and sailing through the sea by cilicia and pamphylia we came to myra in lycia; [ : ]and the centurion finding there an alexandrian ship sailing to italy, put us into it. [ : ]and sailing slowly in those days, and scarcely being by cnidus, the wind not permitting us [to proceed in a direct course] we sailed under crete, by salmone, [ : ]and sailing by it with difficulty, we came to a place called fair havens, near which is the city lasea. [ : ]but some time being spent and navigation not being safe, because the fast had already passed by, paul advised, [ : ]saying to them, men, i see that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives. [ : ]but the centurion believed the master and owner rather than the words spoken by paul. [ : ]and the harbor being inconvenient to winter in, the greater part advised to depart thence, and, if they were able, to come to phenice to winter, a harbor of crete, which opens to the south and southwest. [ : ]and the south wind blowing gently, supposing that they had attained their purpose, setting sail they proceeded along the coast of crete. [ : ]but not long after a tempestuous wind, called euroclydon, rushed against it, [ : ] and the ship being caught and not being able to bear up against the wind, we gave up, and were borne along. [ : ]and running a little under the island called clauda, we with difficulty became masters of the boat, [ : ]and taking it out they used helps, under-girding the ship; and fearing lest they should fall on the shoal, letting down the mast they were driven in that condition. [ : ]and we being exceedingly pressed with the storm, on the next day they cast the cargo overboard, [ : ]and on the third day with our own hands we cast overboard the furniture of the ship. [ : ]and neither sun nor stars appearing for many days, and no slight storm being upon us, at last all hope that we should be saved was taken away. [ : ]then there having been long abstinence from food, paul stood up in the midst of them and said, you ought, men, taking my advice, not to have sailed from crete, and to have saved this injury and loss. [ : ]and now i advise you to be of good courage; for there shall be no loss of a life of you, but only of the ship. [ : ]for an angel of the god whose i am, and whom i serve, came to me this night [ : ]and said, fear not, paul; you must stand before caesar, and behold, god has given you all that sail with you. [ : ]wherefore, men, be of good courage; for i believe god, that it will be as he has told me; [ : ] but we must be cast on a certain island. [ : ]and on the fourteenth night, when we were borne along in the adriatic, at about midnight the sailors suspected that some land was approaching them. [ : ]and sounding they found twenty fathoms, and going a little distance and sounding again they found fifteen fathoms; [ : ]and fearing lest we should fall on rough places, casting out four anchors from the stern, they prayed for day. [ : ]and the sailors seeking to escape from the ship, and letting down the boat into the sea, with the pretence that they were about to put out anchors from the fore part of the ship, [ : ]paul said to the centurion and soldiers, unless these continue in the ship you cannot be saved. [ : ]then the soldiers cut the ropes of the boat and let it fall off. [ : ]and when day was about to appear, paul exhorted all to take food, saying, it is the fourteenth day to-day that you have watched and continued without food, taking nothing. [ : ]wherefore i exhort you to partake of food; for this is necessary to your safety, for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any one of you. [ : ]and having said these things, and taken bread, he thanked god before all, and having broken began to eat. [ : ]and all being in good spirits they also partook of food; [ : ]and all the souls in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six. [ : ]and being satisfied with food they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea. [ : ]and when it was day they did not know the land, but they perceived a bay having a shore, on which they wished if possible to thrust the ship. [ : ] and taking up the anchors, they committed [the ship] to the sea, loosening at the same time the fastenings of the rudder and raising the top sail to the wind, they bore down towards the shore. [ : ]and falling on a place with a sea on both sides, they run the ship aground. and the bow being firmly fixed, remained immoveable; and the stern was broken by violence. [ : ]and the design of the soldiers was to kill the prisoners, that none might escape by swimming; [ : ]but the centurion wishing to save paul, prohibited them from this design, and commanded those able to swim to cast themselves into the water first, and go to the land; [ : ]and the rest, some on boards, and some on parts of the ship; and in this way all were brought safely to land. [ : ]and when they were saved, they learned that the island was called melita. [ : ]and the barbarians showed us no ordinary humanity; for kindling a fire they received us all, on account of the rain which was falling, and the cold. [ : ]and paul having collected a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper coming out from the heat fastened on his hand. [ : ]and when the barbarians saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, this man is undoubtedly a murderer, whom though saved from the sea justice has not permitted to live. [ : ]then shaking off the creature into the fire he suffered no harm; [ : ]but they expected that he would swell up, or suddenly fall down dead. and waiting a long time, and seeing nothing extraordinary happen to him, they thought differently, and said, he is a god. [ : ]near that place were the lands of the first man in the island, whose name was poplius, who received and entertained us kindly three days. [ : ]and the father of poplius lay sick with a fever and dysentery, and paul came to him, and prayed, and put his hands on him, and cured him. [ : ]and this being done, the rest also who had sicknesses in the island came and were cured, [ : ]and they bestowed on us many rewards, and when we left supplied us with things that we needed. [ : ]and after three months we sailed away in an alexandrian vessel, that had wintered in the island, with the sign of castor and pollux. [ : ]and coming to syracuse we remained there three days; [ : ]and proceeding thence we came to rhegium, and after one day, a south wind blowing, we came the second day to puteoli, [ : ]where finding brothers we were invited to remain with them seven days; and thus we came to rome. [ : ]and thence, the brothers hearing of us came out to meet us even to the forum of appius, and the three taverns [fifty-one miles]; and when paul saw them, thanking god he took courage. chapter xxv. paul at rome.--a.d. , . [ : ]and when we came to rome the centurion committed the prisoners to the prefect of the camp, and paul was allowed to remain by himself, with a soldier to guard him. [ : ]and after three days he called the chief men of the jews together; and when they had convened, said to them, men and brothers, having done nothing contrary to the people or to the customs of the fathers, i was delivered up from jerusalem a prisoner into the hands of the romans, [ : ]who on trial wished to release me, because they found no cause of death in me; [ : ]but the jews opposing it i was compelled to appeal to caesar; not that i have any thing of which to accuse my nation. [ : ]for this reason, therefore, i have called you to see and converse with you, because i am loaded with this chain on account of the hope of israel. [ : ]and they said to him, we have neither received letters concerning you from judea, nor has any one of the brothers come and reported or told any evil of you. [ : ]but we would like to hear from you what you think, for it is known to us concerning this sect, that it is everywhere spoken against. [ : ]and appointing him a day they came in great numbers to his lodging, to whom he set forth and testified the kingdom of god, persuading them concerning jesus both from the law of moses and the prophets, from morning till evening. [ : ]and some believed the things which were spoken, and others believed not; [ : ]and disagreeing among themselves they were dismissed by paul, saying one word; well did the holy spirit speak by isaiah the prophet to our fathers, [ : ]saying, go to this people and say, hearing you shall hear and not understand, and seeing you shall see and not perceive; [ : ]for the heart of this people has become hard, and they hear imperfectly with their ears, and they have shut their eyes, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and i should cure them. [ : ]be it known to you, therefore, that the salvation of god is sent to the gentiles, and they will hear it. [ : ]but paul continued two entire years in his hired house, and received all who came to him, [ : ]preaching the kingdom of god, and teaching the doctrines concerning the lord jesus christ with all boldness and without hindrance. the epistles of paul. first epistle to the thessalonians. corinth, a.d. . (acts , .) chapter i. the introduction of the gospel to the thessalonians, timothy's visit and report, etc. [ : ]paul and sylvanus [silas] and timothy to the church of the thessalonians in god the father and the lord jesus christ. grace be to you and peace. [ : ]we thank god always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, [ : ]remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of the hope of our lord jesus christ before god even our father, [ : ] knowing, brothers beloved by god, your election, [ : ]that our gospel came not to you in word only, but with power and with the holy spirit and with full assurance, as you know what we were among you for your sakes. [ : ]and you became followers of us and of the lord, having received the word in much affliction with the joy of the holy spirit, [ : ]so that you became an example to all that believe in macedonia and achaia. [ : ]for from you the word of the lord was proclaimed not only in macedonia and achaia, but your faith with respect to god went into every place, so that we had no need to say any thing; [ : ]for they declare of us what introduction we had to you, and how you turned from idols to god, to serve the living and true god, [ : ]and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. [ : ]for you know, brothers, our introduction to you that it was not in vain, [ : ]but having suffered before, and been injuriously treated, as you know, at philippi, we were bold in our god to speak to you the gospel of god with much contention. [ : ]for our exhortation was not of error, nor of impurity, nor with deceit, [ : ]but as we were judged worthy by god to be intrusted with the gospel so we speak, not as pleasing men, but god who tries our hearts. [ : ]for we used at no time a word of flattery, as you know, nor a pretext for covetousness, god is witness, [ : ]neither did we seek glory of men, either of you or of others, when we might have been burdensome as apostles of christ; [ : ]but we were gentle among you, as a nurse would cherish her own children; [ : ]so being greatly desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of god, but our own souls, because you were dear to us. [ : ]for you remember, brothers, our labor and weariness; that working night and day not to be burdensome to any one of you, we preached to you the gospel of god. [ : ]you are witnesses, and god, how piously, and righteously, and blamelessly we were with you that believe, [ : ]as you know how we exhorted and comforted you, as a father each one of his own children, [ : ]and charged you to walk worthily of god who calls you into his kingdom and glory. [ : ]for this cause also we thank god without ceasing, that receiving the word of god heard from us, you received not a word of men, but, as it is in truth, a word of god, who also works in you that believe. [ : ]for you, brothers, became followers of the churches of god in christ jesus which were in judea, for you also suffered the same things from your countrymen, which they did from the jews [ : ]who also killed the lord jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us, and who please not god and are hostile to all men, [ : ] forbidding us to speak to the gentiles that they may be saved, that they may fill up their sins always; and the wrath has come on them to the utmost. [ : ]but we, brothers, being deprived of you for a short time in presence, not in heart, used greater diligence to see your face, with much desire. [ : ] for which reason we wished to come to you; i paul indeed once and again, and satan hindered us. [ : ]for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? is it not even you before our lord jesus at his coming? [ : ]for you are our glory and joy. [ : ]when therefore we could no longer refrain, we thought it best to be left alone at athens, [ : ]and sent timothy, our brother and god's co-laborer in the gospel of christ, to confirm you and to exhort you in behalf of your faith, [ : ]that no one should be moved by these afflictions. for you know that we are appointed for this; [ : ]for indeed when we came to you, we told you before that we were about to suffer affliction, as it also happened, and you know. [ : ]for this reason, being no longer able to forbear, i sent to know your faith, lest in some way the tempter should have tempted you, and our labor be in vain. [ : ]but now timothy having come to us from you and told us the good news of your faith and love, and that you have a good remembrance of us always, desiring to see us, as we also you, [ : ]therefore we were comforted, brothers, on your account in all our affliction and distress by your faith, [ : ]for now we live, if you stand firm in the lord. [ : ]for what thanksgiving can we render to god for you for all the joy with which we rejoice on your account before our god, [ : ]desiring exceedingly, night and day, to see your face, and to perfect what is lacking of your faith? [ : ]and may god himself, even our father, and our lord jesus direct our way to you; [ : ]and the lord cause you to be full and abound with love one to another and to all men, as we also to you, [ : ]to confirm your hearts without blame in holiness before god, even our father, at the coming of our lord jesus with all his saints. chapter ii. chastity, brotherly love, the state of the dead, the coming of christ, etc. [ : ]finally, therefore, brothers, we beseech and exhort you by the lord jesus, as you have received from us how you ought to walk and please god, that you abound still more. [ : ]for you know what commandments we gave you by the lord jesus. [ : ]for this is the will of god, your purity, that you should abstain from fornication, [ : ]that each one should know how to have his wife in purity and honor, [ : ]not with inordinate desires like the gentiles who know not god, [ : ]that he should not go beyond and defraud his brother in the matter, because the lord is a punisher of all these, as we also told you before and fully testified. [ : ]for god has not called us to impurity, but to purity. [ : ]he therefore that despises, despises not man, but god, who also gives us his holy spirit. [ : ]but concerning brotherly love, you have no need that i should write to you; for you are taught by god to love one another; [ : ]for you also do the same to all the brothers in all macedonia. but we exhort you, brothers, to abound still more, [ : ]and strive to be quiet and pursue your own business, and work with your hands, as we charged you, [ : ]that you may walk becomingly towards those without and have need of nothing. [ : ]and we wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those that have fallen asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. [ : ] for if we believe that jesus died and rose again, so also will god bring with him those that have fallen asleep on account of jesus. [ : ]for we tell you this by the word of the lord, that we who live and remain till the coming of the lord, shall not anticipate those that have fallen asleep, [ : ]for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god, and the dead in christ shall rise first, [ : ] then we the living who remain shall be caught up together with them in clouds, to meet the lord in the air; and so we shall be always with the lord. [ : ] comfort one another, therefore, with these words. [ : ]but concerning the times and season, brothers, you have no need that i should write to you; [ : ]for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord comes like a thief in the night. [ : ]when they say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes, like pain upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. [ : ]but you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the day should come upon you like a thief; [ : ]for you are all children of light, and children of day; we are not of night nor of darkness. [ : ]therefore let us not sleep as others, but let us watch and be sober. [ : ]for they that sleep sleep in the night, and they that are drunk drink in the night; [ : ]but let us who are of day be sober, putting on a cuirass of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, [ : ]for god has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our lord jesus christ, [ : ] who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we may live together with him. [ : ]wherefore exhort one another, and edify one another, as you also do. [ : ]and we beseech you, brothers, to know those who labor among you, and preside over you in the lord and admonish you, [ : ]and to esteem them very highly in love on account of their work. be at peace among yourselves. [ : ] and we exhort you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the dispirited, assist the sick, be of long suffering towards all men. [ : ]see that no one renders evil for evil, but always pursue the good both one to another and to all. [ : ]rejoice always; [ : ]pray without ceasing, [ : ]give thanks on every occasion; for this is the will of god in christ jesus to us. [ : ]quench not the spirit, [ : ]despise not prophecies. [ : ]prove all things, hold fast the good; [ : ]abstain from every form of evil. [ : ]and may the god of peace himself purify you wholly, and your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless at the coming of our lord jesus christ. [ : ]faithful is he that calls you, who will also perform. [ : ]brothers, pray for us. [ : ]salute all the brothers with a holy kiss. [ : ]i charge you by the lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brothers. [ : ]the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. second epistle to the thessalonians. corinth, a.d. . (acts, : .) chapter i. paul's love and prayers for the thessalonian christians, the coming of christ, etc. [ : ]paul and silvanus [silas] and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians in god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]grace be to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]we ought to thank god always for you, brothers, as is fit, because your faith increases greatly, and the love of every one of you all one for another abounds, [ : ]so that we boast of you in the churches of god, of your patience and faith, in all your persecutions and the afflictions which you endure, [ : ] a token of the righteous judgment of god that you should be deemed worthy of the kingdom of god, for which you also suffer, [ : ]since it is just with god to repay affliction to those who afflict you, [ : ]and to you who are afflicted rest with us at the revelation of the lord jesus from heaven with his mighty angels [ : ]in a flame of fire, executing judgment on all that know not god and obey not the gospel of our lord jesus; [ : ]who shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his power, [ : ]when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired by all that believe in that day, for our testimony was believed by you. [ : ] for which also we pray always for you, that our god will account you worthy of the calling, and accomplish all the good pleasure of [his] goodness and the work of faith with power; [ : ]that the name of our lord jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our god and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]and we beseech you, brothers, in respect to the coming of our lord jesus christ, and our being brought together to him, [ : ]that you be not soon shaken in mind, nor terrified, neither by a spirit, nor by a discourse, nor by an epistle as from us, as though the day of the lord was at hand. [ : ]let no one deceive you in any way, for [he shall not come] unless the apostacy comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, [ : ]who opposes and exalts himself above every thing that is called a god or an object of worship, so that he sits in the temple of god, showing himself that he is god. [ : ]do you not remember that when i was with you i told you of these things? [ : ]and now you know what hinders him from being revealed in his time. [ : ]for the mystery of wickedness already works, [god] only restrains it just now, till it shall be out of the way; [ : ]and then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming, [ : ]whose coming is according to the power of satan, with all power and miracles and false prodigies [ : ]and with every unrighteous deceit among those who are destroyed, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. [ : ]and therefore, god sends them a power of delusion that they should believe a lie, [ : ]that they all may be condemned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in wickedness. [ : ]but we ought to thank god always for you, brothers beloved by the lord, because god from the beginning chose you to salvation by purification of spirit, and belief of the truth, [ : ]to which he called you by our gospel, to obtain the glory of our lord jesus christ. [ : ]therefore, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle; [ : ]and our lord jesus christ himself, and our god and father, who has loved us and given us eternal consolation and a good hope by grace, [ : ] comfort and confirm your hearts in every good work and word. [ : ]finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the lord may run and be glorified, as also with you, [ : ]and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all have not faith. [ : ]but the lord is faithful, who will confirm you, and guard you from evil. [ : ]and we trust in the lord with respect to you, that you both do and will do what we direct. [ : ] and may the lord direct your hearts in the love of god, and in the patience of christ. [ : ]and we charge you, brothers, in the name of our lord jesus christ, to withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us. [ : ]for you know yourselves how you ought to follow us, for we walked not disorderly among you, [ : ]neither did we eat bread of any one for nought, but worked with labor and fatigue, night and day, not to be burdensome to any of you; [ : ]not that we have not a right [to a support], but that we may make ourselves an example for you to follow us. [ : ]for when we were with you, we gave you this charge, that if any one will not work, neither let him eat. [ : ]for we hear that some go about among you in a disorderly manner, not working, but being above work; [ : ]we charge and exhort such, by our lord jesus christ, to work quietly, and eat their own bread. [ : ]but, brothers, be not weary of well doing. [ : ]but if any one obeys not our word by this epistle, mark that one, and have no association with him, that he may be ashamed; [ : ]and account him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. [ : ]and may the lord of peace give you peace always in every way. the lord be with you all. [ : ]the salutation by my hand, paul's, which is [the] sign in every epistle; so i write. [ : ]the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all. epistle to the galatians. ephesus, a.d. . (acts, : .) chapter i. paul's account of himself and of the gospel. [ : ]paul an apostle, not from men nor by man but by jesus christ and god the father who raised him from the dead, [ : ]and all the brothers with me, to the churches of galatia. [ : ]grace be to you and peace from god the father and our lord jesus christ, [ : ]who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from the present evil life according to the will of god even our father, [ : ] to whom be the glory forever and ever; amen. [ : ]i wonder that you have so quickly turned away from him that called you in the grace of christ to another gospel, [ : ]which is not another; but there are some who disturb you and wish to subvert the gospel of christ. [ : ]but if we or an angel from heaven preach you another gospel contrary to what we have preached you let him be accursed. [ : ]as we said before i now also say again, if any one preaches you a gospel contrary to what you have received let him be accursed. [ : ]for do i now obey man, or god? or do i seek to please men? for if i yet pleased men, i could not have been a servant of christ. [ : ]for i certify you, brothers, of the gospel preached by me, that it is not according to man; [ : ]for i neither received it from man nor was i taught it, but by a revelation of jesus christ. [ : ]for you heard of my conduct formerly in judaism, that i greatly persecuted the church of god and destroyed it; [ : ]and was a proficient in judaism beyond many of my age among my people, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. [ : ] but when god who gave me being and called me by his grace, [ : ]was pleased to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the gentiles, immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood, [ : ]neither did i go to jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but i went to arabia and returned again to damascus. [ : ]then after three years i went up to jerusalem to visit cephas, and staid with him fifteen days; [ : ]and i saw no other of the apostles except james, the lord's brother. [ : ]and what i write to you, behold, before god, i lie not. [ : ]then i went into the regions of syria and cilicia. [ : ]but i was unknown by face to the churches of christ in judea, [ : ]only they heard that he who persecuted us formerly, now preached the faith which he formerly destroyed; [ : ]and they glorified god in me. [ : ]then after fourteen years i went up again to jerusalem with barnabas, taking also titus; [ : ]and i went up by a revelation, and proposed to them the gospel which i preach to the gentiles, but privately to persons of distinction, lest i should run or had run in vain. [ : ]but titus who was with me, and was a greek, was not compelled to be circumcised; [ : ]but on account of false brothers brought in secretly to act as spies against our liberty which we have in christ jesus, to bring us into servitude, [ : ]we did not yield to them by subjection, for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. [ : ]but from those of distinction, whatever they were it makes no difference to me,--god is partial to no man,--for those of distinction added nothing to me, [ : ]but on the contrary seeing that i was intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, as peter was of the circumcision,-- [ : ]for he that operated in peter for the apostleship of the circumcision, operated also in me for the gentiles,-- [ : ]and knowing the grace given me, james and cephas and john, who were manifest pillars, gave to me and barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcision; [ : ]only [they wished] that we should remember the poor, which i was also forward to do. [ : ]but when peter came to antioch i opposed him to his face, because he was to blame. [ : ]for before some came from james he eat with the gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself; fearing those of the circumcision; [ : ]and the other jews also dissembled with him, so that barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. [ : ]but when i saw that they walked not correctly, according to the truth of the gospel, i said to peter before all, if you being a jew live after the manner of the gentiles, and not after the manner of the jews, why do you compel the gentiles to practise judaism? [ : ]for we jews by race and not sinners of the gentiles, [ : ] knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but by the faith of jesus christ, we also have believed in jesus christ, that we may be justified by faith and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no flesh be justified. [ : ]but if seeking to be justified by christ we are found to be ourselves also sinners, is christ then a minister of sin? by no means. [ : ] for if i build up again what i have destroyed, i make myself a transgressor. [ : ]for by a law i have died to the law, that i may live to god. [ : ]i am crucified with christ; and i no longer live myself, but christ lives in me; and the present life which i live in the flesh, i live by the faith of the son of god, who loved me and gave himself for me. [ : ]i do not reject the grace of god; for if rightousness is through the law, then christ died for nothing. chapter ii. righteousness explained. [ : ]o foolish galatians, who has fascinated you, before whose eyes jesus christ has been set forth among you crucified? [ : ]this only would i learn of you. did you receive the spirit by works of the law, or by a hearing of faith? [ : ]are you so foolish? having begun in the spirit do you now end in the flesh? [ : ]have you suffered so much in vain? if indeed also it is in vain. [ : ]he then that imparts to you the spirit, and exercises miraculous powers among you, does he do it by works of the law, or by the doctrine of faith? [ : ] as abraham believed god and it was accounted to him a righteousness. [ : ]know, therefore, that those of faith, these are children of abraham. [ : ]and the scripture foreseeing that god would justify the nations by faith, promised before to abraham, in you shall all the nations be blessed. [ : ]those of faith, therefore, are blessed with believing abraham. [ : ]for as many as are of works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the book of the law to do them. [ : ]and it is evident that no one is justified by the law before god, because the just shall live by faith, [ : ]but the law is not of faith, but he that does these things shall live by them. [ : ]christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is every one that hangs on a tree, [ : ]that the blessing of abraham may come on the nations, in christ jesus, that we may receive the promise of the spirit through the faith. [ : ]brothers, i speak according to man. but no one abolishes a man's covenant when it is established, or makes additions to it. [ : ]the promises were spoken to abraham and his offspring. he said not, and to offsprings, as of many, but as of one, and to your offspring, which is christ. [ : ]and this i say; that the law which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot abrogate the covenant previously established by god, to make the promise of no effect. [ : ]for if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by the promise. but god gave it to abraham by the promise. [ : ]what then? the law was added on account of transgressions, till the offspring should come to which the promise was made, being appointed by angels by the hand of a mediator. [ : ]but there is no mediator of one; but god is one. [ : ]is the law then against the promises of god? by no means. for if a law had been given, able to give life, righteousness would really have been by the law; [ : ]but the scripture has shut up all under sin, that the promise of the faith of jesus christ may be given to them that believe. [ : ]but before the faith came, we were kept shut up under the law for the faith to be revealed. [ : ]so that the law was our schoolmaster to lead to christ, that we might be justified by faith; [ : ]but the faith having come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. [ : ]for you are all children of god by the faith in jesus christ; [ : ]for as many of you as are baptized in christ, have put on christ. [ : ]there is neither jew nor greek, there is neither servant nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in christ jesus. [ : ] and if you are of christ, then are you abraham's children and heirs according to the promise. [ : ]but i say, that as long as the heir is a child, he differs not from a servant, though he is lord of all, [ : ]but is under tutors and stewards till the time appointed by the father. [ : ]so also we, when we were children, were in servitude under the rudiments of the world; [ : ]but when the fullness of time came, god sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, [ : ] that he might redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. [ : ]and because you are sons, god has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, abba, father. [ : ]so that you are no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, also an heir of god. [ : ]but formerly, not knowing god you served beings which are not really gods; [ : ]but now knowing god, or rather being known by god, how do you turn again to the weak and imperfect rudiments, which you wish again to serve? [ : ] do you observe days, and months, and times, and years? [ : ]i am afraid of you, lest i have expended labor on you in vain. [ : ]i beseech you, brothers, be as i am, for i am as you [ought to be]. you did not injure me; [ : ]but you knew i preached the gospel to you on my former [visit] in weakness of the flesh, [ : ]and my trial in my flesh you despised not nor rejected, but received me as an angel of god, as christ jesus. [ : ] what then was your blessedness? for i bear you witness that, if possible, you would have dug out your eyes and have given them to me. [ : ]have i therefore become your enemy, by telling you the truth? [ : ]they are zealous for you, but not well, but they wish to exclude you that you may be zealous for them. [ : ]it is good to be zealous for a good object always, and not only when i am present with you. [ : ]my little children, with whom i am again in pain till christ is formed in you, [ : ]i wish to be present with you now and change my voice with you, for i am in doubt of you. [ : ]tell me, you that wish to be under the law, do you not hear the law? [ : ]for it is written, that abraham had two sons, one by a servant woman, and the other by a free woman. [ : ]but he by the servant woman was born of the flesh, and he by the free woman, by the promise. [ : ]these things are allegorical, for those [women] are two covenants, one from mount sinai, bearing children for servitude, which is hagar; [ : ]for hagar is mount sinai in arabia; and the present jerusalem answers to her, for she is in servitude with her children. [ : ]but the jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us; [ : ]for it is written, rejoice, barren woman, that did not bear, break forth and cry, woman that had no pain, for the children of the desolate are more numerous than those of her who had a husband. [ : ]but we, brothers, like isaac, are children of the promise. [ : ]but as then he that was born of the flesh persecuted him that was born of the spirit, so also now. [ : ]but what says the scripture? cast out the servant-woman and her son; for the son of the servant woman shall not be an heir, with the son of the free. [ : ]wherefore, brothers, we are not children of the servant woman, but of the free. chapter iii. moral duties. [ : ]stand firm in the liberty with which christ has made you free, and be not again subject to a yoke of servitude. [ : ]behold, i paul tell you, that if you are circumcised christ will not profit you. [ : ]for i testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is bound to perform the whole law. [ : ] you have departed from christ, whoever of you are justified by the law, you have fallen from the grace. [ : ]for we wait in spirit for the hope of righteousness, by faith. [ : ]for in christ jesus neither circumcision avails any thing nor uncircumcision, but faith which works by love. [ : ]you ran well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? [ : ]this persuasion is not of him that calls you. [ : ]a little leaven leavens the whole mass. [ : ]i have confidence in you, in the lord, that you will not be of another mind; but he that troubles you shall bear his sin, whoever he is. [ : ] and i, brothers, if i preach circumcision, why am i yet persecuted? then has the offense of the cross ceased. [ : ]i would that they were cut off that disturb you. [ : ]for you are called to liberty, brothers, only make not your liberty an occasion for the flesh, but by love serve one another. [ : ]for all the law is fully contained in one precept; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [ : ]but if you bite and devour one another, see that you be not consumed one by another. [ : ]and i say, walk in the spirit and perform not the desire of the flesh. [ : ]for the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are opposed one to another, so that you do not what you wish. [ : ]but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. [ : ]for the works of the flesh are manifest, which are, fornication, impurity, lewdness, [ : ]idolatry, magic, enmities, strife, envy, anger, contentions, dissensions, heresies, [ : ]murders, drunkenness, revellings and the like, of which i tell you before, as i have also previously told you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of god. [ : ]but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, [ : ]meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. [ : ]and the [subjects] of christ jesus have crucified the flesh with its affections and desires. [ : ]if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. [ : ]let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. [ : ]brothers, if a man is overtaken with any fault, do you that are spiritual restore such a one with a spirit of meekness, considering yourself; lest you also be tried. [ : ]bear one another's burdens, and so perform the law of christ. [ : ]for if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [ : ]but let each one prove his work, and then shall he have joy in himself alone and not in another, [ : ]for every one shall bear his own burden. [ : ]let him that is taught the word communicate with him that teaches of all good things. [ : ]be not deceived, god is not mocked. for what a man sows, that shall he also reap; [ : ]for he that sows for his flesh, shall of the flesh reap destruction; but he that sows for the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life eternal. [ : ]let us not be weary of well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. [ : ]as we have opportunity, therefore, let us do good to all, but especially to the members of the family of the faith. [ : ]you see with how long a letter i have written to you. [ : ]those who wish to make a fair appearance in the flesh compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of christ. [ : ]for the circumcised themselves do not keep the law, but they wish you to be circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. [ : ]but far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our lord jesus christ, by whom the world is crucified to me and i to the world. [ : ]for in christ jesus neither is circumcision any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. [ : ]and whoever walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the israel of god. [ : ]finally, let no man trouble me; for i bear in my body the marks of jesus. [ : ]the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit, brothers; amen. first epistle to the corinthians. ephesus, a.d. . (acts, : .) chapter i. salutation, exhortation to unity, the mystery of the gospel, etc. [ : ]paul, called to be an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and sosthenes the brother, [ : ]to the church of god which is at corinth, to the sanctified in jesus christ, called to be saints, with all that call on the name of our lord jesus christ in every place, both theirs and ours. [ : ]grace and peace be to you from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]i thank my god always for you, for the grace of god given you in christ jesus, [ : ]that in every thing you are enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge, [ : ]as the testimony of christ was confirmed in you, [ : ]so that you are behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our lord jesus christ, [ : ]who also will confirm you to the end, without blame, in the day of our lord jesus christ. [ : ]god is faithful by whom you are called into the society of his son jesus christ our lord. [ : ]i exhort you, brothers, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected in the same mind and the same will. [ : ]for i have been informed of you, my brothers, by the family of chloe, that there are contentions among you. [ : ]i mean this; that each one of you says i indeed am of paul, and i of apollos, and i of cephas, and i of christ. [ : ]is christ divided? was paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of paul? [ : ]i thank god i baptized none of you, except crispus and gaius; [ : ]that no one may say that i baptized in my name. [ : ]and i also baptized the family of stephanus; besides i do not know that i baptized any other. [ : ]for christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the good news, not with a wisdom of speech lest the cross of christ should be without effect. [ : ]for the word of the cross is to the lost foolishness, but to the saved the power of god. [ : ]for it is written, i will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the intelligent. [ : ]where is the wise? where the scribe? where the disputer of this life? has not god made foolish the wisdom of the world? [ : ]for since, in the wisdom of god, the world by wisdom knew not god, god was pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe; [ : ]and since the jews seek signs, and the greeks seek wisdom, [ : ]we preach christ crucified, to the jews indeed an offense, and to the gentiles foolishness, [ : ]but to the called, both jews and greeks, christ the power of god and wisdom of god; [ : ]for the foolishness of god is wiser than men, and the weakness of god is stronger than men. [ : ]for you see your calling, brothers, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble [are called]; [ : ]but god has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world has god chosen to put to shame the mighty, [ : ]and the ignoble things of the world and things that are despised has god chosen, and things that are not, to destroy things that are, [ : ]that no flesh may glory in the sight of god. [ : ]but you are of him in christ jesus, who has become to us wisdom from god, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, [ : ]that as it is written, he that glories, let him glory in the lord. [ : ]and when i came to you, brothers, i came not with excellency of speech, or wisdom, declaring to you the mystery of god. [ : ]for i determined to know nothing among you except jesus christ and him crucified. [ : ]and i was with you in weakness, and with fear and with much trembling, [ : ]and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the spirit and power, [ : ]that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of god. [ : ]but we speak wisdom among the perfect, but not the wisdom of this life, nor of the rulers of this life, who are destroyed; [ : ]but we speak a wisdom of god hid in mystery, which god appointed from eternity for our glory, [ : ] which none of the rulers of this life knew, for if they had known they would not have crucified the lord of glory; [ : ]but as it is written, an eye has not seen, an ear has not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which god has prepared for those that love him; [ : ]but god has revealed them to us by his spirit. for the spirit searches all things, even the depths of god. [ : ]for who knows the [things] of man, except the spirit of man which is in him? so also no one knows the [things] of god except the spirit of god. [ : ]and we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of god, that we may know the things given us by god, [ : ]which we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [ : ]but the natural man receives not the [things] of the spirit of god, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, for they are spiritually discerned. [ : ]but the spiritual man discerns all things, and is himself perceived by no one. [ : ] for who has known the mind of the lord, who shall instruct him? but we have the mind of christ. [ : ]and i, brothers, was not able to speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, as babes in christ. [ : ]i have fed you milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able; but you are not able even now; [ : ]for you are yet carnal. for when there is envy and strife among you are you not carnal and walk as men? [ : ]for when one says, i am of paul, and another, i, of apollos, are you not men? [ : ]who then is apollos? and who is paul? but ministers by whom you believed, and to each as the lord gave. [ : ]i planted, apollos watered, but god caused [the seed] to grow; [ : ]so neither is he that plants any thing, nor he that waters, but god that causes it to grow. [ : ]he that plants and he that waters are one; and each shall receive his reward according to his labor. [ : ] for we are god's co-laborers; you are god's field, god's building. [ : ]according to the grace of god given me as a wise architect i have laid a foundation, and another builds on it. but let each one see how he builds on it. [ : ]for no one can lay another foundation besides that laid, which is christ jesus. [ : ]and if any man builds on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, reeds, [ : ]each one's work shall be manifest; for the day shall show it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the same fire shall try every man's work what it is. [ : ]if any one's work continues which he has built, he shall receive a reward; [ : ]if any one's work is consumed, he shall suffer loss, and he shall be saved, but so as by fire. [ : ]know you not that you are a temple of god and the spirit of god dwells in you? [ : ]if any one destroys the temple of god, him shall god destroy; for the temple of god which you are is holy. [ : ]let no one deceive himself; if any one seems to be wise among you in this life, let him be a fool, that he may be wise. [ : ]for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with god. for it is written; he takes the wise in their craftiness. [ : ]and again; the lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are vain. [ : ]let no one therefore glory in men; for all things are yours, [ : ]whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, [ : ]and you christ's, and christ god's. [ : ]let a man so regard us as servants of christ and stewards of the mysteries of god. [ : ]but, moreover, it is required of stewards that one should be found faithful. [ : ]but it is of little account to me that i should be judged by you or by man's day [judgment]; but i judge not myself; [ : ]for i am not conscious to myself [of wrong], but i am not on this account justified; but he that judges me is the lord. [ : ]judge nothing therefore before the time, till the lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden deeds of darkness, and make known the purposes of the hearts; and then shall each one have praise from god. [ : ]i have applied these things figuratively, brothers, to myself and apollos on your account, that you may learn by us not to [go beyond] what is written, that you may not be puffed up for one against another. [ : ]for who made you to differ? and what have you that you did not receive? and if you received, why do you boast as one that receives not? [ : ]you are already full, you are already enriched; you have reigned without us; and i would that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. [ : ]for i think that god has shown us the apostles last, as devoted to death, for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. [ : ]for we are foolish for christ's sake, but you are wise in christ; we are weak, but you are strong; and you are glorious, but we are infamous. [ : ]even to this hour we suffer hunger and thirst and nakedness, and are beaten, and are unsettled, [ : ]and labor, working with our hands; being reviled we bless, being persecuted we endure, [ : ]being defamed we entreat; we are made like the offscouring of the world and the vilest of all things, even till now. [ : ]i write these things not to shame you, but as my beloved children, i admonish you. [ : ]for if you have ten thousand teachers in christ still you have not many fathers; for in christ jesus i have begotten you by the gospel. [ : ]i exhort you therefore, be followers of me. [ : ]for this reason i sent you timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the lord, who will remind you of my ways in christ, as i teach everywhere, in every church. [ : ]some are puffed up as though i would not come to you; [ : ]but i will come to you shortly, if the lord will, and will know not the word of those who are puffed up but the power; [ : ]for the kingdom of god is not in word, but in power. [ : ]what do you wish? shall i come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness? chapter ii. incest, litigation, expediency, and chastity. [ : ]it is commonly reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not among the gentiles, that a man should have his father's wife. [ : ]and you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed should be removed from among you. [ : ]for i indeed as absent in body, but present in spirit, have already judged as present him that has so done this, [ : ]in the name of our lord jesus you being assembled together and my spirit with the power of our lord jesus [ : ]to deliver such a one to satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the lord. [ : ]your rejoicing is not good. do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole mass? [ : ]remove the old leaven, that you may be a new mass, as you are unleavened; for christ our passover was also sacrificed for us. [ : ] let us therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with a leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [ : ]i wrote to you in the epistle not to associate with fornicators; [ : ] not altogether the fornicators of this world, or the covetous and rapacious, or idolaters, since then you would have to go out of the world. [ : ]but now i have written to you not to associate, if any one called a brother is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or rapacious, even to eat with such a one. [ : ]for what business have i to judge those without? do you not judge those within? [ : ]but those without, god judges. remove therefore the evil man from among you. [ : ]dare any of you having a business with another be judged by the wicked, and not by the saints? [ : ]do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy of the lowest courts? [ : ]know you not that we shall judge angels? much more then things pertaining to this life? [ : ]if then you have courts for the business of this life, do you constitute them of the most abject in the church? [ : ]i speak to your shame. is there not now a wise man among you? not one who can judge between his brothers? [ : ]but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers. [ : ]now therefore there is a great fault among you, that you go to law one with another. why not rather suffer injustice? why not rather be defrauded? [ : ]but you injure and defraud, and that your brothers. [ : ]know you not that the unjust shall not inherit the kingdom of god? be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, [ : ]nor thieves, nor covetous persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor the rapacious, shall inherit the kingdom of god. [ : ]and such were some of you; but you are washed, you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the lord jesus, and by the spirit of our god. [ : ]all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful, but i will not be brought under the power of any. [ : ]food for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but god will destroy both it and them. and the body is not for fornication but for the lord; and the lord for the body; [ : ]and god both raised the lord, and will raise us up by his power. [ : ]know you not that your bodies are christ's members? shall i then take the members of christ and make them a harlot's members? by no means. [ : ]know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is one body [with her]? for the two, says he, shall be one flesh. [ : ]but he that is joined to the lord is one spirit [with him]. [ : ]avoid fornication. every crime that a man commits is out of his body; but he that commits fornication sins in his body. [ : ]know you not that your bodies are a temple of the holy spirit in you which you have from god, and you are not your own? [ : ]for you are bought with a price; therefore glorify god in your body. chapter iii. marriage, celibacy, etc., and things offered to idols. [ : ]concerning what you wrote to me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman; [ : ]but on account of fornications, let each man have his wife, and each woman have her husband. [ : ]let the husband render to the wife her due, and in like manner also the wife the husband. [ : ]the wife has not the right to her body, but the husband; and in like manner the husband has not the right to his body, but the wife. [ : ]withhold not yourselves from one another, except by agreement for a time that you may be at leisure for prayer, and come together again, that satan may not tempt you by your incontinence. [ : ]but this i say by suggestion, not by command. [ : ]for i wish that all men were even as i am; but each one has his gift from god, and one is of one kind and another of another. [ : ]and i say to the unmarried and to the widows, that it is good for them to continue as i am; [ : ]but if they have not self-control, let them marry; it is better to marry than to be incontinent. [ : ]but the married i charge, not i, but the lord, let not a wife separate from her husband, [ : ]and also if she is separated let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to the husband, and let not a husband leave his wife. [ : ]but to the rest i speak, not the lord, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is pleased to live with him, let him not leave her; [ : ]and if any wife has an unbelieving husband and he is pleased to live with her, let her not leave the husband. [ : ]for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother; else were your children impure, but now are they holy. [ : ]but if the unbelieving companion departs, let him depart; the brother or the sister is not bound in such cases; but god has called us to peace. [ : ]for how do you know, wife, that you will not save your husband? or how do you know, husband, that you will not save your wife? [ : ]unless as the lord has imparted to each one, as god has called each one, so let him walk; and so i appoint in all the churches. [ : ]is any one called being circumcised, let him not be uncircumcised; is any one called in uncircumcision, let him not be circumcised. [ : ]circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping god's commandments. [ : ]let each one remain in the calling in which he was called; [ : ]were you called being a servant, care not for it; but if you can be free, use it rather. [ : ]for the servant called in the lord is the lord's freeman; in like manner the called freeman is christ's servant. [ : ]you are bought with a price; be not servants of men. [ : ]let each one continue, brothers, in the calling in which he was called under god. [ : ]and concerning the virgins i have no ordinance of the lord, but i give an opinion as one that has obtained mercy of the lord to be faithful. [ : ]i think then that this is good on account of the present necessity, because it is good for man to be so. [ : ]are you bound to a wife, seek not a release; are you released from a wife, seek not a wife. [ : ]but if you marry, you do not sin and if the virgin marries she does not sin. but such will have affliction in the flesh; but i spare you. [ : ]but this i say, brothers, the time is short, so that in future those who have wives should be as those not having them, [ : ]and those who weep as those not weeping, and those who rejoice as those not rejoicing, and those who buy as not possessing, [ : ]and those who use the world as those not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passes away. [ : ] but i wish you to be without cares. the unmarried man cares for the things of the lord, how he shall please the lord; [ : ]but he that is married cares for the things of the world, how he shall please the wife. [ : ]and the wife and the virgin are different; the unmarried woman cares for the things of the lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit; but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she shall please the husband. [ : ]but i say this for your own profit; not to impose a snare on you, but for [your] honor, and [your] attending on the lord without distraction. [ : ]but if any one thinks that he behaves improperly to his virgin, if she is past her prime, and it must be so, let him do what he wishes; he does not sin; let them marry. [ : ]but he that stands firm in mind, not having a necessity, but has power over his will, and has determined in his mind to keep his virgin, does well. [ : ]he that gives in marriage therefore does well, and he that gives not in marriage does better. [ : ]a woman is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead then she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the lord. [ : ] but she is happier if she continues thus, in my opinion, and i think also i have the spirit of god. [ : ]and concerning things offered to idols we all have knowledge. knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. [ : ]and if any one thinks he knows any thing, he yet knows nothing as he ought to know; [ : ]but if any one loves god, this [man] is known by him. [ : ]concerning eating things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other god but one. [ : ]for even if there are those called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, [ : ]yet to us there is one god the father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one lord jesus christ, through whom are all things and we through him. [ : ]but all have not this knowledge; and some with the conscience [unenlightened] even till now eat an idol's [sacrifice] as an idol's sacrifice, and their conscience being weak is defiled. [ : ]but food does not commend us to god; for neither if we eat not are we worse, nor if we eat are we better. [ : ]but beware lest your liberty should become an offense to the weak. [ : ]for if any one sees you who have knowledge reclining in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat things offered to idols? [ : ]and will not the weak brother for whom christ died perish by your knowledge? [ : ]but when you thus sin against the brothers, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against christ. [ : ] wherefore, if food offends my brother, i will eat no meat forever, that i may not offend my brother. chapter iv. the christian ministry entitled to a support, paul's labors without charge. [ : ]am i not a freeman? am i not an apostle? have i not seen jesus christ our lord? are not you my work in the lord? [ : ]if i am not an apostle to others, i certainly am to you; for you are a seal of my apostleship in the lord. [ : ]my defense to those who condemn me is this; [ : ]have we not a right to eat and drink? [ : ]have we not a right to lead about a sister, a wife, as also the other apostles; and the brothers of the lord, and cephas? [ : ]or i only and barnabas, have we not a right to abstain from labor? [ : ]who ever goes on a military expedition at his own expense? who plants a vineyard and eats not the fruit of it? or who feeds a flock and eats not of the milk of the flock? [ : ] do i say these things in the manner of men? or does not the law also say the same? [ : ]for it is written in the law of moses, you shall not muzzle the ox that threshes. does god care for oxen? [ : ]or does he speak entirely for our sakes? for our sakes, doubtless, it was written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and that he who threshes in hope should partake of it. [ : ]if we have sown for you spiritual things, is it too much if we reap your earthly things? [ : ]and if others have this right, do we not have it more? but we have not used this right, but endure all things, that we may not impede the gospel of christ. [ : ]know you not that those who perform sacred rites eat from the temple? those who wait on the altar partake of the altar? [ : ]so also the lord has appointed to those who preach the gospel to live by the gospel. [ : ]but i have used none of these things, and i have not written these things that it should be so done to me; for i prefer to die, rather than that any one should make my boasting vain. [ : ]for if i preach the gospel i have nothing to boast of; for a necessity is laid upon me; for woe is me, if i preach not the gospel. [ : ]for if i do this willingly, i have a reward; but if unwillingly, i am intrusted with a stewardship. [ : ]what then is my reward? that preaching i may make the gospel without expense, that i may not abuse my right in the gospel. [ : ]for being free from all men, i have made myself a servant of all, that i may gain more; [ : ]to the jews i have been as a jew, that i might gain the jews; to those under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that i might gain those under the law; [ : ]to those without law, as without law, being not without law to god, but with law to christ, that i might gain those without law; [ : ]to the weak i have been as weak, that i might gain the weak; i have been all things to all men, that i may save some in all conditions; [ : ]and i do all things for the sake of the gospel, that i may be a partaker of it. [ : ]know you not that those who run in the race all indeed run, but one takes the prize. so run that you may obtain. [ : ]and every one that contends in the games is temperate in all things, they indeed to obtain a perishable crown, we an imperishable. [ : ]i therefore so run, not as uncertainly, and so strike, not as one who beats the air; [ : ]but i brow-beat my body, and bring it into subjection, lest having preached to others i should myself be a reprobate. [ : ]for i wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [ : ]and all were baptized to moses by the cloud and by the sea, [ : ]and all eat the same spiritual food, [ : ]and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was christ; [ : ]but with many of them god was not pleased; for they were destroyed in the wilderness. [ : ]but these things are examples for us, that we should not desire evil things, as they did. [ : ]neither be idolaters, as some of them were, as it is written; the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. [ : ]neither let us commit fornication, as some of them did and fell in one day twenty-three thousand. [ : ]neither let us try christ, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. [ : ]neither do you complain as some of them complained and were destroyed by the destroyer. [ : ]all these things happened to them as examples, and are recorded for our admonition on whom the ends of the ages have come; [ : ]so that he who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall. [ : ]for no trial has befallen you but what is common to man; and god is faithful, who will not permit you to be tried beyond what you are able, but with the trial will order the event, that you may be able to endure. [ : ]wherefore, my beloved, avoid idolatry. [ : ]i speak as to wise men; judge what i say. [ : ]the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation of the blood of christ? the bread which we break, is it not a participation of the body of christ? [ : ]for we, being many, are one bread, one body; for we all partake of the one bread. [ : ]consider israel after the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices partakers of the altar? [ : ]what then do i say? that an idol sacrifice is any thing, or that an idol is any thing? [ : ]but what the gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to god; and i do not wish you to be partakers with demons. [ : ]you cannot drink the lord's cup and the cup of demons; you cannot partake at the lord's table and the table of demons. [ : ]do we provoke the lord to anger? are we stronger than he? [ : ]all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful, but all things do not edify. [ : ]let no one seek his own but the good of another. [ : ]whatever is sold in the market eat, asking no questions for conscience' sake; [ : ]for the earth is the lord's and all it contains. [ : ]but if an unbeliever invites you and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for conscience' sake. [ : ]but if any one says to you, this has been offered to an idol, eat not for his sake that informed you, and for conscience' sake. [ : ]i mean not your conscience, but that of the other. for why is my freedom limited by the conscience of another? [ : ]if i partake with thanks, why am i blamed for that for which i give thanks? [ : ]whether then you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of god. [ : ]be without offense both to jews and greeks, and the church of god, [ : ]as i also please all in all things, not seeking my own profit but that of many, that they may be saved. [ : ]be followers of me as i also am of christ. chapter v. public worship, the lord's supper. [ : ]i commend you, brothers, that you have remembered all my [instructions], and that you retain the traditions as i delivered them to you. [ : ]but i wish you to know that the head of every man is christ, and the head of the woman, the man, and the head of christ, god. [ : ]every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraces his head. [ : ]but every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head; for it is one and the same as if she was shaved. [ : ]for if a woman is not veiled then let her hair be cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off, or to be shaved, let her wear a veil. [ : ]for a man ought not to cover his head, being an image and glory of god; but the woman is a glory of man. [ : ]for man is not of woman, but woman of man; [ : ]for man also was not created because of the woman, but woman because of the man. [ : ]for this reason ought the woman to have a power [veil] on her head because of the angels. [ : ]but neither is woman without man, nor man without woman in the lord; [ : ]for as the woman is of the man, so also the man is through the woman, but all things are from god. [ : ]judge of yourselves; is it becoming that a woman should pray to god unveiled? [ : ] does not nature herself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace to him? [ : ]but if a woman wears long hair it is her glory; for the hair is given her for a covering. [ : ]but if any one is disposed to be contentious, we have no such custom neither have the churches of god. [ : ]but i tell you this, not to praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse. [ : ]for first, when you come together in an assembly, i hear that there are divisions among you, and some part of it i believe. [ : ]for it is necessary that there should be heresies among you, that the approved may be manifest among you. [ : ]when you come together therefore, it is not to eat the lord's supper, [ : ]for each one in eating takes his supper before the rest, and one is hungry and another drunk. [ : ] have you not [food] to eat and drink at your houses? or do you despise the church of god, and shame those who have not [houses]? what shall i say to you? shall i commend you? in this i commend you not. [ : ]for i received of the lord, what i also delivered to you; that on the night in which he was betrayed, the lord jesus took bread [ : ]and giving thanks broke, and said, this is my body, which is for you; this do in remembrance of me. [ : ]in like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant [sealed] with my blood; this do, as often as you drink, in remembrance of me. [ : ]for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you declare the lord's death till he comes. [ : ]so that whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the lord unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of the lord. [ : ]but let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup; [ : ]for he eats and drinks judgment to himself, who eats and drinks not discerning the body. [ : ]for this reason many are weak and sick among you and some sleep. [ : ]for if we judged ourselves we should not be judged; [ : ]but being judged, we are chastened by the lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. [ : ]therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait one for another. [ : ]if any one is hungry let him eat at home, that you come not together for judgment. the other things i will arrange when i come. chapter vi. spiritual gifts. [ : ]and i wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, of the spiritual gifts. [ : ]you know that when you were gentiles, you followed dumb idols as you were led. [ : ]i assure you, therefore, that no one speaking by the spirit of god calls jesus an accursed thing, and no one can call jesus lord, except by the holy spirit. [ : ]and there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit; [ : ]and there are diversities of services and the same lord; [ : ]and there are diversities of operations and the same god, who performs all things in all. [ : ]but a manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for a useful purpose. [ : ]for to one is given by the spirit a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge by the same spirit, [ : ]and to another faith by the same spirit, and to another gifts of performing cures by the same spirit, [ : ]and to another the performance of mighty works, and to another prophecy, and to another discrimination of spirits, and to another different tongues, and to another an interpretation of tongues; [ : ]but all these [works] performs one and the same spirit, distributing to each in particular as it wills. [ : ]for as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body being many are one body, so also is christ; [ : ]for we have all been baptized with one spirit in one body, whether jews or greeks, whether servants or freemen, and have all been made to drink one spirit. [ : ]for the body also is not one member but many. [ : ]if the foot says, because i am not a hand, i am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? [ : ]and if the ear says, because i am not an eye, i am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? [ : ]if the whole body was an eye, where would be the hearing? if the whole was a hearing, where would be the smelling? [ : ]but now god has placed the members each one of them in the body, as he pleased. [ : ]but if all were one member, where would be the body? [ : ]but now there are many members, but one body. [ : ]the eye cannot say to the hand, i have no need of you, or again, the head to the feet, i have no need of you; [ : ]but much more those members of the body which seem to be weak are necessary, [ : ]and those which we esteem to be less honorable members of the body, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our uncomely members have more abundant comeliness, [ : ]for our comely ones have no need. but god has commingled the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which was lacking, [ : ]that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. [ : ]and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; and if one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. [ : ]and you are a body of christ, and members in particular. [ : ]and god has set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then powers, then gifts of performing cures, aids, governments, different tongues. [ : ]are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all powers? [ : ]have all gifts of performing cures? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? [ : ]but desire earnestly the best gifts: and i will still more fully show you the way. [ : ]if i speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, i am a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. [ : ]and if i have prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if i have all faith so as to remove mountains, and have not love, i am nothing. [ : ]and if i deal out all my property to feed the poor, and if i deliver my body to be burned, and have not love, i shall not be profited. [ : ]love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love is not boastful, is not puffed up, [ : ]does not behave unbecomingly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, devises not evil, [ : ]rejoices not in wickedness, but rejoices in the truth; [ : ]bears all things, believes all things, hopes for all things, and endures all things. [ : ]love never fails; but if there are prophecies, they shall pass away; if tongues, they shall cease; if knowledge, it shall pass away. [ : ]and we know in part and we prophesy in part; [ : ]when the perfect has come, that which is in part shall pass away. [ : ]when i was a child, i spoke as a child, i thought as a child, i reasoned as a child; when i became a man i put away childish things. [ : ]for now we see by a mirror darkly, but then we shall see face to face; now i know in part, but then i shall know fully as i also am known. [ : ]and now remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. [ : ]cherish love, and be earnestly desirous of spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy. [ : ]for he that speaks with a tongue speaks not to men but to god; for no one understands him, but in spirit he speaks mysteries; [ : ]but he that prophesies speaks to men to edification and exhortation and consolation. [ : ]he that speaks with a tongue edifies himself; but he that prophesies edifies an assembly. [ : ]i wish you all to speak with tongues, but rather that you should prophesy; and he that prophesies is greater than he that speaks with tongues, unless he interprets, that the assembly may receive edification. [ : ]but now, brothers, if i come to you speaking with tongues, what shall i profit you, unless i speak to you by a revelation, or by a knowledge, or by a prophecy, or by a doctrine? [ : ]so of irrational objects making a sound, whether a flute or harp; if it makes no distinction of sounds, how shall it be known what is played on the flute or harp? [ : ]for also if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle? [ : ]so also you by a tongue if you utter a word not easily understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for you will speak to the air. [ : ]there are perhaps as many kinds of voices in the world, and no one is without significance; [ : ]if therefore i do not know the meaning of the voice, i shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks will be a barbarian to me. [ : ]so also you, since you are earnestly desirous of spirits [spiritual gifts], seek to abound for the edification of the church. [ : ]let him therefore that speaks with a tongue pray that he may interpret, [ : ]for if i pray with a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. [ : ]what then is [to be done]? i will pray with the spirit, i will pray also with the understanding; i will sing with the spirit, i will sing also with the understanding; [ : ] since if you bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the place of the unlearned say, amen, to your thanksgiving, since he knows not what you say? [ : ]for you indeed give thanks well; but the other is not edified. [ : ]i thank god i speak with a tongue more than you all; [ : ]but in an assembly i had rather speak five words with my understanding, that i may also teach others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. [ : ]brothers, be not children in understanding, but in malice be children, and in understanding be perfect men. [ : ]for it is written in the law, with other tongues, and with other lips will i speak to this people, and so they shall not understand me, says the lord. [ : ]tongues therefore are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, but prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. [ : ]if, therefore, the whole church comes together, and all speak with tongues, and there come in the unlearned and unbelieving, will they not say that you are mad? [ : ]but if all prophesy, and there comes in an unbeliever or an unlearned man, he is convinced by all, he is examined by all, [ : ]and the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and so falling down on his face he worships god, declaring that god is really among you. [ : ]what then is [to be done] brothers? when you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a revelation, has an interpretation; let all things be done for edification. [ : ]if any one speaks with a tongue, let it be by two or at most by three, and by turns, and let one interpret; [ : ] and if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in the assembly, and let him speak to himself and to god. [ : ]let two or three prophets speak, and let the rest judge; [ : ]but if any thing is revealed to another sitting by, let the first be silent. [ : ]for you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all be comforted. [ : ]and the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets; [ : ]for god is not [the friend] of disorder but of peace. [ : ]as in all the churches of the saints, let your women keep silence in the assemblies; for it is not permitted to them to speak, but to be in subjection, as the law also says. [ : ]but if they wish to learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for a woman to speak in an assembly. [ : ]did the word of god go out from you, or did it come to you alone? [ : ]if any one thinks he is a prophet, or a spiritual man, let him acknowledge the [things] which i write to you, that they are the lord's; [ : ] but if any one is ignorant, let him be ignorant. [ : ]therefore, brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues; [ : ]but let all things be done becomingly and in order. chapter vii. the resurrection of the dead. [ : ]i declare to you, brothers, the gospel which i preached to you, which you also received, in which also you stand, [ : ]by which also you are saved, if you adhere to the word we preached to you, unless indeed you believed in vain. [ : ]for i delivered to you at first, what i also received, that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, [ : ]and that he was buried, and that he rose on the third day according to the scriptures, [ : ]and that he appeared to cephas, then to the twelve. [ : ]afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, of whom the most continue even to the present time, but some have fallen asleep. [ : ]then he appeared to james, then to all the apostles, [ : ]and last of all he appeared to me also, as one born out of due time. [ : ]for i am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of god; [ : ] but by the grace of god i am what i am, and his grace to me was not in vain, but i labored more abundantly than they all, but not i but the grace of god with me. [ : ]whether therefore it is i or they, so we preach, and so you believed. [ : ]but if christ is preached that he was raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? [ : ]but if there is not a resurrection of the dead, christ has not been raised; [ : ]and if christ has not been raised, then both our preaching is vain, and your faith also vain; [ : ]and we are found also false witnesses of god, because we testified in regard to god that he raised up christ, whom he raised not up if indeed the dead are not raised. [ : ]for if the dead are not raised, christ was not raised; [ : ]and if christ was not raised, your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins, [ : ]and those then who have fallen asleep in christ have perished. [ : ]if in this life only we have hope in christ, we are of all men most miserable. [ : ]but now christ has been raised from the dead, a first fruit of those that have slept. [ : ]for since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. [ : ]for as in adam all die, so in christ also shall all be made alive. [ : ]but each one in his own order; christ a first fruit, then those who are christ's at his coming; [ : ]then is the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to the god and father, when he will destroy every principality and every authority and power. [ : ]for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. [ : ]the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed, [ : ]for he put all things under his feet. but when he says that all things are put under him, it is clear that he is excepted who puts all things under him; [ : ]and when all things have been put under him, then will the son also himself be subject to him that put all things under him, that god may be all in all. [ : ]else what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? and why are they baptized for them? [ : ]why also do we encounter danger every hour? [ : ]by the joy on account of you which i have in christ jesus our lord, i die daily. [ : ]if after the manner of men i have fought with beasts at ephesus, of what advantage is it to me? if the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. [ : ]be not deceived; evil companionships corrupt good morals. [ : ]awake to righteousness and sin not; for some have not a knowledge of god. i speak to your shame. [ : ]but some one will say, how are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? [ : ]foolish man, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies; [ : ]and what you sow, you sow not the body which shall be, but the naked grain, it may be of wheat, or some of the other grains; [ : ]but god gives it a body as he pleases, and to each of the grains its own body. [ : ] all flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. [ : ]and there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and of the earthly another. [ : ]there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. [ : ]so also is the resurrection of the dead. it is sown in destruction, it is raised in indestructibleness; [ : ]it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; [ : ]it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [ : ]and thus it is written; the first man adam became a living soul; the last adam is a life-giving spirit. [ : ] but the spiritual was not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. [ : ] the first man was from the earth, earthly, the second man is from heaven. [ : ]like the earthly, such also are the earthly; and like the heavenly, such also are the heavenly; [ : ]and as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. [ : ]but i say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god, nor shall destruction inherit indestructibleness. [ : ] behold, i tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [ : ]in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead be raised, indestructible, and we shall be changed. [ : ]for this destructible must put on indestructibleness, and this mortal must put on immortality. [ : ]and when this destructible has put on indestructibleness, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall the word be accomplished that is written; death was swallowed up in victory. [ : ]where, death, is your sting? where, death, is your victory? [ : ]and the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; [ : ]but thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ. [ : ] therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the lord. chapter viii. charitable collections, timothy, apollos, family of stephanas, salutations. [ : ]concerning the collection for the saints, as i directed the churches of galatia, so also do you. [ : ]on the first day of the week let each one of you lay aside by himself in store as god has prospered him, that there may be no collections made when i come. [ : ]and when i come, whom you shall approve, these will i send with letters to carry your charity to jerusalem; [ : ]and if it seems best that i should go, they shall go with me. [ : ]and i will come to you when i pass through macedonia; for i will pass through macedonia [ : ]and perhaps remain and spend the winter, that you may send me forward wherever i go. [ : ]for i do not wish now to see you by the way; for i hope to continue some time with you, if the lord permits. [ : ]but i will remain at ephesus till pentecost, [ : ]for a great and effectual door is opened to me, and there are many adversaries. [ : ]if timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear, for he performs the work of the lord, as i also do; [ : ]let no one therefore despise him. but send him forward in peace, that he may come to me; for i look for him with the brothers. [ : ]but concerning apollos the brother, i have exhorted him much to come to you with the brothers; but he was entirely indisposed to come now, but he will come when he has a convenient time. [ : ]be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be manly, be strong, [ : ]let all your [works] be in love. [ : ]and i exhort you, brothers, know the family of stephanas, for it is a first fruit of achaia, and they devoted themselves to serving the saints; [ : ]that you also be in subjection to such, and to every one that works and labors with us. [ : ]i am glad of the coming of stephanas and fortunatus and achaiacus, for they supplied your lack, [ : ]and refreshed my spirit and yours. know therefore such. [ : ]the churches of asia salute you. aquila and priscilla salute you much in the lord, with the assembly [church] at their house. [ : ]all the brothers salute you. salute one another with a holy kiss. [ : ]the salutation with my hand, paul's. [ : ]if any one is not a friend to the lord, let him be accursed. the lord comes. [ : ]the grace of the lord jesus be with you. [ : ]my love be with you all in christ jesus. second epistle to the corinthians. philippi, a.d. . (acts, : .) chapter i. the apostle's love of the corinthians, his trials, his design to visit them, his former letter, etc. [ : ]paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy the brother, to the church of god which is at corinth, with all the saints who are in all achaia. [ : ]grace be to you, and peace from god our father, and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]blessed be the god and lather of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies and god of all comfort, [ : ]who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those in every affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by god, [ : ]because as christ's sufferings abound in us, so also through christ does our comfort abound. [ : ]and if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, wrought by a patient endurance the same sufferings which we also suffer, and our hope for you is strong; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort and salvation, [ : ] knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so you are also of the comfort. [ : ]for we wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, of our affliction which befell us in asia, that we were exceedingly oppressed beyond our power, so that we despaired even of life; [ : ]but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we might not trust in ourselves, but in god who raises the dead, [ : ]who delivered us from so great a death and will deliver, in whom we hope that he will also still deliver, [ : ]you also striving together for us in prayer, that thanks may be rendered for us by many persons for the gift bestowed on us by many. [ : ]for this is our rejoicing; the testimony of our conscience that in purity and godly sincerity, not with a carnal wisdom, but with a divine grace, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and most abundantly towards you. [ : ]for we do not write to you of other things, but of what you read and acknowledge; and i hope you will also acknowledge to the end, [ : ]as you have also acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing as you also are ours in the day of the lord jesus. [ : ]and in this confidence i wished to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit, [ : ]and to pass by you into macedonia, and to come again from macedonia to you, and by you to be sent forward to judea. [ : ] wishing this therefore, did i use lightness? or what i wish do i wish according to the flesh, that with me there may be the yes, yes, and the no, no? [ : ]but as god is faithful, our word to you was not yes and no. [ : ]for jesus christ, the son of god, who was preached among you by us, by me and silvanus and timothy, was not yes and no, but was yes in him; [ : ]for all the promises of god, the yes in him, and the amen in him, are for glory to god by us. [ : ]and he that establishes us with you in christ, and has anointed us, is god, [ : ] who has also sealed us and given us the pledge of the spirit in our hearts. [ : ]but i call god to witness on my soul, that to spare you i have not yet come to corinth. [ : ]not that we are lords of your faith, but co-laborers of your joy; for you stand firm by the faith. [ : ]but i determined this with myself, not to come again to you in sorrow; [ : ]for if i grieve you, who is he that gladdens me, but he that is grieved by me? [ : ]and i wrote the same to you that coming i might not have sorrow for those in whom i ought to have joy, having trusted in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. [ : ]for i wrote to you in much affliction and distress of mind with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which i have abundantly for you. [ : ]but if any one has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but in part, that i may not be hard upon you, [has grieved you] all, [ : ]sufficient for such a one is this rebuke by many; [ : ]so that on the other hand you ought to forgive and comfort him, that he may not be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. [ : ]i exhort you, therefore, to confirm your love to him; [ : ]for i wrote for this purpose, that i might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things. [ : ]but whom you favor i also will favor; for what favor i have shown, if i have shown any favor, has been for your sakes, in the presence of christ, [ : ]that we may not be circumvented by satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices. [ : ]but when i came to troas for the gospel of christ, and a door was opened to me by the lord, [ : ]i had no rest in my spirit from not finding titus my brother; but leaving them i went to macedonia. [ : ]but thanks be to god, who always triumphs over us in christ and reveals the odor of his knowledge by us in every place; [ : ]for we are a sweet odor of christ to god, in the saved and in the lost, [ : ]in one an odor of death to death, and in the other an odor of life to life. and who is sufficient for these things? [ : ]for we are not as many, who adulterate the word of god, [for gain]; but as of sincerity, but as of god, we speak before god in christ. [ : ]do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some, commendatory epistles to you or from you? [ : ]you are our epistle, written by our hearts, known and read by all men, [ : ]for you are manifestly an epistle of christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the spirit of the living god, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of hearts of flesh. [ : ]and we have such confidence through jesus christ in god; [ : ]not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reason out any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of god, [ : ]who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the writing but of the spirit; for the writing kills, but the spirit makes alive. [ : ]but if the ministry of death engraved in a writing on stones was glorious, so that the children of israel could not look steadily at the face of moses on account of the brightness of his face, which passed away, [ : ]how shall not the ministry of the spirit be glorious? [ : ]for if the ministry of condemnation was a glory, much more will the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. [ : ]for that which was made glorious was not glorious in this respect, on account of the surpassing glory. [ : ]for if that which has passed away was with glory, much more will that which continues be in glory. [ : ]having therefore this hope we use great boldness, [ : ]and not as moses put a vail on his face, that the children of israel might not see to the end of that which has passed away; [ : ]but their minds were blinded. for to this day in reading the old covenant the same vail remains, not taken away because it is taken away in christ; [ : ]but to this day when moses is read a vail lies upon their minds; [ : ]but when they turn to the lord the vail is taken away. [ : ]and the lord is the spirit; and where the spirit of the lord is there is liberty. [ : ]and we all with unvailed face beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord, are transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the lord. [ : ]therefore, having this ministry, as we have obtained mercy we faint not, [ : ]but have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of god deceitfully, but commending ourselves by the manifestation of the truth to every conscience of men before god. [ : ]but if our gospel is vailed it is vailed among the lost, [ : ]in whom the god of this life has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of christ, who is the likeness of god, may not shine. [ : ]for we preach not ourselves but christ jesus the lord, and ourselves your servants for jesus' sake. [ : ]for god who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ. [ : ]but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of god and not of us, [ : ]being afflicted in every thing but not distressed, being perplexed but not in despair, [ : ]being persecuted but not deserted, being cast down but not destroyed, [ : ]always carrying about the death of jesus in the body, that the life of jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. [ : ]for we who live are always delivered to death for jesus' sake, that the life also of jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. [ : ]so that death works in us, but life in you. [ : ]and having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, i believed, therefore i spoke, we also believe and therefore speak, [ : ]knowing that he who raised up the lord jesus will also raise us up with jesus, and present us with you. [ : ]for all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace may abound through the thanksgiving of many to the glory of god. [ : ]wherefore we faint not, but if our outward man is destroyed our inward man is renewed day by day. [ : ]for the light affliction which is for a moment, works out for us more abundantly an eternal weight of glory, [ : ] while we look not on the things which are seen but on the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are for a time, but those which are unseen are eternal. [ : ]for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle was destroyed, we have an edifice from god, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [ : ]for in this we also groan, earnestly desiring to put on our dwelling which is from heaven, [ : ]if indeed also having put it on we may not be found naked. [ : ]for being in this tabernacle we groan, being burdened, because we do not wish to put it off, but to put on [the other], that the mortal may be swallowed up by life. [ : ]and he that has made us for this is god, who has given us the pledge of the spirit. [ : ]being always confident therefore, and knowing that while we are present in the body we are absent from the lord,-- [ : ]we walk by faith, not by sight;-- [ : ]but we are confident, and are pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the lord. [ : ] wherefore also we strive, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him. [ : ]for we must all appear before the tribunal of christ, that each one may receive through the body for what he has done, whether it is good or evil. [ : ]knowing therefore the fear of the lord we persuade men, but are made manifest to god; and i hope also to be made manifest in your consciences. [ : ] for we do not again commend ourselves to you, but give you occasion to glory on our account, that you may have something for those that glory in appearance and not in heart. [ : ]for if we are beside ourselves it is for god; and if we are sober it is for you. [ : ]for the love of christ constrains us, judging this, that if one died for all then were all dead; [ : ]and he died for all, that those who live should no more live for themselves but for him that died for them and rose again. [ : ]so that from henceforth we know no man after the flesh; and if we have known christ after the flesh, we now know him no more. [ : ]so that if any one is in christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. [ : ]and all things are of god, who has reconciled us to himself by jesus christ, and given us the ministry of the reconciliation, [ : ]to wit, that god was in christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their offenses, and has given to us the word of reconciliation. [ : ]we are embassadors therefore for christ, as though god besought you by us; we pray you, for christ, be reconciled to god. [ : ]for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become god's righteousness in him. [ : ]and being also co-laborers we exhort you not to receive the grace of god in vain,-- [ : ]for he says, in an acceptable time i heard you, and in a day of salvation i helped you; behold, now is an acceptable time, behold, now is a day of salvation,-- [ : ]giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry may not be blamed, [ : ]but in every thing commending ourselves as ministers of god, in great patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, [ : ]in stripes, in imprisonments, in dissensions, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, [ : ]in purity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the holy spirit, in love unfeigned, [ : ]in the word of truth, in the power of god; with the arms of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, [ : ]with honor and dishonor, with evil report and good report; as deceivers and true, [ : ]as unknown and well-known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and not killed, [ : ]as grieving but always rejoicing, as poor but making many rich, as having nothing and possessing all things. [ : ]our mouth is opened to you, corinthians, our heart is enlarged; [ : ] you are not straitened in us, but you are straitened in your own souls; [ : ] and now as a return of benefits, i speak as to children, do you also be enlarged. [ : ]be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what participation has righteousness with wickedness? or what communion has light with darkness? [ : ] and what agreement has christ with beliar, or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? [ : ]and what agreement has a temple of god with idols? for you are a temple of the living god; as god said, i will dwell in them, and i will walk in them, and i will be to them a god and they shall be to me a people. [ : ]go out therefore from among them, and be separate, says the lord, and touch not the impure; and i will receive you, [ : ]and will be to you a father, and you shall be to me sons and daughters, says the lord almighty. [ : ] having therefore these promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of god. [ : ]receive us; we have injured no one, we have destroyed no one, we have defrauded no one. [ : ]i say this not to condemn you, for i have said before that you are in our hearts both to die and live together. [ : ]i have great boldness towards you, and great glorying on your account; i am full of comfort, i have a super-abounding joy in all our afflictions. [ : ]for when we came into macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were distressed on every hand; without were conflicts, within fears; [ : ]but god who comforts the humble comforted us by the coming of titus; [ : ]and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted on your account, telling us of your great desire, your deep sorrow, your zeal for me, so that i rather rejoiced. [ : ]for if i even grieved you by the epistle, i do not repent, though i did repent; for because i see that the epistle grieved you but for a time, [ : ]now i rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you grieved to a change of mind; for you were grieved in a godly manner, to suffer injury from us in nothing. [ : ]for godly sorrow produces a change of mind to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world produces death. [ : ]for behold, this same thing, that you grieved in a godly manner, how great diligence it produced in you, what a defense, what indignation, what fear, what desire, what zeal, what a punishment! in every thing you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. [ : ]if therefore i wrote to you, it was not on account of him that did the wrong, nor on account of him that suffered wrong, but that our diligence in your behalf might be manifest before god. [ : ]on this account we were comforted. and in addition to our comfort, we rejoiced more abundantly for the joy of titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all; [ : ]for if i had boasted of you to him i was not ashamed, but as we said all things to you in truth, so also the boasting of you to titus was truth. [ : ]and his affection is more abundant for you, remembering the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. [ : ]i rejoice that i have confidence in you in every thing. chapter ii. a contribution solicited for the saints at jerusalem. [ : ]and i make known to you, brothers, the grace of god given to the churches of macedonia, [ : ]that in much trying affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. [ : ]for according to their ability, i testify, and beyond their ability, of their own accord, [ : ]with much entreaty they desired of us the favor of a participation in the service to the saints; [ : ]and not as we hoped, but they first gave themselves to the lord and to us by the will of god, [ : ]so that we requested titus, as he before began, that he would complete also this charity with you. [ : ]but as you abound in every thing, in faith, and speech, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us, [we desire] that you may abound in this grace also. [ : ]i do not speak by command, but on account of the diligence of others, and to prove the genuineness of your love; [ : ]for you know the grace of our lord jesus christ, that for your sakes he became poor, though rich, that you by his poverty might be rich. [ : ]and in this case i give an opinion; for this is expedient for you, who began before to act in this matter and to act willingly a year ago. [ : ]and now, therefore, perform the doing also, that as there was a readiness to will, so also there may be a performance from what you have. [ : ]for if there is a willing mind, a man is acceptable according to what he has, and not according to what he has not. [ : ]not that others may be relieved and you burdened, [ : ]but that there may be an equality; that at the present time your abundance may supply their deficiency, and that their abundance may supply your deficiency, that there may be an equality, [ : ]as it is written; he that [gathered] much had nothing over, and he that [gathered] little had no deficiency. [ : ]but thanks be to god, who put this care for you into the heart of titus, [ : ]for he received the exhortation, and being extremely diligent went to you of his own accord. [ : ]and we sent with him the brother, whose praise in the gospel is in all the churches, [ : ]and not only so, but he has also been chosen by the churches as our travelling companion in this charity ministered by us for the glory of the same lord and our promptitude, [ : ] guarding against this, that no one may blame us in this abundance administered by us; [ : ]for we provide things honorable not only before the lord, but also before men. [ : ]and we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often proved in many services to be diligent, and who is now much more diligent from the great confidence in you. [ : ]if [any one inquires] respecting titus, he is my companion and co-laborer for you; if our brothers, they are apostles of churches and the glory of christ. [ : ]show them therefore the proof of your love, and of our boasting of you before the churches. [ : ]for concerning the service for the saints it is superfluous for me to write to you; [ : ]for i know your readiness, of which i boasted in your behalf to the macedonians that achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has excited many. [ : ]but i sent the brothers, that our boasting of you may not be in vain in this respect, as i said you were prepared, [ : ]lest if the macedonians should come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to say you, should be ashamed of this confidence. [ : ]i thought it necessary, therefore, to exhort the brothers to go to you before, and to make ready your free gift before announced, that it may be ready as a free gift and not as an exaction. [ : ]and [consider] this, he that sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that sows liberally shall reap also liberally. [ : ]let each one contribute as he chooses in his heart, not with regret or from necessity; for god loves a cheerful giver. [ : ]and god is able to make every favor abound to you, that having always every sufficiency in every thing you may abound in every good work; [ : ]as it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness continues forever. [ : ]and may he that supplies seed to the sower and bread for eating multiply your grain, and increase the products of your righteousness; [ : ]that you may be enriched in every thing for all liberality, which produces through us thanksgiving to god. [ : ]for the performance of this service not only supplies the need of the saints, but also abounds with the thanksgivings of many to god; [ : ][they] glorifying god on account of the proof of this ministry for your professed subjection to the gospel of christ and the liberality of the contribution to them and to all, [ : ]and by their prayer for you, greatly longing for you on account of the abounding grace of god upon you. [ : ]thanks be to god for his unspeakable gift. chapter iii. paul's reply to his detractors. [ : ]i paul also exhort you by the meekness and gentleness of christ, who in appearance am humble among you, but being absent am bold towards you; [ : ]and i desire that i may not be bold when present, with that confidence which i design to use against some who speak of us as if we walked according to the flesh. [ : ]for though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh, [ : ]for the arms of our warfare are not of flesh, but mighty with god to the pulling down of strongholds, [ : ]destroying [false] reasonings and every height which is exalted against the knowledge of god, and subjecting every thought to the obedience of christ, [ : ]and being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is completed. [ : ]you see things according to appearances. if any one trusts in himself that he is christ's, let him consider again with himself that as he is christ's so also are we. [ : ]for if i should even boast some of our authority which the lord gave for your edification, and not for your destruction, i should not be ashamed. [ : ][but i forbear,] that i may not seem as though i would terrify you by epistles. [ : ]for the epistles, say they, are weighty and powerful, but the bodily presence is weak and speech contemptible. [ : ]let such a one think, that such as we are in word by epistles when absent, such also will we be in work when present. [ : ]for we dare not judge or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves; but they, measuring themselves with themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are not wise. [ : ]but we will not boast of things not measured, but according to the measure of the rule which god has given us, to come even to you. [ : ]for we do not stretch ourselves out too far, as if we had not come to you, for we came even to you with the gospel of christ; [ : ]not boasting of things unmeasured in the labors of others, but having a hope, your faith being increased, that we shall be magnified among you according to our rule abundantly, [ : ]to preach the gospel in the parts beyond you, not to boast of things prepared by another's rule. [ : ]but let him that glories glory in the lord; [ : ]for not he that commends himself is approved, but he whom the lord commends. [ : ]i wish you would bear a little with my folly; and indeed do bear with me. [ : ]for i am zealous for you with a godly zeal, for i joined you, a chaste virgin, to one husband, to present to christ; [ : ]but i fear lest as the serpent deceived eve with his craftiness, so also your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity which is in christ. [ : ]for if he that comes preaches another jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive another spirit which you did not receive, or another gospel which you did not receive, you might well bear it; [ : ]for i judge that i am not behind the chief of the apostles. [ : ]and even if i am rude in speech, i certainly am not in knowledge, but we have been made fully manifest to you in all things. [ : ] have i done wrong to humble myself that you might be exalted, that i preached the gospel of god to you gratuitously? [ : ]i robbed other churches taking wages to serve you; [ : ]and when i was with you and was in want, i was burdensome to no one; for the brothers who came from macedonia supplied beforehand my need; and in every thing i kept myself without being burdensome to you, and will keep myself so. [ : ]as the truth of christ is in me, this boasting in respect to myself shall not be silenced in the regions of achaia. [ : ]why? because i love you not? god knows. [ : ]but what i do i also will do, that i may take away an occasion from those who wish an occasion, that wherein they boast they may be found even as we are. [ : ]for such false apostles, deceitful laborers, transform themselves into apostles of christ. [ : ]and no wonder; for satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. [ : ]it is no great thing, therefore, if his ministers transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. [ : ]again, i say let no one think me to be foolish; but if otherwise, even as a foolish man bear with me that i may boast a little. [ : ]what i say, i do not say according to the lord, but as it were in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. [ : ]since many boast of the flesh, i also will boast. [ : ]you endure fools patiently being wise; [ : ]for you endure it if any one reduces you to servitude, if any one devours you, if any one takes from you, if any one exalts himself against you, if any one beats you in the face. [ : ]i speak of reproach as if we were weak; wherein any one is bold, i speak foolishly, i am bold also. [ : ]are they hebrews? so am i. are they israelites? so am i. are they the posterity of abraham? so am i. [ : ]are they ministers of christ? i speak foolishly, i am more; in labors most abundant, in stripes above measure, in imprisonments most abundant, in deaths often; [ : ]five times i received of the jews forty [stripes] lacking one, [ : ] thrice was i beaten with rods, once was i stoned, thrice have i been shipwrecked, a night and a day have i spent in the deep; [ : ]often on journeys, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from [my own] race, in dangers from gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers on the sea, in dangers among false brothers, [ : ]in labor and weariness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. [ : ]besides things without, that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the churches. [ : ]who is weak, and i am not weak? who is offended, and i am not displeased? [ : ]if it is necessary to boast, i will boast of my infirmities. [ : ]the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who is blessed forever, knows that i lie not. [ : ]in damascus, the ethnarch, when aretas was king, guarded the city of the damascenes, desiring to take me, [ : ]and i was let down in a rope-basket, by a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. [ : ]it is not expedient therefore for me to boast [of these things]; for i will come to visions and revelations of the lord. [ : ]i know a man, in christ above fourteen years, whether in the body i know not, or out of the body i know not, god knows,--such a one caught up to the third heaven. [ : ]i know even such a man,--whether in the body or out of the body i know not, god knows,-- [ : ]that he was caught up to paradise, and heard unutterable words, which it is not lawful for man to speak. [ : ]of such a one will i boast, but of myself i will not boast except of my infirmities. [ : ]for if i shall wish to boast i shall not be foolish, for i will tell the truth. but i forbear, lest any one should think of me beyond what he sees or hears of me. [ : ]and that i might not be elated with my extraordinary revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, an angel of satan to beat me, that i should not be too much exalted. [ : ]for this i besought the lord thrice that it might leave me. [ : ]and he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you; for power is perfected in weakness. [ : ]most gladly, therefore, will i glory in my infirmities, that the power of christ may rest upon me. wherefore i am well pleased with infirmities, with injuries, with necessities, with persecutions, with distresses for christ; for when i am weak, then am i strong. [ : ]i have become foolish; you compelled me. for i ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing am i behind the chief of the apostles, though i also am nothing. [ : ]the signs of an apostle were performed among you with all patience, in miracles, and prodigies, and mighty works. [ : ]for what is there in which you were inferior to the rest of the churches, except that i was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong. [ : ]behold, i am ready to come to you a third time, and i will not be burdensome to you; for i seek not yours, but you. for the children ought not to lay up treasure for the parents, but the parents for the children. [ : ]and i most gladly will spend and will be spent for your souls, even if the more abundantly i love you the less i am loved. [ : ]be it so, i was not burdensome to you; but being crafty i caught you with deceit. [ : ]did i make any thing out of you by any of those i sent to you? [ : ]i requested titus, and sent the brother with him; did titus make any thing out of you? did we not walk in the same spirit, in the same steps? chapter iv. proposed visit, etc. [ : ]do you again think that we are defending ourselves? we speak in christ before god; all these things, beloved, are for your edification. [ : ]for i fear lest when i come i shall not find you such as i wish, and that i shall be found such as you wish not; lest there shall be strife, envy, anger, contentions, evil speakings, whisperings, pride, dissensions; [ : ]lest when i come again my god shall humble me before you, and i shall mourn for many who have sinned, and not changed their minds, in respect to impurity and fornication and lewdness which they have committed. [ : ]this third time i am coming to you; by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. [ : ]i have said before, and i now foretell as if present a second time, although absent, to those who have already sinned and to all the rest, that if i come again i will not spare; [ : ]since you seek a proof in me of christ speaking, who is not weak to you but powerful in you; [ : ]for though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of god; and we also are weak in him, but live with him by the power of god in you. [ : ]try yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves; or know you not yourselves that christ is in you unless you are reprobates? [ : ]but i hope you will know that we are not reprobates. [ : ]we wish to god that you may do no evil, not that we may appear approved, but that you may do good though we should be as reprobates. [ : ]for we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. [ : ]for we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong; and we desire this, your perfection. [ : ]for this reason, being absent, i write these things, that i may not use sharpness when present, with the power which the lord has given me for building up, and not for pulling down. [ : ]finally, brothers, rejoice, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of the same mind, live in peace, and the god of love and peace shall be with you. [ : ]salute one another with a holy kiss. [ : ]all the saints salute you. [ : ]the grace of the lord jesus christ, and the love of god, and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all. the epistle to the romans. corinth, a.d., . (acts, : ) chapter i. himself, jesus christ, and the gospel. [ : ]paul, a servant of christ jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart to the gospel of god,-- [ : ]which he promised by his prophets in the holy scriptures,-- [ : ]concerning his son born of the posterity of david as to the flesh, [ : ]declared to be the son of god in power as to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead,--jesus christ our lord,-- [ : ]through whom we have received grace and an apostleship for the obedience of the faith in all nations in behalf of his name, [ : ]among whom are you also the called of jesus christ,-- [ : ]to all who are at rome, beloved of god, called to be saints. grace be to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]first, indeed, i thank my god through jesus christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed in all the world. [ : ]for god is my witness, whom i serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, how incessantly i make mention of you, always in my prayers [ : ]asking if by any means i may now at some time have a prosperous journey by the will of god to come to you. [ : ]for i greatly desire to see you, that i may impart to you some spiritual gift, that you may be strengthened, [ : ]that is, that i may be comforted in you by the mutual faith both of you and me. [ : ]but i wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, that i often purposed to come to you, and was hindered hitherto, that i might have some fruit also among you, as among the other gentiles. [ : ]i am a debtor both to the greeks and the barbarians, both to the wise and the ignorant; [ : ]so that as far as depends upon me i am ready also to preach the gospel to those at rome. [ : ] for i am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is the power of god to salvation to every one that believes, the jew first and also the greek. [ : ]for god's righteousness is revealed in it by faith in the faith [the gospel]; as it is written; the righteous shall live by faith. chapter ii. wickedness destroys gentiles and jews. [ : ]for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all impiety and wickedness of men who hold the truth in wickedness, [ : ]because what can be known of god is manifest among them; for god has manifested [himself] to them. [ : ]for his invisible [attributes] are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being perceived by the things which are made, even his eternal power and deity, so that they have no defense, [ : ]because having known god they glorified him not as god neither were thankful, but became vain in their reasonings and their ignorant mind was darkened. [ : ]saying that they were wise they became foolish, [ : ]and changed the glory of the imperishable god into the likeness of the image of perishable man, and of birds, and quadrupeds, and reptiles. [ : ]wherefore god also gave them up with the desires of their hearts to impurity, to disgrace their bodies among themselves, [ : ]who changed the truth of god into a lie, and worshipped and served the creation more than the creator, who is blessed forever, amen. [ : ]therefore god gave them up to infamous affections; for their females changed a natural enjoyment for that which is against nature, [ : ]and in like manner also the males, leaving the natural enjoyment of the female, became the subjects of inordinate desires for each other, males with males committing indecency, and receiving in return the recompense of their error which was fit. [ : ]and as they did not choose to retain god in their knowledge, god gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do things which are not proper, [ : ]being filled with all wickedness, malice, covetousness, vice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil dispositions, whisperers, [ : ]evil speakers, haters of god, injurious, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, [ : ]unintelligent, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful, [ : ]who knowing the ordinance of god, that those who do such things deserve death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in those who do them. [ : ]wherefore you are inexcusable, o man, whoever you are that judge, for in that in which you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge do the same things. [ : ]but we know that the judgment of god is according to truth against those who do such things. [ : ]but do you think this, o man, who judge those doing such things and do the same, that you shall escape the judgment of god? [ : ]or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of god leads you to a change of mind? [ : ]but according to your hardness and unchanged heart you treasure up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and of a revelation of the righteous judgment of god, [ : ]who will render to each according to his works; [ : ]to those who by patience in good works seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; [ : ]but to those who are contentions and disobey the truth, and obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath. [ : ]affliction and distress [shall be] on every soul of man that does evil, both the jew first and the greek; [ : ] and glory and honor and peace to every one that does good, both the jew first and the greek. [ : ]for there is no respect of persons with god. [ : ]for as many as have sinned without the law shall perish without the law, and as many as have sinned with the law shall be judged by the law,-- [ : ]for not the hearers of the law are righteous with god, but the doers of the law shall be justified; [ : ]for when the nations which have not the law perform by nature [the commandments] of the law, these who have not the law are a law to themselves, [ : ]and they show the work of the law written in their minds, their consciences testifying with them, and their judgments mutually accusing or defending one another;-- [ : ]in the day when god shall judge the secret [doings] of men according to my gospel through jesus christ. [ : ]but [what] if you are called a jew and rest on the law, and boast of god, [ : ]and know his will, and approve of things which are excellent, being instructed by the law, [ : ]and believe yourself to be a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, [ : ]an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law; [ : ]you that teach another, do you not teach yourself? you that preach not to steal, do you steal? [ : ]you that command not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? you that abhor idols, do you commit sacrilege? [ : ]you who boast of the law, by the transgression of the law do you dishonor god? [ : ]for the name of god is blasphemed on your account among the nations as it is written. [ : ]for circumcision indeed is profitable if you perform the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. [ : ]if therefore the uncircumcision keeps the ordinances of the law, shall not its uncircumcision be accounted for circumcision? [ : ]and the uncircumcision by nature which keeps the law shall judge you who with the written law and circumcision are a transgressor of the law. [ : ]for not that which is external is the jew, nor is that which is external in the flesh circumcision. [ : ]but that which is in secret is the jew, and circumcision of the heart is in the spirit not in the writing, the commendation of which is not of men but of god. [ : ]what then is the preeminence of the jew? or what the profit of circumcision? [ : ]much in every way. for first, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of god. [ : ]for what if some did not believe? will their unbelief destroy the faith of god? [ : ]by no means; but let god be true, and every man a liar; as it is written, that thou mayest be justified in thy sayings and overcome when thou art judged. [ : ]but if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of god, what shall we say? is god unrighteous who inflicts wrath? i speak as a man;-- [ : ] by no means;--since [if he was] how shall god judge the world? [ : ]for if the truth of god abounded by my falsehood to his glory, why am i also yet judged as a sinner? [ : ]and as we are falsely accused and as some declare that we say, [do we say] let us do evil that good may come? whose judgment is just. [ : ]what defense then have we? none at all; for we before asserted that both jews and greeks are all under sin, [ : ]as it is written, there is none righteous not one, [ : ]there is none that understands, there is none that seeks god; [ : ]all have turned aside, they have together become unprofitable; there is no one that does good, there is not even one; [ : ]their throat is an opened tomb, with their tongues they practise deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips. [ : ]their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. [ : ] their feet are swift to shed blood, [ : ]destruction and misery are in their ways, [ : ]and the way of peace they have not known. [ : ]there is no fear of god before their eyes. [ : ]but we know that whatever the law says, it says to those having the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before god. [ : ]wherefore by the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified is his sight, for by the law there is an acknowledgment of sin. chapter iii. god's righteousness by faith saves both jews and gentiles. [ : ]but now god's righteousness has been made manifest without the law, being testified to by the law and the prophets, [ : ]but god's righteousness is through the faith of jesus christ, in all and upon all that believe. for there is no difference; [ : ]for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god, [ : ]being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in christ jesus, [ : ]whom god set forth [to be] a propitiator through faith in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing by of the errors committed previously in the forbearance of god, [ : ]to show his righteousness at the present time, that he may be righteous and justify him that is of faith. [ : ]where then is the boasting [of the jew]? it is excluded. by what law? of works? no; but by the law of faith. [ : ]we conclude then that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law. [ : ]is god [a god] of the jews alone? and not also of the gentiles? yes, also of the gentiles, [ : ] since there is one god who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through the [same] faith. [ : ]do we then abrogate the law by the faith? by no means; but we establish the law. [ : ]what shall we say then that abraham our father found according to the flesh? [ : ]for if abraham was justified by works he has [occasion for] boasting, but not before god. [ : ]for what says the scripture? and abraham believed god and it was accounted to him for righteousness. [ : ]but to one that works the reward is not accounted by grace but by debt. [ : ]but to one that works not, but believes on him that justifies the wicked, his faith is [accounted] for righteousness. [ : ]as david describes the blessedness of the man to whom the lord accounts righteousness without works, [ : ]blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered; [ : ]blessed is the man to whom the lord does not account sin. [ : ]is this blessedness then on the circumcision? or also on the uncircumcision? [also on the uncircumcision.] for we say that faith was accounted to abraham for righteousness. [ : ]how then was it accounted? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. [ : ]and he received the symbol of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which was in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all that believe in uncircumcision, that righteousness may also be accounted to them, [ : ]and a father of circumcision not to those of the circumcision only, but to those also who walk in the steps of the faith of our father abraham which was in uncircumcision. [ : ]for the promise to abraham and his posterity that he should inherit the world was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith. [ : ]for if the subjects of the law are heirs, the faith is done away and the promise abrogated. [ : ]for the law produces wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. [ : ]therefore it is by faith that it may be by grace, that the promise may be sure to all the posterity, not to that of the law only but to that of the faith of abraham, who is a father of us all, [ : ]as it is written, i have made you a father of many nations before god in whom he believed, who makes the dead alive and calls things which do not exist as existing.-- [ : ]who against hope believed in hope that he should become a father of many nations according to the saying shall your posterity be. [ : ] and being not weak in faith, he did not regard himself as dead, being now about a hundred years old, nor sarah's incapacity for child-bearing, [ : ]and he did not doubt the promise of god by unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to god, [ : ]being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able to perform. [ : ]wherefore also it was accounted to him for righteousness. [ : ] but it was not written for his sake alone, that it was accounted to him, [ : ] but also for our sakes, to whom it is about to be accounted if we believe on him that raised jesus our lord from the dead, [ : ]who was delivered up for our sins and raised for our justification. [ : ]having been justified therefore by faith, we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ, [ : ]through whom also we have been introduced into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of god. [ : ]and not only [this], but we rejoice also in afflictions, knowing that affliction works out patience, [ : ]and patience, experience, and experience, hope; [ : ] and the hope makes not ashamed, because the love of god has been poured out in our hearts through the holy spirit given us. [ : ]for when we were yet weak, in due time christ died for the wicked; [ : ]for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, but for a good man some one perhaps would even dare to die; [ : ]but god commends his love to us, that while we were yet sinners christ died for us; [ : ]much more then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved through him from wrath. [ : ]for if when enemies we were reconciled to god through the death of his son, much more having become reconciled we shall be saved in his life. [ : ]and not only so, but we also rejoice in god through our lord jesus christ, through whom we received the present reconciliation. [ : ]therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so came upon all men because all sinned,-- [ : ]for till the law there was sin in the world, but sin is not accounted where there is no law [ : ]but death reigned from adam till moses even over those that sinned not after the similitude adam's transgression, who is a type of him that was to come; [ : ]but not as the fall so also is the gift; for if by the fall of one the many died, much more the grace of god and the gift by grace which is of the one man jesus christ, abounded to the many; [ : ]and not as through one that sinned is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the gift was from many sins to a righteous ordinance; [ : ]for if by one fall death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of the grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one, jesus christ;-- [ : ]therefore, as through the fall of one [judgment came] on all men to condemnation, so also through the righteous ordinance of one [the gift comes] on all men to justification of life; [ : ]for as through the disobedience of the one man the many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of the one shall the many be constituted righteous. [ : ]for the law supervened that the fall might abound; but where the sin abounded the grace was superabundant, [ : ]that as sin reigned in death, so the grace shall reign through righteousness in life eternal through jesus christ our lord. chapter iv. sin is on no account to be allowed. [ : ]what shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that the grace may abound? [ : ]by no means. how shall we who died to sin any longer live in it? [ : ]do you not know that as many of us as were baptized in christ were baptized in his death? [ : ]we have been buried therefore with him through baptism in death, that as christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, so we also should walk in newness of life. [ : ]for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall much more be of his resurrection; [ : ]knowing this that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer serve sin; [ : ] for he that died was justified from sin. [ : ]and if we died with christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; [ : ]knowing that christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no longer a lordship over him. [ : ]for [the death] which he died, he died to sin once; but [the life] which he lives, he lives to god. [ : ]so also account yourselves dead indeed to sin, but living to god in christ jesus. [ : ]let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to obey its desires, [ : ]neither present your members as instruments of wickedness to sin, but present yourselves to god as living from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to god. [ : ]for sin shall not have a lordship over you; for you are not under the law but under the grace. [ : ]what then? shall we sin because we are not under the law but under the grace? by no means. [ : ]know you not that to whom you present yourselves servants for obedience, his servants you are whom you obey, whether of sin in death or of obedience in righteousness? [ : ]but thanks be to god that you were servants of sin, but obeyed from the heart the form of teaching in which you were instructed, [ : ]and having become free from sin you served righteousness. [ : ]i speak after the manner of men on account of the weakness of your flesh. for as you presented your members servants to impurity and to wickedness in wickedness, so now present your members servants to righteousness in sanctification. [ : ]for when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. [ : ]what fruit had you therefore then in things of which you are now ashamed? for the end of them is death. [ : ]but now having been made free from sin and made servants to god, you have your fruit in sanctification, and the end eternal life. [ : ]for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is eternal life by christ jesus our lord. chapter v. those in christ dead to the law, the flesh the principle of sin, its dominion over the mind, etc. [ : ]are you ignorant, brothers, for i speak to them who understand law, that the law has authority over a man as long as he lives? [ : ]for a woman under a husband is bound by law to a living husband; but if the husband has died she is released from the law of the husband. [ : ]therefore while the husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress if she is married to another man; but if the husband has died, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if married to another man. [ : ]so, my brothers, you have also died to the law through the body of christ, that you should be married to another, to him that was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to god. [ : ]for when we were in the flesh, the sinful affections operated through the law in our members to bear fruit to death; [ : ]but now we are released from the law by which we were held having died, that we should serve [god] in newness of spirit, not in the old age of a writing. [ : ]what shall we say then? is the law sin? by no means. on the contrary i knew not sin except through the law; for i had not known inordinate desire, unless the law had said, you shall not desire inordinately. [ : ]but sin having taken occasion through the commandment wrought in me every inordinate desire; for without the law sin was dead. [ : ]and i was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and i died, [ : ]and the commandment which was for life was found to be for death. [ : ]for sin having taken occasion through the commandment deceived me, and through it killed me. [ : ]the law therefore is holy, and the commandment holy and righteous and good. [ : ]did then that which is good become death to me? by no means, but sin; that sin might be made manifest, producing death to me through that which is good, that sin might become exceedingly sinful through the commandment. [ : ]for we know that the law is spiritual; but i am carnal, sold under sin. [ : ]for what i do this i approve not; for i do not what i wish, but what i hate, this i do. [ : ]but if what i wish not this i do, i consent to the law that it is good; [ : ]and now i no longer do it, but the sin that dwells in me. [ : ]for i know that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good. for to wish is present with me, but to do the good is not; [ : ]for the good which i wish i do not, but the evil which i wish not this i do. [ : ]but if what i wish not this i do, i no longer do it, but sin which dwells in me. [ : ]i find therefore the law, that when i wish to do good evil is present with me; [ : ]for i consent to the law of god as to my inward man, [my soul], [ : ]but i see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members. [ : ] miserable man that i am; who will deliver me from the body of this death? [ : ] thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord; therefore i myself with the mind serve the law of god, and with the flesh the law of sin. chapter vi. those in christ not subject to condemnation, nor to the flesh, but ruled by the holy spirit, etc. [ : ]there is no condemnation therefore to those in christ jesus; [ : ]for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus made me free from the law of sin and death. [ : ]for what the law could not do because it was weak through the flesh, god having sent his son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned the sin in the flesh, [ : ]that the righteous ordinance of the law may be performed by us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. [ : ]for they who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but they who are according to the spirit the things of the spirit; [ : ] for the minding of the flesh is death, but the minding of the spirit is life and peace. [ : ]because the minding of the flesh is enmity against god; for it is not subject to the law of god; for it can not be. [ : ]and they that are in the flesh cannot please god. [ : ]but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you. and if any man has not the spirit of christ he is not his. [ : ]but if christ is in you, the body is dead on account of sin, but the spirit is life on account of righteousness. [ : ]and if the spirit of him that raised jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised christ from the dead shall make alive your mortal bodies through his spirit that dwells in you. [ : ]therefore, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. [ : ]for if you live according to the flesh, you shall die; but if by the spirit you kill the deeds of the body, you shall live. [ : ]for as many as are led by the spirit of god they are sons of god. [ : ]for you received not the spirit of servitude again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry; abba, father. [ : ]the spirit itself is a co-witness with our spirits that we are children of god. [ : ]and if children, [we are] also heirs, heirs indeed of god and co-heirs with christ, if we suffer with him that we may also be glorified with him. [ : ]for i think that the sufferings of the present time are of no account in comparison with the glory to be revealed in us. [ : ]for the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the revelation of the sons of god. [ : ] for the creation was subjected to a perishable condition, not willingly, but by him that subjected it, in hope [ : ]that the same creation will be delivered from the servitude of destruction and [brought] into the glorious liberty of the sons of god. [ : ]for we know that all the creation groans and is in pain till now; [ : ]and not only it, but we ourselves also who have the first fruit of the spirit, even ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies. [ : ]for we are saved by hope; but a hope that is seen is not a hope; for why does one hope for what he sees? [ : ]but if we hope for what we see not, we wait for it with patience. [ : ]and in like manner also the spirit helps our weakness. for we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the spirit makes intercession for us with groanings unutterable; [ : ]and he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because it makes intercession with god for the saints. [ : ]and we know that all things work together for good to those who love god, to those who are called according to [his] purpose. [ : ]for whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be conformed to the likeness of his son, that he may be a first-born among many brothers; [ : ]and whom he predestinated them he also called; and whom he called them he also justified; and whom he justified them he also glorified. [ : ]what shall we say then to these things? if god is for us, who is against us? [ : ]he who spared not his son, but gave him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? [ : ]who will bring a charge against god's elect? it is god that justifies; [ : ]who is he that condemns? is it christ who died, and still more, who has also been raised, and who is on the right hand of god, and who makes intercession for us? [ : ]who shall separate us from the love of christ? shall affliction or distress, persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? [ : ]as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for slaughter. [ : ]but in all these things we more than conquer, through him who loved us. [ : ]for i am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [ : ]nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of god in christ jesus our lord. chapter vii. the rejection of the unbelieving jews. [ : ]i speak the truth in christ, i lie not, my conscience bearing me witness with the holy spirit, [ : ]that i have great grief and continual pain in my heart; [ : ]for i have wished that i was myself accursed from christ for my brothers, my kindred according to the flesh, [ : ]who are israelites, whose are the adoption and the glory, and the covenants and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises, [ : ]whose are the fathers, and of whom is christ, according to the flesh. he who is over all is god blessed forever, amen. [ : ] not that the word of god has failed of being accomplished. for all are not israel who are of israel; [ : ]neither, because they are a posterity of abraham, are they all children; but in isaac shall your posterity be called; [ : ]that is, the children of the flesh are not the children of god, but the children of the promise are accounted the posterity. [ : ]for this was the word of promise; according to this time i will come, and sarah shall have a son. [ : ]and not only this, but rebecca also being with child by one, by our father isaac-- [ : ]for the children not yet being born, nor having done any thing good or evil, that the purpose of god according to election might continue, not of works but of him that calls,-- [ : ]it was said to her that the older shall serve the younger; [ : ]as it is written; jacob i loved, but esau i hated. [ : ]what shall we say then? is there unrighteousness with god? by no means. [ : ]for he says to moses, i will be merciful to him to whom i may be merciful, and i will compassionate him whom i may compassionate. [ : ] therefore, it is not of him that wills nor of him that runs, but of god that exercises mercy. [ : ]for the scripture says to pharaoh, for this same cause i raised you up, to show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth. [ : ]he therefore has mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardens. [ : ]you will say to me then, why then does he yet find fault? for who has resisted his will? [ : ]yes indeed, o man, who are you that reply against god? shall the work say to him that made it, why did you make me thus? [ : ]or has not the potter a right, in respect to the clay, to make of the same mass one vessel to honor and another to dishonor? [ : ]but if god wishing to show his wrath and to make known his power endured with much long suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, [ : ]and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he before prepared for glory, [ : ]whom he also called, us not of the jews only but also of the gentiles, [ : ]as he says also in hosea, i will call them that were not my people, my people, and her that was not beloved, beloved, [ : ]and in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they shall be called children of the living god. [ : ]but isaiah cries concerning israel, though the number of the children of israel is as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved; [ : ]for he executes and performs his word in righteousness, for a finished work will the lord perform on the earth. [ : ]as also isaiah said before, unless the lord of sabaoth had left us a posterity, we should have been like sodom, and should have resembled gomorrah. [ : ]what shall we say then? that nations who did not pursue righteousness attained a righteousness, but the righteousness which is by faith; [ : ]but israel who pursued the law of righteousness did not attain to the law of righteousness. [ : ]for what reason? because they are not of faith, but as it were of works of the law; for they stumbled at the stone of stumbling, [ : ]as it is written; behold, i lay in zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he that believes on him shall not be ashamed. [ : ]brothers, the earnest desire and prayer of my heart for israel is for their salvation. [ : ]for i bear them witness that they have a zeal for god but not according to knowledge; [ : ]for not knowing god's righteousness, and seeking to set up their righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to god's righteousness. [ : ]for christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. [ : ]for moses describes the righteousness of the law, that the man that does these things shall live by them. [ : ]but the righteousness by faith speaks thus; say not in your mind, who shall ascend into heaven?--that is, to bring christ down,-- [ : ]or who shall descend into the abyss?--that is, to bring christ up from the dead. [ : ]but what does it say? the word is nigh you, in your mouth and in your mind; that is, the word of the faith which we preach. [ : ]for if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus, and believe with your mind that god raised him from the dead, you shall be saved; [ : ]for with the mind we believe to righteousness, and with the mouth we confess to salvation. [ : ]for the scripture says, no one that believes in him shall be ashamed. [ : ]for there is no difference between jew and greek; for the same lord of all is rich to all that call upon him. [ : ]for every one that calls on the name of the lord shall be saved. [ : ]how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without one preaching? [ : ]and how shall they preach unless they have been sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those that publish good news of peace, that publish good news of good things. [ : ]but all did not obey the gospel; for isaiah says, lord, who believed our report? [ : ]faith therefore comes by the report, and the report by the word of god. [ : ]but i say, did they not hear? yes indeed; their voice went into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. [ : ]but i say, did not israel know? first, moses says, i will provoke you by that which is not a nation, and by a foolish nation will i excite you to anger. [ : ]but isaiah is more bold and says, i was found by them that sought me not, i was made manifest to them that inquired not after me. [ : ]but in respect to israel he says, all the day i stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people. chapter viii. the salvation of believing jews and the calling of the gentiles. [ : ]i say then, has god cast away his people? by no means; for i also am an israelite, of the race of abraham, of the tribe of benjamin. [ : ]god has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. know you not what the scripture says in elijah, how he intercedes with god against israel? [ : ]lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have dug down thy altars, and i am left alone, and they seek my life. [ : ]but what says the response to him? i have reserved for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to baal. [ : ]so then also at the present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace; [ : ] but if by grace, no longer by works; for otherwise grace is no longer grace; but if by works, it is no longer grace; for otherwise a work is no longer a work. [ : ]what then? what israel seeks, this it did not obtain, but the election obtained; and the rest were hardened,-- [ : ]as it is written, god gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear--to this day. [ : ]and david says, let their table become a trap and a snare and an offense and a stumbling block to them; [ : ]let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back always. [ : ]i say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? by no means; but by their fall the nations have salvation to excite them to emulation. [ : ] but if their fall is the riches of the world, and their diminution the riches of nations, how much more will their fullness be. [ : ]for i speak to you, gentiles. inasmuch as i am an apostle of the gentiles, i glorify my ministry, [ : ]if perhaps i may excite my flesh [race] to emulation and save some of them. [ : ]for if their falling away is the reconciling of the world, what will their recovery be but life from the dead? [ : ]and if the first fruit is holy, the mass is also; and if the root is holy, the branches also are. [ : ]but if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root and excellence of the olive, [ : ]boast not against the branches; but if you boast, you bear not the root, but the root you. [ : ]you will say then, the branches were broken off that i might be grafted in. [ : ]well; they were broken off by unbelief, and you stand by faith. be not high-minded, but fear; [ : ]for if god spared not the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. [ : ]see then the goodness and severity of god; towards those that fell, severity, but towards you, the goodness of god, if you continue in goodness, for otherwise you also will be cut off. [ : ]and they, if they continue not in unbelief, will be grafted in; for god is able to graft them in again. [ : ] for if you have been cut from an olive wild by nature, and grafted contrary to nature into a good olive, how much more shall they according to nature be grafted into their own olive. [ : ]for i wish you not to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery; that you may not be wise in your own conceit. for hardness in part has come upon israel, till the fullness of the gentiles shall come in, [ : ]and so all israel shall be saved; as it is written, a deliverer shall come from zion, he shall turn away impiety from jacob. [ : ]and this is the promise to them from me, when i take away their sins. [ : ]as to the gospel, they are enemies on your account, but as to the election, they are beloved on account of the fathers; [ : ]for the gifts and calling of god are without a change of mind. [ : ]for as you once disobeyed god, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, [ : ]so also they now have disobeyed that they may obtain mercy by your mercy. [ : ] for god has concluded all in disobedience that he may have mercy on all. [ : ] o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of god! how inscrutable are his judgments, and his ways can not be explored! [ : ]for who knew the mind of the lord? or who was his counsellor? [ : ]or who first gave to him, and it shall be repaid him? [ : ]for of him and through him, and in him are all things; to him be glory forever; amen. chapter ix. moral and political duties. [ : ]i exhort you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies a living sacrifice; holy, well pleasing to god, your reasonable service; [ : ]and be not conformed to this life, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what is the will of god which is good and well-pleasing and perfect. [ : ]for i say through the grace given me, to every one among you, not to be higher-minded than he ought to be, but to think soberly, as god has distributed to each the measure of faith. [ : ]for as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office, [ : ]so we, the many, are one body in christ, and each one members one of another; [ : ]but having different gifts according to the grace given us, if prophecy [let us prophesy] according to the analogy of the faith, [ : ]if a service [let us labor] in the service, if one teaches, in teaching, [ : ]if one exhorts in the exhortation, he that gives, with simplicity, he that rules, with diligence, he that exercises mercy, with cheerfulness. [ : ]let love be without hypocrisy. abhor evil, adhere to that which is good, [ : ]be kindly disposed one to another with brotherly love, in honor prefer one another, [ : ]be not slothful in business, be fervent in spirit, serve the lord, [ : ]rejoice in the hope, be patient in affliction, be persevering in prayer, [ : ]contribute to the necessity of saints, practise hospitality. [ : ]bless those that persecute, bless and curse not. [ : ] rejoice with the rejoicing, weep with the weeping. [ : ]desire the same thing one for another; desire not the high, but be satisfied with the humble. be not wise in your own conceit. [ : ]render evil for evil to no one, provide things honorable in the sight of all men; [ : ]if possible, as much as may be in your power, live peaceably with all men, [ : ]not vindicating yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, judgment is mine, i will repay, says the lord. [ : ]if therefore your enemy is hungry, give him food; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for doing this you shall heap coals of fire on his head. [ : ]be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. [ : ]let every soul be subject to the superior powers. for there is no power except from god, and the [powers] which exist have been ordained by god. [ : ] so that he who resists the power resists the ordinance of god; and those who resist shall receive judgment on themselves. [ : ]for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. will you not fear the power? do good, and you shall have praise from it; [ : ]for [the power] is god's minister to you for good. but if you do evil, fear; for it bears not the sword in vain; for it is god's minister of justice for punishment to him that does evil. [ : ]wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only on account of punishment, but also on account of conscience. [ : ]for on this account also you pay taxes; for [magistrates] are servants of god attending constantly to this same thing. [ : ]pay to all their dues; a tax to whom a tax is due, a toll to whom a toll is due, fear to whom fear, and honor to whom honor. [ : ]owe no man any thing, except to love one another; for he that loves another has fully performed the law. [ : ]for this, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not desire inordinately, and if there is any other commandment, it is summarily comprehended in this word; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [ : ] love does no evil to a neighbor; love therefore is the sum of the law. [ : ] and [do] this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour that we should be waked from sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. [ : ] the night is far advanced, and the day is at hand; let us lay aside therefore the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. [ : ]let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelries and drinking, not in lewdness and excesses, not in strife and envy; [ : ]but put on the lord jesus christ, and make no provision for desires of the flesh. chapter x. duties to the weak, etc. [ : ]receive the weak in faith, not to doubtful reasonings. [ : ]for one has faith to eat all things, but he that is weak eats vegetables. [ : ]let not him that eats despise him that eats not; and let not him that eats not judge him that eats; for god has accepted him. [ : ]who are you that judge another man's servant? to his master he stands or falls; and he shall be made to stand, for god is able to make him stand. [ : ]one judges one day to be better than another, but another judges every day [to be alike]. let each one be fully persuaded in his mind. [ : ]he that observes the day observes it to the lord, and he that observes not the day observes it not to the lord. and he that eats eats to the lord, for he gives god thanks; and he that eats not eats not to the lord, and gives god thanks. [ : ] for no one of us lives for himself; and no one dies for himself; [ : ]for if we live, we live for the lord, and if we die, we die for the lord; whether therefore we live, or whether we die, we are the lord's. [ : ]for this end christ died and lived again, that he might exercise lordship over the dead and living. [ : ]but why do you judge your brother? why do you set at nought your brother? for we must all stand at the tribunal of god. [ : ]for it is written, [as] i live, says the lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess to god. [ : ]each of us therefore shall give account of himself to god. [ : ]let us not therefore judge one another, but judge this rather, not to place a stumbling-block or an offense before a brother. [ : ]i know, and am persuaded in the lord jesus, that nothing is defiled in itself, except to him that thinks any thing to be defiled; to him it is defiled. [ : ]for if your brother is grieved by your food, you no longer walk in love. destroy not with your food him for whom christ died. [ : ]let not your good therefore be injuriously spoken of. [ : ]for the kingdom of god is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy spirit; [ : ]for he that in this serves christ is well pleasing to god and approved by men. [ : ]let us therefore pursue the things of peace and those which edify one another. [ : ]on account of food destroy not the work of god. all things indeed are pure, but evil is to the man that eats with offense; [ : ]it is good not to eat meat nor drink wine, nor [do] any thing by which your brother stumbles. [ : ]you have faith; have it for yourself before god, blessed is he that condemns not himself in what he approves; [ : ]but he that doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not of faith; and every thing which is not of faith is sin. [ : ]and we, the strong, ought to bear the infirmities of those who are not strong, and not to please ourselves. [ : ]let us each please our neighbor in that which is good for edification; [ : ]for christ also pleased not himself, but, as it is written, the reproaches of those that reproached thee fell on me. [ : ]for those things which were written before were written for our instruction, that through patience and the consolation of the scriptures we may have hope. [ : ]and the god of patience and consolation grant you to have the same mind one to another, according to christ jesus, [ : ]that being of one mind you may glorify the god and father of our lord jesus christ with one mouth. [ : ]wherefore receive one another, as christ also received you to the glory of god. [ : ]for i say that christ was made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises of the fathers, [ : ]and that the nations should glorify god for mercy; as it is written, for this cause will i praise thee among nations, and sing to thy name. [ : ]and again he says, rejoice nations with his people. [ : ]and again, praise the lord, all nations, and let all peoples praise him. [ : ]and again, isaiah says, there shall be a root of jesse and he shall stand up to rule nations, in him shall nations hope. [ : ]and may the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy spirit. [ : ]and i am persuaded, my brothers, even i myself, concerning you, that you are full of kindness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another; [ : ]but i have written more boldly to you in part, to refresh your minds on account of the grace given me by god [ : ]that i should be a servant of christ jesus to the nations, administering as a priest the gospel of god, that the offering of the nations may be acceptable, sanctified by the holy spirit. [ : ]i have therefore cause of boasting in christ jesus in respect to things relating to god; [ : ]for i dare not to speak of what christ has not performed by me for the obedience of the nations, by word and work, [ : ]by the power of miracles and prodigies, by the power of the spirit, so that from jerusalem and around as far as illyricum i have fully preached the gospel of christ. [ : ]and i have been anxious so to preach where christ was not named, that i might not build on another's foundation; [ : ]but as it is written, they shall see to whom nothing was told concerning him, and they who have not heard shall understand. [ : ]wherefore i was also much hindered from coming to you; [ : ]but now having no longer a place in these regions, and having a desire to come to you for many years, [ : ]should i go to spain i will come to you; for i hope, going by, to see you, and to be sent forward by you there, when first i am in part filled with you. [ : ]but now i am going to jerusalem to serve the saints. [ : ]for macedonia and achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor of the saints at jerusalem. [ : ]they have been pleased indeed, and their debtors they are; for if the nations have participated in their spiritual things, they ought also to serve them in things pertaining to the flesh. [ : ]having therefore performed this, and sealed to them this service, i will go by you to spain; [ : ]and i know that when i come to you i shall come in the fullness of the blessing of christ. [ : ]but i exhort you by the lord jesus christ, and by the love of the spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to god for me, [ : ]that i may be delivered from those that obey not in judea, and that my service which is for jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, [ : ]that i may come to you with joy by the will of god, and be refreshed together with you. [ : ]and may the god of peace be with you all; amen. chapter xi. commendation of phoebe, salutations, etc. [ : ]and i commend to you phoebe our sister, who is a minister of the church in cenchrea, [ : ]that you receive her in the lord worthily of the saints, and assist her in any thing in which she may have need of you; for she has been an assistant of many, and of myself also. [ : ]salute prisca [priscilla] and aquila my co-laborers in christ jesus, [ : ]who exposed their necks for my life, to whom not only i give thanks but all the churches of the nations; [ : ]and [salute] the assembly at their house. salute epenetus my beloved, who is the first fruit of asia to christ. [ : ]salute mary, who labored much for us. [ : ]salute andronicus and junius, my relatives and my fellow-captives, who are distinguished among the apostles, and who were before me in christ. [ : ]salute amplias my beloved in the lord. [ : ]salute urbanus our co-laborer in christ, and stachus my beloved. [ : ]salute apelles, the approved in christ. salute those of the [family] of aristobulus. [ : ]salute herodion, my relative. salute those of the [family] of narcissus who are in the lord. [ : ]salute tryphena and tryphosa, who labored in the lord. salute persis the beloved, who labored much in the lord. [ : ]salute rufus the elect in the lord, and his mother and mine. [ : ]salute asyncritus, phlegon, hermes, patrobas, hermas, and the brothers with them. [ : ]salute philologus and julia, nereus and his sister, and olympas, and all the saints with them. [ : ]salute one another with a holy kiss. all the churches of christ salute you. [ : ]i exhort you, brothers, to observe those that cause dissensions and offenses contrary to the teaching which you learned, and avoid them; [ : ]for such serve not our anointed lord, but themselves, and by kind and complimentary words deceive the minds of the simple. [ : ]for your obedience has come to all; i rejoice in you therefore, but i wish you to be wise for that which is good, and simple for evil. [ : ]and the god of peace shall crush satan under your feet shortly. the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you. [ : ]timothy my co-laborer salutes you, and lucius and jason and sosipater, my relatives. [ : ]i, tertius, who wrote the epistle, salute you in the lord. [ : ]gaius my entertainer, and the entertainer of all the church, salutes you. erastus the treasurer of the city and quartus the brother salute you. [ : ]the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all; amen. [ : ]and to him that is able to confirm you according to my gospel, and the preaching of jesus christ, according to the revelation of the mystery not revealed in ancient times, [ : ]but made manifest now by the scriptures of the prophets, by the command of the eternal god, for the obedience of the faith among all nations, [ : ]to the only wise god, through jesus christ, to him be the glory forever; amen. the epistle to philemon. rome, a.d. . (acts : .) concerning onesimus, etc. [ : ]paul, a prisoner of jesus christ, and timothy the brother, to the beloved. philemon and our fellow-laborer, [ : ]and to the beloved apphia, and to archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the assembly at your house. [ : ]grace be to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]i thank my god, always making mention of you in my prayers, [ : ] hearing of your love and faith which you have for the lord jesus and for all the saints, [ : ]that your participation of the faith may be made effectual by a knowledge of all the good which we have in christ jesus. [ : ]for i have great joy and comfort in your love, because the saints are refreshed by you, brother. [ : ]wherefore, having great boldness to command you what is fit, [ : ]on account of love i rather request; being such as paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of christ jesus, [ : ]i request you for my son onesimus, whom i obtained in my bonds, [ : ]who was formerly not useful to you but is now most useful to you and me, [ : ]whom i have sent back. and do you receive him, that is, my soul, [ : ]whom i should like to retain for myself, that he might serve me for you in the bonds of the gospel, [ : ]but without your consent i will do nothing, that your service may not be compulsory but voluntary; [ : ]for perhaps he has been separated from you for a time that you may have him back forever, [ : ]no longer as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the lord. [ : ]if therefore you regard me as a friend receive him as myself. [ : ]if he injured you, or owes you any thing, set it to my account. [ : ]i, paul, have written with my hand; i will pay; not to tell you that you owe yourself to me. [ : ]yes, brother, let me be profited by you in the lord; refresh my soul in christ. [ : ]i have written to you, having confidence in your obedience, knowing that you will do even more than i say. [ : ]but at the same time also prepare me a lodging; for i hope that through your prayers i shall be given to you. [ : ]epaphras, who is my fellow-captive in christ jesus, [ : ]mark, aristarchus, demas, luke, my co-laborers, salute you. [ : ]the grace of our lord jesus christ be with your spirit. the epistle to the colossians. rome, a.d. . (acts : .) chapter i. paul's prayers for the colossians, the dignity of christ, paul's ministry, false teachers, etc. [ : ]paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, and timothy the brother, [ : ]to the saints in colosse and the faithful brothers in christ. grace be to you and peace from god our father. [ : ]we thank the god and father of our lord jesus christ, praying always for you, [ : ]having heard of your faith in christ jesus and the love which you have for all the saints, [ : ]on account of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the true word of the gospel [ : ]which is present with you as also in all the world, and is fruitful and increases, as also with you, from the day that you heard and knew the grace of god in truth; [ : ]as you learned from epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of christ for you, [ : ]and who made known to us your love in the spirit. [ : ]therefore we also, from the day that we heard, cease not to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, [ : ]that you may walk worthily of the lord in all that is pleasing [to him], being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god; [ : ]being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy; [ : ]giving thanks to the father who has made us fit for a portion in the inheritance of the saints in light, [ : ]who delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the son of his love, [ : ]in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, [ : ]who is the likeness of the invisible god, the first-born of all creation, [ : ]for by him were all things created which are in heaven and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers. all things were created through him and for him, [ : ]and he is before all things, and in him all things consist, [ : ]and he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that he might himself be preeminent in all things, [ : ]for in him [god] was well pleased that all fullness should dwell, [ : ]and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens. [ : ]and you, formerly alienated and enemies in mind by evil works, he has now reconciled [ : ]by the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blame and without fault before him, [ : ]if indeed you continue founded and established in the faith, and not moved from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached in all the creation under heaven; of which i, paul, was made a minister. [ : ]now i rejoice in sufferings for you, and supply the deficiencies of the afflictions of christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church, [ : ]of which i was made a minister according to the dispensation of god given me for you, to complete the word of god, [ : ]the mystery concealed from ages and from generations, but now it has been manifested to his saints, [ : ]to whom god was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is christ in you, the hope of glory, [ : ]whom we preach, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in christ; [ : ]for which i also labor, striving with his power which operates in me with power. [ : ]for i wish you to know what a conflict i have for you and those in laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, [ : ]that your hearts may be comforted, being united in love and [raised] to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of god, [ : ]in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [ : ]but i say this that no one may mislead you with persuasive words. [ : ]for if i am absent in the flesh, still i am present in spirit with you, rejoicing and beholding your order and the strength of your faith in christ. [ : ]as therefore you have received christ jesus the lord, walk in him, [ : ]founded and built up in him, and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. [ : ]see that no one leads you off as a prey through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to christ, [ : ]for in him dwells all the fullness of the deity bodily [ : ]and you are made perfect in him, who is the head of all principality and power, [ : ]in whom you are also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, with the putting off of the body of the flesh, with the circumcision of christ, [ : ]having been buried with him in baptism, in which you have also been raised together through the effectual faith of god who raised him from the dead; [ : ]and you being dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made you alive with him, having forgiven us all sins, [ : ]having blotted out what was written by the hand in ordinances which was against us, and has taken it away from between [us], having nailed it to the cross; [ : ][and] having subjugated principalities and powers, he made a public exhibition of them, leading them in triumph by it. [ : ]let no man therefore judge you in eating and in drinking, or in respect to a feast, or new moon, or sabbath, [ : ]which are a shadow of things that were to come; but the body is christ's. [ : ]let no one wishing [it] deprive you of your reward by humility and a worship of angels, intruding into what he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his carnal mind, [ : ]and not holding the head, from which all the body being supplied and compacted by means of joints and tendons grows with an increase of god. [ : ]if therefore you died with christ from the rudiments of the world, why do you practice ordinances as living in the world,-- [ : ]you shall not touch, you shall not taste, you shall not feel,-- [ : ]all which are to perish in the using--according to the commandments and instructions of men? [ : ]which have an appearance of wisdom in voluntary worship and humiliation, and in a rigorous treatment of the body, [which is held] in no respect for the surfeiting of the flesh. chapter ii. moral duties, etc. [ : ]if you, therefore, have been raised with christ, seek the things above, where christ sits on the right hand of god; [ : ]employ your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. [ : ]for you have died, and your life is hid with christ in god; [ : ]when christ your life shall be made manifest, then shall you also be made manifest in glory. [ : ]put to death, therefore, your members which are on the earth, fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry, [ : ]for which comes the wrath of god. [ : ]in which also you walked formerly when you lived in them; [ : ]but now do you put away also all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, vile conversation out of your mouth; [ : ]lie not one to another; put off the old man with his doings, [ : ]and put on the new man, renewed in knowledge in the likeness of him that created him, [ : ]where there are not greek and jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, servant, freeman, but christ is all things and in all. [ : ]put on, therefore, as elect and beloved saints of god, hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, [ : ]forbearing one another, and forgiving one another if any one has a charge against any, as christ forgave you, so [do] you also, [ : ]and in addition to all these [put on] love, which is the bond of perfection. [ : ]and let the peace of christ rule in your hearts, for which you have been called in one body; and be thankful. [ : ]let the word of christ dwell in you richly, teaching with all wisdom, and admonishing one another, with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to god, [ : ]and whatever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the lord jesus, giving thanks to the god [and] father through him. [ : ]wives, be subject to the husbands, as is fit in the lord. [ : ] husbands, love the wives and be not bitter to them. [ : ]children, obey [your] parents in all things; for this is well pleasing in the lord. [ : ]fathers, be not fault-finding with your children, that they be not discouraged. [ : ] servants, obey in all things masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as those pleasing men, but with a sincere heart, fearing the lord. [ : ]and whatever you do, work heartily, as for the lord and not for men; [ : ]knowing that you will receive from the lord the recompense of the inheritance. you serve christ the lord; [ : ]for he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done, and there is no respect of persons. [ : ]masters, render to your servants what is just and equal, knowing also that you have a master in heaven. [ : ]be constant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving, [ : ]praying also at the same time for us, that god will open to us a door of utterance to declare the mystery of christ, for which also i am bound, [ : ]that i may declare it plainly, as i ought to speak. [ : ]walk in wisdom towards those without, redeeming the time. [ : ]let your words always be with kindness, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer every one. [ : ]tychicus will inform you of all things relating to me, who is a beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow-servant in the lord, [ : ]whom i have sent to you for this purpose, that he may know your affairs and comfort your hearts, [ : ]with onesimus the faithful and beloved brother, who is of you; they will tell you of all things here. [ : ]aristarchus my fellow-prisoner salutes you, and mark the nephew of barnabas,--concerning whom you received commandments, if he comes to you receive him,-- [ : ]and jesus called justus, who are of the circumcision; these are the only co-laborers for the kingdom of god who have been a comfort to me. [ : ]epaphras, who is of you, a servant of christ jesus, salutes you, always striving for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of god. [ : ]for i bear him witness that he has great zeal for you and for those in laodicea, and for those in hierapolis. [ : ]luke the beloved physician, and demas, salute you. [ : ]salute the brothers in laodicea, and nymphas, and the assembly at his house. [ : ]and when this letter has been read with you, cause that it be also read by the church of the laodiceans; and do you also read that from laodicea. [ : ]and say to archippus, attend to your ministry which you received in the lord, to perform it fully. [ : ]the salutation with my hand, paul's. remember my bonds. the grace be with you. the epistle to the ephesians [laodiceans]. rome, a.d. . (acts : .) chapter i. the beneficence of god to the elect, christ the saviour, the salvation of the gentiles, etc. [ : ]paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god, to the saints in [ephesus] and the faithful in christ jesus. [ : ]grace be to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [worlds] in christ, [ : ]as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him, [ : ]having predestinated us in love to an adoption through jesus christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [ : ]to the praise of his glorious grace, which he bestowed upon us in the beloved, [ : ]in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, [ : ]which he bestowed on us abundantly with all wisdom and knowledge [ : ]making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself [ : ]in respect to the dispensation of the fullness of times, to bring all things into one in christ, the things which are in heaven and the things which are on earth, in him [ : ]in whom also we have been called, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works out all things according to the counsel of his will, [ : ]that we should be for a praise of his glory, who first trusted in christ; [ : ]in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also you having believed were sealed with the holy spirit of promise, [ : ]which is a pledge of our inheritance for the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory. [ : ]therefore, i also, having heard of your faith in the lord jesus and love to all the saints, [ : ]do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, [ : ]that the god of our lord jesus christ, the father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; [ : ]the eyes of your minds being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his call, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, [ : ]and what the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the operation of his mighty power, [ : ]which he performed in christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly [worlds], [ : ]above every principality and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this life but also in that to come, [ : ]and put all things in subjection under his feet, and made him head over all things to the church, [ : ]which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all things in all. [ : ]and you being dead in trespasses and sins,-- [ : ]in which you formerly walked according to the life of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit which now operates in the children of disobedience, [ : ] among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, performing the wishes of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as others; [ : ]but god who is rich in mercy, on account of his great love with which he loved us,-- [ : ]even when we were dead in sins he made us alive with christ,--by grace are you saved, [ : ]and raised us up and seated us together with christ jesus in the heavenly worlds, [ : ]that he might show in the ages to come the transcendent riches of his grace in goodness to us by jesus christ. [ : ]for by grace are you saved through the faith; and that not of you; [it is] the gift of god; [ : ]not of works, that no one may boast; [ : ]for we are his creation, created in christ jesus for good works, in which god before appointed that we should walk. [ : ]wherefore, remember that you were formerly gentiles by birth, called uncircumcision by that called circumcision made in the flesh by the hand, [ : ] that at that time you were without christ, alienated from the polity of israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without god in the world; [ : ]but now, in christ jesus you who were formerly far off have been made nigh by the blood of christ. [ : ]for he is our peace, who made both one and broke down the middle wall of partition, [ : ]the enmity, and abolished by his flesh the law of commandments [consisting] of ordinances, that of the two he might create in himself one new man, making peace, [ : ]and reconcile both in one body to god through the cross, having destroyed the enmity by it. [ : ]and he came and preached the good news of peace to you who were far off, and peace to those nigh, [ : ]for through him we both have access by one spirit to the father. [ : ]therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow-citizens of the saints and of the family of god, [ : ]being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, jesus christ himself being the chief corner-stone, [ : ]by which all the building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the lord, [ : ]in which you also are built up together for a spiritual habitation of god. [ : ]for this cause i paul, a prisoner of jesus christ for you gentiles, [ : ]if indeed you heard of the dispensation of the grace of god given to me for you, [ : ]that by revelation the mystery was made known to me,--as i wrote before in a few words, [ : ]by reading which you can understand my knowledge of the mystery of christ,-- [ : ]which in other generations was not made known to the children of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit, [ : ]that the gentiles are co-heirs and of the same body and joint partakers of the promise in christ jesus through the gospel, [ : ]of which i was made a minister by the gracious gift of god, given to me by the operation of his power. [ : ]to me, who am the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the nations the unsearchable riches of christ, [ : ]and to enlighten all men as to the dispensation of the mystery concealed from eternity in god who created all things, [ : ]that now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly [worlds] should be made known, through the church, the manifold wisdom of god, [ : ]according to the eternal purpose which he made in christ jesus our lord, [ : ]in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. [ : ]wherefore i desire you not to faint on account of my afflictions for you, which are your glory. [ : ]for this reason i bow my knees to the father, [ : ]of whom all the family in heaven and on earth is named, [ : ]that he would grant to you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inward man, [ : ]that christ may dwell in your hearts through the faith, you being founded and established in love, [ : ]that you may be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, [ : ]and to know the love of christ which exceeds knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of god. [ : ]to him that is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, by the power which operates in us, [ : ]to him be the glory in the church in jesus christ to all generations, for ever and ever; amen. chapter ii. personal and social duties. [ : ]i therefore, the prisoner of the lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the call with which you were called, [ : ]with all humility and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love, [ : ]using diligence to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. [ : ]there is one body, and one spirit, as you also are called in one hope of your call; [ : ]one lord, one faith, one baptism; [ : ]one god and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [ : ]and to each one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of christ. [ : ]wherefore he says, when he ascended on high, he took captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. [ : ]but this, that he ascended, what is it but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth? [ : ]he that descended is the same also that ascended above all heavens, that he might fill all [places]. [ : ]and he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, [ : ]for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of christ, [ : ]till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of god, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of christ, [ : ] that we may be no longer children, driven about like waves and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the art of men, and the craftiness of deceitful wiles, [ : ]but speaking the truth with love we may grow to him in all things, who is the head, christ; [ : ]by whom all the body being joined together and compacted by the supply of every joint, according to the proportionate operation of every part, makes increase of the body to the edification of itself in love. [ : ]this i say then and testify in the lord, that you no longer walk as the other gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, [ : ]with their understandings darkened, alienated from the life of god on account of the ignorance which is in them, on account of the hardness of their hearts, [ : ] who being without feeling have given themselves up to lewdness, to commit every impurity with greediness. [ : ]but you have not so learned christ, [ : ]if you have indeed heard him, and been instructed by him as the truth is in jesus, [ : ]that you should lay aside your former mode of life the old man destroyed by deceitful desires, [ : ]and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, [ : ] and put on the new man, created after god in righteousness and true holiness. [ : ]wherefore, laying aside lying let every one speak the truth to his neighbor, for we are members one of another. [ : ]be angry and sin not; let not the sun go down on your wrath, [ : ]neither give place to the devil. [ : ]let him that has stolen steal no more, but rather let him labor, doing that which is good with his hands, that he may have to give to him that needs. [ : ]let no evil word proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for useful edification, that it may afford benefit to those that hear. [ : ]and grieve not the holy spirit of god, by which you were sealed to the day of redemption. [ : ]let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy, be banished from among you, with all malice. [ : ]but be kind one to another, merciful, giving one to another, as god also in christ gave to you. [ : ]be therefore followers of god, as dear children, [ : ]and walk in love, as christ also loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to god of good odor. [ : ]let not fornication and any impurity or covetousness be named among you, as becomes saints, [ : ]nor indecorum and foolish talking, or jesting, things not becoming, but rather giving of thanks. [ : ]for you know this, that no fornicator, or impure, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god. [ : ]let no man deceive you with vain words; for on account of these comes the wrath of god on the children of disobedience. [ : ]be not therefore partakers with them. [ : ]for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the lord. walk as children of light,-- [ : ]for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,-- [ : ]proving what is well pleasing to the lord, [ : ]and be not partakers of the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. [ : ] for the things which are done by them in secret it is base even to mention; [ : ]but all things proved to be wrong are made manifest by the light; for every thing which makes manifest is light. [ : ]wherefore he says, awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and christ shall give you light. [ : ]see then that you walk discreetly, not as unwise but as wise, [ : ] redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [ : ]be not foolish therefore, but understand what the will of the lord is. [ : ]and be not drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the spirit, [ : ]speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the lord, [ : ]giving thanks always for all things in the name of our lord jesus christ to the god and father, [ : ]being subject one to another in the fear of christ. [ : ]let wives [be subject] to their husbands as to the lord, [ : ]for the husband is the head of the wife, as also christ is the head of the church; he is the savior of the body. [ : ]but as the church is subject to christ, so also let wives be subject to husbands in every thing. [ : ] husbands, love your wives as christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, [ : ]that he might sanctify it, purifying it with the washing of water with the word, [ : ]that he might present the church to himself glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any thing of the kind, but that it should be holy and blameless. [ : ]husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. he that loves his wife loves himself; [ : ]for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as christ also the church; [ : ]for we are members of his body. [ : ]for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. [ : ]this is a great mystery; but i speak of christ and the church. [ : ]but do you also, individually, each one so love his wife as himself, and the wife [see] that she reverences the husband. [ : ]children, obey your parents in the lord; for this is right. [ : ]honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, [ : ]that it may be well with you, and you shall live long in the land. [ : ] and, fathers, provoke not your children, but bring them up in the instruction and admonition of the lord. [ : ]servants, be subject to masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your hearts as to christ, [ : ]not with eye service as pleasing men, but as servants of christ doing the will of god from the heart, [ : ]performing service kindly as to the lord and not to men, [ : ] knowing that whatever good each one does, for this he shall receive from the lord, whether a servant or a freeman. [ : ]and, masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatening, knowing also that their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him. [ : ]finally, be strong in the lord and in the power of his might. [ : ] put on the whole armor of god that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; [ : ]for our conflict is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the potentates of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual [hosts] of evil in the heavenly [worlds]. [ : ] take therefore the whole armor of god, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all to stand. [ : ]stand, therefore, girded about your loins with truth, and having put on the cuirass of righteousness, [ : ] and bound your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [ : ]over all, taking the shield of the faith, with which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of evil. [ : ]and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god, [ : ]praying with all prayer and supplication on every occasion with the spirit, and watching in the same with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, [ : ]and for me, that a word may be given me at the opening of my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, [ : ]in behalf of which i perform an embassy in bonds, that i may speak boldly in them, as i ought to speak. [ : ]but that you may also know the things concerning me, how i do, tichycus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the lord will inform you of all things; [ : ]whom i have sent to you for this purpose, that you may know the things concerning us and that he may comfort your hearts. [ : ]peace and love be to the brothers with faith, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]the grace be with all who love our lord jesus christ with constancy. the epistle to the philippians. rome, a.d. . (acts, : .) chapter i. paul's love for the philippians, affairs at rome, moral duties, etc. [ : ]paul and timothy, servants of jesus christ, to all the saints in christ jesus at philippi, with the bishops and deacons. [ : ]grace be to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ. [ : ]i thank my god at every remembrance of you, [ : ]always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, [ : ]for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day till now, [ : ]having this same confidence, that he who has begun a good work in you will carry it on till the day of jesus christ, [ : ]as it is right for me to think this of you all, because i have you in my heart, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you being all partakers of my grace. [ : ]for god is my witness, how much i desire you all with the tender affections of christ jesus. [ : ]and this i pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all understanding, [ : ]that you may prove the excellent, that you may be without fault and without offense in the day of christ, [ : ]filled with the fruit of righteousness, through jesus christ, to the glory and praise of god. [ : ]but i wish you to know, brothers, that the things as to me have resulted in the advancement of the gospel, [ : ]so that my bonds in christ are manifest in all the praetorium and in all other places, [ : ]and many of the brothers having been made confident by my bonds in the lord have more abundant courage to speak the word without fear. [ : ]for some indeed preach christ because of envy and strife, and some also because of good will; [ : ]those from love, knowing that i am set for the defense of the gospel, [ : ]but those from contention preach christ not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction for my bonds. [ : ]what then? nevertheless, in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, christ is preached, and in this i rejoice. but i also will rejoice; [ : ]for i know that this will result in salvation to me, through your prayer, and the supply of the spirit of jesus christ, [ : ]according to my expectation and hope that i shall be ashamed in nothing, but with all boldness as always also now christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. [ : ]because for me to live is christ and to die is gain. [ : ]but if to live in the flesh [is allowed me], i have this fruit of my work, and which i shall choose i know not. [ : ]but i am in a strait between the two, having a desire to depart and be with christ; for this is far better; [ : ]but to continue in the flesh is more necessary for you. [ : ]and fully believing this, i know that i shall continue, and continue with you all, for your advancement and joy of the faith, [ : ]that your rejoicing may abound in christ jesus by me through my coming again to you. [ : ]only conduct yourselves as citizens worthily of the gospel of christ, that whether i come and see you, or be absent, i may hear of your affairs, that you stand firm in one spirit, striving together with one mind for the faith of the gospel, [ : ]terrified in nothing by the adversaries, which is to them a token of destruction, but to you of salvation, and this from god; [ : ]because it was given to you in behalf of christ, not only to believe on him but also to suffer for him, [ : ]having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear of in me. [ : ]if therefore there is any consolation in christ, if any comfort in love, if any participation of the spirit, if any affections and compassions, [ : ] fulfil my joy, that you have the same mind, having the same love, sympathizing with each other, having one opinion. [ : ]do nothing in strife or vain glory, but in humility let each esteem others better than himself, [ : ]and let each consider not his own interests, but also those of others. [ : ]let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus, [ : ]who being in the form of god thought it not a robbery to be equal with god; [ : ]but he abased himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man, [ : ]and being found in form like a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient even till death, and the death of the cross. [ : ]wherefore god also highly exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name, [ : ]that at the name of jesus every knee shall bow, of beings in heaven and in the earth and under the earth, [ : ]and every tongue shall confess that jesus christ is lord, to the glory of god the father. [ : ]and so, my beloved, as you always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; [ : ]for god works in you both to will and to work of his good pleasure. [ : ]do all things without complainings and disputations, [ : ]that you may be blameless and sincere, children of god without blame in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as luminaries in the world, [ : ]holding fast the word of life, for my glorying in the day of christ, that i did not run in vain, nor labor in vain. [ : ]but if i am even poured out as a libation on the sacrifice and service of your faith, i rejoice and congratulate you all; [ : ]do you also rejoice with the same joy and congratulate me. [ : ]but i hope in the lord jesus to send timothy to you shortly, that i may be refreshed when i know your affairs. [ : ]for i have no one like minded who really will care for your interests; [ : ]for all seek their own, not the things of jesus christ. [ : ]but you know his tried virtue, that as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. [ : ]him therefore i hope to send to you as soon as i know how it will be with me; [ : ]and i hope in the lord that i also myself shall come shortly. [ : ]but i thought it necessary to send to you epaphroditus, the brother and my fellow-laborer and fellow-soldier, but your apostle and servant of my need, [ : ]for he greatly desired you all and was anxious, because you heard that he was sick. [ : ]for indeed he was sick nigh to death; but god had mercy on him, and not on him only but on me also, lest i should have sorrow upon sorrow. [ : ]i have sent him therefore the more diligently, that seeing him again you may rejoice and i be less sorrowful. [ : ]receive him therefore in the lord with all joy, and have such in estimation, [ : ]because on account of the work he was nigh to death, not having consulted properly for his life, that he might fully supply your lack of service to me. chapter ii. judaizing teachers, exhortations, acknowledgments, etc. [ : ]finally, my brothers, rejoice in the lord; for to write the same things to you is not grievous to me, and is safe for you. [ : ]beware of the dogs, beware of evil laborers, beware of the concision. [ : ]we are the circumcision, who serve god in spirit, and rejoice in christ jesus, and trust not in the flesh, [ : ]although i have ground of confidence in the flesh. if any other one thinks he may trust in the flesh, i [may] more; [ : ]circumcised the eighth day, of the race of israel, of the tribe of benjamin, a hebrew of the hebrews, as to the law a pharisee, [ : ]as to zeal persecuting the church, as to righteousness by the law being blameless. [ : ]but whatever things were my gain, these i have considered a loss for the sake of christ. [ : ]but for the same reason also i consider all things to be a loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord, for whose sake i have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them worthless that i may gain christ [ : ]and be found in him, not having my righteousness by the law, but that which is through the faith of christ, the righteousness of god by the faith, [ : ]that i may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the participation of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, [ : ]that i may attain the resurrection from the dead. [ : ]not that i have already obtained it, or have been already made perfect; but i follow on that i may attain that for which also i was arrested by christ. [ : ]i consider not myself, brothers, to have attained it; but this one thing i do; forgetting the things behind, and reaching forward to those before, [ : ]i press forward to the mark for the prize of the high call of god in christ jesus. [ : ]let us, as many as are perfect therefore, be of this mind; and if any one thinks at all otherwise, god shall also reveal this to you; [ : ]but in what we have attained, in this let us walk. [ : ]be followers of me, brothers, and observe those who walk so as you have us for an example. [ : ]for many walk, of whom i told you often and now also tell you weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of christ; [ : ]whose end is destruction, whose god is their stomach, and their glory in their shame; who regard earthly things. [ : ]but our kingdom is in heaven, from which also we expect the saviour, the lord jesus christ, [ : ]who will change our humble body, and make it like his glorious body, by the power by which he is able also to subject all things to himself. [ : ]so, my beloved and much desired brothers, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the lord, beloved. [ : ]i beseech euodias and i beseech syntyche to have the same mind in the lord. [ : ]yes, i beseech you also, faithful yoke-fellow, help those women who strove in the gospel with me, with clement and the rest of my co-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. [ : ]rejoice in the lord always; again i say, rejoice. [ : ]let your gentleness be known to all men; the lord is near. [ : ]be anxious for nothing, but with all prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to god. [ : ]and may the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in christ jesus. [ : ]finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are reputable, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, consider these things; [ : ]and what you learned and received and heard and knew in me, these things do; and the god of peace shall be with you. [ : ]but i rejoice greatly in the lord, that now at length you began again to care for me, for whom also you did care, but had no opportunity [to serve me]. [ : ]not that i speak of want; for i have learned in whatever circumstances i am to be contented. [ : ]i know both how to be humbled, and i know how to abound; in every thing and in all conditions i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer want. [ : ]i endure all things with him that strengthens me. [ : ]but you did well to communicate with my affliction, [ : ]and you know also, philippians, that at the beginning of the gospel, when i went out from macedonia, no church communicated with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only; [ : ]for even in thessalonica and once and again you sent to my need. [ : ]not that i desire a gift, but i desire the fruit which abounds to your account. [ : ]but i have all things and abound, i am fully supplied, having received from epaphroditus the things from you, a perfume of good odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to god. [ : ]and god shall fully supply all your need, according to his riches in glory in christ jesus. [ : ]to our god and father be the glory forever and ever; amen. [ : ]salute every saint in christ jesus. the brothers with me salute you. [ : ]all the saints salute you, especially those of caesar's family. [ : ] the grace of the lord jesus christ be with your spirits. the epistle to titus. philippi, a.d. . chapter i. a charge to titus in respect to his ministry. [ : ]paul, a servant of god, and an apostle of jesus christ, according to the faith of god's elect, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to piety, [ : ]for the hope of eternal life, which god who cannot lie announced before eternal ages, [ : ]but manifested his word in the times which were suitable for it by the preaching with which i was intrusted, according to the command of our saviour god, [ : ]to titus my faithful son in the common faith; grace and peace from god the father, and christ jesus our saviour. [ : ]for this cause i left you in crete, that you might regulate things which are deficient, and appoint elders in every city, as i charged you, [ : ]if any one is blameless, a husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of intemperance or of insubordination. [ : ]for a bishop must be blameless as a steward of god, not self-indulgent, not soon angry, not given to wine, not contentious, not devoted to base gain, [ : ]but a lover of hospitality, kind, sober, just, holy, self-denying, [ : ]holding firmly the faithful word taught, that he may be able both to exhort with sound instruction and to convince those who contradict. [ : ]for there are many disorderly wranglers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, [ : ]whom it is necessary to silence, who mislead whole families, teaching for base gain what they ought not. [ : ]a certain one of them, their own poet, said, cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gormandizers. [ : ]this testimony is true. wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, [ : ]not attending to jewish myths, and commandments of men who subvert the truth. [ : ]to the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but their mind and conscience are defiled. [ : ]they profess to know god, but by works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and as to every good work reprobate. [ : ]speak things which become sound teaching. [ : ]that the aged men be sober, grave, of sound mind, sound in faith, in love, in patience; [ : ]that the aged women, in like manner, be of behavior becoming holiness, not slanderers, not enslaved to much wine, teachers of what is good, [ : ]that they may instruct the young women to be lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children, [ : ]sober, pure, fond of home, kind, subject to their husbands, that the word of god may not be blasphemed. [ : ]in like manner exhort the younger to be of a sound mind, [ : ] presenting yourself as an example of good works in all things, in teaching [exhibiting] integrity, gravity, [ : ]sound argument not to be condemned, that the adversary may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of us. [ : ]let servants be subject to their masters, please them in all things, not contradicting, [ : ]not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of our saviour god in all things. [ : ]for the grace of god that pertains to salvation appeared to all men, [ : ]teaching us, that denying impiety and worldly desires we should live soberly, and righteously, and piously in the present life, [ : ]looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great god and of our saviour jesus christ, [ : ]who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all wickedness, and purify for himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. [ : ]these things speak, and exhort, and reprove with all authority; let no man despise you. [ : ]admonish them to be subject to principalities, to powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready for every good work, [ : ]to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all meekness to all men. [ : ]for we formerly were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, detestable, and hating one another; [ : ] but when the goodness and philanthropy of the saviour our god appeared, [ : ] not by works of righteousness which we did but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the holy spirit, [ : ]which he poured out on us richly through jesus christ our saviour; [ : ] that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [ : ]the word is true, and i wish you to insist strongly concerning these things, that those who have believed in god may be careful to maintain good works. for these things are honorable and useful to men. [ : ]but foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes and contentions about the law, avoid; for they are unprofitable and vain. [ : ]a man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject, [ : ]knowing that such a one is subverted, and sins, being self-condemned. [ : ]when i send you artemas, or tychicus, make haste to come to me at nicopolis; for there i have determined to spend the winter. [ : ]send forward zenas the lawyer and apollos with diligence, and let nothing be wanting to them; [ : ]and let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary purposes, that they may not be unfruitful. [ : ]all who are with me salute you. salute those who love us in the faith. the grace be with you all. first epistle to timothy. philippi, a.d. . chapter i. a charge to timothy concerning the gospel, public prayer, and the duties of women. [ : ]paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the commandment of god our saviour and christ jesus our hope, [ : ]to timothy my true son in the faith; grace, mercy, and peace from god our father and christ jesus our lord. [ : ]as i requested you to remain at ephesus, when going into macedonia, that you might charge some not to preach another doctrine, [ : ]nor attend to myths or interminable genealogies, which occasion disputes rather than a dispensation of god by faith, [do.] [ : ]but the end of the commandment is love from a pure heart and good conscience and faith unfeigned, [ : ]which some having missed turned aside to vain words, [ : ]desiring to be teachers of the law, not understanding what they say nor about what they make confident assertions. [ : ] but we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully; [ : ]knowing this, that a law is not made for a righteous man, but for the wicked and disorderly, the impious and sinful, the unholy and profane, murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers and murderers of their fellow-men, [ : ]fornicators, sodomites, men-stealers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, [ : ]according to the glorious gospel of the blessed god, with which i have been intrusted. [ : ]and i thank our lord jesus christ who has empowered me [to preach,] that he accounted me faithful, putting me in the ministry, [ : ]who formerly was a blasphemer and persecutor and an injurious man; but i obtained mercy because i did those things ignorantly in unbelief; [ : ]and the grace of our lord greatly abounded with the faith and love which is in christ jesus. [ : ]the word is true and worthy of all acceptation, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom i am chief; [ : ]but on this account i obtained mercy, that jesus christ might exhibit in me first all long-suffering, for an example to those who should hereafter believe in him to life eternal. [ : ]and to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only god, be honor and glory forever and ever; amen. [ : ]this charge i commit to you, son timothy, according to the prophecies which went before concerning you, that by them you may perform an honorable service, [ : ]having faith and a good conscience, which some having cast away have suffered shipwreck of the faith; [ : ]of whom are hymenaeus and alexander, whom i delivered to satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. [ : ]i exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings should be offered for all men, [ : ]for kings and all in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives in all piety and sanctity. [ : ]for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our saviour, [ : ]who wishes all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of truth. [ : ] for there is one god, and one mediator of god and man, the man christ jesus, [ : ]who gave himself a ransom for all, a testimony for its own times, [ : ]of which i was made a herald and an apostle,--i speak the truth, i lie not,--a teacher of nations in faith and truth. [ : ]i wish also that men should pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputations; [ : ]and in like manner also, that women in becoming apparel with modesty and sobriety adorn themselves, not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly clothing, [ : ]but with good works, which become women professing godliness. [ : ]let a woman learn quietly in all subjection; [ : ]but i permit not a woman to teach, nor to have authority over a man, but to be quiet. [ : ]for adam was first formed, then eve. [ : ]and adam was not deceived; but the woman being deceived fell into transgression; [ : ]but she shall be saved through child-bearing, if they continue in faith, and love, and holiness, with sobriety. chapter ii. the appointment of ministers, the doctrines of the gospel, widows, elders, servants, etc. [ : ]it is a true saying, if any one desires an episcopate he desires a good work. [ : ]it is necessary therefore that a bishop should be blameless, a husband of one wife, circumspect, sober, well-behaved, hospitable, apt to teach, [ : ]not a wine-drinker, not a quarrelsome man, but gentle, not contentious, not avaricious, [ : ]ruling well his own house, having his children in subjection with all dignity,-- [ : ]but if any one knows not how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of god?-- [ : ]not a novice, lest being inflated with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. [ : ] and he must also have a good name from those without, that he may not fall into reproach and a snare of the devil. [ : ]the deacons in like manner ought to be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not devoted to base gain, [ : ]having the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. [ : ]and let these be proved first, then let them serve, being found blameless. [ : ]the women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, circumspect, faithful in all things. [ : ]let the deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling well their children and their own houses. [ : ] for they who exercise the deaconship well, procure for themselves an honorable standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in christ jesus. [ : ]these things i write to you, hoping to come to you shortly; [ : ]but if i delay, that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god, which is the church of the living god, the pillar and foundation of the truth. [ : ]and confessedly great is the mystery of piety; [christ,] who was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, was seen by angels, was preached to the nations, was believed on in the world, was received up into glory. [ : ]but the spirit says expressly, that in the last times some shall apostatize from the faith, attending to lying spirits and doctrines of demons, [ : ][misled] by the hypocrisy of false teachers, whose consciences are cauterized, [ : ]who forbid to marry, [command] to abstain from meat, which god created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful and those who know the truth. [ : ]for every creature of god is good, and nothing to be rejected, [but] to be received with thanksgiving; [ : ]for it is sanctified through the word of god and prayer. [ : ]suggesting these things to the brothers, you will be a good minister of christ jesus, nourished with the words of the faith and the good instruction which you have followed; [ : ]but avoid profane and silly myths; exercise yourself in piety; [ : ]for bodily exercise profits little; but piety is profitable in all things, having a promise of the present life and of the life to come. [ : ]it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation. [ : ] for to this end we also labor and suffer reproach, because we hope in the living god, who is the saviour of all men, especially of the faithful. [ : ]these things command and teach. [ : ]let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the faithful, in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. [ : ]till i come attend to reading, exhortation, teaching. [ : ] neglect not the gift which is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the imposition of hands of the eldership. [ : ]study these things, be much in them, that your improvement may be manifest to all. [ : ]attend to yourself, and to teaching; continue in it, for doing this you will both save yourself and those that hear you. [ : ]rebuke not an aged man, but entreat him as a father, the younger men as brothers, [ : ]the aged women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity. [ : ]support the widows who are widows indeed. [ : ]but if any widow has children or relatives, let them learn first to support their family and to make returns to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of god. [ : ] but one that is a widow indeed and alone hopes in god, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day; [ : ]but a woman that lives voluptuously is dead while she lives. [ : ]and command these things, that they be blameless. [ : ]and if any one provides not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. [ : ]let not a widow be enrolled under sixty years of age, a wife of one husband, [ : ]well reputed for good works, if she has brought up children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the distressed, if she has pursued every good work. [ : ]but reject the younger widows; for when they fall into pleasure to the neglect of christ, they wish to marry, [ : ]being condemned because they have rejected the first faith; [ : ]and at the same time also, being idle, they learn to go from house to house, and not only are they idle, they are also tattlers and mischief makers, saying what they ought not. [ : ]i wish therefore the younger women to marry, bear children, keep house, give no occasion of reproach to the enemy; [ : ]for some have already turned back after satan. [ : ]if any faithful man or faithful woman has widows, let them give them relief, and let not the church be burdened, that it may be able to relieve those really widows. [ : ]let the elders who rule well be accounted worthy of a double compensation, especially those who labor in word and teaching. [ : ]for the scripture says, you shall not muzzle the ox that threshes; and, the laborer is worthy of his reward. [ : ]against an elder receive not an accusation, except by two or three witnesses. [ : ]those that sin, rebuke before all, that others also may fear. [ : ]i charge you before god, and jesus christ, and the elect angels, that you keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing from partiality. [ : ] lay hands suddenly on no man, neither partake of others' sins. keep yourself pure. [ : ]drink no longer water, but use a little wine on account of your stomach and your frequent infirmities. [ : ]the sins of some men are manifest, going before to judgment; but some they follow; [ : ]in like manner also good works are manifest, and those which are otherwise cannot be hid. [ : ]let as many servants as are under the yoke account their masters worthy of all honor, that the name and doctrine of god may not be blasphemed. [ : ]and let those who have believing masters not despise them, because they are brothers, but rather serve, because they are believers and beloved, who partake of the benefit. these things teach and exhort. [ : ]if any one teaches differently, and consents not to sound words, the words of our lord jesus christ, and the doctrine which is according to piety, [ : ]he is blinded and knows nothing, but has a sickly longing for debates and wars of words, from which arise envy, contention, blasphemies, evil suspicions, [ : ]and wranglings of men of unsound judgments and destitute of the truth, supposing that piety is gain. [ : ]but piety with contentment is great gain. [ : ]for we brought nothing into the world; it is clear that we can carry nothing out of it; [ : ]but having food and clothing let us be contented with them. [ : ]but those who wish to be rich fall into trial and a snare, and many foolish and injurious desires, which plunge men into destruction and perdition. [ : ]for the love of money is a root of all evils, which some having desired have been misled from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. [ : ]but do you, o man of god, avoid these things; but pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, patience, meekness. [ : ]fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called and made the good profession before many witnesses. [ : ]i charge you before the god who gives life to all [creatures], and christ jesus who made the good profession before pontius pilate, [ : ]that you keep the charge without spot, without blame, till the appearing of our lord jesus christ, [ : ]which the blessed and only potentate will show in its times, the king of kings and lord of lords, [ : ]who only has immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no man has seen nor can see; to whom be honor and power eternal; amen. [ : ]charge the rich in the present life not to be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living god who gives us all things richly to enjoy, [ : ]to perform good works, to be rich in good works, to be liberal, benevolent, [ : ]treasuring up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold on the true life. [ : ]o timothy, keep the trust, turning away from profane and empty words, and contradictions of mis-named science, [ : ]which some having professed have erred from the faith. the grace be with you. second epistle to timothy. rome, a.d. . chapter i. information, admonition, etc. [ : ]paul, an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god, according to the promise of life in christ jesus, [ : ]to timothy my beloved son. grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and christ jesus our lord. [ : ]i thank god, whom i serve from my ancestors with a pure conscience, that i mention you incessantly in my prayers night and day, [ : ]desiring to see you, remembering your tears, that i might be filled with joy, [ : ]having a remembrance of the unfeigned faith in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother lois, and your mother eunice, and i am persuaded that [it dwells] also in you. [ : ]for which cause i admonish you to stir up the gift of god which is in you through the imposition of my hands. [ : ]for god gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. [ : ]be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our lord, nor of me his prisoner, but endure affliction with us in the gospel according to the power of god, [ : ]who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his purpose and grace given us in christ jesus from eternity, [ : ]but made known now through the appearing of our saviour jesus christ, who destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, [ : ]of which i was made a herald, and an apostle, and a teacher of the nations; [ : ]for which cause i suffer these things; but i am not ashamed; for i know in whom i have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep my trust to that day. [ : ]retain the form of sound words which you heard from me in faith and the love in christ jesus. [ : ]guard the good trust, through the holy spirit which dwells in us. [ : ]you know this, that all those in asia left me, of whom are phygelus and hermogenes. [ : ]may the lord show mercy to the house of onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains, [ : ] but being at rome he sought most diligently, and found me. [ : ]the lord grant him to find mercy with the lord in that day. and what services he performed at ephesus, you know very well. [ : ]do you therefore, my son, be strong in the grace in christ jesus, [ : ] and what you heard from me through many witnesses, these things commit to faithful men, who shall be competent to teach others also. [ : ]endure evil as a good soldier of jesus christ. [ : ]no one who serves as a soldier is involved in the business of life, that he may please him who has employed him as a soldier. [ : ]and if a man contends as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he contends lawfully. [ : ]the husbandman who labors must first partake of the fruits of the earth. [ : ]consider what i say; for the lord shall give you understanding in all things. [ : ]remember jesus christ raised from the dead, a descendant of david, according to my gospel, [ : ]in which i suffer even to chains as an evil doer; but the word of god is not bound. [ : ]therefore i endure all things for the elect, that they may obtain the salvation in christ jesus with eternal glory. [ : ]the saying is true, for if we died together we shall live together; [ : ]if we endure patiently we shall reign together; if we deny him he will deny us; [ : ]if we believe not he continues faithful; for he cannot deny himself. [ : ]call to mind these things, charging [men] before the lord not to debate about words, to no profit, to the subversion of the hearers. [ : ]be diligent to present yourself approved to god, a workman that will not be put to shame, rightly dividing the word of truth. [ : ]but profane and vain words, avoid; for they greatly increase impiety, [ : ]and their word will eat like a gangrene; of whom are hymenaeus and philetus, [ : ]who have erred from the truth, saying that the resurrection has passed already, and overturn the faith of some. [ : ]but the foundation of god stands firm, having this seal, the lord knows them that are his; and, let every one who names the name of the lord depart from wickedness. [ : ]but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but those also of wood and clay, and some for honor and some for dishonor; [ : ]if therefore any one purifies himself from these [errors], he shall be a vessel for honor, sanctified, of good use to the master, prepared for every good work. [ : ]but avoid youthful desires, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the lord from a pure heart. [ : ]but foolish and trifling disputes avoid, knowing that they produce contentions; [ : ]and the servant of the lord must not contend, but must be gentle to all, apt to teach, patient under evil, [ : ]in meekness correcting the adversaries, that god may give them a change of mind to a knowledge of the truth, [ : ]and that they may recover themselves from the snare of the devil, who are made captives by him to his will. chapter ii. the last time, his approaching martyrdom, etc. [ : ]and know this, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [ : ] men will be selfish, avaricious, vain, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, [ : ]without natural affection, covenant breakers, slanderers, intemperate, ungentle, despisers of the good, [ : ]traitors, rash, boasters, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of god, [ : ]having a form of piety but denying its power; and these avoid. [ : ]of these are those who go into the houses and take captive foolish women loaded with sins, and led by various desires, [ : ]always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. [ : ]as jannes and jambres opposed moses, so also these oppose the truth, men of no judgment, reprobate in respect to the faith. [ : ]but they shall proceed no further; for their foolishness shall become manifest to all, as theirs also was. [ : ]but you have followed my instruction,--mode of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, [ : ]persecutions, sufferings, which befell me at antioch, at iconium, at lystra; the great persecutions which i suffered, and the lord delivered me from all. [ : ]and all who will live piously in christ jesus shall be persecuted. [ : ]but evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. [ : ]but do you continue in what you learned and understood, knowing from whom you learned, [ : ]and that from a child you have known the sacred scriptures, which can make you wise to salvation through faith in christ jesus. [ : ]all scripture is divinely inspired and is profitable for instruction, for conviction, for correction, for education in righteousness, [ : ]that the man of god may be perfect, thoroughly fitted for every good work. [ : ]i earnestly charge you before god and christ jesus who is about to judge the living and dead, and [by] his appearing and his kingdom, [ : ]preach the word, press it in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and instruction; [ : ]for the time will come when they will not endure sound instruction, but will accumulate for themselves teachers according to their desires, pleasing their ear, [ : ]and they will turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned to myths. [ : ]but do you be sober in all things, endure evil, do the work of an evangelist, perform fully your ministry. [ : ] for i am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. [ : ]i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith; [ : ]henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge will give me in that day, and not me only but all who love his appearing. [ : ]make haste to come to me quickly; [ : ]for demas forsook me having loved the present life and went to thessalonica, cresces to galatia, titus to dalmatia; [ : ]luke only is with me. take mark and bring him with you; for [he will be] useful to me for service. [ : ]but i sent tychicus to ephesus. [ : ] the cloak which i left at troas with carpus, when you come, bring, and the books, especially the parchments. [ : ]alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; may the lord reward him according to his work. [ : ]and do you beware of him, for he greatly opposed our words. [ : ]at my first defense no one stood by me, but all forsook me; may it not be set to their account; [ : ]but the lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that the word should be fully declared by me, and all the nations should hear, and i was delivered from the mouth of the lion. [ : ]the lord will deliver me from every evil work, and bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever; amen. [ : ]salute prisca [priscilla] and aquila and the house of onesiphorus. [ : ]erastus remained at corinth, and trophimus i left sick at miletus. [ : ] make haste to come before winter. eubulus and pudens and linus and claudia, and all the brothers, salute you. [ : ]the lord be with your spirit. the grace be with you. the catholic epistles. the epistle of james. jerusalem, a.d. - . chapter i. trials, prayer, faith and works. [ : ]james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greeting. [ : ]account it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, [ : ]knowing that the trial of your faith produces patience. [ : ]but let patience have a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. [ : ]and if any one of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of god, who gives to all liberally and upbraids not, and it shall be given him. [ : ]but let him ask in faith, not doubting; for he that doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and agitated. [ : ]for let not that man think that he shall receive any thing from the lord, [ : ]a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. [ : ]but let the brother that is humble rejoice in his exaltation, [ : ]and the rich in his humiliation, for he shall pass away like a flower of the grass. [ : ]for the sun rose hot, and withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and the beauty of its appearance perished; so also shall the rich man perish in his ways. [ : ]blessed is the man who endures trial, for when proved he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord promised to those who love him. [ : ]let no tempted one say, i am tempted by god; for god is not subject to temptation by evils, and he tempts no one. [ : ]but every one is tempted when he is drawn away by his desires, and enticed; [ : ]then the desire taking effect produces sin, and sin being finished brings forth death. [ : ]be not deceived, my beloved brothers. [ : ]all good giving, and every perfect gift, comes down from above, from the father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of turning. [ : ]of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruit of his creatures. [ : ]understand, my beloved brothers, and let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [ : ]for man's anger performs not god's righteousness. [ : ]wherefore, laying aside all filthiness and abounding vice, receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [ : ]but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [ : ]for if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man perceiving his natural face in a glass; [ : ]for he perceived himself, and went away, and immediately forgot what kind of a man he was. [ : ]but he that looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of work, he shall be blessed in his doing. [ : ]but if any one among you thinks he is religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his mind, that man's religion is vain. [ : ]pure religion and undefiled with the god and father is this, to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep one's self unspotted from the world. [ : ]my brothers, have not the faith of our glorious lord jesus christ with a respect of persons. [ : ]for if there comes into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in splendid clothing, and there also comes in a poor man in vile clothing, [ : ]and you look upon him who wears the splendid clothing, and say to him, sit here in a good place, and say to the poor man, stand there, or sit under my footstool, [ : ]are you not condemned in yourselves and judges of evil thoughts? [ : ]hear, my beloved brothers. has not god chosen the poor of the world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? [ : ] but you dishonor the poor. do not the rich oppress you and drag you to tribunals? [ : ]and do they not blaspheme the good name by which you are called? [ : ]if you keep indeed the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well; [ : ]but if you respect persons, you commit sin, convicted by the law as transgressors. [ : ]for whoever shall keep the whole law, and offend in one point, is guilty of all. [ : ]for he that said, you shall not commit adultery, said also, you shall not kill; and if you do not commit adultery, but kill, you are a transgressor of the law. [ : ]so speak and so do, as being about to be judged by the law of liberty. [ : ]for he shall have judgment without mercy who shows not mercy; mercy rejoices over judgment. [ : ]what is the profit, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has not works? can faith save him? [ : ]and if a brother or sister is naked, or destitute of daily food, [ : ]and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and be filled, but gives them not the necessary supplies for the body, what is the profit? [ : ]so also faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. [ : ]but some one will say, you have faith, and i have works; show me your faith without works, and i will show you my faith by works. [ : ]you believe that there is one god? you do well; demons also believe and tremble. [ : ]but will you know, o vain man, that faith without works is dead? [ : ] was not abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up isaac his son on the altar? [ : ]you see that faith cooperated with his works, and by works was faith made perfect, [ : ]and the scripture was fulfilled which says, and abraham believed god and it was accounted to him a righteousness, and he was called god's friend. [ : ]you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. [ : ]and in like manner also was not rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? [ : ]for as the body without a spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. chapter ii. on censoriousness, wisdom, contention, etc. [ : ]be not many of you teachers, my brothers, knowing that we shall receive a severer judgment. [ : ]for in many things we all offend; if one offends not in word he is a perfect man, able to keep in subjection also the whole body. [ : ]but we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, and direct their whole body; [ : ]behold also the ships, though of so great size and driven by powerful winds, are directed by a very small helm wherever the will of the pilot chooses; [ : ]so also the tongue is a small member and boasts of great things. behold, how much wood a little fire kindles! [ : ]and the tongue is a fire, the tongue is made a world of wickedness among our members, it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and is set on fire by hell. [ : ]for every kind of beasts, and birds, and reptiles, and fishes, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race, [ : ]but the tongue can no man tame; it is a disorderly evil, full of a deadly poison. [ : ]with it bless we the lord and father, and with it curse we men made in the likeness of god. [ : ]out of the same mouth proceeds a blessing and a curse. my brothers, these things ought not so to be. [ : ]does a fountain send forth sweet water and bitter from the same opening? [ : ]can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a vine, figs? so you cannot make salt water sweet. [ : ]what wise and intelligent man is there among you? let him show his works by good conduct, in the meekness of wisdom. [ : ]but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, boast not and lie not against the truth. [ : ]this wisdom comes not from above, but is earthly, natural, demoniacal. [ : ]for where envy and strife are, there are disorder and every evil work. [ : ]but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be persuaded, full of mercy and of good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. [ : ]and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace to those who make peace. [ : ]whence come wars and contentions among you? come they not thence, from your pleasures that war in your members? [ : ]you desire and have not; you kill, and envy, and cannot obtain; you fight and carry on war. you have not, because you do not ask; [ : ]you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, to expend on your pleasures. [ : ]adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity against god? whoever therefore wishes to be a friend of the world, is made an enemy of god. [ : ]or do you suppose that the scripture says in vain, the spirit which dwells in us desires to envy? [ : ]but he gives more grace; wherefore he says, god resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. [ : ]be subject therefore to god; resist the devil and he will flee from you; [ : ]draw nigh to god and he will draw nigh to you. cleanse your hands, sinners, purify your hearts, double-minded. [ : ]lament, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow. [ : ]humble yourselves before the lord and he will exalt you. [ : ]speak not one against one another, brothers. he that speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. but if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. [ : ]there is one law-giver and judge, who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you that judge a neighbor? [ : ]come now, you that say, to-day and to-morrow we will go to such a city and engage in business there a year, and trade and make profits, [ : ]who know not what will be on the morrow; for what is your life? you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away; [ : ]for you ought to say, if the lord wills, we shall both live and do this or that. [ : ]but now you glory in your boasting; all such glorying is evil. [ : ]he therefore that knows how to do good and does it not, to him it is sin. [ : ]come now, rich men, weep and lament for the miseries which are coming upon you. [ : ]your riches have decayed, and your garments are moth-eaten, [ : ]your gold and silver are destroyed with rust, and their rust will be a witness against you, and consume your flesh like fire. you have laid up treasures for the last days. [ : ]behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, kept back by you, cry, and the loud calls of the reapers have entered into the ears of the lord of sabaoth. [ : ]you have lived in luxury on the earth and in pleasure, you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. [ : ]you have condemned and killed the just, and he does not resist you. [ : ]wait patiently therefore, brothers, till the coming of the lord. behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and is of long patience, till he receives the autumnal and vernal rain. [ : ]do you also have long patience, confirm your hearts, for the coming of the lord is at hand. [ : ] complain not, brothers, against one another, that you be not judged; behold, the judge stands before the doors. [ : ]you have the prophets who spoke in the name of the lord, my brothers, as an example of patience and long-suffering. [ : ]behold, we account them blessed who are patient. you have heard of the patience of job, and you know the purpose of the lord, that he is very merciful and compassionate. [ : ]above all things, my brothers, swear not, neither by heaven, nor the earth, nor any other oath. but let your yes be yes, and your no, no, that you may not fall under condemnation. [ : ]if any one among you is afflicted, let him pray; if any one is happy, let him sing psalms; [ : ]if any one is sick among you, let him send for the elders of the church, and let them pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord. [ : ]and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. [ : ]confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be cured, for the prayer of the righteous operates with great power. [ : ]elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed that it might not rain, and it rained not on the land for three years and six months; [ : ] and again he prayed, and heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded her fruit. [ : ]brothers, if any one among you errs from the truth, and one converts him, [ : ]let him know that he who converts a sinner from an error of [his] way, shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins. first epistle of peter. babylon, a.d. . chapter i. a firm adherence to christ, etc. [ : ]peter, an apostle of jesus christ, to the elect strangers of the dispersion of pontus, galatia, cappadocia, asia and bithynia, [ : ]according to the foreknowledge of god the father, by sanctification of the spirit, to obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ. grace and peace be multiplied to you. [ : ]blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who in his great mercy has begotten us to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead, [ : ]to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you [ : ]who are kept by the power of god through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [ : ]in which you rejoice, though now for a little while if need be made sad by manifold trials, [ : ]that the trial of your faith, which is much more precious than gold that is destroyed but proved by fire, may be found to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of jesus christ, [ : ]whom not having seen you love, in whom believing though now you see him not you rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious, [ : ] receiving the end of the faith, the salvation of souls. [ : ]concerning which salvation the prophets also who prophesied concerning the grace [bestowed] on us inquired diligently and sought, [ : ]inquiring as to what person or what time the spirit of christ which was in them signified, when it declared before the sufferings of christ and after these the glories, [ : ]to whom it was revealed that they ministered not to themselves but to us those things which have now been declared to you by those who preached to you the good news, with the holy spirit sent from heaven, into which the angels desire to look. [ : ]wherefore, girding up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end for the gift to be brought to you by the revelation of jesus christ. [ : ]as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the desires of your former ignorance, [ : ]but as he that called you is holy be you also holy in all [your] conduct, [ : ]because it is written, be you holy, for i am holy. [ : ]and if you call on the father, who without respect of persons judges according to each one's work, spend the time of your life with fear, [ : ] knowing that you were not redeemed from your vain mode of life received by tradition from your fathers, with destructible things, silver or gold, [ : ] but with the precious blood of christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without a spot; [ : ]who was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but made manifest in these last times for you, [ : ]who through him believed in god, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope may be in god. [ : ]having purified your souls by obeying the truth to unfeigned brotherly love, love one another fervently, from the heart, [ : ]having been born again, not from destructible seed but from indestructible, through the word of god which lives and endures. [ : ]for all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass has withered, and its flower fell off; [ : ]but the word of the lord continues forever. and this is the word preached to you. [ : ]laying aside therefore all malice and all deceit and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, [ : ]as new born babes desire earnestly the pure milk of the word, that you may grow by it to salvation, [ : ]if indeed you have tasted that the lord is good. [ : ]to whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed by men but approved by god, elect, precious, [ : ]do you also yourselves be built up living stones, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices well pleasing to god through jesus christ, [ : ]for it is said in the scripture, behold, i lay in zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious, and he that believes on him shall not be ashamed. [ : ]to you therefore who believe he is precious; but to the disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of a corner [ : ]and a stone of stumbling and rock of offense, who stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed. [ : ]but you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should declare the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his glorious light; [ : ] who formerly were not a people, but now are a people of god, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. chapter ii. personal, political, and social duties, etc. [ : ]beloved, i exhort you as strangers and foreigners, abstain from carnal desires, which war against the soul, [ : ]having your conduct honorable among the gentiles, that wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, from the good works which they see they may glorify god in the day of visitation. [ : ]be subject therefore to every human government, for the lord's sake, whether to the king, as superior, [ : ]to governors, sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and the praise of those who do well; [ : ]for this is the will of god, that by well-doing you may silence the ignorance of foolish men; [ : ]as free, and not using freedom for a cloak of vice, but as servants of god. [ : ]honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear god, honor the king. [ : ]let servants be subject with all fear to masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the perverse. [ : ]for this deserves thanks, if on account of a knowledge of god one endures pain, suffering unjustly. [ : ]for what glory is it if when you sin and are punished you bear it patiently? but if you do well and suffer and bear it patiently, [this deserves thanks], for it is acceptable to god. [ : ]for to this you were called, because christ also suffered for us, leaving you a copy that you should follow his steps, [ : ]who committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth, [ : ]who being reviled reviled not, suffering threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously, [ : ]who himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we having died to sins, may live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed. [ : ]for you were like lost sheep, but are now returned to the shepherd and bishop of your souls. [ : ]in like manner let the women be subject to their husbands, that even if some disobey the word, they may be gained through the conduct of their wives without the word, [ : ]seeing your pure mode of life in the fear [of god]. [ : ]whose ornament let it not be the external [ornament] of braided hair and the putting on of chains of gold or of clothing, [ : ]but let the hidden man of the heart be adorned with the imperishable [ornaments] of a meek and quiet spirit, which are of great price before god. [ : ]for so formerly also the holy women who hoped in god adorned themselves, being subject to their husbands, [ : ]as sarah obeyed abraham, calling him lord, whose children you are, doing good and having no fear. [ : ]in like manner let the husbands [do], living together in knowledge with the wife as with a vessel of less strength, deeming them precious, co-heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. [ : ]finally, be all of one mind, sympathising, loving as brothers, compassionate, humble, [ : ]not returning evil for evil or railing for railing, but on the contrary blessing [your enemies], because to this you are called, that you may inherit blessing. [ : ]for he that will love life and see good days, let him withhold his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, [ : ]let him abstain from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it, [ : ]for the eyes of the lord are on the righteous and his ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the lord is against them that do evil. [ : ]and who is he that will injure you if you are followers of what is good? [ : ]but even if you suffer on account of righteousness, you are blessed. but fear not with their fear, neither be troubled; [ : ]and sanctify the anointed lord in your hearts, and be always ready with a defense to every one that asks you a reason for the hope that is in you; but with meekness and fear, [ : ]having a good conscience, that in what they speak evil of you they may be ashamed who slander your good conduct in christ. [ : ]for it is better to suffer doing good, if the will of god allows, than doing evil. [ : ]for christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might lead us to god, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, [ : ] in which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, [ : ]who were formerly disobedient when the long suffering of god waited in the days of noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls, were saved by water. [ : ]the archetype of which, baptism, also now saves us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience in god, through the resurrection of jesus christ, [ : ]who is on the right hand of god, having gone to heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. [ : ]christ therefore having suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, [ : ]that you may no longer live the rest of your time in the flesh according to the desires of men, but according to the will of god. [ : ]for the time past is sufficient for us to have performed the will of the gentiles, walking in lewdness, inordinate desires, drunkenness, revellings, drinkings and unlawful idolatries, [ : ]in which they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excessive intemperance, blaspheming, [ : ]who shall give an account to him that is ready to judge the living and dead. [ : ]and for this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to god in the spirit. [ : ]but the end of all things is at hand. be sober therefore, and watch in prayers; [ : ]above all things have fervent love one for another, for love hides a multitude of sins. [ : ]be hospitable one to another, without complaining; [ : ]as each has received a gift, minister the same among yourselves as good stewards of the manifold grace of god. [ : ]if any one speaks, let him speak as the oracles of god, if any one serves, let it be as of the strength which god supplies, that in all things god may be glorified through jesus christ, whose is the glory and the power for ever and ever; amen. chapter iii. trials, admonitions to presbyters, etc. [ : ]beloved, think not strange of the fiery trial which is to try you, as if some strange thing happened to you, [ : ]but as you partake of the sufferings of christ rejoice, that you may also rejoice exulting at the revelation of his glory. [ : ]if you are reproached for the name of christ, happy are you, for the spirit of glory and of god rests on you. [ : ]but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or as a meddler in other men's affairs; [ : ]but as a christian, let him not be ashamed, let him glorify god on this account. [ : ]for it is time for judgment to begin at the house of god; and if it first begins with us, what will the end be of those that obey not the gospel of god? [ : ]and if the righteous man is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? [ : ]let those therefore who suffer by the will of god, commit their souls to him in well doing as a faithful creator. [ : ]the elders among you i exhort, who am a co-elder and witness of the sufferings of christ, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed; [ : ]feed the flock of god which is among you, not by constraint but willingly, not for base gain but of a ready mind, [ : ]not as having a lordship over god's inheritance but being examples to the flock; [ : ]and when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive an unfading crown of glory. [ : ]let the younger in like manner be subject to the elder, and do you all be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for god resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. [ : ]humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in due time; [ : ]casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. [ : ]be sober, be watchful. your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; [ : ]whom resist, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished by your brothers in the world. [ : ]and may the god of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in christ jesus, when you have suffered a little while, himself make you perfect, confirm, strengthen, establish you. [ : ]to him be the glory and the power for ever; amen. [ : ]i have written to you in a few words by silvanus [silas], a faithful brother as i suppose, exhorting you, and testifying that this is the true grace of god in which you stand. [ : ]the co-elect [church] at babylon salutes you, and mark my son. [ : ]salute one another with a kiss of love. peace be to you all in christ. second epistle of peter. babylon, a.d. . chapter i. the pursuit of the virtues, the glory of christ, false teachers, etc. [ : ]simeon peter, a servant and apostle of jesus christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our god and saviour jesus christ. [ : ]grace and peace be multiplied to you by a knowledge of god and of jesus our lord. [ : ]as his divine power has given us all things which pertain to life and piety, through the knowledge of him that has called us to his own glory and virtue, [ : ]through which have been given us very great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption which is in the world by inordinate desire, [ : ]and for the same purpose also, giving all diligence add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, [ : ]and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience piety, [ : ]and to piety brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. [ : ]for if these are in you and abound, they will make you not inactive nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our lord jesus christ; [ : ]for a man that is without these is blind, not seeing to a distance, and has forgotten the purification from his former errors. [ : ]wherefore, brothers, use the greater diligence to make your calling and election sure; for doing these things you shall never fall. [ : ]for thus shall you have an abundant entrance given you into the eternal kingdom of our lord and saviour jesus christ. [ : ]wherefore i will not neglect always to remind you of these things, although you have known them, and have been established in the present truth. [ : ]i think it right as long as i am in this tabernacle, to excite you by remembrance, [ : ]knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle is at hand, as our lord jesus christ showed me. [ : ]but i will also be diligent and especially that you may be able to make mention of these things after my departure. [ : ]for we did not follow skilfully constructed myths in making known to you the power and appearing of our lord jesus christ, but were eye witnesses of his majesty. [ : ]for he received from god the father honor and glory, when this voice was brought to him from the magnificent glory, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. [ : ]and this voice we heard brought from heaven when we were with him on the holy mount. [ : ]and we have the more sure prophetic word, to which you will do well to attend, as to a light shining in a dark place, till the day dawns and the day-star arises in your hearts, [ : ]knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of its own solution. [ : ]for prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but moved by the holy spirit men spoke from god. [ : ]but there were also false prophets among the people, as there shall also be false teachers among you, who shall bring in by stealth destructive heresies, even denying the master that bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction; [ : ]and many shall follow their lewdness, on account of whom the way of truth shall be reviled, [ : ]and with covetousness they will make a gain of you with feigned words, whose judgment a long time lingers not, and their destruction slumbers not. [ : ]for if god spared not the angels that sinned, but plunging them into tartarus delivered them up in chains to be kept in darkness till the judgment, [ : ]and spared not the old world, but preserved noah a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, bringing the flood on the world of the ungodly, [ : ]and condemned sodom and gomorrah to be overthrown, reducing them to ashes, making them an example to those who should afterwards be wicked, [ : ]and delivered righteous lot, vexed by the lewd conduct of the wicked;-- [ : ]for that righteous man living among them vexed his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their wicked deeds;-- [ : ]the lord knows how to deliver the pious from trial, and to keep the wicked to the day of judgment to be punished, [ : ]but especially those who walk after the flesh, in corrupt desires, and despise government. presumptuous, self-complacent, they fear not to revile glories, [ : ]where the angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring against them a reproachful judgment; [ : ]but these, like irrational animals, brutes made to be taken and destroyed, reviling things which they do not understand, will also be destroyed in their depravity, [ : ] receiving the wages of wickedness, accounting luxury in the day-time a pleasure, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceptions while feasting with you, [ : ]having eyes full of an adulteress, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart exercised in covetousness, cursed children, [ : ]having left the right way they have gone astray, following in the way of balaam the son of beor who loved the wages of wickedness, [ : ]but had a rebuke of his transgression; the dumb ass, speaking with a man's voice, forbade the madness of the prophet. [ : ]these are fountains without water, clouds driven by a tempest, to which is reserved the blackness of darkness. [ : ]for speaking extravagant words of vanity, they entice with carnal desires of lewdness those scarcely escaped from them, those living in error, [ : ]promising them liberty, when they themselves are servants of corruption; for by whatever a man is overcome, to this is he made a servant. [ : ]for if having escaped the defilements of the world by a knowledge of the lord and saviour jesus christ, they are again entangled and overcome by them, the last state of those persons is worse than the first. [ : ]for it is better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. [ : ] but it has happened to them according to the true proverb, the dog returned to his vomit, and the swine that was washed to wallowing in filth. chapter ii. the coming of christ, etc. [ : ]this second epistle, beloved, i now write to you, in which i excite your pure minds by remembrance, [ : ]to remember the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of us the apostles of the lord and saviour, [ : ] knowing this first, that in the last days scoffers shall come with scoffing walking after their inordinate desires, [ : ]and saying, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the world. [ : ]for of this they are willingly ignorant, that the heavens were of old, and the earth was made of water and by water by the word of god, [ : ]by which the world that then was, being overflowed with water, was destroyed. [ : ]but the present heavens and the earth have been preserved by his word, being kept for fire, at the day of the judgment and destruction of wicked men. [ : ]but let not this one thing escape you, beloved, that one day with the lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [ : ]the lord is not slow in respect to his promise, as some men account slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to a change of mind. [ : ]but the day of the lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with a crash, and the elements be melted with heat, and the earth and the works in it be consumed. [ : ]all these things therefore being dissolved, what persons ought we to be in holy conduct and piety, [ : ] expecting and hastening the coming of the day of god, in which the heavens being burnt up will be dissolved and the elements be melted with heat. [ : ]but we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness. [ : ]wherefore, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent that you may be found in him without a spot and blemish, in peace, [ : ]and consider the long-suffering of the lord our salvation; as also our beloved brother paul according to the wisdom given to him wrote to you, [ : ]as also in all his epistles speaking of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest as they also do the other scriptures to their destruction. [ : ]do you therefore, beloved, knowing [these things] before, be on your guard not to be carried away with the error of the wicked and fall from your steadfastness, [ : ]but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ. to him be the glory both now and forever. the epistle of judas a.d. . false teachers, etc. [ : ]judas, a servant of jesus christ, and brother of james, to the beloved in god the father, and the called who are kept by jesus christ. [ : ]mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. [ : ]beloved, giving all diligence to write to you concerning the common salvation, i was under a necessity to write and exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. [ : ]for some men have come in by deception, who were of old appointed to this judgment, impious, changing the grace of our god into lewdness, and denying our only master and lord, jesus christ. [ : ]but i wish to remind you, though you once knew all, that the lord having saved his people from egypt, afterwards destroyed those that believed not, [ : ] and the angels who kept not their own province, but left their habitation, he has kept under darkness in eternal chains, for the judgment of the great day; [ : ]as sodom and gomorrah and the cities about them, committing fornication in the same manner as these and going after unnatural lewdness, are made an example, enduring the punishment of eternal fire. [ : ]in like manner also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject government, and blaspheme glories. [ : ]but michael the arch-angel, when disputing with the devil he reasoned about the body of moses, dared not bring against him a charge of blasphemy, but said, the lord rebuke you. [ : ]but these blaspheme what they do not understand, and what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. [ : ]woe to them; for they have gone in the way of cain, and rushed into the error of balaam for a reward, and perished in the contradiction of korah. [ : ]these are breakers at your love-feasts, feasting with you without fear, feeding themselves, clouds without water driven about by winds, autumnal trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, [ : ]wild waves of the sea foaming with their own shame, wandering stars to which is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. [ : ]and enoch also, the seventh from adam, prophesied of them, saying, behold, the lord came with ten thousand of his saints [ : ]to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the wicked among them of all the deeds of impiety which they have impiously committed, and of all the hard speeches which impious sinners have spoken against him. [ : ]these are complainers, censorious, walking after their inordinate desires, and their mouth speaks proud words, showing admiration of persons for the sake of gain. [ : ]but do you, beloved, remember the words spoken before by the apostles of our lord jesus christ, [ : ]that they said to you, that in the last time there shall be scoffers, walking in their own impious desires. [ : ]these are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit. [ : ]but you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, pray with the holy spirit. [ : ]keep yourselves in the love of god, looking for the mercy of our lord jesus christ to eternal life. [ : ]and reprove some, separatists, [ : ]and some save, plucking them from the fire, but have mercy on others with fear, hating even the garment that is defiled by the flesh. [ : ]and to him that is able to keep you without falling, and to present you blameless before his glory, with great joy, [ : ]to god our only saviour, through jesus christ our lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority before all worlds, both now and for ever more; amen. first epistle of john. a. d. . chapter i. christ the life, god is light, walking with him, false teachers, etc. [ : ]that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld and our hands felt, concerning the word of life,-- [ : ]and the life was made manifest, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested to us,-- [ : ]that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. and our fellowship is with the father and with his son jesus christ. [ : ]and these things we write to you, that your joy may be complete. [ : ]and this is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you, that god is light, and with him there is no darkness. [ : ]if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and observe not the truth; [ : ]but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. [ : ]if we say we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [ : ]if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness. [ : ]if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. [ : ]my little children, these things i write to you that you may not sin. but if any one has sinned, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the righteous, [ : ]and he is a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for all the world. [ : ]and by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. [ : ]he that says, i have known him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; [ : ]but whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of god perfected. by this we know that we are in him. [ : ]he that says he continues in him, ought also himself so to walk as he walked. [ : ]beloved, i write not a new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which you had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you heard. [ : ]again, a new commandment i write you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past and the true light now appears. [ : ]he that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness till now. [ : ] he that loves his brother continues in the light, and there is no offense in him; [ : ]but he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. [ : ]i write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. [ : ]i write to you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. i write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. i wrote to you, little children, because you have known the father. [ : ]i wrote to you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. i wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of god continues in you, and you have overcome the evil one. [ : ]love not the world, nor the things in the world. if any one loves the world, the love of the father is not in him; [ : ]for all that is in the world, the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. [ : ]and the world passes away, and its desires; but he that does the will of god continues for ever. [ : ]little children, it is the last time; and as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many have become anti-christs; whence we know that it is the last time. [ : ]they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us they would have continued with us; but [they went out from us] that they might be manifest that they are not all of us. [ : ]and you have an anointing from the holy one, and know all things. [ : ]i have not written to you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. [ : ]who is a liar but he that denies that jesus is the christ? this is the anti-christ, [the man that] denies the father and the son. [ : ]no one that denies the son has the father; he that confesses the son has the father also. [ : ]let that which you heard from the beginning continue in you. if that which you heard from the beginning continues in you, you also shall continue in the son and in the father. [ : ]and this is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. [ : ]i have written these things to you concerning those who deceive you. [ : ]and the anointing which you received from him continues in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; but as his anointing teaches you of all things, and is true and is not a lie, even as it has taught you, continue in him. [ : ]and now, little children, continue in him, that when he shall appear we may have boldness, and not be put to shame by him at his coming. [ : ]if you know that he is righteous, you know that every one who does righteousness has been born of him. [ : ]see what love the father has given us, that we should be called children of god. the world therefore knows us not, because it knew him not. [ : ]beloved, now are we children of god, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. we know, that if he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [ : ]and every one that has this hope in him purifies himself, as he is pure. [ : ]every one that commits sin commits also wickedness, and sin is wickedness. [ : ]and we know that he was manifested to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. [ : ]no one that continues in him sins; no one that sins has seen him, or known him. [ : ]little children, let no one deceive you. he that does righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous; [ : ]he that commits sin is of the devil, for the devil sinned from the beginning. for this was the son of god manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. [ : ]no one that has been born of god commits sin, for his seed continues in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of god. [ : ]by this are the children of god manifest, and the children of the devil; no one that does not righteousness is of god, and no one that loves not his brother. [ : ]for this is the message which you heard from the beginning; that we should love one another; [ : ]not as cain was of the evil one and killed his brother; and why did he kill him? because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous. [ : ]wonder not, brothers, if the world hates you. [ : ]we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers; he that loves not, continues in death. [ : ]every one that hates his brother is a murderer; and we know that no murderer has eternal life continuing in him. [ : ]by this we have known love, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. [ : ]and whoever has the goods of the world and sees his brother have need, and withholds his compassions from him, how continues the love of god in him? [ : ]my little children, let us not love in word nor tongue, but in work and truth. [ : ]and by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him; [ : ]for if our minds condemn us, god is greater than our minds and knows all things. [ : ]beloved, if our minds do not condemn us, we have boldness before god, [ : ]and what we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things which are pleasing in his sight. [ : ]and this is his commandment; that we should believe in the name of his son jesus christ, and love one another as he gave commandment. [ : ]and he that keeps his commandments continues in him and he in him; and by this we know that he continues in us, by the spirit which he gave us. chapter ii. false spirits, brotherly love, the love of god, the three witnesses, etc. [ : ]beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits whether they are of god; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [ : ]by this you know the spirit of god; every spirit which confesses that jesus christ has come in the flesh is of god, [ : ]and every spirit which does not confess jesus is not of god. and this is the [spirit] of anti-christ, of which you have heard that he is coming, and he is now in the world already. [ : ]you are of god, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. [ : ]they are of the world; therefore they speak of the world and the world hears them. [ : ]we are of god; he that knows god hears us, he that is not of god does not hear us. by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. [ : ]beloved, let us love one another, for love is of god, and every one that loves has been born of god and knows god. [ : ]he that loves not has not known god; for god is love. [ : ]the love of god was manifested to us in this; that god has sent his only son into the world that we may live through him. [ : ]in this is love; not that we loved god, but that he loved us, and sent his son a propitiation for our sins. [ : ]beloved, if god so loved us, we ought also to love one another. [ : ] no one has ever seen god. if we love one another, god continues in us and his love is perfected in us. [ : ]by this we know that we continue in him and he in us, that he has given us of his spirit. [ : ]and we have seen and testify that the father has sent the son, the saviour of the world. [ : ]whoever confesses that jesus is the son of god, god continues in him and he in god. [ : ]and we have known and believed the love which god has for us. god is love; and he that continues in love continues in god and god in him. [ : ]by this is love perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that as he is we also are in this world. [ : ]there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has pain; and he that is afraid is not made perfect in love. [ : ]we love, because he first loved us. [ : ] if any one says, i love god, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love god whom he has not seen? [ : ]and we have this commandment from him, that he who loves god should also love his brother. [ : ]every one who believes that jesus is the christ has been born of god, and every one who loves the father loves also the son who is born to him. [ : ] by this we know that we love the children of god, when we love god and keep his commandments. [ : ]for this is the love of god, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous; [ : ]for every child that has been born of god overcomes the world; and this is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith. [ : ]who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that jesus is the son of god? [ : ]this is he that came by water and blood, jesus, the christ; not by water only, but by water and by blood; and the spirit is that which testifies, for the spirit is the truth. [ : ]for there are three that testify; the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three are one. [ : ]if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of god is greater; for this is the testimony of god that he has testified concerning his son. [ : ]he that believes on the son of god has the testimony in himself; he that believes not god has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony which god has testified concerning his son. [ : ]and this is the testimony, that god gave us eternal life, and this life is in his son. [ : ]he that has the son has the life; he that has not the son has not the life. [ : ]these things have i written to you, that you who believe in the name of the son of god may know that you have eternal life. [ : ]and this is the confidence which we have in respect to him, that if we ask any thing according to his will he hears us. [ : ]and if we know that he hears us whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. [ : ]if any one sees his brother commit a sin, not to death, he shall ask, and he will give him life, for those who sin not to death. there is a sin to death; i say not that you should pray for it. [ : ]all wickedness is sin, and there is sin not to death. [ : ]we know that every one who has been born of god does not sin, but he that has been born of god keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. [ : ]we know that we are of god, and the whole world lies in wickedness. [ : ]and we know that the son of god has come, and has given us understanding that we may know the true one; and we are in the true one, in his son jesus christ; this is the true god, and eternal life. [ : ]little children, keep yourselves from idols. second epistle of john. a.d. . a commendation of curia's children, etc. [ : ]the elder to the elect curia and her children, whom i love in truth, and not i only but also all who have known the truth, [ : ]on account of the truth which continues in you, and shall be with you forever. [ : ]grace, mercy, peace, from god the father and from jesus christ the son of the father, shall be with you in truth and love. [ : ]i rejoiced exceedingly that i found your children walking in the truth as we received commandment from the father. [ : ]and now i beseech you, curia, not as if writing a new commandment to you, but [one] which we had from the beginning, that we should love one another. [ : ]and this is love, that we should walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. [ : ]for many deceivers have gone out into the world, who do not confess jesus christ coming in the flesh; this is the deceiver, and the antichrist. [ : ]take heed to yourselves, that ye lose not the labor which you performed, but receive a full reward. [ : ]every one who goes beyond, and continues not in the doctrine of christ, is without god. he that continues in the doctrine has both the son and the father. [ : ] if any one comes to you and brings not this doctrine, receive him not into your houses, and salute him not; [ : ]for he that salutes him is a partaker of his evil works. [ : ]having many things to write, i do not wish to write with paper and ink, but i hope to be with you and to speak face to face, that our joy may be full. [ : ]the children of your elect sister salute you. third epistle of john. a.d. . a commendation of gaius and demetrius, and a denunciation of diotrephes. [ : ]the elder to the beloved gaius, whom i love in truth. [ : ]beloved, i desire above all things that you may prosper and be in health, as your soul prospers. [ : ]for i rejoiced exceedingly when the brothers came and testified of your truth, as you walk in truth. [ : ]i have no greater joy than this, that i hear of my children walking in the truth. [ : ]beloved, you did faithfully whatever you do to the brothers, and that to strangers, [ : ]who testified of your love before the church, whom you will do well to send forward worthily of god. [ : ]for they went out for his name, taking nothing of the gentiles. [ : ]we therefore ought to receive such, that we may be co-laborers for the truth. [ : ]i wrote something to the church, but diotrephes desiring the pre-eminence does not receive us. [ : ]therefore if i come i will remember his works which he performs, prating against us with evil words, and not being satisfied, in addition to these [things] he does not receive the brothers, and forbids and casts out of the church those wishing to do it. [ : ]beloved, do not imitate evil but good. he that does good is of god; he that does evil has not seen god. [ : ]testimony is borne to demetrius by all, and by the truth itself; and we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true. [ : ]i had many things to write, but wish not to write to you with ink and pen; [ : ]but hope soon to see you, and we will speak face to face. peace be to you. the friends salute you; salute the friends by name. [the epistle] to the hebrews. a.d. . chapter i. christ the son of god superior to angels and to moses. [ : ]god, who at many times and in many ways spoke anciently to the fathers by the prophets, [ : ]in these last days spoke to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, [ : ]who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his substance, and sustaining all things by the word of his power, having made a purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, [ : ]being made as much greater than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they. [ : ]for to which of the angels said he at any time, you are my son, to-day have i begotten you? and again, i will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son? [ : ]and again, when he brings the first-born into the world he says, and let all the angels of god worship him. [ : ]and of the angels he says, who makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire; [ : ]but of the son, thy throne, god, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of rectitude. [ : ]thou hast loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore god, thy god, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy companions. [ : ]and thou, lord, in the beginning didst build from its foundations the earth, and the heavens are works of thy hands; [ : ]they shall perish, but thou shalt continue; and they shall all become old like a garment, [ : ]and like a mantle thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail. [ : ]and to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my right hand till i make thy enemies thy footstool? [ : ]are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to serve on account of those who are about to inherit salvation? [ : ]we ought therefore to attend the more to the things which we heard, lest at any time we should glide away [from them]. [ : ]for if the word spoken by angels was firm, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, [ : ]how shall we escape who have neglected so great a salvation? which began to be spoken by the lord, and was affirmed to us by those who heard, [ : ]god bearing them witness with signs and prodigies, and various mighty works and gifts of the holy spirit, according to his will. [ : ]for he did not subject to angels the world to come, of which we speak. [ : ]but one somewhere testified, saying, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or a son of man that thou visitest him? [ : ]thou didst make him a little lower than angels, thou didst crown him with glory and honor, [ : ]thou didst subject all things under his feet. for in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing not subjected to him. but now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. [ : ]but we see jesus, made a little less than angels, on account of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of god he should taste death for every [man]. [ : ]for it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, to perfect by sufferings the prince of their salvation, bringing many sons to glory. [ : ]for both he that sanctifies and the sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers, [ : ]saying, i will declare thy name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly will i sing to thee. [ : ]and again, i will trust in him. and again, behold me and the children which god gave me. [ : ]since then the children have partaken of blood and flesh, he in like manner also partook of them, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil, [ : ]and liberate those who all their life were subjects of servitude to the fear of death. [ : ]for indeed he helped not angels, but he helped the descendants of abraham. [ : ]whence he ought in all things to be assimilated to the brothers, that he may be a merciful and faithful chief priest as to things relating to god, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [ : ]for because he has himself suffered, having been tried, he is able to help the tried. [ : ]whence, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly call, consider the apostle and chief priest of our profession, jesus, [ : ]who is faithful to him that appointed him, as also moses was in his house. [ : ]for this man is judged worthy of more glory than moses, as much as he has more honor than the house [tabernacle] which he built. [ : ]for every house is built by some one; but he that built all things is god. [ : ]and moses indeed was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of things to be spoken; [ : ]but christ as a son over his house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope. [ : ]wherefore, as the holy spirit says, to-day if you will hear his voice, [ : ]harden not your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of the trial in the wilderness, [ : ]where your fathers fully proved and saw my works forty years. [ : ]wherefore i was displeased with that generation and said, they always err in mind, and they did not know my ways, [ : ]so i swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. [ : ]see, brothers, that there be not at any time in any one of you an evil mind of unbelief in departing from the living god; [ : ]but exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, that no one of you may be hardened by the deception of sin; [ : ]for we have been made partakers of christ, if we hold the beginning of the confidence firm to the end. [ : ]it was said, to-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation; [ : ]for who having heard committed provocation? did not all indeed who came out of egypt with moses? [ : ]and with whom was he displeased forty years? was it not with those that sinned? whose bodies fell in the wilderness? [ : ]and to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest? was it not to them that disobeyed? [ : ]and we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. [ : ]let us fear, therefore, lest at any time a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to come short. [ : ]for we have also received the good news as they did; but the word of the report did not profit them, not being accompanied with faith in those who heard. [ : ]for we enter into the rest who believed, as he said, i swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest, although of works made from the foundation of the world. [ : ]for he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day, thus; and god rested on the seventh day from all his works. [ : ]and in this place again, they shall not enter into my rest. [ : ]since then it remains that some entered into it, and those to whom it was first preached entered not in on account of unbelief, [ : ]again he defines a certain day, to-day, saying in david, after so long a time, as it was said before, to-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. [ : ]for if joshua caused them to rest he would not have spoken of another day afterwards. [ : ]therefore a sabbatism remains for the people of god. [ : ]for he [christ] who entered into his rest, also himself rested from his works, as god from his. [ : ]let us use diligence, therefore to enter into that rest [the heavenly rest], that no one may fall, after the same example of disobedience. [ : ]for the word of god is living, and effective, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and reaching even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrows, and distinguishes thoughts and intentions of mind; [ : ]and there is nothing which is not manifest in his sight; for all things are naked and exposed to his eyes, to whom our discourse relates. chapter ii. christ a chief priest after the order of melchisedec. [ : ]having therefore a great chief priest who has gone through the heavens, jesus, the son of god, let us hold fast the profession. [ : ]for we have not a chief priest who cannot sympathise with our infirmities, but one tried in all respects as we are, without sin. [ : ]let us therefore approach with boldness the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for timely aid. [ : ]for every chief priest taken from men is appointed in behalf of men over things relating to god, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, [ : ] being able to deal gently with the ignorant and erring, since he is himself encompassed with infirmity, [ : ]and as for the people, so also for himself, he is obliged to present offerings for sins. [ : ]and no one takes the honor on himself but he that is called by god, even as aaron also was. [ : ]so also christ did not put on himself the honor of being made a chief priest, but he that said to him, thou art my son, to-day have i begotten thee; [ : ]as also in another place he says, thou art a priest for ever after the order of melchisedec. [ : ]who in the days of his flesh having offered both prayers and supplications to him that was able to save him from death, with loud cries and tears, [and being heard and delivered] from fear,-- [ : ]although he was a son, learned obedience from what he suffered, [ : ]and being made perfect became to all who obey him an author of eternal salvation, [ : ]being called by god a chief priest after the order of melchisedec. [ : ]concerning whom we have much to say, and that which is difficult to explain, because you have become dull of hearing. [ : ]for you who ought on account of the time to be teachers, have need that one should teach you again what are the first rudiments of the oracles of god, and have need of milk and not solid food. [ : ]for every one that partakes of milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe; [ : ]but solid food is for the perfect, having their perceptive faculties exercised by practice to distinguish both good and evil. [ : ]wherefore leaving the account of the beginning of christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of a change of mind from dead works, and of faith in god, [ : ]of baptisms taught, and the imposition of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of the eternal judgment. [ : ] and this we will do if god permits. [ : ]for those once enlightened and having tasted of the heavenly gift and been made partakers of the holy spirit, [ : ] and having tasted of the good word of god and the powers of the life to come, [ : ]and having fallen away, it is impossible again to renew to a change of mind, they having crucified again and exposed to shame the son of god. [ : ]but the land which drinks in the rain that often falls on it, and produces plants beneficial to those by whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from god; [ : ]but that which produces thorns and thistles is disapproved, and is nigh to a curse, the end of which is to be burned. [ : ]but we are persuaded better things of you, beloved, and things pertaining to salvation, though we thus speak. [ : ]for god is not unjust, to forget your work, and the love which you showed for his name, having served the saints and [still] serving them. [ : ]but we desire each of you to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end, [ : ]that you be not stupid, but followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. [ : ]for god haying promised abraham, when he could not swear by a greater, swore by himself, [ : ]saying, surely, blessing i will bless you, and multiplying i will multiply you; [ : ]and so having waited long he obtained the promise. [ : ]for men indeed swear by a greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all dispute; [ : ]for which cause, god wishing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his purpose, interposed with an oath, [ : ]that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for god to lie, we might have strong consolation, who fled to lay hold on the hope set before us, [ : ]which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, and entering within the vail, [ : ]where our forerunner jesus entered, made after the order of melchisedec a chief priest forever. [ : ]for this melchisedec, king of salem, priest of the most high god, who met abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, [ : ]to whom also abraham gave a tenth of all, first being interpreted king of righteousness, and then also king of salem, which is king of peace, [ : ] without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor end of life, but being made like the son of god, continues a priest forever. [ : ]and behold, how great this man was, to whom even abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils. [ : ]and the sons of levi who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to tithe the people according to the law, that is their brothers, although descended from abraham; [ : ]but he whose descent is not reckoned from them received tithes of abraham, and blessed him who has the promises. [ : ]but beyond all contradiction, the less is blessed by the greater. [ : ]and here, men who die receive tithes, but there, one of whom it is testified that he lives. [ : ]and so to speak, levi also who receives tithes paid tithes through abraham; [ : ]for he was yet in his father when melchisedec met him. [ : ]if therefore there was perfection through the levitical priesthood,--for the people received the law under it,--what need was there that another priest should arise after the order of melchisedec and not to be called after the order of aaron? [ : ]for the priesthood being changed, of necessity also there is made a change of the law. [ : ]for he of whom these things are said belonged to another tribe, of which no one attended to the altar; [ : ] for it is evident that our lord arose from judah, in respect to which tribe moses said nothing concerning priests. [ : ]and moreover, [this] is still further evident, if another priest is raised up according to the likeness of melchisedec, [ : ]who was not a priest after the law of an external commandment, but after the power of imperishable life. [ : ]for it is testified, thou art a priest forever, after the order of melchisedec. [ : ]for there is an abrogation of the commandment which goes before, on account of its weakness and unprofitableness; [ : ]for the law made nothing perfect, but was the introduction of a better hope through which we draw nigh to god. [ : ]and as he was not [constituted] without swearing,-- [ : ]for they were made priests without swearing, but he with swearing by him who says to him, the lord swore, and he will not change, you are a priest forever;-- [ : ]by so much is jesus the pledge of a better covenant. [ : ]and they indeed were made many priests, on account of being forbidden by death to continue; [ : ]but he, on account of his continuing for ever, has a priesthood which passes not away, [ : ]whence also he is able to save forever those who come to god through him, always living to intercede for them. [ : ]for such a chief priest also was suitable for us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, [ : ]who has no need daily as the chief priests first to present sacrifices for their sins, then for those of the people; for this he did once for all, having offered himself. [ : ]for the law constitutes men chief priests having infirmity, but the word of the oath which is after the law the son made perfect forever. chapter iii. christ the author of a new covenant and of its blessings. [ : ]but the chief thing in addition to what has been said is, that we have such a chief priest who sat on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, [ : ]a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the lord set up, not man. [ : ]for every chief priest is constituted to offer gifts and sacrifices, whence it was necessary that this man also should have something to offer. [ : ]for if he had been on earth he would not have been a priest, there being priests to offer, the gifts according to the law, [ : ]who serve for a symbol and shadow of heavenly things, as moses was divinely instructed when about to make the tabernacle; for see, he says, that you make all things after the pattern shown you in the mount; [ : ]but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises. [ : ]for if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for the second. [but it was not]. [ : ]for finding fault with them he says, behold, the days come, says the lord, that i will make with the house of israel and the house of judah, a new covenant, [ : ]not according to the covenant which i made with their fathers, in the day that i took them by the hand to lead them out of egypt, for they continued not in my covenant, and i neglected them, says the lord. [ : ]this is the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days, says the lord; i will put my laws in their minds, and will write them in their hearts, and i will be to them a god, and they shall be to me a people. [ : ]and they shall not teach every one his [fellow] citizen, and every one his brother, saying, know the lord, for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them. [ : ]for i will be merciful to their wickedness, and their sins and transgressions will i remember no more. [ : ]by saying new, he made the first old; but that which is ancient and weak is about to perish. [ : ]the first covenant then had ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. [ : ]for the first tabernacle was provided, in which were the candlestick and the table and the show bread, which is called the sanctuary. [ : ]but behind the second vail is the tabernacle, called the inner sanctuary, [ : ]having the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on every side with gold, in which were the golden vase that had the manna and aaron's rod that budded and the tables of the covenant, [ : ]and over it were the cherubs of glory, overshadowing the propitiation; of which it is not necessary now to speak particularly. [ : ]and these being thus provided, the priests enter into the first tabernacle continually, performing the services, [ : ]but into the second once a year only the chief priest [enters], not without blood, which he offers for his errors and those of the people, [ : ]the holy spirit showing this, that the way into the sanctuary is not made manifest while the first tabernacle yet has a standing, [ : ]which is a type of the time at hand, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshipper as to the conscience, [ : ]only in meats and drinks and different baptisms, and external ordinances, imposed till the time of reformation. [ : ]but christ having come, a chief priest of the good times that were to come, with a greater and a more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, [ : ]not with blood of goats and bullocks, but with his own blood, entered once into the sanctuary having found eternal redemption. [ : ]for if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies to the purification of the flesh, [ : ]how much more shall the blood of christ, who with an eternal spirit offered himself without fault to god, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living god. [ : ]and for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. [ : ]for where there is a covenant, there must follow the death of the covenant-maker. [ : ]for a covenant is strong for the dead, since it is never strong [unalterable] when the covenant-maker lives; [ : ]whence also the first [covenant] was not initiated without blood. [ : ]for every commandment of the law having been spoken by moses to all the people, taking the blood of bullocks and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, [ : ]saying, this is the blood of the covenant which god has enjoined upon you. [ : ]and he sprinkled also the tabernacle, and all the implements of the service, in like manner, with blood. [ : ]and almost all things, according to the law, are purified with blood, and without the pouring out of blood there is no forgiveness. [ : ]it was necessary, therefore, that the symbols of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [ : ]for christ did not enter into the sanctuary made with hands, a type of the true, but into heaven itself, and already has appeared before god for us, [ : ]not that he may often present himself, as the chief priest enters into the sanctuary once a year with the blood of another [being]; [ : ]since it was necessary that it should suffer often from the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the world he has been manifested to destroy sins by the sacrifice of himself. [ : ]and as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this is the judgment, [ : ]so also christ having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time without sin, to those who look for him for salvation. [ : ]for the law having a shadow of the good things that were to come, not the very likeness of the things, could not by the sacrifices which they offered continually every year perfect the offerers; [ : ]if they could, would they not have ceased to be offered, because those serving would have had no longer a knowledge of sins, having been once purified? [ : ]but in them there was a remembrance of sins, year by year; [ : ]for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. [ : ]wherefore, coming into the world, he says, a sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body didst thou prepare me. [ : ]whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wast not pleased with; [ : ]then i said, behold, i come,--in the volume of the book it is written of me,--to do thy will, o god. [ : ]saying before, sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou didst not desire and wast not pleased with, which are offered according to the law, [ : ] then he said, behold, i come to do thy will. he takes away the first, that he may establish the second, [ : ]by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ, once for all. [ : ]and every priest stood daily performing service and presenting often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; [ : ]but this [priest] having offered one sacrifice forever for sins, sat down on the right hand of god, [ : ]henceforth waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. [ : ] for by one offering he has perfected forever the sanctified. [ : ]the holy spirit also testifies [this] to us; for after it had said before, [ : ]this is the covenant which i will make with them after those days, the lord says, i will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will i write them, [ : ] and their sins and transgressions will i remember no more. [ : ]but where there is a forgiveness of these, an offering for sin is no longer required. chapter iv. the contemplation of christ, faith and its martyrs. [ : ]having therefore, brothers, confidence in respect to the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of jesus, [ : ]which [entrance] he consecrated for us a new and living way through the vail, that is his flesh, [ : ]and [having] a great priest over the house of god, [ : ]let us approach with a true heart in a full assurance of faith, sprinkled in heart from an evil conscience, and washed in body with pure water, [ : ]let us hold firmly the profession of the faith, without declining; for he is faithful that promised; [ : ]and let us observe one another for a provocation of love and of good works, [ : ]not forsaking our own congregation as some are in the habit of [doing], but exhorting [others], and so much the more as you see the day approaching. [ : ]for if we sin willingly after having received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice left for sins, [ : ]but a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which is about to consume the adversaries. [ : ]any one who despised the law of moses died without mercy by two or three witnesses; [ : ]of how much greater punishment do you suppose he will be thought worthy, who has trodden down the son of god, and accounted defiled the blood of the covenant with which he was purified, and treated injuriously the spirit of grace. [ : ]for we know him that said, judgment belongs to me, i will repay. and again, the lord will judge his people. [ : ] it is fearful to fall into the hands of the living god. [ : ]but remember the former days, in which having been enlightened you endured a great conflict with sufferings, [ : ]partly in being made a spectacle by reproaches and afflictions, and partly being companions of those so treated. [ : ]for you sympathized with those in bonds, and received with joy the plunder of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession, and one that endures. [ : ]cast not away therefore your confidence, which has a great reward. [ : ]for you have need of patience, that having done the will of god you may receive the promise. [ : ]for yet a very little while, and he that is to come will come and will not delay; [ : ] but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he draws back my soul takes no pleasure in him. [ : ]but we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of faith to the saving of the soul. [ : ]but faith is a confidence in respect to things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. [ : ]for by it the ancients obtained a good repute. [ : ] we know by faith that the worlds were made by the word of god, that the seen was not made from the apparent. [ : ]by faith abel offered to god a greater sacrifice than cain, through which he was declared to be righteous, god testifying to his gifts, and through the same, having died, he speaks still. [ : ]by faith enoch was translated without seeing death, and was not found because god translated him. for before the translation he was said to have pleased god; [ : ]but without faith it is impossible to please; for he that comes to god, must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that seek him. [ : ]by faith noah having been divinely instructed concerning things not yet seen, fearing built the ark for the salvation of his house, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness by faith. [ : ]by faith abraham being called obeyed and went out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and went out not knowing where he was going. [ : ]by faith he resided temporarily in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents, with isaac and jacob, co-heirs of the same promise; [ : ]for he looked for the city which has foundations [fixed abodes] whose designer and builder is god. [ : ]by faith also sarah herself received power to become a mother, even beyond the usual age, because she regarded him faithful that promised. [ : ]wherefore also there were born of one, and those of one dead, [a posterity] like the stars of heaven for multitude, and like the sands on the sea-shore innumerable. [ : ]all these died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen and saluted them from a distance, and having professed that they were foreigners and strangers on the earth. [ : ]for those who say such things show that they seek a native country. [ : ]and if they had remembered that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return; [ : ]but now they seek a better, that is a heavenly [country]. wherefore god is not ashamed of them to be called their god; for he has prepared for them a city. [ : ]by faith abraham when tried offered isaac, and he that received the promises offered his only son, [ : ]of whom it was said, in isaac shall your posterity be called, [ : ]judging that god was able to raise even from the dead; whence also in a figure he received him. [ : ]by faith also isaac blessed jacob and esau in respect to things to come. [ : ]by faith jacob dying, blessed each of the sons of joseph and worshipped leaning on the top of his staff. [ : ]by faith joseph at the close of life made mention of the exodus of the children of israel and gave charge concerning his bones. [ : ]by faith moses when he was born was hid three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they feared not the command of the king. [ : ]by faith moses when he became a man refused to be called a son of pharaoh's daughter, [ : ]choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of god, than to have an enjoyment of sin for a time, [ : ]judging the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasures of egypt; for he had respect to the reward. [ : ]by faith he left egypt, not having feared the displeasure of the king; for he endured as seeing him that is invisible. [ : ] by faith he observed the passover and the pouring out of blood, that the destroyer of the first-born might not touch them. [ : ]by faith they passed through the red sea as through dry land, which the egyptians attempting were swallowed up. [ : ]by faith the walls of jericho fell down when they had been surrounded seven days. [ : ]by faith rahab the harlot escaped destruction with the disobedient, having received the spies in peace. [ : ]and why should i say more? for time would fail me to relate of gideon and barak, and sampson and jepthah, and david and samuel and the prophets, [ : ]who by faith subdued kingdoms, performed righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [ : ]extinguished the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put to flight encampments of foreigners; [ : ]women received their dead from a resurrection, others were tortured having not accepted redemption, that they might obtain a better resurrection; [ : ]and others had trial of mockings and scourges, and besides of bonds and imprisonment; [ : ]they were stoned, they were cut to pieces with saws, they were tried, they died with the death of the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, injuriously treated, [ : ]of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains, and in caves and openings of the earth. [ : ]and none of these who became martyrs through faith received the promise, [ : ]god having provided something better for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. [ : ]therefore also we, having so great a cloud of witnesses lying around us, laying aside every impediment and sin which entirely surrounds us, let us run with patience the race set before us, [ : ]looking to the chief guide and perfecter of the faith, jesus, who for the joy set before him despised the shame and endured the cross, and sat down on the right hand of god. [ : ]for consider him that has endured such a contradiction from sinners, that you may not become faint and weary in your minds. chapter v. divine chastening, mount sinai and mount zion, moral duties, etc. [ : ]you have not yet resisted to blood contending against sin. [ : ]and you have forgotten the exhortation which says to you as to sons, my son, despise not the correction of the lord and faint not when rebuked by him, [ : ]for the lord corrects those whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. [ : ]if you endure correction, god deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not correct? [ : ]but if you are without correction of which all are partakers, then you are of foreign birth, and not sons. [ : ] moreover, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live? [ : ]for they for a few days corrected us as seemed good to them, but he for the best, that we may partake of his holiness. [ : ]and no correction seems to be joyful for the present but painful, but afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those exercised by it. [ : ]wherefore hold up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, [ : ]and make straight courses for your feet, that the lame may not be turned out of the way, but may rather be healed. [ : ]follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no one shall see the lord, [ : ]taking care that no one may come short of the grace of god, that no root of bitterness springing up may make trouble and by it many be defiled, [ : ]that no one may be a fornicator or unholy person like esau, who for one meal sold his birthright. [ : ]for you know that afterwards, wishing also to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind, though he sought it with tears. [ : ]for you have not come to a mountain that may be touched, and to a burning fire, and blackness and darkness and a tempest [ : ]and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which those who heard desired that the word might not be spoken to them any more,-- [ : ]for they could not bear what was commanded, and if a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned; [ : ]and so fearful was the sight, that moses said, i fear and tremble,-- [ : ]but you have come to zion, the mountain and city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in general assembly, [ : ]and to the church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge the god of all, and to spirits of the righteous made perfect, [ : ]and to jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than abel. [ : ]see that you refuse not him that speaks; for if they did not escape who refused him that gave answers on earth, much more shall we [not escape] who turn ourselves away from him in heaven; [ : ]whose voice then shook the earth, but now it has been promised, saying, hereafter once for all i will shake not only the earth, but also heaven. [ : ]and this, hereafter once for all, signifies the removal of the things shaken as of things made, that those not shaken may continue. [ : ]wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace through which we may serve god acceptably, with piety and fear; [ : ]for our god is also a consuming fire. [ : ]let brotherly love continue. [ : ]forget not hospitality; for by this some without knowing it have entertained angels. [ : ]remember those bound as bound with them, and those injured as being yourselves also in the body. [ : ] marriage is honorable in all, and married life without blame; but fornicators and adulterers god will judge. [ : ]let your life be without avarice, and be contented with what you have; for he said, i will never leave you, i will never forsake you; [ : ]so that we may boldly say, the lord is my helper, and i will not fear; what can man do to me? [ : ]remember your guides who spoke to you the word of god, and considering the end of their life follow the faith. [ : ]jesus christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. [ : ]be not carried about with various and strange doctrines; for it is good that the mind should be established with grace, not with aliments, in which those walking are not profited. [ : ]we have an altar of which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. [ : ]for the bodies of those animals whose blood is carried into the sanctuary by the chief priest are burnt without the encampment. [ : ] wherefore also jesus, that he might purify the people through his blood, suffered without the gate. [ : ]let us therefore go out to him without the encampment, bearing his reproach; [ : ]for we have not here a city that continues, but we seek that which is to come. [ : ]through him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually to god, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name. [ : ]and forget not beneficence and liberality; for with such sacrifices god is well pleased. [ : ]obey your guides and be in subjection; for they watch for your souls as having to give an account, that they may do this with joy and not with grief; for this is unprofitable for you. [ : ]pray for us; for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to live well. [ : ]and i exhort you do this the more, that i may sooner be restored to you. [ : ]and may the god of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the eternal covenant, our lord jesus, [ : ]perfect you in every good work to do his will, doing in you that which is pleasing in his sight through jesus christ, to whom be the glory forever; amen. [ : ]and i beseech you, brothers, suffer the word of exhortation; for i have sent to you a letter in a few words. [ : ]know that brother timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, i will see you. [ : ]salute all your guides and all the saints. those from italy salute you. [ : ]the grace be with you all; amen. revelation by john. patmos, a.d. . chapter i. introduction, a vision of christ [ : ]a revelation of jesus christ, which god gave him, to show his servants [things] which must shortly occur, and he sent and made them known by his angel to his servant john, [ : ]who declared the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ which he saw. [ : ]blessed is he that reads, and those that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things written in it; for the time is at hand. [ : ]john, to the seven churches in asia. grace and peace be to you, from the is and the was and the is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, [ : ]and from jesus christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. to him that loved us and washed us from our sins with his blood, [ : ]and made us a kingdom, priests to god even his father, to him be the glory and the power forever; amen. [ : ]behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him and those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of him. yes, amen. [ : ]i am the alpha and the omega, says the lord god; the is, and the was, and the is to come, the almighty. [ : ]i, john, your brother and companion in the affliction and kingdom and patience in christ jesus, was in the island called patmos on account of the word of god and the testimony of jesus. [ : ]i was in the spirit on the lord's day, and heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, [ : ]saying, what you see write in a book, and send to the seven churches, to ephesus and to smyrna and to pergamus and to thyatira and to sardis and to philadelphia and to laodicea. [ : ]and i turned to see the voice which spoke with me; and having turned around i saw seven golden candlesticks, [ : ]and in the midst of the candlesticks one like the son of man, clothed with a robe extending down to his feet, girded about the breasts with a golden girdle; [ : ]and his head and hairs were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire, [ : ]and his feet like fine brass as if they were burned in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of many waters, [ : ]and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and his face shone like the sun in his strength. [ : ]and when i saw him i fell at his feet as dead; and he put his right hand on me, saying, fear not; i am the first and the last [ : ]and the living, and i was dead, and behold, i am living forever and ever; and i have the keys of death and of hades. [ : ]write therefore the things which you saw, and which are, and which are about to appear hereafter, [ : ]the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. the seven stars are angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks the seven churches. chapter ii. letters to the seven churches. [ : ]to the angel of the church in ephesus write, these things says he that holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, [ : ]i know your works and your labor and your patience, and that you cannot bear the wicked, and you tried those who say they are apostles and are not, and found them false; [ : ]and you have patience, and suffered for my name, and did not faint. [ : ]but i have against you that you have left your first love. [ : ]remember therefore whence you have fallen, and change your minds, and do the first works, otherwise i will come to you and remove your candlestick from its place, unless you change your minds. [ : ]but you have this, that you hate the works of the nicolaitans, which i also hate. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches; to him that conquers will i give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my god. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in smyrna write, these things says the first and the last, who was dead and lived, [ : ]i know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich, and the blasphemy of those who say they are jews and are not, but are a synagogue of satan. [ : ]fear not what you are about to suffer. behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you shall have affliction ten days. be faithful till death, and i will give you the crown of life. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches; he that conquers shall not be injured by the second death. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in pergamus write, these things says he that has the two-edged sharp sword, [ : ]i know your works and where you live; where satan's throne is; and you hold my name, and did not deny my faith in the days in which antipas my faithful martyr was killed among you, where satan dwells. [ : ]but i have a few things against you; you have there those who hold the doctrine of balaam, who taught balak to put an occasion of sin before the children of israel, both to eat things offered to idols and to commit fornication. [ : ]so in like manner you have also those who hold the doctrine of the nicolaitans. [ : ]change your minds therefore; otherwise i will come to you quickly, and fight with them with the sword of my mouth. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches; to him that conquers will i give of the hidden manna, and i will give him a white token, and on the token a new name engraved, which no one knows but he that receives it. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in thyatira write, these things says the son of god, he that has his eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brass, [ : ]i know your works and love and faith and service and your patience, and your last works more than the first. [ : ]but i have against you that you allow your wife jezebel, who says she is a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit fornication and eat things offered to idols. [ : ]and i gave her time to change her mind, and she will not change her mind from her fornication. [ : ]behold, i will cast her on a [sick] bed, and those committing adultery with her into great affliction, unless they change their minds from her works. [ : ]and her children will i kill with pestilence, and all the churches shall know that i am he that searches the minds and hearts, and i will give you each one according to your works. [ : ]but i say to the rest of you in thyatira who have not this doctrine, who have not known the depths of satan, as they say, i will put on you no other burden; [ : ]but what you have, hold fast till i come. [ : ]and to him that conquers and keeps my works till the end, i will give power over the nations, [ : ]and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and crush them like earthen vessels, as i also have received of my father, [ : ]and i will give him the star of the morning. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in sardis write, these things says he that has the seven spirits of god and the seven stars, i know your works, that you have a name to live, and are dead. [ : ]be watchful, confirm the rest who are about to die. for i have not found your works perfect before my god. [ : ] remember therefore how you have received and heard, and watch, and change your minds. if therefore you do not watch, i will come as a thief, and you shall not know at what hour i will come upon you. [ : ]but you have a few names in sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. [ : ]he that conquers shall be clothed in white robes, and i will not obliterate his name from the book of life, and i will confess his name before my father and before his angels. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in philadelphia write, these things says the holy one, the true, he that has the key of david, he that opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open, [ : ]i know your works; behold, i have placed before you an opened door, which no man can shut; because you have a little power, and kept my word, and did not deny my name. [ : ]behold, i will make those of the synagogue of satan who say they are jews, and are not, but lie, behold, i will make them come and worship at your feet, and they shall know that i have loved you. [ : ]because you have kept the word of my patience, i also will keep you from the hour of trial which is to come on all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth. [ : ]i come quickly; keep what you have, that no man may take your crown. [ : ]him that overcomes will i make a pillar in the temple of my god, and he shall go out of it no more, and i will write on him the name of my god and the name of the city of my god, the new jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my god, and my new name. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches. [ : ]and to the angel of the church in laodicea write, these things says the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of god, [ : ]i know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. i wish you were cold or hot. [ : ]because therefore you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, i am about to spew you out of my mouth. [ : ]for you say, i am rich and have become rich and have need of nothing, and know not that you are miserable, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. [ : ]i advise you to buy of me gold purified in the fire that you may be rich, and white robes that you may put on, and the shame of your nakedness not appear, and an eye-salve to anoint your eyes that you may see. [ : ]as many as i love, i rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore and change your minds. [ : ]behold, i stand at the door and knock; if any one shall hear my voice and open the door, i will enter in to him, and feast with him, and he with me. [ : ]to him that conquers will i give to sit down with me on my throne, as i conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. [ : ]let him that has an ear hear what the spirit says to the churches. chapter iii. the heavenly world, the throne of god and his court--the elders, cherubs, sealed book, lamb, etc. [ : ]after this i saw, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which i heard was of a trumpet speaking to me, saying, come up hither, and i will show you things that must occur hereafter. [ : ]and immediately i was in the spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. [ : ]and he that sat was like a jasper and sardine stone, and there was an iris about the throne, similar in appearance to an emerald. [ : ]and about the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones twenty-four elders sitting clothed in white robes, and having crowns of gold on their heads. [ : ]and there proceeded from the throne lightnings and voices and thunders; and seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of god, [ : ]and before the throne was as it were a sea of glass like crystal; and in the midst of the throne and about the throne were four living ones [cherubs] full of eyes before and behind. [ : ]and the first cherub was like a lion, and the second cherub like a bullock, and the third cherub had the face of a man, and the fourth cherub was like a flying eagle. [ : ]and the four cherubs had each six wings apiece. and they were full of eyes around and within, and they had no rest day nor night, saying, holy, holy, holy is the lord god almighty the was and the is and the is to come. [ : ]and when the cherubs gave glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne who lives forever and ever, [ : ]the twenty-four elders fell down on their faces before him that sat on the throne, and worshipped him that lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before his throne, saying, [ : ]thou art worthy, our lord and god, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and on account of thy will they are and were created. [ : ]and i saw at the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. [ : ]and i saw a mighty angel proclaim with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seven seals? [ : ]and no one in heaven above, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, could open the book, or look in it. [ : ]and i wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look in it. [ : ]and one of the elders said to me, weep not; behold, the lion of the tribe of judah, the root of david, has conquered, he is opening the book and its seven seals. [ : ]and i saw in the midst of the throne and of the four cherubs and in the midst of the elders, a lamb standing as if killed, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of god sent into all the earth. [ : ]and he came and took [the book] from the right hand of him that sat on the throne. [ : ]and when he took the book, the four cherubs and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which is the prayers of the saints: [ : ]and they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for thou wast killed and hast redeemed to god with thy blood [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, [ : ]and hast made them a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign on the earth. [ : ]and i saw, and heard a voice of many angels about the throne, and of the cherubs, and of the elders,--and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands,-- [ : ]saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was killed to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. [ : ]and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those which are on the sea, and all things in them, all heard i saying, to him that sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever. [ : ]and the four cherubs said, amen. and the elders fell down and worshipped: chapter iv. the first six seals of the book of prophecy, the sealing of god's servants, etc. [ : ]and i saw when the lamb opened one of the seven seals, and heard one of the four cherubs say like the sound of thunder, come. [ : ]and i saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. [ : ]and when he opened the second seal, i heard the second cherub say, come. [ : ]and there went out another fiery horse, and it was given to him that sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given him a great sword. [ : ]and when he opened the third seal, i heard the third cherub say, come. and i saw, and behold, a black horse, and he that sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. [ : ]and i heard a voice in the midst of the four cherubs, saying, a choenix [a quart] of wheat for a denarius [ cents], and three choenices of barley for a denarius; and injure not the oil and wine. [ : ]and when he opened the fourth seal, i heard the fourth cherub say, come. [ : ]and i saw, and behold, a pale horse, and one sat on it, whose name was death, and hades followed him, and there was given him power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the beasts of the earth. [ : ]and when he opened the fifth seal, i saw under the altar the souls of those killed for the word of god and for the testimony which they had. [ : ] and they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, master, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? [ : ]and a white robe was given them, and it was told them to rest yet a little while, till their fellow servants and their brothers and those about to be killed as they also had been should finish [their testimony]. [ : ]and i saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and all the moon became as blood, [ : ]and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts down its unseasonable figs when shaken with a mighty wind, [ : ]and heaven departed like a book rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved from their places. [ : ]and the kings of the earth and the great men and the chiliarchs and the rich and the mighty and every servant and freeman hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains, [ : ]and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, [ : ]for the great day of his wrath has come, and who can stand? [ : ]and after this i saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. [ : ]and i saw another angel ascend from the east, having the seal of the living god, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea, [ : ] saying, injure not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we seal the servants of our god on their foreheads. [ : ]and i heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed from every tribe of the children of israel. [ : ]from the tribe of judah were sealed twelve thousand, from the tribe of reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of gad twelve thousand, [ : ]from the tribe of asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of manasseh twelve thousand, [ : ]from the tribe of simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of issachar twelve thousand, [ : ]from the tribe of zebulon twelve thousand, from the tribe of joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of benjamin twelve thousand. [ : ]after this i saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes, and having palm branches in their hands; [ : ]and they cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation be to our god who sits on the throne and to the lamb. [ : ]and all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four cherubs, and fell down before the throne on their faces, and worshipped god, [ : ]saying, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our god forever and ever. [ : ]and one of the elders answered and said to me, who are those clothed with white robes, and whence did they come? [ : ]and i said to him, my lord, you know. and he said to me, these are those who come out from great affliction, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. [ : ] therefore they are before the throne of god, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits on the throne will dwell among them. [ : ]and they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them nor any heat, [ : ]for the lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them to fountains of the waters of life, and god shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. chapter v. the seventh seal, the first five trumpets, the star that fell from heaven, the locusts, etc. [ : ]and when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about half an hour. [ : ]and i saw the seven angels who stand before god, and there were given them seven trumpets. [ : ]and another angel came and stood by the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given him much incense to present with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. [ : ] and a cloud of incense ascended with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before god. [ : ]and the angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth; and there were thunders and lightning and voices and an earthquake. [ : ]and the seven angels having the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. [ : ]and the first sounded; and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth; and a third part of the earth was consumed, and a third part of the trees were consumed, and all the green grass was consumed. [ : ]and the second angel sounded; and the appearance of a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and a third part of the sea became blood, [ : ]and a third part of the creatures in the sea having life died, and a third part of the ships were destroyed. [ : ]and the third angel sounded; and there fell from heaven a great star, burning like a lamp, and it fell on a third part of the rivers and on the fountains of waters. [ : ]and the name of the star was called bitterness. and a third part of the waters became bitter, and many men died by the waters, because they were bitter. [ : ]and the fourth angel sounded; and a third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, and a third part of them were darkened, and the day did not appear a third part of it, nor the night. [ : ]and i saw, and heard an eagle flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe, to those who live on the earth on account of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound. [ : ]and the fifth angel sounded; and i saw a star fall from heaven to the earth, and there was given him the key of the pit of the abyss. [ : ]and he opened the pit of the abyss; and there arose up a smoke from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. [ : ]and from the smoke went out locusts on the earth, and power was given them like the power which scorpions of the earth have. [ : ]and it was told them not to injure the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but the men who had not the seal of god on their foreheads. [ : ]and it was given them not to kill them, but to sting them five months; and their sting was like the sting of a scorpion, when he strikes a man. [ : ]and in those days men shall seek death and not find it, and shall desire to die and death flee from them. [ : ]and the forms of the locusts were like horses prepared for battle, and upon their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men, [ : ]and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like [those] of lions, [ : ]and they had cuirasses like steel cuirasses, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running to battle. [ : ]and they had tails like scorpions and stings, and in their tails was their power to injure men five months. [ : ]they had over them a king, an angel of the abyss, whose name in hebrew is abaddon, but in the greek he is called apollyon. [ : ]one woe has passed; behold, there come yet two woes after this. [ : ]and the sixth angel sounded; and i heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before god, [ : ]saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, unbind the four angels bound by the river, the great euphrates. [ : ] and the four angels were unbound, who were prepared for the hour, and day, and month, and year, to kill a third part of men. [ : ]and the number of the armies of the horse was two ten thousands of ten thousands; i heard the number of them. [ : ]and thus i saw the horses in the vision and those sitting on them, having cuirassess of fire, of hyacinth and of sulphur; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and sulphur. [ : ]by these three plagues a third part of men were killed, by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur which proceeded from their mouths. [ : ]for the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like serpents, having heads, and with them they did injury. [ : ]and the rest of men, who were not killed with these plagues, did not change their minds [to turn] from the works of their hands, not to worship demons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which cannot see nor hear nor walk, [ : ] and did not change their minds [to turn] from their murders, nor from their magic arts, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts. chapter vi. the little book and the two witnesses. [ : ]and i saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and an iris was about his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire, [ : ]and he had in his hand a little book opened. and he set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land, [ : ]and cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. and when he cried, seven thunders spoke their words. [ : ]and when the seven thunders spoke, i was about to write; and i heard a voice from heaven, saying, seal up what the seven thunders spoke, and write it not. [ : ]and the angel whom i saw standing on the sea and on the land, lifted up his right hand to heaven, [ : ]and swore by him that lives forever and ever, that created heaven and the things in it and the earth and the things in it and the sea and the things in it, that time should be no longer, [ : ]but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of god shall be finished, as he told his servants the prophets. [ : ]and the voice which i heard from heaven [i heard] again speak to me and say, go and take the little opened book in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land. [ : ]and i went to the angel, and said to him, give me the little book. and he said to me, take and eat it, and it will embitter your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. [ : ]and i took the little book from the hand of the angel and eat it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey; and when i eat it, my stomach was bitter. [ : ]and they said to me, you must prophesy again before peoples and nations and tongues and many kings. [ : ]and a rod was given me like a staff, and he said, arise and measure the temple of god and the altar and those that worship in it. [ : ]and leave out the exterior court of the temple and measure it not, for it has been given to the gentiles, and they shall tread the holy city under foot forty-two months [three years and a half]. [ : ]and i will give charge to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy twelve hundred and sixty days [three years and a half] clothed with sackcloth. [ : ]these are the two olive trees, and the two lamps, which stand before the lord of the earth. [ : ]and if any one will injure them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their adversaries; and if any one will injure them, he must thus be killed. [ : ]these have power to shut heaven, that it may not rain in the days of their prophecy, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they will. [ : ]and when they shall finish their testimony, the beast which ascends from the abyss shall make war with them, and conquer them, and kill them. [ : ] and their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is spiritually called sodom and egypt, where also their lord was crucified. [ : ] and the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not permit their dead bodies to be buried. [ : ]and those that dwell on the earth shall be glad, and rejoice over them, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented those that dwell on the earth. [ : ]and after three days and a half the spirit of life from god entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those that saw them. [ : ]and i heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ascend hither; and they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. [ : ]and in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell, and seven thousand men were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the god of heaven. [ : ]the second woe has passed; behold, the third woe comes quickly. chapter vii. the seventh trumpet, the woman, the dragon and the beasts. [ : ]and the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, the kingdom of the world has become our lord's and his christ's, and he shall reign forever and ever. [ : ]and the twenty-four elders who sit before god on their thrones fell on their faces, and worshipped god, [ : ]saying, we thank thee, lord god almighty, the is and the was, that thou didst take thy great power and reign, [ : ]and the nations were angry, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged and to give the reward to thy servants the prophets and to the saints and those that fear thy name, small and great, and to destroy those that destroy the earth. [ : ]and the temple of god was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and voices and thunders and great hail. [ : ]and a great symbol appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, [ : ]and being with child she cried out in pain and distress to give it birth. [ : ]and there appeared another symbol in heaven, and behold, a great fiery dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and upon his heads seven diadems, [ : ]and his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them on the earth. and the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear [a child], that when she had borne he might devour her son. [ : ]and she bore a male child, who is about to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to god, and to his throne. [ : ]and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by god, that they may nourish her there twelve hundred and sixty days [three years and a half]. [ : ]and there was a war in heaven, michael and his angels fighting with the dragon. and the dragon fought and his angels, [ : ]and were not strong, neither was their place found any longer in heaven. [ : ]and the great dragon, the old serpent, who is called the devil and satan, and who deceives all the world, was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast [to the earth] with him. [ : ]and i heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now has come the salvation and power and kingdom of our god, and the power of his christ, for the accuser of the brothers, that accused them day and night before god, has been cast [to the earth]. [ : ]and they conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and exposed their lives to death. [ : ]therefore rejoice, heavens, and those who dwell in them; woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has a short time. [ : ]and when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who bore the male child. [ : ]and there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly to the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished a time and times and half a time [three years and a half], from before the serpent. [ : ]and the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water like a river, that he might carry her away. [ : ]and the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. [ : ]and the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children who keep the commandments of god, and have the testimony of jesus. [ : ]and i stood on the sand of the sea. and i saw a beast come up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. [ : ]and the beast which i saw was like a leopard, and his feet like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. [ : ]and one of his heads [was as if] mortally wounded, and its mortal wound was healed. and all the earth wondered after the beast, [ : ]and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave power to the beast, and worshipped the beast, saying, who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with him? [ : ]and there was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemy, and power was given him to continue forty-two months [three years and a half]. [ : ]and he opened his mouth in blasphemies against god, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and those that dwell in heaven. [ : ]and it was given him to make war with the saints and to conquer them, and power was given him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. [ : ]and all who dwell on the earth shall worship him, [every one] whose name is not enrolled in the lamb's book of life who was killed from the foundation of the world. [ : ]if any one has an ear let him hear. [ : ]if any one [leads] into captivity, he shall go into captivity; if any one kills with the sword, he shall be killed with the sword. here is the patience and faith of the saints. [ : ]and i saw another beast come up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. [ : ]and he exercised all the power of the first beast in his presence. and he caused the earth and those that dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. [ : ]and he performs great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from heaven to the earth in the sight of men. [ : ]and he deceives those that dwell on the earth by the miracles which it was given him to perform before the beast, telling those that dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast which had the wound with the sword and lived. [ : ]and it was given him to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that all who would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. [ : ] and he caused all, small and great, and rich and poor, and freemen and servants, to receive the mark on their right hand or on their forehead, [ : ]and that no one should buy or sell unless he had the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. [ : ]here is wisdom. let him that has a mind count the number of the beast; for the number is man's. and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. chapter viii. the lamb on mount zion, and his judgments. [ : ]and i saw, and behold, the lamb stood on mount zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. [ : ]and i heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which i heard was like harpers playing on their harps. [ : ]and they sung a new song before the throne and before the four cherubs and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who had been redeemed from the earth. [ : ]these are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins; these are those who follow the lamb wherever he goes. these were redeemed from men a first fruit to god and the lamb, [ : ]and in their mouth was found no deceit; for they are blameless. [ : ]and i saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, [ : ]saying with a loud voice, fear god and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him that made heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters. [ : ]and another, a second angel, followed, saying, babylon the great has fallen, who made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. [ : ]and another, a third angel, followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any one worships the beast and his image, and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, [ : ]he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of god, mingled undiluted in the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur before the angels and before the lamb. [ : ]and the smoke of their torment rises up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. [ : ]here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of god and the faith of jesus. [ : ]and i heard a voice from heaven, saying, write, blessed are the dead who die in the lord from henceforth. yes, says the spirit, they shall rest from their labors; and their works follow after them. [ : ]and i saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like the son of man, having on his head a crown of gold and in his hand a sharp sickle. [ : ]and another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, send your sickle and reap, for the time has come to harvest, for the harvest of the earth is dry. [ : ]and he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth, and the earth was harvested. [ : ]and another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he had a sharp sickle; [ : ]and another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, send your sharp sickle and gather the grapes of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe. [ : ]and the angel cast his sharp sickle on the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of god. [ : ]and the wine-press was trodden without the city, and the blood went out from the wine-press to the horses' bridles, a distance of sixteen hundred stadia [ english miles]. chapter ix. the last seven plagues of the kingdom of the beast. [ : ]and i saw another symbol in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels having the last seven plagues, because by them the wrath of god was finished. [ : ]and i saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those becoming victors over the beast and his image and the number of his name standing on the sea of glass, having harps of god. [ : ]and they sing the song of moses the servant of god and the song of the lamb, saying, great and wonderful are thy works, lord god almighty; just and true are thy ways, king of the nations; [ : ]who shall not fear thee, lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy, for all the nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy righteous ordinances have been made manifest. [ : ]and after this i saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was opened in heaven, [the inner temple], [ : ]and the seven angels went out who have the last seven plagues, clothed with pure bright linen, and girded about the breasts with golden girdles. [ : ]and one of the four cherubs gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of the god who lives forever and ever. [ : ]and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and from his power, and no one could enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. [ : ]and i heard a loud voice saying to the seven angels, go, pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of god on the earth. [ : ]and the first went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and there was an evil and malignant ulcer on the men who have the mark of the beast and those who worship his image. [ : ]and the second poured out his bowl on the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead body, and every living soul died, the [creatures] in the sea. [ : ]and the third poured out his bowl on the rivers and the fountains of waters; and they became blood. [ : ]and i heard the angel of the waters say, thou art just, the is and the was, [the] holy one, because thou hast judged thus, [ : ]for they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; they are worthy. [ : ]and i heard the altar say, yes, lord god almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. [ : ]and the fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given it to scorch men with fire. [ : ]and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of god who had power over these plagues, and changed not their minds to give him glory. [ : ]and the fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened, and they gnawed their tongues from painful labor, [ : ] and blasphemed the god of heaven on account of their painful labors and their ulcers, and they changed not their minds to turn from their works. [ : ]and the sixth poured out his bowl on the river, the great euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. [ : ]and i saw three impure spirits like frogs [proceed] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet;-- [ : ]for [these] are spirits of demons that perform miracles, that go to the kings of all the world, to assemble them for the battle of that great day of god almighty. [ : ]behold, i come as a thief; blessed is he that watches and keeps on his clothes, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. [ : ]and they assembled them in the place called in hebrew armagedon. [ : ]and the seventh angel poured out his bowl on the air; and there came out a loud voice from the temple, from the throne, saying, it is done. [ : ] and there were lightnings and voices and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, such as has not been since a man was on the earth, such an earthquake and one so great. [ : ]and the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. and babylon the great was remembered before god, to give her the cup of the wine of his indignant wrath. [ : ]and every island fled, and the mountains were not found. [ : ]and great hail of about the weight of a talent [the attic talent, pounds, the jewish, ] came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed god on account of the plague of the hail because its plague was very great. chapter x. the fall of babylon. [ : ]and one of the seven angels having the seven bowls came and spoke to me, saying, come, i will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, [ : ]with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. [ : ]and he bore me away into the wilderness in the spirit. and i saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, [the beast] full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. [ : ]and the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of the fornication of the earth, [ : ]and on her forehead the names inscribed, mystery, babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. [ : ]and i saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of jesus, and i wondered when i saw her with great wonder. [ : ]and the angel said to me, why did you wonder? i will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast which carries her, having the seven heads and ten horns. [ : ]the beast which you saw was and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss, and goes to destruction; and those who live on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder, when they see the beast that he was and is not and is to come. [ : ]here is the mind which has wisdom. the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits, [ : ]and are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes must continue a short time. [ : ]and the beast which was and is not, he also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes to destruction. [ : ]and the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [ : ] these have one will, and give their power and their authority to the beast. [ : ]they shall make war with the lamb, and the lamb shall conquer them,--for he is lord of lords and king of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. [ : ]and he said to me, the waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. [ : ]and the ten horns which you saw and the beast shall hate the harlot, and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; [ : ]for god has put it into their hearts to do his will and to have one will and give their kingdom to the beast, till the words of god are finished. [ : ]and the woman which you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. [ : ]after this i saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lighted by his glory. [ : ]and he cried with a loud voice, saving, babylon the great has fallen, has fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, and a haunt of every impure spirit, and a haunt of every impure and hateful bird, [ : ]because all nations have drank of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth became rich from the greatness of her luxury. [ : ]and i heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that you may not partake of her sins, and receive of her plagues; [ : ] for her sins have reached to heaven and god has remembered her wickedness. [ : ]render to her as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; of the cup that she has mixed, mix to her double; [ : ]as much as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much distress and sorrow give her. for she says in her mind, i sit a queen and am not a widow and i see not sorrow. [ : ]therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death and sorrow and famine, and she shall be burnt with fire; for mighty is the lord god who has judged her. [ : ]and the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her shall weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, [ : ]standing at a distance on account of fear of her torment, saying, alas, alas, the great city, babylon the mighty city, for in one hour your judgment has come. [ : ]and the merchants of the earth shall weep and lament for her, because no one buys their wares any more, [ : ]wares of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls, and linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every implement of ivory and every implement of most precious wood, of brass and iron and marble, [ : ]cinnamon and amomum and incense and ointment and frankincense, and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and of horses and chariots and servants, and souls of men. [ : ]and the fruit of your soul's desire has gone from you, and all precious and shining stores have perished from you, and you shall find them no more. [ : ]and dealers in these things, and those who became rich by her, shall stand afar off for fear of her distress, weeping and lamenting, [ : ]saying, alas, alas, the great city, that was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, [ : ]for in one hour are so great riches made a desolation. and every sailing-master and every one who sails to the place, and sailors and all that work on the sea, shall stand afar off, [ : ]and looking on the smoke of its burning, cry, saying, what city is like this great city? [ : ]and they shall cast dust on their heads, and cry weeping and lamenting, saying, alas, alas, the great city, by which all were enriched who had ships on the sea on account of her costly merchandise, for in one hour is it made desolate. [ : ]rejoice over her, heaven, and you holy angels and apostles and prophets, for god has executed your judgment on her. [ : ]and a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall babylon the great city be cast down, and shall be found no more. [ : ]and the voice of harpers and singers and of those that play on flutes and trumpets shall be heard in you no more. and no artisan of any art shall be found in you any more, and the sound of a mill shall be heard in you no more, [ : ]and the light of a candle shall shine in you no more, and the voice of a bridegroom and of a bride shall be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, for all nations were deceived by your magic arts, [ : ]and in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all that have been killed on the earth. chapter xi. satan conquered and imprisoned, his release and final overthrow. [ : ]after this i heard a loud voice as of a great multitude in heaven, saying, halleluia, the salvation and glory and power of our god, [ : ]for true and righteous are his judgments, for he has judged the great harlot who destroyed the earth with her fornication, and avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. [ : ]and again they said, halleluia, and her smoke ascends forever and ever. [ : ]and the twenty-four elders fell down, and the four cherubs, and worshipped god who sat on the throne, saying, amen, halleluia. [ : ]and a voice came out from the throne, saying, praise our god, all his servants and those that fear him, small and great. [ : ]and i heard them as the voice of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying, halleluia, for the lord our god the almighty reigns. [ : ]let us rejoice and be glad, and give glory to him, for the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has prepared herself, [ : ]and it was given her to be arrayed in fine linen white and clean;--for fine linen represents the righteous ordinances of the saints. [ : ]and he said to me, write, blessed are those who are called to the wedding supper of the lamb. and he told me, these are the true words of god. [ : ]and i fell before his feet to worship him. and he said to me, see [that you do it] not; i am your fellow-servant and of your brothers who have the testimony of jesus; worship god. for the testimony of jesus is the spirit of prophecy. [ : ]and i saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. [ : ]and his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; he has a name written that no man knows except himself, [ : ]and he is clothed in a mantle dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of god. [ : ]and the armies of heaven follow him upon white horses, clothed with fine white clean linen. [ : ]and out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he may smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he shall tread the wine-press of the indignant wrath of god almighty. [ : ]and he has on the mantle and on the thigh his name written, king of kings and lord of lords. [ : ]and i saw an angel standing on the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, come, assemble yourselves to the great supper of god, [ : ]that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of chiliarchs and the flesh of mighty [men] and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, both free-men and servants and both small and great. [ : ]and i saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled together to make war with him that sat on the horse and with his army. [ : ]and the beast was taken and with him the false prophet who performed miracles before him, with which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worship his image; and the two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with sulphur. [ : ]and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sits on the horse, which proceeded out of his mouth, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. [ : ]and i saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. [ : ]and he took the dragon, which is the old serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years, [ : ]and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up and put a seal over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished; after that he must be released a short time. [ : ]and i saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given them, and the souls of those who have been beheaded for the testimony of jesus and the word of god, and who did not worship the beast nor his image and did not receive the mark on their forehead and on their right hand; and they lived and reigned with christ a thousand years; [ : ]the rest of the dead did not live till the thousand years were finished. this is the first resurrection. [ : ]blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection; on these the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of god and christ, and reign with him a thousand years. [ : ]and when the thousand years are finished, satan shall be released from his prison, [ : ]and go forth to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, the gog and the magog [the king and the people], and to assemble them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. [ : ] and they went up on the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the encampment of the saints and the beloved city; and fire came down from heaven and consumed them. [ : ]and the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and sulphur, where also the beast and the false prophet [were cast], and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. chapter xii. the final judgment, the new jerusalem, etc. [ : ]and i saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose presence the earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [ : ]and i saw the dead, great and small, stand before the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is of life. and the dead were judged from the things written in the books according to their works. [ : ]and the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged each according to their works. [ : ]and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. this is the second death, the lake of fire. [ : ]and whoever was not found enrolled in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. [ : ]and i saw a new heaven and new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea was no more. [ : ]and i saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [ : ]and i heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, behold, the tabernacle of god is with men, and he will tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and god himself will be with them, their god, [ : ]and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, nor shall lamentation nor crying nor pain be any more, for the former things have passed away. [ : ]and he that sits on the throne said, behold, i make all things new. and he said, write that these words are faithful and true. [ : ]and he said to me, it is done. i am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. i will give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely. [ : ]he that conquers shall inherit these things, and i will be to him a god and he shall be to me a son. [ : ]but the fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. [ : ]and one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last seven plagues came, and spoke with me, saying, come, i will show you the wife, the bride of the lamb. [ : ]and he bore me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the city, the holy jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, [ : ]having the glory of god; its luminary was like the most precious stone, like a crystalline jasper. [ : ]it had a great and high wall, it had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of israel. [ : ]on the east were three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. [ : ]and the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb. [ : ]and he that spoke with me had a golden measuring rod, to measure the city and its gates and its wall. [ : ]and the city was square, and its length equal to its breadth. and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia [ english miles]; and the length and breadth and height of it are equal. [ : ]and he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which was of the angel. [ : ]and the building of its wall was jasper, and the city was of pure gold like clear glass. [ : ]and the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone; the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, [ : ]the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardine stone, the seventh chrysolyte, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. [ : ]and the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each of the gates was of one pearl. and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass. [ : ]and i saw no temple in it, for the lord god almighty is its temple, and the lamb. [ : ]and the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to give a light to it; for the glory of god lights it, and its light the lamb. [ : ] and the nations shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory to it, [ : ]and its gates shall not be shut by day,--for there shall be no night there,-- [ : ]and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. [ : ]and there shall not enter into it any thing that is defiled, nor any one that commits an abomination and falsehood, but those enrolled in the lamb's book of life. [ : ]and he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of god and the lamb. [ : ]in the midst of its broad plain and along the river on each side was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, and yielding monthly each of its fruits, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. [ : ]and no curse shall be there any more. and the throne of god and of the lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, [ : ]and shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. [ : ] and there shall be no night, and they shall have no need of a lamp and light, for the lord god shall shed light on them, and they shall reign forever and ever. [ : ]and he said to me, these words are faithful and true, and the lord god of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show his servants what must shortly occur. [ : ]behold, i come quickly. blessed is he that keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. [ : ]and i am john who heard and saw these thing; and when i heard and when i saw i fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. [ : ]and he said to me, see [that you do it] not; for i am your fellow servant and of your brothers the prophets and of those that keep the words of this book; worship god. [ : ]and he said to me, seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; the time is at hand. [ : ]let the unjust be unjust still, and let the filthy be filthy still, and let the righteous do righteousness still, and let the holy be made holy still. [ : ]behold, i come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every one as his work is. [ : ]i am the alpha and the omega, first and last, the beginning and end. [ : ]blessed are they that keep his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and enter by the gates into the city. [ : ]without are dogs and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practises falsehood. [ : ]i jesus sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. i am the root and offspring of david, and the bright star of the morning. [ : ]and the spirit and the bride say, come. and let him that hears say, come. and let him that thirsts, come; let him that will, take the water of life freely. [ : ]i testify to every one that hears the words of the prophecy of this book. if any one adds to them, god shall add to him the plagues written in this book; [ : ]and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god shall take away his part from the tree of life, and the holy city, described in this book. [ : ]he that testifies these things says, yes, i come quickly. amen, come lord jesus. [ : ]the grace of the lord jesus be with all. transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). the literature and history of new testament times part i: the historical background of christianity the early history of christianity by john gresham machen philadelphia, pa. the presbyterian board of publication and sabbath school work contents page introduction lesson . the new testament . the roman background of christianity . the greek background of christianity . the jewish background of christianity: i. palestinian judaism . the jewish background of christianity: ii. the judaism of the dispersion . the messiah . the book of the acts . the cross and the resurrection the foundation of apostolic preaching . the beginnings of the christian church . the first persecution . the first gentile converts . the conversion of paul . the church at antioch . the gospel to the gentiles . the council at jerusalem . the gospel carried into europe . encouragement for recent converts . the conflict with the judaizers . problems of a gentile church . the apostle and his ministry . the gospel of salvation . paul's journey to rome . the supremacy of christ . the church of christ . christ and his followers . training new leaders . a presentation of jesus to jewish christians . a graphic sketch of the life of jesus . a greek historian's account of jesus . the testimony of the beloved disciple . the jesus of the gospels . a document of the jerusalem church . jesus the fulfillment of the old testament . christian fortitude . the christian's attitude toward error and immorality . the life of the children of god . the messages of the living christ . a vision of the final triumph . review . the church and the world . the christian message . the word and the sacraments . prayer . the congregation . the relief of the needy . organizing for service . a mission for the world . the christian ideal of personal morality . christianity and human relationships . the christian use of the intellect . the christian hope and the present possession . retrospect: the first christian century copyright, , by john gresham machen introduction the general purpose of this course of lessons has been set forth in the introduction to the student's text book. there is a tendency in the modern church to neglect the study of bible history. such neglect will inevitably result in a loss of power. the gospel is a record of something that has happened, and uncertainty about the gospel is fatal weakness. furthermore the historical study of the apostolic age--that age when divine revelation established the great principles of the church's life--is the best corrective for a thousand vagaries. much can be learned from modern pedagogy; but after all what is absolutely fundamental, both for teacher and for student, is an orderly acquaintance with the bible facts. the teacher's manual, therefore, is intended not merely to offer suggestions as to methods of teaching, but primarily to supplement the teacher's knowledge. a teacher who knows only what he actually imparts to the class is inevitably dull. the true teacher brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. the sections in the teacher's manual, since they are intended to be supplementary, should not be read until after careful attention has been paid to the corresponding sections in the student's text book. moreover, both sections together are of course in themselves insufficient. they should be supplemented by other reading. suggestions about reading have been put at the end of every lesson. here, however, a few general remarks may be made. davis' "dictionary of the bible" and purves' "christianity in the apostolic age," which have been recommended even to the student, will be to the teacher almost invaluable. the earnest teacher will also desire to refer to good commentaries on the acts. the commentaries which have been mentioned in connection with the individual lessons are based upon the english bible; but every teacher who has any knowledge of greek, however slight, should use, instead, the commentary of knowling, in "the expositor's greek testament." for the life of paul, lewin's "life and epistles of st. paul" and the similar book of conybeare and howson are still very valuable for their vivid and extended descriptions of the scenes of the missionary journeys. a similar service is rendered, in more up-to-date form, by the various works of ramsay. stalker's "life of st. paul" is a good handbook. m'clymont's "new testament and its writers" contains instructive, though very brief, introductions to all of the new testament books. hastings' "dictionary of the bible" and "dictionary of christ and the gospels" number among their contributors many writers of many opinions. they are rich in references to the vast literature of modern biblical discussion. the writer of this course has derived information from many quarters. definite acknowledgment of indebtedness, since no originality is claimed, may be regarded as unnecessary. it is a pleasure, however, to render special thanks to rev. professor william park armstrong, d. d., of princeton theological seminary, whose wise counsel has been of incalculable assistance at many points. the actual presentation of the lessons will, of course, vary according to the needs of the classes and the preferences of the teachers. the student's text book may often provide a convenient order of presentation. that book is intended not merely to be read, but also to be studied. it is to be regarded as a sort of outline of the course. the "topics for study" are intended to serve a double purpose. in the first place, they will test the student's knowledge of the lesson material; in the second place, they will afford encouragement to special investigation. individual topics may often be assigned for thorough treatment to individual students, while the class as a whole may use all the topics as guides to a general knowledge. personal interest in the individual students is of the utmost importance. instruction has a tenfold value when it is backed by friendship. the relation of the students to the church should be a matter of especial concern. if any member of the class has not confessed his faith in christ, the study of this year offers abundant opportunity for a word in season. our study reveals the church as a divine institution. shall we then stand aloof? in this course the teacher has the opportunity of introducing young people of maturing minds to the historical study of the new testament. there could be no more inspiring task. carried about with every wind of doctrine, the church is sadly in need of an assured anchorage. that anchorage should be sought in history. ignorance is weak; sound knowledge, sought with prayer, and blessed by the spirit of god, will lead to a more stalwart and more intelligent faith. lesson i the new testament this is an introductory lesson. it should be used, first of all, to answer intelligent general questions about the new testament. some of these questions will be discussed briefly under sections to , below. the historical study of the new testament, based upon a study of the circumstances under which the individual books were written, will probably be new to many of the students. the new point of view should be used to awaken interest. the climax of the lesson should, however, be a presentation of the unity of the new testament as the very word of god to us. historical study should be made--and can be made--subservient to reverent and thankful obedience. . the origin and meaning of the name the english word "testament" comes from a latin word. the equivalent greek word is hard to translate. as used in the greek bible it may mean either "covenant" or "testament." usually it should probably be translated "covenant." the phrase "new covenant" occurs about five times in the new testament. in none of these passages does the phrase refer to the "new testament" in our sense. it designates a new relationship into which men have been received with god. the old covenant was made, through the mediatorship of moses, with the hebrew nation; the new covenant, hinted at in prophecy, jer. : , and instituted by the lord jesus, i cor. : , was made with all those, of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, who should through faith accept the salvation offered by christ. those who believe become, like israel of old, god's chosen people, and enter into the warmth and joy of the divine communion. the names "old and new covenants," then, were applied first to these two special relationships into which god entered with men. afterwards the names were applied to the books in which the conditions of those relationships were set forth. perhaps it would have been better if we had started to say "new covenant" where we now say "new testament." at any rate the idea alluded to in the name is the inspiring idea, realized in christ, of an alliance with god. the new testament is the divine treaty by the terms of which god has received us rebels and enemies into peace with himself. . one book, or a collection of books? in the first place, the new testament may be treated in every respect as a single book. that course is adopted by many of the most devoted lovers of the bible. by them the bible is treated simply as a textbook of religion. passages are quoted indiscriminately from all parts of it, without much regard to the context. the wide differences of form and of spirit among the various books are ignored. the historical implications of the books are of course accepted as true, but practically they are left quite unassimilated. now let us be quite plain about one thing. the men who use the bible in this way are right in the main point. they treat the bible as the guide of life for time and for eternity. and if by the use of the bible we can come into communion with god, we can afford to miss a good many other things. nevertheless, the bible is as a matter of fact not a mere textbook of religion, and if we treat it as such we miss much of its richness. if the bible were merely a systematic treatise, it would be far easier to interpret. the interpreter would be spared a great deal of trouble, but the burden would be heaped upon the preacher. as it is, the bible is itself a preacher, because it is in such close contact with the actual experience of men of flesh and blood. its general teachings are given us in large measure only through the medium of history, through the medium of example. in order to arrive at the general truths, therefore, intellectual labor is often necessary. god has made things harder for the intellect that he may strike home the more surely to the heart. if paul had written a systematic theology, the new testament way of salvation might in some ways have been plainer than it is. it would have been plain to the intellect, but it would have needed interpretation to the heart. conviction can be wrought only by the immediate impact of personal life. the theology of paul, of itself, might be a dead thing; the religious experience of paul, interwoven with his theology, and bared before us in the epistles, is irresistible. in the second place, the historical form of the bible may be considered at the expense of its spiritual content. the bible may be treated simply as a storybook. such a method of treatment is exceedingly common to-day. "the bible as literature" is its slogan. this treatment has simply missed the main point altogether. it is incomparably inferior to that treatment which takes the bible as a mere textbook of religion. the bible as an addition to the world's history or the world's literature has, indeed, considerable educational value. but it does not give eternal life. a third method is possible, and that third method is right. the historical and literary form of the bible is recognized to the full. but it is regarded not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. historical study is necessary not only to establish to the modern man the saving facts of the gospel, but also to do justice to the dramatic narrative form in which god has revealed to us his eternal will. it is nearer the truth, then, to say that the new testament is a single book than to say that it is a collection of books. its parts differ widely among themselves, in authorship, in date, in circumstances, in aim. those differences must be studied carefully, if the full meaning is to be obtained. but widely as the new testament writings differ among themselves, they differ yet far more widely from all other books. they presented themselves originally to the church with a divine authority, which is foreign to the ordinary writings of men. that authority has been confirmed through the christian centuries. those who have submitted their lives to the new testament have never been confounded. the new testament has been to them the voice of god. . the four divisions of the new testament ( ) the gospels.--christianity is based upon historical facts. attempts, it is true, are often made to separate it from history. but they are bound to result in failure. give up history, and you can retain some things. but you can never retain a gospel. for "gospel" means "good news," and "good news" means tidings, information derived from the witness of others. in other words, it means history. the question whether religion can be independent of history is really just the old question whether we need a gospel. the gospel is news that something has happened--something that puts a different face upon life. what that something is is told us in matthew, mark, luke and john. it is the life and death and resurrection of jesus christ. ( ) the book of the acts.--the book of the acts is a history of the extension of christianity from jerusalem out into the gentile world. it represents that extension as guided by the spirit of god, and thus exhibits the divine warrant for the acceptance of us gentiles, and for the development of the christian church. it provides the outline of apostolic history without which we could not understand the other new testament books, especially the epistles of paul. it illustrates to the full what has been said above about the value of the historical form in which the bible teaching is presented. by reading this vivid narrative we obtain an impression of the power of the holy spirit which no systematic treatise could give. ( ) the epistles.--the epistles of the new testament are not just literature put in an epistolary form, but real letters. it is true that the addresses of some of them are very broad, for example, those of james and of i peter; and that some of them contain no specific address at all, for example, hebrews and i john. but the great majority of them, at least, were written under very special circumstances and intended to be read first by very definite people. the chief letter-writer of the new testament was the apostle paul. to a certain extent he used the forms of letter-writing of his time, just as everyone to-day begins a letter with "dear sir." within the last twenty years a great number of greek private letters, dating from about the time of paul, have been discovered in egypt, where they have been preserved by the dry climate. it is interesting to compare them with the letters of paul. there are some striking similarities in language; for both these letter-writers and paul used the natural language of daily life rather than the extremely artificial language of the literature of that period. to a certain extent, also, paul used the same epistolary forms. the differences, however, are even more instructive than the resemblances. it is true, the pauline epistles are not literary treatises, but real letters. but on the other hand they are not ordinary private letters intended to be read and thrown away, like the letters that have been discovered in egypt. most of them were intended to be read originally in churches. it is natural, then, that they should have been written in a loftier style than is to be found in mere business communications and the like. and if paul uses the epistolary forms of his time he uses them in an entirely new way. even the mere openings of the epistles are made the vehicle of christian truth. "grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ"--there is nothing like that in contemporary letter-writing. the openings of the pauline epistles form an interesting study. they are varied with wonderful skill to suit the varied character and subject matter of the letters that follow. paul is never merely formal. the letters of paul differ widely among themselves. the epistle to the romans is almost a systematic exposition of the plan of salvation. philemon is concerned with a little personal matter between paul and one of his converts. but even where paul is most theological he is personal, and even where he is most personal, he is faithful to his theology. theology in him is never separate from experience, and experience never separate from theology. even petty problems he settles always in the light of eternal principles. hence his letters, though the specific circumstances that gave rise to them are past and gone, will never be antiquated. ( ) the apocalypse.--the christian life is a life of hope. inwardly we are free, but our freedom is not yet fully realized. we are in danger of losing our hope in the trials or in the mere humdrum of life. to keep it alive, the apocalypse opens a glorious vision of the future. the vision is presented in symbolical language. it is not intended to help in any calculation of the times and seasons. but it shows us the lamb upon the throne--and that is enough. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "bible," "canon of the new testament," "covenant," "new testament," and "testament." lesson ii the roman background of christianity christianity is not a human product. it is not to be explained by what preceded it on the earth. it is a new beginning in history, an immediate exercise of the divine power. but though christianity was not produced by men, it operates upon men, and upon men subject to all the ordinary conditions of earthly life. primitive christianity, then, which we shall study this year, cannot be understood fully without an examination of the historical conditions under which it arose. in the class, the lesson should probably be approached through the new testament examples of the general principles which are outlined in the lesson helps. examples will be found in the passages assigned in the student's text book, and others should be sought for elsewhere. . the establishment of the empire by the middle of the first century before christ the power of the roman republic extended around the mediterranean sea. victories abroad, however, were accompanied by serious troubles at home. the increase of wealth and the importation of slave labor had produced unfortunate social conditions. the realm had become too large to be administered adequately by the old republican government. individuals sometimes obtained practical control of affairs, and the state was torn by civil wars. finally, in b. c., julius cæsar entered rome at the head of an army, and roman liberty was at an end. after the assassination of cæsar in b. c., there was a succession of civil wars, and then, by the victory of actium in b. c., octavius, who later assumed the name of augustus, became sole ruler. augustus died in a. d. . subsequent emperors during the first century were: tiberius (a. d. - ), caligula (a. d. - ), claudius (a. d. - ), nero (a. d. - ), galba, otho and vitellius (a. d. ), vespasian (a. d. - ), titus (a. d. - ), domitian (a. d. - ), nerva (a. d. - ), trajan (a. d. - ). . roman administration under the empire the general advantages of the roman imperial government have been considered in the student's text book. it will here be advisable to consider one or two features a little more in detail. much of what follows can be illustrated from the new testament; for the acquaintance of new testament writers, especially of luke, with roman administration is not only accurate but also minute. the students should be encouraged to seek new testament illustrations for themselves. ( ) the provinces.--the provinces of the empire are to be distinguished from the territories of subject kings or princes. the latter were quite subservient to rome, but were given more independence of administration. a good example of such a subject king, theoretically an ally, but in reality a vassal, was herod the great, who ruled over all palestine till b. c. the provinces themselves were divided into two great classes--imperial provinces and senatorial provinces. the imperial provinces were under the immediate control of the emperor. they were governed by "legates," who had no regular term of office, but served at the emperor's pleasure. the imperial provinces were those in which, on account of unsettled conditions, or for the defense of the empire, large bodies of troops had to be maintained. thus, by keeping the appointment of the legates exclusively in his own hands, the emperor retained the direct control of the all-important power of the army. a good example of an imperial province is the great province of syria, with capital at antioch. palestine was more or less under the supervision of the syrian legate. districts different from the great imperial provinces, but, like them, under the immediate control of the emperor, were governed by "procurators." judea, from a. d. to a. d. , and from a. d. on, is an example. the senatorial provinces were governed by "proconsuls," chosen by lot from among the members of the senate. the proconsuls served for only one year. even over these provinces and their governors the emperor retained the fullest supervisory authority. the senatorial provinces composed the central and more settled portions of the empire, where large standing armies would not be needed. examples are achaia, with capital at corinth, and cyprus with capital at paphos. proconsuls of both of these provinces are mentioned in the new testament by name. ( ) local government.--the romans did not attempt to introduce perfect uniformity throughout the empire. the original greek unit of political life was the city, and greek cities were scattered over the east before the roman conquest. with regard to local affairs, many of the cities retained a certain amount of independence. it is interesting to observe the local peculiarities of the cities described in the acts. in addition to the greek cities, many of which were more or less "free" in local affairs, many "roman colonies" had been established here and there throughout the empire. the original colonists were often veterans of the roman armies. of course the populations soon came to be mixed, but roman traditions were cultivated in the colonies more than elsewhere. a number of the cities of the acts were colonies, and one, philippi, is expressly declared to be such. acts : . in that city the roman character of the magistrates appears clearly from the lucan narrative. there were "prætors" and "lictors." ( ) roman citizenship.--before new testament times roman citizenship had been extended to all italy. italy, therefore, was not a province or group of provinces, but was regarded as a part of rome. outside of italy roman citizenship was a valuable special privilege. it raised a man above the mass of the provincial population. some of the advantages of it appear clearly in the new testament narrative. because paul was a roman citizen he was legally exempt from the most degrading forms of punishment, and had a right to appeal to the court of the emperor. roman citizenship was sometimes acquired by money, but paul inherited it from his father. . roman religion under the empire, rome was possessed of a state religion. the ancient gods of the republic were retained. there were great divinities like jupiter and mars, and there were numberless private divinities of individual households. the ancient religion had, indeed, undergone modifications. new divinities in plenty had been received. but the reception of the new did not involve abolition of the old. on the contrary, the gods of other peoples could be accepted just because they were regarded as nothing but the roman gods under different names. thus, long before the christian era, there had been a thoroughgoing identification of the gods of greece with the gods of rome. the greek zeus, for example, was identified with the roman jupiter; the greek ares with the roman mars. the gods of countries other than greece were also received, though, as far as the city of rome was concerned, with some conservatism. in the roman world, religion was a national affair. worship of the national gods was not only piety, but also patriotism. patriotism and religion were inseparably connected. support of the gods of rome, even where personal faith in them had been undermined, was considered to be the duty of every loyal citizen. the political aspect of roman religion appears most clearly in the worship of the roman emperors. this remarkable development appears from the beginning of the empire. augustus, indeed, refused to receive divine honors, at least in the west. but in the east even he was worshiped, and as time went on the reluctance of the emperors disappeared. some of the worst of the emperors were most insistent upon their own divinity. perhaps the first impulse of the modern man is to regard the cæsar cult simply as a particularly despicable form of flattery. in reality it was more than that. it was not established by imperial edict. it was not dictated primarily by servile fear. the greek inhabitants of the empire really regarded augustus as their saviour. and so he was, as far as any man could be. he saved them from the miseries of civil war, and from the rapacity of the degenerate republic; he gave them peace and happiness. and they responded by regarding him as a god. to them it was natural. to them it was nothing new. alexander the great had been regarded as a god long before the christian era. his successors in syria and in egypt had also received divine honors. to the genuine romans, the thing did not come so easy. the cæsar cult, at least at first, was not developed in the west. but even the romans could worship the emperor's "genius" or spirit, and from that to the actual worship of the emperor was but a step. essential to the whole process of deification, both in rome and in the east, was the close connection in ancient thinking between deity and humanity, and between religion and the state. if patriotism is religion, then the king is a god. the cæsar cult was the most palpable incorporation of the state religion. worship of the emperor, therefore, might well be the test of loyalty to rome. it could be practiced by skeptics and philosophers. it could be practiced by the devotees of all religions--save two. jews and christians alone could not bow at the emperor's shrine, for their god was a god who could brook no rival. he was not merely the greatest among many. he was the only lord, maker of heaven and earth. . the roman empire and subsequent history between christianity and the roman state, with its official religion, a life-and-death struggle was inevitable. but in the providence of god it was delayed. the empire was used not to crush christianity but to open the world before it. but was the empire really identical with the world? it seemed so to the romans and to the greeks. to them the empire was the world. and they were right. not, of course, in a literal sense. in the first century after christ, vast civilizations--for example the civilization of china--were already in existence. there were great peoples of whom the romans had never heard. but roman arrogance has at last been vindicated. for rome was in reality the key to subsequent history. rome was the parent of europe, and europe is moving the world. even china is at last being opened to the civilization of rome. the romans were right. he who could master rome would be master, one day, of the world. it has been a long process. but god's plans are sure. christianity appeared at the one time when the world was open before it. by the power of the divine spirit it conquered the empire. the empire dominated its barbarian conquerors. the barbarians are the parents of modern civilization. modern civilization is invading the earth's remotest bounds. china, at last, is within our ken. realms long closed have at last been opened. another great opportunity! an opportunity for greed and selfishness! an opportunity for a dismal skepticism! and an opportunity for the church of god! * * * * * in the library.--hastings, "dictionary of the bible": adeney, article on "cæsar"; gwatkin, articles on "roman empire," and "rome." hastings, "encyclopædia of religion and ethics": iverach, article on "cæsarism." westcott, "the two empires," in "the epistles of st. john," pp. - . ramsay, "the cities of st. paul," pp. - . lesson iii the greek background of christianity the purpose of the present lesson is to make the student feel that the gospel was from the beginning a real gospel in a real world. if we isolate the early preaching from its environment, we make it seem like an unreal thing. study of new testament times makes the new testament itself become a more living, a more interesting book. in the student's text book an outline of the hellenistic age has been provided. it has been supplemented below by illustrative material. but in the class the lesson can probably be best approached from the side of the new testament itself. in what languages is the bible written? how did the new testament come to be written in greek? what other languages are mentioned in the new testament? what light do these passages shed upon the linguistic conditions of the time? what is the attitude of the apostles toward greek thought? is that attitude altogether unfavorable, or did the early missionaries ever lay hold upon the higher aspirations of their gentile hearers (athens)? where did the missionaries come into contact with heathen superstition? (several fine examples in the acts). what was the moral condition of the greco-roman world? how was the hellenistic age like our own? why did god send our lord just in the first century? what was the social condition of the early christians? do you think that was an advantage or a disadvantage? what men of higher position are mentioned in the new testament? questions like these will serve to relate the general expositions in the lesson helps to the new testament itself. the lesson helps are intended to provide merely the presuppositions necessary for intelligent study. god working for real men in a real world--that is the subject of the lesson. . the hellenistic age the greek world culture which prevailed after the conquest of alexander was widely different from the greek life of the classical period. the earlier period is called the "hellenic" period, the later period is designated as "hellenistic." when greek thought made itself master of the world, it became mingled with numberless foreign elements. the mixture appears most clearly, perhaps, in the sphere of religion. polytheism was capable of indefinite expansion. new gods could easily be identified with the old, or else be received along with them without a conflict. the religion of the greco-roman world is therefore different from that of ancient greece. it is a curious mixture of the most diverse beliefs. nevertheless, the whole deserves to be called hellenistic, because even the most strikingly non-grecian elements were usually subjected more or less to the subtle molding of the greek spirit. the hellenistic age used to be despised, but among modern scholars it is coming into its own. its literary products are admittedly inferior to the glories of the earlier age, but even in literature its achievements are not to be despised, and in other spheres it is supreme. notably in mathematics and in natural science it was the golden age. euclid, the geometrician, lived three centuries before christ. the learning of the hellenistic age was centered in alexandria in egypt, a city which had been founded by alexander the great. athens had, perhaps, ceased to possess the primacy. that fact is typical of the time. greek culture had ceased to belong to greece in the narrower sense. it had become a possession of the world. the great library of alexandria was a sign of the times. the hellenistic age was an age of widespread learning. when rome became master of the eastern world, conditions were not fundamentally changed. rome merely hastened a process that was already at work. already the nations had been brought together by the spread of greek culture; roman law merely added the additional bond of political unity. the roman legions were missionaries of an all-pervading hellenism. the greco-roman world was astonishingly modern. it was modern in its cosmopolitanism. in our own time the nations have again been brought together. the external agencies for their welding are far more perfect to-day than they were under the empire. even the roman roads would be but a poor substitute for the railroad and the telegraph and the steamship. but on the other hand we lack the bond of a common language. in some ways the civilized world was even more of a unit in the first century than it is to-day. the cosmopolitanism of the roman empire was a god-given opportunity for the church. in a cosmopolitan age, if a man has something to say, he will not lack for an audience. his message will be understood in one place as well as in another. the lesson is obvious for the church of to-day. again god has opened the world before us. if we have a message, in god's name let us proclaim it while yet there is time. . the greek bible the church originated in palestine. the first missionaries were native jews. yet even they had been affected by the cosmopolitanism of the time. even they could use greek, in addition to their native language. and paul, the greatest of the missionaries, though a jew, was a citizen of a greek city. the church from the beginning was able to speak to the larger world. one difficulty might possibly have arisen. the christian mission was not carried on merely by the oral word. from the beginning christianity was a religion with a book. and that book was not greek. on the contrary it was intensely un-grecian. the old testament is intolerant of heathen ideas. it is deeply rooted in the life of the chosen people. how could a hebrew book be used in the greek world? the difficulty might have been serious. but in the providence of god it had been overcome. the old testament was a hebrew book, but before the christian era it had been translated into greek. from the beginning christianity was provided with a greek bible. it is always difficult to make a new translation of the bible. every missionary knows that. the introduction of a new translation takes time. it was fortunate, then, that a greek-speaking church had a greek bible ready to hand. everything was prepared for the gospel. god's time had come. roman rule had brought peace. greek culture had produced unity of speech. there was a greek world, there were greek-speaking missionaries, and there was a greek bible. in the first century, the salvation that was of the jews could become a salvation for the whole world. . the papyri the world in which the gospel was proclaimed is deserving of careful study. how shall it be investigated? the most obvious way is to study the literature of the period. until recent years that was almost the only way. but that method is partial at best. for literature is after all but an imperfect measure of any age. the society that is found in books is an idealized society, or at any rate it is the society of the great. the plain man is unrecorded. his deeds are not deemed worthy of a place in history. within the last thirty years, however, the plain people of the ancient world have come remarkably into view. they are revealed to us in the "non-literary papyri." "papyri" are pieces of papyrus. papyrus was the common writing material of antiquity up to about a. d. , when vellum, or parchment, came into general use. unfortunately papyrus, which was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, is not a very durable substance, so that ancient papyri have been preserved until modern times only under exceptionally favorable conditions. these conditions are found in egypt, where the dry climate has kept the papyrus from disintegration. in egypt, within the last thirty years, have been discovered large numbers of papyrus sheets with greek writing. of these the "literary papyri" contain simply parts of books. they differ from other copies of the works in question only in that they are usually older than the vellum manuscripts. the "non-literary papyri," on the other hand, are unique. they are private documents of all sorts--receipts, petitions, wills, contracts, census returns, and most interesting of all, private letters. it was usually not intended that these documents should be preserved. they were simply thrown away upon rubbish heaps or used as wrappings of mummies. they have been preserved only by chance. the non-literary papyri are important first of all in the study of language. they exhibit the language of everyday life, as distinguished from the language of literature. the language of literature always differs more or less from the language used on the street, and the difference was particularly wide in the greek of the hellenistic period. the books of the time were modeled to a considerable extent upon the ancient classics, but the actual spoken language had been changing. hence the literary language had become exceedingly artificial. up to within the last few years, the literary language alone could be studied. the books of the period were preserved, but the language of daily life was gone. now, however, the papyri supply what was lacking. in them there is no attempt at style. they are composed in the language which was employed in the ordinary affairs of life and preserve the actual spoken language of every day. at this point a remarkable fact must be noticed. the language of the new testament is more like the language of the non-literary papyri than it is like the language of contemporary literature. the papyri indicate, therefore, that the new testament is composed in the natural living language of the time rather than according to the canons of an artificial rhetoric. the artlessness of the new testament has sometimes been regarded as a reproach. instead, it is a cause for rejoicing. the simplicity of the gospel would only be concealed by niceties of style. the greatness of the new testament is independent of literary art. it would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the new testament, because it is composed in the language of the people, is characterized by anything like cheapness or vulgarity. on the contrary its simplicity is the noble simplicity of truth. in the new testament the spoken language of the greco-roman world, in all its living freshness, becomes a worthy vehicle for the sublimest thoughts. the non-literary papyri, then, reproduce for us the spoken language of the time as distinguished from the artificial language of literature. but that does not exhaust their importance. they afford a knowledge not only of language, but also of life. through them ordinary people are revealed in the ordinary relations of every day. in them, the ancient world has been made to live again. a few examples (see the book of professor milligan mentioned at the end of the lesson) will serve to indicate the character of the papyrus letters. the following boy's letter (of the second or the third century after christ) is written in very bad grammar, but is for that reason all the more lifelike. (the translation is taken from grenfell and hunt, "oxyrhynchus papyri," part i., p. .) "theon to his father theon, greeting. it was a fine thing of you not to take me with you to the city! if you won't take me with you to alexandria i won't write you a letter or speak to you or say good-by to you; and if you go to alexandria i won't take your hand nor ever greet you again. that is what will happen if you won't take me. mother said to archalaus, 'it quite upsets him to be left behind (?).' it was good of you to send me presents ... on the th, the day you sailed. send me a lyre, i implore you. if you don't, i won't eat, i won't drink; there now!" the following invitation to dinner, of the second century after christ, throws light upon i corinthians (the translation taken from professor milligan): "antonius, son of ptolemæus, invites you to dine with him at the table of the lord serapis in the house of claudius serapion on the th at o'clock." "the lord serapis" is a god. even an ordinary dinner party seems thus to be regarded as the table of serapis. under such conditions the christian life must have been hard to lead. no wonder the corinthian christians had to ask paul questions. even the ordinary affairs of life were intimately connected with a false religion. what should the attitude of the christians be? where should they draw the line in associating with their heathen friends? . a real gospel in a real world the people that are introduced to us so intimately in the papyri are probably very fair representatives of the people among whom the gospel was first proclaimed. in that cosmopolitan age the society of egyptian towns was probably not so very different from that of corinth. the people of the papyri are not the great men of the time; they are just plain folk. but the early christians were also usually not of exalted social position, though there were exceptions. "not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" were called. i cor. : . many of the early christians were slaves, many were humble tradesmen. the same classes appear in the papyri. in the papyri we are introduced into the private lives of the men to whom the gospel was proclaimed. seeing, but unseen, hidden as by a magic cap, we watch them in their most intimate affairs. and we come away with a new feeling of the reality of early christian history. these men were not so very different from ourselves. they were real men and women, living in a real world. and they needed a real gospel. * * * * * in the library.--hastings, "dictionary of the bible," extra volume: ramsay, article on "religion of greece," pp. - , especially pp. - . milligan, "selections from the greek papyri," (with translations). deissmann, "the philology of the greek bible," pp. - , - . ramsay, "the cities of st. paul," pp. - . browning, "cleon," (vol. iv, pp. - of the riverside edition.) lesson iv the jewish background of christianity i. palestinian judaism . sources the new testament is one of the chief sources of information about the palestinian judaism of the first century. other important sources are the works of josephus, a first-century jewish historian, and the mishna. the mishna is a collection of jewish interpretations of the mosaic law. in its written form it is thought to have been produced at the end of the second century, but it contains a mass of earlier material which had been preserved by oral tradition. . outline of jewish history after the conclusion of the old testament period the jewish nation had undergone important changes. if, therefore, the judaism of the first century is to be understood, the student must have in mind at least a bare outline of the history between the testaments. old testament history closes with the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem and the reorganization of the national life which took place under ezra and nehemiah in the fifth century before christ. at that time judah, or "judea," was the only part of palestine which was occupied by the jews, and they occupied it only as vassals--though with independence in internal affairs--of the kings of persia. the persian dominion continued for over a century. then, in the latter part of the fourth century before christ, judea was conquered by alexander the great. for some hundred years after the death of alexander, the country was a bone of contention between the kings of egypt and the kings of syria--that is, between the ptolemies and the seleucids. at the beginning of the second century before christ the king of syria won a permanent victory. under the ptolemies and at first under the seleucids, as well as under the persians, the jews enjoyed a considerable measure of independence in the management of their own affairs. their religion, in particular, was left quite unmolested. but the assimilation which was not being accomplished by force was being accomplished by peaceful influences. the all-pervasive greek culture of the period was making itself felt in palestine as well as elsewhere. judea seemed to be in danger of being hellenized. under the reign of antiochus epiphanes of syria ( - b. c.), however, the policy of toleration was suddenly interrupted. antiochus tried to stamp out the jewish religion by force. the result was a heroic uprising led by mattathias and his sons, who are called the maccabees. the tyranny of antiochus had caused a mighty popular reaction against the hellenizing party among the jews. devotion to the religion of israel with exclusion of foreign influences was ever afterwards the dominant tendency in jewish history. the maccabees were at first wonderfully successful against overwhelming odds; and when the opposing forces seemed at last to have become too powerful, internal conflicts at the syrian court gave the jewish patriots that independence which they could probably not otherwise have maintained. rulers belonging to the maccabean dynasty governed the jewish nation for about a hundred years, during most of which period they were independent. their territory at first embraced only judea, but was gradually enlarged over the other parts of palestine. galilee, which--since the destruction of the northern israelitish kingdom centuries before--had become predominantly gentile, was judaized under aristobulus i in - b. c. before the time of christ it had become thoroughly jewish. unfortunately the worldly power of the maccabees had brought worldliness of spirit. the first revolt had been undertaken from a lofty religious motive, in order to maintain the worship of jehovah. as the years went on, the maccabean rulers became increasingly engrossed in the extension of political power. allying themselves with the aristocratic party among the jews, they came to favor the extension of those greek influences--though not in the sphere of religion--which at first they had opposed. under queen alexandra ( - b. c.) it is true, there was a reaction. the strictly jewish, anti-hellenistic party again became dominant. but under alexandra's successors there was civil strife, and the all-conquering romans found the country an easy prey. pompey took possession of jerusalem in b. c. the years that followed saw the gradual rise of the family of herod the great, who, as vassal of the romans, became king of all palestine in b. c. and ruled until b. c. herod was an idumæan, not a genuine jew. idumæa, however, the country to the south of judah, had been judaized some time before. herod was at heart a hellenist. he built greek theaters and amphitheaters not only in the numerous greek cities in or near palestine, but also in jerusalem itself. nevertheless he was wise enough to support the jewish religion and generally to respect the customs of the people. his magnificent rebuilding of the temple was probably intended chiefly to win popular favor. at herod's death, his territory was divided among his sons. archelaus was given judea, antipas--the "herod" of jesus' public ministry--received galilee and perea, with the title of "tetrarch," and philip received certain territories to the east of galilee. archelaus was banished in a. d. , antipas was banished in a. d. , and philip died in a. d. . after the banishment of archelaus, judea was administered by roman procurators till a. d. , when all palestine was given to herod agrippa i. acts : - , - . after a. d. , procurators were again in control. the misgovernment of the procurators led to the great revolt in a. d. . after four years of war, jerusalem was taken by the roman army in a. d. . the temple was destroyed, and the offering of sacrifices ceased. the destruction of the temple marks an epoch in jewish history. henceforth the national center was gone. there was another uprising in a. d. - , but that was the last. a gentile city was erected on the ruins of jerusalem, and for a considerable time at least the jews were forbidden even to enter its precincts. . administration and parties after the return from the exile, the priests occupied a position of leadership. the high priest, whose office was hereditary, was practically head of the jewish state. with him was associated a council, composed of members of the priestly aristocracy. this state of affairs prevailed during the persian and greek periods. under the maccabees the power of the high priest reached its highest point. for after a time the maccabean rulers themselves assumed the title of high priest, and still later the title of king. the high priest, then, under the maccabees, was also king. under herod the great, on the contrary, the high priesthood sank to its lowest ebb. herod made and unmade high priests at pleasure. the council associated with the high priest was, under alexandra, opened to the members of the strict anti-hellenistic party. at the time of christ it included both pharisees and sadducees. these parties became distinct at the time of the maccabees. the sadducees--the origin of the name is not altogether clear--were the aristocratic party, hospitable to greek culture. the pharisees were the strict jewish party, devoted to the law, and opposed to foreign influences. the name "pharisee" means "separated." the pharisees were "separated" from the mass of the people by a stricter observance of the mosaic law. at first the pharisees supported the maccabean leaders; for the maccabean revolt was in the interests of the jewish religion. but when the maccabees became engrossed in worldly politics and susceptible to greek influences the pharisees opposed them. at the time of christ the essential characteristics of the parties remained unchanged. . language some centuries before christ, hebrew had ceased to be the ordinary language of palestine. as the language of the old testament it continued to be studied. old testament passages in hebrew were read in the synagogue. hebrew was used also to some extent as the language of learned discussion. but for all ordinary purposes its place had been taken by aramaic, a language of the semitic family closely related to hebrew. at the time of christ aramaic was the spoken language of the palestinian jews. even in the synagogues, the old testament passages, after having been read in hebrew, were translated orally into the language which the people could understand. but, since the time of alexander the great, another language had made its way into palestine along with aramaic. this was the greek. the kingdoms into which alexander's empire was divided were greek kingdoms. two of them, syria and egypt, bore rule alternately over palestine. with the greek government came greek culture and the greek language. then, under antiochus epiphanes, there was a mighty reaction. thereafter religion, at least, was kept altogether free from greek influences. in other spheres, however, under the maccabean kings and still more under the romans, greek culture effected an entrance. at the time of christ there were typical greek cities not only to the east of the jordan in decapolis, where magnificent ruins even to-day attest the ancient greco-roman civilization, and not only along the coast of the mediterranean, but even within the confines of palestine proper. with some truth palestine in the first century may be called a bilingual country. greek and aramaic were both in use. aramaic was the language of the mass of the people. many, no doubt, could speak no other language. but if a man desired to make his way in the world in any public capacity or in trade he would be obliged to learn the cosmopolitan language of the time. no doubt very many could speak both languages. jesus and his apostles belonged to those circles which were least affected by the encroachments of greek civilization. the whole atmosphere of the gospels is as un-greek as could be imagined. as is proved by the presence of aramaic words even in our greek gospels, aramaic was undoubtedly the language in which the gospel was originally proclaimed. aramaic was the language of jesus' boyhood home, and aramaic was the language of his intercourse with the disciples and of his public preaching. it is perfectly possible, however, that even jesus may have used greek upon rare occasions, for example in conversation with pilate, the roman procurator. his disciples, after the resurrection, found themselves at the head of a greek-speaking community. the early church in jerusalem was composed not only of "hebrews," but also of "grecians," or hellenists. acts : . the hellenists were greek-speaking jews of the dispersion who were sojourning more or less permanently in the holy city. the apostles seem to have entered upon their new functions without difficulty. some knowledge of greek, no doubt, all of them brought with them from their galilean homes, and their knowledge would be increased through practice. it is not surprising then that several of the original apostles and two of the brothers of jesus were the authors of greek books of the new testament. * * * * * in the library.--riggs, "a history of the jewish people," especially pp. - , - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "council," "pharisees," "sadducees," "synagogue," "school," "scribe," "aramaic," and "hebrew." the outline of jewish history and institutions which is provided in the lesson helps for this lesson and the following is dependent especially upon the large german work of schürer. lesson v the jewish background of christianity ii. the judaism of the dispersion the presentation of the lesson in class may be begun somewhat in the manner suggested in the student's text book. the student should be made to appreciate the practical problem of a missionary in a new city. various solutions of the problem may be adopted. the missionary may simply engage in conversation with individuals in the street, or he may hire a room and advertise his preaching. in any case the securing of an audience is usually no easy matter. it is difficult to know how to begin. the case might naturally have been the same with paul and his companions when, for example, after the journey up from perga they arrived at pisidian antioch. complete strangers were perhaps not much better received in those days than they are now. how could the missionaries get a hearing for their message? in some cases, they might simply take their stand in the market place and talk to the passers-by. paul tried that method in athens. it might do when nothing better offered. but fortunately there was usually a far better opportunity. the synagogue offered an audience. what is more, it offered just exactly the most promising audience that could possibly have been secured. the scene in the synagogue at pisidian antioch is typical of what happened again and again. the student should be made to appreciate the remarkable liberality and informality of the synagogue customs. there seem to have been no set preachers. any jew who really had a message could be heard. he needed only to go in and sit down. acts : . paul and barnabas had no difficulty in making their fitness known. "brethren," said the rulers of the synagogue, "if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." acts : . they had a word of exhortation indeed. "jesus is the messiah for whom you are waiting. he has died for your sins. he has risen from the dead, and is now alive to save you." it was a powerful word, and it bore fruit. the native jews, it is true, soon came out in opposition. the reasons for their opposition are not far to seek. jealousy was an important factor. christianity was evidently too radical a thing to be simply a sect of judaism. if allowed to continue, it would destroy the prerogatives of israel. it could not be controlled. its success was too great. on that next sabbath in pisidian antioch, "almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of god." the jewish mission had never had a success like that. "when the jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy." christianity had taken away the heritage of israel. in one way the jewish opposition displayed genuine insight into the situation. christianity was really destined to be a fatal rival to the older judaism. what took place on a small scale at antioch was repeated on the larger stage of history. when the christian mission began, judaism was a successful missionary religion. soon afterwards it had withdrawn hopelessly into its age-long isolation. various causes contributed to this result. the destruction of the national life in palestine and the increasing influence of the strict rabbinical schools both had an important part. but at least one factor in the process was the competition of the christian church. christianity offered the world everything that judaism could offer, and more. it offered the knowledge of the one god, and the lofty morality, and the authoritative book. in addition, it offered a way of redemption--and the men of that time were preëminently seekers after redemption--through the sacrifice of christ. it offered all these things, moreover, without requiring any relinquishment of purely national characteristics. christianity did not demand union with any one race. it had a gospel for the world. no wonder, then, that those who had been attracted by judaism now became adherents of christianity. the jews were filled with envy. it was natural from their point of view, but it was a sad mistake. had they themselves accepted the gospel, the gospel would have been to their glory. how glorious was the mission of israel! a blessing to the whole world! far better than any narrow particularism! but they were not willing to accept the message. nevertheless, despite their opposition, the church should not forget the debt which she owes to israel. the dispersion was like the judaism of palestine. in both cases the men themselves were opposed to the gospel. but in both cases they had preserved the deposit of divine truth. judaism, despite itself, opened the way for the christian church. one service which the dispersion rendered to christianity has been illustrated by the scene at pisidian antioch. that service was the providing of an audience. another service was the assurance of legal protection. this may be illustrated by another incident in the acts--the appeal to gallio. acts : - . there the opposition of the jews appears in all its bitterness. no doubt that opposition was a serious hindrance to the work of the church. just because christianity was regarded as a jewish sect, the christians were subject to persecution by the jewish authorities. but persecutions by the jews, annoying though they were, were far less serious than opposition on the part of the roman authorities. and the latter was, at first, conspicuously absent. gallio's decision is a fair example of the general attitude of the roman magistrates. christianity, as a jewish sect, was allowed to go its way. judaism, despite itself, afforded the church legal protection. beginning with these two striking scenes, the teacher may proceed to the more general presentation of the lesson. in what follows, the outline of the student's text book will be supplemented at one or two points. . the causes and extent of the dispersion deportations of jews to foreign countries took place at various times. the most famous of those deportations was carried out by nebuchadnezzar after his conquest of judah, about b. c. many of nebuchadnezzar's captives did not join in the return under the persian monarchy, but remained permanently in the east and formed the nucleus of the large jewish population of mesopotamia. when pompey conquered palestine in the first century before christ, he carried many jews as slaves to rome. afterwards they were liberated, and formed a large jewish colony at the capital of the empire. these are merely examples. part of the dispersion was due to forcible exile. other causes have been mentioned in the student's text book. it is a question, however, whether all of these causes combined are sufficient to account for the extraordinary growth of the dispersion. schürer believes that the vastness of the jewish population presupposes the merging of large bodies of proselytes into the jewish people. he also believes, however, that these thoroughgoing conversions were less numerous in new testament times than they had been before. harnack calculates that at the time of the death of augustus there were from four million to four and a half million jews in the roman empire, including about seven hundred thousand in palestine, and that, if that estimate be correct, then the jews formed perhaps some seven per cent of the total population. of course, harnack is himself the first to admit that such calculations are exceedingly uncertain. but so much at least is clear--the jews in the first century were surprisingly numerous. . the septuagint translation and the language of the new testament the name "septuagint," derived from the latin word for "seventy," has been applied to the alexandrian translation of the old testament in reference to an ancient story about its origin. according to this story, the translation was made by seventy-two men summoned from jerusalem by ptolemy philadelphus, king of egypt, in order to add the jewish law to the royal library at alexandria. the story is certainly not true in details, and is probably not even correct in representing the translation as destined primarily for the royal library. more probably the translation was intended for the greek-speaking jews of egypt. the septuagint is a translation of the hebrew old testament into the greek world language of the period, and into the popular, spoken form of that language, not into the literary form. the translation differs widely in character in the different books, for many different translators had a part in it. some of the books are translated with such slavish literalness as to be almost unintelligible to a greek. everywhere, indeed, the influence of the hebrew original makes itself felt to some degree. hebrew idioms are often copied in the translation instead of being remolded according to the peculiarities of the greek language. the septuagint exerted an important influence upon the language of the new testament. the septuagint was the greek bible of the new testament writers, and the influence of a bible upon language is very strong. a good example is afforded by the influence of the king james version upon the whole development of modern english. it is not surprising, therefore, that as the septuagint was influenced by hebrew, so the language of the new testament also displays a semitic coloring. that coloring was induced partly by the septuagint, but it was also induced in other ways. part of the new testament, for example the words of jesus, goes back ultimately to an aramaic original. all the new testament writers except one were jews, and had spoken aramaic as well as greek. no wonder, then, that their greek was influenced by the semitic languages. this semitic influence upon the language of the new testament is not so great as was formerly supposed, but it cannot be ignored. the new testament is written in the natural, non-literary form of the greek world language. that is the main thing to be said. but upon this base is superposed an appreciable influence of hebrew and aramaic. the importance of the septuagint for the early christian mission was inestimable. every pioneer missionary knows how difficult it is to create the vocabulary necessary to express new religious ideas. in the case of the earliest christian mission, that labor had already been done. it had been done by the jews of alexandria. by the septuagint, the great ideas of the old testament--and upon these ideas christianity was based--had already been put into a greek form. the christian church needed only to develop what had been begun. the church made good use of her opportunity. the influence of the septuagint upon the religious vocabulary of the new testament writers was profound. the septuagint had provided a vocabulary which was understood already by great masses of people--by the jews of the dispersion and by the hosts of the "god-worshipers" who attended the synagogues. naturally the christian missionaries used the words which people could understand. . conclusion the judaism of the dispersion was a wonderful preparation for the gospel. israel ought to be regarded with gratitude and sympathy. but the ultimate object of gratitude is god. the church was founded in a time of opportunity. the roman government had brought peace. the greek language had welded the nations together. the dispersion of the jews had prepared the way. these things did not come by chance. the nations were instruments in the hand of god. but instruments for what? a mighty, age-long plan! centuries of preparation! at last the saviour came. but did he come for naught? or is he saviour of you and me? * * * * * in the library.--edersheim (revised by white), "history of the jewish nation," pp. - . "the jewish encyclopedia": reinach, article on "diaspora." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": schürer, article on "diaspora," extra volume, pp. - . lesson vi the messiah the teaching of this lesson may be begun with acts : - . surely the outpouring of the spirit on the day of pentecost was something new. yet even that was explained by a reference to prophecy. and the reference is of remarkable aptness and beauty. the pentecostal speech of peter is full of the appeal to prophecy. primarily, indeed, the claims of jesus are supported by the direct testimony to his resurrection. without the facts, of course appeal to prophecy would have been useless; for it was just the wonderful correspondence of the facts with the prophecies that could induce belief. along with the direct testimony to the facts went the appeal to prophecy. the promised king of david's line at last has come. acts : ; ii sam. : , ; ps. : , ; : . and david's son is david's lord--david's lord and ours. acts : , ; ps. : ; compare matt. : - . . the new testament appeal to prophecy this speech of peter is typical of the preaching of the early church. the appeal to prophecy was absolutely central in the presentation of the gospel. proof of that fact does not need to be sought. it is written plain on the pages of the new testament. old testament prophecy was found to apply not merely to one side of the work of christ, but to all sides. israel had looked not merely for a king, but also for a prophet and a priest. peter, after his first arrest, for example, could appeal to the notable prophecy of deuteronomy: "a prophet shall the lord god raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me." acts : ; deut. : , . the author of hebrews could appeal to the priest after the order of melchizedek, heb. : ; ps. : , and to the symbolic sacrifices of the temple which found their fulfillment on calvary. the appeal to prophecy extended even to those things which were most distinctive of the christian message. "i delivered unto you first of all," says paul, "that which also i received: that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures." i cor. : , . here the death and the resurrection of christ are both declared to be according to the scriptures. that means that they were the subject of prophecy. but the death and the resurrection of christ were the fundamental elements of the gospel. the gospel, then, in the form of prophecy, is to be found in the old testament. what old testament passages has paul here in mind? with regard to the death for our sins, the fifty-third chapter of isaiah was probably in his mind. that passage was being read by the ethiopian when philip met him, and philip made the passage a basis for preaching about jesus. acts : - . with regard to the resurrection, it is natural to think of ps. : . paul himself quoted that passage in his speech at pisidian antioch. acts : - . the appeal to prophecy did not begin with the apostles. it was initiated by jesus himself. "to-day," said jesus at nazareth after the reading of isa. : , , "hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears." a large claim! no wonder they found it difficult to accept. when john the baptist asked, "art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?" it was to "the works of the christ" that jesus appealed. matt. : - ; isa. : , ; : . these are merely examples. throughout, jesus represented himself and his kingdom as the fulfillment of the ancient promise. "o foolish men," he said to the disciples on the way to emmaus, "and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! behooved it not the christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? and beginning from moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." luke : - . . the messianic hope a preparation for the gospel when the gospel was preached to pure gentiles, a great deal of preliminary labor had to be done. under what title should the claims of the saviour be presented? "christ" to the gentiles was almost meaningless, till explained. "son of god" was open to sad misconception. there were "sons of god" in greek mythology, but they were not what the early christians meant to show that jesus was. these difficulties were overcome, and speedily. gentile christians were imbued with a lofty and adequate conception of the lord. the labor was great, but it was gloriously accomplished. in this labor, however, the missionaries were assisted by the synagogues of the jews. in the synagogues, "christ" was no new term, and no new conception. in the synagogues, one proposition needed first to be proved, "this jesus ... is the christ." acts : . if that were proved, then the rest would follow. the jews knew that the messiah was lord and master. identify jesus with him, and all the lofty claims of jesus would be substantiated. how the identity was established may be observed in the speech of peter on the day of pentecost, or in the speech of paul at pisidian antioch. acts : - . it will be remembered that the synagogues attracted not merely jews but also gentiles. the gentile "god-fearers," as well as the jews, were acquainted with the messianic hope. even the gentile mission, therefore, was prepared for by the prophets of israel. . the permanent value of prophecy the appeal to prophecy, however, was not merely valuable to the early church. it is of abiding worth. it represents jesus as the culmination of a divine purpose. the hope of israel was in itself a proof of revelation, because it was so unlike the religious conceptions of other nations. the covenant people, the righteous king, the living god, the world-wide mission--that is the glory of israel. the promise is itself a proof. but still more the fulfillment. the fulfillment was an unfolding. wonderful correspondence in detail--and far more wonderful the correspondence of the whole! the promise was manifold. sometimes the messiah is in the foreground. sometimes he is out of sight. sometimes there is a human king, sometimes jehovah himself coming to judgment; sometimes a kingdom, sometimes a new covenant in the heart; sometimes a fruitful canaan, sometimes a new heaven and a new earth. but manifold though the promise, christ is the fulfillment of it all. "how many soever be the promises of god," in christ is the yea. ii cor. : . there is the wonder. in christ the apparent contradictions of the promise become glorious unity, in christ the deeper mysteries of the promise are revealed. christ the keystone of the arch! christ the culmination of a divine plan! that is the witness of the prophets. it is a witness worth having. . the messianic hope of later judaism after the close of the old testament, the promise did not die. it was preserved in the scriptures. it continued to be the life of the jewish nation. but it was not only preserved. it was also interpreted. some of the interpretation was false, but much of it was true. the jewish interpretation of the old testament promise is worthy of attention. what did the jews of the first century mean by the messiah, and what did they mean by the messianic age? in the first place, they retained the hope of a king of david's line--a human king who should conquer the enemies of israel. when it was held in a one-sided form this was a dangerous hope. it led logically to materialistic conceptions of the kingdom of god and to political unrest. it led to the effort of the jews to take jesus by force and make him a king. john : . it led to the quarrel of the disciples about the chief places in the kingdom. matt. : - ; mark : - ; luke : , . this conception of the messiah had to be corrected by jesus. "my kingdom is not of this world." john : . yet even where the messiah was conceived of as an earthly ruler, the spiritual hope was by no means always and altogether lost. the "psalms of solomon," for example, pharisaic psalms of the first century before christ, though they look for an earthly ruler, picture him as one who shall rule in righteousness. "and a righteous king and taught of god is he that reigneth over them; and there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, for all shall be holy and their king is the lord messiah" (ps. sol. xvii, , . see ryle and james, "psalms of the pharisees," especially pp. - ). no iniquity in the days of the messiah! that is true understanding of the old testament, even joined with the political ideal. in the second place, however, the messianic age is sometimes in later judaism conceived of as purely supernatural. the messiah is not an earthly ruler, merely helped by god, but himself a heavenly being, a preëxistent "son of man," judge of all the earth. the messianic age is ushered in not by human warfare, but by a mighty catastrophic act of god. not a liberated canaan is here the ideal, but a new heaven and a new earth. this transcendental, supernaturalistic form of the messianic hope appears in the "book of enoch" and other "apocalypses." its details are fantastic, but it was by no means altogether wrong. in many respects it was a correct interpretation of the divine promise. the new heavens and the new earth are derived from isa. : . the doctrine of the two ages was accepted by jesus and by paul--for example matt. : ; gal. : ; eph. : . the heavenly "son of man" goes back to dan. : , . the book of enoch was not altogether wrong. its use of the title "son of man" prepared for the title which jesus used. finally, the messianic hope was held in a pure and lofty form by the "poor of the land"--simple folk like those who appear in the first two chapters of luke. in the hymns of mary and zacharias and simeon, purely political and materialistic conceptions are in the background, and the speculations of the apocalypses do not appear. the highest elements of prophecy are made prominent. "for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of thy people israel." luke : - . in those circles, the hope of israel burned still and pure. later judaism thus preserved the manifoldness of prophecy. there was exaggeration and there was one-sidedness; but in judaism as a whole the promise was preserved. one element at most was forgotten--the suffering servant and his sacrificial death. the death of the messiah was no easy conception. the disciples had difficulty with it. when peter heard of it, he took jesus, and began to rebuke him. matt. : . the lesson was not easy, but it had to be learned. and it was worth learning. the cross is the heart of the gospel. thus in jesus nothing was left out, except what was false. the whole promise was preserved. the revealer of god, the ruler of the kingdom, the great high priest, the human deliverer, the divine lord--these are the elements of the promise. they find their union in christ. leave one out, and the promise is mutilated. such mutilation is popular to-day. the whole christ seems too wonderful. but the church can be satisfied with nothing less. * * * * * in the library.--beecher, "the prophets and the promise," pp. - . lesson vii the book of the acts the teaching of the lesson may be begun with some very simple questions. if rightly put, they will open up a fresh way of looking at a new testament book. the way will thus be prepared for considering the deeper elements of the lesson. if interest can be aroused in the book itself, the contents of the book, in the lessons which follow, will be studied with much livelier attention. . authorship who wrote the book of the acts? how do you know? the former question will probably be answered without difficulty, but the latter may reveal difference of opinion. many of the students will know that the acts was written by the same man as the gospel of luke. but that does not settle the question. how do you know that luke was written by luke? the name does not occur in the gospel itself. the title, "according to luke," was probably added later. so, in order to determine the authorship both of luke and of the acts, recourse must be had to christian tradition. fortunately, however, tradition in this case is quite unimpeachable. in the first place, although the author of the acts is not named in the book, yet the book is not an anonymous work. undoubtedly the name of the author was known from the beginning. for the book is dedicated to an individual, theophilus. evidently theophilus knew who the author was. information about the author could thus be had from the start. if, therefore, luke did not really write the acts, some one has removed the name of the true author and substituted "luke" in place of it. that is an exceedingly unlikely supposition. in the second place, it is evident quite independently of any tradition that the book was written by an eyewitness of part of paul's missionary journeys. this fact appears from the so-called "we-sections" of the book. in certain portions of the narrative the author uses the first person instead of the third. of this peculiarity there is only one satisfactory explanation. the author uses the first person when he is describing the experiences in which he himself had a part. when, for example, the author says, not, "they made a straight course to samothrace," but "we made a straight course," acts : , he means that he was present on that voyage. this natural supposition is confirmed by the character of the "we-sections." these sections are full of such a wealth of artless detail that no one but an eyewitness could possibly have written them. the only possible way of avoiding the conclusion that a companion of paul wrote the book of the acts is to maintain that although such a man wrote the "we-sections" some one else wrote the rest of the book. but that is unlikely in the extreme. if a later author had been simply using as a source a diary of a companion of paul, he would surely either have told us he was quoting, or else have changed the first person to the third. by leaving the third person in he would simply have been producing nonsense. everyone knew who the author of the book was. the book is dedicated to a definite man. the author evidently could not have palmed himself off as a companion of paul even if he would. and if he desired to do it, he would not have chosen this remarkable way of doing it. of course if he had been a mere thoughtless compiler he might have copied his source with such slavish exactness as to leave the "we" in without noticing that in the completed work it would produce nonsense. but he was most assuredly not a mere compiler. if he used sources, he did not use them that way. the book shows a remarkable unity of style. modern research has demonstrated that fact beyond peradventure. there is a remarkable similarity of style between the "we-sections" and the rest of the book. only one hypothesis, then, does justice to the facts. the author of the "we-sections" was also the author of the whole book. when he comes to those parts of the narrative in which he himself had a part, he says very naturally "we," instead of "they." the book of the acts, then, was written by a companion of paul. that fact stands firm, even apart from any tradition. and that is the really important fact. if the book was written by an eyewitness, the particular name of the eyewitness is comparatively unimportant. but the tradition as to the name is without doubt correct. there is not the slightest reason for calling it in question. what the book of the acts itself says about its author fits exactly what paul says about luke. . date the authorship of the acts is certain. the date, however, is not so clear. the book was written by luke. but when was it written? the latter question cannot be answered with perfect precision. at least, however, since the book was written by luke, it must have been written during the lifetime of a companion of paul. a. d. , for example, would be too late, and a. d. would be unlikely. a good deal can be said for putting the date at about a. d. . this early date would explain the abrupt ending of the book. one of the most curious things about the acts is that the narrative is suddenly broken off just at the most interesting point. the trial of paul is narrated at very great length, but we are not told how it came out. the final decision, the climax of the whole long narrative, is just at hand; but with regard to it we are left altogether in suspense. was paul released? was he condemned and executed? the author does not say. his silence requires an explanation. the simplest explanation would be that luke wrote his book at the very point of time where the narrative is broken off. of course he could not tell us any more if nothing more had happened. he brought his narrative right up to date. nothing more was possible. it is true, other explanations may be proposed. (a) it has been suggested, for example, that the acts closes so abruptly because the author was saving something for another work. as the acts is the continuation of the gospel of luke, so a third work, it is said, was planned as the continuation of the acts. but even so, it seems rather strange that the author should not have given at least a hint of the outcome of that trial in order to take the edge off our curiosity. he has done something like that at the conclusion of his gospel; why not also at the conclusion of the acts? (b) but perhaps the ending is not so abrupt as it looks. the author's purpose, it is said, was not to write a biography of paul, but to show how the gospel spread from jerusalem to rome. when rome was reached, then the narrative was broken off. biographical details--even the most interesting details about the most interesting character--were ruthlessly excluded. the plan of the book had been accomplished. for this explanation there is much to be said. but the trouble with it is that especially in the latter part of the book the author as a matter of fact does show considerable interest in biographical details. the trial and shipwreck of paul are narrated with a fullness which is quite out of proportion to the rest of the history. after such a full account of the trial, it remains rather strange that the author has said not a word about the outcome. either of these last two explanations is perfectly possible. possibly the acts was written as late as a. d. . but the early date at least explains the peculiar ending best of all. . sources where did luke get the materials for his work? did he use written sources as well as oral information? the question has been discussed at very great length, but without much uniformity in the results. if he used written sources, at least he used them skillfully, placing upon them the imprint of his own style. the book possesses genuine unity. the really important fact about the sources of the book of the acts is a negative fact. whatever the sources were, the pauline epistles were not among them. compare the passages where paul and luke narrate the same events--for example gal., chs. , , with the corresponding passages in the acts--and it becomes evident that the two narratives are entirely independent. luke did not use the pauline epistles in writing his book. that is an exceedingly significant fact. it shows that the acts is an independent witness. what is more, it strengthens materially the argument for the early date of the acts. the pauline epistles at a very early time began to be collected and used generally in the church. in a. d. , for example, they would certainly have been used by anyone who was writing an account of paul's life. since, therefore, the book of the acts does not use them, that book must have been written earlier, and probably very much earlier. even in a. d. , it would perhaps have been strange that the epistles should not have been used. . purpose the proper purpose of a historian is to tell the truth. and luke was a genuine historian. his own account of his method, luke : - , shows that he knew the meaning of historical research, and the character of his books bears this out. luke did not permit any desire of putting christianity in a good light, or of defending one kind of christianity against another, to interfere with the primary duty of truthfulness. that does not mean, however, that the book of the acts is like some modern university dissertations--written simply and solely in order to say some new thing, whether interesting or no. no great historian goes to work that way. of course luke had an interest in his subject matter. of course he was convinced that christianity was a great thing, and was full of enthusiasm in narrating its history. in that he was perfectly right. christianity really was a great thing. the best celebration of its greatness was a narration of the facts. christian faith is based on fact. luke wrote, not only in the gospel but also in the acts, in order that his readers might know the certainty concerning the things wherein they were instructed. luke : . . literary characteristics the author of the acts was well acquainted with the old testament. he was able to catch the spirit of the primitive palestinian church. his books exhibit the influence of the semitic languages. but he was also capable of a greek style which would have passed muster in the schools of rhetoric. luke : - , for example, is a typical greek sentence. evidently luke could move with ease in the larger greek world of his time. his references to political and social conditions are extraordinarily exact. his narrative is never lacking in local color. he knows the proper titles of the local officials, and the peculiar quality of the local superstitions. his account of the shipwreck is a mine of information about the seafaring of antiquity. evidently he was a keen observer, and a true traveler of a cosmopolitan age. his narrative is characterized by a certain delightful urbanity--an urbanity, however, which is deepened and ennobled by profound convictions. * * * * * in the library.--warfield, "acts, timothy, titus and philemon," in "the temple bible," pp. i-xxvii. davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves, article on "acts of the apostles." purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," in "the guild text books," pp. - . hastings, "dictionary of the bible": headlam, article on "acts of the apostles." lesson viii the cross and the resurrection the foundation of apostolic preaching . the resurrection a fact of history which of the books of the new testament contain the evidence for the resurrection of jesus? that question will serve to begin the teaching of the lesson. in answer to it, the students will probably mention the four gospels. to the gospels, however, should be added especially the first epistle to the corinthians. the passage in first corinthians is deserving of very careful attention. for, unlike the gospels, that epistle can be dated to within a year or so. it was written only about twenty-five years after the crucifixion. even though possibly some of the gospels were written still earlier, the precision with which the epistle can be dated makes its witness particularly valuable. furthermore, the author of the epistle is well known. no one doubts that first corinthians was written by paul, and paul is the best-known man of apostolic times. evidently his witness to the facts is of the utmost value. paul himself was a direct witness of the resurrection. he saw the risen lord. i cor. : ; : . in i cor. : - , however, he does not content himself with his own witness, but reproduces the testimony of others in an extended list. that testimony had come to paul by ordinary word of mouth. "i delivered unto you first of all," says paul, "that which also i received." in what follows there is a list of the appearances of the risen christ. "he appeared to cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; then he appeared to james; then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also." evidently these appearances are not conceived of merely as "visions," but as events in the external world. the mention of the burial, v. , is a plain hint that what peter and the rest saw was the body of jesus raised from the tomb. that view of the matter is amply confirmed in the gospels and in the book of the acts. in the gospels, we are told that the tomb was found empty on the morning of the third day after the crucifixion. it was found empty by some women and by peter and john. since the tomb was empty, the body which appeared to the disciples had some connection with the body which had been taken down from the cross. furthermore, the gospels and the acts make the bodily character of the appearances abundantly plain. jesus did not merely appear to the disciples at a distance. he walked with them on the road to emmaus. he broke bread with them. he came into the very midst of them when they were assembled in a room. thomas could even touch his hands and his side. these are merely examples. clearly the testimony of the disciples is testimony not to mere spiritual experiences, but to the bodily presence of the lord. it may be admitted that the body was a glorified body. after his resurrection jesus was freed from the limitations of his earthly life. nevertheless, he was not merely a "spirit." luke : . there was some real, though mysterious, connection between the glorified body and the body that had been laid in the tomb. the new testament attests not merely the immortality of jesus, but his resurrection. the resurrection, in these days, is hard to accept. for it is a miracle. against any miracle there is a tremendous presumption. in this case, however, the presumption has been overcome. it has been overcome by the character of jesus. it is in the highest degree unlikely that an ordinary man should rise from the dead; but it is not unlikely that jesus should have risen. the resurrection is unique. but so is the life of jesus of nazareth. the two wonders support one another. explain away the testimony to the resurrection, and your task is not done. you must also explain away that sinless life. if jesus rose from the dead he had a unique experience. but that is to be expected. for jesus himself was unlike any other of the children of men. there are mysteries in his life that have never been explained. the resurrection of jesus is a well-attested fact of history. the proof of it is cumulative. any one of the proofs might be regarded as insufficient when taken alone, but when taken together they are overpowering. the sinless, unearthly character of jesus separates him from the rest of men, so that probabilities which apply to others do not apply to him. his mysterious self-consciousness involves so lofty a claim, that if he was not divine he was a megalomaniac--he whose calmness and strength have left an impression which the centuries have done nothing to efface! the specific testimonies to the empty tomb and to the plain bodily appearances of the risen lord are independent and varied. finally, unless the resurrection be a fact, the very origin of the christian church becomes an insoluble mystery. the resurrection alone can explain the sudden transformation of a company of weak, discouraged men into the conquerors of the world. the resurrection of jesus is a fact of history. it is not an aspiration of the heart. it comes ultimately through the testimony of the senses. the apostles came forward with a piece of plain information. they were witnesses to a fact in the external world. that fact has put a new face upon life. it is good news of salvation. . the resurrection confirmed by experience the resurrection is a fact of history. accept it as true, and you can have hope for time and for eternity. at this point, however, some men experience a difficulty. how can the acceptance of a historical fact satisfy the longing of our souls? must we stake our salvation upon the intricacies of historical research? surely some more immediate certitude is required. the objection would be valid if history stood alone. but history does not stand alone. it has suffered from a false isolation. a christian certitude that is founded solely upon history is insufficient. history is necessary, but not sufficient. we need history, but we need something else as well. a historical conviction of the resurrection of jesus is not the end of faith, but only the beginning. if faith stops there, it will never stand the fires of criticism. we are told that jesus lives. so much is a matter of testimony, a matter of history. if we believe the witness, then we can have hope. but the religious problem of our lives has not yet been solved. jesus lives. but what good is it to us? if he lives, we need to find him. we need to find him, and we can find him. we accept the message of the resurrection enough to make trial of it. and making trial of it, we find that it is true. jesus is found to be alive, for he makes answer to our prayer, and heals us. we never could have come to him unless we had accepted the historical evidence for the resurrection. but starting with that historical belief we went on to the blessed experience of salvation. christian experience cannot do without history. but it adds to history that directness, that immediateness, that simplicity of conviction, which delivers us from fear. we began with history. but we went on to experience. "now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the saviour of the world." . the death jesus is alive. if we find him, he will heal us. but how shall we find him? in the new testament we receive instruction. in the new testament a strange fact stares us in the face. the new testament seems far more concerned with the death of jesus than with the details of his life. learned men have tried in vain to explain that curious fact. in elaborate treatises they have sought the explanation. but it is really very simple. the new testament emphasizes the death of jesus because that is what jesus did for us--or rather, coming after his perfect obedience to the law, it is the culmination of what he did for us. in the account of jesus' life we are told what jesus did for others. that account is absolutely necessary. without it we should never have been interested in jesus at all. but it is to us a means to an end, not an end in itself. we read in the gospel what jesus did for others. for one he placed his fingers in the ears and said, "be opened"; to another he said, "arise, take up thy bed, and walk"; to another, "thy sins are forgiven." these things are what jesus did for others. but what has he done for us? the answer of the new testament is plain. for us he does not say, "arise and walk." for us--he died. that mysterious thing which was wrought on calvary--that was his work for us. the cross of christ is a mystery. in the presence of it theology walks after all with but trembling, halting footsteps. learning will never unlock its meaning. but to the penitent sinner, though mysterious, though full of baffling riddles, it is plain enough. on the cross jesus dealt with our sin. our dreadful guilt, the condemnation of god's law--it is wiped out by an act of grace. it seemed inseparable from us. it was a burden no earthly friend could bear. but christ is master of the innermost secrets of the moral world. he has accomplished the impossible, he has borne our sins. by the cross he has healed us. but through whom does he apply the healing touch? through no one, save his spirit. for he is here himself. if we are seekers for him, then this day our search is over. the death of christ, in the modern church, is often subordinated. exclusive emphasis is laid upon the holy example and teaching of the galilean prophet. the modern theologians would be right if there were no such thing as sin. if there were no such thing as guilt, and if there were no such thing as a dreadful enslaving power of evil, then a noble ideal might be sufficient. but to talk about an ideal to a man under the thralldom of sin is a cruel mockery. sin may indeed be glossed over. let us make the best of our condition, we are told, let us do the best we can, let us simply trust in the all-conquering love of god. dangerous advice! by it a certain superficial joy of life may be induced. but the joy rests upon an insecure foundation. it is dangerous to be happy on the brink of the abyss. permanent joy can come only when sin has been faced honestly, and destroyed. it has been destroyed by the death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ. it is true that god is loving. he has manifested his love, however, better than by complacency toward sin. he has manifested it by the gracious gift of a saviour. * * * * * in the library.--denney, "the death of christ." orr, "the resurrection of jesus." crawford, "the doctrine of holy scripture respecting the atonement." lesson ix the beginnings of the christian church the author of the acts has given a wonderful picture of the early days of the christian church. the teacher should endeavor to present the picture before the mental vision of the class. history should not be studied merely as a dry record of events. the events should be seen as well as understood. they can be seen by what is called the historical imagination. the term "imagination" often contains a suggestion of unreality. but that is a secondary use of the word. "imagination" means "picturing." you can make a picture of what really happened as well as of what happened only in fiction. the historical imagination is a very important faculty in the student of the new testament. in many persons it is almost wholly lacking. but fortunately it may be acquired. in the lessons that follow, great stress should be laid upon the simple memorizing of the course of events. advanced study, or topical study, is useless unless it is based upon an orderly acquaintance with the contents of the acts. history comes first--then the interpretation of the history. the dominant note in the early chapters of the acts is the note of joy. after the three dark days of discouragement, after the quiet period of waiting, the life of the church suddenly bursts forth with power. everything is fresh and new. difficulties and dangers have not yet emerged. even persecution is lacking. the church enjoys favor with the people. thousands are converted in a day. . the gift of tongues the gift of tongues, as it was exercised on the day of pentecost, is not altogether an isolated phenomenon. it appears also elsewhere in the acts, acts : ; : , though it may be doubted whether in all three cases it assumed exactly the same form. in the first epistle to the corinthians, paul discusses the gift at considerable length. i cor., ch. . it is interesting to compare that passage with the passage in the second chapter of the acts. there are a number of resemblances between the two. both paul and luke represent the gift of tongues as a supernatural thing, a special endowment from the spirit of god. both paul and luke, furthermore, represent the gift as an ecstatic, temporary expression of spiritual exultation rather than as a faculty intended to be practically useful in the work of the church. on the other hand, there are such marked differences between the two accounts as to make it evident that the gift as it was manifested at pentecost was very considerably different from that which was exercised in the church at corinth. the speaking with tongues as paul describes it was a kind of ejaculation, expressive of the religious life of the speaker, but incomprehensible to others. in order, therefore, to make the gift edifying to the congregation at large there had to be some one else present who was in possession of another gift, the gift of interpretation. the speaking with tongues at pentecost, however, was a miraculous use of various languages. some have supposed that luke is describing rather a new language, which possessed the supernatural quality of being understood by men of various nationalities. the most natural interpretation of the passage, however, is that which has just been suggested. the disciples, filled with the spirit, spoke some in one language and some in another, or perhaps the same individuals used different languages at successive moments. the outsiders received various impressions of the strange phenomenon. some, mocking, declared that the disciples were drunk. these, we may suppose, were men who came into contact with those disciples who were speaking some language known only to another group among the hearers. the general impression seems to have been wonder at the miraculous gift. the gift of tongues provided an opportunity for the first christian preaching. in just this form it was perhaps never repeated. it was a unique gift provided for an absolutely unique occasion. . the speeches ancient historians often put imaginary speeches into the mouths of their characters. the speeches were intended to represent not what was actually said but what might have been said under the circumstances. this procedure of the historians was not intended to deceive the readers. it was merely a literary form, a method of vivid description. luke, however, seems not to have allowed himself even the license which was regarded as allowable by the best historians of antiquity. the speeches in the acts are apparently either verbatim reports of what was actually said, or else summaries based upon trustworthy tradition. if they had been composed freely by the historian himself their characteristic differences and their perfect adaptation to different occasions would be difficult to explain. the speeches of peter and of the earliest disciples, in particular, are very different from those of paul. they contain a number of features which occur either not at all or only rarely in the rest of the new testament. the designation of jesus as "the servant," for example, a designation taken from the latter part of isaiah, is characteristic of these speeches. another characteristic designation of jesus is "prince" or "prince of life." acts : ; : . in general, the representation of jesus in the early chapters of the acts is just what might have been expected under the circumstances. at the beginning of the church's life, everything is simple and easy of comprehension even by outsiders. the apostles represented jesus first as a man approved of god by the miracles which he had wrought. to have delivered up such a man to death was itself a grievous sin. but that was not all. this jesus who was crucified had been raised from the dead; and both in his death and in his resurrection he had fulfilled the messianic predictions of the ancient prophets. he was then nothing less than the christ. now, too, his period of humiliation was over. he had been given the full powers of lordship. from him had come the wonder-working spirit. it will be observed that these speeches, though they begin with what is simplest and easiest of acceptance by an outsider, really contain, at least in germ, the full doctrine of the divine christ. . the converts the body of disciples who were assembled before the day of pentecost consisted of only about one hundred and twenty persons. acts : . after the notable sermon of peter, which was spoken in explanation of the gift of tongues, three thousand were converted. a little later the church possessed five thousand men. acts : . the outward sign of conversion was baptism. "repent ye," said peter, "and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the holy spirit." baptism was not altogether new. it had been practiced not only among converts to judaism, but especially by john the baptist. christian baptism, however, is sharply distinguished from the baptism of john. mark : , ; acts : ; : - . both were expressive of repentance. but christian baptism was connected specifically with jesus, and also with the bestowal of the spirit. baptism was "in the name of jesus christ," or "into the name of the lord jesus." it was the sacrament by which the convert signified his cleansing from sin and his entrance into that peculiarly close relation to christ which is of the essence of christian experience. in itself, of course, the rite of baptism is useless. but when accompanied by faith it is a means of real blessing. baptism, like the other christian sacrament, the lord's supper, was instituted by christ himself. matt. : . in the acts the full trinitarian formula of baptism is not given. "in the name of jesus christ" is sufficient to designate the sacrament. . joy and fear the mysterious power that was working among the disciples was beneficent. it accomplished miracles of healing. as in the case of jesus himself so now among his disciples the spirit of god was manifested in the expulsion of demons. matt. : ; acts : . the spirit was manifested also in the healing of disease. one cure, in particular, is narrated with a wealth of vivid detail. the healing of the lame man led to the opposition of the sanhedrin. it led also to favor among the people. all the people ran together in solomon's porch greatly wondering. acts : . peter and john took no credit for what they had done. they attributed the miracle solely to the power of jesus. it was the same jesus against whom the crowd had shouted, "crucify him, crucify him," only a few weeks before. surely a reason for remorse rather than joy! but god is gracious. through jesus, the crucified one, salvation was offered even to the murderers. repentance was followed by rejoicing. the envy of the sanhedrin was held in check. a notable miracle had been wrought. that miracle was not isolated. many signs and wonders were wrought by the hands of the apostles. the people even "carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some one of them." acts : - . perhaps we are to understand that that method of seeking cure was actually successful. certainly it was an unusual method. but god adopts unusual methods at unusual times. he adapts his mercy to the needs of men. the general impression left by the early chapters of the acts is an impression of light and gladness. there is opposition, but it is powerless against triumphant joy. one incident, however, introduces a discordant note. it is the incident of ananias and sapphira. the early church was animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice. many of the disciples sold their possessions and devoted the price to the common good. one of those who did so was joseph barnabas, who was to be prominent in the subsequent history. a certain man, ananias, however, and sapphira his wife, after they had sold their possession kept back part of the price. in itself that was not necessarily wrong. their sin was the sin of deception. they pretended to have given all, though they had really given only a part. a more destructive sin could scarcely have been imagined. they had lied unto the holy spirit. such conduct would bring contempt upon the church. ananias and sapphira discovered that god cannot be trifled with. and the judgment wrought upon them inspired fear in all who heard. it is well that this incident has been recorded. it prevents a one-sided impression of the church's life. the power that animated the church was beneficent. but it was also terrible and mysterious and holy. in the presence of it there was joy. but that joy was akin to fear. "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god." the lesson is of permanent value. the spirit of god must be received with joy. but not with a common joy. not with the joy of familiarity. but rather with the wondering, trembling joy of adoration. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "weeks, feast of" and "temple." "the cambridge bible for schools": lumby, "the acts of the apostles," , pp. - . "the bible commentary," vol. ii: cook, "the acts of the apostles," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. ii: plumptre, "the acts of the apostles," pp. - . rackham, "the acts of the apostles," pp. - . these commentaries will be designated hereafter by the names of the authors only. lesson x the first persecution the persecution which arose in connection with stephen marks a turning point in the history of the church. up to that time, the disciples had been content, for the most part, with laboring in jerusalem. now they were forced out into a broader field. one result of the persecution was the geographical extension of the church. another result was perhaps even more important. the extension caused by persecution was not merely geographical; it was also, perhaps, intellectual and spiritual. the church was really from the beginning in possession of a new religious principle, but at first that principle was not fully understood. persecution probably helped to reveal the hidden riches. the pharisees were keener than the disciples themselves. hostility sharpened the vision. the disciples themselves were still content to share in the established forms of jewish worship; but the pharisees saw that they were really advocates of a new principle. christianity, unless it were checked, would supersede judaism. the pharisees were right. jealous fear detected what ancestral piety had concealed. the hostility of the jews perhaps helped to open the eyes of the church. no doubt, a development was already at work. persecution was the result as well as the cause of the new freedom. stephen was persecuted possibly just because his preaching went beyond that of peter. with or without persecution, the church would have transcended the bounds of the older judaism. it contained a germ of new life which was certain to bear fruit. but persecution hastened the process. it scattered the church abroad, and it revealed the revolutionary character of the church's life. with the coming of jesus a new era had begun. judaism had before been separate from the gentile world. that separation had been due not to racial prejudice, but to a divine ordinance. it had served a useful purpose. jewish particularism should never be despised; it should be treated with piety and gratitude. it had preserved the precious deposit of truth in the midst of heathenism. but its function, though useful, was temporary. it was a preparation for christ. before christ it was a help; after christ it became a hindrance. persecution was not the beginning of the new freedom. freedom was based upon the words of jesus. it had become plainer again, perhaps, in the teaching of stephen. furthermore, if freedom was not begun by the persecution, it was also not completed by it. the emancipation of the church from judaism was a slow process. the unfolding of that process is narrated in the acts. even after the church was scattered abroad through judea and samaria, much remained to be done. cornelius, antioch, paul were still in the future. nevertheless, the death of stephen was an important event. it was by no means the whole of the process; but it marks an epoch. the gradual rise of persecution should be traced in class--first the fruitless arrest of peter and john and their bold defiance; then the arrest of the apostles, the miraculous escape, the preaching in the temple, the re-arrest, the counsel of gamaliel, the scourging; then the preaching of stephen and the hostility of the pharisees. the opposition of the sadducees was comparatively without significance. the sadducees were not jews at heart. they might persecute the church just because the church was patriotically jewish. but the pharisees were really representative of the existing judaism. pharisaic persecution meant the hostility of the nation. and it implied the independence of the church. if the disciples were nothing but jews, why did the jews persecute them? in what follows, a few details will be discussed. . theudas and judas judas the galilean, mentioned by gamaliel, acts : , appears also in josephus. his insurrection occurred at the time of the great enrollment under quirinius, the syrian legate. this enrollment was different from that which brought joseph and mary to bethlehem at the time of the birth of jesus. luke : - . that former enrollment occurred before the death of herod the great in b. c. luke : ; matt. : . the enrollment to which gamaliel referred was carried out after the deposition of archelaus in a. d. . with regard to judas all is clear. but theudas is known only from acts : . the theudas who is mentioned in josephus is different, for his insurrection did not occur till about a. d. , after the time of gamaliel's speech. gamaliel was referring to some insurrection of an earlier period. the name theudas was common, and so were tumults and insurrections. . the seven it has been questioned whether the seven men who were appointed to assist the apostles were "deacons." the title is not applied to them. the narrative does, indeed, imply that they were to "serve tables," acts : , and the greek word here translated "serve" is the verb from which the greek noun meaning "deacon" is derived; but the same word is also used for the "ministry [or service] of the word" in which the apostles were to continue. v. . the special technical use of the word "deacon" appears in the new testament only in phil. : ; i tim. : , . compare rom. : . nevertheless, though the word itself does not occur in our passage, it is perhaps not incorrect to say that the seven were "deacons." their functions were practically those of the diaconate; their appointment, at any rate, shows that the apostles recognized the need of some such office in the church. it is not quite clear what is meant by the expression, to "serve tables." the reference is either to tables for food, or else to the money tables of a banker. if the former interpretation be correct, then the deacons were to attend especially to the management of the common meals. even then, however, the expression probably refers indirectly to the general administration of charity, a prominent part of the service being mentioned simply as typical of the whole. . the synagogues the greek word translated "libertines" in acts : comes from the latin word for "freedmen." the freedmen here mentioned were probably descendants of jews taken by pompey as slaves to rome. the jewish opponents of stephen therefore included romans, men of eastern and middle north africa, and men of eastern and western asia minor. these foreign jews, when they settled in jerusalem, had their own synagogues. it is doubtful how many synagogues are mentioned in our passage. luke may mean that each of the five groups had a separate synagogue, or he may be grouping the men of cilicia and asia in one synagogue. the wording of the greek perhaps rather favors the view that only two synagogues are mentioned--one consisting of libertines and men of cyrene and alexandria, and the other consisting of cilicians and asians. . the speech of stephen in defending himself, stephen gave a summary of hebrew history. at first sight, that summary might seem to have little bearing upon the specific charges that had been made. but the history which stephen recited was a history of israel. "you are destroying the divine privileges of israel"--that was the charge. "no," said stephen, "history shows that the true privileges of israel are the promises of divine deliverance. to them law and temple are subordinate. from abraham on there was a promise of deliverance from egypt. after that deliverance another deliverance was promised. it is the one which was wrought by jesus. moses, god's instrument in the first deliverance, was rejected by his contemporaries. jesus, the greater deliverer, was rejected by you. we disciples of jesus are the true israelites, for we, unlike you, honor the promises of god." other interpretations of the speech have been proposed. for example, some find the main thought of the speech to be this: "the wanderings of the patriarchs and the long period of time which elapsed before the building of the temple show that true and acceptable worship of god is not limited to any particular place." at any rate, the speech requires study--and repays it. what was said in the last lesson about the speeches of the acts in general applies fully to the speech of stephen. the very difficulties of the speech, as well as its other peculiarities, help to show that it represents a genuine tradition of what, in a unique situation, was actually said. . martyrdom the word "martyr" is simply the greek word for "witness." that is the word which is translated "witness" in acts : . "ye shall receive power, when the holy spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, and in all judæa and samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." there, of course, there is no special reference to dying for the sake of christ. it is primarily the ordinary verbal testimony which is meant. the special meaning "martyr" is not often attached to the greek word in the new testament. probably even in acts : , where the word is applied to stephen, it is to be translated "witness" rather than "martyr." martyrdom, then, is only one kind of witnessing. but it is a very important kind. men will not die for what they do not believe. when stephen sank beneath the stones of his enemies he was preaching a powerful sermon. the very fact of his death was a witness to christ. the manner of it was still more significant. stephen, crying in the hour of death, "lord jesus, receive my spirit," stephen dying with words of forgiveness on his lips, "lord, lay not this sin to their charge," was a witness indeed. the church can never do without that kind of witnessing. true, it may not now often appear as actual martyrdom. but bravery is needed as much as ever--bravery in business, men who will not say, "business is business," but will do what is right even in the face of failure; bravery in politics, men to whom righteousness is more than a pose; bravery in social life, men and women who will sacrifice convention every time to principle, who, for example, will maintain the christian sabbath in the face of ridicule. modern life affords plenty of opportunities for cowardice, plenty of opportunities for denying the faith through fear of men. it also affords opportunities for bravery. you can still show whether you are of the stuff that stephen was made of--above all, you can show whether you are possessed by the same spirit and are a servant of the same lord. . the result of the persecution the persecution resulted only in the spread of the gospel. gamaliel was right. it was useless to fight against god. the disciples were in possession of an invincible power, and they knew it from the very beginning. when peter and john returned from their first arrest, the disciples responded in a noble prayer. acts : - . herod and pontius pilate, with the gentiles and the peoples of israel, gathered together against jesus, had accomplished only what god's hand and god's counsel foreordained to come to pass. so it would be also with the enemies of the church. when the disciples had prayed, "the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and they spake the word of god with boldness." the answer to that prayer was prophetic of the whole history of the church. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "gamaliel," "theudas," "judas" ( ), "deacon"; purves, article on "stephen." ramsay, "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . rackham, pp. - . lumby, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . cook, pp. - . lesson xi the first gentile converts this lesson treats of a number of steps in the extension of the gospel. the beginning is the purely jewish church that is described in the first chapters of the acts; the goal is the gentile christianity of paul. gentile christianity was not produced all at once. the extension of the gospel to gentiles was a gradual process. the present lesson is concerned only with the early stages. the teacher should present the lesson in such a way as to emphasize the main feature of the narrative. the main feature is the central place assigned to the holy spirit. though the extension of the gospel to the gentiles was a process, that process was due not to mere natural development, but to the gracious leading of god. as was observed in lesson x, stephen perhaps introduced into the church a more independent attitude toward the existing judaism. there is no reason, indeed, to suppose that he thought either of preaching to gentiles or of forsaking the ceremonial law. but possibly he did venture to exhibit the temporary and provisional character of the temple worship as compared with the promises of god. indirectly, therefore, though certainly not directly, stephen opened the way for the gentile mission. the persecution was another step in the process. it scattered the jews abroad into regions where gentiles were more numerous than in jerusalem, and served perhaps also to reveal to the church itself its incompatibility with pharisaic judaism. the evangelization of samaria was another important step. though the samaritans were only half gentiles, they were particularly detested by the jews. in preaching to them, the disciples were overcoming jewish scruples, and thus were moving in the direction of a real gentile mission. the baptizing of the ethiopian may have been another step in the process. the most important event, however, was the conversion of cornelius and his household. here the issue was clearly raised. cornelius did not, like the ethiopian, depart at once after baptism to a distant home. his reception into the church was a matter of public knowledge. luke was well aware of the importance of the story about cornelius. that appears from the minuteness with which the story is narrated. after it has been completed once, it is repeated, at very considerable length, as a part of peter's defense at jerusalem. the effect is as though this incident were heavily underscored. the importance of the cornelius incident appears also in the fact that it gave rise to criticism. apparently this was the first serious criticism which the gradually widening mission had encountered within the church. there is no suggestion of such criticism in the case of the preaching in samaria. but now a much more radical step had been taken. peter had eaten with uncircumcised men. acts : . a more serious violation of jewish particularism could hardly have been imagined. in defense, peter appealed simply to the manifest authorization which he had received from god. that authorization had appeared first of all in the visions which peter and cornelius had received, with other direct manifestations of the divine will, and also more particularly in the bestowal of the spirit. if the spirit was given to uncircumcised gentiles, then circumcision was no longer necessary to membership in the church. in the narrative about cornelius, there is a remarkable heaping up of supernatural guidance. vision is added to vision, revelation to revelation. the reason is plain. a decisive step was being taken. if taken by human initiative, it was open to criticism. the separateness of israel from other nations was a divine ordinance. since it had been instituted by god, it could be abrogated only by him. true, jesus had said, "make disciples of all the nations." matt. : . but the how and the when had been left undecided. were the gentiles to become jews in order to become christians, and was the gentile mission to begin at once? those were grave questions. they could not be decided without divine guidance. that guidance was given in the case of cornelius. peter's defense was readily accepted. "and when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified god, saying, then to the gentiles also hath god granted repentance unto life." the active opposition to the gentile mission did not arise until later. but how could that opposition arise at all? since god had spoken so clearly, who could deny to the gentiles a free entrance into the church? after the case of cornelius, how could any possible question arise? as a matter of fact--though it may seem strange--the acceptance of cornelius did not at first determine the policy of the church. that incident remained, indeed, stored up in memory. it was appealed to years afterwards by peter himself, in order to support the gentile christianity of paul. acts : - , . but so far as the practice of the jewish church was concerned, the cornelius incident seems to have remained for a time without effect. the bestowal of the spirit upon cornelius and his friends was regarded, apparently, as a special dispensation which fixed no precedent. before engaging in further preaching to gentiles, the church was waiting, perhaps, for manifestations of the divine will as palpable as those which had been given to peter and to cornelius. this attitude is rather surprising. it must be remembered, however, that for the present the church was fully engrossed in work for jews. undoubtedly, a gentile work was to come, and the cornelius incident, as well as what jesus had said, was regarded as prophetic of it, acts : ; but the time and the manner of its institution were still undetermined. were the gentile converts generally--whatever might be the special dispensation for cornelius--to be required to submit to circumcision and become members of the chosen people? this and other questions had not yet even been faced. engrossed for the present in the jewish mission, the church could leave these questions to the future guidance of god. in what follows, a number of special points will be briefly discussed. . philip after the baptism of the ethiopian, "the spirit of the lord caught away philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing. but philip was found at azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to cæsarea." the meaning of these words is not perfectly plain. are we to understand that philip was carried away to azotus by a miracle, or is nothing more intended than a sudden departure under the impulsion of the spirit? the latter interpretation is not at all impossible. what has been emphasised in the whole narrative is the strangeness, the unaccountableness of philip's movements. this appears particularly in the sudden separation from the eunuch. the eunuch expected further conference with philip but suddenly philip rushed off, as though snatched away by a higher power. all through this incident, there is something strangely sudden and unexpected about philip's movements. human deliberation evidently had no part in his actions. he was under the immediate impulsion of the spirit. the narrative leaves philip at cæsarea, and there he appears years afterwards, at the time of paul's last journey to jerusalem. acts : , . luke was at that time one of the company, and may have received directly from philip the materials for the narrative in the eighth chapter of the acts. philip appears in christian tradition, but there is some confusion between philip the evangelist and philip the apostle. . simon magus simon the sorcerer, or "simon magus," is an interesting figure. he has laid hold of the fancy of christendom. from his name--with reference to acts : , --the word "simony" has been coined to designate the sin of buying or selling any sort of spiritual advantage. simon is very prominent in christian tradition, where he is regarded as the fountainhead of all heresy. . cornelius cornelius was a "centurion," or captain of a company in the roman army consisting of about one hundred men. the "italian band" to which he belonged was apparently a "cohort," composed of soldiers from italy. cornelius was stationed at cæsarea, the residence of the procurators of judea. with the favorable description of his attitude to the jews and to the jewish religion, acts : , should be compared what luke, in his gospel, records about another centurion. luke : , . these are sympathetic pictures of the "god-fearing" adherents of judaism, who formed so important a class at the time of the first christian preaching. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "samaria," "samaritan," "philip" ( ), "simon" ( ), "cæsarea," "cornelius." ramsay, "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . rackham, pp. - , - . lumby, pp. - , - . plumptre, pp. - , - . cook, pp. - , - . lesson xii the conversion of paul christianity a supernatural thing and a gift of god's grace--that is the real theme of the lesson. the theme is brought home by means of an example, the example of the apostle paul. the religious experience of paul is the most striking phenomenon in the history of the human spirit. it really requires no defense. give it sympathetic attention, and it is irresistible. how was it produced? the answer of paul himself, at least, is plain. according to paul, his whole religious life was due, not to any natural development, but to an act of the risen christ. that is the argument of the first chapter of galatians. he was advancing in judaism, he says, beyond his contemporaries. he was laying waste the church. and then suddenly, when it was least to be expected, without the influence of men, simply by god's good pleasure, christ was revealed to him, and all was changed. the suddenness, the miraculousness of the change is the very point of the passage. upon that marvelous act of god paul bases the whole of his life work. shall paul's explanation of his life be accepted? it can be accepted only by the recognition of jesus christ, who was crucified, as a living person. in an age of doubt, that recognition is not always easy. but if it be refused, then the whole of pauline christianity is based upon an illusion. that alternative may well seem to be monstrous. the eighth chapter of romans has a self-evidencing power. it has transformed the world. it has entered into the very fiber of the human spirit. but it crumbles to pieces if the appearance on the road to damascus was nothing but a delusive vision. let us not deceive ourselves. the religious experience of paul and the whole of our evangelical piety are based upon the historical fact of the resurrection. but if so, then the resurrection stands firm. for the full glory of pauline christianity becomes a witness to it. the writer of the epistle to the romans must be believed. but it is that writer who says, "last of all ... he appeared to me also." the wonder of the conversion can be felt only through an exercise of the historical imagination. imagine the surroundings of paul's early life in tarsus, live over again with him the years in jerusalem, enter with him into his prospects of a conventional jewish career and into his schemes for the destruction of the church--and then only can you appreciate with him the catastrophic wonder of christ's grace. there was no reason for the conversion of paul. everything pointed the other way. but christ chose to make of the persecutor an apostle, and the life of paul was the result. it was a divine, inexplicable act of grace--grace to paul and grace to us who are paul's debtors. god's mercies are often thus. they are not of human devising. they enter into human life when they are least expected, with a sudden blaze of heavenly glory. in the review of paul's early life various questions emerge. they must at least be faced, if not answered, if the lesson is to be vividly presented. . paul at tarsus in the first place, what was the extent of the greek influence which was exerted upon paul at tarsus? the question cannot be answered with certainty, and widely differing views are held. it is altogether unlikely, however, that the boy attended anything like an ordinary gentile school. the jewish strictness of the family precludes that supposition, and it is not required by the character of paul's preaching and writing. it is true that he occasionally quotes a greek poet. i cor. : ; titus : ; acts : . it is true again that some passages in paul's letters are rhetorical--for example, i cor. : - ; ch. --and that rhetoric formed an important part of greek training in the first century. but paul's rhetoric is the rhetoric of nature rather than of art. exalted by his theme he falls unconsciously into a splendid rhythm of utterance. such rhetoric could not be learned in school. finally, it is true that paul's vocabulary is thought to exhibit some striking similarities to that of stoic writers. but even if that similarity indicates acquaintance on the part of paul with the stoic teaching, such acquaintance need not have been attained through a study of books. however, the importance of paul's greek environment, if it must not be exaggerated, must on the other hand not be ignored. in the first place, paul is a consummate master of the greek language. he must have acquired it in childhood, and indeed in tarsus could hardly have failed to do so. in the second place, he was acquainted with the religious beliefs and practices of the greco-roman world. the speech at athens, acts : - , shows how he made use of such knowledge for his preaching. in all probability the first impressions were made upon him at tarsus. finally, from his home in tarsus paul derived that intimate knowledge of the political and social relationships of the men of his day which, coupled with a native delicacy of perception and fineness of feeling, resulted in the exquisite tact which he exhibited in his missionary and pastoral labors. the tarsian jew of the dispersion was a gentleman of the roman empire. that aramaic, as well as greek, was spoken by the family of paul is made probable by phil. : and ii cor. : . the word "hebrew" in these passages probably refers especially to the use of the aramaic ("hebrew") language, as in acts : , where the "hebrews" in the jerusalem church are contrasted with the "grecian jews." "a hebrew of hebrews," therefore, probably means "an aramaic-speaking jew and descended from aramaic-speaking jews." in acts : ; : it is expressly recorded that paul made a speech in aramaic ("hebrew"), and in acts : it is said that christ spoke to him in the same language. conceivably, of course, he might have learned that language during his student days in jerusalem. but the passages just referred to make it probable that it was rather the language of his earliest home. from childhood paul knew both aramaic and greek. . the inner life of paul the rabbi the most interesting question about paul's life at jerusalem concerns the condition of his inner life before the conversion. paul the pharisee is an interesting study. what were this man's thoughts and feelings and desires before the grace of christ made him the greatest of christian missionaries? the best way to answer this question would be to ask paul himself. one passage in the pauline epistles has been regarded as an answer to the question. that passage is rom. : - . there paul describes the struggle of the man who knows the law of god and desires to accomplish it, but finds the flesh too strong for him. if paul is there referring to his pre-christian life, then the passage gives a vivid picture of his fruitless struggle as a pharisee to fulfill the law. many interpreters, however, refer the passage not to the pre-christian life but to the christian life. even in the christian life the struggle goes on against sin. and even if paul is referring to the pre-christian life, he is perhaps depicting it rather as it really was than as he then thought it was. the passage probably does not mean that before he became a christian paul was fully conscious of the fruitlessness of his endeavor to attain righteousness by the law. afterwards he saw that his endeavor was fruitless, but it is doubtful how clearly he saw it at the time. it would, indeed, be a mistake to suppose that paul as a pharisee was perfectly happy. no man is happy who is trying to earn salvation by his works. in his heart of hearts paul must have known that his fulfillment of the law was woefully defective. but such discontentment would naturally lead him only farther on in the same old path. if his obedience was defective, let it be mended by increasing zeal! the more earnest paul was about his law righteousness, the more discontented he became with his attainments, so much the more zealous did he become as a persecutor. some have supposed that paul was gradually getting nearer to christianity before christ appeared to him--that the damascus experience only completed a process that had already begun. there were various things, it is said, which might lead the earnest pharisee to consider christianity favorably. in the first place, there was the manifest impossibility of law righteousness. paul had tried to keep the law and had failed. what if the christians were right about salvation by faith? in the second place, there were the old testament prophecies about a suffering servant of jehovah. isa., ch. . if they referred to the messiah, then the cross might be explained, as the christians explained it, as a sacrifice for others. the stumblingblock of a crucified messiah would thus be removed. in the third place, there was the noble life and death of the christian martyrs. these arguments are not so weighty as they seem. paul's dissatisfaction with his fulfillment of the law, as has already been observed, might lead to a more zealous effort to fulfill the law as well as to a relinquishment of the law. there seems to be no clear evidence that the pre-christian jews ever contemplated a death of the messiah like the death of jesus. on the contrary the current expectation of the messiah was diametrically opposed to any such thing. and admiration of the christian martyrs is perhaps too modern and too christian to be attributed to the pharisee. the fundamental trouble with this whole argument is that it proves merely that the pharisee paul ought to have been favorably impressed with christianity. so he ought, but as a matter of fact he was not so impressed, and we have the strongest kind of evidence to prove that he was not. the book of the acts says so, and paul says so just as clearly in his letters. the very fact that when he was converted he was on a persecuting expedition, more ambitious than any that had been attempted before, shows that he was certainly not thinking favorably of christianity. was he considering the possibility that christianity might be true? was he trying to stifle his own inward uncertainty by the very madness of his zeal? then, in persecuting the church, he was going against his conscience. but in i tim. : he distinctly says that his persecuting was done ignorantly in unbelief, and his attitude is the same in his other epistles. if in persecuting the church he was acting contrary to better conviction, then that fact would have constituted the chief element in his guilt; yet in the passages where he speaks with the deepest contrition of his persecution, that particularly heinous sin is never mentioned. evidently, whatever was his guilt, at least he did not have to reproach himself with the black sin of persecuting christ's followers in the face of even a half conviction. accordingly, the words of christ to paul at the time of the conversion, "it is hard for thee to kick against the goad," acts : , do not mean that paul had been resisting an inward voice of conscience in not accepting christ before, but rather that christ's will for paul was really resistless even though paul had not known it at all. christ's loving plan would be carried out in the end. paul was destined to be the apostle to the gentiles. for him to try to be anything else was as useless and as painful as it is for the ox to kick against the goad. christ will have his way. thus before his conversion paul was moving away from christianity rather than toward it. of course, in emphasizing the suddenness of the conversion, exaggerations must be avoided. it is absurd, for example, to suppose that paul knew nothing at all about jesus before the damascus event. of course he knew about him. even if he had been indifferent, he could hardly have failed to hear the story of the galilean prophet; and as a matter of fact he was not indifferent but intensely interested, though by way of opposition. these things were not done in a corner. paul was in jerusalem before and after the crucifixion, if not at the very time itself. the main facts in the life of jesus were known to friend and foe alike. thus when in the first chapter of galatians paul declares that he received his gospel not through any human agency but directly from christ, he cannot mean that the risen christ imparted to him the facts in the earthly life of jesus. it never occurred to paul to regard the bare facts as a "gospel." he had the facts by ordinary word of mouth from the eyewitnesses. what he received from the risen christ was a new interpretation of the facts. he had known the facts before. but they had filled him with hatred. he had known about jesus. but the more he had known about him, the more he had hated him. and then christ himself appeared to him! it might naturally have been an appearance in wrath, a thunderstroke of the just vengeance of the messiah. probably that was paul's first thought when he heard the words, "i am jesus whom thou persecutest." but such was not the lord's will. the purpose of the damascus wonder was not destruction but divine fellowship and world-wide service. . paul's experience and ours in one sense, the experience of paul is the experience of every christian. not, of course, in form. it is a great mistake to demand of every man that he shall be able, like paul, to give day and hour of his conversion. many men, it is true, still have such a definite experience. it is not pathological. it may result in glorious christian lives. but it is not universal, and it should not be induced by tactless methods. the children of christian homes often seem to grow up into the love of christ. when they decide to unite themselves definitely with the church, the decision need not necessarily come with anguish of soul. it may be simply the culmination of a god-encircled childhood, a recognition of what god has already done rather than the acquisition of something new. but after all, these differences are merely in the manner of god's working. in essence, true christian experience is always the same, and in essence it is always like the experience of paul. it is no mere means of making better citizens, but an end in itself. it is no product of man's effort, but a divine gift. whatever be the manner of its coming, it is a heavenly vision. christ still lives in the midst of glory. and still he appears to sinful men--though not now to the bodily eye--drawing them out of sin and misery and bondage to a transitory world into communion with the holy and eternal god. the result of paul's vision was service. how far his destination as apostle to the gentiles was made known to him at once is perhaps uncertain. it depends partly upon the interpretation of acts : - . are those words intended to be part of what was spoken at the very time of the conversion? there is no insuperable objection to that view. at any rate, no matter how much or how little was revealed at once, the real purpose of christ in calling him was clearly that he should be the leader of the gentile mission. gal. : . he was saved in order that he might save others. it is so normally with every christian. every one of us is given not only salvation, but also labor. in that labor we can use every bit of preparation that is ours, even if it was acquired before we became christians. paul, the apostle, used his greek training as well as his knowledge of the old testament. we can use whatever talents we possess. the christian life is not a life of idleness. it is like the life of the world in being full of labor. but it differs from that life in that its labor is always worth while. connection with heaven does not mean idle contemplation, but a vantage ground of power. you cannot move the world without a place to stand. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": article on "damascus." ramsay, "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - ; "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "the cities of st. paul," pp. - (on tarsus). conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. ii and iii. lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. i and iv. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . rackham, pp. - , - , - . lumby, pp. - , - , - . plumptre, pp. - , - , - . cook, pp. - , - , - . lesson xiii the church at antioch christianity originated in an obscure corner of the roman empire, in the midst of a very peculiar people. at first, it was entirely out of relation to the larger life of the time. the atmosphere of the gospels is as un-greek as could be imagined; the very conception of messiahship is distinctively jewish. yet this jewish sect soon entered upon the conquest of the empire, and the jewish messiah became the saviour of the world. starting from jerusalem, the new sect spread within a few decades almost to the remotest corners of the civilized world. this remarkable extension was not the work of any one man or group of men. it seemed rather to be due to some mysterious power of growth, operating in many directions and in many ways. in this manifold extension of the gospel, however, the central event of to-day's lesson stands out with special clearness. christianity began as a jewish movement, quite incongruous with the larger life of the empire. what would be the result of its first real contact with the culture of the time? this question was answered at antioch. at antioch, the principles of the gentile mission had to be established once for all--those principles which have governed the entire subsequent history of the church. the extension of the gospel to the gentiles was not a mere overcoming of racial prejudice, for the separateness of israel had been of divine appointment; it involved rather the recognition that a new dispensation had begun. primitive christianity was not governed merely by considerations of practical expediency; it sought justification for every new step in the guidance of the spirit and in the fundamental principles of the gospel. the development of those fundamental principles was necessary in order to show that christianity was really more than a jewish sect. then as always, religion without theology would have been a weak and flabby thing. christianity is not merely an instrument for the improving of social conditions, but rather an answer to the fundamental questions of the soul. it can never do without thinking, and christian thinking is theology. fortunately the church at antioch did not long remain without a theologian. its theologian was paul. paul was not the founder of the church at antioch; but the theology of paul was what gave to that church its really fundamental importance in the history of the world. the lesson for to-day is of extraordinary richness and variety. much can be learned, for example, from the characters of the story. barnabas, with his generous recognition of the great man who was soon to overshadow him; those obscure men of cyprus and cyrene, not even mentioned by name, whose work at antioch was one of the great turning points of history; agabus, the prophet, and the charitable brethren of antioch; rhoda, the serving girl, and the prayerful assembly in the house of the mother of mark--every one of these teaches some special lesson. one lesson, moreover, may be learned from them all--god is the real leader of the church, and true disciples, though different in character and in attainments, are all sharers in a mighty work. in what follows, an attempt will be made to throw light upon a few of the historical questions which are suggested by the narrative in the acts, and to picture as vividly as possible the scene of these stirring events. . the acts and the pauline epistles the differences between the narrative in the acts and the account which paul gives of the same events have caused considerable difficulty. this very difficulty, however, is by no means an unmixed evil; for it shows at least that luke was entirely independent of the epistles. if he had employed the epistles in the composition of his book he would surely have avoided even the appearance of contradicting them. the divergences between the acts and the pauline epistles, therefore, can only mean that luke did not use the epistles when he wrote; and since the epistles came to be generally used at a very early time, the acts cannot have been written at so late a date as is often supposed. but if the book was written at an early time, then there is every probability that the information which it contains is derived from trustworthy sources. thus the very divergences between the acts and the pauline epistles, unless indeed they should amount to positive contradictions, strengthen the argument for the early date and high historical value of the lucan work. the independence of the acts is supported also by the complete absence of striking verbal similarity between the narrative in the acts and the corresponding passages in the epistles. even where the details of the two accounts are similar, the words are different. the few unimportant coincidences in language are altogether insufficient to overthrow this general impression of independence. the most natural supposition, therefore, is that in the acts and in the epistles we have two independent and trustworthy accounts of the same events. this supposition is really borne out by the details of the two narratives. there are differences, but the differences are only what is to be expected in two narratives which were written from entirely different points of view and in complete independence of one another. contradictions have been detected only by pressing unduly the language of one source or the other. thus, in reading the acts alone, one might suppose that paul spent the whole time between his conversion and his first visit to jerusalem in damascus, and that this period was less than three years; but these suppositions are only inferences. apparently luke was not aware of the journey to arabia; but an incomplete narrative is not necessarily inaccurate. again, in the account of that first visit to jerusalem, the reader of the acts might naturally suppose that more than one of the twelve was present, that the main purpose of the journey was rather to engage in preaching than to make the acquaintance of peter, and that the visit lasted longer than fifteen days; and on the other hand, the reader of galatians might perhaps suppose that instead of preaching in jerusalem paul remained, while there, in strict retirement. again, however, these suppositions would be inferences; and the falsity of them simply shows how cautious the historian should be in reading between the lines of a narrative. finally, the differences between paul and luke are overbalanced by the striking and undesigned agreements. in galatians, paul does not mention the visit which he and barnabas made in jerusalem at the time of the famine. this conclusion has been avoided by those scholars who with ramsay identify the "famine visit" with the visit mentioned in gal. : - . the more usual view, however, is that gal. : - is to be regarded as parallel, not with acts : ; : , but with acts : - . the second visit mentioned by paul is thus identified with the third visit mentioned by luke. paul did not mention the famine visit because, as was probably admitted even by his opponents in galatia, the apostles at the time of that visit were all out of the city, so that there was no chance of a meeting with them. the subject under discussion in galatians was not paul's life in general, but the relation between paul and the original apostles. . the preaching to "greeks" in acts : , the best manuscripts read "spake unto the hellenists" instead of "spake unto the greeks." the word "hellenist" usually means "grecian jew." here, however, if this word is to be read, it must refer not to jews, but to gentiles; for the contrast with the preaching to jews that is mentioned just before, is the very point of the verse. perhaps at this point the manuscripts which read "greeks" (that is, "gentiles") are correct. in either case, the meaning is fixed by the context. these jews of cyprus and cyrene, when they arrived at antioch certainly began to preach regularly to gentiles. . peter's escape from prison in acts : - , luke brings the account of affairs in jerusalem up to the time which has already been reached in the narrative about antioch. the journey of barnabas and paul to jerusalem, acts : ; : , supplied the connecting link. while the church at antioch was progressing in the manner described in acts : - , a persecution had been carried on in jerusalem by herod agrippa i. the escape of peter is narrated in an extraordinarily lifelike way. evidently luke was in possession of first-hand information. the vividness of the narrative is very significant. it shows that the unmistakable trustworthiness of the acts extends even to those happenings which were most clearly miraculous. the supernatural cannot be eliminated from apostolic history. . antioch antioch on the orontes was founded by seleucus nicator, the first monarch of the seleucid dynasty, and under his successors it remained the capital of the syrian kingdom. when that kingdom was conquered by the romans, the political importance of antioch did not suffer. antioch became under the romans not only the capital of the province syria but also the residence of the emperors and high officials when they were in the east. it may be regarded as a sort of eastern capital of the empire. the political importance of antioch was no greater than its commercial importance. situated near the northeastern corner of the mediterranean sea, where the mediterranean coast is nearer to the euphrates than at any other point, where the orontes valley provided easy communication with the east and the syrian gates with the west, with a magnificent artificial harbor at seleucia, about twenty miles distant, antioch naturally became the great meeting point for the trade of east and west. it is not surprising that antioch was the third city of the empire--after rome and alexandria. the city was built on a plain between the orontes on the north and the precipitous slopes of mount silpius on the south. a great wall extended over the rugged heights of the mountain and around the city. a magnificent street led through the city from east to west. the buildings were of extraordinary magnificence. perhaps as magnificent as the city itself was the famous daphne, a neighboring shrine and pleasure resort, well-known for its gilded vice. the dominant language of antioch, from the beginning, had been greek. the seleucids prided themselves on the greek culture of their court, and roman rule introduced no essential change. of course, along with the greek language and greek culture went a large admixture of eastern blood and eastern custom. like the other great cities of the empire, antioch was a meeting place of various peoples, a typical cosmopolitan center of a world-wide empire. the jewish population, of course, was numerous. such was the seat of the apostolic missionary church. almost lost at first in the seething life of the great city, that church was destined to outlive all the magnificence that surrounded it. a new seed had been implanted in the ancient world, and god would give the increase. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "agabus," "antioch," "arabia," "aretas," "barnabas," "herod" ( ). ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. v, vi and vii. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," ch. iv. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . lumby, pp. - , - , - . cook, pp. - , - , , . plumptre, pp. - , - , . rackham, pp. - , - . part ii: christianity established among the gentiles the principles and practice of the gospel lesson xiv the gospel to the gentiles it was a dramatic moment when paul and barnabas, with their helper, set sail from seleucia, on the waters of the mediterranean. behind them lay syria and palestine and the history of the chosen people; in front of them was the west. the religion of israel had emerged from its age-long seclusion; it had entered at last upon the conquest of the world. the message that crossed the strait to cyprus was destined to be carried over broader seas. a mighty enterprise was begun. it was an audacious thought! the missionaries might well have been overpowered by what lay before them--by the power of a world empire, by the prestige of a brilliant civilization. how insignificant were their own weapons! would they ever even gain a hearing? but though the enterprise was begun in weakness it was begun in faith. at their departure from antioch the missionaries were "committed to the grace of god." the account of this first missionary journey is one of the most fascinating passages in the acts. the interest never flags; incident follows incident in wonderful variety. in reading this narrative, we are transplanted into the midst of the ancient world, we come to breathe the very atmosphere of that cosmopolitan age. in the lesson of to-day the teacher has an unusual opportunity. if he uses it well, he may cause the bible story to live again. absolutely essential to that end is the judicious use of a map--preferably something larger than the small sketch map of the text book. a travel narrative without a map is a hopeless jumble. the map is an aid both to memory and to imagination. tracing the route of the missionaries on the map, the teacher should endeavor to call up the scenes through which they passed. the student should be made to see the waters of the mediterranean, with the hills of cyprus beyond, the interminable stretches of the roman roads, the lofty mountains of the taurus, the perils of rivers and the perils of robbers, the teeming population of the countless cities--and through it all the simple missionaries of the cross, almost unnoticed amid the turmoil of the busy world, but rich in the possession of a world-conquering gospel and resistless through the power of the living god. . the prophets and teachers both prophecy and teaching were gifts of the spirit. i cor. : - . prophecy was immediate revelation of the divine plan or of the divine will; teaching, apparently, was logical development of the truth already given. which of the men who are mentioned in acts : were prophets and which were teachers is not clear. if any division is intended it is probably between the first three and the last two. for this grouping there is perhaps some slight indication in the connectives that are used in the greek, but the matter is not certain. perhaps all five of the men were possessed of both gifts. lucius was perhaps one of the founders of the church, for he came from cyrene. compare acts : . manaen is an interesting figure. he is called "foster-brother" of herod the tetrarch. the word translated "foster-brother" is apparently sometimes used in a derived sense, to designate simply an intimate associate of a prince. if that be the meaning here, then at least one member of the church at antioch was a man of some social standing. in antioch, as in corinth, probably "not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" were called, i cor. : ; but in antioch as in corinth there were exceptions. the herod who is here meant is herod antipas, the "herod" of the gospels. . elymas when the jewish sorcerer is first mentioned he is called bar-jesus--that is, "son of jesus," jesus being a common jewish name. then, a little below, the same man is called "elymas the sorcerer," and the explanation is added, "for so is his name by interpretation." apparently the new name elymas is introduced without explanation, and then the greek word for "sorcerer" is introduced as a translation of that. the word elymas is variously derived from an arabic word meaning "wise," or an aramaic word meaning "strong." in either case the greek word, "magos," for which our english bible has "sorcerer," is a fair equivalent. that greek word is the word that appears also in matt. : , , , where the english bible has "wise-men"; and words derived from the same root are used to describe simon of samaria in acts : , . the word could designate men of different character. some "magi" might be regarded as students of natural science; in others, superstition and charlatanism were dominant. . saul and paul at acts : luke introduces the name "paul"--"saul, who is also called paul." previously the narrative always uses the jewish name "saul"; after this "paul" appears with equal regularity, except in the accounts of the conversion, where in three verses a special, entirely un-greek form of "saul" is used. acts : , ; : . since in our passage in the original the name of the proconsul, paulus, is exactly like the name of the apostle, some have supposed that paul assumed a new name in honor of his distinguished convert. that is altogether unlikely. more probable is the suggestion that although paul had both names from the beginning, luke is led to introduce the name paul at just this point because of the coincidence with the name of the proconsul. even this supposition, however, is extremely doubtful. probably the roman name, which paul uses invariably in his letters, is introduced at this point simply because here for the first time paul comes prominently forward in a distinctly roman environment. . paul and barnabas connected with this variation in name is the reversal in the relation between paul and barnabas. previously barnabas has been given the priority; but immediately after the incident at paphos the missionaries are designated as "paul and his company," acts : , and thereafter when the two are mentioned together, paul, except at acts : , ; : , , appears first. in the presence of the roman proconsul, paul's roman citizenship perhaps caused him to take the lead; and then inherent superiority made his leadership permanent. . the return of john mark the reasons for john mark's return from perga to jerusalem can only be surmised. perhaps he was simply unwilling, for some reason sufficient to him but insufficient to paul, to undertake the hardships of the journey into the interior. certainly it was an adventurous journey. paul was not always an easy man to follow. the severity of paul's judgment of mark was not necessarily so great as has sometimes been supposed. one purpose of the second journey was to revisit the churches of the first journey. acts : . whether for good or for bad reasons, mark, as a matter of fact, had not been with the missionaries on a large part of that first journey, and was, therefore, unknown to many of the churches. for this reason, perhaps as much as on account of moral objections, paul considered mark an unsuitable helper. in his later epistles paul speaks of mark in the most cordial way. col. : ; philem. ; ii tim. : . in the last passage, he even says that mark was useful to him for ministering--exactly what he had not been at the beginning of the second missionary journey. . hardships and persecutions it is evident from ii cor. : - that luke has recorded only a small fraction of the hardships which paul endured as a missionary of the cross. the tendency to lay exaggerated stress upon martyrdom and suffering, which runs riot in the later legends of the saints, is in the acts conspicuous by its absence. of the trials which are vouched for by the unimpeachable testimony of paul himself, only a few may be identified in the lucan narrative. it is natural, however, to suppose that some of the "perils of rivers" and "perils of robbers" were encountered on the journey through the defiles of the taurus mountains from perga to pisidian antioch, and the one stoning which paul mentions is clearly to be identified with the adventure at lystra. in ii tim. : paul mentions the persecutions at antioch, iconium and lystra. . geography of the first journey the first missionary journey led the missionaries into three roman provinces: cyprus, pamphylia and galatia. the name "galatia" had originally designated a district in the north central part of asia minor, which had been colonized by certain celtic tribes several centuries before christ. by the romans, however, other districts were added to this original galatia, and in b. c. the whole complex was organized into an imperial province under the name galatia. in the first century after christ, therefore, the name galatia could be used in two distinct senses. in the first place, in the earlier, popular sense, it could designate galatia proper. in the second place, in the later, official sense, it could designate the whole roman province, which included not only galatia proper, but also parts of a number of other districts, including phrygia and lycaonia. of the cities visited on the first missionary journey, pisidian antioch--which was called "pisidian" because it was near pisidia--and iconium were in phrygia, and lystra and derbe in lycaonia; but all four were included in the province of galatia. many scholars suppose that the churches in these cities were the churches which paul addresses in the epistle to the galatians. that view is called the "south galatian theory." others--adherents of the "north galatian theory"--suppose that the epistle is addressed to churches in galatia proper, in the northern part of the roman province, which were founded on the second missionary journey. this question will be noticed again in connection with the epistle. . time of the first journey luke gives very little indication of the amount of time which was consumed on this first journey. the hasty reader probably estimates the time too low, since only a few incidents are narrated. the rapidity of the narrative should not be misinterpreted as indicating cursoriness of the labor. the passage through cyprus, acts : , was probably accompanied by evangelizing; the extension of the gospel through the whole region of antioch, v. , must have occupied more than a few days; the stay at iconium is designated as "long time," acts : ; the change of attitude on the part of the lystran populace, v. , was probably not absolutely sudden; not only lystra and derbe but also the surrounding country were evangelized, v. ; and finally the missionaries could hardly have returned to the cities from which they had been driven out, v. , unless the heat of persecution had been allowed to cool. perhaps a full year would not be too high an estimate of the time that was occupied by the journey, and still higher estimates are by no means excluded. . the scene at lystra the account of the incident at lystra is one of those inimitable bits of narrative which imprint upon the acts the indisputable stamp of historicity. lystra, though a roman colony, lay somewhat off the beaten track of culture and of trade; hence the extreme superstition of the populace is what might be expected. it may seem rather strange that paul and barnabas should have been identified with great gods of olympus rather than with lesser divinities or spirits, but who can place a limit upon the superstition of an uncultured people of the ancient world? the identification may have been rendered easier by the legend of philemon and baucis, which has been preserved for us by ovid, the latin poet. according to that legend, zeus and hermes appeared, once upon a time, in human form in phrygia, the same general region in which lystra was situated. zeus and hermes are the gods with whom barnabas and paul were identified; the english bible simply substitutes for these greek names the names of the corresponding roman deities. the temple of zeus-before-the-city and the preparations for sacrifices are described in a most lifelike way, in full accord with what is known of ancient religion. we find ourselves here in a somewhat different atmosphere from that which prevails in most of the scenes described in the acts. it is a pagan atmosphere, and an atmosphere of ruder superstition than that which prevailed in the great cities. the "speech of lycaonia," v. , is an especially characteristic touch. apparently the all-pervading greek was understood at lystra even by the populace; but in the excitement of their superstition they fell very naturally into their native language. as in the case of peter's release from prison, so in this incident, wonderful lifelikeness of description is coupled with a miracle. the scene at lystra is unintelligible without the miraculous healing of the lame man, with which it begins. it is impossible, in the acts as well as in the gospels, to separate the miraculous from the rest of the narrative. the evident truthfulness of the story applies to the supernatural elements as well as to the rest. the early christian mission is evidently real; but it is just as evidently supernatural. it moved through the varied scenes of the real world, but it was not limited by the world. it was animated by a mysterious, superhuman power. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "cyprus," "antioch" ( ), "iconium," "lystra," "derbe," "galatia." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": muir, article on "cyprus"; massie, article on "bar-jesus"; headlam, article on "paulus, sergius"; ramsay, articles on "antioch in pisidia," "iconium," "lystra," "derbe," "galatia." ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "the cities of st. paul," pp. - ; "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chapter viii. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chapters v and vi. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . lumby, pp. - . cook, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . rackham, pp. - . lesson xv the council at jerusalem the lesson for to-day deals with one of the most important events in apostolic history. at the jerusalem council the principles of the gentile mission and of the entire life of the church were brought to clear expression. if the original apostles had agreed with the judaizers against paul, the whole history of the church would have been different. there would even have been room to doubt whether paul was really a disciple of jesus; for if he was, how could he come to differ so radically from those whom jesus had taught? as a matter of fact, however, these dire consequences were avoided. when the issue was made between paul and the judaizers, the original apostles decided whole-heartedly for paul. the unity of the church was preserved. god was guiding the deliberations of the council. . the acts and galatians the treatment of to-day's lesson in the student's text book is based upon the assumption that gal. : - is an account of the same visit of paul to jerusalem as the visit which is described in acts : - . that assumption is not universally accepted. some scholars identify the event of gal. : - , not with the apostolic council of acts : - , but with the "famine visit" of acts : ; : . indeed, some maintain that the epistle to the galatians not only contains no account of the apostolic council, but was actually written before the council was held--say at antioch, soon after the first missionary journey. of course this early dating of galatians can be adopted only in connection with the "south galatian theory"; for according to the "north galatian theory" the churches addressed in the epistle were not founded until after the council, namely at the time of acts : . undoubtedly the identification of gal. : - with acts : ; : , avoids some difficulties. if gal. : - be identified with acts : - , then paul in galatians has passed over the famine visit without mention. furthermore there are considerable differences between gal. : - and acts : - . for example, if paul is referring to the apostolic council, why has he not mentioned the apostolic decree of acts : - ? these difficulties, however, are not insuperable, and there are counter difficulties against the identification of gal. : - with the famine visit. one such difficulty is connected with chronology. paul says that his first visit to jerusalem took place three years after his conversion, gal. : , and--according to the most natural interpretation of gal. : --that the visit of gal. : - took place fourteen years after the first visit. the conversion then occurred seventeen years before the time of gal. : - . but if gal. : - describes the famine visit, then the time of gal. : - could not have been after about a. d. . counting back seventeen years from a. d. we should get a. d. as the date of the conversion, which is, of course, too early. this reasoning, it must be admitted, is not quite conclusive. the ancients had an inclusive method of reckoning time. according to this method three years after would be . hence, fourteen plus three might be only what we should call about fifteen years, instead of seventeen. furthermore, paul may mean in gal. : that his conference with the apostles took place fourteen years after the conversion rather than fourteen years after the first visit. the identification of gal. : - with the famine visit is not impossible. but on the whole the usual view, which identifies the event of gal. : - with the meeting at the time of the apostolic council of acts : - , must be regarded as more probable. the apostolic council probably took place roughly at about a. d. . the conversion of paul then should probably be put at about a. d. - . . the judaizers conceivably the question about the freedom of the gentiles from the law might have arisen at an earlier time; for gentiles had already been received into the church before the first missionary journey. as a matter of fact, indeed, some objection had been raised to the reception of cornelius. but that objection had easily been silenced by an appeal to the immediate guidance of god. perhaps the case of cornelius could be regarded as exceptional; and a similar reflection might possibly have been applied to the gentile christians at antioch. there seemed to be no danger, at any rate, that the predominantly jewish character of the church would be lost. now, however, after a regular gentile mission had been carried on with signal success, the situation was materially altered. evidently the influx of gentile converts, if allowed to go on unhindered, would change the whole character of the church. christianity would appear altogether as a new dispensation: the prerogatives of israel would be gone. the question of gentile christianity had existed before, but after the first missionary journey it became acute. perhaps, however, there was also another reason why the battle had not been fought out at an earlier time. it looks very much as though this bitter opposition to the gentile mission had arisen only through the appearance of a new element in the jerusalem church. were these extreme legalists, who objected to the work of paul and barnabas--were these men present in the church from the beginning? the question is more than doubtful. it is more probable that these legalists came into the church during the period of prosperity which followed upon the persecution of stephen and was only briefly interrupted by the persecution under herod agrippa i. these jewish christian opponents of the gentile mission--these "judaizers"--must be examined with some care. they are described not only by luke in the acts but by paul himself in galatians. according to the acts, some of them at least had belonged to the sect of the pharisees before they had become christians. acts : . the activity of the judaizers is described by luke in complete independence of the account given by paul. as usual, luke contents himself with a record of external fact, while paul uncovers the deeper motives of the judaizers' actions. yet the facts as reported by luke fully justify the harsh words which paul employs. according to paul, these judaizers were "false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in christ jesus, that they might bring us into bondage." gal. : . by calling them "false brethren" paul means simply that they had not really grasped the fundamental principle of the gospel--the principle of justification by faith. they were still trying to earn their salvation by their works instead of receiving it as a gift of god. at heart they were still jews rather than christians. they came in privily into places where they did not belong--perhaps paul means especially into the church at antioch--in order to spy out christian liberty. gal. : . compare acts : . the rise of this judaizing party is easy to understand. in some respects the judaizers were simply following the line of least resistance. by upholding the mosaic law they would escape persecution and even obtain honor. we have seen that it was the jews who instigated the early persecutions of the church. such persecutions would be avoided by the judaizers, for they could say to their non-christian countrymen: "we are engaged simply in one form of the world-wide jewish mission. we are requiring our converts to keep the mosaic law and unite themselves definitely with the people of israel. every convert that we gain is a convert to judaism. the cross of christ that we proclaim is supplementary to the law, not subversive of it. we deserve therefore from the jews not persecution but honor." compare what paul says about the judaizers in galatia. gal. : , . . the apostolic decree at first sight it seems rather strange that paul in galatians does not mention the apostolic decree. some have supposed that his words even exclude any decree of that sort. in gal. : paul says that the pillars of the jerusalem church "imparted nothing" to him. yet according to the acts they imparted to him this decree. the decree, moreover, seems to have a direct bearing upon the question that paul was discussing in galatians; for it involved the imposition of a part of the ceremonial law upon gentile christians. how then, if the decree really was passed as luke says it was, could it have been left unmentioned by paul? there are various ways of overcoming the difficulty. in the first place it is not perfectly certain that any of the prohibitions contained in the decree are ceremonial in character. three of them are probably ceremonial if the text of most manuscripts of the acts is correct. most manuscripts read, at acts : : "that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you." here "things offered to idols" apparently describes not idolatrous worship, but food which had been dedicated to idols; and "blood" describes meat used for food without previous removal of the blood. this meaning of "blood" is apparently fixed by the addition of "things strangled." since "things strangled" evidently refers to food, probably the two preceding expressions refer to food also. according to the great mass of our witnesses to the text, therefore, the apostolic decree contains a food law. a few witnesses, however, omit all reference to things strangled, not only at acts : but also at v. and at ch. : . if this text be original, then it is possible to interpret the prohibitions as simply moral and not at all ceremonial in character. "things offered to idols" may be interpreted simply of idolatry, and "blood" of murder. but if the prohibitions are prohibitions of immorality, then they cannot be said to have "imparted" anything to paul; for of course he was as much opposed to immorality as anyone. however, the more familiar form of the text is probably correct. the witnesses that omit the word "strangled" are those that attest the so-called "western text" of the acts. this western text differs rather strikingly from the more familiar text in many places. the question as to how far the western text of the acts is correct is a hotly debated question. on the whole, however, the western readings are usually at any rate to be discredited. in the second place, the difficulty about the decree may be overcome by regarding gal. : - as parallel not with acts : - but with acts : ; : . this solution has already been discussed. in the third place, the difficulty may be overcome by that interpretation of the decree which is proposed in the student's text book. the decree was not an addition to paul's gospel. it was not imposed upon the gentile christians as though a part of the law were necessary to salvation. on the contrary it was simply an attempt to solve the practical problems of certain mixed churches--not the pauline churches in general, but churches which stood in an especially close relation to jerusalem. this interpretation of the decree is favored by the difficult verse, acts : . what james there means is probably that the gentile christians should avoid those things which would give the most serious offense to hearers of the law. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . lightfoot, "saint paul's epistle to the galatians," pp. - ("the later visit of st. paul to jerusalem"), - ("st. paul and the three"). ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - , - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," ch. ix. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," ch. vii. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . lumby, pp. - . cook, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . rackham, pp. - , - . lesson xvi the gospel carried into europe from the rich store of to-day's lesson only a few points can be selected for special comment. . titus and timothy at lystra, paul had timothy circumcised. acts : . this action has been considered strange in view of the attitude which paul had previously assumed. at jerusalem, only a short time before, he had absolutely refused to permit the circumcision of titus. evidently, too, he had regarded the matter as of fundamental importance. had titus been circumcised, the freedom of the gentile christians would have been seriously endangered. the presence of titus at the apostolic council is mentioned only by paul in galatians. it is not mentioned in the acts. indeed, titus does not appear in the acts at all, though in the epistles he is rather prominent. this fact, however, really requires no further explanation than that the history of luke is not intended to be exhaustive. the restraint exercised by the author of the acts has already been observed, for example, in a comparison of the long list of hardships in ii cor. : - with what luke actually narrates. the helpers of paul whom luke mentions are usually those who traveled with him. titus was sent by paul on at least one important mission, ii cor. : , , but was apparently not his companion on the missionary journeys. luke does not concern himself very much with the internal affairs of the churches, and it is in this field that titus is especially prominent in the epistles. with regard to the presence of titus in jerusalem, the different purposes of the narratives in galatians and in the acts must be borne in mind. the non-circumcision of titus, so strongly emphasized by paul, was merely preliminary to the public action of the church in which luke was interested. luke has thought it sufficient to include titus under the "certain other" of the antioch christians who went up with paul and barnabas to jerusalem. the different policy which paul adopted in the case of timothy, as compared with his policy about titus, is amply explained by the wide differences in the situation. in the first place, when titus was at jerusalem, the matter of gentile freedom was in dispute, whereas when timothy was circumcised the question had already been settled by a formal pronouncement of the jerusalem church. after paul had won the victory of principle, he could afford to make concessions where no principle was involved. timothy was recognized as a full member of the church even before his circumcision. circumcision was merely intended to make him a more efficient helper in work among the jews. in the second place--and this is even more important--timothy was a half-jew. it is perhaps doubtful whether paul under any circumstances would have authorized the circumcision of a pure gentile like titus. but timothy's mother was jewish. it must always be borne in mind that paul did not demand the relinquishment of the law on the part of jews; and timothy's parentage gave him at least the right of regarding himself as a jew. if he had chosen to follow his gentile father, the jews could have regarded him as a renegade. his usefulness in the synagogues would have been lost. obviously the circumcision of such a man involved nothing more than the maintenance of ancestral custom on the part of jews. where no principle was involved, paul was the most concessive of men. see especially i cor. : - . the final relinquishment of the law on the part of jews was rightly left to the future guidance of god. . the route through asia minor the difficulty of tracing the route of the missionaries beyond lystra is due largely to the difficulty of acts : . a literal translation of the decisive words in that verse would be either "the phrygian and galatian country" or "phrygia and the galatian country." according to the advocates of the "south galatian theory," "the galatian country" here refers not to galatia proper but to the southern part of the roman province galatia. "the phrygian and galatian country" then perhaps means "the phrygo-galatic country," or "that part of phrygia which is in the roman province galatia." the reference then is to iconium, pisidian antioch and the surrounding country--after the missionaries had passed through the lycaonian part of the province galatia (derbe and lystra) they traversed the phrygian part of the province. the chief objection to all such interpretations is found in the latter part of the verse: "having been forbidden of the holy spirit to speak the word in asia." it looks as though the reason why they passed through "the phrygian and galatian country" was that they were forbidden to preach in asia. but south galatia was directly on the way to asia. the impossibility of preaching in asia could therefore hardly have been the reason for passing through south galatia. apparently, therefore, the disputed phrase refers rather to some region which is not on the way to asia. this requirement is satisfied if galatia proper is meant--the country in the northern part of the roman province galatia. when they got to pisidian antioch, it would have been natural for them to proceed into the western part of asia minor, into "asia." that they were forbidden to do. hence they turned north, and went through phrygia into galatia proper. when they got to the border country between mysia and galatia proper, they tried to continue their journey north into bithynia, but were prevented by the spirit. then they turned west, and passing through mysia without preaching arrived at last at the coast, at troas. nothing is said here about preaching in galatia proper. but in acts : , in connection with the third missionary journey, it is said that when paul passed through "the galatian country and phrygia" he established the disciples. there could not have been disciples in the "galatian country," unless there had been preaching there on the previous journey. on the "north galatian" theory, therefore, the founding of the galatian churches to which the epistle is directed is to be placed at acts : , and the second visit to them, which seems to be presupposed by the epistle, is to be put at acts : . if it seems strange that luke does not mention the founding of these churches, the hurried character of this section of the narrative must be borne in mind. furthermore, the epistle seems to imply that the founding of the churches was rather incidental than an original purpose of the journey; for in gal. : paul says that it was because of an infirmity of the flesh that he preached the gospel in galatia the former time. apparently he had been hurrying through the country without stopping, but being detained by illness used his enforced leisure to preach to the inhabitants. it is not impossible to understand how luke came to omit mention of such incidental preaching. on the second missionary journey attention is concentrated on macedonia and greece. . the movements of silas and timothy when paul went to athens, silas and timothy remained behind in macedonia. acts : . they were directed to join paul again as soon as possible. v. . in acts : , they are said to have joined him at corinth. the narrative in the acts must here be supplemented by the first epistle to the thessalonians. what luke says is perfectly true, but his narrative is not complete. according to the most natural interpretation of i thess. : - , timothy was with paul in athens, and from there was sent to thessalonica. the entire course of events was perhaps as follows: silas and timothy both joined paul quickly at athens according to directions. they were then sent away again--timothy to thessalonica, and silas to some other place in macedonia. then, after the execution of their commissions, they finally joined paul again at corinth. acts : ; i thess. : . soon afterwards, all three missionaries were associated in the address of first thessalonians. . paul at athens in athens paul preached as usual in the synagogue to jews and "god-fearers"; but he also adopted another and more unusual method--he simply took his stand without introduction in the market place, and spoke to those who chanced by. this method was characteristically greek; it reminds us of the days of socrates. in the market place, paul encountered certain of the epicurean and stoic philosophers. both of these schools of philosophy had originated almost three hundred years before christ, and both were prominent in the new testament period. in their tenets they were very different. the stoics were pantheists. they conceived of the world as a sort of great living being of which god is the soul. the world does not exist apart from god and god does not exist apart from the world. such pantheism is far removed from the christian belief in the living god, maker of heaven and earth; but as against polytheism, pantheism and theism have something in common. paul in his speech was able to start from this common ground. in ethics, the stoics were perhaps nearer to christianity than in metaphysics. the highest good they conceived to be a life that is led in accordance with reason--that reason which is the determining principle of the world. the passions must be conquered, pleasure is worthless, the wise man is independent of external conditions. such an ethic worked itself out in practice in many admirable virtues--in some conception of the universal brotherhood of mankind, in charity, in heroic self-denial. but it lacked the warmth and glow of christian love, and it lacked the living god. the epicureans were materialists. the world, for them, was a vast mechanism. they believed in the gods, but conceived of them as altogether without influence upon human affairs. indeed, the deliverance of man from the fear of the gods was one of the purposes of the epicurean philosophy. the epicureans were interested chiefly in ethics. pleasure, according to them, is the highest good. it need not be the pleasure of the senses; indeed epicurus, at least, the founder of the school, insisted upon a calm life undisturbed by violent passions. nevertheless it will readily be seen how little such a philosophy had in common with christianity. the conditions under which paul made his speech cannot be determined with certainty. the difficulty arises from the ambiguity of "areopagus." "areopagus" means "mars' hill." but the term was also applied to the court which held at least some of its meetings on the hill. which meaning is intended here? did paul speak before the court, or did he speak on mars' hill merely to those who were interested? on the whole, it is improbable at any rate that he was subjected to a formal trial. the speech of paul at athens is one of the three important speeches of paul, exclusive of his speeches in defense of himself at jerusalem and at cæsarea, which have been recorded in the acts. these speeches are well chosen. one of them is a speech to jews, acts : - ; one a speech to gentiles, acts : - ; and the third a speech to christians, acts : - . together they afford a very good idea of paul's method as a missionary and as a pastor. as is to be expected, they differ strikingly from one another. paul was large enough to comprehend the wonderful richness of christian truth. his gospel was always the same, but he was able to adapt the presentation of it to the character of his hearers. at athens, an altar inscribed to an unknown god provided a starting point. the existence of such an altar is not at all surprising, although only altars to "unknown gods" (plural instead of singular) are attested elsewhere. perhaps the inscription on this altar indicated simply that the builder of the altar did not know to which of the numberless gods he should offer thanks for a benefit that he had received, or to which he should address a prayer to ward off calamity. under a polytheistic religion, where every department of life had its own god, it was sometimes difficult to pick out the right god to pray to for any particular purpose. such an altar was at any rate an expression of ignorance, and that ignorance served as a starting point for paul. "you are afraid that you have neglected the proper god in this case," says paul in effect. "yes, indeed, you have. you have neglected a very important god indeed, you have neglected the one true god, who made the world and all things therein." in what follows, paul appeals to the truth contained in stoic pantheism. his words are of peculiar interest at the present day, when pantheism is rampant even within the church. there is a great truth in pantheism. it emphasizes the immanence of god. but the truth of pantheism is contained also in theism. the theist, as well as the pantheist, believes that god is not far from every one of us, and that in him we live and move and have our being. the theist, as well as the pantheist, can say, "closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." the theist accepts all the truth of pantheism, but avoids the error. god is present in the world--not one sparrow "shall fall on the ground without your father"--but he is not limited to the world. he is not just another name for the totality of things, but an awful, mysterious, holy, free and sovereign person. he is present in the world, but also master of the world. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "troas," "philippi," "thessalonica," "athens," "areopagus," "stoics," "epicureans," "corinth," "gallio," "silas." ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. x, xi, and xii. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. viii, ix, x, xi, and xii. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . lumby, pp. - . cook, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . rackham, pp. - , - . for information about the recently discovered gallio inscription, see "the princeton theological review," vol. ix, , pp. - : armstrong, "epigraphical note." lesson xvii encouragement for recent converts the pauline epistles fall naturally into four groups: ( ) the epistles of the second missionary journey (first and second thessalonians); ( ) the epistles of the third missionary journey (galatians, first and second corinthians and romans); ( ) the epistles of the first imprisonment (colossians and philemon, ephesians and philippians); ( ) the epistles written after the period covered by the acts (first timothy, titus and second timothy). each of these groups has its own characteristics. the first group is characterized by simplicity of subject matter, and by a special interest in the second coming of christ. the second group is concerned especially with the doctrines of sin and grace. the third group displays a special interest in the person of christ and in the church. the fourth group deals with organization, and with the maintenance of sound instruction. . simplicity of the thessalonian epistles the reason for the peculiarities of first and second thessalonians has often been sought in the early date of these epistles. on the second missionary journey, it is said, paul had not yet developed the great doctrines which appear at later periods of his life. this explanation may perhaps contain an element of truth. undoubtedly there was some progress in paul's thinking. not everything was revealed to him at once. the chief cause, however, for the simplicity of the thessalonian epistles is not the early date but the peculiar occasion of these epistles. paul is here imparting his first written instruction to an infant church. naturally he must feed these recent converts with milk. the simplicity of the letters is due not to immaturity in paul but to immaturity in the thessalonian church. after all, at the time when the thessalonian epistles were written, the major part of paul's christian life--including the decisive conflict with the judaizers at antioch and jerusalem--lay already in the past. at any rate the simplicity of the thessalonian epistles must not be exaggerated. in these letters the great pauline doctrines, though not discussed at length, are everywhere presupposed. there is the same lofty conception of christ as in the other epistles, the same emphasis upon his resurrection, the same doctrine of salvation through his death. i thess. : ; : , . . the second coming of christ undoubtedly the second advent, with the events which are immediately to precede it, occupies a central position in the thessalonian epistles. a few words of explanation, therefore, may here be in order. evidently the expectation of christ's coming was a fundamental part of paul's belief, and had a fundamental place in his preaching. "ye turned unto god from idols, to serve a living and true god, and to wait for his son from heaven"--these words show clearly how the hope of christ's appearing was instilled in the converts from the very beginning. i thess. : , . to serve the living god and to wait for his son--that is the sum and substance of the christian life. all through the epistles the thought of the parousia--the "presence" or "coming"--of christ appears as a master motive. i thess. : ; : ; : to : , , ; ii thess. : to : . this emphasis upon the second coming of christ is explained if paul expected christ to come in the near future. the imminence of the parousia for paul appears to be indicated by i thess. : : "for this we say unto you by the word of the lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep." this verse is often thought to indicate that paul confidently expected before his death to witness the coming of the lord. apparently he classes himself with those who "are left unto the coming of the lord" as over against those who will suffer death. in the later epistles, it is further said, paul held a very different view. from second corinthians on, he faced ever more definitely the thought of death. ii cor. : , ; phil. : - . a comparison of i cor. : with ii cor. : , is thought to indicate that the deadly peril which paul incurred between the writing of the two corinthian epistles, ii cor. : , , had weakened his expectation of living until christ should come. after he had once despaired of life, he could hardly expect with such perfect confidence to escape the experience of death. the possibility of death was too strong to be left completely out of sight. plausible as such a view is, it can be held only with certain reservations. in the first place, we must not exaggerate the nearness of the parousia according to paul, even in the earliest period; for in ii thess. : - the thessalonians are reminded of certain events that must occur before christ would come. the expression of the former epistle, i thess. : , that the day of the lord would come as a thief in the night, was to be taken as a warning to unbelievers to repent while there was yet time, not as a ground for neglecting ordinary provision for the future. in second thessalonians paul finds it necessary to calm the overstrained expectations of the thessalonian christians. furthermore, it is not only in the earlier epistles that expressions occur which seem to suggest that the parousia is near. rom. : ; phil. : . and then it is evident from ii cor. : - and from i cor. : - that paul had undergone dangers before the one mentioned in ii cor. : , , so that there is no reason to suppose that that one event caused any sudden change in his expectations. lastly, in i cor. : paul says that "god both raised the lord, and will raise up us through his power." if that refers to the literal resurrection, then here paul classes himself among those who are to die; for if he lived to the parousia, then there would be no need for him to be raised up. it is therefore very doubtful whether we can put any very definite change in the apostle's expectations as to his living or dying between first corinthians and second corinthians. a gradual development in his feeling about the matter there no doubt was. during the early part of his life his mind dwelt less upon the prospect of death than it did after perils of all kinds had made that prospect more and more imminent. but at no time did the apostle regard the privilege of living until the parousia as a certainty to be put at all in the same category with the christian hope itself. especially the passage in first thessalonians can be rightly interpreted only in the light of the historical occasion for it. until certain members of the church had died, the thessalonian christians had never faced the possibility of dying before the second coming of christ. hence they were troubled. would the brethren who had fallen asleep miss the benefits of christ's kingdom? paul writes to reassure them. he does not contradict their hope of living till the coming of christ, for god had not revealed to him that that hope would not be realized. but he tells them that, supposing that hope to be justified, even then they will have no advantage over their dead brethren. he classes himself with those who were still alive and might therefore live till christ should come, as over against those who were already dead and could not therefore live till christ should come. certain passages in the epistles of paul, which are not confined to any one period of his life, seem to show that at any rate he did not exclude the very real possibility that christ might come in the near future. at any rate, however, such an expectation of the early coming of christ was just as far removed as possible from the expectations of fanatical chiliasts. it did not lead paul to forget that the times and the seasons are entirely in the hand of god. it had no appreciable effect upon his ethics, except to make it more intense, more fully governed by the thought of the judgment seat of christ. it did not prevent him from laying far-reaching plans, it did not prevent his developing a great philosophy of future history in rom., chs. to . how far he was from falling into the error he combated in second thessalonians! despite his view of the temporary character of the things that are seen, how sane and healthy was his way of dealing with practical problems! he did his duty, and left the details of the future to god. hence it is hard to discover what paul thought as to how soon christ would come--naturally so, for paul did not try to discover it himself. . the persons associated in the address almost always other persons are associated with paul in the addresses of the epistles. with regard to the meaning of this custom, extreme views should be avoided. on the one hand, these persons--usually, at any rate--had no share in the actual composition of the epistles. the epistles bear the imprint of one striking personality. on the other hand, association in the address means something more than that the persons so named sent greetings; for mere greetings are placed at the end. the truth lies between the two extremes. probably the persons associated with paul in the address were made acquainted at least in general with the contents of the epistles, and desired to express their agreement with what was said. in the thessalonian epistles silas and timothy, who had had a part in the founding of the thessalonian church, appear very appropriately in the address. a question related to that of the persons associated in the addresses is the question of the so-called "epistolary plural." the epistolary plural was analogous to our "editorial we" it was a usage by which the writer of a letter could substitute "we" for "i" in referring to himself alone. in many passages in the letters of paul it is exceedingly difficult to tell whether a plural is merely epistolary, or whether it has some special significance. for example, whom, if anyone, is paul including with himself in the "we" of i thess. : ? in particular, the question often is whether, when paul says "we," he is thinking of the persons who were associated with him in the address of the epistle. on the whole it seems impossible to deny that paul sometimes uses the epistolary plural, though his use of it is probably not so extensive as has often been supposed. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (supplemented), article on "thessalonians, epistles to the." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": lock, articles on "thessalonians, first epistle to the" and "thessalonians, second epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ramsay, "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - . stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : mason, "the epistles of paul the apostle to the thessalonians." "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": findlay, "the epistles to the thessalonians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - , - . milligan, "st. paul's epistles to the thessalonians." the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xviii the conflict with the judaizers . apollos before the arrival of paul at ephesus an important event had taken place in that city--the meeting of aquila and priscilla with apollos. apollos was a jew of alexandrian descent. he had already received instruction about jesus--perhaps in his native city. of all the great cities of the roman empire alexandria alone was approximately as near to jerusalem as was syrian antioch. the founding of the church at alexandria is obscure, but undoubtedly it took place at a very early time. at a later period alexandria was of the utmost importance as the center of christian learning, as it had been already the center of the learning of the pagan world. until instructed by aquila and priscilla, apollos had known only the baptism of john the baptist. apparently one important thing that he had lacked was an acquaintance with the peculiar christian manifestation of the holy spirit. he seems to have been trained in greek rhetoric, whether the word translated "eloquent" in acts : means "eloquent" or "learned." apollos did not remain long in ephesus, but went to corinth, where, as can be learned from first corinthians as well as from the acts, his work was of great importance. . galatians a polemic after studying first the thessalonian epistles and then galatians in succession the student should be able to form some conception of the variety among the epistles of paul. certainly there could be no sharper contrast. first and second thessalonians are simple, affectionate letters written to a youthful church; galatians is one of the most passionate bits of polemic in the whole bible. we ought to honor paul for his anger. a lesser man might have taken a calmer view of the situation. after all, it might have been said, the observance of jewish fasts and feasts was not a serious matter; even circumcision, though useless, could do no great harm. but paul penetrated below the surface. he detected the great principles that were at stake. the judaizers were disannulling the grace of god. . the address. gal. : - the addresses of the pauline epistles are never merely formal. paul does not wait for the beginning of the letter proper in order to say what he has in mind. even the epistolary forms are suffused with the deepest religious feeling. the opening of the present letter is anticipatory of what is to follow. dividing the opening into three parts--the nominative (name and title of the writer), the dative (name of those to whom the letter is addressed), and the greeting--it will be observed that every one of these parts has its peculiarity as compared with the other pauline epistles. the peculiarity of the nominative is the remarkable addition beginning with "not from men," which is a summary of the first great division of the epistle, paul's defense against the personal attack of his opponents. since the epistle to the galatians is polemic from beginning to end, it is not surprising that the very first word after the bare name and title of the author is "not." paul cannot mention his title "apostle"--in the addresses of first and second thessalonians he had not thought it necessary to mention it at all--without thinking of the way in which in galatia it was misrepresented. "my apostleship," he says, "came not only from christ, but directly from christ." the peculiarity of the dative is its brevity--not "beloved of god, called to be saints," or the like, but just the bare and formal "to the churches of galatia." the situation was not one which called for pleasant words! the greeting is the least varied part in the addresses of the pauline epistles. the long addition to the greeting in galatians is absolutely unique. it is a summary of the second and central main division of the epistle, paul's defense of his gospel. "christ has died to free you. the judaizers in bringing you into bondage are making of none effect the grace of christ, manifested on the cross." that is the very core of the letter. in all of the pauline epistles there is scarcely a passage more characteristic of the man than the first five verses of galatians. an ordinary writer would have been merely formal in the address. not so paul! the exultant supernaturalism of the address should be noticed. this supernaturalism appears, in the first place, in the sphere of external history--"god the father, who raised him from the dead." pauline christianity is based upon the miracle of the resurrection. supernaturalism appears also, however, in the sphere of christian experience--"who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world." christianity is no mere easy development of the old life, no mere improvement of the life, but a new life in a new world. in both spheres, supernaturalism is being denied in the modern church. pauline christianity is very different from much that is called christianity to-day. finally, this passage will serve to exhibit paul's lofty view of the person of christ. "neither through man," says paul, "but through jesus christ." jesus christ is here distinguished sharply from men and placed clearly on the side of god. what is more, even the judaizers evidently accepted fundamentally the same view. paul said, "not by man, but by jesus christ"; the judaizers said, "not by jesus christ, but by man." but if so, then the judaizers, no less than paul, distinguished jesus sharply from ordinary humanity. about other things there was debate, but about the person of christ paul appears in harmony even with his opponents. evidently the original apostles had given the judaizers on this point no slightest excuse for differing from paul. the heavenly christ of paul was also the christ of those who had walked and talked with jesus of nazareth. they had seen jesus subject to all the petty limitations of human life. yet they thought him divine! could they have been deceived? . the purpose of the epistle. gal. : - the thanksgiving for the christian state of the readers, which appears in practically every other of the pauline epistles, is here conspicuous by its absence. here it would have been a mockery. the galatians were on the point of giving up the gospel. there was just a chance of saving them. the letter was written in a desperate crisis. pray god it might not be too late! no time here for words of thanks! in vs. - , paul simply states the purpose of the letter in a few uncompromising words: "you are falling away from the gospel and i am writing to stop you." . paul's defense of his apostolic authority. gal. : to : after stating, gal. : , , the thesis that is to be proved in this section, paul defends his independent apostolic authority by three main arguments. in the first place, vs. - , he was already launched upon his work as apostle to the gentiles before he had even come into any effective contact with the original apostles. before his conversion, he had been an active persecutor. his conversion was wrought, not, like an ordinary conversion, through human agency, but by an immediate act of christ. after his conversion it was three years before he saw any of the apostles. then he saw only peter (and james) and that not long enough to become, as his opponents said, a disciple of these leaders. in the second place, gal. : - , when he finally did hold a conference with the original apostles, they themselves, the very authorities to whom the judaizers appealed, recognized that his authority was quite independent of theirs, and, like theirs, of directly divine origin. in the third place, gal. : - , so independent was his authority that on one occasion he could even rebuke the chief of the original apostles himself. what paul said at that time to peter happened to be exactly what he wanted to say, in the epistle, to the galatians. this section, therefore, forms a transition to the second main division of the epistle. it has sometimes been thought surprising that paul does not say how peter took his rebuke. the conclusion has even been drawn that if peter had acknowledged his error paul would have been sure to say so. such reasoning ignores the character of this section. in reporting the substance of what he said to peter, paul has laid bare the very depths of his own life. to return, after such a passage, to the incident at antioch would have been pedantic and unnecessary. long before the end of the second chapter paul has forgotten all about peter, all about antioch, and all about the whole of his past history. he is thinking only of the grace of christ, and how some men are trampling it under foot. o foolish galatians, to desert so great a salvation! . paul's defense of his gospel. gal. : to : salvation cannot be earned by human effort, but must be received simply as a free gift: christ has died to save us from the curse of the law: to submit again to the yoke of bondage is disloyalty to him--that is the great thesis that paul sets out to prove. he proves it first by an argument from experience. gal. : - . you received the holy spirit, in palpable manifestation, before you ever saw the judaizers, before you ever thought of keeping the mosaic law. you received the spirit by faith alone. how then can you now think that the law is necessary? surely there can be nothing higher than the spirit. in the second place, there is an argument from scripture. not those who depend upon the works of the law, but those who believe, have the benefit of the covenant made with abraham. vs. - . in the third place, by the use of various figures, paul contrasts the former bondage with the present freedom. gal. : to : . the life under the law was a period of restraint like that of childhood, preliminary to faith in christ. the law was intended to produce the consciousness of sin, in order that the resultant hopelessness might lead men to accept the saviour. vs. - . but now all christians alike, both jews and gentiles, are sons of god in christ, and therefore heirs of the promise made to abraham. vs. - . being sons of god, with all the glorious freedom of sonship, with the spirit crying, "abba, father," in the heart, how can we think of returning to the miserable bondage of an external and legalistic religion? gal. : - . in the fourth place, paul turns away from argument to make a personal appeal. vs. - . what has become of your devotion to me? surely i have not become your enemy just because i tell you the truth. the judaizers are estranging you from me. listen to me, my spiritual children, even though i can speak to you only through the cold medium of a letter! in the fifth place, paul, in his perplexity, bethinks himself of one more argument. it is an argument that would appeal especially to those who were impressed by the judaizers' method of using the old testament, but it also has permanent validity. the fundamental principle, says paul, for which i am arguing, the principle of grace, can be illustrated from the story of ishmael and isaac. ishmael had every prospect of being the heir of abraham. it seemed impossible for the aged abraham to have another son. nature was on ishmael's side. but nature was overruled. so it is to-day. as far as nature is concerned, the jews are the heirs of abraham--they have all the outward marks of sonship. but god has willed otherwise. he has chosen to give the inheritance to the heirs according to promise. the principle of the divine choice, operative on a small scale in the acceptance of isaac, is operative now on a large scale in the acceptance of the gentile church. finally, paul concludes the central section of the epistle by emphasizing the gravity of the crisis. gal. : - . do not be deceived. circumcision as the judaizers advocate it is no innocent thing; it means the acceptance of a law religion. you must choose either the law or grace; you cannot have both. . the results of paul's gospel. gal. : to : in this third main division of the epistle paul exhibits the practical working of faith. paul's gospel is more powerful than the teaching of the judaizers. try to keep the law in your own strength and you will fail, for the flesh is too strong. but the spirit is stronger than the flesh, and the spirit is received by faith. . conclusion. gal. : - this concluding section, if not the whole epistle, was written with paul's own hand. v. . in his other letters paul dictated everything but a brief closing salutation. in the closing section, paul lays the alternative once more before his readers. the judaizers have worldly aims, they boast of worldly advantages; but the true christian boasts of nothing but the cross. christianity, as here portrayed, is not the gentle, easy-going doctrine that is being mistaken for it to-day. it is no light thing to say, "the world hath been crucified unto me, and i unto the world." but the result is a new creature! * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": article on "ephesus"; purves, articles on "galatia" and "galatians, epistle to the" (supplemented). hastings, "dictionary of the bible": ramsay, article on "ephesus"; dods, article on "galatians, epistle to the." ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - , - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. xii, xiii. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. xii, xiii, xiv, xv and xvi. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - , - . lumby, pp. - . cook, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . rackham, pp. - . m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. ii, pp. - : sanday, "the epistle of paul the apostle to the galatians." "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": perowne, "the epistle to the galatians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . lightfoot, "saint paul's epistle to the galatians." the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xix problems of a gentile church christianity, according to paul, is an escape from the world. gal. : . all human distinctions are comparatively unimportant. "there can be neither jew nor greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female." gal. : . such a doctrine might seem logically to lead to fanaticism. if the christian is already a citizen of heaven, may he not be indifferent to the conditions of life upon this earth? such a conclusion was altogether avoided by paul. in first corinthians paul is revealed as the most practical of men. all human distinctions are subordinate and secondary--and yet these distinctions are carefully observed. paul was a man of heroic faith, but he was also possessed of admirable tact. it is not that the one side of paul's nature limited the other; it is not that common sense acted as a check to transcendental religion. on the contrary, the two things seemed to be in perfect harmony. just because paul was inwardly so entirely free from the world, he was also so wise in dealing with worldly affairs. the secret of this harmony was consecration. human relationships, when consecrated to god, are not destroyed, but ennobled. they cease, indeed, to be an end in themselves, but they become a means to christian service. the christian man has no right to be indifferent to the world. if he is, he is no true son of the god who made the world, and sent the lord to save it. the christian, like the man of the world, is profoundly interested in the conditions of life on this earth. only, unlike the man of the world, he is not helpless and perplexed in the presence of those conditions; but from his vantage ground of heavenly power, he shapes them to the divine will. he is interested in the world, but he is interested in it, not as its servant, but as its master. so in first corinthians paul lays hold of certain perplexing practical problems with the sure grasp of one who is called to rule and not to serve. everything that he touches he lifts to a higher plane. in his hands even the simplest things of life receive a heavenly significance. the problems that are discussed in first corinthians stood in a special relation to the environment of the corinthian church. most of them were due to the threatened intrusions of greek paganism. they are closely analogous, however, to the problems which we have to solve to-day. paganism and worldliness are not dead. the church still stands in the midst of a hostile environment. we can still use the teaching of paul. that teaching will now be examined in a few of its important details. . the parties paul mentions four parties that had been formed in the corinthian church--a paul-party, an apollos-party, a cephas-party and a christ-party. these parties do not seem to have been separated from one another by any serious doctrinal differences, and it is impossible to determine their characteristics in detail. in the section where the party spirit is discussed, paul blames the corinthians for intellectual pride. this fault has often been connected with the apollos-party. apollos was an alexandrian, and probably had an alexandrian greek training. he might therefore have unconsciously evoked among some members of the corinthian church an excessive admiration for his more pretentious style of preaching, which might have caused them to despise the simpler manner of paul. even this much, however, is little more than surmise. at any rate, apollos should not be blamed for the faults of those who misused his name. he is praised unstintedly by paul, who was even desirous that he should return at once to corinth. i cor. : . paul blames the paul-party just as much as any of the other three. the peter-party was composed of admirers of peter, who had either come to corinth from the scene of peter's labors elsewhere, or simply had known of peter by hearsay. it is unlikely that peter himself had been in corinth, for if he had paul would probably have let the fact appear in first or second corinthians. the christ-party is rather puzzling. a comparison with the false teachers who are combated in second corinthians has led some scholars to suppose that it was a judaizing party, which emphasized a personal acquaintance with the earthly jesus as a necessary qualification of apostleship. in that case, however, paul would probably have singled out the christ-party for special attack. more probably these were simply men who, in proud opposition to the adherents of paul, of apollos and of cephas, emphasized their own independence of any leader other than christ. of course, the watchword, "i am of christ," if used in a better spirit, would have been altogether praiseworthy, and indeed paul desires all the parties to unite in it. i cor. : - . perhaps it is a mistake to attribute to these parties anything like stability. on the whole, the passage gives the impression that it is not the individual parties that paul is condemning, but the party spirit. that party spirit was manifested by watchwords like those which are enumerated in i cor. : , but that that enumeration was meant to be complete, does not appear. the whole effort to determine the characteristics of the individual parties--an effort which has absorbed the attention of many scholars--should perhaps be abandoned. paul's treatment of the party spirit exhibits his greatness not only as an administrator, but also as a writer. the subject was certainly not inspiring; yet under paul's touch it becomes luminous with heavenly glory. the contrast of human wisdom with the message of the cross, i cor. : - , where a splendid rhythm of language matches the sublimity of the thought, the wonderful description of the freedom and power of the man who possesses the spirit of god, the grand climax of the third chapter, "for all things are yours; whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are christ's; and christ is god's"--these are among the passages that can never be forgotten. . things sacrificed to idols the question of meats offered to idols, which paul discusses in i cor. : to : , was exceedingly intricate. to it paul applies several great principles. in the first place, there is the principle of christian freedom. the christian has been delivered from enslaving superstitions. idols have no power; they cannot impart any harmful character to the good things which god has provided for the sustenance of man. in the second place, however, there is the principle of loyalty. the fact that idols are nothing does not render idol-worship morally indifferent. on the contrary, idolatry is always sinful. if the eating of certain kinds of food under certain conditions involves participation in idolatry then it is disloyalty to the one true god. the joint operation of the two principles of freedom and of loyalty seems to lead in paul's mind to the following practical conclusion:--the christian may eat the meat that has been offered to idols if it is simply put on sale in the market place or set before him at an ordinary meal; but he must not take part with the heathen in specifically religious feasts. the whole question, however, is further viewed in the light of a third principle--the principle of christian love. even things that are in themselves innocent must be given up if a brother by them is led into conduct which for him is sin. christ has died for that weaker brother; surely the christian, then, may not destroy him. thus love, even more than loyalty, limits freedom--but it is a blessed limitation. the principles here applied by paul to the question of the corinthian christians will solve many a problem of the modern church. . spiritual gifts the principle of christian love, with the related principle of toleration, is applied also to another set of problems, the problems with regard to the exercise of spiritual gifts. the passage in which paul discusses these problems, aside from its spiritual and moral teaching, is of singular historical interest. it affords a unique picture of the devotional meetings of an apostolic church. the characteristic of these meetings was the enthusiasm which prevailed in them. paul is not at all desirous of dampening that enthusiasm. on the contrary the gifts in question were in his judgment really bestowed by the holy spirit. even the gift of tongues, which paul limits in its operation, is in his judgment of genuine value. indeed, he himself had exercised it even more than the other christians. i cor. : . this last fact should correct any unworthy impression which we might have formed with regard to the gift. if speaking with tongues was practiced by paul, then it was no mere unhealthy emotionalism. we are to-day unable to understand it fully, but in the apostolic church it was a real expression of christian experience. paul desires, not to dampen the enthusiasm of the corinthian church, but merely to eliminate certain harmful by-products of that which was in itself altogether excellent. the first principle which he applies is the principle of toleration. there is room in the church for many different kinds of workers. "there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit." the principle is often neglected in the modern church. toleration, indeed, is on everyone's lips; but it is not the kind of toleration that paul means. it is often nothing more than indifference to the great verities of the faith. such toleration would have met with nothing but an anathema from paul. the toleration that paul is commending is a toleration, not with regard to matters of doctrine, but with regard to methods of work. such toleration is often sadly lacking. some advocates of missions think that almost every christian who stays at home is a coward; some good, conservative elders, on the other hand, have little interest in what passes the bounds of their own congregation. some christians of reserved habits are shocked at the popular methods of the evangelists; some evangelists are loud in their ignorant denunciation of the christian scholar. in other words, many very devout christians of the present day act as though they had never read the twelfth chapter of first corinthians. the principle of toleration, however, culminates in the principle of love. if there must be a choice between the exercise of different gifts, then the choice should be in favor of those gifts which are most profitable to other men. finally, even the highest spiritual gifts are not independent of reason. i cor. : , . that is a far-reaching principle. some modern christians seem to think that an appeal to the inward voice of the spirit excuses them from listening to reasonable counsel. such is not the teaching of paul. . the resurrection the error which is combated in the fifteenth chapter of the epistle could hardly have been a denial, in general, of continued existence after death, but was rather a denial of the resurrection of the body as over against the greek doctrine of the immortality of the soul. in reply, paul appeals to the resurrection of jesus. the appeal would seem to be futile unless paul means that the resurrection of jesus was a bodily resurrection. if the appearances of jesus were no more than incorporeal manifestations of his spirit, then obviously the believer in a mere immortality of the soul remained unrefuted. in this chapter there is an advance over the simple teaching of first thessalonians. here the character of the resurrection body comes into view. the resurrection body will have a real connection with the old body--otherwise there would be no resurrection--but the weakness of the old body will be done away. there is continuity, but also transformation. . incidental information about jesus certain passages in first corinthians, which are introduced only in an incidental way, as illustrations of the principles which are being applied, are of inestimable historical value. these passages include not only the great autobiographical passage in the ninth chapter, where paul illustrates from his own life the limitation of the principle of freedom by the principle of love, but also two all-important passages which refer to the life of christ. it is generally admitted that first corinthians was written at about a. d. . the eleventh chapter of the epistle gives an account of the institution of the lord's supper, in which jesus teaches the sacrificial significance of his death; and the fifteenth chapter gives a list of the appearances of jesus after his resurrection. the information contained in these passages was not invented by paul; indeed he distinctly says that it was "received." in a. d. , then, not only paul, but also the church generally believed that jesus' death, according to his own teaching, was sacrificial, and appealed in support of his resurrection to a wealth of competent testimony. but from whom had paul "received" these things? hardly from anyone except those who had been christians before him--in other words, from the palestinian church. we have here an irremovable confirmation of the gospel view of jesus. first corinthians is a historical document of absolutely priceless value. the incidental character of these historical passages is especially noteworthy. it shows that paul knew far more about jesus than he found occasion in the epistles to tell. if he had told more, no doubt the gospel picture of jesus would have received confirmation throughout. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": article on "apollos"; purves and davis, article on "corinthians, epistles to the." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": robertson, article on "corinthians, first epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. ii, pp. - : shore, "the first epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians." "the cambridge bible for schools": lias, "the first epistle to the corinthians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . "the international critical commentary": robertson and plummer, "a critical and exegetical commentary on the first epistle of st. paul to the corinthians." the two last-named works presuppose a knowledge of greek. lesson xx the apostle and his ministry . address and thanksgiving. ii cor. : - in first corinthians the obscure sosthenes is found to be associated with paul in the address of the epistle; in second corinthians it is timothy, one of the best-known of the helpers of paul. even if that mission of timothy to corinth which is mentioned in first corinthians had resulted in failure, timothy's usefulness in the church was not permanently affected. after the address, comes, as is usual in the pauline epistles, an expression of thanksgiving to god. this time, however, it is not thanksgiving for the christian state of the readers, but thanksgiving for paul's own escape from danger. the absence of thanksgiving for the readers does not mean here, as in the case of galatians, that there was nothing to be thankful for in the church that is being addressed, for the whole first section of the letter is suffused with a spirit of thankfulness for the corinthians' return to their true allegiance; it means rather simply that the thought of the deadly personal danger, and of the remarkable escape, were for the moment in the forefront of paul's thought. even that personal matter, however, was used by paul to fortify his readers against similar trials, and especially to strengthen still further the bonds of sympathy which had at last been restored between him and them. what this danger was from which paul had just escaped cannot be determined. it is as much a puzzle as the fighting with beasts at ephesus, which paul mentions in i cor. : . neither one nor the other can very well be identified with the trouble caused by demetrius the silversmith, acts : - , for there paul does not seem to have been in deadly danger. some suppose that the fighting with beasts is literally meant; that paul was actually exposed to the wild beasts in the arena and escaped only in some remarkable way. it should be observed that paul does not say, with regard to the danger mentioned in second corinthians, that it occurred in ephesus, but only that it occurred in asia. the expression, "weighed down," in ii cor. : perhaps points to some form of illness rather than to persecution. . the apostle and the ministry of reconciliation. ii cor. : to : immediately after the thanksgiving for his escape from death, paul begins the defense of his ministry. after the suspense of the previous days, he feels the need of reviewing the methods and motives of his labor among the corinthians, in order that the last vestige of suspicion may be removed. this he does in an unrestrained, cordial sort of way, which reveals the deepest secrets of his heart, and culminates here and there in grand expositions of the very essence of the gospel. first, in just a passing word, ch. : , , he defends his letters against that charge of obscurity or concealment which is hinted at elsewhere in the epistle. compare ch. : - ; : . next, he defends himself against the charge of fickleness in his journey plans. at some time, probably during or after the unsuccessful visit alluded to in ch. : , paul had formed the plan of returning to corinth by the direct route. this plan he had not carried out, and his abandonment of it apparently confirmed the impression of weakness which had been left by the unsuccessful visit. "he is very bold in letters," said his opponents, "but when he is here he is weak, and now he is afraid to return." it was a petty criticism, and a lesser man might have answered it in a petty way. but paul was able to lift the whole discussion to a loftier plane. his answer to the criticism was very simple--the reason why he had not returned to corinth at once was that he did not want to return again in grief and in severity; for the sake of the corinthians themselves he wanted to give them time to repent, before the final and fatal issue should be raised. characteristically, however, paul does not content himself with this simple answer; indeed he does not even begin with it. a specific explanation of the change in his plans would have refuted the criticism immediately under consideration, but paul felt the need of doing far more than that. what he desired to do was to make not only this criticism, but all similar criticisms, impossible. this he does by the fine reference to the positive character of his gospel. "you say that i am uncertain in my plans, that i say yes and no in one breath. well, the gospel that i preached, at any rate, was no such uncertain thing as that. my gospel was a great 'yes' to all the promises of god." such a method of refutation lifts the reader far above all petty criticisms to the great things of paul's gospel. yet this reference to great principles is no mere excuse to avoid the simple question at issue. on the contrary, paul is perfectly frank about the reason why he had not gone to corinth as he had intended. it was out of love to the corinthian church, and this had also prompted the writing of a severe letter. here, ch. : - , paul refers to the offender whose case had been made a test at the time of the recent painful visit. this offender was probably different from the incestuous person who is so sternly dealt with in i cor. : - . his offense is thought by many to have been some personal insult to paul, ii cor. : , but this is not quite certain. at any rate, whatever his original offence, paul's demand for his punishment had become a test of the loyalty of the church. at first the demand had been refused, but now the majority of the congregation has agreed and the man himself is deeply repentant, so that paul is only afraid lest severity may go too far. it is hardly worth while saying that the character of paul was entirely free from vindictiveness. when the discipline of the church would permit it, paul was the first to propose counsels of mercy. the reference to the epistles of commendation which had been used by paul's opponents in corinth, ch. : , has been made the basis of far-reaching conclusions about the whole history of the apostolic age. from whom could the opponents have received their letters of introduction? only, it is said, from palestine, and probably from the original apostles. this conclusion is hasty, to say the least. it should be noticed that not only letters to the corinthian church but also letters from the church are apparently in mind. v. . if, then, the corinthian church had been asked to supply these false teachers with letters of commendation, perhaps the other churches that had supplied them with letters were no nearer to jerusalem than corinth was. the mention of these letters of commendation introduces one of the grandest passages in the new testament. "i," says paul, by way of transition, "do not need any letters of commendation. my work is sufficient commendation. what i have accomplished in the hearts of men is an epistle written by the spirit of god." then follows the magnificent exposition of the ministry of the new covenant. that ministry is first contrasted with the old dispensation, perhaps with reference to an excessive valuation, by the opponents, of a continued judaism in the church. the old covenant was glorious, but how much more glorious is the new! the old was a ministry of condemnation, but the new is a ministry of justification. the old was a ministry of an external law, the new is a ministry of the life-giving power of the spirit of god. there is no reason any longer for concealment. the spirit brings freedom and openness and light. this treasure is held indeed in earthen vessels. the recent danger that paul has passed through, as well as the overpowering hardships of his life, make him painfully conscious of human weakness. but that weakness is blessed which in all the fuller glory reveals the all-conquering power of god. the christian need never despair, for by the eye of faith he can detect those unseen things which are eternal. the present body may be dissolved, but the resurrection body will be ready. indeed, even if the christian by death is separated for a time altogether from the body, he need not fear. to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord. the climax of the whole glorious passage is the brief exposition of the ministry of reconciliation which begins with ch. : . here we are introduced to the secret of the remarkable life which is revealed in second corinthians and in the other epistles of paul. reconciliation with god through the death of christ in our behalf and in our stead, consequent freedom from sin and from the world, a new and glorious life under the favor of god--these are the things that paul experienced in his own life, these are the things that he preached to others, regardless of all hardship and criticism, and these are the things, now and always, which contain the real springs of the church's power. after an uncompromising warning against impurity and worldliness, delivered from the lofty vantage ground that has just been reached, the apostle gives expression once more to the joy that he has received from the good news which titus brought him; and then proceeds to an entirely different matter. . the collection. ii cor., chs. , two whole chapters of the epistle are devoted to the collection for the jerusalem church. the history of this matter, so far as it can be traced, is briefly as follows: at the time of the jerusalem council, the pillars of the jerusalem church had requested paul to remember the jerusalem poor. at the time when first corinthians was written, paul had already started a collection for this purpose in the churches of galatia, and in first corinthians he asks the corinthians to take part. i cor. : - . in second corinthians he announces that the churches of macedonia have contributed bountifully, ii cor. : - , and urges the continuance of the collection in corinth. finally, in the epistle to the romans, which was written from corinth only a short time after second corinthians, he mentions the collection in macedonia and achaia, announces his intention of journeying to jerusalem with the gifts, and asks the roman christians to pray that the ministration may be acceptable to the jerusalem church. rom. : - , , . with his customary foresight, paul made careful provision for the administration of the gifts, in order to avoid all possible misunderstanding or suspicion. for example, the churches are to choose delegates to carry their bounty to jerusalem. i cor. : . possibly the delegates are to be identified with the persons who are named in acts : . luke does not mention the collection, but it is alluded to in acts : . paul's treatment of the collection in ii cor., chs. , , was not only adapted to accomplish its immediate purpose, but also has been of high value to the christian church. these chapters have assured to the right use of wealth a place of real dignity among the forms of christian service. . the opponents. ii cor., chs. to the striking change of tone at ch. : is amply explained by the change of subject. in the first part of the epistle, paul has been thinking of the return of the majority of the congregation to their allegiance; now he turns to deal with the false teachers who have been causing all the trouble. it is still necessary to meet their attacks and remove every vestige of influence which they may still have retained over the church. their attack upon paul was of a peculiarly mean and unworthy character; the indignation which paul displays in these chapters was fully justified. the opponents were certainly jews, and prided themselves on the fact. ch. : . but it does not appear with certainty that they were judaizers. if they were intending to come forward with any demand of circumcision or of observance of the mosaic law, such demand was still kept in the background. indeed, there is no indication that the doctrine that they preached was different in important respects from that of paul. in particular, there is no indication that they advocated a different view about jesus. one verse, ch. : , has, indeed, been regarded as such an indication, but only by an exceedingly doubtful interpretation. probably the other jesus whom the opponents preached existed only in their own claim. they said merely, "paul has kept something back," v. , margin; ch. : ; "we alone can give you adequate information; we alone can proclaim the true jesus, the true spirit and the true gospel." in reality, however, they had nothing new to offer. paul had made the whole gospel known. it is further not even quite clear that the opponents laid stress upon a personal acquaintance with the earthly jesus, and so played the original apostles off against paul. the expression "chiefest apostles," ch. : , is clearly nothing more than an ironical designation of the false teachers themselves. it is true, the false teachers claimed to belong in a special sense to christ, ch : , and to be in a special sense "ministers of christ." ch. : . but it is not at all clear--despite ch. : --that the connection which they claimed to have with christ was that of personal acquaintance, either directly or through their authorities, with the earthly jesus. finally, these false teachers cannot with any certainty be connected with the christ-party of first corinthians. the chief value of the last four chapters of the epistle is the wealth of autobiographical material which they contain. against the insidious personal attacks of the opponents, paul was obliged to speak of certain personal matters about which he might otherwise have been silent. had he been silent, the church would have been the loser. to know the inner life of the apostle paul is to know christ; for paul was in christ and christ was in paul. what could compensate us for the loss of ii cor. : - ? through these words the bodily weakness of paul has forever been made profitable for the strength of the church. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves and davis, article on "corinthians, epistles to the." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": robertson, article on "corinthians, second epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . beet, "a commentary on st. paul's epistles to the corinthians," seventh edition, pp. - , - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. ii, pp. - : plumptre, "the second epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians." "the cambridge bible for schools": lias, "the second epistle to the corinthians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . the last-named work presupposes a knowledge of greek. lesson xxi the gospel of salvation the epistle to the romans, though it is not merely a systematic treatise, is more systematic than any other of the pauline epistles. unlike the epistles that preceded it, it was written in a period of comparative quiet between two great stages in the apostle's work. not unnaturally, therefore, it contains something like a summary of paul's teaching. the summary, however, does not embrace the whole of the pauline theology, but only one important department of it. the nature of god, for example, and the person of christ, are not discussed in the epistle to the romans. of course paul held very definite views upon these subjects, and these views are presupposed on every page of the epistle--especially the loftiest possible conception of the person of christ lies at the background of this entire account of christ's work--but such presuppositions do not in this epistle receive an elaborate exposition. the real subject of the first eight chapters of romans is not theology in general, but simply the way of salvation. how can man be saved--that is the question which paul answers in this epistle. obviously the question is of the utmost practical importance. the epistle to the romans is absolutely fundamental for the establishment of christian faith. this estimate, which was formerly a matter of course, has in recent years unfortunately fallen into disrepute. the epistle to the romans, after all, it is said, is concerned with theology, whereas what we need is simple faith. we must return from romans to the gospels, from paul to christ. the words of jesus, recorded in the gospels, are thus emphasized to the prejudice of the teaching of the apostle. this tendency should be resisted with the utmost firmness. it is striking at the very vitals of the church's life. after all, jesus came, as has been well said, not to say something, but to do something. his words are very precious, we could never do without them; but after all they are subsidiary to his deeds. his life and death and resurrection--these are the things that wrought salvation for men. and these great saving acts could not be fully explained till after they had been done. for an explanation of them, therefore, we must turn not only to the gospels but also to the epistles, not only to jesus but also to paul. paul was in a special sense our apostle; like us, he had never known the earthly jesus. just for that reason, through the divine revelation that was granted him, he could guide all subsequent generations to the risen christ. the epistle to the romans, more fully perhaps than any other book, points out the meaning of the death and resurrection of christ. it does not, indeed, solve all mysteries; but it reveals enough to enable us to believe. . the edict of claudius the edict of claudius which expelled the jews from rome was certainly not permanently effective; indeed there are some indications that it was modified almost as soon as it was issued. but although it did not keep the jews out of rome, it may at least have hastened the separation between judaism and christianity. if the conflict between the two, as a conflict within judaism, had given rise to the hostile edict, then, as has plausibly been suggested, the separation might be in the interests of both parties. if the church were kept separate from the synagogue, the jews would be protected from dangerous disorders and from the opposition which would be encountered by a new and illegal religion, and the christians, on the other hand, would be protected from the claudian edict against the jews. . address, thanksgiving and subject. rom. : - the address of the epistle to the romans is remarkable for the long addition which is made to the name of the author. paul was writing to a church which he had never seen. his excuse for writing was to be found only in the gospel with which he had been intrusted. at the very start, therefore, he places his gospel in the foreground. here, however, it is rather the great presupposition of the gospel which is in mind--jesus christ in his double nature. one who has been commissioned to preach to the gentiles the gospel of such a christ may certainly address a letter to rome. in connection with the customary thanksgiving, paul mentions his long-cherished desire of visiting the roman christians. he desires to impart unto them some spiritual gift--no, he says, rather he desires to receive from them as well as to give. the correction is characteristic of paul. some men would have felt no need of making it. as a matter of fact, paul was fully in a position to impart spiritual gifts. but he was afraid his readers might feel hurt--as though the apostle thought they could make no return for the benefit which the visit would bring them. it is an exquisite bit of fine discernment and delicate courtesy. but like all true courtesy, it was based on fact. paul was really not a man to decline help and comfort from even the humblest of the brethren. in vs. , , the theme of the epistle is announced--the gospel the power of god unto salvation, the gospel which reveals a righteousness of god that is received by faith. the meaning of "a righteousness of god" has been much disputed. some think that it refers to the righteousness which is an attribute of god. more probably, however, it is to be interpreted in the light of ch. : ; phil. : . it then refers to that right relation of man to god which god himself produces. there are two ways of receiving a sentence of acquittal from god the judge. one is by keeping the law of god perfectly. the other is by receiving through faith the righteousness of christ. the former is impossible because of sin. the latter has been made possible by the gift of christ. as sinners, we are subject to the punishment of death. but that punishment has been paid for us by christ. we therefore go free; we can start fresh, with the consciousness of god's favor. we are "justified"--that is, "pronounced righteous"--not because we are free from sin, but because by his grace god looks not upon us but upon christ. we have been pronounced righteous, but not on account of our own works. we possess not our own righteousness but "a righteousness of god." this righteousness of god is received by faith. faith is not a work, it is simply the willingness to receive. christ has promised by his death to bring us to god. we may not understand it all, but is christ to be believed? study the gospel picture of him, and you will be convinced that he is. justification by faith, then, means being pronounced righteous by god, although we are sinners. it might seem to be a very dangerous doctrine. if we are pronounced righteous whether we are really righteous or not, then may we not go on with impunity in sin? such reasoning ignores the results of justification. faith brings more than forgiveness. it brings a new life. in the new life sin has no place. the christian has broken forever with his old slavery. though perfection has not yet been attained in practice, it has been attained in principle, and by the power of the spirit all sin will finally be removed. the christian cannot compromise with sin. salvation is not only from the guilt of sin, but also from the power of it. the sixth chapter of romans leaves no room for moral laxness. . romans and galatians it is interesting to compare romans with galatians. the subject of the two epistles is the same. both are concerned with salvation by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. in many passages the two are parallel. the fuller exposition in romans is often the best commentary upon the briefer statements of galatians. for example, the words: "what then is the law? it was added because of transgressions"--very obscure as they stand in galatians--are explained by rom. : ; ch. . in tone, however, the two epistles are widely different. galatians is written in view of one definite attack upon the gospel; romans is a general exposition summing up the results of the conflict. when paul wrote galatians he was in the thick of the battle; at the time of romans he had fought his way through to the heights. the epistle to the romans, however, is no cold, purely logical treatise. theology here is interwoven with experience. no exposition can do justice to this wonderful letter. to read about it is sometimes dull; but to read it is life. . the pauline philosophy of history. rom., chs. to chapters to of this epistle are interesting in a great many ways. they are interesting, for example, in their tremendous conception of the mystery of the divine will. the ninth chapter of romans is a good corrective for any carelessness in our attitude toward god. after all, god is a mystery. how little we know of his eternal plan! we must ever tremble before him. yet it is such a god who has invited us, through christ, to hold communion with himself. there is the true wonder of the gospel--that it brings us into fellowship, not with a god of our own devising, not with one who is a father and nothing else, but with the awful, holy, mysterious maker and ruler of all things. the joy of the believer is the deepest of all joys. it is a joy that is akin to holy fear. these chapters are also interesting because they attest the attachment of paul to the jewish people. where is there a nobler expression of patriotism than rom. : - ? exclusive attention to the polemic passages where paul is defending the gentile mission and denying the efficacy of the mosaic law, have produced in the minds of some scholars a one-sided view of paul's attitude toward israel. paul did not advocate the destruction of the identity of his people. he believed that even the natural israel had a part to play on the stage of history. these chapters of romans, together with some other passages in the epistles, such as i cor. : , confirm what the book of the acts tells us about paul's willingness, when no principle was involved, to conform to jewish custom. . integrity of the epistle the genuineness of the epistle to the romans is undoubted, but its "integrity" has been questioned. the epistle was certainly written by paul, but was it all, as we now have it, originally part of one letter? by many scholars the greater part of the sixteenth chapter is supposed to have originally formed part of an epistle of paul written not to rome but to ephesus. the chief argument for this hypothesis is derived from the long list of names in ch. : - . could paul have had so many personal acquaintances in a church which he had never visited? the argument is not conclusive. just because paul could not appeal in his letter to any personal acquaintance with the roman church as a whole, it would be natural for him to mention at least all the individuals in the church with whom he stood in any sort of special relation. furthermore, the frequency of travel in the roman empire must be borne in mind. many persons whom paul had met on his travels would naturally find their way to the capital. finally, aquila and priscilla, though they had recently lived in ephesus, i cor. : , may easily have resumed their former residence in rome. acts : ; rom. : - . * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves, (supplemented) article on "romans, epistle to the." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": robertson, article on "romans, epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . gifford, "the epistle of st. paul to the romans." ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. ii, pp. - : sanday, "the epistle of paul the apostle to the romans." "the cambridge bible for schools": moule, "the epistle of paul the apostle to the romans." "the international critical commentary": sanday and headlam, "a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistle to the romans." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . the two last-named works presuppose a knowledge of greek. lesson xxii paul's journey to rome the material of this lesson is so extensive that only the barest summary can be attempted in the class. the great features of the narrative should be made to stand out clear--the bitter opposition of the jews, the favorable attitude of the roman authorities, the journey to rome. before the lesson is over the student should have a deeper impression of the character of paul--his perfect ease and tactfulness in the various relations of life, his unswerving boldness where the gospel was concerned, his inexplicable power. finally, the peculiar quality of the narrative should be appreciated. these chapters contain the two longer "we-sections" of the acts. . the journey to troas at first paul had intended to sail direct from corinth to syria, but a plot of the jews caused him to change his plan. acts : . it has been suggested that the ship upon which he was intending to sail may have carried non-christian jews, going to the approaching feast in jerusalem, v. , who could have done him harm upon the voyage. by choosing the route through macedonia he averted the immediate danger. the use of the first person plural begins again at acts : . it was broken off at ch. : . luke had parted from paul at philippi on the second missionary journey; and it is at philippi that he now appears again. the following journeys, in which luke himself took part, are narrated with the utmost vividness and minuteness. the narrative amounts practically to a diary--in some sections every day is accounted for. the departure from philippi took place "after the days of unleavened bread," that is, after the passover week. acts : . from the account of the subsequent journey it is not quite possible to tell whether paul actually succeeded in carrying out his plan of being in jerusalem at pentecost. pentecost, it will be remembered, came fifty days after the beginning of the passover week. . troas the description of the last evening at troas, when paul prolonged his discourse in the lighted room, is one of the inimitably vivid scenes of the acts. probably we are to understand that eutychus, who fell down from a window in the third story, was really killed and not merely stunned. verse might seem to indicate that he was only stunned, but the last words of v. point rather to actual, and not merely apparent, death. the miracle is paralleled by the raising of dorcas by peter. acts : - . . the elders of ephesus when paul told the elders that they would see his face "no more," or perhaps rather "no longer," acts : , , he did not necessarily mean that he would certainly never return to ephesus. for a period of years, at any rate, he was intending to transfer his labors to the west; his return to ephesus, therefore, was at all events uncertain. his long activity at ephesus, which had occupied the better part of the past three years, was for the present at an end. from the pastoral epistles it appears that as a matter of fact paul did visit ephesus again after his release from the first roman imprisonment. . arrival in palestine at tyre and at cæsarea, paul received warnings against visiting jerusalem. these warnings came through the spirit, acts : , , but not in the sense that the holy spirit commanded paul not to go. the meaning is that the spirit warned him of the dangers that were to befall him. in meeting these dangers bravely he was acting in full accordance with the divine will. at acts : the use of the first person plural ceases, because luke had no immediate part in the events that followed. it is natural to suppose, however, that he remained in palestine, for he joined paul again in cæsarea, at the beginning of the journey to rome. for the events of paul's imprisonment in jerusalem and in cæsarea he had first-hand information. the vow in which paul took part at the request of james was at least similar to the nazirite vow described in num. : - . not all the details of such vows are perfectly clear. paul himself, on his own account, had assumed a similar vow on his second missionary journey, acts : --unless indeed, as is grammatically possible, the words in that passage refer to aquila rather than to paul. it was not true, as the christians of judea had been led to think, that paul taught the jewish christians of the dispersion to forsake the law of moses, though he was insistent that the gentile christians must not adopt that law. it was not even true that he himself had altogether given up keeping the law, though the exigencies of his gentile work required him to give it up very often, and though he regarded himself as inwardly free from the law. his willingness to take part in a jewish vow in jerusalem is therefore not surprising. his action on this occasion was fully justified by the principles of his conduct as described in i cor. : , . the keeping of the law was not for paul a means of obtaining salvation. salvation was a free gift of god, through the death of christ. but for the present the general relinquishment of the law and abandonment of the distinctive customs of judaism on the part of jewish christians was not required. paul was willing to leave that question to the future guidance of god. it is somewhat surprising that the book of the acts mentions the great collection for the jerusalem church only incidentally, in the report of a speech of paul. acts : . the interest of luke in this part of the narrative is absorbed in the relations between paul and the non-christian jews and the roman authorities. the internal affairs of the church are left for the most part out of account. the acts and the pauline epistles, here as so often, must be allowed to supplement each other. luke gives a vivid picture of the external events, and a clear view of the relations of christianity to the outside world; while paul affords us a deeper insight, in some respects at least, into the inward development of the church's life. . paul before agrippa the famous reply of agrippa to paul, acts : , is exceedingly difficult to translate and to interpret. the translation in the revised version is by no means certainly correct. the words may mean, "a little more of this persuasion will make me a christian!" or else, "you seem to think that the little persuasion you have used is sufficient to make me a christian." in any case, the sentence displays a certain perplexity on the part of the king. he certainly does not mean that he is on the point of accepting christianity--his words have a half-ironical tone--but on the other hand his interest is aroused. the same thing is probably to be said for festus. he said, "paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad," but he said it with a loud voice as though he were agitated. there was something uncanny about this prisoner! . the accession of festus the dates of many events in the apostolic age have usually been fixed by counting from the accession of festus. unfortunately, however, that event itself cannot be dated with certainty. some put it as late as a. d. , others as early as a. d. . if the date a. d. be provisionally adopted, then paul's arrest in jerusalem occurred in a. d. , and his arrival in rome in a. d. . the conclusion of the narrative in the acts would then fall in the year a. d. . it will be remembered that the proconsulship of gallio now affords an additional starting point for a chronology of the apostolic age. . later history of the jerusalem church after the meeting between paul and james, which is narrated in acts : - , the jerusalem church, at least so far as any direct narrative is concerned, disappears from the pages of the new testament. it will be observed that in the account of paul's last visit, only james, the brother of the lord, and "the elders" are mentioned as representatives of the church. possibly some of the twelve apostles may be included under the term "elders," but it is also perfectly possible that the apostles were all out of the city. james, the brother of the lord, continued to be the head of the jerusalem church until he was martyred--in a. d. , or, as others suppose, in a. d. . before the war which culminated in the capture of jerusalem in a. d. , the christians of the city fled to pella beyond the jordan. from that time, on, though the christians returned after the war, jewish christianity was quite uninfluential. the supremacy of the jerusalem church was gone. but that church had already rendered a priceless service. it had laid the foundations of christendom. it had sent forth the first missionaries. and it had preserved the record of jesus' life. the synoptic gospels, in substance at least, are a product of the jerusalem church. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on the many persons and places mentioned in the narrative, especially "felix," "festus," and "herod" ( ). ramsay, "st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen," pp. - ; "pictures of the apostolic church," pp. - , - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," vol. ii, chs. ii, iii, iv, v, and vi. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," chs. xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv and xxv. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . lumby, pp. - . cook, pp. - . plumptre, pp. - . rackham, pp. - . lesson xxiii the supremacy of christ . the epistles of the third group with the lesson for to-day, we are introduced to the third group among the epistles of paul. the epistles of the second group, which were written during the third missionary journey, are concerned with the problem of sin and salvation; the epistles of the third group are interesting especially for their teaching about the person of christ and about the church. a period of about three or four years separates the last epistle of the second group from the first epistle of the third. most of this interval had been spent by paul in captivity. undoubtedly, during this period of enforced leisure, there had been development in paul's thinking, but it is very difficult to determine exactly wherein that development consisted. the differences of the third group of epistles from the second are due to the difference in the readers at least as much as to a difference in paul himself. it is hard to say just how much of colossians and ephesians paul would have been incapable of writing during the third missionary journey. at any rate, the epistles of the captivity differ from those of the former group in being for the most part quieter in tone. during the third journey paul had had to continue the great battles of his career against various forms of judaizing error. christianity at one time seemed to be in danger of being reduced to a mere form of judaism; the free grace of god was being deserted for a law religion; faith was being deserted for works. in galatia, the question of principle had been uppermost; in corinth, the personal attack upon paul. everywhere, moreover, the gospel of salvation by faith was exposed to misconception. pagan license was threatening to creep into the church. unless it could be kept out, the legalists would have some apparent show of reason on their side. taking it all in all, it had been a hard battle. but it had been gloriously fought, and it had been won. now paul was able to turn his attention to new fields of labor and to new problems. . the christology of colossians the epistle to the colossians is peculiarly "christological." more fully and more expressly than in any other of his letters paul here develops his view about the person of christ. even here, however, this teaching is incidental; it was simply paul's way of refuting certain errors that had crept into the colossian church. except for those errors paul would perhaps never have written at length, as he does in col. : - , about the relation of christ to god and to the world. yet in that case his own views would have been the same, and they would have been just as fundamental to his whole religious life. in the epistles, which are written to christians, paul takes many things for granted. some of the things which are most fundamental appear only incidentally. just because they were fundamental, just because they were accepted by everyone, they did not need to be discussed at length. so it is especially with the person of christ. from the first epistle to the last, paul presupposes essentially the same view of that great subject. practically everything that he says in colossians could have been inferred from scattered hints in the earlier epistles. from the beginning paul regarded jesus christ as a man, who had a real human life and died a real death on the cross. from the beginning, on the other hand, he separated christ sharply from men and placed him clearly on the side of god. from the beginning, in other words, he attributed to him a double nature--jesus christ was always in paul's thinking both god and man. finally, the preëxistence of christ, which is so strongly emphasized in colossians, is clearly implied in such passages as gal. : ; and his activity in creation appears, according to the best-attested text, in i cor. : . nevertheless, the more systematic exposition in colossians is of the utmost value. it serves to summarize and explain the scattered implications of the earlier epistles. christ according to paul is, in the first place, "the image of the invisible god." col. : . he is the supreme revealer of god, a revealer, however, not merely by words but by his own nature. if you want to know what god is, look upon christ! in the second place, he is "the firstborn of all creation." of itself that phrase might be misconstrued. it might be thought to mean that christ was the first being that god created. any such interpretation, however, is clearly excluded by the three following verses. there paul has himself provided an explanation of his puzzling phrase. "the firstborn of all creation" means that christ, himself uncreated, existed before all created things; he was prior to all things, and, as befits an only son, he possesses all things. indeed he himself was active in the creation of all things, not only the world, and men, but also those angelic powers--"thrones or dominions or principalities or powers"--upon whom the errorists in colossæ were inclined to lay too much emphasis. he was the instrument of god the father in creation. and he was also the end of creation. the world exists not for its own sake, but for the sake of christ. especially is he the head of the church. his headship is declared by his being the first to rise from the dead into that glorious life into which he will finally bring all his disciples. in a word, the entire "fulness" of the divine nature dwells in christ. that word "fulness" was much misused in the "gnostic" speculations of the second century. it is barely possible that the word had already been employed in the incipient gnosticism of the colossian errorists. if so, paul by his repeated use of the word in colossians and ephesians, is bringing his readers back to a healthier and simpler and grander conception. . the person of christ and the work of christ in col. : - , paul bases upon the preceding exposition of the nature of christ a noble description of christ's work. the work which has been intrusted to christ is nothing less than that of reconciling the creation unto god. through sin, an enmity had been set up between god and the work of his hands. that enmity applies primarily of course to the sinful persons themselves. they are under god's wrath and curse. sin is not a trifle. it cannot simply be treated as though it had never been. if god be righteous, then there is such a thing as a moral order. the wrath of god rests upon the sinner. but by the sacrifice of christ, that enmity has been wiped out. christ has paid the awful penalty of sin. christ has brought the sinner again near to god. the enmity and the following reconciliation concern primarily the men who have sinned. but they also apply to the whole world. the ground has been cursed for man's sake. the end of the reconciliation will be a new heaven and a new earth. the groaning and travailing of the creation will one day have an end. compare rom. : - . this brief description of the work of christ in col. : - ; : - , can be richly paralleled in the earlier epistles. what now needs to be emphasized is that the pauline view of christ's work depends absolutely upon the pauline view of christ's person. all through the epistles of paul the life and death and resurrection are represented as events of a cosmic significance. but they can have such significance only if christ is the kind of being that is described in the epistle to the colossians. the glorious account of salvation, which runs all through the epistles and forms the especial subject of the second group, is unintelligible if christ were merely an inspired prophet or merely the greatest of created things. it becomes intelligible only if christ is "the image of the invisible god, the firstborn of all creation." the mysterious christology of colossians lies at the very heart of christian faith. . the epistle to philemon the epistle to the colossians, though addressed to a church that paul had never visited, is full of warm-hearted affection. paul could hardly have been cold and formal if he had tried. he was a man of great breadth of sympathy. hence he was able to enter with the deepest interest into the problems of the colossian christians--to rejoice at their faith and love, to lament their faults, and to labor with whole-souled devotion for their spiritual profit. the simple, unconstrained affection of paul's nature, however, had freer scope in the delightful little letter to philemon. philemon apparently was a convert of paul himself. philem. . he was not a man with whom paul had to be on his guard. paul is perfectly confident that philemon will fully understand the motives of his action and of his letter. the letter is addressed to philemon primarily, but also to apphia and to archippus and to the church in philemon's house. we are here introduced into a christian household of the apostolic age. apphia was probably philemon's wife and archippus perhaps his son. evidently archippus held some sort of office in the colossian church. "say to archippus," says paul in a strangely emphatic way, at the very end of the epistle to the colossians, "take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the lord, that thou fulfill it." we should like to know what the ministry was which archippus had received. at any rate, we hope that he fulfilled it. it was a solemn warning which he received--a warning which might well have made him tremble. we also may well take the warning to heart. our task of imparting bible truth is no light responsibility. to us also the warning comes, "take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the lord, that thou fulfill it." the letter is addressed not only to philemon and his family, but also to the "church" which met in his house. this "church" was a part of the colossian congregation. in the early days, when it was difficult to secure meeting places, well-to-do christians frequently offered the hospitality of their own homes. a certain nympha or nymphas--the name varies in the manuscripts--performed this service in laodicea, col. : , aquila and priscilla in corinth, i cor. : , and also gaius in the same city. rom. : . the epistle to philemon exhibits that perfection of courtesy and delicacy of feeling which has been observed again and again in paul. a man of coarser feeling might have kept onesimus with him until receiving the response of philemon. in that case no doubt philemon would have replied not only that onesimus was forgiven, but that paul might retain the benefit of his services. but paul saw clearly that that would have made philemon's goodness seem to be of necessity and not of free will. philem. . there was only one really fine, honorable, high-toned way of dealing with the situation, and that was the way which paul adopted. the letter is informal and affectionate. there is even apparently a little delicate play on the name onesimus, which means "helpful." once onesimus belied his name, but now he has become helpful again. philem. . in v. , also, where paul says, "let me have joy of thee," he uses a word which comes from the same root as that which appears in the name of the slave. nevertheless, despite all informality, paul has succeeded, here as always, in lifting the matter to a lofty plane. paul was a man who ennobled everything that he touched. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible," articles on "colossæ," "hierapolis" and "laodicea": purves, articles on "colossians, epistle to the" and "philemon" (supplemented). hastings, "dictionary of the bible": ramsay, articles on "colossæ," "hierapolis," and "laodicea"; murray, article on "colossians, epistle to the"; bernard, articles on "philemon," and "philemon, epistle to." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii: barry, "the epistles of paul the apostle to the ephesians, philippians, and colossians," pp. - , - ; "the epistle of paul to philemon," pp. - . "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": moule, "the epistles to the colossians and to philemon." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . lightfoot, "saint paul's epistles to the colossians and to philemon." the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxiv the church of christ the special effort in the lessons of the second quarter has been to produce some lively impression of the wonderful variety among the letters of paul. that variety is due largely to the variety in the occasions of the letters. just because paul entered with such sympathy into the varying circumstances of his many churches, the letters of paul reflect the wonderful manifoldness of life. nevertheless, it is also an advantage that at least one letter is largely independent of any special circumstances whatever. this is the case with the epistle which is to be studied to-day. the epistle to the ephesians is addressed to a definite group of churches, but that group is addressed not with regard to its own special problems, but simply as representative of gentile christianity in general. for once paul allows his thoughts to flow unchecked by the particular needs of his readers. . style of ephesians the purpose of ephesians, therefore, is quite different from the purpose of any other of the pauline epistles. to the difference in purpose corresponds a difference in style. the style of ephesians is characterized especially by long sentences, heaped full of an almost bewildering wealth of thought. this characteristic had appeared to some extent even in the earliest epistles--compare ii thess. : - --but in ephesians it becomes more pronounced. ephesians : - , for example, is only one sentence, but it is a world in itself. apparently in this epistle paul has allowed his mind and heart to roam unchecked over the whole realm of the divine economy. this freedom might conceivably be thought to involve a sacrifice of logical symmetry and of euphonic grace, but at any rate it possesses a certain beauty and value of its own. ephesians may lack the splendid rhythm of the first chapter of first corinthians or the eighth chapter of romans, but on the other hand these tremendous periods, with their heaping-up of majestic phrases, serve admirably to express the bewilderment of the soul in the presence of divine wonders. human language is inadequate to do full justice to the grace of god. in ephesians, we see an inspired apostle striving to give utterance in human language to things which in their full reality are unspeakable. . colossians and ephesians the epistle to the ephesians is strikingly similar to the epistle to the colossians, not only in thought, but also in many details of language. another case of striking similarity between two epistles of paul was encountered in first and second thessalonians. there the two similar letters were written both to the same church, though at no very great interval of time. the similarity was due to the desire which paul felt of reiterating, with some additions and explanations, the teaching of his former letter. in the case of ephesians and colossians the similarity is even more easily explained. these two epistles were written to different churches at the same time. what more natural than that the same thoughts and to some extent the same words should appear in both? only, the teaching which in colossians is directed against a definite form of error is in ephesians reproduced in freer, more general form. the relation between the two epistles is somewhat like that which exists between galatians and romans. in galatians, the doctrine of salvation by faith appears in conflict with the opposing error; in romans, the same doctrine finds expression, but this time in quieter, more systematic development, after the conflict is over. the similarity between galatians and romans is, however, not so close as that between colossians and ephesians--partly because the contrast of spirit is not so striking in the latter case, colossians being far less bitterly polemic than galatians; and more particularly because a considerable interval separates romans from galatians, whereas colossians and ephesians were dispatched by the same messenger. . the address of ephesians. eph. : , in the student's text book, it has been shown that the words "at ephesus" in the first verse may perhaps be no part of what paul wrote, but a later addition. it cannot be claimed, however, that the problem of the address has been completely solved. without the words "at ephesus," the address becomes very difficult. "to the saints that are and the faithful in christ jesus" hardly seems to make sense. the greek words might be construed perfectly well to mean, "to the saints who are also faithful in christ jesus," but that is a rather unusual expression. the suggestion has been made that in the first copies of the epistle a blank space was left after "the saints that are," to be filled in with the names of the particular churches of the group which is addressed. every church among the group would thus receive a copy with its own name inserted. the hypothesis is not altogether satisfactory. probably we shall simply have to admit that there is an unsolved problem here. . thanksgiving for the plan of salvation. eph. : - before the customary thanksgiving for the christian state of the readers, paul inserts here, in accordance with the nature of this epistle, a general thanksgiving for the whole church, which is applied especially to the readers only at the very end. the passage contains a wonderful summary of the whole of salvation, but it begins with the plan of god and it closes with the glory of god. god is the beginning and end of all things. his mysterious decree is the cause of our being chosen for salvation, and his own glory is the ultimate object in view. men are often rebellious against such a god-centered view of things. predestination is an unpopular doctrine. but it was at any rate the doctrine of paul, and it lay at the roots of his experience. it is sometimes hard for us to write god so large in our thoughts. because we think of him merely as a somewhat greater man, we are inclined to reject the doctrine which attributes all things to the workings of his will and to the furtherance of his glory. if, however, we could think of him, not only as a person, but also as an infinite, eternal and holy person, then we should murmur no longer, but should, with paul, burst forth in praise of the inscrutable wonder of his grace. the glory of a merciful god has involved for its full unfolding the salvation of guilty sinners. god's glory finds its full expression only when he is revealed as the god and father of our lord jesus christ. . thanksgiving and prayer for the readers. eph. : to : beginning with thanksgiving for the present faith and love of the readers, paul passes at once to a prayer that they may be given understanding to appreciate the wonderful salvation which has been celebrated in the preceding section, especially the mighty saviour who has been bestowed upon the church. then the greatness of the present salvation, not only of gentiles, but also of jews, is celebrated by a contrast with the previous condition of sin and misery. the blessed change has been due, not to anything in man, but simply and solely to the grace of god, received by faith. . reception of the gentiles. eph. : - here the contrast between past and present is applied especially to the gentiles. formerly they were excluded from the people of god. but now by the death of christ the "middle wall of partition" has been broken down. gentiles and jews have now a common access to the father. . the ministry of paul. eph., ch. this reception of the gentiles is the work that has been intrusted especially to paul. it is a glorious ministry, far too great for human strength. it can be fulfilled only through the grace of god. the full mystery of god's grace, concealed for many generations, has at last been revealed. the first half of the epistle is fittingly closed by a doxology. . life in the church. eph., chs. to this section may be called the practical part of the epistle. it exhibits the results in holy living which proceed from the glorious gospel which has just been proclaimed. even in the "practical" part, however, the great doctrines of god's grace are so constantly finding renewed expression that it is difficult to separate one part from the other. paul never separated moral precepts from the great truths which give them force. let the readers live like citizens of the commonwealth of god, and members of the body of christ! naturally, in this part of the epistle the unity of the church--which is perhaps the central theme of the whole--is especially emphasized. the first half of the fourth chapter, for example, is a magnificent hymn to christian unity. even in the midst of the directions for the various relationships of life the great theme of christ and the church, under the figure of husband and wife, is brought again into view. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves and davis, article on "ephesians, epistle to the." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": lock, article on "ephesians, epistle to." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii: barry, "the epistles of paul the apostle to the ephesians, philippians, and colossians," pp. - . "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": moule, "the epistle to the ephesians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . robinson, "st. paul's epistle to the ephesians." the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxv christ and his followers the epistle to the philippians is the only one of the letters of paul which is addressed to an approved church with whom he stood on terms of untroubled intimacy and affection. in galatians and both the corinthian epistles, serious errors in the churches addressed, as well as unscrupulous personal criticism, lend a tone of bitterness to the apostle's words; romans, colossians and perhaps "ephesians" are addressed to churches which he had never seen. in some ways the little letter to philemon is very similar to philippians. both philippians and philemon display the same perfect confidence in the readers, the same perfection of courtesy, the same tone of untroubled cordiality. but philemon is addressed primarily to an individual, and philippians to a church; philemon confines itself almost exclusively to one little personal matter, while philippians discusses a variety of topics. among the letters addressed to churches, perhaps the first epistle to the thessalonians is more similar to philippians, at least in tone, than is any of the others. like philippians it is animated by a deep satisfaction with the readers, and a certain pleasing simplicity of manner. but here again of course there are wide differences. first thessalonians is addressed to an infant church, which has just passed through its first trial, and needs the most elementary instruction; in philippians paul is writing to old friends, to a church which for ten years has endured bravely the hardships incident to the christian profession, and has shared in fullest sympathy the joys and sorrows of the apostle's life. during the ten years, moreover, which have elapsed between first thessalonians and philippians, there has been a change in the apostle himself, as well as in his readers. those years of conflict and labor and meditation and suffering have borne fruit in the apostle's own thinking. his gospel was the same from the beginning, but the expression of it has become richer and maturer and nobler with the advancing years. philippians is a wonderful letter. simplicity and profundity are here combined. this simple letter of thanks, with its delicate courtesy and tactful admonition, has engaged the profoundest study of the theologians, and touched the grandest chords of the christian heart. . the address. phil. : , the address of philippians is remarkable because of the mention of bishops and deacons, which occurs in this way in no other of the pauline epistles. possibly, as has been suggested, these officers are here mentioned because they had had a special part in sending the gifts of the church. it is important to observe that there was a plurality of bishops in the philippian church. at a later time, when the "bishops" were exalted above the other presbyters, there was only one bishop in every church. in the acts and in the pauline epistles, "bishop" and "presbyter" appear plainly as nothing more than two names for exactly the same office. it should be noticed that the title "apostle," which appears at the beginning of all the other pauline epistles addressed to churches, except first and second thessalonians, the two earliest, is lacking in the address of philippians. perhaps in writing to such a devoted church paul considered it unnecessary to mention his apostleship as he had regularly done in his epistles since the denial of it in galatia. on account of the peculiar nature of the philippian church, the epistle to the philippians partakes somewhat of the informality and intimacy of such a letter as that to philemon, where the title is also lacking in the address. very naturally timothy is associated with paul in the address of the epistle, for he had been one of paul's companions in founding the philippian church. at what time timothy had come to rome we do not know. his name appears also in the address of colossians and of philemon. luke, although he had journeyed with paul to rome, and was in rome at the time when colossians and philemon were written, col. : ; philem. , was apparently absent at the time of philippians; for since he, like timothy, had assisted in founding the philippian church, and perhaps had even remained in philippi for years after the departure of the others, he would probably have been associated in the address, or at least would have sent greetings, if he had been at hand. . the thanksgiving. phil. : - as might have been expected, the thanksgiving for the christian state of the readers is in this epistle of unusual cordiality. in the mention of their "fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now," there is perhaps a delicate allusion to the material assistance which they had sent him from time to time and especially a little while before the writing of the letter; but such material assistance was for paul of course not the only, or even the principal, manifestation of their fellowship. here as often, the thanksgiving runs over into a prayer--and this time it is a prayer of singular beauty and depth. . progress of affairs in rome. phil. : - in this section, paul hastens to relieve the minds of his readers about the course of events in rome. even his bonds, and the jealousy of certain preachers, have resulted only in the furtherance of the gospel. with regard to the outcome of his trial, there is every reason to be hopeful. for his part he would prefer to depart and to be with christ, but there is still work for him to do. and whether he is present or absent, let the philippians give him joy by living in a manner worthy of the gospel, and by being steadfast in the persecutions which are bound to come to them as well as to him. it is a high privilege not only to believe in christ, but also to suffer for him. . exhortation to unity. phil. : - with the utmost earnestness, paul here appeals to his readers to keep their christian life free from selfishness and quarreling. the stupendous "christological" passage of the epistle, vs. - , which has given rise to endless discussion, is introduced merely in an incidental way, in order to strengthen the apostle's exhortation. so it is frequently in the letters of paul. the apostle was always able to make the profoundest verities of the faith immediately effective in conduct. theology in paul was never divorced from practice. the converse of the proposition, however, is also true. if paul's theology did not exist apart from practice, neither did his practice exist apart from theology. it is the latter proposition which needs to be emphasized to-day. modern liberalism has sometimes endeavored to reproduce paul's religion apart from his theology; but the effort has resulted in failure. the example of christ which paul holds up before his readers is briefly as follows: originally christ not only existed in the form of god--that is, was in full possession of the divine attributes--but also lived in glory, in a way befitting deity. instead, however, of keeping hold of this heavenly glory, he humbled himself by becoming man. he laid aside, not indeed his divine attributes, but the enjoyment of his divine glory. he who was lord of all took the form of a servant like other men. and even more. his obedience extended even to death, and to the shameful death of the cross. but after humiliation came exaltation. god gave to him a name that is above every name. at the name of jesus every knee shall bow, in earth and in heaven, to the glory of god the father. . the mission of timothy and of epaphroditus. phil. : - the personal appeal with which the preceding section closed leads paul to speak of the plans which he has for the comfort and help of the readers. timothy will be sent as soon as the issue of paul's trial is definitely in view; epaphroditus will return to philippi at once. . warning against opponents. phil., ch. the men who are rebuked in very vigorous language in the former part of this section evidently placed an excessive emphasis upon circumcision and connection with the people of israel. perhaps also they were advocates of a law righteousness. v. . the most obvious suggestion is that they were judaizers like those in galatia, or at least like the opponents of paul in corinth. paul's account in vs. - of the jewish advantages, fully equal to those of his opponents, which he counts as nothing in view of the superior advantages of faith in christ, is strikingly similar to ii cor. : , . if, however, paul is here referring to judaizers, it looks as though they were at least as cautious as the opponents in corinth about presenting the claims of the law. at any rate, the danger of a legalistic propaganda either in philippi or in rome does not seem to be very seriously in view. apparently the acute stage of the judaistic controversy is over. it is possible that paul is referring to jews rather than jewish christians. we must remember that judaism in the first century was still an active missionary religion. a jewish propaganda, with stress upon circumcision and law righteousness, might conceivably become, even in philippi, where the jews seem not to have been numerous, a serious danger, if not to the stability, at least to the rapid extension, of the christian church. finally, it is uncertain whether "the enemies of the cross of christ," phil. : , are the same as those who are combated in the former part of the section. fortunately these various uncertainties do not affect the lofty teaching of this part of the epistle. whoever the opponents were, what paul says in opposition to them is the thing of real value. in the wonderfully terse, complete, vigorous description of the christian salvation and of the christian life which paul gives in ch. : - , , , the long years of the judaistic controversy have borne glorious fruit. the final, eternal truth of god, in classic statement, has at last emerged triumphant from the conflict. . exhortation, acknowledgment, greetings and benediction. phil., ch. the principal contents of this section have been discussed in the student's text book. first paul applies the general exhortation to unity, phil. : - , to the case of euodia and syntyche, and adds certain other brief exhortations. the "true yokefellow" of ch. : probably refers to epaphroditus, the bearer of the epistle. then, in a characteristically delicate and worthy manner, he acknowledges the gift of the philippians. next, in just a word, he transmits, along with his own, the greetings of his immediate companions, and of the roman church in general, especially of those members who were connected, as slaves or officials, with the immediate service of the emperor. finally, with a brief benediction, the epistle closes. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (edited) article on "philippians." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": gibb, article on "philippians, epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers", vol. iii: barry, "the epistles of paul the apostle to the ephesians, philippians, and colossians," pp. - . "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": moule, "the epistle to the philippians." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . lightfoot, "saint paul's epistle to the philippians." the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxvi training new leaders the emphasis which the pastoral epistles lay upon sound instruction and upon orderly government is sometimes looked upon with distaste. orthodoxy and organization are thought to be destructive of religious fervor. in the new testament, however, the two aspects of the church's life appear side by side. in the new testament, enthusiasm and sanity are united. and the new testament is right. religion is a concern of every individual soul--the final decision must be made by every man in the immediate presence of his god--but normally no man can do without association with his fellows. the church is a great permanent community. it is not merely an aggregation, but an institution. to break away from its restraints may be attractive, it may produce a certain temporary impression of zeal and new life; but in the long run the old way is usually best. the pastoral epistles, however, are sometimes thought to indicate an unfortunate change in paul himself as well as in the church. some students would prefer to know only the paul of galatians and corinthians and romans. this judgment is one-sided. the pastorals do not contradict, but supplement, the earlier letters. the earlier period, no doubt, is the more inspiring; there is nothing in the pastoral epistles like the first few chapters of first corinthians, or the fifth chapter of second corinthians, or the eighth chapter of romans. these passages are overpowering in the intensity of their eloquence; the later letters are soberer, graver, more matter-of-fact. these latter qualities, however, are much needed in the church. the church needs enthusiasm; but she also needs gravity and sanity. her function is not merely evangelistic; it is also conservative and educational. in both functions paul was a leader. the quiet gravity of the pastoral epistles supplements the glories of galatians and romans. only when these last epistles are added to the others can the many-sided greatness of paul be fully appreciated. exaggerations, moreover, should be avoided. the soberness of the pastorals is not commonplace. back of the details of organization, back of the concern for sound instruction, there can be detected throughout the glow of the pauline gospel. the pastoral epistles, like the other letters of paul, are a perennial fountain of christian life. the second epistle to timothy was clearly the last of the extant epistles of paul; but the order of first timothy and titus cannot be certainly determined. the difficulty of reconstructing the history implied by the pastoral epistles reveals anew the supreme value of the acts. after the conclusion of the lucan narrative the historian is almost helpless. from about a. d. on into the second century, the history of the church is shrouded in profound darkness, with gleams of light only here and there. . the first epistle to timothy at the time when first timothy was written, paul had recently made a journey to macedonia. i tim. : . perhaps he had gone thither from ephesus, though the words do not make that perfectly clear. at any rate, he had directed timothy to remain in ephesus, where he hoped to join him before long. in case of delay, however, he writes the epistle. chs. : , ; : . on a previous occasion, perhaps by word of mouth when he had been in ephesus, he had warned timothy to put a stop to certain false teaching in the church, and the warning is now reiterated in the epistle. the exact nature of this teaching is somewhat difficult to determine. apparently it had been concerned with the jewish law. ch. : - . compare titus : , . like the false teaching at colossæ, it seems not to have been directly subversive of the truth of the gospel. at least, however, it diverted attention from the great things of the faith to useless questionings. i tim. : . the myths and endless genealogies, ch. : , compare : , were perhaps elaborations of the old testament history. whether the ascetic tendency which is combated in ch. : , , is connected with this same teaching, is not certain, but is on the whole perhaps probable. the first reference to the false teaching, ch. : - , leads paul to speak of the norm by which it could be combated. vs. - . that norm was the gospel with which he had been intrusted. the bestowal of the gospel had changed him from a blasphemer and persecutor into an apostle. the gospel had been bestowed purely by the free grace of christ, and its content was the salvation which christ offers. a doxology to god, v. , is natural whenever that gospel is mentioned. that gospel will overcome all error, and if attended to diligently will prevent disasters like that which has befallen hymenæus and alexander. in the second chapter, paul insists upon gravity and order in the public worship of the church. in the prayers which are to be offered, the civil authority is not to be forgotten, even though it be non-christian. the sympathies of the christian must be broad. god desires all men to come to a knowledge of the truth. the highest regular officers of the church are in the third chapter called "bishops." it is abundantly evident, however--especially from titus : , --that "bishop" is only another name for "presbyter" or "elder." at a later time the term "bishop" was applied to an officer who had the supreme oversight over a church and to whom the elders were subject. these conditions did not prevail at the time of the pastoral epistles. at first sight, indeed, it might seem as though timothy and titus themselves were "bishops" in the later sense of the word. but this also is false. timothy and titus do not appear at all as officers of individual congregations. they had oversight over a plurality of churches, and evidently their authority was special and temporary. they did not fill an office which was intended to become permanent in the church, but were simply special representatives of the apostle. as the apostles had no successors, so no man after the apostolic age had a right to assume the functions of timothy and titus. the fourth chapter calls attention to the revelation of the holy spirit, probably through the lips of christian prophets, that in the future there would appear apostates from the faith. the errorists who are combated in vs. - are apparently to be regarded as forerunners, still within the church, of the more open apostasy which is one day to follow. the institution of the "widows," which is discussed in the fifth chapter, is to us somewhat obscure. evidently those who were accounted "widows," being helpless, were entitled to support by the church. the necessity of sound teaching, with emphasis upon the really fundamental things of the faith, is again insisted upon; and certain false teachers are accused of practicing or inculcating piety as a means of worldly gain. ch. : - . the last warning of the epistle characteristically concerns vain babblings and oppositions of a so-called knowledge. probably these errors are connected in some way with those which are combated in the first section of the epistle. in the final words, "grace be with you," the "you" in the greek, according to the best attestation, is plural; and in the corresponding passages at the end of titus and of second timothy, it is certainly plural. this may furnish an indication--to be added to more general considerations--that the pastoral epistles were intended not merely for those to whom they are formally addressed, but also to the churches under their care. . the epistle to titus the address of the epistle to titus is noteworthy for the long addition to the title of the author, which is to be compared with the similar addition in romans. at the time when the epistle was written, paul had recently been with titus in crete. paul had not labored on that island before the first roman imprisonment. his journeys in the east between the two imprisonments therefore involved something more than the revisitation of former fields. the reason why titus was left behind in crete was somewhat similar to the reason why timothy, according to first timothy, was told to remain in ephesus. titus was to give attention to organization, and to the maintenance of sound instruction. like timothy, titus is given the power of establishing presbyters, and of establishing them not merely in one church but in various churches. the function of the presbyter was that of "bishop" or "overseer." titus : - . in vs. - , the close connection of organization with sound doctrine becomes particularly apparent. one important function of the presbyters was to counteract the errors which were springing up. the account of the errorists in crete is perhaps in some respects clearer than that which is given of the related phenomenon in ephesus. the false teachers were animated by a love of gain. v. . some of them were jews or proselytes. v. . they had a fondness for jewish fables. apparently, also, they tried to atone for a lack of real inward purity by an outward asceticism. vs. , . they were concerned with vain questionings and genealogies and legal disputes. these last are perhaps to be regarded as casuistic discussions like those which play such a large part in jewish tradition. the epistle to titus is somewhat richer than first timothy in personal details. after titus has been relieved in crete by artemas or tychicus, who may soon be sent, he is to join paul in nicopolis. tychicus, it will be remembered, had served as paul's messenger during the first imprisonment. he was the bearer of colossians and ephesians. the nicopolis where paul is intending to pass the approaching winter, is probably the chief of the many cities of that name, the nicopolis in epirus. zenas, a lawyer otherwise unknown, and the well-known apollos, who appears so prominently in the acts and in first corinthians, are to be furnished in crete with everything that they need for their further journey. . the second epistle to timothy the first epistle to timothy and the epistle to titus are in many respects strikingly similar. a certain strong family resemblance extends also to second timothy. evidently all three of the pastoral epistles belong to the same general period of paul's life, and were intended to subserve similar purposes. second timothy, however, as compared with the other two, exhibits some marked peculiarities. the personal element, in particular, is in this letter much more prominent. second timothy contains a wealth of interesting biographical details about timothy, about paul, and about a very considerable number of other persons. some of these last are known only from this epistle; others have been brought to our attention again and again. in second timothy paul appears as a prisoner, no doubt at rome. this time there seems to be little hope of his release. apparently his imprisonment is not of long standing. only recently he has been at corinth and at miletus. ii tim. : . he speaks in one place of his first defense. v. . some suppose that this is a reminiscence of the trial which had taken place years before, during the first imprisonment. more probably it refers to some preliminary hearing which had only recently been held. paul is oppressed with a sense of loneliness, even more than during the first imprisonment. there was no one to stand by him at his first hearing. for one reason or another, his intimate associates have been scattered--some of them, no doubt, for good and sufficient reasons, but demas, at any rate, out of an unworthy love of the world. luke, fortunately, is still with him; and timothy, with mark, is urged to come before the winter. vs. , . mark seems to have changed since he turned back from the work at perga. at the beginning he was rebuked for desertion; but now at the end he is one of the few faithful ones. it is not quite clear where timothy was when the letter was addressed to him. the greeting to priscilla and aquila might seem to point to ephesus. they had lived there before; perhaps they returned thither after a residence in rome. rom. : . if timothy was in ephesus, then tychicus, who was sent thither, ii tim. : , was probably expected to linger by the way; otherwise his sending would be no news to the reader of the letter. something is to be said, perhaps, for the view that timothy was not at ephesus, but perhaps at lystra, his original home. the second epistle to timothy contains warnings against false teaching similar to those which appear in first timothy and titus. but the characteristic feature of the letter is to be found in the references to the apostle's own life. even the warnings and admonitions are brought into relation to these. paul does not hesitate to point to himself as an example for his beloved followers. he does so, without a touch of vain glory, in the simple consciousness of a divine commission. second timothy is a letter of farewell, in which reminiscence and exhortation are characteristically blended. it is a farewell from the apostle, primarily for timothy, though he is expecting to see timothy again, but also for all of the pauline churches. the letter has taken deep hold of every generation in the history of the church. the fitting end of a life of true service, the calm facing of death, the certainty of heavenly communion with the lord--these are the things above all others that have been learned from the last of the epistles of paul. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves, articles on "timothy" and "titus." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . lewin, "the life and epistles of st. paul," vol. ii, chs. vii, viii, ix, x and xi. conybeare and howson, "the life and epistles of st. paul," ch. xxvii. stalker, "the life of st. paul," pp. - . warfield, "acts, timothy, titus and philemon," in "the temple bible," pp. xxvii-xliii. ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : spence, "the pastoral epistles of st. paul." "the cambridge bible for schools and colleges": humphreys, "the epistles to timothy and titus." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - . the last named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. part iii: the presentation and defense of christianity lesson xxvii a presentation of jesus to jewish christians the gospel according to matthew the gospel of matthew is probably, as has been said, the most important book that was ever written. its importance is due to the information which it contains about jesus christ. more fully perhaps than any other one book, the gospel of matthew has preserved the knowledge of jesus. whatever be the future of the church, the life of jesus will now always remain the central fact of history. even the secondary influence of jesus is incalculable; even if none were left to own him as lord and master, still he would remain incomparably the most influential man that has ever lived. as a matter of fact, however, such a condition has never existed and never will exist. from the very beginning the life of jesus made itself felt through those who accepted him, to the exclusion of all others, as the supreme lord of their lives. if jesus had been regarded merely as a quiet teacher of ethics, the gospel of matthew never would have been written, and probably the very name of jesus would have perished. the wonderful influence of jesus, which has transformed the world from darkness to light, which alone gives promise of a final reign of righteousness, has been exerted through the instrumentality, not of admirers, but of disciples. jesus has been a teacher only because he has been a master. to make jesus master in the lives of men was the purpose of the gospel of matthew, and it is the purpose of our study of the book. the gospel was not written with merely scientific interest; it was not written merely to preserve certain gems from the lips of an inspired teacher. the ultimate purpose of the book was to make men fall at jesus' feet with the words, "my lord and my god." such a purpose is not inconsistent with the most scrupulous truthfulness. adoration of jesus can be induced best of all, not by fanciful elaboration, but by sober fact. in the case of jesus, truth was more glorious by far than the boldest fiction. to make jesus lord and saviour is the purpose of our work as teachers. that purpose cannot be attained by exhortation or by threatening, but only by impartation of knowledge. to know jesus is to trust him and adore him. many readers of the gospels never attain to the true knowledge. their failure is due to various causes--to moral laxness, to preconceived opinions, to spiritual dullness. one obstacle, however, is of a simpler kind. one thing that stands in the way of a real understanding of the gospels is the habit of piecemeal reading. we read the gospels bit by bit instead of allowing the whole to make its impression. we do not see the wood for the trees. jesus is concealed from us by his individual acts. the gospels should be read as well as studied--read rapidly, like an ordinary book, preferably in some rational form of printing where verse numbers and all editorial matters are relegated to the margin and the lines stretch across the page. these things may seem to be trivialities, and certainly they are not essential. what is essential--not in place of detailed study, but in addition to it--is a rapid reading of the gospels, by which, through the exclusion of all non-essentials, the mysterious, holy person of jesus is brought simply and freshly before the wondering soul. not to know about jesus, but to know him, is the prime object of our study. to know about him is a valuable part of education; but to know him is life eternal. . meaning of "gospel" the greek word for "gospel" means "good news." nowhere in the new testament, however, is that word applied to a book. there is no reference in the new testament to a "gospel" of matthew or of mark or of luke or of john. in the new testament the word "gospel" has a more general reference. it designates the "good news" which lies at the basis of christian preaching, however that news may be known. christianity is based upon "a piece of information." the subject of that information is the life and death and resurrection of jesus christ. without christ we should have been hopeless, but christ has saved us. information about what he has done for us, however that information be conveyed, is the gospel. this broad use of the word "gospel" appears even in the titles "gospel according to matthew," "gospel according to mark," "gospel according to luke," and "gospel according to john," which are not due to the original authors of the books. "gospel according to matthew" did not originally mean the same thing as "gospel of matthew." it did not mean the gospel which matthew produced, but the one gospel of jesus christ as matthew narrated it. matthew, mark, luke and john produced simply four accounts of the same thing. that common subject of the four accounts is the gospel, the good news, of what jesus christ has done for his followers. at a very early time, however, books which had the gospel as their subject came themselves to be designated as "gospels." the usage is convenient, and will be freely adopted in these textbooks. we may speak indiscriminately of the "gospel according to matthew" and of the "gospel of matthew." . authorship of the first gospel =( ) not indicated in the gospel itself.=--the gospel of matthew should be sharply distinguished from those books which themselves make definite claims as to their authorship. the epistle to the romans, for example, claims to have been written by the apostle paul. if it was not written by paul, it is a forgery. the book of the acts, also, though it does not mention the name of the author, claims at least--through the use of the first person plural--to have been written by some companion of the apostle paul. even the gospel of john, as we shall see, really affords clear indications about its own authorship. the gospel of matthew, on the other hand, lays no claim to any particular authorship. we might believe that it was written by some other person than matthew and yet be perfectly loyal to the book itself. the self-witness of the book is confined merely to a claim of truthfulness. if we believe that the record which the book contains is true, then we might, in perfect loyalty to the gospel, believe that it was written by some one like luke or mark, outside of the company of the apostles. such a view, however, would display an unreasonable distrust of christian tradition. =( ) papias on the first gospel.=--the earliest extant information about the authorship of the first gospel is to be found in a fragment which eusebius, the church historian of the fourth century, has preserved from a lost work of papias. papias was bishop of hierapolis in asia minor in the former half of the second century. the fragment from papias, which is found in eusebius, church history, iii, , , may be translated as follows: "matthew accordingly wrote [or compiled] the oracles in the hebrew dialect, and everyone translated them as he was able." it seems pretty evident that papias is here referring to the first gospel. some, indeed, have supposed that he means by "the oracles" a writing composed almost exclusively of sayings of jesus, which formed merely one of the sources of our first gospel. this view is probably incorrect. papias could designate the gospel of matthew as "the oracles" either because of the large place which sayings of jesus have in this gospel, as compared, for example, with the gospel of mark, or else because the whole gospel, both speeches and narrative, was of divine, oracular authority. the view that "according to matthew" in the ancient title and in christian tradition means not that matthew wrote the book, but that it is based in some way ultimately on his authority, is opposed by the analogy of mark. as we shall see, the gospel of mark, in early tradition, was referred ultimately to the authority of peter; if, therefore, "according to" was used in the sense indicated above, the second gospel would have been called the gospel "according to peter" instead of the gospel "according to mark." the testimony of papias involves two principal assertions: in the first place, that matthew wrote the first gospel; and in the second place, that he wrote it in the "hebrew" language. the former assertion, which is supported by a striking consensus of early writers, has already been considered. the latter is much more puzzling. . was the first gospel originally aramaic? =( ) meaning of "hebrew."=--by "the hebrew dialect," papias no doubt means aramaic rather than what we call hebrew. the term "hebrew" was applied to both of the two closely related languages. compare acts : . it is exceedingly unlikely that a gospel would have been written in hebrew; for before the time of christ that had ceased to be the living language of palestine. what papias asserts, then, is that matthew wrote in aramaic. =( ) "everyone translated them as he was able."=--papias asserts further that everyone translated the oracles as he was able. these words may be interpreted in various ways. perhaps they mean that every man who used the original of matthew had to translate it for himself; or perhaps that the gospel was translated orally in the churches, as the jews translated the hebrew old testament into aramaic in the synagogues; or perhaps that a number of written translations of the gospel were made. at any rate papias seems to imply that the condition which he here describes had come to an end when he wrote. some one greek form of the gospel had gained general acceptance; the time when everyone translated as he was able was at an end. ( ) value of the tradition.--the tradition of an aramaic original of matthew is not preserved merely by papias, but appears in a considerable number of early writers. how far the other writers are independent of papias is a disputed question. the tradition may be variously estimated. some have supposed that it is entirely correct--that our greek gospel of matthew is a translation, by matthew himself or by some one else, of an aramaic work: others have supposed that the tradition is altogether false--for example, that an aramaic translation of the greek gospel was mistaken for an original from which the greek gospel had been translated: others hold intermediate views--for example, that one of the sources of our greek gospel was written in aramaic. an important objection to the view that there was an aramaic original of matthew is that the greek gospel looks more like an original greek work than like a translation. the tradition of the aramaic matthew places before us one of the unsolved problems of new testament criticism. one thing is certain--the language of the gospel of matthew, like that of the other gospels, has a strong aramaic coloring. this, however, does not require the hypothesis that our matthew was translated from an aramaic original. undoubtedly, however our greek matthew was written, there was a time in the early days of the church when the tradition of the life of christ was carried on chiefly or wholly in the aramaic language. the words of jesus, at any rate, as they appear in our gospels, have at some time or other undergone translation; for jesus taught in aramaic. the aramaic coloring of the gospels is one of the evidences of their trustworthiness. though written in greek, they are evidently rooted deep in the original palestinian soil. . date the date of the gospel cannot be determined with accuracy. some indication, however, is afforded by the assertion of irenæus, of the latter part of the second century, that matthew published his gospel while peter and paul were preaching at rome. even if this assertion should prove not to be absolutely correct, it would exhibit an early tradition for the years between about a. d. and as the date of the gospel. this tradition is confirmed by the widespread view among early writers that matthew was written before mark; for mark is now generally admitted to have been written before the destruction of jerusalem in a. d. . there is really no serious objection to the traditional dating of matthew. it was probably written in the sixties of the first century, and probably, as tradition says, in palestine. there are traces of the use of the gospel in writers of the early half of the second century. on the other hand, there is no clear indication that it was used by any new testament writer. the absence of citations from our gospels in the epistles of paul would tend to indicate that in the very earliest period the gospel tradition was carried on by word of mouth rather than by books. . the apostle matthew in the four lists of the apostles, matt. : - ; mark : - ; luke : - ; acts : , matthew is designated by the bare name, except in his own gospel, where he appears as "matthew the publican." in matt. : , his call is narrated. in the parallel passages in mark and luke, mark : ; luke : , , the name of the publican who was called is given only as "levi." without the gospel of matthew we should not have been able to identify levi and matthew. evidently the apostle had two names, as was the case with so many others of the persons mentioned in the new testament. after his call, matthew made a great feast for jesus. luke : ; compare mark : . matthew himself, alone among the synoptists, does not even make it perfectly clear that it was he in whose house jesus sat at meat. the peculiarities of the first gospel in what is said about matthew become significant when the authorship is known. of course of themselves they would be quite insufficient to indicate who the author was. the assertion by early writers that matthew wrote the gospel, was based not upon indications in the gospel itself, but upon independent tradition. . "the book of the generation of jesus christ" the first verse of the gospel is evidently based upon the formula, occurring for the first time at gen. : , which marks off the divisions of the book of genesis. it is most naturally regarded as a heading for the genealogy that follows in matt. : - . there is only one objection to that view. in genesis "the book of the generations of adam," or "the generations of shem" or the like, introduces an account, not of ancestors of the persons in question, but of their descendants. in matt. : - , on the contrary, we have an account not of descendants of jesus, but of ancestors. this objection has led some scholars to regard matt. : as the title not of the genealogy but of the whole gospel. the title would then represent jesus as the beginning of a new race, or of a new period in the history of humanity. this interpretation is unnecessarily subtle. it should rather be admitted that there is a difference between the phrase in genesis and that in matthew. the difference is very natural. in the case of abraham the descendants were in view; in the case of the messiah, the ancestors. adam and noah and abraham were bearers of a promise; christ was the culmination. genesis looks forward; matthew looks back. the difference in the use of the phrase is natural and significant. the title, with the whole genealogy, is significant of what is to follow. at the very start, the ruling thought of matthew's gospel finds expression. jesus is son of david, and son of abraham; he is the culmination of the divine promise. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (supplemented), articles on "gospel" and "matthew." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . stevens and burton, "a harmony of the gospels." ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. i: plumptre, "the gospel according to st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke," pp. xli-xliii, - . zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - , - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxviii a graphic sketch of the life of jesus the gospel according to mark the gospel of mark contains scarcely any material which is not also contained in one or both of the other two synoptic gospels. the loss of mark would not diminish appreciably the number of facts that we know about jesus. nevertheless, the second gospel is of the utmost importance; for although it narrates for the most part only the same facts as are also narrated elsewhere, it narrates them in a different way. indeed the very brevity of the gospel adds to its special value. a picture is sometimes the more impressive by being limited in extent. read the gospel of mark, not piecemeal but as a whole, and you obtain an impression of jesus which can be obtained from no other book. . the tradition =( ) papias on mark.=--as in the case of matthew, so in that of mark it is papias of hierapolis who provides the earliest information about the production of the gospel. again also the words of papias are quoted by eusebius (church history, iii, , ). the passage from papias is as follows: "this also the presbyter said: 'mark, on the one hand, being an interpreter of peter, wrote accurately as many things as he remembered, yet not in order, the things which were either said or done by the lord.' for neither did he hear the lord nor did he follow him, but afterwards, as i said, he followed peter, who carried on his teaching as need required but not as though he were making an ordered account of the oracles of the lord; so that mark committed no fault when he wrote some things as he had remembered them. for he had one care--that he should not leave out anything of the things that he had heard, or represent anything among them falsely." =( ) antiquity of the papian tradition.=--it will be observed that papias is here represented as quoting from "the presbyter." probably, however, it is only the first sentence that is quoted; the rest seems to be an explanation by papias himself. by "presbyter," or "elder," papias means not an officer in the church, but a man of an older generation. the tradition is therefore very ancient. papias himself lived in the former half of the second century; a man of a still older generation would probably have acquired his information about mark well before a. d. . such information is not to be lightly rejected. ( ) mark an interpreter of peter.--according to the presbyter, mark was an "interpreter" of peter. if the word be taken strictly it means that mark translated the words of peter from one language into another--probably from aramaic into greek. on the whole, however, it is not probable, in view of linguistic conditions in palestine and in the church, that peter would be unable to speak greek. perhaps, then, the sentence means that mark was merely the mediator, in a general sense, of peter's preaching. he presented the teaching of peter to those who had not had the opportunity of hearing it themselves. perhaps the meaning is that he had done so formerly by word of mouth. perhaps, however, it is rather the gospel itself that is referred to. by writing the gospel mark became an interpreter or mediator of the preaching of peter. at any rate, whatever meaning be given to the word "interpreter," the general sense of the sentence--especially when taken in connection with the following explanation by papias is fairly clear. mark derived the information for his gospel not from personal acquaintance with the earthly jesus, but from association with peter. ( ) mark not written "in order."--the presbyter said further that although mark wrote accurately what he heard from peter, he did not succeed in giving "in order" an account of the things that jesus did and said. evidently the historical incompleteness, the lack of uninterrupted sequence, of the gospel of mark is here in view. but by what standard is the gospel judged? it can hardly be by the standard of matthew, for matthew pays even less attention to temporal sequence than mark does. the order in luke also is by no means in all respects more strictly chronological than that in mark. only one standard satisfies the requirements of the presbyter's words--the standard provided by the teaching of john. john was the great leader of the church of asia minor. his teaching naturally formed the standard of authority in that region. perhaps at the time when the presbyter expressed his judgment on mark the gospel of john had already been written, so that one gospel could be compared with the other; perhaps, however, it was merely the oral teaching of john, afterwards embodied in the gospel, which afforded the basis of comparison. the gospel of john alone provides something like a chronological framework of the public ministry of jesus: john alone mentions the early judean ministry; john alone narrates the successive visits of jesus to the feasts in jerusalem. if, as is possible, "the presbyter" of papias was none other than john himself, then of course the whole matter becomes especially plain. john knew that there were important omissions in the gospel of mark; he probably observed, for example, that that gospel if taken alone might readily create the impression that the ministry of jesus lasted only one year instead of three or four. no doubt he corrected this impression in his oral teaching; certainly he corrects it in his gospel. in commending the gospel of mark, john would naturally call attention to its chronological incompleteness. . the heading like the gospel of matthew, the gospel of mark opens not with a sentence, but with a heading. as in the former case, however, the exact reference of the heading is uncertain. "the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ" may, in the first place, mean merely, "here begins the gospel of jesus christ." "the gospel of jesus christ" would then be simply the story about christ that is narrated in the book that follows. in the second place, the phrase may be taken as a description of the contents of the book. the whole of jesus' life would then be described as the beginning of that proclamation of the gospel which was afterwards continued by the apostles and by the church. in the third place, the phrase may be merely a heading for the section that immediately follows, for mark : - , or for vs. - . in this case the preaching of john the baptist, with or without the baptism of jesus, the descent of the spirit, and the temptation, would be described as the beginning of, as preliminary to, the proclamation of the gospel, which is mentioned in vs. , . perhaps the first interpretation is to be preferred as being the simplest, though it must be admitted that the phrase is a little puzzling. . mark the missionary gospel it is significant that the gospel of mark begins not with the birth and infancy of jesus, but with the ministry of john the baptist and the subsequent preaching of jesus in galilee. mark seems to be following with great exactness the scheme of early apostolic preaching as it is laid down in acts : - . apparently mark is preëminently the missionary gospel; it contains only those things which had a place in the first preaching to unbelievers. that does not mean that the things which mark omits are necessarily less important than the things which it contains. mark gives a summary, not exactly of the most important things about jesus, but rather of the things which unbelievers or recent converts could most easily understand. hence the omission of the mystery of the birth, of the profound teaching of the early judean ministry, of the intimate instructions to the disciples. these things are of fundamental importance. but they can best be understood only after one has first acquired a thorough grasp of the public ministry, and of the death and resurrection. the second gospel, judged by purely formal standards, cannot be called exactly a beautiful book. it lacks the rhythm of old testament poetry, and the grace of the gospel of luke. but its rough, vigorous naturalness conveys a message of compelling power. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (edited) article on "mark." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . stevens and burton, "a harmony of the gospels." ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. i: plumptre, "the gospel according to st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke," pp. - . "the cambridge bible for schools": maclear, "the gospel according to st. mark." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - , - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxix a greek historian's account of jesus the gospel according to luke the purpose of the gospel of luke was, the author says in his prologue, that theophilus might know the certainty concerning the things wherein he had been instructed. these words involve recognition of a fundamental need of the church, which is to-day often ignored. after interest in christianity has been aroused, after faith has been awakened, the christian feels the need of a deeper intellectual grounding of the faith that is in him. this feeling is perfectly legitimate; it should not be stifled; the expression of it should not be treated necessarily as sinful doubt. the treatment of these natural questionings is one of the most important problems that faces the teachers of the present course. we are dealing with young men and women of maturing minds, many of whom can no longer be satisfied with the unthinking faith of childhood. if christianity is to remain permanently a force in their lives it must be related to their entire intellectual equipment; it must be exhibited as a reasonable thing, which is consistent with a sane and healthy view of the world. in other words, we are dealing with the problem of religious doubt, which is almost an inevitable stage in the development of intelligent christians of the present day. undoubtedly the problem is often very unwisely handled. by hearing every natural expression of their doubt unmercifully decried as rebellion against the word of god, many intelligent young people are being driven into hopeless estrangement from the church. it is useless to try to bully people into faith. instead, we ought to learn the method of the third gospel. very possibly luke was facing the very same problem that is before us teachers to-day--very possibly theophilus, to whom the gospel and the acts were dedicated, was a young man who had grown up in the church and could now no longer be satisfied with the vague and unsystematic instruction that had been given him in childhood. at any rate, whether he was a young man grown up in the church, or a recent convert, or merely a gentile interested in christianity, he was a person of intellectual interests, and those interests are treated by the evangelist not with contempt but with the utmost sympathy. the gospel was written in order that theophilus might "know the certainty" of those things wherein he had been instructed. that might be regarded as the motto for the entire course of study which we have undertaken this year. it should be our aim to lay before young people of the church the certainty of the things wherein they have been instructed--to enable them to substitute for the unreasoning faith of childhood the profound convictions of full-grown men and women. moreover, exactly like the author of the third gospel, we are endeavoring to accomplish this aim, not by argument, but by an orderly presentation of "those matters which have been fulfilled among us." a simple historical presentation of the facts upon which christianity is founded is the surest safeguard of christian faith. . the prologue alone among the synoptists luke gives his readers some direct information about the methods of his work. luke : - ; acts : , . this information, which was barely touched upon in the student's text book, must here be considered somewhat more in detail. =( ) luke not an eyewitness from the beginning.=--from the prologue to the gospel, luke : - , it appears, in the first place, that luke was not an eyewitness of the events that he narrates--at least he was not an eyewitness "from the beginning." =( ) his predecessors.=--in the second place, it appears that he had had predecessors in his task of writing an account of early christian history. apparently, however, none of these previous works were produced by an apostle or by an eyewitness of the earthly ministry of jesus. the previous writers, like luke himself, were dependent upon the testimony of the eyewitnesses. the gospel of matthew, therefore, since it was written by an apostle, was not one of the works to which reference is made. this conclusion is amply confirmed by a comparison of matthew with luke. evidently, at least, the two are entirely independent. if luke refers to the first gospel in the prologue, at any rate he made no use of it. =( ) was mark one of the predecessors?=--the gospel of mark, on the contrary, answers to the description of the previous works. it was written not by an eyewitness, but by one who listened to eyewitnesses. perhaps, therefore, it was one of the many works to which luke refers. if so, it may well have been used by luke in the preparation of his own gospel. this supposition is by no means excluded by a comparison of the two books. as a matter of fact, the great majority of modern scholars suppose that the writer of the third gospel made use of the gospel of mark. all that can here be asserted is that this view, though not required by what luke says in his prologue, is perfectly consistent with it. =( ) luke's attitude toward the predecessors.=--it should be observed that luke attaches no blame whatever to the efforts of his forerunners. when he says that they had "taken in hand" or "attempted" to write accounts of certain things, he does not imply in the slightest that their attempts had been unsuccessful. he means simply to justify his own procedure by a reference to what had already been done. "my effort at writing an account of the origin of christianity," he says in effect, "is no strange, unheard-of thing. i have had many predecessors." such a reference to the work of predecessors was in antiquity a common literary form. at the very beginning of his work, luke displays the effects of his greek literary training. of course, however, although luke attaches no blame to his predecessors, he would not have undertaken a new work if he had thought that the old satisfied all needs. evidently he hoped to accomplish by his own book something that his predecessors had not accomplished or had accomplished only in part. =( ) the subject of the gospel.=--finally, therefore, luke informs his readers what his own peculiar methods and purposes were. the main subject of the gospel is not described with any definiteness in luke : - , but it appears in the retrospect at the beginning of the second work. there the subject of the gospel is designated as "all that jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the holy spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen." acts : , . the subject of the gospel, in other words, was the earthly life of jesus. =( ) completeness of the narrative.=--in treating this subject, luke had striven, he says, luke : , first of all for completeness. in his investigations he had followed all things from the beginning. this feature appears plainly in the gospel. instead of beginning as mark does, with the public ministry of jesus, luke first gives an account of the birth and infancy, and not content with that, he goes back even to events preceding the birth not only of jesus, but also of his forerunner. =( ) accuracy.=--in the second place, luke says that he had striven after accuracy. here again the gospel justifies the claim of its author. the effort after precision may be seen perhaps especially in such a passage as luke : , , where there is an elaborate dating of the beginning of john the baptist's ministry. =( ) orderly arrangement.=--the effort at orderly arrangement, which forms a third part of the claim which the author makes, was, especially in the gospel, limited by the material that was at hand. evidently in palestine in the early period, the memory of the earthly ministry of jesus was preserved not in a connected narrative, but in isolated anecdotes. it was impossible, therefore, even for a historian like luke to maintain a chronological arrangement throughout; where chronological arrangement was impossible he was obliged to be satisfied with an arrangement according to logical affinities. this logical method of arrangement, however, is not resorted to by luke so much as by matthew; and for considerable sections of his narrative he was able to gratify his historian's desire for recounting events in the order in which they happened. =( ) luke a historian.=--detailed examination of the prologue should not be allowed to obscure the outstanding fact that the sum of what luke here attests is a genuine historical aim and method in the composition of his work. of course, history in luke's mind did not exist for its own sake. the gospel of luke is not a mere scientific dissertation. on the contrary, the history which is narrated was to the author a thing of supreme value. but it was valuable only because it was true. there is not the slightest evidence that luke was a bad historian because he was a good christian. on the contrary, he was a christian just because he was a historian. in the case of jesus, knowledge of the real facts is the surest way to adoration. =( ) is luke : - a prologue to both the gospel and the acts?=--the first four verses of the gospel of luke may be taken as a prologue either to the gospel alone or else to the entire work, including both the gospel and the acts. the latter view, since the subject is described in v. only in very broad terms, is not to be rashly rejected. no doubt, however, in the prologue luke was thinking especially of the former part of the work--the part for which he was dependent altogether upon the testimony of others. the first verses of the acts link the two parts close together. their connection has been obscured by the traditional arrangement of our new testament books. but that arrangement is altogether advisable. the former part of the lucan work certainly belongs among the gospels; and of the gospels the gospel of john must certainly be placed last, as being supplementary to the others. . typical passages the characteristics of the gospel of luke may perhaps be presented more vividly than by the general description in the student's text book, by an examination of a few typical passages. the two such passages which we shall choose somewhat at random, are the narrative of the birth and infancy in luke : to : , and the parable of the prodigal son. ch. : - . both of these are without any parallel in the other gospels. matthew provides an infancy narrative, but it is concerned for the most part with events different from those that appear in luke. =( ) the narrative of the birth and infancy.=--it has often been observed that the characteristic greek sentence of the prologue, luke : - , is immediately followed by the most strongly hebraistic passage in the new testament. the semitic style of luke : to : becomes explicable only if luke was here making use of palestinian sources, either oral or written. this conclusion is confirmed by the whole spirit and substance of the narrative. in this narrative as clearly as anywhere else in the new testament we find ourselves transplanted to palestinian soil. the early date of the narrative is as evident as its jewish christian and palestinian character. there is here no reference to concrete events in the later history of the church. messianic prophecy appears in its old testament form uncolored by the details of the fulfillment. evidently this narrative is no product of the church's fancy, but genuine history told in the very forms of speech which were natural to those who participated in it. the first two chapters of luke are in spirit really a bit of the old testament continued to the very threshold of the new. these chapters contain the poetry of the new testament, which has taken deep hold of the heart and fancy of the church. in this section of his gospel, luke shows himself to be a genuine historian. a biographer is not satisfied with narrating the public life of his hero, but prefaces to his work some account of the family, and of the birth and childhood. so our understanding of the ministry of jesus becomes far deeper when we know that he grew up among the simple, devout folk who are described in the first two chapters of luke. the picture of mary in these chapters, painted with an exquisite delicacy of touch, throws a flood of light upon the earthly life of the son of man. beauty of detail, however, must not be allowed to obscure the central fact. the culmination of the narrative, undoubtedly, is to be found in the stupendous mystery of luke : , . far from being an excrescence in the narrative, as it has sometimes been represented in an age of rampant naturalism, the supernatural conception of jesus is the very keystone of the arch. in this central fact, matthew and luke, totally independent as they are, are perfectly agreed. by this fact jesus is represented, more clearly perhaps than by anything else, as not a product of the world but a saviour come from without. =( ) the prodigal son.=--the parable of the prodigal son, simple though it is, has often been sadly misinterpreted. it has been thought to mean, for example, that god pardons sin on the basis simply of human repentance without the necessity of the divine sacrifice. all such interpretations are wide of the mark. the parable is not meant to teach how god pardons sin, but only the fact that he does pardon it with joy, and that we ought to share in his joy. misinterpretation of the parable has come from the ignoring of its occasion. the key to the interpretation is given in luke : , . jesus was receiving publicans and sinners. instead of rejoicing at the salvation of these poor, degraded sons of abraham, the pharisees murmured. in rebuke, jesus spoke three parables. one of them, the parable of the lost sheep, is reported also by matthew, ch. : - ; but the last two, the parables of the lost coin and of the prodigal son, appear only in luke. the teaching of all three of these parables is exactly the same. the imagery varies, but the application is constant. that application may be expressed very simply: "god rejoices at the salvation of a sinner; if, therefore, you are really sons of god, you will rejoice too." in the parable of the prodigal son, however, the application is forced home more poignantly than in either of the other two. in that parable alone among the three, the pharisees could see--in the elder brother--a direct representation of themselves. the incident of the elder brother, sometimes regarded as a mere detail, really introduces the main point of the parable. everything else leads up to that. the wonderful description of the joy of the father at the prodigal's home-coming is all intended as a contrast to the churlish jealousy of the brother. the elder brother was as far as possible from sharing in the father's joy. that showed that he was no true son. though he lived under the father's roof, he had no real inward share in the father's life. so it was with the pharisees. they lived in the father's house; they were, as we should say, members of the church. but when salvation, in the person of jesus, had at last come to the poor, sinful outcasts of the people, the pharisees drew aside. god rejoiced when the publicans crowded in to jesus; but the pharisees held back. that showed that after all they were not, as they thought, true sons of god. if they had been, they would have shared god's feeling. it should be noticed that the parable ends with an invitation. the elder brother is not harshly rebuked by the father, but tenderly urged to come in still. will the invitation be accepted? the question is not answered; and there lies the crowning beauty of the parable. the pharisees are still given a chance. will they still share the joy of god at the return of his lost children? they must answer the question for themselves. and we, too, have the same question to answer. if we are really children of god, then we shall not despise the outcasts and the sinners, but shall rejoice with him at their salvation. the parable is characteristic of the gospel of luke. of course, luke did not compose it. nothing in the gospels bears more indisputably the marks of jesus' teaching. but from the rich store of palestinian tradition luke sought out those things which displayed sympathy for the downtrodden and the sick and the sinful. it was an inestimable service to the church. shall we heed the message? god rejoices at the salvation of a sinner. shall we be sharers in his holy joy? * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (edited), article on "luke." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . stevens and burton, "a harmony of the gospels." ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. i: plumptre, "the gospel according to st. matthew, st. mark, and st. luke," pp. - . zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. iii, pp. - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxx the testimony of the beloved disciple the gospel according to john . the evangelist a witness the author of the fourth gospel was a great man. he was great, however, not as a philosopher or as a religious genius, but as an apostle; not as the originator of great ideas, but as one who received the teaching of another. he was great, not as one who created a profound theology, but as one who could understand the lord jesus christ. the "johannine theology" is the theology not of john but of jesus. so at least john himself represents it. he claims to be not a theologian, but a witness. the value of his book depends upon the truth of his witnessing. if the johannine picture of christ is the creation of the author's genius, it commands admiration; but only if it is a true picture of the historic jesus can it offer eternal life. is the jesus of the fourth gospel fiction or fact, a splendid product of religious genius or a living saviour? few questions have caused profounder agitation in the modern church. the question cannot be separated from the question of authorship. clearly if the book was written by an intimate friend of jesus, its witness must be true. who wrote the fourth gospel? this question is of vital importance. . the tradition at the close of the second century--the earliest period from which any really abundant christian literature outside of the new testament has been preserved--the tradition about the authorship of the gospel was practically unanimous. even the one small and uninfluential sect that disagreed practically supports the common view, for its denial was evidently based upon objections to the contents of the gospel and not at all upon any independent information. =( ) irenæus and polycarp.=--of the three important writers of the close of the second century, all of whom attest the johannine authorship of the gospel, irenæus deserves special mention. irenæus spent his early life in asia minor, but afterwards became the leader of the church in gaul. before he left asia minor he had some very interesting associations. one of them was with polycarp, bishop of smyrna, who was martyred in a. d. . polycarp would be an important figure merely on account of the early period in which he lived; but what makes his testimony supremely valuable is his personal association with john. irenæus himself in his early youth, before he had left asia minor, had heard polycarp discoursing about the things he had heard john say. polycarp, then, was a personal disciple of john, and irenæus was a personal disciple of polycarp. only one link, therefore, separated irenæus from john. moreover, since irenæus in his youth had lived in asia minor, the very place of john's residence, it is natural to believe that what he heard polycarp say about john could be supplemented in other ways. now beyond any reasonable doubt whatever, irenæus supposed that the john of whom he had heard polycarp speak was none other than john the apostle, the son of zebedee. if that supposition was correct, then the connection between irenæus and the apostle john was exceedingly close; and when irenæus exhibits an absolutely unwavering belief that the fourth gospel was written by the apostle, it is very unlikely that he was mistaken. he had known one of the personal disciples of john; he himself had lived in asia minor where john had been the well-known leader of the church, and where the fourth gospel, no matter who wrote it, was almost certainly produced. when, therefore, he asserts, not as something new, but as a thing which he had known from the beginning, that the fourth gospel was written by the apostle john, surely he must be believed. this conclusion has been avoided by the hypothesis that the john about whom polycarp spoke was not really, as irenæus supposed, john the son of zebedee, but another john, a certain john the presbyter, who was not one of the twelve apostles at all. the unnaturalness of such an hypothesis appears on the surface. could a native of asia minor who had repeatedly heard polycarp speak about the john in question, and who had many other opportunities for acquainting himself with the traditions of the church in asia minor--could such a man, together with all his contemporaries, have come to labor under so egregious a misapprehension? =( ) other attestation.=--the testimony of irenæus to the fourth gospel is of particular importance, on account of irenæus' connection with polycarp. but it is only one detail in a remarkable consensus. when the most widely separated portions of the church before the close of the second century all agreed that the fourth gospel was written by john the son of zebedee, their common belief could not have been of recent origin. earlier writers, moreover, by their use of the gospel attest at least its early date. . the testimony of the gospel itself the tradition which attributes the fourth gospel to john the son of zebedee is confirmed by the testimony of the gospel itself. although the book does not mention the name of its author it clearly implies who he was. =( ) indirectness of the testimony.=--this testimony of the gospel itself is all the more valuable because it is indirect. if the name john had been mentioned at the beginning, then it might conceivably be supposed that an unknown author had desired to gain a hearing for his work by putting it falsely under the name of a great apostle. as it is, the inference that the author claims to be john the son of zebedee, though certain, does not force itself upon the careless reader. a forger would not thus, by the indirectness of his claim, have deprived himself of the benefits of his forgery. the testimony of the gospel to its author must now be considered. =( ) the author an eyewitness.=--in the first place, almost at the very beginning, we observe that the author claims to be an eyewitness of the life of jesus. "we beheld his glory," he says in john : . by beholding the glory of christ he evidently does not mean merely that experience of christ's power which is possessed by every christian. on the contrary, the glory of christ, as it is intended by the evangelist, is fully explained by such passages as ch. : . the miracles of jesus--palpable, visible events in the external world--are clearly included in what is meant. it will be observed that in ch. : it is very specifically the incarnate christ that is spoken of. the evangelist is describing the condition of things after "the word became flesh." evidently, therefore, it was the earthly life of jesus which the evangelist claims to have "beheld." this conclusion is confirmed by i john : - . scarcely anyone doubts that the first epistle of john was written by the man who wrote the gospel. when, therefore, the author of the epistle speaks of "that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life," evidently these words have significance for the gospel also. the author fairly heaps up expressions to show, beyond all possibility of misunderstanding, that he had come into actual physical contact with the earthly jesus. =( ) the unnamed disciple of john : - .=--the author of the fourth gospel, then, clearly claims to be an eyewitness of the earthly life of christ. further indications identify him with a particular one among the eyewitnesses. in john : - , an unnamed disciple of jesus is mentioned. "one of the two," it is said in v. , "that heard john speak, and followed him, was andrew, simon peter's brother." who was the other? there is some reason for thinking that he was one of the two sons of zebedee. but the matter will become clearer as we proceed. another question is why this disciple is not mentioned by name. the fourth gospel is not chary of names. why, then, is the disciple who appears so prominently along with andrew and simon not mentioned by name? only one plausible explanation suggests itself--the explanation that the unnamed disciple was the author of the gospel, who, through a feeling common in the literature of antiquity, as well as of our own time, did not like to mention his own name in the course of his narrative. we have already observed that the author claims to be an eyewitness of the life of christ. john : . when, therefore, near the beginning of the narrative a disciple of jesus is introduced, rather mysteriously, without a name, when, furthermore, events in which this disciple was immediately concerned are narrated with unusual vividness and wealth of detail, vs. - , the conclusion becomes very natural that this unnamed disciple is none other than the author himself. =( ) the beloved disciple.=--this conclusion, it must be admitted, so far as this first passage is concerned, is nothing more than a likely guess. but by other passages it is rendered almost certain. in john : - , a disciple is mentioned as leaning on jesus' breast and as being one whom jesus loved. this disciple is not named. but who was he? evidently he was one of the twelve apostles, for only the apostles were present at the supper which is described in chs. to . the disciple "whom jesus loved," however, was not only among the twelve; he was evidently among the innermost circle of the twelve. such an innermost circle appears clearly in the synoptic gospels. it was composed of peter and james and john. the beloved disciple was probably one of these three; and since he is clearly distinguished from peter, ch. : , he was either james or john. the introduction of an unnamed disciple, which seemed significant even in john : - , becomes yet far more significant in the present passage. in the account of the last supper, a considerable number of the disciples are named--peter, judas iscariot, thomas, philip, judas not iscariot--yet the disciple who is introduced with especial emphasis, whose very position at table is described with a wealth of detail far greater than is displayed in the case of any of the others, is designated merely as "one of his disciples, whom jesus loved." the strange omission of this disciple's name can be explained only if he was the author of the book. clearly the painter has here introduced a modest portrait of himself in the midst of his great picture. passing by john : , , where "the other disciple" is probably the author, and ch. : , , where the repetition of the strange designation, "the disciple ... whom he [jesus] loved," confirms the impressions derived from ch. : - , we discover another important indication in ch. : . "and he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe." "he that hath seen" can scarcely refer to anyone other than the beloved disciple who was mentioned just before as standing by the cross. in the present verse, this beloved disciple is represented as the one who is now speaking. the identification of the beloved disciple with the author of the gospel, which was implied before, here becomes explicit. in john : - , "the other disciple whom jesus loved" is of course the same as the one who appears in ch. : - ; : , , . =( ) testimony of the appendix.=--in john : , - , the beloved disciple appears again, and in v. he is identified, in so many words, with the writer of the gospel. in this verse the first person plural is used; other persons seem to be associated with the author in commending the gospel to the attention of the church. this phenomenon is explained if the twenty-first chapter be regarded as a sort of appendix, perhaps added at the request of a circle of friends. it will be observed that ch. : , forms a fit ending to the book; what follows therefore appears the more like an appendix, though it was certainly written by the author's own hand and published before his death along with the rest of the book. =( ) why are john and james not mentioned by name?=--the conclusion of our investigation is that the author of the fourth gospel indicates clearly that he was either one or the other of the two sons of zebedee. this conclusion is confirmed by the curious circumstance that neither one of these men is mentioned in the gospel by name. how did they come to be omitted? they were in the very innermost circle of jesus' disciples; many apostles far less prominent than they are named frequently on the pages of the gospel. there can be only one solution of the problem: one at least of these men is, as a matter of fact, introduced in the gospel as the beloved disciple, and the reason why he is introduced in such a curiously anonymous way and why his brother also is not named, is that the author felt a natural delicacy about introducing his own and his brother's name into a narrative of the lord's life. one statement that has just been made requires qualification: it is not quite true that the sons of zebedee are not designated by name in the gospel. they are not indeed called by their individual names, but in ch. : , they are designated by the name of their father. possibly this slight difference of usage between chapter and the rest of the gospel has something to do with the fact that chapter seems to be an appendix. =( ) the author was not james, but john.=--the author of the fourth gospel, then, identifies himself with one or the other of the sons of zebedee. as to which one of the two is meant there cannot be the slightest doubt. james the son of zebedee was martyred in a. d. . acts : . there is abundant evidence that the fourth gospel was not written so early as that; and john : - apparently implies that the author lived to a considerable age. evidently, therefore, it is john and not james with whom the author identifies himself. =( ) is the gospel's own testimony true?=--thus the singularly strong tradition which attributes the fourth gospel to john the son of zebedee is supported by the independent testimony of the book itself. conceivably, of course, that testimony might be false. but it is very hard to believe that it is. it is very hard to believe that the author of this wonderful book, who despite all the profundity of his ideas exalts in a very special manner the importance of simple testimony based upon the senses, john : ; i john : - , has in a manner far subtler and more heinous than if he had simply put a false name at the beginning palmed himself off as an eyewitness of the saviour's life. many learned men have found it possible to accept such a view; but the simple reader of the gospel will always be inclined to dissent. the author of this book has narrated many things hard to be believed. but there are still found those who accept his solemn testimony; there are still found those in whom the purpose of the book is achieved, who through this gospel believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and believing have life in his name. john : . . traditional time and place and plan the tradition about the fourth gospel is not confined to the bare fact of johannine authorship; it has preserved certain other very interesting information. (= =) =the ephesian residence.=--for example, tradition represents the fourth gospel as written after the other three gospels and at ephesus. the evidence for the ephesian residence of the apostle john is singularly abundant and weighty; and the contrary evidence which has been thought to attest an early death of john is exceedingly weak. at first, john, like the others of the original apostles, remained in palestine. he appears in jerusalem a little before a. d. at the apostolic council. gal. : . at some subsequent time, perhaps at the outbreak of the jewish war in a. d. , he journeyed to asia minor and there for many years was the revered head of the church. he lived indeed until the reign of trajan, which began in a. d. . (= =) =the gospel of john supplementary to the synoptic gospels.=--according to tradition, the gospel of john was not only written after the synoptic gospels, but was intended to be supplementary to them. this information is amply confirmed by the gospel itself. evidently john presupposes on the part of his readers a knowledge of the synoptic account. this explains his peculiar choice of material--for example, his omission of most of the galilean ministry, and of such events as the baptism and the institution of the lord's supper. it explains also, for example, a verse like john : : "for john was not yet cast into prison." the synoptic gospels begin their account of the ministry of jesus with what happened after the imprisonment of john the baptist. mark : . readers of mark might even receive the impression that jesus had not begun his teaching till after that time. john corrects any such impression in ch. : . if, then, the gospel of john is intended not to compete with the synoptic gospels, but to supplement them, in what direction does the supplementing move? what is it that john adds to what had already been told? here, again, tradition affords us useful hints. eusebius, in the early part of the fourth century, writes as follows (church history, iii, , - , translated by mcgiffert, in "nicene and post-nicene fathers," second series, vol. i, p. ): "and when mark and luke had already published their gospels, they say that john, who had employed all his time in proclaiming the gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the following reason. the three gospels already mentioned [matthew, mark and luke] having come into the hands of all and into his own too, they say that he accepted them and bore witness to their truthfulness; but that there was lacking in them an account of the deeds done by christ at the beginning of his ministry. and this indeed is true. for it is evident that the three evangelists recorded only the deeds done by the saviour for one year after the imprisonment of john the baptist, and indicated this in the beginning of their account. for matthew, after the forty days' fast and the temptation which followed it, indicates the chronology of his work when he says: 'now when he heard that john was delivered up he withdrew from judea into galilee.' mark likewise says: 'now after that john was delivered up jesus came into galilee.' and luke, before commencing his account of the deeds of jesus, similarly marks the time, when he says that herod, 'adding to all the evil deeds which he had done, shut up john in prison.' they say, therefore, that the apostle john, being asked to do it for this reason, gave in his gospel an account of the period which had been omitted by the earlier evangelists, and of the deeds done by the saviour during that period; that is, of those which were done before the imprisonment of the baptist. and this is indicated by him, they say, in the following words: 'this beginning of miracles did jesus'; and again when he refers to the baptist, in the midst of the deeds of jesus, as still baptizing in Ã�non near salim; where he states the matter clearly in the words: 'for john was not yet cast into prison.' john accordingly, in his gospel, records the deeds of christ which were performed before the baptist was cast into prison, but the other three evangelists mention the events which happened after that time. one who understands this can no longer think that the gospels are at variance with one another, inasmuch as the gospel according to john contains the first acts of christ, while the others give an account of the latter part of his life. and the genealogy of our saviour according to the flesh john quite naturally omitted, because it had been already given by matthew and luke, and began with the doctrine of his divinity, which had, as it were, been reserved for him, as their superior, by the divine spirit." according to eusebius, then, john intended to treat the time before the imprisonment of the baptist as the synoptists treated the time after that event. we have already noted the element of truth in this observation. of course it is not the only observation that needs to be made. much of what john narrates occurred after the imprisonment of the baptist. according to clement of alexandria, of the close of the second century, who here reports what had been said by his predecessors in alexandria, john, seeing that "bodily" matters had been treated by the synoptists, supplemented their work by writing a "spiritual" gospel. in this testimony also there is no doubt an element of truth. it is true that the fourth gospel reproduces certain profound elements in the teaching of jesus which in the earlier gospels appear only incidentally. the oral tradition which forms the chief basis of the synoptic gospels was rooted deep in the earliest missionary activity of the church. especially, perhaps, in the gospel of mark, but also in matthew and luke, we have for the most part those facts about jesus and those elements of his teaching which could appeal at once to simple-minded believers or to outsiders. the gospel of john, on the other hand, drawing, like the others, from the rich store of jesus' teaching and jesus' person, has revealed yet deeper mysteries. in this profound book, we have the recollections of a beloved disciple, at first understood only imperfectly by the apostle himself, but rendered ever clearer by advancing experience, and firmly fixed by being often repeated in the author's oral instruction of the church. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible," article on "john" ( ): purves, article on "john, gospel according to st." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . stevens and burton, "a harmony of the gospels." westcott, "the gospel according to st. john: the authorized version with introduction and notes." "the cambridge bible for schools": plummer, "the gospel according to st. john." browning, "a death in the desert" (vol. iv, pp. - of the riverside edition). zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. iii, pp. - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxi the jesus of the gospels it is possible to speak of "the jesus of the gospels" only if the gospels are in essential agreement. if the features of the four portraits are so different that they never could have been united really in the same person, then there is no such thing as a jesus of the gospels, but only a jesus of matthew and a jesus of mark and a jesus of luke and a jesus of john. . agreement among the synoptists among the synoptic gospels, at any rate, no such difference exists. though every one of these gospels possesses its own characteristics, the peculiarities are almost negligible in comparison with the underlying unity. there is certainly such a thing as "the synoptic jesus." his words and deeds are narrated in each of the gospels in a different selection and in a different style, but the characteristic features are everywhere the same. . the synoptists and john with regard to the fourth gospel, the matter is not quite so plain. the contrast between the synoptists and john has already been noticed. it forces itself upon even the most casual reader. difference, however, is not necessarily contradiction. it may be due to a difference in the point of view. both the synoptists and john give a true picture of jesus; the same features appear very different when viewed from different angles. . divinity and humanity at any rate, if there is a contradiction between the first three gospels and the gospel of john, the contradiction is by no means easy to formulate. it cannot be said, for example, simply that the synoptists present a human jesus and john a divine jesus. whatever the differences among the four gospels, all four agree at least in two essential features. all four present jesus, in the first place as a man, and in the second place as something more than a man. (= =) =humanity in the synoptists.=--the former feature is perhaps especially clear in the synoptists. according to the first three gospels, jesus led a genuine human life from birth to death. as a child he grew not only in stature, but also in wisdom. he was subject to human parents and to the requirements of the jewish law. even after the inauguration of his ministry the human conditions of his life were not superseded. he was even tempted like other men. he grew weary and slept. he suffered hunger and thirst. he could rejoice and he could suffer sorrow. he prayed, like other men, and worshiped god. he needed strengthening both for body and for mind. no mere semblance of a human life is here presented, but a genuine man of flesh and blood. (= =) =humanity in john.=--but if the jesus of the synoptists is a true man, how is it with the jesus of john? does the fourth gospel present merely a heavenly being who walked through the world untouched and unruffled by the sin and misery and weakness that surrounded him? only a very superficial reading can produce such an impression. the fourth gospel indeed lays a supreme emphasis upon the majesty of jesus, upon his "glory" as it was manifested in works of power and attested by god himself. but side by side with these features of the narrative, as though to prevent a possible misunderstanding, the author presents the humanity of jesus with drastic touches that can scarcely be paralleled in the synoptists themselves. it is john who speaks of the weariness of jesus at the well of samaria, ch. : ; of the human affection which he felt for lazarus and martha and mary, ch. : , , , and for an individual among the disciples, ch. : ; of his weeping, ch. : ; and indignant groaning, v. ; and of his deadly thirst. ch. : . as clearly as the other evangelists john presents jesus as a man. (= =) =divinity in john.=--in the second place, all four gospels, if they present jesus as a man, also present him as something far more than a man. with regard to the gospel of john, of course the matter is unmistakable. the very first verse reads: "in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god." jesus according to john was plainly no product of the world, but god come in the flesh. john : . the teaching of jesus himself, as it is reported in the fourth gospel, is concerned with the relation of perfect unity that exists between the father and the son. (= =) =divinity in the synoptists.=--in the synoptists the supernatural character of jesus is somewhat less on the surface. his teaching, as the synoptists report it, is largely concerned not directly with his own person, but with the kingdom that he came to found. even his messiahship is often kept in the background; the demons are often commanded not to reveal it. a closer examination, however, reveals the essential unity between the synoptists and john. if the supernatural character of jesus appears in the synoptists less plainly on the surface, it is really no less pervasive at the center. it does not so often form the subject of direct exposition, but it is everywhere presupposed. the doing by jesus of what only god can do, mark : , ; the sovereign way in which he legislates for the kingdom of god, matt. : - ; his unearthly holiness and complete lack of any consciousness of sin; the boundlessness of his demand for obedience, luke : - ; his expected freedom from limitations of time and place, matt. : ; the absolutely central place which he claims for himself as ruler and judge; the substantiation of all his lofty claims by wonderful power over the forces of nature--these are only indications chosen almost at random of what is really plain upon every page of the synoptic gospels, that the jesus who is there described is no mere human figure but a divine saviour of the world. the invitation of matt. : - , which is typical of the synoptic teaching, would have been absurd on the lips of anyone but the son of god. moreover, the divine nature of jesus is not merely implied in the synoptic gospels; there are times when it even becomes explicit. the relation of perfect mutual knowledge that exists between jesus and the father, matt. : , reveals a perfect unity of nature. the jesus of the synoptists, as well as the jesus of john, might say, "i and the father are one." . the manner of jesus' teaching the synoptic gospels, therefore, imply everywhere exactly the same jesus who is more expressly presented in the gospel of john. if, then, there is a contradiction between the synoptists and john, it can be concerned only with the manner of jesus' teaching. the synoptists as well as john present jesus as a supernatural person, it is said, but unlike john they represent him as keeping his own person in the background. even here, however, maturer consideration shows that the difference does not amount to anything like contradiction. may not the same person have spoken the discourses of the fourth gospel and also those of the synoptists? it must be remembered that the ministry of jesus was varied, and that the first three evangelists confine themselves almost exclusively to one phase of it. in the public galilean ministry, which the synoptists describe, it was necessary for jesus to keep even his messiahship for a time in the background. publication of it, owing to the false political conception which the jews had of the messiah's work, would have been fatal to jesus' plan. here, as so often, the fourth gospel explains the other three. after the feeding of the five thousand, john tells us, the crowd wanted to take jesus by force and make him a king. john : . popularity was dangerous. jesus could not proclaim himself publicly as the messiah, until by explaining the spiritual nature of the kingdom he had prepared the people for the kind of messiah which it was his mission to be. of course, it is difficult for us to understand at every point just why jesus acted as he did. all that we are now maintaining is that the considerations just adduced, and others like them, show that it is perfectly conceivable that jesus, before his intimate disciples and in jerusalem and at a special crisis, john, ch. , adopted a method of teaching which in the greater part of the galilean ministry he considered out of place. there is room in a true narrative of jesus' life both for the synoptists and for john. . the comprehensiveness of jesus jesus was many-sided. he was lawgiver, he was teacher, he was healer, he was ruler, he was saviour. he was man and he was god. the gospels have presented him in the richness of his mysterious person. modern historians are less comprehensive. they have been offended at the manifoldness of the gospel picture. they have endeavored to reduce jesus to the level of what they can comprehend. but their effort has been a failure. after the supposed contradictions have been removed, greater contradictions remain; and the resulting figure is at any rate too small to account for the origin of christianity. the partial jesus of modern criticism, despite his comparative littleness, is a monstrosity; the comprehensive jesus of the gospels, though mysterious, is a self-evidencing and life-giving fact. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves, article on "jesus christ." warfield, "the lord of glory," pp. - . robertson, "epochs in the life of jesus." stalker, "the life of jesus christ." denney, "jesus and the gospel." andrews, "the life of our lord." lesson xxxii a document of the jerusalem church the epistle of james . the christianity of james the epistle of james has been called the least christian book in the new testament. superficially this judgment is true. the name of jesus occurs only twice in the epistle, james : ; : , and there is no specific reference to his life and death and resurrection. a close examination, however, reverses the first impression. (= =) =james and the synoptic discourses.=--in the first place, the ethical teaching of james is permeated by the spirit of jesus. even the form of the epistle displays a marked affinity for the discourses of the synoptic gospels, and the affinity in content is even more apparent. many striking parallels could be cited; but what is more convincing than such details is the indefinable spirit of the whole. the way in which james treats the covetousness, the pride, the heartlessness, the formalism, the pettiness and the meanness of his readers, is strikingly similar to the way in which his master dealt with the pharisees. james does not indeed actually cite the words of jesus; but the absence of citations makes the underlying similarity all the more significant. the writer of this epistle did not live at a time when the knowledge of the words of jesus was derived from books; rather he had himself listened to the master--even though he was not at first a disciple--and was living in a community where the impression of jesus' teaching and jesus' person was still fresh in the memory of those who had known him on earth. (= =) =james and christian doctrine.=--in the second place, moreover, the christianity of james is religious as well as ethical. of course it could not be like the teaching of jesus if it were merely ethical; for everything that jesus taught even about the simplest matters of human conduct was determined by the thought of the heavenly father and by the significance of his own person. but by the religious character of the epistle of james even more than this is meant. like all the writers of the new testament james was well aware of the saving significance of jesus' death and resurrection. for him as well as for the others, jesus was lord, ch. : , and a lord who was possessed of a heavenly glory. ch. : . james, as well as the others, was waiting for the second coming of christ. ch. : . he does not directly refer to the saving events that form the substance of christian faith; but he takes them everywhere for granted. the word of truth through which the disciples have been formed by god, ch. : , the implanted word, v. , that needs ever to be received anew, can hardly be anything else than the apostolic gospel as it was proclaimed in the earliest speeches of peter which are recorded in the acts, and as it found its rich unfolding in the teaching of paul. just because that gospel in our epistle is presupposed, it does not need to be expounded in detail. the men to whom james was writing were not lacking in orthodoxy. if they had been, he would have set them right, and we should have had another exposition of the gospel. as a matter of fact their fault was in practice, not in theory; and it is in the sphere of practice that they are met by james. the epistle would be insufficient if it stood alone. it does not lay the foundation of christian faith. but it shows how, upon that foundation, may be built not the wood, hay and stubble of a wordy orthodoxy, but the gold and silver and precious stones of an honest christian life. this epistle, then, might be misleading if taken by itself; but it becomes salutary if it is understood in its historical connections. far from disparaging christian doctrine--as the modern church is tempted to suppose--it builds upon doctrine. in that it agrees with the whole of the bible. christianity, as has been finely said, is a life only because it is a doctrine. only the great saving events of the gospel have rendered possible a life like that which is described in the epistle of james. and where the gospel is really accepted with heart as well as mind, that life of love will always follow. . date and authenticity of the epistle the view which will be held about the date of the epistle of james will depend very largely upon the interpretation of the passage about faith and works. james : - . in that passage, some of the same terms appear as are prominent in connection with the great judaistic controversy in which paul was engaged from the time of the apostolic council to the time of the third missionary journey. three views have been held with regard to the date of the epistle of james. the epistle may be regarded as written ( ) before the judaistic controversy arose, ( ) during that controversy or while it was still fresh in men's minds, or ( ) long after the controversy had been settled. (= =) =the intermediate date.=--the second of these three views may be eliminated first. this intermediate view has the advantage of placing the epistle within the lifetime of james. it can treat the epistle as authentic. it has furthermore the advantage of explaining the coincidences between james : - and rom., ch. . for if the epistle was written at the very close of the lifetime of james--say about a. d. , or, following hegesippus, a. d. --the author may have become acquainted with the epistle to the romans. but the difficulties of this view far overbalance the advantages. if james was writing with galatians and romans before him, then apparently in ch. : he intends to contradict those epistles. as a matter of fact, however, as is shown in the student's text book, he does not really contradict them, but is in perfect harmony with them. he has therefore gone out of his way in order to introduce a formal contradiction of the great apostle to the gentiles although there is no real contradiction of meaning at all! what could he possibly gain by such useless trouble-making? if james really wanted to combat paul's doctrine of justification by faith, he would have done so very differently; and if he did not want to combat it, he would certainly not have uselessly created the appearance of doing so. perhaps, however, james : - is a refutation not of paul but of a misunderstanding of paul. this also is very improbable. if the passage was a refutation not of paul but of a misunderstanding of paul, why did james not say so? why did he not distinguish paul clearly from his misinterpreters? instead he has indulged uselessly in a formal contradiction of paul, and has in refutation of a misunderstanding of paul not even used the abundant materials which paul himself could offer! and where was such a misunderstanding of paul possible in jewish christian circles of a. d. ? what makes every form of this intermediate dating impossible is the total absence from the epistle of any reference to the question of the conditions upon which gentiles were to be received into the church. in a. d. this question had recently been the subject of bitter controversy. at that time no one could have touched upon the closely related topic of faith and works as james does and yet have ignored so completely the controversial question. evidently, therefore, the epistle was written either before the judaistic controversy arose or else long after it was over. (= =) =the late date.=--the latter view makes the epistle a pseudonymous work--it assumes that an unknown author has here tried to enhance the influence of his work by putting it under the name of the first head of the jerusalem church. this is of itself sufficient to refute the late dating. for the procedure of the supposed falsifier is quite incomprehensible. he has chosen james as the alleged author only because of the lofty position which james held, and yet he has designated him in the first verse merely as a simple christian! the procedure of real forgers is very different. there are also, however, other objections to the late dating. would any writer in the second century, when the authority of paul was well established, have ventured to introduce such an apparent contradiction of paul as appears in james : ? in a writer of a. d. we should have had formal agreement with paul and material disagreement; in the epistle of james we have formal disagreement and material harmony. apparent contradiction of expression combined with perfect unity of thought is a sure sign of independence. the epistle of james has made no use of the epistles of paul. against this conclusion may be urged only the coincidence that james and paul both use the example of abraham, and cite the same verse, gen. : , with regard to him. but it must be remembered that to every jew abraham offered the most obvious example in all the scriptures. it is possible, too, that the faith and works of abraham had in pre-christian jewish circles already been the subject of controversy. furthermore, james does not confine himself to abraham, but introduces rahab also, who is not mentioned by paul. the coincidence between paul and james is quite insufficient to overbalance the clear evidence of independence. (= =) =the early date.=--only one hypothesis, then, suits the facts. the epistle of james was clearly written before the judaistic controversy became acute at the time of the apostolic council. in the second chapter of the epistle, james has used the same terms that became prominent in that controversy, but he has used them in refuting a practical, not a theoretical, error--an error that is related only indirectly to the great subject of galatians and romans. . underlying unity of the epistle at first sight the epistle of james seems to possess very little unity. topic follows topic often with little apparent connection. but the connection between the individual sections is closer than appears at first; and the epistle as a whole possesses at least a perfect unity of spirit. (= =) =reality in religion.=--the ruling tone of the epistle, which may be detected beneath all the varying exhortations, is a certain manly honesty, a certain fierce hatred of all sham and cant and humbug and meanness. james is a stern advocate of a practical religion. (= =) =supremacy of religion.=--it must be noticed, however, that the religion of this writer is none the less religious because it is practical. james is no advocate of a "gospel of street-cleaning." on the contrary he insists with characteristic vehemence upon personal piety. the same writer who has been regarded as emphasizing works at the expense of faith, who might be hailed as a leader of those who would make religion terminate upon man rather than god, who might be thought to disparage everything but "social service"--this same writer is one of the most earnest advocates of prayer. james : - ; : , ; : - . this apostle of works, this supposed disparager of faith, is almost bitter in his denunciation of unbelief! ch. : - . god, not man, according to james, is the author of every perfect gift. v. . prayer is the remedy both for bodily and for spiritual ills. ch. : - . james lends no countenance to the modern disparagement of religious devotion. the same uncompromising severity with which he lashes an inactive religion is also applied just as mercilessly to an irreligious activity. ch. : - . james does not attack religion in the interests of reality; he attacks unreality in the interests of religion. . contents of the epistle the opening of the epistle, like that of the letters contained in acts : - ; : - , is constructed according to the regular greek form. after the opening, james speaks first of trials or temptations. rightly used they will lead to perfection. if, however, there is still imperfection, it can be removed by prayer to god. the imperfection which is here especially in view is an imperfection in wisdom. apparently the readers, like the pharisees, had laid an excessive stress upon knowledge. the true wisdom, says james, can be obtained not by human pride, as the readers seem to think, but only by prayer. prayer, however, must be in faith--there must be no wavering in it. pride, indeed, is altogether blameworthy. if there is to be boasting, it should certainly be not in earthly wealth but in those spiritual blessings which often reverse earthly distinctions. returning to the subject of temptations, james insists that in their evil they do not come from god, but from the depths of man's own desires. from god comes no evil thing, but every perfect gift; and in the gospel god has bestowed upon us his richest blessing. that gospel must be received with all diligence. it will exclude wrath and insincerity. true religion consists not merely in hearing but in doing; good examples of the exercise of it are the visitation of the fatherless and widows and the preservation of one's own personal purity of life. faith in christ, james continues in similar vein, excludes all undue respect of persons. indeed god in his choice of those who should be saved has especially favored the poor. the rich as a class are rather the oppressors of the christians. surely then the christians should not favor rich men for selfish reasons. the law of love will exclude all such unworthy conduct. that law of love requires an active life. faith, if it be true faith, leads to works. away with a miserable faith that is expressed only in words! words, indeed, are dangerous. the tongue is a prolific source of harm. evil speech reveals the deep-seated corruption of the heart. the readers must be careful, therefore, about seeking the work of a teacher. the true wisdom, which fits a man to teach, is not of man's acquiring, but comes from god. quarreling--which was produced especially by the inordinate ambition among the readers to pose as teachers--must be counteracted by submission to god. the constant thought of god excludes all pride in human planning. especially the rich must reflect upon the transitoriness of earthly possessions and above all must be sure that their wealth is honestly gained. finally, patient waiting for the lord, the example of the old testament saints, and the earnest practice of prayer will make effective all the exhortations of the epistle. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": warfield, articles on "james" and "james, epistle of." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . knowling, "the epistle of st. james." "the cambridge bible for schools": plumptre, "the general epistle of st. james." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. i, pp. - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxiii jesus the fulfillment of the old testament the epistle to the hebrews . paul not the author (= =) =the tradition.=--at alexandria in the latter part of the second century paul was thought to be the author of the epistle to the hebrews; but in north africa a little later tertullian attributed the epistle to barnabas, and in other portions of the church the pauline authorship was certainly not accepted. in the west, the pauline authorship was long denied and the inclusion of the epistle in the new testament resisted. at last the alexandrian view won universal acceptance. the epistle to the hebrews became an accepted part of the new testament, and was attributed to paul. clement of alexandria, who had apparently received the tradition of pauline authorship from pantænus, his predecessor, himself declares that hebrews was written by paul in the "hebrew" (aramaic) language, and was translated by luke into greek. the notion of a translation by luke was based upon no genuine historical tradition--hebrews is certainly an original greek work--but was simply an hypothesis constructed to explain the peculiarities of the epistle on the supposition that it was a work of paul. (= =) =the value of the tradition.=--the tradition of pauline authorship is clearly very weak. if paul had been the author, it is hard to see why the memory of the fact should have been lost so generally in the church. no one in the early period had any objection to the epistle; on the contrary it was very highly regarded. if, then, it had really been written by paul, the pauline authorship would have been accepted everywhere with avidity. the negative testimony of the roman church is particularly significant. the epistle was quoted by clement of rome at about a. d. ; yet at rome as elsewhere in the west the epistle seems never in the early period to have been regarded as pauline. in other words, just where acquaintance with the epistle can be traced farthest back, the denial of pauline authorship seems to have been most insistent. if clement of rome had regarded paul as the author, the history of roman opinion about the epistle would have been very different. on the other hand, on the supposition that there was originally no tradition of pauline authorship, the subsequent prevalence of such a tradition is easily explained. it was due simply to the evident apostolic authority of the epistle itself. from the start, hebrews was felt to be an authoritative work. being authoritative, it would be collected along with other authoritative works. since it was an epistle, and exhibited a certain pauline quality of spirit and subject, it would naturally be associated with the other works of the greatest letter writer of the apostolic age. being thus included in a collection of the pauline epistles, and being regarded as of apostolic authority, what was more natural than to attribute it to the apostle paul? such, very possibly, was the origin of the alexandrian tradition. this tradition did not win immediate acceptance, because the rest of the church was still aware that the epistle was not written by paul. what led to the final conquest of the pauline tradition was simply the character of the book itself. the question of pauline authorship, in the case of this book, became connected with the question of apostolic authority. the church had to choose between rejecting the book altogether, and accepting it as pauline. when she finally adopted the latter alternative, undoubtedly she chose the lesser error. it was an error to regard the epistle as the work of paul; but it would have been a far greater error to exclude it from the new testament. as a matter of fact, though the book was not written by paul, it was written, if not by one of the other apostles, at least by an "apostolic man" like mark or luke. scarcely any book of the new testament bears clearer marks of true apostolicity. (= =) =internal evidence.=--the argument against pauline authorship which is derived from tradition is strongly supported by the contents of the epistle itself. in the first place, it is exceedingly doubtful whether paul could have spoken of himself as having had the christian salvation confirmed to him by those who had heard the lord. heb. : . knowledge of the earthly life of jesus was indeed conveyed to paul by ordinary word of mouth from the eyewitnesses; but the gospel itself, as he insists with vehemence in galatians, was revealed to him directly by christ. in the second place, the style of the epistle is very different from that of paul, being, as we shall see, far more carefully wrought. in the third place, the thoughts developed in hebrews, though undoubtedly they are in perfect harmony with the pauline epistles, are by no means characteristically pauline. it is a little hard to understand, for example, how paul could have written at such length about the law without speaking of justification by faith or the reception of gentiles into the church. this last argument, however, must not be exaggerated. undoubtedly paul would have agreed heartily to everything that hebrews contains. paul and the author of this epistle have developed merely somewhat different sides of the same great truth. . who was the author? if paul did not write the epistle to the hebrews, who did write it? prodigious labor has been expended upon this question, but with very little result. in ancient times, barnabas, luke and clement of rome, were each regarded as the author. of these three views the first is most probable; the second is exceedingly unlikely; and the last is clearly impossible. whoever wrote the epistle, clement certainly did not. the letter which we possess from his pen is immeasurably inferior to the apostolic writings to which hebrews certainly belongs. clement was a humble reader of hebrews, not the author of it. luther was inclined to regard apollos as the possible author of hebrews; and of all the many suggestions that have been made, this is perhaps the best. undoubtedly the circumstances and training of apollos were in a number of respects like those which might naturally be attributed to the author of the epistle. apollos was closely associated with paul, and perhaps at a later time with others of the apostles, just as might be expected of the author of an apostolic work such as hebrews. on the other hand, like the author of the epistle, he was not an eyewitness of the life of jesus. compare heb. : . like the author of the epistle he was no doubt acquainted with timothy. compare ch. : . he was an "eloquent" or "learned" man, acts : , who might well have produced the splendid rhetoric of the epistle. he was a jew and mighty in the scriptures, as was also the author of hebrews. he was a native of alexandria, the university city of the period, and the seat of a large jewish community, where just that combination of greek rhetorical training with scriptural knowledge which is exhibited in the epistle is most naturally to be sought. these indications, however, can merely show that apollos might conceivably have written the epistle; they do not show that he did write it. the authorship of this powerful work will always remain uncertain. how little we know, after all, of the abounding life of the apostolic church! . where were the readers? in the student's text book, it has been shown that the readers of the epistle were probably members of some rather narrowly circumscribed community. where this community was is by no means clear. the one indication of place which the epistle contains is ambiguous. in ch. : it is said, "they of italy salute you." these words may mean that the author is in italy and sends greetings from the christians of that country, or they may mean that the author is outside of italy and sends greetings from italian christians who happened to be with him. in the latter case, probably the readers were in italy; for otherwise they would have no special interest in the italian christians. all that we can say is then that the epistle was probably written either from italy or to italy. if it was written from italy, then since the readers were jews, it is natural to seek them in palestine. the palestinian christians were "hebrews" in the narrower, linguistic sense of the word, as well as in the broader, national sense. the ancient heading of the epistle thus comes to its full rights. on the other hand the palestinian hypothesis faces some rather grave difficulties. if the readers are to be sought in italy, then perhaps they formed a jewish christian community in rome or in some other italian city. the question cannot be settled with any certainty. the destination of the epistle is an even greater riddle than the authorship. . when was the epistle written? the epistle to the hebrews was certainly written before a. d. , for at about that time it was quoted by clement of rome. the mention of timothy in ch. : perhaps does not carry us much farther, for timothy, who was a grown man at about a. d. , acts : - , may have lived till the end of the first century. the epistle, however, does not bear any of the marks of late origin. the question of date is closely connected with the question whether in the epistle the temple at jerusalem is regarded as still standing. this question cannot be settled with certainty. but on the whole the continuance of the levitical ceremonies seems to be assumed in the epistle, and at any rate there is no clear reference to their cessation. probably therefore the epistle to the hebrews was written before the destruction of jerusalem in a. d. . . hebrews a literary work the epistle to the hebrews is a product of conscious literary art. the rhetoric of paul is unconscious; even such passages as the first few chapters of first corinthians or the eighth chapter of romans may have been composed with the utmost rapidity. the author of hebrews probably went differently to work. such sentences as heb. : - , even in an inspired writer, can only be the result of diligent labor. by long practice the writer of hebrews had acquired that feeling for rhythm and balance of phrase, that facility in the construction of smooth-flowing periods, which give to his epistle its distinctive quality among the new testament books. greek rhetoric of the hellenistic age, freed from its hollow artificiality, is here laid under contribution for the saviour's praise. the presence of such a book in the new testament is highly salutary. devout christians in their enthusiasm for the simplicity of the gospel are sometimes in danger of becoming one-sided. they are sometimes inclined to confuse simplicity with ugliness, and then to prize ugliness for its own sake. it is perfectly true that the value of the gospel is quite independent of æsthetic niceties, and that the language of the new testament is for the most part very simple. but it is not true that the simplicity of the new testament has anything in common with the bad taste of some modern phraseology, or that eloquence is of itself evil. the epistle to the hebrews shows by a noble example that there is such a thing as christian art. the majestic sentences of this ancient masterpiece, with their exquisite clearness and liturgic rhythm and uplifting power, have contributed inestimably to the christian conception of the saviour. the art of hebrews is not art for art's sake, but art for the sake of christ. literary perfection is here combined with profound genuineness and apostolic fervor; art is here ennobled by consecration. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. , , - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves, article on "hebrews, epistle to the." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : moulton, "the epistle of paul the apostle to the hebrews." westcott, "the epistle to the hebrews." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - . the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxiv christian fortitude the first epistle of peter . separation from the world the first epistle of peter is the epistle of separateness. the modern church is in grave danger of forgetting the distinctiveness of her gospel and the glorious isolation of her position. she is too often content to be merely one factor in civilization, a means of improving the world instead of the instrument in creating a new world. the first readers of the epistle were subject to a similar danger, though it arose from a somewhat different cause. to-day we are no longer subject to persecution; but the danger is fundamentally the same. the world's friendship may be even more disastrous than the world's hatred. the readers of first peter were tempted to relinquish what was distinctive in their faith in order to avoid the hostility of their heathen neighbors; we are tempted to do the same thing because the superficial respectability of modern life has put a gloss of polite convention over the profound differences that divide the inner lives of men. we, as well as the first readers of the epistle, need to be told that this world is lost in sin, that the blood of christ has ransomed an elect race from the city of destruction, that the high privileges of the christian calling demand spotless purity and unswerving courage. (= =) =the character of the persecution.=--the character of the persecution to which the readers of the epistle were subjected cannot be determined with perfect clearness. it is not even certain that the christian profession in itself was regarded officially as a crime. apparently charges of positive misconduct were needed to give countenance to the persecutors. i peter : . the christians needed to be warned that there is no heroism in suffering if the suffering is the just punishment of misdeeds. chs. : ; : . what particular charges were brought against the christians it is of course difficult to determine. perhaps they were sometimes charged with gross crimes such as murder or theft. but a more frequent accusation was probably "hatred of the human race," or the like. the christians were thought to be busybodies. in setting the world to rights they seemed to meddle in other people's affairs. in claiming to be citizens of a heavenly kingdom, they seemed indifferent or hostile to earthly relationships. as subjects of the emperor and of his representatives, the christians were thought to be disloyal; as slaves, they seemed disobedient. (= =) =duties of earthly life.=--in view of these accusations, peter urges his readers to avoid all improper employment of their christian freedom. christian freedom does not mean license; christian independence does not mean indifference. there is no reason why a good christian should be a bad citizen, even of a heathen state, ch. : - , or an unprofitable servant, even of a harsh master, vs. - , or a quarrelsome wife, even of an unconverted husband. ch. : - . on the contrary, christians must approve themselves not only in the spiritual realm, but also in the ordinary relationships of this life. (= =) =application to modern conditions.=--here again the lesson is important for the present day. now as always fervent realization of the transcendent glory of christianity tends sometimes to result in depreciation of ordinary duties. men of exceptional piety sometimes seem to feel that civilization is unworthy of their attention, even if it is not actually a work of satan. of all such vagaries the first epistle of peter is the best corrective. truth is here admirably guarded against the error that lurks at its root. the very epistle that emphasizes the separateness of the church from the world, that teaches christian people to look down upon earthly affairs from the vantage ground of heaven, is just the epistle that inculcates sober and diligent conduct in the various relationships of earthly life. in the effort at a higher morality, the simple, humble virtues that even the world appreciates should not be neglected; piety should involve no loss of common sense. now as always the christian should be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in him; now as always he should be able to refute the slanders of the world; now as always he should commend his christianity by his good citizenship. only so will the example of christ be fully followed. jesus was in possession of a transcendent message; but he lived the life of a normal man. the christian, too, is a man with a divine mission; but like his master he must exercise his mission in the turmoil of life. he must not be a spoilsport at feasts; his is no desert rôle like john the baptist's. christianity has a mission from without; but its mission is fulfilled in loving contact with the world of men. (= =) =the christian's defense.=--the christians who suffered persecution should first of all, according to peter, defend themselves to the very best of their ability. they should do their best to remove dishonor from the name of christ. they should show the baselessness of the accusations which are brought against them. then, if they still suffer, it will be clearly suffering for christ's sake. such suffering is glorious. it is a test from which faith emerges strong and sure, ch. : ; it is true conformity to the example of christ. chs. : - ; : ; : , . . the date of the persecutions from the persecutions presupposed in first peter no very certain conclusion can be drawn with regard to the date of the epistle. a late date has sometimes been inferred from such passages as i peter : . christians were not punished as christians, it is said, until the beginning of the second century, and especially no such persecution was carried out in the early period throughout the whole empire. ch. : . this argument breaks down at a number of points. in the first place, as has already been observed, it is by no means clear that first peter presupposes a persecution of the christians simply as christians. apparently special charges of immorality were still in the foreground, though these charges were often mere pretexts in order to secure the punishment of members of the hated sect. in the second place, it is not clear exactly when christians first began to be punished as "christians" by the roman authorities. undoubtedly the legal basis for such persecution was present as soon as christianity began to be regarded as separate from judaism. judaism had a legal status; christianity, strictly speaking, had none. . dependence and originality first peter is clearly dependent upon a number of the pauline epistles, and apparently also upon the epistle of james. the dependence, however, is by no means slavish; the epistle possesses marked characteristics of its own. as compared with paul, for example, first peter is somewhat simpler both in thought and in expression. no mere imitator, but a genuine personality, speaks to us from the noble simplicity of these pages. . comparison with the speeches of peter it is interesting to compare this epistle with the early speeches of peter that are recorded in the acts. part of the difference--similarities also have been pointed out--no doubt, was due to the difference in the persons addressed. in those early speeches, peter was preaching to unconverted jews, and had to content himself with a few outstanding facts. in the epistle, he was addressing christians, before whom he could lay bare the deep things of the faith. nevertheless, the passing years had brought a change in peter himself. upon him as upon everyone else the mighty influence of paul made itself felt; and even the revelation which came directly to him was progressive. the essence of the gospel was present from the beginning; but the rich unfolding of it which appears in first peter was the product of long years spent in an ever-widening service. . the style of the epistle the style of first peter, though not at all rhetorical, like that of hebrews, is smooth and graceful. it has often been considered strange that a fisherman of galilee should have been so proficient in greek. but probably we have an exaggerated notion of the poverty and roughness of the first disciples of jesus. undoubtedly they had not enjoyed a rabbinical education; in the technical jewish sense they were "unlearned and ignorant men." acts : . nevertheless, they clearly did not belong at all to the lowest of the population; peter in particular seems to have been possessed of considerable property. furthermore, it must be remembered that greek culture in the first century was making itself felt very extensively in galilee. no doubt peter could use greek even before he left galilee, and in the course of his later life his linguistic attainments must have been very greatly improved. it is by no means impossible that he wrote first peter entirely without assistance. . silvanus in order, however, to account for the linguistic excellence of this epistle, and in particular for the striking difference between it and second peter, a rather attractive hypothesis has been proposed. in i peter : , peter says: "by silvanus, our faithful brother, as i account him, i have written unto you briefly." undoubtedly these words may designate silvanus merely as the messenger who carried the letter to its destination. compare acts : . it is also possible, however, that peter meant to say that silvanus had written the letter under his direction. in that case the thought would be due altogether to peter; but the form, to some extent at least, would be the work of silvanus. the hypothesis, of course, is only plausible, not necessary. there are other ways of accounting for the peculiarities of the epistle. in all probability, the silvanus of first peter is the same as the silvanus of the pauline epistles and the silas of the acts. if so, his association with peter is altogether natural; he was originally a member of the jerusalem church. if, in accordance with the hypothesis which has just been mentioned, silvanus was really concerned in the composition of the epistle, the choice of such a man for the task was, as has been pointed out by the chief advocate of the hypothesis, exceedingly wise. silvanus, who had been a companion of paul and his associate in founding many of the churches of asia minor, would be just the man who could find the right tone in writing to the churches to which the epistle is addressed. . mark the appearance of mark in i peter : confirms the strong tradition which makes mark a disciple of peter and associates him with peter in the production of the second gospel. the only two individuals whom peter mentions in his first epistle were both natives of jerusalem, and both, during part of their lives, companions of paul. the unity of the apostolic church was preserved not only by a unity of spirit, but also by the changing associations of christian workers. . fortitude in the modern church the first epistle of peter has a varied message to the church of to-day. even in its exhortations to bravery and steadfastness it is very much needed. we are not subject to persecution by the state, but still there are a thousand circumstances of life in which we need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of god, casting all our anxiety upon him, because he careth for us. ch. : , . * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": warfield (supplemented), article on "peter." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : mason, "the first epistle of st. peter." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxv the christian's attitude toward error and immorality the second epistle of peter and the epistle of jude . authenticity the second epistle of peter and the epistle of jude are among the least known and most seriously questioned parts of the new testament. even in ancient times their authenticity was disputed; in the third and fourth centuries there were some at least who desired to exclude them from the new testament. these ancient doubts have been continued in the modern church. by very many scholars of the present day, second peter and jude are assigned to second-century writers who falsely assumed the names of an apostle and of a brother of the lord. against such views as these, a number of arguments might be employed. but the strongest argument of all is provided by the self-witness of the epistles themselves. second peter, in particular, not only lays claim to apostolic authorship in the address, but is written throughout in the name of an apostle. either it was really written by an apostle or else it was a deliberate fraud. the latter alternative is excluded by the epistle itself. second peter does not look at all like a pseudonymous work, but is a weighty bit of writing, full of the sincerest moral earnestness. both second peter and jude ring true, with the genuine apostolic note. . second peter and first peter resemblances have often been pointed out among all three divisions of the new testament material attributed to peter. second peter has been shown to resemble not only first peter, but also the speeches of peter as they are reported in the acts. such similarities of course point to a common authorship. it cannot be denied, however, that differences stand side by side with the similarities. in the comparison of the epistles with the speeches, such differences are of course not surprising. the total difference of subject and the wide interval of time provide an amply sufficient explanation. but how is it with the difference between second peter and first peter? (= =) =difference of purpose and subject.=--in the first place, the difference may be partly explained by the difference of purpose and subject. first peter is a presentation of the glories of the faith in order to encourage christians under trial and make them feel their separateness from the world; second peter is a solemn warning against dangerous perverters of the life of the church. (= =) =difference of time.=--in the second place, a considerable interval of time may separate the two epistles. here we find ourselves on uncertain ground. on the whole it is perhaps better to put the epistles near together at the close of peter's life. (= =) =work of silvanus.=--in the third place, recourse may be had to the hypothesis, mentioned in the last lesson, which attributes a considerable share in the composition of first peter to silvanus. (= =) =conclusion.=--finally, there may be still further possibilities of explanation which cannot now be detected. the differences of style and of thought between the two epistles of peter are far from sufficient to show diversity of authorship, and it must be remembered that similarities are to be balanced against the differences. . value of second peter and jude although second peter and jude are not so familiar as most of the new testament, yet even these two brief epistles have entered deep into the mind and heart of the church. (= =) =expressive phrases.=--even the inimitably expressive phrases and sentences that have been derived from the epistles have produced no small enrichment of christian life. the "exceeding great and precious promises," and the "partakers of the divine nature" of ii peter : , the chain of virtues in vs. - , the "make your calling and election sure" of v. , the "sure word of prophecy" of v. , the description of inspired prophecy in vs. , --"no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost"--the "vexed his righteous soul" of ch. : , the "railing accusation" of v. ; jude , the "stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance" of ii peter : , the "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" of v. , the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints" of jude , the magnificent doxology of vs. , --a review of these passages as they appear in the king james version will bring some realization of the profound influence which even the most obscure books of the new testament have exerted both upon the english language and upon the character of christian men. the influence of second peter and jude, however, is not merely the influence of isolated phrases. the epistles as a whole have a distinctive message for the church. that message is twofold. it embraces in the first place an emphasis upon authority, and in the second place an insistence upon holiness. (= = =)the emphasis upon authority.=--the adversaries who are combated in second peter and jude were impatient of restraint. apparently they distinguished themselves, as possessing the spirit, from the ordinary christians, as being merely "natural." jude , ; ii peter : . they appealed to their own deeper insight, instead of listening to what apostles and prophets had to say. in reply, peter and jude insisted upon the authority of the old testament prophets, and upon the authority of the apostles, which was ultimately the authority of christ. see especially ii peter : . a similar insistence upon authority is greatly needed to-day. again men are inclined to appeal to an inward light as justifying freedom from ancient restraints; the christian consciousness is being exalted above the bible. at such a time, renewed attention to second peter and jude would be salutary. false notions are rife to-day with regard to apostolic authority. they can be corrected by our epistles. peter as well as paul exerts his authority not in an official or coldly ecclesiastical way, but with an inimitable brotherliness. the authority of the apostles is the authority of good news. subjection to such authority is perfect freedom. the authority which peter and jude urge upon their readers is a double authority--in the first place the authority of the old testament, and in the second place the authority of christ exerted through the apostles. for us, however, the two become one. the apostles, like the old testament prophets, speak to us only through the bible. we need to learn the lesson. a return to the bible is the deepest need of the modern church. it would mean a return to god. (= =) =insistence upon holiness.=--the second characteristic of second peter and jude is the insistence upon holiness. religion is by no means always connected with goodness. in the greco-roman world, the two were often entirely separate. many pagan cults contained no ethical element whatever. the danger was therefore very great that christianity might be treated in the same way. the early christians needed to be admonished ever and again that their god was a god of righteousness, that no unclean thing could stand in his presence. insistence upon holiness is in itself no peculiarity of second peter and jude. it runs all through the new testament. but in these epistles it is directed more definitely perhaps than anywhere else against the opposite error. the opponents of peter and jude did not merely drift into immorality; they defended it on theoretical grounds. they were making a deliberate effort to reduce christianity to the level of a non-ethical religion. such theoretical defense of immorality appears, indeed, in a number of places in the apostolic church. a certain party in corinth, for example, made a wrong use of christian freedom. but what is more or less incidental in first corinthians forms the main subject of second peter and jude. christianity is here insisting upon its thoroughly ethical character. at first sight the message might seem obsolete to-day. we always associate religion with morality; we can hardly understand how the two ever could have been separated. it is to be feared, however, that the danger is not altogether past. in our thoughts we preserve the ethical character of christianity. but how is it with our lives? how is it with our religious observances? are we not constantly in danger of making religion a mere cult, a mere emotional excitement, a mere means of gaining earthly or heavenly advantages, a mere effort to bribe god by our worship? the danger is always with us. we need always to remind ourselves that christian faith must work itself out in holy living. peter in his second epistle has provided us with one important means to that end. it is the thought of christ's coming. there can be no laxness in moral effort if we remember the judgment seat of christ. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": warfield (supplemented), article on "jude." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - , - : plummer, "the second epistle of st. peter" and "the epistle of st. jude." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. ii, pp. - . the last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxvi the life of the children of god the epistles of john . authorship of the first epistle the first epistle of john does not contain the name of its author. according to tradition, however, it was written by the apostle john, and tradition is here supported by the characteristics of the epistle itself. the author of the epistle was evidently the same as the author of the fourth gospel. the marked similarity in style can be explained in no other way. even the careless reader observes that the style of the fourth gospel is very peculiar. short sentences are joined to one another with the utmost simplicity; the vocabulary is limited, but contains expressions of extraordinary richness; the total effect is singularly powerful. these same characteristics, though they are so peculiar, appear also in the epistle. there is the same simplicity of sentence structure, the same use of such terms as "life" and "light" and "love," the same indescribable spirit and tone. yet the epistle is no slavish imitation of the gospel--differences stand side by side with the similarities. these two works are evidently related, not as model and copy, but as living productions of the same remarkable personality. . testimony of an eyewitness as in the gospel, so also in the epistle the author presents himself clearly as an eyewitness of the life of jesus, i john : - ; : ; as in the gospel he lays stress upon simple testimony. even those things which have just been noticed as characteristic of his style are connected ultimately with the teaching of jesus. in both gospel and epistle, the beloved disciple has reproduced what he heard in galilee and in judea, though in both he has made the memory a living, spiritual fact. . destination and date the first epistle of john is perhaps scarcely to be called an epistle at all. practically all the characteristics of a letter are missing. there is no address; there is no greeting at the close; there are no personal details. the readers are indeed referred to in the second person; but preachers as well as letter-writers say, "you." first john is a sort of general address written probably to some extended group of churches. these churches are probably to be sought in asia minor. throughout the epistle the readers are addressed in a fatherly tone. see, for example, ch. : . evidently the writer was well known as a sort of patriarch throughout an extended region. such conditions prevailed in asia minor after the apostle john had begun to reside at ephesus. trustworthy tradition as well as the new testament informs us of a period in the apostle's life when he had outlived all or most of the other apostles and was revered as the head of the asian church. at some time within this period--probably nearer the end than the beginning--the first epistle of john was written. . the false teachers the form of error against which the epistle is directed becomes clearest, perhaps in ch. : , . the false teachers had denied that jesus christ was come in the flesh. this may be interpreted in several different ways. (= =) =docetism.=--in the first place, john may mean that the opponents simply denied the reality of the earthly life of jesus. such a form of error is by no means unknown in the history of the church. it is called "docetism." according to docetism the son of god did not really live a human life--with human sufferings and a human death--but only appeared to do so. (= =) =cerinthus.=--in the second place, the meaning of the passage may be that the opponents denied the unity of the person of jesus christ. compare ch. : . some persons in the early church supposed that there were two separate persons in the figure that is described in the gospels. a heavenly being, the christ, it was thought, united himself with the man jesus at the time when the dove descended after the baptism. matt. : , . such was the view of cerinthus, who is declared by tradition to have been an opponent of the apostle john at ephesus. it has been suggested, therefore, that it was actually cerinthus, with his disciples, who is combated in the first epistle of john. (= =) =denial of the incarnation.=--both cerinthus and the docetists denied the reality of the incarnation--both denied that the son of god actually assumed a human nature and lived a complete human life. according to cerinthus and others like him, the christ stood only in somewhat loose relation to the man jesus. he was united with him only late in life, he left him before the crucifixion. on this view, it was not the christ who lay in the manger at bethlehem, it was not the christ who suffered on the cross. cerinthus, like the docetists, kept the son of god out of any close relation to the world and to us. (= =) =john's reply.=--against some such view as one of these, john was concerned to establish the reality of the incarnation--the truth that "the word became flesh." in the gospel, that truth underlies the whole of the narrative; in the first epistle it is directly defended against the opposing error. it is defended first of all by an appeal to what the writer had seen and heard. "we knew jesus in palestine," says john in effect, "and we can testify that jesus himself was none other than the christ, the son of god." i john, : - . (= =) =john, the opponents, and cerinthus.=--the false teachers who are combated in the epistle had apparently withdrawn from the church and formed a separate sect. i john : . their separateness of mind and heart and life had found expression in open schism. whether they are to be identified with disciples of cerinthus is at least doubtful. false speculation about the person of christ no doubt assumed many forms in the closing years of the first century. . connection between the second and the third epistle in iii john , the apostle tells gaius that he had written "somewhat unto the church." this letter to the church may have been written at some previous time. it is also possible, however, that it was written together with the letter to gaius. the greek word for "i wrote" admits of that interpretation. if that interpretation be correct, then john perhaps means to say that although he has written a letter to the church he could not in that letter urge the hospitable reception of the missionaries. for the present, the influence of diotrephes was too strong. the letter to the church had to be concerned with other matters. if this view of the letter mentioned in iii john be adopted, then the second epistle of john corresponds to the description. the second epistle is addressed to a church, and it is written with some reserve. if "certain" of the children of "the elect lady" were walking in truth, ii john , the inference is that others were conducting themselves very differently. evidently there was danger of false teaching among the readers. hospitality to men like demetrius and his companions could hardly be expected of such a church. if hospitality should be practiced, it was only too likely to be hospitality to men of a very different stamp. vs. , . possibly, therefore, the second epistle of john is actually the letter that is referred to in iii john , a letter to the church of which gaius was a member. this hypothesis is supported by the striking formal similarity of the two letters. they are of almost exactly the same length; the openings and especially the conclusions, ii john , ; iii john , , are couched in almost exactly the same terms. they look very much like twin epistles, written on two sheets of papyrus of the same size. of course the hypothesis is by no means certain. perhaps the letter referred to in iii john was a previous letter bespeaking hospitality, which had failed of its effect. when the apostle saw, from the answer or lack of answer to the previous letter, that the church was ill disposed, he had recourse to an individual member of it. even in this case, however, it remains probable that our two epistles were written at about the same time. . value of the shorter epistles these last two epistles of john do not deserve the neglect which they have sometimes suffered. despite their brevity--they are the shortest books of the new testament--they are instructive in a number of ways. (= =) =historical.=--it is exceedingly interesting, for example, to compare them with the private letters of the same period which have recently been discovered in egypt--see lesson iii, teacher's manual, in this course. in form, the opening of the third epistle is very much in the manner of the papyrus letters. compare, for example, with iii john - the following opening of a letter of the second century after christ: "apion to epimachus his father and lord heartiest greetings. first of all i pray that you are in health and continually prosper and fare well with my sister and daughter and my brother. i thank the lord serapis...." (the translation is that of professor milligan. see p. of teacher's manual, part i, of this course.) the differences, however, are even more instructive than the resemblances. what was said in lesson i about the epistles of paul applies in full measure to the epistles of john. even the epistolary forms are here modified so as to be the vehicle of a new message and a new spirit. furthermore, the two epistles, especially third john, cast a flood of light upon the internal development of the church. in one respect indeed the historical significance of the third epistle has sometimes been exaggerated. it is not true that we have here the emergence of the monarchical episcopate--that is, the preëminence of one presbyter, called a "bishop," over his brother presbyters. diotrephes does not appear clearly as a bishop. at about a. d. in the epistles of ignatius the episcopate is very prominent; but third john belongs to an earlier period. nevertheless, this concrete picture of the internal affairs of a late first-century church is absolutely unique. the period is very obscure; these few brief lines illumine it more than pages of narrative. the traveling preachers of third john are particularly interesting. similar missionaries appear also in the "didache," a sort of church manual which may probably be dated in the early part of the second century. in that later period, however, care had to be taken lest the hospitality of the churches should be abused. "but let every apostle," says the writer--the word "apostle" is used in a very broad sense to designate wandering preachers--"who comes to you be received as the lord. he shall remain, however, no more than one day, or if necessary two. if he remains three days he is a false prophet." such precautions, we may be sure, were not needed in the case of demetrius and his companions. (= =) =practical.=--despite its individual address and private character, the third epistle of john is not an ordinary private letter. like all the books of the new testament, it has a message for the entire church. the devout reader rises from the perusal of it with a more steadfast devotion to the truth and a warmer glow of christian love. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. - , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (supplemented), article on "john, epistles of." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : sinclair, "the epistles of st. john." westcott, "the epistles of st. john." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. iii, pp. - . the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxvii the messages of the living christ the book of revelation (first lesson) . the apocalypse and the gospel of john in the student's text book it was maintained that the apocalypse was written by john the son of zebedee. the strongest objection to this view is to be found in the striking difference of language and style which exists between the apocalypse on the one side and the gospel and epistles of john on the other. the style of the apocalypse is extraordinarily rough; in it the most elementary laws of greek grammar are sometimes disregarded. such peculiarities appear scarcely at all in the gospel; the language of the gospel, though simple, is perfectly grammatical. this observation has led many scholars to decide that the gospel and the apocalypse never could have been written by the same person; the argument, indeed, was advanced as early as the third century by dionysius of alexandria. those who thus deny the unity of authorship do not all reject either one book or the other as authoritative; some suppose that the john whose name appears in the apocalypse, though not the same as john the son of zebedee, was a genuine prophet. the evidence, however, for attributing all the johannine books to the son of zebedee is exceedingly strong. if the apocalypse is to be attributed to some one else, tradition is very seriously at fault, and it is also very difficult to see how another john could have introduced himself to the churches of asia minor in the way that the author does at the beginning and end of the book without distinguishing himself from the greater man of the same name who was residing at ephesus at the very same time. the apocalypse must therefore be assigned to the son of zebedee unless there is absolutely unimpeachable evidence to the contrary. such evidence is not really forthcoming. the difference of style between the apocalypse and the fourth gospel is capable of explanation. (= =) =possible difference of date.=--in the first place, it might be explained by a wide difference of date. if the apocalypse was written at about a. d. , then an interval of some twenty-five years or more separates it from the gospel. such an interval would allow plenty of time for the style of the author to change. when the galilean fisherman first left his home in palestine, his command of the greek language might conceivably be slight; whereas after a long residence in asia minor, as leader of a group of greek-speaking churches, the roughness of his style would be removed. hence the un-greek, strongly hebraistic usages of the apocalypse would in the gospel naturally give place to a correct, though simple style. this hypothesis, however, is beset with serious difficulties. it is difficult to suppose that the apocalypse was written before the closing decade of the first century. some passages, it is true, have been strongly urged in favor of the early date. particularly the reference to the seven kings in rev. : has been thought by many excellent scholars to be decisive. the reference to the seven hills in the preceding verse seems to show that the "beast" represents rome; the seven kings therefore naturally represent roman emperors. the fifth emperor, beginning with augustus, was nero. if at the time when the book was written five were fallen, one was and the other was not yet come, v. , the book must apparently have been written under nero's successor. his successor, galba, reigned only a few months: the book was therefore written in a. d. or . or if the very brief reigns of galba, otho and vitellius be not counted, then the book was written between a. d. and , during the reign of vespasian. the passage remains, however, so obscure that it is very doubtful whether any one interpretation of it should be allowed to overbalance the evidence for the later date. such evidence is abundant. most weighty of all, perhaps, is the strong tradition which places the apocalypse in the closing years of domitian. it is hard to believe that that tradition is seriously at fault. the condition of the church, moreover, as it is presupposed in the book, is more naturally to be sought at a. d. than twenty-five years earlier. the persecution, for example, which the writer describes, seems far more like the persecution under domitian than it is like the outbreak which was occasioned by the cruelty of nero. =( ) the difference of subject.=--if the later date be accepted, then the gospel and the apocalypse were written in the same period of the apostle's life, and the difference of style cannot be explained by a difference of date. another explanation, however, is sufficient. the difference between the two books may be explained by the total difference of subject. the gospel is a narrative of jesus' life, written with abundant opportunity for reflection; the apocalypse is a record of wonderful visions, where stylistic nicety would have marred the immediateness of the revelation. the very roughness of the apocalypse is valuable as expressing the character of the book. in the gospel, john brought to bear all his power of reflection and of expression; in the apocalypse, he wrote in haste under the overpowering influence of a transcendent experience. the grammatical irregularities of the apocalypse, moreover, often create the impression that they are intentional. they belonged, apparently, to an apocalyptic style which to a certain extent had already been formed; they were felt to be suited to the peculiar character of the work. finally, it must not be forgotten that side by side with the differences of style there are some remarkable similarities. the underlying unity of thought and expression points to unity of authorship. . characteristics of the apocalypse (= =) =a record of visions.=--in what has just been said, the dominant peculiarity of the apocalypse has already been indicated. the apocalypse is no careful literary composition, pieced together from previous works of a similar character. on the contrary, it is a record of genuine revelations. before writing, the seer was "in the spirit." (= =) =influence of the old testament.=--nevertheless, although the apocalypse is a record of visions, and was written consciously under the impulsion of the spirit, it is by no means uninfluenced by previous works. to a degree that is perhaps not paralleled by any other new testament book, the apocalypse is suffused with the language and with the imagery of the old testament. though there is not a single formal quotation, the old testament scriptures have influenced almost every sentence of the book. particularly the books of ezekiel and daniel, which, like the apocalypse, are composed largely of the records of visions, have supplied much of the imagery of the new testament work. this wide-spread influence of the old testament upon the apocalypse is by no means surprising. the apocalypse is based upon direct revelation, but direct revelation is not necessarily out of relation to everything else. on the contrary, it uses the language which its recipients can understand; and part of the language of the apostle john was the phraseology and imagery of the old testament. it has already been hinted that works very similar in form to the apocalypse are to be found in the old testament. this apocalyptic form was continued in a number of jewish works written after the conclusion of the old testament canon. superficially these works bear considerable resemblance to the new testament apocalypse; but closer examination reveals profound differences. the jewish apocalypses appeared under assumed names--the most important of them under the name of enoch--while john is so firmly convinced of having received genuine revelation that he requires no such spurious authority for his work. the similarity between our apocalypse and its extra-canonical jewish predecessors and contemporaries is a similarity at most of form; in spirit and content the difference is incalculable. unlike these other works, the apocalypse is a genuine prophecy. . the messages to the seven churches the so-called letters to the seven churches were never intended to be circulated separately. from the beginning the letters formed part of the apocalypse, which was addressed to all seven of the churches. from the beginning, therefore, each of the letters was intended to be read not only by the church whose name it bears, but also by all the others. the seven churches, moreover, are representative of the church at large. nevertheless, despite the universal purpose of the letters, they are very concrete in the information that they provide about the churches in asia minor. like the second and third epistles of john they illumine an exceedingly obscure period in the history of christianity. (= =) =the "angels" of the churches.=--some details in the letters, it is true, are to us obscure. what, for example, is meant by the "angels" of the churches to which the several letters are addressed? the greek word translated "angel" may also mean simply "messenger." conceivably, it might designate merely a congregational officer. many have supposed that it designates a bishop. in the epistles of ignatius, which were written not very many years after the apocalypse, the term "bishop" is applied to an officer who had supreme authority over a congregation including the presbyters. the appearance of these "angels" or "messengers" in the apocalypse has been urged as proof that john as well as ignatius recognized the institution of the episcopacy. surely, however, the matter is more than doubtful. the greek word used, whether it be translated "angel" or "messenger," is a very strange designation of a bishop. moreover, in the rest of the johannine literature there is no recognition of the episcopacy. in the third epistle of john, for example, even if diotrephes had set himself up as a bishop--which is itself exceedingly doubtful--his claim is certainly not accepted by the apostle. on the whole, it seems better to regard the "angels" to which the seven letters of the apocalypse are addressed merely as ideal representatives of the churches--representatives conceived of perhaps as guardian angels. compare matt. : . (= =) =the nicolaitans.=--another puzzling question concerns the "nicolaitans" who appear in several of the letters. the name itself is obscure. by tradition it is connected with that nicolaüs of antioch who was one of the seven men appointed in the early days of the jerusalem church to attend to the administration of charity. acts : . the tradition may possibly be correct. if it is correct, then nicolaüs, in his later life, had not justified the confidence originally reposed in him. at the first mention of the nicolaitans, in the letter to ephesus, rev. : , nothing whatever is said about their tenets. their error, however, was not merely theoretical, but practical, for it was their "works" that the lord is represented as hating. in the letter to pergamum, the nicolaitans are probably meant in v. . like balaam, they enticed the people of god to idolatry and impurity. the form which their idolatry took was the eating of meats offered to idols. the question of meats offered to idols was no simple matter. in the first epistle to the corinthians paul had permitted the eating of such meats under certain circumstances, but had sternly forbidden it wherever it involved real or supposed participation in idolatrous worship. the form in which it was favored by the nicolaitans evidently fell under the latter category. in a time of persecution, the temptation to guilty compromise with heathenism must have been insidious; and also the low morality of the asian cities threatened ever and again to drag christian people back into the impure life of the world. in the letter to thyatira, also, "the woman jezebel" is apparently to be connected with the same sect, for the practical faults in thyatira and in pergamum were identical. jezebel, the phoenician wife of ahab, was, like balaam, a striking old testament example of one who led israel into sin. it is significant that the woman jezebel in thyatira called herself a prophetess. rev. : . this circumstance seems to indicate that the nicolaitans had excused their moral laxness by an appeal to special revelations. the impression is confirmed by v. . apparently the nicolaitans had boasted of their knowledge of the "deep things," and had despised the simple christians who contented themselves with a holy life. at any rate, whatever particular justification the nicolaitans advanced for their immoral life, they could not deceive the all-searching eye of christ. their "deep things" were deep things, not of god, but of satan! who is meant by "the woman jezebel"? some interpreters, who suppose that the "angel" of the church was the bishop, regard jezebel as a designation of the bishop's wife. this whole interpretation is, however, beset with serious difficulty. perhaps "the woman jezebel" does not refer to an individual at all, but is simply a figurative designation of the nicolaitan sect. the description of the coming retribution in vs. - seems to be highly figurative. it will be observed that the sin of the churches at pergamum and thyatira was not limited to those who actually accepted the nicolaitan teaching. even to endure the presence of the guilty sect was the object of the lord's rebuke. toward the works of the nicolaitans only hatred was in place. rev. : . that is a solemn lesson for modern indifferentism. tolerance is good; but there are times when it is a deadly sin. * * * * * in the library.--purves, "christianity in the apostolic age," pp. , - . davis, "dictionary of the bible": purves (supplemented), article on "revelation." m'clymont, "the new testament and its writers," pp. - . milligan, "lectures on the apocalypse" and "discussions on the apocalypse." ellicott, "a new testament commentary for english readers," vol. iii, pp. - : carpenter, "the revelation of st. john." ramsay, "the letters to the seven churches of asia." plumptre, "a popular exposition of the epistles to the seven churches of asia." swete, "the apocalypse of st. john." zahn, "introduction to the new testament," vol. iii, pp. - . the two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of greek, but can also be used by others. lesson xxxviii a vision of the final triumph the book of revelation (second lesson) . the interpretations of the apocalypse the interpretations of the apocalypse may be divided into four classes. (= =) =unfulfilled prophecies.=--according to one method of interpretation, the prophecies of the book are all unfulfilled. in the last days there will be a mighty revival of evil like that which is symbolized by the dragon and the beast and the false prophet, there will be plagues and woes like those which are described in connection with the seals and the trumpets and the bowls, and there will be a triumph of god's people and an eternal blessedness of the new jerusalem. this interpretation would place the apocalypse out of analogy with the other prophecies of the bible. prophecy is seldom out of all connection with the immediate present. even where the prophetic vision reaches to the very end of time, the fulfillment or the preparation for the fulfillment is usually represented as beginning at once. in the apocalypse, as in other prophecy, there is evident reference to the circumstances of the original readers. (= =) =contemporary events.=--a second method of interpretation goes to an opposite extreme. by this method the prophecies of the book are thought to be concerned merely with events of the writer's own age. "the beast" is the roman empire; "babylon" is the city of rome; the author expected the destruction of both to take place within a few years' time. in its thoroughgoing form this interpretation also is to be rejected. it degrades the apocalypse to the level of a mistaken prediction, and reduces the self-evidencing glories of the book to trivialities. evidently the outlook of the seer was far broader and far more spiritual than it is represented by the advocates of this interpretation. (= =) =the whole history of the church.=--by a third method of interpretation, the first two methods are combined. the book is written distinctly in view of conditions of the first century, its predictions concern partly the immediate future; but there is also an outlook upon remoter ages. by this interpretation the prophecies are held to provide an epitome of the whole of history from the first coming of christ to his second coming. (= =) =mixture of discordant traditions.=--a fourth method of interpretation, which has become influential in very recent years, abandons all hope of discovering a unitary message in the book, and proceeds to divide it into its component parts. the analysis was carried on first by literary criticism. an older work of the time of nero was supposed to have been revised at a later period; or non-christian jewish works were supposed to have been incorporated in the present work by a christian compiler. this sort of literary criticism has in the last few years given place sometimes to a subtler method. investigation is now directed to the materials of which the book is composed, whether those materials were embodied in previous literary works or only in previous traditions. the ultimate source of much of the material is found in babylonia or other eastern countries; this material is thought to be not always in accord with the context into which in our apocalypse it has been introduced. this method must emphatically be rejected. it contains, indeed, an element of truth. undoubtedly the apocalypse makes use of already-existing materials. but these materials are, for the most part at least, of genuinely hebrew origin; and they have been thoroughly assimilated for the purposes of the present prophecy. the apocalypse is not a compilation full of contradictions, but a unitary work, with one great message for the church. (= =) =wrong use of the third method.=--of these four methods of interpretation the third has been adopted in the student's text book. the prophecies of the apocalypse concern the entire history of the church. undoubtedly this interpretation is subject to abuse. it has been employed in the interests of special controversy, as when the protestants saw in the scarlet woman a representation of papal rome. (= =) =principles, not individual facts.=--all such abuses may be avoided, however, if the interpreter will remember that the book deals with great principles, rather than with individual facts. the beast is neither the roman catholic church, nor the religion of mohammed, nor the turkish empire. undoubtedly it expressed itself in some phases of each of those institutions. but no one of them can be identified with it outright. the beast of the apocalypse is nothing less than the blatant, godless power of worldly empire, however that power may be manifested. at the time of john it was manifested especially in the empire of rome. even rome, however, cannot be identified with the beast entirely without qualification. even rome had its beneficent side. john as well as paul, even in the fire of persecution, might have expressed the thought of rom. : - . peter also wrote in the midst of persecution; yet peter could say, "be subject to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well." i peter : , . the other side of rome's power, it is true, was prominent at the close of the first century. more systematically than before, rome had begun to persecute the church of god. by the demand of emperor-worship she had tried to put her stamp upon the followers of jesus. through her priesthood she had endeavored to lead men astray. in these things she was a manifestation of the beast. as such she was execrated and resisted to the death by every loyal christian. there could be no hope of compromise. hope lay rather in the power of god. god would give the just reward; god would give the final victory. such was the message of the apocalypse. the message is of perennial value. the beast is not yet dead. his methods are different, but still he oppresses the church. wherever his power is felt--whether in ruthless oppression or impious warfare or degrading superstition--there the prophecy of john is a comfort and an inspiration to the people of god. undoubtedly this method of interpretation, which detects in the book principles rather than individual facts, involves a reduction in the amount of direct information which the apocalypse may be thought to give. a detailed account, whether of the progress of the church, or of the final catastrophe, is by this interpretation no longer found in the book. . the thousand years at one point at least, this conclusion has been regarded by many devout christians as involving a serious loss. that point is concerned with the thousand years of rev. : - . according to the interpretation that has just been advocated, the thousand years are merely a symbol for the time of the present christian dispensation, and the rule which the saints are represented as bearing with christ probably refers to the condition of the blessed dead up to the final resurrection. to many devout readers of the bible this interpretation seems to be an impoverishment of the prophet's words. in reality, they maintain, the passage predicts a return of jesus to earth before the final judgment, and a long period of his blessed sway. undoubtedly this more literal interpretation of the millennium seems at first sight to be required by certain phrases of the passage. but the highly figurative character of apocalyptic language must always be borne in mind. numbers, in the apocalypse, are usually symbolic; so it may be with the thousand years. during the present dispensation satan is in one sense bound, and in another sense he is free. in principle he has been conquered; but in the sphere of worldly power he continues to work his wrathful will. . the christian hope one thing at least is clear. no interpretation of the apocalypse is correct if it fails to do justice to the hope of christ's return. if the figurative interpretation weakens our expectation of that dread meeting with the lord, then it is untrue to the mind of the spirit. there are difficulties connected with the idea of a literal millennium; but such difficulties are inconsiderable in comparison with those that result from any rationalizing, any explaining away, of the universal christian hope. the apocalypse, according to any right interpretation, is a vision of final triumph. that triumph is a triumph of christ. back of all the lurid imagery of the book, back of the battles and the woes, and back of the glories of god's people, stands the figure of the saviour. with him the book began, and with him, too, it ends. he is the same who lived the life of mercy and of glory on earth, the same who died for our sins on the cross. to the lamb all power is given--all power in heaven and on earth. by him all enemies are conquered; by him the whole earth will be judged. to those who bear the mark of the beast he is an avenger; to his church he is an ever-living saviour. * * * * * in the library.--the reading suggested under lesson xxxvii is intended for both of the lessons on the apocalypse. lesson xxxix review this review lesson is fully as important as any other lesson of the first three quarters. without reviewing, the study of history is unproductive; only a review can make of the facts a permanent possession. the story of the apostolic age, as it is narrated in the work of luke, is really very simple; it becomes confusing only when it is imperfectly mastered. a little time spent in turning over the pages of the lucan narrative, or even of the student's text book, will accomplish wonders. . unanswered questions the new testament account of the apostolic age is indeed only fragmentary. many questions must be left unanswered. of the original twelve apostles only peter and the sons of zebedee and judas iscariot receive in the acts anything more than a bare mention; and even the most prominent of these disappears after the fifteenth chapter. what did paul do in arabia and in tarsus? what was the origin of the great church at alexandria? who founded the church at rome? these questions, and many like them, must forever remain unanswered. if, moreover, even the period covered by the acts is obscure, far deeper is the darkness after the guiding hand of luke has been withdrawn. for the death of the apostle paul, there is only a meager tradition; the latter years of peter are even more obscure. for the important period between the release of paul after his first roman imprisonment and the death of the apostle john at about the end of the first century, anything like a connected narrative is quite impossible. . the neronian persecution a few facts, however, may still be established. the roman historian tacitus tells of a persecution of the christians at rome at the time of the burning of the city in a. d. . the emperor nero, suspected of starting the fire, sought to remove suspicion from himself by accusing the christians. the latter had already become unpopular because of their peculiar ways, and were thought to be guilty of abominable crimes; but the cruelty of nero almost exceeded the wishes of the populace. the christians were put to death under horrible tortures. many were burned, and their burning bodies served as torches to illumine the emperor's gardens. the beheading of paul has often been brought into connection with this persecution, but more probably it occurred a few years later. paul had been released from his first imprisonment, and his second imprisonment, at the time of the neronian outbreak, had not yet begun. the extent of the neronian persecution cannot be determined with certainty. probably, however, although there was no systematic persecution throughout the empire, the provinces would not be altogether unaffected by what was happening at rome. the causes of popular and official disfavor were always present; it required only a slight occasion to bring them actively into play. . the destruction of jerusalem even more important than the roman persecution of a. d. was the destruction of jerusalem in a. d. . at the outbreak of the war which culminated in that catastrophe, the jerusalem christians took refuge in pella, east of the jordan; jerusalem ceased to be the center of the christian church. after the war, the jerusalem church never regained its old position of leadership; and specifically jewish christianity, suffering by the destruction of the national jewish life, ceased to be influential in christian history. . the progress of the gospel from the years between the destruction of jerusalem and the closing years of the century, scarcely any definite incidents can be enumerated. undoubtedly the missionary activity of the church was continuing; the gospel was making rapid progress in its conquest of the empire. in this missionary activity probably many of the twelve apostles were engaged; but details of their work are narrated for the most part only in late tradition. . john at ephesus at some time--whether before or after a. d. is uncertain--the apostle john went to ephesus, and there became the leader of the asian church. detailed information about his position and the churches under his care is provided not only in trustworthy tradition--especially that which comes through irenæus from polycarp, the hearer of john--but also in the writings of john himself. the two shorter epistles of john, though each embraces only a small page, are extraordinarily rich in information about congregational matters, and even more instructive are the seven messages of the apocalypse. by means of the latter the moral condition of the church in asia minor is characterized with a vividness that is scarcely to be paralleled for any other period of the apostolic age. . the persecution under domitian during the latter part of the residence of john in asia minor there was an important event in the history of the church. this was the outbreak of the persecution under domitian--a persecution which apparently exceeded in extent, if not in severity, every persecution that had preceded it. under domitian the roman authorities became definitely hostile; apostasy from christ was apparently demanded systematically of the christians--apostasy from christ and adhesion to the imperial cult. the latter, in the apocalypse, is represented as an example of the mark of "the beast"; the roman empire, as would have been unnatural in the days of paul, appears in that book as an incorporation of satanic power. the long conflict between the church and the empire had at last begun. which side would be victorious? in the apocalypse the answer is plain. the lord himself was fighting for his church! . the new testament gospel our knowledge of the apostolic age, though fragmentary, is sufficient--sufficient not indeed for a complete history, but for the requirements of christian faith. the information provided in the new testament makes up in quality for what it lacks in quantity. its extraordinary vividness and concreteness possesses a self-evidencing value. the life of the apostle paul--revealed with unmistakable fidelity--is itself a sufficient bulwark against historical skepticism; it involves inevitably the supernatural christ. the gospel is no aspiration in the hearts of dreamers; it is a real entrance of divine power into the troubled battle field of human history. god was working in the apostolic church, god is speaking in the new testament--there is the summation of our study. part iv: the apostolic church and the church of to-day lesson xl the church and the world the apostolic church, as was observed in the student's text book, found itself from the beginning in the midst of an environment more or less actively hostile. if we had been in jerusalem at about the year , we should have observed a small group of disciples of jesus, outwardly conforming to jewish customs, but inwardly quite different from their countrymen. in corinth and in other pagan cities of the greco-roman world, the contrast between the church and its environment was even more striking; these cities were sunk in superstition and vice; the church was leading, in the eyes of the world, a very peculiar life. the presence of a common enemy led in the apostolic age to a closer union among the christians themselves, and so it will always be. when christian people realize the power of the enemy against whom they are all fighting, then they will have no time to fight among themselves. the christian life is a warfare against sin--sin in a thousand deadly forms. in such a warfare, if we are to be good soldiers, we must all stand shoulder to shoulder. the apostolic church was waging an audacious warfare against the intrenched forces of heathenism and sin. fortunately it had a leader; and by that leader alone it won the victory. the leader was christ. the primary relation of the soldier is the relation to the commander; the relation of the individual soldiers to one another is dependent upon that. so we shall study to-day the lordship of christ; by that study, the work of the whole quarter will be introduced. . terms descriptive of discipleship the lordship of christ may profitably be studied by an examination of some of the various names which in the new testament are applied to the church and its individual members. the individual titles should be studied first. after all, the church exists for the individual believer rather than the individual believer for the church. the primary relation is the relation between christ and the individual soul. brotherhood comes only through the union of individuals with a common lord. (= =) "=christians.="--probably the first title that occurs to us to-day to designate the individual members of the church is the title "christian"; yet as a matter of fact that title appears only three times in the new testament, and then only as it was taken from the lips of unbelievers. in accordance with the explicit testimony of acts : , the name was given for the first time at antioch; it had no place, therefore, in the early jerusalem church. a moment's thought will reveal the reason. the name "christians" would have meant to a jew adherents of the "christ," or the "messiah." obviously no jew would have applied such a name specifically to the disciples of jesus; for all the jews, in one sense or another, were adherents of the messiah. the jews were adherents of him by way of anticipation; the disciples thought he had already appeared; but all earnest jews alike would have rejoiced to be called by his name. evidently the name was applied in antioch by the pagan population. the church had become so clearly separate from judaism that a separate name for it was required. the name "christian" suggested itself very naturally. "jesus christ" was forever on the lips of these strange enthusiasts! "the christ" was indeed also spoken of by the jews, but only careful observers would necessarily be aware of the fact. the messianic hope was an internal concern of the synagogues, with which outsiders would usually have little to do. the new sect, on the other hand, brought the title "christ" out from its seclusion; "christ" to these enthusiasts was something more than a title, it was becoming almost a proper name; like "jesus," it was a designation of the founder of the sect, and accordingly the adjective derived from it could be used to designate the sect itself. in acts : , the name appears as used by agrippa; in i peter : , also, it is evidently taken from the lips of the opponents of the faith. the christians, however, peter implies, need not be ashamed of the name which has been fastened upon them. rather let them strive to be worthy of it! it is the highest honor to be called by the name of christ; and if they are true "christians," their confession will redound to the glory of god. in modern times, the name is often misapplied; the use of it is broadened and weakened. nations are declared to be christian although only a very small percentage of their citizens really deserve the name; teaching is called christian though it is only similar in some respects to the teaching of christ. such a use of terms should be avoided wherever possible; the original poignancy of the designation should be restored. properly speaking, "christian" means not "like christ" but "subject to christ." a christian is not one who admires christ or is impressed with christ's teaching or tries to imitate christ, but one to whom christ is saviour and lord. are we willing to be known as "christians" in that sense? at the time of first peter, it would have been a serious question; an affirmative answer would have meant persecution and perhaps death. but it is also a serious question to-day. confession of christ involves solemn responsibilities; dishonor to the "christian" means dishonor to christ; the unworthy servant is a dishonor to his master. but let us not fear; christ is helper as well as lord. (= =) "=disciples.="--the earliest designation of the followers of jesus was "disciples" or "learners"; during the earthly ministry perhaps scarcely any other designation was commonly used. jesus appeared at first as a teacher; the form of his work was somewhat like that of other teachers of the jews. nevertheless, although he was a teacher from the beginning, he was also from the beginning something more. he had not only authority, but also power; he was not only teacher, but also saviour. his followers were not merely instructed, but were received into fellowship; and that fellowship made of them new men. "disciples" in the gospels is more than "learners" or "students"; it is a fine, warm, rich word; the teacher was also friend and lord. the same term was continued in the early palestinian church, and the resurrection had brought an incalculable enrichment of its meaning. the "disciples" were not merely those who remembered the words of jesus, but those who had been redeemed by his blood and were living now in the power of his holy spirit. if we use the term, let it be in the same lofty sense. let us be learners, indeed; let us hear the words of jesus, as they are recorded in the gospels; but let us hear them not from a dead teacher, but ever anew from the living lord. (= =) "=saints.="--a third designation is "saints." this term is used as a title of the christians in acts : , , ; : , and frequently in the epistles of paul and in the apocalypse. its use in the new testament is very different from some uses of it that appeared at a later time. the roman catholics, for example, employ the term as a title of honor for a number of persons carefully limited by the church; protestants often designate by it persons of exceptional purity or goodness. in the new testament, on the contrary, the title "saints" is clearly applied to all christians. in the original greek the word is exactly the same as a word meaning "holy"; it is simply the adjective "holy" used as a noun. "saints," therefore, really means "holy persons." unfortunately, however, the word "holy," as well as the word "saint" has undergone modifications of usage. "holy," in the bible, is not simply another word for "good" or "righteous," but expresses a somewhat different idea. it has the idea of "sacred" or "separate"--separate from the world. god is holy not merely because he is good, but because he is separate. undoubtedly his goodness is one attribute--perhaps the chief attribute--that constitutes the separateness; but other attributes also have their place. his omnipotence and his infinitude, as well as his goodness, make him "holy." the word "holy" or "saint" as applied to christians has fundamentally the same meaning. believers are "holy" because they are in communion with the holy god and therefore separate from the world. undoubtedly the most obvious element in their separateness is their goodness; the moral implications of the term "holy" are sometimes so prominent that the specific meaning of the word seems obscured. but that specific meaning is probably never altogether lost. christians are called "saints" because they are citizens, not of the present evil world, but of a heavenly kingdom. the familiar word, thus interpreted, has a startling lesson for the modern church. can modern christians be called "saints," in the new testament sense? are we really separate from the world? are we really "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (a. v.)? do we really feel ourselves to be strangers and pilgrims in the earth? or are we rather salt that has lost its savor? have we become merged in the life of the world? (= =) "=brethren.="--a fourth designation is concerned, not with the relation of the believer to christ or to the world, but with the relation of believers among themselves. that designation is "brethren." it is a very simple word; it requires little explanation; the rich meaning of it will be unfolded in the whole of this quarter's study. (= =) "=church.="--after studying the new testament terms that denote the disciples of jesus individually, it will now be well to turn for a moment to the chief designation of the body of disciples considered as a unit. that designation is "church," or in the greek form, "ecclesia." the word "ecclesia" is in itself a very simple term indeed. it is derived from the verb "call" and the preposition "out." an "ecclesia" is a body of persons called out from their houses to a common meeting place, in short it is simply an "assembly," and an assembly of any kind. this simple use of the word is found in acts : , , ; the greek word which is there translated "assembly" is exactly the same word as that which is elsewhere translated "church." even before new testament times, however, the word had begun to be used in a special, religious sense. here, as so often, the septuagint translation of the old testament prepared the way for new testament usage. in the septuagint the word "ecclesia" was used to denote the solemn assembly of the people of israel. that assembly was of course religious as well as political; for israel was a theocratic nation. hence it was no abrupt transition from previous usage when the new testament writers selected the word "ecclesia" to denote the christian congregation. in the new testament, the word is used in various ways. in the first place, it designates the body of christians who lived in any particular place. so, for example, the epistles of paul are addressed to individual "churches." in the second place, however, the word designates the whole body of christians throughout the world. this usage is prominent in the epistle to the ephesians, but it also appears even in the gospels, in the memorable words of jesus at cæsarea philippi. matt. : . it is a wonderfully grand conception which is thus disclosed by the familiar word. "the church" is a chosen people, ruled by the lord himself, a mighty army, engaged, not in earthly warfare, but in a spiritual campaign of salvation and love. (= =) "=the kingdom of god.="--one further conception requires at least a word. what is meant by "the kingdom of god"? this conception is evidently related to the conception of "the church," but the two are not identical. the kingdom of god is simply that place or that condition where god rules. as the kingdom of cæsar was the territory over which cæsar held sway, so the kingdom of god is the realm where god's will is done. in one sense, of course, the kingdom of god embraces the whole universe, for nothing is beyond the reach of god's power. but in the new testament the term is used in a far deeper sense; it is used to denote the realm where god's will is done, not of necessity, but by willing submission. wherever human hearts and wills are in true accord with the will of god, there the "kingdom" has come. in one sense the kingdom of god belongs to the future age. it is never realized fully upon earth; there is here always some lurking trace of sinful resistance. nevertheless, in the new testament the kingdom is by no means always represented as future. though it has not yet been fully realized, it is already present in principle; it is present especially in the church. the church gives clear, though imperfect, expression to the idea of the kingdom; the church is a people whose ruler is god. entrance into the church is not to be obtained by human effort; it is the free gift of god through the lord jesus christ. no other gift is so glorious. if we are members of that chosen people, we need fear nothing in heaven or on earth. . practical conclusions two lessons should be conveyed by our study of to-day: in the first place the lesson of separateness, and in the second place the lesson of unity. neither can be truly learned without the other. there can be no true christian unity if individual members of the christian body make common cause with the unbelieving world. a knowledge of the common enemy will draw us all into closer fellowship. that fellowship need not necessarily be expressed in a common organization; but it will be expressed at least in a common service. separateness from the world will not mean leaving the world to its fate; the christian salvation will be offered freely to all. but the gravity of the choice should never, by any false urbanity, be disguised. it is no light difference whether a man is within the people of god or without; there is a definite line of demarcation, and the passing of it means the transition from death into life. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "church," "disciple," "christian." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": gayford, article on "church." hort, "the christian ecclesia." charteris, "the church of christ." westcott, "the two empires: the church and the world," in "the epistles of st. john," pp. - . "the epistle to diognetus," introduction and translation in lightfoot, "the apostolic fathers," pp. - , - . erdman, "coming to the communion." lesson xli the christian message . a philosophy, or a testimony? in the student's text book the christian message has been represented as primarily a piece of good news, a story of something that happened. that representation does not pass unchallenged to-day. many suppose that the message of the apostles was concerned simply with reflection upon eternal truths. for centuries, it is said in effect, men had been reflecting upon the problems of god and the world and sin; what the apostles did in jerusalem and elsewhere was simply to provide better instruction on these great themes; jesus had taught men that god is a father, the apostles simply continued his teaching. such a view, of course, can be held only by rejecting or distorting the testimony of the new testament. if the book of the acts is correct, if paul is correct, then the preaching that founded the apostolic church was not better instruction about old facts, but information about a new fact. before jesus came, the world was lost under sin; but jesus lived and died and rose again, and gave salvation to all who would receive. according to the new testament, jesus did not come to tell men that they were god's children; he came to make them god's children. john : ; gal. : - . without him they were under god's wrath and curse; but by faith in him, by acceptance of his sacrifice of himself for them, by receiving from his spirit the power to believe, they could call god father. on the day of pentecost jesus was presented as more than a teacher; he was presented as a saviour. . the effects of the message =( ) in the apostolic age.=--the effects of that presentation have been considered briefly in the student's text book, and what was said there might easily be supplemented. the conversion of the three thousand was only a beginning. the new spirit of the christian community, the brotherly love and holy joy of the disciples, indeed everything that will be treated in the lessons of the quarter, were the result of a simple piece of news. by the wise men of the world--then as now--the message was despised, but "the foolishness of god is wiser than men; and the weakness of god is stronger than men." i cor. : . this lesson offers a singular opportunity to the teacher. the christian message in the apostolic church was a message of power. the story of its progress is full of dramatic vigor; it appeals even to the non-christian historian. the story of the apostolic age is full of surprises--the sudden transformation of bitter jewish enemies into humble disciples; the triumphant spread of the faith when everything seemed opposed; the establishment of christian churches in the very centers of pagan vice; the astonishingly rapid preparation for the conquest of the empire; and all this accomplished not by worldly wisdom, but by simple men who only had a bit of news--a bit of news, and god! =( ) in the history of the church.=--the triumphs of the gospel, however, were not confined to the age of the apostles. the apostolic age was prophetic of the christian centuries. there were many days of darkness; but the church always emerged again triumphant. so it will be to-day. god has not deserted his people; he will attest his truth with the power of his spirit; there is no room for discouragement. one thing, however, should be remembered; the victories of the church are victories, not of brilliant preachers, not of human wisdom or human goodness, but of the cross of christ. under that banner all true conquests move. . the presentation of the message the christian message was presented in the apostolic church in many different ways. the gospel was everywhere essentially the same, but the presentation of it was adapted to the needs of particular hearers, and the understanding of it became ever more complete under the illumination of the holy spirit. it is interesting to collect the various types of missionary speeches that are found in the new testament. =( ) the missionary preaching of the jerusalem church.=--the early chapters of the acts preserve a number of speeches that were addressed to jews. as might have been expected, these speeches are intended primarily to prove the messiahship of jesus. if that could be proved, then--among the jews--the rest would follow. the messiahship was proved first by an appeal to the scriptures, and second by the fact of the resurrection. even the death of jesus on the cross, which was to the jews a stumblingblock, was predicted by the prophets, and so served to prove that jesus was the promised one. the resurrection was also predicted; and the resurrection was established first by the simple testimony of eyewitnesses and second by the wonderful works of the living christ. these early speeches contain only a little of the full truth of the gospel. in them, for example, the significance of the death of christ as an atonement for sin is not fully explained. such omissions were due no doubt to two causes. (a) limitations due to the hearers.--in the first place, the peculiar needs of the hearers had to be considered. the hearers were jews; to them the death of the messiah was an unheard-of paradox; to them the cross was a stumblingblock. before the inner meaning of the crucifixion could be explained, obviously the objections derived from it needed to be overcome. the first task of the missionaries was to show that jesus, although he had been crucified, was the messiah. that was done by an appeal to prophecy and to the plain fact of the resurrection. after conviction had thus been produced, it would be time enough to show that what was at first regarded as a stumblingblock was really the supreme act of divine grace. (b) limitations due to an early stage of revelation.--the omissions in the early speeches were due, however, not merely to the peculiar needs of the hearers, but also to limitations in the knowledge of the apostles. christian truth was not all revealed at once; undoubtedly the full explanation of the cross, the full exposition of the atonement, was revealed only when the disciples could bear it. such is the divine method, even in revelation. the disciples were brought gradually, by the gracious leading of the holy spirit, into ever richer knowledge of the truth. (c) the significance of the cross.--nevertheless, the meagerness of the early teaching must not be exaggerated. in the very first missionary speech of peter, jesus was represented as "delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of god." acts : . what happened "by the determinate counsel ... of god" was no meaningless chance; the crucifixion was not a victory of evil over god, it must have had some beneficent purpose. furthermore, jesus himself had explained what that purpose was. he had spoken of giving his life a ransom for many, mark : ; still more plainly, on the last solemn passover evening, he had represented his death as sacrificial. these words were certainly not forgotten in the jerusalem church; they were called to mind in the repeated celebration of the lord's supper, and must have formed the subject of meditation. the jerusalem christians knew that jesus' death was a death on their behalf. (d) the lordship of jesus.--the lordship of jesus, moreover, was fully recognized from the very beginning. the risen christ had ascended into glory, and had poured forth his mighty spirit. the believer was no mere learner of the words of a dead teacher; he was called into communion with a lord and saviour. such communion meant nothing less than an entirely new life, in which sin could have no rightful place. it was a life of conflict, but also a life of hope. the saviour would come again in like manner as he had gone. the spiritual victory, already won, would be perfected by a final victory in every realm. =( ) the missionary preaching of paul.=--the gospel of the early preachers was a glorious message. it was a piece of glad tidings, such as the world had never known. yet even greater things were in store; even more wondrous mysteries were to be revealed. they were revealed especially through the instrumentality of the apostle paul. the gospel had been preached from the beginning, but much of its deeper meaning was reserved for paul. (a) truth and error.--in the teaching of paul, truth became plainer by being contrasted with error. the original apostles had really been trusting in the atonement of christ for salvation; but now that trust became plainer and more explicit by being contrasted with works of the law. the original apostles had really grasped the inner significance of jesus as the fulfillment of the old testament; but now that significance became still plainer by the contrast with pharisaic legality. now at length the death and resurrection were represented sharply and clearly as great representative acts in which the believer shares through faith. the original apostles were not overwhelmed and confused by the new revelation; they recognized the grace of god. their perfect agreement with paul exhibited the unity of the apostolic gospel. scarcely anything would be more interesting than a full collection of the missionary speeches of paul. such a collection, however, has not been preserved. the writings that we possess from the hand of paul are not missionary addresses, but letters written to those who were already christians. we should not, however, complain of the providence of god. god has not thought good to give us everything, but what he has given us is enough. (b) information provided by the acts.--the book of the acts, in the first place, affords valuable information. the author was interested, indeed, chiefly in beginnings. the examples of paul's missionary preaching which luke has preserved, are perhaps preliminary to evangelism, rather than evangelism itself. the speech at pisidian antioch shows how paul proved the messiahship of jesus. in winning the jews, that proof was the first step. the pauline gospel indeed appears, but it appears only at the very end of the speech. the speech at athens is still more clearly of preliminary character. monotheism needed to be established before the gospel of christ could be understood. despite their necessary limitations however, these speeches are instructive. they show, in the first place, that paul adapted his preaching to the needs of his hearers. he did not preach the same sermon mechanically to all. he sought really to win men over, he began with what his hearers could understand. they show, in the second place, that all preliminary matters were kept strictly subordinate. these matters were not made an end in themselves, as is often the case in the modern church, but were merely a means to an end. no matter where he began, paul always proceeded quickly to the center of the gospel. both at pisidian antioch and at athens, he hastened on to the resurrection. (c) information provided by the epistles.--the pauline epistles, in the second place, though they are addressed to christians, really afford sufficient information, at least in outline, about the missionary preaching of paul. incidental references are sufficient to show at least that the cross and the resurrection were the center and core of it. the thessalonians, for example, under the preaching of paul, "turned unto god from idols, to serve a living and true god, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come." this little passage is worth pages of exposition. preaching to gentiles is here reviewed in epitome, though of course not with studied symmetry and completeness. the knowledge of the one true god formed of course, for gentiles, the starting point for all the rest, but from that starting point the preacher at once proceeded to tell of the work of christ. just as illuminating are passages like i cor. : ; gal. : . in corinth paul knew nothing save "jesus christ, and him crucified"; in galatia the story of the cross was made so plain that it was as though jesus christ crucified were held up before the eyes of the galatians on a great picture or placard. the famous passage in first corinthians, ch. : - , is, however, perhaps clearest of all. at the very beginning paul had spoken of the death of christ and the resurrection. the death, moreover, was not presented as a mere inspiring story of a holy martyrdom, but as a death "for our sins"; and the resurrection was supported not primarily by an inward experience, but by simple testimony. apostolic preaching was everywhere essentially the same. the apostles never began, like many modern preachers, with exhortation; though they proceeded to exhortation, they always began with facts. what was always fundamental was the simple story of the life and death and resurrection of jesus christ. jesus christ crucified and risen was the subject of the good news that conquered the world. when will the modern church take up the message with new power? we do not know. the times are in god's hand. but when the blessed day comes, it will be a day of victory. * * * * * in the library.--bunyan, "the pilgrim's progress." warfield, "the saviour of the world," and "the power of god unto salvation" (the latter in "the presbyterian pulpit"). hodge, "the way of life." lesson xlii the word and the sacraments this lesson and the two following are intended primarily to encourage in the student the diligent use of "the means of grace." the wise teacher will keep the practical purpose steadily in view. that practical purpose may now be examined a little more in detail. why should the example of the apostolic church be followed in the matter of bible-reading, of the sacraments, of prayer, of christian meetings? what was god's purpose in providing these simple exercises of the christian life--what benefit do we receive from them? perhaps the briefest and simplest answer is that we receive from them what is often known as "reality" in religion. . reality in religion many christians are puzzled by the lack of the sense of "reality" in their christian life. they have believed in christ, but often he seems far from them. it is not so much that positive doubts have arisen, though certainly the lack of fervency gives doubt its opportunity. rather is it an inexplicable dulling of the spiritual eye. the gospel still seems wonderful to the intellect, but to the heart it has somehow lost its power. =( ) the need of diligence.=--this condition is due very often to a neglect of "the means of grace," which we shall study in this lesson and the two lessons following. it is a great mistake to suppose that the spiritual life is altogether beyond our control. undoubtedly it is instituted only by an immediate exercise of the divine power, independent of the human will; undoubtedly the maintenance of it would be impossible without the assistance of the holy spirit. nevertheless, in that work of maintenance, we have a very definite part. many christians suppose that any performance of religious exercises merely for duty's sake, without immediate spiritual profit, is a mere form. this supposition is erroneous. not performance of religious exercises without spiritual profit, but performance of them without the desire of spiritual profit, is formalism. the appointed means of grace must continue to be used even when no immediate benefit can be discerned. in the reading of the bible, in prayer, in public worship, the christian should first of all do his duty. the result may safely be left to god. =( ) the danger of neglect.=--without such attention to duty, the christian life becomes merely a matter of inclination. in times of great spiritual distress we call upon god for comfort and help; but in the long, level weeks of comparative prosperity we think we can do without him. such thoughts are the height of folly. god is not our servant, he is not one who can safely be left out of our thoughts except when we think we especially need him. if we neglect god in time of prosperity, we may call in vain when adversity comes. =( ) the reward of duty.=--the religious life is not merely a matter of inclination; it must be diligently fostered. such attention to duty, however, will never be merely drudgery. it may begin with drudgery, and it may become drudgery again at times, but if persisted in, it will be an ever-widening avenue of joy and power. . the study of the bible the reading of the bible is such a simple thing, and so obviously necessary to the christian life, that it requires comparatively little discussion. despite its indispensableness, however, it is being sadly neglected to-day. our fathers learned the bible with a thoroughness which to-day is almost unknown. the change is full of danger. a bible-reading church is possessed of power; without the bible the church loses its identity altogether and sinks back into the life of the world. the process, unfortunately, has gone to considerable lengths. how may it now be checked? =( ) the study should be made interesting.=--something, no doubt, may be done by making the study of the bible more interesting. certainly the bible does not yield in interest to any other branch of knowledge. the bible does not merely present spiritual truth; it presents it in a wonderfully rich and varied way. if the study of the bible is stupid, the fault lies not in the subject matter, but in the student or in the teacher. =( ) the motive of duty.=--nevertheless, a mere appeal to the interest of the students is entirely insufficient. after all, there is no royal road to learning--not to biblical learning any more than to the learning of the world. solid education can never be attained without hard work; education that is easy is pretty sure to be worthless. especially at the beginning the chief appeal in education must be to a sense of duty. so it is in the case of the bible. the bible is the word of god; obviously it may not be neglected. let us study it, then, primarily because the study of it is an obvious duty. as a matter of fact the duty will soon become a pleasure, but let not that be the motive. let us read the bible regularly and persistently, in entire independence of changing impulse. that is the kind of study that is blessed of god. superficial study, determined by mere inclination, may at first sight seem just as good. but when adversity or temptation comes, then the difference appears. it is the difference between a house built upon the sand and a house built upon the rock. the two houses look alike, but when the rains descend and the floods come, one falls and the other stands. the christian whose knowledge of the bible is obtained by old-fashioned, patient study, never interrupted by changing inclination, has dug deep and founded his house upon the rock. =( ) the example of the apostolic church.=--the example of the apostolic church in the matter of the means of grace is especially significant. in the apostolic age, it might have seemed as though these simple exercises might be dispensed with. what need of regularly appointed forms when the holy spirit was so immediately manifested? yet as a matter of fact all of the essential forms of christian custom were present from the beginning. regularity and diligence were cherished even in the first exuberance of the jerusalem church. enthusiasm of spiritual life did not lead to the despising of ordinary helps; the early disciples "continued stedfastly," "day by day," "with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart." acts : . the use which the apostolic church made of the bible might seem to some modern men particularly surprising. a book religion, men say, is a stagnant religion; living faith is independent of dead documents; it is only when the early enthusiasm is lost that belief becomes crystallized in submission to venerable authority. this sort of religious philosophy shatters on the plain facts of the apostolic age. admittedly that was an age of freshness and independence. there never has been such an outburst of religious enthusiasm as that which planted the faith in jerusalem and carried it like wildfire throughout the civilized world. yet another fact is equally plain--this wonderful enthusiasm was coupled with the utmost reverence for a book. nothing could exceed the unquestioning submission which the early christians paid to the old testament scriptures. the exuberance of apostolic christianity was intertwined with a book religion! the explanation, of course, is simple. submission to a human book means stagnation; but genuine submission to the word of god means always what it meant in the apostolic age--heroism and victory and life. . baptism =( ) baptism and circumcision.=--the sacrament of baptism had its truest predecessor in circumcision, the old testament sign of union with the covenant people. baptism as well as circumcision is a sign of the covenant, though the varied symbolism marks the advance of the new covenant over the old. =( ) christian baptism and the baptism of john.=--in form, moreover, and to a considerable extent also in meaning, christian baptism in the early church was prepared for by the baptism of john the baptist, which had even been continued by the disciples of jesus during jesus' earthly ministry. john : , . both the baptism of john and christian baptism symbolized cleansing from sin. compare acts : with matt. : , . christian baptism, however, differed from every rite that had preceded it by its definite reference to christ, and by its definite connection with a new manifestation of the holy spirit. =( ) baptism "into christ."=--in the apostolic writings, baptism is sometimes spoken of as a baptism "into christ." gal. : ; rom. : . the meaning of this phrase has often been obscured both in translation and in interpretation. the phrase "into christ" in this connection means something more than "with reference to christ"; it means rather "into a position within christ." the christian, according to a common pauline expression, is "in christ"; he is in such close union with christ that the life of christ might almost be described as the atmosphere which he breathes. to be baptized "into christ" means to come by baptism into this state of blessed union with the saviour. =( ) baptism and faith.=--at this point, however, a serious question arises. how can baptism be described as the means by which the christian comes into union with christ, when at other times salvation is declared to be by faith? one solution of the difficulty would be simply to say that baptism and faith are both necessary--a man must believe if he is to be saved, but he must also be baptized. clearly, however, this view does not represent the meaning of the new testament. the passages where faith alone is represented as the condition of salvation are too strong; especially the vigorous contrast which paul sets up between faith and works prevents any inclusion of such a work as baptism along with faith as an additional condition of acceptance with god. the true solution is that baptism is related to faith, or rather to the regenerative work of the holy spirit, as the sign is related to the thing signified. baptism represents the work of the spirit; it is a means which the spirit uses. if it stood alone, it would be a meaningless form, but when it is representative of spiritual facts it becomes a channel of divine grace. . the lord's supper the celebration of the lord's supper in the jerusalem church was probably connected in some way with "the breaking of bread," which is mentioned in acts : . every common meal was an expression of christian communion, but the solemn words of christ at the last supper could not have been forgotten. here, as so often, the book of the acts affords little information about the internal affairs of the church. fortunately, paul, in the first epistle to the corinthians, is far more explicit, and inferences can be drawn from him with regard even to jerusalem. paul represents the lord's supper, not as an innovation, but as something that had been given to the corinthians as a matter of course, at the very beginning of their christian lives; evidently the sacrament was celebrated universally in the churches; paul had "received" the account of the institution of the supper from the lord through the first christians. in corinth, as was also probably the case in the early days in jerusalem, the supper was celebrated in connection with the common meals of the christian community. certain abuses had arisen; the rich brought food and drink with them and feasted luxuriously in the presence of their poorer brethren; the spiritual significance of the supper was profaned. against such abuses paul enunciates the great principle that the supper does not work a magical benefit; if partaken of irreverently it brings condemnation rather than blessing. in i cor. : - , the lord's supper appears as a warning against participation in heathen feasts. the pagan fellow citizens of the corinthian christians, by their religious feasts, held communion with idols; the christians cannot remain with them and at the same time commune with christ. a man must take his choice--either christ or idols; he must choose either the lord's supper or heathen feasts. here the lord's supper appears especially as a sign of communion with christ, as in ch. : it appears especially as a commemoration of his death. these two aspects of the supper, and their intimate connection with each other, should now be explained a little more in detail. =( ) a representation of the death of christ.=--the lord's supper, as is observed in the student's text book, is representative of the death of christ on our behalf. in many passages of the new testament, the significance of that death is explained in words; in the lord's supper it is represented in visible form. the lord's supper is related to the story of the gospel, as the picture or the acted representation is related to ordinary discourse. in the broken bread and poured-out wine we not only apprehend with the mind, but actually see the broken body and shed blood of the lord. of course that does not mean, as the roman catholic church teaches, that the bread and wine are actually by a miracle, at every celebration of the supper, changed into the body and blood of christ, but only that they represent them. the very simplicity of the sacrament should have guarded against misinterpretation. an actual image of the dying saviour might lead to idolatry, or to an overemphasis upon the details of the scene on calvary; the simple representation that christ ordained is enough to be vivid, without being enough to become misleading. =( ) a representation of our union with christ.=--the supper represents the death of christ not as a mere drama, remote from us, but as a death on our behalf. in the supper we do not merely witness the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine; we partake of the bread and wine ourselves. plainly the symbolism means that we who are disciples of christ do not merely admire the holy self-sacrifice of christ, but rather receive the benefits of it. we feed upon the body and blood of christ in the high spiritual sense that by faith we obtain from christ's death pardon for our sins and a fresh start in the full favor of god. these benefits we obtain not by our own efforts, but by a free gift. it was christ himself who broke the bread and poured out the wine on the last evening before the crucifixion; it is also christ who, through his minister, at every celebration of the sacrament, is represented as offering to us his body and blood. the lord's supper, therefore, is not merely a commemoration of an event in the past; it is also the symbol of a present fact. it symbolizes the blessed communion of believers with one another and with christ. . the sacraments more than a proclamation of the gospel so far we have considered the sacraments merely as one means of proclaiming the gospel. the bible proclaims the gospel in words; the sacraments proclaim it in pictures. even if that were all, the sacraments would be of great value. by these symbolic actions the gospel message attains a new vividness and definiteness. as a matter of fact, however, baptism and the lord's supper are more than peculiar ways of making a vivid presentation of the gospel. they were instituted especially by christ, and the holy spirit has connected with them a special blessing. the spirit can use what means he will, and he has chosen to use these. in the lord's supper, for example, the lord is really present in the midst of his people. he is not present, indeed, in "a corporal and carnal manner"; but his spiritual presence is a blessed fact. the sacraments, therefore, should not be neglected. in themselves, when unaccompanied by faith, they are valueless; and they are not necessary for salvation. ordinarily, however, they are a chosen means of blessing. when god wills, other means can take their place, but under all ordinary circumstances they are used. certainly they should not be neglected without adequate cause. they have been provided by god, and god is wiser than men. the lord's supper should be received with solemnity; but sometimes young christians have perhaps an exaggerated dread of it. the error of the corinthian christians should indeed be carefully avoided; wanton carelessness in the solemn act will of course bring the condemnation of god. but the supper does not demand perfection, even in faith; on the contrary it is intended to help to remove imperfection. the lord's supper is not a dangerous bit of magic, where any little mistake might break the charm. let us partake of it with a simple prayer, and leave the results to the goodness of god. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": article on "lord's supper"; purves, article on "baptism." w. w. moore, "the indispensable book." candlish, "the christian sacraments" (in "handbooks for bible classes," edited by dods and whyte). lilley, "the lord's supper." lesson xliii prayer . the answerer of prayer the prayers of the apostolic age reveal with startling clearness the apostolic conception of god; and one chief reason why our prayers fall short of the apostolic standard is that our idea of god is different. =( ) god is a person.=--in the first place, true prayer always conceives of god as a person; whereas much of modern religious thinking conceives of him as only another name for the world. human life, it is said, is a part of the life of god; every man, to some degree, is divine. such a philosophy makes prayer logically impossible. it is impossible for us to speak to an impersonal world-force of which we ourselves are merely an expression; the personal distinction between man and god is absolutely essential to prayer. the transcendence of god as over against the world is grandly expressed in the prayer of the jerusalem church, which was studied in the student's text book; the jerusalem christians addressed god as the lord who made "the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is." acts : . god, in other words, is not another name for the world, but creator of the world. he is indeed present in the world; not a single thing that happens is independent of him; the world would not continue for a moment without god's sustaining hand. but that means, not that god is identical with the world, but that he is master of it. god pervades all things; he is present everywhere; but he is also free. that conception pervades all the prayers of the apostolic church; in all of them man comes to god as one person to another. god is free; god can do what he will; through christ he is our father. he is not bound by his own works; he is independent of nature; he will overrule all things for the good of his children. such is the god that can answer prayer. =( ) god is an infinite and holy person.=--if, however, the prayers of the apostolic age conceive of god as a person, they also conceive of him as very different from men. here, also, they provide a salutary example for the modern church. many devout christians of to-day, in avoiding the error which has just been described, in thinking of god plainly as a person, are inclined to fall into the opposite mistake. in their clear realization of god as a person they think of him as a person exactly like ourselves. they regard the difference between god and man as a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind; they think of god as merely a greater man in the sky. the result of such thinking is disastrous for prayer. prayer, to be sure, is here not absolutely destroyed; communion with god remains possible; but such communion is degraded. communion loses that sense of mystery and awe which properly belongs to it. man becomes too familiar with god; god takes merely the leading place in a circle of friends; religion descends to the plane of other relationships. prayer to such a god is apt to become irreverent. if our prayers are to lift us fully into the presence of god they must never lie on the same plane with the communion that we enjoy with our fellow men, but must be filled with a profound sense of god's majesty and power. the danger of permitting prayer, on account of its very privilege, to become a commonplace thing is one that threatens us all. it may be overcome, however, in the first place, by the contemplation of nature. "the heavens declare the glory of god; and the firmament showeth his handiwork"--and it is a terrible, mysterious god that they reveal. the stupendous vastness of the universe and the baffling mystery of the surrounding infinity oppress the thoughtful mind with a profound sense of insignificance. and god is the maker and ruler of it all, the one in whom all the mystery finds its explanation! such is the employment of nature in the prayer of the jerusalem church. acts : . all the prayers of the apostolic church illustrate the principle which is now being emphasized. there is never anything trite or vulgar about the prayers that are contained in the new testament; they are all characterized by a wonderful dignity and reverence. if the infinity and omnipotence of god should prevent any irreverence in our prayers, the thought of his holiness is perhaps even more overwhelming. we are full of impurity. who can stand before the white light of god's awful judgment throne? =( ) god is a gracious person.=--nevertheless, despite the majesty and holiness of god, he invites us into his presence. it is a stupendous wonder. no reasoning could have shown it to be probable; only ignorance can regard it as a matter of course. if god were only a somewhat greater man, there would have been comparatively little mystery in prayer; but communion with the infinite and eternal and holy one, the unfathomed cause of all things, is the wonder of wonders. it is a wonder of god's grace. it is too wonderful to be true; yet it has become true in christ. true prayer brings us not before some god of our own devising, before whom we could stand in our own merit without fear, but into the dread presence of jehovah. let us not hesitate to go; god has called us; he loves us as a father, far more than we can ever love him. prayer is full of joy; the joy is so great that it is akin to fear. . the influence of jesus' teaching upon the prayers of the apostolic church in studying the prayers of the apostolic age, it must always be remembered that they stood upon the foundation of jesus' example and precept. =( ) the example of jesus.=--with all his power and holiness jesus was not above asking for strength to perform his gracious work; after that long, wearying day in capernaum he "departed into a desert place, and there prayed." mark : . in the hour of agony in gethsemane, he prayed a truly human, though holy, prayer: "abba, father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what i will, but what thou wilt." ch. : . prayer, moreover, was not something which jesus reserved for himself; clearly it was a privilege which he extended to all his disciples. in the prayer that he taught his disciples, he summed up all that our prayer should be. matt. : - . =( ) god as father.=--one thing in particular was derived by the apostolic church from jesus--the conception of god as father. this conception appears in the epistles of paul as a matter of course; evidently it was firmly established among the readers; it no longer required defense or explanation. yet it had not lost, through long repetition, one whit of its freshness; in paul it is never a mere phrase, but always a profound spiritual fact. obviously this idea of the fatherhood of god was of particular importance for prayer. it taught the disciples "to draw near to god with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help" them. a characteristic way of addressing god even in the gentile churches of paul was "abba, father." gal. : ; rom. : . the aramaic word "abba" is sufficient to show that this hallowed usage was based ultimately upon the teaching and example of jesus; the word was the very one that jesus had used both in his own prayers, for example in gethsemane, mark : , and in the "lord's prayer" which he taught to his disciples. =( ) the right of sonship.=--what needs to be observed especially, however, is that the right of addressing god as "our father" was not in the apostolic church extended to all men. certainly no justification for such an extension could have been found in the teaching of jesus; it was not the unbelieving multitude, but his own disciples, to whom jesus taught the lord's prayer. matt. : ; : ; luke : , . paul is even more explicit; the cry "abba, father" was to him a proof that a great change had taken place, that those who had been formerly under bondage to the world had now become sons of god. this change paul represents especially under the figure of adoption, gal. : ; men have to be adopted by god before they can call god father; and adoption is accomplished only by the work of christ. vs. , . =( ) the intercession of the spirit.=--the cry, "abba, father" can never be uttered by sinful man alone, but only by the power of christ's spirit. the prayers even of the redeemed are faulty. but the holy spirit takes up their cry. "and in like manner the spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of god." rom. : , . there lies the true ground of confidence in prayer. prayer does not derive its efficacy from any merit of its own, but only from the goodness of god. let us not worry too much as to whether our prayers are good or bad; let them only be simple and sincere; god knows our weakness; his spirit will make intercession for us far better than we can intercede for ourselves. . public prayers of the apostolic church the few individual prayers that have been preserved from the apostolic age are for the most part prayers of a more or less public character. the spontaneous outpourings of the hearts of individual saints before god would usually not be put into writing; the full secrets of the prayer closet are known to god alone. =( ) spontaneity and sincerity.=--nevertheless, the public character of the prayers of the new testament does not mean that they are cold and formal. on the contrary, at a time when set liturgies had not yet been formed, public prayer possessed all the spontaneity of more private devotions; the thought of the listening congregation or of a circle of readers did not bring any hampering restraint. there is a sterling sincerity about all the prayers or fragments of prayers in the new testament. =( ) dignity.=--the spontaneity and sincerity of the prayers, however, did not involve any sacrifice of dignity. the prayer of the jerusalem congregation, acts : - , is a marvel of exalted speech; its employment of scripture phrase is an admirable example for public prayers of all ages. that prayer received a glorious answer; indeed the true prayer of the congregation never remains unheard. christ's promise is always fulfilled; where two or three are gathered together in his name there is he in the midst of them. in the epistles, there is to be found here and there what may be called, if not the beginning of liturgy, at any rate material of which a magnificent liturgy can be formed. the benediction of heb. : , , for example, is characterized by a splendid rhythm as well as by true evangelical fervor. such a prayer lifts the hearts of the congregation up into the presence of god. there is use for beauty, even in prayer; and the truest beauty is to be found in the prayers of the bible. . private prayers of the apostolic church the apostolic guidance in prayer extends even to those private prayers which no one hears except god. in this field, the epistles of paul are of special value. more fully than any other one man of the apostolic age, paul has revealed the very secrets of christian experience; and that experience is rooted in prayer. a glance at the beginnings and endings of the epistles will be sufficient to show how fundamental prayer was in paul's life; news of the churches was never received without issuing at once in thanksgiving or in intercession, and paul desires, not merely the good wishes, but the prayers, of his beloved converts. paul practiced what he preached when he urged the thessalonian christians to "pray without ceasing." i thess. : . compare chs. : ; : ; rom. : ; ii tim. : . evidently, moreover, he regarded prayer as something far more than an incidental expression of the christian life; he believed in its real efficacy with the ruler of the world. . "my power is made perfect in weakness" one passage, particularly, will repay special study. in ii cor. : , , we have information about the most intimate, the most personal of the prayers of paul. the apostle had been afflicted with a persistent illness; it had apparently hampered him in his work, and caused him acute distress. in his trouble he called upon the lord; and by that prayer paul's affliction has been made to redound to the lasting instruction and encouragement of the church. =( ) prayer concerning physical ills.=--in the first place, the prayer concerns not spiritual matters, or the needs of the church at large, but a simple affair of the physical life. as life is constituted here on earth, we are intimately connected with the physical world; the body is necessary to the soul. but god is master of earth as well as of heaven; even the simplest needs of life may be laid before him in prayer. to teach us that, we have here the example of paul, as well as the precept of the saviour himself. =( ) the answer.=--in the second place, the prayer was answered, and answered in a very instructive way. the illness was not removed; but it was made an instrument of blessing. the purpose of it was revealed: "my power," said christ, "is made perfect in weakness." physical suffering is worth while if it leads to heroism and faith. such is often the lord's will. he himself trod the path of suffering before us, and in his case as in ours, the path led to glory. =( ) the prayer addressed to christ.=--in the third place, this prayer was addressed, not to god the father, but to christ. compare acts : , . without doubt "the lord" in ii cor. : , as practically always in the pauline epistles, refers to christ. usually, in the new testament, prayer is addressed, through christ, to god the father; but there is no reason why it should not be addressed to the son. the son as well as the father is a living person; and the son as well as the father is god. it is well that we have apostolic examples for prayer addressed directly to the saviour. christ, to paul, was no mere instrument in salvation, that had served its purpose and was then removed; he was alive and sovereign, and the relation to him was a relation of love. in a time of acute physical distress, paul turned to the saviour. three times he called, and then the answer came. the answer will always come in the lord's way, not in ours; but the lord's way is always best. * * * * * in the library.--hastings, "dictionary of the bible": bernard, article on "prayer" (iii). thomas, "the prayers of st. paul." lesson xliv the congregation . congregational meetings in palestine in studying the congregational meetings of the apostolic churches it must be remembered that the christian community in jerusalem continued for many years its participation in the worship of temple and synagogue. specially christian meetings, therefore, were at first not the sole expression of the collective worship of the jerusalem christians. nevertheless, such meetings were undoubtedly held, even from the beginning. from the days when the one hundred and twenty brethren were gathered together before pentecost, the church was not without some outward expression of its distinctive life. =( ) as indicated in the acts.=--the circumstances of such early meetings of the congregation are, however, obscure. the very considerable numbers of the converts, acts : , ; : ; : , would perhaps sometimes make it difficult to gather the whole congregation together in one place; if, however, that were done, it would perhaps be usually in some part of the temple area. there seem to have been general meetings--for example, acts : - --but it is perhaps not necessary to suppose that they included every individual member of the jerusalem church. certainly, however, no members of that first christian community neglected the assembling of themselves together. evidently the sense of brotherhood was strongly developed, and evidently it expressed itself not only in the regular relief of the needy, acts : , but also in meetings for instruction and worship and prayer. ch. : ; : - . these meetings were only outward indications of a wonderful unity of mind and heart. ch. : . the cause of that unity was the common possession of the spirit of god. as might have been expected in a book which is interested chiefly in the outward extension of the kingdom, the book of the acts gives us little detailed information about the conduct of these earliest christian meetings. probably, however, the example of the jewish synagogue made itself strongly felt. there was no violent break with judaism; a new spirit was infused into ancient forms. the resemblance between the synagogue service and even the fully developed christian meetings of to-day was noted in connection with lesson iv. =( ) as indicated in the epistle of james.=--the epistle of james perhaps helps somewhat to supply the need of detailed information. that epistle, as was observed in lesson xxxii, was written by the head of the jerusalem church, and probably to jewish christians before a.d. . apparently, therefore, we have in james : - some welcome information about christian assemblies, if not in jerusalem, at least in other jewish christian churches. in v. , the word "synagogue" is applied to the meeting which is described, but that word in greek means simply "gathering together"--almost the same word is used in heb. : . the use of the word by james shows simply that at that early time "synagogue" had not become purely a technical designation of a non-christian jewish assembly. so interpreted, the passage in james indicates--what might indeed have been expected--that the early christian meetings were not always perfect. a pharisaical habit of respect of persons and desire for the chief seats had crept even into the church. if similar faults appear in modern times, we should not despair, but should fight against them in the spirit of james. . congregational meetings in the pauline churches with regard to the pauline churches information about the conduct of religious services is far more abundant than it is with regard to the churches of palestine; for we have here the inestimable assistance of the pauline epistles. the first epistle to the corinthians, especially, is a mine of information; but much can also be learned elsewhere. =( ) the place of meeting.=--from the acts it appears that paul regularly began his work in any city by preaching in the jewish synagogue, but that the opposition of the jews soon made it necessary to find another meeting place. often, a private house, belonging to one of the converts, served the purpose. rom. : ; i cor. : ; col. : ; philem. . sometimes there seem to have been a number of such house-churches in the same city; yet common meetings of all the christians of the city seem also to be presupposed. in ephesus paul used for his evangelistic work a building or a room belonging to a certain tyrannus, who was probably a rhetorician. the erection of buildings especially for christian use belongs of course to a considerably later time. =( ) the time of meeting.=--the frequency of the meetings does not appear, and may well have varied according to circumstances. there is some indication, however, that the first day of the week, the present sunday, was especially singled out for religious services. i cor. : ; acts : . the same day is apparently called "the lord's day" in rev. : . =( ) temporary gifts of the spirit.=--in the actual conduct of the meetings, some features appear which are not to be observed in the modern church. a number of the gifts discussed in i cor., chs. to --for example, miracles, speaking with tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and prophecy in the strict sense--have become extinct. the cessation of them need cause no wonder; the apostolic age was a time of beginnings, when the church was being established by the immediate exercise of the power of god; it is no wonder that at such a time the spirit manifested himself as he did not in later generations. there is a fundamental difference between the apostolic age and all subsequent periods in the history of the church. nevertheless, all the essential features of our modern church services were present from the earliest time about which we have detailed information. the example of the apostles is here very explicit. =( ) scripture-reading.=--in the first place, the pauline churches certainly practiced the reading of the bible. that would be proved sufficiently by the evident familiarity of the christians with the old testament scriptures; for in those days such familiarity would undoubtedly be received in large measure by having the bible read aloud. the example of the synagogue would also have its influence. it must be remembered that some even of the gentile converts were familiar with the synagogue service before they became christians. but there is also the explicit testimony of i thess. : , col. : . there the reading of pauline epistles is specifically enjoined. the apocalypse also was clearly intended to be read aloud. rev. : ; : . =( ) preaching.=--in the second place, there was preaching. no doubt this part of the service often took a somewhat different form from that which it assumes to-day. prophecy, for example, was a kind of preaching which has been discontinued. the exercise of the gift of "teaching" perhaps corresponded more closely to the sermons of the present day; certainly an exposition of the scripture passages read would have been according to the analogy of the jewish synagogue. at any rate, in some form or other, there was certainly instruction in the scriptures and in the gospel, and exhortation based upon that instruction. =( ) prayer.=--in the third place, there was prayer; directions for public prayer are given at some length in i tim., ch. ; and there are indications that prayer was practiced also in the meetings of the corinthian church. see for example, i cor. : , . =( ) singing.=--in the fourth place, there was probably singing, though the direct information about this part of the service is slight. see, for example, i cor. : . certainly no elaborate argument is necessary in order to exhibit the scripture warrant for singing in the worship of god. psalms were sung in old testament times to an instrumental accompaniment, and there is no evidence that the customs of the church were changed in this respect under the new dispensation. indeed, if singing is an expression of joy, it would seem to be especially in place after the fulfillment of the promises has come. . paul's directions for congregational meetings two features balance each other in paul's directions for the public worship of the corinthian church. =( ) the principle of freedom.=--in the first place he is in full sympathy with the freedom and informality that prevailed. there seem to have been no set speakers in corinth; every man spoke as the spirit gave him utterance; the service must have been characterized by great variety. this variety, paul says, is not disturbing, because it finds its higher unity in the holy spirit. "there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit." i cor. : . =( ) the principle of dignity.=--in the second place, however, paul has a strong sense of dignity. the enthusiastic expression of religious feeling must not degenerate into anything like a senseless orgy; spiritual gifts, however exalted, are not independent of reason. "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; for god is not a god of confusion, but of peace." i cor. : , . "let all things be done decently and in order." v. . dignity was to be preserved, moreover, not merely in the ordering of the service itself, but also in the dress and behavior of those who took part. so much at least is clear in the difficult passage, ch. : - . apparently the full equality which was granted to women in the christian life led the women of the corinthian congregation to give a kind of expression to their freedom which at least at that time was not seemly. paul detected the danger and guarded against it. the lesson always needs to be learned. however dignity may be preserved in detail, in any particular country and at any particular time, the principle itself should always be borne in mind exactly as paul enunciated it. at a later period in the apostolic age, the sense of dignity seems to have found expression in a quieter sort of religious service than that which prevailed at the time of first corinthians. the first epistle to timothy lays great stress upon sobriety and gravity in various departments of the life of the church. =( ) the principle of love.=--these two principles--the principle of freedom and the principle of dignity--are kept each in its own proper place only when they are submitted to the governance of a higher principle. that higher principle is love. the ultimate aim of congregational meetings, according to paul, is not the benefit of the individual, but the edification of the whole body, and of the stranger who may come in. the man who has the principle of christian love in his heart, as it is grandly described in i cor., ch. , will never push himself forward in the congregation in such a way as to display his own spiritual gifts at the expense of others. on the other hand, he will not be inclined to check the operations of the spirit; it is the spirit alone who can convert the stranger, it is the spirit alone who can build up christian people in the life of faith and hope and love. the principle of love is often neglected in the modern church. people say they will not go to church because they get nothing out of it. no doubt they are mistaken; no doubt if they did go, the benefit would appear clearly in the long run in their own lives. but at any rate they have ignored the highest motive altogether. we should go to church not only to obtain benefit for ourselves, but also, and especially, to benefit our brethren by joining with them in worship, in prayer and in instruction. * * * * * in the library.--hastings, "dictionary of the bible"; gayford, article on "church"; adeney, article on "worship (in n.t.)." charteris, "the church of christ," pp. - . lesson xlv the relief of the needy in the student's text book, special emphasis was laid upon the relief of the needy as it was practiced in the jerusalem church. here it may be well to supplement what was there said by a somewhat more detailed treatment of the great collection that was undertaken by paul. the exposition will serve to illustrate the apostolic principles of christian giving. . the pauline collection according to first corinthians =( ) the beginning in galatia and in corinth.=--writing from ephesus during his long stay in that city, acts : to : , paul tells the corinthians that he had already given directions about the collection to the churches of galatia, i cor. : ; he had probably done so either during the second visit to galatia, acts : , or by letter after his arrival at ephesus. now, at any rate, he asks the corinthians--very simply and briefly, and evidently presupposing previous information on the part of his readers--to prosecute the collection during his absence in order that when he should arrive at corinth everything might be ready. _( ) laying in store on the first day of the week._--the manner in which the collection was to be managed is exceedingly interesting. "upon the first day of the week," paul says, "let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper." i cor. : . apparently no permanent church treasury was used for the reception of the gifts, every man was to save his own money at home, very much as private collection barrels are used to-day. the laying up of the money, however, was to take place on the first day of the week; we have here probably an early trace of the christian sabbath. perhaps we may conclude that the act of giving was regarded as a part of religious worship. such a conclusion is at any rate in thorough harmony with all that paul says about the collection. some people seem to feel that the taking of an offering rather mars the dignity of a church service. in reality it has that effect only if it is executed in the wrong spirit. christian giving is treated by paul as a legitimate part of the worship of god. =( ) the delegates of the corinthian church.=--when paul should arrive at corinth, he was to receive the collection and either send or take it to jerusalem by the help of delegates whom the corinthians themselves should choose. the purpose of choosing these delegates appears more plainly in second corinthians. . the pauline collection according to second corinthians =( ) the situation.=--after the writing of the first epistle to the corinthians, there had followed a period of serious estrangement between paul and the corinthian church. naturally enough the collection suffered during this period, as did other christian activities. at the time of second corinthians, perhaps about a year after the first letter had been written, paul was obliged to remind his readers that although they had begun the work the year before, much remained still to be done. ii cor. : ; : . nevertheless, titus, during his recent visit to corinth, when the repentance of the church had become manifest, had apparently been able to take the matter again in hand. such seems to be the most probable interpretation of ch. : ; : . if titus did take up the matter on the very visit when the rebellion against paul had been only with difficulty quelled, that is a striking indication of the importance which paul and his associates attributed to the collection. it was not a matter that could wait until some convenient season; it had to be taken in hand vigorously, even perhaps at the risk of misunderstanding and suspicion, the very moment when paul's relation to the church became again tolerably good. =( ) courtesy of paul.=--like all of paul's management of money matters, his treatment of the collection is characterized by admirable delicacy and tact. instead of berating the corinthians roundly for their delinquency, as so many modern organizers would have done, he seeks to win them over by worthier methods. he points, indeed, to the example of the macedonian christians, in order to fire the zeal of the corinthians; the poverty of the macedonian churches had not stood in the way of their liberality; they had given up to their power and indeed beyond their power; they had given, not of compulsion, but willingly, dedicating themselves as well as their goods to the lord. ii cor. : - . but the corinthians are allowed to draw their own conclusion; paul does not force it upon them. he does not press the matter home brutally; he does not put the corinthians to shame by expressly pointing out how much more generously the poorer macedonian christians had contributed than they. indeed he gives his readers full credit; he courteously calls their attention to the fact that it was they who had made the beginning, v. , and that he had been able to boast of them to the macedonians, so that their zeal had stirred up their macedonian brethren. ch. : , . he appeals especially to the pride that they ought to feel in the boasting which paul had ventured upon in their behalf; paul had boasted to the macedonians that achaia had been prepared for a year; how sad an end it would be to such boasting if macedonians should go to corinth with paul and should find that the collection was not ready after all! paul urges the corinthians not to leave any part of the work until after his arrival; if they do, they will put both him and themselves to shame. vs. - . with equal delicacy paul hints that the achievements of the corinthians in other directions ought to be supplemented by this grace of giving. the corinthians, according to the first epistle, had been very proud of their power of "utterance" and their "knowledge"; to these paul can now add--after the loyalty of the church has finally been established--earnestness and love, ii cor. : - ; but all these excellences will be incomplete unless there is also liberality. the christian life must express itself in the simpler graces, if the more conspicuous activities are to be of genuine value. =( ) no unfair burdens to be borne.=--the delicacy of paul's treatment of the matter is observed also in ii cor. : - ; he is careful to explain that the corinthians are not asked to lay unfair burdens upon themselves. there should be an equality among christians; it is now time for the corinthians to give rather than to receive, but if circumstances should change they might count on the aid of their brethren. furthermore, no one should be discouraged if he can give only a little; "if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath, not according as he hath not." =( ) cheerful giving.=--paul urges his readers, indeed, to be bountiful. "he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." ii cor. : . but this bountifulness was to be secured, not by pressing out the last cent, but by promoting real cheerfulness in giving. "let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for god loveth a cheerful giver." the pauline method is wisest in the end. men can seldom be bullied into liberality; they will give liberally only when giving becomes, not a mere duty, but a joy. cheerfulness in giving, moreover, possesses a value of its own, quite aside from the amount of the gift; it is a true expression of christian communion. =( ) the unity of the church.=--probably paul desired to accomplish by the collection something even more important than the relief of the jerusalem poor. many palestinian christians--not only extreme judaizers, but also apparently considerable numbers among the rank and file--had been suspicious of the gentile mission. acts : , . such suspicions would be allayed by deeds more effectively than by words; a generous offering for the poor of the jerusalem church would show that jews and gentiles were really united in the bonds of christian love. ii cor. : - . =( ) the glory of god.=--ultimately, however, the purpose of the collection, as of all other christian activities, is to be found, according to paul, in god. "for the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto god." the unity of the church, inspiring though it is, is desired, not for its own sake, but for the sake of the glory of god. by the simple means of the collection, paul hopes to present a united church--united in thanksgiving and in love--as some poor, human return to him who has granted us all the "unspeakable gift" of salvation through his son. =( ) sound business methods.=--the arrangements which paul made for the administration of the gifts are as instructive in their way as are the lofty principles that he applied. in order to avoid base suspicions, ii cor. : ; : - , he determined that delegates approved by the corinthians themselves should carry the gifts to jerusalem, i cor. : , , and secured for the prosecution of the work in corinth men who had the full indorsement of the churches. ii cor. : - . the lesson is worth learning. it will not do to be careless about the money matters of the church; it will not do to say that the church is above suspicion. like paul, "we take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the lord, but also in the sight of men." in other words, we must be not only honorable in managing the money affairs of the church, but also demonstrably honorable. to that end sound business methods should always be used. the accounts of the church should be audited, not with less care, but if anything with more care, than those of ordinary business enterprises. . the pauline collection according to romans in the epistle to the romans, written from corinth a little after the time of second corinthians, paul speaks of the collection again. rom. : - , . he is on the point of going with the gifts to jerusalem, and asks the roman christians to pray that the ministration of the gentiles may be "acceptable to the saints." there is no reason to suppose that such prayers were unanswered; paul was cordially received by the jerusalem christians, acts : - ; the trouble which caused his arrest came from non-christian jews. . to whom was relief extended? =( ) breadth of christian sympathy.=--the relief of the needy in the apostolic church, as it has been studied in the present lesson, concerned, not outsiders, but christian brethren. this fact certainly does not mean that the early christians were narrow in their sympathies; they had received from jesus the command to love their enemies, and the command was reiterated by the apostles. rom. : . they were commanded, furthermore, to "work that which is good toward all men." gal. : . =( ) special attention to christian brethren.=--there were reasons, however, why such good works should be directed "especially toward them that are of the household of the faith." (a) the special rights of brethren.--in the first place, there was a general reason, which applies to all ages. though the church has a duty to all men, it has a special duty to its own members; for christian people to allow their brethren to starve is as unnatural as for a father to neglect a son, or a husband a wife. community in the faith does create a special bond, which should make itself felt in all departments of life. it should be observed that in the matter of the collection paul takes altogether for granted the right of the poor saints to the support of the church. he does not think it worth while to go into details about the suffering of the jerusalem poor; he does not attempt to play upon the sympathies of his readers; he does not patronizingly represent the recipients of the bounty as paupers. indeed, the jerusalem christians, he tells the romans, though they are receiving material aid, are not really debtors, but rather creditors. "if the gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister unto them in carnal things." rom. : . this attitude toward poorer christians is worthy of all emulation. aid to the brethren is not "charity," in the degraded sense which that fine word has unfortunately assumed, but a solemn and yet joyful duty. it should never be undertaken in a patronizing spirit, but in a spirit of love that multiplies the value of the gift. (b) avoidance of idleness in the church.--on the other hand, however, the apostolic church did not encourage begging or pauperism. what the special reason was for the poverty of the jerusalem church we do not know. perhaps many of the jerusalem christians had been obliged to leave their homes in galilee and in the dispersion. at any rate, we may assume that the poverty of the church was not due to idleness. in the thessalonian epistles paul takes occasion to warn his converts against an idle life; they are to do their own business and work with their hands; "if any will not work, neither let him eat." i thess. : - ; ii thess. : - . certainly paul was the best example of such diligence; despite his wonderful gifts and lofty duties he had made himself independent by manual labor. in the first epistle to timothy, moreover, particular precautions are taken against allowing the bounty of the church to be abused. i tim. : - . the treatment of the poor in the apostolic church exhibits everywhere an admirable combination of common sense with lofty idealism. (c) conditions in the apostolic church and conditions to-day.--if the gifts of the apostolic church were devoted chiefly to christian brethren rather than to outsiders, that is no justification for such limitation to-day. in the apostolic age there were special reasons why the church could not often deal extensively with the material needs of the world at large. the church was exceedingly poor; many of the converts probably suffered serious losses by the very fact of their being christians; under such conditions the first duty was obviously at home. conditions to-day are widely different. the church has become wealthy; she is well able to extend her ministrations far and wide. only by unlimited breadth of service will she really be true to the example of jesus and of his first disciples; only by universal helpfulness will she be true to her great commission. * * * * * in the library.--uhlhorn, "christian charity in the ancient church." brace, "gesta christi," pp. - . charteris, "the church of christ," pp. - . lesson xlvi organizing for service whatever the organization of a body of christians may be, the body itself is a true branch of the church if it consists of those who believe in christ. nevertheless, if the church is to be more than an aggregation of individuals, if it is not only to be something, but also to do something, it requires some sort of organization. this fundamental need was clearly recognized in the apostolic age; and it was met by certain provisions which we believe ought still to be followed. these provisions, however, do not amount to anything like an elaborate constitution; they do not hinder adaptation to changing conditions. . elders according to the pastoral epistles in the pastoral epistles, which afford more detailed information about organization than is to be found anywhere else in the new testament, the government of the local church is seen to be intrusted to a body of "elders," with whom "deacons" are associated. no one of the elders, so far as can be detected, possessed authority at all different in kind from the authority of the others; all had the function of ruling; all were "overseers" or "bishops" of the church. the functions of the elders are not described in detail; but evidently they had a general oversight over the affairs of the congregation. that is the meaning of the word "bishop" as it is applied to them. some of them at least also labored "in the word and in teaching," but all seem to have been alike in their function of bearing rule. . elders according to the presbyterian form of government the similarity of such an arrangement to our own presbyterian form of government is plain. our churches also are governed not by an individual, but by a body of "elders" who are equal to one another in authority. changing conditions have of course introduced elaboration of the simple apostolic model. thus the teaching function, for example, which in apostolic times was perhaps exercised more or less informally by those of the elders who possessed the gifts for it, is now naturally assigned for the most part to men who have received a special training. these "teaching elders" in our church are the ministers. conditions have become so complex that men of special training, who devote their whole time to the work of the church, are imperatively required. the pastors and teachers, eph. : , even in the apostolic church, seem to have formed a fairly definite group. this class of gifts is exercised to-day especially by the ministers, though similar functions should also be exercised by other members of the church. . how were elders to be chosen? with regard to the government of the apostolic church a number of interesting questions can never be definitely answered. for example, how were the elders to be chosen? =( ) sometimes appointed by the apostles.=--such passages as acts : ; titus : , do not settle the question. according to the former passage, elders were appointed in the churches of southern galatia by paul and barnabas. but it must be remembered that the authority of the apostles was peculiar and temporary. because the apostles had power to appoint elders it does not follow that any individuals at a later time would possess a similar power. the situation, at the time of the first christian mission, was peculiar; small bodies of christians had just been rescued from heathenism; at first they would need a kind of guidance which could afterwards safely be withdrawn. according to titus : , titus was to appoint elders in the churches of crete. but clearly titus, like timothy, was merely a special and temporary representative of the apostle paul; for titus to appoint elders, under the definite direction of paul, was no more significant than for paul to appoint them himself. =( ) the right of congregational election.=--on the whole, it may be confidently maintained that the presbyterian method of choosing elders--namely the method of election by the whole congregation--is more in accordance with the spirit of apostolic precedent than any other method that has been proposed. throughout the apostolic church, the congregation was evidently given a very large place in all departments of the christian life. the jerusalem congregation, for example, had a decisive voice in choosing the very first church officers who are known to have been added to the apostles. acts : - . in thessalonica and in corinth the whole congregation was active in the matter of church discipline. ii thess. : , ; i cor. : - ; ii cor. : . the whole congregation was also invited to choose delegates for carrying the gifts of the corinthian church to jerusalem. i cor. : . these are merely examples. it must be remembered, moreover, that the authority of the congregation in the apostolic age was limited by the authority of the apostles, which was special and temporary; when the apostles should be removed, the congregational functions would be increased. yet even the apostles were exceedingly careful not to destroy the liberties of the rank and file. nowhere in the apostolic church were the ordinary church members treated as though they were without rights and without responsibilities. indeed, even when the apostles appointed elders, they may have previously ascertained the preferences of the people. . the apostolic precedent and departures from it the presbyterial form of church government--that is, government by a body of elders--which is found in the apostolic age, differs strikingly from certain later developments. in several particulars, at least, principles have become prevalent which are at variance with the apostolic model. =( ) the monarchical episcopate.=--the first particular concerns the relation of the church officers to one another. in the apostolic church, as we have observed, there was a parity among the elders; the local congregation was governed, not by an individual, but by a body. as early, however, as the first part of the second century, a change had taken place, at least in many of the churches. the supreme authority had come to be held by an individual, called "bishop"; all other officers were clearly subordinate to him; the government of the local congregation was no longer presbyterial, but monarchical; the so-called "monarchical episcopate" had been formed. this state of affairs appears clearly in the epistles of ignatius, which were written a short time before a. d. . but all attempts to find traces of the monarchical episcopate in the apostolic age have resulted in failure. the greek word _episcopos_, which is translated in the english bible--rather misleadingly, perhaps--by "bishop," is applied, not to a special officer standing above the elders, but simply to the elders themselves. "elder" designates the office; _episcopos_ designates one function of the office. the latter word could hardly have been used in this general way if it had already acquired its technical significance. the efforts which have been made to discover references to the office of bishop in the apostolic age are unconvincing. it is exceedingly doubtful whether the "angels" of the seven churches to which messages are sent in the apocalypse are to be regarded as church officers; and even if they were church officers it is by no means clear that they exercised the functions of bishops. undoubtedly timothy and titus appear in the pastoral epistles with functions similar in many respects to those of bishops, but it is also clear that they exercised those functions, not as officers of the church who might have successors, but merely as temporary representatives of the apostle paul. =( ) the priesthood of the clergy.=--an even more important divergence from apostolic conditions concerns the functions of the church officers. according to a theory which has become widely prevalent, certain officers of the church are to be regarded as "priests"--that is, they are mediators between god and man. curiously enough the english word "priest," is nothing but another form of the word "presbyter," which means "elder"; "presbyter" is only "priest" "writ large." in actual usage, however, "priest" means vastly more than "presbyter"; it designates a man who represents men to god and mediates god's actions to men. so understood, the term is never applied in the new testament to church officers as such. according to the new testament, the only priest (in the strict sense) under the new dispensation is christ; christ is the only mediator between god and man, i tim. : ; the high-priesthood of christ is elaborated in the epistle to the hebrews. in another sense, indeed, all believers are priests, i peter : , ; rev. : ; : ; : ; all have the right of direct access to god; all are devoted to a holy service. the idea of a special priesthood in the christian church is strikingly at variance with the apostolic teaching. =( ) apostolic succession.=--another point of variance concerns the manner in which the officers of the church should receive their authority. by a theory prevalent in the church of england and in the protestant episcopal church in america as well as in the greek and roman catholic churches, the authority of the clergy has been received through an unbroken line of transmission from the apostles; the immediate successors of the apostles received the right of handing down the commission to others, and so on through the centuries; without an ordination derived in this way no one can be a ruler in the true church; and without submission to such regularly ordained rulers no body of persons can constitute a branch of the true church. this theory places a tremendous power in the hands of a definite body of persons whose moral qualifications for wielding that power are often more than doubtful. surely so stupendous a claim can be made good only by the clear pronouncement of a recognized authority. such a pronouncement is not to be found in the new testament. there is not the slightest evidence to show that the apostles provided for a transmission of their authority through a succession of persons. on the contrary, their authority seems to have been special and temporary, like the miraculous powers with which they were endowed. the regular church officers who were appointed in the apostolic age evidently possessed no apostolic authority; however chosen, they were essentially representatives of the congregation. a true branch of the church could exist, at least in theory, without any officers at all, wherever true believers were together; the church did not depend upon the officers, but the officers upon the church. . relations of the congregations to one another so far, the organization of the apostolic church has been considered only in so far as it concerned the individual congregation; a word must now be said about the relation of the congregations to one another. that relation, in the apostolic age, was undoubtedly very close. the pauline epistles, in particular, give an impression of active intercourse among the churches. the thessalonian christians "became an ensample to all that believe in macedonia and in achaia"; the story of their conversion became known "in every place." i thess. : - . in the matter of the collection, macedonia stirred up achaia, and achaia macedonia. ii cor. : - ; : - . the faith of the roman christians was "proclaimed throughout the whole world." rom. : . judea heard of the missionary labors of paul, gal. : - ; fellowship between jews and gentiles was maintained by the collection for the jerusalem saints. evidently the apostolic church was animated by a strong sense of unity. this feeling of unity was maintained especially by the instrumentality of the apostles, who, with their helpers, traveled from one congregation to another, and exerted a unifying authority over all. certainly there was nothing like a universal church council; christian fellowship was maintained in a thoroughly informal way. in order that such fellowship should be permanent, however, there would obviously be an increasing need for some sort of official union among the congregations. when the apostles passed away, their place would have to be taken by representative assemblies; increasing complexity of life brought increasing need of organization. the representative assemblies of our own church, therefore, meet an obvious need; and both in their free, representative character and in their unifying purpose it may fairly be claimed that they are true to the spirit of the apostolic age. . principles the apostolic precedent with regard to organization should always be followed in spirit as well as in form. three principles, especially, are to be observed in the church organization of the apostolic age. in the first place, there was considerable freedom in details. no christian who had gifts of any kind was ordinarily prevented from exercising them. in the second place, there was respect for the constituted authority, whatever it might be. such respect, moreover, was not blind devotion to a ruling class, but the respect which is ennobled by love. finally, in church organization, as in all the affairs of life, what was regarded as really essential was the presence of the holy spirit. when timothy laid his hands upon a new elder, the act signified the bestowal of, or the prayer for, divine favor. this last lesson, especially, needs to be learned to-day. without the grace of god, the best of church organizations is mere machinery without power. * * * * * in the library.--davis, "dictionary of the bible": articles on "elder," "deacon," "deaconess," "laying on of hands." hastings, "dictionary of the bible": gayford, article on "church"; gwatkin, article on "church government in the apostolic age." lightfoot, "the christian ministry," in "saint paul's epistle to the philippians," pp. - , and in "dissertations on the apostolic age," pp. - . charteris, "the church of christ," pp. - , - , - . falconer, "from apostle to priest." macpherson, "presbyterianism" (in "handbooks for bible classes"). lesson xlvii a mission for the world . judaism and christianity in teaching the lesson in class, it might be well simply to review the principal steps in the geographical extension of the apostolic church. this geographical advance, however, was made possible only by an advance in principles which should not be ignored. the really great step in the early christian mission was not the progress from jerusalem to antioch, or from antioch to asia minor and to greece, but the progress from a national to a universal religion. judaism, despite its missionary activity, always identified the church more or less closely with the nation; it was a distinctly national religion. full union with it meant the abandonment of one's own racial and national relationships. =( ) limitations of judaism.=--the national character of judaism was an insurmountable hindrance to the jewish mission. despite the hindrance, it is true, judaism achieved important conquests; it won many adherents throughout the greco-roman world. these missionary achievements undoubtedly form an eloquent testimony to the power of israel's faith; despite those features of jewish custom which were repulsive to the gentile mind, the belief in the one true god and the lofty ethical ideal of the old testament scriptures possessed an irresistible attraction for many earnest souls. nevertheless, so long as jewish monotheism and jewish ethics were centered altogether in the life of a very peculiar people, they could never really succeed in winning the nations of the world. =( ) apparent identity of judaism and christianity.=--at first it looked as though christianity were to share in the limitation; it looked as though the disciples of jesus formed merely a jewish sect. undoubtedly they would bring the jewish people to a loftier faith and to a purer life; they would themselves become better and nobler jews; but jews they would apparently always remain. =( ) the great transition.=--before many years had passed, however, the limitation was gloriously transcended. christianity was no longer bound to judaism. it became a religion for the world, within whose capacious borders there was room for every nation and every race. how was the transition accomplished? it was not accomplished by any contemptuous repudiation of the age-long exclusiveness of israel. such repudiation would have involved the discrediting of the old testament, and to the old testament the church was intensely loyal. jewish particularism had been ordered of god; the scriptures were full of warnings against any mingling of the chosen people with its neighbors. jehovah had made of israel a people alone; he had planted it in an inaccessible hill country, remote from the great currents of the world's thought and life; he had preserved its separateness even amid the changing fortunes of captivity and war. salvation was to be found only in israel; israel was the chosen people. the church never abandoned this view of israelitish history. yet for herself she transcended the particularism that it involved. she did so in a very simple way--merely by recognizing that a new era had begun. in the old era, particularism had a rightful place; it was no mere prejudice, but a divine ordinance. but now, in the age of the messiah, particularism had given place to universalism; the religion of israel had become a religion of the world. what had formerly been right had now become wrong; god himself had ushered in a new and more glorious dispensation. particularism, in the divine economy, had served a temporary, though beneficent, purpose; god had separated israel from the world in order that the precious deposit of israel's faith, pure of all heathen alloy, might finally be given freely to all. the recognition of this wonderful new dispensation of god was accomplished in two ways. . the divine guidance in the first place, it was accomplished by the direct command of the holy spirit. the first preaching to gentiles was undertaken not because the missionaries understood why it should be done, but simply because god commanded. =( ) philip.=--for example, when philip preached to the ethiopian--who was not in the strictest sense a member of the jewish people--he was acting not in accordance with any reflection of his own--a desert road was a very unlikely place for missionary service--but under the plain and palpable guidance of the spirit. what is emphasized in the whole narrative is the strange, unaccountable character of philip's movements; evidently his actions at such a time were not open to criticism; what philip did god did; if philip preached to an outsider, such preaching was god's will. acts : - . =( ) cornelius.=--in the case of the conversion of cornelius and his friends, acts : to : , the divine warrant was just as plain. both cornelius and peter acted altogether in accordance with god's guidance. on the housetop, peter's scruples were unmistakably overcome. "what god hath cleansed," he was told, "make not thou common." peter did not fully comprehend the strange command that he should eat what the law forbade, and it was not explained to him; but at least the command was a command of god, and must certainly be obeyed. the meaning of the vision became clear when cornelius' house was entered; a gentile had evidently been granted the offer of the gospel. god was no respecter of persons. finally the holy spirit fell on all the gentiles who heard the message; they spake with tongues as the disciples had done at the first. that was the crowning manifestation of god's will. there was no reason to wait for circumcision or union with the people of israel. "can any man forbid the water," said peter, "that these should not be baptized, who have received the holy spirit as well as we?" acts : . all opposition was broken down; only one conclusion was possible; the jerusalem christians "glorified god, saying, then to the gentiles also hath god granted repentance unto life." acts : . =( ) the grace of god in the gentile mission.=--scarcely less palpable was the divine guidance in the subsequent developments of the gentile mission. after the momentous step of certain unnamed jews of cyprus and cyrene, who founded the church at antioch, barnabas had no difficulty in recognizing the grace of god. acts : . not suspicion, but only gladness, was in place. when paul and barnabas returned from the first gentile mission, they could report to the antioch church that god had plainly "opened a door of faith unto the gentiles." ch. : . if god had opened, who could close? at the apostolic council, in the very face of bitter opposition, the same great argument was used. the missionaries simply "rehearsed all things that god had done with them," ch. : , especially "what signs and wonders god had wrought among the gentiles through them." v. . there was only one thing to be done; the gentile mission must be accepted with gladness as a gift of god; he that wrought for peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for paul also unto the gentiles, gal. : ; james and peter and john could recognize, both in the gentile mission and in the inner life of the chief missionary, the plainest possible manifestation of the grace of god. v. . . reasons for gentile freedom the church transcended the bounds of judaism, then, primarily because of a direct command of god. such commands must be obeyed whether they are understood or not. as a matter of fact, however, god did not leave the matter in such an unsatisfactory state; he revealed not only his will, but also the reason for it; he showed not only that the gentiles must be received into the church, but also why they must be received. the essence of the gospel had demanded gentile freedom from the beginning; the justification of that freedom at the bar of reason, therefore, brought a clearer understanding of the gospel itself. two contrasts, at least, enabled the church to explain the reason why the gentiles could be saved without becoming jews. the first was the contrast between faith and works, between grace and the law; the second was the contrast between the type and the thing typified. the former was revealed especially to paul; the latter to the author of hebrews. =( ) the law and grace.=--salvation through christ, according to paul, is an absolutely free gift. it cannot be earned; it must simply be received. in other words, it comes not by works, but by faith. the law of god, on the other hand, of which the mosaic law was the clearest embodiment, offers a different means of obtaining god's favor. it simply presents a series of commandments, and offers salvation on condition that they be obeyed. but the trouble is, the commandments, since the fall, cannot be obeyed; everyone has incurred deadly guilt through his disobedience; the power of the flesh is too strong. at that point, however, god intervened. he offered christ as a sacrifice for sin that all believers might have a fresh start; and he bestowed the spirit of the living christ that all might have strength to lead a new life. but christ will do everything or nothing. a man must take his choice. there are only two ways of obtaining salvation--the perfect keeping of the law, or the simple, unconditional acceptance of what christ has done. the first is excluded because of sin; the second has become a glorious reality in the church. if, however, salvation is through the free gift of christ, then the law religion has been superseded. all those features of the law which were intended to make the law palpable, as a set of external rules, are abrogated. the christian, indeed, performs the will of god--in the deepest sense christianity only confirms the law--but he performs it, not by slavish obedience to a complex of external commandments, but by willing submission to the spirit of god. of course, the religion of the old testament was not, according to paul, purely a law religion; on the contrary paul quotes the old testament in support of faith. but there was a law element in the old testament; and the law served merely a temporary, though beneficent, purpose. it was intended to deepen the sense of sin and hopelessness, in order that finally salvation might be sought not in man's way but in god's. the new order at length has come; in christ we are free men, and should never return to the former bondage. the middle wall of partition has been done away; the ordinances of the law no longer separate jew and gentile; all alike have access through one saviour unto god, all alike receive power through the holy spirit to live a life of holiness and love. =( ) the type and the fulfillment.=--the contrast which was worked out in the epistle to the hebrews was especially a contrast between the sign and the thing signified. the ceremonial law, which had separated jew from gentile, was intended to point forward to christ; and now that the fulfillment has come, what further need is there of the old types and symbols? christ is the great high priest; by him all alike can enter into the holy place. =( ) the meaning of the gospel.=--the transition from jewish christianity, with all the difficulties of that transition, led finally to a deeper understanding of the gospel. it showed once for all that the salvation of the christians is a free gift. "just as i am, without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me"--these words are a good summary of the result of the judaistic controversy. the transition showed, furthermore, what had really been felt from the beginning, that christ was the one and all-sufficient lord. when he was present, no other priest, and no other sacrifice was required. that is the truly missionary gospel--the gospel that will finally conquer the world. * * * * * in the library.--orr, "neglected factors in the study of the early progress of christianity" and "the early church." george smith, "short history of christian missions" (in "handbooks for bible classes"). lesson xlviii the christian ideal of personal morality in treating the lesson for to-day, the teacher will be embarrassed by the wealth of his material. it is important, therefore, that the chief purpose of the lesson should not be lost amid a mass of details. that chief purpose is the presentation of christianity as something that has a very definite and immediate bearing upon daily life. christianity is first of all a piece of good news, a record of something that has happened; but the effect of it, if it be sincerely received, is always manifest in holy living. . the example of jesus in the student's text book, little attempt was made at detailed analysis of the apostolic ideal. the defect should be supplied by careful attention to the "topics for study," and also, if possible, by the treatment of the lesson in class. first of all, however, it should be observed how naturally the apostolic presentation of the ideal grows out of the teaching of jesus. the advance which revelation made after the close of jesus' earthly ministry concerned the fuller explanation of the means by which the moral ideal is to be attained rather than additional exposition of the ideal itself. that does not mean that the apostles did no more, in the field of ethics, than quote the words of jesus; indeed there seem to be surprisingly few direct quotations of the words of jesus in the apostolic writings; the ethical teaching of the apostolic church was no mere mechanical repetition of words, but a profound application of principles. nevertheless the teaching of jesus was absolutely fundamental; without an examination of it, the moral life of the apostolic church cannot be fully understood. =( ) the inexorableness of the law.=--jesus had insisted, for example, upon the inexorableness of the law of god. to the keeping of god's commandments everything else must be sacrificed. "if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell." matt. : . in this respect the apostles were true disciples of their master. the christian, they insisted, must be absolutely ruthless; he must be willing to sacrifice everything he has for moral purity. this ruthlessness, however, this thoroughgoing devotion to moral purity, did not mean in the teaching of jesus, any more than in that of the apostles, that under ordinary conditions the christian ought to withdraw from the simple pleasures that the world offers. jesus himself took his place freely at feasts; so far was he from leading a stern, ascetic life that his enemies could even accuse him of being a winebibber and a friend of publicans and sinners. the fidelity with which the apostles followed this part of their master's example has been pointed out in the student's text book. the enjoyable things of the earth are not evil in themselves; they are to be received with thanksgiving as gifts of the heavenly father, and then dedicated to his service. =( ) the morality of the heart.=--furthermore, jesus, as well as his apostles, emphasized the inwardness of the moral law. here again the apostolic church was faithful to jesus' teaching. the seat of sin was placed by the apostles in the very center of a man's life; the flesh and the spirit wage their warfare in the battle field of the heart. see, for example, gal. : - . . contrasts the sharp difference between the christian life and the life of the world was set forth in the apostolic teaching by means of various contrasts. =( ) death and life.=--in the first place, there was the contrast between death and life. the man of the world, according to the apostles, is not merely ill; he is morally and spiritually dead. col. : ; eph. : , . there is no hope for him in his old existence; that existence is merely a death in life. but god is one who can raise the dead; and as he raised jesus from the tomb on the third day, so he raises those who belong to jesus from the deadness of their sins; he implants in them a new life in which they can bring forth fruits unto god. a moral miracle, according to the new testament, stands at the beginning of christian experience. that miracle was called by jesus himself, as well as by the apostles, a new birth or "regeneration." it is no work of man; only god can raise the dead. see john : ; : - ; i john : ; i peter : , . =( ) darkness and light.=--the contrast between darkness and light, also, was common to the teaching of jesus and that of his apostles. it appears particularly in the gospel of john, but there are also clear traces of it in the synoptists, matt. : - ; the righteous are "the sons of the light." luke : . in the writings of the apostles the contrast appears in many forms. "ye are all sons of light," said paul, "and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober." i thess. : , . "ye were once darkness, but are now light in the lord: walk as children of light." eph. : . god has called us "out of darkness into his marvellous light." i peter : . the contrast serves admirably to represent the honesty and openness and cleanness of the true christian life. =( ) flesh and spirit.=--an even more important contrast is the contrast of flesh and spirit, which is expounded especially by paul. "flesh" in this connection means something more than the bodily side of human nature; it means human nature as a whole, so far as it is not subjected to god. "spirit" also means something more than might be supposed on a superficial examination. it does not mean the spiritual, as distinguished from the material, side of human nature; but the holy spirit, the spirit of god. the warfare, therefore, between the flesh and the spirit, which is mentioned so often in the pauline epistles, is a warfare between sin and god. the flesh, according to paul, is a mighty power, which is too strong for the human will. it is impossible for the natural man to keep the law of god. "i know," says paul, "that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not.... i find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present. for i delight in the law of god after the inward man: but i see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members." rom. : , - . in this recognition of the power of sin in human life, paul has laid his finger upon one of the deepest facts in human experience. the way of escape, however, has been provided; sin has been conquered in two aspects. it has been conquered, in the first place, in its guilt. without that conquest, everything else would be useless. the dreadful subjection to the power of sin, which becomes so abundantly plain in evil habit, was itself a punishment for sin; before the effect can be destroyed, the guilt which caused it must be removed. it has been removed by the sacrifice of christ. christ has died for us, the just for the unjust; through his death we have a fresh start, in the favor of god, with the guilty past wiped out. sin has been conquered, in the second place, in its power. together with the very implanting of faith in our hearts, the holy spirit has given us a new life, a new power, by which we can perform the works of god. a mighty warfare, indeed, is yet before us; but it is fought with the spirit's help, and by the spirit it will finally be won. =( ) the old man and the new.=--as the contrast between the flesh and the spirit was concerned with the causes of the christian's escape from sin, so the contrast now to be considered is concerned with the effects of that escape. the christian, according to paul, has become a new man in christ; the old man has been destroyed. the gentiles, he says, are darkened in their understanding, and alienated from god. eph. : - . "but ye did not so learn christ; if so be that ye heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in jesus: that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after god hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth." vs. - . compare col. : - . this putting on of the new man is included in what paul elsewhere calls putting on christ. gal. : ; rom. : . the true christian has clothed himself with christ; the lineaments of the old sinful nature have been transformed into the blessed features of the master; look upon the christian, and what you see is christ! this change has been wrought by christ himself; "it is no longer i that live," says paul, "but christ liveth in me"; christ finds expression in the life of the christian. it is noteworthy, however, that the "putting on" of christ, which in gal. : is represented as an accomplished fact, is in rom. : inculcated as a duty. it has been accomplished already in principle--in his sacrificial death, christ has already taken our place in the sight of god--but the practical realization of it in conduct is the lifelong task which every earnest disciple, aided by the holy spirit, must prosecute with might and main. . the new man details in the character of the "new man," as they are revealed in the apostolic writings, can here be treated only very briefly. =( ) honesty.=--certainly the christian, according to the apostles, must be honest. honesty is the foundation of the virtues; without it everything else is based upon the sand. nothing could exceed the fine scorn which the new testament heaps upon anything like hypocrisy or deceit. the epistle of james, in particular, is a plea for profound reality in all departments of life. away with all deceit! the christian life is to be lived in the full blaze of god's sunlight. many hours could be occupied in the class with the applications of honesty under modern conditions. student life, for example, is full of temptations to dishonesty. to say nothing of out-and-out cheating, there are a hundred ways in which the fine edge of honor can be blunted. in business life, also, temptations are many; and indeed no one can really escape the test. the apostolic example deserves to be borne in mind; christian honesty ought to be more than the honesty of the world. =( ) purity.=--in the second place, the apostolic church presents an ideal of purity, purity in thought as well as in word and deed. the ideal must have seemed strange to the degraded populations of corinth and ephesus; but it is also sadly needed to-day. let us not deceive ourselves. he who would hold fellowship with christ must put away impurity; christ is the holy one. purity, however, is to be attained not by unaided human effort, but by the help of the spirit of god. the holy spirit, if he be admitted to the heart, will purge it of unclean thoughts. =( ) patience and bravery.=--in the third place, patience and humility are prominent in the christian ideal. these virtues are coupled, however, with the most vigorous bravery. there is nothing weak or sickly or sentimental about the christian character. "watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." i cor. : . =( ) love.=--the summation of the christian ideal is love. love, however, is more than a benevolent desire. it includes purity and heroism as well as helpfulness. in order to love in the christian sense, one must attain "unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ." eph. : . * * * * * in the library.--hastings, "dictionary of the bible": strong, article on "ethics" (ii). kilpatrick, "christian character." bruce, "the formation of christian character." luthardt, "apologetic lectures on the moral truths of christianity." lesson xlix christianity and human relationships . the problem two apparently contradictory features appear in the life of the apostolic church. in the first place, there was an intense other-worldliness; the christians were regarded as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. in the second place, there was careful attention to the various relationships of the present life; no man was excused from homely duty. the two sides of the picture appear in the sharpest colors in the life of the apostle paul. no one emphasized more strongly than he the independence of the christian life with reference to the world; all christians, whether their worldly station be high or low, are alike in the sight of god; the church operates with entirely new standards of value. yet on the other hand, in his actual dealing with the affairs of this world paul observed the most delicate tact; and in all history it is difficult to find a man with profounder natural affections. where is there, for example, a more passionate expression of patriotic feeling than that which is to be found in rom. : ? "i could wish that i myself were anathema from christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh." on the one hand, then, the apostolic church regarded all earthly distinctions as temporary and secondary, and yet on the other hand those same distinctions were very carefully observed. the apparent contradiction brings before us the great question of the attitude of christianity toward human relationships. this question may be answered in one of three ways. . the worldly solution in the first place, there is the worldly answer. the christian finds himself in a world where his time and his thoughts seem to be fully occupied by what lies near at hand. the existence of god may not be denied, but practically, in the stress of more obvious duties, god is left out of account. =( ) "practical christianity."=--in its crude form, of course, where it involves mere engrossment in selfish pleasure, this answer to our question hardly needs refutation. obviously the christian cannot devote himself to worldly enjoyment; a cardinal virtue of the christian is self-denial. worldliness in the church, however, may be taken in a wider sense; it has often assumed very alluring forms. at the present day, for example, it often represents itself as the only true, the only "practical" kind of christianity. it is often said that true religion is identical with social service, that the service of one's fellow men is always worship of god. this assertion involves a depreciation of "dogma" in the interests of "practical" christianity; it makes no difference, it is said, what a man believes, provided only he engages in the improvement of living conditions and the promotion of fairer laws. =( ) this world is not all.=--this tendency in the church really makes religion a thing of this world only. undoubtedly, much good is being accomplished by social workers who have given up belief in historic christianity; but it is good that does not go to the root of the matter. suppose we have improved conditions on this earth, suppose more men have healthy employment and an abundance of worldly goods. even so the thought of death cannot be banished. is the totality of man's happiness limited to a brief span of life; are we after all but creatures of a day? or is there an eternal life beyond the grave, with infinite possibilities of good or evil? jesus and his apostles and the whole of the apostolic church adopted the latter alternative. =( ) the secularization of religion.=--we lay our finger here upon one of the points where the modern church is in danger of departing most fundamentally from the apostolic model. religion is in serious danger of being secularized; that is, of being regarded as concerned merely with this life. the only corrective is the recovery of the old conception of god. god is not merely another name for the highest aspirations of men, he is not merely the summation of the social forces which are working for human betterment. on the contrary, he is a living person, working in the world, but also eternally independent of it. you can work for the worldly benefit of your fellow men without coming into any saving contact with god; it does make a vast difference what you believe; it makes all the difference between death and life. =( ) the teaching of jesus and of the apostles.=--only one-sided reading of the new testament can find support for the opposite view. jesus said, "inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me," matt. : ; but the same jesus also said, "if any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." luke : . the giving of a cup of cold water, which receives the blessing of jesus, is done for "one of these little ones ... in the name of a disciple." matt. : . evidently the good works of the christian are not independent of the attitude of the doer toward jesus and toward god; jesus regards the personal relation between himself and his disciples as one which takes precedence of even the holiest of earthly ties. far more convincing, however, than any citation of definite passages is the whole spirit of the new testament teaching; evidently both jesus and his early disciples had their lives determined by the thought of the living, personal god, holy and mysterious and independent of the world. social service exists for the sake of god, not god for the sake of social service. the reversal of this relationship is one of the most distressing tendencies of the present day; a study of the apostolic church may bring a return to sanity and humility. . the ascetic solution the second answer to our question is the answer of ascetics of many different kinds. according to this answer, the relationship of the christian to god on the one hand, and his relationship to his fellow men on the other, are in competition. consequently, in order to strengthen the former, the latter must be broken off. in its extreme form, this way of thinking leads to the hermit ideal, to the belief that the less a man has to do with his fellow men the more he has to do with god. such conceptions are not always so uninfluential as we are inclined to think, even in our protestant churches. monasticism is not indeed consistently carried out, but it is often present in spirit and in principle. some excellent christians seem to feel that whole-hearted, natural interest in earthly friends is disloyalty to christ, that all men must be treated alike, that admission of one man into the depths of the heart more fully than another is contrary to the universality of the gospel. by such men, individuals are not treated as persons, with a value of their own, but merely as opportunities for christian service. =( ) this solution defeats its own end.=--it is evident, in the first place, that such an attitude defeats its own aim. evidently the power of a christian worker depends partly at least upon his interest in individuals. it will not do, for example, for the teachers in this course to let their students say, "the teacher loves christ supremely, but he has no interest in me." evidently the power of influencing our fellow men is largely increased by an intimate personal relationship; if we are to serve christ by bringing men to his feet, then we ought not to dissolve but rather to strengthen the bonds of simple affection which unite us to our human friends. =( ) this solution is opposed to apostolic example.=--the example of the apostolic church points in the same direction; we have already noticed the intensity of natural affection which was displayed even by a man so thoroughly and heroically devoted to christian service as was the apostle paul. this example might well be supplemented, and supplemented most emphatically of all by the example which lies at the basis of all of the apostolic church--the example of jesus himself. if any man might have been aloof from his fellow men, it was jesus, yet as a matter of fact, he plainly had his earthly friends. . the true solution the true solution of the problem is found in consecration. human relationships are not to be made the sole aim of life; neither are they to be destroyed; but they are to be consecrated to the service of god. love for god under normal conditions comes into no competition with love for man, because god takes a place in the life which can never be filled by any human friend; by lopping off human friendships we are not devoting ourselves more fully to god, but merely becoming less efficient servants of him. . christianity and social service consecration of human relationships to god does not involve any depreciation of what is known to-day as "social service." on the contrary it gives to social service its necessary basis and motive power. only when god is remembered is there an eternal outlook in the betterment of human lives; the improvement of social conditions, which gives the souls of men a fair chance instead of keeping them stunted and balked by poverty and disease, is seen by him who believes in a future life and a final judgment and heaven and hell to have value not only for time, but also for eternity, not only for man, but also for the infinite god. =( ) society or the individual?=--it is sometimes regarded as a reproach that old-fashioned, evangelical christianity makes its first appeal to the individual. the success of certain evangelists has occasioned considerable surprise in some quarters. everyone knows, it is said, that the "social gospel" is the really effective modern agency; yet some evangelists with only the very crudest possible social program are accomplishing important and beneficent results! the lesson may well be learned, and it should never be forgotten. despite the importance of social reforms, the first purpose of true christian evangelism is to bring the individual man clearly and consciously into the presence of his god. without that, all else is of but temporary value; the human race is composed of individual souls; the best of social edifices will crumble if all the materials are faulty. =( ) every man should first correct his own faults.=--the true attitude of the christian toward social institutions can be learned clearly from the example of the apostolic church. the first lesson that the early christians learned when they faced the ordinary duties of life was to make the best of the institutions that were already existing. there was nothing directly revolutionary about the apostolic teaching. sharp rebuke, indeed, was directed against the covetousness of the rich. but the significant fact is that such denunciations of wealthy men were addressed to the wealthy men themselves and not to the poor. in the apostolic church, every man was made to know his own faults, not the faults of other people. the rich were rebuked for their covetousness and selfishness; but the poor were commanded, with just as much vehemence, to labor for their own support. "if any will not work," said paul, "neither let him eat." ii thess. : . in short, apostolic christianity sought to remove the evils of an unequal distribution of wealth, not by a violent uprising of the poor against the rich, but by changing the hearts of the rich men themselves. modern reform movements are often very different; but it cannot be said that the apostolic method is altogether antiquated. =( ) the ennobling of existing institutions.=--certainly the apostolic method has been extraordinarily successful; it has accomplished far more than could have been accomplished by a violent reform movement. a good example is afforded by the institution of slavery. here, if anywhere, we might seem to have an institution which was contrary to the gospel. yet paul sent back a runaway slave to his master, and evidently without the slightest hesitation or compunction. that action was a consistent carrying out of the principle that a christian man, instead of seeking an immediate change in his social position, was first of all to learn to make the best of whatever position was his already. "let each man abide in that calling wherein he was called. wast thou called being a bondservant? care not for it: nay, even if thou canst become free, use it rather. for he that was called in the lord being a bondservant, is the lord's freedman: likewise he that was called being free, is christ's bondservant. ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men. brethren, let each man, wherein he was called, therein abide with god." i cor. : - . the freedom of the christian, in other words, is entirely independent of freedom in this world; a slave can be just as free in the higher, spiritual sense as his earthly master. in this way the position of the slave was ennobled; evidently the relation of onesimus to philemon was expected to afford both slave and master genuine opportunity for the development of christian character and for the performance of christian service. =( ) the substitution of good institutions for bad.=--in the long run, however, such conceptions were bound to exert a pervasive influence even upon earthly institutions. if philemon really adopted the christian attitude toward one who was now "more than a servant, a brother beloved" in christ, then in the course of time he would naturally desire to make even the outward relationship conform more perfectly to the inward spiritual fact. the final result would naturally be emancipation; and such was the actual process in the history of the church. slavery, moreover, is only an example; a host of other imperfect social institutions have similarly been modified or removed. what a world of progress, for example, is contained in gal. : : "there can be neither jew nor greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye are all one man in christ jesus." not battles and revolutions, the taking of cities and the pulling down of empires, are the really great events of history, but rather the enunciation of great principles such as this. "ye are all one man in christ jesus"--these words with others like them have moved armies like puppets, and will finally transform the face of the world. * * * * * in the library.--r. e. thompson, "de civitate dei. the divine order of human society." clow, "christ in the social order." cunningham, "christianity and social questions." schmidt, "the social results of early christianity." lesson l the christian use of the intellect . the problem of christianity and culture the last two lessons have emphasized the duty of consecration. the enjoyment of simple, physical blessings, the opportunities afforded by earthly relationships, are all to be devoted to the service of god. exactly the same principle must be applied in the lesson for to-day. if physical health and strength and the companionship of human friends may be made useful in the christian life, surely the same thing is true of intellectual gifts. the most powerful thing that a man possesses is the power of his mind. brute force is comparatively useless; the really great achievements of modern times have been accomplished by the intellect. if the principle of consecration is true at all--if it be true that god desires, not the destruction of human powers, but the proper use of them--then surely the principle must be applied in the intellectual sphere. the field should not be limited too narrowly; with the purely logical and acquisitive faculties of the mind should be included the imagination and the sense of beauty. in a word, we have to do to-day with the relation between "culture" and christianity. for the modern church there is no greater problem. a mighty civilization has been built up in recent years, which to a considerable extent is out of relation to the gospel. great intellectual forces which are rampant in the world are grievously perplexing the church. the situation calls for earnest intellectual effort on the part of christians. modern culture must either be refuted as evil, or else be made helpful to the gospel. so great a power cannot safely be ignored. =( ) the obscurantist solution.=--some men in the church are inclined to choose a simple way out of the difficulty; they are inclined to reject the whole of modern culture as either evil or worthless; this wisdom of the world, they maintain, must be deserted for the divine "foolishness" of the gospel. undoubtedly such a view contains an element of truth, but in its entirety it is impracticable. the achievements of modern culture are being made useful for the spread of the gospel by the very advocates of the view now in question; these achievements, therefore, cannot be altogether the work of satan. it is inconsistent to use the printing press, the railroad, the telegraph in the propagation of our gospel and at the same time denounce as evil those activities of the human mind by which these inventions were produced. indeed, much of modern culture, far from being hostile to christianity, has really been produced by christianity. such christian elements should not be destroyed; the wheat should not be rooted up with the tares. =( ) the worldly solution.=--if, however, the christian man is in danger of adopting a negative attitude toward modern culture, of withdrawing from the world into a sort of unhealthy, modernized, intellectual monastery, the opposite danger is even more serious. the most serious danger is the danger of being so much engrossed in the wonderful achievements of modern science that the gospel is altogether forgotten. =( ) the true solution.=--the true solution is consecration. modern culture is a stumblingblock when it is regarded as an end in itself, but when it is used as a means to the service of god it becomes a blessing. undoubtedly much of modern thinking is hostile to the gospel. such hostile elements should be refuted and destroyed; the rest should be made subservient; but nothing should be neglected. modern culture is a mighty force; it is either helpful to the gospel or else it is a deadly enemy of the gospel. for making it helpful neither wholesale denunciation nor wholesale acceptance is in place; careful discrimination is required, and such discrimination requires intellectual effort. there lies a supreme duty of the modern church. patient study should not be abandoned to the men of the world; men who have really received the blessed experience of the love of god in christ must seek to bring that experience to bear upon the culture of the modern world, in order that christ may rule, not only in all nations, but also in every department of human life. the church must seek to conquer not only every man, but also the whole of man. such intellectual effort is really necessary even to the external advancement of the kingdom. men cannot be convinced of the truth of christianity so long as the whole of their thinking is dominated by ideas which make acceptance of the gospel logically impossible; false ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. and false ideas cannot be destroyed without intellectual effort. such effort is indeed of itself insufficient. no man was ever argued into christianity; the renewing of the holy spirit is the really decisive thing. but the spirit works when and how he will, and he chooses to employ the intellectual activities of christian people in order to prepare for his gracious coming. . the apostolic example abundant support for what has just been said may be discovered in the history of the apostolic church. paul's speech at athens, for example, shows how the christian preacher exhibited the connection between the gospel and the religious aspirations of the time. this line of thought, it is true, was merely preliminary; the main thing with which the apostles were concerned was the presentation and explanation of the gospel itself. such presentation and explanation, however, certainly required intellectual effort; and the effort was not avoided. the epistles of paul are full of profound thinking; only superficiality can ignore the apostolic use of the intellect. =( ) christianity based upon facts.=--the fundamental reason why this intellectual activity was so prominent in the apostolic age is that the apostles thought of christianity as based upon facts. modern christians sometimes cherish a different notion. a false antithesis is now sometimes set up between belief and practice; christianity, it is said, is not a doctrine, but a life. in reality, christianity is not only a doctrine, but neither is it only a life; it is both. it is, as has been well said, a life because it is a doctrine. what is characteristic of christianity is not so much that it holds up a lofty ethical ideal as that it provides the power by which the ideal is to be realized. that power proceeds from the great facts upon which christian belief is founded, especially the blessed facts of christ's atoning death and triumphant resurrection. where belief in these facts has been lost, the christian life may seem to proceed for a time as before, but it proceeds only as a locomotive runs after the steam has been shut off; the momentum is soon lost. if, however, christianity is based upon facts, it cannot do without the use of the mind; whatever may be said of mere emotions, facts cannot be received without employment of the reason. christian faith is indeed more than intellectual; it involves rejoicing in the heart and acceptance by the will, but the intellectual element in it can never be removed. we cannot trust in christ, in the christian sense, unless we are convinced that he lived a holy life when he was on earth, that he claimed justly to be divine, that he died on the cross, and that he rose again from the dead. =( ) christianity involves theology.=--furthermore, christian faith involves not only a bare acceptance of these facts, it involves also some explanation of them. that explanation can never be complete; the gospel contains mysteries in the presence of which only wondering reverence is in place; but some explanation there must be. it is quite useless, for example, to know merely that a holy man, jesus, died on the cross; it is even useless to know that the son of god came to earth and died in that way. the death of christ has meaning for us only because it was a death for our sins; the story of the cross becomes a gospel only when the blessed meaning of it is explained. the explanation of that meaning forms the subject of a large part of the new testament. the apostolic church had none of our modern aversion to theology. it is time for us to return to the apostolic example. mere bustling philanthropy will never conquer the world. the real springs of the church's power lie in an inward, spiritual realm; they can be reached only by genuine meditation. the eighth chapter of romans has been neglected long enough; neglect of it is bringing deadly weakness. instead of adapting her message to the changing fashions of the time, the church should seek to understand the message itself. the effort will not be easy; in a "practical" age, honest thinking is hard. but the results will be plain. power lies in the deep things of god. =( ) the duty of every man.=--the great intellectual duty of the modern church is not confined to a few men of scholarly tastes. on the contrary, the simplest christian may have his part; what is needed first of all is common sense. by an unhealthy sentimentalism, old-fashioned study has been discredited. if god is speaking in the bible, surely the logical thing for us to do is to hear. yet modern christians are strangely neglectful of this simple duty. bible study is regarded as of less importance than social service; improvement of earthly conditions is preferred to acquaintance with god's word. the evil may easily be corrected, and it may be corrected first of all by the old-fashioned reading of the bible. that requires intellectual effort--there is no use in turning the pages if the mind is elsewhere--but the effort can be made by the plain man as well as by the scholar. simple acquaintance with the bible facts by the rank and file of the church will accomplish as much as anything else toward meeting the arguments of opponents. by learning what christianity is, we shall be able, almost unconsciously, to refute what can be said against it. . the practice of the truth this intellectual effort, however, should never be separated from practice. the best way to fix truth in the mind is to practice it in life. if our study teaches us that god is holy, let us hate sin as god hates it. if we learn that god is loving, let us love our fellow men as god loves them. if the bible tells us of the salvation offered by christ, let us accept it with a holy joy, and live in the power of it day by day. that is the true "practical christianity", a christianity that is based solidly upon facts. conduct goes hand in hand with doctrine; love is the sister of truth. . god the source of truth the ultimate source of all truth, as of all love, is god. the knowledge for which we are pleading can never result in pride, for it is a knowledge that god gives, and a knowledge consecrated at every point to god's service. presumptuous reliance upon human wisdom comes from knowledge that ignores part of the facts; true science leads to humility. if we accept all other facts, but ignore the supreme fact of god's love in jesus christ, then of course our knowledge will be one-sided. it may succeed in producing creature comforts; it may improve the external conditions of life upon this earth; it may afford purely intellectual pleasure; but it will never reveal the really important things. this one-sided knowledge is what paul was speaking of in i cor. : when he said that "the world through its wisdom knew not god." the true wisdom takes account of the "foolishness" of god's message, and finds that that foolishness is wiser than men. the true wisdom of the gospel is revealed only through the holy spirit; only the spirit of god can reveal the things of god. without the spirit, the human mind becomes hopeless in dismal error; it is the spirit of truth who sheds the true light over our path. "o grant us light, that we may know the wisdom thou alone canst give; that truth may guide where'er we go, and virtue bless where'er we live." * * * * * in the library.--patton, "a summary of christian doctrine." greene, "christian doctrine." a. a. hodge, "outlines of theology" and "popular lectures on theological themes." lesson li the christian hope and the present possession a type of religious effort has become prevalent to-day which is directed chiefly to the present life; the improvement of worldly conditions is often regarded as the chief end of man. all such tendencies are strikingly at variance with apostolic christianity. the apostolic church was intensely other-worldly. the chief gift that the apostles offered was not a better and more comfortable life in this world, but an entrance into heaven. . the end of the world only the great outlines of the events connected with the end of the world are revealed in the new testament. minute details cannot be discovered except by an excessively literal method of interpretation, which is not really in accord with the meaning of the apostolic writers. some have supposed, for example, that there are to be two resurrections, first a resurrection of the christian dead and long afterwards a resurrection of other men; expectation of a thousand-year reign of christ upon earth has been widely prevalent. such beliefs are not to be lightly rejected, since they are based upon an interpretation of certain new testament passages which is not altogether devoid of plausibility; but on the whole they are at least doubtful in view of other passages, and especially in view of the true nature of prophecy. god has revealed, not details to satisfy our curiosity, but certain basal facts which should determine our lives. those basal facts, connected with the end of the world, are a second coming of christ, a resurrection of the dead, a final judgment, an eternity of punishment for the wicked and of blessing for those who have trusted in christ. it is not maintained that these facts stand absolutely alone; certainly they are fully explained, at least in their spiritual significance; but the devout bible-reader should be cautious about his interpretation of details. . fear and joy the practical effect of the apostolic teaching about the end of the world should be a combination of earnestness with joy. a man who lives under the expectation of meeting christ as judge will desert the worldly standard of values for a higher standard. he will rate happiness and worldly splendor lower, in order to place the supreme emphasis upon goodness. the difference between evil and good, between sin and holiness, is not a trifle, not a thing of merely relative importance, as many men regard it; it enters deep into the constitution of the universe, it is the question of really eternal moment. again and again, in the new testament, the thought of christ's coming and of the judgment which he will hold is made the supreme motive to a pure and holy life. the apostolic example may well be borne in mind. when we are tempted to commit a mean or dishonest or unclean act, when unholy thoughts crowd in upon us like a noisome flood, we cannot do better than think of the day when we shall stand in the presence of the pure and holy judge. on the other hand, the thought of christ's coming is to the believer the source of inexpressible joy. christ has saved us from a terrible abyss. our joy in salvation is in proportion to our dread of the destruction from which we have been saved. to the truly penitent man, the thought of the righteous god is full of terror. god is holy; we would sometimes endeavor vainly to shrink from his presence. yet such a god has stretched out his hand to save--there is the wonder of the gospel--and if we trust in the saviour the last great day need cause no fear. we are lost in sin, but god looks not upon us but upon him who died to save us. "salvation" to the apostolic church meant "rescue," rescue from the just and awful judgment of god. . the intermediate state the time of that judgment has not been revealed, but so far as any offer of repentance is concerned the time comes to every man at death. one question of detail cannot altogether be ignored. what did the apostles teach about the condition of the believer between death and the final resurrection? upon this subject, the new testament says very little, but it becomes clear at least that the believer, even when absent from the body, is to be present with the lord, ii cor. : , and that to die is to be with christ. phil. : . on the whole, no better statement of the apostolic teaching about the "intermediate state" can be formulated than that which is contained in the shorter catechism: "the souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection." the hope of an immediate entrance into bliss at the time of death should not be allowed, however, to obscure the importance of the resurrection. the resurrection of the body will be necessary to "the full enjoying of god to all eternity." . the final blessedness that enjoying of god is no mere selfish pleasure; it means first of all a triumph of holiness. every last vestige of evil will be removed. no taint of sin will separate the redeemed creature from his god. service will be free and joyous. the consummation, moreover, will concern not merely individuals, but the race; no mere expectation of the personal immortality of individuals begins to do justice to the apostolic teaching. the ultimate end, indeed, is not our own enjoyment, but the glory of god. some carnal, materialistic conceptions of the future age would really remove god from his own heaven, but such is not the teaching of the new testament. god will be all and in all; only in his glory is to be found the true glory of a redeemed race. the power of loving god is the highest joy that heaven contains. . the dispensation of the spirit the present age, according to the new testament, is a time of waiting and striving; it is related to the future glory as a battle is related to the subsequent victory. satisfaction with the present life, even as it is led by the best of christians, would to the apostles have been abhorrent; the christian is still far from perfect. a prime condition of progress is a divine discontent. jesus pronounced a blessing upon them that "hunger and thirst after righteousness." eternal things to us are unseen; they can be discovered only by the eye of faith; we long for a time when hope will be supplanted by sight. nevertheless, there is no room for despondency; the blessed time is surely coming. its coming is rendered certain by the presence, here and now, of the holy spirit. the spirit may be relied upon to prepare us, both in soul and in body, for the glory of heaven. =( ) the spirit in the old testament and in the life of jesus.=--the spirit of god was mentioned even in the old testament. at the beginning he "moved upon the face of the waters," gen. : ; he was the source of the mighty deeds of heroes and of the prophets' inspired words. in the life and teaching of jesus, however, the spirit was far more fully revealed than he had ever been revealed before. he was the source of jesus' human nature, matt. : , ; luke : ; he descended upon the newly proclaimed messiah, matt. : , and was operative in all the earthly ministry of the lord. =( ) the spirit in the church.=--for the disciples, however, the full glory of the spirit's presence was manifested only after jesus himself had been taken up into heaven; the present age, from pentecost to the second coming of the lord, is peculiarly the dispensation of the holy spirit. discontent with the church's imperfections and dismay at her many adversaries should never cause us to lose confidence in the work that is being done by the spirit of god. it was expedient that jesus should go away; through the other "comforter" whom he has sent, he manifests himself even more gloriously than he did to the disciples in galilee. =( ) the nature of the spirit.=--the apostles never discuss the nature of the holy spirit in any thoroughly systematic way. but two great facts are really presupposed in the whole new testament. in the first place, the holy spirit is god, and in the second place he is a person distinct from the father and from the son. the divinity of the spirit appears, for example, in i cor. : . the point of that verse is that the spirit is as closely related to god as the human spirit is to a man. "for who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of god none knoweth, save the spirit of god." the distinct personality of the spirit appears with special clearness in rom. : , . there the spirit is represented as making intercession with him "that searcheth the hearts"; the one who intercedes is personally distinct from him before whom he makes intercession. even more convincing, perhaps, is the great promise of christ in john : , , ; : ; : - , where the other "comforter" is spoken of in clearly personal terms and is distinguished both from the father and from the son. personal distinctness, however, is not inconsistent with a perfect unity of nature. what the spirit does the son and the father do; when the other comforter comes to the church, christ himself comes. the doctrine of the "trinity" is a profound mystery, but its mysteriousness is no obstacle to the acceptance of its truth. mystery in the depths of god's nature is surely to be expected. this mystery, taught by the pen of inspired writers, has brought salvation and peace into the lives of men. distinctly trinitarian passages, such as matt. : ; ii cor. : , are merely the summation of the new testament teaching about god, and that teaching has worked itself out in unspeakable blessing in the life of the church. =( ) the work of the spirit.=--a complete summary of the belief of the apostolic church about the work of the holy spirit would be impossible in one brief lesson. the christian life is begun by the spirit, and continued by his beneficent power. conversion, according to jesus and his apostles, is only the manward aspect of a profound change in the depths of the soul. that change is "regeneration," a new birth. christian experience is no mere improvement of existing conditions, but the entrance of something entirely new. man is not merely sick in trespasses and sins, but "dead"; only a new birth will bring life. that new birth is a mysterious, creative act of the spirit of god. john : - . but the spirit does not leave those whom he has regenerated to walk alone; he dwells in them and enables them to overcome sin. the motive of his work is love. he is no blind force, but a loving person; the christian can enjoy a real communion with him as with the father and the son. in the presence of the spirit we have communion with god; the persons of the godhead are united in a manner far beyond all human analogies. there is no imperfect medium separating us from the divine presence; by the gracious work of the holy spirit we come into vital contact with the living god. the spirit is the ground and cause of christian freedom. "where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty." ii cor. : . "for as many as are led by the spirit of god, these are sons of god. for ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, abba, father." rom. : , . this liberty that the spirit brings is, however, not a liberty to sin; it is liberation from sin. the body of the christian is a temple of the holy spirit; in that temple only purity is in place. the inward power of the holy spirit in the heart is more powerful than the law; if a man yields to that power he will overcome the flesh; the law of god is fulfilled by those "who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." * * * * * in the library.--vos, "the teaching of jesus concerning the kingdom of god and the church." crane, "the teaching of jesus concerning the holy spirit." swete, "the holy spirit in the new testament." thomas, "the holy spirit of god." lesson lii retrospect: the first christian century the apostolic example can be applied intelligently to the problems of our time only if there be some understanding of the intervening centuries. we are connected with the apostolic church by an unbroken succession. a study of church history would help us to apply the new testament teaching to our own age. the christian writings which have been preserved from the early part of the second century show a marked decline from the spiritual level of the apostles. evidently the special inspiration which had made the new testament a guide for all ages had been withdrawn. yet the spirit of god continued to lead the church. even in the darkest periods of church history god did not forget his people. only scanty christian writings have been preserved from the first three-quarters of the second century; the extant works of the so-called "apostolic fathers" and of the "apologists" are of limited extent. about the close of the century, however, the record becomes more complete. clement of alexandria, irenæus of asia minor and gaul, and tertullian of north africa, give a varied picture of the christian life of the time. the church had gained rapidly in influence since the conclusion of the apostolic age; persecutions had not succeeded in checking her advance. finally, under constantine, in the first part of the fourth century, christianity became the favored religion of the roman empire. about the same time, in a.d. , the first ecumenical council, at nicæa, undertook the work of formulating the belief of the church. the creeds which were adopted at the great ancient councils are accepted to-day in all parts of christendom. during the same general period, the power of the bishop of rome was gradually increased until it culminated in the papacy. after the conquest of the western part of the roman empire in the fifth century, christianity was accepted by the barbarian conquerors, and during the dark ages that followed the church preserved the light of learning and piety until a better day should dawn. during the middle ages, though there was for the most part little originality in christian thinking, great scholars and theologians formed striking exceptions to the general condition. the political power of the papacy became enormous, but was hindered by the personal weakness and immorality of many of the popes. the degraded moral and spiritual condition of the church was counteracted here and there by the establishment of monastic orders, whose purpose at the beginning was good, by the writings of certain mystics, and by the work of the three "pre-reformers," wyclif in england, huss in bohemia and savonarola in italy. a genuine advance, however, did not come until the reformation of the fifteenth century, when luther in germany and zwingli in switzerland, almost at the same time and at first independently, became the leaders in a mighty protest. a little later calvin carried out the principles of the reformation in a comprehensive theological system, and by the power of his intellect and the fervency of his piety exerted an enormous influence throughout the world. the reformation was distinctly a religious movement, though it had been prepared for by that revival of learning which is called the renaissance. the work of luther was a rediscovery of paul. not the performance of a set of external acts prescribed by the church, but, as paul taught, the grace of god received by faith alone, is, according to luther, the means of salvation. the reformation brought about a counter-reformation in the roman catholic church, and the western european world was finally divided between the two great branches of christendom. after a period of controversy and wars between protestants and catholics, the church was called upon to fight a great battle against unbelief. that battle, begun in its modern form about the middle of the eighteenth century, continues unabated until the present day. we are living in a time of intellectual changes. to maintain the truth of the gospel at such a time and to present it faithfully and intelligently to the modern world is the supreme task of the church. the task to some extent has been accomplished; and the missionary movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries attests the vitality of the ancient faith. god has not deserted his church. there are enemies without and within, compromise will surely bring disaster; but the gospel of christ has not lost its power. this is not the first time of discouragement in the history of the church. the darkest hour has always been followed by the dawn. who can tell what god has now in store? * * * * * * transcriber's note: minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. [illustration: front cover] [illustration: little ones should be brought to him.] mother stories from the new testament a book of the best stories from the new testament that mothers can tell their children with forty-five illustrations philadelphia henry altemus company altemus' mother stories series * * * * * mother stories a book of the best stories that mothers can tell their children mother nursery rhymes and tales a book of the best nursery rhymes and tales that mothers can tell their children mother fairy tales a book of the best fairy tales that mothers can tell their children mother nature stories a book of the best nature stories that mothers can tell their children mother stories from the old testament a book of the best old testament stories that mothers can tell their children mother stories from the new testament a book of the best new testament stories that mothers can tell their children mother bedtime stories a book of the best bedtime stories that mothers can tell their children mother animal stories a book of the best animal stories that mothers can tell their children mother bird stories a book of the best bird stories that mothers can tell their children mother santa claus stories a book of the best santa claus stories that mothers can tell their children profusely illustrated and handsomely bound in cloth, with ornamentation in colors $ . per volume copyright by howard e. altemus printed in the united states of america contents. page the wise men's visit the angel's tidings jesus in the temple the wonderful draught of fishes the house built upon the sand healing the centurion's servant anointing the feet of jesus the rich fool the unfruitful tree sowing the seed the enemy sowing tares the parable of the leaven seeking for hidden treasure the pearl of great price the parable of the net the man possessed by devils curing the incurable jairus' daughter the two blind men feeding five thousand christ walking on the sea the woman of canaan peter and the tribute money the good samaritan importunity rewarded the unmerciful servant the good shepherd the lost piece of money the prodigal son peter's wife's mother cured the unjust steward the rich man and the beggar "avenge me of my adversary" the pharisee and the tax-gatherer the laborers in the vineyard the barren fig tree the wicked husbandman without the wedding garment the foolish virgins the parable of the talents man with the withered hand jesus ascends to heaven the philippian jailer timothy and his mother eunice christ blessing the children [illustration] new testament stories the wise men's visit. the birth of jesus christ was announced by two remarkable events: the coming of wise men from the east, and the appearance of angels to some shepherds at bethlehem. the wise men were probably astronomers; and in watching the stars they had seen one that had led them to leave their own country, and take a long journey to jerusalem. most likely they rode on camels, and their journey was a tedious one. but at last they reached jerusalem, where they inquired saying, "where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him." tidings of these inquiries were brought to king herod, and when he heard them he was much troubled. he was a wicked king; and feared that if another king had been born, he would grow up and take the crown away. herod was also cruel and treacherous, and while pretending to act rightly, often did many evil things. and now he intended to destroy the infant king, who might one day take his sceptre away. so he first sent for the learned men of the jews, the chief priests and scribes, and demanded of them where christ should be born; and when they had replied that it was to be in bethlehem, he secretly called the wise men before him, and inquired of them what time the star appeared. after getting the information he needed, he dismissed the wise men, bidding them to go to bethlehem "and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him," said herod, "bring me word again, that i may come and worship him also." so the wise men left king herod and jerusalem, and journeyed onward towards bethlehem; and the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child lay. and when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, for they knew they had found him whom they had come so far to seek. but the wise men did not bring herod word where jesus was; and he was so angry that shortly afterwards he sent his soldiers, and slew all the children under two years of age that were in bethlehem and its neighbourhood. he thought by so doing to kill jesus among them, but god prevented him from doing so. [illustration: the wise men before the king.] the angel's tidings. it was night. in the fields near bethlehem a company of shepherds kept watch over their flocks. probably they were holy men, and often thought of god in the stillness of the early morn. and now they may have been thinking of the coming of the promised messiah. while watching their flocks, the angel of the lord came to these shepherds, and a dazzling light shone round about them. they were much afraid; but the angel said, "fear not; for behold i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. for unto you is born this day in the city of david a saviour, which is christ the lord." and suddenly there was with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host praising god and saying, "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." when the angels had departed, the shepherds returned to bethlehem; and there, in a stable, they found the infant jesus, lying in a manger, watched over and cared for by his mother mary and joseph. and so great was the surprise and joy of the shepherds that they went out and told all they met of the wondrous things which they had seen. shortly after the visit of the shepherds, the wise men from the east reached bethlehem, and in a house they found joseph, and mary, and jesus. then they fell down and worshipped jesus, opening the treasures they had brought, and offering him precious gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. but god warned them not to go back to herod, to tell him where the new-born king of the jews was, and they returned to their own country another way. [illustration: the shepherds worshipping the infant jesus.] jesus in the temple. when jesus was twelve years of age, his parents took him with them to jerusalem to the feast of the passover. great numbers journeyed from different parts to keep this feast; and travelled in companies or caravans, the women and old men riding on asses or mules, and the rest going on foot. thus joseph and mary, with jesus, left nazareth, and with many others journeyed to jerusalem, where they kept the passover. when the feast was ended, as they returned homewards, joseph and mary discovered that jesus was missing; but supposing him to have been somewhere among the company, they continued their first day's short journey. when, however, evening came, and the caravan halted, and jesus was nowhere to be found, his parents sorrowfully returned to jerusalem seeking him. at last, on the third day, they went to the temple, and found jesus sitting in the midst of the aged and learned jewish doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. "and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers." his parents were amazed when they saw jesus in such company. but mary, while she rejoiced at finding him, gently said, "son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold thy father and i have sought thee sorrowing." jesus replied, "how is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that i must be about my father's business?" jesus was the son of god, and doing god's work was being about his father's business. years afterwards he said, "i came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." [illustration: "son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?"] the wonderful draught of fishes one day, as the crowds pressed round him to hear the word of god, jesus came to the lake of gennesaret and saw two boats drawn up on the shore. now one of these belonged to a man named simon peter, who was at the water's edge washing his nets. jesus entered into this boat and asked simon to push it off from the land a little. then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. and when he had done speaking to them he said to simon, "launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught of fishes." simon, answering him, said, "master, we have toiled all through the night and have taken nothing, but as you wish it i will let down the net again." and they let down the net into the sea, but it enclosed so great a multitude of fishes that they could not draw them up; and the net brake. then simon beckoned to his partners, james and john, who were in the other boat, that they should come and help them. and they came and filled both boats with the fishes, so that they began to sink. when simon peter saw it he fell down before jesus, saying, "depart from me, for i am a sinful man, o lord." for he and all that were with him were astonished at the marvellous draught of fishes which they had taken. and jesus said unto simon, "fear not, simon peter; from henceforth thou shalt be a fisher of men." meaning that he was to go about winning souls for god, instead of being a fisherman. and when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all they had and followed christ. [illustration: the wonderful draught of fishes.] the house built upon the sand. what a foolish man the builder of the house shown in our picture must have been! of course, when the wind blew and the waves dashed against his house, it would fall. look how the sea has washed the foundation away, and how the roof is falling in! and the people; see how they are fleeing to save their lives! and all this calamity because he built his house upon the sand. but the other house, shown in the distance: how firmly that stands! what a bold front it offers to the waves, and how safely it resists the fury of the storm. its foundations are sure, because they rest upon the solid rock. jesus had been teaching the people. he had taught them many wonderful truths, which you will find written in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of matthew; and in closing he said, "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, i will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. and every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." the lesson jesus sought to impress upon the people by this parable was, that it is not enough simply to hear what he says. many will do that; but it is only those who remember christ's commandments and keep them, whose work will stand when the time of trial comes. [illustration: the house built upon the sand.] healing the centurion's servant. jesus entered into capernaum, a city by the sea of galilee, and while he was there a certain centurion, or captain in the roman army, had a favourite servant who was sick of the palsy and in great pain. when this roman heard of jesus, he sought the jewish elders and implored them to go to christ and beseech him to cure the sick servant. and the elders came to jesus and besought him urgently to do this miracle, saying, "he is a worthy man, this roman captain, for he loveth the jews and hath built us a synagogue." so jesus went with them, and when he had come near the house, the centurion himself came to meet him, saying, "lord, trouble not thyself, for i am not worthy that thou shouldest enter my house. speak the word only, and this sickness shall depart and my servant be made whole. for i am a man under authority of the emperor, having many soldiers under me, and i say unto this man, 'go,' and he goeth; to another, 'come,' and he cometh, and to my servant, 'do this,' and he doeth it. wherefore, if i can so readily command my servants to do my bidding, i know that if thou biddest this sickness to go out from my servant it will surely go." jesus marvelled at the man's words, and said to his followers, "verily, i say unto you, i have not found so great faith, no, not in all israel." and to the centurion he said, "go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." and his servant was healed in the selfsame hour, and when those that had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant whole that had been sick. [illustration: christ and the centurion.] anointing the feet of jesus. on one occasion, a proud pharisee, whose name was simon, invited jesus to eat with him. but the invitation was a cold one. there was no kiss of welcome, no water to bathe his hot and dusty feet, no perfumed ointment for his head: nothing but a bare admission to a vacant place at the table was granted to jesus. but there he reclined, his left elbow resting on a cushion, and his feet projecting beyond the edge of the couch. now it happened that a poor, sinful woman was passing, who, discovering that jesus was in the house, timidly entered, and stood behind him. she had an alabaster box of ointment, and, as she looked on jesus, she wept. her tears fell upon his feet; so, stooping down, she tenderly wiped them away with her long hair; then she kissed the saviour's feet, and anointed them with the fragrant ointment. this was done as a token of respect and love. but an evil eye had noted the kindly act; and the proud pharisee thought within himself, if jesus were the prophet he professes to be, he would certainly have known that the woman was a great sinner, and would not have allowed her to touch him. but jesus came to save sinners. he loves them, though he hates their sins. he rebuked the haughty simon; and showed him how he had neglected the commonest rites of hospitality towards his guest, while this poor woman had treated jesus with the greatest reverence. then jesus said, "her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much"; and he bade her go in peace. [illustration: anointing the feet of jesus.] the rich fool. there was a certain rich man who owned much land. and his fields and vineyards were so productive that when the time of harvest came, he had not room enough to store his corn and fruits. so after much thought he said, "this will i do. i will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there will i store all my fruits and my goods. then i can say to myself, 'i have great store of goods laid up, enough for many years; now i can take mine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.'" but god said unto him, "thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast hoarded?" jesus says it shall be so with all those who set their minds upon storing up riches in this world, rather than laying up treasures in heaven by pleasing god and working in his service. death will come when they least expect it, and they will have to leave all their earthly riches, and go where no treasure has been laid up for them. and he said unto his disciples, "take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on; for the life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment. for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your father knoweth that ye have need of these things. but rather seek ye the kingdom of god; and all these things shall be added unto you. fear not, for it is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. sell what ye have and give alms; provide yourselves a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, or moth corrupteth." [illustration: the rich fool.] the unfruitful tree. a certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon, but found none. then he called to the gardener who attended to his vineyard, and said to him, "behold these three years i come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. cut it down. why does it encumber the ground?" the gardener answered him and said, "lord, let it alone this year also, till i shall dig about it and manure it. and if it bear fruit then, it is well; but if not, then, after that, thou shalt cut it down." in this parable the vineyard means the world, and the fig-tree ungodly people whose lives do not produce good works--do not produce fruit in the service of god. the lord of the vineyard, that is, god, would destroy such people, but christ intercedes in their behalf, that time for repentance may be given. "he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." christ came and sought to change men's hearts, and make their lives fruitful for god. the warning has been given, and when the lord of the vineyard comes again to seek good fruit the unfruitful trees shall be destroyed. am i a barren tree, dear lord? a cumberer of the ground. oh! give me grace to fruitful be, and in thy work abound. [illustration: the unfruitful tree.] sowing the seed. a sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed some fell by the wayside and was trodden down, and birds came and devoured it. and some fell upon a rocky place, where there was not much soil, and as soon as it sprang up it withered away, because it lacked moisture. and some fell among thorns and weeds, and they sprang up with it and choked it. but other fell on good ground, and sprang up bearing ears, some with thirty, some sixty, some a hundred seeds. when jesus had told this parable, his disciples asked him to explain it to them. he said that the seed is the word of god. the wayside signifies the people who hear the word but do not understand it, and satan comes and takes all thought of it out of their hearts as quickly as the birds devour the seeds. the rocky places without much earth denote those who, when they hear the word, receive it with great joy and profession of faith; but it never takes deep root in their hearts, and when they are tempted they fall away and the good seed in their hearts is withered up. the thorns and weeds are the pleasures and riches of this life, which root so deeply and strongly in men's hearts that the good seed has no chance, and is soon killed off. but the good ground is the hearts of good people, who remember god's word and try, every day of their lives, to do as he wishes us to do, and to live holy and useful lives. the seed falling upon their hearts becomes strongly rooted and grows up vigorously, bearing good fruit. what shall be said of _your_ heart, my young friend? is it like the wayside? the rocky place? the thorny ground? or like a good field that has been well prepared for the seed? [illustration: sowing the seed.] the enemy sowing tares. a certain man sowed good seed in his field, but in the night, whilst men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. when the wheat-blade had sprung up and showed the ear, then appeared the tares also. so the servants of the householder came to him and said, "sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then come these tares?" he said unto them, "an enemy hath done this." then the servants asked, "shall we go, then, and gather them up?" but he said, "nay, lest whilst you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them. let both grow together until the harvest, and in that time i will say to the reapers, 'gather ye together first the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" jesus' disciples asked him to explain this parable to them, and he said: "the field represents the world, and he that sowed the good seed is christ himself. the good seed is the word he preached; the wheat plants are the good people who believe in christ and do as he teaches. the enemy who sows the bad seed is satan, and the tares that spring from them are wicked people who follow the promptings of the evil one in their hearts. the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels of god. as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world with wicked people. christ shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them that do evil, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father." "for the lord our god shall come, and shall take his harvest home; from his field shall in that day all offences purge away; "give his angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast, but the fruitful grain to store in his garner evermore." [illustration: the enemy sowing tares.] the parable of the leaven. christ said that the kingdom of heaven could be likened unto leaven (or yeast), which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till the whole was leavened. now, this leaven, or yeast, is composed of tiny little plants, each one so small that it cannot possibly be seen by the sharpest eye except through a very powerful microscope. so small are they that it would require three thousand of them, placed close together, side by side, to make up the length of one inch. like all other plants they require food, and they find this in the dough they are placed in. you know that all things are made up of atoms of chemical substances so wonderfully blended together that only the chemist can separate them, and when he has separated them they appear very different. well, in flour there are certain things so blended, and the yeast-plant takes one kind of substance as food, and in doing so sets free another substance called carbonic acid gas. this gas bubbles up and makes the heavy dough spongy and light. if it were not for these tiny bubbles of gas your bread would be as heavy and close as suet pudding. this is the reason why yeast is put into dough for making bread or cake. one of the most remarkable things about this yeast is, that when it gets into any substance that contains its food, it at once begins to give off buds, which, in a few moments, become full-sized and break away. so rapid is this increase, that if a single yeast-plant were to be put into a great mass of dough it would very quickly leaven the whole mass. and so it is with the love of god. when once it gets into our hearts it will keep on growing until all our life is filled with it, and we try in all things to please him. [illustration: the parable of the leaven.] seeking for hidden treasure. the people of canaan, both in ancient and modern days, have made a practice of hiding their treasures. this they have done to secure them in times of danger. when invaders flocked into the land, the people buried their gold and jewels, and fled. and often they died, or were overtaken by their enemies and killed, so that they were unable to return and regain their buried riches. earthquakes also have taken place, destroying towns and villages, and burying all the riches in them beneath their ruins. thus there is much hidden treasure in canaan, and numbers of the inhabitants spend their time seeking diligently and anxiously for it. our artist shows us a man who is thus seeking. he has heard that in old times a great treasure was hidden in a particular field. so he digs away patiently in various places until, at last, he finds out that what he heard is quite true. he is sure the treasure is _there_; and his desire is to become possessed of the field, so that he may obtain the buried riches. he is willing to sell all that he has if by so doing he may buy that field. so he hastens home, and gathers together the whole of his property and sells it. then he takes his money to the man who has the land for sale, and buys the field of him. thus he becomes possessed of the treasure he has sought after. jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. it is so precious, that when a man finds out its value, and knows how it can be obtained, he will be willing to give up everything he has for it--all his companions, pleasures, sins, riches--indeed everything he possesses, in order to gain this great treasure. [illustration: the treasure hid in a field.] the pearl of great price. very similar to the parable of the hidden treasure is this one of the merchant seeking goodly pearls. "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." in the picture we see the merchant on the sea-shore, where he has waited for the landing of these sailors from another country. he asks them if they have any goodly pearls for sale, and one man opens his box and takes out this "pearl of great price." it is just the kind of pearl the merchant had been seeking, so he quickly produces his two bags of gold and offers them to the man for his pearl. but the man smiles. "what! part with so large and so beautiful a pearl for two bags of gold?" he could not think of it. the pearl is again placed in its box, and the merchant has to go away disappointed. but the longing to have that pearl is too great. a thought occurs to him. he will go home and sell all that is his, and the money he shall thus obtain, added to his two bags of gold, will surely buy the precious jewel. and so it is with men when they seek that pearl of pearls, the forgiveness of god. they will give up a great deal in order to obtain it, but they find that god requires them to give up everything that is sinful or worldly. and if their hearts are really set upon obtaining it, they will do as this merchant did, and part with everything that would hinder them from coming to god, or walking in the way that leads to heaven. [illustration: the merchant seeking goodly pearls.] the parable of the net. these fishermen have just returned to shore with their net full of fish. now this is not a casting-net, which is thrown out from the boat and drawn in again, but a drag-net which is of great length, and which is drawn constantly through the water until it is well filled with fish. it is then hauled up to the shore, and the fishermen sit around it, and take out the fish. many of these, of course, are unfit for food, or not liked. they cast those into the sea again, but the good fish which they can sell for food are carefully placed in vessels brought for the purpose. christ said, "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered every kind (of fish): which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. so shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." at another time jesus taught his disciples the same truth; when he spake of his coming and of the gathering of all nations before him, the good entering into eternal life, but the wicked being cast away. "when the son of man shall come in his glory," said jesus, "and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." [illustration: the parable of the net.] the man possessed by devils. one day jesus came with his disciples in a boat to the country of the gadarenes, near galilee. they landed near the tombs, that is, caverns cut into the rock, where the dead were buried. and there met them a man, who, for a long time, had been possessed by many unclean spirits. he lived in the tombs and wore no clothes. he had been so fierce and wild that his friends had been obliged to chain him up, but he had burst his fetters, and the devils had driven him out to the tombs. jesus bade the unclean spirits to come out of the man. and when the man caught sight of jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, saying, "what have i to do with thee, jesus, thou son of god most high? i beseech thee to torment me not." and jesus asked him his name. and he said, "legion," because many devils were in him. they besought jesus that he would not make them go into the sea, but would let them enter into a herd of swine that were feeding on the cliffs close by. he suffered them to do so, and the devils went out of the man and entered into the pigs, and the whole herd ran violently over the cliff into the water and were drowned. and when the herdsmen saw what was done, they fled into the city and told all the people. then the people came out to jesus, and they saw the man that had been possessed, clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of jesus. and they that had seen it told them by what means the man had been healed, and they were afraid. the man out of whom the devils had departed, besought him that he might stay with jesus, but he sent him away, saying, "return to thy house, and show what great things god hath done unto thee." and he went his way and published throughout the city what great things jesus had done unto him. [illustration: the man possessed by devils.] curing the incurable. jesus went into capernaum, followed by a great crowd of people, and among them was a woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease which no doctor could cure, though she had consulted many, and spent all her wealth upon them. she had said within herself, "if i could but touch his garment i should be made well." so she pressed through the crowd, and put out her arm and touched the hem of his garment, and immediately she was made well. then jesus, turning round to his disciples, said, "who touched me?" but they all denied that they had done so, and peter and they that were with him said, "master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and yet thou sayest, who touched me!" they were surprised that jesus should make such an enquiry, seeing that so many were crowding round him, and pressing against him. but jesus said, "somebody hath touched me, for i perceive that healing virtue hath gone out of me." when the woman saw that jesus knew what she had done, and that she could not be hidden in the crowd, she came trembling, and, falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been healed at once. and he said unto her, "daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. go in peace, and be healed of thy illness." jesus wishes us to trust in him. we suffer from a terrible disease--the disease of sin, which no doctor can cure; but jesus will heal us and take away our sin if we trust in him. [illustration: cured by touching his garment.] jairus' daughter. jairus was one of the rulers of the jewish church, or synagogue, and he had a daughter who had been very ill and was now at the point of death. she was an only daughter, and was twelve years of age. so hearing that jesus was near, he came to him, and, falling down before him, implored jesus to come and see her. and jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. soon there came running to them a messenger from the ruler's house, who said to jairus, "thy daughter is already dead; do not trouble the master." but when jesus heard it he turned to jairus and said, "fear not. only believe, and she shall be restored to life." when they came to the ruler's house they saw the minstrels and many people who were making much noise and lamentation for the dead girl, as was the custom. jesus said unto them, "make way; weep not, for the maiden is not dead, but sleepeth;" but they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. and he put them all out of the room, all but peter and james and john, and the mother and father of the maiden. then he took her by the hand, and called to her, saying, "maid, arise." and her spirit came again, and she arose straightway; and he commanded her parents to give her food. her parents were astonished when they saw their daughter raised to life and able to eat, but jesus charged them that they should tell no man what he had done. but the fame of the miracle he had wrought went abroad unto all that land. [illustration: jairus' daughter.] the two blind men. when jesus had left the house of the ruler jairus, there followed him two blind men. they called out to him, "thou son of david, have mercy upon us." then jesus looked at them, and asked if they really believed that he had power to cure them and give them back their sight. and they said unto him, "yea, lord." then he touched their eyes, and said unto them, "according to your faith, so be it unto you." and immediately they opened their eyes and were able to see. jesus charged them to let no man know what he had done. but when they were departed they spread his fame abroad over all that country. another time christ and his disciples were coming away from jericho, followed by a large crowd of people. and there was sitting by the wayside a blind beggar, bartimeus by name; and when he heard the noise of the multitude, he asked what it meant. they answered him, "jesus of nazareth passeth by." then he cried out in a loud voice, saying, "jesus, thou son of david, have mercy on me." the people tried to keep him from calling out, but he would not be quiet. he was determined that christ should see him. and jesus stood still, and commanded them to call him. so he arose and cast away his outer garment and came to jesus. when jesus asked what he would have done to him, he answered, "lord, that i might receive my sight." and jesus said unto him, "go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." and he received his sight at once, and followed jesus, praising him. [illustration: the two blind men.] feeding five thousand. one day jesus went on board a ship and sailed to another part of the coast, where he and his disciples might have rest. for the people in the cities crowded them so closely that they did not even have time to eat. they landed, and went into a desert place; but the people had seen them depart, and marked which way the ship sailed. then they all flocked out of the cities and came on foot to the place where jesus was. when jesus saw what a great number of people had come, he had compassion on them, and spoke to them, and healed their sick. but in the evening the disciples came to jesus and said, "this is a desert place, and the day has gone; send the people away, that they may go into the villages and buy food." jesus was too kind to send them away hungry like that. he said, "they need not depart; give ye them food to eat." but they said to him, "we have here but five loaves and two fishes, which we have just purchased of a lad." he said, "bring them to me." then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and, looking up to heaven, blessed them and broke them into pieces. the disciples carried the bread and fish to the people and they all ate and had plenty, although there were about five thousand men, besides women and children. and yet, when the disciples took up the fragments that were left, these fragments filled twelve baskets. how kind was jesus! he not only taught the people and healed their sick, but he fed them when out in the desert place and hungry. [illustration: feeding five thousand.] christ walking on the sea. when the people had seen the miracle that christ did in feeding so many with so few loaves, they felt sure that he was one of the old prophets that had come again, and they would have taken him by force to make him king. so he sent his disciples by boat towards capernaum, and he went, alone, up into a mountain to pray. when it was dark, the disciples found themselves alone upon the sea, opposed to strong winds, which tossed the boat upon high waves. then jesus went out to them, walking upon the waves; but when the disciples saw him they thought it was a spirit, and cried out with fear. but jesus said, "be of good cheer: it is i; be not afraid." peter answered him, saying, "lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." and he said, "come," and peter stepped over the boat's side and walked on the water towards christ. but when he saw the angry waves around him and heard the roaring of the winds, peter was afraid and began to sink. he cried out, "lord, save me." and jesus, stretching out his hand, caught him, and said, "o thou of little faith, why didst thou fear?" when jesus and peter had got into the boat, the wind dropped, the sea became calm and the waves still, and immediately they were at the place where they wanted to land. then they worshipped him, saying, "truly thou art the son of god." and they came into the land of gennesaret, where the people knew him and brought to him all that were sick, or blind, or lame, that they might touch his garment and be made well. [illustration: christ walking on the sea.] the woman of canaan. jesus came unto the borders of tyre and sidon, where the people were not jews, but gentiles. and there came to him a woman of canaan, who cried out to him, saying, "have mercy on me, o lord, thou son of david; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." she besought him to cast out this evil spirit from her daughter. but he answered not a word, and his disciples counselled him to send her away. then he told her he was not sent unto the gentiles, but unto the lost sheep of israel; meaning the jews. this was said to try her faith. then she came and worshipped him, saying, "lord, help me." but he said, "it is not meet to take the children's food and to cast it to dogs;" meaning that his help was due rather to the jews than to the gentiles. and she said, "truth, lord, yet the dogs sometimes eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table;" meaning that, though she was a gentile, she believed in him as the son of god. then jesus answered, and said unto her, "o woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou desirest. go thy way; the devil has gone out of thy daughter." and when she was come to her house she found her daughter made whole and laid upon the bed. jesus, with his knowledge of our hearts, knew the faith this poor woman had, and tried it so that it might shine the brighter. then he granted her the blessing she had asked him for; and how she must have rejoiced when she reached home and found her daughter quite well and restored to her right mind. [illustration: the woman of canaan.] peter and the tribute-money. it was a part of the jewish law that all strangers passing among the jews should pay to the priests of the temple an offering to the lord, or tribute-money as it was called. soon after our lord's transfiguration he came to capernaum, together with his disciples. when they had entered the city, there came to them the priests who usually collected this tribute-money, and they said unto peter, "doth not thy master pay tribute?" and he answered, "yes." but when they had come to the house, jesus said to peter, "what thinkest thou, simon? of whom do they take tribute; of their own people or of strangers?" and peter answered him, "of strangers." jesus saith unto him, "then their own people are free; but lest we should offend them by not paying, go thou down to the sea, and cast in thy hook and line, and take up the first fish that taketh the hook into his mouth. and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money there. take it and give it unto the priests as tribute for me and for thee." and peter went down to the sea and cast in his line, and took a big fish. and when he had opened its mouth he found the piece of silver, and took it to the men in payment of the tribute. this tribute was collected to pay the expenses of the temple worship. jesus sought to show that, as he himself was the son of god, the king for whose service the tribute was paid, he might justly be exempted from paying it; yet to save giving offence he miraculously provided the piece of money to pay tribute for himself and peter. [illustration: peter and the tribute-money.] the good samaritan. as jesus was talking to his disciples, a certain lawyer stood up and asked, "who is my neighbour?" and jesus answered by telling them this story:-- a certain man went down from jerusalem to jericho, and fell among thieves, who robbed him, stripped him of his clothes, and, wounding him, left him on the road half dead. by chance there came a priest that way, and, as a teacher of religion to men, he should have stopped to help the poor man. instead of this, he pretended not to see, and passed by on the other side of the road. then there came by a levite, who also, as an official of the church, should have given help. but he merely came and looked on the injured man, and passed on the other side as the priest had done. afterwards there came by a samaritan, and, when he caught sight of the wounded jew, he went over to him and was very sorry for him. now the jews hated the samaritans, and were their enemies, so that it would not have been surprising if he, also, had done as the priest and the levite did. but, no! though it was his enemy, he could not pass him by and leave him on the road, perhaps to die. he examined his wounds and bound them up; doing all that he could to soothe them. then he lifted him carefully on his own beast, and brought him to the nearest inn, and took care of him through the night. the next day, when the samaritan departed, he paid the man who kept the inn, and said to him, "take care of this poor man until he is well, and whatever it may cost for his lodging and food, that i will pay thee when i come again." "which of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among thieves?" the lawyer answered, "he that showed mercy unto him." then said jesus, "go, and do thou likewise." [illustration: the good samaritan.] importunity rewarded. one day jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them to pray. so jesus taught them the prayer we all know so well, beginning with "our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." but jesus told them it was not enough to pray: they must not get tired of praying, even if they failed to receive quickly the things they asked for. they must keep on asking, until god in his own time and manner should grant them what he saw to be good. this great lesson jesus taught them by the following parable:-- "which of you shall have a friend," said jesus, "and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and i have nothing to set before him? and he from within shall answer and say, trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; i cannot rise and give thee. i say unto you," said jesus, "though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (continued asking) he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." then jesus told his disciples, and he tells us too, "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." for, said he, "every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." if we ask for those things that god sees to be good for us, we may certainly expect to receive them. let us ask god to keep us every day; and to give us such things as he knows will be for our good. [illustration: importunity rewarded.] the unmerciful servant. a certain king took account of his servants and began to reckon what they owed him. and there was brought to him one that owed him nearly _ten million dollars_. but as he had not the money to pay, the king commanded that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and everything that he had, that payment might be made. then the servant fell down before the king and worshipped him, saying, "lord, have patience with me, and i will pay thee all." then the king had compassion on his servant, and loosed him, and forgave him his debt. but when that servant had gone out from the presence of the king, he found a fellow-servant who owed him a little over _fifteen dollars_, and he laid hands on him and seized him by the throat, saying, "pay me that which thou owest." and his fellow-servant fell down at his feet and implored him, saying, "have patience with me, and i will pay thee all." and he would not have patience, but cast his fellow-servant into prison till he should pay the debt. when his other fellow-servants saw what had been done they were very sorry, and came to their king to tell him all about it. then the king called the unmerciful servant to him, and said, "o thou wicked servant; i forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me. shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as i had pity on thee?" and the king was wroth, and delivered him up to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. so likewise, says christ, shall our heavenly father do also unto us if from our hearts we forgive not every one that trespasses against us. "forgive us our trespasses, _as we forgive them that trespass against us_." [illustration: the unmerciful servant.] the good shepherd. in one of his beautiful parables, jesus compares himself to a shepherd. "i am the good shepherd," says he, "the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." and jesus tells how the hired servant who cares for nothing but his wages, runs away when the wolf comes; but how the faithful shepherd, when robbers threaten his flock, or wild beasts attack them, defends his sheep bravely, often laying down his life for their sake. jesus also speaks of how the shepherd knows his sheep by name; and how, when he goes before them, they will follow him, because they know his voice, but that they will not follow strangers. and the bible, speaking of jesus himself, says, "he shall carry the lambs in his bosom," or his arms, like the kind shepherd is doing in our picture. now, why does jesus call himself the "good shepherd," and the bible speak of him as carrying the little lambs? is it not because he loves us; because he knows each one of us; because he gave his life for us when he died on the cross, and has gone to heaven showing us the way thither; because he calls us to follow him; and because he is so willing to lead even the tiny ones, and shield them from harm, just like the good shepherd carries the poor wee lamb? but jesus asks one thing of us in return for all his kindness and care, and that one thing is our love. are we giving him our love now? are we asking him to lead us, and keep us safe from harm? may we seek to follow him and to know his voice. [illustration: the shepherd and the lambs.] the lost piece of money. jesus had been preaching to a crowd of publicans and sinners. the publicans of those days were the collectors of taxes for the romans, and it was a constant complaint against them that they exacted more from the people than they had any right to do. so they were looked upon as wicked men, although they were not all bad. now the scribes and pharisees, who made a great show of religion, so far as outward forms went, were greatly shocked at seeing christ sitting with publicans, and said, "this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." then jesus asked them, "what man of you, if he has a hundred sheep, and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after the lost one, until he has found it? and when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders and takes it home, rejoicing; and calls together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, 'rejoice with me, for i have found my sheep that was lost.' "i say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. "again, what woman if she has ten pieces of money, and loses one, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it? and when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, 'rejoice with me, for i have found the piece of money which i had lost.' "likewise, i say unto you, there is joy in the presence of god's angels over one sinner that repenteth." [illustration: the lost piece of money.] the prodigal son. a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, "father, give me the portion of thy wealth that would fall to me at thy death." he did so, and a few days after the younger son gathered all his wealth together and journeyed into a far country. there he met with evil companions, and wasted his money in riotous living. when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want of bread to eat. so he went and hired himself to a man of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed his pigs. and he was so hungry that he would have been glad to have eaten the coarse food such as the swine eat; but no one gave it to him. his sufferings brought him to his senses, and he thought how foolish he had been, for he remembered that his father's servants had food enough and to spare, whilst his father's son was perishing with hunger. he said, "i will leave this land and go to my father and tell him how i have sinned against heaven and him. i will tell him i am no longer worthy to be called his son, and will implore him to make me one of his hired servants." and he arose and went towards his father's house, but when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and was sorry for him, and ran and embraced him. then he told his father how he had sinned and had lost his title to be called the old man's son, but the father was so glad to have his son come back repentant, that he told his servants to bring the best clothing and a ring to put on his son. and he made a great feast, and they were merry, for he said, "this is my son that was as one dead to me and is now alive again; he was lost and is found." [illustration: the return of the prodigal.] but the elder son was very angry, and would not go in to the feast, but said to his father, "lo, these many years have i served thee, and never offended or disobeyed thee, and thou hast never made a feast for me and my friends; but now this thy other son has come back, that has wasted thy wealth in riotous living, thou hast made a great feast for him." and his father said, "son, thou art ever with me, and all i have is thine. it is right that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was as one dead to us and is alive again; he was lost and is found." * * * * * peter's wife's mother cured. after jesus had left the centurion he went to the house of his disciple peter, and there he saw peter's wife's mother, laid on a bed, sick with fever. and he took her by the hand and lifted her up. the fever left her and she was cured. she rose up from her bed and attended upon them. that evening, when the sun was setting, they brought to jesus all those that were ill, and many that were possessed with devils. and he cast out the devils by his word, and healed all those that were sick. * * * * * "at even, ere the sun had set, the sick, o lord, around thee lay; oh, in what divers pains they met, oh, with what joy they went away!" [illustration: peter's wife's mother.] the unjust steward. see where the steward, worldly wise, with wicked cunning in his eyes, shows his lord's debtors how to cheat his master of his oil and wheat. "a hundred measures dost thou owe of oil? my friend, 'tis scarcely so: here, take thy bill and quick indite fifty: that puts the matter right." "a hundred measures is _thy_ debt of corn? my friend, thou dost forget: here, take thy bill, and write fourscore; surely thou owest nothing more." thus wickedly he would provide houses in which he might abide, when for his former acts unjust he from his stewardship was thrust. and when his master heard, he smiled, though of his goods he was beguiled: nor did he e'en forbear to praise the crafty foresight of his ways. the children of this world, alas! the children of the light surpass, in planning methods to provide for ills from which they cannot hide. and so our master bids us take the money which he gives, and make friends with our riches for the day when earthly treasures flee away. that when we leave our house below, and into unknown regions go, through jesus, we may find above an everlasting home of love. do i my little store expend for such a wise and prudent end; or only think of my own gain, and not of others' want and pain? lord, by thy spirit, make me wise above my selfishness to rise, and something daily give away to find again in thy great day! richard wilton, m.a. [illustration: the unjust steward.] the rich man and the beggar. there was a certain rich man who was clothed in rich silks and fine linen, and feasted on costly food each day. there was also a poor beggar, who was ragged and hungry, and covered with sores. his name was lazarus, and they laid him at the rich man's gate, for he desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the well-supplied table. and even the dogs had pity on him, for they came and licked his sores. and it came to pass that the beggar died, and the angels carried him away to heaven, where he was no longer clothed in rags, but in glorious array. neither was he hungry, for he sat with abraham and leaned upon his bosom. the rich man also died, and was buried. he was not carried to heaven, but went to a place of torment, where he lifted up his eyes, and in the distance saw abraham with lazarus on his bosom. and he cried and said, "father abraham, have mercy on me, and send lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for i am tormented in these flames." but abraham said, "son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, whilst lazarus had only evil things; and now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed." then said the rich man, "i pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house; for i have five brethren. let him go to them and testify unto them, that they may repent, lest they also come into this place of torment." abraham said unto him, "they have moses and the prophets; let them hear them." and he said, "nay, father abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent." but abraham said, "if they hear not moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." [illustration: the rich man and the beggar.] "avenge me of my adversary." in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared god nor cared for man. and in the same city there was a widow that had an enemy, and he had done her an injury. and she came to the judge and implored him, saying, "give me justice; avenge me of my adversary." but he would not. then the widow came to him every day and cried, "give me justice;" but still he would not for a long while. at last he became wearied of her constant cry, and he said within himself, "though i fear not god nor care for man, yet, because this widow troubleth me with her complaint, i will avenge her; lest by her continual coming she weary me." and jesus said, "hear what the unjust judge saith. and if he, who was an unjust judge and a wicked man, would grant the widow's petition, because she asked so often, will not god, who is good and just, give his children what is good and right for them? shall not god avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" in this parable jesus impressed upon his disciples the truth that, although great trials might come upon them, and their lives be in peril, yet they were not to lose faith in god, or be disappointed because their prayers were not answered at once. they were to keep on praying; asking god for such things as were right, and trusting that he would preserve them amidst all their enemies; and in his own way make them to triumph over their foes. whatever is best for his people, god will give them. he cares for the sparrows, and, even more, for those who love him. [illustration: the unjust judge.] the pharisee and the tax-gatherer. the tax-gatherers in those days were called publicans. they were reputed to be very unjust, exacting from people more than the law required them to pay, and other wickedness was charged against them. of course, there were good men among them; st. matthew was a tax-gatherer before jesus called him to follow him. the pharisees studied the scriptures and explained them to the people, but they did not follow the teachings of scripture. they were proud, and pretended they were more religious than other men, but it was _only_ pretense. jesus compared them to whited sepulchres, and said they were hypocrites, who led the people astray. a pharisee and a publican went up into the temple to pray. the pharisee stood in a part of the temple where all could see him, and prayed thus: "o god, i thank thee that i am not like other men, who are unjust, and who take more than belongs to them. i thank thee that i am not like this publican. i fast twice a week; i give to the priests and levites a tenth part of all i possess." but the publican, who knew that he was wicked, and felt sorry for it, stood afar off in a quiet part of the temple where none would see him. he bowed his head and beat upon his breast, saying, "god be merciful to me a sinner." jesus said that this publican went to his home more forgiven than the pharisee, for every one that is proud and thinks much of himself shall be put down, and he that humbleth himself and is sorry for his sins, shall be exalted. "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," says jesus. [illustration: the pharisee and the tax-gatherer.] the labourers in the vineyard. "go, work within my vineyard's bound, at eve your 'penny'[ ] shall be found:" so spake the vineyard's lord, and they began to toil at break of day. for hours the sun had shown his face, when idlers in the market-place once and again were sent within the vineyard's wall their wage to win. nay, when but one short hour remains before the sun its goal attains, more loiterers hear the lord's command and set to work with willing hand. the steward came at close of day their wage to reckon and to pay; and they whose toil could scarcely tire, received a penny for their hire. but they who the day's burden bore and noonday heat, expected more: and murmur'd that the generous lord to all one penny should accord. but he replied, "i wrong not you; i give you the full wages due; and why should you my bounty blame, in paying these beyond their claim?" lord, to thy vineyard thou dost call the least, the youngest of us all: to each thou dost assign a task, from each some service thou dost ask. how kind such feeble hands to use; such pleasant work i needs must choose: i ask no wages, lord, from thee, for thou hast given thyself for me. when i remember all thy grace, i cannot loiter in my place: and when i think of all my sin, what wages can i hope to win? thanks, lord, if yet my years are few, and i retain the early dew: oh, keep me through the noonday heat, and cheer me with thy presence sweet. for if i have thy presence, lord, 'tis an exceeding great reward; and if at last i see thy face, 'tis not of merit, but of grace. and, oh, what will that "penny" be which thou wilt then bestow on me? a glorious image it will bear, thy own dear self, lord, will be there! richard wilton, m.a. * * * * * footnotes: [ ] the penny, or _denarius_, was a silver coin, stamped with the image of the roman emperor, and worth about cents of our money. it was a full ordinary day's wage at that time. [illustration: the labourers in the vineyard.] the barren fig-tree. in the morning, when jesus had left bethany and was coming towards jerusalem, he was hungry. seeing a fig-tree afar off, covered with leaves, he came to it, hoping to find some fruit on it. but the tree was a young one, and had not yet commenced to bear fruit. and he found thereon nothing but leaves. then he said unto it, "let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever." and the fig-tree withered away and was dead from the roots. when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, "how soon the fig-tree is withered away!" jesus answered, and said unto them, "verily i say unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do as i have done to this fig-tree, but, also, if ye shall say unto this mountain, 'be thou removed and be cast into the sea,' it shall be done. and all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believe that ye will receive them, and ye shall have them. and when ye are praying, forgive any that have injured you, that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses against him. but if ye do not forgive, neither will your father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." how strange it seems that jesus, who was gentle and kind, should pronounce a curse on this fig-tree, and cause it to wither away. why did he do so? because he wished to impress upon his disciples the terrible danger of unfruitfulness. if we are the disciples of jesus, we must bear good fruit; we must be loving, kind, and gentle, and try, like him, to be always doing good. [illustration: the barren fig-tree.] the wicked husbandmen. one day when the priests and elders of the temple were asking questions of jesus, he told them this parable. there was a certain man who had a vineyard which was hedged or walled round, and had a tower. but he was going away into a country far off, so he let the vineyard to a number of husbandmen, or labourers, who were to give him part of the fruit of the vines. when the time had come that the fruit was ripe, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that he might receive his share. but the wicked husbandmen took his servants, and slew one, and beat another, and stoned the third. then he sent other servants, more than before, but the husbandmen served them as they had done the others. last of all he sent his own son, saying, "they will reverence my son." but when those wicked men saw him coming, they said among themselves, "this is the heir to all the vineyard; come, let us kill him and seize on his inheritance." so they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. then jesus said to the priests and elders, "when the lord of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto these husbandmen?" and they answered, "he will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to others, who shall render him the fruits in their season." in this parable the owner of the vineyard means god; the vineyard canaan, and the husbandmen are the jews, who had promised to obey him, but had not done so. he had sent his prophets among them, to warn them, but these had been killed. at last he sent his only son, but they would not own him as such, and soon they would kill him. when the priests heard this they knew it referred to them, and they were very angry and would have taken him and killed him, but they were afraid of the people, who took jesus to be a prophet. [illustration: the wicked husbandmen.] the wedding garment. there was a certain king who gave a great feast upon the occasion of his son's wedding. and he sent out his servants to bring in those that had been invited, but they would not come. then he sent forth other servants, saying, "tell them which were bidden, 'behold, i have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. come unto the feast.'" but they made light of the message and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his warehouse; others took the servants and slew them. when the king heard what had been done, he was very angry, and sent out his army to destroy the murderers, and burn up their city. then said he to the servants, "the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. go ye therefore into the highways, and all ye shall find, bid them come to the marriage." so they gathered together as many as they could find. and upon each one, as he entered the house, was put a beautiful marriage garment, which the king had prepared. but when the people were all seated, and the king had entered the house, he saw there a man that had not on a wedding garment, and he said unto him, "friend, how camest thou in hither without a wedding garment?" and the man was speechless, for the garment had been offered to him at first, but he had refused it. then said the king to the servants, "bind him hand and foot, and take him away and cast him into outer darkness." in this parable, the king means god, who gave the feast for his son, jesus christ. those who were first asked were the jews, who refused to believe in christ. those who were afterwards brought in, signify the people who have since listened to his word, and believed in him. the one without the wedding garment is any one that pretends to accept the invitation to be one of god's people, but in his heart does not believe in christ. [illustration: without the wedding garment.] the foolish virgins. in certain parts of the east it is the custom for a man when he is married to bring home his bride at night, and for his relatives and friends to go out with lamps and torches and music to meet him. ten young women had been invited to meet the bridegroom with their lamps burning and to sit down with him at the wedding-feast. five of them were wise and five were foolish. the wise ones took a supply of oil in case their lamps should burn out before the bridegroom arrived; the foolish five took no oil but what was in their lamps. but before the bridegroom came they all fell asleep. at midnight there was a cry, "behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." but five lamps had almost burnt out, and the foolish virgins said unto the wise, "give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out." but the wise ones answered, "not so; lest there be not enough for us and for you. go ye, rather, to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." and while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage-feast, and the door was shut. afterwards, came also the other virgins, saying, "lord, lord, open the door to us." but he answered and said, "verily i say unto you, i know you not," and would not open the door to them. in this parable the bridegroom means jesus returning to earth, on the day of judgment. the ten virgins are the people of this world, some of whom have their hearts full of the love of god and keep their lamps burning with a steady and bright light; that is, they fulfil god's commandments and obey the teachings of christ. the others have not this love in their hearts, and are not prepared for christ's coming. their lamps give out a feeble light and soon will go out. [illustration: the foolish virgins.] the parable of the talents one day jesus told his disciples this parable or story. a certain nobleman was called away to a far country to be appointed king of it, and to return after a time. and he called his servants unto him, and charged them with the care of his goods and treasure, giving to each man according to his ability to use the same. to one servant he gave five talents, to another two, and to another only one. and straightway he left them, and departed upon his journey. then the man that had five talents went and traded with them, and did so well that in time the profits amounted to five talents more, making ten altogether. and he that had received two talents, also traded with his, and added two other talents to them by way of profit. but he that had had but one talent went away and covered it up in a cloth and hid it away. after a long time the nobleman came back and called his servants to him, and asked them for the treasure he had entrusted to their keeping. and he that had received five talents, brought ten, and said, "lord, behold, i have gained five other talents beside them." and his lord said, "well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will make thee ruler over many things. enter thou into the joy of thy lord." and to him that had two talents, and brought back four, the lord said the same words. then came he that had received but one talent and had hid it; and he said, "lord, i knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and i was afraid, and went and hid thy talent, and lo, here thou hast that which is thine." his lord said unto him, "thou wicked and slothful servant. thou knewest that i reaped where i had not sown; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money in the bank, that i might have received mine own with interest for its use. take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten; and take the unprofitable servant and cast him into the outer darkness." now the talent here mentioned was an eastern sum of money (nearly one thousand dollars), but it really means the powers and opportunities for doing good that god has given to all of us. one day we shall all be called upon to give an account of the talents entrusted to our keeping, and woe be to those who have abused their stewardship by hiding their talent away. but those who have done good, according to the power and opportunity given to them, shall be received into everlasting joy by christ the lord. [illustration: the parable of the talents.] * * * * * man with the withered hand. one sabbath-day jesus went into the synagogue, and there he saw a man that had a withered hand. by some means the muscles had lost their power, and he could neither use his hand nor stretch it out. and the pharisees watched jesus, to see if he would heal this man on the sabbath, that they might bring a charge against him of breaking the law. they asked him, "is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-day?" and he replied by asking who among them, if he had a sheep which had fallen into a pit on the sabbath-day, would not lay hold on it, and lift it out. "how much then is a man better than a sheep? wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath-day." then said he to the man, "stretch forth thine hand." and he stretched it forth, and it was made whole and healthy like the other. then the pharisees went out and held a council against him, to consider how they might destroy him; but when jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from that part, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. [illustration: the withered hand.] jesus ascends to heaven. jesus had been cruelly put to death. his hands, which had been placed on the heads of little children when he blessed them, had been nailed to a cross of wood; and cruel nails had been driven through his feet. and hanging on the cross, jesus had died. but on the third day he had risen from the tomb, and for forty days he had remained upon the earth, meeting frequently with his disciples. at the end of that time jesus led the eleven apostles from jerusalem towards bethany; and when near that village, and away from the multitude, he spoke to them, promising that they should be made bold by the holy spirit, and receive power to witness for him both to the jews and gentiles. then, the bible tells us, "he lifted up his hands and blessed them. and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." and as he went up, a cloud received him out of their sight. the apostles fell down and worshipped jesus, looking steadfastly after him as he went up; and as they did so, two angels in white garments stood by them, and said, "ye men of galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." then the apostles returned to jerusalem. yes, jesus has ascended to heaven, and now he sits at the right hand of god; but he tells us that he will come again, and take those that love him to dwell with him in his glorious home for ever and ever. "i go to prepare a place for you," jesus says. [illustration: jesus ascending to heaven.] the philippian jailer. paul and silas were in prison. they had done no wrong, but wicked men had taken them before the magistrates; and the magistrates had caused them to be severely beaten, and afterwards had sent them to prison, where they were securely fastened in an inner dungeon, and their feet made fast in the stocks. this was a most painful position for paul and silas. but they were not unhappy. they prayed to god, and sang praises to him; and they sang so heartily that the other prisoners heard them. it was midnight, and all was dark in the prison. but suddenly there was an earthquake; so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, all the doors were opened, and every one's bonds were loosed. all the prisoners might have run away had they been minded to do so. the keeper of the prison had been sleeping, but the earthquake awoke him. when he saw the doors open, he supposed that all the prisoners had fled; and knowing how severely he would be punished on that account, he drew his sword to kill himself. paul knew this, and called out loudly, "do thyself no harm, for we are all here." then the keeper, who but a little while before had cruelly treated paul and silas, came trembling, and fell down before them, and said, "sirs, what must i do to be saved?" he was afraid because of his sins; and wanted to know how he might be saved from the fearful consequences of sin. paul's answer was, "believe on the lord jesus christ and thou shalt be saved." then paul and silas spoke to him about jesus. he believed, and was baptized; and the next morning the two disciples were set at liberty. [illustration: the philippian jailor before paul and silas.] timothy and his mother eunice. timothy was a youthful and earnest disciple of jesus christ, whom paul loved dearly. paul had found him during one of his missionary journeys, and, discovering how highly he was esteemed as a christian, had selected him as his assistant. afterward timothy became paul's companion in travel, and the first bishop of ephesus. while timothy was at ephesus, paul wrote two letters to him. they are contained in the bible, and are called the epistles to timothy. in them paul says many kind and wise things, giving timothy directions how to act in his high christian office. but paul also speaks of timothy's early days, and of his mother and grandmother. these were both good women, who loved god, and diligently studied the holy scriptures. the mother's name was eunice. she was a jewess. the grandmother's name was lois. both loved the little boy timothy, or timotheus as he was called, and they sought to instil into his young mind and heart the love of god and the knowledge of his holy word. in our picture we see eunice teaching her son. she has not a bound bible, but a manuscript, wound round small rollers. from this she reads to timothy; while lois, the aged grandmother, sits by. paul warned timothy not to forget the teaching of his good mother and grandmother; and especially to value his knowledge of the scriptures. because, said paul, "they are able to make thee wise unto salvation." many young folks have good mothers and grandmothers, who love to teach them about jesus. are they receiving this teaching as timothy did, and being made wise unto salvation? [illustration: lois, eunice and timothy.] christ blessing the children. (_see_ frontispiece). jesus had left galilee, and was journeying toward jerusalem, where he was to be put to death. he was in the country beyond jordan, called peræa, and had been speaking some very wise words to the pharisees, and also to his disciples, when some women came to him, bringing infants and young children that he might put his hands upon them and pray for them. the disciples thinking probably that jesus, who had so many important things to attend to, would not wish to be troubled by women bringing their children, rebuked them for so doing. but jesus loved children. so, when he saw the disciples about to send them away, he was displeased; and, calling the disciples to him, he said, "suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of god." then, we are told, jesus "took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." how kind was jesus! and how willing that the little ones should be brought to him! and he is the same now. may all our young readers learn to love him, and find for themselves how willing he is to love and bless them. * * * * * the christ of paul; or, the enigmas of christianity st. john never in asia minor. irenÆus the author of the fourth gospel. the frauds of the churchmen of the second century exposed. by george reber . chapter i. death of stephen.--conversion of paul.--his retirement to arabia and return to damascus and jerusalem. let the reader imagine that he is in jerusalem, in judea, about the year a.d. . there is unusual tumult in the vicinity of the temple. a large crowd has gathered, and, stirred up by some strong provocation, is swayed like the billows in a storm. as we approach, we see a young man, who is trying to raise his voice above the din. there is something very striking in his looks. he is pale, but firm. his eyes gleam with an unearthly light. as the crowd surges and threatens, he is calm. his thoughts and looks are directed more to heaven than earth. but in this crowd there is a young man of an entirely different stamp. he is excited and angry. his eyes are red with rage, and he is seen moving among the crowd like an incendiary. the crisis came, and poor stephen stood first on the list of christian martyrs. this little bleared-eyed, angry man is not yet satisfied. like the tiger that has tasted blood, he thirsts for more. he goes about jerusalem like a madman. he fills the prisons with men and women who believed with stephen. when he had done all the injury he could in jerusalem, he asked and received permission to go to damascus on a like mission. on his way, while he is breathing out threatenings and slaughter, he is struck down in his mad career. he saw in it the hand of god. everything is changed in a moment. the fiery stream of burning lava, which rushed in one direction, now turned and ran with equal violence the other way. philosophers may differ as to what befell paul on his way to damascus; but as for himself, he never doubted. the christ that he persecuted had spoken to him. his faith in what he saw in his vision he bore in his bosom, as he did his heart; and in a life of toil, suffering, and sorrow, he clung to it to the end. we can hardly tell what were the feelings of paul when he awoke to consciousness, because we cannot judge him as we would other men. he had raised his hand against the son of god, and now, after a severe reproof, he was appointed by him to be his special minister on earth. paul did just what we might suppose he would. he withdrew from the world, avoided jerusalem, and, as he says, went into arabia. there, alone, he meditated over the wonderful scenes through which he had passed. the more he thought, the more he believed he had talked with christ, the son of god, and the more he believed he had been selected to spread his gospel throughout the earth. once convinced that his vision was a reality, it was natural for him to make himself believe that these visions were repeated; and through life, in all his acts and movements, he believed he was under the guidance of the same hand that smote him on the plains of damascus. he goes from place to place as a spirit from above directs him, and when he speaks he speaks not for himself, but for him who sent him, positive and overbearing by nature, he imagines himself to be the minister of the son of god, and becomes intolerant, vain and exacting. all his ideas are crystallized, and will not bend or yield. as he was specially selected to preach, he believed in the doctrine of election. when he believed at all, he believed too much; for it was his nature to overrun. he had witnessed christ--others had not; but, in the absence of proof, they must substitute faith. works are nothing--faith everything. what he saw and believed, others must believe without seeing. his theology, from his natural temperament and the circumstances of his conversion, took an austere cast, which made the relation between man and the creator that of guardian and ward. god himself, in the mind of paul, is almost hideous. some are given over to damnation before they are born; while others are destined to be saved before they have had a chance to sin. it is difficult to tell whether the religious faith of paul was fully fixed and determined before he left his retreat in arabia and returned to damascus, or whether it was the growth of after experience and reflection. at some period of his life, and early too, he had settled in his mind the true relation which christ bore to humanity. he had the best of reasons for his belief on that subject. he was in jerusalem at a time when it was not impossible that mary herself was living; and if not, he saw peter and was with him fifteen days, when he had every opportunity to inform himself about the early history of christ. will any one say that paul, with a mind awake to everything that related to christ, would not inquire and find out all that was known about him who had spoken to him from the clouds, when he was in jerusalem, and could question those who had been his companions on this earth? if there was anything remarkable about his birth or death, peter would have told it, and paul would have repeated it all along the shores of the archipelago, or wherever he went. but paul, from first to last, preached that christ was born of woman, and was of the seed of abraham according to the flesh. upon this point he yielded nothing, and stood to it to the death. paul was a man of learning, and wrote with great power. longinus classed him among the great men of greece. but in action and in deeds is where he went beyond all other men. upon his shoulders, as he believed, was left the conversion of the world; and he had a will and energy equal to the task. believing that the son of god stood at his side, as he performed the mission which had been assigned him, he neither feared nor trembled, but stood up with a bold front in the presence of festus and king agrippa. the unsparing cruelty of nero had no terrors for him. after paul had remained in arabia long enough to collect his thoughts, and determine the course he should pursue, he went back to damascus. at last he made up his mind to go to jerusalem and see peter. what must have been his feelings as he approached the holy city, and passed along the place where he assisted, three years before, in the death of stephen! paul never forgave himself for the part he took in this murder. can we imagine with what feelings he approached peter, or why he approached him at all? if he felt sad and grieved at the part he took in the death of stephen, he did not feel as if he met peter as his superior, for he conceded nothing to any of the apostles. there was no point upon which he was more sensitive. paul did not visit peter to be taught and instructed as to his duties, nor to learn from him the great truths of christianity; for he had learned all this from a higher source, and felt himself more able to give instruction than to receive it from others. speaking of his doctrines, he says: "for i neither received it of man, neither was i taught it, but by the revelation of jesus christ" (_galatians_ i. ). doubtless he came to learn from peter everything he knew of the personal history of christ. he had many questions to ask about his habits--mode of life--his employments--about mary, joseph, and the whole family of jesus. the smallest incident in his early life would be dear to paul, and he would lock the remembrance of it in his bosom, as a sacred treasure. in this way fifteen days passed over, when paul again left jerusalem, and afterwards went into syria and cilicia, where he was followed by divine visions and revelations. he spent the year a.d. in antioch, where he taught, assisted by barnabas. here he took up a collection for the brethren of judea, who were suffering from the effects of a famine which took place during the reign of claudius caesar, and returned with it to jerusalem. having discharged his trust, he went back to antioch, accompanied by barnabas and mark. all we know with certainty about paul, from this time forward, we must gather, for the most part, from his epistles to the churches; for all other sources of information are suspicious and doubtful. an act, especially one of importance connected with his labors as an apostle, attributed to him by others, and not spoken of at all by himself, should be excluded from the pages of authentic history. chapter ii. paul and barnabas start west to preach the gospel.--the prevailing ideas on religion in asia minor.--theology of plato and philo.--the effect produced by the preaching of paul. paul, in the year a.d. , with barnabas and mark as his companions, set his face west in the direction of asia minor. the people who inhabited the country from antioch in syria along the north coast of the mediterranean and the Ægean, or the archipelago, to thessalonica in macedonia, were for the most part descendants of the early colonists from greece. a large number of cities were scattered along the shores, which had been enriched by commerce, and were the seats of learning and luxury. the greek of asia minor, in the latter part of the first century, was not the greek of the time of pericles and epaminondas. his levity and cunning had outlived his courage, his love of country and stern endurance. the college at alexandria was the source of all light and learning, and the doctrines of that celebrated school, like a subtle fluid, pervaded all classes of men. it was here that plato took lessons which led him to explore the mysterious nature of the deity, and expose to the eyes of mortals the nature of the divine persons who regulated the affairs of the universe. in his imagination he populated heaven, and divided among the different deities the share of each in the government of the world. according to plato there was one god who was superessential, and in him was blended or united all that was powerful and good. this he called the _one_, or the first principle of things. proculus, of the same school, says the _one_ is the god of all gods, the unity of the unities, the holy among the holies. plato compares him with the sun. for as the sun by his light not only confers the power of being seen on visible objects, but is likewise the cause of their generation, nutriment, and increase, so the good of the one, through superessential light, imparts being and power. as a consequence, both plato and pythagoras conclude that the immediate issue of this ineffable cause must be gods, and each must partake of the same nature and have a superessential existence. that "everything in nature which is the result of progression exists in a mysterious unity and similitude with its first cause. they are superessential, and differ in no respect from the highest good. from the supereminent cause, as from an exalted place of survey, we may contemplate the divine unities, that is, the gods, flowing in admirable and ineffable order, and at the same time abiding in profound union with each other, and with their cause." the first procession, from the first one, or intelligible cause, is the intelligible triad, consisting of being, life, and intellect, which are the three highest things after the first god. plato, in his _parmenides_, calls the author of the universe intellect and father, and represents him commanding the junior gods to imitate the power which he employed in their generation. it follows, that that which generated from the father is offspring, son or logos, second in the triad. the third power or principle in the triad is intellect, or spirit of the universe. here we have the father, the logos, and the soul of the universe in a mysterious union; and as they all proceed from the one, are one in unity. the author of "decline and fall" thus defines the theology of plato: "the vain hope of extricating himself from these difficulties which must forever oppress the feeble powers of the human mind, might induce plato to consider the divine nature under the threefold modification of the first cause, the reason or logos and the soul or spirit of the universe. his poetical imagination sometimes fixed and animated these metaphysical abstractions; the three archial or original principles were represented in the platonic system as three gods, united with each other by a mysterious and ineffable generation; and the logos was particularly considered, under the more accessible character of the son of an eternal father, and the creator and governor of the world." (vol. i., page .) such is an outline of the theology of plato, as we learn it from the "explanatory translation" of taylor to the _cratylus_ and other works of the great light of greece. the ideas of plato, under the teachings of the alexandrian school, underwent changes and modifications, but were the source of all subsequent systems of theology, and we can readily detect in each the genius of the athenian. through the invitation of the ptolemies, large numbers of jews settled in the new capital of egypt, who carried with them the laws and institutions of moses. it was not many years before the religious ideas of the descendants of the colonists were tinctured and in some degree moulded after the doctrines taught at the school of alexandria. under the lead of philo a new school arose, which was formed from a union of "mosaic faith and grecian philosophy," in which the distinctive features of each are clearly preserved. philo judæus was an alexandrian jew, descended from a noble and sacerdotal family, and was distinguished in his day for his wisdom and eloquence. he was born before christ, and survived him. he was the author of numerous works, and esteemed one of the most learned men of his day. a tumult arose in alexandria between the jews and the greeks, and out of each party three were chosen as embassadors to go to rome and lay the case before caligula, who was then emperor. philo was chosen as one to represent his countrymen, and undertook to act as chief spokesman in the imperial presence. he was treated with insolence--ordered to be silent--and the emperor was so carried away by his passions that personal violence seemed imminent. the equanimity of the philosopher was not disturbed, and having discharged his duty, he quitted the palace filled with the contempt for the tyrant which has loaded his memory in all subsequent ages. (josephus, _antiq_., lib. xviii. ch. , sec. i.) the system taught by philo dispensed with the third person in the godhead, which was composed of the father and the _logos_, a divine _duad_, which did not exist in unity, like the trinity of plato: but the logos with him, like the mediator of the hebrews, was possessed of mediatorial powers, and was an intercessor in behalf of the fallen race of adam. it is difficult to define the relation of the _logos_ of philo with the creator of the universe, whether he is an attribute which is made manifest in creative power, or whether he has a separate existence. he is the son of god, and was with the father before the world was created. his powers embrace the mediatorial, and he stands between god and man, and represents the father in his providences to our race. he is not an hypostasis, and yet he was begotten. such are some of the ideas which prevailed in asia minor, and other countries along the shores of the mediterranean, when paul and barnabas entered the country, bringing with them a new religion. it is as difficult to define what paul's real belief was of the relations which christ bore to the creator, as it is to determine the real belief of philo on the same subject. with paul, christ was the son of god, but what was the exact relation he did not pretend to say. he says he is less than the angels--superior to moses (hebrews ii. and iii.); but he nowhere says he is equal to god. paul seems to have been less concerned about the nature of christ, and the place occupied by him in the godhead, than he was about his mediatorial powers. through the fall of adam, all men were under condemnation, and it was the office of christ, through his blood, to make atonement, and once more restore man to the favor of the creator. with him christ was not the creator, like the logos of philo, but was the saviour of the world. he did not exist from the beginning, but, like all flesh, from his natural birth. but still he was, as was the _logos_ of philo, the son of god. with such ideas, paul made his way among the greeks. the jews were the first to make war upon him. but he stood his ground and gained more. the small churches which he established were like so many fortresses in an enemy's country. wherever he went he started discussion. the friction between the new and the old ideas produced heat: and with heat came light. but, after all, paul's converts, for the most part, were from the less informed and the middle classes. the learned turned away from him, because he had no tangible proof to satisfy them that what he preached was true. the story of his conversion was improbable, and could be ascribed to the effects of natural causes. the time for miracles had not yet come, and paul did not claim anything from them.* * had it been true that an apron which came in contact with paul's person could cure diseases, all asia would have been converted while he was making a few hundred believers. tacitus speaks of christians as a race of men detested for their evil practices, and classes their doctrines among the pernicious things which flowed into rome as into a common sewer. (_annals_, lib. xv. sec .) still the churches established by paul grew slowly, but seemed to require the influence of his presence and personal efforts to keep them alive. as long as the fight went on between paul and the jews, and unconverted gentiles, his lofty courage and iron will were enough to hold him up. but he soon had troubles of a different kind. he found them in the churches themselves. it is not difficult to tell what would be the effect of paul's ideas when brought face to face with doctrines of the alexandrian school. it was like the meeting of the acid and the alkali. the first sign of the effervescence appears at corinth, and two hundred years passed before it ceased, if it ceased at all. from the time the quarrel commenced at corinth, between the followers of paul, until the time when the questions disappear altogether, mental phenomena are exhibited unlike any other in the history of man. even the quarrels and disputes of the realists and nominalists of the thirteenth century bear no comparison. the contest between the different sects had all the earnestness of a struggle between gladiators. from being warm disputants, men became dishonest. books were forged entire, others were mutilated, and some suppressed and put out of sight. it was an age of downright dishonesty on all sides. but from these dark and discordant elements arose the true church. chapter iii. therapeutæ of philo--and essenes of josephus.--an account of them.--their disappearance from history, and what became of them. in the beginning of the first century there existed a sect or society which exercised great influence over the fortune and affairs of the world; but, before the second had elapsed, was insensibly lost in the commingling of creeds and sects which sprang up in the mean time. like a billow on the sea, it rose high and spread far; but at last disappears, or is lost in the great ocean. we refer to the therapeutæ of philo and the essenes of josephus. their origin is lost in the distant past; nor is it proven who was the founder of the sect. although the therapeutæ were found in every part of the roman empire, alexandria was the centre of their operations. their learning and knowledge were derived from the schools of alexandria; and to the climate of egypt, which, by some immutable law of nature, disposed men to embrace a gloomy asceticism, they are indebted for their morose and cruel discipline. from this society were furnished all the monks which populated the deserts of africa before the christian era began. the essenes were one of the three leading sects among the jews; the sadducees and pharisees forming the other two. josephus, who fully describes them, in early life was a member, and for three years took up his abode in the desert, and suffered all the pains, and endured all the hardships of monastic life. they were confined to no locality, but were found in every city in europe and asia. when travelling from place to place, they were received and provided for by members of their sect without charge, so that when one of them made his appearance in a strange city, he found there one already appointed for the special purpose of taking care of strangers and providing for their wants. they neither bought from nor sold to each other, but each took what his wants required, as if it were his own. "and as for their piety towards god," says josephus, "it is very extraordinary; for before sun-rising they speak not a word about profane matters, but put up certain prayers which they have received from their forefathers, as if they made a supplication for its rising. after this, every one of them is sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labor with great diligence till the fifth hour, after which they assemble themselves together in one place, and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in cold water, and, after their purification is over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go after a pure manner into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple, and quietly sit themselves down; upon which the baker lays their loaves in order; the cook also brings a single plate of one sort of food and sets it before every one of them; but a priest says grace before meat; and it is unlawful for any one to taste of the food before grace be said. the same priest, when he has dined, says grace again after meat; and when they begin, and when they end, they praise god, as he that bestows their food upon them; after which they lay aside their [white] garments, and betake themselves to their labors again until the evening; then they return home to supper, after the same manner." (josephus, _wars_, lib. ii. chap. , sec. .) the time allowed for probation, before admission to the fraternity, was three years, and in the meantime the temper and disposition of the neophyte were put to the severest test, and not until he had given ample proof of his sincerity or ability to submit to the laws and ordinances of the sect was he deemed fit for admission; but before he is allowed to do so, he is required to swear, "that, in the first place, he will exercise piety towards god; and then that he will observe justice towards men; and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, or by the command of others; that he will always hate the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; that he will ever show fidelity to all men, and especially to those in authority, because no one obtains the government without god's assistance; and that if he be in authority, he will at no time whatever abuse his authority, nor endeavor to outshine his subjects, either in his garments, or any other finery; that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; and that he will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains; and that he will neither conceal anything from those of his own sect, nor discover any of their doctrines to others--no, not though any one should compel him so to do, at the hazard of his life. moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve their books belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels [or messengers]. these are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves." (jos., _wars_, lib. ii. ch. , sec. .) the following is the account given by philo of this sect, preserved in the pages of eusebius:-- "'this kind of men is everywhere scattered over the world, for the greeks and barbarians should share in so permanent a benefit. they abound, however, in egypt, in each of its districts, and particularly alexandria. but the principal men among them from every quarter emigrate to a place situated on a moderate elevation of land beyond the lake maria, very advantageously located both for safety and temperature of the air, as if it were the native country of the therapeutæ.'" "after describing what kind of habitations they have, he says of the churches: 'in every house there is a sacred apartment which they call the semneion or monasterium, where, retired from men, they perform the mysteries of a pious life. hither they bring nothing with them, neither drink nor food, nor anything else requisite to the necessities of the body; they only bring the law and the inspired declarations of the prophets, and hymns, and such things by which knowledge and piety may be augmented and perfected.' after other matters he adds: 'the whole time between the morning and the evening is a constant exercise; for as they are engaged with the sacred scriptures, they reason and comment upon them, explaining the philosophy of their country in an allegorical manner. for they consider the verbal interpretation as signs indicative of a sacred sense communicated in obscure intimations. they have also commentaries of ancient men, who, as founders of the sect, have left many monuments of their doctrine in allegorical representations which they use as certain models, imitating the manner of the original institution.'" these facts appear to have been stated by a man who at least has paid attention to those that have expounded the sacred writings. but it is highly probable that the ancient commentaries which he says they have are the very gospels and writings of the apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient prophets, such as are contained in the epistle to the hebrews, and many others of st. paul's epistles. afterwards again, concerning the new psalms which they composed, he thus writes: 'thus they not only pass their time in meditation, but compose songs and hymns unto god, noting them of necessity with measure uncommonly serious through every variety of metres and tunes.' many other things concerning these persons, he writes in the same book.... why need we add to these an account of their meetings, and the separate abodes of the men and the women in these meetings, and the exercises performed by them, which are still in vogue among us at the present day, and which, especially at the festival of our saviour's passion, we are accustomed to use in our fastings and watchings, and in the study of the divine word. all these the above-mentioned author has accurately described and stated in his writings, and they are the same customs that are observed by us alone at the present day, particularly the vigils of the great festival, and the exercises in them, and the hymns that are commonly recited among us. he states that whilst one sings gracefully with a certain measure, the others, listening in silence, join in singing the final clauses of the hymns; also, that on the above-mentioned days they lie on straw spread on the ground, and to use his own words, 'they abstain altogether from wine, and taste no flesh. water is their only drink, and the relish of their bread, salt and hyssop.' besides this, he describes the grades of dignity among those who administer the ecclesiastical services committed to them, those of the _deacons_ and the _presidencies_ of the _episcopate_ as the highest. but, whosoever desires to have a more accurate knowledge of these things, may learn them from the history already cited; but that philo, when he wrote these statements, had in view the first heralds of the gospel, and the original practices handed down from the apostles, must be obvious to all. (euseb. ecc. hist., lib. ii. ch. .) they had their churches, their bishops (called presidencies of the episcopate), deacons and monasteries. they used sacred writings, which they read in their churches with comments, and which they believed were divinely inspired. commentaries were written on these writings, as they are on the present gospels. their mode of worship was much the same as in our own day; and they had missionaries all over asia, and in many parts of europe. the day observed by christians afterwards as the festival of our saviour's passion was observed by them as sacred, and which they passed in fasting, watching, and the study of the sacred writings. all this we are assured is true, by the authority of josephus, philo, and eusebius. so strong is the resemblance in doctrines, and form of church government, between these ancient therapeutæ, that eusebius, because he could not deny the similitude, undertook the task of proving that the essenes were christians, and that their sacred writings were the four gospels. he says: "but it is highly probable that the ancient writings which he (philo) says they have, are the very gospels and writings of the apostles, and probably some expositions of the ancient prophets, such as are contained in the epistle to the hebrews, and many others of st. paul's epistles." (eus., ecc. hist., lib. ii. ch. .) eusebius has not deceived himself--he only hoped to deceive others. if the essenes were not christians, then it is evident that much which is claimed as original in christianity was copied from them. "basnage has examined with the most critical accuracy the curious treatise of philo, which describes the therapeutæ. by proving that it was composed as early as the time of augustus, he has demonstrated, in spite of eusebius and a crowd of _modern catholics_, that the therapeutæ were neither christians nor monks." (_decline and fall_, vol. i. page , chapter xv., note .) "much dispute has arisen among the learned concerning this sect. some have imagined them to be judaizing gentiles; but philo supposes them to be jews, by speaking of them as a branch of the sect of the essenes, and especially classes them among the followers of moses. others have maintained that the therapeutæ were an alexandrian sect of jewish converts to the christian faith, who devoted themselves to monastic 'life. but this is impossible, for philo, who wrote before christianity appeared in egypt, speaks of this as an established fact" (buck's _theological dictionary_.') and now, what has become of the therapeutæ?--of their sacred writings? where are their elders, their deacons and the presidency of the episcopate, or bishops? all writers agree that they soon disappeared after the introduction of christianity. "how long," continues buck, "this sect continued, is uncertain, but it is not improbable that after the appearance of christianity in egypt, it soon became extinct." gibbon, in speaking of the disappearance of this sect from history, says: "it still remains probable that they changed their names, preserved their manners, and adopted some new article of faith." (vol. i. page , n. .) this sect did not mingle and lose itself in the huge mass of pagans, for between the two there was no neutral ground on which they might meet and agree. the antagonism between them had continued too long, and there was traditional hatred on both sides. paul threw the doors of the church wide open, and, as we shall see, the therapeutæ soon entered, and by their numbers took possession, and barred them against the founder and all his followers. what did the therapeutæ do with their sacred writings, which, eusebius claims, were nothing more than our present gospels? to suppose that they abandoned and destroyed them altogether is not possible, considering their antiquity, and the veneration in which they were held for generations. chapter iv. the origin of the church. it is a question of great interest in history, if nothing more, when and where it was that the christian church, in the form in which it has come down to us, had its origin. to be sure, there are many who are satisfied with an orthodox belief on the subject, because they have never questioned their sources of information. but the world has grown to that age when traditional dogmas, or whatever they may be called, must be subject to the test which advancing knowledge imposes. tried by this test, what is true will appear brighter; what is false will be thrown off; and man, relieved of a burden which only weighed him down, will move on to an improved and better life. man is not doomed by the condition of his nature to be eternally tugging at the stone of sisyphus--nor is it consistent with the laws of a wise and beneficent creator that mankind, in order to be prosperous and happy, should be compelled to live under a perpetual delusion. like the source of some river, often traced to a mountain rill or the oozing waters of a morass, so the beginning of the church or churches of our own day is to be looked for in some obscure corner of history, covered by the _debris_ of ages. located on a narrow isthmus between the Ægean and ionian seas stood corinth, one of the principal cities of greece. situated where the commerce from the east and the west meet _in transitu_, it grew in opulence and wealth, and was distinguished for the arts, and for the luxury and licentiousness of its inhabitants. here venus had a temple, presided over by a thousand priestesses, whose attractions increased the numbers who came from all parts of greece to assist in celebrating the isthmian games. it was at this place paul planted a church, between the years a.d. and a.d. , and where he remained eighteen months, working as no one but himself could work to build up and strengthen it. paul left corinth for a time for other fields of labor, because he belonged to no one place, but his mission embraced the world. the commerce of corinth attracted to the place people from every part of the empire, east and west, and with others a large number of alexandrian jews. among them were many of the thera-peutæ, who brought with them into greece the doctrines of philo. during paul's absence there came to corinth apollos of alexandria. he was an eloquent man and learned in the scriptures. it is a subject of regret that we do not know more of his history than we find in the acts, and in the epistles of paul. what were the doctrines he taught when he first appeared in ephesus, where he spent some time before he went to corinth, we cannot tell, but he was fervent in spirit, "and taught diligently the things of the lord." he had heard of john the baptist, for he was a historic character, and josephus tells how he baptized multitudes in the waters of the jordan; but he seems to have known nothing about christ or the doctrines he taught. he spoke in the synagogue, which proves that what he taught did not give offence, to the jews. in ephesus he attracted the notice of aquila and priscilla, jewish christians, who had been expelled from rome by the emperor claudius on account of some disturbance growing out of quarrels between jews and christians.* under their instructions apollos was made a convert to christianity. * see appendix a. the jews, as has been shown, were divided into three sects--pharisees, sadducees, and the essenes. every jew belonged to or connected himself with the one or the other. those who went to alexandria, in time took the name of therapeutæ, which, it is claimed, was the same as the essenes. however this may be, philo describes them as a jewish sect. that apollos was one of them may be claimed with great reason. a jew, born in alexandria, he could scarcely escape being one. raised under the shadow of the college of alexandria, of a fervent spirit and a man of thought, he could not fail to be impressed by the doctrines taught by that celebrated school. they were the prevailing and fashionable doctrines of the day. that he brought with him to ephesus the logos idea of philo is clearly proven by what took place after his arrival. it seems his conversion to the christian faith under the instruction of aquila and priscilla was easy, which proves that the difference which separated them in the first place was not great. like all jews, he was looking for some kind of saviour or deliverer, and they convinced him that christ was the one. he now undertook to convince others. "for he mightily convinced the jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that jesus was christ." (acts xviii. .) but the alexandrian notions of the logos or son of god soon began to show out in his discourses and make trouble. some began to cry, i am for paul; and others, i am for apollos ( cor. iii. ). paul's ideas on some points did not suit the alexandrian school. the birth of christ from human parents, in the speculative minds of this people, stripped him of all mystery; and with them, on subjects like this, where there is no mystery there is nothing real. there could be no other difference between the followers of paul and apollos, except as to the origin and nature of christ, and his relations to the creator; and there was none. the strife grew to such dimensions that paul is constrained to write an epistle to the church, in which we can see what was at the bottom of the trouble. in his first epistle, to the corinthians, paul names four parties whose quarrels disturbed the peace of the church: the paul party, who maintained the doctrines of paul as to the human origin of christ; the party of apollos, who, without doubt, taught the doctrines of philo; the party of cephas, which held to the doctrines of circumcision; and the christ party. we infer that the last was composed of negative men, or those who occupied neutral ground--the _fence_ men of our day. it could not have been of much importance, for we never hear of it again. it was neither the first, third, or fourth of these parties that called out the letter to the corinthians. it was the wisdom of the greek school and apollos' "excellency of speech" that disturbed paul, and continued to do so to the end of his life. but see with what force he opposes to the wisdom of the greeks the revelations which came to him from god this letter displays all the characteristics of paul. "and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit, and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of god. but god hath revealed _them_ unto us by his spirit; for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of god. now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of god; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of god. which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the holy ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know _them_, because they are spiritually discerned. but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. for who hath known the mind of the lord, that he may instruct him? but _we have the mind of christ_" ( cor. ch. ii.) here it is not paul that denounces the wisdom of the greek school, but it is god himself. such is paul. it is not difficult to tell to which of the four parties at corinth this epistle was addressed. that the difference between paul and apollos grew out of opposing opinions as to the nature of christ admits of little doubt, and is rendered certain by the first, second, and third chapters of his first epistle to the corinthians. he says: "for other foundation can no man lay than _that is laid_, which is jesus christ." that is, i have taught to you christ as he is, and it is not for any other man to teach anything different. he declares that "according to the grace of god _which is given unto me_, as a wise master-builder, i have laid the foundation.".... "let every man _take heed how he buildeth thereon._" here is a plain intimation that the christ of paul rested upon a different foundation from that of apollos--the one divine, the other human. "i have planted, apollos watered." that is, i have planted the seed that will produce the true fruit, and it is for others only to cultivate and nourish what i have planted. he tells the corinthians that they were born unto a knowledge of christ through his gospel--that is, through his preaching; and that if they had ten thousand instructors, of these there would not be many who, as spiritual fathers, could reveal to them the truth as he had. "wherefore, i beseech you, be ye followers of me. for this cause have i sent unto you timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of _my ways which be in christ, as i teach everywhere in every church_." ( cor. iv. , .) what more conclusive evidence could be asked that apollos was preaching doctrines different from those of paul as to the nature of christ, than that the latter sent timothy to counteract them? and what other doctrines was the former teaching than those of the alexandrian school? when paul says all asia had turned against him, it could only be on the questions which had sprung up between himself and apollos. it could not be on account of circumcision, because on this point the greeks would agree with paul. it was not on account of different views on the subject of the resurrection, because that was retained and became the foundation of the christian faith. there was but a single point upon which those who professed christianity at that day could turn upon paul, and that is his "ways which be in christ" as he taught them in all the churches. the quarrels of paul with the jews on the subject of circumcision died away in the church not long after his death, drowned out by the greek and therapeutæ element; but the cause of the strife between the followers of paul and apollos has continued down, in some form, even to our own times. it could not be long after his letter to the corinthians that the doctrines preached by apollos spread through all the churches of asia minor and became the established orthodox faith. paul, in the second epistle to timothy, says: "all asia has turned against me." a mere change of name--therapeutæ to christian--and the revolution was complete. it was made so rapidly that the world scarcely noticed it. the therapeutæ, who were spread over europe, asia, and portions of africa, disappeared so suddenly that it has always been a problem in history what became of them. but we can find here and there, in the history of the times, evidences that the few friends of paul did not give up the contest with their powerful foe without a struggle. these struggles come to the surface of history like the bubbles from the mouth of a drowning man. but little change in doctrines was required to justify the therapeutæ in taking upon themselves the name of christians. christ, with paul, was a mediator, and so was the logos of philo. "what intelligent person," says the latter, "who views mankind engaged in unworthy and wicked pursuits, but must be grieved to the heart, and call upon that saviour god, that these crimes may be exterminated, and that by a ransom and price of redemption being given for his soul, it may again obtain its freedom. it pleased god, therefore, to appoint his logos to be a mediator. to his word, the chief and most ancient of all in heaven, the great author of the world gave this especial gift: that he should stand as a medium (or intercessor) between the creator and the created; and he is accordingly the advocate of all mortals." (_jacob bryant, quoted in clarke's commentaries on st. john's gospel_.) as the therapeutæ of philo were the descendants of a jewish colony who had settled in egypt, and still retained in some degree their mosaic ideas and belief in the old testament, under the light of the school of alexandria, where the doctrines of philo were taught, they readily adopted the alexandrian ideas of the logos. the belief in some intermediate or mediatorial power between god and man was common to the jews as well as most other people. adam, by his disobedience, had broken the law, and if he or his descendants are ever to be restored to the favor of the creator, it is to be done through the office of a mediator. the notions of philo on the nature of the logos suited the therapeutæ much better than did those of paul, and after a short struggle we will discover the alexandrian dogmas to be the creed of the orthodox. christ's appearance on earth, his death and resurrection, are what paul preached, and what the therapeutæ, who were converted by him, believed. these features were retained in the church after the philo ideas of the logos had displaced the christ of paul. it was only paul's doctrine of the descent of jesus from mary and joseph after the flesh that was thrown aside by them. the intervention of the virgin, at a later period in the history of the church, was the means by which the christ of paul was made the son of god in the sense of the alexandrian school. the transition of the therapeutæ to christianity was easy. little or no change was made in the form of the services in the church. according to eusebius, they sang hymns. they read sacred books and made comments on them as well after as before the change. like the first christian community, they held all their property in common. they said grace at table both before and after meals, according to josephus, which they continued to do after they took the name of christians. they made no change in their fasts and festivals, and retained the monasteries. the transfer of the form of the therapeutæ church government to the new church was the work of time, and was not fully effected until the second century. the influence of paul's name, with other causes, was too strong during the first to permit the change. a bishop in a christian church is the work of the second century. like every other new feature in its history, we find the first bishop at alexandria. gibbon says: "the extensive commerce of alexandria, and its proximity to palestine, gave an easy entrance to the new religion. it was at first embraced by great numbers of the therapeutæ, or essenians of the lake mareotis, a jewish sect which had abated much of its reverence for the mosaic ceremonies. the austere life of the essenians, their fasts and excommunications, the community of goods, the love of celibacy, their zeal for martyrdom, and the warmth though not the purity of their faith, already offered a very lively image of the primitive discipline. it was in the school of alexandria that the christian theology appears to have assumed a regular and scientific form; and when hadrian visited egypt he found a church, composed of jews and of greeks, sufficiently important to attract the notice of that inquisitive prince." (ch. xv. ( ) ( ), vol. i. p. .)* * after the author had written out his views as above, he met with the following passages from the writings of michaelis, the great german critic, quoted in taylor's diegesis. of the therapeutæ, he says they are a "jewish sect, which began to spread itself at ephesus, and to threaten great mischief to christianity in the time (or indeed previous to the time) of st. paul, on which account, in his epistles to the ephesians, to the colossians, and to timothy, he declares himself openly against them." (diegesisy .) again: "it is evident from the above-mentioned epistles of paul, that, to the great mortification of the apostle, they insinuated themselves very early into the church." ( .) the writer does not wish to be understood that the disturbances created in the church were confined to corinth, and that apollos was the only one who taught during the life of paul the doctrines of the alexandrian school. wherever paul had founded a church, there the therapeutæ element was at work. apollos, by his superior eloquence and learning, was distinguished from a host of agitators, and called forth the special notice of paul. element was at work. apollos, by his superior eloquence and learning, was distinguished from a host of agitators, and called forth the special notice of paul. it is safe to say that it was the therapeutæ who caused the troubles in the churches in paul's time and afterwards, because no other sect or society was so extended, and had the power to make the disturbance so universal. paul could complain of no other, and it was this sect that turned all asia against him. there is no way to account for the sudden and wonderful increase of christians in a few years before paul's death, unless we can refer the cause to the sudden conversion of the therapeutæ to the new religion. when they are suddenly lost to sight, the small churches of paul have grown great in numbers, and spread over europe and asia in an incredibly short space of time. before going to press, the writer came into the possession of the works of michaelis, where we find the following passage: "but even before apollos had received the instructions of aquila and priscilla, he taught publicly in the synagogue at ephesus concerning the messiah. hence it is not improbable that the essenes introduced themselves into the church at ephesus by means of apollos, who came from alexandria, in the neighborhood of which city, according to philo, the essenes were not only numerous but were held in high estimation." (vol. iv. p. .) it would seem from this that apollos only continued to do at corinth what he first began at ephesus. no man of any age suffered so much abuse, nor was there ever one whose memory labored under such a weight of obloquy as that of paul--first from the followers of apollos; and afterwards from the catholics of the second century, when the mother of god rose like a new star in the heavens. the first half of the acts was written, as will be shown, expressly to exalt peter over him and degrade him from the rank of an apostle. the revelation ascribed to st. john is nothing but a bitter tirade of denunciation against paul and his followers. he is called a liar, "the false prophet," who with the beast was cast alive into a lake of burning fire. he is the great red dragon who stood before the woman ready to devour the child jesus as soon as he was born, and who warred with michael and the angels. paul is not only denounced, but christ himself is made to declare his status in the godhead. "i jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." (xxii. .) what the things were to which the angel was to bear testimony, sufficiently appears in every portion of the book of revelation. why was paul the subject of so much abuse? there can be but one answer. it was because of the way in which he taught christ in all the churches, which he had learned from the apostles in his interviews with them at jerusalem, and probably from joseph and mary themselves, for they occurred about the year a.d. . chapter v. review of the past.--what follows in the future. let us assume a stand at the beginning of adrian's reign, a.d. , and make a survey of the christian world as it presents itself at that day. a half-century has passed since the death of paul. since then, rome has been without a christian population. driven from the city through the cruel butcheries of the tyrant, they took refuge in the provinces, especially asia minor, where they remained until the reign of adrian and his successor, the tolerant antoninus pius. in the mean time, the therapeutan element of christianity had been steadily on the increase, while that of paul had correspondingly declined. the proclamation of adrian, or rather his letter to fundanus, a governor of one of the provinces, prohibiting the punishment of christians on account of their religion, was the first intimation from the capital of the empire that they could return in safety. from this time christians began to return to rome in a steady stream, so that within the next twenty years they had so increased in numbers that they once more take a place in history, and are found mixed up in the history of the imperial city. but at this time christians, in their contest with the pagans, found the evidence of christianity, as it then stood, not sufficient to contend with the infidelity of the age. the old religion of rome was hallowed by time, supported by the learned men of that day, and upheld by the power of the state. the gospels had not yet appeared; the world was without a miracle; mary, the bride of heaven, afterwards the central figure in the hierarchy of the orthodox, had no place in history. peter had not been in rome, or john in asia. the personal influence of paul and his immediate followers had kept alive the spirit of christianity in asia; but now paul is no more, and the influence of his name has nearly passed away. the proof that there ever were such persons as christ and his disciples had become faint. the dim light of tradition, and what paul, and his companion barnabas, said of him in their epistles, comprised about all the evidence at that day to sustain the claims of christianity. but paul himself had not seen christ, except under such circumstances as might excite suspicion of either delusion or fraud. he had seen peter, and remained with him, in the first place fifteen days; and afterwards went to jerusalem, where he saw all of the disciples who were then living. what paul learned from the disciples, with his vision near damascus, was sufficient to convince him of the reality of christ and the truth of the religion he taught. but the proof all lay within himself. the genuine epistles of peter, as we will show, were so corrupted by the men of the second century, that we have no means of knowing how much of the original remains or how much has been added. the epistle of james, which is the only writing by an apostle, or any one else, that has come down to us from the apostolic age without some evidence of fraud and corruption, only speaks of christ as a just man, and makes no mention of the prodigies and wonders claimed to have taken place at the time of his birth and death; nor does he take notice of the miracles and wonderful things spoken of in the gospels. the proof, whatever it may have been, that christ ever existed, was too weak to overcome or even contend against the skepticism of the age. so far we have said nothing of the hebrew gospel of matthew, because it was cast to one side, for the reason that it was a standing argument against the alexandrian ideas of the logos--and was regarded as of no authority in the church until it had been improved by important additions made afterwards, and passed into the present greek version. with such proof as existed at the time we write of, christianity could not hold its ground against the great pressure brought to bear it down--much less make headway against such powerful opposition. the time to supply new proof of the reality of christ was favorable. all the scenes in his life lay within the boundaries of galilee, samaria, and judea--the greater part in and about jerusalem. since his death the legions of rome had been there, and left nothing standing except a few towers, reserved for military defence. the silence of death, for almost a half century, had reigned in the streets of jerusalem. the greater part of the jewish people had been put to death by the sword, or carried away into captivity. all who lived during the time of christ, by age and the calamities of war had gone to their graves. we shall soon see the synoptics appear in intervals such as circumstances demanded, each bearing the name of an apostle, or the name of some one who wrote at their dictation. a little further down in the century we will find men engaged in laying the foundation of a church, whose claims to infallibility and supremacy are based on "apostolic succession." when we come to this period we will find all ecclesiastical history to consist of traditions, and a time in the world's life which is populated by bishops and high-church dignitaries, who pass before us without speech or action, like shadows on a wall. we shall find peter has been in rome; john at ephesus; paul in gaul, spain, and britain. we will find parties engaged in exalting peter above all the other apostles--and the same influence at work to put down paul. again we will see paul restored to favor, but his writings defaced by forgeries, to conform to the doctrines of the day. we shall also see christians enter into quarrels among themselves, which continue through centuries. books are forged, traditions manufactured, and the works of the fathers shamefully altered and corrupted. later in the century, brought out by a pressure which made it necessary, the fourth gospel will appear, and christianity pass from the alexandrian logos to the incarnate god. by casting our eyes still further down the centuries, we will see christianity and the philosophy of plato strangely allied, which brings us to the era of the trinity. let us first inquire into the origin of the first three gospels. chapter vi. how the four gospels originated the origin of the gospels has proved a serbonian bog, in which many writers who have attempted an explanation have floundered without finding solid ground. scarcely two writers agree. why should there be any doubt in a matter of so much importance, where the evidence could so readily be obtained at the time they were written, and so safely guarded and preserved? truth, in a historic period like that in which it is claimed the gospels were written, need not be left in the dark. the true difficulty has grown out of the fact, that writers who have undertaken to give the origin of the gospels have looked, as men do in most other cases, to outside sources for information; whereas the explanation of the origin is to be found within the gospels themselves, and nowhere else. by looking for light where none is to be found, writers on this subject have had their attention withdrawn from the direction where the truth is to be discovered. if we bear in mind that men eighteen hundred years ago were much like men of to-day, that the emotion or effect a given event or occurrence produces in the minds of men of our own time would be the same as upon those who lived in the first part of the second century, we have a compass, such as it is, to guide us through this cimmerian darkness. what would excite ridicule, or appear false and improbable to intelligent minds of our own times, would appear equally so to such minds as pliny and tacitus at their ages of the world. in imagination let us take a stand at the beginning of the second century, and make ourselves citizens of the roman empire under the reign of adrian. we can well imagine how the minds of thinking and intelligent people were affected on the first appearance of the present greek version of matthew's gospel. it set forth some of the most astounding events in the history of the world, and which the world heard of for the _first time_. when christ was put to death, all the land, from the sixth to the ninth hour, was covered with darkness; the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent asunder; the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints which slept arose and came out of their graves, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many. suppose that some morning we should pick up our daily paper, and find under the telegraph head an announcement of like events as having occurred in london or paris. at first we might be fearfully startled, but would soon feel satisfied that it was all a hoax, after the style of professor locke's story of the moon. if the authors of the story expected to accomplish anything by such startling announcements, they failed by attempting too much. whether the earth was covered with darkness, or was shaken by an earthquake, or the dead got out of their graves and went down into the city, were facts easily inquired into, in that age of the world. matthew further states that a star went before the wise men of the east, till it came and stood over where the young child was. how could a star a million of miles off lead any one on this earth, and how could it at that distance be in a position to indicate a spot on the earth where the child was? he also states, that when herod found he was mocked he was wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in _bethlehem_ and all the coast thereof, from two years old and under. we can readily imagine the pagans, who composed the learned and intelligent men of their day, at work in exposing the story of herod's cruelty, by showing that, considering the extent of territory embraced in the order, and the population within it, the assumed destruction of life stamped the story false and ridiculous. a governor of a roman province who dared make such an order would be so speedily overtaken by the vengeance of the roman people, that his head would fall from his body before the blood of his victims had time to dry. archelaus, his son, was deposed for offences not to be spoken of when compared with this massacre of the infants. but that part of the first gospel which related to the dream of joseph and the conception of mary was what most excited the criticism and ridicule of the people of that day. the whole and sole foundation of the new religion was _a dream_. the simplicity of joseph, too, provoked a smile, if nothing more. the story at the sepulchre was overdrawn, and threw discredit over all. "and behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." (_matthew_ xxviii. , .) such aerial bodies are not given to the employments assigned to the angel in this case. rolling stones, say the wise men, by spiritual essences is ridiculous and absurd. besides, who knows anything of the great earthquake? we find no account of it, nor is it even mentioned anywhere else. so men reasoned eighteen hundred years ago--and so they would to-day. it is evident that the author of the first gospel had overdone his part, and injured the cause he meant to advance. the blunders and mistakes of the first gospel made it necessary that there should be a second. this gave rise to a second gospel, not by the same hand, but by some other, who felt the pressure that had been brought to bear on matthew. as this second gospel was written with a special purpose, we must expect a great resemblance in it to the first, except where the former makes statements which were the occasion of so much criticism on the part of the philosophers; and in such cases, the best course to pursue would be to say nothing. naked contradiction would not answer. mark has not a word to say about the story of joseph and the angel. he omits the earthquake at the crucifixion, and the resurrection of the dead, for these things were susceptible of disproof; but tells of the darkness, and the rent in the temple, because the former was comparative, and may have been a dark cloud in the heavens; and as to the case of the temple, no one could disprove the story, for it was destroyed. the story of the angel and stone is entirely omitted, but the stone is removed from the mouth of the sepulchre when the women appear, and a young man is found in the inside, who is presumed to have done it. matthew says that joseph of arimathea deposited the body of christ in the sepulchre, and then rolled a great stone to the door. afterwards the priest and pharisees caused the entrance to be made _secure_, for fear that the body would be stolen, and the disciples then claim that he had risen from the dead. if so, say the philosophers, the work was not so poorly done that _one_ young man could roll the stone from the door, as stated by mark. it would be beyond his strength. luke removes the objection; when the women come to the sepulchre in the morning they found the stone removed, and the body of christ was missing. there was no young man inside, but _two_ men were found standing on the outside, who, no doubt, were competent to do the work. the story of the star which led the wise men, and the murder of the infants at bethlehem, is also omitted. we are justified in saying that those who were engaged in getting up the _first_ gospel, or those who succeeded them, were driven to abandon some false and impossible and improbable things stated in that gospel, by proof, in some cases, of their falsehood, and in others by the force of argument and ridicule. matthew had related the story of joseph and the angel, and that admitted of no change or modification. mark says nothing about it, but silence will not answer; for the philosophers still claim that all depends upon a _dream_, and the dreams of joseph are no better than the dreams of any other man. if the story could not be modified, it might be corroborated. so, when it came to luke's turn to speak he adds the story of zacharias, and the interview between mary and the angel gabriel. all now occurs in _daylight_, and dreams which had been the subject of so much ridicule are dispensed with. when zacharias went to the temple to burn incense, he found on the outside a great multitude of people. the crowd has no connection with the story, except as these people are wanted for witness as to what happened _in the sanctuary_. while zacharias was offering incense within, there appeared to him an angel standing on the right side of the altar. the position of the angel is defined with precision, that it might not be claimed that what appeared to him was a phantom. zacharias saw him and was afraid. as further evidence that the angel was not some optical illusion, gabriel spoke, and gave zacharias such information about the future birth of a son to him that he was disposed to doubt the truth of it. as a punishment for his reasonable doubts, he is struck dumb. the interview continued so long that the crowd on the outside began to be uneasy, and when zacharias did come out he had lost the power of speech. this convinced the multitude (but how, is not stated) that he had seen a vision in the temple. after this, gabriel made a visit to mary in open day, and held a conversation, in which he announced to her the birth of a son through the overshadowing influence of the holy ghost, who would reign over the house of jacob forever. then follows the scene between mary and her cousin elisabeth. in luke's account of the announcement of the birth of christ by divine agency, the story of joseph is entirely omitted, and new witnesses are introduced. his story was well studied; every precaution was taken to silence cavil and make such a case as would remove doubts. the blunders of matthew were not to be repeated. the birth of christ and john, who was afterwards called the baptist, are ingeniously associated in the announcement of the angel, to give color to what is said of them in the gospels afterwards. what objections were made by the philosophers to the story of luke at the time, we have no means of knowing; but if any were made, there is no subsequent effort to improve it, and so it remains to this day. the question interests us to know when and from whom did luke get his information. if he had it from any one who had the means of knowing what he tells us, it must have been from paul, for we have no knowledge that he had any acquaintance, or relations of any kind, with either of the disciples. he was paul's companion: we find him with paul at troas, a.d. ; thence he attended him to jerusalem, continued with him during his troubles in judea, and sailed in the same ship with him when he was sent a prisoner to rome, where he stayed with him during his two years' confinement. he was with him during his second imprisonment, and, as we will show in the proper place, he died with paul in rome, and was one of the victims of nero's reign. if paul knew what luke states as to the divine emanation of christ, why does he not make some allusion to it in his numerous epistles?--and how can we understand that he could, with such knowledge, deny this divine creation, and preach to the last that christ was born according to natural law? luke, too, made mistakes, which john afterwards corrected in the fourth gospel. we can best illustrate the claim that the three last gospels were written in the order they appeared, as a necessity to meet the objections and cavils of the philosophers, by taking some leading subject which is mentioned by all. take the case of the _resurrection_. matthew says: "and when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted." (matt, xxviii. .) to leave the question where matthew leaves it would be fatal. in such a case there must be no doubt. mark makes christ appear three times under such circumstances as to render a mistake next to impossible, and to silence the most obstinate skepticism. he first appears to mary magdalene, who was convinced that it was christ, because she went and told the disciples that he had risen, and that she had seen him. they disbelieved, nor could they be convinced until he appeared to them. they in turn told it to the other disciples, who were also skeptical; and, that they might be convinced, christ also appeared to them as they sat at meat, when he upbraided them for their unbelief. this story is much improved in the hands of mark, but, in the anxiety to make a clear case, it is overdone, as often happens when the object is to remedy or correct an oversight or mistake previously made. there was a large amount of skepticism to be overcome, but the proof offered was sufficient to do it, and remove all doubts from the minds of the disciples. considering christ had told the disciples he would rise, why did they doubt at all? owing to some strange oversight, neither matthew nor mark says in what way christ made his appearance--whether it was in the body or only in the spirit. if in the latter, it would be fatal to the whole theory of the resurrection. we conclude from what followed, that the philosophers of that day, who would concede nothing to the claims of christianity, took advantage of this oversight, and denied the resurrection of christ in the body. it was the business of luke to put this disputed question in its true light, and silence the objection. he says that when christ appeared and spoke to the disciples they were afraid. "but they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a _spirit._" (luke xxiv. .) christ then showed the wounds in his hands and feet. "and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb: and he took it, and did _eat before them_." (luke xxiv. , .) now who dare doubt? why some doubted, as matthew says they did, is hard to explain. the account of luke should have satisfied the philosophers that it was a body and not a spirit that appeared to the disciples. but we can believe they were not, from what is afterwards said on this subject. the story of the fish and honeycomb was incredible and absurd. it was a fish-story. if true, why did matthew and mark fail to mention it? luke had overdone the matter, and instead of convincing the pagans, he only excited their ridicule. now comes john's turn. he does not omit entirely the story of christ eating fish, for that would not do, after there had been so much said about it. he might leave it to be inferred that luke made a mistake, so he modifies the story and omits the ridiculous part of it. the scene is laid on the shores of the sea of tiberias. under the direction of christ, peter drew his net to land full of fish. "jesus saith unto them, come and dine. and none of the disciples durst ask him, who art thou? knowing that it was the lord. jesus then cometh, and taketh _bread, and giveth them, and fish_ like wise." (john xxi. , .) it does not appear from this account that christ ate of the fish at all. he took the fish and gave to the disciples; the inference is, that they were the ones that ate. in luke the statement is reversed:--the disciples gave the fish to christ, and he ate. john has taken out of the story that which was absurd, but he leaves us to infer that luke was _nearsighted or careless_ in his account of what took place. if you leave out of luke's account the part that relates to the fish and honeycomb, he fails to prove what it really was which appeared to the disciples. christ, he says, said, "behold my hands and my feet, that it is i myself." (ch. xxiv. .) "and while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, have ye here any meat?" (ch. xxiv. .) it seems from this that the disciples could not be convinced until christ had actually eaten something. now if you strike out the eating part, which john does, and which no doubt the ridicule cast upon it drove him to do, luke leaves the question open just where he found it. it was the business of john to leave it clean, and put an end to all cavil. jesus appeared to the disciples when they assembled at jerusalem. "and when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side." (john xx. .) they were satisfied, and no doubts were expressed. but thomas was not present, and when he was told that jesus had appeared to the disciples, he refused to believe, nor would he, "except i shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, i will not believe." (john xx. .) now if thomas can be convinced with all his doubts, it would be foolish after that to deny that christ was not in the body when he appeared to his disciples. after eight days christ again appears, without any object that we can discover but to convince thomas. then said he to thomas, "reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing." (john xx. .) it is not stated whether he did as he was directed; but he was convinced, and exclaimed, "_my lord and my god_." what fault the pagans found with this account we have not the means of knowing; but if they still disbelieved, they were more skeptical than thomas himself. we should be at a loss to understand why the writers of the first three gospels entirely omitted the story of thomas, if we were not aware that when john wrote the state of the public mind was such, that proof of the most unquestionable character was demanded that christ had risen in the body. john selected a person who claimed he was hard to convince, and if the evidence was such as to satisfy him, it ought to satisfy the balance of the world. john's services are again required to repair the blunders and oversights of the writers of the first three gospels in relation to the body of christ after the crucifixion. matthew states that mary magdalene and the other mary went on the first day of the week to see the sepulchre. no other purpose is expressed. mark says that early in the morning of the first day of the week, mary magdalene and mary the mother of james and salome brought spices to anoint the body. according to luke, after the women who had followed christ from galilee had seen the body deposited in the tomb, they returned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the sabbath day. the body was deposited in the tomb some time on friday, and remained until sunday morning, on the first day of the jewish week. doubtless, in the climate of syria, the body in the mean time must have undergone such a change as to make it difficult to either embalm or even anoint it. the pagans at that day could hardly fail to take advantage of this mistake or blunder. but john again comes to the rescue and sets the matter right. according to him, joseph of arimathea had permission to take the body, which he did, and carried it away. "and there came also nicodemus (which at the first came to jesus by night) and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, _about a hundred pounds weight_. then took they the body of jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the jews is to bury." (john xix. , .) john now fully silenced the cavils of the enemy and taken the proper steps to preserve the body until the morning of the third day. the subject might be further pursued, but enough has been said to furnish a key to the origin of the gospels. christians in their contests with the pagans resemble the course of a retreating army, which falls back to take a stronger position. each time the position is improved, until one at last is found which is impregnable. we can readily see how it is that the first three gospels so closely resemble each other, the exact language for whole passages being alike in all. mark copies matthew, and luke uses the words of both. it is only when the last undertakes to improve or modify something written by those who wrote previously, that the difference becomes obvious. that the christians in the beginning of the second century had books of some kind before the three first gospels appeared in the present shape is beyond all dispute. the sacred writings of the therapeutæ, as we have shown, were full of the most sound morality, and contained all the essential principles of christianity. these writings were ancient--had been regarded as sacred for generations among them, and were so much like the present gospels that eusebius claimed them to be the same, and that the therapeutæ were christians. no doubt the hebrew gospel of matthew was extant, and if it was rejected by the christians of that day, because it did not contain the two first chapters of the greek version, there was no reason why they should reject the sermon on the mount, and all the sublime and pure religion taught by christ. the sacred writings of the therapeutæ--the hebrew version of matthew, the epistle of james and the first of peter--furnished the principles and doctrines which now form the life of christianity; and the great want of the day--that is, some proof of the actual existence of the person of christ, by those who had seen him and were familiar with him before his death--was supplied in the first three gospels, by the testimony of those who claimed to be his disciples, or by those who, it is said, wrote at their dictation. in what quarter of the globe were the synoptics written, and by whom? all that can be said on this subject with certainty is, that the greek version of matthew, the source of all, was not written in judea, or by one who knew anything of the geography of the country, or the history of the jews. he was ignorant of both. what excuse was there but ignorance for making the order for the massacre of the infants to include bethlehem, and all _the coast thereof_, which would take in at least the one-half of all judea, and involve in one common slaughter, according to the calculations of learned men, several thousand innocent children? the greek writer of matthew evidently believed that bethlehem was an insignificant hamlet, situated on the coast of the mediterranean, whereas it is as far in the interior as jerusalem; and not far from the centre of judea. the writer's ignorance of jewish history will appear still more conspicuous, when we speak of the application which he makes of prophecy to the person of jesus. whoever the writer may have been, it is evident that he received his education at the college at alexandria, where medicine and divinity were taught, and regarded as inseparable. from the union of the two, recovery from diseases was ascribed to supernatural powers. a fever was a demon, which was not to be expelled by virtue of any material remedy, but by incantations, spells, and magic. it was by such power christ cleansed the leper--healed the centurion's servant--touched the hand of peter's wife's mother and drove away the fever--expelled the devils from two men into swine, and performed many other cures. the whole of the first gospel has an alexandrian look not easily to be mistaken--if we except the miracle of the loaves and fishes, walk of christ on the water, and other wonders of a like nature, which is the work of some one later in the century. the deserts in the neighborhood of alexandria abounded with monasteries from the earliest accounts of the therapeutæ to the conquest of egypt by the mahometan power, which were filled with monks who were celebrated for their piety, their miracles, their power to expel devils and heal diseases. the pages of sozomen and socrates abound with the names of monks who cured the palsy, expelled demons, and cured the sick. (sozomen, _ecc. hist._, lib. vi., ch. .) chapter vii. john the son of zebedee never in asia minor.--john the presbyter substituted.--the work of irenæus and eusebius.-- john the disciple has served to create an enigma in history.--john of ephesus a myth. was john the son of zebedee ever in asia? to ask a question which implies a doubt on a subject that has been agreed on for almost twenty centuries, will probably startle many even in this age of inquiry and progress. it may be a question whether he who makes a discovery in science or the arts which facilitates the advance of mankind, or he who contributes by his labors to remove a delusion which has stood in the way of progress, is most entitled to the gratitude of his fellow-men. a falsehood, as long as it stands unquestioned, may and does receive the respect which is due to the truth; but there is a time when, no matter how hoary with age, it must pass away and give place to the latter. john the son of zebedee the fisherman, upon careful inquiry, can never be successfully confounded with him of ephesus. his character, as developed in the synoptics, is composed of negative qualities. we find him in jerusalem when he had got to be fifty years old, without any evidence, up to that time, that he had been out of sight of the walls of the city, and no proof that he said or did anything worthy of notice. his name is mentioned in connection with some of the great scenes in the life of christ, but he takes no part, and, like the supernumeraries on the stage, his presence is only needed to fill up a required number. to be sure, paul speaks of him in connection with james and peter as pillars of the church--which has no significance, as the nine other disciples were all moderate men, and the church at the time few in number and easily managed. john of the synoptics is not only lymphatic and of negative qualities, but, from his condition in life and pursuits, must have had but little learning of any kind. john of the greeks is a man of learning, and a scholar. he was master of the greek, and was familiar with the abstruse and subtle philosophy of that speculative people. he was at home in all the different and various doctrines of the gnostics, and proved himself the most able man of the age in his contests with those numerous sects which embraced the most learned men of the second century. in fine, this john of galilee, whose name is seldom mentioned, or if so, not for anything he said or did, who lives to be more than fifty without the least notice being taken of him, or allusion made--this phlegmatic john, after he has passed the meridian of life, and his powers are on the decline, has all at once become a teacher, and the great light of grecian theology, and wields a pen with the fire and spirit of demosthenes! a change and complete transformation like this is nowhere else to be found in the history of the world. the truth is, the john of galilee is not the john of ephesus. the latter is a phantom of some greek's brain, which has served to mislead men for ages. if john the disciple had ever passed out of syria into asia minor, so important a fact would find a place in some authentic history; and from the time he put his foot in the country, his meanderings, like those of paul, would be well known and preserved. we leave him in jerusalem in a.d. , and the next time we hear of him he is in ephesus. when he left judea, and when he arrived in asia minor, no one pretends to know. from the year forty-eight, and perhaps much sooner, to the spring of sixty-five, paul spent nine-tenths of his time travelling up and down the archipelago, establishing and visiting the churches. he made the circuit three times, and it was his uniform practice, in closing his epistles to the different churches, to mention those of the brethren who were with him, even if they were not of much importance; and yet in none of them does he mention the name of john. considering that john was an apostle, this silence of paul can be accounted for only by the fact that he did not hear of or see him in asia minor, and was in ephesus as late as the year sixty-four, and still later, sixty-five, and up to that time john had not been there, for paul makes no mention of him. what historical proof is there that is worthy of credit, that john was ever in asia minor? the whole story rests on the shoulders of irenæus. here is what he says: "then, again, the church in ephesus, founded by paul, and having john remaining among them permanently until the times of trajan, is a true witness of the traditions." (book iii. sec. .) irenæus cites no authority, and we have a right, in a matter of so much importance, to demand of him some evidence that what he states is true. in this absence of any reference to written testimony we have a right to infer that there was none, and that there was no ground for the assertion but tradition. this irenæus is forced to admit. the book on heresies was written, as we shall show, about a.d. . according to authentic history, paul was in ephesus in sixty-five, the last time. if the statement of irenæus is founded on tradition, and there is no other, then the tradition that paul left john in ephesus is one hundred and sixteen years old. we will see what a tradition so old, handed down to future ages, is worth, coming from irenæus. a tradition over one hundred years old, when first inserted into the pages of history by one of the most dishonest historians of any age, is the authority we have in our day for believing a most important fact in the history of the christian church. the caption to the section from which the above passage was taken will explain the reason why irenæus undertook to misrepresent the truth of history: "_a refutation of the heretics, from the fact that, in the various churches, a perpetual succession of bishops was kept up_." he was engaged in furnishing an apostle to the churches in asia minor and some parts of greece, for an "apostolic succession." we will find him engaged in doing a great deal of this kind of business before we are done with him. the proof that john was not in ephesus is conclusive. the language of irenæus implies that paul placed john in charge of the church when he left for rome _for he says john remained_. this is not so. when paul left ephesus, in the year a. d. or , he left timothy there in charge of the church, and he remained until paul got into trouble in rome, in the fall of a. d. , when the latter sent for him. would paul leave the church in the charge of timothy when one of the apostles was there, especially as he was so young that some objected to him on account of his age? in writing to timothy to meet him in rome, would paul fail to make some mention of the apostle, if he had been in ephesus when he left?--not one word to an apostle who would naturally take charge of the church, in the absence of himself and timothy? it is clear, then, that john had not been in ephesus up to the fall or summer of a. d. , when timothy left to go to rome; and the question is, was he there after this? and if so, when? polycarp presided over the church at smyrna, which was not far from ephesus, and between the two points there was constant intercourse by land and water; and if john had succeeded timothy at the latter place, would not he, polycarp, take some notice of so important a fact? he speaks of paul in his letter to the philippians, and why not mention john, who was one of the twelve apostles? polycarp lived to the end of the century, and it is claimed john also lived to about that time, and as they both lived so long in such close proximity, how natural it would be that the intercourse between them should be most intimate, and that the former should mention those relations with an apostle in writing to the churches he addressed, irenæus felt the force of this, and undertakes to show that polycarp was the _hearer and disciple of john_. he says: "these things are attested by papias, who was john's hearer and the associate of polycarp, an ancient writer, who mentions them in the fourth book of his works." (quoted in eusebius, _ecc_. hist., book iii., chap. .) it is meant that it should be understood from this passage that both papias and polycarp had seen and heard john the apostle. now papias never conversed with john, the son of zebedee the fisherman, and he says so, in a fragment preserved in the writings of eusebius. after quoting the passage just cited from irenaeus, eusebius says: "but papias himself, in the preface to his discourses, by no means asserts that he was a hearer and an eye-witness of the holy apostles, but informs us that he received the doctrines of faith _from their intimate friends_, which he states in the following words: 'but i shall not regret to subjoin to my interpretations, also for your benefit, whatsoever i have at any time accurately ascertained and treasured up in my memory, as i have received it _from the elders_, and have recorded it in order to give additional confirmation to the truth by my testimony. for i never, like many, delighted to hear those that tell many things, but those that teach the truth; neither those that record foreign precepts, but those that are given from the lord to our faith, and that came from the truth itself. but if i met with any one who had been a follower of the elders anywhere, i made it a point to inquire what were the declarations of the elders,--what was said by andrew, peter, or philip; what by thomas, james, john, matthew, or any other of the disciples of our lord; what was said by aristion, and the presbyter john, disciples of the lord; for i do not think that i derived so much benefit from books as from the living voice of those that are still surviving.' and the same papias of whom we now speak professes to have received the declarations of the apostles _from those that were in company with them_, and says also that he was a hearer of aristion and the presbyter john. for, as he has often mentioned them by name, he also gives their statements in his own works." (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. chap. .) he says he never conversed with john, but with the elders, and that _he was a hearer of presbyter john, and so was polycarp_. when irenæus says that papias conversed with john, without telling which john, he knew that no one would be thought of but the disciple; and such would have been the case, had not eusebius preserved this fragment from the writings of papias. polycarp and papias both conversed with the same john, who was john the presbyter. in another place irenæus says: "but polycarp also was only instructed by this apostle, and had conversed with many who had seen christ." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) this is a palpable falsehood, and so appears from the passage just cited. he cites no authority, but lets facts of so much importance in history depend on his simple word. if what is stated be true, why does not polycarp himself say something about the sources from which he derived his doctrines? nothing would give so great weight to his preaching as that he derived what he taught from those who had listened to christ and his apostles. why speak of paul, and what he taught, and not of jesus and his disciples, and what they taught? the world is indebted to irenæus for the story of what took place between john and cerinthus at the bath-house in ephesus. speaking of polycarp, and how in all respects he was superior to valentinianus and marcion, he says: "_there are also those_ who heard from him (polycarp) that john, the disciple of the lord, going to bathe at ephesus, and perceiving cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, 'let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because cerinthus is within. '" (book iii. chap. .) now it has been shown that john the disciple of the lord never saw polycarp, and if anything of the kind ever did take place, it was between polycarp and john the presbyter. the latter is a historic character, spoken of by polycarp, who lived about this time, and was a presbyter in the church; and it is evident that irenæus seeks to confound the apostle with him. it is for this reason he describes him in the above passage as "the disciple of the lord," for which there was no reason, unless he meant to deceive. we have proved that he tried it once, and when the first falsehood is uttered it is easy to fabricate a second. this is the first blow that was directed by irenæus against cerinthus, a leader among the gnostics; but it is only initiatory to still heavier ones which are to follow. marcion was a distinguished character among the gnostics, and he too must receive some damaging blows at the hands of polycarp, the disciple of john. and polycarp himself replied to marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "dost thou know me?"--"i do know thee--the first-born of satan."--"such," continues the writer, "was the horror which the _apostles and the disciples_ had against holding even a verbal communication with any of the corrupters of the truth." (book iii. chap. .) the apostle in this case was john the presbyter, if any one, and the disciple polycarp the martyr, who had, in fact, never seen any of the apostles. it is to be noted that no authority is given by irenæus for these stories, though they are introduced as some things which somebody had said. such is history. the value of tradition from the authority of irenæus may be judged of by the following statement he makes, evidently intended to strengthen the assertion he made about the presence of st. john in asia minor. in all cases where he wants it to appear that the apostle was there, he connects the principal subject with other statements in a way as if the main fact was incidentally mentioned. "now jesus was, as it were, beginning to be thirty years old when he came to receive baptism, and according to those men he preached only one year, reckoning from his baptism. on completing his thirtieth year he suffered, being still a young man, and who had by no means attained to advanced age. now, that the first stage of early life embraces thirty years, and that extends onwards to the fortieth year, every one will admit; but from the fortieth and fiftieth year a man begins to decline towards old age, which our lord possessed, while he still fulfilled the office of teacher, even as the gospel and all the elders testify." "those who were conversant in asia with john, the disciple of the lord (affirming) that john gave to them that information. and he remained among them up to the time of trajan. some of them, moreover, saw not only john, but the other apostles, and heard the same account from them, and bear testimony as to the validity of the statement. which, then, should we rather believe?--whether such as these, or ptolemæus, who never saw the apostles, and who never in his dreams attained to the slightest trace of an apostle?" (book ii. chap. , sec. .) it seems that irenæus had got into a dispute with ptolemæus, and attempts to silence him, as he does all opponents, by the authority of the disciples, and especially of john, who is the only one he names. john, too, was in asia at the time. it is not said where the other apostles were. ptolemæus claimed, as appears in the first part of the same section, "that christ preached for one year only, and then suffered in the twelfth month." the argument with ptolemæus was, that christ was too young, and preached too short a time, to be regarded as a teacher of much authority; and in this way, as irenæus says, "destroying his whole work, and robbing him of that age which is both necessary and more honorable than any other; that more advanced age, i mean, during which also, as a teacher, he excelled all others." the objection is put down in a summary way, claiming that the time of christ's preaching extended over a period of _ten years_. this is what the apostles stated, _and what john said while he was in asia, and who remained there to the time of the death of trajan_. ecclesiastical history claims three years only as the period of christ's ministry, but it can be proven that the truth lies on the side of ptolemæus. did john, while he was in asia, and the other apostles, no matter where, give rise to such absurd and false traditions? if john was in ephesus at the time paul went to rome, in the year a. d. , and remained to the time of trajan, as stated by irenæus, he was in asia thirty-five years. during this time his history must have been so interwoven with the affairs of the church, holding the rank of an apostle, that nothing could be more easy than to prove his presence in the country. there is no difficulty in following the footsteps of paul for each year after he set out to preach the gospel, whether in europe or asia; and so with any real character who has been conspicuous for his talents, or from the position he held in his day. but neither irenæus nor eusebius have been able to furnish the world with the least evidence of a substantial character of the presence of john in asia, although they have undertaken it, and exhausted their ingenuity in trying to do so. if no better proof can be given of the presence of john in asia, after a residence of thirty-five years, than a grave, which may as well be claimed to be that of hannibal as that of john, the world will be satisfied he never was there. eusebius has displayed his characteristic ingenuity, and shown his usual disregard for truth in an effort to prove that the grave of john was in ephesus, and that it was identified as late as the latter part of the second or beginning of the third century. he travels out of his way to do it--manifests from the way he does it that he is engaged in a fraud, and, between the fear of detection and anxiety for success, he makes poor work of it. he causes polycrates, who was bishop of ephesus, to write a letter to victor, bishop of rome, with the apparent purpose of informing him that some mighty luminaries had fallen asleep in asia, but, in fact, to give an opportunity to make mention of the grave of john as being there in ephesus. who these luminaries were who had fallen asleep, he does not name; but dismisses this part of the subject and proceeds to say: "moreover, john, that rested on the bosom of our lord, he also rests at ephesus." some other matters are introduced into the letter, which related to the burial of philip and his two daughters at hierapolis; but this was only intended to conceal the real purpose and design of the writer. victor was bishop of rome in the beginning of the third century, after john, if we admit he was in asia, had been dead one hundred years. in writing to victor about persons who had lately died, and without saying who they were, why should polycrates make mention of the grave of john as located in ephesus, which, if true, would have been as well known to all asia as the tomb of washington is known to the enlightened world to be at mount vernon? that intelligent men of the second and third centuries denied and disproved the presence of john in asia, is rendered certain by the struggles and desperate efforts of their adversaries to establish the affirmative. the indications are, that the philosophers proved that the person whom the christians claimed to be the apostle john was some other john; in all probability, john the presbyter. upon this point the proof seems to have been so conclusive that the christians were driven to the necessity of proving that there were two johns--one besides the presbyter. eusebius takes this task upon himself. we quote from the above letter of polycrates to victor: "for in asia also mighty luminaries have fallen asleep, which will rise again at the last day at the appearance of the lord, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall gather again all the saints. philip, one of the twelve apostles, sleeps in hierapolis, and his two aged virgin daughters. another of his daughters, who lived in the holy spirit, rests at ephesus. moreover, john, that rested on the bosom of the lord, who was a priest that bore the sacerdotal plate, and martyr, and teacher, he also rests at ephesus." (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. ch. .) owing either to a bad translation, or design on the part of the writer, two distinct characters are so run together in the same sentence, that we would suppose them to be one person if we did not know that the person who leaned on the bosom of the lord could not be the one who bore the sacerdotal plate, and was a martyr. it would seem from this effort to make it appear that there were two johns buried at ephesus, that the philosophers proved that the john who bore the sacerdotal plate was the one the christians were attempting to impose on the world as the real john, and that the proof was such that they had to yield the point, and claim that there were two graves--one the martyr's, and the other the apostle's. eusebius felt conscious that it was not safe to rest his case here, and we find him reaching out in every direction for further proof, satisfied with anything that will give color to the fact he labors to establish. in another place he states: "where it is also proper to observe the name of john is twice mentioned. the former of which he (papias) mentions with peter and james and matthew, and the other apostles; evidently meaning the evangelist. but in a separate point of his discourse he ranks the other john with the rest not included in the number of apostles, placing aristion before him. he distinguishes him plainly by the name of presbyter. so that it is here proved that the statement of those is true who assert there were _two_ of _the same_ name in asia, that there were also two tombs in ephesus, and that both are called john's even to this day; _which it is particularly necessary to observe_" (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. chap, xxxix.) as much as to say to the objecting philosophers, if you have proved that one john in asia was the presbyter john, we prove by papias that there were two, and that one of them was the apostle. if this is so, it is only by inference. but it spoils the argument when it is shown that when papias speaks of the two johns, he does not say they were in asia, or where they were. he speaks at the same time of all the apostles, or nearly so, by name, but does not mention them, or any of them, in connection with any place. to subserve a particular purpose, irenæus had asserted that john had been in ephesus, where he remained a long time, without the least authority to sustain him. it was a bare, naked assertion without proof. in the third and fourth centuries, during the time of eusebius, this assertion had grown to great importance, by reason that, on the fact that it was so, was founded the apostolic succession of nearly all the churches in europe, and most of asia. to maintain the presence of john in asia was as important as it was to prove that peter had been in rome. understanding the importance of this fact, the philosophers directed their attacks upon it, showing that the man the christians called the apostle was somebody else. it devolved upon eusebius, the most learned man of his day, to defend the position. the task exceeded his ability, but not his inclination to deceive. if we except irenæus, no writer has so studiously put himself to work to impose falsehoods on the world as eusebius, bishop of cæsarea. his genius was employed in various ways, and especially in perverting chronology. speaking of a class of men who gave themselves up to such employments, the author of the "intellectual development of europe," page , says: "among those who have been guilty of this literary offence, the name of the celebrated eusebius, the bishop of cæsarea in the time of constantine, should be designated, since in his chronography and synchronal tables he purposely 'perverted chronology for the sake of making synchronisms.' (_bunsen_.) it is true, as niebuhr asserts, 'he is a very dishonest writer.' to a great extent, the superseding of the egyptian annals was brought about by his influence. it was forgotten, however, that of all things chronology is the least suited to be an object of inspiration, and that, though men may be wholly indifferent to truth for its own sake, and consider it not improper to wrest it unscrupulously to what they may suppose a just purpose, yet that it will vindicate itself at last" his character for truth stood no better among writers of the fifth century, for socrates fairly charges that in his life of constantine he had more regard for his own advancement than he had for the truth of history. (book i. ch. .) a whole volume is devoted to display the virtues and exalt the character of a man who had murdered his son crispus--his nephew licinius--suffocated his wife fausta in a steam bath, and who, to revenge a pasquinade, was with difficulty restrained from the massacre of the entire population of rome. in another part of this volume we will have occasion to detect and expose the genius of this father, in his attempt to create a chronology so as to give semblance to a list of men who never existed, but who were required to fill an important gap in the life of the church. no fitter instrument could be found to help consummate the fraud conceived by irenæus to impose a spurious john on the world than eusebius of cæsarea. chapter viii. the gnostics.--irenæus makes war on them.--his mode of warfare.--the apostolic succession and the object.--no church in rome to the time of adrian.--peter never in rome-- nor paul in britain, gaul, or spain.--forgeries of irenæus. before we approach the principal subject treated of in this section, it will be proper to say something of a sect or society which in its day took a leading part in the affairs of the world, but which has long since disappeared from history, and whose former existence is now only known to the careful reader. we refer to the gnostics, who for the most part flourished in the second century. they were divided among themselves into more than fifty different sects. "the principal among them were known under the names of basilidians, valentinians, and marcionites. they abounded in egypt, asia, rome, and were found in considerable numbers in the provinces of the west. each of these sects could boast of its bishops and congregations, of its doctors and martyrs, and instead of the four gospels adopted by the church, they produced a multitude of histories, in which the actions and discourses of christ and his apostles were _adapted_ to their respective tenets."-- (decline and fall, chap. xv. vol. i. p. .) they supported their opinions by various fictitious and apocryphal writings of adam, abraham, zoroaster, christ, and the apostles. they were for the most part composed of gentiles who denied the divine authority of the old testament, and rejected the mosaic account of the creation, of the origin and fall of man, and claimed that a god was unworthy of adoration, who for a trivial offence of adam and eve pronounced sentence of condemnation on all their descendants. they adored christ as an _Æon_, or divine emanation, who appeared on the earth to reclaim man from the paths of error and point out to him the ways of truth; but with these opinions they mingled many sublime and obscure tenets derived from oriental philosophy. this divine _Æon_ or emanation they considered was the son of god, but was inferior to the father, and they rejected his humanity on the principle that everything corporeal is essentially and intrinsically evil. they agreed with the christians in their abhorrence of polytheism and idolatry, and both regarded the former as a composition of human fraud and error, and demons as the authors and patrons of the latter. as we have stated, the gnostics for the most part sprang up in the second century and disappeared in the fourth and fifth, suppressed by a law of the emperor constantine. "the emperor enacted a law by which they were forbidden to assemble in their own houses of prayer, in private houses, or in, public places, but were compelled to enter the catholic church.... hence the greater number of these sectarians were led by fear of consequences to join themselves to the church. those who adhered to their original sentiments did not at their death leave any disciples to propagate their heresies, for, owing to the restrictions to which they were subjected, they were prevented from preaching their doctrines."-- (sozomen, ecc. hist., book ii ch. .) thus passed from history the gnostics, "the most polite, the most learned and most wealthy of the christian name." (decline and fall, chap. xv. vol. i. p. .) such was the character of the men who, brought into collision with the orthodox christians in the second century, became involved in the most violent and bitter struggles in which men were ever engaged. it was to defeat and destroy these men that irenæus devoted the labor of a lifetime, that on their ruin he might erect the catholic church. the undertaking was herculean, but the means employed were well chosen, vigorously and tenaciously pursued, and its success is one of the most remarkable and exceptional cases in history of the triumph of cunning, falsehood, and fraud. the grand idea was, that christ, the son of god, was the founder of the church on earth, and that, at his death, the power to establish others after him he conferred on the apostles, and upon no one else. as they might confer this power on others as they had received it from christ, so these last could in turn do the same to those who followed them, and in this way continue the church through all time. this is what irenæus calls the "apostolic succession." a church which could not prove its connection with christ through this apostolic chain was no church at all, and it amounted to impiety and vile heresy for such a pretended church to undertake to explain or understand his gospel. such a church has no relation to christ, but with demons and evil spirits. irenæus found it much less difficult to show that there was no such succession in the gnostic churches than he did in proving that it existed in his own. to do this, as we will show in another place, he was forced to introduce on to the stage the names of at least nine persons who, he claimed, had been bishops of rome, most of whom were mere myths and never had an existence, and those who had were never in rome at all. christ, at his death, he further maintains, not only conferred on the apostles the sole right to establish churches, but also imparted to them some divine knowledge or gifts which they on their death intrusted to the church as a special deposit for the benefit of all who yielded obedience to her authority. these precious gifts left with the church irenæus compares to money or riches deposited in a bank by a rich man. but we will let him speak for himself: "since, therefore, we have such proof, it is not necessary to seek the truth among others, which is easy to obtain from the church; since the apostles, like a rich man depositing his _money in a bank_, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth; so that every man, whosoever, _can draw_ from her the water of eternal life. for she is the entrance to life, and all others are thieves and robbers." (book iii. chap. , sec. i.) having established the principal proposition by his mere assertion (which is his way of making history of all kinds), irenæus next proceeds to show that the gnostics could not trace any connection with a church founded by the apostles. "for prior to valentinianus (he says), those who follow valentinianus had no existence: nor did those from marcion exist before marcion; nor, in short, had any of those malignant-minded people, whom i have above enumerated, any being previous to the initiators and inventors of their perversity." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) the ancient father has, so far, established two of his main propositions: first, that a church must derive its origin through the apostles, or some one of them, to be genuine; and second, that there was no such connection in the churches of the gnostics; and it only remains to show that the church claiming to be orthodox had. he declines to point out the order of succession in all the churches, but consents to do it in the case of rome, which, he says, according to tradition, derived from the apostles, was founded and organized at rome by the two glorious apostles, peter and paul. (book iii. chap. , sec. .) the church at rome, founded by such great lights as peter and paul, irenæus continues, should be regarded of the highest authority in the church, for, he says, "it is a matter of necessity that every church should agree with _this_ church, on account of its pre-eminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the apostolical tradition has been preserved continuously by those faithful men who exist everywhere." (sec. .) as peter was selected to be head of the church, and rome the capital of the christian world, the scheme to establish a church on the ground of an apostolic succession must fail, unless it can appear that peter had not only been there at some time, but that he was also the founder of a church at the holy city. a letter said to have been written by clement, the third bishop of rome, is selected as the medium by which it is made to appear that peter had been in rome; and irenæus took upon himself to show what he was engaged in while there. at the proper place we will show that this clement is a fiction, brought on the stage as a link in the apostolic chain forged by the great criminal of the second century. now follows a forgery so apparent on its face, that it does not require the skill of an expert to detect it. "but not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to those who, in these last days, have wrestled manfully for the faith; let us take the noble examples of our own age. through envy, the faithful and most righteous pillars of the church have been persecuted even to the most dreadful deaths. let us place before your eyes the good apostles. peter, by unjust envy, underwent not one or two, but many labors: and thus having borne testimony unto death, he went into the place of glory, which was due to him. through envy, paul obtained the reward of patience. seven times he was in bonds; he was scourged; was stoned. he preached both in the east and in the west, leaving behind him the glorious report of his faith. and thus having taught the whole world of righteousness, and reached the fullest extremity of the west, he suffered martyrdom by the command of the governors, and departed out of this world, and went to the holy place, having become a most exemplary pattern of patience." (_epistle i. of clement to corinthians_, sec. .) by the side of this extract we will lay a passage of irenæus. speaking of the writers of the gospels, he says: "matthew also issued a written gospel among the hebrews, in their own dialect, while peter and paul were preaching at rome, and laying the foundations of the church." (book iii. chap. .) now, we assert with confidence, that the hand which penned the first passage wrote them both. it is not said in so many words, in clement's letter, that peter was in rome, but it is to be inferred, as in the case of john at eph-esus. irenæus seldom states anything which is positively untrue in direct language, but makes falsehood inferential. the passage we have quoted does not contain a single truth, except as it relates to paul. paul and peter were never engaged together in laying the foundation of a church. they quarrelled in damascus and could never agree. the doctrine of circumcision formed an impassable wall between them, and, as we will show, was never given up by peter. besides, it is not true that peter had anything to do in laying the foundation of the church at rome. christians, during the reign of claudius in rome, were too few in number and too poor to form a church, especially such an one as would require the office of a bishop. renan, in speaking of the church in the time of claudius, says it was composed of a "little group--every one smelt of garlic. these ancestors of roman prelates were poor proletaries, dirty, alike clownish, clothed in filthy gabardines, having the bad breath of people who live badly. their retreats breathed that odor of wretchedness exhaled by persons meanly clothed and fed, and collected in a small room." (_life of paul_, .) we have no reason to believe that at any time during the life of peter was the church of rome, if there was any church there at all, composed of different materials or greater in numbers than at the time referred to. what was there for a bishop to do in such a crowd, or what was there to keep him from starvation? christians engaged in riots growing out of the hostility between them and the jews, were driven from rome by an edict of the emperor claudius, and did not return during his reign, which ceased in a.d. , when that of nero commenced. in a.d. they had not rallied, and at that time rome was without a church. it was the practice in all cases with paul to address christians through the churches, where churches were established; but his epistle, in a.d. , to the romans, is addressed not to a church, but "_to all that be in rome_" in his three years' imprisonment in that city, commencing in the spring of a.d. , he makes no mention of a church, nor does he during the second, which lasted from the summer or fall of a.d. to the spring of a.d. . there is no proof that the historian can discover, worthy of his notice, that there was a church in rome of any kind, even down to the time of adrian, a.d. , and even later. we are overrun with traditions on this subject, the creations of the second century, to which the attention of the reader will be called when we treat of the twelve traditional bishops named by irenæus. adrian, in the seventeenth year of his reign, knew so little about a christian church, that he supposed the office of a bishop belonged to the worship of the god serapis. in a letter written by him from alexandria, a.d. , to his brother-in-law servianus, he says: "the worshippers of serapis are christians, and those are devoted to the god serapis, who, i find, call themselves bishop of christ." we will dismiss this part of the subject for the present, with the promise to return to it in a subsequent chapter, when it will be demonstrated that there was no christian church in rome until after the reign of antoninus pius.* * see appendix c were peter and paul together in rome at all? paul went there in the spring of a.d. , for the first time, and remained until the spring or summer of a.d. . during this time he wrote four epistles, as follows:--to the ephesians, philippians, colossians, and to philemon, and, if we except the first, he closes them by naming the persons who are with him. he says nothing about peter, nor does he mention his name, so far as we know, during the three years he was confined in rome. that paul should omit to mention peter, one of the apostles, in some of his letters, is the very best proof that he was not in rome at all. after his release in the spring of a.d. , after making a visit to the churches in europe and asia, he returned to rome again in the fall of a.d. . he had with him a few friends who stood by him to the last. they were luke, mark, pudens, linus, and claudia. there could not have been many other christians in rome at the time besides those named, because paul, after naming the above who sent salutations to timothy, adds, "and all the other brethren," which implies that there were not many of them. paul does not mention peter, because he was not there. timothy, no doubt, was with paul in the winter of a.d. and a.d. , and was put to death in the spring of the latter year, with his friend and fellow-laborer. we never hear of him again. in the spring of a.d. , the labors and sorrows of the great apostle of the gentiles ceased. he had fought the good fight--he had finished his work--he had _kept the faith_; and now, by his death, bore testimony to the doctrines he preached. he was among the last of nero's victims. nothing that belongs to history is surer than that peter and paul never were in rome together, laying the foundation of a church, or anything else. having proved that one-half of what is stated by irenæus in the passage which we have quoted is false, according to the usual rule for testing the truth of any statement, we might claim that the remaining half is also untrue. but we ask no such advantage in disproving any of the statements made by this father. _when_ was peter in rome? no writer in the first or second century pretends to give the time when he was in rome, or when he died. irenæus gives the names of twelve bishops who succeeded each other, commencing with linus, but does not give a single date, so that we can tell when or how long any one of them held the office. this want of dates, where it was easy to give them--if what was stated was true--was urged with so much force against what irenæus said, that eusebius, in the fourth century, undertook to fix the time when these traditional bishops succeeded to, and how long each held the office. he fails to say when peter first became bishop, or when he ceased to be the head of the church, but commences giving dates from the time of linus, his successor. without intending, he has furnished the data to determine when peter died, if his dates are correct, which is _not even probable_. he says: "after vespasian had reigned about ten years, he was succeeded by his son titus; in the second year of whose reign, linus, bishop of the church of rome, who held the office about twelve years, transferred it to anacletus." (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. ch. .) as linus succeeded peter, the latter must have died just before his successor took the office. titus became emperor june th, a. d. , and as linus died two years after this, after holding the office twelve years, he became bishop in a. d. ; which must have been the year of peter's death. nero died in june a. d. , and at his death the persecution against christians ceased altogether. it is not claimed that galba, otho, vitellius, vespasian, or titus ever inflicted persecution of any kind on christians during the time they held the government of the empire. eusebius, in attempting to fix a date when the second bishop took office, answers the objections made to the vagueness of irenæus, but robs peter of the laurels of a martyr. but it is claimed that linus was installed bishop before the death of peter, and irenæus pretends to give the time. he says: "the blessed apostles then having founded and built up the church, committed unto the hands of linus the office of the episcopate." (book iii. ch. , sec. .) the blessed apostles are peter and paul. now we have just shown that these apostles were never in rome together, and that there was no church to be committed to the charge of linus or anybody else. as it is an important part of the story that peter died a martyr at rome, this could only happen to him between a. d. and a. d. , for the persecution under nero commenced during the former year, and ended with his death in a. d. . we have the most conclusive proof that peter was not in rome in a. d. , when the persecutions under nero commenced, nor afterwards. he was in babylon--whether babylon in assyria, babylon in mesopotamia or egypt--he was in babylon more than two thousand miles away. peter was born about the time of christ, and was sixty-four years of age when the persecutions under nero began. he was married, and when he wrote his first epistle he was in babylon and had his family with him, for he mentions the name of marcus, and calls him his son. "the church that is at babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth marcus, my son." ( peter v. .) the date of this epistle is fixed by dr. lard-ner and other critics at a. d. . did peter, at the age of sixty-four, when he heard that nero was feeding the wild beasts of the amphitheatre with the flesh and bones of christians, "lured by the smell of blood," start for rome? if peter was in babylon in a. d. , an "apostolic succession," so far as it depends on him, must fail, and rome must surrender the authority by which she has held the religious world in subjection for the last seventeen centuries. but this she will never do, as long as her audacity and cunning are left to hatch schemes to escape from the dilemma. inspired by despair, she now claims that peter means rome when he says babylon, and that the marcus spoken of was not the son of peter, but the nephew of barnabas and companion of paul! just as well claim anything else, and say babylon means alexandria, and that marcus was the stepson of nero. here two impressions are made: one that the letter was written at babylon, and the other that peter was attended by his son. are both false? what did peter, or anybody else, expect to gain by giving false impressions? by an agreement between peter and paul, made early and observed strictly, the labors of the former were limited to the circumcised, and he found them in large numbers in cities watered by the euphrates. there and in judea, among the jewish people, was the scene of peter's labors, and there he died. he had no business in rome. as there was no church in rome in a. d. , it is impossible, if peter was there at the time, for him to make the salutation he does in his address to his countrymen. he could say, "the church that is at babylon," but not "the church that is at rome," for there was none.* * see appendix b. mark the son of peter, and mark the nephew of barnabas, are two different persons, whom the genius of irenæus seeks to confound. the epistle to philemon was written in the latter part of a. d. , which shows that paul, timothy, and mark were then in rome. they left in the following spring. during the winter of a. d. , paul wrote the colossians that they might expect mark to visit them, and it would seem that he had made arrangements with them of some kind in regard to him, when he arrived among them. "marcus, sister's son to barnabas (_touching whom ye received commandments_: if he come unto you, receive him.") col. iv. . unless mark changed his mind afterwards, he went from rome to colosse in phrygia. the next reliable information we have of paul after the spring of a. d. , except at nicopolis in a. d. , he is back in rome in the fall of a. d. , and in prison; and the first knowledge we have of mark, he is in some part of asia minor. timothy and mark were together, and paul writes to the former from his prison, to come to rome and to bring the latter with him, and to get there before the winter sets in; which request was complied with. to suppose that mark had been to rome in the mean time would be most unreasonable, and against all the probabilities in the case. there was nothing to take him there until paul called him back. if peter was in rome when he wrote his first epistle, in a. d. , mark the nephew of barnabas was not with him. if mark saw peter at all in a. d. , it was not in rome. nor did he see him that year in babylon in egypt, or babylon in mesopotamia or chaldea. the latter babylon was long known for its vices and wickedness, and was called a sink of iniquity; and as rome had become corrupt and steeped in crime of all kinds, it is claimed that peter uses the word babylon in a typical sense when he was writing from rome! if this is so, he did not write from babylon in egypt or mesopotamia, as some have contended, for they were each small and inconsiderable places of no importance, and there could be no object in using either as a type to represent the corruptions of rome. if mark saw peter in babylon, it was in chaldea. measured by degrees of longitude, rome and this babylon are more than two thousand miles apart. why would mark make a visit to peter involving a journey of four thousand miles, br half that distance? he never did. he could not. he went among the colossians under some arrangement made by paul, and no doubt remained with them until he was wanted at rome. when peter calls mark his son, he means just what he says. mark the companion of paul, and mark the son of peter, are two different men. what should take peter to rome or keep him there when burning and torturing christians was one of the amusements of nero? had peter's character for courage so much improved that he went there when all the christians had gone, to defy nero, and invite his destruction? there is something in the character of peter that makes it improbable, if not impossible, that he should be in rome in a time of danger. he was a man of strong impulses, but a constitutional coward. he followed christ to the scene of the crucifixion, "but he followed him afar off." (matt. xxvi. .) he had pride, and a proper sense of manliness, and when he was betrayed through a want of courage into the commission of a mean act, he had spirit and sense enough to be ashamed of it. he denied christ, but it cost him bitter tears of repentance. either his cowardice or his jealousy stood in the way of his coming to the aid of paul, whenever paul was in danger of his life. when the jews were about to tear him to pieces in jerusalem, and he had to be rescued by the roman soldiers, peter was nowhere about, and we do not even hear of him, in his trials before the roman governors, when he had no one to stand by him but a few faithful companions, the presence of peter, at such a time, would have done much to aid and console the great champion of a common cause. but in all these places there was danger, and where danger was was no place for peter. he lacked moral, as he did physical courage. at damascus he did not hesitate to sit at the same table with the uncircumcised, when there was no one present to object; but when those came from jerusalem who could not tolerate the liberal ideas of paul on circumcision, he cowardly sneaked away. paul took fire at the appearance of so much meanness, and boldly reproved him. is this the kind of man who would enter the lion's den, and brave the wrath of nero at a time when the tyrant was flooding the streets of rome with the blood of christians? justin martyr was born about the year a. d. , and was a native of neapolis in syria. (apology, sec. i.) at the beginning of the reign of antoninus pius he fixed his abode in rome, and afterwards wrote numerous works, principally devoted to the defence of christians. (cave's _life of martyr_, vol. , chap. .) no one had better opportunities of knowing about peter, and the church at rome, than he had, and no one who wrote as much as he did which concerned christianity, would have been more likely to mention him, if what irenæus says of him had been true. he is so oblivious of peter that he seems to have been unconscious of his existence. no writer in the first years of the second century, who is entitled to credit, speaks of him, and he first begins to figure in the pages of irenæus when the disputes with the gnostics were at their height. the clementines were composed later in the century, when pauline christianity was giving way to the new school, and the dogma of an apostolic succession had taken possession of the church. dionysius, bishop of corinth, who lived and wrote during the reign of marcus antoninus and his son commodus, about a. d. , according to eusebius, also states that paul and peter were at rome together engaged in laying the foundation of a church. (eusebius, ecc. hist., lib. ii. ch. .) but this writer has got out of the pauline period, and even goes beyond irenæus, for he states, according to the same authority, that peter and paul laid the foundation of the church at corinth. theophilus of antioch, melito of sardis, apollinarius of hierapolis, all writers about the same time, a. d. , like irenæus, take sides against the gnostics, and show that they were committed to the new school. from this time irenæus is quoted as the authority for the fact that peter and paul had founded the church at rome, and we are asked to give special weight to what he says, as he was the companion of polycarp, who had seen and conversed with john. speaking of paul, clement is made to say, "he preached both in the east and in the west--taught the whole world righteousness, and reached the farthest extremity of the west, and suffered martyrdom, by the command of the governors." this passage has long been a stumbling-block among learned critics. it is the only authority on which is founded the story, that after paul was discharged from prison in a. d. , he went into spain, gaul, and britain. caius, the presbyter, in the beginning of the third century, says: "writings not included in the canon of scripture expressly mention the journey from rome into spain." hippolytus, in the same century, says that paul went as far as illyricum, preaching the gospel. athanasius, in the fourth century, says that st. paul did not hesitate to go to rome and spain. jerome, in the same century, says that "st. paul, after his release from his trial before nero, preached the gospels in the western parts." (quoted from chevallier's _apostolical epistles_, note, p. .) these is no authority for paul's travels in the western provinces, except the passage from clement, and as irenæus is the founder of the story, it is not improved by the repetition of subsequent writers. the whole is a transparent falsehood. from the time of paul's career, commencing with his adventure near damascus to the time of his imprisonment in rome, in the spring of a. d. , we have an account of his travels, and know where he was each year during this time. he never in this time went west of rome. in the spring of a. d. , in company with mark, titus, timothy and others, he left rome and went in all probability to colosse, where, in pursuance of some agreement he made with the people of that place, he left mark. how long he remained is uncertain, but the next time we hear of him he is in crete, where no doubt he spent the winter of a. d. and a. d. , in the mean time he made some converts, whom he left in charge of titus, and in the spring went west into macedonia. some time in the summer or fall of a. d. we find him in nicopolis, where he informed titus he meant to spend the winter. the following spring or summer he went to rome and was soon imprisoned. if he was at colosse or crete in a. d. , and nicopolis in a. d. , he could not have gone to britain, gaul, and spain between the spring of a. d. and the summer of a. d. , for it would not be possible. but it is conclusive that paul did not go into the provinces of the west after his release from prison; that there is no mention of his travels in the west, except what is said in this passage from the letter of clement--a thing impossible, when we consider that he never went anywhere but he made his mark, and left his footprints behind him. even paul himself, in his subsequent letters, makes no allusion to any such travels, which is accountable upon no other hypothesis than that he never made them. but what was gained in fabricating this passage? the idea of irenæus, that there could be no church unless its origin could be traced to some one of the apostles, who were special bankers of divine favors, never left him. he furnished rome with peter, and asia with john, and now he is required to furnish one for the churches in gaul, spain, and britain. here were churches in these countries in his day, and who had authority to establish them? it would not do to claim that either of the twelve had been in the west, for even falsehood has its' boundaries. paul will do. he is the great apostle of the gentiles. besides, according to the acts, he had submitted to ordination at the hands of the apostles. the explanation of the reasons which dictated this spurious passage in clement's letter is consistent with the acts of irenæus, and the whole current of his thoughts throughout his life. but this story, invented by him, has been repeated by others, until it settled down--as history! it is clear from the proof here shown, that irenæus has no claim to our belief as a writer, and that the statements he makes in regard to peter in rome and paul in the west are mere inventions of his own to assist him in his disputes with the gnostics, in which he was engaged for the best part of his life. chapter ix. the claim of irenæus that mark was the interpreter of peter, and luke the author of the third gospel, considered.--luke and mark both put to death with paul in rome. irenæus, after stating that peter and paul preached in rome and laid the foundation of a church at that place, continues: "after their departure, mark, the disciple and interpreter of peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by peter. luke also, the companion of paul, recorded in a book the gospel preached by him." (book iii. sec. .) again no time is given. the last time we know anything of mark and luke that is certain, or at all reliable, they were both with paul in rome. in his second letter to timothy he says: "only luke is with me. take mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry." ( timothy iv. .) that timothy obeyed this request and took mark with him, does not admit of doubt. paul and timothy were inseparable, and mark was paul's near friend and companion. this must have been in the fall of a. d. , when paul was in prison, with little or no hope to escape the second time from the fangs of nero. at the time timothy and mark entered rome, the fury of nero raged with all its sanguinary cruelty. it was just about the time the conspiracy of piso was brought to light. made mad by his fears, he struck in all directions. not content with the destruction of the conspirators, he put to death all who offended his vanity or moved his jealousy. seneca, a man whose many virtues added lustre to the roman people, and who was an honor to any age, was not suffered to live. his very virtues gave offence to the tyrant. lu-can and others, distinguished for genius and learning, were put to death. tacitus says that at this time "the city presented a scene of blood, and funerals darkened all the streets." (annals, book xv. sec. .) speaking of the events of the year , when paul was put to death, the same writer says: "we have nothing before us but tame servility, and a deluge of blood spilt by a tyrant in the hour of peace. the heart recoils from the dismal story. but let it be remembered by those who may hereafter think these events worthy of their notice, that i have discharged the duty of an historian, and if in relating the fate of so many eminent citizens, who resigned their lives to the will of one man, i mingle tears with indignation, let me be allowed to feel for the unhappy. the truth is, the wrath of heaven was bent against the roman state. the calamities that followed cannot, like the slaughter of an army or the sacking of a city, be painted forth in one general draught. repeated murders must be given in succession." (annals, b. xvi. sec. xvi.) the author then proceeds to give a long list of victims. at the time paul was in prison, and mark and luke his companions were with him, the roman legions, under the command of vespasian, were marching to make war upon the jews, if they had not done so already. they had rebelled and defied the power of rome. at this time, no jew could be in rome and live. not only was the anger of nero aroused against them, but that of the entire people of rome--and this feeling did not abate until after almost the entire nation was destroyed. no doubt timothy, luke, linus, paul, and all others who were with them, perished in the general calamity. why put to death paul, and not his fellow-laborers? nero waged war not against christians, but against christianity. we trace all these parties inside the gates of rome, and then we lose their trail forever. there is not one single item of reliable proof that any one of them ever left the doomed city. the footprints of christians going into rome at this time were like the tracks going into the cave of polyphemus--many were seen going in, but none coming out. we learn from eusebius and jerome, that mark went to egypt and founded a church at alexandria, and the latter states that he died and was buried there in the eighth year of the reign of nero. this is impossible. as nero commenced his reign a.d. , this would made him die in a.d. . now we find him alive with paul in a.d. . eusebius, in his loose way, says: "the same mark, _they say also_, being the first that was sent to egypt, proclaimed the gospel there which he had written, and first established churches in alexandria." (book i. ch. .) this father had special reasons why he wanted to get mark to alexandria. the close resemblance between christians and therapeutæ, as we have shown, was a reason with him why he should insist that the latter were in fact believers in christ by a different name. mark is sent to be their teacher, and was claimed to be the founder of this new sect of christians. nothing is wider from the truth. if ever mark or luke left rome, there is no reason why we should not hear something of them. situated as they were in their relations with the founders of christianity, had they survived the slaughter at rome, one or both would have left behind them evidence, of some kind, of their escape. what remained of paul, timothy, mark, luke, linus and others after they entered rome in the winter of a.d. and a.d. , could only be found after that time among the graves of nero's victims. whatever mark and luke wrote, in the nature of gospels, was written before they entered the gates for the last time. as this was in a. d. or a. d. , and the gospels ascribed to them were neither extant nor known before the beginning of the second century, we are forced to look to some other quarter for those who wrote them. but what proof is there that mark and peter were on such intimate terms as is claimed by irenæus? none, except that which is afforded in the first epistle of peter ( peter v. ), wherein mark is spoken of by peter as his son. what better evidence can we have of the studied dishonesty of irenæus, than his attempt to have it appear or believed that the mark referred to in the first of peter, was the companion of paul and interpreter of peter? we have just shown he was not--but an entirely different person, and it sweeps away the whole foundation upon which rests the claim that the gospel of mark was written at the dictation of peter. while mark was with paul, either in rome or asia minor, peter, with his son mark, is preaching among the jews of chaldea. what presbyter john says on this subject is here worthy of notice. eusebius, speaking of the writings of papias, says: "he also inserted into his work other accounts of the above-mentioned aristion respecting our lord, as also the _traditions_ of the presbyter john, to which referring those that are desirous of learning them, we shall now subjoin to the extracts from him already given a _tradition_ which _he_, sets forth concerning mark, who wrote the gospel, in the following words: 'and john the presbyter also said this: mark being the interpreter of peter, whatsoever he recorded he wrote with great accuracy, but not in the order in which it was spoken or done by our lord, for he neither heard nor followed our lord, but, as before said, he was in company with peter, who gave him such instruction as was necessary, _but not to give a history of our lord's discourses._'" (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. chap. .) papias here gives _a tradition_ derived through presbyter john. slender proof that peter dictated the gospel of mark! to rank among canonical gospels, and as a corner-stone of christianity, with the authority of an inspired book, the proof falls far below what we have a right to expect and demand. on such a subject it is no proof at all. it is difficult to tell what mark did write, according to papias. what he did write was not in the order in which the events in the life of christ occurred--nor in the order in which he spoke or taught. peter would not allow him to give the history of our lord's discourses. if that is so, then the gospel to which papias refers is not our present gospel of mark. this relates the acts of christ in the order of time, and gives his discourses in full. in this respect the second gospel does not differ from the first and third. it is quite probable that mark, in his intercourse with the apostles, may have learned many things in relation to christ which he wrote out, but which, like the hebrew gospel of matthew, was condemned or cast one side, as it did not help to strengthen the new ideas in relation to christ, which sprang up some time before the death of paul. but we can never know what mark wrote, as papias does not claim he ever saw it, nor do we know of any one who did. what is said by clement of alexandria and all other writers on the origin of the second gospel is derived from the extract taken from the works of papias, and from what is said by irenaeus: their statements do not better the case, any more than a superstructure will give strength to the base on which it rests. if mark ever wrote anything, it would contain nothing that did not accord with paul, for he was not only his fellow-traveller, but he was his fellow-laborer in the spread of the doctrines of christianity; and so near and dear were the relations between them, that when paul saw his end approach, he wrote to timothy to bring mark with him, as brother would for brother, for a parting inter view. what paul taught, mark believed--and paul dead or paul in life would have made no difference with mark. after reading the gospel of mark, who would suppose that he had been the companion of paul and the interpreter of peter? we would expect to find some thought or expression that had in it the soul of paul, as his very spirit penetrated all his followers and made them a reflex of himself. paul drew from the depths of his own consciousness, which he took for revelations, the ideas which formed the basis of his religion and made christ what he believed him to be. it was a holy faith with him, disconnected from all material laws. the second gospel is founded on works, and the divinity of christ proven by his power over the laws of the universe. all nature bows down before him; even demons and evil spirits fly before his presence. mark the interpreter of peter!! where do we see peter in the gospel of mark? what, all at once, has become of circumcision? did he, after his quarrel with paul, shake off his jewish prejudice and bigotry and rise to a higher plane? the proof is he did not. paul, luke, and mark were as companions inseparable--they were fellow-laborers, held the same doctrines, died for the same cause and at the same time. in another chapter we inquired from what source luke got his knowledge of the wonderful statement he makes in relation to the visitation of the angel to mary and zacharias, for he did not get it from paul, who never mentions the name of mary. we now ask, from whom did mark learn the story of john the baptist? paul knew nothing about him. who had a better opportunity than he to know everything which related to him, if he had been the person described by mark? what better proof can be offered to show that neither luke nor mark wrote the gospels ascribed to them, than that they are made to state matters which lay at the bottom of christianity in after-ages, of which paul, their teacher and co-laborer, knew nothing? to find the authors of these gospels we must look to the second century. chapter x. acts of the apostles.--schemes to exalt peter at the expense of paul. the acts of the apostles dates between a. d. or and a. d. . the book, _as we now find it_, was not in existence before justin's _apology_, because before his time there were no miracles, as will be shown; while the acts abounds in those of the most extravagant character. between a. d. or , and a. d. , is the time when the war among the different sects raged with the greatest violence, and frauds and forgeries were practised by all parties without remorse or shame. it was during this time that lazarus was made to rise superior to death, and assume his place among men, after his body had become putrid and began to decay. there was nothing too false or extravagant for parties to assert at this period of the world, and the only wonder is, that the absurd stories of the age have passed down to subsequent generations as truths of a revealed religion. the book of the acts, in its present form, came to light soon after the doctrine of the apostolic succession was conceived, for it is very evident that the first half is devoted to give prominence to peter among the apostles, who was to be made the corner-stone of the church. as all other churches are made to bow to the supremacy of rome, so all the apostles must be subordinate to peter. this is so obvious that the work is overdone. on the day of pentecost he is put forward to explain the miracle of the cloven tongue, and show that it was in accordance with what the prophet joel had foretold--which if peter did say what he is made to say, only proved his ignorance of what the prophet meant. his miraculous powers are wonderful. he cured a man forty years old, who had been lame from his birth, so that he leaped and walked. his power extends over death, and he raises dorcas from the grave. he is now chief speaker. ananias and his wife sapphira fall down dead before him. so extraordinary is his power over diseases, "that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that _at the least the shadow of peter_ passing by might overshadow some of them." (acts v. .) it is surprising that the incredulity of the jews did not give way before such wonderful works; but it seems it did not, and the only effect produced on their minds was to send peter to prison. peter is twice committed to prison for doing good, and the sole object in sending him there is to give an opportunity to the lord to deliver him, and show that he is under the special protection and guardianship of god. "and behold, the angel of the lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison; and he smote peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, arise up quickly. and his chains fell off from his hands. and the angel said unto him, gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals: and so he did. and he saith unto him, cast thy garment about thee, and follow me." (acts xii. , .) "and when peter was come to himself, he said, now i know of a surety that the lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the jews" (verse ). the person over whom the lord had manifested so much care, must certainly have been set apart to act some great part in his providences towards our race. at the time we are writing about, the struggle between the followers of peter and paul was raging; the latter claiming that the apostle of the gentiles was of equal authority as to doctrine with peter or any of the apostles; while the former insisted that paul had a special commission--to convert the gentiles--and as he had performed his work, his mission ceased, and he was no longer to be regarded as an authority in the church. no less a person than god himself can settle the dispute, and the cunningly devised stories of cornelius, and paul's conversion, are introduced into the acts in order to give the lord an opportunity to decide between the two parties. cornelius, a devout man, is laboring under what is called religious conviction, and is in doubt what to do. he stands in need of a spiritual adviser, and when in this condition of mind, "he saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of god coming in to him, and saying unto him, cornelius. and when he looked on him he was afraid, and said, what is it, lord? and he said unto him, thy prayers and thy alms are come up for a memorial before god. and now send men to joppa, and call for one _simon_, whose surname is peter." (acts x. , , .) the centurion was sent to peter, because he was the depositary of divine light, and the dispenser of spiritual gifts--an intimation from god to all the world, for all ages, where men must look to, to find the true interpreter and expounder of religious faith. cornelius did as he was commanded. but it was not enough that this was true of peter; but it must be shown that paul was but a simple missionary, whose powers ended with his death. to do this, the story of his conversion in the acts is told, notwithstanding it is in direct conflict with what paul says himself on the subject. when ananias was requested by the lord to call on paul while he was still prostrate from the effects of the blow he received near damascus, he declined to do so--apparently in fear of paul, on account of his previous treatment of christians. this gave the lord an opportunity to tell ananias, why he is anxious to do as he was requested. "but the lord said unto him, go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of israel: for i will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (acts ix. , .) the lord has now settled all disputes between the followers of peter and paul, and the office of each is settled and defined. under such a judgment, pronounced by god himself, no wonder the influence of paul ceased to be felt in the latter part of the second century, and peter proportionally increased in weight and authority. this attempt to put up peter and put down paul, determines the date of the acts, and fixes it somewhere between a.d. and a.d. , a period in the century prolific of spurious writings. it may be called the petrine age of christianity. when paul made his defence before the jews at jerusalem, and explained to them the mode of his conversion, it would be dangerous, or at least suspicious, to leave out the story of cornelius; but as it differed so much from the one he gives in second corinthians, it was necessary to omit the one given in the epistle entirely. but the fraud is easily detected. the account as given in the acts, to the sixth verse inclusive, is as it was doubtless delivered by paul; but from this point the story diverges from the one given by himself, and is a sheer fabrication. "and it came to pass, that, as i made my journey, and was come nigh unto damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great. light round about me." (acts xxii. .) then according to paul's account, given in his letter to the corinthians, he was caught up to the third heaven, and there heard unspeakable words which it was not lawful for man to utter. what transpired between god and paul, all took place in heaven, where no man could bear witness. the account in the acts, which commences in the seventh verse, says that after the light shone from heaven, paul fell to the ground, and did not ascend to heaven, but was led by the same light to damascus. this version is to let in the story of ananias. he could not bear witness to what passed between the lord and paul in the third heaven, but he might if the scene was laid on the earth. besides, what passed between the lord and paul the latter does not pretend to state, for the words he heard were unspeakable and not lawful for man to utter. there is nothing in the story in the acts that is unspeakable or unlawful to be repeated, unless it is to be regarded as a piece of blasphemy. had paul told the story as given in the acts in his defence, there was nothing in it to arouse the jews to such a pitch of madness as to cause them to insist that he should be put to death. there was more in it to provoke a sneer than to excite anger. the scene in jerusalem, when paul was compelled to make his defence, was in a.d. , and he could have appealed to ananias, who in the course of nature might still be living, and others, if the story was true. it was not the story in the acts that incensed the jews. when paul claimed he was taken up to heaven, and there met the lord and talked to him face to face, he had reached, in the minds of his hearers, a point in blasphemy that drove them to frenzy, so that they exclaimed: "away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live." the jews listened to stephen with patience until he exclaimed, "behold, i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing at the right hand of god," when they could stand it no longer, and ran upon him with one accord and stoned him to death. it is clear that paul's defence, made before the jews, of his conversion, is omitted, and the story of ananias substituted, to aid the enemies of paul in placing peter over him. when we find the same story variously stated by paul, and in the acts, there should be no hesitation in choosing between the two. the acts, like the works of the early fathers, bears so many marks of forgeries, to suit the emergencies and wants of the day, that very little contained in either is of any historic value. the epistles of paul had obtained a large circulation before the time when the men of the second century inaugurated an era of forgeries, and long before the acts were in existence; so that the forgers were compelled to exercise great caution when they came to deal with the epistles, and only ventured to insert passages into the genuine writings to give the sanction of his name to the doctrines of the alexandrian or johannean school, or some dogma of the day. such passages are scattered all through the epistles, but we can easily point them out, for they are doctrinal and exceedingly pointed. peter disappears at the end of the twelfth chapter; but enough has been done to make him chief among the apostles, and claim for him a spiritual supremacy in all matters which relate to the church. john, afterwards the great light of asia, only plays the part of an esquire to peter, his lord and superior. they are often together, but john is not suffered to speak. it was designed that john, who was to take asia in charge, should stand next to peter; but the writer, by imposing silence on him on all occasions, took care that the supremacy of peter was not put in jeopardy. the preaching of philip in samaria was a device to show that peter and john were superior to the rest of the apostles in their power to confer the holy ghost. philip made many converts, both men and women, and he baptized them--but his baptism was not sufficient. "now when the apostles which were at jerusalem heard that samaria had received the word of god, they sent unto them peter and john. they laid their hands on them, and they received the holy ghost."--acts viii. , . according to paul, and this is made clear by the quarrels between him and peter, as related in the epistles, the latter was tenacious to the last for the jewish rite of circumcision, and we have no evidence, and no reason to believe, that he ever gave it up. a sectarian jew would never answer to be the head and founder of a catholic church. the sectarian character of peter must be got rid of, and we see studied efforts in the acts to do so. we have seen that peter, in the first words he addressed to cornelius, took the opportunity to declare that he believed in the doctrine that god was no respecter of persons. but this was not enough, in the opinion of the writer of the acts, or at least the first half, and to make peter's emancipation from his old jewish opinions more conspicuous, and enable him to explain how it happened that the change was brought about, the vision of peter on the house-top is produced. he went up upon the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour, and became very hungry; but while they were preparing something for him to eat, he had a trance, "and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. and there came a voice to him, rise, peter, kill and eat. but peter said, not so, lord; for i have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. and the voice spake unto him again the second time, what god hath cleansed, that call not thou common. this was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven." the command of the lord to peter to eat, was a command to give up his jewish views and notions; for that all flesh was alike, and equally proper to be taken on an empty stomach. peter was at a loss to understand the vision, and while he was revolving the subject in his mind, cornelius and his party came to be instructed by him, in accordance with the directions of the lord. when cornelius, who was of the gentiles, made at known the object of his visit, peter at once understood the import of the vision, and exclaimed, "of a truth i perceive that god is no respecter of persons," and that the gospel of christ is to supply the spiritual wants of all nations, as the beasts and fowls are to furnish food for the hungry. the conversion of peter receives further importance and prominence from the defence he is compelled to make before the brethren, for his disregard of the rite of circumcision in the baptism of cornelius. peter makes a speech, in which he declares that he was commanded by god, not less than three times, to give up his old jewish notions; and no sooner was the command given than cornelius, a gentile, who was sent to him by god, made his appearance. the command from god to peter, and the arrival of the centurion, who was instructed by the lord to come to him, left him no choice in the matter, and that he baptized the gentile, in obedience to the commands of the lord. the reason was sufficient. "when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified god, saying, then hath god also to the gentiles granted repentance unto life." (acts. xi. .) the wall between jew and gentile is now broken down, and peter a fit subject for the head of a universal or catholic church. it seems that the person who put the speech into the mouth of peter, renouncing circumcision, was not satisfied with what he said at the time. something had been omitted or overlooked. peter had shed his jewish skin, but the lord had not given him a commission to preach the gospel to all nations, and this he must have to be the head of a universal church. at the council held at jerusalem by the apostles to settle the question of circumcision, peter, according to the acts, seizes the opportunity to supply the omission: "and when there had been much disputing, peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago, god made choice among us, that the gentiles, by _my mouth_, should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." (acts xv. .) now there was no occasion for peter to make this claim or assertion, for it had nothing to do with the subject before the council, and was not true. the account which paul gives of what took place at the council is quite different, contradictory, and no doubt true. he says, when he stated before the council the trouble and vexations which were occasioned by this rite, and reasons why it should not be forced on the gentiles, that peter, james, and john agreed with him--gave him the right hand of fellowship, and then entered into a compact that he should go to the gentiles, and they to the circumcised. (gal. ii.) this agreement was never departed from; but not so with regard to circumcision. that peter, james, and all the disciples disregarded the order of the council in regard to that subject, is rendered clear by their subsequent conduct. after that, as much as two years, for the council was held in a.d. or a.d. , and the epistle to the galatians was written in a. d. , peter went to antioch, where he found paul. he ate with the uncircumcised until some jewish converts came from jerusalem at the instance of james, who found fault with his course. peter, it seems, then changed front and stood up for circumcision. "i withstood him to the face," says paul, for he was wrong. a discussion springs up. paul claimed that men were not to be saved through old rites and ceremonies, nor by-works, but by faith. at this time, neither james nor peter had given up their contracted notions on the jewish rite. nor had peter as late as a. d. , twenty-four years after the death of christ. of the four parties which disturbed the peace of the church at corinth at the time of paul's first epistle to the corinthians, which was written in a. d. , the party of _cephas_ was one. peter was at the head of a party which held out for circumcision, seven years after the council at jerusalem; and if he had not given it up then, when he was fifty-seven years old, there is no reason to believe he did after that. nothing gave the men in the second century who undertook to put peter at the head of a universal church so much trouble as this thing of circumcision, which we can readily detect by the pains and labors they have taken to free him from it. but the stain will not wash out. the story told in the acts about the way in which peter was disenthralled from his narrow jewish notions, is wholly inconsistent with the subsequent history of the church at jerusalem. after the lord had taken so much pains to prove to the disciples that a new dispensation had commenced, and the wall between the jews and gentiles was broken down, there was no reason why they should not all dispense with the practice of circumcision. but they never did. the fifteen first bishops of jerusalem, commencing with james and including judas, were all circumcised jews. (eus., ex. ., b., iv. ch. v. sulpicius severus, vol. - .) with the twelve disciples, jealousy of paul, who fought this jewish practice to the last, seemed to be the most active feeling of their natures, and we seldom hear of them unless they were dogging his footsteps, and stirring up the jews against him. it was through their intrigues that the doors of the synagogue were slammed in his face wherever he went. the doctrine of ordination, through which that deposit of divine riches which irenæus says christ left with the apostles is made to flow in an uninterrupted current through all time, is conspicuously presented in the acts. when paul and barnabas were at antioch, and about to start for the west, on a mission to preach to the gentiles, the lord said, "separate me barnabas and saul for the work whereunto i have called them. and when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." (acts xiii. , .) nothing could impose so great a humiliation as this upon paul. the lord again interferes and assigns him to a special duty, and to make this humiliation complete, he is ordered to receive his commission at the hands of the apostles. who laid their hands on barnabas and paul, is not stated, nor is it of any importance, as the object of the statement is to make it apparent that the latter, the great light of the gentiles, submitted to the rite of ordination by the imposition of hands, administered by some one of the apostles. will any one believe this story to be true? if he does, he does not understand the character of paul. there is nothing he would resent with so much feeling, as he would such an admission on his part that he was less than an apostle. when it was claimed he was not, his soul took fire, and in his address to the galatians, in the first chapter, he delivers himself in this defiant strain: "_paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by jesus christ, and god the father, who raised him from the dead_.) but when it pleased god, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his son in me, that i might preach him among the heathen; immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me." (gal. i. i, , , .) is this the paul who patiently submits to receive his commission from an apostle to preach the doctrines of christ to the nations of the earth at antioch, when he is about to commence his labors? it is not enough that paul should submit to receive the holy ghost at the hands of the apostle, and in this way be authorized to preach the gospel; but he gives the ordinance his full sanction by conferring ordination on others. "and it came to pass, that, while apollos was at corinth, paul having passed through the upper coasts, came to ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, have ye received the holy ghost since ye believed? and they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any holy ghost. and when paul had laid his hands upon them, the holy ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (acts xix. , , .) no stronger proof could be given that the followers of paul were opposed to the episcopacy and the doctrine of succession and ordination, and contended against a government by bishops with zeal to the last, than the labored and frequent efforts that are made to show that he himself gave his sanction to the order. for paul's persistence in claiming a human origin for christ, there was a studied effort in the second century to destroy his claims as an apostle; but after his epistles had undergone alterations so as to make christ the son of god in the sense of the catholics of the second century, he was restored to favor, and his powers wonderfully magnified. he is now able to work miracles, and his power to heal diseases is such, that whatever comes in contact with his person, is so filled or imbued with holy energy, that its curative properties are sufficient to put death at defiance. it is clear that the acts of the apostles is not the work of one century, but of two. the real itinerary of paul commences in the thirteenth chapter, and from this to the end of the acts, we can trace his footsteps in his various journeys among the churches, until he finally enters the gates of rome, in the spring of a.d. . chapter xi. matthew the author of the only genuine gospel.--rejected, because it did not contain the first two chapters of the present greek version. matthew, surnamed levi, was a native of galilee. before his conversion to christianity he was a publican, or tax-gatherer, under the romans, and collected the customs of all goods exported or imported at capernaum, a maritime town on the sea of galilee, and received tribute paid by passengers who went by water. from the position of matthew, he must have been a man of some learning and judgment, and from what we know of the early lives of the other apostles, the only one among them, except perhaps peter and james, that was capable of writing out a correct account of what was said and done by christ. as the first church at jerusalem increased in number, and new converts were added to it, there was a necessity that there should be some written history given of what was said and taught by christ before his death; and as matthew was in every way qualified, the task was imposed on him. matthew wrote this book about a.d. , not much, if any, more than seven years after the death of christ. everything was fresh in his memory, and no doubt he was particular to give to the new converts a full and correct knowledge of all the doctrines taught by christ, and especially to place before them his sermon on the mount, so full of divine morality, which was to form the soul of the new religion. from all we know with certainty, this gospel of matthew was the only account of christ in use among the members of the first christian church, and their only means of information, except what they learned direct from the other apostles. everything, then, was just as it fell from the lips of christ, and had the odor of fresh-gathered flowers. how the christians at jerusalem clung to this gospel of matthew, their sufferings and persecutions through a period of more than two centuries will bear witness. these christians, afterwards called by way of aversion ebionites, were charged with the alteration of the scriptures. this alteration, according to epiphanius, consisted in the omission of the first two chapters of matthew, which contain the account of the miraculous conception of christ. the statements of epiphanius are verified by the fact, that at the time these two chapters were added, by the men of the second century, we can trace through the pages of ignatius, and other early fathers, numerous forgeries and interpolations which are unmistakable, and were intended to sustain the new aspect which christianity took on in the early part of the second century. the addition of the two chapters, and the forgeries, belong to the period when the religion of paul had passed off into the philo-alexandrian period of christianity. eusebius informs us what were the crimes of the ebionites: "they are properly called ebionites by the ancients, as those who cherished a low and mean opinion of christ. for they consider him a _plain and common man_, and justified in his advances in virtue, and that he was born of the virgin mary by natural generation." (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. chap. .) the views held by the ebionites of christ were derived from the gospel of matthew, and what they learned direct from the apostles. matthew had been a hearer of christ--a companion of the apostles, and had seen and no doubt conversed with mary. when he wrote his gospel everything was fresh in his mind, and there could be no object on his part, in writing the life of jesus, to state falsehoods or omit important truths in order to deceive his countrymen. if what is stated in the two first chapters in regard to christ is true, matthew would have known of them; and, knowing them, why should he omit them in giving an account of his life? it was impossible to pass from the first to the second stage of christianity, as long as the gospel of matthew was recognized as authority in the church. it stood as a mountain in the way, and had to be torn down and made way with. the history of the ebionites, from the time they are charged with altering the scriptures, to the time when they disappear from history, is one of tyranny and bloody persecution. in the reign of adrian, what was left of them settled in the little town of pilla, beyond the jordan, from whence they spread themselves into villages adjacent to damascus. some traces of them can be discovered as late as the fourth century, when they "insensibly melted away; either into the church or synagogue." (_gibbon_, ch. xv. vol. i. p. .) with them perished the genuine gospel of matthew, the only gospel written by an apostle. much useless labor has been bestowed on the question, whether the genuine gospel was written in the hebrew or greek language. how this may be is of little consequence, since the genuine writing is no longer in existence. it is just as certain that the present version of matthew was written in greek, as that the genuine one was published in the hebrew tongue. to the church of rome the world is indebted for the destruction of the only genuine gospel, and with it the only authentic account of christ. no greater loss could befall the world. it was written in the dawn of christianity, before corrupt and ambitious men sought to make religion a way to power and distinction. the truths contained in this gospel stood in the way of a gigantic scheme, conceived by corrupt and arrogant men, who saw in a church established by the authority of god, the road to the highest point of human power and grandeur. they succeeded, but their success,-- "brought death into the world and all our woe." it was not necessary to reject all of matthew's gospel, and it is very evident that much was retained--such as the discourses of christ and some portions of history. chapter xii. the character of irenaeus and probable time of his birth.-- his partiality for traditions.--the claim of the gnostics, that christ did not suffer, the origin of the fourth gospel.--irenaeus the writer. the time when irenaeus was born is variously stated. in the introduction to his works against heresies, translated by alexander roberts, d.d., and the rev. w. h. rambaut, a. b., is the following passage on this subject: "we possess a very scanty account of the personal history of irenaeus. it has been generally supposed he was a native of smyrna, or some neighboring city in asia minor. harvey, however, thinks that he was probably born in syria, and removed in boyhood to smyrna. he himself tells us (lib. iii. sec. , ) that he was in early youth acquainted with polycarp, the illustrious bishop of that city. a sort of clue is thus furnished as to the date of his birth. dodwell supposes that he was born as early as a.d. , but this is clearly a mistake, and the general date of his birth is somewhere between a.d. and a.d. " (page ). among the many strong and representative men who have impressed their genius on the catholic church, and given to it its distinctive features, none have equalled irenaeus, the bishop of lyons. it may in truth be said he was the father of the church. he assisted at its birth; took charge of its infancy; planted within its bosom seeds which sprouted and bore fruit which has been the source of its nourishment and strength for seventeen hundred years and more. it is enough to say of him, that he placed in the heart of the church the seed which bore the fruit of the inquisition. from the adoption of trajan, in a.d. to the death of the antonines, in , a period of eighty-two years, has been selected by the learned author of the "decline and fall" as the most happy and prosperous period in the annals of the human race. (vol. i. page .) had he omitted the last of the antonines, under whose reign justin martyr and other good men were put to death, the learned author would have come nearer the truth of history. it was the prospect of peace and protection held out under this state of things that influenced the christians who had survived the cruelties of other reigns to once more return to the imperial city. as soon as they were sufficiently numerous it was natural to adopt some form of government; but what that form was, we have no means of knowing, except by the dangerous light of tradition. it must be always fatal to tradition, where it claims to be important, that contemporaneous history says nothing about it. it is certain that the uninterrupted repose of the church to the time of antoninus verrus, a.d. , gave rise to disputes among christians; for when they were relieved from the fears of an outward enemy, they soon found cause for quarrel among themselves. on the introduction of the first three gospels, which happened during this time, as we shall prove, the character of christ, or rather his mysterious birth from the virgin, gave rise to numberless controversies. irenaeus was born at the right time to be thrust into the midst of them, and as soon as he was able to comprehend anything, his ears were filled with the disputes of the various contending parties. he was born with a love of contention planted in him, and had the best school ever de-vised to cultivate and strengthen it. the character of his mind was bold and daring, and in support of the cause he espoused, he had no scruples or shame in resorting to falsehood and forgery. if the end was good, in his sight, it was all the same to him, whether it was reached by truth or its opposite. such, indeed, was the prevailing morality of the age. towards his adversaries he was bitter and vindictive, applying to them low and vile language, such as thieves and robbers. he claimed to look with contempt upon those who differed from him, and took pleasure in the repeated use of the word _heretic_. whether he ever saw polycarp or not, and it is no proof he did because he says so, he claimed great advantage from it, because, as he declares again and again, polycarp was the disciple of the apostle john. he is only one remove from an apostle, and for what he states he claimed the weight of apostolic authority. we say again, it is very doubtful whether he ever saw polycarp; and it is very certain the latter never saw john. the studied dishonesty of irenaeus, in attempting to palm off the presbyter john for the apostle, is as dark a piece of knavery as is to be found in the history of a church which has encouraged such practices from the time it claimed to be the depository of all the divine wealth left by the apostles. driven to the wall by the sharp logic and superior wisdom of that class of christians who were distinguished by the name of gnostics, his devious and ingenious mind undertook to cut them off from all claims as members of a christian church, by interposing the doctrine of the apostolic succession. this step once taken involved the necessity of repeated forgeries and frauds. cowardly peter is to be changed into a hero,--sent to rome, where death is certain, and there die a christian martyr. john, who had not life and force enough in him to rise above the masses, and no more knowledge than is wanted to dip a net into the sea, is to be converted into a fiery spirit, and put forth a book which is to fall like a thunderbolt on the heads of the heretics. if anything arises in the course of the debates, which, to ordinary men, would present difficulties, with irenæus they were easily disposed of by tradition. he had traditions for all emergencies, and when his adversaries dared dispute him, he stands ready to silence them by abuse. he says: "but, again, when we refer them to that tradition which originates from the apostles, (and) which is preserved by means of the successions of presbyters in the churches, they object to tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but even than the apostles, because they have discovered the unadulterated truth. it comes to this, therefore, that these men do now consent neither to scripture nor to tradition. such are the adversaries with whom we have to deal, my very dear friend, endeavoring like slippery serpents to escape at all points." (irenaeus, vol. i. book iii. page .) he brings often and repeated charges against his enemies for forgeries, and at the same time makes more himself than all of them put together. in the disputes about the twofold nature of christ as he appears in the synoptics, and as will be fully explained hereafter, the gnostics had the advantage in the argument. if christ the god descended upon the man christ at the baptism in the jordan, it left him at the crucifixion. then, say the gnostics, there _is no atonement_, for the son of god did not shed his blood. no other man, in that or any other age, could meet the crisis but irenaeus; and the result is the fourth gospel. the time when this gospel first appeared as a historical fact, has been so thoroughly sifted by late writers on that subject, that it will only be necessary here to notice some of the prominent reasons why its date is fixed after the middle of the second century. all allusions, or pretended allusions, found in the writings of the fathers, on inspection will be found to be the work of those who have attempted to poison the fountains of history. papias lived near the age of john, and if john had written he must have known and spoken about it, as he speaks of matthew and mark; but he says nothing about john or luke. he was bishop of heliopolis a. d. , and informs us that it was his habit to inquire of those who were the followers of the elders, what was said by them: what was said by andrew and peter or philip; what by thomas, james, john, matthew, or any other of the disciples of the lord. (eusebius, ecc. hist., book iii. chap. .) the apology of justin to the emperor was written some time between the years a. d. and a. d. . the precise time is not known, and there is some uncertainty about it. in his apology, justin makes thirty-five distinct allusions to matthew, eighteen to luke, and five to mark, and if he says anything which points to john at all, on examination it will appear that the allusions are found elsewhere, in writings anterior to justin. "for christ said, 'except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'" this, it is claimed, is taken from the fourth gospel, which must have been in existence when justin wrote. the language in the gospel is, "jesus answered and said unto them, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god." (john iii. .) this language, imputed to christ, was drawn from a common source--from the gospel according to the hebrews, as has been fully proven, and so in every other instance where the writer seems to allude to the gospel of john. the new ideas concerning christ found in this gospel had not yet dawned upon the world when justin wrote, for on that subject he had not got beyond what was contained in the synoptics; or, to speak with greater accuracy, his logos idea was that of philo, which differed from that of john. an examination of this subject by the most learned and careful writers, proves that there is no reliable evidence that the fourth gospel was in existence before a. d. , when a direct reference is made to it in the clementine homilies, a production written in praise of peter against marcion. the language quoted is unmistakably the language of john. tatian, who wrote between a. d. and a. d. , quotes from the fourth gospel: "and this is what was said, darkness does not comprehend the light; the logos is the light of god." in the nineteenth chapter we read: "all things were made by him, and without him not a thing was made." these were quotations from john without his being named as the author; but theophilus of antioch, who wrote about a. d. , especially ascribes the gospel to him. "in the second book of this treatise addressed to antolycus, he says: 'whence the holy scriptures teach us, and all who carried in them a holy spirit, of whom john says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was god.'" it may be claimed as an historic fact, that the fourth gospel was extant in a. d. , and that all efforts to give it an early date spring from uncertain data: obscure allusions and doubtful inferences altogether too vague and unreliable to satisfy the mind in pursuit of truth. chapter xiii. why irenaeus wrote the fourth gospel in the name of john.-- he shows that the gospels could not be less than four, and proves the doctrine of the incarnation by the old testament and the synoptics.--the author of the epistles attributed to st. john. the zeal of irenaeus against his adversaries had carried him so far in support of the doctrine of the incarnation that he ventured upon a new gospel, under the name and authority of an apostle. without the authority of some one of the apostles to sustain him, of what consequence would the opinion of one man be, on a question which involved the substance and essence of christianity? nothing would be easier than to publish a fourth gospel in the name of-some one among the disciples. they were all dead a hundred years or more, and the time and place of their death no one knew. but why did irenaeus select the name of john? it was his policy to select from among the twelve the one who had been the least conspicuous during his life, so that what was said or done by him in judea at one time should not conflict with something else claimed to have been done at the same time somewhere else. the one that said and did nothing in his own country might be claimed to have said and done a great deal in another. if the proof adduced to prove that john, the son of zebedee, was not the john of ephesus, and that irenaeus was engaged in making a false substitute, we have gone a great way to show that he himself was the author of the fourth gospel. to be sure, john's presence in asia was required for the apostolic succession; but the man who brought him there for that purpose would be most likely to use his name in all other cases when it might prove useful. the book against heresies was written between a. d. and a. d. , so that about eight years elapsed between the appearance of the gospel and the one against the heretics. in the mean time, no doubt the gospel had been attacked from more quarters than one, so that it became necessary that the writer should come to its defence. the book against heresies is nothing more than a supplement to the gospel, and the writer had in view its defence as much, if not more, than he had the heresies of the gnostics. no better evidence could be given of the violence with which the fourth gospel was attacked, when it first appeared, than the character of the defence made to sustain it. that it was something new in the time of irenaeus is evident from the fact that he is called upon and employed his genius to defend it. he is not called upon to defend either of the other gospels, because whatever doubts there may have been as to them, the time for discussion had long passed away. but the fourth gospel was something new; it had not gone through that fermentation in the minds of men which always follows the introduction of some new idea or principle, but was undergoing that process at the time irenaeus wrote in its defence. if this gospel had been written by john, it would have been, at the time irenaeus wrote, nearly one hundred years old, and its claims settled years before he was born. the very arguments he brings to its support are proofs that it is a fraud. he proves that it is genuine because it is a necessity--just as pillars are necessary to the support of a portico. in his mode of argument he proves that a falsehood may be exposed by the poverty and weakness of the arguments which are relied upon for its support. irenaeus proves not only that the appearance of the fourth gospel was something new, but that the doctrines it contained were unheard of before. he says: "it is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are; for since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the church is scattered throughout all the world, and the pillar and ground of the church is the gospel and the spirit of life, it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side, and vivifying men afresh." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) on this subject, after drawing many illustrations from the gospels in proof of his position, he concludes as follows: "these things being so, all who destroy the form of the gospel are _vain, unlearned_, and also _audacious_: those (i mean) who represent the aspects of the gospel as being more in number than as aforesaid, or, on the other hand, fewer." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) the fourth gospel was written with no other purpose than to prove the incarnation, and that purpose is so persistently kept up in every line and verse, from the beginning to the end, that if we strike out this, and the miracles which are mere supports of the main idea, there is nothing left. and so with the third book against heresies--it has but one theme. the writer sets out with the logos idea of this gospel, which is never lost sight of. he finds proof in the traditions of the church--in every page of the old testament--in the synoptics, as well as in the fourth gospel; and as we read his misapplication of words and sentences, we would conclude that he was a lunatic if we did not know he was something else. he has no quarrel with the first three gospels, because he can see nothing in them that does not furnish proof of what is taught in the fourth; and in the language which makes most against his dogmas, he sees the clearest proof of their truth. as an example of his mode of interpretation, and turning the plain sense of words from their proper meaning to proofs that christ was god in the flesh, we will give his explanation of the prophecy of isaiah, which relates to his birth from a virgin: "therefore, the lord himself shall give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and ye shall call his name emmanuel. butter and honey shall he eat: before he knows or chooses out things that are evil, he shall exchange them for what is good; for before the child knows good or evil, he shall not consent to evil, that he may choose that which is good." here follow the comments: "carefully, then, has the holy ghost pointed out, by what has been said--his birth from a virgin and his essence, for he is god (for the name of emmanuel indicates this). and he shows that he is a man when he says, 'butter and honey shall he eat;' and in that he terms him a child also, in saying, 'before he knows good from evil;' for these are all tokens of a human infant. but that he 'will not consent to evil that he may choose what is good,' this is proper to god; that by the fact, that he shall eat butter and honey, we would understand that he is a mere man only--nor on the other hand from the name emmanuel, should suspect him to be christ without flesh." (book ill. ch. , sec. .) that is, christ is in the flesh, because he is to eat butter and honey; and he is god, because he knows how to distinguish between good and evil; and as a consequence, the divine and human nature are united in his person, and he is the incarnate god. we have shown in another part of this work that the prophecy of isaiah had nothing to do with a future christ, but was meant as a measure of time, governed by the period of gestation. again: "'the lord said unto my lord, sit thou at my right hand, until i make thine enemies thy footstool.' here (the scripture) represents to us the father addressing the son; he who gave him the inheritance of the heathen, and subjected to him all his enemies. since, therefore, the father is truly lord, and the son truly lord, the holy spirit has fitly designated them by the title of lord. and again, referring to the destruction of the sodomites, the scripture says, 'then the lord rained upon sodom and upon gomorrah fire and brimstone from the lord out of heaven.' for it here points out that the son, who had also been talking with abraham, had received power to judge the sodomites for their wickedness. and this (text following) does declare the same truth: 'thy throne, o god, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore god, thy god, hath anointed thee.' for the spirit designates both [of them] by the name of god--both him who is anointed as son, and him who does anoint, that is, the father. and again: 'god stood in the congregation of the gods, he judges among the gods.' he (here) refers to the father and the son, and those who have received the adoption; but these are the church. for she is the synagogue of god, which god--that is, the son himself--has gathered by himself. of whom he again speaks: 'the god of gods, the lord hath spoken, and hath called the earth.' who is meant by god? he of whom he has said, 'god shall come openly, our god, and shall not keep silence;' that is, the son, who came manifested to men, who said, 'i have openly appeared to those who seek me not.'" (book ill. chap. , sec. .) "and again, when the son speaks to moses, he says, 'i am come down to deliver this people.' for it is he who descended and ascended for the salvatipn of men. therefore god has been declared through the son, who is in the father, and has the father in himself--he who is, the father bearing witness to the son, and the son announcing the father." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) he quotes many passages from the gospel of matthew to prove his doctrine. "but matthew says, that the magi, coming from the east, exclaimed, 'for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him;' and that, having been led by the star into the house of jacob to emmanuel, they showed, by those gifts which they offered, who it was that was worshipped: myrrh, because it was he who should die and be buried for the mortal human race; gold, because he was a king, 'of whose kingdom is no end;' and frankincense, because he was god, who also 'was made known in judea,' and was 'declared to those who sought him not.'" (book iii. chap. , sec. .) "and then, (speaking of his) baptism, matthew says: 'the heavens were opened, and he saw the spirit of god, as a dove, coming upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased.' for christ _did not at that descend upon jesus_, neither was christ one and jesus another: but the word of god--who is the saviour of all, and the ruler of heaven and earth, who is jesus, as i have already pointed out, who did also take upon him _flesh_, and was anointed by the spirit from the father--was made jesus christ." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) the following is proof derived from luke. "as zacharias, also, recovering from the state of dumbness which he had suffered on account of unbelief, having been filled with a new spirit, did bless god in a new manner. for all things had entered upon a new phase, the word arranging after a new manner the advent in the flesh, that he might win back to god that human nature (_hominem_) which had departed from god." (book iii. chap. , sec. .) many citations of a like nature are taken from luke and mark to prove the _logos_ doctrine of john's gospel. irenaeus even brings john upon the stand to prove the doctrine of an incarnate christ! which john himself was the first to communicate. "john, the disciple of the lord, preaches this faith, and seeks, by the proclamation of the gospel, to remove that error which by cerinthus had been disseminated among men, and a long time previously by those termed nicolaitans, who are an offset of that 'knowledge' falsely so called, that he might confound them, and persuade them that there is but one god, who made all things by his word; and not, as they allege, that the creator was one, but the father of the lord another; and that the son of the creator was, forsooth, one, but the christ from above another."... "the disciple of the lord, therefore, desiring to put an end to all such doctrines, and to establish the rule of truth in the church, that there is one almighty god, who made all things by his word, both visible and invisible; showing at the same time, that by the _word_, through whom god made the creation, he also bestowed salvation on the men included in the creation: thus commenced his teaching in the gospel: 'in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god.'" (bopkm. chap. , sec. .) he makes many references to john, and sums up his complaints against the gnostics in the following words: "but according to the opinion of no one of the heretics was the word of god made flesh. for if any one carefully examines the systems of them all, he will find that the word of god is brought in by all of them as not having become _incarnate (sine carne)_ and _impassible_, as is also the christ from above." (book iii. chap, in, sec. .) the writer cites many passages from the epistle of peter, all confirming the _logos_ doctrines of john. the following is the heading of chap. xxii. book iii.: "_christ assumed actual flesh, conceived and born of the virgin_." in this chapter the doctrine of the incarnation is elaborately argued, and proof supplied from many quarters; but as there is a great sameness in the argument throughout, it would only tire the reader to pursue the subject any further. the third book against heresies contains twenty-five chapters, which are extended through one hundred and seventeen pages, and throughout there is but one idea presented, and the proof offered in its support; and from the first to the last, there is a studied effort to turn the plain import of biblical passages from their true meaning into the support of the doctrines in the fourth gospel. thus this father of the church, in about seven years after this gospel appeared, came to its defence, and for that purpose wrote a book, which must have cost him much time and study, for in its way it is a work of great research, and required an intimate acquaintance with the old and new testaments, and the writings of the gnostics, which were numerous in his day. from the zeal which is shown throughout, it is evident that the writer had some personal interest in the subject, and that he was defending his own doctrines, and not those of st. john or any one else. we do not detect in the work against heresies the lofty and sublime tone of the gospel, and, from the nature of the subject, it could not be expected. he is engaged in an attempt to impose on the world, and as what he declares to be the work of an apostle has no foundation in truth, nor the doctrines it teaches, he struggles like a man in a morass, who is compelled to seize upon anything to keep him from sinking. no doubt he was pressed hard by his adversaries, and he seems in his defence of the fourth gospel like a gored bull with a pack at his front and heels. we can detect the keen lance of his adversary, piercing him to the quick, in the repeated cry of antichrist, which is the favorite weapon when hard pressed by his enemies. as he fights all his battles in the name of st. john, hear him exclaim, in the first and second epistles, which he falsely ascribes to the apostle: "little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. who is a liar but he that denieth that jesus is the christ? he is antichrist that denieth the father and the son." ( john ii. , .) "hereby know ye the spirit of god: every spirit that confesseth that' jesus christ is come in the _flesh_, is of god: and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ is come in the flesh, is not of god. and this is that _spirit_ of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." ( john iv. , .) "for many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that jesus christ is come in the _flesh_. this is a deceiver, and an antichrist. look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of christ, hath not god. he that abideth in the doctrine of christ, he hath both the father and the son. if there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him god speed: for he that biddeth him god speed is partaker of his evil deeds." ( john , , , , .) the spirit that dictated the foregoing denunciations of those who disbelieved the dogma of christ incarnate, also gave birth to what follows: "but again, those who assert that he was simply a mere man, begotten by joseph, remaining in the bondage of the old disobedience, are in a state of death; having been not as yet joined to the word of god the father, nor receiving liberty through the son, as he does himself declare: 'if the son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.' but, being ignorant of him who from the virgin is emmanuel, they are deprived of his gift, which is eternal life; and not receiving the incorruptible word, they remain in mortal flesh, and are debtors to death, not obtaining the antidote of life. to whom the word says, mentioning his own gift of grace: 'i said, ye are all the sons of the highest, and gods; but ye shall die like men.' he speaks undoubtedly these words to those who have not received the gift of adoption, but who despise _the incarnation_ of the pure generation of the word of god, defraud human nature of promotion into god, and prove themselves ungrateful to the word of god, who became _flesh_ for them." (book iii. chap. , sec. i.) chapter xiv. four distinct eras in christianity from paul to the council of nice.--the epistles of paul and the works of the fathers changed to suit each era.--the dishonesty of the times. from the time paul commenced his labors, to the latter part of the second century, we can trace three eras or periods in the state and character of christianity, as marked and distinct as the various strata of the earth which indicate the different ages of their formation. first, the pauline; second, the philo-alexandrian, which includes the time of the first three gospels; third, the incarnation, which includes the fourth gospel. as we approach the end of the third century, we may include a fourth period--that of the trinity. we have stated elsewhere, that the distinguishing feature between the logos of philo and the christ of paul was, that the former was coexistent in point of time with the creator or father, while in case of the latter, there was a time he did not exist. there was still another difference: the logos was begotten in heaven, but christ was born on the earth, of earthly parents. through the influence of the alexandrian jews, who had been converted to christianity by the preaching of paul, the christ of paul was made to give way, in time, to the logos of philo. this change can be traced in the forgeries which are found interlarded through the epistles of paul, and the writings of the early fathers. we trace the gradual and stealthy departure from the first to the second stages of christianity in the use of terms in paul's epistles which were employed among the gnostics and others in the early part of the second century. the epistles to the ephesians and colossians have been pronounced by able critics to be spurious, because of some verse which have an alexandrian look; when it is easy to discover that these verses are mere insertions into the original text. the term _pleroma_, or _fulness_, was a favorite phrase among the gnostics, and now we find it scattered here and there through the epistles: "for it pleased the father, _that in him_ should all fulness dwell." (col. i. .) "for in him dwelleth all the _fulness_ of the godhead bodily." (col. ii. .) "and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head of all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." (eph. i. , .) "and to know the love of christ, which passeth all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of god." (eph. iii. .) the preexistence of christ, and his rank as god, is now openly avowed. "for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (col. i. , .) here the christ of paul disappears, like the great apostle himself. the works of the fathers are now mutilated by the same ruthless hand, to maintain the new phase which christianity is forced to assume. "ignatius, who is called theophorus to the church which is at ephesus in asia, deservedly happy, being blessed through the greatness and _fulness_ of god the father, and _predestinated before the world began_, that it should be always unto an enduring and unchangeable glory; being united and chosen, through actual suffering, according to the will of the father and jesus christ our god, all happiness by jesus christ and his undefiled grace." (epistle to eptsiceris, sec. . .) the balance of this section, which will be cited in a subsequent page, was added in the third or fourth century, when christianity put on its fourth phase. "for this cause they were persecuted also, being inspired by his grace, fully to convince the unbelievers that _there is one god_, who hath manifested himself by jesus christ his son, who is his _eternal word_, not coming forth from _silence_, who in all things was well pleased in him that sent him." * (sec. .) * the word silence is a word which grew in use among the gnostics long after the time of ignatius, and affords unmistakable proof of the fraudulent interpolation. valentinianus, a gnostic of the second century, held that there is a certain dyad (twofold being), who is inexpressible by name, of whom one part should be called anhetus, unspeakable, and the other silence. the word, in the connection in which it is found in the passage from ignatius, speaking about what related to a later age, has been the occasion of much discussion: some contending that it has reference to the silence of valentinianus, which proves the passage spurious; others, that it relates to the erroneous opinions of heretics anterior to valentinianus. what heretics! (see chevalier's apostolical gospels, note .) such passages as we have cited, and others of a like nature which might be cited, have led critics to the conclusion that the writings which contain them are forgeries; but if examined in _connection with the texts_, it will be found that they are interpolations, forced into the places they fill. as the writings of paul now stand, they present christ in two distinct characters or aspects: his own as the son of man, from which he never wavered; and the other that of philo. all through his epistles we find passages which inculcate doctrines with which he combated during his whole life. all that is essential to, or that is embraced in, the writings of philo, as to the nature of the logos, may be found in the epistles of paul. we will give a few examples which we gather from the work of jacob bryant, and found among the notes of adam clarke in his commentaries on st. john. philo. "first begotten of god." colossians i. . "who is the image of the invisible god, the first-born of every creature." hebrews i. . and again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, "and let all the angels of god worship him." philo. "by whom the world was created." hebrews i. . "hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." corinthians viii. . "but to us there is but one god, the father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one lord jesus christ, _by whom are all things, and we by him_." philo. "_the most ancient of god's works, and before all things_." timothy i. . "who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in christ jesus before the world began." philo. "_esteemed the same as god_." philippians ii. . "who, being in the form of god, thought it not robbery to be equal with god." philo. "he unites, supports, preserves, and perfects the world." coloss. i. . "and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." philo. "free from all taint of sin, voluntary and involuntary." hebrews vii. . "for such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." philo. "_the logos the foundation of wisdom._" corinthians i. . "but unto them which are called, both jews and greeks, christ the power of god, and the wisdom of god." coloss. ii. . "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." philo. "_men being freed by the logos from all corruption, shall be entitled to immortality_" corinthians xv. , . "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." "for this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." inconsistency cannot be claimed to be one of the faults of paul; but if we place these passages by the side of those in which he declares, in unmistakable language, his belief in the nature of christ, we must either admit inconsistency or fraud. the influence of paul had lost much of its force before his death in a.d. ; and when hadrian assumed the government of the empire, a.d. , the pauline era had nearly ceased. speaking of the great apostle, renan says: "after his disappearance from the scene of his apostolic struggles, we shall find him soon forgotten. his death was probably regarded as the death of an agitator. the second century scarcely speaks of him, and apparently endeavors to systematically blot out his memory. his epistles are then slightly read, and only regarded as authority by rather a slender group." (_life of paul_. page .) but the same author tells us, on the same page, what history confirms, that paul, in the third century, wonderfully rises in the estimation of the church, and resumes the place from which he had been deposed. there is a good and obvious reason for the change. during this interval between the fall and rise of his influence, his epistles had been subjected to the most glaring forgeries, in order to make them conform to the philo-alexandrian ideas which in the mean time prevailed. it is to be remarked at this place, that the logos idea of philo encountered difficulties, when applied to the person of jesus. it could not be denied that he was the son of mary; but it might be, that he was not the son of joseph. he is therefore born not of man. the influence of a divine energy is substituted. no sooner is this new feature introduced into the second stage of christianity, than new ideas prevail, and are found scattered through the works of the fathers. "and the princes of the world know not the virginity of mary, and him who was born of her, and the death of the lord: three mysteries noised abroad, yet done by god in silence." "where is the wise and where is the disputer? where is the boasting of those who are called men of understanding? for our god, jesus christ, was born in the womb of mary, according to the dispensation of god." (ignatius to eph. sees. , .) the foregoing are mere specimens. christ is now the son of god; but for a time he is all humanity. he grows from infancy to manhood, and manifests in himself the appetites and infirmities which belong to the flesh. his mind develops early; but, as with other mortals, it grew and expanded as he advanced in years. but the time came when "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." (matt. iii. .) he was there proclaimed by a voice from heaven, to be the son of god. here is something paul never heard of. the new logos of the gospel, like the logos of philo, was without beginning, from everlasting; but from this point they diverge. the logos of the alexandrian was not an _hypostasis_, or a person, but a divine emanation or spirit; of a nature unconceivable, which hovered over the earth, but never touched it. the new christ descended from heaven as a spirit, took up its mysterious abode in the human form, where it dwelt until its ministry was complete, when, with the body which contained it, it encountered death--went down into the grave--but on the third day broke the chains of death, and triumphantly ascended into heaven, from whence it came. the tendency of the minds of men at that day towards the discussions of metaphysical and unintelligible subjects, soon led to endless disputes, growing out of this new feature of the christian faith. how this mysterious union of god and man could and did exist, and when and how it was dissolved, were questions which caused much angry feeling and acrimonious discussion among christians, which continued through the second, and even to the fourth century, when, according to the learned author of the "decline and fall," they died out by "the prevalence of more fashionable controversies, and by the superior ascendant of the reigning power." (gib-bon, vol. i. p. .) the idle and profitless disputes of the second era of christianity were forced, at a later day, to give way to those of the third. cerinthus, and other gnostics, maintained that the son of god descended on the day of baptism in the form of a dove, and remained in its human receptacle until the time of the crucifixion, when it took its flight, leaving to the human form all the agonies and sufferings of death. if this were so, there is no atonement: the son of god has not offered himself as a sacrifice. the gnostics had the advantage of consistency. if christ was a creature, like other men, when the spirit descended upon him, and existed apart from the flesh, then death could only reach the body, and when that was put to death, or about to be, and the spirit lost its tabernacle or abiding-place, it must again return to the celestial abode. the perplexities and interminable disputes, caused by such unintelligible subjects, at last led to the third period in the christian religion: the doctrine of the _incarnation_. "the _word_ was made flesh and dwelt among us, who was not born of blood, nor of the will of man, but of god." (_john_ i. , .) god took upon himself the form of man, and was god in man. the logos of philo has become an hypostasis, and walks upon the earth. the war with the gnostics has changed ground. the son of god did not come down and take up his abode in the mortal form of christ, but was jesus himself, and when he came to suffer death there was no separation of divine and human natures, but the real son of god shed his blood, suffered, and died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of our race. the paternal solicitude of irenaeus in support of this new phase of christianity is conspicuously displayed in the third book of his work against heresies. "but, according to these men, neither was the word made flesh, nor christ, nor the saviour (_soter_), who was produced from [the joint contributions of] all [the _Æons_]. for they will have it that the word and christ never came into this world; that the saviour, too, never became incarnate, nor _suffered_, but that he descended like a dove upon the dispensational jesus; and that, as soon as he had declared the unknown father, he did again ascend into the pleroma.... therefore the lord's disciple, pointing them all out as false witnesses, says: 'and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.'" (chap. xi. sec. .) "as it has been clearly demonstrated that the word, who existed in the beginning with god, by whom all things were made, who was also always present with mankind, was in these last days, according to the time appointed by the father, united to his own workmanship, inasmuch as he became a man liable to suffering, [it follows] that every objection is set aside of those who say, 'if our lord was born at that time, christ had therefore no previous existence.' for i have shown that the son of god did not then begin to exist, being with the father from the beginning; but when he became _incarnate_, and was made man, he commenced afresh the long line of human beings, and furnished us, in a brief, comprehensive manner, with salvation; so that what we had lost in adam--namely, to be according to the image and likeness of god--that we might recover in christ jesus." (chap, xviii. sec. .) the forgers are again at their work. the ancient fathers must be made to subscribe to the new creed. "for some there are who are wont to carry about the name of christ in deceitful-ness, but do things unworthy of god, whom you must avoid as ye would wild beasts. for they are raving dogs, which bite secretly, of whom you must be aware, as men hardly to be cured. there is one physician, both carnal and spiritual, create and increate, god _manifest in the flesh_; both of mary and of god; first capable _of suffering_--then liable to suffer no more." (_ignatius to eph_. sec. .) "for whosoever confesseth not that jesus christ is _come in the flesh_ is antichrist; and whosoever confesseth not his _sufferings upon the cross_ is from the devil. and whosoever perverts the oracles of god, he is the first-born of satan." (polycarp to philippians, sec. .) the above citations are a few of many others of a like character scattered through the works of the fathers, inserted long after their death, and evidently intended to combat the idea of cerinthus and others, that christ did not suffer on the cross, and so it could not be claimed that by his death he made an atonement for the sins of man. both of these fathers lived near the time of paul, and believed the doctrines he preached: "ye are the passage of those that are killed for god; who have been _instructed in the mysteries of the gospel with paul_, who was sanctified and bore testimony even unto death, and is deservedly most happy; at whose feet i would that i might be found when i shall have attained unto god, who through all his epistles makes mention of you in christ." (_ignatius to the ephesians_, sec. .) "for neither can i, nor any other such as i am, come up to the wisdom of the blessed and renowned paul, who being amongst you, in the presence of those who then lived, taught with exactness and soundness the word of truth; who in his absence also wrote an epistle to you, unto which, if you diligently look, you may be able to be edified in the faith delivered unto you, which is the mother of us all." (_polycarp to the philippians_, sec. .) paul taught that christ was born of woman, under the law; and ignatius, that he was "truly of the race of david, according to the flesh." (letter to the eph., sec. .) the letters of polycarp and ignatius seemed a kind of a free commons where forgeries might be committed by all; and they have been so often used for this purpose, in order to secure the authority of their names to the doctrines of the day, that there is very little of the originals left. all parties were engaged in the practice; and each charged his adversary with doing the very thing that he was doing himself. as we read whole pages in irenaeus, charging his adversaries with forgeries and false interpolations, we smile at the impudence and audacity of the man, who has done more to pollute the pages of history than any other, and whose foot-prints we can follow through the whole century, like the slime of a serpent. speaking of the forgeries of this century, casaubon says: "and in the last place, it mightily affects me to see how many there were in the earliest times of the church, who considered it a capital exploit to lend to heavenly truth the help of their own inventions, in order that the new doctrine might be more readily allowed by the wise among the gentiles. these officious lies, they were wont to say, were devised for a good end; from which source, beyond question, sprang nearly innumerable books, which that and the following age saw published by those who were far from being bad men (for we are not speaking of the books of the heretics), under the name of the lord jesus christ and of the apostles, and of other saints." (_casaubon_, quoted by lardner.) lardner is forced to admit "that _christians of or the enigmas of christianity, all sorts_ were guilty of this fraud--indeed, we may say it was one great fault of the times." (vol. iv. page .) in an age where falsehood was esteemed a merit, the truth cannot be expected. before we close what we have to say on the third period of christianity, we cannot fail to notice what a wide gulf has grown up between the religious faith of paul and his followers, and those who gave their assent to the doctrines of the fourth gospel. but, wide as is the gulf, those who call themselves christians can stand on the opposite banks and clasp hands as believers in a common faith. why is this? skilful artisans, in the second century and subsequent ages, have been busy in bridging over this vast abyss, by adding to and taking away from what paul taught, until to cross over is neither difficult nor dangerous. chapter xv. the trinity, or fourth period of christianity. if we may judge of the opposition made to the doctrines of the fourth gospel by the vehemence and bad feeling with which they were defended, we conclude that if they were not successfully refuted, they did not escape just and severe criticism. the sudden change from the logos of philo to the _hypostasis_ of john--from christ a spirit who had descended from heaven and taken up a temporary abode in the human form, and a christ who was born a god, lived and remained such through death and the resurrection--was too great a change to be suddenly taken, without provoking the sneers and animadversions of the enemies of the new faith, who were on the lookout to expose its weaknesses, and ridicule its inconsistencies. what gave force and point to their attacks was, that the change from the logos of the synoptics to that of the fourth gospel was one of necessity, forced upon christians by the tactics of the gnostics, in order to maintain a principle which lay at the foundation of their religion: that is, the atonement. in the war waged between them and their enemies, christians found it a source of great relief and satisfaction, to learn that the doctrines of john's gospel, which were announced in the first verses of the first chapter, were in harmony with the theology of plato. whatever inconsistencies might be imputed to them on account of the change of their ideas as to the nature of christ, their present views were the same as those held by the great philosopher of greece, whose wisdom had entitled him to be called plato the divine. the study of the works of the athenian by christians of this period was the natural result of this feeling, and we discover a constant increase of this admiration until his ascendency is complete, and the nature of the godhead determined by his genius. the followers of plato were no less gratified to find that the doctrines of the fourth gospel were in harmony with the school of their great teacher; so much so that it removed, the prejudice, and reduced the distance which formerly separated them from the christians.* * some proofs of the respect which the christians entertained for the person and doctrines of plato, may be found in de la mothe le vager, torn. v. p. , and basnage, tom. iv. p. - . decline and fall, vol. i. p. , note . according to john, the _word_ existed with the father from the beginning--was equal to the father, and was the creator of all things. the father, the son, and the holy ghost were co-equal and co-eternal. with plato, the father, or first cause, the logos, and spirit of the universe, existed from the beginning, and were endowed with co-ordinate powers; but, according to him, all divine natures flow from the one, or first cause, as light flows from the sun, and are bound in unity, and are one; so the three persons in the godhead of plato are one, and constitute a triad in unity. the theology of the fourth gospel approached so near to that of plato, that it was natural that one should insensibly run into the other, and was what might have been expected. the father, son, and holy ghost are equal, as the first cause, the logos, and the spirit of the universe are equal. as the two proceed from the one, or first cause, with plato, and are united, so the two proceed from the father, and are one, and in both cases form a trinity in unity. the circle is now complete. paul was dethroned by the alexandrian philo, and his christology in turn is overthrown by the mixed theology of john and plato. we can readily detect the violence done the works of the fathers, in order to give the authority of their names to this new phase of christianity. "wherefore come all ye together as to one temple of god--as to one altar--as to one jesus christ--_who proceeds from one father, and exists in one and is returned to one_" (_ignatius to magnesians_, sec. .) this language expresses the platonic idea in all its completeness. it could hardly be expected that christianity could take upon itself this new phase without opening the door for new causes for dispute, as will always be the case when men presume to reason on spiritual generation, and from negative ideas attempt to draw positive conclusions. sabellius, of egypt, undertook to find a middle ground, and while he admitted the triad in unity, he claimed that there was but one person in the godhead, and that the word and spirit are only virtues or emanations of the deity. but his doctrine conceded too much to the theology of the greek to suit the followers of arius, and not enough to satisfy the orthodox; and so, after a vain struggle, sabellius and his doctrine? were swallowed up and lost sight of in the strife created by the opposing views which suddenly sprang up in the church at alexandria. we give the origin of the dispute in the words of socrates, a writer of the fifth century. "after peter, bishop of alexandria, had suffered martyrdom under diocletian, achilles was installed in the episcopal office, whom alexander succeeded, during the period of peace above referred to. he, in the fearless exercise of his functions for the instruction and government of the church, attempted one day, in the presence of the presbytery and the rest of his clergy, to explain, with perhaps too philosophical minuteness, that great theological mystery, _the unity of the holy trinity_. a certain one of the presbyters under his jurisdiction, whose name was arius, possessed of no inconsiderable logical acumen, imagining that the bishop entertained the same view of this subject as sabellius the libyan, controverted his statements with excessive pertinacity, advancing another error which was directly opposed indeed to that which he supposed himself called upon to refute. 'if,' said he, 'the father begat the son, he that was begotten had a beginning of existence: and from this it is evident, that there was a time when the son was not in being. it therefore necessarily follows, that he had his existence from nothing.'" (_ecclesiastical history_, book i. chap. .) from a little spark, continues the writer, a large fire was kindled, which ran throughout all egypt, libya, the upper thebes, and finally through asia and europe. after disturbing the peace of the world for fourteen hundred years, the dispute which commenced at alexandria remains unsettled to this day. we now approach a new era. up to this time the religion of a people had no connection with the powers of the state. constantine is the first to set an example. indebted to the christians for their assistance in the civil war between himself and licinius, under the pretext of preserving the peace of the church, he wrote an epistle to alexander and arius, admonishing them to forbear and cease to quarrel about things they can neither explain or comprehend. thus commenced a connection between church and state which has proved so ruinous to the cause of true religion, and the peace of the church ever since. this interference was continued by constantine throughout his reign, and at the time of his death the affairs of the church and state were so interwoven that it became difficult, at times, to distinguish between the office of a bishop and the powers of the emperor. the spirit of faction in the church proved superior to the authority of constantine, and in order to restore peace, he was forced to call an assembly of bishops, presbyters, and deacons from every part of the christian world. what was meant to restore harmony, only furnished fresh subjects for dispute, so that the progress of mankind has rather been retarded than assisted by the piety and wisdom of the nicene fathers. the attempt to fix a standard of faith by the decrees of councils has proven to be the greatest folly in which men were ever engaged, as it has been the source of the greatest misery and suffering; and proves, by the evils which flow from it, that all such efforts are vain and presumptuous. as well undertake to fix a standard for the fine arts, and determine by a decree the combination of colors, and how the lights and shades shall be mingled in making a picture to please the eye, and satisfy the taste of all. that which followed what was done at the council of nice, shows of what little value are the decrees of such bodies in establishing or in assisting the cause of truth. council followed council, without arriving any nearer to the settlement of the dispute. in the fourth century alone, there were forty-five councils; of these, thirteen decided against arius, fifteen in his favor, and seventeen for the semiarians. (draper's _intellectual development_, page .) the divisions and quarrels among christians sapped the strength, and finally led to the disruption of the roman empire, and prepared the way for the armies of persia, and the conquest of mahomet. chapter xvi. the catholic epistles. the catholic epistles, as they are called, if genuine, should be regarded as of the highest authority in everything which relates to the early age of christianity. that some are the real productions of an apostle, some so in part, and others wholly spurious, is susceptible of the most satisfactory proof. the epistle of james, and the first of peter, if we except certain parts of the latter, have strong claims to be treated as the works of the writers whose names they bear; while the second of peter, the first, second, and third of john, and the one ascribed to jude, carry on their face unmistakable marks of forgery. the writer of the first epistle of peter was a jew, not a greek, and it was addressed to jewish converts. his mind dwells on events in jewish history, for he speaks of sarah, abraham, and moses, and refers to the traditions of the jewish rabbins and elders. ( pet. i. .) although addressed to _strangers_, the epistle was meant for jews, who, through persecution in judea, fled into foreign countries; for to peter was committed the ministry of the circumcision. (gal. ii. .) besides, the persons to whom peter writes _are styled "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation_, a peculiar people" ( peter ii. ), which can only apply to the jewish nation. "and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." (_exodus_ xix. .) the letter shows that peter was still a jew, and altogether proves that he had not changed his views on circumcision. the vision on the house-top had not yet taken place. but there is a spirit of pure morality running through the greater part of the epistle, which brings it near the time of christ, and makes it out of place in a later period of christianity. it is conclusive proof of its canonical authority, that it is inserted in the syriac version of the new testament, executed at the close of the first or early in the second century; and it is equally conclusive against the second of peter, that it is not included in the same work. hermas has not fewer than seven allusions to the first epistle, which is sufficient to prove its antiquity. this epistle was also written before the order of bishops was recognized in the church, and christians had not departed from their first simple ideas of ecclesiastical government. peter himself claimed to be nothing more than elder. "the elders which are among you i exhort, who am also _an elder_" (i peter v. i.) the place where the letter bears date corresponds with our ideas of the movements of peter, for his labors, whatever they may have been, were confined to asia, not far beyond the confines of judea. but if the first of peter is in the main genuine, it did not escape corruption at the hands of the poisoners of truth in the second century. "who verily was fore-ordained before _the foundation_ of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." (i peter i. .) "forasmuch then as christ hath suffered for us in the _flesh_, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the _flesh_ hath ceased from sin." ( peter iv. i.) when these verses were written, christianity had passed into its third period, for here is announced _a christ_ who was co-eternal with the father, and was _incarnate_. most of the first chapter, if not all, is undoubtedly spurious. the boastful spirit with which it commences; the doctrinal announcements, and the tone in which they are delivered are entirely different from that shown in the following chapters. it is written as something to be used against an adversary, and, like all forgeries inserted into genuine writings for such purposes, much is crowded into a small space. in this chapter is declared the preexistence of christ, or the alexandrian logos; the resurrection; foreknowledge and election, and sanctification--all disputed points in theology, which required the authority of an apostle to settle: but neither of which had anything to do with christ or the religion he taught. it will be noticed, that the crucifixion is mentioned twice: once in connection with the twentieth verse, which asserts the eternity of the logos, and the other in close connection with the second verse, which holds to the doctrine of election. as the preexistence of christ was no part of christianity when peter wrote, which was, according to lardner and others, in a.d. , but belongs to a later period; and as the subject mentioned in the twentieth and twenty-first verses is the same, and cannot be separated, it follows that both are spurious. so we would say of the mention of the resurrection in the third verse. it is connected with a doctrinal point which had no existence in peter's time, and, if it had, was in dispute, and was inserted into this chapter to give it apostolic authority. the mention of the resurrection in the twenty-first verse of the third chapter, holds also a suspicious connection with the doctrine of baptism. the true commencement of this epistle will be found in the first verse of the second chapter. here we discover quite a different spirit. here commence the plain, simple and pure doctrines of the christian faith, which in the end will secure the victory. peter and james are each examples to prove that a mind wedded to a single idea, which had for ages entered into the religion of a people, may be contracted and fettered by it, and yet be free to expand under the influence of the true genius of christianity, and become liberal on other subjects. neither peter nor james could shake off the jewish notion of circumcision, for it began with the father of that people by the command of god, and was to be binding on his descendants to the end of time. with them, like all the laws of god, the law of circumcision was unchangeable. but notwithstanding all this, they each had heart enough to take in the great truths of christianity as declared by the lips of its founder. these men, who were slaves to one idea, who dogged the footsteps of paul because he taught the doctrine of the uncircumcision, could yet teach men the duty to "love thy neighbor as thyself." (james ii. .) no two writings can be more unlike than the two epistles ascribed to peter. the second is filled with the boasting and controversial bitterness of the times of the gnostics. in the primitive churches the authenticity of this epistle was a subject of doubt. it was not, as stated, included in the syriac version of the new testament, which cannot be accounted for, except that it was not in existence when it was compiled, at the beginning of the second century. but the internal evidence furnished by the epistle itself is sufficient to prove that it never was written by peter. the following contains the spirit of irenaeus when he speaks of his intimacy with polycarp: "and this voice which came from heaven _we heard, when we were with him_ in the holy mount." ( peter i. .) "but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." ( peter ii. .) "and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (chap. ii. .) "but these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and _destroyed_, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.... spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you." (chap. ii. , .) "for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. but it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and, the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." (chap. ii. , .) the letter is filled with all the venom and bitterness of the gnostic quarrels. we have already said enough to prove the two epistles of john spurious, and who it was that wrote them. "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard\ which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life; for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the father, and was manifested unto us." ( john i. , .) iræneus, in a letter to florinus, says, in speaking of polycarp: "well, therefore, could i describe the very place in which the blessed polycarp sat and taught; his going out and coming in; the whole tenor of his life; his personal appearance; the discourses which he made to the people. how would he speak of the conversations which he had held with john and others who had seen the lord. how did he make mention of their words, and whatsoever he had heard from them respecting the lord." all this he can say without a blush; although polycarp never saw john, and in all his letters, which are numerous, he never claims he did. he saw paul, but not john. the manner in which john is made to speak of christ is much the same as irenaeus makes mention of polycarp. effect is meant to be given to what was stated in both cases, by dwelling on details. after having qualified himself as witness in this boastful spirit, he proceeds to deal out blows on the heads of his adversaries: "he that saith, i know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (i john ii. .) "who is a liar but he that denieth that jesus is the christ? he is antichrist, that denieth the father and the son." (chap. ii. .) "every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh, is of god: and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ is come in the flesh, is not of god." (chap. iv. , .) such is the spirit throughout the two epistles ascribed to john. the apostle is forced on the stage to make war on the gnostics, and maintain the dogma of the incarnation in the language of a blackguard. the epistle of jude is nothing but a bolt hurled at the head of paul, from the hand of one who assumed the name of an apostle. what is said of the first epistle of peter may be said of that which is attributed to james. it was written by a jew, for he says: "was not abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered isaac his son upon the altar?" (james ii. .) the text shows it was written during the pauline period of christianity, and was the work of james, or some one else, in reply to paul, who claimed that faith without works were sufficient for salvation. it makes no allusion to the disputed dogmas of the second century, and like the first of peter, breathes a spirit of christianity which approached near the time of christ. the frequent allusions to it by hermas are in favor of an early date: it is included in the syriac version, which leaves its antiquity without question. we cannot fail to be struck with the fact, that peter and james, both jews, who were the disciples and companions of christ, are free from doctrinal dogmas, and preach doctrines like those of their great teacher, full of charity, kindness, and love. it is only when we come to the writings and forgeries of the greek that we encounter subtle and unintelligible dogmas, which involved men in endless disputes, excited the most violent passions, and terminated in wars and disturbances of all kind. what is remarkable, too, neither of these jewish writers makes any reference to the gospels, nor to the miracles or prodigies spoken of in them; nor does either make mention of the miraculous conception and birth of christ. all these things sprang from the greeks. to be sure, paul preached the resurrection; but he believed because he saw christ after the crucifixion, in a vision, james is silent on the greatest event since the creation, of which, if true, he was a witness. the hand of the spoiler failed to leave his mark on the pages of james the son of alpheus. addressed to the "twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," the epistle which bears his name had obtained too wide a circulation, and was in the hands of too many, before the age of forgery commenced, to be an easy subject for mutilation. it was written in judea, and addressed to the whole jewish people. it was for them alone, and in their special custody, and if it comes down to us without a spot or stain, as it came from the pen of the writer, it is because it was too well guarded and protected by its friends to admit of corruption. why did james withhold from the twelve tribes the great fact that christ had risen from the dead? he speaks of his cruel death; why not mention the still more important fact, that he rose superior to the grave, and put death under his feet? "ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." (james v. .) chapter xvii. no christians in rome from a. d. to a. d. . from the death of paul in a. d. , as we have before stated, to the reign of adrian in a. d. , rome was without a christian population. such is history when properly rendered. the course of nero filled them with horror, and at the time of his death rome was deserted by them. after he ceased to reign there followed the civil wars, the most fearful in the annals of rome. galba, after all obstacles in his way to power had been removed by the sword, entered the city through a scene of blood, and men expected nothing less than the renewal of all the cruelties of nero's reign. (_annals of tacitus_, appendix to book xvi.) then commenced the civil war between vespasian and vitellius, which was the cause of untold misery to the roman people. the city of rome was burned to the ground. "from the foundation of the city to that hour, the roman people had felt no calamity so deplorable, no disgrace so humiliating." (__tacitus, book iii. sec. .) the condition of the times is truly depicted in the concise and eloquent language of the author of the "decline and fall": "during fourscore years (excepting only the short and doubtful respite by vespasian's reign) rome groaned beneath an unrelenting tyranny which exterminated the ancient families of the republic, and was fatal to almost every virtue and every talent that arose during that unhappy period." (vol. i. page ) obscene rites alleged to be practised by christians; their indifference towards all who differed from them in their ideas on religion; their isolation from the rest of mankind, had excited the hatred of the pagan world; so that in large cities, where the population was lawless and difficult to restrain, they were liable to be attacked and torn to pieces without notice and without provocation. all the evils which befell the empire were referred to the christians, and were regarded as proof that the roman people had, by tolerating them, incurred the anger of heaven. their presence was considered a curse upon the earth. tertullian exclaims: "if the tiber rises against the walls of the city, or the nile does not overflow its banks; if there is a drought, or earthquake, or famine, or pestilence, the cry at once is, take the christians to the lion." (_apology_, chap, xl.) it was this state of feeling that made it dangerous, especially during the civil war, for christians to remain in rome. domitian, the son of vespasian, commenced his reign in a. d. , and was assassinated in a. d. . that we have no account of any christians being put to death under his reign is proof that they had not returned from the provinces. it is the fashion with historians to allege great cruelty towards christians during this reign. we have searched for the evidence, but have failed to find it. suetonius lived during his reign; had personal knowledge of many things he describes; gives the names of numerous victims and their offences; mentions the cruelties inflicted on the jews; but does not even make use of the word christian, or give the name of any one who suffered on account of his religion. the cruelty of domitian spent itself on those who were guilty of political offences; but the interested and partisan traditions of the second century delight to make him a monster who took pleasure in shedding christian blood. he did not fail to persecute christians because he had no inclination to do so--for he punished what he called impiety to the gods with severity--but because there was none in rome during his reign to persecute.* * see appendix d. trajan succeeded to the empire in a. d. . during his reign, which continued to a. d. , what proof there is on the subject tends to show that christians had not yet returned to the capital. so little did trajan know about them, that pliny, in writing to him for advice as to how he should deal with them, is compelled to describe to him their doctrines, practices and forms of worship. had there been any in rome at the time, there would have been no necessity for this; and besides, had there been any there, the mode of treatment of them by the emperor would afford a precedent for pliny without calling for special instructions. but we can affirm with confidence that no christian dared live in rome during this reign, which continued for nineteen years, for the reason that to be one during this time was a crime punishable by death. in answer to pliny's letter, in speaking of christians, trajan writes: "if they be brought before you, and are convicted, let them be _capitally_ punished, yet with this restriction, that if any one will renounce christianity and evince his sincerity by supplicating our gods, however suspected he may be in the past, he shall obtain pardon for the future on his repentance." it is not at all astonishing that pliny, in writing trajan about his mode of treating christians, had to tell him who they were, and describe the way in which they conducted themselves. from a.d. , when tacitus speaks of them in connection with the great fire, and their sufferings at the time, no historian makes any mention of them, as dwellers in rome, to the end of the century. the obscure allusion to them by juvenal and martial, in a satirical vein, relates solely to their conduct under torture, inflicted by nero at the time rome was burned. suetonius, who was secretary to the emperor adrian, wrote the life and times of the emperors from augustus to domitian; and if we except the doubtful allusion to them in the reign of claudius, he does not even make use of the word christian, or speak of anything in connection with them. during the time of which we have been speaking, lived and wrote quintilian, juvenal, statius, and martial. chapter xviii. the office of bishop foreign to churches established by paul, which were too poor and too few in number to support the order.--third chapter of the second epistle to timothy, and the one to titus, forgeries.--the writings of the fathers corrupted. elders or seniors, in ancient jewish polity, were persons who were selected on account of their age and experience to administer justice among the people,--who also held the first rank in the synagogue as presidents. the office of the elder, with the jews, commenced with moses, and was continued until after the days of the apostles. they were selected with reference to age and knowledge, without regard to anything else. it is evident that the apostles did not depart from the jewish form of church government, but adopted and continued it du ring their lives. the epistle of james was written in a.d. . at that time the church was governed by elders. "is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord." (james v. .) in a.d. , peter was an elder, for that is the date of the first epistle which bears his name. "the _elders_ which are among you i exhort, who _am also an elder_." ( peter vi. .) we hear nothing of the office of bishop until we enter the second age of christianity, when the therapeutæ had taken possession of the church, got the upper-hand of paul and his followers, and introduced their government of the episcopacy. did paul institute a government for the churches established by him, different from that of peter and james? paul had no place for the office of bishop in the churches which he founded and organized. in all cases except one he addresses his epistles to the church, and those that are sanctified in christ. the letter to the romans is addressed, "to all that be in rome, beloved of god." the first to the corinthians, "unto the church of god which is at corinth;" second corinthians, "unto the church of god which is at corinth, with all the saints which are in all achaia;" galatians, "and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of galatia;" ephesians, "to the saints which are at ephesus, and to the faithful in christ jesus;" thessalonians, "unto the church of the thessalonians, which is in god." only in one instance does paul make any other or different address. his epistle to the philippians is addressed, "to all the saints in christ jesus which are at philippi, _with the bishops and deacons_:" a simple spurious addition to the forms of address in all other cases. the letter to the philippians was written in a. d. or a. d. , when paul was in rome. the epistle to the thessalonians was written in a. d. , while he was in corinth. for ten years paul had been writing letters to the different churches, and in his epistle to the philippians he uses the word bishop for the first time. in this epistle the name of the bishop is not given, which is significant. the contents of this letter show that there was no bishop at philippi at the time it was written. when paul was a prisoner in rome the first time, the church at that place sent epaphroditus to visit him, with means to supply his wants. thankful for the remembrance in which he was held, he sent the letter spoken of, and as some return for their kindness, he promised to send to them timothy. "but i trust in the lord jesus to send timotheus shortly unto you, that i also may be of good comfort, when i know your state." (phil. ii. .) "him therefore i hope to send presently, so soon as i shall see how it will go with me," (chap. ii. .) if there was a bishop in the church at philippi, why not mention his name? or why send timothy to them at all to supply their spiritual wants? how many members composed the church at philippi to require the services of a bishop and deacons? paul had been there once, and perhaps the second time. he was called there for the first time by a vision; but he soon got into trouble, and even into prison, and remained but a short time. the author of the life of paul (renan) claims that he went into macedonia the second time, and remained about six months, from june to november (page ). the same writer says: "a country was reputed evangelized when the name of jesus was pronounced there and half a score of persons had been converted. a church frequently contained no more than twelve or fifteen members. probably all the converts of st. paul in asia minor, macedonia, and greece did not exceed one thousand." of this number, in a note to the twenty-second chapter, he assigns two hundred to the churches in macedonia. as paul had numerous churches in macedonia, we are safe to assign to the church at philippi the one-half of the whole number of his followers in that country. the first converts to christianity were from the poorer class of people, and were not able to even support paul, so that he had to maintain himself by manual labor as a tent-maker. the question may well be asked, what necessity was there for a bishop and deacons at philippi, and how were they to be supported? lucian, in his dialogue entitled philopatris, while he no doubt exaggerates the poverty and mean appearance of paul's followers, he at the same time throws much light on their true condition. he speaks of them as "a set of tatterdemalions, almost naked, with fierce looks." (taylor's _diegesis_, .) the truth is, all the churches which owe their origin to paul were so small and so poor, that their government was of the most simple and economical kind. the first epistle of paul to timothy is intended to settle the position and claims of a bishop in the church, and give the authority of paul to the order. it is by such obvious forgeries as this, and others we will produce, that we are able to form any idea of the violence of the quarrels among the early christians, as to the rights or standing of a bishop in the church. what arouses suspicion, and at last convinces us, that the third chapter of the first epistle to timothy is a forgery, is that there is too much on the subject of bishops from paul all at once. if the episcopate form of government underlaid or was at the bottom of paul's mode of government, it surely would have come to the surface or made itself known before it suddenly starts up in the first to timothy; for he had been engaged in building up churches for at least fifteen years before that. it is characteristic of the forgeries of the second century, when they are inserted into genuine writings, to make their appearance in the form of boulders, very much condensed, but out of place. there is nothing diffusible about them, and we never suspect their presence until we stumble upon or over them. the way the subject of bishops is introduced, at once creates suspicion. "this is a true saying. if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good thing." it is intended to convey the idea in the start, that the office had been long in existence, and that the profits were such as to excite the cupidity of men. the office of bishop, in the time of paul, even if such an office had any existence, was not, as we have shown, a good thing, but the opposite; but in the second century, when the forgery was perpetrated, it was. good critics have pronounced the whole of the first of timothy a forgery. the weight of the evidence is in favor of this belief. as to the third chapter, there can be no question. the effort to make it appear that paul recognized the episcopate form of church government is repeated in the epistle to titus. it is to be remarked that this effort is only made in the last epistles written by him. the first of timothy was written in a. d. ; that to titus in a. d. . all the epistles between a. d. and a. d. , have nothing to say on the subject of bishops. those written between these two periods, at paul's death had obtained a wide circulation among all the churches of asia and europe, which made it impossible for those who were engaged in corrupting his writings to make changes that could be easily detected and exposed. as long as he lived it could not be done. but the reverse is true of those which were written just before his death. besides, the therapeutæ element did not begin to work until a. d. , and had not grown bold and strong enough to venture on the corruptions of paul's writings until some time after his death. the inference that is meant to be drawn from parts of his epistle is that titus was a bishop when paul left him in crete. compared with other countries where paul had churches, crete was comparatively insignificant, and if paul's converts in europe and asia did not exceed one thousand, and we have no reason to think they did, what portion of this number can we assign to the church at crete, if there was one there at all? renan says, "a church frequently contained no more than twelve or fifteen members." (_life of christ_, page .) twelve or fifteen christians and not more, if that many, composed the church at crete. did that number require the presence of a bishop and elders? the real truth of the matter is easily discovered. paul, in a. d. , made a visit to all the churches in company with titus and others, and stopped at crete, which was the first time he was ever on the island, so far as we have any proof on the subject. after making some few converts, he left titus to continue the work (_titus_ i. ), while he proceeded west in the direction of macedonia. the epistle to titus was written from nicopolis in the summer or fall of a. d. , and says: "for this cause left i thee in crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as i had appointed thee." (chap. i. .) that is, to organize churches and appoint the elders. had this subject about church organization ceased at this point, there would not be much to complain of, although the word "_ordain_" had no place in the vocabulary of paul. he ordained no one, after any form or ceremony, nor did he pretend to impart to his followers any but his own spirit and power. in the seventh verse he proceeds to address titus as bishop, and to give him advice. titus was no bishop when paul left him in crete, nor did he hold any office, but was simply a fellow-laborer, like luke, mark, and timothy. the men of the second century would have it understood that paul was surrounded by a galaxy of bishops. "for a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of god; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre." (_titus_ i. .) was it necessary to give such advice to "titus, mine own son after the common faith?" the forgery is a clumsy one because it is out of place, and evidently inserted for a purpose. titus was directed by paul to leave crete and meet him in nicopolis, where he meant to spend the winter. as has been stated, the only means we have of judging of the resistance made to the claims of the bishop is from the extravagance of these demands, and the violence with which they are asserted. "wherefore it becomes you to run together, according to the will of your bishop, even as also ye do. for your renowned presbyter, worthy of god, is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the strings are to the harp." (_ignatius to the eph._, sec. .) "let no man deceive himself: except a man be _within the altar_ he is deprived of the bread of life." (ib., sec. .) "i exhort you, that you study to do all things in a divine concord, your bishop presiding in _the place of god_," (_ignatius to magnesians_, sec. .) "it is therefore necessary that you do nothing without your bishop, even as ye are wont. in like manner, let all reverence the deacons _as jesus christ_, and the _bishops as the father_; without these _there is no church_. wherefore guard yourselves against such persons: and that ye will do, if ye are not puffed up, but continue inseparable from jesus christ our god; and from your bishop and from the commands of the apostles. he that is within the altar is pure. but he that is without, is not pure. that is, he that doeth anything without the bishop and the presbyters and deacons is not pure in conscience." (_ignatius to trallians_, secs. , , .) "but the spirit spake, saying in this wise: do nothing without the bishop; but god forgives all that repent, if they return to the _unity of god and to the council of the bishop_" (_ignatius to phil_., sec. .) "see that ye all follow your bishop as _jesus christ the father_." (_ignatius to smyrnæus_, sec. .) "it is good to have due regard both _to god and to the bishop_." (ib., sec. .) these passages prove, that there was a party in the church that was opposed to the order of bishops, introduced by the therapeutæ, and that party no doubt were the followers of paul. to silence them, the epistles of paul and the writings of the fathers were filled with forgeries and alterations so extravagant and obvious that they have defeated the object in view. it is hardly necessary to ask the question, where it was the therapeutæ form of government, by bishops, was first organized. alexandria seems to have been the common mother of all that is new in religion. it is here where have sprung up, in all ages, those subtle questions which have led the minds of men from sense and reason to pursue mischievous phantoms. we infer from the writings of eusebius, and from other sources, that the therapeutæ christians in alexandria were numerous at an early date. the letter of adrian from alexandria, in a. d. , is the first notice we have of a church with a bishop at its head. it was this letter that led the author of the "decline and fall," after a careful survey of the subject, with a penetration that nothing escaped, and an industry which left no ground unexplored, to conclude that the first regular christian church government was instituted at alexandria. if christian churches are not indebted to the therapeutæ for their form of church government, from what source do they derive it? _not_ from the jews; not from paul; not from the apostles. chapter xix. linus never bishop of rome.--clement, third bishop, and his successors to the time of anicetus, myths.--chronology of eusebius exposed, also that of irenæus. at what time was linus, said to be the successor of peter, made bishop of rome? the last trace we have of him, he was with paul, in rome, in the fall of a. d. . after this we know nothing of him, except from vague and more than doubtful tradition. according to irenaeus, it was when peter and paul were in rome together, after they had laid the foundation of the church at that place. paul went to rome for the first time in a. d. , where he remained to the spring of a. d. . we have shown that during this time peter was not there. paul remained absent until the summer or fall of a. d. , and soon after his return was committed to prison. in a. d. , peter was in babylon, two thousand miles away. as irenaeus is the founder of the story, and the only authority in subsequent ages, when it was that linus was appointed over the church of rome as the successor of peter, it devolves on those who pretend to believe him to show when it was that peter and paul were together in rome, laying the foundation of a church, or anything else. this can never be done; and if not, it destroys the first link in the apostolic chain, and what is left is worthless. the importance attached to clement as the third bishop of rome will be a sufficient excuse for a critical examination, as to who he was, when he lived, and the position he occupied. the authority that clement was bishop of rome is the same we have in any other case for links to keep up the apostolic succession; for irenaeus not only supplies an apostle from whom to start, but also the intermediate links in the chain, to the time of authentic history. in this he finds great assistance in his ready invention of traditions, which we are required to believe without question, for fear of incurring the sin of unbelief, and subject ourselves to being called slippery eels, trying to evade the truth. the x following is his language: "the blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the church, committed into the hands of linus the office of the episcopate. of this linus, paul makes mention in the epistles to timothy. to him succeeded anacletus; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, clement was allotted the bishopric. this man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing (in his ears), and their traditions before his eyes." (_irenæus_, book iii. chap. , sec. .) it may be affirmed with confidence, that we know nothing of the person who is called clement, and made third bishop in the church of rome. if he had held the office at the time it is claimed he did--the latter part of the first century--it would have been in the power of irenaeus to give us a full account of him: when he took the office, and when he died; for if he had been a real character, there must have been persons living, at the time irenaeus flourished, who had seen and known him, so that the historian had ample material to inform posterity of everything which related to the life of the third bishop. but he gives no information--does not give a date--or the source from which he derives his authority, but has left the world to grope in darkness ever since. we have his word, and that is all. it is impossible that a person should fill an office of importance in the church in rome, at the end of the first century, without leaving some tangible evidence that he had once an existence; but clement, like a shadow, passes over the earth, without a single mark of any kind to prove he ever lived. there is a dispute, as to when and how he died. some say he was banished into the crimea by trajan, and there suffered martyrdom by drowning. others that he died a peaceful death, a.d. . there is nothing known about him, and for that reason, everything which concerns him is variously stated. this could not be, had he been a real character in history. it is only fictions of the brain that elude you, when you attempt to grasp them. we are not told when he first filled the office which it is claimed he did. eusebius states, that he succeeded anacletus in the twelfth year of domitian's reign, a. d. . cave, in his life of clement, from the best light he could get, adopted the conclusion of dodwell, that he became bishop about a. d. or a. d. . the reason of this confusion is readily explained. the clement referred to by paul has been made to fill the place of an imaginary clement at the end of the century--a person who only existed in the brain of irenaeus; and in trying to fix time and dates, the real and imaginary clement create confusion. irenaeus has purposely left the subject in darkness, as he does the time when peter went to rome, and john to asia. dates are always fatal to falsehood and misrepresentations. the real clement is referred to by paul in the fourth chapter and third verse of the epistle to the philip-pians, which was written from rome in a. d. . this is the only notice that is taken of him, and he is made the third bishop of rome by irenaeus, simply because his name is found among others in one of paul's epistles, as it was in the case of linus, who was made first. who was it that wrote the letter to the corinthians ascribed to clement? we cannot tell who wrote all, but we can who did write a part. the address of this letter by a person who, it is claimed, was at the time a bishop, to a church outside the city, which, it was said, appealed to him for advice, is the first bold attempt, on the part of the see of rome, to enforce an acknowledgment of the supremacy of the papal authority. can any reason be given why the church at corinth, during the first century, should appeal to rome for advice on any subject? the church at corinth was the oldest, and after paul's death knew of no higher authority than itself. there are no signs of a church to which an appeal could be made to the end of the century, except those manufactured by the aid of tradition, which do not deserve to be mentioned when men mean to be serious. this letter, like everything else suspicious, has no date. we can fix the date with almost entire certainty to every letter written by paul, and there is no reason why a date should not be given to the one to the corinthians, except that there is something wrong about it, and a date would expose the fraud. archbishop wake supposes it to have been written soon after the termination of the persecution under nero, between the years a. d. and a. d. , lard-ner refers it to the year a. d. . (_chevallier h. e. introduction_.) the writer of this epistle was careful to leave no internal evidence by which its date could be determined, and what there is of that character is inserted apparently to mislead or afford grounds for dispute. we have a right to demand the letter of the corinthians to clement, to which his is the answer; for it is more probable that a letter received at rome of so much importance would be preserved, than one sent away into a distant country. we not only have not the letter, but we cannot learn what it was about. there can be no doubt of the early date of the letter, for it makes no allusion to the gospels, and was written during the lives of the first fathers of the church, such as polycarp and ignatius. it has but little of the odor of the second century about it. from all the light we can collect on this perplexing question, we would say that the letter itself was written by some of the early fathers, and made afterwards, with some alterations, to conform to the purposes for which it was wanted--that is, the entering wedge of papal supremacy. it is evident that irenaeus is attempting to make the clement of paul take the place of a creature of his own creation, and thus impose upon the world, as he did in the case of john and mark. in manipulating the letter he provided for peter in rome and paul in the occident. in naming the successors to clement, irenaeus says: "to this clement there succeeded evaristus. alexander followed evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, sixtus was appointed; after him telesphorus, who was gloriously martyred; then hyginus; after him, pius; then after him, anicetus. soter having succeeded anicetus, eleutherus does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. in this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical _tradition_ from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us. and this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the church from the apostles until now, and handed down _in truth_." including linus and anacletus, here are twelve _traditional_ bishops in succession. why traditional? for the reason that most of them, and all, except the three last, are not real or historical characters. commencing with nero, about the time when the tradition commences, and coming down to, and including commodus, cotemporary with eleutherus, there are thirteen emperors, one more than the number of bishops in the same time, and history gives the time when each was born, when each became a ruler, when each ceased to reign, the manner of his death, and the qualities for which each was distinguished. it was an age of chronology, when dates of important events were as carefully preserved as in our own day; and yet irenaeus has failed to give a single date in connection with his twelve traditional bishops. we do not even know there was such a tradition, except that he says so, and we are very certain that there was no church in rome to preserve it, if there was. this vagueness and uncertainty--where certainty, if the statements were true, could be easily attained, but easily exposed, if false--must have been used with great effect, by the philosophers of the third century, against christians, for it forced eusebius to fix up dates for each of these traditional bishops. he makes each appear in order, like so many shadows, and he reminds us, as he goes through the roll, of the showman in a panorama, who explains each figure as it takes its place on the canvas. what irenaeus dared not do in the second, eusebius dared do in the fourth century. on such subjects, his whole history proves, he had no scruples; and he admits, indirectly, that he has related whatever might redound to the glory, and suppressed all that could tend to the disgrace of religion. it will be noticed that he gives no authority for his dates, for the reason that he has none. irenaeus could find none in the second century. it is not probable eusebius would be any better supplied in the fourth. it is evident he went to work and divided the whole time in which it is claimed the twelve bishops lived, between them, so as to make each appear at a given time, marked by the accession of the emperors who reigned during the traditional era. we will give his statements as he makes them himself:-- "after vespasian had reigned about ten years, he was succeeded by his son titus; in the second year of whose reign, linus, bishop of the church at rome, who had held the office about twelve years, transferred it to anacletus." (ecc. hist., book iii. chap. .) "in the twelfth year of the same reign, after anacletus had been bishop of rome twelve years, he was succeeded by clement." (ib., book iii. chap. .) "in the third year of the above-mentioned reign (trajan's), clement, bishop of rome, committed the episcopal charge to euaristus, and departed this life, after superintending of the divine word nine years." (ib., book iii. chap. .) "about the twelfth year of the reign of trajan, euaristus had completed the eighth year as bishop of rome, and was succeeded in his episcopal office by alexander." (ib., book iv. chap. .) "in the third year of the same reign (adrian's), alexander, bishop of rome, died, having completed the tenth year of his ministration. xystus was his successor." (ib., book iv. chap. .) "and adrian being now in the twelfth year of his reign, xystus, who had now completed the tenth year of his episcopate, was succeeded by telesphorus." (id., book iv. chap. .) "the emperor adrian, having finished his mortal career after the twenty-first year of his reign, is succeeded by antoninus, called pius, in the government of the romans. in the first year of this reign, and in the eleventh year of his episcopate, telesphorus departed this life, and was succeeded in charge of the roman church by hyginus." (ib., book iv. chap. .) "hyginus dying after the fourth year of his office, pius received the episcopate." (ib., book iv. chap. .) "pius dying at rome in the fifteenth year of his episcopate, the church was governed by anicetus." (ib., book iv. chap. .) "it was in the eighth year of the above-mentioned reign, to wit, that of verus, that anicetus, who held the episcopate of rome for eleven years, was succeeded by soter." ( ., book iv. chap. .) "soter, bishop of rome, died after having held the episcopate eight years. he was succeeded by eleutherus." (ib., book v. introduction.) "in the tenth year of the reign of commodus, eleutherus, who had held the episcopate thirteen years, was succeeded by victor." (ib., book v. chap. .) we give a list of the emperors, and the time of accession of each to the government of the empire, commencing with vespasian, coming down to the time of commodus: [illustration: table of emperors ] the following tabular statement shows the year in which each bishop took the office, according to the statement of eusebius, and the number of years which each held it:-- [illustration: table of traditional roman bishops a] [illustration: table of traditional roman bishops a] from a.d. , when linus became bishop, to the tenth year of commodus, when victor succeeded eleutherus, the true time is one hundred and twenty-one years. the time, taking the period assigned to each traditional bishop, is one hundred and twenty-three years. in making a dead calculation under the circumstances, while we would not expect to find any gross mistakes, we would expect to discover enough to detect the true character of the work, for truth can never be so skilfully counterfeited, but that we can readily distinguish it from that which is false and spurious. the difference between the skilful counterfeit and the genuine bill is often slight, so much so that none but experts can detect it; but it is this difference which termines its character. if the time occupied by the bishops had fallen short two years, we might account for it on the principle of an interregnum; but where the time is in excess, it is proof of a blunder or mistake, on the part of some one who is engaged in a dishonest employment. clement became bishop in a.d. , and filled the office for nine years. this leaves his successor to take his place in a.d. , whereas he took it in a.d. , one year after the office was vacant. euaristus took the office in a.d. , held it eight years, to a.d. ; his successor took his place in a.d. no, leaving a gap of one year. telesphorus became bishop in a.d. , and served eleven years, which would leave the office vacant in a.d. ; but his successor takes it in a.d. , two years before the death of his predecessor. anicetus took the office in a.d. , and served eleven years, to a.d. . his successor, soter, took the office in the eighth year of verus, which would be a.d. . here is a clear gap of one year. it was intended that the time assigned to the bishops should correspond with the true historic period, and be instead of years. there are three years of vacancies, and a lap of two years in the case of telesphorus and hyginus. if we deduct this lap, it will stand one hundred and twenty-one, the true time. eusebius meant well and intended no offence to chronology, but blundered, and in fixing twelve dates only makes four mistakes. during a time when accuracy of dates is more important than at any other, there seems to have been less care exercised than in the same space of time in any period of history; and indeed, since the foundation of rome, over seven hundred years before christ, to the end of the empire, there have not been so many mistakes and contradictions as to dates which relate to successive rulers, as during this period of one hundred and twenty-one years. but such is the difference between true and genuine, and false and spurious history. of the twelve traditional bishops of irenaeus, telesphorus is selected for the honors of martyrdom. no period in roman history could have been selected more unlikely and improbable for the death of a christian bishop at rome on account of his religion, than the reign of antoninus pius. not one drop of christian blood was spilt in rome during his reign of twenty-three years. not only was there no blood spilt in rome, but he forbade the persecution of christians in the provinces by an express edict. a modern writer, speaking of him, says: "open to conviction, uncorrupted by the vain and chimerical philosophy of the times, he was desirous of doing justice to all mankind. asia _propria_ was still the scene of vital christianity and cruel persecution. these christians applied to antoninus, and complained of the many injuries they sustained from the people of the country. earthquakes, it seems, had lately happened, and the pagans were much terrified, and ascribed them to the vengeance of heaven against christians." (milner, c. h., vol. i., page .) here follows the edict of the pious emperor, addressed to the enemies of the christians: "as to the earthquakes which have happened in past times, or lately, is it not proper to remind you of your own despondency when they happened, and to desire you to compare your spirit with theirs, and observe how serenely they confide in god? you live in practical ignorance of the supreme god himself--you harass and persecute to death those who worship him, concerning these same men, some others of the provincials wrote to our divine hadrian, to whom he returned answer, that they should not be molested unless they appeared to attempt something against the roman government. many also have signified to me concerning these men, to whom i have returned an answer agreeable to the maxims of my fathers. _but if any person will still persist in accusing the christians merely as such, let the accused be acquitted, though he appear to be a christian, and let the accusor be punished_." set up at ephesus in the common assembly of asia. is it possible that telesphorus was put to death in rome under the mild and gentle reign of such a man? if the persons who are named by irenaeus as bishops were real and not fictitious, how is it that there was not something done or said by some or all of them, so as to connect them with the events which transpired during their lives? they lived, if they lived at all, during the most eventful period of roman history. it was during the period of the civil war, when rome was reduced to ashes--when the jewish nation was almost destroyed by the legions of titus, jerusalem rendered a desert place, and the victorious armies of trajan added armenia, mesopotamia, and assyria to the empire. during a period of seventy years, filled with the most exciting scenes and mighty events the world has ever known, we have at least nine bishops in rome, whose presence is no more felt in the history of the times, than so many men who were dead and quietly resting in their graves. they do not even cast their shadows on the earth. the first person on the list of these traditional bishops who steps forth into the light, so that we see something real and tangible, is anicetus. hegisippus says, "after coming to rome, i made my stay with anicetus, whose deacon was eleutherus." taking the foregoing data as correct, anicetus held the office of bishop about a. d. . if the statement of hegisippus is true, which we are inclined to believe, not because he says so, but because it is probable, he is the first person who had ever seen and talked with any of the traditional bishops of irenaeus, and he is tenth in order of succession. but it is not until we come to eleutherus that we have a historic character, whose acts can be traced and found in the history of the times. here we part company with spectres and deal with real life; but as we leave an age populated by phantoms, we enter into another stained with forgeries and fraud. chapter xx. the prophetic period.--the fourteenth verse of the seventh chapter of isaiah explained. the claims of christ to be the logos or son of god, in the alexandrian sense, are made manifest by prophecy and miracles. the jews, influenced by the prophets of their nation, believed that a deliverer would some day appear, who would deliver them out of the hands of all their enemies, and establish a temporal kingdom on the earth. but up to the time when christ appeared, and even to the present day, no one had shown himself who realized their idea of this divine mission. the christians at the time of christ believed that he was the one spoken of by the old prophets, and that a spiritual deliverer, one who was to deliver men from the power of satan, had been mistaken for one who with temporal power would rescue the jewish people from the hands of their foes. barnabas, the companion of paul, firmly believed this to be so, and took pains to cite many texts from the old testament to prove it. he cites numerous passages from daniel, and all the prophets, and especially searched the pages of isaiah, where he claims to have found at least sixteen different references made to christ as the coming saviour. but in all his references to the prophecies he makes none to the celebrated passage in the seventh chapter of isaiah, on which is founded the doctrine of the divine conception of christ from a virgin. he makes no allusion to the fourteenth verse of the chapter at all, so that he was ignorant of the very foundation on which the christianity of the second century was reared. nor does polycarp or ignatius, except where their writings have been clearly defaced by the forgeries of men, who wished to establish the new ideas of the day by the authority of the fathers. but when we come down to the second century, as far as the times of justin martyr, we find pages in the writings of the day filled with a new class of citations from the old testament, all of which foreshadow the appearance of christ, his birth from a virgin, and point him out as the one foretold by the prophets. in his apology to the emperor, justin martyr quotes numerous passages from the old and new testaments to prove the divine mission of christ, and speaks of his miraculous conception from the virgin. (_apology_, sec. ) we now enter a new era, filled with new ideas, and passages of scripture which before had been overlooked, but which all at once were discovered to contain a meaning which concerned the eternal interests of mankind. the synoptics are now spread out before the world, and christianity, armed by the voice of the prophets of god, is prepared to make a new start. one fact will appear clear as we approach the end of this subject, that all the men who undertook to strengthen the cause of christianity by the application of prophecy to the person of christ were ignorant of jewish history, and either wofully misunderstood the language of the prophets, or foolishly attempted to pervert it. there are four prophecies cited in the gospel of matthew from the old testament, which it is claimed point out christ as the one foretold by the old jewish prophets. st. "behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name emmanuel, which being interpreted is, god with us." (matt. i. .) it must be borne in mind, as has been before stated, that when the new idea of the logos was started, it was found necessary in some way to make christ more than mortal. to be the son of god in the alexandrian sense he must have god for his father, and this could be only brought about through a virgin overshadowed by his divine presence. in the zeal of these men, who undertook to prove it, they selected a passage from isaiah which had no application to anything outside of the jewish history of the day. rezin, king of syria, and pekah, king of israel, united and made war on ahaz, king of ju-dah, and marched upon jerusalem. ahaz became alarmed at the combination, and feared the capture of the holy city and the destruction of his kingdom. the lord took compassion on him and his people, and sent isaiah to him with an order to meet him at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, where he would inform him what would be the fate of judah and her enemies. "then said the lord unto isaiah, go forth now to meet ahaz, thou, and shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; and say unto him, take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of rezin with syria, and of the son of remaliah. because syria, ephraim, and the son of remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, let us go up against judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of tabeal. thus saith the lord god, it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. for the head of syria is damascus, and the head of damascus is rezin: and within threescore and five years shall ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. and the head of ephraim is samaria, and the head of samaria is remaliah's son. if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. moreover, the lord spake again unto ahaz, saying, ask thee a sign of the lord thy god; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. but ahaz said, i will not ask, neither will i tempt the lord. and he said, hear ye now, o house of david; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my god also? therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel. butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. for before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. the lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that ephraim departed from judah; even the king of assyria." (_isaiah_ vii. - .) the lord told ahaz not to fear or be fainthearted, and he undertook to tell him how long it would be before rezin and pekah would be defeated and driven away. in fixing the time, isaiah indulges in a poetic license, and purposely rendered it obscure. the language used expresses this meaning: if a virgin should conceive from that time, the day when the lord spoke to ahaz, the child would be born before his enemies would be subdued or driven away; but not a great while before, for when they were driven away, the child would still be so young as not to know how to refuse the evil and choose the good. if the lord did not tell ahaz in some way when his enemies would be subdued, then the object of the interview entirely failed; for that was just what ahaz wanted to know, and which the lord promised to disclose to him. be not faint-hearted, neither be afraid, for in such a time your deliverance shall come. if the lord wished to inform him that he would be delivered from rezin and pekah, after the messiah spoken of in the scriptures should come, which happened seven hundred years later, he would know no more after, than he did before he conversed with the lord. the lord did not tell him the precise day, but furnished ahaz the data by which he might make his own calculations. a very simple answer is purposely obscured by connecting some things with it which have a remote bearing on the subject, and others which have no connection with it at all. "butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," is an obscure allusion to the age of the child: and his name shall be called immanuel, is of no significance, for he might as well be called by any other name. when we first read the passage, we see nothing distinct: all is in a kind of penumbra; but after looking for a short time, as in a curiously shaded picture, an image, an idea, shows or appears on the ground-work, well marked and defined. the explanation we have given of the passage from isaiah is justified and made apparent by the language used in the first, second, and third verses of the eighth chapter of this prophet. it seems the lord wished to prove to ahaz, by actual demonstration, that what he promised should be fulfilled to the letter. the prophet says, he took with him two faithful witnesses and went in to the prophetess (who was the virgin) and she conceived and bare a son. then when the son was born, the lord said to the prophet, that before the child could pronounce the name of father or mother, "the riches of damascus and the spoil of samaria shall be taken away before the king of assyria." tiglath pileser, king of the assyrians, did come to the aid of ahaz, and made war on the syrians--laid their country waste--took damascus, and slew rezin. he afflicted the land of israel, and carried the people away captives. (josephus, _antiq_., book ix. chap. , sec. .) all this too within the time promised ahaz, according to isaiah. the mystical language used by isaiah in the fourteenth verse of the seventh chapter, which has been the cause of so much speculation and false interpretation, springs from the poetic element of the hebrew mind. had isaiah lived in our day, his sublime genius would have produced a paradise lost; but in his own country, and in his own times, his imagination dwelt upon ideas and thoughts which had their root in the hearts of the jewish people. the hebrew poets found subjects within the history of their own nation best suited to arouse their genius, and move the hearts of the people. the sorrows and afflictions brought on the nation by her enemies, and her final deliverance by the hand of the lord, are favorite themes, and inspire her poets with thoughts full of tenderness, and with denunciations which are sublime and often terrific. the harp of zion in the hands of the daughters of judah, as they weep by the waters of babylon, gives forth no sounds but those of sorrow; but the genius of her prophets, inspired by a consciousness that a time of deliverance will come, deals out thunderbolts on the heads of their oppressors. what are called the prophecies of isaiah are nothing more, many of them, than so many epic poems, like the iliad of homer, to celebrate scenes and real occurrences in jewish history. the war upon ahaz, king of judah, by rezin and pekah, kings of israel and syria, took place during the life of isaiah: and the poet undertakes to commemorate the history of the times, in the form of a jewish epic. he speaks of the past, and not of things to come. the jews were taught to believe that their nation was the favorite people of god, and from the time of moses to the last of her prophets, her poets did not hesitate to introduce the lord, and cause him to take part in a jewish epic, any more than homer hesitated to introduce jupiter and all the heathen gods into the story of the iliad. the meeting of the lord and ahaz at the "end of conduit of the upper field," and what afterwards takes place, is the poetic license of the poet, as he undertakes to narrate a portion of the history of his own time. chapter xxi. bethlehem the birthplace of christ, as foretold by the prophets.--cyrus, the deliverer and ruler referred to by micah the prophet.--the lamentations of jeremiah spoken of by matthew (chap. ii. ), refers to the jews, and not to the massacre of the infants by herod. when herod inquired of the wise men where christ should be born, they said unto him, "in bethlehem of judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou bethlehem, in the land of juda, art not the least among the princes of juda: for out of thee shall come a governor, that shall rule my people israel." (_matt_. ii. , .) the passage is taken from the prophet micah, who was a cotemporary with jeremiah, and prophesied under the reigns of jotham, ahaz, and hezekiah, kings of judah. he lived during the time of nebuchadnezzar, the great enemy of the jewish nation, and witnessed a large share of the miseries he inflicted upon that people. we would infer from the first verse of the fifth chapter, that his book was written at a time when the armies of the king of babylon were encamped around the walls of jerusalem. "now gather thyself in troops, o daughter of troops: _he hath laid siege against us_; they shall smite the judge of israel with a rod upon the cheek." looking forward to the time when the jewish people will be delivered from the power of nebuchadnezzar and the assyrian nation, and of their conquest by some other power, the prophet, aroused by a prophetic spirit, announces that the time is coming when israel shall again be free: "but thou, bethlehem ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of judah, yet opt of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of israel. and he shall stand and feed in the strength of the lord, in the majesty of the name of the lord his god; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." (_micah_ v. , , .) in the tenth verse of the fourth chapter, the captivity of the jews, and their transportation to babylon, is distinctly announced, and they are told that while in the hands of the assyrians, they shall be as a woman in travail; but that, like her, they should in time be delivered from suffering. the third verse of the fifth chapter declares that god will not interfere in the mean time, and that they must wait for deliverance, and submit to their sufferings, as unavoidable as in the case of the woman; that at the appointed time a deliverer would come, who would save and bring back a remnant of the people, who shall grow powerful and "be great to the ends of the earth." now it is deliverance from assyrian captivity that is referred to, and it is to violate the fitness of time, place, history, and the state of the jews to apply it to anything else. amidst the awful fate impending over the jewish people, they wanted something to encourage and sustain them; and the prophet undertook to do so, by a promise, that in time their captivity should cease, and they be allowed to return to their own country. but deliverance is to come from bethlehem ephratah--words which sufficiently indicate from what quarter the deliverer was to come; and to give a false direction the word ephratah is omitted in the text in matthew. bethlehem in judea is surely not intended, but the country watered by the river euphrates. a little poetic license to create obscurity--a peculiarity of the jewish prophets--does not at all render the meaning doubtful. cyrus was king of all the country watered by the euphrates; and the assyrian empire ceased to exist when he restored the jews to their own country. cyrus was a ruler in israel. he took the direction of their affairs, ordered the temple to be rebuilt, and directed how the means were to be provided to pay the expense. (letter of cyrus to sisinnes and sathrabouzanes. josephus, antiq., book xi. chap. , sec. .) cyrus is the ruler alluded to, and not christ. the deliverer was to be at the head of a very ancient people--the medes and persians--who "have been from old--from everlasting." when did christ rule over israel? never. that jesus lived at nazareth until he grew to be a young man could not be disputed, and no doubt the fact was stated in the hebrew gospel of matthew. he might live there, but he must be born in bethlehem, and some excuse must be had to get mary there at the precise time when his birth took place. the device of the tax to take her there at the time is weak and puerile, and proves that those who got it up were neither wise nor learned. matthew barely alludes to bethlehem as the place of christ's birth. "now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea, in the days of herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to jerusalem." luke is more specific. "and it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from cæsar augustus, that all the world should be taxed." (_luke_ ii. .) "and all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. and joseph also went up from galilee, out of the city of nazareth, into judea, into the city of david, which is called bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of david), to be taxed with mary his espoused wife, being great with child." (luke ii. , , .) the jews were taxed at the place where their property, real or personal, was at the time of taxing, and not where their ancestors happened to be born. a law or decree of the kind mentioned would involve a movement of almost the entire population of judea, and for no reason, unless it was to give the people a chance to defraud the tax-gatherer by concealing their effects. the cyrenius mentioned was sent out by cæsar "to be a judge of that nation (the jews) and take an account of their substance." (josephus, _antiq_., book xviii. chap. , sec. i.) it would not be necessary for joseph to go to bethlehem, seventy-five miles away, where he had nothing, to give an account of his substance, when all he had was in nazareth. besides, judea was at this time under the government of rome, and if there ever had been a law among the jews requiring each one of them to go to his native city to be taxed, the romans could not have any object in enforcing it. admit that joseph was required to go to bethlehem because david was born there several hundred years before, to be taxed: why was it necessary for mary to go with him? he was to give to the roman officer "an account of his substance:" and did this require the presence of mary? the writer of luke fixes the time when this tax was to be levied. it was when cyrenius was governor of syria. now this cyrenius, according to josephus, was a roman senator, who was sent to judea "to take an account of the substance of the people," as a basis of taxation. this was after archelaus, the son of herod, had been deposed, and ten years after the death of herod. christ was ten years old when cyrenius was made governor, so that the journey of joseph and mary to bethlehem was ten years before the decree to tax was made. the following are the words of josephus: "now cyrenius, a roman senator, and one who had gone through other magistracies and had passed through them till he had been consul, and one who, on other accounts, was of great dignity, came at this time into syria, with a few others sent by cæsar, to be a judge of that nation, _and to take an account of their substance_." (josephus, _antiq_., book xviii. chap. i, sec. i.) had the writer of matthew known anything of jewish history, he never would have made so gross a blunder, and saved the immense amount of labor that it has taken to explain away the effects of his ignorance. one explanation of this mistake is, that there were two assessments--one about the time jesus was born, and the other ten years after. the first has been proven to be a forgery, and was never made. (renan's _life of christ_, chap. i. see note.) "in ramah was there a voice of lamentation and weeping and great mourning. rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted." this, it is claimed, referred to the cruelties of herod, to escape from which joseph and christ were forced to fly into egypt; so that his subsequent return to nazareth would answer to the prophecy, which says, "_behold, from egypt i have called my son_." in the first place, the story of herod's cruelties in the case of the infants is an invention, without the least claim to truth, and was a lame excuse, as we have just stated, to get christ into egypt. "then herod, when he saw he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men." a very short time, not more than two or three days, elapsed after the birth of christ, when herod, not hearing from the wise men, gave the command for the wholesale murder of the infants. it was certainly giving herod more credit for cruelty than was necessary, even on that occasion, for as christ was only a few days old when the order was given, it was useless murder to include all under two years: ninety-five per cent, of the infants might as well have been spared as not. it is a matter of surprise that josephus, the jewish historian, who suffers nothing deserving notice to escape his pen, has made no mention of a fact which, if true, would have filled bethlehem and the country round about it with mourning. he could afford to make mention of the quarrels in herod's family; but not one word to say about the wholesale slaughter of the infants. the story is so absurd, so easily exposed, and of no possible use, that it is omitted in mark, luke, and john. but if the story is true, what has it to do with the troubles of rachel? the passage from jeremiah refers to a time in the history of the jews when jerusalem was taken and held by the assyrians, and a great number of that people had taken refuge in egypt. the jews were undergoing great afflictions, and god, through jeremiah, undertakes to console and comfort them. the lord, in plain language, says: i know that there is great suffering in ramah--much lamentation and bitter weeping. israel has lost many of her children, and she suffers great sorrow and grief. "thus saith the lord: refrain thy voice from weeping, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." (_jeremiah_ xxxi. , .) what has this to do with the cruelty of herod? we have stated that the massacre of the infants was an invention to form an excuse to get jesus into egypt; for his return from that country would serve to prove that he was the one referred to when the lord is made to say, "out of egypt i have called my son." here, we confess, we are at a loss to express our astonishment. in the eleventh chapter of hosea, the lord complains of the ingratitude of the jewish nation, and reminds them what he had done for them in times past. he expresses the love he had for them when the nation was young, and required the power of his arm to protect them. "_when israel was a child, then i loved him, and called my son out of egypt_" (_hosea_. .) it need not be said, that this refers to the deliverance of the jews from the hands of pharaoh. israel is the son spoken of who had _already_ passed out of egypt. "and he came and dwelt in a city called nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, _he shall be called a nazarene_." (_matthew_ ii. .) there is no such prophecy to be found in the old testament. chapter xxii. christ and john the baptist "the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ, the son of god; as it is written in the prophets, behold, i send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the lord, make his paths straight." (_mark_ i. , , .) as in matthew, at the very outset, the second gospel starts out to show that christ is the one foretold by the prophets, and that a direct reference is made to him by isaiah, as one who was to be preceded by another who was to prepare the way for his advent. cotemporaneous history, and a critical examination of the words of the prophet, will dispel the delusion. hezekiah, king of judea, was improvident enough to show to the son of the king of babylon, then on a visit to him, all his treasures, and riches of every description; and "there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that hezekiah shewed him not." when isaiah was told by the king himself what he had done, the prophet spoke and said: "hear the word of the lord of hosts: behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the lord. and of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of babylon. then said hezekiah to isaiah, good is the word of the lord which thou hast spoken. he said moreover, for there shall be peace and truth in my days." (_isaiah_ xxxix. s, , , .) the babylonian captivity-is here referred to. isaiah then proceeds to declare that after great suffering, in their servitude under the assyrians, the lord would deliver the jewish people, and that they should again be a great and prosperous nation. "comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your god. speak ye comfortably to jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the lord's hand double for all her sins. the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our god. every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." (_isaiah_ xl. , , , .) with what tenderness the prophet speaks to his countrymen, to assure them that their captivity will not last forever! divested of poetical language and figures, the lord says: in your lost condition in slavery ("wilderness") you shall hear the voice of the lord to comfort you. be prepared, for he will provide the means ("highway") for your deliverance from captivity. the words wilderness, desert, and highway are symbolical terms, representing the lost condition of the jews and the promise made by the lord, that he would provide means for their deliverance from their enemies. what follows, holds forth to the jews a glorious future. "every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low." that is, the down-trodden and oppressed children of israel shall once more take the stand of an independent nation; and the proud and lofty assyrian shall in his turn be humbled, and come under the yoke of the conqueror. the idea which underlies the language of the prophet is, that the jews will be ultimately restored to their own country, and again become a prosperous people; and as is characteristic of all these jewish prophecies, the expressions, "and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain," are mere expletives, to obscure the sense, and increase the ambiguity. like the oracles of greece, a simple idea is concealed beneath figures and metaphors, and the mind distracted by the introduction of thoughts that have no meaning, and no connection with the subject. josephus, after giving a full account of this prophecy from isaiah says, it was subsequently fulfilled in the captivity and restoration of the jews, and that when he wrote, the words of the prophet had passed into history. (_antiq_., book x. chap. , sec. .) the lord, by the prophet, is addressing the jews of that day about matters which directly concerned them, and what was said had no more to do with john the baptist preaching on the jordan, in the neighborhood of the arabian desert, than it had with the travels of livingstone over the sands of africa. the john referred to in mark is a historic character, and all we know about him we learn through josephus. in his day he was a reformer. shocked at the low condition of the jews, who had reached the lowest deep in crimes and vices of all kinds, through the corruption of the priesthood, and tyranny of their civil governors, he undertook to reform abuses, and elevate the moral standard of the nation. standing on the banks of the jordan, crowds from the surrounding country came to hear him denounce the sins of the people, and be baptized. he preached repentance, and those who did repent he purified with the mystic waters of the jordan. in the time of john, the jewish people had become restive, and chafed under the government of rome. the elements of rebellion were then at work, which, a few years later, led to open revolt, and the total ruin of the nation. while the jews overran with discontent, the roman governors were filled with suspicion. herod took alarm at the course of john, and caused him to be seized and confined in the castle of macherus, situated on the borders of the desert, where he was afterwards put to death. all that is known of him is found in the following extract from josephus: "now, some of the jews thought that the destruction of herod's army came from god, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against john, that was called the _baptist_; for herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards god, and so to come to baptism; for that washing [with water] would be acceptable to him if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. now, when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, herod, who feared lest the great influence john had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it should be too late. accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of herod's suspicious temper, to macherus, the castle i before mentioned, and was there put to death. now the jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon herod, and a mark of god's displeasure against him." (josephus, _antiq_., book xviii. chap. , sec. .) it was this passage, and the one from isaiah, "the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the lord," that suggested the story of christ coming from galilee to the jordan to be baptized by john, and the scenes that followed. as josephus, in the passage just quoted, speaks of what john was doing on the jordan, and what occurred there, it is strange he takes no notice of the wonderful things which took place at the time christ was baptized, as described in matthew. but, as we have shown, the prophecy of isaiah has nothing to do with john the baptist. the story that the life of john was the price paid for a jig danced before herod, is not only false and absurd, but in one sense impossible. herod was a roman officer, and received his appointment from rome. as the governor of a province, he acted under, and was governed by law. to take life without sufficient cause, from mere wantonness or caprice, subjected him to punishment and removal from office. herod might put john to death as a promoter of sedition, but not to gratify the spite of a woman who had been accused of incest. pilate dared not deliver over christ to be crucified, until after he was charged by the jews with conspiring against the government of cæsar. his claim to be king of the jews, which was made a charge against him, was the warrant which pilate had to surrender him to a merciless mob, which would not be satisfied with anything less than his blood. the author of matthew, it is clear, was ignorant of the topography of judea, the history of the jews, and knew nothing of the fundamental principles of the roman law. chapter xxiii. the miracle of the cloven tongues.--misapplication of a prophecy of joel. in the acts of the apostles, a passage from joel the prophet is spoken of by peter, as foretelling what is called the miracle of tongues: at the end of forty days christ appeared to his disciples at jerusalem, and being assembled together with them, they were commanded not to depart from jerusalem until certain things should take place. now the writer of the acts forgot what he said in his gospel, if he wrote both, for he there tells us that christ ascended the day of his resurrection, or at most, the day after. taking what we can glean from the four gospels, and taking the probabilities of the case into the account, the disciples, a very short time after the death of jesus, returned to galilee. the public mind was greatly moved against jesus, which was more or less directed against his followers, and as none of them were remarkable for courage, it is hardly probable that they would tarry in jerusalem, especially as there was nothing to keep them. but according to the writer in luke, at the end of the forty days they were still in the city, and were commanded not to leave until certain things took place. he next says, "and when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. and they were filled with the holy ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." (_acts_ ii. , , , .) this is something truly wonderful, and we are astonished that so strange and important an event has found no place in history--especially as a report of it must have been circulated far and wide, for the writer says, that "there were dwelling at jerusalem, jews out of every nation under heaven," who came to see for themselves. the writer includes other people besides jews from every nation, and says: "now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded;" and among these were "parthians, medes, elamites, and the dwellers in mesopotamia, and in judea, and cappadocia"--people from "phrygia, pamphylia, cretans and arabians"--and all heard spoken the language of their native countries. josephus lived not long after this time, and if he did not reside in jerusalem, he must have been often in the jewish capital, and if anything so wonderful as this had taken place, he certainly must have heard of it, and it was not possible for him to forget it when he came to write his history, especially as things of no comparative importance are fully noted by him. these things are so wonderful, that it is necessary to explain them by the direct action of the deity, in fulfilment of prophecy. the writer has peter make a speech, and peter tells the crowd that they need not be surprised, for what had just happened had all been foretold, and was nothing more than the fulfilment of a prophecy of joel, who said: "and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith god, i will pour put my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. and on my servants and on my handmaids i will pour out in those days of my spirit; and they shall prophesy: and i will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the lord come." (_acts_ ii. , , , .) all this has nothing more to do with, or has no more reference to, the miracle of the cloven tongues than it has to the assassination of julius cæsar in the roman senate. the jews, at the time referred to by joel, were suffering under great afflictions. there had been a most severe drought, and the land had been devoured by the locust, the canker-worms and caterpillar. as all calamities which befell the jewish people were referred by them to the displeasure of god on account of their sins, joel exhorts them to repent, and promises, if they do, the lord will come to the rescue. "then will the lord be zealous for his land and pity the people. he will send down rain, and the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. and i will restore to you the years that the locust had eaten, the cancer-worm and caterpillar and palmer-worm, my great army which i sent among you. and you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the lord your god, that hath dealt wondrously with you. and ye shall know that i am in the midst of israel, and that i am the lord your god, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed." now follows what peter was made to say was the prophecy which foretold the miracle of the cloven tongues. "and it shall come to pass afterwards that i will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." which means, i will pour out my blessings ("spirit") on all flesh, including the servants and handmaids--they shall be universal, and not confined to any class. then all the young and the old shall rejoice and be happy. their happiness shall be of the most exalted kind, unalloyed with care, like delightful dreams and visions. as the prophet had said in the beginning of this chapter: "blow ye the trumpet in zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations." (_joel_ ii. , .) referring to this terrible calamity which was to come, that the fear of it _might not interrupt this general state of happiness_ which is spoken of, the lord tells the people that he will give them timely notice, that they may be prepared: "and i will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the lord come." (_joel_ ii. , .) there could not be a state of universal joy among the people, such as is described, as long as the "great and terrible day of the lord" might overtake them any moment. there could be no happiness where there was constant fear. the lord promised that a timely warning should be given. now what has this beautiful and sublime poem to do with the miracle of the cloven tongues? chapter xxiv. miracles. it is in vain to deny the truth of a miracle on the ground that it is impossible, and contravenes the well-established laws of the universe. the power to create, implies the power to suspend; and as the performance of a miracle is the exercise of creative energy, it is just as easy to exercise it in one case as another. all efforts to demonstrate the impossibility of miracles have failed even in the hands of such men as hume, because men reason on such subjects in a circle. still it would be strange if there was no way to expose a false miracle, especially where the results claimed from it are calculated to lead men into error. when some unusual and extraordinary event which amounts to a miracle is said to have occurred one hundred years ago, at a time when intelligent and inquisitive minds were around, and no notice is taken of it by them in giving an account of their own times, nor by any one else, it is safe to conclude that it never did take place, and that those who assert it for the first time at the end of the hundred years are engaged in an attempt to impose some fraud on their fellow-men. from the death of christ, a.d. , to some time near a.d. , we claim that no writer of profane or church history makes mention or speaks of the miracles described in the first three gospels, and not those of the fourth until long afterwards. it is by negative testimony alone that we can arrive at the truth. in the first place, did the great apostle of the gentiles perform the miracles that are ascribed to him in the acts? it is stated that at lystra he cured a man who had been crippled from his birth by his simple word; he exorcised the evil spirit that was in lydia; he raised eutychus, who had fallen from a window; cast from his hand, unhurt, the deadly viper; and such miraculous powers did he possess, "that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." (_acts_ xix. .) paul, in his epistles, does not mention or refer to any of these wonderful things, and does any man suppose, if true, he would fail to make some allusion to them? he neither mentions the miracles ascribed to himself, nor those described in the four gospels. perhaps he did not disbelieve in the possibility of miracles, for such belief was common to the age; but to believe them possible, and believe that one has been performed, is another thing. "truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds." ( _cor_. xii. .) the signs and wonders here spoken of were made to appear to the corinthians alone, and have no reference to miracles described in the new testament, nor do we know what they were, for no notice of them is taken in the acts. in the th chapter and th verse, he says that he had a vision which told him not to be afraid to speak, and not hold his peace. the "mighty deeds" refers to his works as an apostle, and the "signs and wonders" rather to the fruits of his preaching than to any display of miraculous power. had paul possessed the power attributed to him in the acts, it would have been easier for him to have converted the world than to make the few converts he made after the labor of a life. there were those living who in the course of nature might have seen lazarus, or heard of his resurrection, and had it been in the power of paul to have cited his case, or any of the miraculous cures claimed for christ or any of his disciples, the conversion of mankind would have been as rapid as the movements of the earth. every pagan temple and altar would have been deserted, and their priests have fallen prostrate at the feet of paul. a few pretended miracles and revelations on the part of mahomet established his claim to be the prophet of god, and were the means, backed by the scimitar, of fixing the faith of millions. paul is silent on the subject of the miracles. barnabas was a companion and fellow-preacher with paul. no document extant to-day which relates to the apostolic age is entitled to more, if as much confidence and credit, as the epistle which bears his name. for some reason, it bears less evidence on its face of fraudulent manipulation than any other writing of that time, and it is this evidence of its purity which excludes it from the list of canonical gospels this day. it has been referred to by a long list of fathers, commencing with origen, and coming down to writers of our day, as the genuine production of the companion of the great apostle. no one, not even the apostles themselves, had more faith in christ than he, and it seems to be the burden of his epistle to prove that he was the saviour who had been foretold by the prophets, and whom the jews were anxiously expecting. had christ, in his ministry among men, done or performed any act out of the course of nature which proved him superior to other men in his power over the laws of nature--anything like command over diseases, sickness, to say nothing of death--barnabas would not have failed to dwell upon everything of the kind with energy and zeal, because such powers would establish what he aimed to prove: that is, that christ was the one spoken of by the prophets. but, while he makes the most labored application of the prophecies to christ, he makes no allusion to any wonderful work he performed while he was on the earth. he has not one word to say on the subject of the miracles ascribed to christ in the gospels. much may be inferred from the silence of apollos on the subject of miracles. the intercourse between the jews at alexandria and judea was constant. nothing of importance could occur in jerusalem without its being known in a short time on the banks of the nile. the history of john the baptist, the works he did at the jordan, and the manner of his death, were all known to apollos from some source, before josephus wrote his history of the jews; but it seems he had never heard of christ or any of his wonderful works. (_acts_ xviii.) after his conversion he taught that christ was the one expected by the jews, and he undertook to prove it by the prophecies in the old testament. it would have been far easier to establish this by the mention of the one-half the miracles ascribed to christ in the gospels than by arguments drawn from prophecy, which were vague, obscure, and doubtful. but he had never heard of the resurrection of lazarus, nor of the miracles of the loaves and fishes, nor of the wonderful things that happened to the swine in the country of the gadarenes. there are now extant, writings which learned men refer to the apostolic age, which have no value except as they may throw some light on the age in which they were written. we may mention the epistle of paul to the laodiceans; the epistles of paul to seneca, with seneca's to paul, and the acts paul and thecla. in none of these writings is any mention made of the miracles of paul, or those of the new testament, and the silence of such works is only of consequence as it shows the universal ignorance of antiquity, or the apostolic age, on the subject; for it is not to be supposed that those things which were standing themes for discourses and books in the second century, would be unnoticed in the first, if they did exist, as well at one time as the other. how can we account for the silence of the fathers of the church on this subject? ignatius and polycarp were so near to the time of paul and the disciples, and even christ, that nothing which concerned any one of them was unknown, and if the miracles ascribed to them had been real occurrences, nothing could be more effective in the hands of these fathers for the spread of the religion of christianity. but there is not only no mention by any one of them of the miracles, but the gospels have not yet appeared. up to the beginning of the first century, there is no mention or reference made in any writing, either to the gospels, or the miracles they describe. allusions are made in some cases to the scriptures, in the most general terms; and as the old testament writings were called scriptures, and there was the hebrew gospel of matthew, and the epistles of barnabas, james, peter, and paul, to which the term scripture might apply, the reference is of no value in fixing the date of the gospels. the first distinct and unequivocal notice of the first three gospels is found in justin martyrs _apology_; and he, who speaks of them for the first time, dilates on their contents, and refers to matthew, mark, and luke each by name: to matthew nineteen, to mark four, and to luke fourteen times. from this time to the present hour, every book abounds in references to these gospels. as yet the gospel of john had not appeared. what is remarkable in the gospels, referred to by justin, who makes a most elaborate disquisition on the prophecies, citing many passages to prove that christ was a divine person, whose advent had been predicted, he does not make mention of any of his miracles, or of those of any of his disciples. he speaks of christ's birth from the virgin mary, his miraculous conception, and all the leading acts of his life, as described in matthew and others, but seems to have had no knowledge of the miraculous works he performed. the silence of justin on the subject of miracles, and his extended notice of the prophecies, can only be explained by the fact that there was nothing said about them in the gospels, and that they were inserted at a later day. as the quarrels among christians in the second century intensified, and as the authority of the church grew to be paramount as we approach the dark ages, no doubt the gospels underwent a revision, and the miracles were added as a means to excite the awe and command the belief of the pagan world. the spirit for the creation of miracles commenced in the church before the end of the second century--was encouraged by it, and has been continued down to our own times, and formed the most effective weapon for the conversion of the hordes of the north, and for the final overthrow of the followers of arius. each age had its own miracles, in each of which was apportioned the amount of divine energy required to subdue the obstinacy and unbelief to be overcome. the silence of what are called profane writers on the subject of the miracles is equally unaccountable--if they are to be regarded as real occurrences in history--and none as much so as that of the jewish historian, josephus. of sacerdotal extraction, and of royal descent, flavius josephus was born a.d. . he was alive in a.d. , but the time and manner of his death is unknown. his works comprise a complete history of the jews, and omit nothing that was worthy of notice. he was a youth of great ability and promise, and says of himself, "when i was a child, and about fourteen years of age, i was commended by all for the love i had for learning, on which account the high priest and principal men of the city came frequently to me together, in order to know my opinion about the accurate understanding of points of law." (_life of josephus_, sec. i.) here we have a historian of the right kind, living so near the time that he must have seen and conversed with those who had seen and known christ and his disciples. how are we to regard his silence? had christ been the character which many suppose he was, a teacher endowed beyond all other men, with a divine genius to declare the doctrines which are to govern man in his relations towards the creator and towards each other, we can well understand why, in a.d. , when josephus wrote the history of the jews, he failed to notice him. his ministry extended through a period of only one year, at a time when the jewish people were chafing under the yoke of the romans, and were preparing for a final struggle with the conquerors. at such a time, the presence of such a person as christ, who taught men to forgive their enemies, to love their neighbors as themselves, and to cultivate feelings which dispose mankind to peace and charity, would most likely pass unnoticed. if christ was more than a great teacher--if he were the second person in the godhead, who condescended to visit the earth to instruct mankind, and while here performed the wonderful works spoken of in the gospels, then there is no way in which we can account for the silence of the jewish historian. we are forced to admit that the son of god, who took up his abode among men to convince and instruct them, failed to make his presence known and felt so as to attract the notice of him who undertook to give a minute account of what happened at the time, and in the country where he preached and taught. the attempt in the fourth century to force into history, between the regular course of events, a passage intended to break the force of total unconsciousness on the part of josephus that there was such a person as christ, to the eye of the critic is infinitely more damaging than complete silence. a quarrel, which led to a sedition, sprang up in jerusalem, about the use made by pilate of sacred money, to bring water into the city. "_about the same time, also, another_ sad calamity happened, which put the jews into disorder." a roman woman called paulina, through the connivance of some of the gods of isis, was seduced by a person of the name of mundus. (_antiq_., book xviii. chap. .) between these two events, is wedged, or forced in, a paragraph which contains all the great historian has to say of christ, and the events of his life. twenty-nine lines are taken to tell about the troubles growing out of the misapplication of the sacred money; one hundred and thirty-one about paulina and her misfortunes, and _sixteen_ are all that the historian requires to inform us of all he knows about christ. much better had he said nothing. if josephus makes no mention of christ and his miracles, where must we look? it is in vain to search among the writers of greece and rome. out of the nine reasons given by dr. lardner for believing the passage from josephus in relation to christ spurious, the first is sufficient: it was never quoted, or referred to, by any writer previous to _eusebius_, who wrote in the fourth century. chapter xxv. epistle of paul to the hebrews. this epistle has been the source of more controversy than any other book of the new testament. it has been the cause of much useless labor and unprofitable research. in the first place, was paul the author? tertullian ascribes it to barnabas; grotius to st. luke, and luther the reformer thought it was written by apollos, mentioned in the acts; but the testimony of ecclesiastical antiquity is all in favor of paul as the author. allusions are made to it in the epistles of ignatius about a. d. . it is also referred to by polycarp, bishop of smyrna in the year a. d. . internal evidence, supplied by the epistle itself, is conclusive that paul was the writer. no one better than he understood the veneration in which the levitical law was held by the jewish people, and the tenacity with which they adhered to it. as he believed that this law had passed away, and that the lord had made a new covenant with the jewish nation, it was natural for him to labor to open the eyes of his countrymen, and bring them under the light of the new dispensation. it was for this reason, when he entered into a place for the first time, that he always began to teach in the synagogue. if paul wrote to the hebrews at all, it would be just such an epistle as the one ascribed to him, except certain portions, which were clearly written after the pauline period of christianity had passed away. again, it has been a question as to the language in which this epistle was first written. at the time of paul, the original hebrew was understood by few, and had ceased to be the language of the jews. the original hebrew was broken in upon by several dialects--such as the east aramæan, or chaldee, and the west aramæan, or syriac. the universal language of the day was greek, and no doubt paul adopted it in writing to the hebrews, who were dispersed over europe, asia, and parts of africa. as the initiatory formula usual in the epistles of paul is wanting in this, it has been questioned whether it was really an epistle, or only a discourse intended for the general reader. the want of the usual formula can be easily accounted for, when the mind becomes convinced that the first chapter is not the production of paul. that it was written as it now stands by the forgers of the second century admits of no doubt. the design of the writer is exposed in the very first and second verses of the first chapter. "god, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, _by whom also he made the worlds_." here christ is made the creator by whom the worlds were made. again: "who being the brightness of his glory, and the _express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power_, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high; being made so much _better than the angels_, as he hath by _inheritance_ obtained a more excellent name than they. for unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee? and again, i will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son? and again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of god worship him." (_heb_. i. - .) here we find condensed into a few verses, and declared in the most pointed language, the _godship_ of christ, first proclaimed by the men of the second century, and which is in direct conflict with the remainder of the epistle, and with what paul taught during his whole life. commencing at the ninth verse of the second chapter, paul says: "but we see jesus, who was made a little _lower_ than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of god should taste death for every man." "for verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of abraham." (chap. ii. .) "wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and _high priest_ of our profession, christ jesus; who was faithful to him who appointed him, as also moses was faithful in all his house. for _this man_ was accounted worthy of more glory than moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. for every house is builded by some man; _but he that built all things is god_." (chap. iii. - .) on the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth verses of the second chapter, paul declares that to angels "is given the government of the world to come;" and to man, who was made but _little lower than the angels_, was consigned the government of the earth. all men, according to paul, like jesus, were born but little lower than the angels--and christ by him is put on a level with all humanity. it is evident that the first chapter, as written by paul, has been suppressed, and the one which has descended to us is made to take its place. it is not possible that paul wrote the first and second chapters as they now stand. in the one case christ is made _more_ than the angels; and in the other case he is made _less_. in the one case he is the creator of the world, "_upholding all things by the word of his power_;" in the other he is a high priest of the order of melchisedec, and one of the descendants of abraham. in the first chapter he formed the world, and in the third chapter it is said, "he who built all things is god." the doctrines here declared are unreconcilable, but it is not difficult to distinguish between those of paul and those of the men of the second century. paul speaks of three orders of the priesthood: that of melchisedec, that under the levitical law, and that under the new covenant, with christ at the head. what was the character of the priesthood of the order of melchisedec, paul does not say--nor do we know where to look for information on the subject. he was "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like _unto the son of god_: abideth a priest continually." (chap. vii. .) when we are informed in the same chapter that christ is a priest after the order of melchisedec, "who is made, not after the _law of a carnal commandment_, but after the power of an endless life" (ver. ), we detect the insidious and subtle poison of the johannian school. here we have a logos, who was in the beginning, and who would continue through all time, which could never be true of any of the descendants of abraham. the priesthood under the levitical law, paul claimed, had passed away, and was succeeded by a much better one with christ as its head. the last was superior to the old because it would "continue forever, an unchangeable priesthood." (chap. vii. .) in this new and better dispensation, christ is as superior to moses and aaron, as the new covenant is superior to the old. christ is called a high priest, "a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the lord pitched, and not man." (chap. viii. .) if christ was the son of god, born of a virgin, when paul was instructing his countrymen in the mysteries of the new covenant, and was pointing out to them the relation which christ bore to the same, as compared with moses under the old, how happened it that he fails to make mention of this important fact altogether? how can we account for the silence of paul at such a time on a subject of such vital importance? he was a man of learning, and well versed in all that was written by the hebrew prophets; and if the fourteenth verse of the seventh chapter of isaiah had any application to christ, or any other prophecy in the old testament, why did he not point them out to his countrymen, and in this way prove that christ was not only superior to moses, but to the angels? why call him a high priest, and admit his jewish descent, from the father of the hebrew nation? who so well as paul could define the _status_ of christ under the new covenant? his numerous visits to jerusalem, not long after christ's death, his intimacy with all the disciples, gave him every and ample means for information; and the deep interest he took in every particular which related to christ stimulated inquiry; and whatever he found that was important to be known as a part of the new faith, he would not fail to proclaim in tones of thunder, from the euphrates to the tiber. we can well imagine his astonishment when the doctrines of the greek school first began to make headway in his little churches. we can form some idea of his feelings by reading the eleventh and twelfth chapters in the second epistle to the corinthians: "would to god ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. for i am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for i have espoused you to one husband, that i may present you as a chaste virgin to christ. but i fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in christ. for if he that cometh preacheth _another jesus whom we have not preached_, or if ye received another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." ( cor. xi. - .) rendered into plain language, he says: would to god you would pardon my zeal and anxiety on your account. having instructed you in the religion of christ, i am jealous and over-anxious that you should stand as examples of pure christianity, and not surrender your pure and virgin faith in christ, carried away by the subtle doctrines of cunning men. if any one speaks of christ, and claims that he is anything different from what i have taught you--or if any one has preached to you a different religion or a different gospel, from that which you learned of me, you show your forbearance if you do not visit your anger upon them, who thus labor to mislead and deceive you. throughout these two chapters paul shows deep sorrow on account of the progress of the new faith, and with his expressions of regret, he mingles words of reproof. the troubles growing out of it followed him through life. they harassed him in his prison. he lived to see all asia turned away from him. with an aching heart he makes one last request of timothy: "and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." ( _tim_. ii. .) chapter xxvi. the controversy between ptolemæus and irenæus as to the length of christ's ministry.--christ was in jerusalem but once after he began to preach, according to the first three gospels, but three times according to john.--if the statements made in the first three are true, everything stated in the fourth could only happen after the death of christ. it will be remembered that ptolemæus asserted that the time of christ's ministry did not exceed the period of one year. this drove irenæus to claim that it continued for the space of ten years, on the authority of a tradition derived from john. the precise time when, and what, ptolemæus wrote, we have no means in our day of finding out; for his writings, like all those of the gnostics, doubtless perished under the destructive edict of the emperor constantine. we are at liberty to conclude that he wrote before the fourth gospel appeared, as he limits the time to one year, which agrees in that respect with the synoptics. had he had any knowledge of the fourth gospel, he might, by adopting the mode of reasoning on this subject used by the orthodox, have made the time three years instead of one. it will be noted that irenaeus, in his controversy with ptolemaeus, makes no mention of the fourth gospel, but falls back on a tradition. in a dispute with a sharp-witted adversary, he found it safer to rely on a tradition, as evasive as the mirage of the desert, than the authority of the fourth book of john. the reason for this preference will be readily seen when the subject is understood. according to matthew, after the temptation in the wilderness, christ returned to nazareth, in galilee. he left nazareth and came and dwelt in capernaum, in the borders of zabulon and nephthalim, as spoken by esaias: "the land of zabulon and the land of nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond jordan, galilee of the gentiles. the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. _from that time jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand_." (chapter iv. , , .) here the place where christ commenced to preach is clearly defined; and as the spot had been pointed out by isaiah seven hundred years before, there could be no mistake, unless the inspiration of the great hebrew prophet was at fault. mark and luke substantially agree with matthew; so, according to all three, christ began his labors at capernaum. the precise time in the year we cannot tell, but it must have been shortly after the fourteenth of march (nisan), when the celebration of the passover commenced. at the following festival, as we will show, christ was put to death. in the meantime he had performed the greater part of his work, which would require not much less than a year. that christ should go to jerusalem to celebrate the first passover after he began to preach is not only probable but almost certain. everything shows that he did. the laws of moses commanded every jew to observe this feast; and although no place is specified, all deemed it the highest religious duty to go to jerusalem for that purpose. on such occasions "an innumerable multitude came hither out of the country--many beyond its limits," according to josephus. hence the great destruction of the jewish people, who had come up to the holy city to celebrate, when it was destroyed by titus. christ could hardly fail to be present at the first celebration after he began to preach, especially as he was accustomed to go every year from childhood with his parents, according to luke. if christ attended the first festival after he began his work, his ministry continued for less than one year, for he went there but once after he began to preach. the early part of his career was solely passed in galilee, according to matthew, mark and luke. his labors were confined to his own country, mostly in the neighborhood of the sea of tiberias. at length, as the time for the celebration of the passover approached, his thoughts were directed toward the city of david. at cæsarea philippi he concluded _at last_ to go to jerusalem. "from that time forth began jesus to shew unto his disciples how that he must go unto jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (_matt_. xvi. .) at length he "departed from galilee and came into the coasts of judea beyond jordan." (chap. xix. i.) "and when he was come into jerusalem all the city was moved, saying, _who is this?_" (chap. xxi. .) would that question have been asked if he had been there the year before? that this was christ's first visit to jerusalem, according to the first three gospels, will not admit of a doubt. here he taught and preached until he was handed over bound into the hands of pilate. he never after this left the city until his immortal spirit took its flight from calvary. the itinary of christ, as we have it in the first three gospels, renders it impossible that he made any visit to jerusalem except the one above mentioned. we can trace him, step by step, from the beginning to the end of his career. he began to preach at capernaum, and from there he traveled all over galilee. in the meantime he delivered his divine sermon on the mount. from the mount he returned to capernaum. from here he entered a ship and rebuked the sea. he next crossed over to the country of the gadarines. from there he recrossed the sea and went into his own city. once more he travels over galilee, preaching, and healing diseases. on the shores of tiberias he delivered the parable of the sower, and again went back to his own country. while there he heard of the death of john the baptist; when he crossed over the sea of tiberias, and on the east shore fed the multitude. after events which are fully declared, he and his disciples crossed the sea and went to the land of gennesaret. from there he departed unto the coast of tyre and sidon. he returned unto the sea of galilee, and went up into a mountain and again fed the multitude. from here he went unto the coast of magdala, and from there to cæsarea philippi, when he made up his mind _at last_ to go to jerusalem. in the meantime it was not possible for him to have made a visit to the holy city. he had not even been in judea. according to john, christ did not manifest his divine power at capernaum, but at cana. this was not a great while before the feast of the passover, for he went from cana to capernaum, where he remained "_not many days_" but went to jerusalem to celebrate. as john and the writers of the first three gospels have christ attend the first festival after he began his ministry, it follows, according to john, that christ at that time had just begun to teach; while, if we believe the other three writers, he had nearly performed his work, and came to jerusalem to meet his death. the gospel of john causes christ to make three distinct visits to jerusalem: first, soon after the miracle at cana, the same mentioned by matthew, mark and luke; the second, when he attended a feast of the jews, which dr. robertson and other learned writers claim was the passover; and a third, when he went to witness the feast of the tabernacle. _now, if the first three gospels are true, then everything stated in the fourth as the works of christ must have been performed after his death!_ every day, from the time he set out from capernaum to teach, to his first and last entrance into jerusalem, is accounted for in the first three gospels. this second visit was not without a special significance. so strong was the proof in the last half of the second century that john had never been to the western coast of the mediterranean, that irenæus and others of that century dare not assert that the fourth gospel was written by him in asia minor. on this point the great criminal is silent. but, in the gospel itself, there is an evident effort made to have it appear that it was written before the fall of jerusalem. even the learned basnage and lampe were betrayed into this belief, and so were others. lardner fixes the date in the year , owen , and the learned michaelis in . that such men should have fallen into this belief is truly wonderful, for its fallacy is apparent at first view. this gospel, as none dispute, was written in reply to the gnostics, and as none of that sect, as will be shown, was known to be in existence until the second century, it at once disposes of the question. chrysostom, epiphanius, mills, fabricius and bishop tomline, with others, saw the dilemma, and fixed the date of the gospel at a later period--some at , and others at . that part of this gospel by which dr. lardner and others were misled is as follows: "_now there is at jerusalem_, by the sheep-market, a pool which is called in the hebrew tongue bethesda, having five porches." from the language here used, they conclude that jerusalem was standing when the gospel was written, as the present is used instead of the past tense. few things troubled the catholics of the second century more than to find a convenient date for john's gospel. if it was written before the fall of jerusalem, where there was a sheep market having five porches still standing, it was too early, by many years, for corinthus and other leading gnostics. if its date were fixed at the end of the century when john was in asia minor, catholics were met with proof that john never was there. the story of the angel, and the man who had an infirmity for eight-and-thirty years, was a clumsy invention to make way for the deception as to the early date of the gospel. if there was in fact such a pool as represented, whose medical properties were dependent upon the visitation of an angel, and which had properties to cure all diseases, it was the only one of the kind, or anything like it, ever known to man; its fame would have spread far and wide, and jewish historians, who delight to dwell upon anything which belongs to their country, would have emphasized a phenomenon like the pool of bethesda, as proof of divine favor shown to their nation. it excites the anger of commentators, and doddridge among the rest, that josephus has failed to notice it; and among the extraordinary motives assigned for his silence is a fear that he "_would disgust his pagan readers_"! the same commentator says: "it is probable that the miracle was not wrought for any length of time, and perhaps ceased on this occasion. this may account for the surprising silence of josephus in a story which made so much for the honor of his nation. he himself was not born when it happened, and, though he might have heard the report of it, he would, _perhaps (in the modern way), oppose speculation and hypothesis to fact_." jenks, another commentator, says: "it is true the jewish historians, who are not sparing in praise of jerusalem, do none of them mention this pool, for which, perhaps, this is the reason: that it was taken as a presage of the approach of the messiah, and, _therefore, they who denied him to be come industriously concealed such an indication of his coming_." no one has ever pretended to have found this pool, although pious travelers have found every other spot consecrated by the life and death of christ. helena, the mother of constantine, as early as a. d. , made a pilgrimage to the holy city to discover the places made sacred by scenes in the life of the saviour; and when human energy and skill failed, she called to her assistance the aid of the miraculous. but the powers that enabled her to find the true cross, after a waste in the earth of over three hundred years, and detect the place of the lord's sepulcher, and other sacred spots which infidel hatred vainly attempted to obliterate, failed to discover the place where the angel of mercy found ground to rest her feet when she descended from heaven, loaded with blessings for the blind, halt and withered. it is admitted by all writers, and especially michaelis (vol. iii. part i, p. ), that the gospel of john was written in answer to the gnostics, and especially corinthus, who lived in the last years of the first century. it was possible to spin out the life of john to the end of the century, and thus bring him near the time when corinthus flourished; but it is fatal to the claim, set up by irenaeus and others, that john was the author of the fourth gospel, that the quarrels which grew out of the writings of corinthus failed to attract notice until some time about the middle of the second century. you may look in vain among all the writings of the fathers and others of the first century to find the name of corinthus or any of his writings, although we can trace gnosticism, in its primitive stages, as early as the first years in the second. still, it assumed but little importance in its contests with christianity until some time after the year a. d. . buck says that "_many persons were infected with the gnostic heresy in the first century; though the sect did not render itself conspicuous, either for numbers or reputation, before the reign of adrian, when some writers erroneously date its rise_? there was no call or demand for the fourth gospel until christians and gnostics commenced their quarrels, which was long after john's death, even admitting that he lived to be a hundred years old. there was no help in the emergency which then arose, but to antedate the fourth gospel, to confound the time when cerinthus wrote with the time when the spread of his doctrines created discussion among christians." chapter xxvii. the phase assumed by christianity in the fourth gospel demanded a new class of miracles from those given in the first three.--a labored effort in this gospel to sink the humanity of christ.--his address to mary.--the temptation in the wilderness ignored, and the last supper between him and his disciples suppressed.--interview between christ and the women and men of samaria.--a labored effort to connect christ with moses exposed. when the incarnation became a leading feature of christianity, its whole spirit underwent a change from what it was in the first three gospels. the miracles which they describe are too tame for the new phase which christ is made to assume. none of the five, except one, in the gospel of john, are mentioned in the first three, for the apparent reason that those in the synoptics all fall short of upholding the claims set up for christ in the fourth. the subsidence of the sea at tiberias, at his command, was some proof that he held control of the wind and waves, but a lucky coincidence might account for part, and ocular deception for the rest. but, in that case, the constituents of the water were not changed. not so with the water at the feast at cana. the restoration of the widow's son at nain, and of the daughter of jairus, might admit of doubt, for the first had not shown signs of decided death, and the latter may have been a case of _coma_--"for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." (_matt_. ix. .) but in the case of lazarus there could be no mistake. for four days the seal of death sat upon his brow, and flesh and blood were fast returning to their native dust. christ, in the first three gospels, heals diseases and cures the blind; but how much was to be referred to his power as a god, and how much to the skill of a _thera-peutæ_, might invite discussion. but in the cases of the man who had an infirmity for eight-and-thirty years, and the one born blind, there could be no ground for dispute. the miracles selected proved all that was claimed for christ in the first part of the gospel. he was master of the elements, death heard and obeyed his voice, and he held the avenues which led from fife to the grave. the miracle of the loaves and fishes is the only one in the first three gospels repeated by john, because it proved his power over nature; for if he did not change the elements, as he did at cana, he multiplied them. we see in this gospel a studied effort to avoid anything like a human parentage for christ, as stated in the first three gospels. the trip to bethlehem, the birth in the manger, the journey of the wise men from the east, are all omitted. the name of mary in this gospel is studiously kept in the background. she is barely mentioned twice, once at the feast of cana: "and when they wanted wine, the mother of jesus saith unto him, they have no wine; jesus saith unto her, _woman, what have i to do with thee?_" the true answer intended by the question was--_nothing_. christ could not be entirely oblivious of earthly ties. he had lived under the same roof with mary. he had received from her many acts of kindness; and if nature was allowed her empire over the heart; he must have felt for her the affection of a son. for him she had all the feelings of a mother. she followed and stood by him at the cross. as she stood and wept in his sight, the only words of consolation and endearment he could give her were as cold and heartless as a lapland wind: "_woman_, behold thy son"! the word "_woman_" was ever on his lips. when he recommends her, at the last scene, to the care of the disciples, he is studied and guarded in his language: "then saith he to the disciple, behold _thy mother_." the scenes at the cross were too solemn to permit the studied purpose of an artful bigot to muzzle the voice of nature. truth turns away from the story. the design of this gospel to keep out of view the carnal nature of christ, as it appears in the first three gospels, is marked with jesuitical cunning. he who was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of god, must be so constituted as to be above the weaknesses and frailties of those who are born of earth. the temptations in the wilderness, which supply the most remarkable scenes in the life of christ, and, as given in the first three gospels, proved the power of the son of god over the powers of darkness, are wholly unnoticed in the gospel of john. he who was all god, without a link to connect him with humanity, must be so superior to satan as to be above his arts of seduction. john will not allow christ to be tempted, because he was above it; but, in sinking his humanity to favor a dogma, he keeps out of sight the most sublime and god-like portion of his character--the power to rise above the allurements of wealth, power, and dominion. it was by such things he proved himself a god. the design of the fourth gospel is overdone. in making christ all god, no chord of sympathy is left between him and man. even in the last supper, dwelt upon with so much tenderness by matthew, mark and luke, we detect, by the silence of john, the spirit of the jesuit. he makes no mention of it. who can mistake the reason of this silence? the tender scenes of this last interview between christ and his disciples are sacrificed to make way for a senseless and heartless dogma. in the last supper, given in the synoptics, the bread and wine are mere symbols of the death and sufferings of christ. it was this symbolic character of the sacrament that the writer of john wished to avoid. as the lord's supper is with john a real sacrifice, each repetition is a fresh atonement, and the bread and wine, by a miraculous conversion, are made flesh and blood. there could be no sacrifice of the body of christ _until death_, and, for that reason, the last supper between him and his disciples before the crucifixion is omitted. this miraculous conversion of the elements has been one of the holy mysteries of the church for ages past. it has been the bigot's wand. millions have fallen down before the host. it led the crusades. the fair fields of europe and asia have been whitened by the bones of its victims. in fine, it has been the armory in which fanaticism has forged her most fatal and dangerous weapons. with john, the body of christ is never dead--the grave cannot hold it; but it exists in a mysterious union with the church, so that every time the devout believer eats of the bread, or touches the sacred cup to his lips, he partakes of the flesh and drinks the blood of the son of god. such is the dogma which took its rise in the last half of the second century, the offspring of a bitter, heated controversy which demands that reason be strangled to make room for faith. it is the fate of this dogma, as it is of all like it, to be associated with others equally false and absurd. it can have no fellowship with truth. speaking of christ, john says: "the same was in the beginning with god. all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (chap. i. , .) christ says of himself: "for i came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (chap. vi. .) he was on earth thirty-three years. in what business was this creator of worlds engaged for thirty years of this time? if anything, so far as we can know, it was the business of a carpenter. did he do his heavenly father's business all this time? this is what he says himself he was sent to do. the first proof he gave of the power of a god, while here, was at cana. it was here that he first manifested forth his glory, and inspired his disciples with faith. the first three gospels leave christ to his humanity to the time the angels took charge of him, and subject him, like other mortals, to human employments. in john, a god with power to create worlds is bound up in the fate of mortals for thirty years, and only escapes thralldom when the spell is broken at the marriage feast. would he, who was with god in the beginning, whose word was sufficient to create worlds, submit to a fate like this? the interview between christ and the woman of samaria affords abundant evidence of the spurious character of the fourth gospel, and that the writer was some greek who was ignorant of the religion of moses and the jews. the temple of jerusalem being destroyed by nebuchadnezzar, the samaritans proposed to join the jews after their captivity in rebuilding it; but the jews refused the coalition. (_ezra_ iv. - .) this gave rise to other causes of dispute, until the most inveterate hatred grew up between the two peoples. at length, by permission of alexander the great, the samaritans erected a temple at mount gerizim, in opposition to the one at jerusalem. the same worship was observed in both cities, and both people avoided the idolatry of surrounding nations. all the followers of moses in judea shared alike in the calamities which befell the jewish people; so all shared a common belief that god would at some time, by the hand of a deliverer, restore to them all they had lost. if by the hand of cyrus the power of the assyrian empire had been torn down, the temple rebuilt, and the jews and samaritans placed back in their homes in judea; so, if some like calamity should befall them, the same hand would again restore them to liberty and the land of their inheritance. the jews and samaritans, though divided on some things, were alike the chosen people of god, and the promises made to one were made to both. at the time christ made his appearance in samaria, the people of that country had settled convictions as to what they might expect from the promises made to them by jehovah through moses, their great lawgiver and prophet. these convictions, like the concretion of ages, had solidified, and made up the jewish and samaritan character. whatever might befall them, they had no expectations of a spiritual deliverer of any kind. they recognized no spiritual bondage growing out of the sins of the first parents, like the believers in christianity, for moses taught nothing of the kind. a personal sacrifice, like that of christ, to save men from the condemnation of a broken law, never entered into the mind of either jew or samaritan. neither was cosmopolitan, and with them a deliverer was a deliverer to the jews and not the gentiles. after christ had convinced the woman at the well that he was a prophet, by telling her past life, she is made to say: "i know that messiah cometh which is called christ; when he is come he will tell us all things. jesus saith unto her, i that speak unto thee am he." it is said that the woman believed; if so, did she understand him? with christ, he was the son of god, equal with the father; was with him in the beginning, and by him the universe was made--_he was the creator_. we ask again, did the woman believe in such a messiah, and did she believe that he who spoke to her, and told her how many husbands she had had, was that august being? if there is room in the breast of any people for a hope or expectation of such a person as christ claimed to be, not a shade of either could be found in the hearts of the followers of moses. let a belief in such a being have made its way into the jewish mind, and the whole structure, as it was reared by their great leader, would fall like a baseless tower. strike out the semitic idea which was thundered from sinai, and that very thing which cost the jews ages of persecution would with it be thrown away. the woman was convinced by the arts of a fortune-teller, some of the samaritans by what befell the woman, and others, because of what they saw and heard themselves, believed "_that christ was the saviour of the world!_" here we reach a climax: did the samaritans, in so short a time, renounce moses and the institutions of their fathers? christ claimed before the jews that he lived before abraham. this they could not stand, but took up stones and cast them at him, and, because he preached the end of the mosaic law, they crucified and put him to death. there are still some of the descendants of the samaritans at naplosa (the ancient shech-em), at gaza, damascus and cairo, who still retain the faith held by their fathers in the time of christ--a living protest against the truth of the story of the women and men of samaria. let him who wishes to be convinced go among the remnant of this persecuted race, witness their poverty, their sad and careworn faces, the work of centuries of injustice and oppression, and ask them if they believe the story of the woman at the well. they will point you to two thousand years of suffering for their mosaic faith, enough to "bring tears down pluto's wan cheeks," and ask you, with a look of scorn, if the ancestors of such a people could ever be apostles. in talking to the jews, christ is made to say: "for had ye believed moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. but if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (_john_ v. , .) christ here undertakes to make the jews believe that he was the one who had been foreseen and spoken of in ages past, and especially by the great prophet of the hebrew people. had any jew in the time of moses set up the claim that at some future day there would arise one among his people who would be equal with god, but who would suffer death at their hands, as a ransom for the salvation not only of the jews but of the gentiles, he would have ordered that such a prophet be stoned to death. by him and \ the jews no such saviour was expected or required. adam and eve were the first to break the law, but god pronounced judgment upon them before they left the garden. the earth was cursed with thorns and thistles, for adam's sake. by the sweat of his brow he was bound to eat of its fruits in sorrow all his days. upon eve were imposed the pains and sufferings of childbirth, and the duty of obedience. all this endured, both were to return to the dust from whence they came. this was all the punishment and all the atonement god demanded. he asked no more. with moses, death was the end of punishment. those who committed the first sin made their own atonement, and so have all their descendants, in the eyes of moses and the jews. "had ye believed in moses, ye would have believed in me." reverse this, and we have the exact truth: if ye believe in moses, it is impossible to believe in me. how could they? "moses wrote of me." what did he write? to connect christ with prophecy, language of the most indefinite character is selected from all parts of the hebrew scriptures. "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." christ of the fourth gospel is not of the seed of the woman. "_the word was made flesh?_" and "was not born of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of god." "the scepter shall not depart from judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until shiloh come." (_gen_, xlix. ). the jews ceased to be an independent people, and the scepter departed from judah at the time pompey invaded the country, seized upon the temple, deposed aristobulus, the high priest, and put hyrcanus in his place. (josephus, _wars_, book i. chap. vii. sec. .) he deprived the jews of all their conquests, restored the conquered, and placed syria, together _with judea_ and the country as far as egypt and euphrates, under the command of scaurus. (ibid, sec. .) in view of these events, josephus bitterly laments the results, and says: "_we lost our liberty', and became subject to the romans_, and were deprived of that country which we had gained by our arms from the syrians, and were compelled to restore it to the syrians. moreover, the romans exacted of us, in a little time, above ten thousand talents." (josephus, _antiquities_, book xiv. ch. iv. sec. v.) when did the jews, after the conquest of pompey, shake off the yoke of the romans? between his conquest and the birth of christ at least sixty-seven years had intervened. in the meantime caesar crossed the rubicon, was assassinated in the senate; the empire was distracted by civil wars; mark antony and augustus tried the fortune of battle with brutus and cassius, on the field at philippi, and the first of the roman emperors had nearly completed a long reign of four-and-forty years. when christ was born, the scepter had departed from judea, and the jews were a nation of slaves. space will not allow us to pursue this subject farther. throughout the gospel of john we discover the most studied and labored effort to connect christ with the religion of moses, so that it may appear that in himself he is only the response to the many prophesies contained in the hebrew scriptures. this gospel is full of instances where the jews, upon christ's bare word--and sometimes not even that--gave up everything, and followed him, even to the cross. the day following the baptism, as john stood by the side of the disciples, jesus walked by, when the baptist exclaimed: "_behold the lamb of god!_" this was sufficient to induce two of the disciples to follow christ, and one of them was so carried away that he hunted up his brother, who was peter, and told him they _had found the messiah, who was the christ_. on the next day, christ went to galilee, and found philip, whom he directed to follow him; and soon philip found nathaniel, and told him, "we have found him of whom _moses, in the law, and the prophets, did write_." they had found no such thing. the conversion of paul formed a new era in religious history. we may well say, that when he left judaism, he left the twelve disciples behind him, for they could neither climb over or break down the wall of circumcision which separated the jews from the gentiles. paul quarreled with and then left them, but took along with him enough of the mosaic faith to keep up a connection between the old and new religion, so that we can trace the features of the child in those of the parent. he carried with him _monotheism_, but it was qualified in the glare of his vision at damascus so that, in some sense, christ was the son of god. here was a clear departure from moses, for which the jews always despised him. then followed paul's tug with the greeks. in spite of him, they established a dual government in heaven. _the son was equal with the father_, at this point there should have been an eternal separation between jewry and christianity. for nearly two thousand years, the jews have protested against an alliance, while, on the other side, christians have striven to maintain it. the two parties, in the meantime, were kept separate by an ocean of blood which flowed between. no bridge could ever span it--no bridge ever can. in conclusion of this branch of the subject, we repeat, that great efforts are made to have it appear in this gospel that christ is in harmony with moses and the prophets, whereas there is scarce a word in it which declares his equality with the father (and it teaches little else) not met with a denial from sinai, amid "thunders and lightnings" and "the voice of the trumpet": "_thou shalt have no other gods before me?_" moses is sublime in threats and denunciations against those who depart from the true and _only_ god. the men of the second century knew nothing of the spirit of the mosaic faith, or they never would have stultified themselves by such a work as the fourth gospel. chapter xxviii. the first two chapters of matthew not in existence during the time of paul and apollos.--a compromise was made between their followers at the council at smyrna, a. d. .--the creed of the church as it existed at that day determined, and how christ was made manifest.--catholics of the second century repudiate this creed and abuse paul.--further proof that irenaeus never saw polycarp.--injuries inflicted upon the world by the fourth gospel. we have shown in another place that not long after apollos arrived at corinth he came in collision with paul on some question which related to christ. just what that difference was, it is hard in this age of the world to determine; but it will be sufficient for our purpose at this time to show what it was not. had it been claimed by apollos and his followers that christ was born in the way in which it is stated in matthew's gospel, paul, instead of wasting a whole lifetime in fighting his enemies, would have gone straight to jerusalem, and proved by living witnesses that there was not a word of truth in this gospel which related to the supernatural birth of christ. paul's troubles with apollos and his school commenced as early as . at that time there were thousands upon thousands who were born about the time christ was, and were comparatively young men when he was put to death. it was before the fall of jerusalem, and before any great calamity had befallen the jewish people. many of the disciples may have been still living. peter we know was, for in we find him preaching in chaldea. doubtless there were still living, in nazareth, women who grew up with mary, and were acquainted with her entire history. the greeks did not contend, as long as paul lived, for anything stated in the first two chapters of matthew on the subject of the birth of christ; for that reason there is no mention of mary by paul in any of his epistles. what, then, was the trouble? with philo, the logos was born in heaven, and from thence he descended to earth. with paul, christ was born on the earth, and in this respect did not differ from other mortals. if the logos was the son of god, and came down from heaven, by what instrumentalities did he reach the earth? it was for apollos to show how this was brought about. nothing is more difficult in the history of christianity than to find out what was apollos belief as to the way by which the logos is connected or identified with the man christ. the story of the descent of the spirit in the form of a dove, at the jordan, was not known until a long time after paul's death. paul could not disprove it, for during his life no one asserted it. to establish this connection, we gather from paul that the school of apollos had some subtle mode of reasoning, the distillation of greek wisdom and cunning. he never says what it was, but compares it to the subtle sophistry with which the serpent deceived eve. to the wisdom of the greeks paul has nothing to oppose but direct revelations from god. he sits in opposition to hellenic sophistry, his power and wisdom derived from above. when he talks to the jews, before they will believe what he tells them, they demand that a sign shall be given unto them--something tangible to the senses. but the greeks required no proof of this kind. conviction with them as to christ was wholly dependent upon some device, doubtless an outgrowth of platonic philosophy. from what is said hereafter, we can venture the belief that with apollos the logos was made christ simply by the providence of god. how this providence was exerted to bring about this result, was a proper subject to employ the cunning, the wisdom and sophistry of the greek school. after paul's death, and after the fall of jerusalem, the change from the logos from on high to the christ of the earth, simply by the providence of god and the theory of apollos, was too indefinite, and the reasoning of the greeks too weak, to satisfy the minds of men. in the second century, christianity had worked west, and the latin element began to make itself felt in the church, and we shall soon see the means employed by providence to bring the logos into the world. we can readily see why, in the disputes between paul and the greeks, as they stood in his day, the name of mary is nowhere mentioned. there was no necessity for it. ignatius, one of the oldest fathers of the church, was bishop of antioch in the year . when trajan set out on his expedition against the parthians, he stopped for a short time in this city. as he had refused to sacrifice to the gods for the safety of the emperor, and was outspoken against the pagans, even in the royal presence, ignatius was condemned, and ordered to be sent to rome to be devoured by the wild beasts of the amphitheatre. this, as some say, was in a.d. ; but some writers, with greater plausibility, fix the time as late as . we will err on the right side, and adopt the former period. on his way to rome he stayed some time at smyrna, where he wrote letters to the churches in asia, as a kind of legacy, in which he imparts to them a knowledge of the doctrines of the church, and the foundation on which they were based. no man of his day was better informed on such subjects than ignatius, and the cruel fate that awaited him on his arrival in rome was an earnest that in what he said he was sincere. in his letter to the ephesians he tells how, in the first place, christ came into the world. _he was born in the womb of mary according to the dispensation of providence, of the seed of david, yet by the holy ghost_. here is a platform to which paul himself could hardly object. that that which ignatius declares to be the way in which christ came into the world was the doctrine of the church in his day, and for some time after, cannot be questioned. on his way to rome he stopped at smyrna, where polycarp, who was then bishop at that place, lived, and it was there that ignatius wrote his letter to the ephesians. polycarp stood at his side when the letter was written, and knew its contents, and probably took charge of it, for he himself says: "the epistles of ignatius which he wrote unto us and _others_, as many as we have with us, we have sent unto you according to your order, which are subjoined to thy epistle, from which ye may be greatly profited; for they treat of faith and patience, and of all things which portend to edification in our lord." (_epistle to philippians_). on his way to rome, ignatius stopped at different places, and everywhere the churches sent their bishops and other messengers to visit and console the venerable father on his way to the wild beasts; and everywhere he taught christ as we find it at this day in his letter to the ephesians. here we have the doctrines or creed of the church in the beginning of the second century as to the status of christ, as it was declared by polycarp, ignatius, and all the churches of asia. that paul, at this time, was held in great estimation is evident from what polycarp and others say of him in writing to the churches. polycarp alone refers to his epistles twenty-six times, and in speaking of him says: "for neither can i, nor any other such as i am, come up to the wisdom of the blessed and renowned paul, who, being amongst you in the presence of those who then lived, taught with _exactness_ and _soundness_ the word of truth; who in his absence also wrote an epistle to you, unto which, if you diligently look, you may be able to be edified in the faith delivered unto you, which is the mother of us all." (_polycarp to the philippians_, sec. ). indeed, polycarp's letter to the philippians is made up of quotations from the letter of the great apostle. the bitter feeling which existed between the followers of paul and apollos had in a great measure died away at the close of the first century. whatever difference of opinion there may have been between these two great leaders, it seemed to be merged in the creed of the church in the days of polycarp and other teachers of his time. with paul and these men, christ was born of woman and of the seed of david; but, with the latter, it was by the holy ghost, through the providence of god. as paul has nowhere declared how and in what way christ was the son of god, but believed him to be such from what he learned in his vision at damascus and other places, his followers might readily accept the belief declared by ignatius and all the fathers in his day. mutual concessions seem to have been made in the latter part of the first century; and while the followers of apollos conceded the descent of christ from david, the friends of paul could readily admit that he was the son of god through the holy ghost by the dispensation of god. the violent animosity against paul which sprang up afterward in the church was an outgrowth of the second century. in this century, paul becomes a liar and a heretic. to make christ what the men of this century wished to have him appear in their quarrels with the gnostics and others, it was necessary to assail the great apostle. to admit that christ was born in the womb of mary, of the seed of david, would not admit the claim that he was conceived in the womb of mary by the holy ghost alone. it was upon this point that paul had thrown obstructions in the way of men who were engaged in building up a church controlling exclusively the highway to heaven, and which in time was to govern the world. here let me ask if the most acute intellect can detect in the doctrines of the church, as declared by polycarp and others at the beginning of the second century, the faintest trace of the _incarnation of the fourth gospel, or the trinity_, both of these dogmas, which have convulsed the world for eighteen hundred years, were unborn when the fathers of all the churches of asia, at smyrna, declared what was the faith of the church. we have selected this place to settle a question of veracity between the writer and iræneus. he says he saw polycarp. we say he never did. since the introduction of the gospels, especially the fourth, great importance has been attached to the fact that polycarp was a disciple of john, and that irenaeus had been instructed by the former. speaking of irenaeus, horn, in his introduction, says: "his testimony to the genuineness and authenticity of the new testament is the most important and valuable, because he was a disciple of polycarp, who was a disciple of john." (vol. i. .) now polycarp never mentions john, but speaks of paul. if he did see john, john _never taught him the doctrine of the incarnation_ as declared in the fourth gospel. polycarp _never heard of the incarnation_, and it follows as a matter of course he never taught irenaeus anything of the kind. _had he taught the incarnation, he never would have indorsed paul_. this attempt, on the part of the so-called bishop of lyons, to trace the doctrines conceived and written by himself to a disciple, is a stupendous fraud, which has cost the world more misery than all causes of suffering since his day combined. this gospel has been the means of defeating the mission of christ on earth--_peace and good-will to all men_. there is not one word in it to encourage virtue or reprove vice--not one for those who sorrow or are afflicted; no charity for any except the woman caught in adultery. love for one another he entreated of his disciples, but none for the world. the boundless love, the universal charity, which shine forth in the sermon on the mount, and warm the heart, so that there flows from it all that is good in our natures--as the beautiful flowers of the earth are made to spring and bloom under the genial heat of the sun--finds no place in the gospel of john. what is said and taught in this gospel, when compared with the teachings on the mount, are as hollow groans from the cavern of avernus compared with sweet sounds from the lyre of orpheus. it is belief--or damnation. "he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god." it was this gospel which gave birth to that bigotry and fanaticism which has brought on the world all the sufferings and misery caused by the inquisition. it destroyed in the fourth century all the grand and beautiful temples and works of architecture of asia and europe. the pantheon barely escaped. it applied the torch to the library at alexandria. it kindled the fires of persecution in every age; and as it came down the centuries, like a blazing comet, it carried with it "pestilence and war." it makes christ cold and selfish. he cures diseases to exalt himself. a man was deprived of his sight from his birth, without any sin on his part, that he may have an opportunity to make known his power. he thanks god for answering his prayer for the death of lazarus, that he might show the world that he was master of the grave. this gospel makes christ vain and boastful. again and again he asserts that he is the son of the father; that the father had sent him; that he came to save the world, and that the world was to be judged by him: and yet, with all these pretensions, he could find but few that believed him. all important events told of in this gospel, are unnatural. some who stood by and saw lazarus come forth from the tomb with the habiliments of the grave still upon him, as if some great crime had been committed, ran for the police--for to inform the pharisees was about the same thing. when the pharisees heard of it, they called together the priests, and held a council, to devise some plan to stop that kind of proceeding. what was the objection to raising a dead man to life? it would give offense to the romans. can anyone give a reason why? for this act, which, if true, would fill the heavens and the earth with awe, christ was compelled to fly to the wilderness. if the scene at the grave of lazarus, as related, was true, how different would have been the conduct of those who witnessed it. all would have been struck dumb and fallen prostrate at the feet of him who held the keys of life and death. the pharisees would shake and cower, for fear that at any moment they might be struck dead by a bolt from heaven. there would not have been a dry eye in all jerusalem. what intelligence did lazarus bring us from the spirit land? one word from the other world would be worth all this world of ours; but the world has gained nothing from the resurrection of lazarus. this gospel takes from god his omnipotence. when the lord of the universe conceived a plan to prove to mankind that christ was his son and their saviour, we must believe that he who made the heavens and the earth, who regulates the stars in their courses, and who said, "let there be light, and there was light," could not fail in his purpose. but the resurrection of lazarus was a failure. it accomplished nothing. the tomb of lazarus at bethany was in sight from the cross on calvary. we have stated that at smyrna were declared the doctrines of the christian church in the year , as they were understood and taught by polycarp, ignatius, and all the great lights of asia. and now we shall show what assurances these fathers gave to the world--why they knew that christ was truly the son of god. this is made manifest by signs in the heavens. ignatius first declares the belief of the church on this subject, and proceeds to ask this question: "how was he made manifest to the world?" "a star shone in heaven above all other stars; and its light was inexpressible, and its novelty struck terror. all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, were the chorus to this star, that sent forth its light above all. and there was trouble, whence this novelty came so unlike all the others. hence all the power of magic was dissolved; and every bond of wickedness was destroyed; ignorance was taken away and the old kingdom was abolished: god made manifest in the form of man, for the renewal of eternal life. thence began what god prepared. from thenceforth all things were disturbed, forasmuch as he designed to abolish death." (_epistle to ephesians_, sec. .) this was the way in which christ made himself manifest to the world, as taught in all the churches in a.d. . the story of the star which led the wise men to bethlehem was an _afterthought_. at the time ignatius declared the doctrine of the church, as to the way by which christ was brought into the world and how he was made manifest, the gospel of matthew had not yet appeared; for, if it had, he would have given the story of the star, and the wise men of the east, rather than that of the sun, moon, and all the stars, for the former was the most probable and most sensible of the two. why should he give one story which was false and impossible on its face, if he could give another which, if false, was not manifestly absurd. it is quite easy to tell why the story of the stars and moon leaving their orbits to dance attendance to a bright particular star was abandoned. such a commotion of the heavenly bodies would have put the universe out of joint; and as the star projected its light above all the other stars, and all the other stars and the moon and sun sang chorus to it, the display would have been apparent to all the world. in the year a.d. , some few might have been alive who were living at the time the phenomenon is said to have occurred; and if not, then the children of those who lived at the time would have preserved the tradition fresh in their minds, to say nothing of history. but as no one living witnessed the scene enacted in the heavens, and none of their descendants had heard of it, and no historian had recorded it, the men of the day laughed it down. one single star might have been seen by the wise men of the east, and no one else; and if the story was invented, as the wise men were dead before it was told, there was no danger of contradiction. if the gospel of matthew was not extant a.d. , it is fatal to all the prophecy in the new testament as to the fall of jerusalem. in the year a.d. , jerusalem fell. the roman standards waved over its ruins. the daughters of israel wept over the ashes of their homes. the holy city was no more, and he who wrote the gospel of matthew as it now stands wrote history. how much is the christianity of the gospels indebted to the prophecies which foretold the fall of the jewish capital? in every age and in every country where christianity found a foothold, they were the corner-stone of the christian faith. in the hour of doubt and despair, when the heavens looked black and the earth seemed to be a house of mourning, the christian could draw consolation from the tears shed by christ as he wept over the fall of the holy city. but truth is inexorable. her triumphant car moves on, though she leaves in her wake the wreck of the brightest hopes, the most cherished creeds, and the most ambitious schemes. so she has done for ages. and her pathway is marked by the overthrow of dogmas by which man vainly undertook to enslave the mind. to-day she is as mighty and powerful as ever. appendix. (a.) few passages from history have given rise to more discussion than the following from suetonius: "he," meaning the emperor claudius, "banished all the jews, who were continually making disturbance, at the instigation of one crestus." (_life of claudius_, sec. .) the original is as follows: "_judæos, impulsore chresto, assidue tumultuantes, roma expulit_." does this order of banishment refer to the christians? dr. lardner and others think not. all difficulties vanish when we bear in mind, that the christians then at rome were jewish converts from judea. the writer knew little about christians, and knowing them to be jews, he says all jews were banished, which included the jewish converts as well as those who opposed christianity. all engaged in the riot were included, and none but jews were. these jews were constantly making disturbance at the instigation of one crestus: that is, they were quarrelling about crestus, which was a continual subject of quarrel among the converted and unconverted jews everywhere. the writer knew so little about christ that he failed to get the name correct, or there may have been a mistake on the part of the transcribers. (b.) as a proof that the most learned scholars and correct thinkers, when under the influence of an early bias, are liable to the most gross mistakes and delusions, the following writers have given the authority of their names to the belief, that peter uses the name babylon in a figurative sense: grotius, macknight, hale, bishop tomline, whitby, and lardner. but a large majority of writers hold to the literal meaning. bishop pearson, le clerk, and mills think that peter speaks of babylon in egypt. beza, erasmus, drusius, dr. cave, lightfoot, basnage, beausobre, dr. benson, a. clarke think that peter intended babylon in assyria; michaelis, that babylon in mesopotamia was meant. the frequent use of the word babylon in the revelation attributed to st. john, which there stands for rome, is the principal argument used by those who contend for a figurative sense. this book is the most impious and malignant production among all the forgeries of the second century, and its design can be readily exposed, if it was worth the time to do it. christ, whose last words were used in prayer for the forgiveness of his enemies, is made through st. john to pour forth feelings full of hatred against those who disagreed with the writer on matters of doctrine, especially the followers of paul. he hurls his envenomed shaft at the heart of the great apostle. it was at ephesus where the war was warmest between paul's friends and the followers of the alexandrian school. to the church at that place, christ is made to say: "i know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and _how thou canst not bear them which are evil_: and thou hast tried them which say they are _apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars_." (_revelation_ ii. .) who could use such language but a malignant partisan? christ, the son of god, is made to use the language of a bar-room bully. when will those who profess to be christians, learn that christ was all kindness, gentleness, and love. they admit the authenticity and divine origin of writings that prove the son of god was not even a gentleman. (c.) the writings ascribed to the fathers, especially polycarp and ignatius, are entitled to little consideration; for nothing is clearer than that their names were used by the men of the second century to supply proof when disputes sprang up, or give authority to doctrines when divisions arose. the introduction to the epistle of ignatius, addressed to the church at rome, is a bare-faced attempt to prove that there was a church at rome during the reign of trajan, at the beginning of the second century. it was written not only to prove that there was a church at rome at that time, but that it was the bank or depository of divine riches, "_wholly filled with the grace of god, and entirely cleansed from any other doctrine_." but we submit the whole passage to the judgment of the reader. "ignatius, who is also called theophorus, to the church which hath obtained mercy in the majesty of the most high father, and his only son jesus christ, beloved and illuminated through the will of him who willeth all things, which are according to the love of jesus christ, our god; (to the church) which presides also in the place of the region of the romans, worthy of god, and of all honor and blessing and praise; worthy to receive that which she wishes, chaste, and pre-eminent in charity, bearing the name of christ and of the father, which i salute in the name of jesus christ, the son of the father: to those who are united both in flesh and spirit to all his commands, and wholly filled with the grace of god, and entirely cleansed from the stain of any other doctrine, be all undefiled joy in jesus christ our god." the forger overdid the work in which he was engaged. this language, addressed to a church illuminated with all things according to the will of christ and god, and worthy to receive all blessings and praise, proves that the passage was written at a time when the dogma of the apostolic succession was in vogue, and rome was putting forth claims to spiritual supremacy.* no time was more unpropitious to prove that there was _such a church_ at rome, than that goog embraced in the reign of trajan, when christianity was a crime, which subjected the believer to the penalty of death. there being no christians in rome from the death of paul to the time of hadrian, it leaves the time to be taken up by traditions, which was gladly seized upon by irenaeus, who populated it with bishops and others, the offspring of his own imagination. * the strong probability is, that the letter of ignatius is a forgery throughout, and was gotten up for the sake of the introduction. condemned by trajan, and ordered to be carried to rome to be devoured by wild beasts, for the amusement of the people, it is claimed the letter was written on his way to that city. why he should write to the church at rome while on his way there, is something remarkable, since there is nothing in the letter that was important to be known to the christians, if there were any there, before his arrival. the epistle breathes a spirit which is unnatural and repugnant to every feeling of humanity. the following is a specimen of the whole. "may i enjoy the wild beasts which are prepared for me; and pray that they may be found ready for me: which i will even encourage to devour me all at once, and not fear to touch me, as they have some others and if they refuse, and will not, i will compel them." (sec. .) why would ignatius write an epistle of this character to the romans while he was on the way to rome himself? especially "as he was pressed by the soldiers to arrive at the great city before the public spectacle, that he might be delivered to the wild beasts." why import a christian bishop from antioch for the wild beasts of the amphitheatre, if there was one to be found in the mean time in rome? where was clement, the third bishop? our confidence is not increased in the genuineness of this letter, that the first distinct reference is made to it by irenaeus. (d.) writers in the third and fourth centuries, for reasons sufficiently obvious, take pleasure in scandalizing the name of domitian as the persecutor of christians, and the great enemy of the christian cause. it is claimed he put to death many persons accused of atheism, the common charge against christians, on account of their refusal to offer incense or to worship the ancient gods of rome. flavius clemens, his cousin, is given as an instance. now hear what a co-temporary historian has to say on the subject: "flavius clemens, his cousin-german, a man contemptible for his indolence, whose sons, then of tender age, he had avowedly destined for his successor, and taking from them his former names, had ordered one to be called vespasian, and the other domitian, he suddenly put to death upon some slight suspicion, almost before the father was put out of his consulship," (suet, _life of domitian_, sec. .) as the tyrant affected great reverence for the gods, he would not fail to visit the most severe punishment on those whom he judged guilty of irreverence, and as the christians of that day were bold in the face of the most imminent danger, they could not escape the vengeance of the tyrant, had there been any in rome upon whom he could lay his hands. with a disposition that was willing to furnish any number of victims, eusebius has succeeded in giving the name of a single one. he says, "at the same time, for professing christ, flavius domitilla, the niece of flavius clemens, one of the consuls of rome at that time, was transported, with many others, to the isle of pontia." (eus., e. h., book iii. chap. .) the truthful father has succeeded in giving the name of one christian who had suffered under the reign of domitian, and that was a case of banishment. as to the expression, "and many others," it is only an easy way of conveying a falsehood without incurring the risk of detection. the story of john's banishment to the isle of pat-mos, like everything else which relates to this apostle, is founded on a _tradition_ of the third century, and is unworthy of serious notice. the story told by hegesippus, of the treatment received by the grandchildren of jude, called the brother of jesus, at the hands of domitian, if entitled to any credit at all, only goes to refute the charges made against him. as the story runs, these children were brought before him on the charge of being christians. after hearing what they had to say, "domitian dismissed them--made no reply--but treating them with contempt as simpletons, commanded them to be dismissed, and, by a decree, ordered the persecution to cease. thus delivered, they ruled the churches, both as witnesses and relations of the lord. such is the statement of hegesippus," says eusebius (book iii. chap. ). here is a clear case for persecution; but proceedings are dismissed, and those who were the objects of it treated with contempt. suetonius makes special mention of the persecution of the jews under the reign of domitian, who was governed, in their case, by his love of money rather than his regard for the cause of religion. the vast amount of money expended by him in the erection of palaces and public edifices had ruined his finances, which he undertook to relieve by the confiscation of the large estates and wealth in the hands of this people. to his rapacity there was no limit in such cases, short of the ruin of his victims. it is in vain to attempt to relieve the memory of the son of vespasian and brother of titus from the ignominy of the most odious and detestable crimes. from augustus to trajan, no one who bore the name of emperor is more justly entitled to the name of monster. he put to death his own cousin, flavius sabinus, because, upon his being chosen at the consular election to that office, the public crier had, by a blunder, declared him to the people--not consul, but emperor. virtue as well as vice stood in awe in his presence. the genius and learning of tacitus and pliny made it unsafe for them to remain in rome, and both avoided danger by seeking obscurity. but to his other crimes are not to be added the murder of christians, who were wise and cautious enough to avoid his presence. the following dates are assigned to the epistles of paul by dr. lardner and others:-- [illustration: table ] transcriber's note: in the original book, each right-hand page had its own header. in this e-book, each chapter's headers have been collected into an introductory paragraph immediately following that chapter's introductory poem. (the left-hand pages' header was the chapter's title.) john the baptist by f. b. meyer, b.a. author of paul: a servant of jesus christ the prophet of hope saved and kept etc., etc london: morgan and scott office of the christian , paternoster buildings, e.c. and may be ordered of any bookseller by rev. f. b. meyer, b.a. the "biographical" series. abraham: or, the obedience of faith. israel: a prince with god. joseph: beloved--hated--exalted. moses: the servant of god. joshua: and the land of promise. david: shepherd, psalmist, king. elijah: and the secret of his power. jeremiah: priest and prophet. john the baptist. paul: a servant of jesus christ. preface. the life and character of john the baptist have always had a great fascination for me; and i am thankful to have been permitted to write this book. but i am more thankful for the hours of absorbing interest spent in the study of his portraiture as given in the gospels. i know of nothing that makes so pleasant a respite from the pressure of life's fret and strain, as to bathe mind and spirit in the translucent waters of scripture biography. as the clasp between the old testament and the new--the close of the one and the beginning of the other; as among the greatest of those born of women; as the porter who opened the door to the true shepherd; as the fearless rebuker of royal and shameless sin--the baptist must ever compel the homage and admiration of mankind. in many respects, such a life cannot be repeated. but the spirit of humility and courage; of devotion to god, and uncompromising loyalty to truth, which was so conspicuous in him, may animate us. we, also, may be filled with the spirit and power of elijah, as he was; and may point, with lip and life, to the saviour of the world, crying, "behold the lamb of god." contents i. the interest of his biography ii. the house of zacharias iii. his schools and schoolmasters iv. the prophet of the highest v. the first ministry of the baptist vi. baptism unto repentance vii. the manifestation of the messiah viii. not that light, but a witness ix. "he must increase, but i must decrease" x. the king's courts xi. "art thou he?" xii. "none greater than john the baptist, yet..." xiii. a burning and shining light xiv. set at liberty xv. the grave of john, and another grave xvi. yet speaking xvii. the spirit and power of elias john the baptist. i. the interest of his biography. "john, than which man a sadder or a greater not till this day has been of woman born; john, like some iron peak by the creator fired with the red glow of the rushing morn. "this, when the sun shall rise and overcome it, stands in his shining, desolate and bare; yet not the less the inexorable summit flamed him his signal to the happier air." f. w. h. myers. john and jesus--contemporary history--anticipation of the advent. the morning star, shining amid the brightening glow of dawn, is the fittest emblem that nature can supply of the herald who proclaimed the rising of the sun of righteousness--answering across the gulf of three hundred years to his brother prophet, malachi, who had foretold that sunrise and the healing in his wings. every sign attests the unique and singular glory of the baptist. not that his career was signalized by the blaze of prodigy and wonder, like the multiplication of the widow's meal or the descent of the fire of heaven to consume the altar and the wood; for it is expressly said that "john did no miracle." not that he owed anything to the adventitious circumstances of wealth and rank; for he was not a place-loving courtier, "clothed in soft raiment or found in kings' courts." not that he was a master of a superb eloquence like that of isaiah or ezekiel; for he was content to be only "a cry"--short, thrilling, piercing through the darkness, ringing over the desert plains. yet, his master said of him that "among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than john the baptist"; and in six brief months, as one has noticed, the young prophet of the wilderness had become the centre to which all the land went forth. we see pharisees and sadducees, soldiers and publicans, enthralled by his ministry; the sanhedrim forced to investigate his claims; the petty potentates of palestine caused to tremble on their thrones; while he has left a name and an influence that will never cease out of the world. but there is a further feature which arrests us in the life and ministry of the baptist. he was ordained to be "the clasp" of two covenants. in him judaism reached its highest embodiment, and the old testament found its noblest exponent. it is significant, therefore, that through his lips the law and the prophets should announce their transitional purpose, and that he who caught up the torch of hebrew prophecy with a grasp and spirit unrivalled by any before him, should have it in his power and in his heart to say: "the object of all prophecy, the purpose of the mosaic law, the end of all sacrifices, the desire of all nations, is at hand." and forthwith turning to the true shepherd, who stood at the door waiting to be admitted, to him the porter opened, bowing low as he passed, and crying: "this is he of whom moses in the law and the prophets did write, jesus of nazareth, who was for to come." few studies can bring out to clearer demonstration the superlative glory of christ than a thoughtful consideration of the story of the forerunner. they were born at the same time; were surrounded from their birth by similar circumstances; drank in from their earliest days the same patriotic aspirations, the same sacred traditions, the same glowing hopes. but the parallel soon stops. john the baptist is certainly a grand embodiment of the noblest characteristics of the jewish people. we see in him a conspicuous example of what could be developed out of eight hundred years of divine revelation and discipline. but jesus is the son of man: there is a width, a breadth, a universality about him which cannot be accounted for save on the hypothesis which john himself declared, that "he who cometh from above is above all." in each case, life was strenuous and short--an epoch being inaugurated, in the one case in about six months, in the other some three years. in each case, at first, there was abounding enthusiasm, bursting forth around their persons as they announced the kingdom of god, like the flowers which carpet their own fair land after the rains; but side by side the unconcealed hatred of the religious world of their time. in each case, the brief sunny hours of service were soon succeeded by the rolling up of the thunderous clouds, and these by the murderous tempest of deadly hatred, even unto death: "their dead bodies lay in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called sodom and egypt." in each case, there was a little handful of detached disciples, who bitterly mourned their master's death, and took up the desecrated corpse to lay it in the tomb; whilst they that dwelt in the earth rejoiced and made merry, and sent gifts to one another, because they had been tormented by their words (rev. xi. ). but there the parallel ends. the life purpose of the one culminated in his death; with the other, it only began. in the case of john, death was a martyrdom, which shines brilliantly amid the murky darkness of his time; in the case of jesus, death was a sacrifice which put away the sin of the world. for john there was no immediate resurrection, save that which all good men have of their words and influence; but his master saw no corruption--it was not possible for him to be holden by it--and in his resurrection he commenced to wield his wide and mighty supremacy over human hearts and wills. when the axe of herod's executioner had done its deadly work in the dungeons of machaerus, the bond which knit the disciples of john was severed also, and they were absorbed in the followers of christ; but when the roman soldiers thought their work was done, and the cry "it is finished!" had escaped the parched lips of the dying lord, his disciples held together in the upper room, and continued there for more than forty days, until the descent of the holy spirit formed them into the strongest organization that this world has ever beheld. john's influence on the world has diminished as men have receded further from his age; but jesus is king of the ages. he creates, he fashions, he leads them forth; he is with us always, to the end of the age. we have not to go back through the centuries to find him in the cradle or in mary's arms, in the fishing-boat or on the mountain, on the cross or in the grave; he is _here_ beside us, with us, in us, "all the days." john, then, was "a burning and shining torch," lifted for a moment aloft in the murky air; but jesus was that light. as the star-light, which fails to illumine the page of your book or the dial-plate of your watch, is to the sunlight, as the courier is to the sovereign, as the streamlet is to the ocean--such was john as compared with him whose shoe-latchet he felt himself unworthy to stoop down and unloose. greatest born of women he might be; "sent from god" he was: but one came after him who bore upon his front the designation of his divine origin and mission, behind whom the gates of the past closed as when a king has passed through, and at whose girdle hang the keys of the doors and gates of the ages. to read the calm idyllic pages of the gospels, apart from some knowledge of contemporary history, is to miss one of their deepest lessons--that such piety and beneficence were set in the midst of a most tumultuous and perilous age. those times were by no means favourable to the cultivation of the deepest life. the flock of god had long left the green pastures and still waters of outward peace, and were passing through the valley of death-shadow, every step of the path being infested by the enemies of their peace. the wolf, indeed, was coming. the national life was already being rent by those throes of agony which betokened the passing away of an age, and reached their climax in the fall of jerusalem, of which jesus said there had been nothing, and would be nothing, like it in the history of the world. herod was on the throne--crafty, cruel, sensual, imperious, and magnificent. the gorgeous temple which bore his name was the scene of priestly service and sacramental rites. the great national feasts of the passover, of tabernacles, and of pentecost, were celebrated with solemn pomp, and attracted vast crowds from all the world. in every part of the land synagogues were maintained with punctilious care, and crowds of scribes were perpetually engaged in a microscopic study of the law, and in the instruction of the people. in revenue, and popular attention, and apparent devoutness, that period had not been excelled in the most palmy days of solomon or hezekiah. but beneath this decorous surface the rankest, foulest, most desperate corruption throve. to the aged couple in the hill-country of judaea, as to mary and joseph at nazareth, must have come tidings of the murder of aristobulus, of the cruel death of mariamne and her sons, and of the aged hyrcanus. they must have groaned beneath the grinding oppression by which herod extorted from the poorer classes the immense revenues which he squandered on his palaces and fortresses and on the creation of new cities. that he was introducing everywhere gentile customs and games; that he had dared to place the roman eagle on the main entrance of the temple; that he had pillaged david's tomb; that he had set aside the great council of their nation, and blinded the saintly jochanan; that the religious leaders, men like caiaphas and annas, were quite willing to wink at the crimes of the secular power, so long as their prestige and emoluments were secured; that the national independence for which judas and his brothers had striven, during the maccabean wars, was fast being laid at the feet of rome, which was only too willing to take advantage of the chaos which followed immediately upon herod's hideous death--such tidings must have come, in successive shocks of anguish, to those true hearts who were waiting for the redemption of israel, with all the more eagerness as it seemed so long delayed, so urgently needed. still, they made their yearly journeys to jerusalem, and participated in the great convocations, which, in outward splendour, eclipsed memories of the past; but they realized that the glory had departed, and that the mere husk of externalism could not long resist the incoming tides of militarism, of the love of display, and the corrupting taint of the worst aspects of roman civilization. when the feasts were over, these pious hearts turned back to their homes among the hills, tearing themselves from the last glimpse of the beautiful city, with the cry, "o jerusalem, jerusalem!" the darkest hour precedes the dawn, and it was just at this point that old testament predictions must have been so eagerly scanned by those that watched and waited. that the messiah was nigh, they could not doubt. the term of years foretold by daniel had nearly expired. the sceptre had departed from judah, and the lawgiver from between his feet. even the gentile world was penetrated with the expectation of a king. sybils in their ancient writings, hermits in their secret cells, magi studying the dazzling glories of the eastern heavens, had come to the conclusion that he was at hand who would bring again the golden age. and so those loyal and loving souls that often spake together, while the lord hearkened and heard, must have felt that as the advent of the lord whom they sought was nigh, that of his messenger must be nearer still. they started at every footfall. they listened for every voice. they scanned the expression of every face. "behold, he shall come," rang in their hearts like a peal of silver bells. at any moment might a voice be heard crying, "cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign for the peoples. say ye to the daughter of sion, behold, thy salvation cometh." those anticipations were realized in the birth of john the baptist. ii. the house of zacharias. (luke i.) "there are in this loud stunning tide of human care and crime, with whom the melodies abide of the everlasting chime; who carry music in their heart through dusky lane and wrangling mart plying their daily task with busier feet, because their secret souls a holy strain repeat." keble. early history of the baptist--god's hidden ones--the hill country of judea--a childless home--the forerunner announced. to the evangelist luke we are indebted for details of those antecedent circumstances that ushered john the baptist into the world. he tells us that he had "traced the course of all things accurately from the first." and in those final words, "from the first," he suggests that he had deliberately sought to examine into those striking events from which, as from a wide-spreading root, the great growth of christianity had originated. who of us has not sometimes followed the roots of some newly-discovered plant deep into the black mould, intent on pursuing them to their furthest extremity, and extricating them from the clinging earth without injuring one delicate radicle? so this good physician, accustomed by his training to accurate research and experiment, went back to scenes and events anterior to any which his brother evangelists recorded. he compensated for the authority of an eye-witness by the thoroughness and care of his investigation. what were the sources from which the third evangelist drew his information? we cannot be sure, but may hazard a suggestion, which is supported by the archaic simplicity, the indescribable grace, the almost idyllic beauty of his two opening chapters. critics have repeatedly drawn attention to their unique character, and insisted that they are due to some other hand than that which has given us the rest of the story of "the son of man." and why should we not attribute them to "the mother" herself? it has been truly said that mothers are the natural historians of their children's early days--never tired of observing them, they never tire of recounting their prodigies; and, in an especial manner, mary had kept all things, pondering in her heart those wonderful circumstances which had left so indelible an impression on her life. she who, in her over-welling joy, uttered "the magnificat," was surely capable, even judging from a literary and human standpoint, of the language in which the story is told; and the facts themselves would only stand out the clearer in her closing years, as many another memory faded from her mind. the granite remains when the floods have swept away the light soil that filled the interstices of the rocks. it were a theme worthy of a great artist to depict! mary's face, furrowed by deep lines of anguish, yet glowing with sacred fire and holy memory. luke, sitting at his manuscript, now letting her tell her story without interruption, and again interpolating an inquiry, the words growing on the page; while, nearer than each to either, making no tremor in the hot summer air as he comes, casting no shadow in the brilliant eastern light--he of whom they speak and write steals in to stand beside them, bringing all things to their remembrance by the holy spirit's agency, even as he had told them. the story of john the baptist was so clearly part of that of jesus, that mary could hardly recall the one without the other. and, besides, elisabeth, as the angel said, was her kinswoman--perhaps her cousin--to whom she naturally turned in the hour of her maidenly astonishment and rapture. though much younger, mary was united to her relative by a close and tender tie, and it was only natural that what had happened to elisabeth should have impressed her almost as deeply as her own memorable experiences. so it is possible that from the lips of the mother of our lord we obtain these details of the house of zacharias. i. the quiet in the land.--god has always had his hidden ones; and, while the world has been rent by faction and war, ravaged by fire and sword, and drenched with the blood of her sons, these have heard his call to enter their chamber, and shut themselves in until the storm had spent its fury. it was so during the days of ahab, when the eye of omniscience beheld at least seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to baal. it was so in the awful days of the civil war, when puritan and royalist faced each other at naseby and marston moor, and the land seemed swept in a blinding storm. groups of ardent souls gathered to spend their time in worship and acts of mercy--like those at little gidding, in huntingdonshire, under the direction of mr. nicholas ferrar. it was so when the thirty years' war desolated germany, and "the quiet in the land" withdrew themselves from the agitated scene of human affairs to wait on god, embalming their hearts in hymns and poems which exhale a perfume as from crushed flowers. it was eminently so in the days of which we write. darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the peoples. herod's infamous cruelties, craft, and bloodshed were at their height. the country questioned with fear what new direction his crimes might take. the priesthood was obsequious to his whim; the bonds of society seemed dissolved. theudas and judas of galilee, mentioned by gamaliel, were but specimens of the bandit leaders who broke into revolt and harried the country districts for the maintenance of their followers. greed, peculation, and lawless violence, had ample and undisputed opportunity to despoil the national glory and corrupt the heart of the national life. is it to be wondered that the godly remnant would meet in little groups and secluded hiding-places to comfort themselves in god? we are told, for instance, that anna spake of the babe, whom she had probably embraced in her aged trembling arms, "to all them that were looking for the redemption of jerusalem" (luke ii. , r.v.). what would we not give to know something more of the members of this sacred society, which preserved the loftiest traditions, and embodied in their lives some of the finest traits of the religion of their forefathers! the gloom of their times only led them more eagerly to con the predictions of their hebrew prophets, and desire their accomplishment. full often they would climb the heights and look out over the desert wastes to descry the advent of the mighty one, coming from edom, with his garments stained with the blood of israel's foes. when they met, the burden of conversation, which flowed under vine or fig-tree, by the wayside or in humble homes, would be of their cherished hope. and as they beheld the hapless condition of their fatherland, the land of abraham, the city of david, the cry must often have been extorted; "how long, o lord, holy and true, will it be ere he shall come whose right it is who shall sit on the throne of his father david, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end? come forth out of thy royal chambers, o prince of all the kings of the earth! put on the visible robes of thy imperial majesty; take up that unlimited sceptre which thy almighty father hath bequeathed thee; for now the voice of thy bride calls thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed." so our great milton prayed in more recent days. we are not drawing on our imagination in describing these true-hearted watchers for the rising of the day-star. they are fully indicated in the gospel story. there was simeon, righteous and devout, unto whom it had been revealed by the holy spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the lord's christ; and anna, the prophetess, who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day; and the guileless nathanael, an israelite indeed, who had perhaps already commenced to sit at the foot of the ladder which bound his fig-tree to the highest heaven; and the peasant maiden mary, the descendant of a noble house, though with fallen fortunes, who, like some vestal virgin, clad in snowy white, watched through the dark hours beside the flickering flame; and last, but not least, zacharias and his wife elisabeth, "who were both righteous before god, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the lord blameless." for us, too, the times are dark. it is as though the shadows were being thrown far across the fields, and the light were becoming dim. let the children of god draw together, to encourage each other in their holy faith, and to speak of their great hopes; for he who appeared once to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself shall appear a second time without sin unto salvation. we are, as the french version puts it, _burgesses of the skies_, "whence we wait for a saviour, the lord jesus christ, who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself." but this attitude of spirit, which dwells in the unseen and eternal, which counts on the indwelling of the son of god by faith, and which ponders deeply over the sins and sorrows of the world around, is the temper of mind out of which the greatest deeds are wrought for the cause of god on the earth. the marys who sit at christ's feet arise to anoint him for his burying. take, for instance, the moravian church, born and cradled amid the pietism of which spener of berlin and franke of halle were the acknowledged leaders; and it has given to the world a far larger number of missionaries in proportion to its membership than any church of the age. or take the followers of george fox, who have maintained through unparalleled suffering their testimony for spirituality of worship; and it is undeniable that some of the greatest reforms which have characterised the century recently closed have found their foremost advocates and apologists from their somewhat meagre ranks. those who wait on god renew their strength. the world ignores them, scorning to reckon their tears and toils amid its renovating energies; but they refuse to abate their endeavours and sacrifices on its behalf. they repay its neglect by more assiduous exertions, its ingratitude by more exhausting sacrifices; content if, from out their ranks, there presently steps one who, like john the baptist, opens a new chapter in the history of the race, and accelerates the advent of the christ. ii. the parentage of the forerunner.--as the traveller emerges from the dreary wilderness that lies between sinai and the southern frontier of palestine--a scorching desert, in which elijah was glad to find shelter from the sword-like rays in the shade of the retem shrub--he sees before him a long line of hills, which is the beginning of "the hill country of judaea" (luke i. ). in contrast with the sand wastes which he has traversed, the valleys seem to laugh and sing. greener and yet greener grow the pasture lands, till he can understand how nabal and other sheep-masters were able to find maintenance for vast flocks of sheep. here and there are the crumbled ruins which mark the site of ancient towns and villages tenanted now by the jackal or the wandering arab. amongst these, a modern traveller has identified the site of juttah, the village home of the priest zacharias and his wife elisabeth. to judge by their names, we may infer that their parents years before had been godly people. _zacharias_ meant _god's remembrance_; as though he were to be a perpetual reminder to his fellows of what god had promised, and to god of what they were expecting from his hand. _elisabeth_ meant _god's oath_; as though her people were perpetually appealing to those covenant promises in which, since he could swear by no greater, god had sworn by himself, that he would never leave nor forsake, and that when the sceptre departed from judah and the law-giver from between his feet, shiloh should come. zacharias was a priest, "of the course of abijah," and twice a year he journeyed to jerusalem to fulfil his office, for a week of six days and two sabbaths. there were, josephus tells us, somewhat more than , priests settled in judaea at this time; and very many of them were like those whom malachi denounced as degrading and depreciating the temple services. the general character of the priesthood was deeply tainted by the corruption of the times, and as a class they were blind leaders of the blind. not a few, however, were evidently deeply religious men, for we find that "a great number of the priests," after the crucifixion, believed on christ and joined his followers. in this class we must therefore place zacharias, who, with his wife, herself of the daughters of aaron, is described as being "righteous before god." the phrases are evidently selected with care. many are righteous before men; but they were righteous _before god_. their daily life and walk were regulated by a careful observance of the ordinances of the ceremonial and the commandments of the moral law. it is evident, from the apt and plentiful quotations from scripture with which the song of zacharias is replete, that the scriptures were deeply pondered and reverenced in that highland home; and we have the angel's testimony to the prayers that ascended day and night. in all these things they were blameless--not faultless, as judged by god's infinite standard of rectitude, but blameless--because they lived up to the fullest limit of their knowledge of the will of god. they were blameless and harmless, the children of god, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they were seen as lights in the world, holding forth amid neighbours and friends the word of truth. but they lived under the shadow of a great sorrow. "they had no child, because elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years." when the good priest put off his official dress of white linen, and returned to his mountain home, there was no childish voice to welcome him. it seemed almost certain that their family would soon die out and be forgotten; that no child would close their eyes in death; and that by no link whatsoever could they be connected with the messiah, to be the progenitor of whom was the cherished longing of each hebrew parent. "they had no child!" they would, therefore, count themselves under the frown of god; and the mother especially felt that a reproach lay on her. what a clue to the anguish of the soul is furnished by her own reflection, when she recognised the glad divine interposition on her behalf, and cried, "thus hath the lord done unto me in the days wherein he looked upon me, to take away _my reproach among men_" (luke i. ). but had it not been for this sorrow they might never have been qualified to receive the first tidings of the near approach of the messiah. _sorrow_ opens our eyes, and bids us see visions within the vail, which cannot be described by those who have not wept. _sorrow_ leads us up the steep mountain of vision, and opens the panorama which lies beyond the view of those who dare not attempt the craggy steep. _sorrow_ prepares us to see angels standing beside the altar of incense at the hour of prayer, and to hear words that mortal lips may not utter until they are fulfilled. _sorrow_ leads us to open our house to those who carry a great anguish in their hearts, who come to us needing shelter and comfort; to discover finally that we have entertained an angel unawares, and that in some trembling maiden, threatened by divorce from her espoused, we have welcomed the mother of the lord (ver. ). shrink not from sorrow. it endures but for the brief eastern night; joy cometh in the morning, to remain. it may be caused by long waiting and apparently fruitless prayer. beneath its pressure heart and flesh may faint. all natural hope may have become dead, and the soul be plunged in hopeless despair. "yet the lord will command his loving-kindness in the morning;" and it will be seen that the dull autumn sowings of tears and loneliness and pain were the necessary preliminary for that heavenly messenger who, standing "on the right side of the altar of incense," shall assure us that our prayer is heard. iii. the angel's announcement.--one memorable autumn, when the land was full of the grape-harvest, zacharias left his home, in the cradle of the hills, some three thousand feet above the mediterranean, for his priestly service. reaching the temple he would lodge in the cloisters, and spend his days in the innermost court, which none might enter save priests in their sacred garments. among the various priestly duties, none was held in such high esteem as the offering of incense, which was presented morning and evening, on a special golden altar, in the holy place at the time of prayer. "the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense." so honourable was this office that it was fixed by lot, and none was allowed to perform it twice. only once in a priest's life was he permitted to sprinkle the incense on the burning coals, which an assistant had already brought from the altar of burnt-sacrifice, and spread on the altar of incense before the vail. the silver trumpets had sounded. the smoke of the evening sacrifice was ascending. the worshippers that thronged the different courts, rising tier on tier, were engaged in silent prayer. the assistant priest had retired; and zacharias, for the first and only time in his life, stood alone in the holy shrine, while the incense which he had strewn on the glowing embers arose in fragrant clouds, enveloping and veiling the objects around, whilst it symbolized the ascent of prayers and intercessions not only from his own heart, but from the hearts of his people, into the presence of god. "and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even unto heaven." what a litany of prayer poured from his heart! for israel, that the chosen people should be delivered from their low estate; for the cause of religion, that it might be revived; for the crowds without, that god would hear the prayers they were offering toward his holy sanctuary, and, perhaps, for elisabeth and himself, that, if possible, god would hear their prayer, and, if not, that he would grant them to bear patiently their heavy sorrow. "and there appeared unto him an angel of the lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense." mark how circumstantial the narrative is. there could be no mistake. he stood--and he stood on the right side. it was gabriel who stands in the presence of god, who had been sent to speak to him, and declare the good tidings that his prayer was heard; that his wife should bear a son, who should be called john, that the child should be welcomed with joy, should be a nazarite from his birth, should be filled with the holy spirit from his birth, should inherit the spirit and power of elias, and should go before the face of christ to prepare his way, by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just. he tarried long in the temple, and what wonder! the people would have ceased to marvel at the long suspense, could they have known the cause of the delay. presently he came out; but when he essayed to pronounce the customary blessing his lips were dumb. he made signs as he reached forth his hands in the attitude of benediction; but that day no blessing fell on their upturned faces. he continued making signs unto them and remained dumb. dumb, because he questioned the likelihood of so good and gracious an answer. dumb, because he believed not the archangel's words. dumb, that he might learn in silence and solitude the full purposes of god, to set them presently to song. dumb, that the tidings might not spread as yet. dumb, as the representative of that wonderful system, which for so long had spoken to mankind with comparatively little result, but was now to be superseded by the word of god. with the light of that glory on his face, and those sweet notes of "fear not" ringing in his heart, zacharias continued to fulfil the duties of his ministration, and, when his work was fulfilled, departed unto his house. but that day was long remembered by the people, prelude as it was to the time when their blessings would no longer come from ebal or gerizim, but from calvary; and when the great high priest would utter from heaven the ancient words: the lord bless thee and keep thee. the lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. the lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. iii. his schools and schoolmasters. (luke .) "oh to have watched thee through the vineyards wander, pluck the ripe ears, and into evening roam!-- followed, and known that in the twilight yonder legions of angels shone about thy home!" f. w. h. myers. home-life--preparing for his life-work--the vow of separation--a child of the desert zacharias and elisabeth had probably almost ceased to pray for a child, or to urge the matter. it seemed useless to pray further. there had been no heaven-sent sign to assure them that there was any likelihood of their prayer being answered, and nature seemed to utter a final no; when suddenly the angel of god broke into the commonplace of their life, like a meteorite into the unrippled water of a mountain-sheltered lake, bringing the assurance that there was no need for fear, and the announcement that their prayer was heard. it must have been like hearing news that a ship, long overdue and almost despaired of, has suddenly made harbour. it is not impossible that prayers that we have ceased to pray, and are in despair about, will yet return to us with the words, _thy supplication is heard_, endorsed on them in our father's handwriting. not infrequently dividends are paid on investments which we have given up as valueless. fruit that mellows longest in the sun is ripest. such things may transcend altogether our philosophy of prayer; but we are prepared for this, since god is accustomed to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. on his arrival in his home, the aged priest, by means of the writing-table afterwards referred to, informed his wife, who apparently had not accompanied him, of all that had happened, even to the name which the child was to bear, she, at least, seems to have found no difficulty in accepting the divine assurance, and during her five months of seclusion she nursed great and mighty thoughts in her heart, in the belief and prayer that her child would become all that his name is supposed to signify, _the gift of jehovah_. it was elisabeth also who recognised in mary the mother of her lord, greeted her as blessed among women, and assured her that there would be for her a fulfilment of the things which had been promised her. month succeeded month, but zacharias neither heard nor spoke. his friends had to make signs to him, for unbelief has the effect of shutting man out of the enjoyment of life, and hindering his usefulness. how different this time of waiting from the blessedness it brought to his wife's young relative, who believed the heavenly messenger. he was evidently a good man, and well versed in the history of his people. his soul, as we learn from his song, was full of noble pride in the great and glorious past. he could believe that when abraham and sarah were past age, a child was born to _them_, who filled their tent with his merry prattle and laughter; but he could not believe that such a blessing could fall to his lot. and is not that the point where our faith staggers still? we can believe in the wonder-working power of god on the distant horizon of the past, or on the equally distant horizon of the future; but that he should have a definite and particular care for _our_ life, that _our_ prayers should touch him, that he should give us the desire of our heart--this staggers us, and we feel it is too good to be true. during the whole period that the stricken but expectant priest spent in his living tomb, shut off from communication with the outer world, his spirit was becoming charged with holy emotion, that waited for the first opportunity of expression. such an opportunity came at length. his lowly dwelling was one day crowded with an eager and enthusiastic throng of relatives and friends. they had gathered to congratulate the aged pair, to perform the initial rite of judaism, and to name the infant boy that lay in his mother's arms. ah, what joy was hers when they came to "magnify the lord's mercy towards her, and to rejoice with her"! as the people passed in and out, there was a new glow in the brilliant eastern sunlight, a new glory on the familiar hills. in their perplexity at the mother's insistence that the babe's name should be john--none of his kindred being known by that name--they appealed to his father, who with trembling hand inscribed on the wax of the writing tablet the verdict, "his name is john." so soon as he had broken the iron fetter of unbelief in thus acknowledging the fulfilment of the angel's words, "his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing god. and fear came on all that dwelt round about them." all these sayings quickly became the staple theme of conversation throughout all the hill-country of judaea; and wherever they came, they excited the profoundest expectation. people laid them up in their hearts, saying, "what, then, shall this child be?" "and the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit." "and the hand of the lord was with him." there were several remarkable formative influences operating on this young life. i. the school of home.--_his father was a priest_. john's earliest memories would register the frequent absence of his father in the fulfilment of his course; and, on his return, with what eagerness would the boy drink in a recital of all that had transpired in the holy city! we can imagine how the three would sit together beneath their trellised vine, in the soft light of the fading sunset, and talk of zion, their chief joy. no wonder that in after days, as he looked on jesus as he walked, he pointed to him and said, "behold the lamb of god"; for, from the earliest, his young mind had been saturated with thoughts of sacrifice. when old enough his parents would take him with them to one of the great festivals, where, amid the thronging crowds, his boyish eyes opened for the first time upon the stately temple, the order and vestments of the priests, the solemn pomp of the levitical ceremonial. the young heart dilated and expanded with wonder and pride; but how little he realized that his ministry would be the first step to its entire subversal. he would be also taught carefully in the _holy scriptures_. like the young timothy, he would know them from early childhood. the song of zacharias reveals a vivid and realistic familiarity with the prophecies and phraseology of the scriptures; and as the happy parents recited them to his infant mind, they would stay to emphasize them with impressive personal references. what would we not have given to hear zacharias quote isaiah xl. or malachi iii., and turn to the lad at his knee, saying--"these words refer to thee".-- "yea, and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the most high; for thou shalt go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways." would not the aged priest speak to his son in thoughts and words like those with which his song is so replete; might he not speak to him in some such way as this: "my boy, god has fulfilled his holy covenant, the oath which he sware unto abraham, our father; because of the tender mercy of our god, the dayspring from on high has visited us, to shine upon them that sit in darkness, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." then he would proceed to tell him the marvellous story of his kinsman's birth in bethlehem, and of his growing grace in nazareth. "blessed be the lord, the god of israel," the old man said; "for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant david, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began." next the father would tell as much of the story of herod's crimes, and of his oppressive rule, as the lad could understand; and explain how there would soon be "salvation from their enemies, and from the hand of all that hated them." and his young soul would be thrilled by the hopes which were bursting in the bud, and so near breaking into flower. sometimes when they were abroad together in the early dawn, and saw the first peep of day, the father would say: "john, do you see that light breaking over the hills? what that day-spring is to the world, jesus, thy cousin at nazareth, will be to the darkness of sin." then, turning to the morning star, shining in the path of the dawn, and paling as they gazed, he would say: "see thy destiny, my son: i am an old man, and shall not live to see thee in thy meridian strength; but thou shalt shine for only a brief space, and then decrease, whilst he shall increase from the faint flush of day-spring to the perfect day." and might not the child reply, with a flash of intelligent appreciation?--"yes, father, i understand; but i shall be satisfied if only i have prepared the way of the lord." _there were also the associations of the surrounding country_. the story of abraham would often be recited in the proximity of machpelah's sacred cave. the career of david could not be unfamiliar to a youth who was within easy reach of the haunts of the shepherd-psalmist. and the story of the maccabees would stir his soul, as his parents recounted the exploits of judas and his brethren, in which the ancient hebrew faith and prowess had revived in one last glorious outburst. how ineffaceable are the impressions of the home! what the father is when he comes back at night from his toils, and what the mother is all day; what may be the staple of conversation in the home: whether the father is willing to be the companion of his child, answering his questions, and superintending the gradual unfolding of his mind; how often the bible is opened and explained; how the weekly rest-day is spent; the attitude of the home towards strong drink in every shape and form, and all else that might injure the young life, as gas does plants--all these are vital to the right nurture and direction of boys and girls who can only wax strong in spirit when all early influences combine in the same direction. ii. there was the school of his nazarite-vow.--the angel, who announced his birth, foretold that he should drink neither wine nor strong drink from his birth, but that he should be filled with the holy spirit. "john," said our lord, "came neither eating nor drinking." this abstinence from all stimulants was a distinct sign of the nazarite, together with the unshorn locks, and the care with which he abstained from contact with death. in some cases, the vow of the nazarite might be taken for a time, or, as in the case of samson, samuel, and john, it might be for life. but, whether for shorter or longer, the nazarite held himself as peculiarly given up to the service of god, pliant to the least indication of his will, quick to catch the smallest whisper of his voice, and mighty in his strength. "mother, why do i wear my hair so long? you never cut it, as the mothers of other boys do." "no, my son," was the proud and glad reply; "you must never cut it as long as you live: _you are a nazarite_." "mother, why may i not taste the grapes? the boys say they are so nice and sweet. may i not, next vintage?" "no, never," his mother would reply; "you must never touch the fruit of the vine: _you are a nazarite_." if, as they walked along the public way, they saw a bone left by some hungry dog, or a little bird fallen to the earth to die, and the boy would approach to touch either, the mother would call him back to her side, saying, "thou must never touch a dead thing. if thy father were to die, or i, beside thee, thou must not move us from the spot, but call for help. remember always that thou art separated unto god; his vows are upon thee, and thou must let nothing, either in symbol or reality, steal away his power from thy young heart and life." the effect of this would be excellent. it would give a direction and purpose to the lad's thoughts and anticipations. he realized that he was set apart for a great mission in life. the brook heard the call of the sea. besides which, he would acquire self-restraint, self-mastery. what is it to be "strong in spirit"? the man who carries everything before him with the impetuous rush of his nature, before whose outbursts men tremble, and who insists in all things on asserting his wild, masterful will--is he the strong man? nay! most evidently he must be classed among the weaklings. the strength of a man is in proportion to the feelings which he curbs and subdues, and not which subdue him. the man who receives a flagrant insult, and answers quietly; the man who bears a hopeless daily trial, and remains silent; the man who with strong passions remains chaste, or with a quick sense of injustice can refrain himself and remain calm--these are strong men; and john waxed strong, because, from the earliest dawn of thought, he was taught the necessity of refusing things which in themselves might have been permissible, but for him were impossible. on each of us rests the vow of separation by right of our union with the son of god, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. remember how he went without the camp, bearing our reproach; how they cast him forth to the death of the cross; and how he awaits us on the easter side of death--and surely we can find no pleasure in the world where he found no place. his death has made a lasting break between his followers and the rest of men. they are crucified to the world, and the world to them. let us not taste of the intoxicating joys in which the children of the present age indulge; let us allow no delilah passion to pass her scissors over our locks; and let us be very careful not to receive contamination; to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but to come out and be separate, not touching the unclean thing. but while we put away all that injures our own life or the lives of others, let us be very careful to discriminate, to draw the line where god would have it drawn, exaggerating and extenuating nothing. it is important to remember that while the motto of the old covenant was exclusion, even of innocent and natural things, that of the new is inclusion. moses, under the old, forbade the jews having horses; but zechariah said that in the new they might own horses, only "holiness to the lord" must be engraven on the bells of their harness. christ has come to sanctify all life. whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, we are to do all to his glory. disciples are not to be taken out of the world, but kept from its evil. "every creature of god is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of god, and prayer." natural instincts are not to be crushed, but transfigured. this is the great contrast between the baptist and the son of man. the nazarite would have felt it a sin against the law of his vocation and office to touch anything pertaining to the vine. christ began his signs by changing water into wine, though of an innocuous kind, for the peasants' wedding at cana of galilee. john would have lost all sanctity had he touched the bodies of the dead, or the flesh of a leper. christ would touch a bier, pass his hands over the seared flesh of the leper, and stand sympathetically beside the grave of his friend. thus we catch a glimpse of our lord's meaning when he affirms that, though john was the greatest of women born, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. iii. there was the school of the desert.--"the child was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto israel." probably zacharias, and elisabeth also, died when john was quite young. but the boy had grown into adolescence, was able to care for himself, and "the hand of the lord was with him." beneath the guidance and impulse of that hand he tore himself from the little home where he had first seen the tender light of day, and spent happy years, to go forth from the ordinary haunts of men, perhaps hardly knowing whither. there was a wild restlessness in his soul. a young man, pleading the other day with his father to be allowed to emigrate to the west, urged that whereas there are _inches_ here there are _acres_ there; and something of this kind may have been in the heart of john. he desired to free himself from the conventionalities and restraints of the society amid which he had been brought up, that he might develop after his own fashion, with no laws but those he received from heaven. fatherless, motherless, brotherless, sisterless--a lone man, he passed forth into the great and terrible wilderness of judaea, which is so desolate that the jews called it the abomination of desolation. travellers who have passed over and through it say that it is destitute of all animal life, save a chance vulture or fox. for the most part, it is a waste of sand, swept by wild winds. when jesus was there some two or three years after, he found nothing to eat; the stones around mocked his hunger; and there was no company save that of the wild beasts. in this great and terrible wilderness, john supported himself by eating locusts--the literal insect, which is still greatly esteemed by the natives--and wild honey, which abounded in the crevices of the rocks; while for clothing he was content with a coat of coarse camel's hair, such as the arab women make still; and a girdle of skin about his loins. a cave, like that in which david and his men often found refuge, sufficed him for a home, and the water of the streams that hurried to the dead sea, for his beverage. can we wonder that under such a regimen he grew strong? we become weak by continual contact with our fellows. we sink to their level, we accommodate ourselves to their fashions and whims; we limit the natural developments of character on god's plan; we take on the colour of the bottom on which we lie. but in loneliness and solitude, wherein we meet god, we become strong. god's strong men are rarely clothed in soft raiment, or found in kings' courts. obadiah, who stood in awe of ahab, was a very different man from elijah, who was of the inhabitants of gilead, and stood before the lord. yes, and there is a source of strength beside. he who is filled and taught, as john was, by the spirit, is strengthened by might in the inner man. all things are possible to him that believes. simon bar-jona becomes peter when he touches the christ. the youths faint and are weary, and the young men utterly fall; but they that wait on the lord renew their strength: they who know god are strong and do exploits. iv. the prophet of the highest. (luke i.) "ye hermits blest, ye holy maids, the nearest heaven on earth, who talk with god in shadowy glades, free from rude care and mirth; to whom some viewless teacher brings the secret love of rural things, the moral of each fleeting cloud and gale, the whispers from above, that haunt the twilight vale." keble. formative influences--a historical parallel--the burning of the vanities--"sent from god" "thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the most high"--thus zacharias addressed his infant son, as he lay in the midst of that group of wondering neighbours and friends. what a thrill of ecstasy quivered in the words! a long period, computed at four hundred years, had passed since the last great hebrew prophet had uttered the words of the highest. reaching back from him to the days of moses had been a long line of prophets, who had passed down the lighted torch from hand to hand. and the fourteen generations, during which the prophetic office had been discontinued, had gone wearily. but now hope revived, as the angel-voice proclaimed the advent of a prophet. our lord corroborated his words when, in after days, he said that john had been a prophet, and something more. "but what went ye out to see?" he asked. "a prophet? yea, i say unto you, and much more than a prophet." the hebrew word that stands for _prophet_ is said to be derived from a root signifying "to boil or bubble over," and suggests a fountain bursting from the heart of the man into which god had poured it. it is a mistake to confine the word to the prediction of coming events; for so employed it would hardly be applicable to men like moses, samuel, and elijah, in the old testament, or john the baptist and the apostle paul, in the new, who were certainly prophets in the deepest significance of that term. prophecy means the forth-telling of the divine message. the prophet is borne along by the stream of divine indwelling and inflowing, whether he utters the truth for the moment or anticipates the future. "god spake _in_ the prophets" (hebrews i. , r.v.). and when they were conscious of his mighty moving and stirring within, woe to them if they did not utter it in burning words, fresh minted from the heart. with malachi, the succession that had continued unbroken from the very foundation of the jewish commonwealth had terminated. pious israelites might have found befitting expression for that lament in the words, "we see not our signs: there is no more any prophet" (psa. lxxiv. ). but as the voice of old testament prophecy ceased, with its last breath it foretold that it would be followed, in the after time, by a new and glorious revival of the noblest traditions of the prophetic office. "behold," so god spake by malachi, "i will send you elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the lord come. and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest i come and smite the earth with a curse" (mal. iv. , ). i. the formative influences by which the baptist's prophetic nature was moulded.--amongst these we must place in the foremost rank _the prophecies_, which had given a forecast of his career. from his childhood and upwards they had been reiterated in his ear by his parents, who would never weary of reciting them. how often he would ponder the reference to himself in the great messianic prediction--"comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your god.... the voice of one that crieth, prepare ye the way of the lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our god...." there was no doubt as to the relevance of those words to himself (luke i. ; matt. iii. ). and it must have unconsciously wrought mightily in the influence it wielded over his character and ministry. there was, also, that striking anticipation by malachi which we have already quoted, and which directly suggested elijah as his model. had not gabriel himself alluded to it, when he foretold that the predicted child would go before the messiah, in the spirit and power of elijah (luke i. )? and again his statement was confirmed by our lord in after days (matt. xi. ). thus the great figure of elijah was ever before the mind of the growing youth, as his model and inspiration. he found himself perpetually asking, how did elijah act, and what would he do here and now? and there is little doubt that his choice of the lonely wilderness, of the rough mantle of camel's hair, of the abrupt and arousing form of address, was suggested by that village of thisbe in the land of gilead, and those personal characteristics which were so familiar in the prophet of fire. but the mind of the forerunner must also have been greatly exercised by _the lawlessness and crime_ which involved all classes of his countrymen in a common condemnation. the death of herod, occurring when john was yet a child, dependent on the care of the good elisabeth, had led to disturbances which afforded an excuse for the roman occupation of jerusalem. the sceptre had departed from judah, and the lawgiver from between his feet. the high priesthood was a mere forfeit in the deals of idumaean tetrarchs and roman governors. the publicans were notorious for their exactions, their covetousness, their cheating and oppression of the people. soldiers filled the country with violence, extortion, and discontent. the priests were hirelings; the pharisees were hypocrites; the ruling classes had set aside their primitive simplicity and purity, and were given up to the voluptuousness and licence of the empire. "brood of vipers" was apparently not too strong a phrase to use of the foremost religious leaders of the day--at least, when used, its relevance passed without challenge. tidings of the evil that was overflowing the land like a deluge of ink were constantly coming to the ears of this eager soul, filling it with horror and dismay; and to this must be traced much of the austerity which arrested the attention of his contemporaries. the idea which lies beneath the fasting and privation of so many of god's servants, has been that of an overwhelming sorrow, which has taken away all taste for the pleasures and comforts of life. and this was the thought by which john was penetrated. on the one hand, there was his deep and agonizing conviction of the sin of israel; and on the other, the belief that the messiah must be nigh, even at the doors. thus the pressure of the burden increased on him till he was forced to give utterance to the cry it extorted from his soul: "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." but in addition to these we must add _the vision of god_, which must have been specially vouchsafed to him whilst he sojourned in those lonely wilds. he spoke once of him "who sent him to baptize." evidently he had become accustomed to detect his presence and hear his voice. those still small accents which had fallen on the ear of his great prototype had thrilled his soul. he, too, had seen the lord high and lifted up, had heard the chant of the seraphim, and had felt the live coal touch his lips, as it had been caught from the altar by the seraph's tongs. this has ever been characteristic of the true prophet. he has been a seer. he has spoken, because he has beheld with his eyes, looked upon, and handled, the very word of god. the divine prophet, speaking for all that had preceded him, said: "we speak that which we know, and testify that we have seen." in this we may have some share. it is permitted to us also to see; to climb the mount of vision, and look on the glory of god in the face of jesus christ; to have revealed to us things that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. let us remember that we are to be god's _witnesses_ in the jerusalem of the home, the judaea of our immediate neighbours, and to the uttermost parts of the earth of our profession or daily calling. god demands not advocates, but witnesses; and we must see for ourselves, before we can bear witness to others, the glory of that light still flushing our faces, and the accent of conviction minted in our speech. these are the three signs of a prophet: vision, a deep conviction of sin and impending judgment, and the gushing forth of moving and eloquent speech; and each of these was apparent, in an exalted and extreme degree, in john the son of zacharias. ii. an illustrative and remarkable parallel.--as john came in the spirit and power of elijah, so, four hundred years ago, in the lovely city of florence, a man was sent from god to testify against the sins of his age, who in many particulars so exactly corresponds with our lord's forerunner that the one strongly recalls the other, and it may help us to bring the circumstances of the baptist's ministry within a measurable distance of ourselves if we briefly compare them with the career of girolamo savonarola. it must, of course, be always borne in mind that the great florentine could lay no claim to the peculiar and unique position and power of the baptist. but, in many respects, there is a remarkable parallel and similarity between them, which will help us to translate the old hebrew conceptions into our modern life. the physician's household at ferrara, into which savonarola was born on september , , was probably no more distinguished amid other families of the town than that of zacharias and elisabeth in the hill country of judaea. and as we read of the invincible love of truth which characterized the keen and intelligent lad, we are forcibly reminded of the baptist, whose whole life was an eloquent protest on behalf of reality. in one of his greatest sermons savonarola declared that he had always striven after truth with all his might, and maintained a constant war against falsehood. "the more trouble"--they are his own words--"i bestowed upon my quest, the greater became my longing, so that for it i was prepared to abandon life itself. when i was but a boy, i had such thoughts; and from that time, the desire and longing after this good has gone on increasing to the present day." we cannot read of savonarola's saintly life, over which even the breath of calumny has never cast a stain--of his depriving himself of every indulgence, content with the hardest couch and roughest clothing, and just enough of the plainest food to support life--without remembering the camel's cloth, the locusts and wild honey of the baptist. if john's lot was cast on evil days, when religion suffered most in the house of her friends, so was it with savonarola. the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries witnessed the increasing corruption and licentiousness of popes and clergy. the offices of cardinal and bishop were put up to auction, and sold to the highest bidder. the bishop extorted money from the priests, and these robbed the people. the grossest immorality was prevalent in all ranks of the church, and without concealment. even the monasteries and convents were often dens of vice. "italy," said machiavelli, "has lost all piety and all religion. we have to thank the church and the priests for our abandoned wickedness." as john beheld the fire and fan of impending judgment, so the burden of savonarola's preaching was that the church was about to be chastised, and afterwards renewed. so powerful was this impression on the preacher's mind that it can best be described in his own words as a vision. he tells us that on one occasion the heavens seemed to open before him, and there appeared a representation of the calamities that were coming on the church; on another, he saw, in the middle of the sky, a hand bearing a sword, on which words of doom were written. he described himself as one who looked into the invisible world. the herald of jesus possessed a marvellous eloquence, beneath which the whole land was moved; and so it was with savonarola. during the eight years that he preached in the cathedral, it was thronged with vast crowds; and as he pleaded for purity of life and simplicity of manners, "women threw aside jewels and finery, libertines were transformed into sober citizens, bankers and tradesmen restored their ill-gotten gains." in lent, , took place what is known as the burning of the vanities. bands of children were sent forth to collect from all parts of the city, indecent books and pictures, carnival masks and costumes, cards, dice, and all such things. a pile was erected, sixty feet in height, and fired amid the sound of trumpets and pealing bells. what herod was to john the baptist, the pope and the magnificent lorenzo di medici were to savonarola. the latter seems to have felt a strange fascination towards the eloquent preacher, tried to attach him to his court, was frequent in his attendance at san marco, and gave largely to his offertories. to use the words of the new testament, he feared him, "knowing that he was a righteous man, and a holy" (mark vi. ). but savonarola took care to avoid any sign of compliance or compromise; declined to pay homage to lorenzo for promotion to high ecclesiastical functions; returned his gold from the offertories; and when they ran to tell him that lorenzo was walking in the convent garden, answered, "if he has not asked for me, do not disturb his meditations or mine." like john, savonarola was unceasing in his denunciation of the hypocritical religion which satisfied itself with outward observances. "i tell you," he said, "that the lord willeth not that ye fast on such a day or at such an hour; but willeth that ye avoid sin all the days of your life. observe how they go about--seeking indulgences and pardons, ringing bells, decking altars, dressing churches. god heedeth not your ceremonies." john's exhortation to "behold the lamb of god" finds an echo in the noble utterance of this illumined soul, who, be it remembered, anticipated luther's reformation by a hundred years. "if all the ecclesiastical hierarchy be corrupt, the believer must turn to christ, who is the primary cause, and say: 'thou art my priest and my confessor.'" the fate of martyrdom that befell john was awarded also to savonarola. through the impetuosity of his followers, he was involved in a challenge to ordeal by fire. but by the manoeuvres of his foes, the expectations of the populace in this direction were disappointed, and their anger aroused. "to san marco!" shouted their leaders. to san marco they went, fired the buildings, burst open the doors, fought their way into the cloisters and church, dragged savonarola from his devotions, and thrust him into a loathsome dungeon. after languishing there, amid every indignity and torture, for some weeks, on may , , he was led forth to die. the bishop, whose duty it was to pronounce his degradation, stumbled at the formula declaring--"i separate thee from the church, militant and triumphant." "from the militant thou mayest, but from the triumphant thou canst not," was the martyr's calm reply. he met his end with unflinching fortitude. he was strangled, his remains hung in chains, burned, and the ashes flung into the river. when the commissioners of the pope arrived at his trial, they brought with them express orders that he was to die, "even though he were a _second john the baptist_." it is thus that the apostate church has always dealt with her noblest sons. but truth, struck to the ground, revives. hers are the eternal years. within a few years, luther was nailing his theses at the door of the church at wittenberg, and the reformation was on its way. there is a legend, which at least contains a true suggestion, that when savonarola was on his way to florence from genoa, as a young man, his strength failed him as he was crossing the apennines, but that a mysterious stranger appeared to him, restored his courage, led him to a hospice, compelled him to take food, and afterwards accompanied him to his destination; but on reaching the san gallo gate he vanished, with the words, _remember to do that for which god hath sent thee!_ the story recalls forcibly the words with which the evangelist john introduces his notice of the forerunner--"there was a man sent from god, whose name was john." men are always coming, sent from god, specially adapted to their age, and entrusted with the message which the times demand. see to it that thou too realize thy divine mission; for jesus said, "as the father hath sent me, even so send i you." every true life is a mission from god. and when we read the words of the apostle paul about john "fulfilling his course," we may well ask for grace that we may fill up to the brim the measure of our opportunities, that we may realize to the full god's meaning and intention in creating us: and so our lives shall mate with the divine ideal, like sublime words with some heavenly strain, each completing the other. v. the first ministry of the baptist. (luke iii.) "hark, what a sound, and too divine for hearing, stirs on the earth and trembles in the air! is it the thunder of the lord's appearing? is it the music of his people's prayer? "surely he cometh, and a thousand voices shout to the saints, and to the deaf and dumb; surely he cometh, and the earth rejoices, glad in his coming who hath sworn, i come." f. w. h. myers. the preaching of repentance--his power as a preacher--his message--warning of impending judgment--the wages of sin thirty years had left their mark on the forerunner. the aged priest and his wife elisabeth had been carried to their grave by other hands than those of the young nazarite. the story of his miraculous birth, and the expectations it had aroused, had almost died out of the memory of the countryside. for many years john had been living in the caves that indent the limestone rocks of the desolate wilderness which extends from hebron to the western shores of the dead sea. by the use of the scantiest fare, and roughest garb, he had brought his body under complete mastery. from nature, from the inspired page, and from direct fellowship with god, he had received revelations which are only vouchsafed to those who can stand the strain of discipline in the school of solitude and privation. he had carefully pondered also the signs of the times, of which he received information from the bedouin and others with whom he came in contact. blended with all other thoughts, john's heart was filled with the advent of him, so near akin to himself, who, to his certain knowledge, was growing up, a few months his junior, in an obscure highland home, but who was speedily to be manifested to israel. at last the moment arrived for him to utter the mighty burden that pressed upon him; and "in the fifteenth year of tiberius caesar, pontius pilate being governor of judaea, herod the tetrarch of galilee, annas and caiaphas the high priests, the word of god came unto john, the son of zacharias, in the wilderness." it may have befallen thus. one day, as a caravan of pilgrims was slowly climbing the mountain gorges threaded by the road between jerusalem and jericho, or halted for a moment in the noontide heat, they were startled by the appearance of a gaunt and sinewy man, with flowing raven locks, and a voice which must have been as sonorous and penetrating as a clarion, who cried, "repent! the kingdom of heaven is at hand." it was as though a spark had fallen on dry tinder. the tidings spread with wonderful rapidity that in the wilderness of judaea one was to be met who recalled the memory of the great prophets, and whose burning eloquence was of the same order as of isaiah or ezekiel. instantly people began to flock to him from all sides. "there went out to him jerusalem, and all judaea, and all the region round about jordan." the neighbourhood suddenly became black with hurrying crowds--as klondike, when the news of the discovery of gold began to spread. from lip to lip the tidings sped of a great leader and preacher, who had suddenly appeared. he seems finally to have taken his stand not far from the rose-clad oasis of jericho, on the banks of the jordan; and men of every tribe, class, and profession, gathered thither, listening eagerly, or interrupting him with loud cries for help. the population of the metropolis, familiar with the temple services, and accustomed to the splendour of the palace; fishermen from the lake of gennesaret, dusky sons of ishmael from the desert of gilead; the proud pharisee; the detested publican, who had fattened on the sorrows and burdens of the people--were there, together with crowds of ordinary people that could find no resting-place in the schools or systems of religious thought of which jerusalem was the centre. . many causes accounted for john's immense popularity.--_the office of the prophet was almost obsolete_. several centuries, as we have seen, had passed since the last great prophet had finished his testimony. the oldest man living at that time could not remember having seen a man who had ever spoken to a prophet. it seemed as unlikely, to adopt the phrase of another, that another prophet should arise in that formal, materialistic age, as that another cathedral should be added to the splendid remains of gothic glory which tell us of those bygone days when there were giants in the land. moreover, _john gave such abundant evidence of sincerity--of reality_. his independence of anything that this world could give made men feel that whatever he said was inspired by his direct contact with things as they literally are. it was certain that his severe and lonely life had rent the vail, and given him the knowledge of facts and realities, which were as yet hidden from ordinary men, though waiting, soon to be revealed; and it was equally certain that his words were a faithful and adequate presentation of what he saw. he spoke what he knew, and testified what he had seen. his accent of conviction was unmistakable. when men see the professed prophet of the unseen and eternal as keen after his own interests as any worldling, shrewd at a bargain, captivated by show, obsequious to the titled and wealthy; when they discover the man who predicts the dissolution of all things carefully investing the proceeds of the books in which he publishes his predictions--they are apt to reduce to a minimum their faith in his words. but there was no trace of this in the baptist, and therefore the people went forth to him. _above all, he appealed to their moral convictions, and, indeed, expressed them_. the people knew that they were not as they should be. for a long time this consciousness had been gaining ground; and now they flocked around the man who revealed themselves to themselves, and indicated with unfaltering decision the course of action they should adopt. how marvellous is the fascination which he exerts over men who will speak to their inner-most souls! this has always been the source of power to the great orators of the romish church--men like massillon, for instance--and to refuse to use this method of approach is to forego one of the mightiest weapons in the repertory of christian appeal. if we deal only with the intellect or imagination, the novelist or essayist may successfully compete with us. it is in his direct appeal to the heart and conscience, that the servant of god exerts his supreme and unrivalled power. though a man may shrink from the preaching of repentance, yet, if it tell the truth about himself, he will be irresistibly attracted to hear the voice that harrows his soul. john rebuked herod for many things; but still the royal offender sent for him again and again, and heard him gladly. it is expressly said that john saw many pharisees and sadducees coming to his baptism (matt. iii. ). their advent appears to have caused him some surprise. "ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" the strong epithet he used of them suggests that they came as critics, because they were unwilling to surrender the leadership of the religious life of israel, and were anxious to keep in touch with the new movement, until they could sap its vitality, or divert its force into the channels of their own influence. but it is quite likely that in many cases there were deeper reasons. _the pharisees_ were the ritualists and formalists of their day, who would wrangle about the breadth of a phylactery, and decide to an inch how far a man might walk on the sabbath day; but the mere externals of religion will never permanently satisfy the soul made in the likeness of god. ultimately it will turn from them with a great nausea and an insatiable desire for the living god. as for _the sadducees_, they were the materialists of their time. the reaction of superstition, it has been said, is to infidelity; and the reaction from pharisaism was to sadduceeism. disgusted and outraged by the trifling of the literalists of scripture interpretation, the sadducee denied that there was an eternal world and a spiritual state, and asserted that "there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit." but mere negation can never satisfy. the heart still moans out its sorrow under the darkness of agnosticism, as the ocean sighing under a starless midnight. nature's instincts are more cogent than reason. it was hardly to be wondered at, then, that these two great classes were largely represented in the crowds that gathered on the banks of the jordan. ii. let us briefly enumerate the main burden of the baptist's preaching.--( ) "_the kingdom of heaven is at hand_." to a jew that phrase meant the re-establishment of the theocracy, and a return to those great days in the history of his people when god himself was lawgiver and king. had not daniel predicted that in the days of the last of the great empires, prefigured in nebuchadnezzar's dream, the god of heaven would set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed--which should break in pieces all other kingdoms and stand for ever? had he not foreseen a time when one like unto a son of man should come to the ancient of days to receive a dominion which should not pass away, and a kingdom which should not be destroyed? had he not foretold that the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven should be given to the saints of the most high? surely, then, all these anticipations were on the eve of fulfilment. the long-expected messiah was at hand; and here was the forerunner described by isaiah, the prophet, saying:-- "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ye ready the way of the lord, make his paths straight." but some misgiving must have passed over the minds of his hearers when they heard the young prophet's description of the conditions and accompaniments of that long-looked-for reign. instead of dilating on the material glory of the messianic period, far surpassing the magnificent splendour of solomon, he insisted on the fulfilment of certain necessary preliminary requirements, which lifted the whole conception of the anticipated reign to a new level, in which the inward and spiritual took precedence of the outward and material. it was the old lesson, which in every age requires repetition, that unless a man is born again, and from above, he cannot see the kingdom of god. be sure of this, that no outward circumstances, however propitious and favourable, can bring about true blessedness. we might be put into the midst of heaven itself, and be poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked, unless the heart were in loving union with the lamb, who is in the midst of the throne. he is the light of that city, his countenance doth lighten it--from his throne the river of its pleasure flows, his service is its delightful business; and to be out of fellowship with him would make us out of harmony with its joy. life must be centred in christ if it is to be concentric with all the circles of heaven's bliss. we can never be at rest or happy whilst we expect to find our fresh springs in outward circumstances. it is only when we are right with god that we are blest and at rest. righteousness is blessedness. where the king is enthroned within the heart, the soul is in the kingdom, which is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy ghost; nay, perhaps more accurately, that kingdom is in the soul. and when all hearts are yielded to the king; when all gates lift up their heads, and all everlasting doors are unfolded for his entrance--then the curse which has so long brooded over the world shall be done away. the whole creation groaneth and travaileth for the manifestation of the sons of god: but when they are revealed in all their beauty, then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field, and the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence for ever; and the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water (isa. xxxii. , ; xxxv. , r.v.). ( ) alongside the proclamation of the kingdom was the uncompromising insistence on "_the wrath to come_." john saw that the advent of the king would bring inevitable suffering to those who were living in self-indulgence and sin. there would be careful discrimination. he who was coming would carefully discern between the righteous and the wicked; between those who served god and those who served him not: and the preacher enforced his words by an image familiar to orientals. when the wheat is reaped, it is bound in sheaves and carted to the threshing-floor, which is generally a circular spot of hard ground from fifty to one hundred feet in diameter. on this the wheat is threshed from the chaff by manual labour, but the two lie intermingled till the evening, when the grain is caught up in broad shovels or fans, and thrown against the evening breeze, as it passes swiftly over the fevered land; thus the light chaff is borne away, while the wheat falls heavily to the earth. likewise, cried the baptist, there shall be a very careful process of discrimination, before the unquenchable fires are lighted; so that none but chaff shall be consigned to the flames--a prediction which was faithfully fulfilled. at first christ drew all men to himself; but, as his ministry proceeded, he revealed their quality. a few were permanently attracted to him; the majority were as definitely repelled. there was no middle class. men were either for or against him. the sheep on this side; the goats on that. the five wise virgins, and the five foolish. those who entered the strait gate, and those who flocked down the broad way that leadeth to destruction. so it has been in every age. jesus christ is the touchstone of trial. our attitude towards him reveals the true quality of the soul. there would also be a period of probation. "the axe laid to the root of the trees" is familiar enough to those who know anything of forestry. the woodman barks some tree which seems to him to be occupying space capable of being put to better use. there is no undue haste. it is only after severe and searching scrutiny that the word goes forth: "cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" but when once that word is spoken, there is no appeal. the jewish people had become sadly unfruitful; but a definite period was to intervene--three years of christ's ministry and thirty years beside--before the threatened judgment befell. all this while the axe lay ready for its final stroke; but only when all hope of reformation was abandoned was it driven home, and the nation crashed to its doom. perhaps this may be the case with one of my readers. you have been planted on a favourable site, and have drunk in the dews and rain and sunshine of god's providence; but what fruit have you yielded in return? how have you repaid the heavenly husbandman? may he not be considering whether any result will accrue from prolonging your opportunities for bearing fruit? he has looked for grapes, and lo, you have brought forth only wild grapes; he may well consider the advisability of removing you from the stewardship, which you have used for your own emolument, and not for his glory. for all such there must be "wrath to come." after there has been searching scrutiny and investigation, and every reasonable chance has been given for amendment, and still the soul is impenitent and disobedient, there must be "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries." the fire of john's preaching had its primary fulfilment, probably, in the awful disasters which befell the jewish people, culminating in the siege and fall of jerusalem. we know how marvellously the little handful of believers which had been gathered out by the preaching of christ and his disciples were accounted worthy to escape all those things that came to pass, and to stand before the son of man. but the unbelieving mass of the jewish people were discovered to be worthless chaff and unfruitful trees, and assigned to those terrible fires which have left a scar on palestine to this day. but there was a deeper meaning. the wrath of god avenges itself, not on nations but on individual sinners. "he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god abideth on him." the penalty of sin is inevitable. the wages of sin is death. the land which beareth thorns and thistles, after having drunk of the rain which cometh often upon it, is rejected and nigh unto a curse, its end is to be burned; under the first covenant, every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; the man that set at nought moses' law died without compassion, on the word of two or three witnesses--of how much sorer punishment shall he be judged worthy who hath trodden under foot the son of god, and hath counted the blood of the covenant a common thing, and hath done despite to the spirit of grace! even if we grant, as of course we must, that many of the expressions referring to the ultimate fate of the ungodly are symbolical, yet it must be granted also, that they have counterparts in the realm of soul and spirit, which are as terrible to endure, as the nature of the soul is more highly organized than that of the body. fire to the body is easy to bear in comparison with certain forms of suffering to which the heart and soul are sometimes exposed even in this life. have we not sometimes said, "if physical suffering were concerned, we could bear it; but oh, this pain which is gnawing at the heart--this awful inward agony, which burns like fire!" and if we are capable of suffering so acutely from remorse and shame, from ingratitude and misrepresentation, in this life where there are so many distractions and temporary alleviations, what may not be the possibility of pain in that other life, where there is no screen, no covering, no alleviation, no cup of water to slake the thirst! believe me, when jesus said, "these shall go away into eternal punishment," he contemplated a retribution so terrible, that it were good for the sufferers if they had never been born. all the great preachers have seen and faithfully borne witness to the fearful results of sin, as they take effect in this life and the next. these threw brainerd into a dripping sweat, whilst praying on a cool day for his indians in the woods; these drew john welsh from his bed, at all hours of the night, to plead for his people; these inspired baxter to write his _call to the unconverted_; these drew henry martyn from his fellowship at cambridge to the burning plains of india; these forced tears from whitefield as he preached to the crowding thousands; these burn in the memorable sermon by jonathan edwards on "sinners in the hands of an angry god." the notable revival which broke out at kirk o' shotts was due, under god, to livingston congratulating the people that drops of rain alone were falling, and not the fire of divine wrath. the sermons of ralph erskine, of mccheyne and w. c. burns, of brownlow northland reginald radcliffe, in the last generation, were characterized by the same appeals. though, on the other hand, because god is not confined to any one method, the preaching of the late d. l. moody was specially steeped in the love of god. it is for want of a vision of the inevitable fate of the godless and disobedient, that much of our present-day preaching is so powerless and ephemeral. you cannot get crops out of the land merely by summer showers and sunshine; there must be the subsoil ploughing, the pulverizing frost, the wild march wind. and only when we modern preachers have seen sin as god sees it, and begin to apply the divine standard to the human conscience; only when our eagerness and yearning well over into our eyes and broken tones, only when we know the terror of the lord, and begin to persuade men as though we would pluck them out of the fire, by our strenuous expostulation and entreaties--shall we see the effects that followed the preaching of the baptist when soldiers, publicans, pharisees, and scribes, crowded around him, saying, "what shall we do?" all john's preaching, therefore, led up to the demand for repentance. the word which was oftenest on his lips was "repent ye!" it was not enough to plead direct descent from abraham, or outward conformity with the levitical and temple rites. god could raise up children to abraham from the stones of the river bank. there must be the renunciation of sin, the definite turning to god, the bringing forth of fruit meet for an amended life. in no other way could the people be prepared for the coming of the lord. vi. baptism unto repentance (mark i. .) "the last and greatest herald of heaven's king, girt with rough skins, hies to the desert wild; among that savage brood the woods doth bring, which he more harmless found than man, and mild. "his food was locusts and what there doth spring, with honey that from virgin hives distill'd, parch'd body, hollow eyes, some uncouth thing made him appear, long since from earth exiled." w. drummond, of hawthornden. repentance: its nature--repentance: how produced--repentance: its evidences--repentance: its results--john's baptism: from heaven at the time of which we are speaking, an extraordinary sect, known as the essenes, was scattered throughout palestine, but had its special home in the oasis of engedi; and with the adherents of this community john must have been in frequent association. they were the recluses or hermits of their age. the aim of the essenes was moral and ceremonial purity. they sought after an ideal of holiness, which they thought could not be realized in this world; and therefore, leaving villages and towns, they betook themselves to the dens and caves of the earth, and gave themselves to continence, abstinence, fastings, and prayers, supporting themselves by some slight labours on the land. those who have investigated their interesting history tell us that the cardinal point with them was faith in the inspired word of god. by meditation, prayer, and mortification, frequent ablutions, and strict attention to the laws of ceremonial purity, they hoped to reach the highest stage of communion with god. they agreed with the pharisees in their extraordinary regard for the sabbath. their daily meal was of the simplest kind, and partaken of in their house of religious assembly. after bathing, with prayer and exhortation they went, with veiled faces, to their dining-room, as to a holy temple. they abstained from oaths, despised riches, manifested the greatest abhorrence of war and slavery, faced torture and death with the utmost bravery, refused the indulgence of pleasure. it is clear that john was not a member of this holy community, which differed widely from the pharisaism and sadduceeism of the time. the essenes wore white robes, emblematic of the purity they sought; whilst he was content with his coat of camel's hair and leathern girdle. they seasoned their bread with hyssop, and he with honey. they dwelt in brotherhoods and societies; while he stood alone from the earliest days of his career. but it cannot be doubted that he was in deep accord with much of the doctrine and practice of this sect. john the baptist, however, cannot be accounted for by any of the pre-existing conditions of his time. he stood alone in his god-given might. that he was conscious of this appears from his own declaration when he said, "he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me." and that christ wished to convey the same impression is clear from his question to the pharisees: "the baptism of john, was it from heaven or from men?" moreover, the distinct assertion of the spirit of god, through the fourth evangelist, informs us: "there came a man, sent from god, whose name was john, the same came for witness, that all might believe through him." "the word of god came unto john, the son of zacharias, in the wilderness. and he came." i. the summons to repent.--john has a ministry with all men. in other words, he represents a phase of teaching and influence through which we must needs pass if we are properly to discover and appreciate the grace of christ. with us, too, a preparatory work has to be done. there are mountains and hills of pride and self-will that have to be levelled; crooked and devious ways that have to be straightened; ruggednesses that have to be smoothed--before we can fully behold the glory of god in the face of jesus christ. in proportion to the thoroughness and permanence of our repentance will be our glad realization of the fulness and glory of the lamb of god. but we must guard ourselves here, lest it be supposed that repentance is a species of good work which must be performed in order that we may merit the grace of christ. it must be made equally clear, that repentance must not be viewed apart from faith in the saviour, which is an integral part of it. it is also certain that, though "god commandeth all men everywhere to repent," yet jesus is exalted "to give repentance and the remission of sins." repentance, according to the literal rendering of the greek word, is "a change of mind." perhaps we should rather say, it is a change in the attitude of the will. the unrepentant soul chooses its own way and will, regardless of the law of god. "the mind of the flesh is enmity against god, for it is not subject to the law of god, neither, indeed, can it be; and they that are in the flesh cannot please god." but in repentance the soul changes its attitude. it no longer refuses the yoke of god's will, like a restive heifer, but yields to it, or is willing to yield. there is a compunction, a sense of the hollowness of all created things, a relenting, a wistful yearning after the true life, and ultimately a turning from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god. the habits may rebel; the inclinations and emotions may shrink back; the consciousness of peace and joy may yet be far away--but the will has made its secret decision, and has begun to turn to god: as, in the revolution of the earth, the place where we live reaches its furthest point from the sunlight, passes it, and begins slowly to return towards its warm smiles and embrace. it cannot be too strongly emphasized that repentance is an act of the _will_. in its beginning there may be no sense of gladness or reconciliation with god: but just the consciousness that certain ways of life are wrong, mistaken, hurtful, and grieving to god; and the desire, which becomes the determination, to turn from them, to seek him who formed the mountains and created the wind, that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth. repentance may be accounted as the other side of faith. they are the two sides of the same coin: the two aspects of the same act. if the act of the soul which brings it into right relation with god is described as a turning round, to go in the reverse direction to that in which it had been travelling, then _repentance_ stands for its desire and choice to turn from sin, and _faith_ for its desire and choice to turn to god. we must be willing to turn from sin and our own righteousness--that is _repentance_; we must be willing to be saved by god, in his own way, and must come to him for that purpose--that is _faith_. we need to turn from our own righteousnesses as well as from our sins. augustine spoke of his efforts after righteousness as splendid sins; and paul distinctly disavows all those attempts to stand right with god which he made before he saw the face of the risen christ looking out from heaven upon his conscience-stricken spirit. you must turn away from your own efforts to save yourself. these are, in the words of the prophet, but "filthy rags." nothing, apart from the saviour and his work, can avail the soul, which must meet the scrutiny of eternal justice and purity. repentance is produced sometimes and specially by the presentation of the claims of christ. we suddenly awake to realize what he is, how he loves, how much we are missing, the gross ingratitude with which we respond to his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and suffering, the beauty of his character, the strength of his claims. at other times repentance is wrought by the preaching of john the baptist. then we hear of the axe laid at the root of the trees, and the unquenchable fire for the consuming of the chaff: and the heart trembles. then we are led to the brink of the precipice, and compelled to see the point at which the primrose-path we are travelling ends in the fatal abyss. then our faith in our hereditary position and privilege is shattered by the iconoclasm of the preacher; and we are levelled to the position of stones which are lapped by the jordan, but are insensible to its touch. it is at such a time as this that the soul sees the entire fabric of its vain confidences and hopes crumbling like a cloud-palace, and turns from it all--as mary from the sepulchre, where her hopes lay entombed, to find jesus standing with the resurrection glory on his face and radiant love in his eyes. for purposes of clear thinking it is well to discriminate in our use of the words repentance and penitence, using the former of the first act of the will, when, energized and quickened by the spirit of god, it turns from dead works to serve the living and true god; and the latter, of the emotions which are powerfully wrought upon, as the years pass, by the spirit's presentation of all the pain and grief which our sin has caused, and is causing, to our blessed lord. we repent once, but are penitents always. we repent in the will; we are penitent in the heart. we repent, and believe the gospel; we believe the gospel of the son of man, and as we look on him, whom our sins have pierced, we mourn. we repent when we obey his call to come unto him and live; we are penitent as we stand behind him weeping, and begin to wash his feet with our tears, and to wipe them with the hair of our head. if john the baptist has never wrought his work in you, be sure to open your heart to his piercing voice. let him fulfil his ministry. see that you do not reject the counsel of god, as it proceeds from his lips; but expose your soul to its searching scrutiny, and allow it to have free and uninterrupted course. he comes to prepare the way of the lord, and to make through the desert of our nature a highway for our god. of course, if, from the earliest you have been under the nurture of pious parents, and your young heart turned to god in the early dawn of consciousness, you will not pass through these experiences as those must who have spent years in the service of satan. for these there is but one word--repent! they must, in a moment of time, take up an entirely different attitude to god and holiness, to christ and his salvation. ii. the signs and symptoms of repentance.--( ) _confession_. "they were baptized of him in the river jordan, confessing their sins." what this precisely means it is not possible to say in detail; but it is not improbable that beneath the strong pressure of inward remorse and bitterness of spirit, men of notoriously bad life, as well as those who had never abandoned themselves to the mad currents of temptation, but were none the less conscious of heart and hidden sins, stood up, "confessing and declaring their deeds," as in a memorable scene long afterwards (acts xix. - ). the formalist confessed that the whited sepulchre of his religious observances had concealed a mass of putrefaction. the sceptic confessed that his refusal of religion was largely due to his hatred of the demands of god's holy law. the multitudes confessed that they had been selfish and sensual, shutting up their compassions, and refusing clothing and food to the needy. the publican confessed that he had extorted by false accusation and oppression more than his due. the soldier confessed that his profession had often served as the cloak for terrorizing the poor and vamping up worthless accusations. the notoriously evil liver confessed that he had lain in wait for blood, and destroyed the innocent and helpless for gain or hate. the air was laden with the cries and sighs of the stricken multitudes, who beheld their sin for the first time in the light of eternity and of its inevitable doom. the lurid flames of "the wrath to come" cast their searching light on practices which, in the comparative twilight of ignorance and neglect, had passed without special notice. upon that river's brink, men not only confessed to god, but probably also to one another. life-long feuds were reconciled; old quarrels were settled; frank words of apology and forgiveness were exchanged; hands grasped hands for the first time after years of alienation and strife. confession is an essential sign of a genuine repentance, and without it forgiveness is impossible. "he that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy." "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." so long as we keep silence, our bones wax old through our inward anguish; we are burnt by the fire of slow fever; we toss restlessly, though on a couch of down. but on confession there is immediate relief. "i said, i will confess my transgressions unto the lord, and thou forgavest me the iniquity of my sin." confess your sin to god, o troubled soul, from whom the vision of christ is veiled. it is more than likely that some undetected or unconfessed sin is shutting out the rays of the true sun. excuse nothing, extenuate nothing, omit nothing. do not speak of mistakes of judgment, but of lapses of heart and will. do not be content with a general confession; be particular and specific. drag each evil thing forth before god's judgment bar; let the secrets be exposed, and the dark, sad story told. begin at the beginning, and go steadily through. only be very careful to leave no trace of your experiences for human eyes or ears. to tell this story to another will rob it of its value to yourself and its acceptableness to god. it is enough for god to know it; and to tell him all is to receive at once his assurance of forgiveness, for the sake of him who loved us and gave himself a propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but for those of the whole world. directly the confession leaves our heart, nay, whilst it is in process, the divine voice is heard assuring us that our sins, which are many, are put away as far as the east is from the west, and cast into the depths of the sea. but such confession should not be made to god alone, when sins are in question which have injured and alienated others. if our brother has aught against us, we must find him out, while our gift is left unpresented at the altar, and first be reconciled to him. we must write the letter, or speak the word; we must make honourable reparation and amends; we must not be behind the sinners under the old law, who were bidden to add a fifth part to the loss their brother had sustained through their wrong-doing, when they made it good. the only sin we are justified in confessing to our brother man is that we have committed against him. all else must be told in the ear of jesus, that great high priest, whose confessional is always open, and whose pure ear can receive our dark and sad stories without taint or soil. ( ) _fruit worthy of repentance_. "bring forth, therefore, fruit worthy of repentance," said john, with some indignation, as he saw many of the pharisees and sadducees coming to his baptism. he insisted that practical and vital religion was not a rule, but a life; not outward ritual, but a principle; not works, but fruit: and he demanded that the genuineness of repentance should be attested by appropriate fruit. "do men gather grapes of thorns, and figs of thistles?" probably that demand of the baptist accounted for the alteration in his life of which zaccheus made confession to christ, when he became his guest. the rich publican lived at jericho, near which john was baptizing, and he was probably amongst the publicans who were attracted to his ministry. how well we can imagine the comments that would be passed on his presence, as each nudged his neighbour and whispered. "is not that zaccheus?" said one. "what is he doing here?" said another. "it is about time _he_ came to himself," muttered a third. "i wish the baptist could do something for him," said a fourth. and something touched that hardened heart. a great hope and a great resolve sprang up in it. he may have joined in the confessions of which we have spoken, but he did more. on his arrival at jericho he was a new man. he gave the half of his goods to feed the poor; and if he had wrongfully exacted aught of any man, he restored four-fold. his servant was often seen in the lowest and poorest parts of the old city, hunting up cases of urgent distress, and bestowing anonymous alms, and many a poor man was delighted to find a considerable sum of money thrust into his hands, with a scrap of paper signed by the rich tax-gatherer, saying, "i took so much from you, years ago, to which i had no claim; kindly find it enclosed, with fourfold as amends." should any ask him the reason for it all, he would answer, "ah, i have been down to the jordan and heard the baptist; i believe the kingdom is coming, and the king is at hand; and i want to make ready for him, so that, when he comes, he may be able to abide at my house." you will never get right with god till you are right with man. it is not enough to confess wrong-doing; you must be prepared to make amends so far as lies in your power. sin is not a light thing, and it must be dealt with, root and branch. ( ) _the baptism of repentance_. "they were baptized ... confessing their sins." the cleansing property of water has given it a religious significance from most remote antiquity men have conceived of sin as a foul stain upon the heart, and have couched their petitions for its removal in words derived from its use: "purge me with hyssop, and i shall be clean. wash me, and i shall be whiter than snow." they have longed to feel that as the body was delivered from pollution, so the soul was freed from stain. in some cases this thought has assumed a gross and material form; and men have attributed to the water of certain rivers, such as the ganges, the nile, the abana, the mysterious power of cleansing away sin. there was no trace of this, however, in john's teaching. it was not baptism _unto remission_, but _unto repentance_. it was the expression and symbol of the soul's desire and intention, so far as it knew, to confess and renounce its sins, as the necessary condition of obtaining the divine forgiveness. it is not necessary to discuss the much-vexed question of the source from which the baptist derived his baptism--some say it was from the habits of the essenes, or the practice of the rabbis, who subjected to this rite all proselytes to judaism from the gentile world. it is enough for us to remember that he was _sent_ to baptize; that the idea of his baptism was "from heaven"; and that in his hands the rite assumed altogether novel and important functions. it meant death and burial as far as the past was concerned; and resurrection to a new and better future. forgetting and dying to the things that were behind, the soul was urged to realize the meaning of this symbolic act, and to press on and up to better things before; assured as it did so that god had accepted its confession and choice, and was waiting to receive it graciously and love it freely. it is easy to see how all this appealed to the people, and specially touched the hearts of young men. at that time, by the blue waters of the lake of galilee, there was a handful of ardent youths, deeply stirred by the currents of thought around them, who resented the roman sway, and were on the tip-toe of expectation for the coming kingdom. how they spoke together, as they floated at night in their fisherman's yawl over the dark waters of the lake of galilee, about god's ancient covenant, and the advent of the messiah, and the corruptions of their beloved temple service! and when, one day, tidings reached them of this strange new preacher, they left all and streamed with all the world beside to the jordan valley, and stood fascinated by the spell of his words. one by one, or all together, they made themselves known to him, and became his loyal friends and disciples. we are familiar with the names of one or two of them, who afterwards left their earlier master to follow christ; but of the rest we know nothing, save that he taught them to fast and pray, and that they clung to their great teacher, until they bore his headless body to the grave. after his death they joined themselves with him whom they had once regarded with some suspicion as his rival and supplanter. how much this meant to john! he had never had a friend; and to have the allegiance and love of these noble, ingenuous youths must have been very grateful to his soul. but from them all he repeatedly turned his gaze, as though he were looking for some one who must presently emerge from the crowd; and the sound of whose voice would give him the deepest and richest fulfilment of his joy, because it would be the voice of the bridegroom himself. vii. the manifestation of the messiah (john i. .) "before me, as in darkening glass, some glorious outlines pass, of love, and truth, and holiness, and power-- i own them thine, o christ, and bless thee in this hour." f. r. havergal. the herald's proclamation--the meeting of john and jesus--christ's baptism--"it becometh us."--"my beloved son." john's life, at this period, was an extraordinary one. by day he preached to the teeming crowds, or baptized them; by night he would sleep in some slight booth, or darksome cave. but the conviction grew always stronger in his soul, that the messiah was near to come; and this conviction became a revelation. the holy spirit who filled him, taught him. he began to see the outlines of his person and work. as he thought upon him, beneath the gracious teaching of him who had sent him to baptize (john i. ), the dim characteristics of his glorious personality glimmered out on the sensitive plate of his inner consciousness, and he could even describe him to others, as well as delineate him for himself. he conceived of the coming king, as we have seen, as the woodman, laying his axe at the root of the trees; as the husbandman, fan in hand to winnow the threshing-floor; as the baptist, prepared to plunge all faithful souls in his cleansing fires; as the ancient of days, who, though coming after him in order of time, must be preferred before him in order of precedence, because he was before him in the eternal glory of his being (john i. - ). it was this vision of the sun before the sunrise, as he viewed it from the high peak of his own noble character, that induced in the herald his conspicuous and beautiful humility. he insisted that he was not worthy to perform the most menial service for him whose advent he announced. "i am content," he said in effect, "to be a voice, raised for a moment to proclaim the king, and soon dying on the desert air, whilst the person of the crier is unnoticed and unsought for; but i may not presume to unloose the latchet of his shoes.... there cometh after me he that is mightier than i, the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." john was not only humble in his self-estimate, but also in his modest appreciation of the results of his work. it was only transient and preparatory. it was given him to do; but it would soon be done. his course was a short one, and it would soon be fulfilled (acts xiii. ). his simple mission was to bid the people to believe on him who should come after him (xix. .) he was the morning star ushering in the day, but destined to fade in the glory of ruddy dawn, flooding the eastern sky. but our impression of the sublime humility of this great soul will become deeper, as we consider that marvellous scene in which he first recognised the divine mission and claims of his kinsman, jesus of nazareth. consider the meeting between the sun and the star, and take it as indicating an experience which must always supervene on the cleansed and holy soul, which desires and prepares for it. i. our lord's advent to the jordan bank.--for thirty years the son of man had been about his father's business in the ordinary routine of a village carpenter's life. he had found scope enough there for his marvellously rich and deep nature; reminding us of the philosopher's garden, which, though only a dingy court in a crowded city, reached through to the other side of the world on the one hand, and up to the heaven of god on the other. often he must have felt the strong attraction of the great world of men, which he loved; and the wild winds, as they careered over his village home, must have often borne to him the wail of broken hearts, asking him to hasten to their relief. on his ear must have struck the voices of jairuses pleading for their only daughters; of sisters interceding for their lazaruses; of halt and lame and blind entreating that he would come and heal them. but he waited still, his eye on the dial-plate of the clock, till the time was fulfilled which had been fixed in the eternal council chamber. as soon, however, as the rumours of the baptist's ministry reached him, and he knew that the porter had taken up his position at the door of the sheepfold, ready to admit the true shepherd (john x. ), he could hesitate no longer. the shechinah cloud was gathering up its fleecy folds, and poising itself above him, and moving slowly towards the scene of the baptist's ministry; and he had no alternative but to follow. he must tear himself away from nazareth, home, and mother, and take the road which would end at calvary. "then cometh jesus from galilee to the jordan unto john, to be baptized of him." tradition locates the scene of john's baptism as near jericho, where the water is shallow and the river opens out into large lagoons. but some, inferring that nazareth was within a day's journey of this notable spot, place it nearer the southern end of the lake of galilee. it may have been in the late afternoon when jesus arrived. an expression made use of by the evangelist luke might seem to suggest that all the people had been baptized for that day at least (luke iii. ); so that perhaps the crowds had dispersed, and the great prophet was alone with one or two of those young disciples of whom we have spoken. or, jesus may have arrived when the jordan banks were alive with the eager multitudes. but, in either case, a sudden and remarkable change passed over the baptist's face as he beheld his kinsman standing there. picture that remarkable scene. the arrowy stream, rushing down from the lake of galilee to the dead sea; the rugged banks; the shadowy forests; the erect, sinewy form of the baptist; and jesus of nazareth, as depicted by the olden traditions, with auburn hair, searching blue eye, strong, sweet face, and all the beauty of his young manhood. at the sight of him, note how the high look on the baptist's face lowers; how his figure stoops in involuntary obeisance; how the voice that was wont to ring out its messages in accents of uncompromising decision falters and trembles! john said, "i knew him not" (john i. ); but this need not be interpreted as indicating that he had no acquaintance whatever with his blameless relative. such may have been the case, of course, since john's life had been spent apart from the haunts of men. it is more natural to suppose that the cousins had often met, as boys and afterwards. but the baptist had never realized that jesus was the messiah whose advent he was sent to announce. he had not recognised his high descent and claims. it had never occurred to him that this simple village carpenter, so closely related to himself, whose course of life was apparently so absolutely ordinary and commonplace, could be he of whom moses in the law and the prophets did write. in this sense john could truly say, "i knew him not." but john knew enough of him to be aware of his guileless, blameless life. the story of his tender love for mary; of his devotion to the interests of his brothers and sisters; of his undefiled purity, of his long vigils on the mountains till the morning called him back to his toils; of his deep acquaintance with scripture; of his speech about the father--had reached the baptist's ears. he had come to entertain the profoundest respect amounting to veneration for his kinsman; and, as he presented himself for baptism, john felt that there was a whole heaven of difference between him and all others. these publicans and sinners, these pharisees and scribes, these soldiers and common people--had every need to repent, confess, and be forgiven; but there was surely no such need for him, who had been always, and by general acknowledgment, "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." "i have need," said he, "to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" (matt. iii. ). there may have been, besides, an indescribable presentiment that stole over that lofty nature--like that knowledge of good men and bad which is often given to noble women. he knew men; his eagle eye had searched their hearts, as he had heard them confess their sins; and at a glance he could tell what was in them. a connoisseur of souls was he. among all the pearls that had passed through his hands--some goodly ones among them--none had seemed so rare and pure as this; it was a pearl of great price, for which a man might be prepared to part with all he possessed, if only to obtain it. there was an indefinable majesty, a moral glory, a tender grace, an ineffable attractiveness in this man, which was immediately appreciated by the greatest of woman-born, because of his own intrinsic nobility and greatness of soul. it needed a baptist to recognise the christ. he who had never quailed before monarch or people, directly he came in contact with christ, cast the crown of his manhood at his feet, and shrank away. the eagle that had soared unhindered in mid-heaven seemed transfixed by a sudden dart, and fell suddenly, with a strange, low cry, at the feet of its creator. "i have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" ii. the significance of christ's baptism.--"suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness"--with such words our lord overruled the objections of his loyal and faithful forerunner. this is the first recorded utterance of christ, after a silence of more than twenty years; the first also of his public ministry: it demands our passing notice. he does not say, "i have need to be baptized of thee"; nor does he say, "thou hast no need to be baptized of me." he does not stay to explain why the greater should be baptized by the less: or why a rite which confessed sin was required for one who was absolutely sinless. it is enough to appeal to the baptist as his associate in a joint necessary act, becoming to them both as part of the divine procedure, and therefore claiming their common obedience. "thus it becometh us (you and me) to fulfil all righteousness." in his baptism, our lord acknowledged the divine authority of the forerunner. as the last and greatest of the prophets, who was to close the old testament era, for "the law and the prophets prophesied until john"; as the representative of elijah the prophet, before the great and notable day of the lord could come; as the porter of the jewish fold--john occupied a unique position, and it was out of deference to his appointment by the father, and as an acknowledgment of his office, that jesus sought baptism at his hands. john's baptism, moreover, was the inauguration of the kingdom of heaven. in it the material made way for the spiritual. the old system, which gave special privileges to the children of abraham, was in the act of passing away, confessing that god could raise up children to abraham from the stones at the water's edge; and demanding that those who would enter the kingdom must be born from above, of water and of the spirit. it was the outward and visible sign that judaism was unavailing for the deepest needs of the spirit of man, and that a new and more spiritual system was about to take its place, and christ said, in effect, "i, too, though king, obey the law of the kingdom, and bow my head, that, by the same sign as the smallest of my subjects, i may pass forward to my throne." there was probably a deeper reason still. that jordan water, flowing downwards to the dead sea, was symbolical. in the purity of its origin, amid the snows of hermon, and in the beauty of its earlier course, it was an emblem of man's original constitution, when the creator made him in his own image and pronounced him very good; but in these sullied and troubled waters hurrying on to the sea of death--waters in which thousands of sinners had confessed their sins, with tears and sighs--how apt an emblem was there of the history of our race, contaminated by the evil that is in the world through lust, and meriting the wages of sin--death! with that race, in its sin and degradation, our lord now formally identified himself. his baptism was his formal identification with our fallen and sinful race, though he knew no sin for himself, and could challenge the minutest inspection of his enemies: "which of you convinceth me of sin?" was he baptized because he needed to repent, or to confess his sins? nay, verily! he was as pure as the bosom of god, from which he came; as pure as the fire that shone above them in the orb of day; as pure as the snows on mount hermon, rearing itself like a vision of clouds on the horizon: but he needed to be made sin, that we might be made the righteousness of god in him. when the paschal lamb had been chosen by the head of a jewish household, it was customary to take it, three days before it would be offered, to the priest, to have it sealed with the temple seal; so our lord, three years before his death, must be set apart and sealed by the direct act of the holy spirit, through the mediation of john the baptist. "him hath god the father sealed." "it becometh us"--i like that word, _becometh_. if the divine lord thought so much about what was becoming, surely we may. it should not be a question with us, merely as to what may be forbidden or harmful, what may or may not be practised and permitted by our fellow-christians, or even whether there are distinct prohibitions in the bible that bar the way--but if a certain course is becoming. "need i pass through that rite?" _it is becoming_. "need i perform that lowly act?" _it is becoming_. "need i renounce my liberty of action in that respect?" _it would be very becoming_. and whenever some hesitant soul, timid and nervous to the last degree, dares to step out, and do what it believes to be the right thing because it is becoming, jesus comes to it, enlinks his arm, and says, "thou art not alone in this. thou and i stand together here. it becomes us to fill up to its full measure all righteousness." ah, soul, thou shalt never step forth on a difficult and untrodden path without hearing his footfall behind thee, and becoming aware that in every act of righteousness christ identifies himself, saying, "thus it becometh _us_ to fulfil all righteousness." a friend suggests that the lord jesus was here referring to the sublime prophecy of daniel ix. . that he might make an end of sin and bring in everlasting righteousness, it was essential that the lamb of god should confess the sins of the people as his own (see psa. lxix. ). this was his first step on his journey to the cross, every step of which was in fulfilment of all righteousness, in order that he might bring in everlasting righteousness. "then he suffered him." some things we have to _do_ for christ, and some to _bear_ for him. active virtues are great; but the passive ones are rarer and cost more, especially for strong natures like the baptist's. but, in all our human life, there is nothing more attractive than when a strong man yields to another, accepts a deeper interpretation of duty than he had perceived, and is prepared to set aside his strong convictions of propriety before the tender pleadings of a still, soft voice. yield to christ, dear heart. suffer him to have his way. take his yoke, and be meek and lowly of heart--so shalt thou find rest. iii. the designation of the messiah.--it is not to be supposed that the designation of jesus as the christ was given to any but john. it was apparently a private sign given to him, as the forerunner and herald, through which he might be authoritatively informed as to the identity of the messiah. to say nothing of the impossibility of ordinary and unanointed eyes beholding the descent of the holy spirit, john's own statements seem to point clearly in this direction. he says, "i knew him not" (_i.e._, as son of god), "but he that sent me to baptize with water, he said unto me, 'upon whomsoever thou shalt see the spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth with the holy spirit.' and i have seen, and have borne witness that this is the son of god" (john i. - ). the same thought appears from putting a perfectly legitimate construction on the words of the first evangelist: "lo, the heavens were opened unto him" (_i.e._, the baptist), "and he saw the spirit of god descending as a dove, and coming upon him" (matt. iii. ). what a theophany was here! as the man of nazareth emerged from the water, the sign for which john had been eagerly waiting and looking was granted. he had believed he would see it, but had never thought to see it granted to one so near akin to himself. we never expect the great god to come to us! and the exclamation, lo, indicates his startled surprise. he saw far away into the blue vault, which had opened into depth after depth of golden glory. the vail was rent to admit of the coming forth of the divine spirit, who seemed to descend in visible shape--as a dove might, with gentle, fluttering motion--and to alight on the head of the holy one, who stood there fresh from his baptism. the stress of the narrator, as he told the story afterwards, was that the spirit not only came, but _abode_. here was the miracle of miracles, that he should be willing to _abide_ in any human temple, who for so many ages had wandered restlessly over the deluge of human sin, seeking a resting-place, but finding none. here, at least, was an ark into which this second noah might pull in the fluttering dove, unable to feed, like the raven, on corruption and death. the voice of god from heaven proclaimed that jesus of nazareth was his beloved son, in whom he was well pleased; and the baptist could have no further doubt that the desire of all nations, the lord whom his people sought, the messenger of the covenant, had suddenly come to his temple to act as a refiner's fire and as fullers' soap. "john bare witness, saying, i have beheld the spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him." "john beareth witness of him and crieth" (john i. , ). how much that designation meant to christ! it was his pentecost, his consecration and dedication to his life-work; from thenceforth, in a new and special sense, the spirit of the lord was upon him, and he was anointed to preach. but it was still more to the baptist. he knew that his mission was nearly fulfilled, that his office was ended. he had opened the gate to the true shepherd, and must now soon consign to him all charge of the flock. jesus must increase, while he decreased. he that was from heaven was above all; as for himself, he was of the earth, and spake of the earth. the sun had risen, and the day-star began to wane. viii. not that light, but a witness. (john i. .) "nothing resting in its own completeness can have worth or beauty; but alone because it leads and tends to farther sweetness, fuller, higher, deeper than its own. "spring's real glory dwells not in the meaning, gracious though it be, of her blue hours; but is hidden in her tender leaning to the summer's richer wealth of flowers." a. a. proctor. resentment of the sanhedrim--the baptist's credentials--spiritual vision--"behold the lamb of god"--the baptism of the spirit the baptism and revelation of christ had a marvellous effect on the ministry of the forerunner. previous to that memorable day, the burden of his teaching had been in the direction of repentance and confession of sin. but afterwards, the whole force of his testimony was towards the person and glory of the shepherd of israel. he understood that for the remainder of his brief ministry, which perhaps did not greatly exceed six months, he must bend all his strength to announcing to the people the prerogatives and claims of him who stood amongst them, though they knew him not. "there came a man, sent from god, whose name was john. the same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. he was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light." our subject, therefore, naturally divides itself into two divisions: john's admissions about himself, and his testimony to the lord. and it is interesting to notice that they were given on three successive days, as appears from the twofold use of the phrase, "on the morrow." "on the morrow" (_i.e._, after he had met and answered the deputation from the sanhedrim), "he seeth jesus coming unto him..." (i. ). "again, on the morrow john was standing, and two of his disciples..." ( ). these events took place at bethany, or bethabara, on the eastern bank of the jordan. the river there is one hundred feet in width, and, except in flood, some five to seven feet deep. it lies in a tropical valley, the verdure of which is in striking contrast to the desolation which reigns around. i. the baptist's admissions about himself.--when the fourth evangelist uses the word _jews_, he invariably means the sanhedrim. john had become so famous, and his influence so commanding, that he could not be ignored by the religious leaders of the time. in their hearts they derided him, and desired to do with him "whatsoever they listed." his preaching of repentance, and his unmeasured denunciation of themselves as a brood of vipers, were not to be borne. but they forbore to meet him in the open field, and resolved to send a deputation, which might extract some admission from his lips that would furnish them with ground for subsequent action. "the jews sent unto him from jerusalem priests and levites to ask him, 'who art thou?' ... 'why baptizest thou?'" the first question was universally interesting; the second specially so to the pharisee party, who were the high ritualists of their day, and who were reluctant that a new rite, which they had not sanctioned, should be added to the jewish ecclesiastical system. it is a striking scene. the rushing river; the tropical gorge; the dense crowds of people standing thick together; the baptist in his sinewy strength and uncouth attire, surrounded by the little group of disciples; while through the throng a deputation of grey-beards, the representatives of a decadent religion, makes its difficult way--these are the principal features of a memorable incident. there was a profound silence, and men craned their necks and strained their ears to see and hear everything, as the deputation challenged the prophet with the inquiry, "who art thou?" there was a great silence. men were prepared to believe anything of the eloquent young preacher. "the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning john, whether haply he were the christ" (luke iii. ). if he had given the least encouragement to their dreams and hopes, they would have unfurled again the tattered banner of the maccabees; and beneath his leadership would have swept, like a wild hurricane, against the roman occupation, gaining, perhaps, a momentary success, which afterwards would have been wiped out in blood. "and he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, i am not the christ." if a murmur of voices burst out in anger, disappointment, and chagrin, as this answer spread from lip to lip, it was immediately hushed by the second inquiry propounded, "what then? art thou elijah?" (alluding to the prediction of malachi iv. ). if they had worded their question rather differently, and put it thus, "hast thou come in the power of elias?" john must have acknowledged that it was so; but if they meant to inquire if he were literally elijah returned again to this world, he had no alternative but to say, decisively and laconically, "i am not." there was a third arrow in their quiver, since the other two had missed the mark: and amid the deepening attention of the listening multitudes, and in allusion to moses' prediction that god would raise up a prophet like to himself (deut. xviii. ; acts iii. ; vii. ), they said, "art thou the prophet?" and he answered, "no." the deputation was nonplussed. they had exhausted their repertory of questions. their mission threatened to become abortive, unless they could extract some positive admission. they must put a leading question; and their spokesman, for the fourth time, challenged the strange being, whom they found it so hard to label and place on any shelf of their ecclesiastical museum. "they said therefore unto him, 'who art thou?--that we may give an answer to them that sent us.' what sayest thou of thyself?" "he said, 'i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the lord, as said isaiah the prophet.'" how infinitely noble! how characteristic of strength! a weak man would have launched himself on the flowing tide of enthusiasm, and allowed himself to be swept away by its impetuous rush. what a mingling of strength and humility! when men suggested that he was the christ, he insisted that he was only a voice--the voice of the herald, whom men hardly notice, because they strain their eyes in the direction from which he has come, to behold the king himself. when they complimented him on his teaching, he told them that he who would winnow the wheat from the chaff was yet to appear. and when they crowded to his baptism, he reiterated that it was only the baptism of negation, _of water_, but the christ would baptize with the holy ghost and with fire. why was this? ah, he knew his limitations! he was the greatest-born of woman, yet he knew that his bosom was not broad enough, nor his heart tender enough, to justify him in bidding all weary and heavy-laden ones to come to him for rest; he could not say that he and god were one, and include himself with the deity, in the majestic pronoun, we; he never dared to ask men to believe in himself as they believed in the father: but there came after him one who dared to say all these things; and this is the inevitable conclusion, that either jesus was inferior to john in all that goes to make a strong and noble character, or that jesus was all that john said he was, "the son of god, and king of israel." there is no third suggestion possible. we must either estimate jesus as immeasurably inferior, or incomparably superior, to the strong, sane, spirit-filled prophet, who never wearied in declaring the impassable chasm that yawned between them. such humility always accompanies a true vision of christ. if we view it from the low ground, the mountain may appear to reach into the sky; but when we reach the mountain-top, we are immediately aware of the infinite distance between the highest snow-peak and the nearest star. to the crowds john may have seemed to fulfil all the essential conditions of the prophetic portraiture of the messiah; but _he_ stood on the mountain, and knew how infinitely the christ stood above him. this is apparent in his reply to the final inquiry of the sanhedrim, "and they asked him, and said unto him, 'why, then, baptizest thou, if thou art not the christ, neither elijah, neither the prophet?'" and john said in effect, "i baptize because i was sent to baptize, and i know very well that my work in this respect is temporary and transient; but what matters that? in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe i am not worthy to unloose. the christ is come. have not i seen him, standing amid your crowds, yea, descending these very banks?" the people must have turned one to another, as he spoke. what! had the messiah come! it could hardly be. there had been no prodigies in earth or sky worthy of his advent. how could he be amongst them, and they unaware! but it was even so, and it is so still. the christ is in us, and with us still. there may be no transcendent symptoms of his blessed presence, as he stands in the little groups of two and three gathered in his name; but the eye of faith detects him. where others see only the bare cliffs of patmos, or the mines with their gangs of convicts, the anointed gaze beholds a face brighter than the sun, the purged ear catches the accents of a voice like the murmur of waters on the still night air. remember how he said, "he that loveth me shall be loved of my father; and i will love him, and will manifest myself to him." as the holy spirit revealed him to john, so he will reveal him to us, if only, like john, we will be content with nothing less, and wait expectant with the heart on the outlook for the manifestation of the son of god; for so he promised, saying, "he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you." and when the child of faith speaks thus, with the accent of conviction, of what he has seen, and tasted, and handled, of the word of life, it is not strange that the children of this world, whose eyes are blinded, begin to question and deride. what is there to be seen that they cannot see? what heard that they cannot detect? ah, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." "there standeth one among you," said the baptist, "whom ye know not." ii. the baptist's witness to the lord.--six weeks passed by from that memorable vision of the opened heaven and the descending spirit, and john had eagerly scanned every comer to the river-bank to see again that divinely beautiful face. but in vain: for jesus was in the wilderness, being tempted of the devil, for forty days and nights, the companion of wild beasts, and exposed to a very hurricane of temptation. at the end of the six weeks, the interview with the deputation from the sanhedrim took place, which we have already described; and on the day after, when his confession of inferiority was still fresh in the minds of his hearers, when some were criticising and others pitying, when symptoms that the autumn of his influence had set in were in the air, his eye flashed, his face lit up, and he cried, saying: "this is he of whom i said, 'after me cometh a man who is become before me, for he was before me.' behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world." did all eyes turn towards the christ? was there a ripple of interest and expectancy through the crowd? did any realize the unearthly beauty and spiritual power of his presence? we know not. scripture is silent, only telling us that on the following day, when, with two disciples, he looked on jesus as he walked, and repeated his affirmation, "behold the lamb of god," those two disciples followed him, never to return to their old master--who knew it must be so, and was content to decrease if only _he_ might increase. let us notice the successive revelations which were made to john, and through him to israel, who, you remember, held him, as they had every warrant for doing, to be in the deepest sense a prophet of the lord. this conviction has been definitely endorsed by succeeding ages, which have classed him as one of the six greatest men that ever left their mark on the world. ( ) _he rightly conceived of christ's pre-existence_. "he was before me" (john i. ). the phrase resembles christ's own words, when he said: "before abraham was, i am." in john's case it developed soon after into another and kindred expression: "he that cometh from above, is above all" (john iii. ). with such words the baptist taught his disciples. he insisted that jesus of nazareth had an existence anterior to nazareth, and previous to his birth of the village maiden. he recognised that his goings had been of old, even from everlasting, that he was the mighty god, the father of the ages, and the prince of peace. as for himself, he was of the earth, and of the earth he spoke; as for this one, he came from above, and was above all. it is not surprising, therefore, that one of his disciples, catching his master's spirit, wrote: "in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. the same was in the beginning with god. all things were made by him." ( ) _he rightly apprehended the sacrificial aspect of christ's work_. "behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world." was it that his priestly lineage gave him a special right to coin and use this appellation? it was, without doubt, breathed into his heart by the holy spirit; but his whole previous training, as the son of a priest, fitted him to receive and transmit it. an attempt has been made to limit the meaning of these words to the personal character of jesus, his purity, and gentleness; but, to the jews who listened, the latter part of his exclamation could have but one significance. they would at once connect with his words, those of the law, the prophets, and the psalms. "the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land." "he bare the sin of many." "he is led as a lamb to the slaughter." from the slopes of mount moriah, a young voice has expressed the longing of the ages, "behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb?" this has been the cry of the human heart in all generations. from the days of abel men have brought the firstlings of their flocks, laying them on the altar, and consuming them with fire; but there was always a sense of failure and insufficiency. through the ages, and in every clime, priest after priest offered the lamb upon the altar, but by the very fact of continual repetition, bore witness to the insufficiency of its propitiation. "every priest, indeed," is the comment of inspiration, "standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins." must not the hearts of hundreds of saintly priests have been filled with the same inquiry, where is the lamb? as the prophets understood more clearly the nature of god's dealing with man--as, for instance, micah saw that even the offering of the first-born could never atone for the sin of the soul--may we not suppose that from their lips also the same inquiry was elicited, where is the lamb? nature cannot answer that cry. she is fascinating, especially when she dimples with the smile of spring, and unveils her face in summer to receive the caresses of the sun. but with all her beauty and fascination she cannot answer the entreaty of the conscience that the penalty of sin may be removed, its power broken, so that man may walk with god with a fearless heart. animals at the best are only symbols of the complete solution to the ever-recurring problem of human sin: thus from all the ages goes forth the cry, where is the lamb? then from his heaven god sends forth his son to be the sufficient answer to the universal appeal: and the heaven-sent messenger, from his rocky pulpit, as he sees jesus coming to him, cries, "behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world." dear soul, thou mayest venture on him. he is god's lamb; on him the sin of our race has been laid, and he stood before god with the accumulated load--"made sin"; the iniquity of us all was laid upon him; wounded for our transgressions; bruised for our iniquities; chastised for our peace; stricken for our transgression; bearing the sin of many. as the first adam brought sin on the race, the second adam has put it away by the sacrifice of himself. men are lost now, not because of adam's sin, nor because they were born into a race of sinners, but for the sin which they presumptuously and wilfully commit, or because by unbelief they contract themselves out of the benefits of christ's death. the servant who had been forgiven by his king, but took his brother by the throat, brought back upon himself the full penalty from which the royal warrant had freed him; and if any one of us cling to sin, rejecting and trampling under foot the saviour's work on our behalf, we cancel so far all those benefits of our saviour's passion which otherwise would accrue, and bring back upon ourselves the penalties from which he would fain have delivered us. ( ) _he understood the baptism of the holy spirit_. "the same is he that baptizeth with the holy spirit." as son of god, our saviour from all eternity was one with the holy spirit in the mystery of the blessed trinity; but as "the one man," he received in his human nature the fulness of the divine spirit. it pleased the father that in him should all the fulness of the godhead dwell, that he might be able to communicate him to all the sons of men who were united to him by a living faith. thus it fell that he was able to assure his disciples that if they waited in jerusalem for the promise of the father, as john baptized with water, they should be baptized with the holy spirit (acts i. , ). the term _baptism_, as applied to the holy spirit, had better be confined to those marvellous manifestations of spiritual power which are recorded in acts ii., viii., x., xix., whilst the word _filling_ should be used of those experiences of the indwelling and anointing of the divine spirit which are within the reach of us all. still, we may all adopt the words of the baptist, and tell our living head that we have need to be baptized of him--need to be plunged into the fiery baptism; need to be searched by the stinging flame; need to be cleansed from dross and impurity; need to be caught in the transfiguring, heaven-leaping energy of the holy spirit, borne upon his bosom into the rare atmosphere where the seven lamps burn always before the throne of god. the blood of the lamb and the fire of the holy spirit are thus inextricably united. ( ) _he beheld the mystery of the holy trinity_. for the first time this was made manifest to man. on the one hand there was the father speaking from heaven; on the other the spirit descending as a dove--and between them was the son of man who was proclaimed to be the son of god, the beloved son. surely john might say that flesh and blood had not revealed these things, but they had been made known to him by a divine revelation. the doctrine of the holy trinity is a profound mystery, hidden from the intellect, but revealed to the humble and reverent heart; hidden from the wise and prudent, and revealed to babes. welcome jesus christ as john did; and, as to john, so the whole wonder of the godhead will be made known to thy heart. thou wilt hear the father bearing witness to his son; thou wilt see how clearly the son reveals the father, and achieves redemption; thou shalt know what it is to stand beneath the open heaven and behold and participate in the divine anointing. of what good is it to reason about the trinity if thou hast no spiritual appetite for the gifts of the trinity? but if this is thine, and thou openest thine heart, thou wilt receive the gift and understand the doctrine. ( ) _he appreciated the divine sonship of christ_. "i have seen and have borne witness that this is the son of god." this witness counts for much. john knew men, knew himself, knew christ. he would not have said so much unless he had been profoundly convinced; and he would not have been profoundly convinced unless irrefragable evidence had been presented to him. what though, when on the following day he repeats his exclamation, his whole congregation leaves him to follow the man of nazareth to his home? the heart of the forerunner is satisfied, for he has heard the bridegroom's voice. the son of god has come, and has given him an understanding that he might know him that is true. ix. "we must increase, but i must decrease." (john iii. .) "where is the lore the baptist taught, the soul unswerving and the fearless tongue? the much-enduring wisdom, sought by lonely prayer the haunted rocks among? who counts it gain his light would wane, so the whole world to jesus throng?" keble. the moral greatness of the baptist--thoughts on envy--christian consecration--the baptist's creed--the voice of the beloved from the jordan valley our lord returned to galilee and nazareth. the marriage feast of cana, his return to jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and the interview with nicodemus, followed in rapid succession. and when the crowds of passover pilgrims were dispersing homewards, he also left the city with his disciples, and began a missionary tour throughout the land of judaea. this tour is not much dwelt upon in scripture. we only catch a glimpse of it here in the nd verse, and again in the address of the apostle peter to cornelius, where he speaks of christ preaching good tidings of peace throughout all judaea (acts x. , ). how long it lasted we cannot tell; but it must have occupied some months, for he tarried from time to time at different points. it is not likely that our lord unfolded his messianic character, or taught with the same clearness as in after days. for the most part, he would adopt the cry of the baptist. of the commencement of his ministry it is recorded: "jesus came, ... preaching the gospel of god, and saying, 'the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel'" (mark i. , ). but his deeds declared his royalty. wherever he went he was welcomed with vast enthusiasm. the scenes which had occurred a few months before to inaugurate the baptist's ministry were re-enacted. the progress of the heaven-sent teacher (john iii. ) was accompanied by immense throngs of people, who, wearied with the tiresome exactions of pharisee and scribe, turned with eagerness to the humanness and holiness of the true shepherd. it is said that cattle, sick and harried with the voyage across the atlantic, will show signs of revival as they sniff the first land breezes laden with the breath of the clover fields. during all this time the baptist was continuing his preparatory work in the jordan valley, though now driven by persecution to leave the western bank for aenon and salim on the eastern side, where a handful of followers still clung to him. "john was not yet cast into prison," but the shadow of his impending fate was already gathering over him; and so he was baptizing in aenon, near to salim, where the jordan sweeps out into broad sheets of water, eminently suitable for his purpose. thither they came and were baptized. the morning star lingers in the same heavens with the sun, whom it has announced; but its lustre has paled, and its glories are shorn. it would appear from the r.v. (ver. ) that a jew, probably an emissary of the sanhedrim, brought tidings to that little circle of true-hearted disciples of the work that jesus was doing in judaea, and drew them into a discussion as to the comparative value of the two baptisms. it was acknowledged that jesus did not, with his own hands, perform the rite of baptism, probably for reasons afterwards cited by his great apostle (iv. ; compare cor. i. - ): but it would be administered by his disciples, at his direction, and with his countenance, and therefore it could be reported to the baptist by his disciples, who came to him with eyes flashing with indignation, and faces heated with the excitement of the discussion: "rabbi, he that was with thee beyond jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him" (ver. ). it was as though they said, "master, is it not too bad? see how thy generous testimony has been requited! in the day of thy glory thou wert too profuse in thy acknowledgments, too prodigal in thy testimonials. now this new teacher has taken a leaf out of thy programme; he too is preaching, baptizing, and gathering a school of disciples." but there was no tinder in that noble breast which these jealous sparks could kindle. nothing but love dwelt there. he had been plunged into the baptism of a holy love, which had burnt out the selfishness and jealousy, which were as natural to him as to us all. it was as when a spark falls into an ocean and is instantly extinguished. thus his reply will ever rank among the greatest utterances of mortal man. the lord said that of those born of woman none was greater than john; and, if by nothing else, by these words his moral stature and superlative excellence were vindicated. he seemed great when his voice rang like a clarion through palestine, attracting and thrilling the mighty throngs; great, when he dared to tell herod that it was unlawful for him to have his brother's wife, uttering words which those palace walls must have been startled to hear; great, when he baptized him for whom the world was waiting, and who was declared to be the son of god with power; but he never seemed so great as when he refused to enter into those acrimonious altercations and discussions, and said simply, "a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." i. john counted influence and position as divine gifts.--what startling differences obtain among men--peter and john, calvin and melancthon, john knox and samuel rutherford, kingsley and keble! each of these has left his imprint on human history; each so needful to do his own special work, but each so diverse from all others. we are sometimes tempted to attribute their special powers and success to their circumstances, their times, their parents and teachers; but there is a deeper and more satisfactory explanation. adopting the words of the forerunner, we may say--they had nothing that they had not received from heaven, by the direct appointment and decree of god. it was thus that the baptist reasoned: "whatever success and blessing i had are due to the appointment of him who sent me to preach his gospel and announce the advent of his son. every man has his work and sphere appointed him of god. if this new teacher meet with such success, we have no right to be jealous of him, lest we sin against god, who has made him what he is. and if we have not the same crowds as once, let us be content to take this, too, as the appointment of heaven, glad to do whatever is assigned to us, and to leave all results with god." this is a golden sentence, indeed!--"a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." hast thou great success in thy life-work? do crowds gather around thy steps and throng thy audience-chamber? do not attribute them to thyself. they are all the gifts of god's grace. he raiseth up one and setteth down another. thou hast nothing that thou hast not received; and if thou hast received it, see to it that thou exercise perpetually the faculty of receptiveness, so that thou mayest receive more and more, grace on grace. the river in its flow should hollow out the channel-bed through which it flows. be thankful, but never vain. he who gave may take. great talents bestowed imply great responsibility in the day of reckoning. be not high-minded, but fear. much success can only be enjoyed without injury to the inner life by being considered as the dear gift of christ, to be used for him. hast thou but one talent, and little success?--yet this is as god has willed it. he might have given more had he willed it so; be thankful that he has given any. use what thou hast. the five barley loaves and two small fishes will so increase, as they are distributed, that they will supply the want of thousands. do not dare to envy one more successful and used than thyself, lest thou be convicted of murmuring against the appointment of thy lord. here, too, is the cure of jealousy, which more than anything else blights the soul of the servant of god. to an older minister, who has passed the zenith of his popularity and power, it is often a severe trial to see younger men stepping into positions which he once held and has been compelled to renounce. he is mightily tempted to disparage their power, and condemn them by faint praise; or, if he praise, to add one biting comment which undoes the generosity and frankness of the eulogium. why should this younger man, who was not born when his own ministry was at full tide, now carry all before him, while the waves are quietly withdrawing from the margin of seaweed they once cast up! thoughts like these corrode and canker the soul; and there is no arrest to them, unless, by a definite effort of the spirit-energised will, the soul turns to god with the words: "a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. i had my glad hours of meridian glory, and have still the mellow light of a summer sunset. it was god's gift to me, as rest is now; and i will rejoice that he raises up others to do his work. i will rejoice that the kingdom is coming, that christ is satisfied, that men are being saved; this shall be my joy, and it shall be fulfilled." how much misery, heart-burning, and disappointment would be saved if, at the beginning of life, each of us inquired seriously what that special work in the world might be to which he was called, and for which he is fitted. then, instead of being poor imitations, we might be good originals. instead of spending our time in going off on side issues, we might bend all our strength to the main purpose of our existence. god has meant each of us for something; incarnating in us one of his own great thoughts, and equipping us with all material that is necessary for its realization. we may probably discover its meaning by the peculiarities of our mental endowments or the advice of friends; by the necessity of our circumstances or the prompting of the holy spirit. otherwise we must be content to go on making each day according to the pattern shown us--not as a whole, but in detail--sure that some day each bit and scrap, each vail and hanging, will find its place, and the tabernacle of our life stand complete. every name is historic in god's estimate. the obscurest among us has his place in the divine plan, his lesson to learn, his work to do. the century opening before us can no more dispense with us than an orchestra with the piccolo. a pawn on god's chessboard may take a knight, or give check to a king. "we are his workmanship, created in christ jesus unto good works which god has before prepared (r.v.), that we should walk in them" (eph. ii. ). ii. john caught sight of a fuller and richer ideal than his own.--tidings had, without doubt, been brought to him of our lord's first miracle in cana of galilee. we know that it had made a great impression on the little group of ardent souls, who had been called to share the village festivities with their newly-found master; and we know that some of them were still deeply attached to their old friend and leader. from these he would learn the full details of that remarkable inauguration of this long-expected ministry. how startled he must have been at the first hearing! he had announced the husbandman with his fan to thoroughly winnow his floor; the baptist with his fire; the lamb of god, holy, harmless, and separate from sinners. but the messiah opens his ministry among men by mingling with the simple villagers in their wedding joy, and actually ministers to their innocent mirth, as he turns the water into wine! the son of man has come "eating and drinking"! what a contrast was here to the austerity of the desert, the coarse raiment, the hard fare! "john the baptist came neither eating nor drinking." could this be he? and yet there was no doubt that the heaven had been opened above him, that the dove had descended, and that god's voice had declared him to be the "beloved son." but what a contrast to all that he had looked for! further reflection, however, on that incident, in which jesus manifested forth his glory, and the cleansing of the temple which immediately followed, must have convinced the baptist that this conception of holiness was the true one. his own type could never be universal or popular. it was not to be expected that the mass of men could be spared from the ordinary demands of daily life to spend their days in the wilderness as he had done; and it would not have been for their well-being, or that of the world, if his practice had become the rule. it would have been a practical admission that ordinary life was common and unclean; and that there was no possibility of infusing it with the high principles of the kingdom of heaven. consecration to god would have become synonymous with the exclusion of wife and child, of home and business, of music and poetry, from the soul of the saint; whereas its true conception demands that nothing which god has created can be accounted common or unclean, but all may be included within the encircling precincts of the redeemer's kingdom. the motto of christian consecration is, therefore, given in that remarkable assertion of the apostle; "every creature of god is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of god and prayer" ( tim. iv. , ). john saw, beneath the illuminating ray of the holy spirit, that this was the divine ideal; that the redeemer could not contradict the creator; that the kingdom was consistent with the home; and the presence of the king with the caress of woman and the laughter of the child, and the innocent mirth of the village feast. this he saw, and cried in effect: "that village scene is the key to the messiah's ministry to israel. he is not only guest at a bridegroom's table, but the bridegroom himself. he has come to woo and win the chosen race. of old they were called hephzibah and beulah; and now those ancient words come back to mind with newly-minted meaning, with the scent of spring. our land, long bereaved and desolate, is to be married. joy, joy to her! the bridegroom is here. he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. as for me, i am the bridegroom's friend, sent to negotiate the match, privileged to know and bring together the two parties in the blessed nuptials--blessed with the unspeakable gladness of hearing the bridegroom's manly speech. do you tell me that he is preaching, and that all come to him? that is what i have wanted most of all. this my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. 'he must increase, but i must decrease.'" iii. john had enlarged perception of the true nature of christ.--it has been questioned whether the paragraph which follows (john iii. - ) was spoken by the baptist, or is the comment of the evangelist. with many eminent commentators, i incline strongly to the former view. the phraseology employed in this paragraph is closely similar to the words addressed by christ to nicodemus, and often used by himself, as in john v.; and they may well have filtered through to the baptist, by the lips of andrew, peter, and john, who would often retail to their venerated earliest teacher what they heard from jesus. consider, then, the baptist's creed at this point of his career. he _believed_ in the heavenly origin and divinity of the son of man--that he was from heaven and above all. he _believed_ in the unique and divine source of his teaching--that he did not communicate what he had learnt at second-hand, but stood forth as one speaking what he knows, and testifying what he has seen--"for he whom god has sent, speaketh the words of god." he _believed_ in his copious enduement with the holy spirit. knowing that human teachers, at the best, could only receive the spirit in a limited degree, he recognised that when god anointed jesus of nazareth with the holy spirit there was no limit, no measuring metre, no stint. it was copious, rich, unmeasured--so much so that it ran down from his head, as hermon's dews descend to the lonely heights of zion. he _believed_ in his near relationship to god, using the well-known jewish phrase of sonship to describe his possession of the divine nature in a unique sense, and recalling the utterance of the hour of baptism, to give weight to his assurance that the father loved him as son. lastly, he _believed_ in the mediatorial function of the man of nazareth--that the father had already given all things into his hand; and that the day was coming when he would sit on the throne of david, yea, on the mediatorial throne itself, king of kings, and lord of lords, the keys of death and hades, of the realms of invisible existence and spiritual power, hanging at his girdle. to that creed the baptist added a testimony, which has been the means of light and blessing to myriads. being dead, he yet has spoken through the ages, assuring us that to believe on jesus is to have, as a present fact, eternal life, the life which fills the being of god and defies time and change. faith is the act by which we open our heart to receive the gift of god; as earth bares her breast to sun and rain, and as the good wife flings wide her doors and windows to let in the spring sunshine and the summer air. ah, reader, i would that thou hadst this faith! the open heart towards christ! the yielded will! thou needst only will to have him, and he has already entered, though thou canst not detect his footfall, or the chime of the bells around his garment's hem. and to shut thy heart against him not only excludes the life which might be thine, but incurs the wrath of god. _there are two concluding thoughts_. first: the only hope of a decreasing self is an increasing christ. there is too much of the self-life in us all, chafing against god's will, refusing god's gifts, instigating the very services we render to god, simulating humility and meekness for the praise of men. but how can we be rid of this accursed self-consciousness and pride? ah! we must turn our back on our shadow, and our face towards christ. we must look at all things from his standpoint, trying to realize always how they affect him, and then entering into his emotions. it has been said that "the woman who loves thinks with the brain of the man she loves", and surely if we love christ with a constraining passion, we shall think his thoughts and feel his joys, and no longer live unto ourselves, but unto him. "love took up the harp of life and smote on all its chords with might; smote the chord of self, that trembling, passed in music out of sight." second: we must view our relationship to christ as the betrothal and marriage of our soul to our maker and redeemer, who is also our husband. "wherefore, my brethren," says the apostle, "ye also were made dead to the law through the body of christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto god" (rom. vii. ). the son of god is not content to love us. he cannot rest till he has all our love in return. "he looketh in at the windows" of the soul, "and showeth himself through the lattice." our beloved speaks, and says unto us, "rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." and, as our response, he waits to hear us say: "my beloved is mine, and i am his; he feedeth his flock among the lilies. until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved!" x. the king's courts (mark vi.) "the number of thine own complete, sum up and make an end; sift clean the chaff, and house the wheat; and then, o lord, descend. "descend, and solve by that descent this mystery of life; where good and ill, together blent, wage an undying strife." j. h. n. under royal surveillance--"it is not lawful."--the revenge of herodias--the upbraidings of conscience--devotion to truth--"a sin unto death." our story brings us next to speak of the baptist's relations with herod antipas, son of the great herod, a contemptible princeling who inherited a fourth part of his father's dominions (hence known as the tetrarch), ruling over galilee and part of perea. for the most part he lived at tiberias, in great state, which he had imported from rome, where he had spent part of his early life. from an early age he had been entrusted with despotic power, and, as the natural and inevitable result, had become sensual, weak, capricious, and cruel. it is of the collision between this man, whom our lord compared to a fox, and john the baptist, that we have now to treat. we need only notice here that every great character on the page of history has had his vehement antagonist. moses, pharaoh; elijah, ahab; jeremiah, jehoiakim; paul, nero; savonarola, the medici; luther, the emperor charles v.; john knox, queen mary. i. the cause of the collision.--all the world had flocked to see and hear john the baptist. every mouth was full of his eccentricities and eloquence. marvellous stories were being told of the effect which he had produced on the lives of those who had come under his influence. all this was well known to herod. his spies were present in every great gathering, and served the purpose of the newspaper of to-day; so that he was well informed of all the topics that engaged the popular mind. for some months, also, herod had watched the career of the preacher. when he least expected it, he was under the surveillance of the closest criticism. a fierce light, like that which beats about a throne, fell strongly on his most secret actions. and the result had been perfectly satisfactory. herod felt that john was a true man. he observed him, and was satisfied that he was a just man and a holy. reasons of state forbade the king from going in person to the jordan valley; but he was extremely eager to see and hear this mighty man of god: and so, one day, at the close of a discourse, an argument with the pharisees, or the administration of the rite of baptism, john found himself accosted by one of the court chamberlains, and summoned to deliver his message before the court. herod "sent for him." we might wonder how it could happen that a man like herod, who notoriously lived in a glass house, so far as character went, should be so willing to call in so merciless a preacher of repentance as john the baptist was--before whose words, flung like stones, full many a glass house had crashed to the ground, leaving its tenant unsheltered before the storm. but it must be remembered that most men, when they enter the precincts of the court, are accustomed to put velvet in their mouths; and, however vehement they may have been in denouncing the sins of the lower classes, they change their tone when face to face with sinners in high places. herod, therefore, had every reason to presume that john would obey this unwritten law; and, whilst denouncing sin in general, would refrain from anything savouring of the direct and personal. another reason probably actuated herod. he knew that the land was filled with the fame of the baptist, and it seemed an easy path to popularity, and likely to divert attention from his private sins, which had made much scandal, to patronize the religion of the masses. at this point he probably entertained much the same feeling toward the desert-prophet that led simon the pharisee to invite jesus to eat with him. "yes, let john the baptist come. court life is dreary and monotonous enough. it will make a little diversion, like a breath of fresh air on a sultry day. it is worth risking a little roughness in his speech, and uncouthness in his manner, if only he while away an afternoon. besides, it will please his following, which is considerable. let him come, by all means." we are reminded of a similar scene in old testament history, when, at the solicitation of jehoshaphat, ahab sent for micaiah. "the messenger that went to call micaiah spake unto him, saying, 'behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth; let thy word therefore, i pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.'" one interpretation of mark vi. suggests that the baptist's first sermon before herod was followed by another, and yet another. the baptist dealt with general subjects, urged on the king's attention some minor reforms, which were not too personal or drastic, and won his genuine regard. we are told that he used to hear (the _imperfect tense_) him gladly, and "did many things." it was a relief to herod's mind to feel that there were many things which he could do, many wrongs which he could set right, while the main wrong of his life was left untouched. ah! it is remarkable how much men will do in the direction of amendment and reform, if only, by a tacit understanding, nothing is said, or hinted at, which threatens the one sin in which the heart's evil has concentrated itself. but john knew that his duty to herod, to truth, to public morality, demanded that he should go further, and pierce to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow; and therefore on one memorable occasion he accosted the royal criminal with the crime of which men were speaking secretly everywhere, and uttered the memorable sentence which could not be forgiven: "it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." we can imagine how some room in the palace, which had often been the scene of wild riot, would be improvised as an audience chamber, filled with seats, and crowded on each occasion of the baptist's appearance with a strange and brilliant throng. in the midst, the king and the woman with whom he was living in illicit union; next them her daughter, salome; around them courtiers and ladies, nobles and pages, soldiers and servants. on all sides splendid dresses, magnificent uniforms, rare jewels, luxurious upholstery, added light and colour to the scene. the sermon began. as was john's wont, he arraigned the sin, the formalism, the laxity of the times; he proclaimed the advent of the kingdom, the presence of the king; he demanded, in the name of god, repentance and reform. herod was, as usual, impressed and convinced; he assented to the preacher's propositions; already he had settled himself into his usual posture for hearing gladly. it was as when we watch summer-lightning playing around the horizon; we have no fear so long as it is not forked. presently, however, john becomes more personal and direct than ever before. he begins, in no measured terms, to denounce the sin of men in high places, and holds up the dissoluteness which disgraced the court. as he proceeds, a breathless silence falls on the crowd sitting, or hanging around him, their dresses in curious contrast to his severe garment of camel's hair, their nervous dread in as great contrast to his incisive and searching eloquence. here were the people clothed in soft raiment, and accustomed to sumptuous fare, bending as reeds before the gusts of wind sweeping fiercely across the marsh. finally, the preacher comes closer still, and pointing to the princess who sat beside herod, looking herod in the face, he exclaims: "it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." we need not dwell on all the terrible details of that disgraceful sin. but every circumstance which could deepen its infamy was present. herod's wife, the daughter of aretas, king of arabia, was still living; as was philip, the husband of herodias. the _liaison_ commenced at rome, when herod was the guest of his brother philip, while apparently engaged on a mission of holy devotion to the religious interests of the jewish nation. the ground of john's accusation calls for a heavier emphasis than appears in a superficial consideration of the words. he might have said: "it is not expedient; your wife's father will rise in arms against you, and threaten the eastern border of your kingdom. it is not expedient to run the risk of war, which may give rome a further excuse against you." he might have said: "this is an unwise step, as it will cut you off from your own family, and leave you exposed to the brunt of popular hate." he might have said: "it is impolitic and incautious to risk the adverse judgment of the emperor." but he said none of these things. he took the matter to a higher court. he arraigned the guilty pair before god; and, laying his axe at the root of the tree--calling on herod's conscience, long gagged and silent, to take part in the impeachment--he said, in effect: "i summon you before the bar of god, and in the pure light which streams from his holy oracle, your consciences being witnesses against you, you know perfectly well that it is not right for you to be living as you are living. 'thou shalt not commit adultery.'" every hearer stood aghast. a death-like hush fell on the assembly, which probably broke up in dismay. so paralyzed was every one that no hand was laid on the preacher. we are expressly told that "herod _sent forth_ and laid hold upon john" (mark vi. ); from which we infer that the fearless preacher passed out through the paralyzed and conscience-stricken assemblage, leaving dismay, like that which befell the roysterers in belshazzar's court, when the hand of the almighty traced the mysterious characters on the palace wall in lines of fire. the first feeling of awe and conscience-stricken remorse would, however, soon pass off. some would hasten to condole with herodias; some to sympathize with herod. herodias would retire to her apartments, accompanied by her high ladies, vowing fiery vengeance on the preacher--a very jezebel, thirsting for the blood of another elijah. throughout herod's court there would be an effort to dismiss the allusion as "altogether uncalled for;" as "what might have been expected from such a man;" as "a gross breach of manners," as "an affront against delicacy of taste." but herodias would give her paramour no rest; and, perhaps one evening, when john had retired for meditation and prayer, his disciples being off their guard and the people absent, a handful of soldiers arrested him, bound him, and led him off to the strong castle of machaerus. ii. john's imprisonment and its opportunities.--the castle of machaerus was known as "the diadem," or "the black tower." it lay on the east side of the dead sea, almost on a line with bethlehem. the ruins of the castle are still to be seen, in great masses of squared stone, on the top of a lofty hill, surrounded on three sides by unscaleable precipices, descending to such depths that josephus says the eye could not reach their bottom. the fourth side is described as only a little less terrible. wild desolation reigned far and near. a german traveller mentions the masses of lava, brown, red, and black, varied with pumice-stone, distributed in huge broken masses, or rising in perpendicular cliffs; whilst the rushing stream, far below, is overgrown with oleanders and date-palms, willows, poplars, and tall reeds. here and there, thick mists of steam arise, where the hot sulphur springs gush from the clefts of the rocks. on this impregnable site, dr. geikie tells us that herod had erected a great wall, enclosing the summit of the hill, with towers two hundred feet high at the corners, and in the space thus gained had built a grand palace, with rows of columns of a single stone apiece, halls lined with many-coloured marbles, magnificent baths, and all the details of roman luxury, not omitting huge cisterns, barracks, and store-houses, with everything needed in case of a siege. from the windows there was a magnificent view of the dead sea, the whole course of the jordan, jerusalem, hebron, the frowning fortress of marsaba, and away to the north, the wild heights of pisgah and abarim. detached from the palace was a stern and gloomy keep, with underground dungeons still visible, hewn down into the solid rock. this was the scene of john's imprisonment. the evangelist says expressly that they _bound_ the child of the desert-wastes, with his love for dear liberty--sensitive to the touch of the sunshine and the breeze, to the beauty that lay over the hills, accustomed to go and come at his will--as though it were the last indignity and affront to fetter those lithe and supple limbs, and place them under constraint. ah, it is little short of a sin to encage a wild bird, beating its heart against the bars of its narrow cage, when the sun calls it to mount up with quivering ecstasy to the gates of day; but what a sin to bind the preacher of righteousness, and imprison him in sunless vaults--what an agony! what a contrast between the gay revelry that reigned yonder within the palace, and the slow torture which the noble spirit of the baptist was doomed to suffer through those weary months! is there anything like that in your life, my reader? in many an old castle the attention of the visitor is directed to a haunted room, where ghosts are said to walk at night; but in how many hearts there are dark subterranean apartments, where conscience, gagged and bound, lies imprisoned! outwardly there is the gaiety and mirth as of a palace; but inwardly there is remorse, misery, unrest. in lonely hours there is a voice which pierces the thickest walls of your assumed indifference, and rings up into the house of your life, where the soul seeks to close its ear in vain. it is a sad, monotonous, heart-piercing cry which that voice repeats: "it is not lawful, not lawful, not lawful." whenever there is a moment of silence and respite, you hear it--"not lawful, not lawful." and nothing can stay it but repentance, confession, restitution, so far as may be, and the blood of jesus christ, god's son, which cleanseth from all sin. from time to time it would seem as though the strictness of john's imprisonment was relaxed. his disciples were permitted to see him, and tell him of what was happening in the world without; but stranger than all, he was summoned to have audiences with herod himself. another rendering of mark vi. , , which is perfectly legitimate, and is favoured by the r.v., suggests that the king was ill at ease, and swept to and fro by very different currents. first, he was deeply incensed. as he thought of the manner in which the baptist had treated him, denouncing him before his court, the fire of anger burnt fiercely within his breast; and he had beside him a lady macbeth, a beautiful fiend and temptress, who knew that while the baptist lived, and dared to speak as he had done, her position was not safe. she knew herod well enough to dread the uprising of his conscience at the appeals of truth. and perpetually, when she saw her chance, she whispered in herod's ear, "the sooner you do away with that man the better. you don't love me perfectly, as long as you permit him to breathe. unmannerly cur!" "herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; but she could not." on the other side, herod was in fear. he feared john, "knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy." he feared the people, because they held him for a prophet. and, beneath all, he feared god, lest he should step in to avenge any wrong perpetrated against his servant. between these two influences he was "much perplexed" (mark vi. , r.v.). when he was with herodias, he thought as she did, and left her, almost resolved to give the fatal order; but when he was alone, the other influence made itself felt, and he would send for john: "i would like to see him again, chamberlain--tell the gaoler to send the baptist hither; let his coming to my private room be, however, kept secret. i don't want all my court blabbing." and the gaoler would come to the cell door, and call to his prisoner, with a mixture of effrontery and obsequiousness, "up, man; the king wants you. put on your softest speech. it will serve you better than that rasping tongue of yours. why cannot you leave the king and his private affairs alone? they are no business of yours or mine." and might not herod attempt to induce the prophet to take back his ruthless sentence? "come," he might say, "you remember what you said. if you unsay that sentence, i will set you free. i cannot, out of respect for my consort, allow such words to remain unretracted. there, you have your freedom in your own hands. one word of apology, and you may go your way; and my solemn bond is yours, that you shall be kept free from molestation." if such an offer were made, it must have presented a strong temptation to the emaciated captive, whose physique had already lost the elasticity and vigour of his early manhood, and was showing signs of his grievous privation. but he had no alternative; and, however often the ordeal was repeated, he met the royal solicitation with the same unwavering reply: "i have no alternative. it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. i should betray my god, and act treacherously to thyself, if i were to take back one word which i have spoken; and thou knowest that it is so." and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come, the royal culprit trembled. john could do no other; but it was a sublime act of devotion to god and truth. he had no thought for himself at all, and thought only of the choice and destiny of that guilty pair, from which he would warn and save them, if he might. well might the lord ask, in after days, if john were a reed shaken with the wind. rather he resembled a forest tree, whose deeply-struck and far-spreading roots secure it against the attack of the hurricane; or a mighty alp, which defies the tremor of the earthquake, and rears its head above the thunder-storms, which break upon its slopes, to hold fellowship with the skies. how many men are like herod! they resemble the superficial ground, on which the seed springs into rapid and unnatural growth; but the rock lies close beneath the surface. now they are swayed by the voice of the preacher, and moved by the pleadings of conscience, allowed for one brief moment to utter its protests and remonstrances; and then they feel the fascination of their sin, that unholy passion, that sinful habit, that ill-gotten gain--and are sucked back from the beach, on which they were almost free, into the sea of ink and death. you may be trying, my reader, to steer a middle course between john the baptist and herodias. now you resolve to get free of her guilty charms, and break the spell that fascinates you. merlin will emancipate himself from vivien, before she learn his secret, and dance with it down the wood, leaving him dishonoured and ashamed. but, within an hour, the syren is again singing her dulcet notes, and drawing the ship closer and closer to the rocks, with their black teeth, waiting to grind it to splinters. oh that there might come to you the voice that spoke with such power to augustine, and that like him you might now and here yield yourself to it; so that when the temptress, whatever form she may assume, approaches you with the whisper: "i am _she_, augustine," you may answer: "but i am not _he_!" so john was left in prison. month after month he languished in the dark and stifling dungeon, wondering a little, now and again, why the master, if he were the son of god, did not interpose to work his deliverance. but of that anon. iii. herod's inevitable deterioration.--again and again john was remanded to his cell. probably twelve months passed thus. but each time the king failed to act on the preacher's remonstrances; he became more impervious to his appeals, more liable to the sway of passion. thus, when a supreme moment came, in which he was under the influence of drink and unholy appetite, and the reign of such moral nature as remained was greatly enfeebled, it is not to be wondered at that herodias had her way, and before her murderous request the last thin fence of resistance broke down, and he gave orders that it should be as she desired. the story does not end here. he not only murdered john the baptist, but he inflicted a deadly wound on his own moral nature, from which it never recovered, as we shall see. ultimately he had no thought in the presence of christ other than to see him work a miracle; and when his desire was refused, set him at nought with his mighty men, mocked his claims to be the king of israel, did not scruple to treat him with indignity and violence, and so dismissed him. is it wonderful that our lord was speechless before such a man? what else could he be? the deterioration had been so awful and complete. for the love of god can say nothing to us, though it be prepared to die on our behalf, so long as we refuse to repent of, and put away, our sin. we remember some solemn words, which may be applied in all their fearful significance to that scene: "there is a sin unto death; not concerning this do i say that he should make request." xi. "art thou he?" (matthew xi.) "he fought his doubts and gathered strength, he would not make his judgment blind, he faced the spectres of the mind and laid them;--thus he came, at length, "to find a stronger faith his own, and power was with him in the night, which makes the darkness and the light, and dwells not in the light alone." tennyson. john's misgivings--disappointed hopes--signs of the christ--the discipline of patience--a new beatitude it is very touching to remark the tenacity with which some few of john's disciples clung to their great leader. the majority had dispersed: some to their homes; some to follow jesus. only a handful lingered still, not alienated by the storm of hate which had broken on their master, but drawn nearer, with the unfaltering loyalty of unchangeable affection. they could not forget what he had been to them--that he had first called them to the reality of living; that he had taught them to pray; that he had led them to the christ: and they dare not desert him now, in the dark sad days of his imprisonment and sorrow. what an inestimable blessing to have friends like this, who will not leave our side when the crowd ebbs, but draw closer as the shadows darken over our path, and the prison damp wraps its chill mantle about us! to be loved like that is earth's deepest bliss! these heroic souls risked all the peril that might accrue to themselves from this identification with their master; they did not hesitate to come to his cell with tidings of the great outer world, and specially of what he was doing and saying, whose life was so mysteriously bound up with his own. "the disciples of john told him of all these things" (luke vii. , r.v.). it was to two of these choice and steadfast friends that john confided the question which had long been forming within his soul, and forcing itself to the front. "and john, calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to the lord, saying, art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?" i. john's misgivings.--can this be he who, but a few months ago, had stood in his rock-hewn pulpit, in radiant certainty? the brilliant eastern sunlight that bathed his figure, as he stood erect amid the thronging crowds, was the emblem and symbol of the light that filled his soul. no misgiving crossed it. he pointed to christ with unfaltering certitude, saying, this is he, the lamb of god, the son of the father, the bridegroom of the soul. how great the contrast between that and this sorrowful cry, "art thou he?" some commentators, to save his credit, have supposed that the embassy was sent to the lord for the sake of the disciples, that their hearts might be opened, their faith confirmed--and that they might have a head and leader when he was gone. but the narrative has to be greatly strained and dragged out of its obvious course to make it cover the necessities of such an hypothesis. it is more natural to think that john the baptist was for a brief spell under a cloud, involved in doubt, tempted to let go the confidence that had brought him such ecstatic joy when he first saw the dove descending and abiding. the bible does not scruple to tell us of the failures of its noblest children: of abram, thinking that the egyptians would take his life; of elijah, stretching himself beneath the shadow of the desert bush, and asking that he might die; of thomas, who had been prepared to die with his lord, but could not believe that he was risen. and in this the spirit of god has rendered us untold service, because we learn that the material out of which he made the greatest saints was flesh and blood like ourselves; and that it was by divine grace, manifested very conspicuously towards them, that they became what they were. if only the ladder rests on the low earth, where we live and move and have our being, there is some hope of our climbing to stand with others who have ascended its successive rungs and reached the starry heights. yes, let us believe that, for some days at least, john's mind was overcast, his faith lost its foothold, and he seemed to be falling into bottomless depths. _he sent them to jesus, saying, art thou he that should come_? we can easily trace this lapse of faith to three sources. ( ) _depression_. he was the child of the desert. the winds that swept across the waste were not freer. the boundless spaces of the infinite had stretched above him, in vaulted immensity, when he slept at night or wrought through the busy days; and as he found himself cribbed, cabined, and confined in the narrow limits of his cell, his spirits sank. he pined with the hunger of a wild thing for liberty--to move without the clanking fetters; to drink of the fresh water of the jordan, to breathe the morning air; to look on the expanse of nature. is it hard to understand how his deprivations reacted on his mental and spiritual organization, or that his nervous system lost its elasticity of tone, or that the depression of his physical life cast a shadow on his soul? we are all so highly strung, so delicately balanced. often the lack of spiritual joy and peace and power in prayer is attributable to nothing else than our confinement in the narrow limits of a tiny room; to the foul, gaseous air we are compelled to breathe; to our inability to get beyond the great city, with its wilderness of brick, into the country, with its blossoms, fields, and woodland glades. in a large number of spiritual maladies the physician is more necessary than the minister of religion; a holiday by the seaside or on the mountains, than a convention. what an infinite comfort it is to be told that god knows how easily our nature may become jangled and out of tune. he can attribute our doubts and fears to their right source. he knows the bow is bent to the point of breaking, and the string strained to its utmost tension. he does not rebuke his servants when they cast themselves under juniper bushes, and ask to die; but sends them food and sleep. and when they send from their prisons, saying, art thou he? there is no word of rebuke, but of tender encouragement and instruction. ( ) _disappointment_. when first consigned to prison, he had expected every day that jesus would in some way deliver him. was he not the opener of prison-doors? was not all power at his disposal? did he not wield the sceptre of the house of david? surely he would not let his faithful follower lie in the despair of that dark dungeon! in that first sermon at nazareth, of which he had been informed, was it not expressly stated to be part of the divine programme, for which he had been anointed, that he would open prison-doors, and proclaim liberty to captives? he would surely then send his angels to open his prison-doors, and lead him forth into the light! but the weeks grew to months, and still no help came. it was inexplicable to john's honest heart, and suggested the fear that he had been mistaken after all. we can sympathize in this also. often in our lives we have counted on god's interfering to deliver us from some intolerable sorrow. with ears alert, and our heart throbbing with expectancy, we have lain in our prison-cell listening for the first faint footfall of the angel; but the weary hours have passed without bringing him, and we have questioned whether god were mindful of his own; whether prayer prevailed; whether the promises were to be literally appropriated by us? ( ) _partial views of christ_. "john heard in the prison the works of jesus." they were wholly beneficent and gentle. "what has he done since last you were here?" "he has laid his hands on a few sick folk, and healed them; has gathered a number of children to his arms, and blessed them; has sat on the mountain, and spoken of rest and peace and blessedness." "yes; good. but what more?" "a woman touched the hem of his garment, and trembled, and confessed, and went away healed." "good! but what more?" "well, there were some blind men, and he laid his hands on them, and they saw." "is that all? has he not used the fan to winnow the wheat, and the fire to burn up the chaff? this is what i was expecting, and what i have been taught to expect by isaiah and the rest of the prophets. i cannot understand it. this quiet, gentle life of benevolence is outside my calculations. there must be some mistake. go and ask him whether we should expect _another_, made in a different mould, and who shall be as the fire, the earthquake, the tempest, while he is as the still small voice." john had partial views of the christ--he thought of him only as the avenger of sin, the maker of revolution, the dread judge of all. there was apparently no room in his conception for the gentler, sweeter, tenderer aspects of his master's nature. and for want of a clearer understanding of what god by the mouth of his holy prophets had spoken since the world began, he fell into this slough of despond. it was a grievous pity; yet let us not blame him too vehemently, lest we blame ourselves. is not this what we do? we form a notion of god, partly from what we think he ought to be, partly from some distorted notions we have derived from others; and then because god fails to realize our conception, we begin to doubt. we think, for instance, that if there be a righteous god, he will not permit wrong to triumph; little children to suffer for the sins of their parents; the innocent to be trodden beneath the foot of the oppressor and the proud; or the dumb creatures to be tortured in the supposed interest of medical science. surely god will step out of his hiding-place and open all prisons, emancipate all captives, and wave a hand of benediction over all creation. thus we think and say; and then, because the world still groans and travails, we question whether god is in his high heaven. like john, men have a notion, founded on some faulty knowledge of scripture, that god will act in a certain preconceived way, in the thunder, the whirlwind, and the fire; and when god does not, but pursues his tender, gentle ministries, descending in summer showers, speaking in soft, still tones, distilling in the dew-drops, winning his empire over men by love, they say--"is this he?" ii. the lord's reply.--"in that hour he cured many of diseases, and plagues, and evil spirits; and on many that were blind he bestowed sight." through the long hours of the day, the disciples stood in the crowd, while the pitiable train of sick and demon-possessed passed before the saviour, coming in every stage of need, and going away cleansed and saved. even the dead were raised. and at the close the master turned to them, and with a deep significance in his tone, said, "go your way, and tell john what things ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings preached to them. and blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in me." ( ) _it was indirect_. he did not say, i am he that was to come, and there is no need to look for another. had he done so, he might have answered john's intellect, but not his heart. after a few hours the assurance would have waxed dim, and he would have questioned again. he might have wondered whether jesus were not himself deceived. one question always leads to another, so long as the heart is unsatisfied; hence the refusal on the part of our lord to answer the question, and his evident determination to allay the restlessness and disquietude of the heart that throbbed beneath. god might, had he so willed, have written in starry characters across the sky the divine words, "i am jehovah, and ye shall have no other gods beside me"; or he might have flashed it, and obliterated it to flash it again, as the electric cylinders which serve the purposes of advertisements in our large cities by night. this might have awed the intellect, but it would not have convinced the heart. were this god's method, we should miss the benediction on those who have not seen and yet have believed. we should miss the discipline of waiting until our doubts are dissolved by the spirit of god. the intellect might be temporarily overpowered with the evidence; but the soul, the heart, and the spirit, would miss the true knowledge that comes through purity, faith, and waiting upon god--the deepest knowledge of all. besides, though one were to rise from the dead, and come to men with the awe of the vision of the other world stamped on his face, they would not believe. the evidence of the unseen and eternal must be given, not to the startled physical sense, but to the soul. some other deeper method must be adopted; the heart must be taught to wait, trust, and accept those deep intuitions and revelations which establish the being of god. ( ) _the answer was mysterious_. surely, if he were able to do so much, he could do more. the power that healed the sick and lame and blind, and cast out demons, could surely deliver john. it made his heart the more wistful, to hear of these displays of power. he had to learn that the lord healed these poor folks so easily because the light soil of their nature could not bear the richer harvests; because their soul could not stand the cutting through which alone the brilliant facets which were possible to his could be secured. it was because john was a royal soul, the greatest of woman born, because his nature was capable of yielding the best results to the divine culture, that he was kept waiting, whilst others caught up the blessing and went away healed. only three months remained of life, and in these the discipline of patience and doubt must do their perfect work. that is where you have made a mistake. you have thought god was hard on you, that he would help everybody but you; but you have not understood that your nature was so dear to god, and so precious in his sight, and so capable of the greatest development, that god loved you too much to let you off so lightly, and give you what you wanted, and send you on your way. god could have given you sight, made that lame foot well, restored the child to health, and opened the iron prison door of your circumstances. _he could_; but for all eternity you will thank him he did not, because you are capable of something else. we are kept waiting through the long years--not that he loves us less, but more; not that he refuses what we ask, but that in the long strain and tension he is making us partakers of his blessedness. john's nature would presently yield a martyr and win a martyr's crown: was not that reason enough for not giving him at once the deliverance he sought? ( ) _the answer was sufficient_. together with the works of beneficence, the lord drew john's attention to words he seemed in danger of forgetting; "strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong; fear not! behold, your god will come with vengeance, with the recompense of god. he will come and save you. then the eyes of the blind shall be opened; and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." "the spirit of the lord god is upon me, because the lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." the lord strove to convince the questioner that his views were too partial and limited, and to send him back to a more comprehensive study of the old scriptures. it was as though jesus said, "go to your master, and tell him to take again the ancient prophecy and study it. he has taken the sterner predictions to the neglect of the gentler, softer ones. it is true that i am to proclaim the day of vengeance; but first i must reveal the acceptable year. it is true that i am to come as a mighty one, and my arm shall rule for me; but it is also true that i am to feed my flock like a shepherd, and gather the lambs in my arm." we make the same mistake. we have but a partial view of christ, and need to get back to the bible afresh, and study anew its comprehensive words; then we shall come to understand that the present is the time of the hiding of his power, the time of waiting, the time of the gentler ministries. some day he will gird on his sword; some day he will winnow his floor; some day he will ride in a chariot of flame; some day he will sit upon the throne and judge those who oppress the innocent and take advantage of the poor. we have not yet seen the end of the lord: we have not all the evidence. this is our mistake. but our saviour is offering us every day evidences of his divine and loving power. last week i saw him raise the dead; yesterday, before my eyes, he struck the chains from a prisoner; at this hour he is giving sight to the blind; to-morrow he will cast out demons. the world is full of evidences of his gracious and divine power. they are not so striking and masterful as deeds of judgment and wrath might be--they need a quicker eye, a purer heart to discern; but they are not less significant of the fact that he liveth who was dead, and that he is alive for evermore. and these are sufficient, not only because of the transformations which are effected, but because of their moral quality, to show that there is one within the vail who lives in the power of an indissoluble life. iii. a new beatitude.--"blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." our lord put within the reach of his noble forerunner the blessedness of those who have not seen and yet have believed; of those who trust though they are slain; of those who wait the lord's leisure; and of those who cannot understand his dealings, but rest in what they know of his heart. this is the beatitude of the unoffended, of those who do not stumble over the mystery of god's dealings with their life. this blessedness is within our reach also. there are times when we are overpowered with the mystery of life and nature. the world is so full of pain and sorrow, the litany of its need is so sad and pitiful, strong hearts are breaking under an intolerable load; while the battle seems only to the strong and the race to those who, by some mysterious providence, come of a healthy, though not specially moral or religious, stock. and if the incidence of pain and sorrow on the world be explained by its ungodliness, why does nature groan and travail? why are the forest glades turned into a very shambles? why does creation seem to achieve itself through the terrific struggle for survival? god's children are sometimes the most bitterly tried. for them the fires are heated seven times; days of weariness and nights of pain are appointed them; they suffer, not only at the hand of man, but it seems as though god himself were turned against them, to become their enemy. the heavens seem as brass to their cries and tears, and the enemy has reason to challenge them with the taunt, "where is now your god!" the waters of a full cup are wrung out in days like these; and the cry is extorted, "how long, o lord, how long?" you and i have been in this plight. we have said, "hath god forgotten to be gracious? has he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" from our prison-cell we send up the appeal to our brother in the glory: "help us; for if thou leavest us to our fate, we shall question if thou art he." we are tempted to stumbling. we are like to fall over the mysteries of god's dealings with us. we are more able than ever before to appreciate the standpoint occupied by job's wife, when she said to her husband, "curse god, and die." then we have the chance of inheriting a new beatitude. by refusing to bend under the mighty hand of god--questioning, chafing, murmuring--we miss the door which would admit us into rich and unalloyed happiness. we fumble about the latch, but it is not lifted. but if we will quiet our souls like a weaned child, anointing our heads, and washing our faces, light will break in on us as from the eternal morning; the peace of god will keep our hearts and minds, and we shall enter on the blessedness which our lord unfolded before the gaze of his faithful forerunner. xii. none greater than john the baptist, yet... (matthew xi.) "search thine own heart. what paineth thee in others, in thyself may be; all dust is frail, all flesh is weak; be thou the same man thou dost seek! "where now with pain thou treadest, trod the whitest of the saints of god! to show thee where their feet were set, the light which led them shineth yet." whittier. christ's appreciation--his independence--the simplicity of his life--his place in the devine economy--the spirit of meekness--the greatness of humility while john's disciples were standing there, our lord said nothing in his praise, but as soon as they had departed, the flood-gates of his heart were thrown wide open, and he began to speak to the multitudes concerning his faithful servant. it was as though he would give him no cause for pride by what he said. he desired to give his friend no additional temptation during those lonely hours. we say our kind things before each other's faces; our hard things when the back is turned. it is not so with christ. he passes his most generous encomiums when we are not there to hear them. christ may never tell you how greatly he loves and values you; but while you lie there in your prison, with sad and overcast heart, he is saying and thinking great things about you yonder. i. the time chosen for the lord's commendation of the baptist.--it was when john had fallen beneath his usual level, below high-water mark, that jesus uttered his warmest and most generous words of appreciation--"among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than john the baptist." "but, dost thou really mean, most holy lord, that this one is the greatest born of woman?" "certainly," saith christ, in effect. "but he has asked if thou art really the messiah." "i know it," saith the lord. "but how canst thou say that he is to be compared with moses, isaiah, or daniel? did they doubt thee thus? and how canst thou say that he is not a reed shaken with the wind, when, but now, he gave patent evidence that he was stooping beneath the hurrying tread of gales of doubt and depression?" "ah," the master seems to say, "heaven judges, not by a passing mood, but by the general tenor and trend of a man's life; not by the expression of a doubt, caused by accidents which may be explained, but by the soul of man within him, which is as much deeper than the emotions as the heart of the ocean is deeper than the cloud-shadows which hurry across its surface." yes, the lord judges us by that which is deepest, most permanent, most constant and prevalent with us; by the ideal we seek to apprehend; by the decision and choice of our soul; by that bud of possibility which lies as yet furled, and unrealized even by ourselves. there is a remarkable parallel to this incident in the old testament. when we are first introduced to gideon, the youngest son of joash the abi-ezrite, he is not in a very dignified position. he is threshing wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the hosts of midian, which devoured the produce of the entire country. there was no moral wrong in eluding the vigilance of the midian spies, in transporting the wheat from the open country, where the wind might fan away the chaff, to the comparative seclusion and unlikeliness of the wine-press; but there was nothing specially heroic or inspiring in the spectacle. yet, when the angel of the lord appeared unto him, he said, "the lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." "mighty man of valour!" at first there is an apparent incongruity between this high-sounding salutation and the bearing of the man to whom it was addressed. surely such an address is far-fetched and fulsome; yet subsequent events prove that every syllable of it was deservedly true. gideon was a mighty man of valour, and god was with him. the heavenly messenger read beneath the outward passing incident, and saw under the clumsy letters of the palimpsest the deep and holy characters which were awaiting the moment of complete discovery. is not this, in fact, the meaning of the apostle, when he says that faith is reckoned to us for righteousness? in the fullest sense, of course, we know that to each believer in jesus there is reckoned the entire benefit of his glorious person and work, so that we are accepted in the beloved, and he is "made unto us ... righteousness." but there is another sense in which faith is reckoned to us for righteousness, because it contains within itself the power and potency of the perfect life. it is the seed-germ from which is developed in due course the plant, the flower, the bud, the seed, and the reproduction of the plant in unending succession. god reckoned to abraham all that his faith was capable of producing, which it did produce, and which it would have produced had he possessed all the advantages which pertain to our own happy lot. there is thus the objective and the subjective: in virtue of the first, through faith in jesus, all his righteousness is accounted to us; in virtue of the second, god reckons to us all that blessed flowering and fruitage of which our faith will be capable, when patience has had its perfect work and we are perfect and entire, wanting nothing. ii. the outstanding features of john's character and ministry to which our lord drew attention.--( ) _his independence_. "what went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?" the language of the bible is so picturesque, so full of natural imagery, that it appeals to every age, and speaks in every language of the world. if its descriptions of character had been given in the language of the philosopher or academist, what was intelligible to one age would have been perplexing or meaningless to the next. remember that the long gallery in the pyramids, which was directed to the pole-star when they were constructed, is now hopelessly out of course, because the position of the pole-star, in relation to the earth, has so entirely altered; and what is true among the spheres is true in the use of terms. but the word of god employs natural figures and parables, which the wayfaring man, though a fool, comprehends at a glance. who, for instance, on a gusty march day, has not watched the wind blowing lustily across a marsh or the reedy margin of a lake, compelling all the reeds to stoop in the same direction? has one resisted the current or stood stoutly forth in protesting non-compliance? has one dared to adopt an unbending posture? not one. they have been as obsequious as were all the king's servants that were in the king's gate to the imperious haman when he happened to enter the palace. thus, when our lord asked the people whether john resembled a reed shaken by the wind, and implied their answer in the negative, could he have more clearly indicated one of the most salient characteristics of john's career--his daring singularity, his independence of mere custom and fashion, his determination to follow out the pattern of his own life as god revealed it to him? in this he resembles the good nehemiah, when he refers to the usual practice of men of his position, and says, "so did not i, because of the fear of the lord"; or the three young men who, when all the myriads fell down and worshipped nebuchadnezzar's golden image, remained erect. in the singularity of his dress and food; in the originality of his message and demand for baptism; in his independence of the religious teachers and schools of his time; in his refusal to countenance the flagrant sins of the various classes of the community, and especially in his uncompromising denunciation of herod's sin--he proved himself to be as a sturdy oak in the forest of bashan, or a deeply-rooted cedar in lebanon, and not as a reed shaken by the wind. many a saintly soul has followed him since along this difficult and lonely track. indeed, it is the ordinary path for most of the choicest spirits of these christian centuries. i do not say of all, because the great gardener has his violets and lilies in sheltered spots; but certainly most of the trees of his right-hand planting have not stood thickly-planted in the sheltered woodland, but have braved the winds sweeping in at the gates of the hills. you, my reader, admire, but feel you cannot follow. when your companions and friends are speaking depreciating and ungenerous words of some public man whom you love; when unkind and scandalous stories are being passed from lip to lip; when a storm of execration and hatred is being poured on a cause, which in your heart you favour and espouse--you find it easier to bow before the gale, with all the other reeds around you, than to enter your protest, even though you stand alone. yet the reed thrust by the soldiers into the hands of christ may become the rod of iron with which he rules the nations. he can take the most pliant and yielding natures, and make them, as he made jeremiah, "a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land." thou canst not; but he can. he will strengthen thee; yea, he will help thee; yea, he will uphold thee with the right hand of his righteousness. keep looking steadfastly up to him, that he may teach thy hands to war, and thy fingers to fight; for thou shalt be able to do all things through him that strengtheneth thee. ( ) _his simplicity_. a second time the master asked the people what they went forth into the wilderness to behold; and by his question implied that john was no sybarite clothed in soft raiment, and feasting in luxury, but a strong, pure soul, that had learnt the secret of self-denial and self-control. too many of us are inclined to put on the soft raiment of self-indulgence and luxury. we are the slaves of fashion, or we are perpetually considering what we shall eat, what we shall drink, and with what we shall be clothed: or we act as though we supposed that life consisted in the number of things we possessed, and the variety of servants that waited upon us: whereas the exact contrary is the case. the real happiness of life consists not in increasing our possessions, but in limiting our wants. to all my young brothers and sisters who may read this page, and who have yet the making of their lives in their own hands, i would say, with all my heart, learn to do without the soft clothing and the many servants which characterise kings' courts. at table have your eye on the simpler dishes, those which supply the maximum of nutriment and strength, and do not allow your choice to be determined by what pleases the palate or gratifies the taste. a young friend stood me out the other day against some article of diet, which was acknowledged to be the more nutritious (it was whole-meal bread), because another was sweeter and more palatable (some white, light french rolls, from which all the nutriment had been extracted). this is the deliberate preference of the fare of kings' courts to daniel's pulse and the baptist's locusts and wild honey. please note, here, that there was nothing inconsistent in his taking honey. we are not to refuse a certain diet because it is pleasant; but we are not to choose it because it is so. so with dress. our master does not require of us to dress grotesquely, or to attract notice by the singularity and grotesqueness of our attire. we must dress suitably and in conformity with that station in life to which he has called us. but what a difference there is between making our dress our main consideration, and considering first and foremost the attire of the soul in meekness and truth, purity and unselfishness. they who are set upon these may be trusted to put the other in the right place. but, on the whole, the truly consecrated soul should study simplicity. it should not endeavour to attract notice by glaring colours or extravagant display. it ought not to seek a large variety of dresses and costumes, but be satisfied with what may be really needed for the exigencies of climate and health. let it take no pleasure in vying with others, because dress is a question of utility and not of pride. on the whole, we should set our faces against the soft raiment which enervates the health, and unfits us to stretch out our hands in ready help to those who need assistance along the highways of life. so with service. it is not well to depend on others. if it is part of our lot to be surrounded by servants, let us accept their offices with grace and kindliness, but never allow ourselves to lean on them. we should know how to do everything for ourselves, and be prepared to do it whenever it is necessary. of course, with some of us, it is essential that we should have servants, that we may be set free to do the special work of our lives. nothing would be more unfortunate than that those who are highly gifted in some special direction should fritter away their time and strength in doing trifles which others could do for them equally well. to think of a physician whose consulting room was crowded with patients needing help which he alone, of all men living, could give, spending the precious morning hours in the minutiae of household arrangements, blacking his boots, or preparing his food! let these things be left to those who cannot do the higher work to which he is called. this is the secret of making the best of your life. discover what you can do best--the one thing which you are called to do for others, and which probably no one else can do so well. set yourself to do this, devolving on voluntary or paid helpers all that they can do as well as, and perhaps better than, yourself. it was in this spirit that the apostles said, "it is not fit that we should forsake the word of god and serve tables. look ye out, therefore, men ... whom we may appoint over this business; but we will continue steadfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word." it is specially the temptation of eastern life, where the climate is enervating and service is cheap and plentiful, to seek the soft raiment and the large assistance of attendants, and it is almost impossible to yield to one or the other without relaxing the fibre of the soul. the temptation is always around us; and it is well to look carefully into our life from time to time, to be quite sure, lest almost insensibly its strong energetic spirit may not be in process of deterioration--as the soldiers of hannibal in the plains of capua. if so, resolve to do without, not for merit's sake, but to conserve the strength and simplicity of your soul. ( ) _his noble office_. "but wherefore went ye out?--to see a prophet? yea, i say unto you, and much more than a prophet." nothing is more difficult than to measure men while they are living. whilst the fascination of their presence and the music of their voice are in the air, we are apt to exaggerate their worth. the mountain towers so far above us that we are apt, in the absence of other mountains, or in our too great proximity to it, to think of it as the greatest of all the mountain-range. but it is not so, as we discover when we remove further. but subsequent ages, so far from correcting, have only confirmed our saviour's estimate of his forerunner. we are able to locate him in the divine economy. he was a prophet, yes, and much more. to employ the predictive words of malachi, he was jehovah's messenger, the courier who announced the advent of the king, the last of the prophets--for all the prophets and the law prophesied until john--and the herald of that new and greater era, whose gates he opened, but into which he was not permitted to enter. but our lord went further, and did not hesitate to class john with the greatest of those born of woman. he was absolutely in the front rank. he may have had peers, but no superiors; equals, but no over-lords. who may be classed with him, we cannot, dare not, say. but probably abraham, moses, paul. "there hath not arisen a greater than john the baptist." no brighter star shines in the celestial firmament than that of this brief young life, which had only time enough to proclaim the advent of the lord, and after some brief six months of ministry by the jordan, followed by twelve months in the gaol, waned here to shine in undimming brilliancy yonder. there was a further tribute paid by our lord to his noble servant. some two or three centuries before, malachi had foretold that elijah, the prophet, would be sent before the great and terrible day of the lord came; and the jews were always on the outlook for his coming. even to the present day a chair is set for him at their religious feasts. this is what was meant when they asked the baptist, at the commencement of his ministry, if he were elijah. he shrank, as we have seen, from assuming so great a name, though he could not have refused the challenge, had it been worded to include the spirit and power of the great prophet of thisbe. but here our lord went beyond john's own modest, self-depreciating estimate, and declared, "if ye are willing to receive it, this is elijah which is to come." as he descended from the mount of transfiguration, he returned to the same subject: "and they asked him, saying, the scribes say that elijah must first come. and he said unto them, elijah indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things.... but i say unto you that elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they listed, even as it is written of him" (mark ix. - ). iii. the master's reservation. let us again quote his memorable words: "among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than john the baptist; yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (matt. xi. , r.v.). the greatness of john the baptist shone out in conspicuous beauty in his meek confession of inferiority. it is always a sign of the greatest knowledge, when its possessor confesses himself to be as a child picking up shells on the shores of a boundless ocean. and the baptist's greatness was revealed in the lowliness of his self-estimate. when the lord jesus summarized his own character he said, "i am meek and lowly in heart." in doing so he expressed the character of god; for he was the revealer of god, "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." he was "god manifested in flesh." he was not only the son of god, he was god the son: "he that hath seen me hath seen the father. i and the father are one." the greatness of john was proved in this, that like his lord he was meek and lowly in heart. neither before nor since has a son of adam lived in whom these divine qualities were more evident. no sublimer, no more god-like utterance ever passed the lips of man than john's answer to his disciples: "a man can receive nothing except it have been given him from heaven. he must increase, but i must decrease" (see the whole passage, john iii. - ). the very same spirit of meekness was speaking in john as acted in his lord, when, knowing that the pharisees had heard that jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than john (though jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), "he left judea and departed into galilee." what divisions might have been avoided in the church had his people followed his example! but there was no man, not even the apostle john or paul, whose spirit accorded more exactly with the master's than his faithful and self-effacing herald and forerunner, john the baptist. it might well be said, that of them that were born of women there had not arisen a greater than he. but what was in our lord's thought when he made the reservation, "_yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he_"? it has been suggested that the lord was speaking of john not only as a man, but as a prophet, and that this declaration applies more particularly to john as a prophet. the words of the evangelist luke are noticeable--"there hath not risen a greater prophet than john the baptist": because to balance the sentence it seems needful to supply the word _prophet_ in the second clause--"the least prophet in the kingdom of heaven is a greater prophet than he." john could say, "behold the lamb of god"; but the least of those who, being scattered abroad, went everywhere proclaiming the word of the kingdom, preached "jesus and the resurrection." but there is another way of interpreting christ's words. john ushered in the kingdom, but was not in it. he proclaimed a condition of blessedness in which he was not permitted to have a part. and the lord says that to be in that kingdom gives the opportunity of attaining to a greatness which the great souls outside its precincts cannot lay claim to. there is a greatness which comes from nature, and another greatness from circumstances. the child on the mountain is higher than the giant in the valley. the boy in our village schools knows more on certain subjects than socrates or confucius, the greatest sages of the world. the least instructed in the kingdom of heaven is privileged to see and hear the things which prophets and kings longed and waited for in vain. the least in the higher dispensation may know and understand more than the loftiest souls of the dispensations that have preceded. and may there not be even more than this? the character of john was strong, grand in its wild magnificence--like some alpine crag, with the pines on its slopes and the deep dark lake at its foot; he had courage, resolution, an iron will, a loftiness of soul that could hold commerce with the unseen and eternal. he was a man capable of vast heights and depths. he could hold fellowship with the eternal god as a man speaks with his friend, and could suffer unutterable agonies in self-questioning and depression. but is this the loftiest ideal of character? is it the most desirable and blessed? assuredly not; and this may have been in the saviour's mind when he made his notable reservation. to come neither eating nor drinking; to be stern, reserved, and lonely; to live apart from the homes of men, to be the severe and unflinching rebuker of other men's sins--this was not the loftiest pattern of human character. there was something better, as is manifest in our lord's own perfect manhood. the balance of quality; the power to converse with god, mated with the tenderness that enters the homes of men, wipes the tears of those that mourn, and gathers little children to its side; that has an ear for every complaint, and a balm of comfort for every heart-break; that pities and soothes, teaches and leads; that is able not only to commune with god alone in the desert, but brings him into the lowliest deeds and commonplaces of human life--this is the type of character which is characteristic of the kingdom of heaven. it is described best in those inimitable beatitudes which canonize, not the stern and rugged, but the sweet and tender, the humble and meek; and stamp heaven's tenderest smile on virtues which had hardly found a place in the strong and gritty character of the baptist. yes, there is more to be had by the humble heart than john possessed or taught. the passive as well as the active; the glen equally with the bare mountain peak; the feminine with the masculine; the power to wait and be still, combined with the swift rush to capture the position; the cross of shame as well as the throne of power. and if thou art the least in the kingdom of god, all this may be thine, by the holy spirit, who introduces the very nature of the son of man into the heart that loves him truly. "he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." xiii. a burning and shining lamp. (john v. .) "men as men can reach no higher than the son of god, the perfect head and pattern of mankind. the time is short, and thus sufficeth us to live and die by; and in him again we see the same first starry attribute, '_perfect through suffering_,' our salvation's seal, set in the front of his humanity...." mrs. hamilton king. the rest-day--the light of life--shining, because burning--"let your light shine"--a light in the darkness our master, christ, was on his trial. he was challenged by the religious leaders of the people because he had dared to heal a man and to command him to carry his bed--his straw pallet--on the sabbath day. he was therefore accused, and, so to speak, put in his defence. of course we must not for a moment think that our lord was lax in his observance of the sabbath, but simply that he desired to emancipate the day from the intolerable burdens and restrictions with which the jewish leaders had surrounded it. it was his desire to show, for all after time, that the sabbath was made for useful purposes, and specially for deeds of mercy, beneficence, and gentle kindness. the lord jesus was maligned and persecuted because he was the emancipator of the sabbath day from foolish and mistaken notions of sanctity. it is of the greatest importance that we should do what we may to conserve one rest-day in seven to our country and our world; and i cannot help noticing in the story of the life of the great statesman and christian, who recently passed from us, how careful he was to guard the day from unnecessary intrusion. it has been attested by those who knew him well, that physically, intellectually, and spiritually, the lord's day to him was a priceless blessing. let your rest on the one rest-day consist, not in lolling idly and carelessly, but in turning your faculties in some other direction; because the truest rest is to be found, not in luxurious ease, but in using the fresh vigour of your life in other compartments of the brain than those which have been worn by the demands of the six days. then, fresh from the sunday-school class, the worship of the church, and the sermon, you will return to the desk or office, or whatever may be your toil, with new and rejuvenated strength. there is a great distinction between shining and burning: shining is the light-giving, the illuminating, that comes forth from the enkindled wick; but it cannot shine unless it burns. the candle that gives light wastes inch by inch as it gives it. the very wick of your lamp, that conducts the oil to the flame, chars, and you have to cut it off bit by bit until the longest coil is at length exhausted. we must never forget that, if we would shine, we must burn. too many of us want to shine, but are not prepared to pay the cost that must be faced by every true man that wants to illuminate his time. we must burn down until there is but an eighth of an inch left in the candlestick, till the light flickers a little and drops, makes one more eager effort, and then ceases to shine--"a burning and shining light." obviously, then, we have first _the comparison between john and the candle, or lamp_; then we have _the necessary expenditure, burning to shine_; and, thirdly, we have _the misuse that people may make of their opportunities_. i. the lord's comparison.--"john was a burning and shining lamp." in the original a great contrast is suggested between _lamp_, as it is given in the revised version, and _light_. the old version put it thus: "he was a burning and shining light"; but the revised version puts it thus: "he was a burning and shining lamp"; and there is a considerable difference between the two. in the first chapter of the gospel, the apostle john tells us, speaking of the baptist, that he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light, that all men through him [john] might believe. "that was the true light, which lighteth every man coming into the world." jesus christ is the light of the world; and i believe that in every age he has been waiting to illumine the hearts and spirits of men, reminding us of the expression in the book of proverbs--and it is wonderfully significant--"the spirit of man is the candle of the lord." here is a candle, yonder is the wick; but it gives no light. the air may be full of luminousness, but as yet it has found no point on which to kindle and from which to irradiate. but, see, of a sudden the light gathers to the candle-wick, which had stood helpless and useless, touches it, and it begins to shine with a light not its own. it is borrowed light, caught from some burning cone of flame. men are born into the world like so many unlighted candles. they may stand in chaste candlesticks, all of gold or silver, of common tin or porcelain. but all are by nature unlit. on the other hand, jesus christ, the light of men, waits with yearning desire, and, as each successive generation passes across the stage of human life, he is prepared to illumine the spirits which are intended to be the candles of the lord. in these ages he illumines us with the gospel; but i believe that all moral intuitions, all instincts of immortality, all cravings after god, all gropings in the dark for the true light, all helpful moral revolutions which have swept over mankind, have been the result of his influence, who, as the true light, lighteth every man coming into the world. whenever and wherever a man has flamed up with unusual fervour and spiritual power, with a desire to help his fellows, and has shone like a torch, we must believe that he was illumined by the son of god, the wisdom of the book of proverbs, whom he may not have known, but whom he would recognise as soon as he crossed the portal of the new jerusalem. he lighteth every man; he is willing to illumine every man that comes into the world. this conception casts a considerable light on some of the enigmas of human experience. we have known illiterate, uncultured men, without many gifts of style or grace of speech, yet they have shone to such an extent that every one in their neighbourhood has been lit by the radiance that has streamed from them. on the other hand, we have met men who have passed through a college course and been carefully trained for their life-work; important pulpits and opportunities of great usefulness have been opened to them; but their lives have been a disappointment. why? ah, the answer is easy. the former class were as candles, made of ordinary wax, and placed in inconspicuous candle-sticks, which had been ignited by the fire of god through the holy spirit; and the latter were like exquisitely prepared candlesticks, the candles in which had never been kindled by the fire of god. there are hundreds of professing christians, and some may read these pages, who have never really been kindled; who have never been touched by the son of god; who do not know what it is to shine with his light and to burn with his fire. what is the process of lighting? the wick of the candle is simply brought into contact with the flame, and the flame leaps to it, kindles on it, without parting with any of its vigour or heat, and continues to burn, drawing to itself the nourishment which the candle supplies. so let jesus christ touch you. believe in the light, that you may become a child of the light. take off the extinguisher; cast away your prejudice; put off those misconceptions; have done with those unworthy habits; putting them all aside, let jesus kindle you. "arise, shine; for thy light is come." "awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and christ shall give thee light." we were kindled that we might kindle others. i would like, if i might have my choice, to burn steadily down, with no guttering waste, and as i do so to communicate god's fire to as many unlit candles as possible; and to burn on steadily until the socket comes in view, then to light, in the last flicker, twenty, thirty, or a hundred candles at once; so that as one expires they may begin burning and spreading light which shall shine till jesus comes. get light from christ, then share it; and remember that it is the glory of fire that one little candle may go on lighting hundreds of candles--one insignificant taper may light all the lamps of a cathedral church, and yet not be robbed of its own little glow of flame. andrew was lit by christ himself, and passed on the flame to simon peter, and he to three thousand more on the day of pentecost. every christian soul illumined by the grace of god thus becomes, as john the baptist was, a lamp. but there is always the same impassable chasm between these and the lord. they are derived; he is original. they need to be sustained and fed; he is the fountain of light: because, as the father hath life in himself, he hath given to him also to have life in himself, and his life is the light of men. ii. the inevitable expenditure.--"he was a burning and shining lamp." _if you would shine, you must burn_. the ambition to shine is universal; but all are not prepared to pay the price by which alone they can acquire the right to give the true light of life. there are plenty of students who would win all the prizes, and wear all the honours, apart from days and nights of toil; but they find it a vain ambition. before a man can become senior wrangler he must have burnt, not only the midnight oil, but some of the very fibre of his soul. conspicuous positions in the literary and scientific world are less the reward of genius than of laborious, soul-consuming toil. the great chemist will work sixteen hours out of twenty-four. the illustrious author acquires, by profound research, the materials which he weaves into his brilliant page. such men shine because they burn. but this is pre-eminently the principle in the service of christ. it was so with the lord himself. he shone, and his beams have illumined myriads of darkened souls, and shall yet bring dawn throughout the world; but, ah, how he burned! the disciples remembered that it was written of him: "the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." he suffered, that he might serve. he would not save himself, because he was bent on saving others. he ascended to the throne because he spared not himself from the cruel tree. pilate marvelled that his death came so soon, and sent for the centurion to be certified that in so few hours he had succumbed. but he did not realize that in three short years he had expended his vital strength so utterly, that there was no reserve to fall back upon. there had been an inward consumption, an exhaustion of nervous power, a wearing down of the springs of vitality. he shone because of the fire that burned within him. it was so with the great apostle, who said that he filled up that which was lacking in the afflictions of christ, not of course that there was any lack in the work of propitiation which required his further help, but that the saints are called to share with their lord his sorrows for men, his tears, to lift the burdens and crosses of others, to give of their very life-blood for the replenishing of the exhausted fountains of human faith, and hope, and love. paul gave freely of his best. he shone because he never hesitated to burn. remember how he affirmed that he was pressed down, perplexed, pursued, and always bore about in his body the dying of the lord jesus, that the life of jesus might be manifested in his mortal flesh. the price paid for the life that wrought in the hearts of his converts was that death should work in himself. all the saints have passed through similar experiences. they knew, as cranmer said, that they could never hope to kindle a fire that should never be put out, unless they were prepared to stand steadily at the stake and give their bodies to be burned. but they counted not their lives dear unto them, if they might but finish their course with joy, and the ministry which they had received of the lord jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of god. the men and women who shine as beacon-lights across the centuries are those whose tears were their meat day and night, whose prayers rose with strong cryings and tears; while, as with palissy, the huguenot potter, the very furniture of the house was brought out to feed the flame in which the precious glaze was being precipitated. if the christian worker longs to benefit the poor slum district in which he is located, he must be prepared to live amongst the people and expend himself. presently, in his hollow cheeks, his sallow complexion, his attenuated form, his diminishing strength, you will see that he is paying the price for his -candle illuminating power, because he is being consumed. every successful worker for god must learn that lesson. you must be prepared to suffer; you can only help men when you die for them. if you desire to save others you cannot save yourself; you must be prepared to fall into the ground and die, if you would not abide alone: there must be with you, as with paul, the decaying of the outward man, that the inward man may be renewed day by day. you must be prepared to say with him, "death worketh in us, but life in you." _if you burn, you will shine_. the burning and the shining do not always go together; often the burning goes on a long time without much illumination resulting from the expenditure. those who are rich in gifts and natural endowments cast in much, and the poor cast in all their living; this they continue to do, year after year, and none seems to heed the awful cost at which their testimony is given. moreover, to use a well-known phrase, the game hardly seems worth the candle. the area they influence is so limited, the souls affected so few, the glimmer of their light, like a street-lamp in a fog, hardly reaches across the street or to the ground. sometimes it appears only to make the darkness denser and thicker. in many cases, the saints of god have burnt down to the last film of vital energy and expired, and there has been no shining that the world has taken cognisance of. their bitter complaint has been, "i have laboured in vain; i have spent my strength for nought, and in vain." but even these shall shine. they shall shine as the stars for ever and ever in that world where all holy and faithful souls obtain their due. let us see to the burning; god will see to the shining. it is ours to feed the sacred heaven-enkindled flame with the daily fuel of the word of god and holy service; and god will see to it that no ray of power or love is wasted. he will place reflectors around us, to catch up and repeat the influences that proceed from us. "the lord was with samuel, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." it is ours to keep in company with the risen lord, listening to him as he opens to us the scriptures, until our hearts burn within us; then, as we hasten to tell what we have seen, tasted, and handled of the word of life, there will be a glow on our faces, whether we know it or not; and men shall say of us: "they have been with jesus." if we think only of the shining, we shall probably miss both it and the burning. but if we devote ourselves to the burning, even though it involve the hidden work of the mine, the stoke-hole, and the furnace-room, there will be the raying forth of a light that cannot be hid. where there is the burning heat, there must be the soft, gleaming light. let there be but summer, and the flowers cover the land. _for the burning and the shining, god will provide the fuel_. the fire which burnt in the bush needed no fuel; "the bush was not consumed." with us there is perpetual need for the nourishment of the fire of love and the light of life by the administration of appropriate fuel. the oil must be supplied to the lamp. the fire cannot be kept burning on the altar apart from the incessant care and attention of the priests. but be of good cheer; he who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of jesus christ. all grace will be made to abound towards you, that you may have all sufficiency for all things, and abound to every good work. the lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. god will supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by christ jesus. it is especially helpful to ponder the full import of the phrase--"the supply of the spirit of jesus christ." it is as though we had access to one of those oil-wells of the west, which seem practically inexhaustible. it is a wonderful thing how often god puts his lighted candles in the cellar. we would have supposed that he would have placed a man like john on a pedestal or a throne, that his influence might reach as far as possible. instead of that he allowed him to spend the precious months of his brief life in prison. and the lamp flickered somewhat in the pestilential damp. it may be that this is your place also. in the silence of a sick chamber, in the obscurity of some country parish, amid obloquy and hatred, you are doomed to spend your slowly-moving years. it seems such a waste. loneliness and depression are hard to endure; but the consciousness of accomplishing so little, though at such cost, is very painful. this is your cellar-life, your dungeon experience. remember that joseph and rutherford, john bunyan and madame guyon, have been there before you. probably, because the cellar is so very dark, god wants to station a candle there, and has placed you there because you can accomplish a work for him, and for others, of priceless importance. where is the light needed so much as on a dark landing or a sunken reef? go on shining, and you will find some day that god will make that cellar a pedestal out of which your light shall stream over the world; for it was out of his prison cell that john illuminated the age in which his lot was cast, quite as much as from his rock-pulpit beside the jordan. "i would have you know, brethren," said the apostle, "that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel, so that my bonds became manifest in christ throughout the praetorian guard" (phil. i. , , r.v.). iii. christ's warning against the misuse of opportunities.--"ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." the greek word rendered _rejoice_ has in it the idea of moths playing around a candle, or of children dancing around a torch-light, as it burns lower and lower. it is as though a light were given to men for an hour, for them to use for some high and sacred purpose, but they employ it for dancing and card-playing, instead of girding up their loins to serious tasks. "you were willing," says the master, in effect, "to rejoice, to dance and sing, in his light. you treated his ministry as a pastime. as long as he spoke to you about the coming kingdom, you listened and were glad; but when he began to call you to repentance and warn you of wrath to come, you left him." he is now like an almost extinguished lamp. his hour is all but done. the brief space he was sent to occupy has been fulfilled. "behold, the night cometh, when no man can work." the ministry of the gospel is but for "an hour." the story of man may be compared to a brief day ( cor. iv. , _marg._, r.v.); and in that day the proclamation of the good news from god occupies but a very limited space. the hour-glass was turned when jesus ascended, and it is more than likely that the last grains are running through; then the cry of the herald shall be hushed, and the servants' voices will be no more heard in the streets inviting to the marriage supper, and there shall be none to break or distribute the bread of life. with what eager care men should prize these fleeting opportunities, not listening to the preacher's voice, as of one that can make a pleasant sound from the harp or organ--not seeking merely the delight of the ear or intellect; but taking heed to hear for eternity, receiving in meek and retentive hearts the precious grain as it falls from the sower's hand, and giving diligence that the best possible results may accrue. oh, children of the sunny market-place, playing giddily throughout the long afternoon, take heed lest your opportunities of preparing for the serious work of life slip away unimproved, and you find yourselves face to face with death and judgment without a screen, without hope, and without god. john murdered in prison; jesus nailed to the cross; the apostles and martyrs done to death on the scaffold and at the stake--and the ship drifting on the rocks, without a warning voice to arouse the thoughtless crowd of dice-throwers and dancers to the certainty and nearness of their doom! xiv. set at liberty. (mark vi. .) "hush my soul, and vain regrets be stilled; now rest in him who is the complement of whatsoe'er transcends our mortal doom, of baffled hope and unfulfilled intent; in the clear vision and aspect of whom all longings and all hopes shall be fulfilled." archbishop trench. the genesis of a great crime--the strength of evil influences--an accomplice of satan--the triumph of hate--the baptist beheaded--a place of repentance the evangelist mark tells us, in the twenty-first verse of this chapter, that herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of galilee. now, of course, galilee, over which herod had jurisdiction, and where, for the most part, he dwelt, in the beautiful city of tiberias, the ruins of which are still washed by the blue waters of the lake, was a considerable distance from the castle of machaerus, which, as we have seen, was situated in the desolate region on the eastern side of the dead sea. there would probably, therefore, have been a martial and noble procession from galilee, which followed the course of the jordan to the oasis of jericho, and then branched off to the old, grim fortress, which, like one of those ruined castles on the rhine, had been for many years the scene of brigandage, pillage, and bloodshed. it is not difficult to imagine that sumptuous and splendid retinue. roman soldiers and officials in all the splendour of their accoutrements and mounting; carriages conveying the royal consort, herodias, salome, and their ladies; large numbers of native soldiers; swarthy bedouin and greek traders; priests and levites, who lived on the smile of the court; court officials, camp-bearers, a motley following of servants and slaves. in the front of the cavalcade, herod, on a magnificent steed. the line of march, enlivened by the sound of martial music, and the flaunting of innumerable banners. slowly they made their way through those desert solitudes, across the pasture-lands, and finally swept up through the little village that lay at the foot of the hill to the castellated fortress which covered the summit, edging its mighty walls to the brink of the steep cliffs. soon the last straggler would be lost to view, the heavy portcullis fall, and the massive iron gate swing to, and the first step would be taken towards the tragedy, which lay right before herod's path. one sometimes wonders whether the whole of these circumstances had not been planned by the cunning device of herodias. in any case, nothing could have been arranged more exactly to suit her murderous schemes. the days that preceded the celebration of herod's birthday were probably filled with merry-making and carouse. groups of nobles, knights, and ladies, would gather on the terraces, looking out over the dead sea, and away to jerusalem, and in the far distance to the gleaming waters of the mediterranean. picnics and excursions would be arranged into the neighbouring country. archery, jousts, and other sports would beguile the slowly-moving hours. jests, light laughter, and buffoonery would fill the air. and all the while, in the dungeons beneath the castle, lay that mighty preacher, the confessor, forerunner, herald, and soon to be the martyr. but this contrast was more than ever accentuated on the evening of herod's birthday, when the great banqueting-chamber was specially illuminated; the tables decked with flowers and gold and silver plate; laughter and mirth echoing through the vaulted roof from the splendid company that lay, after the eastern mode, on sumptuous couches, strewing the floor from one end to the other of the spacious hall. servants, in costly liveries, passed to and fro, bearing the rich dainties on massive salvers, one of which was to be presently besprinkled with the martyr's blood. in such a scene, i would have you study the genesis of a great crime, because you must remember that in respect to sin, there is very little to choose between the twentieth century and the first; between the sin of that civilization and of ours. this is why the bible must always command the profound interest of mankind--because it does not concern itself with the outward circumstances and setting of the scenes and characters it describes, but with those great common facts of temptation, sin, and redemption, which have a meaning for us all. this chapter is therefore written under more than usual solemnity, because one is so sure that, in dealing with that scene and the passions that met there in a foaming vortex, words may be penned that will help souls which are caught in the drift of the same black current, and are being swept down. perhaps this page shall utter a warning voice to arrest them, ere it be too late, and be a life-buoy, or rope, or brother's hand reached out to save them as they rush past on the boiling waters. for there is help and grace in god by which a herod and a judas, a jezebel and a lady macbeth, a royal criminal or an ordinary one, may be arrested, redeemed, and saved. in this, as in every sin, there were three forces at work:--first, the predisposition of the soul, which the bible calls "lust," and "the desire of the mind." "among whom," says the apostle, "we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath." second, the suggestion of evil from without. finally, the act of the will by which the suggestion was accepted and finally adopted. it is, in this latter phase, that sin especially comes in. there may be sin in being able and disposed to sin. the possession of a sinful nature needs the atonement and propitiation of the precious blood. there may be sin, also, in dallying with temptation, in not anticipating its advent at a further distance. but, after all, that which is of the essence of sin is in the act of the will, which allows itself to admit and entertain some foul suggestion, and ultimately sends its executioner below to carry its sentence into effect. i. the predetermination towards this sin.--the word "lust" is now universally employed and understood in one direction only. it is a pity and a mistake; because we fail to appreciate many of the warning signals which the spirit of god stations along our path. any inordinate desire for sensual and pleasurable excitement, whether fixed on a right object, or directed towards a wrong one, comes under the denomination of "lust." strong and ill-regulated desire or passion, in whatever direction it expresses itself, will work our ruin, and not that alone of impurity, to which this old word is now specially confined. in dealing with temptation and sin, we must always take into account the presence in the human heart of that sad relic of the fall, which biases men towards evil. every one that has handled bowls on the green is familiar with the effect of the bias. the bowls are not perfect spheres, and are weighted on one side in such a way that, as they leave the hand, they will inevitably turn off from a straight course; and on this account the greater skill is required from the hands that manipulate and impel them. such a bias has come to us all: first, from our ancestor adam; and, secondly, by that law of heredity which has been accumulating its malign and sinister force through all the ages. god alone can compute the respective strength of these forces; but he can, and he will, as each separate soul stands before his judgment bar. herod was the son of the great herod, a voluptuous, murderous tyrant; and, from some source or other, he had inherited a very weak nature. perhaps, if he had come under strong, wholesome influences, he would have lived a passably good life; but it was his misfortune to fall under the influence of a beautiful fiend, who became his lady macbeth, his jezebel, and wrought the ruin of his soul. it is a remarkable thing, how strong an influence a beautiful and unscrupulous woman may have over a weak man. and for this reason, amongst others, weakness becomes wickedness. the man who allows himself to drift weakly before the strongest influence is almost certain to discover that, in this world, the strongest influences are those which make for sin; these touch him most closely, and operate most continuously, and find in his nature the best _nidus_, or nest, in which to breed. the influences that suggest and make for sin in this world are so persistent--at every street corner, in every daily newspaper, among every gathering of well-dressed people, or ill--that if my readers have no other failing than that they are weak, i am bound to warn them, in god's name, that unless they succeed in some way, directly or indirectly, in linking themselves to the strength of the son of. god, they will inevitably become wicked. remember that the men, and especially the women, who are filling our gaols as criminals, were, in most cases, only weak, but they therefore drifted before the strong, black current which flows through the world, and have become objects against whom all parents warn their children. with all my soul--and i have had no small experience of myself and of others--i implore that if you are conscious of your weakness, you shall do what the sea-anemone and the limpet do, which cling to the rock when the storms darken the sky. "be strong in the lord, and in the power of his might." herod was reluctant to take the course to which his evil genius urged him. he made a slight show of resistance, as we have seen--but he did not break with her; and so she finally had her way, and dragged him to her lowest level. here was the cause of his ruin, as it may be of yours. you, too, have become allied with one who is possessed by a more imperious will, and dominated by a stronger passion, than yours. you suppose, however, that you can act as a make-weight, a drag on the chariot-wheel; that you will be able to keep and steady the pace; and that, when you like, you may arrest the onward progress. ah, it is not so! herodias will have her way with you. you may be reluctant, will falter and hesitate, will remonstrate, will resist, but ultimately you will drift into doing the very sins, the mention of which in your presence brings the red blood to your face. beware, then, of yourself. if you are so impressible to john the baptist, remember that you may be equally so to evil suggestion: take heed, therefore, to guard against anything in your life that may open the gates of your sensitive nature to a temptation, which you may not be able to withstand. if you are weak in physical health, you guard against draught and fatigue, against impure atmosphere and contagion--how much more should you guard against the scenes and company which may act prejudicially on the health of your soul? of all our hours, none are so fraught with danger as those of recreation. in these we cast ourselves, with the majority of gideon's men, on the bank of the stream, with relaxed girdles, drinking at our ease, without a thought of the proximity of the foe; and, therefore, in these we are more likely to fall. the christian soldier is never off duty, never out of the enemy's reach, never at liberty to relax his watch. the sentries must always be posted, and the pickets kept well out on the veldt. it was the most perilous thing that herod could do, to have that banquet. lying back on his divan, lolling on his cushions, eating his rich food, quaffing the sparkling wine, exchanging repartee with his obsequious followers, it was as though the petals and calyx of his soul were all open to receive the first insidious spore of evil that might float past on the sultry air. that is why some of us dare not enter the theatre, or encourage others to enter. this is not the place to enter into a full discussion of the subject; but, even when a play may be deemed inoffensive and harmless, the sensuous attractions of the place, the glitter, the music, the slightly-dressed figures of the actors and actresses, the entire atmosphere and environment, which appeal so strongly to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, break down some of the fortifications, which would otherwise resist the first incidence and assault of evil. the air of the theatre, the ball-room, the race-course, seem so impregnated with the nocuous germs and microbes of evil, that it is perilous for the soul to expose itself to them, conscious as it is of predisposing bias and weakness. it is this consciousness, also, which prompts the daily prayer, "lead us not into temptation." ii. temptation. in the genesis of a sin we must give due weight to the power of the tempter, whether by his direct suggestion to the soul or by the instrumentality of men and women whom he uses for his fell purpose. in this case satan's accomplice was the beautiful herodias--beautiful as a snake, but as deadly. she knew the influence that john the baptist wielded over her weak paramour, that he was accustomed to attach unmeasured importance to his words, and do "many things." she realized that his conscience was uneasy, and therefore the more liable to be affected by his words when he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. she feared for the consequences if the baptist and herod's conscience should make common cause against her. what if her power over the capricious tyrant were to begin to wane, and the baptist gain more and more influence, to her discredit and undoing? she was not safe so long as john the baptist breathed. herod feared him, and perhaps she feared him with more abject terror, and was bent on delivering her life of his presence. she watched her opportunity, and it came on the occasion we have described. the ungodly revel was at its height. such a banquet as herod had often witnessed in the shameless court of tiberius, and in which luxury and appetite reached their climax, was in mid-current. the strong wines of messina and cyprus had already done their work. the hall resounded with ribald joke and merriment. towards the end of such a feast it was the custom for immodest women to be introduced, who, by their gestures, imitated scenes in certain well-known mythologies, and still further inflamed the passions of the banqueters. but instead of the usual troupe, which herod probably kept for such an occasion, salome herself came in and danced a wild nautch-dance. what shall we think of a mother who could expose her daughter to such a scene, and suggest her taking a part in the half-drunken orgy? to what depths will not mad jealousy and passion urge us, apart from the restraining grace of god! the girl, alas, was as shameless as her mother. she pleased herod, who was excited with the meeting of the two strong passions, which have destroyed more victims than have fallen on all the battlefields of the world; and in his frenzy, he promised to give her whatever she might ask, though it were to cost half his kingdom. she rushed back to her mother with the story of her success. "what shall i ask?" she cried. the mother had, perhaps, anticipated such a moment as this, and had her answer ready. "ask," she replied instantly, "for john the baptist's head." back from her mother she tripped into the banqueting-hall, her black eyes flashing with cruel hate, lighted from her mother's fierceness. a dead silence fell on the buzz of conversation, and every ear strained for her reply. "and she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, i will that thou forthwith give me in a charger the head of john the baptist." mark that word, "forthwith." her mother and she were probably fearful that the king's mood would change. what was to be done must be done at once, or it might not be done at all. "quick, quick," the girl seemed to say, "the moments seem like hours; now, in this instant, give me what i demand. i want my banquet, too; let it be served up on one of these golden chargers." the imperious demand of the girl showed how keenly she had entered into her mother's scheme. it is thus that suggestions come to us; and, so far as i can understand, we may expect them to come so long as we are in this world. there seems to be a precise analogy between temptation and the microbes of disease. these are always in the air; but when we are in good health they are absolutely innocuous, our nature offers no hold or resting place for them. the grouse disease only makes headway when there has been a wet season, and the young birds are too weakened by the damp to resist its attack. the potato blight is always lying in wait, till the potato plants are deteriorated by a long spell of rain and damp; it is only then that it can effect its fell purpose. the microbes of consumption and cancer are probably never far away from us, but are powerless to hurt us, till our system has become weakened by other causes. so temptation would have no power over us, if we were in full vigour of soul. it is only when the vitality of the inward man is impaired, that we are unable to withstand the fiery darts of the wicked one. this shows how greatly we need to be filled with the life of the son of god. in his life and death, our lord, in our human nature, met and vanquished the power of sin and death; he bore that nature into the heavenly places, whence he waits to impart it, by the holy spirit, to those who are united with him by a living faith. is not this what the apostle john meant, when he said that his converts--his little children--could overcome, because greater was he that was in them than he that was in the world? he who has the greatest and strongest nature within him must overcome an inferior nature; and if you have the victorious nature of the living christ in you, you must be stronger than the nature which he bruised beneath his feet. iii. the consent of the will.--"the king was exceeding sorry." the girl's request sobered him. his face turned pale, and he clutched convulsively at the cushion on which he reclined. on the one hand, his conscience revolted from the deed, and he was more than fearful of the consequences; on the other, he said to himself, "i am bound by my oath. i have sworn; and my words were spoken in the audience of so many of my chief men, i dare not go back, lest they lose faith in me." "and straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard and commanded to bring the baptist's head." is it not marvellous that a man who did not refrain from doing deeds of incest and murder, should be so scrupulous about violating an oath that ought never to have been sworn? you have thought that you were bound to go through with your engagement, because you had pledged yourself, although you know that it would condemn you to lifelong misery and disobedience to the law of christ. but stay for a moment, and tell me! what was your state of mind when you pledged your word? were you not under the influence of passion? did you not form your plan in the twilight of misinformation, or beneath the spell of some malign and unholy influence, that exerted a mesmeric power over you? looking back on it, can you not see that you ought never to have bound yourself, and do you not feel that if you had your time again you would not bind yourself? then be sure that you are not bound by that "dead hand." you must act in the clearer, better light, which god has communicated. even though you called on the sacred name of god, god cannot sanction that which you now count mistaken, and wrong. you had no right to pledge half the kingdom of your nature. it is not yours to give, it is god's. and if you have pledged it, through mistake, prejudice, or passion, dare to believe that you are absolved from your vow, through repentance and faith, and that the breach is better than the observance. "and he went and beheaded john in prison." had the baptist heard aught of the unseemly revelry? had any strain of music been waited down to him? perhaps so. those old castles are full of strange echoes. his cell was perfectly dark. he might be lying bound on the bare ground, or some poor bed of straw. was his mind glancing back on those never-to-be-forgotten days, when the heaven was opened above him, and he saw the descending dove? was he wondering why he was allowed to lie there month after month, silenced and suffering? ah, he did not know how near he was to liberty! there was a tread along the corridor. it stopped outside his cell. the light gleamed under the door; the heavy wards of the lock were turned: in a moment more he saw the gleam of the naked sword, and guessed the soldier's errand. there was no time to spare; the royal message was urgent. perhaps one last message was sent to his disciples; then he bowed his head before the stroke; the body fell helpless here, the head there, and the spirit was free, with the freedom of the sons of god, in a world where such as he stand among their peers. forerunner of the bridegroom here, he was his forerunner there also; and the bridegroom's friend passed homeward to await the bridegroom's coming, where he ever hears the voice he loves. "and the soldier brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother." there would not be so much talking while the tragedy was being consummated. the king and courtiers must have been troubled under the spell of that horror, as belshazzar when the hand wrote in characters of mystery over against the sacred candlestick. and when the soldier entered, carrying in the charger that ghastly burden, they beheld a sight which was to haunt some of them to their dying day. often herod would see it in his dreams, and amid the light of setting suns. it would haunt him, and fill his days and nights with anguish that all the witchery of herodias could not dispel. months afterwards, when he heard of jesus, the conscience-stricken monarch said: "it is john the baptist, whom i beheaded; he is risen from the dead." and still afterwards, when jesus himself stood before him, and refused to speak one word, he must have associated that silence and his deed together, as having a fatal and necessary connection. so the will, which had long paltered with the temptress, at last took the fatal step, and perpetrated the crime which could never be undone. there is always a space given, during which a tempted soul is allowed time to withdraw from the meshes of the net of temptation. sudden falls have always been preceded by long dallying with delilah. the crashing of the tree to the earth has been prepared for by the ravages of the borer-worm, which has eaten out its heart. if you have taken the fatal step, and marred your life by some sad and disastrous sin, dare to believe that there is forgiveness for you with god. men may not forgive, but god will. as far as the east is from the west, so far will he remove our transgressions from us. perhaps we can never again take up public christian work; but we may walk humbly and prayerfully with god, sure that we are accepted of him, and forgiven, though we can hardly forgive ourselves. but if we have not yet come to this, let us devoutly thank god, and be on the watch against any influences that may drift us thither. we may yet retreat. we may yet disentangle ourselves. we may yet receive into our natures the living power of the lord jesus. we may yet cut off the right hand and right foot, and pluck out the right eye, which is causing us to offend. better this, and go into life maimed, than be cast, as herod was, to the fire and worm of unquenchable remorse. xv. the grave of john, and another grave (matthew xiv. .) "when some beloved voice, that was to you both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly, and silence, against which you dare not cry, aches round you like a strong disease and new,-- what hope, what help, what music will undo that silence to your sense? not friendship's sigh, not reason's subtle count.... nay, none of these! speak, thou availing christ!--and fill this pause." e. b. browning. "tell jesus"--the sin-bearer--the resurrection of jesus--the followers of john, and of jesus--"he is risen!" we have beheld the ghastly deed with which herod's feast ended--the golden charger, on which lay the freshly-dissevered head of the baptist, borne by salome to her mother, that the two might gloat on it together. josephus says that the body was cast over the castle wall, and lay for a time unburied. whether that were so, we cannot tell; but, in some way, john's disciples heard of the ghastly tragedy, which had closed their master's life, and they came to the precincts of the castle to gather up the body as it lay dishonoured on the ground, or ventured into the very jaws of death to request that it might be given to them. in either case, it was a brave thing for them to do; an altogether heroic exploit, which may be classed in the same category with that of the men of jabesh-gilead, who travelled all night through the country infested by the philistines to rescue the bodies of saul and his sons from the temple of bethshan. the headless body was then borne to a grave, either in the grim, gaunt hills of moab, or in that little village, away on the southern slopes of the judaean hills, where, some thirty years before, the aged pair had rejoiced over the growing lad. god knows where that grave lies; and some day it will yield up to honour and glory the body which was sown in weakness and corruption. having performed the last sad rites, the disciples "went and told jesus." every mourner should go along the path they trod, to the same gentle and tender comforter; and if any who read these words have placed within the narrow confines of a grave the precious remains of those dearer than life, let them follow where john's disciples have preceded them, to the one heart of all others in the universe which is able to sympathize and help; because it also has sorrowed unto tears at the grave of its beloved, even though it throbbed with the fulness of the mighty god. go, and tell jesus! the telling will bring relief. though the great high-priest knows all the story, he loves to hear it told, because of the relief which the recital necessarily imparts to the surcharged soul. he will tell you that your brother shall rise again; that your child is safe in the flowery meadows of paradise; that those whom you have loved and lost are engaged in high service amid the ministries of eternity; that every time-beat is bringing nearer the moment of inseparable union. it is not, however, on these details that we desire to dwell, but to use the scenes before us as a background and contrast to magnify certain features in the death, grave, and abiding influence of jesus of nazareth. i. contrast the death of john and that of jesus.--there were many points of similarity between their careers. these two rivers sprang from the same source, in a quiet glen far up among the hills; lay in deep lagoons during their earlier course; leapt down in the same mighty torrent when their time had come; and for the first few miles watered the same tract of country. it would be possible to enumerate a large number of identical facts of the life-courses of the two cousins. their births were announced, and their ministries anticipated, under very special circumstances; mary was unmarried, and elisabeth past age--and an angel of the lord came to each. john seemed, to the superficial view, the stronger and mightier of the two; but jesus followed close behind and took up a similar burden, as he bade the people repent and believe the gospel. they were alike in attending no prophetic school, and avoiding each of the great jewish sects. neither hillel nor shammai could claim them. they had no ecclesiastical connections; they stood aloof from the pharisees and sadducees, the herodians and essenes. they attracted similar attention, gathered the same crowds, and protested against the same sins. rearing the same standard, they summoned men from formality and hypocrisy to righteousness and reality. they incurred the same hatred on the part of the religious leaders of their nation, and suffered violent deaths--the one beneath the headsman's blade in the dungeons of herod's castle, the other on the cross, at the hand of pilate and the roman soldiers. each suffered a death of violence at the hand of men whom he had lived to succour; each died when the life-blood throbbed with young manhood's prime, and while there was sweet fragrance as of early summer; each was loved and mourned by a little handful of devoted followers. but there the similarity ends, and the contrast begins. with john, it was the tragic close of a great and epoch-making career. when he died men said--alas! a prophet's voice is silenced. what a pity that in a moment of passion the tyrant took his life! let him sleep! rest will be sweet to one who expended his young strength with such spendthrift extravagance! such men are rare! ages flower thus but once, and then years of barrenness! but as we turn to the death of jesus, other feelings than those of pity or regret master us. we are neither surprised, nor altogether sorry. we do not recognise that there is in any sense an end of his work--rather it is the beginning. the corn of wheat has fallen into the ground to die, that it may not abide alone, but bear much fruit. here, at the cross, is the head of waters, rising from unknown depths, which are to heal the nations; here the sacrifice is being offered which is to expiate the sin of man, and bring peace to myriads of penitents; here the last adam at the tree undoes the deadly work wrought by the first at another tree. this is no mere martyr's last agony; but a sacrifice, premeditated, prearranged, the effects of which have already been prevalent in securing the remission of sins done aforetime. this is an event for which millenniums have been preparing, and to which millenniums shall look back. john's death affected no destiny but his own; the death of jesus has affected the destiny of our race. as his forerunner explained, he was the lamb of god who bore away the sin of the world. the lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. but there is another contrast. in the case of john, the martyr had no control on his destiny; he could not order the course of events; there was no alternative but to submit. when he opened his ministry, he had no thought that such a fate would befall. as he stood boldly forth upon his rock-hewn pulpit, and preached to the eager crowds, do you suppose that the idea ever flashed across his mind that his path, carpeted with flowers and lined on either side with applause, could end in the loneliness of a desert track, lying across a barren waste where no man dwelt or came, and where the vast expanse engulphs the last cry of the perishing? but, from the first, jesus meant to die. if, eight centuries ago, you had seen the first outlines drawn of the cologne cathedral, whose noble structure has been brought to completion within only the last decades, you would have been convinced that the completed fabric would enclose a cross; so the life of jesus, from the earliest, portended calvary. he had received power and commandment from the father to lay down his life. for this cause he was born, and for this he came into the world. others die because they have been born: jesus was born that he might die. in his great picture of the carpenter's shop, millais depicts the shadow of the cross, flung back by the growing lad, on the wall, strongly-defined in the clear oriental light. mary beholds it with a look of horror on her face. the thought is a true one. from the earliest, the cross cast its shadow over the life of the son of man. he was never deceived as to his ultimate destiny. he told nicodemus that he must be lifted up. he knew that as the good shepherd he would have to give his life for the sheep. he assured his disciples that he would be delivered up to the chief priests and scribes, who would condemn him to death, crucify, and slay. man does not need primarily the teacher, the example, nor the miracle-worker; but the saviour who can stand in his stead, and put away his sin by the sacrifice of himself. when the soul is burdened with the weight of its sins, and the conscience is ill at ease, whither can we turn save to the cross, on which the prince of glory died! what answer and explanation can be given to account for the marvellous spell that the cross of christ exerts over the hearts of men? you cannot trace it to the influence of early association merely, or to the effect of heredity, or to the fact of our having come of generations which have turned to the green hill far away, in life and death; because if you take the preaching of the cross to savage and heathen tribes, who have no advantage of christian centuries behind them, whenever you begin to explain its significance, the sob of the soul is hushed, and its dread dissipated. tears of anguish are changed into tears of penitence. the shuttles of a new hope begin to weave the garments of a new purity. no other death affects us thus or effects so immediate a transformation. and may not this be cited as the proof that the death of jesus is unique; the supreme act of love; the gift of that father-heart which knew the need of the world, and the only way of appeasing it? ii. contrast the grave of john and that of jesus.--men have alleged that the lord did not really rise from the dead, and that the tale of his resurrection, if it were not a fabrication, was the elaboration of a myth. but neither of these alternatives will bear investigation. on the one hand, it is absurd to suppose that the temple of truth could be erected on the quagmire and morass of falsehood--impossible to believe that the one system in the world of mind which has attracted the true to its allegiance, and been the stimulus of truth-seeking throughout the ages, can have originated in a tissue of deliberate falsehoods. on the other hand, it is a demonstrated impossibility that a myth could have found time to grow into the appearance of substantial fact during the short interval which elapsed between the death of christ and the first historical traces of the church. in this connection, it is interesting to consider one sentence dropped by the sacred chronicler. he tells us, that when herod heard of the works of jesus, he said immediately, "it is john the baptist--he is risen from the dead." herod could not believe that that mighty personality was quenched, even for this life, by that one blow of the executioner's sword. surely he had risen! there was a feverish dread that he would yet be confronted by the murdered man, whose face haunted his dreams. his courtiers, ready to take the monarch's cue, would be equally credulous. from one to another the surmise would pass--"john the baptist is risen from the dead." why, then, did that myth not spread, until it became universally accredited? ah, there was no chance of such a thing, for the simple reason that there was the grave of john the baptist to disprove it. if herod had seriously believed it, or the disciples of john attempted to spread it, nothing would have been easier than to exhume the body from its sepulture, and produce the ghastly but indubitable refutation of the royal delusion. when the statement began to spread and gain credence that christ had risen from the dead; when peter and john stood up and affirmed that he was living at the right hand of god; if it had been a mere surmise, the fond delusion of loyal and faithful hearts, an hallucination of two or three hysterical women--would it not have been easy for the enemies of christianity to go forthwith to the grave in the garden of joseph, and produce the body of the crucified, with the marks of the nails in hands and feet? why did they not do it? if it be said that it could not be produced, because it had been taken away, let this further question be answered: who had taken it away? not his friends; for they would have taken the cerements and wrappings with which joseph and nicodemus had enswathed it. not his enemies; for they would have been only too glad to produce it. what glee in the grim faces of caiaphas and annas, if at the meeting of the sanhedrim, called to deal with the new heresy, there could have been given some irrefragable proof that the body of jesus was still sepulchred, if not in joseph's tomb, yet somewhere else, to which their emissaries had conveyed it! it is difficult to exaggerate the significance and force of this contrast. and the devout soul cannot but derive comfort from comparing the allegation of the superstitious king, which could have been so easily refuted by the production of the baptist's body, with that of the disciples, which was confirmed and attested by the condition of the grave which, in spite of the watch and ward of the roman soldiers, had been despoiled of its prey on the morning of the third day. herod expected john to rise, and gave his royal authority to the rumour of his resurrection; but it fell to the ground still-born. the disciples did not expect jesus to rise. they stoutly held that the women were mistaken, when they brought to them the assurance that it was even so. but as the hours passed, the tidings of the empty grave were corroborated by the vision of the risen lord, and they were convinced that he who was crucified in weakness was living by the power of god. there could, henceforth, be no hesitation in their message to the world. "the god of our fathers hath glorified his son jesus, whom ye denied in the presence of pilate, when he was determined to let him go.... but ye killed the prince of life, whom god raised from the dead." thank god, we have not followed cunningly-devised fables. "now is christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. and as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." iii. the contrast between the effects of their two deaths on the followers of john the baptist and of jesus respectively.--what a picture for an artist of sacred subjects is presented by the performance of the last rites to the remains of the great forerunner! there was probably neither a joseph nor a nicodemus among his disciples; certainly no magdalene nor mother. devout men bore him to his grave, and made great lamentation over him. he had taught them to pray, to know god, to prepare for the kingdom of god. they had also fasted oft beneath his suggestion; but they were destined to experience what fasting meant, after a new fashion, now that their leader was taken away from them. the little band broke up at his grave. farewell! they said to him; farewell to their ministry and mission; farewell to one another. "i go back to my boats and fishing-nets," said one; and "i to my farm," said another; and "we shall go and join jesus of nazareth," said the rest. "good-bye!" "good-bye!" and so the little band separated, never to meet in a common corporate existence again. when jesus lay in his grave, this process of disintegration began at once among his followers also. the women went to embalm him; the men were apart. peter and john broke off together--at least they ran together to the sepulchre; but where were the rest? two walked to emmaus apart; whilst thomas was not with them when jesus came on the evening of easter day. as soon as the breath leaves the body disintegration begins; and when jesus was dead, as they supposed, the same process began to show itself. soon peter would have been back in gennesaret; nathanael beneath his fig-tree, luke in his dispensary, and matthew at his toll-booth. what arrested that process and made it impossible? why did the day, which began with a certain amount of separation and decay, end with a closer consolidation than ever, so that they were, for the most part, gathered in the upper room; and forty days after they were all with one accord in one place? why was it that they who had been like timid deer, before he died, became as lions against the storm of pharisaic hate, and stronger as the weeks passed? there is only one answer to these questions. the followers of jesus were convinced by irrefragable proofs that their master was living at the right hand of power; nay, that he was with them all the days--nearer them than ever before, as much their head and leader as at any previous moment. when the shepherd is smitten, the flock is scattered; and this flock was not scattered, because the shepherd had recovered from his mortal wound, and was alive for evermore. and surely the evidence which sufficed for them is enough for us. again and again, in dark hours, when i have longed to have the demonstration of sense added to that of faith, it has been an untold comfort to feel that sufficient evidence was given to the lord's disciples to persuade them against their contrary expectations and unbelief; to hold them together in spite of every possible inducement to disperse, and to transform a number of units into the church, against which the gates of hell have not been able to prevail. if they were convinced, we may be. if their eyes beheld and their hands touched the body of the risen lord, we may be of good cheer. their behaviour proves that they were thoroughly convinced. they acted as only those can act whose feet are on a rock. they knew whom they had believed; and they had no doubt that he would perfect the work which he had begun. what he had begun in the flesh, he would perfect in the spirit. in after days peter spoke of him as the prince, or file-leader of life; and suggests the conception, that through all the ages he is marching on through the gates of death and the grave, unlocking them for us, and opening the pathway into the realms of more and more abundant life. let us follow him. it is not for us to linger around the grave: even john's disciples forbore to do this. but let us join ourselves by faith with our prince and leader, our head and captain, as he waits to succour us from the excellent glory, sure that where he is, we too shall be; but in the meanwhile we are assured that he is not in the grave, where loving hands laid him, but risen, ascended, glorified--our emmanuel, our bridegroom, our love and life. "the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want: ... he leadeth me, ... he maketh me to lie down; ... he restoreth my soul.... though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, ... thou _art_ with me." xvi. yet speaking. (john x. - .) "shine thou upon us, lord, true light of men, to-day; and through the written word thy very self display; that so from hearts which burn with gazing on thy face, thy little ones may learn the wonders of thy grace." j. ellerton. desert solitudes--modern miracles--our own age--nothing common or unclean--how to witness for jesus--after many days "beyond jordan!" to the jews that dwelt at jerusalem that was banishment indeed. the tract of country beyond jordan was known as perea, and was very sparsely populated. there were some tracts of fertile country, dotted by a few scattered villages, but no one of repute lived there; and the refinement, religious advantages, and social life of the metropolis, were altogether absent. perea was to jerusalem what the highlands, a century ago, were to edinburgh. there our lord spent the last few months of his chequered career. but why? why did the son of man banish himself from the city he loved so dearly? surely the home at bethany would have welcomed him? or, failing this, for any reason over which the sisters had no control, he might have found a temporary home at nazareth, where he had been brought up; or capernaum, in which he had wrought so many of his mighty works, might have provided him a palace, whose white marble steps would have been lapped by the blue waters of the lake! not so! the son of man had not where to lay his head. the nation, whose white flower he was, had rejected him; and the world, for which he came to shed his blood, knew him not. the religious leaders of the age were pursuing him with relentless malice, and would have taken his life before the predestined hour had arrived, had he not escaped from their hands, and gone away "beyond jordan into the place where john was at the first baptizing; and there he abode: and many came unto him." there was a peculiar fascination to the lord jesus in those solitudes, because of their connection with the forerunner. those desert solitudes had been black with crowds of men. those hill-slopes had been covered with booths and tents, in which the mighty congregations tabernacled, whilst they waited on his words. those banks had witnessed the baptism of thousands of people, who, in the symbolic act of baptism, had put away their sins. and the villagers, who lived around, could tell wonderful tales of the radiant opening of that brief but epoch-making ministry; they could speak for hours together about the habits of the austere preacher, and the marvellous power of his eloquence. as jesus and his disciples wandered from place to place, andrew would indicate the spot where he was baptized; and john and he would recall together the place where they were standing when their great teacher and master pointed to jesus as he walked, and said, "behold the lamb of god." bartholomew would find again the spot where jesus accosted him as the guileless israelite, a salutation for which also he had been prepared by the preaching of the forerunner. two or three could localize the scene where the deputation from the sanhedrim accosted the baptist with the enquiry, "who art thou?" it was as though, years after the battle of waterloo, some soldiers of the iron duke had visited the historic cornfields, and had recited their reminiscences of the memorable incidents of that memorable fight. here the long, thin red line stood during the whole day. there napoleon waited to see the effect of the last charge of his cavalry. yonder, through the wood, blucher's troops hurried to reinforce their brothers in arms. and down those slopes the old guard broke with a cheer, as the duke gave the long-looked-for word. it was in some such spirit that our lord and his apostles revisited those scenes, where many of them had seen the gate of heaven opened for the first time. probably our lord would resume his ministry of preaching the good tidings. he could not be in any place where the sins and sorrows of men called for his gracious words, without speaking them; and to him they probably brought the lame, the blind, the sick, and paralyzed--and he healed them all. many came to him, and went away blessed and helped. so much so, that the people could not help contrasting the two ministries. there was a touch of disparagement in their comments on the baptist's ministry. "they said, john indeed did no miracle." no lame man had leaped as an hart; the tongue of no dumb man had sung; no widow had received her son raised to life from his hands; no leper's flesh had come to him, as the flesh of a little child. it was quite true--john had done no miracle. but with this slight disparagement, there was a generous tribute and acknowledgment. "but all things whatsoever john spake of this man were true." he said that he was the lamb of god, pure and gentle, holy, harmless, and undefiled; _and it was true_. he said that he would use his fan, separating the wheat from the chaff; _and it was true_. he said that he would baptize with fire; _and it was true_. he said that he was the bridegroom of israel; _and it was true_. he did no miracle, but he spoke strong, true words of jesus, and they have been abundantly verified. and these simple-hearted people of perea did what the pharisees and scribes, with all their fancied wisdom, had failed to do: they put the words of the baptist and the life of jesus together, and reasoned that since this had fitted those, as a key fits the lock, therefore jesus was indeed the son of god and the king of israel; and "many believed on him there." i. life without miracles.--the people were inclined to disparage the life of john because there was no miracle in it. but surely his whole life was a miracle; from first to last it vibrated with divine power. and did he work no miracle? if he did not open the eyes of the blind, did not multitudes, beneath his words, come to see themselves sinners, and the world a passing show, and the eternal as alone enduring and desirable? if he did not lay his priestly hand on leprous flesh, as jesus did, did not many a moral leper go from the waters of his baptism, with new resolves and purposes, to sin no more? if he did not raise dead bodies, did not many, who were immured in the graves of pride, and lust, and worldliness, hear his voice, and come forth to the life--which is life indeed? no miracles! surely his life was one long pathway of miracle, from the time of his birth of aged parents, to the last moment of his protest against the crimes of herod! this is still the mistake of men. they allege that the age of miracles has passed. if they admit that such prodigies may possibly have happened once, they insist that the world has grown out of them, and that with its arrival at maturity the race has put them away as childish things. god, they think, is either absentee, or the creature of laws, which he established, and which now hold him, as the graveclothes held lazarus. no miracles! but last summer he made the handfuls of grain, which the farmers cast on the fields, suffice to feed all the population of the globe--as easily as he made five barley loaves provide a full meal for more than ten thousand persons. no miracles! but last autumn, in ten thousand vineyards, he turned the dews of the night and the showers of the morning into the wine that rejoices man's heart; as once, in cana, he changed the water drawn from the stone jars into the blushing wine. no miracles! explain, then, why it is, that though ice is of denser specific gravity than water, it does not sink to the bottom of rivers and ponds, by which they would be speedily transformed into masses of ice, but floats on the surface of the water, affording a pathway across from bank to brae, as jesus once walked on the water from the shores of the lake of galilee! no miracles! it was only yesterday that he cleansed a leper; and healed a sin-sick soul; and raised from his bier a young man dead in trespasses and sins; and took a maiden by the hand, saying, talitha cumi, "maid, arise!" as i passed by, i saw him strike a rock, and torrents of tears gushed out: i beheld a tree, with its sacred burden, and the serpent-poison ceased to inflame: i saw the iron swim against its natural bent, and the lion crouch as though it beheld an angel of god with a flaming sword. again, the seas made a passage for the sacramental hosts, and the waters shrank away before the touch of the priestly feet, making a passage through the depths. no; it is still the age of miracles. _let us not disparage the age in which we live_. to look back on the day of pentecost with a sigh, as though there were more of the holy spirit on that day than to-day; and as though there were a larger presence of god in the upper room than in the room in which you sit, is a distinct mistake and folly. we may not have the sound as of a rushing mighty wind, nor the crowns of fire; there is no miracle to startle and arrest: but the holy spirit is with the church in all the old gracious and copious plenitude; the river is sweeping past in undiminished fulness; though there may not be the flash of the electric spark, the atmosphere is as heavily charged as ever with the presence and power of the divine paraclete. the lord said of the baptist--though he wrought no miracle--that there was none greater of those born of woman; and perchance he is pronouncing that this age is greater than all preceding ages in its possibilities. in his view, it may be that greater deeds may be attempted and accomplished by the church of to-day than ever in that past age, when she grappled with and vanquished the whole force of paganism. if there is any failure, it is with ourselves. we have not believed in the mighty power and presence of god, because we have missed the outward and visible sign of his working. we have thought that he was not here, because he has not been in the fire, the earthquake, or the mighty wind which rends the mountains. we have become so accustomed to associate the startling and spectacular with the divine, that we fail to discover god, when the heaven is begemmed with stars, and the earth carpeted with flowers: as though the lightning were more to us than starlight, and the destructive than the peaceful and patient constructive forces, which are ever at work building up and repairing the fabric of the universe. do not look back on the incarnation, or forward to the second advent, as though there were more of god in either one or the other than is within our reach. god is; god is here; god is indivisible: all of god is present at any given point of time or place. he may choose to manifest himself in outward signs, which impress the imagination more at one time than another; the faith of the church maybe quicker to apprehend and receive in one century than the next: but all time is great--every age is equally his workmanship, and equally full of his wonder-working power. alas for us, that our eyes are holden! _let us not disparage the ordinary and commonplace_. we are all taught to run after the startling and extraordinary--the statesman who accomplishes the _coup d'état_; the painter who covers a large canvas with a view to scenic effects; the preacher who indulges in superficial and showy rhetoric, the musician whose execution is brilliant and astonishing. we like miracles! whatever appeals to our love for the sensational and unexpected is likely enough to displace our appreciation of the simple and ordinary. when the sun is eclipsed, we all look heavenward; but the golden summer days may be filled with sunlight, which is dismissed with a commonplace remark about the weather. a whole city will turn out to see the illuminations, whilst the stars hardly attract a passing notice. let there be a show of curiously-shaped orchids, and society is stirred; but who will travel far to see a woodland glade blue with wild hyacinths, or a meadow-lawn besprent with daisies. thus our tastes are vitiated and blinded. it is good to cultivate simple tastes. the pure and childlike heart will find unspeakable enjoyment in all that god has made, though it be as familiar as a lawn sparkling with dewdrops, a hay-field scented by clover-blooms, a streamlet murmuring over the pebbles, or the drawl of the shingle after a retreating wave. it is a symptom of a weak and unstable nature to be always in search for some new thing, for some greater sensation, for some more startling sign. "show us a sign from heaven," is the incessant cry of the pharisee and scribe: and when the appetite has been once created, it can never be appeased, but is always set on some novelty more marvellous and startling than anything which has preceded. be content with a holy ministry which does not dazzle by its fireworks, but sheds a steady sunshine on the sacred page. cultivate familiarity with the grand, solid works of our english literature. avoid the use of extravagant adjectives. take an interest in the games of children; in the common round and daily task of servants and employés; in the toils and tears of working-girls; in the struggling lot of the charwoman who scrubs your floors, and the lad who cleans your boots. do not be always gaping at the window for bands to come down the street; but be on the pavement before your house with a helping-hand and kindly word for the ordinary folk that labour and are heavy-laden. it is remarkable that in all these there are tragedies and comedies; the raw material for novels and romances; the characters which fill the pages of a shakespeare or george eliot. all life is so interesting; but we need eyes to see, and hearts to understand. there has been no age greater than this; there is no part of the world more full of god than yours; there is no reason why you should not see madonnas in the ordinary women, and last suppers in the ordinary meals, and holy families in the ordinary groups around you--if only you have the anointed eyes of a raffaelle or a leonardo de vinci. if the world seems common or unclean to you, the fault lies in your eyes that have made it so. _let us not disparage ourselves_. we know our limitations; we are not capable of working miracles--our best friends are well acquainted with this, for no eyes are quicker than love's. we are sparrows, not larks; clay, not alabaster; deal, not mahogany. but if we cannot work miracles, we can speak true, strong words about jesus christ; we can bear witness to him as the lamb of god; we can urge men to repent and believe the gospel. the world would have been in a sorry plight if it had depended entirely on its geniuses and miracle-workers. probably it owes less to them than to the untold myriads of simple, humble, obscure, and commonplace people, whose names will never be recorded in its roll-call, but whose lives have laid the foundations on which the superstructure of good order, and government, and prosperity, has been reared. remember that god made you what you are, and placed you. dare to be yourself--a simple, humble, sincere follower of jesus. do not seek to imitate this or the other great speaker or leader. be content to find out what god made you for, and be that at its best. you will be a bad copy, but a unique original; for the almighty always breaks the pattern from which he has made one vase. above all, speak out the truth, as god has revealed it to you, distorting, exaggerating, omitting nothing; and long after you have passed away, those who remember you will gather at your grave and say, "he did no miracle--there was nothing sensational or phenomenal in his life-work; but he spake true things about jesus christ, which we have tested for ourselves, and are undeniable. indeed, they led us to believe in him for ourselves." ii. the ways in which we may bear testimony to the lord jesus.--there is no miracle in your life, my reader. you are no genius; you do not know what it is to have the rush of thought, the power of brilliant speech, the burst of song. you have no wealth, only just enough for your bare sustenance, and nothing to spare. you have no rich blood in your veins, come of a line of heroes or saints. as you look daily into the common routine of your lot, it seems ordinary enough. be it so; there is at least one thing you can do, as we have seen--like the baptist, you may witness for jesus. _speak to others privately_. when only two disciples were standing beside him, john preached the same sermon as he had delivered to the crowd the day before, and both of them went to the frail lodging where jesus was making his abode. there is nothing that more deeply searches a man than the habit of speaking to individuals about the love of god. we cannot do it unless we are in living union with himself. nothing so tests the soul. it is easy to preach a sermon, when the inner life is out of fellowship with god, because you can preach your ideals, or avenge on others the sins of which you are inwardly conscious; but to speak to another about christ involves that there should be an absolutely clear sky between the speaker and the lord of whom he speaks. but as this practice is the most difficult, it is the most blessed in its reflex influence. to lead another to jesus is to get nearer him. to chafe the limbs of some frozen companion is to send the warm blood rushing through your own veins. to go after one lost sheep is to share the shepherd's joy. whether by letters addressed to relatives or companions, or by personal and direct appeal, let each one of us adopt the sacred practice, which mr. moody followed and commended, of allowing no day to pass without seeking to use some opportunity given by god for definite, personal dealings with others. the apostle andrew seems to have specially consecrated his life to this. on each of the occasions he is referred to in the gospels he is dealing with individuals. he brought his own brother; was the first to seek after a boy to bring to the saviour's presence; and at the close of our lord's ministry he brings the seeking greeks. did he not learn this blessed art from his master, the baptist? it is requisite that there should be the deliberate resolution to pursue this holy habit; definite prayer for guidance as one issues from the morning hour of prayer; abiding fellowship with the son of god, that he may give the right word at the right moment; and a willingness to open the conversation by some manifestation of the humble, loving disposition begotten by the holy spirit, which is infinitely attractive and beautiful to the most casual passer-by. _speak experimentally_. "i saw and bare record." john spoke of what he had seen, and tasted, and handled. be content to say, "i was lost, but jesus found me, blind, and he gave me sight; unclean, and he cleansed my heart." nothing goes so far to convince another as to hear the accent of conviction on the lips of one whose eyes survey the landscape of truth to which he allures, and whose ears are open to the eternal harmonies which he describes. _speak from a full heart_. the lover cannot but speak about his love; the painter can do no other than transfer to canvas the conceptions that entrance his soul; the musician is constrained to give utterance to the chords that pass in mighty procession through his brain. "we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard." does it seem difficult to have always a full heart? verily, it is difficult, and impossible, unless the secret has been acquired of abiding always in the love of god, of keeping the entire nature open to the holy spirit, and of nourishing the inward strength by daily meditation on the truth. we must close our senses to the sounds and sights around us, that our soul may open to the unseen and eternal. we must have deep and personal fellowship with the father and the son by the holy ghost. we must live at first-hand on the great essentials of our faith. then, as the vine-sap arises from the root, its throb and pulse will be irresistible in our behaviour and testimony. we shall speak true things about jesus christ. our theme will be evermore the inexhaustible one of christ--christ, only christ--not primarily the doctrine about him, or the benefits accruing from fellowship with him, but himself. thus, some day, at your burying, as men turn homewards from the new-made grave, and speak those final words of the departed, which contain the most unerring verdict and summing-up of the life, they will say, "he will be greatly missed. he was no genius, not eloquent nor profound; but he used to speak about christ in such a way that he led me to know him for myself: i owe everything to him. he did no miracle; but whatever he said of jesus was true." iii. the power of posthumous influence.--john had been dead for many months, but the stream he had set flowing continued to flow; the harvests he sowed sprang into mature and abundant fruitage; the wavelets of tremulous motion which he had started circled out and on. how many voices are speaking still in our lives--voices from the grave! voices from dying beds! voices from books and sermons! voices from heaven! "being dead, they yet speak." let us live so that, when we are gone, our influence shall tell, and the accents of our voice linger. no one lives or dies to himself. each grain on the ocean-shore affects the position of every other. each star is needed for the perfect balance of the spheres. each of us is affecting the lives of all that are now existing with us in the world, or will exist. to untold ages, what we have been and said will affect all other beings for good or ill. we may be forgiven for having missed our opportunities, or started streams of poison instead of life; but the ill effect can never be undone. parents, put your hands on those young childish heads, and say pure, sweet words of christ, which will return to memory and heart long after you have gone to your reward! ministers of religion, and sunday school teachers, remember your tremendous responsibility to use to the uttermost the opportunity of saying words which will never die! friend, be true and faithful with your friend; he may turn away in apparent thoughtlessness or contempt, but no right word spoken for christ can ever really die. it will live in the long after years, and bear fruit, as the seeds hidden in the old egyptian mummy-cases are bearing fruit to-day in english soil. xvii. the spirit and power of elias. (luke i. .) "oh, may i join the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again in minds made better by their presence: live in pulses stirred to generosity; in deeds of daring rectitude; in scorn for miserable aims that end with self; in thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, and with their mild persistence urge man's search to vaster issues." the old covenant and the new--elijah and the baptist--a parallel--the servant inferior to the lord--the baptism of the holy ghost--the indwelling spirit great men are god's greatest gifts to our race; and it is only by their interposition that mankind is able to step up to higher and better levels of life. the doctrine of evolution is supposed to explain the history of the universe. men would have us believe that certain forces have been set in motion which have elaborated this great scheme of which we are a part, and the evolutionist would go so far as to say that man himself has been evolved from protoplasm, and that the brains of a socrates, of a milton, or of any genius who has left his mark upon the world, have simply emanated from the whole process which culminates in them. we believe, on the contrary, that at distinct points in the history of the universe, there has been a direct interposition of the will and hand of god; and it is remarkable that in the first chapter of genesis that august and majestic word _create_ is three times introduced, as though the creation of matter, the creation of the animal world, and the creation of man, were three distinct stages, at which the direct interposition of the will and workmanship of the eternal was specially manifest. similarly, we believe that there have been great epochs in human history, which cannot be accounted for by the previous evolution of moral and religious thought, and which must be due to the fact that god himself stepped in, and by the direct raising up of a man, who became the apostle of the new era, lifted the race to new levels of thought and action. it is in this light that we view the two illustrious men who were, each in his own measure, the apostles of new epochs in human history--elijah in the old covenant, and john the baptist in the new. it is remarkable that the prophet malachi tells us that the advent of the messiah should be preceded and heralded by elijah the prophet; and that gabriel, four hundred years after, said that john the baptist, whose birth he announced, would come in the spirit and power of elijah. this double prediction was referred to by our lord when, descending from the mount of transfiguration, in conversation with the apostles, he indicated john the baptist as the elijah who was to come. and, indeed, there was a marvellous similarity between these two men, though each of them is dwarfed into insignificance by the unique and original personality of the son of man, who towers in inaccessible glory above them. i. let us institute a comparison between elijah the tishbite, and john the baptist.--they resembled each other in dress. we are told that elijah was a hairy man--an expression which is quite as likely to refer to the rough garb in which he was habited, as to the unshorn locks that fell upon his shoulders. and john the baptist wore a coarse dress of camel's hair. each of them sojourned in gilead. in the remarkable sentence, which, for the first time, introduces elijah to the bible and the world, we are told that he was one of the sojourners in gilead, that great tract of country, thinly populated, and largely given over to shepherds and their flocks, which lay upon the eastern side of the jordan. and we know that it was there amid the shaggy forests, and closely-set mountains, with their rapid torrents, that john the baptist waited, fulfilled his ministry, preached to and baptized the teeming crowds. each of them learnt to make the body subservient to the spirit. elijah was able to live on the sparse food brought by ravens, or provided from the meal barrel of the widow, was able to outstrip the horses of ahab's chariot in their mad rush across the valley of jezreel; and after a brief respite, given to sleep and food, went in the strength of it for forty days and nights, through the heart of the desert until he came to horeb, the mount of god. his body was but the vehicle of the fiery spirit that dwelt within; he never studied its gratification and pleasure, but always handled it as the weapon to be wielded by his soul. and what was true in his case, was so of john the baptist, whose food was locusts and wild honey. the two remind us of st. bernard, who tells us that he never ate for the gratification of taking food, but only that he might the better serve god and man. we remember also that each of these heroic spirits was confronted by a hostile court. in the case of elijah, ahab and jezebel, together with the priests of baal and astarte, withstood every step of his career; and in the case of john the baptist, herod, herodias, and the whole drift of religious opinion, with its repeated deputations to ask who he might be, dogged his steps, and ultimately brought him to a martyr's end. how distinctly, also, in each case there was the consciousness of the presence of god. one of the greatest words which man has ever uttered was that in which elijah affirmed, in the presence of king ahab, that he was conscious of standing at the same moment in the presence of the eternal: "and elijah the tishbite, who was of the sojourners of gilead, said unto ahab, 'as the lord, the god of israel, liveth, before whom i stand'"--a phrase afterwards used by gabriel himself when he told zacharias that he was one of the presence angels. "and the angel answering, said unto him, 'i am gabriel, that stand in the presence of god.'" this consciousness of the divine presence in his life revealed itself in his great humility, when he cast himself on the ground with his face between his knees; and in the unflinching courage which enabled him to stand like a rock on mount carmel, when king, and priest, and people, were gathered in their vast multitudes around him, sufficient to daunt the spirit that had not beheld a greater than any. this god-consciousness was especially manifest in the baptist, who referred so frequently to the nearness of the kingdom of god. "the kingdom of heaven," he said, "is at hand." and when jesus came, unrecognised by the crowds, his high spirit prostrated itself, and his very visage was shadowed with the vail of intense modesty and humility, as he cried; "in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, the latchet of whose shoes i am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." coupled with this sense of god, there was, in each case, a marvellous fearlessness of man. when obadiah met elijah, and was astonished to hear that the prophet was about to show himself to ahab, elijah overbore his attempts to dissuade him, saying: i will certainly show myself to thy master: go, tell him elijah is here. and when afterwards the heavenly fire had descended, and the prophets of baal were standing bewildered by their altar, he did not flinch from arresting the whole crowd of them, leading them down to the valley of the kishon brook beneath and there slaying them, so that the waters ran crimson to the sea. this fearlessness was also conspicuous in the forerunner, who dared to beard the king in his palace, asserting that he must be judged by the same standard as the meanest of his subjects, and that it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife. to each there came moments of depression. in the case of elijah, the glory of his victory on the brow of carmel was succeeded by the weight of dark soul-anguish. did he not cast himself, within twenty-four hours, beneath the juniper tree of the desert, and pray that he might die, because he was no better than his fathers--a mood which god, who pities his children and remembers that they are dust, combated, not by expostulation, but by sending him food and sleep, knowing that it was the result of physical and nervous overstrain? and did not john the baptist from his prison cell send the enquiry to jesus, as to whether, after all, his hopes had been too glad, his anticipations too great, and that perhaps after all he was not the messiah for whom the nation was waiting? both elijah and john the baptist had the same faith in the baptism of fire. we never can forget the scene on carmel when elijah proposed the test that the god who answered by fire should be recognised as god; nor how he erected the altar, and laid the wood, and placed the bullock there, and drenched the altar with water; and how, in answer to his faith, at last the fire fell. john the baptist passed through no such ordeal as that; but it was his steadfast faith that christ should come to baptize with the holy ghost and fire. each of them turned the hearts of the people back. it was as though the whole nation were rushing towards the edge of the precipice which overhung the bottomless pit, like a herd of frightened horses on the prairie, and these men with their unaided hands turned them back. it would be impossible for one man to turn back a whole army in mad flight--he would necessarily be swept away in their rush; but this is precisely what the expression attributes to the exertions of elijah and john. the one turned israel back to cry, jehovah, he is god; the other turned the whole land back to repentance and righteousness, so that publicans and soldiers, sadducees and pharisees, began to confess their sin, put away their evil courses, and return to the god of their fathers. each prophet was succeeded by a gentler ministry. elijah was sent from horeb to anoint elisha, who, for the most part, passed through the land like genial sunshine--a perpetual benediction to men, women, and children; while john the baptist opened the door for the shepherd, christ, who went about doing good, and whose holy, tender ministry fell on his times like rain on the mown grass. from the solitudes beyond the jordan, as he walked with elisha, talking as they went, the chariot and horses of fire which the father had sent for his illustrious servant from heaven bore him homeward, while his friends and disciples stood with outstretched hands, crying: the chariot and horses of israel are leaving us, bearing away our most treasured leader. in those same solitudes, or within view of them, the spirit of john the baptist swept up in a similar chariot. as the headsman, with a flash of his sword, put an end to his mortal career, though no mortal eyes beheld them, and no chronicler has told the story, there must have been horses and chariots of fire waiting to convey the noble martyr-spirit to its god. the parallel is an interesting one--it shows how god repeats himself; and, if time and space permitted, we might elaborate the repetition of a similar conception, either in savonarola of florence, or in martin luther, or in john knox, who had been baptized into the same spirit, and inspired to perform the same ministry. that spirit is waiting still--waiting to clothe himself with our life; waiting to do in us, and through us, similar work for the time in which we live. what these men did far back in the centuries, it is probable that others will have to do before this dispensation passes utterly away. a man, or men, shall again rise up, who will tower over their fellows, who will speak and act in the spirit and power of elijah--men like edward irving, but without the mistakes that characterized his heroic life. perhaps some young life may be inspired by this page to yield itself to god, so that it may be sent forth to turn back the hearts and lives of vast multitudes from their evil way, turning the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, to make ready a people prepared for the lord. ii. notice the inferiority of these great men to the lord.--neither elisha, the disciple of elijah, nor the eloquent apollos, the disciple of john the baptist, would have dared to say of their respective masters what philip and andrew, peter and thomas, habitually said of christ. greatly as they revered and loved their masters, they knew that they were men like themselves; that their nature was made in the same mould, though, perhaps, of finer clay; that there were limitations beyond which they could not go, and qualities of mind and soul in which they were not perfected. they dared not say of them, "my lord and my god." they never thought of prostrating themselves at their feet in worship; they never appealed to them after their decease as able to hear and answer prayer from the heaven into which they had passed. neither elijah nor john had what jesus asserted--the consciousness of an unique union with god; neither of them dared to affirm, as jesus did, that he was the son of god, in the sense that made other use of that term blasphemy; neither of them thought of anticipating a moment when he should be seen sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds; neither of them dared to couple himself with deity in the sublime and significant pronoun _we_--"we will come and make our abode with him." neither of them would have dreamed of accepting the homage which jesus took quite naturally, when men worshipped him, and women washed and kissed his feet: and i ask how it could be that jesus christ, so essentially meek and lowly, so humble and unwilling to obtrude himself, should have spoken and acted so differently, unless his nature had been separated by an impassable gulf from that of other men, however saintly and gifted? the very fact that these men, acknowledged amongst the greatest of our race, drew a line, and said: beyond that we cannot pass; we are conscious of defilement and need; we require forgiveness and grace, equally with those to whom we minister. and this compels on our part the acknowledgment that jesus christ was all he claimed to be, and that he is worthy to receive glory, and honour, and riches, and power, and blessing; for he is man of men, the second man, the lord from heaven. neither of these dared to offer himself as the comforter and saviour of men. elijah could only rebuke sin, which he did most strenuously; but he had no panacea for the sin and sorrow of his countrymen. he could bid them turn to god; and he did. but he could say nothing of any inherent virtue, or power, which could proceed from him to save and help. it was never suggested for a moment that he could act as mediator between god and men, though he might be an intercessor. and as for john the baptist, though he deeply stirred the religious convictions of his countrymen, he could only point to one who came after him, and say: "behold the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world." but within six months after the commencement of his ministry, jesus says; "son, thy sins are forgiven thee"; "the son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins"; "daughter, thy sins, which are many, are forgiven thee: go in peace"; and presently: "this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, shed for many, for the remission of sins", and again: "the son of man came to give his life a ransom for many." tell me of any, either in the story of elijah or of john the baptist, to compare with these words, spoken by the lowest and humblest being that ever trod time's sands? does that not indicate that he stood in a relationship to god and man which has never been realized by another? besides, neither of them introduced a new type of living. their own method of life seemed to indicate that there was sin in the body, or sin in matter; and that the only way of holiness was by an austerity that lived apart in the deserts, dreading and avoiding the presence of men. that was a type of holiness which every great religious teacher has followed; for you remember that buddha used to say that all the present is an illusion and a dream, while the realities await us beyond. on the other hand, jesus taught that the redeemer was also the creator; that there was nothing common or unclean in man's original constitution; that sin consisted not in certain actions, functions, or duties--but in man's heart, and will, and choice; and that if a man were only right there, all his nature and circumstances would become illumined and transfigured by the indwelling spirit. let it never be forgotten that christ taught that god is not going to cancel the nature which he himself has bestowed in all its human and innocent out-goings, but only to eliminate the self-principle which has cursed it--as you would wish to take small-pox from the body of the little child, or the taint out of the rotting flesh of the leper. o christ, thou standest pre-eminent in thy unparalleled glory! let elijah and john the baptist withdraw, but oh, do thou tarry! to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. all the prophets and kings of men without thee will not suffice; but to have thee is to have all that is strong, and wise, and good, gathered up into the perfect beauty of a man, with the divine glory of the infinite god. iii. how may we have that same spirit?--john the baptist came in the spirit and power of elijah: that spirit and power are for us too. just as the dawn touches the highest peaks of the alps, and afterwards, as the morning hours creep on, the tide of light passes down into the valley, so the spirit that smote that glorious pinnacle elijah, and that nearer pinnacle the baptist, is waiting to descend upon and empower us. we are all believers in jesus, but did we receive the holy ghost when we believed? (acts xix. ). when the great apostle of the gentiles met the little handful of john's disciples, gathered in the great idolatrous city of ephesus, the first word he addressed to them was the eager enquiry, "did ye receive the holy ghost when ye believed?" and they replied, "nay, we did not so much as hear whether the holy ghost was given." in other words: we heard from our master, john, that jesus, of whom he spake, would baptize with the holy ghost and with fire; but we have never heard of the fulfilment of his prediction--we only know of him, concerning whom our great leader so often spake, as the great teacher, miracle-worker, and sacrifice for the sins of the people--but what more there is to tell and know we wait to hear from thee. then paul explained that john's baptism had stood only for confession and repentance: "john baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is, on jesus." those who descended the shelving banks of jordan to be plunged beneath its arrowy waters, declared their discontent with the past, their desire to be free of it, and their belief in the messianic character of jesus of nazareth, who was to introduce a new and better age. but the apostle hastened to explain that this jesus, whom the jews had delivered up and slain by wicked hands, was the prince of life; that god had raised him from the dead; and that being by the right hand of god exalted, and having received of the father the promise of the holy ghost, he had poured him forth in mighty power on the waiting church, anointing it for its ministry to mankind. it was as though he had said: our lord, on his ascension, baptized those that had believed with the spirit of which joel spake. the water of john's baptism symbolised a negation, but this baptism is positive; it is as cleansing, purifying flame; it was good to know jesus after the flesh, it is a thousand times better to know him after the spirit: and this gift is to us and to our children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the lord our god shall call. when they heard this they were baptized into the name of the lord jesus. they exalted him to the throne of their hearts as the glorified and ever-blessed son of god. they directed their longing eyes towards him in his risen glory, that he should do for them as he had already done for so many. and in answer to their expectant faith, the blessing of abraham came upon them--they received the promise of the spirit by faith; the holy ghost came upon them, and they were equipped for witness-bearing in ephesus by the very power which had rested once on elijah, and also on their first teacher and guide; and, as the result, a revival broke out in that city of such magnitude that the magic books were burned, and the trade of the silversmiths grievously injured. this power of the holy spirit is for us all. of course we could not believe in jesus in the remission of sin, or the quickening of our spiritual life, apart from the work of the holy spirit; but there is something more than this, there is a power, an anointing, a gracious endowment of fitness for service--which are the privilege of every believer. the holy spirit is prepared, not only to be within us for the renewal and sanctification of character, but to anoint us as he did the lord at his baptism. he waits to empower us to witness for jesus, to endure the persecution and trial which are inevitable to the exercise of a god-given ministry, and to bring other men to god. it would be well to tarry to receive it. it is better to wait for hours for an express train than to start to walk the distance; the hours spent in waiting will be more than compensated for by the rapidity with which the traveller will be borne to his destination. stay from your work for a little, and wait upon the ascended, glorified redeemer, in whom the spirit of god dwells. ask him to impart to you that which he received on your behalf. never rest until you are sure that the spirit dwells in you fully, and exercises through you the plenitude of his gracious power. we cannot seek him at the hand of christ in vain. dare to believe this: dare to believe that if your heart is pure, and your motives holy, and your whole desire fervent--and if you have dared to breathe in a deep, long breath of the holy spirit--that according to your faith so it has been done to you; and that you may go forth enjoying the same power which rested on the baptist, though you may not be conscious of any divine afflatus, though there may have been no stroke of conscious power, no crown of flame, no rushing as of the mighty wind. god is still able to vouchsafe to us as large a portion of his spirit as to the disciples on the day of pentecost. we are not straitened in him, but in ourselves. the power of his grace is not passed away with the primitive times, as fond and faithless men imagine; but his kingdom is now at hand, and christ, standing on the threshold of the century, waits to lead his church to greater triumphs than she has ever known. oh that he would hasten to come forth from his royal chambers! oh that he would take his throne as prince of the kings of the earth! oh that he would put on the robe of his majesty, and assume the sceptre of his unlimited and almighty reign. creation travails; the spirit and the bride invoke; the mind of man has tried all possible combinations of sovereignty, and in vain. "o lord jesus christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare the way before thee; grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; that, at thy second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the father and the holy spirit, ever one god, world without end. amen." transcriber's note: page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly braces, e.g. { }. they have been located where page breaks occurred in the original book. for its index, a page number has been placed only at the start of that section. the books of the new testament by the rev. leighton pullan fellow and tutor of st. john baptist's college, oxford. "if you choose to obey your bibles, you will never care who attacks them."--ruskin. fourth edition revised rivingtons king street, covent garden london {v} preface this book is intended to meet the widely prevalent need of an introduction to the new testament which is neither a mere hand-book nor an elaborate treatise for specialists. it is written in a conservative spirit, and at the same time an ample use has been made of recent critical investigation. it has been impossible to give an exhaustive proof of the position maintained, but no matter of great importance has been overlooked. the arguments will be intelligible to educated persons who are unacquainted with the greek language. the author has sometimes derived much help from the articles in dr. hastings' _dictionary of the bible_. the dates which have been adopted are in most cases those adopted in {vi} that dictionary by dr. sanday and mr. c. h. turner. his best thanks are due to the rev. e. w. pullan, mr. j. f. briscoe, and mr. e. w. corbett, for the kind help which they have given him in the preparation of the book. {vii} contents chapter page table of approximate dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . x i. the new testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii. the gospels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii. the gospel according to st. matthew . . . . . . . . iv. the gospel according to st. mark . . . . . . . . . . v. the gospel according to st. luke . . . . . . . . . . vi. the gospel according to st. john . . . . . . . . . . vii. the acts of the apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii. the epistles of st. paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix. and thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x. the first epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi. the second epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii. the epistle of paul the apostle to the galatians . . xiii. the epistle of paul the apostle to the romans . . . xiv. the epistle of paul the apostle to the colossians--the epistle of paul to philemon . . . xv. the epistle of paul the apostle to the ephesians . . xvi. the epistle of paul the apostle to the philippians xvii. the pastoral epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii. the epistle to the hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix. the catholic epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx. the general epistle of james . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi. the first epistle general of peter . . . . . . . . . xxii. the second epistle general of peter . . . . . . . . xxiii. the epistles of st. john . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv. the general epistle of jude . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv. the revelation of st. john the divine . . . . . . . appendix a.--rationalist criticism on st. john's writings appendix b.--papias and john the presbyter . . . . . . . . appendix c.--the muratorian fragment . . . . . . . . . . . appendix d.--some early witnesses to new testament writings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . appendix e.--books recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . {x} table of approximate dates the gospel according to st. matthew . . . . . a.d. " " st. mark . . . . . . . a.d. " " st. luke . . . . . . . a.d. - " " st. john . . . . . . . a.d. - acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. - romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. corinthians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. corinthians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. philippians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. james . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. , , john . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. - jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. { } chapter i the new testament [sidenote: its name.] after the gift of the holy spirit himself, we may justly reckon the new testament as the most precious gift which our lord jesus christ has given since his ascension to those who believe on his name. the word "testament," which is in latin _testamentum_, corresponds with our word "covenant," and the phrase "new testament" signifies the record of that new covenant in which god bound man to himself by the death of his son. the truth that this was a new covenant, distinct from the covenant which god made with abraham, was taught by our lord when he instituted the memorial of his death and said, "this cup is the new covenant in my blood." we do not know precisely at what date the christians began to call this record "the new testament," but we do know that they used this name before a.d. . [sidenote: its language.] in the time of our lord the popular language of palestine was aramaic, a language which was akin to hebrew and borrowed some words from hebrew. hebrew was known by learned people, but the language which the son of god learned from his blessed mother and his foster father was aramaic, and he spoke the galilean dialect of that language. from a few words preserved in the gospels, it is plain that the gospel was first preached in that tongue. in the th century after christ, the mohammedan conquerors, who spoke arabic, began to supplant { } aramaic by arabic, and this is now the ordinary language of palestine. as many people who spoke aramaic were at one time heathen, both the jews and the christians adopted the habit of calling their language _syriac_ rather than aramaic. the great centre of christian syriac literature was edessa, and in the eastern part of the roman empire syriac was the most important and most elegant language next to greek. it is still used in the church services of many oriental christians, and it is spoken in ordinary conversation in parts of north mesopotamia and kurdistan. further west it is only spoken in a few villages of anti-libanus. in the course of this book it will be necessary to refer occasionally to the aramaic language. it is highly probable that some of the earliest christian writings were in aramaic, but all the books of the new testament which we now possess are in greek. the greek language was known by many people in palestine, and it was splendidly fitted to be the medium of god's revelation. it was widely known among the civilized nations of the time, and it is so rich and expressive that religious ideas are better conveyed in greek than in almost any other tongue. whereas it was essential that the gospel should be preached first in aramaic, it was equally essential that it should be written in greek, for the benefit of people who did not live in palestine or who lived there as strangers. [sidenote: the canon.] the new testament scriptures consist of twenty-seven different books, written by nine different authors. each book has some special characteristics corresponding with the mind of the writer and the circumstances under which it was written. yet these books exhibit a manifest unity of purpose and doctrine. under many differences of dialect and expression there is an internal unity such as we do not find in any secular literature, and this unity is due to inspiration. the whole collection of books is called the canon of the new testament. this greek word "canon" originally meant a straight rod, such as could be used for { } ruling or measuring, then it was employed to signify a rule or law, and finally it meant a list or catalogue. as applied to the new testament, the word "canon" means the books which fit the church's rule of faith, and which themselves become a rule that measures forgeries and finds them wanting. the church set these genuine books apart as having their origin in inspiration which came from god. they were all either written by the apostles or by men who were trained by the apostles, and thus they contain a unique account of the sayings of the lord jesus and the teaching of those who received their commission from him. they are therefore documents to which the church can refer, as a final court of appeal, in all questions of faith and conduct. it was only by degrees that the church realized the importance of placing all these twenty-seven books in the canon. this was finally done in the western churches of christendom in a.d. , by a council held at rome.[ ] the disciples first endeavoured to collect the sayings of our lord and the record of his life. thus the four gospels constitute the first layer of the new testament canon. the canon of our four gospels existed by a.d. , as is shown by hermas and justin martyr. the next layer of the canon consists of the thirteen epistles of st. paul and the acts. to these the epistle to the hebrews was generally attached in the east, though not in the west. this layer of the canon was universally recognized towards the close of the nd century, and perhaps some years earlier, for the books composing it were used and quoted throughout the nd century. the third layer of the canon gained its place more slowly. it consists of what are called the "catholic epistles," viz. those of st. james, st. peter, st. john, and st. jude, together with the revelation or apocalypse of st. john. a crowd of works circulated among the christians of the { } and century, including some forged gospels and apocalypses, the epistle of st. clement, bishop of rome, written about a.d. , and the allegory known as the _shepherd_ of hermas, written about a.d. . several of these works appear to have enjoyed a popularity in excess of that which attached to some of the books now included in the canon. nevertheless they were rejected when they were examined. it was not merely a wonderful intellectual feat on the part of the church to have sifted out this mass of literature; it was an action in which the christian cannot fail to see the hand of god. one question remains to be asked after drawing this small sketch of the history of the canon. why is it that for several generations the canon of the new testament varied in different countries, containing fewer books in one place than in another? two reasons may be given: (i.) certain books at first enjoyed only a local popularity; thus "hebrews was saved by the value set upon it by the scholars of alexandria, and the epistle of st. james by the attachment of certain churches in the east." (ii.) the books of the new testament, when translated into other languages, were not all translated together. the gospels were naturally translated first, as containing the words of our lord. the other books followed gradually. interesting information is given us with regard to the latter fact by the _doctrine of addai_, a syriac book of which the present form dates from about a.d. , but which appears to describe the condition of the syrian church in the rd century. the writings of _aphraates_, a syrian writer, a.d. , supplement this information. we find from these books that about a.d. the syrian christians possessed a translation of the gospels. early in the rd century they used a harmony of the gospels with acts and the epistles of st. paul. in the th century they used also the epistle to the hebrews. it is fairly evident, from the _doctrine of addai_, that only the old testament and the gospels were at first used by the syrian christians, and that st. paul's epistles and acts arrived later. and as late as { } a.d. they knew nothing of the catholic epistles and revelation, though these books were well known by the christians who spoke greek and latin. [sidenote: ancient versions.] the most ancient versions or translations of the new testament were in those three great languages spoken by people who touched the borders of the districts where greek was spoken. these were latin, syriac, and the coptic language spoken by the egyptians. it seems probable that a large part of the new testament was translated into these languages within about a hundred years after the time of the apostles. the oldest version in any language closely akin to english was that made by ulphilas, the celebrated bishop of the goths, who translated the bible from greek into gothic about a.d. . there is a most beautiful manuscript of this version preserved at upsala, in sweden. the goths were then settled in the country between the danube and the dnieper. as late as the th century their language was still spoken in part of the south of russia. a carefully revised translation of the latin bible was made by st. jerome between a.d. and , and this version came to be used by the church throughout the west of europe. [sidenote: english versions.] the gospel of st. john and perhaps the other gospels were translated by the patient historian and monk, the venerable bede, who was buried at durham in a.d. . parts of the bible, especially the psalms, were soon fairly well known through translations. king alfred was translating the psalms when he died, in a.d. ; and soon after a.d. , archbishop aelfric translated large portions of the bible. as the language of england gradually changed, new versions of the psalms were made, and most of the bible was known in a version made before . but perhaps there was no complete version of the bible in english until the time of john wyclif ( ). wyclif translated most of the new testament of this version, and a priest named hereford translated the old testament. wyclif held various { } opinions which the church of england at that time condemned, and some of which she still rightly condemns. the result was that in archbishop arundel denounced wyclif's version, but it seems to have been revised and to have come into common use. all these versions or partial versions in the english language were made from the latin. but after the turks captured constantinople from the greeks in , a number of learned greeks fled for refuge to the west of europe. the result was that greek books began to be studied again, and the new testament began to be read once more in the original language. three important editions were printed in , , and respectively. the first was printed under the direction of the spanish cardinal ximenes, but owing to various causes was not published until . the edition of was printed under the direction of the great dutch scholar erasmus. that of is important as being substantially the "received text" which has appeared in the ordinary greek testaments printed in england until the present day, and as being the foundation of our english authorised version. this "received text" was printed by robert estienne (or stephanus), a great printer of paris. about the same time a desire for a reformation of abuses in the church caused a deeper interest to be taken in the word of god. the first english translation of the new testament shows a desire for a reformation of a somewhat extreme kind. it was the version of _william tyndale_, which was printed at worms in germany, in . in the convocation or church parliament of england made a petition to king henry viii. to allow a better version to be made. the work of translation was interrupted by an order to have an english bible in every church. as the church version was not completed, a version made in by _miles coverdale_ had to be used instead. two other versions, also somewhat inferior, appeared in and , and then a slightly improved version called the _great bible_ appeared in april, . it is { } also called cranmer's bible, because archbishop cranmer wrote a preface to the second edition. three other important versions were published before the end of the th century. the calvinists, who were the predecessors of the modern presbyterians, published a new testament at geneva in , followed by the whole bible in . the english bishops published what is called the _bishops' bible_ in , and the roman catholics published an english new testament at rheims in france, in . we cannot fail to be impressed by the eager desire felt at that time by the people of great britain, of all religious parties, to study the holy scriptures, a desire to which these various translations bear witness. all previous english versions were thrown into the shade by the brilliant _authorised version_, which was commenced in and published in . its beauty and accuracy are so great that even the presbyterians, both in england and scotland, gradually gave up the use of their genevan bible in favour of this translation. but since hundreds of manuscripts have been discovered and examined. "textual criticism," by which an endeavour is made to discover the precise words written by the writers of the new testament, where discrepancies exist in the manuscripts, has become a science. many results of this criticism have been embodied in the _revised version_, published in . the english of the _revised version_ is not so musical as that of the _authorised version_, and it seems probable that a deeper knowledge of the ancient versions will before long enable us to advance even beyond the verbal accuracy attained in . but at the same time we know that both our modern english versions give us a noble and trustworthy interpretation of the greek. and criticism has made it certain that the earliest greek manuscripts are essentially the same as the original books written by the apostles and their companions. the manuscripts are almost utterly free from wilful corruptions. and concerning the small variations which they contain, we { } can fitly quote the words of a fine old english scholar, bentley: "even put them into the hands of a knave or a fool, and yet with the most sinistrous and absurd choice, he shall not extinguish the light of any one chapter, nor so disguise christianity but that every feature of it will still be the same." for the sake of space the works of the evangelists are often referred to in an abbreviated form; _e.g._ "matt." has been written for "the gospel according to st. matthew," and "mark" for "the gospel according to st. mark." but when the writers themselves are mentioned, their names are usually given in full, with the title which christian reverence has bestowed upon these "holy men of old." [ ] see mr. c. h. turner, _journal of theological studies_, july, . { } chapter ii the gospels [sidenote: their name.] the modern english word "gospel" is derived from the anglo-saxon word _godspell_, which means "god story," the story about the life of god in human flesh. it does not, therefore, exactly correspond with the greek name _euaggelion_, which means "good tidings." in the earliest times the greek name meant the good tidings proclaimed by our lord about the kingdom of god which he had come to establish. and, as our lord himself rules over this kingdom, the tidings about the kingdom included tidings about himself. so christ himself says, "for my sake and the gospel's" (mark viii. ). after the ascension of our lord and the disappearance of his visible presence, the _euaggelion_ came to mean the good tidings about christ, rather than the good tidings brought by christ (see cor. ix. and cor. iv. ). so st. paul generally means by _euaggelion_ the good news, coming from god, of salvation freely given to man through christ. when he speaks of "my gospel" (rom. ii. ), he means "my explanation of the gospel;" and when he says, "i had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision" (gal. ii. ), he means that he had been appointed by god to preach the good tidings to the gentiles, with special emphasis on the points most necessary for their instruction. the word _euaggellon_, in the sense of a written gospel, is first found in the ancient christian manual called the _didaché_, or _teaching of the twelve apostles_, in ch. xv.: "reprove one { } another, not in anger but in peace, as ye have it in the gospel." this book was probably composed about a.d. . the word seems to have been still more definitely applied to a written account of the life of christ in the time of the great heretic marcion, a.d. . the plural word _euaggelia_, signifying the four gospels, is first found in a writing of justin martyr,[ ] about a.d. . it is important to notice that he also calls them "memoirs of the apostles," and that he refers to them collectively as "the gospel," inasmuch as they were, in reference to their distinctive value as records of christ, one book. [sidenote: their genuineness.] the first three gospels do not contain the name of the writers in any connection which can be used to prove conclusively that they were written by the men whose names they bear. on the other hand, the fourth gospel in a concluding passage (john xxi. ) contains an obvious claim to have been written by that intimate friend of jesus to whom the church has always attributed it. but the titles, "according to matthew," "according to mark," "according to luke," rest on excellent authority. and they imply that each book contains the good news brought by christ and recorded in the teaching of the evangelist specified. these titles must, _at the very least_, signify that the christians who first gave these titles to these books, meant that each gospel was connected with one particular person who lived in the apostolic age, and that it contained nothing contrary to what that person taught. the titles, taken by themselves, are therefore compatible with the theory that the first three gospels were perhaps written by friends or disciples of the men whose names they bear. but we shall afterwards see that there is overwhelming evidence to show that the connection between each book and the specified person is much closer than that theory would suggest. speaking of the four gospels generally, we may first observe that it is impossible to place any one of them as late as a.d. , { } and that the first three gospels must have been written long before that date. this is shown by the internal evidence, of which proof will be given in detail in the chapters dealing with the separate gospels. the external evidence of the use of all the four gospels by christians, and to some extent by non-christians, supports the internal evidence. let us begin by noting facts which are part of undoubted history, and then work back to facts of earlier date. it is now undisputed that between the years and after christ our four gospels were known and regarded as genuine products of the apostolic age. st. irenaeus, who became bishop of lyons in france in a.d. , and was the pupil of polycarp, who had actually been a disciple of st. john, uses and quotes the four gospels. he shows that various semi-christian sects appeal severally to one of the four gospels as supporting their peculiar views, but that the christian church accepts all four. he lays great stress on the fact that the teaching of the church has always been the same, and he was personally acquainted with the state of christianity in asia minor, rome, and france. his evidence must therefore be considered as carrying great weight. equally important is the evidence of tatian. this remarkable syrian wrote a harmony of the gospels near a.d. . allusions to this harmony, called the _diatessaron_, were known to exist in several ancient writers, but until recently it was strenuously maintained by sceptical writers that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that the diatessaron was composed of our present gospels. it was suggested that it might have been drawn from other gospels more or less resembling those which we now possess. this idea has now been dispelled. a great syrian father, ephraim, who died in , wrote a commentary on the diatessaron. this was preserved in an armenian translation which was made known to the world in . the discovery proved that the diatessaron had been drawn from our four gospels. in an arabic version of the diatessaron itself was found, and it { } proved conclusively that tatian's diatessaron was simply a combination of our four canonical gospels. about the same date as tatian, a famous gnostic writer named heracleon wrote commentaries on luke and john, and it can also be shown that he was acquainted with matt. there can therefore be no doubt that all our four gospels were well known by a.d. . between a.d. and our gospels were also in use. the most important evidence is furnished by justin martyr, who was born near samaria, and lectured in rome about a.d. . he says "the apostles handed down in the memoirs made by them, which are called gospels;" he shows that these memoirs were used in christian worship, and he says that "they were compiled by christ's apostles and those who companied with them." this exactly agrees with the fact that the first and the fourth of our gospels are attributed by the tradition of the church to apostles, while the second and the third are attributed to companions of the apostles. the quotations which justin makes show that these memoirs were our four gospels. it has been thought that justin perhaps used some apocryphal gospel in addition to our gospels, but there is no sufficient proof of this. we may explain that he uses the term "memoirs" in order to make himself intelligible to non-christian readers who would not understand the word "gospel." the _shepherd_ of hermas, which was written at rome, probably about a.d. , but perhaps earlier, uses expressions which imply an acquaintance with all our gospels, though none of them are directly quoted. moreover, the _shepherd_, in depicting the christian church as seated on a bench with four feet, probably refers to the four gospels. this would be in agreement with the allegorical style of the book, and it gains support from the language of origen and irenaeus. the testimony rendered to the authenticity of the gospels by the heretics who flourished between a.d. and is of importance. at the beginning of this period, basilides, the { } great gnostic of alexandria, who tried to replace christianity by a semi-christian pantheism, appears to have used matt., luke, and john. the fact that they contain nothing which really supports his peculiar tenets, forms an argument which shows that the genuineness of these documents was then too well established for it to be worth his while to dispute it. marcion, whose teaching was half gnostic and half catholic, endeavoured to revive what he imagined to be the christianity of st. paul, whom he regarded as the only true apostle. he believed that judaism was the work of an inferior god, and he therefore rejected the whole of the old testament, and retained only the gospel written by st. luke, the friend of st. paul, and ten of st. paul's epistles. modern writers have sometimes urged that marcion's list of new testament books proves that all other parts of the new testament were regarded as doubtful about a.d. . but it is quite evident that marcion, unlike those gnostics who adapted uncongenial books to their own systems by means of allegorical explanations, cut out the books and verses which would not correspond with his own dogma. in spite of his pretended fidelity to st. paul, he mutilated not only st. luke's gospel, but even the epistle to the galatians. so whereas it is certain that he used our luke, there is no indication to show that he did not admit that the other gospels were really the work of the writers whose names they bear. in the period between a.d. , when the death of st. john probably took place, and a.d. , we find several signs of acquaintance with the gospels. about a.d. , papias, bishop of hierapolis, wrote a book called _expositions of the oracles of the lord_. it may be regarded as almost certain that the word "oracles" signifies written gospels, just as in the new testament the word signifies the written documents of the old testament. he mentions gospels written by st. matthew and st. mark, and we know from eusebius that he made use of john. it is deeply to be regretted that we only have { } a few remaining fragments of the writings of this early bishop, who was acquainted with men who knew our lord's disciples. in the letters of st. ignatius, the martyred bishop of antioch, a.d. , we find signs of acquaintance with matt. and john. the epistle written by st. polycarp to the philippians soon after the death of st. ignatius contains quotations from matt. and luke, and the quotations in it from john almost certainly imply the authenticity of st. john's gospel, as it is impossible to attribute the epistles to any writer except the writer of the gospel. the _didaché_, about a.d. , shows acquaintance with matt. and luke, and contains early eucharistic prayers of which the language closely resembles the language of st. john. the epistle of barnabas, probably about a.d. , contains what is probably the oldest remaining quotation from a book of the new testament. it says, "it is written, many called, but few chosen," which appears to be a quotation from matt. xxii. . the epistle of st. clement of rome, written to the christians of corinth about a.d. , is full of the phraseology of st. paul's epistles, but contains nothing that can be called a direct quotation from our gospels. but it does contain what are possibly traces of the first three gospels, though these passages are perhaps quoted from an oral gospel employed in the instruction of catechumens. we must conclude that, considering what a large amount of early christian literature has perished, the external evidence for the authenticity of our gospels is remarkably strong. they are genuine writings of the apostolic age, and were received by men whose lifetime overlapped the lifetime of some of the apostles. in the early christian literature which remains, there is much which lends support to the authenticity of the gospels, and nothing which injures a belief in that authenticity. and there are strong reasons for thinking that in the early christian literature which has perished, there was much which would have made a belief in their authenticity quite inevitable. it would be an aid to modern study if we could be certain { } when and where the four gospels were put together in one canon. in the th and th centuries it was believed by some christians that the collection had been made at ephesus by st. john himself, and that he had prefixed the names of the writers to the gospels when he published his own gospel. it is at present impossible to discover how far this supposed fact is legendary or not, but modern criticism has done something to corroborate the idea that the gospels were really collected first in asia minor, and if st. john did not make the collection himself, it was probably made by his disciples soon after his death. [sidenote: their diversity.] if we compare the four gospels together, it is as plain as daylight that there is a marked difference between the first three gospels on the one hand and the fourth gospel on the other hand. the first three gospels are usually called the _synoptic gospels_, because they give us one _synopsis_ or common view of our lord's work. to a great extent they record the same events and the same discourses, and in many passages they express themselves in almost identical words. the account which they give of our lord's work is mostly confined to his ministry in galilee, the birthplace of our religion, and it includes only one visit to jerusalem. but st. john's gospel differs widely in language from the other gospels, and also gives an account of no less than five visits to jerusalem, and chiefly describes the scenes connected with our lord's ministry in judaea. whereas our first three gospels can be appropriately printed in three parallel columns, the greater part of st. john's gospel cannot be appropriately placed by the side of the other three. another most important difference is that st. john's gospel is marked by a tone and teaching which are seldom to be found in the synoptic gospels. the difference was well expressed by clement of alexandria, who calls the synoptic gospels _bodily_ and st. john's gospel _spiritual_; and by theodore of mopsuestia, who says that st. john declared that "doubtless it was not right to omit { } the facts told with regard to the sojourn of christ in the flesh, but neither was it right to omit the words relating to his divinity." for the synoptic gospels relate the outward events connected with our lord's ministry, while st. john records the discourses and works which reveal our lord's heavenly origin and divine authority. again, the synoptic gospels report christ's addresses to simple galilean people, addresses consisting largely of _parables_; while st. john reports discourses, frequently expressed in the language of _allegory_, and uttered to the jews of jerusalem or to his own intimate disciples. [sidenote: the synoptic problem.] the synoptic problem consists in the difficulties raised by the fact that the synoptic gospels show both a remarkable similarity and a remarkable dissimilarity. it is just because the similarity is often so astonishing that we find it all the more difficult to explain the dissimilarity when it exists. a study of the synoptic problem is valuable for the christian student, inasmuch as it directs our attention to the sources employed by the evangelists, and thus leads us nearer to the actual events connected with the rise of christianity. the resemblances between the synoptic gospels may be observed in the following points:-- (a) _a common plan._--the general view of the course of events is almost identical. st. matthew and st. luke give separate accounts of the infancy of our lord, but they then join with st. mark in their account of st. john the baptist, the baptism and temptation of christ, and the beginning of his ministry. later all three direct their attention mainly to christ's work in galilee, while st. john describes much that took place in judaea and samaria. they pass rapidly over some considerable space of time until they come to the last week of his life, where all three give a detailed account. (b) _a common selection of facts._--by far the larger number of both events and discourses are found in all three gospels. if anything is recorded in mark it is generally to be found in { } matt. and luke, and almost always in either matt. or luke. if the whole number of incidents in the synoptic gospels be reckoned as eighty-eight, the distribution of the incidents shared by at least two gospels is as follows:-- in all three gospels . . . . . . . in mark and matt. . . . . . . . . in mark and luke . . . . . . . . . in matt. and luke . . . . . . . . if we add the above together, we realize that seventy-one incidents out of a total of eighty-eight are to be found in more than one gospel. of the remaining seventeen incidents, three are peculiar to mark, five to matt., and nine to luke. (c) _similar groups of incidents._--not only is there a common selection of facts, but detached events which happened at different times are sometimes grouped together in the same way in all of the synoptic gospels or in two of the three. thus in all three we find together the cure of the paralytic, the call of levi, and the question of fasting (matt. ix. - ; mark ii. - ; luke v. - ); so also the plucking of the ears of corn and the cure of the withered hand--events separated by at least a week (matt. xii. - ; mark ii. -iii. ; luke vi. - ). thus also the death of john the baptist is introduced both in matt. xiv. and in mark vi. to explain the fear felt by herod antipas that he had risen from the dead. in fact, when a parallel passage is found in all three synoptic gospels, it is never immediately followed in _both_ matt. and luke by a whole separate incident which is not in mark.[ ] there is a general tendency in matt. and luke to narrate the same facts as mark in the order of mark. and therefore it is difficult to think that the original basis of the synoptic gospels, whether written or unwritten, did not coincide closely with mark in the order of events. { } (d) _similarity of language._--the synoptic gospels often agree verbally. and this agreement is not merely found in the reports of the sayings of our lord, but even in the narrative of events. it extends even to rare greek words and phrases. the clauses are often remarkably similar. sometimes quotations from the old testament are found in two or three gospels with the same variations from the original. matt. iii. , mark i. , and luke iii. have the same quotation from isa. xl. , in which they agree in every word, although at the end they depart in the same way from both the hebrew and the greek version of the old testament, for they put "his paths" instead of "the paths of our god." another interesting instance is to be found in matt. xxvi. , mark xiv. , and luke xxii. , where all three evangelists, apparently without any necessity, explain that judas was one of the twelve. again in matt. xxiv. , , and mark xiii. , we have the note or parenthesis "let him that readeth understand," which one evangelist seems to have copied from the other. the differences between the synoptic gospels may be observed in the following facts:-- (a) _facts peculiar to one or two gospels._--there is a wide difference between the account of the birth and infancy of our lord given in matt. and that given in luke. in matt. we have recorded an angelic communication to st. joseph concerning the future birth of jesus. in luke, an earlier and fuller annunciation to st. mary is recorded. in matt. the story of the infancy is centred at bethlehem, in luke at nazareth. the accounts given of the appearances of our lord after the resurrection record different events. in matt. and mark galilee is the scene of his appearances, in luke the scene is laid in jerusalem and its neighbourhood. there is not the least reason for regarding these accounts as contradictory, but there is reason for inquiring why the different writers selected different appearances. { } (b) _different accounts of the same facts._--the three distinct incidents of the temptation of our lord are recorded in a different order in matt. and luke, and the temptation is recorded without these incidents in mark. st. luke's version of the beatitudes is reduced in number, and is followed by corresponding denunciations. in mark x. and matt. x. we have the cure of bartimaeus on the departure from jericho, in luke xviii. , xix. at the entrance of the city. in matt. viii. there are two demoniacs, while in mark v. and luke viii. , which seem to narrate the same event, only one demoniac is mentioned. all the synoptic gospels give slightly different accounts of the inscription on the cross, and the words spoken by the centurion at the death of jesus vary in luke from the words in matt. and mark. (c) differences in the order of words and sentences.--although matt. and luke do not combine against mark in narrating a whole incident in an order different from mark, it is important to notice that there are some cases in which matt. and mark agree against luke, or mark and luke agree against matt. and we must not omit a significant instance where matt. and luke agree against mark in the order of _part_ of an incident. in matt. iii. , and luke iii. , "i indeed baptize you with water," etc., comes _before_, in mark i. , it comes _after_, the description of jesus as "he that is mightier than i." no doubt one author who copies another may often omit something stated by the first author. but, surely, he is not very likely to invert the order of the materials before him, especially when no obvious purpose can be served by such an inversion. another instance of inversion is this: in mark ix. , the rejection of the son of man is mentioned by our lord _between_ two statements of his about ehas, in matt. xvii. it is mentioned _after_ both statements. such inversions would naturally take place in the case of oral transmission of the sacred story, but they would be less likely in the case of one writer copying another. { } (d) _verbal differences._--striking verbal differences occur even when the general resemblance is most close. in matt. ix. - , mark ii. - , luke v. - , there are verbal changes even where the sentences closely coincide. other instances might be quoted. all three evangelists have a style of their own, and show a marked preference for particular idioms and words. in narrating the sayings of our lord, they narrate them with some verbal differences, and in the case of the history of his ministry, they narrate it with numerous verbal differences. it is therefore evident that st. matthew and st. luke, if they used st. mark's work, felt themselves at liberty to deal with it very freely. the above brief account of the chief resemblances and differences between the first three gospels is an attempt to give a fair though condensed statement of certain facts which appeal with different force to different minds. "how came these gospels to be so alike and yet so different?" this is the "synoptic problem," and great divergence of opinion exists as to the solution. [sidenote: possible solutions.] the most important views propounded to solve the problem are-- ( ) both st. matthew and st. luke copied the gospel of st. mark, while not omitting to make use of other documents. in the case of st. luke, his acquaintance with earlier written stories about our lord is rendered indisputable by his own statement. sometimes it has been thought that st. luke made use of the gospel according to st. matthew as well as the gospel according to st. mark. this theory is most appropriately called the _theory of the mutual dependence of the documents_. ( ) the three synoptic gospels put down in writing different, but closely similar forms of an oral tradition concerning the teaching of our lord. it is thought that the statements made by the apostles about christ were repeated by them and occasionally added to, and treasured up in faithful memories. { } the idea of a _literary_ connection between the gospels is dismissed, and it is held that the methods of teaching employed among the jews, and the probable existence of a school of trained catechists, will account sufficiently for the fixed form of the tradition. according to this hypothesis the differences between the synoptic gospels are to be explained by the necessity of teaching different aspects of the truth among different classes of inquirers, and by the fluctuating memories of the teachers. this theory is known as the _oral theory_.[ ] ( ) the three synoptic gospels are based upon one original gospel written in the aramaic language. a large number of verbal variations can thus be accounted for. they might have sprung from different renderings of the same aramaic original, and various passages derived from oral tradition might have been added to the original gospel when it was translated. it has been held by some that there was at least an aramaic document behind mark, if there was not an aramaic original employed by all the synoptics. the different forms of this hypothesis can be described as the _theory of an aramaic original_. it is now generally believed that the three evangelists did not employ one original aramaic gospel. the agreement between the greek words of the synoptic gospels is too close to be explained by the use of an aramaic original. the real controversy, therefore, lies between the scholars who support theory ( ) or theory ( ). [sidenote: probable conclusions.] on the whole, it appears that a general agreement is being arrived at. it is becoming evident that the theory of the mutual dependence of the documents and the oral theory are _both_ partly true, and that neither of them can be held in an extreme form. in the first place, the resemblances between the first three gospels make it extremely probable that st. matthew and st. luke { } employed the work of st. mark. in england, germany, and france the opinion of scholars seems steadily tending towards this conclusion. the chief reasons for it are undoubtedly that (i.) the order of facts in mark is the _normal order_ of the whole narrative of the synoptists, and (ii.) in the main, the language of mark explains the verbal agreements between matt. and luke. therefore among the probable conclusions with regard to the synoptic problem we must reckon the fact that _mark is earlier than matt. and luke, and was employed in the composition of them both_. this is the first important conclusion. but we must also allow room for the influence of oral tradition. we have already noticed many differences between the synoptists, all of which more or less suggest that the gospels are largely based on oral tradition. we may now mention a few other facts which point in the same direction. there are cases in which matt. or luke has a more decided appearance of originality than mark. these cases include words, phrases, and even sections. for instance, matt. employs several times the phrase "the father who is in heaven," a phrase which our lord must certainly have used, but which in mark only occurs once (xi. ). mark i. - , ii. - , iii. - , x. , appear less original than the parallel passages in the other synoptic gospels. moreover, there are statements in matt. of a striking kind, which are not at all likely to have been invented, but which are entirely absent from mark. we may notice the texts, "go not into any way of the gentiles, and enter not into any city of the samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel" (matt. x. , ); and again, "i was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of israel" (matt. xv. ). in both cases the context has a parallel in mark, but the verses in question do not occur in those parallels. also there are certain passages to be found in mark which are in neither luke nor matt. if we believe that the gospels { } are largely based on oral tradition, it is easy to account for the absence of a passage in one or two of the three synoptic gospels. an incident which was remembered in one place might be forgotten in another. but if we exclude the influence of oral tradition, there are only two solutions of the problem raised by these passages. either (a) st. matthew and st. luke were ignorant of them, because they were added to mark later than the date when they used mark; or (b) they knew them and omitted them. in other words, we have to ask, did they use an original form of the second gospel, a form to which german scholars apply the name _ur-marcus_ and french scholars apply the name _proto-marc_, or did they omit passages in mark which suggested difficulties or appeared unnecessary? the main argument against the existence of a proto-mark is that neither papias nor any known father of the church preserves the least recollection of it. it has simply been invented to account for the difficulties of the synoptic problem. if, on the other hand, st. matthew and st. luke deliberately abbreviated or altered the narrative of st. mark, we must naturally inquire why they did so. the authors who maintain that they did alter the material which lay before them, account for some of the changes as having been made from a mere desire to abbreviate, or to remove a few verses which might prove "hard sayings" to jewish or gentile christians respectively. some think that other passages in mark were emitted because st. matthew and st. luke considered them to be derogatory to our lord's power or the character of his apostles. for instance, st. matthew omits the rebuke administered to the apostles in mark viii. , , and he does not mention our lord's use of spittle as a means of healing. he also in ch. xiii. represents the jews as calling our lord "the carpenter's son," whereas in mark vi. they call him "the carpenter." this latter line of argument is often hazardous and occasionally profane. and in special reference to the points just { } described, we may remark that st. matthew in ch. xiv. - does not hesitate to record the weakness of even st. peter's faith; and that st. john, although he gives the greatest prominence to the majesty of our lord, does in ch. ix. record his use of spittle in healing. and if st. matthew thought it irreverent to record the fact that the jews called jesus "the carpenter," he might have naturally shrunk far more from saying, as he does, that they named him "the carpenter's son," a title which might seem to imply an ignoring of his miraculous birth. it seems, therefore, that we must be content to acknowledge that we cannot always determine the reasons which influenced st. matthew and st. luke, but we can say that in some cases they were probably influenced by the mere desire to abbreviate, and that they were also influenced by the forms which the oral teaching of the gospel had assumed. we may also regard it as almost certain that st. luke sometimes altered words in st. mark's narrative simply because he preferred a more elegant and less homely form of greek. the textual criticism of the oldest manuscripts of the new testament also points to the fact that for a few generations, when reminiscences of our lord and his apostles were still handed down, writers occasionally tried to make room for these reminiscences when they copied the books of the new testament. a famous instance of this is john vii. -viii. , which was almost certainly not written by st. john, and is almost certainly a genuine story which the apostle knew, and which christians afterwards inserted in his gospel. we believe, then, that _all the synoptic gospels are influenced by oral tradition_. this is the second important conclusion. thirdly, it seems that _matt. and luke, and perhaps mark, made use of written collections of logia, or sayings of our lord_. evidence of one such collection comes to us on the high authority of papias. he says-- matthew then composed the logia in the hebrew tongue, and every one interpreted them as he was able. { } an equally important statement which papias makes with regard to the composition of mark, is made on the authority of john the presbyter who had been a personal follower of the lord and was an elder contemporary of papias. it is at least possible that papias derived his information about matt. from the same authority. it is almost inconceivable that between the time of papias and that of irenaeus, whose life probably overlapped that of papias, the name of matthew became wrongly affixed to our first gospel. we may therefore regard it as certain that in our first gospel is contained the book of sayings, which st. matthew himself wrote. in our third gospel we find that st. luke has inserted much information with regard to our lord's teaching which is apparently derived from a version of the logia. the order of the sayings is more original in luke than in matt. the reason for this assertion is the following:-- the two evangelists arrange the sayings of our lord differently. in more than two-thirds of the instances in which they seem to employ some collection of _logia_, they place their materials in a different setting. it has often been remarked that st. matthew places the discourses of our lord together in large blocks, while st. luke records them separately, and in many cases records the circumstances which led up to them. instances of this are--the lord's prayer (matt. vi. - and luke xi. - ); the treasure and the heart (matt. vi. - and luke xii. , ); god and mammon (matt. vi. and luke xvi. ). it would therefore seem plain that either one evangelist or the other altered the places of these discourses. examination makes it equally plain that the alteration was made in matt. much of matt. is arranged in numerical forms, and this is especially true of those passages which are not derived from mark. the numbers , , and are used as helps to memory. thus in matt. we find _five_ chapters (called by the jews "pereqs") of the sayings of our lord, ending respectively at vii. ; xi. ; xiii. , xix. ; xxvi. . the { } number five was a favourite number with the jews in such cases; thus we have five books of the pentateuch, five books of the psalms, the five _megilloth_ or festival volumes, and the five parts of the _pirqe aboth_. in chs. viii. and ix. we have a collection of _ten_ miracles, in spite of the fact that three of these miracles are placed elsewhere by st. mark and st. luke. the petitions of the lord's prayer are arranged as seven, there are _seven_ parables in ch. xiii., _seven_ woes in ch. xxiii., and the genealogy of our lord is arranged in three _fourteens_. as these numerical arrangements are specially characteristic of matt., and certainly appear to be caused by a desire to aid oral repetition, we are led to the conclusion that the logia are to be found in a less artificial and therefore earlier form in luke. we are also led once more to the conclusion that though we cannot say that the whole of matt. owes its form to oral teaching, yet many sections of it are moulded by oral teaching. it must lastly be noted that although the collection of logia employed in luke contained much material which is also found in matt., the parallel passages vary considerably in style and language. examination of these passages seldom enables us to prove what expressions were specially characteristic of the logia. but we can assert with a fair amount of confidence that the version, or versions, of the logia so employed, had a simple and hebraic style; and that whereas luke has kept the order of the logia better than matt., the latter preserves the style more faithfully. in addition to mark and collections of the logia, st. matthew and st. luke employed other sources now unknown to us. the narratives of the infancy and the resurrection are independent, and are so different that they point both to the fact that the two evangelists were here employing different sources, and that each was unacquainted with the gospel written by the other. also, st. luke's account of our lord's ministry in peraea and elsewhere, contained in ix. -xix. , is peculiar to his gospel. [sidenote: the relation of st. john's gospel to the synoptic gospels.] the difference between the theological tone of st. john's gospel and that which we find in the synoptists is mentioned { } in our account of the separate gospels. besides this difference of tone, there is a decided difference in the march of the events which are recorded and some difference in the narrative of passages which are parallel. the first rough impression which we gather from the synoptists is that our lord did not visit jerusalem until shortly before the crucifixion. matthew and mark refer to one passover only for which jesus comes to jerusalem. the scene of his ministry is galilee. on the other hand, the centre of interest in john is not galilee, but jerusalem and judaea. but a minute examination proves that the narrative of st. john fits that of the synoptists in a remarkable manner. in the first place, the synoptists give us hints of our lord's earlier visits to judaea and jerusalem. in luke iv. (see margin r.v.) we find him preaching in the synagogues of judaea (cf. acts x. ). in luke v. the presence in galilee of pharisees from _jerusalem_ is a testimony to the impression which christ had produced in the holy city. both matt. (xxiii. ) and luke (xiii. ) record the lament of our lord, "o _jerusalem_, . . . how _often_ would i," etc. so from john iv. , we learn of our lord returning to _galilee_ after his first visit to jerusalem. this second journey into galilee recorded by st. john brings us to a point corresponding with the early days of the ministry in galilee described by the synoptists. in john vi.-vii. we have narratives connected with _galilee_, and this section belongs to an interval of time between the approach of passover in march a.d. and the feast of tabernacles in september a.d. . of this period the synoptists give a much fuller account. the question of the length of our lord's ministry is thus intimately connected with that of the scene of his ministry. st. john marks the length of our lord's ministry, not by ordinary chronology, but by the mention of various jewish feasts. the dates of these feasts show that his ministry lasted two years and a half. the absence of dates in the synoptists { } has led to the opinion that they represent our lord's ministry as only extending over one year. this opinion may be summarily dismissed. the mention of ripe corn in mark ii. , and green grass in vi. , implies two spring-times before the last passover. it is impossible to compress the teaching which the synoptic gospels relate into the period of one year, and they show a hostility towards christ on the part of the ruling classes in jerusalem which could not have sufficiently fermented in the space of a few months. we may also notice that there is a close agreement between the synoptists and st. john with regard to the points on which the conflict between christ and the jews turned (cf. matt. xvi. - , mark viii. - , luke xi. , - , with john ii. ). the jews specially charged him with being possessed by a devil (cf. matt. xii. , mark iii. , luke xi. , with john viii. and x. ), and also with breaking the sabbath (cf. matt. xii. , mark iii. , luke vi. , xiii. , with john v. , vii. , ix. ). the dates of two important incidents have been the subjects of much discussion. a cleansing of the temple by our lord is related by the synoptists at the close of our lord's ministry (mark xi. ). john ii. places a cleansing of the temple at the very beginning of our lord's ministry. if we have to choose between one record and the other, we should perhaps be inclined to say that the narrative in john is the more probable. but there is no good reason for making such a choice. no one who is at all familiar with the history of the abuses which took place in some mediaeval churches would find a difficulty in believing that the temple needed a second cleansing by our lord. the first cleansing is the natural outcome of his righteous indignation in beholding for the first time the holiest place in the world given up to common traffic, the second cleansing is appropriate in him who had then openly proclaimed his divine authority and messiahship. the day of our lord's death is a date about which there is an apparent discrepancy between the synoptists and st. john. { } the discrepancy has been elevated into momentous importance by the sceptics of the last sixty years, and has been employed as one of the most formidable arguments against the authenticity of st. john's gospel. the argument employed by these critics is as follows:--( ) the synoptic gospels contain the original apostolic tradition, and they agree in stating that jesus celebrated the ordinary jewish passover on the evening between the th and th of the month nisan; they therefore represent the crucifixion as taking place on the th, after the passover had been eaten. ( ) the fourth gospel places the last supper on the evening between the th and the th of nisan. it therefore represents the crucifixion as taking place on the th, and tacitly denies that christ ate the usual jewish passover. ( ) the churches of the province of asia, which were founded by st. john, were accustomed in the nd century to keep their passover on the th of nisan, and declared that they derived their custom from st. john. they consequently believed that christ died on the th, and that he ate the usual jewish passover. ( ) therefore the fourth gospel was not written by st. john, but by a forger who wished to emphasize the break between judaism and christianity. this argument can be turned with fatal force against the critics who made it. it is no doubt true that st. john by numerous indications (xiii. ; xviii. ; xix. , ) implies that the last supper was eaten the day before the usual passover, and that christ died on nisan . but the usage of the christians of the asiatic churches in the nd century absolutely corroborates these indications. these churches when they celebrated the passover were not celebrating the anniversary of the last supper, but the anniversary of the death of christ, the true paschal lamb. by doing this on nisan , they showed that they believed that christ died on that day, and there is particularly strong evidence of a belief among the early christians that our lord did die on nisan . moreover, although the account of the synoptists is not free from { } ambiguity, it bears many testimonies to st. john's chronology. they record as happening on the day of christ's death several actions which the jewish law did not permit on a feast day such as nisan , and which must presumably have taken place on nisan . the synoptists make the sanhedrim say that they will not arrest jesus "on the feast day," the guards and st. peter carry arms, the trial is held, simon the cyrenian comes from work, joseph of arimathaea buys a linen cloth, the holy women prepare spices, all of which works would have been forbidden on nisan . finally, the day is itself called the "preparation," a name which would not be given to nisan . the conclusion is irresistible. it is that our lord died on nisan , that st. john is correct, and that the synoptists in most of the passages concerned corroborate st. john. the only real difficulty is raised by mark xiv. (cf. matt. xxvi. ; luke xxii. ), which seems to imply that the paschal lamb was sacrificed on the day before christ died. if so, this verse implies that christ died on nisan . but we must observe that not one of the synoptists says that the disciples ate a lamb at the last supper, and also that, for all ceremonial purposes, the day for killing the lamb began on the evening of nisan . it is therefore doubtful whether there is even as much as one verbal contradiction on this point between the synoptists and st. john. the omission of events which are of importance in the synoptic gospels is a striking feature in st. john's gospel. but these instances of omission can be more reasonably explained by the hypothesis that the author was content to omit facts with which the christians around him were well acquainted, than by the hypothesis that he was a spiritualistic writer of the nd century who wished to make his gospel fit some fanciful theory of his own. in fact, the latter hypothesis has proved a signal failure. the critics who say that the writer omitted the story of our lord's painful temptation as incompatible with the majesty of the divine word, may be asked { } why the writer gives no fuller account of the glorious transfiguration than the hint in i. . those who say that sentimental superstition induced the writer to omit the agony the garden, may be asked why the writer records the weariness of christ at samaria and his tears at the grave, of lazarus. there are gaps in the evangelist's narrative, but we cannot argue that the gospel is therefore a forgery. the evangelist is acquainted with the ascension (vi. ), though he does not record it; and he knows that nazareth was the early home of christ (i. ), though he does not narrate the story of the sacred infancy. the gospel of st. john is none the less genuine for being of the nature of a treatise, intended to bring certain aspects of the life of our lord to bear upon the intellectual life of ephesus. much has been made of the fact that he says nothing of the institution of the eucharist. nor does he record the command of jesus to baptize. are we to suppose that a writer who has told us how "the word was made flesh" so shrank from believing material things to be connected with a spiritual efficacy that he rejected the sacraments? is it not more probable that among people who were perfectly familiar with both baptism and the eucharist he preferred to tell what christ had said about being born again (iii.), and about the assimilation of his life by the believer (vi.)? this seems to us more reasonable. the fourth gospel, though it has a character and purpose of its own, and might even have been written if there had been no other gospel, yet was intended to supplement either the synoptic gospels or else a body of teaching corresponding with that contained in those gospels. the facts which st. john records in common with the synoptists before the last supper, the passion, and the resurrection are--the baptism of john (i. ), the feeding of the (vi. ), the walking on the sea (vi. ), the anointing at bethany, with the action of judas (xii. ), the triumphal entry into jerusalem (xii. ). even in connection with these incidents st. john gives his additional details, and { } therefore the character of his work is here, as elsewhere, both independent and supplemental. it remains to ask whether any words used by st. john seem to show that he borrowed expressions from the synoptic gospels. the following passages may be noticed: john v. f. (mark ii. f.), vi. , , f. (mark vi. , , f.), xii. , , f. (mark xiv. - ), xiii. (mark xiv. ), xviii. , (mark xiv. , ), xviii. (mark xiv. ). for the quotation from zechariah in xii. , cf. matt. xxi. . the words of our lord in john xv. -xvi. have been compared with those in matt. x. - . sometimes john has more points of contact with luke than with the other synoptists; _e.g._ there is the journey of christ to galilee before the death of john the baptist, the fact that the scourging of christ by pilate was intended to restrain the jews from demanding his death, and the visit of st. peter to the sepulchre. it has been thought that john xii. is based upon luke vii. . the anointing of our lord's _feet_ in both is certainly remarkable. sometimes john agrees with matt. and mark and not luke, as in recording the binding of jesus, the crown of thorns, the purple robe, and the custom of releasing a malefactor at the feast. such coincidences between john and the synoptic gospels are so slight and disconnected that it seems doubtful whether the former uses any material drawn from the latter. nevertheless, the story contained in the synoptic gospels, though not quoted, is presupposed. a good instance is in john vi. , where st. john does not stop to explain that the hour was late and the people therefore hungry. [ ] _apol._ i. . [ ] the longest instance of a passage in matt. and luke being parallel in these gospels and without a parallel in mark is the short passage, matt. iii. - , luke iii. - . [ ] this theory was first clearly expounded in by gieseler, a celebrated german protestant church historian. it has been more popular in england than in germany. { } chapter iii the gospel according to st. matthew [sidenote: the author.] st. matthew is one of the least known of the apostles. he was first called levi the son of alphaeus, and was a "publican" or collector of customs at capernaum. at the call of jesus, "he forsook all, and rose up and followed him." he then made a great feast, to which he invited his old companions, no doubt that they too might come under the influence of the lord. after the appointment of the twelve apostles, he was put in the second of the three groups of apostles. the new testament gives us no further information concerning him. an early tradition narrates that the apostles remained at jerusalem until twelve years after the ascension, and certainly st. paul does not seem to have found any of the apostles at jerusalem when he was there in a.d. (acts xxi. ). according to clement of alexandria, a.d. , st. matthew led a rigorously ascetic life, such as is also recorded of st. james. nothing certain is known of his missionary labours. parthia, ethiopia, and india were believed in the th and th centuries to have been visited by st. matthew. we learn from clement of alexandria that he did not suffer martyrdom.[ ] the fact that he disappears almost completely from the realm of history is an additional reason for believing the tradition which connects our first gospel with his name. a false tradition would have probably connected it with one of the more favourite figures of early christian story. { } it is repeatedly asserted by the fathers that st. matthew wrote his gospel in _hebrew_, which may either mean the sacred language of the synagogues, or the popular language of palestine which we now call aramaic. it should, however, be remembered that papias, our earliest authority, describes st. matthew's composition by the word _logia_, which seems to point to a list of sacred sayings or "oracles" of our lord, rather than to a historical narrative. about a.d. , papias writes: "matthew then composed the logia in the hebrew tongue, and every one interpreted them as he was able." [ ] about a.d. , st. irenaeus writes: "matthew published a gospel among the hebrews in their own dialect." [ ] origen and eusebius make similar statements. st. jerome, in a.d. , writes: "matthew, also called levi, who from being a publican became an apostle, first wrote a gospel of christ in judaea, and in hebrew letters and words for the benefit of those of the circumcision who believed. who afterwards translated it into greek is not quite certain." [ ] we naturally inquire what became of this hebrew gospel? st. jerome, in a.d. , believed that he had found it. he says that it was still preserved at caesarea, and that the nazarenes, a jewish christian sect of palestine, allowed him to transcribe a copy of it at beroea (now aleppo). in a.d. , he says that he had translated this gospel into greek and latin. it is known that it was used by the nazarenes and by the ebionites, a jewish sect which admitted that jesus was the messiah, but denied that he was divine. lastly, we find st. epiphanius, about the same time as st. jerome, describing the hebrew "gospel according to the hebrews" as the gospel written by st. matthew. so at the end of the th century it was generally believed that the gospel used by the nazarenes, and ordinarily known as "the gospel according to the hebrews," was the original { } hebrew version of matt. the opinion arose from the two simple facts that it was known that ( ) st. matthew originally wrote in hebrew, and that ( ) the nazarenes possessed _a_ gospel in hebrew. the conclusion was natural, but it was false. clement of alexandria and origen, who quote the gospel according to the hebrews, do not represent it as the work of st. matthew. st. jerome himself felt doubts. when he first discovered the hebrew gospel, he felt the enthusiasm of a critic who has made an important find. he believed that he had discovered the original gospel. he afterwards became more cautious. his later allusions to the gospel say that "it is called by most the original matthew," [ ] and that it is "the gospel according to the apostles or, _as most suppose_, according to matthew." [ ] in fact, this hebrew gospel, which bore sometimes the title of "the hebrews," sometimes "the apostles," sometimes "st. matthew," was not the hebrew original of our present matthew, nor could it have been written by an apostle. the fragments of it which now remain come from two versions. both versions show traces of a mixed jewish and gnostic heresy, and are plainly apocryphal. the holy spirit is called the "mother" of jesus, and represented as transporting him by a hair of his head to mount tabor, and our lord is represented as handing his grave-clothes to the servant of the high-priest as soon as he was risen from the dead. the gospel certainly seems not only to be a forgery, but to betray a knowledge both of our greek gospel according to st. matthew and that according to st. john.[ ] we are obliged to conclude that it throws no light on the origin of our matt., and that the original hebrew matt. was lost at an early date. on the other hand, it is certain that our greek matt. was { } regarded as authentic in the nd century, and it is plain that it records the sayings of christ with peculiar fulness. we must now return to what was stated in our previous chapter when dealing with the synoptic problem. we there saw that there is a great mass of common material in all three synoptic gospels, and saw that mark was probably used as a groundwork for matt. and luke. we therefore are led to the conclusion that the gospel according to st. matthew is a combination of a greek version of st. matthew's original hebrew logia--st. matthew possibly wrote a greek version of it as well as the hebrew--with the gospel written by st. mark. the combination was apparently made either by the apostle himself, or by a disciple of the apostle as the result of his directions. the catholic jewish christians, knowing that the gospel contained st. matthew's own logia, and that the rest of the gospel was in accordance with his teaching as delivered to them, called it "the gospel according to matthew." the less orthodox jewish christians, as we have seen, invented a gospel of their own. a little help is given us by the internal evidence afforded by matt. the author appears to be writing for greek-speaking converts from judaism, who need to have hebrew words interpreted to them. thus he interprets "immanuel" (i. ), "golgotha" (xxvii. ), and the words of our lord on the cross (xxvii. ). the numerous quotations from the old testament have for a long time exercised the ingenuity of scholars, who have believed that they enable us to determine how the gospel was written. on the whole these quotations suggest two conclusions: ( ) that the evangelist knew both greek and aramaic, ( ) that the gospel is not a mere translation from the aramaic or hebrew. roughly speaking, the quotations which st. matthew has in common with the other synoptists are from the greek (septuagint) version of the old testament, while those which are peculiar to his { } gospel show that the hebrew has been consulted. altogether the quotations number . of these there are which are texts quoted by the evangelist himself to illustrate the messianic work of our lord, and of the seem to imply a knowledge of hebrew. they are i. ; ii. , iv. - , viii. , xii. - ; xiii. - ; xiii. b; xxi. ; xxvii. , . the other texts comprise the quotations which are made in the discourses of our lord, and they are sometimes called context-quotations or cyclic quotations, as coming in the cycle of discourses. perhaps or of these texts imply a knowledge of the hebrew. but it is certain that this class of quotations is far nearer to the septuagint than the other class. this conclusion remains good in spite of the fact that even the messianic quotations show the influence of the septuagint, _e.g._ in i. the writer uses the septuagint, inasmuch as the greek word translated "virgin" _necessarily_ implies the unique condition of the mother of our lord, whereas the corresponding hebrew word does not _necessarily_ imply the same condition. now, it is plain that if the gospel had been translated from the hebrew, the context-quotations would probably have been as near to the hebrew as the quotations made by the evangelist himself. this is not the case. the quotations in matt. show that the writer knew hebrew but wrote in greek, and based part of his work on a greek document. the fact that the gospel was written in greek does not prove that it was not written in palestine. it has been urged that it cannot have been written in palestine, because in ix. , we find palestine called "_that_ land," but the phrase may refer only to a part of palestine, and therefore can hardly be urged as proving anything. it is well known that educated persons in palestine were acquainted with greek, although the majority spoke aramaic. the two languages existed side by side, very much as welsh and english exist side by side in north wales. if the gospel was not written in palestine, it was probably written in south syria. { } [sidenote: date.] the date must be shortly before a.d. . a favourite argument of modern sceptics is that it contains a reference (xxii. ) to the burning of jerusalem by the romans in a.d. , and therefore must have been written after that event. the argument rests upon the assumption that our lord could not have foreseen the event predicted--an assumption which no christian can accept. even the favoured servants of god in later ages have sometimes possessed the gift of prophecy. savonarola certainly foretold the fall of rome, which took place in a.d. , and the prophecy was printed long before the event seemed credible. much more might the son of god have foretold the fall of that city which had so signally neglected his summons. such expressions as "the holy city," "the holy place," "the city of the great king," suggest that when the gospel was written it had not yet become the home of "the abomination of desolation." and a far stronger proof is afforded by the caution of the writer in xxiv. , "let him that readeth understand." this is an editorial note inserted by the evangelist, as by st. mark, before our lord's warning to flee from judaea. we learn from the early historians of the church that the jewish christians took warning from this statement to flee from judaea to peraea before the romans invested the holy city in a.d. . now, it would have been absurd for the evangelist to insert this note after the roman forces had begun the siege, as absurd as it would have been to warn the parisians to flee to england after paris had been surrounded by the prussians in , or to warn the english to leave ladysmith in after it was surrounded by the boers. another and final proof that the gospel was written before a.d. is given by the form in which the evangelist has recorded our lord's prophecy of the end of the world (the so-called "eschatological discourse" in chs. xxiv.-xxv.). the prophecy of the destruction of jerusalem and that of the last coming of the lord are placed side by side with no perceptible break. ch. xxiv. - refers to the { } last coming of christ, whereas the verses which immediately precede it refer to the destruction of jerusalem, and so do vers. - . it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the evangelist believed that the judgment upon jerusalem would be immediately followed by the last judgment of the world. he knows that our lord foretold both, and both events loom large in his mind. as a traveller in a valley sees before him two great mountains which appear close to one another, though really separated by many miles, so the evangelist sees these two events together. after the fall of jerusalem he would almost certainly have made a definite break between the two subjects. [sidenote: literary style.] we have already noticed in ch. ii. the fondness for numerical arrangement, which is a marked characteristic of the style of this gospel. there are other proofs of the fact that this gospel is more hebrew in tone than the others. in the other gospels we find the expression "the kingdom of god," but here we find it called "the kingdom of heaven," an instance of the peculiarly jewish reverence which shrank from uttering the name of god. there are a few aramaic words found in this gospel--_raca_ (v. ), _gehenna_ (v. ), _mammon_ (vi. ); and we should add the peculiar use of "righteousness" in vi. , where the word is used in the sense of "alms" in accordance with a jewish idiom. but the greek phrases are often neat and clear-cut. they sometimes seem to imply a play upon words, _e.g._ in vi. and xxiv. . this is another indication that the gospel, as it stands, was first written in greek. the greek is smoother than that of st. mark, though not so vivid. the evangelist writes with a joyous interest in his work. the historical parts of it are full of beauty, but he uses them mainly as a framework for the discourses of jesus, which he preserves with loving fidelity. in st. matthew's gospel the old testament is frequently quoted, that the reader may see that jesus is the realization of { } the hopes of the jewish prophets. with set purpose the fair picture of the servant of jehovah drawn by isaiah is placed in the middle of the gospel (xii. - ), that we may recognize it as the true portrait of christ. close to it on either side the blasphemies of the pharisees are skilfully depicted as a foil to his divine beauty. we have already noticed the bearing of these quotations on the origin of the gospel, but we must speak further of their bearing on the evangelist's view of the old testament. his messianic quotations are introduced by such phrases as "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet," or, "then was fulfilled," etc. the tendency of modern scepticism to ridicule the supernatural element in prophecy has caused some writers to depreciate this method of quotation. and we find even a thoughtful roman catholic writer speaking of it as "giving the impression that the supple and living story of the life of jesus is only a chain of debts which fall due, and fulfilments which cannot be avoided." [ ] in particular, it has been alleged that the greek word translated "that," or "in order that," and prefixed to these quotations, implies this fatalistic necessity. but this particular argument is mistaken. in later greek the use of the word was vaguer than it had been formerly.[ ] it cannot be narrowed down so as to prove that the evangelist thought that events in the old testament only took place in order to be types which the son of god constrained himself to fulfil. and, speaking more generally, we may say that the evangelist shows an exquisite taste in his selection of messianic quotations. convinced that jesus sums up the history of israel, he does not hesitate to quote passages in the old testament, whether they directly refer to the messianic king, or only call up some picture which has a counterpart in the life of christ. { } thus the quotations in i. and ii. directly refer to one who is the expected king, that in viii. to one who is the ideal martyred servant, that in ii. to israel conceived of as the peculiar child of god and so a type of christ. in ii. the evangelist finds in the name of _nazareth_ an echo of the ancient messianic title _netzer_ (a branch). in ii. we see that the tomb of rachel near bethlehem reminds him of the mothers of israel weeping over the death of their children at the hands of the babylonians; and as jeremiah poetically conceived of rachel weeping with the mothers of his own day, so st. matthew conceives of her as finding her crowning sorrow in the massacre of the holy innocents. three other quotations deserve special notice: ( ) that in xxvii. , which the evangelist quotes from "jeremiah." it is often said that this is a mere mistake for zechariah. but it is a quotation combined, according to the jewish method known as the charaz, or "string of pearls," from zech. xi. and jer. xix. , , , the valley of the son of hinnom being regarded as typical of "the field of blood." ( ) that in xxvii. , from ps. lxix. . it is said that the evangelist, in order to make our lord's action correspond with the words of the psalmist, makes him drink "gall" instead of "myrrh" (mark xv. ), and thus represents the soldiers as cruelly giving him a nauseating draught instead of a draught to dull his pain. the argument will hardly hold good, for the greek word translated "gall" can also signify a stupefying drug, and thus matt. and mark agree. ( ) that in xxi. - , where our lord is represented as making use of both an ass and a colt for his triumphal entry into jerusalem. the other synoptists mention a colt only, and it is supposed that the evangelist altered his narrative of the fact in order to make it agree with a too literal interpretation of zech. ix. . it must be admitted that the account in mark and luke has an air of greater probability, and it has the support of the brief account in john. but there is not a decisive contradiction between matt. and the other gospels, and it is therefore unreasonable to pass an unfavourable verdict on any of them. the story in matt. cannot be discredited as containing an apocryphal miracle, and the mere fact that it is so independent of the other gospels suggests that it is really primitive. [sidenote: character and contents.] the chief characteristic of this gospel is the representation of jesus as _the messiah_ in whom was fulfilled the { } law and the prophets. it was probably placed first in the new testament because this messianic doctrine is the point of union between the old covenant and the new. st. matthew's representation of the messiah is the result of very careful reflection, and it shows that the evangelist wrote in a spirit which was philosophical and in one sense controversial. he is philosophic because he is not a mere annalist. he groups incidents and discourses together in a manner which brings out their significance as illustrating the messiahship of jesus and the majestic forward movement of the kingdom of god. he is in one sense controversial because he wishes his picture of christ to correct that false idea of the messiah and his reign which was ruining the jewish people. the best kind of controversy is that which is intent upon explaining the truth rather than eager to expose and ridicule what is false. so the evangelist presents to his readers jesus as the lord's anointed with inspired powers of persuasion. the manner in which he records our lord's urgent warnings against going after false jewish messiahs at the time when the destruction of jerusalem should draw near, is a witness to the depth of his convictions. like the author of the epistle to the hebrews, who wrote shortly before him, he cannot endure the thought of any waverers or deserters. the jewish christian must be loyal to jesus, even although the invasion of the holy land by gentiles may sorely tempt him to throw in his lot with his patriotic but unbelieving kinsmen. the very first verse suggests the nature of the gospel--"the book of the generation" (_i.e._ the genealogical tree) "of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham." this "book" includes the first verses of the gospel. while st. luke traces the genealogy of our lord back to adam, the head of the human race, st. matthew desires to show that our lord, _as the son of abraham_, is the child of promise in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed, and, _as the son of david_, { } is heir to the kingdom of spiritual israel. the genealogy is partly based on that of the greek version of chron. i.-iii., and is intended to teach certain special truths. it is arranged so as to be a kind of summary of the history of the people of god, each group of names ending with a crisis. jesus is the flower and fulfilment of that history. it furnishes a reply to jewish critics. they would say that jesus could not be messiah unless joseph, his supposed father, was descended from david. st. matthew shows that st. joseph was of davidic descent. again, the jews would say that in any case the messiah would not be likely to be connected with a humble carpenter and his folk. the evangelist's reply is that david himself was descended from comparatively undistinguished men and from women who were despised. thus st. matthew meets both points raised by the jews. of recent years another criticism has been passed on this pedigree of our lord. a copy of the old syriac version of the gospels, discovered at sinai and published in , says that joseph begat jesus, and in this way denies that jesus was born of a pure virgin. some writers who wish to believe that our lord was brought into the world in the same manner as ourselves, have said that this syriac version represents what was actually the fact. there is, however, no reason for believing anything of the kind. there is no ground for the notion that the syriac genealogy was taken from a primitive jewish register. it is merely a translation of the greek, probably from some western greek manuscript which had "joseph begat jesus." when the evangelist wrote the genealogy, he can only have meant that joseph was by jewish law regarded as the father of jesus; for his whole narrative of our lord's infancy assumes that he was born of a virgin mother. the truth that our lord was born miraculously is asserted by st. luke as well as by st. matthew. it is assumed by st. paul, when he argues that the second adam was free from the taint of sin which affected the rest of the first adam's descendants. it { } was also cherished from the earliest times in every part of the christian world where the teaching of the apostles was retained, and was only denied by a few heretics who had openly rejected the teaching of the new testament on other subjects. connected with the representation of jesus as the messiah is the record of his continual teaching about the "kingdom of heaven." the "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of god" signifies the reign and influence of god. the meaning of it is best expressed by the words in the lord's prayer: "thy kingdom come. thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth" (matt. vi. ). the second petition explains the first. the kingdom comes in proportion as the righteous will of our loving father is done among men. the kingdom therefore includes the influence of god in the heart of the believer, or in great movements in the world, or in the organization and growth of his _church_ (xvi. ; xviii. ). the kingdom has both a present and a future aspect. in xii. our lord says to his hearers that it "is come upon you," and in xxi. he speaks of people who were entering into it at the time. but the night before he died he spoke of it as still future (xxvi. ). it is plain that he taught that it was already present, though its consummation is yet to come. the kingdom is spiritual, "not of this world," it is universal, for though the jews were "the sons of the kingdom" (viii. ) by privilege, it is free to others. the worst sinner might come in (xxi. ), if he came with repentance, humility, and purity of heart. the teaching of christ with regard to the kingdom was based upon an idea of god's personal rule, which runs through nearly all the old testament, beginning with the books of samuel and revealing itself in isaiah, jeremiah, and daniel. but our lord's teaching is original and distinctive. and it is more distant from the popular jewish idea of a hebrew counterpart to the roman empire than the east is distant from the west. nowhere else is our lord shown to have given such an unmistakable sanction to the law. it is here only that we { } read, "think not that i came to destroy the law, or the prophets: i came not to destroy, but to fulfil" (v. ).[ ] here, too, we find an allusion to the observance of the sabbath _after_ the ascension (xxiv. ), a temporary prohibition of preaching to the gentiles and samaritans (x. ), and the statement of our lord, "i was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of israel" (xv. ). most remarkable of all is the direction to obey the scribes and pharisees (xxiii. ). on the other hand, there is a rigorous denunciation of the rabbinical additions to the jewish law. mercy is preferable to sacrifice (xii. ), the son of man is lord of the sabbath (xii. ), moral defilement does not come from a failure to observe ceremonial (xv. ), the kingdom will be transferred to a more faithful nation (xxi. ), even the strangers from the east and the west (viii. ), the gospel will be for all people (xxiv. ), and the scribes and pharisees are specially denounced (xxiii. ). it has been said that there is an absolute opposition between these two classes of sayings; that either jesus contradicted himself, or the evangelist drew from one source which was of a judaizing character, and from another source which taught st. paul's principle of justification by faith _versus_ justification by the law. but the same divine paradox of truth which we find in matt. runs through most of the new testament, and is found plainly in st. paul. in the epistle where he exposes the failure of contemporary judaism most remorselessly, he asserts that "we establish the law." the true inner meaning of the divine revelation granted in the old testament _is_ fulfilled in christ. not only so, but christ himself was "the servant of the circumcision," living "under the law." the limits which he imposed upon his own ministry (xv. ) and that of his apostles (x. ) were entirely fitting until christ at his resurrection laid aside all that was peculiarly jewish with its limits and humiliations. { } analysis[ ] the infancy of our lord: i. -ii. .--genealogy from abraham, announcement to joseph, birth, visit of magi, flight into egypt, massacre of innocents, settlement at nazareth. a. winter a.d. till after pentecost . the preparation for the ministry: iii. -iv. .-- the ministry of john the baptist and the baptism of jesus, the threefold temptation. b. pentecost a.d. till before passover . the preaching of the kingdom of god by jesus in galilee: iv. -xiii. .--the call of the four fishermen, jesus preaches and heals (iv.). the sermon on the mount--jesus fulfils the law, the deeper teaching concerning the commandments (v.). false and true almsgiving, prayer and fasting, worldliness, trust in god (vi.). censoriousness, discrimination in teaching, encouragements to prayer, false prophets, the two houses (vii.). the ministry at capernaum and by the lake is illustrated by the record of many works of _messianic healing power_ (viii.-ix.), the apostles are chosen and receive a charge (x.), and the ministry is illustrated by words and parables of _messianic wisdom_ (xi.-xiii.). we find a growing hostility on the part of the scribes and pharisees (ix. ; ix. ; xii. , xii. ; xii. ). jesus returns to nazareth (xiii. - ). [perplexity of herod and death of john the baptist, xiv. - .] { } c. passover a.d. till before tabernacles . climax of missionary work in galilee: xiv. -xviii. .--christ feeds the , walks on the sea, heals the sick in gennesaret (xiv.). christ now labours chiefly in the dominions of herod philip, the journeys are more plainly marked in mark. teaching about defilement, the canaanite woman, christ feeds the (xv.). leaven of the pharisees and sadducees, peter's confession of christ, christ's first prediction of his death (xvi.). transfiguration, lunatic boy cured, second prediction of death, the shekel in the fish's mouth (xvii.). treatment of children, christ saving lost sheep, forgiveness (xviii.). d. tabernacles, september a.d. until early . the ministry in peraea; xix. i-xx. .--christ forbids divorce, he blesses children, the rich young man, the difficulties of the rich (xix.). parable of the labourers, christ's third prediction of his death, the request of the mother of zebedee's children, the two blind men of jericho (xx.). e. passover a.d. . last days at jerusalem, and afterwards: xxi. -xxviii. .--entry into jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, the withered fig tree, christ challenged, parable of the vineyard (xxi.). the marriage feast, three questions to entrap christ, his question (xxii.). on not seeking chief places, denunciation of scribes and pharisees, lament over jerusalem (xxiii.). predictions of destruction of temple, siege of jerusalem, the second coming (xxiv.), three discourses on the judgment (xxv.). { } the council discuss how they may arrest jesus, the woman with the ointment, judas' bargain, the passover, gethsemane, the betrayal, the trial before caiaphas, peter's denial (xxvi.). jesus delivered to pilate, judas' suicide, jesus tried by pilate, jesus and barabbas, the mockery, crucifixion, burial by joseph of arimathaea, guard granted by pilate (xxvii.). the women at the sepulchre, the angel, jesus meets them, the guard bribed, jesus meets the eleven in galilee, his commission to baptize and teach (xxviii.). _note on the date of matthew._--irenaeus, apparently following papias, says, "matthew published a written gospel among the hebrews in their own dialect, peter and paul preaching the gospel at rome" (_adv. haer._ iii. ). this would fix the date of the hebrew matt. about a.d. , if it was the intention of irenaeus to give chronological information in this sentence. but the context makes it more probable that this is not the case, and that he simply wished to make it clear that the teaching of the four chief apostles, peter and paul, matthew and john, has come down to us in writing. that of matthew and john survives in their gospels, that of peter and paul, though they wrote no gospels, survives in mark and luke. eusebius, in his _chronicle_ dates the composition in a.d. . this he probably does in order to make it fit with the supposed departure of the apostles from jerusalem after twelve years from the crucifixion. his statement is very improbable. at any rate our greek matt. must have been written after mark. the frequent quotations from it in primitive literature from the epistle of barnabas and the _didaché_ onwards, bear witness both to its early date and its high authority. internal evidence points to the same conclusion. in addition to what is said above (p. ), we may note some passages likely to perplex the reader. such are ii. , "the ass _and the colt_" in xxi. , the "three days and _three nights_ in the belly of the whale" mentioned as typical of christ's rest in the tomb (xii. ), the absence of all reference to the _burning_ of the temple in xxiv. , the reference to zachariah the son of barachiah (xxiii. ; contrast chron. xxiv. ). such verses would probably have been altered if the gospel had not gained an authoritative position at a very early date. [ ] strom. iv. . [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ iii. . [ ] _adv. haer._ iii. . [ ] _de vir, ill._ . [ ] _in matt._ xii. . [ ] _con. pelag._ iii. . [ ] so prof. armitage robinson, _expositor_, march, . [ ] batiffol, _six leçons sur les evangiles_, p. . [ ] burton, _syntax of the moods and tenses of new testament greek_, pp. - . [ ] in this gospel only is sin called "lawlessness." [ ] these analyses of the gospels are not complete, but are arranged with the hope that the readers, by studying all the four, may gain a clearer conception of the life of our lord. { } chapter iv the gospel according to st. mark [sidenote: the author.] john mark was the son of a mary who was an influential member of the church at jerusalem, as the church met in her house (acts xii. ). he was a cousin of barnabas (col. iv. ), who had been a man of some property. it has been thought that mark was the "young man" referred to in the account given by this gospel of the arrest of jesus in the garden. to others the incident would probably have appeared insignificant. he lived at jerusalem during the famine in a.d. , and barnabas took him to antioch on returning thither from jerusalem at that time. he accompanied st. paul and st. barnabas on st. paul's first missionary journey, and laboured with them at salamis in cyprus. it is possible that acts xiii. means that john mark had been a "minister" of the synagogue at salamis. at any rate, the greek can be so interpreted. after crossing from paphos to the mainland of asia minor, the missionaries arrived at perga. here st. paul made the great resolve to extend the gospel beyond the taurus mountains. st. mark determined to leave him. perhaps he was not prepared for so magnificent an undertaking as a "work" which included the conversion of the gentiles (acts xiv. ), or for the substitution of the leadership of st. paul for that of st. barnabas. st. mark returned to jerusalem, and was again at antioch about the time of st. paul's rebuke of st. peter. possibly st. mark followed the example of most of the jewish christians at antioch in inducing st. peter and st. barnabas to withdraw from { } fellowship with the gentile converts. whether he did so or not, it is certain that st. paul refused to take st. mark with him on his second missionary journey, a.d. . st. barnabas then went home to cyprus with st. mark. we hear no more of the future evangelist until a.d. , when we find that he is with st. paul in rome, and completely reconciled to him. he is the apostle's "fellow-worker" and his "comfort" (col. iv. ; philem. ). about four years later, st. paul, in writing shortly before his martyrdom to timothy, requests him to come to rome by the shortest route, and to take up mark on the way, "for he is useful to me for ministering" ( tim. iv. ). the last notice that we have of st. mark in the new testament illustrates how complete a harmony had been effected between the expansive theology of st. paul and the once cramped policy of st. peter and st. mark. in his first epistle st. peter refers to "mark, my son," and his words make it certain that the two friends were then together at babylon, _i.e._ rome. in the th century it was widely believed that st. mark was the founder of christianity in alexandria, and the first bishop of the see which was afterwards ruled by st. athanasius and st. cyril. it is important to notice that this tradition appears first in eusebius, and is not mentioned in the extant works of clement and origen, the great luminaries of the early alexandrian church. but it seems to be too well supported by the great writers of the th century for us to regard it as a fabrication. if the tale is true, st. mark must have brought christianity to alexandria either after the death of st. peter about a.d. , or about a.d. , in the interval between his separation from st. paul and his stay with him at rome. the early fathers, so far as their testimony remains, are unanimous in ascribing this gospel to st. mark, and they are equally unanimous in tracing the work of st. mark to the influence of st. peter. justin martyr speaks of the "memoirs of peter" when referring to a statement which we find in { } mark iii. . papias closely associates the two saints in his account of the gospel, and gives us his information on the authority of john the presbyter, who was a disciple of the lord. irenaeus, clement of alexandria, tertullian, and origen say practically the same thing. this evidence is overwhelming, and it is uncontradicted by any early authority. the statement of papias is as follows: "and the elder said this also: mark, having become the interpreter of peter, wrote down accurately everything that he remembered of the things that were either said or done by christ; but, however, not in order. for neither did he hear the lord, nor did he follow him; but afterwards, as i said, he attended peter, who adapted his instructions to the needs of his hearers, but had no design of giving a connected account of the lord's words. so then mark committed no error in thus writing down certain things as he remembered them; for he made it his special care not to omit anything that he heard, or to set down any false statement therein." [ ] by calling st. mark an _interpreter_, papias perhaps means that he translated statements made in aramaic into greek, which was the language most used by the christians of rome until the rd century after christ. by saying that st. mark wrote _not in order_, papias probably means that the gospel is not a systematic history of all our lord's ministry, or an orderly arrangement of subjects placed together with a view to instruction like those in matthew. so far as we are able to test them, the facts are related chronologically in the great majority of cases. papias does not tell us when st. mark wrote his gospel. irenaeus writes: "matthew also published a written gospel among the hebrews in their own dialect, peter and paul preaching the gospel at rome, and laying the foundations of the church. after their departure, mark, the disciple and interpreter of peter, delivered to us in writing the things that had been preached by peter." [ ] { } st. peter and st. paul probably died not later than a.d. . eusebius quotes from clement of alexandria "that peter having publicly preached the word at rome, and having spoken the gospel by the spirit, many present exhorted mark to write the things which had been spoken, since he had long accompanied peter, and remembered what he had said; and that when he had composed the gospel, he delivered it to them who had asked it of him, which when peter knew, he neither forbad nor encouraged it." [ ] clement is here relying upon "the presbyters of old," and the antiquity of the tradition is proved by the fact that it does not claim st. peter's direct sanction for the gospel. both irenaeus and clement were probably born about a.d. , or earlier. irenaeus was acquainted with rome, where st. peter taught, while clement lived at alexandria, where st. mark was probably bishop. moreover, clement's office of head-catechist at alexandria had been previously held by at least three predecessors, who must have handed down traditions of first-rate value. the testimony of clement with regard to st. mark is not inconsistent with that of irenaeus. the gospel was probably written while st. peter was alive, and when he was dead, was given to the church. possibly it underwent some revision before publication. now, as st. peter evidently had not taught in rome when st. paul wrote the epistle to the romans in a.d. , and as st. mark was in rome when he wrote the epistle to the colossians in a.d. , we may reasonably date this gospel about a.d. . it seems to be later than colossians, as there is no indication of st. peter's being in rome when that epistle was written. [sidenote: literary style.] the internal evidence afforded by the gospel strongly corroborates the belief that it was based upon the discourses of one who had been with our lord during his ministry. it is marked by a vivid and dramatic realism. there is a fondness for rapid transitions from one scene to another, as may be illustrated by the { } fact that the greek word for "immediately" occurs no less than forty-one times. in i. the actual form of an original dialogue is shown in the abrupt and broken sentences employed. st. mark uses different tenses of the greek verb--present, perfect, imperfect, and aorist--with singular freedom, not because he did not know greek well enough to write with more regularity, but because he is carried away by his interest in the facts which he relates. the student will find good instances of this interchange of tenses in v. ff.; vi. ff.; viii. ; ix. ff. st. mark's language shows that he was well acquainted with the greek version of the old testament, which has exercised considerable influence on his style. there are many picturesque phrases, such as "the heavens rent" (i. ) and "devour houses" (xii. ). there are little redundancies in which the author repeats his thoughts with a fresh shade of meaning, as "at even, when the sun did set" (i. ); "he looked steadfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly" (viii. ); "all that she had, even all her living" (xii. ). there is a frequent use of popular diminutives, such as words for "little boat," "little daughter," "little dog." this is probably due to provincial custom, and may be compared with the fondness shown in some parts of scotland for words such as "boatie," "lassie" or "lassock," etc. there are several hebraisms. some of the greek words are frankly plebeian, such as a foreigner would pick up without realizing that they were inelegant. there are also some aramaic words and phrases which the writer inserts with a true artistic sense and then interprets--_boanerges_ (iii. ), _talitha cumi_ (v. ), _corban_ (vii. ), _ephphatha_ (vii. ), _abba_ (xiv. ), and _eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani_[ ] (xv. ). the greek also contains numerous grammatical irregularities which betray the hand of a foreigner, { } as in ii. ; iv. ; vi. ; vii. , ; ix. , xi. ; xiii. . the use of participles is clumsy, especially in the account of the woman with the issue of blood (v. ff.). finally, there are more latin words and idioms than in any of the other gospels. latin idioms may be seen in v. and xv. , and instances of latin words are _speculator_ (vi. ), _centurion_ (xv. ), _sextarius_ (vii. ), _denarius_ (vi. ), _quadrans_ (xii. ). in xii. , xv. , greek words are explained in latin. these facts corroborate the tradition that the writer was a palestinian who stayed in rome, and knew personally some one who had exceptional knowledge of our lord's actual words. the narrative is particularly fresh, and abounds in vivid details such as would have been likely to linger in st. peter's memory. the green grass whereon the crowds sat, and the appearance of flower-beds which they presented in their gay costume (vi. , ); the stern of the boat, and the pillow whereon our lord slept (iv. ); the gerasene demoniac cutting himself with stones (v. ); the woman who was a syro-phoenician but spoke greek (vii. ); jesus taking children in his arms (ix. ; x. ); the street where the colt was tied (xi. ); the two occasions on which the cock crew (xiv. , ); and st. peter warming himself in the light of the fire (xiv. );--such are some of the instances of the writer's fidelity in recording the impressions of his teacher. this gospel also abounds in proper names, both of places and persons. among the latter may be mentioned the name of bartimaeus, the blind beggar (x. ); the names of alexander and rufus, the sons of simon of cyrene (xv. ); salome, the mother of zebedee's children (xv. ); and boanerges, their surname (iii. ). equally remarkable is the manner in which the emotions of our lord and others are recorded. we notice the indignation and grief which he felt in the synagogue (iii. ); his compassion for the unshepherded people (vi. ); his deep sigh at the sceptical demand for a sign from heaven (viii. ), { } his displeasure at the disciples for keeping the children from him (x. ); his undisguised love for the rich young man who yet lacked one thing (x. ); his tragic walk in front of the apostles (x. ); the intensity of feeling with which he was driven into the wilderness (i. ), and overturned the tables and seats in the temple (xi. ). st. mark always seems to be painting our lord from the life. in spite of the fact that st. mark shows that he knew well how to compress the material which was at his disposal, there is hardly a story which he narrates in common with the other synoptists without some special feature. we may notice the imploring words of the father of the lunatic boy (ix. ), the spoken blessing on little children (x. ), the view of the temple (xiii. ), and pilate's question of the centurion (xv. ). none of these things are narrated in the other gospels. in ix. - we have the story of the transfiguration, with the statement that the garments of our lord "became glistering, exceeding white; _so as no fuller on earth can whiten them_." we are also told that st. peter then addressed our lord as "rabbi," and that "he wist not what to answer." the same significant phrase, "they wist not what to answer him," occurs in st. mark's account of the agony in the garden (xiv. ). these are only a few instances out of many which show st. mark's originality, and they are just such personal reminiscences as we might expect st. peter to retain. [sidenote: character and contents.] just as the style is realistic and the narrative circumstantial, so the contents are practical. "he went about doing good" is the impression which this gospel gives us of our lord. the teaching which he announced to the people is made less prominent than in matt. if we count even the shortest similitudes as parables, we find only nine parables in mark. equally remarkable is the absence of quotations made by the writer. he records numerous references made by our lord to the old testament, though fewer than matt. or luke, but the only quotations made by st. mark { } himself are in i. , (mal. iii. ; isa. xl. ) and xv. (isa. liii. ). on the other hand, we find eighteen miracles, only two less than in the much longer gospel of st. matthew. the theological tone of mark may be described as neutral. there is no trace of the innocent preferences which matt. and luke show toward this or that aspect of the teaching of jesus. in mark we do not find so strong an approval of the more permanent parts of the jewish law, or so strong a denunciation of the pharisees who exalted the external adjuncts of the law, as we find in matt. nor do we find such parables as the good samaritan and the prodigal son, by which luke lays emphasis upon the truth that the jews have no monopoly of holiness, and that the outcast is welcome to the gospel. mark is less jewish than matt., less gentile and pauline than luke. it used to be said that this was the result of "trimming," and intended to bridge over the differences between two different schools of theology. but the charge has broken down. st. mark, though not anti-jewish, regards christ as above the law of the sabbath (ii. ), and teaches the necessity of new external religious forms (ii. ). though he is not jewish, and though he omits the statement made in matt. xv. , a statement indicating that the jews had the first right to be taught by the messiah, he does record, like matt., the still harder statement of the same fact made to the syro-phoenician woman (vii. ). the truth is that st. mark is neutral simply in the sense that he faithfully records a story which was moulded before doctrinal conflicts had taken place between christian believers. the doctrine of st. mark is archaic. one of the most distinctive features of this gospel is the decisive clearness with which it shows how jesus trained and educated his disciples. the simplicity with which st. mark describes the faults of the friends of our lord is as remarkable as the vigour with which the gestures and feelings of our lord are portrayed. st. mark relates how that early in the ministry of jesus, his friends (iii. ) said that he was mad, and that "his { } mother and his brethren" (iii. ) sought to bring him back. the discipline and education of the disciples are recorded with a plain revelation of their mistakes and their spiritual dulness. when they had settled in capernaum christ shows them that he must find a wider sphere of work (i. ); he meets with a significant silence their obtrusive remonstrance when the woman with the issue of blood caused him to ask, "who touched my clothes?" (v. , ); he tells them with affectionate care "to rest a while," when they had been too busy even to eat (vi. ); he rebukes them gravely when they put a childish interpretation upon his command to beware of the leaven of the pharisees and of herod, the formalists and the erastian (viii. ); they are unintelligent and uninquiring when he prophesies his death and resurrection (ix. ), and after this prophecy they actually dispute about their own precedence (ix. ); when christ goes boldly forward to jerusalem, they follow with fear and hesitation (x. ); he rebukes the niggardly criticism of those who were indignant with the "waste" of the perfume poured upon his head (xiv. ); and in gethsemane "they all left him and fled" (xiv. ). among these disciples, st. peter is prominent, and though his confession of the messiahship of jesus is recorded, a confession which is necessarily central in the gospel (viii. ), st. mark neither records that our lord designed him as the rock, nor his commission to feed the lord's lambs and sheep. on the other hand, st. mark inserts things which were often of a nature to humble st. peter. he records the crushing reprimand which he received when he criticized the lord's mission (viii. ); it was peter's fanciful plan to erect three tabernacles on the scene of the transfiguration (ix. ), it was peter who informed the lord that the fig tree had withered after his curse (xi. ), it was peter whom christ awoke in gethsemane by uttering his name "simon" (xiv. ); and peter's denial appears doubly guilty in this gospel, inasmuch as he did not repent until the cock crew _twice_ (xiv. , ). at the { } beginning (iii. ) and at the end (xvi. ) peter occupies a special position. but the conduct of peter is narrated in a fashion which renders the notion of fiction quite impossible. the gospel cannot have been written by a hero-worshipper wishing to glorify a saint of old, but must surely have been written by "the interpreter of peter." in comparing the contents of mark with those of matt. and luke, we are struck by the absence of many of our lord's discourses. yet we find an eschatological discourse about the second coming in xiii., though much shorter than those in matt. xxiv. and xxv. the genuineness of mark xiii. has been assailed, and it has been described as an apocalyptic "fly-sheet," which was somehow inserted in the gospel. there is no reason for believing this theory to be true. the chapter was in mark when it was incorporated into matthew, and its teaching agrees with that attributed to our lord in the collections of logia. we have also the beginning of the charge given to the apostles (vi. - ; cf. matt. x.). there are a few echoes of the sermon on the mount, and only a specimen of the final denunciation of the pharisees, which occupies a whole chapter in matt. (mark xii. - , cf. matt. xxiii.). we find a few statements made by our lord which are peculiar to this gospel: _e.g._--"the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (ii. ), "foolishness" coming from the heart (vii. ); "every sacrifice shall be salted with salt" (ix. ); "father, all things are possible unto thee," in the touching filial appeal during the agony (xiv. ). here alone have we the tiny parable about the growth of the blade of corn (iv. ), and that of the porter commanded to watch until the master's return (xiii. ). there are two miracles peculiar to mark, the cure of the deaf-mute (vii. ) and of the blind man at bethsaida (viii. ). among the miracles recorded in mark, the cures of demoniacs are prominent. this is in peculiar contrast with john, where we find no cure of demoniacs recorded. in marked contrast to st. luke, st. mark appears indifferent { } to the political conditions of the countries where our lord worked. thus herod antipas is simply called "the king" (vi. ), whereas both in matt. and luke he is correctly called by the title of "tetrarch," which only implies governorship of a portion of a country. yet the narrative of st. mark shows that he was quite aware of facts which can only be explained by the political conditions which he does not describe. he knows that tyre and sidon, caesarea philippi and bethsaida, which were not under herod antipas, were more safe for our lord than capernaum. and he knows that in travelling to jerusalem he was in greater danger than while he remained in galilee, and was meeting his doom at the sentence of gentile officials. although st. mark is silent as to the names of many of the places which our lord visited, he gives us numerous indications of the various scenes of our lord's labours. we are thus able to fix the geographical surroundings of nearly all the more important events, and construct an intelligible plan of our lord's ministry. we can see how he made the shores of the lake of gennesaret the focus of his mission, and went on evangelistic journeys from capernaum into galilee. the time of these journeys was largely determined by circumstances, such as the unregulated enthusiasm of the mob, the spite of the scribes at capernaum, or the anger of herod's court at tiberias. towards the end of the ministry in galilee our lord devoted himself to the deeper instruction of his apostles and their initiation into the mystery of his death (vii. ff.; viii. ff.). for such teaching the mountain slopes of lebanon and hermon afforded scenes of perfect calm and beauty. { } analysis a. winter a.d. till after pentecost . the preparation for the ministry; i. - .--the mission of john the baptist and the baptism of jesus, the temptation. b. pentecost a.d. till before passover . the ministry of jesus in galilee, journeys from capernaum; i. -vi. .--the call of the four fishermen, jesus preaches and heals at capernaum (i. - ). _first missionary journey, in towns of galilee_: leper cleansed, return to capernaum (i. -ii. ). work in capernaum, five grounds of offence against jesus, jesus followed by crowds of hearers on the sea-shore (ii. -iii. ). appointment of the twelve, christ accused of alliance with satan, the unpardonable sin, christ's relation to his mother and brethren. he begins to teach in parables about the kingdom (iii. -iv. ). _second missionary journey, on the eastern shore of the lake of gennesaret_: the storm calmed, gerasene demoniac and swine (iv. -v. ). return to the western shore, the cure of the woman who touched his garment, jairus' daughter raised (v. - ). _third missionary journey, in the western highlands_, including nazareth, where he is rejected, and adjacent villages, the mission of the twelve (vi. - ). [perplexity of herod and death of john the baptist, vi. - .] { } c. passover a.d. till before tabernacles . climax of missionary work in galilee, journeys from capernaum; vi. -ix. .--christ in a desert place feeds the , visits bethsaida, walks on the sea, returns to gennesaret, heals many (vi. - ). teaching about defilement (vii. - ). _fourth missionary journey, to the north-west into phoenicia_: the syro-phoenician woman, departure from tyre and sidon, approach to the sea of galilee through decapolis, cure of the deaf-mute (vii. - ). christ feeds the (viii. - ) christ takes ship to dalmanutha, pharisees seek a sign, jesus takes ship to the other side, the leaven of the pharisees and of herod, cure of a blind man at bethsaida (viii. - ). _fifth journey, to towns of caesarea philippi, special teaching of the select few_: peter's confession of christ, christ's first prediction of his death (viii. -ix. ). transfiguration, lunatic boy cured, journey through galilee, second prediction of death, arrival at capernaum, the value of a child's example, the danger of causing one to stumble (ix. - ). d. tabernacles, september a.d. until early . journey to jerusalem through peraea: x.--christ forbids divorce, blesses children, the rich young man, the difficulties of the rich, christ's third prediction of his death, the request of zebedee's sons, christ's announcement of his mission to serve, blind bartimaeus cured at jericho. { } e. passover a.d. . last days at jerusalem, and afterwards; xi. -xvi. .--entry into jerusalem, the withered fig-tree, cleansing of the temple, the duty of forgiveness, christ challenged (xi.). the parable of the vineyard, three questions to entrap christ, his question, denunciation of scribes, the widow's mites (xii.). predictions of destruction of temple, of woes and of the second coming (xiii.). the council discuss how they may arrest jesus, the woman with the ointment, judas' bargain, the passover, gethsemane, the betrayal, the trial before the council, peter's denial (xiv.). jesus delivered to pilate, trial, jesus and barabbas, the mockery, crucifixion, burial by joseph of arimathaea (xv.). the women at the sepulchre, the angel (xvi. - ). appendix with summary of appearances of the lord (xvi. - ). _note on the concluding section._--the origin of xvi. - is one of the most difficult of questions, (a) the section is not found in the two famous greek mss., the vatican and the sinaitic, nor is it found in the very ancient sinaitic syriac ms. it is also lacking in one latin ms. (k), which represents the latin version used before st. jerome made the vulgate translation, about a.d. . the great scholar eusebius, a.d. , omitted it from his "canons," which contain parallel passages from the three gospels. (b) the language does not resemble the greek employed in other parts of the gospels, differing from it in some small particulars which most strongly suggest diversity of authorship. (c) much of the section might have been constructed out of the other gospels and acts; _e.g._ ver. is thought to be derived from john xx. , and ver. from john xx. - . (d) mary magdalene is introduced as though she had not been mentioned previously; but she has already appeared thrice in mark (xv. , ; xvi. ). on the other hand, it is obvious that the gospel could never have ended with the words "for they { } were afraid," in ver. . all the old latin mss. contain the present section except k, and perhaps originally a. the evidence of the vatican and the sinaitic mss. is not so strong as it appears to be at first sight. the end of mark in the sinaitic was actually written by the same scribe as the man who wrote the new testament in the vatican ms. and the way in which he has arranged the conclusion of the gospel in both mss. suggests that the mss. from which the sinaitic and the vatican were copied, both contained this or a similar section. moreover, there is considerable reason for thinking that he acted under the personal influence of eusebius. the verses are attested by irenaeus, and apparently by justin and hermas, and were therefore regarded as authentic, or at least as truthful, by educated men at lyons and rome, in the nd century. a possible solution is offered by an armenian ms. (a.d. ), which assigns the section to the "presbyter ariston." this is probably the presbyter aristion whom papias describes as a disciple of the lord (eusebius, _h. e._ iii. ). the conclusion of st. mark's ms. probably became accidentally detached, and vanished soon after his death, and the church may well have requested one who knew the lord to supply the deficiency. [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ iii. . [ ] _op. cit._ iii. . [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ vi. . [ ] also in matt. xxvii. . observe also the explanation of beelzebub (iii. ), gehenna (ix. ), bartimaeus (x. ), golgotha (xv. ). also the explanation of jewish customs in vii. , ; xiv. . { } chapter v the gospel according to st. luke [sidenote: the author.] the evidence for believing that the third gospel was written by st. luke, the friend of st. paul, is very strong. in the nd century both this gospel and acts were attributed to him. st. irenaeus, about a.d. , writes: "luke, also, the companion of paul, recorded in a book the gospel preached by him." [ ] a few years earlier the author of the _muratorian fragment_ wrote the words, "the third book of the gospel, that according to luke." according to eusebius and jerome and an unknown writer of the rd century, st. luke was a native of antioch in syria. of this we seem to have confirmation in the full account given in acts of the church at antioch. it is shown by col. iv. that he was a gentile, as there is a distinction drawn between him and those "of the circumcision." from the same passage we learn that he was a physician. traces of his profession have been discovered in the frequency with which he describes the _healing_ wrought by christ and his apostles (iv. , ; ix. , , ; x. ; xxii. ), and the occasional use of terms which a physician was more likely to employ than other people (iv. ; v. ; vi. ; xxii. ). it is very possible that it is st. luke who is described ( cor. viii. ) as "the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches." this tradition can be traced as far back as origen. the fact that he was a dear friend of st. paul is { } shown by the epithet "beloved" in col. iv. ; by the fact that he is one of the "fellow-workers" who send greetings from rome when st. paul, who was imprisoned there, wrote to philemon; and by the touching statement in tim. iv. , where st. paul, as he awaits his death, writes, "only luke is with me." st. luke's relations with st. paul are further illustrated from acts. the literary resemblances between this gospel and acts are so numerous and so subtle that the tradition which ascribes both books to one author cannot reasonably be controverted. the passages in acts which contain the word "we" show that the writer of acts accompanied st. paul from troas to philippi in a.d. , when the apostle made his first missionary journey in europe (acts xvi. - ). the apostle left him at philippi. about six years afterwards st. paul was again at philippi, and there met st. luke, who travelled with him to jerusalem (acts xx. -xxi. ); he also was with the apostle when he made the voyage to rome, and was shipwrecked with him at malta. a writer of the rd century (quoted in wordsworth's _vulgate_, p. ) tells us that st. luke had neither wife nor children, and died in bithynia at the age of seventy-four. a writer of the th century asserts that st. luke was a painter, and attributes to him a certain picture of the blessed virgin. another such picture is preserved in the great church of s. maria maggiore at rome. the legend finds no support in early christian writers. at the same time, it bears witness to the fact that this gospel contains the elements of beauty in especial richness. it is the work of st. luke that inspired fra angelico's pictures of the annunciation, and the english hymn "abide with me." although st. irenaeus is the first writer who names st. luke as the author of the third gospel, the gospel is quoted by earlier writers. special mention must be made of ( ) _justin martyr_. he records several facts only found in this gospel, _e.g._ elisabeth as the mother of john the baptist, the census { } under quirinius, and the cry, "father, into thy hands i commend my spirit." ( ) _celsus_, the pagan philosopher, who opposed christianity. he refers to the genealogy which narrates that jesus was descended from the first man. ( ) the _letter of the churches of lyons and vienne_, written in a.d. . ( ) _marcion_. he endeavoured to found a system of theology which he pretended to be in accordance with the teaching of st. paul. he rejected the old testament as the work of an evil god, and asserted that st. paul was the only apostle who was free from the taint of judaism. the only gospel which he kept was that according to st. luke, which he retained as agreeing with the teaching of st. paul. the contents of marcion's gospel can be largely discovered in tertullian. the differences which existed between marcion's gospel and our luke can be easily accounted for. here, as in st. paul's epistles, he simply altered the passages which did not agree with his own interpretation of st. paul's doctrine. for instance, in luke xiii. , instead of "abraham, and isaac, and jacob," he put "the righteous." the account of our lord's birth and infancy he omitted, because he did not believe that our lord's human body was thoroughly human and real. an interesting modern parallel to marcion's new testament can be found in england. at the beginning of the th century the english unitarians circulated large numbers of an english version of the new testament in which were altered all the passages in the english authorised version which imply that jesus is god. the translators of this unitarian version accepted the gospels of the new testament as genuine, although they used unscrupulous methods to support their assertion that the new testament is unitarian. in the same way marcion, although he made unscrupulous alterations in luke in order to prove that it was really marcionite, obviously accepted it as a genuine work of the apostolic age. the preface of the gospel begins with a ceremonious dedication to a person of high rank, named theophilus. he is { } called by the title "most excellent," which ordinarily implies that the person so designated is a member of the "equestrian order." the evangelist tells theophilus that many had taken in hand to draw up a narrative of those things which are "most surely believed among us." the preface shows us that many attempts to give an account in order of what our lord did and said had already been made. the literary activity of the earliest christians is thus demonstrated to us. the preface suggests to us that substantial accuracy marked these early efforts, and, in a still higher degree, st. luke's own gospel. he does not speak of the earlier works as inaccurate, and he does distinctly give his reader to understand that he possesses peculiar qualifications for his task. he asserts that his information is derived from "eye-witnesses and ministers of the word," and that he has himself "traced the course of all things accurately from the first." this preface certainly shows us that the writer took real pains in writing, and that he had personally known men who accompanied our lord. the date can hardly be later than a.d. , unless the evangelist wrote in extreme old age. and the date must be earlier than acts, as the gospel is referred to in that work (acts i. , ). can we fix the date more accurately than this? many critics think that we can. they say that it must be later than the fall of jerusalem, a.d. . it is said that the gospel presupposes that jerusalem was already destroyed. the arguments for this are: ( ) in luke xxi. - the utter destruction of jerusalem is foretold with peculiar clearness. we have already seen that a similar argument is employed by many in speaking of matt., an argument which seems to imply that our lord did not foretell that destruction because he could not. this argument must be dismissed. ( ) in luke xxi. there is no editorial note like that in matt. xxiv. , to emphasize the necessity of paying peculiar attention to our lord's warning about the coming destruction, and in luke xxi. the final judgment is not so { } clearly connected with the fall of jerusalem as in matt. xxiv. , where it is foretold as coming "immediately, after the tribulation of those days." moreover, xxi. suggests that the writer was well aware that an interval must elapse between the two great events. this is the only good argument for placing luke later than matt., and it certainly deserves careful attention. at the same time, we must observe the following facts: (a) st. luke probably did not know st. matthew's gospel, otherwise he would not have given such very different, though not contradictory, accounts of the infancy and the resurrection of our lord; (b) st. luke may perhaps owe the superior accuracy of his report of the eschatological discourse of christ to persons whom he knew at jerusalem in a.d. ; (c) st. luke himself possibly thought that the end of the world would follow soon after the destruction of jerusalem, for in xxi. he seems to connect the final judgment with his own generation. but the statement is not so strong as in matt. and mark. for st. luke says, "this generation shall not pass away till all be accomplished," while matt. and mark say, "until all _these_ things be accomplished," evidently including the final judgment. on the whole, it seems reasonable to date the gospel according to st. luke soon after a.d. , but it contains so many primitive touches that it may be rather earlier. it has been urged that both the gospel and acts betray a knowledge of the _antiquities_ of josephus, and must therefore be later than a.d. . this theory remains wholly unproved, and the small evidence which can be brought to support it is far outweighed by the early features which mark st. luke's books. [sidenote: literary style.] the style is marked by great delicacy and power. it is in better greek than the other synoptic gospels, and the evangelist seems to deliberately avoid some of the racy, popular words which are employed by st. mark. but the beginner should be warned that this gospel is not very easy to translate, for it contains a good { } many words with which he is not likely to be familiar. the language of st. luke contains many proofs that he is writing as a gentile for gentiles. thus he calls the apostle simon, who belonged to the fanatically devout party known as the "cananaeans," by the corresponding greek name "zealot" (vi. ); he seldom uses the hebrew word "amen," and he never uses the word "rabbi" as a form of address. he adds the word "unclean" before the word "devil" (iv. ), as the greeks believed that some devils were good and kind, while the jews believed all devils to be evil. he also substitutes the word "lawyer" for "scribe." but while the preface is written in what is perhaps the best greek in the new testament, the evangelist allows his language to be penetrated by his visions of jewish scenes. partly from his study of the old testament, partly from his knowledge of the books and the lives in which he found a testimony to jesus, he acquired the art of breathing into his greek the simple manner and the sweet tone of a hebrew story. there is nothing in all literature more perfectly told than the story of the walk to emmaus. nothing can be better than the delineation of character which is suggested to us in the story of zacharias, or of anna, or of zacchaeus. there is always a freshness to remind us that the gospel is "good tidings of great joy" (ii. ), and the magnificat (i. - ), the benedictus (i. - ), the gloria in excelsis (ii. ), and the nunc dimittis (ii. - ), have become for ever part of the praises of the christian church. more often than in any other gospel we find such expressions as "glorifying god," "praising god," "blessing god." again, st. luke, in choosing incidents from the life of home, and more especially in choosing incidents in which women are prominent, gives a new solemnity to a life which men had hitherto despised. we always think of the blessed virgin as "highly favoured," of martha "cumbered about much serving" (x. ), of the widow with the two mites, of the daughters of jerusalem weeping on the way of the cross (xxiii. ), of the double joy of elisabeth { } to bear a son in her old age and to be visited by the mother of her lord (i. ); and we think all this because st. luke has told us their story. these passages with their smiles and tears, their simplicity and their depth, are a divine contrast to the grotesque passage in the jewish liturgy, where the men thank god that they are not women. the last point in st. luke's literary style is his use of phrases which resemble phrases in st. paul's epistles. he writes as a man who has lived in familiar intercourse with st. paul. there is a striking similarity between the words attributed to our lord in _the institution of the eucharist_ (xxii. , ) and those in cor. xi. , , a similarity which is probably to be accounted for by the fact that st. luke must often have heard the apostle use these words in celebrating this sacrament. besides this, there are phrases which are parallel with phrases in every epistle of st. paul. a few instances are--luke vi. ( cor. i. ); luke vi. (rom. ii. ); luke viii. ( thess. i. ); luke x. (phil. iv. ); luke xii. (eph. vi. ); luke xxi. (rom. xi. ); luke xxii. (col. i. ). [sidenote: character and contents.] it has been well said that st. matthew's gospel is in a peculiar sense _messianic_, st. mark's is in a peculiar sense _realistic_, and st. luke's is in a peculiar sense _catholic_. and while st. matthew takes pains to connect christianity with the religion of the past, and st. mark allows his interest in the past and the future to be overshadowed by his resolve to speak of jesus as actually working marvels, st. luke seems, like st. paul, to be essentially progressive and to have a wider horizon than his predecessors. he does not manifest the least antipathy towards judaism. he has none of that intolerance which so often marks the men who advertise their own breadth of view. he represents our lord as fulfilling the law, as quoting the old testament, and declaring that "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail" (xvi. ). but he writes as a representative gentile { } convert. he takes pleasure in recording all that can attract to christ that gentile world which was beginning to learn of the new religion. we may note the following points which illustrate this fact: ( ) luke traces the genealogy of our lord, not like matt. by the legal line to abraham, the father of the jews, but by the natural line to _adam_, the father of humanity (iii. ), thus showing jesus to be the elder brother and the redeemer of every human being. ( ) while the true godhead of our lord is taught throughout, his true _manhood_ is brought into prominence with peculiar pathos. we note his condescension in passing through the various stages of a child's life (ii. - , , , , , , ), the continuance of his temptations during his ministry (xxii. ), his constant recourse to prayer in the great crises of his life, his deep _sobbing_ over jerusalem (xix. ), his sweat like drops of blood during his agony in gethsemane (xxii. ), a fact recorded by none of the other evangelists. st. luke seems to be filled with a sense of the divine compassion of jesus, and thus he relates the facts which prove the reality of the grace, the undeserved lovingkindness, of god to man. rightly did the poet dante call him "the scribe of the gentleness of christ." ( ) corresponding with this human character of the incarnate son of god, we find the offer of _universal salvation_. st. luke alone--for the words are wrongly inserted in matt.--records the tender words of jesus, "the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (xix. ). st. paul knew no distinction between jew and greek, rich and poor, but taught that to be justified by god is a privilege which can be claimed not by birth but by faith; and what st. paul enforces by stern arguments which convince our minds, st. luke instils by the sweet parables and stories which convince our hearts. it is here that we find kindness shown to the _gentile_ (iv. - ; xiii. , ), and the _samaritan_ (ix. - ; xvii. - ); here we are told of the publican who was "justified" rather than the pharisee (xviii. ), the story of the penitent { } thief who had no time to produce the good works which his faith would have prompted (xxiii. ), of the good samaritan who, schismatic though he was, showed the spirit of a child of god (x. ). last, and best, there is the parable of the prodigal son (xv. ), and the story of the woman who was a sinner (vii. ). to her christ says, "thy faith hath saved thee," and to his host he says, "her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much"--words which no one but the son of god could dare to say of any "woman who was in the city, a sinner." in recording these words, st. luke proves that jesus christ himself taught the pauline doctrine that man is saved by faith; and yet not by an empty faith, but by "faith working through love" (gal. v. ). in this gospel jesus is especially the refuge of sinners, and the teaching of our lord may be best described by the happy phrase which records his address in the synagogue of nazareth: "words of grace." it is important to notice that in no gospel do we find such an especial sympathy shown for the poor. the poverty of the holy family (ii. , , ); the beatitude on the poor[ ] (vi. ), with the corresponding woes pronounced upon the rich (vi. ff.); the parable of dives and lazarus (xvi. ), the invitation of the poor to the supper of the king (xiv. ), show this sympathy. in consequence of this, st. luke's gospel has been said to show an _ebionite_ tendency. but the word is misleading. it is possible that some early christians may have called themselves by the name _ebionim_, a hebrew word which designated the poor and oppressed servants of god. and it is known that in the nd century and afterwards there was a heretical semi-christian jewish sect of that name. but st. luke's gospel is utterly opposed to the main tenets of these heretics, which were a repudiation of christ's real divinity and an insistence upon the necessity of circumcision for all christians. { } perhaps it is the gentleness of the evangelist, and his preference for all that is tender and gracious, which causes his account of the twelve apostles to differ considerably from that in mark. their slowness, their weakness of faith, their rivalries, are set in a subdued light. he does not tell us that christ once called st. peter "satan," or that peter cursed and swore when he denied christ. he omits the rebuke administered to the disciples in the conversation concerning the leaven (mark viii. ), the ambitious request of the two sons of zebedee, and the indignation of the disciples at mary's costly gift of ointment (matt xxvi. ). when st. mark speaks of the failure of the disciples to keep awake while their master was in gethsemane, he says that they were asleep, "for their eyes were heavy" (xiv. ). when st. luke speaks of it, he says that they were "sleeping for _sorrow_" (xxii. ). doubtless both accounts are true, and we can reverently wonder both at the rugged honesty with which st. peter must have told st. mark about the faults of himself and his friends, and at the consideration shown by st. luke towards the twelve in spite of the fact that he was more closely connected with st. paul than with them. about one-third of this gospel is peculiar to itself, consisting mainly of the large section, ix. -xviii. . st. luke here seems to have used an aramaic document; the beginning of the section is full of aramaic idioms. in places where st. luke records the same facts as the other synoptists, he sometimes adds slight but significant touches. the withered hand restored on the sabbath is the _right_ hand (vi. ); the centurion's servant is one _dear_ to him (vii. ); and the daughter of jairus an _only_ daughter (viii. ; cf. the son of the widow at nain, an _only_ son, vii. ). among the remarkable omissions in this gospel we may notice two sayings which are found in matt. and mark, and which seem to us to have been peculiarly appropriate for st. luke's general purpose. the first is the saying of christ that he had come "not to be ministered unto, { } but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (matt. xx. ; mark x. ). the second is the statement that the gospel "shall be preached in the whole world" (matt. xxvi. ; mark xiv. ). with the omission of these sayings we may compare the omission of any record of the visit of the gentile wise men to the cradle of the infant saviour of the world--an incident which would probably have appealed most strongly to the heart of st. luke, if he had known it. its absence from this gospel is one of the many proofs that st. luke was not familiar with the gospel according to st. matthew. we have already noticed that much of the freshness of this gospel is due to its being in a peculiar sense the gospel of praise and thanksgiving. it is also peculiarly the gospel of _prayer_. all the three synoptists record that christ prayed in gethsemane. but on seven occasions st. luke is alone in recording prayers which jesus offered at the crises of his life: at his baptism (iii. ); before his first conflict with the pharisees and scribes (v. ); before choosing the twelve (vi. ); before the first prediction of his passion (ix. ); at the transfiguration (ix. ); before teaching the lord's prayer (xi. ); and on the cross (xxiii. , ). st. luke mentions his insistence on the duty of prayer in two parables which no other evangelist has recorded (xi. - ; xviii. - ). he alone relates the declaration of jesus that he had made supplication for peter, and his charge to the twelve, "pray that ye enter not into temptation" (xxii. , ). as the gospel according to st. luke is more rich in parables than any other gospel, we may conclude by giving a few words of explanation concerning our lord's parables. the word "parable" means a "comparison," or, more strictly, "a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparing them." in the gospels the word is generally applied to a particular form of teaching. that is to say, it means a story about earthly things told in such a manner as to teach a { } spiritual truth. the jews were familiar with parables. there are some in the old testament, the book of isaiah containing two (v. - ; xxviii. - ). the rabbinical writings of the jews are full of them. but the jewish parable was only an illustration of a truth which had already been made known. the parables of our lord are often means of conveying truths which were not known. they must be distinguished from (a) fables, (b) allegories, (c) myths. a fable teaches worldly wisdom and prudence, not spiritual wisdom, and it is put into somewhat childish forms in which foxes and birds converse together. an allegory puts the story and its interpretation side by side, and each part of the story usually has some special significance. a myth takes the form of history, but it relates things which happened before the dawn of history, as they appear to the child-mind of primitive men. the parables of our lord were intended to teach the secrets of the kingdom of god (see p. ). they unfold these secrets and at the same time veil them in the illustrations which are employed. these illustrations attract the attention and inquiry of those who are spiritually receptive. on the other hand, those who are unworthy or hardened do not recognize the truth. nevertheless, the parables were such miracles of simplicity and power, were so easy to remember, and so closely connected with everyday objects, that even the dullest man would awake to the truth if he retained a spark of life. it is difficult to divide the parables into separate groups. but they may perhaps be divided into two groups. the first group is drawn from man's relations with the world of nature and from his simpler experiences, and the second is drawn from man's relations with his fellow-men, relations which involve more complicated experiences. the parables of the second group were sometimes spoken in answer to questions addressed to our lord in private; such is the parable of the good samaritan, and that of the rich fool. if we desire to study the parables in special relation to the kingdom of god, { } we can divide them into three groups. the first consists of those collected in matt. xiii., delivered in and near capernaum, and referring to the kingdom of god as a whole. the second consists of those collected in luke x.-xviii., delivered on christ's journeys from galilee to jerusalem, and referring to the character of the individual members of the kingdom. the third consists of parables spoken during our lord's last days at jerusalem, and referring to the judgment of members of the kingdom. it is difficult to decide whether some of the shorter parables ought to be regarded as parables or not, but the number is usually estimated at about thirty, of which eighteen are peculiar to luke. in john there are no parables, strictly so called, and st. john never uses the word "parable." but he uses the word _paroimia_, or "proverb," and records several proverbial sayings of our lord which are rather like parables (john iv. ; x. i- ; xii. ; xv. - ; xvi. ). analysis the infancy of our lord: i. -ii. .--similarity and contrast between the predictions of the birth of john the baptist and jesus, and also between their birth. the circumcision, the visit of jesus to the temple in boyhood. a. winter a.d. till after pentecost . the preparation for the ministry: iii. -iv. .--the ministry of john the baptist and the baptism of jesus, the genealogy from adam, the threefold temptation. b. pentecost a.d. till before passover . missionary work of jesus in galilee: iv. -ix. .--jesus preaches, is rejected at nazareth, goes to capernaum, various miracles (iv.). call of simon, leper cleansed, five { } grounds of offence against jesus (v.-vi. ). appointment of the twelve, the sermon (vi.). the centurion's servant, the widow's son, christ's description of john and of the age, the penitent (vii.). parables, christ's relation to his mother and brethren, various miracles (viii.). the mission of the twelve (ix. - ). [perplexity of herod, ix. - .] c. passover a.d. till before tabernacles . climax of missionary work in galilee: ix. - .--christ feeds the multitude, peter's confession, christ's first prediction of his death, transfiguration, lunatic boy cured, second prediction of death, two rebukes to apostles. d. tabernacles, september a.d. until early . later ministry, chiefly in peraea: ix. -xix. .--jesus rejected by samaritans, discouragements (ix.). mission of the seventy, lament over cities of galilee, the good samaritan, mary and martha (x.). prayer and the lord's prayer, jesus accused of alliance with beelzebub, his saying about his mother, denunciation of a generation which will not believe without signs, and of the pharisees and lawyers (xi.). the leaven of the pharisees, confidence in god, warnings against covetousness, anxiety and lack of watchfulness, christ's coming "baptism," signs of the times (xii.). the meaning of calamities, parable of the fig tree, cure on the sabbath, the mustard seed and the leaven, gentiles to replace jews, the pharisees try to persuade jesus to leave the dominions of herod, christ's first lament over jerusalem (xiii.). lawfulness of healing on the sabbath, humility, inviting the poor, the king's supper, counting the cost (xiv.). parables to { } illustrate christ's care for the lost (xv.). the use and abuse of money (xvi.). occasions of stumbling, the increase of faith, the truth that we cannot purchase god's favour by doing more than he commands, the ten lepers, the coming of the son of man (xvii.). answer to prayer, the pharisee and publican, little children, the rich young man, christ's third prediction of his death, the blind beggar at jericho (xviii.). zacchaeus, the parable of the pounds (xix. - ). e. passover a.d. . last days at jerusalem, and afterwards: xix. -xxiv. .--entry into jerusalem, christ's second lament over jerusalem, cleansing of the temple (xix. -xx.). christ challenged, parable of the vineyard, two questions to entrap christ, his question (xx.). the widow's mites, predictions of the destruction of the temple, siege of jerusalem, the second coming (xxi.). judas' bargain, the passover, agony on the mount of olives, the betrayal, peter's denial, jesus tried before the elders (xxii.). jesus before pilate, herod, pilate again, simon of cyrene, the daughters of jerusalem, the crucifixion, burial by joseph of arimathaea (xxiii.). the women at the sepulchre, and peter, the walk to emmaus, jesus appears to the disciples and eats, his commission, the ascension (xxiv.). the date of our lord's birth.--it is fairly well known that the dates of our lord's birth and of his death are both, in all probability, misrepresented in popular chronology. the best ancient chronology fixes the date of the crucifixion in a.d. . the birth was probably about six years before the commencement of our present era. various reasons make this date probable, including the fact that there was at that time a conjunction of jupiter, saturn, and mars, which must have presented a most brilliant appearance in the sky, and would { } certainly have attracted the star-loving sages of the east. the great astronomer kepler was of opinion that this conjunction was followed by the brief appearance of a new star, which is the star mentioned in matt. ii. . this is of importance in considering the statements of st. luke. several objections have been made to his account of the census held under quirinius. ( ) it is said that quirinius was not governor of syria when jesus was born; his administration was from a.d. to a.d. , and quinctilius varus was governor in a.d. . but st. luke cannot be proved to say that quirinius was governor; he describes his office by a participle which may mean "acting as leader," and there is proof that quirinius was engaged in a military command in the time of herod, and also proof that some high official twice governed syria in the time of augustus. st. luke's expression might fit either of these two facts. ( ) it is said that herod was reigning as king in palestine, and that his subjects would not be included in a roman census. but in the year - b.c. augustus wrote to herod, saying that he would henceforth treat him as a subject. his dominions must henceforth have been treated like the rest of the dominions of augustus. ( ) it is said that no census took place at that time, and that if there had been a census, it would have been carried out by households, according to roman custom, and not by families. but there seems to have been a census in egypt and syria in b.c. , and after augustus determined to put herod under his authority, the census would naturally be extended to judaea. herod would probably be allowed to carry out the census on his own lines, so long as it was really carried out. and he would plainly prefer to do it in the jewish fashion, so as to irritate the jews as little as might be. the question is still involved in some obscurity, but st. luke's accuracy has not been in the least disproved by the controversy. he is the only evangelist who connects his narrative with the history of syria and of the roman empire, and we have every reason to believe that he did his work with care as well as sympathy. [ ] _adv. har._ iii. . [ ] matt. v. has "poor in spirit." the same aramaic word might be used for both "poor" and "poor in spirit." { } chapter vi the gospel according to st. john [sidenote: the author.] we learn from the gospels that st. john was the son of zebedee, a galilean fisherman, and was a follower of the baptist before he joined our lord. the synoptists show that he was one of the most prominent and intimate of our lord's followers. with st. peter and st. james he was permitted to witness the raising of jairus' daughter, and to be present at the transfiguration, and with them was nearest to christ at the agony in gethsemane. with st. peter he was sent to prepare the last passover. like his brother st. james, he shared in the fervour of his mother, salome, who begged for them a special place of dignity in the kingdom of christ. they both wished to call down fire on a samaritan village, and st. john asked jesus what was to be done with the man whom they found casting out devils in his name. their fiery temperament caused our lord to give them the surname of boanerges ("sons of thunder"). in the fourth gospel the name of john the son of zebedee is never mentioned, but there are several references to an apostle whose name is not recorded, but can be intended for no other than st. john. at the crucifixion this apostle was bidden by our lord to regard mary as henceforth his mother, and the writer claims to have been an eye-witness of the crucifixion. in the last chapter very similar words are used to assert that the writer is he whom jesus loved. in acts st. john appears with st. peter as healing the lame { } man at the beautiful gate of the temple, and with st. peter he goes to samaria to bestow the holy ghost on those whom philip had baptized. he was revered as one of the pillars of the church when st. paul visited jerusalem in a.d. (gal. ii. ). it is remarkable that the synoptic gospels, the fourth gospel, acts, and galatians, all show st. john in close connection with st. peter. st. john's name occurs in the revelation, which has been attributed to him since the beginning of the nd century. numerous fragments of tradition concerning st. john are preserved by early christian writers. tertullian, about a.d. , says that st. john came to rome, and was miraculously preserved from death when an attempt was made to kill him in a cauldron of boiling oil. tertullian and eusebius both say that he was banished to an island, and eusebius tells us that the island was patmos, and that the banishment took place in the time of domitian. on the accession of nerva, st. john removed from patmos to ephesus, where he survived until the time of trajan, who became emperor in a.d. . polycrates, bishop of ephesus, writing about a.d. , speaks of st. john's tomb in that city, and says that he wore the _petalon_, the high priest's mitre used in the jewish church. we are told by other writers how he reclaimed a robber, how he played with a tame partridge, how when too old to preach he was carried into church and would repeat again and again, "little children, love one another." on one occasion a spark of his youthful fire was seen. it was when the old man indignantly refused to stay under the roof of the same public baths as cerinthus, the heretic who denied that mary was a virgin when she bore our lord, and asserted that the divinity of jesus was only a power which came upon him and went from him. the residence of st. john at ephesus is attested by the revelation. even if that book were a forgery, no forger at the close of the st century would have ventured to place the hero of his book in a neighbourhood where he had not lived. { } many threads of evidence lead us back to the statement made by polycrates about the apostle's tomb. it was not until long after that date that the christians began to carry the relics of saints from place to place, and churches rivalled one another in producing shrines for the severed members of one body. there is therefore no reason whatever to doubt that the tomb at ephesus marked the resting-place of the apostle. it was known two hundred years later in the time of jerome, and visited in by the members of the great church council which met at ephesus. the emperor justinian built a sumptuous church on the site, and near a modern turkish mosque may still be seen the remnants of the church of st. john. until the end of the th century the authorship of this gospel was not seriously challenged. the only party which ever denied that it was written by the apostle st. john was an ignorant and insignificant body of people mentioned by irenaeus and epiphanius. they were known as the _alogi_, or "unbelievers in the word." their views in no wise undermine the tradition of the catholic church. for the alogi asserted that this gospel was written by cerinthus, who lived at ephesus where st. john lived, and was himself a contemporary of st. john. we have sufficient knowledge of the teaching of cerinthus to be perfectly certain that he could not have written a gospel which so completely contradicts his own theories. therefore the opinion of the alogi is absolutely worthless where it negatives the tradition of the church, and on the other hand it agrees with that tradition in asserting that the book was written in the apostolic age. during the last hundred years the men who deny that jesus christ was truly "god of god, light of light," have strained every nerve to prove that the fourth gospel was not written by st. john. it is, of course, almost impossible that they should admit that the writer was an apostle and an honest man and continue to deny that the christ whom he depicts claimed to be the lord and maker of all things. during the controversy { } which has been waged during the last three generations with regard to st. john's gospel, it has been evident throughout that the gospel has been rejected for this very reason. the book has driven a wedge into the whole band of new testament students. the critics who deny that jesus was god, but are willing to grant that he was the most holy and the most divine of men, have been forced to side with those who are openly atheists or agnostics. the clue to their theories was unguardedly exposed by weizsäcker, who said, with regard to st. john's gospel, "it is impossible to imagine any power of faith and philosophy so great as thus to obliterate the recollection of the real life, and to substitute for it this marvellous picture of a divine being." [ ] this remark shows us that the critic approached the gospel with a prejudice against the doctrine of our lord's divinity, and rejected the gospel mainly because it would not agree with his own prejudice. but the determination to fight to the uttermost against the converging lines of christian evidence has now driven such critics into a corner. many have already abandoned the position that the book is a semi-gnostic forgery written in the middle of the nd century, and they are now endeavouring to maintain that it was written about a.d. by a certain john the presbyter, whom they assert to have been afterwards confounded with the apostle john. of john the presbyter very little indeed is known. papias, about a.d. , says that he was, like aristion, "a disciple" of the lord, and that he had himself made oral inquiries as to his teaching. he seems to have been an elder contemporary of papias. dionysius of alexandria, about a.d. , mentions that there were two monuments in ephesus bearing the name of john, and we may reasonably suppose that one of these was in memory of the presbyter mentioned by papias. but a little reflection will soon convince us that nothing has been gained by the conjecture that this john wrote the gospel. if john { } the presbyter was personally acquainted with our lord, as some writers understand papias to mean, then the sceptics are forced to admit that one who personally knew jesus, describes jesus as a more than human being--as, in fact, the divine creator. this is the precise fact which keeps these writers from admitting that an apostle wrote the gospel. if, on the other hand, they suppose, as some do, that john the presbyter was very much younger than the apostles, the sceptics are confronted with the following difficulties:-- (a) there is the important external evidence which shows how widely the gospel was regarded in the early church as the work of st. john. (b) there is the minute knowledge displayed of the topography, customs, and opinions of jerusalem and the holy land as they existed in the time of christ. (c) there is the impossibility of supposing that irenaeus, who was probably not born a year later than a.d. , would not have known that the gospel was written by john the presbyter. (d) there is the fact that the evidence for st. john having lived in ephesus is better than the evidence for a renowned presbyter of the same name having lived in ephesus. this has been wisely pointed out by jülicher, even though he himself denies that the apostle wrote st. john's gospel. and the justice of this argument proves that it is sheer paradox to maintain, as some now maintain, that the _only_ john who lived in ephesus was the presbyter. it is constantly urged by the opponents of the authenticity of this gospel that, as it was published at ephesus at a late period, it cannot be the work of the apostle, because he never went to ephesus, and "died early as a martyr." [ ] this is a most unscrupulous use of an inexact quotation made by some later greek writers from a lost book of papias. it can be { } traced to philip of side ( th century), and it is to the effect that "john the divine and james his brother were killed by the jews." papias does not say that they died together, and his statement is compatible with the belief that st. john survived his brother very many years. we know from gal. ii. that he was alive some time after his brother's death, which was about a.d. . and george hamartolus, one of the greek writers who quote the above passage in papias, expressly says that the emperor nerva (a.d. ) recalled john from patmos, and "dismissed him to live in ephesus." [sidenote: the external evidence.] the external evidence for the authenticity of this gospel is in some respects stronger than that which is to be found in the case of the other gospels. thus the christian may recognize with gratitude that his divine master has especially added the witness of the church to the work of his beloved disciple. all through the nd century we have the links of a chain of evidence, and after a.d. the canon of the gospels is known to have been so fixed that no defender of the faith is called upon to show what that canon was. the earliest traces of the phraseology of st. john are to be discovered in the _didaché_, which was probably written in eastern palestine or syria about a.d. . the prayers which are provided in this book for use at the eucharist are plainly of a johannine type, and are probably derived from oral teaching given by the apostle himself before he lived at ephesus. in any case, the _didaché_ seems sufficient to disprove the sceptical assertion that theological language of a johannine character was unknown in the christian church about a.d. . the letters attributed to st. ignatius, the martyr bishop of antioch, are now universally admitted to be genuine by competent scholars. they may most reasonably be dated about a.d. , and they are deeply imbued with thought of a johannine type. it has been lately suggested that this tendency of thought does not prove an actual acquaintance with the gospel of st. john. but when we find christ { } called "the word," and the devil called "the prince of this world," and read such a phrase as "the bread of god which is the flesh of christ," it is almost impossible to deny that the letters of ignatius contain actual reminiscences of st. john's language. nor is there the least reason why ignatius should not have been acquainted with this gospel. his younger contemporary st. polycarp, whose letter to the philippians was also written about a.d. , quotes from the first epistle of st. john. and papias, who probably wrote about a.d. , and collected his materials many years earlier, also quoted that epistle, as we learn from eusebius. now, the connection between the gospel and the epistle is, as has been cleverly remarked, like the connection between a star and its satellite. they are obviously the work of the same author. if polycarp, who had himself seen st. john, knew that the epistle was genuine, he must have known that the gospel was genuine. the evidence which can definitely be dated between a.d. and a.d. is of extreme interest. it proves conclusively that a belief in the authenticity of this gospel was so firmly engrained in the christian mind that men holding the most opposite opinions appealed to its authority. it is true that the "irrational" alogi rejected it, and that marcion repudiated it, not because it was not by an apostle, but because st. paul was the only apostle whom he admired. but it was used by the catholics, the gnostics, and the montanists. st. justin martyr was acquainted with it, and before he wrote, basilides, the great gnostic of alexandria, borrowed from it some materials for his doctrine. the equally celebrated gnostic valentinus used it, and his followers also revered it. about a.d. heracleon, an eminent valentinian, wrote a commentary upon this gospel, of which commentary some fragments still remain. the montanists arose in phrygia about a.d. . montanus, their founder, endeavoured to revive the power of prophecy, and his followers maintained that "the paraclete said more things in montanus than christ { } uttered in the gospel." it can easily be proved that their teaching was an attempt to realize some of the promises of our lord contained in st. john's gospel. and the fact that the montanists were strongly opposed to the gnostics makes it all the more remarkable that both sects regarded this gospel as so important. somewhat before a.d. st. john's gospel was inserted by the great syrian apologist, tatian, in his _diatessaron_, or harmony of the gospels, and the apocryphal acts of john composed near the same date contain unmistakable allusions to this gospel. the evidence of irenaeus is the culminating proof of the genuineness of the gospel according to st. john. he became bishop of lyons in a.d. , and remembered polycarp, who suffered martyrdom at smyrna in a.d. , at the age of eighty-six. irenaeus, in writing to his friend florinus, says, "i can describe the very place in which the blessed polycarp used to sit when he discoursed, and his goings-out and his comings-in, and his manner of life, and his personal appearance, and the discourses which he held before the people, and how he would describe his intercourse with john and the rest who had seen the lord, and how he would relate their words. and whatsoever things he had heard from them about the lord and about his miracles, polycarp, as having received them from eye-witnesses of the life of the word, would relate, altogether in accordance with the scriptures." [ ] now, it is perfectly certain that irenaeus, like his contemporaries heracleon and tatian, accepted the fourth gospel as the work of the apostle john. and can we believe that he would have thus accepted it, if it had not been acknowledged by his teacher polycarp, who knew st. john, and was nearly thirty years old at the time of st. john's death? { } [sidenote: the internal evidence.] the gospel itself contains manifest tokens that it was written by a jew of palestine, by one who held no gnostic heresy, and by a contemporary of our lord. i. _the author was a jew and not a gentile._ he makes frequent quotations from the old testament, and some of these quotations imply an acquaintance with the hebrew. this is especially the case in the verse from the st psalm (xiii. ), and in that (xix. ) from zech. xii. , "they shall look on him whom they pierced." the septuagint of zech. xii. , translating from a different form of the hebrew, has, instead of the words "whom they pierced," "because they mocked." it is, therefore, plain that john xiii. is not derived from the septuagint. the gospel is also hebraic in style. the sentences are broken up in a manner which is at variance with greek idiom. whereas in st. luke's two writings the style becomes more greek or more hebraic in proportion to his writing independently or employing the writings of jewish christians, the style of this gospel is the same throughout. we may particularly notice the hebraic use of the word "and" to signify both "and" and "but" (_e.g._ in v. , , where "and ye will not come" means "but ye will not come"). we may also notice the correct use of certain hebrew proper names: _e.g._ judas is called "the son of iscariot," showing that the writer did not regard the word iscariot as the fixed name of judas only, but knew that it might be applied to any man of kerioth. in fact, the greek of st. john is exactly like the english of a scottish highlander who has only spoken gaelic in his earlier days, and, when he has acquired english, shows his origin by the continued use of a few gaelic idioms and his knowledge of highland proper names. he shows a minute acquaintance with jewish social and ceremonial customs. we may notice iii. ; iv. , ; vii. , , ; x. ; xi. ; xix. , ; and especially the waterpots (ii. ), the purification previous to the passover (xi. ), the fear { } of our lord's accusers to defile themselves by entering the praetorium (xviii. ), and the jewish method of embalming (xix. ). jewish opinions are faithfully reflected, _e.g._ as to the importance attached to the religious schools (vii. ); the disparagement of the jews of the "dispersion" (vii. ); the scorn felt by many jews for the provincials of galilee (i. ; vii. , ), and the idea of the soul's pre-existence (ix. ). ii. _the author was a jew of palestine._ he shows a minute acquaintance with the geography of the holy land. at the present day elaborate guide-books and histories make it possible for a very clever writer to disguise the fact that he has not visited the land in which he lays the scene of his story. but even at the present day such procedure is dangerous, and likely to be detected. in ancient times it was almost impossible. yet no one has ever detected an error in the geography of this gospel. the writer mentions cana of galilee (ii. , ), a place not noticed by any earlier writer, and bethany beyond jordan (i. ); he knows the exact distance from jerusalem to the better-known bethany (xi. ); the "deep" well of jacob at sychar (iv. ); the city of ephraim near the wilderness (xi. ); aenon near to salim, where john baptized (iii. ). this word aenon is an aramaic word signifying "springs," and even renan ridicules the notion of such a name having been invented by greek-speaking sectaries at ephesus. the place was too obscure to be known to ordinary travellers, and, on the other hand, such a name cannot have been invented by a gentile. the topography of jerusalem is described with equal nicety. we may notice viii. ; ix. ; x. ; xviii. , ; xix. , ; and particularly the pool near the sheep-gate, having five porches (v. ), and the place which is called the pavement, "but in the hebrew gabbatha" (xix. ). even a person who had heard of solomon's porch and of golgotha might well have been ignorant of the sheep-gate and the pavement, unless he had been in jerusalem. lastly, the writer shows an acquaintance not only with the { } jewish feasts, but also with facts connected with them which imply special knowledge on his part. he could not have gathered from the old testament the fact that the later jews were in the habit of keeping a feast in honour of the dedication of the temple after its profanation by antiochus epiphanes (x. ), nor would he have learned how to introduce an allusion to the rite of pouring forth water from the pool at siloam at the feast of tabernacles (vii. ). the only important argument which can be urged against the author having been a jew is that founded on the use of the phrase "the jews," which is said to imply that the writer was not a jew. now, in some passages (as vii. ), "the jews" may mean the inhabitants of judaea, as distinct from those of galilee, and such passages are therefore indecisive. but in other passages the phrase "the jews" does not admit this interpretation, and is used with a decided suggestion of dislike. but when we remember the bitter hostility which the jews soon manifested towards the christians, and remember that in asia minor this hostility was active, the phrase presents no real difficulty. st. paul was proud to reckon himself a jew, but long before the jews had shown their full antagonism to christianity, st. paul spoke of "the jews" ( thess. ii. - ) with the same condemnation as the writer of the fourth gospel. the only important arguments in favour of the author having absorbed gnostic views are drawn: ( ) _from the alleged dualism of the gospel_. in theology the word dualism signifies the doctrine that the world is not only the battle-ground of two opposing forces, one good and the other evil, but also that the material world is itself essentially evil. such was the doctrine of the great gnostic sects of the nd century. but this gospel, in spite of the strong contrast which it draws between god and the world, light and darkness, is not dualist. it teaches that there is one god, that the world was made by the word who is god, that this word was made flesh and came to save the world. in thus teaching that the material world was made by the good god, and that god took a material human body, this gospel opposes the fundamental tenet of gnostic dualism. ( ) _from the alleged condemnation of the jewish prophets by christ in x. _. other passages make it perfectly plain that this is not a condemnation of the jewish prophets, but of any religious pretenders who claimed divine authority. in this gospel an appeal is made to moses (v. ), to abraham (viii. ), to isaiah { } (xii. ), and, what is most remarkable of all, our lord says, "salvation is of the jews," _i.e._ the knowledge and the origin of religious truth came from the jews. the jewish scriptures are ratified (v. ; x. ). it is impossible to find a shred of the anti-jewish theories which the gnostics taught. and though it is true that some gnostics were fond of using such words as "life" and "light" in their religious phraseology, it is much more probable that they were influenced by the fourth gospel than that this gospel was tinged with gnosticism. we conclude, therefore, that the author was a jew of palestine, and that he was not a gentile or in any sense a gnostic. iii. _the author was a contemporary and an eye-witness of the events described._ his knowledge of jerusalem and of the temple, which we have already noticed, strongly suggests that he knew the city before its destruction in a.d. . so far as can be tested, his treatment of the messianic ideas of the people is exactly accurate, and of a kind which it would have been difficult for a later writer to exhibit. this gospel represents the people as pervaded by a nationalist notion of the messiah as of a king who would deliver them from foreign powers (vi. , xi. ; xix. ), a notion which was dispelled in a.d. , and apparently did not revive until the rising of bar kocheba in a.d. , a date which is now almost universally recognized as too late for this gospel to have been written. we also find the two contradictory ideas as to the place of the messiah's origin then current (vii. , ), and the writer distinguishes "the prophet" (i. , ; vi. ; vii. ), who was expected to precede christ, from christ himself. at a very early date the christians identified "the prophet" with christ, and it is in the highest degree improbable that any but a contemporary of our lord would have been aware of this change of belief. it is claimed that the author is an eye-witness in i. ; xix. ; and xxi. . we may add john i. , for the author of the epistle was obviously the author of the gospel. numerous details, especially the frequent notes of time, suggest the hand { } of an eye-witness. and the delicate descriptions of the inner life of the disciples and of christ himself point to the same conclusion. the description of the last supper and the words spoken at it suggest with overwhelming force that the writer knew the peculiar manner of seating employed at this ceremony. another jew would have known where the celebrant sat, but he would scarcely have been able to make the actions of our lord and judas, st. john and st. peter, fit their places at the table with such perfection.[ ] the gospel claims that the disciple who "wrote these things" is the disciple "whom jesus loved," and who reclined "in jesus' bosom" at the supper. it was not peter, for peter did not recline "in jesus' bosom." the presumption therefore is that it was either james or john, these two being with peter the closest friends of jesus. it could hardly have been james, who was martyred in a.d. , as the whole weight of tradition and external evidence is against this. it must, then, have been john, or a forger who wished to pass for that apostle. and to suppose that an unknown forger, born two generations, or even one generation, later than the apostles, could invent such sublime doctrine, and insert it in so realistic a story, and completely deceive the whole christian world, including the district where st. john lived and died, is to show a credulity which is without parallel in the history of civilization.[ ] now that we have reviewed the internal evidence for the authenticity, we are able to return with renewed vigour to deal with the popular rationalistic hypothesis that the author was a christian who had learned some genuine stories about jesus current in the church at ephesus, and then wove them into a narrative of his own composing. we have observed that the marks of an eye-witness and contemporary of jesus are { } scattered over the whole surface of the gospel. if the gospel is not by st. john, only one other explanation is possible. it must be composed of three distinct elements: (a) some genuine traditions, (b) numerous fictions, (c) a conscious manipulation of the narrative contained in the synoptists. but the internal evidence is absolutely opposed to any such theory. we can trace no manipulation of the synoptic narrative. the writer seems to be aware of st. mark's gospel, and possibly the other two, but he evidently did not write with them actually before him. he plainly had a wholly independent plan and an independent source of information. and if we turn to the passages which tell us facts not recorded by the synoptists, it is quite impossible to separate the supposed fictions from the supposed genuine traditions. both style and matter proceed from one and the same individuality. one passage alone can be separated from the rest without interrupting the flow of the story, and that passage is absent in the best manuscripts. it is the story of the woman taken in adultery (vii. -viii. ). it seems to have been originally placed after luke xxi. , and was inserted into st. john's gospel after it was completed. we cannot apply the same process to any other passage in the gospel. it is an organic whole, as much as any play of shakespeare or poem of tennyson. and over the whole book we find the same morsels of history and geography. they are of a kind which tradition never hands down unimpaired, and which no ephesian disciple of an apostle would be likely to commit to memory. in spite of all attempts to divide the gospel into parts derived straight from an apostle and parts invented by later minds, the gospel remains like the seamless coat which once clothed the form of the son of man. [sidenote: date.] it is important to observe that even the most hostile criticism has tended to recede in its attempt to find a probable date for this gospel. baur fixed it about a.d. - , pfleiderer at , hilgenfeld - ; jülicher and harnack will not date it later than , { } and the latter grants that it may be as early as . the year is as early a date as the most orthodox christian need desire, and we can reasonably believe that it was written by the apostle at ephesus between a.d. and a.d. . we learn from irenaeus that st. john survived until a.d. . [sidenote: literary style.] several points in the literary style of the apostle have been noticed in dealing with the internal evidence which they afford to the authenticity of his gospel. but it is necessary to add something more, for there is no writer to whom we can more fitly apply the profound saying that "the style is the man." the language of st. john is the result of a long and impassioned contemplation. whether he writes down his own words, or records the words and deeds of our lord, his language shows the result of careful reflection. the teaching of jesus exhibits a development different from that in the synoptists. we find in chs. ii., iii., and iv. that our lord definitely taught that he was the son of god and messiah quite early in his ministry, while in the earlier part of mark our lord's teaching about his messiahship is far less definite. and the method of teaching is also different. in the synoptists we find picturesque parables and pointed proverbs, while in john we find long discourses and arguments. in the synoptists the teaching is generally practical, in john it is much more openly theological. this difference between the synoptists and st. john can be partly accounted for by the fact that st. john's gospel contains much more of the instruction given by our lord to his intimate friends, and that this instruction was naturally more profound than that which was given to the multitude. but there is another reason for the difference. if we attend to such passages as xiv. - , - ; xv. - , we see that our lord teaches that there are two manifestations of his person, one during the time between his birth and his death, and the other after the outpouring of the holy spirit. the spirit is not a substitute { } for an absent christ; his coming brings with it an inward presence of christ within the christian soul (xiv. ). by the aid of the spirit, st. john condenses and interprets the language of our lord in a manner which can be understood by the simplest of simple souls who live the inner life. in st. john we find a writer who is writing when jesus spoke no longer in parables and proverbs, but "plainly" (xvi. , ). he records the teaching of jesus, as it had shaped itself _in_ his own mind, but not so much _by_ his own mind as by perpetual communion with the ascended christ. [sidenote: character and contents.] we have noted on p. the fact that st. john's gospel shows that he was acquainted with facts in the synoptic gospels which he does not himself narrate. yet the broad difference between the character of the synoptic writers and that of st. john is that the synoptists are historical, he is mystical. we do not mean that st. john does not trouble about historical accuracy. his history is often more minute than that of the synoptists. but his purpose is to bring his readers into deeper life through union with the god who is in christ and is christ. the true mystic ever desires to maintain the knowledge of this inward union in life with god. it is a knowledge which is made possible by obedience, made perfect by love, and causes not new ecstasies, but a new character. st. john adjusts all his material to this one purpose. "these are written that ye may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god; and that believing ye may have life in his name" (xx. ). the introduction or prologue (i. - ) teaches that jesus christ is that personal manifestation of god to whom the jews had given the name of the word. the palestinian jews were accustomed to describe god acting upon the world by the name _memra_, or "word" of the lord. the alexandrian jews also were in the habit of giving the title _logos_, which means both "word" and "reason," to an idea of god which perfectly expressed all that god is. the greek stoics had { } used the name in a similar sense, and thus st. john, having realized that jesus is truly god made manifest, called him by a name which every educated jew and greek would understand. unlike philo, the great alexandrian jew who tried to combine greek philosophy with jewish religion, st. john teaches that this divine word is a person, and took human flesh and revealed himself as the messiah. the whole gospel shows how this revelation met with increasing faith on the part of some, and increasing unbelief and hatred on the part of others. the crises of this unbelief are represented chiefly in connection with our lord's visits to jerusalem, when he made his claims before the religious leaders of judaism. his revelation is attended by various forms of _witness_. there is that of the apostle himself (i. ); that of the other apostles who also witnessed his "glory," as displayed by his miracles (ii. ). there is that of john the baptist (i. ); and when we remember that there had existed at ephesus an incomplete christianity which had only known the baptism given by john the baptist (acts xix. ), we see how fit it was that the apostle should record the baptist's testimony to christ's superiority. there is the witness of his works, and that which the father himself bore (v. - ). we should notice that the miracles are called "signs," and are carefully selected so as to give evidence to the reader concerning particular aspects of our lord's glory.[ ] even the passion is described as containing an element of glory (xii. , ), it contains a secret divine triumph (cf. col. ii. ), and is a stage towards the glory of the ascension. the "darkness" contends with the { } divine "light," but cannot "suppress" it. after the "world" has done its worst, the final victory of faith is seen in the confession of st. thomas, "my lord and my god" (xx. ). we find other points of doctrine corresponding with the mystical teaching that "eternal life" does not begin after the last judgment, but may be enjoyed here and now by knowing "god and jesus christ whom he hath sent" (xvii. ). thus the judgment is shown to be executed in one sense by the mere division which takes place among men when they come in contact with christ, according as they are good or bad (v. ; viii. ; ix. ). the principle of this moral testing is made plain in iii. . those who stand the test, and believe in christ, undergo a resurrection here (xi. ). on the other hand, there is also a future judgment (v. , ) and a future consummation (v. , ; vi. f., xiv. ). similar beautiful paradoxes are found in the teaching that the "work" which god requires of us is to believe in his son (vi. , ); and that to fulfil god's will is the mark not of servants but of friends (xv. ). and those who hope that they are numbered among the friends of jesus will find in this gospel all the deepest experiences of the soul--the new birth, the finding of the living water and the true light, and that abiding in christ which is made complete by the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood. to realize the meaning of jesus it is necessary to follow the guidance of the holy spirit. the synoptists tell us comparatively little of his work, though they show us the spirit descending on christ at his baptism, driving him into the wilderness to be tempted, speaking in his disciples, pervading his work (luke iv. ), and possessed of a personality into which the christian is baptized (matt. xxviii. ), and against which blasphemy is unpardonable (luke xii. ). in john we find a much fuller doctrine of the holy spirit. the fact that he is not a mere impersonal influence of god is very clearly shown. and it is impossible to accept the modern rationalistic { } hypothesis that the holy spirit is only a phrase for describing the idea which the apostles had about the invisible presence of christ. he is called "another advocate" (xiv. ). christ was an advocate or helper; the spirit will be another. again, it is the work of the spirit to refresh the memory and strengthen the apprehension of the disciples concerning christ (xiv. ); and our lord definitely says, "if i go, i will send him unto you" (xvi. ). with regard to the unbelieving world, the spirit will prove the sinfulness of opposition to christ, will convince the world of his righteousness as testified by the father's approval manifested in the ascension, and will procure the verdict of history that by the crucifixion the evil spirit who inspires worldliness was condemned (xvi. - ). the spirit's work is the same in kind as the work of christ, but the two persons are distinct. that christ continues his advent and his work in the world through the spirit implies neither that the spirit is an impersonal influence nor that he is personally identical with christ. this gospel gives us invaluable help in determining the chronology of our lord's ministry. his ministry is connected with six jewish feasts (ii. ; v. ; vi. ; vii. ; x. ; xii. ). all are named except that in v. , which is probably pentecost, a.d. . the forty-six years in ii. are correct. herod began to rebuild the temple in - b.c. therefore the passover in ii. cannot be before a.d. . analysis introduction: i. --i. .--the word ever with god and himself god, manifested in creation, in conscience, in the incarnation. a. winter a.d. till after passover . the preparation and beginning of the ministry: i. -iv. .--the testimony of john the baptist to jesus { } and his baptism of jesus, his disciples come to jesus, the gathering of other disciples, the promise of seeing heaven opened (i.). jesus and mary at the marriage at cana, the disciples believe. jesus at capernaum. at the passover jesus goes to jerusalem and cleanses the temple (ii). at jerusalem jesus teaches nicodemus of the new birth, he labours in judaea while john is at aenon (iii.). the woman of samaria converted; jesus returns and is welcomed in galilee, is again at cana, cures the capernaum nobleman's son (iv.). b. pentecost a.d. till before passover . the increased self-revelation of jesus at jerusalem: v.--jesus cures the infirm man at the pool of bethesda, is accused of sabbath-breaking. he co-ordinates his work and his honour with the work and honour of the father, claims to give life now and execute judgment, claims the testimony of john, of his own miracles, of the scriptures. c. passover a.d. till before tabernacles . full self-revelation of jesus in galilee: vi.--christ sustains physical life by feeding the , the people wish to make him king. he again shows power over nature by walking on the sea. he reveals himself as the bread sustaining all spiritual life, commands the eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood. the effect of this teaching is increased enmity, the desertion by nominal disciples, and intensified faith as shown by peter's confession. d. tabernacles, september a.d. till early . further self-revelation at jerusalem: conflict: journey to peraea; vii. -xi. .--jesus at the feast, { } is accused of having a devil, defends his former action on the sabbath, attempt to seize him, his invitation to all who thirst, the people divided, the officers refuse to arrest him (vii.). [interpolated story of the woman taken in adultery, vii. -viii. .] jesus reveals himself as the light of the world, the jews no longer abraham's children, the jews reject his claim to pre-existence, and attempt to stone him (viii.). jesus gives sight to the blind man at siloam, discussion about healing on the sabbath (ix.). jesus the good shepherd, at the feast of the dedication in december the jews try to stone him and he goes east of jordan (x.). jesus as conqueror of death goes to bethany, raises lazarus and proclaims himself as the resurrection and the life. on the advice of caiaphas, the council propose to put jesus to death. after raising lazarus jesus retires to ephraim, a city on the edge of the wilderness to the north-east of jerusalem (xi.). e. passover a.d. . last public ministry at jerusalem: xii.--mary anoints jesus for burial, the entry into jerusalem, the greeks who desire to see jesus, a voice from heaven promises to glorify him. rejecting or receiving christ. full self-revelation of jesus to his apostles: xiii.-xvii.--at the passover he washes the disciples' feet. judas pointed out and departs. the question of peter (xiii. ), of thomas (xiv. ), of philip (xiv. ), of judas (xiv. ). the work of the advocate who is to come (xiv. ). abiding in christ, the new commandment to love one another, the hatred of the world, future testimony of the spirit of truth (xv.). the spirit will convict the world, guide the disciples. sorrow only for a little while, final assurances, warm expression of faith on the part of the apostles, christ's warning (xvi.). christ's intercession (xvii.). { } the death of jesus, the apparent triumph of unbelief: xviii.-xix.--betrayal in the garden, trial before annas and caiaphas, peter's denial, trial before pilate, jesus or barabbas (xviii.). the scourging, pilate's futile endeavour to release jesus, his political fears, the crucifixion, "behold thy mother," the spear-thrust, the writer's personal testimony, the burial by joseph of arimathaea (xix.). the resurrection, the victory over unbelief: xx.--mary magdalene, peter and the writer at the sepulchre, the writer records his own conviction. jesus manifests himself to the magdalene, to the ten disciples, most of whom had deserted him, and to thomas who doubted. thomas is convinced of the divinity of jesus, the writer states that this gospel was written "that ye might believe." epilogue: xxi.--the manifestation of jesus by the sea of galilee, the solemn charge to peter. the editors of the gospel assert that the author was the beloved disciple. (john xxi. was probably written by the ephesian presbyters who knew st. john. the rest of the chapter is evidently by the apostle himself, although, it may have been added at a time later than the rest of the gospel, which seems to come to an end with the impressive words in xx. . the most contradictory hypotheses have been broached by writers who have denied the authenticity of ch. xxi. some have held that it was added in order to exalt st. john, the apostle of asia minor, over st. peter, the patron of rome. others have held that it was added to exalt st. peter. those who deny the authenticity of the whole gospel are compelled to regard ch. xxi. as deliberate false witness.) _st. john's oral teaching._--it seems that before st. john wrote his gospel, he had adapted it to oral teaching. this is shown by the arrangement of facts in combinations of , possibly suggested by the manifestations of the word recorded in the introduction. there are passovers recorded, feasts besides the passovers, journeys to judaea, discourses on the last day of tabernacles before the address to believing jews (viii. ), sayings from the cross. if we regard ch. xxi. as added later by st. john, we find in the rest of the gospel miracles in judaea, in galilee, and appearances of the risen lord. [ ] _apostolic age of the church_, vol. ii. p. . (english translation.) [ ] dr. james moffat, _introduction to the literature of the new testament_, p. . [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ v. . it is worth noting that dr. moffat, _op. cit._ p. , admits that "if irenaeus is correct, his testimony to john the apostle is of first-rate importance." so he adds, "he must be held to have mistaken what polykarp said, and to have confused john the presbyter with john the apostle." [ ] see edersheim, _life and times of jesus the messiah_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] the difficulties which arise from the difference between the history of our lord's ministry as given by st. john, and by the synoptists, have been discussed on p. , ff. [ ] he changes the good into better (ii. ); saves the dying (iv. ); gives power (v. ); gives food (vi. ); gives sight (ix. ); is lord over death (xi. ); blesses the work done in faith (xxi. ). it should be noticed that st. john never mentions that our lord cured any one possessed with a devil, which according to the synoptists was a common kind of miracle. but st. john does not therefore contradict the other evangelists. he recognizes that there are visible works of the devil (viii. ; cf. john iii. ), and mentions "the prince of this world" as causing the trials of our lord. { } chapter vii the acts of the apostles [sidenote: the author.] the christian church has never attributed the book of acts to any other writer than st. luke. the external proofs of the primitive date of the book are important, and point to the apostolic age as the date of its composition. st. clement of rome, about a.d. , in referring to ps. lxxxviii. , quotes it in words which are almost certainly based on acts xiii. . there are two apparent quotations from acts in the letters of st. ignatius and one in the letter of st. polycarp. it is also quoted in the works of justin martyr, tatian, and athenagoras, and in the letter of the churches of vienne and lyons written in a.d. . it was evidently read throughout the nd century, and it is definitely assigned to st. luke by irenaeus, the _muratorian fragment_, tertullian, and clement of alexandria. in opposition to this tradition, a persistent effort has been made to prove that the book belongs to the early part of the and century. there are certain passages in which the writer uses the _first person plural_, implying that he was personally present on the occasions described. the sections of the book in which that peculiarity is found are ordinarily called the "we sections," and it has been asserted that though the "we sections" are primitive they have been worked into the narrative of a later writer.[ ] furthermore it is asserted that { } the book was deliberately intended to be a fictitious account of the primitive church, and that its special purpose was to balance the story of st. peter with that of st. paul in such a manner as to completely disguise the fundamental antagonism of the two apostles. the force of this argument has been weakened by the general admission of non-christian writers that the differences of opinion between the two apostles were grossly exaggerated by the critics of fifty years ago. it is therefore granted that there was less necessity for the forgery than there was said to be by the critics in question. it is also very obvious that we cannot fairly charge a historian with dishonesty because he wishes to balance one great character with another. no one would assert that a modern writer was a partisan or a liar because he devoted in the same book twenty appreciative pages to the evangelical revival and twenty appreciative pages to the oxford movement. in spite of this fact, the trustworthy character of the book is still vigorously assailed. it is said that no statement in the book deserves ready belief except the "we sections," that those sections were written by an unknown companion of st. paul, and impudently "appropriated" by a christian who wrote between a.d. and a.d. . this argument about the "we sections" can be completely overthrown by a consideration of the _linguistic evidence_ of acts. if language implies anything, the peculiarities of acts imply that the author of the "we sections," who was a companion of st. paul, was the author of the whole book. and they also show that the author of the whole book was the person who wrote the third gospel. there are many words and phrases found only in the "we sections" and in the rest of acts. there is, too, a large number of words and phrases in the "we sections" which are rarely used in those books of the new testament which are _not_ attributed to st. luke, and occur frequently in the rest of acts and in st. luke's gospel. if { } we compare acts with st. luke's gospel, we find that acts contains out of which are characteristic of this gospel, whereas it contains only about a half of those which are characteristic of matt. and mark. there are greek words which are found in both acts and luke and nowhere else in the new testament.[ ] among the terms which serve as connecting links between st. luke's gospel and acts, including the "we sections," occur various medical phrases. it is becoming more and more widely recognized that these phrases imply that the writer was a physician, such as we know st. luke to have been (col. iv. ). it is all the more remarkable that many of the words peculiar to acts are found in st. luke's contemporary, the physician dioscorides. it is true that the sections taken from mark show numerous "lucan" characteristics as they appear in our third gospel, but these characteristics are due to the third evangelist, and not to st. mark. so, it can be urged, the "lucan" characteristics in the "we sections" are due not to the author, but to an expert editor of a later time. in reply, we can answer that the cases are not strictly parallel. for if the "we sections" are not by the writer of acts, he must have almost entirely rewritten them, and, at the same time, have been guilty of a gross fraud, which he stupidly dropped in passages where it could have been effectively used. to this linguistic evidence of authenticity we can add _archaeological evidence_. the discoveries of the last thirty years have greatly confirmed the accuracy of the writer in points where a writer of the nd century would have betrayed his ignorance. in fact, we are able to compare his accuracy with the inaccuracy of the writing known as the _acts of paul and thecla_, a nd century blend of sensationalism and piety based on a document of the st century. now, in almost every point where we are able to test the knowledge possessed by the author of acts with regard to the topography of asia { } minor and the details of roman government, it can be pronounced correct. this has been admirably shown by prof. ramsay's works on _the church in the roman empire and st. paul_. st. luke knows that cyprus was governed by a pro-consul, which had ceased to be the case early in the nd century; that the magistrates at philippi were called _strategoi_, and were attended by lictors, while those at thessalonica were called _politarchai_ (xvii. ), a title which has been verified by inscriptions. he is aware that the governor of malta was only called the head-man (xxviii. ). he knows that derbe and lystra, but not iconium, were cities of lycaonia, and that "great artemis" was the cry used at ephesus in invoking the patronal goddess of the city (xix. ). we must not assert that these and similar details absolutely prove that the writer was a companion of st. paul; but we can say that he was peculiarly well acquainted with the life of that period. the account of st. paul's voyage and shipwreck is equally accurate. a very favourite argument against the genuineness of acts is that acts xv., in its account of st. paul's third visit to jerusalem, a.d. , is inconsistent with gal. ii. it is asserted that the author deliberately falsified the story in order to represent the older apostles as promoting the union of gentile and jewish christians, some modern critics assuming that the apostles would never have done anything so catholic. but there is no real discrepancy between the two accounts, if we are ready to believe that st. luke gives the public and exterior view of the proceedings, while st. paul, as is natural, describes the personal aspect of those proceedings. according to acts xv. , st. paul and st. barnabas were _deputed_ to go to jerusalem by the church at antioch; according to gal. ii. , st. paul went there "by revelation." the internal motive is surely compatible with the external. again, both acts xv. and gal. ii. show that the momentous council at jerusalem included private and public meetings. the two accounts fit one another all the better in consequence of the fact that acts { } lays stress upon the public settlement (xv. f.) and galatians upon a private conference (ii. ). acts shows that there was much dispute, and galatians shows that the dispute included opposition to st. paul's methods. acts shows that st. paul greatly desired to be on good terms with the older apostles, galatians shows that they gave him the right hand of fellowship. the historical situation, the occasion of dispute (viz. the attempt to impose circumcision on the gentiles), the chief persons concerned and the feelings which they entertained, are the same in both books.[ ] as to the fact that st. paul in galatians makes no mention of a second visit to jerusalem about a.d. , he ignores it because it was devoted to the specific business mentioned in acts xi. ; xii. . nothing arose out of it affecting his relations with the first apostles or his own apostleship. a description of this visit was therefore quite beside the argument of galatians. we cannot therefore say that its omission in galatians proves that it was an invention of the author of acts. the fact that acts does not depend upon st. paul's writings and nevertheless shows many undesigned points of contact with them, leads us to a very important conclusion. this conclusion is that the writer of acts was a companion of st. paul. it is incredible that a later writer, who took an eager interest in st. paul's adventures, should have made no use of st. paul's letters. those letters made a deep impression upon st. paul's contemporaries (cf. cor. x. ), and they were carefully treasured by all succeeding generations. we can only explain the relation between acts and the pauline epistles by the theory that the author of acts was sufficiently intimate with the apostle to be able to write his book without feeling the necessity of enriching it by references to those epistles. the theory, then, fits with the theory which is suggested to us by the "we sections." the only remaining question is whether this companion was, or was not, st. luke. { } he was evidently with st. paul at rome, and this makes it impossible to attribute the authorship of acts to titus, as there is no hint in the new testament of titus being there. nor was the author silas, for silas was not with st. paul on the third missionary journey, while the author of acts was. acts xx. , seems to prove that the book was not written by timothy. no one seems so likely to have been the author as st. luke. for the writer of acts xxvii. -xxviii. evidently accompanied st. paul to rome, and we learn from col. iv. and philem. that st. luke was with the apostle during his first imprisonment in that city. we may therefore say that every line of evidence points to the truth of the ancient tradition that st. luke wrote acts. the sources of information employed by st. luke can sometimes be determined with a high degree of probability. where he did not draw upon his own recollections he could often rely upon those of st. paul. the apostle was, as we should expect, in the habit of narrating his own experiences (cf. cor. i. - ; xii. ; gal. i. -ii. ; phil. iii. - ; rom. xv. - ). acts xxi. ; xiv. ; xv. , , , show how st. paul related his travels. acts i.-v. probably incorporates an early jewish christian document, and contains features which unmistakably point to the truthfulness of the record. a good deal of information was probably obtained from john mark: it was to the house of mark's mother that st. peter made his way after his escape from prison recorded in ch. xii. as st. mark was with st. luke and st. paul at rome, and acted as st. peter's interpreter, st. luke had the opportunity of learning from him many facts concerning st. peter. st. barnabas also perhaps furnished some details concerning the history of the early church at jerusalem. some of the converts who fled from judaea to antioch (xi. ) were probably men who witnessed the wonders of the day of pentecost. and if st. luke was a christian of antioch, as tradition says, he may have made inquiries of these converts. { } from philip the evangelist, st. luke may have learnt the history of events with which philip was concerned, as he stayed with him at caesarea (xxi. - ), and he also knew mnason, who was one of the "original" disciples of pentecost (xxi. ). finally, we notice that st. luke had intercourse with st. james, the bishop of jerusalem, himself (xxi. ). [sidenote: date.] we have seen above (p. ) that st. luke's gospel was probably written soon after a.d. . as acts i. shows that acts was written later than the gospel, and as there is just enough difference in style between the two books to encourage the idea that acts was not written immediately after the gospel, we may reasonably place acts between a.d. and . one obvious objection to placing the date of acts so late is the fact that the writer does not record the death of st. paul. this is certainly startling, for the martyrdom of the great apostle would have formed an impressive conclusion to the book. but there are several reasons which may be appropriately suggested to account for the omission. possibly the author intended to write a third "treatise," in which the story of the martyrdom of his two great heroes, st. peter and st. paul, would be recounted; possibly acts, which ends very abruptly, was never completed by the author. it is also possible that, after showing that the roman civil power had generally been tolerant towards christianity, he did not wish to endanger the circulation of his book by giving an account of nero's brutal persecution of the christians. if the book had contained any such history, the possession of it would have been regarded as no small offence by the civil authorities. several years later, when the church was probably much stronger, st. john, in writing the revelation, disguised his description of nero in symbolical language. in any case, st. luke may have wished both to show theophilus that christianity was compatible with loyalty to the government, { } and that the government had for a long time been tolerant towards christianity. [sidenote: character and contents.] the general plan of the book may easily be seen by a glance at the analysis printed below. we may describe it by saying that the ruling ideas are the progress and the continuity of the church. that is to say, st. luke shows how the church, the divinely organized society which promotes the kingdom of god, lives and develops through various stages and crises. it spreads from one upper room in jerusalem to rome, the world's mightiest city. from the election of matthias, the new apostle, until the decision reached by the council at jerusalem twenty years afterwards, and recorded in ch. xv., we behold a slow but sure progress. the secret of this progress is dependence upon the risen christ. we cannot conceive how the apostles could ever have come out of the perplexity and dismay caused by the death of their lord, and laboured with such enthusiasm, unless they were certain that the lord was indeed risen. without the resurrection, the church would have collapsed at once. knowing that it could not be possibly disproved, the apostles appeal to it as their reason for advancing out of judaism. two points with regard to the doctrine implied in chs. i.-xv. deserve special attention. ( ) _the doctrine of christ's person_. the doctrine is of the simplest kind, but the facts asserted by the apostles imply that he is divine. he is the messiah, anointed by god, and the holy one, and he is in a special sense the holy servant or child of god (iii. ; iv. ). he is seated at the right hand of god (v. ), he is prince and saviour. he fulfils divine functions. it is he who has poured out the holy spirit (ii. ). he is the object of man's faith, and his name or revealed personality is declared to have just restored a lame man to soundness (iii. ); signs and wonders are expected to be done through him (iv. ). there is "salvation" in none other (iv. ), and he is to be "the judge of quick and dead" { } (x. ). st. stephen in dying prays to him. he is perpetually called lord, and the fact that the same name is applied to jehovah in the septuagint makes it impossible to suppose that christ is not regarded as possessed of divine attributes. ( ) _the doctrine of the salvation of the world_. rationalist critics have asserted that the first apostles had no idea that the gospel was meant for the world, and that they limited its light to the children of abraham. the unfairness of this assertion is shown by the consistent manner in which the same doctrine of the salvation of all men is interwoven in different parts of acts, including the early chapters, which are generally acknowledged to be derived from an early jewish christian source. the doctrine is that salvation is offered to the jews first (iii. ), but "all that are afar off" may share in it (ii. ; iii. ). this is exactly the doctrine expressed by st. paul in rom. i. . and the conversion of gentiles of different classes, as recorded in acts, testifies that the apostles acted up to the doctrine. they did not doubt that the gentiles had a right to the gospel. the point which did agitate them was, how much of the jewish ceremonial ought the gentiles to be required to observe. when the gentile converts became numerous the question became acute, being sharpened by the demand of certain jewish christians that all converts should be circumcised. st. peter and st. james set their faces against this demand, and it was determined on their advice that the gentiles should only be required to abstain from "meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication" (xv. ). the rule was primarily meant for antioch, syria, and cilicia. it prohibits complicity in idolatry, and in the immorality with which syrian idolatry had been historically associated. and it prohibits the eating of blood and things strangled, a practice which might cause friction in the presence of jewish communities. nothing is said about circumcision or the sabbath. it is impossible to reconcile acts xv. with the { } theory that the original apostles were merely jewish unitarians who detested st. paul. and the rationalists who have propagated this theory gain no help either from galatians or from acts xxi. for st. paul, in writing to the galatians, asserts the two central facts which we find in acts xv., viz. (i.) that his policy of an open gospel was opposed by a party which appealed to the original apostles, (ii.) that the original apostles gave him the hand of fellowship and repudiated the judaizers. in acts xxi. we find st. paul himself performing a jewish ceremonial act at the request of st. james. the request was made in order to counteract the falsehood that he had been trying to make the hebrew converts desert the old jewish customs. it cannot be interpreted as a proof of the supposed blind judaism of st. james. for st. paul _voluntarily_ performed a similar act at cenchreae, and we have no ground for believing that he always claimed for himself that entire freedom from jewish usages which he always claimed for his gentile converts. his own words contradict such a notion emphatically ( cor. ix. ). the truth is that it is only by doing violence to all the evidence which we possess, that anything can be done to support either the theory of baur and his school that the apostles of the church were divided with regard to the _law_, or the more recent theory of harnack and others that they were divided with regard to the _person of christ_. all the apostles believed that the gospel was for all men on equal terms, and that christ was the divine lord of all. in addition to these points, it is necessary to say a few words about _the ministry of the church_ which is described in acts. it is asserted by such writers as martineau, sabatier, and schmiedel, that the state of the church and the ministry in acts betrays the fact that the author did not write in the apostolic age. it is said that "hierarchical ideas" or "hierarchical pretensions" can be detected in such passages as i. , ; viii. - ; xv. ; xx. , and that such ideas { } could not have been entertained by the apostles. it is not possible to give a full discussion of such a theory in this book.[ ] we must be content with noting that, in order to give it any appearance of validity, it is necessary to reject every part of the new testament which does not happen to agree with it. schmiedel, who places acts between a.d. and , says that "acts xx. - has many ideas in common with those of the pastoral epistles," but that "the author has not yet reached the stage in the development of church government which characterizes the first epistle to timothy." [ ] he says this simply because that epistle, which he regards as a late forgery, shows a form of church government practically identical with episcopacy, while he thinks that acts xx. shows a form of government intermediate between the genuine apostolic form and episcopacy. to this we may make two answers; (a) that the church government in acts and timothy is practically the same, the work of the apostle being in r timothy partly delegated to an apostolic vicar; (b) as there is excellent evidence for regarding timothy as a genuine writing of st. paul, it gives us an additional cause for believing that the description of church government in acts is not fictitious. analysis the outline of the book is laid down in the words of our lord quoted in i. , "ye shall receive power after that the holy ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, and in all judaea, and samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." { } a. from a.d. to ? , the church at jerusalem: i.-viii. .--introduction; the commission to the apostles, the ascension, choice of matthias in place of judas (i.). outpouring of the holy spirit at pentecost, peter's speech, the unity of the church (ii.). cure of a lame man, peter's speech on the occasion (iii.). peter and john imprisoned and before the council, their dismissal and return to the church, community of goods in the church (iv.). ananias and sapphira, miracles of healing, especially by peter, second imprisonment of peter and john, peter's speech, gamaliel's advice to refrain from persecution (v.). appointment of the seven deacons, stephen's ministry and arrest (vi.). stephen's defence, in which he shows that the jews have always opposed the chief servants of god and that _true worship is independent of the jewish temple_, stephen's martyrdom (vii.-viii. ). b. from a.d. ? to . christianity spreads through judaea and samaria and to the gentiles, st. paul's conversion: viii.-xii.--church scattered by persecution, philip in samaria, simon magus, peter and john at samaria, philip baptizes an ethiopian proselyte to judaism (viii.). conversion of paul, his baptism, he is introduced to the apostles, peter at joppa and lydda, raising of tabitha by peter (ix.). peter and cornelius, peter's trance, he eats with and has baptized _gentiles_ who had previously believed in god but were _uncircumcised_ (x.). he explains his conduct and the church approves (xi. - ). christianity spreads to phoenicia, cyprus, and antioch, where it is preached to _pagan greeks_ (xi. - ). herod's { } persecution, murder of james, peter's third imprisonment and escape, death of herod in a.d. , paul returns from his second visit to jerusalem (xii.). c. from a.d. to . st. paul's first missionary journey: xiii. -xv. .--barnabas and paul receive the laying on of hands at antioch, journey through cyprus, elymas the sorcerer blinded, visit to antioch in pisidia, paul's speech in the synagogue, he turns to the gentiles (xiii.). paul preaches at iconium, cures lame man at lystra, is stoned, returns to antioch (xiv.). _persecution of the christians by jews_. the jerusalem church council decides that _gentiles need not be circumcised_ (xv. - ). d. from a.d. to . st. paul's second missionary journey: xv. -xviii. .--paul with silas visits the churches founded during the first journey, timothy circumcised (xv. -xvi. ). paul crosses to europe, imprisoned at philippi, conversion of the jailor (xvi.). at thessalonica and beroea, at athens, paul's speech at the areopagus (xvii.). at corinth, brought before gallic the roman proconsul, travels by ephesus and caesarea to jerusalem and antioch (xviii. - ). _persecution by jews, or by gentiles whose pockets are affected_ (xvi. ). e. from a.d. to . st. paul's third missionary journey: xviii. -xxi. .--paul revisits galatia and phrygia; apollos, a converted { } jew, defends christianity at corinth (xviii. - ). paul stays at ephesus, great riot (xix.). _roman officials tolerant to christianity, craftsmen whose pockets are affected show violence_. journey to macedonia and greece, paul at troas, eutychus' fall and cure, journey to miletus where paul meets the presbyters of ephesus (xx.). voyage to tyre and caesarea (xxi. - ). f. from a.d. to . st. paul arrested at jerusalem, imprisoned at caesarea, voyage to rome: xxi. -xxviii. .--paul visits james and the presbyters, the jews try to kill him, he is rescued and taken to the castle (xxi. - ). his speech to the jews, is removed by the chief captain (xxii.). his speech before the jewish council, is taken to caesarea (xxiii.). appears before the procurator felix (xxiv.). appears before the procurator festus, appeals to the emperor, speaks before agrippa (xxv., xxvi.). _roman officials still tolerant, but obliged to interfere_. the voyage and shipwreck (xxvii.). paul at melita (xxviii. - ). he journeys to rome and expounds the gospel at rome, where the jews had not previously heard anything against him. he preaches the kingdom of god for two years (xxviii. - ). similar characteristics of st. luke's gospel and acts.--among such are the continued interest in samaritans (acts i. ; viii. - ) john the baptist (acts i. ; x. ; xiii. ; xviii. ; xix. ), women (acts i. ; ix. ; xii. ; xvii. ), the poor (acts ii. ; iii. ; iv. ; ix. , etc.). in both books christ is specially called "lord," and is the great prophet (luke vii. , ; xxiv. - ; cf. acts iii. ; vii. ), also the suffering "servant" (luke xxiv. , ; cf. acts iii. , ; iv. ; viii. ). notice, too, in both books the long reports of prayers and speeches. [ ] the "we sections" contain verses. they are xvi. - , xx. - ; xxi. - , xxvii. -xxviii. . [ ] see rev. sir john c. hawkins, bart., m.a., _horae synopticae_. [ ] see lightfoot, _commentary on galatians_. [ ] the reader is referred to dr. gore, _the church and the ministry_, p. f. (fourth edition). [ ] _encyclopaedia biblica_, vol. i. p. . { } chapter viii the epistles of st. paul although the christian cannot regard the epistles contained in the new testament as having quite the same importance as the gospels which record the life and sayings of his divine master, he must regard them as having a profound significance. they deal with the creed and the conduct of the church with an inspired insight which gives them an undying value, and they are marked by a personal affection which gives them an undying charm. they lend, too, a most powerful support to the historical evidence of the truth of christianity. we have already noticed that the earliest gospel was probably not written before a.d. , while st. john's gospel is probably as late as a.d. . but several of the twenty-one epistles in the new testament are certainly earlier than a.d. , and out of the whole number only the three by st. john can be confidently placed at a later date than st. john's gospel. now, these twenty-one epistles assume the truth of the story contained in the gospels. they do more than this. for they prove that during the lifetime of men who had personally known jesus christ, there were large numbers of earnest men and women who were at home with the same ideas as those which christians have cherished until modern times. some of these ideas explain what we find in the gospels. for instance, the doctrine of the atonement is more plainly expounded in the epistles than in the gospels. this doctrine, together with those which concern the person of jesus christ, the holy { } trinity, the sacraments, the church, and the ministry, could be shown to have existed about a.d. , even if the gospels had perished or were proved to be forgeries. the indirect evidence which the epistles give to the life and teaching of our lord is therefore of immense importance. if the infidel says that these doctrines are mere theories, we can ask him how these theories arose, and challenge him to produce a cause which so adequately accounts for them as the incarnation of the son of god. the origin of "spiritual letters" or "epistles" was perhaps due to the wisdom and originality of st. paul. at any rate, there is nothing improbable in this conjecture, nor need it draw us into any sympathy with the recent attempts to use it as a means for discrediting those epistles in the new testament which bear the names of other authors. it is possible that the earliest epistle is that of st. james, and we have no means of telling whether st. paul did or did not anticipate him in writing epistles. in any case, if st. paul is not the pioneer, he is the captain of epistle-writers. st. cyprian, st. jerome, st. bernard, and in modern times archbishop fenelon and dr. pusey, have illustrated the power of making a letter the vehicle of momentous truths. but on the greatest of them there has fallen only a portion of the mantle of st. paul. we possess thirteen epistles written by st. paul. there is no real reason for doubting the genuineness of any of them, and a remarkable change has lately taken place in the manner in which the opponents of orthodox christianity have treated them. when the ingenious attempt was made, sixty years ago, to prove that st. paul invented a type of christianity which was not taught by christ, it was held that only galatians, romans, and and corinthians were genuine. the other epistles attributed to st. paul were said to be forgeries written after st. paul's death, and intended to act as certificates for the catholic faith of the nd century. since then criticism has grown wiser. the genuineness of philippians and thessalonians was first conceded. then it became necessary to { } admit the genuineness of colossians and philemon; and thessalonians and ephesians are now being placed in the same list even by some extreme critics. in fact, the use made of st. paul's epistles in the nd century, and the impossibility of finding any one who had the genius to personate the great apostle, are two things which have disabled fancy-criticism. the epistles to timothy and titus are still confidently rejected by some authors, but this confidence is being undermined. some special attention is given to the question of their genuineness in this book. the writings of st. paul fall into four groups, each group being shaped by something which is unmistakably novel and by something which it has in common with the other groups. i. a.d. . and thessalonians. ii. a.d. - . and corinthians, galatians, romans. iii. a.d. - . colossians, philemon, ephesians, philippians. iv. a.d. - . timothy, titus, timothy. st. paul was in the habit of dictating his letters. in rom. xvi. occurs the name of tertius, who was then acting as his secretary. but st. paul wrote the little letter to philemon himself, and in gal. vi. - we find a postscript which the apostle wrote in his own large handwriting. similar instances are found in cor. xvi. - and col. iv. , while in thess. iii. he shows us that he sometimes made these additions in order to protect his converts from being deceived by forged letters written in his name. in order to enter into the spirit of st. paul's letters it is necessary to understand his history, a brief outline of which will now be given. saul, who changed his name to paul, was born at tarsus in cilicia, a city which prided itself upon its good education. the language of the city was greek; saul's father was a jew and a roman citizen. he was trained at jerusalem by { } gamaliel, a renowned pharisee. the future apostle was therefore born a member of the most religious race in the world, spoke the language of the most cultivated race in the world, and lived under the most masterly and fully organized government. all these three influences left their mark on a soul which was always impressible towards everything great and noble. but his nature was not only impressible; it was endowed as well by god with a strong pure heat which could fuse truths together into an orderly and well-proportioned form, and purge away the falsehoods which clung to truths. it is plain that he was not a pharisee of the baser sort, even when he believed that the messiah was a pretender. righteousness was his ideal, and because he hated sin, a struggle raged between his conscience and his lower instincts (rom. vii. - ). he fiercely persecuted the christians, whom he regarded as traitors to their race and their religion. on his way from jerusalem to damascus with a warrant from the high priest to arrest the christians, he was converted (about a.d. ) by a direct interposition of the risen lord. every effort has been made by modern rationalists to explain this revelation as either an imaginary vision or an inward light in his conscience. the fact remains that st. paul never speaks of it as a merely inward reality, that he does not number his conversion among the ecstatic states to which he was subject ( cor. xii. ), and that he reckons the appearance of christ to himself as an outward appearance like the appearances to the older apostles ( cor. xv. - ). we cannot get behind the statements made by st. paul and those made in acts by his friend, st. luke. they show that he was met and conquered by christ. the appearance of christ changed his whole career, transformed his character, convinced him that jesus was the messiah, and that salvation can only be obtained by faith in him--that is, by a devoted adherence to his person and his teaching. after preaching christ in damascus, he retired into the keen air and inspiring solitude of the arabian desert. { } during this period the outline of his creed seems to have grown clear and definite. it afterwards expanded and developed, as truly as youth passes into manhood, but there is no evidence for any material alteration having taken place after his return from arabia. many christians doubted the sincerity of his conversion, but st. barnabas, a conciliatory and kind evangelist, introduced him to st. peter and st. james at jerusalem, a.d. . his life being threatened by the greek-speaking jews, he departed for tarsus. in due time he was brought by st. barnabas to aid the new mission to the gentiles at antioch, a large and splendid city, admirably adapted for the first propagation of the gospel among the heathen. in a.d. he paid with barnabas a second visit to jerusalem, taking thither a contribution from antioch to relieve the famine which raged there. in a.d. he went from antioch in company with barnabas on his first missionary tour, visiting cyprus and part of asia minor. on his return, a.d. , he attended the council at jerusalem (acts xv.; gal. ii.), at which he insisted that converts from paganism should not be required to submit to circumcision and the other ceremonial rules of the jewish church. only once again has any council of the church had to discuss such a burning and weighty question, and that once was at the council of nicaea in , when it was determined to describe the fact that jesus is god in language which would admit of no possible mistake or jugglery. at jerusalem, in a.d. , the church had to determine whether it was sufficient for a man to be a christian, or necessary for him to become a jew and a christian simultaneously. some judaizing christians maintained the latter. faithful to the teaching of our lord, who laid on no gentile the necessity of adopting judaism, the church decided that gentile converts need not be circumcised. in a.d. , soon after the council at jerusalem, st. paul began a second missionary journey, and crossed over into europe, where he founded several churches, including those of philippi and thessalonica. at athens he seems to have made { } but little impression, but at corinth, the busy and profligate centre of greek commerce, he was more successful. he stayed there for eighteen months, and during this stay he wrote the epistles to the thessalonians. they are marked by the attention given to _eschatology_, or doctrine of "the last things"--the second coming of christ, the resurrection of mankind, and the judgment. this second journey closed with a visit to jerusalem, and was followed by an incident which shows that the apostle's long warfare with judaism was not over. the judaizers had been defeated at the council of jerusalem, and they were aware that the gentiles were pouring into the church. so they attempted a new and artful plan for securing their own predominance. they no longer denied that uncircumcised christians were christians, but they tried to gain a higher status for the circumcised. they asserted that special prerogatives belonged to the messiah's own people, and to the apostles whom he had chosen while he was on earth. when st. paul went from jerusalem to antioch in a.d. , st. peter, fearing to offend these judaizers, was guilty of pretending to believe that he agreed with them.[ ] he refused to eat with gentile (uncircumcised) christians. he thereby tried to compel the gentiles to "judaize" (gal. ii. ), treating them as if they were an inferior caste. st. barnabas was carried away by st. peter's example. st. paul then openly rebuked the leader of the apostles. it is on this incident that f. c. baur and the tübingen school founded their fictitious history of a doctrinal struggle between st. paul and the original apostles. the fundamental falsehood of this history lies in the fact that there was no real difference of opinion between st. peter and st. paul. the latter rebuked the former for "dissembling," _i.e._ for acting on a special occasion in a { } manner contrary to his convictions and openly professed principles. the judaizing party not only tried to inoculate the church with judaism, but strained every nerve to undermine the authority of st. paul. they said that he had no authority to preach christ unless it was derived through the twelve, and they showed "letters of commendation" (gal. ii. ; cor. iii. ), to the effect that they represented the first apostles and came to supply the defects of st. paul's teaching. with these opponents he was in conflict during his third missionary journey, which began about august, a.d. . on this journey he revisited galatia and phrygia, made a long stay at ephesus, and went to macedonia and greece. during this third missionary journey he wrote and corinthians, galatians, and romans. it is hard to determine the exact order in which they were written, as galatians may have been written before corinthians. these epistles are the noblest work of st. paul. the persistent efforts of his opponents compel him to defend both his principles and his character. amid the perplexity of the time, his clear and clarifying mind formulated christian doctrine so perfectly that he compels his readers to see what he sees. this group of epistles is mainly devoted to _soteriology_, or the method by which god saves man. it contains abundant teaching about god's purpose of saving us, the use of the jewish law, the struggle between our flesh and our spirit, the work of jesus christ in dying and rising for us, the work of the holy spirit, and the morals and worship of the church. st. paul's arguments are mainly addressed to believing christians, whom he wishes to preserve from jewish or heathen error. they are marked by the strongest light and shade. nowhere does sin appear more awful, and the love of god to undeserving man appear more generous. at one moment the apostle writes as a logician, at another as a mystic. now he is stern, and now he is pathetic. in compass, in variety, in depth, these four epistles are great works of art, and all the greater { } because the writer esteems his intellectual powers as nothing in comparison with the story of the cross. in may, a.d. , st. paul was arrested at jerusalem, after which he was detained by the roman procurator felix for two years at caesarea, and then sent to rome because he appealed to have his case tried by the emperor. he arrived at rome early in a.d. , and was imprisoned for two years in his own hired house before his trial. during this imprisonment he wrote the epistles to the colossians, ephesians, and philippians, and the exquisite private letter to philemon. in philippians there is a strong reprimand of the infatuation of trusting in jewish privileges, but it is plain from colossians and ephesians that gentile christianity was already firmly established, and that in asia minor the judaizing heresies were becoming fainter and more fanciful. st. paul criticizes a judaic gnosticism, a morbid mixture of jewish ritual with that oriental spiritualism which fascinated many devotees in the roman empire at this period. the philippians do not seem to have been infected with the same religious malaria as the christians who dwelt in the valley of the lycus. but st. paul in writing to them, as to the colossians and ephesians, takes great pains to show who christ is and what our relation towards him ought to be. this group is therefore distinguished by its _christology_. st. paul was released from his first imprisonment at rome, though we know no details of his release. he again resumed his missionary life, and wrote the first epistle to timothy and that to titus. according to a tradition of very great antiquity, he visited spain. but the changed attitude of the roman government towards the christians soon cut short his work. earlier in his career the roman officials had regarded the new religion with easy though somewhat supercilious toleration. in thessalonians we find st. paul apparently describing the roman authorities as the restraining power which hindered the malice of antichristian judaism from working revenge upon { } the church. at ephesus he had been personally protected from the mob by the men who were responsible for the public worship of the roman emperor. but under nero an active persecution of the christians was set on foot, and st. paul was again imprisoned at rome. during this last imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to timothy. this letter, like the first epistle to timothy and that to titus, deals specially with the organization and ministry of the church, and was intended to consolidate the church before the apostle's death. the martyrdom of the apostle probably took place in a.d. . his tomb, marked by an inscription of the th century, still remains at rome in the church of "st. paul outside the walls," which stands near the scene of his martyrdom. unless the relics were destroyed by the saracens who sacked rome in , they probably remain in this tomb. the festival of june , which in mediaeval times was kept in honour of st. peter and st. paul, and which in our present english prayer-book is wrongly dedicated to st. peter only, is probably not the day on which either of the apostles suffered. it is the day on which their relics were removed for safety to the catacombs in the time of the persecution of the christians by the emperor decius, a.d. . [ ] the above account places the dispute at antioch before the third missionary journey. some writers of deserved repute place it in the winter of a.d. , before the council of jerusalem. { } chapter ix and thessalonians the first epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalonians [sidenote: the author.] among all schools of thought there has been an increasing conviction that this epistle is genuine. it was included in marcion's _apostolicon_, or list of pauline writings, it is contained in the _muratorian fragment_, it is quoted by the great fathers of the close of the nd century, and is found in the old latin and peshitta syriac versions of the new testament. the earnest and affectionate tone of the epistle is thoroughly pauline, and the argument that it is not genuine because it does not contain the same pronounced anti-jewish teaching as we find in romans is precarious, though it has seemed to some sceptics to be convenient. the argument might be turned in the opposite direction. for it would be just as reasonable to say that the absence of anti-jewish doctrine proves that the epistle was written before the great conflict with the semi-christian jews began, as to say that it proves that it was written by a forger after the conflict was over. one paragraph in the epistle points decisively to an early date. in iv. - we find that some thessalonians were under the delusion that it would be an exceptional thing for a christian to die before the second coming of our lord, and that those who did so die would miss some of the felicity appointed for the rest. such a delusion must have been dispelled at a very early date. moreover, the { } comfort which st. paul administers to those who are agitated by this notion gives us the idea that he expected christ to return in his own lifetime. in this respect he writes to the thessalonians something very different from what he writes in his later epistles (phil. i. - ; tim. iv. ), or even in cor. v. . we need not be surprised that god left the great apostle in ignorance of an event which it is not given even to the angels to understand (matt. xxiv. ). but a forger, living after the apostle's death, would not be at all likely to represent his hero as falling into such a mistake. [sidenote: to whom written.] thessalonica, the modern saloniki, was the capital of part of macedonia, situated in the middle of the bend of the thermaic gulf, and not far from mount olympus, the snow-clad home of the gods of greece. it was a busy mercantile town, and in ready communication with italy, as the great road called _via egnatia_ passed through its walls. it contained then, as now, a considerable number of jews among its inhabitants. in christian times it became a great ecclesiastical centre, and was influential in the conversion of the slavs and bulgarians. it is still famous for its splendid byzantine churches, though the finest have long since been converted into mosques by the turks. the church was planted there by st. paul on his second missionary journey, in a.d. (acts xvii.). he preached first to the jews, and after his third visit to the synagogue he was rejected by the jews, and he turned to the gentiles. some of these thracian gentiles were converts to judaism, but they were people whose character could be trusted. in the mean time his philippian converts twice sent aid to him (phil. iv. ). previous to this the apostle had been earning his own bread, no doubt by tent-making. st. paul was forced to leave thessalonica in consequence of a riot stirred up by the jews. he visited it again before his last journey to jerusalem in a.d. . thess. i. shows that the majority of the christians had { } been gentile idolaters, though there were a few of jewish blood. it was among the sturdy people of macedonia that st. paul won his steadiest recruits for christ. here, as in the letter to philippi, we find that he uses words of more than ordinary affection. these converts are to st. paul his "joy and crown" ( thess. ii. ; phil. iv. ). he compares his relation with them to that of a nurse with her own children ( thess. ii. ). when he wrote to the corinthians he displayed his macedonians as brilliant examples of christian liberality and christian loyalty ( cor. viii. - ). in this passage he alludes to their poverty, and these epistles show that they had to work for their bread. they were exposed to bitter and continuous persecution from jews, who were capable of inciting the roughs of the town to set on st. paul (acts xvii. ). [sidenote: where and when written.] the epistle was written from corinth on the occasion of st. paul's first visit there. when st. paul had to leave beroea in a.d. , silas and timothy remained (acts xvii. , ; xviii. ). he sent for them to meet him at athens, and when they had come, he despatched timothy to thessalonica ( thess. iii. ). in october a.d. , st. paul arrived at corinth from athens: timothy and silas rejoined him at corinth, and the letter was written soon afterwards, probably early in a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] the immediate cause of the epistle was the arrival of timothy with news from thessalonica. the apostle's reasons for writing were: (a) to calm and encourage the converts whom he had so abruptly left; (b) to urge them to perform their ordinary duties. they had fallen into a state bordering on religious hysteria. quite determined to be true to christ, they had been demoralized by the strain of facing constant hostility. they had begun to take excessive interest in unfulfilled prophecy and eschatological speculation. the result was that individuals had become careless as to the performance of simple duties. the apostle comforts the thessalonians by reminding them { } of the happiness and reality of their own spiritual experience. he wishes them to see plainly the working of god both in his own preaching of the gospel and their acceptance of it. on the one hand, he gladly recognizes the _faith, charity, hope,_ and constancy under persecution: the story of their conversion, as it had been known everywhere, has won many friends for the faith (i.). on the other hand, st. paul is aware that his own conduct has not been unworthy of an apostle. probably to vindicate himself against jewish calumnies, he declares that his ministry at thessalonica was bold, pure, honest, and gentle. moreover, he did not quarter himself upon his converts; he worked with his hands, and was just and fatherly (ii. - ). after a thanksgiving for the manner in which they received the word of god, he speaks of his eager wish to see his friends again. he had sent timothy that he might comfort them, and timothy has returned with glad tidings. he prays for their establishment in holiness (ii. -iii. ). he goes on to exhort them to avoid impurity and work quietly, and then he speaks of the eschatological difficulties. the thessalonians wondered whether the christians already dead would miss a share in the joy of christ's second coming. st. paul replies that those who are alive at christ's appearing will have no advantage over the dead (iv. ). on the contrary, the dead will rise first, and then the living christians will be caught up together with them to meet the lord. the day will come with surprise, and will terrify the unprepared (iv. -v. ). he then calls them to watchfulness and sobriety. there follows an exhortation to obey the clergy, and the early date of the epistle is again suggested by the fact that the titles which are used in his later epistles are not given to the clergy of thessalonica. the existence of an order of prophets seems implied (v. ). the epistle has a special blessing for these troubled christians who look so wistfully for "the coming of our lord jesus christ." { } analysis salutation, thanksgiving, and congratulation. the good fruit borne by christianity at thessalonica is known of through all macedonia and achaia (i.). the character of the apostle's ministry there, a fresh thanksgiving, the apostle desires to see his friends, but is hindered by satan working through adverse circumstances (ii.). timothy's expedition, a prayer (iii.). encouragement to obedience, exhortation against impurity and to work; the blessed dead and christ's second coming. the sudden coming of the lord (iv. -v. ). practical conclusion based on the above doctrine (v. - ). the second epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalonians [sidenote: the author.] the external evidence for the genuineness of the second epistle is even stronger than that of the first. it is mentioned by polycarp,[ ] and apparently by justin martyr.[ ] it is also supported by the same versions of the new testament and by the same fathers as the first epistle. in modern times it has been rejected even by some who accept thessalonians. some of the objections which have been raised are almost too trivial to deserve attention. but the prophetic and apocalyptic passage in ii. - has been regarded by many critics as a serious stumbling-block. it has been urged (a) that thessalonians implies that st. paul believed christ would return immediately, whereas thessalonians implies that certain important occurrences must first intervene. but there is no real contradiction. for thessalonians represents the return of christ as certainly sudden { } and _possibly soon_; it does not represent it as certainly immediate. a thief may come suddenly in the night, and yet the man who gives warning that the thief will come, does not necessarily mean that the thief is coming without delay. it has been urged (b) that the doctrine of antichrist in thessalonians is un-pauline, and depends on the book of revelation. but there is not the least improbability in supposing that st. paul was in touch with these ideas about the end of the world. we know that such ideas were common among the jews at this period. nor is there any proof that the teaching of thessalonians on this subject is derived from the revelation of st. john. moreover, on the least christian view with regard to christ and the gospels, it is irrational to deny that our lord made various predictions about his second coming. we find a list of such predictions in matt. xxiv. and in the parallel passages of the other gospels. it is therefore natural to find st. paul speaking about the end of the world in language which resembles that used by our lord, or that found in daniel, ezekiel, and the later jewish apocalypses. [sidenote: where and when written.] st. paul sent this epistle from corinth, probably towards the end of the year . several modern writers have dated thessalonians earlier than thessalonians. the grounds for this view are the references in this epistle to the teaching lately given by st. paul while at thessalonica. but although these references would be natural in any epistle written first after his departure from that place, they do not necessarily imply that thessalonians was the first. moreover, ii. probably contains a reference to the first epistle, and this letter was apparently written to clear up a difficulty which the first epistle did not solve. persecution had continued at thessalonica, and higher excitement and wider confusion prevailed. the thessalonians were more sure than ever that christ's advent was coming immediately, on the strength, perhaps, of some words in st. paul's earlier letter to them, { } supported by a forged letter which pretended to be his and by feigned revelations. the result was entire neglect of daily duties. "there is no reason," men said, "why i should work for my living or try to be provident, because the lord is sure to come to-day or to-morrow." as the circumstances are so similar to those in the first epistle, and as silvanus (otherwise silas) and timothy are still with the apostle, we may be sure that thessalonians was written during st. paul's first stay at corinth. [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle consists of instruction and exhortation. the most characteristic passage is ii. - . the apostle declares that he never taught that the day of the lord is about to dawn immediately (ii. ). it must be preceded by several events. there will be an apostasy, the revelation of "the man of sin, the son of perdition," who will assume equality with god and sit in the temple of god. over against this "man of sin" we find placed "one that restraineth now." many strange interpretations of these two phrases have been devised, and the fancy of commentators has ranged over various historical monsters from mohammed to napoleon bonaparte. one favourite idea is that the description of the man of sin "setting himself forth as god" refers to the worship offered to the roman emperors, and to the attempt made by caligula in a.d. to place his statue in the temple at jerusalem. but it seems far better to regard the man of sin as hostile judaism, personified in an antichrist who pretends to be the representative of god foretold in mal. iii. . the other force which st. paul personifies is the curbing power of a strong government as then seen in the administrative system of the roman empire. the power of rome protected him against jewish fanaticism at this period (acts xix. - ; xxii. - ), but in this truly irreligious fanaticism he discerned a latent mysterious evil (ii. ) which would afterwards reveal itself in hideous excesses. while "the man of sin," or { } "wicked one," thus wreaks his will, christ will come and consume him with the breath of his mouth. st. paul understood the real genius of the antichristian jews. early in the nd century they began a series of rebellions against the power of rome, committing horrible atrocities. these rebellions culminated between a.d. and . the jews then rallied round a pretended messiah, simon bar kocheba, whom they named "prince of israel"; they killed the christians who refused to blaspheme jesus, and they captured jerusalem from the romans. after a fierce struggle the romans took jerusalem again, and crowds of jews were either massacred, or sold as slaves by the oak of abraham at hebron and in the markets of egypt. analysis salutation, thanksgiving for faith, charity, steadfastness, the certainty of christ's coming to "render vengeance" and "to be glorified in his saints" (i.). apocalyptic passage, renewed thanksgiving, exhortation to hold the traditions already received, invocation of christ and our father to comfort and stablish the converts (ii.). st. paul requests their prayers for himself, anticipates their christian progress, excommunication of disorderly brethren commanded. the apostle had worked for his living, they must do likewise. he commends them to the lord, and appends a salutation in his own hand as a seal of authenticity (iii.). [ ] _ad phil._ ii. [ ] _trypho_, . { } chapter x the first epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians [sidenote: the author.] the genuineness of and corinthians, galatians, and romans is admitted by almost every modern critic, christian or not christian. it was always acknowledged by f. c. baur, who rejected all the epistles bearing the name of st. paul except these four. this epistle is referred to in several writings of the nd century, and is unmistakably mentioned in the letter written to the corinthians by st. clement of rome about a.d. . he says, "take up the epistle of the blessed paul the apostle. what did he first write to you in the beginning of the gospel? of a truth he sent a letter to you by the spirit concerning himself, and also cephas and apollos, because you had even then formed parties" (cf. cor. i. ). the style of the epistle is spontaneous, vivid, and coherent. the authenticity is only disputed by a tiny group of infidel writers who, in reaction against baur, have endeavoured to make good their unbelief by asserting the genuineness of the scriptures which baur rejected, and rejecting what baur defended. [sidenote: to whom written.] "unto the church of god which is at corinth" (i. ). in former times corinth had been the most important city in greece after athens itself. it was one of the earliest homes of greek art, and its position made it so favourable for commerce that it attracted a colony of phoenician traders at a very remote period. when its art declined, it remained celebrated for its wealth and its { } extreme licentiousness. the patron deity of the corinthians was aphrodite, who was no other than the foul phoenician astarte. her temple on the rock of the acrocorinthus dominated the city below, and from it there came a stream of impure, influences "to turn men into swine." in b.c. the city was captured by the roman general mummius. it was left desolate until b.c. , when julius caesar refounded it as a roman colony. the romans called the whole of greece the province of achaia, and constituted corinth the capital of it. while athens was still the seat of the greatest university in the world, where lived most vigorously the glorious memories of bygone greece, the government of the province was directed from corinth. when st. paul visited it, it was under a proconsul, junius gallio, the brother of the philosopher seneca. the possession of two good harbours, and its position on the quickest route from rome to the east, caused a rapid revival of corinthian wealth and corinthian manners. there was also a good deal of literary and philosophic culture. in the time of st. paul the descendants of the original roman colonists probably formed a small aristocracy among the mass of greek dwellers at corinth, and some settlements of various nationalities, including one of jews, were living there. a few miles away, at the shrine of poseidon, were held the athletic isthmian games, and still by the sea-shore there grow the pine trees, such as furnished the quickly withering wreaths which were given to the victors in the race. the church of corinth was founded by st. paul on his second missionary journey, during his first visit to europe. his stay at corinth lasted for eighteen months. there is an account of it in acts xviii. he laboured at tent-making, and found a home with a devout jewish couple, aquila and priscilla. at first he preached in the synagogue, where he converted the ruler of the synagogue, crispus. being rejected by the jews, he turned to the gentiles, and held his meetings { } in the house of justus, a converted proselyte. the jews prosecuted st. paul before gallio, who, however, dismissed the case with contemptuous indifference. the converts to christianity were numerous. they were mostly gentiles ( cor. xii. ), but there were a few influential jewish christians and some gentiles who had been proselytes of judaism. it is clear that the church contained a few men of good birth and education ( cor. i. ), but the majority were from the poorer classes. the corinthians as christians were by no means entirely free from the characteristics which had marked them as citizens. they were ready to form cliques and quarrel in the name of christ, and they still showed the same quarrelsome mood in the time of st. clement. they found it hard to hate the sensuality which in their earlier days they had regarded as divine. they were puffed up with eloquence and philosophic speculation, and forgot that there is no "sweetness and light" comparable to the gospel. [sidenote: where and when written.] this epistle was written from ephesus in the spring of a.d. . the note at the end of the epistle to the effect that it was written "from philippi," though ancient, is incorrect, and is due to a misunderstanding of xvi. . when st. paul left corinth in april, a.d. , to go to jerusalem, apollos came to take his place, and preached with much success (acts xviii. ). st. paul returned to ephesus at the end of the summer of , and apollos left corinth and joined st. paul. soon some judaizing teachers appeared at corinth, and the apostle was obliged to go thither, though "in sorrow" ( cor. ii. ; cf. cor. xii. ; xiii. ). after this disciplinary visit he returned to ephesus, and sent the corinthians a sharp letter, now lost, about the relations which they should have with open and notorious evil-livers ( cor. v. ). st. paul's next news from corinth caused him to write this letter. some members of chloe's household told him of the development of factions there; and a letter was sent, perhaps { } by the hands of stephanas, fortunatus, and achaicus (xvi. - ), asking for advice about matters of grave importance, including litigation between christians and an unseemly freedom in public worship. realizing the serious state of affairs, st. paul determined to visit corinth a third time, and sent timothy as his representative to prepare for his coming ( cor. iv. , xvi. ). after timothy's departure he wrote this epistle. the above account assumes that st. paul's _second visit_ to corinth was paid before corinthians was written, but it is thought by some writers of repute that it was paid after corinthians was written and before corinthians. [sidenote character and contents.] this epistle, like each of the three other epistles belonging to the same group, has a perfectly distinct character of its own. it expounds the doctrine of a crucified christ as applied to social difficulties. what romans does as a theological treatise, and galatians as a controversial admonition, and corinthians as a record of personal experience and vocation, this corinthians does as an instruction for influencing a corrupt urban life with the leaven of the gospel. it is very practical in tone, and the doctrine which it contains is not stated separately, but is throughout woven into the cords of the apostle's argument. there is nothing in the new testament equal to this epistle in its power of bringing us close to the difficulties of the church in an ancient city. we seem to see the men and women who composed it--their eagerness for religious novelties, their debased surroundings, their anarchic divisions, their frail sense of moral responsibility. and a modern reader will probably lay the letter down with a conviction that our great modern cities have much to learn from the words written by st. paul to corinth, "the light of greece." the epistle is very olderly in arrangement. it deals first with the report which st. paul had received about the corinthian church (i.-vi.); then it answers various questions { } which the corinthians had submitted to him (vii.-xi. ). then follow directions based on the report and the questions. the letter opens with a significant salutation and thanksgiving (i. - ). st. paul then proceeds to rebuke the corinthian _tendency to party spirit_. there were apparently four parties in the church. the first asserted that they were followers of _paul_; the second preferred the rhetorical preaching of _apollos_ to paul's simplicity; the third--probably judaizers--ranged themselves under the name of _cephas_ as the leader of the original apostles; the fourth repudiated human leaders, and arrogantly named their clique that of _christ_, thereby insinuating that the other parties were less christian than themselves. it is evident that all these four names were really used as party watchwords. st. paul says that he has _transferred by a fiction_ (iv. ) the action of the wranglers to himself and apollos. he means by this, not that the corinthians did not employ these names in their strife, but that he and apollos were in no sense responsible for the strife. some perplexity has been caused by the name of the christ-party. it is thought by some that they were rigid jewish christians from jerusalem ( cor. iii. ; xi. ). but it is more probable that they were only a body of christians who protested against the parties named after human leaders, and saying, "we are the people," made a new party of their own. st. paul shows that this sectarian spirit is entirely alien to the whole principle and history of the christian faith. that faith, though it is a wisdom which comes from god, does not lend itself to pride of intellect. it is deliberately content to be counted foolish by the world; its sign is the cross, its converts are the poor and insignificant corinthians, its eloquence the unpolished speaking of the apostle himself. and as to their personal preferences for receiving spiritual benefits from one christian teacher rather than another, this shows a complete misconception as to the source of the benefit and the position of the teacher. this is explained in iii. -iv. . all spiritual { } increase comes from god. christ is the foundation. human teachers are not figure-heads of different schools, but the instruments and the stewards through whom god dispenses his gifts. it is not the duty of christian teachers to put forward original ideas on religion. then the apostle, after referring to their ostentatious self-righteousness, pathetically shows the unfitness of pitting against one another teachers who share in an equality of forlorn destitution and contempt (iv. - ). he concludes this section with an affectionate but authoritative speech: he says that he has sent timothy to corinth, and hopes shortly to come himself (iv. - ). the apostle proceeds with sharp decision to deal with _a case of incest_. the corinthians had treated this gross offence almost with levity, but st. paul declares that the offender shall be excommunicated and shall be punished by disease (v. - ). after explaining some advice of his earlier letter (v. - ), he goes on to rebuke a third abuse--_litigation_ between christians in pagan law-courts. the love of law-suits was mischievous in itself, as involving a breach of christian brotherhood. it was also scandalous in its effects, as exposing the bickerings of the disciples of christ to the ridicule of unbelievers. a stern rebuke of vice follows (vi. - ). then comes an indignant and lofty argument against fornication, which is a defilement of the temple of the holy ghost (vi. - ). st. paul now turns to the various questions that the corinthians have asked him. he first gives some advice about _matrimony_, carefully distinguishing between statements which he makes on his own authority, and rules laid down by christ, and also between counsels of perfection and the obligations of ordinary christians. it is excellent to lead a single life, but in view of prevailing sensuality, he recommends marriage as generally more prudent. he advises that when people do marry, there should be a fulfilment of conjugal duties except for { } occasional devotion "unto prayer." one permanently important assertion in the apostle's teaching is that both marriage and celibacy imply a "gift from god." st. paul would have had no sympathy with either any mediaeval depreciation of married life, or the modern english notion that a man has not "settled down" until he has married (vii. - ). the next question is whether converts may eat _meat that has been offered to idols_. with strong common-sense, the apostle points out that there is here no alternative between essential right and wrong. you may eat it, because an idol is nothing, but you must take care not to hurt the consciences of other christians (viii.). you may eat anything that you buy in the market-place, but you must not attend an idolatrous feast in a temple, and if you are at a private house you must not eat food offered to idols if your attention has been directly called to its character (x. - ). st. paul illustrates his meaning by reference to his own self-denial--the policy he had at corinth of exacting no payment for his ministry, his tactful caution, his severe self-control (ix.). the need of such self-control is proved by the fact that the ancient jews, in spite of their high privileges, fell into carelessness and sin (x. - ). the corinthians must not be like the jews. the nature of the eucharist warns them to be scrupulously careful about temple feasts. there cannot be a drinking of the chalice of christ and of the cup of devils (x. - ). chapter xi. deals with _public worship_. st. paul gives directions for women to cover the head in church, and then comes a reference to the holy eucharist which is of extreme interest and importance. it was the custom for christians to meet together before the eucharist for a common meal called the agapé, which was intended to commemorate the lord's last supper. st. paul complains that this meal has been made an occasion of sin among the corinthians: the richer people had overeaten themselves, while the poor were left hungry and ashamed. the apostle sets off the unfitness of { } this conduct by a brief exposition of the eucharist; the preliminary meal, so much misused by these ungracious and ungenerous christians, was intended to be a preparation for the ineffable feast, at which the fare was the very body and blood of jesus christ, and at which his death was solemnly represented (xi. - ). st. paul deals next with _spiritual gifts_, saying that they come from god, and so give no ground for boasting, and that the exercise of them is only pleasing to god if it be joined with charity. after a sublime chapter on charity, he lays down some regulations for those who possessed these abnormal gifts, which, it is evident, were already the cause of disorders in the church. the corinthians, with their craving for the miraculous, tended to set a high value on speaking with tongues, but st. paul upholds the superiority of the more intelligible and useful gift of prophecy (xii.-xiv.). the epistle concludes with a splendid argument for the reality of the _resurrection_. it is directed against some false philosophy. st. paul claims for the fact of the resurrection of christ the witness of scripture, of many honest and intelligent christians, and of himself. then he goes on to show to the corinthian objectors what a denial of the resurrection of the dead involves. it means that christ did not rise, that i am preaching deceit, that you are believing a lie, that the dead in christ have no existence except as memories, that we who have foregone the pleasures of this life have done so in pursuit of a delusive phantom. but it cannot be so. christ is really risen. and st. paul passes on to demonstrate the happy consequences which follow from this. the resurrection is the earnest of all that christ will do for man; and in the light of it christian baptism for the sake of the dead[ ] and christian heroism have their meaning (xv. - ). { } in order to remove difficulties from the mind of an objector, st. paul discusses the kind of body which we shall have at the resurrection. he shows by analogies from nature (a) that god is able to effect the transformation of a seed-grain into a new product, and can therefore transform us while retaining a connection between our present and future body; (b) that god is able to create a variety of embodiments, and can therefore give us a higher embodiment than we now possess. there will be a spiritual body adapted to the spiritual world, as truly as our natural body is adapted to life in this world. thus the gospel is truly a gospel for the body as well as for the spirit. our whole personality will be saved, and nothing will be discarded (xv. - ). st. paul concludes with an order for the collection of alms on behalf of the faithful in jerusalem, and says that he hopes to come soon to corinth. after some personal matters, he characteristically appends with his own hand a curse on those who do not love the lord, and a prayer and loving message for the faithful. analysis salutation, thanksgiving (i. - ). ( ) evils in the church: i. -vi. .--sectarianism. this is rebuked on the ground that all the apostles, etc., are working for one end, and all their power is god's. christ is supreme over all (i. -iv. ). incest. the church is to deliver the sinner to satan (the severest form of excommunication). st. paul mentions a previous warning not to associate with immoral christians (v.). { } going to law with a christian in the pagan courts is rebuked. warning against profligacy (vi.). ( ) answers to a letter from the corinthians: vii. -xi. .--marriage and celibacy. it is well to avoid marriage. but the married must not separate. under present circumstances, the apostle would prefer others to be unencumbered as he is (vii.). food offered to idols. christian liberty (viii.). st. paul's example in not claiming one's own rights (ix.). danger of thinking that we stand. we are "one bread," and must seek each other's good (x.-xi. ). ( ) other evils in the church: xi. - .--women to be covered. conduct at the eucharist and the agapé. an account of the institution of the eucharist. ( ) answer to a question concerning spiritual gifts: xii.-xiv.--unity in diversity (xii.). charity the greatest gift (xiii.). prophesying and tongues compared (xiv.). ( ) vindication of the resurrection: xv.--the evidence for christ's resurrection.[ ] the nature of our resurrection. ( ) some directions and personal details: xvi. [ ] cor. xv. . this verse is very obscure. it has been interpreted as meaning that when a convert died before it was possible for him to be baptized, it was a custom of the corinthians to allow a friend to undergo baptism in his stead. but perhaps it simply means being baptized for the sake of some dear one who was a sincere christian, and begged that his or her surviving relatives would be baptized and meet him or her hereafter. [ ] it is important to notice that st. paul, in writing of the death and resurrection of our lord, gives powerful evidence in support of st. john's assertion that our lord died on nisan (see above, p. ). in cor. v. , he says, "our passover also hath been sacrificed, even christ: wherefore let us keep the feast"; and in cor. xv. he calls christ "the first-fruits of them that are asleep." now, if christ died on nisan , when the passover lamb was sacrificed for a feast, and if he rose on nisan , when the passover firstfruits were offered in the temple, this double comparison is exquisitely appropriate. but if the statement in john is false, st. paul's comparison is forced and unnatural. { } chapter xi the second epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthians [sidenote: the author.] the genuineness of this epistle is almost universally admitted, although it is not quoted quite as early as the first epistle. the two epistles are interwoven with each other by several threads of thought, such as st. paul's intention to visit macedonia, his decision with regard to the incestuous man, and his direction to collect alms for the christians of jerusalem. moreover, this epistle agrees with the book of acts, and at the same time is plainly independent of it. acts does not mention _titus_, whose name is prominent in corinthians, and at the same time acts xx. , corroborates the account of the visit to _troas_ in cor. ii. , . the whole style of the epistle is so natural and impassioned, so wonderful in its light and gloom, that there is only one author to whom we can possibly attribute it. there is, however, a difficulty with regard to the last four chapters. it is thought by some critics that they are a separate epistle written by st. paul to the corinthians, and afterwards joined to chs. i.-ix. these writers are usually of the opinion that the last four chapters were written before i.-ix., and that their theory will account for the fact that they are more severe and depressed in tone. now, it is true that i.-ix. seem more hopeful than x.-xiii., and also that i.-ix. contain two references to a previous letter (ii. ; vii. , ). we find, too, in { } cor. i. ; ii. , , that the apostle shows a shrinking from the thought of another visit to corinth, while in corinthians no such feeling is manifested. if, however, cor. x.-xiii. had been written in the interval, the feeling is not unreasonable. but the facts of the case seem to be most easily explained by the belief that there was a letter written between and corinthians, but that this letter has been lost. in spite of the difference in tone between the two parts of corinthians, there is sufficient continuity of theme to make us hesitate to detach them. [sidenote: to whom written.] "unto the church of god which is at corinth, with all the saints which are in the whole of achaia." the latter part of the address shows us that st. paul felt it necessary to vindicate himself to all the christians in greece (hellas). his opponents had evidently been extremely active. [sidenote: where and when written.] the epistle was written in a.d. , a few months after corinthians, from some town in macedonia, probably philippi. it was sent by the hands of titus and perhaps st. luke ( cor. viii. - ). the first epistle was received submissively by the corinthians, the strife of parties subsided, and the case of incest was dealt with as the apostle required. in consequence of this happy result, it seems that st. paul decided to visit the corinthians on his way to macedonia, sailing straight to corinth from ephesus ( cor. i. ), as well as to pay them the visit which he had promised before ( cor. xvi. ). timothy, who had arrived at corinth in accordance with st. paul's previous wish ( cor. iv. ; xvi. ), soon returned to ephesus with news of a second and more serious crisis. we do not know what caused it, or what was precisely its character, but it is certain that st. paul's motives and authority were harshly and openly challenged. perhaps timothy himself was insulted, and therefore, indirectly, the apostle who gave him his commission and authority. st. paul wrote at once a { } very sharp letter, which is the _second lost letter_ to the corinthians, and he resolved to return to his earlier plan of visiting them only as he came south from macedonia. he made this resolution to spare them for the present the pain of meeting him. this lost letter was probably sent by titus ( cor. xii. ), who also carried instructions with regard to the collection for the poor at jerusalem. apparently st. paul thought that it would be wiser not to entrust timothy with the delicate task of again calming the corinthian wranglers. as soon as titus left, st. paul was full of nervous apprehension as to the effect which this letter would produce. he set out from ephesus ( cor. i. - ) in great anxiety, his departure being perhaps precipitated by the riot so graphically described in acts. he tells us himself that when he came to troas he had still no relief for his spirit--no news from corinth. though he found an opening for the gospel at troas, he hurried on into macedonia, and at last titus came with joyful news of the penitence and submission of the corinthians. st. paul then wrote this epistle. towards the end of december, a.d. , he reached corinth, where he stayed for three months. the book of acts fits perfectly with the epistles. from acts xx. - we see that st. paul did visit macedonia and greece at the close of his stay at ephesus, and from acts xix. we see that he sent timothy before him. [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle has the nature of a letter sent by a spiritual father to his children rather than of a doctrinal treatise with an argument carefully built up. its value for us lies chiefly in the vivid reality with which it reflects the personality of the writer, his love for his converts, his intense conviction that his apostolic commission and power are entirely genuine--a conviction which is set off by his wish always to associate himself with the weakness and fragility of ordinary human nature. throughout the epistle there are scattered allusions to christian doctrine which are of the very highest importance. before giving an outline of the { } epistle, we may notice one or two doctrinal passages of special importance. first, with regard to the resurrection. the teaching of corinthians is further explained. st. paul shows how entirely he has thrown off the feeling of terror which environed the ordinary jewish idea of death. the sense of union with god by which a few jews in some rare flashes of inspiration knew that they would live after death, is here triumphant. st. paul regards death as a portal to that happy existence which can only be described as being "at home with the lord" ( cor. v. - ; cf. phil. i. ). union with christ _now_ absolutely guarantees union with him hereafter. the resurrection-body which in corinthians he described as "a spiritual body," he poetically calls the "house from heaven" which god will provide for the redeemed spirit. then he thinks of this new body as a _robe_. and as he hopes that christ will come again before we have put off our present body in death, he says that he desires to be clothed with the new body over his present body, "if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked." the last phrase is obscure, but it probably is a fresh rebuke of those corinthians who denied the resurrection of the body. if so, it means "assuming, as is indeed the case, that we shall really be found clothed with a body at christ's coming, and not naked (_i.e._ bodiless spirits)." secondly, with regard to the work of christ. in cor. iv. he is called the "image of god." now, st. paul teaches that we men may reflect the likeness of christ to god: "the truth in god's breast lies trace for trace upon ours impressed: though he is so bright and we so dim, we are made in his image to witness him." but st. paul also teaches that the relation between the son and the father is unique. he means that christ reveals the father completely in virtue of this eternal relation between them. we are made to become like god, but the son is not { } made; he does not belong to the class of created things ( cor. viii. ). and st. paul never speaks of christ _becoming_ the son of god. he regards christ as having always been the son, exercising divine functions, and therefore as "god blessed for ever" (rom. ix. ). in cor. iii. , he asserts that the lord is the divine spirit who animates the new dispensation. the old jewish dispensation is described as "letter," because it was a system of outward commandments; the gospel dispensation is described as "spirit," because it is a system of spiritual principles which are summed up in christ. we by reflecting his glory are transformed into the same image by successive stages of glory. this glory comes from the lord jesus, who is the spirit of christianity ( cor. iii. ). it is important to notice that st. paul does not confuse the second person of the trinity with the third person, and that for many years the christians used occasionally to describe the divine nature of the son by the word "spirit." they gradually gave up this manner of speaking, as it was ambiguous. in cor. v. - there is an important statement on the atonement. the close connection between the atonement and the incarnation is shown in the assertion that "god was in christ, reconciling the world unto himself," and the love of both the father and the son is shown in the words that "he made him to be sin on our behalf." the first statement saves us from the idea that god selected a holy man to reveal his will, and then gave up this best of men to unimaginable suffering. no! it was god himself who came in the person of the sufferer. the second statement implies that christ, though sinless, was treated as a sinner. he thus by dying accomplished the end which our punishment would accomplish, namely, the expression of god's hatred of sin and love of righteousness. the epistle opens with an introduction and thanksgiving, in which there seems to be a note of sadness, marking the effect which the crisis in corinth has left on the mind of st. paul. he proceeds to give a personal explanation. the visit to the { } corinthians on the way to macedonia was abandoned only because of the pain which it would have given them; the sharp letter was not written in wrath, but in sorrowful love (i. -ii. - ). st. paul goes on to ask pardon for the man who caused the recent disturbance (ii. - ). then, whilst he is describing his journey to macedonia (ii. - ), he breaks off suddenly into a digression, in which he describes the dignity of the apostolic ministry, its superiority over the mosaic ministry, the nature of its commission, and the seal of it in a life which is always martyrdom (iii. -vi. ). st. paul concludes this section with a short appeal to the corinthians to avoid contamination from heathenism (vi. -vii. ). he then returns to the situation of ii. . he tells us with how much joy he received the news that titus brought him--joy for the corinthians, for titus, and for himself. the next two chapters (viii., ix.) contain instructions and exhortations respecting the fund mentioned in cor. xvi. . the last four chapters follow quite naturally. the apostle speaks with plain severity to rebuke those who created the recent disturbance, and to warn any there may be whose submission perhaps has not been quite entire. the prevailing tone is that of pathetic and sorrowful expostulation. st. paul repeats the unkind things that have been said of him--how unimposing his presence, that he depends on alms, that he is only eloquent with his pen. but he defends his apostleship with absolute though very humble confidence, counting up the things that he can say for himself--his share in jewish privileges, his sufferings for christ, the revelations that god has sent him, the signs of his success, the continual weakness that christ gives and blesses. truly, the apostle is even greater than his grief. the epistle concludes with a benediction, in which st. paul co-ordinates the three persons of the holy trinity. from primitive times these words have been used as the introduction to the most solemn part of the greek liturgy, from which they were taken into the services of the church of england. { } analysis ( ) st. paul's thankfulness and exhortation: i. -ii. .--salutation, thanksgiving, the promised visit postponed, the previous letter, the penitent offender. st. paul's journey to macedonia, triumph in christ. ( ) the apostle's ministry: iii. -vii. .--his converts are his letters of commendation, the superiority of this ministry of the gospel above that of the mosaic dispensation (iii.). christ the subject of his preaching, present light affliction resulting in eternal glory (iv.). inspiring hopes of the resurrection, constraining love of christ, the ministry of reconciliation based on the atonement (v.). he persuades and suffers (vi. - ). warning against being yoked with unbelievers (vi. -vii. ). ( ) the corinthian church and titus: vii. -ix. .--the visit of titus to corinth, the godly sorrow that followed (vii. - ). the collection for the poor at jerusalem, macedonian generosity, praise of titus (viii.). exhortation to a generosity like that of the macedonians (ix.). ( ) a sorrowful expostulation: x.-xiii.--a warning to those who despise his authority (x.). his rights and his sufferings for christ (xi.). revelations given, but also a thorn in the flesh, the signs of an apostle, how he and titus had dealt with the corinthians (xii.). he repeats that he will come to corinth a third time, exhortation, benediction (xiii.). { } chapter xii the epistle of paul the apostle to the galatians [sidenote: the author.] this epistle, being one of the four epistles which are almost universally unquestioned, requires little or no defence. the pauline authorship "has never been called in question by a critic of first-rate importance, and until recently has never been called in question at all." the writings of those fathers of the church who lived nearest to the apostolic age contain several possible allusions to it, and it is expressly named by irenaeus, clement of alexandria, and tertullian. the internal evidence shows that it must belong to the time of the apostles, for the errors which are criticized in it are different from the ebionite ideas which existed at the beginning of the nd century, and from the gnosticism which existed even before the apostles were all dead. they are evidently earlier than these heresies. still more convincing is the vehement and pathetic energy which marks this epistle. there is a ring of reality in its broken sentences and earnest appeals. it displays none of the careful patchwork which we should expect from a forger; it consists only of the quick hot words of a man who is very deeply moved. [sidenote: to whom written.] "unto the churches of galatia." what is the meaning of the name "galatia"? students are still divided on the question. if the word "galatia" is used in a popular sense to describe the country inhabited by the galatai, then it means north galatia, a district in { } the extreme north of asia minor. it was mainly inhabited by celts, who came thither from europe in the rd century b.c., and spoke a celtic language as late as the nd and even th century after christ. this language is mentioned by pausanias, and st. jerome says that it was a dialect only slightly varying from that used in gaul by the treveri. but if the word "galatia" is used in a political sense, signifying a particular province of the roman empire, then it means a large area much further south, including pisidia, lycaonia, and part of phrygia. in this province were pisidian antioch, derbe, iconium, and lystra, where st. paul founded churches in a.d. , on his first missionary journey. the latter explanation is almost certainly correct. no good argument can be brought forward in favour of north galatia which cannot be balanced by a better argument in favour of south galatia. for instance, though st. luke in acts uses the popular and not the political names for districts, this cannot be urged in favour of st. paul's adopting the same usage. on the contrary, he uses asia, macedonia, and achaia in their political sense, and so we may suppose that he would do the same in the case of galatia. again, though there were in north galatia jews who would tempt the converts to jewish observances, there were jews in plenty in south galatia also. and while many writers have said that the celtic blood of these recalcitrant christians is proved by the enthusiasm, fickleness, superstition, love of strife, and vanity which st. paul rebukes, we may reasonably urge that these defects are not confined to the celts. the phrygians doted on a sombre and mysterious religion. in heathen times they loved the worship of cybele, with its exciting ceremonial and cruel mutilations. and when they adopted christianity, though their morality was generally austere, their credulity was intense. in the nd century many of them embraced the new revelations of montanus, and in the th they largely affected the hard puritanism of novatian. in religious matters the celts are very little { } inclined to fickleness, and their superstitions are more closely connected with dreaminess than with vehemence. the following facts also deserve attention; ( ) it would be strange if acts gave us no account of churches in which st. paul took so much interest. if galatia be north galatia, there is no such account in acts. if it be south galatia there is, and the polite and natural manner of addressing the inhabitants of the cities of antioch, derbe, etc., would be "galatians." their bond of union was association in one roman province. ( ) it is improbable that st. paul would take the very difficult journey necessary for visiting the celtic galatians. his usual plan was to travel on roman high-roads to the big centres of population. north galatia was both isolated and half-civilized. also, he says that he visited the galatians on account of an illness (iv. ). it is incredible that he would have chosen the long unhealthy journey to north galatia when he was ill. but it is extremely probable that he left the damp lowlands of pamphylia for the bracing air of pisidian antioch. the malady was probably the malarial neuralgia and fever which are contracted in those lowlands. ( ) the epistle contains technical legal terms for adoption, covenant, and tutor, which seem to be used not in the roman but in the greek sense.[ ] they would hardly be intelligible except in cities like those of south galatia where the institutions were mainly greek. assuming that the "galatians" are those of south galatia, we note that in gal. iv. st. paul speaks of preaching to them "the first time." this first time must be the occasion mentioned in acts xiii., xiv. the second time is that in acts xvi. - . the christians were mainly converts from heathenism (iv. ; v. ; vi. ), but some were no doubt jews or proselytes. { } after the second visit of st. paul, his converts were tampered with. some judaizers had put a perverse construction upon his action in promulgating the decrees of the council of jerusalem of a.d. , and in circumcising timothy. they urged that st. paul had thereby acknowledged his inferiority to the other apostles, and practically advocated a return to jewish ceremonial. instigated by other judaizers from jerusalem, the galatians had changed their christianity into a semi-judaism, and this all the more readily because of their previous familiarity with the jewish religion. [sidenote: where and when written.] the place and date are both uncertain. the words, "i marvel that ye are so _quickly_ removing from him that called you" (i. ), suggest that it was written not long after the conversion of the galatians. but we cannot place it, as some writers have done, before and thessalonians. its style is allied with that of and corinthians and romans. it must be earlier than romans, as it is like a rough model of that epistle. if written soon before romans, it was probably composed at corinth early in a.d. . it may, however, have been written as early as a.d. , before st. paul's third missionary journey. [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle is intended to recall the galatians to st. paul's true gospel. in order to do this, he vindicates his own apostolic authority to preach it, and expounds its great principle--justification by faith, and not by observance of the jewish law. after a salutation, without the congratulations which the apostle ordinarily offers, st. paul expresses his astonishment at their perversion, and vehemently asserts that if any one dares to preach a gospel other than that which the galatians first received, let him be anathema (i. - ). the history of st. paul's reception of the gospel is then set out. it came to him by revelation of jesus christ: this is at once the demonstration of its unique authority, and the decisive fact which settles the relation of st. paul to the other apostles. he did { } not receive from them the gospel he preached, and, to emphasize this, st. paul counts up the various opportunities he had of intercourse with them, and says what use he made of each (i. -ii. ). the best illustration of the independence of his position is the attitude which he adopted towards st. peter, the prince of the apostles, when at antioch he deceitfully took the same sort of line with respect to jewish ceremonial that the galatians are taking now (ii. - ).[ ] st. paul describes the speech he made in opposition to st. peter, but while he is dictating it, he is carried away by an orator's enthusiasm: he forgets that he is telling the story only of an old debate, and at some points we cannot confidently distinguish the rebuke to st. peter from the exhortation to the galatians (ii. - ). then, still as if he were making a speech, the apostle proceeds to argue as he does later in the epistle to the romans. he recalls to the "bewitched" galatians the happy memories of the days when they first heard of christ--the out-pouring of the spirit, the first sharp persecution endured so well. did not all this happen when they were under the gospel of faith (iii. - )? the true sons of abraham are those who accept the gospel (iii. - ). on the other hand, the people who still desire to be under the law can only avoid being under a curse by keeping the whole law--and this is impossible (iii. ). god's will is plain: he has said, "the righteous shall live by faith" (iii. , ). moreover, whatever claim the law had on us is now discharged by the satisfaction made by christ (iii. , ). now st. paul goes on to show that the promise made by god to abraham binds him still. just as no subsequent transaction can nullify a greek "covenant," _i.e._ will, so the law cannot nullify the earlier promise of god (iii. - ).[ ] then he compares the promise made to { } abraham with the law. the latter was a contract, a mutual agreement between two parties involving mutual obligations; if the jews did not keep the law, god was not bound to bless them. but in the case of the promise, there is no suggestion of contract. then, lest his readers should suppose that there was an inconsistency in the fact that god was the author of both the law and the promise, st. paul adds an explanation (iii. - ). the law would have been contrary to the promise if it had been intended to produce the same result as the promise by another method. but, on the contrary, the law was added as a parenthesis in order to make known transgressions, and with the result that it increased them (iii. ). scripture shut up all mankind in the fold of sin, that they might look forward to the reign of faith as the only means of escape. to emphasize further the contrast between the law and the promise, st. paul asserts that the law did not come direct from god to man. it came, as jewish traditions said, from god and the angels to moses, the mediator, and from him to the hebrews. the law had a mediator, therefore it involved two parties--god and the hebrew people. but there was no such mediator in the case of the promise. god spoke directly to abraham. and god in the person of christ spoke directly to mankind. thus the promises are greater and more gracious than the law. it is important to observe that the argument implies the divinity of christ. before faith came, the law played the part of a greek "tutor," _i.e._ a trusted servant who attended a child. he took the child to the house where he was taught, and kept him from harm and mischief. and we, if we wish to be still under the law, shall be as foolish as a grown-up son who wishes to be under a steward and a guardian. we must leave the mere rudiments of religion now that we have reached a stage at which we have been taught that god is indeed our father (iii. -iv. ). st. paul supports this conclusion from his arguments by a { } touching appeal, in which he gratefully recalls the kindness he received from the galatians when he came to them in all the weakness and distress of fever (iv. - ). then he interprets for them the story of hagar, probably in answer to a reference in a letter which they had sent him (iv. -v. ). the jew is in bondage like hagar's child, the christian is free like sarah's child. after this we have another appeal, a medley of exhortation, warning, denunciation, and pathetic entreaty: the apostle, himself so appreciative of great ideas, tries to make the unaspiring galatians understand that they are called to the perfect freedom which is the service of god (v. - ). the epistle closes with some plain words which the apostle wrote with his own hand in large characters so as to emphasize them for his readers. the motive of the judaizers is boldly labelled. then, as if there had been a question of his own humility, he associates himself with the crucified christ, for whose sake he bears in his flesh the eloquent marks of the roman rods and the stones of the jews. it was the cruel custom in asia minor, a custom not yet extinct, for masters to wound their slaves with marks which made it impossible for them to escape recognition. and so st. paul glories in the pitiful scars on his body, because they prove whose he is and whom he serves. { } analysis salutation, rebuke (i. - ). ( ) st. paul defends his apostleship: i. -ii. .--he was called by god in spite of his fanatical judaism, god's son was revealed in him, he conferred with no man, but retired to arabia, then three years after his conversion he stayed fifteen days with cephas, and afterwards preached in syria and cilicia (i.). fourteen years after his conversion[ ] he again went to jerusalem "by revelation." false brethren attempted to get titus circumcised, but in vain. james, cephas, and john were most friendly to paul and barnabas, agreeing that they should go to the gentiles while remembering the poor in jerusalem. cephas rebuked at antioch by st. paul (ii.). ( ) st. paul defends justification by faith: iii. -v. .--galatian fickleness, even abraham was justified by faith, and in the old testament the righteous live by faith, the jewish law merely a parenthesis between god's promise and its fulfilment, the law a tutor to bring us to christ (iii.). judaism is the state of a son who is a minor, christianity is the state of a son who has attained his majority. why return to the beggarly rudiments of knowledge? the jew is like the child of hagar, the christian is like the child of sarah (iv.-v. ). ( ) practical exhortation: v. -vi. .--circumcision useless, freedom and love are the allies of the true law, the works of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit (v.). bearing one another's burdens, supporting our teachers. a conclusion in st. paul's handwriting (vi.). [ ] the law implied in gal. iv. is in accordance with syrian law. if a father died, he left his son under the authority of a steward until he was fourteen, and left his property in the hands of a guardian until he was twenty-five. it is probable that in south galatia as in syria this law was made under the reign of the seleucids. [ ] for the explanation of this quarrel, see p. . [ ] the argument about "seeds" and "seed," in iii. , looks like a mere verbal quibble in english. but it becomes quite intelligible when we remember that in rabbinical hebrew the word "seed_s_" was used in the sense of descendant_s_. [ ] see gal. ii. , "at an interval of fourteen years." this third visit to jerusalem (the second mentioned here) was in a.d. . the verse probably means fourteen years after his _conversion_, and eleven years after his first visit. if we reckon the fourteen years from his _first visit_ to jerusalem, the first visit would be in a.d. . this will not agree with acts ix. , ; cor. xi. , which show us that the first visit was made while aretas ruled at damascus. aretas became master of damascus in a.d. . { } chapter xiii the epistle of paul the apostle to the romans [sidenote: the author.] the genuineness of this epistle, like that of galatians and and corinthians, is practically undisputed. no one ever seems to have questioned it between the time that marcion drew up his _apostolicon_, about a.d. , and a.d. . before the time of marcion it is quoted by st. clement of rome, st. ignatius, and st. polycarp. and there seem to be some reminiscences of it in peter. it is first definitely mentioned by name in the writings of st. irenaeus, who quotes it several times. this early and frequent use postulates for the epistle a very authoritative source. there is no one that we know of among the first christians who could have written it except st. paul. what he tells the romans about his personal wishes and intentions is exactly consonant with what he says elsewhere. the notices that he gives them of his movements perfectly accord with the notices in acts. the primary conceptions of the epistle are more or less common to all st. paul's works. they are concerned with the guilt and the power of sin, the eternal purpose which god has for man, the meaning of christ's death and the effect of his resurrection, the nature of our acquittal by god and our new spiritual life. the only serious question with regard to the criticism of the outward letter of the epistle, is connected with the last two chapters (xv., xvi.). baur rejected both as spurious compilations, { } intended to reconcile "paulinism" with the more jewish school of early christian thought. but baur's habit of pronouncing spurious every book or part of a book which did not agree with his peculiar estimate of st. paul, is now discredited. in spite of this, many critics think that xv. and xvi. do not belong to this epistle. they are generally admitted to be by st. paul, but it is thought that they are simply pages which have become detached from some other writings of the apostle. chapter xvi. in particular is supposed to be a fragment of an epistle to ephesus. it abounds in personal greetings to intimate friends; and yet it is difficult to believe that st. paul had many friends in rome before he visited it. and among these friends are prisca and aquila (xvi. ), who certainly stayed at ephesus, where st. paul had laboured for two years and must have had many friends. the tone of xvi. - is thought to imply sectarian divisions which the rest of the epistle ignores. and the final doxology appears in different places in different mss., a fact which suggests that the early church doubted where the epistle ended. no real importance need be attached to another argument used by some critics, viz. that marcion omitted xv. and xvi. he would have rejected them, whether genuine or not, on account of the sanction given to the old testament in xv. . on the other hand, the integrity of the epistle is maintained by some of the best recent critics, including sanday, zahn, and godet. the best mss. place the final doxology in its present position. the fact that the majority of cursive mss. and some valuable versions, such as the later syriac and the armenian, place it at the end of xiv. seems to be accounted for by the fact that the last two chapters were often omitted in the lessons read in church, being considered unimportant for the purposes of general edification. the fact that the epistle seems to come to an end at xv. , and also at xvi. , before the final doxology in xvi. , suggests the best solution. it is that the apostle, after concluding the argument of the epistle, made various { } additions of a personal nature with reference to himself and his friends as they occurred to his mind. he then summed up the whole argument in xvi. - , where the obedience of _faith_ is stated to be the purpose of god's final revelation. the number of friends mentioned in xvi. is not incredibly large when we remember the easy and frequent intercourse which existed between rome and the east. [sidenote: to whom written.] "to all that are in rome, beloved by god, called to be saints." it has been well said that the universality of the gospel made st. paul desire to preach it in the universal city. he longed to "see rome;" he was conscious that christ had called him to "bear witness at rome." he himself had the freedom of the city of rome, and he was inspired with the hope, which was fulfilled three hundred years afterwards, that the religion of christ would be the religion of the roman empire. the territory then ruled by rome more nearly embraced the whole of the civilized world than any empire that has since been seen. it included london and toledo, constantinople and jerusalem. roman soldiers kept their watch on the blue danube, and were planting outposts on the far-off grey euphrates. the city of rome itself contained about a million and a half of inhabitants. it was well governed and sumptuously adorned. a real belief in the homely vulgar gods of their forefathers had declined among educated people, and the humane principles of stoic philosophy were instilling a new regard for the less fortunate classes of mankind. strange foreign devotions were satisfying some of the yearnings which found no nourishment in the hard old roman paganism. men who took no interest in jupiter were attracted by mithras, the eastern god of the light. women who could obtain no entrance into the exclusive sisterhood of the vestal virgins, could find occupation in the worship of the egyptian isis. some vague belief in a divine one was rising in minds who thought that jupiter mithras and isis were only symbols of a power behind the mists of human wisdom. jews { } of all classes were numerous, though the majority were as poor as those of east london. they made some converts, and poppaea, the mistress of nero in a.d. , dallied with judaism as with a new sensation. men and women of every race were included among the slaves of rome, and the arts and elegance of greek and syrian slaves often proved a staircase by which new religions found a way into the chambers of the great and wealthy. in spite of some signs of moral vigour, society was cankered with pride of class and with self-indulgence. it possessed no regenerating force capable of checking the repulsive vice which was encouraged by the obscenity of actors and the frivolity of sceptics. we are told that "sojourners from rome," both jews and proselytes, were in the crowd which listened to st. peter's address on the day of pentecost (acts ii. ). it is possible that these men brought news of the gospel to the large body in rome of jews, and of gentiles influenced by jewish ideas. in any case, communication between the chief cities of the empire was at this time so frequent that we may be sure that the principles and attractions of christianity were soon heard of at rome. gradually a small band formed there of people who were interested and pleased by what they had learnt of christ; it is probable that st. paul sent aquila and prisca from ephesus to give them definite instruction. it does not seem that they had been visited by an apostle (xv. ). the epistle is addressed to a community consisting of jews and gentiles, but the gentiles are by far the more numerous. the apostle's claim in ch. i. to address this church as within the jurisdiction of "the apostle of the gentiles," his direct appeal to the gentiles in xi. , and the statement of his priestly office exercised over the gentiles in xv. , show that the church of rome was gentile in character. the proper names in the epistle afford us little indication of the proportion of jews and gentiles. the majority of the names are greek, and four names are latin; but the jews of that time, like the { } jews of the present day, often passed under gentile names. we know how the english jews now disguise moses as "moss" judah as "leo," and levi as "lewis." the majority of the converts were probably in a humble social position. when st. paul wrote to the philippians, there were christians in the imperial household itself, and it is possible that the narcissus mentioned in romans may be the freedman of the emperor claudius, put to death in a.d. . ordinary slaves and freedmen seem to have been the principal element among those who were first "called to be saints" at rome, but before long there were people of good birth and cultured intelligence who turned gladly from the lifeless old roman religion and the fantastic new-fashioned eastern cults to this original faith in the incarnate god. [sidenote: where and when written.] st. paul wrote this letter towards the end of his stay at corinth, at the close of a.d. or the beginning of a.d. (see xvi. ; xv. - , and acts xix. ). [sidenote: character and contents.] st. paul writes as the apostle of the gentiles to the christians of the greatest of all gentile cities. he does so with a solemn sense of special responsibility. profoundly impressed with the grandeur of the roman name, the position of this promiscuous little body of converts is to him enormously significant. they are the representatives of the faith of jesus in the capital of the world; they are the first members of a church to which god seems to give the most magnificent of all opportunities. and the thought is scarcely absent from his mind that this may be the last epistle he will ever send. he is going to jerusalem, and has a sad foreboding of what may await him there (xv. ). the manner and style which give the epistle a unique place among the works of st. paul are caused by these considerations. he wishes to tell the roman christians his very best ideas in the very best way: this may be his last chance of doing so. he puts aside, then, all clamour of personal debate, and sets { } himself to produce an ordered theological treatise. never elsewhere does the apostle write with so careful method, so powerful concentration, so effective marshalling of arguments, so stirring yet measured eloquence. the epistle opens with a brief introduction. paul, the apostle of christ, wishes to preach the gospel to those in rome whom christ has called. then he begins at once to describe the set of circumstances which the gospel is intended to meet. the gentiles have not been true to such knowledge as they had of god, and by an inevitable process they have passed on to unnatural and vicious excess (i. - ). and when st. paul turns to the jews, he finds they are in no better case. with fuller knowledge they have sinned scarcely less. strict justice will be meted out by god to all, the jew coming first and then the gentile. the gentile will not escape, for the gentiles, whom we conceive of as having no law, have a law in that moral sense which makes them instinctively put in practice the precepts of the law, and their inward thoughts accuse or defend them (ii. - ). the jew may boast of his law and his knowledge of revelation, but he is no better in practice than a gentile. and as for his circumcision, it is worthless unless he is also spiritually circumcised in the heart (ii. - ). after a parenthetical discussion of difficulties suggested by a possible jewish opponent (iii. - ), st. paul shows that the jews are not in a worse case than the gentiles. both are under the dominion of sin, and scripture says so. the whole system of law is a failure. law does nothing but give a clear knowledge of sin (iii. - ). st. paul then brings forward his great remedy--the answer of god to the need which is represented by universal human sinfulness. man has failed to correspond to the suggestions of conscience, he has failed to fulfil the requirements of the written law, but now he may come into a right relation with god by identifying himself with jesus christ. he may be justified (_i.e._ accepted as righteous) by an act of god's grace (_i.e._ by an { } undeserved act of god's love) on account of the redemption wrought by christ, whom god has set forth as a propitiation to show his own righteousness. god could no longer allow man to mistake his patience with our sins for slack indifference. man must no longer seek to be justified before god on the strength of what he himself has done, but on the strength of his faith in christ, _i.e._ his devoted personal adhesion to christ (iii. - ). st. paul tells the romans that this justifying faith excludes glorying, can be realized by gentile as well as jew; that by it we establish the law (iii. - ), as the jewish dispensation, rightly understood, testifies to its necessity. in fact, abraham himself was justified by faith (iv.) then st. paul sets forth in glowing and stately words what are the consequences for us which follow from being so justified. we are at peace with god, and share in his love, and this is the secure ground of christian hope for life and after death (v. - ). the effects of christ's death are computed by an _argumentum a fortiori_ from the results of adam's fall (v. - ). the apostle now carefully refutes the notion that the doctrine of justification by faith encourages antinomianism. liberty does not mean licence. st. paul was quite alive to the fact that skilful opponents and brainless admirers would misrepresent his doctrine, which was also christ's. he therefore takes great pains to show that the connection between the righteousness of christ and the righteousness of a christian is not arbitrary or fictitious. his argument throughout implies that man actually receives "the righteousness of god," that is, the righteousness which is inherent in god, and is bestowed by god upon man when he unites himself with christ (vi.-viii.). shall i go on sinning that god's mercy may be all the greater in forgiving me? god forbid: for when i went down into the waters of baptism, i shared in the death of christ; and when i rose from them, i rose as a sharer in his risen life. because i am united thus to the life of christ, sin is foreign to my nature (vi. - ). i am no longer under law, but under grace: but { } to be the slave of sin and be occupied with uncleanness, and to gain the wages of death, is inconsistent with being the slave of righteousness, occupied in a course of purification and rewarded with the gift of life (vi. - ). next, st. paul asks why it is that we are no longer under the law? because we have no connection with that state of sin to which the law was applicable. our soul is like a wife whose lawful husband is dead. or, to put the truth into another form, our old state was killed by our identification with christ crucified, and we are espoused to christ risen (vii. - ). what, then, shall we think of the law? is it sin? no. it reveals the sinfulness of sin, and it irritates dormant sin into activity. a thing cannot be identical with another thing which it exposes and irritates. but why did god permit the law, which is holy, to prove fatal to my soul (vii. )? he did not. the law was not fatal, though sin was all but fatal. sin was permitted to do its worst that its real hideousness might be apparent. this is what took place. the law gave me an ideal, but my better self, which corresponds to the law, could not keep me from ding wrong or make me do right. i became involved in a terrible conflict. this was the opportunity of christ. he has delivered me from that state of the body which involved me in sin and death. without him, i should still be serving the law of god with my conscience, and the law of sin with my body (vii. ). where the law of moses failed, christ splendidly succeeds. he not only sets before men an ideal, but also helps them to attain it, and fulfil the righteous claims of the moral law, by uniting himself with them by the spirit (viii. - ). men are now in a new relation to god: they call him father, he sees in them his sons. though with all creation we wait still in fruitful pain for the fulness of redemption, we wait with confident hope. the spirit is with us to help and to pray, we remember god's high purpose for us, we have known his love in the past, jesus in infinite exaltation is interceding for us; { } who, then, shall ever be able to separate us from the love of god (viii. - )? st. paul turns now to a parenthetical discussion which necessarily suggests itself here. it has practically happened that god's own people, the children of abraham, in spite of their privileges, are excluded from this new salvation which comes from acceptance of christ. this does not mean that god has been unfaithful. st. paul vindicates his action toward them, and he shows that it has been consistent with his previous action towards the israelites (ix. - ), righteous (ix. - ), and merciful (ix. - ). god has always shown that he is free to select whom he likes to carry out his purpose in the world.[ ] the jews are rejected because they seek to be justified, on the strength of their own works (ix. - ; x. - ): now, the method of the law has been superseded by christ's, which is an easier method (x. - ) and universal (x. - ). and the jews have had every opportunity for hearing of it (x. - ). but god has not rejected them entirely or finally (xi. - ); and if their fall has led to the preaching of the gospel to the gentiles, how much more happily fruitful will be their reception into the church (xi. - )! we may hope for this ultimate acceptance of the gospel by both jew and gentile because of the original holiness of the jewish stock. the gentiles are grafted into that: just as we may be cut off from it if we sin, so the jews more easily may be grafted in again if they will (xi. - ). st. paul now shows how the hardening of the jews and the disobedience of the gentiles alike have served the purposes of god. israel as a nation shall be saved by the messiah. the chapter closes { } with words of reverent admiration for the wonderful workings of the divine providence (xi. - ). after this long doctrinal argument, st. paul insists upon certain practical duties (xii.-xv. ). we may notice in xiii. ff. the emphasis which is laid upon the dignity of the civil government, a dignity which was immeasurably degraded ten years later by the wanton persecution of the roman christians. and xiii. is a verse ever to be remembered by the church as the verse by which god brought augustine from free thinking and licentious living to be numbered among the saints. in xiv. begins some considerate advice about certain christians "weak in faith." they seem to have formed a party, but not a party which can be identified with any other religious clique mentioned by the apostle. their vegetarianism and their observance of particular holy days have suggested the theory that they were christians who followed the ascetic practices of the jewish sect of essenes. the theory that they were gentiles who affected the customs of the pythagoreans has commended itself to other writers. on the whole, the number of jews in rome supports the theory that these were jewish christians. st. paul deals very tenderly with these total abstainers from meat and wine. he evidently does not put them on the same level as the sectaries of galatia or colossae. the epistle closes with various references to personal matters, including the expression of a desire to visit spain and rome (xv. ). { } analysis salutation and introduction (i. - ). ( ) doctrinal.--the subject of the epistle. how is righteousness to be attained? not by man's work, but by god's gift, through faith, _i.e._ personal attachment to christ (i. , ). a. righteousness as a state of man in the sight of god (justification): i. -v. . a. righteousness was never attained before christ came. the gentiles neglected their conscience until they sank into abominable sins; future judgment will certainly come on all men without respect of persons; the jews, too, have no right to criticize the gentiles--they had the law of moses, while the gentiles only had the unwritten law of conscience, yet they failed. the jewish quibble that there was no good in being a jew if god condemned him, is refuted. the witness of the old testament to the universality of sin is quoted (i. -iii. ). b. exposition of the new method of attaining righteousness. it is independent of the law, is universal, is obtainable through christ's death which manifests god's righteousness. this method excludes human boasting, and can be experienced by jew and gentile alike (iii. - ). c. the relation of this new method to the old testament. abraham, the typical saint of the old testament, was not justified because of works, or circumcision, or law. his faith shows that the old testament supports the christian method of salvation (iv.). d. the blessed state of the justified christian. he is filled with hope, and this hope is guaranteed by the proved love of god. what a contrast between this blessedness and the effects of adam's fall! the work of christ resembles that of adam, because it passes from one man to all men: it differs greatly, because adam's fall brought sin, our condemnation, our death. christ's gift brings grace, our acquittal, our life. the fall brought sin, law increased sin; grace is greater than sin (v.). { } b. righteousness as necessarily involving moral progress (sanctification); vi.-viii. a. refutation of the theory that we may continue to sin in order to give god fresh opportunities of displaying his lovingkindness. our baptism implies union with the sinless christ. refutation of the theory that we may as well sin as not sin because we are no longer under the law. our marriage to christ must be fruitful (vi. -vii. ). the law is not to be disparaged, though it is impotent to rescue me in the terrible moral conflict under which i should suffer, if it were not for christ (vii. - ). b. where the law of moses failed, the incarnation of christ succeeds. the life of christian righteousness is ruled by the holy spirit. it implies filial confidence in god, a glorious inheritance, divine assistance, inviolable security (viii.). c. the problem raised by the fate of the jews: ix.-xi. a. their rejection from their privileged position a sad contrast to their high destiny; the entire justice of god in forming a new israel of jews and gentiles alike (ix.). b. the cause of their rejection was that they sought to be justified in their own way and not in god's way, and this in spite of christian opportunities and prophetic warnings (x.). c. consolations which qualify the severity of their fate. their unbelief is only partial and temporary, and god's purpose is to restore all. doxology (xi.). ( ) practical.--the christian sacrifice, and the duties of a christian (xii.). church and state, the law of love, the approaching judgment (xiii.). toleration for weak and eccentric christians; vegetarians, observers of private holy days and total abstainers, not to be disturbed; we must do nothing that makes a brother stumble. christ pleased not himself; he was both a minister of the circumcision and the hope of the gentiles (xiv. -xv. ). personal conclusion (xv. -xvi. ). [ ] the calvinistic doctrine of predestination, as taught in the writings of calvin and in the presbyterian westminster confession, is a complete perversion of st. paul's teaching. calvin teaches a predestination to heaven or hell; st. paul here speaks of an appointment to certain duties on earth. the calvinists asserted that some men "cannot be saved;" st. paul teaches that god so acted "in order that he might have mercy upon all" (xi. ). { } chapter xiv the epistle of paul the apostle to the colossians--the epistle of paul to philemon the epistle of paul the apostle to the colossians [sidenote: the author.] there is no good reason for doubting that this beautiful epistle is the work of st. paul. it is full of pauline thought, and is well attested by external evidence. it is apparently quoted in the very ancient work known as the epistle of barnabas, and justin martyr quotes the title of christ "the firstborn of all creation" (col. i. ). it is included in marcion's canon and in the _muratorian fragment_, as well as in the old latin and peshitta syriac versions. the notion that it is only a weak reflection of ephesians seems incredible, for neither of the two epistles is appreciably inferior to the other, and in each one there are several unique passages which represent as high a level of intellectual and spiritual attainment as the passages which are in some degree common to the two. moreover, we cannot trace any definite method according to which the one writing has been used for the other, and destructive critics have only destroyed one another's arguments in their attempts to show which of the two epistles is genuine, or why they both are forged. it is also important to consider the association of this epistle with that to philemon: the transparent genuineness of the latter makes it practically certain that colossians is genuine as well. objections to the authenticity of colossians have been { } steadily growing fainter. it was denied by mayerhoff in , and by the whole tübingen school, in spite of very strong external evidence. ( ) the heresy opposed by st. paul was said to be a form of nd-century gnosticism; but the affinities which it shows with judaism point rather to the st century. ( ) there are a large number of words which st. paul uses nowhere else, thirty-four being found in no other part of the new testament; but several of these words are called forth by the special error which st. paul rebukes, and the epistle does contain eleven pauline words used by no other new testament writer. ( ) the doctrine has been declared to be not pauline, but a further development of st. paul's doctrine of the dignity of christ. this objection rests entirely on the hypothesis that jesus christ was not god, but was gradually deified by successive generations of his followers. the critics who declared that no apostle believed christ to be more than an ideal or half-divine man, and said that st. john's writings are forgeries of the nd century, described the doctrine of colossians as a transition from the true pauline doctrine to the doctrine of the logos contained in the fourth gospel. but st. paul states nothing about christ in this epistle which is not implied in earlier epistles. he only makes fresh statements of truth in view of fresh errors. [sidenote: to whom written.] colossae was the least important town to which any epistle of st. paul which now remains was addressed. the place was on the river lycus in phrygia, about ten miles from laodicea and thirteen from hierapolis, and thus the three towns were the sphere of the missionary work of the colossian epaphras (col. iv. , ). colossae had been flourishing enough in the time of herodotus, but now, overshadowed by greater neighbours--laodicea, hierapolis, and chonae--and perhaps shaken by recurring earthquakes, it was sinking fast into decay. still it derived importance from its situation on the great main road which connected rome with the eastern provinces, the road by { } which xerxes had led his great armament against greece. and as the people had a special way of their own for producing a rich dye named _colossinus_, it retained a fair amount of trade. we may account for the presence of jews at colossae which is suggested in the epistle, by remembering its convenient position and its trade speciality. the people were mainly the descendants of greek settlers and phrygian natives, and the intellectual atmosphere was the same as that of which we have evidence in other parts of asia minor: every one was infected with the greek keenness for subtle speculation, and the usual phrygian tendency to superstition and fanaticism. thirteen miles away, at hierapolis, was growing into manhood the slave epictetus, who later on will set out some of the most noble and lofty of pagan thoughts. the persistent love of the people of this neighbourhood for the angel-worship which st. paul rebukes, is illustrated by the facts that in the th century a church council at laodicea condemned the worship of angels, and that, in spite of this, in the th and th centuries the district was the centre of the worship of st. michael, who was believed to have opened the chasm of the lycus, and so saved the people of chonae from an inundation. colossae, being exposed to the raids of the moslem saracens, disappeared from history in the th century. the church at colossae was not founded by st. paul, and he was not personally acquainted with it (col. ii. ). but we can hardly go so far as to say that he had never seen the town at all. [sidenote: where and when written.] st. paul sent this letter, together with that to philemon and the circular which we call "ephesians," by tychicus from rome, probably in a.d. . he alludes to his imprisonment twice incidentally, and again with pathetic simplicity in the postscript added by his own hand, "remember my bonds." [sidenote: character and contents.] some difficulties are connected with the heresy taught by the religious agitators at colossae. it is plain that their { } teaching affected both doctrine and practice. they appealed to visions and a knowledge of the celestial world (ii. ), and therefore set up a worship of angels which tended to thrust christ from his true position in the creed of the church. they treated the body with unsparing severity (ii. ), they abstained from meat and drink, and paid a punctilious attention to festivals, new moons, and sabbaths (ii. ). st. paul calls these practices "material rudiments" (ii. ), elementary methods now superseded by faith in christ. moreover, it is almost certain that literal circumcision was practised (ii. ). these things point to judaism. and yet st. paul does not seem to be rebuking a return to the judaism of the old testament. he could hardly have described a compliance with old testament injunctions as an "arbitrary religion" and "doctrines of men" (ii. , , ). it might be pharisaism, but if we look in the direction of judaism, it is most natural that we should think of a judaism resembling that of the essenes. the essenes were vegetarians, they avoided wine, they kept the sabbath with special scrupulousness, and had some secret teaching about the angels. these resemblances have tempted some commentators to identify the false teachers with the essenes. but there is nothing to prove that the essenes worshipped the angels, and st. paul makes no mention of the essene veneration for the sun, or their monastic life, or their elaborate process of initiation. besides this, the principal community of essenes dwelt by the dead sea, and it is very doubtful if any existed in asia minor. it is best to confess our ignorance. all that we can say is that the scruple-mongers at colossae taught doctrines which had points of contact with essenism. they employed some affected interpretation of the old testament. they also were influenced by heathenism in their conception of half-divine beings intermediate between god and the world. how far they held any definitely dualistic view of matter we cannot tell. { } but their system was a mischievous theosophy, which they endeavoured to popularize under catchwords like "wisdom" and "philosophy." the fact that there was at this time such a widespread tendency to adopt an exaggerated asceticism and theories about mediatorial spirits, makes it unnecessary to suppose that the colossian heresy need be affiliated to any particular school of speculation. the epistle consists mainly of a more or less indirect argument against the insidious "philosophy" of the heretics, with an exhortation and personal notes. perhaps we account most naturally for the broken order and lax coherence of this letter, by the suggestion that, as st. paul dictated it, there was present with him a sense of almost nervous hesitation. he has exactly a gentleman's reluctance to do an ungracious action: while he knows that it is his duty to warn the colossians of a serious danger, he knows that unless he does so with much tactful delicacy, they will resent his interference. so he begins by saying what polite things he can about them, and instead of going on at once to talk of the heresy, he first says with plain significance that he perpetually prays for their perfection in knowledge, activity, and constancy. an incidental allusion to god's method for human salvation gives st. paul an opportunity for making a digression--one of the most important statements in the new testament--concerning the nature and work of christ (i. - ). he shows the colossians what views they ought to hold concerning him. this would keep them from giving to the angels what is due to christ alone. christ is the redeemer. he was born prior to all creation, even the angels, and all creation coheres through union with him (i. - ). he is the head of the church in virtue of his resurrection, and as embodying the full number of divine attributes (i. , ). he is the saviour of angels and men by his death, and in this salvation the colossians ought to share (i. - ). it seems that now he will deal with the heresy, but again he { } postpones it. he breaks in with a digression of a pastoral character. he speaks of his commission to preach (i. - ), his anxiety even for churches that he has never visited (ii. - ), and he exhorts the colossians to continue in their original faith (ii. , ). at last he enters upon the main business of the epistle and begins dogmatic controversy. after a warning against spurious philosophy, he asserts that christ is the sole incarnation of deity, to whom all spirits are subject (ii. , ). this is the true doctrine: god has not divided his attributes among a group of angels; all are to be found in christ. and the true method of salvation is simply that union with christ which begins with baptism, the christian's circumcision. in it we receive that forgiveness which was won for us when christ died, and both blotted out the law and triumphed over evil angels (ii. - ). the apostle then directly condemns the practices of the false teachers--their anxious and mechanical conduct with regard to food and seasons, their intrusion into celestial secrets and their doctrine of angel-worship, their loose hold on christ the head, symptoms of an affected humility which is no real check against the indulgence of the flesh (ii. - ). he then turns to practical exhortation. in the bracing words made familiar to us by the epistle for easter day, st. paul bids the colossians leave the gently stimulating exercise of intellectual theorizing and listen to the stern demands made by christ on life and character. they have risen to a life hid with christ in god; they must make dead the faculties of sensual action, angry thinking, and evil speaking: this is implied in forsaking heathenism for the universal christ (iii. - ). live quietly in peace and love, show a gracious life in a gracious worship, consecrate your words and deeds by doing all in the name of the lord jesus (iii. - ). then the special duties of wives and husbands, children and fathers, slaves and masters, are dealt with. prayer and thanksgiving are enjoined on all alike, and the christians are bidden { } to "buy up the opportunity" of furthering the cause of god in their dealings with the outer world, having their speech seasoned with the salt of wholesome wisdom (iii. -iv. ). a few words are said about tychicus, onesimus, and other friends, including "luke, the beloved physician," and the epistle ends with a farewell which st. paul wrote with his own hand. before writing it, the apostle directs that this letter should be read at laodicea, and that the colossians should procure another letter which had been left in that city. this was probably the so-called epistle to the ephesians. analysis salutation, thanksgiving, the apostle's prayer for the readers (i. - ). christ, who redeemed us, is pre-eminent in person, being the head of the natural creation, and of the spiritual creation, because the sum of divine attributes dwells in him (i. - ). he is pre-eminent in work, having reconciled us to god (i. - ). st. paul's own commission and his anxiety (i. -ii. ). warning against the delusion of a false philosophy. the "fulness" is in christ, therefore the colossians must avoid semi-jewish practices and also avoid the worship of angels (ii. - ). the converts have died with christ to their old life and earthly ordinances (ii. - ). the converts have risen with christ to a new life and heavenly principles, vices must be made dead, virtues must be put on (iii. - ). obligations of wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters (iii. -iv. ). the duty of prayer and thanksgiving, and right behaviour towards the unconverted (iv. - ). personal conclusion, and a message relating to an epistle from laodicea (iv. - ). { } the epistle of paul to philemon [sidenote: the author.] the genuineness of this winning little letter could never be doubted except by the most dryasdust of pedants. it is no proof of acuteness to detect the artifice of a forger in its earnest simplicity, its thoughtful tact, and affectionate anxiety. there is about it a vivacity and directness which at once and decisively stamp it as genuine. and external evidence shows that it was included in the earliest lists of st. paul's epistles. it was accepted by marcion, included in the _muratorian fragment_, and expressly attributed to st. paul by origen. it shows a number of coincidences with colossians, ephesians, and philippians, and it is especially connected with colossians by the proper names which it contains, such as archippus, aristarchus, mark, and luke. no evidence exists to show that any early christians denied this epistle to be by st. paul. but it does appear that some of them half disliked its inclusion in the canon, thinking it too trivial to be numbered with the scriptures. to modern readers it manifests a great treatment of little things, which is one of the surest proofs of inspiration. [sidenote: to whom written.] the epistle is addressed to philemon, a substantial citizen of colossae. he has been converted by st. paul, who writes with deep appreciation of his faith in christ, and of the kindness that he has shown to the saints. he gives him the honourable title of "fellow-worker." religious services and the social gatherings of christians are held in philemon's house. [sidenote: where and when written.] this epistle was written during st. paul's first imprisonment in rome, a.d. - . in ver. st. paul alludes to his "bonds." [sidenote: character and contents.] philemon had a phrygian slave named onesimus, who first { } robbed him and then ran away. onesimus was able without much difficulty to get to rome, and here he met the apostle, who received him into the church. the young convert served him with such eager willingness that st. paul would have been glad to keep him with him, but he decides to send him back to philemon with this letter to ensure his forgiveness. we have, therefore, in this letter a picture of st. paul in a new relation. there is no other letter in the new testament of such a private nature except john. the great apostle of the gentiles is taking his pen to provide a dishonest runaway slave with a note that shall shield him from the just anger of his master. he writes both with a strong sense of justice and with his own perfect diplomatic instinct. the letter is at once authoritative, confident, and most gentle. he does not command or insist, yet it is quite clear that philemon must do just what he asks. there is no violent attack upon slavery as an institution. any such attack would have been both foolish and criminal. for it would have encouraged slaves to make christianity a cloak for revolt, and precipitated horrors far worse than those which it could have professed to remove. but st. paul asserts a principle which will eventually prove fatal to slavery. when he tells philemon to receive onesimus "as a brother beloved," he is really saying that our estimate of men must not be based on their social class, but rather on their relation to god. this letter has been compared with a letter written under similar circumstances by the younger pliny, one of the best of the pagan gentlemen of rome. but while the letter of pliny is more elegant in language, the letter of st. paul is a finer masterpiece of feeling. a roman slave was still allowed no rights and no family relationship, and for the smallest offence he might be tortured and killed. in the next century the emperor hadrian first took away from masters the power of life and death over their slaves, and it was not until the time { } of the emperor constantine, who established christianity, that the laws affecting slavery pointed to the future triumph of emancipation. but the ancient conception of slavery was doomed as soon as "slave-girls like blandina in gaul, or felicitas in africa, having won for themselves the crown of martyrdom, were celebrated in the festivals of the church with honours denied to the most powerful and noblest born of mankind." [ ] analysis salutation from paul and timothy to philemon and apphia (? wife), to archippus and the church in philemon's house; thanksgiving for philemon's faith; a plea for the pardon of onesimus, st. paul promises to be responsible for what was stolen; a lodging to be prepared for st. paul; concluding salutations, benediction. [ ] lightfoot, _colossians and philemon_, p. . { } chapter xv the epistle of paul the apostle to the ephesians [sidenote: the author.] the pauline authorship of this epistle is well attested by external evidence. before we have proof of its wide use among both heretics and catholics; it is quoted probably by st. clement and st. polycarp, and some of its characteristic ideas are to be found in a more developed form in the _shepherd_ of hermas. there is one clear reference to it in st. ignatius, and two other possible references. we trace an interesting connection between the thought of this epistle and that of the revelation and the gospel of st. john (_e.g._ ch. xvii.) and the first epistle of st. peter. perhaps we may account for it by accepting renan's suggestion that st. peter, st. john, and st. paul were in rome together. the strongest argument for the pauline authorship lies in the undesigned coincidences between ephesians and romans. in both we notice the same courtesy of manner and sensitive frankness, the same setting forth of god's method of salvation, the same valuation of the relative position of jews and gentiles, and of their union in jesus christ; the same thought of god's eternal and unchanging purpose very gradually revealed, and extending in its ultimate operation to all creation. it has been well said that the epistle to the ephesians is required to give completeness to the argument of rom. xv. though we do not find here the controversial reasoning of the earlier epistle, we have some of those characteristic passages in which the { } writer, carried away by emotion, leaves statement for prayer or praise (cf. rom. xi. and eph. iii. ). we have, indeed, in this epistle evidence which points to a date later than that of some of his epistles. we miss the expectation of christ's immediate coming; the gentiles are now quite secure in the church; there is proof of the growth of christian hymns (v. , ). but the names of the ministers of the church seem very primitive, the words "presbyter" and _episkopos_ not being mentioned. and words such as "worlds," "fulness," "generations," which were used in a special sense by the gnostics of the nd century, are here used in an earlier and less technical meaning. it has been argued that ephesians is a forged imitation of colossians, because about half of its verses have parallels in colossians. this argument has broken down, since it has been shown that it is equally easy to prove that colossians is based upon ephesians. and there is nothing strange in the idea that st. paul wrote two similar letters at the same time to churches in similar difficulties. the two epistles resemble one another just as two letters written by one man to two different friends during the same week. the phrase "holy apostles" (iii. ) is also said to be a formula which st. paul would not have employed. but the word "holy" is used in his writings almost in the sense of "christian;" it signifies consecration rather than personal perfection. there would, therefore, be no vanity in the apostle applying such a title to himself. the attempt to make the style furnish an argument against the genuineness of the epistle has also failed. there are thirty-two words used only in this epistle, but there are also eighteen which are found in pauline epistles and not elsewhere in the new testament. the assumption of some sceptical writers that an apostle must have been too unintelligent to enrich his vocabulary, scarcely deserves serious examination. no one would think of applying the same rule to a greek classical writer, and if he attempted to do so, he would find that xenophon varies his language as much as st. paul. { } the real reason why the authenticity of this epistle has been attacked is this. ephesians teaches that the church is a universal society, visibly united by baptism and the ministry, embracing jew and gentile on equal terms. but, according to baur, this conception of the church is a product of the nd century. he assumed that st. paul could not include the twelve under the name of the "holy apostles," or teach a catholic doctrine of the church.[ ] the present school of rationalists is inclining to admit that ephesians is genuine. but it is hard to see how they will be able to do this without also admitting that the epistle implies that the other "holy apostles" held, like st. paul, that christ is divine. [sidenote: to whom written.] it is almost certainly not primarily a letter to ephesus, but a circular letter to several churches in asia minor. in i. we read the words "to the saints which are in ephesus." but the words "in ephesus" are omitted in the two great mss. k and b. origen also implies that these words were absent in some mss., and st. basil definitely says so. and as the epistle contains no salutation to any individual, it is difficult to imagine that it was specially addressed to ephesus, where st. paul's friends were numerous and dear (see acts xx. - ). in some passages st. paul speaks as if he and those to whom he writes knew each other only through third persons (i. ; iii. ). this suggests that the epistle was written primarily to a church like that of colossae which he had never visited. the probable solution is that it was written to the christians of laodicea in the first instance. tertullian says that marcion had copies with "ad laodicenos" as the title. now, in this case marcion had nothing to gain by fraud, and we may therefore suppose that he had honest grounds for using this title. the same title gains some support from col. ii. ; iv. , . the last verse suggests that it was to be passed on from laodicea. perhaps several copies of the letter were written at { } laodicea, and a blank space left in them for the insertion of the various addresses. no doubt the letter would be forwarded to ephesus in time. laodicea, at present called eski-hissar (the "old fortress"), is now utterly deserted. it was probably founded about b.c. by antiochus ii. theos, and named after his wife laodike. it was distant eleven miles from colossae. the population included some syrians and jews. it rose to great wealth under the roman power, and was so rich that when it was destroyed by an earthquake in a.d. it scorned to seek pecuniary aid from the emperor. it was in a central position on the great trade route from the east, and was famous for its banking business, its manufacture of fine garments of black wool, and its "phrygian powder" for weak eyes. in rev. iii. there appears to be a veiled allusion to each of these three sources of prosperity. timothy, mark, and epaphras (col. i. ) were instrumental in spreading christianity in this region. laodicea was the leading bishopric of phrygia throughout the christian period. ephesus was the capital of the roman province of asia. with antioch in syria and alexandria in egypt, it ranked as one of the greatest cities of the east mediterranean lands. planted amid the hills near the mouth of the river cayster, it was excellently fitted to become a great mart, and was the commercial centre for the whole country on the roman side of mount taurus. the substratum of the population was asiatic, but the progress and enterprise of the city belonged to the greeks. there, as in the florence of the medici, we find commercial astuteness joined with intense delight in graceful culture. some of the best work of the greatest greek sculptors and painters was treasured at ephesus. a splendid but sensuous worship centred round the gross figure of the goddess artemis, whose temple was one of the greatest triumphs of ancient art. in the british museum are preserved some fragments of the old temple built by croesus, king of lydia, in b.c. . the vast { } temple which replaced this older structure was built about b.c. , with the help of contributions from the whole of asia. the wealth of the city was increased by the crowds which attended the festivals, and many trades were mainly dependent upon the pilgrims, who required food, victims, images, and shrines. in st. paul's time the city contained one temple devoted to the worship of a roman emperor. ephesus was also a home of magical arts, and was famous for the production of magical formulae known as "ephesian letters." the actual foundation of the christian church in ephesus may be ascribed to priscilla and aquila, whom st. paul left there on his first visit (acts xviii. ), on his return to ephesus he stayed there for two years (acts xix. , ), and the opposition of the tradesmen to a creed which affected the vested interests of idolatry was the cause of the riot so vigorously described by st. luke. even after the riot the superstitions of the mob were a serious danger to st. paul ( cor. xv. ; xvi. ; cor. i. - ). at a later period ephesus became the residence of st. john. [sidenote: where and when written.] st. paul wrote this epistle during his imprisonment at rome, which began in a.d. (see iii. , ; iv. , vi. ). rome is not mentioned in the epistle, but the connection between ephesians, colossians, philemon, and philippians points to the high probability that they were all written from the same place. this place is much more likely to have been rome than caesarea, the only other possible locality. ephesians was apparently written later than colossians, for it shows an emphasis on new points of doctrine--the continuity of the church, the work of the holy spirit, the analogy between family life and the church, and the simile of the spiritual armour. [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle is of the nature of a sermon, full of closely interlaced doctrinal arguments on the greatness of that _one_ gospel and that _one_ church by which all distinctions in mankind are bridged over and salvation is made sure. the writer { } fears that there will be some lack of unity in the church, and that the moral tone of his converts will sink. he wishes for a christianity both catholic and deep. so he presents his readers with the portrait of a church predestined before all ages, appointed to last through all ages, in which all men will be united in holiness and love. if galatians and corinthians are more vivid, romans more rich, and philippians more affectionate, ephesians gives us st. paul's most mature and complete picture of christianity. st. paul explains how his gentile readers came to their present position in the church. they are not to regard it as a matter of chance. they were called to christ as the result of an eternal counsel of god. god intended from eternity to adopt them in union with his son. this intention was now made known, to sum up all things again in christ (i. ). the apostle prays for his readers that they may receive enlightenment, and grow in knowledge, particularly concerning the power of god shown in the resurrection and ascension of christ and his consequent relation _to the church_.[ ] the unity of all things in the son of god is explained in colossians as having been involved in his creation of them. in ephesians st. paul assumes this relation, and shows that it is largely in abeyance through _sin_. estrangement has come between man and his god, involving man in death and in the wrath of god (ii. - ). a wall of division has also been made between jew and gentile (ii. ). this division was visibly embodied in the jewish ordinances. but jew and { } gentile alike have now been reconciled to god, and in being reunited with god are reunited with each other. this momentous change was effected by the shedding of christ's blood on the cross. the readers are to remember that they are being built into god's own habitation, of which christ is the corner-stone (ii. ). to the end that they may be filled in their degree with god's attributes, the writer bows his knees (iii. ) unto the father. he prays for their strengthening because he has a special charge over the gentiles. this charge involves the stewardship of a secret (iii. ), viz. the inclusion of the gentiles in the promise of god. he, the least of all saints, has been allowed to proclaim this secret, a work which shows to the heavenly powers the wisdom of god corresponding with his eternal purpose (iii. , ). this bounty of god will ever be praised in the church, which is the monument of that bounty (iii. ). chapters iv.-vi. are largely practical. they set out rules of conduct. but even here doctrine is brought in to enforce practical advice. the readers are to "walk worthily" of their calling. to do this, they must realize unity. the principles of unity are magnificently summed up (iv. - ). then the apostle mentions some means which god has appointed for the maintenance of unity. christians have various gifts from the ascended christ (iv. - ), and some are specially gifted for ecclesiastical offices (iv. - ). these gifts make for the completeness of the church, of which christ is the head and the life. to "walk worthily" also means that everything connected with heathen habits must be sedulously renounced. the old self must be changed for the new. a basis for social life must be found in truthfulness, uprightness, and kindliness (iv. - ). purity must specially be preserved, impurity being contrasted with love. light and darkness are then contrasted, and the sober gaiety of the christian with heathen folly and excess (v. - ). st. paul passes on to speak of the christian household--the { } duties of husband, wife, children, slaves. he seems to pronounce a great benediction over family life as he compares the union of marriage to the association of christ with his church. just as in calling christ the head of which the church is the body, he suggests the entire dependence of the church upon christ, so now in describing the church as the spouse of christ, he suggests that this dependence must imply a voluntary and conscious submission. the final exhortation vividly describes the christian's conflict with evil: to fight victoriously he will need to be well armoured with the whole panoply of god (vi. - ). there is a short personal conclusion in which st. paul describes himself as christ's "ambassador in chains." analysis salutation (i. , ). exposition of god's purpose in adopting the gentiles as his sons, chosen by the father, redeemed by the son, sealed by the spirit. a prayer for the readers (i.). their new state as saved by grace through faith; reconciliation of jews and gentiles in christ (ii.). paul was made a minister to dispense the grace of god to the gentiles. he prays for their spiritual progress (iii.). the unity of christians in the church combined with diversity of gifts and offices, a warning against heathen vices, and advice as to duty towards one's neighbour (iv.). christian love, heathen uncleanness, light and darkness, walking circumspectly, sobriety and song (v. - ). the union of husbands and wives like that of christ and his church (v. , ). duties of children and parents, servants and masters (vi. - ). wrestling against evil powers with the whole armour of god (vi. - ). personal conclusion and benediction (vi. - ). [ ] see baur's _paul_, vol. ii. p. (english translation). [ ] eph. i. . the church is said to be "the fulness of him that filleth all in all." the word "fulness" is derived from philosophy, and means that the church is, or rather is the realization of, the sum of the sacred attributes of christ, who fills the whole universe with all kinds of gifts. some commentators translate "fulness" as if it meant the receptacle of christ's attributes, and others as if it meant the completion of christ. but the word is used in a philosophical and not in a literal sense. see lightfoot, _colossians_, p. . { } chapter xvi the epistle of paul the apostle to the philippians [sidenote: the author.] the genuineness of this epistle is now admitted by critics of very different schools of thought, including some extreme rationalists. about a.d. st. polycarp, in his letter to the philippians, speaks of the letters which they had received from "the blessed and glorious paul." although he seems to refer to a number of letters, we may be sure that this letter was among that number. otherwise it would not have been so universally regarded as genuine during the nd century. it is in marcion's canon, in the _muratorian fragment_, the peshitta syriac and old latin versions. it is also quoted in the letter of the churches of lyons and vienne, in the epistle of diognetus, and by irenaeus and clement of alexandria. it was rejected by baur and others on various grounds. it was urged ( ) that the doctrine of christ's self-surrender or "self-emptying" in phil. ii. is derived from the valentinian gnostics of the nd century, who taught that the spirit "sophia" fell from the "fulness" of divine spirits in heaven to the "emptiness" of the lower world. this objection is too fantastic to deserve serious refutation. it is, in fact, little more than a play upon words. it was urged ( ) that in phil. ii. the manhood of christ is said to have come into existence at the incarnation, whereas in cor. xv. - it is said to have existed in heaven before the incarnation. this idea rests on a false interpretation; in cor. xv. christ is called "of heaven" { } because his manhood became heavenly at his ascension. it was urged ( ) that in phil. iii. the writer says that he had been, "as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless," whereas st. paul in rom. vii. speaks of his revolt against the law. but it seems that in phil. iii. st. paul is laying stress rather on his external privileges and external conformity, while in rom. vii. he speaks of what is inward and secret. it was urged ( ) that the mention of "bishops" (or rather _episkopoi_) and "deacons" in phil. i. shows that the epistle was not written in the apostolic age. but there is nothing to make it impossible that such offices did exist at that period, and there is much evidence in favour of them. christians who are attached to the historical form of church government will now note with interest that, since the genuineness of this epistle has been practically demonstrated, some writers have suggested that these words do not refer to special ecclesiastical offices![ ] [sidenote: to whom written.] philippi was named after philip, king of macedon, in the th century b.c. it was in eastern macedonia, on a steep hill at the edge of a plain; its seaport, neapolis, was about eight miles distant. it was on the egnatian road, the great high-road which connected the aegean and the adriatic seas, and therefore connected asia with europe. it was made into a roman colony, with the title _colonia augusta julia philippensium_, after the victory of antony and octavian over brutus and cassius. its new name was, therefore, a memorial of the murdered but avenged julius caesar. st. paul brought christianity to philippi early in a.d. , during his second missionary journey. st. paul's first visit here is described in acts xvi. - , and it has a special interest as the story of the apostle's first preaching in a european town. the jews had no synagogue, only a spot by the river-side in the suburbs, where a few met together on the sabbath. his first convert was lydia of thyatira, who was a seller of purple-dyed { } goods; her house became the centre of the philippian church. the imprisonment of st. paul and st. silas in consequence of st. paul's exorcising a heathen slave-girl who professed to be inspired, is one of the most dramatic incidents in acts. when st. paul was released he left the town, but returned there, in all probability, in a.d. , on his third journey while travelling to corinth. in a.d. he was there once more, and the last easter before his imprisonment was spent with these beloved converts (acts xx. ). the christians of philippi were pre-eminent in the affections of st. paul. he calls them, like the thessalonians, his "joy and crown" (iv. ), and they alone of his children had the privilege of ministering to his personal necessities. [sidenote: where and when written.] it may be regarded as almost certain that st. paul wrote this epistle in rome. he was a prisoner, as we see in phil. i. , , , . he sends greeting from those of caesar's household (iv. ). the first and last chapters imply that he is in the midst of an active church, and that he is the centre to which messengers come and from which they go. this accords with the apostle's treatment at rome. one phrase, however, has been thought to suggest caesarea rather than rome. it is "the whole praetorium" (i. ). this might mean the praetorium or palace of herod agrippa ii. at caesarea, but it is possible that it has quite a different meaning. it may either be the imperial guard or the supreme imperial court before which st. paul had to be judged. the latter interpretation is that suggested by the great historian mommsen, and seems to be the most satisfactory explanation. the meaning of the phrase has an important bearing upon the date of the epistle. if it was not written at caesarea, it must have been written at rome between a.d. and a.d. . but the critics who are agreed that it was composed at rome, are divided as to the place which it occupies among the epistles which st. paul wrote during his imprisonment. some { } place it first, because the vigorous style, and many of the phrases, suggest that it was written not very long after romans. others, with greater probability, place it last among the epistles of the captivity. for even if it was written first among those epistles, it was written more than three years after romans. and the epistle contains several indications of being written late in the captivity. if "praetorium" means the imperial guard, some time would have to elapse before such a large body of men could know much about st. paul; and if it means the imperial court, the verse implies that he had already appeared before his judges. phil. ii. shows that he was expecting a speedy decision on his case. epaphroditus, probably not the colossian epaphras who was with st. paul at rome (col. iv. ), had come as a delegate from the philippians, bringing their alms to the apostle (ii. ; iv. ). after his arrival in rome he was ill and homesick, and now he is returning to philippi bearing this letter of thanks. this all seems to imply that philippians was written a considerable time after the apostle's imprisonment began, and we can therefore reasonably place it after colossians and ephesians, and date it early in a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] with the exception of corinthians, this is the most personal and intimate of st. paul's writings. in both he lays bare his heart. but the tone of the two epistles is absolutely different. in corinthians he writes as a man who has been bitterly injured; he asserts his claims to fickle believers whose ears have been charmed by his unscrupulous opponents. in philippians we chiefly observe a note of frank and loving confidence; buffeted by the world, the apostle finds refreshment in the affection of his friends at philippi. after a salutation to all the "saints" at philippi, including especially the _episkopoi_ and deacons, the apostle speaks of the joy which he feels in praying for them, and begs of god that their love may abound, and that they may approve the things { } that are excellent, being filled with the fruits of righteousness (i. - ). then st. paul tells how his captivity has been a means of spreading the gospel in the praetorium and elsewhere. even the malicious activity of his opponents has been a means of proclaiming christ, and with true grandeur of soul the apostle rejoices in the fact. so far as he is concerned, death would be a more attractive prospect than life, for death would mean admission into the presence of christ, but for the sake of the philippians he is glad to live. with wonderful cheerfulness he says that he is glad if his blood is to be offered like a libation poured over the living sacrifice of the souls and bodies which the philippians offer to god (ii. ). before he speaks of this libation of his blood he makes a tender appeal to his converts to imitate the lowliness of jesus christ. he puts into the language of theology the story of the incarnation which his friend st. luke draws with an artist's pen in the first two chapters of his gospel. he speaks to them of "the mind" of christ jesus, whose life on earth was self-sacrifice in detail. christ had before the incarnation the "form" or essential attributes of god, but he did not set any store on his equality with god, as though it were a prize,[ ] but stripped himself in self-surrender, and took the "form" or nature of a bond-servant. he looked like men as they actually are, and if men recognized his outward "fashion," they would only have taken him for a man. and then he made himself obedient to god up to his very death, and that the death of the cross. this was followed by his exaltation, and worship is now paid to him in his glorified humanity (ii. - ). in ii. st. paul returns to personal matters concerning timothy and epaphroditus; then he seems on the point of concluding the epistle (iii. ). but he suddenly breaks into { } an abrupt and passionate warning against the judaizers. the passage almost looks as if it were a page from the epistle to the galatians. the judaizers are called "dogs," and as their circumcision was no longer the sign of a covenant with god, the apostle calls it a mere outward mutilation of the flesh (iii. ). it is unlikely that jewish influences were potent at philippi. the explanation of this passage appears to be that the apostle, before completing his letter, learnt of some new and successful plot of the judaizers at rome or elsewhere. nervously dreading lest they should invade his beloved philippian church, he speaks with great severity of these conspirators. the conclusion of the chapter is apparently directed against the licence of certain gentile converts. these seem to have been "enemies of the cross of christ" in the looseness of their lives rather than in the corruptness of their creed. it is difficult in this case, as in that of the judaizers, to know whether these errors already existed at philippi or not. the passage concludes with an exhortation to steadfastness (iii. -iv. ). two women, euodia and syntyche, are exhorted to be "of the same mind." a true yokefellow of the apostle, possibly epaphroditus, and a certain clement, possibly the clement who was afterwards bishop of rome, are exhorted to try to bring about their reconciliation. all are exhorted to rejoice in the lord, and are told that the peace of god, which passeth understanding, shall stand sentinel over their hearts and thoughts. before returning again to personal matters and thanking the philippians for their gifts, st. paul urges them to follow whatsoever is true and lovely. his language here seems to consecrate all that was permanently valuable in the sayings of the greek philosophers. it recalls to us the words of the ancient church historian, socrates: "the beautiful, wherever it may be, is the property of truth." { } analysis salutation, thanksgiving, prayer (i. - ). the position of affairs at rome. his imprisonment has stimulated the preaching of the gospel; his own feelings are divided between the desire for death and a willingness to live for their sakes; an exhortation to boldness (i. - ). an exhortation to imitate the humility of christ, who took the form of man and was willing to die, and was after this abasement exalted above every created being (ii. - ). an exhortation to obedience, quietness, purity, mission and commendation of timothy and epaphroditus; farewell (ii. -iii. ). strong warning against judaism, enforced by his own example; against claim to perfection, also enforced by his own example; against antinomian licence as unworthy of "citizens of heaven", exhortation to steadfastness (iii. -iv. ). advice to euodia, syntyche, and others; exhortation to think of all things true and lovely (iv. - ). the apostle expresses his joy at the spirit shown by the offerings sent to him from philippi. doxology. salutation (iv. - ). [ ] so e. haupt, _die gefangenschaftsbriefe_, p. . [ ] the greek is ordinarily translated as "a prize to be grasped," but it seems quite possible to translate the passage, "he considered not equality with god to involve a process of grasping." { } chapter xvii the pastoral epistles [sidenote: the author.] and timothy and titus form the fourth and last group of st. paul's epistles, and are known as the pastoral epistles,[ ] because they deal so largely with the duties and qualifications of the men entrusted with the pastoral care of the church. st. paul here teaches the teachers. their genuineness is more frequently denied than that of any other of st. paul's epistles, and this attack upon their genuineness has been mostly based upon the character of their teaching about the office-bearers of the church. attempts have sometimes been made to separate some fragments supposed to be genuine from the remaining portions. all such attempts have failed. these epistles must either be rejected entirely or accepted entirely. otherwise we become involved in a hopeless tangle of conjectures. the _external evidence_ is excellent. they are found in the syriac and old latin versions, and in the _muratorian fragment_. they are all quoted by irenaeus, and also by clement of alexandria and tertullian. their authenticity was therefore regarded as a certain fact in the latter part of the nd century, and early in the th century eusebius was unaware that any doubts concerning them existed in the church. moreover, st. polycarp, a.d. , quotes both and timothy. the { } combined evidence of these writers forms a very substantial argument. against it we sometimes find urged the fact that the heretic marcion rejected them. such an objection borders on frivolity. marcion held a definite doctrinal heresy, and rejected everything which he could not make to coincide with his own belief. the value which is set on the old testament (_e.g._ tim. iii. ), the assertion of a real incarnation (_e.g._ tim. ii. ), and the sustained opposition to a false spiritualism, which these epistles exhibit, must have been intensely distasteful to marcion. we have therefore no reason for believing that he would hesitate to reject them, while knowing them to be genuine, any more than he hesitated to reject all the gospels except luke. the _internal evidence_ is called in question for the following reasons. . _historical difficulties._--we cannot place the journey referred to in tim. i. during the three years' stay at ephesus mentioned in acts. the visit to miletus in tim. iv. cannot have taken place on the journey to jerusalem in acts xx., because trophimus was with the apostle when he reached that city (acts xxi. ). again, in tim. iv. erastus "abode at corinth." but he had not been to corinth for a long time before the journey to rome recorded in acts. in tit. i. we see titus left by st. paul at crete; he is to join the apostle in nicopolis (iii. ). but acts allows no room for this, and the reference to apollos (iii. ) implies a later period than st. paul's stay at corinth (acts xviii.). _answer._--all three epistles may quite well be later than the history related in acts. there is no reason for denying that st. paul was set free after his trial at rome, and arrested again at a later date. assuming that this liberation did take place, all historical difficulties vanish. there are several points in favour of this liberation. first, the attitude of the roman government towards christianity was fairly tolerant until nero began his persecution in a.d. , and the state of the law would { } have allowed st. paul's acquittal. secondly, it was believed in the early church that st. paul was set free. the muratorian fragment says that he went to spain, and st. clement of rome, writing from rome about a.d. , says that he went "to the boundary of the west," which seems to point to spain. thirdly, the chronology implied in the ancient list of the bishops of rome will not allow us to put st. paul's martyrdom earlier than a.d. . fourthly, the apostle himself expected to be set free (phil. ii. ; philem. ). there is therefore no historical reason for denying that st. paul was set free from the imprisonment in which acts leaves him. . _references to heresies._--it has been said that these epistles contain references to heresies later than the apostolic age, such as the gnosticism of the nd century. more especially, it is said that tim. vi. , which speaks of "oppositions of gnosis falsely so called," refers to a work by marcion called the "oppositions" (antitheses), in which he tried to demonstrate that the old testament was antagonistic to the new. _answer._--the heresies here rebuked are not so definitely described that we can determine their precise character. this fact is in favour of the idea that the heresies belong to the st century rather than to the nd. stress has been laid upon statements which seem to imply gnostic heresy, and heresy of a "docetic" character, _i.e._ teaching a denial of the reality of our lord's human nature. but there is certainly nothing which suggests that the error here rebuked was as developed as the heresy rebuked by st. ignatius, or even that denounced by st. john. it is most unlikely that the word "oppositions" can refer to a book bearing that title. the passage tim. vi. does not suggest this. and if marcion is really quoted in tim., how could polycarp have quoted tim., as he does, before marcion's book was written? something of a gnostic tendency is betokened by the scorn of material life and the human body shown in tim. iv. , and tim. ii. . but the error is mainly jewish. the false { } teachers professed to be "teachers of the law" ( tim. i. ), which was exactly the title claimed by the jewish rabbis (see luke v. ). the general character of their teaching was "vain talking" ( tim. i. ; cf. tit. i. ; iii. ). it consists of "profane babblings" ( tim. vi. ; tim. ii. ). it is further characterized as "foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about the law . . . unprofitable and vain" (tit. iii. ). it is summed up in the phrases "old wives' fables" ( tim. iv. ), "jewish fables" (tit. i. ). all this shows that the error was not a definite gnostic heresy with a fundamentally false view of god. it was something intrinsically ridiculous. therefore the "endless genealogies" ( tim. i. ) can hardly be gnostic genealogies of the semi-divine beings who took part in the creation. they are jewish tales about the heroes of the old testament. the error is, in fact, primitive, and does not belong to the nd century. . _church organization._--it is said that these epistles lay down the rules for an organization of the church which is later than the apostolic age, and resembles the episcopal system, such as we find it in the nd century. titus and timothy act as delegates of the apostle, and as the highest officials of the ministry, and they appoint presbyters and deacons. we thus find a threefold ministry which derives its sacred authority through the apostolate. the apostle lays his hands upon his delegate ( tim. i. ), and this delegate lays his hands upon others ( tim. v. ). _answer._--it is perfectly true that there is a threefold ministry mentioned in these epistles. but there is no sufficient reason for denying that such a ministry is of apostolic origin. it seems quite certain that at jerusalem the presbyters and deacons were under the authority of st. james, and after his death under that of symeon. the same form of government can also be traced back in other places to apostolic times. moreover, the organization which is mentioned in acts is fundamentally the same as that in these epistles. in acts we { } find the apostles first appointing deacons and then presbyters. all the additional evidence which has lately been discovered to support the genuineness of acts therefore favours the genuineness of these epistles. finally, we must notice that the titles of the ministry in these epistles do not correspond with the titles used in the nd century. the government is substantially "episcopal," but the title "episkopos" was in the nd century only applied to the chief dignitary who ruled over the "presbyters." but here the title "episkopos" is applied to the presbyters themselves as the overseers of the congregation. we find the same thing in the letter of st. clement, a.d. . st. clement, although bishop of rome, still gives the title of "episkopos" to the presbyters. this inconvenient practice was given up soon after that date, for we find that st. ignatius, about a.d. , applies the title "episkopos" only to the highest ministers of the church. we conclude, therefore, that while the organization of the church described in the pastoral epistles supports the belief that the threefold ministry, which we now call episcopal organization, is of apostolic origin, it does not prove that these epistles are forgeries. and it is natural that st. paul, knowing that his death must before long come to pass, should devote a large measure of attention to questions of church government and discipline. the history of the church in the nd and rd centuries proves to us that the organization of the church was almost as important as the inspiration of the church. . _language._--this is an important difficulty. there are in these epistles many words and phrases which do not occur in the other epistles of st. paul. we find different greek words used for "lord" and for the second "advent," and a fondness for the words "wholesome," "godliness," and "faithful saying." the new element is most prominent in tim. and titus. _answer._--private letters to individuals and friends in reference to one particular subject are not likely to resemble public letters which were written in reference to other subjects. it { } would therefore be unreasonable to expect that the style of the pastoral epistles should be cast in the same mould as that of the other epistles of st. paul. nevertheless, the objection would have considerable weight, if st. paul's aptitude for varying his vocabulary could not be shown. but it can be shown; for his other epistles are marked by an astonishing variation in the greek. beneath this diversity there exists a unity. the pastoral epistles have many pauline phrases,[ ] many graphic touches, many forcible and original statements, and glow with that personal devotion to christ combined with a practical capacity for guiding christians which st. paul possessed in so singular a degree. if the pastoral epistles are spurious, or if they are composite productions written by a forger who inserted some notes of st. paul in his own effusions, it becomes almost impossible to account for the fact that tim. differs delicately both in language and subject from tim. and titus. in view of this fact we can admire the sagacity of a recent opponent of their authenticity who deprecates "the possibility of extricating the pauline from the traditional and editorial material"! [ ] the first epistle of paul the apostle to timothy [sidenote: the author.] reasons have already been given for rejecting the arguments which have been alleged against the pauline authorship of this epistle. we may add that it is unlikely that a forger would have inserted the word "mercy" (i. ) in the usual pauline greeting "grace and peace." the reference to timothy's "youth" (iv. ; cf. tim. ii. ) has seemed strange to many. but although { } st. paul had been acquainted with timothy for about twelve years, timothy must have been greatly the junior of st. paul. even if timothy was as old as thirty-five, the word "youth" would be quite natural from the pen of an old man writing to a pupil, whom he had known as a very young man, and whom he was now putting in authority over men old enough to be his own father. we can attribute this epistle to st. paul without hesitation. [sidenote: to whom written.] timothy was one of the apostle's own converts, his "child in faith." we learn from acts xvi. that he was the son of a greek-speaking gentile father and a jewish mother. he had received a strictly religious jewish training from his mother eunice and his grandmother lois ( tim. i. - ; iii. , ). he was converted by st. paul on his first missionary journey, at lystra or derbe. on st. paul's second visit to that district, timothy was so well reported of that he was thought worthy of being associated with the apostle in his work. before employing him as a colleague, st. paul had him circumcised, that he might be able to work among jews as well as gentiles (acts xvi. ). some christian prophets pointed him out as destined for his sacred office ( tim. i. ). he was ordained by the laying on of the hands of st. paul himself and the presbyters of the church ( tim. iv. ; tim. i. ). he was frequently associated with the apostle in travelling and in the writing of epistles. his name occurs as sending a salutation in rom. xvi. , and as the fellow-sender of six of the apostle's letters. he was with the apostle during his first imprisonment at rome (see phil., col., and philemon). from this epistle we learn that after the apostle's release he was left in charge of the important church at ephesus. while he was in this position, the two epistles which bear his name were written to him. [sidenote: where and when written.] it is impossible to ascertain the precise direction of st. paul's journeys after his release, and it is wisest to refrain from mere conjecture. before writing this letter he had been recently { } at ephesus and had been called away to macedonia (i. ). he intended to return before long, but had been unexpectedly delayed (iii. , ). this delay rendered it necessary for him to send directions to timothy. the precise date cannot be exactly fixed. if st. paul's martyrdom was as early as a.d. , and his release as early as a.d. , we may reasonably put this letter in a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] the letter is personal, but it is also official. it is intended to guide timothy in his work of apostolic delegate. in speaking to the presbyters of ephesus at miletus (acts xx. , ), st. paul had already expressed fears about the future of the church, and these fears now seem to have been partly realized. ephesus was a meeting-place of east and west, a place where religious speculations and religious divisions were likely to increase, and where wise supervision of the christian church was essential. the contents of the epistle therefore mainly consist of warnings against judaism and false knowledge, and directions as to the duties of various classes of christians, and especially the clergy. analysis the danger of jewish and gnostic heresy (i.). the order of common prayer (ii.). the qualifications of _episkopoi_ (translated "bishops" in the english versions) and deacons (iii.). condemnation of gnostic asceticism and the duty of timothy towards heresy (iv.). counsels as to the treatment of presbyters (translated "elders" in the english versions) and widows (v.). warnings against disobedience towards masters, vain disputations, covetousness, and a wrong use of wealth--concluding with a direct appeal to timothy (vi.). { } the epistle of paul to titus [sidenote: the author.] this is exactly the kind of letter which we should expect to be written by a writer of strong individuality addressing a disciple entrusted with the duty of ruling a church threatened by the same troubles as the church which was under the supervision of timothy. it is attributed to st. paul by irenaeus, and is amply supported by other early writers. [sidenote: to whom written.] "to titus, my true child after a common faith" (i. ). titus was converted by st. paul (i. ), and was an uncircumcised gentile (gal. ii. ). he must have been converted at an early period in the apostle's career, for he was with paul and barnabas on their visit from antioch to jerusalem in a.d. . he was therefore present during the great crisis when the freedom of the gentiles from the ceremonial part of the jewish law was vindicated. it is suggested by gal. ii. that titus was personally known to the galatians, and possibly he was himself a galatian. titus was prominent at another important crisis. when the church at corinth was involved in strife, titus was sent thither. his efforts were attended with success, and he was able to report good news on returning to st. paul in macedonia ( cor. vii. , , - ). he carried the second epistle to the corinthians to corinth. we hear no more of him until the period when this epistle was written. after st. paul's release from his first imprisonment, titus was with him in crete, and was left by the apostle to direct the affairs of the church in that island (tit. i. ). it is plain that the tact and wisdom which he had shown at corinth had not failed him in the interval, and that st. paul still regarded him as a worthy delegate and a true evangelist of the gospel of peace. [sidenote: where and when written.] the similarity to timothy makes it almost certain that titus was written about the same time, and before timothy. { } the apostle is expecting to winter at nicopolis, probably the nicopolis in epirus. the letter was therefore possibly written from greece. it seems from iii. that zenas, a former teacher of the jewish law, and apollos, had occasion to travel by crete, and st. paul takes the opportunity to send a letter with them to titus. [sidenote: character and contents.] the greeting at the beginning of the epistle and the character of its general contents show that this letter is official as well as private. possibly the gospel was first brought to crete by those jews or proselytes from crete who saw the outpouring of the holy spirit at jerusalem on the day of pentecost (acts ii. .) fully thirty years had passed since then, but the church had not hitherto been sufficiently organized to be independent of the apostle. now, however, the apostolic delegate will be able to ordain the presbyters required in every city. the manner in which the "episkopoi" are mentioned immediately afterwards (i. , ) strongly favours the idea that the name "episkopos" is here used as a title of the presbyters, as in acts xx. they form the order under the apostle's delegate. useless speculations of a jewish character had invaded the church (i. - ; iii. ). the teachers of these "fables" were influenced by love of "filthy lucre." st. paul quotes the saying that the cretans are "liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons," and attributes it to "one of themselves, a prophet of their own." the saying is by the poet epimenides, c. b.c. . he was a native of cnossus in crete, who was regarded as a seer, and his reputation for second-sight is testified by plato giving him the epithet "divine." st. paul seems convinced that the cretan character was as prone to sensuality as in the days of epimenides, and it is immediately after alluding to their dangers that he utters the memorable words, "unto the pure all things are pure." the apostle's exhortation to "maintain good works" (iii. ) is one of the verses which have been absurdly alleged to be out of harmony with { } st. paul's insistence upon the importance of justification by faith. there is a definite allusion to baptismal regeneration in iii. . analysis titus to ordain elders; the requisite character of "episkopoi", judaizing talkers to be checked (i.). duties of aged men and women; young women and men; servants; the grace of god and the hope inspired by it (ii.). duty towards rulers and all men; the kindness of god; foolish discussions to be avoided; how to deal with a heretic; personal notes (iii.). the second epistle of paul the apostle to timothy [sidenote: the author.] it is generally considered that the authenticity of this epistle stands or falls with that of the first epistle. but it bears its own peculiar marks of genuineness. one thoroughly pauline feature is _thanksgiving_ at the beginning, a feature which is found in eight of his other epistles, but not in the two other pastoral epistles. a forger might have had the critical insight which would lead him to compose this thanksgiving. but it is highly improbable that a forger would have put twenty-three proper names into the epistle without tamely copying names which occur elsewhere, or without betraying any wish to glorify some saint who became popular after the death of the apostle. neither of these two suspicious tokens can be detected here. for instance, demas, concerning whom nothing that is discreditable is narrated elsewhere, is here rebuked with a pathetic regret (iv. ; cf. col. iv. ); while linus, afterwards a famous bishop and martyr of rome, is mentioned without any honourable distinction at all. even if the linus of this epistle is not the bishop of that name { } the argument still holds good. for a forger, if he inserted the name of any linus, would have been almost certain to mention _the_ linus and no other. [sidenote: to whom written.] "to timothy, my beloved child" (i. ). [sidenote: where and when written.] it was written from rome, where st. paul is again a prisoner, the reason of his imprisonment being the witness that he has borne to christ (i. , , ). his imprisonment had already lasted some time, for it was known at ephesus. the apostle had apparently requested two of his friends, phygellus and hermogenes, to come to him at rome, but they had declined. the ephesian onesiphorus had acted otherwise, and when in rome had sought him out. st. paul anticipates death. his case has already had a first hearing, when no witness appeared in his defence (iv. ). he is now ready to be offered up. but he does not anticipate an immediate martyrdom, as he urges timothy to come to rome before winter. the date is therefore probably some weeks or months before st. paul's martyrdom. the year is either a.d. or very soon afterwards. [sidenote character and contents.] this epistle is the apostle's farewell pastoral charge. he looks forward to his fate with courage and confidence. he has fought a good fight, and is sure of the crown of righteousness which the lord will give him. but he sees that a dark future is in store for the church. some professing christians have already deserted him, others have perverted the faith. among the latter are hymenseus and philetus, who assert that the resurrection is past already. it is probable that they were influenced by some gnostic dislike of the human body, and taught that the only resurrection possible for a christian was the spiritual resurrection of becoming acquainted with their own gnostic doctrine. such a heresy is described by irenaeus. st. paul warns timothy that there are "grievous times" to come (iii. ). scripture will be a means of security against the mischief-makers. { } the various exhortations given to timothy are of great force and beauty; he is to endure hardship like a good soldier, and is charged before god to preach and rebuke with long-suffering. the solemnity of these words is equalled by the pungent sarcasm with which the writer alludes to the schismatics who "lead captive silly women" or will "heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." we may notice that ii. - seems to contain part of a christian hymn, that iii. contains a reference to a jewish story not found in the old testament, and that i. is perhaps a prayer for the dead. the second book of maccabees xii. shows that in the century before the christian era the jews were wont to pray for the departed. analysis exhortation to energy, the failure of friends, the fidelity of onesiphorus (i.). exhortation to endurance as christ's soldier, profane discussions to be shunned; the error of hymenseus and philetus; varieties of character like varieties of vessels; the way to become a vessel of honour (ii.). coming corruption, the creeping mischief-makers; timothy is reminded of st. paul's manner of life and of the value of scripture (iii.). exhortation to fidelity in ministerial work; the apostle's course drawing to an end, timothy urged to come; personal notes (iv.). [ ] this title seems to have been first applied to them in by wegscheider. [ ] cf. "according to my gospel" ( tim. ii. ; rom. ii. ); "the gospel of the glory" ( tim. i. ; cor. iv. ). the greek phrase for "give occasion to" ( tim. v. ) is found in cor. v. , and nowhere in the new testament except in st. paul. [ ] b. w. bacon, _introduction to the new testament_, p. . { } chapter xviii the epistle to the hebrews [sidenote: the author.] the question of the authorship of this epistle is one of the most fascinating problems raised by the criticism of the new testament. it does not in the least involve any charge of forgery, such as is involved in a consideration of st. john's gospel or of st. paul's epistle to the ephesians. nor does it involve the fact of an author absorbing the work of a previous writer, such as we find in the case of st. luke. the work is one complete and original composition of great finish and perfection, and yet this perfect work contains hardly a hint as to its author. the title which is placed above it in our bibles deserves serious consideration, as it represents an opinion which was held in many parts of christendom in the th century, and in some parts of christendom even in the nd century. but it by no means represents the universal judgment of the church, and is contradicted by good evidence, both external and internal. a remarkable divergence of opinion on the subject existed between the churches of the east and those of the west. alexandria appears to have been the first centre of the belief that this epistle was written by st. paul. we find that about a.d. , pantaenus, the head of the catechetical school at alexandria, attributed it to st. paul. his successor clement agrees with this, but states that it was written in hebrew and translated by st. luke into greek--a statement which implies that scholars were conscious that the style of hebrews is not { } the style ordinarily used by st. paul. in a.d. , origen, the successor of clement, defends the pauline authorship--a defence which shows that the authorship was disputed. in a.d. origen had learnt to doubt the validity of his former defence, and states that the writer was a disciple of paul, but "who wrote the epistle god only knows." in a.d. the famous heretic paul of samosata quoted hebrews as the work of st. paul in a letter read at the synod of antioch which deposed him from his bishopric. early in the next century eusebius quotes the epistle as by st. paul, but he shows the same perplexity as clement of alexandria, for he thinks that it was translated from the hebrew, possibly by clement of rome. after the time of eusebius the greek fathers all ascribe it to st. paul. we can therefore sum up the evidence of the greek churches by saying that though it mostly favours one theory, it is not so cogent as to remove all our suspicions. moreover, the complete absence of references to this epistle in the extant writings of irenaeus[ ] almost compels us to ask if the greek churches of southern gaul and asia minor regarded this epistle as pauline. irenaeus might naturally omit to quote a short and comparatively unimportant epistle, but his omission of a long epistle, well adapted to his arguments, inclines us to place him in a rank opposite to his contemporary, clement of alexandria. a greek writer of the th century actually says that irenaeus, in a passage now lost, denied that st. paul wrote the epistle.[ ] the latin churches of the west seem to have been for three centuries under the conviction that this epistle was not by st. paul. it is quoted by clement of rome, a.d. , a fact which { } alone is sufficient to prove its early date and its sacred character. but clement makes no statement as to its authorship. caius of rome, a.d. , excludes it from the list of st. paul's epistles, and the same hesitation with regard to it existed in the great latin-speaking church of carthage. st. cyprian, a.d. , does not include hebrews among st. paul's epistles. no latin father attributes it to st. paul before hilary of poictiers in a.d. , and hilary was in close contact with the east. at the end of the th century st. jerome shows distinct hesitation in attributing it to st. paul, and it was not commonly attributed to him in the west until the time of st. augustine, who died in . internal evidence agrees with the external evidence in making it very difficult for us to believe that st. paul wrote hebrews. ( ) the greek is more elegant than that of st. paul's epistles. the styles are widely different. that of st. paul is abrupt and vehement like a mountain-torrent, that of hebrews is calm and smooth like a river running through a meadow. ( ) the quotations are very unlike st. paul's. they are all from the greek version of the old testament, with the exception of that in x. , which occurs in the same form in rom. xii. . it had probably taken this shape in popular use. the quotations are introduced by phrases such as "god saith," or "the holy spirit saith." but st. paul often shows a knowledge of the hebrew when he makes quotations, and he uses such phrases as "it is written," or "the scripture saith," or "moses saith." ( ) there is no salutation such as is usual in st. paul's epistles. ( ) in hebrews the incarnate son is called "jesus," or "christ," or "the lord." in st. paul's epistles we find fuller titles employed, such as "our lord jesus christ." ( ) the theological differences are important. the teaching of the author harmonizes with that of st. paul, but throughout the epistle we feel that the truths of christianity are being expounded to us by one whose personal history is different { } from that of st. paul. the author starts from the fact of the perfection of christ's sacrifice, and in his doctrine about the law he looks at it from that fact. st. paul, on the other hand, starts from the doctrine of justification by faith, and looks at the law from the point of that doctrine. again, the author takes a general view of faith as heroic belief in unseen facts; while st. paul, though he sometimes does the same, prefers to use the word "faith" in the sense of devoted, personal, adhesion to christ. ( ) in ii. , the author seems to imply that he had not personally seen the lord. many conjectures have been made as to the real author. few of these conjectures deserve serious consideration. luther suggested apollos, and the suggestion has been accepted by many writers. in favour of it are: ( ) he was a friend of st. paul; ( ) he was "mighty in the scriptures," and hebrews deals with the old testament in a masterly way; ( ) he was an alexandrian jew, and hebrews was plainly written by a jew, and apparently by one acquainted with philo and other alexandrian authors.[ ] against this theory is the complete absence of traditional support, and the fact that apollos was taught by aquila and priscilla, whereas the author of hebrews implies that he was taught by a personal disciple of christ. on the whole, _st. barnabas_ seems to have the best claim. tertullian not only speaks of it as the work of barnabas, but also shows by his words that the church of north africa regarded it as his work.[ ] he is not, therefore, making a conjecture, but assuming a tradition. his evidence is the more valuable, because the church of north africa was important and was in close contact with rome, where the epistle was venerated at least as early as a.d. . in favour { } of the tradition we can note: ( ) st. barnabas was an influential companion of st. paul; ( ) he was a levite, and would be interested in levitical worship; ( ) he was a native of cyprus, which was in close communication with alexandria; ( ) he had been in the regions to which the epistle was probably addressed. against the theory that st. barnabas was the author, it is said that the author makes surprising errors with regard to the temple ritual, which st. barnabas was not likely to do. the so-called "errors" are: (a) the high priest sacrificing _daily_ (vii. ; x. )--but the high priest was free to do this; (b) the pot of manna and aaron's rod placed _in the ark_ (ix. ), though not so described in kings viii. --but in the tabernacle they were at least close to the ark (exod. xvi. ; numb. xvii. ); (c) the altar of incense is said to belong to the _holiest place_ (ix. )--but it did belong to it in the sense of sanctifying the approach to it, though it was placed outside it: see kings vi. . no one can reasonably say that these statements are of such a nature as to prove that the epistle was not written by a levite. [sidenote: to whom written.] the title says "to the hebrews." the character of the epistle suggests this. it was plainly written for jewish christians, and apparently for some particular community of them (v. , ; vi. , ; x. - ; xiii. , , , ). which community, it is difficult to say. the jewish christians of rome have been suggested, and in support of this the reference to italian christians (xiii. ) has been quoted. it is a strange fact that this theory about the destination of the epistle is favoured by some critics who assign it to a late date. for if it was really written to rome, the date must be early. it is almost inconceivable that the author should have said, "ye have not yet resisted unto blood," to the christians of _rome_ after the persecution of a.d. - . some town in syria or palestine is more likely than rome, and antioch seems a probable destination for the epistle. the community must have been { } familiar with greek, and at the same time must have been under strong temptations to relapse into judaism. they had for the sake of christ left the warm social life of judaism. they felt isolated and depressed. the splendour of the temple worship and the zeal of jewish patriotism were luring them back to their old religion. they felt that they had perhaps deserted a magnificent reality for a shadowy hope. such circumstances fit with the theory that the community dwelt in palestine or syria, and the same theory is supported by the fact that these christians had been converted long ago (v. ), and had heard the apostles (ii. ). [sidenote: where and when written.] probably from italy, as shown by xiii. . the date may be put about a.d. . a generation of christians had passed away (xiii. ). the doom of jerusalem was approaching (x. ; viii. ; xiii. ). the frequent reference to the levitical worship, as exerting an attractive force, must imply that the temple was still standing. the epistle must therefore be earlier than . it is true that the references to the levitical worship are sometimes more appropriate to the ancient tabernacle than to the temple, and this fact is urged by those who maintain that the temple was already destroyed when the epistle was written. but this is no answer to the fact that the jewish worship is throughout assumed to be in existence. the author is not opposing the propaganda of jewish rabbis or the attractions of synagogues which were connected with the temple by tradition only. he is opposing a great living system with its priesthood and its ritual. and in order to criticize judaism he deals with the _tabernacle_, concerning which the old testament gave definite directions. this was a more effective method than discussing the temple which superseded the tabernacle. [sidenote: character and contents.] hebrews is marked by a complete unity of argument. though the thread of the argument is sometimes dropped for the sake of practical exhortation, it is soon resumed and logically carried on. { } christ as the son of god is a manifestation of god superior to all other manifestations. he is far above the prophets, and above the angels, who neither created the material world nor have the "world to come" subject unto them. he towers above moses, who was only a servant and a stone in the house of god, for he is the son, and built the house. he is above joshua; for he has won a rest for the people of god, of which the rest of canaan was a mere type. neither under joshua nor under david did the people of god reach the ideal sabbath rest which god has promised (i.-iv. ). christ as high priest is above the aaronic priesthood, for he is "after the order of melchizedek" (ps. ex. ) (iv. -v. ). then the writer, before giving the full interpretation of christ's high priesthood, makes a digression to urge the need of greater spiritual insight on the part of his readers (v. -vi. ). they can be sure of god's blessing if they have faith and patience (vi. - ). the unique position of melchizedek is then expounded. in gen. xiv. nothing is said of melchizedek's descent or of his death. thus he stands forth in contrast to the levitical priests whose descent is described, and who die and are succeeded by others. he was also superior to those priests, because levi, in the person of his father abraham, paid tithes to melchizedek. since melchizedek's priesthood is superior to that of the levitical priests, much more is that of christ, of whom melchizedek, great as he was, is only a type. then the author shows that the rise of a new priesthood must imply the birth of a new religious system. christ "hath his priesthood unchangeable," but needs not to repeat his sacrifice (vii.). then the author shows that the new liturgy and the new sanctuary of the christian church are superior to the liturgy and the sanctuary of judaism. though christ's blood was shed only once, he retains the character of priest (viii. ); he hath "somewhat to offer," viz. himself in his sacred manhood in heaven. he thus acts as a mediator of the new covenant { } promised in the old testament (viii. - ). the tabernacle was only a temporary parable; christ acts as high priest in the holy of holies, the actual presence of god typified by the tabernacle; he has consecrated the new covenant between man and god by his own blood (ix.). the repetition of the levitical sacrifices proves their impotence. but that of christ is adequate. it is an offering of inherent value, being the offering of the will of christ, instead of the offering of unconscious beasts. and we need no other atonement, for his unique offering has a perpetual value (x. - ). the writer then proceeds to insist upon the appropriation and application of the truths which he has expounded. it is our privilege to have full confidence, and our duty to assemble for worship: apostasy is most serious (x. - ). the writer next describes the nature of faith, which is a faculty which makes the future as if it were present, and the unseen as if it were visible. it is illustrated by a magnificent roll-call of heroes from abel to the incarnation. these heroes, who saw both worlds, and realized how petty the material world is compared with the spiritual, had real insight (xi.). emulate their example, enduring persecution, knowing that our mount zion is superior to sinai, and our coming to church a reunion with angels and saints (xii.). the epistle closes with a practical exhortation concerning brotherly love, hospitality, prisoners, marriage, and contentment. the ministers who had formerly had rule over the readers are to be remembered. we are not to be unsettled by strange teachings. "we have an altar" of which the jewish priests may not partake. our sin offering, jesus, is given to us as food. we must go to him outside the camp of judaism. after an injunction to obey the clergy and a request for prayers, the epistle concludes. just before the end it is stated that "our brother timothy hath been set at liberty" (xiii.). the whole epistle is peculiarly dignified, eloquent, and { } persuasive, and its elegant greek and delicate alexandrian philosophy make it a literary treasure. we may conclude with some further remarks on the writer's doctrine of christ's person and of the jewish law. knowing that these christians were in danger of drifting away from christ, the writer calls their special attention to his person, in order that they may carefully consider who he is before deciding to part from him. the doctrine corresponds most exactly with that which we find in colossians and in john. it is declared in the most positive manner that christ is essentially divine. he reflects his father's glory, is the expression of his essence, and the sustainer of the universe (i. ). he is the god whose throne is eternal, and the lord who made the earth (i. , ). yet he became "a little lower than the angels" (ii. ), and, though entirely sinless, he was so truly human as to become the pattern of obedience (x. ), humility (v. ), reverent piety (v. ), and fidelity (iii. ). by the discipline of suffering he was made perfect for his redeeming work (v. , ). it is made evident that this process of perfection did not consist in the diminution of sin, but in the development of goodness. nowhere do we find a more profound view of suffering and virtue, or a more pathetic delineation of the character of jesus. it has already been hinted that the author regards the jewish law differently from st. paul. the latter had lived under the goad of a pharisaic interpretation of the law of moses, which laid down so many regulations as to what ought to be done, and gave so little assistance towards doing it, that escape from such a system was like an escape from penal servitude. when he speaks of the law, he regards it primarily as a system of stern moral requirements. but the author of hebrews regards the law as primarily a system of worship. he implies that it was in some sense a "good tidings" (iv. ). he teaches that the law was a "shadow" of those real "good things" which constitute the world of truth in heaven, while the gospel is the { } "image" or adequate representation of those holy realities. the law is therefore a rough unsubstantial outline of truth, while the gospel is exact and solid. both writers regard the law as divine in origin, and both regard it as insufficient and rudimentary (vii. ; cf. gal. iv. , ). but st. paul thinks of the law as weak "through the flesh," _unable to overcome_ the resistance which it encounters from man's lower instincts, while the author of hebrews thinks of it as _unable to cleanse and make perfect_ the human conscience. analysis the subject of the epistle: christianity as the final religion. the contrast of the old revelation and the new in method, time, and messengers; the divine personality and incarnation of the son (i. - ). a. the superiority of the son, the mediator of the new revelation, to the angels, and to the human founders of the jewish polity: i. -iv. . a. scripture shows the son to be above the angels (i. - ). b. the danger of rejecting the son's revelation (ii. - ). c. the son of man through suffering fulfils the high destiny of mankind (ii. - ). d. the dignity of jesus is far above that of moses, he is the maker and son, moses represents the house in which he is a servant (iii. - ). e. faith is necessary if we would enter the promised land of rest (iii. - ). f. encouragement as well as warning can be based on the failure of the israelites. under joshua they did not reach their rest. the promise of it remains for us (iv. - ). { } b. the high-priesthood of christ, superior to that of aaron's line, universal and royal: iv. -vii. . a. transition to the doctrine of christ's high priesthood (iv. - ). b. the characteristics of a high priest, human sympathy and divine appointment, fulfilled in christ (v. - ). c. a digression to urge the readers to advance; the writer's hope for the hebrews, god's blessing is assured (v. -vi. ). d. the characteristics of christ, as perfect and universal high priest, shadowed forth by melchizedek (vii.). c. the liturgy and sanctuary of christ superior to those of judaism: viii. i-x. . a. christ offers sacrifice in heaven (viii. - ). b. thus he maintains the new covenant between god and man promised in the old testament (viii. - ). c. the sanctuary and priests of the old covenant (ix. - ). d. fuller explanation of the atoning work of christ under the new covenant (ix. - ). e. the inadequacy of the old sacrifices, the abiding efficacy of christ's one sacrifice (x. - ). d. the appropriation and application of the above truths: x. -xiii. . a. the privilege of entering the holy place with confidence, the duty of public worship (x. - ). b. the past triumphs of heroes of the faith (xi.). c. exhortation to energy, endurance, fidelity to our mount zion and its divine utterances (xii.). d. detailed instructions (xiii.). [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ v. , says that irenaeus "mentions the epistle to the hebrews and the so-called wisdom of solomon, comparing certain expressions from them." eusebius does not say that irenaeus attributed it to st. paul. we can compare words in heb. i. with wisd. vii. ; heb. i. with wisd. xvi. ; heb. xii. with wisd. xii. ; heb. xiii. with wisd. ii. . [ ] stephen gobar, in a passage preserved by photius, cod. . [ ] the word "effulgence" (heb. i. ) is a favourite word with philo. the interpretation of "king of salem" as "king of peace" (heb. vii. ) occurs in philo, and heb. xiii. has a quotation from josh. i. exactly resembling in form a quotation in philo, _de conf. ling._, . [ ] _de pudic_, . { } chapter xix the catholic epistles the new testament contains seven letters known as "catholic," viz. that of james, and peter, , , and john, and that of jude. these letters were added to the canon of the new testament later than the rest of its contents. in ancient manuscripts, versions, and catalogues their position in the new testament varies, and for a long time they were often placed between acts and st. paul's epistles. peter and john were the first to be universally received. about a.d. all seven were known and received in the greek churches, but nearly as late as a.d. the syrian church was unacquainted with any of them except james. after this the syrian church adopted peter and john, and finally the whole seven. this fact with regard to the syrian church is of peculiar importance. it shows us that we must take care not to argue that an epistle is probably a forgery because an important christian community was unacquainted with it at a comparatively late date. for the evidence for the genuineness of peter and john is even stronger than the evidence for the genuineness of james. yet at a time when the best greek critics were entirely satisfied as to the genuineness of peter and john, the syrians did not recognize them. the only reasonable explanation of this is the simplest explanation, namely, that some epistles were translated at a later date than others. among syrian writers we find two distinct tendencies. writers who were entirely at home with greek literature, and in communion with the orthodox greek church, like st. ephraim or st. john of damascus, used the same catholic { } epistles as the christians of alexandria or jerusalem. on the other hand, christians who were cut off by schism from the main body of christendom continued for centuries to use exactly the same canon of scripture as that which had been employed by their ancestors before the schism. thus ebed jesu, metropolitan of nisibis, and the last prelate of the nestorian sect who wrote important works in syriac, died in a.d. . but we find that he only uses the three catholic epistles contained in the peshitta syriac version of the new testament, probably completed soon after a.d. . if we pass from the extreme east to the extreme west of ancient christendom, we find ourselves confronted with similar but not identical facts. we find that a superior degree of authority was allowed to belong to peter and john. there can be no doubt that in all the great centres of christian life outside syria these two epistles were in the canon by the year . the _muratorian fragment_, written in italy about a.d. , mentions two epistles of st. john and that of st. jude. it contains no mention of peter, but there are grounds for believing that there was a reference to it in the lost portion which was devoted to mark. it contains no mention of james, though that epistle seems to be quoted in the _shepherd_ of hermas, written at rome about a.d. . it was long before james was universally regarded as part of the canon. it is quoted as scripture by origen of alexandria early in the rd century, but a hundred years later eusebius says that it was disputed by a minority. it is accepted by eusebius himself. the very private character of and john accounts for the slowness with which they won acceptance as part of the word of god, yet john is backed by the high authority of irenaeus, and both epistles are obviously the work of the same author. the second epistle which bears the name of st. peter is connected with peculiar difficulties, and possesses less evidence in its favour than any of the other catholic epistles. we cannot do better than quote the admirable words in { } which dr. sanday has sketched the adventures of such books. "an epistle lodged in the archives of a great and cultured church like the church of rome would be one thing, and an epistle straying about among the smaller communities of bithynia or pontus would be another; while an epistle written to an individual like the gaius of st. john would have worse chances still. there were busy, careless, neglectful, and unmethodical people in those days as well as now; and we can easily imagine one of these precious rolls found with glad surprise, covered with dust in some forgotten hiding-place, and brought out to the view of a generation which had learnt to be more careful of its treasures. but even then, once off the main roads, circulation was not rapid; an obscure provincial church might take some time in making its voice heard, and the authorities at headquarters might receive the reported discovery with suspicion. they might, or they might not, as it happened." [ ] but by degrees the customs of the different churches were levelled. before the end of the th century all the catholic epistles were accepted as canonical in europe, and in a large part of the christian world which lay beyond europe. this leads us to inquire why these epistles bear the name of catholic. the answer seems to be that the name catholic or general was given to the more important of the seven, because they were addressed to the church universal, or to groups of churches, and not to individuals or to single churches. the words catholic epistles therefore signify circular or encyclical letters. origen gives the name of catholic to peter, john, and jude. by the th century the name was applied to all the seven. there can be little doubt that and john are not catholic in the sense of being circular or encyclical. but they were numbered with the others for the sake of convenience, being naturally associated with the first and more important letter by st. john. { } the following table gives an idea of the gradual incorporation of the catholic epistles into the canon. an * denotes a direct quotation or the expression of almost no doubt; a ? notes that the writer is aware of decided doubts, a () marks an uncertain reference. j p p a e e j j j j m t t o o o u e e e h h h d s r r n n n e i. councils-- laodicea, a.d. . . . . . . . * * * * * * * rome, a.d. . . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * carthage, a.d. . . . . . . . * * * * * * * ii. eastern lists-- (a) _syria._ ephraim, a.d. . . . . . * * * * * * * chrysostom, a.d. . . . . * * * peshitta version, ? a.d. * * * junilius, a.d. . . . . . ? * ? * ? ? ? john of damascus, a.d. * * * * * * * ebed jesu, a.d. . . . . * * * (b) _palestine._ eusebius, a.d. . . . . . ? * ? * ? ? ? cyril, a.d. . . . . . . * * * * * * * (c) _alexandria._ clement, a.d. . . . . . * * * * origen, a.d. . . . . . . * * ? * ? ? * athanasius, a.d. . . . . * * * * * * * (d) _asia minor._ polycarp, a.d. . . . . . * * amphilochius, a.d. . . . * * ? * ? ? ? gregory nazianzen, a.d. * * * * * * * iii. western lists-- (a) _italy._ muratorian, a.d. . . . . * * * hippolytus, a.d. . . . . * ( ) * (b) _gaul._ irenaeus, a.d. . . . . . * * * (c) _roman africa._ tertullian, a.d. . . . . * * * [ ] _inspiration_, p. . { } chapter xx the general epistle of james [sidenote: the author] in the th century this epistle was reckoned among the authentic documents of the apostolic period. it does not seem to have been universally known in the church at an earlier period. it is not in the _muratorian fragment_. but it is plainly quoted by irenaeus, though he does not mention the author's name. the same is true with regard to the _shepherd_ of hermas, which was written at rome about a.d. . justin martyr quotes the words "the devils shudder" (james ii. , _trypho_, ). polycarp seems to quote james i. , and peter seems to show traces of its influence. the first writer who both quotes it and mentions the author is origen. it opens with the name of "james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ." there can be no reasonable doubt that this is james "the lord's brother." james the son of zebedee was killed as early as a.d. , before which date it is unlikely that the epistle was written. we have no reason to attribute the epistle to the apostle james "the little." he does not seem to have been of sufficient prominence to write an authoritative letter "to the twelve tribes which are of the dispersion." but such an action would have been exceedingly natural on the part of a saint who was bishop of "the mother of churches," jerusalem itself. it will be convenient to postpone the consideration of such evidence as we possess for the foregoing conclusion until we have discussed the exact relation of st. james to our lord. { } three important theories must be mentioned as offering a solution of the difficult problem as to this relationship-- (a) that james, joses, simon, and jude, mentioned in the gospels as the "brethren" of our lord, were his first cousins on his mother's side. (b) that they were the children of joseph and mary. (c) that they were the children of joseph by a former wife. the theory of st. jerome (a) may be perhaps discarded without any further comment than that st. jerome apparently invented it, that he claimed no traditional sanction for it, he did not hold it consistently himself in his later writings, and it is very difficult to reconcile it with scripture. the theory of helvidius (b), which called forth st. jerome's attempted refutation, answers some verbal requirements of the gospel narrative, and has found some skilful modern advocates. but with the possible exception of tertullian, no christian seems to have held it before helvidius, and the theory that mary had other children besides jesus gave a profound shock to christian sentiment. no argument can be brought against (c), the theory defended, though not originated, by st. epiphanius, that the brethren of our lord were children of st. joseph by a former wife. it is in keeping with the strong tradition which maintained the perpetual virginity of the blessed virgin; it helps to explain the attitude of unbelief recorded in the gospels of christ's brethren, and at the same time requires no distortion of the literalness of the passages in which they are mentioned. there is hardly sufficient evidence to show that first cousins were ever called "brethren." but it would have been quite natural for those who called st. joseph "the father of jesus" to call st. joseph's sons "the brothers of jesus." and again, the supposition that the blessed virgin had no other son, seems strongly supported by the fact that at the crucifixion our lord commended her to his beloved disciple, and not to one of st. joseph's family. { } this theory of st. epiphanius is much older than the th century. it is sometimes urged against it that origen derived it from the apocryphal gospels of the nd century, and that its popularity in the church was owing to origen's influence. but though the apocryphal gospels often contained fictions, we cannot argue that everything in them is fictitious. the tradition agrees with the words of scripture, and gains support from some fragments of hegesippus, a cultured palestinian christian, born about a.d. . he states directly that symeon, the second bishop of jerusalem, was the _cousin_ of our lord, because son of clopas who was the brother of joseph. he also calls james "the brother of the lord," and in another passage speaks of jude as "called brother" of the lord. he therefore plainly distinguishes the cousins from the so-called "brethren." we then get the following genealogy:-- jacob | +--------------------+--------------------+ | | joseph == mary clopas (or alphaeus) | | | | | +------+------+ +-- james jesus | | | +-- joses james joses symeon +-- jude (the little) +-- simon +-- sisters we conclude, therefore, that st. james was the son of st. joseph. the writer of the epistle frequently colours his sentences with words from the old testament, and assumes a knowledge of it among his readers. he makes no allusion to the gentiles. he writes in a tone of authority and without any self-advertisement. he briefly uses for illustration certain natural phenomena which would be familiar to the people of palestine, such as allusions to "the early and latter rain" (v. ), the effect on vegetation of the burning wind (i. ), the existence of salt or bitter springs (iii. ), the cultivation { } of figs and olives (iii. ), and the neighbourhood of the sea (i. ; iii. ). from such a cursory view of the character of this epistle, it would seem reasonable to admit that it was written by a palestinian jewish christian for the edification of christians of the same race and locality. we get the same impression when we study what is said by the writer about the readers. he speaks as though they had been under a law of bondage, but are now under a law of liberty (i. ; ii. ). they are in touch with men who are unbelievers, who blaspheme christ and persecute christians (ii. , ). the believers are mostly poor (ii. ); the few rich who are christians are in danger of falling away through covetousness and pride (iv. - , - ). the rich appear as oppressors, who luxuriously "nourish their hearts in a day of slaughter," and had even "killed the righteous" (v. , ). the church is ruled by "elders" (v. ) like the jewish synagogues, and the christian "synagogue" is occasionally frequented by rich strangers (ii. ). all this is well suited to the conditions of christian life in palestine. and it is difficult to find any locality equally appropriate. even as late as the first part of the nd century rich gentiles were reluctant to persecute christians, and to describe them as blaspheming the name of christ at any time within or near the apostolic age would be almost impossible. they regarded christianity with good-natured contempt, not with blasphemous hostility. we have only to read acts to see that among the gentiles it was the poor and ignorant rather than the rich who began the persecution of the christians. on the other hand, if we turn to the jews, we find that the rich were the leaders of persecution. it was the wealthy sadducee party in union with the influential pharisees which harried the church. the gospels and acts give repeated evidence on this point, and the evidence of the jewish historian josephus supplies the keystone of that evidence. against the palestinian origin of the epistle it is urged that { } the greek is too correct and rhetorical. the style is vivacious and forcible. it contains many rather unusual greek words, including six which are neither in the septuagint version of the old testament nor in the rest of the new testament, a long list of words which are found in the septuagint and not in the new testament, and seven rare classical or late greek words. the whole question of the style of the epistle requires the most delicate handling. but the style is distinctly unfavourable to the theory that the epistle was written at a late date in a centre of gentile christianity. the greek is neither the flowing greek of a greek, nor the rough provincial greek which st. paul spoke and wrote. it is slow and careful, with short sentences linked by repetitions. one epithet is piled effectively on another (_e.g._ iii. , ), and abstract statements are avoided. galilee was studded with greek towns, and in jerusalem greek was well known. the epistle might well have been written by a jew of palestine who had made a good use of his opportunities. and the introduction of some rare words in the midst of a simple moral exhortation is by no means a proof of complete mastery over greek. it points, not to a mastery over the language, but to a painstaking familiarity with it. these facts seem compatible with the few details which we know about st. james. their full significance can only be appreciated when we know the difficulties which have beset the commentators who assign to the epistle a date outside his lifetime. before considering the question of the date more minutely, we may collect together some points of interest connected with st. james. st. james, like the other "brethren" of our lord, watched the development of our lord's career, but was unconvinced of the truth of his mission. after the resurrection, our lord, st. paul tells us, "was seen of james." perhaps this was the turning-point of his life, he, like st. thomas, "saw and { } believed." the gospel according to the hebrews, one of the oldest of the apocryphal gospels, says that our lord, after his resurrection, "went to james and appeared to him--for james had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he drank the cup of the lord, until he saw him rising from the dead;--and again after a little while. 'bring hither, saith the lord, a table and bread.'" . . . "he brought bread, and blessed and brake it, and gave it to james the just, and said unto him, 'my brother, eat thy bread, for the son of man hath risen from the dead.'" there are other versions of the story which make the vow to be taken after the death of christ. in spite of some absurdities in this apocryphal gospel, it is possible that the legend is true, and that the sublime death of the redeemer began to effect the repentance of his brother. however this may be, before pentecost, a.d. , we find him joined to the christian community at jerusalem, where he afterwards attained a foremost position. in gal. i. we find that st. paul visited st. james and st. peter at jerusalem. in acts xii. st. peter, on escaping from prison in a.d. , desires that news of his escape should be taken to st. james. in gal. ii. st. paul speaks of "james and cephas and john" as pillars of the church at jerusalem. from acts xv. we find that at this time, a.d. , st. james acted as president of the council which determined how far the gentile christians need conform to the customs of the jews. it is remarkable that the speech of st. james in acts xv. and the circular despatched from the council show several coincidences of style with the epistle. if these coincidences are due to forgery, the forger has certainly used consummate self-restraint and skill. again, when st. paul paid his last visit to jerusalem, in a.d. , and the jews accused him of advocating the abandonment of the law of moses and "the customs," it is st. james and his presbyters who advise him to go up to the temple and purify himself with four nazirites, and so reassure the "myriads" of christian jews who were zealous for the law. { } once more we cannot help observing how well this anxiety of st. james agrees with the very cautious tone of the epistle with regard to distinctively christian doctrine. the end of st. james is recorded by hegesippus and by josephus. hegesippus represents him living as a strict nazirite, always frequenting the temple, with knees as hard as a camel's because of his perpetual prayers.[ ] he tells us that st. james was thrown from a pinnacle of the temple, stoned, and clubbed to death at the order of the scribes and pharisees for asserting that jesus was on the right hand of god. from josephus we learn that his martyrdom took place when a vacancy in the procuratorship caused by the death of festus (in a.d. ) gave the sadducees the opportunity which they desired. he was dragged before the sanhedrim, condemned and stoned. josephus also gives us to understand that the more moderate jews were not in sympathy with such a thoroughly unconstitutional proceeding, and that agrippa deprived ananus, the high priest, of his office for invading the rights of the civil power. [sidenote: to whom written.] "the twelve tribes of the dispersion." we might suppose that the writer had in his mind all the jews who were dispersed throughout the world, but came to jerusalem to offer sacrifice when they were able, and who were all bound by the religious obligation to pay the yearly tribute to the temple. there had been several dispersions in the history of the chosen people, to assyria under shalmaneser, to babylon and egypt in the time of nebuchadnezzar, and to rome under pompeius. but ch. ii. shows that the epistle was written to men who acknowledged jesus as lord. it is therefore natural to think that it was written only to men who were both christians and of jewish origin. but there is another interpretation of the phrase "the twelve tribes." some think that it is merely a symbolical name for the christian church composed both of jews and gentiles, and { } forming the new and spiritual israel. strong arguments have been brought forward in favour of each of these views, but the former seems to be the sounder. the argument that the jews at this period could not have been called "twelve" tribes when only two had returned from the captivity, is disproved by the fact that the phrase is unquestionably used in this meaning in acts xxvi. . we must frankly admit that st. paul speaks of the gentile christians as forming part of the new israel of god, but he never alludes to them as part of twelve tribes. in rev. vii. the twelve tribes still mean christian jews in contrast with the "great multitude" of redeemed gentiles. justin martyr speaks of "your twelve tribes" in addressing trypho[ ] the jew, and several instances are to be found in early christian literature where the words are used in this literal sense. we may therefore rest content with this literal meaning. but we must maintain it with reserve in view of the fact that st. peter applies the word "dispersion" to the new and ideal israel. and we must beware of arguing that the word "synagogue" (ii. ) proves that the readers were necessarily jews. the word "synagogue" was for a long time occasionally applied to the gentile christian congregations, as we find in the _shepherd_ of hermas[ ] (a.d. ) and theophilus[ ] (a.d. ). [sidenote: when and where written.] we have already seen that palestine is the most likely place, and as st. james lived at jerusalem, the epistle was probably written there. the date has always been a hopeless problem to those who reject the authenticity of the epistle. that it was written by a heretic in palestine about a.d. , or by a catholic at rome about a.d. , or that it represents a "catholicized paulinism" of a.d. , or that it is a patchwork of homilies written soon after a.d. , are guesses which have been made but not substantiated. the fact that it was written before a.d. is { } self-evident if we admit that it was written by st. james. but it is also corroborated by the fact that peter, written about a.d. , seems to show a knowledge of this epistle. far more complicated is the question as to whether st. james shows any knowledge of st. paul's epistles. he insists so pointedly on the need of being justified _by works_ that some writers have thought that he is attacking st. paul's doctrine of justification _by faith_. the idea must be dismissed. such a masterly writer would not have attacked what an apostle did not really hold. st. james, in attacking a theory of justification by faith, is condemning a faith which means only orthodox intellectual assent. st. paul, in defending his doctrine of justification by faith, is upholding a faith which implies energetic and loving service. the two doctrines simply supplement one another. when luther called the epistle to the galatians his "wife" and called the epistle of st. james an "epistle of straw," he simply showed that he understood neither. st. james is not only not criticizing st. paul; he is perhaps not even criticizing a popular perversion of st. paul's doctrine. the question of the justification of abraham was a favourite subject of discussion among the jews, and the teaching of our lord had shown the superiority of a living faith over dead works. there is no difficulty in supposing that some jewish believers were confused with regard to these great matters before they had read a word of st. paul's letters. and to such men the epistle of st. james might be of the highest value. in spite of this, there often seems to be a verbal connection between this epistle and those of st. paul. the connection is admitted by critics of the most different schools. moreover, some are of opinion that there is a connection between james and the epistle to the hebrews, ch. xi. these connections have been exaggerated, but they are hard to deny. now, if st. james had borrowed from any of these epistles, it would be very difficult for us to account for the extreme simplicity of his { } doctrine. on the other hand, there is no difficulty in the fact that they put his words in a more elaborate setting. and as st. paul's opponents declared that they were backed by st. james, we may be sure that st. paul would eagerly read anything written by st. james. we may therefore place this epistle earlier than st. paul's epistles to corinth and rome, and perhaps earlier than any of his extant epistles. it is sometimes objected to this that it is "grotesque" to suppose that st. james would have originated the practice of writing religious epistles. it is said that the practice must have been begun by an apostle of supreme originality, and one who travelled widely, therefore by st. paul. but we have no means of deciding the question. and as st. paul may have written epistles before he wrote those now extant, we may still hold that st. paul began the practice, and that this epistle is nevertheless older than the works of st. paul which we now possess. we can, therefore, see no good reason for denying that this epistle is as early as a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle is intensely practical, and though it is in no sense anti-doctrinal, it does not discuss doctrine. the evils against which it contends all concern conduct. the good which it recommends is persistent well-doing in accordance with the new moral law of christianity. the sole validity of the law of love (ii. ), the gift of a new birth by the word of truth, making us heirs of god (i. ; ii. ), the mention of the author's servitude to christ (i. ), and the ascription of divine power to his name (v. ), show conclusively that the writing is not, as some say, of jewish origin. the tone is austere, and the epistle contains no word of praise for the readers. a strong argument in favour of the genuineness of the epistle is furnished by the numerous parallels which it presents to the synoptic gospels. these parallels are not quotations from the gospels, but they show that the writer was saturated with the kind of teaching which the gospels record. the { } connection with the sermon on the mount as recorded by st. matthew is particularly plain. among the numerous proofs of this connection we must content ourselves with noticing the agreement as to the spiritual view of the law (jas. i. ; ii. , , ; matt. v. - ), the blessings of adversity (jas. i. , ; ii. ; v. , ; matt. v. - ), the dangers of wealth (jas. i. , ; ii. , ; iv. - ; v. - ; matt. vi. - , - ), the true nature of prayer (jas. i. - ; iv. ; v. - ; matt. vi. - ), the necessity of forgiving others (jas. ii. ; matt. vi. , ), the tree known by its fruits (jas. iii. , ; matt. vii. - ), the prohibition of oaths (jas. v. ; matt. v. - ), the judge before the door (jas. v. ; matt. xxiv. ). many other coincidences can be found. the "perfect law" upheld by st. james, a law both "free" and "royal," irresistibly reminds us of the legislation of the messianic king in our first gospel. in v. - we have a direction given with regard to the anointing of the sick by the presbyters of the church. this rite, perverted by the gnostics in the nd century, survived that perversion. the first full directions for it in a catholic document are in the prayers of bishop sarapion of thmuis in egypt, about a.d. . in the eastern church the oil used for this purpose may be consecrated by presbyters, contrary to the usual practice of the west, which requires it to be consecrated by a bishop. { } analysis salutation (i. ). human trial and the wisdom which enables us to profit by it, a warning against double-mindedness, christianity exalts the lowly, riches are transitory, trial brings blessing, trial due to lust is not a trial from god but from self, god is the source of all our good (i. - ). we must receive the divine word with humility and act upon it, kindness and purity are the best ceremonial (i. - ). christian behaviour towards rich and poor to be based on the royal law of love; violation of that law is a breach of god's command, which embraces motive as well as action (ii. - ). intellectual faith is no substitute for godly works, abraham and rahab were justified by works (ii. - ). the responsibility of teaching, the difficulty and importance of controlling the tongue (iii. - ). christian wisdom contrasted with the animal wisdom of faction (iii. - ). the cause of quarrelling is selfish desire, which infects even your prayers, the adultery of a soul which indulges in worldliness and pride, cease from finding fault, worldliness is shown in business plans made without reference to god (iv.). luxurious wealth denounced, it is the rich who have persecuted the righteous, patience is commended (v. - ). swear not, prayer and praise, the anointing of the sick with prayer, mutual confession of sins and prayer, the blessing on those who convert a sinner (v. - ). [ ] quoted by eusebius, _h. e._ ii. . [ ] _trypho._ . [ ] _mand._ xi. . [ ] _ad autol._ i. . { } chapter xxi the first epistle general of peter [sidenote: the author.] the author describes himself as "peter, an apostle of jesus christ" (i. ). few books of the new testament are so well attested as this epistle. the external evidence for its authenticity is strong, and stronger than that for any other catholic epistle except john. it seems to be quoted in _didaché_, i. . the letter of polycarp written about a.d. shows a complete familiarity with peter. he evidently regarded it as a letter of the highest authority. his contemporary papias was acquainted with it, and so far as we can determine from eusebius, he referred to it directly as the work of st. peter. the epistle of barnabas, the date of which is uncertain, but which is probably as old as a.d. or even older, quotes pet. ii. . again, it seems certain that the epistle is quoted, though not by name, in the epistle of clement of rome, a.d. . it is quite unnecessary for us to point to important references in writers of the latter part of the nd century and onwards. an epistle which has the triple support of clement, polycarp, and papias is, so far as external evidence is concerned, beyond the reach of any sober criticism. the apostle was first called "simon, the son of john" (according to the correct reading in john xxi. , , ), and was a fisherman of bethsaida. he was brought to jesus by his brother andrew, and, like him, had been a disciple of john the baptist. our lord at once discerned his capacity, and gave { } him the surname of cephas (aramaic) or peter (greek), signifying a rock or stone. peter was the first disciple to confess the messiahship of our lord, and was rewarded by the promise of the keys of the kingdom of heaven (matt. xvi. - ). with john and james he was admitted to a peculiarly close relationship with jesus (mark v. ; matt. xvii. ; xxvi. ; cf. mark iii. , ). he thrice denied that he was a disciple of jesus on the night when jesus was tried and condemned. he bitterly repented, and on the third day after the crucifixion he, again in the company of john, hastened to the sepulchre and found it empty. he was permitted several times to see the risen lord, who cancelled his threefold denial by graciously drawing from him a threefold confession of his love, and commanded him to feed his lambs and his sheep. our lord also predicted his martyrdom (john xx. and xxi.; luke xxiv. , ; cor. xv. ). in acts st. peter appears as the leader of the church. at the election of matthias in place of judas, at the descent of the holy ghost at pentecost, at the admission of the gentiles in the person of cornelius and his family to the privileges of the new covenant, at the emancipation of the gentile christians from the jewish ceremonial law at the council of jerusalem, st. peter is foremost (acts i. - ; ii. - ; x.; xv. - ). soon after the council st. peter was at antioch, and weakly "dissembled" by disguising his belief in the truth that the gentile christians were on the same spiritual level as the jewish christians. he was rebuked by st. paul (gal. ii. - ). he does not seem to have laboured in rome until near the end of his life. the roman tradition that he was bishop of that city for twenty-five years is almost certainly a legend, based on the fact that twenty-five years elapsed between the year when the apostles were believed to have temporarily left jerusalem (twelve years after the crucifixion) and the date of his martyrdom. there is, however, no ground for disputing the fact that { } he died at rome during the neronian persecution. there are several reasons for thinking that he survived st. paul for a short period, though st. augustine asserts that he was martyred before st. paul. he was crucified near the middle of the circus of nero, on a spot afterwards marked by a "chapel of the crucifixion." he was buried nigh at hand. his tomb, probably in the form of a _cella_ or open apse, is mentioned by caius of rome about a.d. . a huge basilica was built over it by the emperor constantine, and remained until it was replaced in the th century by the present st. peter's. in spite of his unique position, st. peter in pet. v. speaks of himself as a "presbyter," as st. john does in john and john (compare also tim. iv. , where st. paul reckons himself as a member of the "presbytery"). at this period, and for many years later, the word "presbyter" was vague enough to be applied to the highest officers of the church. the internal evidence afforded by the epistle is in harmony with st. peter's experience. ( ) the writer claims to have been "a witness of the sufferings of christ" (v. ), and contrasts himself and his readers in saying (i. ), "whom not having seen ye love." ( ) he lays stress upon the pastoral aspect of our lord's work (ii. ; v. - ), as though writing under a sense of the special pastoral charge given to him by our lord. ( ) his injunction, "all of you gird yourselves with humility"--literally, "put on humility like a slave's apron"--seems to be a reminiscence of the action of our lord that astonished st. peter when "he took a towel and girded himself" at the last supper. ( ) there are points of resemblance between the epistle and the speeches delivered by st. peter in acts. ( ) the appeal to old testament predictions of christ's sufferings ( pet. i. ; acts iii. ), the reference to the stone that was rejected by the builders ( pet. ii. , ; acts iv. ), the description of the cross as the "tree" ( pet. ii. ; acts v. ), are coincidences which suggest a common authorship while they seem too small to be designed. ( ) the graphic and { } pictorial style of the epistle bears resemblance to the style of mark, which is based on st. peter's preaching. we may mention the word "put to silence" (ii. )--literally, "muzzle"--which st. mark (i. ; iv. ) applies to the subduing of an unclean spirit and the stilling of a rough sea. against the authenticity of the epistle it is sometimes said that it is improbable that st. peter, whose mission was to the jews, would address churches in which st. paul had laboured, and which were largely composed of gentiles. but in no case could such action on the part of st. peter be thought incredible. and if st. peter survived st. paul, as he very probably did, it would be particularly fitting for him to write to them after st. paul's martyrdom. many critics have been inclined to pronounce the epistle spurious on the ground that it seems to be so strongly influenced by st. paul's teaching as to represent st. paul's own school of thought. we find, as in st. paul's writings, the phrase "in christ" (iii. ; v. , ), and the second advent of christ called by the name "revelation" (i. , ; iv. ). moreover, there are numerous verses which can be compared with verses in st. paul's epistles, particularly in romans and ephesians.[ ] we must not fail to notice in passing, that if this epistle, which manifestly belongs to the st century, does actually quote ephesians, as some affirm, the authenticity of ephesians is thereby very strongly corroborated. but in any case the similarity between the epistle and st. paul's writings cannot be reasonably urged against its genuineness. the once popular theory that st. paul held a fundamentally different conception of christianity from that held by st. peter has completely broken down. there is not a shred of evidence for believing that the semi-christian jews who lived in palestine in the nd century represented st. peter's { } type of christianity, or that the teaching of st. peter excluded the deep teaching of st. paul. he was susceptible to external influences, and he may have caught the tone of st. paul while living in a community which st. paul had so profoundly influenced. this tone seems to mark peter. but a further point must be mentioned in this connection. modern writers have too readily adopted the habit of labelling certain expressions and doctrines as pauline and assuming that st. paul _originated_ them. no doubt the apostle of the gentiles possessed a mind as original as it was fertile. but it is at least reasonable to suppose that a common creed and a common training produced similar habits of thought in many cultivated and eager minds. st. paul himself frequently writes as if his readers, even those who had not seen his face, were quite familiar with a treasury of words and ideas which he employs. we cannot legitimately argue that he was the first and only coiner of such words and ideas. for instance, the phrase "in christ," which we have quoted above, is often said to have been directly borrowed from st. paul. but the idea of abiding in christ is implied in matt. and mark, and expounded in john. it reaches back to the old testament idea of abiding "in god" (ps. lvi. ; lxii. ; isa. xlv. ). it would be quite natural in any christian who had adequately realized the truth of the incarnation. we can therefore repudiate without hesitation the assertion that the writer is more affected "by the teaching of paul than of jesus." the imagery employed by the writer is of a distinctive character. it is almost entirely derived from the old testament, and is narrower in its range than that of st. paul. the figures are drawn from birth and family life (i. , , , ; ii. ), nomadic life (i. , ; ii. ), temple and worship (ii. ; iii. ), building (ii. ), fields and pastoral life (i. ; v. , ), military life (i. ; ii. , iv. ), painting (ii. ), working in metals (i. ; iv. ). some of these figures suggest that the author was a jew by birth, and also that he was not a mere copyist of st. paul. { } again, we must notice that peter shows a dependence upon james.[ ] while we therefore grant that the author of this epistle seems to have made use of st. paul's writings, we must be prepared to grant that he also made use of a document written by one who has been frequently declared by modern critics to have been antagonistic to st. paul. a tradition found as early as origen, and in itself extremely probable, represents st. peter as having organized the church at antioch, and st. peter probably became acquainted with the epistle of st. james while at antioch and before his arrival at rome. in any case, the author shows himself by no means exclusively indebted to st. paul, and the candid student must therefore admit that it is unreasonable to discredit this epistle on the ground that it represents st. peter as preaching "paulinism." it is also asserted that the greek is too flowing to have been written by st. peter, especially if papias is right in saying that st. peter required the services of st. mark as "interpreter." the style of the greek is, indeed, good. it contains a considerable number of classical greek words, though it is also saturated with the language of the septuagint. it is simple, correct, and impressive. but the large extent to which greek was spoken in palestine, and the fact that it was the language of antioch, make it quite possible that st. peter obtained a considerable mastery over greek. we cannot attach a quite definite meaning to the word "interpreter." it need not imply that st. peter always, or even at any time in his later life, required his aramaic to be translated into greek. it is not unusual for a clever modern missionary to lecture and write in correct chinese after a very few years of practice, and there would be nothing strange if st. peter soon acquired a comparatively easy language such as hellenistic greek. it is therefore quite unnecessary for { } some half-hearted apologists to suggest that the epistle was mainly or entirely written for st. peter by his secretary, silvanus ( pet. v. ). the expression and connection of the ideas contained in it are far too natural and easy for us to think that two hands were concerned in its composition, and the tone of authority used in v. can only be explained on the theory that st. peter or a forger wrote the epistle. the language of ch. v. is most easily explained by the theory that silvanus, a trusted friend and delegate of st. peter, carried the letter. the letter was purposely made short (v. ) because its lessons were to be enforced by silvanus. [sidenote: to whom written.] "to the elect who are sojourners of the dispersion in pontus, galatia, cappadocia, asia, and bithynia." considerable difficulty is attached to this address. at first sight it seems to mean those christians of asia minor north of the taurus mountains who had been converted from judaism. but there are some verses in the epistle which seem to imply that the readers had been pagans. these verses are i. ; ii. , ; iii. ; iv. . they suggest that the readers had led a licentious heathen life, and had been only recently admitted to any covenant with god. the bearing of some of them is a little uncertain. for instance, ii. says that the converts in time past "were no people, but now are the people of god"--the same verse that st. paul in rom. ix. applies to the calling of the gentiles. this verse is thought to furnish a strong argument for those scholars who hold that the epistle is addressed to gentiles, and that "sojourners of the dispersion" must be taken in a figurative sense, meaning christians who are exiled from the heavenly canaan. but as the verse is from hos. i. , and is applied by hosea himself to the jews, it is certainly _possible_ to hold that st. peter also applies it to jews. in this case the word "dispersion" would retain its literal meaning, and the epistle would be written to converts from judaism. but the reference to "idolatries" in iv. cannot be applied to jews. and it { } would be quite unnatural for st. peter to speak about the heathen thinking it "strange" that converted _jews_ refused to join in their idolatrous excesses. the word "you" in i. suggests that the readers belonged to a different race from the hebrew prophets. finally, the phrase "elect of the dispersion" must be compared with "in babylon, elect" (v. ). like the name "babylon" for rome, the word "dispersion" is a jewish phrase taken over by the christian church. we agree, then, with st. jerome and st. augustine in holding that this epistle was written to gentiles. [sidenote: where and when written.] the epistle says, "she that is in babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you" (v. ). this means the church in rome. the name "babylon" is applied to rome in the revelation, and from an early period the christians would naturally be inclined to give this name to a city which had become, like babylon of old, the centre of worldliness and oppression. it is practically certain that st. peter spent his last days in rome. moreover, st. mark was with st. peter when this epistle was written (v. ), and from tim. iv. we know that st. mark was invited to rome about a.d. . it is most improbable that "babylon" signifies either the babylon near cairo, or the great city on the euphrates. three facts enable us to determine the date: ( ) the presence of mark in rome. ( ) the fact that st. peter appears never to have been in rome when colossians was written in a.d. --so that the epistle cannot be earlier than a.d. . ( ) the allusion in iv. - to the fact that christians are already punished for being named christians. in the period described in acts they are not yet punished merely for being christians, but for specific crimes alleged against them by their opponents. it is often asserted that this epistle must be later than the time of nero, on the ground that it was after nero's time that the name _christian_ ensured the legal condemnation of any one who bore it. but this assertion is not supported by the roman historians tacitus and suetonius. their words support the contention { } that the kind of persecution mentioned in this epistle began under nero in a.d. . when the epistle was written this persecution had probably begun, but it had not yet assumed its most savage form.[ ] ( ) st. peter himself suffered under nero, not later than a.d. . we may therefore confidently date the epistle about a.d. . it appears from v. that in writing this epistle st. peter was assisted by "silvanus, our faithful brother," as an amanuensis. he is probably the "silas" (another form of the same name) mentioned in acts xv. , , , and the silvanus in thess. i. ; thess. i. , cor. i. . [sidenote: character and contents.] this epistle is highly practical, and though it is rich in doctrinal elements, it endeavours to instruct the readers in conduct rather than doctrine. the two key-words of the epistle are _suffering_ and _hope_, and the sufferings of christ and the glories which crowned them furnish st. peter with encouragement. though he writes in plain sympathy with the liberal christianity of st. paul, his language throughout bears the impress of the old testament. christ is the "lamb" (i. ) and the "corner-stone" (ii. ); christians are the "elect race" (ii. ) and the "royal priesthood" (ii. ). without discussing the problems raised by god's predestination of the jews, he says that they were "appointed" unto stumbling, and their stumbling seems to be regarded as the punishment which god attached to their disobedience. the fact that in i. the names of the three persons of the trinity are given in an order which does not correspond with the order of their revelation in the history of religion, indicates that they are regarded as coequal. we may note that in iv. the father is called "faithful creator," a unique expression. the teaching about the work of christ is full. he is often { } simply called "christ" without the name "jesus." he is called "lord," and his special divine sonship is implied (i. ). the real existence of our lord before his birth on earth is also implied. it has been said that i. signifies that he was only known to the father as destined to exist in the future. this interpretation is excluded by i. , which shows that his spirit inspired the prophets before his birth. it is still more definitely excluded by iii. , . here it is shown that his personality resided neither in his flesh, nor in his human spirit clothed "in which" he preached to the dead. this spirit was therefore taken by a personality which existed previous to the creation of the spirit. the atonement is prominent. christ's death is both an example and a redemption which procured god's grace. he died "for the unrighteous." he carried our sins in his body to the cross (ii. ). the resurrection is one of the "glories" which followed his sufferings (i. ). it is a unique motive to our faith (i. ), and the cause of the efficacy of our baptism (iii. ). the ascension is the fact which guarantees to us the present rule of christ (iii. ). in iv. we have an important statement with regard to the dead, which must be studied in relation to iii. - . the purpose of christ's preaching to those who died before the gospel came was that though judged they yet might live. blessings which they had not known on earth were offered to them by the dead but living christ. the practical side of the epistle is simple but solemn. it deals with the privileges (i. -ii. ), duties (ii. -iv. ), and trials (iv. -v. ) of the brethren. it seems to be written with the hope that the christians may perhaps disarm persecution if they abstain from vainly attempting to set every one to rights and are scrupulously loyal to the government (ii. - ). { } analysis salutation (i. , ). the joy of salvation, a joy which springs from faith; this salvation was foretold by the prophets: the fruits of salvation, seriousness, love towards others, growth, the privilege of being built upon christ: christians are the true israel (i. -ii. ). the christian brotherhood and its duties, submission to civil magistrates, slaves must obey even unreasonable masters, wives if good and gentle may win their husbands, husbands must reverence their wives: kindness must be the christian's rule, there must be no return of evil for evil; suffering, if wrongfully endured, has its reward. christ's sufferings issued in blessing, in his ministerial journey to hades and his triumphant journey into heaven: christ our example, our rule is the will of god: christian life must be guided in view of the approaching end of all things, each of our gifts is to be used for the good of the whole church (ii. -iv. ). the trials of the brethren, trust in god in the midst of suffering, rejoice in your participation in christ's suffering, bear the reproach that fell on him, to suffer as a christian is cause for thanksgiving, suffering to be expected, judgment is beginning: the relation of pastors and people, the presbyters not to act as slaves, hirelings, or tyrants: final counsels to humility and firmness (iv. -v. ). commendation of the bearer, and salutations (v. - ). [ ] compare pet. i. with rom. xii. ; pet. i. with rom. iv. ; pet. ii. with rom. xii. ; pet. ii. , with rom. ix. ; pet. ii. with rom. ix. , ; pet. ii. with eph. vi. ; pet. iii. with eph. v. ; pet. v. with eph. v. . [ ] compare pet. i. with jas. i. ; pet. i. f. with jas. i. f., ; pet. i. with jas. i. ; pet. ii. with jas. i. ; pet. ii. with jas. iv. ; pet. v. with jas. iv. , ; pet. v. with jas. iv. ; and the quotation in pet. v. with jas. iv. . [ ] for the persecution and its bearing on the date of this epistle, see leighton pullan, _history of early christianity_, p. ff. (service and paton, ). { } chapter xxii the second epistle general of peter [sidenote: the author.] the difficulties which are connected with the authorship of this epistle are greater than those connected with the authorship of any other book of the new testament. a multitude of objections have been raised against its genuineness, and it has been pronounced spurious by a considerable number even of christian writers. but while fully admitting that the problem is complicated, we can lawfully simplify it by at once dismissing some of the weaker objections. for instance, the statement that peter quotes from josephus, the celebrated jewish historian, who died c. a.d. , is utterly unproved. again, the often-repeated statement that the doctrine of man being made a partaker of the divine nature ( pet. i. ) is a doctrine which was not taught until after the apostolic age, is unwarrantable, unless we repudiate wholesale many books of the new testament which we have every reason to regard as apostolic. for the indwelling of the father in christ and in the believer through christ is implied by st. paul, st. john, st. james, and st. peter. the writer, in laying stress upon the importance of spiritual knowledge, is once more in agreement with st. paul and st. john. he plainly does not mean mere intellectual _knowledge_, and the doctrine which he teaches is of a very simple kind. the slight reference made to the redemption (ii. ) and the silence manifested as to the resurrection cannot be considered so crucial as some scholars believe them to be. readers of the first epistle could hardly fail to have these { } facts printed in their very souls. they would not require to have them repeated in a second letter. the language of the epistle, especially in the verses which do not depend upon jude, shows several small coincidences with peter and with the speeches of st. peter in acts. we may compare the phrases in pet. ii. with acts i. , and pet. iii. with acts ii. , and compare pet. i. with pet. i. , iii. . " " i. , " " i. - . " " ii. " " i. " " iii. " " iii. . " " iii. " " i. . the writer abstains from copying the designation of the apostle contained in peter, and does not record the words spoken from heaven at the transfiguration exactly as they are reported in the gospels. in both these points a forger would very probably have acted otherwise. on the whole, the words employed in peter seem indecisive with regard to the authorship. there is sufficient variation to allow us to believe that it was written or not written by the apostle. one of the most remarkable words in peter is that employed in i. for an "eye-witness." it is a word used in the greek heathen mysteries, and some critics think that such a word would not have been used by an orthodox writer until an age when the church had learnt to borrow greek religious terms from the gnostic heretics. it is a sufficient proof of the weakness of this argument that the greek verb derived from this noun is found in pet. ii. . it is, however, fair to say that the style of peter is less simple and less closely connected with the old testament than that of peter. more serious objections are ( ) the lack of external evidence in the writers of the nd and rd centuries; ( ) the internal evidence that the epistle is based upon jude, and perhaps on the apocalypse of peter. { } eusebius is evidently in doubt about it. he says, "we have not indeed received it by tradition to be in the canon, yet as it appeared useful to many, it was studiously read with the other scriptures." [ ] it is not mentioned by irenaeus, nor is it in the list given in the _muratorian fragment_. but it seems to have been commented on by clement of alexandria, though it is not quoted in his extant works. origen does mention it in his original greek works, but in a manner which shows that it was disputed in his time. in rufinus' latin translation of origen there are several quotations from peter, but against this fact it is sometimes urged that rufinus emended origen, and that we cannot be absolutely certain that these quotations are genuine. the epistle seems to have been known to origen's great contemporary hippolytus (_refut._ ix. ; x. and elsewhere). there are, moreover, passages in still earlier writers which are perhaps based on peter. these are in clement of rome, a.d. , justin martyr, a.d. , and the document which is wrongly called the second epistle of clement, and is really a roman homily of about a.d. . the evidence of these passages is not positive, but if even one of them is quoted from peter, it becomes quite impossible to assign peter to a.d. - , which is the date most favoured by those who deny its authenticity. nor is the omission of any mention of it in irenaeus and the _muratorian fragment_ a very destructive fact. the _muratorian fragment_ is only a fragment, and does not mention peter, and there is no passage in irenaeus quoted from james. yet it is certain that those two epistles belong to the apostolic age. the fact is that such a very large amount of the literature of the nd century has been destroyed, that it is always precarious to argue from omissions in the books which are still extant. therefore, although the evidence of writers of the nd and rd centuries is certainly meagre in the case of peter, we cannot argue that comparative lack of evidence means positively hostile evidence. a { } notable step towards the determination of the problem will be made if scholars eventually agree to assign a very early date to the two great egyptian versions of the new testament. both these versions contain peter. as to the connection between peter and jude, it may be regarded as certain that either they both depend on some previous document, or that one of them depends on the other. compare jude with pet. ii. . " " " " ii. . " " " " ii. . " " " " ii. . " " " " ii. . " " , " " ii. , . " " " " ii. . " " , " " iii. - . an examination of these passages seems to prove that peter borrows from jude and not jude from peter.[ ] in jude the connection of ideas seems more simple and direct. various verses in peter become more intelligible in the light thrown upon them by the corresponding verses in jude. thus jude alludes to the immorality which explains why the heretics are called "animals to be destroyed" in pet. ii. . jude , by calling the heretics "wandering stars," explains why "darkness" is said to be "reserved" for them in pet. ii. . between pet. ii. and there is no direct allusion to enoch as in jude , but some of the material taken from the book of enoch still remains. it will be observed that this connection with jude is confined to pet. ii. -iii. . now, this passage must have been either inserted in some ancient manuscript of this epistle, or it was originally part of the epistle. if it has been inserted, the question of the authenticity of the rest of the epistle obviously remains { } untouched. but if it originally formed part of the epistle, as appears to be the case, can we regard this as a conclusive proof that st. peter did not write it? surely not.[ ] the fact that st. luke inserts most of the gospel of st. mark is not considered to be any argument against the authenticity of st. luke's work. both in the old testament and the new we are occasionally confronted by the same phenomenon. writers repeat what has been said by other writers when their words appear to them to be the best possible words for enforcing a particular lesson. the question of the authenticity of peter has lately become still further complicated. there has recently been discovered part of the apocalypse of peter mentioned in the _muratorian fragment_. this apocalypse is usually thought to have been forged in egypt in the first half of the nd century. it presents certain points of resemblance with peter. these points of resemblance affect the first chapter of peter as well as the second chapter. they therefore furnish an argument against the theory that ch. ii. is a late interpolation into a genuine epistle, and they suggest that the epistle is either wholly genuine or wholly forged. but the solution of the problem is not so easy as it seems to many scholars. if we could positively say that the apocalypse was written in the nd century, and positively say that peter borrows from it, the question would be settled once for all. but this is the very thing which we cannot do with confidence. some critics of great ability hold it certain that peter was forged by some one who borrowed from the apocalypse. some think that the same writer forged them both. others think that the apocalypse is partly derived from peter. they can strongly support their view by the fact that when christians were familiar with both writings, it was decided to reject the apocalypse and { } keep the epistle. lastly, it might be reasonably held that the coincidences in both writings are due to the use of one earlier document or a common stock of ideas and phrases. the popularity of apocalyptic literature at the beginning of the christian era makes this theory credible. we may sum up the evidence for and against peter as follows:-- . the external evidence is meagre. . the internal evidence is perplexing, and may reasonably be considered adverse. on the other hand:-- . the external evidence is not definitely adverse. . no convincing reason can be assigned for forging such an epistle. the critics who believe it to be forged, hold that it was written in egypt in order to oppose the gnosticism of c. a.d. or . but the gnosticism rebuked in peter cannot definitely be assigned to the nd century. and it is very difficult to say that the heresy rebuked in peter belongs to the nd century without also maintaining that the heresy rebuked in jude belongs to the nd century.[ ] yet several facts in jude point so decidedly to the st century that some of the ablest writers who deny the authenticity of peter strongly assert the genuineness of jude. we can only conclude by doubting whether we know more about the problem of peter than the church of the rd and th centuries knew. perhaps we do not know nearly as much. and under these circumstances we cannot effectively criticize the judgment of the church which decided to admit peter into the canon. [sidenote: to whom written.] to the same readers as the first epistle (iii. ). [sidenote: where and when written.] it was probably written in rome, and some of the earliest references to it are by writers who lived in rome. { } justin martyr lived in rome, and if the references in justin martyr and other writers before hippolytus be considered doubtful, hippolytus is a roman witness of the first importance. the date is perhaps between a.d. and . if it were later than , we might reasonably expect to find a reference to the destruction of jerusalem after the allusion to god's retribution on the people of sodom and other malefactors of old times. the errors which are denounced are akin to those which are denounced in and timothy. the allusion to st. paul's epistles in iii. suggests that some collection of these epistles already existed, and that st. paul was already dead. it has been urged against the genuineness of the epistle that it includes the pauline epistles in _scripture_ (iii. ), and that this would have been impossible in the apostolic age. but the statement need not necessarily mean more than that the epistles were on the margin of a canon which was in process of formation. there is good reason for believing that the pauline epistles occupied this position at a time when men who had known some of the apostles were still living, and perhaps earlier. the manner in which st. peter has made use of st. paul's work in his first epistle, makes it quite possible for us to think that he believed in the peculiar inspiration of his great comrade. and it is an interesting fact that the syriac _doctrine of addai_ in speaking of the epistles of st. paul, adds, "which simon peter sent us from the city of rome." [sidenote: character and contents.] the key-word to the epistle is not _hope_, as in peter, but _knowledge_ (i. , ; ii. ). we find, as in peter, a fondness or the word "glory." but in peter glory seems to be represented as given to christ after his sufferings, and promised to christians in the future after their sufferings ( pet. i. ; iv. ; v. ). here glory is rather spoken of as manifested in all the new dispensation, and especially at the transfiguration (i. , ). the apostle { } appeals to the fact that he witnessed the transfiguration as a guarantee of his prophecy of the second "coming" of christ. he finds another warrant in the prophecies of the old testament, and asserts that prophecy is not a matter for a man's own private unaided interpretation, inasmuch as it was an utterance prompted by the holy spirit (i. - ). this description of true religious knowledge is followed by an arraignment of false prophets and speculative heresy. it is possible that the teaching of definitely false doctrine was already combined with previously existing immoral practice. the verse (ii. ) in which the writer speaks of false _teachers_, refers to the rise of these heretics as future. but in other verses of the chapter the "self-willed" teachers are spoken of as already active. we gather from iii. that the licence which is so sternly rebuked was a system in which st. paul's doctrine of justification by faith was represented as a justification of vile indulgence. although this part of the epistle is a paraphrase of jude, it is not a mere reproduction. a new feature in peter is that the heretics were sceptical concerning the second coming of christ (iii. ). they argued that since the death of "the fathers," _i.e._ the first followers of christ, the world continued as before. st. peter urges that the deluge came, though its coming was doubted, and also that it must be remembered that the lord does not reckon time as men do. a period which is long to us is not long to him. the day of the lord will come suddenly "as a thief in the night," and in view of judgment the readers are exhorted to holiness and patience. { } analysis salutation, a list of christian graces which are to be successively blended with faith, a reminder of the truth of christianity as testified by the words of god at the transfiguration, and by the light of prophecy (i.). denunciation of the false teachers who are guilty of gross sin and blindly follow their lower instincts (ii.). allusion to the former letter, rebuke of those who disbelieve in the last judgment, the coming of the day of the lord and the destruction of the world, exhortations to holiness, diligence needed, the long-suffering of christ witnessed to by paul, growth in grace (iii.). [ ] _h. e._ iii. . [ ] the priority of peter is strongly defended by spitta, in his _der zweite brief d. petrus_, . [ ] this is very clearly stated by dr. g. b. stevens in his valuable _theology of the new testament_, although he decides against the genuineness of peter. [ ] this is done by harnack, who places jude between a.d. and . { } chapter xxiii the epistles of st. john the first epistle general of john [sidenote: the author.] the authenticity of this epistle is bound up with the authenticity of st. john's gospel. like the gospel, it does not contain any statement as to the name of the author. like the gospel, it is attributed by a very ancient tradition to the nearest friend of jesus christ. the external evidence is particularly good. we learn from the unimpeachable testimony of eusebius[ ] that it was used by papias, who was a disciple of st. john. polycarp, another disciple of st. john, directly quotes john iv. in his still extant letter. it is quoted by irenaeus, the pupil of polycarp, and was recognized as genuine in widely distant churches at the close of the nd century. the internal evidence shows that the writer claims to be an eye-witness and intimate personal friend of jesus christ (i. - ).[ ] and this eye-witness must be st. john, if the fourth gospel was written by st. john. the style is similar, and the ideas are the same. it is true that christ is not called our "propitiation" in the gospel as in this epistle (ii. ; iv. ), that in the gospel there is no mention of "antichrists" (as in { } ii. ), and that the word "paraclete" is in the gospel applied to the holy ghost, while it is here applied to our lord (ii. ). but the idea of propitiation is expressed in the description of our lord as "the lamb of god" (john i. ), the mention of antichrists is uncalled for in the gospel, and by naming the holy ghost "another paraclete" our lord gave st. john the best possible reason for calling christ himself by the same title. the description of our lord as "the only begotten son" (iv. ) is an important point of contact with john i. , . the language about "light" and "darkness," "god" and "the world," the "new commandment," the "love" of god, being "born of god," "eternal life," "abiding in christ," recalls the gospel at every turn. the epistle, however, does contain some phrases and ideas which are not to be found in the gospel. such are "love perfected," "a sin unto death," "the lust of the eyes," "to come in the flesh," "to walk in the light," "to do lawlessness," "to be from above." yet they fit quite naturally with the language and theology of the gospel. therefore there does not seem to be any sufficient reason for holding that it was the work of another writer. f. c. baur and hilgenfeld thought it to be the work of a second forger of that mysterious band to which they attributed such versatility and success. and several more recent critics who have denied the authenticity of the gospel, have maintained with baur that the epistle is the work of a second forger. but these negations have led to no assured result. they are seen to be fruitless as soon as we realize that these critics have been quite unable to agree whether the epistle was composed before the gospel or after it. some consider that it was a theological balloon sent to try the credulity of christian readers before the gospel was despatched. others consider that there are "overwhelming indications" to prove that the epistle is only a poor imitation of the gospel. renan and davidson favoured the former view, f. c. baur and c. weizsäcker the latter. at the present time the majority { } of critics, both christian and non-christian, believe that it was written by the writer of the fourth gospel. [sidenote: to whom written.] it seems to be a pastoral letter addressed to all the members of the apostle's flock, intended therefore for the christians of asia in and around ephesus. it is a strange fact that st. augustine, in quoting iii. , describes the passage as "said by john in his epistle to the _parthians_." this statement is a riddle which no commentator has been able to answer satisfactorily. as the eastern churches had little or no knowledge of this title, we are compelled to regard it as a mistake. it may have arisen from some scribe failing to read a partially illegible manuscript in which st. john may have been given the title of _parthenos_ or virgin. but it is most likely that it arose from a confusion with the second epistle, which was thought in the time of clement of alexandria to be addressed to _parthenoi_ or virgins. the absence of quotations from the old testament, and the command "guard yourselves from idols" (v. ), solemnly given at the very end of the epistle, suggest that the recipients of the letter were converts from heathenism. the christians of ephesus, the mother-city of asiatic idolatry, were peculiarly in need of such an exhortation. [sidenote: where and when written.] we can hardly doubt that it was written at ephesus, where the apostle spent his last years. the assertion that st. john did not live at ephesus is in direct contradiction with the best and earliest traditions. but it has been repeated at intervals during the last sixty years by several critics, who found that they would be compelled to admit the genuineness of the revelation if they granted that st. john lived at ephesus, where the revelation was evidently published.[ ] against such criticism we can confidently marshal the express and independent statements of apollonius of ephesus (a.d. ), polycrates of ephesus (a.d. ), { } irenaeus of lyons (a.d. ), clement of alexandria (a.d. ), tertullian of carthage (a.d. ), not to mention some valuable indirect evidence of earlier date. if we are to reject such evidence as this, the science of history must be laid in the tomb. the question as to the exact date is very important for those who believe that the epistle was not written by the author of the gospel. they are involved in the most intricate questions about the reproduction of the gospel in the epistle or of the epistle in the gospel. for those who do not believe in a diversity of authorship the problem is far less vital. the apostle was evidently advanced in years. he includes all his people under the affectionate name "my little children" (ii. ). on the whole, it seems probable that it was written rather later than the gospel. this is suggested by the teaching about the second coming of christ. both in the gospel and in the epistle we find mentioned or implied a present and a future passing from death to life, and a spiritual presence of christ now and another hereafter. but in the epistle it is the future coming of christ which is more prominent (ii. ; iii. ; iv. ). in the revelation, a.d. , it is still more prominent. the epistle suggests that st. john's readers were already acquainted with the discourses in his gospel. the heresy described, and the fact that the heretics are already _outside_ the church, point to a comparatively late date. we can hardly place it before a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] this epistle contains no reference to any outward dangers. domitian's persecution had not yet affected the church, and the controversy with judaism had closed. there is no trace of any conflict between jew and gentile, and st. john, in asserting the truth of the incarnation of the son of god, is not opposing any heresy resembling that of those semi-christian jews of the nd century who declared christ to be _merely_ the best of men. he is combating a form of error taught by cerinthus, who said that { } jesus was a man born of joseph and mary, and that on this man there descended a divine element named christ, who left him before the crucifixion. thus _christ_ never suffered, though the _jesus_ who seemed to be christ did suffer. in face of these false views st. john asserts the truth. he asserts that one who is both jesus and christ came in the flesh (iv. ), and that he came, that is, was manifested as christ, both in the water of his baptism and the blood of his cross (v. ). by this blood he cleanses man from sin (i. ). we may be sure of his help, for he lives as our advocate with the father. to deny that jesus is the christ is to deny the father, to deny god altogether (ii. ; iv. ). st. ignatius and st. polycarp inveigh in similar language against the docetists, who flourished between a.d. and . it is important to notice that st. john's opponents do not appear to have been antinomian in conduct. he says, "every one that doeth sin, doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness" (iii. ). if he had been blaming antinomianism it would have been more natural to say, "every one that doeth lawlessness, doeth also sin." the main theme of the epistle is not controversial. it is to show that in faith and love is the guarantee of our fellowship with god and of our salvation. since this fellowship implies that he abides in us, it may be recognized by his spirit being in us (iii. ). this spirit is distinguished from the spirit of error by the confession of christ; so to hear the apostle's teaching about christ is a sign of the presence of god within us. the moral and the religious life are summed up in the words "god" and "love," and those who love one another are born of god. love in action corresponds with a confession of the incarnation in the intellect (iv. - ). it is wholly incompatible with sin (iii. ), and is therefore righteous towards god and man. every one who, as a child of god, hopes to grow like god, purifies himself as christ is pure. he cannot love the world, which is a system of selfishness. st. john speaks of the possibility of committing a "sin unto death." this { } is an old jewish expression for a sin deserving natural death. but the apostle lifts the phrase to a higher level and slightly alters it. his words literally mean "a sin tending unto death." it is any sin which by its very nature excludes a man from fellowship with christians. it is a sin which requires chastisement before forgiveness, and st. john does not enjoin, though he does not forbid, prayer for those whose sin makes them unable to share in the privileges of the common life of the church. behind the practical teaching of the epistle lies that great conception of the father which the writer had gained from intercourse with the only-begotten son. god is _love_ (iv. , ), and has given us the greatest of all gifts (iv. ); god is _light_ (i. ), and dispels all moral darkness (i. ); god is _life_ (v. ), imparting his own existence to man (iii. ); god is _father_ (ii. ; iii. )--though our relationship with him is forfeited by sin, perfect and fearless intimacy may be gained through christ (iv. , ). analysis a promise to impart knowledge of the incarnate word; god is light, fellowship with god and forgiveness of sin (i.). christ our propitiation, love of our brother a necessary condition of walking in the light, messages to children, fathers, young men, the love of the world, antichrist and the denial of christ, abiding in the son and in the father (ii.). the love of god in calling us his children, the manifestation of christ to take away sin, love of our brother the sign that we are spiritually changed, to believe in christ and love one another the commandment of god (iii.). acknowledgment of the incarnation is the test of spirits, to love one another is to be like god, perfect love loses fear (iv.). faith in the incarnation overcomes the world, the three { } witnesses to the incarnation, eternal life possessed if we have the son, prayer, freedom from sin, knowledge through jesus, who is the true god and eternal life (v.). the second epistle of john [sidenote: the author.] the writer does not insert his name in the epistle, but simply describes himself as "the elder." some writers have therefore supposed that it was written by the presbyter named john, who lived at ephesus about the close of the apostolic age. but irenaeus, who was not likely to be mistaken in such a matter, certainly regarded it as the work of the apostle, and the _muratorian fragment_ apparently so regards it. clement of alexandria was certainly acquainted with more than one epistle by st. john, and a latin translation of his _hypotyposes_ definitely says, "the second epistle of john, written to virgins, is very simple." moreover, the title "elder" or "presbyter" is by no means incompatible with apostolic authorship. st. peter in pet. v. expressly describes himself by this title, nor does the title appear to have become confined to the presbyters or priests of the church until about a.d. . the similarity to the first epistle is strong, seven of the thirteen verses having parallels in the first epistle. if the epistle were a forgery, it is probable that the writer would have claimed to be an apostle in unmistakable language. and if the author were not a forger, but the presbyter who was for some years a contemporary of the apostle, it is hardly likely that he would have been content to write this diminutive letter, which does little more than sum up part of the first epistle. the language of the second epistle bears almost the same relation to that of the first as the first bears to that of the gospel. there is a fundamental likeness combined with a few fresh expressions, such as "walk _according to_," "_coming_ in the flesh" instead of "come in the flesh," "to have god." { } [sidenote: to whom written.] "unto the elect lady and her children." the interpretation of these words is a notorious difficulty. at first sight the "lady" would be supposed to be a private individual. but if so, why is not the individual's name mentioned, like the name of the recipient of the third epistle? perhaps it is mentioned, for the words translated "the elect lady" may mean "the elect kyria." the "house" of the lady (ver. ) also suggests that the lady is an individual. on the other hand, it has been supposed that the lady is a symbolical name for a local _church_. in favour of this interpretation is the fact that the writer speaks, not only of the children of the lady who are with her, but also of others whom he has met (ver. ), and in a manner which suggests a large number of persons. the same interpretation can be put upon the "elect sister" mentioned in the last verse of the epistle. writers of deserved repute accept this symbolical interpretation. but when a literal meaning and a symbolical meaning are supported by equally good arguments, it seems prudent to accept the simpler, _i.e._ the literal interpretation. it is hard to believe that st. jerome and hilgenfeld are right in thinking that it is addressed to the whole catholic church. this is surely excluded by the mention of an "elect sister." [sidenote: where and when written.] probably from ephesus, and the contents suggest that it was written later than the first epistle. [sidenote: character and contents.] the letter contains an affectionate expression of happiness due to the steadfast christianity of the children of the "elect lady." but its main object is to utter a warning against the deceivers who deny that christ is "come in the flesh." these deceivers were evidently docetists. in order to appreciate the necessity for such a warning we must remember the extraordinary attraction which many persons who liked a _dilettante_ christianity found in the theory that christ was a divine spirit who clothed himself with flesh in which he did not suffer. at the close of the apostolic age, and { } for many generations afterwards, orthodox christianity was often regarded as too materialistic for advanced thinkers. they endeavoured to make christianity keep pace with the times by infusing into it the decadent greek or oriental mysticism which depreciated our human body. analysis salutation, thanksgiving for certain of the elect lady's children, reminder of the commandments to love and obey, the deceivers who deny the incarnation not to be welcomed; the writer, expecting to visit his correspondents, closes his letter. the third epistle of john [sidenote: the author.] it is generally admitted, both by those who deny and those who accept the authenticity of the works of st. john, that this epistle was written by the author of john. it presents several close parallels both with john and with the gospel. its obviously private character accounts for the fact that it is seldom quoted in early literature. it is found in the old latin version of the new testament, though not in the _muratorian fragment_. it was known to origen and dionysius of alexandria. eusebius places it among the _antilegomena_ (_h. e._ iii. ), but it was generally accepted in the th century. [sidenote: to whom written.] "unto gaius the beloved." the name was a common one, being a form of the latin "caius." there is no reason for identifying this gaius with one of the persons of the same name who are mentioned as living in corinth, macedonia, and derbe respectively, all of whom may have been dead at the late period when this letter was written. the gaius of this epistle was evidently a faithful and hospitable christian. baur displayed more than even his { } usual powers of invention by suggesting that gaius was a montanist of the latter part of the nd century, and "diotrephes" a symbolical name for one of the catholic bishops of rome opposed to montanism. [sidenote: where and when written.] probably at ephesus; subsequently to the first epistle, and probably very soon after the second. [sidenote: character and contents.] this little letter gives us a few brief glimpses of the life of the church near the end of the st century. the purpose of the letter is to commend a christian of good character, named demetrius, to the hospitable care of gaius. it appears, therefore, to be one of those "letters of commendation" which are mentioned by st. paul in cor. iii. , and were common in later times. by the side of this pleasantness there is distress. connected with the church to which gaius belongs there is an ambitious schismatic named diotrephes, who refuses to admit the authority of the apostle. the fact that he was guilty of casting the friends of the apostle out of the church (ver. ), suggests that diotrephes was at least a presbyter, and perhaps a bishop appointed by the apostle. we are told by clement of alexandria that st. john appointed bishops in asia, and there is no reason for doubting that episcopacy dates back to this period. the apostle evidently intends to punish diotrephes for his malice when he visits the district again. it is just possible that the letter to the church (ver. ) which diotrephes repudiated is our "second epistle" of st. john. this theory will win acceptance with some of those who think that the second epistle was not written to an individual, but to a church. analysis salutations to gaius, congratulations that he is walking in the truth, his hospitality to travelling christians, the tyranny of diotrephes, recommendation of demetrius, personal matters. [ ] _h. e._ iii. . [ ] it is impossible to accept the recent rationalist hypothesis that these words were written by a pious christian who had not seen jesus, but wished to emphasize the truth that the historical church was intimately connected with the historical jesus. [ ] among these critics must be numbered lützelberger ( ), keim ( ), bousset ( ). { } chapter xxiv the general epistle of jude [sidenote: the author.] "judas, a servant of jesus christ, and brother of james." we can be sure that the james here mentioned is the james who acted as the first bishop of the church at jerusalem. the author's designation of himself would not be intelligible unless he meant that he was related to a very prominent man of that name. the writer cannot be the apostle jude. he does not claim to be an apostle, and he seems indirectly to repudiate the authority of an apostle by describing himself only in relation to his brother and by referring to "the apostles of our lord jesus christ" in a manner which seems to distinguish them for himself. if the apostle jude was the _son_ of james (as many scholars think), this jude was clearly another man. if the apostle was the _brother_ of james (as the english authorised version holds), then his identification with this jude is still doubtful. jude was a son of st. joseph. at first he did not believe in our lord (john vii. ), but was convinced by the resurrection (acts i. ). he was married ( cor. ix. ). hegesippus, a writer of the nd century, tells us that two of his grandsons were taken before the emperor domitian as being of the royal house of david, and therefore dangerous to the empire.[ ] he found them to be poor rough-handed men, and dismissed them with good-humoured contempt when they described the kingdom of christ as heavenly. philip of side, about , says { } that hegesippus gave the names of these two men as zocer and james. the epistle was known to clement of alexandria and tertullian, and is in the _muratorian fragment_. the chief objections to the authenticity of this epistle fall under three heads. it is said that (a) a late date is indicated by the allusion to the teaching of the apostles in ver. . but the allusion seems to correspond exactly with a late date in the apostolic age, for vers. and assume that the readers remember what the apostles had said. it is said that (b) the phrase in ver. , "the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints," indicates that a definite body of doctrine was recognized by the christians of the period, and that the christians of the apostolic age did not use the word "faith" in this sense. but it is not difficult to suppose that the word would be soon extended from the act of believing to the facts believed. and in such early passages as gal. i. and rom. x. we find the word closely approximating to the latter sense. it is said that (c) the heresy which is described is a heresy of the nd century, and implies a definite gnostic system. but the fact that the epistle does not describe such a definite system is convincingly shown by the inability of certain critics to determine who the heretics are. the balaamites of asia minor, the carpocratians of egypt, and some obscure sects of syria, are all suggested. there is no evidence to show that the errors here described could not have grown up in apostolic times, and the epistles of st. paul contain several passages which point to similar perversions of christianity. the word "sensual" in ver. was an insulting term applied to ordinary christians by the gnostics of the nd century, but st. jude's use of it betrays no consciousness of this later application. the style of the letter makes it practically certain that it was written by some one who had been a jew. the greek is forcible. it shows a considerable knowledge of greek words, { } including various poetical and archaic expressions. but the manner is stiff, and the sentences are linked together with difficulty. several phrases come from the septuagint, some of them being taken from the book of wisdom. it is probable that the author was acquainted with the hebrew old testament, as ver. (from ezek. xxxiv. ) and ver. f. (from zech. iii. f.) suggest this. [sidenote: to whom written.] the epistle is simply addressed "to them that are called, beloved in god the father, and kept for jesus christ." it seems that these christians must have been natives of palestine or syria. they had been personally instructed by the apostles (ver. ), which makes this region probable. no place seems more likely than antioch and its neighbourhood. the libertinism which was endangering the church would not be likely to arise except in a district where the christians were in close contact with heathenism. extreme critics now usually maintain that it was written either in asia or in egypt. if written in asia, it can hardly have been written by the lord's brother, as we know that his descendants lived in palestine. if written in egypt, it can hardly belong to the age of the apostles. these two sceptical theories as to the place where the epistle was written contradict one another effectively. [sidenote: where and when written.] the style and contents of the letter show that it was probably written in palestine and at jerusalem. the date is probably soon after the martyrdom of st. james in a.d. . st. jude was dead before his grandsons had their interview with domitian. the epistle must therefore be before a.d. . [sidenote: character and contents.] the epistle is remarkable as containing references to two jewish books of an apocalyptic character which are not mentioned in the old testament. this caused some writers in early days to hesitate to ascribe the epistle to a brother of st. james, and in recent times the same argument has been revived in a new { } form. but these quotations seem quite compatible with a belief in the genuineness of the epistle. the books quoted were in existence in the apostolic age, and would be likely to be valued by a devout jew. in ver. there is reference to michael, which origen says was derived from the _assumption of moses_, a jewish work written at the beginning of the christian era. in pet. ii. the allusion to michael is so modified, that the origin of the reference is no longer obvious. in vers. , , and , there are quotations from the _book of enoch_, a jewish book composed of sections written at various dates, the latest being written in the century before christ. the purpose of the epistle is to warn the church against certain depravers of god's grace who denied "our only master and lord, jesus christ" (ver. ). the author sees fit to remind his readers of ancient examples of unfaithfulness and impurity, and shows that they must be compassionate towards the wavering, and try to save the worst by a desperate effort. it is plain that the false teachers were guilty of gross and unnatural vice, that they were greedy, and destitute of godly fear. they also, like the evil christians at corinth, brought discredit upon the agapé (ver. ), a social meal which the christians were first wont to partake of before the eucharist, and at a later date after the eucharist. the licence which is rebuked by st. jude probably arose from a perversion of the doctrine of justification by faith which had been taught by our lord. christians who had been taught that they could be saved without observing the jewish ceremonial law, imagined that they could be saved without any self-discipline or self-restraint. many parallels to such errors have been found in modern times, the worst example being that afforded by the anabaptists, who arose in germany at the time of the reformation. it is worth noticing that, in spite of the untheological character of this epistle, the writer shows his belief in the holy trinity by the manner in which he refers to the father { } and jesus christ (ver. ) and the holy ghost (ver. ). the epistle gives no encouragement to the theory that the first jewish christians were unitarians. analysis salutation and charge to maintain "the faith" ( - ). warnings from the punishment of the israelites, of the angels, of sodom and gomorrha ( - ). railing at dignities rebuked ( - ). denunciation of those who imitate cain (murder), balaam (encouragement of impurity), korah (schism), and spoil the _agapé_ ( - ). these sectaries foretold by enoch ( - ). and by the apostles ( - ). duty of edifying believers, and saving sinners ( - ). doxology ( , ). [ ] eusebius, _h. e._ iii. . { } chapter xxv the revelation of st. john the divine [sidenote: the author.] like the first epistle of st. john, the revelation has particularly strong external evidence in its favour. about a.d. justin martyr speaks of it as the work of "john, one of the apostles of christ," in his dialogue held with trypho, a jew, at ephesus, where st. john had lived. still earlier, papias looked upon the book as "inspired," and "bore testimony to its genuineness." irenaeus, the pupil of polycarp, the disciple of st. john, quotes it as written by "john, the disciple of the lord." about a.d. melito of sardis, one of the places to which part of the book was specially addressed, wrote a commentary upon it. it was accepted by the churches of vienne and lyons in gaul in a.d. , for they wrote of it as "scripture" in their letter to the christians of asia minor. near the same date the _muratorian fragment_ mentions it twice. it will be observed that this evidence is not only good, but it is also mostly drawn from sources which were most closely connected with st. john. the evidence of the churches of vienne and lyons would be important, even if it stood alone. for these greek-speaking churches were allied with the church of ephesus, and were not likely to be mistaken about this question. and the evidence of irenaeus and melito is still more weighty. strange to say, the belief in the authenticity of the revelation began to waver as time went on. we need pay little heed to the sect known as the alogi, who attributed both st. john's { } gospel and the revelation to cerinthus, because they disliked the doctrine of the logos contained in these two books. they were too ignorant to have been influenced by any real critical knowledge. but it is an important fact that about a.d. dionysius of alexandria stated that it was probably written by john the presbyter, and that the great eusebius seems at one time to have been inclined to accept the opinion of dionysius.[ ] so far as we can discover, dionysius founded his opinion solely on the difference of style which can be observed as separating the revelation from the gospel. he does not seem to have been in possession of any facts which gave historical support to his theory. nevertheless, we can legitimately think that there was another reason which induced orthodox christians to regard the revelation with less confidence. the montanist sect, which arose in the latter half of the nd century and became powerful in asia minor and north africa, taught an extravagant doctrine about the millennium when christ would return to reign on earth. this doctrine was partly founded on rev. xx., and was supported by pretended prophecies. it caused orthodox christians to be more suspicious about the statements of christian prophets, and probably made them less anxious to translate and circulate the revelation. this hesitation was soon overruled, and eusebius, in spite of his own slight doubts, reckons it as received among the undisputed books of the canon. this was c. a.d. . in modern times the controversy about the authorship has been revived. about one hundred years ago a school of critics took up the argument of dionysius. they urged that the gospel and the revelation must have been written by two different authors, the revelation being much more hebrew in style than the gospel. the argument was elaborated by f. c. baur and the tübingen school. as they were determined to deny the genuineness of the gospel which so clearly teaches { } that jesus is god, they tried to discredit the gospel by insisting upon the authenticity of the revelation. the successors of these critics soon found themselves on the horns of a dilemma. a closer examination of the revelation made it clearer that on many important points the theology of the revelation is the same as that of the gospel. if they admit that st. john wrote both the books or one of them, they will be forced to admit that the apostle taught definite orthodox christian theology.[ ] if, on the other hand, they affirm that both the books were written by john the presbyter, they will shatter the old argument that diversity of style proves diversity of authorship. it will therefore surprise no one to learn that they are now engaged in continuous disputes with regard to the identity of the author, and the materials, jewish or otherwise, which he is supposed to have used in compiling his book. at the present time the writers who hold the revelation to have been written by various authors, are divided into no less than four camps, while the rationalists who hold that it was written by one author cannot agree who that author was. it is extremely significant that, in spite of his conviction that the book was not all written at the same date, the critic who is now by far the ablest opponent of orthodox christianity, holds that the revelation was (i.) published in the time of domitian, as the tradition of the church affirms; (ii.) published by the author of the fourth gospel, though not by the real st. john.[ ] it must be admitted that the style of the book is more hebrew and less greek than that of the gospel. but some arguments may be reasonably alleged against the theory that { } this proves the revelation to be by a different author. the difference in the scope and origin of the two books account in a large measure for the differences of vocabulary and style. no book in the new testament is so steeped as the revelation in the imagery of the old testament; daniel, isaiah, ezekiel, and zechariah are constantly used. the thoroughness with which their spirit has been assimilated, and their ideas combined by the writer, would create a hebrew tendency in his language. whether st. john made use of the material furnished by non-canonical apocalypses is uncertain. if he did, their style would also influence him in the same way. we must also beware of exaggerating the contrast in style which does exist between the gospel and the revelation. the gospel is not always in correct greek, and never shows a thorough mastery of that language. but the revelation is certainly in much rougher greek. the writer uses the nominative case for the accusative (vii. ; xiv. ); similar instances are in iii. ; xiv. . this rugged usage is introduced with magnificent, and perhaps intentional, effect in i. , where the author emphasizes the eternity of god by using an entirely ungrammatical construction.[ ] apart from the question of grammar, the language of the apocalypse shows a remarkable affinity with st. john's gospel. we may observe the use of such words as "witness," "true," "tabernacle," "have part," "keep the word," and "overcome." the theology of the two books is in close agreement. this can easily be shown in the case of the doctrine of christ's person. he is called the "lamb" [ ] in the gospel (i. , ) and in the revelation (v. , , , etc.). he is called the "word" in the gospel (i. , etc.) and in the revelation (xix. ). he is taught to be eternal and divine. he is "the alpha and { } the omega, the first and the last" (xxii. ; cf. isa. xliv. ). he shares the throne of god (xxii. , ); he determines who shall be released from the realm of death (i. ); he joins in the judgment (vi. ); he is worshipped by the elders and the angels (v. , ). he is the bridegroom of the church (xix. ; xxi. , cf. john iii. ). the attitude towards judaism is the same as that in the gospel. the jews who oppose jesus are strongly denounced (iii. ), and though the church is a new _jerusalem_, it is composed of people gathered out of every nation (vii. ). the necessity of good works is strenuously upheld (ii. , ); but they are not works of rabbinical righteousness, but works of jesus (ii. ), and the "righteous acts of the saints" (xix. ) are based on "the faith of jesus" (xiv. ). salvation is the free gift of christ (xxi. ; xxii. ). the saints who overcome, conquer not by relying upon their own righteousness, but "because of the blood of the lamb" (xii. ). in the revelation (ii. ) jesus promises to believers "the hidden manna;" in the gospel, referring also to the manna, he promises "the true bread from heaven" (john vi. ). in the revelation (xxii. ) jesus says, "let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely;" in the gospel he says, "if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink" (john vii. ). if, then, the revelation is full of hebrew expressions, it is essentially and profoundly christian, and linked with the other johannine books by the closest kinship. the theology and the style of the revelation are the same throughout.[ ] we can therefore reject without hesitation the recent hypothesis that it is one large jewish work with numerous christian interpolations. the difficulty of supposing that the book was ever a purely jewish apocalypse { } can quickly be realized by any one who undertakes to strike out all the christian allusions in the book. the author states that he is john, in the strongest fashion both in the beginning and end (i. , ; xxii. ), and his attitude towards the seven churches is inexplicable unless the writer held a position of the highest ecclesiastical importance. [sidenote: for whom written.] plainly for the whole church, as represented by "the seven churches which are in asia" (i. ). [sidenote: date.] from i. we learn that the revelation was made to john when he "was in the isle that is called patmos" (in the aegean sea) "for the word of god and the testimony of jesus." irenaeus expressly says that the date of this banishment was at the end of the reign of domitian (emperor - a.d.), and therefore he says it was almost within his own generation. on the other hand, some modern writers have assigned part or the whole of the book to the time of nero ( - ), or a little later. but though some parts of it seem earlier than domitian, the final form of the book is unquestionably late. a late date is indicated by the corruptions existing in some of the churches addressed, by the expression "the lord's day" (i. ) instead of the older expression "first day of the week," by the strong opposition to judaism which is called the "synagogue of satan" (ii. ; iii. ), and above all by the attitude of the writer towards rome. the imperial rule is no longer regarded with the tolerance which we find in acts and in st. paul's epistles. it is no longer the "restraining" and protecting power. it is denounced as cruel and aggressive, and not only is the worship offered to the roman emperor mentioned as widespread, but also the worship offered to rome. the city is called the great harlot, because in prophetical language idolatry is described as an act of fornication, being a violation of the pure love which should be felt by man towards his creator. the worship of rome does not seem to have become common in { } asia until late in the st century, and it is not even mentioned once in acts. the destruction of jerusalem is definitely mentioned in xi. , where the earthly jerusalem is symbolized as the "court which is without the temple," the temple which the prophet measures being the heavenly temple only (xi. ). this chapter seems to imply that jerusalem is already destroyed, and is founded on ezek. xl., when the prophet measures the ideal city, not the city which had been destroyed previously. we are therefore pointed to a date later than a.d. . the same seems to be suggested by xiii. and xvii. . for the beast in xiii. is the pagan roman state as typified by nero, and so is the number in xiii. ; for if the words nero caesar are written in hebrew letters, and the numerical values of the letters are added together, the result is . in xvii. nero is described as dead, and in xvii. vespasian is the sixth emperor, titus the seventh, and the eighth, in xvii. , is domitian, who plays the satanic part of nero. the sixth emperor is described as still living, and we therefore seem compelled to assign part of this passage to vespasian's reign. nevertheless, there is abundant internal evidence for thinking that the book was not completed until the time of domitian. it is worth noting that domitian exacted a more extravagant worship of his own person than any previous emperor, and that his policy therefore made the publication of the book doubly appropriate. [sidenote: character and contents.] there were a number of jewish books called by the name of revelation or apocalypse (_i.e._ revelation or unveiling). in the old testament an apocalypse is to be found in the second part of daniel, and there is a fine short apocalypse in isa. xxiv.-xxvii., where we find striking passages relating to the resurrection and eternal life. the _book of enoch_ and the _apocalypse of baruch_ are later examples of this class of literature. these books were generally written with the special purpose of giving encouragement to the { } servants of god in times of distress and persecution. the revelation of st. john was written under similar circumstances, but is by far the most sublime of these writings. the interpretation of the revelation appears to have always been a standing difficulty, in spite of the fact that there has been no age of the christian church which has not been able to draw consolation and vigour from its beautiful pages, all illuminated as they are with glowing pictures. the question as to whether different portions of the book were written at different dates, and afterwards edited in one volume by the writer, does not necessarily interfere with the interpretation. for the book is one work, the materials have been fitted into one structure. the connection between the different parts is organic and internal. not only is the doctrinal standpoint the same throughout, but the whole book has an immense number of connecting thoughts and words. the letters to the seven churches contain statements which are taken up in the visions which follow. among such we may compare ii. with xxii. ; ii. with xx. ; ii. with xii. , ii. with xxii. ; iii. with xix. ; iii. with xxi. . the description of the glorified redeemer in i. - is reflected in numerous passages, and the strong assertion of the author's personality in i. is again presented in xxii. . and the meaning of the book rapidly becomes clearer to the reader if he sees (a) that the notices of contemporary history in each of the seven parts of the book are arranged chronologically in reference to what is contained in that part; (b) that these seven parts are not related to one another in the order of temporal succession: each part is complete in itself, and is a full presentation of one aspect of the whole subject. this is exactly what we find in isaiah, amos, and zechariah. this leads us to another fact. some writers have held that the revelation is to be interpreted simply on _historical_ lines, as though it contained a list of events occurring through the whole of history since the time of st. john. other writers { } have held that little or no historical meaning can be found in the book, and that it is to be interpreted on _ideal_ lines, as teaching certain principles of religion. the truth seems to be that these two methods of interpretation are both partly true. certain historical facts, such as the ascension of our lord, the destruction of jerusalem, the persecution of the church, the struggle between the church and the roman empire, are taken as a basis. certain great principles of god's dealings with the world, and of the continued conflict between good and evil, are then illustrated in connection with these facts, and the whole is knit together by the fixed expectation that christ will come again to vanquish the wicked and rescue the good. while each division of the book thus possesses a real meaning, it seems hardly possible to attach a significance to each detail in the imagery which is employed. many items and even numbers appear to be introduced in order to make the scenes clear to the mind's eye rather than impart a knowledge of independent events. in after-ages dante, like st. john, showed this care for minute imagery in the midst of verses of mystic vision. the book is the highest example of christian imagination led and inspired by the holy spirit, and although at is written in prose it is of the nature of a poem. the book contains seven revelations, which are preceded by a prologue concerning the divine son of man and the seven churches of asia. of these seven revelations, the fourth is central both in place and meaning. it represents the kingdom of the world becoming the kingdom of christ as the result of the coming of the messiah, born of that glorious mother, the woman whose seed wars against the serpent (gen. iii. ), and the maiden who bears immanuel (isa. vii. ), and who also represents the church banished to the wilderness. on each side are three revelations, which correspond with one another like the petals of a mystical rose. the _third_, which deals with the divine judgment upon jerusalem, corresponds with the _fifth_, which contains god's judgment upon { } rome. here we see the triumph of god over corrupt religion and corrupt imperialism. the _second_, which describes the powers of divine judgment kept in check, and the seal of god imprinted on the saints of the new israel, corresponds with the _sixth_, which describes the war of the word of god with the beast, and events which end with the universal judgment. the _first_, which describes the lamb that was slain and the book of destiny which he alone could open, corresponds with the _seventh_, which describes the bride of the lamb, the new jerusalem in heaven. thus the final glory of the church corresponds with the glory which the ascended jesus already receives in heaven. the whole closes with a short epilogue. it will be observed that the book contains seven choric songs. the first revelation contains two such songs, one after each division. the second, third, and fifth revelation, each close with a song. the fourth and central revelation contains two songs; one is sung by the bodyguard of the lamb before they go to war, the other is sung after the victory is gained. the seventh and last chorus celebrates the fall of babylon (rome), and ushers in the marriage of the lamb. it comes at the end of the fifth revelation. its form is double, and it sums up the remaining action of the book. two more facts must be mentioned in this connection. the first is that the words of the song of the bodyguard of the lamb (xiv. ) are not told; it can only be learned by the redeemed. it begins with the voice of christ, the voice "of many waters," and it is taken up by the "thunder" of the cherubim and the harps of the elders. the second is that there is no song between the sixth and seventh revelation. it is simply the voice out of the throne itself, the voice of the cherubim who uphold the throne of god (see iv. ), which proclaims that the tabernacle of god is now with men, and that he shall wipe away every tear (xxi. ). the exquisite art of this arrangement of the songs is manifest. { } analysis title and description (i. - ). prologue (i. -iii. ). the vision of the son of man (i. - ). the message to each of the seven churches of asia (ii., iii.). a general idea of conflict is present in this introduction. the churches of asia have special temptations against which they must fight, _e.g._ coldness at ephesus, false prophecy at thyatira, emperor worship at pergamum. i. revelation of the book of destiny: iv.-v.--the throne of god is manifested, surrounded by the elders and by the four living creatures who represent the created universe, _chorus of creation_ (iv.). the sealed book which none can open but the lamb, _chorus of redemption_ (v.). ii. revelation of the seals: vi.-viii. .--the first four seals of the book are opened. christ appears riding on a white horse, and is followed by four symbolic powers of evil: (a) apollyon, who rides on a red horse; (b) the steward, who rides on a black horse, and dispenses corn at a dear price, representing a perverted ministry of the word, which nevertheless cannot hurt the unction given to the christian nor the wine of christ's passion; (c) death on a pale horse; and (d) his companion hell. when the fifth scene is opened, the martyrs who are under the altar which is before the throne cry in expectancy. with the sixth seal there is a warning of prophetic horrors. the day of god's wrath all but comes. but judgment is restrained for a season (vi.). chastisement is suspended until , of israelites are sealed, then a multitude of all nations, _chorus of salvation_ (vii.). the seventh seal, which discloses a war against god, can now be opened; silence (viii. ). { } iii. revelation of the trumpets: viii. -xi. .--seven angels receive trumpets, incense offered. with the sounding of each of the first four trumpets a chastisement is sent from above to rouse repentance (viii.). with the fifth, chastisement ascends from the pit; with the sixth, angels and terrific horsemen come from the euphrates; but men repent not (ix.). before the seventh trumpet sounds, an angel tells the seer that when it has sounded the mystery of god as declared to the prophets will be finished (x.). two prophets resembling elijah and moses appear as the symbols of christian prophecy; they are slain in jerusalem where our lord was crucified, they ascend like christ amid the wreck of a tenth of the city. the city confesses god. then the seventh trumpet proclaims the subject of the next revelation: the kingdoms of the world becoming the kingdoms of christ, _chorus of god reigning_ (xi. - ). iv. revelation of the lamb's redemption: xi. -xv. .--the ark itself is revealed to show that the coming revelation manifests what is most sacred and most profound. the conflict between christ and evil is shown first as the conflict of the child of the woman against the dragon, then as the conflict of michael and his angels against the dragon, then as the conflict of the dragon against the woman's seed (xii.). next come the allies of the dragon, the beast out of the sea, which is imperial pagan rome; and the beast out of the earth, which is the priesthood of asia appointed to promote the worship of the emperor (xiii.). then there is seen on mount zion the lamb with his bodyguard of , , singing _the incommunicable chorus_. an angel proclaims the eternal gospel; another tells that babylon, _i.e._ pagan rome, has fallen; another proclaims the eternal punishment of those who worship the beast. then a voice from heaven announces the blessedness of the dead in christ. the son of man is seen with a sickle; then comes the harvest of the good, and the vintage of those who { } are to suffer in the winepress of god's wrath (xiv.). seven angels appear, and the victors over the beast sing _the chorus of moses and the lamb_ (xv. - ). v. revelation of the bowls: xv. -xix. .--the heavenly temple opens, and the seven angels come to pour out the seven last punishments from the golden bowls (xv. - ). there is a plague, and the turning of the sea, and then of the rivers, into blood, then the sun's heat is intensified, then darkness is poured over rome. then, in conformity with revelation iii., we are shown the euphrates. it is dried up that the kings of the east, probably conceived of as parthians, may march to destroy babylon. other kings come to aid the beast. they muster at har-magedon. the seventh bowl is poured on the air. babylon breaks into three parts. storms (xvi.). then an angel shows john babylon riding triumphantly upon a beast as the mother of harlots, drunken with the blood of the martyrs, and he explains how she shall be destroyed by her subject kings (xvii.). there follows a solemn dirge on babylon (xviii.). then comes a _triumphant chorus_ for the judgment of the city (xix. - ). john is forbidden to worship his angel-guide (xix. ). vi. revelation of the word of god and the universal judgment: xix. -xx. .--it is now shown that judgment is the work of the word of god himself. as in revelation ii., he appears upon a white horse. brief sections display the complete overthrow of the great enemies of christ, the beast, the false prophet, and the dragon. then comes the millennium, when the martyrs of jesus reign with christ while satan is bound. satan is then loosed, and with gog and magog, who are leaders of nations hostile to god's people, he is finally vanquished. the final judgment takes place, and death and hell are cast into fire. { } vii. revelation of the new jerusalem: xxi. i-xxii. .--from a mountain-top is seen the church, the holy city, new jerusalem, the bride prepared for jesus. its luminary and structure are described. it rises on a vast rock of jewels. the throne of god is no longer remote from man, but in the midst of the city. from the throne pours the river of life through the very heart of the city. the river is shaded on both sides by the "tree" or wood of life, with its perpetual variety of fruit. this is in contrast with the one tree and its forbidden fruit which was the means of the fall. _epilogue_ (xxii. - ). the attestation of the angel, the watchword of jesus, john again forbidden to worship the angel. the book to remain unclosed. the watchword repeated. the attestation of jesus to himself and the angel, to his bride, to the book, to his advent. the response of john to the lord jesus. salutation. [ ] _h. e._ iii. , ; vii. . [ ] the determination to deny that st. john could have believed in the divinity of christ made zeller maintain that in the revelation christ is called the _word of god_ as a mere honorary title. davidson interpreted it as meaning "the highest creature." renan tried to extricate himself from the difficulty by saying that st. john did not write the revelation, but, "having approved of it, saw it circulate under his name without displeasure" (_l'antichrist_, p. xli.). [ ] harnack, _chronologie_, vol. i. pp. , , . [ ] many of the supposed wrong constructions in the revelation are capable of justification (dr. benson, _the apocalypse_, p. ff.). [ ] it is true that a different greek word for lamb is used in the revelation from that in the gospel, but the variation can be accounted for by the author's desire to use a word similar in form to the word used for the beast, who is contrasted with the lamb. [ ] the attempt to divide a supposed judaizing element in the book from a more catholic element has led to the assertion that vii. - is inconsistent with vii. - . there is no more incongruity between these two passages than in the statement of st. paul in rom. i. , that the gospel is a power unto salvation "to the jew _first_, and also to the greek." { } appendix a rationalist criticism on st. john's writings the following table will illustrate the points of agreement arrived at by the more prominent rationalist critics of the last sixty years:-- the gospel. john. and john. revelation. f. c. baur, by a forger, by a by a by st. . a.d. second third john. forger. forger. th. keim, by the same forger, ---- not by . - a.d. st. john. a. hilgen- by a forger, all by a second forger, by st. john. feld, . - a.d. a.d. e. renan, by the presbyter john and others, who not by st. . pretended that they were by st. john, john, but a.d. circulated by him. c. weizsäc- by a disciple not by st. john nor by the not by ker, . of st. john. author of the gospel. st. john. a. harnack, the gospel and epistles all probably by by the . the presbyter john, who did not pretend presbyter that they were by st. john, john, - a.d. a.d. a. c. uncertain. by the uncertain. possibly mcgiffert, author by the . of the presbyter gospel. john. b. w. by an all by another unknown by st. bacon, unknown writer, a.d. - a.d. john. . writer, - a.d. p. w. not by st. by a by a third possibly schmiedel, john, nor second forger. by the . by the forger. presbyter presbyter. john. { } appendix b papias and john the presbyter papias, a phrygian by birth, and bishop of hierapolis in phrygia, wrote in the first half of the nd century a book called _expositions of oracles of the lord_. among the "elders" whom irenaeus quotes, papias and polycarp alone are called "ancient" (_archaios_--_adv. haer._ v. ). this helps us to fix the date of papias. for polycarp died either in a.d. or . he had been a christian for eighty-six years, and was therefore born in a.d. at the very latest. papias was therefore probably born about a.d. . we know from irenaeus that polycarp was a disciple of st. john, and several ancient writers, including irenaeus, expressly assert that papias also was a hearer of st. john. eusebius (_h. e._ iii. ) says that "in his preface" papias does not declare that he was an "eye-witness of the holy _apostles_." but eusebius in his chronicle (_syncell._ , ) plainly says that papias, like polycarp, was a "hearer" of john the divine and apostle. the preface of papias, which eusebius transcribes, mentions john the presbyter. the following is a literal translation of it:-- "but for your advantage i will not hesitate to put side by side with my interpretations everything that in time past i learnt well from the elders, and remembered well, guaranteeing its truth. for, unlike the many, i did not take pleasure in those who say much, but in those who teach the truth; nor in those who relate alien commandments, but in those who relate such as were given from the lord to the faith, and are derived from 'the truth' itself. and again, on any occasion when a person came who had been a follower of the elders, i would inquire about the discourses of the elders--what andrew or what peter said, or what philip or what thomas or james, or what john or matthew or any other of the disciples of the lord, and the things which aristion and john the presbyter (elder), the disciples of the lord, say. for i did { } not suppose that the contents of books would profit me so much as the utterances of a living and abiding voice." the exact meaning of this passage is disputed, but much of it is perfectly clear. it is plain that papias is referring to his action at a time long past (_pote_), probably about a.d. . it is also plain that he had no direct access at that date to the apostles about whose sayings he inquired. they were already dead, their speech was a thing of the past (_eipen_). on the other hand, aristion and john the presbyter were then living, their speech was a thing of the present (_legousin_). they survived at the time of his inquiries, and we cannot accept the hypothesis that papias only meant that he inquired what aristion and john the presbyter said in their books. he recorded what they said to his friends, and he quoted them both so freely that eusebius believed that papias also wrote down words which aristion and john the presbyter said in his own hearing. but whether he heard them or only heard about them, it is evident that he had reached manhood before they were dead. it is also certain that he calls them "disciples of the lord." he must mean by this that they had been personally in contact with christ, like the apostles whom he has just mentioned. we therefore can only draw the conclusion that papias believed that these two men had known the lord in their boyhood, and the fact that he mentions only two such men favours this interpretation. with regard to the other elders, the question at once arises, did papias include among those elders the apostles whom he mentions? if he did _not_ include them, he means that he inquired of travellers what they had heard from elders who had known the apostles. this seems incredible; the information gained would be far inferior to that contained in books, whereas papias speaks of it as superior. moreover, it would imply that the knowledge possessed by papias about those who had known the lord was less direct than that possessed by irenaeus! for irenaeus ( ) knew polycarp ( ) and others, who knew st. john and others who had seen the lord. whereas, according to this theory, papias ( ) was instructed by travellers ( ), who had heard the elders ( ) speak about the apostles. if papias had no better knowledge than this, irenaeus would not have referred to papias with such marked deference. we conclude, therefore, that papias used the word "elders" to denote christians who had actually seen the lord, including the apostles whom he mentions. this interpretation is { } supported by the fact that in the new testament both st. peter and st. john give themselves this very title. if the above views are correct, they have an important bearing on the authenticity of st. john's gospel. the lifetime of papias, like that of polycarp, covers the whole period of dates to which modern rationalists now assign that gospel. if it was not written by the apostle, it is hard indeed to suppose that papias did not know the truth, and record it. and it is equally hard to believe that his statements about it would not have been copied by such men as irenaeus, dionysius of alexandria, and eusebius. { } appendix c the muratorian fragment the _muratorian fragment_ is part of a latin list of the books of the new testament, named after muratori, the librarian at milan, who published it in a.d. . the canon of which the fragment is a part was probably written about a.d. . it begins in the midst of a sentence relating to st. mark-- [sidenote: the gospels.] ". . . at some things, however, he was present, and has thus recorded them." "the third book of the gospel according to luke, luke compiled in his own name from report, the physician whom paul took with him after the ascension of christ, for a companion as devoted to the law: however he did not himself see the lord in the flesh, and hence begins his account with the birth of john as he was able to trace (matters) up." [sidenote: the epistles of st. john.] "of the fourth of the gospels (the author is) john, one of the disciples. at the instance of his fellow-disciples and bishops he said, 'fast with me to-day for three days, and whatever shall be revealed to each, let us relate it to one another.' the same night it was revealed to andrew, one of the apostles, that john should write all in his own name, the rest revising. . . . and therefore, although varying ideas may be taught in the several books of the evangelists, there is no difference in that which pertains to the faith of believers, since by one sovereign spirit in all are declared all things that relate to the nativity (of the lord), his passion, resurrection, intercourse with his disciples, and concerning his double advent, the first in humble guise, which has taken place, the second splendid with royal power, which is yet to be. . . . what wonder, then, if john in his epistles also, speaking of his own authorship, so boldly advances each { } detail, saying, 'what we have seen with our eyes, and have heard with our ears, and our hands have handled, these things we have written unto you.' for thus he professes himself not only an eye-witness, but a hearer, yea, and a writer as well, of all the wonders done by the lord in their order." [sidenote: acts.] "but the acts of all the apostles are written in a single book, luke relates them excellently to theophilus, confining himself to such as fell under his own notice, as he plainly shows by the omission of all reference either to the martyrdom of peter or the journey of paul from rome to spain. . . ." [sidenote: the epistles of st. paul.] "but the letters of paul themselves make known to those who would know both what they are, and from what place, or what occasion they were sent. at considerable length he wrote to the corinthians first, forbidding schismatic divisions, then to the galatians (forbidding) circumcision, and to the romans (expounding) the general tenor of the scriptures, showing, however, that christ is the essence of their teaching; to these (epistles) we must devote separate discussion; for the blessed apostle paul himself, following the example of his predecessor john, wrote by name to seven churches only in this order: first to the corinthians, second to the ephesians, third to the philippians, fourth to the colossians, fifth to the galatians, sixth to the thessalonians, seventh to the romans. true, he wrote twice to the corinthians and thessalonians for their correction, but he shows thereby[ ] the unity of the universal church; for john also in the apocalypse, though he writes to seven churches only, yet speaks to all. he also writes one to philemon, one to titus, and two to timothy, out of personal regard and affection, but these too are hallowed in the respect of the catholic church for the arrangement of ecclesiastical discipline. moreover, there is in circulation an epistle to the laodiceans, another to the alexandrians forged under the name of paul, looking towards the heresy of marcion, and several others which cannot be received into the catholic church; for gall should not be mixed with honey. however, the epistle of jude, and two of john the above named, are received among catholics. also the book of wisdom written by the friends of solomon in his honour." { } [sidenote: apocalypses.] "we receive, moreover, the apocalypse of john and peter only, though some of our body will not have the latter read in the church. the _shepherd_ indeed was written quite recently in our own times in the city of rome by hermas, while his brother pius occupied the seat of bishop of the church of rome; wherefore the private reading of it is indeed commendable, but it can never be publicly read to the people in the church whether among the prophets . . . or among the apostles." "we receive nothing whatever of the arsinoite, or valentinus, or of mitias (?) . . . who also were the compilers of the new book of psalms (?) for marcion, together with basilides. . . ." [ ] as symbolized by the number seven. { } appendix d some early witnesses to new testament writings[ ] clement of rome. bishop of rome. _epistle to corinthians_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. barnabas. _epistle of_, not by the barnabas who was st. paul's companion . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. didachÃ�. "the teaching of the twelve apostles," a manual of church regulations . . . . c. a.d. ignatius. bishop of antioch and martyr. _epistles_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. polycarp. bishop of smyrna and martyr. _epistle to philippians_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. papias. bishop of hierapolis. _expositions of the oracles of the lord_ (fragments are preserved by eusebius) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. hermas. _the shepherd_, an allegory . . . . . . . . c. a.d. marcion. heretic from pontus at rome . . . . . . . c. a.d. justin martyr. apologist. _ and apologies_ and _dialogue with trypho_ . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. - epistle to diognetus. anonymous defence of christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. tatian. syrian apologist, disciple of justin martyr. _diatessaron_, a harmony of the gospels a.d. - theophilus. apologist of antioch. _ad autolycum_ c. a.d. irenaeus. bishop of lyons. _against heresies_ c. a.d. [ ] in the case of most of these witnesses the date here given is that of their chief literary activity. { } clement of alexandria. head of the catechetical school. _paedagogus, hypotyposes_, etc. . . . . c. a.d. tertullian. of carthage. apologist . . . . . . . . a.d. hippolytus. presbyter at rome. _refutation of all heresies_ and numerous commentaries . . . . . c. a.d. origen. of alexandria. successor of clement, great philosopher and writer . . . . . . . . . . . c. a.d. dionysius. bishop of alexandria . . . . . . . . . . a.d. eusebius. bishop of caesarea. _ecclesiastical history_, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. aphraates. syrian writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. athanasius. bishop of alexandria . . . . . . . . . a.d. - epiphanius. bishop of salamis . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. jerome. author of the revised or "vulgate" latin version of the bible . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. { } appendix e books recommended in this list are included the most useful books written in english or translated into english. an * is placed before those commentaries which contain the whole greek text of the books indicated, or which comment much on the greek text. . canon-- charteris (prof. a. h.), canonicity, s. sanday (dr. w.), inspiration, s. d. (longmans.) westcott (bishop), history of the canon, s. d. (macmillan.) . text-- the greek text of the revised version, various prices. (oxford university press.) concordance to the greek testament, by moulton (w. f.) and geden (a. s.), s. (t. and t. clark.) . textual criticism-- lake (prof. k.), the text of the new testament, s. net. oxford church text books. (rivingtons.) nestle (e.), textual criticism of the greek new testament, s. d. (williams and norgate.) . introduction-- zahn (prof. th.), introduction to the new testament, vols., english translation, s. (t. and t. clark.) salmon (prof. g.), historical introduction to the books of the new testament, s. (murray.) godet (f.), introduction to the new testament. part i. the epistles of st. paul, s. d. (t. and t. clark.) . the gospels and the synoptic problem-- burkitt (prof. f. c.), the earliest sources for the life of jesus, s. net. (constable.) sanday (dr. w.), studies in the synoptic problem, s. d. (oxford clarendon press.) wright (dr. a.), *a synopsis of the gospels in greek, s. (macmillan.) campbell (dr. colin), *the first three gospels in greek, s. (williams and norgate.) { } hawkins (sir j. c.), *horae synopticae, s. d. (oxford clarendon press.) rushbrooke (w. g.), *synopticon, s. (macmillan.) westcott (bishop), introduction to the study of the gospels, s. d. (macmillan.) stanton (dr. v. h.), the gospels as historical documents, part i. s. d., part ii. s. (cambridge university press.) . commentaries-- _st. matthew._--godet (f.), the collection of the four gospels and the gospel of st. matthew, s. (t. and t. clark.) allen (ven. w. c.), *commentary, s. (t. and t. clark.) plummer (dr. a.), *exegetical commentary on the gospel according to st. matthew, s. (elliot stock.) carr (a.), "the gospel according to st. matthew, s. d. (cambridge greek testament for schools and colleges.) _st. mark._--swete (prof. h. b.), *greek text with notes, s. (macmillan.) maclear (g. f.), *the gospel according to st. mark, s. d. (cambridge greek testament for schools and colleges.) _st. luke._--plummer (dr. a.), *commentary, s. (t. and t. clark.) _st. john._--godet (f.), commentary, vols., s. d. (t. and t. clark.) westcott (bishop), commentary, s. d. (murray.) lightfoot (bishop), biblical essays, s. (macmillan. sanday (dr. w.), the criticism of the fourth gospel, s. d. (longmans.) _acts._--knowling (dr. r. j.), in *expositor's greek testament, vol. ii., s. (hodder and stoughton.) rackham (r. b.), s. d. (methuen.) ramsay (prof. w. m.), the church in the roman empire, s. (hodder and stoughton.) ramsay (prof. w. m.), st. paul the traveller and the roman citizen, s. d. (hodder and stoughton.) _romans._--sanday (dr. w.) and headlam (a. c.), *commentary, s. (t. and t. clark.) liddon (dr. h. p.), *analysis, s. (longmans.) gore (bishop), exposition, vols., s. d. each. (murray.) { } _ corinthians._--goudge (h. l.), in westminster commentaries, s. (methuen.) findlay (g. g.), in *expositor's greek testament, vol. ii. _ corinthians._--meyer's *critical commentary on the new testament, and cor., in vols., s. d. each. (t. and t. clark.) _galatians._--lightfoot (bishop), *text with introduction, s. (macmillan.) ramsay (prof. w. m.), historical commentary, s. (hodder and stoughton.) _ephesians._--abbott (t. k.), *commentary on ephesians and colossians, s. d. (t. and t. clark.) robinson (dr. j. armitage), *st. paul's epistle to the ephesians, s. (macmillan.) westcott (bishop), *st. paul's epistle to the ephesians, s. d. (macmillan.) gore (bishop), exposition, s. d. (murray.) _philippians._--lightfoot (bishop), text with introduction, s. (macmillan.) _colossians and philemon._--lightfoot (bishop), *text with introduction, s. (macmillan.) _ and thessalonians._--milligan (dr. g.), *commentary, s. (macmillan.) ellicott (bishop), *commentary, s. d. (longmans.) _ and timothy, titus._--bernard (dr. j. h.), *cambridge greek testament, s. d. (cambridge university press.) _hebrews._--westcott (bishop), *greek text with notes. s. (macmillan.) davidson (prof. a. b.), handbook, s. d. (t. and t. clark.) _st. james._--mayor (dr. j. b.), *greek text with notes., s. (macmillan.) carr (a.), *the general epistle of st. james, s. d. (cambridge greek testament for schools and colleges.) _ and st. peter, st. jude._--bigg (dr. c.), *commentary, s. d. (t. and t. clark.) mayor (dr. j. b.), *the epistle of st. jude and the second epistle of st. peter, s. (macmillan.) _ , , st. john._--westcott (bishop), *greek text with notes, s. d. (macmillan.) { } _revelation._--ramsay (prof. w. m.), letters to the seven churches, s. (hodder and stoughton.) simcox (w. h.), *the revelation of st. john the divine, s. (cambridge greek testament for schools and colleges.) milligan (prof. w.), lectures on the apocalypse, s. (macmillan.) swete (prof. h. b.), *the apocalypse of st. john, s. (macmillan.) { } index acts, book of, agapé, or love-feast, , alexandria, st. mark at, ; philosophy of, alogi, rejected st. john's writings, antichrist, in thess., ; in john, antilegomena, or disputed books, , antioch, in syria, collision between ss. peter and paul at, , antioch, pisidian, apocalypse. _see_ revelation apocalyptic teaching, in st. matt., ; in thess., ; general nature of, apollos, his partisans at corinth, , ; supposed author of hebrews, aramaic language, ; original of st. matt., aristion (author of st. mark xvi. - ), , "babylon" in n. t., , balaamites, baptism, st. paul's doctrine of, , , ; for the dead, barnabas, st., author (?) of hebrews, barnabas, so-called epistle of, baur, f. c., his misrepresentation of the apostles, , ; what epistles accepted by, ; repudiation of rom. xv., xvi., ; of colossians, ; of ephesians, ; of philippians, beast in revelation, , bousset, w., denies st. john's residence at ephesus, brethren of our lord, calvinistic doctrine of predestination, not pauline, canon, formation of, , catholic epp., ; gradual insertion in canon, , census in st. luke, christology, or doctrine about christ's person, in st. matt., ; in st. mark, , ; in st. luke, ; in st. john, human side of, , divine side of, , ; in acts, ; of st. paul, , , , , church, doctrine of, in st. matt., ; in st. paul, clement, st., of rome, quotes synoptic narrative, ; quotes the epistles, , clement of alexandria, on date of st. mark, ; on peter, colossians, ep. to, ; heresy of, corinthians, epp. to, , ; first lost ep. to, ; second lost ep. to, ; factions among, ; doctrine of resurrection in epp., , date of n. t. books, p. x.; of christ's nativity, date of christ's death, ; st. john supported by st. luke as to, ; and by st. paul, davidson, s., on i john, ; on christology of revelation, "diaspora," or dispersion, , diatessaron of tatian, dionysius of alexandria on revelation, diotrephes, disputed books, , docetic heresy, , , domitian, his treatment of christians, , ebionites, their gospel, ; st. luke not influenced by, enoch, book of, , , epaphroditus or epaphras, , ephesians, ep. to, ephesus, st. john at, , epiphanius on gospel of the hebrews, eschatology, in st. matt., ; in st. mark, ; in st. luke, ; in st. john, ; in st. paul, , , essenes, sect of, possible influence at rome, ; at colossae, eucharist, in st. luke, ; in cor., eusebius, on hebrews, ; on catholic epp., ; on peter, ; on revelation, faith, st. paul's doctrine of, , ; in hebrews, ; in st. james, ; in st. jude, feasts, jewish, in st. john, felix, antonius, procurator of judaea, festus, porcius, procurator of judaea, florinus, letter of irenaeus to, galatia, north or south (?), galatians, ep. to, gallic, gieseler, j. k. l., on the synoptic problem, gnosticism, supposed influence on ep. to philippians, ; rebuked in pastoral epp., ; in peter and jude, , godet, f., writings of, , gospels, the four, , st. matt., ; st. mark, ; st. luke, ; st. john, harnack, a., on st. john, , appendix a; on the apostles' doctrine, ; on revelation, hebrews, apocryphal gospel of, hebrews, ep. to, ; its connection with philo, hegesippus, on st. james, , ; on st. jude's grandsons, heresies in n. t. times, , , , , , , , herod the great, herod agrippa i., herod agrippa ii., , hilgenfeld, a., on st. john's writings, appendix a idols, eating meat offered to, ignatius, st., relation to st. matt., ; to st. john, , ; heresy rebuked by, , irenaeus, st., on canon of the gospels, ; on st. luke, ; on st. john, , ; on catholic epp., james, st., ep. of, jerome, st., author of the vulgate, ; on the hebrew of st. matt., ; on john, jewish christianity, , , , , john the presbyter, not the author of the fourth gospel, ; papias on, appendix b john, st., gospel of, , , ; relation to synoptists, ; does not quote them, ; epistles of, ; revelation of, ; rationalist criticism of his writings, , appendix a john, st., the baptist, his infancy and ministry, ; interest shown in, josephus, on st. james, ; not quoted in peter, jude, st., ep. of, , judgment, the, in st. matt., ; in st. john, , , jülicher, a., on st. john, justification, in st. luke, ; in st. paul, , ; in st. james, justin martyr, used our four gospels, ; ascribes revelation to st. john, keim, th., on st. john's writings, appendix a kingdom of god in st. matt., laodiceans, ep. to, identical with "ephesians," , latinisms in st. mark, law, teaching of christ on, , of st. paul on, , , of hebrews on, linus, ? bishop of rome, _logia_, meaning of the word, ; early books of, , logos, doctrine of, in st. john, luke, st., gospel of, ; its dependence on st. mark, ; acts written by, , lycus valley, churches of, , , magi and the star, marcion, canon of, ; gospel of, ; why he repudiated and tim. and titus, mark, st., gospel of, ; its dependence on st. peter, , marriage and celibacy, st. paul's teaching on, , matthew, st., gospel of, ; its dependence on st. mark, , ; some primitive features in, ; numerical arrangement in, ministers of the church, in acts, ; in ephesians, ; in pastoral epistles, ; in john, _muratorian fragment_, appendix c nazarenes, gospel of, nero, persecution by, , , in revelation, nicopolis, onesimus of colossae, onesiphorus of ephesus, oral teaching, influence on st. matt., ; on st. john, oral tradition theory of gospels, , origen, on hebrews, ; on catholic epp., ; on peter, papias, on the "oracles," ; on the logia of st. matt., , ; on st. mark, ; on john the presbyter, appendix b parables, the different classes of, pastoral epp., paul, st., epp. and life of, ; epp. questioned, , , , , , , peter, st., source of st. mark's gospel, , ; "memoirs" of, ; epistles of, , ; "apocalypse" of, , philemon, ep. to, philippians, ep. to, philo, his difference from st. john, ; his similarity to hebrews, polycarp, st., connection with st. john, , , , polycrates on st. john, prayer in st. luke, quirinius, p. sulpicius, governor of syria, ramsay, w. m., on authenticity of acts, renan, e., on st. john's writings, , appendix a revelation, book of the, romans, ep. to, rome, attitude of, towards the church, , , ; religion at, ; worship of, sabatier, a., on ministry in acts, sanday, w., on catholic epp., ; writings of, , schmiedel, p. w., on acts, ; on st. john's writings, appendix a silvanus or silas, not the author of acts, ; bearer of peter, sinaitic syriac version of gospels, slavery, st. paul on, , , spirit, the holy, doctrine of, in st. john, ; in st. paul, synoptic problem, synoptists, relation of, to st. john, , , tatian, diatessaron of, teaching of the twelve apostles, or didaché, ; johannine language in, tertullian ascribes hebrews to st. barnabas, theophilus of antioch, thessalonians, epp. to, timothy, epp. to, titus, ep. to, titus, roman emperor, tübingen school, on st. paul's epistles, ; on relation of st. peter to st. paul, tychicus of asia, , versions of the bible, vespasian in revelation, virgin birth of our lord, "we sections" in acts, , weizsäcker, c., on st. john's writings, , appendix a westcott (bishop), writings of, , works, doctrine of, in st. paul, , ; in st. james, ; in revelation, zechariah, quoted by st. matt., ; by st. john, zeller, e., on revelation, zenas,